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THE   REV.   W.   BLOOD,    M.A. 


■ 


I       i  C\SI 


NEWTON'S  WORKS. 


\\  . 


WHAT  HAS  SIN  DONE  ? 


BY  THE  REV.  J.  C.  RYLE,  B.A. 

Reader, 

Did  yon  ever  consider  what  sin  has  done  in 
this  world  ?  Yon  will  find  it  worth  while  to  think  about  it. 
Once  understand  what  horrible  damage  it  has  done,  and 
you  will  find  it  hard  to  love  sin. 

Sin  cast  Adam  and  Eve  out  of  Eden, — brought  the  flood 
upon  the  old  world, — caused  fire  to  come  down  on  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah, — drowned  Pharaoh  and  his  host  in  the 
Red  sea, — destroyed  the  seven  wicked  nations  of  Canaan, 
— scattered  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  over  the  face  of  the 
globe.     Sin  alone  did  all  this. 

Sin  is  the  grand  cause  of  all  the  misery  and  sorrow  in 
the  world  at  this  very  day.  Pain,  disease,  and  death, — 
strifes,  quarrels,  and  divisions, — wars,  battles,  and  fightings, 
— envy,  jealousy,  and  malice, — deceit,  fraud,  and  cheating, 
— violence,  oppression,  and  robbery, — selfishness,  unkind- 
ness,  and  ingratitude, — all  these  are  the  fruits  of  sin.  Sin 
is  the  parent  of  them  all.  Sin  it  is  that  has  so  marred 
and  spoiled  the  face  of  God's  creation. 

Reader,  consider  these  things,  and  you  will  not  wonder 
that  I  entreat  you  to  give  up  sin.  Surely  if  you  did  but 
think  of  them,  you  would  break  with  sin  for  ever.  Will 
you  play  with  poison  ?  Will  you  sport  with  hell  ?  Will 
you  take  fire  in  your  hand  ?  Will  you  harbour  your  dead- 
liest enemy  in  your  bosom  ?  Will  you  go  on  living  as  if 
it  mattered  nothing  whether  your  own  sins  were  forgiven 
or  not, — whether  sin  had  dominion  over  you,  or  you  over 
sin  ?  Oh  !  awake  to  a  sense  of  sin's  sinfulness  and  danger. 
Remember  the  word's  of  Solomon,  "  Fools,"  none  but  fools, 
"  make  a  mock  at  sin."     (Prov.  xiv.  9.) 

Hear  then  the  request  that  I  make  of  you  this  day, — 
pray  that  God  would  teach  you  the  real  evil  of  sin.  As 
ever  you  would  have  your  soul  saved,  arise  and  pray.  But 
TURN  AT  ONCE  FROM  SIN,  AND  TURN  TO 
CHRIST. 


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LATE   RECTOR   OF  THE   UNITED   PARISHES   OF  ST.   MARY  WOOLXOTH  AND  ST.   MARY 
WOOLCHURCH-HAW,   LOMBARD  STREET,   LONDON. 


TO  WHICH  AEK  PREFIXED 


MEMOIRS  OF  HIS  LIFE,  BY  THE  REV.  R.  CECIL;  A.M. 


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COMPLETE    IN    ONE    VOLUME. 


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LONDON:  THOMAS  NELSON,  PATERNOSTER  ROW: 

AND      EDINBURGH. 


MDCCCSLIX. 


Nv 


CONTENTS. 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

Page 

Preface 1 

Memoirs,  &c 3 

Review  of  his  Character 67 

Remarks  in  Familiar  Conversation 73 

General  Observations 82 


AN  AUTHENTIC  NARRATIVE,  &c. 


Page 

LET.  I. — Introductory  Observations 1 

LET.  II.— Occurrences  in  rarly  Life 3 

LET.  III.— Journey  to   Kent,   Voyage  to  Venice, 

&c 5 

LET.  IV Voyage  to  Madeira,  Entry  on  I  oard  a  Gui- 

neaman,  and  Voyage  to  Africa  —  9 

LET.  V.   Hardships  endured  in  Africa It 

LET.  VI. — Enlargement  in  Africa 14 

LET.  VII. — Vuyage  from  Cape  Lopez  to  England, 

&c 16 


Page 
LET.  VIII  —Danger,  &c.  in  the  Voyage  from  Cape 

Lopez 18 

LE  IV  IX.— Events  in  Ireland,  and  Arrival  in  Eng- 
land    20 

LE  l\  X.— Vovage  to  Africa 22 

LET.  XL— Voyage  to  Antigua,  Return  to  England, 

and  Marriage 24 

LET.  XII. —Another  Voyage  to  Africa 27 

LET.  XIII Last  Voyage  to  Africa,  &c 29 

LET.  XIV.— Conclusion  of  the  Narrative  31 


LETTERS  ON  RELIGIOUS  SUBJECTS. 


Page 

LET.  L— On  Trust  in  God  37 

LET.  II. -To  a  Student  of  Divinity 30 

LET.  Ill On  2  Cor.  v.  10,  and  Horn.  xiv.  12 4i 

LET.  IV. — On  Family-worship  43 

LET.  V On  the  Difficulties  attending  the  Minis- 
try   45 

LET.  VI.— On  the  Influence  of  Faith  47 

LET.  VII.— On  a  Ministerial  Address  to  the  Uncon- 
verted   49 

LET.  VIIL— On  the  inward  Witness"..... 52 

LET.  IX On  Election  and  Perseverance 54 

LET.  X On  Grace  in  the  Blade 57 

LKT.  XI — On  Grace  in  the  Ear 59 

LET.  XII — On  Grace  in  the  Full  Corn  HI 

LET.  XIII.— On  Hearing  Sermons (13 

LET.  XIV.— On  Temptation 66 

LET.  XV.— A  Plan  of  a  Christian  Library 69 

LET.  XVI.— On  the  Inefficacy  of  Knowledge 72 

LET.  XVII.— On  a  Believer's  Frames 74 

LET.  XVIII.— On  Social  Prayer 76 

LET.  XIX.— On  Controversy, 79 

LET.  XX.— On  Conformity  to  the  World SI 

LET.  XXI — On  Spiritual  Blindness 83 


Page 

LET.  XXII.— On  a  State  of  Poverty 8.5 

LET.  XXIII — On  Simplicity  and  Sincerity 88 

LET.  XXIV.— On  Communion  with  God  90 

LET.  XXV.— On   Faith,   and  the  Communion  of 

Saints  „ "  .' 

LET.  XXVI.— On  Gospel  Illumination SI 

LET.  XXVII.— On  Union  with  Christ 95 

LET.  XXVIII.— On  the  Divine  Guidance 9(i 

LET.  XXIX.— On   Rom.  viii.  19,  20,  21,  98 

LE  I\  XXX.— On  the  Right  Use  of  the  Law 100 

LET.  XXXI.— On  Love  to  the  Brethren 101 

LET.  XXXII — On  Candour , 1  6 

LET.  XXXIII.— (1)  On  Man  in  his  Fallen  Estate  li  H 
LET.  XXXIV.— (2)  On  Man  in  his  Fallen  Estate       1  hi 

LET.  XXXV.— On  Phil.  iv.  8 112 

LET.  XXXVI.— Toa  Friend  on  his  Recovery  from 

Illness lit 

LET.  XXXVII On  Christian  Ex)  erienee 116 

LET.  XXXVIII.— On  Religion  as  being  necessary 

to  the  Enjoyment  of  Life ]  is 

LET.  XXXIX.— A  Word  in  Season 120 

LET.  XL.— To  Professors  in  Trade 122 

LET.  XL!.— On  the  Ministry  of  Angels 12.5 


CARDIPHONIA. 


TWENTY-SIX  LETTERS  TO  A   NOBLEMAN. 

Page 

LET.  I 129 

LET.  II 130 

LET.  Ill 152 

LET.  IV , 133 


Page 

LET.  V 134 

LET.  VI 135 

LET.  VII 137 

LET.  Vlil „... 139 

LET.  IX  _ .«   lb. 


• 


CONTENTS. 


LET- 
LET. 
LET. 

let: 

LET. 
LET. 
-LET. 
LET. 
LET» 
LET. 
LET. 
LET. 
LET. 
LKT. 
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'.ET. 
ET 


\ 

XI.... 
XI... 
XIII. 
XIV... 


Pace 

..  142 

..  Ill 
..  146 


XV 117 

XVI 143 

XVII 150 

XVIII 151 

XIX 153 

XX 154 

XXI  156 

XXII 157 

XXIII 159 

XXIV 161 

XXV 165 

XXVI „.  167 


EIGHT  LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR  S- 


LET.  1 169 

LET.  II 17-' 

LET.  III-.. 174 

LET.  IV 177 

LET.  V 178 

LET.  VI ib. 

LET.  VII 180 

LET.  VIII 184 


ELEVEN  LETTERS  TO  MR  B- 


&C. 


Fuze 


FOUR  LETTERS  TO  MRS  T- 


LET.  I -. 230 

LET.  II 251 

LET.  Ill '-'52 

LET.  IV 253 


FIVE  LETTERS  TO  MR 


LET. 
LET. 
LET. 
LET. 
LET. 


I.... 
II... 
III. 
IV,. 
V... 


255 
2.56 
237 
238 

259 


EIGHT  LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR 


LET.  1 211 

LET.  II.... ib. 

LET.  ill 242 

LET.  IV -15 

LET.  V ib. 

LET.  VI „ 244 

LET.  VII ib. 

LET.  VIII 245 


FOUR  LETTERS  TO  MRS  P- 


LET.  I 

i.e  r.  ii 19 

LET.  Ill ib. 

LET.  IV 191 

LET.  V ib 

LET.  VI 192 

LET.  VII 1     • 

LET.  VIII ib 

LET.  IX 194 

LET.  X 195 

LET.  XI 196 

FOUR  LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR  R 


LET. 

LET. 
LET. 


I... 
II... 
III. 
IV... 


248 
249 
.  ib. 
"51 


SIX  LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR  B- 


I... 
II... 
III.. 


2.->5 
254 


LET.  1 13S 

LET.  II 199 

LET.  Ill ...  ib 

LET.  IV 


LET. 
LET. 
LET. 

LET.  IV £56 

LET.  V 257 

LET.  VI 25S 

NINE  LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.    MR  R 


A  LETTER  TO  THE  REV.   MR  O- 


SEVEN  LETTERS   TO  THE    REV.    MR    P- 


LET.  1 2  4 

LET.  II ib. 

LET.  Ill 2  5 

LET.  IV 

LET.  v 7 

LET.  VI ib. 

LET.  VII 2, 8 

THREE  LETTERS  TO  MRS  G 

LET.  1 210 

LET.  II 211 

LET.  Ill 215 


LET.  I 

LET.  II _ 261 

2   0     LET.  ill ib. 

LET.  IV 262 

LET.  V ; 263 

LET.  VI jb. 

LET.  VII jb. 

LET.  VIII „ 265 

LET.  IX ib. 


2  \-> 


THREE  LETTERS  TO  MISS  TH- 


TWO  LETTERS  TO  MISS  F- 


1ET.  1 215 

LET.  II 216 

FOUR  LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   DR  

LEI.  1 217 

LET.  II _ ib. 

LET.  II! 

LET.  IV 

SEVEN  I  ETTEB8  TO  MRS  

LET.  1 220 

le  r.  Il 

LET.  Ill 224 

LET    IV a 

LET.  V 251 

LET.  VI 227 

LET.  VII _ .  228 


l  ET.  1 267 

II 268 

LET.  Ill ib. 

SEVEN  LETTERS  TO 

LET.  I 270 

LET.  II ib. 

LET.  Ill 271 

LET.  IV 27  ' 

LET.  V ib. 

LET.  VI 273 

LET.  VII ib. 

FIVE  LETTERS  TO  MR  C 

LET.  1 275 

.  II 276 

LET.  Ill 277 

LI  T    IV „ 278 

\ ..  279 


EIGHT  LETTLUS  TO  MRS 


LET. 

LET. 

LEI. 

LET. 

LET. 

I  ET 

LET 


II 

in.... 
iv    . 

V 

\  I.... 

VII... 

VIII. 


.281 
.288 
284 
285 
28fi 
28H 
289 
29U 


contents. 


in 


FIVE  LETTERS  TO  MfSS  D- 


LET. 

LET. 
LET. 
LET. 

LET. 


LET 
LET. 
LET. 


LET. 
iET. 


I.... 

II... 
III. 
IV.. 
V... 


THREE  LETTERS  TO  MRS  H- 


Pa^e 
.  292 
,.  293 
..  294 
...  ib. 
..  295 


1.... 
II... 
III. 


TWO  LETTERS  TO  MISS  P- 


297 
298 
299 


300 
501 


FOURTEEN  LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR  fl 

Page 

LET.  r 502 

LET.  II 503 

LET.  Ill ib. 

LET.  IV ib. 

LET.  V 50* 

LET.  VI 5vi 

LET.  VII ib. 

LET.  VIII 306 

LET.  IX 507 

LET.  X - ib. 

LET.  XI 308 

LET.  XIi ib. 

LET.  XIII 305 

LET.  XIV ib 


DISCOURSES  INTENDED  FOR  THE  PULPIT. 


Page 
SERMON  I.— On  the  Decritfulnest  of  the  Heart. 
— "  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things, 
and  despeiately  wicked;  who  can  know  it?  I 
the  Lord  search  the  heart,  I  try  the  reins,  evert 
to  give  every  man  according  to  his  ways,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  fruit  of  his  doings,"  Jer.  xvii.  9, 

10 315 

SERMON-  II.— On  the  Saviour  arid  his  Salvation. 
— "  This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all 
acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesua  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners,  of  whom  I  am  chief,"  1 
Tim.  i.  15, 518 


Page 

SERMON7  III.— On  the  Christian  Xame — '  And 
the  disciples  were  called  Christians  first  at  An- 
tioch,"  Acts  xi.  25, 323 

SERMON  IV.— On  All  Thing!  being  given  us  with 
Christ  —"  lie  that  spared  not  his  own  son,  but  de- 
livered him  up  for  us  all,  how  'hall  he  not  with 
him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?"  Horn.  viii.  3S,  528 

SERMON  V.— On  Searching  the  Scriptures. — 
*'  Search  th^  scriptures,  for  m  them  y  ■  think,  ye 
have  eternal  I  fc.  and  they  are  the.  which  teslif) 
of  me,"  John  i .  §9, 3  3 

SERMON  VI. — The  same  subject  continue! 55S 


SERMONS 
PREACHED  IN  THE  PARISH  CHURCH  OF  OLNEY. 


Page 

SERMON  I — The  small  S»c<kss  of  a  Gospel  Mi- 
nistry.—  "  At  that  lime  Jesus  answertd  an  i  sai  I 
I  thank  thte,  O  Father,  Lord  cf  heaven  and 
earth,  because  tho  i  hast  hid  these  things  from 
the  wree  and  prudent,  an  1  hast  revealed  them  un- 
to babes,"  Matth.  xi.  25, 347 

SERMON  II.— The  Mysteries  of  the  Gospel  hid 
f  om  many  — Same  text,  "... 350 

SERMON  III — Of  those  from  whom  the  Gospel- 
Dolrines  are  hid.     Same  text,  551 

SERMON  IV — The  Nature  of  Spiritual  R'veta- 
tion,  and  who  are  favoured  wtth  it  — Same  text.    557 

SERMON   V — The  Sovereignty   of  Divine  Grace 

asserted  and  illustrated "  Even  so,  Father,  for 

so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sitiht."  Matth.  xi.  26.    . 

SERMON  VI.— Of  the  Person  of  Christ.—"  1 
things  are  delivere  I  unto  me  of  mv  Father  :  and 
no  man  kn  weth  the  Son  but  the  Father:  nei- 
ther knoweth  any  man  the  Father,  save  the  Son, 
and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  u  il  ie\  cal  him," 
Matth.  xi.  27,  -"I 

SERMON  VII.-O/  the  Autliorii,/  of  Christ.— 
Sirrletext, ~  7 

SEKMON  VIII — The  Glory  and  Grace  of  God  re- 
vealed in  Jesus  Christ. — >ame  text '. 571 

SEUMiN  IX — Labouring  and  heavy-laden  Sin- 
ners described. — "  Come  unto  me,  a  I  ye  that  la- 
bour and  are  heavy  laden,  an  1  I  will  give  you 
rest,"  Matth    xi.  2s, "71 

SERMON  X — Of  Coming  to  Christ.—  Same  text.    377 

SERMoN  XI — Of  Believers    Rest    in    Christ 

Same  text „  3f0 

SERMON  XII Of  the  Yoke  of  Christ.-4'  Take 

my  yoke  u  on  you,  and  learn  of  me;  for  I  am 
meek  and  I  •>ly  in  heart:  and  ve  shall  find  rest 
for  your  s-uls,"  Matth.  xi.  29,   ". 3v1 


Page 
SERMON  XIII.— The  S  rvice  of  Christ  easy  and 

pleasant — "  For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden 
is  light,"  Matth.  xi.  30,. , 3S7 

SERMON"  XIV. — Believers  cautioned  against  Mis- 
conduct in  the  r  Profession. — "  Let  not  your 
good  be  evil  s  okpn  of|"  Horn,  xiv   lfi,  390 

SERMON  XV.— The  Extent  and  Sanction  of  the 
Third  Commandment.—"  Thou  shalt  not 
the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in   vain;   for  the 
Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that  takcth  his 
name  in  vain,"  Exod.  xx   7 591 

SERMON  XVI.— The  Christian  Life  compared  to 
a  Race. — "  So  run  that  ve  may  obtain,  I  Cor. 
iv.  21, 5L'S 

SERMON  XVII.— .Vj  Access  to  God  hut  by  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  — "  W  herewith  snail  I  eoi: 
fore  the  Lord,  and  low  myself  before  the 
God  ?  Shall  I  come  before  him  with  burnt- nt"  r- 
ings,  with  calves  of  a  year  old?  Will  the  Lord 
be  pleased  with  thousands  of  rams,  or  with  ten 
thou-ands  of  rivers  of  oil  ?  Shall  I  give  m\  fir-t- 
born  for  my  trans  r  ssion  the  fruit  of  my  body 
for  the  sin  of  my  soul  ?  He  hath  shewed  thee,  6 
man,  what  is  good  •  an  1  what  d  th  the  Lord  re- 
quire of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  :ner- 
cv,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thv  God?"  Mical) 
vt.  6— H .' 101 

SERMON  XVIII — Qf  a  Living  and  a  De*d  Faith. 
— "  For  as  the  body  without  ihe  spirit  is  dead,  so 
faith  w  thout  works  is  dea  I  also,"  James  ii-  Sfi,      -I    4 

SERMON  XIX  —Guilt  removed,  arui  Peace  restor- 
ed.—" O  Lord,  o  en  thou  my  lips,  and  my 
mouth  shall  shew  forth  thv  praise."  1  salm  li    \f>,  108 

SERMON   XX.— Of   the   Assurance    of  Faith 

"  And  we  know  that  we  are  of  God,4   1  John  v. 
19    41 


IV 


CONTENTS. 


A  REVIEW  OF  ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 


Page 
INTRODUCTION, 173 


BOOK  I. 

OF  THE  FIRST  PERIOD  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Chap. 

1.  The  general  State  of  the  Heathens  and  Jews  be- 

fore and  at  the  Time  of  our  Lord's  Incarna- 
tion,    429 

2.  The  Character  and  Genius  of  the  Gospel,  as 

taught  and  exemplified  by  Christ, _ 433 

3.  The  true  Grounds  of  the  Opposition  he  met 

with  in  the  Course  of  his  Ministry,  and  the  Ob- 
jections and  Artifices  his  Enemies  employed  to 
prejudise  the  People  against  him,  and  prevent 
the  Reception  of  his  Doctrine, 439 


Chap.                                                                          Page 
4.  On  the  Calling  and  Characters  of  the  Apostles 
and  Disciples  previous  to  our  Lord's  Ascen- 
sion,    Ill 

BOOK  II. 


OF  THE  SECOND  PERIOD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

1.  Of  the  Progress  of  the  Gospel  from  our  Lord's 

Ascension  to  the  Close  of  the  first  Century,...  450 

2.  Of  the  Life  and  Character  of  St  Paul,  consider- 

ed as  an  Exemplar  or  Pattern  of  a  Minister  of 
Jesus  Christ, 494 

3.  Of  the    Irregularities  and  Offences  which  ap- 

peared m  the  Apostolical  Churches,   505 

4.  Of  the  Heresies  propagated  by  false  Teachers  in 

the  Apostles  days, „ 51 1 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


BOOK  I. 

ON  SELECT  PASSAGES  OF  SCROTURE. 

Hymn  GENESIS.  Chap.  Page 

1.  Adam, 3 525 

2.  Cain  and  Abel, 4 ib. 

526 
,   ib. 


'; }  Walking  with  God,  5.. 

5.  Lot  in  Sodom - 13.. 

6.  \  Jehovah  Jireh;  or,  The  Lord  will 

7-  J     provide,  .' 22., 

8.  Esau , 25., 

9.  Jacob's  Ladder,    28., 

10.  My  Name  is  Jacob, 32., 

11.  Plenty  in  Dearth, 41. 


527 
ib. 

528 
ib. 
ib. 


12.  Joseph  made  known  to  his  Brethren,  45 529 

,   ib. 


ib. 

530 
ib. 

ib. 
531 


EXODUS. 

13.  The  bitter  Waters, 15.. 

14.  Jehovah  Rophi;   or,  The  Lord  my 

Healer, 15.. 

15.  Manna,  16.. 

16.  Manna  hoarded, 16.. 

17.  Jehovah  Nissi ;  or,  The  Lord  my  Ban- 

ner,   17-. 

18.  The  Golden  Calf, 32.. 

LEVITICUS. 

19.  The  true  Aaron, 8.. 

NUMBERS. 

20.  Balaam's  Wish, 23.. 

JOSHUA. 

21.  Gibeon, 10.. 

JUDGES. 

22.  Jehovah  Shallom;  or,  The  Lord  is 

Peace, 6., 

23.  Gideon's  Fleece 6.. 

24.  Sampson's  Lion 14., 

I.   SAMUEL. 

25.  Hannah ;  or,  The  Throne  of  Grace,      1 ib. 

26.  Dagon  before  the  Ark, 5 ib. 

27.  Milch  Kine  drawing  the  Ark, 5 531 

28.  Saul's  Armour, 17 ib. 


ib. 

ib. 

532 


ib. 

ib. 

533 


II.  SAMUEL. 

29.  David's  Fall 12., 

30.  Is  this  thy  Kindness  to  thy  Friend  ?     16., 


I.  KINGS. 

31.) 

32.  fAsk  what  I  shall  give  thee, ... 

33.  J 


Hymn                                                      Chap.  Page 

34.  The  Queen  of  Sheba, 10 ib. 

35.  Elijah  fed  by  Ravens, 17 ib. 

36.  The  Meal  and  Cruse  of  Oil, 17 537 

II.  KINGS. 
37-  Jericho;  or,  The  Waters  healed, 2 ib. 

38.  Naaman,  5 558 

39.  The  borrowed  Axe, G ib. 

40.  More  with  us  than  with  them, 6 ib. 


lb. 

5.35 


41 


I.  CHRONICLES. 
Faith's  Review  and  Expectation, 17.. 


ib. 


NEHEMIAH. 
42.  The  Joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  Strength,  9 539 

JOB. 

4".  O  that  I  were  as  in  months  past ' 29 ib. 

44.  The  Change, 29 ib. 


540 
ib. 


f  ib. 
■\541 


PSALMS. 

45.  Pleading  for  Mercy 6.. 

46.  None  upon  earth  besides  thee, 73., 

\~^~l  The  Believer's  Safety, 91.. 

49.  He  led  them  by  a  right  Way,  107 ib. 

50.  What  shall  I  render,  \e IIP ib. 

51.  Dwelling  in  Meshech,    120 ib. 

PROVERBS. 

52.  Wisdom 8.. 

53.  A  Friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a 

Brother, 18. 

ECCLESIAsTES. 

54.  Vanity  of  Life, I.. 

55.  Vanity  of  the  World, I. 

56.  Vanity  of  Creatures  sanctified, 1. 


SOLOMON'S  SONG. 
57.  The  Name  of  Jesus, 1. 


512 

ib. 

5  13 
ib. 
ib. 

ib. 


58. 
59. 

60. 
61. 
62. 
63. 
64. 
85. 


ISAIAH. 

O  Lord,  I  willpr2ise  thee, , 12 544 

The  River,  Refuge,  and  Rock  ot  the 

Church, 32 ib. 

Zion,  or  the  City  of  God, 33 ib. 

Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved, 45 545 


The  Good  Phvsician, 45. 

To  the  afflicted,  &c 54. 

The  contrite  Heart, 57. 

The  future  Peace  and  Glory  of  the 
Church,  61 ., 


JEREMIAH. 

Trust  of  the  Righteous  anrt  Wicked,   17  , 
Jehovah  Tsidkenu  ;  or,  The  Lord  our 
Righteousness, 23. 


ib. 

546 

ib. 

ib. 


ib. 


Chap. 
31. 


Hymn 

68.  Ephraim  repenting, 

LAMENTATIONS. 

69.  The  Lord  is  my  Portion, 3... 

EZEKIEL. 

70.  Humbled  and  silenced  by  Mercy,  _...  16... 

71.  T tie  Covenant, 36... 

72.  Jehovah  Shammah;  or  The  Lord  is 

there, 4S>... 

DANIEL. 

73.  The  Power  and  Triumph  of  Faith,  3,  6... 

74.  Belshazzar, 5... 

JONAH. 


CONTENTS. 

Hymn 


page 
.  547 


ib. 


548 
ib. 

ib. 


ib. 

594 


ib. 


PHILIPPIANS. 


Chap. 
4.. 


75    The  Gourd, .... 

ZECHARIAH. 

76.  Prayer  for  the  Lord's  Presence, 2 ib. 

77.  A  Brand  plucked  out  of  the  Fire, 3 550 

78.  On  one  Stone  shall  be  seven  Eyes, ....  3 ib. 

79.  Praise  for  the  Fountain  opened, 13 551 

MALACHI. 

80.  They  shall  be  mine,  saith  the  Lord,...  3. 


131.  Contentment, 

HEBREWS. 

132.  Old  Testament  Gospel, ..... ■}... 

133.  The  Word  quick  and  powerful,  4... 

134.  Looking  unto  Jesus, 1|— 

135.  Love  Tokens,. -   '-— 

REVELATION. 

136.  Ephesus,  ?"• 

137.  Smyrna,  »■  ■ 

138.  Sardis,   »••' 

139.  Philadelphia,  «•■■ 

140.  Laodicea "•■ 

141.  The  Little  Book, '"• 


V 

Page 

.   568 


ib. 
59 
ib. 
ib. 


57: 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 
571 

ib 


ib. 


81. 
82. 
83. 
84. 
85. 
86. 
87. 
88. 
89. 
90. 
91. 


92. 
93. 
94. 
95. 
96. 
97. 


98. 

99. 
100. 
101. 
102. 
103. 
104. 
105 
106. 
107. 
H'S. 
109. 
110. 


MATTHEW. 

The  Beggar, 7 ib. 

The  Leper, 8 5.^2 

A  sick  Soul, 9 >B- 

Satan  returning, 12 ib. 

The  Sower, 13 553 

Wheat  and  Tares 13 ib 

Peter  walking  on  the  Waters, 14 ib. 

The  Woman  of  Canaan, 15 ib. 

What  think  ye  of  Christ ! 22 554 

The  foolish  Virgins, 25 ib. 

Peter  sinning  and  repenting 26 ib. 

MARK. 

Legion  dispossessed 5... 

The  Ruler's  Daughter  raised, 5... 

But  one  Loaf, - 8... 

Bartimeus,  -  10... 

The  House  of  Prayer, 11... 

The  blasted  Fig-tree, 11 ... 

LUKE. 

The  two  Debtors,  7... 

The  good  Samaritan 10.. 

Martha  and  Mary,  10.. 

The  Heart  taken, 11.. 

The  Worldling, 12.. 

The  barren  Fig-tree, 13.. 

The  Prodigal, 15., 

The  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus, 16., 

The  importunate  Widow, 18., 

Zacclv"-        „  19., 

i  ne  Believer's  Danger  and  Safety,    22., 

Father,  forgive  them 23.. 

The  two  Malefactors,    23., 


BOOK  II. 

ON  OCCASIONAL  SUBJECTS. 

I.  SEASONS. 

New-Year  Hymns. 

Time  how  swift,  3'- 

Time  how  short,  "  • 

Uncertainty  of  Life, •■• °.'J 

A  New-year's  Thought  and  Prayer, ib. 

j.  Death  and  War ID- 

6.  Earthly  Prospects  deceitful,   ^i1* 

Before  Annual  Sermons. 

7.  Prayer  for  a  Blessing,  lb- 

8.  Another,  " 

9.  Another,  

10.  Casting  the  Gospel-net, 


555 

ib. 
556 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 


ib. 
558 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 
559 

ib. 
560 

ib. 

ib. 
561 

ib. 


575 

ib. 

11.  Pleading  for  and  with  Youth,  ;t>. 

12.  Prayer  for  Children,  «>. 

5/0 


JOHN. 

111.  The  Woman  of  Samaria, 4 ib. 

J}?.- "V  The  Pool  of  Bethesda, 5 £  ^ 

114.  The  Disciples  at  Sea, 6 ib. 

115.  Will  ye  also  go  away  ?  6 5' 3 

116.  The  Resurrection  and  the  Life, 11 ib. 

117.  Weeping  Mary, 20 ib. 


US. 
119. 


Lovest  thou  me  ?  21. 


ib. 
564 


ACTS. 

120.  The  Death  of  Stephen,  ..'. 7.. 

121.  The  Rebel's  Surrender  to  Grace, 9.. 

122.  Peter  released  from  Prison, 12.. 

123.  The  trembling  Gaoler 16.. 

124.  The  Exorcist, 19., 

125.  Paul's  Voyage, 27.. 

ROMANS. 

126.  The  Good  that  I  would,  I  do  not,  ...  7., 

127.  Salvation  drawing  nearer,  13., 


I.  CORINTHIANS. 

128.  The  Rock  was  Christ, 


10. 


ib. 

ib. 
565 

ib. 

ib. 
£66 


ib. 
ib. 


567 


II.  CORINTHIANS. 

129.  My  Grace  is  sufficient  for  thee, 12., 

GALATIANS. 

130.  The  inward  Warfare,  5. 


13.  The  Shunamite, 

14.  Elijah's  Praver,  }»• 

15.  Preaching  to  the  dry  Bones,  in. 

16.  The  Rod  of  Moses, 5/7 

17.  God  speaking  from  Mount  Zion, 10. 

18.  Prayer  for  Power  on  the  Means, ib. 

19.  Elijah's  Mantle, *"• 

After  Annual  Sermons. 

David's  Charge  to  Solomon 578 

The  Lord's  Call  to  his  Children,  ib. 

The  Prayer  of  Jabez,  ib. 

Waiting  at  Wisdom's  Gates,  )79 

Asking  the  Way  to  Zion ib. 

Wewere  Pharaoh's  Bondmen - ib. 

Travailing  in  Birth  for  Souls, 580 

We  are  Ambassadors  for  Christ,  ,,«....-.».,....«  ib. 

Paul's  farewell  Charge,  ib 

How  shall  I  put  thee  among  the  Children,  ib 

Winter,  58 

Waiting  for  Spring, ib 

Spring,  >'> 

Another,  5.H- 

Summer  Storms,  lb. 

Hay-Time,  583 

Harvest, 'h. 

Christmas. 

37.  Praise  for  the  Incarnation,  ib. 

38.  Jehovah  Jesus,  ib. 

39.  Man  honoured  above  Angels 584 

40.  Saturday  Evening ib. 

41.  Close  of  the  Year,  Ebenezer,  ib. 

42.  Another,  585 

II.  ORDINANCES. 

43.  Opening  a  Place  for  social  Prayer ib. 

44.  Another, 5Sfi 

45.  The  Lord's  Day, ib. 

46.  Gospel-privileges,   ib. 

47.  Another,  ib. 

48.  Praise  for  their  Continuance,  58" 

49.  A  Famine  of  the  Word,   ib. 

50.  Prayer  for  Ministers, ib. 

51.  Prayer  for  a  Revival,  5SS 

52.  Hoping  for  a  Revival,  ib. 

Sacramental  Hymns. 

53.  Welcome  to  the  Table ib. 


20. 
21. 
22, 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 
30. 
31. 
32. 
33. 
34. 
55. 
56. 


ib. 


ib. 


54.  Christ  crucified,  58d 

55.  Jesus  hasting  to  suffer,  il). 

56.  It  is  good  to  be  here,  ib. 

57.  Looking  at  the  Cross iii 

58.  Supplies  in  the  Wilderness,  59C 


VI 

Hymn 

5y.  Communion  with  Saints  in  Glory, 

Prayer. 

60.  Exhortation  to  Prayer, 

61.  Power  of  Prayer,  


CONTENTS. 


Pagi 

.  590 


ib. 
ib. 


Scripture. 

62.  light  and  Glory  of  the  Word,  591 

63.  Word  more  precious  than  Gold, ib. 

III.  PROVIDENCES. 

64.  On  the  Commencement  of  Hostilities,  592 

Fast-Day  Hymns. 

65.  Confession  and  Prayer,  ib. 

66.  Moses  and  Amalek,  ib. 

67.  The  Hiding  Place 593 

68.  On  the  Earthquake,  1775,  ....- ib. 

69.  Fire  at  Olney,  1777,  'b- 

70.  Welcome  to  Christian  Friends,  594 

71.  At  Parting, ib. 

Funeral  Hymns. 

72.  On  the  Death  of  a  Believer, ib. 

73.  Death  of  a  Minister, 595 

74.  lhe  Toiling  Bell, ib. 

75.  Hope  beyond  the  Grave, ib. 

76.  There  the  weary  are  at  rest,  ib. 

77.  The  Day  of  Judgment, 596 

78.  The  Day  of  the  Lord, ib. 

79.  The  Great  Tribunal, ib. 

IV.  CREATION 

80.  The  old  and  new  Creation, 597 

81.  Book  of  Creation, ib. 

82.  The  Rainbow,  ib. 

85.  Thunder,  5g8 

84   Lightning  in  the  Night, ib. 

85.  Eclipse  of  the  Moon,  1776, ib. 

86.  Moon-Light, 599 

87.  The  Sea,  ib. 

88.  The  Flood, ib. 

89.  The  Thaw, ib. 

90.  The  Loadslone,  600 

91.  The  Spider  and  Bee, ib. 

92.  The  Bee  saved  from  the  Sp  der, ib. 

95.  The  tamed  Lion,  6IH 

91.  Sheep, ib. 

95.  The  Garden,  ib. 

96  For  a  Garden-Seat,  or  Summer-House,  G02 

97-  Creatures  in  the  Lord's  Hands,  ib. 

98.  On  Dreaming,  , ib. 

99.  The  World,1. 603 

100.  The  Enchantment  dissolved,  ib. 


BOOK  III. 

ON  THE  RISE,  PROGRESS,    CHANGES,    AND  COM- 
FORTS OF  THE  SPIRITUAL  LIFE. 
Hymn  pase 

I.  SOLEMN  ADDRESSES  TO  SINNERS. 

1.  Expostulation,  60/1 

2.  Alann, ib. 

3.  We  were  once  as  vou  a  e ' 605 

4.  Prepare  to  meet  God,  ib. 

5.  Invitation, jj 

II.  SEEKING,  PLEADING,  AND  HOPING. 

The  burdened  Sinner,  ib. 

Heboid  1  am  vile 6-17 

The  shining  Light, .'..' ....".,     ib. 

Encouragement,   |t     j|, 

The  waiting  Soul,  ,..„" 608 

1!,  12.  The  Effort,  ...! "  jb 

13.  Seeking  the  Beloved,  '.'.!.!   6U9 

14.  Rest  for  weary  Souls, ...'.."..'".'.'.'.'.'..'".'.'    ib. 

„    ,.  _    ,.  HI.  CONFLICT. 

J5"  J-ignt  shining  out  of  Darkness 

16.   Welcome  Cross 

17-  Afflictions  sanctified  by  flip  Word 


6. 

7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 


...  ib. 
...  610 
..     ib. 


Hymn  ''•'"' 

IS'.    Temptation ib. 

19.  Looking  Upwards  in  a  Storm b. 

20.  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death, ti  1 1 

21.  The  Storm  Hushed, 1!) 

22.  Help  in  Time  of  Need, ib. 

23.  Peace  after  a  Storm, 612 

24.  Mourning  and  Longing ib. 

2.5.   Rejoice  the  soul  1  f  thv  Servant,  ib. 

26.  Scif-acrjuaintanee,  613 

27.  Hitter  and  Sweet,  ib. 

28.  Praver  for  Patience, ib. 

29.  Submission ib. 

30.  Why  should  I  complain  ? 614 

31.  Return,  O  Lord  !  how  long  ! ib. 

32.  Cast  down,  but  not  destroyed, ib. 

33.  The  benighted  Traveller,  615 

54.  The  Prisoner,  ib. 

35.  Perplexity  relieved, ib. 

36.  Prayer  answered  by  Crosses 616 

37.  I  will  trust  and  not  be  afraid, ib. 

38.  Questions  to  Unbelief, _ ib. 

39.  Great  Effects  by  small  Means,  017 

40  Whv  art  thou  cast  down  ?  &c ib. 

41.  The  Way  of  Access ib. 

42.  The  Pilgrim's  Song, 618 

IV.  COMFORT. 

43.  Faith  a  new  Sense,  ib. 

44.  The  happy  Change, ib. 

45.  Retirement 619 

46.  Jesus  my  All, ib. 

47.  The  hidden  Life,  ib. 

48.  Joy  and  Peace  in  Believing, ib. 

49.  True  Pleasure, 620 

50.  The  Christian, _ ib. 

51.  Lively  Hope  and  gracious  Fear,  „ ib. 

52.  Confidence, - ib. 

53.  Peace  restored 621 

54.  Hear  what  he  has  done,  ib. 

55.  Freedom  from  Care, .  ib. 

56.  Humiliation  and  Praise, 6-? 

57.  For  the  Poor, ib. 

58.  Home  in  View,  ib. 

V.  DEDICATION  AND  SURRENDER. 

59.  Old  things  passed  away, 623 

60.  Power  of  Grace ib. 

61.  My  Soul  thirsteth  for  God ib. 

62.  Love  constraining  to  Obedience, 6.'4 

63.  The  Heart  healed  and  changed  by  Merev, ib. 

64.  Hatred  of  Sin,  .". jb. 

t>5.  The  Child, ib. 

(16.  True  Happiness 625 

67.  The  happy  Debtor, ib. 

VI.  CAUTIONS. 

68.  The  new  Convert, ib. 

69.  True  and  False  Comforts, 626 

70.  True  and  False  Zeal, „ ib. 

71.  Living  and  Dead  Faith, ib. 

72.  Abuse  of  the  Gospel, ib. 

7.3.   The  Narrow  Way, 627 

74.  Dependence,  ". jb. 

75.  Not  of  Works, ib! 

76.  Sin's  Deceit.. "..'..'.  ,b! 

77-  Are  there  few  saved  ?  628 

78.  The  Sluggard, '".'."    jb_ 

79.  Not  hi  Word  but  in  Power,  !'..".'.     ib. 

VII.  PRAISE. 

80.  Praise  for  Faith,  c  13 

81.  Grace  and  Providence,  ."......""...."...'.'.'. ib. 

82.  Praise  for  Redeeming  Love ib. 

83.  I  will  praise  the  Lord  at  aU  times,  650 

84.  Perseverance jb. 

85.  Salvation ,  jb. 

86.  Reigning  Grace, ib! 

87.  Praise  to  the  Redeemer,  ..  .'.!'.'.'.".'.'.".'.'.'!'"."        !!'.  6.31 

88.  Man  by  Nature,  Grace  and  Glory ib. 

VIII.  SHORT  HYMNS. 

89—95.  Before  .Sermon kv> 

96—103.  After  Sermon,  '"!!.""  638 

104—107.  Gloria  Patri, !..'.!.  !.'.'!..'.'.  634 


CONTENTS. 


v  i 


POEMS. 


The  Paper  Kite;  or,  Pride  must  have  a  Fall, 
A  Thought  on  the  Sea-shore, 


Pase  I 

.    635  j  The  Spider  and  the  Toad. 

..     ib.  I 


Pa  ire 

..   63f 


A  TABLE 

BY  WHICH  TO   FIND  ANY  HYMN  FROM  THE  FIRST  LIKE. 


Page 
A 

A  Believer  free  from  care, 565 

Afflictions  do  not  corneal  ne, 

Afflictions,  though  they  seem  severe, 559 

A  garden  contemplation  suits,  601 

A  glance  from  heaven,  with  sweet  effect, 598 

A  shelter  from  the  rain  or  wind, : 

Ah!  what  can  I  do 606 

Alas  !  Elisha's  servant  cried, 558 

Alas  !  by  nature  how  deprav'd, 580 

A  lion,  thouch  bv  nature  viM    601 

Almighty  King!  whose  wondrous  hand, 629 

Although  on  massy  pillars  built, 9 

Amazing  grace !   (how  sweet  the  sound !) 538 

Approach,  my  soul,  the  mere   -scat, 608 

As  birds  their  infant  brood  protect, 518 

As  needles  point  towards  the  pole, 600 

As  once  for  Jonah,  so  the  Lord, 549 

As  parched  in  the  barren  sands 

As  some  tall  rock  amidst  the  waves, 564 

As  the  serpent  rnisd  by  Moses, 545 

As  the  sun  s  enliv'ning  ey" 594 

As  when  the  weary  traveller  gains, 622 

A  word  from  Jesus  calms  the  sea, 553 

A  worldling  spent  each  day, 559 

Before  Eli  ha's  gate, 538 

Becone,  unbelief, 6lfi 

Behold  the  throne  of  grace  ! 53fi 

Beneath  the  tyrant  Satan's  yoke, 579 

Beside  the  gospel-pool, 5fi! 

Bestow,  dear  cord,  upon  our  youth, 574 

Be  still,  my  heart!  these  anxious  cares, 617 

Bitter,  indeed,  the  waters  are 5?9 

Bleak  winter  is  subdu'd  at  length, 581 

Blinded  in  youth  by  Satan's  arts, U>3 

Breathe  from  (he  gentle  south,  O  Lord, 60S 

By  various  maxims,  forms,  and  rules, 509 

By  faith  in  Christ,  I  walk  with  God, 526 

By  the  poor  widow's  oil  and  meal, 537 

By  whom  was  David  taught, 

C 

Cheer  up,  my  soul,  there  is  a  mercy  seat, 6P8 

Chief  shepherd  of  thy  chosen  sheep 687 

Come,  my  soul,  thy  suit  prepare, 535 

Confirm  the  hope  thy  word  allows, 63'J 

Constrain'd  by  their  Lord  to  embark, 562 

Could  the  creatures  help  or  ease  us 555 

Courage,  my  soul !  behold  the  prize, 50.3 

D 

Darkness  overspreads  us  here, 566 

Day  of  judgment,  day  of  wondcis! 596 

Dear  Lord!  accept  a  sinful  heart, 6J3 

Destruction's  dangerous  road,  / 

Does  it  not  grief  and  wonder  move, 576 

Does  the  gospel  word  proclaim, 6l  9 

E 

Elijah's  example  declares, _ 55R 

Elisha,  struck  with  grief  and  awe, <77 

Encourag'd  by  thy  word 551 

Ensnar'd  too  long  niv  heart  has  been, 579 

Ere  God  had  built  the  mountains, 542 

F 

Far  from  the  world,  O  Lord,  I  flee, C19 

Father,  forgive  (the  Saviour  said,) ! 

Father  of  angels  and  of  men, I  r  ; 

Fervent  persevering  prayers, 565 

Fierce  passions  discompose  the  mind, 

Fix  my  heart  and  eyes  on  thine  ! 625 

Forest  beasts,  that  live  by  prey 615 

For  mercies  countless  as  the  sands -  ji 


Page 

From  Egypt  lately  freed l!lil 

From  pole  to  pole  let  others  roam a«l 

From  Sheba  a  distant  report, ao° 

G 

Gladness  was  spread  through  Israel's  host, 587 

Glorious  things  of  thee  are  spoken, 514 

Glory  to  cod  the  Father's  name, 634 

God  gives  his  mercies  to  be  spent........ •• 543 

God,  with  one  piercing  glance,  Iooks  through, 596 

God  moves  in  a  mvsterious  way, 6'  9 

Cod  .  f  my  life,  to  thee  I  call, 610 

Grace  triumphant  in  the  throne, . 627 

Gracious  Lord,  our  children  see, o75 

1! 

llappv  are  they,  to  whom  the  Lord, Ssfi 

Hark,"  my  soul !  it  is  the  Lord, .V  3 

Hark!  how  time's  wide-sounding  bell, 573 

Happy  the  birth  where  grace  presides, 6-'5 

Heal  us,  Emmanuel,  here  we  are, 529 

Hear  what  God  the  Lord  hath  spoken, 546 

Hear  what  the  I  ord„  the  great  Amen, 571 

He  who  on  earth  as  man  was  known, .-  5  14 

Here  at  Bethcsda's  pool,  the  poor. 5   _' 

His  master  taken  from  his  head, 59.5 

IIolv  Lord  God!  I  love  thy  truth, 624 

Honour  and  happiness  unite, 620 

Honey  though  the  bee  prepares, 543 

How  blest  the  righteous  are 531 

How  blest  thy  creature  is,  O  God 6    > 

How  David,  when  by  sin  deeeiv'd, 3  1 

How  hurtful  was  the  choice  of  Lot, i  6 

How  kind  the  good  Samaritan,  557 

How  lost  was  my  condition 54  > 

How  soon  the  Saviour's  gracious  call,  I  28 

How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds,  5  13 

How  tedious  and  tasteless  the  hours 40 

How  welcome  to  the  sa  npress'd, I 

Hungry,  and  faint,  and  poor,  a 632 

I  am,  saith  Christ,  vour  glorious  head,  -.  -, 

I  the  Lord  that  I  might  grow, ,,; 

If  for  a  time  the  air  be  calm 599 

If  Paul  in  Caesar's  court  must  stand, 

If  Solomon  for  wisdom  prayed, 

If  the  Lord  our  leader  be,  5  g 

If  to  Jesus  for  relief, 616 

Incarnate  God  !  the  soul  that  knows, 510 

In  evil  long  I  took  delight, 5fc9 

In  mercy,  not  in  wrath,  rebuke, 5  id 

In  themselves,  as  weak  as  worms, 590 

In  vain  my  fancy  strives  to  paint,  594 

Israel  in  ancient  days,  5C8 

I  thirst,  but  not  as  once  I  did :  ..; 

1  was  a  grov'lling  creature  once,  6'_'0 

I  will  praise  thee  ev'ry  day,  544 

I  would,  but  cannot  sing, 566 

Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord's  anointed,  550 

Jesus,  to  what  didst  thou  submit 'CI 

Jesus,  who  bought  us  with  his  blood 578 

Jesus,  whose  blood  so  freely  stream'd,  532 

Jesus,  where'er  thy  people  meet, 586 

Jesus  Is  mine  !  I'm  now  prepar'd,  C53 

John,  in  a  vision,  saw  the  day, 

Joy  is  a  fruit  that  will  not  grow,  559 

K 

Kindle,  Saviour,  in  my  heart, 6  ~ 

Kindred  in  Christ,  for  his  dear  sake,  5    i 

L 

Legion  was  my  name  by  nature 5 

Let  hearts  and  tongues  unite,  

Let  us  adore  tiie  grace  that  seeks, 


CONTENTS. 


Vlll 

Page 

Let  me  dwell  on  Golgotha, 5|9 

Let  us  love,  and  sing,  and  wonder 629 

Let  worldly  minds  the  world  pursue, bZ3 

Lord,  my  soul  with  pleasure  springs, 620 

Lord,  thou  hast  won,  at  length  I  yield,  564 

Lord,  who  hast  sutTer'd  all  for  me, 613 

Lord,  what  is  man  !  extremes  how  wide, bol 

M 

Manna  to  Israel  well  supplied 530 

Martha  her  love  and  joy  express d, 5.i8 

Mary  to  her  Saviour's  tomb,  563 

May  the  graee  of  Christ  our  Saviour,  633 

Mercy,  O'thou  Son  of  David!  556 

My  barns  are  full,  my  stores  increase, 5o8 

My  former  hopes  are  dead 607 

My  God  !  how  perfect  are  thy  ways  ! 54  i 

My  God  !  till  I  reeeiv'dthy  stroke, lb. 

My  harp  untun'd,  and  laid  aside 588 

My  song  shall  bless  the  Lord  of  all, 583 

My  soul  once  had  its  plenteous  years, 528 

My  soul  this  curious  house  of  clay, 595 

My  soul  is  beset 607 

My  soul  is  sad  and  much  dismayed, 611 

N 

Nay,  I  cannot  let  thee  go, 528 

No  strength  of  nature  can  suffice, 624 

No  words  can  declare, 604 

Not  to  Sinai's  dreadful  blaze, 632 

Now,  gracious  Lord,  thine  arm  reveal, 574 

Now  let  us  join  with  hearts  and  tongues, 584 

Now  may  fervent  prayer  arise, .  575 

Now  may  the  Lord  reveal  his  face, 630 

Now,  Lord,  inspire  the  preacher's  heart, 632 

Now  may  lie  who  from  the  dead, 653 

O 

Of  all  the  gifts  th  ine  hand  bestows, 629 

Often  thv  public  means  of  grace, 632 

Oft  as  the  bell,  with  solemn  toll, 595 

Oft  as  the  leper's  case  I  read, 552 

Oft  in  vain  the  voice  of  truth, 574 

O  God,  whose  favourable  eye,   626 

O  David's  Son,  and  David's  Lord  ! 578 

O  Lord,  our  languid  souls  inspire 585 

O  Lord,  how  vile  am  I  !  607 

O  Lord,  my  best  desire  fulfil, 613 

O  thou,  at  whose  almighty  word 577 

O  happy  they  who  know  the  Lord,  586 

O  speak  that  gracious  word  again 621 

Oh'!  for  a  closer  walk  with  God, 526 

Oh  !  may  the  power  which  melts  the  rock,  592 

O  how  I  love  thy  holy  word, 610 

Once  a  woman  silent  stood, 557 

Once  perishing  in  blood  I  lay,  54s 

Once,  while  we  aimed  at  Zion's  songs, 587 

On  man,  in  his  own  image  made, 525 

On  the  same  flower  we  often  see, 600 

One  awful  word  which  Jesus  spoke, 556 

One  glance  of  thine,  eternal  Lord,  617 

One  there  is  above  all  others 542 

Oppress'd  with  unbelief  and  sin, 567 

Our  Lord,  who  knows  full  well, 5G0 


Simon,  beware  !  the  Saviour  said,  

Sin,  when  view'd by  scripture-light, 

Sinner,  art  thou  still  secure  ?  

Sinners,  hear  the  Saviour's  call,  

Sin  euslav'd  me  many  years,  

Sin  has  undone  our  wretched  race,  

Sometimes  a  light  surprises 

Son  of  God!  thy  people  shield 

Sov'reign  grace  has  power  alone, ™' 

Stop,  poor  sinner!  stop  and  think M» 

Strange  and  mysterious  is  my  life 0°i 

Supported  by  the  word j™ 

Sweet  was  the  time  when  first  I  felt, o«» 

Sweeter  sounds  than  music  knows,  •)8,> 


Pngt 

.    500 

.  627 

,.    605 

,.  eoe 
..  624 

..  675 

..   619 

...   549 


591 
592 
.'.97 
598 
599 
ib. 
600 
601 
602 

•  610 
.  6i2 

•  C.J5 
616 


Pensive,  doubting,  fearful  heart,  546 

Physician  of  my  sin-sick  soul, 552 

Pleasing  spring  again  is  here,  5t>2 

Poor  Esau  repented  too  late,  527 

Poor  sinners  !  little  do  they  think,  549 

Poor,  weak,  and  worthless  though  I  am, 555 

Prayer  an  answer  will  obtain 553 

Preachers  may,  from  Ezekiel's  case, 576 

Precious  Bible  !  what  a  treasure,  591 

Prepare  a  thankful  song, 631 

Q 
Quiet,  Lord,  my  froward  heart, 621 

Refresh'd  by  the  bread  and  wine 590 

Rejoice,  beiiever,  in  the  Lord, 630 

Remember  us  we  pray  thee,  Lord, 652 

Return  to  bless  my  waiting  eyes,  614 

S 

Safely  through  another  week, 584 

Salvation!  what  a  glorious  plan, 630 

Sav'd  by  blood,  I  live  to  tell,   621 

Saviour,  shine,  and  cheer  my  soul,   539 

Saviour,  visit  thy  plantation, 588 

See  Aaron,  God's  anointed  priest,  531 

See!  another  year  is  gone,  573 

See  !  how  rude  winter's  icy  hiOid, 581 

Sec!  the  corn  again  in  ear,  583 

Seethe  gloomy  gath'ring  cloud,  593 

S  e  the  world  tor.  youth  prepares,  603 

shall  men  pretend  to  pleasure,  605 

Sight,  hearing,  feeling,  taste  and  sniell,   618 


Ten  thousand  talents  once  I  ow'd, 625 

That  was  a  wonder-working  woid,  597 

That  man  no  guard  or  weapons  needs,  541 

The  church  a  garden  is 558 

The  God  who  once  to  Israel  spoke,  ............ 577 

The  grass,  and  flowers  which  clothe  the  held, 5*5 

The  Lord,  our  salvation  and  light,  584 

The  Spirit  breathes  upon  the  word, 

The  gath'ring  clouds  with  aspect  dark, 

The  book  of  nature  open  lies,  

The  moon  in  silver  glory  shone 

The  moon  h  :s  but.  a  borrow'd  light, 

The  ice  and  snow  we  lately  saw,  

The  subtle  spider  often  weaves 

The  Saviour  calls  his  people  sheep, < 

The  water  stood  like  walls  of  brass 

The  billows  swell,  the  winds  are  high, 

The  Saviour  hides  his  face,   

The  new-born  child  of  gospel-grace, 

Th?  Lord  receives  his  highest  praise,  

The  wishes  that  the  sluggard  frames, 628 

The  saints  Emmanuel's  portion  are, 633 

The  peace  which  God  alone  reveals, ib. 

The  Father  we  adore,  654 

The  castle  of  the  human  heart, 55s 

The  evils  that  beset  our  path,  543 

The  kine  unguided  went, 534 

The  Lord  will  happiness  divine, 546 

The  Lord  proclaims  his  grace  abroad,  548 

The  lion  that  on  Samson  roar'd 553 

The  manna,  favour'd  Israel's  meat,  550 

The  message  first  to  Smyrna  sent, 570 

The  prophets  sons,  in  times  of  old, 55s 

The  Saviour!  what  a  noble  flame 589 

The  saints  should  never  be  dismayed, 527 

The  Shunamite  oppress'd  with  grief 576 

The  signs  which  God  to  Gideon  gave, 532 

The  word  of  Christ  our  Lord,  569 

There  is  a  fountain  fill'd  with  blood, 551 

This  is  the  feas;  of  heavenly  wine,  588 

Though  Jericho  pleasantly  stood, 537 

Though  in  the  outward  church  below 553 

Though  cloudy  skies,  and  northern  blasts, 581 

Though  troubles  assail,  527 

Though  the  morn  may  be  serene,  5^2 

Though  small  the  drops  of  falling  rain, 599 

Though  sore  beset  with  guilt  and  fear,  614 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  to  Ephesus,  570 

Thus  saith  the  Holy  One  and  true, ib. 

Thy  mansion  is  the  Christian's  heart, 556 

Thy  message,  by  the  preacher,  seal, 5s0 

Thy  promise,  Lord,  and  thy  command, (  32 

Time,  with  an  unwearied  hand, 572 

Time,  by  moments,  steals  away, , 57c 

'Tis  a  point  I  long  to  know, 561 

'Tis  my  happiness  below, 010 

'Tis  past,— the  dreadful  stormy  night, 01 1 

To  keep  the  lamp  alive, ,..,.  627 

To  tell  the  Saviour  all  my  wants, 6:9 

To  thee  our  wants  are  known, 655 

To  those  who  know  the  Lord  I  speak, !..'.]]!....  609 

Too  many,  Lord,  abuse  thy  grace, '       i26 

U 

Unbelief  the  soul  dismays, C17 

Uncertain  how  the  way  to  find, (.'5 

Unless  the  Lord  had  been  my  stay, Gil 

W 

Wearied  by  day  with  toils  and  cares, 593 

We  seek  a  rest  beyond  the  skies, 633 

What  a  mournful  life  is  mine, 5  H 

What  contradictions  meet, 580 

What  thousands  never  knew  the  road 627 

What  think  you  of  Christ?  is  the  test, 5    1 

What  various  hindrances  we  meet i9  1 

When  Adam  fell  he  quickly  lost,     5.5 

When  first  to  make  my  heart  his  own, 555 

When  first  mv  soul  enlisted 534 

When  Hannah,  press'd  with  grief 533 

When  Jesus  claims  the  sinner's  heart, 55" 


CONTENTS. 


IX 


fage 

When  Joseph  his  brethren  beheld 529 

When  Israel,  by  divine  commend 5911 

When  Israel's  tribes  were  parch'd  with  thirst, 567 

When  Israel  heard  the  fiery  law 551 

Vi  hen  Israel  was  from  Egypt  freed,  541 

\\  hen  Joshua,  by  God's  command, 552 

When  Peter  boasted,  soon  he  fell, 554 

When  sinners  utter  boasting  words, 551 

When  the  disciples  cioss'd  the  lake 556 

When  the  apostles  wonders  wrought, 565 

When  descending  from  the  sky, 554 

When  any  turn  from  Zion's  way,   563 

When  the  belov'd  disciple  took, 571 

When  Peter  through  the  tedious  night, 575 

When  Moses  waved  his  mystic  rod, 577 

When  Paul  was  parted  from  his  friends 58(1 

When  on  the  eross  my  Lord  I  see, 589 

When  the  sun  with  cheerful  beams, 597 

When  a  black  o'erspreading  cloud 598 

When  slumber  seals  our  weary  eyes, 602 

When  darkness  long  has  veil'dmy  mind, 612 


Page 

When  my  prayers  are  a  burden  and  task, 612 

When  my  Saviour  my  Shepherd,  is  near 614 

When  the  poor  pris'ner  through  a  grate,  515 

When  the  wounded  spirit  hears, 622 

When  Hagar  found  the  bottle  spent, ib. 

While  with  ceaseless  course  the  sun, 572 

While  Joshua  led  the  armed  bands, 592 

While  I  liv'd  without  the  Lord,.., 621 

Why  should  I  fear  the  darkest  hour, 619 

Winter  has  a  joy  foi  me, 630 

With  Satan,  my  accuser  near,  550 

With  Israel's  God  who  can  compare? 633 

Write  to  Sardis,  saith  the  Lord, 570 

V 
Yre  saints  on  earth,  ascribe  with  heaven's  high  host,  634 

Ve  sons  of  earth,  prepare  the  plough, 555 

Yes',  since  God  himself  has  said  it, 6-0 

Z 

Zaceheus  climb'd  the  tree, 560 

Zeal  is  that  pure  and  heavenly  flame, 636 

Zion!  the  city  of  our  God, „ 579 


MESSIAH,  &c 


v 


PART  J. 

Page 

6ERMON  I — The   Consolation *'   Comfort  ye, 

comfort  ye  my  people,  saith  your  God.  Speak 
ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem,  and  cry  unto  her, 
that  her  warfare  is  accomplished,  that  her  iniqui- 
ty is  pardoned :  for  she  hath  received  at  the 
Lord's  hand  double  for  all  her  sins,"  Isaiah  xl. 
1,  2 643 

SERMON  II.— The  Harbinger.—"  The  voice  of 
him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the 
way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert  a  high- 
way for  our  God.  Every  valley  shall  be  exalted, 
and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  made  low, 
and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the 
rough  places  plain.  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
shall  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  to- 
gether, for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken 
it,"  Isaiah  xl.  5 — 5, 648 

SERMON  III.— The  Shaking  of  the  Heavens  and 
the  Earth. — '*  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  Yet 
once,  it  is  a  little  while,  and  I  will  shake  the  hea- 
vens and  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  dry 
land :  And  I  will  shake  all  nations,  and  the  de- 
sire of  all  nations  shall  come,  and  I  will  1U1  this 
house  with  glory,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,"  Hag- 
gai  ii.  6,  7, 652 

SERMON  IV.— The  Lord  coming  to  his  Temple.— 
"  The  Lord  whom  ye  seek,  shall  suddenly  come 
to  his  temple ;  even  the  messenger  of  the  cove- 
nant in  whom  ye  delight :  Bi  hold,  he  shall  come 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  But  who  may  abide  the 
day  of  his  coming  ?  and  who  shall  stand  when  he 
appeareth  ?  for  he  is  like  a  refiner's  lire,  and  like 
fuller's  soap — and  he  shall  purify  the  sous  of  Le- 
vi~that  they  may  offer  unto  the  Lord  an  oflering 
in  righteousness,"  Malachi  iii.  1 — 5, 655 

SERMON  V — Immanuel.—"  Behold  a  virgin  shall 
conceive,  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name 
Immanuel"  (God  with  us),  Isaiah  vii.  14, 660 

SERMON  VI.— Salvation  published  from  the 
Mountains "  O  Zion,  that  bringest  good  tid- 
ings, get  thee  up  into  the  high  mountains.  O 
Jerusalem,  that  bringest  good  tidings,  lift  up  thy 
voice  with  strength,  lift  it  up,  be  not  afraid :  say 
unto  the  cities  of  Judah,  Behold  your  God  !"  Is- 
aiah xl.  9, 664 

SERMON  VII.— The  Morning  Light.—"  Arise, 
shine,  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  is  risen  upon  thee.  For  behold,  the  dark- 
ness shall  cover  the  earth,  and  gross  darkness  the 
people  ;  but  the  Lord  shall  arise  upon  thee,  and 
nis  glory  shall  be  seen  upon  thee,  and  the  Gen- 
tiles sh  .11  come  to  thy  light,  and  lings  to  the 
brightness  of  thy  rising,"  Isaiah  lx.  1 — 3, 667 

SERMON  VIII.— The  Sun  rising  upon  a  dark 
florid. — "  The  people  that  walked  in  darkness 
have  seen  a  great  light;  they  that  dwell  in  t:  e 
land  of  the  shadow  of  death,  upon  them  hath 
i-he  light  shined,"  Isaiah  ix.  2, 071 

SERMON   IX.— Characters  and  Names  of  Mcs- 


Pagi 
siah. — "  For  unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a 
son  is  given;  and  the  government  shall  be  upon 
his  shoulder :  and  his  name  shall  be  called  Won- 
derful, Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God,  the  Ever- 
lasting Father,  the  Prince  ol  peace,"  Isaiah  ix.  6,  674 

SERMON  IX.— The  AngeCs  Message  and  Song.— 
"There  were  in  the  same  country  shepherds, 
abidii  g  in  the  field,  keeping  watch  over  their 
flocks  by  night.  And  lo,  the  ang^el  of  the  Lord 
came  upon  them,  and  the  glory  ot  the  Lord  shone 
round  about  them,  and  they  were  sore  afraid 
And  the  angel  said  unto  them,  Fear  not:  for  be- 
hold I  bring  unto  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy, 
which  shall  be  unto  all  people.  For  unto  you  is 
born  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Saviour, 
which  is  Christ  the  Lcrd.  And  this  shall  be  a 
sign  unto  you  :  Ve  shall  find  the  babe  wrapped 
in  swaddling-clothes,  lying  in  a  manger.  And 
suddenly  there  was  with  the  angel  a  multitude 
of  the  heavenly  host,  praising  God,  and  say- 
ing, Glory  be  to  God  in  the  highest,  on  earth 
peace,  good-will  towards  men,"  Luke  ii.  8 — 14,     678 

SERMON  XI. — Messiah's  Entrance  into  Jerusa- 
lem.— "Rejoice  greatly,  O  daughter  of  Zion; 
shout,  O  daughter  of  Jerusalem,  behold  thy  King 
cometh  unto  thee :  he  is  just  and  having  salva- 
tion, lowly,  and  riding  upon  an  ass,  and  upon  a 
colt  the  foal  of  an  ass. — And  he  shall  speak  peace 
unto  the  heathen,"  Zeeh.  ix.  9,  l(i, tti 

SERMON  XII.— Effects  of  Messiah's  Appearance. 
— "  Then  the  eyes  of  the  blind  thah  ue  opened, 
and  the  cars  of  the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped  :  Then 
shall  the  lame  man  leap  as  an  hart,  and  the 
tongue  of  the  dumb  sing,"  Isaiah  xxxv.  5,  6, 685 

SERMON  XUl.— The  Great  Shepherd.— "  He  shall 
feed  his  flock  like  a  shepherd ;  he  shall  gather 
the  lambs  in  his  arm,  and  carry  them  in  his  bo- 
som; and  shall  gently  lead  those  that  are  with 
young,"  Isaiah  xl.  11, 68b 

SERMON  XIV.— Rest  for  the  Weary.—"  Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  1  est,"  Matt.  xi.  28, 692 

SERMON  XV.— Messiah's  easy  Yoke.—"  Take 
my  yoke  upon  you,  and  lcam  of  me,  for  I  am 
meek  and  lowly  m  heart;  and  ye  shall  find  rest  to 
your  souls.  For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  bur- 
den is  light,"  Matt.  xi.  29,  30, 693 


PART  U. 

SEtiMON  XVI.— The  Lamb  of  God,  the  Great 
Atonement. — "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which 
taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world  !"  John  i.  29,     69S 

SERMON  XV11  —Messiah  despised  and  rejected  of 
Men. — "  He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men  :  a 
man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief,"  Is- 
aiah liii.  5, 7U2 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON  XVIII. -Voluntary  Suffering.  —  "  i"'"" 
gave  my  back  to  the  smiters,  and  my  cheeks  to 
them  that  plucked  off  the  hair;  l  hid  not  ray 
.'',,'  me  and  spitting,"  Isaiah  I.  6,  ...    70€ 

bERMON  XIX.— Messiah  suffering  and  wmcnded 
for  us — "Surely  he  hath  borne  our  grief  and  ear- 
ned our  sorrows — He  was  woemded  for  our  trans- 
gressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities :  tl  : 
chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him  and 
with  Ins  stripes  we  are  healed,"  Isaiah  liii.  i  5 
SERMON  XX — Sin  charged  upon  theSureia  — 
"All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray;  we  have 
turned  every  one  to  his  own  way,  and  the  Lord 
hath  laid  unon  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all  "  Is 

aiahliii.  6, .,,  ' 

SERMON  XXI  —Messiah  derided  upon  the  Cross 
—  'All  they  that  see  me,  laugh  me  to  scorn; 
they  shoot  out  the  lip,  they  shake  the  head,  sav- 
ing, He  trusted  in  the  Lord  that  he  would  de- 
liver him  ;  let  him  deliver  him,  seeing  he  delight- 
ed in  him,"  Psalm  xxii.  7,  8,  .. .  tt? 
SERMON  XXII.— Messiah  unpitied'andwiihiut  ' 
comforter.  —"Reproach  (rebuke)  hath  broken 
my  heart,  and  I  am  full  of  heaviness:  and  I  look- 
ed for  some  to  take  pity,   but  there  was  none; 
and  lor  comforters,  but  I  found  none,"  Psal.  Ixix. 

sermon v v'i'iV" ;;; v.-    •  •  ■.: .- •  w ••-.•. —    ~18 


09 


12 


SERMON    XXXlV.-OppoMon    to   Messiah    {»*** 
vain.— "He  that  sittetn   in   the  heavens  shall 
laugh:  the  Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision" 
Psalm  11.  i, ' 

SERMON  XXXX.—Oppo siHon  toMTssQh'ruhi- 


757 


rhoushalt  break  them   with  a  rod  of 
like  a  pot- 

SERMONXXXVI. 


60 


on 

iron,  thou  shalt  dash  them  in  "pieces 

tert_ vessel,"  Psalm  ii.  9, , 

The  Lordreigveth "  Hali'e- 

lujan,  tor  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth  " 
Rev.  X'x.  fi, " 

?N,  XXXVII—TAe  "Extent'  "ofMiisiak's 
Spiritual  Kingdom.— "  The  kingdoms  of  this 

world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and 
ol  his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and 
ever,  Rev.  xi.  15, 
SERMON  X\xyill._/u„<r  of  Kings  and  Lord 
'J  Lords.— [And  he  hath  on  his  vesture,  and  on 
thigh,  a  name  written],  Kixc  op  Kings  and 
Lord  of  Lords,"  Rev.  xix.  16, 77 


ire 


'-•1 


XX I II — No  Sorrow  like  Messiah's  Sor- 
n'T'T,"  ,s  \l  nothing  t0  you,  all  ye  that  pass  by? 
Behold,  and  see  if  there  be  any  sorrow  like  unto 

my  sorrow,"  Lam.  1.  12,  _ 

SERMON  XXIV — Messiah's  Innocence  vindicat- 
ed— "  lie  was  taken  from  prison  and  from  judg- 
ment, and  who  shall  declare  his  generation  ?  For 
he  was  cut  off'  out  of  the  land  of  the  living;  for 
(lie  transgression  of  my  people  was  he  strieKen," 

Isaiah  liii.  8 794 

SERMON  XXV.—  Messiah  rising  from  the  Dead'.'— 
"  For  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell,  nei- 
ther wilt  thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  cor- 
ruption," Psalmxvi.  10, 77 

SERMON  XXVI — The  Ascension  of  Messiah  to 
Glory — "  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ve'  gates,  ami  be 
ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  door's,  and  the  King 
of  Glory  shall  come  in.  Who  is  this  King  of 
Glory  ?  The  Lord  strong  and  mighty,  the  Lord 
mighty  in  battle.  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ve 
gates,  even  lift  up,  ye  everlasting  doors,  and  trie 
King  of  Glory  shall  come  in.  Who  is  this  King 
of  Glory  ?  The  Lord  of  hosts,  he  is  the  King  of 

Glory,"  Psalm  xxiv.  7 — 10, 731 

SERMON  XXVII — Messiah  the  Son  of  God!— 


"  For  unto  which  of  the  angels  said  he  at  any 
time,  Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten 


thee?"  Heb.  i.  5,' 


134 


SERMON  XXVIII — Messiah  worshipped  by  An- 
gels.— "  Let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him," 
Heb.  i.  6, 737 

SERMON  XXIX.— Gifts  received  for  the  Rebel- 
lious.— "  Thou  hast  ascended  on  nigh,  thou  hast 
led  captivity  captive:  Thou  hast  received  gifts 
for  men ;  yea,  for  the  rebellious  also,  that  the 
Lord  God  might  dwell   among  them,"  Psalm 

ixviii.  18, 740 

liRMON  XXX — The  Publication  of  the  Gospel. 
—"  The  Lord  gave  the  word,  great  was  the 
company  of  those  that  published  it,"  (or  of  the 
preachers,)  Psalm  Ixviii.  11, 744 

SERMON  XXXI — The  Gospel  Message.glad  Tid- 
ings— [As  it  is  written],  "  How  beautiful  are 
the  feet  of  them  that  preach  the  gospel  of  peace, 
and  bring  glad  tidings  of  good  things  I"  Rom.  x. 
15. 717 

SERMON  XXXII.— The  Progress  of  the  Gospel  — 
"  Their  sound  went  into  all  the  earth,  and  their 
words  unto  the  end  of  the  world,"  Rom.  x.  18,     750 

SERMON  XXXIII — Opposition  to  Messiah  un- 
reasonable.— "  Why  do  the  heathen  rage,  and  the 
people  imagine  a  vain  thing  ?  The  kings  of  the 
earth  set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel 
together,  against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  A- 
nointed;  saying,  Let  us  break  the.r  bands  asun- 
der, and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us,"  Psalm 
ii.  1—3,  ... 754 


PART   III. 

SERMON  XXX\X.-.Toh's  Faith  and  Expect* 
fwT  I  l.now  that  mv  Redeemer  liveth,  and 
Mat  he  shall  stand  in  the  latter  day  upon  the 
earth.  And  though  after  my  skin,  worms  de- 
stroy this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God," 

Job-xix.  23,  26, '_  774 

SERMON  XL.— The  Lord  i.i  risen  indeed.'— "But 
now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead,  and  become 
the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept."  1  Cor.  xv.  2o,  777 
SERMON  XU.— Death  by  Adam,  Life  bu  Christ. 
—"  For  since  by  man  came  death,  bv  man  came 
also  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  For  as  in 
Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made 

alive,"  1  Cor.  xv.  21,  22, 700 

SERMON  XLII.-2Vke  General  Resurrection"- 
•Behold,  I  show  you  a  mystery.  We  shall  not 
all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed.  In  a  mo- 
ment, in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump, 
for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be 
raised  incorruptible,  and  we  shall  be  chanced 
For  this  corruptible  must  put  on  incorrupUon, 
and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immortality,  1  Cor. 

xv.  51,52, *#<  -.a-. 

SERMON  XL1II  —Death swallowed  up  in" Victory. 
—"Then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that 
is  written,  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory  '" 

1  Cor.  xv.  54,  3  '    ~87 

SERMON  XLIV.-Triumph  over' Death "anH "the 
brave.—"  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?   O  grave 
where  is  thy  victory  ?     The  sting  of  death  is  sin  \ 
and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law.     But  thanks  be 
to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory,  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  i  Cor.  xv.  55—37, .......  790 

R.^i£?  XLV.— Djwine  Support  aiul  Protection. 
—  •  What  shall  we  say  then  to  these  things  ?  If 
God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  f"  Rom 

wii.  31,  7q4 

SERMON  XL\l.-Accusers  chaUenge'd.-"''Who 
shall  lay  any  thing  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect' 

It  is  God  that  justifieth,"  Rom.  viii.  33 707 

SE.?«f?N.^LV11— The  Intercession  of  Christ.- 
•  Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?    It  is' Christ  that 
died,  yea  rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who  is  even 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh  inter- 
cession for  ms,"  Rom.  viii.  34 em 

SERMON  XLVUl.-TheSongofthe  nedeemeZ- 

lhou— hast    redeemed    us  to  God,    by    thy 

blood'  [out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and 

people,  and  nation],  Rev.  v.  9,  004 

SEjlMON  XLIX.-The  Chorus  of  Angels.-"  Wor- 
thy is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  to  receive  power 
and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  ho- 
nour, and  glory,  and  blessing  !"  Rev.  v  12.  810 
SERMON  L.-The  Universal  Chorus [And  ev- 
ery creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the 
earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in 
the  sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them,  heard  I,  say- 
ing,] "Blessing,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and  pow- 
er,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and 
unto  the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever,"  Rev.  v.  13, ...  gn 


CONTENTS. 


XI 


OCCASIONAL  SERMONS. 


Page 
The  Subject  and  Temper  of  the  Gospel  Ministry. — 

"  Speaking  the  truth  in  love," 

Ephesians  iv.  15,  821 

The  Guilt  and  Danger  of  svch  a  Nation  as  this  — 
"  Shall  I  not  visit  for  these  things,  saith  the 
Lord  ?  And  shall  not  my  soul  be  avenged  on 
such  a  nation  as  this  i"  Jeremiah  v.  29,  ., 824 

On  the  Death  of  Dr  Conyers.—"  So  being  affection- 
ately desirous  of  you,  we  were  willing  to  have 
imparted  unto  you,  not  the  gos>  el  of  God  only, 
but  also  our  own  souls,  because  ye  were  dear  unto 
us,"  1  These,  ii.  8, 833 

The  Best  Wisdom. — "  He  that  winneth  souls  is 
wise,"  Proverbs  xi.  30, 840 

The  Great  Advent.— ■"  For  the  Lord  himself  shall 
descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice 


Pags 
Cf  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  Gou :  and 
the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first :  then  we  which 
are  alive  and  remain,  shall  be  caught  up  together 
in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air ;  and 
so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord,"  1  Thess.  iv. 
16,  17,  - 85J 

The  imminent  Danger,  and  only  sure  Resource  of 
this  Nation. — "  Who  can  tell  if  God  will  turn 
and  repent,  and  turn  away  from  his  fierce  anger, 
that  we  perish  not?"  Jonah  iii.  9,  85 

Motives  to  Humiliation  and  Praise. — '*  How  shall  I 
give  thee  up,  Ephraim  ?  How  shall  I  deliver 
thee  Israel  ?  How  shall  I  make  thee  as  Admah  ? 
How  shall  I  set  thee  as  Zeboim  ?  My  heart  is 
turned  within  me,  my  repentings  are  Kindled  to- 
gether. I  will  not  execute  the  fierceness  of  mine 
anger,  I  will  not  return  to  destroy  Ephraim  ;  for 
I  am  God,  and  not  man,  the  Holy  One  in  the 
midst  of  thee,"  Hosea  xi.  8 — 9, - 864 


T  XI  A  C  T  S. 


Page 
APOLOGIA  ;    OB    FOUR    LETTERS    TO     A    MINIS- 
TER, &C. 

^ET.  1 877 

LET.  II 881 

LET.  Ill 885 

LET.  IV 8X9 


Page 
A    PI.AN    OF    ACADEMICAL    PREPARATION 

FOB  THE  MINISTRY,     897 

A  MONUMENT  TO  THE  LORD'S  GOODNESS, 
AND  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  MISS  ELIZA 
CUNNINGHAM,   913 


y 


I 


MEMOIRS 


or 


THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 


PREFACE. 


The  Memoirs  of  the  Hon.  and  Rev.  William  Bromley  Cado- 
gan,  and  those  of  John  Bacon,  Esq.  were  written  at  the  parti- 
cular request  of  their  relations.  But  in  publishing  these  of  the 
late  Rev.  John  Newton,  I  profess  myself  a  volunteer ;  and 
my  motives  were  the  following : — When  I  perceived  my  vene- 
rable friend  bending  under  a  weight  of  years,  and  considered 
how  soon,  from  the  very  course  of  nature,  the  world  must  lose 
so  valuable  an  instructor  and  example ;  when  I  reflected  how 
common  it  is  for  hasty  and  inaccurate  accounts  of  extraordinary 
characters  to  be  obtruded  on  the  public  by  venal  writers,  when- 
ever more  authentic  documents  are  wanting  ;  above  all,  when 
I  considered  how  striking  a  display  such  a  life  affords  of  the 
nature  of  true  religion,  of  the  power  of  divine  grace,  of  the 
mysterious  but  all-wise  course  of  divine  providence,  and  of  the 
encouragement  afforded  for  our  dependence  upon  that  provi- 
dence in  the  most  trying  circumstances  ;  I  say,  on  these  ac- 
counts I  felt,  that  the  leading  features  of  such  a  character  should 
not  be  neglected,  whilst  it  was  easy  to  authenticate  them  cor- 
rectly. 

Besides  which,  I  have  observed  a  want  of  books  of  a  certain 
class  for  young  people ;  and  have  often  been  inquired  of  by 
Christian  parents  for  publications  that  might  amuse  their  fami- 
lies, and  yet  tend  to  promote  their  best  interests.  The  num- 
ber, however,  of  this  kind  which  I  have  seen,  and  that  appear- 

B 


<2  PREFACE. 

ed  unexceptionable,  is  but  small  :  For,  as  the  characters  and 
sentiments  of  some  men  become  moral  blights  in  society,  men 
whose  mouths  seldom  open  but,  like  that  of  sepulchres,  they 
discover  the  putridity  they  contain,  and  infect  more  or  less 
whoever  ventures  within  their  baneful  influence  ;  so  the  re- 
formed subject  of  these  Memoirs  was  happily  a  remarkable  in- 
stance of  the  reverse  The  change  that  took  place  in  his  heart, 
after  such  a  course  of  profligacy,  affords  a  convincing  demon- 
stration of  the  truth  and  force  of  Christianity.  Instead  of  pro- 
ceeding as  a  blight  in  society,  he  became  a  blessing  ;  his  future 
course  was  a  striking  example  of  the  beneficial  effects  of  the 
Gospel ;  and  that,  not  only  from  the  pulpit  and  by  his  pen,  but 
also  by  his  conversation  in  the  large  circle  of  his  acquaintance, 
of  which  there  is,  yet  living,  a  multitude  of  witnesses. 

Impressed,  therefore,  with  the  advantages  which  I  conceived 
would  result  from  the  publication  of  these  Memoirs,  I  commu- 
nicated my  design  some  years  ago  to  Mr  N.  Whatever  tend- 
ed to  promote  that  cause  in  which  his  heart  had  been  long  en- 
gaged, I  was  sure  would  not  fail  to  obtain  his  concurrence. 
He  accordingly  promised  to  afford  whatever  materials  might  be 
necessary,  beyond  those  which  his  printed  Narrative  contained. 
He  promised  also  to  read  over  and  revise  whatever  was  added 
from  my  own  observation  ;  and  he  soon  after  brought  me  an 
Account  in  writing,  containing  every  thing  memorable  which 
he  recollected  before  the  commencement  of  his  Narrative.  I 
shall,  therefore,  detain  the  reader  no  longer  than  to  assure 
him,  that  the  whole  of  the  following  Memoirs  (except  what  re- 
lates to  Mr  N.'s  character)  was  submitted  to  him  in  MS.,  while 
he  was  capable  of  correcting  it,  and  received  his  sanction. 


MEMOIRS, 

Ac.  Ac. 


L  hese  Memoirs  seem  naturally  to  commence  with  the  Account  men- 
tioned in  the  Preface,  and  which  I  here  transcribe  : — 

"  I  was  born  in  London,  the  24th  of  July,  1725,  old  style.  My  pa- 
rents, though  not  wealthy,  were  respectable.  My  father  was  many 
years  master  of  a  ship  in  the  Mediterranean  trade.  In  the  year  1 748 
he  went  Governor  of  York  Fort,  in  Hudson's  Bay,  where  he  died  in  the 
year  1750. 

"  My  mother  was  a  Dissenter,  a  pious  woman,  and  a  member  of  the 
late  Dr  Jenning's  church.  She  was  of  a  weak,  consumptive  habit,  and 
loved  retirement ;  and  as  I  was  her  only  child,  she  made  it  the  chief  bu- 
siness and  pleasure  of  her  life  to  instruct  me,  and  bring  me  up  in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  I  have  been  told,  that  from  my 
birth  she  had,  in  her  mind,  devoted  me  to  the  ministry  ;  and  that,  had 
she  lived  till  I  was  of  a  proper  age,  I  was  to  have  been  sent  to  St  An- 
drews, in  Scotland,  to  be  educated.  But  the  Lord  had  appointed  other- 
wise.    My  mother  died  before  I  was  seven  years  of  age. 

"  I  was  rather  of  a  sedentary  turn,  not  active  and  playful,  as  boys 
commonly  arc,  but  seemed  as  willing  to  learn  as  my  mother  was  to  teach 
me.  I  had  some  capacity,  and  a  retentive  memory.  When  I  was  four 
years  old,  I  could  read  (hard  names  excepted)  as  well  as  I  can  now  ; 
and  could  likewise  repeat  the  answers  to  the  questions  in  the  Assem- 
bly's Shorter  Catechism,  with  the  proofs  ;  and  all  Dr  Watts'  smaller 
Catechisms,  and  his  Children's  Hymns. 

"  When  my  father  returned  from  sea,  after  my  mother's  death,  he 
married  again.  My  new  mother  was  the  daughter  of  a  substantial  gra- 
zier at  Aveley  in  Essex.  She  seemed  willing  to  adopt  and  bring  me 
up ;  but,  after  two  or  three  years;  she  had  a  son  of  her  own,  who  en- 
grossed the  old  gentleman's  notice.  My  father  was  a  very  sensible  and 
a  moral  man,  as  the  world  rates  morality,  but  neither  he  nor  my  step- 
mother were  under  the  impressions  of  religion  ;  I  was,  therefore,  much 
left  to  myself,  to  mingle  with  idle  and  wicked  boys,  and  soon  learnt 
their  ways. 


4-  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN   NEWTON. 

"  I  never  was  at  school  but  about  two  years  (from  my  eighth  to  my 
tenth  year) ;  it  was  a  boarding-school  at  Stratford  in  Essex.  Though 
my  father  left  me  much  to  run  about  the  streets,  yet,  when  under  his 
eye,  he  kept  me  at  a  great  distance.  I  am  persuaded  he  loved  me,  but 
he  seemed  not  willing  that  I  should  know  it.  I  was  with  him  in  a  state 
of  fear  and  bondage.  His  sternness,  together  with  the  severity  of  my 
schoolmaster,  broke  and  overawed  my  spirit,  and  almost  made  me  a 
dolt;  so  that  part  of  the  two  years  I  was  at  school,  instead  of  making 
progress,  I  nearly  forgot  all  my  good  mother  had  taught  me. 

"  The  day  I  was  eleven  years  old,  I  went  on  board  my  father's  ship 
in  Longreach.  I  made  five  voyages  with  him  to  the  Mediterranean. 
In  the  course  of  the  last  voyage,  he  left  me  some  months  at  Alicant  in 
Spain,  with  a  merchant,  a  particular  friend  of  his,  with  whom  I  might 
have  done  well,  if  I  had  behaved  well.  But  by  this  time  my  sinful 
propensities  had  gathered  strength  by  habit :  I  was  very  wicked,  and 
therefore  very  foolish  ;  and,  being  my  own  enemy,  I  seemed  determin- 
ed that  nobody  should  be  my  friend. 

"  My  father  left  the  sea  in  the  year  1742.  I  made  one  voyage  after- 
wards to  Venice  before  the  mast ;  and  soon  after  my  return,  was  im- 
pressed on  board  the  Harwich.  Then  began  my  awfully  mad  career, 
as  recorded  in  the  Narrative ;  to  which,  and  to  the  Letters  to  a  Wife, 
I  must  refer  you  for  any  farther  dates  and  incidents. 

"  I  am  truly  yours, 

"  JOHN  NEWTON. 

"  Dec.  19,  1795." 

A  few  articles  may  be  added  to  this  account  from  the  Narrative, 
where  we  find,  that  his  pious  mother  "  stored  his  memory  with  whole 
chapters,  and  smaller  portions  of  Scripture,  catechisms,  hymns,  and 
poems ;  and  often  commended  him  with  prayers  and  tears  to  God  :" 
also,  that  in  his  sixth  year  he  began  to  learn  Latin,  though  the  intend- 
ed plan  of  his  education  was  soon  broken  ;  and  that  he  lost  this  valua- 
ble parent,  July  11,  1732. 

We  also  find,  that,  after  his  father's  second  marriage,  he  was  sent  to 
the  school  above  mentioned,  and  in  the  last  of  the  two  years  he  spent 
there,  a  new  usher  came,  who,  observing  and  suiting  his  tempei',  he 
prosecuted  Latin  with  great  eagerness,  and  before  he  was  ten  years 
old,  he  had  reached  and  maintained  the  first  post  in  the  second  class, 
which,  in  that  school,  was  Tully  and  Virgil.  But  by  being  pushed  for- 
ward too  fast,  and  not  properly  grounded  (a  method  too  common  in 
inferior  schools),  he  soon  lost  all  he  had  learned. 

In  the  next  and  most  remarkable  period  of  Mr  N.'s  life,  we  must  be 
conducted  by  the  Narrative  above  mentioned.  It  has  been  observed, 
that  at  eleven  years  of  age  he  was  taken  by  his  father  to  sea.  His  fa- 
ther was  a  man  of  remarkably  good  sense,  and  great  knowledge  of  the 
world ;  he  took  much  care  of  his  son's  morals,  but  could  not  supply  a 
mother's  part.  The  father  had  been  educated  at  a  Jesuits'  college,  near 
Seville  in  Spain,  and  had  an  air  of  such  distance  and  severity  in  his 
carriage  as  discouraged  his  son,  who  always  was  in  fear,  when  before 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  5 

him,  and  which  deprived  him  of  that  influence  he  might  otherwise  have 
had. 

From  this  time  to  the  year  1742,  Mr  N.  made  several  voyages,  but 
at  considerable  intervals  :  these  intervals  were  chiefly  spent  in  the  coun- 
try, excepting  a  few  months  in  his  fifteenth  year,  when  he  was  placed, 
with  a  very  advantageous  prospect,  at  Alicant,  already  mentioned. 

About  this  period  of  his  life,  with  a  temper  and  conduct  exceedingly 
various,  he  was  often  disturbed  with  religious  convictions ;  and  being 
from  a  child  fond  of  reading,  he  met  with  Bennet's  "  Christian  Ora- 
tory :"  and.  though  he  understood  little  of  it,  the  course  of  life  it  re- 
commended, appeared  very  desirable.  He  therefore  began  to  pray,  to 
read  the  Scriptures,  to  keep  a  diary,  and  thought  himself  religious  ; 
but  soon  became  weary  of  it,  and  gave  it  up.  He  then  learned  to  curse 
and  to  blaspheme,  and  was  exceedingly  wicked,  when  out  of  the  view 
of  his  parents,  though  at  so  early  a  period.  "*" 

Upon  his  being  thrown  from  a  hoi'se  near  a  dangerous  hedge-row, 
newly  cut,  his  conscience  suggested  to  him  the  dreadful  consequences 
of  appearing  in  such  a  state  before  God.  This  put  him,  though  but 
for  a  time,  upon  breaking  off  his  profane  practices;  but  the  consequence 
of  these  struggles  between  sin  and  conscience  was,  that  on  every  relapse 
lie  sunk  into  still  greater  depths  of  wickedness.  He  was  roused  again 
by  the  loss  of  a  companion,  who  had  agreed  to  go  with  him  one  Sunday 
on  board  a  man-of-war.  Mr  N.  providentially  coming  too  late,  the 
boat  had  gone  without  him,  and  was  overset,  by  which  his  companion 
and  several  others  were  drowned.  He  was  exceedingly  affected  at  the 
funeral  of  this  companion,  to  think,  that  by  the  delay  of  a  few  minutes 
(which  at  the  time  occasioned  much  anger)  his  life  had  been  preserved  : 
but  this  also  was  soon  forgotten.  The  perusal  of  the  "  Family  Instruc- 
tor" produced  another  temporary  reformation.  In  short,  he  took  up 
and  laid  aside  a  religious  profession  three  or  four  different  times  before 
he  was  sixteen  years  of  age. 

•'  All  this  while,"  says  he,  "  my  heart  was  insincere  ;  I  often  saw  the 
necessity  of  religion,  as  a  means  of  escaping  hell,  but  I  loved  sin,  and 
was  unwilling  to  forsake  it.  I  was  so  strangely  blind  and  stupid,  that 
sometimes,  when  I  have  been  determined  upon  things,  which  I  knew 
were  sinful,  I  could  not  go  on  quietly  till  I  had  first  dispatched  my  or- 
dinary task  of  prayer,  in  which  I  have  grudged  every  moment  of  the 
time  ;  when  this  was  finished,  my  conscience  was  in  some  measure  paci- 
fied, .and  I  could  rush  into  folly  with  little  remorse." 

But  his  last  reform  was  the  most  remarkable.  "  Of  this  period," 
says  he,  "  at  least  of  some  part  of  it,  I  may  say  in  the  apostle's  words, 
'  After  the  strictest  sect  of  our  religion,  I  lived  a  Pharisee.'  I  did 
every  thing  that  might  be  expected  from  a  person  entirely  ignorant 
of  God's  righteousness,  and  desirous  to  establish  his  own.  I  spent  the 
greatest  part  of  every  day  in  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  in  meditation 
and  prayer.  I  fasted  often  :  I  even  abstained  from  all  animal  food  for 
three  months.  I  would  hardly  answer  a  question,  for  fear  of  speaking 
an  idle  word.  I  seemed  to  bemoan  my  former  miscarriages  very  ear- 
nestly, and  sometimes  with  tears  :  in  short,  I  became  an  ascetic,  and 


G  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 


■?>•. 


and  endeavoured,  as  far  as  my  situation  would  permit,  to  renounce  so 
ciety,  that  I  might  avoid  temptation." 

This  reformation,  it  seems,  continued  for  more  than  two  years. 
"  But,"  he  adds,  "  it  was  a  poor  religion  ;  it  left  me  in  many  respects 
under  the  power  of  sin ;  and,  so  far  as  it  prevailed,  only  tended  to 
make  me  gloomy,  stupid,  unsociable,  and  useless." 

That  it  was  a  poor  religion,  and  quite  unlike  that  which  he  after- 
wards possessed,  will  appear  from  what  immediately  follows  :  for  had 
it  been  taken  up  upon  more  scriptural  ground,  and  been  attended  with 
that  internal*  evidence  and  satisfaction,  which  true  religion  only  brings, 
he  could  not  so  soon  liave  fallen  a  dupe  to  such  a  writer  as  Shaftesbury. 
It  was  at  a  petty  shop  at  Middleburgh,  in  Holland,  that  he  first  met 
with  a  volume  of  the  Characteristics.  The  declamation,  called  by  his 
Lordship  a  Rhapsody,  suited  the  romantic  turn  of  his  mind.  Unaware 
of  its  tendency,  he  imagined  he  had  found  a  valuable  guide.  This  book 
was  always  in  his  hand,  till  he  could  nearly  repeat  the  Rhapsody. 
Though  it  produced  no  immediate  effect,  it  operated  like  a  slow  poison, 
and  prepared  the  way  for  all  that  followed. 

About  the  year  1742,  having  lately  come  from  a  voyage,  his  father, 
not  intending  to  return  to  sea,  was  contriving  for  Mr  N.'s  settlement 
in  the  world.  But  to  settle  a  youth,  who  had  no  spirit  for  business, 
who  knew  but  little  of  men  or  things,  who  was  of  a  romantic  turn — 
a  medley,  as  he  expressed  it,  of  religion,  philosoph)',  and  indolence, 
and  quite  averse  to  order — must  prove  a  great  difficulty.  At  length  a 
merchant  in  Liverpool,  an  intimate  friend  of  the  father,  and  after- 
wards a  singular  friend  to  the  son,  offered  to  send  him  for  some  years 
to  Jamaica,  and  undertook  the  charge  of  his  future  welfare.  This  was 
consented  to,  and  preparation  made  for  the  voyage,  which  was  to  be 
prosecuted  the  following  week.  In  the  mean  time,  he  was  sent  by  his 
father,  on  some  business,  to  a  place,  a  few  miles  beyond  Maidstone  in 
Kent.  But  the  journey,  which  was  designed  to  last  but  three  or  four 
days,  gave  such  a  turn  to  his  mind  as  roused  him  from  his  habitual  in- 
dolence, and  produced  a  series  of  important  and  interesting  occur- 
rences. 

A  few  days  before  this  intended  journey,  he  received  an  invitation 
to  visit  some  distant  relations  in  Kent.  They  Were  particular  friends 
of  his  mother,  who  died  at  their  house ;  but  a  coolness  having  taken 
place  upon  his  father's  second  marriage,  all  intercourse  between  them 
had  ceased.  As  his  road  lay  within  half  a  mile  of  the  house,  and  he 
obtained  his  father's  leave  to  call  on  them,  he  went  thither,  and  met 
with  the  kindest  reception  from  these  friends.  They  had  two  daugh- 
ters :  it  seems  the  elder  had  been  intended,  by  both  the  mothers,  for 
his  future  wife.  Almost  at  the  first  sight  of  this  girl,  then  under  four- 
teen years  of  age,  he  was  impressed  with  such  an  affection  for  her,  as 
appears  to  have  equalled  all  that  the  writers  of  romance  have  imagi- 
ned. 

"  I  soon  lost,"  says  he,  "  all  sense  of  religion,  and  became  deaf  to 
the  remonstrances  of  conscience  and  prudence,  but  my  regard  for  her 
was  always  the  same  ;  and  I  may,  perhaps,  venture  to  say,  that  none 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  7 

of  the  scenes  of  misery  and  wickedness  I  afterwards  experienced,  ever 
banished  her  a  single  hour  together  from  my  waking  thoughts  for  the 
seven  following  years." 

His  heart  being  now  riveted  to  a  particular  object,  every  thing  with 
which  he  was  concerned  appeared  in  a  new  light.  He  could  not  now 
bear  the  thought  of  living  at  such  a  distance  as  Jamaica,  for  four  or 
five  years,  and  therefore  determined  not  to  go  thither.  He  dared  not 
communicate  with  his  father  on  this  point,  but,  instead  of  three  days, 
he  staid  three  weeks  in  Kent,  till  the  ship  had  sailed,  and  then  he  re- 
turned to  London.  His  father,  though  highly  displeased,  became  re- 
conciled, and  in  a  little  time  he  sailed  with  a  friend  of  his  father's  to 
Venice. 

In  this  voyage,  being  a  common  sailor,  and  exposed  to  the  company 
of  his  comrades,  he  began  to  relax  from  the  sobriety  which  he  had  pre- 
served, in  some  degree,  for  more  than  two  years.  Sometimes,  pierced 
with  convictions,  he  made  a  few  faint  efforts,  as  formerly,  to  stop ;  and 
though  not  yet  absolutely  profligate,  he  was  making  large  strides  to- 
wards a  total  apostacy  from  God.  At  length  he  received  a  remark- 
able check  by  a  dream,  which  made  a  very  strong,  though  not  abiding, 
impression  upon  his  mind. 

I  shall  relate  this  dream  in  his  own  words,  referring  to  the  Narrative 
those  who  wish  to  know  his  opinion  of  dreams,  and  his  application  of 
this  one  in  particular  to  his  own  circumstances  : — 

"  The  scene  presented  to  my  imagination  was  the  harbour  of  Venice, 
where  we  had  lately  been.     I  thought  it  was  night,  and  my  watch  upon 
the  deck ;  and  that,  as  I  was  walking  to  and  fro  by  myself,  a  person 
came  to  me  (I  do  not  remember  from  whence)  and  brought  me  a  ring, 
with  an  express  charge  to  keep  it  carefully ;  assuring  me,  that  while  I 
preserved  that  ring  I  should  be  happy  and  successful  :  but,  if  I  lost  or 
parted  with  it,  I  must  expect  nothing  but  trouble  and  misery.     I  ac- 
cepted the  present  and  the  terms  willingly,  not  in  the  least  doubting 
my  own  care  to  preserve  it,  and  highly  satisfied  to  have  my  happiness 
in  my  own  keeping.     I  was  engaged  in  these  thoughts,  when  a  second 
person  came  to  me,  and,  observing  the  ring  on  my  finger,  took  occasion 
to  ask  me  some  questions  concerning  it.     I  readily  told  him  its  vir- 
tues :  and  his  answer  expressed  a  surprise  at  my  weakness,  in  expect- 
ing such  effects  from  a  ring.     I  think  he  reasoned  with  me  some  time, 
upon  the  impossibility  of  the  thing ;  and  at  length  urged  me,  in  direct 
terms  to  throw  it  away.     At  first  I  was  shocked  at  the  proposal,  but 
his  insinuations  prevailed.      I  began  to  reason  and  doubt,  and  at  last 
plucked  it  off  my  finger,  and  dropped  it  over  the  ship's  side  into  the 
water,  which  it  had  no  sooner  touched  than  I  saw,  at  die  same  instant, 
a  terrible  fire  burst  out  from  a  range  of  mountains  (a  part  of  the  Alps), 
which  appeared  at  some  distance  behind  the  city  of  Venice.     I  saw  the 
hills  as  distinct  as  if  awake,  and  that  they  were  all  in  flames.     I  per- 
ceived, too  late,  my  folly;  and  my  tempter,  with  an  air  of  insult  in- 
formed me,  that  all  the  mercy  God  had  in  reserve  for  me  was  com- 
prised in  that  ring,  which  I  had  wilfully  thrown  away.     I  understood, 
that  I  must  now  go  with  him  to  the  burning  mountains,  and  that  ail 


8  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  11EV.  JOHN   NEWTON. 

the  flames  I  saw  were  kindled  on  my  account.  I  trembled,  and  was 
in  a  great  agony ;  so  that  it  was  surprising  I  did  not  then  awake  :  but 
my  dream  continued,  and  when  I  thought  myself  upon  the  point  of  a 
constrained  departure,  and  stood  self-condemned,  without  plea  or  hope, 
suddenly  either  a  third  person,  or  the  same  who  brought  the  ring  at 
first  (I  am  not  certain  which),  came  to  me,  and  demanded  the  cause 
of  my  grief.  I  told  him  the  plain  case,  confessing  that  I  had  ruined 
myself  wilfully,  and  deserved  no  pity.  He  blamed  my  rashness,  and 
asked  if  I  should  be  wiser,  supposing  I  had  my  ring  again.  I  could 
hardly  answer  to  this,  for  I  thought  it  was  gone  beyond  recal.  I  be- 
lieve, indeed,  I  had  not  time  to  answer,  before  I  saw  this  unexpected 
friend  go  down  under  the  water,  just  in  the  spot  where  I  had  dropped 
it,  and  he  soon  returned,  bringing  the  ring  with  him  :  the  moment  he 
came  on  board,  the  flames  in  the  mountains  were  extinguished,  and 
my  seducer  left  me.  Then  was  '  the  prey  taken  from  the  hand  of  the 
mighty,  and  the  lawful  captive  delivered.'  My  fears  were  at  an  end, 
and  with  joy  and  gratitude  I  approached  my  kind  deliverer  to  receive 
the  ring  again  ;  but  he  refused  to  return  it,  and  spoke  to  this  effect  • 
*  If  you  should  be  intrusted  with  this  ring  again,  you  would  very  soon 
bring  yourself  into  the  same  distress  ;  you  are  not  able  to  keep  it,  but 
I  will  preserve  it  for  you,  and  whenever  it  is  needful  will  produce  it 
in  your  behalf.'  Upon  this  I  awoke,  in  a  state  of  mind  not  to  be  de- 
scribed :  I  could  hardly  eat,  or  sleep,  or  transact  my  necessary  busi- 
ness for  two  or  three  days ;  but  the  impression  soon  wore  off,  and  in  a 
little  time  I  totally  forgot  it ;  and  I  think  it  hardly  occurred  to  my  mind 
again  till  several  years  afterwards." 

Nothing  remarkable  happened  in  the  following  part  of  that  voyage. 
Mr  N.  returned  home  in  December,  1743,  and,  repeating  his  visit  to 
Kent,  protracted  his  stay  in  the  same  imprudent  manner  he  had  done  be- 
fore. This  so  disappointed  his  father's  designs  for  his  interest,  as  al- 
most induced  him  to  disown  his  son.  Before  any  thing  suitable  offered 
again,  this  thoughtless  son,  unmindful  of  the  consequences  of  appearing 
in  a  check  shirt,  was  marked  by  a  lieutenant  of  the  Harwich  man-of-war, 
who  immediately  impressed  and  carried  him  on  board  a  tender.  This- 
was  at  a  critical  juncture,  as  the  French  fleets  were  hovering  upon  oui 
coast :  so  that  his  father  was  incapable  of  procuring  his  release.  A 
few  days  after,  he  was  sent  on  board  the  Harwich  at  the  Nore.  Here 
a  new  scene  of  life  was  presented,  and  for  about  a  month  much  hard- 
ship endured.  As  a  war  was  daily  expected,  his  father  was  willing  he 
should  remain  in  the  navy,  and  procured  him  a  recommendation  to 
the  captain,  who  sent  him  upon  the  quarter-deck  as  a  midshipman. 
He  might  now  have  had  ease  and  respect,  had  it  not  been  for  his  un- 
settled mind  and  indifferent  behaviour.  The  companions  he  met  with 
here  completed  the  ruin  of  his  principles  ;  though  he  affected  to  talk  of 
virtue,  and  preserved  some  decency,  yet  his  delight  and  habitual  prac- 
tice was  wickedness. 

His  principal  companion  was  a  person  of  talents  and  observation,  an 
expert  and-plausible  infidel,  whose  zeal  was  equal  to  his  address.  "  I 
have  been  told,"  says  Mr  N.,  "  that  afterwards  he  was  overtaken  in  a 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  9 

voyage  from  Lisbon  in  a  violent  storm  ;  the  vessel  and  people  escaped, 
but  a  great  sea  broke  on  board,  and  swept  him  into  eternity."  Being 
fond  of  this  man's  company,  Mr  N.  aimed  to  discover  what  smattering 
of  reading  he  had  :  his  companion,  observing  that  Mr  N.  had  not  lost 
all  the  restraints  of  conscience,  at  first  spoke  in  favour  of  religion  ;  and 
having  gained  Mr  N.'s  confidence,  and  perceiving  his  attachment  to 
the  Characteristics,  he  soon  convinced  his  pupil  that  he  had  never  un- 
derstood that  book.  By  objections  and  arguments  Mr  N.'s  depraved 
heart  was  soon  gained.  He  plunged  into  infidelity  with  all  his  spirit ; 
and,  like  an  unwary  sailor,  who  quits  his  post  just  before  a  rising 
storm,  the  hopes  and  comforts  of  the  Gospel  were  renounced  at  the 
very  time  when  every  other  comfort  was  about  to  fail. 

In  December  1744,  the  Harwich  was  in  the  Downs,  bound  to  the 
East  Indies.  The  captain  gave  Mr  N.  leave  to  go  on  shore  for  a  day ; 
but,  with  his  usual  inconsideration,  and  following  the  dictates  of  a  rest- 
less passion,  he  went  to  take  a  last  leave  of  the  object  with  which  he 
was  so  infatuated.  Little  satisfaction  attended  the  interview  in  such 
circumstances,  and  on  new-year's  day  he  returned  to  the  ship.  The 
captain  was  so  highly  displeased  at  this  rash  step,  that  it  occasioned 
ever  after  the  loss  of  his  favour. 

At  length  they  sailed  from  Spithead,  with  a  very  large  fleet.  They 
put  into  Torbay,  with  a  change  of  wind,  but  sailed  the  next  day,  on  its 
becoming  fair.  Several  of  the  fleet  were  lost  at  leaving  the  place,  but 
the  following  night  the  whole  fleet  was  greatly  endangered  upon  the 
coast  of  Cornwall,  by  a  storm  from  the  southward.  The  ship  on  which 
Mr  N  was  aboard  escaped  unhurt,  though  several  times  in  danger  of 
being  run  down  by  other  vessels ;  but  many  suffered  much :  this  occa- 
sioned their  putting  back  to  Plymouth. 

While  they  lay  at  Plymouth,  Mr  N.  heard  that  his  father,  who  had 
an  interest  in  some  of  the  ships  lately  lost,  was  come  down  to  Torbay. 
He  thought,  that,  if  he  could  see  his  father,  he  might  easily  be  intro- 
duced into  a  service  which  would  be  better  than  pursuing  a  long  and 
uncertain  voyage  to  the  East  Indies.  It  was  his  habit  in  those  un- 
happy days,  never  to  deliberate ;  as  soon  as  the  thought  occurred,  he 
resolved  to  leave  the  ship  at  all  events  :  he  did  so,  and  in  the  worst 
manner  possible.  He  was  sent  one  day  in  the  boat  to  prevent  others 
from  desertion,  but  betrayed  his  trust,  and  deserted  himself.  Not 
knowing  which  road  to  take,  and  fearing  to  inquire,  lest  he  should  be 
suspected,  yet  having  some  general  idea  of  the  country,  he  found,  after 
he  had  travelled  some  miles,  that  he  was  on  the  road  to  Dartmouth. 
That  day,  and  part  of  the  next,  every  thing  seemed  to  go  on  smoothly. 
He  walked  fast,  and  thought  to  have  seen  his  father  in  about  two  hours, 
when  he  was  met  by  a  small  party  of  soldiers,  whom  he  could  not  avoid 
or  deceive  :  they  brought  him  back  to  Plymouth,  through  the  streets 
of  which  he  proceeded  guarded  like  a  felon.  Full  of  indignation, 
shame,  and  fear,  he  was  confined  two  days  in  the  guard-house,  then 
sent  on  ship-board,  and  kept  a  while  in  irons  ;  next  he  was  publicly 
stript  and  whipt,  degraded  from  his  office,  and  all  his  former  compa- 
nions forbidden  to  sIioav  him  the  least  favour,  or  even  to  speak  to  him. 


10  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

As  midshipman  he  had  been  entitled  to  command,  in  which  (being 
sufficiently  haughty  and  vain)  he  had  not  hecn  temperate;  but  w;is 
now  in  his  turn  brought  down  to  a  level  with  the  lowest,  and  exposed 
to  the  insults  of  all. 

The  state  of  his  mind  at  this  time  can  only  be  properly  expressed  in 
his  own  words  : — 

"  As  my  present  situation  was  uncomfortable,  my  future  prospects 
were  still  worse  ;  the  evils  I  suffered  were  likely  to  grow  heavier  every 
day.  While  my  catastrophe  was  recent,  the  officers  and  my  quondam 
brethren  were  somewhat  disposed  to  screen  me  from  ill  usage;  but 
during  the  little  time  I  remained  with  them  afterwards,  I  found  them 
cool  very  fast  in  their  endeavours  to  protect  me.  Indeed,  they  could 
not  avoid  such  conduct,  without  running  a  great  risk  of  sharing  with 
me :  for  the  captain,  though  in  general  a  humane  man,  who  behaved 
very  well  to  the  ship's  company,  was  almost  implacable  in  his  resent- 
ment, and  took  several  occasions  to  show  it,  and  the  voyage  was  ex- 
pected to  be  (as  it  proved)  for  five  years.  Yet  nothing  I  either  felt  or 
feared  distressed  me  so  much,  as  to  see  myself  thus  forcibly  torn  away 
from  the  object  of  my  affections,  under  a  great  improbability  of  seeing 
her  again,  and  a  much  greater,  of  returning  in  such  a  manner  as  would 
give  me  hope  of  seeing  her  mine. 

"  Thus  I  was  as  miserable  on  all  hands,  as  could  well  be  imagined. 
My  breast  was  filled  with  the  most  excruciating  passions,  eager  desire, 
bitter  rage,  and  black  despair.  Every  hour  exposed  me  to  some  new 
insult  and  hardship,  with  no  hope  of  relief  or  mitigation  ;  no  friend  to 
take  my  part,  nor  to  listen  to  my  complaint.  Whether  I  looked  in- 
ward or  outward,  I  could  perceive  nothing  but  darkness  and  misery. 
I  think  no  case,  except  that  of  a  conscience  wounded  by  the  wrath  of 
God,  could  be  more  dreadful  than  mine.  I  cannot  express  with  what 
wishfulness  and  regret  I  cast  my  last  looks  upon  the  English  shore  ;  I 
kept  my  eyes  fixed  upon  it,  till,  the  ship's  distance  increasing,  it  insen- 
sibly disappeared ;  and,  when  I  coidd  see  it  no  longer,  I  was  tempted 
to  throw  myself  into  the  sea,  which  (according  to  the  wicked  system  I 
had  adopted)  would  put  a  period  to  all  my  sorrows  at  once.  But  the 
secret  hand  of  God  restrained  me." 

During  his  passage  to  Madeira,  Mr  N.  describes  himself  as  a  prey 
to  the  most  gloomy  thoughts ;  though  he  had  deserved  all,  and  more 
than  all  he  had  met  with  from  the  captain,  yet  pride  suggested  that  he 
had  been  grossly  injured ;  "  and  this  so  far,"  says  he,  "  wrought  upon 
my  wicked  heart,  that  I  actually  formed  designs  against  his  life,  and 
that  was  one  reason  which  made  me  willing  to  prolong  my  own.  I 
was  sometimes  divided  between  the  two,  not  thinking  it  practicable  to 
effect  both.  The  Lord  had  now  to  appearance  given  me  up  to  judicial 
hardness  ;  I  was  capable  of  any  thing.  I  had  not  the  least  fear  of  God 
before  my  eyes,  nor  (so  far  as  I  remember)  the  least  sensibility  of  con- 
science. I  was  possessed  with  so  strong  a  spirit  of  delusion,  that  I  be- 
lieved my  own  lie,  and  was  firmly  persuaded,  that  after  death  I  should 
cease  to  be.  Yet  the  Lord  preserved  me  !  Some  intervals  of  sober  re- 
flection would  at  times  take  place :  when  I  have  chosen  death   rather 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  1  1 

than  life,  a  ray  of  hope  would  come  in  (though  there  wjas  little  proba- 
bility for  such  a  hope)  that  I  should  yet  see  better  days,  that  I  might 
return  to  England,  and  have  my  wishes  crowned,  if  I  did  not  wilfully 
throw  myself  away.  In  a  word,  my  love  to  Mrs  N.  was  now  the  only 
restraint  I  had  left :  though  I  neither  feared  God,  nor  regarded  man, 
I  could  not  bear  that  she  should  think  meanly  of  me  when  I  was 
dead." 

Mr  N.  had  been  at  Madeira  some  time ;  and  the  business  of  the 
fleet  being  now  completed,  they  were  to  sail  the  following  day. 
On  that  memorable  morning  he  happened  to  be  late  in  bed,  and 
would  have  continued  to  sleep,  but  that  an  old  companion,  a  midship- 
man, came  down,  between  jest  and  earnest,  and  bid  him  rise.  As  he 
did  not  immediately  comply,  the  midshipman  cut  down  the  hammock 
in  which  he  lay  :  this  obliged  him  to  dress  himself;  and  though  very 
angry,  he  durst  not  resent  it,  but  was  little  aware  that  this  person, 
without  design,  was  a  special  instrument  of  God's  providence.  Mr  N. 
said  little,  but  went  upon  deck,  where  he  saw  a  man  putting  his 
clothes  into  a  boat,  who  informed  him  he  was  going  to  leave  the  ship. 
Upon  inquiry,  he  found  that  two  men  from  a  Guinea  ship,  which  lay 
near  them,  had  entered  on  board  the  Harwich,  and  that  the  commo- 
dore (the  late  Sir  George  Pocock)  had  ordered  the  captain  to  send  two 
others  in  their  room.  Inflamed  with  this  information,  Mr  N.  request- 
ed that  the  boat  might  be  detained  a  few  minutes ;  he  then  entreated 
the  lieutenants  to  intercede  wifh  the  captain,  that  he  might  be  dismis- 
sed upon  this  occasion  :  though  he  had  formerly  behaved  ill  to  these 
officers,  they  were  moved  with  pity,  and  were  disposed  to  serve  him. 
The  captain,  who  had  refused  to  exchange  him  at  Plymouth,  though 
requested  by  Admiral  Medley,  was  easily  prevailed  with  now.  In  lit- 
tle more  than  half  an  hour  from  his  being  asleep  in  bed,  he  found  him- 
self discharged,  and  safe  on  board  another  ship.  The  events  depend- 
ing upon  this  change,  will  show  it  to  have  been  the  most  critical  and 
important. 

The  ship  he  now  entered  was  bound  to  Sierra  Leone,  and  the  adja- 
cent parts  of  what  is  called  the  windward  coast  of  Africa.  The  com- 
mander knew  his  father — received  him  kindly — and  made  professions 
of  assistance ;  and  probably  would  have  been  his  friend,  if,  instead  of 
profiting  by  his  former  errors,  he  had  not  pursued  a  course,  if  possible, 
worse.  He  was  under  some  restraint  on  board  the  Harwich,  but  be- 
ing now  among  strangers,  he  could  sin  without  disguise.  "  I  well  re- 
member," says  he,  "  that  while  I  was  passing  from  the  one  ship  to  the 
other,  I  rejoiced  in  the  exchange,  with  this  reflection,  that  I  might  now 
be  as  abandoned  as  I  pleased,  without  any  control ;  and  from  this  time 
I  was  exceedingly  vile  indeed,  little,  if  any  thing,  short  of  that  animat- 
ed description  of  an  almost  irrecoverable  state,  which  we  have  in  2  Pet. 
ii.  14.  I  not  only  sinned  with  a  high  hand  myself,  but  made  it  my 
study  to  tempt  and  seduce  others  upon  every  occasion  :  nay,  I  eagerly 
sought  occasion,  sometimes  to  my  own  hazard  and  hurt."  By  this 
conduct  he  soon  forfeited  the  favour  of  his  captain :  for,  besides  being 
careless  and  disobedient,  upon  some  imagined  affront,  he  employed  his 


12  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

mischievous  wit  in  making  a  song  to  ridicule  the  captain  as  to  his  ship, 
his  designs,  and  his  person;  and  he  taught  it  to  the  whole  ship's  com- 
pany. 

He  thus  proceeded  for  about  six  months,  at  which  time  the  ship  was 
preparing  to  leave  the  coast ;  but,  a  few  days  before  she  sailed,  the  cap- 
tain died.  Mr  N.  was  not  upon  much  better  terms  with  his  mate,  who 
succeeded  to  the  command,  and  upon  some  occasion  had  treated  him  ill. 
He  felt  certain,  that,  if  he  went  in  the  ship  to  the  West  Indies,  the 
mate  would  have  put  him  on  board  a  man-of-war,  a  consequence  more 
dreadful  to  him  than  death  itself:  to  avoid  this,  he  determined  to  re- 
main in  Africa,  and  pleased  himself  with  imagining  it  would  be  an  op- 
portunity of  improving  his  fortune. 

Upon  that  part  of  the  coast  there  were  a  few  white  men  settled,  whose 
business  it  was  to  purchase  slaves,  &c,  and  sell  them  to  the  ships  at  an 
advanced  price  :  one  of  these,  who  had  first  landed  in  circumstances 
similar  to  Mr  N.'s,  had  acquired  considerable  wealth.  This  man  had 
been  in  England,  and  was  returning  in  the  same  vessel  with  Mr  N.,  of 
which  he  owned  a  quarter  part.  His  example  impressed  Mr  N.  with 
hopes  of  the  same  success,  and  he  obtained  his  discharge,  upon  condi- 
tion of  entering  into  the  taader's  service,  to  whose  generosity  he  trust- 
ed without  the  precaution  of  terms.  He  received,  however,  no  com- 
pensation for  his  time  on  board  the  ship,  but  a  bill  upon  the  owners  in 
England,  who  failing  before  his  return,  the  bill  was  never  paid ;  the 
day,  therefore,  on  which  the  vessel  sailed,  he  landed  upon  the  island  of 
Benanoes  like  one  shipwrecked,  with  little  more  than  the  clothes  upon 
his  back. 

"  The  two  following  years,"  says  he,  "  of  which  I  am  now  to  give 
some  account,  will  seem  as  an  absolute  blank  in  my  life :  but  I  have 
seen  frequent  cause  since  to  admire  the  mercy  of  God  in  banishing  me 
to  those  distant  parts,  and  almost  excluding  me  from  all  society,  at  a 
time  when  I  was  big  with  mischief,  and,  like  one  infected  with  a  pesti- 
lence, was  capable  of  spreading  a  taint  wherever  I  went.  But  the  Lord 
wisely  placed  me  where  I  could  do  little  harm.  The  few  I  had  to  con- 
verse with  were  too  much  like  myself;  and  I  was  soon  brought  into 
such  abject  circumstances  that  I  was  too  low  to  have  any  influence.  I 
was  rather  shunned  and  despised  than  imitated,  there  being  few,  even 
of  the  Negroes  themselves,  during  the  first  year  of  my  residence,  but 
thought  themselves  too  good  to  speak  to  me.  I  was  as  yet  an  outcast 
ready  to  perish,  but  the  Lord  beheld  me  with  mercy — he  even  now  bid 
me  live ;  and  I  can  only  ascribe  it  to  his  secret  upholding  power,  that 
what  I  suffered,  in  a  part  of  this  interval,  did  not  bereave  me  either  of 
my  life  or  senses." 

The  reader  will  have  a  better  idea  of  the  situation  Mr  N.  was  now  h\ 
by  his  brief  sketch  of  it. — 

"  From  Cape  de  Verd,  the  most  western  point  of  Africa,  to  Cape 
Mount,  the  whole  coast  is  full  of  rivers  :  the  principal  are  the  Gambia, 
Rio  Grande,  Sierra  Leone,  and  Sherbro.  Of  the  former,  as  it  is  well 
known,  and  as  I  was  never  there,  I  need  say  nothing.  The  Rio  Gran- 
de (like  the  Nile)  divides  into  many  branches  near  the  sea.     On  the 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  13 

most  northerly,  called  Cacheo,  the  Portuguese  have  a  settlement.  The 
most  southern  branch,  known  by  the  name  of  Rio  Nuna,  is,  or  was,  the 
usual  boundary  of  the  white  men's  trade  northward.  Sierra  Leone  is 
a  mountainous  peninsula,  uninhabited,  and  I  believe  inaccessible,  upon 
account  of  the  thick  woods,  excepting  those  parts  which  lie  near  the 
water.  The  river  is  large  and  navigable.  From  hence  about  twelve 
leagues  to  the  south-east  are  three  contiguous  islands,  called  the  Bena- 
noes,  twenty  miles  in  circuit :  this  was  about  the  centre  of  the  white 
men's  residence.  Seven  leagues  farther,  the  same  way,  lie  the  Plan- 
tanes,  three  small  islands,  two  miles  distant  from  the  continent,  at  the 
point  which  forms  one  side  of  the  Sherbro.  This  river  is  more  pro- 
perly a  sound,  running  within  a  long  island,  and  receiving  the  conflu- 
ence of  several  large  rivers,  '  rivers  unknown  to  song,'  but  far  more 
deeply  engraven  in  my  remembrance  than  the  Po  or  Tiber.  The  south- 
ernmost of  these  has  a  very  peculiar  course,  almost  parallel  to  the 
coast :  so  that  in  tracing  it  a  great  many  leagues  upwards,  it  will  seldom 
lead  one  above  three  miles,  and  sometimes  not  more  than  half  a  mile 
from  the  sea  shore." 

Mr  N.'s  new  master  had  resided  near  Cape  Mount,  but  at  this  time 
had  settled  at  the  Plantanes,  on  the  largest  of  the  three  islands.  It  is 
low  and  sandy,  about  two  miles  in  circumference,  and  almost  covered 
with  palm-trees.  They  immediately  began  to  build  a  house.  Mr  N. 
had  some  desire  to  retrieve  his  time  and  character,  and  might  have  liv- 
ed tolerably  well  with  his  master,  if  this  man  had  not  been  much  un- 
der the  direction  of  a  black  woman,  who  lived  with  him  as  a  wife,  and 
influenced  him  against  his  new  servant.  She  was  a  person  of  some 
consequence  in  her  own  country,  and  he  owed  his  first  rise  to  her  in- 
terest. This  woman,  for  reasons  not  known,  was  strangely  prejudiced 
against  Mr  N.  from  the  first;  he  also  had  unhappily  a  severe  fit  of  ill- 
ness, which  attacked  him  before  he  had  an  opportunity  to  show  what 
he  could  or  would  do  in  the  service  of  his  master.  Mr  N.  was  sick 
when  his  master  sailed  in  a  shallop  to  Rio  Nuna,  and  was  left  in  the 
hands  of  this  woman.  He  was  taken  some  care  of  at  first,  but  not 
soon  recovering,  her  attention  was  wearied,  and  she  entirely  neglected 
him.  Sometimes  it  was  with  difficulty  he  could  procure  a  draught  of 
cold  water  when  burning  with  a  fever  !  His  bed  was  a  mat,  spread  up- 
on a  board  or  chest,  with  a  log  for  his  pillow.  Upon  his  appetite  re- 
turning, after  the  fever  left  him,  he  would  gladly  have  eaten,  but  "  no 
one  gave  unto  him."  She  lived  in  plenty,  but  scarcely  allowed  him 
sufficient  to  sustain  life,  except  now  and  then,  when  in  the  highest  goo  I 
humour,  she  would  send  him  victuals  in  her  own  plate  after  she  had 
dined.  And  this  (so  greatly  was  he  humbled)  he  received  with  thanks 
and  eagerness,  as  the  most  needy  beggar  does  an  alms. 

"  Once,"  says  he,  "  I  well  remember,  I  was  called  to  receive  this 
bounty  from  her  own  hand,  but,  being  exceedingly  weak  and  feeble,  I 
dropped  the  plate.  Those  who  live  in  plenty  can  hardly  conceive  how 
this  loss  touched  me  :  but  she  had  the  cruelty  to  laugh  at  my  disap- 
pointment, and  though  the  table  was  covered  with  dishes  (for  she  liv- 
ed much  in  the  European   manner)  she  refused  to  give  me  any  more. 


I  L  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  IlEV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

My  distress  has  been  at  times  so  great  as  to  compel  me  to  go  by  night, 
and  pull  up  roots  in  the  plantation  (though  at  the  risk  of  being  punish- 
ed as  a  thief),  which  I  have  eaten  raw  upon  the  spot  for  fear  of  disco- 
very. The  roots  I  speak  of  are  very  wholesome  food,  when  boiled  or 
roasted,  but  as  unfit  to  be  eaten  raw  in  any  quantity  as  a  potatoe. 
The  consequence  of  this  diet,  which  after  the  first  experiment  I  always 
expected,  and  seldom  missed,  was  the  same  as  if  I  had  taken  tartar 
emetic ;  so  that  I  have  often  returned  as  empty  as  I  went,  yet  necessi- 
ty urged  me  to  repeat  the  trial  several  times.  I  have  sometimes  been 
relieved  by  strangers ;  yea,  even  by  the  slaves  in  the  chain,  who  have 
secretly  brought  me  victuals  (for  they  durst  not  be  seen  to  do  it)  from 
their  own  slender  pittance.  Next  to  pressing  want,  nothing  sits  harder 
upon  the  mind  than  scorn  and  contempt,  and  of  this  likewise  I  had  an 
abundant  measure." 

When  slowly  recovering,  the  same  woman  would  sometimes  pay  Mr 
N.  a  visit,  not  to  pity  or  relieve,  but  to  insult  him.  She  would  call 
him  worthless  and  indolent,  and  compel  him  to  walk ;  which,  when  he 
could  scarcely  do,  she  would  set  her  attendants  to  mimic  his  motions, 
to  clap  their  hands,  laugh,  throw  limes  at  him,  and  sometimes  they 
would  even  throw  stones.  But  though  her  attendants  were  forced  to 
join  in  this  treatment,  Mr  N.  was  rather  pitied  than  scorned,  by  the 
meanest  of  her  slaves,  on  her  departure. 

When  his  master  returned  from  the  voyage,  Mr  N.  complained  of  ill 
usage,  but  was  not  credited,  and  as  he  did  it  in  her  hearing,  he  fared 
worse  for  it.  He  accompanied  his  master  in  his  second  voyage,  and 
they  agreed  pretty  well,  till  his  master  was  persuaded  by  a  brother 
trader,  that  Mr  N.  was  dishonest.  This  seems  to  be  the  only  vice  he 
could  not  be  charged  with,  as  his  honesty  seemed  to  be  the  last  re- 
mains of  a  good  education  which  he  could  now  boast  of:  and  though 
his  great  distress  might  have  been  a  strong  temptation  to  fraud,  it 
seems  he  never  once  thought  of  defrauding  his  master  in  the  smallest 
matter.  The  charge,  however,  was  believed,  and  he  was  condemned 
without  evidence.  From  that  time  he  was  used  very  hardly ;  when- 
ever his  master  left  the  vessel,  he  was  locked  upon  deck  with  a 
pint  of  rice  for  his  day's  allowance,  nor  had  he  any  relief  till  his  mas- 
ter's return.  "  Indeed,"  says  he,  "  I  believe  I  should  have  been  near- 
ly starved,  but  for  an  opportunity  of  catching  fish  sometimes.  When 
fowls  were  killed  for  my  master's  own  use,  I  seldom  was  allowed  any 
part  but  the  entrails,  to  bait  my  hooks  with  :  and  at  what  we  called 
slack- water,  that  is,  about  the  changing  of  the  tides,  when  the  current 
was  still,  I  used  generally  to  fish  (for  at  other  times  it  was  not  practica- 
ble), and  I  very  often  succeeded.  If  I  saw  a  fish  upon  my  hook,  my 
joy  was  little  less  than  any  other  person  would  have  found  in  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  scheme  he  had  most  at  heart.  Such  a  fish  hasti- 
ly broiled,  or  rather  half  burnt,  without  sauce,  salt,  or  bread,  has  af- 
forded me  a  delicious  meal.  If  I  caught  none,  I  might,  if  I  could, 
sleep  away  my  hunger  till  the  next  return  of  slack-water,  and  then  try 
again. 

"  Nor  did  I  suffer  less  from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  and  the 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  15 

want  of  clothes.  The  rainy  season  was  now  advancing;  my  whole 
suit  was  a  shirt,  a  pair  of  trowsers,  a  cotton  handkerchief  instead  of  a 
cap,  and  a  cotton  cloth  about  two  yards  long,  to  supply  the  want  of 
upper  garments  :  and  thus  accoutred,  I  have  been  exposed  for  twenty, 
thirty,  perhaps  near  forty  hours  together,  in  incessant  rains,  accompa- 
nied with  strong  gales  of  wind,  without  the  least  shelter,  when  my 
master  was  on  shore.  I  feel  to  this  day  some  faint  returns  of  the  vio- 
lent pains  I  then  contracted.  The  excessive  cold  and  wet  I  endured 
in  that  voyage,  and  so  soon  after  I  had  recovered  from  a  long  sickness, 
quite  broke  my  constitution  and  my  spirits ;  the  latter  were  soon  re- 
stored, but  the  effects  of  the  former  still  remain  with  me,  as  a  needful 
memento  of  the  service  and  the  wages  of  sin." 

In  about  two  months  they  returned,  and  the  rest  of  the  time  Mr  N. 
spent  with  his  master  was  chiefly  at  the  Plantanes,  and  under  the  same 
regimen  as  has  been  mentioned.  His  heart  was  now  bowed  down,  but 
not  at  all  to  a  wholesome  repentance.  While  his  spirits  sunk,  the  lan- 
guage of  the  prodigal  was  far  from  him  :  destitute  of  resolution,  and 
almost  all  reflection,  he  had  lost  the  fierceness  which  fired  him  when 
on  board  the  Harwich,  and  rendered  him  capable  of  the  most  despe- 
rate attempts,  but  he  was  no  farther  changed  than  a  tiger  tamed  by 
hunger. 

However  strange  it  may  appear,  he  attests  it  as  a  truth,  that  though 
destitute  both  of  food  and  clothing,  and  depressed  beyond  common 
wretchedness,  he  could  sometimes  collect  his  mind  to  mathematical 
studies.  Having  bought  Barrow's  Euclid  at  Plymouth,  and  it  being 
the  only  volume  he  brought  on  shore,  he  used  to  take  it  to  remote  cor- 
ners of  the  island,  and  draw  his  diagrams  with  a  long  stick  upon  the 
sand.  "  Thus,"  says  he,  "  I  often  beguiled  my  sorrows,  and  almost  for- 
got my  feelings ;  and  thus  without  any  other  assistance,  I  made  my- 
self in  a  good  measure  master  of  the  first  six  books  of  Euclid." 

"  With  my  staff  I  passed  this  Jordan,  and  now  I  am  become  two 
bands."  These  words  of  Jacob  might  well  affect  Mr  N.  when  remem- 
bering the  days  in  which  he  was  busied  in  planting  some  lime  or 
lemon  trees.  The  plants  he  put  into  the  ground  were  no  higher  than 
a  young  gooseberry  bush.  His  master  and  mistress,  in  passing  the 
place,  stopped  a  while  to  look  at  him  ;  at  length  his  master  said,  "  Who 
knows  but,  by  the  time  these  trees  grow  up  and  bear,  you  may  go 
borne  to  England,  obtain  the  command  of  a  ship,  and  return  to  reap 
the  fruits  of  your  labours  ?  We  see  strange  things  sometimes  happen." 

"  This,"  says  Mr  Newton,  "  as  he  intended  it,  was  a  cutting  sar- 
casm. I  believe  he  thought  it  full  as  probable  that  I  should  live  to  be 
king  of  Poland ;  yet  it  proved  a  prediction,  and  they  (one  of  them  at 
least)  lived  to  see  me  return  from  England,  in  the  capacity  he  had 
mentioned,  and  pluck  some  of  the  first  limes  from  those  very  trees. 
How  can  I  proceed  in  my  relation,  till  I  raise  a  monument  to  the  Di- 
vine goodness,  by  comparing  the  circumstances  in  which  the  Lord  has 
since  placed  me  with  what  I  was  in  at  that  time  !  Had  you  seen  me, 
sir,  then  go  so  pensive  and  solitary  in  the  dead  of  night  to  wash  my 
one  shirt  upon  the  rocks,  and  afterwards  put  it  on  wet,  that  it  might 


16  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

dry  upon  my  back,  while  I  slept — had  you  seen  me  so  poor  a  figure, 
that  when  a  ship's  boat  came  to  the  island,  shame  often  constrained  me 
to  hide  myself  in  the  woods,  from  the  sight  of  strangers ;  especially, 
had  you  known  that  my  conduct,  principles,  and  heart,  were  still  dark- 
er than  my  outward  condition — how  little  would  you  have  imagined, 
that  one  who  so  fully  answered  to  the  Gr-jy^roi  xai  /xieowrsg*  of  the  apos- 
tle, was  reserved  to  be  so  peculiar  an  instance  of  the  providential  care 
and  exuberant  goodness  of  God.  There  was  at  that  time  but  one  ear- 
nest desire  of  my  heart,  which  was  not  contrary  and  shocking  both  to  re- 
ligion and  reason;  and  that  one  desire,  though  my  vile  licentious  life  ren- 
dered me  peculiarly  unworthy  of  success,  and  though  a  thousand  diffi- 
culties seemed  to  render  it  impossible,  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  gratify." 

Things  continued  thus  nearly  twelve  months.  In  this  interval  Mr 
N.  wrote  two  or  three  times  to  his  father,  describing  his  condition,  and 
desiring  his  assistance  :  at  the  same  time  signifying,  that  he  had  re- 
solved not  to  return  to  England  unless  his  parent  were  pleased  to  send 
for  him.  His  father  applied  to  his  friend  at  Liverpool,  who  gave  or- 
ders accordingly  to  a  captain  of  his,  who  was  then  fitting  out  for  Gam- 
bia and  Sierra  Leone. 

Some  time  within  the  year,  Mr  N.  obtained  his  master's  consent  to 
live  with  another  trader,  who  dwelt  upon  the  same  island.  This  change 
was  much  to  his  advantage,  as  he  was  soon  decently  clothed,  lived  in 
plenty,  was  treated  as  a  companion,  and  trusted  with  his  effects  to  the 
amount  of  some  thousand  pounds.  This  man  had  several  factories,  and 
white  servants  in  different  places ;  particularly  one  in  Kittam,  the 
river  already  described  as  running  so  near  along  the  sea  coast.  Mr  N. 
was  soon  appointed  there,  and  had  a  share  in  the  management  of  busi- 
ness, jointly  with  another  servant ;  they  lived  as  they  pleased ;  busi- 
ness nourished,  and  their  employer  was  satisfied. 

"  Here,"  says  he,  "  I  began  to  be  wretch  enough  to  think  myself 
happy.  There  is  a  significant  phrase  frequently  used  in  those  parts, 
that  such  a  white  man  is  grown  black.  It  does  not  intend  an  altera- 
tion of  complexion,  but  disposition.  I  haAre  known  several,  who  sett- 
ling in  Africa  after  the  age  of  thirty  or  forty,  have  at  that  time  of  life 
been  gradually  assimilated  to  the  tempers,  customs,  and  ceremonies  of 
the  natives,  so  far  as  to  prefer  that  country  to  England;  they  have  even 
become  dupes  to  all  the  pretended  charms,  necromancies,  amulets,  and 
divinations  of  the  blinded  Negroes,  and  put  more  trust  in  such  things 
than  the  wiser  sort  among  the  natives.  A  part  of  this  spirit  of  infa- 
tuation was  growing  upon  me  :  in  time,  perhaps,  I  might  have  yielded 
to  the  whole.  I  entered  into  closer  engagements  with  the  inhabitants, 
and  should  have  lived  and  died  a  wretch  amongst  them,  if  the  Lord 
had  not  watched  over  me  for  goo«I.  Not  that  I  had  lost  those  ideas 
which  chiefly  engaged  my  heart  to  England ;  but  a  despair  of  seeing 
them  accomplished,  made  me  willing  to  remain  where  I  was.  I  thought 
I  could  more  easily  bear  the  disappointment  in  this  situation  than  neai- 
er  home.     But,  as  soon  as  I  had  fixed  my  connexions  and  plans  with 

*  Hateful  and  haling  one  another. 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE   REV.   JOHN   NEWTON.  IJ 

these  -news,  the  Lord  providentially  interposed  to  break  them  in  pieces, 
and  save  me  from  ruin  in  spite  of  myself." 

In  the  meantime,  the  ship  that  had  orders  to  bring  Mr  N.  home,  ar- 
rived at  Sierra  Leone.  The  captain  made  inquiry  for  Mr  N.  there, 
and  at  the  Benanoes;  but  finding  he  was  at  a  great  distance,  thought 
no  more  about  him.  A  special  providence  seems  to  have  placed  him 
at  Kittam  just  at  this  time;  for  the  ship  coming  no  nearer  the  Bena- 
noes, and  staying  but  a  few  days,  if  he  had  been  at  the  Plantanes,  he 
would  not  probably  have  heard  of  the  ship  till  she  had  sailed  :  the  same 
must  have  certainly  been  the  event  had  he  been  sent  to  any  other  fac- 
tory, of  which  his  new  master  had  several.  But  though  the  place  he 
went  to  was  a  long  way  up  a  river,  much  more  than  a  hundred  miles 
distant  from  the  Plantanes,  yet,  by  its  peculiar  situation  already  no- 
ticed, he  was  still  within  a  mile  of  the  sea  coast.  The  interposition 
was  also  more  remarkable,  as  at  that  very  juncture  he  was  going  in 
quest  of  trade,  directly  from  the  sea,  and  would  have  set  out  a  day  or 
two  before,  but  that  they  waited  for  a  few  articles  from  the  next  ship 
that  came,  in  order  to  complete  the  assortment  of  goods  he  was  to  take 
with  him. 

They  used  sometimes  to  walk  to  the  bench,  in  hopes  of  seeing  a  ves- 
sel pass  by ;  but  this  was  very  precarious,  as  at  that  time  the  place  was 
not  resorted  to  by  ships  of  trade :  many  passed  in  the  night,  others 
kept  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  shore,  nor  does  he  remember 
that  any  one  had  stopped  while  he  was  there. 

In  Feb.  1747  his  fellow-servant,  walking  down  to  the  beach  in  the 
forenoon,  saw  a  vessel  sailing  by,  and  made  a  smoke  in  token  of  trade. 
She  was  already  beyond  the  place,  and  the  wind  being  fair,  the  captain 
demurred  about  stopping :  had  Mr  N.'s  companion  been  half  an  hour 
later,  the  vessel  woidd  have  been  beyond  recal.  When  he  saw  her 
come  to  an  anchor,  he  went  on  board  in  a  canoe,  and  this  proved  the 
very  ship  already  spoken  of,  which  brought  an  order  for  Mr  N.'s  re- 
turn. One  of  the  first  questions  the  captain  put  was  concerning  Mr 
N. ;  and  understanding  he  was  so  near,  the  captain  came  on  shore  to 
deliver  his  message. 

"  Had,"  says  he,  "  an  invitation  from  home  reached  me  when  I  was 
sick  and  starving  at  the  Plantanes,  I  should  have  received  it  as  life 
from  the  dead;  but  now,  for  the  reasons  already  given,  I  heard  it  at 
first  with  indifference."  The  captain,  however,  unwilling  to  lose  him, 
framed  a  story,  and  gave  him  a  very  plausible  account  of  his  having 
missed  a  large  packet  of  letters  and  papers,  which  he  should  have 
brought  with  him  ;  but  said  he  had  it  from  his  father's  own  mouth,  as 
well  as  from  his  employer,  that  a  person  lately  dead  had  left  Mr  N. 
four  hundred  pounds  per  annum ;  and  added,  that,  if  embarrassed  in 
his  circumstances,  he  had  express  orders  to  redeem  Mr  N.  though  it 
should  cost  one  half  of  his  cargo.  Every  particular  of  this  was  false ; 
nor  could  Mr  N.  believe  what  was  said  about  the  estate,  except  that,  as 
he  had  some  expectations  from  an  aged  relation,  he  thought  a  part  of 
it  might  be  true. 

But  though  his  father's  care  and  desire  to  see  him  was  treated  so 

C 


18  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN   NEWTON. 

lightly,  and  would  have  been  insufficient  alone  to  draw  him  from  his 
retreat,  yet  the  remembrance  of  Mrs  N.,  the  hopes  of  seeing  her,  and 
the  possibility  that  his  accepting  this  offer  might  once  more  put  him  in 
the  way  of  gaining  her  hand,  prevailed  over  all  other  considerations. 

The  captain  farther  pi'omised  (and  in  this  he  kept  his  word),  that 
Mr  N.  should  lodge  in  his  cabin,  dine  at  his  table,  and  be  his  com- 
panion, without  being  liable  to  service.  Thus  suddenly  was  he  freed 
from  a  captivity  of  about  fifteen  months.  He  had  neither  a  thought 
nor  a  desire  of  this  change  one  hour  before  it  took  place  ;  but,  embark- 
ing with  the  captain,  he  in  a  few  hours  lost  sight  of  Kittam. 

The  ship  in  which  he  embarked  as  a  passenger,  was  on  a  trading 
voyage  for  gold,  ivory,  dyers'  wood,  and  bees'  wax.  Such  a  cargo  re- 
quires more  time  to  collect  than  one  of  slaves.  The  captain  began  his 
trade  at  Gambia,  had  been  already  four  or  five  months  in  Africa,  and, 
during  the  course  of  a  year  after  Mr  N.  had  been  with  him,  they  rang- 
ed the  whole  coast  as  far  as  Cape  Lopez,  which  lies  about  a  degree 
south  of  the  equinoxial,  and  more  than  a  thousand  miles  farther  from 
England  than  the  place  from  whence  he  embarked. 

"  I  have,"  says  he,  "  little  to  offer  worthy  of  notice,  in  the  course 
of  this  tedious  voyage.  I  had  no  business  to  employ  my  thoughts,  but 
sometimes  amused  myself  with  mathematics  ;  excepting  this,  my  whole 
life,  when  awake,  was  a  course  of  most  horrid  impiety  and  profaneness. 
I  know  not  that  I  have  ever  since  met  so  daring  a  blasphemer.  Not 
content  with  common  oaths  and  imprecations,  I  daily  invented  new 
ones ;  so  that  I  Avas  often  seriously  reproved  by  the  captain,  who  was 
himself  a  very  passionate  man,  and  not  at  all  circumspect  in  his  ex- 
pressions. From  the  relation  I  at  times  made  him  of  my  past  adven- 
tures, and  what  he  saw  of  my  conduct,  and  especially  towards  the  close 
of  the  voyage,  when  we  met  with  many  disasters,  he  would  often  tell 
me,  that,  to  his  great  grief,  he  had  a  Jonah  on  board ;  that  a  curse  at- 
tended me  wherever  I  Avent ;  and  that  all  the  troubles  he  met  Avith  in 
the  voyage  Avere  owing  to  his  haAring  taken  me  into  his  Aressel." 

Although  Mr  N.  lived  long  in  the  excess  of  almost  every  other  ex- 
traAragance,  he  Avas  neATer,  it  seems,  fond  of  drinking :  his  father  Avas 
often  heard  to  say,  that  while  his  son  aAroided  drunkenness,  some  hopes 
might  be  entertained  of  his  recoArery.  Sometimes,  hoAveA'er,  in  a  frolic, 
he  would  promote  a  drinking  bout ;  not  through  love  of  liquor,  but  dis- 
position to  mischief.  The  last  proposal  he  made  of  this  kind,  and  at 
his  OAvn  expense,  was  in  the  river  Gabon,  AA'hilst  the  ship  Avas  trading 
on  the  coast,  as  folloAvs  : — 

Four  or  five  of  them  sat  doAvn  one  evening,  to  try  who  could  hold 
out  longest  in  drinking  geneva  and  rum  alternately ;  a  large  sea-shell 
supplied  the  place  of  a  glass.  Mi*  N.  Avas  Arery  unfit  for  such  a  chal- 
lenge, as  his  head  was  always  incapable  of  bearing  much  liquor  :  he 
began,  hoAvever,  and  proposed,  as  a  toast,  some  imprecation  against  the 
person  Avho  should  start  first :  this  proved  to  be  himself.  Fired  in  his 
brain,  he  arose  and  danced  on  the  deck  like  a  madman ;  and  Avhile  he 
,vas  thus  diverting  his  companions,  his  hat  went  overboard.  Seeing 
the  ship's  boat  by  moonlight,  he  endeaAoured  eagerly  to  throw  himself 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  19 

over  the  side  into  the  boat,  that  he  might  recover  his  hat.  His  sight, 
however,  deceived  him,  for  the  boat  was  not  (as  he  supposed)  within 
his  reach,  but  perhaps  twenty  feet  from  the  ship's  side.  He  was,  how- 
ever, half  overboard,  and  would  in  the  space  of  a  moment  haA'e  plung- 
ed into  the  water,  when  somebody  caught  hold  of  his  clothes,  and  pul  • 
led  him  back.  This  was  an  amazing  escape,  as  he  could  not  swim,  had 
he  been  sober  ;  the  tide  ran  very  strong,  his  companions  were  too  much 
intoxicated  to  save  him,  and  the  rest  of  the  ship's  company  were  asleep. 

Another  time,  at  Cape  Lopez,  before  the  ship  left  the  coast,  he  went 
with  some  others  into  the  woods,  and  shot  a  buffalo,  or  wild  cow  :  they 
brought  a  part  of  it  on  board,  and  carefully  marked  the  place  (as  he 
thought)  where  the  rest  was  left.  In  the  evening  they  returned  to 
fetch  it,  but  set  out  too  late.  Mr  N.  undertook  to  be  their  guide  ;  but 
night  coming  on  before  they  could  reach  the  place,  they  lost  their  way. 
Sometimes  they  were  in  swamps,  and  up  to  their  middle  in  water ;  and, 
when  they  recovered  dry  land,  they  could  not  tell  whether  they  were 
proceeding  towards  the  ship,  or  the  contrary  way.  Every  step  increas- 
ed their  uncertainty — night  grew  darker — and  they  were  entangled  in 
thick  woods,  which  perhaps  the  foot  of  man  had  never  ti'odden,  and 
which  abound  with  wild  beasts  ;  besides  which,  they  had  neither  light, 
food,  nor  arms,  while  expecting  a  tiger  to  rush  from  behind  every  tree. 
The  stars  were  clouded,  and  they  had  no  compass  to  form  a  judgment 
which  way  they  were  going.  But  it  pleased  God  to  secure  them  from 
the  beasts ;  and,  after  some  hours  perplexity,  the  moon  arose,  and  point- 
ed out  the  eastern  quarter.  It  appeared  then,  that  instead  of  proceed- 
ing towards  the  sea,  they  had  been  penetrating  into  the  country :  at 
length,  by  the  guidance  of  the  moon,  they  recovered  the  ship. 

These,  and  many  other  deliverances,  produced  at  that  time  no  salu- 
tary effect.  The  admonitions  of  conscience,  which  from  successive  re- 
pulses had  grown  weaker  and  weaker,  at  length  entirely  ceased ;  and 
for  the  space  of  many  months,  if  not  for  some  years,  he  had  not  a 
single  check  of  that  sort.  At  times  he  was  visited  with  sickness,  and 
believed  himself  to  be  near  death,  but  had  not  the  least  concern  about 
the  consequences.  "  In  a  word,"  says  he,  "  I  seemed  to  have  every 
mark  of  final  impenitence  and  rejection;  neither  judgments  nor  mer- 
cies made  the  least  impression  on  me." 

At  length,  their  business  being  finished,  they  left  Cape  Lopez,  and 
after  a  few  days  stay  at  the  island  of  Annabona,  in  order  to  lay  in  pro- 
visions, they  sailed  homeward  about  the  beginning  of  January,  1784. 
From  Annabona  to  England  is  perhaps  more  than  seven  thousand  miles, 
if  the  circuits  are  included,  which  are  necessary  to  be  made  on  account 
of  the  trade  winds.  They  sailed  first  westward,  till  near  the  coast  of 
Brazil,  then  northward,  to  the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  without  meet- 
ing any  thing  extraordinary.  On  these  banks  they  stopped  half  a  day 
to  fish  for  cod  :  this  was  then  chiefly  for  diversion,  as  they  had  provi- 
sion enough,  and  little  expected  those  fish  (as  it  afterwards  proved), 
would  be  all  they  would  have  to  subsist  on.  They  left  the  banks, 
March  1st,  with  a  hard  gale  of  wind  westerly,  which  pushed  them  fast 
homewards.     By  the  length  of  this  voyage,  in  a  hot  climate,  the  vessel 


20  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

was  greatly  out  of  repair,  arid  very  unfit  to  endure  stormy  weather 
The  sails  and  cordage  were  likewise  very  much  worn,  and  many  such 
circumstances  concurred  to  render  what  followed  imminently  danger- 
ous. 

Among  the  few  hooks  they  had  on  board  was  Stanhope's  Thomas  a 
Keinpis.  Mr  N.  carelessly  took  it  up,  as  he  had  often  done  before,  to 
pass  away  the  time,  but  which  he  had  read  with  the  same  indiffer- 
ence as  if  it  were  a  romance.  But,  in  reading  it  this  time,  a  thought 
occurred,  "  What  if  these  things  should  be  true  ?"  He  could  not  bear 
the  force  of  the  inference,  and  therefore  shut  the  book,  concluding  that, 
true  or  false,  he  must  abide  the  consequences  of  his  own  choice,  and 
put  an  end  to  these  reflections  by  joining  in  the  vain  conversation  which 
came  in  his  way. 

"  But  now,"  says  he,  "  the  Lord's  time  was  come,  and  the  convic- 
tion I  was  so  unwilling  to  receive  was  deeply  impressed  upon  me  by  an 
awful  dispensation." 

He  went  to  bed  that  night  in  his  usual  carnal  security,  but  was  a- 
waked  from  a  sound  sleep  by  the  force  of  a  violent  sea  which  broke  on 
board  :  so  much  of  it  came  down  as  filled  the  cabin  with  water  in  which 
he  lay.  This  alarm  was  followed  by  a  cry  from  the  deck,  that  the  ship 
was  sinking.  He  essayed  to  go  upon  deck,  but  was  met  upon  the  lad- 
der by  the  captain,  who  desired  him  to  bring  a  knife.  On  his  return- 
ing for  the  knife,  another  person  went  up  in  his  place  who  was  instant- 
ly washed  overboard.  They  had  no  leisure  to  lament  him,  nor  expect- 
ed to  survive  him  long,  for  the  ship  was  filling  with  water  very  fast. 
The  sea  had  torn  away  the  upper  timbers  on  one  side,  and  made  it  a 
mere  wreck  in  a  few  minutes ;  so  that  it  seems  almost  miraculous  that 
any  survive  to  relate  the  story.  They  had  immediate  recourse  to  the 
pumps,  but  the  water  increased  against  their  efforts.  Some  of  them 
were  set  to  bailing,  though  they  had  but  eleven  or  twelve  people  to 
sustain  this  service  :  but  notwithstanding  all  they  could  do,  the  A^essel 
was  nearly  full,  and  with  a  common  cargo  must  have  sunk ;  but  hav- 
ing a  great  quantity  of  bees'  wax  and  wood  on  board,  which  was  speci- 
fically lighter  than  water,  and  providentially  receiving  this  shock  in 
the  very  crisis  of  the  gale,  towards  morning,  they  were  enabled  to  em- 
ploy some  means  for  safety,  which  succeeded  beyond  hope.  In  about 
an  hour's  time  day  began  to  break,  and  the  wind  abated  :  they  expend- 
ed most  of  their  clothes  and  bedding  to  stop  the  leaks ;  over  these 
they  nailed  pieces  of  boards,  and  at  last  perceived  the  water  within  to 
subside. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  scene  Mr  N.  was  little  affected :  he  pump- 
ed hard,  and  endeavoured  to  animate  himself  and  his  companions.  He 
told  one  of  them,  that  in  a  few  days  this  distress  would  serve  for  a 
subject  over  a  glass  of  wine ;  but  the  man  being  less  hardened  than 
himself,  replied,  with  tears,  "  No ;  it  is  too  late  now."  About  nine 
o'clock,  being  almost  spent  with  cold  and  labour,  Mr  N.  went  to  speak 
with  the  captain,  and,  as  he  was  returning,  said,  almost  without  mean- 
ing, "  If  this  will  not  do,  the  Lord  have  mercy  upon  us  !"  thus  ex- 
pressing,  though  with  little  reflection,  his  desire  of  mercy  for  the  first 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  21 

time  within  the  space  of  many  years.  Struck  with  his  own  words,  it  di- 
rectly occurred  to  him,  "  What  mercy  can  there  be  for  me  !"  He  was, 
however,  obliged  to  return  to  the  pump,  and  there  continued  till  noon, 
almost  every  passing  waAre  breaking  over  his  head,  being,  like  the  rest, 
secured  by  ropes,  that  they  might  not  be  washed  away.  He  expected, 
iudeed,  that  every  time  the  vessel  descended  in  the  sea,  she  would  rise 
no  more  ;  and  though  he  dreaded  death  now,  and  his  heart  foreboded 
the  worst,  if  the  Scriptures,  which  he  had  long  opposed,  were  true,  yet 
he  was  still  but  half  convinced,  and  remained  for  a  time  in  a  sullen 
frame,  a  mixture  of  despair  and  impatience.  He  thought,  if  the  Chris  - 
tian  religion  were  true,  he  could  not  be  forgiven,  and  was  therefore 
expecting,  and  almost  at  times  wishing,  to  know  the  worst  of  it. 

The  following  part  of  his  Narrative  will,  I  think,  be  best  expressed 
in  his  own  Avords  : — "  The  10th,  that  is,  in  the  present  style,  the  21st 
of  March,  is  a  day  much  to  be  remembered  by  me,  and  I  have  never 
suffered  it  to  pass  wholly  unnoticed  since  the  year  174-8.  On  that  day 
the  Lord  sent  from  on  high,  and  delivered  me  out  of  deep  waters.  I 
continued  at  the  pump  from  three  in  the  morning  till  near  noon,  and 
then  I  could  do  no  more.  I  went  and  lay  down  upon  my  bed,  uncei*- 
tain,  and  almost  indifferent,  Tvhether  I  should  rise  again.  In  an  hour's 
time  I  was  called,  and,  not  being  able  to  pump,  I  went  to  the  helm,  and 
steered  the  ship  till  midnight,  excepting  a  small  interval  for  refreshment. 

1  had  here  leisure  and  convenient  opportunity  for  reflection.  I  began 
to  think  of  my  former  religious  professions — the  extraordinary  turns 
of  my  life — the  calls,  warnings,  and  deliverances  I  had  met  with — the 
licentious  course  of  my  conversation — particularly  by  unparalleled 
effrontery,  in  making  the  Gospel  history  (which  I  could  not  be  sure 
was  false,  though  I  was  not  yet  assured  it  was  true)  the  constant  sub- 
ject of  profane  ridicule.  I  thought,  allowing  the  Scripture  premises, 
there  never  was  or  could  be  such  a  sinner  as  myself;  and  then  com- 
paring the  advantages  I  had  broken  through,  I  concluded  at  first,  that 
my  sins  were  too  great  to  be  forgiven.  The  Scripture  likewise  seemed 
to  say  the  same  :  for  I  had  formerly  been  well  acquainted  with  the  Bi- 
ble, and  many  passages  upon  this  occasion  returned  upon  my  memory ; 
particularly  those  awful  passages,  Prov.  i.  24 — 31  ;  Heb.  vi.  4,  6;  and 

2  Pet.  ii.  20;  which  seemed  so  exactly  to  suit  my  case  and  character, 
as  to  bring  with  them  a  presumptive  proof  of  a  divine  original. 

"  Thus,  as  I  have  said,  I  have  waited  with  fear  and  impatience  to 
receive  my  inevitable  doom.  Yet  though  I  had  thoughts  of  this  kind, 
they  were  exceeding  faint  and  disproportionate  ;  it  was  not  till  after 
(perhaps)  several  years,  that  I  had  gained  some  clear  views  of  the  infi- 
nite righteousness  and  grace  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord,  that  I  had  a 
deep  and  strong  apprehension  of  my  state  by  nature  and  practice;  and 
perhaps,  till  then,  I  could  not  have  borne  the  sight :  so  wonderfully 
does  the  Lord  proportion  the  discoveries  of  sin  and  grace  ;  for  he  knows 
our  frame,  and  that  if  he  were  to  put  forth  the  greatness  of  his  power, 
a  poor  sinner  would  be  instantly  overwhelmed,  and  crushed  as  a  moth. 

"  But  to  return :  when  I  saw  beyond  all  probability,  that  there  was 
still  hope  of  respite,   and  heard  about  six  in  the  evening  that  the  shin 


22  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

was  freed  from  water,  there  arose  a  gleam  of  hope.  I  thought  I  saw 
the  hand  of  God  displayed  in  our  favour.  I  began  to  pray :  I  could 
not  utter  the  prayer  of  faith  :  I  could  not  draw  near  to  a  reconciled 
God  and  call  him  Father  :  my  prayer  was  like  the  cry  of  the  ravens, 
which  yet  the  Lord  does  not  disdain  to  hear.  I  now  began  to  think  of 
that  Jesus  whom  I  had  so  often  derided :  I  recollected  the  particulars 
of  his  life  and  of  his  death  ;  a  death  for  sins  not  his  own,  but,  as  I  re- 
membered, for  the  sake  of  those,  who,  in  their  distress,  should  put  their 
trust  in  him.  And  now  I  chiefly  wanted  evidence.  The  comfortless 
principles  of  infidelity  were  deeply  riveted,  and  I  rather  wished  than 
believed  these  things  were  real  facts.  You  will  please  to  observe,  that 
I  collect  the  strain  of  the  reasonings  and  exercises  of  my  mind  in  one 
view ;  but  I  do  not  say  that  all  this  passed  at  one  time.  The  great 
question  now  was,  how  to  obtain  faith  ?  I  speak  not  of  an  appropriating 
faith  (of  which  I  then  knew  neither  the  nature  nor  necessity),  but  how 
I  should  gain  an  assurance  that  the  Scriptures  were  of  divine  inspira- 
tion, and  a  sufficient  warrant  for  the  exercise  of  trust  and  hope  in 
God. 

"  One  of  the  first  helps  I  received  (in  consequence  of  a  determina- 
tion to  examine  the  New  Testament  more  carefully)  was  from  Luke 
xi.  13.  I  had  been  sensible,  that  to  profess  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  when, 
in  reality,  I  did  not  believe  his  history,  was  no  better  than  a  mockery 
of  the  heart-searching  God;  but  here  I  found  a  Spirit  spoken  of,  which 
was  to  be  communicated  to  those  who  ask  it.  Upon  this  I  reasoned 
thus  :  If  this  book  be  true,  the  promise  in  this  passage  must  be  true 
likewise :  I  have  need  of  that  very  Spirit,  by  which  the  whole  was 
written,  in  order  to  understand  it  aright.  He  has  engaged  here  to 
give  that  Spirit  to  those  who  ask :  I  must  therefore  pray  for  it,  and  if 
it  be  of  God  he  will  make  good  his  own  word.  My  purposes  were 
strengthened  by  John  vii.  17.  I  concluded  from  thence,  that  though  I 
could  not  say  from  my  heart,  that  I  believed  the  Gospel,  yet  I  would, 
for  the  present,  take  it  for  granted ;  and  that  by  studying  it  in  this, 
light,  I  should  be  more  and  more  confirmed  in  it. 

"  If  what  lam  writing  could  be  perused  by  our  modern  infidels,  they 
would  say  (for  I  too  well  know  their  manner),  that  I  was  very  desi- 
rous to  persuade  myself  into  this  opinion.  I  confess  I  was,  and  so. 
would  they  be,  if  the  Lord  should  show  them,  as  he  was  pleased  to 
show  me  at  that  time,  the  absolute  necessity  of  some  expedient  to  in- 
terpose between  a  righteous  God  and  a  sinful  soul  :  upon  the  Gospel 
scheme  I  saw  at  least  a  peradventure  of  hope,  but  on  every  other  side 
I  was  surrounded  with  black,  unfathomable  despair." 

The  wind  being  now  moderate,  and  the  ship  drawing  nearer  to  its 
port,  the  ship's  company  began  to  recover  from  their  consternation, 
though  greatly  alarmed  by  their  circumstances.  They  found,  that  the 
water  having  floated  their  moveables  in  the  hold,  all  the  casks  of  pro- 
vision had  been  beaten  to  pieces  by  the  violent  motion  of  the  ship.  On 
the  other  hand,  their  live  stock  had  been  washed  overboard,  in  the 
storm.  In  short,  all  the  provisions  they  saved,  except  the  fish  lately 
caught  on  the  banks  for  amusement,  and  a  little   of  the  pulse  kind 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  23 

which  used  to  be  given  to  the  hogs,  would  have  supported  them  but  a 
week,  and  that  at  a  scanty  allowance.  The  sails,  too,  were  mostly 
blown  away,  so  that  they  advanced  but  slowly  even  while  the  wind  was 
fair.  They  imagined  they  were  about  a  hundred  leagues  from  land, 
but  were  in  reality  much  farther.  Mr  N.'s  leisure  was  chiefly  employ- 
ed in  reading,  meditation  on  the  Scriptures,  and  prayer  for  mercy  and 
instruction. 

Things  continued  thus  for  about  four  or  five  days,  when  they  were  a- 
wakened  one  morning  by  the  joyful  shouts  of  the  watch  upon  deck, 
proclaiming  the  sight  of  land,  with  which  they  were  all  soon  raised. 
The  dawning  was  uncommonly  beautiful,  and  the  light,  just  sufficient 
to  discover  distant  objects,  presented  what  seemed  a  mountainous  coast, 
about  twenty  miles  off,  with  two  or  three  small  islands ;  the  whole  ap- 
peared to  be  the  north-west  extremity  of  Ireland,  for  which  they  were 
steering.  They  sincerely  congratulated  each  other,  having  no  doubt, 
that,  if  the  wind  continued,  they  should  be  in  safety  and  plenty  the 
next  day.  Their  brandy,  which  was  reduced  to  a  little  more  than  a 
pint,  was,  by  the  captain's  orders,  distributed  among  them ;  who  add- 
ed, "We  shall  soon  have  brandy  enough."  They  likewise  ate  up  the 
residue  of  their  bread,  and  were  in  the  condition  of  men  suddenly  re- 
prieved from  death. 

But  while  their  hopes  were  thus  excited,  the  mate  sunk  their  spirits 
by  saying,  in  a  graver  tone,  that  "  he  wished  it  might  prove  land  at 
last."  If  one  of  the  common  sailors  had  first  said  so,  the  rest  would 
probably  have  beaten  him.  The  expression,  however,  brought  on 
warm  debates,  whether  it  was  land  or  not ;  but  the  case  was  soon  de- 
cided, for  one  of  their  fancied  islands  began  to  grow  red  from  the  ap- 
proach of  the  sun.  In  a  word,  their  land  was  nothing  but  clouds  ;  and 
in  half  an  hour  more  the  whole  appearance  was  dissipated. 

Still,  however,  they  cherished  hope  from  the  wind  continuing  fair, 

but  of  this  hope  they  were  soon  deprived.     That  very  day,  their  fair 

wind  subsided  into  a  calm,   and  the  next  morning  the  gale  sprung  up 

from  the  south-east,  directly  against  them,  and  continued  so  for  more 

than  a  fortnight  afterwards.     At   this  time  the  ship  was  so   wrecked, 

that  they  were   obliged  to  keep  the  wind  always   on  the  broken  side, 

except  when  the  weather  was  quite  moderate ;  and  were  thus  driven 

still  farther  from  their  port  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  as  far  as  the  Lewis, 

or  western  isles  of  Scotland.     Their  station  now  was  such  as  deprived 

them  of  any  hope  of  relief  from  other  vessels.     "  It  may  indeed  be 

questioned,"  says  Mr  N.,   "  whether  our  ship  was  not  the  very  first 

that  had  been  in  that  part  of  the  ocean,  at  the  same  time  of  the  year." 

Provisions  now  began  to  fall  short ,  the  half  of  a  salted  cod  was  a 

day's  subsistence  for  twelve  people  :  they  had  no  stronger  liquor  than 

water,  no  bread,  hardly  any  clothes,  and  very  cold  weather.    They  had 

also  incessant  labour  at  the  pumps,   to  keep  the   ship  above  water. 

Much  labour  and  little  food  wasted  them  fast,  and  one  man  died  under 

the  hardship.     Yet  their   sufferings  were  light  when  compared  with 

their  fears.     Their  bare  allowance  could  continue  but  little  longer,  and 


g4  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

a  dreadful  prospect  appeared  of  their  being  either  starved  to  death,  or 
reduced  to  feed  upon  one  another. 

At  this  time  Mr  N.  had  a  farther  trouble,  peculiar  to  himself.  The 
captain,  whose  temper  was  quite  soured  by  distress,  was  hourly  re- 
proaching him  as  the  sole  cause  of  the  calamity,  and  was  confident,  that 
his  being  thrown  overboard  would  be  the  only  means  of  preserving 
them.  The  captain,  indeed,  did  not  intend  to  make  the  experiment, 
but  "  the  continued  repetition  of  this  in  my  ears,"  says  Mr  N.,  "  gave 
me  much  uneasiness  ;  especially  as  my  conscience  seconded  his  words ; 
I  thought  it  very  probable,  that  all  that  had  befallen  us  was  on  my  ac- 
count— that  I  was  at  last  found  out  by  the  powerful  hand  of  God — and 
condemned  in  my  own  breast." 

While,  however,  they  were  thus  proceeding,  at  the  time  when  they 
were  ready  to  give  up  all  for  lost,  and  despair  appeared  in  every  coun- 
tenance, they  began  to  conceive  hope,  from  the  wind's  shifting  to  the 
desired  point,  so  as  best  to  suit  that  broken  part  of  the  ship,  which 
must  be  kept  out  of  the  water,  and  so  gently  to  blow  as  their  few  re- 
maining sails  could  bear.  And  thus  it  continued,  at  an  unsettled  time 
of  the  year,  till  they  were  once  more  called  up  to  see  land,  and  which 
was  really  such.  They  saw  the  island  of  Tory,  and  the  next  day  an- 
chored in  Lough  Swilly,  in  Ireland,  on  the  8th  of  April,  just  four  weeks 
after  the  damage  they  had  sustained  from  the  sea.  When  they  came  into 
this  port,  their  very  last  victuals  were  boiling  in  the  pot,  and  before 
they  had  been  there  two  hours,  the  wind,  which  seemed  to  have  been 
providentially  restrained  till  they  were  in  a  place  of  safety,  began  to 
blow  with  great  violence ;  so  that,  if  they  had  continued  at  sea  that 
night,  they  must,  in  all  human  estimation,  have  gone  to  the  bottom  ! 
"  About  this  time,"  says  Mr  N.,  "  I  began  to  know  that  there  is  a 
God,  who  hears  and  answers  prayer." 

Mr  N.'s  history  is  now  brought  down  to  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Ire- 
land, in  the  year  1748;  and  the  progress  he  had  hitherto  made  in  re- 
ligion will  be  best  related  in  his  own  words.  I  shall,  therefore,  make 
a  longer  extract  than  usual,  because  it  is  important  to  trace  the  ope- 
ration of  real  religion  in  the  heart.  Speaking  of  the  ship  in  which  he 
lately  sailed,  he  says,  "  There  were  no  persons  oai  board  to  whom  I 
could  open  myself  with  freedom,  concerning  the  state  of  my  soul;  none 
from  whom  I  could  ask  advice.  As  to  books,  I  had  a  New  Testament, 
Stanhope,  already  mentioned,  and  a  volume  of  Bishop  Beveridge's  Ser- 
mons, one* of  which,  upon  our  Lord's  passion,  affected  me  much.  In 
perusing  the  New  Testament,  I  was  struck  with  several  passages,  par- 
ticularly that  of  the  fig-tree,  Luke  xiii.  the  case  of  St  Paul,  1  Tim.  i- 
but  particularly  that  of  the  prodigal,  Luke  xv.  I  thought  that  had 
never  been  so  nearly  exemplified  as  by  myself.  And  then  the  goodness 
of  the  father  in  receiving,  nay,  in  running  to  meet  such  a  son,  and  this 
intended  only  to  illustrate  the  Lord's  goodness  to  returning  sinners  ! 
Such  reflections  gaining  upon  me,  I  continued  much  in  prayer  ;  I  saw 
that  the  Lord  had  interposed  so  far  to  save  me,  and  I  hoped  he  would 
do  more.  Outward  circumstances  helped  in  this  place  to  make  me 
still  more  serious  and  earnest  in  crying  to  him,  who  alone  could  relieve 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE   REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  25 

me ;  and  sometimes  I  thought  I  could  be  content  to  die  even  for  want 
of  food,  so  I  might  but  die  a  believer. 

"  Thus  far  I  was  answered,  that  before  we  arrived  in  Ireland  I  had 
a  satisfactory  evidence,  in  my  own  mind,  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  as 
considered  in  itself,  and  of  its  exact  suitableness  to  answer  all  my  needs. 
I  saw,  that,  by  the  way  they  were  pointed  out,  God  might  declare,  not 
his  mercy  only,  but  his  justice  also,  in  the  pardon  of  sin,  on  account  of 
the  obedience  and  sufferings  of  Jesus  Christ.  My  judgment,  at  that 
time,  embraced  the  sublime  doctrine  of  '  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  re- 
conciling the  world  unto  himself.'  I  had  no  idea  of  those  systems, 
which  allow  the  Saviour  no  higher  honour  than  that  of  an  upper  ser- 
vant, or  at  the  most  a  demi-god.  I  stood  in  need  of  an  Almighty  Sa- 
viour, and  such  a  one  I  found  described  in  the  New  Testament.  Thus 
far  the  Lord  had  wrought  a  marvellous  thing ;  I  was  no  longer  an  in- 
fidel ;  I  heartily  renounced  my  former  profaneness,  and  had  taken  up 
some  right  notions;  was  seriously  disposed,  and  sincerely  touched  with 
a  sense  of  the  undeserved  mercy  I  had  received,  in  being  brought  safe 
through  so  many  dangers.  I  was  sorry  for  my  past  mispent  life,  and 
purposed  an  immediate  reformation.  I  was  quite  freed  from  the  habit 
of  swearing,  which  seemed  to  have  been  deeply  rooted  in  me,  as  a  se- 
cond nature.     Thus,  to  all  appearance,  I  was  a  new  man. 

"  But  though  I  cannot  doubt  that  this  change,  so  far  as  it  prevail- 
ed, was  wrought  by  the  Spirit  and  power  of  God,  yet  still  I  was  great- 
ly deficient  in  many  respects.  I  was  in  some  degree  affected  with  a 
sense  of  my  enormous  sins  ;  but  I  was  little  aware  of  the  innate  evils 
of  my  heart.  I  had  no  apprehension  of  the  spirituality  and  extent  of 
the  law  of  God ;  the  hidden  life  of  a  Christian,  as  it  consists  in  com- 
munion with  God  by  Jesus  Christ ;  a  continual  dependence  on  him  for 
hourly  supplies  of  wisdom,  strength,  and  comfort,  was  a  mystery  of 
which  I  had  as  yet  no  knowledge.  I  acknowledged  the  Lord's  mercy 
in  pardoning  what  was  past,  but  depended  chiefly  upon  my  own  reso- 
lution to  do  better  for  the  time  to  come.  I  had  no  Christian  friend  or 
faithful  minister  to  advise  me,  that  my  strength  was  no  more  than  my 
righteousness  ;  and  though  I  soon  began  to  inquire  for  serious  books, 
yet,  not  having  spiritual  discernment,  I  frequently  made  a  wrong 
choice ;  and  I  was  not  brought  in  the  way  of  evangelical  preaching  or 
conversation  (except  the  few  times  when  I  heard  but  understood  not) 
for  six  years  after  this  period.  Those  things  the  Lord  was  pleased  to 
discover  to  me  gradually.  I  learnt  them  here  a  little,  and  there  a  lit- 
tle, by  my  own  painful  experience,  at  a  distance  from  the  common 
means  and  ordinances,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  same  course  of  evil 
company,  and  bad  examples,  I  had  been  conversant  with  for  some 
time. 

"  From  this  period  I  could  no  more  make  a  mock  at  sin,  or  jest 
with  holy  things ;.  I  no  more  questioned  the  truth  of  Scripture,  or  lost 
a  sense  of  the  rebukes  of  conscience.  Therefore  I  consider  this  as  the 
beginning  of  my  return  to  God,  or  rather  of  his  return  to  me ;  but  I 
cannot  consider  myself  to  have  been  a  believer  (in  the  full  sense  of  the 
word)  till  a  considerable  time  afterwards." 


2t>  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

While  the  ship  was  refitting  at  Lough  Swilly,  Mr  N.  repaired  to 
Londonderry,  where  he  soon  recruited  his  health  and  strength.  He 
was  now  a  serious  professor,  went  twice  a  day  to  the  prayers  at  church, 
and  determined  to  receive  the  sacrament  the  next  opportunity.  When 
the  day  came,  he  arose  very  early,  was  very  earnest  in  his  private  de- 
votions, and  solemnly  engaged  himself  to  the  Lord  ;  not  with  a  formal, 
but  sincere  surrender,  and  under  a  strong  sense  of  the  mercies  lately 
received.  Having,  however,  as  yet  hut  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  his 
own  heart,  and  of  the  subtlety  of  Satan's  temptations,  he  was  after- 
wards seduced  to  forget  the  vows  of  God  that  were  upon  him.  Yet 
he  felt  a  peace  and  satisfaction  in  the  ordinance  of  that  day,  to  which 
he  had  been  hitherto  an  utter  stranger. 

The  next  day  he  went  abroad  with  the  mayor  of  the  city,  and  some 
gentlemen,  shooting ;  climbing  up  a  steep  bank,  and  pulling  his  fowl- 
ing-piece in  a  perpendicular  direction  after  him,  it  went  off  so  near  his 
face  as  to  destroy  the  corner  of  his  hat.  The  remark  he  makes  on  this 
ought  not  to  be  omitted  :  "  Thus,  when  we  think  ourselves  in  the 
greatest  safety,  we  are  no  less  exposed  to  danger,  than  when  all  the 
elements  seem  conspiring  to  destroy  us.  The  Divine  Providence,  which 
is  sufficient  to  deliver  us  in  our  utmost  extremity,  is  equally  necessary 
to  our  preservation  in  the  most  peaceful  situation." 

During  their  stay  in  Ireland,  Mr  N.  wrote  home.  The  vessel  he  was 
in  had  not  been  heard  of  for  eighteen  months,  and  was  given  up  for 
lost.  His  father  had  no  expectation  of  hearing  that  his  son  was  alive, 
but  received  his  letter  a  few  days  before  he  embarked  from  London  to 
become  Governor  of  York  Fort,  in  Hudson's  Bay,  where  he  died.  He 
intended  to  take  his  son  with  him,  had  he  returned  to  England  in 
time.  Mr  N.  received  two  or  three  affectionate  letters  from  his  father; 
and  hoped,  that  in  three  years  more  he  should  have  had  the  opportuni- 
ty of  asking  his  forgiveness,  for  the  uneasiness  his  disobedience  had 
occasioned  ;  but  the  ship  that  was  to  have  brought  his  father  home 
came  without  him.  It  appears  he  was  seized  with  the  cramp,  when 
bathing,  and  was  drowned  before  the  ship  arrived  in  the  Bay.  Be- 
fore his  father's  departure  from  England,  he  had  paid  a  visit  in  Kent, 
and  gave  his  consent  to  the  union  that  had  been  so  long  talked  of. 

Mr  N.  arrived  at  Liverpool  the  latter  end  of  May  1748,  about  the 
same  day  that  his  father  sailed  from  the  Nore.  He  found,  however, 
another  father  in  the  gentleman  whose  ship  had  brought  him  home. 
This  friend  received  him  with  great  tenderness,  and  the  strongest  as- 
surances of  assistance ;  yet  not  stronger  than  he  afterwards  fulfilled, 
for  to  this  instrument  of  God's  goodness  he  felt  he  owed  every  thing. 
"  Yet,"  as  Mr  N.  justly  observes,  "  it  would  not  have  been  in  the 
power  even  of  this  friend  to  have  served  me  effectually,  if  the  Lord  had 
not  met  me  on  my  way  home,  as  I  have  related.  Till  then,  I  was  like 
the  man  possessed  with  the  legion.  No  arguments,  no  persuasion,  no 
views  of  interest,  no  remembrance  of  the  past,  nor  regard  to  the  fu- 
ture, could  have  restrained  me  within  the  bounds  of  common  prudence  ; 
but  now  I  was  in  some  measure  restored  to  my  senses." 

This  friend  immediately  offered  Mr  N.  the   command  of  a  ship, 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.   JOHN   NEWTON.  ^7 

which,  upon  mature  consideration,  he  for  the  present  declined.  He 
prudently  considered,  that  hitherto  he  had  heen  unsettled  and  careless ; 
and  therefore  that  he  had  hetter  make  another  voyage,  and  learn  obe- 
dience and  acquire  farther  experience  in  business,  before  he  ventured 
to  undertake  such  a  charge.  The  mate  of  the  vessel  in  which  he  came 
home  was  preferred  to  the  command  of  a  new  ship,  and  Mr  N.  engaged 
to  go  in  the  station  of  mate  with  him. 

There  was  something  so  peculiar  in  Mr  N.'s  case,  after  this  extra- 
ordinary deliverance,  and  because  others  in  like  circumstances  might 
be  tempted  to  despair,  that  I  think  it  proper  to  make  another  extract 
from  his  Narrative,  as  such  accounts  cannot  be  well  conveyed  but  in 
his  own  words. 

"  We  must  not  make  the  experience  of  others  in  all  respects  a  rule 
to  ourselves,  nor  our  own  a  rule  to  others  :  yet  these  are  common  mis- 
takes, and  productive  of  many  more.  As  to  myself,  every  part  of  my 
case  has  been  extraordinary — I  have  hardly  met  a  single  instance  re- 
sembling it.  Few,  very  few,  haA*e  been  recovered  from  such  a  dread- 
ful state  ;  and  the  few  that  have  been  thus  favoured,  have  generally 
passed  through  the  most  severe  convictions ;  and,  after  the  Lord  has 
given  them  peace,  their  future  lives  have  been  usually  more  zealous, 
bright,  and  exemplary  than  common.  Now,  as,  on  the  one  hand,  my 
convictions  were  very  moderate,  and  far  below  what  might  have  been 
expected  from  the  dreadful  review  I  had  to  make ;  so,  on  the  other,  my 
first  beginnings  in  a  religious  course  were  as  faint  as  can  be  well  ima- 
gined. I  never  knew  that  season  alluded  to,  Jer.  ii.  2. ;  Rev.  ii.  4., 
usually  called  the  time  of  the  first  love.  Who  would  not  expect  to 
hear,  that,  after  such  a  wonderful  and  unhoped-for  deliverance  as  I  had 
received,  and  after  my  eyes  were  in  some  measure  enlightened  to  see 
things  aright,  I  should  immediately  cleave  to  the  Lord  and  his  ways 
with  full  purpose  of  heart,  and  consult  no  more  witli  flesh  and  blood  ? 
But,  alas  !  it  was  far  otherwise  with  me  :  I  had  learned  to  pray  :  I  set 
some  value  upon  the  word  of  God ;  and  was  no  longer  a  libertine;  but 
my  soul  still '  cleaved  to  the  dust.'  Soon  after  my  departure  from  Liver- 
pool, I  began  to  intermit  and  grow  slack  in  waiting  upon  the  Lord  :  I 
grew  vain  and  trifling  in  my  conversation  ;  and  though  my  heart  smote 
me  often,  yet  my  armour  was  gone,  and  I  declined  fast:  and  by  the 
time  we  arrived  at  Guinea,  I  seemed  to  have  forgotten  all  the  Lord's 
mercies,  and  my  own  engagements,  and  was  (profaneness  excepted)  al- 
most as  bad  as  before.  The  enemy  prepared  a  train  of  temptations, 
and  I  became  his  easy  prey ;  for  about  a  month  he  lulled  me  asleep  in 
a  course  of  evil,  of  which,  a  few  months  before,  I  could  not  have  sup- 
posed myself  any  longer  capable.  How  much  propriety  is  there  in  the 
apostle's  advice,  '  Take  heed  lest  any  of  you  be  hardened  through  the 
deceitfulness  of  sin.' " 

In  this  voyage  Mr  N.'s  business,  while  upon  the  coast,  was  to  sail  in 
the  long  boat,  from  place  to  place,  in  order  to  purchase  slaves.  The 
ship,  at  this  time,  was  at  Sierra  Leone,  and  he  at  the  Plantanes,  the 
scene  of  his  former  captivity,  and  where  every  thing  he  saw  tended  to 
remind  him  of  his  present  ingratitude.     He  was  now  in  easy  circum- 


28  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

stances,  and  courted  by  those  who  had  once  despised  him.  The  lime- 
trees  he  had  formerly  planted,  were  growing  tall  and  promised  fruit, 
upon  his  expected  return  with  a  ship  of  his  own.  Unaffected,  however, 
witli  these  tilings,  he  needed  another  providential  interposition  to  rouse 
him ;  and  accordingly  he  was  visited  with  a  violent  fever,  which  broke 
the  fatal  chain,  and  once  more  brought  him  to  himself.  Alarmed  at 
the  prospect  before  him,  he  thought  himself  now  summoned  away. 
The  dangers  and  deliverances  through  which  he  had  passed — his  ear- 
nest prayers  in  the  time  of  trouble — his  solum  vows  before  the  Lord  at 
his  table — and  his  ungrateful  returns  for  all  his  goodness — were  pre- 
sent at  once  to  his  mind.  He  began  then  to  wish  that  he  had  sunk  in 
the  ocean,  when  he  first  cried  for  mercy.  For  a  short  time  he  con- 
cluded that  the  door  of  hope  was  quite  shut.  Weak,  and  almost  deli- 
rious, he  arose  from  his  bed,  crept  to  a  retired  part  of  the  island,  and 
here  found  a  renewed  liberty  in  prayer  :  daring  to  make  no  more  re- 
solves, he  cast  himself  upon  the  Lord,  to  do  with  him  as  he  should 
please.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  thing  new  was  presented  to  his 
mind,  but  that,  in  general,  he  was  enabled  to  hope  and  believe  in  a  cru- 
cified Saviour. 

After  this,  the  burthen  was  removed  from  his  conscience,  and  not 
only  his  peace,  but  his  health  was  gradually  restored,  when  he  return- 
ed to  the  ship.  And  though  subject  to  the  efforts  and  conflicts  of  sin, 
dwelling  in  him,  he  was  ever  after  delivered  from  the  power  and  do- 
minion of  it. 

His  leisure  hours  in  this  voyage  were  chiefly  employed  in  acquiring 
Latin,  which  he  had  now  almost  forgotten.  This  desire  took  place 
from  an  imitation  he  had  seen  of  one  of  Horace's  Odes  in  a  Magazine. 
In  this  attempt  at  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  the  poets,  he  had  no 
other  help  than  an  old  English  translation,  with  Castalio's  Latin  Bible. 
He  had  the  edition  in  usum  Delphini,  and,  by  comparing  the  odes  with 
the  interpretation,  and  tracing  such  words  as  he  understood  from  place  to 
place  by  the  index,  together  with  what  assistance  he  could  get  from  the 
Latin  Bible,  he  thus,  by  dint  of  hard  industry,  made  some  progress.  He 
not  only  understood  the  sense  of  many  odes,  and  some  of  the  epistles, 
but  "  I  began,"  says  he,  "to  relish  the  beauties  of  the  composition ; 
acquired  a  spice  of  what  Mr  Law  calls,  '  classical  ethusiasm ;'  and,  in- 
deed, by  this  means  I  had  Horace  more  ad  unguem  than  some  who  are 
masters  of  the  Latin  tongue  ;  for  my  helps  were  so  few,  that  I  general- 
ly had  the  passage  fixed  in  my  memory  before  I  could  fully  understand 
its  meaning." 

During  the  eight  months  they  were  employed  upon  the  coast,  Mr  N.'s 
business  exposed  him  to  innumerable  dangers  from  burning  suns,  chil- 
ling dews,  winds,  rains,  and  thunder  storms,  in  an  open  boat ;  and  on 
shore,  from  long  journeys  through  the  woods,  and  from  the  natives, 
who  in  many  places  are  cruel,  treacherous,  and  watching  opportunities 
for  mischief.  Several  boats,  during  this  time,  were  cut  off,  several 
white  men  poisoned,  and  from  his  own  boat  he  buried  six  or  seven 
people,  with  fevers ;  when  going  on  shore,  or  returning,  he  was  more 
than  once  overset  by  the  violence  of  the  surf,  and  brought  to  land  half 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN   NEWTON.  29 

dead,  as  he  could  not  swim.  Among  a  number  of  such  escapes,  which 
remained  upon  his  memory,  the  following  will  mark  the  singular  pro- 
vidence that  was  over  him  : — 

On  finishing  their  trade,  and  being  about  to  sail  to  the  West  Indies, 
the  only  service  Mr  N.  had  to  perform  in  the  boat,  was  to  assist  in 
bringiug  the  wood  and  water  from  the  shore.  They  were  then  at  Rio 
Cestors.  He  used  to  go  into  the  river,  in  the  afternoon,  with  the  sea- 
breeze,  to  procure  his  lading  in  the  evening,  in  order  to  return  on  board 
in  the  morning  with  the  land-wind.  Several  of  these  little  voyages  lie 
had  made  ;  but  the  boat  was  grown  old,  and  almost  unfit  for  use;  this 
service  likewise  was  almost  completed.  One  day,  having  dined  on 
board,  he  was  preparing  to  return  to  the  river  as  formerly — he  had 
taken  leave  of  the  captain — received  his  orders — was  already  in  the 
boat — and  just  going  to  put  off;  in  that  instant  the  captain  came  up 
from  the  cabin,  and  called  him  on  board  again.  Mr  N.  went,  expect- 
ing farther  orders,  but  the  captain  said,  "  he  had  taken  it  into  his 
head"  (as  he  phrased  it),  that  Mr  N.  should  remain  that  day  in  the 
ship,  and  accordingly  ordered  another  man  to  go  in  his  room.  Mr  N. 
was  surprised  at  this,  as  the  boat  had  never  been  sent  away  without 
him  before.  He  asked  the  captain  the  reason  of  his  resolution,  but 
none  was  assigned,  except  as  above,  that  so  he  would  have  it.  The 
boat,  therefore  went  without  Mr  N.,  but  returned  no  more  :  it  sunk 
that  night  in  the  river ;  and  the  person  who  supplied  Mr  N.'s  place 
was  drowned  !  Mi-  N.  was  much  struck  when  news  of  the  event  was 
received  the  next  morning.  The  captain  himself,  though  cpiite  a  stran- 
ger to  religion,  even  to  the  denying  a  particular  providence,  could  not 
help  being  affected  ;  but  declared,  that  he  had  no  other  reason  for  coun- 
termanding Mr  N.  at  that  time,  but  that  it  came  suddenly  into  his 
mind  to  detain  him. 

A  short  time  after  he  was  thus  surprisingly  preserved,  they  sailed 
for  Antigua,  and  from  thence  to  Charlestown,  in  South  Carolina.  In 
that  place  there  were  many  serious  people ;  but,  at  this  time,  Mr  N. 
was  little  capable  of  availing  himself  of  their  society,  supposing  that  all 
who  attended  public  worship  were  good  Christians,  and  that  whatever 
came  from  the  pulpit  must  be  very  good.  He  had  two  or  three  oppor- 
tunities, indeed,  of  hearing  a  minister  of  eminent  character  and  gifts, 
whom,  though  struck  with  his  manner,  he  did  not  rightly  understand. 
Almost  every  day,  when  business  would  permit,  he  used  to  retire  into 
the  woods  and  fields  (being  his  favourite  oratories),  and  began  to  taste 
the  delight  of  communion  with  God,  in  the  exercises  of  prayer  and 
praise;  and  yet  so  much  inconsistency  prevailed,  that  he  frequently 
spent  the  evening  in  vain  and  worthless  company.  His  relish,  indeed, 
for  woridly  diversions  was  much  weakened ;  and  he  was  rather  a  spec- 
tator than  a  sharer  in  their  pleasures;  but  he  did  not  as  yet  see  the 
necessity  of  absolutely  relincpiishing  such  society.  It  appears,  that 
compliances  of  this  sort,  in  his  present  circumstances,  were  owing  ra- 
ther to  a  want  of  light  than  to  any  obstinate  attachment :  as  he  was 
kept  from  what  he  knew  to  bo  sinful,  he  had,  for  the  most  part,  peace 
of  conscience  ;  and  his  strongest  desires   were   towards  the  things  of 


SO  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN   NEWTON. 

God.  He  did  not  as  yet  apprehend  the  force  of  that  precept,  "  Abstain 
from  all  appearance  of  evil ;"  but  he  very  often  ventured  upon  the 
brink  of  temptation.  He  did  not  break  with  the  world  at  once,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  but  was  gradually  led  to  see  the  inconve- 
nience and  folly  of  first  one  thing  and  then  another,  and  as  such  to 
give  them  up. 

They  finished  their  voyage,  and  arrived  in  Liverpool.  When  the 
ship's  affairs  were  settled,  Mr  N.  went  to  London,  and  from  thence  he 
soon  repaired  to  Kent.  More  than  seven  years  had  now  elapsed  since 
his  first  visit :  no  views  of  the  kind  seemed  more  chimerical  than  his, 
or  could  subsist  under  greater  discouragements ;  yet  while  he  seemed 
abandoned  to  his  passions,  he  was  still  guided,  by  a  hand  that  he  knew 
not,  to  the  accomplishment  of  his  wishes.  Every  obstacle  was  now  re- 
moved— he  had  renounced  his  former  follies — his  interest  was  establish- 
ed— and  friends  on  all  sides  consenting.  The  point  was  now  entirely 
between  the  parties  immediately  concerned,  and,  after  what  had  pass- 
ed, was  easily  concluded ;  accordingly  their  hands  were  joined,  Febru- 
ary the  1st,  1750. 

"  But,  alas  !"  says  he,  "  this  mercy,  which  raised  me  to  all  I  could 
ask  or  wish  in  a  temporal  view,  and  which  ought  to  have  been  an  ani- 
mating motive  to  obedience  and  praise,  had  a  contrary  effect :  I  rested 
in  the  gift  and  forgot  the  giver.  My  poor  narrow  heart  was  satisfied. 
A  cold  and  careless  frame  as  to  spiritual  things,  took  place,  and  gained 
ground  daily.  Happy  for  me,  the  season  was  advancing ;  and  in  June 
I  received  orders  to  repair  to  Liverpool.  This  roused  me  from  my 
dream  ;  and  I  found  the  pains  of  absence  and  separation  fully  propor- 
tioned to  my  preceding  pleasure.*  Through  all  my  following  voy- 
ages, my  irregular  and  excessive  affections  were  as  thorns  in  my  eyes, 
and  often  made  my  other  blessings  tasteless  and  insipid.  But  he,  who 
doth  all  things  well,  overruled  this  likewise  for  good  :  it  became  an 
occasion  of  quickening  me  in  prayer,  both  for  her  and  myself;  it  in- 
creased my  indifference  for  company  and  amusement ;  it  habituated  me 
to  a  kind  of  voluntary  self-denial,  which  I  was  afterwards  taught  to 
improve  to  a  better  purpose." 

Mr  N.  sailed  from  Liverpool,  in  August  1750,  commander  of  a  good 
ship.     He  had  now  the  command  and  care  of  thirty  persons  :  he  en- 

*  In  writing  to  Mrs  Newton  from  St  Alban's,  he  inserts  a  prayer  for  his  own  health  and  that  of 
Mrs  N.,  upon  which  he  remarks  as  follows  :  — 

"  This  prayer  includes  all  that  I  at  that  time  knew  how  to  ask  for  ;  and  had  not  the  Lord 
given  me  more  than  I  then  knew  how  to  ask  or  think,  I  should  now  be  completely  miserable.  The 
prospect  of  this  separation  was  terrible  to  me  as  death  :  to  avoid  it,  I  repeatedly  purchased  a  ticket 
in  the  lottery  ;  thinking,  '  Who  knows  but  I  may  obtain  a  considerable  prize,  and  be  thereby 
saved  from  the  necessity  of  going  to  sea?'  Happy  for  me,  the  iot,  which  I  then  considered  as  ca 
sual,  was  at  thy  disposal.  The  money,  which  I  could  not  with  prudence  have  spured  at  the  time, 
was  lost:  all  my  tickets  proved  blanks,  though  I  attempted  to  bribe  thee,  by  promising,  if  I  suc- 
ceeded, to  give  a  considerable  part  to  the  poor.  But  these  blanks  were  truly  prizes.  Thy  mercy 
sent  m-  to  sea  against  my  own  will.  To  thy  blessing,  and  to  my  solitary  sea-hours,  I  was  indebt- 
ed for  all  my  temporal  comforts  and  future  hopes. 

"  Thou  wert  pleased  likewise  to  disappoint  me,  by  thy  providence,  of  some  money,  which  I  ex- 
pected to  receive  on  my  marriage  ;  so  that,  excepting  our  apparel,  when  I  sailed  from  Liverpool  on 
my  first  voyage,  the  sum  total  of  my  worldly  uiven'ory  was — seventy  pounds  in  debt." 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE   REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  31 

deavoured  to  treat  them  with  humanity,  and  to  set  them  a  good  exam- 
ple.* He  likewise  established  public  worship,  according  to  the  Litur- 
gy of  the  Church  of  England,  officiating  himself  twice  every  Lord's 
day.  He  did  not  proceed  farther  than  this  while  he  continued  in  that 
occupation. 

.  Having  now  much  leisure,  he  prosecuted  the  study  of  Latin  with 
good  success.  He  remembered  to  take  a  Dictionary  this  voyage,  and 
added  Juvenal  to  Horace ;  and,  for  prose  authors,  Livy,  Caesar,  and 
Sail  ust.  He  was  not  aware  of  the  mistake  of  beginning  with  such  dif- 
ficult writers ;  but,  having  heard  Livy  highly  commended,  he  was  re- 
solved to  understand  him  :  he  began  with  the  first  page,  and  made  it 
a  rule  not  to  proceed  to  a  second  till  he  understood  the  first.  Often 
at  a  stand,  but  seldom  discouraged,  here  and  there  he  found  a  few  fines 
quite  obstinate,  and  was  forced  to  give  them  up,  especially  as  his  edi- 
tion had  no  notes.  Before,  however,  the  close  of  that  voyage,  he  in- 
forms us,  that  he  could,  with  a  few  exceptions,  read  Livy,  almost  as 
readily  as  an  English  author.  Other  prose  authors,  he  says,  cost  him 
but  little  trouble,  as  in  surmounting  the  former  difficulty  he  had  mas- 
tered all  in  one.  In  short,  in  the  space  of  two  or  three  voyages,  he 
became  acquainted  with  the  best  classics.  He  read  Terence,  Virgil, 
several  pieces  of  Cicero,  and  the  modern  classics,  Buchanan,  Erasmus, 
and  Casimir  ;  and  made  some  essays  towards  writing  elegant  Latin. 

"  But  by  this  time,"  he  observes,  "  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  draw 
me  nearer  to  himself,  and  to  give  me  a  fuller  view  of  the  pearl  of  great 
price,  the  inestimable  treasure  hid  in  the  field  of  the  Holy  Scriptures ; 
and  for  the  sake  of  this  I  was  made  willing  to  part  with  all  my  newly- 
acquired  riches.  I  began  to  think,  that  life  was  too  short  (especially 
my  life)  to  admit  of  leisure  for  such  elaborate  trifling.  Neither  poet, 
nor  historian  could  tell  me  a  word  of  Jesus ;  and  I  therefore  applied 
myself  to  those  who  could.  The  classics  were  at  first  restrained  to 
one  morning  in  the  week,  and  at  length  laid  aside." 

This  his  first  voyage  after  his  marriage  lasted  the  space  of  fourteen 
months,  through  various  scenes  of  danger  and  difficulty ;  but  nothing 
very  remarkable  occurred;  and,  after  having  seen  many  fall  on  his 
right  hand  and  on  his  left,  he  was  brought  home  in  peace,  Nov.  2, 
1751. 

In  the  interval,  between  his  first  and  second  voyage,  he  speaks  of 
the  use  he  found  in  keeping  a  sort  of  diary,  of  the  unfavourable  ten- 
dency of  a  life  of  ease  among  his  friends,  and  of  the  satisfaction  of  his 
wishes  proving  unfavourable  to  the  progress  of  grace  ;  upon  the  whole, 
however,  he  seems  to  have  gained  ground,  and  was  led  into  farther 
^ews  of  Christian  doctrine  and  experience  by  Scougal's  Life  of  God 
in  the  Soul  of  Man,  Hervey's  Meditations,  and  the  Life  of  Colonel 
Gardiner.     He  seems  to  have  derived  no  advantages  from  the  preach- 

*  I  have  beard  Mr  New.ton  observe,  that,  as  the  commander  of  a  slave-ship,  he  had  a  number  of 
women  under  his  absolute  command  :  and  knowing  the  danger  of  his  situation  on  that  account,  he 
resolved  to  abstain  from  flesh  in  his  food,  and  to  drink  nothing  stronger  than  water,  during  the 
voyage ;  that,  by  abstemiousness,  he  might  subdue  every  improper  emotion  :  and  that,  upon  his 
setting  sail,  the  sight  of  a  certain  point  of  land  was  the  signal  for  his  beginning  a  rule,  which  he 
was  enabled  to  keep. 


3*2.  MEMOIRS   OF  THE   REV.   JOHN    NEWTON. 

ing  lie  heard,  or  the  Christian  acquaintance  be  made  ;  and  though  he 
could  not  live  without  prayer,  he  durst  not  propose  it,  even  to  his  wife, 
till  she  first  urged  him  to  the  mutual  practice  of  it. 

In  a  few  months,  the  returning  season  called  him  abroad  again,  and 
he  sailed  from  Liverpool,  in  anew  ship,  July  1752*.  "  I  never  knew," 
savs  he,  "  sweeter  or  more  frequent  hours  of  Divine  communion  than 
in  my  two  last  voyages  to  Guinea,  when  I  was  either  almost  secluded 
from  society  on  shipboard,  or  when  on  shore  among  the  natives.  I 
have  wandered  through  the  woods,  reflecting  on  the  singular  goodness^ 
of  the  Lord  to  me,  in  a  place  where,  perhaps  there  was  not  a  person 
who  knew  me  for  some  thousand  miles  round.  Many  a  time,  upon 
these  occasions,  I  have  restored  the  beautiful  lines  of  Propertius  to  the 
right  owner;  lines  full  of  blasphemy  and  madness  when  addressed  to 
a  creature,  but  full  of  comfort  and  propriety  in  the  mouth  of  a  be- 
liever. 

Sic  ego  desertis  possim  bene  vivere  sylvis, 

Quo  nulla  humano  sit  via  trita  pede ; 
Tu  inihi  eurarum  reqnies,  in  nocte  vel  artia 

Lumen,  et  in  solis  tu  milii  turba  locis. 

PARAPHRASED. 

In  desert  woods,  with  thee,  my  God, 
Where  human  footsteps  never  trod, 

How  happy  could  I  be  ! 
Thou  my  repose  from  care,  my  light 
Amidst  the  darkness  of  the  night, 

In  solitude  my  company." 

In  the  course  of  this  voyage,  Mr  N.  was  wonderfully  preserved 
through  many  unforeseen  dangers.  At  one  time  there  was  a  conspi- 
racy among  his  own  people  to  become  pirates,  and  take  possession  of 
the  ship.  When  the  plot  was  nearly  ripe,  they  watched  only  for  op- 
portunity :  two  of  them  were  taken  ill  in  one  day  ;  one  of  them  died. 
This  suspended  the  affair,  and  opened  a  way  to  its  discovery.  The 
slaves  on  board  frequently  plotted  insurrections,  and  were  sometimes 
upon  the  very  brink  of  one  when  it  was  disclosed.  When  at  a  place 
called  Mana,  near  Cape  Mount,  Mr  N.  intended  to  go  on  shore  the 
next  morning  to  settle  some  business ;  but  the  surf  of  the  sea  ran  so 
high,  that  he  was  afraid  to  attempt  landing.  He  had  often  ventured 
at  a  worse  time,  but  then  feeling  a  backwardness  which  he  could  not 
account  for,  the  high  surf  furnished  a  pretext  for  indulging  it :  he 
therefore  returned  to  the  ship  without  doing  any  business.  He  after- 
wards found,  that,  on  the  day  he  intended  to  land,  a  scandalous  and 
groundless  charge  had  been  laid  against  him,  which  greatly  threatened 
his  honour  and  interest,  both  in  Africa  and  England,  and  would  per- 
haps have  affected  his  life,  had  he  landed.  The  person  most  concern- 
ed in  this  affair  owed  him  about  a  hundred  pounds,  which  he  sent 
in  a  huff,  and  otherwise,  perhaps,  would  not  have  paid  it  at  all.     Mr 

*  Mr  N.  had  had  an  unexpected  call  to  London  ;  and,  on  his  return,  when  within  a  few  miles 
of  Liverpool,  he  mistook  a  marl- pit  for  a  pond,  and,  in  attempting  to  waler  his  horse,  both  the 
horse  and  the  rider  plunged  into  it  overhead.  Ho  was  afterwards  told,  that,  near  that  time,  three 
oersons  had  lost  their  lives  bv  a  mistake  of  'he  same  kind. 


MEMOIRS   OF  THE  REV.   JOHN  NEWTON.  33 

N.  heard  no  more  of  this  accusation  till  the  next  voyage,  and  then  it 
was  puhlicly  acknowledged  to  have  been  a  malicious  calumny,  without 
the  least  shadow  of  a  ground. 

But,  as  these  things  did  not  occur  every  day,  Mr  N.  prosecuted  his 
Latin,  being  very  regular  in  the  management  of  his  time.  He  allotted 
about  eight  hours  for  sleep  and  meals,  eight  hours  for  exercise  and  de- 
votion, and  eight  hours  to  his  books  ;  and  thus,  by  diversifying  his  en- 
gagements, the  whole  day  was  agreeably  filled  up. 

From  the  coast  he  went  to  St.  Christopher's,  where  he  met  with  a 
great  disappointment  :  for  the  letters,  which  he  expected  from  Mrs  N., 
were  by  mistake  forwarded  to  Antigua.  Certain  of  her  punctuality  in 
writing,  if  alive,  he  concluded  by  not  hearing  from  her,  that  she  was 
surely  dead.  This  fear  deprived  him  of  his  appetite  and  rest,  caused 
an  incessant  pain  in  his  stomach,  and,  in  the  space  of  three  weeks,  he 
was  near  sinking  under  the  weight  of  an  imaginary  stroke.  "  I  felt," 
says  he,  "  some  severe  symptoms  of  that  mixture  of  pride  and  mad- 
ness, commonly  called  a  broken  heart ;  and,  indeed,  I  wonder  that  this 
case  is  not  more  common.  How  often  do  the  potsherds  of  the  earth 
presume  to  contend  with  their  Maker  !  and  what  a  wonder  of  mercy 
is  it  that  they  are  not  all  broken  !  This  was  a  sharp  lesson,  but  I  hope 
it  did  me  gcod;  and  when  I  had  thus  suffered  some  weeks,  I  thought 
of  sending  a  small  vessel  to  Antigua.  I  did  so,  and  she  brought  me 
several  packets,  which  restored  my  health  and  peace,  and  gave  me  a 
strong  contrast  of  the  Lord's  goodness  to  me,  and  of  my  unbelief  and 
ingratitude  towards  him." 

In  August,  1 753,  Mr  N.  returned  to  Liverpool :  after  that  voyage, 
he  continued  only  six  weeks  at  home,  and,  in  that  space,  nothing  very 
memorable  occurred. 

We  now  follow  Mr  N.  in  his  third  voyage  to  Guinea :  it  seems  to  be 
the  shortest  of  any  that  he  had  made,  and  which  is  principally  marked 
by  an  account  of  a  young  man,  who  had  formerly  been  a  midshipman, 
and  his  intimate  companion  on  board  the  Harwich.  This  youth,  at  the 
time  Mr  N.  first  knew  him,  was  sober,  but  afterwards  sadlv  infected 
with  Mr  N.'s  then  libertine  principles.  They  met  at  Liverpool,  and 
renewed  their  former  acquaintance:  as  their  conversation  frequently 
turned  upon  religion,  Mr  N.  was  very  desirous  to  recover  his  compa- 
nion, to  whom  he  gave  a  plain  account  of  the  manner  and  reasons  of 
his  own  change,  and  used  every  argument  to  induce  him  to  relinquish 
his  infidelity.  When  pressed  very  close,  his  usual  reply  was,  that  Mr 
N.  was  the  first  person  who  had  given  him  an  idea  of  his  liberty,  which 
naturally  occasioned  many  mournful  reflections  in  the  mind  of  his  pre- 
sent instructor.  This  person  was  going  master  to  Guinea  himself; 
but,  meeting  with  a  disappointment,  Mr  N.  offered  to  take  him  as  a 
companion,  with  a  view  of  assisting  him  in  gaining  future  employment  ; 
but  principally,  that  his  arguments,  example,  and  prayers,  might  be 
attended  with  good  effect.  But  his  companion  was  exceedingly  pro- 
fane ;  grew  worse  and  worse ;  and  presented  a  lively,  but  distressing 
picture,  continually  before  Mr  N.'s  eyes,  of  what  he  himself  had  once 

been.     Besides  this,  the  man  was  not  only  deaf  to  remonstrance  him- 

jo 


34  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

self,  but  laboured  to  counteract  Mr  N.'s  influence  upon  others :  bis 
spirit  and  passions  were  likewise  so  exceedingly  high,  that  it  required 
all  Mr  N.'s  prudence  and  authority  to  hold  him  in  any  degree  of  re- 
straint. 

At  length  Mr  N.  had  an  opportunity  of  buying  a  small  vessel,  which 
he  supplied  with  a  cargo  from  his  own  ship  :  he  gave  his  companion 
the  command  of  it ;  and  sent  him  away  to  trade  on  the  ship's  account. 
When  they  parted,  Mr  N.  repeated  and  enforced  his  best  advice :  it 
seemed  greatly  to  affect  his  companion  at  the  time ;  but  when  he  found 
himself  released  from  the  restraint  of  his  instructor,  he  gave  a  loose  to 
every  appetite ;  and  his  violent  irregularities,  joined  to  the  heat  of  the 
climate,  soon  threw  him  into  a  malignant  fever,  which  carried  him  off 
in  a  few  days.  He  seems  to  have  died  convinced,  but  not  changed  : 
his  rage  and  despair  struck  those  who  were  about  him  with  horror  ; 
and  he  pronounced  his  own  fatal  doom  before  he  expired,  without  any 
sign,  that  he  either  hoped  or  asked  for  mercy. — I  trust  the  reader  will 
deem  the  features  of  this  awful  case  (though  a  digression  from  the 
principal  subject)  too  instructive  to  be  omitted. 

Mr  N.  left  the  coast  in  about  four  months,  and  sailed  for  St.  Chris- 
topher's. Hitherto,  he  had  enjoyed  a  perfect  and  equal  state  of  health 
in  different  climates  for  several  years.  But  in  this  passage  he  was  vi- 
sited with  a  fever,  which  gave  him  a  very  near  prospect  of  eternity  : 
he  was,  however,  supported  in  a  silent  composure  of  spirit  by  the  faith 
of  Jesus,  and  found  great  relief  from  those  words,  "  He  is  able  to  save 
to  the  uttermost."  He  was  for  a  while  troubled,  whether  by  a  temp- 
tation, or  by  the  fever  disordering  his  faculties,  that  he  should  be  lost 
or  overlooked  amidst  the  myriads,  that  are  continually  entering  the 
unseen  world;  but  the  recollection  of  that  Scripture,  "  the  Lord  know- 
eth  them  that  are  his,"  put  an  end  to  his  doubts.  After  a  few  days, 
however,  he  began  to  amend,  and  by  the  time  they  arrived  in  the  West 
Indies,  he  was  perfectly  recovered. 

In  this  way  he  was  led  for  about  the  space  of  six  years  :  he  had  learnt 
something  of  the  evil  of  his  heart — had  read  the  Bible  over  and  over — 
had  perused  several  religious  books — and  had  a  general  view  of  Gospel 
truth  :  but  his  conceptions  still  remained  confused  in  many  respects, 
not  having  in  all  this  time  met  with  one  acquaintance  qualified  to  as- 
sist his  inquiries. 

On  his  arrival  at  St.  Christopher's  he  found  a  captain  of  a  ship  from 
London,  a  man  of  experience  in  the  things  of  God.  For  near  a  month, 
they  spent  every  evening  together  on  board  each  other's  ship  alternate- 
ly :  prolonging  their  visits  till  near  day-break.  While  Mr  N.  was  an 
eager  recipient,  his  companion's  discourse  not  only  informed  his  under- 
standing, but  inflamed  his  heart — encouraged  him  in  attempting  social 
prayer — taught  him  the  advantage  of  Christian  converse — put  him  up- 
on an  attempt  to  make  his  profession  more  public,  and  to  venture  to 
speak  for  God.  His  conceptions  now  became  more  clear  and  evange- 
lical ;  he  was  delivered  from  a  fear,  which  had  long  troubled  him,  of 
relapsing  into  his  former  apostacy ;  and  taught  to  expect  preservation, 
not  from  his  own  power  and  holiness,  but  from  the  power  and  promise 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  35 

of  God.  From  this  friend  he  likewise  received  a  general  view  of  the 
present  state  of  religion,  and  of  the  prevailing  errors  and  controversies 
of  the  times,  and  a  direction  where  to  inquire  in  London  for  farther  in- 
struction. Mr  N.'s  passage  homewards  gave  him  leisure  to  digest 
what  he  had  received :  and  he  arrived  safely  at  Liverpool,  August 
1754.* 

His  stay  at  home,  however,  was  intended  to  be  but  short ;  and  by 
the  beginning  of  November  he  was  ready  again  for  the  sea.  But  the 
Lord  saw  fit  to  override  his  design.  It  seems,  from  the  account  he 
gives,  that  he  had  not  had  the  least  scruple  as  to  the  lawfulness  of  the 
slave-trade  :  he  regarded  it  as  the  appointment  of  Providence  :  he  con- 
sidered this  employment  as  respectable  and  profitable ;  yet  he  could 
not  help  thinking  himself  a  sort  of  gaoler,  and  was  sometimes  shocked 
with  an  employment  so  conversant  with  chains,  bolts,  and  shackles. 
On  this  account  he  had  often  prayed,  that  he  might  be  fixed  in  a  more 
humane  profession,  where  he  might  enjoy  more  frequent  communion 
with  the  people  and  ordinances  of  God  ;  and  be  freed  from  those  long 
domestic  separations,  which  he  found  so  hard  to  bear.  His  prayers 
were  now  answered,  though  in  an  unexpected  way. 

Mr  N.  was  within  two  days  of  sailing,  and  in  apparent  good  health  ; 
but  as  he  was  one  afternoon  drinking  tea  with  Mrs  N.  he  was  seized 
with  a  fit,  which  deprived  him  of  sense  and  motion.  When  he  had 
recovered  from  this  fit,  which  lasted  about  an  hour,  it  left  a  pain  and 
dizziness  in  his  head,  which  continued,  with  such  symptoms,  as  indu- 
ced the  physicians  to  judge  it  would  not  be  safe  for  him  to  proceed  on 
the  voyage.  By  the  advice  of  a  friend,  therefore,  to  whom  the  ship  be- 
longed, he  resigned  the  command  on  the  day  before  she  sailed ;  and  thus 
he  was  not  only  freed  from  that  service,  but  from  the  future  conse- 
quences of  a  voyage  which  proved  extremely  calamitous.  The  person 
who  went  in  his  room,  died ;  as  did  most  of  the  officers,  and  many  o. 
the  crew. 

As  Mr  N.  was  now  disengaged  from  business,  he  left  Liverpool,  and 
spent  most  of  the  following  year  in  London,  or  in  Kent.  Here  he  en- 
tered upon  a  new  trial,  in  a  disorder  that  was  brought  upon  Mrs  N. 
from  the  shock  she  received  in  his  late  illness ;  as  he  grew  better,  she 
became  worse  with  a  disorder,  which  the  physicians  could  not  define, 

*  In  a  MS.  note  on  a  letter  from  sea,  Mr  Newton  remarks: — "  I  now  enter  my  70th  year. 
Still  thou  art  singularly  bountiful  to  me:  still  I  have  reason  to  think  myself  favoured,  as  to  exter- 
nals, beyond  the  common  lot  of  mortals.  Thou  didst  bear  me  above  the  removal  of  her  I  most 
valued,  to  the  admiration  of  all  who  knew  me.  The  best  prrt  of  my  childhood  and  youth  was  va- 
nity and  folly  :  but,  before  I  attained  the  age  of  man,  I  became  exceedingly  vile  indeed  ;  and  was 
seated  in  the  chair  of  the  scorner  in  early  life.  The  troubles  and  miseries  I  f'ora  time  endured  were 
my  own.  I  brought  them  upon  myself,  by  forsaking  thy  good  and  pleasant  paths  ;  and  choosing 
the  way  of  transgressors,  which  I  found  very  hard  ;  they  led  to  slavery,  contempt,  famine,  and 
despair. 

"  But  my  recovery  from  that  dreadful  state  was  wholly  of  thee.  Thou  didst  prepare  the.  means, 
unthought  of  and  undesired  by  me.  How  nice  were  the  turns  upon  which  'my  delivery  from  Afiica 
depended  !  Had  the  ship  passed  one  quarter  of  an  hour  sooner,  1  had  died  there  a  wretch,  as  I  had 
lived.  But  thou  didst  pity  and  hear  my  first  lispings  in  prayer,  at  the  time  the  storm  fell  upon  me. 
Thou  didst  preserve  me  from  sinking  and  starving.  Thus  I  returned  home,  and  thou  didst  prowda 
me  friends,  when  I  was  destitute  and  a  stranger." 


30  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTO.'- 

nor  medicines  remove.     Mr  N.  was  therefore  placed  for  about  eleven 
months  in  what  Dr  Young  calls  the 

■     — Dreadful  post  of  observation, 
Darker  every  hour. 

The  reader  will  recollect,  that  Mr  N.'s  friend  at  St.  Christopher's 
had  given  him  information  for  forming  a  religious  acquaintance  in  Lon- 
don ;  in  consequence  of  which,  he  became  intimate  with  several  per- 
sons eminent  for  that  character ;  and  profited  by  the  spiritual  advan- 
tages, which  a  great  city  affords  with  respect  to  means.  When  he  was 
in  Kent,  his  advantages  were  of  a  different  kind ;  most  of  his  time  he 
passed  in  the  fields  and  woods.  "  It  has  been  my  custom,"  says  he, 
"  for  many  years,  to  perform  my  devotional  exercises  sub  dio  when  I 
have  opportunity,  and  I  always  find  these  scenes  have  some  tendency 
both  to  refresh  and  compose  my  spirits.  A  beautiful,  diversified  pros- 
pect gladdens  my  heart.  When  I  am  withdrawn  from  the  noise  and 
petty  works  of  men,  I  consider  myself  as  in  the  great  temple,  which 
the  Lord  has  built  for  his  own  honour." 

During  this  time  he  had  to  weather  two  trials,  the  principal  of  which 
was  Mrs  N.'s  illness.  She  still  grew  worse,  and  he  had  daily  more 
reason  to  fear  that  hour  of  separation,  which  appeared  to  be  at  hand. 
He  had  likewise  to  provide  some  future  settlement ;  the  African  trade 
was  overdone  that  year,  and  his  friends  did  not  care  to  fit  out  another 
ship  till  that  which  had  been  his  returned.  Though  a  provision  of  food 
and  raiment  had  seldom  been  with  him  a  cause  of  great  solicitude,  yet 
he  was  seme  time  in  suspense  on  this  account ;  but,  in  August  follow- 
ing, he  received  a  letter,  that  he  was  nominated  to  a  post,  which  afford- 
ed him  a  competency,  both  unsought  and  unexpected. 

When  he  had  gained  this  point,  his  distress  respecting  Mrs  N.  was 
doubled ;  he  was  obliged  to  leave  her  in  the  greatest  extremity  of  pain 
and  illness ;  and  when  he  had  no  hope  that  he  should  see  her  again  a- 
live.  He  was,  however,  enabled  to  resign  her  and  himself  to  the  divine 
disposal ;  and,  soon  after  he  was  gone,  she  began  to  amend,  and  reco- 
vered so  fast,  that  in  about  two  months  he  had  the  pleasure  to  meet  her 
at  Stone,  on  her  journey  to  Liverpool. 

From  October  1 755,  he  appears  to  have  been  comfortably  settled  at 
Liverpool,  and  mentions  his  having  received,  since  the  year  1757,  much 
profit  from  liis  acquaintance  in  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire.  "  I  have 
conversed,"  says  he,  "  at  large,  among  all  parties,  without  joining  any ; 
and  in  my  attempts  to  hit  the  golden  mean,  I  have  been  sometimes 
drawn  too  near  the  different  extremes ;  yet  the  Lord  has  enabled  me 
to  profit  by  my  mistakes."  Being  at  length  placed  in  a  settled  habita- 
tion, and  finding  his  business  would  afford  him  much  leisure,  he  con- 
sidered in  what  manner  he  could  improve  it.  Having  determined,  with 
the  apostle  "  to  know  nothing  but  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified," 
he  devoted  his  life  to  the  prosecution  of  spiritual  knowledge,  and  re- 
solved to  pursue  nothing  but  in  subservience  to  this  design.  But  as 
what  follows  will  appear  most  natural,  and  must  be  better  expressed  in 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  3J 

his  own  words,  I  shall  transcribe  them  from  the  conclusion  of  his  Nar- 
rative. 

"  This  resolution,"  says  Mr  N.,  "  divorced  me  (as  I  have  already- 
hinted)  from  the  classics  and  mathematics.  My  first  attempt  was  to 
learn  so  much  Greek  as  would  enable  me  to  understand  the  New  Tes- 
tament and  Septuagint ;  and  when  I  had  made  some  progress  this  way, 
I  entered  upon  the  Hebrew  the  following  year ;  and  two  years  after- 
wards, having  surmised  some  advantages  from  the  Syriac  version,  I 
began  Avith  that  language.  You  must  not  think  that  I  have  attained, 
or  even  aimed  at  a  critical  skill  in  any  of  these ;  I  had  no  business 
with  them,  but  as  in  reference  to  something  else.  I  never  read  one 
classic  author  in  the  Greek ;  I  thought  it  too  late  in  life  to  take  such  a 
round  in  this  language  as  I  had  done  in  the  Latin.  I  only  wanted  the 
signification  of  scriptural  words  and  phrases,  and  for  this  I  thought  I 
might  avail  myself  of  Scapula,  the  Synopsis,  and  others,  who  had  sus- 
tained the  drudgery  before  me.  In  the  Hebrew,  I  can  read  the  histo- 
rical books  and  Psalms  with  tolerable  ease ;  but  in  the  prophetical  and 
difficult  parts,  I  am  frequently  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  Lexicons, 
&c.  However,  I  know  so  much  as  to  be  able,  with  such  helps  as  are 
at  hand,  to  judge  for  myself  the  meaning  of  any  passage  I  have  occa- 
sion to  consult. 

"  Together  with  these  studies,  I  have  kept  up  a  course  of  reading 
the  best  writers  in  Divinity,  that  have  come  to  my  hand,  in  the  Latin 
and  English  tongues,  and  some  French,  for  I  picked  up  the  French  at 
times  while  I  used  the  sea.  But  within  these  two  or  three  years,  I 
have  accustomed  myself  chiefly  to  writing,  and  have  not  found  time  to 
read  many  books  besides  the  Scriptures. 

"  I  am  the  more  particular  in  this  account,  as  my  case  has  been 
something  singular;  for  in  all  my  literary  attempts  I  have  been  obliged 
to  strike  out  my  own  path  by  the  light  I  could  acquire  from  books,  as 
I  have  not  had  a  teacher  or  assistant  since  I  was  ten  years  of  age. 

"  One  word  concerning  my  views  to  the  ministry,  and  I  have  done. 
I  have  told  you,  that  this  was  my  dear  mother's  hope  concerning  me ; 
but  her  death,  and  the  scenes  of  life  in  which  I  afterwards  engaged, 
seemed  to  cut  off  the  probability.  The  first  desires  of  this  sort  in  my 
own  mind,  arose  many  years  ago,  from  reflection  on  Gal.  i.  23,  24.  I 
could  but  wish  for  such  a  public  opportunity  to  testify  the  riches  of 
Divine  grace.  I  thought  I  was,  above  most  living,  a  fit  person  to  pro- 
claim that  faithful  saying,  '  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to 
save  the  chief  of  sinners  ;'  and  as  my  life  had  been  full  of  remarkable 
turns,  and  I  seemed  selected  to  show  what  the  Lord  could  do,  I  was 
in  some  hopes,  that  perhaps,  sooner  or  later,  he  might  call  me  into  his 
service. 

"  I  believe  it  was  a  distant  hope  of  this  that  determined  me  to  study 
the  original  Scriptures ;  but  it  remained  an  imperfect  desire  in  my 
own  breast,  till  it  was  recommended  to  me  by  some  Christian  friends. 
I  started  at  the  thought  when  first  seriously  proposed  to  me:  but,  af- 
terwards, set  apart  some  weeks  to  consider  the  case,  to  consult  my 
friends,  and  to  entreat  the  Lord's  direction.     The  judgment  of  my 


38  MEMOIRS  OF  THE   REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

friends,  and  many  tilings  that  occurred,  tended  to  engage  me.  My 
first  thought  was  to  join  the  Dissenters,   from  a  presumption  that  I 

could  not  honestly  make  the  required  subscriptions ;  but  Mr  C , 

in  a  conversation  upon  these  points,  moderated  my  scruples ;  and,  pre- 
ferring the  Established  Church  in  some  respects,  I  accepted  a  title  from 
him  some  months  afterwards  ;  and  solicited  ordination  from  the  late 
Archbishop  of  York.  I  need  not  tell  you  I  met  a  refusal,  nor  what 
steps  I  took  afterwards  to  succeed  elsewhere.  At  present  I  desist  from 
rany  applications.  My  desire  to  serve  the  Lord  is  not  weakened  ;  but 
I  am  not  so  hasty  to  push  myself  forward  as  I  was  formerly.  It  is  suf- 
ficient that  he  knows  how  to  dispose  of  me,  and  that  he  both  can  and 
will  do  what  is  best.  To  him  I  commend  myself:  I  trust  that  his  will 
and  my  true  interest  are  inseparable.  To  his  name  be  glory  for  ever  : 
and  with  this  I  conclude  my  story." 

A  variety  of  remarks  occurred  to  me  while  abridging  the  Narrative, 
but  I  refrained  from  putting  them  down,  lest,  by  interrupting  its  course, 
and  breaking  the  thread  of  the  history,  I  should  rather  disgust  than 
profit  the  reader.  I  have  heard  Mr  N.  relate  a  few  additional  particu- 
lars, but  they  were  of  too  little  interest  to  be  inserted  here  ;  they  went, 
however,  like  natural  incidents,  to  a  farther  authentication  of  the  above 
account,  had  it  needed  any  other  confirmation  than  the  solemn  decla- 
ration of  the  pious  relator.  Romantic  relations,  indeed,  of  unprinci- 
pled travellers,  which  appear  to  have  no  better  basis  than  a  disposition 
to  amuse  credulity,  to  exhibit  vanity,  or  to  acquire  gain,  may  naturally 
raise  suspicion,  and  produce  but  a  momentary  effect  at  most  on  the 
mind  of  the  reader  ;  but  facts,  like  the  present,  manifest  such  a  display 
of  the  power,  providence,  and  grace  of  God ;  and  at  the  same  time 
such  a  deep  and  humbling  view  of  human  depravity,  when  moved  and 
brought  forth  by  circumstances,  as  inexperience  can  scarcely  credit, 
but  which  must  interest  the  eye  of  pious  contemplation,  and  open  a 
new  world  of  wonders. 

I  must  now  attempt  to  conduct  the  reader  without  the  help  of  Mr 
N.'s  Narrative,  finished  Feb.  2,  1763  ;  to  which,  as  I  have  already  ob- 
served, he  referred  me  for  the  former  and  most  singular  part  of  his 
life.  When  I  left  the  above  account  with  him  for  revision,  he  express- 
ed full  satisfaction  as  to  all  the  facts  related :  but  said,  he  thought  I 
had  been  too  minute  even  in  the  abridgment,  since  the  Narrative  itself 
had  been  long  before  the  public.  I  remarked,  in  reply,  that  the  Nar- 
rative contained  a  great  variety  of  facts — that  these  Memoirs  might 
fall  into  the  hands  of  persons  who  had  not  seen  the  Narrative — but 
that,  without  some  abridgment  of  it,  no  clear  view  could  be  formed  of 
the  peculiarity  of  his  whole  dispensation  and  character — and,  therefore, 
that  such  an  abridgment  appeared  to  be  absolutely  necessary,  and  that 
he  had  recommended  it  at  my  first  undertaking  the  work.  With  these 
reasons  he  was  well  satisfied.  I  now  proceed  to  the  remaining,  though 
less  remarkable,  part  of  his  life. 

Mr  Manestyj  who  had  long  been  a  faithful  and  generous  friend  of 
Mr  N.  having  procured  him  the  place  of  tide-surveyor  in  the  port  of 
Liverpool,  Mr  N.  gives  the  following  account  of  it  : — "  I  entered  upon 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  30 

business  yesterday.  I  find  my  duty  is  to  attend  the  tides  one  week, 
and  visit  the  ships  that  arrive,  and  such  as  are  in  the  river ;  and  the 
other  week  to  inspect  the  vessels  that  are  in  the  docks  ;  and  thus  al- 
ternately the  year  round.  The  latter  is  little  more  than  a  sinecure, 
but  the  former  requires  pretty  constant  attendance,  both  by  day  and 
night.  I  have  a  good  office,  with  fire  and  candle,  and  fifty  or  sixty 
people  under  my  direction  ;  with  a  handsome  six-oared  boat  and  a  cox- 
swain to  row  me  about  in  form."  * 

We  cannot  wonder  that  Mr  N.  latterly  retained  a  strong  impression 
of  a  particular  providence,  superintending  and  conducting  the  steps  of 
man ;  since  he  was  so  often  reminded  of  it  in  his  own  history.  The 
following  occurrence  is  one  of  many  instances.  Mr  N.  after  his  refor- 
mation, was  remarkable  for  his  punctuality  :  I  remember  his  often 
sitting  with  his  watch  in  his  hand  lest  he  should  fail  in  keeping  his 
next  engagement.  This  exactness  with  respect  to  time,  it  seems,  was 
his  habit  while  occupying  his  post  at  Liverpool.  One  day,  however, 
some  business  had  so  detained  him,  that  he  came  to  his  boat  much 
later  than  usual,  to  the  surprise  of  those  who  had  observed  his  former 
punctuality.  He  went  out  in  the  boat  as  heretofore,  to  inspect  a  ship, 
but  the  ship  blew  up  just  before  he  reached  her  :  it  appears,  that  if  he 
had  left  the  shore  a  few  minutes  sooner,  he  must  have  perished  witli 
the  rest  on  board. 

This  anecdote  I  had  from  a  clergyman,  upon  whose  word  I  can  de- 
pend, who  had  been  long  in  intimate  habits  with  Mr  N.,  and  who  had 
it  from  Mr  N.  himself:  the  reason  of  its  not  appearing  in  his  letters 
from  Liverpool  to  Mrs  N.  I  can  only  suppose  to  be,  his  fearing  to 
alarm  her  with  respect  to  the  dangers  of  his  station.  But  another 
providential  occurrence,  which  he  mentions  in  those  letters,  I  shall 
transcribe. 

"  When  I  think  of  my  settlement  here,  and  the  manner  of  it,  I  see 
the  appointment  of  Providence  so  good  and  gracious,  and  such  a  plain 
answer  to  my  poor  prayers,  that  I  cannot  but  wonder  and  adore.  I 
I  think  I  have  not  yet  told  you,  that  my  immediate  predecessor  in  of- 
fice, Mr  C — ,  had  not  the  least  intention  of  resigning  his  place  on  the 
occasion  of  his  father's  death  ;  though  such  a  report  was  spread  about 
the  town  without  his  knoAvledge,  or  rather  in  defiance  of  all  he  could 
say  to  contradict  it.  Yet  to  this  false  report  I  owe  my  situation.  For 
it  put  Mr  M —  upon  an  application  to  Mr  S — ,  the  member  for  the 
town  ;.  and,  the  very  day  he  received  the  promise  in  my  favour,  Mt 
C —  was  found  dead  in  his  bed,  though  he  had  been  in  company,  and 
in  perfect  health,  the  night  before.  If  I  mistake  not,  the  same  messen- 
ger who  brought  the  promise,  caiTied  back  the  news  of  the  vacancy  to 
Mr  S — ,  at  Chester.  About  an  hour  after,  the  mayor  applied  for  a 
nephew  of  his ;  but,  though  it  was  only  an  hour  or  two,  he  was  too 
late.  Mr  S —  had  already  written,  and  sent  off  the  letter  ;  and  I  was 
appointed  accordingly.  These  circumstances  appear  to  me  extraordi- 
nary, though  of  a  piece  with  many  other  parts  of  my  singular  history. 

*  Letters  to  a  Wife,  vol.  ii.  p.  7. 


40  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

And  tlie  more  so,  as  by  another  mistake  I  missed  the  land-waiter's 
place,  which  was  my  first  object,  and  which  I  now  see  would  not  have 
suited  us  nearly  so  well.  I  thank  God  I  can  now  look  through  instru- 
ments, and  second  causes,  and  see  his  wisdom  and  goodness  immediate- 
ly concerned,  in  fixing  my  lot." 

Mr  N.  having  expressed,  near  the  end  of  his  Narrative,  the  motives 
which  induced  him  to  aim  at  a  regular  appointment  to  the  ministry  in 
the  church  of  England,  and  of  the  refusal  he  met  with  in  his  first 
making  the  attempt,  the  reader  is  father  informed,  that,  on  Dec.  16, 
1T58,  Mr  N.  received  a  title  to  a  curacy  from  the  Rev.  Mr  C — ,  and 
applied  to  the  archbishop  of  York,  Dr  Gilbert,  for  ordination.  The 
bishop  of  Chester  having  countersigned  his  testimonials,  directed  him 
to  Dr  Newton,  the  archbishop's  chaplain,  lie  was  referred  to  the  se- 
cretary, and  received  the  softest  refusal  imaginable.  The  secretary  in- 
formed him,  that  he  had  "  represented  the  matter  to  the  archbishop, 
but  his  Grace  was  inflexible  in  supporting  the  rules  and  canons  of  the 
church,"  &c. 

Travelling  to  Loughborough,  Mr  N.  stopped  at  Welwyn,  and  send- 
ing a  note  to  the  celebi'ated  Dr  Young,  he  received  for  answer,  that 
the  doctor  would  be  glad  to  see  him.  He  found  the  doctor's  conversa- 
tion agreeable,  and  to  answer  his  expectation  respecting  the  author  of 
the  Night  Thoughts.  The  doctor  likewise  seemed  pleased  with  Mr  N. 
He  approved  Mr  N.'s  design  of  entering  the  ministry,  and  said  many 
encouraging  things  upon  the  subject :  and  when  he  dismissed  Mr  N. 
desired  him  never  to  pass  near  Welwyn  without  calling  upon  him. 

Mr  N.  it  seems,  had  made  some  small  attempts  at  Liverpool,  in  a 
way  of  preaching  or  expounding.  Many  wished  him  to  engage  more 
at  large  in  those  ministerial  employments,  to  which  his  own  mind  was 
inclined  :  and  he  thus  expresses  his  motives  in  a  letter  to  Mrs  N.  in 
answer  to  the  objections  she  had  formed.  "  The  late  death  of  Mr 
Jones,  of  St  Saviour's,  has  pressed  this  concern  more  closely  upon  my 
mind.  I  fear  it  must  be  wrong,  after  having  so  solemnly  devoted  my- 
self to  the  Lord  for  his  service,  to  wear  away  my  time,  and  bury  my 
talents  in  silence  (because  I  have  been  refused  orders  in  the  church) 
after  all  the  great  things  he  has  done  for  me."  * 

In  a  note  annexed,  he  observes,  that  "  the  influence  of  his  judicious 
and  affectionate  counsellor  moderated  the  zeal  which  dictated  this  let- 
ter, written  in  the  year  1762,  that  had  it  not  been  for  her,  he  should 
probably  have  been  precluded  from  those  important  scenes  of  service, 
to  which  he  was  afterwards  appointed  ;"  but  he  adds,  "  The  exercises 
of  my  mind  upon  this  point,  I  believe,  have  not  been  peculiar  to  my- 
self. I  have  known  several  persons,  sensible,  pious,  of  competent  abi- 
lities, and  cordially  attached  to  the  established  church  ;  who,  being 
wearied  out  with  repeated  refusals  of  ordination,  and  perhaps,  not  hav- 
ing the  advantage  of  such  an  adviser  as  I  had,  have  at  length  struck 
into  the  itinerant  path,  or  settled  among  the  Dissenters.  Some  of 
these,  yet  living,  are  men  of  respectable  characters,  and  useful  in  their 

*  Letters  to  a  Wife,  vol.  li.  p.  79. 


MEMOIRS   OF  THE  REV.   JOHN  NEWTON.  41 

ministry ;  but  their  influences,  which  would  once  have  been  serviceable 
to  the  true  interests  of  the  Church  of  England,  now  rather  operates  a- 
gainst  it." 

In  the  year  1764,  Mr  N.  had  the  curacy  of  Olney  proposed  to  him, 
and  was  recommended  by  Lord  D —  to  Dr  Green,  bishop  of  Lincoln  ; 
of  whose  candour  and  tenderness  he  speaks  with  much  respect.  The 
bishop  had  admitted  him  as  a  candidate  for  orders.  "  The  examina- 
tion," says  he,  "  lasted  about  an  hour,  chiefly  upon  the  principal  heads 
of  Divinity.  As  I  resolved  not  to  be  charged  hereafter  with  dissimula- 
tion, I  was  constrained  to  differ  from  his  lordship  in  some  points  :  but 
he  was  not  offended ;  he  declared  himself  satisfied,  and  has  promised 
to  ordain  me,  either  next  Sunday,  in  town,  or  the  Sunday  following, 
at  Buckden.     Let  us  praise  the  Lord  !"* 

Mr  N.  was  ordained  deacon  at  Buckden,  April  29,  1764,  and  priest 
in  June  the  following  year.  In  the  parish  of  Olney,  he  found  many, 
who  not  only  had  evangelical  views  of  the  truth,  but  had  also  long 
walked  in  the  light  and  experience  of  it.  The  vicarage  was  in  the  gift 
of  the  Earl  of  D — ,  the  nobleman  to  whom  Mr  N.  addressed  the  first 
twenty-six  letters  in  his  Cardiphonia.  The  earl  was  a  man  of  real  pie- 
ty, and  most  amiable  disposition ;  he  had  formerly  appointed  the  Rev. 
Moses  Brown  vicar.  Mr  Brown  was  an  evangelical  minister,  and  a  good 
man ;  of  course  he  had  afforded  wholesome  instruction  to  the  parishio- 
ners of  Olney,  and  had  been  the  instrument  of  a  sound  conversion  in 
many  of  them.  He  was  the  author  of  a  poetical  piece  entitled  Sunday 
Thoughts,  a  translation  of  Professor  Zimmerman's  Excellency  of  the 
Knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  &c.  ' 

But  Mr  Brown  had  a  numerous  family,  and  met  with  considerable 
trials  in  it ;  lie  too  much  resembled  Eli  in  his  indulgence  of  his  chil- 
dren. He  was  also  under  the  pressure  of  pecuniary  difficulties,  and 
had  therefore  accepted  the  chaplaincy  of  Morden  College,  Blackheath, 
while  vicar  of  Olney.  Mr  N.  in  these  circumstances,  undertook  the 
curacy  of  Olney,  in  which  he  continued  near  sixteen  years,  previous  to 
his  removal  to  St  Mary  Woolnoth,  to  which  he  was  afterwards  present- 
ed, by  the  late  John  Thornton,  Esq. 

As  Mr  N.  was  under  the  greatest  obligations  to  Mr  Thornton's  friend- 
ship while  at  Olney,  and  had  been  enabled  to  extend  his  own  useful- 
ness by  the  bounty  of  that  extraordinary  man,  it  may  not  be  foreign  to 
our  subject  to  give  some  general  outline  of  Mr  Thornton's  character  in 
this  place. 

It  is  said  of  Solomon,  that  "  the  Lord  gave  him  largeness  of  heart, 
even  as  the  sand  on  the  sea-shore  :"  such  a  peculiar  disposition  foi 
whatever  was  good  or  benevolent  was  also  bestowed  "on  Mr  Thornton. 
He  differed  as  much  from  rich  men  of  ordinary  bounty,  as  they  do  from 
others  that  are  parsimonious.  Nor  was  this  bounty  the  result  of  occa- 
sional impulse,  like  a  summer  shower,  violent  and  short ;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  proceeded  like  a  river  pouring  its  waters  through  various  coun- 
tries, copious  and   inexhaustible.     Nor  could  those  obstructions  of  im- 

*  Letters  to  a  Wife,  vol.  ii    \>   89. 


4'2  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV,  JOHN   NEWTON. 

posture  and  ingratitude,  which  have  often  been  advanced  as  the  cause 
of  damming  up  other  streams,  prevent  or  retard  the  course  of  this. 
The  generosity  of  Mr  Thornton,  indeed,  frequently  met  with  such  hin- 
derances,  and  led  him  to  increasing  discrimination,  but  the  stream  of 
his  bounty  never  ceased  to  hold  its  course.  Deep,  silent,  and  over- 
whelming, it  still  rolled  on,  nor  ended  even  with  his  life. 

But  the  fountain  from  whence  this  beneficence  flowed,  and  by  which 
its  permanency  and  direction  were  maintained,  must  not  be  concealed. 
Mr  Thornton  was  a  Christian.  Let  no  one,  however,  so  mistake  me 
here,  as  to  suppose,  that  I  mean  nothing  more  by  the  term  Christian, 
than  the  state  of  one,  who,  convinced  of  the  truth  of  revelation,  gives  as- 
sent to  its  doctrines — regularly  attends  its  ordinances — and  maintains 
an  external  moral  and  religious  deportment.  Such  a  one  may  have 
a  name  to  live  while  he  is  dead ;  he  may  have  a  form  of  godliness 
without  the  power  of  it ;  he  may  even  be  found  denying  and  ridicul- 
ing that  power — till  at  length  lie  can  only  be  convinced  of  his  error  at 
an  infallible  tribunal ;  where  a  widow,  that  gives  but  a  mite,  or  a  pub- 
lican, that  smites  on  his  breast,  shall  be  preferred  before  him. 

Mr  Thornton  was  a  Christian  indeed;  that  is,  he  was  alive  to  God 
by  a  spiritual  regeneration.  With  this  God  he  was  daily  and  earnest- 
ly transacting  that  infinitely  momentous  affair — the  salvation  of  his 
own  soul ;  and,  next  to  that,  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  others.  Tem- 
perate in  all  things,  though  mean  in  nothing,  he  made  provision  for  do- 
ing good  with  his  opulence,  and  seemed  to  be  most  in  his  element  when 
appropriating  a  considerable  part  of  his  large  income  to  the  necessities 
of  others. 

But  Mr  Thornton  possessed  that  discrimination  in  his  attempts  to 
serve  his  fellow-creatures,  which  distinguishes  an  enlightened  mind  : 
he  habitually  contemplated  man,  as  one,  who  has  not  only  a  body,  sub- 
ject to  want,  affliction,  and  death,  but  also  a  spirit,  which  is  immortal, 
and  must  be  happy  or  miserable  for  ever.  He  therefore  felt,  that  the 
noblest  exertions  of  charity  are  those  which  are  directed  to  the  relief  of 
the  noblest  part  of  our  species.  Accordingly,  he  left  no  mode  of  exer- 
tion untried  to  relieve  man  under  his  natural  ignorance  and  depravity. 
To  this  end,  he  purchased  advowsons  and  presentations,  with  a  view  to 
place  in  parishes  the  most  enlightened,  active  and  useful  ministers.  He 
employed  the  extensive  commerce  in  which  he  was  engaged,  as  a  pow- 
erful instrument  for  conveying  immense  quantities  of  Bibles,  prayer- 
books,  and  the  most  useful  publications,  to  every  place  visited  by  our 
trade.  He  printed,  at  his  own  sole  expense,  large  editions  of  the  latter 
for  that  purpose ;  and  it  may  safely  be  affirmed,  that  there  is  scarcely 
a  part  of  the  known  world,  where  such  books  could  be  introduced, 
which  did  not  feel  the  salutary  influence  of  this  single  individual. 

Nor  was  Mr  Thornton  limited  in  his  views  of  promoting  the  interests 
of  real  religion,  with  what  sect  soever  it  was  connected.  He  stood  rea- 
dy to  assist  a  beneficial  design  in  every  party,  but  would  be  the  crea- 
ture of  none.  General  good  was  his  object,  and  wherever  or  however 
it  made  its  way,  his  maxim  seemed  constantly  to  be,  "  valcat  quantum, 
valere  potest " 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  43 

But  the  nature  and  extent  of  his  liberality  will  be  greatly  miscon- 
ceived, if  any  one  should  suppose  it  confined  to  moral  and  religious  ob- 
jects, though  the  grandest  and  most  comprehensive  exertions  of  it.  Mr 
Thornton  was  a  philanthropist  on  the  largest  scale — the  friend  of  man 
under  all  his  wants.  His  manner  of  relieving  his  fellow-men  was  prince- 
ly ;  instances  might  be  mentioned  of  it,  were  it  proper  to  particularize, 
which  would  surprise  those  who  did  not  know  Mr  Thornton.  They 
were  so  much  out  of  ordinary  course  and  expectation,  that  I  know 
some,  who  felt  it  their  duty  to  inquire  of  him,  whether  the  sum  they 
had  received  was  sent  by  his  intention,  or  by  mistake  ?  To  this  may  be 
added,  that  the  manner  of  presenting  his  gifts  was  as  delicate  and  con- 
cealed, as  the  measure  was  large. 

Besides  this  constant  course  of  private  donations,  there  was  scarcely 
a  public  charity,  or  occasion  of  relief  to  the  ignorant  or  necessitous, 
which  did  not  meet  with  his  distinguished  support.  His  only  question 
was,  "  May  the  miseries  of  man,  in  any  measure,  be  removed  or  alle- 
viated?" Nor  was  he  merely  distinguished  by  stretching  out  a  liberal 
hand  :  his  benevolent  heart  was  so  intent  on  doing  good,  that  he  was 
ever  inventing  and  promoting  plans  for  its  diffusion  at  home  or  abroad. 

He  that  wisely  desires  any  end,  will  as  wisely  regard  the  means ;  in 
this  Mr  Thornton  was  perfectly  consistent.  In  order  to  execute  his 
beneficent  designs,  he  observed  frugality  and  exactness  in  his  personal 
expenses.  By  such  prospective  methods,  he  was  able  to  extend  the  in- 
fluence of  his  fortune  far  beyond  those,  who,  in  still  more  elevated  sta- 
tions, are  slaves  to  expensive  habits.  Such  men  meanly  pace  in  tram- 
mels  of  the  tyrant  custom,  till  it  leaves  them  scarcely  enough  to  pre- 
serve their  conscience,  or  even  their  credit,  much  less  to  employ  their 
talents  in  Mr  Thornton's  nobler  pursuits.  He,  however,  could  afford 
to  be  generous  ;  and,  while  he  was  generous,  did  not  forget  his  duty  in 
being  just.  He  made  ample  provision  for  his  children ;  and  though, 
while  they  are  living,  it  would  be  indelicate  to  say  more,  I  am  sure  of 
speaking  truth  when  I  say,  they  are  so  far  from  thinking  themselves 
impoverished  by  the  bounty  of  their  father,  that  they  contemplate  with 
the  highest  satisfaction  the  fruit  of  those  benefits  to  society,  which  he 
planted,  which  it  may  be  trusted  will  extend  with  time  itself,  and  which, 
after  his  example,  they  still  labour  to  extend. 

But,  with  all  the  piety  and  liberality  of  his  honoured  character,  no 
man  had  deeper  views  of  his  own  unworthiness  before  his  God.  To  the 
Redeemer's  work  alone  he  looked  for  acceptance  of  his  person  and  ser- 
vices :  he  felt,  that  all  he  did,  or  could  do,  was  infinitely  short  of  that 
which  had  been  done  for  him,  and  of  the  obligations  that  were  thereby 
laid  upon  him.  It  was  this  abasedness  of  heart  towards  God,  combin- 
ed with  the  most  singular  largeness  of  heart  toward  his  fellow-crea- 
tures,  which  distinguished  John  Thornton  among  men. 

To  this  common  patron  of  every  useful  and  pious  endeavour,  Mr  N. 
sent  the  Narrative,  from  which  the  former  part  of  these  Memoirs  is 
extracted.  Mr  Thornton  replied  in  his  usual  manner,  that  is,  by  ac- 
companying his  letter  with  a  valuable  bank  note;  and,  some  months 
after,  he  paid  Mr  N.  a  visit  at  Olney.      A  closer  connexion  being  now 


44  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

formed  between  friends,  who  employed  their  distinct  talents  in  promot- 
ing the  same  benevolent  cause,  Mr  Thornton  left  a  sum  of  money  with 
Mr  N.  to  be  appropriated  to  the  defraying  his  necessary  expenses,  and 
relieving  the  poor.  "  Be  hospitable,"  said  Mr  Thornton,  "  and  keep 
an  open  house  for  such  as  are  worthy  of  an  entertainment :  help  the 
poor  and  needy:  I  will  statedly  allow  yon  L.200  a- year,  and  readily 
send  whatever  you  have  occasion  to  draw  for  more."  Mr  N.  told  me, 
that  lie  thought  he  had  received  of  Mr  Thornton  upwards  of  L.3000  in 
this  way,  during  the  time  he  resided  at  Olney. 

The  case  of  most  ministers  is  peculiar  in  this  respect :  some  among 
them  may  be  looked  up  to,  on  account  of  their  publicity  and  talents ; 
they  may  have  made  great  sacrifices  of  their  personal  interest,  in  order 
to  enter  on  their  ministry,  and  may  be  possessed  of  the  strongest  bene- 
volence ;  but,  from  the  narrowness  of  their  pecuniary  circumstances, 
and  from  the  largeness  of  their  families,  they  often  perceive,  that  an 
ordinary  tradesman  in  their  parishes,  can  subscribe  to  a  charitable  or 
popular  institution  much  more  liberally  than  themselves.  This  would 
have  been  Mr  N.'s  case,  but  for  the  above-mentioned  singular  patron- 
age. 

A  minister,  however,  should  not  be  so  forgetful  of  his  dispensation, 
as  to  repine  at  his  want  of  power  in  this  respect.  He  might  as  justly 
estimate  his  deficiency  by  the  strength  of  the  lion,  or  the  flight  of  the 
eagle.  The  power  communicated  to  him  is  of  another  kind;  and  power 
of  every  kind  belongs  to  God,  who  gives  gifts  to  every  man  severally 
as  he  will.  The  two  mites  of  the  widow  were  all  the  power  of  that 
kind  which  was  communicated  to  her,  and  her  bestowment  of  her  two 
mites  was  better  accepted  than  the  large  offerings  of  the  rich  man.  The 
powers,  therefore,  of  Mr  Thornton,  and  of  Mr  N.,  though  of  a  different 
order,  were  both  consecrated  to  God ;  and  each  might  have  said,  "  Of 
thine  own  have  we  given  thee." 

Providence  seems  to  have  appointed  Mr  N.'s  residence  at  Olney,  a- 
mong  other  reasons,  for  the  relief  of  the  depressed  mind  of  the  poet 
Cowper.  There  has  gone  forth  an  unfounded  report,  that  the  deplor- 
able melancholy  of  Cowper  was,  in  part,  derived  from  his  residence 
and  connexions  in  that  place.  The  fact,  however,  is  the  reverse  of 
this  ;  and  as  it  may  be  of  importance  to  the- interests  of  true  religion 
to  prevent  such  a  misrepresentation  from  taking  root,  I  will  present 
the  real  state  of  the  case,  as  I  have  found  it  attested  by  the  most  re- 
spectable living  witnesses  ;  and  more  especially  as  confirmed  by  a  MS., 
written  by  the  poet  himself,  at  the  calmest  period  of  his  life ;  with  the 
perusal  of  which  I  was  favoured  by  Mr  N. 

It  most  evidently  appears,  that  symptoms  of  Mr  Cowper's  morbid 
state  began  to  discover  themselves  in  his  earliest  youth.  He  seems  to 
have  been  at  all  times  disordered,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  He  was 
sent  to  Westminster  school  at  the  age  of  nine  years,  and  long  endured 
the  tyranny  of  an  elder  boy,  of  which  he  gives  a  shocking  account  in 
the  paper  above-mentioned ;  and  which  "  produced,"  as  one  of  his  bio- 
graphers observes,  who  had  long  intimacy  with  him,  "  an  indelible  ef- 
fect upon  his  mind  through  life."     A  person  so  naturally  bashful  and 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  45 

depressed  as  Cowper,  must  needs  find  the  profession  of  a  barrister  a 
farther  occasion  of  anxiety :  the  post  obtained  for  him  by  his  friends 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  overwhelmed  him ;  and  the  remonstrances 
which  those  friends  made  against  his  relinquishing  so  honourable  and 
lucrative  an  appointment  (but  which  soon  after  actually  tool*  place), 
greatly  increased  the  anguish  of  a  mind  already  incapacitated  for  busi- 
ness. To  all  this  were  added  events,  which  of  themselves  have  been 
found  sufficient  to  overset  the  minds  of  the  strongest ;  namelv  the  de- 
cease  of  his  particular  friend  and  intimate,  Sir  William  Russel ;  and 
his  meeting  with  a  disappointment  in  obtaining  a  lady,  upon  whom  his 
affections  were  placed. 

But  the  state  of  a  person,  torn  and  depressed,  not  by  his  religious 
connexions,  but  by  adverse  circumstances,  and  these  meeting  a  natural- 
ly morbid  sensibility,  long  before  he  knew  Olney,  or  had  formed  any 
connexion  with  its  inhabitants,  will  best  appear  from  some  verses  which 
he  sent  at  this  time  to  one  of  his  female  relations,  and  for  the  commu- 
nication of  which  we  are  indebted  to  Mr  Hayley  : — 

"  Doom'd,  as  I  am,  in  solitude  to  waste 
The  present  moments,  and  regret  the  past ; 
Depriv'd  of  every  joy  I  valued  most — 
My  friend  torn  from  me,  and  my  mistress  lost : 
Call  not  this  gloom  I  wear,  this  anxious  mien, 
The  dull  effect  of  humour  or  of  spleen  ; 
Still,  still  I  mourn,  with  each  returning  day, 
Him — snatch'd  by  fate,  in  early  youth,  away  ; 
And  her,  through  tedious  years  of  doubt  and  pain, 
Fix'd  in  her  choice,  and  faithful — but  in  vain. 
See  me,  ere  yet  my  destin'd  course  half  done, 
Cast  forth  a  wand' re r  on  a  wild  unknown  ! 
See  me,  npg'eeted  on  the  world's  rude  coast, 
Each  dear  companion  of  my  voyage  lost  ! 
Nor  ask,  why  clouds  of  sorrow  shade  my  brow, 
And  ready  tears  wait  only  leave  to  flow  : 
Why  all  that  soothes  a  heart,  from  anguish  free, 
All  that  delights  the  happy — palls  with  me  ? 

That  any  man,  under  such  pressures,  should  at  first  turn  his  mind 
to  those  resources,  which  religion  alone  can  afford,  is  both  natural  and 
rational.  But  Mr  Cowper  was  like  a  person  looking  from  a  high 
tower,  who  perceives  only  the  danger  of  falling,  but  neither  the  secu- 
rity nor  prospect  it  presents  ;  and  therefore  it  is  no  wonder,  with  so 
melancholy,  morbid,  and  susceptible  a  mind,  that  his  unhappiness 
should  be  increased.  And  yet  this  very  mind  of  Cowper,  when  put 
under  the  care  of  Dr  Cotton,  of  St  Alban's  (a  physician  as  capable  of 
administering  to  the  spiritual  as  to  the  natural  maladies  of  his  patients), 
received  the  first  consolation  it  ever  tasted,  and  that  from  evangelical 
truths.  It  was  under  the  care  of  this  physician,  that  Mr  Cowper  first 
obtained  a  clear  view  of  those  sublime  and  animating  truths,  which  so 
distinguished  and  exalted  his  future  strains  as  a  poet.  Here  also  he 
received  that  settled  tranquillity  and  peace,  which  he  enjoyed  for  seve- 
ral years  afterwards.  So  far,  therefore,  was  his  constitutional  malady 
from  being  produced  or  increased  by  his  evangelical  connexions,  either 
at  St  Alban's  or  at  Olney,  that  he  seems  never  to  have  had  any  settled 


46  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN   NEWTON. 

peace  but  from  the  truths  he  learned  in  these  societies.  It  appeal  s, 
that  among  them  alone  he  found  the  only  sunshine  he  ever  enjoyed, 
through  the  cloudy  day  of  his  afflicted  life. 

It  appears  also,  that,  while  at  Dr  Cotton's,  Mr  Cowper's  distress  was, 
for  a  long  time  entirely  removed,  by  marking  that  passage  in  Rom.  iii. 
25  :  "  Him  hath  God  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation,  through  faith  in  his 
blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness  for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are 
past."  In  this  scripture  he  saw  the  remedy,  which  God  provides  for 
the  relief  of  a  guilty  conscience,  with  such  clearness,  that,  for  several 
years  after,  his  heart  was  filled  with  love,  and  his  life  occupied  with 
prayer,  praise,  and  doing  good  to  his  needy  fellow-creatures. 

Mr  N.  told  me,  that  from  Mr  Cowper's  fi*st  coming  to  Olney,  it  was 
observed  he  had  studied  his  Bible  with  such  advantage,  and  was  so  well 
acquainted  with  its  design,  that  not  only  his  troubles  Were  removed, 
but  that  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  never  had  clearer  views  of  the  pecu- 
liar doctrines  of  the  gospel  than  when  he  first  became  an  attendant 
upon  them;  that  (short  intervals  excepted)  Mr  Cowper  enjoyed  a 
course  of  peace  for  several  successive  years ;  that,  during  this  period, 
the  inseparable  attendants  of  a  lively  faith  appeared,  by  Mr  Cowper's 
exerting  himself  to  the  utmost  of  his  power  in  every  benevolent  service 
he  could  render  to  his  poor  neighbours :  and  that  Mr  N.  used  to  consi- 
der him  as  a  sort  of  curate,  from  his  constant  attendance  upon  the  sich 
and  afflicted,  in  that  large  and  necessitous  parish. 

But  the  malady,  which  seemed  to  be  subdued  by  the  strong  consola- 
tions of  the  gospel,  was  still  latent ;  and  only  required  some  occasion 
of  irritation  to  break  out  again,  and  overwhelm  the  patient.  Any  ob- 
ject of  constant  attention,  that  shall  occupy  a  mind  previously  disor- 
dered, whether  fear,  or  love,  or  science,  or  religion,  will  not  be  so  much 
the  cause  of  the  disease,  as  the  accidental  occasion  of  exciting  it.  Cow- 
per's Letters  will  show  us  how  much  his  mind  was  occupied  at  one 
time  by  the  truths  of  the  Bible,  and  at  another  time  by  the  fictions  of 
Homer ;  but  his  melancholy  was  originally  a  constitutional  disease,  a 
physical  disorder,  which,  indeed,  could  be  affected  either  by  the  Bible 
or  by  Homer,  but  was  utterly  distinct  in  its  nature  from  the  mere  mat 
ter  of  either.  And  here  I  cannot  but  mark  this  necessary  distinction  , 
having  often  been  witness  to  cases  where  religion  has  been  assigned  as 
the  proper  cause  of  insanity,  when  it  has  been  only  an  accidental  occa- 
sion, in  the  case  of  one  already  affected.*     Thus  Cowper's  malady,  like 

*  I  have  been  an  eyewitness  of  several  instances  of  this  kind  of  misrepresentation,  but  will  de- 
tain the  reader  with  mentioning  only  one  I  was  called  to  visit  a  woman  whose  mind  was  disor- 
dered, and  on  my  observing,  that  it  was  a  case  which  required  the  assistance  of  a  physician  raiher 
than  that  of  a  clergyman,  her  husband  replied  :  "  Sir,  we  sent  to  you,  because  it  is  a  religious  case 
— her  mind  has  been  injured  by  constantly  reading  the  Bible."  "  I  have  known  many  instances," 
said  I,  "  of  persons  brought  to  their  senses  by  reading  the  Bible  ;  but  it  is  possible,  that  too  in- 
tense an  application  to  that,  as  well  as  to  any  other  subject,  may  have  disordered  your  wife."  "  There 
is  every  proof  of  it,"  said  he  ;  and  was  proceeding  to  multiply  his  proofs,  till  his  brother  interrupt- 
ed him  by  thus  addressing  me  : — 

"  Sir,  I  have  no  longer  patience  to  stand  by  and  see  you  imposed  on.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is 
this  :  my  brother  has  forsaken  his  wife,  and  been  long  connected  with  a  loose  woman.  He  had  the 
best  of  wives  in  her,  and  one  who  was  strongly  attached  to  him  :  but  she  has  seen  his  heart  and 
property  given  to  another,  and  in  her  solitude  and  distress,  went  to  the  Bible,  as  the  only  consola- 
tion left  her.      Her  health   and  spirits  at  length  sunk   under  her   tioubles;  and  there  she  lies  dis- 


MEMOIRS   OF  THE  REV.   JOHN   NEWTON.  4<7 

a  strong  current,  breaking  down  the  banks  which  had  hitherto  sustain- 
ed the  pressure  and  obliquity  of  its  course,  prevailed  against  the  sup- 
ports be  had  received,  and  precipitated  him  again  into  his  former  dis- 
tress. 

I  inquired  of  Mr  N.  as  to  the  manner  in  which  Mr  Cowper's  disor- 
der returned,  after  an  apparent  recovery  of  neai-ly  nine  years  continu- 
ance :  and  was  informed,  that  the  first  symptoms  were  discovered  one 
morning,  in  his  discourse,  soon  after  he  had  undertaken  a  new  engage- 
ment in  composition. 

As  a  general  and  full  account  of  this  extraordinary  genius  is  already 
before  the  public,  such  particulars  would  not  have  occupied  so  much 
room  in  these  Memoirs,  but  with  the  view  of  removing  the  false  state- 
ments that  have  been  made. 

Of  great  importance  also  was  the  vicinity  of  Mr  N,'s  residence  to 
that  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Scott,  then  curate  of  Ravenstone  and  Weston  Un- 
derwood, and  now  rector  of  Aston  Sand  ford ;  a  man  whose  ministry 
and  writings  have  since  been  so  useful  to  mankind.  This  clergyman 
was  nearly  a  Socinian  :  be  was  in  the  habit  of  ridiculing  evangelical 
religion,  and  laboured  to  bring  over  Mr  N.  to  his  own  sentiments.  Mr 
Scott  had  married  a  lady  from  the  family  of  a  Mr  Wright,  a  gentleman 
in  his  parish,  who  had  promised  to  provide  for  him.  But  Mr  Scott's 
objections  to  subscription  arose  so  high,  that  he  informed  bis  patron  it 
would  be  in  vain  to  attempt  providing  for  him  in  the  Church  of  England, 
as  he  could  not  conscientiously  accept  a  living,  on  the  condition  of  sub- 
scribing its  Liturgy  and  Articles.  "  This,"  said  Mr  N.,  "  gave  me  hopes 
of  Mr  Scott's  being  sincere,  however  wrong  in  his  principles." 

But  the  benefit  which  Mr  Scott  derived  from  his  neighbour,  will 
best  appear  in  his  own  words : — * 

"  I  was,"  says  he,  "  full  of  proud  self-sufficiency,  very  positive,  and 
7ery  obstinate ;  and  being  situated  in  the  neighbourhood  of  some  of 
those  whom  the  world  calls  Methodists,  I  joined  in  the  prevailing  sen- 
timent ;  held  them  in  sovereign  contempt ;  spoke  of  them  with  deri- 
sion ;  declaimed  against  them  from  the  pulpit,  as  persons  full  of  bigo- 
try, enthusiasm,  and  spiritual  pride  ;  laid  heavy  things  to  their  charge ; 
and  endeavoured  to  prove  the  doctrine,  which  I  supposed  them  to  hold 
(for  I  had  never  read  their  books),  to  be  dishonourable  to  God,  and  de- 
structive of  morality ;  and  though  in  some  companies  I  chose  to  con- 
ceal part  of  my  sentiments,  and  in  all  affected  to  speak  as  a  friend  to 
universal  toleration,  yet  scarcely  any  person  could  be  more  proudly  and 
violently  prejudiced  against  both  their  persons  and  principles  than  I 
then  was. 

"  In  January  1774,  two  of  my  parishioners,  a  man  and  his  wife,  lay 
at  the  point  of  death.  I  had  heard  of  the  circumstance,  but,  according 
to  my  general  custom,  not  being  sent  for,  I  took  no  notice  of  it ;  till  one 
evening,  the  woman  being  now  dead,  and  the  man  dying,  I  heard  that 

tracteJ,  not  from  leading  her  Bible,  but  from  the  infidelity  and  cruelty  of  her  husband."  Does  iho 
reader  wish  to  know  what  reply  the  husband  made  to  this?  He  made  no  reply  at  all,  but  left  lh# 
room  with  confusion  of  face. 

*   Scott's  Force  of  Truth,  p.  11,  fifth  edition 


48  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

my  neighbour  Mr  N.  had  been*  several  times  to  visit  them.  Immedi- 
ately my  conscience  reproached  me  with  being  shamefully  negligent, 
.  in  sitting  at  home  within  a  few  doors  of  dying  persons,  my  general 
hearers,  and  never  going  to  visit  them.  Directly  it  occurred  to  me, 
that  whatever  contempt  I  might  have  for  Mr  N.'s  doctrines,  I  must  ac- 
knowledge his  practice  to  be  more  consistent  with  the  ministerial  cha- 
racter than  my  own.  He  must  have  more  zeal  and  love  for  souls  than 
I  had,  or  he  would  not  have  walked  so  far  to  visit  and  supply  my  lack 
of  care  to  those,  who,  as  far  as  I  was  concerned,  might  have  been  left 
to  perish  in  their  sins. 

"  This  reflection  affected  me  so  much,  that  without  delay,  and  very 
earnestly,  yea,  with  tears,  I  besought  the  Lord  to  forgive  my  past  ne- 
glect ;  and  I  resolved  thenceforth  to  be  more  attentive  to  this  duty  : 
which  resolution,  though  at  first  formed  in  ignorant  dependence  on  my 
own  strength,  I  have  by  divine  grace  been  enabled  hitherto  to  keep. 
I  went  immediately  to  visit  the  survivor ;  and  the  affecting  sight  of 
one  person  already  dead,  and  another  expiring  in  the  same  chamber, 
served  more  deeply  to  impress  my  serious  convictions. 

"  It  was  at  this  time  that  my  correspondence  with  Mr  N.  commenc- 
ed. At  a  visitation,  May  1775,  we  exchanged  a  few  words  on  a  con- 
troverted subject,  in  the  room  among  the  clergy,  wliich  I  believe  drew 
many  eyes  upon  us.  At  that  time  he  prudently  declined  the  discourse; 
but  a  day  or  two  after  he  sent  me  a  short  note,  with  a  little  book  for 
my  perusal.  This  was  the  very  thing  I  wanted ;  and  I  gladly  embraced 
the  opportunity,  which,  according  to  my  wishes,  seemed  now  to  offer; 
God  kuoweth,  with  no  inconsiderable  expectations,  tliat  my  arguments 
would  prove  irresistibly  convincing,  and  that  I  should  have  the  honour 
of  rescuing  a  well-meaning  person  from  his  enthusiastical  delusions. 

"  I  had,  indeed,  by  this  time  conceived  a  very  favourable  opinion  of 
him,  and  a  sort  of  respect  for  him,  being  acquainted  with  the  charac- 
ter he  sustained  even  among  some  persons,  who  expressed  a  disappro- 
bation of  his  doctrines.  They  were  forward  to  commend  him  as  a  be- 
nevolent, disinterested,  inoffensive  person,  and  a  laborious  minister. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  I  looked  upon  his  religious  sentiments  as  rank 
fanaticism  ;  and  entertained  a  very  contemptible  opinion  of  his  abilities, 
natural  and  acquired.  Once  I  had  had  the  curiosity  to  hear  him  preach  ; 
and,  not  understanding  his  sermon,  I  made  a  very  great  jest  of  it,  where 
I  could  do  it  without  gmng  offence.  I  had  also  read  one  of  his  publi- 
cations ;  but  for  the  same  reason  I  thought  the  greater  part  of  it  whim- 
sical, paradoxical,  and  unintelligible. 

"  Concealing,  therefore,  the  true  motives  of  my  conduct,  under  the 
offer  of  friendship,  and  a  professed  desire  to  know  the  truth  (which, 
amidst  all  my  self-sufficiency  and  prejudice,  I  trust  the  Lord  had  even 
then  given  me),  with  the  greatest  affectation  of  candour,  and  of  a  mind 
open  to  conviction,  I  wrote  him  a  long  letter ;  purposing  to  draw  from 
him  such  an  avowal  and  explanation  of  his  sentiments,  as  might  intro- 
duce a  controversial  discussion  of  our  religious  differences. 

"  The  event  by  no  means  answered  my  expectation.  He  returned 
a  very  friendly  and  long  answer  to  my  letter,  in  which  he  carefully 


MEMOIRS   OF  THE   REV.  JOHN   NEWTON.  4*9 

avoided  the  mention  of  those  doctrines  which  he  knew  would  offend 
me.  He  declared,  that  he  believed  me  to  he  one  who  feared  God,  and 
was  under  the  teaching  of  his  Holy  Spirit ;  that  he  gladly  accepted  my 
offer  of  friendship,  and  was  no  ways  inclined  to  dictate  to  me  ;  bu|  that, 
leaving  me  to  the  guidance  of  the  Lord,  he  would  be  glad,  as  occasion 
served,  from  time  to  time,  to  bear  testimony  to  the  truths  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  to  communicate  his  sentiments  to  me  on  any  subject  with  all 
the  confidence  of  friendship. 

"  In  this  manner  our  correspondence  began ;  and  it  was  continued, 
in  the  interchange  of  nine  or  ten  letters,  till  December  in  the  same 
year.  Throughout  I  held  my  purpose,  and  he  his.  I  made  use  of  eve- 
ry endeavour  to  draw  him  into  controversy,  and  filled  my  letters  with 
definitions,  inquiries,  arguments,  objections,  and  consequences,  requir- 
ing explicit  answers.  He,  on  the  other  hand,  shunned  every  thing  con- 
troversial as  much  as  possible,  and  filled  his  letters  with  the  most  use- 
ful and  least  offensive  instructions ;  except  that  now  and  then  he  drop- 
ped his  hints  concerning  the  necessity,  the  true  nature,  and  the  effica- 
cy of  faith,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  to  be  sought  and  obtained , 
and  concerning  some  other  matters,  suited,  as  he  judged,  to  help  me 
forward  in  my  inquiry  after  truth.  But  they  much  offended  my  pre- 
judices, afforded  me  matter  of  disputation,  and  at  that  time  were  of  lit- 
tle use  to  me. 

"  When  I  had  made  this  little  progress  in  seeking  the  truth,  my  ac- 
quaintance with  Mr  N.  was  resumed.  From  the  conclusion  of  our  cor- 
respondence in  December  1775,  till  April  1777,  it  had  been  almost 
wholly  dropped.  To  speak  plainly,  I  did  not  care  for  his  company  :  I 
did  not  mean  to  make  any  use  of  him  as  an  instructor,  and  I  was  un- 
willing the  world  should  think  us  in  any  way  connected.  But,  under 
discouraging  ciftumstances,  I  had  occasion  to  call  upon  him  ;  and  his 
discourse  so  comforted  and  edified  me,  that  my  heart,  being  by  his 
means  relieved  from  its  burden,  became  susceptible  of  affection  for  him. 
From  that  time  I  was  inwardly  pleased  to  have  him  for  my  friend ; 
though  not,  as  now,  rejoiced  to  call  him  so.  I  had,  however,  even  at 
that  time  no  thoughts  of  learning  doctrinal  truth  from  him,  and  was 
ashamed  to  be  detected  in  his  company;  but  I  sometimes  stole  away  to 
spend  an  hour  with  him.  About  the  same  period  I  once  heard  him 
preach ;  but  still  it  was  foolishness  to  me,  his  sermon  being  principally 
upon  the  believer's  experience,  in  some  particulars  with  which  I  was 
unacquainted ;  so  that,  though  I  loved  and  valued  him,  I  considered 
him  as  a  person  misled  by  enthusiastical  notions,  and  strenuously  in- 
sisted, that  we  should  never  think  alike  till  we  met  in  heaven." 

Mr  Scott,  after  going  on  to  particularize  his  progress  in  the  disco- 
very of  truth,  and  the  character  of  Mr  N.  as  its  minister,  afterwards 
adds  : — 

"  The  pride  of  reasoning,  and  the  conceit  of  superior  discernment, 
had  all  along  accompanied  me ;  and  though  somewhat  broken,  had  yet 
considerable  influence.  Hitherto,  therefore,  I  had  not  thought  of  hear- 
ing any  person  preach  ;  because  I  did  not  think  any  one  in  the  circle 
of  my  acquaintance  capable  of  giving  me  such  information  as  I  wanted 


.*)0  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  ItEV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

But  being  at  length  convinced,  that  Mr  N.  had  been  right,  and  that  I 
had  been  mistaken,  in  the  several  particulars  in  which  we  had  differed, 
it  occurred  to  me,  that,  having  preached  those  doctrines  so  long,  he 
must  understand  many  things  concerning  them  to  which  I  was  a  stran- 
ger. Now,  therefore,  though  not  without  much  remaining  prejudice, 
and  not  less  in  the  character  of  a  judge  than  of  a  scholar,  I  condescend- 
ed to  be  his  hearer,  and  occasionally  to  attend  his  pi'eaching,  and  that 
of  some  other  ministers.  I  soon  perceived  the  benefit ;  for  from  time 
to  time  the  secrets  of  my  heart  were  discovered  to  me,  far  beyond  what 
I  had  hitherto  noticed ;  and  I  seldom  returned  from  hearing  a  sermon 
without  having  conceived  a  meaner  opinion  of  myself — without  having 
attained  to  a  farther  acquaintance  with  my  deficiencies,  weaknesses,  cor- 
ruptions, and  wants — or  without  being  supplied  with  fresh  matter  for 
prayer,  and  directed  to  greater  watchfulness.  I  likewise  learned  the 
use  of  experience  in  preaching;  and  was  convinced  that  the  readiest 
way  to  reach  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  others  was  to  speak  from 
my  own.  In  short,  I  gradually  saw  more  and  more  my  need  of  in- 
struction, and  was  at  length  brought  to  consider  myself  as  a  very  no- 
vice in  religious  matters.  Thus  I  began  experimentally  to  perceive  our 
Lord's  meaning,  when  he  says,  '  Except  ye  receive  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  as  a  little  child,  ye  shall  in  nowise  enter  therein.'  " 

If  I  have  seemed  to  digress  in  dwelling  so  long  on  these  three  cha- 
racters, let  the  reader  consider  the  importance  of  the  facts — their  inti- 
mate connexion  with  Mr  N.'s  history — and  let  me  inform  him,  that  the 
author  has  something  much  nearer  his  heart  than  that  of  precision  in 
setting  forth  the  history  of  an  individual ;  namely,  that  of  exhibiting 
the  nature  and  importance  of  vital  and  experimental  religion  :  he  there- 
fore gladly  brings  forward  any  fact  found  in  his  way,  which  may  tend 
to  illustrate  it. 

But  to  return  to  the  more  immediate  subject  of  these  Memoirs.  In 
the  year  17*76,  Mr  N.  was  afflicted  with  a  tumour,  or  wen,  which  had 
formed  on  his  thigh ;  and  on  account  of  its  growing  more  large  and 
troublesome,  he  resolved  to  undergo  the  experiment  of  extirpation. 
This  obliged  him  to  go  to  London  for  the  operation,  which  was  suc- 
cessfully performed,  October  10th,  by  the  late  Mr  Warner,  of  Guy's 
Hospital.  I  remember  hearing  him  speak  several  years  afterwards  of 
this  trying  occasion ;  but  the  trial  did  not  seem  to  have  affected  him  as 
a  painful  operation,  so  much  as  a  critical  opportunity  in  which  he  might 
fail  in  demonstrating  the  patience  of  a  Christian  under  pain.  "  I  felt," 
said  he,  "  that  being  enabled  to  bear  a  very  sharp  operation,  with  toler- 
able calmness  and  confidence,  was  a  greater  favour  granted  to  me  than 
the  deliverance  from  my  malady.* 

*  His  reflections  upon  the  occasion,  in  his  diary,  are  as  follow  : — "  Thou  didst  support  me,  and 
make  this  operation  very  tolerable.      The  cure,  by  thy  blessing,  was  happily  expedited  :   so  that,  on 

Sunday  the  27th,  I  was  enabled  to  go  to  church  and  hear  Mr  F ,  and  the  Sunday  following, 

to  preach  for  him.  The  tenderness  and  attention  of  Dr  and  Mrs  F  ■  ,  with  whom  we  were, 
I  cannot  sufficiently  describe  ;  nor.  indeed,  the  kindness  of  many  other  friends.  To  them  I  would 
be  thankful,  my  Lord,  but  especially  to  thee  ;  for  what  are  creatures  bit  instruments  in  thy  hand, 
fulfilling  thy  pleasure  ?  At  home  all  was  preserved  quiet,  and  I  met  with  no  incident  to  distress  or 
disturb  me  while  absent.      The  last  fortnight  I  preached  often,  and  was  hurried  about  in  seeing  my 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  51 

While  Mr  N.  thus  continued  faithfully  discharging  the  duties  of  his 
station,  and  watching  for  the  temporal  and  eternal  welfare  of  his  flock, 
a  dreadful  fire  broke  out  at  Olney,  October  1777.  Mr  N.  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  comforting  and  relieving  the  sufferers  :  he  collected  upwards 
of  L.200  for  them ;  a  considerable  sum  of  money?  when  the  poverty 
and  late  calamity  of  the  place  are  regarded.  Such  instances  of  bene- 
volence towards  the  people,  with  the  constant  assistance  he  afforded 
the  poor,  by  the  help  of  Mr  Thornton,  naturally  led  him  to  expect  that 
he  should  have  so  much  influence  as  to  restrain  gross  licentiousness  on 
particular  occasions.  But,  to  use  his  own  expression,  he  had  "  lived 
to  bury  the  old  crop  on  which  any  dependence  could  be  placed."  He 
preached  a  weekly  lecture,  which  occurred  that  year  on  the  5th  of  No- 
vember ;  and,  as  he  feared  that  the  usual  way  of  celebrating  it  at  Ol- 
ney might  endanger  his  hearers  in  their  attendance  at  the  church,  he 
exerted  himself  to  preserve  some  degree  of  quiet  on  that  evening.  In- 
stead, however,  of  hearkening  to  his  entreaties,  the  looser  sort  exceed- 
ed their  former  extravagance,  drunkenness,  and  rioting,  and  even  oblig- 
ed him  to  send  out  money,  to  preserve  his  house  from  violence.  This 
happened  but  a  year  before  he  finally  left  Olney.  When  he  related 
this  occurrence  to  me,  he  added,  that  he  believed  he  should  never  have 
left  the  place  while  he  lived,  had  not  so  incorrigible  a  spirit  prevailed 
in  a  parish  he  had  long  laboured  to  reform. 

But  I  must  remark  here,  that  this  is  no  solitary  fact,  nor  at  all  unac- 
countable. The  gospel,  we  are  informed,  is  not  merely  "  a  savour  of 
life  unto  life,"  but  also  "  of  death  unto  death."  Those  whom  it  does 
not  soften  it  is  often  found  to  harden.  Thus  we  find  St  Paul  "  went 
.iito  the  synagogue  and  spake  boldly  for  the  space  of  three  months,  dis- 
puting and  persuading  the  things  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God. 
But  when  divers  were  hardened,  and  believed  not,  but  spake  evil  of 
that  way  before  the  multitude,  he  departed  from  them." 

"  The  strong  man  armed,"  seeks  to  keep  his  "  house  and  goods  in 
peace,"  and,  if  a  minister  is  disposed  to  let  this  sleep  of  death  remain, 
that  minister's  own  house  and  goods  may  be  permitted  to  remain  in 
peace  also.  Such  a  minister  may  be  esteemed  by  his  parish  as  a  good 
kind  of  man— quiet,  inoffensive,  candid,  &c. ;  and  if  he  discover  any 
zeal,  it  is  directed  to  keep  the  parish  in  the  state  he  found  it ;  that  is, 
in  ignorance  and  unbelief,  worldly-minded  and  hard-hearted — the  very 
state  of  peace  in  which  the  strong  man  armed  seeks  to  keep  his  palace 
or  citadel,  the  human  heart. 

But  if  a  minister,  like  the  subject  of  these  Memoirs,  enters  into  the 
design  of  his  commission — if  he  be  alive  to  the  interest  of  his  own  soul, 
and  that  of  the  souls  committed  to  his  charge;  or,  as  the  apostle  ex- 
presses it,  "  to  save  himself  and  those  that  hear  him,"  he  may  depend 
upon  meeting  in  his  own  experience  the  truth  of  that  declaration, 
"  Yea,  all  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution," 
in  one  form  of  it  or  another.     One  of  the  most  melancholy  sights  we 

friends.  But  though  I  had  a  little  leisure  or  opportunity  for  retirement,  and  my  heart,  alas!  as 
usual,  sadly  rsluctant  and  dull  in  secret,  yet  in  public  thou  wert  pleased  to  favour  me  with  li- 
berty " 


$2  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN   NEWTON. 

behold  is  when  any  part  of  the  church,  through  prejudice,  joins  the 
world  in  throwing  the  stone.  There  is,  however  such  a  determined  en- 
mity to  godliness  itself,  in  the  breast  of  a  certain  class  of  men  existing 
in  most  parishes,  that  whatever  learning  and  good  sense  are  found  in 
their  teacher — whatever  consistency  of  character,  or  blameless  deport- 
ment he  exhibits — whatever  benevolence  or  bounty  (like  that  which 
Mr  N.  exercised  at  Olney)  may  constantly  appear  in  his  character — 
such  men  remain  irreconcilable.  They  will  resist  every  attempt  made 
to  appease  their  enmity.  God  alone,  who  changed  the  hearts  of  Paul 
and  of  Newton,  can  heal  these  bitter  waters. 

I  recollect  to  have  heard  Mr  N.  say  on  such  an  occasion,  "  When 
God  is  about  to  perform  any  great  work,  he  generally  permits  some 
great  opposition  to  it.  Suppose  Pharaoh  had  acquiesced  in  the  depar- 
ture of  the  children  of  Israel,  or  that  they  had  met  with  no  difficulties 
in  the  way,  they  would,  indeed,  have  passed  from  Egypt  to  Canaan 
with  ease ;  but  they,  as  well  as  the  church  in  all  future  ages,  would 
have  been  great  losers.  The  wonder-working  God  would  not  have 
been  seen  in  those  extremities,  which  make  his  arm  so  visible.  A  smooth 
passage,  here,  would  have  made  but  a  poor  story." 

But,  under  such  disorders,  Mr  N.,  in  no  one  instance  that  I  ever 
heard  of,  was  tempted  to  depart  from  the  line  marked  out  by  the  pre- 
cept and  example  of  his  Master.  He  continued  to  "  bless  them  that 
persecuted  him,"  knowing  that  "  the  servant  of  the  Lord  must  not 
strive,  but  be  gentle  unto  all  men,  apt  to  teach,  patient."  To  the  last 
day  he  spent  among  them,  he  went  straight  forward,  "  in  meekness 
instructing  those  that  opposed,  if  God  peradvcnture  might  give  them 
-epentance  to  the  acknowledging  the  truth." 

But,  before  we  take  a  final  leave  of  Olney,  the  reader  must  be  in- 
formed of  another  part  of  Mr  N.'s  labours.  He  had  published  a  volume 
of  Sermons  before  he  took  orders,  dated  Liverpool,  January  1,  1760. 
In  1762  he  published  his  Omicron,  to  which  his  letters,  signed  Vigil, 
were  afterwards  annexed.  In  1764  appeared  his  Narrative.  In  1767, 
a  volume  of  Sermons,  preached  at  Olney.  In  1769  his  Review  of  Ec- 
clesiastical History  :  and  in  1779,  a  volume  of  Hymns,  of  which  some 
were  composed  by  Mr  Cowper,  and  distinguished  by  a  C.  To  these 
succeeded,  in  1781,  his  valuable  work,  Cardiphonia;  but  more  will  be 
said  of  these  in  their  place. 

From  Olney  Mr  N.  was  removed  to  the  rectory  of  the  united  parishes 
of  St  Mary  Woolnoth,  and  St  Mary  Woolchurch  Haw,  Lombard  Street, 
on  the  presentation  of  his  friend  Mr  Thornton. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  these  parishes  had  been  favoured  with  two 
very  eminent  pastors,  before  Mr  N.  appeared ;  namely,  the  Rev.  Josias 
Shute,  B.D.,  archdeacon  of  Colchester,  and  rector  of  St  Mary  Wool- 
noth who  died  1643 — and  the  Rev.  Ralph  Robinson,  who  died  in 
1655.  There  is  a  well  written  account  of  Mr  Shute  in  the  Christian 
Observer  of  January  1804  ;  from  which  it  appears,  that  his  piety,  mi- 
nisterial talents,  and  moderation  in  those  difficult  times,  were  very 
much   distinguished  during  the  thirty-three  years  he  continued  rec- 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  53 

lor.*  Mr  Robinson  died  young,  but  bas  left  a  volume  of  truly  evan- 
gelical discourses  preached  at  St  Mary's. 

Some  difficulty  arose  on  Mr  N.'s  being  presented,  by  Mr  Thornton's 
right  of  presentation  being  claimed  by  a  nobleman ;  the  cpiestion  was, 
therefore,  at  length  brought  befoi'e  the  House  of  Lords,  and  determin- 
ed in  favour  of  Mr  Thornton.  Mr  N.  preached  his  first  sermon  in  these 
parishes,  Dec.  19,  1779,  from  Eph.  iv.  15.  "  Speaking  the  truth  in 
love."  It  contained  an  affectionate  address  to  his  parishioners,  and  was 
directly  published  for  their  use. 

Here  a  new  and  very  distinct  scene  of  action  and  usefulness  was  set 
before  him.  Placed  in  the  centre  of  London — in  an  opulent  neigh- 
bourhood— with  connexions  daily  increasing,  he  had  now  a  course  of 
service  to  pursue,  in  several  respects  different  from  his  former  at  Ol- 
ney.  Being,  however,  well  acquainted  with  the  word  of  God,  and  the 
heart  of  man,  he  proposed  to  himself  no  new  weapons  of  warfare,  for 
pulling  down  the  strong  holds  of  sin  and  Satan  around  him.  He  per- 
ceived, indeed,  most  of  his  parishioners  too  intent  upon  their  wealth 
and  merchandise  to  pay  much  regard  to  their  new  minister;  but,  since 
they  would  not  come  to  him,  he  was  determined  to  go,  as  far  as  he 
could,  to  them ;  and,  therefore,  soon  after  his  institution,  he  sent  a 
printed  address  to  his  parishioners  :  he  afterwards  sent  them  another 
address,  on  the  usual  prejudices  that  are  taken  up  against  the  gospel. 
What  effects  these  attempts  had  then  upon  them  does  not  appear  ;  cer- 
tain it  is,  that  these,  and  other  acts  of  his  ministry,  will  be  recollected 
by  them,  when  the  objects  of  their  present  pursuits  are  forgotten  or  la- 
mented. 

I  have  heard  Mr  N.  speak  with  great  feeling  on  the  circumstances 
of  his  last  important  station.  "  That  one,"  said  he,  "  of  the  most  ig- 
norant, the  most  miserable,  and  the  most  abandoned  of  slaves,  should 
be  plucked  from  his  forlorn  state  of  exile  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  at 
length  be  appointed  minister  of  the  parish  of  the  first  magistrate  of  the 
first  city  in  the  world — that  he  should  there  not  only  testify  of  such 
grace,  but  stand  up  as  a  singular  instance  and  monument  of  it — that 
he  should  be  enabled  to  record  it  in  his  history,  preaching,  and  writings 
to  the  world  at  large — is  a  fact  T  can  contemplate  with  admiration,  but 
never  sufficiently  estimate."  This  reflection,  indeed,  was  so  present  to 
liis  mind  on  all  occasions,  and  in  all  places,  that  he  seldom  passed  a 
single  day  anywhere,  but  he  was  found  referring  to  the  strange  event, 
in  one  way  or  other. 

It  may  be  necessary  to  add,  that  the  latter  part  of  these  Memoirs 
leads  me  to  speak  so  personally  of  my  friend,  that  any  farther  inspec- 
tion from  his  own  eye  was  deemed  improper. 

When  Mr  N.  came  to  St  Mary's,  he  resided  for  some  time  in  Charles' 

*  Granger,  in  li is  Biographical  History  of  England,  says,  that  "  His  learning  in  divinity  and  ec- 
clesiastical history  was  extensive,  indeed  almost  universal."  And  even  Walker,  in  his  Account  of 
the  Clergy,  says,  that,  "  In  the  beginning  of  the  troubles,  he  was  molested  and  harassed  to  death, 
and  denied  a  funeral  sermon  to  be  preached  for  him  by  Dr  Holdsworth,  as  he  desired--  that  he  was 
a  person  of  great  piety,  charity,  and  gravity,  and  of  a  most  sweet  and  affable  temper  "  It  farther 
appears,  that,  like  his  successor  Mr  N.,  he  preached  twice  on  the  Sunday,  and  had  a  lecture  in  Ins 
church  every  Wednesday. 


M«  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  UEV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

Square,  Hoxton ;  afterwards  he  removed  to  Coleman  Street  Building's, 
where  he  continued  till  his  death.  Being  of  the  most  friendly  and  com- 
municative disposition,  his  house  was  open  to  Christians  of  all  ranks 
and  denominations.  Here,  like  a  father  among  his  children,  lie  used 
to  entertain,  encourage,  and  instruct  his  friends,  especially  younger 
ministers,  or  candidates  for  the  ministry.  Here  also  the  poor,  the  af- 
flicted, and  the  tempted,  found  an  asylum  and  a  sympathy,  which  they 
could  scarcely  find,  in  an  equal  degree,  anywhere  besides. 

His  timely  hints  were  often  given  with  much  point,  and  profitable 
address,  to  the  numerous  acquaintance  which  surrounded  him  in  this 
public  station.  Some  time  after  Mr  N.  had  published  his  Omicron, 
and  described  the  three  stages  of  growth  in  religion,  from  the  blade, 
the  ear,  and  the  full  corn  in  the  ear,  distinguishing  them  by  the  letters 
A,  B,  and  C,  a  conceited  young  minister  wrote  to  Mr  N.,  telling  him, 
that  he  read  his  own  character  accurately  drawn  in  that  of  C.  Mr 
N.  wrote  in  reply,  that  in  drawing  the  character  of  C,  or  full  maturi- 
ty, he  had  forgotten  to  add,  till  now,  one  prominent  feature  of  C's  cha- 
racter, namely,  that  C  never  knew  his  own  face. 

"  It  grieves  me,"  said  Mr  N.,  "  to  see  so  few  of  my  wealthy  pa- 
rishioners come  to  church.  I  always  consider  the  rich  as  under  greater 
obligations  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  than  the  poor.  For  at  church, 
the  rich  must  hear  the  whole  truth  as  well  as  others.  There  they  have 
no  mode  of  escape.  But  let  them  once  get  home,  you  will  be  troubled, 
to  get  at  them;  and,  when  you  are  admitted,  you  are  so  fettered  with 
punctilio,  so  interrupted  and  damped  with  the  frivolous  conversation 
of  their  friends,  that,  as  Archbishop  Leighton  says,  '  it  is  well  if  your 
visit  does  not  prove  a  blank  or  a  blot.'  " 

Mr  N.  used  to  improve  every  occurrence  which  he  could  with  pro- 
priety bring  into  the  pulpit.  One  night  he  found  a  bill  put  up  at  St 
Mary  Woolnoth's,  upon  which  he  commented  a  great  deal  when  he 
came  to  preach.  The  bill  was  to  this  effect :  "  A  young  man,  having 
come  to  the  possession  of  a  very  considerable  fortune,  desires  the 
prayers  of  the  congregation,  that  he  may  be  preserved  from  the  snares 
to  which  it  exposes  him." — "  Now,  if  the  man,"  said  Mr  N.,  "  had  lost 
a  fortune,  the  world  would  not  have  wondered  to  have  seen  him  put  up 
a  bill ;  but  this  man  has  been  better  taught." 

Coming  out  of  his  church,  on  a  Wednesday,  a  lady  stopped  him  on 
the  steps,  and  said,  "  The  ticket,  of  which  I  held  a  quarter,  is  drawn 
a  prize  of  ten  thousand  pounds  :  I  know  you  will  congratulate  me  up- 
on the  occasion."   "  Madam,"  said  he,   "  as  for  a  friend  under  tempta 
tion,  I  will  endeavour  to  pray  for  you." 

Soon  after  he  came  to  St  Mary's,  I  remember  to  have  heard  him  say, 
in  a  certain  company,  "  Some  have  observed,  that  I  preach  shorter  ser- 
mons on  a  Sunday  morning,  and  with  more  caution  :  but  this  I  do  up- 
on principle.  I  suppose  I  may  have  two  or  three  of  my  bankers  pre- 
sent, and  some  others  of  my  parish,  who  have  hitherto  been  strangers 
to  my  views  of  truth.  I  endeavour  to  imitate  the  apostle.  '  I  became,' 
says  he,  '  all  things  to  all  men ;'  but  observe  the  end,  it  was  in  order 
to  gain  some.     The  fowler  must  go  cautiously  to  meet  shy  birds,  but 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  55 

he  will  not  leave  his  powder  and  shot  behind  him.  '  I  have  fed  you 
with  milk,'  says  the  apostle;  but  there  are  some,  that  are  not  only  for 
forcing  strong  meat,  but  bones  too,  down  the  throat  of  the  child. — We 
must  have  patience  with  a  single  step  in  the  case  of  an  infant;  and 
thei'e  are  one-step  books  and  sermons,  which  are  good  in  their  place. 
Christ  taught  his  diciples  as  they  were  able  to  bear  ;  and  it  was  upon 
the  same  principle  that  the  apostle  accommodated  himself  to  prejudice. 
— Now,"  continued  he,  "  what  I  wish  to  remark  on  these  considera- 
tions is,  that  this  apostolical  principle,  steadily  pursued,  will  render  a 
minister  apparently  inconsistent — superficial  hearers  will  think  him  a 
trimmer.  On  the  other  hand,  a  minister,  destitute  of  the  apostolical 
principle  and  intention,  and  directing  his  whole  force  to  preserve  the 
appearance  of  consistency,  may  thus  seem  to  preserve  it ;  but,  let  me 
tell  you,  here  is  only  the  form  of  faithfulness,  without  the  spirit." 

I  could  not  help  observing  one  day,  how  much  Mr  N.  was  grieved 
with  the  mistake  of  a  minister,  who  appeared  to  pay  too  much  atten- 
tion to  politics.  "  For  my  part,"  said  he,  "  I  have  no  temptation  to 
turn  politician,  and  much  less  to  inflame  a  party,  in  these  times.  When 
a  ship  is  leaky,  and  a  mutinous  spirit  divides  the  company  on  board,  a 
wise  man  would  sav,  'My  good  friends,  while  we  are  debating,  the  wa- 
ter is  gaining  on  us — we  had  better  leave  the  debate,  and  go  to  the 
pumps.' — I  endeavour,"  continued  he,  "  to  turn  my  people's  eyes 
from  instruments  to  God.  I  am  continually  attempting  to  show  them, 
how  far  they  are  from  knowing  either  the  matter  of  fact,  or  the  matter 
of  right.  I  inculcate  our  great  privileges  in  this  country,  and  advise 
a  discontented  man  to  take  a  lodging  for  a  little  while  in  Russia  or 
Prussia." 

Though  no  great  variety  of  anecdote  is  to  be  expected  in  a  course  so 
stationary  as  this  part  of  Mr  N.'s  life  and  ministry  ;  for  sometimes  the 
course  of  a  single  day  might  give  the  account  of  a  whole  year ;  yet  that 
day  was  so  benevolently  spent,  that  he  was  found  in  it  "  not  only  re- 
joicing with  those  that  rejoiced,"  but  litei-ally  "  weeping  with  those 
that  wept."  The  portrait  which  Goldsmith  drew  from  imagination, 
Mr  N.  realized  in  fact,  insomuch  that  had  Mr  N.  sat  for  his  picture  to 
the  poet,  it  could  not  have  been  more  accurately  delineated  than  by 
the  following  lines  in  his  Deserted  Village  : — 

"  Unskilful  he  to  fawn,  or  seek  for  power, 
By  doctrines  fashion'd  to  the  varying  hour  ; 
Far  other  aims  his  heart  had  learn'd  to  prize. 
More  bent  to  raise  the  wretched  than  to  rise. 
Thus  to  relieve  the  wretched  was  his  pride, 
And  even  his  failings  lean'd  to  virtue's  side  ; 
But  in  his  duty  prompt  at  every  call, 
He  watch'd  and  wept,  he  prayed  and  felt,  for  all  : 
And  as  a  bird  each  fond  endearment  tries. 
To  tempt  its  new  fledg'd  offspring  to  the  skies, 
He  tried  each  art,  reprov'd  each  dull  delay, 
Allur'd  to  brighter  worlds,  and  led  the  way." 

I  remember  to  have  heard  him  say,  when  speaking  of  his  continual 
interruptions,  "  I  see  in  this  world  two  heaps  of  human  happiness  and 
misery ;  now  if  I  can  take  but  the  smallest  bit  from  one  heap  and  add 


50  MEMOIRS  OF   111  IS  hEV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

to  the  otlier,  I  curry  a  point. — If,  as  I  go  home,  a  child  has  dropped  a 
halfpenny,  and  if,  by  giving  it  another,  I  can  wipe  away  its  tears,  I 
feel  I  have  done  something.  I  should  be  glad  indeed  to  do  greater 
things,  but  I  will  not  neglect  this.  When  I  hear  a  knock  at  my  study 
door,  I  hear  a  message  from  God  ;  it  may  be  a  lesson  of  instruction, 
perhaps  a  lesson  of  patience  ;  but,  since  it  ie  bis  message,  it  must  be  in- 
teresting." 

But  it  was  not  merely  under  his  own  roof  that  his  benevolent  aims 
were  thus  exerted ;  he  was  found  ready  to  take  an  active  part  in  re- 
lieving the  miserable,  directing  the  anxious,  or  recovering  the  wanderer, 
in  whatever  state  or  place  he  discovered  such  :  of  which,  take  the  fol- 
lowing instance  : — 

Mr ,  who  is  still  living,  and  who  holds  a  post  of  great  import- 
ance abroad,  was  a  youth  of  considerable  talents,  and  who  had  had  a 
respectable  education.  I  am  not  informed  of  his  original  destination 
in  point  of  profession ;  but  certain  it  is,  that  he  left  his  parents  in  Scot- 
land, with  a  design  of  viewing  the  world  at  lai'ge,  and  that  without 
those  pecuniary  resources,  which  could  render  such  an  undertaking  con- 
venient, or  even  practicable.  Yet  having  the  sanguine  expectations  of 
youth,  together  with  its  inexperience,  he  determinately  pursued  his  plan. 
I  have  seen  an  account  from  his  own  hand,  of  the  strange,  but  by  no 
means  dishonourable  resources  to  which  he  was  reduced  in  the  pursuit 
of  this  scheme  ;  nor  can  romance  exceed  the  detail.  But  the  particu- 
lars of  his  long  journey,  till  he  arrived  in  London,  and  those  which 
have  since  occurred,  would  not  be  proper,  at  present,  for  any  one  to 
record  except  himself;  and  I  cannot  but  wish  he  would  favour  the 
world  with  them,  on  the  principle  which  led  Mr  N.  to  write  his  Nar- 
rative. To  London,  however,  he  came ;  and  then  he  seemed  to  come 
to  himself.  He  had  heard  Mr  N.'s  character,  and  on  a  Sunday  even- 
ing he  came  to  St  Mary  Woolnoth,  and  stood  in  one  of  the  aisles  while 
Mr  N.  preached.  In  the  course  of  that  week  he  wrote  Mr  N.  some 
account  of  his  adventure,  and  state  of  mind.  Such  circumstances 
could  be  addressed  to  no  man  more  properly.  Mr  N.'s  favourite  max- 
im was  often  in  his  mouth,  more  often  in  his  actions,  and  always  in  his 
heart  : 

"  Hand  ignara  mali.  miseris  succurrere  disco." 

Mr  N.  therefore  gave  notice  from  the  pulpit  on  the  following  Sunday 
evening,  that,  if  the  person  was  present  who  had  sent  him  such  a  let- 
ter, he  would  be  glad  to  speak  with  him. 

Mr gladly  accepted  the  invitation,  and  came  to  Mr  N.'s  house, 

where  a  friendship  began,  which  continued  till  Mr  N.'s  death.  Mr  N. 
not  only  afforded  this  youth  the  instruction,  which  he,  at  this  period, 
so  deeply  needed ;  but  marking  his  fine  abilities  and  corrected  inclina- 
tion, he  introduced  him  to  Henry  Thornton,  Esq. ;  who,  inheriting  his 
father's  unbounded  liberality  and  determined  adherence  to  the  cause  of 
real  religion,  readily  patronized  the  stranger.  Mr was,  by  the  mu- 
nificence of  this  gentleman,  supported  through  a  university  education, 
and  was  afterwards  ordained  to  the  curacy  of .     It  was,  however, 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  5J 

thought  expedient,  that  his  talents  should  he  employed  in  an  important 
station  abroad,  which  he  readily  undertook,  and  in  which  he  now  main- 
tains a  very  distinguished  character. 

It  ought  not  to  he  concealed,  that  Mr ,  since  his  advancement, 

has  not  only  returned  his  patron  the  whole  expense  of  his  university 
education,  but  has  also  placed  in  his  hands  an  equal  sum,  for  the  edu- 
cation of  some  pious  youth,  who  might  be  deemed  worthy  of  that  as- 
sistance once  afforded  to  himself  ! 

Mr  N.  used  to  spend  a  month  or  two,  annually,  at  the  house  of  some 
friend  in  the  country ;  he  always  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  his  con- 
gregation before  he  departed,  and  spake  of  his  leaving  town  as  quite 
uncertain  of  returning  to  it,  considering  the  variety  of  incidents  which 
might  prevent  that  return.  Nothing  was  more  remarkable  than  his 
constant  habit  of  regarding  the  hand  of  God  in  every  event,  howevci 
trivial  it  might  appear  to  others.  On  every  occasion — in  the  concerns 
of  every  hour — in  matters  public  or  private,  like  Enoch,  he  "  walked 
with  God."  Take  a  single  instance  of  his  state  of  mind  in  this  respect. 
In  walking  to  his  church  he  would  say,  "  '  The  way  of  man  is  not  in 
himself,'  nor  can  he  conceive  what  belongs  to  a  single  step.  When  I 
go  to  St  Mary  Woolnoth,  it  seems  the  same  whether  I  turn  down  Loth- 
bury  or  go  through  the  Old  Jewry ;  but  the  going  through  one  street 
and  not  another,  may  produce  an  effect  of  lasting  consequences.  A 
man  cut  down  my  hammock  in  sport,  but  had  he  cut  it  down  half-an- 
hour  later,  I  had  not  been  here ;  as  the  exchange  of  crew  was  then 
making.  A  man  made  a  smoke  on  the  sea-shore  at  the  time  a  ship 
passed,  which  was  thereby  brought  to,  and  afterwards  brought  me  to 
England." 

Mr  N.  had  experienced  a  severe  stroke  soon  after  he  came  to  St 
Mary's,  and  while  he  resided  in  Charles'  Square,  in  the  death  of  his 
niece,  Miss  Eliza  Cunningham.  He  loved  her  with  the  affection  of  a 
parent,  and  she  was,  indeed,  truly  lovely.  He  had  brought  her  up,  and 
had  observed,  that,  with  the  most  amiable  natural  qualities,  she  pos- 
sessed a  real  piety.  With  every  possible  attention  from  Mr  and  Mrs 
Newton  and  their  friends,  they  saw  her  gradually  sink  into  the  arms 
of  death ;  but  fully  prepared  to  meet  him  as  a  messenger  sent  from  a 
yet  kinder  Father,  to  whom  she  departed,  October  6th,  1785,  aged 
fourteen  years  and  eight  months.  On  this  occasion  Mr  N.  published 
some  brief  mention's  of  her  character  and  death. 

In  the  year  1784  and  1785  Mr  N.  preached  a  course  of  sermons,  on 
an  occasion,  of  which  he  gives  the  following  account  in  his  first  dis- 
course :  "  Conversation  in  almost  every  company,  for  some  time  past, 
has  much  turned  upon  the  commemoration  of  Handel,  and  particular- 
ly on  his  Oratorio  of  the  Messiah.  I  mean  to  lead  your  meditations  to 
the  language  of  the  oratorio,  and  to  consider,  in  their  order  (if  the 
Lord,  on  whom  our  breath  depends,  shall  be  pleased  to  afford  life,  abi- 
lity, and  opportunity),  the  several  sublime  and  interesting  passages  of 
Scripture,  which  are  the  basis  of  that  admired  composition."  In  the 
year  1786  he  published  these  discourses,  in  two  volumes  octavo.  There 
is  a  passage  so  original,   at  the  beginning  of  his  fourth  sermon,  from 


58  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

Mai.  iii.  1—3,  "  The  Lord,  whom  ye  seek,  shall  suddenly  come  to  his 
temple,"  &c.  that  I  shall  transcribe  it  for  the  use  of  such  as  have  not. 
seen  these  discourses  ;  at  the  same  time,  it  will,  in  a  few  words,  con- 
vey Mr  N.'s  idea  of  the  usual  performance  of  this  oratorio,  or  attend- 
ing its  performance,  in  present  circumstances. 

"  '  Whereunto  shall  we  liken  the  people  of  this  generation,  and  to 
what  are  they  like  ?'  I  represent  to  myself  a  number  of  persons,  of 
various  characters,  involved  in  one  common  charge  of  high  treason. 
They  are  already  in  a  state  of  confinement,  but  not  yet  brought  to  theii 
trial.  The  facts,  however,  are  so  plain,  and  the  evidence  against  them 
so  strong  and  pointed,  that  there  is  not  the  least  doubt  of  their  guilt 
being  fully  proved,  and  that  nothing  but  a  pardon  can  preserve  them 
from  punishment.  In  this  situation,  it  should  seem  their  wisdom  to 
avail  themselves  of  every  expedient  in  their  power  for  obtaining  mercy. 
But  they  are  entirely  regardless  of  their  danger,  and  wholly  taken  up 
with  contriving  methods  of  amusing  themselves,  that  they  may  pass  a- 
way  the  term  of  their  imprisonment  with  as  much  cheerfulness  as  pos- 
sible. Among  other  resources,  they  call  in  the  assistance  of  music. 
And  amidst  a  great  variety  of  subjects  in  this  way,  they  are  particular- 
ly pleased  with  one.  They  choose  to  make  the  solemnities  of  their  im- 
pending trial,  the  character  of  their  Judge,  the  methods  of  his  proce- 
dure, and  the  awful  sentence  to  which  they  are  exposed,  the  ground- 
work of  a  musical  entertainment.  And,  as  if  they  were  quite  uncon- 
cerned in  the  event,  their  attention  is  chiefly  fixed  upon  the  skill  of  the 
composer,  in  adapting  the  style  of  his  music  to  the  very  solemn  lan- 
guage and  subject  with  which  they  are  trifling.  The  king,  however, 
out  of  his  great  clemency  and  compassion  towards  those  who  have  no 
pity  for  themselves,  prevents  them  with  his  goodness.  Undesired  by 
them,  he  sends  them  a  gracious  message.  He  assures  them,  that  he  is 
unwilling  they  should  suffer:  he  requires,  yea,  he  entreats  them  to  sub- 
mit. He  points  out  a  way  in  which  their  confession  and  submission 
shall  be  certainly  accepted ;  and  in  this  way,  which  he  condescends  to 
prescribe,  he  offers  them  a  free  and  a  full  pardon.  But  instead  of  tak- 
ing a  single  step  towards  a  compliance  with  his  goodness,  they  set  his 
message  likewise  to  music :  and  this,  together  with  a  description  of 
their  present  state,  and  of  the  fearful  doom  awaiting  them,  if  they  con- 
tinue obstinate,  is  sung  for  their  diversion  ;  accompanied  with  the  sound 
of  cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  dulcimer,  and  all  kinds  of  in- 
struments. Surely,  if  such  a  case  as  I  have  supposed  could  be^found 
in  real  life,  though  I  might  admire  the  musical  taste  of  these  people,  I 
should  commiserate  their  insensibility  !" 

But  "  clouds  return  after  the  rain  :"  a  greater  loss  than  that  of  Miss 
C.  was  to  follow.  Enough  has  been  said  in  these  Memoirs  already,  to 
show  the  more  than  ordinary  affection  Mr  N.  felt  for  her  who  had  been 
■so  long  his  idol,  as  he  used  to  call  her ;  of  which  I  shall  add  but  one 
nore  instance,  out  of  many  that  might  easily  be  collected. 

Being  with  him  at  the  house  of  a  lady  at  Blackheath,  we  stood  at  a 
window,  which  had  a  prospect  of  Shooter's  Hill.  "  Ah,"  said  Mr  N., 
"  I  remember  the  many  journeys  I  took  from  London  to  stand  at  the 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  59 

top  of  that  hill,  in  order  to  look  towards  the  part  in  which  Mrs  N.  then 
lived  :  not  that  I  could  see  the  spot  itself,  after  travelling  several  miles, 
for  she  lived  far  heyond  what  I  could  see,  when  on  the  hill ;  hut  it  gra- 
tified me  even  to  look  towards  the  spot :  and  this  I  did  always  once, 
and  sometimes  twice  a  week."  "  Why,"  said  I,  "  this  is  more  like  one 
of  the  vagaries  of  romance  than  of  real  life."  "  True,"  replied  he,  "  hut 
real  life  has  extravagancies,  that  would  not  he  admitted  to  appear  in 
a  well-written  romance — they  would  be  said  to  be  out  of  nature." 

In  such  a  continued  habit  of  excessive  attachment,  it  is  evident  how 
keenly  Mr  N.  must  have  felt,  while  he  observed  the  progress  of  a 
threatening  induration  in  her  breast.  This  tumour  seemed  to  have 
arisen  from  a  blow  she  received  before  she  left  Liverpool.  The  pain  it 
occasioned  at  the  time  soon  wore  off,  but  a  small  lump  remained  in  the 
part  affected.  In  October  1788,  on  the  tumour's  increasing,  she  applied 
to  an  eminent  surgeon,  who  told  her  it  was  a  cancer,  and  now  too  large 
for  extraction,  and  that  he  could  only  recommend  quiet.  As  the  spring 
of  1789  advanced,  her  malady  increased ;  and  though  she  was  able  to 
bear  a  journey  to  Southampton,  from  which  she  returned,  in  other  re- 
spects, tolerably  well ;  she  grew  gradually  worse  with  the  cancer,  till 
she  expired,  December  15,  1790. 

Mr  N.  made  this  remark  on  her  death,  "  Just  before  Mrs  N.'s  dis- 
ease became  so  formidable,  I  was  preaching  on  the  waters  of  Egypt  be- 
ing turned  into  blood.  The  Egyptians  had  idolized  their  river,  and 
God  made  them  loathe  it.  I  was  apprehensive  it  would  soon  be  a  si- 
milar case  with  me."  During  the  very  affecting  season  of  Mrs  N.'s 
dissolution,  Mr  N.,  like  David,  wept  and  prayed ;  but  the  desire  of  his 
eyes  being  taken  away  by  the  stroke,  he  too,  like  David,  "  arose  from 
the  earth,  and  came  into  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  and  worshipped,"  and 
that  in  a  manner  which  surprised  some  of  his  friends. 

I  must  own  I  was  not  one  of  those  who  saw  any  thing  that  might 
not  be  expected  from  such  a  man,  surrounded  with  such  circumstances. 
I  did  not  wonder  at  his  undertaking  to  preach  Mrs  N.'s  funeral  Ser- 
mon, on  the  following  Sunday,  at  St  Mary's :  since  I  always  consider- 
ed him  as  an  original,  and  his  case  quite  an  exception  to  general  habits 
in  many  respects.  There  also  could  be  no  question  as  to  the  affection 
he  had  borne  to  the  deceased  :  it  had  even  prevailed,  as  he  readily  al- 
lowed, to  an  eccentric  and  blameable  degree  ;  and  indeed  after  her  re- 
moval, he  used  to  observe  an  annual  seclusion,  for  a  special  recollection 
of  her,  whom  through  the  year  he  had  never  forgotten,  and  from  which 
proceeded  a  sort  of  little  elegies  or  sonnets  to  her  memory.  But  he 
clearly  recognized  the  will  of  God  in  the  removal  of  his  idol,  and  rea- 
soned as  David  did  on  the  occasion  :  "  While  she  was  yet  alive  I  fast- 
ed and  wept :  for  I  said,  Who  can  tell  whether  God  will  be  gracious  to 
me,  that  she  may  live  ?  But,  now  she  is  dead,  wherefore  should  I  fast  ? 
Can  I  bring  her  back  again  ?  I  shall  go  to  her,  but  she  shall  not  return 
to  me." 

Besides  which,  Mr  N.  had  a  favourite  sentiment,  which  I  have  heard 
him  express  in  different  ways,  long  before  he  had  so  special  an  occasion 
for  illustrating  it  in  practice.     "  God  in  his  providence,"  he  used  to 


GO  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

say,  "  is  continually  bringing  about  occasions  to  demonstrate  charac- 
ters." He  used  to  instance  the  case  of  Achan  and  Judas  among-  bad 
men ;  and  that  of  St  Paul,  Acts  xxvii.  among  good  ones.  "  If  any 
one,"  said  he,  "  had  asked  the  centurion,  who  Paul  the  prisoner  was, 
that  sailed  with  them  on  board  the  ship — it  is  probable  he  would  have 
thus  replied,  '  He  is  a  troublesome  enthusiast,  who  had  lately  joined 
himself  to  a  certain  sect.  These  people  affirm,  that  a  Jewish  malefac- 
tor, who  was  crucified  some  years  ago  at  Jerusalem,  rose  the  third  day 
from  the  dead;  and  this  Paul  is  mad  enough  to  assert,  that  Jesus,  the 
leader  of  their  sect,  is  not  only  now  alive,  but  that  he  himself  has  seen 
him,  and  is  resolved  to  live  and  die  for  him — Poor  crazy  creature  !' 
But  God  made  use  of  this  occasion  to  discover  the  real  character  of 
Paul,  and  taught  the  centurion,  from  the  circumstances  which  fol- 
lowed, to  whom  it  was  he  owed  his  direction  in  the  storm,  and  for 
whose  sake  he  received  his  preservation  through  it." 

In  all  trying  occasions,  therefore,  Mr  N.  was  particularly  impressed 
with  the  idea  of  a  Christian,  and  especially  of  a  Christian  minister,  be- 
ing called  to  stand  forward  as  an  example  to  his  flock — to  feel  himself 
placed  in  a  post  of  honour — a  post  in  which  he  may  not  only  glorify 
God,  but  also  forcibly  demonstrate  the  peculiar  supports  of  the  gospel. 
More  especially,  when  this  could  be  done  (as  in  his  own  case)  from  no 
doubtful  motive ;  then  it  may  be  expedient  to  leave  the  path  of  ordina- 
ry custom,  for  the  greater  reason  of  exhibiting  both  the  doctrines  of 
truth,  and  the  experience  of  their  power. 

Though  I  professedly  publish  none  of  Mr  N.'s  letters,  for  reasons 
hereafter  assigned,   yet  I   shall   take   the  liberty  to  insert  part  of  one, 

with  which  I  am  favoured  by  J.  F ,  Esq.  of  Stanmore  Hill,  written 

to  him  while  at  Rome,  and  dated  December  5th,  1796.  It  shows  the 
interest  which  the  writer  took  in  the  safety  of  his  friend,  and  his  ad- 
dress in  attempting  to  break  the  enchantments  with  which  men  of  taste 
are  surrounded,  when  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  fine  arts. 

"  The  true  Christian,  in  strict  propriety  of  speech,  has  no  home  here ; 
lie  is,  and  must  be,  a  stranger  and  a  pilgrim  upon  earth :  his  citizen- 
ship, treasure,  and  real  home  are  in  a  better  world;  and  every  step  he 
takes,  whether  to  the  east,  or  to  the  west,  is  a  step  nearer  to  his  Fa- 
ther's house.  On  the  other  hand,  when  in  the  path  of  duty,  he  is  al- 
ways at  home  |  for  the  whole  earth  is  the  Lord's :  and  as  we  see  the 
same  sun  in  England  or  Italy,  in  Europe  or  Asia,  so  wherever  he  is, 
he  equally  sets  the  Lord  always  before  him ;  and  finds  himself  equally 
near  the  throne  of  grace  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places.  God  is  every- 
where, and,  by  faith  in  the  great  Mediator,  he  dwells  in  God,  and 
God  in  him  ;  to  him  that  line  of  Horace  may  be  applied  in  the  best 
sense, 

"  Ccelum,  non  animum  mutant,  qui  tians  mare  cu:runt." 

"  I  trust,  my  dear  Sir,  that  you  will  carry  out  and  bring  home  with 
you,  a  determination  similar  to  that  of  the  patriarch  Jacob  ;  who  vow- 
ed a  vow,  saying,  '  If  God  will  be  with  me,  and  will  keep  me  in  the 
way  that  I  go,  and  will  give   me   bread  to  eat,  and  raiment  to  put  on. 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  Ol 

M)  that  I  come  again  to  my  father's  house  in  peace,  then  shall  the  Lord 
be  my  God ■!'  May  the  Lord  himself  write  it  on  your"  heart ! 

"  You  are  now  at  Rome,  the  centre  of  the  fine  arts  ;  a  place  abound- 
ing with  every  thing  to  gratify  a  person  of  your  taste.  Athens  had  the 
pre-eminence  in  the  apostle  Paul's  time ;  and  I  think  it  highly  proba- 
ble, from  many  passages  in  his  writings,  that  he  likewise  had  a  taste 
capable  of  admiring  and  relishing  the  beauties  of  painting,  sculpture, 
and  architecture,  which  he  could  not  but  observe  during  his  abode  in 
that  city  :  but  then  he  had  a  higher,  a  spiritual,  a  divine  taste,  which 
was  greatly  shocked  and  grieved  by  the  ignorance,  idolatry,  and  wick- 
edness, which  surrounded  him,  insomuch  that  he  could  attend  to  no- 
thing else.  This  taste,  which  cannot  be  acquired  by  any  effort  or  stu- 
dy of  ours,  but  is  freely  bestowed  on  all  who  sincerely  ask  it  of  the 
Lord,  divests  the  vanities,  which  the  world  admire,  of  their  glare  ;  and 
enables  us  to  judge  of  the  most  splendid  and  specious  works  of  men, 
who  know  not  God,  according  to  the  declaration  of  the  prophet,  '  They 
hatch  cockatrice  eggs,  and  weave  the  spider's  web.'  Much  ingenuity 
is  displayed  in  the  weaving  of  a  cobweb,  but  when  finished  it  is  worth- 
less and  useless  :  incubation  requires  close  diligence  and  attention ;  if 
the  hen  is  too  long  from  her  nest,  the  egg  is  spoiled ;  but  why  should 
she  sit  at  all  upon  the  egg,  and  watch  it,  and  warm  it  night  and  day, 
if  it  only  produce  a  cockatrice  at  last  ?  Thus  vanity  or  mischief  are  the 
chief  rulers  of  unsanctified  genius  ;  the  artists  spin  webs,  and  the  phi- 
losophers, by  their  learned  speculations,  hatch  cockatrices,  to  poison 
themselves  and  their  fellow-creatures  :  few  of  either  sort  have  one  se- 
rious thought  of  that  awful  eternity,  upon  the  brink  of  which  they  stand 
for  a  while,  and  into  the  depth  of  which  they  successively  fall. 

"  A  part  of  the  sentence  denounced  against  the  city,  which  once 
stood  upon  seven  hills,  is  so  pointed  and  graphical,  that  I  must  tran- 
scribe it :  *  And  the  voice  of  harpers,  and  musicians,  and  pipers,  and 
trumpeters,  shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee ;  and  no  craftsman, 
of  whatsoever  craft  he  be,  shall  be  found  any  more  in  thee,  and  the 
light  of  a  candle  shall  no  more  be  seen  in  thee.'  Now,  I  am  informed, 
that,  upon  certain  occasions,  the  whole  cupola  of  St  Peter's  is  covered 
with  lamps,  and  affords  a  very  magnificent  spectacle :  if  I  saw  it,  it 
would  remind  me  of  that  time  when  there  will  not  be  the  shining  of  a 
single  candle  in  the  city ;  for  the  sentence  must  be  executed,  and  the 
hour  may  be  approaching  : — 

Sic  transit  gloiia  mundi  ! 

"  You  kindly  inquire  after  my  health :  myself  and  family  are, 
through  the  divine  favour,  perfectly  well  ;  yet,  healthy  as  I  am,  I  la- 
oour  under  a  growing  disorder,  for  which  there  is  no  cure — I  mean 
old  age.  I  am  not  sorry  it  is  a  mortal  disease,  from  which  no  one  re- 
covers ;  for  who  would  live  always  in  such  a  world  as  this,  who  has  a 
scriptural  hope  of  an  inheritance  in  the  world  of  light  ?  I  am  now  in  my 
seventy-second  year,  and  seem  to  have  lived  long  enough  for  myself; 
I  have  known  something  of  the  evil  of  life,  and  have  had  a  large  share 
of  the  good.     I  know  what  the  world  can  do,  and  what  it  cannot  do  : 


62  MEMOIRS  OP  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

it  can  neither  give  nor  take  away  that  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all 
understanding ;  if  cannot  soothe  a  wounded  conscience,  nor  enable  us  to 
meet  death  with  comfort.  That  you,  my  dear  sir,  may  have  an  abid- 
ing and  abounding  experience  that  the  gospel  is  a  catholicon,  adapted 
to  all  our  wants  and  all  our  feelings,  and  a  suitable  help  when  every 
other  help  fails,  is  the  sincere  and  ardent  prayer  of 

"  Your  affectionate  friend, 

"  JOHN  NEWTON.'' 

But  in  proportion  as  Mr  N.  felt  the  vanity  of  the  pursuits  he  endea- 
voured to  expose  in  the  foregoing  letter,  he  was  as  feelingly  alive  to 
whatever  regarded  eternal  concerns.  Take  an  instance  of  this,  in  a 
visit  which  lie  paid  to  another  friend.  This  friend  was  a  minister, 
who  affected  great  accuracy  in  his  discourses,  and  who,  on  that  Sun- 
day, had  nearly  occupied  an  hour  in  insisting  on  several  laboured  and 
nice  distinctions  made  in  his  subject.  As  he  had  a  high  estimation  of 
Mr  N.'s  judgment,  he  inquired  of  him,  as  they  walked  home,  whether 
he  thought  the  distinctions  just  now  insisted  on  were  full  and  judicious? 
Mr  N.  said  he  thought  them  not  full,  as  a  very  important  one  had  been 
omitted.  "  What  can  that  be  ?"  said  the  minister,  "  for  I  had  taken 
more  than  ordinary  care  to  enumerate  them  fully."  "  I  think  not,"  re- 
plied Mr  N. ;  "  for  when  many  of  your  congregation  had  travelled  se- 
veral miles  for  a  meal,  I  think  you  should  not  have  forgotten  the  im- 
portant distinction  which  must  ever  exist  between  meat  and  bones." 

In  the  year  1T90,  Mr  N.  had  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  University  of  New  Jersey  in  America,  and  the  diplo- 
ma sent  him.  He  also  received  a  work  in  two  volumes,  dedicated  to 
him  with  the  above  title  annexed  to  his  name.  Mr  N.  wrote  the  au- 
thor a  grateful  acknowledgment  for  the  work,  but  begged  to  decline  an 
honour  which  he  never  intended  to  accept.  "  I  am  (said  he)  as  one 
born  out  of  due  time.  I  have  neither  the  pretension  nor  wish  to  ho- 
nours of  this  kind.  However,  therefore,  the  University  may  over-rate 
my  attainments,  and  thus  show  their  respect,  I  must  not  forget  myself: 
It  would  he  both  vain  and  improper  were  I  to  concur  in  it." 

But  Mr  N.  had  yet  another  storm  to  weather.  While  we  were  con- 
templating the  long  and  rough  voyage  he  had  passed,  and  thought  he 
had  only  now  to  rest  in  a  quiet  haven,  and  with  a  fine  sunsetting  at 
the  close  of  the  evening  of  his  life ;  clouds  began  to  gather  again,  and 
seemed  to  threaten  a  wreck  at  the  very  entry  of  the  port.* 

He  used  to  make  excursions  in  the  summer  to  different  friends  in 

*  In  a  MS.  note  on  a  letter,  dated  15th  Dec.  1797,  he  writes,  "  Though  I  am  not  so  sensibly  af 
fected  as  I  could  wish,  I  hope  I  am  truly  affected  by  the  frequent  reviews  I  make  of  my  past  life. 
Perhaps  the  annals  of  thy  church  scarcely  afford  an  instance  in  all  respects  so  singular.  Perhaps 
thy  grace  may  have  recovered  some  from  an  equal  degree  of  apostacy,  infidelity,  and  profligacy ; 
but  few  of  them  have  been  redeemed  from  such  a  state  of  misery  and  depression  as  I  was  in,  upon 
the  coast  of  Africa,  when  thy  unsought  mercy  wrought  for  my  deliverance  :  but  that  such  a  wretch 
should  not  only  be  spared  and  pardoned,  but  reserved  to  the  honour  of  preaching  thy  gospel,  which 
he  had  blasphemed  and  renounced,  and  at  length  be  placed  in  a  very  public  situation,  and  favoured 
with  acceptance  ai,d  usefulness,  both  from  the  pulpit  and  the  press:  so  that  my  poor  name  is  known 
in  most  parts  of  the  world,  where  there  are  any  who  know  thee — this  is  wonderful  indeed  !  The 
more  thou  hast  exalted  me,  the  more  I  ouiiht  to  abase  myself." 


a 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  6 

the  country,  endeavouring  to  make  these  visits  profitable  to  them  and 
their  neighbours,  by  his  continual  prayers,  and  the  expositions  he  gave 
of  the  scriptures  read  at  their  morning  and  evening  worship.  I  have 
heard  of  some,  who  were  first  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  themselves 
and  of  God  by  attending  his  exhortations  on  these  occasions ;  for,  in- 
deed, besides  what  he  undertook  in  a  more  stated  way  at  the  church, 
he  seldom  entered  a  room,  but  something  both  profitable  and  entertain- 
ing fell  from  his  lips.  After  the  death  of  Miss  Cunningham  and  Mrs 
N.,  his  companion  in  these  summer  excursions  was  his  other  niece, 
Miss  Elizabeth  Catlett.  This  young  lady  had  also  been  brought  up  by 
Mr  and  Mrs  N.  with  Miss  Cunningham,  and  on  the  death  of  the  two 
latter,  she  became  the  object  of  Mr  N.'s  naturally  affectionate  disposi- 
tion. She  also  became  quite  necessary  to  him  by  her  administrations 
in  his  latter  years ;  she  watched  him,  walked  with  him,  visited  wherc- 
cver  lie  went;  when  his  sight  failed,  she  read  to  him,  divided  his  food, 
and  was  unto  him  all  that  a  dutiful  daughter  could  be. 

But,  in  the  year  1801,  a  nervous  disorder  seized  her,  by  which  Mr 
N.  was  obliged  to  submit  to  her  being  separated  from  him.  During 
the  twelvemonth  it  lasted,  the  weight  of  the  affliction,  added  to  his 
weight  of  years,  seemed  to  overwhelm  him.  I  extracted  a  few  of  his 
reflections  on  the  occasion,  written  on  some  blank  leaves  in  an  edition 
of  his  Letters  to  a  Wife,  which  he  lent  me  on  my  undertaking  these 
Memoirs,  and  subjoin  them  in  a  note.*  It  may  give  the  reader  plea- 
sure to  be  informed,  that  Miss  Catlett  returned  home — gradually  re- 
covered— and  afterwards  married  a  worthy  man  of  the  name  of  Smith. 

It  was  with  a  mixture  of  delight  and  surprise,  that  the  friends  and 
hearers  of  this  eminent  servant  of  God  beheld  him  bringing  forth  such 
a  measure  of  fruit  in  extreme  age.  Though  then  almost  eighty  years 
old,  his  sight  nearly  gone,  and  incapable,  through  deafness,  of  joining 
in  conversation,  yet  his  public  ministry  was  regularly  continued,  and 
maintained  with  a  considerable  degree  of  his  former  animation.  His 
memory,  indeed,  was  observed  to  fail,  but  his  judgment  in  divine  things 
still  remained  ;  and  though  some  depression  of  spirits  was  observed, 
which  he  used  to  account  for  from  his  advanced  age,   his  perception, 

*  "  August  I,  1801.  I  now  enter  my  77th  year.  I  have  been  exercised  this  year  with  a  Irv- 
ing anil  unexpected  change  ;  but  it  is  by  thy  appointment,  my  gracious  Lord  ;  and  thou  art  un- 
changeably wise,  good,  and  merciful.  Thou  gavest  me  my  dear  adopted  child.  Thou  didst  own 
my  endeavours  to  bring  her  up  for  thee.  I  have  no  doubt  that  thou  hast  called  her  by  thy  grace. 
I  thank  the  for  the  many  years  comfort  (ten)  I  have  had  in  her,  and  for  the  attention  and  affection 
she  has  always  shown  me,  exceeding  that  of  most  daughters  to  their  own  parents.  Thou  hast  now 
tried  me,  as  thou  didst  Abraham,  in  my  old  age  ;  when  my  eyes  are  failing,  and  my  strength  de- 
clines. Thou  hast  called  for  my  Isaac,  who  had  so  long  been  my  chief  stay  and  staflj  but  it  was 
thy  blessing  that  made  her  so.  A  nervous  disorder  has  seized  her,  and  I  desire  to  leave  her  under 
thy  care  ;  and  chiefly  pray  for  myself,  that  I  may  be  enabled  to  wait  thy  time  and  will,  without  be- 
traying any  signs  of  impatience  or  despondency  unbecoming  my  profession  anil  character.  Hither- 
to thou  hast  helped  me  ;  and  to  thee  I  look  for  help  in  future.  Let  all  issue  in  thy  glory,  that  my 
friends  and  hearers  may  be  encouraged  by  seeing  how  I  am  supported  :  let  thy  strength  be  mani- 
fested in  my  weakness,  and  thy  grace  be  sufTicent  for  me.  and  let  all  finally  work  together  for  our 
good.  Amen.  I  aim  to  say  from  my  heart,  not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done.  But  though  thou 
hast  in  a  measure  made  my  spirit  willing,  thou  knowest,  and  I  feel,  that  the  flesh  is  weak.  Lord,  I 
believe,  help  thou  my  unbelief.  Lord,  I  submit,  subdue  every  rebellious  thought  that  dares  arise 
against  thy  will.  Spare  my  eyes,  if  it  please  thee ;  but,  above  all,  strengthen  my  faith  and 
love." 

% 


t)i<  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON 

taste,  and  zeal  for  the  truths  lie  had  long  received  and  taught,  were 
evident.  Like  Simeon,  having  seen  the  salvation  of  the  Lord,  he  now 
only  Availed  and  prayed  to  depart  in  peace. 

After  Mr  N  was  turned  of  eighty,  some  of  his  friends  feared  he 
might  continue  his  public  ministrations  too  long ;  they  marked  not  on- 
ly his  infirmities  in  the  pulpit,  but  felt  much  on  account  of  the  de- 
crease of  his  strength,  and  of  his  occasional  depressions.  Conversing 
with  him  in  January  1806  on  the  latter,  he  observed,  that  he  had  ex- 
perienced nothing  which  in  the  least  affected  the  principles  he  had  felt 
and  taught ;  that  his  depressions  were  the  natural  result  of  fourscore 
years,  and  that,  at  any  age,  we  can  only  enjoy  that  comfort  from  our 
principles  which  God  is  pleased  to  send.  "  But  (replied  I)  in  the  ar- 
ticle of  public  preaching,  might  it  not  be  best  to  consider  your  work 
as  done,  and  stop  before  you  evidently  discover  you  can  speak  no  long- 
er ?"  "  I  cannot  stop,"  said  he,  raising  his  voice ;  What !  shall  the  old 
African  blasphemer  stop  while  he  can  speak  ?" 

In  every  future  visit  I  perceived  old  age  making  rapid  strides.  At 
length  his  Mends  found  some  difficulty  in  making  themselves  known 
to  him  :  his  sight,  his  hearing,  and  his  recollection  exceedingly  failed  ; 
but,  being  mercifully  kept  from  pain,  he  generally  appeared  easy  and 
cheerful.  Whatever  he  uttered  was  perfectly  consistent  with  the  prin- 
ciples he  had  so  long  and  so  honourably  maintained.  Calling  to  see 
him  a  few  days  before  he  died,  with  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends, 
we  could  not  make  him  recollect  either  of  us;  but  seeing  him  after- 
wards, when  sitting  up  in  his  chair,  I  found  so  much  intellect  remain- 
ing as  produced  a  short  and  affectionate  reply,  though  he  was  utterly 
incapable  of  convei'sation. 

Mr  N.  declined  in  this  very  gradual  way,  till  at  length  it  was  pain- 
ful to  ask  him  a  question,  or  attempt  to  rouse  faculties  almost  gone 
still  his  friends  were  anxious  to  get  a  word  from  him,  and  those  friends 
who  survive  him  will  be  as  anxious  to  learn  the  state  of  his  mind  in 
his  latest  hours.  It  is  quite  natural  thus  to  inquire,  though  it  is  not 
important,  how  such  a  decided  character  left  this  world.  I  have  heard 
Mr  N.  say,  when  he  has  heard  particular  inquiry  made  about  the  last 
expressions  of  an  eminent  believer,  "  Tell  me  not  how  the  man  died, 
but  how  he  lived." 

Still  I  say  it  is  natural  to  inquire,  and  I  will  meet  the  desire,  not  by 
trying  to  expand  uninteresting  particulars,  but  as  far  as  I  can  collect 
encouraging  facts ;  and  I  learn  from  a  paper,  kindly  sent  me  by  his 
family,  all  that  is  interesting  and  authentic. 

About  a  month  before  Mi-  N.'s  death,  Mr  Smith's  neice  was  sitting 
by  him,  to  whom  he  said,  "  It  is  a  great  thing  to  die ;  and  when  flesh 
and  heart  fail,  to  have  God  for  the  strength  of  our  heart,  and  our  por- 
tion for  ever  :  I  know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  he  is  able  to  keep 
that,  which  I  have  committed,  against  that  great  day.  Henceforth 
there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the 
righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day." 

When  Mrs  Smith  came  into  the  room,  he  said,  "  I  have  been  medi- 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV-.  JOHN  NEWTON.  05 

tating  on  a  subject,  '  Come,  and  hear,  all  ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will 
declare  what  he  hath  done  for  my  soul.' " 

A.t  another  time  he  said,  "  More  light,  more  love,  more  liberty — 
Hereafter  I  hope,  when  I  shut  my  eyes  on  the  things  of  time,  I  shall 
open  them  in  a  better  world.  What  a  thing  it  is  to  live  under  the 
shadow  of  the  wings  of  the  Almighty  !  I  am  going  the  way  of  all  flesh." 
And  when  one  replied,  "  The  Lord  is  gracious,"  he  answered,  "  If  it 
were  not  so,  how  could  I  dare  to  stand  before  him  ?" 

The  Wednesday  before  he  died,  Mrs  G —  asked  him  if  his  mind  was 
comfortable ;  he  replied,  "  I  am  satisfied  with  the  Lord's  will." 

Mr  N.  seemed  sensible  to  his  last  hour,  but  expressed  nothing  re- 
markable after  these  words.  He  departed  on  the  21st,  and  was  buried 
in  the  vault  of  his  church  the  31st  of  December  1807,  having  left  the 
following  injunction,  in  a  letter  for  the  direction  of  his  executors. 

"  I  propose  writing  an  epitaph  for  myself,  if  it  may  be  put  up,  on  a 
plain  marble  tablet,  near  the  vestry  door,  to  the  following  purport : — 

John  Newton,  Clerk, 

Once  an  infidel  and  libertine, 

A  servant  of  slaves  in  Africa, 

Was  by  the  rich  mercy  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 

Jesus  Christ, 

Preserved,  restored,  pardoned, 

And  appointed  to  preach  the  faith  he 

Had  long  laboured  to  destroy, 

Near  16  years  at  Olney  in  Bucks; 

And  —  years  in  this  church. 

On  Feb.   1,   1750,  he  married 

Mary, 

Daughter  of  the  late  George  Catlett, 

Of  Chatham,  Kent. 

He  resigned  her  to  the  Lord  who  gave  her, 

On  the  15th  of  December  1790. 

"  And  I  earnestly  desire,  that  no  other  monument,  and  no  inscrip- 
tion but  to  this  purport,  may  be  attempted  for  me." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  exordium  of  Mr  Newton's  will,  dated 
June  13,  1803  : — 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  amen.  I  John  Newton,  of  Coleman  Street 
Buildings,  in  the  parish  of  St  Stephen,  Coleman  Street,  in  the  city  of 
London,  Clerk,  being  through  mercy  in  good  health  and  of  sound  and 
disposing  mind,  memory,  and  understanding,  although  in  the  seventy- 
eighth  year  of  my  age,  do,  for  the  settling  of  my  temporal  concerns, 
and  for  the  disposal  of  all  the  worldly  estate  which  it  hath  pleased  the 
Lord  in  his  good  providence  to  give  me,  make  this  my  last  Will  and 
Testament  as   follows.     I  commit  my   soul   to  my  gracious  God  and 

Saviour,  Avho  mercifully  spared  and  preserved  me,  when  [  was  an  a- 

F 


()6  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

postate,  a  blasphemer,  and  an  infidel,  and  delivered  me  from  that  state 
of  misery  on  the  coast  of  Africa  into  which  my  ohstinate  wickedness 
had  plunged  me  ;  and  who  has  been  pleased  to  admit  me  (though  most 
unworthy)  to  preach  his  glorious  gospel.  I  rely  with  humble  confi- 
dence upon  the  atonement  and  mediation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
God  and  Man,  which  I  have  often  proposed  to  others  as  the  only  foun- 
dation whereon  a  sinner  can  build  his  hope  ;  trusting  that  he  will  guard 
and  guide  me  through  the  uncertain  remainder  of  my  life,  and  that  he 
will  then  admit  me  into  his  presence  in  his  heavenly  kingdom.  I 
would  have  my  body  deposited  in  the  vault  under  the  parish  church  of 
St  Mary  Woolnoth,  close  to  the  coffins  of  my  late  dear  wife  and  my 
deai'  niece  Elizabeth  Cunningham ;  and  it  is  my  desire,  that  my  fune- 
ral may  be  performed  with  as  little  expense  as  possible,  consistent  with 
decency." 


REVIEW 


OF 


MR  NEWTON'S  CHARACTER, 


f  i  * 

J  here  seems  to  be  little  need  of  giving  a  general  character  of  Mr  N. 
after  the  particulars  which  appear  in  the  foregoing  Memoirs.  He  un- 
questionably was  the  child  of  a  peculiar  providence,  in  every  step  of 
his  progress ;  and  his  deep  sense  of  the  extraordinary  dispensation 
through  which  he  had  passed,  was  the  prominent  topic  in  his  conver- 
sation. Those  who  personally  knew  the  man,  could  have  no  doubt  of 
the  probity  with  which  his  Narrative  (singular  as  it  may  appear)  was 
written.  They,  however,  who  could  not  view  the  subject  of  these  Me- 
moirs so  nearly  as  his  particular  friends  did,  may  wish  to  learn  some- 
thing farther  of  his  character  with  respect  to  his  literary  attain- 
ments— his  ministry — his  family  habits — his  writings — and  his 

FAMILIAR  CONVERSATION. 

Of  his  literature,  we  learn  from  his  Narrative  what  he  attained 
in  the  learned  languages,  and  that  by  almost  incredible  -efforts.  Few 
men  have  undertaken  such  difficulties,  under  such  disadvantages.  It, 
therefore,  seems  more  extraordinary  that  he  should  have  attained  so 
much,  than  that  he  should  not  have  acquired  more.  Nor  did  he  quit 
his  pursuits  of  this  kind,  but  in  order  to  gain  that  knowledge  which  he 
deemed  much  more  important.  Whatever  he  conceived  had  a  tenden- 
cy to  qualify  him  as  "  a  scribe  well  instructed  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
bringing  out  of  his  treasury  things  new  and  old" — I  say,  in  pursuit  of 
this  point,  he  might  have  adopted  the  apostle's  expression,  "  One  thing 
I  do."  By  a  principle  so  simply  and  firmly  directed,  he  furnished  his 
mind  with  much  information :  he  had  consulted  the  best  old  divines ; 
had  read  the  moderns  of  reputation  with  avidity ;  and  was  continually 
watching  whatever  might  serve  for  analogies  or  illustrations,  in  the  ser- 
vice of  religion.  "  A  minister,"  he  used  to  say,  "  wherever  he  is, 
should  be  always  in  his  study.  He  should  look  at  every  man,  and  at 
every  thing,  as  capable  of  affording  him  some  instruction."  His  mind, 
therefore,  was  ever  intent  on  his  calling — ever  extracting  something, 
even  from  the  basest  materials,  which  he  could  turn  into  gold. 


68  MEMOIRS  OF  Till:  REV.   JOHN    NEWTON. 

In  consequence  of  this  incessant  attention  to  his  object,  while  many, 
whose  early  advantages  greatly  exceeded  his,  were  found  excelling  Mr 
N.  in  the  knowledge  and  investigation  of  some  curious  abstract,  but- 
very  unimportant  points  ;  he  was  found  vastly  excelling  them  in  points 
of  infinitely  higher  importance  to  man.  In  the  knowledge  of  God,  of 
his  word,  and  of  the  human  heart,  in  its  wants  and  resources,  Newton 
would  have  stood  among  mere  scholars  as  his  name-sake  the  philoso- 
pher stood  in  science  among  ordinary  men.  I  might  say  the  same  of 
some  others  who  have  set  out  late  in  the  profession,  but  who,  with  a 
portion  of  Mr  N.'s  piety  and  ardour,  have  greatly  outstripped  those  who 
have  had  every  early  advantage  and  encouragement.  Men  with  spe- 
cious titles  and  high  connexions  have  received  the  rewards  ;  while  men, 
like  Newton,  without  them,  have  done  the  work. 

With  respect  to  his  ministry,  he  appeared,  perhaps,  to  least  advan- 
tage in  the  pulpit ;  as  he  did  not  generally  aim  at  accuracy  in  the  com- 
position of  his  sermons,  nor  at  any  address  in  the  delivery  of  them. 
His  utterance  was  far  from  clear,  and  his  attitudes  ungraceful.  He 
possessed,  however,  so  much  affection  for  his  people,  and  zeal  for  their 
best  interests,  that  the  defect  of  his  manner  was  of  little  consideration 
with  his  constant  hearers  :  at  the  same  time,  his  capacity,  and  habit  of 
entering  into  their  trials  and  experience,  gave  the  highest  interest  to 
his  ministry  among  them.  Besides  which,  he  frequently  interspersed 
the  most  brilliant  allusions,  and  brought  forward  such  happy  illustration 
of  his  subject,  and  those  with  so  much  unction  on  his  own  heart,  as 
melted  and  enlai-ged  theirs.  The  parent-like  tenderness  and  affection 
which  accompanied  his  instruction,  made  them  prefer  him  to  preachers 
who,  on  other  accounts,  were  much  more  generally  popular.  It  ought 
also  to  be  noted,  that,  amidst  the  extravagant  notions  and  unscriptural 
positions,  which  have  sometimes  disgraced  the  religious  world,  Mr  N. 
never  departed,  in  any  instance,  from  soundly  and  seriously  promulgat- 
ing the  "  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,"  of  which  his  writings  will 
remain  the  best  evidence.  His  doctrine  was  strictly  that  of  the  Church 
of  England,  urged  on  the  consciences  of  men  in  the  most  practical  and 
experimental  manner.  "  I  hope,"  said  he  one  day  to  me,  smiling,  "  I 
hope  I  am  upon  the  whole  a  scriptural  preacher  :  for  I  find  I  am  con- 
sidered as  an  Arminian  among  the  high  Calvinists,  and  as  a  Calvinist 
among  the  strenuous  Arminians." 

I  never  observed  any  thing  like  bigotry  in  his  ministerial  character, 
though  he  seemed  at  all  times  to  appreciate  the  beauty  of  order,  and 
its  good  effects  in  the  ministry.  He  had  formerly  been  intimately  con- 
nected with  some  highly  respectable  ministers  among  the  Dissenters, 
and  retained  a  cordial  regard  for  many  to  the  last.  He  considered  the 
strong  prejudices  which  attach  to  both  Churchmen  and  Dissenters,  as 
arising  more  from  education  than  from  principle.  But  being  himself 
both  a  clergyman  and  an  incumbent  in  the  Church  of  England,  he 
wished  to  be  consistent.  In  public,  therefore,  he  felt  he  could  not  act 
with  some  ministers,  whom  he  thought  truly  good  men,  and  to  whom 
he  cordially  wished  success  in  their  endeavours ;  and  he  patiently  met 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  6Q 

the  consequence.     They  called  him  a  bigot,  and  lie  in  return  prayed 
for  them,  that  they  might  not  be  really  such. 

He  had  formerly  taken  much  pains  in  composing  his  sermons,  as  I 
could  perceive  in  one  MS.  which  I  looked  through ;  and  even  latterly, 
I  have  known  him,  whenever  he  felt  it  necessary,  produce  admirable 
plans  for  the  pulpit.  I  own  I  thought  his  judgment  deficient  in  not 
deeming  such  preparation  necessary  at  all  times.  I  have  sat  in  pain 
when  he  has  spoken  unguardedly  in  this  way  before  young  ministers  : 
men,  who,  with  but  comparatively  slight  degrees  of  his  information  and 
experience,  would  draw  encouragement  to  ascend  the  pulpit  with  but 
little  previous  study  of  their  subject.  A  minister  is  not  to  be  blamed, 
who  cannot  rise  to  qualifications  which  some  of  his  brethren  have  at- 
tained ;  but  he  is  certainly  bound  to  improve  his  own  talent  to  the  ut- 
most of  his  power  :  he  is  not  to  cover  his  sloth,  bis  love  of  company,  01 
his  disposition  to  attend  a  wealthy  patron,  with  the  pretence  of  depend- 
ing entirely  on  divine  influence.  Timothy  had  at  least  as  good  ground 
for  expecting  such  influence  as  any  of  his  successors  in  the  ministry ; 
and  yet  the  apostle  admonishes  him  to  "  give  attendance  to  reading, 
to  exhortation,  and  to  doctrine — not  to  neglect  the  gift  that  was  in  him 
— to  meditate  upon  these  things — to  give  himself  wholly  to  them,  that 
his  profiting  might  appear  to  all." 

Mr  N.  regularly  preached  on  the  Sunday  morning  and  evening  at 
St  Mary  Woolnoth,  and  also  on  the  Wednesday  morning.  After  he 
was  turned  of  seventy,  he  often  undertook  to  assist  other  clergymen 
sometimes  even  to  the  preaching  six  sermons  in  the  space  of  a  week 
What  was  more  extraordinary,  he  continued  his  usual  course  of  preach- 
ing at  his  own  church  after  he  was  fourscore  years  old,  and  that,  when 
he  could  no  longer  see  to  read  his  text !  His  memory  and  voice  some- 
times failed  him ;  but  it  was  remarked,  that,  at  this  great  age,  he  was 
nowhere  more  collected  or  lively  than  in  the  pulpit.  He  was  punc- 
tual as  to  time  with  his  congregation  ;  and  preached  every  first  Sunday 
evening  in  the  month  on  relative  duties.  Mr  Alderman  Lea  regularly 
sent  his  carriage  to  convey  him  to  the  church,  and.  Mr  Bates  sent  his 
servant  to  attend  him  in  the  pulpit;  which  friendly  assistance  was  con- 
tinued till  Mr  N.  coubd  appear  no  longer  in  public. 

His  ministerial  visits  were  exemplary.  I  do  not  recollect  one,  though 
favoured  with  many,  in  which  his  general  information  and  lively  genius 
did  not  communicate  instruction,  and  his  affectionate  and  condescend- 
ing sympathy  did  not  leave  comfort. 

Truth  demands  it  should  be  said,  that  he  did  not  always  administer 
consolation,  nor  give  an  account  of  characters,  with  sufficient  discri- 
mination. His  talent  did  not  lie  in  "  discerning  of  spirits."  I  never 
saw  him  so  much  moved  as  when  any  friend  endeavoured  to  correct  his 
errors  in  this  respect.  His  credulity  seemed  to  arise  from  the  con- 
sciousness he  had  of  his  own  integrity,  and  from  that  sort  of  parental 
fondness  which  he  bore  to  all  his  friends,  real  or  pretended.  I  knew 
one,  since  dead,  whom  he  thus  described,  while  living — "  He  is  cer- 
tainly an  odd  man,  and  has  his  failings  ;  but   he  has  great  integrity, 


70  MEMOIRS   OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

and  I  hope  is  going  to  heaven."     Whereas  almost  all  who  knew  him 
thought  the  man  should  go  first  into  the  pillory  ! 

In  his  family  Mr  N.  might  be  admired  more  safely  than  imitated. 
His  excessive  attachment  to  Mrs  N.  is  so  fully  displayed  in  his  Narra- 
tive, and  confirmed  in  the  two  volumes  he  thought  proper  to  publish, 
entitled,  "  Letters  to  a  Wife,"  that  the  reader  will  need  no  informa- 
tion on  this  subject.  Some  of  his  friends  wished  this  violent  attach- 
ment had  been  cast  more  into  the  shade,  as  tending  to  furnish  a  spur, 
where  human  nature  generally  needs  a  curb.  He  used,  indeed,  to  speak 
of  such  attachments,  in  the  abstract,  as  idolatry;  though  his  own  was 
providentially  ordered  to  be  the  main  hinge  on  which  his  preservation 
and  deliverance  turned,  while  in  his  worst  state.  Good  men,  however, 
cannot  be  too  cautious  how  they  give  sanction,  by  their  expressions  or 
example,  to  a  passion,  which,  when  not  under  sober  regulation,  has 
overwhelmed  not  only  families,  but  states,  with  disgrace  and  ruin. 

With  his  unusual  degree  of  benevolence  and  affection,  it  was  not  ex- 
traordinary that  the  spiritual  interests  of  his  servants  were  brought 
forward,  and  examined  severally  every  Sunday  afternoon  ;  and  that, 
being  treated  like  children,  they  should  grow  old  in  his  service.  In 
short,  Mr  N  could  live  no  longer  than  he  could  love  ;  it  is  no  wonder, 
therefore,  if  his  nieces  had  more  of  his  heart  than  is  generally  afforded 
to  their  own  children  by  the  fondest  parents.  It  has  already  been  men- 
tioned, that  his  house  was  an  asylum  for  the  perplexed  or  afflicted. 
Young  ministers  were  peculiarly  the  objects  of  his  attention  :  he  in- 
structed them,  he  encouraged  them,  he  warned  them  ;  and  might  truly 
be  said  to  be  a  father  in  Christ,  "  spending  and  being  spent"  for  the 
/  interest  of  his  church.      In  order  thus  to  execute  the  various  avocations 

I  of  the  day,  he  used  to  rise  early ;  he  seldom  was   found  abroad  in  the 

evening,  and  was  exact  in  his  appointments. 

Of  his  writings,  I  think  little  nee»  be  said  here ;  they  are  in  wide 
circulation,  and  best  speak  for  themselves.  What  I  shall  observe  upon 
them,  therefore,  will  be  general  and  cursory. 

The  Sermons  Mr  N.  published  at  Liverpool,  after  being  refused  on 
his  first  application  for  Orders,  were  intended  to  show  what  he  would 
have  preached,  had  he  been  admitted ;  they  are  highly  creditable  to  his 
understanding  and  to  his  heart.  The  facility  with  which  he  attained 
so  much  of  the  learned  languages,  seems  partly  accounted  for,  from  his 
being  able  to  acquire,  so  early,  a  neat  and  natural  style  in  his  own  lan- 
guage, and  that  under  such  evident  disadvantages.  His  Review  of  Ec- 
clesiastical History,  so  far  as  it  is  proceeded,  has  been  much  esteemed, 
and,  if  it  had  done  no  more  than  excite  the  Rev.  J.  Milner  (as  that 
most  valuable  and  instructive  author  informs  us  it  did)  to  pursue  Mr 
N.'s  idea  more  largely 4  it  was  sufficient  success.  Before  this,  the  world 
seems  to  have  lost  sight  of  a  history  of  real  Christianity,  and  to  have 
been  content  with  what,  for  the  most  part,  was  but  an  account  of  the 
ambition  and  politics  of  secular  men,  assuming  the  Christian  name. 

It  must  be  evident  to  any  one,  who  observes  the  spirit  of  all  his  ser- 
mons, hymns,  tracts,  &c.  that  nothing  is  aimed  at  which  should  be 
met  by  i        '"al  investigation.      In  the  preface  to  his  Hymns,  he  remarks, 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  71 

"  Though  I  would  not  offend  readers  of  taste  by  a  wilful  coarseness 
and  negligence,  I  do  not  write  professedly  for  them.  I  have  simply  de- 
clared my  own  views  and  feelings,  as  I  might  have  done  if  I  had  com- 
posed hymns  in  some  of  the  newly  discovered  islands  in  the  South  Sea, 
where  no  person  had  any  knowledge  of  the  name  of  Jesus  but  myself." 

To  dwell,  therefore,  with  a  critical  eye  on  this  part  of  his  public  cha- 
racter, would  be  absurd  and  impertinent,  and  to  erect  a  tribunal  to 
which  he  seems  not  amenable.  He  appears  to  have  paid  no  regard  to 
a  nice  ear,  or  an  accurate  reviewer ;  but,  preferring  a  style  at  once 
neat  and  perspicuous,  to  have  laid  out  himself  entirely  for  the  service 
of  the  church  of  God,  and  more  especially  for  the  tried  and  experienced 
part  of  its  members. 

His  chief  excellence  seemed  to  lie  in  the  easy  and  natural  style  of 
his  epistolary  correspondenc°.  His  letters  will  be  read  while  real  re- 
ligion exists  ;  and  they  are  the  best  draught  of  his  own  mind. 

He  had  so  largely  communicated  to  his  friends  in  this  way,  that  I 
have  heard  him  say,  "  he  thought,  if  his  letters  were  collected,  they 
would  make  several  folios."  He  selected  many  of  these  for  publication, 
and  expressed  a  hope,  that  no  other  person  would  take  that  liberty  with 
the  rest,  which  were  so  widely  spread  abroad.  In  this,  however,  he 
was  disappointed  and  grieved,  as  he  once  remarked  to  me ;  and  for 
which  reason  I  do  not  annex  any  letters  that  I  received  from  him.  He 
esteemed  that  collection  published  under  the  title  of  "  Cardiphonia" 
as  the  most  useful  of  his  writings,  and  mentioned  various  instances  of 
the  benefits  which  he  heard  they  had  conveyed  to  many. 

His  Apologia,  or  defence  of  conformity,  was  written  on  occasion  of 
some  reflections  (perhaps  only  jocular)  cast  on  him  at  that  time.  His 
Letters  to  a  Wife,  written  during  his  three  voyages  to  Africa,  and  pu- 
blished 1T93,  have  been  received  with  less  satisfaction  than  most  of  his 
other  writings.  While,  however,  his  advanced  age  and  inordinate  fond  - 
ness  may  be  pleaded  for  this  publication,  care  should  be  taken  lest  men 
fall  into  a  conti'ary  extreme ;  and  suppose  that  temper  to  be  their  wis- 
dom, which  leads  them  to  avoid  another,  which  they  consider  as  his 
weakness.  But  his  Messiah,  before  mentioned,  his  Letters  of  the  Rev. 
Mr  Vanlier,  chaplain  at  the  Cape,  his  Memoirs  of  the  Rev.  John  Cow- 
per  (brother  to  the  poet),  and  those  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Grimshaw  of  York- 
shire, together  with  his  single  sermons  and  tracts,  have  been  well  re- 
ceived, and  will  remain  a  public  benefit. 

I  recollect  reading  a  MS.  which  Mr  N.  lent  me,  containing  a  cor- 
respondence that  had  passed  between  himself  and  the  Rev.  Dr  Dixon, 
principal  of  St  Edmund  Hall,  Oxford ;  and  another  MS.  of  a  corres- 
pondence between  him  and  the  late  Rev.  Martin  Madan.  They  would 
have  been  very  interesting  to  the  public,  particularly  the  latter,  and 
were  striking  evidences  of  Mr  N.'s  humility,  piety,  and  faithfulness; 
hut  reasons  of  delicacy  led  him  to  commit  the  whole  to  the  flames. 

To  speak  of  his  writings  in  the  mass,  they  certainly  possess  what 
many  have  aimed  at,  but  very  few  attained,  namely,  originality. 
They  are  the  language  of  the  heart ;  they   show  a  deep  experience  of 


72  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

its  religious  feelings,  a  continual  anxiety  to  sympathize  with  man  in  his 
wants,  and  to  direct  him  to  his  only  resources. 

His  conversation,  and  familiar  habits  with  his  friends,  were  more 
peculiar,  amusing,  and  instructive,  than  any  I  ever  witnessed.  It  is 
difficult  to  convey  a  clear  idea  of  them  by  description.  I  venture, 
therefore,  to  add  a  few  pages  of  what  I  may  call  his  table-talk,  which  I 
took  down  at  different  times,  both  in  company  and  in  private,  from  his 
lips.  Such  a  collection  of  printed  remarks  will  not  have  so  much  point 
as  when  spoken  in  connexion  with  the  occasion  that  produced  them : 
they  must  appear  to  considerable  disadvantage  thus  detached,  and  can- 
did allowance  should  be  made  by  the  reader  on  this  account.  They, 
however,  who  had  the  privilege  of  Mr  N.'s  conversation  when  living, 
cannot  but  recognize  the  speaker  in  most  of  them,  and  derive  both  pro- 
fit and  pleasure  from  these  remains  of  their  late  valuable  friend  ;  and 
such  as  had  not,  will  (if  I  do  not  mistake)  think  them  the  most  valua- 
ble part  of  this  book. 


REMARKS 


MADE  BY   MR   NEWTON 


IN   FAMILIAR  CONVERSATION 


While  the  mariner  uses  the  loadstone,  the  philosopher  may  attempt 
to  investigate  the  cause  ;  but  after  all,  in  steering  through  the  ocean, 
he  can  make  no  other  use  of  it  than  the  mariner. 

If  an  angel  were  sent  to  find  tlue  most  perfect  man,  he  would  proba- 
bly not  find  him  composing  a  body  of  divinity,  but  perhaps  a  cripple  in 
a  poor-house,  whom  the  parish  wish  dead,  and  humbled  before  God 
with  far  lower  thoughts  of  himself  than  others  think  of  him. 

When  a  Christian  goes  into  the  world,  because  he  sees  it  is  his  call, 
yet,  while  he  feels  it  also  his  cross,  it  will  not  hurt  him. 

Satan  will  seldom  come  to  a  Christian  with  a  gross  temptation  :  a 
green  log  and  a  candle  may  be  safely  left  together  ;  but  bring  a  few 
shavings,  then  some  small  sticks,  and  then  larger,  and  you  may  soon 
bring  the  green  log  to  ashes. 

If  two  angels  came  down  from  heaven  to  execute  a  divine  command, 
and  one  was  appointed  to  conduct  an  empire,  and  the  other  to  sweep 
a  street  in  it,  they  would  feel  no  inclination  to  choose  employments. 

The  post  of  honour  in  an  army  is  not  with  the  baggage,  nor  with 
the  women. 

What  some  call  providential  openings  are  often  powerful  tempta- 
tions ;  the  heart,  in  wandering,  cries,  Here  is  a  way  opened  before  me ; 
but,  perhaps,  not  to  be  trodden,  but  rejected. 

Young  people  marry  as  others  study  navigation,  by  the  fire-side.  If 
they  marry  unsuitably,  they  can  scarcely  bring  things  to  rule,  but,  like 
sailors,  they  must  sail  as  near  the  wind  as  they  can.  I  feel  myself  like 
a  traveller  with  his  wife  in  his  chaise  and  one  ;  if  the  ground  is  smooth, 
and  she  keep  the  right  pace,  and  is  willing  to  deliver  the  reins  when  I 
ask  for  them,  I  am  always  willing  to  let  her  drive. 

I  should  have  thought  mowers  very  idle  people;  but  they  work 
while  they  whet  their  scythes.  Now  devotedness  to  God,  whether  it 
mows  or  whets  the  scythe,  still  goes  on  with  the  work. 


71<  MEMOIRS  OF  THE    ItEV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

A  Christian  should  never  plead  spirituality  for  being  a  sloven;  if  he 
he  hut  a  shoe-cleaner,  he  should  he  the  best  in  the  parish. 

In  choosing  my  text,  I  feel  myself  like  a  servant  to  whom  a  key  has 
been  given,  which  opens  a  particular  drawer,  but  who  has  not  the  hunch 
of  keys,  which  open  all  the  drawers.  I  therefore  expect  to  be  helped 
to  only  one  text  at  a  time. 

My  course  of  study,  like  that  of  a  surgeon,  has  principally  consisted 
in  walking  the  hospital. 

In  divinity,  as  well  as  in  other  professions,  there  are  the  little  artists. 
A  man  may  he  able  to  execute  the  buttons  of  a  statue  very  neatly,  but 
I  could  not  call  him  an  able  artist.  There  is  an  air,  there  is  a  taste, 
to  which  his  narrow  capacity  cannot  reach.  Now  in  the  church,  there 
are  your  dexterous  button-makers. 

My  principal  method  for  defeating  heresy,  is  by  establishing  truth. 
One  proposes  to  fill  a  bushel  with  tares ;  now  if  I  can  fill  it  first  with 
wheat,  I  shall  defy  his  attempts. 

When  some  people  talk  of  religion,  they  mean  they  have  heard  so 
many  sermons,  and  performed  so  many  devotions,  and  thus  mistake 
the  means  for  the  end.  But  true  religion  is  an  habitual  recollection  of 
God  and  intention  to  serve  him,  and  thus  turns  every  thing  into  gold. 
We  are  apt  to  suppose  that  we  need  something  splendid  to  evince  our 
devotion,  but  true  devotion  equals  things — washing  plates,  and  clean- 
ing shoes,  is  a  high  office,  if  performed  in  a  right  spirit.  If  three  an- 
gels were  sent  to  earth,  they  would  feel  perfect  indifference  who  should 
perform  the  part  of  prime-minister,  parish-minister,  or  watchman. 

When  a  ship  goes  to  sea,  among  a  vast  variety  of  its  articles  and  cir- 
cumstances, there  is  but  one  object  regarded,  namely,  doing  the  busi- 
ness of  the  voyage  :  every  bucket  is  employed  with  respect  to  that. 

Many  have  puzzled  themselves  about  the  origin  of  evil;  I  observe 
there  is  evil,  and  that  there  is  a  way  to  eseape  it,  and  with  this  I  begin 
and  end. 

Consecrated  things  under  the  law  were  first  sprinkled  with  blood, 
and  then  anointed  with  oil,  and  thenceforward  were  no  more  com- 
mon. Thus  under  the  gospel,  every  Christian  has  been  a  common  ves- 
sel for  profane  purposes  ;  hut,  when  sprinkled  and  anointed,  he  be- 
comes separated  and  consecrated  to  God. 

I  would  not  give  a  straw  for  that  assurance,  which  sin  will  not 
damp.  If  David  had  come  from  his  adultry,  and  had  talked  of  his  as- 
surance at  that  time,  I  should  have  despised  his  speech. 

A  spirit  of  adoption  is  the  spirit  of  a  child  ;  he  may  disoblige  his  fa- 
ther, yet  he  is  not  afraid  of  being  turned  out  of  doors.  The  union  is 
not  dissolved,  though  the  communion  is.  He  is  not  well  with  his  fa- 
ther, therefore  must  he  unhappy,  as  their  interests  are  inseparable. 

We  often  seek  to  apply  cordials  when  the  patient  is  not  prepared  for 
them,  and  it  is  the  patient's  advantage,  that  he  cannot  take  a  medicine 
when  prematurely  offered.  When  a  man  comes  to  me,  and  says,  "  I 
am  quite  happy,"  I  am  not  sorry  to  find  him  come  again  with  some 
fears.     I  never  saw  a  work  stand  well  without  a  check.     "  I  only  want," 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  7o 

says  one,  "  to  be  sure  of  being  safe,  and  tben  I  will  go  on."    No ;  per- 
haps, then  you  will  go  off. 

For  an  old  Christian  to  say  to  a  young  one,  "  Stand  in  my  evidence," 
is  like  a  man,  who  has  with  difficulty  climbed  by  a  ladder  or  scaffolding 
to  the  top  of  the  house,  and  cries  to  one  at  the  bottom,  "  This  is  the 
place  for  a  prospect — come  up  at  a  step." 

A  Christian,  like  a  miser,  will  ask  the  price  of  his  pleasures  :  the  mi- 
ser has  no  objection  to  go  to  Brighton,  but  always  asks  what  it  will 
cost  ?  The  miser,  indeed,  has  this  advantage,  that  he  is  always  in  the 
same  frame, 

A  Christian  in  the  world  is  like  a  man,  who  has  had  a  long  intimacy 
with  one,  whom  at  length  he  finds  out  was  the  murderer  of  a  kind  fa- 
ther ;  the  intimacy,  after  this,  will  surely  be  broken. 

"  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 
A  man  may  live  in  a  deep  mine  in  Hungary,  never  having  seen  the 
light  of  the  sun ;  he  may  have  received  accounts  of  prospects,  and  by 
the  help  of  a  candle,  may  have  examined  a  i'ew  engravings  of  them  • 
but  let  him  be  brought  out  of  the  mine,  and  set  on  the  mountain,  what 
a  difference  appeal's  ! 

In  our  fallen  state,  we  are  a  sort  of  solecism  in  the  universe  :  other 
animals  are  faithful  to  their  instincts;  lambs  do  not  wish  to  swim,  nor 
fish  to  feed  in  a  meadow.  If  the  sun  were  a  rational  creature  he  would 
delight  to  shine,  otherwise  he  ought  to  be  extinguished. 

Candour  will  always  allow  much  for  inexperience.  I  have  been 
thirty  years  forming  my  own  views,  and  in  the  course  of  this  time 
some  of  my  hills  have  been  sinking,  and  some  of  my  valleys  have 
risen ;  but  how  unreasonable  v/ould  it  be  to  expect  all  this  should  take 
place  in  another  person,  and  that  in  the  course  of  a  year  or  two. 

Candour  forbids  us  to  estimate  a  character  from  its  accidental  blots. 
Yet  it  is  thus  that  David,  and  others  have  been  treated. 

Apollos  met  with  two  candid  people  in  the  church  :  they  neither  ran 
away  because  he  was  legal,  nor  were  carried  away  because  he  was  elo- 
quent. 

There  is  the  analogy  of  faith ;  it  is  a  master-key,  which  not  only 
opens  particular  doors,  but  carries  you  through  the  whole  house ;  but 
an  attachment  to  a  rigid  system  is  dangerous.  Luther  once  turned 
out  the  epistle  of  St  James,  because  it  disturbed  his  system.  Dr  Owen 
will  be  ashamed  of  his  wisdom  and  clearness,  five  minutes  after  he  has 
been  in  heaven.  I  shall  preach,  perhaps,  very  usefully  upon  two  op- 
posite texts,  while  kept  apart ;  but  if  I  attempt  nicely  to  reconcile 
them,  it  is  ten  to  one  if  I  don't  begin  to  bungle. 

I  can  conceive  a  living  man  without  an  arm  or  a  leg,  but  not  with- 
out a  head  or  a  heart :  so  there  are  some  truths  essential  to  vital  reli- 
gion, and  which  all  awakened  souls  are  taught. 

Apostacy,  in  all  its  branches,  takes  its  rise  from  atheism.  "  I  have 
set  the  Lord  always  before  me,"  &c.  The  doctrine  of  omnipresence 
is  universally  allowed. 

We  are  surprised  at  the  fall  of  a  famous  professor;  but,  in  the  sight 
of  God,  the  man  was  gone  before;  it  is  only  we  that  have  now  first 


7^  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

discovered  it.  "  He  that  despiselh  small  things,  shall  fall  by  little  and 
little." 

There  are  critical  times  of  danger.  After  great  services,  honours, 
and  consolations,  we  should  stand  upon  our  guard.  Noah,  Lot,  David, 
and  Solomon,  fell  in  these  circumstances,  Satan  is  a  footpad :  a  foot- 
pad will  not  attack  a  man  in  going  to  the  hank,  hut  in  returning  with 
his  pocket  full  of  money. 

A  Christian  is  like  a  young  nobleman,  who,  on  going  to  receive  his 
estate,  is  at  first  enchanted  by  its  prospects ;  this  in  a  course  of  time 
may  wear  off,  but  a  sense  of  the  value  of  the  estate  grows  daily. 

When  we  first  enter  into  the  divine  life,  we  propose  to  grow  rich ; 
God's  plan  is  to  make  us  feel  poor. 

Good  men  have  need  to  take  heed  of  building  upon  groundless  im- 
pressions. Mr  Whitefield  had  a  son,  which  he  imagined  was  born  to  be 
a  very  extraordinary  man  :  but  the  son  soon  died,  and  the  father  was 
cured  of  his  mistake. 

I  remember,  in  going  to  undertake  the  care  of  a  congregation,  I  was 
reading,  as  I  walked  in  a  green  lane,  "  Fear  not,  Paid,  I  have  much 
people  in  this  city;"  but  I  soon  afterwards  was  disappointed  in  find- 
ing that  Paul  was  not  John,  and  that  Corinth  was  not  Warwick. 

Christ  has  taken  our  nature  into  heaven  to  represent  us  ;  and  has  left 
us  on  earth,  with  his  nature,  to  represent  him. 

Worldly  men  will  be  true  to  their  principles  ;  and  if  we  were  as  true 
to  ours,  the  visits  between  the  two  parties  would  be  short  and  seldom. 

A  Christian  in  the  world  is  like  a  man  transacting  his  affairs  in  the 
rain.  He  will  not  suddenly  leave  his  client,  because  it  rains;  but  the 
moment  the  business  is  done,  he  is  off :  as  it  is  said  in  the  Acts,  "  Be- 
ing let  go,  they  went  to  their  own  company." 

When  a  man  is  joined  to  Christ,  Christ  says  to  him,  as  it  was  once 
said  to  the  Levite,  "  Let  all  thy  wants  lie  upon  me,  only  abide  not  in 
the  street." 

God's  word  is  certainly  a  restraint ;  but  it  is  such  a  restraint  as 
the  irons  which  prevent  children  from  getting  into  the  fire. 

The  scriptures  are  so  full,  that  every  case  may  be  found  in  them. 
A  rake  went  into  a  church,  and  tried  to  decoy  a  girl  by  saying,  "  Why 
do  you  attend  to  such  stuff  as  these  scriptures?"  "  Because,"  said  she, 
"  they  tell  me,  that  in  the  last  days  there  shall  come  such  scoffers  as 

you." 

God  deals  with  us  as  we  do  with  our  children :  he  first  speaks,  then 
gives  a  gentle  stroke,  at  last  a  blow. 

The  religion  of  a  sinner  stands  on  two  pillars;  namely,  what  Christ 
did  for  us  in  his  flesh,  and  what  he  performs  in  us  by  his  Spirit.  Most 
errors  arise  from  an  attempt  to  separate  these  two. 

We  blame  an  Arminian  for  his  want  of  submission  to  divine  sove- 
reignty ;  yet  let  a  shower  of  rain  fall  on  a  suit  of  new  clothes,  and  we 
cannot  submit  ourselves. 

Man  is  not  taught  any  thing  to  purpose  till  God  becomes  his  teach- 
er, and  then  the  glare  of  the  world  is  put  out,  and  the  value  of  the  soul 
rises  in  full  view       A  man's   present  sentiments  may  not  be  accurate. 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  77 

but  we  make  too  much  of  sentiments.  We  pass  a  field  with  a  few 
blades,  we  call  it  a  field  of  wheat :  but  here  is  no  wheat ;  no,  not  in 
perfection,  but  wheat  is  sown,  and  full  ears  may  be  expected. 

The  word  temperance,  in  the  New  Testament,  signifies  self-posses 
sion ;  it  is  a  disposition  suitable  to  one  who  has  a  race  to  run,  and 
therefore  will  not  load  Ms  pockets  with  lead. 

One  reason  why  we  must  not  attempt  to  pull  up  the  tares  which 
grow  among  the  wheat  is,  that  we  have  not  skill  for  the  work  ;  like  a 
weeder,  whom  Mrs  N.  employed  in  my  garden  at  Olney,  who  for  weeds 
pulled  up  some  of  her  favourite  flowers. 

Contrivers  of  systems  on  earth  are  like  contrivers  of  systems  in  the 
heavens ;  where  the  sun  and  moon  keep  the  same  course,  in  spite  of 
the  philosophers. 

I  endeavour  to  walk  through  the  world  as  a  physician  goes  through 
Bedlam  :  the  patients  make  a  noise,  pester  him  with  impertinence,  and 
hinder  him  in  his  business ;  but  he  does  the  best  he  can,  and  so  gets 
through. 

A  man  always  in  society,  is  one  always  on  the  spend  :  on  the  other 
hand,  a  mere  solitary  is  at  his  best  but  a  candle  in  an  empty  room. 

If  we  were  upon  the  watch  for  improvement,  the  common  news  of 
the  day  would  furnish  it :  the  falling  of  the  tower  of  Siloam,  and  the 
slaughter  of  the  Galileans,  were  the  news  of  the  day,  which  our  Lord 
improved. 

The  generality  make  out  their  righteousness  by  comparing  them- 
selves with  some  others  whom  they  think  worse :  thus,  a  woman  of 
the  town,  who  was  rotting  in  the  Lock  Hospital,  was  offended  at  a 
minister  speaking  to  her  as  a  sinner,  because  she  had  never  picked  a 
pocket. 

Take  away  a  toy  from  a  child,  and  give  him  another,  and  he  is  sa- 
tisfied ;  but  if  he  be  hungry,  no  toy  will  do.  Thus,  as  new-born  babes, 
true  believers  desh'e  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word ;  and  the  desire  of 
grace,  in  this  way,  is  grace. 

One  said,  that  the  great  saints  in  the  calendar  were  many  of  them 
poor  sinners ;  Mr  N.  replied,  they  were  poor  saints  indeed,  if  they  did 
not  feel  that  they  were  great  sinners. 

A  wise  man  looks  upon  men  as  he  does  upon  horses ;  and  considers 
their  caparisons  of  title,  wealth,  and  place,  but  as  luirness. 

The  force  of  what  we  deliver  from  the  pulpit  is  often  lost  by  a  starch- 
ed, and  what  is  often  called  a  correct  style,  and  especially  by  adding 
meretricious  ornaments.  I  called  upon  a  lady  who  had  been  robbed, 
and  she  gave  me  a  striking  account  of  the  fact ;  but  had  she  put  it  in 
heroics,  I  should  neither  so  well  have  understood  her,  nor  been  so  well 
convinced  that  she  was  robbed. 

When  a  man  says  he  received  a  blessing  under  a  sermon,  I  begin  to 
inquire  who  this  man  is,  that  speaks  of  the  help  he  has  received.  The 
Roman  people  proved  the  effect  they  received  under  a  sermon  of  An- 
tony when  they  flew  to  avenge  the  death  of  Csesar. 

The  Lord  has  reasons,  far  beyond  our  ken,  for  opening  a  wide  door, 
while  he  stops  the  mouth  of  a  useful  preacher.     John  Bunvan  Avould 


78  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

not  have  done  half  tlic  good  lie  did,  if  he  had  remained  prcaehing  in 
Bedford,  instead  of  being  shut  up  in  Bedford  prison. 

If  I  could  go  to  France,  and  give  every  man  in  it  a  right  and  peace- 
able mind  by  my  labour,  I  should  have  a  statue  ;  but  to  produce  such 
an  effect  in  the  conversion  of  one  soul  would  be  a  far  greater  achieve- 
ment. 

Ministers  would  over-rate  their  labours,  if  they  did  not  think  it  worth 
while  to  be  born  and  spend  ten  thousand  years  in  labour  and  contempt^ 
to  recover  one  soul. 

Don't  tell  me  of  your  feelings.  A  traveller  would  be  glad  of  fine 
weather,  but,  if  he  be  a  man  of  business,  he  will  go  on.  Bunyan  says, 
You  must  not  judge  of  a  man's  haste  by  his  horse  ;  for  when  the  horse 
can  hardly  move,  you  may  see  by  the  rider's  urging  him,  what  a  hurry 
he  is  in. 

A  man  and  a  beast  may  stand  upon  the  same  mountain,  and  even 
touch  one  another ;  yet  they  are  in  two  different  worlds  :  the  beast  per- 
ceives nothing  but  the  grass;  but  the  man  contemplates  the  prospect, 
and  thinks  of  a  thousand  remote  things.  Thus  a  Christian  may  be  so- 
litary at  a  full  Exchange ;  he  can  converse  with  the  people  there  upon 
trade,  politics,  and  the  stocks  ;  but  they  cannot  talk  with  him  upon  the 
peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understanding. 

Love  and  fear  are  like  the  sun  and  moon,  seldom  seen  together. 

Two  men  go  into  a  wood  with  their  guns,  and  one  fires  as  often  as 
the  other  :  but  one  kills  a  great  quantity  of  game,  because  he  fires  with 
shot.  Some,  like  Zaccheus,  think  they  sit  very  snug  in  a  corner,  and 
are  brought  down  much  before  they  expect  it. 

I  dreamt  one  night  that  I  saw  Matthew  Henry  lay  open  at  this  text, 
"  Let  your  women  keep  silence  in  the  churches,"  and  thought  I  read 
the  following  note  at  bottom  :  "  Note — We  see  the  reason  why  women 
are  forbid  to  preach  the  gospel,  for  they  would  persuade  without  argu- 
ment, and  reprove  without  giving  offence/' 

It  is  a  mere  fallacy  to  talk  of  the  sins  of  a  short  life.  The  sinner  is 
always  a  sinner.  Put  a  pump  into  a  river,  you  may  throw  out  some 
water,  but  the  river  remains. 

Professors,  who  own  the  doctrines  of  free  grace,  often  act  inconsist- 
ently with  their  own  principles,  when  they  are  angry  at  the  defects  of 
others.  A  company  of  travellers  fall  into  a  pit,  one  of  them  gets  a 
passenger  to  draw  him  out :  now  he  should  not  be  angry  with  the  rest 
for  falling  in,  nor  because  they  are  not  yet  out,  as  he  is.  He  did  not 
pull  himself  out ;  instead,  therefore,  of  reproaching  them,  he  should 
show  them  pity ;  he  should  avoid  at  any  rate  going  down  upon  their 
ground  again,  and  show  how  much  better  and  happier  he  is  upon  his 
own.  We  should  take  care  that  we  do  not  make  our  profession  of  re- 
ligion a  receipt  in  full  for  all  other  obligations.  A  man,  truly  illumi- 
nated, will  no  more  despise  others,  than  Bartimeus,  after  his  OAvn  eyes 
were  opened,  would  take  a  stick,  and  beat  every  blind  man  he  met. 

We  are  much  mistaken  in  supposing,  that  the  removal  of  a  particu- 
lar obstruction  would  satisfy  the  objector.     Suppose  I  am  in  bed,  and 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE   REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  70 

want  to  know  whether  it  be  light,  it  is  not  enough  if  I  draw  the  cur- 
tain ;  for  if  there  be  light,  I  must  have  eyes  to  see  it. 

Too  deep  a  consideration  of  eternal  realities  might  unfit  a  man  for 
his  present  circumstances.  Walking  through  St  Bartholomew's  Hos- 
pital or  Bedlam  must  deeply  affect  a  feeling  mind,  but  in  reality  this 
world  is  a  far  worse  scene ;  it  has  but  two  wards,  in  the  one,  men  are 
miserable,  in  the  other  mad. 

^Some  preachers  near  Olney  dwelt  on  the  doctrine  of  predestination  ; 
an  old  woman  said — "  All  !  I  have  long  settled  that  point ;  for  if  God 
had  not  chosen  me  before  I  was  born,  I  am  sure  he  would  have  seen 
nothing  in  me  to  have  chosen  me  for  afterwards." 

Law  has  swept  away  Warburton's  cobweb,  with  a  single  brush.  Abel 
pleased  God,  but  Cain  killed  him  ;  therefore,  it  was  a  dangerous  thing 
to  please  God,  if  there  were  no  future  state. 

I  see  the  unprofitableness  of  controversy  in  the  case  of  Job  and  his 
friends ;  for  if  God  had  not  interposed,  and  they  had  lived  to  this  day, 
they  would  have  continued  the  dispute. 

It  is  pure  mercy  that  negatives  a  particular  request.  A  miser  would 
pray-  very  earnestly  for  gold,  if  he  believed  prayer  would  gain  it; 
whereas,  if  Christ  had  any  favour  to  him,  he  would  take  his  gold  away. 
A  child  walks  in  the  garden  in  spring,  and  sees  cherries ;  he  knows 
they  are  good  fruit,  and  therefore  asks  for  them.  "  No,  my  dear,"  says 
the  father,   "  they  are  not  yet  ripe  :  stay  till  the  season." 

If  I  cannot  take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  I  can  sometimes  feel  the  pro- 
fit of  them.  I  can  conceive  a  king  to  pardon  a  rebel,  and  take  him 
into  his  family,  and  then  say,  "  I  appoint  you  for  a  season  to  wear  a 
fetter.  At  a  certain  season  I  mil  send  a  messenger  to  knock  it  off. 
In  the  mean  time  this  fetter  will  serve  to  remind  you  of  your  state ;  it 
may  humble  you,  and  restrain  you  from  rambling." 

Some  Christians,  at  a  glance,  seem  of  a  superior  order,  and  are  not ; 
they  want  a  certain  quality.  At  a  florist's  feast  the  other  day,  a  cer- 
tain flower  was  determined  to  bear  the  bell,  but  it  was  found  to  be  an 
artificial  flower  ;  there  is  a  quality  called  growth,  which  it  had  not. 

Doctor  Taylor  of  Norwich  said  to  me,  "  Sir,  I  have  collated  every 
word  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  seventeen  times  ;  and  it  is  very  strange, 
if  the  doctrine  of  atonement  you  hold  should  not  have  been  found  by 
me."  I  am  not  surprised  at  this  :  I  once  went  to  light  my  candle  with 
the  extinguisher  on  it.  Now,  prejudices  from  education,  learning,  &c. 
often  form  an  extinguisher.  It  is  not  enough  that  you  bring  the  can- 
dle, you  must  remove  the  extinguisher. 

I  measure  ministers  by  square  measure.  I  have  no  idea  of  the  size 
of  a  table,  if  you  only  tell  me  how  long  it  is ;  but  if  you  also  say  how 
broad,  I  can  tell  its  dimensions.  So  when  you  tell  me  what  a  man  is 
in  the  pidpit,  you  must  also  tell  me  what  he  is  out  of  it,  or  I  shall  not 
know  his  size. 

'  If  Nebuchadnezzar's  image  was  of  solid  gold,  and  every  worshipper 
was  to  have  a  bit  of  it,  I  fear  our  nation,  as  well  as  his,  woidd  be  ready 
to  fall  down  before  it. 


SO  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

There  were  two  sorts  of  Calvinists  at  Olney,  and  they  always  re- 
minded me  ot"  the  two  baskets  of  Jeremiah's  figs. 

A  man  should  be  born  to  high  things  not  to  lose  himself  in  them 
Slaters  will  walk  on  the  ridge  of  a  house  with  ease,  which  would  turn 
our  heads. 

Much  depends  on  the  way  we  come  into  trouble.  Paul  and  Jonah 
were  both  in  a  storm,  but  in  very  different  circumstances. 

I  have  read  of  many  wicked  Popes,  but  the  worst  Pope  I  ever  met 
with  is  Pope  Self. 

The  men  of  this  world  are  children.  Offer  a  child  an  apple  and  a 
bank-note,  he  will  doubtless  choose  the  apple. 

A  pious  gentlewoman  told  me  of  her  pottery  being  burnt.  "  I  con- 
gratulate you,  madam,"  said  I,  "  in  possessing  something  you  cannot 
lose." 

The  heir  of  a  great  estate,  while  a  child,  thinks  more  of  a  few  shil- 
lings in  his  pocket,  than  of  his  inheritance.  So  a  Christian  is  often 
more  elated  by  some  frame  of  heart,  than  by  his  title  to  glory. 

A  dutiful  child  is  ever  looking  forward  to  the  holidays,  when  he 
shall  return  to  his  father  ;  but  he  does  not  think  of  running  from  school 
before. 

The  gospel  is  a  proclamation  of  free  mercy  to  guilty  creatures — an 
act  of  grace  to  rebels.  Now,  though  a  rebel  should  throw  away  his 
pistols,  and  determine  to  go  into  the  woods,  and  make  his  mind  better 
before  he  goes  to  court  and  pleads  the  act ;  he  may,  indeed  not  be  found 
in  arms,  yet,  being  taken  in  his  reforming  scheme,  he  will  be  hanged. 

The  devil  told  a  lie  when  he  said,  "  All  these  things  are  mine,  and 
to  whomsoever  I  will  I  give  them  :"  for  if  he  had  the  disposal  of  prefer- 
ments, since  he  knows  the  effect  of  them,  you  and  I,  brother  C — , 
should  soon  be  dignitaries. 

Man  is  made  capable  of  three  births — by  nature  he  enters  the  present 
world — by  grace  into  spiritual  light  and  life — by  death  into  glory. 

In  my  imagination,  I  sometimes  fancy  I  could  make  a  perfect  mini- 
ster.   I  take  the  eloquence  of ,  the   knowledge  of ,  the  zeal  of 

,  and  the  pastoral  meeknes,  tenderness,  and  piety  of ;  then  put- 
ting them  all  together  into  one  man,  I  say  to  myself,  this  would  be  a 
perfect  minister.  Now,  there  is  One  who,  if  he  chose  it,  could  actual- 
'y  do  this,  but  he  never  did  ;  he  has  seen  fit  to  do  otherwise,  and  to 
divide  these  gifts  to  every  man  severally  as  he  will. 

I  feel  like  a  man,  who  has  no  money  in  his  pocket,  but  is  allowed 
to  draw  for  all  he  wants  upon  one  infinitely  rich  :  I  am,  therefore,  at 
once  both  a  beggar  and  a  rich  man. 

I  went  one  day  to  Mrs  G 's,  just  after  she  had  lost  all  her  for- 
tune ;  I  could  not  be  surprised  to  find  her  in  tears,  but  she  said,  "  I 
suppose  you  think  I  am  crying  for  my  loss  :  but  that  is  not  the  case — 
I  am  now  weeping  to  think  I  should  feel  so  much  uneasiness  on  the 
account."  After  that,  I  never  heard  her  speak  again  upon  the  subject 
as  long  as  she  lived. — Why,  now,  this  is  just  as  it  should  be. — Suppose 
a  man  was  going  to  York  to  take  possession  of  a  large  estate,  and  his 
chaise  should  break  down  a  mile  before  he  got  to  the  city,  which  oblig- 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  81 

ed  him  to  walk  the  rest  of  the  way ;  what  a  fool  we  should  think  him 
if  we  saw  him  wringing  his  hands,  and  blubbering  out  all  the  remain- 
ing mile,  "  My  chaise  is  broken  !  my  chaise  is  broken  ! 

I  have  many  books  that  I  cannot  sit  down  to  read ;  they  are,  indeed, 
good  and  sound ;  but,  like  halfpence,  there  goes  a  great  quantity  to  a 
little  amount.  There  are  silver  books,  and  a  very  few  golden  books  ; 
but  I  have  one  book  worth  more  than  all,  called  the  Bible,  and  that  is 
a  book  of  bank-notes. 

I  conclude  these  remarks,  not  because  my  memorandum-book  is  ex- 
hausted, but  lest  the  reader  should  think  I  forget  the  old  maxim,  ne  quid 
nimis.  No  undue  liberty,  however,  has  been  taken  in  publishing  Mr 
N.'s  private  conversation  ;  since  all  the  above  remarks  were  submitted 
to  him,  as  intended  for  this  publication,  and  were  approved. 


G 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


1  he  difference  of  mental  improvement,  among  men,  seems  very  much 
to  depend  on  their  capacity  and  habit  of  gathering  instruction  from  the 
objects  which  are  continually  presented  to  their  observation.  Two 
men  behold  the  same  fact :  one  of  them  is  in  the  habit  of  drawing  such 
remarks  and  inferences  as  the  fact  affords,  and  learns  something  from 
every  thing  he  sees ;  while  the  other  sees  the  same  fact,  and  perhaps 
with  a  momentary  admiration,  but  lets  it  pass  without  making  so  much 
as  one  profitable  reflection  on  the  occasion.  The  excursions  of  the  be* 
and  the  butterfly  present  an  exact  emblem  of  these  two  characters. 

I  have  present  to  my  mind  an  acquaintance,  who  has  seen  more  of  the 
outside  of  the  world  than  most  men  :  he  has  lived  in  most  countries  of 
the  civilized  world ;  yet  I  scarcely  know  a  man  of  a  less  improved 
mind.  With  every  external  advantage,  he  has  learned  nothing  to  any 
useful  purpose.  He  seems  to  have  passed  from  flower  to  flower  with- 
out extracting  a  drop  of  honey ;  and  now  he  tires  all  his  friends  with 
the  frivolous  garrulity  of  a  capricious,  vacant,  and  petulant  old  age. 

I  wish  the  reader  of  these  Memoirs  may  avoid  such  an  error  in  pas- 
sing over  the  history  here  laid  before  him.  An  extraordinary  train  of 
facts  is  presented  to  his  observation ;  and  if  "  the  proper  study  of  man- 
kind is  man,"  the  history  before  us  will  surely  furnish  important  mat- 
ter of  the  kind,  to  the  eye  of  every  wise  moral  traveller. 

I  would  here  call  the  attention  of  three  classes  of  men  to  a  single 
point  of  prime  importance ;  namely,  to  the  efficacy  and  excellency  of 
real  Christianity,  as  exhibited  in  the  principles  and  practice  of  the 
subject  of  these  Memoirs. 

I.  Suppose  the  reader  to  be  so  unhappy  (though  his  misfortune  may 
be  least  perceived  by  himself)  as  to  be  led  astray  by  bad  society,  in 
conjunction  with  "  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief."  I  will  suppose  him  to 
be  now  in  the  state  in  which  Mr  N.  describes  himself  formerly  to  have 
been,  and  in  which  also  the  writer  of  these  Memoirs  once  was.  I  will 
suppose  him  to  be  given  up  to  "  believe  his  own  lie ;"  and  that  he  may 
be  in  the  habit  of  thinking,  that  God,  when  he  made  man,  left  him  to 
find  his  way,  without  any  express  revelation  of  the  mind  and  will  of 
his  Maker  and  Governor ;  or,  at  most,  that  he  is  left  to  the  only  rule 
in  morals,  which  nature  may  be  supposed  to  present.  What  that  way 
is,  which  such  a  thinker  will  take,  is  sufficiently  evident  from  the  gc- 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  83 

neral  course  and  habits  of  unbelievers. — But  there  is  a  conscience  in 
man.  Conscience,  in  sober  moments,  often  alarms  the  most  stout- 
hearted. When  such  an  unbeliever  meets  an  overwhelming  providence, 
or  lies  on  a  death-bed,  he  will  probably  awake  to  a  strong  sense  of  his 
real  condition.  He  will  feel,  if  not  very  hardened  indeed,  in  what  a 
forlorn,  unprovided,  and  dangerous  state  he  exists.  Life  is  the  mo- 
ment in  which  only  this  sceptical  presumption  can  continue ;  and, 
when  it  is  terminating,  where  is  he  to  set  the  sole  of  hie  foot  ?  He 
wildly  contemplates  the  book  of  nature,  in  which  he  may  have  been 
persuaded,  that  man  may  read  all  he  needs  to  know ;  but  the  forlorn 
outcast  sees  nothing  there  to  meet  his  case  as  a  sinner.  Infinite  power, 
wisdom,  contrivance,  general  provision  alone  appear ;  but  nothing  of 
that  further  and  distinct  information,  which  a  dying  offender  needs. 
He  wants  footing,  and  finds  none.  He  needs  the  hand  of  a  friend  to 
grasp,  but  none  is  seen.  Possibilities  shock  his  apprehension.  He 
may,  perhaps,  discern,  that  the  present  system  has  a  moral  government, 
which  frowns  upon  guilt ;  and,  for  aught  he  knows  to  the  contrary, 
the  next  scene  may  present  a  Judge  upon  his  throne  of  justice — this 
world,  his  present  idol,  vanished  like  smoke — and  quick  and  dead  cal- 
led to  give  their  account.  Where  then  is  he  ? — an  atom  of  guilt  and 
wretchedness  !  All  this,  I  say,  may  be,  for  aught  he  knows  to  the  con- 
trary. But  the  express  and  well-authenticated  revelation,  which  that 
Judge  hath  sent  to  man,  tells  us  plainly  that  all  this  shall  be,  and  that 
every  eye  shall  behold  it ! 

"  Be  it  so,"  such  a  reader  may  reply,  "  still  I  am  what  I  am.  My 
habits  of  thinking  are  fixed  ;  and  I  perceive  my  habits  of  life  can  only 
be  decently  borne  out  by  my  profession  of  unbelief.  Both  are  now  in- 
veterate. Nor  do  I  see,  all  things  considered,  what  can  be  done  in  my 
case.  How  can  I  adopt  the  Christian  revelation  ?  and  what  could  it 
do  for  me  if  I  could  ?"  I  answer  by  calling  your  attention  to  the  fact 
before  us.     What  was  the  case  of  John  Newton  ? 

Could  any  one  be  more  deeply  sunk  in  depravity,  in  profligacy,  in 
infidelity,  than  he  ?  Can  you  even  conceive  a  rational  creature  more  de- 
graded, or  more  hardened  in  his  evil  habits  ?  Would  you  attempt  to 
recover  such  a  mind  by  arguments,  drawn  from  the  advantage  which 
virtue  has  over  vice  ?  or  by  rousing  his  attention  to  the  duties  of  natu- 
ral religion  ?  or  the  possible  consequences  of  a  future  retribution  ?  He 
would  have  gone  on  thinking  he  had  made  the  most  of  his  circum- 
stances, in  his  practice  of  catching  fish,  and  eating  them  almost  raw — 
He  would  sullenly  have  proceeded  to  sleep  through  the  drying  of  his 
one  shirt,  which  he  had  just  washed  on  the  rock,  and  put  on  wet — 
He  would,  with  a  savage  ferocity,  have  watched  an  opportunity  for 
murdering  his  master — He  would  have  drowned  all  reflection  in  a 
drunken  revel,  and  overwhelmed  all  remonstrance  by  belching  out 
nesvly-in vented  blasphemies  ;  and  then  sought  to  rush  headlong,  in  a 
drunken  paroxysm,  into  the  ocean. 

Here  is  certainly  presented  the  utmost  pitch  of  a  depraved  and  a  de- 
graded nature,  nor  does  it  seem  possible  for  Satan  to  carry  his  point 


Sl<  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  11EV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

farther  with  a  man- — except  in  one  single  instance,  namely,  by  the  fi- 
nal disbelief  of  a  remedy. 

Now,  by  God's  help,  this  divine  remedy  was  applied,  and  its  efficacy 
demonstrated,  of  which  there  are  thousands  of  living  witnesses.  A 
plain  matter  of  fact  is  before  us.  It  pleased  God,  by  a  train  of  dis- 
pensations, that  this  prodigal  should  "  come  to  himself."  He  is  made 
to  feel  his  wants  and  misery.  He  follows  the  "  light  shining  in  a 
dark  place."  He  calls  for  help.  Pie  is  made  willing  to  follow  his 
guide.  He  proceeds  with  implicit  confidence  :  and  now  let  us  examine 
to  what,  at  length,  he  is  brought ;  and  also  by  what  means. 

I  speak  of  a  matter  of  fact — whither  is  he  brought?  He  is  brought 
from  the  basest,  meanest,  under-trodden  state  of  slavery — from  a  state 
of  mind  still  more  degraded,  being  "  foolish,  disobedient,  deceived, 
serving  divers  lusts  and  pleasures,  living  in  malice  and  envy,  hateful 
and  hating" — wanting  nothing  of  a  complete  devil  but  his  powers. 
This  man  is  brought,  I  say,  to  be  a  faithful  and  zealous  servant  of  his 
God;  an  able  and  laborious  minister  of  Christ ;  a  useful  and  benevolent 
friend  to  his  neighbour ;  wise  to  secure  the  salvation  of  his  own  soul, 
and  wise  to  win  the  souls  of  others. 

Consider  also  the  means  by  which  he  was  brought.  It  was  not  by  the 
arguments  of  philosophers,  or  the  rational  considerations  of  what  is 
called  natural  religion.  Mr  N.'s  own  account  informs  us,  that  the  pe- 
culiar discoveries  of  revealed  truth  gradually  broke  in  upon  his  mind; 
till,  at  length,  he  was  made  sensible  that  there  was  a  remedy  provided 
in  the  gospel,  and  which  was  fully  sufficient  to  meet  even  his  case,  and 
he  found  that,  and  that  only,  to  be  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation." 

The  result,  therefore,  which  should  be  drawn  from  these  premises  is 
the  following : — There  exists  a  desperate  disorder  in  the  world,  called 
sin.  Heathens  as  well  as  Christians  have  marked  its  malignant  influ- 
ence ;  they  have  tried  various  expedients,  which  have  been  prescribed 
for  its  cure,  or  at  least  its  mitigation ;  but  no  means,  except  God's  own 
appointed  means,  have  been  discovered,  that  have  been  able  to  relieve 
so  much  as  a  single  individual.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  this  medicina  mentis 
of  God's  own  appointment,  to  which  only  he  has  promised  a  peculiar 
blessing,  and  by  which  he  is  daily  recovering  men  in  the  most  despe- 
rate circumstances,  who  actually  employ  it :  strange  to  say,  this  reme- 
dy still  remains  a  stumbling  block — is  counted  foolishness — insomuch, 
that  many  will  rather  dash  this  cup  of  salvation  from  the  lips  of  a  pro- 
fligate, like  Newton,  when  disposed  to  receive  it,  than  he  should  obtain 
relief  that  way.  Their  conduct  seems  to  say,  "  Rather  let  such  a 
wretch  go  on  in  his  profligacy,  than  the  gospel  be  acknowledged  to  be 
the  wisdom  and  the  power  of  God." 

Not  that  the  case  of  Mr  N.,  here  presented  to  the  consideration  of  an 
unbeliever,  is  brought  forward  as  if  the  gospel  needed  any  farther  evi- 
dence, or  has  occasion  for  facts  of  our  own  time  to  give  it  additional 
authenticity ;  but  we  are  directed  to  regard  the  "  cloud  of  witnesses," 
among  which  our  departed  brother  was  distinguished ;  "  and  though 
now  dead,  yet  speaketh."  May  the  reader  have  ears  to  hear  the  im- 
portant report  ! 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  85 

Does  the  question  return,  therefore,  as  to  what  the  unbeliever  should 
do  ?  Let  him,  after  seriously  considering  what  is  here  advanced,  con- 
sider also  what  conduct  is  becoming  a  responsible,  or  at  least  a  rational 
creature  ?  Surely  it  becomes  such  a  one  to  avoid  all  means  of  stifling 
the  voice  of  conscience  whenever  it  begins  to  speak ;  to  regard  the 
voice  of  God  yet  speaking  to  him  in  the  revelation  of  his  grace,  and 
that  much  more  humbly  and  seriously  than  such  persons  are  wont  to 
do.  It  becomes  him,  if  he  have  any  regard  to  the  interest  of  his  own 
soul,  or  the  souls  of  his  fellow-creatures,  to  give  no  countenance,  by 
his  declarations  or  example,  to  the  senseless  cavils,  and  indecent  scoffs, 
by  which  the  profligate  aim  to  cloak  the  disorders  of  their  hearts ;  by 
which  vanity  aims  at  distinction,  and  half-thinkers  affect  depth.  The 
person  I  am  now  speaking  to  cannot  but  observe  how  much  the  judg- 
ment becomes  the  dupe  of  the  passions.  "  If  the  veil  be  upon  the 
heart,  it  will  be  upon  every  tiling."  We  need  not  only  an  object  pre- 
sented, but  an  organ  to  discern  it.  Now  the  gospel,  only,  affords  both 
these.  Mr  N.  becomes  an  instructive  example  in  this  respect  to  the 
unbeliever.  "  One  of  the  first  helps,"  says  he,  "  I  received  (in  con- 
sequence of  a  determination  to  examine  the  New  Testament  more  care- 
fully) was  from  Luke  vi.  13,  '  If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to 
give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how  much  more  shall  your  heaven- 
ly Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him  ?'  I  had  been  sen- 
sible, that  to  profess  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  when,  in  reality,  I  did  not 
believe  his  history,  was  no  better  than  a  mockery  of  the  heart-search- 
ing God ;  but  here  I  found  a  Spirit  spoken  of,  which  was  to  be  com- 
municated to  those  who  ask  it.  Upon  this  I  reasoned  thus  :  if  this 
book  be  true,  the  promise  in  this  passage  must  be  true  likewise.  I 
have  need  of  that  very  Spirit  by  which  the  whole  was  written,  in  or- 
der to  understand  it  aright.  He  has  engaged  here,  to  give  that  Spi- 
rit to  those  who  ask ;  and  if  it  be  of  God,  he  will  make  good  his  own 
word." 

A  man,  therefore,  who  is  found  in  this  unhappy  state,  but  not  judi- 
cially hardened  in  it,  should  mark  this  stage  of  Mr  N.'s  recovery,  and 
attend  to  the  facts  and  evidences  of  the  power  and  excellency  of  real 
religion,  such  as  this  before  him.  He  should  appreciate  that  gospel, 
which  it  has  pleased  God  to  employ  as  his  instrument  for  displaying 
the  wonders  of  his  might  in  the  moral  world.  He  should  pray  that  he 
may  experience  the  pow^r  of  it  in  his  own  heart,  and  thus  not  lose  the 
additional  benefit  of  the  cases  pi'esented  to  him  in  Memoirs  like  these ; 
a  case  probably  far  exceeding  his  own  in  the  malignity  of  its  symp- 
toms. Let  him  also  consider,  that,  while  such  convictions  can  pro- 
duce no  real  loss  to  him,  they  may  secure  advantages  beyond  calcula- 
tion. He  may  not  be  able  at  present  to  comprehend  how  "  godliness 
is  profitable  for  all  things,  in  having  not  only  the  promise  of  the  life 
that  now  is,  but  that  which  is  to  come ;"  but  he  may  see,  as  a  rational 
creature,  that,  at  the  very  lowest  estimation,  he  has  taken  a  safe  side, 
by  embracing  the  only  hope  set  before  him :  and  on  this  ground  it  is 
clearly  demonstrable,  that  not  only  the  grossest  folly  must  attach  to 


86  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

the  rejector  of  a  revelation  attended  with  such  accumulated  evidences, 
hut  also  actual  guilt,  and  the  highest  ingratitude  and  presumption. 

II.  But  there  is  another  class  of  men,  to  whom  I  would  recommend 
a  serious  consideration  of  Mr  N.'s  religious  character  and  principles. 
The  persons  whom  I  am  now  addressing  are  convinced  of  the  truth  of 
revelation,  and  some  of  them  ahly  contend  for  it  against  unbelievers. 
They  are  also  conscientious — they  are  often  useful  in  society — and  are 
sometimes  found  amiable  and  benevolent :  they  are  even  religious,  ac- 
cording to  their  views  of  religion  ;  and  some  of  them  are  exact  in  their 
devotions.  Yet  from  certain  morbid  symptoms,  they  appear  not  to  re- 
ceive the  grace  of  God  in  truth,  nor  to  be  cordially  disposed  to  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel.  So  much  apparent  right  intention  and  exemplary 
conduct  seems,  indeed,  to  demand  respect ;  and  a  respect  which  some, 
who  possess  more  zeal  than  judgment,  do  not  duly  pay  them. 

Audelio  despises  his  neighbour  Eusebius's  religious  views  and  ha- 
bits ;  and  not  only  deems  him  a  blind  Pharisee,  but  has  sometimes  ex- 
pressed the  sentiment  in  the  rudest  terms.  This  reminds  me  of  the 
old  story  of  Diogenes'  walking  on  the  costly  carpet  of  his  brother  phi- 
losopher, saying,  "  I  trample  on  the  pride  of  Plato."  "  Yes,"  said  Pla- 
to, "  but  with  greater  pride,  Diogenes." 

Kit  be  asked,  Why  should  any  one  judge  unfavourably  of  such  a 
character  as  Eusebius  ?  I  answer,  we  may  charitably  seek  to  convince 
one  whom  we  have  reason  to  think  under  fatal  mistakes,  without  any 
disposition  to  judge  or  condemn  him.  I  meet  a  traveller  who  is  confi- 
dently pursuing  a  path,  which  I  have  reason  to  believe  is  both  wide  of 
his  mark,  and  dangerous  to  his  person  :  I  may  charitably  attempt  to 
direct  his  steps,  without  thinking  ill  of  his  intention.  It  is  recorded  of 
our  Lord,  that  he  even  loved  a  young  man,  who  went  away  sorrowful 
on  having  his  grand  idol  exposed.  But  why,  it  is  asked,  should  you 
suspect  any  thing  essentially  wrong  in  such  characters  as  you  describe  ? 
I  reply,  for  the  following  reasons  :~ 

I  have  observed  with  much  concern,  when  God  hath  wrought  such 
a  mighty  operation  of  grace  in  the  heart  of  a  man,  like  Newton,  that 
this  man  has  not,  upon  such  a  saving  change  being  wrought,  suited  the 
religious  taste  of  the  persons  just  mentioned.  They  will,  indeed,  com- 
mend his  external  change  of  conduct ;  but  by  no  means  relish  his  broken 
and  contrite  spirit,  or  his  ascribing  the  change  to  free  and  unmerited 
favour,  and  his  "  counting  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus,"  as  that  Lord  who  has  thus  called  him 
, "  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  to  God." 
They  will  not  relish  the  zeal  and  evangelical  strain  of  his  preaching, 
his  endeavouring  to  alarm  a  stupid  sleeping  conscience,  to  probe  a  de- 
ceitful heart,  to  expose  the  wretchedness  of  the  world,  and  to  rend  the 
veil  from  formality  and  hypocrisy  ;  nay,  they  will  rather  prefer  some 
dry  moralist,  or  mere  formalist,  who,  instead  of  having  experienced 
any  such  change  of  heart,  will  rather  revile  it. 

Again,  I  have  observed  a  lamentable  disposition  of  mind  in  such 
persons  to  form  false  and  unfavourable  associations.  They  will  pay 
too  much  attention  to  injurious  representations,  true   or  false,  of  a  re- 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  87 

ligious  class  of  mankind,  whom  the  world  has  hranded  with  some  ge- 
neral term  of  reproach.  Two  or  three  ignorant  or  extravagant  fa- 
natics shall  be  admitted  to  represent  the  religious  world  at  large,  not 
considering  how  much  such  offensive  characters  are  actually  grieving 
those  whose  cause  I  am  pleading.  No  one,  indeed,  can  have  lived  long 
in  society,  but  he  must  needs  have  met  the  counterfeit  of  every  excel- 
lence. In  the  article  of  property,  for  instance,  who  is  not  on  the  watch 
lest  he  should  be  imposed  on  ?  And,  while  the  love  of  property  is  so 
general,  who  is  not  studious  to  discover  the  difference  between  the  true 
and  the  false  ?  It  will  be  so  in  religion,  wherever  there  is  the  attention 
which  its  worth  so  imperiously  demands.  Love  has  a  piercing  eye, 
which  will  discover  its  object  in  a  crowd.  But,  if  there  be  this  dispo- 
sition to  confound  in  the  lump  the  precious  with  the  vile,  it  is  sympto- 
matic of  something  morbid  in  the  heart.  We  have  reason  to  fear  a  la- 
tent aversion  from  vital  and  spiritual  religion,  notwithstanding  all  the 
allowance  that  can  be  made  for  the  prevailing  prejudices  of  their  edu- 
cation and  circumstances,  in  the  persons  offended.  And  here,  also,  we 
cannot  but  lament  the  effect  of  such  a  disposition  in  those  perverse  con- 
clusions these  persons  are  often  observed  to  draw  from  a  sermon.  Of 
the  two  handles  which  attach  to  every  tiring,  what  must  we  think  of 
that  mind  which  is  ever  choosing  the  wrong?  Jesus  Christ,  for  in- 
stance, shows  how  much  the  farm,  the  oxen,  and  the  wife  became  im- 
pediments in  the  way  of  those  who  refused  his  invitation.  But  a  per- 
verse conclusion  would  infer  that  he  was,  therefore,  an  enemy  to  law- 
ful engagements.  Candour,  however,  sees  at  a  glance,  that  this  was 
not  his  design  in  speaking  the  parable.  His  drift  was  evidently  to  mark 
the  state  and  spirit  of  the  recusants,  and  not  to  discountenance  their 
lawful  occupations.  He  meant  to  show,  that  even  lawful  pursuits  may 
be  unlawfully  pursued,  when  they  become  sole  objects,  and  are  thus 
preferred  to  his  inestimable  proposal.  It  is  thus  the  well-disposed 
hearer  will  mark  the  design  of  his  minister,  and  draw  wholesome  nou- 
rishment from  that  discourse,  which  another  will  turn  to  poison,  by 
stopping  to  cavil  at  the  letter. 

Another  objection  arises  from  the  affinity  which  characters  of  this 
class  have  with  a  "  world  which  lieth  in  wickedness."  In  this  instance 
of  their  worldly  attachments,  their  charity  will  readily  "  cover  a  mul- 
titude of  sins,"  and  form  excuses  for  serious  breaches  of  both  tables  of 
the  law,  in  their  worldly  friends.  They  appear  in  their  element  while  in 
the  society  of  these  friends,  especially  if  wealthy  and  accomplished.  If 
any  person's  ear  is  wounded  with  a  profane  expression  from  one  of  their 
rich  or  fashionable  aquaintance,  they  are  ready  to  whisper,  that,  "  not- 
withstanding his  unguarded  language,  he  has  yet  upon  the  whole  one 
of  the  best  of  hearts." 

Yet  an  infallible  monitor  has  said,  "  Know  ye  not,  that  the  friend- 
ship of  the  world  is  enmity  with  God  ?"  If  the  old  maxim  does  not 
always  hold  good,  that,  "  A  man  is  known  by  the  company  he  keeps," 
it  will  infallibly  stand  good  if  we  add  one  word  to  it,  namely,  "  that  a 
man  is  known  by  the  company  he  chooses  to  keep."  The  physician  may 
be  detained  in  an  infectious  chamber,  and  the  lawyer  be  found  con  vers 


SS  MEMOIRS  OF  THE    UEV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

ing  with  his  client  in  a  shower  of  rain;  but  nobody  will  infer  from 
thence,  that  the  one  chooses  to  breathe  foul  ah-,  or  that  the  other 
chooses  to  be  wet  to  the  skin.  While  the  true  Christian,  therefore, 
will  avoid  inurbanity,  fanaticism,  or  becoming  the  dupe  of  any  religious 
party,  he  will  also  join  the  Psalmist  in  declaring,  "  I  am  a  companion 
of  all  them  that  fear  thee,  and  of  them  that  keep  thy  precepts." 

Again,  these  moral  and  religious  characters,  whom  I  am  labouring 
to  convince  of  their  errors,  have  been  observed  to  be  more  disposed  to 
nurse,  than  to  examine  their  prejudices  against  a  minister  of  Mr  N.'s 
principles.  "  His  teaching,"  say  they,  "  tends  to  divide  a  parish,  or  a 
family."  But  why  do  they  not  examine  the  reason  ?  Why  do  they  not 
consider,  that  introducing  good  has  ever  been  the  occasion  of  disturb- 
ing evil  ?  I  recollect  a  great  family,  whose  servants  were  in  a  ferment, 
because  one  truly  conscientious  man  was  found  among  them.  "  He 
will  spoil  the  place,"  was  then*  term,  because  he  would  not  connive  at 
their  iniquity.  But  let  me  ask,  what  was  to  be  blamed  in  this  affair  ? 
His  integrity  or  their  corruption  ?  The  master  understood  the  case,  and 
valued  his  servant  in  proportion  as  he  marked  the  division.  And  thus 
it  is  in  religion,  while  moving  in  a  blind  and  corrupt  world.  Christ, 
though  the  Prince  of  Peace,  expressly  declared,  that  his  doctrine  would 
be  the  occasion  of  much  division  in  the  world ;  that  "  he  came  not  to 
send  peace,  but  a  sword  ;"  that  he  should  be  the  occasion  of  family  va- 
riance, &c.  Matt.  x.  34,  35;  and  warns  his  disciples  of  what  they 
must  expect  while  they  endeavour  faithfully  to  conduct  his  interests. 
Plain  matter  of  fact  declares,  that  to  maintain  truth  has  been  the  oc- 
casion of  the  suffering  state  of  the  true  church  in  all  ages,  and  that  of- 
ten unto  the  death  of  its  innumerable  martyrs.  But,  should  a  man 
who  reads  his  Bible,  or  has  any  regard  for  the  interests  of  truth,  need 
to  have  this  explained  ? 

Another  mistake  might  be  exposed  in  the  stale  objection,  that  such 
principles  as  Mr  N.'s  tend  to  injure  the  interests  of  morality,  from  his 
strictly  adhering  to  the  doctrine  of  our  eleventh  article,  on  justification 
by  faith.  I  would  hope  that  this  objection,  in  many,  ai'ises  from  a  very 
slight  acquaintance  with  the  subject.  It  requires,  indeed,  but  little  at- 
tention to  mark  how  expressly  the  Scriptures  maintain  our  justifica- 
tion on  the  sole  merit  of  our  Redeemer,  while  they  as  fully  maintain 
the  necessity  of  our  sanctification,  or  holiness,  by  his  Spirit.  It  has 
been  proved  over  and  over,  by  sound  and  incontestible  arguments,  that 
these  two  grand  fundamentals  of  our  religion  are  so  far  from  opposing 
each  other,  either  in  Scripture  or  experience,  that,  when  real,  they  are 
found  inseparable.  But,  because  this  is  not  the  place  to  either  state  or 
defend  this  doctrine  at  large,  it  may  help  such  as  have  hitherto  stum- 
bled respecting  it,  to  observe  an  illustration  and  proof  of  this  position, 
in  the  matter  of  fact  just  now  presented  to  our  view. 

To  one  willing  to  learn,  I  would  say,  what  proof  would  you  require 
of  the  practical  tendency  of  principles  like  Mr  N.'s  ?  We  bri-ng  you,  in 
his  history,  a  most  deplorable  instance  of  human  depravity  and  deep 
moral  disorder.  What  experiment  shall  be  tried  to  recover  this  wretch- 
ed creature  to  God  and  to  himself?    Regard,   I  say,  the  fact   in  this 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  89 

man's  history.  You  will  find,  that  his  recovery  was  not  brought  about 
by  such  considerations  as  are  urged  in  what  are  termed  moral  or  ra- 
tional  discourses ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  by  such  truths  as  he  laboured 
throughout  his  ministry  to  establish,  not  only  from  the  Scriptures,  but 
from  his  own  experience  of  their  efficacy.  He  dwelt  on  truths,  which 
are  essential  and  peculiar  to  Christianity;  such  as  the  guilt  and  utter 
depravity  of  our  fallen  nature,  whereby  man  is  become  an  alien  and 
apostate  from  his  God ;  his  inability  to  recover  himself  without  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  the  necessity  of  regeneration  by  the  same 
Spirit,  and  of  faith  in  the  Redeemer,  not  only  as  the  only  ground  of 
his  justification  before  God,  but  as  the  root  and  motive  of  all  accepta- 
ble obedience  and  good  works.  "  If  I  wanted  a  man  to  fly,"  said  Mr 
N.,  "  I  must  contrive  to  find  him  wings ;  and  thus,  if  I  would  success- 
fully enforce  moral  duties,  I  must  advance  evangelical  motives."  He 
preached  truths  like  these  constantly  and  fervently,  and  he  lived  a  con- 
sistent example  of  them. 

Thus  in  all  things  approving  himself  a  true  disciple  and  minister  of 
Christ,  those  who  knew  him,  know,  without  making  any  odious  com- 
parison, it  might  be  literally  affirmed  of  Mr  N.,  that  "  by  pureness,  by 
knowledge,  by  long-suffering,  by  kindness,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  love 
unfeigned,  by  the  word  of  truth,  by  the  power  of  God,  by  the  armour 
of  righteousness  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,"  his  mouth  was 
opened  and  his  heart  enlarged  towards  men. 

I  trust  it  is  from  a  pure  motive  that  I  am  endeavouring  to  convince 
persons  of  the  class  I  am  addressing  of  their  mistake.  And  I  am  the 
more  induced  to  bring  a  case  in  point  before  them,  because  I  think  it 
cannot  be  paralleled  as  an  instance  of  the  power  of  religion  among  those 
who  labour  to  keep  up  prejudices  against  ministers  of  Mr  N.'s  character ; 
or  who,  by  unfair  or  partial  statements,  strive  to  subvert  the  doctrines 
he  preached,  and  the  great  end  to  which  all  his  labours  were  directed, 
namely,  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man. 

If  indeed  any  one  "  is  willing  to  be  deceived,  let  him  be  deceived." 
At  least  such  an  one  will  not  be  addressed  here.  But  if  a  man  has  any 
serious  sense  of  the  value  of  his  soul — of  its  lost  condition  by  sin,  and 
of  recovering  the  friendship  of  his  God — if  he  feel  the  express  declara- 
tion in  the  Scriptures  of  an  eternity  of  happiness  or  misery  to  be  of  in- 
finite importance,  and  to  which  the  weightiest  concern  in  this  perish- 
ing world  is  but  as  the  "  dust  on  the  balance" — let  such  an  one  con- 
sider these  things.  Let  him  inquire,  whether  those  who  object  to  the 
character  and  views  of  such  a  minister  as  Mr  N.  labour  first  to  probe 
the  state  of  their  own  hearts  deeply,  as  he  did  ?  When  he  was  no  lon- 
ger an  infidel,  had  renounced  his  grosser  habits,  and  was  to  all  appear- 
ance a  new  man ;  "  Yet,"  says  he,  "  though  I  cannot  doubt  that  this 
change,  so  far  as  it  prevailed,  was  wrought  by  the  Spirit  and  power  of 
God,  still  I  was  greatly  deficient  in  many  respects.  I  was  in  some  de- 
gree affected  with  a  sense  of  my  more  enormous  sins,  but  I  was  little 
aware  of  the  innate  evils  of  my  heart.  I  had  no  apprehension  of  the 
spirituality  and  extent  of  the  law  of  God.  The  hidden  life  of  a  Chris- 
tian, as  it  consists  in  communion  with  God  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  a  con- 


90  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

tinual  dependence  upon  liim  for  hourly  supplies  of  wisdom,  strength, 
and  comfort,  was  a  mystery  of  which  I  had  as  yet  no  knowledge.  I 
acknowledged  the  Lord's  mercy  in  pardoning  what  was  past,  but  de- 
pended chiefly  upon  my  own  resolution  to  do  better  for  the  time  to 
come." 

Let  the  honest  inquirer  also  consider,  whether  the  objectors  just 
spoken  of  are  observed  to  be  as  anxious  in  their  pursuits  to  serve  God 
and  propagate  his  will,  to  glorify  his  Son,  and  to  save  the  souls  of  men  ? 
Whether  they  have  experienced  the  force  of  truth  in  the  conversion  of 
their  own  hearts  and  lives  ?  "  Conformed  to  the  world,"  as  he  once 
was,  have  they  been  since  "  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  their 
minds,"  as  he  at  length  became  ?  A  few  such  questions  as  these,  well 
considered,  would  lead  to  important  discoveries.  Such  an  inquiry 
woidd  show,  that,  however  some  persons  may  be  able  to  treat  of  the 
outworks  of  revelation,  as  they  may  of  any  other  science  they  have 
studied ;  yet  for  such  to  dogmatize  on  religion,  as  it  consists  in  a  vital, 
spiritual,  and  experimental  principle,  would  be  as  absurd  as  for  a  man 
originally  deprived  of  one  of  the  five  senses,  to  deny  the  perceptions  of 
those  who  possess  them  all.  In  short,  it  is  as  ridiculous  as  it  is  pro- 
fane, for  men  rashly  to  assert  on  religious  points,  who  evidently  appear 
to  have  nothing  so  little  at  heart  as  the  real  influence  and  actual  in- 
terests of  religion. 

Lastly,  let  nominal  Christians  seriously  consider  whether  our  im- 
mortal interests  are  not  much  too  important  to  be  staked  upon  a  mere 
prejudice  of  education — an  old  unre vised  habit  of  thinking — a  taking  it 
for  granted  that  they  are  right,  when  the  event  may  awfully  prove  the 
reverse ;  and  that  too,  when  such  errors  can  never  be  rectified  ?  The 
persons  with  whom  I  have  been  pleading  would  pity  the  Jew  or  the 
Pagan  in  such  an  error  :  I  earnestly  pray  that  they  may  be  enabled  to 
see  as  clearly  their  own  mistake,  and  not  resent  the  admonition  of  a 
real  friend  now  seeking  to  prevent  it. 

III.  But  there  yet  remains  a  class  of  persons,  found  in  the  religious 
world,  who  entertain  a  high  regard  for  Mr  N.'s  character,  and  who 
should  gather  that  instruction  from  it  of  which  they  appear  to  stand  in 
great  need.  "  They  should  all  take  care,"  as  he  expi*esses  it,  "  that 
they  do  not  make  their  profession  of  religion  a  receipt  in  full  for  all 
other  obligations."  I  do  not  regard  this  class  as  hypocrites,  so  much 
as  self-deceivers.  They  have  a  zeal  for  the  gospel ;  but  without  a  com- 
prehensive view  of  its  nature.  They  do  not  consider,  that,  in  avoid- 
ing error  on  the  one  hand,  they  are  plunging  into  a  contrary  mistake. 
Like  a  child  crossing  a  bridge,  they  tremblingly  avoid  the  deep  water 
which  they  perceive  is  roaring  on  one  side  ;  and  recede  from  it  till  they 
are  ready  to  perish,  from  not  perceiving  the  danger  of  that  which  lies 
on  the  other  side. 

The  class  of  which  I  am  here  speaking  are  defective  in  the  grand 
article  of  a  humble  and  contrite  spirit.     I  remember  Mr  N.  used  to  re- 
mark, that  "  if  any  one  criterion  could  be  given  of  a  real  work  of  grace 
begun  in  the  heart  of  a  sinner,  it  would  be  found  in  his  contrite  spirit.' 
Nothing  is  more  insisted  on  in  Scripture,  as  essential  to  real  religion 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN   NEWTON.  91 

I  never  knew  any  truly  serious  Christian  but  would  readily  join  in  ac- 
knowledging, that  "  the  religion  of  a  sinner,"  as  Mr  N.  expresses  it, 
"  stands  on  two  pillars  ;  namely,  what  Christ  did  for  us  in  his  flesh,  and 
what  he  performs  in  us  by  his  Spirit.  Most  errors,"  says  he,  "  arise 
from  an  attempt  to  separate  these  two."  But  as  it  was  in  the  begin- 
ning, so  it  is  now ;  the  enemy  comes  and  sows  tares  among  the  wheat ; 
and  a  sort  of  loose  profession  has  obtained,  which  has  brought  much 
reproach  on  religion,  and  become  a  cause  of  stumbling  to  many,  who 
perceive  a  class  of  Christians  contending  foi  only  a  part  of  Christi- 
anity. 

You  can  prevail  little  with  a  professor  of  this  description,  in  exhort- 
ing him  by  "  the  meekness  and  gentleness  of  Christ,"  to  self-denying, 
patient,  or  forbearing  habits.  If  you  state  the  genius  of  Christ's  reli- 
gion as  it  relates  to  the  returning  good  for  evil ;  in  blessing  them 
that  curse,  and  praying  for  such  as  revile  and  persecute ;  in  showing, 
out  of  a  good  conversation,  their  works  with  meekness  of  wisdom  ;  or 
in  having  a  fervent  charity  towards  all  men,  &c.  he  is  ready  to  kindle, 
and  to  cover  his  conduct  by  a  crude  system  of  mere  doctrinal  points, 
ill  understood.  It  is  well  if  your  charitable  remonstrance  docs  not  lead 
him  to  ask,  Whether  you  mean  to  bring  him  back  to  the  Whole  Duty 
of  Man,  or  to  Nelson's  Festivals  and  Fasts  ?  He  laments  that  you  your- 
self are  not  clear  in  the  gospel,  because  you  maintain  the  whole  of  it; 
and  that  you  are  not  faithful,  if  you  maintain  the  whole  of  it  in  a  pa- 
tient, forbearing  spirit. 

The  views  of  such  persons,  and  the  evil  tempers  to  which  they  give 
place  in  their  spiritual  warfare,  have  often  reminded  me  of  the  shrewd 
answer  which  our  Richard  I.  sent  the  Pope ;  who  was  angry  because 
a  certain  warlike  bishop  had  fallen  by  Richard  in  battle,  and  whom,  be- 
ing an  ecclesiastic,  the  Pope  called  his  son.  Richard  sent  the  bishop's 
armour  to  the  Pope,  with  the  words  of  Joseph's  brethren,  "  Know  now, 
whether  this  be  thy  son's  coat  or  not." 

Nothing,  however,  could  be  more  opposed  to  the  spirit  and  character 
of  our  departed  friend  than  the  temper  that  has  just  been  described. 
His  zeal  in  propagating  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the 
truth,  was  not  more  conspicuous  than  the  tenderness  of  his  spirit  as  to 
the  manner  of  his  maintaining  and  delivering  it.  He  was  found  con- 
stantly "  speaking  the  truth  in  love,  and  in  meekness  instructing  those 
that  oppose  themselves,  if  God  peradventure  would  give  them  repen- 
tance to  the  acknowledging  the  truth."  There  was  a  gentleness,  a  can- 
dour, and  a  forbearance  in  him,  that  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  seen  in 
an  equal  degree  among  his  brethren ;  and  which  had  so  conciliating  an 
effect,  that  even  the  enemies  of  truth  often  spoke  loudly  in  praise  of  hig 
character.  On  the  other  hand,  it  generated  such  an  affection  in  his 
friends,  that,  had  he  attempted  to  preach  longer  than  he  did,  a  great 
part  of  his  congregation  would  have  gathered,  were  it  only  for  the  plea- 
sure they  had  in  seeing  his  person. 

That  this  account  is  not  panegyric,  is  clear  to  all  who  personally 
knew  Mr  N.     But  as  many  who  may  read  these  Memoirs  had  not  that 


92  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

pleasure,  I  will  add  the  testimony  of  one,  whose  nice  discernment  of  cha- 
racter will  admit  of  no  question  : — 

"  A  people  will  love  a  minister,  if  a  minister  seems  to  love  his 
people ;  the  old  maxim,  simile  agit  in  simile,  is  in  no  case  more  exactly- 
verified  ;  therefore  you  were  heloved  at  Olney ;  and,  if  you  preached 
to  the  Chickesaws  and  Chactaws,  would  be  ecpially  beloved  by  them."* 

As  this  spirit  of  Christian  benevolence  and  charity  seems  not  to  have 
been  sufficiently  cultivated  among  us,  while  a  furious  and  often  abusive 
zeal  for  certain  points,  as  Cowper  remarks,  has  been  substituted  for  the 
whole  truth,  I  am  led  to  dwell  longer  than  I  intended  in  enforcing  this 
amiable  feature  of  Mr  N.'s  character ;  especially  on  account  of  those 
Christians,  who  have  imbibed  a  false  taste  in  their  religion,  from  such 
teachers,  or  books,  as  have  fallen  in  their  way.  I  therefore  earnestly 
request  those  persons  to  weigh  well  the  inquiries  which  follow : — 

Have  you  ever  sufficiently  considered  the  evil  of  divisions  and  heart- 
burnings in  a  church;  and  what  interest  that  enemy,  who  comes  to 
sow  tares  among  the  wheat,  takes  in  promoting  them  ?  Do  you  reflect, 
that  another  Christian  may  be  doing  God's  work,  though  his  mode  of 
doing  it  may  not  meet  your  taste,  any  more  than  your  taste  meets  his  ? 
Do  you  consider  how  much  greater  evil  a  wrong  spirit  and  temper  pro- 
duce than  the  things  you  object  against?  Do  you  weigh  the  conse- 
quences of  your  haste  in  weakening  the  hands  and  grieving  the  heart 
of  any  godly  minister,  whom  you  constantly  or  occasionally  attend  , 
and  in  actually  laying  a  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  the  ungodly, 
while  you  depreciate  him  and  his  services  ?  Nothing  affected  that  emi- 
nent character,  Mr  Cadogan,  like  what  he  met  from  some  religious 
persons  of  this  kind,  as  I  have  related  from  his  own  lips,  in  his  Me- 
moirs. \ 

Let  me  farther  exhort  such  as  are  in  danger  from  this  unchastised 
spirit  to  consider,  how  much  corrupt  nature  is  at  the  bottom  of  this 
error.  Corrupt  nature  frets  and  rages  at  any  supposed  contradiction 
or  restraint ;  it  would  substitute  the  work  of  the  tongue  for  that  of  the 
heart :  in  the  mean  time,  real  religion  is  scorned  by  the  world,  which 
cannot  distinguish  between  a  thing  so  deformed,  and  the  thing  as  it 
ought  to  appear. 

Consider,  also,  whether  there  needs  any  grace  at  all  in  order  to 
maintain  such  a  sort  of  profession.  We  require  only  to  christen 
the  evil  passions  of  corrupt  nature,  and  then  may  call  names,  hate, 
boast,  and  give  ourselves  the  preference,  as  much  as  any  ungodly  man 
whatever  !  A  zealot  at  an  election  can  fight  and  strive  for  his  favou- 
rite candidate  ;  with  inflamed  zeal  he  can  cause  divisions,  exhibit  pride, 
self-will,  and  impatience  of  subordination  :  but,  let  me  ask,  will  the 
same  evil  tempers  change  their  nature  because  they  are  employed  about 
spiritual  objects  ? 

Much  blame  attaches,  too,  respecting  certain  disputable  points  for 
which  such  persons  strive.  It  seems  as  if  some,  who  are  otherwise 
good  men,  did  not  relish  the  Bible  till  they  had  garbled  and  selected 

*  Hayley's  Life  of  Cowper,  Letter  xxvii. 
f  See  Memoirs  of  Cadogan,  r>   59. 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON.  93 

it ;  and  that,  if  the  whole  were  not  of  acknowledged  authority,  they 
would  condemn  it  as  it  now  stands.  They  speak  as  if  it  were  not  ac- 
curate in  its  terms,  or  sufficiently  express  or  decisive  iu  confirming 
their  fond  opinions.  This  leads  them  to  be  shy  of  some  parts  of  reve- 
lation, and  to  distort  others,  in  order  to  fit  them  for  their  system ;  and 
while  contending  for  that  system,  they  appear  to  forget  the  stress 
which  the  apostle  lays  upon  the  holy,  humble,  self-denying,  affec- 
tionate spirit  of  Christianity,  in  1  Cor.  xiii ;  how  gentle  it  is,  how 
easy  to  be  entreated,  how  it  hopeth  and  endureth  all  things,  &c. 
While,  on  the  contrary,  they  who  can  speak  with  the  tongues  of 
men  and  of  angels,  who  have  all  knowledge,  who  can  work  miracles, 
and  even  die  martyrs,  would,  without  this  distinguishing  characte- 
ristic of  Christianity,  be  considered  of  God  as  nothing.  The  Old 
Testament  dispensation,  it  is  granted,  had  a  severe  aspect,  and  special 
occasions  may  be  pleaded  for  special  expressions  of  holy  indignation 
under  any  dispensation ;  but  when  the  prophet  describes  the  brightei 
day,  he  foretels,  that  then  "  the  wolf  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,"  &c, 
as  emblematical  of  the  prevalence  of  that  grace  described  by  the  apostle, 
in  the  chapter  just  quoted.  Hold,  therefore,  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  saints  as  firmly  as  possible,  but  hold  it  in  love.  "  Buy  the  truth 
and  sell  it  not ;"  rather  die  for  it,  than  part  with  it ;  but  "  speak  it  in 
love  ;"  and  walk  in  it  "  as  Christ  also  walked,"  ever  l-emembering,  that 
"  the  wrath  of  man  worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God." 

I  feel  conscious  that  it  is  simply  with  a  view  to  convince  many  well- 
meaning  Christians  of  their  error  (and  I  have  found  more  or  less  of 
this  class  in  almost  every  place  where  I  have  been),  that  I  thus  speak. 
If  a  gross  superstition,  arising  in  the  church,  perverted  the  Christiani- 
ty of  former  ages  ;  I  wish  I  may  mistake  in  supposing,  that  a  loose  and 
unscriptural  profession  is  widely  spreading  as  the  bane  of  our  age.  A- 
gainst  such  a  departure  from  the  true  genius  of  Christianity,  I  certain- 
ly, as  a  minister  of  Christ,  ought  to  bear  my  feeble  testimony.  Con 
sider,  therefore,  that  what  is  said  is  with  a  single  view  to  your  best  in- 
terests ;  and  the  Lord  give  you  understanding  in  all  things. 

As  I  referred  the  Christians  who  were  last  addressed,  to  the  charac- 
ter of  Mr  N.  as  an  example,  so  I  never  knew  a  more  perfect  one  to  my 
purpose.  When  any  person  depreciated  the  ministry  of  a  good  man, 
who,  by  advancing  important  truths,  was  opposing  the  reigning  errors 
of  the  times  ;  but  who,  from  timidity  or  prejudice,  was  shy  of  Mr  N., 
he  would  imitate  his  Divine  Master  by  saying,  "  Let  him  alone;  he 
that  is  not  against  us  is  on  our  side.  Make  no  man  an  offender  for  a 
word.  He  is  doing  good,  according  to  his  views.  Let  us  pray  for 
him,-  and  by  no  means  weaken  his  hands.  Who  knows  but  God  may 
one  day  put  him  far  above  our  heads,  both  in  knowledge  and  useful- 
ness ?" 

His  grand  point,  in  a  few  words,  as  he  used  to  express  it,  was,  "  to 

BREAK  A  HARD  HEART,  AND  TO  HEAL  A  BROKEN  HEART."       To  implant 

the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man,  he  would  sacrifice  every  subordi- 
nate  consideration.  He  felt  every  other  consideration  comparatively 
insignificant.     He  saw  the  spirit  of  ancient  Pharisaism  working  among 


\)l  MEMOIRS  OF  THE    REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

those  who  cry  out  the  most  against  it;  who  exact  to  a  scruple,  in  the 
tythc  of  mint,  anise,  and  cummin  of  their  own  peculiarities,  while  they 
pass  over  the  weightier  matters  of  unity  and  love;  straining  at  the 
gnat  of  a  private  opinion,  and  swallowing  the  camel  of  a  deadly  dis- 
cord. On  the  contrary,  as  far  as  order  and  circumstances  would  ad- 
mit, Mr  N.  clave  to  every  good  man,  and  endeavoured  to  strengthen 
his  hands,  in  whatever  denomination  of  Christians  he  was  found.  His 
character  well  illustrated  the  Scripture,  that  though  "  scarcely  for  a 
righteous  (or  just)  man  would  one  die,  yet  for  a  good  man  (i.  e.  one 
eminent  for  his  candour  and  benevolence)  some  would  even  dare  to 
die."  However  they  admired  some  ministers,  they  all  loved  him  ;  and 
saw  exemplified  in  him  that  "  wisdom  which  is  from  above,  which  is 
first  pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle,  and  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mer- 
cy and  good  fruits,  without  partiality  and  without  hypocrisy." 

I  conclude  these  Memoirs  with  a  word  to  such  as  are  endeavouring 
to  follow  the  steps  of  their  late  faithful  friend,  as  he  followed  Christ. 
We  cannot  but  lament  the  errors  just  described.  We  cannot,  if  we 
have  any  zeal  for  the  gospel,  but  protest  against  them.  But  let  us  re- 
collect, that  they  are  not  the  only  errors,  which  are  found  in  the 
church ;  and  therefore  let  us  watch,  lest  any  other  "  root  of  bitterness 
spring  up  to  trouble  us,  and  defile  many."  While  you  lament  with 
me  the  removal  of  ministers  like  Mr  N.,  let  us  recollect  that  Eternal 
Friend,  who  will  never  leave  his  church  without  witnesses  to  the 
truth ;  and  who,  among  other  reasons  for  removing  earthly  helps, 
teaches  us  thereby  to  rest  only  upon  that  help  which  cannot  be  remov- 
ed. Let  us  take  comfort  too  in  recollecting,  that,  spotted  as  the  church 
may  appear  from  the  inconsistencies  of  many  of  its  members,  yet  all 
the  real  good  that  is  to  be  found  in  this  corrupt  world,  is  to  be  found 
in  that  church.  God  saw  seven  thousand  true  believers  in  Israel  while 
his  prophet  could  see  but  one.  Wheie  some  Jehu  is  sounding  a  trum- 
pet before  him,  many  are  quietly  passing  to  heaven  without  any  such 
clamour.  As  a  great  writer  remarks,  "  Because  half  a  dozen  grass 
hoppers  under  a  fern  make  the  field  ring  with  their  importunate  chink, 
while  thousands  of  great  cattle  chew  the  cud  and  are  silent,  pray  do 
not  imagine  that  those,  who  make  the  noise,  are  '  the  only  inhabitants 
of  the  field.' " 

But  I  must  remark,  that  nothing  has  been  more  profitable  to  myself 
in  considering  Mr  N.'s  life,  than  the  exhibition  it  makes  of  a  particular 
providence.  If  the  church  be  not  conducted  by  such  visible  signs  now, 
as  formerly,  it  is  found  to  be  as  actually  conducted.  We  read  of  a  Di- 
vine hand  concerned  in  the  fall  of  sparrows,  in  numbering  the  hairs  of 
our  head,  and  in  raising  our  dust  to  life ;  but  with  what  little  interest 
we  read  this,  appears  by  our  distrust  in  the  first  trial  we  meet.  If  we 
do  not  dare  to  join  the  sentiments  of  some,  who  regard  such  expres- 
sions as  purely  figurative  and  hyperbolical,  yet  our  imagination  is  so 
overwhelmed  with  the  difficulty  of  the  performance,  that  we  are  apt  to 
turn  from  the  subject  with  some  general  hope,  but  with  a  very  indis- 
tinct and  vague  idea  of  "  a  God  at  hand,"  faithful  to  his  promise,  and 
almighty  to  deliver.     Yet  how  many  cases  occur  in  the  history  of  eve- 


MEMOIRS   OF  THE  REV.  JOHN   NEWTON.  $D 

ty  one  of  us,  where  nothing  short  of  an  Almighty  arm  could  prove  "  a 
present  help  in  the  time  of  trouble." 

Now,  this  short  history  before  us  is  admirably  calculated  to  encou- 
rage our  faith  and  hope,  when  we  are  called  to  pass  through  those  deep 
waters,  that  seem  to  bid  defiance  to  human  strength  and  contrivance. 
What,  for  instance,  but  a  Divine  interference  caused  Mr  N.  to  be  rous- 
ed from  sleep  on  board  the  Harwich  at  the  moment  of  exchanging  men, 
and  thereby  effected  his  removal?  What  placed  him  in  a  situation  so 
remarkably  suited  to  his  recovering  the  ship,  which  had  already  passed 
the  place  of  his  station  in  Africa,  and  brought  him  back  to  his  country  ? 
What  kept  him  from  returning  in  the  boat,  that  was  lost  at  Rio  Ces- 
tors  ?  or  from  the  ship  that  was  blown  up  near  Liverpool  ?  not  to 
mention  many  other  of  Ms  special  deliverances. 

"  I  am  a  wonder  unto  many,"  says  he,  in  the  motto  of  his  Narrative'; 
and  if  we  as  distinctly  considered  the  strange  methods  of  mercy  which 
have  occurred  in  our  own  cases,  we  should  at  least  be  a  wonder  to  our- 
selves. But  my  aim  is  to  point  out  the  use  we  should  make  of  these 
Memoirs  in  this  respect.  We  should,  as  Christians,  mark  the  error  of 
despair.  We  should  see,  that  the  case  of  a  praying  man  cannot  be  des- 
perate ;  that  if  a  man  be  out  of  the  pit  of  hell,  he  is  on  the  ground  of 
mercy.  We  should  recollect,  that  God  sees  a  way  of  escape  when  we 
see  none ;  that  nothing  is  too  hard  for  him  ;  that  he  warrants  our  de- 
pendence, and  iindtes  us  to  call  on  him  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  gives 
a  promise  of  deliverance.  We  should,  therefore,  in  every  trial,  adopt 
the  language  of  Mr  N.'s  favourite  Herbert : 

"  Away,  despair  ;  my  gracious  Lord  doth  hear ; 

Though  winds  and  waves  assault  my  keel, 

He  doth  preserve  it ;  he  doth  steer, 

Ev'n  when  the  boat  seems  most  to  reel. 

Storms  are  the  triumph  of  his  art : 
Well  may  he  close  his  eyes,  but  not  his  heart." 

From  these  facts  we  should  see,  that  Christ  is  able,  not  only  "  to 
save  to  the  uttermost  all  that  come  unto  God  by  him ;"  but  also  that 
he  is  able  to  bring  the  most  hardened  blasphemer  and  abject  slave  from 
his  chains  of  sin  and  misery,  to  stand  in  the  most  honourable  and  use- 
ful station,  and  proclaim  to  the  wretched  and  to  the  ruined  the  exceed- 
ing riches  of  his  grace.  I  have  observed,  from  my  own  experience  as 
well  as  from  that  of  others,  how  strong  a  hold  Satan  builds  by  despair. 
The  pressing  fascinations  of  the  world,  the  secret  invitations  of  sensu- 
ality, and  the  distant  prospect  of  eternal  tlungs,  form  a  powerful  cur- 
rent against  vital  religion.  The  heart  of  a  Christian  is  ready  to  sink 
whenever  these  proud  waters  rise.  Let  him,  therefore,  recollect,  that 
his  hope,  his  only  hope,  is  in  pressing  right  onward  through  a  world  of 
lies  and  vanity ;  that  his  present  dispensation  is  the  walk  of  faith  and 
not  of  sight ;  and  that  "  by  two  immutable  things,  in  which  it  is  im- 
possible for  God  to  lie,  he  has  given  strong  consolation  to  such  as  flee 
for  refuge  to  the  hope  set  before  them." 

One  could,  indeed,  scarcely  conjecture,  that  cases  like  Mr  N.'s 
should  be  so  perverted  by  any  of  our  children,  as  that  they  should  take 


90  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 

confidence  in  their  sins  from  his  former  coui'se  of  life*,  but,  because 
such  facts,  as  I  am  credibly  informed,  do  exist,  let  us  be  upon  the  watch 
to  counteract  this  deep  device  of  the  great  enemy. 

My  dear  young  friends,  who  may  have  read  these  Memoirs,  perhaps 
merely  for  your  amusement,  consider  with  what  a  contrary  design  St 
Paul  states  his  former  unrenewed  condition :  "  I  was,"  says  he,  "  be- 
fore a  blasphemer,  a  persecutor,  and  injurious;  but  for  this  cause  I 
obtained  mercy."  For  what  cause  ?  Was  it  that  men  should  continue 
in  sin,  because  a  miracle  of  special  grace  had  been  wrought  ?  To  "  do 
evil  that  good  may  come"  is  the  black  mark  of  a  reprobate  mind. 
But  "  for  this  cause,"  saith  the  apostle,  "  I  obtained  mercy ;  that  in 
me  first  Jesus  Christ  might  show  forth  all  long-suffering,  for  a  pattern 
to  them  who  should  hereafter  believe  in  him  to  life  everlasting."  The 
same  caution  is  necessary  whenever  you  may  be  tempted  to  hope  for 
such  a  recovery  as  Mr  N.'s,  after  erring  like  him.  To  proceed  upon 
such  a  hope,  is  a  gross  presumption.  Thousands  perish  in  wrong 
courses,  for  one  who  escapes  from  their  natural  consequences.  Pray, 
therefore,  that  you  may  be  enabled  to  resist  the  temptation  of  pervert- 
ing such  extraordinary  cases.  God  affords  them  to  be  "a  savour  of 
life  unto  life,"  while  Satan  would  employ  them  to  be  "  a  savour  of 
death  unto  death."  One  almighty  to  save  affords  you  here,  indeed,  an 
instance  of  special  mercy,  which  gives  you  the  strongest  encourage- 
ment in  setting  your  faces  towards  his  kingdom ;  and  this  is  the  pro- 
per use  to  be  made  of  such  a  case. 

Your  parents,  your  most  disinterested  friends,  are  anxiously  watch- 
ing for  your  good  :  and  they,  perhaps,  have  put  this  book  into  your 
hand  with  a  view  of  promoting  it.  The  author  has  cause  to  thank 
God,  who  put  it  into  the  heart  of  his  pious  parent  to  make  a  similar 
attempt,  and  bless  it  with  success ;  and  he  could  tell  of  more  such  in- 
stances. May  it  please  God  that  you  may  be  added  to  the  number  ! 
Worldly  prosperity  would  rather  hurt  than  help  you  before  your  minds 
become  rightly  directed.  Mi-  N.  shows  us,*  that  his  firmest  friend  could 
not  have  served  him  effectually  had  not  God  first  prepared  his  mind 
for  the  advancement.  An  enemy  would  occupy  your  minds  with  pe- 
rishing objects;  but  God  calls  you  to  cultivate  nobler  views.  He  pro- 
poses glory,  honour  immortality,  and  eternal  life  by  the  gospel. 
"  Seek,"  therefore,  "  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness, 
and  all  other  things  shall  be  added  to  you." 

*   Memoirs,  page  26 


THE  END  OF  THE  MEMOIRS. 


AN 


AUTHENTIC  NARRATIVE,  &c. 


LETTER  I. 


REVEREND  AND  DEAR  SIR, 

X  MAKE  no  doubt  but  you  have  at  times  had 
pleasing  reflections  upon  that  promise  made 
to  the  Israelites,  Dent.  viii.  2.  They  were 
then  in  the  wilderness,  surrounded  with  dif- 
ficulties, which  were  greatly  aggravated  by 
their  own  distrust  and  perverseness.:  they  had 
experienced  a  variety  of  dispensations,  the 
design  of  which  they  could  not  as  yet' under- 
stand ;  they  frequently  lost  sight  of  God's 
gracious  purposes  in  their  favour,  and  were 
much  discouraged  by  reason  of  the  way.  To 
compose  and  animate  their  minds,  Moses  here 
suggests  to  them,  that  there  was  a  future 
happy  time  drawing  near,  when  their  journey 
and  warfare  should  be  finished ;  that  they 
should  soon  be  put  in  possession  of  the  pro- 
mised land,  and  have  rest  from  all  their  fears 
and  troubles ;  and  then  it  would  give  them 
pleasure  to  look  back  upon  what  they  now 
found  so  uneasy  to  bear  ; — "  Thou  shale  re- 
member all  the  way,  by  which  the  Lord  thy 
God  led  thee  through  this  wilderness." 

But  the  importance  and  comfort  of  these 
words  is  still  greater,  if  we  consider  them  in 
a  spiritual  sense,  as  addressed  to  all  who  are 
passing  through  the  wilderness  of  this  world 
to  a  heavenly  Canaan  ;  who  by  faith  in  the 
promises  and  power  of  God  are  seeking  eter- 
nal rest  in  that  kingdom  which  cannot  be 
shaken.  The  hope  of  that  glorious  inheri- 
tance inspires  us  with  some  degree  of  courage 
and  zeal  to  press  forward,  to  where  Jesus  has 
already  entered  as  our  forerunner ;  and  when 
our  eye  is  fixed  upon  him,  we  are  more  than 
conquerors  over  all  that  would  withstand  our 
progress.  But  we  have  not  yet  attained  it ; 
we  still  feel  the  infirmities  of  a  fallen  nature  : 
through  the  remains  of  ignorance  and  unbe- 


lief, we  often  mistake  the  Lord's  dealings 
with  us,  and  are  ready  to  complain,  when,  if 
we  knew  all,  we  should  rather  rejoice.  But 
to  us  likewise  there  is  a  time  coming,  when 
our  warfare  shall  be  accomplished,  our  views 
enlarged,  and  our  light  increased  :  then,  with 
what  transports  of  adoration  and  love  shall 
we  look  back  upon  the  way,  by  which  the 
Lord  led  us !  We  shall  then  see  and  ac- 
knowledge, that  mercy  and  goodness  directed 
every  step  ;  we  shall  see,  that  what  our  igno- 
rance once  called  adversities  and  evils,  were 
in  reality  blessings  which  we  could  not  have 
done  well  without :  that  nothing  befel  us 
without  a  cause  :  that  no  trouble  came  upon 
us  sooner,  or  pressed  us  more  heavily,  or 
continued  longer,  than  our  case  required  :  in 
a  word,  that  our  many  afflictions  were  each 
in  their  place  among  the  means  employed  by 
divine  grace  and  wisdom,  to  bring  us  to  the 
possession  of  that  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory,  which  the  Lord  has  prepar- 
ed for  his  people.  And  even  in  this  imper- 
fect state,  though  we  are  seldom  able  to  judge 
aright  of  our  present  circumstances,  yet,  if 
we  look  upon  the  years  of  our  past  life,  and 
compare  the  dispensations  we  have  been 
brought  through,  with  the  frame  of  our  minds 
under  each  successive  period ;  if  we  consider, 
how  wonderfully  one  thing  has  been  connect 
ed  with  another;  so  that  what  we  now  num- 
ber amongst  our  greatest  advantages,  perhaps, 
took  their  first  rise  from  incidents  which  we 
thought  hardly  worth  our  notice ;  and  that 
we  have  sometimes  escaped  the  greatest  dan- 
gers that  threatened  us,  not  by  any  wisdom 
or  foresight  of  our  own,  but  by  the  interven- 
tion of  circumstances,  which  we  neither  de- 
H 


INTRODUCTORY  OBSERVATIONS. 


LET.   I. 


sired  nor  thought  of; — I  say,  when  we  com- 
pare and  consider  these  things  by  the  light 
afforded  us  in  the  holy  scriptures,  we  may 
collect  indisputable  proof,  from  the  narrow 
circle  of  our  own  concerns,  that  the  wise  and 
good  providence  of  God  watches  over  his  peo- 
ple from  the  earliest  moment  of  their  life, 
over-rules  and  guards  them  through  all  their 
wanderings  in  a  state  of  ignorance,  leads 
them  in  a  way  they  know  not,  till  at  length 
his  providence  and  grace  concur  in  those 
events  and  impressions,  which  bring  them  to 
the  knowledge  of  him  and  themselves. 

I  am  persuaded  that  every  believer  will, 
upon  due  reflection,  see  enough  in  his  own 
case  to  confirm  this  remark  ;  but  not  all  in 
the  same  degree.  The  outward  cricumstances 
of  many  have  been  uniform  ;  they  have  known 
but  little  variety  in  life  ;  and  with  respect  to 
their  inward  change,  it  has  been  effected  in  a 
secret  way,  unnoticed  by  others,  and  almost 
unperceived  by  themselves.  The  Lord  has 
spoken  to  them,  not  in  thunder  and  tempest, 
but  with  a  still  small  voice  he  has  drawn  them 
gradually  to  himself;  so  that,  though  they 
have  a  happy  assurance  of  the  thing,  that  they 
know  and  love  him,  and  are  passed  from 
death  unto  life  ;  yet  of  the  precise  time  and 
manner,  they  can  give  little  account.  Others 
he  seems  to  select,  in  order  to  shew  the  ex- 
ceeding riches  of  his  grace,  and  the  greatness 
of  his  mighty  power  :  he  suffers  the  natural 
rebellion  and  wickedness  of  their  hearts  to 
have  full  scope  ;  while  sinners  of  less  note  are 
cut  off  with  little  warning,  these  are  spared, 
though  sinning  with  a  high  hand,  and,  as  it 
were,  studying  their  own  destruction.  At 
length,  when  all  that  knew  them  are  perhaps 
expecting  to  hear,  that  they  are  made  signal 
instances  of  divine  vengeance,  the  Lord 
(whose  thoughts  are  high  above  ours,  as  the 
heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth)  is  pleased 
to  pluck  them  as  brands  out  of  the  fire,  and 
to  make  them  monuments  of  his  mercy,  for 
the  encouragement  of  others  ;  they  are,  be- 
yond expectation,  convinced,  pardoned,  and 
changed.  A  case  of  this  sort  indicates  a  di- 
vine power  no  less  than  the  creation  of  a 
world :  it  is  evidently  the  Lord's  doing,  and 
it  is  marvellous  in  the  eyes  of  all  those,  who 
are  not  blinded  by  prejudice  and  unbelief. 

Such  was  the  persecuting  Saul :  his  heart 
was  full  of  enmity  against  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
and  therefore  he  persecuted  and  made  havock 
of  his  disciples.  He  had  been  a  terror  to  the 
church  of  Jerusalem,  and  was  going  to  Da- 
mascus with  the  same  views.  He  was  yet 
breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaughter 
against  all  that  loved  the  Lord  Jesus.  He 
thought  little  of  the  mischief  he  had  hitherto 
done.  He  was  engaged  for  the  suppression 
of  the  whole  sect ;  and  hurrying  from  house 
to  house,  from  place  to  place,  he  carried  me- 
naces :n  his  look,  and  repeated  threatenings 
with  every  breath.      Such  was   his  spirit  and 


temper,  when  the  Lord  Jesus,  whom  he  hated 
and  opposed,  checked  him  in  the  height  of 
his  rage,  called  this  bitter  persecutor  to  the 
honour  of  an  apostle,  and  inspired  him  with 
great  zeal  and  earnestness,  to  preach  that 
faith  which  he  had  so  lately  attempted  to  de- 
stroy. 

Nor  are  we  without  remarkable  displays  of 
the  same  sovereign,  efficacious  grace  in  our 
own  times  ; — I  may  particularly  mention  the 
instance  of  the  late  colonel  Gardiner.  If  any 
real  satisfaction  could  be  found  in  a  sinful 
course,  he  would  have  met  with  it ;  for  he 
pursued  the  experiment  with  all  possible  ad- 
vantages. He  was  habituated  to  evil ;  and 
many  uncommon,  almost  miraculous  deliver- 
ances, made  no  impression  upon  him.  Yet 
he  was  likewise  made  willing  in  the  day  of 
God's  power  :  and  the  bright  example  of  his 
life,  illustrated  and  diffused  by  the  account 
of  him,  published  since  his  death,  has  afford- 
ed an  occasion  of  much  praise  to  God,  and 
much  comfort  to  his  people. 

After  the  mention  of  such  names,  can  you 
permit  me,  Sir,  to  add  my  own  ?  If  I  do, 
it  must  be  with  a  very  humbling  distinction. 
These  once  eminent  sinners,  proved  sincere 
Christians :  much  had  been  forgiven  them, 
therefore  they  loved  much.  St  Paul  could 
say,  "  The  grace  bestowed  upon  me  was  not 
in  vain  ;  for  I  laboured  more  abundantly  than 
they  all."  Colonel  Gardiner  likewise  was  as 
a  city  set  upon  a  hill,  a  burning  and  a  shining 
light :  the  manner  of  his  conversion  was  hard- 
ly more  singular,  than  the  whole  course  of  his 
conversation  from  that  time  to  his  death. 
Here,  alas  !  the  parallel  greatly  fails.  It  has 
not  been  thus  with  me  ; — I  must  take  deserv- 
ed shame  to  myself,  that  I  have  made  very 
unsuitable  returns  for  what  I  have  received. 
But,  if  the  question  is  only  concerning  the 
patience  and  long-suffering  of  God,  the  won- 
derful interposition  of  his  providence  in  fa- 
vour of  an  unworthy  sinner,  the  power  of  his 
grace  in  softening  the  hardest  heart,  and  the 
riches  of  his  mercy  in  pardoning  the  most 
enormous  alid  aggravated  transgressions  ;  in 
these  respects,  I  know  no  case  more  extraor- 
dinary than  my  own.  And  indeed  many  per- 
sons, to  whom  I  have  related  my  story,  have 
thought  it  worthy  of  being  preserved. 

I  never  gave  any  succinct  account  in  writ- 
ing, of  the  Lord's  dealing  with  me,  till  very 
lately ;  for  I  was  deterred,  on  the  one  hand, 
by  the  great  difficulty  of  writing  properly 
where  self  is  concerned;  on  the  other,  by  the 
ill  use  which  persons  of  corrupt  and  perverse 
minds  are  often  known  to  make  of  such  in- 
stances. The  Psalmist  reminds  us  that  a  re- 
serve in  these  things  is  proper,  when  he  says, 
"  Come  unto  me,  all  you  that  fear  God,  and 
I  will  tell  you  what  he  hath  done  for  my 
soul ;"  and  our  Lord  cautions  us  not  to  "cast 
our  pearls  before  swine."  The  pearls  of  a 
Christian  are,  perhaps,  his  choice  experiences 


LET.   II. 


OCCURRENCES 


of  the  Lord's  power  and  love  in  the  concerns 
of  his  soul ;  and  these  should  not  be  at  all 
adventures  made  public,  lest  we  give  occa- 
sion to  earthly  and  grovelling  souls,  to  pro- 
fane what  they  cannot  understand.  These 
were  the  chief  reasons  of  my  backwardness ; 
but,  a  few  weeks  since,  I  yielded  to  the  judg- 
ment and  request  of  a  much  respected  friend, 
and  sent  him  a  relation  at  large,  in  a  series 
of  eight  letters.  The  event  has  been,  what 
I  little  expected  ;  I  wrote  to  one  person,  but 
my  letters  have  fallen  into  many  hands  : 
amongst  others,  I  find  they  have  reached 
your  notice  ;  and  instead  of  blaming  me  for 
being  too  tedious  and  circumstantial,  which 
was  the  fault  I  feared  I  had  committed,  you 
are  pleased  to  desire  a  still  more  distinct  de- 
tail. As  you  and  others  of  my  friends  appre- 
hend my  compliance  with  this  request  may 
be  attended  with  some  good  effect,  may  pro- 
mote the  pleasing  work  of  praise  to  our  ador- 
able Redeemer,  to  confirm  the  faith  of  some 
or  other  of  his  people,  I  am  willing  to  obey  ; 
I  give  up  my  own  reasonings  upon  the  inex- 
pediency of  so  inconsiderable  a  person  as  my- 
self adventuring  in  so  public  a  point  of  view. 
If  God  may  be  glorified  on  my  behalf,  and 
his  children  in  any  measure  comforted  or  in- 
structed by  what  I  have  to  declare  of  his 
goodness,  I  shall  be  satisfied ;  and  am  con- 
tent to  leave  all  other  possible  consequences 
of  this  undertaking  in  his  hands,  who  does  all 
things  well. 

I  must  again  have  recourse  to  my  memory, 
as  I  retained  no  copies  of  the  letters  you  saw. 
So  far  as  I  can  recollect  what  I  then  wrote,  I 
will  relate,  but  shall  not  affect  a  needless  va- 
riety of  phrase  and  manner,  merely  because 
those  have  been  already  perused  by  many. 
I  may,  perhaps  in  some  places,  when  repeat- 
ing the  same  facts,  express  myself  in  nearly 
the  same  words ;  yet  I  propose,  according  to 
your  desire,  to  make  this  relation  more  ex- 
plicit and  particular  than  the  former,  especi- 
ally towards  the  close,  which  I  wound  up  hasti- 
ly, lest  my  friend  should  be  wearied.  I  hope 
you  will  likewise  excuse  me,  if  I  do  not  strictly 
confine  myself  to  narration,  but  now  and  then 
intersperse  such  reflections  as  may  offer,  while 
I  am  writing  :  and  though  you  have  signified 
your  intentions  of  communicating  what  I  send 
you  to  others,  I  must  not,  on  this  account, 
affect  a  conciseness  and  correctness  which  is 
not  my  natural  talent,  lest  the  whole  should 
appear  dry  and  constrained.  I  shall  there- 
fore (if  possible)  think  only  of  you,  and 
write  with  that  confidence  and  freedom  which 
your  friendship  and  candour  deserve.  This 
sheet  may  stand  as  a  preface,  and  I  purpose, 
as  far  as  I  can,  to  intermit  many  other  en- 
gagements, until  I  have  completed  the  task 
you  have  assigned  me.  In  the  mean  time,  I 
entreat  the  assistance  of  your  prayers,  that  in 
this,  and  all  my  poor  attempts,  I  may  have  a 
single  eye   to  his  glory,  who  was  pleased   to 


IN  EARLY  LIFE.  3 

call  me  out  of  horrid  darkness,  into  the  mar- 
vellous light  of  his  gospel. 

I  am,  with  sincere  respect, 
Dear  Sir, 
Your  obliged  and  affectionate  servant. 
January  12,  1763. 


LETTER  II. 

REVEREND  SIR, 

I  CAN  sometimes  feel  a  pleasure  in  repeat- 
ing the  grateful  acknowledgment  of  David, 
"  O  Lord,  I  am  thy  servant,  the  son  of  thine 
handmaid;  thou  hast  loosed  my  bands." 
The  tender  mercies  of  God  towards  me  were 
manifest  in  the  first  moment  of  my  life  ; — I 
was  born  as  it  were  in  his  house,  and  dedicat- 
ed to  him  in  my  infancy.  My  mother  (as  I 
have  heard  from  many)  was  a  pious  experi- 
enced Christian  ;  she.  was  a  dissenter,  in  com- 
munion with  the  late  Dr.  Jennings.  I  was 
her  only  child,  and  as  she  was  of  a  weak  con- 
stitution and  a  retired  temper,  almost  her 
whole  employment  was  the  care  of  my  educa- 
tion. I  have  some  faint  remembrance  of  her 
care  and  instructions.  At  a  time  when  I 
could  not  be  more  than  three  years  of  age, 
she  herself  taught  me  English,  and  with  so 
much  success  (as  I  had  something  of  a  for- 
ward turn),  that  when  I  was  four  years  old  I 
could  read  with  propriety,  in  any  common 
book  that  offered.  She  stored  my  memory, 
which  was  then  very  retentive,  with  many 
valuable  pieces,  chapters,  and  portions  of 
scripture,  catechisms,  hymns,  and  poems. 
My  temper,  at  that  time,  seemed  quite  suit- 
able to  her  wishes  :  I  had  little  inclination  to 
the  noisy  sports  of  children,  but  was  best 
pleased  when  in  her  company,  and  always  as 
willing  to  learn  as  she  was  to  teach  me.  How 
far  the  best  education  may  fall  short  of  reach- 
ing the  heart,  will  strongly  appear  in  the  se- 
quel of  my  history  :  yet,  I  think,  for  the  en- 
couragement of  pious  parents  to  go  on  in  the 
good  way  of  doing  their  part  faithfully  to 
form  their  children's  minds,  I  may  properly 
propose  myself  as  an  instance.  Though  in 
process  of  time,  I  sinned  away  all  the  advan- 
tages of  these  early  impressions,  yet  they  were 
for  a  great  while  a  restraint  upon  me  j  they 
returned  again  and  again,  and  it  was  very 
long  before  I  could  wholly  shake  them  off"; 
and  when  the  Lord  at  length  opened  my  eyes, 
I  found  a  great  benefit  from  the  recollection 
of  them.  Further,  my  dear  mother,  besides 
the  pains  she  took  with  me,  often  commended 
me  with  many  prayers  and  tears  to  God  ;  and 
I  doubt  not  but  I  reap  the  fruits  of  these 
prayers  to  this  hour. 

My  mother  observed  my  early  progress  with 
peculiar  pleasure,  and  intended  from  the  first 
to  bring  me  up  with  a  view  to  the  ministry,  if 
the  Lord  should  so  incline  my  heart.      In  my 


OCCURRENCES  IN   EARLY  LIFE. 


LET.    It. 


sixth  year  I  began  to  learn  Latin  ;  but,  before 
I  had  time  to  know  much  about  it,  the  intend- 
ed plan  of  my  education  was  broke  short. — 
The  Lord's  designs  were  far  beyond  the  views 
of  an  earthly  parent ;  he  was  pleased  to  reserve 
me  for  an  unusual  proof  of  his  patience,  pro- 
vidence, and  grace,  and  therefore  over-ruled 
the  purpose  of  my  friends,  by  depriving  me  of 
this  excellent  parent,  when  I  was  something 
under  seven  years  old.  I  was  born  the  24th 
of  July,  1725,  and  she  died  the  11th  of  that 
month,  1732. 

My  father  was  then  at  sea  (he  was  a  com- 
mander in  the  Mediterranean  trade  at  that 
time)  :  he  came  home  the  following  year,  and 
soon  after  married  again.  Thus  I  passed  into 
different  hands.  1  was  well  treated  in  all 
other  respects ;  but  the  loss  of  my  mother's 
instructions  was  not  repaired.  I  was  now 
permitted  to  mingle  with  careless  and  profane 
children,  and  soon  began  to  learn  their  ways. 
Soon  after  my  father's  marriage,  I  was  sent  to 
a  boarding  school  in  Essex  ;  where  the  impru- 
dent severity  of  the  master  almost  broke  my 
spirit  and  relish  for  books.  With  him  I  for- 
got the  first  principles  and  rules  of  arithmetic, 
which  my  mother  had  taught  me  years  before. 
I  staid  there  two  years  ;  in  the  last  of  the  two 
a  new  usher  coming,  who  observed  and  studied 
my  temper,  I  took  to  the  Latin  with  great 
eagerness ;  so  that  before  I  was  ten  years  old, 
I  reached  and  maintained  the  first  post  in  the 
second  class,  which  in  that  school  read  Tully 
and  Virgil.  I  believe  I  was  pushed  forward 
too  fast,  and  therefore  not  being  grounded,  I 
soon  lost  all  I  had  learned  (for  1  left  school  in 
my  tenth  year),  and  when  I  long  afterwards 
undertook  the  Latin  language  from  books,  I 
think  I  had  little,  if  any  advantage,  from  what 
I  had  learned  before. 

My  father's  second  marriage  was  from  a 
family  in  Essex  ;  and  when  I  was  eleven  years 
old,  he  took  me  with  him  to  sea.  He  was  a 
man  of  remarkable  good  sense,  and  great  know- 
ledge of  the  world  ;  he  took  great  care  of  my 
morals,  but  could  not  supply  my  mother's 
part.  Having  been  educated  himself  in  Spain, 
he  always  observed  an  air  of  distance  and  se- 
verity in  his  carriage,  which  overawed  and 
discouraged  my  spirit.  I  was  always  in  fear 
when  before  him,  and  therefore  he  had  the  less 
influence.  From  that  time  to  the  year  1742, 
I  made  several  voyages,  but  with  considerable 
intervals  between,  which  were  chiefly  spent  in 
the  country,  excepting  a  few  months  in  my 
fifteenth  year,  when  I  was  placed  upon  a  very 
advantageous  prospect  at  Alicant  in  Spain  ; 
bat  my  unsettled  behaviour  and  impatience  of 
restraint  rendered  that  design  abortive. 

In  this  period  my  temper  and  conduct  were 
exceedingly  various.  At  school,  or  soon  after, 
I  had  little  concern  about  religion,  and  easily 
received  very  ill  impressions.  But  I  was 
often  disturbed  with  convictions  ;  I  was  fond 
of  reading  from  a  child  ;  among  other  books, 


Rennet's  Christian  Oratory  often  came  in  my 
way ;  and  though  I  understood  but  little  of 
it,  the  course  of  life  therein  recommended  ap- 
peared very  desirable,  and  I  was  inclined  to 
attempt  it.  I  began  to  pray,  to  read  the 
scriptures,  and  to  keep  a  sort  of  dairy;  I  was 
presently  religious  in  my  own  eyes  j  but, 
alas !  this  seeming  goodness  had  no  solid 
foundation,  but  passed  away  like  a  morning 
cloud,  or  early  dew.  I  was  soon  weary,  gra- 
dually gave  it  up,  and  became  worse  than 
before  :  instead  of  prayer,  1  learned  to  curse 
and  blaspheme,  and  was  exceedingly  wicked, 
when  from  under  my  parent's  view.  All  this 
was  before  I  was  twelve  years  old.  About 
that  time  I  had  a  dangerous  fall  from  a  horse  ; 
I  was  thrown,  I  believe,  within  a  few  inches 
of  a  hedge-row  newly  cut  down ;  I  got  no 
hurt ;  but  could  not  avoid  taking  notice  of  a 
gracious  providence  in  my  deliverance ;  for 
had  I  fallen  upon  the  stakes,  I  had  inevitably 
been  killed ;  my  conscience  suggested  to  me 
the  dreadful  consequences,  if  in  such  a  state  I 
had  been  summoned  to  appear  before  God. 
I  presently  broke  off  from  my  profane  prac- 
tices, and  appeared  quite  altered  ;  but  was  not 
long  before  I  declined  again.  These  struggles 
between  sin  and  conscience  were  often  repeat- 
ed ;  but  the  consequence  was,  that  every  relapse 
sunk  me  into  still  greater  depths  of  wicked- 
ness. I  was  once  roused  by  the  loss  of  an 
intimate  companion.  We  had  agreed  to  go 
on  board  a  man-of-war  (I  think  it  was  on  a 
Sunday),  but  I  providentially  came  too  late  ; 
the  boat  was  overset,  and  he  and  several  others 
were  drowned.  I  was  invited  to  the  funeral 
of  my  play  .fellow,  and  was  exceedingly  affec- 
ted, to  think  that  by  a  delay  of  a  few  minutes 
(which  had  much  displeased  and  angered  me 
till  I  saw  the  event),  my  life  had  been  pre- 
served. However,  this  likewise  was  soon 
forgot.  At  another  time,  the  perusal  of  the 
Family  Instructor  put  me  upon  a  partial  and 
transient  reformation.  In  brief,  though  I 
cannot  distinctly  relate  particulars,  I  think,  I 
took  up  and  laid  aside  a  religious  profession 
three  or  four  different  times  befora  I  was 
sixteen  years  of  age ;  but  all  this  while  my 
heart  was  insincere.  I  often  saw  a  necessity 
of  religion  as  a  means  of  escaping  hell ;  but  I 
loved  sin,  and  was  unwilling  to  forsake  it. 
Instances  of  this,  I  can  remember,  were  fre- 
quent in  the  midst  of  all  my  forms ;  I  was  so 
strangely  blind  and  stupid,  that  sometimes 
when  I  have  been  determined  upon  things, 
which  I  knew  were  sinful  and  contrary  to  my 
duty,  I  could  not  go  on  quietly,  till  I  had 
first  dispatched  my  ordinary  task  of  prayer,  in 
which  I  have  grudged  every  moment  of  my 
time  ;  and  when  this  was  finished,  my  con- 
science was  in  some  measure  pacified,  and  I 
could  rush  into  folly  with  little  remorse. 

My  last  reform  was  the  most  remarkable 
both  for  degree  and  continuance.  Of  this 
period,  at  least  of  some  part  of  it,   I  may  say, 


LET.   It  I. 

in  the  apostle's  words,  "  After  the  strictest 
sect  of  our  religion,  1  lived  a  pharisee."  I 
did  every  thing  that  might  he  expected  from  a 
person  entirely  ignorant  of  God's  righteous- 
ness, and  desirous  to  establish  his  own.  I 
spent  the  greatest  part  of  every  day  in  reading 
the  scriptures,  meditation,  and  prayer;  I  fasted 
often  ;  I  even  abstained  from  all  animal  food 
for  three  months ;  I  would  hardly  answer  a 
question,  for  fear  of  speaking  an  idle  word.  I 
seemed  to  bemoan  my  former  miscarriages 
very  earnestly,  sometimes  with  tears.  In 
short,  I  became  an  ascetic,  and  endeavoured, 
so  far  as  my  situation  would  permit,  to  re- 
nounce society,  that  I  might  avoid  temptation. 
I  continued  in  this  serious  mood  (I  cannot 
give  it  a  higher  title)  for  more  than  two  years, 
without  any  considerable  breaking  off.  But 
it  was  a  poor  religion  ;  it  left  me  in  many  re- 
spects under  the  power  of  sin,  and  so  far  as  it 
prevailed,  only  tended  to  make  me  gloomy, 
stupid,  unsociable,  and  useless. 

Such  was  the  frame  of  my  mind,  when  I  be- 
came acquainted  with  Lord  Shaftesbury.  I 
saw  the  second  volume  of  his  Characteristics 
in  a  petty  shop  at  Middleburgh  in  Holland. 
The  title  allured  me  to  buy  it,  and  the  style 
and  manner  gave  me  great  pleasure  in  reading, 
especially  the  second  piece,  which  his  lord- 
ship, with  great  propriety,  has  entitled,  a 
Rhapsody.  Nothing  could  be  more  suited  to 
the  romantic  turn  of  my  mind,  than  the  ad- 
dress of  this  pompous  declamation  ;  of  the  de- 
sign and  tendency  I  was  not  aware  ;  I  thought 
the  author  a  most  religious  person,  and  that  I 
had  only  to  follow  him,  and  be  happy.  Thus, 
with  fine  words  and  fair  speeches,  my  simple 
heart  was  beguiled.  This  book  was  always 
in  my  hand  ;  I  read  it,  till  I  could  very  nearly 
repeat  the  Rhapsody  verbatim  from  beginning 
to  end.  No  immediate  effect  followed,  but  it 
operated  like  a  slow  poison,  and  prepared  the 
way  for  all  that  followed. 

This  letter  brings  my  history  down  to  De- 
cember, 1742.  I  was  then  lately  returned 
from  a  voyage,  and  my  father,  not  intending 
for  the  sea  again,  was  thinking  how  to  settle 
me  in  the  world  ;  but  Iliad  little  life  or  spirit 
for  business  :  I  knew  but  little  of  men  or 
things.  I  was  fond  of  a  visionary  scheme  of 
contemplative  life ;  a  medley  of  religion,  phi- 
losophy, and  indolence  ;  and  was  quite  averse 
to  the  thoughts  of  an  industrious  application 
to  business.  At  length  a  merchant  in  Liver- 
pool, an  intimate  friend  of  my  father  (to  whom, 
as  the  instrument  of  God's  goodness,  I  have 
since  been  chiefly  indebted  for  all  my  earthly 
comforts),  proposed  to  send  me  for  some  years 
to  Jamaica,  and  to  charge  himself  with  the 
care  of  my  future  fortune.  1  consented  to 
this,  and  every  thing  was  prepared  for  my 
voyage.  I  was  upon  the  point  of  setting  out 
the  following  week.  In  the  meantime,  my 
father  sent  me  on  some  business  to  a  place  a 
few  miles  beyond   Maidstone  in   Kent  ;    and 


JOURNEY    TO   KENT,   &C. 


5 

this  little  journey,  which  was  to  have  been 
only  for  three  or  four  days,  occasioned  a  sud- 
den and  remarkable  turn,  which  roused  mo 
from  the  habitual  indolence  I  had  contracted, 
and  gave  rise  to  the  series  of  uncommon  dis- 
pensations, of  which  you  desire  a  more  parti- 
cular account.  So  true  it  is,  "  that  the  way 
of  man  is  not  in  himself;  it  is  not  in  man  that 
walketh  to  direct  his  steps." 
I  am  affectionately 

Your's  in  the  best  bonds. 
January  13,  1763. 


LETTER  III. 

DEAH    SIR, 

A  few  days   before    my  intended  journey 
into  Kent,  I  received  an  invitation  to  visit  a 
family  in   tha,t   country.      They  were   distant 
relations,  but  very  intimate  friends  of  my  dear 
mother  :   she  died  in  their  house  ;  but  a  cool- 
ness took  place  upon  my  father's  second  mar- 
riage, and  I  had  heard  nothing  of  them  for  many 
years.      As  my  road  lay  within  half  a  mile  of 
their  house,    I    obtained   my  father's   leave  to 
call   on  them.       I   was,  however,  very  indif- 
ferent about  it,    and    sometimes    thought    of 
passing  on  :   however   I  went.     I  was   known 
at  first   sight,  before   I   could  tell   my  name, 
and  met  with  the   kindest   reception,   as  the 
child  of  a  dear  deceased  friend.      My  friends 
had  two  daughters.      The  eldest  (as  I  under- 
stood some    years  afterwards)  had  been  often 
considered,    by  her    mother    and    mine,  as  a 
future  wife  for  me  from  the  time  of  her  birth. 
I  know  indeed,  that  intimate  friends  frequently 
amuse  themselves  with  such  distant  prospects 
for    their    children,    and    that    they  miscarry 
much  oftener  than  succeed.      I  do  not  say  that 
my  mother  predicted  what  was  to  happen,   yet 
there  was  something  remarkable  in  the  manner 
of  its  taking  place.      All  intercourse  between 
the  families  had  been  long  broken  off;   I  was 
going  into  a  foreign  country,  and  only  called 
to   pay  a   hasty  visit ;   and   this    I   should    not 
have  thought  of,   but  for  a  message  received 
just  at  that  crisis   (for  I  had  not  been  invited 
at  any  time  before).      Thus  the  circumstances 
were  precarious  in  the  highest  degree,  and  the 
event  was  as  extraordinary.      Almost  at  the 
first  sight  of  this   girl  (for  she  was  then  under 
fourteen),    I  was  impressed  with  an  affection 
for  her,  which  never  abated  or  lost  its  influence 
a  single  moment  in  my  heart  from  that  hour. 
In  degree,   it  actually  equalled  all   that  the 
writers  of  romance  have  imaged  ;  in  duration, 
it  was   unalterable.      I  soon   lost  all  sense  of 
religion,  and  became  deaf  to  the  remonstrances 
of  conscience  and   prudence ;  but  my  regard 
for  her  was  always  the  same ;  and  I  may  per- 
haps venture  to  say,  that  none  of  the  scenes  of 
misery  and  wickedness  I  afterwards  experience 
ed,  ever  banished  her  a  single  hour  together 


from  my  waking  thoughts,  for  the  seven  fol- 
lowing years. 

Give  me  leave,  Sir,  to  reflect  a  little  upon 
this  unexpected  incident,  and  to  consider  its 
influence  upon  my  future  life,  and  how  far  it 
was  subservient  to  the  views  of  divine  pro- 
vidence concerning  me,  which  seem  to  have 
been  twofold ;  that  by  being  given  up,  for  a 
while,  to  the  consequences  of  my  own  wilful- 
ness, and  afterwards  reclaimed  by  a  high  hand, 
my  case,  so  far  as  it  should  be  known,  might 
be  both  a  warning  and  an  encouragement  to 
others. 

In  the  first  place,  hardly  any  thing  less  than 
this  violent  and  commanding  passion  would 
have  been  sufficient  to  awaken  me  from  the 
dull  melancholy  habit  I  had  contracted.  I 
was  almost  a  misanthrope,  notwithstanding  I 
so  much  admired  the  pictures  of  virtue  and 
benevolence  as  drawn  by  lord  Shaftesbury : 
but  now  my  reluctance  to  active  life  was  over- 
powered at  once,  and  I  was  willing  to  be  or 
to  do  any  thing,  which  might  subserve  the 
accomplishment  of  my  wishes  at  some  future 
time. 

Farther,  when  I  afterwards  made  shipwreck 
of  faith,  hope,  and  conscience,  my  love  to  this 
person  was  the  only  remaining  principle, 
which  in  any  degree  supplied  their  place  ;  and 
the  bare  possibility  of  seeing  her  again  was 
the  only  present  and  obvious  means  of  re- 
straining me  from  the  most  horrid  designs 
against  myself  and  others. 

But  then  the  ill  effects  it  brought  upon  me 
counterbalanced  these  advantages.  The  in- 
terval, usually  styled  the  time  of  courtship,  is 
indeed  a  pleasing  part  of  life,  where  there  is 
a  mutual  affection,  the  consent  of  friends,  a 
reasonable  prospect  as  to  settlement,  and  the 
whole  is  conducted  in  a  prudential  manner, 
and  in  subordination  to  the  will  and  fear  of 
God.  When  things  are  thus  situated,  it  is  a 
blessing  to  be  susceptive  of  the  tender  pas- 
sions ;  but  when  these  concomitants  are 
wanting,  what  we  call  love  is  the  most  tor- 
menting passion  in  itself,  and  the  most  de- 
structive in  its  consequences,  that  can  be 
named :  and  they  were  all  wanting  in  my 
case.  I  durst  not  mention  it  to  her  friends, 
or  to  my  own,  nor  indeed  for  a  considerable 
time  to  herself,  as  I  could  make  no  propo- 
sals :  it  remained  as  a  dark  fire,  locked  up  in 
my  own  breast,  which  gave  me  a  constant 
uneasiness.  By  introducing  an  idolatrous 
regard  to  a  creature,  it  greatly  weakened  my 
sense  of  religion,  and  made  farther  way  for 
the  entrance  of  infidel  principles  :   and  though 


JOURNEY  TO  KENT,   AND 

in  regulating  my  manners 


LET.  III. 


It  did  not  prevent 
me  from  engaging  in  a  long  train  of  excess 
and  riot,  utterly  unworthy  the  honourable 
pretensions  I  had  formed.  And  though 
through  the  wonderful  interposition  of  divine 
goodness,  the  maze  of  my  follies  was  at  length 
unravelled,  and  my  wishes  crowned  in  such  a 
manner  as  overpaid  my  sufferings  ;  yet,  I  am 
sure,  I  would  not  go  through  the  same  series 
of  trouble  again,  to  possess  all  the  treasures 
of  both  the  Indies.  I  have  enlarged  more 
than  I  intended  on  this  point,  as  perhaps  these 
papers  may  be  useful  to  caution  others  against 
indulging  an  ungovernable  passion  by  my 
painful  experience.  How  often  may  such 
headstrong  votaries  be  said  "  to  sow  the  wind, 
and  reap  the  whirlwind." 

My  heart  being  now  fixed  and  riveted  to  a 
particular  object,  I  considered  every  thing  I 
was  concerned  with  in  a  new  light.  I  con- 
cluded it  would  be  absolutely  impossible  to 
live  at  such  a  distance  as  Jamaica,  for  a  term 
of  four  or  five  years,  and  therefore  determined 
at  all  events  that  I  would  not  go.  I  could 
not  bear  either  to  acquaint  my  father  with  the 
true  reason,  or  to  invent  a  false  one  ;  therefore, 
without  taking  any  notice  to  him  why  I  did 
so,  I  staid  three  weeks  instead  of  three  dnys 
in  Kent,  till  I  thought  (as  it  proved)  the  op- 
portunity would  be  lost,  and  the  ships  sailed. 
I  then  returned  to  London.  I  had  highly 
displeased  my  father  by  this  disobedience ; 
but  he  was  more  easily  reconciled  than  I  could 
have  expected.  In  a  little  time  I  sailed  with 
a  friend  of  his  to  Venice.  In  this  voyage,  I 
was  exposed  to  the  company  and  ill  example 


of  the  common  sailors  among  whom  I  ranked. 
Importunity  and  opportunity  presenting  every 
day,  I  once  more  began  to  relax  from  the 
sobriety  and  order  which  I  had  observed,  in 
some  degree,  for  more  than  two  years.  I  was 
sometimes  pierced  with  sharp  convictions ; 
but  though  I  made  a  few  faint  efforts  to  stop, 
as  I  had  done  from  several  before ;  I  did  not, 
indeed,  as  yet  turn  out  profligate ;  but  I  was 
making  large  strides  towards  a  total  apostacy 
from  God.  The  most  remarkable  check  and 
alarm  I  received  (and,  for  what  I  know,  the 
last),  was  by  a  dream,  which  made  a  very 
strong,  though  not  any  abiding  impression 
upon  my  mind. 

The  consideration  of  whom  I  am  writing  to 
renders  it  needless  for  ine  either  to  enter  upon 
a  discussion  of  the  nature  of  dreams  in  gene- 
ral, or  to  make  an  apology  for  recording  my 
own.  Those  who  acknowledge  scripture  will 
allow  that  there   have   been  monitory  and  su- 


it seemed  to  promise  great  things,  as  an  incen-  pernatural   dreams,    evident    communications 


tive  to  diligence  and  activity  in  life,  in  reality 
it  performed  nothing.  I  often  formed  mighty 
projects  in  my  mind,  of  what  I  would  willingly 
do  or  suffer,  for  the  sake  of  her  I  loved ;  yet, 
while  I  coidd  have  her  company,  I  was  inca- 
pable of  forcing  myself  away,  to  improve  op- 
portunities that  offered  :   still  less  could  it  do 


from  heaven,  either  directing  or  foretelling 
future  events  :  and  those  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  history  and  experience  of  the  people 
of  God  are  well  assured,  that  such  intimations 
have  not  been  totally  withheld  in  any  period 
down  to  the  present  times.  Reason,  far  from 
contradicting  this  supposition,  strongly  plead* 


LET.   III. 

for  it,  where  the  process  of  reasoning  is  rightly 
understood,  and  carefully  pursued.  So  that 
a  late  eminent  writer,*  who,  I  presume,  is  not 
generally  charged  with  enthusiasm,  undertakes 
to  prove,  that  the  phenomenon  o-f  dreaming  is 
inexplicable  at  least,  if  not  absolutely  impos- 
sible, without  taking  in  the  agency  and  inter- 
vention of  spiritual  beings,  to  us  invisible. 
I  would  refer  the  incredulous  to  him.  For 
my  own  part,  I  can  say,  without  scruple, 
"  The  dream  is  certain,  and  the  interpretation 
thereof  sure."  I  am  sure  1  dreamed  to  the 
following  effect,  and  I  cannot  doubt,  from 
what  I  have  seen  since,  that  it  had  a  direct 
and  easy  application  to  my  own  circumstances, 
to  the  dangers,  into  which  I  was  about  to 
plunge  myself,  and  to  the  unmerited  deliver- 
ance and  mercy  which  God  would  be  pleased 
to  offer  me  in  the  time  of  my  distress. 

Though  I  have  wrote  out  a  relation  of  this 
dream  more  than  once  for  others,  it  has  hap- 
pened that  I  never  reserved  a  copy  ;  but  the 
principal  incidents  are  so  deeply  engraven  in 
my  memory,  that  I  believe  I  am  not  liable  to 
any  considerable  variations  in  repeating  the 
account.  The  scene  presented  to  my  imagi- 
nation was  the  harbour  of  Venice,  where  we 
had  lately  been.  I  thought  it  was  night,  and 
my  watch  upon  the  deck  ;  and  that,  as  I  was 
walking  to  and  fro  by  myself,  a  person  came 
to  me  (I  do  not  remember  from  whence), 
and  brought  me  a  ring,  with  an  express  charge 
to  keep  it  carefully ;  assuring  me  that  while  I 
preserved  that  ring,  I  should  be  happy  and 
successful :  but,  if  I  lost,  or  parted  with  it, 
I  must  expect  nothing  but  trouble  and  misery. 
I  accepted  the  present  and  the  terms  willing- 
ly, not  in  the  least  doubting  my  own  care  to 
preserve  it,  and  highly  satisfied  to  have  my 
happiness  in  my  own  keeping.  I  was  engag- 
ed in  these  thoughts,  when  a  second  person 
came  to  me,  and  observing  the  r'ng  on  my 
finger,  took  occasion  to  ask  me  some  ques- 
tions concerning  it.  I  readily  told  him  its 
virtues,  and  his  answer  expressed  a  surprise 
at  my  weakness,  in  expecting  such  effects 
from  a  ring.  I  think  he  reasoned  with  me 
some  time  upon  the  impossibility  of  the 
thing,  and  at  length  urged  me  in  direct  terms 
to  throw  it  away.  At  first,  I  was  shocked 
at  the  proposal ;  but  his  insinuations  prevail- 
ed. I  began  to  reason  and  doubt  myself,  and 
at  last  plucked  it  off  my  finger,  and  dropped 
it  over  the  ship's  side  into  the  water,  which 
it  had  no  sooner  touched,  than  I  saw,  the 
same  instant,  a  terrible  fire  burst  out  from  a 
range  of  mountains  (a  part  of  the  Alps), 
which  appeared  at  some  distance  behind  the 
city  of  Venice.  I  saw  the  hills  as  distinct  as 
if  awake,  and  they  were  all  in  flames.  I 
perceived  too  late  my  folly  ;  and  my  tempter, 
vrith  an  air  of  insult,  informed  me,  that  all 
the   mercy  God  had  in  reserve  for  me,  was 

*  Euxler  on  the  Vis  Inertia;. 


VOYAGE   TO   VENICE,   &C. 


comprised  in  that  ring,  which  I  had  wilfully 
thrown  away.  I  understood  that  I  must  now 
go  with  him  to  the  burning  mountains,  and 
that  all  the  flames  I  saw  were  kindled  upon 
my  account.  I  trembled,  and  was  in  a  great 
agony  ;  so  that  it  was  surprising  I  did  not 
then  awake  :  but  my  dream  continued,  and 
when  I  thought  myself  upon  the  point  of  a 
constrained  departure,  and  stood  self-con- 
demned, without  plea  or  hope ;  suddenly, 
either  a  third  person,  or  the  same  who  brought 
the  ring  at  first  (I  am  not  certain  which), 
came  to  me,  and  demanded  the  cause  of  my 
grief.  I  told  him  the  plain  case,  confessing 
that  I  had  ruined  myself  wilfully,  and  de- 
served no  pity.  He  blamed  my  rashness,  and 
asked  if  I  should  be  wiser,  supposing  I  had 
my  ring  again.  I  could  hardly  answer  to 
this  ;  for  I  thought  it  was  gone  beyond  re- 
cal.  I  believe,  indeed,  I  had  not  time  to 
answer,  before  I  saw  this  unexpected  friend 
go  down  under  the  water,  just  in  the  spot 
where  I  dropped  it ;  and  he  soon  returned, 
bringing  the  ring  with  him.  The  moment  he 
came  on  board,  the  flames  in  the  mountains 
were  extinguished,  and  my  seducer  left  me. 
Then  was  "  the  prey  taken  from  the  hand  of 
the  mighty,  and  the  lawful  captive  delivered.' 
My  fears  were  at  an  end,  and  with  joy  and 
gratitude  I  approached  my  kind  deliverer  to 
receive  the  ring  again ,  but  he  refused  to  re- 
turn it,  and  spoke  to  this  effect :  "  If  you 
should  be  entrusted  with  this  ring  again,  you 
would  very  soon  bring  yourself  into  the  same 
distress  ;  you  are  not  able  to  keep  it ;  but  I 
will   preserve  it  for  you,  and  whenever  it  is 

needful,  will   produce  it  in  your  behalf." 

Upon  this  I  awoke,  in  a  state  of  mind  not  to 
be  described  :  I  could  hardly  eat,  or  sleep,  or 
transact  my  necessary  business  for  two  or 
three  days ;  but  the  impression  soon  wore  off, 
and  in  a  little  time  I  totally  forgot  it ;  and  I 
think  it  hardly  occurred  to  my  mind  again, 
till  several  years  afterwards.  It  will  appear, 
in  the  course  of  these  papers,  that  a  time 
came,  when  I  found  myself  in  circumstances 
very  nearly  resembling  those  suggested  by 
this  extraordinary  dream,  when  I  stood  help- 
less and  hopeless  upon  the  brink  of  an  awful 
eternity  :  and  I  doubt  not,  but  had  the  eyes 
of  my  mind  been  then  opened,  I  should  have 
seen  my  grand  enemy,  who  had  seduced  me, 
wilfully  to  renounce  and  cast  away  my  religi- 
ous profession,  and  to  involve  myself  in  the 
most  complicated  crimes ;  I  say,  I  should 
probably  have  seen  him  pleased  with  my  ago- 
nies, and  waiting  for  a  permission  to  seize 
and  bear  away  my  soul  to  this  place  of  tor- 
ment. I  should  perhaps  have  seen  likewise 
that  Jesus,  whom  I  had  persecuted  and  defied, 
rebuking  the  adversary,  challenging  me  for 
his  own,  as  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire, 
and  saying,  "  Deliver  him  from  going  down 
into  the  pit;  I  have  found  a  ransom." 
However,  though   I  saw  not  these  things,   I 


8  JOURNEY  TO  KENT,  &C. 

found   the  benefit ;   1   obtained  mercy.      The 


Lord  answered  for  me  in  the  day  of  my  dis- 
tress ;  and,  blessed  be  his  name,  he  who  re- 
stored the  ring  (or  what  was  signified  by  it), 
vouchsafes  to  keep  it.  O  what  an  unspeak- 
able comfort  is  this,  that  I  am  not  in  mine 
own  keeping.  "  The  Lord  is  my  shepherd  :" 
I  have  been  able  to  trust  my  all  in  his  hands, 
and  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed.  Satan 
still  desires  to  have  me,  that  he  might  sift  me 
as  wheat ;  but  my  Saviour  has  prayed  for  me, 
that  my  faith  may  not  fail.  Here  is  my  se- 
curity and  power  ;  a  bulwark,  against  which 
the  gates  of  hell  cannot  prevail.  But  for 
this,  many  a  time  and  often,  if  possible,  I 
should  have  ruined  myself,  since  my  first  de- 
liverance ;  nay,  I  should  fall,  and  stumble, 
and  perish  still,  after  all  that  the  Lord  has 
done  for  me,  if  his  faithfulness  was  not  en- 
gaged in  my  behalf,  to  be  my  sun  and  shield 
even  unto  death. — "  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my 
soul." 

Nothing  very  remarkable  occured  in  the 
following  part  of  that  voyage.  I  returned 
home  in  December,  1  743,  and  soon  after  re- 
peated my  visit  to  Kent,  where  I  protracted 
my  stay  in  the  same  imprudent  manner  I 
had  done  before,  which  again  disappointed 
my  father's  designs  in  my  favour,  and  almost 
provoked  him  to  disown  me.  Before  any 
thing  suitable  offered  again  I  was  impressed 
(owing  entirely  to  my  own  thoughtless  con- 
duct which  was  all  of  a  piece),  and  put  on 
board  a  tender  :  it  was  a  critical  juncture,  when 
the  French  fleets  w:cre  hovering  upon  our  coast, 
so  that  my  father  was  incapable  to  procure 
my  release.  In  a  iew  days  I  was  sent  on 
board  the  Harwich  man-of-war,  at  the  Nore. 
I  entered  here  upon  quite  a  new  scene  of  life, 
and  endured  much  hardship  for  about  a  month. 
My  father  was  then  willing  that  I  should  re- 
main in  the  navy,  as  a  war  was  daily  expected, 
and  procured  me  a  recommendation  to  the 
captain,  who  took  'me  upon  the  quarter  deck 
as  a  midshipman.  I  had  now  an  easy  life,  as 
to  externals,  and  might  have  gained  respect ; 
but  my  mind  was  unsettled,  and  my  behaviour 
very  indifferent.  I  here  met  with  companions 
who  completed  the  ruin  of  my  principles  ;  and 
though  I  affected  to  talk  of  virtue,  and  was 
not  utterly  abandoned  as  afterwards,  yet  my 
delight  and  habitual  practice  was  wickedness  : 
my  chief  intimate  was  a  person  of  exceeding 
good  natural  talents,  and  much  observation  ; 
he  was  the  greatest  master  of  what  is  called  the 
free-thinking  scheme,  I  remember  to  have  met 
with,  and  knew  how  to  insinuate  his  senti- 
ments in  the  most  plausible  way.  And  his 
zeal  was  equal  to  his  address  ;  he  could  hardly 
have  laboured  more  in  the  cause,  if  he  had  ex- 
pected to  gain  heaven  by  it.  Allow  me  to 
add,  while  I  think  of  it,  that  this  man,  whom 
1  honoured  as  my  master,  and  whose  practice 
I  adopted  so  eagerly,  perished  in  the  same 
way  as  I  expected  to  have  done.      I  have  been 


LET.  III. 

told,  that  he  was  overtaken  in  a  voyage  from 
Lisbon  with  a  violent  storm  ;  the  vessel  and 
people  escaped,  but  a  great  sea  broke  on  board 
and  swept  him  into  eternity.  Thus  the  Lord 
spares  or  punishes  according  to  his  sovereign 
pleasure  !  But  to  return  : — I  was  fond  of  his 
company,  and  having  myself  a  smattering  of 
books,  was  eager  enough  to  show  my  reading. 
He  soon  perceived  my  case  that  I  had  not 
wholly  broke  through  the  restraints  of  con- 
science, and  therefore  did  not  shock  me  at 
first  with  too  broad  intimations  of  his  design  ; 
he  rather,  as  I  thought,  spoke  favourably  of 
religion;  but  when  he  had  gained  my  confi- 
dence he  began  to  speak  plainer ;  and  per- 
ceiving my  ignorant  attachment  to  the  Cha- 
racteristics, he  joined  issue  with  me  upon  that 
book,  and  convinced  me  that  I  had  never  un- 
derstood it.  In  a  word,  he  so  plied  me  with 
objections  and  arguments,  that  my  depraved 
heart  was  soon  gained,  and  I  entered  into  his 
plan  with  all  my  spirit.  Thus,  like  an  unwary- 
sailor,  who  quits  his  port  just  before  a  rising 
storm,  I  renounced  the  hopes  and  comforts  of 
the  gospel  at  the  very  time  when  every  other 
comfort  was  about  to  fail  me. 

In  December,  1744,  the  Harwich  was  in 
the  Downs,  bound  to  the  East  Indies.  The 
captain  gave  me  liberty  to  go  on  shore  for  a 
day ;  but,  without  consulting  prudence,  or 
regarding  consequences,  I  tock  horse,  and 
followed  the  dictates  of  my  restless  passion  ; 
I  went  to  take  a  last  leave  of  her  I  loved.  I 
had  little  satisfaction  in  the  interview,  as  I 
was  sensible  that  I  was  taking  pains  to  mul. 
tiply  my  own  troubles.  The  short  time  1 
could  stay  passed  like  a  dream,  and  on  new- 
year's  day,  1 745,  I  took  my  leave  to  return  to 
the  ship.  The  captain  was  prevailed  on  to 
excuse  my  absence ;  but  this  rash  step  (es- 
pecially as  it  was  not  the  first  step  of  the  kind. 
I  had  taken)  highly  displeased  him,  and  lost 
me  his  favour,  which  I  never  recovered. 

At  length  we  sailed  from  Spithead  with  a 
very  large  fleet.  We  put  into  Torbay  with  a 
change  of  wind  ;  but  it  returning  fair  again, 
we  sailed  the  next  day.  Several  of  our  fleet 
were  lost  in  attempting  to  leave  that  place; 
and  the  following  night  the  whole  fleet  was 
greatly  endangered  upon  the  coast  of  Corn- 
wall, by  a  storm  from  the  southward.  The 
darkness  of  the  night,  and  the  number  of  the 
vessels,  occasioned  much  confusion  and  da 
mage.  Our  ship,  though  several  times  in 
imminent  danger  of  being  run  down  by  other 
vessels,  escaped  unhurt ;  but  many  suffered 
much,  particularly  the  admiral.  This  occa- 
sioned our  putting  back  to  Plymouth. 

While  we  lay  at  Plymouth,  I  heard  that  my 
father,  who  had  interest  in  some  of  the  ships 
lately  lost,  was  come  down  to  Torbay.  He 
had  a  connection  at  that  time  with  the  African 
company.  I  thought  if  I  could  get  to  him, 
he  might  easily  introduce  me  into  that  service, 
which  woidd  be  better  than  pursuing  a  long 


LET.  IV 

uncertain  voyage  to  the  East  Indies.  It  was 
a  maxim  with  me  in  those  unhappy  days,  never 
to  deliberate  ;  the  thought  hardly  occured  to 
me  before  I  was  resolved  to  leave  the  ship  at 
all  events :  I  did  so,  and  in  the  wrongest 
manner  possible.  I  was  sent  one  day  in  the 
boat,  to  take  care  that  none  of  the  people 
deserted  ;  but  I  betrayed  my  trust,  and  went 
off  myself.  I  knew  not  what  road  to  take, 
and  durst  not  ask  for  fear  of  being  suspected  ; 
yet  having  some  general  idea  of  the  country, 
I  guessed  right ;  and,  when  I  had  travelled 
some  miles,  I  found  upon  inquiry,  that  I  was 
on  the  road  to  Dartmouth.  All  went 
smoothly  that  day,  and  part  of  the  next :  I 
walked  apace,  and  expected  to  have  been  with 
my  father  in  about  two  hours,  when  I  was 
met  by  a  small  party  of  soldiers ;  I  could  not 
avoid  or  deceive  them.  They  brought  me 
back  to  Plymouth :  I  walked  through  the 
streets  guarded  like  a  felon.  My  heart  was 
full  of  indignation,  shame,  and  fear.  I  was 
i  confined  two  days  in  the  guard  house,  then 
'  sent  on  board  my  ship,  and  kept  awhile  in 
irons,  then  publicly  stripped  and  whipped  ; 
after  which  I  was  degraded  from  my  office, 
and  all  my  former  companions  forbidden  to 
show  me  the  least  favour,  or  even  to  speak  to 
me.  As  midshipman,  I  had  been  entitled  to 
some  command,  which  (being  sufficiently 
haughty  and  vain)  I  had  not  been  backward 
to  exert.  I  was  now  in  my  turn  brought 
down  to  a  level  with  the  lowest,  and  exposed 
to  the  insults  of  all. 

And  as  my  present  situation  was  uncom- 
fortable, my  future  prospects  were  still  worse; 
the  evils  I  suffered  were  likely  to  grow  heavier 
every  day.  While  my  catastrophe  was  recent, 
the  officers  and  my  quondam  brethren  were 
something  disposed  to  screen  me  from  ill 
usage  ;  but,  during  the  little  time  I  remained 
with  them  afterwards,  I  found  them  cool  very 
fast  in  tlieir  endeavours  to  protect  me.  Indeed 
they  could  not  avoid  it  without  running  a 
great  risk  of  sharing  with  me  :  for  the  captain, 
though  in  general  a  humane  man,  who  behaved 
very  well  to  the  ship's  company,  was  almost 
implacable  in  his  resentment,  when  he  had 
been  greatly  offended,  and  took  several  occa- 
sions to  show  himself  so  to  me  ;  and  the  voyage 
was  expected  to  be,  as  it  proved,  for  five 
years.  Yet  I  think  nothing  I  either  felt  or 
feared  distressed  me  so  much,  as  to  see  myself 
thus  forcibly  torn  away  from  the  object  of  my 
affections,  under  a  great  improbability  of  see- 
ing her  again,  and  a  much  greater  of  returning 
in  such  a  manner  as  would  give  me  hopes  of 
\  seeing  her  mine.  Thus  I  was  as  miserable  on 
all  hands  as  could  well  be  imagined.  My 
breast  was  filled  with  the  most  excruciating 
i  passions,  eager  desire,  bitter  rage,  and  black 
1  despair.  Evory  hour  exposed  me  to  some 
\  new  insult  and  hardship,  with  no  hope  of 
I  relief  or  mitigation,  no  friend  to  take  my  part, 
lor    to  listen   to  my   complaint.       Whether  I 


VOYAGE  TO  MADEIRA,   &C. 


looked  inward  or  outward,  1  could  perceive 
nothing  but  darkness  and  misery.  I  think 
no  case,  except  that  of  a  conscience  wounded 
by  the  wrath  of  God,  could  be  more  dreadful 
than  mine.  I  cannot  express  with  what  wish- 
fulness  and  regret  I  cast  my  last  looks  upon 
the  English  shore;  I  kept  my  eyes  fixed  upon 
it  till,  the  ship's  distance  increasing,  it  sen- 
sibly disappeared ;  and  when  I  could  see  it 
no  longer,  I  was  tempted  to  throw  myself 
into  the  sea,  which  (according  to  the  wicked 
system  I  had  adopted)  would  put  a  period  to 
all  my  sorrows  at  once.  But  the  secret  hand 
of  God  restrained  me. — Help  me  to  praise 
him,  dear  Sir,  for  his  wonderful  goodness  to 
the  most  unworthy  of  all  creatures. 
I  am, 

Your  most  obliged  servant. 

January  15,  1763. 


LETTER  IV. 

DEAR  SIR, 

Though  I  desired  your  instructions  as  to 
the  manner  and  extent  of  these  memoirs,  I 
began  to  write  before  I  received  them,  and 
had  almost  finished  the  preceding  sheet  when 
your  favour  of  the  eleventh  came  to  hand.  I 
shall  find  another  occasion  to  acknowledge  my 
sense  of  your  kind  expressions  of  friendship, 
which,  I  pray  the  Lord,  I  may  never  give 
you  cause  to  repent  or  withdraw  ;  at  present 
I  shall  confine  myself  to  what  more  particu- 
larly relates  to  the  task  assigned  me.  I  shall 
obey  you,  Sir,  in  taking  notice  of  the  little 
incidents  you  recal  to  my  memory,  and  ot 
others  of  the  like  nature,  which,  without  your 
direction,  I  should  have  thought  too  trivial, 
and  too  much  my  own  to  deserve  mentioning. 
When  I  began  the  eighth  let'er,  I  intended  to 
say  no  more  of  myself  than  might  be  necessary 
to  illustrate  the  wonders  of  divine  providence 
and  grace  in  the  leading  turns  of  my  life  ; 
but  I  account  your  judgment  a  sufficient 
warrant  for  enlarging  my  plan. 

Amongst  other  things,  you  desired  a  more 
explicit  account  of  the  state  and  progress  of 
my  courtship,  as  it  is  usually  phrased.  This 
was  the  point  in  which  I  thought  it  especially 
became  me  to  be  very  brief;  but  I  submit  to 
you  ;  and  this  seems  a  proper  place  to  resume 
it,  by  telling  you  how  it  stood  at  the  time  of 
my  leaving  England.  — When  my  inclinations 
first  discovered  themselves,  both  parties  were 
so  young,  that  no  one  but  myself  considered 
it  in  a  serious  view.  It  served  for  tea-table 
talk  amongst  our  friends,  and  nothing  further 
was  expected  from  it.  But  afterwards,  when 
my  passion  seemed  to  have  abiding  effects,  so 
that  in  an  interval  of  two  years  it  was  not  at 
all  abated,  and  especially  as  it  occasioned  me 
to  act  without  any  regard  to  prudence  or 
interest,  or  mv  father's  designs,  and  as  there 


VOYAGE  TO  MADEIRA,  &C. 


10 

was  a  coolness  between  him  and  the  family,  I  love  to  Mrs. 
her  parents  began  to  consider  it  as  a  matter 
of  consequence ;  and  when  I  took  my  last 
leave  of  them,  her  mother  (at  the  same  time 
she  expressed  the  most  tender  affection  for 
me,  as  if  I  had  heen  her  own  child)  told  me, 
that  though  she  had  no  objections  to  make, 
upon  a  supposition  that,  at  a  maturer  age, 
there  should  be  a  probability  of  our  engaging 
upon  a  prudent  prospect,  yet,  as  things  then 
stood,  she  thought  herself  obliged  to  interfere  ; 
and  therefore  desired  I  would  no  more  think 
of  returning  to  their  house,  unless  her  daugh- 
ter was  from  home,  till  such  time  as  I  could 
either  prevail  with  myself  entirely  to  give  up 
my  pretensions,  or  could  assure  her  that  I 
had  my  father's  express  consent  to  go  on. 
Much  depended  upon  Mrs.  N*****'s  part  in 
this  affair ;  it  was  something  difficult ;  but 
though  she  was  young,  gay,  and  quite  un- 
practised in  such  matters,  she  was  directed  to 
a  happy  medium.  A  positive  encouragement, 
or  an  absolute  refusal,  would  have  been  at- 
tended with  equal,  though  different  disadvan- 
tages. But  without  much  studying  about  it, 
I  found  her  always  upon  her  guard  :  she  had 
penetration  to  see  her  absolute  power  over 
me,  and  prudence  to  make  a  proper  use  of 
it ;  she  would  neither  understand  my  hints, 
nor  give  me  room  to  come  to  a  direct  ex- 
planation She  has  said  since,  that  from  the 
first  discovery  of  my  regard,  and  long  before 
{he  thought  was  agreeable  to  her,  she  had 
often  an  unaccountable  impression  upon  her 
mind,  that  sooner  or  later  she  should  be  mine. 
Upon  these  terms  we  parted. 

I  now  return  to  my  voyage.  During  our 
passage  to  Madeira,  I  was  a  prey  to  the  most 
gloomy  thoughts.  Though  I  had  well  de- 
served all  I  met  with,  and  the  captain  might 
have  been  justified  if  he  had  carried  his  re- 
sentment still  farther ;  yet  my  pride  at  that 
time  suggested  that  I  had  been  grossly  injur- 
ed, and  this  so  far  wrought  upon  my  wicked 
heart,  that  I  actually  formed  designs  against 
his  life  ;  and  this  was  one  reason  that  made 
me  willing  to  prolong  my  own.  I  was 
sometimes  divided  between  the  two,  not  think- 
ing it  practicable  to  effect  both.  The  Lord 
had  now  to  appearance  given  me  up  to  judicial 
blindness  ;  I  was  capable  of  any  thing.  I  had 
not  the  least  fear  of  God  before  my  eyes,  nor 
(so  far  as  I  remember)  the  least  sensibility  of 
conscience.  I  was  possessed  of  so  strong  a 
spirit  of  delusion,  that  I  believed  my  own  lie, 
and  was  firmly  persuaded  that  after  death  I 
should  cease  to  be  :  yet  the  Lord  preserved 
me  !  Some  intervals  of  sober  reflection  would 
at  times  take  place :  when  I  have  chosen 
death  rather  than  life,  a  ray  of  hope  would 
come  in  (though  there  was  little  probability 
for  such  a  hope)  that  I  should  yet  see  better 
days,  that  I  might  again  return  to  England, 
and  have  my  wishes  crowned,  if  I  did  not 
wilfully  throw  myself  away.      In  a  word,  my 


LET.   IV. 


N" 


*  was  now  the  only  re- 
straint I  had  left ;  though  I  neither  feared 
God,  nor  regarded  men,  I  could  not  bear 
that  she  should  think  meanly  of  me  when  I 
was  dead.  As  in  the  outward  concerns  of 
life,  the  weakest  means  are  often  employed 
by  divine  providence  to  produce  great  effects, 
beyond  their  common  influence  (as  when  a 
disease,  for  instance,  has  been  removed  by  a 
fright),  so  I  found  it  then :  this  single 
thought,  which  had  not  restrained  me  from  a 
thousand  smaller  evils,  proved  my  only  and 
effectual  barrier  against  the  greatest  and  most 
fatal  temptations.  How  long  I  could  have 
supported  this  conflict,  or  what,  humanly 
speaking,  would  have  been  the  consequence 
of  my  continuing  in  that  situation,  I  cannot 
say ;  but  the  Lord,  whom  I  little  thought  of, 
knew  my  danger,  and  was  providing  for  my 
deliverance. 

Two  things  I  had  determined  when  at  Ply- 
mouth, that  I  would  not  go  to  India,  and  that 
I   would   go   to  Guinea ;    and    such,    indeed, 
was  the  Lord's  will  concerning  me  ;  but  they 
were   to  be  accomplished   in  his  way,  not  in 
my  own.      We  had  been  now  at  Madeira  some 
time  ;  the  business  of  the  fleet  was  completed, 
and  we  were  to  sail  the   following   day.      On 
that  memorable   morning  I  was  late   in  bed, 
and  had  slept  longer,  but  that  one  of  the  mid 
shipmen  (an  old  companion)  came  down,  and, 
between  jest  and  earnest,  bade  me  rise  ;  and 
as    I    did    not  immediately   comply,    he   cut 
down   the   hammock  or  bed  in  which  I   lay, 
which  forced  me  to  dress  myself.      I  was  very 
angry,   but  durst  not  resent  it.      I  was  little 
aware  how  much  his  caprice  affected  me,   and 
that  this  person,  who  had  no  design  in  what 
he   did,  was   the  messenger  of   God's  provi- 
dence.     I   said   little,  but  went   upon   deck, 
where  I  that  moment,  saw  a  man  putting  his 
clothes  into  a  boat,  who  told  me  he  was  going 
to  leave  us.      Upon  inquiring,   I  was  inform- 
ed that  two  men   from  a  Guinea  ship,  which 
lay  near  us,  had  entered  on  board   the  Har- 
wich, and  that  the  commodore  (the    present 
Sir  George  Pocock)   had  ordered  the  captain 
to  send  two  others  in  their  room.      My  heart 
instantly  burned  like  fire.      I  begged  the  boat 
might  be  detained  a  few  minutes ;   I   ran  to 
the  lieutenants,  and  intreated  them  to  intercede 
with  the  captain    that  I  might  be    dismissed. 
Upon  this  occasion,  though  I  had  been  for- 
merly on  ill  terms  with  these  officers,  and  had 
disobliged   them  all   in   their  turns,  yet   they 
had  pitied  my  case,  and  were  ready  to  serve 
me  now.      The   captain,  who,  when  we  were 
at   Plymouth,   had  refused   to  exchange  me, 
though  at  the  request  of  admiral  Medley,  was 
now  easily  prevailed  on.      I  believe,   in  little 
more  than  half  an  hour  from  my  being  asleep 
in  my  bed,   I  saw  myself  discharged,  and  safe 
on  board  another  ship.      This  was  one  of  the 
many  critical   turns  of  my  life,   in  which    the 
Lord  was   pleased   to  display  his   providence 


LET.  V.  HARDSHIPS  ENDURED 

and  care,  by  causing  many  unexpected  cir- 
cumstances to  concur  in  almost  an  instant  of 
time.  These  sudden  opportunities  were  se- 
veral times  repeated  :  each  of  them  brought 
me  into  an  entire  new  scene  of  action  ;  and 
they  were  usually  delayed  to  almost  the  last 
moment,  in  which  they  could  have  taken  place. 
The  ship  I  went  on  board  of  was  bound  to 
Sierra  Leon,  and  the  adjacent  parts  of  what 
is  called  the  Windward  Coast  of  Africa. 
The  commander  1  found,  was  acquainted 
with  my  father  :  he  received  me  very  kindly, 
and  made  fair  professions  of  assistance,  and 
I  believe  he  would  have  been  my  friend  ;  but 
without  making  the  least  advantage  of  former 
mistakes  and  troubles,  I  pursued  the  same 
course  ;  nay,  if  possible,  I  acted  much  worse. 
On  board  the  Harwich,  though  my  principles 
were  totally  corrupted,  yet,  as  upon  my  first 
going  there  I  was  in  some  degree  staid  and 
serious,  the  remembrance  of  this  made  me 
ashamed  of  breaking  out  in  that  notorious 
manner  I  could  otherwise  have  indulged. 
But  now,  entering  amongst  strangers,  I 
could  appear  without  disguise ;  and  I  well 
remember,  that  while  I  was  passing  from  the 
one  ship  to  the  other,  this  was  one  reason 
why  I  rejoiced  in  the  exchange,  and  one  re- 
flection I  made  upon  the  occasion,  viz.  that 
I  now  might  be  as  abandoned  as  I  pleased, 
without  any  controul  :   and,   from   this   time, 

1  was  exceedingly  vile  indeed,  little  if  any 
thing  short  of  that  animated  description  of  an 
almost  irrecoverable  state,  which  we  have  in 

2  Peter  ii.  14.  I  not  only  sinned  with  a  high 
hand  myself,  but  made  it  my  study  to  tempt 
and  seduce  others  upon  every  occasion  :  nay, 
I  eagerly  sought  occasion  sometimes  to  my 
own  hazard  and  hurt.  One  natural  conse- 
quence of  this  carriage  was,  a  loss  of  the  fa- 
vour of  my  new  captain  ;  not  that  he  was  at  all 
religious,  or  disliked  my  wickedness,  any  fur- 
ther than  it  affected  his  interest ;  but  I  be- 
came careless  and  disobedient :  I  did  not 
please  him,  because  I  did  not  intend  it ;  and, 
as  he  was  a  man  of  an  odd  temper  likewise, 
we  the  more  easily  disagreed.  Besides,  I  had 
a  little  of  that  unlucky  wit,  which  can  do  lit- 
tle more  than  multiply  troubles  and  enemies 
to  its  possessor ;  and  upon  some  imagined  af- 
front, I  made  a  song,  in  which  I  ridiculed 
his  ship,  his  designs,  and  his  person,  and  soon 
taught  it  to  the  whole  ship's  company.  Such 
was  the  ungrateful  return  I  made  for  his  of- 
fers of  friendship  and  protection.  I  had 
mentioned  no  names,  but  the  allusion  was 
plain,  and  he  was  no   stranger  either  to  the 

intention   or  the  author. 1   shall    say  no 

more  of  this  part  of  my  story  ;  let  it  be  buried 
in  eternal  silence.  But  let  me  net  be  silent 
from  the  praise  of  that  grace  which  could 
pardon,  that  blood  which  could  expiate  such 
sins  as  mine ;  yea,  "  the  Ethiopian  may 
change  his  skin,  and  the  leopard  his  spots," 
since  I,   who  was  the  willing  slave  of  every 


IN  AFRICA. 


11 


evil,  possessed  with  a  legion  of  unclean  spirits, 
have  been  spared,  and  saved,  and  changed,  to 
stand  as  a  monument  of  his  almighty  power 
for  ever. 

Thus  I  went  on  for  about  six  months,  by 
which  time  the  ship  was  preparing  to  leave 
the  coast.  A  few  days  before  she  sailed  the 
captain  died.  I  was  not  upon  much  better 
terms  with  his  mate,  who  now  succeeded  to 
the  command,  and  had  upon  some  occasion 
treated  me  ill :  I  made  no  doubt,  but,  if  I 
went  with  him  to  the  West  Indies,  he  would 
put  me  on  board  a  man-of-war;  and  this, 
from  what  I  had  known  already,  was  more 
dreadful  to  me  than  death.  To  avoid  it,  I 
determined  to  remain  in  Africa,  and  amused 
myself  with  many  golden  dreams,  that  here  1 
should  find  an  opportunity  of  improving  my 
fortune. 

There  are  still  upon  that  part  of  the  coast  a 
few  white  men  settled  (and  there  were  many 
more  at  the  time  I  was  first  there),  whose  bu- 
siness it  was  to  purchase  slaves,  &c.  in  the 
rivers  and  country  adjacent,  and  sell  them  to 
the  ships  at  an  advanced  pries.  One  of  these, 
who  at  first  landed  in  my  indigent  circum- 
stances, had  acquired  considerable  wealth : 
he  had  lately  been  in  England,  and  was  re- 
turning in  the  vessel  I  was  in,  of  which  he 
owned  a  quarter  part.  His  example  impres- 
sed me  with  hopes  of  the  same  success  ;  and 
upon  condition  of  entering  into  his  service,  I 
obtained  my  discharge.  I  had  not  the  pre- 
caution to  make  any  terms,  but  trusted  to  his 
generosity.  I  received  no  compensation  for 
my  time  on  board  the  ship,  but  a  bill  upon 
the  owners  in  England,  which  was  never 
paid  ;  for  they  failed  before  my  return.  The 
day  before  the  vessel  sailed  I  landed  upon  the 
island  of  Benanoes,  with  little  more  than  the 
clothes  upon  my  back,  as  if  I  had  escaped 
shipwreck. 

I  am,  dear  Sir, 

Your's,  &c. 

January  17,  17C3. 


LETTER  V. 

DEAR  SIR, 

There  seems  an  important  instruction,  and 
of  frequent  use,  in  these  words  of  our  dear 
Lord,  "Mine  hour  is  not  yet  come."  The 
two  following  years,  of  which  I  am  now  to 
give  some  account,  will  seem  as  an  absolute 
blank  in  a  very  short  life  :  but  as  the  Lord's 
hour  of  grace  was  not  yet  come,  and  I  was 
to  have  still  deeper  experience  of  the  dreadful 
state  of  the  heart  of  man,  when  left  to  itself; 
I  have  seen  frequent  cause  since,  to  admire 
the  mercy  of  the  Lord  in  banishing  me  to 
those  distant  parts,  and  almost  excluding  me 
from  human  society,  at  a  time  when  I  was 
big  with  mischief,  and,  like  one  infected  witJi 


12 


HARDSHIPS  ENDURED   IN   AFRICA. 


LET.   V. 


a  pestilence,  was  capable  of  spreading  a  taint 
wherever  I  went.  Had  my  affairs  taken  a 
different  turn ;  had  I  succeeded  in  my  designs, 

and  remained  in  England,  my  sad  story 
would  probably  have  been  worse.  Worse  in 
myself,  indeed,  I  could  have  hardly  been ; 
but  my  wickedness  would  have  had  greater 
scope ;  I  might  have  been  very  hurtful  to 
Others,  and  multiplied  irreparable  evils,  but 
the  Lord  wisely  placed  me  where  I  could  do 
little  harm.  The  few  I  had  to  converse  with 
were  too  much  like  myself,  and  I  was  soon 
brought  into  such  abject  circumstances,  that  I 
was  too  low  to  have  any  influence.  I  was 
rather  shunned  and  despised  than  imitated  ; 
there  being  few  even  of  the  negroes  them- 
selves, during  the  first  year  of  my  residence 
amongst  them,  but  thought  themselves  too 
good  to  speak  to  me.  I  was  as  yet  an  "  out- 
cast lying  in  my  blood"  (Ezek.  xvi. ),  and  to  all 
appearance  exposed  to  perish.  But  the  Lord 
beheld  me  with  mercy, — he  did  not  strike  me 
to  hell,  as  I  justly  deserved  ;  "  he  passed  by 
me  when  I  was  in  my  blood,  and  said  unto  me 
live."  But  the  appointed  time  for  the  mani- 
festation of  his  love,  to  cover  all  my  iniquities 
with  the  robe  of  his  righteousness,  and  to  ad- 
mit me  to  the  privileges  of  his  children,  was 
not  till  long  afterwards  ;  yet  even  now  he  bade 
me  live ;  and  I  can  only  ascribe  it  to  his  se- 
cret upholding  power,  that  what  I  suffered  in 
a  part  of  this  interval,  did  not  bereave  me 
either  of  my  life  or  senses  ;  yet  as  by  these 
sufferings  the  force  of  my  evil  example  and 
inclinations  was  lessened,  I  have  reason  to 
account  them  amongst  my  mercies. 

It  may  not,  perhaps,  be  amiss  to  digress 
for  a  few  lines,  and  give  you  a  very  brief 
sketch  of  the  geography  of  the  circuit  I  was 
now  confined  to,  especially  as  I  may  have 
frequent  occasion  to  refer  to  places  I  shall 
now  mention  ;  for  my  trade  afterwards  when 
the  Lord  gave  me  to  see  better  days,  was 
chiefly  to  the  same  places,  and  with  the  same 
persons,  where  and  by  whom  I  had  been  con- 
sidered as  upon  a  level  with  their  meanest 
slaves.  From  Cape  de  Verd,  the  most  wes- 
tern point  of  Africa,  to  Cape  Mount,  the 
•whole  coast  is  full  of  rivers  :  the  principal  are 
Gambia,  Rio  Grande,  Sierra  Leon,  and  Sher- 
bro.  Of  the  former,  as  it  is  well  known,  and 
I  was  never  there,  I  need  say  nothing.  The 
Rio  Grande,  like  the  Nile,  divides  into  many 
branches  near  the  sea.  On  the  most  norther- 
ly, called  Cacheo,  the  Portuguese  have  a  set- 
tlement. The  most  southern  branch,  known 
by  the  name  of  Rio  Nuna,  is,  or  then  was, 
the  usual  boundary  of  the  white  men's  trade 
northward.  Sierra  Leon  is  a  mountainous 
peninsula,  uninhabited,  and  I  believe  inacces- 
sible, upon  account  of  the  thick  woods,  ex- 
cepting those  parts  which  lie  near  the  water. 
The  river  is  large  and  navigable.  From 
hence,  about  twelve  leagues  to  the  south-east, 
are  three  contiguous  islands,  called  the  Bena- 


noes,  about  twenty  miles  in  circuit :  this  was 
about  the  centre  of  the  white  men's  residence. 
Seven  leagues  farther  the  same  way,  lie  the 
Plantanes,  three  small  islands,  two  miles  dis- 
tant from  the  continent  at  the  point  which 
forms  one  side  of  the  Sherbro.  This  river  is 
more  properly  a  sound,  running  within  a  long 
island,  and  receiving  the  confluence  of  several 
large  rivers,  "  rivers  unknown  to  song,"  but 
far  more  deeply  engraven  in  my  remem- 
brance than  the  Po  or  Tyber.  The  south- 
ernmost of  these  has  a  very  peculiar  course, 
almost  parallel  to  the  coast ;  so  that  in  tracing 
it  a  great  many  leagues  upwards,  it  will  sel- 
dom lead  one  above  three  miles,  and  some- 
times not  more  than  half  a  mile  from  the 
sea-shore.  Indeed  I  know  not,  but  that  all 
these  rivers  may  have  communications  with 
each  other,  and  with  the  sea  in  many  places, 
which  I  have  not  remarked.  If  you  cast 
your  eyes  upon  a  large  map  of  Africa,  while 
you  are  reading  this,  you  will  have  a  general 
idea  of  the  country  I  was  in ;  for  though  the 
maps  are  very  incorrect,  most  of  the  places  I 
have  mentioned  are  inserted,  and  in  the  same 
order  as  I  have  named  them. 

My  new  master  had  formerly  resided  near 
Cape  Mount,  but  he  now  settled  at  the  Plan- 
tanes, upon  the  largest  of  the  three  islands. 
It  is  a  low  sandy  island,  about  two  miles 
in  circumference,  and  almost  covered  with 
paim-trees.  We  immediately  began  to  build 
a  house,  and  to  enter  upon  trade.  I  had  now 
some  desire  to  retrieve  my  lost  time,  and  to 
exert  diligence  in  what  was  before  me ;  and 
he  was  a  man  with  whom  I  might  have  lived 
tolerably  well,  if  he  had  not  been  soon  influ- 
enced against  me  :  but  he  was  much  under 
the  direction  of  a  black  woman,  who  lived 
with  him  as  a  wife.  She  was  a  person  of 
some  consequence  in  her  own  country,  and 
he  owed  his  first  rise  to  her  interest.  This 
woman  (I  know  not  for  what  reason)  was 
strangely  prejudiced  against  me  from  the  first ; 
and  what  made  it  still  worse  for  me,  was  a 
severe  fit  of  illness,  which  attacked  me  very 
soon,  before  I  had  opportunity  to  show  what 
I  could  or  would  do  in  his  service.  I  was 
sick  when  he  sailed  in  a  shallop  to  Rio  Nuna, 
and  he  left  me  in  her  hands.  At  first  I  was 
taken  some  care  of;  but,  as  I  did  not  recover 
very  soon,  she  grew  weary,  and  entirely  ne- 
glected me.      I  had  sometimes  not  a  little  dif- 

o 

ficulty  to  procure  a  draught  of  cold  water, 
when  burning  with  a  fever.  My  bed  was  a 
mat,  spread  upon  a  board  or  chest,  and  a  log 
of  wood  my  pillow.  When  my  fever  left  me, 
and  my  appetite  returned,  I  would  gladly 
have  eaten,  but  there  was  no  one  gave  un 
me.  She  lived  in  plenty  herself,  but  hardly 
allowed  me  sufficient  to  sustain  life,  except 
now  and  then,  when  in  the  highest  good  hu- 
mour, she  would  send  me  victuals  in  her  own 
plate,  after  she  had  dined  ;  and  this  (so  great- 
ly was  my  pride  humbled)    T    received   with 


1 


LET.  V.  HARDSHIPS  ENDU 

thanks  and  eagerness,  as  the  most  needy  beg- 
ger  does  an  alms.  Once,  I  well  remember, 
I  was  called  to  receive  this  bounty  from  her 
own  hand  ;  but,  being  exceedingly  weak  and 
feeble,  I  dropped  the  plate.  Those  who  live 
in  plenty  can  lvwdly  conceive  how  this  loss 
touched  me;  but  she  had  the  cruelty  to  laugh 
at  my  disappointment ;  and  though  the  table 
was  covered  with  dishes  (for  she  lived  much 
in  the  European  manner),  she  refused  to  give 
me  any  more.  My  distress  has  been  at  times 
so  great,  as  to  compel  me  to  go,  by  night, 
and  pull  up  roots  in  the  plantation  (though 
at  the  risk  of  being  punished  as  a  thief),  which 
I  have  eaten  raw  upon  the  spot,  for  fear  of 
discovery.  The  roots  I  speak  of  are  very 
wholesome  food,  when  boiled  or  roasted,  but 
as  unfit  to  be  eaten  raw  in  any  quantity,  as  a 
potatoe.  The  consequence  of  this  diet, 
which,  after  the  first  experiment,  I  always 
expected,  and  seldom  missed,  was  the  same 
as  if  I  had  taken  tartar  emetic ;  so  that  I 
often  returned  as  empty  as  I  went :  yet  ne- 
cessity urged  me  to  repeat  the  trial  several 
times.  I  have  sometimes  been  relieved  by 
strangers ;  nay,  even  by  the  slaves  in  the 
chain,  who  secretly  brought  me  victuals  (for 
they  durst  not  be  seen  to  do  it)  from  their 
own  slender  pittance.  Next  to  pressing  want, 
nothing  sits  harder  upon  the  mind  than  scorn 
and  contempt :  and  of  this  likewise  I  had  an 
abundant  measure.  When  I  was  very  slowly 
recovering,  this  woman  would  sometimes  pay 
me  a  visit,  not  to  pity  or  relieve,  but  to  insult 
me.  She  would  call  me  worthless  and  indo- 
lent, and  compel  me  to  walk,  which  when  I 
could  hardly  do,  she  would  set  her  attendants 
to  mimic  my  motions,  to  clap  their  hands, 
laugh,  throw  limes  at  me  ;  or,  if  they  chose 
to  throw  stones  (as  I  think  was  the  case  once 
or  twice),  they  were  not  rebuked  :  but,  in 
general,  though  all  who  depended  on  her  fa- 
vour must  join  in  her  treatment,  yet,  when 
she  was  out  of  sight,  I  was  rather  pitied  than 
scorned,  by  the  meanest  of  her  slaves.  At 
length  my  master  returned  from  his  voyage  ; 
I  complained  of  ill  usage,  but  he  could  not 
believe  me ;  and,  as  I  did  it  in  her  hear- 
ing, I  fared  no  better  for  it.  But  in  his  se- 
cond voyage  he  took  me  with  him.  We  did 
pretty  well  for  a  while,  till  a  brother  trader  he 
met  in  the  river,  persuaded  him  that  I  was  un- 
faithful, and  stole  his  goods  in  the  night,  or 
when  he  was  on  shore.  This  was  almost  the 
only  vice  I  could  not  be  justly  charged  with  : 
the  only  remains  of  a  good  education  I  could 
boast  of,  was  what  is  commonly  called  ho- 
nesty :  and,  as  far  as  he  had  entrusted  me,  I 
had  alw  ays  been  true ;  and  though  my  great 
distress  might,  in  some  measure,  have  excus- 
ed it,  I  never  once  thought  of  defrauding 
him  in  the  smallest  matter.  However,  the 
charge  was  believed,  and  I  condemned  with- 
out evidence.  From  that  time  he  likewise 
used  inc  very  hardly  ;  whenever  he  left  the 


RED  IN  AFRICA.  13 

vessel  I  was  locked  upon  deck,  with  a  pint  of 
rice  for  my  day's  allowance  ;  and  if  he  staid 
longer,  I  had  no  relief  till  his  return.  In- 
deed, I  believe  I  should  have  been  nearly 
starved,  but  for  an  opportunity  of  catching 
fish  sometimes.  When  fowls  were  killed  for 
his  own  use,  I  seldom  was  allowed  any  part 
but  the  entrails,  to  bait  my  hooks  with  :  and, 
at  what  we  call  slack  water,  that  is,  about  the 
changing  of  the  tides,  when  the  current  was 
still,  I  used  generally  to  fish  (for  at  other 
times  it  was  not  practicable),  and  I  very  often 
succeeded.  If  I  saw  a  fish  upon  my  hook, 
my  joy  was  little  less  than  any  other  person 
may  have  found,  in  the  accomplishment  of 
the  scheme  he  had  most  at  heart.  Such  a 
fish,  hastily  broiled,  or  rather  half  burned, 
without  sauce,  salt,  or  bread,  has  afforded  me 
a  delicious  meal.  If  I  caught  none,  I  might, 
if  I  could,  sleep  away  my  hunger  till  the  next 
return  of  slack  water,  and  then  try  again. 
Nor  did  I  suffer  less  from  the  inclemency  of 
the  weather  and  the  want  of  clothes.  The 
rainy  season  was  now  advancing ;  my  whole 
suit  was  a  shirt,  a  pair  of  trowsers,  a  cotton 
handkerchief  instead  of  a  cap,  and  a  cotton 
cloth  about  two  yards  long,  to  supply  the 
want  of  upper  garments  :  and  thus  accoutred, 
I  have  been  exposed  for  twenty,  thirty,  per- 
haps near  forty  hours  together,  in  incessant 
rains,  accompanied  with  strong  gales  of  wind, 
without  the  least  shelter,  when  my  master 
was  on  shore.  I  feel  to  this  day  some  faint 
returns  of  the  violent  pains  I  then  contract- 
ed. The  excessive  cold  and  wet  I  endured 
in  that  voyage,  and  soon  after  I  had  recover- 
ed from  a  long  sickness,  quite  broke  my  con- 
stitution and  my  spirits ;  the  latter  were  soon 
restored,  but  the  effects  of  the  former  still 
remain  with  me,  as  a  needful  memento  of 
the  service  and  the  wages  of  sin. 

In  about  two  months  we  returned,  and  then 
the  rest  of  the  time  I  remained  with  him  was 
chiefly  spent  at  the  Plantanes  under  the  same 
regimen  as  I  have  already  mentioned.  My 
haughty  heart  was  now  brought  down,  not  to 
a  wholesome  repentance,  not  to  the  language 
of  the  prodigal ;  this  was  far  from  me ;  but 
my  spirits  were  sunk ;  I  lost  all  resolution, 
and  almost  all  reflection.  I  had  lost  the 
fierceness  which  fired  me  when  on  board  the 
Harwich,  and  which  made  me  capable  of  the 
most  desperate  attempts;  but  I  was  no  fur- 
ther changed  than  a  tyger  tamed  by  hunger 
— remove  the  occasion  and  he  will  be  as  wild 
as  ever. 

One  thing,  though  strange,  is  most  true. 
Though  destitute  of  food  and  clothing,  de- 
pressed to  a  degree  beyond  common  wretched- 
ness, I  could  sometimes  collect  my  mind  to 
mathematical  studies.  I  had  bought  Barrow's 
Euclid  at  Portsmouth ;  it  was  the  only  vo- 
lume I  brought  on  shore ;  it  was  always  with 
me,  and  I  used  to  take  it  to  remote  corners 
of  the  island   by  the  sea  side,  and  draw  mi- 


14  ENLARGEMENT  IN 

diagrams  with  a  long  stick  upon  the  sand. 
Thus  I  often  beguiled  my  sorrows,  and  al- 
most forgot  my  feeling :  and  thus,  without 
any  other  assistance,  I  made  myself,  in  a 
good  measure,  master  of  the  first  six  bocks  of 
Euclid. 

I  am, 

Your's  as  before. 
January  17,  1763. 


grateful 


LETTER  VI. 

DEAR  SIR, 

There  is  much  piety  and  spirit  in  the 
acknowledgment  of  Jacob,  "  With 
my  staff  I  passed  this  Jordan,  and  now  I  am 
become  two  bands."  They  are  words  which 
ought  to  affect  me  with  a  peculiar  emotion. 
I  remember  that  in  some  of  those  mournful 
days,  to  which  my  last  letter  refers,  I  was 
busied  in  planting  some  lime  or  lemon  trees. 
The  plants  I  put  into  the  ground  were  no 
longer  than  a  young  gooseberry  bush ;  my 
master  and  his  mistress  passing  by  the  place, 
stopped  a  while  to  look  at  me  ;  at  last,  "  Who 
knows,"  says  he,  "  who  knows  but  by  the 
the  time  these  trees  grow  up  and  bear,  you 
may  go  home  to  England,  obtain  the  com- 
mand of  a  ship,  and  return  to  reap  the  fruits 
of  your  labours  ;  we  see  strange  things  some- 
times happen."  This,  as  he  intended  it,  was 
a  cutting  sarcasm.  I  believe  he  thought  it 
full  as  probable,  that  I  should  live  to  be  king 
of  Poland  ;  yet  it  proved  a  prediction,  and 
they  (one  of  them  at  least)  lived  to  see  me  re- 
turn from  England  in  the  capacity  he  had 
mentioned,  and  pluck  some  of  the  first  limes 
from  those  very  trees.  How  can  I  proceed 
in  my  relation,  till  I  raise  a  monument  to  the 
divine  goodness,  by  comparing  the  circum- 
stances in  which  the  Lord  has  since  placed 
me,  with  what  I  was  at  that  time  !  Had  you 
seen  me,  Sir,  then  go  so  pensive  and  solitary 
in  the  dead  of  night  to  wash  my  one  shirt  up- 
on the  rocks,  and  afterwards  put  it  on  wet, 
that  it  might  dry  upon  my  back,  while  I 
slept  j  had  you  seen  me  so  poor  a  figure,  that 
when  a  ship's  boat  came  to  the  island,  shame 
often  constrained  me  to  hide  myself  in  the 
woods,  from  the  sight  of  strangers ;  especially, 
had  you  known  that  my  conduct,  principles, 
and  heart,  were  still  darker  than  my  outward 
condition,  how  little  would  you  have  imagin- 
ed, that  one,  who  so  fully  answered  to  the 
ervytiToi  xai  fiifouvTi.*  of  the  apostle,  was  re- 
served to  be  so  peculiar  an  instance  of  the 
providential  care  and  exuberant  goodness  of 
God.  There  was,  at  that  time,  but  one  ear- 
nest desire  in  my  heart,  which  was  not  con- 
trary and  shocking  both  to  religion  and  rea- 
son ;  that  one  desire,  though  my   vile    licen- 

*  Hateful,  and  hating  one  another. 


AFRICA.  LET.  VI. 

tious  life  rendered  me  peculiarly  unworthy  of 
success,  and  though  a  thousand  difficulties 
seemed  to  render  it  impossible,  the  Lord  was 
pleased  to  gratify.  But  this  favour,  though 
great,  and  greatly  prized,  was  a  small  thing 
compared  to  the  blessings  of  his  grace  :  he 
spared  me,  to  give  me  the  knowledge  of 
himself,  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ ;  in 
love  to  my  soul  he  delivered  me  from  the  pit 
of  corruption,  and  cast  all  my  aggravated  sins 
behind  his  back.  He  brought  my  feet  into 
the  paths  of  peace.  This  is  indeed  the  chief 
article,  but  it  is  not  the  whole.  When  he 
made  me  acceptable  to  himself  in  the  beloved, 
he  gave  me  favour  in  the  sight  of  others.  He 
raised  me  new  friends,  protected  and  guided 
me  through  a  long  series  of  dangers,  and 
crowned  every  day  with  repeated  mercies. 
To  him  I  owe  it  that  I  am  still  alive,  and  that 
I  am  not  still  living  in  hunger,  and  in  thirst, 
and  in  nakedness,  and  the  want  of  all  things: 
into  that  state  I  brought  myself,  but  it  was  he 
who  delivered  me.  He  has  given  me  an  easy 
situation  in  life,  some  experimental  knowledge 
of  his  gospel,  a  large  acquaintance  amongst 
his  people,  a  friendship  and  correspondence 
with  several  of  his  most  honoured  servants. 
But  it  is  as  difficult  to  enumerate  my  pre- 
sent advantages,  as  it  is  fully  to  describe  the 
evils  and  miseries  of  the  preceding  contrast. 

I  know  not  exactly  how  long  things  con- 
tinued with  me  thus,  but  I  believe  near  a 
twelvemonth.  In  this  interval  I  wrote  two 
or  three  times  to  my  father  ;  I  gave  him  an 
account  of  my  condition,  and  desired  his  as- 
sistance, intimating  at  the  same  time,  that  I 
had  resolved  not  to  return  to  England,  unless 
he  was  pleased  to  send  for  me ;  I  have  like- 
wise letters  by  me  wrote  to  Mrs.  N*****  in 
that  dismal  period ;  so  that  at  the  lowest  ebb, 
it  seems  I  still  retained  a  hope  of  seeing  her 
again.  My  father  applied  to  his  friend  in 
Liverpool,  of  whom  I  have  spoken  before, 
who  gave  orders  accordingly  to  a  captain  of 
his,  who  was  then  fitting  out  for  Gambia  and 
Sierra  Leon. 

Some  time  within  the  year,  as  I  have  said, 
I  obtained  my  master's  consent  to  live  with 
another  trader,  who  dwelt  upon  the  same 
island.  Without  his  consent,  I  could  not  be 
taken,  and  he  was  unwilling  to  do  it  sooner, 
but  it  was  then  brought  about.  This  was  an 
alteration  much  to  my  advantage  ;  I  was  soon 
decently  clothed,  lived  in  plenty,  was  consi- 
dered as  a  companion,  and  trusted  with  the 
care  of  all  his  domestic  effects,  which  were  to 
the  amount  of  some  thousand  pounds.  This 
man  had  several  factories  and  white  servants 
in  different  places,  particularly  one  in  Kittam, 
the  river  I  spoke  of  which  runs  so  near  along 
the  sea  coast.  I  was  soon  appointed  to  go 
there,  where  I  had  a  share  in  the  management 
of  business,  jointly  with  another  of  his  ser- 
vants :  we  lived  as  we  pleased,  business  flou- 
rished, and  our  employer  was  satisfied.      Here 


LET.   VI. 


ENLARGEMENT  IN  AFRICA. 


15 


I  began  to  be  wretch  enough  to  think  myself 
happy.  There  is  a  significant  phrase  fre- 
quently used  in  those  parts,  that  such  a  white 
man  is  grown  black.  It  does  not  intend  an 
alteration  of  complexion,  but  disposition.  I 
have  known  several,  who,  settling  in  Africa 
after  the  age  of  thirty  or  forty,  have  at  that 
time  of  life  been  gradually  assimilated  to  the 
tempers,  customs,  and  ceremonies  of  the  na- 
tives, so  far  as  to  prefer  that  country  to  Eng- 
land ;  they  have  even  become  dupes  to  all 
the  pretended  charms,  necromances,  amulets, 
and  divinations  of  the  blinded  negroes,  and 
put  more  trust  in  such  tilings  than  the  wiser 
sort  among  the  natives.  A  part  of  this  spirit 
of  infatuation  was  growing  upon  me  ;  in 
time  perhaps  I  might  have  yielded  to  the 
whole :  I  entered  into  closer  engagements 
with  the  inhabitants,  and  should  have  lived 
and  died  a  wretch  amongst  them,  if  the  Lord 
had  not  watched  over  me  for  good.  Not  that 
I  had  lost  those  ideas  which  chiefly  engaged 
my  heart  to  England,  but  despair  of  seeing 
them  accomplished  made  me  willing  to  re- 
main where  I  was.  I  thought  I  could  more 
easily  bear  the  disappointment  in  this  situa- 
tion, than  nearer  home.  But,  so  soon  as  I 
had  fixed  my  connections  and  plans  with 
these  views,  the  Lord  providentially  interposed 
to  break  them  in  pieces,  and  save  me  from 
ruin  in  spite  of  myself. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  ship  that  had  orders 
to  bring  me  home  arrived  at  Sierra  Leon  :  the 
captain  made  inquiry  for  me  there  and  at  the 
Benanoes ;  but  understanding  that  I  was  at  a 
great  distance  in  the  country,  he  thought  no 
more  about  me.  Without  doubt  the  hand  of 
God  directed  my  being  placed  at  Kittam  just 
at  this  time ;  for,  as  the  ship  came  no  nearer 
than  the  Benanoes,  and  staid  but  a  few  days, 
if  I  had  been  at  the  Plantanes,  I  could  not 
perhaps  have  heard  of  her  till  she  had  been 
sailed.  The  same  must  have  certainly  been 
the  event,  had  I  been  sent  to  any  other  fac- 
tory, of  which  my  new  master  had  several 
upon  different  rivers.  But  though  the  place 
I  was  at,  was  a  long  way  up  a  river,  much 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  distant  from  the 
Plantanes,  yet,  by  the  peculiar  situation  which 
I  have  already  noticed,  I  was  still  within  a 
mile  of  the  sea  coast.  To  make  the  interpo  - 
sition  more  remarkable,  I  was  at  that  very 
juncture  going  in  quest  of  trade  to  a  place  at 
some  distance  directly  from  the  sea,  and 
should  have  set  out  a  day  or  two  before,  but 
that  we  waited  for  a  few  articles  from  the 
next  ship  that  offered,  to  complete  the  assort- 
ment of  goods  I  was  to  take  with  me.  We 
used  sometimes  to  walk  to  the  beach,  in  expec- 
tation of  seeing  a  vessel  pass  by,  but  this  was 
very  precarious,  as  at  that  time -the  place  was 
not  at  all  resorted  to  by  ships  for  trade. 
Many  passed  in  the  night,  others  kept  at  a 
considerable  distance  from  the  shore.      In  a 


word,  I  do  not  know  that  any  one  had  stopped 
while  I  was  there,  though  some  had  before, 
upon  observing  a  signal  made  from  the  shore. 
In  February,  1747  (I  know  not  the  exact  day), 
my  fellow  servant  walking  down  to  the  beach 
in  the  forenoon,  saw  a  vessel  sailing  past,  and 
made  a  smoke  in  token  of  trade.  She  was 
already  a  little  beyond  the  place,  and,  as  the 
wind  was  fair,  the  captain  was  in  some  demur 
whether  to  stop  or  not :  however,  had  my 
companion  been  half  an  hour  later,  she  would 
have  gone  beyond  recal ;  but  he  soon  saw 
her  come  to  anchor,  and  went  on  board  in  a 
canoe  :  and  this  proved  the  very  ship  I  have 
spoken  of.  One  of  the  first  questions  he  was 
asked,  was  concerning  me ;  and  when  the 
captain  understood  I  was  so  near,  he  came  on 
shore  to  deliver  his  message.  Had  an  invita- 
tion from  home  reached  me,  when  I  was  sick 
and  starving  at  the  Plantanes,  I  should  have 
received  it  as  life  from  the  dead  ;  but  now, 
for  the  reasons  already  given,  I  heard  it  at 
first  with  indifference.  The  captain,  unwil- 
ling to  lose  me,  told  a  story  altogether  of  his 
own  framing :  he  gave  me  a  very  plausible 
account,  how  he  had  missed  a  large  packet  of 
letters  and  papers,  which  he  should  have 
brought  with  him ;  but  this,  he  said,  he  was 
sure  of,  having  had  it  from  my  father's  own 
mouth,  as  well  as  from  his  employer,  that  a 
person  lately  dead  had  left  me  L.400  per 
annum  ;  adding  further,  that  if  I  was  any 
way  embarrassed  in  my  circumstances,  he 
had  express  orders  to  redeem  me,  though  it 
should  cost  one  half  of  his  cargo.  Every 
particular  of  this  was  false ;  nor  could  I 
myself  believe  what  he  said  about  the  estate ; 
but,  as  I  had  some  expectations  from  an 
aged  relation,  I  thought  a  part  of  it  might  be 
true.  But  I  was  not  long  in  suspense :  for 
though  my  father's  care  and  desire  to  see  me 
had  too  little  weight  with  me,  and  would 
have  been  insufficient  to  make  me  quit  my 
retreat,  yet  the  remembrance  of  Mrs.  N*  *  *  *  *, 
the  hopes  of  seeing  her,  and  the  possibility, 
that  accepting  this  offer  might  once  more  put 
me  in  a  way  of  gaining  her  hand,  prevailed 
over  all  other  considerations.  The  captain 
further  promised  (and  in  this  he  kept  his 
word),  that  I  should  lodge  in  his  cabin,  dine 
at  his  table,  and  be  his  constant  companion, 
without  expecting  any  service  from  me.  And 
thus  I  was  suddenly  freed  from  a  captivity  of 
about  fifteen  months.  I  had  neither  a 
thought  nor  a  desire  of  this  change  one  hour 
before  it  took  place.  I  embarked  with  him, 
and  in  a  few  hours  lost  sight  of  Kittam. 

How  much  is  their  blindness  to  be  pitied, 
who  can  see  nothing  but  chance  in  events  of 
this  sort !  So  blind  and  stupid  was  I  at  that 
time,  I  made  no  reflection.  I  sought  no  di- 
rection in  what  had  happened  ;  like  a  wave 
of  the  sea  driven  with  the  wind,  and  tossed, 
I  was  governed  by  present  appearances   ami 


16        VOYAGE  FROM  CAPE  LOPEZ  FOR  ENGLAND. 

looked  no  further.  But  he,  who  is  eyes  to 
the  blind,  was  leading  me  in  a  way  that  I 
knew  not. 

Now  I  am  in  some  measure  enlightened,  I 
can  easily  perceive  that  it  is  in  the  adjustment 
and  concurrence  of  these  seemingly  fortuitous 
circumstances,  that  the  ruling  power  and 
wisdom  of  God  is  most  evidently  displayed  in 
human  affairs.  How  many  such  casual  events 
may  we  remark  in  the  history  of  Joseph, 
which  had  each  a  necessary  influence  in  his 
ensuing  promotion  !  If  he  had  not  dreamed, 
or  if  he  had  not  told  his  dream  ;  if  the  Mi- 
dianites  had  passed  by  a  day  sooner  or  a  day 
later ;  if  they  had  sold  him  to  any  person  but 
Potiphar;  if  his  mistress  had  been  a  better 
woman ;  if  Pharaoh's  officers  had  not  dis- 
pleased their  lord;  or  if  any,  or  all  these 
things  had  fallen  out  in  any  other  manner  or 
time  than  they  did,  all  that  followed  had  been 
prevented :  the  promises  and  purposes  of 
God  concerning  Israel,  their  bondage,  deli- 
verances,   polity,  and    settlement,  must  have 


LET.  VII. 


south  of  the  Equinoctial,  and  more  than  a 
thousand  miles  farther  from  England  than 
the  place  where  I  embarked.  I  have  little 
to  offer  worthy  your  notice,  in  the  course  of 
this  tedious  voyage.  I  had  no  business  to 
employ  my  thoughts,  but  sometimes  amused 
myself  with  mathematics  :  excepting  this,  my 
whole  life,  when  awake,  was  a  course  of  most 
horrid  impiety  and  profaneness.  I  know  not 
that  I  have  ever  since  met  so  daring  a  blas- 
phemer :  not  content  with  common  oaths  and 
imprecations,  I  daily  invented  new  ones ;  so 
that  I  was  often  seriously  reproved  by  the 
captain,  who  was  himself  a  very  passionate 
man,  and  not  at  all  circumspect  in  his  ex- 
pressions. From  the  relation  I  at  times 
made  him  of  my  past  adventures,  and  what 
he  saw  of  my  conduct,  and  especially  towards 
the  close  of  the  voyage  when  we  met  with 
many  disasters,  he  would  often  tell  me  that, 
to  his  great  grief  he  had  a  Jonah  on  board ; 
that  a  curse  attended  me  wherever  I  went ; 
and  that  all  the  troubles  he  met  with  in  the 
failed ;  and,  as  all  these  things  tended  to,  and   voyage,  were   owing  to  his  having  taken  me 


centred  in  Christ,  the  promised  Saviour,  the 
desire  of  all  nations  would  not  have  appeared  ; 
mankind  had  been  still  in  their  sins,  without 
hope,  and  the  counsels  of  God's  eternal  love 
in  favour  of  sinners  defeated.  Thus  we  may 
see  a  connection  between  Joseph's  first  dream, 
and  the  death  of  our  Lord  Christ,  with  all  its 
glorious  consequences.  So  strong,  though 
secret,  is  the  concatenation  between  the 
greatest  and  the  smallest  events !  What  a 
comfortable  thought  is  this  to  a  believer  to 
know,  that  amidst  all  the  various  interfering 
designs  of  men,  the  Lord  has  one  constant 
design  which  he  cannot,  will  not  miss,  namely, 
his  own  glory  in  the  complete  salvation  of  his 
people ;  and  that  he  is  wise,  and  strong,  and 
faithful,  to  make  even  those  things,  which 
seem  contrary  to  this  design,  subservient  to 
promote  it.  You  have  allowed  me  to  com- 
ment upon  my  own  text,  yet  the  length  of 
this  observation  may  need  some  apology. 
Believe  me  to  be,  with  great  respect, 
Dear  Sir, 
Your  affectionate  and  obliged  servant. 

January  18,  1763. 


LETTER  VII. 

DEAR  SIR, 

The  ship  I  was  now  on  board  as  a  passen- 
ger, was  on  a  trading  voyage  for  gold,  ivory, 
dyers  wood,  and  bees  wax.  It  requires 
much  longer  time  to  collect  a  cargo  of  this 
sort  than  of  slaves.  The  captain  began  his 
trade  at  Gambia,  had  been  already  four  or 
five  months  in  Africa,  and  continued  there  a 
year,  or  thereabouts,  after  I  was  with  him  ; 
in  winch  time  we  ranged  the  whole  coast,  as 
far  as  Cape  Lopez,  which  lies  about  a  degree 


into  the  vessel.  I  shall  omit  any  further 
particulars,  and  after  mentioning  an  instance 
or  two  of  the  Lord's  mercy  to  me,  while  I 
was  thus  defying  his  power  and  patience,  I 
shall  proceed  to  something  more  worthy  your 
perusal. 

Although  I  lived  long  in  the  excess  of  al- 
most every  other  extravagance,  I  never  was 
fond  of  drinking  ;  and  my  father  has  often 
been  heard  to  say,  that  while  I  avoided 
drunkenness,  he  should  still  entertain  hopes 
of  my  recovery.  But  sometimes  I  would  ; 
promote  a  drinking-bout  for  a  frolic's  sake,  as 
I  termed  it :  for  though  I  did  not  love  the 
liquor,  I  was  sold  to  do  iniquity,  and  delight- 
ed in  mischief.  The  last  abominable  frolic 
of  this  sort  I  engaged  in,  was  in  the  river 
Gabon  ;  the  proposal  and  expense  were  my 
own.  Four  or  five  of  us  one  evening  sat 
down  upon  deck,  to  see  who  could  hold 
out  longest  in  drinking  geneva  and  rum  al- 
ternately ;  a  large  sea-skell  supplied  the  place 
of  a  glass.  I  was  very  unfit  for  a  challenge 
of  this  sort,  for  my  head  was  always  incapable 
of  bearing  much  strong  drink.  However,  I 
began  and  proposed  the  first  toast,  which,  I 
well  remember,  was  some  imprecation  against 
the  person  who  should  start  first.  This  prov- 
ed to  be  myself.  My  brain  was  soon  fired  : 
I  arose,  and  danced  about  the  deck  like  a 
madman ;  and  while  I  was  thus  diverting 
my  companions,  my  hat  went  overboard. 
By  the  light  of  the  moon,  I  saw  the  ship's 
boat,  and  eagerly  threw  myself  over  the  side 
to  get  into  her,  that  I  might  recover  my  hat. 
My  sight  in  that  circumstance  deceived  me, 
for  the  "boat  was  not  within  my  reach,  as  I 
had  thought,  but  perhaps  twenty  feet  from 
the  ship's  side.  I  was,  however,  half  over 
board,  and  should  in  one  moment  more  have 
plunged  m\  self  into   the  voter,   when  some- 


LET.  VII.  VOYAGE   FROM   CAPE 

body  catched  hold  of  my  clothes  behind,  and 
pulled  me  back.  This  was  an  amazing  es- 
cape ;  for  I  could  not  swim  if  I  had  been  so- 
ber ;  the  tide  ran  very  strong;  my  companions 
were  too  much  intoxicated  to  save  me ;  and 
the  rest  of  the  ship's  company  were  asleep. 
So  near  I  was,  to  appearance,  of  perishing  in 
that  dreadful  condition,  and  sinking  into  eter- 
nity under  the  weight  of  my  own  curse  ! 

Another  time,  at  Cape  Lopez,  some  of  us 
had  been  in  the  woods,  and  shot  a  buffalo  or 
wild  cow.  We  brought  a  part  of  it  on  board, 
and  carefully  marked  the  place  (as  I  thought) 
where  we  left  the  remainder.  In  the  evening 
we  returned  to  fetch  it ;  but  we  set  out  too 
late.  I  undertook  to  be  their  guide ;  but 
night  coming  on  before  we  could  reach  the 
place,  we  lost  our  way.  Sometimes  we  were 
in  swamps  up  to  the  middle  in  water,  and 
when  we  recovered  dry  land,  we  could  not 
tell  whether  we  were  walking  towards  the 
ship,  or  wandering  farther  from  her.  Every 
step  increased  our  uncertainty.  The  night 
grew  darker,  and  we  were  entangled  in  inex- 
tricable woods,  where,  perhaps,  the  foot  of 
man  had  never  trod  before.  That  part  of  the 
country  is  entirely  abandoned  to  wild  beasts, 
with  which  it  prodigiously  abounds.  We  were 
indeed  in  a  terrible  case,  having  neither  light, 
food,  nor  arms,  and  expecting  a  tiger  to  rush 
from  behind  every  tree.  The  stars  were 
clouded,  and  we  had  no  compass  to  form  a 
judgment  which  way  we  were  going.  Had 
things  continued  thus,  we  had  probably  pe 
rished;  but  it  pleased  God,  no  beast  came 
near  us  ;  and,  after  some  hours  perplexity, 
the  moon  arose,  and  pointed  out  the  eastern 
quarter.  It  appeared  then,  as  we  had  ex- 
pected, that  instead  of  drawing  near  to  the 
sea  side,  we  had  been  penetrating  into  the 
country;  but,  by  the  guidance  of  the  moon, 
we  at  length  came  to  the  water  side,  a  consi- 
derable distance  from  the  ship.  We  got  safe 
on  board,  without  any  other  inconvenience 
than  what  we  suffered  from  fear  and  fatigue. 

Those  and  many  other  deliverances  were 
all,  at  that  time,  entirely  lost  upon  me.  The 
admonitions  of  conscience,  which,  from  suc- 
cessive repulses,  had  grown  weaker  and  weak- 
er, at  length  entirely  ceased ;  and  for  a  space 
of  many  months,  if  not  for  some  years,  I  can- 
not recollect,  that  I  had  a  single  check  of  that 
sort.  At  times  I  have  been  visited  with  sick- 
ness, and  have' believed  myself  near  to  death, 
but  I  had  not  the  least  concern  about  the 
,  consequences.  In  a  word,  I  seemed  to  have 
every  mark  of  final  impenitence  and  rejection  ; 
neither  judgments  nor  mercies  made  the  least 
impression  on  me. 

At  length,  our  business  finished,  we  left 
Cape  Lopez,  and  after  a  few  days  stay  at  the 
island  of  Annabona,  to  lay  in  provisions,  we 
sailed  homeward  about  the  beginning  of  Ja- 
nuary 1748.  From  Annabona  to  England, 
without  touching  at  any  intermediate  port,  j's 
'i 


LOPEZ   FOR  ENGLAND. 


r 


a  very  long  navigation,  perhaps  more  than 
seven  thousand  miles,  if  we  include  the  cir- 
cuits necessary  to  be  made  on  account  of  the 
trade-winds.  We  sailed  first  westward,  till 
near  the  coast  of  Brazil,  then  northward,  to 
the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  with  the  usual 
variations  of  wind  and  weather,  and  without 
meeting  any  thing  extraordinary.  On  these 
banks  we  stopped  half  a  day  to  fish  for  cod  ; 
this  was  then  chiefly  for  diversion  ;  we  1  ad 
provisions  enough,  and  little  expected  those 
fish  (as  it  afterwards  proved)  would  be  all  we 
should  have  to  subsist  on.  We  left  the  banks 
on  the  first  of  March,  with  a  hard  gale  of  wind, 
westerly,  which  pushed  us  fast  homewards. 
I  should  here  observe,  that,  with  the  length 
of  this  voyage,  in  a  hot  climate,  the  vessel  was 
greatly  out  of  repair,  and  very  unfit  to  sup- 
port stormy  weather ;  the  sails  and  cordage 
were  likewise  very  much  worn  out,  and  many 
such  circumstances  concurred  to  render  what 
followed  more  dangerous.  I  think  it  was  on 
the  ninth  of  March,  the  day  before  our  catas- 
trophe, that  I  felt  a  thought  pass  through  my 
mind,  which  I  had  long  been  a  stranger  to. 
Among  the  few  books  we  had  on  board,  one 
was  Stanhope's  Thomas  a  Kempis ;  I  care- 
lessly took  it  up,  as  I  had  often  done  before, 
to  pass  away  the  time  ;  but  I  had  still  read  it 
with  the  same  indifference  as  if  it  was  entirely 
a  romance.  However,  while  I  was  reading 
this  time,  an  involuntary  suggestion  arose  in 
my  mind  :  What  if  these  things  should  be 
true  ?  I  could  not  bear  the  force  of  the  in- 
ference, as  it  related  to  myself:  and  there- 
fore shut  the  book  presently.  My  conscience 
witnessed  against  me  once  more,  and  I  con- 
cluded that,  true  or  false,  I  must  abide  the 
consequences  of  my  own  choice.  I  put  an 
abrupt  end  to  these  reflections,  by  joining  in 
with  some  vain  conversation  or  other  that 
came  in  my  way. 

But  now  the  Lord's  time  was  come,  and 
the  conviction  I  was  so  unwilling  to  receive, 
was  deeply  impressed  upon  me  by  an  awful 
dispensation.  I  went  to  bed  that  night  in  my 
usual  security  and  indifference,  but  was  awa- 
kened from  a  sound  sleep  by  the  force  of  a 
violent  sea  which  broke  on  board  us  ;  so  much 
of  it  came  down  below  as  filled  the  cabin  I 
lay  in  with  water.  This  alarm  was  followed 
by  a  cry  from  the  deck,  that  the  ship  was  go-  , 
ing  down  or  sinking.  As  soon  as  I  could  reco-  i 
ver  myself,  I  essayed  to  go  upon  deck  ;  but 
was  met  upon  the  ladder  by  the  captain,  who 
desired  me  to  bring  a  knife  with  me.  While  I 
returned  for  the  knife,  another  person  went  up 
in  my  room,  who  was  instantly  washed  over- 
board. We  had  no  leisure  to  lament  him, 
nor  did  we  expect  to  survive  him  long  ;  for 
we  soon  found  the  ship  was  filling  with  water 
very  fast.  The  sea  had  torn  away  the  upper 
timbers  on  one  side,  and  made  a  mere  wreck 
in  a  few  minutes.  I  shall  not  aflcct  to  de- 
scribe this  disaster  in  the  marine  dialect,  which 


DANGER,   &C.  IN  THE 


would  be  understood  by  few  ;  and  therefore 
I  can  give  you  but  a  very  inadequate  idea  of 
it.  Taking  in  all  circumstances,  it  was  asto- 
nishing, and  almost  miraculous,  that  any  of 
us  survived  to  relate  the  story.  We  had  im- 
mediate recourse  to  the  pumps;  but  the  water 
increased  against  our  efforts.  Some  of  us  were 
set  to  baling  in  another  part  of  the  vessel ; 
that  is,  to  lade  it  out  with  buckets  and  pails. 
We  had  but  eleven  or  twelve  people  to  sus- 
tain this  service ;  and,  notwithstanding  all  we 
could  do,  she  was  full,  or  very  near  it :  and 
then,  with  a  common  cargo,  she  must  have 
sunk  of  course  ;  but  we  had  a  great  quantity 
of  bees  wax  and  wood  on  board,  which  were 
specifically  lighter  than  the  water ;  and  as  it 
pleased  God  that  we  received  this  shock  in 
the  very  crisis  of  the  gale,  towards  morn- 
ing we  were  enabled  to  employ  some  means 
for  our  safety,  which  succeeded  beyond  hope. 
In  about  an  hour's  time,  the  day  began  to 
break,  and  the  wind  abated.  We  expended 
most  of  our  clothes  and  bedding  to  stop  the 
leaks  (though  the  weather  was  exceedingly 
cold,  especially  to  us,  who  had  so  lately  left 
a  hot  climate)  ;  over  these  we  nailed  pieces 
of  boards,  and  at  last  perceived  the  water 
abate.  At  the  beginning  of  this  hurry,  I  was 
little  affected.  I  pumped  hard,  and  endea- 
voured to  animate  myself  and  companions  : 
I  told  one  of  them,  that  in  a  few  days  this 
distress  would  serve  us  to  talk  of  over  a  glass 
of  wine  ;  but  he  being  a  less  hardened  sinner 
than  myself,  replied,  with  tears,  "  No  ;  it  is 
too  late  now."  About  nine  o'clock,  being 
almost  spent  with  cold  and  labour,  I  went  to 
speak  with  the  captain,  who  was  busied  else- 
where, and  just  as  I  was  returning  from  him, 
I  said,  almost  without  any  meaning,  "  If  this 
will  not  do,  the  Lord  have  mercy  upon  us." 
This  (though  spoken  with  little  reflection) 
was  the  first  desire  I  had  breathed  for  mercy 
for  the  space  of  many  years.  I  was  instantly 
struck  with  my  own  words;  and,  as  Jehu 
said  once,  "  What  hast  thou  to  do  with  peace?" 
so  it  directly  occurred,  "  What  mercy  can  there 
be  for  me?"  I  was  obliged  to  return  to  the 
pump,  and  there  I  continued  till  noon,  al- 
most every  passing  wave  breaking  over  my 
head  ;  but  we  made  ourselves  fast  with  ropes, 
that  we  might  not  be  washed  away.  Indeed, 
I  expected  that  every  time  the  vessel  de- 
scended in  the  sea,  she  would  rise  no  more ; 
and  though  I  dreaded  death  now,  and  my 
heart  foreboded  the  worst,  if  the  scriptures, 
which  I  had  long  since  opposed,  were  indeed 
true  ;  yet  still  I  was  but  half  convinced,  and 
remained  for  a  space  of  time  in  a  sullen 
frame,  a  mixture  of  despair  and  impatience. 
I  thought,  if  the  Christian  religion  was  true, 
I  could  not  be  forgiven  ;  and  was,  therefore, 
expecting,  and  almost  at  thnes  wishing,  to 
know  the  worst  of  it.      I  am, 

Your's,  &c. 
January  19,  1763. 


LET.   VIII 


LETTER  VIII. 

DEAR  SIR, 

The  tenth  (that  is,  in  the  present  style,  the 
twenty-first)  of  March,  is  a  day  much  to  be 
remembered  by  me,  and  I  have  never  suffered 
it  to  pass  wholly  unnoticed  since  the  year 
1748.  On  that  day  the  Lord  sent  from  on 
high,  and  delivered  me  out  of  the  deep  wa- 
ters. I  continued  at  the  pump  from  three  in 
the  morning  till  near  noon,  and  then  I  could 
do  no  more.  I  went  and  lay  down  upon  my 
bed,  uncertain,  and  almost  indifferent,  whe- 
ther I  should  rise  again.  In  an  hour's  time 
I  was  called,  and  not  being  able  to  pump,  I 
went  to  the  helm,  and  steered  the  ship  till 
midnight,  excepting  a  small  interval  for  re- 
freshment. I  had  here  leisure  and  conve- 
nient opportunity  for  reflection.  I  began  to 
think  of  my  former  religious  professions ;  the 
extraordinary  turns  in  my  life ;  the  calls, 
warnings,  and  deliverances  I  had  met  with  ; 
the  licentious  course  of  my  conversation,  par- 
ticularly my  unparalleled  effrontery  in  mak- 
ing the  gospel  history  (which  I  could  not  now 
be  sure  was  false,  though  I  was  not  yet  as- 
sured it  was  true)  the  constant  subject  of 
profane  ridicule.  I  thought,  allowing  the 
scripture  premises,  there  never  was  nor  could 
be  such  a  sinner  as  myself;  and  then,  com- 
paring the  advantages  I  had  broken  through, 

1  concluded,  at  first,  that  my  sins  were  too 
great  to  be  forgiven.  The  scripture  likewise 
seemed  to  say  the  same ;  for  1  had  formerly 
been  well  acquainted  with  the  Bible,  and  many 
passages,  upon  this  occasion,  returned  upon 
my  memory,  particularly  those  awful  pas- 
sages,   Prov.    i.  24 — 31,   Heb.  vi.   4,  6,    and 

2  Pet.  ii.  20,  which  seemed  so  exactly  to  suit 
my  case  and  character,  as  to  bring  with  them 
a  presumptive  proof  of  a  divine  original.  Thus, 
as  I  have  said,  I  waited  with  fear  aud  impa- 
tience to  receive  my  inevitable  doom.  Yet, 
though  I  had  thoughts  of  this  kind,  they  were 
exceeding  faint  and  disproportionate.  It  was 
not  till  long  after  (perhaps  several  years),  till 
I  had  gained  some  clear  views  of  the  infinite 
righteousness  and  grace  of  Christ  Jesus,  my 
Lord,  that  I  had  a  deep  and  strong  apprehen- 
sion of  my  state  by  nature  and  practice  ;  and, 
perhaps,  till  then,  I  could  not  have  borne  the 
sight.  So  wonderfully  does  the  Lord  propor- 
tion the  discoveries  of  sin  and  grace  ;  for  he 
knows  our  frame,  and  that,  if  he  was  to  put 
forth  the  greatness  of  his  power,  a  poor  sin- 
ner would  be  instantly  overwhelmed,  and 
crushed  as  a  moth.  But  to  return  :  when  I 
saw,  beyond  all  probability,  there  was  still 
hope  of  respite,  and  heard,  about  six  in  the 
evening,  that  the  ship  was  freed  from  water, 
there  arose  a  gleam  of  hope.  I  thought  I 
saw  the  hand  of  God  displayed  in  our  favour; 
I  began  to  pray  ;   I  could  not  utter  the  prayer 


LET.  VIII.  VOYAGE 

of  faith  ;  I  could  not  draw  near  to  a  recon- 
ciled God,  and  call  him  father :  my  prayer 
was  like  the  cry  of  the  ravens,  which  yet  the 
Lord  does  not  disdain  to  hear.  I  now  began 
to  think  of  that  Jesus  whom  I  had  so  often 
derided :  I  recollected  the  particulars  of  his 
life  and  of  his  death;  a  death  for  sins  not  his 
own,  but,  as  I  remembered,  for  the  sake  of 
those  who,  in  their  distress,  should  put  their 
trust  in  him.  And  now  I  chiefly  wanted  evi- 
dence. The  comfortless  principles  of  infide- 
lity were  deeply  riveted,  and  I  rather  wished 
than  believed  these  things  were  real  facts. 
You  will  please  to  observe,  Sir,  that  I  collect 
the  strain  of  the  reasonings  and  exercises  of 
my  mind  in  one  view  ;  but  I  do  not  say  that 
all  this  passed  at  one  time.  The  great  ques- 
tion now  was,  how  to  obtain  faith.  I  speak 
not  of  an  appropriating  faith  (of  which  I 
then  knew  neither  the  nature  nor  necessity), 
but  how  I  should  gain  an  assurance  that  the 
scriptures  were  of  divine  inspiration,  and  a 
sufficient  warrant  for  the  exercise  of  trust  and 
hope  in  God.  One  of  the  first  helps  I  receiv- 
ed (in  consequence  of  a  determination  to  exa- 
mine the  New  Testament  more  carefully)  was 
from  Luke  xi.  13.  I  had  been  sensible,  that 
to  profess  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  when  in  rea- 
lity I  did  not  believe  his  history,  was  no 
better  than  a  mockery  of  the  heart-searching 
God  ;  but  here  I  found  a  Spirit  spoken  of, 
which  was  to  be  communicated  to  those  who 
ask  it.  Upon  this  I  reasoned  thus :  If  this 
book  is  true,  the  promise  in  this  passage  must 
be  true  likewise ;  I  have  need  of  that  very 
Spirit,  by  which  the  whole  was  written,  in  or- 
der to  understand  it  aright.  He  has  engaged 
here  to  give  that  Spirit  to  those  who  ask.  I 
must  therefore  pray  for  it,  and,  if  it  is  of  God, 
he  will  make  good  his  own  word.  My  pur- 
poses were  strengthened  by  John  vii.  17.  I 
concluded  from  thence,  that  though  I  could 
not  say  from  my  heart,  that  I  believed  the 
gospel,  yet  I  would,  for  the  present,  take  it 
for  granted ;  and  that,  by  studying  it  in  this 
light,  I  should  be  more  and  more  confirmed 
in  it.  If  what  I  am  writing  could  be  perused 
by  our  moffera  infidels,  they  would  say  (for 
I  too  well  know  their  manner),  that  I  was 
very  desirous  to  persuade  myself  into  this 
opinion.  I  confess  I  was,  and  so  would  they 
be,  if  the  Lord  should  shew  them,  as  he  was 
pleased  to  shew  me  at  that  time,  the  absolute 
necessity  of  some  expedient  to  interpose  be- 
tween a  righteous  God  and  a  sinful  soul. 
Upon  the  gospel  scheme  I  saw,  at  least,  a 
peradventure  of  hope,  but  on  every  other  side 
I  was  surrounded  with  black  unfathomable 
despair. 

The  wind  was  now  moderate,  but  continued 
fair,  and  we  were  still  drawing  nearer  to  our 
port.  We  began  to  recover  from  our  conster- 
nation, though  we  were  greatly  alarmed  by 
our  circumstances.  We  found  that,  the  water 
having  floated  all  our  moveables  in  the  hold, 


FROM   CAPE  LOPEZ. 


19 


all  the  casks  of  provision  had  been  beaten  to 
pieces  by  the  violent  motion  of  the  ship  :  on 
the  other  hand,  our  live  stock,  such  as  pi^s 
sheep,  and  poultry,  had  been  washed  over- 
board in  the  storm.  In  effect,  all  the  provi- 
sions we  saved,  except  the  fish  I  had  men- 
tioned, and  some  food  of  the  pulse  kind, 
which  used  to  be  given  to  the  hogs  (and  there 
was  but  little  of  this  left),  all  our  other  provi- 
sions would  have  subsisted  us  but  a  week,  at 
scanty  allowance.  The  sails,  too,  were  mostly 
blown  away,  so  that  we  advanced  but  slowly, 
even  while  the  wind  was  fair.  We  imagined 
ourselves  about  a  hundred  leagues  from  the 
land,  but  were  in  reality  much  further.  Thus 
we  proceeded  with  an  alternate  prevalence  of 
hope  and  fear.  My  leisure  time  was  chiefly 
employed  in  reading  and  meditating  on  the 
scriptures,  and  praying  to  the  Lord  for  mercy 
and  instruction. 

Things  continued  thus  for  four  or  five  days, 
or  perhaps  longer,  till  we  were  awakened  one 
morning,  by  the  joyful  shouts  of  the  watch 
upon  deck,  proclaiming  the  sight  of  land. 
We  were  all  soon  raised  at  the  sound.  The 
dawning  was  uncommonly  beautiful,  and  the 
light  (just  strong  enough  to  discover  distant 
objects)  presented  us  with  a  gladdening  pro- 
spect :  it  seemed  a  mountainous  coast,  about 
twenty  miles  from  us,  terminating  in  a  cape 
or  point,  and  a  little  farther,  two  or  three 
small  islands,  or  hummocks,  as  if  just  rising 
out  of  the  water  ;  the  appearance  and  position 
seemed  exactly  answerable  to  our  hopes,  re- 
sembling the  north-west  extremity  of  Ireland, 
which  we  were  steering  for.  We  sincerely 
congratulated  each  other,  making  no  doubt, 
but  that  if  the  wind  continued,  we  should  be 
in  safety  and  plenty  the  next  day.  The  small 
remainder  of  our  brandy  (which  was  reduced 
to  little  more  than  a  pint)  was,  by  the  captain's 
orders,  distributed  amongst  us ;  he  adding  at 
the  same  time,  "  We  shall  soon  have  brandy 
enough."  We  likewise  eat  up  the  residue  of 
our  bread  for  joy  of  this  welcome  sight,  and 
were  in  the  condition  of  men  suddenly  re- 
prieved from  death.  While  we  were  thus 
alert,  the  mate,  with  a  graver  tone  than  the 
rest,  sunk  our  spirits  by  saying,  that,  "  he 
wished  it  might  prove  land  at  last."  If  one 
of  the  common  sailors  had  first  said  so,  I 
know  not  but  the  rest  would  have  beat  him 
for  raising  such  an  unreasonable  doubt.  It 
brought  on,  however,  warm  debates  and  dis- 
putes whether  it  was  land  or  no  ;  but  the  case 
was  soon  unanswerably  decided ;  for  the  day 
was  advancing  fast,  and  in  a  little  time,  one 
ot  our  fancied,  islands  began  to  grow  red,  from 
the  approach  of  the  sun,  which  soon  arose  just 
under  it.  In  a  word,  we  had  been  prodigal 
of  our  bread  and  brandy  too  hastily  ;  our  land 
was  literally  in  nubibus,  nothing  but  clouds, 
and  in  half  an  hour  more  the  whole  appear 
ance  was  dissipated.  Seamen  have  often 
known  deceptions  of  this  sort,  but  in  our  ex- 


20 


EVENTS  IN  IRELAND,  &C. 


tremity  we  were  loath  to  be  undeceived.  How- 
ever, we  comforted  ourselves,  that  though  we 
could  not  see  the  land,  yet  we  should  soon, 
the  wind  hitherto  continuing  fair  ;  but,  alas  ! 
we  were  deprived  of  this  hope  likewise.  That 
very  day  our  fair  wind  subsided  into  a  calm, 
and  the  next  morning  the  gales  sprung  up 
from  the  south-east,  directly  against  us,  and 
continued  so  for  more  than  a  fortnight  after- 
wards. The  ship  was  so  wrecked,  that  we 
were  obliged  to  keep  the  wind  always  on  the 
broken  side,  unless  the  weather  was  quite  mo- 
derate :  thus  we  were  driven,  by  the  wind  fix. 
ing  in  that  quarter,  still  further  from  our  port, 
to  the  northward  of  all  Ireland,  as  far  as  the 
Lewis  or  western  islands  of  Scotland,  but  a 
long  way  to  the  westward.  In  a  word,  our 
station  was  such  as  deprived  us  of  any  hope 
of  being  relieved  by  other  vessels :  it  may, 
indeed,  be  questioned,  whether  our  ship  was 
not  the  very  fii  st  that  had  been  in  that  part 
of  the  ocean,  at  the  same  season  of  the  year. 

Provisions  now  began  to  grow  very  short ; 
the  half  of  a  salted  cod  was  a  day's  subsis- 
tence for  twei  je  people  ;  we  had  plenty  of 
fresh  water,  but  not  a  drop  of  stronger  liquor  ; 
no  bread,  hardly  any  clothes,  and  very  cold 
weather.  We  had  incessant  labour  with  the 
pumps,  to  keep  the  ship  above  water.  Much 
labour  and  little  food  wasted  us  fast,  and  one 
man  died  under  the  hardship.  Yet  our  suf- 
ferings were  light  in  comparison  of  our  just 
fears  ;  we  could  not  afford  this  bare  allowance 
much  longer,  but  had  a  terrible  prospect  of 
being  either  starved  to  death,  or  reduced  to 
feed  upon  one  another.  Our  expectations 
grew  darker  every  day,  and  I  had  a  further 
trouble  peculiar  to  myself.  The  captain, 
whose  temper  was  quite  soured  by  distress, 
was  hourly  reproaching  me  (as  I  formerly  ob- 
served) as  the  sole  cause  of  the  calamity,  and 
was  confident  that  if  I  was  thrown  overboard, 
and  not  otherwise,  they  should  be  preserved 
from  death.  lie  did  not  intend  to  make  the 
experiment,  but  continual  repetition  of  this  in 
my  ears  gave  me  much  uneasiness,  especially 
as  my  conscience  seconded  his  words.  I 
thought  it  very  probable,  that  all  that  had  be- 
fallen us  was  on  my  account.  I  was,  at  last, 
found  out  by  the  powerful  hand  of  God,  and 
condemned  in  my  own  breast.  However, 
proceeding  in  the  method  I  have  described, 
we  began  to  conceive  hopes  greater  than  &11 
our  fears,  especially,  when  at  the  time  we 
were  ready  to  give  up  all  for  lost,  and  despair 
was  taking  place  in  every  countenance,  we 
saw  the  wind  come  about  to  the  very  point  we 
wished  it,  so  as  best  to  suit  that  broken  part 
of  the  ship  which  must  be  kept  out  of  the 
water,  and  to  blow  so  gently  as  our  few  re- 
maining sails  could  bear  ;  and  thus  it  con- 
tinued without  any  observable  alteration  or 
increase,  though  at  an  unsettled  time  of  the 
year,  till  we  once  more  were  called  up  to  see 
the  land,  and  were  convinced  that  it  was  land 


LET.  IX 

indeed.  We  saw  the  island  Tory,  and  the 
next  day  anchored  in  Tough  Svvilly,  in  Ire- 
land ;  this  was  the  eighth  of  April,  just  four 
weeks  after  the  damage  was  sustained  from 
the  sea.  When  we  came  into  this  port  our 
very  last  victuals  were  boiling  in  the  pot ;  and 
before  we  had  been  there  two  hours,  the  wind, 
which  seemed  to  have  been  providentially  re- 
strained till  we  were  in  a  place  of  safety,  be- 
gan to  blow  with  great  violence,  so  that  if  we 
had  continued  at  sea  that  night  in  our  shatter- 
ed, enfeebled  condition,  we  must,  in  all  hu- 
man appearance,  have  gone  to  the  bottom. 
About  this  time  I  began  to  know  that  there  is 
a  God  that  hears  and  answers  prayer.  How 
many  times  has  he  appeared  for  me  since  this 
great  deliverance  : — yet,  alas  '.  how  distrust- 
ful and  ungrateful  is  my  heart  unto  this  hour. 
I  am,  clear  Sir, 

Your  obliged  humble  servant. 
January  19,  1763. 


LETTER  IX. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  Have  brought  my  history  down  to  the 
time  of  my  arrival  in  Ireland,  1748;  but  be- 
fore I  proceed,  I  would  look  back  a  little,  to 
give  you  some  farther  account  of  the  state  of 
my  mind,  and  how  far  I  was  helped  against 
inward  difficulties,  which  beset  me,  at  the  time 
I  had  many  outward  hardships  to  struggle 
with.  The  straits  of  hunger,  cold,  weariness, 
and  the  fears  of  sinking,  and  starving,  I  shar- 
ed in  common  with  others  ;  but  besides  these, 
I  felt  a  heart-bitterness,  which  was  properly 
my  own  ;  no  one  on  board,  but  myself,  being 
impressed  with  any  sense  of  the  hand  of  God 
in  our  danger  and  deliverance,  at  least  not 
awakened  to  any  concern  for  their  souls.  No 
temporal  dispensations  can  reach  the  heart, 
unless  the  Lord  himself  applies  them.  My 
companions  in  danger  were  either  quite  un- 
affected, or  soon  forgot  it  all,  but  it  was  not 
so  with  me :  not  that  I  was  any  wiser  or  bet- 
ter than  they,  but  because  the  Lor*  was  pleas- 
ed to  vouchsafe  me  peculiar  mercy,  otherwise 
I  was  the  most  unlikely  person  in  the  ship  to 
receive  an  impression,  having  been  often  be- 
fore quite  stupid  and  hardened  in  the  verv 
face  of  great  dangers,  and  always  to  this  time 
had  hardened  my  neck  still  more  and  more 
after  every  reproof.  I  can  see  no  reason  why 
the  Lord  singled  me  out  for  mercy,  but  this, 
"  that  so  it  seemed  good  to  him ;"  unless  it 
was  to  show,  by  one  astonishing  instance,  that 
with  him   "nothing  is  impossible." 

There  were  no  persons  on  board  to  whom  I 
could  open  myself  with  freedom,  concerning 
the  state  of  my  soul,  none  from  whom  I  could 
ask  advice.  As  to  books,  I  had  a  New  Tes- 
tament, Stanhope,  already  mentioned,  and  a 
volume  of  bishop  Beveridge's  sermons,  one  of 


LET.   IX. 

which,  upon  our  Lord's  passion,  affected  me 
much.      In  perusing  the  New  Testament,   I 
was  struck  with  several  passages,  particularly 
that  of  the  fig-tree,  Luke  xiii.      The  case  of 
St.  Paul,  1  Tim.  i.  but  particularly  the   pro- 
digal,   Luke  xv.  a  case,  I  thought,  that  had 
never  been  so  nearly  exemplified,  as  by  my- 
self; and  then  the  goodness  of  the  father  in 
receiving,  nay,  in  running  to  meet  such  a  son, 
and  this  intended  only  to  illustrate  the  Lord's 
goodness   to  returning    sinners, — this  gained 
upon   me.     I    continued  much    in  prayer ;   I 
saw  that  the  Lord  had  interposed   so  far  to 
save  me,   and   I  hoped  he  would    do  more. 
The   outward    circumstances    helped    in    this 
place  to  make  me   still   more  serious  and  ear- 
nest in  crying  to  him,  who  alone  could  re- 
lieve me  ;   and   sometimes  I  thought    I   could 
be  content  to  die,  even  for  want  of  food,  so  I 
might  but  die  a  believer.     Thus  far  I  was  an- 
swered, that  before  we  arrived  in  Ireland,  I  had 
a  satisfactory  evidence  in  my  own  mind  of  the 
truth  of  the  gospel,  as  considered  in  itself,  and 
its  exact  suitableness  to  answer  all  my  needs. 
I   saw  that,  by  the  way  they  are  pointed  out, 
God  might  declare  not  his  mercy  only,  but  his 
justice  also,  in  the  pardon  of  sin,  on  the  ac- 
count of  the  obedience  and  sufferings  of  Jesus 
Christ.      My  judgment,  at  that  time,  embrac- 
ed the  sublime  doctrine  of  "  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh,  reconciling  the  world  to  himself."    I 
had  no  idea  of  those  systems  which  allow  the 
Saviour  no  higher  honour  than  that  of  an  up- 
per servant,  or,   at  the  most,  a  demi-god.      I 
stood  in  need   of  an   Almighty  Saviour,   and 
such  a  one  I  found  described  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament.     Thus  far  the  Lord  had  wrought  a 
marvellous  thing  :    I  was  no  longer  an  infidel ; 
I  heartily  renounced  my  former  profaneness, 
and  I  had  taken  up  some  right  notions,  was 
seriously  disposed,  and  sincerely  touched  with 
a  sense  of  the  undeserved  mercy  I  had  receiv- 
ed,   in   being  brought   safe  through    so  many 
dangers.      I  was  sorry  for  my  mis-spent  life, 
and  purposed  an  immediate   reformation  :    I 
was  quite  freed  from  the  habit  of  swearing, 
which  seemed  to  have  been  deeply  rooted  in 
me,  as  a  second  nature.      Thus,  to  all  appear- 
ance, I  was  a  new  man. 

But  though  I  cannot  doubt  that  this  change, 
so  far  as  it  prevailed,  was  wrought  by  the  Spirit 
and  power  of  God,  yet  still  I  was  greatly  de- 
ficient in  many  respects.  I  was  in  some  de- 
gree affected  with  a  sense  of  my  more  enor- 
mous sins,  but  I  was  little  aware  of  the  innate 
evils  of  my  heart.  I  had  no  apprehension  of 
the  spirituality  and  extent  of  the  law  of  God  ; 
the  hidden  life  of  a  christian,  as  it  consists  in 
communion  with  God  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  a 
continual  dependence  on  him  for  hourly  sup- 
plies of  wisdom,  strength,  and  comfort,  was  a 
mystery  of  which  I  had  as  yet  no  knowledge. 
I  acknowledged  the  Lord's  mercy  in  pardon- 
ing what  was  past,  but  depended  chiefly  upon 
my  own   resolution  to  do  better  for  the  time 


EVENTS   IN   IRELAND,  &C. 


21 

to  come.  I  had  no  christian  friend  or  faithful 
minister  to  advise  me,  that  my  strength  was 
no  more  than  my  righteousness  ;  and  though 
I  soon  began  to  inquire  for  serious  books,  yet, 
not  having  spiritual  discernment,  I  frequent- 
ly made  a  wrong  choice,  and  I  was  not 
brought  in  the  way  of  evangelical  preaching 
or  conversation  (except  a  few  times  when  I 
heard  but  understood  not)  for  six  years  after 
this  period.  Those  things  the  Lord  was 
pleased  to  discover  to  me  gradually.  I  learnt 
them  here  a  little  and  there  a  little,  by  my 
own  painful  experience,  at  a  distance  from 
the  common  means  and  ordinances,  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  same  course  of  evil  company  and 
bad  examples  I  had  been  conversant  with  for 
some  time.  From  this  period  I  could  no 
more  make  a  mock  at  sin,  or  jest  with  holy 
things;  I  no  more  questioned  the  truth  of 
scripture,  or  lost  a  sense  of  the  rebukes  of 
conscience.  Therefore  I  consider  this  as  the 
beginning  of  my  return  to  God,  or  rather  of 
his  return  to  me  ;  but  I  cannot  consider  my- 
self to  have  been  a  believer  (in  the  full  sense 
of  the  word)  till  a  considerable  time  after- 
wards. 

I  have  told  you  that,  in  the  time  of  our  dis- 
tress, we  had  fresh  water  in  abundance;  this 
was  a  considerable  relief  to  us,  especially  as 
our  spare  diet  was  mostly  salt  fish,  without 
bread.  We  drank  plentifully,  and  were  not 
afraid  of  wanting  water  ;  yet  our  stock  of  this 
likewise  was  much  nearer  to  an  end  than  we 
expected ;  we  supposed  that  we  had  six  large 
butts  of  water  on  board,  and  it  was  well  that 
we  were  safe  arrived  in  Ireland,  before  we 
discovered  that  five  of  them  were  empty,  hav- 
ing been  removed  out  of  their  places  and 
stove  by  the  violent  agitation,  when  the  ship 
was  full  of  water.  If  we  had  found  this  out 
while  we  were  at  sea,  it  would  have  greatly 
heightened  our  distress,  as  we  must  have  drank 
more  sparingly. 

While  the  ship  was  refitting  at  Lough  Swil- 
ly,  I  repaired  to  Londonderry.  I  lodged  at 
an  exceeding  good  house,  where  I  was  treat- 
ed with  much  kindness,  and  soon  recruited 
my  health  and  strength.  I  was  now  a  serious 
professor,  went  twice  a  day  to  the  prayers  at 
church,  and  determined  to  receive  the  sacra- 
ment the  next  opportunity.  A  few  days  be- 
fore, I  signified  my  intention  to  the  minister, 
as  the  rubric  directs ;  but  I  found  this  prac- 
tice was  grown  obsolete.  At  length  the  day 
came  ;  I  arose  very  early,  was  very  particular 
and  earnest  in  my  private  devotion ;  and, 
with  the  greatest  solemnity,  engaged  myself  to 
be  the  Lord's  for  ever,  and  only  his.  This 
was  not  a  formal,  but  a  sincere  surrender, 
under  a  warm  sense  of  mercies  recently  re- 
ceived ;  and  yet,*  for  want  of  a  better  know- 
ledge of  myself  and  the  subtilty  of  Satan's 
temptations,  I  was  seduced  to  forget  the  vows 
of  God  that  were  upon  me.  Upon  the  whole, 
though  my  views  of  the  gospel  salvation  wer 


22 


ARRIVAL   IN   ENGLAND. 


very  indistinct,  I  experienced  a  peace  and  sa- 
tisfaction in  the  ordinance  that  day,  to  which 
I  had  been  hitherto  a  perfect  stranger. 

The  next  day  I  was  abroad  with  the  mayor 
of  the  city  and  some  other  gentlemen  a-shoot- 
ing  ;  I  climbed  up  a  steep  bank,  and  pulling 
my  fowling-piece  after  me,  as  I  held  it  in  a 
perpendicular  direction,  it  went  off  so  near 
my  face,  as  to  burn  away  the  corner  of  my 
hat.  Thus,  when  we  think  ourselves  in  the 
greatest  safety,  we  are  no  less  exposed  to  dan- 
ger than  when  all  the  elements  seem  conspir- 
ing to  destroy  us.  The  divine  providence, 
which  is  sufficient  to  deliver  us  in  our  utmost 
extremity,  is  equally  necessary  to  our  preser- 
vation in  the  most  peaceful  situation. 

During  our  stay  in  Ireland  I  wrote  home. 
The  vessel  I  was  in  had  not  been  heard  of  for 
eighteen  mouths,  and  was  given  up  for  lost 
long  before.  My  father  had  no  more  expec- 
tation of  hearing  that  I  was  alive,  but  he  re- 
ceived my  letter  a  few  days  before  he  left 
London.  He  was  just  going  out  governor  of 
York  Fort,  in  Hudson's  Bay,  from  whence  he 
never  returned.  He  sailed  before  I  arrived 
in  England,  or  he  had  purposed  to  take  me 
with  him  ;  but  God  designing  otherwise,  one 
hindrance  or  other  delayed  us  in  Ireland  till 
it  was  too  late.  I  received  two  or  three  af- 
fectionate letters  from  him,  but  I  never  had 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  more.  I  had  hopes, 
that  in  three  years  more,  I  should  have  had 
an  opportunity  of  asking  his  forgiveness  for 
the  uneasiness  my  disobedience  had  given 
him  ;  but  the  ship  that  was  to  have  brought 
him  home,  came  without  him.  According  to 
the  best  accounts  we  received,  he  was  seized 
with  the  cramp  when  bathing,  and  drowned  a 
little  before  her  arrival  in  the  Bay. — Excuse 
this  digression. 

My  father,  willing  to  contribute  all  in  his 
power  to  my  satisfaction,  paid  a  visit  before  his 
departure  to  my  friends  in  Kent,  and  gave 
his  consent  to  the  union  which  had  been  so 
long  talked  of.  Thus,  when  I  returned  to 
,  I  found  I  had  only  the  consent  of 
one  person  to  obtain  ■.  with  her  I  as  yet  stood 
at  as  great  an  uncertainty  as  on  the  first  day 
I  saw  her. 

I  arrived  at———  in  the  latter  end  of  May, 
1748,  about  the  same  day  that  my  father  sail- 
ed from  the  Nore,  but  found  the  Lord  had 
provided  me  another  father,  in  the  gentleman 
whose  ship  had  brought  me  home.  He  re- 
ceived me  with  great  tenderness,  and  the 
strongest  expressions  of  friendship  and  assist- 
ance :  yet  not  more  than  he  has  since  made 
good  ;  for  to  him,  as  the  instrument  of  God's 
gooodness,  I  owe  my  all.  Yet  it  would  not 
have  been  in  the  power,  even  of  this  friend,  to 
have  served  me  effectually,  if  the  Lord  had 
not  met  with  me  on  my  way  home,  as  I  have 
related.  Till  then  I  was  like  the  man  posses- 
sed with  the  legion.  No  arguments,  no  per- 
buasion,  no  views  of  interest,  no  remembrance 


LET.  IX. 

of  the  past,  or  regard  to  the  future,  could 
have  constrained  me  within  the  bounds  of 
common  prudence.  But  now  I  was  in  some 
measure  restored  to  my  senses.  My  friend 
immediately  offered  me  the  command  of  a 
ship  ;  but,  upon  mature  consideration,  I  de- 
clined it  for  the  present.  I  had  been  hitherto 
always  unsettled  and  careless,  and  therefore 
thought  I  had  better  make  another  voyage 
first,  and  learn  to  obey,  and  acquire  a  farther 
insight  and  experience  in  business,  before  I 
ventured  to  undertake  such  a  charge.  The 
mate  of  the  vessel  I  came  home  in,  was  pre- 
ferred to  the  command  of  a  new  ship,  and  I 
engaged  to  go  in  the  station  of  mate  with  him. 
I  made  a  short  visit  to  London,  &c.  which 
did  not  fully  answer  my  views.  I  had  but 
one  opportunity  of  seeing  Mrs.  N*****,  of 
which  I  availed  myself  very  little,  for  I  was 
always  exceeding  awkward  in  pleading  my 
own  cause,  viva  voce.  But  after  my  return  to 
L  ,  I  put  the  question  in  such  a  man- 

ner, by  letter,  that  she  could  not  avoid  (unless  I 
had  greatly  mistaken  her)  coming  to  some  sort 
of  an  explanation.  -Heranswer,  though  penned 
with  abundance  jof  caution,  satisfied  me  ;  as  I 
collected  from  it,r  that  she  was  free  from  any 
other  engagement,  and  not  unwilling  to  wait 
the  event  of  the  voyage  I  had  undertaken.  I 
should  be  ashamed  to  trouble  you  with  these 
little  details,  if  you  had  not  yourself  desired 


I  am, 


Your's  &c. 


January  20,  1763. 


LETTER  X. 

DEAR  SIR, 

My  connections  with  sea  affairs  have  often 
led  me  to  think,  that  the  varieties  observable 
in  christian  experience  may  be  properly  illus- 
trated from  the  circumstances  of  a  voyage. 
Imagine  to  yourself  a  number  of  vessels,  at 
different  times,  and  from  different  places,  bound 
to  the  same  port ;  there  are  some  things  in 
which  all  these  would  agree, — the  compass 
steered  by,  the  port  in  view,  the  general  rules 
of  navigation,  both  as  to  the  management  of 
the  vessel  and  determining  their  astronomical 
observations,  would  be  the  same  in  all.  In 
other  respects  they  would  differ  ;  perhaps  no 
two  of  them  would  meet  with  the  same  distri- 
bution of  winds  and  weather.  Some  we  see 
set  out  with  a  prosperous  gale ;  and,  when 
they  almost  think  their  passage  secured,  they 
are  checked  by  adverse  blasts ;  and,  after  en- 
during much  hardship  and  danger,  and  fre- 
quent expectations  of  shipwreck,  they  just 
escape  and  reach  the  desired  haven.  Others 
meet  the  greatest  difficulties  at  first ;  they  put 
forth  in  a  storm,  and  are  often  beaten  back  ;  at 
length  their  voyage  proves  favourable,  and  they 


LET.  X. 


VOYAGE  TO  AFRICA. 


23 


■inter  the  port  with  a  irXrt^oQo^i*,  a  rich  and  a- 
bundant  entrance.  Some  are  hard  beset  with 
cruisers  and  enemies,  and  obliged  to  fight  their 
way  through  ;  others  meet  with  little  remarka- 
ble in  their  passage.  Is  it  not  thus  in  the  spi- 
ritual life  ?  All  true  believers  walk  by  the 
same  rule,  and  mind  the  same  things.  The 
word  of  God  is  their  compass  ;  Jesus  is  both 
their  polar  star  and  their  sun  of  righteousness  ; 
their  hearts  and  faces  are  all  set  Sion-ward. 
Thus  far  they  are  as  one  body,  animated  by 
one  spirit ;  yet  their  experience,  formed  upon 
these  common  principles,  is  far  from  being 
uniform.  The  Lord,  in  his  first  call,  and  his 
following  dispensations,  has  a  regard  to  the 
situation,  temper,  and  talents  of  each,  and  to  the 
particular  services  or  trials  he  has  appointed 
them  for.  Though  all  are  exercised  at  times, 
yet  some  pass  through  the  voyage  of  life  much 
more  smoothly  than  others.  But  he  "  who 
walketh  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind,  and  mea- 
sures the  waters  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand," 
will  not  suffer  any,  of  whom  he  has  taken 
charge,  to  perish  in  the  storms,  though,  for  a 
season,  perhaps,  many  of  them  are  ready  to 
give  up  all  hopes. 

We  must  not,  therefore,  make  the  experi- 
ence of  others,  in  all  respects,  a  rule  to  our- 
selves, nor  our  own,  a  rule  to  others  ;  yet,  these 
are  common  mistakes,  and  productive  of  many 
more.  As  to  myself,  every  part  of  my  case 
has  been  extraordinary.  I  have  hardly  met  a 
single  instance  resembling  it.  Few,  very  few, 
have  been  recovered  from  such  a  dreadful 
state  ;  and  the  few  that  have  been  thus  favour- 
ed, have  generally  passed  through  the  most 
severe  convictions ;  and  after  the  Lord  has 
given  them  peace,  their  future  lives  have  been 
usually  more  zealous,  bright,  and  exemplary, 
than  common.  Now,  as  on  the  one  hand,  my 
convictions  were  very  moderate,  and  far  below 
what  might  have  been  expected  from  the  dread- 
ful review  I  had  to  make  ;  so,  on  the  other,  my 
first  beginnings  in  a  religious  course  were  as 
faint  as  can  be  well  imagined.  I  never  knew 
that  season  alluded  to,  Jer.  ii.  2.  Rev.  ii. 
4.  usually  called  the  time  of  the  first  love. 
Who  would  not  expect  to  hear,  that,  after  such 
a  wonderful  unhoped-for  deliverance,  as  I  had 
received,  and,  after  my  eyes  were  in  some 
measure  enlightened  to  see  things  aright,  I 
should  immediately  cleave  to  the  Lord  and 
his  ways,  with  full  purpose  of  heart,  and  con- 
sult no  more  with  flesh  and  blood?  But,  alas  ! 
it  was  far  otherwise  with  me  :  I  had  learned  to 
pray  ;  I  set  some  value  upon  the  word  of  God, 
and  was  no  longer  a  libertine ;  but  my  soul 
still  cleaved  to  the  dust.  Soon  after  my  de- 
parture from  L  ,  I  began  to  intermit,  and 
grow  slack  in  waiting  upon  the  Lord;  I  grew 
vain  and  trifling  in  my  conversation  ;  and 
though  my  heart  smote  me  often,  yet  my  ar- 
mour was  gone,  and  I  declined  fast ;  and  by 
the  time  I  arrived  at  Guinea,  I  seemed  to 
have  forgotten  all  the  Lord's  mercies,  and  my 


own  engagements,  and  was  (profuneness  ex- 
cepted) almost  as  bad  as  before.  The  enemy 
prepared  a  train  of  temptations,  and  I  became 
his  easy  prey  ;  and,  for  about  a  month,  he 
lulled  me  asleep  in  a  course  of  evil,  of  which, 
a  few  months  before,  I  could  not  have  sup- 
posed myself  any  longer  capable.  How  much 
propriety  is  there  in  the  apostle's  advice, 
"  Take  heed  lest  any  of  you  be  hardened 
through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin."  O,  who 
can  be  sufficiently  upon  their  guard  ?  Sin 
first  deceives,  and  then  it  hardens.  I  was 
now  fast  bound  in  chains;  I  had  little  de- 
sire, and  no  power  at  all  to  recover  myself. 
I  could  not  but  at  times  reflect  how  it  was 
with  me  :  but,  if  I  attempted  to  struggle  with 
it,  it  was  in  vain.  I  was  just  like  Samson, 
when  he  said,  "  I  will  go  forth  and  shake  my- 
self as  at  other  times;"  but  the  Lord  was  de- 
parted, and  he  found  himself  helpless  in  the 
hands  of  his  enemies.  By  the  remembrance 
of  this  interval,  the  Lord  has  often  instructed 
me  since,  what  a  poor  creature  I  am  in  my- 
self, incapable  of  standing  a  single  hour  with- 
out continual  fresh  supplies  of  strength  and 
grace  from  the  fountain  head. 

At  length  the  Lord,  whose  mercies  are  in- 
finite, interposed  in  my  behalf.  My  business 
in  this  voyage,  while  upon  the  coast,  was  to 
sail  from  place  to  place  in  the  long-boat  to 
purchase  slaves.  The  ship  was  at  Sierra 
Leone,  and  I  then  at  the  Plantanes,  the  scene 
of  my  former  captivity,  where  every  thing  I  saw 
might  seem  to  remind  me  of  my  ingratitude. 
I  was  in  easy  circumstances,  courted  by  those 
who  formerly  despised  me.  The  lime  trees  I 
had  planted  were  grown  tall,  and  promised 
fruit  the  following  year ;  against  which  time  I 
had  expectations  of  returning  with  a  ship  of 
my  own.  But  none  of  these  things  affected 
me,  till,  as  I  have  said,  the  Lord  again  inter- 
posed to  save  me.  He  visited  me  with  a  vio- 
lent fever,  which  broke  the  fatal  chain,  and 
once  more  brought  me  to  myself.  But,  O 
what  a  prospect !  I  thought  myself  now  sum- 
moned away.  My  past  dangers  and  deliver- 
ances, my  earnest  prayers  in  the  time  of  trou- 
ble, my  solemn  vows  before  the  Lord  at  his 
table,  and  my  ungrateful  returns  for  all  his 
goodness  were  all  present  to  my  mind  at  once. 
Then  I  began  to  wish  that  the  Lord  had  suf- 
fered me  to  sink  into  the  ocean,  when  I  first 
besought  his  mercy.  For  a  little  while  I  con- 
cluded the  door  of  hope  to  be  quite  shut ;  but 
this  continued  not  long.  Weak,  and  almost 
delirious,  I  arose  from  my  bed,  and  crept  to  a 
retired  part  of  Ihe  island;  and  here  I  found  a 
renewed  liberty  to  pray.  I  durst  make  no 
more  resolves*  but  cast  myself  before  the  Lord, 
to  do  with  me  as  he  should  please.  I  do  not 
remember  that  any  particular  text,  or  re- 
remarkable  discovery,  was  presented  to  my 
mind  ;  but  in  general  I  was  enabled  to  hope 
and  believe  in  a  crucified  Saviour.  The  bur- 
den  was  removed  from   my   conscience,   and 


24 


VOYAGE  TO  AFRICA. 


LET.  X 


not  only  my  peace,  but  my  health  was  restored;  ! 
I   cannot  say  instantaneously,  but  I  recovered  ' 
from  that  hour ;   and  so  fast,  that  when    I   re-  ' 
turned    to   the   ship,   two   days   afterwards,    I  j 
was  perfectly  well  before  I  got  on  board.    And 
from  that  time,  I  trust,  I  have  been  delivered 
from  the  power  and  dominion  of  sin  ;  though, 
as  to  the  effects  and  conflicts  of  sin  dwelling 
in  me,  I  still  "  groan,  being  burdened."   I  now 
began    again   to   wait   upon   the    Lord ;    and 
though  I   have  often  grieved   his   Spirit,  and 
foolishly    wandered  from   him   since,   (when, 
alas  !   shall  I  be  more  wise  ?)  yet   his   power- 
ful grace  haB  hitherto  preserved  me  from  such 
black  declensions  as  this  I  have  last  recorded  ; 
and  I  humbly  trust  in  his  mercy  and  promises, 
that  he  will  be  my  guide  and   guard   to  the 
end. 

My  leisure  hours  in  this  voyage  were  chiefly 
employed  in  learning  the  Latin  language, 
which  I  had  now  entirely  forgot.  This  de- 
sire took  place  from  an  imitation  I  had  seen  of 
one  of  Horace's  odes  in  a  magazine.  I  began  [ 
the  attempt  under  the  greatest  disadvantages 
possible;  for  I  pitched  upon  a  poet,  perhaps  the 
most  difficult  of  the  poets,  even  Horace  him-  j 
self,  for  my  first  book.  I  had  picked  up  an  old 
English  translation  of  him,  which,  with  Cas-  ; 
talio's  Latin  Bible,  were  all  my  helps.  I  forgot 
a  Dictionary ;  but  I  would  not  therefore  give 
up  my  purpose.  I  had  the  edition  in  usum 
Delphini,  and  by  comparing  the  Odes  with  the 
interpretation,  and  tracing  the  words,  I  could 
understand  from  one  place  to  another,  by  the 
index,  with  the  assistance  I  could  get  from 
the  Latin  Bible;  in  this  way,  by  dint  of  hard 
industry,  often  waking  when  I  might  have 
slept,  I  made  some  progress  before  I  returned, 
and  not  only  understood  the  sense  and  mean- 
ing of  many  Odes,  and  some  of  the  Epistles, 
but  began  to  relish  the  beauties  of  the  compo- 
sition, and  acquire  a  spice  of  what  Mr.  Law 
calls  classical  enthusiasm.  And,  indeed,  by 
this  means,  I  had  Horace  more  ad  unguent 
than  some  who  are  masters  of  the  Latin  tongue ; 
for  my  helps  were  so  few,  that  I  generally  had 
the  passage  fixed  in  my  memory,  before  I 
could  fully  understand  its  meaning. 

My  business  in  the  long  boat,  during  the 
eight  months  we  were  upon  the  coast,  exposed 
me  to  innumerable  dangers  and  perils,  from 
burning  suns,  and  chilling  dews,  winds,  rains, 
and  thunder-storms,  in  the  open  boat ;  and  on 
shore,  from  long  journeys  through  the  woods, 
and  the  temper  of  the  natives,  who  are,  in 
many  places,  cruel,  treacherous,  and  watching 
opportunities  for  mischief.  Several  boats  in 
the  same  time  were  cut  off;  several  white 
men  poisoned,  and,  in  my  own  boat,  I  buried 
six  or  seven  people  with  fevers.  When  going 
en  shore,  or  returning  from  it,  in  their  little 
canoes,  I  have  been  more  than  once  or  twice 
overset  by  the  violence  of  the  surf,  or  break  of 
the  sea,  and  brought  to  land  half  dead  (for 
I  could  not  swim).      An  account  of  such  es- 


capes as  I  still  remember,  would  swell  to  seve- 
ral sheets,  and  many  more  I  have  perhaps  for- 
got;  I  shall  only  select  one  instance,  as  a 
specimen  of  that  wonderful  providence  which 
watched  over  me  for  good,  and  which,  1  doubt 
not,  you  will  think  worthy  of  notice. 

When  our  trade  was  finished,  and  we  were 
near  sailing  to  the  West  Indies,  the  only  re- 
maining service  I  had  to  perform  in  the  boat, 
was  to  assist  in  bringing  the  wood  and  water 
from  the  shore.  We  were  then  at  Rio  Ces- 
tors.  I  used  to  go  into  the  river  in  the  after- 
noon, with  the  sea  breeze,  procure  my  load- 
ing in  the  evening,  and  return  on  board  in 
the  morning,  with  the  land  wind.  Several  of 
these  little  voyages  I  had  made ;  but  the  boat 
was  grown  old,  and  almost  unfit  for  use.  This 
service  likewise  was  almost  completed.  One 
day,  having  dined  on  board,  I  was  preparing 
to  return  to  the  river,  as  formerly  ;  I  had  ta- 
ken leave  of  the  captain,  received  his  orders, 
was  ready  in  the  boat,  and  just  going  to  put 
off',  as  we  term  it ;  that  is,  to  let  go  our  ropes, 
and  sail  from  the  ship.  In  that  instant,  the 
captain  came  up  from  the  cabin,  and  called 
me  on  board  again.  I  went,  expecting  fur- 
ther orders ;  but  he  said  he  had  "  taken  it  in 
his  head"  (as  he  phrased  it),  that  I  should  re- 
main that  day  in  the  ship,  and  accordingly 
ordered  another  man  to  go  in  my  room.  I 
was  surprised  at  this,  as  the  boat  had  never 
been  sent  away  without  me  before ;  and  ask- 
ed him  the  reason.  He  could  give  me  no  rea- 
son, but  as  above,  that  so  he  would  have  it. 
Accordingly,  the  boat  went  without  me,  but 
returned  no  more.  She  sunk  that  night  in 
the  river,  and  the  person  who  had  supplied  my 
place  was  drowned.  I  was  much  struck  when 
we  received  news  of  the  event  the  next  morn- 
ing. The  captain  himself,  though  quite  a 
stranger  to  religion,  so  far  as  to  deny  a  par- 
ticular  providence,  could  not  help  being  af- 
fected ;  but  he  declared,  that  he  had  no  other 
reason  for  countermanding  me  at  that  time, 
but  that  it  came  suddenly  into  his  mind  to 
detain  me.  I  wonder  I  omitted  this  in  my 
eight  letters,  as  I  have  always  thought  it  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  circumstances  of 
my  life. 

I  am,  dear  Sir, 

Your  humble  servan'. 

January,  21,  1763. 


LETTER  XL 

UEAR.  SIR, 
A  few  days  after  I  was  thus  wonderfully 
saved  from  an  unforeseen  danger,  we  sailed 
for  Antigua,  and  from  thence  proceeded  to 
Charleston,  in  South  Carolina.  In  this  place 
there  are  many  serious  people;  but  I  knew 
not  how  to  find  them  out.  Indeed,  I  was  not 
aware  of  a  difference ;   but  supposed,  that  al 


LEI 


XI. 


RETURN   TO  ENGLAND,   &C. 


who  attended  public  worship  were  good  chris- 
tians. I  was  as  much  in  the  dark  about 
preaching,  not  doubting  but  whatever  came 
from  the  pulpit  must  be  very  good.  I  had 
two  or  three  opportunities  of  hearing  a  dis- 
senting minister,  named  Smith,  who,  by  what 
I  have  known  since,  I  believe  to  have  been 
an  excellent  and  powerful  preacher  of  the 
gospel ;  and  there  was  something  in  his  man- 
ner that  struck  me  ;  but  I  did  not  rightly  un- 
derstand him.  The  best  words  that  men  can 
speak  are  ineffectual,  till  explained  and  ap- 
plied by  the  Spirit  of  God,  who  alone  can 
open  the  heart.  It  pleased  the  Lord  for  some 
time,  that  I  should  learn  no  more  than  what 
he  enabled  me  to  collect  from  my  own  expe- 
rience and  reflection.  My  conduct  was  now 
very  inconsistent.  Almost  every  day,  when 
business  would  permit,  I  used  to  retire  into 
the  woods  and  fields  (for  these,  when  at  hand, 
have  always  been  my  favourite  oratories)  ;  and 
I  trust  I  began  to  taste  the  sweets  of  commu- 
nion with  God,  in  the  exercises  of  prayer  and 
praise,  and  yet  I  frequently  spent  the  even- 
ing in  vain  and  worthless  company.  Indeed, 
my  relish  for  worldly  diversions  was  much 
weakened,  and  I  was  rather  a  spectator  than 
a  sharer  in  their  pleasures;  but  I  did  not  as 
yet  see  the  necessity  of  an  absolute  forbear- 
ance. Yet,  as  my  compliance  with  custom 
and  company  was  chiefly  owing  to  want  of 
light,  rather  than  to  an  obstinate  attachment, 
and  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  preserve  me  from 
what  I  knew  was  sinful,  I  had,  for  the  most 
part,  peace  of  conscience,  and  my  strongest 
desires  were  towards  the  things  of  God.  As 
yet  I  knew  not  the  force  of  that  precept, 
"  Abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil,"  but 
very  often  ventured  upon  the  brink  of  temp- 
tation ;  but  the  Lord  was  gracious  to  my 
weakness,  and  would  not  suffer  the  enemy  to 
prevail  against  me.  I  did  not  break  with 
the  world  at  once  (as  might,  in  my  case,  have 
been  expected),  but  I  was  gradually  led  to 
see  the  inconvenience  and  folly  of  one  thing 
after  another,  and,  when  I  saw  it,  the  Lord 
strengthened  me  to  give  it  up.  But  it  was 
some  years  before  I  was  set  quite  at  liberty 
from  occasional  compliance  in  many  things 
in  which,  at  this  time,  I  dare  by  no  means  al- 
low myself. 

We  finished  our  voyage,  and  arrived  in 
L .  When  the  ship's  affairs  were  set- 
tled, I  went  to  London,  and  from  thence  (as 
you  may  suppose)  I  soon  repaired  to  Kent. 
More  than  seven  years  were  now  elapsed  since 
my  first  visit.  No  views  of  the  kind  could 
seem  more  chimerical,  or  could  subsist  under 
greater  discouragements,  than  mine  had  done ; 
yet,  through  the  over-ruling  goodness  of  God, 
while  I  seemed  abandoned  to  myself,  and 
blindly  following  my  own  passions,  I  was  guid- 
ed, by  a  hand  that  I  knew  not,  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  my  wishes.     Every  obstacle  was 


25 

now  removed.  I  had  renounced  my  former 
follies,  my  interest  was  established,  and  friends 
on  all  sides  consenting,  the  point  was  now 
entirely  between  ourselves,  and,  after  what 
had  passed,  was  easily  concluded.  Accord- 
ingly, our  hands  were  joined  on  the  first  of 
February  1750. 

The  satisfaction  I  have  found  in  this  union, 
you  will  suppose,  has  been  greatly  heightened 
by  reflections  on  the  former  disagreeable  con- 
trasts I  had  passed  through,  and  the  views  I 
have  had  of  the  singular  mercy  and  providence 
of  the  Lord  in  bringing  it  to  pass.  If  you 
please  to  look  back  to  the  beginning  of  my 
sixth  letter,  I  doubt  not  but  you  will  allow 
that  few  persons  have  known  more,  either 
of  the  misery  or  happiness,  of  which  human 
life  (as  considered  in  itself)  is  capable.  How 
easily,  at  a  time  of  life  when  I  was  so  little 
capable  of  judging  (but  a  few  months  more 
than  seventeen),  might  my  affections  have 
been  fixed  where  they  could  have  met  with 
no  return,  or  where  success  would  have  been 
the  heaviest  disappointment.  The  long  delay 
I  met  with  was  likewise  a  mercy  ;  for,  had  I 
succeeded  a  year  or  two  sooner,  before  the 
Lord  was  pleased  to  change  my  heart,  we 
must  have  been  mutually  unhappy,  even  as 
to  the  present  life.  Surely  goodness  and  mer- 
cy have  followed  me  all  my  days. 

But  alas !  I  soon  began  to  feel  that  my 
heart  was  still  hard  and  ungrateful  to  the  God 
of  my  life.  This  crowning  mercy,  which  rais- 
ed me  to  all  I  could  ask  or  wish  in  a  tempo- 
ral view,  and  which  ought  to  have  been  ar- 
animating  motive  to  obedience  and  praise,  had 
a  contrary  effect.  I  rested  in  the  gift,  and 
forgot  the  giver.  My  poor  narrow  heart  was 
satisfied.  A  cold  and  careless  frame,  as  to 
spiritual  things,  took  place,  and  gained  ground 
daily.  Happy  for  me,  the  season  was  ad- 
vancing, and  in  June  I  received  orders  to  re- 
pair to  L .      This  roused  me  from  my 

dream.  I  need  not  tell  you,  that  I  found 
the  pains  of  absence  and  separation  fully  pro- 
portioned to  my  preceding  pleasure.  It  was 
hard,  very  hard,  to  part,  especially  as  con- 
science  interfered,  and  suggested  to  me  how 
little  I  deserved  that  we  should  lie  spared  to 
meet  again.  But  the  Lord  supported  me.  I 
was  a  poor  faint  idolatrous  creature ;  but  I 
had  now  some  acquaintance  with  the  way  of 
access  to  a  throne  of  grace,  by  the  blood  of 
Jesus,  and  peace  was  soon  restored  to  my 
conscience.  Yet,  through  all  the  following 
voyage,  my  irregular  and  excessive  affections 
were  as  thorns  in  my  eyes,  and  often  made 
my  other  blessings  tasteless  and  insipid.  But 
He,  who  doth  all  things  well,  over-ruled  this 
likewise  for  good.  It  became  an  occasion  of 
quickening  me  in  prayer,  both  for  her  and 
myself;  it  increased  my  indifference  for  com- 
pany and  amusement ;  it  habituated  me  to 
a  kind  of  vofuntary  self-denial,  which  I  was 


26 


VOYAGE  TO  AFRICA. 


LET.  XI. 


afterwards  taught  to  improve  to  a  better  pur- 
pose. 

While  I  remained  in  England,  we  corre- 
sponded every  post ;  and  all  the  while  I  used 
the  sea  afterwards,  I  constantly  kept  up  the 
practice  of  writing  two  or  three  times  a-week 
(if  weather  and  business  permitted),  though 
no  conveyance  homeward  offered  for  six  or 
eight  months  together.  My  packets  were  usu- 
ally heavy ;  and  as  not  one  of  them  at  any 
time  miscarried,  I  have  to  the  amount  of 
nearly  two  hundred  sheets  of  paper  now  lying 
in  my  bureau  of  that  correspondence.  I  men- 
tion this  little  relief  I  had  contrived  to  soften 
the  intervals  of  absence,  because  it  had  a  good 
effect  beyond  my  first  intention.  It  habituated 
me  to  think  and  write  upon  a  great  variety  of 
subjects  ;  and  I  acquired,  insensibly,  a  greater 
readiness  of  expressing  myself,  than  I  should 
have  otherwise  attained.  As  I  gained  more 
ground  in  religious  knowledge,  my  letters 
became  more  serious,  and,  at  times,  I  still 
find  an  advantage  in  looking  them  over,  es- 
pecially as  they  remind  me  of  many  provi- 
dential incidents,  and  the  state  of  my  mind 
at  different  periods  in  these  voyages,  which 
would  otherwise  have  escaped  my  memory. 

I  sailed   from   L in  August  1750, 

commander  of  a  good  ship.  I  have  no  very 
extraordinary  events  to  recount  from  this  pe- 
riod, and  shall,  therefore,  contract  my  me- 
moirs, lest  I  become  tedious ;  yet  I  am  will- 
ing to  give  you  a  brief  sketch  of  my  history 
down  to  1755,  the  year  of  my  settlement  in 
my  present  situation.  I  had  now  the  com- 
mand and  care  of  thirty  persons  ;  I  endea- 
voured to  treat  them  with  humanity,  and  to 
set  them  a  good  example.  I  likewise  esta- 
blished public  worship,  according  to  the  li- 
turgy, twice  every  Lord's  day,  officiating  my- 
self. Farther  than  this  I  did  not  proceed, 
while  I  continued  in  that  employment. 

Having  now  much  leisure,  I  prosecuted  the 
study  of  the  Latin  with  good  success.  I  re- 
membered a  dictionary  this  voyage,  and  pro- 
cured two  or  three  other  books;  but  still  it 
was  my  hap  to  choose  the  hardest.  I  added 
Juvenal  to  Horace  ;  and,  for  prose  authors,  I 
Ditched  upon  Livy,  Cassar,  and  Sallust.  You 
will  easily  conceive,  Sir,  that  I  had  hard 
work  to  begin  (where  I  should  have  left  off) 
with  Horace  and  Livy.  I  was  not  aware  of 
the  difference  of  style ;  I  had  heard  Livy 
highly  commended,  and  was  resolved  to  un- 
derstand him.  I  began  with  the  first  page, 
and  laid  down  a  rule,  which  I  seldom  depart- 
ed from,  not  to  proceed  to  a  second  period  till 
I  understood  the  first,  and  so  on.  I  was  often 
at  a  stand,  but  seldom  discouraged  ;  here  and 
there  I  found  a  few  lines  quite  obstinate,  and 
was  forced  to  break  in  upon  my  rule,  and  gave 
them  up,  especially  as  my  edition  had  only  the 
text,  without  any  notes  to  assist  me.  But 
there  were   not   many   such ;   for,   before  the 


close  of  that  voyage,  I  could  (with  a  few  ex- 
ceptions) read  Livy  from  end  to  end,  almost  as 
readily  as  an  English  author.  And  I  found, 
in  surmounting  this  difficulty,  I  had  sur- 
mounted all  in  one.  Other  prose  authors,  when 
they  came  in  mv  way,  cost  me  little  trouble. 
In  short,  in  the  space  of  two  or  three  voyages, 
I  became  tolerably  acquainted  with  the  best 
classics  (I  put  all  I  have  to  say  upon  this  sub- 
ject together)  ;  I  read  Terence,  Virgil,  and 
several  pieces  of  Cicero,  and  the  modern  clas- 
sics, Buchanan,  Erasmus,  and  Cassimir.  At 
length  I  conceived  a  design  of  becoming  Ci- 
ceronian myself,  and  thought  it  would  be  a 
fine  thing  indeed  to  write  pure  and  elegant 
Latin.  I  made  some  essays  towards  it,  but 
by  this  time  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  draw  me 
nearer  to  himself,  and  to  give  me  a  fuller  view 
of  the  "  pearl  of  great  price,"  the  inestimable 
treasure  hid  in  the  field  of  the  holy  scriptures ; 
and,  for  the  sake  of  this,  I  was  made  willing 
to  part  with  all  my  newly  acquired  riches.  I 
began  to  think  that  life  was  too  short  (espe- 
cially my  life)  to  admit  of  leisure  for  such 
elaborate  trifling.  Neither  poet  nor  historian 
could  tell  me  a  word  of  Jesus,  and  I  therefore 
applied  myself  to  those  who  could.  The  clas- 
sics were  at  first  restrained  to  one  morning  in 
the  week,  and  at  length  quite  laid  aside.  I 
have  not  looked  into  Livy  these  five  years, 
and  I  suppose  I  could  not  well  understand 
him.  Some  passages  in  Horace  and  Virgil  I 
still  admire,  but  they  seldom  come  in  my 
way.  I  prefer  Buchanan's  Psalms  to  a  whole 
shelf  of  Elzevirs.  But  thus  much  I  have 
gained,  and  more  than  this  I  am  not  solicitous 
about,  so  much  of  the  Latin  as  enables  me  to 
read  any  useful  or  curious  book  that  is  pub- 
lished in  that  language.  About  the  same  time, 
and  for  the  same  reason  that  I  quarrelled  with 
Livy,  I  laid  aside  the  mathematics.  I  found 
they  not  only  cost  me  much  time,  but  engros- 
sed my  thoughts  too  far;  my  head  was  liter- 
ally full  of  schemes.  I  was  weary  of  cold 
contemplative  truths,  which  can  neither  warm 
nor  amend  the  heart,  but  rather  tend  to  ag- 
grandize self.  I  found  no  traces  of  this  wis- 
dom in  the  life  of  Jesus,  or  the  writings 
Paul.  I  do  not  regret  that  I  have  had  son 
opportunities  of  knowing  the  first  principles  of 
these  thiHgs  ;  but  I  see  much  cause  to  praise 
the  Lord,  that  he  inclined  me  to  stop  in  time  ; 
and  that  whilst  I  was  "  spending  my  labour 
for  that  which  is  not  bread,"  he  was  pleased 
to  set  before  me  "  wine  and  milk,  without 
money  and  without  price." 

My  first  voyage  was  fourteen  months, 
through  various  scenes  of  danger  and  difficulty, 
but  nothing  very  remarkable  ;  and  as  I  in- 
tend to  be  more  particular  with  regard  to  the 
second,  I  shall  only  say  that  I  was  preserved 
from  every  harm ;  and  having  seen  many  fall 
on  my  righthand  and  on  my  left,  I  was  brought 
home    in    peace,   and    restored   to  •ivhere  mv 


LET.  XII.  ANOTHER    VOYAGE  TO  AFRICA, 

thoughts  had  been  often  directed,    November 
2,  1751. 


27 


Your's  &c. 


January  22,  1763. 


LETTER  XII. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  almost  wish  I  could  recal  my  last  sheet, 
and  retract  my  promise.  I  fear  I  have  en- 
gaged too  far,  and  shall  prove  a  mere  egotist. 
What  have  I  more  that  can  deserve  your  no- 
tice ?  However,  it  is  some  satisfaction  that  I 
am  now  writing  to  yourself  only  ;  and  I  be- 
lieve, you  will  have  candour  to  excuse,  what 
nothing  but  a  sense  of  your  kindness  could 
extort  from  me. 

Soon  after  the  period  where  my  last  closes, 
that  is,  in  the  interval  between  my  first  and 
second  voyage  after  my  marriage,  I  began  to 
keep  a  sort  of  diary,  a  practice  which  I  have 
found  of  great  use.  I  had,  in  this  interval, 
repeated  proofs  of  the  ingratitude  and  evil  of 
my  heart.  A  life  of  ease,  in  the  midst  of  my 
friends,  and  the  full  satisfaction  of  my  wishes, 
was  not  favourable  to  the  progress  of  grace, 
and  afforded  cause  of  daily  humiliation.  Yet, 
upon  the  whole,  I  gained  ground.  I  became 
acquainted  with  books,  which  gave  me  a  fur- 
ther view  of  christian  doctrine  and  experience, 
particularly  ScougaPs  Life  of  God  in  the  Soul 
of  Man,  Hervey's  Meditations,  and  the  Life 
of  Colonel  Gardiner.  As  to  preaching,  I 
heard  none  but  of  the  common  sort,  and  had 
hardly  an  idea  of  any  better;  neither  had  I 
the  advantage  of  christian  acquaintance ;  I 
was  likewise  greatly  hindered  by  a  cowardly 
reserved  spirit ;  I  was  afraid  of  being  thought 
precise  ;  and,  though  I  could  not  live  without 
prayer,  I  durst  not  propose  it,  even  to  my 
wife,  till  she  herself  first  put  me  upon  it;  so  far 
was  I  from  those  expressions  of  zeal  and  love, 
which  seemed  so  suitable  to  the  case  of  one 
who  has  had  much  forgiven.  In  a  few  months 
the  returning  season  called  me  abroad  again, 
and  I  sailed  from  L  in  a  new  ship, 

July  1752. 

A  sea-faring  life  is  necessarily  excluded 
from  the  benefit  of  public  ordinances  and 
christian  communion  ;  but,  as  I  have  observed, 
my  loss  upon  these  heads  was  at  this  time  but 
small.  In  other  respects,  I  know  not  any 
calling  that  seems  more  favourable,  or  affords 
greater  advantages  to  an  awakened  mind,  for 
promoting  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul,  espe- 
cially to  a  person  who  has  the  command  of  a 
ship,  and  thereby  has  it  in  his  power  to  re- 
strain gross  irregularities  in  others,  and  to  dis- 
pose of  his  own  time ;  and  still  more  so  in 
African  voyages,  as  these  ships  carry  a  double 
proportion  of  men  and  officers  to  most  others, 
which  made  my  department  very  easy ;  and, 


excepting  the  hurry  of  trade,    &c.    upon  the 
coast,  which  is  rather  occasional  than  constant, 
afforded  me  abundance  of  leisure.      To  be  at 
sea  in  these  circumstances,  withdrawn  out  of 
the  reach   of  innumerable  temptations,   with 
opportunity  and  a  turn   of  mind  disposed  to 
observe  the  wonders  of  God  in  the  great  deep, 
with  the  two  noblest  objects  of  sight,  the  ex- 
panded heavens,  and  the  expanded  ocean,  con- 
tinually in  view;  and  where  evident  interpo- 
sitions  of  Divine   Providence,   in  answer    to 
prayer,  occur  almost  every  day  ;  these  are  helps 
to  quicken  and  confirm  the  life  of  faith,  which, 
in  a  good  measure,  supply  to  a  religious  sailor 
the  want  of  those  advantages  which  can  be 
only  enjoyed  upon  the  shore.      And,  indeed, 
though  my  knowledge  of  spiritual   things  (as 
knowledge  is  usually  estimated)  was,    at  this 
time,  very  small,  yet  I  sometimes   look  back 
with  regret  upon  those  scenes.      I  never  knew 
sweeter  or  more  frequent  hours  of  divine  com- 
munion than  in  my  two  lastvoyages  to  Guinea, 
when  I  was  either  almost   secluded   from  so- 
ciety on  ship-board,  or  when  on  shore  among 
the  natives.      I   have  wandered  through  the 
woods,  reflecting  on  the  singular  goodness  of 
the   Lord   to   me,   in  a  place  where,  perhaps, 
there  was  not  a  person  who  knew  him  for  some 
thousand  miles   round    me.      Many   a    time, 
upon    these  occasions,    I    have    restored   the 
beautiful  lines  of  Propertius  to  the  right  own 
er ;  lines    full    of   blasphemy    and    madnes: 
when  addressed  to  a  creature,  but  full  of  com- 
fort and  propriety  in  the  mouth  of  a  believer 

Sic  ego  desertis  possim  bene  vivere  sylvis 
Quo  nulla  humano  sit  via  trita  pede  ; 

Tu  mihi  curarum  requies,  in  node  velatra 
Lumen,  et  in  soils  tu  mihi  turba  locis. 

PARAPHRASED. 

In  desert  woods  with  thee,  my  God, 
Where  human  footsteps  never  trod, 

How  happy  could  I  be  ! 
Thou  my  repose  from  care,  my  light 
Amidst  the  darkness  of  'he  night, 

In  solitude  my  company. 

In  the  course  of  this  voyage  I  was  wonder, 
fully  preserved  in  the  midst  of  many  obvious 
unforeseen  dangers.  At  one  time  there  was  a 
conspiracy  amongst  my  own  people  to  turn 
pirates,  and  take  the  ship  from  me.  When 
the  plot  was  nearly  ripe,  and  they  only 
waited  a  convenient  opportunity,  two  of  those 
concerned  in  it  were  taken  ill  one  day  ;  one 
of  them  died,  and  he  was  the  only  person  I 
buried  while  on  board.  This  suspended  the  < 
affair,  and  opened  a  way  to  its  discovery,  or  j 
the  consequence  might  have  been  fatal.  The 
slaves  on  board  were  likewise  frequently  plot-  ; 
ting  insurrections,  and  were  sometimes  upon 
the  very  brink  of  mischief;  but  it  was  always 
disclosed  in  due  time.  When  I  have  thought 
myself  most  secure,  I  have  been  suddenly  a- 
larmed  with  danger ;  and  when  I  have  almost 
despaired  of  life,  as  sudden  a  deliverance  has 
been  vouchsafed  me.      My  stay  upon  the  coast 


28 


ANOTHER  VOYAGE  TO  AFRICA. 


LET.  XII. 


was  long,  and  tlie  trade  very  precarious  ; 
and,  iu  the  pursuit  of  my  business,  both  on 
board  and  on  shore,  I  was  in  deaths  often. 
Let  the  following  instance  serve  as  a  speci- 
men. 

I  was  at  a  place  called  Mana,  near  Cape 
Mount,  where  I  had  transacted  very  large  con- 
cerns ;  and  had,  at  the  time  I  am  speaking  of, 
some  debts  and  accounts  to  settle,  which  re- 
quired my  attendance  on  shore,  and  I  intend- 
ed to  go  the  next  morning.  When  I  arose, 
I  left  the  ship  according  to  my  purpose  ;  but 
when  I  came  near  the  shore,  the  surf,  or  break 
of  the  sea,  ran  so  high,  that  I  was  almost  a- 
fraid  to  attempt  landing.  Indeed,  I  had  often 
ventured  at  a  worse  time,  but  I  felt  an  in- 
ward hindrance  and  backwardness,  which  I 
could  not  account  for;  the  surf  furnished  a 
pretext  for  indulging  it,  and  after  waiting  and 
hesitating  for  about  half  an  hour,  I  returned 
to  the  ship,  without  doing  any  business ; 
which  I  think  I  never  did,  but  that  morning, 
in  all  the  time  I  used  that  trade.  But  I  soon 
perceived  the  reason  of  all  this.  It  seems,  the 
day  before  I  intended  to  land,  a  scandalous 
and  groundless  charge  had  been  laid  against 
me  (by  whose  instigation  I  could  never  learn), 
which  greatly  threatened  my  honour  and  inter- 
est, both  in  Africa  and  England,  and  would  per- 
haps, humanly  speaking,  have  affected  my  life, 
if  I  had  landed  according  to  my  intention. 
I  shall,  perhaps,  inclose  a  letter,  which  will 
give  a  full  account  of  this  strange  adventure  ; 
and  therefore  shall  say  no  more  of  it  here,  any 
further  than  to  tell  you,  that  an  attempt,  aimed 
to  destroy  either  my  life  or  my  character,  and 
which  might  very  probably,  in  its  consequences 
have  ruined  my  voyage,  passed  off'  without  the 
least  inconvenience.  The  person  most  con- 
cerned owed  rne  about  a  hundred  pounds, 
which  he  sent  me  in  a  huff;  and  otherwise, 
perhaps,  would  not  have  paid  me  at  all.  I 
was  very  uneasy  for  a  few  hours,  but  was  soon 
afterwards  comforted.  I  heard  no  more  of 
my  accusation,  till  the  next  voyage,  and  then 
it  was  publicly  acknowledged  to  have  been  a 
malicious  calumny,  without  the  least  shadow 
of  a  ground. 

Such  were  the  vicissitudes  and  difficulties 
through  which  the  Lord  preserved  me.  Now 
and  then  both  faith  and  patience  were  sharply 
exercised,  but  suitable  strength  was  given  ; 
and  as  those  things  did  not  occur  every  day, 
the  study  of  the  Latin,  of  which  I  gave  a  ge- 
neral account  in  my  last,  was  renewed,  and 
carried  on  from  time  to  time,  when  business 
would  permit.  I  was  mostly  very  regular  in 
the  management  of  my  time.  I  allotted  about 
tight  hours  for  sleep  and  meals,  eight  hours 
for  exercise  and  devotion,  and  eight  hours  to 
my  books  ;  and  thus,  by  diversifying  my  en- 
gagements, the  whole  day  was  agreeably  filled 
up,  and  I  seldom  found  a  day  too  long,  or  an 
hour  to  spare.      My  studies  kept  me  employ- 


ed, and  so  far  it  was  well ;  otherwise  they 
were  hardly  worth  the  time  they  cost,  as  they 
led  me  to  an  admiration  of  false  models  and 
false  maxims  ;  an  almost  unavoidable  conse- 
quence, I  suppose,  of  an  admiration  of  classic 
authors.  Abating  what  I  have  attained  of 
the  language,  I  think  I  might  have  read  Cas- 
sandra or  Cleopatra  to  as  good  purpose  as  I 
read  Livy,  whom  I  now  account  an  equal  ro- 
mancer, though  in  a  different  way. 

From  the  coast,  I  went  to  St.  Christopher's  ; 
and  here  my  idolatrous  heart  was  its  own  pun- 
ishment. The  letters  I  expected  from  Mrs. 
j^«.«»*  were,  by  mistake,  forwarded  to  An- 
tigua, which  had  been  at  first  proposed  as  our 
port.  As  I  was  certain  of  her  punctuality  in 
writing,  if  alive,  I  concluded,  by  not  hearing 
from  her,  that  she  was  surely  dead.  This  fear 
affected  me  more  and  more  ;  I  lost  my  appe- 
tite and  rest;  I  felt  an  incessant  pain  in  my 
stomach,  and  in  about  three  weeks  time  I  was 
near  sinking  under  the  weight  of  an  imagi- 
nary stroke.  I  felt  some  severe  symptoms  of 
that  mixture  of  pride  and  madness,  which  is 
commonly  called  a  broken  heart;  and,  indeed, 
I  wonder  that  this  case  is  not  more  common 
than  it  appears  to  be.  How  often  do  the  pot- 
sherds of  the  earth  presume  to  contend  with 
their  Maker  !  and  what  a  wonder  of  mercy  is 
it,  that  they  are  not  all  broken  !  However,  my 
complaint  was  not  all  grief;  conscience  had  a 
share.  I  thought  my  unfaithfulness  to  God 
had  deprived  me  of  her,  especially  my  back- 
wardness in  speaking  of  spiritual  things,  which 
I  could  hardly  attempt  even  to  her..  It  was 
this  thought,  that  I  had  lost  invaluable,  irre- 
coverable opportunities,  which  both  duty  and 
affection  should  have  engaged  me  to  improve, 
that  chiefly  stung  me ;  and  I  thought  I  could 
have  given  the  world  to  know  she  was  living, 
that  I  might  at  least  discharge  my  engagements 
by  writing,  though  I  were  never  to  see  her 
again.  This  was  a  sharp  lesson,  but  I  hope  it 
did  me  good  ;  and  when  I  had  thus  suffered 
some  weeks,  I  thought  of  sending  a  small 
vessel  to  Antigua.  I  did  so,  and  she  brought 
me  several  packets,  which  restored  my  health 
and  peace,  and  gave  me  a  strong  contrast  of 
the  Lord's  goodness  to  me,  and  my  unbelief 
and  ingratitude  towards  him. 

In  August,  1 753,  I  returned  to  L 
My  stay  was  very  short  at  home  that  voyage, 
only  six  weeks;  in  that  space  nothing  very 
remarkable  occurred  ;  I  shall  therefore  begin 
my  next  with  an  account  of  my  third  and  last 
voyage.  And  thus  I  give  both  you  and  my- 
self hopes  of  a  speedy  period  to  these  memoirs, 
which  begin  to  be  tedious  and  minute,  even 
to  myself;  only  I  am  animated  by  the  thought 
that  I  write  at  your  request,  and  have  there- 
fore an  opportunity  of  showing  myself, 

Your  obliged  servant 

January  31,  1763. 


LET.  XIII. 


LAST   VOYAGE  TO  AFRICA. 


29 


LETTER  XIII. 


DEAR  SIR, 

My  third  voyage  was  shorter  and  less  perplex- 
ed than  either  of  the  former.  Before  I  sail- 
ed, I  met  with  a  young  man,  who  had  former- 
ly been  a  midshipman  and  my  intimate  com- 
panion, on  board  the   Harwich.      He  was,  at 


he  gave  a  hasty  loose  to  every  appetite ;  and 
Ids  violent  irregularities,  joined  to  the  heat  of 
the  climate,  soon  threw  him  into  a  malignant 
fever,  which  carried  him  off*  in  a  few  days. 
He  died  convinced,  but  not  changed.  The 
account  I  had  from  those  who  were  with  him 
was  dreadful  ;  his  rage  and  despair  struck 
them  all  with  horror,  and  he  pronounced  his 
own  fatal  doom  before  he  expired,  without  any 


the  time  I  first  knew  him,  a  sober  youth,  but  appearance  that  he  either  hoped  or  asked  for 


I  found  too  much  success  in  my  unhappy  at- 
tempts to  infect  him  with  libertine  principles. 
When  we  met  at  L— — — ,  our  acquaintance 
renewed  upon  the  ground  of  our  former  inti- 
macy. He  had  good  sense,  and  had  read 
many  books.  Our  conversation  frequently 
turned  upon  religion,  and  I  was  desirous  to 
repair  the  mischief  I  had  done  him.  I  gave 
him  a  plain  account  of  the  manner  and  reason 
of  my  change,  and  used  every  argument  to 
persuade  him  to  relinquish  his  infidel  schemes  ; 
and  when  I  sometimes  pressed  him  so  close, 
that  he  had  no  other  reply  to  make,  he  would 
remind  me  that  I  was  the  very  first  person 
who  had  given  him  an  idea  of  his  liberty. 
This  occasioned  me  many  mournful  reflec- 
tions. He  was  then  going  master  to  Guinea 
himself,  but  before  his  ship  was  ready,  his 
merchant  became  a  bankrupt,  which  discon- 
certed his  voyage.  As  he  had  no  further  ex 
pectations  for  that  year,  I  offered  to  take  him 
with  me  as  a  companion,  that  he  might  gain  a 
knowledge  of  the  coast ;  and  the  gentleman 
who  employed  me  promised  to  provide  for  him 
upon  his  return.  My  view  in  this  was  not  so 
much  to  serve  him  in  his  business,  as  to  have 
opportunity  of  debating  the  point  with  him  at 
leisure ;  and  I  hoped,  in  the  course  of  my 
voyage,  my  arguments,  example,  and  prayers, 
might  have  some  good  effect  on  him.  My  in- 
tention in  this  step  was  better  than  my  judg- 
ment, and  I  had  frequent  reason  to  repent  it. 
He  was  exceedingly  profane,  and  grew  worse 
and  worse  :  I  saw  in  him  a  most  lively  picture 
of  what  I  had  once  been,  but  it  was  very  in- 
convenient to  have  it  always  before  my  eyes. 
Besides,  he  was  not  only  deaf  to  my  remon- 
strances himself,  but  laboured  all  that  he 
coidd  to  counteract  my  influence  upon  others. 
His  spirit  and  passions  were  likewise  exceed- 
ing high,  so  that  it  required  all  my  prudence 
and  authority  to  hold  him  in  any  degree  of 
restraint.  He  was  as  a  sharp  thorn  in  my 
side  for  some  time ;  but  at  length  I  had  an 
opportunity  upon  the  coast  of  buying  a  small 
vessel,  which  1  supplied  with  a  cargo  from  my 
own,  and  gave  him  the  command,  and  sent 
him  away  to  trade  on  the  ship's  account. 
When  we  parted,  I  repeated  and  enforced  my 
best  advice.  I  believe  his  friendship  and  re- 
gard were  as  great  as  could  be  expected,  where 
principles  were  so  diametrically  opposite.  He 
seemed  greatly  affected  when  I  left  him,  but 
my  words  had  no  weight  with  him.  When  he 
•bund  himself  at  liberty  from  under  my  eye, 


mercy.  I  thought  this  awful  contrast  might 
not  be  improper  to  give  you,  as  a  stronger 
view  of  the  distinguishing  goodness  of  God  to 
me,  the  chief  of  sinners. 

I  left  the  coast  in  about  four  months,  and 
sailed  for  St.  Christopher's.  Hitherto  I  had 
enjoyed  a  perfect  state  of  health,  equally  in 
every  climate,  for  several  years ;  but,  upon 
this  passage,  I  was  visited  with  a  fever,  which 
gave  me  a  very  near  prospect  of  eternity.  I 
have  obtained  liberty  to  inclose  you  three  or 
four  letters,  which  will  more  clearly  illustrate 
the  state  and  measure  of  my  experience,  at 
different  times,  than  any  thing  I  can  say  at 
present.  One  of  them  you  will  find  was  writ- 
ten at  this  period,  when  I  could  hardly  hold  a 
pen,  and  had  some  reason  to  believe  I  should 
write  no  more.  I  had  not  that  vrXngotpopia* , 
which  is  so  desirable  at  a  time  when  flesh  and 
heart  fail ;  but  my  hopes  were  greater  than  my 
fears,  and  I  felt  a  silent  composure  of  spirit, 
which  enabled  me  to  wait  the  event  without 
much  anxiety.  My  trust,  though  weak  in  de- 
gree, was  alone  fixed  upon  the  blood  and 
righteousness  of  Jesus  ;  and  those  words,  "  he 
is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost,"  gave  me 
great  relief.  I  was  for  a  while  troubled  with 
a  very  singular  thought.  Whether  it  was  a 
temptation,  or  that  the  fever  disordered  my 
faculties,  I  cannot  say,  but  I  seemed  not  so 
much  afraid  of  wrath  and  punishment,  as  of 
being  lost  and  overlooked  amidst  the  myriads 
that  arc  continually  entering  the  unseen  world. 
What  is  my  soul,  thought  I,  among  such  an 
innumerable  multitude  of  beings  ?  And  this 
troubled  me  greatly.  Perhaps  the  Lord  will 
take  no  notice  of  me.  I  was  perplexed  thus 
for  some  time,  but  at  last  a  text  of  scripture, 
very  apposite  to  the  case,  occured  to  my  mind, 
and  put  an  end  to  the  doubt :  "  The  Lord 
knoweth  them  that  are  his."  In  about  ten 
days,  beyond  the  hopes  of  those  about  me,  I 
began  to  amend,  and  by  the  time  of  our  arrival 
in  the  West  Indies,  I  was  perfectly  recover- 
ed.— I  hope  this  visitation  was  made  useful 
to  me. 

Thus  far,  that  is,  for  about  the  space  of  six 
years,  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  lead  me  in  a 
secret  way.  I  had  learned  something  of  the 
evil  of  my  heart ;  I  had  read  the  Bible  over 
and  over,  with  several  good  books,  and  had  a 
general  view  of  gospel  truths.  But  my  con- 
ceptions were,    in  many  respects,    confused; 

*  Full  assurance. 


LAST  VOYAGE  TO  AFRICA,  &C. 


30 

not  having,  in  all  tliis  time,  met  with  one  ac- 
quaintance who  could  assist  my  inquiries. 
But  upon  my  arrival  at  St.  Christopher's,  this 
voyage,  I  found  a  captain  of  a  ship  from  Lon- 
don, whose  conversation  was  greatly  helpful 
to   me.      He  was,  and  is   a  member  of  Mr. 

B r's  church,  a  man  of  experience  in  the 

things  of  God,  and  of  a  lively,  communicative 
turn.  We  discovered  each  other  by  some  ca- 
sual expressions  in  mixed  company,  and  soon 
became  (so  far  as  business  would  permit)  in- 
separable. For  near  a  month,  we  spent  every 
evening  together,  on  board  each  other's  ship 
alternately,  and  often  prolonged  our  visits  till 
towards  day-break.  I  was  all  ears  ;  and  what 
was  better,  he  not  only  informed  my  under- 
standing, but  his  discourse  inflamed  my  heart. 
He  encouraged  me  to  open  my  mouth  in  so- 
cial prayer ;  he  taught  me  the  advantage  of 
christian  converse  ;  he  put  me  upon  an  attempt 
to  make  my  profession  more  public,  and  to 
venture  to  speak  for  God.  From  him,  or  ra- 
ther from  the  Lord,  by  his  means,  I  received 
an  increase  of  knowledge ;  my  conceptions 
became  clearer  and  more  evangelical,  and  I 
was  delivered  from  a  fear  which  had  long  trou- 
bled me,  the  fear  of  relapsing  into  my  former 
apostacy.  But  now  I  began  to  understand 
the  security  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  to 
expect  to  be  preserved,  not  by  my  own  power 
and  holiness,  but  by  the  mighty  power  and 
promise  of  God,  through  faith  in  an  unchange- 
able Saviour.  He  likewise  gave  me  a  gene- 
ral view  of  the  state  of  religion,  with  the  errors 
and  controversies  of  the  times  (things  to 
which  I  had  been  entirely  a  stranger),  and  fi- 
nally directed  me  where  to  apply  in  London 
for  further  instruction.  With  these  newly  ac- 
quired advantages,  I  left  him,  and  my  passage 
homewards  gave  me  leisure  to  digest  what  I 
had  received.  I  had  much  comfort  and  free- 
dom during  those  seven  weeks,  and  my  sun 

was  seldom  clouded.     I  arrived  safe  in  L , 

August,  1754. 

My  stay  at  home  was  intended  to  be  but 
short,  and  by  the  beginning  of  November,  I 
«vas  again  ready  for  the  sea  :  but  the  Lord  saw 
fit  to  over-rule  my  design.  During  the  time  I 
was  engaged  in  the  slave  trade,  I  never  had 
the  least  scruple  as  to  its  lawfulness.  I  was, 
upon  the  whole,  satisfied  with  it,  as  the  ap- 
pointment Providence  had  marked  out  for  me  ; 
yet  it  was,  in  many  respects,  far  from  eligible. 
It  is,  indeed,  accounted  a  genteel  employ- 
ment, and  is  usually  very  profitable,  though 
to  me  it  did  not  prove  so,  the  Lord  seeing 
that  a  large  increase  of  wealth  could  not  be 
good  for  me.  However,  I  considered  myself 
as  a  sort  of  gaoler  or  turnkey  ;  and  I  was 
sometimes  shocked  with  an  employment  that 
was  perpetually  conversant  with  chains,  boits, 
and  shackles.  In  this  view  I  had  often  peti- 
tioned, in  my  prayers,  that  the  Lord,  in  his 


LET.  XIII. 


own  time,  would  be  pleased  to  fix  me  in  a 
more  humane  calling,  anl,  if  it  might  be, 
place  me  where  I  might  have  more  frequent 
converse  with  his  people  and  ordinances,  and 
be  freed  from  those  long  separations  from 
home,  which  very  often  were  hard  to  bear. 
My  prayers  were  now  answered,  though  in  a 
way  I  little  expected.  I  now  experienced  ano- 
ther sudden,  unforeseen  change  of  life.  I  was 
within  two  days  of  sailing,  and,  to  all  appear- 
ance in  good  health  as  usual  ;  but  in  the  after- 
noon, as  I  was  sitting  with  Mrs.  N*****,  by 
ourselves,  drinking  tea,  and  talking  over  past 
events,  I  was  in  a  moment  seized  with  a  fit, 
which  deprived  me  of  sense  and  motion,  and 
left  me  no  other  sign  of  life  than  that  of 
breathing.  I  suppose  it  was  of  the  apoplectic 
kind.  It  lasted  about  an  hour,  and  when  I 
recovered,  it  left  a  pain  and  dizziness  in  my 
head,  which  continued  with  such  symptoms, 
as  induced  the  physicians  to  judge  it  would 
not  be  safe  or  prudent  for  me  to  proceed  on 
the  voyage.  Accordingly,  by  the  advice  of 
my  friend,  to  whom  the  ship  belonged,  I  re- 
signed the  command  the  day  before  she  sailed  ; 
and  thus  I  was  unexpectedly  called  from  that 
service,  and  freed  from  a  share  of  the  future 
consequences  of  that  voyage,  which  proved  ex- 
tremely calamitous.  The  person  who  went  in 
my  room,  most  of  the  officers,  and  many  of  the 
crew,  died,  and  the  vessel  was  brought  home 
with  great  difficulty. 

As  I  was  now  disengaged  from  business,  T 
left  Li  i  ,  and  spent  most  of  the  following 

year  at  London,  and  in  Kent.  But  I  entered 
upon  a  new  trial.      You  will  easily  conceive 


that   Mrs.    N* 


was  not  an  unconcerned 


spectator,  when  I  lay  extended,  and,  as  she 
thought,  expiring  upon  the  ground.  In  effect, 
the  blow  that  struck  me  reached  her  in  the 
same  instant:  she  did  not,  indeed,  immediate- 
ly feel  it,  till  her  apprehensions  on  my  account 
began  to  subside;  but  as  I  grew  better,  she 
became  worse  :  her  surprise  threw  her  into  a 
disorder,  which  no  physicians  could  define,  or 
medicines  remove.  Without  any  of  the  ordi- 
nary symptoms  of  a  consumption,  she  decay 
ed  almost  visibly,  till  she  became  so  weak  that 
she  could  hardly  bear  any  one  to  walk  across 
the  room  she  was  in.  I  w  as  placed  for  about 
eleven  months  in  what  Dr.  Y'oung  calls  the 

"  — dreadful  post  of  observation, 
Darker  every  hour." 

It  was  not  till  after  my  settlement  in  my 
present  station,  that  the  Lord  was  pleased  to 
restore  her  by  his  own  hand,  when  all  hopes 
from  ordinary  means  were  at  an  end.  But 
before  this  took  place,  I  have  some  other  par- 
ticulars to  mention,  which  must  be  the  sub- 
ject of  the  following  sheet,  which  I  hope  will 
be  the  last  on  this  subject,  from 

Y'our  affectionate  servant. 

February  1,  1764. 


LET.  XIV. 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  NAIUIATU  E. 


31 


LETTER  XIV. 

DEAR  SIR, 

By  the  directions  I  had  received  from  my 
friend  at  St.  Kitt's,  I  soon  found  out  a  religi- 
ous acquaintance  in  London.      I  first  applied 

to  Mr.  B ,  and  chiefly  attended  upon  his 

ministry,  when  in  town.  From  him  I  receiv- 
ed many  helps  both  in  public  and  private  ;  for 
he  was  pleased  to  favour  me  with  his  friend- 
ship from  the  first.  His  kindness  and  the  in- 
timacy between  us  have  continued  and  increas- 
ed to  this  day  ;  and  of  all  my  many  friends,  I 
am  most  deeply  indebted  to  him.      The  late 

Mr.  H d  was  my  second  acquaintance ;  a 

man  of  a  choice  spirit,  and  an  abundant  zeal 
for  the  Lord's  service.  I  enjoyed  his  corre- 
spondence till  near  the  time  of  his  death.  Soon 
after,  upon  Mr.  W d's  return  from  Ame- 
rica, my  two  good  friends  introduced  me  to 
him  ;  and  though  I  had  little  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  him  till  afterwards,  his  mini- 
stry was  exceeding  useful  to  me.  I  had  like- 
wise access  to  some  religious  societies,  and  be- 
came known  to  many  excellent  christians  in 
private  life.  Thus,  when  at  London,  I  lived 
at  the  fountain-head,  as  it  were,  for  spiritual 
advantages.  When  I  was  in  Kent,  it  was 
very  different,  yet  I  found  some  serious  per- 
sons  there  ;  but  the  fine  variegated  woodland 
country  afforded  me  advantages  of  another 
kind.  Most  of  my  time,  at  least  some  hours 
every  day,  I  passed  in  retirement,  when  the 
weather  was  fair;  sometimes  in  the  thickest 
woods,  sometimes  on  the  highest  hills,  where 
almost  every  step  varied  the  prospect.  It  has 
been  my  custom  for  many  years,  to  perform 
my  devotional  exercises  sub  dio,  when  I  have 
opportunity,  and  I  always  find  these  rural 
scenes  have  some  tendency  both  to  refresh 
and  compose  my  spirits.  A  beautiful  diver- 
sified prospect  gladdens  my  heart.  When  I 
am  withdrawn  from  the  noise  and  petty  works 
of  men,  I  consider  myself  as  in  the  great  tem- 
ple, which  the  Lord  has  built  for  his  own 
honour. 

The  country  between  Rochester  and  Maid- 
stone, bordering  upon  the  Medway,  was  well 
suited  to  the  turn  of  my  mind ;  and  was  I  to 
go  over  it  now,  I  could  point  to  many  a  place 
where  I  remember  either  to  have  earnestly 
sought,  or  happily  found,  the  Lord's  com- 
fortable presence  with  my  soul.  And  thus  I 
lived,  sometimes  at  London,  and  sometimes 
in  the  country,  till  the  autumn  of  the  follow- 
ing year.  All  this  while  I  had  two  trials, 
more  or  less,  upon  my  mind  ;  the  first  and 


principal  was  Mrs.  N* 


's  illness  ;  she  still 


grew  worse,  and  I  had  daily  more  reason  to 
fear  that  the  hour  of  separation  was  at  hand. 
When  faith  was  in  exercise,  I  was  in  some 
measure  resigned  to  the  Lord's  will ;  but  too 


often  my  heart  rebelled,  and  1  found  it  hard 
either  to  trust  or  to  submit.  I  had  likewise 
some  care  about  my  future  settlement ;  the 
African  trade  was  overdone  that  year,  and  my 
friends  did  not  care  to  fit  out  another  ship  till 
mine  returned.  I  was  some  time  in  suspense ; 
but,  indeed,  a  provision  of  food  and  raiment 
has  seldom  been  a  cause  of  great  solicitude  to 
me.  I  found  it  easier  to  trust  the  Lord  in 
this  point  than  in  the  former,  and  accordingly 
this  was  first  answered.  In  August  I  receiv- 
ed an  account  that  I  was  nominated  to  the 
office  of .  These  places  are  usually  ob- 
tained, or  at  least  sought,  by  dint  of  much 
interest  and  application ;  but  this  came  to  me 
unsought  and  unexpected.      I  knew,  indeed, 

my  good  friend  in  L had  endeavoured 

to  procure  another  post  for  me,  but  found  it 
pre-engaged.  I  found  afterwards,  that  the 
place  I  had  missed  would  have  been  very  un- 
suitable for  me,  and  that  this,  which  I  had  no 
thought  of,  was  the  very  thing  I  could  have 
wished  for,  as  it  afforded  me  much  leisure, 
and  the  liberty  of  living  in  my  own  way.  Se- 
veral circumstances,  unnoticed  by  others,  con- 
curred, to  shew  me  that  the  good  hand  of 
the  Lord  was  as  remarkably  concerned  in 
this  event  as  in  any  other  leading  turn  of  my 
life. 

But  when  I  gained  this  point,  my  distress 
in  the  other  was  doubled ;  I  was  obliged  to 
leave  Mrs.N*****,  in  the  greatest  extremity 
of  pain  and  illness,  when  the  physicians  could 
do  no  more,  and  I  had  no  ground  of  hope 
that  I  should  see  her  again  alive,  but  this, 
that  nothing  is  impossible  with  the  Lord.  1 
had  a  severe  conflict ;  but  faith  prevailed. 
I  found  the  promise  remarkably  fulfilled,  of 
strength  proportioned  to  my  need.  The  day 
before  I  set  out,  and  not  till  then,  the  burden 
was  entirely  taken  from  my  mind.  I  was 
strengthened  to  resign  both  her  and  myself 
to  the  Lord's  disposal,  and  departed  from 
her  in  a  cheerful  frame.  Soon  after  I  was 
gone,  she  began  to  amend,  and  recovered  so 
fast,  that  in  about  two  months  I  had  the  plea- 
sure to  meet  her  at  Stone,  on  her  journey  to 
L . 

And  now,  I  think,  I  have  answered,  if  not 
exceeded,  your  desire.  Since  October  1755, 
we  have  been  comfortably  settled  here,  and  all 
my  circumstances  have  been  as  remarkably 
smooth  and  uniform  as  they  were  various  in 
former  years.  My  trials  have  been  light  and 
few,  not  but  that  I  still  find,  in  the  experi- 
ence of  every  day,  the  necessity  of  a  life  of 
faith.  My  principal  trial  is,  the  body  of  sin 
and  death,  which  makes  me  often  to  sigh 
out  the  apostle's  complaint,  "  O  wretched 
man,  &c."  But  with  him  likewise  I  can  say, 
"  I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  my 
Lord."  I  live  in  a  barren  land,  where  the 
knowledge  and  power  of  the  gospel  is  very 
low ;  yet  here  are  a  few  of  the  Lord's  peo- 


82 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  NARRATIVE. 


LET.   XJV 


pie  ;  and  this  wilderness  has  been  a  useful 
school  to  me,  where  I  have  studied  more 
leisurely  the  truths  which  I  gathered  up  in 
Lonrlon.  I  brought  down  with  me  a  consi- 
derable stock  of  notional  truth  ;  but  I  have 
since  found,  that  there  is  no  effectual  teacher 
but  God  ;  that  we  can  receive  no  further  than 
he  is  pleased  to  communicate  ;  and  that  no 
knowledge  is  truly  useful  to  me,  but  what  is 
made  my  own  by  experience.  Many  things, 
I  thought  I  had  learned,  would  not  stand  in 
an  hour  of  temptation,  till  I  had  in  this  way 
learned  them  over  again.  Since  the  year 
1757,  I  have  had  an  increasing  acquaintance 
in  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  where  the 
gospel  flourishes  greatly.  This  has  been  a 
good  school  to  me.  I  have  conversed  at  large 
among  all  parties,  without  joining  any  ;  and 
in  my  attempts  to  hit  the  golden  mean,  I  have 
sometimes  been  drawn  too  near  the  different 
extremes;  yet  the  Lord  has  enabled  me  to 
profit  by  my  mistakes.  In  brief,  I  am  still  a 
learner,  and  the  Lord  still  condescends  to 
teach  me.  I  begin  at  length  to  see  that  I 
have  attained  but  very  little ;  but  I  trust  in 
him  to  carry  on  his  own  work  in  my  soul,  and, 
by  all  the  dispensations  of  his  grace  and  pro- 
vidence, to  increase  my  knowledge  of  him  and 
of  myself. 

When  I  was  fixed  in  a  house,  and  found 
my  business  would  afford  me  much  leisure 
time,  I  considered  in  what  manner  I  should 
improve  it.  And  now,  having  reason  to  close 
with  the  apostle's  determination,  "  to  know 
nothing  but  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified," 
I  devoted  my  life  to  the  prosecution  of  spiritual 
knowledge,  and  resolved  to  pursue  nothing 
but  in  subservience  to  this  main  design.  This 
resolution  divorced  me,  as  I  have  already 
hinted,  from  the  classics  and  mathematics. 
My  first  attempt  was  to  learn  so  much  Greek 
as  would  enable  me  to  understand  the  New 
Testament  and  Septuagint ;  and  when  I  had 
made  some  progress  this  way,  I  entered  upon 
the  Hebrew  the  following  year ;  and  two  years 
afterwards,  having  surmised  some  advantages 
from  the  Syriac  version,  I  began  with  that 
language.  You  must  not  think  that  I  have 
attained,  or  ever  aimed  at,  a  critical  skill  in 
any  of  these.  I  had  no  business  with  them, 
but  as  in  reference  to  something  else.  I  ne- 
ver read  one  classic  author  in  the  Greek.  I 
thought  it  too  late  in  life  to  take  such  a  round 
in  this  language  as  I  had  done  in  the  Latin. 
I  only  wanted  the  signification  of  scriptural 
words  and  phrases ;  and  for  this  I  thought  I 
might  avail  myself  of  Scapula,  the  Synopsis, 
and  others,  who  had  sustained  the  drudgery 
before  me.  In  the  Hebrew,  I  can  read  the 
historical  books  and  psalms  with  tolerable  ease; 
but  in  the  prophetical  and  difficult  parts,  I  am 
frequently  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  lexi- 
cons, &c.  However,  I  know  so  much  as  to 
be  able,  with   such   helps  as  are  at  hand,   to 


judge  for  myself  the  meaning  of  any  passage 
I  have  occasion  to  consult.  Beyond  this  I  do 
not  think  of  proceeding,  if  I  can  find  better 
employment ;  for  I  would  rather  be  some  way 
useful  to  others,  than  die  with  the  reputation 
of  an  eminent  linguist. 

Together  with  these  studies,  I  have  kept 
up  a  course  of  reading  of  the  best  writers  in 
divinity  that  have  come  to  my  hand,  in  the 
Latin  and  English  tongues,  and  some  French; 
for  I  picked  up  the  French  at  times  while  I 
used  the  sea.  But  within  these  two  or  three 
years  I  have  accustomed  myself  chiefly  to 
writing,  and  have  not  found  time  to  read 
many  books  besides  the  scriptures. 

I  am  the  more  particular  in  this  account,  as 
my  case  has  been  somewhat  singular  ;  for,  in 
all  my  literary  attempts,  I  'lave  been  obliged 
to  strike  out  my  own  path,  by  the  light  I 
could  acquire  from  books,  as  I  have  not  had 
a  teacher  or  assistant  since  I  was  ten  years  of 
age. 

One  word  concerning  my  views  to  the  mi 
nistry,  and  I  have  done.  I  have  told  you, 
that  this  was  my  dear  mother's  hope  concern- 
ing me;  but  her  death,  and  the  scenes  of  life 
in  which  I  afterwards  engaged,  seemed  to  cut 
off  the  probability.  The  first  desires  of  this 
sort  in  my  own  mind,  arose  many  years  ago, 
from  a  reflection  on  Gal.  i.  23,  24.  I  could 
not  but  wish  for  such  a  public  opportunity  to 
testify  the  riches  of  divine  grace.  I  thought 
I  was,  above  most  living,*  a  fit  person  to  pro- 
claim that  faithful  saying,  "  That  Jesus  Christ 
came  into  the  world  to  save  the  chief  of  sin- 
ners;" and  as  my  life  had  been  full  of  re- 
markable turns,  and  1  seemed  selected  to  show 
what  the  Lord  could  do,  I  was  in  some  hopes 
that,  perhaps,  sooner  or  later,  he  might  call 
me  into  his  service. 

I  believe  it  was  a  distant  hope  of  this  that 
determined  me  to  study  the  original  scrip- 
tures; but  it  remained  an  imperfect  desire  in 
my  own  breast,  till  it  was  recommended  to 
me  by  some  christian  friends.  I  started  at 
the  thought,  when  first  seriously  proposed  to 
me ;  but  afterwards  set  apart  some  weeks  to 
consider  the  case,  to  consult  my  friends,  and 
to  intreat  the  Lord's  direction.  The  judg. 
ment  of  my  friends,  and  many  things  that 
occurred,  tended  to  engage  me.  My  first 
thought  was  to  join  the  dissenters,  from  a 
presumption  that  I  could  not  honestly  make 

the  required  subscriptions  ;   but  Mr.  C , 

in  a  conversation  upon  these  points,  mode- 
rated my  scruples ;  and  preferring  the  esta- 
blished church  in  some  other  respects,  I  ac- 
cepted a  title  from  him,  some  months  after- 
wards, and  solicited  ordination  from  the  late 
archbishop  of  York.  I  need  not  tell  you  I 
met  a  refusal,  nor  what  steps  I  took  after- 
wards to  succeed  elsewhere.  At  present  I 
desist  from  any  applications.  My  desire  to 
serve  the  Lord  is  not  weakened  ;    but   I  am 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  NARRATIVE. 


LET.  XIV. 

not  so  hasty  to  push  myself  forward  as  I  was 
formerly.  It  is  sufficient  that  he  knows  how 
to  dispose  of  me,  and  that  he  both  can  and 
will  do  what  is  best.  To  him  I  commend 
myself:  I  trust  that  his  will  and  my  true  in- 
terest are  inseparable.  To  his  name  be  glory 
for  ever.    And  thus  I  conclude  my  story,  and 


presume  you  will  acknowledge  I  have  been 
particular  enough.  I  have  room  for  no  more, 
but  to  repeat  that 

I  am,  Sir, 

Your's,  &c. 
February  2,  1764. 


I 


FORTY-ONE  LETTERS 


ON 


RELIGIOUS    SUBJECTS. 


OHfGlNAXLY 


PUBLISHED   UNDER  THE  SIGNATURES 


OF 


OMICRON  AND  VIGIL. 


LETTERS 


ON 


RELIGIOUS  SUBJECTS. 


LETTER  I. 


ON  TRUST  IN  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD,    AND  BENEVOLENCE   TO  HIS  POOR, 


MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

The  more  I  think  of  the  point  you  proposed 
to  me,  the  more  I  am  confirmed  to  renew  the 
advice  I  then  gave.      There  is  doubtless  such 
a  thing  as  christian  prudence  ;  but,  my  friend, 
beware   of  counterfeits.       Self-love,   and  the 
evil  heart  of  unbelief,  will  endeavour  to  ob- 
trude upon  us  a  prudence  so  called,  which  is 
as  opposite  to  the  former  as  darkness  to  light. 
I  do  not  say  that,  now  you  have  a  wife,  and 
the  prospect  of  a  family,  you  are  strictly  bound 
to  communicate  with  the   poor  in  the   same 
proportion  as  formerly.      I  say,  you  are  not 
bound  ;   for  every  thing  of  this   sort  should 
proceed   from   a  willing  mind.      But  if  you 
should  tell  me,  the  Lord  has  given  you  such 
a  zeal  for  his  glory,  such  a  concern  for  the 
honour  of  the  gospe1,  such  a  love  to  his  mem- 
bers, such  a  grateful  sense  of  his  mercies  (es- 
pecially by  granting  you,  in  this  late  instance 
of  your  marriage,  the  desire  of  your  heait), 
and   such  an  affiance  in  his  providence  and 
promises,  that  you  find  yourself  very  unwill- 
ing to  be  one  sixpence  in  the  year  less  useful 
than  you  was  before,  I  could  not  blame  you, 
or  dissuade  you  from  it.      But  I  do  not  abso- 
lutely advise  it ;  because  I  know  not  the  state 
of  your  mind,  or  what  measure  of  faith  the 
Lord  has  given  you.      Only  this  I  believe, 
that  when  the  Lord  gives  such  a  confidence, 
he  will  not  disappoint  it. 

When  I  look  among  the  professors,  yea, 
among  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  there  are 
few  things  I  see  a  more  general  want  of,  than 
ij'ich  a  tru9t  in  God  as  to  temporals,  and  such 


a  sense  of  the  honour  of  being  permitted  to 
relieve  the  necessities  of  his  people,  as  might 
dispose  them  to  a  more  liberal  distribution  of 
what  they  have  at  present  in  their  power,  and 
to  a  reliance  on  him  for  a  sufficient  supply  in 
future.  Some  exceptions  there  are.  Some 
persons  I  have  the  happiness  to  know,  whose 
chief  pleasure  it  seems  to  be,  to  devise  liberal 
things.  For  the  most  part,  we  take  care,  first, 
to  be  well  supplied,  if  possible,  with  all  the 
necessaries,  conveniencies,  and  not  a  few  of 
the  elegancies  of  life ;  then  to  have  a  snug 
fund  laid  up  against  a  rainy  day,  as  the  phrase 
is  (if  this  is  in  an  increasing  way,  so  much 
the  better),  that  when  we  look  at  children  and 
near  relatives,  we  may  say  to  our  hearts, 
"  Now  they  are  well  provided  for."  And 
when  we  have  gotten  all  this,  and  more,  we 
are,  perhaps,  content,  for  the  love  of  Christ, 
to  bestow  a  pittance  of  our  superfluities,  a 
tenth  or  a  twentieth  part  of  what  we  spend  or 
hoard  up  for  ourselves,  upon  the  poor.  But, 
alas  !  what  do  we  herein  more  than  others  ? 
Multitudes,  who  know  nothing  of  the  love 
of  Christ,  will  do  thus  much,  yea,  perhaps, 
greatly  exceed  us,  from  the  mere  feelings  of 
humanity. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  Would  you  show  no 
regard  to  the  possibility  of  leaving  your  wife 
or  children  unprovided  for  ?  Quite  the  re- 
verse. I  would  have  you  attend  to  it  very 
much,  and  behold  the  scriptures  show  yon 
the  more  excellent  way.  If  you  had  a  little 
money  to  spare,  would  you  not  lend  it  to  mo, 


3H 


ON   TRUST  IN  GOD. 


LET.  I. 


if  I  assured  you  it  should  be  repaid  when 
wanted  ?  I  can  point  out  to  you  better  inte- 
rest and  better  security  than  I  could  possibly 
give  you  :  Prov.  xix.  17,  "  He  that  hath  pity 
upon  the  poor,  lendeth  unto  the  Lord ;  and 
that  which  he  hath  given  will  he  pay  him 
again."  What  think  you  of  this  text?  Is  it 
the  word  of  God  or  not  ?  Is  he  worthy  of  be- 
lief, or  not  ?  Is  he  able  to  make  good  his 
word,  or  is  he  not  ?  I  dare  stake  all  my  in- 
terest in  your  friendship  (which  I  should  be 
very  loath  to  forfeit),  that  if  you  act  upon  this 
maxim,  in  a  spirit  of  prayer  and  faith,  and 
with  a  single  eye  to  his  glory,  you  shall  not 
be  disappointed.  Read  over  Mat.  vi.  26 — 34. 
Shall  we  confine  that  reasoning  and  those  pro- 
mises to  the  primitive  times  ?  Say  not,  "  If 
the  Lord  would  make  windows  in  heaven, 
this  thing  might  be."  He  has  more  ways  to 
bless  and  prosper  those  who  trust  in  hhn,  than 
we  are  able  to  point  out  to  him.  But  I  tell 
you,  my  friend,  he  will  sooner  make  windows 
in  heaven,  turn  stones  into  bread,  yea,  stop 
the  sun  in  his  course,  than  he  will  suffer  those 
who  conscientiously  serve  him,  and  depend 
upon  him,  to  be  destitute. 

Some  instances  we  have  had  of  ministers, 
who  have  seemed  to  transgress  the  bounds  of 
strict  prudence  in  their  attention  to  the  poor. 
But  if  they  have  been  men  of  faith,  prayer, 
and  zeal ;  if  they  did  it,  not  from  a  caprice 
of  humour,  or  a  spirit  of  indolence,  but  from 
such  motives  as  the  scripture  suggests  and  re- 
commends, I  believe  their  families  have  sel- 
dom suffered  for  it.  I  wish  you  to  consult, 
upon  this  head,  what  Mrs.  Alieine  says,  in 
the  affecting  account  she  has  given  of  that 
honoured  and  faithful  servant  of  God,  her 
hasband,  Joseph  Alleine.  Besides,  you  know 
not  what  you  may  actually  save  in  a  course 
of  years  by  this  method.  The  apostle,  speak- 
ing of  some  abuses  that  obtained  in  the  church 
of  Corinth,  says,  "  For  this  cause  many  are 
sick  among  you."  If  prudence  should  shut 
up  the  bowels  of  your  compassion  (which  1 
trust  it  never  will),  the  Lord  might  quarter 
an  apothecary  upon  your  family,  which  would, 
perhaps,  cost  you  twice  the  money  that  would 
have  sufficed  to  refresh  his  people,  and  to 
commend  your  ministry  and  character. 

But  if,  after  all,  prudence  will  be  heard,  I 
counsel  you  to  do  these  two  things.  First, 
Be  very  certain  that  you  allow  yourselves  in 
nothing  superfluous.  You  cannot,  I  trust,  in 
conscience  think  of  laying  out  one  penny  more 
than  is  barely  decent,  unless  you  have  an- 
other penny  to  help  the  poor.  Then,  secondly, 
Let  your  friends,  who  are  in  good  circum- 
stances, be  plainly  told,  that,  though  you  love 
them,  prudence,  and  the  necessary  charge  of 
a  family,  will  not  permit  you  to  entertain 
them  ;  no,  not  for  a  night.  What !  say  you, 
shut  my  door  against  my  friends?  Yes,  by 
all  means,  rather  than  against  Christ.      If  the 


humiliation,  and  he,  and  the  best  friend  you 
have,  standing  at  your  door,  and  your  provi- 
sion so  strait,  that  you  could  not  receive  both, 
which  would  you  entertain  ?  Now,  he  says 
of  the  poor,  "  Inasmuch  as  you  did  it  to  the 
least  of  these  my  brethren,  you  did  it  unto 
me."  Your  friends  have  houses  of  their  own, 
and  money  to  pay  at  r.n  inn,  if  you  do  not 
take  them  in  ;  but  the  poor  need  relief.  One 
would  almost  think  that  passage,  Luke  xiv. 
12,  13,  14,  was  not  considered  as  a  part  of 
God's  word ;  at  least  I  believe  there  is  no  one 
passage  so  generally  neglected  by  his  own 
people.  I  do  not  think  it  unlawful  to  enter- 
tain our  friends  ;  but  if  these  words  do  not 
teach  us,  that  it  is  in  some  respects  our  duty 
to  give  a  preference  to  the  poor,  I  am  at  a 
loss  to  understand  them. 

I  was  enabled  to  set  out  upon  the  plan  I 
recommend  to  you,  at  a  time  when  my  cer- 
tain income  was  much  too  scanty  for  my  own 
provision,  and  before  I  had  the  expectation  or 
promise  of  assistance  from  any  person  upon 
earth.  Only  I  knew  that  the  Lord  could 
provide  me  with  whatever  he  saw  needful ; 
and  I  trusted,  that  if  he  kept  me  dependent 
upon  himself,  and  desirous  to  live  for  his  ser- 
vice only,  he  assuredly  would  do  so.  I  have 
as  yet  seen  no  cause  to  repent  it.  I  live  upon 
his  promise ;  for  as  to  any  present  ways  or 
means,  every  thing  here  below  is  so  uncertain, 
that  I  consider  myself  in  the  same  situation 
with  the  birds  of  the  air,  who  have  neither 
storehouse  nor  barn.  To-day  I  have  enough 
for  myself,  and  something  to  impart  to  them 
that  need ;  as  to  futurity,  the  Lord  must  pro- 
vide :  and  for  the  most  part  I  can  believe  he 
will.  I  can  tell  you,  however,  that  now  and 
then  my  heart  is  pinched  ;  unbelief  creeps  in, 
and  self  would  much  rather  choose  a  strong 
box,  or  what  the  world  calls  a  certainty,  than 
a  life  of  absolute  dependence  upon  the  provi- 
dence of  God.  However,  in  my  composed 
hours  I  am  well  satisfied.  Hitherto  he  has 
graciously  taken  care  of  me ;  therefore  may 
my  heart  trust  in  him,  and  not  be  afraid. 

Consider,  my  friend,  the  Lord  has  done 
well  for  you  likewise.  He  has  settled  you 
peaceably  in  a  good  and  honourable  interest ; 
he  has  now  answered  your  prayers,  in  giving 
you  a  partner,  with  whom  you  may  take  sweet 
counsel,  one  that  will  help  and  strengthen  you 
in  your  best  desires.  Beware,  therefore,  of 
that  reasoning  which  might  lead  you  to  dis- 
trust the  Lord  your  God,  or  to  act  as  if  you 
did.  You  complain  that  there  is  tco  much  of 
an  expensive  taste  among  some  persons  in 
your  congregation.  If  you  set  yourself  to 
discountenance  this,  and  should  at  the  same 
time  too  closely  shut  up  your  hands,  they  will 
be  ready  to  charge  you  with  being  governed 
by  the  same  wordly  spirit,  though  in  another 
form.  If  you  have  been  hitherto  tender  and 
bountiful  to  the  poor,  and  should  make  too 


Lord  Jesus  was  again  upon  earth  in  a  state  of  great  and  too  sudden  an  alteration  in  this  re- 


LET.  II. 


TO  A   STUDENT  IN  DIVINITY. 


§9 


spect,  if  the  blame  should  not  fall  upon  you, 
it  probably  would  upon  your  wife,  who,  I  be- 
lieve, would  be  far  from  deserving  it.  If  the 
house  which  had  been  open  to  the  poor  in 
former  times,  should  be  shut  against  them, 
now  you  live  in  it,  would  it  not  lead  the  peo- 
ple's thoughts  back  ?  Would  it  not  open  the 
mouths  of  those  who  do  not  love  your  minis- 
try, to  say,  That,  notwithstanding  all  your 
zeal  about  doctrines,  you  know  how  to  take 
care  of  your  own  interest,  as  well  as  those 
whom  you  have  thought  indifferent  and  luke- 
warm in  the  cause  of  the  gospel  ?  Would  it 
not?  But  I  forbear.  I  know  you  need  no 
such  arguments.  Yet  consider  how  many 
eyes  are  upon  you,  watching  for  your  halting. 
Now,  at  your  first  setting  out,  is  the  proper 
time  seriously  to  seek  the  Lord's  direction, 
that  you  may,  from  the  beginning,  adopt  such 
a  plan  as  may  be  most  for  your  own  comfort, 
the  honour  of  your  character  as  a  minister, 
the  glory  of  him  who  has  called  you,  and  the 
edification  of  your  people.  It  is  easier  to  be- 
o-in  well,  than  to  make  alterations  afterwards. 
I  trust  the  Lord  will  guide  and  bless  you  in 
your  deliberations.  And,  for  my  own  part, 
I  am  not  in  the  least  afraid,  that  you  will 
ever  have  cause  to  blame  me  for  the  advice  I 
have  given,  if  you  should  be  disposed  to  fol- 
low it. 

I  have  given  you  my  opinion  freely,  and 
perhaps  with  an  appearance  of  more  strict- 
ness than  is  necessary.  But  I  would  apply 
our  Lord's  words  in  another  case  to  this : 
"  All  men  cannot  receive  this  saying;  he  that 
is  able  to  receive  it,  let  him  receive  it."  If 
the  Lord  has  given  you  this  confidence  in 
his  word,  you  are  happy.  It  is  better  than 
the  possession  of  thousands  by  the  year. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

EXTRACT  OF  A  LETTER  TO  A  STUDENT  IN  DI- 
VINITY. 

DEAR  SIR, 

The  subject  of  your  last  is  important.  I  can 
sympathise  with  your  anxiety,  having  known 
much  of  it  myself,  and  therefore  willingly  de- 
vote my  first  leisure  to  your  service.  But 
shall  I  indeed  condole  with  you  ?  or  shall  I 
rather  congratulate  you  on  the  perplexity  you 
complain  of?  I  know  it  is  not  pleasing  ;  but 
I  hope  it  will  be  sanctified  and  profitable  to 
you. 

Though  I  am  no  enemy  to  the  acquisition 
of  useful  knowledge,  1  have  seen  many  in- 
stances of  young  men  who  have  been  much 
hurt  by  what  they  expected  to  reap  advantage 
from.  They  have  gone  to  the  academy  hum- 
ble, peaceable,  spiritual,  and  lively  ;  but 
have  come   out  self-wise,  dogmatical,   censo- 


rious, and  full  of  a  prudence  founded  upon 
the  false  maxims  of  the  world.  I  have  been 
ready  to  address  them  with  that  line  of  Mil- 
ton : 

"  If  thou  art  he — But  ah  !  how  fall'n  !" 

I  do  not  mention  this  as  the  necessary  fault 
of  the  institution,  but  as  the  frequent  effect  of 
notions  too  hastily  picked  up,  when  not  sanc- 
tified by  grace,  nor  balanced  by  a  propor- 
tionable depth  of  spiritual  experience.  I  am 
therefore  glad  to  hear,  that  notwithstanding 
the  advantages  you  have  had  in  the  pursuit  of 
your  studies,  you  feel  an  inward  conviction, 
that  you  still  need  something  which  you  can- 
not receive  from  men,  or  books,  in  order  to 
complete  your  fitness  for  the  ministry;  that 
you  may  be  "  a  workman  that  needs  not  to  be 
ashamed,"  and  enabled  rightly  to  divide  (to 
distinguish  and  distribute)  the  word  of  truth. 

It  seems  to  me  a  point  of  more  curiosity 
than  use,  to  inquire  too  nicely  into  the  modus 
of  the  Holy  Spirit's  assistance  in  the  com- 
posure and  delivery  of  sermons.  If  we  can- 
not exactly  state  the  boundaries  between  what 
we  may  deem  the  result  of  our  own  thoughts, 
and  the  needful  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
it  seems  a  safe  way  to  give  him  the  honour  of 
the  whole,  and  to  attribute  nothing  to  our- 
selves but  our  infirmities.  If  we  have  a  ca- 
pacity, means  for  improvement,  diligence  to 
make  use  of  those  means,  and  if  that  diligence 
is  attended  with  any  degree  of  success  ;  may 
we  not  acknowledge,  that  the  former  links  of 
this  chain  are  the  effect  of  his  goodness  and 
favour,  no  less  than  the  latter  ? 

To  the  question,  How  far  is  it  lawful  to 
expect  this  assistance  ?  I  answer,  It  is  law- 
ful very  far,  even  to  lay  the  whole  stress  up- 
on it,  so  as  to  be  firmly  persuaded  that  we 
can  neither  meditate  nor  speak  to  purpose 
without  it ;  that  if  we  have  not  this  assist- 
ance, whatever  else  we  have,  or  may  think  we 
have,  we  shall  but  "  darken  counsel  by  words 
without  knowledge."  For  this,  I  think,  I 
have  warrant  in  John  xv.  5.  If  any  person 
supposes  he  lias  so  far  mastered  a  system  of 
divinity,  that  though  he  can  indeed  do  better 
with  the  Spirit's  assistance,  yet  he  can  make 
a  tolerable  shift  without  it,  I  envy  him  not 
this  attainment. 

But  if  the  question  intends,  How  far  a  de- 
pendence upon  the  Holy  Spirit  may  lawfully 
supersede  the  use  of  means  ?  I  answer,  Not 
in  the  least.  The  blessing  and  the  means  are 
so  closely  united,  that  they  cannot  be  sepa- 
rated. The  blessing  may  be  surely  expect- 
ed, if  diligently  sought  in  the  use  of  proper 
means;  and  we  have  no  just  reason  to  expect 
it  without  them.  But  to  clear  up  the  whole, 
let  it  be  considered,  What  may  deserve  tlie 
name  of  diligence  in  this  matter  ?  and  what 
are  the  proper  means  ? 

By  diligence,  I  understand  spiritual  dili- 
gence ;  such  an  active,  improving,  industrious 


40 


TO  A   STUDENT  IN   DIVINITY. 


habit,  as  is  peculiar  to  a  lieart  impressed  with 
some  real  abiding  sense  of  the  love  of  God, 
the  worth  of  souls,  the  shortness  of  time,  and 
the  importance  of  eternity.    Without  this  turn 
of  mind,  though  a.  man  should  spend  sixteen 
hours    every  day  in    his   study,    he   may  be  a 
mere  trifler.      The  greatest  part  of  his  appli- 
cation will  be  spent   on  what  is  least  neces- 
sary, and  his  knowledge  will  chiefly  prove  of , 
that  sort  which  pufFeth  up,  without  commu-  ] 
nicating  any  real  benefit.    Gen.  xli.  21.  Psal.  j 
exxvii.  2. 

The  chief  means  for  attaining  wisdom,  and 
suitable  gifts  for  the  ministry,  are,  the  holy 
scriptures  and  prayer.  The  one  is  the  foun- 
tain of  living  water,  the  other  the  bucket 
with  which  we  are  to  draw.  And  I  believe 
you  will  find,  by  observation,  that  the  man 
who  is  most  frequent  and  fervent  in  prayer, 
and  most  devoted  to  the  word  of  God,  will 
shine  and  flourish  above  his  fellows.  Next 
to  these,  and  derived  from  them,  is  medita- 
tion. By  this  I  do  not  mean  a  stated  exercise 
upon  some  one  particular  subject,  so  much 
as  a  disposition  of  mind  to  observe  carefully 
what  passes  within  us  and  around  us;  what 
we  see,  hear,  and  feel  ;  and  to  apply  all  for 
the  illustration  and  confirmation  of  the  writ- 
ten word  to  us.  In  the  use  of  these  means, 
and  an  humble  dependence  upon  the  Lord  in 
all  the  changing  dispensations  we  pass  through, 
our  spiritual  experience  will  enlarge  ;  and  this 
experience  is  the  proper  fund  of  our  ministe- 
rial capacity,  so  far  as  it  may  be  considered 
inherent  in  us.  Prov.  xvi.  23.  Mat.  xiii.  52. 
1  John  i.  3. 

These  means  are  of  universal  importance. 
The  wisest  can  do  nothing  without  them  ;  the 
weakest  shall  not  use  them  in  vain.  There 
are  likewise  subordinate  means,  which  may  be 
helpful,  and  should  in  general  be  attended 
to.  Yet  they  ough'.  not,  I  apprehend,  to  be 
considered  as  a  sine  qua  rum  in  a  minister's 
call  and  fitness.  The  first  preachers  had  them 
not,  and  some  in  the  present  day  are  enabled  to 
do  well  without  them.  Under  this  head,  I  prin- 
cipally intend  all  that  comes  under  the  usual 
denomination  of  literature.  A  competent  ac- 
quaintance with  the  learned  languages,  history, 
natural  philosophy,  &c.  is  very  desirable.  If 
these  things  are  held  in  a  proper  subserviency, 
if  they  do  not  engross  too  much  of  our  time, 
nor  add  fuel  to  the  fire  of  that  self-import- 
ance which  is  our  great  snare,  they  may  con- 
tribute to  increase  and  enlarge  our  ideas,  and 
facilitate  our  expressing  ourselves  with  pro- 
priety. But  these  attainments,  like  riches, 
are  attended  with  their  peculiar  temptations  ; 
and  unless  they  are  under  the  regulation  of  a 
sound  judgment,  and  spiritual  frama  of  mind, 
will  prove,  like  Saul's  armour  to  David,  ra- 
ther cumbersome  than  useful  in  preaching. 
The  sermons  of  preachers  thus  qualified  are 
often   more  ingenious  than  edifying,  and  ra- 


LET.   II. 

thcr  set  off  the  man,  than  commend  *Jie  gos- 
pel of  Christ. 

As  you  desire  my  advice  with  respect  to 
your  future  studies,  I  shall  comply,  without 
hesitation  or  ceremony. 

The  original  scriptures  well  deserve  your 
pains,  and  will  richly  repay  them.  There  is, 
doubtless,  a  beauty,  fulness,  and  spirit,  in  the 
originals,  which  the  best  translations  do  not 
always  express.  When  a  word  or  phrase  ad- 
mits of  various  senses,  the  translators  can  only 
preserve  one ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  supposed, 
unless  they  were  perfectly  under  the  influence 
of  the  same  infallible  Spirit,  that  they  should 
always  prefer  the  best.  Only  be  upon  your 
guard,  lest  you  should  be  tempted  to  think, 
that  because  you  are  master  of  the  grammati- 
cal construction,  and  can  tell  the  several  ac- 
ceptations of  the  words  in  the  best  authors, 
you  are  therefore  and  thereby  master  of  the 
spiritual  sense  likewise.  This  you  must  de- 
rive from  your  experimental  knowledge,  and 
the  influence  and  teaching  of  the  Spirit  of 
God. 

Another  thing  which  will  much  assist  you 
in  composing,  and  speaking  properly  and  ac- 
ceptably, is  logic.  This  will  teach  you  what 
properly  belongs  to  your  subject,  and  what 
may  be  best  suppressed  ;  and  likewise  to  ex- 
plain, divide,  enumerate,  and  range  your  ideas 
to  advantage.  A  lax,  immethodical,  dispro- 
portionate manner  is  to  be  avoided  j  yet  be- 
ware of  the  contrary  extreme.  An  affected 
starchness  and  over-accuracy  will  fetter  you, 
will  make  your  discourse  lean  and  dry,  pre- 
clude an  useful  variety,  and  savour  more  of 
the  school-lamp,  than  of  that  heavenly  fire, 
which  alone  can  make  our  meditations  effica- 
cacious,  and  profitable  either  to  ourselves  or 
our  hearers.  The  proper  medium  can  hardly 
be  taught  by  rule  ;  experience,  observation, 
and  prayer,  are  the  best  guides. 

As  your  inquiry  seems  chiefly  to  be,  How 
to  fill  up  your  outlines  ?  I  would  advise  you 
to  study  the  living,  as  well  as  the  dead,  or  ra- 
ther more.  Converse  much  with  experienced 
christians,  and  exercised  souls.  You  will  find 
advantage  in  this  respect,  not  only  from  the 
wise,  but  from  the  weak  of  the  flock.  In  the 
course  of  your  acquaintance,  you  will  meet 
with  some  in  a  backsliding  state,  some  undei 
temptations,  some  walking  in  darkness,  others 
rejoicing  in  the  light,  &c.  Observe  how  their 
spirits  work,  what  they  say,  and  how  they 
reason  in  their  several  cases  ;  what  methods 
and  arguments  you  find  most  successful  in 
comforting  the  feeble-minded,  raising  up  those 
who  are  cast  down,  and  the  like  ;  and  what 
answers  they  return.  Compare  these  with  the 
word  of  God,  and  your  own  heart.  What  you 
observe  of  ten  persons  in  these  different  situa- 
tions" may  be  applied  to  ten  thousand.  For 
though  some  circumstances  vary,  the  heart  of 
man,  the  aids  of  grace,   and   the   artifices   of 


LET.  II. 


TO   A   STUDENT   IN   DIVINITY. 


41 


Satan,  in  general,  are  universally  the  same. 
And  whenever  you  are  to  preach,  remember 
that  some  of  all  these  sorts  will  probably  be 
before  you,  and  each  should  have  something 
said  to  their  Own  peculiar  case. 

The  tempted  and  distressed  will  be  most 
probably  relieved,  by  opening  the  various 
states  and  exercises  of  the  heart,  and  by  show- 
ing, from  scriptural  and  other  examples,  that 
no  new  thing  has  befallen  them.  The  care- 
less and  backsliders,  who  have  made  a  pro- 
fession, should  be  reminded  of  that  blessed- 
ness they  once  spoke  of,  and  warned  of  their 
danger.  Those  who  are  now  upon  the  mount 
should  be  cautioned  to  expect  a  change,  and 
to  guard  against  security  and  spiritual  pride. 
To  the  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  (some  such 
will  be  always  present),  it  is  needful  to  preach 
the  spirituality  and  sanction  of  the  law,  that 
they  may  be  stirred  up  to  seek  Jesus.  Of 
him  all  awakened  souls  love  to  hear  much. 
Let  him,  therefore,  be  your  capital  subject. 
If  you  discuss  some  less  essential  topic,  or 
bend  all  your  strength  to  clear  up  some  dark 
text,  though  you  should  display  much  learn- 
ing and  ingenuity,  you  will  probably  fall 
short  of  your  main  design,  which,  I  dare  say, 
will  be  to  promote  Jie  glory  of  God,  and  the 
good  of  souls. 

You  will  likewise  find  advantage,  by  at- 
tending as  much  as  you  can  on  those  preach- 
ers, whom  God  has  blessed  with  much  power, 
life,  and  success  in  their  ministry  ;  and  in  this 
you  will  do  well  not  to  confine  yourself  to 
any  denomination  or  party  ;  for  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  is  not  confined.  Different  men  have 
different  gifts  and  talents.  I  would  not  wish 
you  to  be  a  slavish  admirer  of  any  man. 
Christ  alone  is  our  Master  and  Teacher.  But 
study  the  excellencies  of  each  ;  and  if  you 
observe  a  fault  in  any  (for  no  human  models 
are  perfect),  you  will  see  what  you  are  your- 
self to  avoid. 

Your  inquiries  respecting  my  own  experi- 
ence on  this  subject,  must  be  answered  very 
briefly.  I  have  long  since  learned,  that  if  I 
was  ever  to  be  a  minister,  faith  and  prayer 
must  make  me  one.  I  desire  to  seek  the  Lord's 
direction,  both  in  the  choice  and  management 
of  subjects ;  but  I  do  not  expect  it  in  a  way 
of  extraordinary  impulse,  but  in  endeavouring 
to  avail  myself,  to  the  best  of  my  judgment, 
of  present  circumstances.  The  converse  I 
have  with  my  people  usually  suggests  what  I 
am  to  preach  to  them.  At  first,  my  chief  so- 
licitude used  to  be,  what  I  should  find  to 
say  ;  I  hope  it  is  now,  rather  that  I  may  not 
speak  in  vain.  For  the  Lord  has  sent  me 
here,  not  to  acquire  the  character  of  a  ready 


speaker,  but  to  win  souls  to  Christ,  and  to 
edify  his  people.  As  to  preparation,  I  make- 
little  use  of  books,  excepting  the  Bible  and 
Concordance.  Though  I  preach  without  notes, 
I  must  frequently  write  more  or  less  upon  the 
subject.  Often,  when  I  begin,  I  am  at  a  loss 
how  I  shall  proceed ;  but  one  thing  insen- 
sibly offers  after  another,  and,  in  general,  I 
believe,  the  best  and  most  useful  parts  of  my 
sermon  occur  de  yiovo,  while  I  am  preaching. 
This  reminds  me  of  Luther's  maxim,  "  Bene 
preedsse  est  bene  studuisse."  When  I  can  find 
my  heart  in  frame  and  liberty  for  prayer,  every 
thing  else  is  comparatively  easy. 

I  should  be  very  glad  if  any  thing  I  have 
offered  may  afford  you  satisfaction.  The  sum 
of  my  advice  is  this  :  Examine  your  heart 
and  views.  Can  you  appeal  to  him  who  knows 
all  things  concerning  the  sincerity  of  your 
aim,  that  you  devote  yourself  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  not  for  worldly  regards,  but  with 
an  humble  desire  to  promote  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom.  If  so,  and  his  providence  has  thus 
far  concurred  with  you,  trust  him  for  your 
sufficiency  of  every  kind,  and  he  will  not  dis- 
appoint you,  but  will  be  near  to  strengthen 
you  according  to  your  day.  Depend  not  up- 
on any  cisterns  you  can  hew  out  for  your 
self,  but  rejoice  that  you  have  liberty  to 
come  to  the  fountain  that  is  always  full,  and 
always  flowing.  You  must  not  expect  a  me- 
chanical sufficiency,  such  as  artificers  acquire 
by  habit  and  exercise  in  their  business.  When 
you  have  preached  well  nineteen  times,  this 
will  be  no  security  for  the  twentieth.  Yea, 
when  you  have  been  upheld  for  twenty  years, 
should  the  Lord  with-hold  his  hand,  you 
would  be  as  much  at  a  loss  as  at  first. 

If  you  lean  upon  books  or  men,  or  upon 
your  own  faculties  and  attainments,  you  will 
be  in  fear  and  in  danger  of  falling  continu- 
ally. But  if  you  stay  yourself  upon  the  Lord, 
he  will  not  only  make  good  your  expectations, 
but  in  time  will  give  you  a  becoming  confi- 
dence in  his  goodness,  and  free  you  from  your 
present  anxiety. 

One  thing  more  I  must  mention  as  be- 
longing to  the  subject :  That  a  comfortable 
freedom  for  public  service  depends  much  up- 
on the  spirituality  of  our  walk  before  God 
and  man.  Wisdom  will  not  dwell  with  a  trif- 
ling, an  assuming,  a  censorious,  or  a  worldly 
spirit.  But  if  it  is  our  business,  and  our  plea- 
sure, to  contemplate  Jesus,  and  to  walk  in 
his  steps,  he  will  bless  us ;  we  shall  be  like 
trees  planted  by  a  constant  stream,  and  ho 
will  prosper  the  work  of  our  hands. 
I  am,  &c. 


42 


ON  2  COR.  V.    10,  AND  ROM.   XIV.  12. 


LETTER  III. 


LET.  III. 

and  think  I  might  be  well  excused  from  saying 
any  thing  further  on  the  subject,  as  he  hath 
briefly  and  fully  stated  all  the  arguments  that 
1  have  occured  to  me  on  either  side  of  the  qucs- 
LETTER  TO  A  FRIEND,  ON  THE  QUESTION,  |  tion,  and  closes  with  a  proper  caution  not  to 
WHETHER  THE  SINS  OF  BELIEVERS  SHALL  BE  '  be  peremptory  in  determining,  lest  by  attempt- 
PUBLICLY  DECLARED  AT  THE  GREAT  DAY  ?  '  ing  to  be  wise  above  what  is  written,  I  should 
OR,  HOW  ARE  WE  TO  UNDERSTAND  THE  APOS-  betray  my  own  folly.  Yet,  as  you  desire  to 
tle's  assertion,  "  we  must  all  appear  !  have  my  thoughts,  I  must  say  something.  I 
BEFORE  THE  judgment-seat  OF  CHRIST  ;  I  wish  I  may  not  give  you  reason  to  think  that 
that  every  one  may  receive  the  things  this  caution  has  been  lost  upon  me. 
DONE   in    his  BODY,   according  TO  THAT        I  think  all  the  great  truths  in  which  we  are 

concerned,  are  clearly,and  expressly  laid  down, 
not  only  in  one,  but  in  many  places  of  scrip- 
ture ;  but  it  sometimes  happens,  that  here  and 

in  the  first 


HE  HATH  DONE, 
BAD  ?"  2  COR.  V 
XIV.    12. 


WHETHER  IT    BE   GOOD    OR 
10,  COMPARED  WITH  ROM. 


What  changes 


MY  DEAR  SIR, 

My  heart  congratulates  you 
and  events  many,  in  younger  life,  may  be  re- 
served to  see,  who  can  tell  ?  But  your  pil- 
grimage is  nearly  finished  ;  you  stand  upon 
the  river's  brink,  with  the  city  full  in  view, 
waiting  and  wishing  for  the  appointed  hour. 
You  need  not  be  anxious  concerning  your 
passage ;  for  every  circumstance  attending  it 
is  already  adjusted  by  infinite  wisdom  and 
love,  and  the  King  himself  will  be  ready  to 
receive  you.  While  you  continue  here,  I  am 
glad  to  hear  from  you,  and  should  be  glad  to 
contribute  in  any  way  or  degree  to  your  sa- 
tisfaction, or  even  to  shew  my  willingness,  if 
I  can  do  no  more.  I  can  propose  little  more 
than  the  latter,  by  offering  my  thoughts  on  the 
subject  you  propose  from  2  Cor.  v.  10,  and 
the  apparent  difficulty  of  understanding  that 
passage,  in  full  harmony  with  the  many  texts 
which  seem  expressly  to  assert,  that  the  sins 
of  believers  are  so  forgiven  as  to  be  remem- 
bered no  more. 

There  is  doubtless,  as  you  observe,  a  perfect 
consistence  in  every  part  of  the  word  of  God  j 
the  difficulties  we  meet  with  are  wholly  owing 
to  the  narrowness  of  our  faculties,  and  the 
ignorance  which,  in  some  degree,  is  insepar- 
able from  our  present  state  of  imperfection. 
And  we  may,  in  general,  rest  satisfied  with 
the  thought,  that  there  is  a  bright  moment 
approaching,  when  the  veil  shall  be  wholly 
taken  away.  It  is  the  part  of  faith  to  rest 
upon  the  plain  declarations  of  scripture,  with- 
out indulging  a  blameable  curiosity  of  know- 
ing more  than  is  clearly  revealed  ;  yet,  while 
we  humbly  depend  upon  divine  teaching,  it  is 
right  to  aim  at  as  enlarged  a  sense  of  what  is 
revealed  as  we  can  attain  to.  Every  acquisi- 
tion of  this  kind  is  more  valuable  than  gold, 
especially  respecting  those  points  which  have 
an  immediate  tendency  to  comfort  and  sup- 
port us  under  the  view  of  an  approaching  dis- 
solution. The  question  you  have  proposed  is 
undoubtedly  of  this  nature. 

May  the  Lord  direct  my  thoughts  and  pen, 
that  1  may  not  "darken  counsel  by  words 
without  knowledge!"  I  have  been  looking 
over  the  passage  you  refer  to  in  Dr.  Ridgley, 


there  we  meet  with  a  text,  which, 
and  obvious  sound  of  the  words,  seems  to 
speak  differently  from  what  is  asserted  more 
largely  elsewhere  ;  which  texts,  singly  taken, 
afford  some  men  their  only  ground  for  the 
hypothesis  they  maintain.  Thus  the  Arians 
lay  a  great  stress  on  John  xiv.  28,  and  the 
Arminians  on  James  ii.  24,  &c.  But  their 
true  interpretation  is  to  be  sought  according 
to  the  analogy  of  faith.  They  are  capable  of 
a  sense  agreeable  to  the  others,  though  the 
others  are  not  intelligible  in  the  sense  they 
would  fix  upon  these.  In  like  manner,  I 
would  say,  whatever  maybe  the  precise  mean- 
ing of  2  Cor.  v.  10,  we  are  sure  it  cannot  be 
designed  to  weaken  what  we  are  taught  in  al- 
most every  page,  of  the  free,  absolute,  and 
unalterable  nature  of  a  believer's  justification  ; 
the  benefit  of  which,  as  to  the  forgiveness  of 
sin,  is  signified  by  the  phrases  of  "  blotting 
out," — "not  remembering," — "casting  behind 
the  back," — and  "into  the  depths  of  the 
sea."  The  sins  of  a  believer  are  so  effectually 
removed,  that  even  when,  or  if  they  are  sought 
for,  they  cannot  be  found  ;  for  Jesus  has 
borne  them  away  :  believers  are  complete  in 
him,  and  clothed  in  his  righteousness.  They 
shall  stand  before  God  without  spot  or  wrin- 
kle. Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  their  charge  ? 
But  it  is  probable  that  those  stray  expres- 
sions chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  respect  the  guilt, 
imputation,  and  deserved  consequences  of  sin. 

None  can  suppose  that  the  Lord  will,  or 

can  forget  the  sins  of  his  people,  or  that  they 
can  ever  be  hid  from  his  all-comprehending 
view.  Neither  can  I  think  they  themselves 
will  forget  them.  Their  song  is  founded  up- 
on a  recollection  of  their  sins  and  their  cir- 
cumstances in  this  life,  Rev.  v.  9  ;  and  their 
love,  and  consequently,  their  happiness,  seems 
inseparably  connected  with  the  consciousness 
of  what  they  were,  and  what  they  had  done, 
Luke  vii.  47.  And  I  think  those  are  the 
sweetest  moments  in  this  life,  when  we  have 
the  clearest  sense  of  our  own  sins,  provided 
the  sense  of  our  acceptance  in  the  Beloved  is 
proportionably  clear,  and  we  feel  the  consola- 
tions of  his  love,  notwithstanding  all  our  trans- 
gressions. When  we  arrive  in  glory,  unbelief 
and  fear  will  cease  for  ever ;  our  nearness  to 


J 


ON   FAMILY-WORSHIP. 


LET.  IV. 

God,  and  communion  with  him,  will  be  un- 
speakable beyond  what  we  can  now  conceive. 
Therefore,  the  remembrance  of  our  sins  will 
be  no  abatement  of  our  bliss,  but  rather  the 
contrary.  When  Pharaoh  and  his  host  were 
alive,  and  pursuing  them,  the  Israelites  were 
terrified  ;  but  afterwards,  when  they  saw  their 
enemies  dead  upon  the  shore,  their  joy  and 
triumph  were  not  abated,  but  heightened,  by 
the  consideration  of  their  number. 

With  respect  to  our  sins  being  made  known 
to   others,   I   acknowledge  with    you,  that  I 
could  not  now  bear  to  have  any  of  my  fellow- 
creatures  made  acquainted  with  what  passes 
in  my  heart  for  a  single  day  ;  but,   I  appre- 
hend it  is  a  part,  and  a   proof  of  my  present 
depravity,  that  I  feel  myself  disposed  to  pay 
so  great  a  regard  to  the  judgment  of  men, 
while  I  am  so  little  affected  with  what  I  am 
in  the  sight  of  a  pure  and  holy  God.      But 
I  believe  that  hereafter,  when  self  shall  be  en- 
tirely rooted  out,  and  my  will  perfectly  united 
to  the  divine  will,  I  should  feel  no  reluctance, 
supposing  it  for  the  manifestation  of  his  glo- 
rious   grace,    that    men,   angels,    and    devils, 
should  know  the  very  worst  of  me.      Whether 
it  will  be  so  or  no,    I  dare  not   determine. 
Perhaps  the  difficulty  chiefly  lies  in  the  neces- 
sity of  our  being  at   present  taught  heavenly 
things  by   earthly.       In   the  descriptions  we 
have   of  the  great  day,    allusion  is  made  to 
what   is  most  solemn  in  human  transactions. 
The    ideas    of  the  judgment-seat,   the  great 
trumpet,  of  the  books  being  opened,  and  the 
pleadings,    Matth.  xxv.  37 — 44,  seem  to    be 
borrowed    from    the    customs     that     obtain 
amongst  men,  to  help  our  weak  conceptions, 
rather  than  justly  and  fully  to  describe  what 
will  be  the  real  process.      Now,  when  we  at- 
tempt to  look  into  the  unseen  world,  we  carry 
our  ideas  of  time  and  place,  and  sensible  ob- 
jects,  along  with   us  ;  and  we  cannot  divest 
ourselves  of  them,  or  provide  ourselves  with 
better  :   yet,  perhaps,  they  have  as  little  rela- 
tion   to  the  objects  we  aim  at,   as  the  ideas 
which  a  man  born  blind  acquires  from  what 
he  hears  and  feels,  have  to  the  true  nature  of 
light  and  colours.      Mr.  Locke  mentions  one, 
who,  after  much  thought   and  conversation, 
supposed    he   had   got  a  tolerable  notion   of 
scarlet,  and  that  it  was  something  nearly  re- 
sembling the  sound  of  a  trumpet.      Perhaps, 
this  is  no  improper  emblem  of  the  utmost  we 
can  attain  to,  when  we  are  endeavouring  to 
realize  the  solemnities  of  the  judgment-day. 
What  me  mean  by  memory  and   reasoning, 
may  possibly  have  no   place  in  the  world  of 
spirits.      We  guess  at  something  more  suit- 
able, perhaps,  when  we  use  the  term  intuition. 
But  I  apprehend  we  must  die  before  we  can 
fully  understand   what  it  signifies  :   perhaps, 
thoughts  may  be  as  intelligible  there  as  words 
are  here. 

In  a  word,  my  dear  Sir,  if  I  have  not  given 
you  satisfaction  (I  am  sure  I  have  not  satis- 


43 


fied  myself),  accept  my  apology  in  the  words 
of  a  much  wiser,  and  an  inspired  man  :  "  Such 
knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  me :  it  is 
high,  I  cannot  attain  unto  it."  Ere  long  we 
shall  know :  in  the  mean  while  our  cause  is 
in  sure  hands,  we  have  a  Shepherd  who  will 
guide  us  below,  an  Advocate  who  will  receive 
and  present  us  before  the  throne  above.  I 
trust  we  meet  daily  before  the  throne  of  grace, 
hereafter  we  shall  meet  in  glory.  The  paper 
will  allow  no  more.  Believe  me  yours  in  the 
Lord,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 

TO  THERON,  ON  FAMILY-WORSHIP. 
SIR, 

A  neglect  of  family-prayer  is,  I  am  afraid, 
too  common  amongst  professors  in  this  day.  I 
am  glad  that  you  consider  it  both  as  a  duty 
and  a  privilege,  and  are  by  grace  determined, 
that  when  you  shall  commence  master  of  a 
family,  you  will  worship  God  with  all  your 
house.  It  was  Abraham's  commendation, 
that  he  not  only  served  the  Lord  himself,  but 
was  solicitous  that  his  children  and  household 
might  serve  him  likewise.  I  trust  that  he 
who  inclines  your  heart  to  walk  in  the  foot- 
steps of  faithful  Abraham  will  bless  you  in 
the  attempt,  and  give  you  peace  in  your  dwel- 
ling ;  a  mercy  which  is  seldom  enjoyed, 
which,  indeed,  can  hardly  be  expected,  by 
those  families  which  call  not  upon  the  Lord. 

Though  I  readily  comply  with  your  request, 
and  should  be  glad  if  I  can  offer  any  thing 
that  may  assist  or  animate  you  in  your  good 
purpose  ;  I  am  afraid  I  shall  not  answer  your 
expectations  with  regard  to  the  particulars  of 
your  inquiry,  concerning  the  most  proper  me 
thod  of  conducting  family-worship.  The  cir- 
cumstances of  families  are  so  various,  that  no 
determinate  rules  can  be  laid  down,  nor  has 
the  word  of  God  prescribed  any ;  because, 
being  of  universal  obligation,  it  is  wisely  and 
graciously  accommodated  to  suit  the  different 
situations  of  his  people.  You  must,  there- 
fore, as  to  circumstantials,  judge  for  yourself. 
You  will  do  well  to  pursue  such  a  method  as 
you  shall  find  most  convenient  to  yourself  and 
family,  without  scrupulously  binding  yourself, 
when  the  scripture  has  left  you  free. 

We  have  no  positive  precept  enjoining  us 
any  set  time  for  prayer,  nor  even  how  often 
we  should  pray,  either  in  public  or  private ; 
though  the  expressions  of,  "  continuing  in- 
stant in  prayer,"  "  praying  without  ceasing," 
and  the  like,  plainly  intimate  that  prayer 
should  be  frequent.  Daniel  prayed  three 
times  a-day  ;  which  the  Psalmist  speaks  of  a3 
his  practice  likewise ;  and  in  one  place  de- 
clares his  purpose  of  praising  God  seven  times 
a-day.      This  last  expression  is  perhaps,  hide- 


u 


ON  FAMILY-WORSHIP. 


LET  IV. 


finite,    not    precisely   seven   times,    but   very 
often.       Indeed,    a  person  who  lives  in  the 
exercise  of  faith  and  love,  and  who  finds,  by 
experience,  that  it  is   good  for  him  to  draw 
nigli  to   God,  will  not  want  to  be  told  how 
often  he  must  pray,  any  more  than  how  often 
he    must    converse    with    an    earthly    friend. 
Those  whom  we  love,  we  love  to  be  much 
with.    Love  is  the  best  casuist,   and  either  re- 
solves or    prevents  a  thousand  scruples  and 
questions,  which  may  perplex  those  who  only 
serve  God  from  principles  of  constraint  and 
fear.      And  a  believer  will  account  those  his 
happiest  days,  when  he  has  most  leisure,  and 
most    liberty    of  spirit,    for    the    exercise    of 
prayer.      However,  I  think  family-prayer  can- 
not be  said  to  be  stated,  unless  it  be  performed 
at  least  daily,  and,  when  unavoidable  hinder- 
ances  do  not  prevent,  twice  a-day.      Though 
all  times  and  seasons  are  alike  to  the  Lord, 
and  his  ear  is  always  open,  whenever  we  have 
a  heart  to  call  upon  him  ;  yet  to  us  there  is  a 
peculiar  suitableness  in  beginning  and  closing 
the  day  with  prayer:   in  the  morning,  to  ac- 
knowledge his  goodness  in  our  preservation 
through  the  night,  and   entreat  his  presence 
and  blessing  on  our  persons  and  callings  in 
the  course  of  the  day ;  and  at  night,  to  praise 
him  for  the  mercies  of  the  day  past,  to  humble 
ourselves  before  him  for  what  has  been  amiss, 
to  wait  on  him  for  a  renewed  manifestation  of 
his  pardoning  love,  and  to  commit  ourselves 
and  our   concerns  to  his  care  and   protection 
while  we  sleep.       You  will  of  course  chuse 
those   hours  when   you   are   least  liable  to  be 
incommoded   by  the  calls    of   business,    and 
when  the  family  can  assemble  with  the  most 
convenience  ;  only  I   would  observe,   that  it 
greatly  preserves  regularity  and  good  order  in 
a  house,  to  keep  constantly  to  the  same  hours 
when  it  is  practicable ;  and  likewise,  that  it  is 
best  not  to  defer  evening-prayer  till  late,  if  it 
can  be  well    avoided,  lest  some  who  join  in 
the  exercise,  and  perhaps  the  person  himself 
who  leads  in  it,  should  be  too  weary  or  sleepy 
to  give  a  due  attention.      On  this  account,   I 
should   advise   to  have    family-prayer    before 
supper,  where  people  have  the  choice  and  dis- 
posal of  their  own  hours. 

I  think,  with  you,  that  it  is  very  expedient 
and  proper  that  reading  a  portion  of  the  word 
of  God  should  be  ordinarily  a  part  of  our  fa- 
mily-worship ;  so  likewise,  to  sing  a  hymn  or 
psalm,  or  part  of  one,  at  discretion,  provided 
there  are  some  persons  in  the  family  who 
have  enough  of  a  musical  ear  and  voice  to 
conduct  the  singing  in  a  tolerable  manner  ; 
otherwise,  perhaps,  it  may  be  better  omitted. 
If  you  read  and  sing,  as  well  as  pray,  care 
should  be  taken  that  the  combined  services  do 
not  run  into  an  inconvenient  length. 

The  chief  thing  to  be  attended  to  is,  that  it 
may  be  a  spiritual  service  ;  and  the  great  evil 
to  be  dreaded  and  guarded  against  in  the  ex- 
ercise  of  every  duty  that  returns  frequently 


upon  us,  is  formality.      If  a  staled   course   of 
family-prayer  is  kept  up  as   constantly   in  its 
season  as  the  striking  of  the  clock,  it  may  come 
in  time  to  be  almost  as  mechanically  perform- 
ed, unless  we  are  continually   looking  to  the 
Lord  to  keep  our  hearts  alive.      It  most  fre- 
quently happens,  that  one  or  more   members 
of  a  family  are  unconverted  persons.      When 
there  are  such  present  a  great  regard  should  be 
had  to   them,  and  every  thing  conducted  with 
a  view  to  their  edification,  that  they  may  not  be 
disgusted,   or    wearied,   or   tempted,  to  think 
that  it  is  little  more  than  the  fashion   or  cus- 
tom of  the  house  ;  which  will  probably  be  the 
case,  unless  the  master  of  the  family  is  lively 
and  earnest  in  the  performance  of  the  duty,  and 
likewise  circumspect  and  consistent  in   every 
part  of  his  behaviour   at   other  times.       By 
leading  in  the  worship  of  God  before  children, 
servants,   or   strangers,  a   man  gives  bond,  as 
it  were,  for  his  behaviour,   and  adds    strength 
to   every   other  motive  which   should  engage 
him  to  abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil.   It 
should  be  a  constant  check  upon  our  language 
and  tempers  in  the  presence  of  our  families,  to 
consider  that  we  began  the  day,  and  propose  to 
end  it  with  them  in  prayer.    The  Apostle  Peter 
uses  this  argument  to  influence  the   conduct 
of  husbands  and  wives  towards  each   other ; 
and  it  is  equally  applicable  to  all  the  members 
of  a  family  ;   "  That  your  prayers  be  not  hin- 
dered : "  that  is,  either  prevented   and  cut  off, 
or  despoiled  of  all  life  and  efficacy,  by  the  fer- 
ment of  sinful  passions.      On  the  other  hand, 
the  proper  exercise  of  family-prayer,  when  re- 
commended  by  a  suitable    deportment,    is  a 
happy  means  of  instructing  children  and  ser- 
vants in  the  great  truths  of  religion,  of  soften- 
ing their   prejudices,  and  inspiring  them  with 
a  temper  of  respect  and  affection,  which  will 
dispose  them  to  cheerful  obedience,  and  make 
them  unwilling  to  grieve  or  ofFend.      In  this 
instance,  as  in  every  other,  we  may   observe, 
that  the  Lord's  commands  to   his  people   are 
not  arbitrary  appointments,  but  that,  so  far  as 
they  are  conscientiously   complied  with,    they 
have  an  evident  tendency  and  suitableness  to 
promote  our  own  advantage.    He  requires  us  to 
acknowledge  him  in  our  families,  for  our  own 
sakes ;   not  because  he  has  need   of  our  poor 
services,  but  because  we  have  need  of  his  bles- 
sing,  and  without   the  influence  of  his  grace 
(which  is  promised  to  all  who  seek  it)  are  sure 
to   be  unhappy   in  ourselves   and  in    all  our 
connections. 

When  husband  and  wife  are  happily  par- 
takers of  the  same  faith,  it  seems  expedient, 
and  for  their  mutual  good,  that  besides  their 
private  devotions,  and  joining  in  family-prayer, 
they  should  pray  together.  They  have  many 
wants,  mercies,  and  concerns,  in  common  with 
each  other,  and  distinct  from  tl  c  rest  of  the 
family.  The  manner  in  which  they  should 
improve  a  little  time  in  this  joint  exercise  can- 
not well  be  prescribed  by  a  third  person  ;  yet 


LET.  V.  ON  THE  SNARES  AN 

1  will  venture  to  suggest  one  thing  ;  and  the 
rather,  as  I  do  not  remember  to  have  met  with 
it  in  print.  I  conceive  that  it  may  prove 
much  to  their  comfort  to  pray  alternately,  not 
only  the  husband  with  and  for  the  wife,  but 
the  wife  with  and  for  the  husband.  The  Spirit 
of  God  by  the  apostle,  has  expressly  restrained 
women  from  the  exercise  of  spiritual  gifts  in 
public,  but  I  apprehend  the  practice  I  am 
speaking  of  can  no  way  interfere  with  that  re- 
striction. I  suppose  them  in  private  together, 
and  then  1  judge  it  to  be  equally  right  and  pro- 
per for  either  of  them  to  pray  with  the  other. 
Nor  do  I  meet  with  any  thing  in  St.  Paul's 
writings  to  prevent  my  thinking,  that  if  he 
had  been  a  married  man,  he  would,  though  an 
apostle,  have  been  glad  of  the  prayers  of  his  wife. 
If  you  ask,  how  often  they  should  pray  togeth- 
er ?  I  think  the  oftener  the  better,  provided  it 
does  not  break  in  upon  their  duties;  once  a- 
day  at  least ;  and  if  there  is  a  choice  of  hours, 
it  might  be  as  well  at  some  distance  from  their 
other  seasons  of  worship.  But  I  would  ob- 
serve, as  before,  that  in  matters  not  expressly 
commanded,  prudence  and  experience  must 
direct. 

I  have  written  upon  thesupposition  that  you 
use  extempore  prayer ;  but  as  there  are  many 
heads  of  families  who  fear  the  Lord,  and  have 
not  yet  attained  liberty  to  pray  extempore  before 
others,  I  woidd  add,  that  their  inability  in  this 
respect,  whether  real,  or  whether  only  pro- 
ceeding from  fear,  and  an  undue  regard  to  self, 
will  not  justify  them  in  the  omission  of  family - 
prayer.  Helps  may  be  procured.  Mr.  Jenk's 
Devotions  are  in  many  hands,  and  I  doubt  not 
but  there  are  other  excellent  books  of  the  same 
kind,  with  which  I  am  not  acquainted.  If 
they  begin  with  a  form,  not  with  a  design  to 
conline  themselves  always  to  one,  but  make  it 
a  part  of  their  secret  pleading  at  the  throne  of 
grace,  that  they  may  be  favoured  with  the  gift 
and  spirit  of  prayer ;  and  accustom  themselves 
while  they  use  a  form,  to  intersperse  some  pe- 
titions of  their  own  ;  there  is  little  doubt  but 
they  will  in  time  find  a  growth  in  liberty  and 
ability,  and  at  length  lay  their  book  entirely 
aside.  For  it  being  every  believer's  duty  to 
worship  God  in  his  family,  his  promise  may 
be  depended  upon,  to  give  them  a  sufficiency 
in  all  things,  for  those  services  which  lie  re- 
quires of  them. 

Happy  is  that  family  where  the  worship  of 
God  is  constantly  and  conscientiously  main- 
tained. Such  houses  are  temples,  in  which 
the  Lord  dwells,  and  castles  garrisoned  by  a 
divine  power.  I  do  not  say,  that,  by  honour- 
ing God  in  your  house,  you  will  wholly  es- 
cape a  share  in  the  trials  incident  to  the  pre- 
sent uncertain  state  of  things.  A  measure  of 
such  trials  will  be  necessary  for  the  exercise 
and  manifestation  of  your  graces,  to  give  you  a 
more  convincing  proof  of  the  truth  and  sweet- 
,  uess  of  the  promises  made  to  a  time  of  afflic- 
!  tion,  to  mortify  the  body  of  sin    and  to  wean 


D  DIFFICULTIES,   &C.  45 

you  more  effectually  from  the  world.  But 
this  I  will  confidently  say,  that  the  Lord  will 
both  honour  and  comfort  those  who  thus  ho- 
nour him.  Seasons  will  occur  in  which  you 
shall  know,  and  probably  your  neighbours 
shall  be  constrained  to  take  notice,  that  he  has 
not  bid  you  seek  him  in  vain.  If  you  meet 
with  troubles,  they  shall  be  accompanied  by 
supports,  and  followed  by  deliverance ;  and 
you  shall  upon  many  occasions  experience, 
that  he  is  3  our  protector,  preserving  you  and 
yours  from  the  evils  by  which  you  will  see 
others  suffering  around  you. 

I  have  rather  exceeded  the  limits  I  proposed, 
and  therefore  shall  only  add  a  request,  that  in 
your  addresses  at  the  throne  of  grace  you  will 
remember,  &c. 


LETTER  V. 

ON  THE  SNARES  AND  DIFFICULTIES  ATTENDING 
THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  AM  glad  to  hear  that  you  are  ordained,  and 
that  the  Lord  is  about  to  fix  you  in  a  place 
where  there  is  a  prospect  of  your  being  great- 
ly useful.  He  has  given  you  the  desire  of 
your  heart ;  and  I  hope  he  has  given  you 
likewise  a  heart  to  devote  yourself,  without 
reserve,  to  his  service,  and  the  service  of  souls 
for  his  sake.  I  willingly  comply  with  your 
request ;  and  shall  without  ceremony,  offer  you 
such  thoughts  as  occur  to  me  upon  this  occa- 
sion. 

You  have,  doubtless,  often  anticipated  in 
your  mind  the  nature  of  the  service  to  which 
you  are  now  called,  and  made  it  the  subject  of 
much  consideration  and  prayer.  But  a  dis- 
tant view  of  the  ministry  is  generally  very  dif- 
ferent from  what  it  is  found  to  be  when  we 
are  actually  engaged  in  it.  The  young  sol- 
dier, who  has  never  seen  an  enemy,  may  form 
some  general  notions  of  what  is  btfore  him  ; 
but  his  ideas  will  be  much  more  lively  and 
diversified  when  he  comes  upon  the  field  of  bat- 
tle. If  the  Lord  was  to  shew  us  the  whole 
before  hand,  who  that  has  a  due  sense  of  his 
own  insufficiency  and  weakness,  would  ven- 
ture to  engage  ?  But  he  first  draws  us  by  a 
constraining  sense  of  his  love,  and  by  giving 
us  an  impression  of  the  worth  of  souls,  and 
leaves  us  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  what  is 
difficult  and  disagreeable  by  a  gradual  expe- 
rience. The  ministry  of  the  gospel,  like  the 
book  which  the  apostle  John  ate,  is  a  bitter 
sweet ;  but  the  sweetness  is  tasted  first,  the  bit- 
terness is  usually  known  afterwards  when  we 
are  so  far  engaged  that  there  is  no  going 
back. 

Yet  I  woidd  not  discourage  you ;  it  is  a 
good  and  noble  cause,  and  we  serve  a  good 
and   gracious   Master;  who,  though    he  will 


ON  THE  SNARES  AND  DIFFICULTIES,  &C. 


46 

make  us  feel  our  weakness  and  vileness,  will 
not  suffer  us  to  sink  under  it.  His  grace  is 
sufficient  for  us  ;  and  if  he  favours  us  with 
an  humble  and  dependant  spirit,  a  single  eye 
and  a  simple  heart,  he  will  make  every  diffi- 
culty give  way,  and  mountains  will  sink  into 
plains  before  his  power. 

You  have  known  something  of  Satan's  de- 
vices while  you  were  in  private  life  :  how  he 
has  envied  your  privileges,  assaulted  your 
peace,  and  laid  snares  for  your  feet :  though 
the  Lord  would  not  suffer  him  to  hurt  you, 
he  has  permitted  him  to  sift  and  tempt,  and 
shoot  his  fiery  arrows  at  you.  Without  some 
of  this  discipline,  you  would  have  been  very 
unfit  for  that  part  of  your  office  which  consists 
in  speaking  a  word  in  season  to  weary  and 
heavy-laden  souls.  But  you  may  now  expect 
to  hear  from  him,  and  to  be  beset  by  his  power 
and  subtilty  in  a  different  manner.  You  are 
now  to  be  placed  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle, 
and  to  stand  as  it  were,  for  his  mark  :  so  far 
as  he  can  prevail  against  you  now,  not  your- 
self only,  but  many  others,  will  be  affected  : 
many  eyes  will  be  upon  you  ;  and  if  you  take 
a  wrong  step,  or  are  ensnared  into  a  wrong 
spirit,  you  will  open  the  mouths  of  the  adver- 
saries wider,  and  grieve  the  hearts  of  believers 
more  sensibly  than  if  the  same  things  had 
happened  to  you  while  you  was  a  layman. 
The  work  of  the  ministry  is  truly  honourable  ; 
but,  like  the  post  of  honour  in  a  battle,  it  is 
attended  with  peculiar  dangers ;  therefore 
the  apostle  cautions  Timothy,  "  Take  heed 
to  thyself,  and  to  thy  doctrine."  To  thyself 
in  the  first  place,  and  then  to  thy  doctrine; 
the  latter  without  the  former  would  be  imprac- 
ticable and  vain. 

You  have  need  to  be  upon  your  guard  in 
whatever  way  your  first  attempts  to  preach  the 
gospel  may  seem  to  operate.  If  you  should  (as 
may  probably  be  the  case,  where  the  truth  has 
been  little  known)  meet  with  much  opposition, 
you  will  perhaps  find  it  a  heavier  trial  than 
you  are  aware  of;  but  I  speak  of  it  only  as  it 
might  draw  forth  your  corruptions,  and  give  Sa- 
tan advantage  against  you,  and  this  may  be  two 
ways :  first,  by  embittering  your  spirit  against 
opposers,  so  as  to  speak  in  anger,  to  set  them 
at  defiance,  or  retaliate  upon  them  in  their  own 
way  ;  which,  besides  bringing  guilt  upon  your 
conscience,  would  of  course  increase  your  dif- 
ficulties, and  impede  your  usefulness.  A  vio- 
lent opposition  against  ministers  and  profes- 
sors of  the  gospel  is  sometimes  expressed  by 
the  devil's  roaring,  and  some  people  think  no 
good  can  be  done  without  it.  It  is  allowed, 
that  men  who  love  darkness  will  shew  their 
dislike  of  the  light ;  but,  I  believe,  if  the  wis- 
dom and  meeknesi  of  the  friends  of  the  gos- 
pel had  been  always  equal  to  their  good  inten- 
tions and  zeal,  the  devil  would  not  have  had 
opportunity  of  roaring  so  loud  as  he  has  some- 
times done.  The  subject-matter  of  the  gos- 
pel is  offence  enough  to  the  carnal  heart  ;   we 


LET.   V 


must    therefore    expect    opposition;    but    we 
should  not  provoke  or  despise  it,   or  do   any 
thing  to  aggravate  it.      A  patient  continuance 
in  well-doing,  a  consistency  in  character,  and 
an   attention   to   return  kind  offices  for  hard 
treatment,  will,  in  course  of  time,  greatly  sof- 
ten the  spirit  of  opposition  ;  and  instances  are 
to  be  found  of  ministers,  who  are  treated  with 
some  respect,  even  by  those  persons  in  their  pa- 
rishes who  are  most   averse  to  their  doctrine. 
When  the  apostle  directs  us,  "  If  it  be  possible, 
and  as  much  as  in  us  lies,  to  live  peaceably  with 
all  men,"  he  seems  to  intimate,   that   though^ 
it  be  difficult,  it  is  not  wholly  impractible.    We 
cannot  change  the  rooted   prejudices   of  their 
hearts  against  the  gospel ;  but  it  is   possible, 
by  the  Lord's  blessing,  to  stop  their  mouths 
and  make   them  ashamed   of  discovering  it, 
when  they  behold  our   good  conversation  in 
Christ.      And  it  is  well  worth   our  while  to 
cultivate  this  outward  peace,  provided  we  do 
not  purchase  it  at  the   expense  of  truth  and 
faithfulness ;  for   ordinarily    we  cannot  hope 
to  be   useful  to    our  people,   unless  we  give 
them  reason  to  believe  that  we  love  them,  and 
have  their  interest  at  heart.    Again,  opposition 
will  hurt  you,  if  it  should  give  you  an  idea  of 
your  own  importance,  and  lead  you  to  dwell 
with    a    secret    self-approbation     upon     your 
own  faithfulness  and  courage  in  such  circum- 
stances.      If    you    are    able    to    stand    your 
ground  uninfluenced  either  by  the  favour  or 
the  fear  of  men,  you  have  reason  to  give  glory  to 
God  ;  but  remember,   that  you    cannot  thus 
stand    an    hour,  unless  he  upholds   you.      It 
shews  a  strong  turn  of  mind,  when  we  are  very 
ready  to  speak  of  our  trials  and  difficulties  of 
this  kind,  and  of  our  address  and  resolution  in 
encountering  them.      A    natural    stiffness  of 
spirit,  with  a  desire  to  have  self  taken  notice 
of,  may  make  a  man  willing  to  endure   those 
kind  of  hardships,  though  he  has  but  little  grace 
in  exercise ;  but  true  christian  fortitude,  from 
a  consciousness  that  we  speak  the   truths  of 
God,  and  are  supported  by  his  power  is  a  very 
different  thing. 

If  you  should  meet  with  but  little  opposi- 
tion, or  if  the  Lord  should  be  pleased  to  make 
your  enemies  your  friends,  you  will  probably 
be  in  danger  from  the  opposite  quarter.  If 
opposition  has  hurt  many,  popularity  has 
wounded  more.  To  say  the  truth,  I  am  in 
some  pain  for  you.  Your  natural  abilities 
are  considerable;  you  have  been  diligent  in 
your  studies  ;  your  zeal  is  warm,  and  your 
spirit  is  lively.  With  these  advantages,  I  ex- 
pect to  see  you  a  popular  preacher.  The 
more  you  are  so,  the  greater  will  your  field  of 
usefulness  be :  but,  alas  !  you  cannot  yet 
know  to  what  it  will  expose  you.  It  is  like 
walking  upon  ice.  When  you  shall  see  an  at- 
tentive congregation  hanging  upon  your  words; 
when  you  shall  hear  the  well-meant,  but  often 
injudicious,  commendations  of  those  to  whom 
the  Lord  shall  make  you  useful ;  « hen  vou 


LET.  VI.  ON   THE  INFLU 

shall  find,  upon  an  intimation  of  your  preach, 
ing  in  a  strange  place,  people  thronging  from 
all  parts  to  hear  you,  how  will  your  heart  feel  ? 
It  is  easy  for  me  to  advise  you  to  be  humble, 
and  for  you  to  acknowledge  the  propriety  of 
the  advice ;  but  while  human  nature  remains 
in  its  present  state,  there  will  be  almost  the 
same  connection  between  popularity  and  pride, 
as  between  fire  and  gunpowder  ;  they  cannot 
meet  without  an  explosion ,  at  least,  not  un- 
less the  gunpowder  is  kept  very  damp.  So 
unless  the  Lord  is  constantly  moistening  our 
hearts  (if  I  may  so  speak)  by  the  influences 
of  his  Spirit,  popularity  will  soon  set  us  in  a 
blaze.  You  will  hardly  find  a  person,  who 
has  been  exposed  to  this  fiery  trial,  without 
suffering  loss.  Those  whom  the  Lord  loves, 
he  is  able  to  keep,  and  he  will  keep  them  upon 
the  whole ;  yet  by  such  means,  and  in  a  course 
of  such  narrow  escapes,  that  they  shall  have 
reason  to  look  upon  their  deliverance  as  no  less 
than  miraculous.  Sometimes,  if  his  ministers 
are  not  watchful  against  the  first  impressions 
of  pride,  he  permits  it  to  gather  strength  ;  and 
then  it  is  but  a  small  thing,  that  a  few  of  their 
admirers  may  think  them  more  than  men  in 
the  pulpit,  if  they  are  left  to  commit  such  mis- 
takes when  out  of  it,  as  the  weakest  of  the 
flock  can  discover  and  pity.  And  this  will 
certainly  be  the  case,  while  pride  and  self-suf- 
ficiency have  the  ascendant.  Beware,  my 
friend,  of  mistaking  the  ready  exercise  of  gifts 
for  the  exercise  of  grace.  The  minister  may 
be  assisted  in  public  for  the  sake  of  his  hear- 
ers  ;  and  there  is  something  in  the  nature  cf 
our  public  work,  when  surrounded  by  a  con- 
course of  people,  that  is  suited  to  draw  forth 
the  exertion  of  our  abilities,  and  to  engage 
our  attention  in  the  outward  services,  when 
the  frame  of  the  heart  may  be  far  from  being 
right  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  When  Moses 
smote  the  rock,  the  water  followed;  yet  he 
spoke  unadvisedly  with  his  lips,  and  greatly 
displeased  the  Lord.  However,  the  congre- 
gation was  not  disappointed  for  his  fault,  nor 
was  he  put  to  shame  before  them ;  but  he  was 
humbled  for  it  afterwards.  They  are  happy 
whom  the  Lord  preserves  in  some  degree  hum- 
ble, without  leaving  them  to  expose  them- 
selves to  the  observation  of  men,  and  to  re- 
ceive such  wounds  as  are  seldom  healed  with- 
out leaving  a  deep  scar.  But  even  these  have 
much  to  suffer.  Many  distressing  exercises 
you  will  probably  meet  with,  upon  the  best 
supposition,  to  preserve  in  you  a  due  sense  of 
your  own  unworthiness,  and  to  convince  you, 
that  your  ability,  your  acceptance,  and  your 
usefulness,  depend  upon  a  power  beyond  your 
own.  Sometimes,  perhaps,  you  will  feel  such 
an  amazing  difference  between  the  frame  of 
your  spirit  in  public  and  in  private,  when  the 
eyes  of  men  are  not  upon  you,  as  will  make 
you  almost  ready  to  conclude,  that  you  are  no 
better  than  a  hypocrite,  a  mere  stage-player, 
who  derives  all  his  pathos  and  exertion  from 


ENCE  OF  FAITH.  17 

the  sight  of  the  audience.  At  other  times, 
you  will  find  such  a  total  emptiness  and  indis- 
position of  mind,  that  former  seasons  of  liber- 
ty in  preaching  will  appear  to  you  like  the 
remembrance  of  a  dream,  and  you  will  hardly 
be  able  to  persuade  yourself,  you  shall  ever 
be  capable  of  preaching  again;  the  scriptures 
will  appear  to  you  like  a  sealed  book,  and  no 
text  or  subject  afford  any  light  or  opening  to 
determine  your  choice  ;  and  this  perplexity 
may  not  only  seize  you  in  the  study,  but  ac- 
company you  to  the  pulpit.  If  you  are  en- 
abled at  some  times  to  speak  to  the  people  with 
power,  and  to  resemble  Samson,  when,  in  the 
greatness  of  his  strength,  he  bore  away  the 
gates  of  the  city,  you  will,  perhaps,  at  others, 
appear  before  them  like  Samson,  when  his 
locks  were  shorn,  and  he  stood  in  fetters.  So 
that  you  need  not  tell  the  people  you  have  no 
sufficiency  in  yourself;  for  they  will  readily 
perceive  it  without  your  information.  These 
things  are  hard  to  bear ;  yet  successful  popu- 
larity is  not  to  be  preserved  upon  easier  terms  ; 
and  if  they  are  but  sanctified  to  hide  pride 
from  you,  you  will  have  reason  to  number 
them  amongst  your  choicest  mercies. 

I  have  but  just  made  an  entrance  upon  the 
subject  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  attend- 
ing the  ministry.  But  my  paper  is  full.  If 
you  are  willing  I  should  proceed,  let  me  know, 
and  I  believe  I  can  easily  find  enough  to  fill 
another  sheet.  May  the  Lord  make  you  wise 
and  watchful !  That  he  may  be  the  light  of 
your  eye,  the  strength  of  your  arm,  and  the 
joy  of  your  heart,  is  the  sincere  prayer  of, 
&c. 


LETTER  VI. 

ON  THE  PRACTICAL  INFLUENCE  OF  FAITH. 
SIR, 

The  use  and  importance  of  faith,  as  it  respects 
a  sinner's  justification  before  God,  has  been 
largely  insisted  on  ;  but  it  is  likewise  of  great 
use  and  importance  in  the  daily  concerns  of 
life.  It  gives  evidence  and  subsistence  to 
things  not  seen,  and  realizes  the  great  truths 
of  the  gospel,  so  as  that  they  become  abiding 
and  living  principles  of  support  and  direction, 
while  we  are  passing  through  this  wilderness. 
Thus,  it  is  as  the  eye  and  the  hand,  without 
which  we  cannot  take  one  step  with  certainty, 
or  attempt  any  service  with  success.  It  is  to 
be  wished,  that  this  practical  exercise  of  faith 
were  duly  attended  to  by  all  professors.  We 
should  not  then  meet  with  so  many  cases  that 
put  us  to  a  stand,  and  leave  us  at  a  great 
difficulty  to  reconcile,  what  we  see  in  some,  of 
whom  we  would  willingly  hope  well,  with 
what  we  read  in  scripture,  of  the  inseparable 
concomitants  of  a  true  and  lively  faith.  For 
how  can  we  but  be  staggered,  when  we  hear 


48 


ON   THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FAITH. 


LET.  VI. 


persons  speaking  the  language  of  assurance, 
that  they  know  their  acceptance  with  God 
through  Christ,  and  have  not  the  least  doubt 
of  their  interest  in  all  the  promises ;  while,  at 
the  same  time,  we  see  them  under  the  influ- 
ence of  unsanctified  tempers,  of  a  proud,  pas- 
sionate, positive,  worldly,  selfish,  or  churlish 
carriage  ? 

It  is  not  only  plain  from  the  general  tenure 
of  scripture,  that  a  covetous,  a  proud,  or  a  cen- 
sorious spirit,  are  no  more  consistent  with  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel,  than  drunkenness  or  whore- 
dom ;  but  there  are  many  express  texts  direct- 
ly pointed  against  the  evils  which  too  often  arc 
found  amongst  professors.  Thus  the  apostle 
James  assures  us,  "  That  if  any  man  seemeth 
to  be  religious,  and  bridleth  not  his  tongue, 
his  religion  is  vain ;"  and  the  apostle  John, 
"  That  if  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of 
the  Father  is  not  in  him  ;"  and  he  seems  to 
apply  this  character  to  any  man,  whatever  his 
profession  or  pretences  may  be,  "  who  having 
this  world's  goods,  and  seeing  his  brother 
have  need,  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  compas- 
sion from  him."  Surely  these  texts  more  than 
intimate,  that  the  faith  which  justifies  the 
soul,  does  likewise  receive  from  Jesus  grace 
for  grace,  whereby  the  heart  is  purified,  and 
the  conversation  regulated  as  becomes  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ. 

There  are  too  many  who  would  have  the  mi- 
nistry of  the  gospel  restrained  to  the  privileges 
of  believers  ;  and  when  the  fruits  of  faith,  and 
the  tempers  of  the  mind,  which  should  be 
manifest  in  those  who  have  "  tasted  that  the 
Lord  is  gracious,"  are  inculcated,  think  they 
sufficiently  evade  all  that  is  said,  by  calling  it 
legal  preaching.  I  would  be  no  advocate  for 
legal  preaching  ;  but  we  must  not  be  deterred 
by  the  fear  of  a  hard  word,  from  declaring 
the  whole  counsel  of  God;  and  we  have  the 
authority  and  example  of  St.  Paul,  who  was 
a  champion  of  the  doctrines  of  free  grace,  to 
animate  us  in  exhorting  professors  to  "  walk 
worthy  of  God,  who  has  called  them  to  his 
kingdom  and  glory."  And  indeed  the  ex- 
pression of  a  believer's  privilege  is  often  mis- 
understood. It  is  a  believer's  privilege  to 
walk  with  God  in  tke  exercise  of  faith,  and, 
by  the  power  of  his  Spirit,  to  mortify  the 
whole  body  of  sin  ;  to  gain  a  growing  victory 
over  the  world  and  self,  and  to  make  daily 
advances  in  conformity  to  the  mind  that  was  in 
Christ.  And  nothing  that  we  profess  to  know, 
believe,  or  hope  for,  deserves  the  name  of  a 
privilege,  farther  than  we  are  influenced  by  it 
to  die  unto  sin,  and  to  live  unto  righteous- 
ness. Whosoever  is  possessed  of  true  faith, 
will  not  confine  his  inquiries  to  the  single  point 
of  his  acceptance  with  God,  or  be  satisfied 
with  the  distant  hope  of  heaven  hereafter. 
He  will  likewise  be  solicitous  how  he  may 
glorify  God  in  the  world,  and  enjoy  such  fore- 
'.astcs  of  heaven  as  are  attainable  while  he  is 
yet  upon  earth. 


Faith,  then,  in  its  practical  exercise,  has 
for  its  object  the  whole  word  of  God,  and 
forms  its  estimate  of  all  things  with  which 
the  soul  is  at  present  concerned,  according  to 
the  standard  of  scripture.  Like  Moses,  it 
"  endures,  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible." 
When  our  Lord  was  upon  earth,  and  con- 
versed with  his  disciples,  their  eyes  and  hearts 
were  fixed  upon  him.  In  danger  he  was  their 
defender;  their  guide  when  in  perplexity; 
and  to  him  they  looked  for  the  solution  of  all 
their  doubts,  and  the  supply  of  all  their  wants. 
He  is  now  withdrawn  from  our  eyes ;  but 
faith  sets  him  still  before  us  for  the  same  pur- 
poses, and,  according  to  its  degree,  with  the 
same  effects,  as  if  we  actually  saw  him.  His 
spiritual  presence,  apprehended  by  faith,  is  a 
restraint  from  evil,  an  encouragement  to  every 
service,  and  affords  a  present  refuge  and  help 
in  every  time  of  trouble.  To  this  is  owing 
the  delight  a  believer  takes  in  ordinances,  be- 
cause there  he  meets  his  Lord  ;  and  to  this 
likewise  it  is  owing,  that  his  religion  is  not  con- 
fined to  public  occasions ;  but  he  is  the  same 
person  in  secret  as  he  appears  to  be  in  the 
public  assembly ;  for  he  worships  him  who 
sees  in  secret,  and  dares  appeal  to  his  all-see- 
ing eye  for  the  sincerity  of  his  desires  and  in- 
tentions. By  faith  he  is  enabled  to  use  pros- 
perity with  moderation  ;  and  knows  and  feels, 
that  what  the  world  calls  good  is  of  small  va- 
lue, unless  it  is  accompanied  with  the  pre- 
sence and  blessing  of  Him  whom  his  soul  lov- 
eth.  And  his  faith  upholds  him  under  all 
trials,  by  assuring  him  that  every  dispensation 
is  under  the  direction  of  his  Lord ;  that  chas- 
tisements are  a  token  of  his  love ;  that  the 
season,  measure,  and  continuance  of  his  suf- 
ferings, are  appointed  by  infinite  wisdom,  and 
designed  to  work  for  his  everlasting  good  ; 
and  that  grace  and  strength  shall  be  afforded 
him,  according  to  his  day.  Thus,  his  heart 
being  fixed,  trusting  in  the  Lord,  to  whom  he 
has  committed  all  his  concerns,  and  knowing 
that  his  best  interests  are  safe,  he  is  not  greatly 
afraid  of  evil  tidings,  but  enjoys  a  stable  peace 
in  the  midst  of  a  changing  world.  For  though 
he  cannot  tell  what  a  day  may  bring  forth,  he 
believes  that  He,  who  has  invited  and  enabled 
him  to  cast  all  his  cares  upon  him,  will  suffer 
nothing  to  befall  him  but  what  shall  be  made 
subservient  to  his  chief  desires,  the  glory  of 
God,  in  the  sanctification  and  final  salvation 
of  his  soul.  And  if,  through  the  weakness 
of  his  flesh,  he  is  liable  to  be  startled  by  the 
first  impression  of  a  sharp  and  sudden  trial, 
he  quickly  flees  to  his  strong  refuge,  remem- 
bers it  is  the  Lord's  doing,  resigns  himself 
to  his  will,  and  patiently  expects  a  happy  is- 
sue. 

By  the  same  principle  of  faith,  a  believer's 
conduct  is  regulated  towards  his  fellow-crea- 
tures ;  and  in  the  discharge  of  the  several  du- 
ties and  relations  of  life,  his  great  aim  is  to 
please  God,  and  to  let  his   light  shine  in  the 


LET.  VI. 


ON  THE  INFLUENCE   OF   FAITH. 


49 


world.      He  believes  and  feels  his  own  weak- 
ness  and   unworthiness,    and   lives  upon  the 
grace  and  pardoning  love  of  his  Lord.      This 
gives  him  an  habitual  tenderness  and  gentle- 
ness of  spirit.      Humbled   under   a   sense  of 
much  forgiveness  to  himself,  he  finds  it  easy 
to  forgive  others,  if  he  has  ought  against  any. 
A  due  sense  of  what  he  is  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  preserves  him  from  giving  way  to  anger, 
positiveness,  and  resentment.      He  is  not  ea- 
sily provoked,  but  is  "  swift  to  hear,  slow  to 
speak,  slow  to  wrath  ;"  and  if  offended,  easy 
to  be  intreated,  and  disposed,  not  only  to  yield 
to  a  "reconciliation,  but  to  seek  it.      As  Jesus 
is  his  life,  and  righteousness,  and  strength,  so 
he  is  his  pattern.      By  faith  he  contemplates 
and   studies   this   great   exemplar  of  philan- 
thropy.     With  a  holy  ambition,  he  treads  in 
the   footsteps   of  his  Lord  and   Master,   and 
learns  of  him  to  be  meek  and  lowly,  to  requite 
injuries  with  kindness,   and  to  overcome  evil 
with  good.      From   the  same  views,  by  faith 
he  derives  a  benevolent  spirit,  and,  according 
to   his  sphere  and   ability,   he   endeavours  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  all  around  him.     The 
law  of  love  being  thus  written   in  his  heart, 
and  his  soul  set  at  liberty  from  the  low  and 
narrow  dictates  of  a  selfish  spirit,  his  language 
will  be  truth,  and  his  dealings  equity       His 
promise  may  be  depended  on,  without  the  in- 
terposition of  an  oath,  bond,  orwitness;  and  the 
feelings  of  his  own  heart,  under  the  direction 
of  an  enlightened   conscience,    and  the  pre- 
cepts of  scripture,   prompt    him    to  do  unto 
others  as  he  would  desire  they,  in  the  like 
circumstances,  should  do  unto   him.      If  he 
is  a  master,  he  is  gentle  and  compassionate ; 
if  a  servant,  he  is  faithful  and  obedient ;  for 
in  either  relation  he  acts  by  faith,  under  the 
eye  of  his  Master  in  lieaven.    If  he  is  a  trader, 
he  neither  dares  nor  wishes  to  take  advantage, 
either  of  the  ignorance  or  the  necessities  of 
those  with  whom   he  deals.      And  the  same 
principle  of  love  influences  his  whole  conver- 
sation.    A  sense  of  his  own  infirmities  makes 
him  candid  to  those  of  others.      He  will  not 
readily  believe  reports  to  their  prejudice,  with- 
out sufficient  proof;  and  even  then,  he  will  not 
repeat  them,  unless  he  is  lawfully  called  to  it. 
He  believes  that  the  precept,  "  Speak  evil  of 
no  man,"  is  founded  upon  the   same  autho- 
rity with  those  which  forbid  committing  adul- 
tery or  murder,  and  therefore  he  "  keeps  his 
tongue  as  with  a  bridle." 

Lastly,  faith  is  of  daily  use  as  a  preserva- 
tive from  a  compliance  with  the  corrupt  cus- 
toms and  maxims  of  the  world.  The  believer, 
though  in  the  world,  is  not  of  it.  By  faith  he 
triumphs  over  its  smiles  and  enticements ;  he 
sees  that  all  that  is  in  the  world,  suited  to  gra- 
tify the  desires  of  the  flesh  or  the  eye,  is  not  only 
to  be  avoided  as  sinful,  but  as  incompatible 
with  his  best  pleasures.  He  will  mix  with 
the  world  so  far  as  is  necessary,  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  that  station  of  life  in 


which  the  providence  of  God  has  placed  him, 
but  no  farther.  His  leisure  and  inclinations 
are  engaged  in  a  different  pursuit.  They  who 
fear  the  Lord  are  his  chosen  companions ;  and 
the  blessings  he  derives  from  the  word,  and 
throne,  and  ordinances  of  grace,  make  him 
look  upon  the  poor  pleasures  and  amusements 
of  those  who  live  without  God  in  the  world 
with  a  mixture  of  disdain  and  pity;  and  by 
faith  he  is  proof  against  its  frowns.  He  will 
obey  God  rather  than  man.  He  will  "  have 
no  fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works  of 
darkness,  but  will  rather  reprove  them."  And 
if,  upon  this  account,  he  should  be  despised 
and  injuriously  treated,  whatever  loss  he  suf- 
fers in  such  a  cause,  he  accounts  his  gain,  and 
esteems  such  disgrace  his  glory. 

I  am  not  aiming  to  draw  a  perfect  charac- 
ter, but  to  shew  the  proper  effects  of  that  faith 
which  justifies,  which  purifies  the  heart,  which 
worketh  by  love,  and  overcomes  the  world. 
An  habitual  endeavour  to  possess  such  a  frame 
of  spirit,  and  thus  to  adorn  the  gospel  of 
Christ,  and  that  with  growing  success,  is  what 
I  am  persuaded  you  are  not  a  stranger  to  ; 
and  I  am  afraid  that  they  who  can  content 
themselves  with  aiming  at  any  thing  short  of 
this  in  their  profession  are  too  much  strangers 
to  themselves,  and  to  the  nature  of  that  li- 
berty wherewith  Jesus  has  promised  to  make 
his  people  free.  That  you  may  go  on  from 
strength  to  strength,  increasing  in  the  light 
and  image  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  is  the 
sincere  prayer  of,  &c. 


LETTER  VII. 

ON    THE    PROPRIETY  OF   A  MINISTERIAL  AD- 
DRESS TO  THE  UNCONVERTED. 

SIR, 

In  a  late  conversation,  you  desired  my 
thoughts  concerning  a  scriptural  and  consis- 
tent manner  of  addressing  the  consciences  of 
unawakened  sinners  in  the  course  of  your  mi- 
nistry. It  is  a  point  on  which  many  eminent 
ministers  have  been,  and  are  not  a  little  di- 
vided ;  and  it  therefore  becomes  me  to  pro- 
pose my  sentiments  with  modesty  and  cau- 
tion, so  far  as  I  am  constrained  to  differ  from 
any,  from  whom,  in  general,  I  would  be  glad 
to  learn. 

Some  think  that  it  is  sufficient  to  preach 
the  great  truths  of  the  word  of  God  in  their 
hearing ;  to  set  forth  the  utterly  ruined  and 
helpless  state  of  fallen  man  by  nature,  and 
the  appointed  method  of  salvation  by  grace, 
through  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and 
then  to  leave  the  application  entirely  to  the 
agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  alone  can  en- 
lighten the  dark  understandings  of  sinners, 
and  enable  them  to  receive,  in  a  due  manner, 
the  doctrines  either  of  the  law  or  the  gospel. 
L 


50 


ON  MINISTERIAL  ADDRESS 


LET.  VII 


And  they  apprehend,  that  all  exhortations,  ar- 
guments, and  motives,  addressed  to  those  who 
are  supposed  to  he  still  under  the  influence 
of  a  carnal  mind,  are  inconsistent  with  the 
principles  of  free  grace,  and  the  acknowledg- 
ed inability  of  such  persons  to  perform  any 
spiritual  acts  ;  and  that,  therefore,  the  preach- 
ers who,  avowing  the  doctrines  of  free  grace, 
do,  notwithstanding,  plead  and  expostulate 
with  sinners,  usually  contradict  themselves, 
and  retract  in  their  application  what  they  had 
laboured  to  establish  in  the  course  of  their 
sermons. 

There  are  others,  who,  though  they  would 
be  extremely  unwilling  to  derogate  from  the 
free  grace  and  sovereign  power  of  God  in  the 
great  work  of  conversion,  or  in  the  least  de- 
gree to  encourage  the  mistaken  notion  which 
every  unconverted  person  has  of  his  owr.  pow- 
er; yet  think  it  their  duty  to  deal  with  sin- 
ners as  rational  and  moral  agents;  and  as 
such,  besides  declaring  the  counsel  of  God  in 
a  doctrinal  way,  to  warn  them  by  the  terrors 
of  the  Lord,  and  to  beseecli  them,  by  his  ten- 
der mercies,  that  they  receive  not  the  grace  of 
God  in  a  preached  gospel  in  vain.  Nor  can 
it  be  denied,  but  that  some  of  them,  when 
deeply  affected  with  the  worth  of  souls,  and 
the  awful  importance  of  eternal  things,  have 
sometimes,  in  the  warmth  of  their  hearts, 
dropped  unguarded  expressions,  and  such  as 
have  been  justly  liable  to  exception. 

If  we  were  to  decide  to  which  of  these  dif- 
ferent methods  of  preaching  the  preference  is 
due,  by  the  discernable  effects  of  each,  it  will, 
perhaps,  appear  in  fact,  without  making  any 
invidious  comparisons,  that  those  ministers 
whom  the  Lord  has  honoured  with  the  great- 
est success  in  awakening  and  converting  sin- 
ners, have  generally  been  led  to  adopt  the 
more  popular  way  of  exhortation  or  address  ; 
while  they  who  have  been  studiously  careful 
to  avoid  any  direct  application  to  sinners,  as 
unnecessary  and  improper,  if  they  have  not 
been  altogether  without  seals  to  their  minis- 
try, yet  their  labours  have  been  more  owned 
in  building  up  those  who  have  already  received 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  than  in  adding 
to  their  number.  Now,  as  "  he  that  winn- 
eth  souls  is  wise,"  and  as  every  faithful  la- 
bourer has  a  warm  desire  of  being  instrumen- 
tal in  raising  the  dead  in  sin  to  a  life  of  righ- 
teousnesss  this  seems  at  least  a  presumptive 
argument  in  favour  of  these  who,  besides 
stating  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  endeavour, 
by  earnest  persuasions  and  expostulations,  to 
impress  them  upon  the  hearts  of  their  hearers, 
and  intreat  and  warn  them  to  consider  "  how 
they  shall  escape,  if  they  neglect  so  great  sal- 
vation." For  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive,  that 
the  Lord  should  most  signally  bear  testimony 
in  favour  of  that  mode  of  preaching  which 
is  least  consistent  with  the  truth,  and  with 
itself. 

But  not  to  insist  on   this,   nor  to  rest  the 


cause  on  the  authority  or  examples  of  men, 
the  best  of  whom  are  imperfect  and  fallible, 
let  us  consult  the  scriptures,  which,  as  they 
furnish  us  with  the  whole  subject-matter 
of  our  ministry,  so  they  afford  us  perfect 
precepts  and  patterns  for  its  due  and  order- 
ly dispensation.  With  respect  to  the  sub- 
ject of  our  inquiry,  the  examples  of  our  Lord 
Christ,  and  of  his  authorised  ministers,  the 
apostles,  are  both  our  rule  and  our  warrant. 
The  Lord  Jesus  was  the  great  preacher  of 
free  grace,  "  who  spake  as  never  man  spake  ;" 
and  his  ministry,  while  it  provided  relief  for 
the  weary  and  heavy-laden,  was  eminently  de- 
signed to  stain  the  pride  of  all  human  glory. 
He  knew  what  was  in  man,  and  declared, 
that  none  could  come  unto  him,  unless 
drawn  and  taught  of  God;  John  vi.  44 — 46. 
And  yet  lie  often  speaks  to  sinners  in  terms, 
which,  if  they  were  not  known  to  be  his,  might 
perhaps,  be  censured  as  inconsistent  and  legal ; 
John  vi.  27.  ;  Luke  xiii.  24 — 27.  ;  John  xii. 
35.— It  appears,  both  from  the  context  and 
the  tenor  of  these  passages,  that  they  were  im- 
mediately spoken  not  to  his  disciples,  but  to 
the  multitude.  The  apostles  copied  from  their 
Lord  :  they  taught,  that  we  have  no  sufficiency 
of  ourselves,  even  to  think  a  good  thought,  and 
that  "  it  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  or  of  him 
that  runneth,  but  of  God  who  sheweth  mer- 
cy;" yet  they  plainly  call  upon  sinners  (and  that 
before  they  had  given  evident  signs  that  they 
were  pricked  to  the  heart,  as  Acts  iii.  31.)  "  to 
repent,  and  to  turn  from  their  vanities  to 
the  living  God;"  Acts  iii.  19.  and  xiv.  15. 
and  xvii.  30. — Peter's  advice  to  Simon  Ma- 
gus is  very  full  and  express  to  this  point :  For 
though  he  perceived  him  to  be  "  in  the  very 
gall  of  bitterness,  and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity," 
he  exhorted  him  "  to  repent,  and  to  pray,  if 
perhaps  the  thought  of  his  heart  might  be 
forgiven."  It  may  be  presumed,  that  we 
cannot  have  stronger  evidence,  that  any  of  our 
hearers  are  in  a  carnal  and  unconverted  state, 
than  Peter  had  in  the  case  of  Simon  Magus ; 
and  therefore  there  seems  no  sufficient  reason 
why  we  should  hesitate  to  follow  the  apostle's 
example. 

You  have  been  told,  that  repentance  and 
faith  are  spiritual  acts,  for  the  performance  of 
which,  a  principle  of  spiritual  life  is  absolutely 
necessary :  and  that  therefore,  to  exhort  an 
unregenerate  sinner  to  repent  or  believe,  must 
be  as  vain  and  fruitless  as  to  call  a  dead  per 
son  out  of  his  grave.  To  this  it  may  be  an 
swered,  that  we  might  cheerfully  and  confi- 
dently undertake  even  to  call  the  dead  out 
of  their  graves,  if  we  had  the  command  and 
promise  of  God  to  warrant  the  attempt ;  for 
then  we  might  expect  his  power  would  ac- 
company our  word.  The  vision  of  Ezekiel, 
chap,  xxxvii.  may  be  fitly  accommodated  to 
illustrate  both  the  difficulties  and  the  en- 
couragement of  a  gospel  minister.  The  de- 
plorable state  of  many  of  our  hearers   may 


ON  MINISTERIAL  ADDRESS. 


IET.   VII. 

often  remind  us  of  the  Lord's  question  to  the 
prophet,  "  Can  these  dry  bones  live?"  Our 
resource,  like  that  of  the  prophet,  is  entirely  in 
the  sovereignty,  grace,  and  power  of  the  Lord  : 
"  O  Lord,  thou  knowest,  impossible  as  it  is 
to  us,  it  is  easy  for  thee  to  raise  them  unto 
life  ;  therefore  we  renounce  our  own  reason- 
ings ;  and  though  we  see  that  they  are  dead, 
we  call  upon  them  at  thy  bidding,  as  if 
they  were  alive,  and  say,  O  ye  dry  bones,  hear 
the  word  of  the  Lord  !  The  means  is  our  part, 
the  work  is  thine,  and  to  thee  be  all  the  praise." 
The  dry  bones  could  not  hear  the  prophet ; 
but  while  he  spoke,  the  Lord  caused  breath 
to  enter  into  them,  and  they  lived,  but  the 
word  was  spoken  to  them  considered  as  dry 
and  dead. 

It  is  true  the  Lord  can,  and  I  hope   he  of- 
ten does  make  that  preaching  effectual  to  the 
conversion   of  sinners,   wherein   little  is  said 
expressly  to  them,  only  the  truths  of  the  gos- 
pel are  declared  in  their  hearing  ;  but  he  who 
knows  the  frame  of  the  human  heart,  has  pro- 
vided us  with   a  variety   of  the  topics  which 
have  a  moral  suitableness  to  engage  the  facul- 
ties, affections,  and  consciences  of  sinners,  so 
far  at  least  as  to  leave  themselves  condemned 
if  they  persist  in  their  sins,  and  by  which  he 
often  effects  the  purposes  of  his  grace  ;  though 
none  of  the  means  of  grace  by  which   he  or- 
dinarily works,  can  produce  a  real   change  in 
the  heart,  unless  they  are  accompanied   with 
the  efficacious  power  of  his  Spirit.     Should  we 
admit,  that  an  unconverted  person  is   not  a 
proper  subject  of  ministerial  exhortation,  be- 
cause he  has  no  power  in  himself  to  comply, 
the  just  consequence  of  this  position   would, 
perhaps,   extend  too  far,   even    to   prove  the 
impropriety    of  all    exhortation    universally : 
For  when   we  invite  the  weary    and  heavy- 
laden  to  come  to  Jesus,   that  they  may   find 
rest ;    when    we    call     upon    backsliders     to 
remember   from  whence  they  are  fallen,   "  to 
repent   and   to    do  their  first    works;"    yea, 
when  we  exhort   believers  "  to   walk   worthy 
of  God,  who  has  called  them  to  his  kingdom 
and  glory  ;"  in  each  of  these   cases  we  press 
them  to  acts  for  which  they  have  no  inherent 
power  of  their  own  ;  and  unless  the  Lord  the 
Spirit  is  pleased  to   apply  the  word  to  their 
hearts,   we  do  but  speak  to  the  air ;  and  our 
endeavours  can  have  no  more   effect  in  these 
instances,  than  if  we  were  to  say  to   a  dead 
body,  "  Arise,  and  walk."      For  an  exertion 
of  divine   power  is  no  less   necessary  to   the 
healing  of  a  wounded  conscience,  than  to  the 
breaking  of  a  hard  heart ;  and   only   he   who 
has  begun  the  good  work  of  grace,  is  able  ei- 
ther to  revive  or  to  maintain  it. 

Though  sinners  are  destitute  of  spiritual 
life,  they  are  not  therefore  mere  machines. 
They  have  a  power  to  do  many  things,  which 
they  may  be  called  upon  to  exert.  They  are 
capable  of  considering  their  ways  j  they  know 


51 


they  are  mortal ;  and  the  bulk  of  them  are 
persuaded  in  their  consciences,  that  after  death 
there  is  an  appointed  judgment.  They  are  not 
under  an  inevitable  necessity  of  living  in 
known  and  gross  sins ;  that  they  do  so,  is  not 
for  want  of  power,  but  for  want  of  will.  The 
most  profane  swearer  can  refrain  from  his 
oaths,  while  in  the  presence  of  a  person  whom 
he  fears,  and  to  whom  he  knows  it  would  be 
displeasing.  Let  a  drunkard  see  poison  put 
into  his  liquor,  and  it  may  stand  by  him  un- 
tasted  from  morning  to  night.  And  many 
would  be  deterred  from  sins  to  which  they  are 
greatly  addicted,  by  the  presence  of  a  child, 
though  they  have  no  fear  of  God  before  their 
eyes.  They  have  a  power  likewise  of  attend- 
ing upon  the  means  of  grace  ;  and  though  the 
Lord  only  can  give  them  true  faith  and  evan- 
gelical repentance,  there  seems  no  improprie- 
ty to  invite  them,  upon  the  ground  of  the  gos- 
pel-promises, to  seek  to  him  who  is  exalted  to 
bestow  these  blessings,  and  who  is  able  to  do 
that  for  them,  which  they  cannot  do  for  them- 
selves, and  who  has  said,  "  Him,  that  Com- 
eth unto  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 
Perhaps  it  will  not  be  easily  proved,  that  in- 
treaties,  arguments,  warnings,  formed  upon 
these  general  principles,  which  are  in  the  main 
agreeable  and  adequate  to  the  remaining  light 
of  natural  conscience,  are  at  all  inconsistent 
with  those  doctrines  which  ascribe  the  whole 
of  a  sinner's  salvation,  from  first  to  last,  to 
the  free  sovereign  grace  of  God. 

We  should,  undoubtedly,  endeavour  to 
maintain  a  consistency  in  our  preaching  ;  but 
unless  we  keep  the  plan  and  manner  of  the 
scripture  constantly  in  view,  and  attend  to 
every  part  of  it,  a  design  of  consistency  may 
fetter  our  sentiments,  and  greatly  preclude 
our  usefulness.  We  need  not  wish  to  be  more 
consistent  than  the  inspired  writers,  nor  be 
afraid  of  speaking,  as  they  have  spoken  be- 
fore us.  We  may  easily  perplex  ourselves, 
and  our  hearers,  by  nice  reasonings  on  the  na- 
ture of  human  liberty,  and  the  divine  agency 
on  the  hearts  of  men  ;  but  such  disquisitions 
are  better  avoided.  We  shall,  perhaps,  never 
have  full  satisfaction  on  these  subjects,  till  we 
arrive  in  the  world  of  light.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  path  of  duty,  the  good  old  way,  lies 
plain  before  us.  If  when  you  are  in  the  pul- 
pit, the  Lord  favours  you  with  a  lively  sense 
of  the  greatness  of  the  trust,  and  the  worth  of 
the  souls  committed  to  your  charge,  and  fills 
your  heart  with  his  constraining  love,  many  lit- 
tle curious  distinctions,  which  amused  you  at 
other  times,  will  be  forgotten.  Your  soul  will 
go  forth  with  your  words  ;  and  while  your 
bowels  yearn  over  poor  sinners,  you  will  not 
hesitate  a  moment,  whether  you  ought  to  warn 
them  of  their  danger  or  not.  That  great 
champion  of  free  grace,  Dr.  Owen,  has  a  very 
solemn  address  to  sinners,  the  running  title  to 
which  is,  "  Exhortations  unto  believing."     It 


52 


ON  THE  INWARD  WITNESS  OF  FAITH. 


LET.  VIII. 


is  in  his  Exposition  of  the  130th  Psalm,  from 
p.  2-12,  to  247.    London  edition,  1609,  which 
I  recommend  to  your  attentive  consideration. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER   VIII. 

ON  THE  INWARD  WITNESS  TO  THE  GROUND  AND 
REALITY  OF  FAITH. 

SIR, 

1  readily  offer  you  my  thoughts  on  1  John 
v.  10,  "  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of 
God,  hath  the  witness  in  himself;"  though, 
perhaps,  you  will  think  I  am  writing  a  sermon 
rather  than  a  letter.  If  we  believe  in  the  Son 
of  God,  whatever  trials  we  may  meet  with  in 
the  present  life,  our  best  concerns  are  safe,  and 
our  happiness  is  sure.  If  we  do  not,  what- 
ever else  we  have,  or  seem  to  have,  we  are  in 
a  state  of  condemnation  ;  and  living  and  dy- 
ing so,  must  perish.  Thousands,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  persuade  themselves  that  they  are  be- 
lievers, though  they  cannot  stand  the  test  of 
scripture.  And  there  are  many  real  believers, 
■who,  through  the  prevalence  of  remaining  un- 
belief and  the  temptations  of  Satan,  form  hard 
conclusions  against  themselves  though  the 
scripture  speaks  peace  to  them.  But  how 
does  this  correspond  with  the  passage  before  us 
which  asserts  universally,  "  He  that  be- 
lieveth, hath  the  witness  in  himself?"  for  can 
a  man  have  the  witness  in  himself  and  yet  not 
know  it  ?  It  may  be  answered,  The  evidence, 
in  its  own  nature,  is  sufficient  and  infallible  ; 
but  we  are  very  apt,  when  we  would  form  a 
judgment  of  ourselves,  to  superadd  rules  and 
marks  of  trial  which  are  not  given  us,  for  that 
purpose,  in  the  Bible.  That  the  word  and 
Spirit  of  God  do  witness  for  his  children,  is  a 
point  in  which  many  are  agreed,  who  are  far 
from  being  agreed,  as  to  the  nature  and  man- 
ner of  that  witness.  It  is,  therefore,  very  de- 
sirable rightly  to  understand  the  evidence  by 
which  we  are  to  judge  whether  we  are  be- 
lievers or  not. 

The  importance  and  truth  of  the  gospel- 
salvation  is  witnessed  to  in  heaven,  by  "  the 
Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Spirit."  It  is 
witnessed  to  on  earth,  by  "  the  Spirit,  the 
water,  and  the  blood,"  verses  7  and  8.  The  Spi- 
rit, in  verse  8,  I  apprehend,  denotes  a  divine 
light  in  the  understanding,  communicated  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  enabling  the  soul  to  per- 
ceive and  approve  the  truth.  The  water 
seems  to  intend  the  powerful  influence  of  this 
knowledge  and  light,  in  the  work  of  sanctifi  ■ 
cation.  And  the  blood,  the  application  of  the 
blood  of  Jesus  to  the  conscience,  relieving  it 
from  guilt  and  fear,  and  imparting  a  "  peace 
which  passes  all  understanding."  And  he 
ihat  believeth  hath   this   united   testimony   of 


the  Spirit,  the  water,  and  the  Mood,  not  by 
hearsay  only,  but  in  himself.  According  to 
the  measure  of  his  faith  (for  faith  has  various 
degrees)  he  lias  a  living  proof  that  the  wit- 
ness is  true,  by  the  effects  wrought  in  his  own 
heart. 

These  things,  which  God  has  joined  toge- 
ther, are  too  often  attempted  to  be  separated. 
Attempts  of  this  kind  have  been  a  principal 
source  and  cause  of  most  of  the  dangerous 
errors  and  mistakes  which  are  to  be  found 
among  professors  of  religion.  Some  say 
much  concerning  the  Spirit,  and  lay  claim  to 
an  inward  light,  whereby  they  think  they 
know  the  things  of  God.  Others  lay  great 
stress  upon  the  water  ;  maintaining  a  regular 
conversation,  abstaining  from  the  defilements 
of  the  world,  and  aiming  at  a  mastery  over 
their  natural  desires  and  tempers  ;  but  neither 
the  one  nor  the  other  appear  to  be  duly  sen- 
sible of  the  value  of  the  blood  of  atonement,  as 
the  sole  ground  of  their  acceptance,  and  the 
spring  of  their  life  and  strength.  Others,  a- 
gain,  are  all  for  the  blood ;  can  speak  much 
of  Jesus,  and  his  blood  and  righteousness  ; 
though  it  does  not  appear  that  they  are  truly  spi- 
ritually enlightened  to  perceive  the  beauty  and 
harmony  of  gospel-truths,  or  that  they  pay  a  due 
regard  to  that  holiness  without  which  no  man 
can  see  the  Lord.  But  Jesus  came,  not  by 
water  only,  or  by  blood  only,  but  by  water 
and  blood ;  and  the  Spirit  bears  witness  to 
both,  because  the  Spirit  is  truth.  The  water 
alone  affords  but  a  cold  starched  form  of  god- 
liness, destitute  of  that  enlivening  power  which 
is  derived  from  a  knowledge  of  the  precious- 
ness  of  Jesus,  as  the  Lamb  that  was  slain. 
And  if  any  talk  of  the  blood  without  the  wa- 
ter, they  do  but  turn  the  grace  of  God  into 
licentiousness  j  so,  likewise,  to  pretend  to  the 
Spirit,  and  at  the  same  time  to  have  low 
thoughts  of  Jesus,  is  a  delusion  and  vanity  ; 
for  the  true  Spirit  testifies  and  takes  of  his 
glory,  and  presents  it  to  the  sold.  But  the 
real  believer  receives  the  united  testimony, 
and  has  the  witness  in  himself  that  he  does 
so. 

To  have  the  witness  in  ourselves,  is  to  have 
the  truths 'that  are  declared  in  the  scripture 
revealed  in  our  hearts.  This  brings  an  ex- 
perimental conviction,  which  may  be  safely 
depended  on,  that  "  we  have  received  the 
grace  of  God  in  truth."  A  man  born  blind 
may  believe  that  the  sun  is  bright  upon  the 
testimony  of  another ;  but  if  he  should  ob- 
tain his  sight,  he  would  have  the  witness  in 
himself.  Believing  springs  from  a  sense  and 
perception  of  the  truths  of  the  gospel ;  and 
whoever  hath  this  spiritual  perception  is  a  be- 
liever. He  has  the  witness  in  himself.  He 
has  received  the  Spirit ;  his  understanding  is 
enlightened,  whereby  he  sees  things  to  be  as 
they  are  described,  in  the  word  of  God,  re- 
specting his  own  state   by  sin,   and  the  utter 


LET.   VITI.  ON  THE  INWARD 

impossibility  of  his  obtaining  relief  by  any 
other  means  than  those  proposed  in  the  gos- 
pel. These  things  are  hidden  from  us  by  na- 
ture. He  has  likewise  received  the  blood. 
The  knowledge  of  sin,  and  its  demerits,  if 
alone,  would  drive  us  to  despair  ;  but  by  the 
same  light  of  the  Spirit,  Jesus  is  apprehended 
as  a  suitable  and  all-sufficient  Saviour.  All 
that  i".  declared  concerning  his  person,  offices, 
love,  sufferings,  and  obedience,  is  understood 
and  approved.  Here  the  wounded  and 
weary  soul,  finds  healing  and  rest.  Then  the 
apostle's  language  is  adopted,  "  Yea,  doubt- 
less, and  I  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the 
excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus 
my  Lord."  He  has  likewise  received  the 
water,  considered  as  the  emblem  of  sanctifica- 
tion.  To  a  believer,  all  that  the  scripture 
teaches  concerning  the  nature,  beauty,  and 
necessity  of  holiness,  as  a  living  principle  in 
the  heart,  carries  conviction  and  evidence. 
A  deliverance  from  the  power,  as  well  as 
from  the  guilt  of  sin,  appears  to  be  an  im- 
portant, and  essential  part  of  salvation.  He 
sees  his  original  and  his  proper  happiness, 
that  nothing  less  than  communion  with  God 
and  conformity  to  him,  is  worth  his  pursuit. 
And  therefore  he  can  say,  "  My  soul  thirsteth 
for  thee  ;  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after 
the  inward  man."  In  a  word,  his  judgment 
and  his  choice  are  formed  upon  a  new  spiri- 
tual taste,  derived  from  the  written  word,  and 
correspondent  with  it,  as  the  musical  ear  is 
adapted  to  relish  harmony  :  so  that  what  God 
has  forbidden,  appears  hateful  ;  what  he  has 
commanded,  necessary  ;  what  he  has  promis- 
ed, desirable ;  and  what  he  has  revealed,  glo- 
rious. Whoever  has  these  perceptions,  has 
the  witness  in  himself,  that  he  has  been  taught 
of  God,  and  believes  in  his  Son. 

If  you  think  this  explanation  is  agreeable  to 
the  scripture,  you  will  be  satisfied  that  the 
witness  spoken  of  in  this  passage,  is  very  dif- 
ferent from  what  some  persons  understand  it 
to  be.  It  is  not  an  impulse,  or  strong  per- 
suasion impressed  upon  us  in  a  way  of  which 
we  can  give  no  account,  that  "  we  are  the 
children  of  God,"  and  that  our  sins  are  free- 
ly forgiven ;  nor  is  the  powerful  application 
of  a  particular  text  of  scripture  necessary  to 
produce  it ;  neither  is  it  always  connected 
with  a  very  lively,  and  sensible  comfort.  These 
things,  in  some  persons,  and  instances,  may 
accompany  the  witness  or  testimony  we  are 
speaking  of,  but  do  not  properly  belong  to  it ; 
and  they  may  be,  and  often  have  been,  coun- 
terfeited. But  what  I  have  described  is  inimi- 
table and  infallible;  it  is  undubitably,  as  the 
magicians  confessed  of  the  miracles  of  Moses, 
the  finger  of  God,  as  certainly  the  effect  of 
his  divine  power  as  the  creation  of  the  world. 
It  is  true,  many  who  have  this  witness  walk 
in  darkness,  and  are  harassed  with  many 
doubts  and  perplexities  concerning  their  state ; 
but  this  is  not  because  the  witness  is  not  suf- 


WITNESS  OF  FAITH. 


53 


ficient  to  give  them  satisfaction,  but  because 
they  do  not  account  it  so  ;  being  misled  by 
the  influence  of  self-will  and  a  legal  spirit, 
they  overlook  this  evidence  as  too  simple,  and 
expect  something  extraordinary  ;  at  least,  they 
think  they  cannot  be  right,  unless  they  are  led 
in  the  same  way  in  which  the  Lord  has  been 
pleased  to  lead  others,  with  whom  they  may 
have  conversed.  But  the  Lord  the  Spirit  is 
sovereign  and  free  in  his  operations  ;  and 
though  he  gives  to  all  who  are  the  subjects  of 
his  grace,  the  same  views  of  sin,  of  themselves, 
and  of  the  Saviour  ;  yet  with  respect  to  the 
circumstantials  of  his  work,  there  is,  as  in  the 
features  of  our  faces,  such  an  amazing  va- 
riety, that  perhaps  no  two  persons  can  be 
found  whose  experiences  have  been  exactly 
alike  :  but,  as  the  apostle  says,  that  "  he  that 
believeth,"  that  is,  whosoever  believeth,  with- 
out exception,  "  has  the  witness  in  himself;" 
it  must,  consequently,  arise  from  what  is  com- 
mon to  them  all,  and  not  from  what  is  pecu- 
liar to  a  few. 

Before  I  conclude,  I  would  make  two  or 
three  observations.  In  the  first  place,  I  think 
it  is  plain,  that  the  supposition  of  a  real  be- 
liever's living  in  sin,  or  taking  encouragement 
from  the  gospel  so  to  do,  is  destitute  of  the 
least  foundation  in  truth,  and  can  only  pro- 
ceed from  an  ignorance  of  the  subject.  Sin 
is  the  burden  under  which  he  groans ;  and  he 
would  account  nothing  short  of  a  deliverance 
from  it  worthy  the  name  of  salvation.  A 
principal  part  of  his  evidence,  that  he  is  a  be- 
liever, arises  from  that  abhorrence  of  sin  which 
he  habitually  feels.  It  is  true,  sin  still  dwel- 
leth  in  him  ;  but  he  loaths  and  resists  it  :  up- 
on this  account  he  is  in  a  state  of  continual 
warfare  ;  if  he  was  not  so,  he  could  not  have 
the  witness  in  himself,  that  he  is  born  of 
God. 

Again,  from  hence  arises  a  solid  evidence, 
that  the  scripture  is  indeed  the  word  of  God, 
because  it  so  exactly  describes  what  is  exem- 
plified in  the  experience  of  all  who  are  sub- 
jects of  a  work  of  grace.  While  we  are  in  a 
natural  state,  it  is  to  us  as  a  sealed  book  ; 
though  we  can  read  it,  and  perhaps  assent  to 
the  facts,  we  can  no  more  understand  our  own 
concernments  in  what  we  read,  than  if  it  was 
written  in  an  unknown  tongue.  But  when 
the  mind  is  enlightened  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
the  scripture  addresses  us  as  it  were  by  name, 
explains  every  difficulty  under  which  we  la- 
boured, and  proposes  an  adequate  and  effec- 
tual remedy  for  the  relief  of  all  our  wants  and 
fears. 

Lastly,  it  follows,  that  the  hope  of  a  be- 
liever, is  built  upon  a  foundation  that  cannot 
be  shaken,  though  it  may,  and  will  be,  assault- 
ed. It  does  not  depend  upon  occasional  and 
changeable  frames,  upon  any  that  is  preca- 
rious and  questionable,  but  upon  a  correspon- 
dence and  agreement  with  the  written  word. 
Nor  does  this  agreement  depend  upon  a  train 


54 


ON  ELECTION  AND  PERSEVERANCE. 


of  laboured  arguments  and  deductions,  but  is 
self-evident,  as  light  is  to  the  eye,  to  every  per- 
son who  has  a  real  participation  of  the  grace 
of  God.  It  is  equally  suited  to  all  capacities  ; 
by  this  the  unlearned  are  enabled  to  know 
their  election  of  God,  and  to  "  rejoice  with  a 
joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory."  And  the 
wisest,  if  destitute  of  this  perception,  though 
they  may  be  masters  of  all  the  external  evi- 
dences of  Christianity,  and  able  to  combat  the 
cavils  of  infidels,  can  see  no  real  beauty  in  the 
truths  of  the  gospel,  nor  derive  any  solid  com- 
fort from  them. 

I  have  only  sent  you  a  few  hasty  hints  :  it 
would  be  easy  to  enlarge ;  but  I  sat  down, 
not  to  write  a  book,  but  a  letter.  May  this 
inward  witness  preside  with  power  in  our 
hearts,  to  animate  our  hopes,  and  to  mortify 
our  corruptions ! 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IX. 

ON    THE    DOCTRINES    OF  ELECTION  AND  FINAL 

PERSEVERANCE. 

DEAR  SIR, 

Your  letter  breathes  the  spirit  of  a  christian, 
though  you  say  you  are  not  a  Calvinist.  I 
should  have  still  confined  myself,  in  my  letters, 
to  the  great  truths  in  which  we  are  agreed,  if 
you  had  not  invited  me  to  touch  upon  the 
points  wherein  we  differ.  If  you  were  posi- 
tive and  peremptory  in  your  present  senti- 
ments, I  should  not  think  it  my  duty  to  de- 
bate with  you  ;  in  that  case,  we  might  contend 
as  much  for  victory  as  for  truth.  But  as  you 
profess  yourself  an  inquirer,  and  are  desirous 
of  forming  your  judgment  agreeable  to  the 
word  of  God,  without  being  influenced  by  the 
authority  of  names  and  parties,  I  willingly 
embrace  the  occasion  you  offer  me.  You 
say,  that  though  you  are  not  prejudiced  against 
the  doctrines  of  election,  and  perseverance  of 
the  saints,  they  appear  to  you  attended  with 
such  difficulties,  that  you  cannot  yet  heartily 
and  fully  assent  to  them.  May  the  Lord 
the  Spirit,  whose  office  it  is  to  guide  his  peo- 
ple into  all  truth,  dictate  to  my  pen,  and  ac- 
company what  I  shall  write  with  his  blessing. 
It  is  not  my  intention  to  prove  and  illus- 
trate these  doctrines  at  large,  or  to  encounter 
the  various  objections  that  have  been  raised 
against  them.  So  much  has  been  done  in 
this  way  already,  that  I  could  only  repeat 
what  has  been  said  to  greater  advantage  by 
others.  Nor  need  I  refer  you  to  the  books 
which  have  been  professedly  written  upon  this 
argument.  In  a  letter  to  a  friend,  I  shall  not 
aim  at  the  exactness  of  a  disputant,  but  only 
oiler  a  fev-'  unpremeditated  hints,  in  the  same 


LET.   IX. 

manner  as  if  I  had  the  pleasure  of  personally 
conversing  with  you. 

Permit  me  to  remind  you,  in  the  first  place, 
of  that  important  aj)horism,  John  iii.  27. 
(which,  by  the  bye,  seems  to  speak  strongly 
in  favour  of  the  doctrines  in  question)  :  "  A 
man  can  receive  nothing,  except  it  be  given 
him  from  heaven."  If  you  should  accede  to 
my  opinions  upon  my  persuasion  only,  you 
would  be  little  benefited  by  the  exchange. 
The  Lord  alone  can  give  us  the  true,  vital, 
comfortable,  and  useful  knowledge  of  his  own 
truths.  We  may  become  wise  in  notions, 
and  so  far  masters  of  a  system  or  scheme  of 
doctrines,  as  to  be  able  to  argue,  object,  and 
fight,  in  favour  of  our  own  hypothesis,  by  dint 
of  application,  and  natural  abilities;  but  we 
rightly  understand  what  we  say,  and  whereof 
we  affirm,  no  farther  than  we  have  a  spiritual 
perception  of  it  wrought  in  our  hearts  by  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  not,  there- 
fore, by  noisy  disputation,  but  by  humble 
waiting  upon  God  in  prayer,  and  a  careful 
perusal  of  his  holy  word,  that  we  are  to  expect 
a  satisfactory,  experimental,  and  efficacious 
knowledge  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  I 
am  persuaded,  that  you  are  seeking  in  this 
way  ;  if  so,  I  am  confident,  you  shall  not  seek 
in  vain.  The  Lord  teaches  effectually,  though 
for  the  most  part  gradually.  The  path  of  the 
just  is  compared  to  the  light,  which  is  very 
faint  at  the  early  dawn,  but  shineth  more  and 
more  to  the  perfect  day. 

If  you  sincerely  seek  the  Lord's  direction 
by  prayer,  you  will  of  course  make  use  of  his 
appointed  means  of  information,  and  search 
the  scriptures.  Give  me  leave  to  offer  you 
the  following  advices,  while  you  are  reading 
and  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual 
First,  not  to  lay  too  great  stress  upon  a  fe» 
detached  texts,  but  seek  for  that  sense  which 
is  most  agreeable  to  the  general  strain  of  the 
scripture-  The  infallible  word  of  God  must 
doubtless  be  consistent  with  itself.  If  it 
does  not  appear  so  to  us,  the  obscurity  and 
seeming  inconsistency  must  be  charged  to  the 
remaining  darkness  and  ignorance  of  our 
minds.  As  many  locks,  whose  wards  differ,  are 
opened  with  equal  ease  by  one  master-key  ;  so 
there  is  a  certain  comprehensive  view  of  scrip- 
tural truth,  which  opens  hard  places,  solves 
objections,  and  happily  reconciles,  illustrates, 
and  harmonizes  many  texts,  which,  to  those 
who  have  not  this  master-key,  frequently  styl- 
ed the  analogy  of  faith,  appear  little  less  than 
contradictory  to  each  other.  When  you  ob- 
tain this  key,  you  will  be  sure  that  you  have 
the  right  sense. 

Again,  you  will  do  well  to  consult  experi- 
ence as  you  go  along.  For  though  this  is  not 
to  be  depended  upon  in  the  first  instance,  but 
must  itself  be  subjected  to  the  rule  of  the 
written   word,  yet  it  is  a    good    subordinate 


LET. 

help. 


IX. 


ON  ELECTION  AND   PERSEVERANCE. 


55 


Consider  which  sense  is  most  agree- 
able to  what  passes  within  you  and  around 
you,  and  which  best  answers  to  the  dealings 
of  God  with  yourself,  and  to  what  you  can 
observe  of  his  dealings  with  others. 

Farther,  when  you  are  led  (as  I  think  you 
will  be,  if  you  are  not  already)  to  view  the 
Calvinist  doctrines  in  a  favourable  light,  be 
not  afraid  of  embracing  them,  because  there 
may  be,  perhaps,  some  objections,  which, 
for  want  of  a  full  possession  of  the  key  I 
mentioned,  you  are  not  able  to  clear  up  ;  but 
consider  if  there  are  not  as  strong  or  stronger 
objections  against  the  other  side.  We  are 
poor  weak  creatures  :  and  the  clearing  up  of 
every  difficulty  is  not  what  we  are  immediate- 
ly called  to,  but  rather  to  seek  that  light  which 
may  strengthen  and  feed  our  souls. 

Lastly,  compare  the  tendency  of  different 
opinions.  This  is  an  excellent  rule,  if  we  can 
fairly  apply  it.  Whatever  is  from  God  has  a 
sure  tendency  to  ascribe  glory  to  him,  to  ex- 
clude boasting  from  the  creature,  to  promote 
the  love  and  practice  of  holiness,  and  increase 
our  dependence  upon  his  grace  and  faithful- 
ness. The  Calvinists  have  no  reason  to  be 
afraid  of  resting  the  merits  of  their  cause  up- 
on this  issue ;  notwithstanding  the  unjust 
misrepresentations  which  have  been  often 
made  of  their  principles,  and  the  ungenerous 
treatment  of  those  who  would  charge  the  mis- 
carriages of  a  few  individuals,  as  the  neces- 
sary consequence  of  embracing  those  princi- 
ples. 

But  I  must  check  myself,  or  I  shall  finish 
my  letter  before  I  properly  begin  my  subject. 
You  have  objections  to  the  doctrine  of  elec- 
tion. You  will,  however,  agree  with  me, 
that  the  scripture  does  speak  of  it,  and  that  in 
very  strong  and  express  terms,  particularly 
St  Paul.  I  have  met  with  some  sincere  peo- 
ple, as  I  believe,  who  have  told  me  that  they 
could  not  bear  to  read  his  8th  chapter  to  the 
Romans,  but  always  passed  it  over ;  so  that 
their-  prejudices  against  election,  prejudiced 
them  against  a  part  of  the  scripture  likewise. 
But  why  so,  unless  because  the  dreaded  doctrine 
is  maintained  too  plainly  to  be  evaded  ?  But 
you  will  say,  that  some  writers  and  preachers 
attempt  to  put  an  easier  sense  upon  the  a- 
postle's  words.  Let  us  judge  then,  as  I  late- 
ly proposed,  from  experience.  Admitting, 
what  I  am  sure  you  will  admit,  the  total  de- 
pravity of  human  nature,  how  can  we  account 
for  the  conversion  of  a  soul  to  God,  unless 
we  likewise  admit  an  election  of  grace  ?  The 
work  must  begin  somewhere.  Either  the  sin- 
ner first  seeks  the  Lord,  or  the  Lord  first 
seeks  the  sinner.  The  former  is  impossible, 
if  by  nature  we  are  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins ;  if  the  God  of  this  world  has  blinded 
our  eyes,  and  maintains  the  possession  of  our 
hearts  ;  and  if  our  carnal  minds,  so  far  from 
being  disposed  to  seek  God,  are  enmity  against 
him.      Let  me  appeal  to  yourself.      I  think 


you  know  yourself  too  well  to  say,  that  you 
either  sought  or  loved  the  Lord  first ;  per- 
haps you  are  conscious,  that  for  a  season,  and 
so  far  as  in  you  lay,  you  even  resisted  his 
call  ;  and  must  have  perished,  if  he  had  not 
made  you  willing  in  the  day  of  his  power,  and 
saved  you  in  defiance  of  yourself.  In  your 
own  case,  you  acknowledge  that  he  began 
with  you  ;  and  it  must  be  the  case  universal- 
ly with  all  that  are  called,  if  the  whole  race  of 
mankind  are  by  nature  enemies  to  God. 
Then  farther,  there  must  be  an  election,  un- 
less all  are  called.  But  we  are  assured  that 
the  broad  road  which  is  thronged  with  the 
greatest  multitudes,  leads  to  destruction. 
Were  not  you  and  I  in  this  road  ?  Were  we 
better  than  those  who  continue  in  it  still  ? 
What  has  made  us  differ  from  our  former 
selves?  Grace.  What  has  made  us  differ 
from  those  who  are  now  as  we  once  were  ? 
Grace.  Then  this  grace,  by  the  very  terms, 
must  be  differencing,  or  distinguishing  grace  ; 
that  is,  in  other  words,  electing  grace.  And 
to  suppose,  that  God  should  make  this  election 
or  choice  only  at  the  time  of  our  calling,  is 
not  only  unscriptural,  but  contrary  to  the  dic- 
tates of  right  reason,  and  the  ideas  we  have  of 
the  divine  perfections,  particularly  those  of 
omniscience  and  immutability.  They  who 
believe  there  is  any  power  in  man  by  nature, 
whereby  he  can  turn  to  God,  may  contend  for 
a  conditional  election  upon  the  foresight  of 
faith  and  obedience  ;  but  while  others  dispute, 
let  you  and  me  admire;  for  we  know  that  the 
Lord  foresaw  us  (as  we  were)  in  a  state  ut- 
terly incapable  either  of  believing  or  obeying, 
unless  he  was  pleased  to  work  in  us  to  will 
and  to  do  according  to  his  own  good  plea- 
sure. 

As  to  final  perseverance,  whatever  judg- 
ment we  form  of  it  in  a  doctrinal  view,  unless 
we  ourselves  do  so  persevere,  our  profession 
of  religion  will  be  utterly  vain  ;  for  only 
"  they  that  endure  to  the  end  shall  be  saved." 
It  should  seem,  that  whoever  believes  this, 
and  is  duly  apprised  of  his  own  weakness,  the 
number  and  strength  of  his  spiritual  enemies, 
and  the  difficulties  and  dangers  arising  from 
his  situation  in  this  evil  world,  will  at  least  be 
desirous  to  have,  if  possible,  some  security, 
that  his  labour  and  expectation  shall  not  be 
in  vain.  To  be  at  an  uncertainty  in  a  point 
of  so  great  importance,  to  have  nothing  to 
trust  to  for  our  continuance  in  well-doing,  but 
our  own  feeble  efforts,  our  partial  diligence, 
and  short-sighted  care,  must  surely  be  distres- 
sing, if  we  rightly  consider  how  unable  we 
are  in  ourselves  to  withstand  the  forces  of  the 
devil,  the  world,  and  t';e  flesh,  which  are  com- 
bined against  our  peace.  In  this  view  I 
should  expect,  that  the  opposers  of  this  doc- 
trine, if  thoroughly  sensible  of  their  state  and 
situation,  upon  a  supposition  that  they  should 
be  able  to  prove  it  unscriptural  and  false, 
would  weep  over  their  victory,   and   be   sor« 


56 


ON  ELECTION  AND 


that  a  sentiment,  so  apparently  suited  to  en- 
courage and  animate  our  hope,  should  not  be 
founded  in  truth.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at,  that  this  doctrine,  which  gives  to  the 
Lord  the  glory  due  to  his  name,  and  provides 
so  effectually  for  the  comfort  of  his  people, 
should  be  opposed  and  traduced  by  men  of 
corrupt  hearts.  But  it  may  well  seem  strange, 
that  they  who  feel  their  need  of  it,  and  can- 
not be  comfortable  without  it,  should  be  afraid 
or  unwilling  to  receive  it.  Yet  many  a  child 
of  light  is  walking  in  darkness  upon  this  ac- 
count. Either  they  are  staggered  by  the  sen- 
timents of  those  whom  they  think  wiser  than 
themselves,  or  stumbled  by  the  falls  of  pro- 
fessors who  were  once  advocates  for  this  doc- 
trine, or  perplexed  because  they  cannot  right- 
ly understand  those  passages  of  scripture 
which  seem  to  speak  a  different  language. 
But  as  light  and  knowledge  increase,  these  dif- 
ficulties are  lessened.  The  Lord  claims  the 
honour,  and  he  engages  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  a  complete  salvation,  that  no  power 
shall  pluck  his  people  out  of  his  hand,  or  se- 
parate them  from  his  love.  Their  perseve- 
rance in  grace,  besides  being  asserted  in  many 
express  promises,  may  be  proved  with  the  ful- 
lest evidence  from  the  unchangeableness  of 
God,  the  intercession  of  Christ,  the  union 
which  subsists  between  him  and  his  people, 
and  from  the  principle  of  spiritual  life  he  has 
implanted  in  their  hearts,  which,  in  its  own 
nature,  is  connected  with  everlasting  life; 
for  grace  is  the  seed  of  glory.  I  have  not 
room  to  enlarge  on  these  particulars,  but  re- 
fer you  to  the  following  texts,  from  which 
various  strong  and  invincible  arguments  might 
be  drawn  for  their  confirmation  ;  Luke  xiv. 
28 — 30,  compared  with  Phil.  i.  6.  ;  Heb.  vii. 
24.  with  Rom.  viii.  34 — 39.;  John  xiv.  19. 
with  John  xv.  1,  2.  ;  John  iv.  14.  Upon 
these  grounds,  my  friend,  why  may  not  you, 
who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  the  hope  set  before 
you,  and  committed  your  soul  to  Jesus,  re- 
joice in  his  salvation  ;  and  say,  "  While  Christ 
is  the  foundation,  root,  head,  and  husband  of 
his  people,  while  the  word  of  God  is  Yea  and 
Amen,  while  the  counsels  of  God  are  un- 
changeable, while  we  have  a  Mediator  and 
High  Priest  before  the  throne,  while  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  willing  and  able  to  bear  witness  to 
the  truths  of  the  gospel,  while  God  is  wiser 
than  men,  and  stronger  than  Satan,  so  long 
the  believer  in  Jesus  is  and  shall  be  safe. 
Heaven  and  earth  may  pass  away,  but  the 
promise,  the  oath,  and  the  blood,  on  which  my 
soul  relies,  afford  me  a  security  wliich  can 
never  fail," 

As  the  doctrines  of  election  and  persever- 
ance are  comfortable,  so  they  cut  off  all  pre- 
tence of  boasting  and  self-dependence,  when 
they  are  truly  received  in  the  heart,  and  there- 
fore tend  to  exalt  the  Saviour.  Of  course 
they  stain  the  pride  of  all  human  glory,  and 
leave    us    nothing   io  glory  in  but   the   Lord. 


PERSEVERANCE.  LET.  IX 

The  more  we  are  convinced  of  our  utter  de- 
pravity and  inability  from  first  to  last,  the 
more  excellent  will  Jesus  appear.  The  whole 
may  give  the  physician  a  good  word,  but  the 
sick  alone  know  how  to  prize  him.  And  here 
I  cannot  but  remark  a  difference  between  those 
who  have  nothing  to  trust  to  but  free  grace, 
and  those  who  ascribe  a  little  at  least  to  some 
good  disposition  and  ability  in  man.  We  as- 
sent to  whatever  they  enforce  from  the  word 
of  God  on  the  subject  of  sanctification.  We 
acknowledge  its  importance,  its  excellency,  its 
beauty  ;  but  we  could  wish  they  would  join 
more  with  us  in  exalting  the  Redeemer's 
name.  Their  experience  seems  to  lead  them 
to  talk  of  themselves,  of  the  change  that  is 
wrought  in  them,  and  the  much  that  depends 
upon  their  own  watchfulness  and  striving.  We 
likewise  would  be  thankful  if  we  could  per- 
ceive a  change  wrought  in  us  by  the  power  of 
grace.  We  desire  to  be  found  watching  like- 
wise. But  when  our  hopes  are  most  alive,  it 
is  less  from  a  view  of  the  imperfect  begin- 
nings of  grace  in  our  hearts,  than  from  an  ap- 
prehension of  him  who  is  our  all  in  all.  His 
person,  his  love,  his  sufferings,  his  interces- 
sion, compassion,  fulness,  and  faithfulness, — 
these  are  our  delightful  themes,  which  leave 
us  little  leisure,  when  in  our  best  frames,  to 
speak  of  ourselves.  How  do  our  hearts 
soften,  and  our  eyes  melt,  when  we  feel  some 
liberty  in  thinking  and  speaking  of  him!  For 
we  had  no  help  in  time  past,  nor  can  have 
any  in  time  to  come,  but  from  him  alone.  If 
any  persons  have  contributed  a  mite  to  their 
own  salvation,  it  was  more  than  we  could  do. 
If  any  were  obedient  and  faithful  to  the  first 
calls  and  impressions  of  his  Spirit,  it  was  not 
our  case.  If  any  were  prepared  to  receive 
him  before  hand,  we  know  that  we  were  in  a 
state  of  alienation  from  him.  We  needed  so- 
vereign irresistible  grace  to  save  us,  or  we 
had  been  lost  for  ever.  If  there  are  any  who 
have  a  power  of  their  own,  we  must  confess 
ourselves  poorer  than  they  are.  We  cannot 
watch,  unless  he  watches  with  us ;  we  cannot 
strive,  unless  he  strives  with  us  ;  we  cannot 
stand  one  moment,  unless  he  holds  us  up  ; 
and  we  believe  we  must  perish  after  all,  un- 
less his  faithfulness  is  engaged  to  keep  us. 
But  this,  we  trust,  he  will  do,  not  for  our 
righteousness,  but  for  his  own  name's  sake, 
and  because,  having  loved  us  with  an  ever- 
lasting love,  he  has  been  pleased,  in  loving- 
kindness,  to  draw  us  to  himself,  and  to  bo 
found  of  us  when  we  sought  him  not. 

Can  you  think,  dear  Sir,  that  a  person  who 
lives  under  the  influence  of  these  sentiments, 
will  desire  to  continue  in  sin,  because  grace 
abounds?  No;  you  are  too  candid  an  ob- 
server of  men  and  manners,  to  betieve  the  ca- 
lumnies which  are  propagated  against  us.  It 
is  true,  there  are  too  many  false  and  empty 
professors  amongst  us ;  but  are  there  none 
amongst   those  who   hold  the  opposite  senti» 


LET.  X. 


ON  GRACE  IN   THE  BLADE. 


57 


ments  ?  And  I  would  observe,  that  the  ob- 
jection drawn  from  the  miscarriages  of  re- 
puted Calvinists  is  quite  beside  the  purpose. 
We  maintain,  that  no  doctrines  or  means  can 
change  the  heart,  or  produce  a  gracious  con- 
versation, without  the  efficacious  power  of 
almighty  grace;  therefore,  if  it  is  found  to 
be  so  in  fact,  it  should  not  be  charged  against 
our  doctrine,  but  rather  admitted  as  a  proof 
and  confirmation  of  it.  We  confess,  that  we 
fall  sadly  short  in  every  thing,  and  have  rea- 
son to  be  ashamed  and  amazed  that  we  are  so 
faintly  influenced  by  such  animating  prin- 
ciples ;  yet,  upon  the  whole,  our  consciences 
bear  us  witness,  and  we  hope  we  may  declare 
it  both  to  the  church  and  to  the  world,  with- 
out just  fear  of  contradiction,  that  the  doc- 
trines of  grace  are  doctrines  according  to  god- 
liness. 

I  am,   &c. 


LETTER  X. 

A  ;  OR,  GRACE  IN  THE  BLADE.   MARK  IV.  28. 
DEAR  SIR, 

According  to  your  desire,  I  sit  down  to  give 
you  my  general  views  of  a  progressive  work 
of  grace,  in  the  several  stages  of  a  believer's 
experience,  which  I  shall  mark  by  the  differ- 
ent characters,  A,  B,  C,  answerable  to  the 
distinctions  our  Lord  teaches  us  to  observe 
from  the  growth  of  the  corn,  Mark  iv.  28. 
"  First  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that  the 
full  corn  in  the  ear."  The  Lord  leads  all  his 
people  effectually  and  savingly  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  same  essential  truths,  but  in  such 
a  variety  of  methods,  that  it  will  be  needful, 
in  this  disquisition,  to  set  aside,  as  much  as 
possible,  such  things  as  may  be  only  per- 
sonal and  occasional  in  the  experience  of 
each,  and  to  collect  those  only  which,  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  are  common  to  them 
all.  I  shall  not,  therefore,  give  you  a  copy 
of  my  own  experience,  or  of  that  of  any  indi- 
vidual ;  but  shall  endeavour,  as  clearly  as  I 
can,  to  state  what  the  scripture  teaches  us 
concerning  the  nature  and  essentials  of  a  work 
of  grace,  so  far  as  it  will  bear  a  general  appli- 
cation to  all  those  who  are  the  subjects  of  gra- 
cious operations. 

By  nature  we  are  all  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins,  not  only  strangers  to  God,  but  in  a  state 
of  enmity  and  opposition  to  his  government 
and  grace.  In  this  respect,  whatever  differ- 
ence there  may  be  in  the  characters  of  men  as 
members  of  society,  they  are  all,  whether  wise 
or  ignorant,  whether  sober  or  profane,  equally 
incapable  of  receiving  or  approving  divine 
truths,  1  Cor.  ii.  14.  On  this  ground  our 
Lord  declares,  "  No  man  can  come  unto  me, 
except  the  Father  who  has  sent  me  draws 
him."      Though    the   term    Father    most   fre- 


quently expresses  a  known  and  important  dis- 
tinction in  the  adorable  Trinity,  I  apprehend 
our  Lord  sometimes  uses  it,  to  denote  God, 
or  the  Divine  Nature,  in  contradistinction 
from  his  humanity,  as  in  John  xiv.  9.  And 
this  I  take  to  be  the  sense  here :  "  No  man 
can  come  unto  me,  unless  he  is  taught  of 
God,"  and  wrought  upon  by  a  divine  power. 
The  immediate  exertion  of  this  power,  ac- 
cording to  the  economy  of  salvation,  is  ra- 
ther ascribed  to  the  Holy  Spirit  than  to  the 
Father,  John  xvi.  8 — 11.  But  it  is  the 
power  of  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  therefore  severally  attri- 
buted to  the  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  John  v. 
21,  and  ch.  vi.  44,  63;  2  Cor.  iii.  18;  2 
Thes.  iii.  5. 

By  A,  I  would  understand  a  person  who 
is  under  the  drawings  of  God,  which  will  in- 
fallibly lead  him  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
for  life  and  salvation.  The  beginning  of  this 
work  is  instantaneous.  It  is  effected  by  a 
certain  kind  of  light  communicated  to  the 
soul,  to  which  it  was  before  an  utter  stranger. 
The  eyes  of  the  understanding  are  opened 
and  enlightened.  The  light  at  first  afforded 
is  weak  and  indistinct,  like  the  morning 
dawn  ;  but  when  it  is  once  begun,  it  will  cer- 
tainly increase  and  spread  to  the  perfect  day. 
We  commonly  speak  as  if  conviction  of  sin 
was  the  first  work  of  God  upon  the  soul  that 
he  is  in  mercy  about  to  draw  unto  himself. 
But  I  think  this  is  inaccurate.  Conviction  is 
only  a  part,  or  rather  an  immediate  effect  of 
that  first  work;  and  there  are  many  convic- 
tions which  do  not  at  all  spring  from  it,  and 
therefore  are  only  occasional  and  temporary, 
though  for  a  season  they  may  be  very  sharp, 
and  put  a  person  upon  doing  many  things. 
In  order  to  a  due  conviction  of  sin,  we  must 
previously  have  some  adequate  conceptions  of 
the  God  with  whom  we  have  to  do.  Sin 
may  be  feared  as  dangerous  without  this  ;  but 
its  nature  and  demerit  can  only  be  understood 
by  being  contrasted  witli  the  holiness,  ma- 
jesty, goodness,  and  truth,  of  the  God  against 
whom  it  is  committed.  No  outward  means, 
no  mercies,  judgments,  or  ordinances,  can 
communicate  such  a  discovery  of  God,  or  pro- 
duce such  a  conviction  of  sin,  without  the 
concurrence  of  this  divine  light  and  power  to 
the  soul.  The  natural  conscience  and  pas- 
sions may  indeed  be  so  far  wrought  upon  by 
outward  means,  as  to  stir  up  some  desires  and 
endeavours ;  but  if  these  are  not  founded  in 
a  spiritual  apprehension  of  the  perfections  of 
God,  according  to  the  revelation  he  has  made 
of  himself  in  his  word,  they  will  sooner  or 
later  come  to  nothing;  and  the  person  affect- 
ed will  either  return  by  degrees  to  his  former 
ways,  2  Peter  ii.  20,  or  he  will  sink  into  a 
self-righteous  form  of  godliness,  destitute 
of  the  power,  Luke  xviii.  11.  And  there- 
fore, as  there  are  so  many  things  in  the  dis- 
pensation  of  the  gospel  suited  to  work  upon 


68 


ON  GRACE  IN  THE  BLADE. 


LET.  x. 


the  natural  passions  of  men,  the  many  woeful 
miscarriages  and  apostacies  amongst  profes- 
sors are  more  to  be  lamented  than  wondered 
at.  For  though  the  seed  may  seem  to  spring 
up,  and  look  green  for  a  season,  if  there  be 
not  depth  for  it.  to  take  root,  it  will  surely 
wither  away.  We  may  be  unable  to  judge 
with  certainty  upon  the  first  appearance  of  a 
religious  profession,  whether  the  work  be 
thus  deep  and  spiritual,  or  not;  but  "the 
Lord  knows  them  that  are  his  ;"  and  where- 
ever  it  is  real,  it  is  an  infallible  token  of  sal- 
vation. Now,  as  God  only  thus  reveals  him- 
self by  the  medium  of  scripture-truth,  the 
light  received  this  way  leads  the  soul  to  the 
scripture  from  whence  it  springs,  and  all  the 
leading  truths  of  the  word  of  God  soon  begin 
to  be  perceived  and  assented  to.  The  evil  of 
sin  is  acknowledged,  the  evil  of  the  heart  is 
felt.  There  may  be  for  a  while  some  efforts 
to  obtain  the  favour  of  God  by  prayer,  re- 
pentance, and  reformation  ;  but  for  the  most 
part  it  is  not  very  long  before  these  things  are 
proved  to  be  vain  and  ineffectual.  The  soul, 
like  the  woman  mentioned  Mark  v.  26,  wear- 
ied with  vain  expedients,  finds  itself  worse 
and  worse,  and  is  gradually  brought  to  see 
the  necessity  and  sufficiency  of  the  gospel- 
salvation.  A  may  soon  be  a  believer  thus 
far :  That  he  believes  the  word  of  God,  sees 
and  feels  things  to  be  as  they  are  thus  de- 
scribed, hates  and  avoids  sin,  because  he 
knows  it  is  displeasing  to  God,  and  contrary 
to  his  goodness  ;  he  receives  the  record  which 
God  has  given  of  his  Son  ;  has  his  heart  af- 
fected and  drawn  to  Jesus  by  views  of  his 
glory,  and  of  his  love  to  poor  sinners  ;  ven- 
tures upon  his  name  and  promises  as  his  only 
encouragement  to  come  to  a  throne  of  grace ; 
waits  diligently  in  the  use  of  all  means  ap- 
pointed for  the  communion  and  growth  of 
grace  ;  loves  the  Lord's  people,  accounts  them 
the  excellent  of  the  earth,  and  delights  in  their 
conversation.  He  is  longing,  waiting,  and 
praying  for  a  share  in  those  blessings  which 
he  believes  they  enjoy,  and  can  be  satisfied 
with  nothing  less.  He  is  convinced  of  the 
power  of  Jesus  to  save  him  ;  but,  through  re- 
maining ignorance  and  legality ,  the  remem- 
brance of  sin  committed,  and  the  sense  of  pre- 
sent corruption,  he  often  questions  his  will- 
ingness ;  and,  not  knowing  the  abounding 
of  grace,  and  the  security  of  the  promises,  he 
fears  lest  the  compassionate  Saviour  should 
spurn  him  from  his  feet. 

While  he  is  thus  young  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  gospel,  burdened  with  sin,  and,  per- 
haps, beset  with  Satan's  temptations,  the  Lord, 
"  who  gathers  the  lambs  in  his  arms,  and  car- 
ries them  in  his  bosom,"  is  pleased,  at  times, 
to  favour  him  with  cordials,  that  he  may  not 
be  swallowed  up  with  overmuch  sorrow.  Per- 
haps his  heart  is  enlarged  in  prayer,  or  under 
hearing,  or  some  good  promise  is  brought 
home  to  his  mind,   and   applied  with  power 


and  sweetness.  He  mistakes  the  nature  and 
design  of  these  comforts,  which  are  not  given 
him  to  rest  in,  but  to  encourage  him  to  press 
forward.  He  thinks  he  is  then  right,  be- 
cause he  has  them,  and  fondly  hopes  to  have 
them  always.  Then  his  mountain  stands 
strong.  But  ere  long  he  feels  a  change;  his 
comforts  are  withdrawn  ;  he  finds  no  heart  to 
pray;  no  attention  in  hearing  ;  indwelling  sin 
revives  with  fresh  strength,  and,  perhaps,  Sa- 
tan returns  with  redoubled  rage.  Then  he  is 
at  his  wit's  end  :  thinks  his  hopes  were  pre- 
sumptuous, and  his  comforts  delusions.  He 
wants  to  feel  something  that  may  give  him  a 
warrant  to  trust  in  the  free  promises  of  Christ. 
His  views  of  the  Redeemer's  gracefulness  are 
very  narrow  ;  he  sees  not  the  harmony  and 
glory  of  the  divine  attributes  in  the  salvation 
of  a  sinner ;  he  sighs  for  mercy,  but  fears 
that  justice  is  against  him.  However,  by  these 
changing  dispensations,  the  Lord  is  training 
him  up,  and  bringing  him  forward.  He  re- 
ceives grace  from  Jesus,  whereby  he  is  en- 
abled to  fight  against  sin  ;  his  conscience  is 
tender  ;  his  troubles  are  chiefly  spiritual  trou- 
bles ;  and  he  thinks,  if  he  could  but  attain  a 
sure  and  abiding  sense  of  his  acceptance  in 
the  Beloved,  hardly  any  outward  trial  would 
be  capable  of  giving  him  much  disturbance. 
Indeed,  notwithstanding  the  weakness  of  his 
faith,  and  the  prevalence  of  a  legal  spirit, 
which  greatly  hurts  him,  there  are  some  things 
in  his  present  experience  which  he  may,  per- 
haps, look  back  upon  with  regret  hereafter, 
when  his  hope  and  knowledge  will  be  more 
established.  Particularly  that  sensibility  and 
keenness  of  appetite  with  which  he  now  at- 
tends the  ordinances,  desiring  the  sincere  milk 
of  the  word  with  earnestness  and  eagerness  as 
a  babe  does  the  breast.  He  counts  the  hours 
from  one  opportunity  to  another ;  and  the  at- 
tention and  desire  with  which  he  hears  may 
be  read  in  his  countenance.  His  zeal  is  like- 
wise lively ;  and  may  be  for  want  of  more  ex- 
perience, too  importunate  and  forward.  He 
has  a  love  for  souls,  and  a  concern  for  the 
glory  of  God,  which,  though  it  may  at  some 
times  create  him  trouble,  and  at  others  be  mix- 
ed with  some  undue  motions  of  self,  yet  in  its 
principle  is  highly  desirable  and  commend- 
able, John  xviii.  10. 

The  grace  of  God  influences  both  the  un- 
derstanding and  the  affections.  Warm  affec- 
tions, without  knowledge  can  rise  no  higher 
than  superstition  ;  and  that  knowledge  which 
does  not  influence  the  heart  and  affections, 
will  only  make  a  hypocrite.  The  true  be- 
liever is  rewarded  in  both  respects  ;  yet  we 
may  observe,  that  though  A  is  not  without 
knowledge,  this  state  is  more  usually  remark- 
able for  the  warmth  and  liveliness  of  the 
affections.  On  the  other  hand,  as  the  work 
advances,  though  the  affections  are  not  left 
out,  yet  it  seems  to  be  carried  on  principally 
in  the  understanding.      The  old  christian  has 


ON  GRACE  IN 


LET.  XI. 

more  solid,  judicious,  and  connected  views  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  glories  of  his 
person  and  redeeming  love  ;  hence  his  hope 
is  more  established,  his  dependence  more 
simple,  and  his  peace  and  strength,  ceteris 
paribus,  more  abiding  and  uniform,  than  in 
the  case  of  a  young  convert ;  but  the  latter 
has,  for  the  most  part,  the  advantage  in  point 
of  sensible  fervency.  A  tree  is  most  valuable 
when  laden  with  ripe  fruit ;  but  it  has  a  pe- 
culiar beauty  when  in  blossom.  It  is  spring- 
time with  A ;  he  is  in  bloom,  and,  by  the 
grace  and  blessing  of  the  heavenly  husband- 
man, will  bear  fruit  in  old  age.  His  faith  is 
weak,  but  his  heart  is  warm.  He  will  seldom 
venture  to  think  himself  a  believer ;  but  he 
sees  and  feels,  and  does  those  things  which 
no  one  could,  unless  the  Lord  was  with  him. 
The  very  desire  and  bent  of  his  soul  is  to 
God,  and  to  the  word  of  his  grace.  His 
knowledge  is  but  small ;  but  it  is  growing 
every  day.  If  he  is  not  a  father  or  a  young 
man  in  grace,  he  is  a  dear  child.  The  Lord 
has  visited  his  heart,  delivered  him  from  the 
love  of  sin,  and  fixed  his  desires  supremely 
upon  Jesus  Christ.  The  spirit  of  bon- 
dage is  gradually  departing  from  him,  and 
the  hour  of  liberty,  which  he  longs  for  is  ap- 
proaching, when,  by  a  further  discovery  of 
the  glorious  gospel,  it  shall  be  given  him  to 
know  his  acceptance,  and  to  rest  upon  the 
Lord's  finished  salvation.  We  shall  then  take 
notice  of  him  by  the  name  of  B  in  a  second 
letter,  if  you  are  not  unwilling  that  I  should 
prosecute  the  subject. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XI. 

B  ;    OR,  GRACE  IN  THE  EAR.       MARK  IV.    28. 
DEAR  SIR, 

The  manner  of  the  Lord's  work  in  the  hearts 
of  his  people  is  not  easily  traced,  though  the 
fact  is  certain,  and  the  evidence  demonstrable 
from  scripture.  In  attempting  to  explain  it, 
we  can  only  speak  in  general,  and  are  at  a 
loss  to  form  such  a  description  as  shall  take 
in  the  immense  variety  of  cases  which  occur 
in  the  experience  of  believers.  I  have  already 
attempted  such  a  general  delineation  of  a 
young  convert,  under  the  character  of  A, 
and  am  now  to  speak  of  him  by  the  name 
of  B. 

This  state  I  suppose  to  commence  when  the 
soul,  after  an  interchange  of  hopes  and  fears, 
according  to  the  different  frames  it  passes 
through,  is  brought  to  rest  in  Jesus,  by  a  spi- 
ritual apprehension  of  his  complete  suitable- 
ness and  sufficiency,  as  the  wisdom,  right- 
eousness, sanctification,  and  redemption  of  all 
who  trust  in  him,  and  is  enabled,  by  an  ap- 
propriating  faith,  to  say,   "  tie  is  mine,   and 


THE   EAR.  59 

I  am  his."  There  are  various  degrees  of  this 
persuasion  ;  it  is  of  a  growing  nature,  and  is 
capable  of  increase  so  long  as  we  remain  in 
this  world.  I  call  it  assurance,  when  it  arises 
from  a  simple  view  of  the  grace  and  glory  of 
the  Saviour,  independent  of  our  sensible  frames 
and  feelings,  so  as  to  enable  us  to  answer  all 
objections  from  unbelief  and  Satan,  with  the 
apostle's  words,  "  Who  is  he  that  condemn- 
eth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea,  rather,  that 
is  risen  again ;  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand 
of  God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us." 
Rom.  viii.  34.  This,  in  my  judgment,  does 
not  belong  to  the  essence  of  faith,  so  that 
B  should  be  deemed  more  truly  a  believer 
than  A,  but  to  the  establishment  of  faith.  And 
now  faith  is  stronger,  it  has  more  to  grapple 
with.  I  think  the  characteristic  of  the  state 
of  A  is  desire,  and  of  B  is  conflict.  Not  that 
B's  desires  have  subsided,  or  that  A  was  a 
stranger  to  conflict ;  but  as  there  was  a  sen- 
sible eagerness  and  keenness  in  A's  desires, 
which,  perhaps,  is  seldom  known  to  be  equally 
strong  afterwards ;  so  there  are  usually  trials 
and  exercises  in  B's  experience,  something 
different  in  their  kind,  and  sharper  in  their 
measure,  than  what  A  was  exposed  to,  or  in- 
deed had  strength  to  endure.  A,  like  Israel, 
has  been  delivered  from  Egypt  by  great  power 
and  a  stretched-out  arm,  has  been  pursued  and 
terrified  by  many  enemies,  has  given  himself 
up  for  lost  again  and  again.  lie  has  at  last 
seen  his  enemies  destroyed,  and  has  sung  the 
song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb  upon  the  banks 
of  the  Red  Sea.  Then  he  commences  B. 
Perhaps,  like  Israel,  he  thinks  his  difficulties 
are  at  an  end,  and  expects  to  go  on  rejoicing 
till  he  enters  the  promised  land.  But  alas  ! 
his  difficulties  are  in  a  manner  but  begin- 
ning ;  he  has  a  wilderness  before  him,  of 
which  he  is  not  aware.  The  Lord  is  now 
about  to  suit  his  dispensations  to  humble  and 
to  prove  him,  and  to  shew  him  what  is  in  his 
heart,  that  he  may  do  him  good  at  the  latter 
end,  and  that  all  the  glory  may  redound  to  his 
own  free  grace. 

Since  the  Lord  hates  and  abhors  sin,  and 
teaches  his  people,  whom  he  loves,  to  hate  it 
likewise ;  it  might  seem  desirable  (and  all 
things  are  equally  easy  to  him),  that  at  the 
same  time  they  are  delivered  from  the  guilt 
and  reigning  power  of  sin,  they  should  like- 
wise be  perfectly  freed  from  the  defilement  of 
indwelling  sin,  and  be  made  fully  conforma- 
ble to  him  at  once.  His  wisdom  has,  how- 
ever, appointed  otherwise.  But  from  the 
above  premises  of  his  hatred  of  sin,  and  his 
love  to  his  people,  I  think  we  may  certainly 
conclude,  that  he  would  not  suffer  sin  to  re- 
main in  them,  if  he  did  not  purpose  to  over- 
rule it,  for  the  fuller  manifestation  of  the 
glory  of  his  grace  and  wisdom,  and  for  the 
making  his  salvation  more  precious  to  theii 
souls.  It  is,  however,  his  command,  and  there- 
fore  their  duty  ;  yea,   further,  from   the  new 


00  ON  GRACE  IN  THE  EAR. 

nature  he  lias  given  tliem,  it  is  their  desire,  to 
watch  and  strive  against  sin  ;  and  to  propose 
the  mortification  of  the  whole  body  of  sin,  and 
the  advancement  of  sanctification  in  their 
hearts,  as  their  great  and  constant  aim,  to 
which  they  are  to  have  an  habitual  persever- 
ing regard.  Upon  this  plan  15  sets  out.  The 
knowledge  of  our  acceptance  with  God,  and 
of  our  everlasting  security  in  Christ,  has,  in 
itself,  the  same  tendency  upon  earth  as  it  will 
have  in  heaven,  and  would,  in  proportion  to 
the  degree  of  evidence  and  clearness,  produce 
the  same  effects,  of  continual  love,  joy,  peace, 
gratitude,  and  praise,  if  there  was  nothing  to 
counteract  it.  But  B  is  not  all  spirit.  A 
depraved  nature  still  cleaves  to  him,  and  he 
has  the  seeds  of  every  natural  corruption  yet 
remaining  in  his  heart.  He  lives  likewise  in 
a  world  that  is  full  of  snares,  and  occasions, 
suited  to  draw  forth  those  corruptions ;  and 
he  is  surrounded  by  invisible  spiritual  enemies, 
the  extent  of  whose  power  and  subtilty  he  is 
yet  to  learn  by  painful  experience.  B  knows, 
in  general,  the  nature  of  his  Christian  warfare, 
and  sees  his  right  to  live  upon  Jesus  for  right- 
eousness and  strength.  He  is  not  unwilling 
to  endure  hardships  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus 
Christ;  and  believes,  that  though  he  may  be 
sore  thrust  at  that  he  may  fall,  the  Lord 
will  be  his  stay.  He  knows,  that  his  heart  is 
"  deceitful  and  desperately  wicked  ;"  but  Ue 
does  not,  he  cannot  know  at  first,  the  full 
meaning  of  that  expression.  Yet  it  is  for  the 
Lord's  glory,  and  will,  in  the  end,  make  his 
grace  and  love  still  more  precious,  that  B 
should  find  new  and  mortifying  proofs  of  an 
evil  nature  as  he  goes  on,  such  as  he  could  not 
once  have  believed,  had  they  been  foretold  to 
him,  as  in  the  case  of  Peter,  Mark  xiv.  29. 
And  in  effect,  the  abominations  of  the  heart 
do  not  appear  in  their  full  strength  and  ag- 
gravation, but  in  the  case  of  one,  who,  like  B, 
has  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  and  re- 
joiced in  his  salvation.  The  exceeding  sin- 
fulness of  sin  is  manifested,  not  so  much  by 
its  breaking  through  the  restraint  of  threaten- 
ings  and  commands,  as  by  its  being  capable  of 


LET.  XI. 


acting  against  light  and  against  love.  Thus  it 
was  with  Hezekiah.  He  had  been  a  faithful  and 
zealous  servant  of  the  Lord  for  many  years  ; 
but  I  suppose  he  knew  more  of  God,  and  of 
himself,  in  the  time  of  his  sickness,  than  he 
had  ever  done  before.  The  Lord,  who  had 
signally  defended  him  from  Sennacherib,  was 
pleased  likewise  to  raise  him  from  the  borders 
of  the  grave  by  a  miracle,  and  prolonged  the 
time  of  his  life  in  answer  to  prayer.  It  is 
plain  from  the  song  which  he  penned  upon 
his  recovery,  that  he  was  greatly  affected  with 
the  mercies  he  had  received ;  yet  still  there 
was  something  in  his  heart  which  he  knew  not, 
and  which  it  was  for  the  Lord's  glory  he  should 
be  made  sensible  of;  and  therefore  he  was 
pleased  lo  leave  him  to  himself.  It  is  the  only 
instance  in  which  he  is  said  to  have  been  left 


to  himself,  and  the  only  instance  in  which  his 
conduct  is  condemned.  I  apprehend,  that  in 
the  state  of  B,  that  is,  for  a  season  after  we 
have  known  the  Lord,  we  have  usually  the 
most  sensible  and  distressing  experience  of 
our  evil  natures.  I  do  not  say,  that  it  is 
necessary  that  we  should  be  left  to  fall  into 
gross  outward  sin,  in  order  to  know  what  is 
in  our  hearts  ;  though  I  believe  many  have 
thus  fallen,  whose  hearts,  under  a  former  sense 
of  redeeming  love,  have  been  as  truly  set 
against  sin,  as  the  hearts  of  others  who 
have  been  preserved  from  such  outward 
falls.  The  Lord  makes  some  of  his  children 
examples  and  warnings  to  others,  as  he  pleases. 
They  who  are  spared,  and  whose  worst  devia- 
tions are  only  known  to  the  Lord  and  them- 
selves, have  great  reason  to  be  thankful.  I 
am  sure  I  have  :  the  merciful  Lord  has  not 
suffered  me  to  make  any  considerable  blot  in 
my  profession  during  the  time  I  have  been 
numbered  amongst  his  people.  But  I  have  no- 
thing to  boast  of  herein.  It  has  not  been  ow- 
ing to  my  wisdom,  watchfulness,  or  spirituali- 
ty, though  in  the  main  he  has  not  suffered  me 
to  live  in  the  neglect  of  his  appointed  means. 
But  I  hope  to  go  softly  all  my  days  under  the 
remembrance  of  many  things,  for  which  I  have 
as  great  cause  to  be  abased  before  him,  as 
if  I  had  been  left  to  sin  grievously  in  the  sight 
of  men.  Yet,  with  respect  to  my  acceptance 
in  the  Beloved,  I  know  not  if  I  have  had  a 
doubt  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  continuance 
for  many  years  past.  But,  oh  !  the  multi- 
plied instances  of  stupidity,  ingratitude,  im- 
patience, and  rebellion,  to  which  my  consci- 
ence has  been  witness !  And  as  every  heart 
knows  its  own  bitterness,  I  have  generally 
heard  the  like  complaints  from  others  of  the 
Lord's  people  with  whom  I  have  conversed, 
even  from  those  who  have  appeared  to  be 
eminently  gracious  and  spiritual.  B  does  not 
meet  with  these  things  perhaps  at  first,  nor 
every  day.  The  Lord  appoints  occasions  and 
turns  in  life,  which  try  our  spirits.  There 
are  particular  seasons,  when  temptations  are 
suited  to  our  frames,  tempers,  and  situations ; 
and  there  are  times  when  he  is  pleased  to  with- 
draw, and  to  permit  Satan's  approach,  that 
we  may  feel  how  vile  we  are  in  ourselves. 
We  are  prone  to  spiritual  pride,  to  self-de- 
pendence, to  vain  confidence,  to  create  attach- 
ments, and  a  train  of  evils.  The  Lord  often 
discovers  to  us  one  single  disposition  by  ex- 
posing us  to  another.  He  sometimes  shows 
us  what  he  can  do  for  us  and  in  us ;  and  at 
other  times  how  little  we  can  do,  and  how  un- 
able we  are  to  stand  without  him.  By  a  variety 
of  these  exercises,  through  the  over-ruling  and 
edifying  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  B  is 
trained  up  in  a  growing  knowledge  of  him- 
self and  of  the  Lord.  He  learns  to  be  more 
distrustful  of  his  own  heart,  and  to  suspect  a 
snare  in  every  step  he  takes.  The  dark  and 
disconsolate  hours  which  he  h;  s  brought  upon 


LET.  XII. 

himself  in  times  past,  make  him  doubly  prize 
the  light  of  God's  countenance,  and  teach  him 
to  dread  whatever  might  grieve  the  Spirit  of 
God,  and  cause  him  to  withdraw  again.  The 
repeated  and  multiplied  pardons  which  he  has 
received,  increase  his  admiration  of,  and  the 
sense  of  his  obligations  to  the  rich,  sovereign 
abounding  mercy  of  the  covenant.  Much 
has  been  forgiven  him,  therefore  he  loves 
much,  and  therefore  he  knows  how  to  forgive 
and  to  pity  others.  lie  does  not  call  evil 
good,  or  good  evil ;  but  his  own  experiences 
teach  him  tenderness  and  forbearance.  He 
experiences  a  spirit  of  meekness  towards  those 
who  are  overtaken  in  a  fault,  and  his  attempts 
to  restore  such,  are  according  to  the  pattern  of 
the  Lord's  dealings  with  himself.  In  a  word, 
B's  character,  in  my  judgment,  is  complete, 
and  he  becomes  a  C  when  the  habitual  frame 
of  his  heart  answers  to  that  passage  in  the 
prophet  Ezekiel,  chap.  xvi.  63.  "  That  thou 
mayest  remember,  and  be  confounded,  and 
never  open  thy  mouth  any  more  (to  boast, 
complain,  or  censure),  because  of  thy  shame, 
■when  I  am  pacified  towards  thee  for  all  that 
thou  hast  done,  saith  the  Lord  God." 
I  am,  &c. 


ON  GRACE  IN  THE  FULL  CORN. 


61 


LETTER  XII. 

C  ;  OR,  GRACE  IN  THE  FULL  CORN  IN  THE  EAR. 
MARK  iv.   28. 

DEAR  SIR, 

By  way  of  distinction,  I  assigned  to  A  the 
characteristic  of  desire,  to  B  that  of  conflict. 
I  can  think  of  no  single  word  more  descrip- 
tive of  the  state  of  C  than  contemplation.  His 
eminence,  in  comparison  of  A,  does  not  consist 
in  the  sensible  warmth  and  fervency  of  his 
affections  :  in  this  respect  many  of  the  most 
exemplary  believers  have  looked  back  with  a 
kind  of  regret  upon  the  time  of  their  espousals, 
when,  though  their  judgments  were  but  im- 
perfectly formed,  and  their  views  of  gospel- 
truths  were  very  indistinct,  they  felt  a  fervour 
of  spirit,  the  remembrance  of  which  is  both 
humbling  and  refreshing  ;  and  yet  they  can- 
not recall  the  same  sensations.  Nor  is  he 
properly  distinguished  from  B  by  a  conscious- 
ness of  his  acceptance  in  the  Beloved,  and  an 
ability  of  calling  God  his  father  ;  for  this  I  have 
supposed  B  has  attained  to.  Though  as  there 
is  a  growth  in  every  grace,  C  having  had  his 
views  of  the  gospel,  and  of  the  Lord's  faithful- 
ness and  mercy,  confirmed  by  a  longer  expe- 
rience, his  assurance  is  of  course  more  stable 
and  more  simple,  than  when  he  first  saw 
himself  safe  from  all  condemnation.  Neither 
has  C,  properly  speaking,  any  more  strength 
or  stock  of  grace  inherent  in  himself  than 
B,  or  even  than  A.  He  is  in  the  same 
state  of  absolute  dependence,  as   incapable  of 


performing  spiritual  acts,  or  of  resisting  temp- 
tations, by  Ills  own  power,  as  he  was  at  the 
first  day  of  his  setting  out.  Yet,  in  a  sense, 
he  is  much  stronger,  because  he  has  a  more 
feeling  and  constant  sense  of  his  own  weak- 
ness. The  Lord  has  been  long  teaching  him 
this  lesson  by  a  train  of  various  dispensations  ; 
and  through  grace  he  can  say,  He  has  not 
suffered  so  many  things  in  vain.  His  heart 
has  deceived  him  so  often,  that  he  is  now  in  a 
good  measure  weaned  from  trusting  to  it ;  and 
therefore  he  does  not  meet  with  so  many  disap- 
pointments. And  having  found  again  and 
again  the  vanity  of  all  other  helps,  he  is  now 
taught  to  go  to  the  Lord  at  once  for  "  grace 
to  help  in  every  time  of  need."  Thus  he  is 
strong  not  in  himself,  but  in  the  grace  that  is 
in  Christ  Jesus. 

But  C's  happiness  and  superiority  to  B  lies 
chiefly  in  this,  that  by  the  Lord's  blessing  on 
the  use  of  means,  such  as  prayer,  reading, 
and  hearing  of  the  word,  and  by  a  sanctified 
improvement  of  what  he  has  seen  of  the  Lord, 
and  of  his  own  heart,  in  the  course  of  his  ex  - 
perience,  he  has  attained  clearer,  deeper,  and 
more  comprehensive  views  of  the  mystery  of 
redeeming  love  ;  of  the  glorious  excellency  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  in  his  person,  offices,  grace, 
and  faithfulness  ;  of  the  harmony  and  glory  of 
all  the  divine  perfections  manifested  in  and  by 
him  to  the  church  ;  of  the  stability,  beauty, 
fulness,  and  certainty  of  the  holy  scriptures, 
and  of  the  heights,  depths,  lengths,  and 
breadths  of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ.  Thus, 
though  his  sensible  feelings  may  not  be  so 
warm  as  when  he  was  in  the  state  of  A,  his 
judgment  is  more  solid,  his  mind  more  fixed, 
his  thoughts  more  habitually  exercised  upon 
the  things  within  the  vail.  His  great  busi- 
ness is  to  behold  the  glory  of  God  in  Christ ; 
and  by  beholding,  he  is  changed  into  the 
same  image,  and  brings  forth,  in  an  eminent  and 
uniform  manner,  the  fruits  of  righteousness, 
which  are  by  Jesus  Christ  to  the  glory  and 
praise  of  God.  His  contemplations  are  not 
barren  speculations,  but  have  a  real  influence, 
and  enable  him  to  exemplify  the  christian  cha- 
racter to  more  advantage,  and  with  more  con- 
sistence, than  can,  in  the  present  state  of 
things,  be  expected  either  from  A  or  B.  The 
following  particulars  may  illustrate  my  mean- 
ing. 

1.  Humility.  A  measure  of  this  grace  is 
to  be  expected  in  every  true  christian ;  but  it 
can  only  appear  in  proportion  to  the  know- 
ledge they  have  of  Christ,  and  of  their  own 
hearts.  It  is  a  part  of  C's  daily  employment 
to  look  back  upon  the  way  by  which  the  Lord 
has  led  him :  and  while  he  reviews  the  Ebe- 
nezers  he  has  set  up  all  along  the  road,  he 
sees,  in  almost  an  equal  number,  the  monu- 
ments of  his  own  perverse  returns,  and  how 
he  has,  in  a  thousand  instances,  rendered  to 
the  Lord  evil  for  good.  Comparing  these 
things  together,  he  can,  without  affectation , 


62  ON  GRACE  IN  THE 

adopt  the  apostle's  language,  and  style  him- 
self "  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  and  of 
sinners  the  chief."  A  and  13  know  that  they 
ought  to  be  humbled  ;  but  C  is  truly  so,  and 
feels  the  force  of  that  text  which  I  mentioned 
in  my  last,  Ezek.  xvi.  63.  Again,  as  he 
knows  most  of  himself,  so  he  has  seen  most 
of  the  Lord.  The  apprehension  of  infinite 
majesty  combined  with  infinite  love,  makes 
him  shrink  into  the  dust.  From  the  exercise 
of  this  grace  he  derives  two  others,  which 
are  exceedingly  ornamental,  and  principal 
branches  of  the  mind  which  was  in  Christ. 

The  one  is,  submission  to  the  will  of  God. 
The  views  he  has  of  his  own  vileness,  unwor- 
thiness,  and  ignorance,  and  of  the  divine  so- 
vereignty, wisdom,  and  love,  teach  him  to  be 
content  in  every  state,  and  to  bear  his  appoint- 
ed lot  of  suffering  with  resignation,  according 
to  the  language  of  David  in  a  time  of  afflic- 
tion, "  I  was  dumb,  and  opened  not  my 
mouth,  because  thou  didst  it." 

The  other  is,  tenderness  of  spirit  towards 
his  fellow  christians.  He  cannot  but  judge 
of  their  conduct  according  to  the  rule  of  the 


FULL  CORN. 


LET.   XII. 


word.  But  his  own  heart,  and  the  knowledge 
he  has  acquired  of  the  snares  of  the  world, 
and  the  subtilty  of  Satan,  teach  him  to  make 
all  due  allowances,  and  qualify  him  for  ad- 
monishing and  restoring,  in  the  spirit  of  meek- 
ness, those  who  have  been  overtaken  in  a  fault. 
Here  A  is  usually  blameable  ;  the  warmth  of 
his  zeal,  not  being  duly  corrected  by  a  sense 
of  his  own  imperfections,  betrays  him  often 
into  a  censorious  spirit.  But  C  can  bear 
with  A  likewise,  because  he  hath  been  so  him- 
self, and  he  will  not  expect  green  fruit  to  be 
ripe. 

2.  Spirituality.  A  spiritual  taste,  and  a 
disposition  to  account  all  things  mean  and 
vain,  in  comparison  of  the  knowledge  and 
love  of  God  in  Christ,  are  essential  to  a  true 
christian.  The  world  can  never  be  his  pre- 
vailing choice,  1  John  ii.  13.  Yet  we  are  re- 
newed but  in  part,  and  are  prone  to  an  undue 
attachment  to  worldly  things.  Our  spirits 
cleave  to  the  dust,  in  defiance  of  the  dictates 
of  our  better  judgments  ;  and  I  believe  the 
Lord  seldom  gives  his  people  a  considerable 
victory  over  this  evil  principle,  until  he  has  let 
them  feel  how  deeply  it  is  rooted  in  their 
hearts.  We  may  often  see  persons  entangled 
and  clogged  in  this  respect,  of  whose  sincerity 
in  the  main  we  cannot  justly  doubt ;  espe- 
cially upon  some  sudden  and  unexpected  turn 
in  life,  which  brings  them  into  a  situation 
they  have  not  been  accustomed  to.  A  consi- 
derable part  of  our  trials  are  mercifully  ap- 
pointed to  wean  us  from  this  propensity  ;  and 
it  is  gradually  weakened  by  the  Lord's  shew- 
ing us  at  one  time  the  vanity  of  the  creature, 
and  at  another  his  own  excellence  and  all- 
sufficiency.  Even  C  is  not  perfect  in  this 
respect ;  but  he  is  more  sensible  of  the  evil  of 
such  attachments,  more  humbled    for   them 


more  watchful  against  them,  and  more  deli- 
vered from  them.  He  still  feels  a  fetter,  but 
he  longs  to  be  free.  His  allowed  desires  are 
brought  to  a  point ;  and  he  sees  nothing 
worth  a  serious  thought,  but  communion  with 
God  and  progress  in  holiness.  Whatever 
outward  changes  C  may  meet  with,  he  will,  in 
general,  be  the  same  man  still.  He  has  learn- 
ed, with  the  apostle,  not  only  to  suffer  want, 
but,  which  is  perhaps  the  harder  lesson,  how 
to  abound.  A  palace  would  be  a  prison  to 
him,  without  the  Lord's  presence,  and  with 
this  a  prison  would  be  a  palace.  From  hence 
arises  a  peaceful  reliance  upon  the  Lord  :  he 
has  nothing  which  he  cannot  commit  into 
his  hands,  which  he  is  not  habitually  aiming 
to  resign  to  his  disposal.  Therefore,  he  is 
not  afraid  of  evil  tidings ;  but  when  the  hearts 
of  others  shake  like  the  leaves  of  a  tree,  he  is 
fixed,  trusting  in  the  Lord,  who,  he  believes, 
can  and  will  make  good  every  loss,  sweeten 
every  bitter,  and  appoint  all  things  to  work 
together  for  his  advantage.  He  sees  that 
the  time  is  short,  lives  upon  the  foretastes  of 
glory,  and,  therefore,  accounts  not  his  life, 
or  any  inferior  concernment  dear,  so  that  he 
may  finish  his  course  with  joy. 

3.  A  union  of  heart  to  the  glory  and  will 
of  God,  is  another  noble  distinction  of  C's 
spirit.  The  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of 
his  people  are  inseparably  connected.  But 
of  these  great  ends,  the  first  is  unspeakably 
the  highest  and  most  important,  and  into 
which  every  thing  else  will  be  finally  resolv- 
ed. Now,  in  proportion  as  we  advance  nearer 
to  him,  our  judgment,  aim,  and  end,  will  be 
conformable  to  his,  and  his  glory  will  have  the 
highest  place  in  our  hearts.  At  first  it  is  not 
so,  or  but  very  imperfectly.  Our  concern  is 
chiefly  about  ourselves :  nor  can  it  be  other- 
wise. The  convinced  soul  inquires,  What 
shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  The  young  convert 
is  intent  upon  sensible  comforts  ;  and  in  the 
seasons  when  he  sees  his  interest  secure,  the 
prospect  of  the  troubles  he  may  meet  with  in 
life  makes  him  often  wish  for  an  early  dis- 
mission, that  he  may  be  at  rest,  and  avoid  the 
heat  and  burden  of  the  day.  But  C  has  at- 
tained to  more  enlarged  views ;  he  has  a  de- 
sire to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ,  which 
would  be  importunate,  if  he  considered  only 
himself;  but  his  chief  desire  is,  that  God 
may  be  glorified  in  him,  whether  by  his  life  or 
by  his  death.  He  is  not  his  own  ;  nor  does 
he  desire  to  he  his  own  ;  but  so  that  the  pow- 
er of  Jesus  may  be  manifested  in  him,  he  will 
take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  in  distresses,  in 
temptations  ;  and  though  he  longs  for  heaven, 
would  be  content  to  live  as  long  as  Methuse- 
lah upon  earth,  if  by  any  thing  he  could  do 
or  suffer,  the  will  and  glory  of  God  might  be 
promoted.  And  though  he  loves  and  adores 
the  Lord  for  what  he  has  clone  and  suffered 
for  him,  delivered  him  from,  and  appointed 
him  to  ;   yet  he  loves  and  adores  him  likewise, 


Lhl.    XI!  I. 


ON  HEARING  SERMONS. 


63 


with  a  more  simple  and  direct  love,  in  which 
self  is  in  a  manner  forgot,  from  the  consider- 
ation of  his  glorious  excellence  and  perfec- 
tions, as  he  is  in  himself.  That  God  in  Christ 
is  glorious  over  all,  and  blessed  for  ever,  is 
the  very  joy  of  his  soul ;  and  his  heart  can 
frame  no  higher  wish,  than  that  the  sovereign, 
wise,  holy  will  of  God,  may  be  accomplished  in 
him,  and  all  his  creatures.  Upon  this  grand 
principle  his  prayers,  schemes,  and  actions  are 
formjd.  Thus  C  is  already  made  like  the 
angels,  and,  so  far  as  consistent  with  the  in- 
separable remnants  of  a  fallen  nature,  the  will 
of  God  is  regarded  by  him  upon  earth,  as  it 
is  by  the  inhabitants  of  heaven. 

The  power  of  divine  grace  in  C  may  be 
exemplified  in  a  great  variety  of  situations. 
C  may  be  rich  or  poor,  learned  or  illiterate,  of 
a  lively  natural  spirit,  or  of  a  more  slow  and 
phlegmatical  constitution.  He  may  have  a 
comparatively  smooth,  or  a  remarkably  thorny 
path  in  life  ;  he  may  be  a  minister  or  a  lay- 
man :  these  circumstances  will  give  some 
tincture  and  difference  in  appearance  to  the 
work  ;  but  the  work  itself  is  the  same ;  and 
we  must,  as  far  as  possible,  drop  the  consi- 
deration of  them  all,  or  make  proper  allow- 
ances for  each,  in  order  to  form  a  right  judg- 
ment of  the  life  of  faith.  The  outward  ex- 
pression of  grace  may  be  heightened  and  set 
off  to  advantage  by  many  things  which  are 
merely  natural,  such  as  evenness  of  temper, 
good  sense,  a  knowledge  of  the  world,  and 
the  like  :  and  it  may  be  darkened  by  things 
which  are  not  properly  sinful,  but  unavoid- 
able, such  as  lowness  of  spirits,  weak  abilities, 
and  pressure  of  temptations,  which  may  have 
effects  that  they  who  have  not  had  experience 
in  the  same  things,  cannot  properly  account 
for.  A  double  quantity  of  real  grace,  if  I 
may  so  speak,  that  has  a  double  quantity  of 
hinderances  to  conflict  with,  will  not  be  easily 
observed,  unless  these  hinderances  are  likewise 
known  and  attended  to  ;  and  a  smaller  mea- 
sure of  grace  may  appear  great  when  its  exer- 
cise meets  with  no  remarkable  obstruction. 
For  these  reasons  we  can  never  be  competent 
judges  of  each  other,  because  we  cannot  be 
competently  acquainted  with  the  whole  com- 
plex case.  But  our  great  and  merciful  High- 
priest  knows  the  whole ;  he  considers  our 
frame,  "remembers  that  we  are  but  dust:" 
makes  gracious  allowances,  pities,  bears,  ac- 
cepts, and  approves,  with  unerring  judgment. 
The  sun,  in  his  daily  course,  beholds  nothing 
so  excellent  and  honourable  upon  earth  as  C, 
though  perhaps  he  may  be  confined  to  a  cot- 
tage and  is  little  known  or  noticed  by  men. 
But  he  is  the  object  and  residence  of  divine 
love,  the  charge  of  angels,  and  ripening  for 
everlasting  glory.  Happy  C  !  his  toils,  suf- 
ferings, and  exercises  will  be  soon  at  an  end  ; 
soon  his  desires  will  be  accomplished  ;  and  he 
who  has  loved  him,  and  redeemed  him  with 
his  own  blood,   will  receive  him  to  himself 


with  a  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vant ;   enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

If  this  representation  is  agreeable  to  the 
scriptures,  how  greatly  are  they  mistaken,  and 
how  much  to  be  pitied,  who,  while  they  maka 
profession  of  the  gospel,  seem  to  have  no  idea 
of  the  effects  it  is  designed  to  produce  upon 
the  hearts  of  believers,  but  either  allow  them- 
selves in  a  worldly  spirit  and  conversation,  or 
indulge  their  unsanctified  tempers,  by  a  fierce 
contention  for  names,  notions,  and  parties. 
May  the  Lord  give  to  you  and  to  me  daily 
to  grow  in  the  experience  of  that  wisdom  which 
"  is  first  pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle,  and 
easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and  good 
works,  without  partiality,  and  without  hypo- 
crisy." 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XIII. 

ON  HEARING  SERMONS. 
DEAR  SIR, 

I  AM  glad  to  find  that  the  Lord  has  at  length 
been  pleased  to  fix  you  in  a  favoured  situation, 
where  you  have  frequent  opportunities  of  hear- 
ing the  gospel.  This  is  a  great  privilege ; 
but,  like  all  other  outward  privileges,  it  re- 
quires grace  and  wisdom  to  make  a  due  im- 
provement of  it :  and  the  great  plenty  of  or- 
dinances you  enjoy,  though  in  itself  a  bles- 
sing, is  attended  with  snares,  which,  unless 
they  are  carefully  guarded  against,  may  hin- 
der, rather  than  promote,  your  edification. 
I  gladly  embrace  the  occasion  you  afford  me, 
of  offering  you  my  advice  upon  this  subject. 
A  remembrance  of  the  mistakes  I  have  my- 
self formerly  committed,  and  the  observations 
I  have  made  upon  the  conduct  of  professors, 
considered  as  hearers,  will,  perhaps,  in  some 
measure  qualify  me  for  the  task  you  have  as- 
signed me. 

The  faithful  mini  ters  of  the  gospel,  are  all 
the  servants  and  ambassadors  of  Christ ;  they 
are  called  and  furnished  by  his  Holy  Spirit ; 
they  speak  in  his  name ;  and  their  success  in 
the  discharge  of  their  office,  be  it  more  or  less, 
depends  entirely  upon  his  blessing :  so  far 
they  are  all  upon  a  par.  But  in  the  measure  of 
their  ministerial  abilities,  and  in  the  peculiar 
turn  of  their  preaching,  there  is  a  great  va- 
riety. There  are  "  diversities  of  gifts  from 
the  same  Spirit  ;  and  he  distributes  to  every 
man  severally  according  to  his  own  will." 
Some  are  more  happy  in  alarming  the  care- 
less, others  in  administering  consolation  to  the 
wounded  conscience.  Some  are  set  more  es- 
pecially for  the  establishment  and  confirma- 
tion of  the  gospel -doctrines ;  others  are  skil- 
ful in  solving  casuistical  points;  others  are 
more  excellent  in  enforcing  practical  godli- 
ness ;    and    others    again,   having    been  led 


64 


ON  HEARING  SLUM  ON  S. 


through  depths  of  temptation  and  spiritual  dis- 
tress, are  best  acquainted  with  the  various 
workings  of  the  heart,  and  know  best  how  to 
speak  a  word  in  season  to  weary  and  exercis- 
ed souls.  Perhaps  no  true  minister  of  the 
gospel  (for  all  such  are  taught  of  God)  is 
wholly  at  a  loss  upon  either  of  these  points  ; 
but  few,  if  any,  are  remarkably  and  equally 
excellent  in  managing  them  all.  Again,  as 
to  their  manner,  some  are  more  popular  and 
pathetic,  but  at  the  same  time  more  general 
and  diffuse ;  while  the  want  of  that  life  and 
earnestness  in  delivery  is  compensated  in 
others,  by  the  closeness,  accuracy,  and  depth 
of  their  compositions.  In  this  variety  of  gifts, 
the  Lord  has  a  gracious  regard  to  the  different 
tastes  and  dispositions,  as  well  as  to  the  wants 
of  his  people  ;  and  by  their  combined  effects, 
the  complete  system  of  his  truth  is  illustrated, 
and  the  good  of  his  church  promoted  with  the 
highest  advantage;  while  his  ministers,  like 
officers  assigned  to  different  stations  in  an 
army,  have  not  only  the  good  of  the  whole  in 
view,  but  each  one  his  particular  post  to  main- 
tain. This  would  be  more  evidently  the  case, 
if  the  remaining  depravity  of  our  hearts  did 
not  afford  Satan  but  too  much  advantage  in 
his  subtile  attempts  to  hurt  and  ensnare  us. 
But  alas  !  how  often  has  he  prevailed  to  in- 
fuse a  spirit  of  envy  or  dislike  in  ministers  to- 
wards each  other,  to  withdraw  hearers  from 
their  proper  concernment,  by  dividing  them  in- 
to parties  and  stirring  them  up  to  contend  for 
a  Paul,  an  Apollos,  or  a  Cephas,  for  their  own 
favourites,  to  the  disparagement  of  others  who 
are  equally  dear  to  the  Lord,  and  faithful  in 
his  service?  You  may  think  my  preamble 
long  :  but  I  shall  deduce  my  advices  chiefly 
from  it ;  taking  it  for  granted,  that  to  you  I 
may  have  no  need  of  proving  at  large  what  I 
have  advanced. 

As  the  gifts  and  talents  of  ministers  are  dif- 
ferent, I  advise  you  to  chuse  for  your  stated 
pastor  and  teacher,  one  whom  you  find  most 
suitable,  upon  the  whole,  to  your  own  taste, 
and  whom  you  are  likely  to  hear  with  the 
most  pleasure  and  advantage.  Use  some  de- 
liberation and  much  prayer  in  this  matter. 
Intreat  the  Lord,  who  knows  better  than  you 
do  yourself,  to  guide  you  where  your  soul 
may  be  best  fed ;  and  when  your  choice  is 
fixed,  you  will  do  well  to  make  a  point  of  at- 
tending his  ministry  constantly,  I  mean,  at 
least  the  stated  times  of  worship  on  the  Lord's 
day.  I  do  not  say,  that  no  circumstance  will 
justify  your  going  elsewhere  at  such  times  oc- 
casionally ;  but  I  think  the  seldomer  you  are 
absent  the  better.  A  stated  and  regular  at- 
tendance encourages  the  minister,  affords  a 
good  example  to  the  congregation ;  and  a 
hearer  is  more  likely  to  meet  with  what  is 
directly  suited  to  his  own  case,  from  a  mini- 
ster who  knows  him,  and  expects  to  see  him, 
than  he  can  be  from  one  who  is  a  stranger. 
Especially,  I  would  not  wish  you  to  be  absent 


LET.  XIII. 

for  the  sake  of  gratifying  your  curiosity,  to 
hear  some  new  preacher,  who  you  have,  per- 
haps, been  told,  is  a  very  extraordinary  man. 
For  in  your  way  such  occasions  might  pos- 
sibly oiler  almost  every  week.  What  I  have 
observed  of  many,  who  run  about  unseason- 
ably after  new  preachers,  has  reminded  me  of 
Prov.  xxvii.  8.  "  As  a  bird  that  wandereth 
from  her  nest,  so  is  the  man  that  wandereth 
from  his  place."  Such  unsettled  hearers  sel- 
dom thrive,  they  usually  grow  wise  in  their 
own  conceits,  have  their  heads  filled  with 
notions,  acquire  a  dry,  critical,  and  censorious 
spirit ;  and  are  more  intent  upon  disputing 
who  is  the  best  preacher,  than  upon  obtaining 
benefit  to  themselves  from  what  they  hear, 
If  you  could  find  a  man,  indeed,  who  had  a 
power  in  himself  of  dispensing  a  blessing  to 
your  soul,  you  might  follow  him  from  place 
to  place  ;  but  as  the  blessing  is  in  the  Lord's 
hand,  you  will  be  more  likely  to  receive  it 
by  waiting  where  his  providence  has  placed 
you,  and  where  he  has  met  with  you  before. 

But  as  human  nature  is  prone  to  extremes, 
permit  me  to  give  you  a  caution  on  the  other 
hand.  If  the  minister  under  whom  you  statedly 
attend,  is  made  very  acceptable  to  you,  you  will 
be  in  the  less  danger  of  slighting  him.  But 
be  careful  that  you  do  not  slight  any  other  mi. 
nister  of  Christ.  If,  therefore,  when  you  come 
to  hear  your  own  preacher,  you  find  another 
in  the  pulpit,  do  not  let  your  looks  tell  him, 
that  if  you  had  known  he  had  been  there 
you  would  not  have  come.  I  wish  indeed 
you  may  never  think  so  in  your  heart ;  but 
though  we  cannot  prevent  evil  thoughts  from 
rising  in  our  minds,  we  should  endeavour  to 
combat  and  suppress  them.  Some  persons 
are  so  curious,  or  rather  so  weak,  that  if  their 
favourite  minister  is  occasionally  absent,  they 
hardly  think  it  worth  their  while  to  hear  a- 
nother.  A  judicious  and  faithful  minister,  in 
this  case,  instead  of  being  delighted  with  such 
a  mark  of  peculiar  attachment  to  himself,  will 
be  grieved  to  think  that  they  have  profited  no 
more  by  his  labours ;  for  it  is  his  desire  to 
win  souls,  not  to  himself,  but  to  Jesus  Christ. 
I  hope  you,  my  friend,  will  always  attend  the 
ordinances  with  a  view  to  the  Lord's  presence  ; 
and  when  you  are  in  your  proper  place,  con- 
sider the  preacher  (if  he  preaches  the  truth) 
as  one  providentially  and  expressly  sent  by  the 
Lord  to  you  at  that  time  ;  and  that  you  could 
not  chuse  better  for  yourself,  all  things  con- 
sidered, than  he  has  chosen  for  you.  Do  not 
limit  the  Almighty,  by  confining  your  expec- 
tations to  a  single  instrument.  If  you  do, 
you  will  probably  procure  your  own  disap- 
pointment. If  you  fix  your  hopes  upon  the 
man,  the  Lord  may  with-hold  his  blessing, 
and  then  the  best  men  and  the  best  sermons 
will  prove  to  you  but  as  clouds  without 
water.  But,  besides  the  more  stated  seasons 
of  worship  on  the  Lord's  day,  you  have  many 
opportunities  of  hearing  sermons  occasionally 


LET.  XIII. 

in  the  course  of  the  week ;  and  thus  you  may 
partake  of  that  variety  of  gifts  which  I  have 
already  spoken  of.  This  will  be  either  a  bene- 
fit, or  otherwise,  according  to  the  use  you 
make  of  it.  I  would  recommend  to  you  to 
improve  these  occasions,  but  under  some  re- 
strictions. 

In  the  first  place,  be  cautious  that  you  do  not 
degenerate  into  the  spirit  of  a  mere  hearer,  so 
as  to  place  the  chief  stress  of  your  profession 
upon  running  hither  and  thither  after  preach- 
ers. There  are  many  who  are  always  upon 
the  wing :  and,  without  a  due  regard  to  what 
is  incumbent  upon  them  in  the  shop,  in  the 
family,  or  in  the  closet,  they  seem  to  think 
they  were  sent  into  the  world  only  to  hear 
sermons,  and  to  hear  as  many  in  a  day  as  they 
possibly  can.  Such  persons  may  be  fitly  com- 
pared to  Pharaoh's  lean  kine ;  they  devour  a 
great  deal ;  but  for  want  of  a  proper  diges- 
tion, they  do  not  flourish  ;  their  souls  are  lean  ; 
they  have  little  solid  comfort ;  and  their 
profession  abounds  more  in  leaves  than  in 
fruit.  If  the  twelve  apostles  were  again  upon 
earth,  and  you  could  hear  them  all  every 
week  ;  yet  if  you  were  not  attentive  to  the 
duties  of  the  closet,  if  you  did  not  allow  your- 
self time  for  reading,  meditation,  and  prayer ; 
and  if  you  did  not  likewise  conscientiously 
attend  to  the  concernments  of  your  particular 
calling,  and  the  discharge  of  your  duties  in 
relative  life,  I  should  be  more  ready  to  blame 
your  indiscretion,  than  to  admire  your  zeal. 
Every  thing  is  beautiful  in  its  season  ;  and  if 
one  duty  frequently  jostle  out  another,  it  is  a 
sign  either  of  a  weak  judgment,  or  of  a  wrong 
turn  of  mind.  No  public  ordinances  can 
make  amends  for  the  neglect  of  secret  prayer  ; 
nor  will  the  most  diligent  attendance  upon 
them  justify  us  in  the  neglect  of  those  duties, 
which,  by  the  command  and  appointment  of 
God,  we  owe  to  society. 

Again,  as  it  is  our  trial  to  live  in  a  day 
wherein  so  many  contentions  and  winds  of 
strange  doctrines  abound,  I  hope  you  will 
watch  and  pray  that  you  may  not  have  itch- 
ing ears,  inclining  you  to  hearken  after  novel 
and  singular  opinions,  and  the  erroneous  sen- 
timents of  men  of  unstable  minds,  who  are 
not  sound  in  the  faith.  I  have  known  per- 
sons, who,  from  a  blameable  curiosity,  have 
gone  to  hear  such,  not  for  the  sake  of  edifi- 
cation, which  they  could  not  expect,  but  to 
know  what  they  had  to  say,  supposing  that 
they  themselves  were  too  well  established  in 
the  truth  to  be  hurt  by  them.  But  the  expe- 
riment (without  a  just  and  lawful  call)  is  pre- 
sumptuous and  dangerous.  In  this  way  many 
nave  been  hurt,  yea,  many  have  been  over- 
thrown. Error  is  like  poison  ;  the  subtilty, 
quickness,  and  force  of  its  operation,  is  often 
amazing.  As  we  pray  not  to  be  led  into 
temptation,  we  should  take  care  not  to  run 


ON  HEARING  SERMONS. 


know  (if  you  could  know  it)  how  many  ways 
there  are  of  being  wrong. 

Farther,  I  advise  you,  when  you  hear  a 
gospel  sermon,  and  it  is  not  in  all  respects  to 
your  satisfaction,  be  not  too  hasty  to  lay  the 
whole  blame  upon  the  preacher.  The  Lord's 
ministers  have  not  much  to  say  in  their  own 
behalf.  They  feel  (it  is  to  be  hoped)  their  own 
weakness  and  defects,  and  the  greatness  and 
difficulty  of  their  work.  They  are  conscious 
that  their  warmest  endeavours  to  proclaim  the 
Saviour's  glory  are  too  cold  ;  and  their  most 
importunate  addresses  to  the  consciences  of 
men  are  too  faint ;  and  sometimes  they  are 
burdened  with  such  discouragements,  that 
even  their  enemies  would  pity  them,  if  they 
knew  their  case.  Indeed,  they  have  much  to 
be  ashamed  of ;  but  it  will  be  more  useful  for 
you,  who  are  a  hearer,  to  consider  whether  the 
fault  may  not  possibly  be  in  yourself.  Per- 
haps you  thought  too  highly  of  the  man,  and 
expected  too  much  from  him ;  or  perhaps  you 
thought  too  meanly  of  him,  and  expected  too 
little.  In  the  former  case,  the  Lord  justly  dis- 
appointed you  ;  in  the  latter,  you  received  ac- 
cording to  your  faith.  Perhaps  you  neglected 
to  pray  for  him ;  and  then,  though  he  might 
be  useful  to  others,  it  is  not  at  all  strange 
that  he  was  not  so  to  you.  Or  possibly  you 
have  indulged  a  trifling  spirit,  and  brought 
a  dearth  and  dcadness  upon  your  own  soul, 
for  which  you  had  not  been  duly  humbled, 
and  the  Lord  chose  that  time  to  rebuke  you. 

Lastly,  as  a  hearer,  you  have  a  right  to  try 
all  doctrines  by  the  word  of  God  ;  and  it  is 
your  duty  so  to  do.  Faithful  ministers  will 
remind  you  of  this  ;  they  will  not  wish  to  hold 
you  in  an  implicit  and  blind  obedience  to 
what  they  say  upon  their  own  authority,  nor 
desire  that  you  should  follow  them  farther 
than  they  have  the  scriptures  for  their  war- 
rant. They  would  not  be  lords  over  your  con- 
science, but  helpers  of  your  joy.  Prize  this 
gospel-liberty,  which  sets  you  free  from  the 
doctrines  and  commandments  of  men  ;  but  do 
not  abuse  it  to  the  purposes  of  pride  and 
self.  There  are  hearers  who  make  themselves, 
and  not  the  scripture,  the  standard  of  their 
judgment.  They  attend  not  so  much  to  be 
instructed,  as  to  pass  their  sentence.  To  them 
the  pulpit  is  the  bar  at  which  the  minister 
stands  to  take  his  trial  before  them, — a  bar  at 
which  few  escape  censure,  from  judges  at 
once  so  severe  and  inconsistent.  For  as  these 
censors  are  not  all  of  a  mind,  and,  perhaps, 
agree  in  nothing  so  much  as  in  the  opinion 
they  have  of  their  own  wisdom,  it  has  often 
happened,  that,  in  the  course  of  one  and  the 
same  sermon,  the  minister  has  been  condemn- 
ed as  a  legalist,  and  an  antinomian  ;  as  too 
high  in  his  notions,  and  too  low ;  as  having 
too  little  action,  and  too  much.  Oh  !  this  is 
a  hateful  spirit,  that  prompts  hearers  to  pro- 


into  it  wilfully.      If  the  Lord  has  shewn  you  (nounce  ex  cathedra,  as  if  they  were  infallible, 
Vhat  is  right,  it  is  not  worth  your  while  to   breaks    in  upon  the  rights    of  private  judg- 

M 


66 


ON    TEAUTATION. 


LET.  XIV. 


ment,  even  in  matters  not  essential,  and  makes 
a  man  an  offender  for  a  word.  This  spirit  is 
one  frequent  unhappy  evil,  which  springs  from 
the  corruption  of  the  heart,  when  the  Lord  af- 
fords the  means  of  grace  in  great  abundance. 
How  highly  would  some  of  the  Lord's  hidden 
ones,  who  are  destitute  of  the  ordinances,  prize 
the  blessing  of  a  preached  gospel,  with  which 
too  many  professors  seem  to  be  surfeited.  I 
pray  God  to  preserve  you  from  such  a  spirit 
(which,  I  fear,  is  spreading,  and  infects  us 
like  the  pestilence),  and  to  guide  you  in  all 
things. 

I  am,  &c 


LETTER  XIV. 

ON  TEMPTATION. 
DEAR  SIR, 

What  can  you  expect  from  me  on  the  sub- 
ject of  temptation,  with  which  you  have  been 
so  much  more  conversant  than  myself?  On 
this  point  I  am  more  disposed  to  receive  in- 
formation from  you,  than  to  offer  my  advice. 
You,  by  the  Lord's  appointment,  have  had 
much  business  and  exercise  on  these  great 
waters ;  whereas  the  knowledge  I  have  of 
what  passes  there,  I  have  gained  more  from 
observation  than  from  actual  experience.  I 
shall  not  wonder,  if  you  think  I  write  like  a 
novice  ;  however,  your  request  has  the  force 
of  a  command  with  me.  I  shall  give  you  my 
thoughts,  or  rather  shall  take  occasion  to 
write,  not  so  much  to  you  as  to  others,  who, 
though  they  may  be  plunged  in  the  depths 
of  temptation,  have  not  yet  seen  so  much  of 
the  wisdom  and  power  of  God  in  these  dis- 
pensations as  yourself.  I  shall  first  inquire, 
why  the  Lord  permits  some  of  his  people  to 
suffer  such  violent  assauks  from  the  powers  of 
darkness ;  and  then  suggest  a  few  advices  to 
tempted  souls. 

The  temptations  of  Satan  (which,  though 
not  the  most  painful,  are  in  reality  the  most 
dangerous)  do  not  directly  belong  to  my  pre- 
sent design.  I  mean  those  by  which  he  is  too 
successful  in  drawing  many  professors  from 
the  path  of  duty,  in  filling  them  with  spiritual 
pride,  or  lulling  them  into  carnal  security.  In 
these  attempts,  he  is  often  most  powerful  and 
prevalent  when  he  is  least  perceived.  He  sel- 
dom distresses  those  whom  he  can  deceive. 
It  is  chiefly  when  these  endeavours  fail,  that 
lie  fights  against  the  peace  of  the  soul.  He 
hates  the  Lord's  people,  grudges  them  all 
their  privileges  and  all  their  comforts ;  and 
will  do  what  he  can  to  disquiet  them,  because 
he  cannot  prevail  against  them.  And  though 
the  Lord  sets  such  bounds  to  his  rage  as  he 
cannot  pass,  and  limits  him  both  as  to  man- 
ner and  time,  he  is  often  pleased  to  suffer  him 
♦  ~  discover  his  malice  to  a  considerable  de- 


gree ;   not  to  gratify  Satan,  but  to  humble  and 
prove  them  ;   to  shew  them  what  is  in  their 
hearts,  to  make  them  truly  sensible  of  their  im- 
mediate and  absolute  dependence  upon  him- 
self, and  to  quicken  them  to  watchfulness  and 
prayer.      Though   temptations,    in   their  own 
nature,  are  grievous  and  dreadful,   yet,  when, 
by  the  grace   of  God,  they  are  productive  of 
these   effects,    they  deserve   to  be   numbered 
among  the  "  all  things,"  which  are  appointed 
to  work  together  for  the  good  of  those  who 
love    him.       The    light  carriage,    vain   confi- 
dence, and  woeful  backslidings  of  many  pro- 
fessors,   might,   perhaps    (speaking   after    the 
manner  of  men),  have  been  in  some  measure 
prevented,    had   they   been   more    acquainted 
with  this  spiritual  warfare,  and  had  they  drunk 
of  the  cup  of  temptation,   which  but  few  off 
those   who   walk   humbly   and   uprightly  are 
exempted  from  tasting  of,  though  not  all  in 
the  same  degree.      One  gracious  end,  there- 
fore, that  the  Lord  has  in  permitting  his  peo- 
ple  to   be  tempted,  is   for   the  prevention  of 
greater  evils,    that  they  may  not  grow  proud 
or  careless,   or   be   ensnared   by  the   corrupt 
customs  of  the  world.      In  this  view,  I  doubt 
not,  however  burdensome  your  trials  may  at 
some  seasons  prove,  you  are  enabled,  by  your 
composed  judgment,   to  rejoice  in  them,  and 
be  thankful  for  them.      You  know  what  you 
suffer  now  ;  but   you   know    not   what  might 
have  been  the  consequence,  if  you  had  never 
smarted  by  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one. 
You  m'uht  have  been  taken  in  a  more  fatal 
snare,  and  been    numbered  with    those  who, 
by  their  grievous  declensions  and  falls,   have 
caused  the  ways  of  truth  to  be  evil  spoken 
of. 

Another  design  is,  for  the  manifestation  of 
his  power,   and  wisdom,   and  grace,   in  sup. 
porting  the  soul  under  such  pressures  as  are 
evidently  beyond  its  own  strength  to  sustain. 
A  bush  on  fire,  and  not  consumed,  engaged 
the  attention  of  Moses.      This  emblem  is  ge- 
nerally applicable  to  the  state  of  a  christian  in 
the  present  life  ;  but  never  more  so  than  when 
he  is  in  the  fire  of  temptation.      And  though 
his  heaviest  sufferings  of  this  kind  are  usually 
hidden  from  the  notice  of  his  fellow-creatures, 
yet  there  are    other  eyes  always   upon   him. 
"  We  are,"  says  the  apostle,   "  a  spectacle 
to  the  world  ;"  not  only  to  men,  but  to  an- 
gels also.      Many  things  probably  pass  in  the 
invisible  state,  in  which  we  have  a  nearer  con- 
cernment  than   we   are   ordinarily    aware   of. 
The  beginning   of  the   book   of  Job   throws 
some  light  upon  this  point,  and  informs  us 
(of  which  we  should  have  been  otherwise  to- 
tally ignorant)  of  the  true  source  of  his  un- 
common  sufferings.       Satan   had  challenged 
him,  charged  him  as  a  hypocrite,  and  thought 
he  was  able  to  prove  him  one,  if  he  could  have 
permission  to  attack  him.      The  Lord,  for  the 
vindication  of  Job's  integrity,  and  for  the  ma- 
nifestation of  his  own  faithfulness  and  powei 


LET.    KIV. 


ON   TEMPTATION. 


67 


in  favour  of  his  servant,  was  pleased  to  give 
Satan  leave  to  try  what  he  could  do.  The  ex- 
periment answered  many  good  purposes ;  Job 
was  humbled,  yet  approved  ;  his  friends  were 
instructed ;  Satan  was  confuted  and  disap- 
pointed ;  and  the  wisdom  and  mercy  of  the 
Lord,  in  his  darkest  dispensations  towards  his 
people,  were  gloriously  illustrated.  This  con- 
test, and  the  event,  were  recorded  for  the  di- 
rection and  encouragement  of  his  church  to 
the  end  of  time.  Satan's  malice  is  not  abated ; 
and  though  he  has  met  with  millions  of  dis- 
appointments, he  still,  like  Goliah  of  old,  de- 
fies the  armies  of  God's  Israel ;  he  challenges 
the  stoutest,  and  "  desires  to  have  them,  that 
he  may  sift  them  as  wheat."  Indeed,  he  is 
far  an  overmatch  for  them,  considered  as  in 
themselves ;  but  though  they  are  weak,  their 
Redeemer  is  mighty,  and  they  are  for  ever 
secured  by  his  love  and  intercession.  "  The 
Lord  knows  them  that  are  his,"  and  no  wea- 
pon formed  against  them  can  prosper.  That  this 
may  appear  with  the  fullest  evidence,  Satan  is 
allowed  to  assault  them.  We  handle  vessels 
of  glass  or  china  with  caution,  and  endeavour 
to  preserve  them  from  falls  and  blows,  be- 
cause we  know  they  are  easily  broken.  But 
if  a  man  had  the  art  of  making  glass  malle- 
able, and,  like  iron,  capable  of  bearing  the 
stroke  of  a  hammer  without  breaking,  it  is 
probable,  that  instead  of  locking  it  carefully 
up,  he  would  rather,  for  the  commendation  of 
his  skill,  permit  many  to  attempt  to  break  it, 
when  he  knew  their  attempts  would  be  in 
vain.  Believers  are  compared  to  earthen  ves- 
sels, liable  in  themselves  to  be  destroyed  by  a 
small  blow;  but  they  are  so  strengthened  and 
tempered  by  the  power  and  supply  of  divine 
grace,  that  the  fiercest  efforts  of  their  fiercest 
enemies  against  them  may  be  compared  to  the 
dashing  of  waves  against  a  rock.  And  that 
this  may  be  known  and  noticed,  they  are  ex- 
posed to  many  trials ;  but  the  united  and  re- 
peated assaults  of  the  men  of  the  world,  and 
the  powers  of  darkness,  afford  but  the  more 
incontestible  demonstration,  that  the  Lord  is 
with  them  of  a  truth,  and  that  his  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  their  weakness.  Surely  this 
thought,  my  friend,  will  afford  you  consola- 
tion ;  and  you  will  be  content  to  suffer,  if 
God  may  be  glorified  by  you  and  in  you. 

Farther,  by  enduring  temptation,  you,  as  a 
living  member  of  the  body  of  Christ,  have 
the  honour  of  being  conformed  to  your  head. 
He  suffered,  being  tempted  ;  and  because  he 
loves  you,  he  calls  you  to  a  participation  of 
his  sufferings,  and  to  taste  of  his  cup  ;  not 
the  cup  of  the  wrath  of  God  ;  this  he  drank 
alone,  and  he  drank  it  all.  But  in  afflic- 
tion he  allows  his  people  to  have  fellow- 
ship with  him.  Thus  they  fill  up  the  mea- 
sure of  his  sufferings,  and  can  say,  "  As  he 
was,  so  are  we  in  t  e  world."  Marvel  not 
that  the  world  hates  you,  neither  marvel  that 
Satan  rages  against  vou.     Should  not  the  dis- 


ciple be  as  his  Lord  ?  Can  the  servant  expect 
or  desire  peace  from  the  avowed  enemies  of 
his  Master  ?  We  are  to  follow  his  steps  ;  and 
can  we  wish,  if  it  were  possible,  to  walk  in  a 
path  strewed  with  flowers,  when  his  was  strew- 
ed with  thorns  ?  Let  us  be  in  nothing  terri- 
fied by  the  power  of  our  adversaries,  which  is 
to  them  an  evident  token  of  perdition,  but  to 
us  of  salvation,  and  that  of  God.  To  us  it  is 
given,  not  only  to  believe  in  Christ,  but  also 
to  suffer  for  his  sake.  If  we  would  make 
peace  with  the  world,  the  world  would  let  us 
alone  ;  if  we  would  be  content  to  walk  in  the 
ways  of  sin,  Satan  would  give  us  no  disturb- 
ance ;  but  because  grace  has  rescued  us  from 
his  dominion,  and  the  love  of  Jesus  constrains 
us  to  live  to  him  alone,  therefore  the  enemy 
like  a  lion  robbed  of  his  prey,  roars  against 
us.  He  roars,  but  he  cannot  devour ;  he 
plots  and  rages,  but  he  cannot  prevail  ;  he 
disquiets,  but  he  cannot  destroy.  If  we  suf- 
fer with  Christ,  we  shall  also  reign  with  him. 
In  due  time  he  will  bruise  Satan  under  oui 
feet,  make  us  more  than  conquerors,  and  place 
us  where  we  shall  hear  the  voice  of  war  no 
more  for  ever. 

Again,  as  by  temptations  we  are  conform- 
ed to  the  life  of  Christ,  so  likewise,  by  the 
sanctifying  power  of  grace,  they  are  made 
subservient  to  advance  our  conformity  to  his 
image  j  particularly  as  we  thereby  acquire  a 
sympathy  and  fellow-feeling  with  our  suffer- 
ing brethren.  This  is  eminently  a  branch  of 
the  mind  that  was  in  Christ.  He  knows  how 
to  pity  and  help  those  who  are  tempted,  be- 
cause he  has  been  tempted  himself.  He  knows 
what  temptations  mean,  not  only  with  that 
knowledge  whereby  he  knows  all  things,  but 
by  experience.  He  well  remembers  what  he 
endured  in  the  wilderness  and  in  the  garden  ; 
and  though  it  is  for  his  glory  and  our  com- 
fort that  he  suffered  temptation  without  sin, 
yet,  for  that  very  reason,  and  because  he  was 
perfectly  holy,  the  temptations  of  Satan  were 
unspeakably  more  bitter  to  him  than  they  can 
be  to  us.  The  great  duty  and  refuge  of  the 
tempted  now  is,  to  apply  to  him,  and  they 
have  the  highest  encouragement  to  do  so,  in 
that  they  are  assured  he  is  touched  with  a  feel- 
ing of  our  infirmities.  And,  for  the  like  rea- 
son, they  find  some  consolation  in  applying  to 
those  of  their  brethren  who  have  suffered  the 
same  things.  None  but  these  can  either  un- 
derstand or  pity  their  complaints.  If  the 
Lord  has  any  children  who  are  not  exercised 
with  spiritual  temptations,  I  am  sure  they  are 
but  poorly  qualified  to  "  speak  a  word  in  sea- 
son to  them  that  are  weary."  In  this  school 
you  have  acquired  the  tongue  of  the  learned  ; 
and  let  it  not  seem  a  small  tiling  to  you,  if 
the  Lord  has  given  you  wisdom  and  ability  to 
comfort  the  afflicted  ones.  If  your  prayers, 
your  conversation,  and  the  knowledge  they 
have  of  your  trials,  afford  them  some  relief  in 
a  dark   hour,   this  is  an  honour  and  a  privi- 


68 

lege  which  I  am  persuaded  you  will  think 
you  have  not  purchased  too  dear  by  all  that 
you  have  endured. 

Once  more,  temptations,  by  giving  us  a 
painful  sensibility  of  the  weakness  of  our 
graces,  and  the  strength  of  our  inward  cor- 
ruptions, tend  to  mortify  the  evil  principles  of 
self-dependence  and  self-righteousness,  which 
are  so  deeply  rooted  in  our  fallen  nature;  to 
make  Christ,  in  all  his  relations,  offices,  and 
characters,  more  precious  to  us ;  and  to  con- 
vince us,  that  without  him  we  can  do  no- 
thing. It  would  be  easy  to  enlarge  upon  these 
and  other  advantages  which  the  Lord  enables 
his  people  to  derive  from  the  things  which 
they  suffer ;  so  that  they  may  say,  with  Sam- 
son, "  Out  of  the  eater  comes  forth  meat ;" 
and  that  what  their  adversary  designs  for  their 
overthrow,  contributes  to  their  establishment. 
But  I  have  already  exceeded  my  limits. 
Enough  I  hope  has  been  said  to  prove,  that 
he  has  wise  and  gracious  ends  in  permitting 
them,  for  a  season,  to  be  tossed  with  tempest, 
and  not  comforted.  Ere  long  these  designs 
will  be  more  fully  unfolded  to  us  ;  and  we 
shall  be  satisfied  that  he  has  done  all  things 
well.  In  the  mean  while  it  is  our  duty,  and 
will  be  much  for  our  comfort,  to  believe  it 
upon  the  authority  of  his  word. 

I  should  now  proceed  to  offer  some  advices 
to  those  who  are  tempted;  but  I  am  ready  to 
say,  To  what  purpose  ?  When  the  enemy 
comes  in  like  a  flood  ;  when  the  very  founda- 
tions of  hope  are  attacked ;  when  suspicions 
are  raised  in  the  mind,  not  only  concerning 
an  interest  in  the  promises,  but  concerning 
the  truth  of  the  scripture  itself;  when  a  dark 
cloud  blots  out,  not  only  the  sense,  but  al- 
most the  remembrance  of  past  comforts  ;  when 
the  mind  is  overwhelmed  with  torrents  of 
blasphemous,  unclean,  or  monstrous  imagina- 
tions, things  horrible  and  unutterable  ;  when 
the  fiery  darts  of  Satan  have  set  the  corrup- 
tions of  the  heart  in  a  flame ;  at  such  a  sea- 
son a  person  is  little  disposed  or  able  to  listen 
to  advice.  I  shall,  however,  1  iention  some 
things  by  which  ordinarily  Satan  maintains  his 
advantage  against  them  in  these  circumstances, 
that  they  may  be  upon  their  guard  as  much  as 
possible. 

His  principal  devices  are  : 

1.  To  hide  from  them  the  Lord's  designs,  in 
permitting  him  thus  to  rage.  Some  of  these 
I  have  noticed  ;  and  they  should  endeavour  to 
koep  them  upon  their  minds.  It  is  hard  for 
them,  during  the  violence  of  the  storm,  to 
conceive  that  any  good  can  possibly  arise  from 
the  experience  of  so  much  evil.  But  when 
the  storm  is  over,  they  find  that  the  Lord  is 
still  mindful  of  them.  Now,  though  a  young 
soldier  may  well  be  startled  at  the  first  onset 
in  tlie  field  of  battle,  it  seems  possible,  that 
those  who  have  been  often  engaged,  should  at 
length  gain   confidence  from  the  recollection 


ON  TEMPTATION. 


LET.  XIV. 

formerly  found,  by  the  event,  that  the  Lord 
was  surely  with  them  in  the  like  difficulties, 
and  that  their  fears  wrere  only  groundless  and 
imaginary.  When  the  warfare  is  hottest, 
they  have  still  reason  to  say,  "  Hope  thou  in 
God;   for  I  shall  yet  praise  him." 

2.  To  make  them  utter  impatient  speeches, 
which  do  but  aggravate  their  distress.  It  is 
said  of  Job,  under  his  first  trials,  "  In  all 
this  he  sinned  not  with  his  lips,  nor  charged 
God  foolishly."  So  long  Satan  was  unable 
to  prevail.  Afterwards  he  opened  his  mouth, 
as  Jeremiah  did  likewise,  and  cursed  the  day 
of  his  birth.  When  he  once  began  to  com- 
plain, his  causes  of  complaint  increased.  We 
cannot  prevent  dreadful  thoughts  from  aris- 
ing in  our  hearts ;  but  we  should  be  cautious 
of  giving  them  vent,  by  speaking  unadvised- 
ly. This  is  like  letting  in  wind  upon  a  smo- 
thering fire,  which  will  make  it  burn  more 
fiercely. 

3.  To  persuade  them  that  all  they  feel  and 
tremble  at,  arises  immediately  from  their  own 
hearts.  Indeed,  it  is  a  most  awful  proof  of 
our  depravity,  that  we  feel  something  within 
ready  to  close  with  the  suggestions  of  the 
enemy,  in  defiance  of  our  better  judgment 
and  desires.  But  it  is  not  so  in  all  cases.  It 
is  not  always  easy,  nor  is  it  needful,  exactly 
to  draw  the  line  between  the  temptations  of 
Satan  and  our  own  corruptions ;  but  some- 
times it  is  not  impossible  to  distinguish  them. 
When  a  child  of  God  is  tempted  to  blaspheme 
the  name  that  he  adores,  or  to  commit  such 
evils  as  even  unsanctified  nature  would  recoil 
at ;  the  enemy  has  done  it,  and  shall  be  an- 
swerable for  the  whole  guilt.  The  soul,  in 
this  case,  is  passive,  and  suffers  with  extreme 
reluctance,  what  it  more  dreads  than  the 
greatest  evils  which  can  affect  the  body. 
Nor  do  the  deepest  wounds  of  this  kind  leave 
a  scar  upon  the  conscience,  when  the  storm  is 
over ;  which  is  a  proof  that  they  are  not  our 
own  act. 

4.  To  drive  them  from  the  throne  of  grace. 
Prayer,  which  is  at  all  times  necessary,  is  es- 
pecially so  in  a  time  of  temptation.  But  how 
hard  is  it  to  come  boldly,  that  we  may  obtain 
help  in  this  time  of  need  !  But,  however  hard, 
it  must  be  attempted.  By  discontinuing 
prayer,  we  give  the  enemy  the  greatest  en- 
couragement possible ;  for  then  he  sees  that 
his  temptations  have  the  effect  which  he  in 
tends  by  them,  to  intercept  us  from  our  strong- 
hold. When  Our  Lord  was  in  an  agony,  he 
prayed  the  most  earnestly ;  the  ardour  of  his 
prayer  increased  with  the  distress  of  his  soul. 
It  would  be  happy  if  we  could  always  imitate 
him  in  this ;  but  too  often  temptations  and 
difficulties,  instead  of  rousing  our  applica- 
tion, disheartens  and  enfeebles  us  ;  so  that 
our  cries  are  the  faintest  when  we  stand  most 
in  need  of  assistance.  But,  so  long  as  prayer 
is  restrained,  our  burden   is  increased,  Psalm 


of  the    many   instances    in  which    they  havejxxxii.  3,  5.      If  he  cannot  make  them  omit 


LET.  XV. 


ON   A   CHRISTIAN  LIBRARY, 


69 


praying,  he  will  repeatedly  endeavour  to  weary 
them,  by  working  upon  the  legality  which 
cleaves  so  close  to  the  heart.  Satan  is  a  hard 
task-master,  when  he  interferes  in  the  perfor- 
mance of  our  spiritual  duties.  This  he  does, 
perhaps,  more  frequently  than  we  think  of; 
for  he  can,  if  it  serves  his  purpose,  appear  as 
an  angel  of  light.  When  the  soul  is  in  a 
tempest,  and  attempts  to  pray,  he  will  sug- 
gest, that  prayer  on  these  occasions  should  be 
protracted  to  such  a  length,  and  performed 
with  such  steadiness,  as  is  found  to  be  at  that 
season  quite  impracticable.  Such  constrain- 
ed efforts  are  wearisome;  and  from  the  man- 
ner of  the  performance,  he  takes  occasion  to 
fix  fresh  guilt  upon  the  conscience.  Short, 
frequent,  and  fervent  petitions,  which  will  al- 
most necessarily  arise  from  what  is  felt  when 
temptation  is  violent,  are  best  suited  to  the 
case  ;  and  we  need  not  add  to  the  burden,  by 
tasking  ourselves  beyond  our  power,  as  if  we 
expected  to  be  heard  for  our  much  speaking. 
Blessed  be  God,  that  we  fight  with  an  enemy 
already  vanquished  by  our  Lord,  and  that  we 
have  a  sure  promise  of  victory.  The  Lord  is 
our  banner. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XV. 


A     PLAN    OF    A 


COMPENDIOUS 
BRARY. 


CHRISTIAN    LI- 


DEAR  SIR, 

An  eager  desire  of  reading  many  books,  though 
it  is  often  supposed  to  be  the  effect  of  a  taste 
for  knowledge,  is  perhaps  a  principal  cause  of 
detaining  multitudes  in  ignorance  and  per- 
plexity. When  an  unexperienced  person  thus 
ventures  into  the  uncertain  tide  of  opinions, 
he  is  liable  to  be  hurried  hither  and  thither 
with  the  changing  stream ;  to  fall  in  with 
every  new  proposal,  and  to  be  continually  em- 
barrassed with  the  difficulty  of  distinguishing 
between  probability  and  truth.  Or  if,  at  last, 
he  happily  finds  a  clue  to  lead  him  through 
the  labyrinth  wherein  so  many  have  been  lost, 
he  will  acknowledge,  upon  a  review,  that 
from  what  he  remembers  to  have  read  (for, 
perhaps,  the  greater  part  he  has  wholly  for- 
gotten) he  has  gained  little  more  than  a  dis- 
covery of  what  mistakes,  uncertainty,  insig- 
nificance, acrimony,  and  presumption,  are 
often  obtruded  on  the  world  under  the  dis- 
guise of  a  plausible  title-page. 

It  is  far  from  my  intention  to  depreciate  the 
value,  or  deny  the  usefulness  of  books,  with- 
out exception :  a  few  well  chosen  treatises, 
carefully  perused,  and  thoroughly  digested, 
will  deserve  and  reward  our  pains  ;  but  a  mul- 
tiplicity of  reading  is  seldom  attended  with  a 
good  effect.  Besides  the  confusion  it  often 
brings  upon    the  judgment  and    memory,  it 


occasions  a  vast  expense  of  time,  indisposes 
for  close  thinking,  and  keeps  us  poor,  in  the 
midst  of  seeming  plenty,  by  reducing  us  to 
live  upon  a  foreign  supply,  instead  of  labour- 
ing to  improve  and  increase  the  stock  of  our 
own  reflections. 

Every  branch  of  knowledge  is  attended  with 
this  inconvenience  ;  but  it  is  in  no  one  more 
sensibly  felt  than  when  the  inquiry  is  directed 
to  the  subject  of  religion.  Perhaps  no  coun- 
try has  abounded  so  much  with  religious  books 
as  our  own  ;  many  of  them  are  truly  excel- 
lent ;  but  a  very  great  number  of  those  which 
are  usually  more  obvious  to  be  met  with,  as 
they  stand  recommended  by  great  names,  and 
the  general  taste  of  the  public,  are  more  like- 
ly to  mislead  an  inquirer,  than  to  direct  him 
into  the  paths  of  true  peace  and  wisdom. 

And  even  in  those  books  which  are  in  the 
main  agreeable  to  the  word  of  God,  there  is 
often  so  great  a  mixture  of  human  infirmity, 
so  much  of  the  spirit  of  controversy  and  par- 
ty, such  manifest  defects  in  some,  and  so 
many  unwarrantable  additions  to  the  simple 
truth  of  the  gospel  in  others,  that,  unless  a 
person's  judgment  is  already  formed,  or  he 
has  a  prudent  friend  to  direct  his  choice,  he 
will  probably  be  led  into  error  or  prejudice 
before  he  is  aware,  by  his  attachment  to  a  fa- 
vourite author. 

Allowing,  therefore,  the  advantage  of  a  dis- 
creet and  seasonable  use  of  human  writings, 
I  would  point  out  a  still  more  excellent  way 
for  the  acquisition  of  true  knowledge  :  a  me- 
thod, which,  if  wholly  neglected,  the  utmost 
diligence  in  the  use  of  every  other  means  will 
prove  ineffectual ;  but  which,  if  faithfully 
pursued  in  an  humble  dependence  upon  the 
divine  blessing,  will  not  only  of  itself  lead  us 
by  the  straightest  path  to  wisdom,  but  will  also 
give  a  double  efficacy  to  every  subordinate 
assistance. 

If  I  may  be  allowed  to  use  the  term  book 
in  a  metaphorical  sense,  I  may  say,  that  the 
most  high  God,  in  condescension  to  the  weak- 
ness of  our  faculties,  the  brevity  of  our  lives, 
and  our  many  avocations,  has  comprised  all 
the  knowledge  conducive  to  our  real  happiness 
in  four  comprehensive  volumes.  The  first, 
which  may  be  considered  as  the  text,  is  cheap, 
portable,  and  compendious,  so  that  hardly  any 
person  in  our  favoured  land,  who  is  apprised 
of  its  worth,  need  be  without  it ;  and  the  other 
three,  which  are  the  best  and  fullest  commen- 
taries upon  this,  are  always  at  hand  for  our 
perusal,  and  pressing  upon  our  attention  in 
every  place  and  circumstance  of  our  lives. 

It  will  be  easily  apprehended,  that,  by  the 
first  book,  or  volume,  I  mean  that  perfect  and 
infallible  system  of  truth,  the  Bible.  The 
internal  characters  of  this  book,  arising  from 
its  comprehensiveness,  simplicity,  majesty,  and 
authority,  sufficiently  prove  to  every  enlight- 
ened mind,  that  it  is  given  by  inspiration  of 
God.      They  who  are  competent  judges  of  this 


70 


ON  A 


evidence,  are  no  more  disturbed  by  the  sug- 
gestions of  some  men  reputed  wise,  that  it  is 
of  human  composition,  than  if  they  were  told 
that  men  had  invented  the  sun,  and  placed  it 
in  the  firmament.  Its  fulness  speaks  its  au- 
thor. No  case  has  yet  occurred,  or  ever  will, 
for  which  there  is  not  a  sufficient  provision 
made  in  this  invaluable  treasury.  Here  we 
may  seek  (and  we  shall  not  seek  in  vain) 
wherewith  to  combat  and  vanquish  every  error, 
to  illustrate  and  confirm  every  spiritual  truth. 
Here  are  promises  suited  to  every  want,  di- 
rections adapted  to  every  doubt  that  can  pos- 
sibly arise.  Here  is  milk  for  babes,  meat  for 
strong  men,  medicines  for  the  wounded,  re- 
freshment for  the  weary.  The  general  his- 
tory of  all  nations  and  ages,  and  the  particu- 
lar experience  of  each  private  believer,  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  time,  are  wonder- 
fully comprised  in  this  single  volume  ;  so  that 
whoever  reads  and  improves  it  aright,  may 
discover  his  state,  bis  progress,  his  tempta- 
tions, his  danger,  and  his  duty,  as  distinctly 
and  minutely  marked  out,  as  if  the  whole  had 
been  written  for  him  alone.  In  this  respect, 
as  well  as  in  many  others,  great  is  the  mystery 
of  godliness. 

The  simplicity,  as  well  as  the  subject-mat- 
ter of  the  Bible,  evinces  its  divine  original. 
Though  it  has  depths  sufficient  to  embarrass 
and  confound  the  proudest  efforts  of  unsancti- 
fied  reason,  it  does  not,  as  to  its  general  im- 
port, require  an  elevated  genius  to  understand 
it,  but  is  equally  addressed  to  the  level  of 
every  capacity.  As  its  contents  are  of  uni- 
versal concernment,  they  are  proposed  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  engage  and  satisfy  the  inqui- 
ries of  all ;  and  the  learned,  with  respect  to 
their  own  personal  interest,  have  no  advantage 
above  the  ignorant.  That  it  is  in  fact  read  by 
many  who  receive  no  instruction  or  benefit 
from  it,  is  wholly  owing  to  their  inattention 
or  vanity.  This  event  may  rather  excite  grief 
than  wonder.  The  Bible  teaches  us  to  ex- 
pect it.  It  forewarns  us  that  the  natural  man 
cannot  receive  the  things  of  God,  can  neither 
understand  nor  approve  them.  It  points  out 
to  us  the  necessity  of  a  heavenly  teacher,  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  has  promised  to  guide  those 
who  seek  him  by  prayer,  into  all  necessary 
truth.  They  who  implore  his  assistance, 
find  the  seals  opened,  the  vail  taken  away, 
and  the  way  of  salvation  made  plain  before 
them. 

The  language  of  the  Bible  is  likewise 
clothed  with  inimitable  majesty  and  authority. 
God  speaks  in  it,  and  reveals  the  glory  of  his 
perfections,  his  sovereignty,  holiness,  justice, 
goodness,  a-nd  grace,  in  a  manner  worthy  of 
himself,  though,  at  the  same  time,  admirably 
adapted  to  our  weakness.  The  most  laboured 
efforts  of  human  genius  are  flat  and  languid, 
in  comparison  of  those  parts  of  the  Bible  which 
are  designed  to  give  us  due  apprehensions  of 
the  God  with  whom  we  have  to  do.  Where 
shall    we    find    such    instances   of    the     true 


CHRISTIAN    LIBRARY.  LET.  XV. 

sublime,  the  great,  the  marvellous,  the  beau- 
tiful,  the  pathetic,  as  in  the  holy  scriptures? 
Again,  the  effects  which  it  performs,  demon- 
strate it  to  be  the  word  of  God.  With  a 
powerful  and  penetrating  energy,  it  alarms 
and  pierces  the  conscience,  discovers  the 
thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart,  convinces 
the  most  obstinate,  and  makes  the  most  careless 
tremble.  With  equal  authority  and  efficacy, 
it  speaks  peace  to  the  troubled  mind,  heals  the 
wounded  spirit,  and  can  impart  a  joy  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory,  in  the  midst  of  the 
deepest  distress.  It  teaches,  persuades,  com- 
forts, and  reproves  with  an  authority  that  can 
neither  be  disputed  nor  evaded ;  and  often 
communicates  more  light,  motives,  and  influ- 
ence, by  a  single  sentence,  to  a  plain  unletter- 
ed believer,  than  he  could  derive  from  all  the 
voluminous  commentaries  of  the  learned.  In  a 
word,  it  answers  the  character  the  apostle  gives 
of  it :  "  It  is  able  to  make  us  wise  unto  salva- 
tion ;  it  is  completely  and  alone  sufficient  to 
make  the  man  of  God  perfect,  thoroughly 
furnished  for  every  good  work."  The  doc- 
trines, histories,  prophecies,  promises,  precepts, 
exhortations,  examples,  and  warnings,  con- 
tained in  the  Bible,  form  a  perfect  whole,  a 
complete  summary  of  the  will  of  God  con- 
cerning us,  in  which  nothing  is  wanting,  no- 
thing is  superflous. 

The  second  volume  which  deserves  our 
study  is  the  book  of  Creation.  "  The  hea- 
vens declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firma- 
ment sheweth  his  handy- work  ;"  nor  can  we 
cast  our  eyes  any  where,  without  meeting  in- 
numerable proofs  of  his  wisdom,  power,  good- 
ness, and  presence.  God  is  revealed  in  the 
least,  as  well  as  in  the  greatest  of  his  works. 
The  sun  and  the  glow-worm,  the  fabric  of  the 
universe,  and  each  single  blade  of  grass,  are 
equally  the  effects  of  divine  power.  The 
lines  of  this  book,  though  very  beautiful  and 
expressive  in  themselves,  are  not  immediately 
legible  by  fallen  man.  The  works  of  creation 
may  be  compared  to  a  fair  character  in  cypher, 
of  which  the  Bible  is  the  key  :  and  without 
this  key  they  cannot  be  understood.  This 
book  was  always  open  to  the  Heathens ;  but 
they  could  not  read  it,  nor  discern  the  proofs  of 
his  eternal  power  and  godhead  which  it  affords. 
"  They  became  vain  in  their  own  imaginations, 
and  worshipped  the  creature  more  than  the 
Creator."  The  case  is  much  the  same  at  this 
day  with  many  reputed  wise,  whose  hearts 
are  not  subjected  to  the  authority  of  the  Bible. 
The  study  of  the  works  of  God,  independent 
of  his  word,  though  dignified  with  the  name 
of  philosophy,  is  no  better  than  an  elaborate 
trifling  and  waste  of  time.  It  is  to  be  feared 
none  are  more  remote  from  the  true  knowledge 
of  God,  than  many  of  those  who  value  them- 
selves most  upon  their  supposed  knowledge  of 
his  creatures.  They  may  speak  in  general 
terms  of  his  wisdom  ;  but  they  live  without 
him  in  the  world  ;  and  their  philosophy  can- 
not teach  them  either  to  love,  or  serve,  to  fear. 


LET.  XV. 


ON   A  CHRISTIAN  LIBRARY. 


1 


or  trust  him.  They  who  know  God  in  his 
word,  may  find  both  pleasure  and  profit 
tracing  his  wisdom  in  his  works,  if  their 
inquiries  are  kept  within  due  bounds,  and  in 
a  proper  subservience  to  things  of  greater  im- 
portance ;  but  they  are  comparatively  few 
who  have  leisure,  capacity,  or  opportunity,  for 
these  inquiries.  But  the  book  of  creation  is 
designed  for  the  instruction  of  all  believers. 
If  they  are  not  qualified  to  be  astronomers  or 
anatomists,  yet,  from  a  view  of  the  heavens, 
the  work  of  God's  fingers,  the  moon  and  the 
stars,  which  he  hath  created,  they  learn  to 
conceive  of  his  condescension,  power,  and 
faithfulness.  Though  they  are  unacquainted 
with  the  theory  of  light  and  colours,  they  can 
see  in  the  rainbow  a  token  of  God's  covenant- 
love.  Perhaps  they  have  no  idea  of  the  mag- 
nitude or  distance  of  the  sun  ;  but  it  reminds 
them  of  Jesus  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  the 
source  of  light  and  life  to  their  souls.  The 
Lord  has  established  a  wonderful  analogy  be- 
tween the  natural  and  the  spiritual  world. 
This  is  a  secret  only  known  to  them  that  fear 
him ;  but  they  contemplate  it  with  pleasure ; 
and  almost  every  object  they  see,  when  they 
are  in  a  right  frame  of  mind,  either  leads 
their  thoughts  to  Jesus,  or  tends  to  illustrate 
some  spiritual  truth  or  promise.  This  is  the 
best  method  of  studying  the  book  of  Nature, 
and  for  this  purpose  it  is  always  open  and 
plain  to  those  who  love  the  Bible,  so  that  he 
who  runs  may  read. 

The  book  of  Providence  is  the  third  volume, 
by  which  those  who  fear  the  Lord  are  instruc- 
ted.     This  likewise  is  inextricable   and  unin- 
telligible to  the  wisest  of  men   who  are  not 
governed  by   the   word  of  God.      But  when 
the  principles  of  scripture  are   admitted   and 
understood,  they  throw  a  pleasing  light  upon 
the  study  of  divine  providence,   and,   at  the 
same  time,   are   confirmed  and  illustrated  by 
it.      What  we  read  in  the  Bible  of  the  sove- 
reignty, wisdom,  power,  omniscience,  and  om- 
nipresence of  God,  of  his  over-ruling  all  events 
to  the  accomplishment  of  his  counsels,  and  the 
manifestation  of  his  glory,  of  the  care  he  main- 
tains of  bis  church  and  people,  and  of  his  at- 
tention to  their  prayers,  is  exemplified  by  the 
history  of  nations  and  families,  and  the  daily 
occurrences  of  private  life.      The  believer  re- 
ceives hourly  arid  indubitable  proofs  that  the 
Lord  reigns ;  that  verily  there  is   a    God  that 
judges  in  the  earth.    Hence  arises  a  solid  con- 
fidence :   he  sees  that  his  concerns  are  in  safe 
hands ;  and  he  needs  not  be  afraid  of  evil  tid- 
ings.   His  heart  is  fixed,  trusting  in  the  Lord  ; 
while  others  live  at  an  uncertainty,  exposed  to 
the  impressions  of  every  new  appearance  ;  and, 
like  a  ship  in  a  storm,  without  rudder  or  pilot, 
abandoned   to    the  power  of  the  winds   and 
waves.      In  the  history  of  Joseph,  and  in  the 
book  of  Esther,  and   indeed  throughout  the 
Bible,  we  have  specimens  of  the  wise  unerring 
providence  of  God  ;    what  important  conse- 


quences depend,  under  his  management,  upon 
the  smallest  events ;  and  with  what  certainty 
seeming  contingencies  are  directed  to  the  issue 
which  he  has  appointed.  By  these  authentic 
specimens  we  learn  to  judge  of  the  whole ; 
and  with  still  greater  advantage  by  the  light 
of  the  New  Testament,  which  shews  us,  that 
the  administration  of  all  power  in  heaven  and 
earth  is  in  the  hands  of  Jesus.  The  govern- 
ment  is  upon  his  shoulders :  The  King  of 
saints  is  King  of  nations,  King  of  kings,  and 
Lord  of  lords.  Not  a  sparrow  falls  to  the 
ground,  nor  a  hair  from  our  heads,  without 
his  cognizance.  And  though  his  ways  arc 
higher  than  our  ways,  and  his  thoughts  than 
our  thoughts ;  though  his  agency  is  vailed 
from  the  eye  of  sense  by  the  intervention  of 
second  causes ;  yet  faith  perceives,  acknow- 
ledges, admires,  and  trusts  his  management. 
This  study,  like  the  former,  does  not  require 
superior  natural  abilities,  but  is  obvious  to  the 
weakest  and  meanest  of  his  people,  so  far  as 
their  own  duty  and  peace  are  concerned. 

The  fourth  volume  is  the  book  of  the  Heart, 
or  of  Human  Nature,  comprehending  the  ex 
perience  of  what  passes  within  our  own  breasts, 
and  the  observations  we  make  upon  the  prin- 
ciples and  conduct  of  others,  compared  witli 
what  we  read  in  the  word  of  God.  The 
heart  of  man  is  deep;  but  all  its  principles 
and  workings  in  every  possible  situation,  and 
the  various  manners  in  which  it  is  affected  by 
sin,  by  Satan,  by  worldly  objects,  and  by  grace, 
in  solitude  and  in  company,  in  prosperity  and 
in  affliction,  are  disclosed  and  unfolded  in  the 
scriptures.  Many  who  are  proud  of  their 
knowledge  of  what  they  may  be  safely  ignorant 
of,  are  utter  strangers  to  themselves.  Having 
no  acquaintance  with  the  scriptures,  they  have 
neither  skill  nor  inclination  to  look  into  their 
own  hearts,  nor  any  certain  criterion  whereby 
to  judge  of  the  conduct  of  human  life.  But 
the  Bible  teaches  us  to  read  this  mysterious 
hook  also ;  shews  us  the  source,  nature,  and 
tendency  of  our  hopes,  fears,  desires,  pursuits, 
and  perplexities ;  the  reasons  why  we  cannot 
be  happy  in  ourselves,  and  the  vanity  and  in- 
sufficiency of  every  thing  around  us  to  help 
us.  The  rest  and  happiness  proposed  in  the 
gospel,  is  likewise  found  to  be  exactly  suitable 
to  the  desires  and  necessities  of  the  awakened 
heart ;  and  the  conduct  of  those  who  reject  this 
salvation,  as  well  as  the  gracious  effects  produ- 
ced in  those  who  receive  it,  prove  to  a  demon- 
stration, that  the  word  of  God  is  indeed  a  dis- 
cerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart. 
My  limits  will  admit  but  of  a  few  hints 
upon  these  extensive  subjects.  I  shall  only 
observe  that  whoever  is  well  read  in  these  four 
books,  is  a  wise  person,  how  little  soever  he 
may  know  of  what  the  men  of  the  world  call 
science.  On  the  other  hand,  though  a  man 
should  be  master  of  the  whole  circle  of  classi- 
cal, polite,  and  philosophical  knowledge,  if  he 
has  no  taste  for  the  Bible,  and  has  no  ability  to 


72 


ON  THE  INEFFICACY  OF  OUR  KNOWLEDGE. 


LET.  XVI 


apply  it  to  the  works  of  creation  and  provi- 
dence, and  his  own  experience,  he  knows  no- 
thing yet  as  he  ought  to  know.  I  have  point- 
ed out  a  treasure  of  more  worth  than  all  the 
volumes  in  the  Vatican. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XVI. 

ON  THE  INEFFICACY  OF  OUR  KNOWLEDGE. 
DEAR  SUt, 

To  be  enabled  to  form  a  clear,  consistent,  and 
comprehensive  judgment  of  the  truths  reveal- 
ed in  the  scriptures,  is  a  great  privilege  :  but 
they  who  possess  it  are  exposed  to  the  tempta- 
tion of  thinking  too  highly  of  themselves,  and 
too  meanly  of  others,  especially  of  those,  who 
not  only  refuse  to  adopt  their  sentiments,  but 
venture  to  oppose  them.  We  see  few  con- 
troversial writings,  however  excellent  in  other 
respects,  but  are  tinctured  with  this  spirit  of 
self-superiority ;  and  they  who  are  not  called 
to  this  service,  if  they  are  attentive  to  what 
passes  in  their  hearts,  may  feel  it  working 
within  them,  upon  a  thousand  occasions ; 
though,  so  far  as  it  prevails,  it  brings  forcibly 
home  to  ourselves  the  charge  of  ignorance 
and  inconsistence,  which  we  are  so  ready  to 
fix  upon  our  opponents.  I  know  nothing  as 
a  means  more  likely  to  correct  this  evil,  than 
a  serious  consideration  of  the  amazing  dif- 
ference between  our  acquired  judgment,  and 
our  actual  experience  ;  or,  in  other  words, 
how  little  influence  our  knowledge  and  judg- 
ment have  upon  our  own  conduct.  This 
may  confirm  to  us  the  truth  and  propriety  of 
the  apostle's  observation,  "  If  any  man  think 
that  he  knoweth  any  thing,  he  knoweth  no- 
thing yet  as  he  ought  to  know."  Not  that 
we  are  bound  to  be  insensible  that  the  Lord 
has  taught  us  what  we  were  once  ignorant  of; 
nor  is  it  possible  that  we  should  be  so,  but, 
because,  if  we  estimate  our  knowledge  by  its 
effects,  and  value  it  no  farther  than  it  is  ex- 
perimental and  operative  (which  is  the  proper 
standard  whereby  to  try  it),  we  shall  find  it 
so  faint  and  feeble  as  hardly  to  deserve  the 
name. 

How  firmly,  for  instance,  are  we  persuad- 
ed, in  our  judgments,  that  God  is  omnipre- 
sent. Great  as  the  difficulties  may  be  which 
attend  our  conceptions  of  this  point,  the  truth 
itself  is  controverted  by  few.  It  is  generally 
acknowledged  by  unawakened  persons  ;  and, 
I  may  add,  too  frequently  known  even  by  be- 
lievers, as  if  they  knew  it  not.  If  the  eyes  of 
the  Lord  are  in  every  place,  how  strong  a 
guard  should  this  thought  be  upon  the  con- 
duct of  those  who  profess  to  fear  him  !  We 
know  how  we  are  often  affected  when  in  the 
presence  of  a  fellow- worm;  if  he  is  one  on  whom 
we  depend,    or  who  is  considerably  our  su- 


perior in  life,  how  careful  are  we  to  compose 
our  behaviour,  and  to  avoid  whatever  might 
be  deemed  improper  or  offensive  !  Is  it  not 
strange,  that  those  who  have  taken  their  ideas 
of  the  divine  majesty,  holiness,  and  purity 
from  the  scriptures,  and  are  not  wholly  insen- 
sible of  their  inexpressible  obligations  to  re- 
gulate all  they  say  or  do  by  his  precepts, 
should,  upon  many  occasions,  be  betrayed 
into  improprieties  of  behaviour,  from  which 
the  presence  of  a  nobleman,  or  a  prince, 
would  have  effectually  restrained  them,  yea, 
sometimes,  perhaps,  even  the  presence  of  a 
child  ?  Even  in  the  exercise  of  prayer,  by 
which  we  profess  to  draw  near  the  Lord,  the 
consideration  that  his  eye  is  upon  us,  has  lit- 
tle power  to  engage  our  attention,  or  prevent 
our  thoughts  from  wandering,  like  the  fool's 
eyes,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  What  should 
we  think  of  a  person,  who,  being  admitted 
into  the  king's  presence  upon  business  of  the 
greatest  importance,  should  break  off  in  the 
midst  of  his  address,  to  pursue  a  butterfly  ? 
Could  such  an  instance  of  weakness  be  met 
with,  it  would  be  but  a  faint  emblem  of  the 
inconsistencies  which  they  who  are  acquaint- 
ed with  their  own  hearts,  can  often  charge 
themselves  with  in  prayer.  They  are  not 
wholly  ignorant  in  what  a  frame  of  spirit  it 
becomes  a  needy,  dependent  sinner  to  approach 
that  God,  before  whom  the  angels  are  repre- 
sented as  vailing  their  faces ;  yet,  in  defiance 
of  their  better  judgment,  their  attention  is 
diverted  from  him  with  whom  they  have  to 
do,  to  the  merest  trifles ;  they  are  not  able  to 
realize  that  presence  with  which  they  believe 
themselves  to  be  surrounded,  but  speak  as  if 
they  were  speaking  to  the  air.  Further,  if 
our  sense  that  God  is  always  present,  was  in 
any  good  measure  answerable  to  the  convic- 
tion of  our  judgment,  would  it  not  be  an  ef- 
fectual preservative  from  the  many  importu- 
nate, though  groundless  fears,  with  which  we 
are  harassed  !  He  says,  "  Fear  not,  I  am  with 
thee  :"  he  promises  to  be  a  shield  and  a  guard 
to  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him ;  yet 
though  we  profess  to  believe  his  word,  and  to 
hope  that  he  is  our  protector,  we  seldom  think 
ourselves  safe,  even  in  the  path  of  duty,  a 
moment  longer  than  danger  is  kept  out  of  our 
view.  Little  reason  have  we  to  value  our- 
selves upon  our  knowledge  of  this  indisputa- 
ble truth,  when  it  has  no  more  effective  and 
habitual  influence  upon  our  conduct. 

The  doctrine  of  God's  sovereignty  likewise 
though  not  so  generally  owned  as  the  former, 
is  no  less  fully  assented  to  by  those  who  are 
called  Calvinists.  We  zealously  contend  for 
this  poin*  in  our  debates  with  the  Arminians, 
and  are  ready  to  wonder  that  any  should  be 
hardy  enough  to  dispute  the  Creator's  right 
to  do  what  he  will  with  his  own.  While  we 
are  only  engaged  in  defence  of  the  election  of 
grace,  and  have  a  comfortable  hope  that  we 
are  ourselves  of  that  number,  we  seem  so  con- 


ON  THE  INEFFTCACY  OF  OUR  KNOWLEDGE. 


LET.  XVI. 

vinced,  by  the  arguments  scripture  affords  us 
in  support  of  this  truth,  that  we  can  hardly 
forbear  charging  our  adversaries  with  per- 
verse obstinacy  and  pride  for  opposing  it. 
Undoubtedly  the  ground  of  this  opposition 
lies  in  the  pride  of  the  human  heart ;  but  this 
evil  principle  is  not  confined  to  any  party ; 
and  occasions  frequently  arise,  when  they  who 
contend  for  the  divine  sovereignty  are  little 
more  practically  influenced  by  it  than  their 
opponents.  This  humiliating  doctrine  con- 
cludes as  strongly  for  submission  to  the  will 
of  God,  under  every  circumstance  of  life,  as 
it  does  for  our  acquiescing  in  his  purpose  to 
have  mercy  upon  whom  he  will  have  mercy. 
But  alas !  how  often  do  we  find  ourselves  ut- 
terly unable  to  apply  it,  so  as  to  reconcile  our 
spirits  to  those  afflictions  which  he  is  pleased 
to  allot  us  So  far  as  we  are  enabled  to  say, 
when  wre  are  exercised  with  poverty,  or  heavy 
losses  or  crosses,  "  I  was  dumb,  and  opened 
not  my  mouth,  because  thou  didst  it,"  so  far, 
and  no  farther,  are  we  truly  convinced  that 
God  has  a  sovereign  right  to  dispose  of  us, 
and  all  our  concernments,  as  he  pleases.  How 
often,  and  how  justly,  at  such  seasons,  might 
the  argument  we  offer  to  others,  as  sufficient 
to  silence  all  their  objections,  be  retorted  up- 
on ourselves:  "  Nay,  but  who  art  thou,  O 
man,  who  repliest  against  God !  Shall  the 
thing  formed  say  unto  him  that  formed  it, 
Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus?" — a  plain  proof 
that  our  knowledge  is  more  notional  than  ex- 
perimental. What  an  inconsistence,  that  while 
we  think  God  is  just  and  righteous  in  with- 
holding from  others  the  things  which  pertain 
to  their  everlasting  peace,  we  should  find  it 
so  hard  to  submit  to  his  dispensations  to  our- 
selves in  matters  of  unspeakably  less  import- 
ance ! 

But  the  Lord's  appointments,  to  those  who 
fear  him,  are  not  only  sovereign,  but  wise  and 
gracious.  He  has  connected  their  good  with 
his  own  glory,  and  is  engaged,  by  promise,  to 
make  all  things  work  together  for  their  ad- 
vantage. He  chooses  for  his  people  better 
than  they  could  choose  for  themselves.  If  they 
are  in  heaviness,  there  is  a  need-be  for  it,  and 
he  withholds  nothing  from  them  but  what, 
upon  the  whole,  it  is  better  they  should  be 
without.  Thus  the  scriptures  teach,  and  thus 
we  profess  to  believe.  Furnished  with  these 
principles,  we  are  at  no  loss  to  suggest  motives 
of  patience  and  consolation  to  our  brethren 
that  are  afflicted.  We  can  assure  them,  without 
hesitation,  that  if  they  are  interested  in  the 
promises,  their  concerns  are  in  safe  hands ; 
that  the  things  which  at  present  are  not  joyous, 
but  grievous,  shall  in  due  season  yield  the 
peaceful  fruits  of  righteousness,  and  that  their 
trials  are  as  certainly  mercies  as  their  com- 
forts. We  can  prove  to  them,  from  the  his- 
tory of  Joseph,  David,  Job,  and  other  in- 
stances recorded  in  scripture,  that,  notwith- 
standing any  present  dark  appearances,  it  shall 


73 


certainly  be  well  with  the  righteous ;  that  God 
can  and  will  make  crooked  things  straight ; 
and  that  he  often  produces  the  greatest  good 
from  those  events  which  we  are  apt  to  look 
upon  as  evil.  From  hence  we  can  infer,  not 
only  the  sinfulness,  but  the  folly  of  finding 
fault  with  any  of  his  dispensations.  We  can 
tell  them,  that  at  the  worst,  the  sufferings  of 
the  present  life  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared 
with  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed;  and 
that,  therefore,  under  the  greatest  pressures, 
they  should  so  weep  as  those  who  expect,  in  a 
little  time,  to  have  all  their  tears  wiped  away. 
But  when  the  case  is  our  own,  when  we  are 
troubled  ©n  every  side,  or  touched  in  the  ten- 
derest  part,  how  difficult  is  it  to  feel  the  force 
of  these  reasonings,  though  we  know  they  are 
true  to  a  demonstration  ?  Then,  unless  we 
are  endued  with  fresh  strength  from  on  high, 
we  are  as  liable  to  complain  and  despond,  as 
if  we  thought  our  afflictions  sprung  out  of  the 
ground,  and  that  the  Lord  had  forgotten  to  be 
gracious. 

I  might  proceed  to  shew  the  difference  be- 
tween our  judgment,  when  most  enlightened, 
and  our  actual  experience  with  respect  to  every 
spiritual  truth.  We  know  there  is  no  propor- 
tion between  time  and  eternity,  between  God 
and  the  creature,  the  favour  of  the  Lord  and 
the  favour  or  the  frowns  of  men  ;  and  yet  of- 
ten, when  these  things  are  brought  into  close 
competition,  we  are  sorely  put  to  it  to  keep 
stedfast  in  the  path  of  duty ;  nay,  without 
new  supplies  of  grace,  we  should  certainly 
fail  in  the  time  of  trial,  and  our  knowledge 
would  have  no  other  effect  than  to  render  our 
guilt  more  inexcusable.  We  seem  to  be  as 
sure  that  we  are  weak,  sinful,  fallible  crea- 
tures, as  we  are  that  we  exist ;  and  yet  we  are 
prone  to  act  as  if  we  were  wise  and  good.  In 
a  word,  we  cannot  deny  that  a  great  part  of 
our  knowledge  is,  as  I  have  described  it,  like 
the  light  of  the  moon,  destitute  of  heat  and 
influence  ;  and  yet  we  can  hardly  help  think- 
ing of  ourselves  too  highly  upon  the  account 
of  it. 

May  we  not  say  with  the  psalmist,  "  Lord, 
what  is  man  !"  yea,  what  an  enigma,  what  a 
poor  inconsistent  creature,  is  a  believer  ?  In 
one  view,  how  great  are  his  character  and  pri- 
vileges !  He  knows  the  Lord  ;  he  knows  him- 
self. His  understanding  is  enlightened  to 
apprehend  and  contemplate  the  great  myste- 
ries of  the  gospel.  He  has  just  ideas  of  the 
evil  of  sin,  the  vanity  of  the  world,  the  beau 
ties  of  holiness,  and  the  nature  of  true  happi- 
ness. He  was  once  darkness,  but  now  he 
is  light  in  the  Lord.  He  has  access  to  God 
by  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  he  is  united,  and 
in  whom  he  lives  by  faith.  While  the  prin- 
ciples he  has  received  are  enlivened  by  the 
agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  can  do  all 
things.  He  is  humble,  gentle,  patient,  watch- 
ful, faithful.  He  rejoices  in  afflictions,  tri- 
umphs over  temptation,  lives  upon  the  fore 


74 


ON  a  believer's  frames. 


LET.  XVII 


tastes  of  eternal  glory,  and  counts  not  liis  life 
dear,  so  lie  may  glorify  God  his  Saviour,  and 
finish  his  course  with  joy.  But  his  strength 
is  not  his  own  ;  he  is  absolutely  dependent, 
and  is  still  encompassed  with  infirmities,  and 
burdened  with  a  depraved  nature.  If  the 
Lord  withdraws  his  power,  he  becomes  weak 
as  another  man,  and  drops,  as  a  stone  sinks 
to  the  earth  by  its  own  weight.  His  inhe- 
rent knowledge  may  be  compared  to  the  win- 
dows of  a  house,  which  can  transmit  the  light, 
but  cannot  retain  it.  Without  renewed  and 
continual  communications  from  the  Spirit  of 
grace,  he  is  unable  to  withstand  the  smallest 
temptation,  to  endure  the  slightest  trial,  to 
perform  the  least  service  in  a  due  manner,  or 
even  to  think  a  good  thought.  He  knows 
this,  and  yet  he  too  often  forgets  it.  But  the 
Lord  reminds  him  of  it  frequently,  by  sus- 
pending that  assistance,  without  which  he  can 
do  nothing.  Then  he  feels  what  he  is,  and 
is  easily  prevailed  upon  to  act  in  contradic- 
tion to  his  better  judgment.  Thus  repeated 
experience  of  his  own  weakness  teaches  him, 
by  degrees,  where  his  strength  lies :  that  it  is 
not  in  any  thing  that  he  lias  already  attained, 
or  can  call  his  own,  but  in  the  grace,  power, 
and  faithfulness  of  his  Saviour.  He  learns 
to  cease  from  his  own  understanding,  to  be 
ashamed  of  his  best  endeavours,  to  abhor  him- 
self in  dust  and  ashes,  and  to  glory  only  in 
the  Lord. 

From  hence  we  may  observe,  that  believers 
who  have  most  knowledge,  are  not,  therefore, 
necessarily  the  most  spiritual.  Some  may,  and 
do  walk  more  honourably  and  more  comfort- 
ably with  two  talents,  than  others  with  five. 
He  who  experimentally  knows  his  own  weak- 
ness, and  depends  simply  upon  the  Lord,  will 
surely  thrive,  though  his  acquired  attainments 
and  abilities  may  be  but  small ;  and  he  who 
has  the  greatest  gifts,  the  clearest  judgment, 
and  the  most  extensive  knowledge,  if  he  in- 
dulges high  thoughts  of  his  advantages,  is  in 
imminent  danger  of  mistaking  and  falling  at 
every  step ;  for  the  Lord  will  suffer  none 
whom  he  loves  to  boast  in  themselves.  He 
will  guide  the  meek  with  his  eye,  and  fill  the 
hungry  with  good  things ;  but  the  rich  he 
sendeth  empty  away.  It  is  an  invariable 
maxim  in  his  kingdom,  that  whosoever  ex- 
alteth  himself  shall  be  abased  ;  but  he  that 
humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XVII. 

ON  A  BELIEVER'S  FRAMES. 
DE  fcR  SIR, 

You  ask  me,  in  your  letter,  What  one  should 
do  •A'hen  he  finds  himself  always  still,  quiet, 
Mid  stupid,  except  in  the  pulpit ;   when  he  is 


made  useful  there,  but  cannot  get  either  coin- 
fort  or  sorrow  out  of  it,  or  but  very  rarely  ? 
You  describe  a  case  which  my  own  experi- 
ence has  made  very  familiar  to  me  :  1  shall 
therefore  take  the  occasion  to  offer  you  a  few 
miscellaneous  thoughts  upon  the  subject  of  a 
believer's  frames ;  and  I  send  them  to  you, 
not  by  post,  but  from  the  press ;  because  I 
apprehend  the  exercise  you  speak  of  is  not 
peculiar  to  you  or  to  me,  but  is,  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  the  burden  of  all  who  are  spi- 
ritually minded,  and  duly  attentive  to  what 
passes  in  their  own  hearts,  whether  they  are 
in  the  ministry  or  not. 

As  you  intimate  that  you  are,  in  the  main, 
favoured  with  liberty  and  usefulness  in  the 
pulpit,  giv-e  me  leave  to  ask  you,  What  you 
would  do,  if  you  did  not  find  yourself  occa- 
sionally poor,  insufficient,  and,  as  you  express 
it,  stupid,  at  other  times  ?  Are  you  aware  of 
what  might  be  the  possible,  the  probable,  the 
almost  certain  consequences,  if  you  always 
found  your  spirit  enlarged,  and  your  frames 
lively  and  comfortable  ?  Would  you  not  be 
in  great  danger  of  being  puffed  up  with  spi- 
ritual pride  ?  Would  you  not  be  less  sensible 
of  your  absolute  dependence  upon  the  power 
of  Christ,  and  of  your  continual  need  of  his 
blood,  pardon,  and  intercession  ?  Would  you 
not  be  quite  at  a  loss  to  speak  suitably  and 
feelingly  to  the  case  of  many  gracious  souls, 
who  are  groaning  under  those  effects  of  a  de- 
praved nature,  from  which,  upon  that  suppo- 
sition, you  would  be  exempted  ?  How  could 
you  speak  properly  upon  the  deceitfulness 
of  the  heart,  if  you  did  not  feel  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  your  own,  or  adapt  yourself  to 
the  changing  experiences  through  which  your 
hearers  pass,  if  you  yourself  were  always  alike 
or  nearly  so  ?  Or  how  could  you  speak  perti- 
nently of  the  inward  warfare,  the  contrary 
principles  of  flesh  and  spirit  fighting  one 
against  another,  if  your  own  spiritual  desires 
were  always  vigorous  and  successful,  and  met 
with  littie  opposition  or  controul? 

The  apostle  Paul,  though  favoured  with  a 
singular  eminency  in  grace,  felt  at  times  that 
he  had  no  sufficiency  in  himself,  even  so  much 
as  to  think  a  good  thought ;  and  he  saw  there 
was  a  danger  of  his  being  exalted  above  mea- 
sure, if  the  Lord  had  not  wisely  and  gracious- 
ly tempered  his  dispensations  to  prevent  it. 
By  "  being  exalted  above  measure,"  perhaps, 
there  may  be  a  reference,  not  only  to  his  spirit, 
lest  he  should  think  more  highly  of  himself 
than  he  ought,  but  likewise  to  his  preaching, 
lest,  not  having  the  same  causes  of  complaint 
and  humiliation  in  common  with  others,  he 
should  shoot  over  the  heads  of  his  hearers, 
confine  himself  chiefly  to  speak  of  such  com 
forts  and  privileges  as  he  himself  enjoyed, 
and  have  little  to  say  for  the  refreshment  of 
those  who  were  discouraged  and  cast  down  by 
continual  conflict  with  indwelling  sin.  The 
angel   who    appeared    to    Cornelius,  did  not 


LET.  XVII. 


ON  A  BELIEVER  S  FRAMES. 


preach  the  gospel  to  him,  but  directed  him  to 
send  for  Peter ;  for,  though  the  glory  and 
grace  of  the  Saviour  seems  a  fitter  subject  for 
an  angel's  powers,  than  for  the  poor,  stam- 
mering tongues  of  sinful  men,  yet,  an  angel 
could  not  preach  experimentally,  nor  describe 
the  warfare  between  grace  and  sin  from  his 
own  feelings.  And  if  we  could  suppose  a 
minister  as  full  of  comforts,  and  as  free  from 
failings  as  an  angel,  though  he  would  be  a 
good  and  happy  man,  1  cannot  conceive  that 
he  would  be  a  good  or  useful  preacher ;  for 
he  would  not  know  how  to  sympathize  with 
the  weak  and  afflicted  of  the  flock,  or  to  com- 
fort them  under  their  difficulties  with  the  con- 
solations wherewith  lie  himself,  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances, had  been  comforted  of  God.  It 
belongs  to  your  calling  of  God  as  a  minister, 
that  you  should  have  a  taste  of  the  various 
spiritual  trials  which  are  incident  to  the  Lord's 
people,  that  thereby  you  may  possess  the 
tongue  of  the  learned,  and  know  how  to  speak 
a  word  in  season  to  them  that  are  weary  ;  and 
it  is  likewise  needful  to  keep  you  perpetually 
attentive  to  that  important  admonition,  "With- 
out me  ye  can  do  nothing." 

Thus  much,  considering  you  as  a  minister. 
But  we  may  extend  the  subject  so  as  to  make 
it  applicable  to  believers  in  general.  I  would 
observe,  therefore,  that  it  is  a  sign  of  a  sad 
declension,  if  one,  who  has  tasted  that  the 
Lord  is  gracious,  should  be  capable  of  being 
fully  satisfied  with  any  thing  short  of  the 
light  of  his  countenance,  which  is  better  than 
life.  A  resting  in  notions  of  gospel-truth,  or 
in  the  recollection  of  past  comforts,  without  a 
continual  thirst  for  fresh  communications  from 
the  fountain  of  life,  is,  I  am  afraid,  the  can- 
ker which  eats  away  the  beauty  and  fruitful- 
ness  of  many  professors  in  the  present  day ; 
and,  which,  if  it  does  not  prove  them  to  be 
absolutely  dead,  is,  at  least,  a  sufficient  evi- 
dence that  they  are  lamentably  sick.  But,  if  we 
are  conscious  of  the  desire,  if  we  seek  it  care- 
fully in  the  use  of  all  appointed  means,  if  we 
willingly  allow  ourselves  in  nothing  which  has 
a  known  tendency  to  grieve  the  Spirit  of  God, 
and  to  clamp  our  sense  of  divine  things  ;  then, 
if  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  keep  us  short  of 
those  comforts  which  he  has  taught  us  to 
prize,  and,  instead  of  lively  sensations  of  joy 
and  praise,  we  feel  a  languor  and  deadness  of 
spirit,  provided  we  do  indeed  feel  it,  and  are 
humbled  for  it,  we  have  no  need  to  give  way 
to  despondency  or  excessive  sorrow  ;  still  the 
foundation  of  our  hope,  and  the  ground  of 
our  abiding  joys,  is  the  same  ;  and  the  heart 
may  be  as  really  alive  to  God,  and  grace  as 
truly  in  exercise,  when  we  walk  in  compara- 
tive darkness  and  see  little  light,  as  when  the 
frame  of  our  spirits  is  more  comfortable. 
Neither  the  reality  nor  the  measure  of  grace 
can  be  properly  estimated  by  the  degree  of 
our  sensible  comforts.  The  great  question  ' 
is,    How  are  we  practically  influenced  by  the 


73 

word  of  God  as  the  ground  of  our  hope,  ana 
as  the  governing  rule  of  our  tempers  and  con- 
versation ?  The  apostle  exhorts  believers  to 
rejoice  in  the  Lord  always.  He  well  knew 
that  they  were  exposed  to  trials  and  tempta- 
tions,  and  to  much  trouble,  from  an  evil  heart 
of  unbelief;  and  he  prevents  the  objections 
we  might  be  ready  to  make,  by  adding,  "  And 
again,  I  say,  Kejoice  !"  As  if  he  had  said,  I 
speak  upon  mature  consideration  ;  I  call  up- 
on you  to  rejoice,  not  at  some  times  only,  but 
at  all  times ;  not  only  when  upon  the  mount, 
but  when  in  the  valley;  not  only  when  you 
conquer,  but  while  you  are  fighting;  not 
only  when  the  Lord  shines  upon  you,  but 
when  he  seems  to  hide  his  face.  When  he 
enables  you  to  do  all  things,  you  are  no  bet- 
ter in  yourselves  than  you  were  before ;  and 
when  you  feel  you  can  do  nothing,  you  are 
no  worse.  Your  experiences  will  vary;  but 
his  love  and  promises  are  always  unchange- 
able. Though  our  desires  of  comfort,  and 
what  we  call  lively  frames,  cannot  be  too  im- 
portunate, while  they  are  regulated  by  a  due 
submission  to  his  will,  yet  they  may  be  inor- 
dinate for  want  of  such  submission.  Sinful 
principles  may,  and  too  often  do,  mix  with 
and  defile  our  best  desires.  I  have  often  de- 
tected the  two  vile  abominations  self-will  and 
self-righteousness,  insinuating  themselves  into 
this  concern ;  like  Satan,  who  works  by  them, 
they  can  occasionally  assume  the  appearance 
of  an  angel  of  light.  I  have  felt  an  impa- 
tience in  my  spirit,  utterly  unsuitable  to  my 
state  as  a  sinner  and  a  beggar,  and  to  my  pro- 
fession of  yielding  myself  and  all  my  con- 
cerns  to  the  Lord's  disposal.  He  has  merci- 
fully convinced  me  that  I  labour  under  a 
complication  of  disorders,  summed  up  in  the 
word  sin  ;  he  has  graciously  revealed  himseh 
to  me  as  the  infallible  Physician,  and  has 
enabled  me  to  commit  myself  to  him,  as  such, 
and  to  expect  my  cure  from  his  hand  alone. 
Yet  how  often,  instead  of  thankfully  accept- 
ing his  prescriptions,  have  I  foolishly  and  pre- 
sumptuously ventured  to  prescribe  to  him, 
and  to  point  out  how  I  would  have  him  deal 
with  me  ?  How  often  have  I  thought  some- 
thing was  necessary,  which  he  saw  best  to 
deny,  and  that  I  could  have  done  better  with- 
out those  dispensations  which  his  wisdom  ap- 
pointed to  work  for  my  good  ?  He  is  God, 
and  not  man,  or  else  he  would  have  been 
weary  of  me,  and  left  me  to  my  own  manage 
ment  long  ago.  How  inconsistent  !  to  ac~ 
knowledge  that  I  am  blind,  to  intreat  him  to 
lead  me,  and  yet  to  want  to  chuse  my  own 
way,  in  the  same  breath.  I  have  limited  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel,  and  not  considered,  that 
he  magnifies  his  wisdom  and  grace  in  work- 
ing by  contraries,  and  bringing  good  out  of 
seeming  evil.  It  has  cost  me  something  to 
bring  myself  to  confess  that  he  is  wiser  than  I  ; 
but  I  trust,  through  his  blessing,  I  have  not 
suffered  wholly  in  vain.      My  sensible  com- 


ON   A   BELIEVER'S  FRAMES. 


7b 

forts  have  not  been  great ;  the  proofs  I  have 
had  of  the  evils  of  my  sinful  nature,  my  in- 
capacity and  aversion  to  good,  have  neither 
been  few  nor  small  ;  but  by  these  unpromis- 
ing means,  I  hope,  he  has  made  his  grace  and 
salvation  precious  to  my  soul,  and  in  some 
measure,  weaned  me  from  leaning  to  my  own 
understanding. 

Again,  self-righteousness  has  had  a  consi- 
derable hand  in  dictating  many  of  my  desires 
for  an  increase  of  comfort  and  spiritual 
strength.  I  have  wanted  some  stock  of  my 
own.  I  have  been  wearied  of  being  so  per- 
pertually  beholden  to  him,  and  necessitated  to 
come  to  him  always  in  the  same  strain,  as  a 
poor,  miserable  sinner.  I  could  have  liked  to 
have  done  something  for  myself  in  common, 
and  to  have  depended  upon  him  chiefly  upon 
extraordinary  occasions.  I  have  found,  in- 
deed, that  I  could  do  nothing  without  his 
assistance,  nor  any  thing,  even  with  it,  but 
what  I  have  reason  to  be  ashamed  of.  If  this 
had  only  humbled  me,  and  led  me  to  rejoice 
in  his  all  -sufficiency,  it  would  have  been  well. 
But  it  has  often  had  a  different  effect,  to  make 
me  sullen,  angry,  and  discontented ;  as  if  it 
was  not  best  and  most  desirable,  that  he 
should  have  all  the  glory  of  his  own  work, 
and  I  should  have  nothing  to  boast  of,  but 
that  in  the  Lord  I  have  righteousness  and 
strength.  I  am  now  learning  to  glory  only  in 
my  infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  may 
rest  upon  me  ;  to  be  content  to  be  nothing, 
that  he  may  be  all  in  all.  But  I  find  this  a 
hard  lesson ;  and  when  I  seem  to  have  made 
some  proficiency,  a  slight  turn  in  my  spirit 
throws  me  back,  and  I  have  to  begin  all  a~ 
gain. 

This  is  an  inseparable  connection  between 
causes  and  effects.  There  can  be  no  effect 
without  a  cause,  no  active  cause  without  a 
proportionable  effect.  Now  indwelling  sin  is 
an  active  cause  ;  and,  therefore,  while  it  re- 
mains in  our  nature,  it  will  produce  effects 
according  to  its  strength.  Why  then  should 
I  be  surprised,  that  if  the  Lord  suspends  his 
influence  for  a  moment,  in  that  moment  sin 
will  discover  itself?  Why  should  I  wonder 
that  I  can  feel  no  lively  exercise  of  grace,  no 
power  to  raise  my  heart  to  God  any  farther 
than  he  is  pleased  to  work  in  me  mightily, — 
any  more  than  wonder  that  I  do  not  find  fire 
in  the  bottom  of  a  well,  or  that  it  should  not 
be  day  when  the  sun  is  withdrawn  from  the 
earth  ?  Humbled  I  ought  to  be,  to  find  I 
am  so  totally  depraved ;  but  not  discouraged, 
since  Jesus  is  appointed  to  me  of  God,  wis- 
dom, righteousness,  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption ;  and  since  I  find  that,  in  the  midst 
of  all  this  darkness  and  deadness,  he  keeps 
alive  the  principle  of  grace  which  he  has  im- 
planted in  my  heart. 

As  to  Mr.  Rutherford's  expression  which 
you  mention,  that  "  there  is  no  temptation  like 
being  v.ithout   temptation;"   I   allow  it  in  a 


LET.  XVII 

qualified  sense,  that  is,  it  is  the  better  of  the 
two,  to  suffer  from  Satan's  fiery  darts,  than  to 
be  lulled  asleep,  and  drawn  into  a  careless  se- 
curity, by  his  more  subtle,  though  less  percep- 
tible devices  ;  so  as  to  grow  indifferent  to  the 
means  of  grace,  and  sink  into  a  worldly  spirit, 
or,  like  the  church  of  Laodicea,  to  imagine 
ourselves  rich,  and  increased  in  goods,  and 
that  we  have  need  of  nothing.  But  I  am 
persuaded  this  is  not  your  case  ;  the  deadness 
you  complain  of,  and  which  is  a  burden  you 
groan  under,  is  a  very  different  thing.  And 
I  advise  you  to  be  cautious  how  you  indulge 
a  desire  to  be  exercised  with  Satan's  tempta- 
tions, as  supposing  they  would  be  conducive 
to  make  you  more  spiritual,  or  would,  of 
course,  open  you  a  way  to  greater  consolations. 
If  you  have  such  a  desire,  I  may  say  to  you, 
in  our  Lord's  words,  "  You  know  not  what 
you  ask."  He  who  knows  our  weakness,  and 
the  power  of  our  adversary,  has  graciously 
directed  us  to  pray,  that  we  enter  not  into 
temptation.  Have  you  considered  what  the 
enemy  can  do,  if  he  is  permitted  to  come  in 
like  a  flood  ?  In  one  hour  he  could  raise  such 
a  storm,  as  would  put  you  to  your  wit's  end. 
He  could  bring  such  a  dark  cloud  over  your 
mind,  as  would  blot  out  all  remembrance  of 
your  past  comforts,  or  at  least  prevent  you 
from  deriving  the  least  support  from  them. 
He  could  not  only  fight  against  your  peace, 
but  shake  the  very  foundations  of  your  hope, 
and  bring  you  to  question,  not  only  your  in- 
terest in  the  promises,  but  even  to  doubt  of 
the  most  important  and  fundamental  truths 
upon  which  your  hopes  have  been  built.  Be 
thankful,  therefore,  if  the  Lord  restrains  his 
malice.  A  young  sailor  is  often  impatient  of 
a  short  calm ;  but  the  experienced  mariner, 
who  has  been  often  tossed  with  tempests,  and 
upon  the  point  of  perishing,  will  seldom 
wish  for  a  storm.  In  a  word,  let  us  patient- 
ly wait  upon  the  Lord,  and  be  content  to  fol- 
low as  he  leads,  and  he  will  surely  do  us 
good. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XVIII. 

THOUGHTS  ON  THE  EXERCISE  OF  SOCIAL  PRAYER 
SIR, 

I  ACCOUNT  it  a  great  mercy,  that,  at  this  time, 
when  iniquity  so  generally  abounds,  there  is  a 
number,  I  hope  a  growing  number,  whose 
eyes  affect  their  hearts,  and  who  are  stirred 
up  to  unite  in  prayer  for  the  spreading  of 
gospel-knowledge,  and  a  blessing  upon  our 
sinful  land.  Meetings  for  social  prayer  are 
frequent  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and 
amonsrst  various  denominations  of  Christians. 
As  the  Lord  has  promised,  that  when  he  pre- 
pares the  heart  to  pray,  he  will  graciously  in- 


LET.  XVI II. 


ON  SOCIAL  PRAYER. 


77 


cline  his  ear  to  hear,  who  can  tell  but  he 
may  yet  be  intreated  for  us,  and  avert  the 
heavy  and  justly-deserved  judgments  which 
seem  to  hang  over  us  ? 

It  is  much  to  be  desired,  that  our  hearts 
might  be  so  affected  with  a  sense  of  divine 
things,  and  so  closely  engaged  when  we  are 
worshipping  God,  that  it  might  not  be  in  the 
power  of  little  circumstances  to  interrupt  and 
perplex  us,  and  to  make  us  think  the  service 
wearisome,  and  the  time  which  we  employ  in 
it  tedious.  But  as  your  infirmities  are  many 
and  great,  and  the  enemy  of  our  souls  is 
watchful  to  discompose  us,  if  care  is  not  taken 
by  those  who  lead  in  social  prayer,  the  exer- 
cise which  is  approved  by  the  judgment,  may 
become  a  burden,  and  an  occasion  of  sin.  Com- 
plaints of  this  kind  are  frequent,  and  might 
perhaps  be  easily  rectified,  if  the  persons  chief- 
ly concerned  were  spoken  to  in  love.  But  as 
they  are  usually  the  last  who  hear  of  it,  it  may 
perhaps  be  of  service  to  communicate  a  few 
remarks  on  a  subject  of  such  general  concern. 

The  chief  fault  of  some  good  prayers  is, 
that  they  are  too  long ;  not  that  I  think  we 
should  pray  by  the  clock,  and  limit  ourselves 
precisely  to  a  certain  number  of  minutes;  but  it 
is  the  better  of  the  two,  that  the  hearers  should 
wish  the  prayer  had  been  longer,  than  spend 
half  or  a  considerable  part  of  the  time  in  wish- 
ing it  was  over.  This  is  frequently  owing  to 
an  unnecessary  enlargement  upon  every  cir- 
cumstance that  offers,  as  well  as  to  the  repeti- 
tion of  the  same  things.  If  we  have  been 
copious  in  pleading  for  spiritual  blessings,  it 
may  be  best  to  be  brief  and  summary  in  the 
article  of  intercession  for  others ;  or  if  the 
frame  of  our  spirits,  or  the  circumstances  of 
affairs,  lead  us  to  be  more  large  and  particu- 
lar in  laying  the  cases  of  others  before  the 
Lord,  respect  should  be  had  to  this  intention 
in  the  former  part  of  the  prayer.  There  are, 
doubtless,  seasons  when  the  Lord  is  pleased  to 
favour  those  who  pray  with  a  peculiar  liberty  ; 
they  speak  because  they  feel ;  they  have  a 
wrestling  spirit,  and  hardly  know  how  to  leave 
off.  When  this  is  the  case,  they  who  join 
with  them  are  seldom  wearied,  though  the 
prayer  should  be  protracted  something  beyond 
the  usual  limits.  But  I  believe  it  sometimes 
happens,  both  in  praying,  and  in  preaching, 
that  we  are  apt  to  spin  out  our  time  to  the 
greatest  length,  when  we  have,  in  reality,  the 
least  to  say.  Long  prayers  should  in  general 
be  avoided,  especially  where  several  persons 
are  to  pray  successively ;  or  else  even  spiritual 
hearers  will  be  unable  to  keep  up  their  atten- 
tion. And  here  I  would  just  notice  an  im- 
propriety we  sometimes  meet  with,  that  when 
a  person  gives  expectation  that  he  is  just  go- 
ing to  conclude  his  prayer,  something  not 
thought  of  in  its  proper  place  occurring  that 
instant  to  his  mind,  leads  him  as  it  were  to 
begin  again.      But  unless  it  is  a  matter  of  sin- 


gular importance,  it  would  be  better  omitted 
for  that  time. 

The  prayers  of  some  good  men  are  more 
like  preaching  than  praying.  They  rather 
express  the  Lord's  mind  to  the  people,  than 
the  desires  of  the  people  to  the  Lord.  In- 
deed this  can  hardly  be  called  prayer.  It 
might,  in  another  place,  stand  for  a  part  of 
a  good  sermon ;  but  will  afford  little  help  to 
those  who  desire  to  pray  with  their  hearts. 
Prayer  should  be  sententious,  and  made  up 
of  breathings  to  the  Lord,  either  of  confes- 
sion, petition,  or  praise.  It  should  be, 
not  Only  scriptural  and  evangelical,  but  experi- 
mental, a  simple  and  unstudied  expression 
of  the  wants  and  feelings  of  the  soul.  It 
will  be  so  if  the  heart  is  lively  and  affected  in 
the  duty  ;  it  must  be  so  if  the  edification  of 
others  is  the  point  in  view. 

Several  books  have  been  written  to  assist  in 
the  gift  and  exercise  of  prayer,  as  by  Dr  Watts, 
and  others  ;  and  many  useful  hints  may  be 
borrowed  from  them ;  but  a  too  close  atten- 
tion to  the  method  and  transitions  therein  re- 
commended, gives  an  air  of  study  and  formali- 
ty, and  offends  against  that  simplicity  which 
is  so  essentially  necessary  to  a  good  prayer, 
that  no  degree  of  acquired  abilities  can  com- 
pensate for  the  want  of  it.  It  is  possible  to 
learn  to  pray  mechanically,  and  by  rule  ;  but 
it  is  hardly  possible  to  do  so  with  acceptance, 
and  benefit  to  others.  When  the  several  parts 
of  invocation,  adoration,  confession,  petition, 
&c.  follow  each  other  in  a  stated  order,  the 
hearer's  mind  generally  goes  before  the  speak- 
er's voice,  and  we  can  form  a  tolerable  con- 
jecture what  is  to  come  next.  On  this  ac- 
count we  often  find,  that  unlettered  people, 
who  have  had  little  or  no  help  from  books,  or 
rather  have  not  been  fettered  by  them,  can 
pray  with  an  unction  and  savour  in  an  un- 
premeditated way,  while  the  prayers  of  per- 
sons of  much  superior  abilities,  perhaps  even 
of  ministers  themselves,  are,  though  accurate 
and  regular,  so  dry  and  starched,  that  they  af- 
ford little  either  of  pleasure  or  profit  to  a  spi- 
ritual mind.  The  spirit  of  prayer  is  the  truth 
and  token  of  the  spirit  of  adoption.  The 
studied  addresses  with  which  some  approach 
the  throne  of  grace,  remind  us  of  a  stranger's 
coming  to  a  great  man's  door  ;  he  knocks  and 
waits,  sends  in  his  name,  and  goes  through  a 
course  of  ceremony  before  he  gains  admit- 
tance; while  a  child  of  the  family  uses  no 
ceremony  at  all,  but  enters  freely  when  he 
pleases,  because  he  knows  he  is  at  home.  It 
is  true  we  ought  always  to  draw  near  the 
Lord  with  great  humiliation  of  spirit,  and  a 
sense  of  our  umvorthiness.  But  this  spirit  is 
not  always  best  expressed  or  promoted  by  a 
pompous  enumeration  of  the  names  and  titles 
of  the  God  with  whom  we  have  to  do,  or  by 
fixing  in  our  minds  before  hand,  the  exact 
order  in  which  we  propose  to  arrange  the  se- 


78 


ON   SOCIAL   rUAYKR. 


LET.  XVIII. 


vera!  parts  of  our  prayer.      Some  attention  to  |  intelligible  and  agreeable.      If  the  speaker  can 


method  may  be  proper,  for  the  prevention  of 
repetitions;  and  plain  people  may  be  a  little 
defective  in  it  sometimes  ;  but  this  defect  will 
not  be  half  so  tiresome  and  disagreeable  as  a 
studied  and  artificial  exactness. 

Many,  perhaps  most  people,  who  pray  in 
public,  have  some  favourite  word  or  expres- 
sion which  recurs  too  often  in  their  prayers, 
and  is  frequently  used  as  a  mere  expletive, 
having  no  necessary  connection  with  the  sense 
of  what  they  are  speaking.  The  most  dis- 
agreeable of  these  is,  when  the  name  of  the 
blessed  God,  with  the  addition  of  perhaps 
one  or  more  epithets,  as  Great,  Glorious, 
Holy,  Almighty,  &c.  is  introduced  so  often, 
and  without  necessity,  as  seems,  neither  to  in- 
dicate a  due  reverence  in  the  person  who  uses 


be  heard  by  the  person   farthest   distant   from 
him  the  rest  will  hear  of  course. 

The  tone  of  the  voice  is  likewise  to  be  re- 
garded. Some  have  a  tone  in  prayer,  so  very 
different  from  their  usual  way  of  speaking,  that 
their  nearest  friends,  if  not  accustomed  to  them, 
could  hardly  know  them  by  their  voice.  Some- 
times the  tone  is  changed,  perhaps  more  than 
once,  so  that  if  our  eyes  did  not  give  us  more 
certain  information  than  our  ears,  we  might 
think  two  or  three  persons  had  been  speaking 
by  turns.  It  is  pity  that  when  we  approve 
what  is  spoken,  we  should  be  so  easily  dis- 
concerted by  an  awkwardness  of  delivery  ;  yet 
so  it  often  is,  and  probably  so  it  will  be,  in 
the  present  weak  and  imperfect  state  of  hu- 
man nature.      It  is  more  to  be  lamented  than 


it,  or  suited  to  excite  reverence  in  those  who  i  wondered  at,  that  sincere  Christians  are  some- 
hear.  I  will  not  say,  that  this  is  taking  the  name  j  times  forced  to  confess,  "  He  is  a  good  man, 
of  God  in  vain,  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  and  his  prayers,  as  to  their  substance,  are  spiri- 
phrase ;  it  is,  however,  a  great  impropriety,  tual  and  judicious ;  but  there  is  something  so 
and  should  be  guarded  against.  It  would  be  displeasing  in  his  manner,  that  I  am  always 
well  if  they  who  use  redundant  expressions,  uneasy  when  I  hear  him." 
had  a  friend  to  give  them  a  caution,  as  they  !  Contrary  to  this,  and  still  more  offensive,  is 
might,  with  a  little  care,  be  retrenched  ;  and  a  custom  that  some  have  of  talking  to  the 
hardly  any  person  can  be  sensible  of  the  little  j  Lord  in  prayer.  It  is  their  natural  voice,  in! 
peculiarities  he  may  inadvertently  adopt,  un-  deed,  but  it  is  that  expression  of  it  w  hich  they 
less  he  is  told  of  it.  use  upon  the  most  familiar   and   trivial  occa- 

There  are  several  things  likewise  respecting  sions.  The  human  voice  is  capable  of  so 
the  voice  and  manner  of  prayer,  which  a  per-  many  inflexions  and  variations,  that  it  can 
son  may,  with  due  care,  correct  in  himself,  adapt  itself  to  the  different  sensations  of  out 
and  which,  if  generally  corrected,  would  make  mind,  as  joy,  sorrow,  fear,  desire,  &c.  If  a 
meetings  for  prayer  more  pleasant,  than  they  :  man  was  pleading  for  his  life,  or  expressing  his 
sometimes  are.  These  1  shall  mention  by  thanks  to  the  king  for  a  pardon,  common 
pairs,  as  the  happy  and  agreeable  way  is  a  me-  '  sense  and  decency  would  teach  him  a  suitable- 
dium  between  two  inconvenient  extremes.  ness  of  manner  ;  and  any  one  who  could  not 

Very  loud  speaking  is  a  fault,  when  the  understand  his  language,  might  know,  by  the 
size  of  the  place,  and  the  number  of  hearers  sound  of  his  words,  that  he  was  not  making  a 
do  not  render  it  necessary.  The  end  of  speak-  ,  bargain,  or  telling  a  story.  How  much  more, 
ing  is  to  be  heard ;  and,  when  that  end  is  when  we  speak  to  the  King  of  kings,  should 
attained,  a  greater  elevation  of  the  voice  is  the  consideration  of  his  glory,  and  our  own 
frequently  hurtful  to  the  speaker,  and  is  more  vileness,  and  of  the  important  concerns  we 
likely  to  confuse  a  hearer  than  to  fix  his  at-  are  engaged  in  before  him,  impress  us  with  an 
tention.  I  do  not  deny  but  allowance  must  air  of  seriousness  and  reverence,  and  prevent 
be  made  for  constitution,  and  the  warmth  us  from  speaking  to  him  as  if  he  was  altoge- 
of  the  passions,  which  dispose  some  persons  thcr  such  a  one  as  ourselves?  The  liberty  to 
to  speak  louder  than  others.  Yet  such  will  which  we  are  called  by  the  gospel,  does  not 
do  well  to  restrain  themselves  as  much  as  they  at  all  encourage  such  a  pertness  and  familiari- 
can.  It  may  seem  indeed  to  indicate  great ,  ty  as  would  be  unbecoming  to  use  towards  a 
earnestness,  and  that  the  heart  is  much  affect-  fellow-worm  who  was  a  little  advanced  above 
cd ;  yet  it  is  often  but  false  fire.      It  may  be   us  in  worldly  dignity. 

thought  speaking  with   power;  but  a  person        I  shall  be  glad  if  these  hints  may  be  of  any 
who  is  favoured  with  the  Lord's  presence  may 
pray  with  power  in   a  moderate  voice  ;  and 


there  may  be  very  little  power  of  the  Spirit, 
though  the  voice  should  be  heard  in  the  street 
and  neighbourhood. 

The  other  extreme,  of  speaking  too  low,  is 
not  so  frequent  ;  but  if  we  are  not  heard, 
we  might  as  well  altogether  hold  our  peace. 
It  e:  hausts  the  spirits,  and  wearies  the  atten- 
tion, to  be  listening  for  a  length  of  time  to  a 
very  low  voice.  Some  words  or  sentences  will 
be   lost,   which  will  render  what  is  heard  less 


service  to  those  who  desire  to  worship  God  in 
spirit  and  in  truth,  and  who  wish  that  what- 
ever has  a  tendency  to  damp  the  spirit  of  de- 
votion, cither  in  themselves  or  in  others,  might 
be  avoided.  It  is  a  point  of  delicacy  and 
difficulty  to  tell  any  one  what  we  wish  could 
be  altered  in  his  manner  of  prayer,  but  it  can 
give  no  just  offence  to  ask  a  friend,  if  he  has 
read  a  letter  on  this  subject,  in  "  A  Colleclioa 
of  Twenty-six  Letters,"  published  in  1775. 
I  am,  &c. 


1ET.  XIX. 


ON   CONTROVERSY. 


79 


LETTER  XIX. 


ON  CONTROVERSY 


DEAR  SIR, 

As  you  are  likely  to  be  engaged  in  controver- 
sy, and  your  love  of  truth  is  joined  with  a  na- 
tural warmth  of  temper,  my  friendship  makes 
me  solicitous  on  your  behalf.  You  are  of 
the  strongest  side ;  for  truth  is  great,  and 
must  prevail  ;  so  that  a  person  of  abilities,  in- 
ferior to  yours,  might  take  the  field  with  a 
confidence  of  victory.  I  am  not  therefore 
anxious  for  the  event  of  the  battle ;  but  I 
would  have  you  more  than  a  conqueror,  and 
to  triumph  not  only  over  your  adversary,  but 
over  yourself.  If  you  cannot  be  vanquished, 
you  may  be  wounded.  To  preserve  you  from 
such  wounds  as  might  give  you  cause  of 
weeping  over  your  conquests,  I  would  pre- 
sent you  with  some  considerations,  which,  if 
duly  attended  to,  will  do  you  the  service  of  a 
coat  of  mail ;  such  armour,  that  you  need  not 
complain,  as  David  did  of  Saul's,  that  it  will 
be  more  cumbersome  than  useful ;  for  you 
will  easily  perceive  it  is  taken  from  that  great 
magazine  provided  for  the  christian  soldier, 
the  word  of  God.  I  take  it  for  granted,  that 
you  will  not  expect  any  apology  for  my  free- 
dom, and  therefore  I  shall  not  offer  one.  For 
method's  sake,  I  may  reduce  my  advice  to  three 
heads, — respecting  your  opponent,  the  public, 
and  yourself. 

As  to  your  opponent,  I  wish,  that  before 
you  set  pen  to  paper  against  him,  and  during 
the  whole  time  you  are  preparing  your  an- 
swer, you  may  commend  him  by  earnest 
prayer  to  the  Lord's  teaching  and  blessing. 
This  practice  will  have  a  direct  tendency  to 
conciliate  your  heart  to  love  and  pity  him ; 
and  such  a  disposition  will  have  a  good  in- 
fluence upon  every  page  you  write.  If  you 
account  him  a  believer,  though  greatly  mis- 
taken in  the  subject  of  debate  between  you, 
the  words  of  David  to  Joab,  concerning  Ab- 
salom, are  very  applicable:  "  Deal  gently 
with  him  for  my  sake."  The  Lord  loves 
him  and  bears  with  him  ;  therefore  you  must 
not  despise  him,  or  treat  him  harshly.  The 
Lord  bears  with  you  likewise,  and  expects 
that  you  should  show  tenderness  to  others, 
from  a  sense  of  the  much  forgiveness  you 
need  yourself.  In  a  little  while  you  will 
meet  in  heaven  ;  he  will  then  be  dearer  to  you 
than  the  nearest  friend  you  have  upon  earth 
is  to  you  now.  Anticipate  that  period  in 
your  thoughts ;  and  though  you  may  find  it 
necessary  to  oppose  his  errors,  view  him  per- 
sonally as  a  kindred  soul,  with  whom  you  are 
to  be  happy  in  Christ  for  ever.  But  if  you 
look  upon  him  as  an  unconverted  person,  in 
a  state  of  enmity  against  God  and  his  grace 
(a  supposition  which,  without  good  evidence, 


you  should  be  very  unwilling  to  admit),  he  is 
a  more  proper  object  of  your  compassion  than 
of  your  anger.  Alas !  he  knows  not  what 
he  does :  but  you  know  who  has  made  you 
to  differ.  If  God,  in  his  sovereign  pleasure, 
had  so  appointed,  you  might  have  been  as  he 
is  now ;  and  he,  instead  of  you,  might  have 
been  set  for  the  defence  of  the  gospel.  You 
were  both  equally  blind  by  nature.  If  you 
attend  to  this,  you  will  not  reproach  or  hate 
him,  because  the  Lord  has  been  pleased  to 
open  your  eyes,  and  not  his.  Of  all  people 
who  engage  in  controversy,  we,  who  are  call- 
ed Calvinists,  are  most  expressly  bound  by 
our  own  principles  to  the  exercise  of  gentle- 
ness and  moderation.  If,  indeed,  they  who 
differ  from  us  have  a  power  of  changing 
themselves,  if  they  can  open  their  own  eyes, 
and  soften  their  own  hearts,  then  we  might 
with  less  inconsistence  be  offended  at  their 
obstinacy;  but  if  we  believe  the  very  contrary 
to  this,  our  part  is,  not  to  strive,  but  in  meek- 
ness to  instruct  those  who  oppose,  "  if  perad- 
venture  God  will  give  them  repentance  to  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  truth."  If  you  write 
with  a  desire  of  being  an  instrument  of  cor- 
recting mistakes,  you  will  of  course  be  cau- 
tious of  laying  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way 
of  the  blind,  or  of  using  any  expressions  that 
may  exasperate  their  passions,  confirm  them 
in  their  prejudices,  and  thereby  make  their 
conviction,  humanly  speaking,  more  imprac- 
ticable. 

By  printing,  you  will  appeal  to  the  public, 
where  your  readers  may  be  ranged  under 
three  divisions.  First,  such  as  differ  from 
you  in  principle.  Concerning  these  I  may 
refer  you  to  what  I  have  already  said. 
Though  you  have  your  eye  upon  one  person 
chiefly,  there  are  many  like-minded  with  him 
and  the  same  reasoning  will  hold,  whether  as 
to  one  or  to  a  million.  There  will  be  like- 
wise many  who  pay  too  little  regard  to  re- 
ligion, to  have  any  settled  system  of  their 
own,  and  yet  are  pre-engaged  in  favour  of 
those  sentiments  which  are  least  repugnant  to 
the  good  opinion  men  naturally  have  of  them- 
selves. These  are  very  incompetent  judges 
of  doctrines,  hut  they  can  form  a  tolerable 
judgment  of  a  writer's  spirit.  They  know 
that  meekness,  humility,  and  love,  are  the 
characteristics  of  a  christian  temper ;  and 
though  they  affect  to  treat  the  doctrines  of 
grace  as  mere  notions  and  speculations,  which, 
supposing  they  adopted  them,  would  have  no 
salutary  influence  upon  their  conduct ;  yet 
from  us,  who  profess  these  principles,  they  al- 
ways expect  such  dispositions  as  correspond 
with  the  precepts  of  the  gospel.  They  are 
quick-sighted  to  discern  when  we  deviate  from 
such  a  spirit,  and  avail  themselves  of  it  to 
justify  their  contempt  of  our  arguments.  The 
scriptural  maxim,  That  "  the  wrath  of  man 
worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God,"  is 
verified  by  daily  observation.      If  our  zeal  is 


80  ON  CONTROVERSY. 

embittered  by  expressions  of  anger,  invective, 
or  scorn,  we  may  think  we  are  doing  service 
to  the  cause  of  truth,  when  in  reality  we  shall 
only  bring  it  into  discredit.  The  weapons  of 
our  warfare,  and  which  alone  are  powerful  to 
break  down  the  strong  holds  of  error,  are  not 
carnal,  but  spiritual;  arguments  fairly  drawn 
from  scripture  and  experience,  and  enforced 
by  such  a  mild  address,  as  may  persuade  our 
readers,  that,  whether  we  can  convince  them 
or  not,  we  wish  well  to  their  souls,  and  con- 
tend only  for  the  truth's  sake  :  if  we  can  satis- 
fy them  that  we  act  up  to  these  motives,  our 
point  is  half  gained ;  they  will  be  more  dis- 
posed to  consider  calmly  what  we  offer  ;  and 
if  they  should  still  Jissent  from  our  opi- 
nions, they  will  be  constrained  to  approve  of 
our  intentions. 

You  will  have  a  third  class  of  readers,  who, 
being  of  your  own  sentiments,  will  readily 
approve  of  what  you  advance,  and  may  be  fur- 
ther established  and  confirmed  in  their  views 
of  scripture  doctrines,  by  a  clear  and  mas- 
terly elucidation  of  your  subject.  You  may 
be  instrumental  to  their  edification,  if  the  law 
of  kindness,  as  well  as  of  truth,  regulates  your 
pen,  otherwise  you  may  do  them  harm.  There 
is  a  principle  of  self,  which  disposes  us  to  de- 
spise those  who  differ  from  us ;  and  we  are 
often  under  its  influence,  when  we  think  we 
are  only  shewing  a  becoming  zeal  in  the  cause 
of  God.  I  readily  believe,  that  the  leading 
points  of  Arminianism  spring  from,  and  are 
nourished  by,  the  pride  of  the  human  heart ; 
but  I  should  be  glad  if  the  reverse  was  always 
true  ;  and  that  to  embrace  what  are  called  the 
Calvinistic  doctrines  was  an  infallible  token 
of  an  humble  mind.  I  think  I  have  known 
some  Arminians,  that  is,  persons  who,  for 
want  of  clearer  light,  have  been  afraid  of  re- 
ceiving the  doctrines  of  free  grace,  who  yet 
have  given  evidence  that  their  hearts  were  in 
a  degree  humbled  before  the  Lord.  And,  I 
am  afraid,  there  are  Calvinists,  who,  while 
they  account  it  a  proof  of  their  humility,  that 
they  are  willing,  in  words,  to  debase  the  crea- 
ture, and  to  give  all  the  glory  of  salvation  to 
the  Lord,  yet  know  not  what  manner  of  spi- 
rit they  are  of.  Whatever  it  be  that  makes 
us  trust  in  ourselves  that  we  are  compara- 
tively wise  or  good,  so  as  to  treat  those  with 
contempt  who  do  not  subscribe  to  our  doc- 
trines, or   follow  our   party,  is   a  proof  and 


fruit  of  a  self-righteous  spirit.  Self-righteous- 
ness can  feed  upon  doctrines,  as  well  as  upon 
works ;  and  a  man  may  have  the  heart  of  a 
Pharisee,  while  his  head  is  stored  with  ortho- 
dox notions  of  the  unworthiness  of  the  crea- 
ture, and  the  riches  of  free  grace.  Yea,  1 
would  add,  the  best  of  men  are  not  wholly 
free  from  this  leaven ;  and  therefore  are  loo 
apt  to  be  pleased  with  such  representation  i  as 
hold  up  our  adversaries  to  ridicule,  ai-.l,  by 
consequence  flatter  our  own  superior  judg- 
ments.     Controversies,  for  the  most  part   are  but  I  hope  you    have  H  far  nobler  aim,  and 


LET.  XIX. 

so  managed  as  to  indulge,  rather  than  to  re- 
press this  wrong  disposition  ;  and,  therefore, 
generally  speaking,  they  are  productive  of 
little  good.  They  provoke  those  whom  they 
should  convince,  and  puff'  up  those  whom 
they  should  edify.  I  hope  your  performance 
will  savour  of  a  spirit  of  true  humility,  and 
be  a  means  of  promoting  it  in  others. 

This  leads  me,  in  the  last  place,  to  consider 
your  own  concern  in  your  present  undertak- 
ing. It  seems  a  laudable  service  to  defend 
the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints  ;  we  are 
commanded  to  contend  earnestly  for  it,  and 
to  convince  gainsayers.  If  ever  such  defences 
were  seasonable  and  expedient,  they  appear  to 
be  so  in  our  day,  when  errors  abound  on  all 
sides,  and  every  truth  of  the  gospel  is  either 
directly  denied,  or  grossly  misrepresented. 
And  yet  we  find  but  very  few  writers  of  con- 
troversy who  have  not  been  manifestly  hurt 
by  it.  Either  they  grow  in  a  sense  of  their 
own  importance,  or  imbibe  an  angry,  conten- 
tious spirit,  or  they  insensibly  withdraw  their 
attention  from  those  things  which  are  the 
food,  and  immediate  support  of  the  life  of 
faith,  and  spend  their  time  and  strength  upon 
matters,  which  at  most,  are  but  of  a  secondary 
value.  This  shews,  that  if  the  service  is  ho- 
nourable, it  is  dangerous.  What  will  it  pro- 
fit a  man,  if  he  gain  his  cause,  and  silence 
his  adversary,  if,  at  the  same  time,  he  loses 
that  humble,  tender  frame  of  spirit  in  which 
the  Lord  delights,  and  to  which  the  promise 
of  his  presence  is  made  ?  Your  aim,  I  doubt 
not,  is  good  ;  but  you  have  need  to  watch  and 
pray,  for  you  will  find  Satan  at  your  right 
hand,  to  resist  you.  He  will  try  to  debase 
your  views ;  and  though  you  set  out  in  de- 
fence of  the  cause  of  God,  if  you  are  not  con- 
tinually looking  to  the  Lord  to  keep  you,  it 
may  become  your  own  cause,  and  awaken  in 
you  those  tempers  which  are  inconsistent  with 
true  peace  of  mind,  and  will  surely  obstruct 
communion  with  God.  Be  upon  your  guard 
against  admitting  any  thing  personal  into  the 
debate.  If  you  think  you  have  been  ill 
treated,  you  will  have  an  opportunity  of 
shewing  that  you  are  a  disciple  of  Jesus,  who, 
"  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again ; 
when  he  suffered,  he  threatened  not."  This 
is  our  pattern,  thus  we  are  to  speak  and  write 
for  God,  "  not  rendering  railing  for  railing, 
but  contrariwise,  blessing;  knowing  that  here- 
unto we  are  called. "  The  wisdom  that  is 
from  above  is  not  only  pure,  but  peaceable 
and  gentle  ;  and  the  want  of  these  qualifica- 
tions, like  the  dead  fly  in  the  pot  of  ointment, 
will  spoil  the  savour  and  efficacy  of  our  la- 
bours. If  we  act  in  a  wrong  spirit,  we  shall 
bring  little  glory  to  God,  do  little  good  to  our 
fellow-creatures,  and  procure  neither  honour 
nor  comfort  to  ourselves.  If  you  can  be 
content  with  shewing  your  wit,  and  gaining 
the  laugh  on  your  side,  you  have  an  easy  task  ; 


LET.  XX. 


ON  CONFORMITY  TO  THE  WORLD. 


that,  sensible  of  the  solemn  importance  of 
gospel-truths,  and  the  compassion  due  to  the 
souls  of  men,  you  would  rather  be  a  means  of 
removing  prejudices  in  a  single  instance,  than 
obtain  the  empty  applause  of  thousands.  Go 
forth,  therefore,  in  the  name  and  strength  of 
the  Lord  of  Hosts,  speaking  the  truth  in  love  ; 
and  may  he  give  you  a  witness  in  many 
hearts,  that  you  are  taught  of  God,  and  fa- 
voured with  the  unction  of  his  Holy  Spirit. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XX. 

ON  CONFORMITY  TO  THE  WOULD. 
DEAR  STIi, 

You  will,  perhaps,  be  surprised  to  see  my 
thoughts  on  your  query  in  print,  rather  than 
to  receive  them  by  post,  as  you  expected. 
But  as  the  subject  of  it  is  of  general  concern, 
I  hope  that  you  will  not  be  displeased  that  I 
have  taken  this  method.  It  would  do  honour 
to  the  pen  of  an  able  casuist,  and  might  be  of 
considerable  service  in  the  present  day,  clear- 
ly to  explain  the  force  of  the  apostle's  precept, 
<;  Be  not  conformed  to  this  world  ;"  and  to 
state  the  just  boundary  between  a  sinful  com- 
pliance with  the  world,  and  that  scrupulous 
singularity  which  springs  from  a  self-right- 
eous principle,  and  a  contracted  view  of  the 
spirit  and  liberty  of  the  gospel.  To  treat  this 
point  accurately,  would  require  a  treatise,  ra- 
ther than  a  letter  ;  I  only  undertake  to  offer 
you  a  few  hints ;  and,  indeed,  when  the  mind 
is  formed  to  a  spiritual  taste,  a  simple  desire 
to  be  guided  by  the  word  and  Spirit  of  God, 
together  with  a  due  attention  to  our  own  ex- 
perience, will,  in  most  practical  cases,  super- 
sede the  necessity  of  long  and  elaborate  dis- 
quisitions. 

By  the  world,  in  the  passage  alluded  to, 
Rom.  xii.  2.  I  suppose  the  apostle  means  the 
men  of  the  world,  in  distinction  from  believ- 
ers ;  these,  not  having  the  love  of  God  in 
their  hearts,  or  his  fear  before  their  eyes,  are, 
of  course,  engaged  in  such  pursuits  and  prac- 
tices as  are  inconsistent  with  our  holy  calling, 
and  in  which  we  cannot  imitate  or  comply 
with  them,  without  hurting  our  peace  and  our 
profession.  We  are,  therefore,  bound  to 
avoid  conformity  to  them  in  all  such  instances  ; 
but  we  are  not  obliged  to  decline  all  intercourse 
with  the  world,  or  to  impose  restraints  upon 
ourselves,  when  the  scriptures  do  not  restrain 
us,  in  order  to  make  us  as  unlike  the  world 
as  possible.  To  instance  in  a  few  particu- 
lars : 

It  is  not  necessary,  perhaps,  it  is  not  law- 
ful, wholly  to  renounce  the  society  of  the 
world.  A  mistake  of  this  kind  took  place  in 
the  early  ages  of  Christianity,  and  men  (at 
first,  perhaps,  with  a  sincere  desire  of  serving 


God  without  distraction)  withdrew  into  de 
serts  and  uninhabited  places,  and  wasted  theii 
lives  at  a  distance  from  their  fellow-creatures. 
But  unless  we  could  flee  from  ourselves  like- 
wise, this  would  afford  us  no  advantage  ;  so 
long  as  we  carry  our  own  wicked  hearts  with 
us,  we  shall  be  exposed  to  temptation,  go 
where  we  will.  Besides,  this  would  be 
thwarting  the  end  of  our  vocation.  Christians 
are  to  be  the  salt  and  the  light  of  the  world, 
con;picuous  as  cities  set  upon  a  hill ;  they  are 
commanded  to  "  let  their  light  shine  before 
men,  that  they,  beholding  their  good  works, 
may  glorify  their  Father  who  is  in  heaven." 
This  injudicious  deviation  from  the  paths  of 
nature  and  providence,  gave  occasion,  at 
length,  to  the  vilest  abominations  ;  and  men, 
who  withdrew  from  the  world  under  the  pre- 
tence of  retirement,  became  the  more  wicked 
and  abandoned,  as  they  lived  more  out  of  pub- 
lic view  and  observation. 

Nor  are  we  at  liberty,  much  less  are  we  en- 
joined, to  renounce  the  duties  of  relative  life, 
so  as  to  become  careless  in  the  discharge  of 
them.  Allowances  should,  indeed,  be  made 
for  the  distresses  of  persons  newly  awakened, 
or  under  the  power  of  temptation,  which  may, 
for  a  time,  so  much  engross  their  thoughts,  as 
greatly  to  indispose  them  for  their  bounden 
duty.  But  in  general,  the  proper  evidence  of 
true  christians,  is,  not  merely  that  they  can 
talk  about  divine  things,  but  that,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  they  live  and  act  agreeable  to 
the  rules  of  his  word,  in  the  state  in  which 
his  providence  has  placed  them,  whether  as 
masters  or  servants,  husbands  or  wives,  par- 
ents or  children  :  bearing  rule,  or  yielding 
obedience,  as  in  his  sight.  Diligence  and  fi- 
delity in  the  management  of  temporal  con- 
cernments, though  observable  in  the  practice 
of  many  worldly  men,  may  be  maintained 
without  a  sinful  conformity  to  the  world. 

Neither  are  we  required  to  refuse  a  mode- 
rate use  of  the  comforts  and  conveniencies  of 
life,  suitable  to  the  station  which  God  has 
appointed  us  in  the  world.  The  spirit  of  self- 
righteousness  and  will-worship  works  much 
in  this  way,  and  supposes  that  there  is  some- 
thing excellent  in  long  fastings,  in  abstaining 
from  pleasant  food,  in  wearing  meaner  clothes 
than  is  customary  with  those  in  the  same  rank 
of  life,  and  in  many  other  ai..->terities  and  sin- 
gularities not  commanded  by  the  word  of 
God.  And  many  persons,  who  are  in  the 
main  sincere,  are  grievously  burdened  with 
scruples  respecting  the  use  of  lawful  things. 
It  is  true,  there  is  need  of  a  constant  watch, 
lest  what  is  lawful  in  itself  become  hurtful  to 
us  by  its  abuse.  But  these  outward  strict- 
nesses may  be  carried  to  great  lengths,  with- 
out a  spark  of  true  grace,  and  even  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God.  The  morti- 
fications and  austerities  practised  by  the  Bra- 
mins  in  Iudia  (if  the  accounts  we  have  of 
them  be  true)  are  vastly  more  severe  than  the 
N 


82  ON   CONFORMITY 

most  zealous  effects  of  modern  superstition  in 
our  country.  There  is  a  strictness  which 
arises  rather  from  ignorance  than  knowledge, 
is  wholly  conversant  about  externals,  and  gra- 
tifies the  spirit  of  self  as  much  in  one  way  as 
it  seems  to  retrench  it  in  another.  A  man 
may  almost  starve  his  body  to  feed  his  pride  ; 
but  to  those  who  fear  and  serve  the  Lord, 
every  creature  of  God  is  good,  and  nothing  to 
be  refused,  if  it  be  received  with  thanksgiv- 
ing, for  it  is  sanctified  by  the  word  of  God 
and  prayer. 

Notwithstanding  these  limitations,  the  pre- 
cept is  very  extensive  and  important.  "  13e 
not  conformed  to  the  world."  As  believers, 
we  are  strangers  and  pilgrims  upon  earth. 
Heaven  is  our  country,  and  the  Lord  is  our 
King.  We  are  to  be  known  and  noticed  as 
his  subjects,  and,  therefore,  it  is  his  pleasure, 
that  we  do  not  speak  the  language,  or  adopt 
the  customs  of  the  land  in  which  we  sojourn. 
We  are  not  to  conform  to  the  world,  as  we 
iid  in  the  days  of  our  ignorance.  And 
though  we  have  received  the  principles  of 
grace,  and  have  tasted  of  the  goodness  of  the 
Lord,  the  admonition  is  still  needful  ;  for  we 
are  renewed  but  in  part,  and  are  liable  to  be 
drawn  aside  to  our  hurt,  by  the  prevalence  of 
evil  examples  and  customs  around  us. 

We  must  not  conform  to  the  spirit  of  the 
world.  As  members  of  society,  we  have  a 
part  to  act  in  it,  in  common  with  others.  But 
if  our  business  is  the  same,  our  principles  and 
ends  are  to  be  entirely  different.  Diligence 
in  our  respective  callings  is,  as  I  have  already 
observed,  commendable,  and  our  duty  ;  but  not 
with  the  same  views  which  stimulate  the  activity 
of  the  men  of  the  world.  If  they  rise  early,  and 
take  rest  late,  their  endeavours  spring  from, 
and  terminate  in  self,  to  establish  and  increase 
their  own  importance,  to  add  house  to  house, 
and  field  to  field,  that,  like  the  builders  of 
Babel,  they  may  get  themselves  a  name,  or 
provide  means  for  the  gratification  of  their 
sinful  passions.  If  they  succeed,  they  sacri- 
fice to  their  own  net ;  if  they  are  crossed  in 
their  designs,  they  are  filled  with  anxiety  and 
impatience  ;  they  either  murmur  or  despond. 
But  a  christian  is  to  pursue  his  lawful  calling 
with  an  eye  to  the  providence  of  God,  and 
with  submission  to  his  wisdom.  Thus,  so 
far  as  he  acts  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  he  can- 
not be  disappointed.  He  casts  his  care  upon 
his  heavenly  Father,  who  has  promised  to  take 
care  of  him.  What  he  gives,  he  receives  with 
thankfulness,  and  is  careful,  as  a  faithful 
steward,  to  improve  it  for  the  furtherance  of 
the  cause  of  God,  and  the  good  of  mankind  ; 
and  if  he  meets  with  losses  and  crosses,  he  is 
not  disconcerted,  knowing  that  all  his  con- 
cerns are  under  a  divine  direction  ;  that  the 
Lord,  whom  he  serves,  chuses  for  him  better 
than  he  could  chuse  for  himself:  and  that  his 
best  treasure  is  safe,  out  of  the  reach  of  the 


TO   THE   WORLD. 


LET.  XX. 


various  changes  to  which  all  things  in  the  pre- 
sent state  are  liable. 

We  must  not  conform  to  the  maxims  of  the 
world.  The  world,  in  various  instances,  calls 
evil  good,  and  good  evil.  But  we  are  to  have 
recourse  to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony,  and 
to  judge  of  things  by  the  unerring  word  of 
God,  uninfluenced  by  the  determination  of 
the  great,  or  the  many.  We  are  to  obey  God 
rather  than  man,  though,  upon  this  account, 
we  may  expect  to  be  despised  or  reviled,  to 
be  made  a  gazing-stock  or  a  laughing-stock 
to  those  who  set  his  authority  at  defiance. 
We  must  bear  our  testimony  to  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Jesus,  avow  the  cause  of  his  despised 
people,  and  walk  in  the  practice  of  universal 
obedience,  patiently  endure  reproaches  and 
labour  to  overcome  evil  with  good.  Thus  we 
shall  shew  that  we  are  not  ashamed  of  him. 
And  there  is  an  hour  coming,  when  he  will 
not  be  ashamed  of  us,  who  have  followed  him, 
and  borne  his  cross,  in  the  midst  of  a  per- 
verse generation,  but  will  own  our  worthless 
names  before  the  assembled  world. 

We  must  not  conform  to  the  world  in  their 
amusements  and  diversions.  We  are  to  mix 
with  the  world  so  far  as  our  necessary  and 
providential  connections  engage  us ;  so  far  as 
we  have  a  reasonable  expectation  of  doing,  or 
getting- good,  and  no  further.  "  What  fellow- 
ship hath  light  with  darkness,  or  what  con- 
cord hath  Christ  with  Belial  ?"  What  call  can 
a  believer  have  into  those  places  and  compa- 
nies, where  every  thing  tends  to  promote  a 
spirit  of  dissipation ;  where  the  fear  of  God 
has  no  place  ;  where  things  are  purposely  dis- 
posed to  inflame,  or  indulge  corrupt  and  sin- 
ful  appetites  and  passions,  and  to  banish  all 
serious  thoughts  of  God  and  ourselves  ?  If 
it  is  our  duty  to  redeem  time,  to  walk  with 
God,  to  do  all  things  in  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  to  follow  the  example  which  he 
set  us  when  he  was  upon  earth,  and  to  work 
out  our  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling;  it 
must  of  course  be  our  duty  to  avoid  a  confor- 
mity with  the  world  in  those  vain  and  sensual 
diversions,  which  stand  in  as  direct  contradic- 
tion to  a  spiritual  frame  of  mind  as  darkness 
to  light. 

The  leading  desires  of  every  person  under 
the  influence  of  gospel-principles,  will  be  to 
maintain  a  habitual  communion  with  God  in 
his  own  soul,  and  to  manifest  the  power  of  his 
grace  in  the  sight  of  men.  So  far  as  a  chris- 
tian is  infected  by  a  conformity  to  the  spirit, 
maxims,  and  sinful  customs  of  the  world, 
these  desires  will  be  disappointed.  Fire  and 
water  are  not  more  opposite  than  that  peace 
of  God  which  passeth  all  understanding,  and 
that  poor  precarious  pleasure  which  is  sought 
in  a  compliance  with  the  world  ;  a  pleasure  (if 
worthy  the  name)  which  grieves  the  Spirit  ot 
God  and  stupifies  the  heart.  Whoever,  after 
having  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  has  been 


LET.  xxi.  ON  SPIRITUAL  BLINDNESS. 

prevailed  on  to  make  the  experiment,  and  to 
mingle  with  the  world's  vanities,  has  certainly 
thereby  brought  a  damp  upon  his  experience, 
and  indisposed  himself  for  the  exercise  of 
prayer,  and  the  contemplation  of  divine 
truths.  And  if  any  are  not  sensible  of  a  dif- 
ference in  this  respect,  it  is  because  the  poison 
has  taken  a  still  deeper  effect,  so  as  to  be- 
numb their  spiritual  senses.  Conformity  to 
the  world  is  the  bane  of  many  professors  in 
this  day.  They  have  found  a  way,  as  they 
think,  to  serve  both  God  and  mammon.  But 
because  they  are  double-minded,  they  are  un- 
stable ;  they  make  no  progress;  and  notwith- 
standing their  frequent  attendance  upon  ordi- 
nances, they  are  lean  from  day  to  day  ;  a  form 
of  godliness,  a  scheme  of  orthodox  notions 
they  may  attain  to,  but  they  will  remain  des- 
titute of  the  life,  power,  and  comfort  of  re- 
ligion, so  long  as  they  cleave  to  those  things 
which  are  incompatible  with  it. 

Conformity  to  the  world  is  equally  an 
obstruction  in  the  way  of  those  who  pro- 
fess a  desire  of  glorifying  God  in  the  sight  of 
men.  Such  professors  do  rather  dishonour 
him  ;  by  their  conduct,  as  far  as  in  them 
lies,  they  declare,  that  they  do  not  find  the 
religion  of  the  gospel  answer  their  expecta- 
tions ;  that  it  does  not  afford  them  the  satis- 
faction they  once  hoped  for  from  it ;  and  that 
therefore  they  are  forced  to  seek  relief  from 
the  world.  They  grieve  the  people  of  God 
by  their  compliances,  and  ofttimes  they  mis- 
lead  the  weak,  and,  by  their  examples  encou- 
rage them  to  venture  upon  the  like  liberties, 
which  otherwise  they  durst  not  have  attempt- 
ed. They  embolden  the  wicked  likewise  in 
their  evil  ways,  while  they  see  a  manifest  in- 
consistence between  their  avowed  principles 
and  their  practice  ;  and  thus  they  cause  the 
ways  of  truth  to  be  evil  spoken  of. — The  pa- 
per constrains  me  to  conclude  abruptly.  May 
the  Lord  enable  you  and  me  to  lay  this  sub- 
ject to  heart,  and  to  pray  that  we  may,  on  the 
one  hand,  rightly  understand  and  prize  our 
christian  liberty;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  be 
preserved  from  that  growing  evil,  a  conformity 
to  the  world. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXI. 

"I  WAS  ONCE  BLIND,  BUT  NOW  I  SEE." 
DEAR  SIR, 

The  question,  What  is  the  discriminating  cha- 
racteristic nature  of  a  work  of  grace  upon  the 
soul  ?  has  been  upon  my  mind  ;  if  I  am  able 
to  give  you  satisfaction  cdVicerning  it,  I  shall 
think  my  time  well  employed. 

The  reason  why  men  in  a  natural  state  are 
utterly  ignorant  of  spiritual  truths,  is,  that  they 
are  wholly  destitute  of  a  faculty  suited  to  their 


83 

perception.  A  remarkable  instance  we  have 
in  the  absurd  construction  which  Nicodemus 
put  upon  what  our  Lord  had  spoken  to  him 
concerning  the  new  birth.  And  in  the  su- 
pernatural communication  of  this  spiritual  fa- 
culty, by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  I  ap- 
prehend the  inimitable  and  abiding  criterion, 
which  is  the  subject  of  our  inquiry,  does,  pri- 
marily consist.  Those  passages  of  scripture 
wherein  the  gospel-truth  is  compared  to  light, 
lead  to  a  familiar  illustration  of  my  meaning. 
Men,  by  nature,  are  stark  blind  with  respect  to 
this  light ;  by  grace  the  eyes  of  the  under- 
standing are  opened.  Among  a  number  of 
blind  men,  some  may  be  more  ingenious  and 
of  better  capacity  than  others.  They  may  be 
better  qualified  for  such  studies  and  employ- 
ments which  do  not  require  eye-sight,  than 
many  who  can  see,  and  may  attain  to  considera- 
ble skill  in  them  ;  but  with  respect  to  the  true 
nature  of  light  and  colours,  they  are  all  exact- 
ly upon  a  level.  A  blind  man,  if  ingenious 
and  inquisitive,  may  learn  to  talk  about  the 
light,  the  sun,  or  the  rainbow,  in  terms  bor- 
rowed from  those  who  have  seen  them  ;  but  it 
is  impossible  that  he  can  have  (I  mean  a  man 
born  blind)  a  just  idea  of  either  ;  and  what- 
ever hear-say  knowledge  he  may  have  acquir- 
ed, he  can  hardly  talk  much  upon  these  sub- 
jects without  betraying  his  real  ignorance.  The 
case  of  one  mentioned  by  Mr.  Locke  has  been 
often  quoted.  He  believed,  that  after  much 
inquiry  and  reflection,  he  had  at  last  found  out 
what  scarlet  was  ;  and  being  asked  to  explain 
himself,  "  I  think,"  says  he,  "  scarlet  has 
something  like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet."  This 
man  had  about  the  same  knowledge  of  natu- 
ral light  as  Nicodemus  had  of  spiritual.  Nor 
can  all  the  learning  or  study  in  the  world  en- 
able any  person  to  form  a  suitable  judgment 
of  divine  truth,  till  the  eyes  of  his  mind  are 
opened,  and  then  he  will  perceive  it  at  once. 

Indeed  this  comparison  is  well  suited  to  shew 
the  entire  difference  between  nature  and  grace, 
and  to  explain  the  ground  of  that  enmity  and 
scorn  which  fills  the  hearts  of  blinded  sinners, 
against  those  who  profess  to  have  been  en- 
lightened by  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  reason 
why  blind  men  are  not  affronted  when  we  tell 
them  they  cannot  see,  seems  to  be,  that  they 
are  borne  down  by  the  united  testimony  of  all 
who  are  about  them.  Every  one  talks  of  see- 
ing; and  they  find  by  experience,  thatthose  who 
say  they  can  see  can  do  many  things  which  the 
blind  cannot.  Some  such  conviction  as  this 
many  have,  who  live  where  the  gospel  is 
preached,  and  is  made  the  power  of  God  to  the 
salvation  of  others.  The  conversation  and 
conduct  of  the  people  of  God  convinces  them, 
that  there  is  a  difference,  though  they  cannot 
tell,  wherein  it  consists.  But  if  we  would  sup- 
pose it  possible,  that  there  was  a  whole  nation 
of  blind  men,  and  one  or  two  persons  should  go 
amongst  them,  and  profess  that  they  could  see, 
while  they  could  not  offer  them  such  a  proof 


til 


ON    SPIUITUAL   BLINDNESS. 


LET.   XXI 


of  their  assertion  as  they  were  capable  of  re- 
ceiving, nor  even  explain,  to  their  satisfaction, 
what  they  meant  by  sight  ;  what  may  we 
imagine  would  be  the  consequence?  I  think 
there  is  little  doubt,  but  these  innovators  would 
experience  much  the  same  treatment  as  the 
believers  of  Jesus  often  meet  with  from  a 
blind  world.  The  blind  people  would  certain- 
ly hate  and  despise  them  for  presuming  to 
pretend  to  what  they  had  not.  They  would 
trv  to  dispute  them  out  of  their  senses,  and 
bring  many  arguments  to  prove,  that  there 
could  be  no  sucli  thing  as  either  light  or  sight. 
They  would  say,  as  many  say  now,  How  is  it 
if  these  things  are  so,  that  we  should  know 
nothing  of  them?  Yea,  I  think  it  probable, 
they  would  rise  against  them  as  deceivers  and 
enthusiasts,  and  disturbers  of  the  public  peace, 
and  say,  "  Away  with  such  fellows  from  the 
earth;  it  is  not  lit  that  they  should  live."  But 
if  we  should  suppose  further,  that  during  the 
heat  of  the  contest,  some  of  these  blind  men 
should  have  their  eyes  suddenly  opened,  the 
lispute  as  to  them  would  be  at  an  end  in  a  mi- 
nute: they  would  confess  their  former  igno- 
rance and  obstinacy,  confirm  the  testimony  of 
those  whom  they  had  before  despised,  and  of 
course  share  in  the  same  treatment  from  their 
blind  brethren,  perhaps  be  treated  still  worse, 
as  apostates  from  the  opinion  of  the  public. 

If  this  illustration  is  justly  applicable  to  our 
subject,  it  may  lead  us  to  several  observations, 
or  inferences,  which  have  a  tendency  to  confirm 
what  we  are  elsewhere  expressly  taught  by  the 
word  of  God. 

In  the  first  place,  it  shews,  that  regenera- 
tion, or  that  great  change  without  which  a  man 
cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God,  is  the  effect  of 
almighty  power.  Neither  education,  endea- 
vours, or  arguments,  can  open  the  eyes  of  the 
blind.  It  is  God  alone,  who  at  first  caused 
light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  who  can  shine 
into  our  hearts  "  to  give  us  the  light  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ."  People  may  attain  some  na- 
tural ideas  of  spiritual  truths  by  reading  books, 
or  hearing  sermons,  and  may  thereby  become 
wise  in  their  own  conceits  :  they  may  learn  to 
imitate  the  language  of  an  experienced  chris- 
tian ;  but  they  know  not  what  they  say,  nor 
whereof  they  affirm,  and  are  as  distant  from  the 
true  meaning  of  the  terms,  as  a  bl.nd  man  who 
pronounces  the  words  blue  or  red,  is  from  the 
ideas  which  those  words  raise  in  the  mind  of 
a  person  who  can  distinguish  colours  by  his 
sight.  And  from  hence  we  may  infer  the 
sovereignty  as  well  as  the  efficacy  of  grace  ; 
since  it  is  evident,  not  only  that  the  objective 
light,  the  word  of  God,  is  not  afforded  uni- 
versally to  all  men  ;  but  that  those  who  en- 
joy the  same  outward  means  have  not  all  the 
same  perceptions.  There  are  many  who 
stumble  in  the  noon-day,  not  for  want  of  light 
but  for  want  of  eyes  ;  and  they  who  now  see, 
were  once  blind  even  as  others,  and   had   nei- 


ther power  nor  will  to  enlighten  their  own 
minds.  It  is  a  mercy,  however,  when  people 
are  so  far  sensible  of  their  own  blindness  as  to 
be  willing  to  wait  for  the  manifestation  of  the 
Lord's  power,  in  the  ordinances  of  his  own 
appointment.  He  came  into  the  world,  and  he 
sends  forth  his  gospel,  that  those  who  see  not 
may  see ;  and  when  there  is  a  desire  raised  in 
the  heart  for  spiritual  sight,  it  shall  in  his  due 
time  be  answered. 

From  hence  likewise  we  may  observe  the 
proper  use  and  value  of  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel,  which  is  the  great  instrument  by  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  opens  the  blind  eyes.  Like 
the  rod  of  Moses,  it  owes  all  its  efficacy  to  the 
appointment  and  promise  of  God.  Minister- 
cannot  be  too  earnest  in  the  discharge  <• 
their  office  ;  it  behoves  them  to  use  all  dif. 
gence  to  find  out  acceptable  words,  and  fc. 
proclaim  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  Yei 
when  they  have  done  all,  they  have  done  no- 
thing, unless  their  word  is  accompanied  to 
the  heart  by  the  power  and  demonstration  of 
the  Spirit.  Without  this  blessing,  an  apostle 
might  labour  in  vain  -.  but  it  shall  be  in  a 
measure  afforded  to  all  who  preach  the  truth 
in  love,  in  simplicity,  and  in  an  humble  de- 
pendence upon  him  who  alone  can  give  suc- 
cess. This,  in  a  great  measure,  puts  all  faith- 
ful ministers  on  a  level,  notwithstanding  any 
seeming  disparity  in  gifts  and  abilities.  Those 
who  have  a  lively  and  pathetic  talent  may  en- 
gage the  ear,  and  raise  the  natural  passions  of 
their  hearers  ;  but  they  cannot  reach  the 
heart.  The  blessing  may  be  rather  expected 
to  attend  the  humble  than  the  voluble  speak- 
er. 

Further  we  may  remark,  that  there  is  a  dif- 
ference in  kind,  between  the  highest  attain- 
ments of  nature,  and  the  effects  of  grace  in  the 
lowest  degree.  Many  are  convinced,  who  are 
not  truly  enlightened ;  are  afraid  of  the  con- 
sequences of  sin,  though  they  never  saw  its 
evil ;  have  a  seeming  desire  of  salvation,  which 
is  not  founded  upon  a  truly  spiritual  discovery 
of  their  own  wretchedness,  and  the  excellency 
of  Jesus.  These  may,  for  a  season,  hear  the 
word  with  joy,  and  walk  in  the  way  of  pro 
fessors  ;  but  we  need  not  be  surprised  if  they 
do  not  hold  out,  for  they  have  not  root. 
Though  many  shall  fall,  the  foundation  of 
God  still  standeth  sure.  We  may  confident- 
ly affirm,  upon  the  warrant  of  scripture,  that 
they  who,  having  for  a  while  escaped  the  pol- 
lutions of  the  world,  are  again  habitually  en- 
tangled in  them,  or  who,  having  been  distres- 
ed  upon  the  account  of  sin,  can  find  relief  in 
a  self-righteous  course,  and  stop  short  of 
Christ,  "  who  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  right- 
eousness to  every  one  that  believeth  ;"  we 
may  affirm,  that  these,  whatever  profession 
they  may  have  made,  were  never  capable  of 
receiving  the  beauty  and  glory  of  the  gospel- 
salvation.  On  the  other  hand,  though  where 
the  eyes  are   divinely  enlightened,   the  sou''» 


LET.   XXTI. 


ON  THE   ADVANTAGES   OF  POVERTY, 
be 


85 


first  views  of  itself  and  of  the  gospel  may 
confused  and  indistinct,  like  him  who  saw 
men  as  it  were  trees  walking  ;  yet  this  light 
is  like  the  dawn,  which,  though  weak  and 
faint  at  its  first  appearance,  shineth  more  and 
more  unto  the  perfect  day.  It  is  the  work  of 
God  ;  and  his  work  is  perfect  in  kind,  though 
progressive  in  the  manner.  He  will  not  des- 
pise or  forsake  the  day  of  small  things.  When 
he  thus  begins,  he  will  make  an  end  ;  and 
such  persons,  however  feeble,  poor,  and  worth- 
less, in  their  own  apprehensions,  if  they  have 
obtained  a  glimpse  of  the  Redeemer's  glory, 
as  he  is  made  unto  us,  of  God,  wisdom,  right- 
eousness, sanctifi cation,  and  redemption,  so 
that  his  name  is  precious,  and  the  desire  of 
their  hearts  is  towards  him,  have  good  reason 
to  hope  and  believe,  as  the  wife  of  Manoah 
did  in  a  similar  case,  that  if  the  Lord  had 
been  pleased  to  kill  them,  he  would  not  have 
shewed  them  such  things  as  these. 

Once  more,  this  spiritual  sight  and  facul- 
ty is  that  which  may  be  principally  consider- 
ed as  inherent  in  a  believer.  He  has  no  stock 
of  grace,  or  comfort,  or  strength,  in  himself. 
He  needs  continual  supplies  ;  and  if  the  Lord 
withdraws  from  him,  he  is  as  weak  and  un- 
skilful, after  he  has  been  long  engaged  in  the 
christian  warfare,  as  he  was  when  he  first  en- 
tered upon  it.  The  eye  is  of  little  present  use 
in  the  dark  ;  for  it  cannot  see  without  light. 
But  the  return  of  light  is  no  advantage  to  a 
blind  man.  A  believer  may  be  much  in  the 
dark  ;  but  his  spiritual  sight  remains.  Though 
the  exercise  of  grace  may  be  low,  he  knows 
himself,  he  knows  the  Lord,  he  knows  the  way 
of  access  to  a  throne  of  grace.  His  frames  and 
feelings  may  alter;  but  he  has  received  such 
a  knowledge  of  the  person  and  offices,  the 
power  and  grace,  of  Jesus  the  Saviour,  as  can- 
not be  taken  from  him  ;  and  could  withstand 
Even  an  angel  that  should  preach  another  gos- 
pel, because  he  has  seen  the  Lord. — The  pa- 
per constrains  me  to  break  off.     May  the  Lord 


increase   his 
heart  of,  &c. 


light   in    your   heart,  and  in  the 


LETTER   XXII. 


ON    THE    ADVANTAGES    OF 
VERTY. 


A    STATE    OF    PO- 


MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

I  confess  myself  almost  ashamed  to  write  to 
you.  You  are  pinched  by  poverty,  suffer  the 
want  of  many  things  ;  and  your  faith  is  often 
sharply  tried,  when  you  look  at  your  family, 
and,  perhaps,  can  hardly  conceive  how  you 
shall  be  able  to  supply  them  with  bread  to 
the  end  of  the  week.  The  Lord  has  appoint- 
ed me  a  different  lot.  I  am  favoured,  not 
only  with  the  necessaries,  but  with  the  com- 
forts of  life.      Now,   I  could  easily  give  you 


plenty  of  good  advice ;  I  could  tell  you,  it 
is  your  duty  to  be  patient,  and  even  thankful, 
in  the  lowest  state  ;  that  if  you  have  bread 
and  water,  it  is  more  than  you  deserve  at  the 
Lord's  hands ;  and  that,  as  you  are  out  of 
hell,  and  made  a  partaker  of  the  hope  of  the 
gospel,  you  ought  not  to  think  any  thing  nard 
that  you  meet  with  in  the  way  to  heaven.  If 
I  should  say  thus,  and  say  no  more,  you 
would  not  dispute  the  truth  of  my  assertions; 
but,  as  coming  from  me,  who  live  at  ease,  to 
you,  who  are  beset  with  difficulties,  you  might 
question  their  propriety,  and  think  that  I  know 
but  little  of  my  own  heart,  and  could  feel  but 
little  for  your  distress.  You  would  probably 
compare  me  to  one  who  should  think  himself 
a  mariner,  because  he  had  studied  the  art  of 
navigation  by  the  fireside,  though  he  had  ne- 
ver seen  the  sea.  Yet  I  hope,  by  my  frequent 
converse  with  the  Lord's  poor  (for  I  live  in 
the  midst  of  an  afflicted  and  poor  people),  I 
have  made  some  observations,  which,  though 
not  strictly  the  fruit  of  my  own  experience, 
may  not  be  wholly  unseasonable  or  unaccept- 
able to  you. 

Whether  the  rich  or  the  poor,  who  live 
without  God  in  the  world,  are  most  to  be  pi- 
tied, is  not  easy  to  determine.  It  is  a  dread- 
ful case  to  be  miserable  in  both  worlds ;  but 
yet  the  parade  and  seeming  prosperity  in  which 
some  live  for  a  few  years,  will  be  no  abate- 
ment, but  rather  a  great  aggravation,  of  their 
future  torment.  A  madman  is  equally  to  bf 
pitied,  whether  he  is  laid  upon  a  bed  of  state 
or  a  bed  of  straw.  Madness  is  in  the  heart  of 
every  unregenerate  sinner ;  and  the  more  he 
possesses  of  this  world's  goods,  he  is  so  much 
the  more  extensively  mischievous.  Poverty  is 
so  far  a  negative  good  to  those  who  have  no 
other  restraint,  that  it  confines  the  effects  ot 
the  evil  heart  within  narrower  bounds,  and 
the  small  circle  of  their  immediate  connec- 
tions ;  whereas  the  rich,  who  live  under  the 
power  of  sin,  are  unfaithful  stewards  of  a 
larger  trust,  and,  by  their  pernicious  influ- 
ence, are  often  instrumental  in  diffusing  pro- 
faneness  and  licentiousness  through  a  country 
or  a  kingdom,  besides  the  innumerable  acts  of 
oppression,  and  the  ravages  of  war,  which  are 
perpetrated  to  gratify  the  insatiable  demands 
of  luxury,  ambition,  and  pride.  But  to  leave 
this,  if  we  turn  our  eyes  from  the  false  max- 
ims of  the  world,  and  weigh  things  in  the  ba- 
lance of  the  sanctuary,  I  believe  we  shall  find 
that  the  beli^'ing  poor,  though  they  have  many 
trials  which  call  for  our  compassion,  have  some 
advantages  above  those  of  the  Lord's  people 
to  whom  he  has  given  a  larger  share  of  the 
good  things  of  the  present  life.  Whv  else 
does  the  apostle  say,  "  God  hath  chosen  the 
poor  ?"  or  why  do  we  see,  in  fact,  that  so  few 
of  the  rich,  or  wise,  or  mighty,  are  called  ? 
Certainly  he  does  not  chuse  them  because  they 
are  poor ;  for  "  he  is  no  respecter  of  per- 
sons :"  rather,  I  think,  we  mav  say,  that  kn<>» 


86 


ON  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  POVERTY. 


ing  what  is  in  their  hearts,  the  nature  of  the 
world  through  which  they  are  to  pass,  and 
what  circumstances  are  best  suited  to  manifest 
the  truth  and  efficacy  of  Ills  grace,  he  lias,  in 
the  general,  chosen  poverty  as  the  best  state 
for  them.  Some  exceptions  he  has  made,  that 
his  people  may  not  be  wholly  without  support 
and  countenance,  and  that  the  sufficiency  of 
his  grace  may  be  made  known  in  every  state 
of  life  ;  but,  for  the  most  part,  they  are  a 
poor  and  afflicted  people ;  and  in  this  ap- 
pointment he  has  had  a  regard  to  their  honour, 
their  safety,  and  their  comfort.  I  have  room 
for  but  a  very  brief  illustration  of  these  parti- 
culars. 

Sanctified  poverty  is  an  honourable  state  ; 
not  so,  indeed,  in  the  judgment  of  the  world. 
The  rich  have  many  friends;  the  poor  are 
usually  despised.  But  I  am  speaking  of  that 
honour  which  cometh  from  God  only.  The 
poor,  who  are  "  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the 
kingdom,"  are  honoured  with  the  nearest  ex- 
ternal conformity  to  Jesus,  their  Saviour,  who, 
though  he  was  Lord  of  all,  was  pleased,  for 
our  sakes,  to  make  himself  so  poor,  that  he 
had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  and  submitted 
to  receive  assistance  from  the  contributions  of 
his  followers,  Luke  viii.  3.  By  this  asto- 
nishing humiliation,  he  poured  contempt  up- 
on all  human  glory,  and  made  the  state  of 
poverty  honourable  ;  and  now,  "  he  that  re- 
proacheth  the  poor  despiseth  his  Maker." 
And  as  he  was,  so  were  his  apostles  in  this 
world.  They  were  not  only  destitute  of  rank, 
titles,  and  estates,  but  were  often  in  hunger 
and  nakedness,  and  had  no  certain  dwelling- 
place.  To  infer  from  hence,  as  some  have 
done,  that  riches,  and  the  accommodations  of 
life,  are  unsuitable  to  the  state  of  a  christian, 
is  the  mark  of  a  superstitious  and  legal  spi- 
rit. There  were,  in  those  days,  several  be- 
lievers that  were  in  a  state  of  affluence,  as,  for 
instance,  Theophilus,  whom  Luke  addresses 
by  a  title  of  honour,  K^ana-rt  (most  noble, 
or  excellent),  the  same  which  St.  Paul  ascribes 
to  the  Roman  governor.  But  we  may  safely 
infer,  that  that  state  of  life  in  which  our  Lord 
was  pleased  to  converse  with  men,  and  which 
was  the  lot  of  his  apostles,  and  most  favour- 
ed servants,  is  honourable  in  the  sight  of 
God. 

Again,  poverty  is  honourable,  because  it 
affords  a  peculiar  advantage  for  glorifying 
God,  and  evidencing  the  power  of  his  grace, 
and  the  faithfulness  of  his  promises,  in  the 
sight  of  men.  A  believer,  if  rich,  lives  by 
faith,  and  his  faith  meets  with  various  trials. 


LET.  XXII. 

of  their  doctrine.  If  we  are  asked,  Where  do 
these  wonderful  people  live,  who  can  delight 
themselves  in  God,  esteem  a  day  in  his  courts 
better  than  a  thousand,  and  prefer  the  light 
of  his  countenance  to  all  earthly  joy  ?  we 
can  confidently  send  them  to  the  poor  of  the 
flock.  Amongst  the  number  who  are  so  call- 
ed, there  are  some  who  will  not  disappoint 
our  appeal.  Let  the  world,  who  refuse  to  be- 
lieve the  preachers,  believe  their  own  eyes  ; 
and  when  they  see  a  poor  person  content, 
thankful,  rejoicing,  admiring  the  Lord's  good- 
ness for  affording  him  what  they  account  hard 
fare,  and,  in  the  midst  of  various  pressures, 
incapable  of  being  bribed  by  offers,  or  terri- 
fied by  threats,  to  swerve  a  step  from  the  path 
of  known  duty,  let  them  acknowledge  that 
this  is  the  finger  of  God.  If  they  harden 
themselves  against  this  evidence,  "  neither 
would  they  be  persuaded,  though  one  should 
arise  from  the  dead." 

And  as  poverty  is  an  honourable,  so  it  is 
comparatively  a  safe  state.  True,  it  is  at- 
tended with  its  peculiar  temptations ;  but  it 
is  not  near  so  suitable  to  draw  forth  and  nou- 
rish the  two  grand  corruptions  of  the  heart, 
self-importance,  and  an  idolatrous  cleaving 
to  the  world,  as  the  opposite  state  of  riches. 
They  who  are  rich  in  this  world,  and  who 
know  the  Lord  and  their  own  hearts,  feel  the 
wisdom  and  propriety  of  the  apostle's  charge, 
"  Not  to  be  high-minded,  nor  to  trust  in  un- 
certain riches."  If  poor  believers  consider 
the  snares  to  which  their  rich  brethren  are  ex- 
posed, they  will  rather  pray  for  and  pity,  than 
envy  them.  Their  path  is  slippery  ;  they  have 
reason  to  cry  continually,  "  Hold  thou  me 
up,  and  I  shall  be  safe ;"  for  they  live  in 
the  midst  of  the  hurries  and  vanities  of  the 
world,  are  engaged  in  a  large  sphere  of  ac- 
tion, and  are  incessantly  exposed  to  interrup- 
tions and  snares.  The  carriage  of  all  around 
them  reminds  them  of  their  supposed  conse- 
quence ;  and,  by  the  nature  of  their  situation, 
they  are  greatly  precluded  from  plain  dealing 
and  friendly  advice.  But  the  poor  are  not 
surrounded  with  flatterers,  nor  teazed  with 
impertinencies.  They  meet  with  little  to  sti- 
mulate their  pride,  or  to  soothe  their  vanity. 
They  not  only  believe  in  their  judgments,  but 
are  constrained  to  feel,  by  the  experience  of 
every  day,  that  this  world  cannot  afford  them 
rest.  If  they  have  food  and  raiment,  and 
grace  therewith  to  be  content,  they  have  rea- 
son to  be  thankful  for  an  exemption  from 
those  splendid  cares  and  delusive  appearances, 
which  are  the  inseparable  attendants  of  wealth 


He  himself  knows  by  whom  he  stands  ;  but  it  j  and  worldly  distinction,  and  which,  if  not 
is  not  ordinarily  so  visible  to  others,  as  in  the  I  more  burdensome,  are,  humanly  speaking, 
case  of  the  poor.  When  ministers  speak  of  much  more  dangerous,  and  greater  impecii- 
the  all-sufficiency  of  God  to  those  who  trust  i  ments  to  the  progress  of  a  spiritual  life,  than 
in  him,  and  the  certain  effect  of  the  principles  j  the  ordinary  trials  of  the  poor, 
of  the  gospel,  in  supporting,  satisfying,  and  re- I  The  believing  poor  have  likewise,  for  the 
gulatiug  the  mind  of  man,  the  poor  are  the  best  most  part,  the  advantage  in  point  of  spiritual 
and  most  unsuspected  witnesses  for  the  truth   comfort,  and  that  principally  in  two  respects. 


ON  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  POVERTY. 


l,KT.   XXII. 

Fiist,  As  they  are  called  to  a  life  of  more  im- 
mediate dependence  upon  the  promise  and 
providence  of  God  (having  little  else  to  trust 
to),  they  have  a  more  direct  and  frequent  ex- 
perience of  his  interposition  in  their  favour. 
Obadiah  was  a  servant  of  God,  though  he  lived 
in  the  court  of  Ahab.  He,  doubtless,  had 
his  difficulties  in  such  a  situation  ;  but  he 
was  not  in  want.  He  had  not  only  enough 
for  himself  in  a  time  of  dearth,  but  was 
able  to  impart  to  others.  We  may  believe 
that  he  well  knew  he  was  indebted  to  the 
Lord's  goodness  for  his  provision  ;  but  he 
could  hardly  have  so  sweet,  so  strong,  so  sen- 
sible an  impression  of  God's  watchful  care 
over  him  as  Elijah  had,  who,  when  he  was 
deprived  of  all  human  support,  was  statedly 
fed  by  the  ravens.  Such  of  the  Lord's  people 
who  have  estates  in  land,  or  thousands  in  the 
bank,  will  acknowledge,  that  even  the  bread 
they  eat  is  the  gift  of  the  Lord's  bounty;  «et, 
having  a  moral  certainty  of  a  provision  for 
life,  I  should  apprehend  that  they  cannot  ex- 
ercise faith  in  the  divine  providence,  with  re- 
spect to  their  temporal  supplies,  so  distinctly 
as  the  poor,  who,  having  no  friend  or  resource 
upon  earth,  are  necessitated  to  look  immedi- 
ately to  their  Father,  who  is  in  heaven,  for 
their  daily  bread.  And  though  it  is  not  given 
to  the  world  to  know  what  an  intercourse  is 
carried  on  between  heaven  and  earth,  nor 
with  what  acceptance  the  prayers  of  the  poor 
and  afflicted  enter  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord 
of  hosts ;  yet  many  of  them  have  had  such 
proofs  of  his  attention,  wisdom,  faithfulness, 
power,  and  love,  in  supplying  their  wants, 
and  opening  them  a  way  of  relief,  when  they 
have  been  beset  with  difficulties  on  all  sides, 
as  have  been,  to  themselves  at  least,  no  less 
certain  and  indisputable,  I  had  almost  said, 
no  less  glorious,  than  the  miracles  which  he 
wrought  for  Israel,  when  he  divided  the  Red 
Sea  before  them,  and  gave  them  food  from 
the  clouds.  Such  evidences  of  the  power  of 
faith,  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  and  the  truth  of 
the  scriptures  (preferable  to  mountains  of  gold 
and  silver,  and  for  which  the  state  of  poverty 
furnishes  the  most  frequent  occasions),  are  a 
rich  overbalance  for  all  its  inconveniencies. 
But, 

Secondly,  I  apprehend  that  the  humble  and 
believing  poor  have,  in  general,  the  greatest 
share  of  those  consolations,  which  are  the  ef- 
fect of  the  light  of  God's  countenance  lifted 
up  upon  the  soul,  of  his  love  shed  abroad  in 
the  heart,  or  of  a  season  of  refreshment  from 
his  presence.  By  such  expressions  as  these, 
the  scriptures  intimate  that  "joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory  ;"  a  description  of  which, 
those  who  have  tasted  it  will  not  require,  and 
those  who  are  strangers  to  it,  could  not  un- 
derstand. This  joy  is  not  always  the  com- 
panion of  faith,  not  even  of  strong  faith  ;  but 
it  is  that  which  a  believer,  whether  rich  or 
poor,  incessantly  thirsts  after ;  and,  in  com- 


87 


parison  whereof,  all  worldly  good  is  but  vanity 
and  disappointment.  The  Lord  imparts  this 
joy  to  his  people,  in  season  and  measure,  as 
he  sees  fit ;  but  his  poor  people  have  the  largest 
share.  They  have  little  comfort  from  the 
world,  therefore,  he  is  pleased  to  be  their 
comforter.  They  have  many  trials  and  suf- 
ferings ;  and  he  with  whom  they  have  to  do, 
knows  their  situation  and  pressures :  he  has 
promised  to  make  their  strength  equal  to  their 
day,  and  to  revive  their  fainting  spirits  with 
heavenly  cordials.  When  it  is  thus  with  them, 
they  can  say  with  Jacob,  "  I  have  enough  ;" 
or,  as  it  is  in  the  orginal,  "  I  have  all."  This 
makes  hard  things  easy,  and  the  burden  light, 
which  the  flesh  would  otherwise  complain  of 
as  heavy.  This  has  often  given  a  sweeter  re- 
lish to  bread  and  water,  than  the  sensualist 
ever  found  to  be  in  the  most  studied  and  ex- 
pensive refinements  of  luxury.  Blessed  are 
the  poor,  who  are  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of 
the  kingdom  which  God  has  promised  to 
them  that  love  him.  They  often  enjoy  the  most 
lively  foretastes  of  the  glory  which  shall  be 
revealed. 

Have  not  you,  my  friend,  found  these  things 
true  in  your  own  experience  ?  Yes  ;  the  Lord 
has  sanctified  your  crosses,  and  supported  you 
under  them.  Hitherto  he  has  helped  you, 
and  he  will  be  with  you  to  the  end.  As  you 
have  followed  him  upon  earth,  you  will  ere 
long  follow  him  to  heaven.  You  are  now 
called  to  sow  in  tears  ;  there  you  shall  reap  in 
joy,  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from 
your  eyes.  In  the  mean  time,  be  thankful  that 
lie  honours  you,  in  appointing  you  to  be  a 
witness  for  the  truth  and  power  of  his  grace, 
in  the  midst  of  an  unbelieving  world. 

It  is  true,  that  even  where  the  spirit  is  wil- 
ling, the  flesh  is  weak.  You  have  sharp  trials, 
which,  for  the  present,  cannot  be  joyous,  but 
grievous ;  and  you  have  doubtless  felt  the 
depravity  of  your  nature,  and  the  subtilty  of 
Satan,  at  some  times  prompting  you  to  impa- 
tience, envy,  and  distrust.  But  these  evils 
are  not  peculiar  to  a  state  of  poverty ;  you 
would  have  been  exposed  to  the  same  had  you 
lived  in  affluence,  together  with  many  others, 
from  which  you  are  now  exempted  ;  for  riches 
and  poverty  are  but  comparative  terms,  and  it 
is  only  the  grace  of  God  that  can  teach  us  to  be 
content  in  any  possible  situation  of  life.  The 
rich  are  as  prone  to  desire  something  which 
they  have  not  as  the  poor  ;  and  they  who  have 
most  to  lose  have  most  to  fear.  That  a  man's 
life  (the  happiness  of  his  life)  "  consisted]  not 
in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he  pos- 
sesseth,"  is  an  aphorism  founded  upon  the 
highest  authority,  and  confirmed  by  universal 
experience  and  observation. 

In  a  word,  you  are  not  poor,  but  rich.  The 
promises  are  your  inheritance  ;  heaven  is  your 
home ;  the  angels  of  the  Lord  are  minister- 
ing spirits,  who  rejoice  to  watch  over  you  for 
good  ;  and  the  Lord  of  angels  himself  is  yout 


88 


ON   SIMPLICITY   AND   SINCERITY. 


LET.  XX II I. 


sun,  and  shield,  and  everlasting  portion.  It 
is  impossible  that  yon,  to  whom  he  has  given 
Himself,  his  Son,  his  Spirit,  his  grace,  his 
kingdom,  can  want  any  thing  that  is  truly 
"■ood  for  vou.  If  riches  were  so,  he  could 
pour  them  upon  you  in  abundance,  as  easily 
as  he  provides  you  your  daily  bread.  But 
these,  for  the  most  part,  he  bestows  on  those 
who  have  no  portion  but  in  the  present  life. 
You  have  great  reason  to  rejoice  in  the  lot  he 
has  appointed  for  you,  which  secures  you 
from  numberless  imaginary  wants  and  real 
dangers,  and  furnishes  you  with  the  fairest 
opportunities  for  the  manifestation,  exercise, 
and  increase  of  the  graces  he  has  implanted 
in  you. — Influenced  by  these  views,  I  trust 
you  can  cheerfully  say, 

What  others  value  I  resign  : 

Lord,  'tis  enough  that  thou  art  mine. 

I  commend  you  to  the  blessing  of  our  co- 
venant God,  and  to  Jesus  our  Saviour,  who, 
when  he  was  rich,  made  himself  poor  for  our 
sakes,  that  we  through  his  poverty  might  be 
rich. 

T  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXIII. 

ON  SIMPLICITY  AND  GODLY  SINCERITY. 
DEAH  SIR, 

It  would  be  a  happy  time  if  all  professors  of 
the  gospel  could,  with  the  apostle,  rejoice  in 
the  testimony  of  their  consciences,  that  they 
walked  in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity. 
How  many  evils  and  scandals  would  be  then 
prevented  !  But,  alas  !  too  many  who  name 
the  name  of  Christ,  seem  to  have  hardly  any 
idea  of  this  essential  part  of  the  christian  cha- 
racter. A  few  thoughts  upon  a  subject  so 
little  attended  to,  may  not  be  unseasonable. 
The  most  advanced  in  the  christian  life  have 
something  of  this  lesson  yet  to  learn  ;  and  the 
greater  proficiency  we  make  in  it,  the  greater 
will  be  our  inward  peace,  and  the  more  will 
our  light  shine  before  men,  to  the  glory  of  our 
heavenly  Father. 

Simplicity  and  sincerity,  though  inseparable, 
may  be  distinguished.  The  former  is  the 
principle  from  which  the  latter  is  derived. 
Simplicity  primarily  respects  the  frame  of  our 
spirit  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  sincerity  more  di- 
rectly ragards  our  conduct  as  it  falls  under 
the  observation  of  men.  It  is  true,  the  terms 
are  frequently  used  indifferently  for  each 
other,  and  may  be  so  without  occasioning  any 
considerable  mistake ;  but  as  they  are  not 
precisely  the  same,  it  may  be  proper,  if  we 
would  speak  accurately,  to  keep  this  distinc- 
tion in  view. 

Some  persons,  who  have  been  more  ena- 
moured with  the  name  of  simplicity,  than  ac- 


quainted witli  its  nature,  have  substituted  in 
its  stead  a  childishness  of  language  and  man- 
ners, as  if  they  understood  the  word  simple 
only  in  the  mere  vulgar  sense,  as  equivalent 
to  foolish.  But  this  infantine  softness  gives 
just  disgust  to  those  who  have  a  true  taste  and 
judgment  of  divine  things  ;  not  only  as  it  is 
an  unnecessary  deviation  from  the  common 
usages  of  mankind,  but  because,  being  the 
effect  of  art  and  imitation,  it  palpably  defeats 
its  own  pretences.  An  artificial,  or  affected 
simplicity,  is  a  contradiction  in  terms,  and 
differs  as  much  from  the  simplicity  of  the  gos- 
pel, as  paint  does  from  beauty. 

The  true  simplicity,  which  is  the  honour 
and  strength  of  a  believer,  is  the  effect  of  a 
spiritual  perception  of  the  truths  of  the  gos- 
pel. It  arises  from,  and  bears  a  proportion 
to,  the  sense  we  have  of  our  own  unworthi- 
ness,  the  power  and  grace  of  Christ,  and  the 
greatness  of  our  obligations  to  him.  So  far 
as  our  knowledge  of  these  things  is  vital  and 
experimental,  it  will  make  us  simple-hearted. 
This  simplicity  may  be  considered  in  two  re- 
spects, — a  simplicity  of  intention,  and  a  sim- 
plicity of  dependence.  The  former  stands  in 
opposition  to  the  corrupt  workings  of  self, 
the  latter  to  the  false  reasonings  of  unbelief. 

Simplicity  of  intention  implies,  that  we  have 
but  one  leading  aim,  to  which  it  is  our  deli- 
berate and  unreserved  desire,  that  every  thing 
else  in  which  we  are  concerned  may  be  subor- 
dinate and  subservient ;  in  a  word,  that  we 
are  devoted  to  the  Lord,  and  have,  by  grace, 
been  enabled  to  chuse  him,  and  to  yield  our- 
selves to  him,  so  as  to  place  our  happiness  in 
his  favour,  and  to  make  his  glory  and  will 
the  ultimate  scope  of  all  our  actions.  He  well 
deserves  this  from  us.  He  is  the  all-sufficient 
good.  He  alone  is  able  to  satisfy  the  vast 
capacity  he  has  given  us  ;  for  he  formed  us  for 
himself:  and  they  who  have  tasted  that  he  is 
gracious,  know  that  his  "  loving-kindness  is 
better  than  life ;"  and  that  his  presence  and 
fulness  can  supply  the  'want,  or  make  up  the 
loss  of  all  creature-comforts.  So  likewise,  he 
has  a  just  claim  to  us  that  we  should  be  whol- 
ly his  ;  for  besides  that,  as  his  creatures,  we 
are  in  his  hand  as  clay  in  the  hands  of  the 
potter,  he  has  a  redemption  title  to  us.  He 
loved  us,  and  bought  us  with  his  own  blood. 
He  did  not  hesitate  or  halt  between  two  o- 
pinions,  when  he  engaged  to  redeem  our  souls 
from  the  curse  of  the  law,  and  the  power  of 
Satan.  He  could,  in  the  hour  of  his  distress, 
have  summoned  legions  of  angels,  had  that 
been  needful,  to  his  assistance,  or  have  de- 
stroyed his  enemies  with  a  word  or  a  look  ; 
lie  could  easily  have  saved  himself :  but  how 
then  could  his  people  have  been  saved,  or  the 
promises  of  the  scriptures  have  been  fulfilled  ? 
Therefore  he  willingly  endured  the  cross,  he 
gave  his  back  to  the  smiters,  he  poured  out 
his  blood,  he  laid  down  his  life.  Here  was  an 
adorable  simplicity  of  intention  in  him  ;  and 


LET.  XXIII. 


ON  SIMPLICITY  AND   SINCERITY. 


89 


shall  we  not,  O  thou  lover  of  souls,  be  simply, 
heartily,  and  wholly  thine  ?  Shall  we  refuse 
the  cup  of  affliction  from  thy  hand,  or  for  thy 
sake  ?  Or  shall  we  desire  to  drink  of  the  cup 
of  sinful  pleasure,  when  we  remember  what 
our  sins  have  cost  thee  ?  Shall  we  wish  to  be 
loved  by  the  world  that  hated  thee,  or  to  be 
admired  by  the  world  that  despised  thee  ? 
Shall  we  be  ashamed  of  professing  our  attach- 
ment to  such  a  Saviour  ?  Nay,  Lord  forbid 
it.  Let  thy  love  constrain  us,  let  thy  name 
be  glorified,  and  thy  will  be  done  by  us  and 
in  us.  Let  us  count  all  things  loss  and 
dung  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  Let  us  not  desire 
any  thing  thou  seest  fit  to  withhold,  nor  re- 
pine to  part  with  what  thou  callest  for  ;  nor 
even  take  pleasure  in  what  thou  bestowest, 
unless  we  can  improve  it  for  thee,  and  ever 
prefer  thy  love  above  our  chief  temporal  joy  ! 
Such  is  the  language  of  the  heart  that  is 
blessed  with  gospel-simplicity.  It  was  once 
the  stronghold  of  sin,  the  throne  of  self:  but 
now  self  is  cast  down,  and  Jesus  rules  by  the 
golden  sceptre  of  love.  This  principle  pre- 
serves the  soul  from  low,  sordid,  and  idola- 
trous pursuits,  will  admit  of  no  rival  near  the 
Beloved,  nor  will  it  yield  either  to  the  bribes 
or  threats  of  the  world. 

There  is  likewise  a  simplicity  of  dependence. 
Unbelief  is  continually  starting  objections, 
magnifying  and  multiplying  difficulties.  But 
faith  in  the  power  and  promises  of  God,  in- 
spires a  noble  simplicity,  and  casts  every  care 
upon  him,  who  is  able,  and  has  engaged  to 
support  and  provide.  Thus,  when  Abraham, 
at  the  Lord's  call,  forsook  his  country  and 
his  father's  house,  the  apostle  observes,  "  He 
went  out,  not  knowing  whether  he  went."  It 
was  enough  that  he  knew  whom  he  followed. 
Ibe  all-sufficient  God  was  his  guide,  his  shield, 
and  his  exceeding  great  reward.  So,  when 
exercised  with  long  waiting  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  promise,  he  staggered  not, 
c'v  'itiKoiSn,  he  did  not  dispute  or  question,  but 
simply  depended  upon  God,  who  had  spoken 
and  was  able  also  to  perform.  So  likewise, 
when  he  received  that  hard  command,  to  offer 
up  his  son,  of  whom  it  was  said,  "  In  Isaac 
shall  thy  seed  be  called,"  he  simply  obeyed, 
and  depended  upon  the  Lord  to  make  good  his 
own  word,  Heb.  xi.  17,  18,  19.  In  this  spirit 
David  went  forth  to  meet  Goliah,  and  over- 
came him  ;  and  thus  the  three  worthies  were 
unawed  by  the  threats  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
and  rather  chose  to  be  cast  into  a  burning  fur. 
nace,  than  to  sin  against  the  Lord.  And  thus 
Elijah,  in  a  time  of  famine,  was  preserved 
from  anxiety  and  want,  and  supported  by  ex- 
traordinary methods,  1  Kings  xvii.  4,  6,  14. 
In  these  times  we  do  not  expect  miracles,  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  word,  but  they  who  simply 
depend  upon  the  Lord,  will  meet  with  such 
tokens  of  his  interposition  in  a  time  of  need, 
as  will,  to  themselves  at  least,  be  a  satisfying 


proof  that  he  careth  for  them.  How  comfort- 
able is  it  to  us,  as  well  as  ornamental  tc  our 
profession,  to  be  able  to  trust  the  Lord  in  the 
path  of  duty  ;  to  believe  that  he  will  supply 
our  wants,  direct  our  steps,  plead  our  cause, 
and  controul  our  enemies !  Thus  he  has  pro- 
mised, and  it  belongs  to  gospel-simplicity  to 
take  his  word  against  all  discouragements. 
This  will  animate  us  in  the  use  of  all  lawful 
means,  because  the  Lord  has  commanded  us 
to  wait  upon  him  in  them  ;  but  it  will  like- 
wise inspire  confidence  and  hope  when  all 
means  seem  to  fail,  Hab.  iii,  17,  18.  For 
want  of  this  dependence,  many  dishonour  their 
profession,  and  even  make  shipwreck  of  the 
faith.  Their  hearts  are  not  simple ;  they  do 
not  trust  in  the  Lord,  but  lean  unto  their  own 
understandings,  and  their  hopes  or  fears 
are  influenced  by  worms  like  themselves. 
This  causes  a  duplicity  of  conduct.  They  fear 
the  Lord  and  serve  other  gods.  By  their 
language,  at  some  times,  one  would  suppose, 
they  desire  to  serve  the  Lord  only  ;  but,  as  if 
they  feared  that  he  was  not  able  to  protect  or 
provide  for  them,  they  make  a  league  with 
the  world,  and  seek  either  security  or  advan- 
tage from  sinful  compliances.  These  cannot 
rejoice  in  the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience. 
They  must  live  miserably.  They  are  attempt- 
ing to  reconcile  what  our  Lord  has  declared 
to  be  utterly  incompatible,  the  service  of  God 
and  mammon.  They  have  so  much  sense 
of  religion  as  embitters  their  worldly  pursuits  ; 
and  so  much  regard  to  the  world  as  prevents 
their  receiving  any  real  comfort  from  reli- 
gion. These  are  the  lukewarm  professors, 
neither  hot  nor  cold ;  neither  approved  of 
men  nor  accepted  of  God.  They  can  attend 
upon  ordinances,  and  speak  like  christians  ; 
but  their  tempers  are  unsanctirted,  and  their 
conduct  irregular  and  blameable.  They  are 
not  simple ;  and  therefore  they  cannot  be 
sincere. 

I  need  not  take  time  to  prove,  that  the  ef- 
fect of  simplicity  will  be  sincerity.  For  they 
who  love  the  Lord  above  all,  who  prefer  the 
light  of  his  countenance  to  thousands  of  gold 
and  silver,  who  are  enabled  to  trust  him  with 
all  their  concerns,  and  would  rather  be  at  his 
disposal  than  at  their  own,  will  have  but  little 
temptation  to  insincerity.  The  principles  and 
motives  upon  which  their  conduct  is  formed, 
are  the  same  in  public  as  in  private.  Their 
behaviour  will  be  all  of  a  piece,  because  they 
have  but  one  design.  They  will  speak  the 
truth  in  love,  observe  a  strict  punctuality  in 
their  dealings,  and  do  unto  others  as  they 
would  others  should  do  unto  them  ;  because 
these  things  are  essential  to  their  great  aim  ot 
glorifying  and  enjoying  their  Lord.  A  fear 
of  dishonouring  his  name,  and  of  grieving 
his  Spirit,  will  teach  them  not  only  to  avoid 
gross  and  known  sins,  but  to  abstain  from  all 
appearance  of  evil.  Their  conduct  will  there- 
fore be  consistent;  and  they  will  be   enabled 


90 


ON  COMMUNION   WITH  GOD. 


LET.  XXIV 


to  appeal  to  all  who  know  them,  "  that  in  sim- 
plicity and  godly  sincerity,  not  in  fleshly  wis- 
dom, but  by  the  grace  of  God,  they  have  had 
their  conversation  in  the  world." 

To  a  sincere  christian,  that  craft  and  cun- 
ning which  passes  for  wisdom  in  the  world, 
appears  to  be  not  only  unlawful  but  unneces- 
sary. He  has  no  need  of  the  little  reserves, 
evasions,  and  disguises,  by  which  designing 
men  endeavour  (though  often  in  vain)  to  con- 
ceal their  proper  characters,  and  to  escape  de- 
served contempt.  He  is  what  he  seems  to 
be,  and  therefore  is  not  afraid  of  being  found 
out.  He  walks  by  the  light  of  the  wisdom 
that  is  from  above,  and  leans  upon  the  arm  of 
almighty  power:  therefore  he  walks  at  liber- 
ty, trusting  in  the  Lord,  whom  he  serves  with 
his  spirit  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXIV. 

ON  COMMUNION  WITH  GOD. 
DEAR  SIK, 

Though  many  authors  have  written  largely 
and  well  concerning  communion  with  God,  I 
shall  not  refer  you  to  books,  or  have  recourse 
to  them  myself;  but  in  compliance  with  your 
request,  shall  simply  offer  you  what  occurs  to 
my  thoughts  upon  the  subject.  I  propose 
not  to  exceed  the  limits  of  a  sheet  of  paper, 
and  must  therefore  come  immediately  to  the 
point. 

That  God  is  to  be  worshipped,  is  generally 
acknowledged;  but  that  they  who  worship 
him  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  have  real  fellowship 
and  communion  with  him,  is  known  only  to 
themselves.  The  world  can  neither  understand 
nor  believe  it.  Many  who  would  not  be 
thought  to  have  cast  off  all  reverence  for  the 
scriptures,  and  therefore  do  not  chuse  flatly  to 
contradict  the  apostle's  testimony,  1  John  i. 
3.  attempt  to  evade  its  force  by  restraining  it 
to  the  primitive  times.  They  will  allow  that 
it  might  be  so  then  ;  but  they  pretend  that 
circumstances  with  us,  are  greatly  altered. 
Circumstances  are,  indeed,  altered  with  us, 
so  far,  that  men  may  now  pass  for  christians 
who  confess  and  manifest  themselves  strangers 
to  the  Spirit  of  Christ :  but  who  can  believe 
that  the  very  nature  and  design  of  Christianity 
should  alter  in  the  course  of  time  ?  And  that 
communion  with  God,  which  was  essential  to 
it  in  the  apostles  days,  should  now  be  so  un- 
necessary and  impracticable,  as  to  expose  all 
who  profess  an  acquaintance  with  it,  to  the 
charge  of  enthusiasm  and  folly  ?  However, 
they  who  have  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious, 
will  l  ot  be  disputed  out  of  their  spiritual 
senses.  If  they  are  competent  judges  whether 
they  ever  saw  the  light,  or  felt  the  beams  of 
the  sun,   they  are  no  less  certain  that,  by  the 


knowledge  of  the  gospel,  they  are  brought  in- 
to a  state  of  communion  with  God. 

Communion  presupposes  union.  By  nature 
we  are  strangers,  yea,  enemies  to  God  ;  but 
we  are  reconciled,  brought  nigh,  and  become 
his  children  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  We  can 
have  no  true  knowledge  of  God,  desire  to- 
wards him,  access  unto  him,  or  gracious  com- 
munications from  him,  but  in  and  through 
the  Son  of  his  love.  He  is  the  medium  of 
this  inestimable  privilege ;  for  he  is  the  way, 
the  only  way  of  intercourse  between  heaven 
and  earth  ;  the  sinner's  way  to  God,  and  God's 
way  of  mercy  to  the  sinner.  If  any  pretend 
to  know  God,  and  to  have  communion  with 
him,  otherwise  than  by  the  knowledge  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  whom  he  hath  sent,  and  by  faith  in 
his  name,  it  is  a  proof  that  they  neither  know 
God  nor  themselves.  God,  if  considered  ab- 
stracted from  the  revelation  of  himself  in  the 
person  of  Jesus,  is  a  consuming  fire;  and  if 
he  should  look  upon  us  without  respect  to  his 
covenant  of  mercy  established  in  the  Mediator, 
we  could  expect  nothing  from  him  but  indig- 
nation and  wrath.  But  when  his  Holy  Spi- 
rit enables  us  to  receive  the  record  which  he 
has  given  of  his  Son,  we  are  delivered  and  se- 
cured from  condemnation  :  we  are  accepted 
in  the  Beloved  ;  we  are  united  to  him  in  whom 
all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  substantially 
dwells,  and  all  the  riches  of  divine  wisdom, 
power,  and  love,  are  treasured  up.  Thus, 
in  him,  as  the  temple  wherein  the  glory  of 
God  is  manifested,  and  by  him,  as  the  repre- 
sentative and  high  priest  of  his  people,  and 
through  him,  as  the  living  head  of  his  mystical 
body  the  church,  believers  maintain  commu- 
nion with  God.  They  have  meat  to  eat  which 
the  world  knows  not  of,  honour  which  Com- 
eth of  God  only,  joy  which  a  stranger  inter- 
meddleth  not  with.  They  are,  for  the  most 
part,  poor  and  afflicted,  frequently  scorned  and 
reproached,  accountedhypocrites  or  visionaries, 
knaves  or  fools  ;  but  this  one  thing  makes  a- 
mends  for  all,  "  They  have  fellowship  with 
the  Father,  and  with  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ." 

I  would  observe  further,  that  as  the  incar- 
nation of  that  mighty  One,  on  whom  our  help 
is  laid,  was  necessary,  that  a  perfect  obedience 
to  the  law,  and  a  complete  and  proper  atone- 
ment for  sin,  might  be  accomplished  in  the 
human  nature  that  had  sinned,  and  fallen 
short  of  the  glory  of  God  ;  so  in  another  view 
it  affords  us  unspeakable  advantage  for  our 
comfortable  and  intimate  communion  with  God 
by  him.  The  adorable  and  awful  perfections 
of  Deity  are  softened,  if  I  may  so  speak,  and 
rendered  more  familiar  and  engaging  to  our 
apprehensions,  when  we  consider  them  as  re- 
sident in  him,  who  is  very  bone  of  our  bone, 
and  flesh  of  our  flesh ;  and  who,  having  by 
himself  purged  our  sins,  is  now  seated  on  the 
right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high,  and  reigns, 
in  the  nature  of  man,  over  all,  God  blessed 
for  ever.      Thus,  he  who  knows  our  frame  bv 


iET.  XXIV. 

becoming  man  like  ourselves,  is  the  supreme 
and  ultimate  object  of  that  philanthropy,  that 
human  affection  which  he  originally  implant- 
ed in  us.  He  has  made  us  susceptive  of  the 
endearments  of  friendship  and  relative  life  ; 
and  he  admits  us  to  communion  with  himself 
under  the  most  engaging  characters  and  re- 
lations, as  our  friend,  our  brother,  and  our 
husband. 

They  who,  by  that  faith  which  is  of  the 
operation  of  God,  are  thus  united  to  him  in 
Christ,  are  brought  thereby  into  a  state  of  real 
habitual  communion  with  him.  The  degree 
of  its  exercise  and  sensible  perception  on  our 
parts,  is  various  in  different  persons,  and  in 
the  same  person  at  different  times  ;  for  it  de- 
pends upon  the  communications  we  receive 
from  the  Lord  the  Spirit,  who  distributes  to  every 
man  severally  according  to  his  will,  adjusting 
his  dispensations  with  a  wise  and  merciful  re- 
spect to  our  present  state  of  discipline.  If  we 
were  wholly  freed  from  the  effects  of  a  de- 
praved nature,  the  snares  of  an  evil  world  ; 
and  the  subtle  temptations  of  Satan,  our  ac- 
tual communion  with  God  would  be  always 
lively,  sensible,  and  fervent.  It  will  be  thus 
in  heaven  :  there  its  exercise  will  be  without 
obstruction,  abatement,  or  interruption.  But 
so  long  as  we  are  liable  to  security,  spiritual 
pride,  indolence,  an  undue  attachment  to 
worldly  things,  and  irregular  distempered 
passions,  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  afford,  in- 
crease, suspend,  or  renew  the  sensible  im- 
pressions of  his  love  and  grace,  in  such  sea- 
sons and  measures  as  he  sees  most  suitable  to 
prevent  or  controul  these  evils,  or  to  humble  us 
for  them.  We  grieve  his  Spirit,  and  he  with- 
draws ;  but,  by  his  secret  power  over  our 
hearts,  he  makes  us  sensible  of  our  folly  and 
loss,  teaches  us  to  mourn  after  him,  and  to 
entreat  his  return.  These  desires,  which  are 
the  effects  of  his  own  grace,  he  answers  in  his 
own  time,  and  shines  forth  upon  the  soul  with 
healing  in  his  beams.  But  such  is  our  weak- 
ness, and  so  unapt  are  we  to  retain  even  those 
lessons  which  we  have  learned,  by  painful  expe- 
rience, that  we  are  prone  to  repeat  our  former 
miscarriages,  and  to  render  a  repetition  of  the 
same  changes  necessary.  From  hence  it  is, 
that  what  we  call  our  frames  are  so  very  va- 
riable, and  our  comfortable  sense  of  divine 
communion  is  rather  transient  than  abiding. 
But  the  communion  itself,  upon  which  the 
life  and  safety  of  our  souls  depend,  is  never 
totally  obstructed  ;  nor  can  it  be,  unless  God 
should  be  unmindful  of  his  covenant,  and  for- 
sake the  work  of  his  own  hands.  And  when 
it  is  not  perceptible  to  sense,  it  may  ordinari- 
ly be  made  evident  to  faith,  by  duly  compar- 
ing what  we  read  in  the  scriptures  with  what 
passes  in  our  hearts.  I  say  ordinarily,  be- 
cause there  may  be  some  excepted  cases.  If 
a  believer  is  unhappily  brought  under  the 
power  of  some  known  sin,  or  has  grievously 
and  notoriously  declined  from  his  profession, 


ON  COMMUNION  WITH   GOD. 


91 


it  is  possible  that  the  Lord  may  hide  himself 
behind  so  dark  a  cloud,  and  leave  him  for  a 
while  to  such  hardness  of  heart,  as  that  he  shall 
seem  to  himself  to  be  utterly  destitute  and 
forsaken.  And  the  like  apprehensions  may 
be  formed  under  some  of  Satan's  violent  temp- 
tations, when  he  is  permitted  to  come  in  as  a 
flood,  and  to  overpower  the  apparent  exercise 
of  every  gr;;ce  by  a  torrent  of  blasphemoiis 
and  evil  imaginations.  Yet  the  Lord  is  still 
present  with  his  people  in  the  darkest  hours, 
or  the  unavoidable  event  of  such  cases  would 
be  apostasy  or  despair.      Psalm  xli.  11. 

The  communion  we  speak  of  comprises  a 
mutual  intercourse  and  communication  in  love, 
in  counsels,  and  in  interests. 

In  love. — The  Lord,  by  his  Spirit,  mani- 
fests and  confirms  his  love  to  his  people.  For 
this  purpose  he  meets  them  at  his  throne  of 
grace,  and  in  his  ordinances.  There  he  makes 
himself  known  unto  them,  as  he  does  not  un- 
to the  world  :  causes  his  goodness  to  pass  be- 
fore them  ;  opens,  applies,  and  seals  to  them 
his  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises  ; 
and  gives  them  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  where- 
by, unworthy  as  they  are,  they  are  enabled  to 
cry,  "  Abba,  Father."  He  causes  them  to 
understand  that  great  love  wherewith  he  has 
loved  them,  in  redeeming  them  by  price  and 
by  power,  washing  them  from  their  sins  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  recovering  them  from 
the  dominion  of  Satan,  and  preparing  for 
them  an  everlasting  kingdom,  where  they 
shall  see  his  face,  and  rejoice  in  his  glory. 
The  knowledge  of  this  his  love  to  them,  pro- 
duces a  return  of  love  from  them  to  him. 
They  adore  him  and  admire  him  ;  they  make 
an  unreserved  surrender  of  their  hearts  to  him. 
Thev  view  him,  and  delight  in  him  as  their 
God,  their  Saviour,  and  their  portion.  They 
account  his  favour  better  than  life.  He  is  the 
sun  of  their  souls :  if  he  is  pleased  to  shine 
upon  them,  all  is  well,  and  they  are  not  great- 
ly careful  about  other  things  ;  but  if  he  hides 
his  face,  the  smiles  of  the  whole  creation  can 
afford  them  no  solid  comfort.  They  esteem 
one  day  or  hour  spent  in  the  delightful  con- 
templation of  his  glorious  excellencies,  and  in 
the  expression  of  their  desires  towards  him, 
better  than  a  thousand  ;  and  when  their  love 
is  most  fervent,  they  are  ashamed  that,  it  is 
so  faint,  and  chide  and  bemoan  themselves, 
that  they  can  love  him  no  more.  This  often 
makes  them  long  to  depart,  willing  to  leave 
their  dearest  earthly  comforts,  that  they  may 
see  him  as  he  is,  without  a  vail  or  cloud  ;  for 
they  know  that  then,  and  not  till  then,  they 
shall  love  him  as  they  ought. 

In  counsels. — The  secret  of  the  Lord  is 
with  them  that  fear  him.  He  deals  familiarly 
with  them.  He  calls  them  not  servants  only, 
but  friends ;  and  he  treats  them  as  friends. 
He  affords  them  more  than  promises  ;  for  he 
opens  to  them  the  plan  of  his  great  designs 
from  everlasting;  to   everlasting;  shews  them 


92 


OX   FAITH,    AXD  THE  COMMUXIOX   OF  SAINTS.       LET.  XXV. 


the  strong  foundations  and  inviolable  securi- 
ties of  his  favour  towards  them,  the  height, 
and  depth,  and  length,  and  breadth  of  his  love, 
which  passeth  knowledge,  and  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  his  grace.  He  instructs  them 
in  the  mysterious  conduct  of  his  providence, 
the  reasons  and  ends  of  all  his  dispensations 
in  which  they  are  concerned ;  and  solves  a 
thousand  hard  questions  to  their  satisfaction, 
which  are  inexplicable  to  the  natural  wisdom 
of  man.  He  teaches  them  likewise  the  beauty 
of  his  precepts,  the  path  of  their  duty,  and  the 
nature  of  their  warfare.  He  acquaints  them 
with  the  plots  of  their  enemies,  the  snares  and 
dangers  they  are  exposed  to,  and  the  best  me- 
thods of  avoiding  them.  And  he  permits  and 
enables  them  to  acquaint  him  with  all  their 
cares,  fears,  wants,  and  troubles,  with  more 
freedom  than  they  can  unbosom  themselves  to 
their  nearest  earthly  friends.  His  ear  is  al- 
ways open  to  them  ;  he  is  never  weary  of 
hearing  their  complaints,  and  answering  their 
petitions.  The  men  of  the  world  would  ac- 
count it  a  high  honour  and  privilege  to  have 
an  unrestrained  liberty  of  access  to  an  earthly 
king ;  but  what  words  can  express  the  privi- 
lege and  honour  of  believers,  who,  whenever 
they  please,  have  audience  of  the  King  of 
kings,  whose  compassion,  mercy,  and  power, 
are  like  his  majesty,  infinite.  The  world 
wonders  at  their  indifference  to  the  vain  pur- 
suits and  amusements  by  which  others  are  en- 
grossed ;  that  they  are  so  patient  in  trouble, 
so  inflexible  in  their  conduct,  so  well  satisfied 
with  that  state  of  poverty  and  obscurity  which 
the  Lord,  for  the  most  part,  allots  them  ;  but 
the  wonder  would  cease  if  what  passes  in  se- 
cret were  publicly  known.  They  have  obtain- 
ed the  pearl  of  great  price  ;  they  have  com- 
munion with  God  :  they  derive  their  wisdom, 
strength,  and  comfort,  from  on  high,  and  cast 
all  their  cares  upon  him  who,  they  assuredly 
know,  vouchsafes  to  take  care  of  them.  This 
reminds  me  of  another  branch  of  their  com- 
munion, namely, 

In  interests. — The  Lord  claims  them  for 
his  portion  ;  he  accounts  them  his  jewels  j  and 
their  happiness  in  time  and  eternity  is  the  great 
end  which,  next  to  his  own  glory,  and  in  inse- 
parable connection  with  it,  he  has  immediately 
and  invariably  in  view.  In  this  point  all  his 
dispensations  of  grace  and  providence  shall 
finally  terminate.  He  himself  is  their  guide 
and  their  guard :  he  keeps  them  as  the  apple 
of  his  eye  ;  the  hairs  of  their  heads  are  num- 
bered ;  and  not  au  event  in  their  lives  takes 
place  but  in  an  appointed  subserviency  to  their 
final  good.  And  as  he  is  pleased  to  espouse 
their  interest,  they,  through  grace,  are  de- 
voted to  his.  They  are  no  longer  their  own; 
they  would  not  be  their  own  ;  it  is  their  de- 
sire, their  joy,  their  glory,  to  live  to  him  who 
died  for  them.  He  has  won  their  hearts  by 
his  love,  and  made  them  a  willing  people  in 
the  day  of  his  power.    The  glory  of  his  name, 


the  success  of  his  cause,  the  prosperity  of  his 
people,  the  accomplishment  of  his  will,  these 
are  the  great  and  leading  objects  which  are 
engraven  upon  their  hearts,  and  to  which  all 
their  prayers,  desires,  and  endeavours,  are  di- 
rected. They  would  count  nothing  dear, 
not  even  their  lives,  if  set  in  competition  with 
these.  In  the  midst  of  their  afflictions,  if  the 
Lord  is  glorified,  if  sinners  are  converted,  if 
the  church  flourishes,  they  can  rejoice.  But 
when  iniquity  abounds,  when  love  waxes  cold, 
when  professors  depart  from  die  doctrines  of 
truth  and  the  power  of  godliness,  then  they 
are  grieved  and  pained  to  the  heart ;  then  thej 
are  touched  in  what  they  account  their  nearest 
interest,  because  it  is  their  Lord's. 

This  is  the  spirit  of  a  true  christian.  May 
the  Lord  increase  it  in  us,  and  in  all  who 
love  his  name.  I  have  room  only  to  sub- 
scribe myself,   &c. 


LETTER  XXV. 

ON  FAITH,  AND  THE  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS, 
DEAR  SIE, 

In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  freely 
give  you  my  sentiments  on  the  particulars  you 
desired.  Your  candour  will  pass  over  all  in- 
advertencies, when  I  give  you  such  thoughts 
as  ofFer  themselves  spontaneously,  and  with- 
out study.  If  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  bring 
any  thing  valuable  to  my  mind,  I  shall  be 
glad  to  send  it  to  you  ;  and  I  am  willing  to 
believe,  that  when  christians,  in  his  name  and 
fear,  are  writing  to  one  another,  he  does  of- 
ten imperceptibly  guide  us  to  drop  "  a  word 
[in  season,"  which,  I  hope,  will  be  the  case  at 
present, 

The  first  object  of  solicitude  to  an  awaken- 
ed soul,  is  safety.    The  law  speaks,  the  sinner 
hears  and  fears.     A  holy  God  is  revealed,  the 
sinner  sees  and  trembles.      Every  false  hope 
is  swept  away  ;  and  an  earnest  inquiry  takes 
place,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"      In 
proportion  as  faith  is  given,   Jesus  is   disco- 
|  vered  as  the  only  Saviour,  and  the  question  is 
'  answered ;    and  as   faith  increases,   fear  sub- 
sides, and  a  comfortable  hope  of  life  and  im- 
mortality succeeds. 

When  we  have  thus  "  a  good  hope  through 
grace,"  that  heaven  shall  be  our  home,  I 
think  the  next  inquiry  is,  or  should  be,  How 
i  we  may  possess  as  much  of  heaven  by  the  way 
as  is  possible  '  in  other  words,  How  a  life  of 
j  communion  with  our  Lord  and  Saviour  may 
be  maintained  in  the  greatest  power,  and  with 
the  least  interruption  that  is  consistent  with 
the  present  imperfect  state  of  things  ?  I  am 
persuaded,  dear  Sir,  this  is  the  point  that  lies 
nearest  your  heart ;  and,  therefore,  I  shall 
speak  freely  my  mind  upon  it. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  plain  from  scripture 


let.  XXV.     ON   FAITH,   AXD   THE   COMMUNION    OF  SAINTS. 


93 


and  experience,  that  all  our  abatements,  de-  I 
clensions,   and  languors,   arise  from  a  defect 
of  fa'th  ;    from  the  imperfect  manner  in  which 
we  take  up  the  revelation  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  scriptures.     If  our  apprehensions  [ 
of  him  were  nearly  suitable  to  the  characters  \ 
which  he  bears  in  his  own  word  ;   if  we  had  a 
strong   and   abiding   sense  of  his  power  and1 
grace   always   upon    our   hearts,     doubts   and 
complaints  would   cease.      This  would  make 
hard  things  easy,  and  bitter  things  sweet,  and 
dispose  our  hearts  with  cheerfulness  to  do  and 
suffer  the  whole  will  of  God ;  and  living  upon 
and  to  him,  as  our  wisdom,  righteousness,  sane- 
tification,  joy,  and  supreme  end,  we  should  live 
a  heaven  upon  earth.      The  face  of  the  ques- 
tion is,  therefore,  a  little  changed,  and  amounts 
to  this,  What  are  the  means  to  increase  and 
strengthen  our  faith  ? 

I  apprehend  that  the  growth  of  faith,  no 
less  than  of  all  other  graces,  of  which  failh  is 
the  root,  is  gradual,  and  ordinarily  effected  in 
the  use  of  appointed  means ;  yet  not  altogether  i 
arbitrary,  but  appointed  by  him  who  knows  { 
our  frame,  and  therefore  works  in  us,  in  a 
way  suited  to  those  capacities  he  has  endued 
us  with. 

1.  If  faith  arises  from  the  knowledge  of 
Christ,  and  this  knowledge  is  only  contained 
in  the  word  of  God,  it  follows,  that  a  careful 
and  frequent  perusal  of  the  scriptures,  which 
testify  of  him,  is  a  fit  and  a  necessary  means 
of  improving  our  faith. 

2.  If,  besides  the  outward  revelation  of 
the  word,  there  must  be  a  revelation  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  likewise,  whose  office  it  is  to 
take  of  the  things  of  Jesus,  and  shew  them  to  1 
the  soul,  by  and  according  to  the  written 
word,  John  xvi.  14;  2  Cor.  iii.  18;  and  if 
this  Spirit  is  promised  and  limited  to  those  who 
ask  it ;  then  it  follows  likewise,  that  secret 
prayer  is  another  necessary  means  of  strength- 
ening faith.  Indeed,  these  two  I  account  the 
prime  ordinances.  If  we  were  providentially, 
and  not  wilfully  restrained  from  all  the  rest, 
the  word  of  grace,  and  the  throne  of  grace, 
would  supply  their  wants.  With  these  we 
might  be  happy  in  a  dungeon  or  in  a  desert ; 
but  nothing  will  compensate  the  neglect  of 
these.  Though  we  should  be  engaged  in  a 
course  of  the  best  conversation,  and  attend  upon 
sermons  from  one  end  of  the  week  to  the  other, 
we  would  languish  and  starve  in  the  midst  of 
plenty ;  our  souls  would  grow  dry  and  lean, 
unless  these  secret  exercises  are  kept  up  with 
some  degree  of  exactness. 

3.  Another  means  to  this  purpose,  is 
faithfulness  to  light  already  received,  John 
xiv.  j  5 — 24,  especially  ver.  21.  It  is  worth 
observation,  that  faith  and  fidelity,  the  act  of 
dependence,  and  the  purpose  of  obedience, 
are  expressed  in  the  Greek  by  the  same  word. 
Though  the  power  is  all  of  God,  and  the 
blessing  of  mere  free  grace ;  yet,  if  there 
is   any  secret  reserve,  any  allowed  evil  con- 


nived at  in  the  heart  and  life,  this  will  shut 
up  the  avenues  to  comfort,  and  check  the 
growth  of  faith.  I  lay  very  little  stress  upon 
that  faith  or  comfort  which  is  not  affected  by 
unsteady  walking. 

The  experience  of  past  years  has  taught  me 
to  distinguish  between  ignorance  and  disobe- 
dience. The  Lord  is  gracious  to  the  weak- 
ness of  his  people:  many  involuntary  mis- 
takes will  not  interrupt  their  communion  with 
him ;  he  pities  their  infirmity,  and  teaches 
them  to  do  better.  But  if  they  dispute  his 
known  will,  and  act  against  the  dictates  of 
conscience,  they  will  surely  suffer  for  it.  This 
will  weaken  their  hands,  and  bring  distress 
into  their  hearts.  Wilful  sin  sadly  perplexes 
and  retards  our  progress.  May  the  Lord  keep 
us  from  it !  It  r  ises  a  dark  cloud,  and  bides 
the  Sun  of  righteousness  from  our  view ; 
and  till  he  is  pleased  freely  to  shine  forth 
again,  we  can  do  nothing ;  and  for  this,  per- 
haps, he  will  make  us  wait,  and  cry  out  often, 
"  How  long,  O  Lord  !   how  long?" 

Thus,  by  reading  the  word  of  God,  by  fre- 
quent prayer,  by  a  simple  attention  to  the 
Lord's  will,  together  with  the  use  of  pub- 
lic ordinances,  and  the  observations  we  are 
able  to  make  upon  what  passes  within  us  and 
without  us,  which  is  what  we  call  experience, 
the  Lord  watering  and  blessing  with  the  in- 
fluence of  his  Holy  Spirit,  may  we  grow  in 
grace,  and  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour,  be  more  humbled  in  our  own  eyes, 
more  weaned  from  self,  more  fixed  on  him  as 
our  all  in  all,  till  at  last  we  shall  meet  before 
his  throne. 

The  communion  of  saints,  another  point 
you  desire  my  thoughts  upon,  is  the  great 
privilege  of  all  the  children  of  God  :  they  may 
be  separate  from  each  other  in  body,  and  yet 
may  daily  meet  at  the  throne  of  grace.  This  is 
one  branch  of  the  communion  of  saints,  to  be 
present  in  spirit  to  each  other;  sharing  in  com- 
mon of  the  influences  of  the  same  Spirit,  they 
feel  the  same  desires,  aim  at  the  same  objects, 
and,  so  far  as  they  are  personally  acquainted, 
are  led  to  bear  each  other  upon  their  hearts  in 
prayer.  It  has  often  been  an  encouragement 
to  me  in  a  dark  and  dull  hour,  when  rather 
the  constraint  of  duty,  than  the  consideration 
of  privilege,  has  brought  me  upon  my  knees, 
to  reflect  how  many  hearts,  and  eyes,  and 
hands,  have  been  probably  lifted  up  in  the 
same  moment  with  mine.  This  thought  has 
given  me  new  courage.  O  what  a  great  fa- 
mily has  our  Father !  and  what  David  says 
of  the  natural,  is  true  of  the  spiritual  life, 
Psalm  civ.  "  These  all  wait  upon  thee,  that 
thou  mayest  give  them  their  meat  in  due  sea- 
son. That  thou  givest  them,  they  gather : 
thou  openest  thine  hand,  and  they  are  filled 
with  good."  Then  I  particularly  think  of 
those  who  have  been  helpful  to  me  in  time 
past;  the  seasons  of  sweet  communion  we 
have   enjoyed   together,    the  subject  i  of  ou' 


94 


ON  GOSPEL-ILLUMINATION. 


LET.  XXVI. 


mutual  complaints,  &c.  Where  are  they,  or 
how  engaged,  now  ?  Perhaps  this  moment 
praying,  or  thinking  about  me.  Then  I  am 
roused  to  make  their  cases  my  own,  and  by 
attempting  to  plead  for  them,  I  get  strength 
to  pray  for  myself.  It  is  an  encouragement, 
no  doubt,  in  a  field  of  battle,  to  know  that 
the  army  we  belong  to  is  large,  unanimous,  all 
in  action,  pressing  on  from  every  side  against 
the  common  enemy,  and  gaining  ground  in 
every  attack.  But  if  we  derive  fresh  spirits 
from  considering  our  friends  and  associates  on 
earth,  how  should  we  take  fire,  if  we  could 
penetrate  within  the  vail,  and  take  a  view  of 
the  invisible  world  !  We  should  not  then  com- 
plain that  we  were  serving  God  alone.  O  the 
numbers,  the  voices,  the  raptures,  of  that  hea- 
venly host  !  Not  one  compla.  .•*  note,  not 
one  discordant  string.  How  many  thousand 
years  has  the  harmony  been  strengthening,  by 
the  hourly  accession  of  new  voices  ! 

I  sometimes  compare  this  earth  to  a  tem- 
porary gallery  or  stage,  erected  for  all  the 
heirs  of  glory  to  pass  over,  that  they  may  join 
in  the  coronation  of  the  Great  King  !  a  solem- 
nity in  which  they  shall  not  be  mere  specta- 
tors, but  deeply  interested  parties  ;  for  he  is 
their  husband,  their  Lord ;  they  bear  his  name, 
and  shall  share  in  all  his  honours.  Right- 
eous Abel  led  the  van  ;  the  procession  has  been 
sometimes  broader,  sometimes  narrowed  to 
almost  a  single  person,  as  in  the  days  of  Noah. 
After  many  generations  had  successively  en- 
tered and  disappeared,  the  King  himself  pass- 
ed on  in  person,  preceded  by  one  chosen  har- 
binger. He  received  many  insults  on  his 
passage  ;  but  he  bore  all  for  the  sake  of  those 
he  loved,  and  entered  triumphant  into  his 
glory. 

He  was  followed  by  twelve  faithful  ser- 
vants, and  after  them  the  procession  became 
wider  than  ever.  There  are  many  yet  unborn 
who  must,  as  we  do  now,  tread  in  the  steps 
of  those  gone  before ;  and  when  the  whole 
company  is  arrived,  the  stage  shall  be  taken 
down  and  burnt. 


Then  all  the  faithful,  chosen  race 
Shall  meet  before  the  throne, 

Shall  bless  the  conduct  of  his  grace, 
And  make  its  wonders  known. 


Let  us  then,  dear  Sir,  be  of  good  courage ; 
all  the  saints  on  earth,  all  the  saints  in  hea- 
ven, the  angels  of  the  Lord,  yea,  the  Lord  of 
angels  himself,  all  are  on  our  side.  Though 
the  company  is  large,  yet  there  is  room ; 
there  are  many  mansions  ; — a  place  for  you  ; 
a  place,  I  trust,  for  worthless  me. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXVI. 

ON  THE  GRADUAL  INCREASE  OF    GOSPEL-ILLU- 
MINATION. 

DEAR  SIR, 

The  day  is  now  breaking:  how  beautiful  its 
appearance  !  how  welcome  the  expectation  of 
the  approaching  sun  !  It  is  this  thought 
makes  the  dawn  agreeable,  that  it  is  the  pre- 
sage of  a  brighter  light ;  otherwise,  if  we  ex- 
pect no  more  day  than  it  is  this  minute,  we 
should  rather  complain  of  darkness,  than  re- 
joice in  the  early  beauties  of  the  morning. 
Thus  the  life  of  grace  is  the  dawn  of  immor- 
tality ;  beautiful  beyond  expression,  if  com- 
pared with  the  night  and  thick  darkness  which 
formerly  covered  us,  yet  faint,  indistinct,  and 
unsatisfying,  in  comparison  of  the  glory  which 
shall  be  revealed. 

It  is,  however,  a  sure  earnest.  So  surely  as 
we  now  see  the  light  of  the  Sun  of  right- 
eousness, so  surely  shall  we  see  the  Sun  him- 
self, Jesus  the  Lord,  in  all  his  glory  and 
lustre.  In  the  mean  time,  we  have  reason  to 
be  thankful  for  a  measure  of  light  to  walk 
and  work  by,  and  sufficient  to  shew  us  the 
pits  and  snares  by  which  we  might  be  endan- 
gered ;  and  we  have  a  promise,  that  our  pre- 
sent light  shall  grow  stronger  and  stronger, 
if  we  are  diligent  in  the  use  of  the  appointed 
means,  till  the  messenger  of  Jesus  shall  lead 
us  within  the  vail,  and  then  farewell  shades 
and  obscurity  for  ever! 

I  can  now  almost  see  to  write,  and  shall 
soon  put  the  extinguisher  over  my  candle.  I 
do  this  without  the  least  reluctance,  when  I 
enjoy  a  better  light ;  but  I  should  have  been 
unwilling  half  an  hour  ago.  Just  thus,  me- 
thinks,  when  the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel 
shines  into  the  heart,  all  our  former  feeble 
lights,  our  apprehensions,  and  our  contri- 
vances, become  at  once  unnecessary  and  un- 
noticed. How  cheerfully  did  the  apostle  put 
out  the  candle  of  his  own  righteousness,  at- 
tainments, and  diligence,  when  the  true  Sun 
arose  upon  him  ?  Phil.  iii.  7,  8.  Your  last 
letter  is  as  a  comment  upon  his  determination. 
Adored  be  the  grace  that  has  given  us  to  be 
like-minded,  even  to  "  account  all  things  but 
loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

While  I  am  writing,  a  new  lustre,  which 
gilds  the  house  on  the  hill,  opposite  to  my 
study-window,  informs  me  that  the  sun  is  now 
rising  :  he  is  rising  to  others,  but  not  yet  to 
me ;  my  situation  is  lower,  so  that  they  enjoy 
a  few  gleams  of  sunshine  before  me  ;  yet  this 
momentary  difference  is  inconsiderable,  when 
compared  to  the  duration  of  a  whole  day. 
Thus,  some  are  called  by  grace  earlier  in  life, 
and  some  later;  but  the  seeming  difference 
will  be  lost  and  vanish  when  the  great  day  o( 


LET.   XXVII. 


ON   UNION  WITH    CHRIST. 


95 


eternity  comes  on.  There  is  a  time,  the 
Lord's  best  appointed  time,  when  he  will  a- 
rise  and  shine  upon  many  a  soul  that  now  sits 
"  in  darkness,  and  in  the  region  of  the  shadow 
of  death." 

I  have  been  thinking  on  the  Lord's  confer- 
ence with  Nicodemus  :  it  is  a  copious  subject, 
and  affords  room,  in  one  part  or  other,  for  the 
whole  round  of  doctrinal  or  experimental  to- 
pics. Nicodemus  is  an  encouraging  example 
to  those  who  are  seeking  the  Lord's  salvation. 
He  had  received  some  favourable  impressions 
of  Jesus  ;  but  he  was  very  ignorant,  and  much 
under  the  fear  of  man.  He  durst  only  come 
by  night,  and  at  first,  though  he  heard,  he 
understood  not ;  but  he,  who  opens  the  eyes 
of  the  blind,  brought  him  surely,  though  gent- 
ly, forward.  The  next  time  we  hear  of  him, 
he  durst  put  in  a  word  in  behalf  of  Christ, 
even  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies,  John  vii; 
and  at  last,  he  had  the  courage  openly  and 
publicly  to  assist  in  preparing  the  body  of  his 
Master  for  its  funeral,  at  a  time  when  our 
Lord's  more  avowed  followers  had  all  forsaken 
him,  and  fled.  So  true  is  that,  "  Then  shall 
ye  know,  if  ye  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord  ;" 
and  again,  "  He  giveth  power  to  the  faint ; 
and  to  them  that  have  no  might,  he  increaseth 
strength." 

Hope  then,  my  soul,  against  hope  :  though 
thy  graces  are  faint  and  languid,  he  who  plant- 
ed them,  will  water  his  own  work,  and  not 
suffer  them  wholly  to  die.  He  can  make  a 
little  one  as  a  thousand  ;  at  his  presence 
mountains  sink  into  plains,  streams  gush  out 
of  the  flinty  rock,  and  the  wilderness  blossoms 
as  the  rose.  He  can  pull  down  what  sin 
builds  up,  and  build  up  what  sin  pulls  down  ; 
that  which  was  impossible  to  us,  is  easy  to 
him,  and  he  has  bid  us  expect  seasons  of  re- 
freshment from  his  presence.  Even  so,  come, 
Lord  Jesus. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXVII. 

ON  UNION  WITH  CHRIST. 
DEAR  SIR, 

The  union  of  a  believer  with  Christ  is  so  in- 
timate, so  unalterable,  so  rich  in  privilege,  so 
powerful  in  influence,  that  it  cannot  be  fully 
represented  by  any  description  or  similitude 
taken  from  earthly  things.  The  mind,  like 
the  sight,  is  incapable  of  apprehending  a  great 
object,  without  viewing  it  on  different  sides. 
To  help  our  weakness,  the  nature  of  this 
union  is  illustrated  in  the  scriptures,  by  four 
comparisons,  each  throwing  additional  light 
on  the  subject,  yet  all  falling  short  of  the  thing 
signified. 

In  our  natural  state,  we  are  jeXi/Wf^svw  j»*m 
wsjfips^iva/,  driven  and   tossed   about  by  the 


changing  winds  of  opinion,  and  the  waves  of 
trouble,  which  hourly  disturb  and  threaten  us 
upon  the  uncertain  sea  of  human  life.  But 
faith,  uniting  us  to  Christ,  fixes  us  upon  a 
sure  foundation,  the  Rock  of  Ages,  where  we 
stand  immoveable,  though  storms  and  floods 
unite  their  force  against  us. 

By  nature  we  are  separated  from  the  divine 
life,  as  branches  broken  off,  withered  and 
fruitless.  By  grace,  through  faith,  unites  us 
to  Christ  the  living  vine,  from  whom,  as  the 
root  of  all  fulness,  a  constant  supply  of  sap 
and  influence  is  derived  into  each  of  his  my- 
stical branches,  enabling  them  to  bring  forth 
fruit  unto  God,  and  to  persevere  and  abound 
therein. 

By  nature  we  are  ervyrirtH  xtxi  picrovvris, 
hateful  and  abominable  in  the  sight  of  a  holy 
God,  and  full  of  enmity  and  hatred  towards 
each  other.  By  faith  uniting  us  to  Christ, 
we  have  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  and  joint  communion  among  ourselves  ; 
even  as  the  members  of  the  same  body  have 
each  of  them  union,  communion,  and  sympa- 
thy with  the  head,  and  with  their  fellow- 
members. 

In  our  natural  estate,  we  were  cast  out 
naked  and  destitute,  without  pity,  and  with- 
out help,  Ezek.  xvi.  ;  but  faith  uniting  us  to 
Christ,  interests  us  in  his  righteousness,  his 
riches,  and  his  honours.  Our  Redeemer  is 
our  husband  ;  our  debts  are  paid,  our  settle- 
ment secured,  and  our  names  changed. 

Thus  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  declaring  himself 
the  foundation,  root,  head,  and  husband  of  his 
people,  takes  in  all  the  ideas  we  can  frame  of 
an  intimate,  vital,  and  inseparable  union. 
Yet  all  these  fall  short  of  truth  ;  and  he  has 
civ-en  us  one  farther  similitude,  of  which  we 
can  by  no  means  form  a  just  conception,  till 
we  shall  be  brought  to  see  him  as  he  is  in  his 
kingdom,  John  xvii.  21.  "  That  they  all  may 
be  one,  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in 
thee  ;   that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us." 

Well  may  we  say,  What  hath  God  wrought ! 
How  inviolable  is  the  security,  how  inestim- 
able the  privilege,  how  inexpressible  the  hap- 
piness, of  a  believer  !  How  greatly  is  he  in- 
debted to  grace  !  He  was  once  afar  off,  but 
he  is  brought  nigh  to  God  by  the  blood  of 
Christ ;  he  was  once  a  child  of  wrath,  but  is 
now  an  heir  of  everlasting  life.  How  strong 
then  are  his  obligations  to  walk  worthy  of 
God,  who  has  called  him  to  his  kingdom  and 
glory  ! 

I  am,  &c. 


yG 


IN    WHAT  MANNER  WE  ARE 


LETTER  XXVIII. 

ANSWER  TO  THE  QUESTION,  IN  WHAT  MANNF.ll 
AUK  WE  TO  EXPECT  THE  LORD'S  PROMISED 
GUIDANCE,  TO  INFLUENCE  OUR  JUDGMENTS, 
AND  DIRECT  OUR  STEPS  IN  THE  PATH  OF 
DUTY  ? 

DEAR  SIR, 

Tt  is  well  for  those  who  are  duly  sensible  of 
their  own  weakness  and  fallahility,  and  of  the 
difficulties  with  which  they  are  surrounded  in 
life,  that  the  Lord  has  promised  to  guide  his 
people  with  his  eye,  and  to  cause  them  to 
hear  a  word  behind  them,  saying,  "  This  is 
the  way,  walk  ye  in  it,"  when  they  are  in  dan- 
ger of  turning  aside  either  to  the  right  hand 
or  to  the  left.  For  this  purpose  he  has  given 
us  the  written  word  to  be  a  lamp  to  our  feet ; 
and  encouraged  us  to  pray  for  the  teaching  of 
his  Holy  Spirit,  that  we  may  rightly  under- 
stand and  apply  it.  It  is,  however,  too  often 
seen,  that  many  widely  deviate  from  the  path 
of  duty,  and  commit  gross  and  perplexing 
mistakes,  while  they  profess  a  sincere  desire 
to  know  the  will  of  God,  and  think  they  have 
his  warrant  and  authority.  This  must  cer- 
tainly be  owing  to  misapplication  of  the  rule 
by  which  they  judge,  since  the  rule  itself  is 
infallible,  and  the  promise  sure.  The  scrip- 
tures cannot  deceive  us,  if  rightly  understood  ; 
but  they  may,  if  perverted,  prove  the  occasion 
of  confirming  us  in  a  mistake.  The  Holy 
Spirit  cannot  mislead  those  who  are  under  his 
influence  j  but  we  may  suppose  that  we  are  so, 
when  we  are  not.  It  may  not  be  unseason- 
able to  offer  a  few  thoughts  upon  a  subject  of 
great  importance  to  the  peace  of  our  minds, 
and  to  the  honour  of  our  holy  profession. 

Many  have  been  deceived  as  to  what  they 
ought  to  do,  or  in  forming  a  judgment  before- 
hand of  events  in  which  they  are  nearly  con- 
cerned, by  expecting  direction  in  ways  which 
the  Lord  has  not  warranted. — I  shall  men- 
tion some  of  the  principal  of  these,  for  it  is  not 
easy  to  enumerate  them  all. 

Some  persons,  when  two  or  more  things 
have  been  in  view,  and  they  could  not  imme- 
diately determine  which  to  prefer,  have  com- 
mitted their  case  to  the  Lord  by  prayer,  and 
have  then  proceeded  to  cast  lots  ;  taking  it  for 
granted,  that  after  such  a  solemn  appeal,  the 
turning  up  of  the  lot  might  be  safely  rested  in 
as  an  answer  from  God.  It  is  true,  the  scrip- 
tures, and  indeed,  right  reason  assures  us,  that 
the  Lord  disposes  the  lot;  and  there  are  seve- 
ral cases  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament,  in 
which  lots  were  used  by  divine  appointment ; 
but  I  think  neither  these,  nor  the  chusing 
Matthias  by  lot  to  the  apostleship,  are  proper 
precedents  for  our  conduct.  In  the  division  of 
the  land  of  Canaan,  in  the  affair  of  Achan,  and 


LET.    XXVIII. 

in  the  nomination  of  Saul  to  the  kingdom,  re- 
course was  had  to  lots  by  God's  express  com- 
mand. The  instance  of  Matthias  likewise 
was  singular,  such  as  can  never  happen  again, 
namely,  the  choice  of  an  apostle,  who  would 
not  have  been  upon  a  par  with  the  rest,  who 
were  chosen  immediately  by  the  Lord,  unless 
He  had  been  pleased  to  interpose  in  some  ex- 
trordinary  way  ;  and  all  these  were  before  the 
canon  of  scripture  was  completed,  and  before 
the  full  descent  and  communication  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  was  promised  to  dwell  with 
the  church  to  the  end  of  time.  Under  the 
New- Testament  dispensation,  we  are  invited  to 
come  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace,  to  make 
our  request  known  to  the  Lord,  and  to  cast 
our  cares  upon  him :  but  we  have  neither 
precept  nor  promise,  respecting  the  use  of 
lots ;  and  to  have  recourse  to  them  without  his 
appointment,  seems  to  be  tempting  him  rather 
than  honouring  him,  and  to  savour  more  of 
presumption  than  dependence.  The  effects 
likewise  of  this  expedient,  have  often  been  un- 
happy and  hurtful.  A  sufficient  proof  how 
little  it  is  to  be  trusted  to  as  a  guide  of  our 
conduct, 

Others,  when  in  doubt,  have  opened  the 
Bible  at  a  venture,  and  expected  to  find  some- 
thing to  direct  them,  in  the  first  verse  they 
should  cast  their  eye  upon.  It  is  no  small 
discredit  to  this  practice,  that  the  heathens 
who  knew  not  the  Bible,  used  some  of  their 
favourite  books  in  the  same  way  ;  and  ground- 
ed their  persuasions  of  what  they  ought  to  do, 
or  of  what  should  befal  them,  according  to  the 
passage  they  happened  to  open  upon.  Among 
the  Romans,  the  writings  of  Virgil  were  fre- 
quently consulted  upon  these  occasions  ;  which 
gave  rise  to  the  well-known  expression  of  the 
Sortes  Virgiliance.  And  indeed  Virgil  is  as 
well  adapted  to  satisfy  inquirers  in  this  way, 
as  the  Bible  itself ;  for  if  people  will  be  go- 
verned by  the  occurrence  of  a  single  text  of 
scripture,  without  regarding  the  context,  or 
duly  comparing  it  with  the  general  tenor  of 
the  word  of  God,  and  with  their  own  circum- 
stances, they  may  commit  the  greatest  extrava- 
gances, expect  the  greatest,  impossibilities,  and 
contradict  the  plainest  dictates  of  common 
sense,  while  they  think  they  have  the  word  of 
God  on  their  side.  Can  the  opening  upon  2 
Samuel  vii.  S.  vhen  Nathan  said  unto  David. 
"  Do  all  that  is  in  thine  heart,  for  the  Lord  is 
with  thee,"  be  sufficient  to  determine  the  law- 
fulness or  expediency  of  actions  ?  Or  can  a 
glance  of  the  eye  upon  our  Lord's  words  to  the 
woman  of  Canaan,  Matthew  xv.  28.  "  Be  it  un- 
to thee  even  as  thou  wilt,"  amount  to  a  proof, 
that  the  present  earnest  desire  of  the  mind 
(whatever  it  may  be)  shall  be  surely  accom- 
plished ?  Yet  it  is  certain  that  matters,  big 
with  important  consequences,  have  befn  en- 
gaged in,  and  the  most  sanguine  expecta- 
tions formed,    upou  no   better  warrant    than 


LET.  XX VII I. 


TO   EXPECT  THE   DIVINE   GUIDANCE. 


S>7 


dipping  (as  it  is  called)  upon  a  text  of  scrip- 
ture. 

A  sudden  strong  impression  of  a  text,  that 
seems  to  have  some  resemblance  to  the  concern 
upon  the  mind,  has  been  accepted  by  many  as 
an  infallible  token  that  they  were  right,  and 
that  things  would  go  just  as  they  would  have 
them  ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  passage 
bore  a  threatening  aspect,  it  has  filled  them 
with  fears  and  disquietudes,  which  they  have 
afterwards  found  were  groundless  and  unne- 
cessary. These  impressions,  being  more  out 
of  their  power  than  their  former  method,  have 
been  more  generally  regarded  and  trusted 
to,  but  have  frequently  proved  no  less  de- 
lusive. It  is  allowed,  that  such  impressions 
of  a  precept  or  a  promise,  as  humble,  ani- 
mate, or  comfort  the  soul,  by  giving  it  a 
lively  sense  of  the  truth  contained  in  the 
words,  are  both  profitable  and  pleasant ;  and 
many  of  the  Lord's  people  have  been  in- 
structed and  supported  (especially  in  a  time  of 
trouble)  by  some  seasonable  word  of  grace  ap- 
plied and  sealed  by  his  Spirit  with  power  to 
their  hearts.  But  if  impressions  or  impulses 
are  received  as  a  voice  from  heaven,  directing 
to  such  particular  actions  as  could  not  be 
proved  to  be  duties  without  them,  a  person 
may  be  unwarily  misled  into  great  evils,  and 
gross  delusions ;  and  many  have  been  so. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  the  enemy  of  our  souls, 
if  permitted,  can  furnish  us  with  scriptures  in 
abundance  in  this  way,  and  for  these  pur- 
poses. 

Some  persons  judge  of  the  nature  and  event 
of  their  designs,  by  the  freedom  which  they 
find  in  prayer.  They  say,  they  commit  their 
ways  to  God,  seek  his  direction,  and  are  fa- 
voured with  much  enlargement  of  spirit ;  and 
therefore  they  cannot  doubt  but  what  they 
have  in  view  is  acceptable  in  the  Lord's  sight. 
I  would  not  absolutely  reject  every  plea  of  this 
kind,  yet  without  other  corroborating  evidence 
I  could  not  admit  it  in  proof  of  what  it  is 
brought  for.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  deter- 
mine when  we  have  spiritual  freedom  in  pray- 
er. Self  is  deceitful ;  and  when  our  hearts 
Are  much  fixed  and  bent  upon  a  thing,  this 
may  put  words  and  earnestness  into  our 
mouths.  Too  often  we  first  secretly  deter- 
mine for  ourselves,  and  then  come  to  ask 
counsel  of  God  j  in  such  a  disposition  we  are 
ready  to  catch  at  every  thing  that  may  seem 
to  favour  our  darling  scheme :  and  the  Lord, 
for  the  detection  and  chastisement  of  our  hy- 
pocrisy (for  hypocrisy  it  is,  though  perhaps 
hardly  perceptible  to  ourselves),  may  answer 
us  according  to  our  idols  ;  see  Ezekiel  xiv.  S, 
4.  Besides,  the  grace  of  prayer  may  be  in 
exercise,  when  the  subject-matter  of  the  pray- 
er may  be  founded  upon  a  mistake,  from  the 
intervention  of  circumstances  which  we  are 
unacquainted  with.  Thus,  I  may  have  a 
friend  in  a  distant  country  :  I  hope  he  is  alive, 
I   pray  for  him,    and  it  is  my  duty  so  to  do. 


The  Lord,  by  his  Spirit,  assists  his  people  in 
what  is  their  present  duty.  If  I  am  enabled 
to  pray  with  much  liberty  for  my  distant 
friend,  it  may  be  a  proof  that  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  is  pleased  to  assist  my  infirmities,  but 
it  is  no  proof  that  my  friend  is  certainly 
alive  at  the  time  I  am  praying  for  him  : 
and  if  the  next  time  I  pray  for  him  I  should 
find  my  spirit  straitened,  I  am  not  to  conclude 
that  my  friend  is  dead,  and  therefore  the 
Lord  will  not  assist  me  in  praying  for  him  any 
longer. 

Once  more,  a  remarkable  dream  has  some- 
times been  thought  as  decisive  as  any  of  the 
foregoing  methods  of  knowing  the  will  of  God. 
That  many  wholesome  and  seasonable  admo- 
nitions have  been  received  in  dreams,  I  willing- 
ly allow  ;  but  though  they  may  be  occasionally 
noticed,  to  pay  a  great  attention  to  dreams,  es- 
pecially to  be  guided  by  them,  to  form  our 
sentiments,  conduct  our  expectations  upon 
them,  is  superstitious  and  dangerous.  The 
promises  are  not  made  to  those  who  dream, 
but  to  those  who  watch. 

Upon  the  whole,  though  the  Lord  may  give 
to  some  persons,  upon  some  occasions,  a  hint 
or  encouragement  out  of  the  common  way, 
yet  expressly  to  look  for  and  seek  his  direction 
in  such  things  as  I  have  mentioned  is  unscrip- 
tural  and  ensnaring.  I  could  fill  many  sheets 
with  a  detail  of  the  inconveniences  and  evils 
which  have  followed  such  a  dependence,  within 
the  course  of  my  own  observation.  I  have 
seen  some  presuming  they  were  doing  God's 
service  while  acting  in  contradiction  to  his  ex- 
press commands.  I  have  known  others,  in- 
fatuated  to  believe  a  lie,  declaring  themselves 
assured,  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  of 
things  which,  after  all,  never  came  to  pass  ; 
and,  when  at  length  disappointed,  Satan  has 
improved  the  occasion  to  make  them  doubt  of 
the  plainest  and  most  important  truths,  and  to 
account  their  whole  former  experience  a  de- 
lusion. By  these  things  weak  believers  have 
been  stumbled,  cavils  and  offences  against  the 
gospel  multiplied,  and  the  ways  of  truth  evil 
spoken  of. 

But  how,  then,  may  the  Lord's  guidance 
be  expected  ?  After  what  has  been  premised 
negatively,  the  question  may  be  answered  in  a 
few  words.  In  general,  he  guides  and  di- 
rects his  people  by  affording  them,  in  answer 
to  prayer,  the  light  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  which 
enables  them  to  understand  and  to  love  the 
scriptures.  The  word  of  God  is  not  to  be 
used  as  a  lottery,  nor  is  it  designed  to  instruct 
us  by  shreds  and  scraps,  which,  detached  from 
their  proper  places,  have  no  determined  im- 
port, but  it  is  to  furnish  us  with  just  princi- 
ples, right  apprehensions,  to  reguLte  our 
judgments  and  affections,  and  thereby  to  in- 
fluence and  direct  our  conduct.  They  who 
study  the  scriptures,  in  an  humble  dependence 
upon  divine  teaching,  are  convinced  of  their 
own  weakness,  are  taught  to  make  a  true  cs 
O 


93 


ON  ROM.  VIII 


timate  of  every  thing  around  them,  are  gra- 
dually formed  into  a  spirit  of  submission  to  the 
will  of  God,  discover  the  nature  and  duties  of 
their  several  situations  and  relations  in  life, 
and  the  snares  and  temptations  to  which  they 
are  exposed.  The  word  of  God  dwells  richly 
in  them,  is  a  preservative  from  error,  a  light 
to  their  feet,  and  a  spring  of  strength  and 
consolation.  By  treasuring  up  the  doctrines, 
precepts,  promises,  examples,  and  exhorta- 
tions of  scripture  in  their  minds,  and  daily 
comparing  themselves  with  the  rule  by  which 
they  walk,  they  grow  into  a  habitual  frame 
of  spiritual  wisdom,  and  acquire  a  gracious 
taste,  which  enables  them  to  judge  of  right 
and  wrong  with  a  degree  of  readiness  and 
certainty,  as  a  musical  ear  judges  of  sounds  ; 
and  they  are  seldom  mistaken,  because  they 
are  influenced  by  the  love  of  Christ  which 
rules  in  their  hearts,  and  a  regard  to  the  glory 
of  God,  which  is  the  great  objects  they  have 
in  view. 

In  particular  cases  the  Lord  opens  and 
shuts  for  them,  breaks  down  walls  of  difficulty 
which  obstruct  their  path,  or  hedges  up  their 
way  with  thorns,  when  they  are  in  danger  of 
going  wrong,  by  the  dispensations  of  his  pro- 
vidence. They  know  that  their  concernments 
are  in  his  hands ;  they  are  willing  to  follow 
whither  and  when  he  leads,  but  are  afraid  of 
going  before  him.  Therefore  they  are  not 
impatient.  Because  they  believe,  they  will 
not  make  haste,  but  wait  daily  upon  him  in 
prayer  j  especially  when  they  find  their  hearts 
most  engaged  in  any  pcirpose  or  pursuit,  they 
are  most  jealous  of  being  deceived  by  appear- 
ances, and  dare  not  move  farther  or  faster  than 
they  can  perceive  his  light  shining  upon  their 
paths.  I  express  at  least  their  desire,  if  not 
their  attainment :  thus  they  would  be.  And 
though  there  are  seasons  when  faith  languishes, 
and  self  too  much  prevails,  this  is  their  ge- 
neral disposition,  and  the  Lord,  whom  they 
serve,  does  not  disappoint  their  expectations; 
he  leads  them  by  a  right  way,  preserves  them 
from  a  thousand  snares,  and  satisfies  them 
that  he  is  and  will  be  their  guide  even  unto 
.eath. 

1  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXIX. 

THOUGHTS  ON  ROM.  VIII.    19,   20,  21. 
DEAR  SIR, 

The  apostle  evidently  introduces  this  passage 
in  confirmation  of  what  he  had  said  before, 
ver.  17,  18.  The  privileges  of  the  children  of 
God  are  not  only  great,  but  sure.  Every 
thing  we  see  confirms  our  expectation  of 
what  God  has  promised.  The  whole  frame 
of  nature,  in  its  present  state  of  imperfection, 


.    19,   20,  21.  LET.  XXIX. 

strongly  pleads  for  a  future  and  better  dispen- 
sation, as  necessary  to  vindicate  the  wisdom, 
goodness,  and  justice  of  God  ;  and  this  shall 
take  place  when  the  sons  of  God  shall  be  ma- 
nifested, and  shall  shine  forth  in  the  kingdom 
of  their  Father.  It  would  be  injurious  to 
the  honour  of  God  to  suppose  that  things 
were  at  first  created  in  the  state  they  are 
now  in,  or  that  they  will  always  continue  so, 
and  therefore  the  creature,  which  was  origi- 
nally designed  to  show  forth  the  glory  of  God, 
is  represented  as  burdened  and  groaning  ti" 
those  impediments  are  removed  which  preven. 
it  from  fully  answering  its  proper  end. 

Dr.  Guyse's  proposal  of  reading  the  20th 
verse  (the  words  in  hope  excepted)  in  a  pa- 
renthesis, seems  greatly  to  free  the  sense  from 
embarrassment.  Then  the  proposition  in  the 
19th  and  21st  verses  will  be,  "  The  earnest 
expectation  of  the  creature  waiteth  in  hope 
for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God  ;  be- 
cause then  the  creature  also  shall  be  delivered 
from  the  bondage  of  corruption,"  &c.  The 
20th  verse  expresses  the  creature's  present 
state,  "  It  is  subject  to  vanity  ;"  and  intimates 
the  cause,  "  Not  willingly,  but  by  reason  of 
him  who  hath  subjected  the  same." 

By  the  creature  some  understand  mankind, 
as  the  word  is  used  Mark  xvi.  1 5  ;  and  it  is 
certain  that,  partly  from  imperfect  tradition, 
and  partly  from  a  general  rumour  of  the  pro- 
phecies  extant  among  the  Jews,  the  heathens 
had  some  confused  apprehension  of  a  deliverer 
from  misery  ;  agreeably  to  which,  or  rather  on 
account  of  their  need  of  a  saviour,  whether 
they  knew  it  or  not,  Christ  is  styled  ;'  the  de- 
sire of  all  nations."  But  this  does  not  seem  to 
be  the  sense ;  because  the  creature  here  is  said 
to  be  subject  to  vanity,  not  willingly,  and  is 
represented  as  groaning,  travailing,  and  long- 
ing (ver.  22.)  for  deliverance.  But  it  is  so 
far  from  being  the  concurrent  desire  of  all 
mankind,  or  indeed  the  desire  of  any  single 
person,  to  obtain  freedom  from  the  bondage 
of  sin,  that  we  are  naturally  pleased  with  it, 
and  yield  a  willing  subjection.  Besides,  the 
period  referred  to  is  beyond  the  present  life, 
and  intends  not  a  partial  relief  here,  but  a 
full  deliverance  hereafter.  It  seems,  there- 
fore, that  creature,  in  these  verses,  and  crea- 
tion, in  ver.  22,  as  they  are  both  expressed  by 
the  same  word  in  the  Greek,  are  to  be  taken 
in  the  same  sense.  The  whole  frame  of  this 
lower  world,  which  is  now  subject  to  vanity  on 
account  of  the  sin  of  man,  is  represented  as 
longing  and  waiting  for  deliverance. 

The  word  d-roxa^ahnKiix,  which  we  render 
"  earnest  expectation,"  is  very  emphatical ;  it 
imports  a  raising  up  or  thrusting  forward  the 
head,  as  persons  who  are  in  suspense  for  the 
return  of  a  messenger,  or  the  issue  of  some  in- 
teresting event.  Compare  Judges  v.  28,  Luke 
xxi.  28.  It  occurs  but  once  more  in  the  New 
Testament,  Phil,  i,  20,  where  the  apostle 
describing,  in  one  view,  the  confidence  o 


LET.  XXIX. 

hope  and  the  many  conflicts  and  oppositions 
which  were  the  daily  exercise  of  his  faith. 

Now  it  is  a  frequent  beauty  in  the  scripture 
language  to  apply  human  affections  to  the  in- 
animate creation,  and  these  expressions  are  to 
be  taken  in  a  figurative  sense,  as  denoting  the 
importance  and  evidence  of  what  is  said.  See 
Gen.  iv.  11,  Is.  i.  2,  Luke  xix.  40.  The 
"  earnest  expectation  of  the  creature,"  there- 
fore, teaches  us  two  things,  the  weight  and 
burden  of  the  evils  under  which  the  world 
groans,  and  the  sure  purpose  of  God  to  re- 
store all  things  by  Jesus  Christ.  There  is  a 
period  approaching  when  all  that  is  now  rough 
and  crooked  shall  be  made  plain  and  straight. 
The  Lord  has  promised  it,  and  therefore  all 
his  works  are  represented  as  expecting  and 
waiting  for  it. 

This  shall  be  at  "the  manifestation  of  the  sons 
of  God."  They  are  now  hidden,  unknown, 
unnoticed,  and  misrepresented,  for  the  most 
part.  Their  life  is  in  many  respects  hidden 
from  themselves,  and  their  privileges  altoge- 
ther hidden  from  the  world ;  but  ere  long 
they  will  be  manifested,  their  God  will  openly 
acknowledge  them,  every  cloud  by  which  they 
are  now  obscured  shall  be  removed,  and  they 
shall  shine  like  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of 
their  Father.  They  have  now  a  gracious  li- 
berty ;  they  are  freed  from  condemnation, 
from  the  power  of  sin,  from  the  law  as  a  co- 
venant of  works,  from  the  yoke  of  carnal  or- 
dinances, from  the  traditions  and  inventions 
of  men,  and  from  the  spirit  of  bondage ;  yet 
they  suffer  much  from  indwelling  sin,  the 
temptations  of  Satan,  and  their  situation  in  a 
wicked  and  ensnaring  world.  But  they  are 
animated  with  the  hope  of  a  glorious  liberty, 
when  every  evil,  imperfection,  and  abatement 
shall  cease,  when  they  shall  be  put  in  the  full 
possession  of  a  happiness  answerable  to  the 
riches  of  divine  love  and  the  efficacy  of  the 
blood  and  mediation  of  Jesus,  and  then  the 
curse  shall  be  fully  removed  from  the  creation  ; 
the  Lord  shall  create  all  things  new,  and  again 
pronounce  all  things  good.  When  they  are 
thus  manifested,  the  creature's  expectation 
shall  be  answered ;  it  shall  be  restored  to  its 
honour  and  use.  Under  what  circumstances, 
and  to  what  particular  purposes,  this  change 
will  take  place  we  know  not,  but  a  change 
worthy  of  divine  wisdom,  though  beyond  the 
limits  of  our  weak  apprehensions,  we  are  war- 
ranted from  scripture  to  expect.  It  is  as- 
serted in  this  passage,  to  which,  perhaps,  we 
may  properly  add  2  Pet.  iii.  13,  Rev.  xxi.  1. 
It  would  be  easy  to  indulge  in  vain  conjec- 
tures upon  this  subject,  but  it  is  more  safe  to 
restrain  them,  and  to  content  ourselves  with 
what  is  clearly  revealed.  The  hour  is  coming 
when  all  difficulties  shall  be  explained,  when 
the  mysterious  plan  of  divine  providence  shall 
be  unfolded,  vindicated,  and  completed  ;  then 
it  shall  appear  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  head  and  restorer  of  the  creation,  and  how 


ON  ROM.  VIII.    19,  20,  21. 


99 


fully,  in  every  sense,  he  has  repaired  the  ruin 
brought  into  the  world  by  sin,  and  destroyed 
the  works  of  the  devil. 

In  the  meantime,  the  sons  of  God  groan, 
waiting  for  their  adoption,  and  the  creation 
groans  with  them  At  present  it  is  subject 
to  vanity.  Its  original  design  was  to  fulfil 
the  will,  and  to  set  forth  the  glory  of  God  ; 
but,  by  the  sin  of  man,  it  is  disappointed  with 
respect  to  these  ends,  not  absolutely,  for  still 
the  heavens  declare  his  glory  and  the  earth  is 
full  of  his  goodness,  but,  with  regard  to  out- 
ward appearances,  there  is  a  great  abatement 
in  both  these  respects.  We  may  instance  a 
few  particulars  in  which  the  creature  is  abused 
and  oppressed,  contrary  to  the  design  of  its 
creation. 

The  creature  was  intended  to  show  forth 
the  glory  of  God ;  but  here  it  has  been  dis- 
appointed, and  has  groaned,  being  burdened 
in  all  ages.  Vain  man  has  always  been  dis- 
posed to  serve  and  worship  the  creature  more 
than  the  Creator.  The  whole  world  formerly, 
except  the  Jews,  were  sunk  in  idolatry,  pay- 
ing divine  honours  to  the  sun  and  moon,  yea, 
to  stocks  and  stones ;  and  a  great  part  of  the 
earth  is  to  this  moment  covered  with  the  same 
darkness.  When  this  is  the  case,  the  creature 
groans  under  vanity,  being  perverted  directly 
contrary  to  its  proper  end  ;  and  there  is  an- 
other idolatry,  if  not  so  gross,  yet  in  us  more 
inexcusable,  by  which  the  generality  of  those 
who  bear  the  name  of  christians  are  no  less 
alienated  from  the  knowledge  and  love  of  the 
true  God,  than  the  heathens  themselves. 

Again,  the  creatures,  as  the  servants  of 
God,  are  properly  designed  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  his  children,  1  Cor  iii.  22,  Job  v. 
23.  This  great  end  is  indeed  finally  secured 
by  the  promise,  that  all  shall  work  together 
for  their  good ;  but  at  present  they  are  ex- 
posed to  great  sufferings ;  all  things  seem  to 
come  alike  to  all.  This,  on  the  Lord's  part, 
is  a  wise  and  gracious  appointment  for  the 
exercise  of  faith,  the  mortification  of  sin,  and 
the  advancement  of  sanctification  ;  but  still, 
in  itself,  it  is  a  vanity  under  which  the  crea- 
tion groans.  When  Jesus  was  crucified  in  per- 
son, the  sun  withdrew  his  light,  rocks  rent,  and 
the  earth  quaked.  There  is  a  proportionable 
constraint  upon  nature  when  he  suffers  in  his 
members.  Sometimes  this  part  of  the  vanity 
has  been  suspended,  as  in  the  case  of  Daniel 
and  his  companions  ;  and,  doubtless,  the  crea- 
tures would  in  general  reverence  the  Heir  of 
glory,  were  not  the  effects  of  sin  upon  them 
continued  for  wise  reasons.  They  were  subject 
to  man,  when  man  was  subject  to  his  Maker. 
At  present  there  is  an  apparent  inconsistence, 
when  beasts,  and  storms,  and  seas  rage  against 
those  whom  the  Creator  is  pleased  to  favour. 

Once  more,  the  creatures  of  God  might  be 
expected  to  engage  in  his  behalf  against  his 
enemies ;  but  it  is  subject  to  vanity  here  like- 
wise.     The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  yet  the  chief 


100  ON  ROM.  VIII.    19,  20,  21.  let.  xxix. 

parts  and  possessions  of  it  are  in  the  hands  of  by  water;  and  sin  at  last  shall  set  it  on  fire, 
those  who  hate  him  ;  yea,  his  enemies  employ  But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  appointed  a 
his  creatures  against  his  own  friends.  Surely,  if  people  to  himself  out  of  the  fallen  race.  Fbi 
the  secret  powerful  restraint  of  his  providence 


were  taken  off,  it  would  be  otherwise.  How 
ready  all  the  creatures  are  to  fight  in  the 
Lord's  cause,  if  he  please  to  employ  them,  we 
may  learn  from  the  history  of  Egypt,  in  Exo- 
dus, from  the  death  of  Dathan  and  Abiram, 
and  the  destruction  of  Sennacherib's  army. 
It  is  therefore  a  bondage  introduced  by  sin, 
and  under  which  they  groan,  that  they  are 
compelled  to  prolong  the  lives  and  serve  the 
occasions  of  ungodly  sinners. 

The  effect  being  manifest,  that  the  creature 
is  subject  to  vanity,  the  apostle  briefly  inti- 
mates the  cause:  "Not  willingly."  The 
creature,  considered  in  itself,  is  not  in  fault. 
All  things  were  created  good  in  the  beginning, 
and  in  themselves  are  good  still.  Not  the 
fault,  but  the  perversion  and  subjection  of  the 
creature,  are  here  complained  of.  A  beauty, 
variety,  and  order  in  the  works  of  God  are 
still  discernible,  sufficient  to  fill  an  attentive 
and  enlightened  mind  with  wonder,  love,  and 
praise  ;  though  it  must  be  allowed,  that  sin 
has  not  only  alienated  our  hearts,  and  disabled 
our  faculties,  so  that  we  cannot  rightly  con- 
template God  and  his  works,  but  has  likewise 
occasioned  a  considerable  alteration  in  the  vi- 
sible state  of  things.  One  instance  is  expressly 
specified,  Gen.  iii.  16. 

The  positive  cause  is  ascribed  to  "  him  who 
has  subjected  the  same."  These  words  may 
bear  three  different  senses  in  agreement  with 
the  current  doctrine  of  the  scriptures.  The 
prime  author  of  the  mischief  was  Satan.  Full 
of  malice  and  enmity  against  God  and  his 
creatures,  he  attempted  to  bring  evil  into  this 
lower  world,  and  was  permitted  to  succeed; 
the  Lord  purposing  to  over -rule  it  to  his  own 
glory.  But,  for  a  season,  the  work  of  the  de- 
vil has  been  to  introduce  and  maintain  a  sad 
scene  of  vanity  and  misery.  Our  first  father 
Adam  was  the  direct  and  immediate  cause  of 
the  entrance  of  sin  and  vanity  into  the  crea- 
tion. He  was  created  upright,  and  all  things 
good  about  him  ;  but  he  listened  to  Satan, 
and  sinned,  and  by  his  sin 

Brought  death  into  the  world,  and  all  our  woe  ; 

for  we  were  concerned  in  his  transgression,  as 
he  was  our  head,  both  in  nature  and  law. 
But  we  may  refer  the  him  to  God  ;  and 
this  seems  best  to  suit  the  apostle's  design 
here.  God,  the  righteous  judge,  subjected 
the  creature  to  vanity,  as  the  just  consequence 
and  desert  of  man's  disobedience.  But  he 
has  subjected  it  in  hope  ;  with  a  reserve  in  fa- 
vour of  his  own  people,  by  which,  though  they 
are  liable  to  trouble,  they  are  secured  from 
the  penal  desert  of  sin,  and  the  vanity  of  the 
creature  is,  by  his  wisdom,  over-ruled  to  wise 
and  gracious  purposes.  The  earth,  and  all  in 
it,  was  made  for  the  sake  of  man  ;  for  his  sin 
it  was  first  cursed,   and  afterwards  destroyed 


their  sakes,  and  as  a  theatre  whereon  to  dis- 
play the  wonders  of  his  providence  and  grace, 
it  was  renewed  after  the  flood,  and  still  con- 
tinues, but  not  in  its  original  state  ;  there  are 
marks  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  of  God's  displea- 
sure against  it,  wherever  we  turn  our  eyes. 
This  truth  is  witnessed  to  by  every  thing  with- 
out us,  and  within  us.  But  there  shall  be  a 
deliverance  to  those  who  fear  him  ;  and  by  his 
word  and  Spirit,  he  teaches  them  to  receive 
instruction  and  benefit  even  from  this  root  of 
bitterness.  Even  now  they  are  the  sons  of 
God  ;  but  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  they 
will  be  when  he  shall  appear,  and  be  admired 
in  all  them  that  believe.  Then  they  shall  be 
manifested,  and  then  the  creature  also  shall 
be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption. 
How  blind,  then,  are  they  who  expect  hap- 
piness from  the  creature,  which  is  itself  sul>- 
ject  to  vanity,  and  who  are  meanly  content 
with  the  present  state  of  things  ?  It  is  because 
they  are  estranged  from  God,  have  no  sense 
of  his  excellency,  no  regard  for  his  glory,  no 
knowledge  of  their  own  proper  good.  They 
are  farther  removed  from  the  desires  they 
ought  to  have,  in  their  present  circumstances, 
than  the  brute  creation,  or  the  very  ground 
they  walk  on  ;  for  all  things  but  man  have  an 
instinct,  or  natural  principle  to  answer  the 
end  for  which  they  were  appointed.  Fire 
and  hail,  wind  and  storm,  fulfil  the  word  of 
God,  though  we  poor  mortals  dare  to  disobey 
it.  But  if  the  secret  voice  of  the  whole  crea- 
tion desires  the  consummation  of  all  things, 
surely  they  who  have  the  light  of  God's  word 
and  Spirit  will  look  forward,  and  long  for 
that  glorious  day.  Amen,  even  so,  come, 
Lord  Jesus ! 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXX. 

ON  THE  RIGHT  USE  OF  THE  LAW. 
DEAR  SIR, 

You  desire  my  thoughts  on  1  Tim.  i.  8.  "  We 
know  the  law  is  good  if  a  man  use  it  lawful- 
ly," and  I  willingly  comply.  I  do  not  mean 
to  send  you  a  sermon  on  the  text ;  yet  a  little 
attention  to  method  may  not  be  improper  up- 
on this  subject,  though  in  a  letter  to  a  frit  rid. 
Ignorance  of  the  nature  and  design  of  the 
law  is  at  the  bottom  of  most  religious  mis- 
takes. This  is  the  root  of  self-righteousness, 
the  grand  reason  why  the  gospel  of  Christ  is 
no  more  regarded,  and  the  cause  of  that  un- 
certainty and  inconsistency  in  many,  who, 
though  they  profess  themselves  teachers,  un- 
derstand not  what  they  say,  nor  whereof  they 
affirm.  If  we  previously  state  what  is  meant 
by  the  law,  and  by  what  means  we  know  the 


LET.  XXX. 


ON  THE  RIGHT   USE  OF  THE  LAW. 


101 


*aw  to  be  good,  I  think  it  will,  from  these  pre- 
uises,  be  easy  to  conclude  what  it  is  to  use 
the  law  lawfully. 

The  law,  in  many  passages  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, signifies  the  whole  revelation  of  the 
will  of  God,  as  in  Psalm  i.  2.  and  xix.  7. 
But  the  law,  in  a  strict  sense,  is  contradis- 
tinguished from  the  gospel.  Thus,  the  apos- 
tle considers  it  at  large  in  his  epistle  to  the 
Romans  and  Galatians.  7  think  it  is  evident, 
that,  in  the  passage  you  have  proposed,  the 
apostle  is  speaking  of  the  law  of  Moses. 
But,  to  have  a  clearer  view  of  the  subject,  it 
may  be  proper  to  look  back  to  a  more  early 
period. 

The  law  of  God,  then,  in  the  largest  sense, 
is  that  rule,  or  prescribed  course,  which  he  has 
appointed  for  his  creatures,  according  to  their 
several  natures  and  capacities,  that  they  ma)7 
answer  the  end  for  which  he  has  created  them. 
Thus  it  comprehends  the  inanimate  creation  : 
the  wind  and  storm  fulfil  his  word,  or  law.  He 
hath  appointed  the  moon  for  seasons  ;  and  the 
sun  knoweth  his  time  of  going  down,  and  go- 
ing forth,  and  performs  all  his  revolutions  ac- 
cording to  his  Maker's  pleasure.  If  we  could 
suppose  the  sun  was  an  intelligent  being,  and 
should  refuse  to  shine,  or  should  wander  from 
the  station  in  which  God  had  placed  him,  he 
would  then  be  a  transgressor  of  the  law.  But 
there  is  no  such  disorder  in  the  natural  world. 
The  law  of  God  in  this  sense,  or  what  many 
chuse  to  call  the  law  of  nature,  is  no  other 
than  the  impression  of  God's  power,  whereby 
all  things  continue  and  act  according  to  his  will 
from  the  beginning;  for  "he  spake,  and  it 
was  done  ;  he  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast." 

The  animals,  destitute  of  reason,  are  like- 
wise under  a  law;  that  is,  God  has  given 
them  instincts  according  to  their  several  kinds, 
for  their  support  and  preservation,  to  which 
they  invariably  conform.  A  wisdom  un- 
speakably superior  to  all  the  contrivance  of 
man  disposes  their  concernments,  and  is  visi- 
ble in  the  structure  of  a  bird's  nest,  or  the 
economy  of  a  bee-hive.  But  this  wisdom  is 
lestrained  within  narrow  limits;  they  act 
without  any  remote  design,  and  are  incapable 
either  of  good  or  evil  in  a  moral  sense. 

When  God  created  man,  he  taught  him 
more  than  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  and  made 
him  wiser  than  the  fowls  of  heaven.  He 
formed  him  for  himself,  breathed  into  him  a 
spirit  immortal  and  incapable  of  dissolution, 
gave  him  a  capacity  not  to  be  satisfied  with 
any  creature-good,  endued  him  with  an  under- 
standing, will,  and  affections,  which  qualified 
him  for  the  knowledge  and  service  of  his  Ma- 
ker, and  a  life  of  communion  with  him.  The 
law  of  God,  therefore,  concerning  man,  is  that 
rule  of  disposition  and  conduct  to  which  a 
creature  so  constituted  ought  to  conform  ;  so 
that  the  end  of  his  creation  might  be  answered 
and  the  wisdom  of  God  be  manifested  in  him 
and  by  him.      Man's  continuance  in    this   re- 


gular and  happy  state  was  not  necessary  as  it 
is  in  the  creatures,  who,  having  no  rational 
faculties,  have  properly  no  choice,  but  act  un- 
der the  immediate  agency  of  divine  power. 
As  man  was  capable  of  continuing  in  the  state 
in  which  he  was  created,  so  he  was  capable  of 
forsaking  it.  He  did  so,  and  sinned,  by  eat- 
ing the  forbidden  fruit.  We  are  not  to  sup- 
pose that  this  prohibition  was  the  whole  of  the 
law  of  Adam,  so  that  if  he  had  abstained  from 
the  tree  of  knowledge,  he  might,  in  other  re- 
spects, have  done  (as  we  say)  what  he  pleased. 
This  injunction  was  the  test  of  his  obedience  ; 
and  while  he  regarded  it,  he  could  have  no 
desire  contrary  to  holiness,  because  his  nature 
was  holy.  But  when  he  broke  through  it,  he 
broke  through  the  whole  law,  and  stood  guilty 
of  idolatry,  blasphemy,  rebellion,  and  murder. 
The  divine  light  in  his  soul  was  extinguished, 
the  image  of  God  defaced ;  he  became  like 
Satan,  whom  he  had  obeyed,  and  lost  his 
power  to  keep  that  law  which  was  connected 
with  his  happiness.  Yet,  still  the  law  re- 
mained in  force  :  the  blessed  God  could  not 
lose  his  right  to  that  reverence,  love,  and  o- 
bedience,  which  must  always  be  due  to  him 
from  his  intelligent  creatures.  Thus  Adam 
became  a  transgressor,  and  incurred  the  pen- 
alty, death.  But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy, 
according  to  his  eternal  purpose,  revealed  the 
promise  of  the  seed  of  the  woman,  and  insti- 
tuted sacrifices  as  types  of  that  atonement  for 
sin,  which  He,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  should 
accomplish  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself. 

Adam,  after  his  fall,  was  no  longer  a  pub- 
lic person  ;  he  was  saved  by  grace  through 
faith  ;  but  the  depravity  he  had  brought  upon 
human  nature  remained.  His  children,  and 
so  all  his  posterity,  were  born  in  his  sinfu 
likeness,  without  either  ability  or  inclination 
to  keep  the  law.  The  earth  was  soon  filled 
with  violence.  But  a  few  in  every  successive 
age  were  preserved  by  grace,  and  faith  in 
the  promise.  Abraham  was  favoured  with  a 
more  full  and  distinct  revelation  of  the  cove- 
nant of  grace  ;  he  saw  the  day  of  Christ,  and 
rejoiced.  In  the  time  of  Moses,  God  was 
pleased  to  set  apart  a  peculiar  people  to  him- 
self, and  to  them  he  published  his  law  with 
great  solemnity  at  Sinai.  This  law  consisted  of 
two  distinct  parts,  very  different  in  their  scope 
and  design,  though  both  enjoined  by  the  sama 
authority. 

The  decalogue,  or  ten  commandments,  ut- 
tered by  the  voice  of  God  himself,  is  an  abstract 
of  that  original  law  under  which  man  was  cre- 
ated ;  but  published  in  a  prohibitory  form,  the 
Israelites,  like  the  rest  of  mankind,  being  de- 
praved by  sin,  and  strongly  inclined  to  the 
commission  of  every  evil.  This  law  could  not 
be  designed  as  a  covenant,  by  obedience  to 
which  man  should  be  justified;  for  long  be- 
fore its  publication,  the  gospel  had  been 
preached  to  Abraham,  Galatians  iii.  8.  But 
the  law  entered  that  sin  might  abound:  that 


J  02 


ON   THE   RIGHT  USE  OF  THE   LAW. 


the  extent,  the  evil,  and  the  desert  of  sin 
might  be  known  ;  for  it  reaches  to  the  most 
hidden  thoughts  of  the  heart,  requires  abso- 
lute and  perpetual  obedience,  and  denounces 
a  curse  upon  all  who  continue  not  therein. 

To  this  was  superadded  the  ceremonial  or 
levitical  law,  prescribing  a  variety  of  institu- 
tions, purifications,  and  sacrifices,  the  obser- 
vance of  which  were,  during'  that  dispensa- 
tion, absolutely  necessary  to  the  acceptable 
worship  of  God.  By  obedience  to  these  pre- 
f  scriptions,  the  people  of  Israel  preserved  their 
legal  right  to  the  blessings  promised  to  them 
as  a  nation,  and  which  were  not  confined  to 
spiritual  worshippers  only ;  and  they  were 
likewise  ordinances  and  helps  to  lead  those 
who  truly  feared  God,  and  had  conscience  of 
sin,  to  look  forward,  by  faith,  to  the  great  sa- 
crifice, the  Lamb  of  God,  who,  in  the  fulness 
of  time,  was  to  take  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice 
of  himself.  In  both  these  respects,  the  ceremo- 
nial law  was  abrogated  by  the  death  of  Christ. 
The  Jews  then  ceased  to  be  God's  peculiar 
people ;  and  Jesus  havi'ng  expiated  sin,  and 
brought  in  an  everlasting  righteousness,  by  his 
obedience  unto  death,  all  other  sacrifices  be- 
came unnecessary  and  vain.  The  gospel  sup- 
plies the  place  of  the  ceremonial  law,  to  the 
same  advantage  as  the  sun  abundantly  compen- 
sates for  the  twinkling  of  the  stars,  and  the  fee- 
ble glimmering  of  moon-light,  which  are  con- 
cealed  by  its  glory.  Believers  of  old  were  re- 
lieved from  the  strictness  of  the  moral  law  by 
the  sacrifices  which  pointed  to  Christ.  Believers 
under  the  gospel  are  relieved  by  a  direct  ap- 
plication to  the  blood  of  the  covenant.  Both 
renounce  any  dependence  on  the  moral  law 
for  justification,  and  both  accept  it  as  a  rule 
of  life  in  the  hands  of  the  Mediator,  and  are 
enabled  to  yield  it  a  sincere,  though  not  a  per- 
fect obedience. 

If  an  Israelite,  trusting  in  his  obedience  to 
the  moral  law,  had  ventured  to  reject  the  or- 
dinances of  the  ceremonial,  he  would  have 
been  cut  off.  In  like  manner,  if  any  who 
are  called  christians  are  so  well  satisfied  with 
their  moral  duties,  that  they  see  no  necessity 
of  making  Christ  their  only  hope,  the  law, 
by  which  they  seek  life,  will  be  to  them  a  mi- 
nistration unto  death.  Christ,  and  he  alone, 
delivers  us,  by  faith  in  his  name,  from  the 
curse  of  the  law,  having  been  made  a  curse 
for  us. 

A  second  inquiry  is,  How  we  come  to  know 
the  law  to  be  good  ?  for  naturally  we  do  not, 
we  cannot,  think  so.  We  cannot  be  at  enmity 
with  God,  and  at  the  same  time  approve  of 
his  law  ;  rather  this  is  the  ground  of  our  dis- 
like to  him,  that  we  conceive  the  law,  by 
which  we  are  to  be  judged,  is  too  strict  in  its 
precepts,  and  too  severe  in  its  threatenings  ; 
and  therefore  men,  so  far  as  in  them  lies,  are 
for  altering  this  law.  They  think  it  would  be 
better  if  it  required  no  more  than  we  can  per- 
form ;  if  it  allowed  us  more  liberty  ;  and  es- 


LET.  XXX. 

pecially  if  it  was  not  armed  against  transgres- 
sors with  the  penalty  of  everlasting  punish- 
ment. This  is  evident  from  the  usual  pleas 
of  unawakened  sinners.  Some  think,  "  I  am 
not  so  bad  as  some  others  ;"  by  which  they 
mean,  God  will  surely  make  a  difference, 
and  take  favourable  notice  of  what  they  sup- 
pose good  in  themselves.  Others  plead,  "  It 
I  should  not  obtain  mercy,  what  will  become 
of  the  greater  part  of  mankind?"  by  which 
they  plainly  intimate,  that  it  would  be  hard 
and  unjust  in  God  to  punish  such  multitudes. 
Others  endeavour  to  extenuate  their  sins,  as 
Jonathan  once  said,  "  I  did  but  taste  a  little 
honey,  and  I  must  die  :"  "  These  passions  are 
natural  to  me,  and  must  I  die  for  indulging 
them!"  In  short,  the  spirituality  and  strict- 
ness of  the  law,  its  severity,  and  its  levelling 
effect,  confounding  all  seeming  differences  in 
human  characters,  and  stopping  every  mouth 
without  distinction,  are  three  properties  of  the 
law,  which  the  natural  man  cannot  allow  to 
be  good. 

These  prejudices  against  the  law  can  only 
be  removed  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
It  is  his  office  to  enlighten  and  convince  the 
conscience  ;  to  communicate  an  impression  of 
the  majesty,  holiness,  justice,  and  authority  of 
the  God  with  whom  we  have  to  do,  whereby 
the  evil  and  desert  of  sin  are  apprehended. 
The  sinner  is  then  stript  of  all  his  vain  pre- 
tences, is  compelled  to  plead  guilty,  and  must 
justify  his  Judge,  even  though  he  should  con- 
demn him.  It  is  his  office  likewise  to  dis- 
cover the  grace  and  glory  of  the  Saviour,  as 
having  fulfilled  the  law  for  us,  and  as  enga- 
ged, by  promise,  to  enable  those  who  believe 
in  him  to  honour  it  with  a  due  obedience  in 
their  own  persons.  Then  a  change  of  judg- 
ment takes  place,  and  the  sinner  consents  to 
the  law,  that  it  is  holy,  just,  and  good.  Then 
the  law  is  acknowledged  to  be  holy  ;  it  ma- 
nifests the  holiness  of  God  ;  and  a  conformity 
to  it  is  the  perfection  of  human  nature.  There 
can  be  no  excellence  in  man,  but  so  far  as  he 
is  influenced  by  God's  law;  without  it,  the 
greater  his  natural  powers  and  abilities  are, 
he  is  but  so  much  the  more  detestable  and 
mischievous.  It  is  assented  to  as  just,  spring- 
ing from  his  indubitable  right  and  authority 
over  his  creatures,  and  suited  to  their  depend- 
ence upon  him,  and  the  abilities  with  which 
he  originally  endowed  them.  And  though 
we,  by  sin,  have  lost  those  abilities,  his  right 


remains   unalienable  ;    and 
justly  punish  transgressors. 


therefore   he  can 
And  as  it  is  just 


in  respect  to  God,  so  it  is  good  for  man  ;  his 
obedience  to  the  law,  and  the  favour  of  God 
therein,  being  his  proper  happiness,  and  it  is 
impossible  for  him  to  be  happy  in  any  other 
way.  Only,  as  I  have  hinted,  to  sinners 
these  things  must  be  applied  according  to  the 
gospel,  and  to  their  new  relation,  by  faith,  to 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  has  obeyed  the 
law,  and  made  atonement  for  sin  on  their  be. 


LET.  XXX. 

half;  so  that  through  him  they  are  delivered 
from  condemnation,  and  entitled  to  all  the 
benefits  of  his  obedience.  From  him  likewise 
they  receive  the  law,  as  a  rule  enforced  by  his 
own  example,  and  their  unspeakable  obliga- 
tions to  his  redeeming  love.  This  makes  obe- 
dience pleasing,  and  the  strength  they  derive 
from  him  makes  it  easy. 

We  may  now  proceed  to  inquire,  in  the 
last  place,  What  it  is  to  use  the  law  lawfully  ? 
The  expression  implies,  that  it  may  be  used 
unlawfully;  and  it  is  so  by  too  many.  It  is 
not  a  lawful  use  of  the  law  to  seek  justifica- 
tion and  acceptance  with  God  by  our  obedi 


ON  THE   RIGHT   USE  OF  THE  LAW. 


103 


ard.  Could  men  be  prevailed  upon  to  do 
this,  they  would  soon  listen  to  the  gospel  with 
attention.  On  some  the  Spirit  of  God  does 
thus  prevail ;  then  they  earnestly  make  the 
jailor's  inquiry,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  sav- 
ed ?"  Here  the  work  of  grace  begins  ;  and 
the  sinner,  condemned  in  his  own  conscience, 
is  brought  to  Jesus  for  life. 

Again,  when  we  use  the  law  as  a  glass,  to 
behold  the  glory  of  God,  we  use  it  lawfully. 
His  glory  is  eminently  revealed  in  Christ ; 
but  much  of  it  is  with  a  special  reference  to 
the  law,  and  cannot  be  otherwise  discerned. 
We  see  the  perfection  and  excellence  of  the 


ence  to  it ;  because  it  is  not  appointed  for  I  law  in  his  life.  God  was  glorified  by  his  obe- 
this  end,  or  capable  of  answering  it,  in  our  dience  as  a  man.  What  a  perfect  character 
circumstances.  The  very  attempt  is  a  daring  did  he  exhibit !  yet  it  is  no  other  than  a  tran- 
impeachment  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  script  of  the  law.  Such  would  have  been  the 
God ;  for  if  righteousness  could  come  by  the   character  of  Adam  and  all  his  race,  had  the 


law,  then  Christ  has  died  in  vain,  Gal.  ii.  21 
iii.  21;  so  that  such  a  hope  is  not  only  ground- 
less, but  sinful ;  and,  when  persisted  in  un- 
der the  light  of  the  gospel,  is  no  less  than  a 
wilful  rejection  of  the  grace  of  God.  Again, 
it  is  an  unlawful  use  of  the  law,  that  is,  an 
abuse  of  it,  an  abuse  both  of  law  and  gospel, 
to  pretend  that  its  accomplishment  by  Christ 
releases  believers  from  any  obligation  to  it  as 
a  rule.  Such  an  assertion  is  not  only  wicked, 
but  absurd  and  impossible  in  the  highest  de- 
gree ;  for  the  law  is  founded  in  the  relation 
between  the  Creator  and  the  creature,  and 
must  unavoidably  remain  in  force  so  long  as 
that  relation  subsists.  While  he  is  God,  and 
we  are  creatures,  in  every  possible  or  suppos- 
able  change  of  state  or  circumstances,  he  must 
have  an  unrivalled  claim  to  our  reverence, 
love,  trust,  service,  and  submission.  No  true 
believer  can  deliberately  admit  a  thought  or  a 
wish  of  being  released  from  his  obligation  of 
obedience  to  God,  in  whole  or  in  part;  he 
will  rather  start  from  it  with  abhorrence.  But 
Satan  labours  to  drive  unstable  souls  from 
one  extreme  to  the  other,  and  has  too  often 
succeeded.  Wearied  with  vain  endeavours  to 
keep  the  law,  that  they  might  obtain  life  by 
it,  and  afterwards  taking  up  with  a  notion  of 
the  gospel  devoid  of  power,  they  have  at 
length  despised  that  obedience  which  is  the 
honour  of  a  christian,  and  essentially  belongs 
to  his  character,  and  have  abused  the  grace  of 
God  to  licentiousness.  But  we  have  not  so 
learned  Christ. 

To  speak  affirmatively,  the  law  is  lawfully 
used  as  a  means  of  conviction  of  sin.  For 
this  purpose  it  was  promulgated  at  Sinai. 
The  law  entered,  that  sin  might  abound :  not 
to  make  men  more  wicked,  though  occasion- 
ally, and  by  abuse,  it  has  that  effect,  but  to 
make  them  sensible  how  wicked  they  are. 
Having  God's  law  in  our  hands,  v/e  are  no 
longer  to  form  our  judgments  by  the  maxims 
and  customs  of  the  world,  where  evil  is  called 
good,  and  good  evil;  but  are  to  try  every 
principle,  temper,  and  practice  by  this  stand- 


law  been  duly  obeyed.  It  appears,  therefore, 
a  wise  and  holy  institution,  fully  capable  of 
displaying  that  perfection  of  conduct  by  which 
man  would  have  answered  the  end  of  his  crea- 
tion. And  we  see  the  inviolable  strictness  of 
the  law  in  his  death.  There  the  glory  of  God 
in  the  law  is  manifested.  Though  he  was  the 
beloved  Son,  and  had  yielded  personal  obe- 
dience in  the  utmost  perfection,  yet,  when  he 
stood  in  our  place,  to  make  atonement  for 
sir,,  he  was  not  spared.  From  what  he  en- 
dured in  Gethsemane  and  upon  the  cross,  we 
learn  the  meaning  of  that  awful  sentence, 
"  The  soul  that  sinneth  shall  die." 

Another  lawful  use  of  the  law  is,  to  con- 
sult it  as  a  rule  and  pattern,  by  which  to  re- 
gulate our  spirit  and  conversation.  The  grace 
of  God,  received  by  faith,  will  dispose  us  to 
obedience  in  general;  but  through  remaining 
darkness  and  ignorance,  we  are  much  at  a  loss 
as  to  particulars.  We  are,  therefore,  sent  to 
the  law,  that  we  may  learn  how  to  walk  worthy 
of  God,  who  has  called  us  to  his  kingdom  and 
glory ;  and  every  precept  has  its  proper  place 
and  use. 

Lastly,  we  use  the  law  lawfully  when  we 
improve  it  as  a  test  whereby  to  judge  of  the 
exercise  of  grace.  Believers  differ  so  much 
from  what  they  once  were,  and  from  what 
many  still  are,  that  without  this  right  use  of 
the  law,  comparing  themselves  with  their  for- 
mer selves,  or  with  others,  they  would  be 
prone  to  think  more  highly  of  their  attain- 
ments than  they  ought.  But  when  they  re- 
cur to  this  standard,  they  sink  into  the  dust, 
and  adopt  the  language  of  Job,  "  Behold,  ]  ' 
am  vile  :  I  cannot  answer  thee  one  of  a  thou- 
sand." 

From  hence  we  may  collect,  in  brief,  how 
the  law  is  good  to  them  that  use  it  lawfully. 
It  furnishes  them  with  a  comprehensive  and 
accurate  view  of  the  will  of  God,  and  the 
path  of  duty.  By  the  study  of  the  law,  they 
acquire  an  habitual  spiritual  taste  of  what  is 
right  or  wrong.  The  exercised  believer,  like 
a  skilful  workman,   has  a  rule  in  his  hand, 


10* 


ON  LOVE   TO   THE   BUETilllEN. 


LET.  XXXI 


whereby  he  can  measure  and  determine  with 
certainty  ;  whereas  others  judge  as  it  were  by 
the  eye,  and  can  only  make  a  random  guess, 
in  which  they  are  generally  mistaken.  It  like- 
wise, by  reminding  them  of  their  deficiencies 
and  short-comings,  is  a  sanctified  means  of 
making  and  keeping  them  humble ;  and  it 
exceedingly  endears  Jesus,  the  law-fulfiller,  to 
their  hearts,  and  puts  them  in  mind  of  their 
obligations  to  him,  and  of  their  absolute  de- 
pendence upon  him  every  moment. 

If  these  reflections  should  prove  acceptable 
to  you,  I  have  my  desire  ;  and  I  send  them 
to  you  by  the  press,  in  hopes  that  the  Lord 
may  accompany  them,  with  his  blessing  to 
others.  The  subject  is  of  great  importance,  and, 
were  it  rightly  understood,  might  conduce  to 
settle  some  of  the  angry  controversies  which 
have  been  lately  agitated.  Clearly  to  under- 
stand the  distinction,  connection,  and  harmo- 
ny between  the  law  and  the  gospel,  and  their 
mutual  subserviency  to  illustrate  and  establish 
each  other,  is  a  singular  privilege,  and  a  happy 
means  of  preserving  the  soul  from  being  en- 
tangled   by    errors   on  the  right  hand  or  the 

left. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXXI. 

ON  LOVE  TO  THE  BRETHREN. 
DEAR  SIR, 

The  apostle  having  said,  "  Marvel  not,  my 
brethren,  if  the  world  hate  you,"  immediate- 
ly subjoins,  "  We  know  that  we  have  passed 
from  death  unto  life,  because  we  love  the 
brethren."  By  the  manner  of  his  expression, 
he  sufficiently  intimates,  that  the  want  of  this 
love  is  so  universal,  till  the  Lord  plants  it  in 
the  heart,  that  if  we  possess  it,  we  may  there- 
by be  sure  he  has  given  us  of  his  Spirit,  and 
delivered  us  from  condemnation.  But  as  the 
heart  is  deceitful,  and  people  may  be  awfully 
mistaken  in  the  judgment  they  form  of  them- 
selves, we  have  need  to  be  very  sure  that 
we  rightly  understand  what  it  is  to  love  the 
brethren,  before  we  draw  the  apostle's  con- 
clusion from  it,  and  admit  it  as  an  evidence 
in  our  own  favour,  that  we  have  passed  from 
death  unto  life.  Let  me  invite  you,  reader, 
to  attend  with  me  a  little  to  this  subject. 

There  are  some  counterfeits  of  this  love  to 
the  brethren,  which,  it  is  to  be  feared,  have 
often  been  mistaken  for  it,  and  have  led  people 
to  think  themselves  something,  when,  indeed, 
they  were  nothing.      For  instance  : 

There  is  a  natural  love  of  the  brethren. 
People  may  sincerely  love  their  relations, 
friends,  and  benefactors,  who  are  of  the  breth- 
ren, and  yet  be  utter  strangers  to  the  spiritual 
love  the  apostle  speaks  of.  So  Orpali  had  a 
vjreat  affection  for  Naomi,  though  it  was  not 


strong  enough  to  make  her  willing,  with  Kutlj, 
to  leave  her  native  country,  and  her  idol-gods 
Natural  affection  can  go  no  farther  than  to  a 
personal  attachment ;  and  they  who  thus  love 
the  brethren,  and  upon  no  better  ground,  are 
often  disgusted  with  those  things  in  them,  for 
which  the  real  brethren  chiefly  love  one  another. 

There  is  likewise  a  love  of  convenience. 
The  Lord's  people  are  gentle,  peaceable,  bene- 
volent, swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speak,  slow  to 
wrath.  They  are  desirous  of  adorning  the 
doctrine  of  God  their  Saviour,  and  approving 
themselves  followers  of  him  who  pleased  not 
himself,  but  spent  his  life  in  doing  good  to 
others.  Upon  this  account  they  who  are  full 
of  themselves,  and  love  to  have  their  own  way, 
may  like  their  company,  because  they  find 
more  compliances,  and  less  opposition  from 
them,  than  from  such  as  themselves.  For  a 
while  Laban  loved  Jacob  :  he  found  him  dili- 
gent.and  trust-worthy,  and  perceived  that  the 
Lord  had  prospered  him  upon  Jacob's  ac- 
count ;  but  when  he  saw  that  Jacob  flourish- 
ed, and  apprehended  he  was  likely  to  do  with- 
out him,  his  love  was  soon  at  an  end ;  for  it 
was  only  founded  in  self-interest. 

A  party-love  is  also  common.  The  object* 
of  this  are  those  who  are  of  the  same  senti- 
ment, who  worship  in  the  same  way,  or  are  at- 
tached to  the  same  minister.  They  who  are 
united  in  such  narrow  and  separate  associa- 
tions, may  express  warm  affections,  without 
giving  any  proof  of  true  christian  love  ;  for, 
upon  such  grounds  as  these,  not  only  profes- 
sed Christians,  but  Jews  and  Turks,  may  be 
said  to  love  one  another.  Though  it  must  be 
allowed,  that  believers  being  renewed  but  in 
part,  the  love  which  they  bear  to  the  brethren 
is  too  often  debased  and  allayed  by  a  mixture 
of  selfish  affections. 

The  principle  of  true  love  to  the  brethren,  is 
the  LOVE  of  God,  that  love  which  produceth 
obedience,  1  John  v.  2.  "  By  this  we  know  that 
we  love  the  children  of  God,  if  we  love  God, 
and  keep  his  commandments."  When  people 
are  free  to  form  their  connections  and  friend- 
ships, the  grourid  of  their  communion  is  in  a 
sameness  of  inclination.  The  love  spoken  of 
is  spiritual.  The  children  of  God,  who  there, 
fore  stand  in  the  relation  of  brethren  to  each 
other,  though  they  have  too  many  unhappy 
differences  in  points  of  smaller  importance, 
agree  in  the  supreme  love  they  bear  to  their 
heavenly  Father,  and  to  Jesus  their  Saviour;  of 
course  they  agree  in  disliking  and  avoiding 
sin,  which  is  contrary  to  the  will  and  com- 
mand of  the  God  whom  they  love  and  wor- 
ship. Upon  these  accounts  they  love  one 
another,  they  are  like-minded;  and  they  live 
in  a  world  where  the  bulk  of  mankind  are 
against  them,  have  no  regard  to  their  Beloved, 
and  live  in  the  sinful  practices  which  his  grace 
has  taught  them  to  hate.  Their  situation, 
therefore,  increases  their  affection  to  each 
other.      They  are  washed  by  the  same   blood, 


LET.  XXXI. 

supplied  by  the  same  grace,  opposed  by  the 
same  enemies,  and  have  the  same  heaven  in 
view  ;  therefore  they  love  one  another  with  a 
pure  heart  fervently. 

The  properties  of  this  love,  where  its  exer- 
cise is  not  greatly  impeded  by  ignorance  and 
bigotry,  are  such  as  prove  its  heavenly  origi- 
nal. It  extends  to  all  who  love  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,  cannot  be  confined 
within  the  pale  of  a  denomination,  nor  re- 
strained to  those  with  whom  it  is  more  imme- 
diately connected.  It  is  gentle,  and  not  easi- 
ly provoked  ;  hopes  the  best,  makes  allow- 
ances for  infirmities,  and  is  easily  intreated. 
It  is  kind  and  compassionate  ;  and  this,  not 
in  words  only,  but  sympathizes  with  the  af- 
flicted, and  relieves  the  indigent,  according  to 
its  ability ;  and  as  it  primarily  respects  the 
'mage  of  Christ  in  its  objects,  it  feels  a  more 
peculiar  attachment  to  those  whom  it  judges 
to  be  the  most  spiritual,  though  without  un- 
dervaluing or  despising  the  weakest  attain- 
ments in  the  true  grace  of  the  gospel. 

They  are  happy  who  thus  love  the  brethren. 
They  have  passed  from  death  unto  life  ;  and 
may  plead  this  gracious  disposition,  though 
not  before  the  Lord  as  the  ground  of  their 
hope,  yet  against  Satan,  when  he  would  tempt 
them  to  question  their  right  to  the  promises. 
But,  alas  !  as  I  before  hinted,  the  exercise  of 
this  love,  when  it  really  is  implanted,  is  great- 
ly obstructed  through  the  remaining  depra- 
vity which  cleaves  to  believers.  We  cannot 
be  too  watchful  against  those  tempers  which 
weaken  the  proper  effects  of  brotherly  love, 
and  thereby  have  a  tendency  to  darken  the 
evidence  of  our  having  passed  from  death  unto 
life.  We  live  in  a  day,  when  the  love  of 
many  (of  whom  we  would  hope  the  best)  is, 
at  least,  grown  very  cold.  The  effects  of  a 
narrow,  suspicious,  a  censorious,  and  a  selfish 
spirit,  are  but  too  evident  amongst  professors 
of  the  gospel.  If  I  were  to  insist  at  large 
upon  the  offences  of  this  kind  which  abound 
amongst  us,  I  should  seem  almost  reduced  to 
the  necessity,  either  of  retracting  what  I  have 
advanced,  or  of  maintaining,  that  a  great  part 
(if  not  the  greatest  part)  of  those  who  profess 
to  know  the  Lord,  are  deceiving  themselves 
with  a  form  of  godliness,  being  destitute  of 
its  power  :  for  though  they  may  abound  in 
knowledge  and  gifts,  and  have  much  to  say 
upon  the  subject  of  christian  experience,  they 
appear  to  want  the  great,  the  inimitable,  the 
indispensible  criterion  of  true  Christianity,  a 
love  to  the  brethren  ;  without  which  all  other 
seeming  advantages  and  attainments  are  of  no 
avail.  How  is  this  disagreeable  dilemma  to 
be  avoided  ? 

I  believe  they  who  are  most  under  the  in- 
fluence of  divine  love,  will  join  with  me  in 
lamenting  their  deficiency.  It  is  well  that  we 
are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace ;  for 
on  whatever  point  we  try  ourselves  by  the  stan- 


ON  LOVE  TO  THE  BRETHREN.  105 

dard  of  the  sanctuary,  we  shall  find  reason  to 
say,  "  Enter  not  into  judgment  with  thy  ser- 
vant, O  Lord."  There  is  an  amazing  and 
humbling  difference  between  the  conviction 
we  have  of  the  beauty  and  excellence  of  divine 
truths,  and  our  actual  experience  of  their 
power  ruling  in  our  hearts.  In  our  happiest 
hours,  when  we  are  most  affected  with  the 
love  of  Jesus,  we  feel  our  love  fervent  to- 
wards his  people.  We  wish  it  were  always 
so ;  but  we  are  poor,  inconsistent  creatures, 
and  find  we  can  do  nothing  as  we  ought,  but 
as  we  are  enabled  by  his  grace.  But  we  trust 
we  do  not  allow  ourselves  in  what  is  wrong  ; 


and,  notwithstanding,  we  may,  in  particular 
instances,  be  misled  by  ignorance  and  preju- 
dice, we  do  in  our  hearts  love  the  brethren, 
account  them  the  excellent  of  the  earth,  and 
desire  to  have  our  lot  and  portion  with  them 
in  time  and  in  eternity.  We  know  that  the 
love  we  bear  them  is  for  his  sake ;  and  when 
we  consider  his  interest  in  them,  and  our  ob- 
ligations to  him,  we  are  ashamed  and  grieved 
that  we  love  them  no  better. 

If  we  could  not  conscientiously  say  thus 
much,  we  should  have  just  reason  to  question 
our  sincerity,  and  the  safety  of  our  state  ;  for 
the  scriptures  cannot  be  broken ;  nor  can  the 
grace  of  God  fail  of  producing,  in  some  de- 
gree, its  proper  fruits.  Our  Saviour,  before 
whom  we  must  shortly  appear  as  our  judge, 
has  made  love  the  characteristic  of  his  disci- 
ples ;  and  without  some  evidence  that  this  is 
the  prevailing  disposition  of  our  hearts,  we 
could  find  little  comfort  in  calling  him  God. 
Let  not  this  be  accounted  legality,  as  if  our 
dependence  was  upon  something  in  ourselves. 
The  question  is  not  concerning  the  method  of 
acceptance  with  God,  but  concerning  the 
fruits  or  tokens  of  an  accepted  state.  The 
most  eminent  of  these,  by  our  Lord's  express 
declaration,  is  brotherly  love.  "  Bj  this  shall 
all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye 
love  one  another."  No  words  can  be  plain- 
er ;  and  the  consequence  is  equally  plain,  how- 
ever hard  it  may  bear  upon  many  professors, 
that  though  they  could  speak  with  the  tongues 
of  angels,  had  the  knowledge  of  all  mysteries, 
a  power  of  working  miracles,  and  a  zeal 
prompting  them  to  give  their  bodies  to  bo 
burned  in  defence  of  the  truth  ;  yet  if  they 
love  not  the  brethren,  they  are  but  as  sound- 
ing brass  or  tinkling  cymbals :  they  may 
make  a  great  noise  in  the  church  and  in  the 
world  ;  they  may  be  wise  and  able  men,  as 
the  words  are  now  frequently  understood ; 
they  may  pray  or  preach  with  great  fluency ; 
but  in  the  sight  of  God  their  faith  is  dead,  and 
their  religion  is  vain. 

I  am,  &c. 


106 


ON   CANDOUR. 


LETTER  XXXII. 


ON  CANDOUR. 


DEAK  SIR, 

I  am  with  you  an  admirer  of  candour,  but  let 
us  beware  of*  counterfeits.  True  candour  is  a 
christian  grace,  and  will  grow  in  no  soil  but  a 
believing  heart.  It  is  an  eminent  and  ami- 
able property  of  that  love  which  beareth,  be- 
lieveth,  hopeth,  and  endureth  all  things.  It 
forms  the  most  favourable  judgment  of  per- 
sons and  characters,  and  puts  the  kindest  con- 
struction upon  the  conduct  of  others  that  it 
possibly  can,  consistent  with  the  love  of  truth. 
It  makes  due  allowances  for  the  infirmities  of 
human  nature,  will  not  listen  with  pleasure  to 
what  is  said  to  the  disadvantage  of  any,  nor 
repeat  it  without  a  justifiable  cause.  It  will 
not  be  confined  within  the  walls  of  a  party, 
nor  restrain  the  actings  of  benevolence  to 
those  whom  it  fully  approves ;  but  prompts 
the  mind  to  an  imitation  of  Him  who  is  kind 
to  the  evil  and  the  unthankful,  and  has  taught 
us  to  consider  every  person  we  see  as  our 
neighbour. 

Such  is  the  candour  which  I  wish  to  derive 
from  the  gospel :  and  I  am  persuaded,  they 
who  have  imbibed  most  of  this  spirit,  will  ac- 
knowledge that  they  are  still  defective  in  it. 
There  is  an  unhappy  propensity,  even  in  good 
men,  to  a  selfish,  narrow,  censorious  turn  of 
mind;  and  the  best  are  more  under  the  power 
of  prejudice  than  they  are  aware.  A  want  of 
candour  among  the  professors  of  the  same 
gospel,  is  too  visible  in  the  present  day.  A 
truly  candid  person  will  acknowledge  what  is 
right  and  excellent  in  those  from  whom  he 
may  be  obliged  to  differ ;  he  will  not  charge 
the  faults  or  extravagancies  of  a  few  upon  a 
whole  party  or  denomination.  If  he  thinks  it 
his  duty  to  point  out  or  refute  the  errors  of 
any  persons,  he  will  not  impute  to  them  such 
consequences  of  their  tenets  as  they  expressly 
disavow ;  he  will  not  wilfully  misrepresent  or 
aggravate  their  mistakes,  or  make  them  of- 
fenders for  a  word  :  he  will  keep  in  view  the 
distinction  between  those  things  which  are 
fundamental  and  essential  to  the  christian  life, 
and  those  concerning  which,  a  difference  of 
sentiment  may,  and  often  has,  obtained  among 
true  believers.  Were  there  more  candour 
among  those  who  profess  to  love  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,  the  emotions  of  an- 
ger or  scorn  would  not  be  so  often  felt  or  ex- 
cited, by  pronouncing  or  hearing  the  words, 
churchman,  or  dissenter,  or  Calvinist,  or  even 
Arminian.  Let  us,  my  friend,  be  candid  ;  let 
us  remember  how  totally  ignorant  we  our- 
selves once  were,  how  often  we  have  changed 
our  sentiments  in  one  particular  or  other, 
since  we  first  engaged  in  the  search  of  truth  ; 
how  often  we  have  been  imposed  upon  byap- 


LET.  XXXI  r. 

pearances ;  and  to  how  many  different  per- 
sons and  occurrences  we  have  been  indebted, 
under  God,  for  the  knowledge  which  we  have 
already  attained.  Let  us  likewise  consider 
what  treatment  we  like  to  meet  with  from 
others ;  and  do  unto  them  as  we  would  they 
should  do  unto  us.  These  considerations 
will  make  the  exercise  of  candour  habitual 
and  easy. 

But  there  is  a  candour,  falsely  so  called, 
which  springs  from  an  indifference  to  the 
truth,  and  is  governed  by  the  fear  of  men  and 
the  love  of  praise.  This  pretended  candour 
depreciates  the  most  important  doctrines  of 
the  gospel,  and  treats  them  as  points  of  spe- 
culation and  opinion.  It  is  a  temporizing 
expedient  to  stand  fair  with  the  world,  and  to 
avoid  that  odium  which  is  the  unavoidable 
consequence  of  a  steadfast,  open,  and  hearty 
adherence  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  It 
aims  to  establish  an  intercommunity  between 
light  and  darkness,  Christ  and  Belial ;  and, 
under  a  pretence  of  avoiding  harsh  and  un- 
charitable judgments,  it  introduces  a  mutual 
connivance  in  principles  and  practices,  which 
are  already  expressly  condemned  by  clear  de- 
cisions of  scripture.  Let  us  not  listen  to  the 
advocates  for  a  candour  of  this  sort;  such  a 
lukewarm  temper  in  those,  who  would  be 
thought  the  friends  of  the  gospel,  is  treason 
against  God  and  treachery  to  the  souls  of 
men.  It  is  observable  that  they  who  boast 
most  of  this  candour,  and  pretend  to  the  most 
enlarged  and  liberal  way  of  thinking,  are  ge- 
nerally agreed  to  exclude  from  their  compre- 
hension all  whom  they  call  bigots ;  that  is,  in 
other  words,  those  who,  having  been  led  by 
divine  grace  to  build  their  hopes  upon  the 
foundation  which  God  has  laid  in  Zion,  are 
free  to  declare  their  conviction  that  other  foun- 
dation can  no  man  lay  ;  and  who,  having  seen 
that  the  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  with 
God,  dare  no  longer  conform  to  its  leading 
maxims  or  customs,  nor  express  a  favourable 
judgment  of  the  state  or  conduct  of  those 
who  do.  Candour  itself  knows  not  how  to 
be  candid  to  these  :  their  singularity  and  im- 
portunity are  offensive ;  and  it  is  thought  no 
way  inconsistent  with  the  specious  boast  of 
benevolence  and  moderation  to  oppose,  hate, 
and  revile  thein.  A  sufficient  proof  that  the 
candour  which  many  plead  for  is  only  a  softer 
name  for  that  spirit  of  the  world  which  op- 
poses itself  to  the  truth  and  obedience  of  the 
gospel. 

If  a  person  be  an  avowed  Socinian  or  deist, 
I  am  still  to  treat  him  with  candour ;  he  has 
a  right  from  me,  so  far  as  he  comes  in  my 
way,  to  all  the  kind  offices  of  humanity.  I 
am  not  to  hate,  reproach,  or  affront  him,  or 
to  detract  from  what  may  be  valuable  in  his 
character,  considered  as  a  member  of  society. 
I  may  avail  myself  of  his  talents  and  abilities 
in  points  where  I  am  not  in  danger  of  being 
misled  by  him.      He  may  be  a  good  lawyer^ 


LEf.  XXXII. 


ON   CANDOUR. 


107 


or  liistorian,  or  physician  ;  and  I  am  not  to 
lessen  him  in  these  respects  because  I  cannot 
commend  him  as  a  divine.  I  am  bound  to 
pity  his  errors,  and  to  pray  if  peradventure 
God  will  give  him  repentance  to  the  acknow- 
ledgment of  the  truth  ;  and,  if  I  have  a  call 
to  converse  with  him,  I  should  speak  with  all 
gentleness  and  meekness,  remembering  that 
grace  alone  has  made  me  to  differ.  But  I  am 
not  to  compliment  him,  to  insinuate,  or  even 
to  admit,  that  there  can  be  any  safety  in  his 
principles.  Far  be  that  candour  from  us, 
which  represents  the  scriptures  as  a  nose  of 
wax,  so  that  a  person  may  reject  or  elude  the 
testimonies  there  given  to  the  deity  and  atone- 
ment of  Christ,  and  the  all-powerful  agency 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  with  impunity. 

On  the  other  hand,  they  who  hold  the  Head, 
who  have  received  the  record  which  God  hath 
given  of  his  Son ;  who  have  scriptural  views 
of  sin  and  grace,  and  fix  their  hopes  for  time 
and  eternity  upon  the  Saviour;  in  a  word,  all 
who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity; 
— these,  I  apprehend,  if  they  are  prevented 
from  receiving,  acknowledging,  and  loving 
each  other,  as  he  has  received,  owned,  and 
loved  them,  are  justly  chargeable  with  a  want 
of  candour.  Shall  I  be  cold  to  those  whom 
Jesus  loves  ?  Shall  I  refuse  them  whom  he 
has  accepted  ?  I  find,  perhaps,  that  they  can- 
not rightly  understand,  and  therefore  cannot 
readily  embrace,  some  points  of  doctrine  in 
which  the  Lord  has  been  pleased  to  enlighten 
me ;  that  is,  I  (supposing  my  knowledge  to 
be  real  and  experimental)  have  received  five 
talents,  and  they  have  as  yet  obtained  but 
two  :  must  I  for  this  estrange  myself  from 
them?  Rather  let  me  be  careful,  lest  they  be 
found  more  faithful  and  exemplary  in  the  im- 
provement of  two  talents  than  I  am  in  the  ma- 
nagement of  five.  Again,  why  should  some 
of  those  who  know,  or  might  know,  that  my 
hope,  my  way,  my  end,  and  my  enemies  are 
the  same  with  theirs,  stand  aloof  from  me,  and 
treat  me  with  coldness  and  suspicion  because 
I  am  called  a  Calvinist  ?  I  was  not  born  a 
Calvinist,  and  possibly  they  may  not  die  as 
they  are.  However  that  may  be,  if  our  hearts 
are  fixed  upon  the  same  Jesus,  we  shall  be 
perfectly  of  one  mind  ere  long  :  why  should 
we  not  encourage  and  strengthen  one  another 
now  ?  O  that  the  arm  of  the  Lord  might  be 
revealed,  to  revive  that  candour  which  the 
apostle  so  strongly  enforces  both  by  precept 
and  example  !  Then  the  strong  would  bear 
the  infirmities  of  the  weak,  and  believers  would 
receive  each  other  without  doubtful  disputa- 
tion. 

Once  more,  however  sound  and  orthodox 
(as  the  phrase  is)  professors  may  be  in  their 
principles,  though  true  candour  will  make 
tender  allowances  for  the  frailty  of  nature  and 
the  power  of  temptation,  yet  neither  candour 
nor  charity  will  require  us  to  accept  them  as 
real  believers,   unless  the   general  strain  and 


tenor  of  their  deportment  be  as  becometh  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  It  is  to  be  lamented  that 
too  many  judge  rather  by  the  notions  which 
people  express  than  by  the  fruits  which  they 
produce,  and,  as  they  judge  of  others,  so 
they  often  judge  of  themselves.  We  cannot 
have  opportunity  to  say  all  we  could  wish, 
and  to  all  to  whom  we  would  wish  to  say  it, 
upon  this  subject,  in  private  life ;  therefore 
it  is  the  wisdom  and  duty  of  those  who  preach 
and  of  those  who  print,  to  drop  a  word  of  cau- 
tion in  the  way  of  their  hearers  and  readers, 
that  they  may  not  mistake  notion  for  life,  nor 
a  form  of  godliness  for  the  power.  The  grace 
of  God  is  an  operative  principle,  and,  where 
it  really  has  place  in  the  heart,  the  effects  will 
be  seen  (Actsxi.  23.)  ;  effects  so  uniformand 
extensive  that  the  apostle  James  makes  one 
single  branch  of  conduct,  and  that  such  a  one 
as  is  not  usually  thought  the  most  important, 
a  sufficient  test  of  our  state  before  God,  for  he 
affirms  universally,  that  if  any  man  seem  to 
be  religious,  and  "  bridleth  not  his  tongue, 
his  religion  is  vain  ;"  and  again  he  assures  us, 
that  "  whoever  will  be  a  friend  of  the  world  is 
the  enemy  of  God  :"  and  to  the  same  purpose, 
Paul  expresses  himself  on  the  subject  of  love 
(that  love  which  he  describes  so  accurately 
that  none  can  mistake  it  unless  they  willingly 
deceive  themselves)  :  he  declares  that,  without 
this  love,  the  brightest  knowledge,  the  warm, 
est  zeal,  and  the  most  splendid  gifts,  are  no- 
thing worth.  It  is  to  be  feared  these  deci- 
sions will  bear  hard  upon  many  who  have  a 
name  to  live  among  the  churches  of  Christ. 
They  are  hearers  and  approvers  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  express  a  regard  for  those  who  preach 
it :  they  will  stickle  and  fight  for  the  doc- 
trines, and  know  not  how  to  bear  those  who 
fall  a  hair's  breadth  short  of  their  standard, 
and  yet  there  is  so  much  levity  or  pride,  cen- 
soriousness  or  worldliness,  discoverable  in  their 
general  behaviour,  that  their  characters  ap- 
pear very  dubious  ;  and,  though  we  are  bound 
to  wish  them  well,  candour  will  not  oblige 
or  warrant  us  to  judge  favourably  of  such 
conduct,  for  the  unerring  word  of  God  is  the 
standard  to  which  our  judgments  are  to  be 
referred  and  conformed. 

In  the  sense,  and  under  the  limitations 
which  I  have  expressed,  we  ought  to  cultivate 
a  candid  spirit,  and  learn  from  the  experience 
of  our  own  weakness  to  be  gentle  and  tender 
to  others,  avoiding,  at  the  same  time,  that  in- 
difference and  cowardice  which,  under  thw 
name  of  candour,  countenances  error,  exte- 
nuates sin,  and  derogates  from  the  authority 
of  scripture. 

I  am,  &c. 


108 


(1.)  ON  MAN  JN  HIS  FALLEN  ESTATE. 


LET.   XXX ill. 


LETTER  XXXIII. 

(I.)    ON  MAN  IN  HIS  FALLEN  ESTATE. 
"  Lord,  what  is  Man/" 
DEAR  SIR, 

t\'E  hear  much  in  the  present  day  of  the 
dignity  of  human  nature,  and  it  is  allowed 
that  man  was  an  excellent  creature  as  he  came 
out  of  the  hands  of  God ;  but,  if  we  consider 
this  question  with  a  view  to  fallen  man  as  de- 
praved by  sin,  how  can  we  but  join  with  the 
psalmist  in  wonder  that  the  great  God  should 
make  any  account  of  him. 

Fallen  as  man  is  from  his  original  state  of 
happiness  and  holiness,  his  natural  faculties 
and  abilities  afford  sufficient  evidence  that  the 
hand  which  made  him  is  divine.  He  is  ca- 
pable of  great  things  :  his  understanding,  will, 
affections,  imagination,  and  memory  are  noble 
and  amazing  powers.  But  view  him  in  a  mo- 
ral light,  as  an  intelligent  being,  incessantly 
dependent  upon  God,  accountable  to  him,  and 
appointed  by  him  to  a  state  of  existence  in  an 
unchangeable  world.  Considered  in  this  re- 
lation, man  is  a  monster,  a  vile,  base,  stupid, 
obstinate,  and  mischievous  creature  :  no  words 
can  fully  describe  him.  Man,  with  all  his 
boasted  understanding  and  attainments  is  a 
fool.  So  long  as  he  is  destitute  of  the  saving 
grace  of  God,  his  conduct,  as  to  his  most  im- 
portant concernments,  is  more  absurd  and  in- 
consistent than  that  of  the  meanest  idiot ;  with 
respect  to  his  affections  and  pursuits,  he  is 
degraded  far  below  the  beasts  j  and,  for  the 
malignity  and  wickedness  of  his  will,  can  be 
compared  to  nothing  so  properly  as  the  devil. 

The  question  here  is  not  concerning  this  or 
that  man,  a  Nero  or  a  Heliogabulus,  but  con- 
cerning human  nature,  the  whole  race  of  man- 
kind, the  few  excepted  who  are  born  of  God. 
There  is  indeed  a  difference  among  men,  but 
it  is  owing  to  the  restraints  of  divine  provi- 
dence, without  which  earth  would  be  the  very 
image  of  hell.  A  wolf  or  a  lion,  while  chained, 
cannot  do  so  much  mischief  as  if  they  were 
loose,  but  the  nature  is  the  same  in  the  whole 
species.  Education  and  interest,  fear  and 
shame,  human  laws  and  the  secret  power  of 
God  over  the  mind,  combine  to  form  many 
characters  that  are  externally  decent  and  re- 
spectable, and  even  the  most  abandoned  are 
under  a  restraint  which  prevents  them  from 
manifesting  a  thousandth  part  of  the  wicked- 
ness which  is  in  their  hearts ;  but  the  heart 
itself  is  universally  deceitful  and  desperately 
wicked. 

Man  is  a  fool. — He  can,  indeed,  measure 
the  earth,  and  almost  count  the  stars:  he 
abounds  in  arts  and  inventions,  in  science  and 
policy ;  and  shall  he  then  be  called  a  fool  ? 
The  ancient  heathens,  theinhabitants  of  Egypt, 


Greece,  and  Rome,  were  eminent  for  this  kind 
of  wisdom.  They  are  to  this  day  studied  us 
models  by  those  who  aim  to  excel  in  history, 
poetry,  painting,  architecture,  and  other  ex- 
ertions of  human  genius,  which  are  suited  to 
polish  the  manners  without  improving  the 
heart ;  but  their  most  admired  philosophers, 
legislators,  logicians,  orators,  andarti-ts,  were 
as  destitute,  as  infants  or  idiots,  of  that  know- 
ledge which  alone  deserves  the  name  of  true 
wisdom.  Professing  themselves  to  be  wise, 
they  became  fools.  Ignorant  and  regardless 
of  God,  yet  conscious  of  their  weakness  and  t 
of  their  dependence  upon  a  power  above  their 
own,  and  stimulated  by  an  inward  principle 
of  fear,  of  which  they  knew  neither  the  ori- 
gin nor  right  application,  they  worshipped 
the  creature  instead  of  the  Creator ;  yea, 
placed  their  trust  in  stocks  and  stones,  in  the 
vvotk  of  men's  hands,  in  nonentities  and  chi 
meras.  An  acquaintance  with  their  mytho- 
logy, or  system  of  religious  fables,  passes  with 
us  for  a  considerable  branch  of  learning,  be- 
cause it  is  drawn  from  ancient  books  written 
in  languages  not  known  to  the  vulgar ;  but, 
in  point  of  certainty  or  truth,  we  might  re- 
ceive as  much  satisfaction  from  a  collection  of 
dreams,  or  from  the  ravings  of  lunatics.  If, 
therefore,  we  admit  these  admired  sages  as  a 
tolerable  specimen  of  mankind,  must  we  not 
confess  that  man  in  his  best  estate,  while  un- 
instructed  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  is  a  fool  ? 
But  are  we  wiser  than  they  ?  Not  in  the 
least,  till  the  grace  of  God  makes  us  so.  Our 
superior  advantages  only  show  our  folly  in  a 
more  striking  light.  Why  do  we  account  any 
persons  foolish  ?  A  fool  has  no  sound  judg- 
ment :  he  is  governed  wholly  by  appearances, 
and  would  prefer  a  fine  coat  to  the  writings 
of  a  large  estate :  he  pays  no  regard  to  con- 
sequences. Fools  have  sometimes  hurt  or 
killed  their  best  friends,  and  thought  that  they 
did  no  harm.  A  fool  cannot  reason,  there- 
fore arguments  are  lost  upon  him.  At  one 
time,  if  tied  with  a  straw,  he  dares  not  stir ; 
at  another  time,  perhaps,  he  can  hardly  be 
persuaded  to  move,  though  the  house  were  on 
fire.  Are  these  the  characteristics  of  a  fool  ? 
Then  there  is  no  fool  like  the  sinner,  who  pre- 
fers the  toys  of  earth  to  the  happiness  of  hea- 
ven ;  who  is  held  in  bondage  by  the  foolish 
customs  of  the  world,  and  is  more  afraid  of 
the  breath  of  man  than  of  the  wrath  of  God. 
Again,  man  in  his  natural  state  is  a  beast, 
yea,  below  the  beasts  that  perish.  In  two 
things  he  strongly  resembles  them  ;  in  looking 
no  higher  than  to  sensual  gratifications,  and 
in  that  selfishness  of  spirit  which  prompts  him 
to  propose  himself  and  his  own  interest  as  his 
proper  and  highest  end.  But  in  many  respects 
he  sinks  sadly  beneath  them.  Unnatural  lusts, 
and  the  want  of  natural  affection  towards 
their  offspring,  are  abominations  not  to  be 
found  among  the  brute  creation.  What  shall 
we  say  of  mothers   destroying  their  children 


LET.  xxxni.  (l.)  ON  MAN   IN  HIS  FALLEN  ESTATE.  109 

oil,    yet   were    they  d 


with  their  own  hands,  or  of  the  horrid  act  of 
self-murder  !  Men  are  worse  than  beasts,  like- 
wise, in  their  obstinacy  ;  they  will  not  be 
warned.  If  a  beast  escapes  from  a  trap,  he 
will  be  cautious  how  he  goes  near  it  again, 
and  in  vain  is  the  net  spread  in  the  sight  of 
any  bird  :  but  man,  though  he  be  often  re- 
proved, hardens  his  neck ;  he  rushes  upon  his 
ruin  with  his  eyes  open,  and  can  defy  God 
to  his  face,  and  dare  damnation. 

Once  more,  let  us  observe  how  man  re- 
sembles the  devil.  There  are  spiritual  sins, 
and  from  these  in  their  height  the  scriptures 
teach  us  to  judge  of  Satan's  character.  Every 
feature  in  this  description  is  strong  in  man  ; 
so  that  what  our  Lord  said  to  the  Jews  is  of 
general  application,  "  Ye  are  of  your  father 
the  devil,  and  the  lust  of  your  father  that  you 
will  do."  Man  resembles  Satan  in  pride.  This 
stupid,  wicked  creature  values  himself  upon 
his  wisdom,  power,  and  virtue,  and  will  talk 
of  being  saved  by  his  good  works  ;  though,  if 
he  can,  Satan  himself  need  not  despair.  He 
resembles  him  in  malice ;  and  this  diabolical 
disposition  often  proceeds  to  murder,  and 
would  daily,  if  the  Lord  did  not  restrain  it. 
He  derives  from  Satan  the  hateful  spirit  of 
envy  :  he  is  often  tormented  beyond  expres- 
sion, by  beholding  the  prosperity  of  his  neigh- 
bours ;  and  proportionably  pleased  with  their 
calamities,  though  he  gains  no  other  advan- 
tage from  them  than  the  gratification  of  this 
rancorous  principle.  He  bears  the  image 
likewise  of  Satan  in  his  cruelty.  This  evil  is 
bound  up  in  the  heart  even  of  a  child.  A 
disposition  to  take  pleasure  in  giving  pain  to 
others  appears  very  early.  Children,  if  left 
to  themselves,  soon  feel  a  gratification  in  tor- 
turing insects  and  animals.  What  misery 
does  the  wanton  cruelty  of  men  inflict  upon 
cocks,  dogs,  bulls,  bears,  and  other  creatures, 
which,  they  seem  to  think,  were  formed  for  no 
other  end  than  to  feast  their  savage  spirits 
with  their  torments  !  If  we  form  our  judg- 
ment of  men,  when  they  seem  most  pleased, 
and  have  neither  anger  nor  resentment  to  plead 
in  their  excuse,  it  is  too  evident,  even  from 
the  nature  of  their  amusements,  whose  they 
are,  and  whom  they  serve;  and  they  are  the 
worst  of  enemies  to  each  other.  Think  of 
the  horrors  of  war,  the  rage  of  duellists,  of  the 
murders  and  assassinations  with  which  the 
world  is  filled,  and  then  say,  "  Lord,  what  is 
man  !"  Farther,  if  deceit  and  treachery  be- 
long to  Satan's  character,  then  surely  man  re- 
sembles him.  Is  not  the  universal  observa- 
tion, and  complaint  of  all  ages,  an  affecting 
comment  upon  the  prophet's  words,  "  Trust 
ye  not  in  a  friend,  put  not  confidence  in  a 
guide,  keep  the  doors  of  thy  fliouth  from  her 
that  lieth  in  thy  bosom,  for  they  hunt  every 
man  his  brother  with  a  net!"  How  many 
have  at  this  moment  cause  to  say  with  David, 
"  The  words  of  his  mouth  were  smoother  than 
butter,  but  war  was   in  his  heart  •.   his  words 


softer    than    un,    yec   were    mey  drawn 
Again,  like  Satan,  men  are  eager 
tempting    others    to    sin.     Not  content 


were 

swords  !" 

in  tempting  otners  10  sin.  i>ot  content  to 
damn  themselves,  they  employ  all  their  arts 
and  influence  to  draw  as  many  as  they  can 
with  them  into  the  same  destruction.  Lastly, 
in  direct  opposition  to  God  and  goodness,  in 
contemptuous  enmity  to  the  gospel  of  his 
grace,  and  a  bitter  persecuting  spirit  against 
those  who  profess  it,  Satan  himself  can  hard- 
ly exceed  them.  Herein,  indeed,  they  are 
his  agents  and  willing  servants;  and  because 
the  blesssd  God  is  himself  out  of  their  reach, 
they  labour  to  shew  their  despite  to  him  in 
the  persons  of  his  people. 

I  have  drawn  but  a  sketch,  a  few  outlines, 
of  the  picture  of  fallen  man.  To  give  an 
exact  copy  of  him,  to  charge  every  feature 
with  its  full  aggravation  of  horror,  and  to 
paint  him  as  he  is,  would  be  impossible. 
Enough  has  been  observed  to  illustrate  the 
propriety  of  the  exclamation,  "  Lord,  what 
is  man  !"  Perhaps  some  of  my  readers  may 
attempt  to  deny  or  extenuate  the  charge,  and 
may  plead,  that  I  have  not  been  describing 
mankind,  but  some  of  the  most  abandoned  of 
the  species,  who  hardly  deserve  the  name  of 
men.  But  I  have  already  provided  against 
this  exception.  It  is  human  nature  I  de- 
scribe ;  and  the  vilest  and  most  profligate  in- 
dividuals cannot  sin  beyond  the  powers  and 
limits  of  that  nature  which  they  possess  in 
common  with  the  more  mild  and  moderate. 
Though  there  may  be  a  difference  in  the 
fruitfulness  of  trees,  yet  the  production  of 
one  apple  decides  the  nature  of  the  tree  upon 
which  it  grew,  as  certainly  as  if  it  had  pro- 
duced a  thousand ;  so  in  the  present  case, 
should  it  be  allowed  that  these  enormities 
cannot  be  found  in  all  persons,  it  would  be  a 
sufficient  confirmation  of  what  I  have  advanc- 
ed, if  they  can  be  found  in  any;  unless  it 
could  be  likewise  proved,  that  those  who  ap- 
peared more  wicked  than  others  were  of  a 
different  species  from  the  rest.  But  I  need 
not  make  this  concession  ;  they  must  be  in- 
sensible indeed,  who  do  not  feel  something 
within  them  so  very  contrary  to  our  common 
notions  of  goodness,  as  would  perhaps  make 
them  rather  submit  to  be  banished  from  hu- 
man society,  than  to  be  compelled  bona  fide 
to  disclose  to  their  fellow-creatures  every 
thought  and  desire  which  arises  in  their 
hearts. 

Many  useful  reflections  may  be  drawn  from 
this  unpleasing  subject.  We  cannot  at  pre- 
sent conceive  how  much  we  owe  to  the  guar- 
dian care  of  divine  providence,  that  any  of  us 
are  preserved  in  peace  and  safety  for  a  sin<r]e 
day,  in  such  a  world  as  this.  Live  where  we 
will,  we  have  those  near  us,  who,  both  by  na- 
ture, and  by  lie  power  which  Satan  has  over 
them,  are  capable  of  the  most  atrocious 
crimes.  But  he  whom  they  know  not,  re- 
strains them,  so  that  they  cannot  do  the  thing's 


110 


(2.)    ON  MAN   IN   HIS  FALLEN  ESTATE. 


LET.    XXXIV 


that  they  would.  When  he  suspends  the  re-  I  him.  In  this  sense,  what  the  apostle  has  ob- 
straint,  they  act  immediately ;  then  we  hear  i  served  of  the  law  of  Moses,  may  be  applied 
of  murders.,  rapes,  and  outrages.  But  did  ,  to  the  gospel  of  Christ:  it  entered,  that  sin 
not  the  Lord  reign  with  a  strong  hand,  such  j  might  abound.  If  we  would  estimate  the  ut- 
evils  would  be  perpetrated  every  hour,  and  most  exertions  of  human  depravity,  and  the 
no  one  would  be  safe  in  the  house  or  in  the  J  strongest  effects  it  is  capable  of  producing,  we 


field.  His  ordinance  of  civil  government  is 
one  great  means  of  preserving  the  peace  of 
society  ;  but  this  is  in  many  cases  inadequate. 
The  heart  of  man,  when  fully  bent  upon  evil, 
will  not  be  intimidated  or  stopt  by  gibbets  or 
racks. 

How  wonderful  is  the  love  of  God  in  giv- 
ing his  Son  to  die  for  such  wretches  !  And 
how  strong  and  absolute  is  the  necessity  of  a 
new  birth  if  we  would  be  happy  !  Can  beasts 
and  devils  inherit  the  kindom  of  God  !  The 
due  consideration  of  this  subject  is  likewise 
needful,  to  preserve  believers  in  an  humble, 
thankful,  watchful  frame  of  spirit.  Such  we 
once  were,  and  such,  with  respect  to  the  na- 
tural principle  remaining  in  us,  which  the 
apostle  calls  the  flesh,  or  the  old  man,  we  still 
are.  The  propensities  of  fallen  nature  are 
not  eradicated  in  the  children  of  God,  though 
by  grace,  they  are  made  partakers  of  a  new 
principle,  which  enables  them,  in  the  Lord's 
strength,  to  resist  and  mortify  the  body  of 
sin,  so  that  it  cannot  reign  in  them.  Yet 
they  are  liable  to  sad  surprisals ;  and  the  his- 
tories of  Aaron,  David,  Solomon,  and  Peter, 
are  left  on  record,  to  teach  us  what  evil  is  la- 
ent  in  the  hearts  of  the  best  men,  and  what 
they  are  capable  of  doing,  if  left  but  a  little 
to  themselves.  "  Lord,  what  is  man  !" 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXXIV. 

(2.)  ON  MAN  IN  HIS  FALLEN  ESTATE. 

"  Lord,  what  is  man!" 


DEAR  SIR, 

The  nature  of  fallen  man  agrees  to  the  de- 
scription the  apostle  has  given  us  of  his  boast- 
ed wisdom  :  it  is  earthly,  sensual,  devilish.  I 
have  attempted  some  general  delineation  of  it 
in  the  preceding  letter ;  but  the  height  of  its 
malignity  cannot  be  properly  estimated,  un- 
less we  consider  its  actings  with  respect  to  the 
light  of  the  gospel.  The  Jews  were  extremely 
wicked  at  the  time  of  our  Lord's  appearance 
upon  earth  ;  yet  he  said  of  them,  "  If  I  had 
not  come  and  spoken  to  you,  ye  had  not 
had  sin  ;"  that  is,  as  the  light  and  power  of 
his  ministry  deprived  them  of  all  excuse  for 
continuing  in  sin,  so  it  proved  the  occasion  of 
shewing  their  wickedness  in  the  most  aggra- 
vated manner;  and  all  their  other  sins  were 
but  faint  proofs  of  the  true  state  of  their  hearts, 
if  compared  with  the  discovery  they  made  of 
themselves,  by  their  pertinacious  opposition  to 


must  select  our  instances  from  the  conduct  of 
those  to  whom  the  gospel  is  known.  The 
Indians,  who  roast  their  enemies  alive,  give 
sufficient  proof  that  man  is  barbarous  t<  his 
own  kind ;  which  may  likewise  be  easily  de- 
monstrated without  going  so  far  from  home ; 
but  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  discovers  the 
enmity  of  the  heart  against  God,  in  ways  and 
degrees,  of  which  unenlightened  savages  and 
heathens  are  not  capable. 

By  the  gospel,  I  now  mean,  not  merely  the 
doctrine  of  salvation,  as  it   lies   in  the  holy 
scriptures,  but  that   public    and  authoritative 
dispensation  of  this  doctrine  which  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  has  committed  to  his  true  mini- 
sters,  who,   having  been  themselves,    by   the 
power  of  his  grace,  brought  out  of  darkness 
into  marvellous  light,  are,  by  his  Holy  Spirit, 
qualified  and   sent  forth  to  declare  to  their 
fellow-sinners,  what  they  have  seen,  and  felt, 
and  tasted,  of  the  word  of  life.      Their  com- 
mission is,   to  exalt  the  Lord  alone,  to  stain 
the  pride   of  all  human  glory.      They  are  to 
set  forth  the  evil  and  demerit  of  sin,  the  strict- 
ness,  spirituality,   and  sanction  of  the  law  oi 
God,  the  total  apostacy  of  mankind  ;  and  from 
these  premises  to  demonstrate  the  utter  im- 
possibility of  a  sinner's  escaping  condemna- 
tion by  any  works  or  endeavours  of  his  own; 
and  then  to  proclaim  a  full  and  free  salvation 
from   sin  and   wrath,   by  faith  in   the   name, 
blood,  obedience,  and  mediation  of  God  ma- 
nifest in  the  flesh  ;  together  with  a  denuncia- 
tion of  eternal  misery  to  all  who  shall  finally 
reject  the  testimony  which  God  has  given  of 
his  Son.      Though  these  several  branches  of 
the  will  of  God  respecting  sinners,  and  other 
truths   in   connection  with   them,   are  plainly 
revealed,    and    repeatedly    inculcated    in    the 
Bible,  and  though  the  Bible  is  to  be  found  in 
almost  every  house,  yet  we  see,  in  fact,  it  is 
as  a  sealed  book,  little  read,  little  understood, 
and,  therefore,  but  little  regarded,  except  in 
those  places  which  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  fa- 
vour with   ministers  who   can   confirm   them 
from   their  own  experience,  and  who,  by  a 
sense  of  his  constraining  love,   and  the  worth 
of  souls,  are  animated  to  make   the  faithful 
discharge  of  their  ministry  the  one  great  busi- 
ness of  their  lives;  who  aim  not  to  possess 
the  wealth,  but  to   promote  the  welfare,   of 
their  hearers  ;   are   equally  regardless  of  the 
frowns  or  smiles  of  the  world,  and  count  not 
their  lives  deaf?  so  that  they  may  be  wise  and 
successful  in  winning  souls  to  Christ. 

When  the  gospel,  in  this  sense  of  the  word, 
first  comes  to  a  place,  though  the  people  are 
going  on  in  sin,  they  may  be  said  to  sin  igno- 
rantl  v  ;   they  have  not  yet  been  warned  of  their 


LET.  xxxiv.  (2.)  ON  MAN   IN  HIS  FALLEN  ESTATE.  Ill 

danger.  Some  are  drinking  down  iniquity  like  '  vhat  they  who  expressed  the  greatest  love  and 
water ;  others  more  soberly  burying  themselves  { tenderness  for  them  before  their  conversion, 
alive  in  the  cares  and  business  of  the  world ;   can  now  hardly  bear  to  see  them. 


others  find  a  little  time  for  what  they  call  re- 
ligious duties,  which  they  persevere  in,  though 
they  are  utter  strangers  to  the  nature  or  the 
pleasure  of  spiritual  worship  ;  partly,  as  there- 
by they  think  to  bargain  with  God,  and  to 
make  amends  for  such  sins  as  they  do  not 
chuse  to  relinquish ;  and  partly  because  it 
gratifies  their  pride,  and  affords  them  (as  they 
think)  some  ground  for  saying,  "  God,  I  thank 
thee,  I  am  not  as  other  men."  The  preached 
gospel  declares  the  vanity  and  danger  of  these 
several  ways  which  sinners  chuse  to  walk  in. 
It  declares  and  demonstrates,  that,  different  as 
they  appear  from  each  other,  they  are  equally 
remote  from  the  path  of  safety  and  peace,  and 
all  tend  to  the  same  point,  the  destruction  of 
those  who  persist  in  them.  At  the  same  time, 
it  provides  against  that  despair  into  which 
men  would  be  otherwise  plunged,  when  con- 
vinced of  their  sins,  by  revealing  the  im- 
mense love  of  God,  the  glory  and  grace  of 
Christ,  and  inviting  all  to  come  to  him,  that 
they  may  obtain  pardon,  life,  and  happiness. 
In  a  word,  it  shews  the  pit  of  hell  under  men's 
feet,  and  opens  the  gate,  and  points  out  the 
way  to  heaven.  Let  us  now  briefly  observe 
the  effects  it  produces  in  those  who  do  not  re- 
ceive  it  as  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 
These  effects  are  various,  as  tempers  and  cir- 
cumstances vary ;  but  they  may  all  lead  us  to 
adopt  the  psalmist's  exclamation,  "  Lord, 
what  is  man  !" 

Many  who  have  heard  the  gospel  once  or  a 
few  times,  will  hear  it  no  more  ;  it  awakens 
their  scorn,  their  hatred,  and  rage.  They  pour 
contempt  upon  the  wisdom  of  God,  despise 
his  goodness,  defy  his  power;  and  their  very 
looks  express  the  spirit  of  the  rebellious  Tews, 
who  told  the  prophet  Jeremiah  to  his  face, 
"  As  to  the  word  which  thou  hast  spoken  to 
us  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  we  will  not  hear- 
ken to  thee  at  all."  The  ministers  who  preach 
it  are  accounted  men  that  turn  the  world  up- 
side down ;  and  the  people  who  receive  it, 
fools  or  hypocrites.  The  word  of  the  Lord 
is  a  burden  to  them,  and  they  hate  it  with  a 
perfect  hatred.  How  strongly  is  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  natural  heart  manifested,  by  the 
confusion  which  often  takes  place  in  families, 
where  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  awaken  one  or 
two  in  a  house,  while  the  rest  remain  in  their 
sins  !  To  profess,  or  even  to  be  suspected  of 
an  attachment  to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  is  fre- 
quently considered  and  treated  as  the  worst 
of  crimes,  sufficient  to  cancel  the  strongest 
obligations  of  relation  or  friendship.  Parents, 
upon  such  a  provocation,  will  hate  their  child- 
ren, and  children  ridicule  their  parents.  Many 
find,  agreeably  to  our  Lord's  declaration,  that 
from  the  time  a  sense  of  his  love  engaged 
their  hearts  to  love  him  again,  their  worst  foes 
have  been  those  of  their  own  household ;  and 


The  bulk  of  a  people  will  perhaps  continue 
to  hear,  at  least  now  and  then ;  and  to  those 
who  do,  the  Spirit  of  God  usually,  at  one  time 
or  other,  bears  testimony  to  the  truth.  Their 
consciences  are  struck,  and  for  »  season  they 
believe  and  tremble.  But  what  is  the  con- 
sequence ?  No  man  who  has  taken  poison 
seeks  more  earnestly  or  speedily  for  an  an- 
tidote, than  those  do  for  something  to  stifle 
and  smother  their  convictions.  They  run  to 
company,  to  drink,  to  any  thing,  for  relief 
against  the  unwelcome  intrusion  of  serious 
thoughts ;  and  when  they  succeed,  and  reco- 
ver their  former  indifference,  they  rejoice,  as 
if  they  had  escaped  some  great  danger.  The 
next  step  is,  to  ridicule  their  own  convic- 
tions; and  next  to  that,  if  they  see  any  of  their 
acquaintance  under  the  like  impressions,  to 
use  every  art,  and  strain  every  nerve,  that 
they  may  render  them  as  obstinate  as  them- 
selves. For  this  purpose,  they  watch  as  a 
fowler  for  the  bird,  flatter  or  revile,  tempt  or 
threaten ;  and  if  they  can  prevail,  and  are  the 
occasion  of  hardening  any  in  their  sins,  they 
rejoice  and  triumph,  as  if  they  accounted  it 
their  interest  and  their  glory  to  ruin  the  souls 
of  their  fellow-creatures. 

By  frequent  hearing,  they  receive  more 
light.  They  are  compelled  to  know,  whether 
they  will  or  not,  that  the  wrath  of  God  hangs 
over  the  children  of  disobedience.  They  carry 
a  sting  in  their  consciences,  and  at  times  feel 
themselves  most  miserable,  and  cannot  but 
wish  they  had  never  been  born,  or  that  they 
had  been  dogs  or  toads,  rather  than  rational 
creatures.  Yet  they  harden  themselves  still 
more.  They  affect  to  be  happy  and  at  ease, 
and  force  themselves  to  wear  a  smile,  when 
anguish  preys  upon  their  hearts.  They  blas- 
pheme the  way  of  truth,  watch  for  the  faults 
of  professors,  and,  with  a  malicious  joy, 
publish  and  aggravate  them.  They  see,  per- 
haps, how  the  wicked  die,  but  are  not  alarm- 
ed ;  they  see  the  righteous  die,  but  are  not 
moved.  Neither  providences  nor  ordinances, 
mercies  nor  judgments,  can  stop  them  ;  for 
they  are  determined  to  go  on,  and  perish  with 
their  eyes  open,  rather  than  submit  to  the 
gospel. 

But  they  do  not  always  openly  reject  the 
gospel-truths.  Some  who  profess  to  approve 
and  receive  them,  do  thereby  discover  the  evils 
of  the  heart  of  man  if  possible  in  a  yet  strong- 
er light.  They  make  Christ  the  minister  of 
sin,  and  turn  his  grace  into  licentiousness. 
Like  Judas,  they  say,  Hail  Master !  and  be- 
tray him.  This  is  the  highest  pitch  of  ini- 
quity. They  pervert  all  the  doctrines  of  the 
gospel.  From  election  they  draw  an  excuse 
for  continuing  in  their  evil  ways ;  and  con- 
tend for  salvation  without  works,  because  they 
love   not  obedience.     They  extol  the  right- 


112  ON  SOME  BLEMISHES 

eousness  of  Christ,  but  hold  it  in  opposition 
to  personal  holiness.  In  a  word,  because  they 
hear  that  God  is  good,  they  determine  to  per- 
sist in  evil.      "  Lord,  what  is  man  !" 

Thus  wilful  and  impenitent  sinners  go  on 
from  bad  to  worse,  deceiving  and  being  de- 
ceived. The  word  which  they  despise,  be- 
comes to  them  a  savour  of  death  unto  death. 
They  take  different  courses,  but  all  are  tra- 
velling down  to  the  pit;  and,  unless  sove- 
reign mercy  interpose,  will  soon  sink  to  rise 
no  more.  The  final  event  is  usually  twofold. 
Many,  after  they  have  been  more  or  less  sha- 
ken by  the  word,  settle  in  formality.  If  hear- 
ing would  supply  the  place  of  faith,  love,  and 
obedience,  they  would  do  well ;  but  by  de- 
grees they  become  sermon-proof.  The  truths 
which  once  struck  them,  lose  their  power  by 
being  often  heard ;  and  thus  multitudes  live 
and  die  in  darkness,  though  the  light  has  long 
shone  around  them.  Others  are  more  openly 
given  up  to  a  reprobate  mind.  Contempt  of 
the  gospel  makes  infidels,  deists,  and  atheists. 
They  are  filled  with  a  spirit  of  delusion  to  be- 
lieve a  lie.  These  are  scoffers,  walking  after 
their  own  lusts  ;  for  where  the  principles  of 
religion  are  given  up,  the  conduct  will  be 
vile  and  abominable.  Such  persons  sport 
themselves  with  their  own  deceivings,  and 
strongly  prove  the  truth  of  the   gospel,   while 


they  dispute  against  it.  We  often  find  that 
people  of  this  cast  have  formerly  been  the  sub- 
jects of  strong  convictions  ;  but  when  the  evil 
spirit  has  seemed  to  depart  for  a  season,  and 
returns  again,  the  last  state  of  that  person  is 
worse  than  the  first. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  some  of  my  read- 
ers may  meet  with  their  own  characters  under 
one  or  other  of  the  views  I  have  given  of  the 
desperate  wickedness  of  the  heart,  in  its  act- 
ings against  the  truth.  May  the  Spirit  of  God 
constrain  them  to  read  with  attention.  Your 
case  is  dangerous,  but  I  would  hope  not  ut- 
terly dtsperate.  Jesus  is  mighty  to  save.  His 
grace  can  pardon  the  most  aggravated  offences, 
and  subdue  the  most  inveterate  habits  of  sin. 
The  gospel  you  have  hitherto  slighted,  resist- 
ed, or  opposed,  is  still  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation.  The  blood  of  Jesus,  upon  which 
you  have  hitherto  trampled,  speaks  better 
things  than  the  blood  of  Abel,  and  is  of  vir- 
tue to  cleanse  those  whose  sins  are  scarlet  and 
crimson,  and  to  make  them  white  as  snow. 
As  yet  you  are  spared  ;  but  it  is  high  time  to 
stop,  to  throw  down  your  arms  of  rebellion, 
and  humble  yourselves  at  his  feet  If  you  do, 
you  may  yet  escape  ;  but  if  not,  know  assured- 
ly that  wrath  is  coming  upon  you  to  the  ut- 
termost :  and  you  will  shortly  find,  to  your 
unspeakable  dismay,  that  it  is  a  fearful  thing 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God. 

I  am,  &c. 


LET.  XXXV 


LETTER  XXXV. 

WHATSOEVER    THINGS    ARE    LOVELY,    WHATSO- 
EVER   THINGS     ARE     OF     GOOD     REPORT, 

THINK  ON  THESE  THINGS.       Phil.  iv.    8. 


DEAR  SIR, 

The  precept  which  I  have  chosen  for  my  mot- 
to is  applicable  to  many  particulars,  which  are 
but  seldom  and  occasionally  mentioned  from 
the  pulpit.  There  are  improprieties  of  con- 
duct, which,  though  usually  considered  as 
foibles  that  hardly  deserve  a  severe  censure, 
are  properly  sinful ;  for  though  some  of  them 
may  not  seem  to  violate  any  express  command 
of  scripture,  yet  they  are  contrary  to  that  ac- 
curacy and  circumspection  which  become 
our  profession.  A  christian,  by  the  tenor  of 
his  high  calling,  is  bound  to  avoid  even  the 
appearance  of  evil ;  and  his  deportment  should 
not  only  be  upright  as  to  his  leading  princi- 
ples, but  amiable  and  engaging,  and  as  free  as 
possible  from  every  inconsistence  and  blemish. 
The  characters  of  some  valuable  persons  are 
clouded  ;  and  the  influence  they  might  other- 
wise have,  greatly  counteracted  by  compara- 
tively small  faults ;  yet  faults  they  certainly 
are  ;  and  it  would  be  well  if  they  could  be 
made  so  sensible  of  them,  and  of  their  ill  ef- 
fects, as  that  they  might  earnestly  watch, 
and  strive,  and  pray  against  them.  I  know 
not  how  to  explain  myself  better  than  by  at- 
tempting the  outlines  of  a  few  portraits,  to 
each  of  which  I  apprehend  some  strong  re- 
semblances may  be  found  in  real  life.  I  do 
not  wish  to  set  my  readers  to  work  to  find  out 
such  resemblances  among  their  neighbours; 
but  would  advise  them  to  examine  carefully, 
whether  they  cannot,  in  one  or  other  of  them, 
discover  some  traces  of  their  own  features. 
And  though  I  speak  of  men  only,  counter- 
parts to  the  several  characters,  may,  doubt- 
less, be  found  here  and  there  among  the  wo- 
men :  for  the  imperfections  and  evils  of  a  fal- 
len nature  are  equally  entailed  upon  both 
sexes. 

Austerus  is  a  solid  and  exemplary  chris- 
tian. He  has  a  deep,  extensive,  and  experi- 
mental knowledge  of  divine  things.  Inflexi- 
bly and  invariably  true  to  his  principles,  he 
stems  with  a  noble  singularity  the  torrent  of 
the  world,  and  can  neither  be  bribed  nor  in  ■ 
timidated  from  the  path  of  duty.  He  is  a 
rough  diamond  of  great  intrinsic  value,  and 
would  sparkle,  with  a  distinguished  lustre,  if 
he  were  more  polished.  But  though  the  word 
of  God  is  his  daily  study,  and  he  prizes  the 
precepts,  as  well  as  the  promises,  more  than 
thousands  of  gold  and  silver,  there  is  one 
precept  he  seems  to  have  overlooked  ;  I  mean 
that  of  the  apostle,  be  courteous.  Instead 
of  that  gentleness  and  condescension  which 
will  always  be  expected  from  a  professed    fol- 


LET.  XXXV. 
lower  of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus;  there  is  a 
harshness  in  his  manner,  which  makes  him 
more  admired  than  beloved ;  and  they  who 
truly  love  him,  often  feel  more  constraint  than 
pleasure  when  in  his  company.  His  intimate 
friends  are  satisfied  that  he  is  no  stranger  to 
true  humility  of  heart :  but  these  are  few.  By 
others  he  is  thought  proud,  dogmatic,  and  self- 
important  ;  nor  can  this  prejudice  against  him 
be  easily  removed,  until  he  can  lay  aside  that 
cynical  air  which  he  has  unhappily  contract- 
ed. 

HuMANUS  is  generous  and  benevolent.  His 
feelings  are  lively,  and  his  expressions  of  them 
strong.  No  one  is  more  distant  from  sordid 
views,  or  less  influenced  by  a  selfish  spirit. 
His  heart  burns  with  love  to  Jesus,  and  he  is 
ready  to  receive,  with  open  arms,  all  who  love 
his  Saviour.  Yet,  with  an  upright  and  friend- 
ly spirit,  which  entitles  him  to  the  love  and 
esteem  of  all  who  know  him,  he  has  not 
every  thing  we  would  wish  in  a  friend.  In 
some  respects,  though  not  in  the  most  crimi- 
nal sense,  he  bridleth  not  his  tongue.  Should 
you,  without  witness  or  writing,  intrust  him 
with  untold  gold,  you  would  run  no  risk  of 
loss  ;  but  if  you  intrust  him  with  a  secret,  you 
thereby  put  it  in  the  possession  of  the  public. 
Not  that  he  would  wilfully  betray  you,  but  it 
is  his  infirmity.  He  knows  not  how  to  keep 
a  secret ;  it  escapes  from  him  before  he  is 
aware.  So,  likewise,  as  to  matters  of  fact : 
in  things  which  are  of  great  importance,  and 
where  he  is  sufficiently  informed,  no  man  has 
a  stricter  regard  to  truth  ;  but  in  the  smaller 
concerns  of  common  life,  whether  it  be  from 
credulity,  or  from  a  strange  and  blameable  in- 
advertency, he  frequently  grieves  and  sur- 
prises those  who  know  his  real  character,  by 
saying  the  thing  that  is  not.  Thus  they  to 
whom  he  opens  his  very  heart,  dare  not  make 
him  returns  of  equal  confidence ;  and  they 
who,  in  some  cases,  would  venture  their  lives 
upon  his  word,  in  others  are  afraid  of  telling 
a  story  after  him.  How  lamentable  are  such 
blemishes  in  such  a  person  ! 

PfiUDENS,  though  not  of  a  generous  natural 
temper,  is  a  partaker  of  that  grace  which  opens 
the  heart,  and  inspires  a  disposition  to  love 
and  to  good  works.  He  bestows  not  his  alms 
to  be  seen  of  men ;  but  they  who  have  the 
best  opportunities  of  knowing  what  he  does 
for  the  relief  of  others,  and  of  comparing  it 
with  his  ability,  can  acquit  him  in  good  mea- 
sure of  the  charge  which  another  part  of  his 
conduct  exposes  him,  to.  For  Prudens  is  a 
great  economist ;  and  though  he  would  not 
willingly  wrong  or  injure  any  person,  yet  the 
meanness  to  which  he  will  submit,  either  to 
save  or  gain  a  penny,  in  what  he  accounts  an 
honest  way,  are  a  great  discredit  to  his  profes- 
sion. He  is  punctual  in  fulfilling  his  engage- 
ments ;  but  exceedingly  hard,  strict,  and  sus- 
picious in  making  his  bargains.  And  in  his 
dress,  and  every  article  of  his  personal   con- 


IN   CHRISTIAN   CHARACTERS. 


113 


cerns,  he  is  content  to  be  so  much  below 
the  station  in  which  the  providence  of  God  has 
placed  him,  that  to  those  who  are  not  ac- 
quainted with  his  private  benefactions  to  the 
poor,  he  appears  under  the  hateful  character  of 
a  miser,  and  to  be  governed  by  that  love  of 
money  which  the  scriptures  declare  to  be  the 
root  of  all  evil,  and  inconsistent  with  the  true 
love  of  God  and  of  the  saints. 

Volatilis  is  sufficiently  exact  in  performing 
his  promises  in  such  instances  as  he  thinks  of 
real  importance.  If  he  bids  a  person  depend 
upon  his  assistance  he  will  not  disappoint  his 
expectations.  Perhaps  he  is  equally  sincere 
in  all  his  promises  at  the  time  of  making  them  ; 
but  for  want  of  method  in  the  management  of 
his  affairs,  he  is  always  in  a  hurry,  always  too 
late,  and  has  always  some  engagement  upon 
his  hands  with  which  it  is  impossible  he  can 
comply.  Yet  he  goes  on  in  this  way,  expos- 
ing himself  and  others  to  continual  disappoint- 
ments. He  accepts,  without  a  thought,  pro- 
posals which  are  incompatible  with  each  other, 
and  will  perhaps  undertake  to  be  at  two  or 
three  different  and  distant  places  at  the  same 
hour.  This  has  been  so  long  his  practice  that 
nobody  now  expects  him  till  they  see  him.  In 
other  respects  he  is  a  good  sort  of  man  ;  but 
this  want  of  punctuality,  which  runs  through 
his  whole  deportment,  puts  every  thing  out  of 
course  in  which  he  is  concerned,  abroad  and 
at  home.  Volatilis  excuses  himself  as  well 
as  he  can,  and  chiefly  by  alledging,  that  the 
things  in  which  he  fails  are  of  no  great  conse- 
quence. But  he  would  do  well  to  remember, 
that  truth  is  a  sacred  thing,  and  ought  not  to 
be  violated  in  the  smallest  matters,  without  an 
unforeseen  and  unavoidable  prevention.  Such 
a  trifling  turn  of  spirit  lessens  the  weight  of  a 
person's  character,  though  he  makes  no  pre- 
tensions to  religion,  and  is  still  a  greater  ble- 
mish in  a  professor. 

Cessator  is  not  chargeable  with  being  bu- 
ried in  the  cares  and  business  of  the  present 
life,  to  the  neglect  of  the  one  thing  needful ; 
but  he  greatly  neglects  the  duties  of  his  sta- 
tion. Had  he  been  sent  into  the  world  only 
to  read,  pray,  hear  sermons,  and  join  in  reli- 
gious conversation,  he  might  pass  for  an  emi- 
nent christian.  But  though  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
that  his  abounding  in  these  exercises  springs 
from  a  heart-attachment  to  divine  things,  his 
conduct  evidences  that  his  judgment  is  weak, 
and  his  views  of  his  christian  calling  are  very 
narrow  and  defective.  He  does  not  consider 
that  waiting  upon  God  in  the  public  and 
private  ordinances,  is  designed,  not  to  excuse 
us  from  a  discharge  of  the  duties  of  civil  life, 
but  to  instruct,  strengthen,  and  qualify  us  for 
their  performance.  His  affairs  are  in  disor- 
der, and  his  family  and  connections  are  likely 
to  suffer  by  his  indolence.  He  thanks  God 
that  he  is  not  worldly-minded  ;  but  he  is  an 
idle  and  unfaithful  member  of  society,  and 
causes  th«  way  of  truth  to  be  evil  spoken  <j£ 


114 


TO  A  GAY  FRIEND,   ON 


Of  such  the  apostle  has  determined,  that  "  if 
any  man  will  not  work,  neither  should  he 
eat." 

Curiosus  is  upright  and  unhlameahle  in  his 
general  deportment,  and  no  stranger  to  the 
experiences  of  a  true  christian.  His  conver- 
sation upon  these  subjects  is  often  satisfactory 
and  edifying.  He  would  be  a  much  more 
agreeable  companion,  were  it  not  for  an  im- 
pertinent desire  of  knowing  every  body's 
business,  and  the  grounds  of  every  hint  that 
is  occasionally  dropped  in  discourse  where  he  is 
present.  This  puts  him  upon  asking  a  mul- 
tiplicity of  needless  and  improper  questions, 
and  obliges  those  who  know  him,  to  be  con- 
tinually upon  their  guard,  and  to  treat  him 
with  reserve.  He  catechises  even  strangers, 
and  is  unwilling  to  part  with  them  till  he  is 
punctually  informed  of  all  their  connections, 
employments,  and  designs.  For  this  idle 
curiosity  he  is  marked  and  avoided  as  a  busy- 
body ;  and  they  who  have  the  best  opinion  of 
him  cannot  but  wonder,  that  a  man,  who  ap- 
pears to  have  so  many  better  things  to  em- 
ploy his  thoughts,  should  find  leisure  to  amuse 
himself  with  what  does  not  at  all  concern  him. 
Were  it  not  for  the  rules  of  civility  he  would 
be  affronted  every  day  :  and  if  he  would  at- 
tend to  the  cold  and  evasive  answers  he  re- 
ceives to  his  inquiries,  or  even  to  the  looks 
with  which  they  are  accompanied,  he  might 
learn,  that,  though  he  means  no  harm,  he 
appears  to  a  great  disadvantage,  and  that  this 
prying  disposition  is  very  unpleasing. 

Querulus  wastes  much  of  his  precious  time 
in  declaiming  against  the  management  of 
public  affairs  ;  though  he  has  neither  access 
to  the  springs  which  move  the  wheels  of  go- 
vernment, nor  influence  either  to  accelerate 
or  retard  their  motions.  Our  national  con- 
cerns are  no  more  affected  by  the  remon- 
strances of  Querulus,  than  the  heavenly  bo- 
dies are  by  the  disputes  of  astronomers. 
While  the  newspapers  are  the  chief  sources 
of  his  intelligence,  and  his  situation  precludes 
him  from  being  a  competent  judge,  either  of 
matters  of  fact,  or  matters  of  right,  why 
should  Querulus  trouble  himself  with  poli- 
tics ?  This  would  be  a  weakness,  if  we  con. 
sider  him  only  as  a  member  of  society  ;  but 
if  we  consider  him  as  a  christian,  it  is  worse 
than  weakness  ;  it  is  a  sinful  conformity  to 
the  men  of  the  world,  who  look  no  farther 
than  to  second  causes,  and  forget  that  the 
Lord  reigns.  If  a  christian  be  placed  in  a 
public  sphere  of  action,  he  should  undoubted- 
ly be  faithful  to  his  calling,  and  endeavour, 
by  all  lawful  methods,  to  transmit  our  privi- 
leges to  posterity  ;  but  it  would  be  better  for 
Querulus  to  let  the  dead  bury  their  dead. 
There  are  people  enough  to  make  a  noise 
about  political  matters,  who  know  not  how 
to  employ  their  time  to  better  purpose.  Our 
Lord's  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world  ;  and 
most  of  his  people  may  do  their  country  much 


LET.  XXXVI. 

more  essential  service  by  pleading  for  it  in 
prayer,  than  by  finding  fault  with  tilings 
which  they  have  no  power  to  alter.  If  Que- 
rulus had  opportunity  of  spending  a  few 
months  under  some  of  the  governments  upon 
the  continent,  I  may  indeed  say,  under  any 
of  them,  he  would  probably  bring  home  with 
him  a  more  grateful  sense  of  the  Lord's  good- 
ness to  him,  in  appointing  his  lot  in  Britain. 
As  it  is,  his  zeal  is  not  only  unprofitable  to 
others,  but  hurtful  to  himself.  It  embitters 
his  spirit,  it  diverts  his  thoughts  from  things 
of  greater  importance,  and  prevents  him  from 
feeling  the  value  of  those  blessings,  civil  and 
religious,  which  he  actually  possesses ;  and 
could  he,  as  he  wishes,  prevail  on  many  to 
act  in  the  same  spirit,  the  governing  power* 
might  be  irritated  to  take  every  opportunity 
of  abridging  that  religious  liberty  which  w* 
are  favoured  with,  above  all  the  nations  upon 
earth.  Let  me  remind  Querulus,  that  the 
hour  is  approaching,  when  many  things,  which 
at  present  too  much  engross  his  thoughts 
and  inflame  his  passions,  will  appear  as  fo- 
reign to  him,  as  what  is  now  transacting  among 
the  Tartars  or  Chinese. 

Other  improprieties  of  conduct,  which  les- 
sen the  influence  and  spot  the  profession  of 
some  who  wish  well  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
might  be  enumerated,  but  these  may  suffice 
for  a  specimen. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXXVI. 


TO    A    GAY    FRIEND,    ON    HTS 

ILLNESS. 


RECOVERY    FROM 


DEAR  SIB, 

I  suppose  you  will  receive  many  congratula- 
tions on  your  recovery  from  your  late  dan- 
gerous illness  ;  most  of  them,  perhaps,  more 
sprightly  and  better  turned,  but  none,  I  per- 
suade myself,  more  sincere  and  affectionate 
than  mine.  I  beg  you  would  prepare  your- 
self by  this  good  opinion  of  me,  before  you 
read  further ;  and  let  the  reality  of  my  regard 
excuse  what  you  may  dislike  in  my  manner  of 
expressing  it. 

When  a  person  is  returned  from  a  doubtful, 
distant  voyage,  we  are  naturally  led  to  in- 
quire into  the  incidents  he  has  met  with,  and 
the  discoveries  he  has  made.  Indulge  me  in 
a  curiosity  of  this  kind,, especially  as  my  af 
fection  gives  me  an  interest  and  concern  in 
the  event.  You  have  been,  my  friend,  upon 
the  brink,  the  very  edge  of  an  eternal  state  ; 
but  God  has  restored  you  back  to  the  world 
again.  Did  you  meet  with,  or  have  you 
brought  back,  nothing  new  ?  Did  nothing 
occur  to  stop  or  turn  your  usual  train  of 
thought?  Were  your  apprehensions  of  invi- 
sible things  exactly  the  same  in  the  height  of 


LET.  XXXVI. 


RECOVERY  FROM  ILLNESS. 


115 


your  disorder,  when  you  were  cut  off  from 
the  world  and  all  its  engagements,  as  when 
you  were  in  perfect  health,  and  in  the  highest 
enjoyment  of  your  own  inclinations  ?  If  you 
answer  me,  "  Yes,  all  things  are  just  the  same 
as  formerly,  the  difference  between  sickness 
and  health  only  excepted;"  I  am  at  a  loss 
how  to  reply.  I  can  only  sigh  and  wonder  : 
sigh,  that  it  should  be  thus  with  any,  that  it 
should  be  thus  with  you,  whom  I  dearly 
love ;  and  wonder,  since  this  unhappy  case, 
strange  as  it  seems  in  one  view,  is  yet  so  fre- 
quent, why  it  was  not  always  thus  with  my- 
self; for  long  and  often  it  was  just  so.  Many 
a  time,  when  sickness  had  brought  me,  as  we 
say,  to  death's  door,  I  was  as  easy  and  insen- 
sible as  the  sailor,  who,  in  the  height  of  a 
storm,  should  presume  to  sleep  upon  the  top 
of  the  mast,  quite  regardless,  that  the  next 
tossing  wave  might  plunge  him  into  the  rag- 
ing ocean,  beyond  all  possibility  of  relief. 
But  at  length  a  day  came,  which,  though  the 
most  terrible  day  1  ever  saw,  I  can  now  look 
back  upon  with  thankfulness  and  pleasure ;  I 
say,  the  time  came,  when,  in  such  a  helpless 
extremity,  and  under  the  expectation  of  im- 
mediate death,  it  pleased  God  to  command 
the  vail  from  my  eyes,  and  I  saw  things  in 
some  measure  as  they  really  were.  Imagine 
with  yourself,  a  person  trembling  upon  the 
point  of  a  dreadful  precipice,  a  powerful  and 
inexorable  enemy  eager  to  push  him  down, 
and  an  assemblage  of  all  that  is  horrible  wait- 
ing at  the  bottom  for  his  fall ;  even  this  will 
give  you  but  a  faint  representation  of  the 
state  of  my  mind  at  that  time.  Believe  me, 
it  was  not  a  whim,  or  a  dream,  which  changed 
my  sentiments  and  conduct,  but  a  powerful 
conviction,  which  will  not  adnut  the  least 
doubt ;  an  evidence  which,  like  that  I  have 
of  my  own  existence,  I  cannot  call  in  ques- 
tion, without  contradicting  all  my  senses. 
And  though  my  case  was  in  some  respects 
uncommon,  yet  something  like  it  is  known  by 
one  and  another  every  day ;  and  I  have  my- 
self conversed  with  many,  who,  after  a  course 
of  years  spent  in  defending  deistical  princi- 
ples, or  indulging  libertine  practices,  when 
they  have  thought  themselves  confirmed  in 
their  schemes  by  the  cool  assent  of  what  they 
then  deemed  impartial  reason,  have  been,  like 
me,  brought  to  glory  in  the  cross  of  Christ, 
and  to  live  by  that  faith  which  they  had  before 
slighted  and  opposed.  By  these  instances,  I 
know  that  nothing  is  too  hard  for  the  Al- 
mighty. The  same  power  which  humbled 
me,  can  undoubtedly  bring  down  the  most 
haughty  infidel  upon  earth.  And  as  I  like- 
wise knew,  that,  to  shew  his  power,  he  is 
often  pleased  to  make  use  of  weak  instru- 
ments, I  am  encouraged,  notwithstanding 
the  apparent  difficulty  of  succeeding,  to  warn 
those,  over  whom  friendship  or  affection  gives 
me  any  influence,  of  the  evil  and  the  danger 
of  a  course  of  life  formed  upon  the  prevailing 


maxims  of  the  world.  So  far  as  I  neglect 
this,  I  am  unfaithful  in  my  professions,  both 
to  God  and  man. 

I  shall  not  at  present  trouble  you  in  an  ar- 
gumentative way.  If  by  dint  of  reasoning  I 
could  effect  some  change  in  your  notions,  my 
arguments,  unless  applied  by  a  superior 
power,  would  still  leave  your  heart  unchanged 
and  untouched.  A  man  may  give  his  assent 
to  the  gospel,  and  be  able  to  defend  it  against 
others,  and  yet  not  have  his  own  spirit  truly 
influenced  by  it.  This  thought  I  shall  leave 
with  you,  that  if  your  scheme  be  not  true  to 
a  demonstration,  it  must  necessarily  be  false  ; 
for  the  issue  is  too  important  to  make  a  doubt 
on  the  dangerous  side  tolerable.  If  the 
christian  could  possibly  be  mistaken,  he  is 
still  upon  equal  terms  with  those  who  pro- 
nounce him  to  be  so  ;  but  if  the  deist  be 
wrong  (that  is,  if  we  are  in  the  right),  the 
consequence  to  him  must  be  unavoidable  and 
intolerable.  This,  you  will  say,  is  a  trite 
argument :  I  own  it ;  but,  beaten  as  it  is,  it 
will  never  be  worn  out  or  answered. 

Permit  me  to  remind  you  that  the  points  in 
debate  between  us  are  already  settled  in  them- 
selves,  and  that  our  talking  cannot  alter  or 
affect  the  nature  of  things,  for  they  will  be  as 
they  are,  whatever  apprehensions  we  may  form 
of  them  ;   and    remember,   likewise,  that  we 
must  all,  each  one  for  himself,  experience  on 
which  side   the  truth  lies.      I  used  a  wrong 
word  when  I  spoke  of  your  recovery  :  my  dear 
friend,  look  upon  it  only  as  a  reprieve,  for  you 
carry  the  sentence  of  death  about  with  you  still, 
and,  unless  you  should  be  cut  off  (which  God 
of  his  mercy  forbid  !)  by  a  sudden  stroke,  you 
will  as  surely  lie  upon  a  deathbed  as  you  have 
been  now  raised  from  a  bed  of  sickness ;  and 
remember   likewise  (how  can  I  bear  to  write 
it  !)  that  should  you  neglect  my  admonitions, 
they  will,  notwithstanding,  have  an  effect  upon 
you,  though  not  such  an  effect  as  I  could  wish  ; 
they  will    render  you  more  inexcusable.      1 
have  delivered  my  own  soul  by  faithfully  warn- 
ing you  :   but  if  you  will  not  examine  the  mat- 
ter witli  that  seriousness  it  calls  for ;  if  you 
will  not  look  up  to  God,  the  former  of  your 
body  and  the  preserver  of  your  spirit,  for  di- 
rection and  assistance  how  to  please  him  ;  if 
you  will  have  your  reading  and  conversation 
only  on  one  side  of  the  question  ;  if  you  de- 
termine to  let  afflictions  and  dangers,  mercies 
and  deliverances,   all   pass  without  reflection 
and  improvement ;  if  you  will  spend  your  life 
as  though  you  thought  you  were  sent  into  the 
world  only  to  eat,  sleep,  and  play,  and,  after 
a   course  of  years,  be  extinguished   like  the 
snufi'  of  a  candle  ; — why,  then,  you  must  abide 
the  consequences.     But  assuredly,  sooner  or 
later,  God  will   meet   you.      My  hearty  daily 
prayer  is,  that  it  may  be  in  a  way  of  mercy, 
and  that  you  may  be  added  to  the  number  of 
the  trophies  of  his  invincible  grace. 
I  am,  &c 


1 1G  ON 


LETTER  XXXVII. 


MJME  POINTS  OF 


CHRISTIAN 
SIDERED. 


EXPERIENCE  CON- 


TO  A  FRIEND 


DEAR  SIR, 

1    trust    the    difference    of    our   sentiments, 
since  we  are  agreed   in  the  one  thing  needful, 
will  no  more  interrupt  our  union  and  fellow- 
ship than  the  difference  of  our  features  or  the 
tone  of  our  voices.    I  wish  you  to  believe  that 
I  would    be  no  advocate  for  carelessness   or 
formality.      I  hope  my  conscience  bears  me 
witness   that,   besides  trusting  in  the  letter  of 
scripture,  I  likewise  desire  an  increase  of  that 
inward  and  comfortable  sense  of  divine  things, 
in  which  I  believe  you  are  happy ;  and  that  I 
wish  not  only  to  be  a  subject  of  the  kingdom 
of  Jesus,  but  likewise  to  have  that  kingdom 
powerfully  set  up  in  my  heart,  which  consists  of 
righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Indeed  I  see  not  how  these  can  be  distinguished, 
or  what  ground  I  could  have  to  think  myself 
a  subject  of  his  kingdom,  unless  I  earnestly  de- 
sired to  have  that  kingdom  in  all  its  branches 
and  blessings  flourishing  in  my  soul.      I  do 
not  know  that  I    live  in   the  neglect   of  any 
means  appointed  of   God  for  my  growth  in 
these  blessings,  or  willingly  allow  myself  in 
what  is  inconsistent  with  them  :    I    think  my 
heart  is  habitually  in  the  pursuit  of  them,  and 
that  there  is  seldom  an  hour  in  any  day  when 
lively  communion  with  my  God,  in  Christ,  is 
not  present  to  my  view  as  the  chief  good.    To 
tiiis  purpose,  through  grace,    I  can    venture 
to  express  myself  to  man,  though  still  it  is 
true,  when  I  come  before  the  Lord,  notwith- 
standing the  diligence  and  circumspection   1 
would  aim  at,   I  see  myself  a  poor  inconsist- 
ent creature,  that  my  strength  is  perfect  weak- 
ness, and  all  I  have  is  sin.      I  confess  I  am 
afraid  of   fixing  the    criterion  of   a   work  of 
grace   too  high,    lest  the   mourners  in   Zion 
should  be  discouraged ;  because    I   find  it  is 
the  will  of  God  that  such  should  not  be  dis- 
couraged, but  comforted,  and  because  it  ap- 
pears to  me  that  the  scriptural  marks  have  re- 
spect rather  to  desires,  if  real,  than  to  attain- 
ments, or  at  least  to  those  attainments  which 
are  often  possessed  by  persons  who  are  kept 
very  short  of  sensible  comforts,  Math.  v.  3—9, 
Luke  xviii.  12.  13,  1  Pet.  ii.  7. 

The  points  between  you  and  me  seem  chiefly 
the  following  :  1.  When  may  a  person  be  pro- 
perly denominated  a  believer  ?  2.  What  are 
the  proper  evidences  and  necessary  concomi- 
tants of  a  lively,  thriving  frame  of  spirit  ? 
3.  Whether  such  a  degree  of  faithfulness  to 
light  received  as  is  consistent  with  the  rem- 
nant of  a  depraved  nature  in  our  present  state 
will  certainly  and  always  preserve  our  souls 


CHRISTIAN  EXPERIENCE.  LET.  XXXVII. 

from  declensions  and  winter-seasons?  4.  Whe- 
ther that  gracious  humility  which  arises  from 
a  due  sense  of  our  own  vileness  and  of  the 
riches  of  divine  grace  be  ordinarily  attainable 
without  some  mortifying  experience  of  the 
deceitfulness  and  desperate  wickedness  of  our 
own  hearts  ?  A  few  lines  upon  each  of  these 
particulars  will,  I  think,  take  in  the  chief  parts 
of  your  letter. 

1 .  We  differ  something  with  respect  to  what 
constitutes  a  believer.  I  own  nothing  has  sur- 
prised me  more,  in  the  course  of  our  friendly 
debate,  than  your  supposing  that  a  person 
should  date  his  conversion  and  his  commen- 
cing a  believer  from  the  time  of  his  receiving 
the  gospel-truths  with  that  clearness  and  power 
as  to  produce  in  him  an  abiding  assurance. 
The  apostle,  in  Eph.  i.  13,  makes  a  plain  dis- 
tinction between  believing  and  being  sealed 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise.  By  the  ex- 
perience and  observation  of  many  years,  I 
have  been  more  and  more  persuaded,  that 
to  represent  assurance  as  being  of  the  es- 
sence of  faith,  is  not  agreeable  to  scripture, 
which,  in  many  places,  either  expressly  as- 
serts or  strongly  intimates  the  contrary,  John 
i.  50,  and  xx.  29,  Rom.  x.  9,  1  John  v.  1 
Whoever  is  not  a  believer  must  be  an  unbe- 
liever ;  there  can  be  no  medium.  Either 
there  are  many  believers  who  have  not  as- 
surance, or  else  there  are  many  unbelievers 
who  love  the  Lord  Jesus,   hate  sin,  are  poor 


in  spirit,  and  adorn  the  doctrine  of  the  gos- 
pel by  their  temper  and  conversation ;  and 
I  doubt  not  but  those  who  now  have  assur- 
ance, had,  before  they  attained  it,  a  some- 
thing which  wrought  by  love,  and  overcame 
the  world.  I  know  no  principle  capable  of 
these  effects  but  faith,  which,  though  at  first 
it  be  like  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  is  the  seed 
of  God  :  though  it  be  faint,  it  is  genuine,  as 
the  dawning  of  light  is  of  the  same  nature 
with  that  which  flows  from  the  noon-day  sun. 
I  allow  that,  while  faith  is  weak,  there  may 
be  little  solid  comfort,  if  by  that  expression 
abiding  comfort  be  meant.  Faith  gives  safely 
and  spiritual  life  ;  abiding  peace  and  establish- 
ment follow  the  sealing  of  the  Spirit.  But 
though  an  infant  has  not  the  strength,  acti- 
vity, and  understanding,  which  he  will  attain 
when  he  arrives  to  the  age  of  manhood,  he  is 
as  fully  possessed  of  a  principle  of  life  while 
he  is  an  infant  as  at  any  time  afterwards. 

2.  We  seem  to  differ  likewise  as  to  the 
marks  of  a  lively,  thriving  spirit ;  at- least  if 
any  are  supposed  to  be  better  or  surer  than 
those  to  which  our  Lord  has  promised  blessed-, 
ness,  Matth.  v.  3 — 9.  He  has  said,  "  Blessed 
are  they  that  mourn  ;"  but  he  has  not  said, 
More  blessed  are  they  that  are  comforted. 
They  are,  to  be  sure,  more  happy  at  present ; 
but  their  blessedness  consists  not  in  their  pre- 
sent comforts,  but  in  those  perceptions  of  gos- 
pel-truths which  form  them  to  that  contrite 
spirit  in  which  God  delighteth,    Is.  lvii.    18. 


LET.  xxxvi  r. 


ON   CHRISTIAN  EXPERIENCE. 


117 


and  which  make  them  capable  of  divine  com- 
forts, and  spiritual  hungering  and  thirsting 
after  them.  Perhaps  we  do  not  argue  ad 
idem ;  we  may  mean  different  things.  I 
would  not  represent  myself  as  a  stranger  to 
peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  the 
midst  of  all  my  conflicts  I  have  a  heartfelt  sa- 
tisfaction from  the  gospel,  which  nothing  else 
could  give.  But  I  mean,  though  this  be 
with  me  as  an  abiding  principle,  it  rarely  af- 
fords me  what  I  think  you  intend  when  you 
speak  of  sensible  comforts.  I  cannot  feel 
that  warmth  of  heart,  that  glowing  of  love, 
which  the  knowledge  of  such  a  Saviour  should 
inspire.  I  account  it  my  sin,  and  I  feel  it 
my  burden,  that  I  cannot.  And  when  I 
truly  do  this,  when  I  can  abhor  myself  for 
my  stupidity,  mourn  over  it,  and  humbly  look 
up  to  the  Lord  for  relief  against  it,  I  judge 
my  soul  to  be  at  such  times  as  much  alive  to 
God  as  it  would  be  if  he  saw  fit  to  increase 
my  comfort.  Let  me  always  either  rejoice  in 
him  or  mourn  after  him  :  I  would  leave  the 
alternative  to  him,  who  knows  best  how  to 
suit  his  dispensations  to  my  state ;  and  1 
trust  he  knows  that  I  do  not  say  this  because 
I  set  a  small  value  upon  his  presence.  As  to 
the  experience  of  the  apostles,  I  believe  they 
■were  patterns  to  all  succeeding  believers  : 
but,  with  some  regard  to  the  several  trials  and 
services  to  which  we  may  be  Colled  in  this 
world,  he  distributes  severally  to  all  his  peo- 
ple according  to  his  own  will,  yet  with  a  wise 


means,  care  to  avoid  all  occasions  of  sin,  an 
endeavour  to  glorify  God  in  our  callings,  and 
an  eye  to  Jesus  as  our  all  in  all ;  — these  things 
are  to  me  sure  indications  that  the  soul  is 
right,  that  the  Lord  is  present,  and  that  grace 
is  thriving  and  in  exercise,  whether  sensible 
consolations  abound  or  not. 

3.  I  propose  the  third  question,  concerning 
such  a  degree  of  faithfulness  to  light  received, 
as  is  consistent  with  the  remnants  of  a  deprav- 
ed nature,  because  I  apprehend  one  effect  of 
indwelling  sin  is,  to  render  it  morally  impos- 
sible for  us  to  be  entirely  faithful  to  that  light 
and  power  which  God  has  given  us.  It  may 
sound  like  a  contradiction,  to  say  we  cannot  do 
what  we  can  do ;  but  there  are  many  enigmas 
in  a  believer's  experience,  at  least  in  mine ; 
and  I  never  expect  to  meet  the  man  that 
knows  his  own  heart,  that  will  say  he  is  al- 
ways faithful,  diligent,  and  obedient,  to  the  full 
extent  of  his  ability  ;  I  rather  expect  he  would 
confess  with  me,  that  he  feels  a  need  of  more 
ability,  and  fresh  supplies  of  grace,  to  enable 
him  to  make  a  better  improvement  of  what  he 
had  already  received.  If  some,  as  you  sup- 
pose, in  their  dullest  frames  can  read  the 
Bible,  go  to  the  throne  of  grace,  and  mourn 
(as  they  ought)  over  what  is  amiss,  I  must  say 
for  myself,  I  can,  and  I  cannot.  Without 
doubt  I  can  take  the  Bible  in  my  hand,  and 
force  myself  to  read  it ;  I  can  kneel  down, 
and  I  can  see  I  ought  to  mourn ;  but  to  un- 
derstand and  attend   to    what   I    read,    to    en 


and  gracious  accommodation   to  the  circum- 1  gage  my  heart  in  prayer,  or  to  be  duly  hum- 


stances  and  situations  of  each.  The  apostle 
Paul  connects  the  abounding  of  his  consola- 
tions with  the  abounding  of  his  afflictions, 
and  with  the  state  of  the  people  to  whom  he 
preached,  2  Cor.  i  4 — 7  ;  and  if,  instead  of 
preaching  the  gospel  from  Jerusalem  to  Illy- 
ricum  in  the  face  of  persecution,  he  had  lived 
in  a  land  of  liberty,  and  been  confined  to  a 
parochial  cure,  for  aught  I  know,  his  cup 
might  not  have  run  over  so  often.  Succeed- 
ing ministers  of  the  gospel,  when  called  to 
very  laborious  and  painful  services,  have,  for 
the  like  reasons,  been  often  favoured  with  a 
double  portion  of  that  joy  which  makes  hard 
things  easy  and  bitter  things  sweet ;  and,  in 
general,  all  the  Lord's  people  who  walk  hum- 
bly before  him,  may  expect  that  in,  or  after 
seasons  of  great  trial,  and  in  proportion  to 
their  pressures,  he  will  favour  them  with  pe- 
culiar comforts.  It  is  in  this  way  he,  in  a 
great  measure,  fulfils  his  promise  of  making 
their  strength  equal  to  their  day  ;  and  I  am 
enabled  to  trust  him  in  this  matter,  that  if 
he  should,  at  any  time,  see  fit  to  call  me  to 
a  more  difficult  and  dangerous  sphere  of  ser- 
vice, or  lead  me  into  the  furnace  of  affliction, 
he  would,  if  he  saw  it  needful,  support  and 
refresh  me  by  such  manifestations  of  his  glory 
and  love,  as  I  know  but  little  of  at  present. 
In  a  word,  an  humble,  dependent  frame  of 
spirit,   perseverance   in  the  use  of  appointed 


bled  under  the  sense  of  so  dark  and  dissipated 
a  state  of  mind  ;  these  things  at  some  seasons, 
I  can  no  more  do  than  I  can  raise  the  dead, 
and  yet  I  cannot  plead  positive  inability  ;  I 
am  satisfied  that  what  prevents  me  is  my  sin, 
but  it  is  the  sin  of  my  nature,  the  sin  that 
dwellcth  in  me :  and  I  expect  it  will  be  thus 
with  me  at  times,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
till  this  body  of  sin  shall  be  wholly  destroyed. 
Yet  I  believe  the  Lord  is  with  me,  even  when 
he  seems  to  be  absent,  otherwise  my  corrup- 
tions, at  such  seasons,  might  easily  prevail  to 
betray  me  into  open  or  allowed  sin,  which, 
blessed  be  the  grace  and  care  of  my  good 
Shepherd,  is  not  the  case.  I  know  not  if  I 
rightly  understand  the  expression,  "  We  may 
humbly  hope,  that  those  things  we  fall  into, 
which  are  not  in  our  power  to  prevent,  will 
not  be  set  to  our  account."  The  least  of  the 
evils  I  feel,  and  which  seem  most  involuntary, 
if  set  to  my  account,  would  ruin  me  ;  and  I 
trust,  that  even  my  worst  deviations  shall  not 
appear  against  me,  because  I  am  a  believer  in 
Jesus  ;  and  I  know,  and  am  sure,  that  I  do 
not  wish  to  continue  in  sin  that  grace  may 
abound.  My  conscience  bears  me  witness, 
that  I  would  not  desire  the  rule  of  duty  to  be 
narrowed  or  accommodated  to  my  imperfections 
in  a  single  instance.  If  the  expression  only 
means,  that  these  unavoidable  effects  of  oui 
evil  nature  should  r"t  break  our  peace  of  con- 


J18 


ON  RELIGION   AS  NECESSARY  TO 


LET.  XXXVIII 


science,  or  discourage  us  in  our  approaches 
to  God,  I  am  of  the  same  mind  ;  through 
mercy  I  have  seldom  any  more  doubt  of  my 
acceptance  in  the  Beloved,  when  in  a  dark 
frame  than  when  I  am  most  favoured  with 
liberty. 

4.   Whether  true  evangelical  humility,  and 
an    enlarged    view    of  the  grace  of    God  in 
Christ,  triumphing  over  all  obstacles,  be  ordi- 
narily attainable  without  an  experience  of  de- 
clensions, backslidings,  and  repeated  forgive- 
ness, is  the  last  question  I  shall  consider.      I 
dare  sav  you  will  do  me  the  justice  to  believe, 
that  I  would  not  advise  any  one   to  run  into 
sin  in  order  to  get   a  knowledge   of  his  own 
heart.     David   broke  his  bones   thereby :    he 
obtained  an  affecting  proof  of  his  inability  of 
standing  in  his  own  strength,  and  of  the  skill 
and  goodness  of   his    Physician    who  healed 
him  ;  yet  no  man  in  his  wits  would  break  his 
bones  for  the  sake  of  making  experiments,  if 
he  were  ever  so  sure  they  would  be  well  set 
a<rain.      You   think   that  a  believer   is   never 
more  humble  in  his  own  eyes,  or  admires  Jesus 
more,  than  when  he  is  filled  with  joy  and  peace. 
I  readily  allow,  that   the   present  impressions 
of  divine  love  are  humbling  :  however,  the  di- 
rect tendency  of  gracious  consolations  in  them- 
selves is  one  thing  ;  what  evils  they  may  after- 
wards occasion  through  the  desperate  depravity 
of  our  hearts,  is  another.     We  have  a  memora- 
ble case  in  point  to  explain  my  meaning.    The 
apostle  Paul's  recollection  of  his  course  while 
in  a  natural  state,  and  the  singular  manner  of 
his  conversion,  were  evidently  suited  to  make 
him  an  humble  christian,  and  he  was  so.      By 
an  especial  favour  of  the  Lord,  he   was  after- 
wards taken  up  into  the  third  heaven  ;  what 
he  saw  or  heard  there  he  has  not  told  us,  but 
surely  he  met  with  nothing  that   could   have 
a  tendency  to  make  him  proud ;  doubtless  he 
saw  Jesus  in  his  glory,  and  the  humble  spiri- 
tual  worship    of  heaven  ;  a  sight    which  we 
might  deem  sufficient  to  make  him   walk  in 
self-abasement  all  the  days   of  his  life :   but 
Paul,  though  an  eminent  saint,  was  still  liable 
to  the  effects  of  indwelling   sin  ;  he   was   in 
danger  of  being  exalted   through  the  abund- 
ance of  revelations,   and  the   Lord,    his  wise 
and  gracious  keeper,  saw  fit,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent it,  that  a  messenger   from   Satan   should 
be  given  him  to  buffet  him.      Pride  is  so  sub- 
tle, that   it  can   gather   strength,  even    from 
those  gracious  manifestations  which   seem  di- 
rectly calculated  to  mortify  it ;  so  dangerous, 
that  a  messenger  from  Satan  himself  may  be 
esteemed  a  mercy,  if  over-ruled  and  sanctified 
by  the  Lord,  to  make  or  keep  us  more  hum- 
ble :   therefore,    though   we   can  never  be  too 
earnest  in  striving  against  sin,  too  watchful  in 
abstaining    from  all  appearance  of  evil,   and 
though   they   who   wait  upon   the  Lord  may 
comfortably  hope,  that  he  will   preserve   them 
from  such   tilings   as  would   dishonour   their 
profession  in  the  sight  of  men,  yet   I  appre- 


hend they  who  appear  most  to  adorn  the  gos- 
pel in  their  outward  conversation,  are  consci- 
ous of  many  things  between  the  Lord  and 
their  own  souls,  which  covers  them  w.ith  shame, 
and  that  his  tenderness  and  mercy  to  them, 
notwithstanding  their  perverseness,  constrains 
them  with  admiration  to  adopt  the  language 
of  Micah,  "  Who  is  a  God  like  unto  thee, 
that  pardoneth  iniquity,  and  passeth  by  the 
transgression  of  the  remnant  of  his  heri- 
tage ?"  and  I  believe  likewise,  that,  without 
such  striking  and  repeated  proofs  of  what  is 
in  their  hearts,  they  would  not  so  feelingly 
enter  into  the  spirit  of  Job's  confession,  "  Be- 
hold, I  am  vile!"  nor  would  they  have  such 
a  lively  sense  of  their  obligations  to  the  mer- 
ciful care  and  faithfulness  of  their  great  Shep- 
herd, or  of  their  entire  and  absolute  depend- 
ence upon  him,  for  wisdom,  righteousness, 
sanctification,  and  redemption.  I  find  these 
considerations  useful  and  necessary  to  recon- 
cile me  to  my  lot.  The  Lord  knows  what  I 
need,  and  what  I  can  bear :  gladly  would  I 
receive,  earnestly  would  I  desire,  more  of 
comforts  while  here  ;  but  if  I  mourn  now,  I 
hope  to  be  comforted  in  heaven.  In  the  mean 
time  it  is  more  immediately  necessary  for  me, 
both  as  a  christian  and  as  a  minister,  that  I 
should  be  humbled  ;  the  Lord's  will  be  done. 
I  cannot  pretend  to  determine  what  ministers, 
or  what  body  of  people  come  nearest  the  cha- 
racter of  the  primitive  times,  but  in  my  judg- 
ment they  are  the  happiest  who  have  the  low- 
est thoughts  of  themselves,  and  in  whose  eyes 
Jesus  is  most  glorious  and  precious. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXXVIII. 

THAT  TRUE  RELIGION  IS  NECESSARY,  IN  ORDER 
TO  THE  BEST  ENJOYMENT  OF  THE  PLEA- 
SURES OF  THE  PRESENT  LIFE. 

TO  A  GAY  FRIEND. 

DEAR  SIR, 

Though  I  truly  love  you,  and  have  no  reason 
to  doubt  of  the  reality  of  your  friendship  to 
me;  yet  I  cannot  but  apprehend,  that  not- 
withstanding our  mutual  regard,  and  my  fre- 
quent attempts  to  be  witty,  if  I  could,  for 
your  diversion,  there  is  a  something  in  most 
of  my  letters  (which  I  cannot,  dare  not,  wholly 
suppress),  that  disgusts  and  wearies  you,  and 
makes  you  less  inclined  to  keep  up  a  frequent 
intercourse  than  you  would  otherwise  be.  Ra- 
ther than  lose  you  quite,  I  will  in  general 
spare  you  as  much  as  I  can  ;  but  at  present 
you  must  bear  with  me,  and  allow  me  full 
scope.  You  have  given  me  a  challenge,  which 
I  know  not  how  to  pass  over;  and  since  you 
so  far  justify  my  preaching,  as  to  condescend 
to  preach  (in  your  way)  yourself,  permit  me, 


THE  ENJOYMENT  OF  LIFE. 


LET.  XXXVIII. 

for  this  time,  to   preach  again,  and   to  take 
some  passages  in  your  letter  for  my  text. 

In  the  present  debate,  I  will  accept  your 
compliment,  and  suppose  myself  to  be,  as  you 
say,  a  man  of  sense.  You  allow,  then,  that 
all  the  sense  is  not  on  your  side.  This,  in- 
deed, you  cannot  deny  ;  for  whatever  becomes 
of  me,  it  is  needless  to  tell  you,  that  Hale, 
Boyle,  and  other  great  names  I  could  men- 
tion, were  men  of  as  great  penetration  and 
judgment,  had  as  good  opportunities,  and 
took  as  much  pains  to  be  informed  of  the 
truth,  as  any  of  the  advocates  for  infidelity 
can  pretend  to.  And  yon  cannot,  with  any 
modesty  or  consistence,  absolutely  determine, 
that  they  had  not  as  good  grounds  for  think- 
ing themselves  right,  as  you  can  have  for  con . 
eluding  they  were  wrong. 

But,  declining  the  advantage  of  human  au- 
thority, I  am  content  the  point  should  rest  be- 
tween you  and  me.  And  here  I  beg  you  to 
observe,  that  I  have  one  evident  advantage  over 
you  in  judging,  namely,  that  I  have  experi- 
enced the  good  and  evil  on  both  sides,  and 
you  only  on  one.  If  you  were  to  send  me  an 
inventory  of  your  pleasures,  how  charmingly 
your  time  runs  on,  and  how  dexterously  it  is 
divided  between  the  coffee-houses,  play-house, 
the  card-table,  and  tavern,  with  intervals  of 
balls,  concerts,  &c.  ;  I  could  answer,  that  most 
of  these  I  have  tried,  and  tried  again,  and  know 
the  utmost  they  can  yield,  and  have  seen  en- 
ough of  the  rest,  most  heartily  to  despise  them 
all.  Setting  religion  entirely  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, I  profess  I  had  rather  be  a  worm  to  crawl 
upon  the  ground,  than  to  bear  the  name  of 
Man  upon  the  poor  terms  of  whiling  away  my 
life  in  an  insipid  round  of  such  insignificant 
and  unmanly  trifles.  I  will  return  your  own 
expression, — I  believe  you  to  be  a  person  of 
sense  ;  but  alas  !  how  do  you  prostitute  your 
talents  and  capacity  ;  how  far  do  you  act  be- 
low yourself,  if  you  know  no  higher  purpose 
of  life  than  these  childish  dissipations,  toge- 
ther with  the  more  serious  business  of  rising 
early  and  sitting  up  late,  to  amass  money, 
that  you  may  be  able  to  enlarge  your  expenses ! 
I  am  sure,  while  I  lived  in  these  things,  I 
found  them  unsatisfying  and  empty  to  the  last 
degree  ;  and  the  only  advantage  they  afforded 
(miserable  are  they  who  are  forced  to  deem  it 
an  advantage)  was,  that  they  often  relieved 
me  from  the  trouble  and  burden  of  thinking. 
If  you  have  any  other  pleasures  than  these, 
they  are  such  as  must  be  evil  and  inconve- 
nient, even  upon  your  own  plan ;  and,  there- 
fore, my  friendship  will  not  allow  me  to  bring 
them  into  the  account.  I  am  willing  to  hope 
you  do  not  stoop  still  lower  in  pursuit  of  sa- 
tisfaction. Thus  far  we  stand  upon  even 
ground.  You  know  all  that  a  life  of  pleasure 
can  give,  and  I  know  it  likewise. 

On  die  other  hand,  if  I  should  attempt  to 
explain  to  you  the  source  and  streams  of  my 
best  pleasures,    such  as  a  comfortable  assur- 


119 


ance  of  the  pardon  of  my  sins,  an  habitual 
communion  with  the  God  who  mad»  heaven 
and  earth,  a  calm  reliance  on  the  divine  pro- 
vidence, the  cheering  prospect  of  a  better  life 
in  a  better  world,  with  the  pleasing  foretastes 
of  heaven  in  my  own  soul ;  should  I,  or  could 
I,  tell  you  the  pleasure  I  often  find  in  read- 
ing the  scriptures,  in  the  exercise  of  prayer, 
and  in  that  sort  of  preaching  and  conversa* 
tion  which  you  despise ;  I  doubt  not  but  you 
would  think  as  meanly  of  my  happiness  as  I 
do  of  yours.  But  here  lies  the  difference,  my 
dear  friend,  you  condemn  that  which  you 
have  never  tried.  You  know  no  more  of  these 
things  than  a  blind  man  does  of  colours ;  and, 
notwithstanding  all  your  flourishes,  I  defy 
you  to  be  at  all  times  able  to  satisfy  yourself, 
that  things  may  not  possibly  be  as  I  have  re- 
presented them. 

Besides,  what  do  I  lose  upon  my  plan,  that 
should  make  me  so  worthy  of  your  pity  ? 
Have  you  a  quicker  relish  in  the  prudent  use 
of  temporal  comforts  ?  Do  you  think  I  do 
not  eat  my  food  with  as  much  pleasure  as  you 
can  do,  though,  perhaps,  with  less  cost  and 
variety  ?  Is  your  sleep  sounder  than  mine  ? 
Have  not  I  as  much  satisfaction  in  social  life? 
It  is  true,  to  join  much  with  the  gay  flutter- 
ing tribe,  who  spend  their  days  in  laugh*  and 
sing-song,  is  equally  contrary  to  my  duty  and 
inclination.  But  I  have  friends  and  acquaint- 
ance as  well  as  you.  Among  the  many  who 
favour  me  with  their  esteem  and  friendship, 
there  are  some  who  are  persons  of  sense, 
learning,  wit,  and  (what,  perhaps,  may  weigh 
as  much  with  you)  of  fortune  and  distinction. 
And  if  you  should  say,  "  Ay,  but  they  are 
all  enthusiasts  like  yourself,"  you  would  say 
nothing  to  the  purpose,  since,  upon  your 
maxim,  that  "  happiness  is  according  to  opi- 
nion," it  cannot  be  an  objection,  but  the  con- 
trary, to  have  my  acquaintance  to  my  own 
taste.  Thus  much  for  the  brighter  side  of 
your  situation  ;  or,  let  me  add  one  thing  more. 
I  know  you  have  thoughts  of  marriage ;  do 
you  think,  if  you  should  enter  into  this  rela- 
tion, your  principles  are  calculated  to  make 
you  more  happy  in  it  than  I  am  ?  You  are 
well  acquainted  with  our  family-life.  Do  you 
propose  to  know  more  of  the  peace  and  heart- 
felt joy  of  domestic  union  than  I  have  known, 
and  continue  to  know  to  this  hour  ?  I  wish 
you  may  equal  us ;  and  if  you  do,  we  shall 
still  be  as  before,  but  upon  even  ground.  I 
need  not  turn  deist,  to  enjoy  the  best  and  the 
most  that  this  life  can  afford. 

But  I  need  not  tell  you,  that  the  present 
life  is  not  made  up  of  pleasureable  incidents 
only.  Pain,  sickness,  losses,  disappointments, 
injuries,  and  affronts  with  men,  will  more  or 
less,  at  one  time  or  other  be  our  lot.  And 
can  you  bear  these  trials  better  than  I  ?  You 
will  not  pretend  to  it.  Let  me  appeal  to 
yourself:  How  often  do  you  toss  an  1  dis- 
quiet yourself,  like  a  wild  bull  in  a  net,  when 


120 


A   WORD   IN   SEASON. 


LET.  XXXIX 


things  cross  your  expectations  ?  As  your 
thoughts  are  more  engrossed  by  what  you 
see,  you  must  be  more  keenly  sensible  of 
what  you  feel.  You  cannot  view  these  trials 
as  appointed  by  a  wise  and  heavenly  Father, 
in  subservience  to  your  good :  you  cannot 
taste  the  sweetness  of  his  promises,  nor  feel  the 
secret  supports  of  his  strength,  in  an  hour  of 
affliction ;  you  cannot  so  cast  your  burden 
and  care  upon  him,  as  to  rind  a  sensible  relief 
to  your  spirit  thereby ;  nor  can  you  see  his 
hand  engaged  and  employed  in  effecting  your 
deliverance.  Of  these  things  you  know  no 
more  than  of  the  art  of  flying  ;  but  I  seriously 
assure  you,  and  I  believe  my  testimony  will 
go  farther  with  you  than  my  judgment,  that 
they  are  realities,  and  that  I  have  found  them 
to  be  so.  When  my  worldly  concerns  have 
been  most  thorny  and  discouraging,  I  have 
once  and  again  felt  the  most  of  that  peace 
which  the  world  can  neither  give  nor  take 
away.  However,  I  may  state  the  case  still 
lower.  You  do  pretty  well  among  your 
friends;  but  how  do  you  like  being  alone? 
Wrould  you  not  give  something  for  that  happy 
secret,  which  could  enable  you  to  pass  a 
rainy  day  pleasantly,  without  the  assistance  of 
business,  company,  or  amusement  ?  Would 
it  ngt  mortify  you  greatly  to  travel  for  a  week 
in  an  unfrequented  road,  where  you  should 
meet  with  no  lively  incidents  to  recruit  and 
raise  your  spirits  ?  Alas  !  what  a  poor  scheme 
of  pleasure  is  yours,  that  will  not  support  an 
interval  of  reflection ! 

What  you  have  heard  is  true :  I  have  a 
few  friends,  who  meet  at  my  house  once  a- 
fortnight,  and  we  spend  an  hour  or  two  in 
worshipping  the  God  who  made  us.  And  can 
this  move  your  indignation  or  your  compas- 
sion ?  Does  it  shew  a  much  nobler  spirit,  a 
more  refined  way  of  thinking,  to  live  altoge- 
ther without  God  in  the  world  ?  If  I  kept  a 
card-assembly  at  those  times,  it  would  not  dis- 
please you.  How  can  you,  as  a  person  of 
sense,  avoid  being  shocked  at  your  own  un- 
happy prejudice  ?  But  I  remember  how  it 
was  once  with  myself,  and  forbear  to  wonder. 
May  He  who  has  opened  my  eyes,  open  yours. 
He  only  can  do  it.  I  do  not  expect  to  con- 
vince you  by  any  thing  I  can  say  as  of  myself ; 
but  if  He  is  pleased  to  make  use  of  me  as  his 
instrument,  then  you  will  be  convinced.  How 
should  I  then  rejoice  !  I  should  rejoice  to  be 
useful  to  any  one,  but  especially  to  you,  whom 
I  dearly  love.  May  God  shew  you  your  true 
self,  and  your  true  state;  then  you  will  at- 
tentively listen  to  what  you  now  disdain  to 
hear  of,  his  goodness  in  providing  redemption 
and  pardon  for  the  chief  of  sinners,  through 
him  who  died  upon  the  cross  for  sins  not  his 
own.  Keep  this  letter  by  you  at  my  request ; 
and  when  you  write,  tell  me  that  you  receive 
it  in  good  part,  and  that  you  still  believe  me 
to  be,  &c. 


LETTER  XXXIX. 

A  WORD  IN  SEASON. 
DEAR  SIR, 

In  this  dark  and  declining  day,  when  ini- 
quity abounds,  the  awful  tokens  of  God's 
displeasure  are  multiplying  around  us,  and 
too  many  professors,  not  duly  sensible  of  the 
real  cause  of  all  the  evils  we  either  feel,  or 
have  reason  to  fear,  are  disputing,  instead  of 
praying,  may  the  Lord  bestow  upon  you  and 
me,  and  upon  all  who  fear  his  name,  a  spirit 
suited  to  the  times ;  that  the  words  of  David, 
"  I  beheld  the  transgressors,  and  was  grieved," 
may  express  the  very  sensation  and  frame  of 
our  hearts.  Permit  me  to  keep  this  expres- 
sion in  my  view  while  I  write,  though  it  may 
perhaps  give  my  letter  something  of  the  air 
of  a  sermon. 

The  Hebrew  word  answering  to  "  I  was 
grieved,"  signifies  such  a  kind  of  grief  as  is 
mixed  with  dislike  ;  such  a  grief  as  a  believer 
must  feel  when  he  has  a  sense  of  his  own  cor- 
ruptions. It  is  frequently  rendered,  as  in 
Ezek.  xx.  43.  to  loathe:  "  You  shall  loathe 
yourselves  in  your  own  sight."  We  are  not 
required  strictly  to  hate  ourselves,  but  the 
evil  that  is  in  us.  So,  when  we  look  at  trans- 
gressors, we  are  not  to  hate,  but  to  pity  them, 
mourn  over  them,  and  pray  for  them ;  nor 
have  we  any  right  to  boast  over  them ;  for  by 
nature,  and  of  ourselves,  we  are  no  better 
than  they.  But  their  sinfulness  should  cause 
a  dislike,  an  holy  indignation ;  as  it  is  re- 
corded of  our  Lord,  who,  though  full  of  com- 
passion and  tenderness,  so  that  he  wept  over 
his  enemies,  and  prayed  for  his  actual  mur- 
derers, yet  looked  upon  transgressors  with 
anger,  being  grieved  for  the  hardness  of  their 
hearts. 

A  feeling  of  this  kind  seems  essential  to 
that  new  nature  which  characterises  the  child- 
ren of  God  ;  and,  where  it  is  not  in  habitual 
exercise,  it  is  a  sufficient  evidence  that  the  soul, 
if  truly  alive  to  God  at  all,  is  at  least  in  a 
lean  and  distempered  state.  Who  can  avoid 
heing  grieved  and  hurt  by  that  which  is  in  di- 
rect opposition  to  what  he  most  loves  ?  Be- 
lievers love  holiness,  and,  unless  when  stupi- 
fied  by  the  arts  of  Satan,  can  hardly  bear  them- 
selves for  what  they  find  contrary  to  it  within 
their  own  breasts,  and  must  therefore,  of 
course,  be  grieved  with  the  sins  of  others. 
Like  righteous  Lot,  and  from  his  principles, 
they  are  "  vexed  with  the  conversation  of  the 
wicked."  Can  they  who  reverence  the  name 
of  God  be  easy  and  unconcerned  when  they 
hear  it  blasphemed  ?  No :  their  ears  are 
wounded,  and  their  hearts  are  pained.  Can 
they  who  are  followers  of  peace  and  purity  be- 
hold unmoved  the  riots,   licentiousness,  and 


LET.  XXXIX. 

daring  wickedness  of  those  who  have  cast  off 
both  shame  and  fear  ?  Can  they  who  have 
oowels  of  mercy  and  compassion,  be  unaf- 
fected when  they  see  the  iron  hand  of  oppres- 
sion grinding  the  faces  of  the  poor  ?  Or  can 
any  who  love  the  songs  of  Zion,  help  being 
shocked  with  the  songs  of  drunkards  ?  I 
trust  there  are  many,  who,  upon  these  ac- 
counts, are  daily  crying,  "  My  soul  is  among 
lions  :"  "  Wo  is  me  that  I  dwell  in  Meshech  !" 
"  O  gather  not  my  soul  with  sinners."  The 
thought  of  being  shut  up  for  ever  with  the 
ungodly  would  be  terrible  as  hell  to  a  gracious 
soul,  though  there  were  no  devouring  fire,  no 
keen  sense  of  the  wrath  of  God  to  be  feared. 

They  are  grieved  likewise  upon  their  Lord's 
account,  for  they  have  obtained  a  spark  of 
zeal  for  his  honour  and  glory.  With  Elijah, 
they  are  "  very  jealous  for  the  Lord  of  hosts." 
They  feel  their  obligations  to  him,  and  know 
he  well  deserves  to  reign  in  every  heart.  But 
when,  on  the  contrary,  they  see  almost  every 
one  in  a  conspiracy  against  him,  despising 
him  to  his  face,  trampling  upon  his  laws,  re- 
jecting his  authority,  and  abusing  his  patience, 
their  eyes  affect  their  hearts.  What  man  of 
sensibility  could  brook  to  see  every  one  about 
him  contriving  how  to  affront  and  injure  the 
person  whom  he  most  loved?  Now  the  Lord 
is  the  believer's  best  friend,  the  beloved  of 
his  soul ;  and  therefore  he  is  grieved  and 
troubled  when  he  "  beholds  the  transgres- 
sors." 

This  emotion  is  likewise  heightened  by  com- 
passion to  souls.  Grace  gives  some  view  of 
the  evil  of  sin,  the  dreadfulness  of  the  wrath 
of  God,  and  the  vast  importance  of  that  word 
eternity.  Thus  instructed  in  the  sanctuary 
of  God,  they  would  be  stocks  and  stones, 
were  they  capable  of  beholding  sinners  rush- 
ing upon  destruction  without  being  grieved 
for  them.  But  they  cannot  bear  it :  they 
cannot  but  give  and  repeat  a  faithful  warn- 
ing, though  they  have  little  reason  to  expect 
any  better  return  than  scorn  and  ill-treatment 
for  what  the  world  accounts  an  impertinent 
officiousness. 

But  who  then  are  believers  ?  Who  are  thus 
"  on  the  Lord's  side  ?"  If  these  sentiments 
are  common  and  radical  to  all  who  are  born 
of  God,  can  we  make  no  abatement  ?  Or 
must  we  unchristian  perhaps  the  greater  part 
of  professors  at  this  time  ?  for  it  is  too  evi- 
dent that  many,  who  bear  the  name  of  gospel- 
professors,  discover  but  little  of  this  concern. 
In  general,  I  think  this  subject  affords  no 
improper  test  for  the  trial  of  our  spirits.  The 
effects  of  grace,  in  similar  circumstances,  are 
uniform  ;  but  if  any,  who  think  themselves 
possessors  of  it,  feel  no  grief  for  the  abound- 
ing of  sin  and  the  obstinacy  of  sinners,  they 
differ  from  the  saints  recorded  both  in  the 
Old  and  New  Testament,  and  it  will  be  their 
wisdom  to  examine  and  take  heed  lest  they  be 
deceived.       It  is  easy  to   call   Christ,   Lord, 


A   AVORD  IN  SEASON. 


121 


Lord  ;  but  a  criminal  lukewarmness  of  spirit, 
where  his  cause,  honour,  and  gospel  are  in 
question,  will  one  day  meet  with  an  awful  re- 
buke, and  be  treated,  in  those  who  make  men- 
tion of  his  name,  as  high  treason  against  his 
person  and  government. 

But  if  we  allow  that,  through  the  conta- 
gion of  the  times  and  the  power  of  Satan,  it 
is  possible  for  true  christians  to  sink  into  thia 
indifference,  and  for  the  wise,  as  well  as  the 
foolish  virgins,  to  sleep,  when  they  should  be 
watching  unto  prayer ;  even  these  have  much 
to  fear,  lest  they  should  largely  participate  in 
the  sufferings  which  the  provocations  they 
connive  at  have  a  direct  tendency  to  bring 
upon  a  sinful  people.  When  national  sins 
draw  down  national  judgments,  the  Lord  has 
given  us  a  hope,  that  he  will  fix  a  mark  of  pro- 
tection upon  them  who  sigh  and  mourn  in  se- 
cret before  him,  for  the  evils  which  they  are 
unable  to  prevent.  To  these  he  will  be  a 
sanctuary  ;  he  will  either  preserve  them  un- 
hurt in  the  midst  of  surrounding  calamities, 
or  he  will  support  them  with  consolations  su- 
perior to  all  their  troubles,  when  the  hearts  of 
others  are  shaken  like  leaves  in  a  storm.  But 
none  have  reason  to  expect  to  be  thus  pri- 
vileged, who  have  not  a  heart  given  them  to 
lament  their  own  sins  and  the  sins  of  those 
among  whom  they  live. 

Surely  the  Lord  has  a  controversy  with  this 
land ;  and  there  hardly  can  be  a  period  as- 
signed in  the  annals  of  ages,  when  it  was 
more  expedient  or  seasonable  for  those  who 
fear  him  to  stir  up  each  other  to  humiliation 
and  prayer  than  at  present.  What  is  com- 
monly called  our  national  debt  is  swelled  to 
an  enormous  greatness.  It  may  be  quickly 
expressed  in  figures  ;  but  a  person  must  be 
something  versed  in  calculation  to  form  a  tole- 
rable idea  of  accumulated  millions.  But  what 
arithmetic  is  sufficient  to  compute  the  immen- 
sity of  our  national  debt  in  a  spiritual  sense  ? 
or,  in  other  words,  the  amount  of  our  national 
sins  ?  The  spirit  of  infidelity,  which,  for  a 
time,  distinguished  comparatively  a  few,  and, 
like  a  river,  was  restrained  within  narrow 
bounds,  has  of  late  years  broken  down  its 
banks  and  deluged  the  land.  This  wide- 
spreading  evil  has,  in  innumerable  instances, 
as  might  be  expected,  emboldened  the  natu- 
ral heart  against  the  fear  of  God,  hardened  it 
to  an  insensibility  of  moral  obligation,  and 
strengthened  its  prejudices  against  the  gospel. 
The  consequence  has  been,  that  profligate 
wickedness  is  become  almost  as  universal  as 
the  air  we  breathe,  and  is  practised  with  little 
more  reserve  or  secrecy  than  the  transactions 
of  common  business,  except  in  such  instances 
as  would  subject  the  offender  to  the  penalty  of 
human  laws.  O  the  unspeakable  patience  of 
God !  The  multiplied  instances  of  impiety, 
blasphemy,  cruelty,  adultery,  villany,  and  abo- 
minations not  to  be  thought  of  without  hor- 
ror,   under  which  this  land  groans,  are  only 


122 


TO  PROFESSORS  IN  TRADE. 


LET.    XL 


known  to  him  who  knoweth  all  tilings.  There 
are  few  sins  which  imply  greater  contempt  of 
God,  or  a  more  ohdurate  state  of  mind  in  the 
offender,  than  perjury,  yet  the  guilt  of  it  is  so 
little  regarded,  and  temptations  to  it  so  very 
frequent,  that  perhaps  I  do  not  go  too  far  in 
supposing  there  are  more  deliberate  acts  of 
perjury  committed  amongst  us  than  among 
all  the  rest  of  mankind  taken  together.  Though 
some  of  the  Roman  poets  and  historians  have 
given  veiy  dark  pictures  of  the  times  they  lived 
in,  their  worst  descriptions  of  this  kind  would 
hardly  be  found  exaggerated  if  applied  to  our 
own.  But  what  are  the  sins  of  heathens,  if 
compared  with  the  like  evils  perpetrated  in  a 
land  bearing  the  name  of  christian,  favoured 
with  the  word  of  God,  the  light  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  enjoying  the  blessings  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty  and  peace  in  a  higher  degree, 
and  for  a  longer  continuance,  than  was  af- 
forded to  any  people  of  whose  history  we  have 
heard  ? 

The  state  of  the  churches  of  Christ  at  this 
time  affords  likewise  ample  cause  for  humilia- 
tion and  grief.  The  formality,  conformity  to 
the  world,  the  want  of  love,  the  intemperate, 
and  unprofitable  contentions,  which  prevail 
among  us,  shew  how  faintly  the  power  of  the 
gospel  is  felt,  even  by  many  who  profess  to 
have  embraced  it.  The  true  and  undefiled 
doctrine  of  Jesus  is  not  only  opposed  by  its 
declared  enemies,  but  wounded  and  disho- 
noured in  the  house  of  its  friends.  And 
though  the  sins  of  those  who  avow  subjection 
to  the  institutions  of  Christ,  may  not  have  so 
gross  a  stamp  of  profligacy  and  immorality, 
as  of  those  who  set  him  openly  at  defiance  ; 
yet  they  have,  in  some  respects,  an  aggrava- 
tion, of  which  the  others  are  not  capable  ;  as 
being  committed  against  clearer  light,  and 
peculiar  acknowledged  obligations.  From 
the  consideration  of  both  taken  together,  who, 
that  has  a  spark  of  seriousness  and  attention, 
and  that  has  learned  from  scripture  and  his- 
tory the  sure  connection  between  sin  and 
trouble,  can  forbear  trembling  at  that  alarm- 
ing question,  so  often  proposed  to  the  con- 
sciences of  ungrateful  Israel  of  old,  "  Shall 
not  I  visit  for  these  things  ?  saith  the  Lord : 
and  shall  not  my  soul  be  avenged  on  such  a 
nation  as  this  ?"  especially  when  we  see  the 
dispensations  of  God's  providence  so  awfully 
corresponding  with  the  threatenings  in  his 
word. 

How  much  is  it  to  be  desired,  then,  that 
all  who  truly  fear  the  Lord,  instead  of  wast- 
ing their  time  in  useless  squabbles,  may  unite 
in  earnest  prayer ;  and,  with  deep  compunc- 
tion of  heart,  bemoan  those  evils,  which,  un- 
less repented  of  and  forsaken,  may  bring  up- 
on us,  as  a  people,  such  distress  as  neither  we, 
nor  our  fathers  have  known  !  If  he  is  pleased 
thus  to  give  us  a  heart  to  seek  him,  he  will 
yet  be  found  of  us  ;  but  if,  when  his  hand  is 
lifted  up,  we  cannot,  or  will  not  see,  nor  re- 


gard the  signs  of  the  times,  there  is  greit 
reason  to  fear,  that  our  case  is  deplorable  in- 
deed. 

A  few,  however,  there  will  be,  who  will  lay 
these  things  suitably  to  heart ;  and  whom  the 
Lord  will  favour  and  spare,  as  a  man  spareth 
his  only  son  that  serveth  him.  That  you  and 
I  may  be  of  this  happy  number,  is  the  sincere 
prayer  of,  &c. 


LETTER  XL. 

A  WORD  TO  PROFESSORS  IN  TRADE. 
DEAR  SIR, 

It  is  suspected,  or  rather  it  is  too  certainly 
known,  that,  among  those  who  are  deemed 
gospel-professors,  there  are  some  persons  who 
allow  themselves  in  the  practice  of  dealing  in 
prohibited,  uncustomed,  or,  as  the  common 
phrase  is,  smuggled  goods,  to  the  prejudice  of 
the  public  revenue,  and  the  detriment  of  the 
fair  trader. 

The  decisions  of  the  word  of  God  upon  this 
point,  are  so  plain  and  determinate,  that  it  is 
rather  difficult  to  conceive  how  a  sincere  mind 
can  either  overlook  or  mistake  them.  The 
same  authority  which  forbids  us  to  commit 
adultery,  or  murder,  requires  us  to  "render 
unto  Cesar  the  things  that  are  Cesar's ;"  to 
render  unto  all  their  dues :  tribute  to  whom 
tribute,  custom  to  whom  custom.  These  pre- 
cepts enjoin  no  more  than  what  the  common 
sense  of  mankind  pronounces  to  be  due  from 
subjects  and  members  of  society,  to  the  go- 
vernments they  live  under,  and  by  which  they 
are  protected.  But  the  obligation  is  greatly 
enforced  upon  those  who  acknowledge  them- 
selves the  disciples  of  Christ,  since  he  has 
been  pleased  to  make  their  compliance  herein 
a  part  of  the  obedience  they  owe  to  himself. 
And  it  is  plain,  that  these  injunctions  are 
universal  and  binding,  under  all  civil  govern- 
ments, as  such  ;  for  none  can  justly  suppose 
that  tributes  exacted  by  the  Roman  emperors, 
(under  whose  dominion  the  first  christians 
lived)  such  as  Tiberius  or  Nero,  had  the 
sanction  of  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  on  ac- 
count of  their  peculiar  equity. 

The  vending  smuggled  goods,  or  the  buying 
them,  if  known  to  be  so,  is  likewise  injurious 
to  the  fair  trader,  who,  conscientiously  paying 
the  prescribed  duties,  cannot  afford  to  sell  so 
cheap  as  the  smuggler ;  and,  therefore,  must 
expect  the  fewer  customers.  In  this  view,  it 
offends  the  royal  law,  of  "  doing  to  others  as 
we  would  they  should  do  unto  us."  The 
force  of  this  argument  may  be  easily  felt  by 
any  one  who  Mill  honestly  make  the  case  his 
own.  Without  any  nice  reasoning,  people 
may  know  in  a  moment,  that  they  should  not 
like  to  be  put  to  this  disadvantage.  It  is, 
therefore,  unjust,  fi.  e.  sinful,  and  utterly  un 


LET.  XL. 


TO  PROFESSORS  IN  TRADE. 


123 


becoming  a  professor  of  religion)  to  purchase 
smuggled  goods,  even  in  small  quantities,  and 
for  family-use.  As  for  those  who,  being  in 
trade  themselves,  make  this  practice  a  branch 
of  their  business,  and,  under  the  semblance  of 
a  fair  reputation,  are  doing  things  in  secret, 
which  they  would  tremble  to  have  discovered, 
being  afraid  of  the  exchequer,  though  not  of 
God,  I  can  only  pray,  that  God  may  give 
them  repentance ;  for  it  is  a  work  of  dark- 
ness, and  needs  it.  Transactions  of  this  kind 
cannot  be  carried  on  for  a  course  of  time, 
without  such  a  series  and  complication  of 
fraud  and  meanness*,  and,  for  the  most  part, 
of  perjury  likewise,  as  would  be  scandalous, 
not  only  in  a  professed  christian,  but  in  an 
avowed  infidel. 

It  should  be  observed  likewise,  that  there  is 
hardly  any  set  of  men  more  lost  to  society,  or 
in  a  situation  more  dangerous  to  themselves 
and  others,  than  the  people  who  are  called 
smugglers.  Frequent  fightings,  and  some- 
times murder  itself,  are  the  consequence  of 
their  illicit  commerce.  Their  money  is  ill 
gotten,  and  it  is  generally  ill  spent.  They 
are  greatly  to  be  pitied.  The  employment 
they  are  accustomed  to  has  a  direct  tendency 
to  deprive  them  of  character,  and  the  privi- 
leges of  social  life,  and  to  harden  their  hearts, 
and  stupify  their  consciences,  in  the  ways  of 
sin.  But  for  whom  are  they  risking  their 
lives,  and  ruining  their  souls  ?  I  would  hope, 
reader,  not  for  you,  if  you  account  yourself 
a  christian.  If  you,  for  the  sake  of  gain,  en- 
courage and  assist  them,  by  buying  or  selling 
their  goods,  you  are  so  far  responsible  for  the 
consequences.  You  encourage  them  in  sin  ; 
you  expose  them  to  mischief.  And  have  you 
so  learned  Christ  ?  Is  this  the  testimony  you 
give  of  the  uprightness  of  your  hearts  and 
ways  ?  Is  it  thus  you  shew  your  compassion 
for  the  souls  of  men  ?  Ah  !  shake  your 
hands  from  gain  so  dearly  earned.  Think 
not  to  support  the  cause  of  God  with  such 
gain  ;  he  hates  robbery  for  burnt-offering. 
Think  it  not  lawful,  or  safe,  to  put  a  farthing 
of  it  into  your  treasury,  lest  it  secretly  com- 
municate a  moth  and  a  curse  to  all  that  you 
possess  ;  for  it  is  the  price  of  blood,  the  blood 
of  souls.  If  you  are  indeed  a  child  of  God, 
and  will  persist  in  this  path  after  admonition 
received,  be  assured  your  sin  will  find  you 
out.  If  the  Lord  loves  you,  he  will  not  suf- 
fer you  to  prosper  in  your  perverseness.  You 
may  rather  expect,  that  as  a  little  damaged 
corn  is  sufficient  to  spoil  the  whole  heap  to 
which  it  is  laid,  so  money,  thus  obtained,  will 
deprive  you  of  the  blessing  and  comfort  you 
might  otherwise  expect  from  your  lawful  ac- 
quisitions. 

If  you  are  determined  to  persist  in  opposi- 
tion   to   scripture,  to  law,  to  equity   and  hu- 

•  Dr  Johnson,  defining  a  smuggler,  says,  he  is  "  a 
wretch  who  imports  or  exports  goods  without  payment 
of  the  customs." 


manity,  you  have,  doubtless,  as  I  suppose  you 
a  professor,  some  plea  or  excuse  with  which 
you  attempt  to  justify  yourself  and  to  keep 
your  conscience  quiet.  See  to  it,  that  it  be 
such  a  one  as  will  bear  the  examination  of  a 
dying  hour.  You  will  not  surely  plead  that 
"  things  are  come  to  such  a  pass,  there  is  no 
carrying  on  business  upon  other  terms  to  ad- 
vantage !"  Will  the  practice  of  the  world, 
who  know  not  Christ,  be  a  proper  precedent 
for  you  who  call  yourself  by  his  name  ?  That 
cannot  be,  since  his  command  is,  "  Thou  shalt 
not  follow  a  multitude  to  do  evil."  That  the 
truth  and  power  of  his  grace  may  be  manifest- 
ed, he  is  pleased  to  put  his  servants  into  such 
situations,  that  they  must  forego  some  seeming 
advantages,  and  suffer  some  seeming  hardships, 
in  their  worldly  connections,  if  they  will  approve 
themselves  faithful  to  him,  and  live  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  a  good  conscience.  He  promises, 
that  his  grace  shall  be  sufficient  for  them.  It 
is  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  that  maketh  rich  ; 
and,  for  want  of  this,  we  see  many  rise  early, 
take  late  rest,  and  eat  the  bread  of  careful- 
ness, to  no  purpose.  And  I  believe,  integri- 
ty and  diligence  in  business,  with  a  humble 
dependence  upon  his  providence,  are  the  best 
methods  of  thriving  even  in  temporals.  How- 
ever, they  who  lose  for  him  are  in  no  danger 
of  losing  by  him.  They  may  be  confident  of 
so  much  as  he  sees  best  for  them  ;  and  they 
shall  have  his  peace  and  blessing  with  it.  But 
if,  when  you  are  placed  in  a  state  of  trial, 
the  love  of  the  world  is  so  powerful  in  your 
heart,  that  you  cannot  resist  the  temptation 
of  enriching  yourself  by  unlawful  means,  you 
have  great  reason  to  fear  you  have  not  his 
Spirit,  and  are  therefore  none  of  his. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XLI. 

ON  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ANGELS. 
DEAB  SIB, 

The  saints  on  earth,  though  exposed  to  many 
sufferings,  and  assaulted  by  many  enemies,  are 
as  safe  as  the  saints  in  glory.  They  have 
been  enabled,  in  the  day  of  God's  power  to 
commit  themselves  to  the  care  of  Jesus,  the 
great  shepherd,  who  is  faithful  to  his  trust, 
and  able  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost.  His 
eye  is  always  upon  them,  his  everlasting  arms 
are  underneath  them,  and  no  power,  or  policy, 
can  separate  them  from  his  love. 

The  apostle,  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  the 
church  militant,  having  taking  a  leisurely  and 
distinct  survey  of  all  the  difficulties  and  op- 
position they  can  possibly  meet  with,  in  life 
or  in  death,  from  the  visible  or  invisible  worlds, 
triumphs  in  an  assurance,  that  none  of  these 
things  singly,  nor  all  of  them  together,  shall 
prevail  ;  but  that,  on   the  contrary,  believers 


12t  ON  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ANGELS. 

shall    be    made    conquerors,   yea,   more  than 
conquerors,  through  him  who  has  loved  them. 

In  the  course  of  his  enumeration  of  the 
real  or  supposed  dangers  to  which  the  people 
of  Christ  are  exposed,  he  particularly  men- 
tions, angels,  principalities,  and  powers,  in- 
timating to  us  a  subject  of  great  importance, 
though  too  seldom  and  too  faintly  attended  to 
by  us  ;  I  mean  the  part  which  the  inhabitants 
of  the  unseen  world  take  in  our  concerns. 
Angel  is  a  general  name  ;  the  terms,  prin- 
cipalities and  powers,  and  elsewhere,  thrones 
and  dominions,  applied  to  them,  we  shall  not, 
perhaps,  clearly  understand,  till  we  mingle 
with  the  world  of  spirits.  These  different 
names  seem,  however,  to  imply  that  some  dif- 
ference of  degree,  and  possibly  some  subor- 
dination of  rule,  obtains  among  them.  But 
they  shall  not  be  able  either  singly  or  collec- 
tively to  separate  believers  from  the  love  of 
God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

The  general  distribution  of  angels,  princi- 
palities, and  powers,  is  into  good  and  evil. 
They  were  all  created  glorious  and  excellent 
creatures  ;  for  nothing  but  good  could  origi- 
nally proceed  from  God,  the  fountain  of  good- 
ness. But  some  of  them  "  kept  not  their 
first  estate."  Sin  despoiled  them  of  their 
glory,  and  changed  them  from  angels  of  light 
into  powers  of  darkness.  And  though  they 
have  a  permissive  liberty,  subservient  to  the 
limitations  and  designs  of  divine  wisdom,  to 
influence  the  minds,  and  to  interfere  in  the 
affairs  of  mankind ;  yet  they  are  confined  in 
chains  of  darkness  which  tbey  cannot  break, 
and  are  reserved  to  the  judgment  of  the  great 

day- 
There  are  likewise  an  innumerable  company 
of  elect  or  good  angels,  Rev.  iii.  1 1.  who  were 
preserved  by  sovereign  grace,  and  are  now  es- 
tablished (together  with  believers)  in  Christ 
Jesus,  the  great  head  of  the  whole  family  of 
God,  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  From  these, 
we  may  be  sure,  belivers  have  nothing  to  fear. 
They  are  our  brethren  and  fellow-servants. 
They  join  in  the  song  of  the  redeemed  before 
the  throne;  and  rejoice  in  the  conversion  of  a 
sinner  upon  earth.  We  cannot  include  these 
in  the  apostle's  challenge,  any  farther  than  by 
way  of  supposition  ;  as  he  expresses  himself 
upon  another  occasion,  Gal.  i.  8.  It  is  not 
possible  that  an  angel  from  heaven  should 
preach,  if  he  came  to  preach,  any  other  gospel 
than  that  which  is  revealed  in  scripture  ;  but  if 
such  a  thing  could  be  supposed,  we  ought  not 
to  regard  him.  So  it  is  not  to  be  thought 
that  the  elect  angels  of  God  should  wish  to 
hinder  the  salvation  of  a  sinner.  But  if  you 
conceive  for  a  moment,  that  any,  or  all  of 
them  could  form  such  a  design,  they  would 
not  be  able  to  succeed ;  for  they  are  all  sub- 
ject to  him  who  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from 
our  sins  in  his  own  blood.  So  far,  however, 
are  the  holy  angels  from  designing  us  harm, 
that  they  are  greatly  instrumental  in  promot- 


LET.  XL  I. 


ing  our  good.  They  are  "  ministering  spi- 
rits, sent  forth  to  minister  to  the  heirs  of  sal- 
vation ;"  and  they  rejoice  in  the  service,  and 
account  it  their  honour  to  be  thus  employed. 

I  propose,  in  this  paper,  briefly  to  consider 
the  ministry  of  good  angels  j  and  may,  per- 
haps, hereafter  offer  a  few  thoughts  on  the  in- 
fluence and  interference  of  evil  angels,  who 
are  continually  labouring  to  disturb  and 
trouble  those  whom  they  are  not  permitted  to 
destroy.  And  I  shall  not  attempt  to  amuse 
the  reader  with  new  and  strange  conjec- 
tures upon  these  subjects,  or  to  intrude  into 
those  things  which  are  not  revealed,  but  shall 
confine  myself  to  the  express  declarations  of 
the  word  of  God. 

The  great  God  works  all  in  all,  in  both 
worlds.  It  is  he  who  filleth  the  earth  with 
good  things,  causes  the  grass  to  grow  for  the 
cattle,  and  provides  corn  for  the  food  of  man. 
But  in  thus  spreading  a  table  for  us  he  makes 
use  of  instruments.  He  commands  his  sun 
to  shine,  and  his  rain  to  descend.  So  he  is 
the  life,  strength,  and  comfort  of  the  renewed 
soul.  All  the  streams  of  grace  flow  from 
Christ,  the  fountain.  But,  from  the  analogy 
observable  in  his  works,  we  might  reasonably 
suppose,  that,  on  many  occasions,  he  is  pleas- 
ed to  use  means  and  instruments,  and  parti- 
cularly the  ministry  of  his  angels,  to  com 
municate  good  to  his  children.  Scripture 
expressly  confirms  this  inference,  and  leaves 
it  no  longer  a  point  of  mere  conjecture.  He 
gives  his  angeis  charge  over  them,  and  they 
encamp  round  about  them  that  fear  him.  In 
this  way  honour  is  given  to  Jesus,  as  the  Lord 
both  of  angels  and  men  ;  and  a  sweet  inter 
course  is  kept  up  between  the  different  parts 
of  the  household  of  God.  That  angels  have 
been  thus  employed  in  fact,  is  plain  from  the 
history  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament. 
They  have  often  made  themselves  visible 
when  sent  to  declare  the  will  of  God ;  as  to 
Jacob,  Elijah,  and  David.  Gabriel  appeared 
to  Zacharias  and  Mary ;  and  a  multitude 
joined  in  ascribing  "glory  to  God  in  the 
highest  "  when  they  brought  to  the  shepherds 
the  joyful  news  of  a  Saviour's  birth.  An 
angel  delivered  Peter  from  prison,  and  com. 
forted  Paul  when  tossed  by  a  tempest  upon 
the  sea.  How  far  the  visible  ministration  of 
angels  is  continued  in  these  days  is  not 
easy  to  determine.  Many  persons  have  been 
imposed  upon  by  Satan,  through  such  expec- 
tations ;  and  it  is  not  safe  to  look  for  extra- 
ordinary things ;  yet  I  do  not  know  that  we 
have  warrant  from  scripture  to  limit  the 
Lord,  so  far  as  to  affirm,  that  he  dotli  not, 
nor  ever  will,  upon  any  occasion,  permit  his 
angels  to  be  seen  by  men,  as  in  former  times. 
The  apostle,  pressing  believers  to  exercise 
hospitality,  uses  this  argument,  that  "thereby 
some  have  entertained  angels  unawares  j" 
which  would  hardly  seem  to  be  a  pertinent 
motive,  if  it  were  absolutely  certain  that  an- 


LET.  XLI. 


ON  THE  MINISTRY   OF  ANGELS. 


125 


though 


gels  would  never  offer  themselves  as  visitants 
to  the  servants  of  God  in  future  times  as  they 
had  formerly  done.  But,  waving  specula- 
tions as  to  their  visible  appearance,  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  know  that  they  are  really, 
invisibly,  near  us,  and  mindful  of  us. 

May  we  not  receive  assistance  from  the  an- 
gels in  our  spiritual  warfare  ?  That  evil  an- 
gels have  an  influence  and  power  to  distress 
and  disquiet  us,  is  well  known  to  exercised 
souls ;  and  it  seems  quite  reasonable  to  believe, 
that  the  good  angels  are  as  willing  and  as 
able  to  communicate  helpful  and  encouraging 
impressions.  As  it  is  not  always  easy  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  temptations  of  Satan  and 
the  workings  of  our  own  evil  hearts ;  so  it 
may  be  equally  or  more  difficult  to  distinguish 
these  assistances  from  the  effects  of  gracious 
principles  abiding  in  us,  or  from  the  leadings 
and  motions  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Nor  need 
we  be  anxious  about  it.  We  cannot  err  in 
ascribing  all  to  the  Lord.  Yet  there  is  some- 
thing cheering  in  the  thought  that  we  are  ac- 
companied and  surrounded  by  these  blessed 
spirits,  who  have  both  inclination  and  ability 
to  relieve,  strengthen,  and  admonish  us,  in 
ways  which  we  cannot  fully  understand.  Who 
can  tell  how  often,  and  how  seasonably,  a 
promise,  a  caution,  a  direction,  from  or  agree- 
able to  the  word  of  God,  is  darted  upon  our 
minds  by  these  kind  messengers  of  our  Fa- 
ther's love  ? 

We  may  warrantably  think  they  are  em- 
ployed in  restraining,  over-ruling,  and  con- 
trouling  the  designs  of  Satan  and  his  angels. 
The  power,  malice,  and  subtilty  of  our  enemy 
are  very  great.  We  may  learn  what  he  would 
do  to  us  all,  if  he  could,  from  the  instance  of 
Tob.  But  the  Lord  rebukes  him,  and  that  most 
probably  by  the  ministry  of  unfallen  angels, 
who  are  said  to  encamp  round  his  people  to 
deliver  them  ;  and  doubtless  their  care  is  es- 
pecially employed  where  the  greatest  danger 
lies.  Much  to  this  purpose  seems  to  be  im- 
plied in  the  following  passages,  Dan.  x.  13, 
Rev.  xii.  7,  Jude  9. 

They  are  witnesses  to  the  sufferings  and  to 
the  worship  of  his  people,  1  Cor.  iv.  9.  Though 
they  do  not  show  themselves  to  us,  as  hereto- 
fore to  Peter  or  Paul,  they  are  still  near  and 
attentive,  are  inteiested  in  the  conflicts  and 
rejoice  in  the  victories  of  a  poor  believer. 
They  are  present  likewise  in  our  solemn  as- 
semblies;  therefore  the  apostle  charges  Ti- 
mothy, as  "  before  the  elect  angels,"  and 
seems  to  refer  to  them  in  1  Cor.  xi.  10.  This 
reflection  should  enliven  and  regulate  our 
thoughts  when  we  come  together;  for,  though 
the  presence  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  is  the 
great  consideration,  yet  this  likewise  may,  in 
its  proper  place,  have  some  influence  to  com- 
pose our  behaviour,  Heb.  xii.  22. 

The  ministry  of  angels  preserves  us  from 
innumerable  dangers  and  alarms  which  await 
us  in  our  daily  path.    This  is  expressly  taught 


in  Psalm  xci.  When  we  receive  little  or  no 
harm  from  a  fall,  or  when  a  sudden  motion  of 
our  minds  leads  us  to  avoid  a  danger  which 
we  were  not  aware  of,  perhaps  the  angels  of 
God  have  been  the  means  of  our  preservation ; 
nay,  it  may  be  owing  to  their  good  offices 
that  we  ever  perform  a  journey  in  safety,  or 
are  preserved  from  the  evils  we  are  liable  to 
when  sleeping  upon  our  beds,  and  incapable 
of  taking  any  care  of  ourselves. 

Finally,  they  are  appointed  to  attend  the 
saints  in  their  last  hours,  and,  in  a  manner 
beyond  our  present  apprehension,  to  keep  off 
the  powers  of  darkness,  and  bear  the  children 
of  God  safely  home  to  their  Father's  house, 
Luke  xvi.  22. 

The  limits  of  a  sheet  will  not  admit  of  en- 
largement upon  these  particulars.  The  sub- 
ject is  pleasing  and  comfortable,  and  well 
suited  to  encourage  believers  under  two  very 
common  trials. 

1.  We  are  often  cast  down  to  think  how 
few  there  are  who  worship  God  in  spirit  and 
in  truth,  and  are  ready  to  complain,  with  Eli- 
jah, that  we  are  almost  left  to  serve  him  alone. 
But  Jesus  is  not  slighted  and  despised  in  yon- 
der world  as  he  is  in  this.  If,  like  the  servant 
of  Elisha,  our  eyes  were  supernaturally  opened 
to  take  a  glance  within  the  vail,  what  a  glorious 
and  astonishing  prospect  would  the  innume- 
rable host  of  angels  afford  us  !  Then  we 
should  be  convinced  that,  far  from  being  a- 
lone,  there  are  unspeakably  more  for  us  than 
against  us.  Faith  supplies  the  want  of  sight, 
is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen,  and,  upon 
the  authority  of  the  word  of  God,  is  as  well 
satisfied  of  their  existence  and  employment  as 
if  they  were  actually  in  our  view. 

Again,  2.  Many  of  the  Lord's  people  are 
tempted  to  think  themselves  neglected  by  their 
fellow-christians  because  they  are  poor,  a  dis- 
couragement for  which  there  is  often  too  much 
occasion  given.  But,  poor  believer,  be  not 
greatly  distressed  upon  this  account.  If  your 
brethren  upon  earth  are  too  prone  to  slight  you, 
your  heavenly  friends  are  not  so  proud  and 
foolish.  The  angels  will  attend  and  assist  you, 
though  you  live  in  a  poor  mud-walled  cottage, 
as  willingly  as  if  you  were  lodged  in  the  pa- 
lace of  a  king.  They  are  not  affected,  one 
way  or  the  other,  with  those  trivial  distinc- 
tions which  are  so  apt  to  bias  the  judgment 
and  regard  of  mortals. 

May  we  take  a  pattern  from  the  angels  ! 
Their  whole  desire  is  to  fulfil  the  will  of  God, 
and  they  account  no  service  mean  in  which  he 
is  pleased  to  employ  them,  otherwise,  great  and 
holy  as  they  are,  they  might  disdain  to  wait 
upon  sinful  worms.  Our  vanity  prompts  us 
to  aim  at  something  great,  and  to  wish  for 
such  services  as  might  make  us  known,  talked 
of  and  regarded.  But  a  child  of  God,  if  in 
the  way  of  duty,  and  in  the  place  which  the 
Lord's  providence  has  allotted  him,  is  well 
employed,  though  he  should  have  no  higher 


126  ON   THE   MINISTRY   OF   ANGELS.  LET.    XXI. 

service  than  to  sweep  the  streets,  provided  he  I  in  a  state  of  rebellion  against  their  Lord.  They 
does  it  humbly,  thankfully,  and  heartily,  as  |  burn  with  an  holy  zeal  to  avenge  his  cause 
to  the  Lord.      An  angel   60  placed    could  do 


no  more. 

This  paper  will  doubtless  fall  into  the  hands 
of  some  who  are  not  believers,  but  are  spend- 
ing their  days  in  sin.  With  a  word  to  such 
as°these,  I  would  conclude.  To  you  this  is 
but  a  dark  subject.  You  have  reason  to  be 
alarmed  ;  for,  be  assured,  the  whole  host  of 
heaven  is  against  you,  while  they  consider  you  | 


and  only  wait  his  command  to  'smite  you  as 
one  of  them  smote  Herod,  for  not  giving 
glory  to  God.  Pray  for  faith  and  repentance. 
If  you  believe  in  Jesus,  and  turn  from  your 
evil  ways,  the  angels  will  love  you,  rejoice 
over  you,  watch  over  you,  fight  for  you,  and 
at  last  convey  you  into  his  glorious  presence. 

I  am,  &c. 
March  5,  1777. 


CARDIPHONIA 


OR, 


THE  UTTERANCE  OF  THE  HEART: 


IN  THE  COURSE  OF 


A  REAL  CORRESPONDENCE, 


liajc  res  et  jungit,  junctos  et  scrvat  amicos. 

Hnr.  Lib.  i.  Sa.t.  3. 


As  in  water  face  answereth  to  face,  so  the  heart  of  man  to  man. 

Prov.  xxvll.    1  0. 


LETTERS  TO    A  NOBLEMAN. 


LETTER  I. 


March — 1765. 

MY  LORD, 

I  remember,  when  I  once  had  the  pleasure 
of  waiting  on  you,  you  were  pleased  to  begin 
an  interesting  conversation,  which,  to  my  con- 
cern, was  soon  interrupted.  The  subject  was 
concerning  the  causes,  nature,  and  marks  of 
a  decline  in  grace ;  how  it  happens  that  we 
loose  that  warm  impression  of  divine  things, 
which  in  some  favoured  moments  we  think  it 
almost  impossible  to  forget ;  how  far  this 
change  of  frame  is  consistent  with  a  spiritual 
growth  in  other  respects  ;  how  to  form  a  com- 
parative judgment  of  our  proficiency  upon  the 
whole ;  and  by  what  steps  the  losses  we  sus- 
tain from  our  necessary  connection  with  a  sin- 
ful nature  and  a  sinful  world  may  be  retrieved 
from  time  to  time.  I  beg  your  Lordship's 
permission  to  fill  up  the  paper  with  a  view  to 
these  inquiries.  I  do  not  mean  to  offer  a  la- 
boured essay  on  them,  but  such  thoughts  as 
shall  occur  while  the  pen  is  in  my  hand. 

The  awakened  soul  (especially  when,  after 
a  season  of  distress  and  terror,  it  begins  to 
taste  that  the  Lord  is  gracious)  finds  itself  as 
in  a  new  world.  No  change  in  outward  life 
can  be  so  sensible,  so  affecting.  No  wonder, 
then,  that,  at  such  a  time,  little  else  can  be 
thought  of.  The  transition  from  darkness 
to  light,  from  a  sense  of  wrath  to  a  hope  of 
glory,  is  the  greatest  .that  can  be  imagined, 
and  is  oftentimes  as  sudden  as  wonderful. 
Hence  the  general  characteristics  of  young 
converts  are  zeal  and  love.  I<ike  Israel  at  the 
Red  Sea,  they  have  just  seen  the  wonderful 
works  of  the  Lord,  and  they  cannot  but  sing 
his  praise ;  they  are  deeply  affected  with  the 
danger  they  have  lately  escaped,  and  with  the 
case  of  multitudes  around  them,  who  are  se- 
cure and  careless  in  the  same  alarming  situa- 
tion ;  and  a  sense  of  their  own  mercies,  and 
a  compassion  for   the  souls  of  others,  is  so 


transporting,    that    they  can    hardly    forbear 
preaching  to  every  one  they  meet. 

This  emotion  is  highly  just  and  reasonable, 
with  respect  to  the  causes  from  whence  it 
springs ;  and  it  is  doubtless  a  proof,  not  only 
of  the  imperfection,  but  the  depravity  of  our 
nature,  that  we  are  not  always  thus  affected. 
Yet  it  is  not  entirely  genuine.  If  we  exa- 
mine this  character  closely,  which  seems,  at 
first  sight,  a  pattern  and  a  reproof  to  christi- 
ans of  longer  standing,  we  shall,  for  the 
most  part,  find  it  attended  with  considerable 
defects. 

1.  Such  persons  are  very  weak  in  faith. 
Their  confidence  arises  rather  from  the  lively 
impressions  of  joy  within,  than  from  a  distinct 
and  clear  apprehension  of  the  work  of  God  in 
Christ.  The  comforts  which  are  intended  as 
cordials,  to  animate  them  against  the  opposi- 
tion of  an  unbelieving  world,  they  mistake 
and  rest  in  as  the  proper  evidences  of  their 
hope.  And  hence  it  comes  to  pass,  that  when 
the  Lord  varies  his  dispensations,  and  hides 
his  face,  they  are  soon  troubled,  and  at  their 
wits  end. 

2.  They  who  are  in  this  state  of  their  first 
love,  are  seldom  free  from  something  of  a 
censorious  spirit.  They  have  not  yet  felt  all 
the  deceitfulness  of  their  own  hearts;  they 
are  not  well  acquainted  with  the  devices  or 
temptations  of  Satan  ;  and  therefore  know  not 
how  to  sympathize  or  make  allowances  where 
allowances  are  necessary  and  due,  and  can 
hardly  bear  with  any  who  do  not  discover  the 
same  earnestness  as  themselves. 

3.  They  are  likewise  more  or  less  under 
the  influence  of  self-righteousness  and  self- 
will.  They  mean  well ;  but  not  being  as  yet 
well  acquainted  with  the  spiritual  meaning 
and  proper  use  of  the  law,  nor  established  in 
the  life  of  faith,  a  part  (oftentimes  a  very 
considerable  part)  of  their  zeal  spends  itself  in 
externals   and   non-essentials,    prompts    them 

Q 


130 


to  practise  what  is  not  commanded,  to  refrain 
from  what  is  lawful,  and  to  observe  various 
and  needless  austerities  and  singularities,  as 
their  tempers  and  circumstances  differ. 

However,  with  all  their  faults,  methinks 
there  is  something  very  beautiful  and  enga- 
ging in  the  honest  vehemence  of  a  young  con- 
vert. Some  cold  and  rigid  judges  are  ready 
to  reject  these  promising  appearances  on  ac- 
count of  incidental  blemishes.  But  would  a 
gardener  throw  away  a  fine  nectarine,  because 
it  is  green,  and  has  not  yet  attained  all  that 
beauty  and  flavour  which  a  few  more  showers 
and  suns  will  impart  ?  Perhaps  it  will  hold, 
for  the  most  part,  in  grace  as  in  nature  ;  some 
exceptions  there  are  :  if  there  is  not  some  fire 
in  youth,  we  can  hardly  expect  a  proper 
warmth  in  old  age. 

But  the  great  and  good  Husbandman 
watches  over  what  his  own  hand  has  planted, 
and  carries  on  his  work  by  a  variety  of  differ- 
ent, and  even  contrary  dispensations.  While 
their  mountain  stands  thus  strong,  they  think 
they  shall  never  be  moved ;  but  at  length 
they  find  a  change.  Sometimes  it  comes  on 
by  insensible  degrees.  That  part  of  their  af- 
fection, which  was  purely  natural,  will  abate, 
of  course,  when  the  power  of  novelty  ceases  : 
they  will  begin,  in  some  instances,  to  per- 
ceive their  own  indiscretions;  and  an  endea- 
vour to  correct  the  excesses  of  imprudent  zeal 
will  often  draw  them  towards  the  contrary 
extreme  of  remissness :  the  evils  of  their  hearts, 
which,  though  overpowered,  were  not  eradi- 
cated, will  revive  again  :  the  enemy  will  watch 
his  occasions  to  meet  them  with  suitable  temp- 
tations ;  and  as  it  is  the  Lord's  design  that 
they  should  experimentally  learn  and  feel  their 
own  weakness,  he  will,  in  some  instances,  be 
permitted  to  succeed.  When  guilt  is  thus 
brought  upon  the  conscience,  the  heart  grows 
hard,  the  hands  feeble,  and  the  knees  weak  ; 
then  confidence  is  shaken,  the  spirit  of  prayer 
interrupted,  the  armour  gone,  and  thus  things 
grow  worse  and  worse,  till  the  Lord  is  pleased 
to  interpose ;  for  though  we  can  fall  of  our- 
selves, we  cannot  rise  without  his  help.  In- 
deed, every  sin,  in  its  own  nature,  has  a  ten- 
dency towards  a  final  apostacy ;  but  there  is 
a  provision  in  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  the 
Lord,  in  his  own  time,  returns  to  convince, 
humble,  pardon,  comfort,  and  renew  the  soul. 
He  touches  the  rock,  and  the  waters  flow. 
By  repeated  experiments  and  exercises  of  this 
sort  (for  this  wisdom  is  seldom  acquired  by 
one  or  a  few  lessons),  we  begin  at  length  to 
learn  that  we  are  nothing,  have  nothing,  can 
do  nothing  but  sin.  And  thus  we  are  gra- 
dually prepared  to  live  more  out  of  ourselves, 
and  to  derive  all  our  sufficiency  of  every  kind 
from  Jesus,  (he  fountain  of  grace.  We  learn 
to  tread  more  warily,  to  trust  less  to  our  own 
strength,  to  have  lower  thoughts  of  ourselves, 
and   higher  thoughts   of  him  ;   in  whic'i  two 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN.  LET.  I 

turcs  mean  by  a  growth  of  grace  docs  pro- 
perly consist.  Both  are  increasing  in  the 
lively  christian,  every  day  shew  him  more 
of  his  own  heart,  and  more  of  the  powe.,  .suf- 
ficiency, compassion,  and  grace  of  his  ador- 
able Redeemer;  but  neither  will  be  complete 
till  we  get  to  heaven. 

I  apprehend,  therefore,  that  though  we  find 
an  abatement  of  that  sensible  warmth  of  af- 
fection which  we  felt  at  first  setting  out ; 
yet,  if  our  views  are  more  evangelical,  our 
judgment  more  ripened,  our  hearts  more  ha. 
bitually  humbled  under  a  sense  of  inward 
depravity,  our  tempers  more  softened  into  sym- 
pathy and  tenderness;  if  our  prevailing  desires 
are  spiritual,  and  we  practically  esteem  the 
precepts,  ordinances,  and  people  of  God  ;  we 
may  warrantably  conclude,  that  his  good  work 
of  grace  in  us  is,  upon  the  whole,  on  the  in- 
crease. 

But  still  it  is  to  be  lamented,  that  an  in- 
crease of  knowledge  and  experience  should  be 
so  generally  attended  with  a  decline  of  fervour. 
If  it  was  not  for  what  has  passed  in  my  own 
heart,  I  should  be  ready  to  think  it  impossible. 
But  this  very  circumstance  gives  me  a  still 
more  emphatical  conviction  of  my  own  vile- 
ness  and  depravity.  The  want  of  humiliation 
humbles  me,  and  my  very  indifference  rouses 
and  awakens  me  to  earnestness.  There  are, 
however,  seasons  of  refreshment,  ineffable 
glances  of  light  and  power  upon  the  soul, 
which,  as  they  are  derived  from  clearer  displays 
of  divine  grace,  if  not  so  tumultuous  as  the 
first  joys,  are  more  penetrating,  transforming, 
and  animating.  A  glance  of  these,  when 
compared  with  our  sluggish  stupidity  when 
they  are  withheld,  weans  the  heart  from  this 
wretched  state  of  sin  and  temptation,  and 
makes  the  thoughts  of  death  and  eternity  de- 
sirable. Then  this  conflict  shall  cease :  I 
shall  sin  and  wander  no  more,  see  him  as  he  is, 
and  be  like  him  for  ever. 

If  the  question  is,  How  are  these  bright 
moments  to  be  prolonged,  renewed,  or  retriev- 
ed ?  We  are  directed  to  faith  and  diligence. 
A  careful  use  of  the  appointed  means  of  grace, 
a  watchful  endeavour  to  avoid  the  occasions 
and  appearances  of  evil,  and  especially  assi- 
duity in  secret  prayer,  will  bring  as  much  as 
the  Lord  sees  good  for  us.  He  knows  best  why 
we  are  not  to  be  trusted  with  them  continually. 
Here  we  are  to  walk  by  faith,  to  be  exercised 
and  tried ;  by  and  by  we  shall  be  crowned, 
and  the  desires  he  has  given  shall  be  abun- 
dantly satisfied. 

I  am,  &c. 


your    permission    to 
last  particulars,   1  apprehend,  what  the  scrip-   niy   paper. — As  to    subject,  that    which 


LETTER  II. 


April — 17G6. 


MY  LOUD, 

shall    embrace 


fill 
hus 


LET.  I. 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


131 


been  a  frequent  feme  of  my  heart  of  late,  I 
shall  venture  to  lay  before  your  Lordship  :  I 
mean  the  remarkable  and  humbling  difference 
which  I  suppose  all  who  know  themselves 
may  observe,  between  their  acquired  and  their 
experimental  knowledge,  or,  in  other  words, 
between  their  judgment  and  their  practice. 
To  hear  a  believer  speak  his  apprehensions  of 
the  evil  of  sin,  the  vanity  of  the  world,  the 
love  of  Christ,  the  beauty  of  holiness,  or  the 
importance  of  eternity,  who  would  not  sup- 
pose him  proof  against  temptation  ?  To  hear 
with  what  strong  arguments  he  can  recom- 
mend watchfulness,  prayer,  forbearance,  and 
submission,  when  he  is  teaching  or  advising 
others,  who  would  not  suppose  but  he  could 
also  teach  himself,  and  influence  his  own  con- 
duct ?  Yet,  alas  !  quam  dispar  sibi/  The  per- 
son who  rose  from  his  knees,  before  he  left 
his  chamber,  a  poor,  indigent,  fallible,  de- 
pendent creature,  who  saw  and  acknowledged 
that  he  was  unworthy  to  breathe  the  air,  or  to 
see  the  light,  may  meet  with  many  occasions, 
before  the  day  is  closed,  to  discover  the  cor- 
ruptions of  his  heart,  and  to  show  how  weak 
and  faint  his  best  principles  and  clearest  con- 
victions are  in  their  actual  exercise.  And  in 
this  view,  how  vain  is  man  !  what  a  contra- 
diction is  a  believer  to  himself!  He  is  called 
a  believer  emphatically,  because  he  cordially 
assents  to  the  word  of  God ;  but,  alas !  how 
often  unworthy  of  the  name  !  If  I  was  to  de- 
scribe him  from  the  scripture-character,  I 
should  say,  he  is  one  whose  heart  is  athitst  for 
God,  for  his  glory,  his  image,  his  presence ; 
his  affections  are  fixed  upon  an  unseen  Sa- 
viour ;  his  treasures,  and  consequently  his 
thoughts,  are  on  high,  beyond  the  bounds  of 
sense.  Having  experienced  much  forgive- 
ness, he  is  full  of  bowels  of  mercy  to  all  around; 
and  having  been  often  deceived  by  his  own 
heart,  he  dares  trust  it  no  more,  but  lives,  by 
faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  for  wisdom,  right- 
eousness, and  sanctification,  and  derives  from 
him  grace  for  grace ;  sensible  that  without  him 
he  has  not  sufficiency  even  to  think  a  good 
thought.  In  short,  he  is  dead  to  the  world, 
to  sin,  to  self,  but  alive  to  God,  and  lively  in 
his  service.  Prayer  is  his  breath,  the  word  of 
God  his  food,  and  the  ordinances  more  pre- 
cious to  him  than  the  light  of  the  sun.  Such 
is  a  believer — in  his  judgment  and  prevailing 
desires. 

But  was  I  to  describe  him  from  experience, 
especially  at  some  times,  how  different  would 
the  picture  be  !  Though  he  knows  that  com- 
munion with  God  is  his  highest  privilege, 
he  too  seldom  finds  it  so  ;  on  the  contrarv,  if 
duty,  conscience,  and  necessity,  did  not  com- 
pel, he  would  leave  the  throne  of  grace  un- 
visited  from  day  to  day.  He  takes  up  the 
Bible,  conscious  that  it  is  the  fountain  of  life 
and  true  comfort ;  yet,  perhaps,  while  he  is 
making  the  reflection,  he  feels  a  secret  dis- 
taste, which  prompts  him  to  lay  it  down,  and 


give  his  preference  to  a  newspaper.  He  needs 
not  to  be  told  of  the  vanity  and  uncertainty  of 
all  beneath  the  sun ;  and  yet  is  almost  as 
much  elated  or  cast  down  by  a  trifle,  as  those 
who  have  their  portion  in  this  world.  He  be- 
lieves that  all  things  shall  work  together  for 
his  good,  and  that  the  most  high  God  ap- 
points, adjusts,  and  over-rules  all  his  concerns  ; 
yet  he  feels  the  risings  of  fear,  anxiety,  and 
displeasure,  as  though  the  contrary  was  true. 
He  owns  himself  ignorant,  and  liable  to  be 
deceived  by  a  thousand  fallacies  ;  yet  is  easily 
betrayed  into  positiveness  and  self-conceit.  He 
feels  himself  an  unprofitable,  unfaithful,  un- 
thankful servant,  and  therefore  blushes  to  har- 
bour a  thought  of  desiring  the  esteem  and  com- 
mendations of  men j  yet  he  cannot  suppress 
it.  Finally  (for  I  must  observe  some  bounds), 
on  account  of  these,  and  many  other  inconsis- 
tencies, he  is  struck  dumb  before  the  Lord, 
stripped  of  every  hope  and  plea,  but  what  is 
provided  in  the  free  grace  of  God,  and  yet 
his  heart  is  continually  leaning  and  returning 
to  a  covenant  of  works. 

Two  questions  naturally  arise  from  such  a 
view  of  ourselves.  First,  How  can  these 
tilings  be,  or  why  are  they  permitted  ?  Since 
the  Lord  hates  sin,  teaches  his  people  to  hate 
it  and  cry  against  it,  and  has  promised  to  hear 
their  prayers,  how  is  it  that  they  go  thus  bur- 
dened? Surely  if  he  could  not  or  would  not 
over-rule  evil  for  good,  he  would  not  permit 
it  to  continue.  By  these  exercises  he  teaches 
us  more  truly  to  know  and  feel  the  utter  de- 
pravity and  corruption  of  our  whole  nature, 
that  we  are  indeed  defiled  in  every  part.  His 
method  of  salvation  is  likewise  hereby  exceed- 
ingly endeared  to  us :  we  see  that  it  is  and 
must  be  of  grace,  wholly  of  grace ;  and  that 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  his  perfect  right- 
eousness, is  and  must  be  our  all  in  all.  His 
power  likewise  in  maintaining  his  own  work, 
notwithstanding  our  infirmities,  temptations, 
and  enemies,  is  hereby  displayed  in  the  clear- 
est light,  his  strength  is  manisfested  in  our 
weakness.  Satan  likewise  is  more  remarkably 
disappointed  and  put  to  shame,  when  he  finds 
bounds  set  to  his  rage  and  policy,  beyond 
which  he  cannot  pass  ;  and  that  those  in  whom 
he  finds  too  much  to  work  upon,  and  over 
whom  he  so  often  prevails  for  a  season,  escape 
at  last  out  of  his  hands.  He  casts  them  down, 
but  they  are  raised  again  ;  he  wounds  them, 
but  they  are  healed :  he  obtains  his  desire 
to  sift  them  as  wheat,  but  the  prayer  of  their 
great  Advocate  prevails  for  the  maintenance 
of  their  faith.  Farther,  by  what  believers  feel 
in  themselves  they  learn  by  degrees  how  to 
warn,  pity,  and  bear  with  others.  A  soft, 
patient,  and  compassionate  spirit,  and  a  readi- 
ness and  skill  in  comforting  those  who  are 
cast  down,  is  not  perhaps  attainable  in  any  other 
way.  And  lastly,  I  believe  nothing  more  ha- 
bitually reconciles  a  child  of  God  to  the 
thought  of  death,  than  the  wearisomeness  of  this 


132 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


LET.  III. 


warfare.  Death  is  unwelcome  to  nature  :  but 
then,  and  not  till  then,  the  conflict  will  cease. 
Then  we  shall  sin  no  more.  The  flesh,  witli  all 
its  attendant  evils,  will  be  laid  in  the  grave  : 
then  the  soul,  which  has  been  partaker  of  a 
new  and  heavenly  birth,  shall  be  freed  from 
every  incumbrance,  and  stand  perfect  in  the 
Redeemer's  righteousness  before  God  in  glo- 
ry- 

But  though  these  evils  cannot  be  wholly  re- 
moved, it  is  worth  while  to  inquire,  Secondly, 
How  they  ma)'  be  mitigated.  This  we  are 
encouraged  to  hope  for.  The  word  of  God 
directs  and  animates  to  a  growth  in  grace. 
And  though  we  can  do  nothing  spiritually  of 
ourselves,  yet  there  is  a  part  assigned  us. 
We  cannot  conquer  the  obstacles  in  our  way 
by  our  own  strength,  yet  we  can  give  way 
to  them  ;  and  if  we  do,  it  is  our  sin,  and  will 
be  our  sorrow.  The  disputes  concerning  in- 
herent power  in  the  creature,  have  been  car- 
ried to  inconvenient  lengths :  for  my  own 
part,  I  think  it  safest  to  use  scriptural  lan- 
guage. The  apostles  exhort  us,  to  give  all 
diligence,  to  resist  the  devil,  to  purge  our- 
selves from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit, 
to  give  ourselves  to  reading,  meditation,  and 
prayer,  to  watch,  to  put  on  the  whole  armour 
of  God,  and  to  abstain  from  all  appearance 
of  evil.  Faithfulness  to  light  received,  and  a 
sincere  endeavour  to  conform  to  the  means 
prescribed  in  the  word  of  God,  with  an  hum- 
Isle  application  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  and 
the  promised  Spirit,  will  undoubtedly  be  an- 
swered by  increasing  measures  of  light,  faith, 
strength,  and  comfort.;  and  we  shall  know,  if 
we  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord. 

I  need  not  tell  your  Lordship  that  I  am  an 
extempore  writer.  I  dropt  the  consideration 
of  whom  I  was  addressing  from  the  first  para- 
graph ;  but  I  now  return,  and  subscribe  my- 
self, with  the  greatest  deference,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

April — 1770. 

MY  LORD, 
I  have  a  desire  to  fill  the  paper,  and  must 
therefore  betake  myself  to  the  expedient  I 
lately  mentioned.  Glorious  things  are  spoken 
of  the  city  of  God,  or  (as  I  suppose)  the  state 
of  glory,  in  Rev.  xxi.  from  verse  10.  adji- 
nem.  The  description  is  doubtless  mystical, 
and,  perhaps,  nothing  short  of  a  happy  ex- 
perience and  participation  will  furnish  an 
adequate  exposition.  One  expression,  in  par- 
ticular, has,  I  believe,  puzzled  wiser  heads 
than  mine  to  explain.  "  The  street  of  the 
city  was  pure  gold,  as  it  were  transparent 
glass."  The  construction  likewise  in  the 
Greek  is  difficult.  Some  render  it  pure  gold 
transparent  us  glass:  this  is  the  sense,  but 
then  it  should  be  neuter,  liatfans,  to  agree  with 


X^uirw.  If  our  reading  is  right,  we  must 
understand  it  either  of  gold  pure,  bright,  and 
perspicuous  as  the  finest  transparent  glass 
(for  all  glass  is  not  transparent)  ;  or  else,  as 
two  distinct  comparisons,  splendid  and  durable 
as  the  purest  gold,  clear  and  transparent  as  the 
finest  glass.  In  that  happy  world  the  beauties 
and  advantages  which  here  are  divided  and 
incompatible,  will  unite  and  agree.  Our 
glass  is  clear,  but  brittle ;  our  gold  is  shining 
and  solid,  but  it  is  opaque,  and  discovers  only 
a  surface.  And  thus  it  is  with  our  minds. 
The  powers  of  the  imagination  are  lively  and 
extensive,  but  transient  and  uncertain.  The 
powers  of  the  understanding  are  more  solid 
and  regular,  but  at  the  same  time  more  slow 
and  limited,  and  confined  to  the  outside  pro- 
perties of  the  few  objects  around  us.  But 
when  we  arrive  within  the  vail,  the  perfec- 
tions of  the  glass  and  the  gold  will  be  com- 
bined, and  the  imperfections  of  each  will  en- 
tirely cease.  Then  we  shall  know  more  than 
we  can  now  imagine.  The  glass  will  be  all 
gold.  And  then  we  shall  apprehend  truth  in 
its  relations  and  consequences ;  not  (as  at 
present)  by  that  tedious  and  fallible  process 
which  we  call  reasoning,  but  by  a  single 
glance  of  thought,  as  the  sight  pierces  in  an 
instant  through  the  largest  transparent  bodies. 
The  gold  will  be  all  glass. 

I  do  not  offer  this  as  the  sense  of  the  pas- 
sage, but  as  a  thought  which  once  occurred  to 
me  while  reading  it.  I  daily  groan  under  a 
desultory,  ungovernable  imagination,  and  a 
palpable  darkness  of  understanding,  which 
greatly  impede  me  in  my  attempts  to  con- 
template the  truths  of  God.  Perhaps  these 
complaints,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  are 
common  to  all  our  fallen  race,  and  exhibit 
mournful  proofs  that  our  nature  is  essentially 
depraved.  The  grace  of  God  affords  some 
assistance  for  correcting  the  wildness  of  the 
fancy,  and  enlarging  the  capacity  of  the 
mind  :  yet  the  cure  at  present  is  but  palliative  • 
but  ere  long  it  shall  be  perfect,  and  our  com- 
plaints shall  cease  for  ever.  Now  it  costs  us 
much  pains  to  acquire  a  pittance  of  solid  and 
useful  knowledge  ;  and  the  ideas  we  have  col- 
lected are  far  from  being  at  the  disposal  of 
judgment,  and,  like  men  in  a  crowd,  are  per- 
petually clashing  and  interfering  with  each 
other.  But  it  will  not  be  so,  when  we  are 
completely  freed  from  the  effects  of  sin.  Con- 
fusion and  darkness  will  not  follow  us  into 
the  world  where  light  and  order  reign.  Then, 
and  not  till  then,  our  knowledge  will  be  per- 
fect, and  our  possession  of  it  uninterrupted 
and  secure. 

Since  the  radical  powers  of  the  soul  are  thus 
enfeebled  and  disordered,  it  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at,  that  the  best  of  men,  and  under  their 
highest  attainments,  have  found  cause  to 
make  the  acknowledgement  of  the  apostle, 
"  When  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with 
me."      But,  blessed  be  God,  though  we  must 


LET.   IV. 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


133 


feel  hourly  cause  for  sname  and  humiliation 
for  what  we  are  in  ourselves,  we  have  cause 
to  rejoice  continually  in  Christ  Jesus,  who, 
as  he  is  revealed  to  us  under  the  various 
names,  characters,  relations,  and  offices,  which 
he  bears  in  the  scriptures,  holds  out  to  our 
faith  a  balm  for  every  wound,  a  cordial  for 
every  discouragement,  and  a  sufficient  answer 
to  every  objection  which  sin  or  Satan  can  sug- 
gest against  our  peace.  If  we  are  guilty,  he 
is  our  righteousness ;  if  we  are  sick,  he  is 
our  infallible  physician ;  if  we  are  weak, 
helpless,  and  defenceless,  he  is  the  compas- 
sionate and  faithful  shepherd,  who  has  taken 
charge  of  us,  and  will  not  suffer  any  thing  to 
disappoint  our  hopes,  or  to  separate  us  from 
his  love.  He  knows  our  frame,  he  remem- 
bers that  we  are  but  dust,  and  has  engaged  to 
guide  us  by  his  counsel,  support  us  by  his 
power,  and  at  length  to  receive  us  to  his  glory, 
that  we  may  be  with  him  for  ever. 

I  am,  with  the  greatest  deference,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 

February  —  1772. 
MY  LORD, 
I  have  been  sitting,  perhaps  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  with  my  pen  in  my  hand,  and  my  finger 
upon  my  upper  lip,  contriving  how  I  should 
begin  my  letter.  A  detail  of  the  confused, 
incoherent  thoughts  which  have  successively 
passed  through  my  mind,  would  have  more 
than  filled  the  sheet ;  but  your  Lordship's  pa- 
tience, and  even  your  charity  for  the  writer, 
would  have  been  tried  to  the  uttermost,  if  I 
could  have  penned  them  all  down.  At  length 
my  suspense  reminded  me  of  the  apostle's 
words,  Gal.  v.  17.  "  Ye  cannot  do  the  things 
that  ye  would."  This  is  an  humbling,  but  a 
just  account  of  a  christian's  attainments  in  the 
present  life,  and  is  equally  applicable  to  the 
strongest  and  to  the  weakest.  The  weakest 
need  not  say  less,  the  strongest  will  hardly  ven- 
ture to  say  more.  The  Lord  has  given  his  people 
a  desire  and  will  aiming  at  great  things  :  with- 
out this  they  would  be  unworthy  the  name  of 
christians  ;  but  they  cannot  do  as  they  would. 
Their  best  desires  are  weak  and  ineffectual, 
not  absolutely  so  (for  he  who  works  in  them 
to  will,  enables  them  in  a  measure  to  do  like- 
wise), but  in  comparison  with  the  mark  at 
■which  they  aim.  So  that  while  they  have 
great  cause  to  be  thankful  for  the  desire  he 
has  given  them,  and  for  the  degree  in  which 
it  is  answered,  they  have  equal  reason  to  be 
ashamed  and  abased  under  a  sense  of  their 
continual  defects,  and  the  evil  mixtures  which 
taint  and  debase  their  best  endeavours.  It 
would  be  easy  to  make  out  a  long  list  of  par- 
ticulars which  a  believer  would  do  if  he  could, 
but  in  which,  from  first  to  last,  he  finds  a 
mortifying  inability.      Permit  me  to  mention 


a  few,  which  I  need  not  transcribe  from 
books,  for  they  are  always  present  to  my 
mind. 

He  would  willingly  enjoy  God  in  prayer 
He  knows  that  prayer  is  his  duty  ;  but,  in 
his  judgment,  he  considers  it  likewise  as  his 
greatest  honour  and  privilege.  In  this  light 
he  can  recommend  it  to  others,  and  can  tell 
them  of  the  wonderful  condescension  of  the 
great  God,  who  humbles  himself  to  behold 
the  things  that  are  in  heaven,  that,  he  should 
stoop  so  much  lower,  to  afford  his  gracious 
ear  to  the  supplications  of  sinful  worms  upon 
eatth.  He  can  bid  them  expect  a  pleasure  in 
waiting  upon  the  Lord,  different  in  kind,  and 
greater  in  degree,  than  all  that  the  world  can 
afford.  By  prayer,  he  can  say,  You  have  li- 
berty to  cast  all  your  cares  upon  him  that 
careth  for  you.  By  one  hour's  intimate  ac- 
cess to  the  throne  of  grace,  where  the  Lord 
causes  his  glory  to  pass  before  the  soul  that 
seeks  him,  you  may  acquire  more  true  spiri- 
tual knowledge  and  comfort,  than  by  a  day 
or  a  week's  converse  with  the  best  of  men,  or 
the  most  studious  perusal  of  many  folios  : 
and  in  this  light  he  would  consider  it  and 
improve  it  for  himself.  But,  alas  !  how  sel- 
dom can  he  do  as  he  would  !  How  often 
does  he  find  this  privilege  a  mere  task,  which 
he  would  be  glad  of  a  just  excuse  to  omit ! 
and  the  chief  pleasure  he  derives  from  the  per- 
formance, is  to  think  that  his  task  is  finished  : 
he  has  been  drawing  near  to  God  with  his 
lips,  while  his  heart  was  far  from  him.  Sure- 
ly this  is  not  doing  as  he  would,  when  (to 
borrow  the  expression  of  an  old  woman  here) 
he  is  dragged  before  God  like  a  slave,  and 
comes  away  like  a  thief. 

The  like  may  be  said  of  reading  the  scrip- 
tures. He  believes  them  to  be  the  word  of 
God ;  he  admires  the  wisdom  and  grace  of 
the  doctrines,  the  beauty  of  the  precepts,  the 
richness  and  suitableness  of  the  promises  ;  and 
therefore,  with  David,  he  accounts  it  prefer- 
able to  thousands  of  gold  and  silver,  and 
sweeter  than  honey  or  the  honeycomb.  Yet 
while  he  thus  thinks  of  it,  and  desires  that  it 
may  dwell  in  him  richly,  and  be  his  medita- 
tion night  and  day,  he  cannot  do  as  he  would. 
It  will  require  some  resolution  to  persist  in 
reading  a  portion  of  it  every  day ;  and  even 
then  his  heart  is  often  less  engaged  than  when 
reading  a  pamphlet.  Here  again  his  privilege 
frequently  dwindles  into  a  task.  His  appetite 
is  vitiated,  so  that  he  has  but  little  relish  for 
the  food  of  his  soul. 

He  would  willingly  have  abiding,  admiring 
thoughts  of  the  person  and  love  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Glad  is  he,  indeed,  of  those 
occasions  which  recal  the  Saviour  to  his  mind  ; 
and,  with  this  view,  notwithstanding  all  dis- 
couragements, he  perseveres  in  attempting  to 
pray  and  read,  and  waits  upon  ordinances. 
Yet  he  cannot  do  as  he  would.  Whatever 
claims  he  may  have  to  the  exercise  of  gratitude 


1:11 


LETTERS  TO 


and  sensibility  towards  his  fellow-creatures,  he 
must  confess  himself  mournfully  ungrateful 
and  insensible  towards  his  best  Friend  and  Be- 
nefactor. Ah  !  what  trifles  are  capable  of  slim- 
ting  Him  out  of  our  thoughts,  of  whom  we 
say,  he  is  the  beloved  of  our  souls,  who  loved 
us,  and  gave  himself  for  us,  and  whom  we 
have  deliberately  chosen  as  our  chief  good 
and  portion.  What  can  make  us  amends  for 
the  loss  we  suffer  here  ?  Yet  surely  if  we 
could  we  would  set  him  always  before  us ; 
his  love  should  be  the  delightful  theme  of  our 
hearts, 

From  morn  to  noon,  from  noon  to  dewy  eve. 

But  though  we  aim  at  this  good,  evil  is  pre- 
sent with  us;  we  find  we  are  renewed  but  in 
part,  and  have  still  cause  to  plead  the  Lord's 
promise,  to  take  away  the  heart  of  stone,  and 
give  us  a  heart  of  flesh. 

He  would  willingly  acquiesce  in  all  the 
dispensations  of  divine  providence.  He  be- 
lieves that  all  events  are  under  the  direction 
of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness,  and  shall 
surely  issue  in  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good 
of  those  who  fear  him.  He  doubts  not  but 
the  hairs  of  his  head  are  all  numbered  ; — that 
the  blessings  of  every  kind  which  he  possesses 
were  bestowed  upon  him,  and  are  preserved 
to  him,  by  the  bounty  and  special  favour  of  the 
Lord  whom  be  serves  ; — that  afflictions  spring 
not  out  of  the  ground,  but  are  fruits  and 
tokens  of  divine  love,  no  less  than  his  com- 
forts ; — that  there  is  a  need-be,  whenever  for 
a  season  he  is  in  heaviness.  Of  these  princi- 
ples he  can  no  more  doubt  than  of  what  he 
sees  with  his  eyes,  and  there  are  seasons  when 
he  thinks  they  will  prove  sufficient  to  recon- 
cile him  to  the  sharpest  trials.  But  often 
when  he  aims  to  apply  them  in  an  hour  of  pre- 
sent distress,  he  cannot  do  what  he  would. 
He  feels  a  law  in  his  members  warring  against 
the  law  in  his  mind  ;  so  that,  in  defiance  of 
the  clearest  convictions,  seeing  as  though  he 
perceived  not,  he  is  ready  to  complain,  mur- 
mur, and  despond.  Alas  !  how  vain  is  man  in 
his  best  estate  !  How  much  weakness  and  in- 
consistency, even  in  those  whose  hearts  are 
right  with  the  Lord  !  And  what  reason  have 
we  to  confess  that  we  are  unworthy,  unpro- 
fitable servants ! 

It  were  easy  to  enlarge  in  this  way,  would 
paper  and  time  permit.  But,  blessed  be  God, 
we  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace ; 
and  even  these  distressing  effects  of  the  rem- 
nants of  indwelling  sin  are  over-ruled  for 
good.  By  these  experiences  the  believer  is 
weaned  more  from  self,  and  taught  more 
highly  to  prize  and  more  absolutely  to  rely  on 
him,  who  is  appointed  unto  us  of  God,  wis- 
dom, righteousness,  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption. The  more  vile  we  are  in  our  own 
eyes,  the  more  precious  he  will  be  to  us ;  and 
a  deep,  repeated  sense  of  the  evil  of  our  hearts 
is  necessary  to  preclude  all   boasting,  and  to 


A  NOBLEMAN.  LF.T.  V. 

make  us  willing  to  give  the  whole  glory  of 
our  salvation  where  it  is  due.  Again,  a  sense 
of  these  evils  will,  when  hardly  any  thing  else 
can  do  it,  reconcile  us  to  the  thoughts  of 
death,  yea  make  us  desirous  to  depart  that  we 
may  sin  no  more,  since  we  find  depravity  so 
deep  rooted  in  our  nature,  that,  like  the  le- 
prous house,  the  whole  fabric  must  be  taken 
down  before  we  can  be  freed  from  its  defile- 
ment. Then,  and  not  till  then,  we  shall  be 
able  to  do  the  thing  that  we  would :  when  we  see 
Jesus  we  shall  be  transformed  into  his  image, 
and  have  done  with  sin  and  sorrow  for  ever 
I  am,  with  great  deference,  &c. 


LETTER  V. 

March  —  1112. 
My  lord, 
I  think  my  last  letter  turned  upon  the  apos- 
tle's thought,  Gal.  v.  17.  "  Ye  cannot  do  the 
things  that  ye  would."  In  the  parallel  place, 
Rom.  vii.  19,  there  is  another  clause  sub- 
joined, "  The  evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I 
do."  This,  added  to  the  former,  would  com- 
plete the  dark  side  of  my  experience.  Per- 
mit me  to  tell  your  Lordship  a  little  part  (for 
some  things  must  not,  cannot  be  told,)  not  of 
what  I  have  read,  but  of  what  I  have  felt,  in 
illustration  of  this  passage. 

I  would  not  be  the  sport  and  prey  of  wild, 
vain,  foolish,  and  worse  imaginations,  but  this 
evil  is  present  with  me ;  my  heart  is  like  a 
highway,  like  a  city  without  walls  or  gates. 
Nothing  so  false,  so  frivolous,  so  absurd,  so 
impossible,  or  so  horrid,  but  it  can  obtain  ac- 
cess, and  that  at  any  time,  or  in  any  place  ; 
neither  the  study,  the  pulpit,  nor  even  the 
Lord's  table,  exempt  me  from  their  intrusion. 
I  sometimes  compare  my  words  to  the  treble 
of  an  instrument,  which  my  thoughts  accom- 
pany with  a  kind  of  bass,  or  rather  anti-bass, 
in  which  every  rule  of  harmony  is  broken, 
every  possible  combination  of  discord  and  con- 
fusion is  introduced,  utterly  inconsistent  with, 
and  contradictory  to,  the  intended  melody. 
Ah !  what  music  would  my  praying  and 
preaching  often  make  in  the  ear  of  the  Lord 
of  Hosts,  if  he  listened  to  them  as  they  are 
mine  only  !  By  men,  the  upper  part  only 
(if  I  may  so  speak)  is  heard ;  and  small  cause 
there  is  for  self  gratulation,  if  they  should 
happen  to  commend,  when  conscience  tells  me 
they  would  be  struck  with  astonishment  and 
abhorrence  could  they  hear  the  whole. 

But  if  this  awful  effect  of  heart-depravity 
cannot  be  wholly  avoided  in  the  present  state 
of  human  nature,  yet  at  least  I  would  not  al- 
low and  indulge  it ;  yet  this  I  find  I  do.  In 
defiance  of  my  best  judgment  and  best  wishes, 
I  find  something  within  me  which  cherishes 
and  cleaves  to  those  evils,  from  which  I  ought 
to  start  and  flee,  as  I  should  if  a  toad  eraser- 


T.ET.  V. 

pent  was  put  in  my  food  or  in  my  bed.  Ah  ! 
how  vile  must  the  heart,  at  least  my  heart,  be, 
that  can  hold  a  parley  with  such  abominations, 
when  I  so  well  know  their  nature  and  their 
tendency.  Surely  he  who  finds  himself  ca- 
pable of  this,  may,  without  the  least  affecta- 
tion of  humility  (however  fair  his  outward 
conduct  appears),  subscribe  himself  less  than 
the  least  of  all  saints,  and  of  sinners  the  very 
chief. 

I  would  not  be  influenced  by  a  principle  of 
self  on  any  occasion  ;  yet  this  evil  I  often  do. 
I  see  the  baseness  and  absurdity  of  such 
conduct  as  clearly  as  I  see  the  light  of  the 
day.  I  do  not  affect  to  be  thought  ten  feet 
high,  and  I  know  that  a  desire  of  being  thought 
wise  or  good  is  equally  contrary  to  reason  and 
truth.  I  should  be  grieved  or  angry  if  my 
fellow-creatures  supposed  I  had  such  a  de- 
sire ;  and  therefore  I  fear  the  very  principle 
of  self,  of  which  I  complain,  has  a  considerable 
share  in  prompting  my  desires  to  conceal  it. 
The  pride  of  others  often  offends  me,  and 
makes  me  studious  to  hide  my  own,  because 
their  good  opinion  of  me  depends  much  upon 
their  not  perceiving  it.  But  the  Lord  knows 
how  this  dead  fly  taints  and  spoils  my  best 
services,  and  makes  them  no  better  than  spe- 
cious sins. 

I  would  not  indulge  vain  reasonings  con- 
cerning the  counsels,  ways,  and  providence 
of  God,  yet  I  am  prone  to  do  it.  That  the 
Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do  right,  is  to  me 
as  evident  and  necessary  as  that  two  and  two 
make  four.  I  believe  that  he  has  a  sovereign 
right  to  do  what  he  will  with  his  own,  and 
that  his  sovereignty  is  but  another  name  for 
the  unlimited  exercise  of  wisdom  and  good- 
ness. But  my  reasonings  are  often  such  as  if 
I  had  never  heard  of  these  principles,  or  had 
formally  renounced  them.  I  feel  the  work- 
ings of  a  presumptuous  spirit,  that  would  ac- 
count for  every  thing,  and  venture  to  dispute 
whatever  it  cannot  comprehend.  What  an 
evil  is  this,  for  a  potsherd  of  the  earth  to  con- 
tend with  its  maker !  I  do  not  act  thus  to- 
wards my  fellow-creatures  ;  I  do  not  find 
fault  with  the  decisions  of  a  judge,  or  the  dis- 
positions of  a  general,  because,  though  I  know 
they  are  fallible,  yet  I  suppose  they  are  wiser 
in  their  respective  departments  than  myself. 
But  I  am  often  ready  to  take  this  liberty  when 
it  is  most  unreasonable  and  inexcusable. 

I  would  not  cleave  to  a  covenant  of  works. 
It  should  seem  from  the  foregoing  particulars, 
and  many  others  which  I  could  mention,  that 
I  have  reasons  enow  to  deter  me  from  this : 
yet  even  this  I  do.  Not  but  that  I  say,  and 
I  hope  from  my  heart,  "  Enter  not  into 
judgment  with  thy  servant,  O  Lord."  I  cm- 
brace  it  as  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all 
acceptation,  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners  ;  and  it  is  the  main  plea- 
.sure  and  business  of  my  life  to  set  forth  the 
necessity  and   all- sufficiency  of  the  Mediator 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


135 


between  God  and  man,  and  to  make  mention 
of  his  righteousness,  even  of  his  only.  But 
here,  as  in  every  thing  else,  I  find  a  vast  dif- 
ference between  my  judgment  and  my  expe- 
rience. I  am  invited  to  take  the  water  of  life 
freely,  yet  I  am  often  discouraged,  because  I 
have  nothing  wherewith  to  pay  for  it.  If  I 
am  at  times  favoured  with  some  liberty  from 
the  above  mentioned  evils,  it  rather  gives  me 
a  more  favourable  opinion  of  myself  than 
increases  my  admiration  of  the  Lord's  good- 
ness to  so  unworthy  a  creature  ;  and  when  the 
returning  tide  of  my  corruptions  convinces  me 
that  I  am  still  the  same,  an  unbelieving  legal 
spirit  would  urge  me  to  conclude  that  the 
Lord  is  changed  :  at  least,  I  feel  a  weariness 
of  being  beholden  to  him  for  such  continued 
multiplied  forgiveness,  and  I  fear  that  some 
part  of  my  striving  against  sin,  and  my  de- 
sires after  an  increase  of  sanctification  arise 
from  a  secret  wish  that  I  might  not  be  so  ab- 
solutely and  entirely  indebted  to  him. 

This,  my  Lord,  is  only  a  faint  sketch  of  my 
heart,  but  it  is  taken  from  the  life  :  it  would 
require  a  volume  rather  than  a  letter  to  fill  up 
the  outlines.  But  I  believe  you  will  not  re- 
gret that  I  chuse  to  say  no  more  upon  such  a 
subject.  But  though  my  disease  is  grievous, 
it  is  not  desperate  ;  I  have  a  gracious  and  in- 
fallible Physician.  I  shall  net  die,  but  live, 
and  declare  the  works  of  the  Lord. 

I  remai-n,  my  Lord,  &c. 


LETTER  VI. 

April  —  1772. 

MY  LORD, 

My  two  last  letters  turned  upon  a  mourn- 
ful subject,  the  depravity  of  the  heart,  which 
impedes  us  when  we  would  do  good,  and  pol- 
lutes our  best  intended  services  with  evil. 
We  have  cause,  upon  this  account,  to  go  soft- 
ly all  our  days  ;  yet  we  need  not  sorrow  as 
those  who  have  no  hope.  The  Lord  has  pro  . 
vided  his  people  relief  under  those  complaints, 
and  teaches  us  to  draw  improvement  from 
them.  If  the  evils  we  feel  were  not  capable 
of  being  over-ruled  for  good,  he  would  not 
permit  them  to  remain  in  us.  This  we  may 
infer  from  his  hatred  to  sin,  and  the  love  which 
he  bears  to  his  people. 

As  to  the  remedy,  neither  our  state  nor  his 
honour  are  affected  by  the  workings  of  in- 
dwelling sin,  in  the  hearts  of  those  whom  he 
has  taught  to  wrestle,  strive,  and  mourn,  on 
account  of  what  they  feel.  Though  sin  wars, 
it  shall  not  reign  :  and  though  it  breaks  our 
peace,  it  cannot  separate  from  his  love.  Nor 
is  it  inconsistent  with  his  holiness  and  per- 
fection, to  manifest  his  favour  to  such  poor 
defiled  creatures,  or  to  admit  them  to  com- 
munion with  himself;  for  they  are  not  consi- 
dered as  in  themselves,  but  as  one  witl    Jc- 


136 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


LET.  vr. 


sus,  to  whom  they  have  fled  for  refuge,  and 
by  whom  they  live  a  life  of  faith.  They  are 
accepted  in  the  Beloved,  they  have  an  Advo- 
cate with  the  Father,  who  once  made  an  a- 
tonement  for  their  sins,  and  ever  lives  to  make 
intercession  for  their  persons.  Though  they 
cannot  fulfil  the  law,  he  has  fulfilled  it  for 
them  ;  though  the  obedience  of  the  members 
is  defiled  and  imperfect,  the  obedience  of  the 
Head  is  spotless  and  complete ;  and  though 
there  is  much  evil  in  them,  there  is  something 
good,  the  fruit  of  his  own  gracious  Spirit. 
They  act  from  a  principle  of  love,  they  aim 
at  no  less  than  his  glory,  and  their  habitual 
desires  are  supremely  fixed  upon  himself. 
There  is  a  difference  in  kind  between  the 
feeblest  efforts  of  faith  in  a  real  believer, 
while  ne  is  covered  with  shame  at  the  thought 
of  his  miscarriages,  and  the  highest  and  most 
specious  attainments  of  those  who  are  wise  in 
their  own  eyes,  and  prudent  in  their  own 
sight.  Nor  shall  this  conflict  remain  long,  or 
the  enemy  finally  prevail  over  them.  They 
are  supported  by  almighty  power,  and  led  on 
to  certain  victory.  They  shall  not  always  be 
as  they  are  now ;  yet  a  little  while,  and  they 
shall  be  freed  from  this  vile  body,  which,  like 
the  leprous  house,  is  incurably  contaminated, 
and  must  be  entirely  taken  down.  Then  they 
shall  see  Jesus  as  he  is,  and  be  like  him,  and 
with  him  for  ever. 

The  gracious  purposes  to  which  the  Lord 
makes  the  sense  and  feeling  of  our  depravity 
subservient,  are  manifold.  Hereby  his  own 
power,  wisdom,  faithfulness,  and  love,  are 
more  signally  displayed  :  His  power, — in 
maintaining  his  own  work  in  the  midst  of 
much  opposition,  like  a  spark  burning  in  the 
water,  or  a  bush  unconsumed  in  the  flames  : 
His  wisdom,— in  defeating  and  controuling 
all  the  devices  which  Satan,  from  his  know- 
ledge of  the  evil  of  our  nature,  is  encouraged 
to  practise  against  us.  He  has  overthrown 
many  a  fair  professor,  and,  like  Goliah,  he 
challenges  the  whole  army  of  Israel ;  yet  he 
finds  there  are  some  against  whom,  though  he 
thrusts  sorely  he  cannot  prevail ;  notwith- 
standing any  seeming  advantage  he  gains  at 
some  seasons,  they  are  still  delivered,  for  the 
Lord  is  on  their  side.  The  unchangeableness 
of  the  Lord's  love,  and  the  riches  of  his  mercy, 
are  likewise  more  illustrated  by  the  multiplied 
pardons  he  bestows  upon  his  people,  than  if 
they  needed  no  forgiveness  at  all. 

Hereby  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  more  en- 
deared to  the  soul ;  all  boasting  is  effectually 
excluded,  and  the  glory  of  a  full  and  free  sal- 
vationris  ascribed  to  him  alone.  If  a  mariner 
is  surprised  by  a  storm,  and  after  one  night 
spent  in  jeopardy,  is  presently  brought  safe 
into  port ;  though  he  may  rejoice  in  his  deli- 
verance, it  will  not  affect  him  so  sensibly,  as 
if,  after  being  tempest-tossed  for  a  long  sea- 
son, and  experiencing  a  great  number  and  va- 
riety of  hair-breadth  escapes,  he  at  last  gains 


the  desired  haven.  The  righteous  are  said  to 
be  scarcely  saved,  not  with  respect  to  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  event,  for  the  purpose  of  God  in 
their  favour  cannot  be  disappointed,  but  in 
respect  of  their  own  apprehensions,  and  the 
great  difficulties  they  are  brought  through. 
But  when,  after  a  long  experience  of  their 
own  deceitful  hearts,  after  repeated  proofs  of 
their  weakness,  wilfulness,  ingratitude,  and  in- 
sensibility, they  find  that  none  of  these  things 
can  separate  them  from  the  love  of  God  in 
Christ,  Jesus  becomes  more  and  more  pre- 
cious to  their  souls.  They  love  much,  be- 
cause much  has  been  forgiven  them.  They 
dare  not,  they  will  not,  ascribe  any  thing  to 
themselves,  but  are  glad  to  acknowledge,  that 
they  must  have  perished,  if  possible,  a  thou 
sand  times  over,  if  Jesus  had  not  been  their 
Saviour,  their  shepherd,  and  their  shield. 
When  they  were  wandering,  he  brought  them 
back ;  when  fallen,  he  raised  them ;  when 
wounded,  he  healed  them ;  when  fainting,  he 
revived  them.  By  him  out  of  weakness  they 
have  been  made  strong  ;  he  has  taught  their 
hands  to  war,  and  covered  their  heads  in  the 
day  of  battle.  In  a  word,  some  of  the  clearest 
proofs  they  have  had  of  his  excellence,  have 
been  occasioned  by  the  mortifying  proofs  they 
have  had  of  their  own  vileness.  They  would 
not  have  known  as  much  of  him,  if  they  had 
not  known  so  much  of  themselves. 

Farther,  a  spirit  of  humiliation,  which  is 
both  decus  et  tutamen,  the  strength  and  beauty 
of  our  profession,  is  greatly  promoted  by  our 
feeling,  as  well  as  reading,  that  when  we 
would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with  us.  A 
broken  and  a  contrite  spirit  is  pleasing  to  the 
Lord  :  he  has  promised  to  dwell  with  those 
who  have  it;  and  experience  shews,  that  the 
exercise  of  all  our  graces  is  in  proportion  to 
the  humbling  sense  we  have  of  the  depravity 
of  our  nature.  But  that  we  are  so  totally  de- 
praved, is  a  truth  which  no  one  ever  truly 
learned  by  being  only  told  it.  Indeed,  if  we 
could  receive,  and  habitually  maintain  a  right 
judgment  of  ourselves,  by  what  is  plainly  de- 
clared in  the  scriptures,  it  would  probably 
save  us  many  a  mournful  hour ;  but  experi- 
ence is  the  Lord's  school,  and  they  who  are 
taught  by  him  usually  learn,  that  they  have  no 
wisdom  by  the  mistakes  they  make,  and  that 
they  have  no  strength  by  the  slips  and  falls 
they  meet  with.  Every  day  draws  forth  some 
new  corruption,  which  before  was  little  ob- 
served, or  at  least  discovers  it  in  a  stronger 
light  than  before.  Thus,  by  degrees,  they  are 
weaned  from  leaning  to  any  supposed  wis- 
dom, power,  or  goodness  in  themselves ;  they 
feel  the  truth  of  our  Lord's  words,  "  With- 
out me  ye  can  do  nothing ;"  and  the  necessity 
of  crying,  with  David,  "  O  lead  me  and 
guide  me,  for  thy  name's  sake."  It  is  chiefly 
by  this  frame  of  mind  that  one  christian  is 
differenced  from  another ;  for  though  it  is  an 
inward  feeling,  it  has  very  observable  outward 


LET.  VII. 


LETTERS  TO  NOBLEMAN. 


137 


effects,  which  are  expressively  intimated,  Ezek. 
xvi.  63,  "  Thou  shalt  be  dumb,  and  not  open 
thy  mouth,  in  the  day  when  I  am  pacified  to- 
wards thee,  saith  the  Lord  God."  The  know- 
ledge of  my  full  and  free  forgiveness,  of  thy 
innumerable  backslidings  and  transgressions, 
shall  make  thee  ashamed,  and  silence  the  un- 
ruly workings  of  thine  heart.  Thou  shalt 
open  thy  mouth  in  praise ;  but  thou  shalt  no 
more  boast  in  thyself,  or  censure  others,  or 
repine  at  my  dispensations.  In  these  respects 
we  are  exceedingly  prone  to  speak  unadvis- 
edly with  our  lips.  But  a  sense  of  great  un- 
worthiness  and  much  forgiveness  checks  these 
evils.  Whoever  is  truly  humbled  will  not  be 
easily  angry,  will  not  be  positive  and  rash, 
will  be  compassionate  and  tender  to  the  infir- 
mities of  his  fellow-sinners,  knowing,  that  if 
there  be  a  difference,  it  is  grace  that  has  made 
it,  and  that  he  has  the  seeds  of  every  evil  in  his 
own  heart ;  and,  under  all  trials  and  afflic- 
tions, he  will  look  to  the  hand  of  the  Lord, 
and  lay  his  mouth  in  the  dust,  acknowledg- 
ing that  he  suffers  much  less  than  his  iniqui- 
ties have  deserved.  These  are  some  of  the 
advantages  and  good  fruits  which  the  Lord 
enables  us  to  obtain  from  that  bitter  root  in- 
dwelling sin. 

I  am,  with  deference,  &c. 


LETTER  VII. 

September  —  1772. 
My  lord, 
Weak,  unskilful,  and  unfaithful  as  I  am  in 
practice,  the  Lord  has  been  pleased  to  give  me 
some  idea  of  what  a  christian  ought  to  be,  and 
of  what  is  actually  attainable  in  the  present 
life,  by  those  whom  he  enables  earnestly  to 
aspire  towards  the  prize  of  their  high  calling. 
They  who  are  versed  in  mechanics  can,  from 
a  knowledge  of  the  combined  powers  of  a 
complicated  machine,  make  an  exact  calcula- 
tion of  what  it  is  able  to  perform,  and  what 
resistance  it  can  counteract ;  but  who  can  com- 
pute the  possible  effects  of  that  combination 
of  principle  and  motives  revealed  in  the  gos- 
pel, upon  a  heart  duly  impressed  with  a  sense 
of  their  importance  and  glory  f  When  I  was 
lately  at  Mr.  Cox's  museum,  while  I  was  fix- 
ing my  attention  upon  some  curious  move- 
ments, imagining  that  I  saw  the  whole  of  the 
artist's  design,  the  person  who  showed  it 
touched  a  little  spring,  and  suddenly  a  thou- 
sand new  and  unexpected  motions  took  place, 
and  the  whole  piece  seemed  animated  from 
the  top  to  the  bottom.  I  should  have  formed 
but  a  very  imperfect  judgment  of  it,  had  I 
seen  no  more  than  what  I  saw  at  first.  I 
thought  it  might  in  some  measure  illustrate 
,  the  vast  difference  that  is  observable  amongst 
professors,  even  amongst  those  who  are,  it 
'  is  to  be  hoped,  sincere.  There  are  persons, 
\  who  appear  to  have  a  true  knowledge,  in  part, 


of  the  nature  of  gospel  religion,  but  seem  not 
to  be  apprised  of  its  properties,  in  their  com- 
prehension and  extent.  If  they  have  attained 
to  some  hope  of  their  acceptance,  if  they  find 
at  seasons  some  communion  with  God  in  the 
means  of  grace,  if  they  are  in  measure  de- 
livered from  the  prevailing  and  corrupt  cus- 
toms of  the  world,  they  seem  to  be  satisfied, 
as  if  they  were  possessed  of  all.  These  are 
indeed  great  things ;  sed  meliora  latent.  The 
profession  of  too  many,  whose  sincerity  cha- 
rity would  be  unwilling  to  impeach,  is  greatly 
blemished,  notwithstanding  their  hopes  and 
their  occasional  comforts,  by  the  breakings 
forth  of  unsanctified  tempers,  and  the  indul- 
gence of  vain  hopes,  anxious  cares,  and  selfish 
pursuits.  Far,  very  far,  am  I  from  that  unscrip- 
tural  sentiment  of  sinless  perfection  in  fallen 
man.  To  those  who  have  a  due  sense  of  the 
spirituality  and  ground  of  the  divine  precepts, 
and  of  what  passes  in  their  own  hearts,  there 
will  never  be  wanting  causes  of  humiliation 
and  self-abasement  on  the  account  of  sin  ; 
yet  still  there  is  a  liberty  and  privilege  at- 
tainable by  the  gospel,  beyond  what  is  ordi- 
narily thought  of.  Permit  me  to  mention 
two  or  three  particulars,  in  which  those  who 
have  a  holy  ambition  of  aspiring  to  them  shall 
not  be  altogether  disappointed. 

A  delight  in  the  Lord's  all-sufficiency,  to 
be  satisfied  in  him  as  our  present  and  eternal 
portion.  This,  in  the  sense  in  which  I  under- 
stand it,  is  not  the  effect  of  a  present  warm 
frame,  but  of  a  deeply-rooted  and  abiding 
principle,  the  habitual  exercise  of  which  is  to 
be  estimated  by  the  comparative  indifference 
with  which  other  things  are  regarded.  The 
soul,  thus  principled,  is  not  at  leisure  to  take 
or  to  seek  satisfaction  in  any  thing  but  what 
has  a  known  subserviency  to  this  leading  taste. 
Either  the  Lord  is  present,  and  then  he  is  to 
be  rejoiced  in  ;  or  else  he  is  absent,  and  then 
he  is  to  be  sought  and  waited  for.  They  are 
to  be  pitied,  who,  if  they  are  some  times  happy 
in  the  Lord,  can  at  other  times  be  happy  with- 
out him,  and  rejoice  in  broken  cisterns,  when 
their  spirits  are  at  a  distance  from  the  foun- 
tain of  living  waters.  I  do  not  plead  for  an 
absolute  indifference  to  temporal  blessings : 
he  gives  us  all  things  richly  to  enjoy,  and  a 
capacity  of  relishing  them  is  his  gift  likewise  ; 
but  then  the  consideration  of  his  love  in  be- 
stowing should  exceedingly  enhance  the  va- 
lue, and  a  regard  to  his  will  should  regulate 
their  use.  Nor  can  they  all  supply  the  want 
of  that  which  we  can  only  receive  immediately 
from  himself.  This  principle  likewise  mode- 
rates that  inordinate  fear  and  sorrow  t©  which 
we  are  liable  upon  the  prospect  or  the  occur- 
rence of  great  trials  for  which  there  is  a  sure 
support  and  resource  provided  in  the  all -suffi- 
ciency of  infinite  goodness  and  grace.  What 
a  privilege  is  this,  to  possess  God  in  all  things 
while  we  have  them,  and  all  things  in  God 
when  they  are  taken  from  us  ' 


138 


LETTERS  TO  A 


An  acquiescence  in  the  Lord's  will,  founded 
in  a  persuasion  of  his  wisdom,  holiness,  sove- 
reignty, and   goodness.      This  is   one  of  the 
greatest  privileges  and  brightest  ornaments  of 
our  profession.  So  far  as  we  attain  to  this,  we 
are  secure  from  disappointment.     Our  own  li- 
mited views  and  short-sighted  purposes  and  de- 
sires, may  be,  and  will   be  often  over-ruled, 
but  then  our  main  and  leading  desire,  that  the 
will  of  the  Lord  may  be  done,  must  be  accom- 
plished.    How  highly  does  it  become  us,  both 
as  creatures  and  as  sinners,   to  submit  to  the 
appointments  of  our  Maker  !   and  how  neces- 
sary is  it  to  our  peace  !    This  great  attainment 
is  too  often  unthought  of,  and  overlooked  ;  we 
are  prone  to   fix  our  attention  upon  the  se- 
cond causes   and    immediate    instruments    of 
events  ;   forgetting  that  whatever  befals  us  is 
according  to  his  purpose,  and  therefore  must 
be  right  and  seasonable  in   itself,  and  shall, 
in  the  issue,  be  productive  of  good.      From 
hence  arise  impatience,  resentment,  and  secret 
repinings,  which  are  not  only  sinful,   but  tor- 
menting ;  whereas,    if   all  things    are  in   his 
hand ;   if  the  very  hairs  of  our  head  are  num- 
bered ;  if  every  event,  great  and  small,  is  un- 
der the  direction  of  his  providence  and  pur- 
pose ;  and,   if  he  has  a  wise,   holy,  and  gra- 
cious end  in  view,  to  which   every  thing  that 
happens    is   subordinate    and    subservient ;  — 
then  we  have  nothing  to  do  but,  with  patience 
and  humility,  to  follow  as  he  leads,  and  cheer- 
fully to  expect  a  happy  issue.      The  path   of 
present  duty  is  marked  out  ;  and  the  concerns 
of  the  next  and  every  succeeding  hour  are  in 
his  hands.      How  happy  are  they  who  can  re- 
sign all  to  him,   see  his  hand  in  every  dispen- 
sation,  and  believe   that  he  chuses  better  for 
them  than  they  possibly  could  for  themselves  ! 
A  single  eye  to  his  glory,  as   the  ultimate 
scope  of  all  our  undertakings.     The  Lord  can 
design  nothing   short  of  his   own  glory  ;   nor 
should  we.      The  constraining  love  of  Christ 
has  a  direct  and  marvellous  tendency,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  measure  of  faith,  to  mortify  the 
corrupt  principle,  self,  which,  for  a  season,  is 
the    grand    spring    of  our    conduct,    and  by 
which  we  are  too  much  biassed  after  we  know 
the  Lord.      But  as  grace  prevails,  self  is  re- 
nounced.     We  feel  that  we  are  not  our  own, 
that  we  are  bought  with  a  price  ;  and  that  it 
is  our  duty,  our  honour,  and  our  happiness, 
to  be  the  servants  of   God,  and  of  the  Lord 
Jesus   Christ.       To   devote    soul    and    body, 
every  talent,  power,  and  faculty,    to  the  ser- 
vice of  his  cause  and  will ;  to  let  our    light 
shine  (in  our  several  situations)   to  the  praise 
of  his  grace  ;  to  place  our  highest  joy  in  the 
contemplation    of  his    adorable    perfections ; 
to  rejoice  even   in  tribulations  and  distresses, 
in   reproaches  and  infirmities,  if  thereby  the 
power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  us,  and  be 
magrified  in  us;  to  be  content,  yea,  glad  to 
be  nothing,  that  he  may  be  all  in  all  ;  to  obey 
him,  in   opposition   to  the  threats  or  solicita- 


NOELEMAN.  LET.  VII. 

tions  of  men  ;  to  trust  him,  though  all  out- 
ward appearances  seem  against  us ;  to  re- 
joice in  him,  though  we  should  (as  will  sooner 
or  later  be  the  case)  have  nothing  else  to  re- 
joice in  ;  to  live  .above  the, world,  and  to  have 
our  conversation  in  heaven,  to  be  like  the 
angels,  finding  our  own  pleasure  in  perform- 
ing his.  This,  my  Lord,  is  the  prize,  the 
mark  of  our  high  calling,  to  which  we  are  en- 
couraged, with  a  holy  ambition,  continually 
to  aspire.  It  is  true,  we  shall  still  fall  short ; 
we  shall  find,  that  when  we  would  do  good, 
evil  will  be  present  with  us.  But  the  attempt 
is  glorious,  and  shall  not  be  wholly  in  vain. 
He  that  gives  us  thus  to  will,  will  enable  us 
to  perform  with  growing  success,  and  teach 
us  to  profit  even  by  our  mistakes  and  imper. 
fections. 

0  blessed  man  !  that  thus  fears  the  Lord, 
that  delights  in  his  word,  and  derives  his  prin- 
ciples, motives,  maxims,  and  consolations, 
from  that  unfailing  source  of  light  and 
strength !  He  shall  be  like  a  tree  planted  by 
the  rivers  of  water,  whose  leaf  is  always  green, 
and  fruit  abundant.  The  wisdom  that  is 
above  shall  direct  his  plans,  inspire  his  coun- 
sels ;  and  the  power  of  God  shall  guard  him 
on  every  side,  and  prepare  his  way  through 
every  difficulty  he  shall  see  mountains  sink 
into  plains,  and  streams  spring  up  in  the  dry 
wilderness.  The  Lord's  enemies  will  be  his  ; 
and  they  may  be  permitted  to  fight  against 
him,  but  they  shall  not  prevail,  for  the  Lord 
is  with  him  to  deliver  him.  The  conduct  of 
such  a  one,  though  in  a  narrow  and  retired 
sphere  of  life,  is  of  more  real  excellence  and 
importance,  than  the  most  splendid  actions  of 
kings  and  conquerors,  which  fill  the  annals  of 
history,  Prov.  xvi.  32.  And  if  the  God 
whom  he  serves  is  pleased  to  place  him  in  a 
more  public  light,  his  labours  and  cares  will 
be  amply  compensated,  by  the  superior  op- 
portunities afforded  him  of  manifesting  the 
power  and  reality  of  true  religion,  and  pro- 
moting the  good  of  mankind. 

1  hope  I  may  say,  that  I  desire  to  be  thus 
entirely  given  up  to  the  Lord ;  I  am  sure,  I 
must  say,  that  what  I  have  written  is  far  from 
being  my  actual  experience.  Alas  !  I  might 
be  condemned  out  of  my  own  mouth,  were 
the  Lord  strict  to  mark  what  is  amiss. 
But,  O  the  comfort !  we  are  not  under  the 
law,  but  under  grace.  The  gospel  is  a  dis- 
pensation for  sinners,  and  we  have  an  advo- 
cate with  the  Father.  There  is  the  unshaken 
ground  of  hope ;  a  reconciled  Father,  a  pre- 
vailing advocate,  a  powerful  shepherd,  a  com- 
passionate friend,  a  Saviour,  who  is  able  and 
willing  to  save  to  the  uttermost.  He  knows 
our  frame ;  he  remembers  that  we  are  but 
dust :  and  he  lias  opened  for  us  a  new  and 
blood-besprinkled  way  of  access  to  the  throne 
of  grace,  that  we  may  obtain  mercy,  and  find 
grace  to  help  in  every  time  of  need. 


I  am,  &o. 


let.  vrn. 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


139 


LETTER  VIII. 

April— 1772. 
MY  LORD, 

For  five  or  six  weeks  past,  I  have  been  a  good 
deal  indisposed.  The  ground  of  my  complaint 
was  a  cold,  attended  with  a  slight  fever,  and  for 
some  time  with  a  cough,  which  made  me  feel 
someinconvenience  in  preaching.  To  this  suc- 
ceeded a  deafness,  so  great  as  to  cut  me  off  from 
conversation  ;  for  I  could  not  hear  the  sound 
of  a  voice,  unless  it  was  spoken  loud  in  my 
ear.  But  the  Lord  has  mercifully  removed 
the  fever  and  cough,  opened  my  ears,  and  I 
am  now  nearly  as  well  as  usual.  I  had  cause 
to  be  thankful,  especially  for  two  things,  un- 
der this  dispensation  :  First,  that  I  was  en- 
abled, though  sometimes  with  a  little  difficul- 
ty, to  go  on  with  my  public  work.  It  is  a  sin- 
gular favour  I  have  to  acknowledge,  that  for 
the  space  of  almost  nine  years,  since  I  have 
been  in  the  ministry,  our  sabbath  and  weekly 
opportunities  have  not  been  once  suspended  ; 
whereas  I  have  seen  many  of  the  Lord's  ser- 
vants laid  by  for  a  considerable  space  within 
that  time.  My  other  great  mercy  was,  that 
the  Lord  was  pleased  to  preserve  me  in  a 
peaceful  resigned  frame  ;  so  that,  when  I  was 
deaf,  and  could  not  be  certain  that  I  should 
recover  my  hearing  any  more,  I  was  in  gene- 
ral as  cheerful  and  easy  as  at  other  times. 
This  was  the  effect  of  his  goodness :  for 
though  I  know  enough  of  his  sovereignty, 
wisdom,  and  faithfulness,  of  his  right  to  do 
what  he  pleases,  and  the  certainty  that  he  does 
all  things  well,  to  furnish  me  with  arguments 
enough  to  prove  that  submission  to  his  will 
is  our  absolute  duty ;  yet  I  am  sensible,  that 
when  the  trial  actually  comes,  notwithstand- 
ing all  the  advice  I  may  have  offered  to  others, 
I  should  myself  toss  like  a  wild  bull  in  a  net ; 
rebel  and  repine ;  forget  that  I  am  a  sinner, 
and  that  he  is  a  sovereign  :  this,  I  say,  would 
always  and  invariably  be  the  case,  unless  he 
was  graciously  pleased  to  fulfil  his  word,  that 
strength  shall  be  according  to  the  day.  I 
hope  my  deafness  has  been  instructive  to  me. 
The  exercise  of  our  senses  is  so  easily  and 
constantly  performed,  that  it  seems  a  thing  of 
course ;  but  I  was  then  reminded  how  preca- 
rious the  tenure  is  by  which  we  hold  those 
blessings  which  seem  most  our  own,  and  which 
are  most  immediately  necessary  to  the  com- 
fortable enjoyment  of  life.  Outward  senses, 
mental  faculties,  health  of  body,  and  peace  of 
mind,  are  extremely  valuable ;  but  the  con- 
tinuance of  them  for  a  single  moment  depends 
upon  him,  who,  if  he  opens,  none  can  shut, 
and  when  he  shuts,  none  can  open.  A  minute 
is  more  than  sufficient  to  deprive  us  of  what 
we  hold  most  dear,  or  to  prevent  us  from  de- 
riving the  least  comfort  from  it,  if  it  is  not 
taken  away.     I   am  not  presuming  to  give 


your  Lordship  information  ;  but  only  men- 
tioning the  thoughts  that  were  much  upon 
my  mind  while  I  was  incapable  of  conversa- 
tion. These  are  indeed  plain  and  obvious 
truths,  which  I  have  long  acknowledged  as 
indisputable  ;  but  I  have  reason  to  be  thank- 
ful when  the  Lord  impresses  them  with  fresh 
power  upon  my  heart,  even  though  he  sees 
fit  to  do  it  through  the  medium  of  afflictions. 
I  have  seen,  of  late,  something  of  the  weight 
and  importance  of  that  admonition,  Jer.  ix. 
23,  24 ;  a  passage  which,  though  addressed 
to  the  wise,  the  mighty,  and  the  rich,  is  of 
universal  application  ;  for  self,  unless  cor- 
rected and  mortified  by  grace,  will  find  some- 
thing whereof  to  glory,  in  the  meanest  cha- 
racters and  the  lowest  situations.  And  indeed, 
when  things  come  to  be  weighed  in  the  ba- 
lance of  the  sanctuary,  the  lunatics  in  bed- 
lam, some  of  whom  glory  in  their  straw  or 
their  chains,  as  marks  of  splendour  or  ensigns 
of  royalty,  have  as  much  reason  on  their  side 
as  any  persons  upon  earth  who  glory  in  them- 
selves. This  alone  is  the  proper  ground  of 
glory  and  joy,  if  we  know  the  Lord.  Then 
all  is  safe  at  present,  and  all  will  be  happy 
for  ever.  Then,  whatever  changes  may  af- 
fect our  temporal  concernments,  our  best  in- 
terests and  hopes  are  secured  beyond  the 
reach  of  change  ;  and  whatever  we  may  lose 
or  suffer  during  this  little  span  of  time,  will 
be  abundantly  compensated  in  that  glorious 
state  of  eternity,  which  is  just  at  hand. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IX. 

Dcccmba — 1772. 

MY  LORD, 

I  LATELY  employed  some  of  my  leisure  hours 
(which,  when  I  am  not  indolent,  are  but  few) 
in  reading  the  Memoirs  of  the  duke  of  Sully, 
which  occasionally  came  in  my  way.  It  af- 
forded me  matter  for  variety  of  reflections. 
I  pity  the  duke  of  Sully,  whose  attachment 
to  the  name  of  Protestant  seems  to  have  been 
little  more  than  a  point  of  honour,  who  drew 
all  his  resources  from  himself,  and  whose  chief 
aim  seems  to  have  been,  to  approve  himself 
faithful  to  an  earthly  master.  He  acted  as 
well  as  could  be  expected  from  natural  prin- 
ciples ;  and  the  Lord,  who  employed  him  as 
an  instrument  in  his  providence,  rewarded  his 
fidelity  with  success,  honour,  and  riches  :  a 
reward  which,  though  in  itself  a  poor  one,  is 
suited  to  the  desires  of  men  who  place  their 
happiness  in  worldly  things,  and  is  so  far  a 
compensation  of  their  services.  It  is  given 
to  your  Lordship  to  act  from  nobler  principles, 
and  with  more  enlarged  views.  You  serve  a 
Master,  of  whose  favour,  protection,  and  as- 
sistance you  cannot  be  deprived,  who  will  not 
overlook  or  misconstrue  the  smallest  services 


HO 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


LrfT.  I* 


you  attempt  for  Mm,  who  will  listen  to  no  in- 
sinuations against  you,  who  is  always  near, 
to  comfort,  direct,  and  strengthen  you,  and 
who  is  preparing  for  you  such  honours  and 
blessings  as  he  only  can  give,  an  inheritance 
(the  reverse  of  all  earthly  good)  a^agrot,  xai 
tcftiavrov,  xai  aftugavro*.*  Thus  animated,  and 
thus  supported,  assisted  likewise  by  the  pray- 
ers of  thousands,  may  we  not  warrantably 
hope  that  your  Lordship  will  be  an  instrument 
of  great  good,  and  that  both  church  and  state 
will  be  benefited  by  your  example,  counsels, 
and  care. 

In  another  view,  the  duke  of  Sully's  history 
exhibits  a  comment  upon  the  psalmist's  words, 
"  Surely  man  in  his  best  estate  is  altogether 
vanity."  View  him  in  one  light,  he  seems  to 
have  possessed  all  that  the  most  aspiring  mind 
could  aim  at — the  favour  and  confidence  of 
his  prince,  accumulated  wealth,  great  honours, 
and  such  powers  by  his  offices  and  influence 
with  the  king,  that  he  could  almost  do  what 
he  pleased.  Yet  he  had  so  much  to  suffer 
from  the  fatigues  and  difficulties  of  his  sta- 
tion, and  the  cabals  and  malice  of  his  ene- 
mies, that,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  grandeur,  a 
dispassionate  mind  would  rather  pity  than  en- 
vy him.  And  how  suddenly  were  his  schemes 
broken  by  the  death  of  the  king  ?  Then  he 
lost  his  friend,  his  protector,  his  influence. 
The  remainder  of  his  days  were  embittered  by 
many  inquietudes.  He  lived  indeed,  if  that 
could  afford  any  consolation,  in  much  state 
and  pageantry  afterwards ;  but  after  having 
toiled  through  more  than  fourscore  years,  died 
at  last  almost  of  a  broken  heart,  from  domes- 
tic uneasiness.  And  is  this  all  that  the  world 
can  do  for  those  who  are  accounted  most  suc- 
cessful ?    Alas  ! 

Too  low  they  build  who  build  below  the  skies. 

And  what  a  picture  of  the  instability  of 
human  things  have  we  in  his  master,  Henry  ! 
Admired,  beloved,  dreaded,  full  of  vast  de- 
signs, fondly  supposing  himself  born  to  be  the 
arbiter  of  Europe,  in  an  awful  moment,  and  in 
the  midst  of  his  friends,  suddenly  struck  from 
the  height  of  his  grandeur,  and  snatched  into 
the  invisible,  unchangeable  world.  In  that 
moment  all  his  thoughts  perished. 

How  unspeakably  awful  such  a  transition  ! 
How  remarkable  were  his  own  forebodings  of 
the  approaching  hour !  O  Lord,  how  dost 
thou  pour  contempt  upon  princes,  and  teach 
us  that  the  great  and  the  mean  are  equally  in 
thy  hands,  and  at  thy  disposal,  as  clay  in  the 
hands  of  the  potter !  Poor  king  !  while  he 
expected  obedience  to  his  own  commands,  he 
lived  in  habitual  defiance  of  the  commands 
of  God.  Men  may  respect  his  memory,  for 
Iiis  sincerity,  benevolence,  and  other  amiable 
qualities ;  but,  besides,  that  he  was  engrossed 
by  a   round  of  sensual   pleasure  (when  busi- 

*  Incorruptible,  undefiled,  unfading 


ness  of  state  did  not  interfere),  his  life  was 
stained  with  adultery.  Happy,  if,  in  the 
hours  he  spent  in  retirement,  when  the  pre- 
intimation  of  his  death  hung  heavy  upon  his 
mind,  the  Lord  humbled  and  softened  his 
heart,  and  gave  him  repentance  unto  life  !  I 
wish  the  history  afforded  a  proof  of  this. 
However,  in  his  death,  we  see  an  affecting 
proof,  that  no  human  dignity  or  power  can 
ward  off  the  stroke  of  the  Almighty,  who  by 
such  sudden  and  unexpected  dispensations 
often  shews  himself  terrible  to  the  princes  and 
great  men  of  the  earth.  O  !  that  they  could 
see  his  hand,  and  wisely  consider  his  doing  in 
them  ! 

But  happy  is  the  man  who  fears  the  Lord, 
and  delights  in  his  commandments :  who  sets 
God  always  before  him,  and  acts  under  the 
constraining  influence  of  redeeming  love.  He 
is  the  real  friend,  and  the  best  champion  of 
his  country,  who  makes  not  the  vague  no- 
tions of  human  wisdom  and  honour,  but  the 
precepts  and  example  of  the  blessed  Jesus, 
the  model  and  the  motive  of  his  conduct. 
He  inculcates,  as  occasion  offers,  the  great 
truths  of  religion  in  his  conversation,  and 
demonstrates  them  by  his  practice ;  yet  the 
best  part  of  his  life  is  known  only  to  God 
and  himself.  His  time  is  divided  between 
serving  his  country  in  public,  and  wrestling 
for  it  in  private.  Nor  shall  his  labours  or 
his  prayers  be  lost.  Either  he  shall  have 
the  desire  of  his  heart,  and  shall  see  the  reli- 
gion and  the  liberty  he  so  highly  values  trans- 
mitted to  posterity ;  or,  if  he  should  live 
when  wrath  is  decreed,  and  there  is  no  re- 
medy, the  promise  and  the  providence  of 
God  shall  seal  him  as  the  peculiar  charge  of 
angels,  in  the  midst  of  public  calamity.  And 
when  all  things  are  involved  in  confusion, 
when  the  hearts  of  the  wicked  shall  shake 
like  the  leaves  of  the  forest,  he  shall  be  kept 
in  perfect  peace,  trusting  in  the  Lord. 

I  am,  with  the  greatest  deference,  &c. 


LETTER  X. 


1773. 


March 

MY  LORD, 

Usually  for  some  days  before  I  purpose 
writing  to  your  Lordship  my  thoughts  are 
upon  the  stretch  for  a  subject ;  I  do  not  mean 
all  day  long,  but  it  is  so  more  or  less :  but  I 
might  as  well  spare  my  inquiries,  I  can  come 
to  no  determination,  and,  for  the  most  part, 
begin  to  write  at  an  absolute  uncertainty  how 
I  am  to  proceed.  Since  I  cannot  pre-medi- 
tate,  my  heart  prays  that  it  may  be  given  me 
in  the  same  hour  what  I  shall  offer.  A  sim- 
ple dependence  upon  the  teaching  and  influ- 
ence of  the  good  Spirit  of  God,  so  as  not  to 
supersede  the  use  of  appointed  means,  would, 
if  it   could  be   uniformly  maintained,  make 


LET.  X. 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


Ill 


every  part  of  duty  easy  and  successful.  It 
would  free  us  from  much  solicitude,  and  pre- 
vent many  mistakes.  Methinks  I  have  a 
subject  in  view  already,  a  subject  of  great  im- 
portance to  myself,  and  which,  perhaps,  will 
not  be  displeasing  to  your  Lordship,  viz.  how 
to  walk  with  God  in  the  daily  occurrences  of 
life,  so  as  to  do  every  thing  for  his  sake  and 
by  his  strength. 

When  we  are  justified  by  faith,  and  accept- 
ed in  the  Beloved,  we  become  heirs  of  ever- 
lasting life  :  but  we  cannot  know  the  full 
value  of  our  privileges  till  we  enter  upon  the 
state  of  glory.  For  this,  most  who  are  con- 
verted, have  to  wait  some  time  after  they  are 
partakers  of  grace.  Though  the  Lord  loves 
them,  hates  sin,  and  teaches  them  to  hate  it, 
he  appoints  them  to  remain  a  while  in  a  sin- 
ful world,  and  to  groan  under  the  burden  of 
a  depraved  nature.  He  could  put  them  in 
immediate  possession  of  the  heaven  for  which 
he  has  given  them  a  meetness,  but  he  does  not. 
He  has  a  service  for  them  here,  an  honour 
which  is  worth  all  they  can  suffer,  and  for  which 
eternity  will  not  afford  an  opportunity,  name- 
ly, to  be  instruments  of  promoting  his  designs, 
and  manifesting  his  grace  in  the  world.  Strict- 
ly speaking,  this  is  the  whole  of  our  business 
here,  the  only  reason  why  life  is  prolonged, 
or  for  which  it  is  truly  desirable,  that  we  may 
fill  up  our  connections  and  situations,  im- 
prove our  comforts  and  our  crosses,  in  such  a 
mariner  as  that  God  may  be  glorified  in  us 
and  by  us.  As  he  is  a  bountiful  Master  and 
a  kind  Father,  he  is  pleased  to  afford  a  variety 
of  temporal  blessings,  which  sweeten  our  ser- 
vice, and  as  coming  from  his  hand  are  very 
valuable,  but  are  by  no  means  worth  living 
for,  considered  in  themselves,  as  they  can  nei- 
ther satisfy  our  desires,  nor  preserve  us  from 
trouble  or  support  us  under  it.  That  light 
of  God's  countenance  which  can  pervade  the 
walls  and  dissipate  the  gloom  of  a  dungeon, 
is  unspeakably  preferable  to  all  that  can  be 
enjoyed  in  a  palace  without  it.  The  true  end 
of  life  is,  to  live  not  to  ourselves,  but  to  him 
who  died  for  us ;  and  while  we  devote  our- 
selves to  his  service  upon  earth,  to  rejoice  in 
the  prospect  of  being  happy  with  him  for  ever 
in  heaven.  These  things  are  generally  known 
and  acknowledged  by  professors  ;  but  they  are 
a  favoured  few  who  act  consistently  with  their 
avowed  principles  ;  who  honestly,  diligently, 
and  without  reserve,  endeavour  to  make  the 
most  of  their  talents  and  strength  in  promo- 
ting the  Lord's  service,  and  allow  themselves 
in  no  views  or  designs,  but  what  are  plainly 
subordinate  and  subservient  to  it.  Yea,  I  be- 
lieve, the  best  of  the  Lord's  servants  see  cause 
enough  to  confess,  that  they  are  not  only  un- 
profitable in  comparison  of  what  they  wish  to 
be,  but  in  many  instances  unfaithful  likewise. 
They  find  so  many  snares,  hindrances,  and 
temptations,  arising  from  without,  and  so  much 
embarrassment  from  sin  which  dwells  within, 


that  they  have  more  cause  for  humiliation  than 
self-complacence,  when  they  seem  most  earnest 
and  most  useful.  However,  we  have  no  scrip- 
tural evidence  that  we  serve  the  Lord  at  all, 
any  further  than  we  find  an  habitual  desire 
and  aim  to  serve  him  wholly.  He  is  gracious 
to  our  imperfections  and  weakness  ;  yet  he  re- 
quires all  the  heart,  and  will  not  be  served  by 
halves,  nor  accept  what  is  performed  by  a  di- 
vided spirit.  I  lately  met  with  some  profane 
scoffs  of  Voltaire  upon  the  sentiment  of  doing 
all  to  the  glory  of  God  (such  as  might  be 
expected  from  such  a  man)  ;  however,  this  is 
the  true  alchymy  which  turns  every  thing  to 
gold,  and  ennobles  the  common  actions  of 
life  into  acts  of  religion,  1  Cor.  x.  31.  Nor 
is  there  a  grain  of  real  goodness  in  the  most 
specious  actions  which  are  performed  without 
a  reference  to  God's  glory.  This  the  world 
cannot  understand  ;  but  it  will  appear  highly 
reasonable  to  those  who  take  their  ideas  of 
God  from  the  scriptures,  and  who  have  felt 
the  necessity,  and  found  the  benefits  of  re- 
demption. We  are  debtors  many  ways.  The 
Lord  has  a  right  to  us  by  creation,  by  redemp- 
tion, by  conquest,  when  he  freed  us  from  Sa- 
tan's power,  and  took  possession  of  our  hearts 
by  his  grace  ;  and  lastly,  by  our  own  volun- 
tary surrender  in  the  day  when  he  enabled  us 
to  fix  our  choice  on  himself,  as  our  Lord  and 
our  portion.  Then  we  felt  the  force  of  our 
obligations,  we  saw  the  beauty  and  honour  of 
his  service,  and  that  nothing  was  worthy  to 
stand  in  the  least  degree  of  competition  with 
it.  This  is  always  equally  true,  though  our 
perceptions  of  it  are  not  always  equally  strong. 
But  where  it  has  heen  once  really  known,  it 
cannot  be  wholly  forgotten,  or  cease  to  be  the 
governing  principle  of  life ;  and  the  Lord  has 
promised  to  revive  the  impression  in  those  who 
wait  upon  him,  and  thereby  to  renew  their 
strength.  For  in  proportion  as  we  feel  by 
what  ties  we  are  his,  we  shall  embrace  his 
service  as  perfect  freedom. 

Again  when  the  eye  is  thus  single,  the 
whole  body  will  be  full  of  light.  The  princi- 
ple, of  acting  simply  for  God,  will  in  general 
make  the  path  of  duty  plain,  solve  a  thousand 
otherwise  dubious  questions,  lead  to  the  most 
proper  and  obvious  means,  and  preclude  that 
painful  anxiety  about  events,  which  upon  no 
other  plan  can  be  avoided.  The  love  of 
God  is  the  best  casuist ;  especially  as  it  leads 
us  to  a  careful  attendance  to  his  precepts, 
a  reliance  on  his  promises,  and  a  submission 
to  his  will.  Most  of  our  perplexities  arise 
from  an  undue,  though  perhaps  unperceived, 
attachment  to  self.  Either  we  have  some 
scheme  of  our  own  too  closely  connected  with 
our  general  view  of  serving  the  Lord,  or  lay 
some  stress  upon  our  own  management,  which, 
though  we  suspect  it  may  possibly  fail  us,  we 
cannot  entirely  help  trusting  to.  In  these  re. 
spects,  the  Lord  permits  his  servants  occasion- 
ally to  feel  their  own  weakness  ;  but  if  they  aro 


H2 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


LET.  XI 


sincerely  devoted  to  him,  lie  will  teach  them  to 
profit  by  it,  and  bring  them  by  degrees  to  a  sim- 
plicity of  dependence,  as  well  as  of  intention. 
Then  all  things  are  easy.  Acting  from  love, 
and  walking  by  faith,  they  can  neither  be  dis- 
appointed nor  discouraged.  Duty  is  their  part, 
care  is  his,  and  they  are  enabled  to  cast  it  up- 
on him.  They  know  that  when  their  expe- 
dients seem  to  fail,  he  is  still  all-sufficient. 
They  know  that,  being  engaged  in  his  cause 
they  cannot  miscarry  ;  and  that  though  in 
some  things  they  may  seem  to  fall  short  of 
success,  they  are  sure  of  meeting  acceptance, 
and  that  he  will  estimate  their  services,  not 
by  their  actual  effects,  but  according  to  the 
gracious  principle  and  desire  he  has  put  into 
their  hearts,  2  Chron.  vi.  7.  8. 

I  am,  with  the  greatest  respect,  &c. 


LETTER  XL 

June — 1773. 

MY  LORD, 
My   old   cast-off  acquaintance,  Horace,  occa- 
sionally came  in  my  way  this  morning.   I  open- 
ed it  upon  lib.  3.  od.  29.      Did  I  not  know  the 
proposal    to    be    utterly     impracticable,    how 
gladly  should  I    imitate    it,   and    send  your 
Lordship,  in  honest  prose,  if  not  in   elegant 
verse,  an  invitation.     But  I  must  content  my- 
self with  the  idea   of  the   pleasure  it  would 
give  me  to  sit  with  you  half  a  day  under  my 
favourite  great  tree,  and  converse   with   you, 
not  concerning  the  comparatively  petty  affairs 
of  human  governments,  but  of  the  things  per- 
taining to  the  kingdom  of  God.      How  many 
delightful  subjects  would  suggest  themselves 
in  a  free  and  retired  conversation  !     The  ex- 
cellency of  our  King,  the  permanency  and  glo- 
ry of  his  kindom,  the  beauty  of  his  adminis- 
tration, the  privileges  of  his  subjects,   the  re- 
view of  what  he  has  done  for  us,  and  the  pros- 
pect of  what  he  has  prepared  for  us  in  future  ; 
and  if,  while  we  were  conversing,  he  should  be 
pleased  to    join  us  (as  he    did  the  disciples 
when  walking  to  Emmaus),  how  would  our 
hearts  burn  within  us  !    Indeed,  whether  we 
are  alone,  or  in  company,   the   most  interest- 
ing topics  strike  us  but  faintly,  unless  he  is 
pleased  to  afford  his   gracious  influence  ;  but 
when  be  is  present,   light,  love,   liberty,  and 
joy-  spring  up  in  the  hearts  that  know  him. 
This  reminds  me  (as  I  have  mentioned  Ho- 
race) to  restoTe  some  beautiful  lines  to  their 
proper    application.      They  are  impious  and 
idolatrous  as  ht  uses  diem,  but  have  an   ex- 
pressive propriety  in  the  mouth  of  a  believ- 
er:— 

Lucem  redde  tuje  dux  bone,  patria; : 
In^tar  veris  eni.r   vultus  ubi  tnus 
Affitlsit  populo,  gt.icior  it  dies, 
Et  soles  meliuj  aitent. 

But  we  cannot  meet.      All  that  is  left  for 


me  is  to  use  the  liberty  you  allow  me  of  offer- 
ing a  few  hints  upon  these  subjects   by  letter, 
not  because  you  know  them  not,  but  because 
you  love  them.    The  hour  is  coming  when  all 
impediments  shall   be  removed.      All  distinc- 
tions shall  cease  that  are  founded  upon  sublu- 
nary things,   and  the  earth  and   all  its  works 
shall  be  burnt  up.      Glorious  day  !   May  our 
souls  be  filled  with  the  thought,  and  learn  to 
estimate    all    things    around    us   now  by   the 
view  in  which  they  will  appear  to  us  then  !  Then 
it  will  be  of  small  moment  who  was  the  prince 
and  who  was  the  beggar  in  this  life,  but  who, 
in  their  several  situations,  sought,  and  loved, 
and  feared,   and  honoured  the  Lord.      Alas  ! 
how  many  of  the  kings  of  the  earth,   and  the 
rich  men  and  the  chief  captains,  and  the  mighty 
men  will  then  say,   in  vain,   to  the  mountains 
and   the   rocks,  "   Fall  on  us  and  hide  us  !" 
In  this  world  they  are   for  the  oost  part  too 
busy  to  regard  the  commands  of  God,  or  too 
happy   to  seek  his    favour :    they  have  their 
good  things  here ;  they  please  themselves  for 
a  while,  and  in  a  moment  they  go  down  to 
the  grave.      In  that  moment  their  thoughts  pe- 
rish, their  schemes  are  left  unfinished,  they  are 
torn  from  their  possessions,  and  enter  upon  a 
new,   an  untried,  an   unchangeable,   a  never- 
ending  state   of  existence.      Alas !  is   this  all 
the   world   can   afford  !      I  congratulate  you, 
my  Lord,  not  because  God  has  appointed  you 
to  appear  in  an  elevated  rank  (this,  abstracted 
from  the  opportunity  it  affords  you  of  greater 
usefulness,   would  perhaps  be  a  more  proper 
subject  for  condolence)  ;  but  that  he  has  ad- 
mitted   you  to   those  honours  and  privileges 
which  come  from  him  only,  and  which  so  few 
in  the  superior  ranks  of  life  think  worthy  of 
their  attention.      I  doubt   not  but  you  are  of- 
ten affected  with  a  sense  of  this  distinguishing 
mercy.      But   though   we  know   that  we  are 
debtors,  great  debtors  to   the  grace  of  God, 
which  alone  has  made  us  to  differ,  we  know  it 
but  imperfectly  at  present.      It  doth  not  yet 
appear  what  we  shall  be,    nor  can  we  form  a 
just  conception   of  the  misery  from  which  we 
are  redeemed,  much  less  of  the  price  paid  for 
our  redemption.      How  little   do  we  know  of 
the  Redeemer's  dignity,    and  of  the  unutter- 
able distress  he  endured  when  his  soul  was 
made  an  offering  for  sin,  and  it  pleased  the 
Father  to  bruise   him,   that  by  his  stripes  we 
might  be  healed.      These  things  will  strike  us 
quite  in  another  manner,  when  we  view  them 
in  the  light  of  eternity.      Then,   to  return  to 
the  thought  from  which  I  have  rambled,  then 
and  there  I  trust  we  shall  meet  to  the  highest 
advantage,   and  spend  an   everlasting  day  to- 
gether in  happiness  and  praise.       With   this 
thought  I  endeavour  to  comfort  myself,  under 
the  regret  I  sometimes  feel   that  I  can   have 
so  little  intercourse  with  you  in  this  life. 

May  the  cheering  contemplation  of  the  hope 
set  before  us,  support  and  animate  us  to  im- 
prove the  interval  and  fill  us  with  a  holy  am- 


I.liT.    XII. 

bition  of  shining  as  lights  in  the  world,  to 
the  praise  and  glory  of  his  grace  who  has 
called  us  out  of  darkness.  Encompassed  as 
we  are  with  snares,  temptations,  and  infirmi- 
ties, it  is  possible,  by  his  promised  assistance, 
to  live  in  some  good  measure  above  the  world 
while  we  are  in  it ;  above  the  influence  of  its 
cares,  its  smiles,  or  its  frowns.  Our  conver- 
sation, ■xoXirivfca,  our  citizenship,  is  in  heaven. 
We  are  not  at  home,  but  only  resident  here 
for  a  season,  to  fulfil  an  appointed  service  ; 
and  the  Lord,  whom  we  serve,  has  encouraged 
us  to  hope  that  he  will  guide  us  by  his  wis- 
dom, strengthen  us  by  his  power,  and  com- 
fort us  with  the  light  of  his  countenance, 
which  is  better  than  life.  Every  blessing  we 
receive  from  him  is  a  token  of  his  favour,  and 
a  pledge  of  that  far  more  exceeding  and  eter- 
nal weight  of  glory  which  he  has  reserved  for 
us.  O  !  to  hear  him  say  at  last,  "  Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into  the 
joy  of  thy  Lord  !"  will  be  a  rich  amends  for 
all  that  we  can  lose,  suffer,  or  forbear,  for  his 
sake. 

I  subscribe  myself,  with  great  sincerity,  &c. 


LETTER  XII. 

February  —  1774. 
My  lord, 
The  first  line  of  Horace's  epistle  to  Augustus, 
when  rightly  applied,  suggests  a  grand  and 
cheering  idea.  As  addressed  by  the  poet,  no- 
thing Can  be  more  blasphemous,  idolatrous, 
and  absurd  ;  but  with  what  comfort  and  pro- 
priety may  a  christian  look  up  to  him  to  whom 
all  power  is  committed  in  heaven  and  earth, 
and  say,  Cum  lot  suslineas  et  tanta  negotia 
solus  !  Surely  a  more  weighty  and  compre- 
hensive sentence  never  dropped  from  an  un- 
inspired pen.  And  how  beautifully  and  ex- 
pressively is  it  closed  by  the  word  solus  !  the 
government  is  upon  his  shoulders  :  and  though 
ne  is  concealed  by  a  veil  of  second  causes  from 
common  eyes,  so  that  they  can  perceive  only 
the  means,  instruments,  and  contingencies  by 
which  he  works,  and  therefore  think  he  does 
nothing,  yet  in  reality  he  does  all,  according 
to  his  own  counsel  and  pleasure,  in  the  armies 
of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth. 

Who  can  enumerate  the  tot  et  tanta  nego- 
tia, which  are  incessantly  before  his  eye,  ad- 
justed by  his  wisdom,  dependent  on  his  will, 
and  regulated  by  his  power,  in  his  kingdoms 
of  providence  and  grace  ?  If  we  consider  the 
heavens,  the  work  of  his  fingers,  the  moon 
and  the  stars  which  he  has  ordained  ;  if  we 
call  in  the  assistance  of  astronomers  and 
glasses,  to  help  us  in  forming  a  conception  of 
the  number,  distances,  magnitudes,  and  mo- 
tions of  the  heavenly  bodies  ;  the  more  we 
search,  the  more  we  shall  be  confirmed,  that 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


143 


these  are  but  a  portion  of  his  ways.  But  he 
calls  them  all  by  their  names,  upholds  them 
by  his  power,  and  without  his  continual  energy 
they  would  rush  into  confusion,  or  sink  into 
nothing.  If  we  speak  of  intelligences,  he  is 
the  life,  the  joy,  the  sun  of  all  that  are  capa- 
ble of  happiness.  Whatever  may  be  signified 
by  the  thrones,  principalities,  and  powers  in 
the  world  of  light,  they  are  all  dependent  up- 
on his  power,  and  obedient  to  his  command  ; 
it  is  equally  true  of  angels  as  of  men,  that 
without  him  they  can  do  nothing.  The  po- 
wers of  darkness  are  likewise  under  his  sub- 
jection and  controul.  Though  but  little  is 
said  of  them  in  scripture,  we  read  enough  to 
assure  us  that  their  number  must  be  immense, 
ly  great,  and  that  their  strength,  subtilty,  and 
malice,  are  such,  as  we  may  tremble  to  think 
of  them  as  our  enemies,  and  probably  should, 
but  for  our  strange  insensibility  to  whatever 
does  not  fall  under  the  cognizance  of  our  out- 
ward senses.  But  he  holds  them  all  in  a 
chain,  so  that  they  can  do  or  attempt  nothing 
but  by  his  permission ;  and  whatever  he  per- 
mits them  to  do  (though  they  mean  nothing 
less)  has  its  appointed  subserviency  in  ac- 
complishing his  designs. 

But  to  come  nearer  home,  and  to  speak  of 
what  seems  more  suited  to  our  scanty  appre- 
hensions ;  still  we  may  be  lost  in  wonder. 
Before  this  blessed  and  only  Potentate,  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  are  but  as  the 
dust  upon  the  balance  and  the  small  drop  of 
a  bucket,  and  might  be  thought  (if  compared 
with  the  immensity  of  his  works)  scarcely 
worthy  of  his  notice  ;  yet  here  he  presides, 
pervades,  provides,  protects,  and  rules.  In 
him  his  creatures  live,  move,  and  have  their 
being ;  from  him  is  their  food  and  preserva- 
tion. The  eyes  of  all  are  upon  him ;  what 
he  gives  they  gather,  and  can  gather  no  more  ; 
and  at  his  word  they  sink  into  the  dust. 
There  is  not  a  worm  that  crawls  upon  the 
ground,  or  a  flower  that  grows  in  the  pathless 
wilderness,  or  a  shell  upon  the  sea-shore,  but 
bears  the  impress  of  his  wisdom,  power,  and 
goodness.  With  respect  to  men,  he  reigns' 
with  uncontrouled  dominion  over  every  king- 
dom, family,  and  individual.  Here  we  may 
be  astonished  at  his  wisdom,  in  employing 
free  agents,  the  greater  part  of  whom  are  his 
enemies,  to  accomplish  his  purposes.  But, 
however  reluctant,  they  all  serve  him.  His 
patience,  likewise,  is  wonderful.  Multitudes, 
yea  nearly  our  whole  species,  spend  the  life 
and  strength  which  he  affords  them,  and 
abuse  all  the  bounties  he  heaps  upon  them, 
in  the  ways  of  sin.  His  commands  are  dis- 
regarded, his  name  blasphemed,  his  mercy  dis- 
dained, his  power  defied  ;  yet  still  he  spares. 
It  is  an  eminent  part  of  his  government,  to 
restrain  the  depravity  of  human  nature,  and 
in  various  ways  to  check  its  efforts  which,  if, 
left  to  itself,  without  his  providential  controul, 
would  presently  make  earth  the  very  image  of 


144 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


LET.  XIII. 


hell.  For  the  vilest  men  are  not  suffered  to 
perpetrate  a  thousandth  part  of  the  evil  which 
their  hearts  would  prompt  them  to.  The 
earth,  though  lying  in  the  wicked  one,  is  fil- 
led with  the  goodness  of  the  Lord.  He  pre- 
serveth  man  and  beast,  sustains  the  young 
lions  in  the  forest,  feeds  the  birds  of  the  air, 
which  have  neither  store-house  nor  barn,  and 
adorns  the  insects  and  the  flowers  of  the  field 
with  a  beauty  and  elegance,  far  beyond  what 
can  be  found  in  the  courts  of  kings. 

Still  more  wonderful  is  his  administration 
in  his  kingdom  of  grace.  He  is  present  with 
all  his  creatures,  but  in  a  peculiar  manner 
with  his  own  people.  Each  of  these  are  mo- 
numents of  a  more  illustrious  display  of  po- 
wer, than  that  which  spread  abroad  the  hea- 
vens like  a  curtain,  and  laid  the  foundations 
of  the  earth  ;  for  he  finds  them  all  in  a  state 
of  rebellion  and  enmity,  and  makes  them  a 
willing  people  ;  and  from  the  moment  he 
reveals  his  love  to  them,  he  esp»uses  their 
cause,  and  takes  all  their  concerns  into  his 
own  hands.  He  is  near  and  attentive  to  every 
one  of  them,  as  if  there  was  only  that  one. 
This  high  and  lofty  One,  who  inhabits  e- 
ternity,  before  whom  the  angels  vail  their 
faces,  condescends  to  hold  communion  with 
those  whom  men  despise.  He  sees  not  as 
man  seeth — rides  on  a  cloud,  disdainful  by  a 
sultan  or  a  czar,  to  manifest  himself  to  an 
humble  soul  in  a  mud-walled  cottage.  He 
comforts  them  when  in  trouble,  strengthens 
them  when  weak,  makes  their  beds  in  sick- 
ness, revives  them  when  fainting,  upholds 
them  when  failing,  and  so  seasonably  and  ef- 
fectually manages  for  them,  that  though  they 
are  persecuted  and  tempted,  though  their 
enemies  are  many  and  mighty,  nothing  that 
they  feel  or  fear  is  able  to  separate  them  from 
his  love. 

And  all  this  he  does  solus.  All  the  abili- 
ties, powers,  and  instincts,  that  are  found 
amongst  creatures,  are  emanations  from  his 
fulness.  All  changes,  successes,  disappoint- 
ments, all  that  is  memorable  in  the  annals  of 
history,  all  the  risings  and  falls  of  empires, 
all  the  turns  in  human  life,  take  place  accord- 
ing to  his  plan.  In  vain  men  contrive  and 
combine  to  accomplish  their  own  counsels ; 
unless  they  are  parts  of  his  counsel  likewise, 
the  efforts  of  their  utmost  strength  and  wis- 
dom are  crossed  and  reversed  by  the  feeblest 
and  most  unthought-of  circumstances.  But 
when  he  has  a  work  to  accomplish,  and  his 
time  is  come,  however  inadequate  and  weak 
the  means  he  employs  may  seem  to  a  carnal 
eye,  the  success  is  infallibly  secured  ;  for  all 
things  serve  him,  and  are  in  his  hands  as 
clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter.  Great  and 
marvellous  are  thy  works,  Lord  God  Al- 
mighty !  just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou 
King  of  saints ! 

This  is  the  God  whom  we  adore.  This  is 
he  who  invites  us  to  Is>an  upon  his  almighty 


arm,  and  promises  to  guide  us  with  his  un- 
erring eye.  He  says  to  you,  my  Lord,  and 
even  to  me,  "  Fear  not,  I  am  with  thee  ;  be 
not  dismayed.  I  am  thy  God :  I  will 
strengthen  thee,  yea  I  will  help  thee,  yea  I 
will  uphold  thee  with  the  right  hand  of  my 
righteousness."  Therefore,  while  in  the  path 
of  duty,  and  following  his  call,  we  may  cheer- 
fully pass  on,  regardless  of  apparent  difficul- 
ties ;  for  the  Lord,  whose  we  are,  and  who 
has  taught  us  to  make  his  glory  our  highest 
end,  will  go  before  us,  and  at  his  word  crook- 
ed things  become  straight,  light  shines  out  of 
darkness,  and  mountains  sink  into  plains. 
Faith  may,  and  must  be  exercised,  experience 
must,  and  will  confirm  what  his  word  de- 
clares, that  the  heart  is  deceitful,  and  that  man 
in  his  best  estate  is  vanity.  But  his  pro- 
mises to  them  that  fear  him  shall  be  confirm- 
ed likewise,  and  they  shall  find  him,  in  all 
situations,  a  sun,  a  shield,  and  an  exceeding 
great  reward. 

I  have  lost  another  of  my  people,  a  mother 
unto  our  Israel ;  a  person  of  much  experience, 
eminent  grace,  wisdom,  and  usefulness.  She 
walked  with  God  forty  years  :  she  was  one  of 
the  Lord's  poor  ;  but  her  poverty  was  decent, 
satisfied,  and  honourable  ;  she  lived  respect- 
ed, and  her  death  is  considered  as  a  public 
loss.  It  is  a  great  loss  to  me ;  I  shall  miss 
her  advice  and  example,  by  which  I  have  been 
often  edified  and  animated.  But  Jesus  still 
lives.  Almost  her  last  words  were,  The 
Lord  is  my  portion,  saith  my  soul. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XIII. 

March  10,  1774. 

MY  LORD, 

For  about  six  weeks  past  I  have  had  occa- 
sion to  spend  several  hours  of  almost  every- 
day with  the  sick  and  the  dying.  These 
scenes  are  to  a  minister  like  walking  the  hos- 
pitals to  a  young  surgeon.  The  various  cases 
which  occur,  exemplify,  illustrate,  and  ex- 
plain, with  a  commanding  energy,  many  truths, 
which  may  be  learned  indeed  at  home,  but 
cannot  be  so  well  understood,  or  their  force  so 
sensibly  felt,  without  the  advantage  of  expe- 
rience and  observation.  As  physicians,  be- 
sides that  competent  general  knowledge  of 
their  profession  which  should  be  common  to 
them  all,  have  usually  their  several  favourite 
branches  of  study,  some  applying  themselves 
more  to  botany,  others  to  chemistry,  others  to 
anatomy ;  so  ministers  as  their  inclinations 
and  gifts  differ,  are  led  more  closely  to  con- 
sider some  particular  branch  of  the  system  of 
divine  truth.  Some  are  directed  to  state  and 
defend  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel ;  some  have 
a  talent  for  elucidating  difficult  texts  of  scrip- 
ture :  soms   have    a  turn  for  explaining  th« 


LET,  XIII. 


LETTERS  TO   A  NOBLEMAN. 


1L5 


prophetical    parts,  and  so  of  the  rest.      For  I  daughters    of  Jerusalem    (alluding   to    Solo- 
myself,  if  it  be' lawful  to  speak  of  myself,  and  mon's  Song,  v.  16.  from  which   she  had  just 


so  far  as  I  can  judge,  anatomy  is  my  favour- 
ite branch ;  I  mean  the  study  of  the  human 
heart,  with  its  workings  and  counter-work- 
ings, as  it  is  differently  affected  in  a  state  of 
nature  or  of  grace  in  the  different  seasons  of 
prosperity,  adversity,  conviction,  temptation, 
sickness,  and  the  approach  of  death.  The  Lord, 
by  sending  me  hither,  provided  me  a  good 
school  for  these  purposes.  I  know  not  where 
I  could  have  had  a  better,  or  one  affording  a 
greater  variety  of  characters,  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  people  ;  and  as  they  are  mostly 
poor  people,  and  strangers  to  that  address 
which  is  the  result  of  education  and  converse 
with  the  world,  there  is  a  simplicity  in  what 
they  say  or  do,  which  gives  me  a  peculiar  ad- 
vantage in  judging  of  their  cases. 

But  I  was  about  to  speak  of  death.  Though 
the  grand  evidence  of  those  truths  upon  which 
our  hopes  are  built,  arises  from  the  authority 
of  God  speaking  them  in  his  word,  and  re- 
vealing them  by  his  Spirit,  to  the  awakened 
heart  (for  till  the  heart  is  awakened  ii  is  in- 
capable of  receiving  this  evidence)  ;  yet  some 
of  these  truths  are  so  mysterious,  so  utterly 
repugnant  to  the  judgment  of  depraved  na- 
ture, that,  through  the  remaining  influence 
of  unbelief  and  vain  reasoning,  the  temptations 
of  Satan,  and  the  subtle  arguments  with 
which  some  men  reputed  wise,  attack  the 
foundations  of  our  faith,  the  minds  even  of 
believers  are  sometimes  capable  of  being  shak- 
en. I  know  no  better  corroborating  evidence 
for  the  relief  of  the  mind  under  such  assaults 
than  the  testimony  of  dying  persons,  especial- 
ly of  such  as  have  lived  out  of  the  noise  of 
controversy,  and  who  perhaps  never  heard  a 
syllable  of  what  has  been  started  in  these  evil 
days  against  the  deity  of  Christ,  his  atonement, 
and  other  important  articles.  Permit  me,  my 
Lord,  to  relate,  upon  this  occasion,  some 
things  which  exceedingly  struck  me  in  the 
conversation  I  had  with  a  young  woman  whom 
I  visited  in  her  last  illness  about  two  years 
ago.  She  was  a  sober,  prudent  person,  of 
plain  sense,  could  read  her  Bible,  but  had 
read  little  besides.  Her  knowledge  of  the 
world  was  nearly  confined  to  the  parish  ;  for 
I  suppose  she  was  seldom,  if  ever,  twelve 
miles  from  home  in  her  life.  She  had  known 
the  gospel  about  seven  years  before  the  Lord 
visited  her  with  a  lingering  consumption, 
which  at  length  removed  her  to  abetter  world. 
A  few  days  before  her  death,  I  had  been  pray- 
ing by  her  bed-side,  and  in  my  prayer,  I 
thanked  the  Lord,  that  he  gave  her  now  to 
see  that  she  had  not  followed  cunningly-de- 
vised fables.  When  I  had  finished,  she  re- 
peated that  word,  "  No,"  she  said  "  not  cun- 
ningly-devised fables;  these  are  realities  in- 
deed :  I  feel  their  truth,  I  feel  their  comfort, 
O,  tell  my  friends,  tell  my  acquaintance,  tell 
enquiring  souls,  tell  poor  sinners,  tell  all  the 


before  desired  me  to  preach  at  her  funeral), 
what  Jesus  has  done  for  my  soul.  Tell  them 
that  now  in  the  time  of  need  I  find  him  my 
beloved  and  my  friend,  and  as  such  I  com- 
mend him  to  them."  She  then  fixed  her  eyes 
steadfastly  upon  me,  and  proceeded,  as  well 
as  I  can  recollect,  as  follows :  "  Sir,  you  are 
highly  favoured  in  being  called  to  preach  the 
gospel.  I  have  often  heard  you  with  pleasure  ; 
but  give  me  leave  to  tell  you,  that  I  now  see 
all  you  have  said,  or  can  say,  is  comparative- 
ly but  little.  Nor  till  you  come  into  my 
situation,  and  have  death  and  eternity  full  in 
your  view,  will  it  be  possible  for  you  to  con- 
ceive the  vast  weight  and  importance  of  the 
truths  you  declare.  Oh  !  Sir,  it  is  a  serious 
thing  to  die ;  no  words  can  express  what  is 
needful  to  support  the  soul  in  the  solemnity 
of  a  dying  hour." 

I  believe  it  was  the  next  day  when  I  visited 
her  again.  After  some  discourse,  as  usual, 
she  said,  with  a  remarkable  vehemence  of 
speech,  "  Are  you  sure  I  cannot  be  mis- 
taken?" I  answered,  without  hesitation,  Yes, 
I  am  sure ;  I  am  not  afraid  to  say,  my  soul 
for  your's  that  you  are  right.  She  paused  a 
little,  and  then  replied,  "  You  say  true,  I 
know  I  am  right.  I  feel  that  my  hope  is 
fixed  upon  the  Rock  of  ages  ;  I  know  in  whom 
I  have  believed.  Yet  if  you  could  see  with 
my  eyes,  you  would  not  wonder  at  my  ques- 
tion. But  the  approach  of  death  presents  a 
prospect,  which  is  till  then  hidden  from  us, 
and  which  cannot  be  described."  She  said 
much  more  to  the  same  purpose ;  and  in  all 
she  spoke  there  was  a  dignity,  weight,  and 
evidence  which  I  suppose  few  professors  oi 
divinity,  when  lecturing  from  the  chair,  have 
at  any  time  equalled.  We  may  well  say,  with 
Elihu,  "  Who  teacheth  like  him?"  Many  in- 
stances of  the  like  kind  I  have  met  with  here. 
I  have  a  poor  girl  near  me  who  looks  like  ail 
idiot,  and  her  natural  capacity  is  indeed  very 
small,  but  the  Lord  has  been  pleased  to  make 
her  acquainted  alternately  with  great  tempta- 
tions and  proportionably  great  discoveries  of 
his  love  and  truth.  Sometimes,  when  her 
heart  is  enlarged,  1  listen  to  her  with  astonish- 
ment. I  think  no  books  or  ministers  I  ever 
met  with  have  given  me  such  an  impression 
and  understanding  of  what  the  apostle  styles 
rot.  fia0n  tou  Qtov,*  as  I  have  upon  some  occa- 
sions received  from  her  conversation. 

But  I  am  rambling  again.  My  attendance 
upon  the  sick  is  not  always  equally  comfort- 
able, but,  could  I  learn  aright,  it  might  be 
equally  instructive.  Some  confirm  the  pre- 
ciousness  of  a  Saviour  to  me,  by  the  cheer- 
fulness with  which,  through  faith  in  his  name, 
they  meet  the  king  of  terrors.  Others  no  les3 
confirm  it,  by  the  terror  and  reluctance  they 

*  Tlie  deep  things  of  Gor!, 
R 


146 


LETTERS  TO  A   NOBLEMAN. 


LET.  XIV. 


discover  when  they  find  they  must  die ;  for 
though  there  are  too  many  who  sadly  slight 
the  blessed  gospel  while  they  are  in  health, 
yet  in  this  place  most  are  too  far  enlightened 
to  be  quite  thoughtless  about  their  souls,  if 
they  retain  their  senses  in  their  last  illness. 
Then,  like  the  foolish  virgins,  they  say,  "  Give 
us  of  your  oil."  Then  they  are  willing  that  mi- 
nisters and  professors  should  pray  with  them 
and  speak  to  them.  Through  the  Lord's 
goodness,  several  whom  I  have  visited  in 
these  circumstances  have  afforded  me  good 
hope;  they  have  been  savingly  changed  by 
his  blessing  upon  what  has  passed  at  the  ele- 
venth hour.  I  have  seen  a  marvellous  and 
olessed  change  take  place  in  their  language, 
views,  and  tempers,  in  a  few  days.  I  now 
visit,  a  young  person,  who  is  cut  short  in  her 
nineteenth  year  by  a  consumption,  and  I  think 
cannot  live  many  days.  I  found  her  very  ig- 
norant and  insensible,  and  she  remained  so  a 
good  while  ;  but  of  late  I  hope  her  heart  is 
touched.  She  feels  her  lost  state,  she  seems 
to  have  some  right  desires,  she  begins  to 
pray,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  I  cannot  but 
hope  the  Lord  is  teaching  her,  and  will  re- 
veal himself  to  her  before  she  departs.  But 
it  is  sometimes  otherwise.  I  saw  a  young  wo- 
man die  last  week :  I  had  been  often  with 
her  ;  but  the  night  she  was  removed  she  could 
only  say,  "  O,  I  cannot  live,  I  cannot  live!" 
She  repeated  this  mournful  complaint  as  long 
as  she  could  speak  ;  for,  as  the  vital  powers 
were  more  oppressed,  her  voice  was  changed  in- 
to groans  ;  her  groans  grew  fainter  and  fainter, 
and,  in  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  she 
had  done  speaking,  she  expired.  Poor  thing, 
I  thought,  as  I  stood  by  her  bed-side,  if  you 
were  a  duchess,  in  this  situation,  what  could 
the  world  do  for  you  now  !  I  thought  like- 
wise how  many  things  are  there  that  now  { ive 
us  pleasure  or  pain,  and  assume  a  mighty  im- 
portance in  our  view,  which,  in  a  dying  hour, 
will  be  no  more  to  us  than  the  clouds  which 
fly  unnoticed  over  our  heads.  Then  the  truth 
of  our  Lord's  aphorism  will  be  seen,  felt, 
and  acknowledged,  "  One  thing  is  needful ;" 
and  we  shall  be  ready  to  apply  Grotius's  dy- 
ing confession,  to,  alas  !  a  great  part  of  our 
lives  !  Ah  vitam  perdidi,  nihil  agendo  labo- 
riose.  * 

Your  Lordship  allows  me  to  send  unpre- 
meditated letters.  I  need  not  assure  you  this 
is  one. 

I  am,  &c. 


I  have  lost  a  life  in  laborious  trifling. 


LETTER  XIV. 

March  24,  1774. 
MY  LORD, 

What  a  mercy  is  it  to  be  separated  in  spirit, 
conversation,  and  interest  from  the  world  that 
knows  not  God  !  where  all  are  alike  by  na- 
ture. Grace  makes  a  happy  and  unspeakable 
difference.  Believers  were  once  under  the 
same  influence  of  that  spirit  who  still  worketh 
in  the  children  of  disobedience,  pursuing  dif- 
ferent paths,  but  all  equally  remote  from  truth 
and  peace ;  some  hatching  cockatrice  eggs, 
others  weaving  spiders  webs.  These  two  gene- 
ral heads  of  mischief  and  vanity  include  all  the 
schemes,  aims,  and  atchievements  of  which  man 
is  capable,  till  God  is  pleased  to  visit  the  heart 
with  his  grace.  The  busy  part  of  mankind  are 
employed  in  multiplying  evils  and  miseries  ; 
the  more  retired,  speculative,  and  curious  are 
amusing  themselves  with  what  will  hereafter 
appear  as  unsubstantial,  unstable,  and  useless 
as  a  cobweb.  Death  will  soon  sweep  away  all 
that  the  philosophers,  the  virtuosi,  the  mathe- 
maticians, the  antiquarians,  and  other  learned 
triflers  are  now  weaving  with  so  much  self- 
applauded  address.  Nor  will  the  fine-spun 
dresses  in  which  the  moralist  and  the  self, 
righteous  clothe  themselves,  be  of  more  ad- 
vantage to  them,  either  for  ornament  or  de- 
fence, than  the  produce  of  a  spider.  But  it 
is  given  to  a  few  to  know  their  present  state 
and  future  destination.  These  build  upon 
the  immoveable  rock  of  ages  for  eternity. 
These  are  trees  springing  from  a  living  root, 
and  bear  the  fruits  of  righteousness,  which 
are  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  glory  and  praise 
of  God.  These  only  are  awake,  while  the 
rest  of  the  world  are  in  a  sleep,  indulging  in 
vain  dreams,  from  which  likewise  they  will 
shortly  awake  ;  but,  O,  with  what  consterna- 
tion, when  they  shall  find  themselves  irre- 
coverably divorced  from  all  their  delusive  at- 
tachments, and  compelled  to  appear  before 
that  God  to  whom  they  have  lived  strangers, 
and  to  whom  they  must  give  an  account !  O 
for  a  thousand  tongues  to  proclaim  in  the 
ears  of  thoughtless  mortals  that  important 
aphorism  of  our  Lord,  "  One  thing  is  need- 
ful !"  Yet  a  thousand  tongues  would  be,  and 
are  employed  in  vain,  unless  so  far  as  the  Lord 
is  pleased  to  send  the  watchman's  warning, 
by  the  power  and  agency  of  his  own  Spirit. 
I  think  the  poet  tells  us,  that  Cassandra  had 
the  gift  of  truly  foretelling  future  events ; 
but  she  was  afterwards  laid  under  a  painful 
embarrassment,  that  nobody  should  believe  her 
words.  Such,  with  respect  to  the  bulk  of 
their  auditories,  is  the  lot  of  gospel-minis- 
ters :  they  are  enlightened  to  see,  and  sent 
forth  to  declare,  the  awful  consequences  or 
sin  ;  but,  alas  !  how  few  believe  their  report ! 
To  illustrate  our  grief  and  disappointment,  J 


LET.   XIV. 

sometimes  suppose   a  dangerous  water  to  be 
in  the  way  of  travellers,  over  which  there  is  a 
bridge,  which  those  who  can  be  prevailed  upon 
may  pass  with   safety.      By  the  side   of  this 
bridge  watchmen  are  placed,    to  warn  passen- 
gers of  the  danger  of  the  waters ;    to   assure 
them,   that   all.  who    attempt    to   go   through 
them  must  invevitably  perish  ;  to  invite,   en- 
treat,  and  beseech  them,   if  they  value  their 
lives,    to    cross    the    bridge.       Methinks    this 
•  should  be  an  easy  task  :   yet  if  we  should  see 
in  fact  the  greater  part  stopping  their  ears  to 
the   friendly  importunity  ;  many  so  much  of- 
fended by  it,  as   to   account  the  watchman's 
care  impertinent,  and  only  deserving  of  scorn 
and  ill  treatment ;  hardly  one  in  fifty  betaking 
themselves   to    the    friendly  bridge,    the    rest 
eagerly  plunging  into  the  waters,   from  which 
none  return,  as   if  they  were  determined  to 
try  who  should  be  drowned  first.      This  spec- 
tacle would  be  no  unfit  emblem  of  the  recep- 
tion the   gospel  meets  with    from  a  blinded 
world.      The  ministers  are  rejected,  opposed, 
vilified ;  they  are   accounted  troublers  of  the 
world,  because  they  dare  not,  cannot   stand 
silent,  while  sinners  are  perishing  before  their 
eyes  :   and  if,  in  the  course  of  many  sermons, 
they  can  prevail  but  on  one  soul  to  take  timely 
warning,  and  to  seek  to  Jesus,  who  is  the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  life,  they  may  account  it  a 
mercy  and  an  honour,  sufficient  to  overbalance 
all  the  labour  and  reproaches  they  are  called 
to  endure.      From  the  most  they  must  expect 
no  better  reception  than  the  Jews  gave  to  Je- 
remiah, who  told  the  prophet  to  his  face,  "  As 
to  the  word   thou  hast   spoken   to  us  in   the 
name  of  the  Lord,  we  will  not  hearken  to  thee 
at  all ;  but  we  will  certainly  do   whatsoever 
thing  goeth   forth  out  of  our  own  mouth." 
Surely,  if  the  Lord  has  given  us  any  sense  of 
the  worth   of  our  souls,    any  compassion  to- 
wards them,   this  must  be  a  painful  exercise  ; 
and  experience  must  teach  us  something  of  the 
meaning  of  Jeremiah's  pathetic  exclamation, 
"  O  that  my  head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes 
fountains  of  tears  !    that   1  might   weep  day 
and  night  for  the  slain  of  the  daughters  of  my 
people."     It  is  our  duty  to  be  thus  affected. 
Our  relief  lies  in  the  wisdom  and  sovereignty 
of  God.      He  reveals   his   salvation   to  whom 
he  pleases,  for  the  most  part  to  babes  ;   from 
the  bulk  of  the  wise  and  the  prudent  it  is  hid- 
den.     Thus  it  hath  pleased  him,  and  therefore 
it  must  be  right.      Yea,   he  will  one  day  con- 
descend to  justify  the  propriety  and  equity  of 
his  proceedings  to   his  creatures  :   then  every 
mouth  will  be  stopped,  and  none  will  be  able 
to  reply  against  his  judge.    Light  is  come  into 
the  world,  but  men   prefer  darkness.      They 
hate  the  ligh ,,  resist  it,  and   rebel  against  it. 
It  is  true,  all  do  so  ;  and  therefore,  if  all  were 
to  perish  under  the  condemnation,  their  ruin 
would   be  their  own  act.      It  is  of  grace  that 
any  are  saved,   and  in  the  distribution  of  that 
grace,  he  does  what  he  will  with  his  own:  a 


LETTERS  TO  A   NOBLEMAN. 


117 


right  which  most  are  ready  enough  to  claim  in 
their  own  concerns,  though  they  are  so  unwil- 
ling to  allow  it  to  the  Lord  of  all.  Many 
perplexing  and  acrimonious  disputes  have  been 
started  upon  this  subject ;  but  the  redeemed 
of  the  Lord  are  called,  not  to  dispute,  but 
to  admire  and  rejoice ;  to  love,  adore,  and 
obey.  To  know  that  he  loved  us,  and  gave 
himself  for  us,  is  the  constraining  argument 
and  motive  to  love  him,  and  surrendei  our- 
selves to  him ;  to  consider  ourselves  as  no 
longer  our  own,  but  to  devote  ourselves,  with 
every  faculty,  power,  and  talent  to  his  ser 
vice  and  glory.  He  deserves  our  all ;  for  he 
parted  with  all  for  us.  He  made  himself 
poor  ;  he  endured  shame,  torture,  death,  and 
the  curse  for  us.  that  we,  through  him,  might 
inherit  everlasting  life.  Ah  !  the  hardness 
of  my  heart,  that  I  am  no  more  affected,  as- 
tonished, overpowered,  with  this  thought ! 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER   XV. 

April  20,  1774. 

MY  LORD, 

I  HAVE  been  pondering  a  good  while  for  a 
subject,  and  at  last  I  begin  without  one,  hop- 
ing that,  as  it  has  often  happened,  while  I  ar>- 
writing  one  line,  something  will  occur  to  fill 
up  another.  Indeed,  I  have  an  inexhaustible 
fund  at  hand ;  but  it  is  to  me  often  like  a 
prize  in  the  hand  of  a  fool ;  I  want  skill  to 
improve  it.  O  for  a  warm,  a  suitable,  a  sea- 
sonable train  of  thought,  that  might  enliven  my 
own  heart,  and  not  be  unworthy  your  Lord- 
ship's perusal !  Methinks"  the  poets  can  have 
but  cold  comfort,  when  they  invocate  a  fabled 
Muse  ;  but  we  have  a  warrant,  a  right,  to  look 
up  for  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who 
ordains  strength  for  us,  and  has  promised  to 
work  in  us.  What  a  comfort,  what  an  honour 
is  this,  that  worms  have  liberty  to  look  up  to 
God  !  and  that  He,  the  high  and  holy  One  who 
inhabiteth  eternity,  is  pleased  to  look  down 
upon  us,  to  maintain  our  peace,  to  supply  our 
wants,  to  guide  us  with  his  eye,  to  inspire  us 
with  wisdom  and  grace  suitable  to  our  occa- 
sions !  They  who  profess  to  know  something 
of  this  intercourse,  and  to  depend  upon  it, 
are  by  the  world  accounted  enthusiasts,  who 
know  not  what  they  mean,  or  perhaps  hypo- 
crites, who  pretend  to  what  they  have  not,  in 
order  to  cover  some  base  designs.  But  we 
have  reason  to  bear  their  reproaches  with  pa- 
tience.     Could  the  miser  say, 


Populus  me  sibilat,  at  mihi  plaudo 


Ipse  domi,  simul  ac  numiuos  contemplor  in  area. 

Well,  then,  may  the  believer  say,  let  them 
laugh,  let  them  rage,  let  them,  if  they  please, 
point  at  me  for  a  fool,  as  I  walk  the  streets ; 
if  I  do  but  take  up  the  Bible,  or  run  over  in 


148 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


LET.   XV 


my  mind  the  inventory  of  the  blessings  with 
which  the  Lord  has  enriched  me,  I  have  suf- 
ficient amends.  Jesus  is  mine ;  in  him  I 
have  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and 
redemption,  an  interest  in  all  the  promises, 
and  in  all  the  perfections  of  God  ;  he  will 
guide  me  by  his  counsel,  support  me  by  his 
power,  comfort  me  with  his  presence,  while  I 
am  here,  and  afterwards,  when  flesh  and  heart 
fail,  he  will  receive  me  to  his  glory. 

Let  them  say  what  they  will,  they  shall  not 
dispute  or  laugh  us  out  of  our  spiritual  senses. 
If  all  the  blind  men  in  the  kingdom  should 
endeavour  to  bear  me  down,  that  the  sun  is 
not  bright,  or  that  the  rainbow  has  no  colours, 
I  would  still  believe  my  own  eyes.  I  have 
seen  them  both,  they  have  not.  1  cannot 
prove  to  their  satisfaction  what  I  assert,  be- 
cause they  are  destitute  of  sight,  the  necessary 
medium ;  yet  their  exceptions  produce  no  un- 
certainty in  my  mind  ;  they  would  not,  they 
could  not  hesitate  a  moment,  if  they  were 
not  blind.  Just  so,  they  who  have  been 
taught  of  God,  who  have  tasted  that  the  Lord 
is  gracious,  have  an  experimental  perception 
of  the  truth,  which  renders  them  proof  against 
all  the  sophistry  of  infidels.  I  am  persuaded 
we  have  many  plain  people  here,  who,  if  a 
wise  man  of  the  world  was  to  suggest  that 
the  Bible  is  a  human  invention,  would  be 
quite  at  a  loss  how  to  answer  him,  by  argu- 
ments drawn  from  external  evidences ;  yet 
they  have  found  such  effects  from  this  blessed 
book,  that  they  would  be  no  more  moved  by 
the  insinuation,  than  if  they  were  told,  that  a 
cunning  man,  or  set  of  men,  invented  the 
sun,  and  placed  it  in  the  firmament.  So  if  a 
wise  Socinian  was  to  tell  them,  that  the  Sa- 
viour was  only  a  man  like  themselves,  they 
would  conceive  just  such  an  opinion  of  his 
skill  in  divinity,  as  a  philosopher  would  do  of 
a  clown's  skill  in  astronomy,  who  should  af- 
firm that  the  sun  was  no  bigger  than  a  cart- 
wheel. 

It  remains  therefore  a  truth,  in  defiance  of 
all  the  cavils  of  the  ignorant,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  does  influence  the  hearts  of  all  the 
children  of  God,  or,  in  other  words,  they  are 
inspired,  not  with  new  revelations,  but  with 
grace  and  wisdom  to  understand,  apply,  and 
feed  upon  the  great  things  already  revealed 
in  the  scriptures,  without  which  the  scriptures 
are  as  useless  as  spectacles  to  the  blind.  Were 
it  not  so,  when  we  become  acquainted  with 
the  poverty,  ignorance,  and  wickedness  of  our 
hearts,  we  must  sit  down  in  utter  despair  of 
being  ever  able  to  think  a  good  thought,  to 
offer  a  single  petition  aright  in  prayer,  or  to 
take  one  safe  step  in  the  path  of  life.  But 
now  we  may  be  content  with  our  proper 
weakness,  since  the  power  and  spirit  of  Christ 
are  engaged  to  rest  upon  us ;  and  while  we 
are  preserved  in  a  simple  dependence  upon 
this  help,  though  unable  of  ourselves  to  do 
(inv  thing,  we  sball  find  an  ability  to  do  every 


thing  that  our  circumstances  and  duty  call 
for.  What  is  weaker  than  a  worm  '  Yet  the 
Lord's  worms  shall  in  his  strength,  thrash  the 
mountains,  and  make  the  hills  as  chaff'.  But 
this  life  of  faith,  this  living  and  acting  by  a 
power  above  our  own,  is  an  inexplicable  mys- 
tery, till  experience  makes  it  plain.  I  have 
often  wondered  that  St.  Paul  has  obtained  so 
much  quarter  at  the  hands  of  some  people,  as 
to  pass  with  them  for  a  man  of  sense  ;  for 
surely  the  greatest  part  of  his  writings  must 
be  to  the  last  degree  absurd  and  unintelligible 
upon  their  principles.  How  many  contra- 
dictions must  they  find,  for  instance,  if  they 
give  any  attention  to  what  they  read  in  that 
one  passage,  Gal.  ii.  20,  "  I  am  crucified 
with  Christ :  Nevertheless  I  live  ;  yet  not  I, 
but  Christ  liveth  in  me  :  and  the  life  which  I 
now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  faith  in  the  Son 
of  God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for 
me." 

And  as  believers  are  thus  inspired  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  furnishes  them  with  desires, 
motives,  and  abilities,  to  perform  what  is 
agreeable  to  his  will ;  so  I  apprehend,  that 
they  who  live  without  God  in  the  world,  whom 
the  apostle  styles  sensual,  not  having  the  Spirit, 
are  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  ad  captum  red- 
pientis,  under  what  I  may  call  a  black  insjnr 
ation.  After  making  the  best  allowances  I 
can,  both  for  the  extent  of  human  genius  and 
the  deplorable  evil  of  the  human  heart,  I  can- 
not suppose  that  one  half  of  the  wicked  wit, 
of  which  some  persons  are  so  proud,  is  pro- 
perly their  own.  Perhaps  such  a  one  as  Vol- 
taire would  neither  have  written,  nor  have  been 
read  or  admired  so  much,  if  he  had  not  been 
the  amanuensis  of  an  abler  hand  in  his  own 
way.  Satan  is  always  near  when  the  heart  is 
disposed  to  receive  him  ;  and  the  Lord  with- 
draws his  restraints,  toheighten  the  sinner's  abi- 
lity of  sinning  with  an  eclat,  and  assisting  him 
with  such  strokes  of  blasphemy,  malice,  and 
falsehood,  as  perhaps  he  could  not  otherwise 
have  attained.  Therefore,  I  do  not  wonder 
that  they  are  clever  and  smart,  that  they  raise 
a  laugh,  and  are  received  with  applause  among 
those  who  are  like-minded  with  themselves. 
But  unless  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  grant  them 
repentance  though  it  is  rather  to  be  feared 
some  of  them  are  given  up  to  judicial  hard- 
ness of  heart,  how  much  better  would  it  have 
been  for  them,  had  they  been  born  idiots  or 
lunatics,  than  to  be  distinguished  as  the  will- 
ing, industrious,  and  successful  instruments 
of  the  powers  of  darkness,  in  beguiling,  per- 
verting,  and  ruining  the  souls  of  men !  Alas, 
what  are  parts  and  talents,  or  any  distinctions 
which  give  pre-eminence  in  life,  unless  they 
are  sanctified  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  di- 
rected to  the  accomplishment  of  his  will  and 
glory  !  From  the  expression,  "  Bind  them  in 
bundles,  and  burn  them,"  I  have  been  led  to 
think,  that  the  deceivers  and  the  deceived, 
they  who  have  prostituted   their   gifts  or  in- 


1-ET.  xvr. 

Huence  to  encourage  others  in  sin,  and  they 
who  have  perished  hy  their  means,  may  in 
another  world  have  some  peculiar  and  inse- 
parable connection,  and  spend  an  eternity  in 
fruitless  lamentation  that  ever  they  were  con- 
nected here. 

Your  Lordship,  I  doubt  not  feels  the  force 
of  that  line, 

O,  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor  ! 


LETTERS  TO   A   NOBLEMAN 


Had  not  the  Lord  separated  you  for  him- 
self, your  rank,  your  abilities,  your  influence, 
which  now  you  chiefly  value  as  enlarging  your 
opportunities  of  usefulness,  might,  nay  cer- 
tainly would,  have  been  diverted  into  the  op- 
posite channel. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XVI. 

November  5,  1774. 
MY  LORD, 
I  HAVE  not  very  lately  had  recourse  to  the 
expedient  of  descanting  upon  a  text,  but  I 
believe  it  the  best  method  I  can  take  to  avoid 
ringing  changes  upon  a  few  obvious  topics, 
which  I  suppose  uniformly  present  themselves 
to  my  mind  when  I  am  about  to  write  to  your 
Lordship.  Just  now,  that  sweet  expression 
of  David  occurred  to  my  thoughts,  "  The 
Lord  is  my  shepherd."  Permit  me,  without 
plan  or  premeditation,  to  make  a  few  obser- 
vations upon  it ;  and  may  your  Lordship  feel 
the  peace,  the  confidence,  the  blessedness, 
which  a  believing  application  of  the  words  is 
suited  to  inspire. 

The  Socinians,  and  others,  in  their  unhappy 
laboured  attempts  to  darken  the  principal  glory 
and  foundation-comfort  of  the  gospel,  employ 
their  critical  sophistry  against  those  texts  which 
expressly  and  doctrinally  declare  the  Re- 
deemer's character,  and  affect  to  triumph,  if 
in  any  manuscript  or  ancient  version  they  can 
find  a  variation  from  the  received  copies  which 
seems  to  favour  their  cause.  But  we  may 
venture  to  wave  the  authority  of  every  dis- 
puted or  disputable  text,  and  maintain  the 
truth  against  their  cavils  from  the  current 
language  and  tenor  of  the  whole  scripture. 
David's  words,  in  Psal.  xxiii,  are  alone  a  de- 
cisive proof  that  Jesus  is  Jehovah,  if  they 
will  but  allow  two  things,  which  I  think  they 
cannot  deny  : — 1.  That  our  Saviour  assumes 
to  himself  the  character  of  the  Shepherd  of 
his  people; — and,  2.  That  he  did  not  come 
into  the  world  to  abridge  those  advantages 
which  the  servants  of  God  enjoyed  before  his 
incarnation.  Upon  these  premises,  which 
cannot  be  gainsaid  without  setting  aside  the 
whole  New  Testament,  the  conclusion  is  un- 
deniable: for  if  Jehovah  was  David's  Shep- 
herd, unless  Jesus  be  Jehovah,  we  who  live 
under  the  gospel  have  an  unspeakable  disad- 


149 

vantage,  in  being  entrusted  to  the  care  of 
one  who,  according  to  the  Socinians,  is  a 
mere  man ;  and,  upon  the  Arian  scheme,  is 
at  the  most  a  creature,  and  infinitely  short  of 
possessing  those  perfections  which  David  con- 
templated in  his  Shepherd.  He  had  a  Shep- 
herd whose  wisdom  and  power  were  infinite, 
and  might  therefore  warrantably  conclude  he 
should  not  want,  and  need  not  fear.  And 
we  also  may  conclude  the  same,  if  our  Shep- 
herd be  the  Lord  or  Jehovah,  but  not  other- 
wise. Besides,  the  very  nature  of  the  Shep- 
herd's office  respecting  the  state  of  such  frail 
creatures  as  we  are,  requires  those  attributes 
for  the  due  discharge  of  it  which  are  incom- 
municably  divine.  He  must  intimately  know 
every  individual  of  the  flock  :  his  eye  must 
be  upon  them  every  one,  and  his  ear  open  to 
their  prayers,  and  his  arm  stretched  out  for 
their  relief,  in  all  places  and  in  all  ages  :  every 
thought  of  every  heart  must  be  open  to  his 
view,  and  his  wisdom  must  penetrate,  and  his 
arm  controul  and  over-rule,  all  the  hidden 
and  complicated  machinations  of  the  powers 
of  darkness  :  he  must  have  the  administration 
of  universal  providence  over  all  the  nations, 
families,  and  persons  upon  earth,  or  he  could 
not  effectually  manage  for  those  who  put  their 
trust  in  him,  in  that  immense  variety  of  cases 
and  circumstances  in  which  they  are  found. 
Reason,  as  well  as  scripture,  may  convince  us, 
that  he  who  gathereth  the  outcasts  of  Israel, 
who  healeth  the  broken  in  heart,  who  up- 
holdeth  all  that  fall,  raiseth  up  all  that  are 
bowed  down,  and  upon  whom  the  eyes  of  all 
wait  for  their  support,  can  be  no  other  than 
he  who  telleth  the  number  of  the  stars,  and 
calleth  them  all  by  their  names,  who  is  great 
in  power,  and  whose  understanding  is  infinite. 
To  this  purpose  likewise  the  prophet  Isaiah 
describes  this  mighty  Shepherd,  chap.  xl.  9 — 
17,  both  as  to  his  person  and  office. 

But  is  not  this  indeed  the  great  mystery  of 
godliness  !  How  just  is  the  apostle's  obser- 
vation, that  no  man  can  say  Jesus  Christ  is 
Lord,  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost !  How  astonish- 
ing the  thought, — that  the  Maker  of  heaven 
and  earth,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  before 
whose  presence  the  earth  shook,  the  heavens 
dropped,  when  he  displayed  a  faint  emblem  of 
his  majesty  upon  Sinai,  should  aftf-wards  ap- 
pear in  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  hang  upon 
a  cross,  the  sport  and  scorn  of  wicked  men  ! 
I  cannot  wonder  that  to  the  wise  men  of  the 
world  this  appears  absurd,  unreasonable,  and 
impossible  ;  yet  to  right  reason,  to  reason  en- 
lightened, and  sanctified,  however  amazing 
the  proposition  be,  yet  it  appears  true  and 
necessary,  upon  a  supposition  that  a  holy  God 
is  pleased  to  pardon  sinners  in  a  way  suited 
to  display  the  awful  glories  of  his  justice. 
The  same  arguments  which  prove  the  blood 
of  bulls  and  goats  insufficient  to  take  away 
sin,  will  conclude  against  the  utmost  doings 
or  sufferings  of  men  or  angels.      The   Re- 


151) 


deemer  of  sinners  must  be  mighty  ;  he  must 
have  a  personal  dignity,  to  stamp  such  a  value 
upon  his  undertakings  as  that  thereby  God 
may  appear  just  as  well  as  merciful  in  justify- 
ing the  ungodly  for  his  sake  ;  and  he  must 
be  all-sufficient  to  bless,  and  almighty  to  pro- 
tect those  who  come  unto  him  for  safety  and 
life. 

Such  a  one  is  our  Shepherd.  This  is  he 
of  whom  wc,  through  grace,  are  enabled  to 
say,  we  are  his  people,  and  the  sheep  of  his 
pasture.  We  are  his  by  every  tie  and  right ; 
he  made  us,  he  redeemed  us,  he  reclaimed 
us  from  the  hand  of  our  enemies,  and  we  are 
his  by  our  own  voluntary  surrender  of  our- 
selves ;  for,  though  we  once  slighted,  despised, 
and  opposed  him,  he  made  us  willing  in  the 
day  of  his  power  :  he  knocked  at  the  door  of 
our  hearts  ;  but  we,  at  least  I,  barred  and  fas- 
tened  it  against  him  as  much  and  as  long  as 
possible.  But  when  he  revealed  his  love  we 
could  stand  out  no  longer.  Like  sheep,  we 
are  weak,  destitute,  defenceless,  prone  to  wan- 
der, unable  to  return,  and  always  surrounded 
with  wolves.  But  all  is  made  up  in  the  ful- 
ness, ability,  wisdom,  compassion,  care,  and 
faithfulness  of  our  great  Shepherd.  He 
guides,  protects,  feeds,  heals,  and  restores, 
and  will  be  our  guide  and  our  God  even  un- 
til death.  Then  he  will  meet  us,  receive  us, 
and  present  us  unto  himself,  and  we  shall  be 
near  him,  and  like  him,  and  with  him  for 
ever. 

Ah  !  my  Lord,  what  a  subject  is  this !  I 
trust  it  is  the  joy  of  your  heart.  Placed  as 
you  are  by  his  hand  in  a  superior  rank,  you 
see  and  feel  that  the  highest  honours,  and  the 
most  important  concernments  that  terminate 
with  the  present  life,  are  trivial  as  the  sports 
of  children  in  comparison  with  the  views  and 
the  privileges  you  derive  from  the  glorious 
gospel ;  and  your  situation  in  life  renders  the 
grace  bestowed  upon  you  the  more  conspi- 
cuous and  distinguishing.  I  have  somewhere 
met  with  a  similar  reflection  of  Henry  IV.  of 
France,  to  this  purpose,  that,  though  many 
came  into  the  world  the  same  day  with  him, 
he  was  probably  the  only  one  among  them  that 
was  born  to  be  a  king.  Your  Lordship  is 
acquainted  with  many,  who,  if  not  born  on 
the  same  day  with  you,  were  born  to  titles, 
estates,  and  honours;  but  how  few  of  them 
were  born  to  the  honour  of  making  a  public 
and  consistent  profession  of  the  glorious  gos- 
pel !  The  hour  is  coming,  when  all  honours 
and  possessions,  but  this  which  cometh  of  God 
only,  will  be  eclipsed  and  vanish,  and,  like 
the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision,  leave  not  a 
wreck  behind.  How  miserable  will  they  then 
be  who  must  leave  their  ALL  !  What  a  mor- 
tifying thought  does  Horace  put  in  the  way 
of  those  who  disdain  to  read  the  scriptures  ! 

Linquenda  tellus,  et  domus,  et  placens 
Uxor:  neque  haruin,  quas  colis,  ailjorum 
Te,  prater  invisas  cupressos, 

Ulla  brcvem  dominuin  sequotur. 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN'.  let.  xvii. 

But  grace  and  faith  can  make  the  lowest 
state  of  life  supportable,  and  make  a  dismis- 
sion from  the  highest  desirable.  Of  the  for- 
mer I  have  many  living  proofs  and  witnesses 
around  me.  Your  Lordship,  I  trust,  will 
have  sweet  experience  of  the  latter,  when, 
after  having  fulfilled  the  will  of  God  in  your 
generation,  you  shall  be  called  (I  hope  in 
some  yet  distant  day)  to  enter  into  your  Mas- 
ter's joy.  In  the  meantime,  how  valuable 
are  life,  talents,  influence,  and  opportunities 
of  every  kind,  if  we  are  enabled  to  improve 
and  lay  out  all  for  him  who  hath  thus  loved 
us,  thus  provided  for  us?  As  to  myself,  I 
would  hope  there  are  few  who  have  so  clear 
a  sense  of  their  obligations  to  him,  who  make 
such  unsuitable  and  languid  returns  as  I  do. 
I  think  I  have  a  desire  to  serve  him  better ; 
but,  alas !  evil  is  present  with  me.  Surely  I 
shall  feel  something  like  shame  and  regret 
for  my  coldness,  even  in  heaven,  for  I  find  I 
am  never  happier  than  when  I  am  most  a- 
shamed  of  myself  upon  this  account  here. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XVII. 

December  8,  1774. 

MY  LORD, 
How  wonderful  is  the  patience  of  God  to- 
wards sinful  men  !  In  him  they  live,  and 
move,  and  have  their  being,  and,  if  he  were 
to  withdraw  his  support  for  a  single  moment, 
they  must  perish.  He  maintains  their  lives, 
guards  their  persons,  supplies  their  wants, 
while  they  employ  the  powers  and  faculties 
they  receive  from  him  in  a  settled  course  of 
opposition  to  his  will.  They  trample  upon 
his  laws,  affront  his  government,  and  despise 
his  grace ;  yet  still  he  spares.  To  silence  all 
his  adversaries  in  a  moment  would  require  no 
extraordinary  exertion  of  his  power  ;  but  his 
forbearance  towards  them  manifests  his  glory, 
and  gives  us  cause  to  say,  Who  is  a  God  like 
unto  thee  ? 

Sometimes,  however,  there  are  striking  in- 
stances of  his  displeasure  against  sin.  When 
such  events  take  place,  immediately  upon  a 
public  and  premeditated  contempt  offered  to 
Him  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens,  I  own  they 
remind  me  of  the  danger  of  standing,  if  I 
may  so  speak,  in  the  Lord's  way ;  for  though 
his  long-suffering  is  astonishing,  and  many 
dare  him  to  his  face  daily,  with  seeming  im- 
punity, yet  he  sometimes  strikes  an  awful 
and  unexpected  blow,  and  gives  an  illustra- 
tion of  that  solemn  word,  "  Who  ever  har- 
dened himself  against  the  Lord  and  pros- 
pered ?"  But  how  am  I  to  make  this  ob- 
servation ?  I  ought  to  do  it  with  the  deepest 
humiliation,  remembering  that  I  once  stood, 
according  to  my  years  and  ability,  in  the  fore* 
most  rank  of  his  avowed  opposers,  and,  with  a 


LET.  XVII. 


LETTERS  TO   A  NOBLEMAN. 


151 


determined  and  unwearied  enmity  renounced, 
defied,  and  blasphemed  him.  "  But  he  will 
have  mercy  on  whom  he  will  have  mercy;" 
and  therefore  I  was  spared,  and  reserved  to 
speak  of  his  goodness. 

Josephus,  when  speaking  of  the  death  of 
Herod  Agrippa,  ascribes  it  to  a  natural  cause, 
and,  says  he  was  seized  with  excruciating 
pains  in  his  bowels.  But  Luke  informs  us 
of  the  true  cause  :  an  angel  of  the  Lord  smote 
him.  Had  we  a  modern  history,  written  by 
an  inspired  pen,  we  should  probably  often  be 
reminded  of  such  an  interposition  where  we 
are  not  ordinarily  aware  of  it.  For  though 
the  springs  of  actions  and  events  are  conceal- 
ed from  us  for  the  most  part,  and  vain  men 
carry  on  their  schemes  with  confidence,  as 
though  the  Lord  had  forsaken  the  earth,  yet 
they  are  under  his  eye  and  controul ;  and 
faith,  in  some  measure,  instructed  by  the 
specimens  of  his  government  recorded  in  the 
scriptures,  can  trace  and  admire  his  hand,  and 
can  see  how  he  takes  the  wise  in  their  own 
craftiness,  stains  the  pride  of  human  glory  ; 
and  that  when  sinners  speak  proudly,  he  is 
above  them,  and  makes  every  thing  bend  or 
break  before  him. 

While  we  lament  the  growth  and  perni- 
cious effects  of  infidelity,  and  see  how  wicked 
men  and  seducers  wax  worse  and  worse,  de- 
ceiving, and  being  deceived  ;  what  gratitude 
should  fill  our  hearts  to  him,  who  has  been 
pleased  to  call  us  out  of  the  horrid  darkness  in 
which  multitudes  are  bewildered  and  lost, 
into  the  glorious  light  of  his  gospel  !  Faint 
are  our  warmest  conceptions  of  this  mercy. 
In  order  to  understand  it  fully,  we  should 
have  a  full  and  adequate  sense  of  the  evil  from 
which  we  are  delivered;  the  glory  to  which 
we  are  called  ;  and  especially,  of  the  astonish- 
ing means  to  which  we  owe  our  life  and  hope, 
the  humiliation,  sufferings,  and  death  of  the 
Son  of  God.  But  our  views  of  these  points, 
while  in  our  present  state,  are  and  must  be 
exceedingly  weak  and  disproportionate.  We 
know  them  but  in  part,  we  see  them  Si"  ttrovroou, 
by  reflection,  rather  the  images  than  the  things 
themselves;  and  though  they  are  faithfully 
represented  in  the  mirror  of  God's  word,  to 
us  they  appear  indistinct,  because  we  see 
them  through  a  gross  medium  of  ignorance 
and  unbelief.  Hereafter  every  vail  shall  be 
removed ;  we  shall  know,  in  another  manner 
than  we  do  now,  the  unspeakable  evil  of  sin, 
and  the  insupportable  dreadfulness  of  God's 
displeasure  against  it,  when  we  see  the  world 
in  flames,  and.  hear  the  final  sentence  de- 
nounced upon  the  ungodly.  We  shall  have 
far  other  thoughts  of  Jesus  when  we  see  him 
as  he  is  :  and  shall  then  be  able  to  make  a 
more  affecting  estimate  of  the  love  which 
moved  him  to  be  made  a  substitute  and  a 
curse  for  us  :  and  we  shall  then  know  what 
great  things  God  has  prepared  for  them  that 
love  him.      Then   with  transport,  we  shall  a- 


dopt  the  queen  of  Sheba's  language,  It  was 
a  true  report  we  heard  in  yonder  dark  world ; 
but,  behold,  the  half,  the  thousandth  part, 
was  not  told  us  !  In  the  mean  time,  may 
such  conceptions  as  we  are  enabled  to  form  of 
these  great  truths,  fill  our  hearts,  and  be 
mingled  with  all  our  thoughts,  and  all  our 
concerns ;  may  the  Lord,  by  faith,  give  us  an 
abiding  evidence  of  the  reality  and  impor- 
tance of  the  things  which  cannot  yet  be  seen  ; 
so  shall  we  be  enabled  to  live  above  the  world 
while  we  are  in  it,  uninfluenced  either  by  its 
blandishments  or  its  frowns ;  and,  with  a 
noble  simplicity  and  singularity,  avow  and 
maintain  the  cause  of  God  in  truth,  in  the 
midst  of  a  crooked  and  perverse  generation. 
He  whom  we  serve  is  able  to  support  and 
protect  us  ;  and  he  well  deserves  at  our  hands, 
that  we  should  be  willing  to  endure,  for  his 
sake,  much  mere  than  he  will  ever  permit  us 
to  be  exercised  with.  The  believer's  call, 
duty,  and  privilege,  is  beautifully  and  forci- 
bly set  forth  in  Milton's  character  of  Abdiel, 
at  the  end  of  the  fifth  book  : 


-Faithful  found 


Among  the  faithless,  faithful  only  he, 

Among  innumerable  false ;  unrnov'd, 

Unshaken,  unsedue'd,  unterrified, 

His  loyalty  he  kept,  his  love,  his  zeal : 

Nor  number,  nor  example,  with  him  wrought 

To  swerve  from  truth,  or  change  his  constant  mind 

Though  single 

Methinks  your  Lordship's  situation  parti- 
cularly resembles  that  in  which  the  poet  has 
placed  Abdiel.  You  are  not,  indeed,  called 
to  serve  God  quite  alone  ;  but  amongst  those 
of  your  own  rank,  and  with  whom,  the  sta- 
tion in  which  he  has  placed  you,  necessitates 
you  to  converse,  how  few  are  there  who  can 
understand,  second,  or  approve,  the  principles 
upon  which  you  act,  or  easily  bear  a  conduct 
which  must  impress  conviction,  or  reflect  dis- 
honour upon  themselves  !  But  you  are  not 
alone;  the  Lord's  people  (many  of  whom 
you  will  not  know  till  you  meet  them  in 
glory)  are  helping  you  here  with  their  prayers  ; 
his  angels  are  commissioned  to  guard  and 
guide  your  steps;  yea,  the  Lord  himself  fixes 
his  eye  of  mercy  upon  your  private  and  your 
public  path,  and  is  near  you  at  your  righ« 
hand,  that  you  may  not  be  moved.  That  he 
may  comfort  you  with  the  light  of  his  coun- 
tenance, and  uphold  you  with  the  arm  of  his 
power,  is  my  frequent  prayer. 

I  am,  &c 


LETTER  XVIII. 

January  20,  1775. 
MY  LORD, 
We  have  entered  upon  another  year.    So  have 
thousands,  perhaps  millions,  who  will  not  see 
it  close.     An  alarming  thought  to  the  world- 
ling I  at  least  it  should  be  so.     I  have  an  im- 


152 


LETTERS  TO  A   .NTOBLEM  AN. 


I,ET.  Will 


perfect  remembrance  of  an  account  I  read 
when  I  was  a  boy,  of  an  ice-palace,  built  one 
winter  at  Petersburgh.  The  walls,  the  roof, 
the  floors,  the  furniture,  were  all  of  ice,  but  fi- 
nished with  taste ;  and  every  thing  that  might 
be  expected  in  a  royal  palace  was  to  be  found 
there;  the  ice,  while  in  the  state  of  water, 
being  previously  coloured,  so  that  to  the  eye 
all  seemed  formed  of  proper  materials :  but 
all  was  cold,  useless,  and  transient.  Had  the 
frost  continued  till  now,  the  palace  might  have 
been  standing ;  but  with  the  returning  spring 
it  melted  away,  like  the  baseless  fabric  of  a 
vision.  Methinks  there  should  have  been 
one  stone  in  the  building,  to  have  retained 
the  inscription,  Sic  transit  gloria  mundi  !  for 
no  contrivance  could  exhibit  a  fitter  illustra- 
tion of  the  vanity  of  human  life.  Men  build 
and  plan  as  if  their  works  were  to  endure  for 
ever ;  but  the  wind  passes  over  them,  and 
they  are  gone.  In  the  midst  of  all  their  pre- 
parations, or  at  farthest,  when  they  think  they 
have  just  completed  their  designs,  their  breath 
goeth  forth,  they  return  to  their  earth  ;  in  that 
very  day  their  thoughts  perish. 

How  many  sleep  who  kept  the  world  awake  ! 

Yet  this  ice-house  had  something  of  a  leisure- 
ly dissolution,  though,  when  it  began  to  de- 
cay, all  the  art  of  man  was  unable  to  prop 
it:  but  often  death  comes  hastily,  and,  like 
the  springing  of  a  mine,  destroys  to  the  very 
foundations,  without  previous  notice.  Then 
all  we  have  been  concerned  in  here  (all  but 
the  consequences  of  our  conduct,  which  will 
abide  to  eternity)  will  be  no  more  to  us  than 
the  remembrance  of  a  dream.  This  truth  is 
too  plain  to  be  denied ;  but  the  greater  part 
of  mankind  act  as  if  they  were  convinced  it 
was  false  :  they  spend  their  days  in  vanity, 
and  in  a  moment  they  go  down  to  the  grave. 
What  cause  of  thankfulness  have  they  who 
are  delivered  from  this  delusion,  and  who,  by 
the  knowledge  of  the  glorious  gospel,  have 
learned  their  true  state  and  end,  are  saved 
from  the  love  of  the  present  world,  from  the 
heart-distressing  fear  of  death ;  and  know, 
that  if  their  earthly  house  were  dissolved,  like 
the  ice-palace,  they  have  a  house  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens  ! 

Yet  even  these  are  much  concerned  to  rea- 
lize the  brevity  and  uncertainty  of  their  pre- 
sent state,  that  they  may  be  stimulated  to 
make  the  most  and  the  best  of  it  $  to  redeem 
their  time,  and  manage  their  precarious  op- 
portunities, so  as  may  most  tend  to  the  praise 
and  glory  of  him  who  has  called  them  out  of 
darkness  into  marvellous  light.  Why  should 
any  that  have  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious 
wish  to  live  another  day,  but  that  they  may 
have  the  honour  to  be  fellow-workers  with 
him,  instrumental  in  promoting  his  designs, 
and  of  laying  themselves  out  to  the  utmost  of 
their  abilities  and  influence  in  his  service? 
To  enjoy  a  sense  of  his  lovingkindness,  and 


to  have  the  light  of  his  countenance  lifted  up 
upon  our  souls,  is  indeed,  respecting  ourselves, 
the  best  part  of  life,  yea,  better  than  life  it- 
self; but  this  we  shall  have  to  unspeakably 
greater  advantage,  when  we  have  finished  our 
course,  and  shall  be  wholly  freed  from  the 
body  of  sin.  And  therefore,  the  great  desir- 
able while  here,  seems  to  be  grace,  that  we 
may  serve  him  and  suffer  for  him  in  the  world. 
Though  our  first  wish  immediately  upon  our 
own  accounts  might  be,  to  depart  and  be  with 
Jesus,  which  is  -xoXXa)  ^kXAov  xgmrirov,  yet  a 
lively  thought  of  our  immense  obligations  to 
his  redeeming  love,  may  reconcile  us  to  a 
much  longer  continuance  here,  if  we  may  by 
any  means  be  subservient  to  diffuse  the  glory 
of  his  name,  and  the  blessings  of  his  salva- 
tion, which  is  God's  great  and  principal  end 
in  preserving  the  world  itself.  When  histo- 
rians and  politicians  descant  upon  the  rise  and 
fall  of  empires,  with  all  their  professed  saga- 
city, in  tracing  the  connection  between  causes 
and  effects,  they  are  totally  unacquainted  with 
the  great  master-wheel    which    manages    the 

whole  movement,  that  is,  the  Lord's  desi<m 
B  .  .  ^ 

in  favour  of  his   church  and  kingdom.      To 

this  every  event  is  subordinate ;  to  this  every 
interfering  interest  must  stoop.  How  easily 
might  this  position  be  proved,  by  reviewing 
the  history  of  the  period  about  the  Reforma- 
tion. Whether  Dr.  Robertson  considers 
things  in  this  light,  in  his  history  of  Charles 
V.  1  know  not,  as  I  have  not  seen  his  books  ; 
but  if  not,  however  elaborate  his  performance 
may  be  in  other  respects,  I  must  venture  to 
say,  it  is  essentially  defective,  and  cannot  give 
that  light  and  pleasure  to  a  spiritual  reader  of 
which  the  subject  is  capable.  And  I  doubt 
not,  that  some  who  are  yet  unborn  will  here- 
after clearly  see  and  remark,  that  the  present 
unhappy  disputes  between  Great  Britain  and 
America,  with  their  consequences,  whatever 
they  may  be,  are  part  of  a  series  of  events,  of 
which  the  extension  and  interests  of  the  church 
of  Christ  were  the  principal  final  causes.  In 
a  word,  that  Jesus  may  be  known,  trusted, 
and  adored,  and  sinners,  by  the  power  of  his 
gospel,  be  rescued  from  sin  and  Satan,  is 
comparatively,  the  ro  lv,  the  one  great  busi- 
ness, for  the  sake  of  which  the  succession  of 
day  and  night,  summer  and  winter,  is  still 
maintained ;  and  when  the  plan  of  redemp- 
tion is  consummated,  sin,  which  now  almost 
fills  the  earth,  will  then  set  it  on  fire  ;  and 
the  united  interest  of  all  the  rest  of  mankind, 
when  detached  from  that  of  the  people  of 
God,  will  not  plead  for  its  preservation  a  sin- 
gle day.  In  this  view,  I  congratulate  your 
Lordship,  that  however  your  best  endeavours 
to  serve  the  temporal  interests  of  the  nation 
may  fall  short  of  your  wishes ;  yet,  so  far  as 
your  situation  gives  you  opportunity  of  sup- 
porting the  gospel-cause,  and  facilitating  its 
progress,  you  have  a  prospect  both  of  a  more 
certain   and   more   important    success.        Eoi 


LETTERS  TO   A   NOBLEMAN. 


LET.  XIX. 

instance,  it  was,  under  God,  your  Lordship's 
favour  and  influence  that  brought  me  into 
the  ministry.  And  though  I  be  nothing,  yet 
he  who  put  it  into  your  heart  to  patronize 
me,  has  been  pleased  not  to  suffer  what  you 
then  did  for  his  sake  to  be  wholly  in  vain.  He 
has  been  pleased,  in  a  course  of  years,  by  so 
unworthy  an  instrument  as  I  am,  to  awaken 
a  number  of  persons,  who  were  at  that  time 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  ;  but  now  some  of 
them  are  pressing  on  to  the  prize  of  their  high 
calling  in  Christ  Jesus ;  and  some  of  them 
are  already  before  the  throne.  Should  I  sug- 
gest in  some  companies,  that  the  conversion  of 
a  hundred  sinners  (more  or  less)  to  God,  is 
an  event  of  more  real  importance  than  the 
temporal  prosperity  of  the  greatest  nation  up- 
on earth,  I  should  be  charged  with  ignorance 
and  arrogance ;  but  your  Lordship  is  skilled 
in  scriptural  arithmetic,  which  alone  can  teach 
us  to  estimate  the  value  of  souls,  and  will  agree 
with  me,  that  one  soul  is  worth  more  than  the 
whole  world,  on  account  of  its  redemption- 
price,  its  vast  capacities,  and  its  duration. 
Should  we  suppose  a  nation  to  consist  of  forty 
millions,  the  whole  and  each  individual  to  en- 
joy as  much  good  as  this  life  can  afford,  with- 
out abatement,  for  a  term  of  fifty  years  each  ; 
all  this  good,  or  an  equal  quantity,  might  be 
exhausted  by  a  single  person  in  two  thousand 
millions  of  years,  which  would  be  but  a  mo- 
ment in  comparison  of  the  eternity  which 
would  still  follow  :  and  if  this  good  were  mere- 
ly temporal  good,  the  whole  aggregate  of  it 
would  be  evil  and  misery,  if  compared  with 
that  happiness  in  God,  of  which  only  they 
who  are  made  partakers  of  a  divine  life  are 
capable.  On  the  other  hand,  were  a  whole 
nation  to  be  destroyed  by  such  accumulated 
miseries  as  attended  the  siege  of  Jerusalem, 
the  sum-total  of  these  calamities  would  be  but 
trifling,  if  set  in  competition  with  what  every 
single  person  that  dies  in  sin  has  to  expect, 
when  the  sentence  of  everlasting  destruction 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  the  glory 
of  his  power,  shall  be  executed. 

What  an  unexpected  round  have  my  thoughts 
taken  since  I  set  out  from  the  ice-palace  ?  It 
is  time  to  relieve  your  Lordship,  and  to  sub- 
scribe myself,  &c. 


LETTER  XIX. 

February  23,  1775. 

MY  LORD, 

I  assent  to  our  Lord's  declaration,  "  With- 
out me  ye  can  do  nothing,"  not  only  upon  the 
authority  of  the  speaker,  but  from  the  same 
irresistible  and  experimental  evidence,  as  if 
he  had  told  me,  that  I  cannot  make  the  sun 
to  shine,  or  change  the  course  of  the  seasons. 
Though  my  pen  and  my  tongue  sometimes 
move  freely,  yet  the  total  incapacity  and  stag- 
nation   of  thought    I    labour    under  at   other 


153 


limes,  convinces  me,  that,  in  myself,  1  have 
not  sufficiency  to  think  a  good  thought ;  and, 
I  believe  the  case  would  be  the  same,  if  that 
little  measure  of  knowledge  and  abilities, 
which  I  am  too  prone  to  look  upon  as  my 
own,  were  a  thousand  times  greater  than  it  is. 
For  every  new  service  I  stand  in  need  of  a 
new  supply,  and  can  bring  forth  nothing  of 
my  supposed  store  into  actual  exercise,  but 
by  his  immediate  assistance.  His  gracious 
influence  is  that  to  those  who  are  best  fur- 
nished with  gifts,  which  the  water  is  to  the  mill, 
or  the  wind  to  the  ship,  without  which  the 
whole  apparatus  is  motionless  and  useless. 
I  apprehend  that  we  lose  much  of  the  com- 
fort which  might  arise  from  a  sense  of  our 
continual  dependence  upon  him,  and  of  course 
fall  short  of  acknowledging,  as  we  ought, 
what  we  receive  from  him,  by  mistaking  the 
manner  of  his  operation.  Perhaps  we  take  it 
too  much  for  granted,  that  communications 
from  himself  must  bear  some  kind  of  sensible 
impression  that  they  are  his,  and  therefore 
are  ready  to  give  our  own  industry  or  in- 
genuity credit  for  those  performances  in 
which  we  can  perceive  no  such  impres. 
sion  ;  yet  it  is  very  possible  that  we  may  be 
under  his  influence  when  we  are  least  aware 
of  it ;  and  though  what  we  say,  or  write,  or 
do,  may  seem  no  way  extraordinary,  yet  that 
we  should  be  led  to  such  a  particular  turn  of 
thought  at  one  time  rather  than  at  another, 
has,  in  my  own  concerns,  often  appeared  to 
me  remarkable,  from  the  circumstances  which 
have  attended,  or  the  consequences  which 
have  followed.  How  often,  in  the  choice  of 
a  text,  or  in  the  course  of  a  sermon,  or  in  a 
letter  to  a  friend,  have  I  been  led  to  speak  a 
word  in  season  !  and  what  I  have  expressed 
at  large,  and  in  general,  has  been  so  exactly 
suited  to  some  case  which  I  was  utterly  un- 
acquainted with,  that  I  could  hardly  have  hit 
it  so  well,  had  I  been  previously  informed  of 
it.  Some  instances  of  this  kind  have  been  so 
striking,  as  hardly  to  admit  a  doubt  of  supe- 
rior agency.  And  indeed,  if  believers  in  Je- 
sus, however  unworthy  in  themselves,  are  the 
temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  if  the  Lord  lives, 
dwells,  and  walks  in  them  ;  if  he  is  their  life 
and  their  light ;  if  he  has  promised  to  guide 
them  with  his  eye,  and  to  work  in  them  both 
to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good  pleasure,— 
methinks  what  I  have  mentioned,  and  more, 
may  be  reasonably  expected.  That  line  in  the 
hymn, 

Help  I  every  moment  need, 

is  not  a  hyperbolical  expression,  but  strictly 
and  literally  true,  not  only  in  great  emergen- 
cies, but  in  our  smoother  hours,  and  most  fa- 
miliar paths.  This  gracious  assistance  is  af- 
forded in  a  way  imperceptible  to  ourselves, 
to  hide  pride  from  us,  and  to  prevent  us 
from  being  indolent  and  careless  with  re- 
spect to  the  use  of  appointed  means ;  and  it 


154 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


LET.  XIX 


would  be  likewise  more  abundantly,  and 
perhaps  more  sensibly  afforded,  were  our 
spirits  more  simple  in  waiting  upon  the  Lord. 
But,  alas  !  a  divided  heart,  an  undue  attach- 
ment to  some  temporal  object,  sadly  deaden 
our  spirits  (I  speak  for  myself),  and  grieves 
the  Lord's  Spirit ;  so  that  we  walk  in  dark- 
ness and  at  a  distance,  and  though  called  to 
great  privileges,  live  far  below  them.  But 
methinks  the  thought  of  him  who  is  always 
near,  and  upon  whom  we  do  and  must  inces- 
santly depend,  should  suggest  a  powerful 
motive  for  the  closest  attention  to  his  revealed 
will,  and  the  most  punctual  compliance  with 
it ;  for  so  far  as  the  Lord  withdraws  we  be- 
come as  blind  men,  and  with  the  clearest  light, 
and  upon  the  plainest  ground,  we  are  liable, 
or  rather  sure,  to  stumble  at  every  step. 

Though  there  is  a  principle  of  consciousness, 
and  a  determination  of  the  will,  sufficient  to 
denominate  our  thoughts  and  performances 
our  own,  yet  I  believe  mankind  in  general  are 
more  under  an  invisible  agency  than  they  ap- 
prehend. The  Lord,  immediately  from  him- 
self, and  perhaps  by  the  ministry  of  the  holy 
angels,  guides,  prompts,  restrains,  or  warns  his 
people.  So  there  undoubtedly  is  what  I  may 
call  a  black  inspiration,  the  influence  of  the 
evil  spirits  who  work  in  the  hearts  of  the  dis- 
obedient, and  not  only  excite  their  wills,  but 
assist  their  faculties,  and  qualify  as  well  as 
incline  them  to  be  more  assiduously  wicked, 
and  more  extensively  mischievous,  than  they 
could  be  of  themselves.  I  consider  Voltaire, 
for  instance,  and  many  writers  of  the  same 
stamp,  to  be  little  more  than  secretaries  and 
amanuenses  of  one  who  has  unspeakably  more 
wit  and  adroitness  in  promoting  infidelity  and 
immorality,  than  they  of  themselves  can  just- 
ly pretend  to.  They  have,  for  a  while,  the 
credit  (if  I  may  so  call  it)  of  the  fund  from 
whence  they  draw  j  but  the  world  little  ima- 
gines who  is  the  real  and  original  author  of 
that  philosophy  and  poetry,  of  those  fine  turns 
and  sprightly  inventions,  which  are  so  gene- 
rally admired.  Perhaps  many,  now  applaud- 
ed for  their  genius,  would  have  been  compara- 
tively dolts,  had  they  not  been  engaged  in 
a  cause  which  Satan  has  so  much  interest  in 
supporting. 

But  to  return  to  the  more  pleasing  subject. 
How  great  and  honourable  is  the  privilege  of 
a  true  believer  !  That  he  has  neither  wisdom 
nor  strength  in  himself  is  no  disadvantage ; 
for  he  is  connected  with  infinite  wisdom  and 
almighty  power.  Though  weak  as  a  worm, 
his  arms  are  strengthened  by  the  mighty  God 
of  Jacob,  and  all  things  become  possible,  yea 
easy,  to  him,  that  occur  within  the  compass  of 
his  proper  duty  and  calling.  The  Lord,  whom 
he  serves,  engages  to  proportion  his  strength 
to  his  day,  whether  it  be  a  day  of  service  or 
of  .-uffering;  and  though  he  be  fallible  and 
short-sighted,  exceeding  liable  to  mistake  and 
imposition,   yet,  while  he  retains  a  sense  that 


he  is  so,  and,  with  the  simplicity  of  a  child, 
asks  counsel  and  direction  of  the  Lord,  he 
seldom  takes  a  wrong  step,  at  least  not  in 
matters  of  consequence,  and  even  his  inadvert- 
encies are  over-ruled  for  good.  If  he  forgets 
his  true  state,  and  thinks  himself  to  be  some- 
thing, he  presently  finds  he  is  indeed  nothing; 
but  if  he  is  content  to  be  nothing,  and  to  have 
nothing,  he  is  sure  to  find  a  seasonable  and 
abundant  communication  of  all  that  he  wants. 
Thus  he  lives,  like  Israel  in  the  wilderness, 
upon  mere  bounty ;  but  then  it  is  a  bounty 
unchangeable,  unwearied,  inexhaustible,  and 
all-sufficient.  Moses,  when  speaking  of  the 
methods  the  Lord  took  to  humble  Israel,  men- 
tions his  feeding  them  with  manna  as  one  me- 
thod. I  could  not  understand  this  for  a  time. 
I  thought  they  were  rather  in  danger  of  be- 
ing proud,  when  they  saw  themselves  provid- 
ed for  in  such  an  extraordinary  way.  But  the 
manna  would  not  keep  ;  they  could  not  hoard 
it  up,  and  were  therefore  in  a  state  of  abso- 
lute dependence  from  day  to  day.  This  ap- 
pointment was  well  suited  to  humble  them. 
Thus  it  is  with  us  in  spirituals.  We  should 
be  better  pleased,  perhaps,  to  be  set  up  with  a 
stock  or  sufficiency  at  once, — such  an  inhe 
rent  portion  of  wisdom  and  power,  as  we 
might  depend  upon,  at  least  for  common  oc- 
casions, without  being  constrained  by  a  sense 
of  indigence,  to  have  continual  recourse  to 
the  Lord  for  every  thing  we  want.  But  his 
way  is  best.  His  own  glory  is  most  displayed, 
and  our  safety  most  secured,  by  keeping  us 
quite  poor  and  empty  in  ourselves,  and  sup- 
plying us  from  one  minute  to  another,  accord- 
ing to  our  need.  This,  if  any  thing,  will  pre- 
vent boasting,  and  keep  a  sense  of  gratitude 
awake  in  our  hearts.  This  is  well  adapted  to 
quicken  us  in  prayer,  and  furnishes  us  with  a 
thousand  occasions  for  praise,  which  would 
otherwise  escape  our  notice. 

But  who  or  what  are  we,  that  the  Most 
High  should  thus  notice  us !  should  visit  us 
every  morning,  and  water  us  every  moment ! 
It  is  an  astonishing  thought,  that  God  should 
thus  dwell  with  men  !  that  he,  before  whom 
the  mightiest  earthly  potentates  are  less  than 
nothing,  and  vanity,  should  thus  stoop  and 
accommodate  himself  to  the  situation,  wants, 
and  capacities  of  the  weakest,  meanest,  and 
poorest  of  his  children  !  But  so  it  hath  pleas- 
ed him.  He  seeth  not  as  man  seeth. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XX. 


MY  LORD, 
HAVE    no 


August — 1775. 
or   introduction    at 


apt  preface 
hand ;  and  as  I  have  made  it  almost  a  rule 
not  to  study  for  what  I  should  offer  your  Lord- 
ship, I  therefore  beg  leave  to  begin  abruptly. 


LET.  XX. 


LETTERS  TO  A   NOBLEMAN. 


155 


It  is  the  future  promised  privilege  of  be- 
lievers in  Jesus,  that  they  shall  be  as  the  an- 
gels ;  and  there  is  a  sense  in  which  we  should 
endeavour  to  be  as  the  angels  now.  This  is 
intimated  to  us  where  we  are  taught  to  pray, 
"  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  in  hea- 
ven." I  have  sometimes  amused  myself  with 
supposing  an  angel  should  be  appointed  to 
reside  a  while  upon  earth  in  a  human  body ; 
not  in  sinful  flesh,  like  ours,  but  in  a  body 
free  from  infirmity,  and  still  preserving  an 
unaoated  sense  of  his  own  happiness  in  the 
favour  of  God,  and  of  his  unspeakable  obli- 
gation to  his  goodness;  and  then  I  have  tried 
to  judge,  as  well  as  I  could,  how  such  an  an- 
gel would  comport  himself  in  such  a  situa- 
tion. I  know  not  that  1  ever  enlarged  upon 
the  thought,  either  in  preaching  or  writing. 
Permit  me  to  follow  it  a  little  in  this  paper. 

Were  I  acquainted  with  this  heavenly  visit- 
ant,  I  am  willing  to  hope  I  should  greatly  reve- 
rence him  ;  and,  if  permitted,  be  glad,  in  some 
cases,  to  consult  him  :   in  some,  but  not  in  all ; 
for   I   think  my  fear  would  be  equal  to  my 
love.     Methinks  I  could  never  venture  to  open 
my  heart  freely  to  him,  and  unfold  to  him  my 
numberless  complaints  and  infirmities;  for,  as 
ne  could  have  no  experience  of  the  like  things 
himself,  I  should  suppose  he  would  not  know 
now  fully  to  pity  me,  indeed  hardly  how  to 
bear  with  me,  if  I  told  him  all.      Alas  !  what 
a  preposterous,  strange,  vile  creature  should  I 
appear  to  an  angel,   if  he  knew  me  as  I  am  ! 
It  is  well  for  me  that  Jesus  was  made  lower  | 
than  the  angels,  and  that  the  human  nature 
he  assumed  was  not  distinct  from  the  common 
nature  of  mankind,  though  secured  from  the 
common  depravity ;  and  because  he  submit- 
ted to  be   under   the   law  in   our  name  and 
stead,  though  he  was  free  from  sin  himself, 
yet  sin  and  its  consequences  being,  for  our 
sakes,  charged  upon  him,  he  acquired,  in  the 
days  of  his  humiliation,  an  experimental  sym- 
pathy with  his  poor  people.      He  knows  the 
effects  of  sin  and  temptation  upon  us,  by  that 
knowledge  whereby  he  knows  all  things ;  but 
he  knows  them  likewise  in  a  way  more  suit- 
able for  our  comfort  and  relief,  by  the  suffer- 
ings and  exercises  he  passed  through  for  us. 
Hence  arises  encouragement.      We  have  not 
an  high  priest  who  cannot  be  touched  with  a 
feeling  of  our  infirmities,  but  was  in  all  points 
tempted  even  as  we  are.    When  I  add  to  this, 
the  consideration  of  his  power,  promises,  and 
grace,  and  that  he  is  exalted  on  purpose  to 
pity,  relieve,  and  save,  I  gather  courage.   With 
him  I  dare  be   free,  and  am  not  sorry,  but 
glad,  that  he  knows  me  perfectly,  that  not  a 
thought  of  my  heart  is  hidden  from  him.    For 
without  this  infinite  and  exact  knowledge  of 
my  disease,  how  could  he  effectually  admini- 


ster to  my  cure  ? — But  whither   am   I    ram- 
bling ?    I  seem  to  have  lost  sight  of  the  angel 


cannot  effectually  pity  me,   he  may   at  leas 
animate  and  teach  me. 

In  the  first  place,  I  take  it  for  granted  this 
angel  would  think  himself  a  stranger  and  pil- 
grim upon  earth.  He  would  not  forget  thai 
his  zroXinufta.*  was  in  heaven.  Surely  he  would 
look  upon  all  the  bustle  of  human  life  (far- 
ther than  the  design  of  his  mission  might  con- 
nect him  with  it)  with  more  indifference  than 
we  look  upon  the  sports  of  children,  or  the 
amusements  of  idiots  and  lunatics,  which  give 
us  an  uneasiness,  rather  than  excite  a  desire 
of  joining  in  them.  He  would  judge  of  every 
thing  around  him,  by  the  reference  and  ten- 
dency it  had  to  promote  the  will  of  him  that 
sent  him ;  and  the  most  specious  or  splen- 
did appearances,  considered  in  any  other  view, 
would  make  no  impression  upon  him. 

Consequently,  as  to  his  own  concernment, 
all  his  aim  and  desire  would  be,  to  fulfil  the 
will  of  God.  All  situations  would  be  alike  to 
him ;  whether  he  was  commanded,  as  in  the 
case  of  Sennacherib,  to  destroy  a  mighty  army 
with  a  stroke ;  or,  as  in  the  case  of  Hagar, 
to  attend  upon  a  woman,  a  servant,  a  slave ; 
both  services  would  be  to  him  equally  ho- 
nourable and  important,  because  he  was  in 
both  equally  pleasing  his  Lord,  which  would 
be  his  element  and  his  joy,  whether  he  was 
appointed  to  guide  the  reins  of  empire,  or  to 
sweep  the  streets. 

Again,  the  angel  would  doubtless  exhibit  a 
striking  example  of  benevolence ;  for,  being 
free  from  selfish  bias,  filled  with  a  sense  of 
the  love  of  God,  and  a  knowledge  of  his  ador- 
able perfections,  his  whole  heart,  and  soul, 
and  strength,  would  be  engaged  and  exerted, 
both  from  duty  and  inclination,  to  relieve  the 
miseries,  and  advance  the  happiness  of  all 
around  him  :  and  in  this  he  would  follow  the 
pattern  of  him  who  doth  good  to  all,  com- 
manding his  sun  to  rise,  and  his  rain  to  fall, 
upon  the  just  and  the  unjust ;  though,  from 
the  same  pattern,  he  would  shew  an  especial 
regard  to  the  household  of  faith.  An  angel 
would  take  but  little  part  in  the  controver- 
sies, contentions,  and  broils,  which  might  hap- 
pen in  the  time  of  his  sojourning  here,  but 
would  be  a  friend  to  all,  so  far  as  consistent 
with  the  general  good. 

The  will  and  glory  of  God  being  the  an- 
gel's great  view,  and  having  a  more  lively 
sense  of  the  realities  of  an  unseen  world  than 
we  can  at  present  conceive,  he  would  cer- 
tainly, in  the  first  and  chief  place,  have  the 
success  and  spread  of  the  glorious  gospel  at 
heart.  Angels,  though  not  redeemed  with 
blood,  yet  feel  themselves  nearly  concerned  in 
the  -work  of  redemption.  They  admire  its 
mysteries.  We  may  suppose  them  well  in- 
formed in  the  works  of  creation  and  provi- 
dence.     But,  unlike  to  many  men,  who  are 


already. 


back,  that  if  he 


*  Citizenship,  or  conversation. 


156 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


LEI.  XXL 


satisfied  with  the  knowledge  of  astronomy, 
mathematics,  or  history,  they  search  and  pry 
into  the  counsels  of  redeeming  love,  rejoice  at 
the  conversion  of  a  sinner,  and  think  them- 
selves well  employed  to  be  ministering  spirits, 
to  minister  to  the  heirs  of  salvation.  It  would 
therefore  be  his  chief  delight  to  espouse  and 
promote  their  cause,  and  to  employ  all  his 
talents  and  influence  in  spreading  the  favour 
and  knowledge  of  the  name  of  Jesus,  which 
is  the  only  and  effectual  means  of  bringing 
sinners  out  of  bondage  and  darkness  into  the 
glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God. 

Lastly,  though  his  zeal  for  the  glory  of  his 
Lord  would  make  him  willing  to  continue 
here  till  he  had  finished  the  work  given  him 
to  do,  he  would,  I  am  persuaded,  look  for- 
ward with  desire  to  the  appointed  moment  of 
his  rccal,  that  he  might  be  freed  from  behold- 
ing and  mixing  with  the  sin  and  vanity  of 
those  who  know  not  God,  render  his  account 
with  joy,  and  be  welcomed  to  heaven  with  a 
"  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant." 
Surely  he  would  long  for  this,  as  a  labourer 
for  the  setting  sun ;  and  would  not  form  any 
connection  with  the  things  of  time,  which 
should  prompt  him  to  wish  his  removal  pro- 
tracted for  a  single  hour  beyond  the  period  of 
his  prescribed  service. 

Alas,  why  am  I  not  more  like  an  angel  ? 
My  views,  in  my  better  judgment,  are  the 
same.  My  motives  and  obligations  are  even 
stronger  :  an  angel  is  not  so  deeply  indebted 
to  the  grace  of  God,  as  a  believing  sinner, 
who  was  once  upon  the  brink  of  destruction, 
who  has  been  redeemed  with  blood,  and  might 
justly  have  been,  before  now,  shut  up  with 
the  powers  of  darkness,  without  hope.  Yet 
the  merest  trifles  are  sufficient  to  debase  my 
views,  damp  my  activity,  and  impede  my  en- 
deavours in  the  Lord's  service,  though  I  pro- 
fess to  have  no  other  end  or  desire  which 
can  make  a  continuance  in  life  worthy  my 
wish. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXI. 

November —  1775. 
MY  LORD, 
Dun  loquimur  tempus  fugit.  In  the  midst 
of  the  hurries  and  changes  of  this  unsettled 
state,  we  glide  along  swiftly  towards  an  un- 
changeable world,  and  shall  soon  have  as  lit- 
tle connection  with  the  scenes  we  are  now 
passing  through  as  we  have  with  what  hap- 
pened before  the  flood.  All  that  appears 
great  and  interesting  in  the  present  life,  ab- 
stracted from  its  influence  upon  our  internal 
character,  and  our  everlasting  allotment,  will 
soon  be  as  unreal  as  the  visions  of  the  night. 
This  wo  know  and  confess;   but  though   our 


judgments  are  convinced,  it  is  seldom  our 
hearts  are  duly  affected  by  the  thought.  And 
while  I  find  it  easy  to  write  in  this  moralizing 
strain,  I  feel  myself  disposed  to  be  seriously 
engaged  about  trifles,  and  trifling  in  the  most 
serious  concerns,  as  if  I  believed  the  very  con 
trary.  It  is  with  good  reason  the  Lord  chal- 
lenges as  his  own  prerogative  the  full  know- 
ledge of  the  deceitfulness,  desperate  wicked- 
ness, and  latent  depths  of  the  human  heart, 
which  is  capable  of  making  even  his  own  peo- 
ple so  shamefully  inconsistent  with  themselves 
and  with  their  acknowledged  principles. 

I  find  that,  when  I  have  something  agree- 
able in  expectation  (suppose,  for  instance,  i 
were  a  few  hours  conversation  with  your  Lord- 
ship), my  imagination  paints  and  prepares  the 
scene  beforehand  ;  hurries  me  over  the  inter  • 
veiling  space  of  time,  as  though  it  were  a 
useless  blank,  and  anticipates  the  pleasure 
I  propose.  Many  of  my  thoughts  of  this 
kind  are  mere  waking  dreams  ;  for  perhaps 
the  opportunity  I  am  eagerly  waiting  for  ne- 
ver happens,  but  is  swallowed  up  by  some 
unforeseen  disappointment ;  or  if  not,  some- 
thing from  within  or  without  prevents  its  an- 
swering the  idea  I  had  formed  of  it.  Nor 
does  my  fancy  confine  itself  within  the  nar. 
row  limits  of  probabilities  ;  it  can  busy  itself 
as  eagerly  in  ranging  after  chimeras  and  im- 
possibilities, and  engage  my  attention  to  the 
ideal  pursuit  of  things  that  are  never  likely  to 
happen.  In  these  respects  my  imagination 
travels  with  wings  ;  so  that  if  the  wildness, 
the  multiplicity,  the  variety  of  the  phantoms 
which  pass  through  my  mind  in  the  space  of 
a  winter's  day  were  known  to  my  fellow- 
creatures,  they  would  probably  deem  me,  as 
I  am  often  ready  to  deem  myself,  but  a  more 
sober  and  harmless  kind  of  lunatic.  But  if  I 
endeavour  to  put  this  active  roving  power  in 
a  right  track,  and  to  represent  to  myself  those 
scenes  which,  though  not  yet  present,  I  know 
will  soon  be  realised,  and  have  a  greatness 
which  the  most  enlarged  exercise  of  my  powers 
cannot  comprehend :  if  I  would  fix  my  thoughts 
upon  the  hour  of  death,  the  end  of  the  world, 
the  coming  of  the  Judge,  or  similar  subjects ; 
then  my  imagination  is  presently  tame,  cold,  and 
jaded,  travels  very  slowly,  and  is  soon  wearied 
in  the  road  of  truth  ;  though  in  the  fairy  fields 
of  uncertainty  and  folly  it  can  skip  from  moun- 
tain to  mountain.  Mr.  Addison  supposes, 
that  the  imagination  alone,  as  it  can  be  dif- 
ferently affected,  is  capable  of  making  us  ei- 
ther inconceivably  happy  or  miserable.  I  am 
sure  it  is  capable  of  making  us  miserable, 
though  I  believe  it  seldom  gives  us  much 
pleasure,  but  such  as  is  to  be  found  in  a 
fool's  paradise.  But  I  am  sure,  were  my 
outward  life  and  conduct  perfectly  free  from 
blame,  the  disorders  and  defilement  of  my 
imagination  are  sufficient  to  constitute  me  a 
chief  sinner  in  the  sight  of  him  to  whom  Um 


LET.  XXII. 


LETTERS   TO   A   NOBLEMAN. 


157 


thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heatt  are  conti- 
nually open,  and  who  is  of  purer  eyes  than 
to  behold  iniquity. 

Upon  this  head  I  cannot  but  lament  how 
universally  almost  education  is  suited,  and  as 
it  were  designed,  to  add  to  the  stimulus  of 
depraved  nature.  A  cultivated  imagination 
is  commended  and  sought  after  as  a  very  de- 
sirable talent,  though  it  seldom  means  more 
than  the  possession  of  a  large  stock  of  other 
people's  dreams  and  fables,  with  a  certain 
quickness  in  compounding  them,  enlarging 
upon  them,  and  exceeding  them  by  inven- 
tions of  our  own.  Poets,  painters,  and  even 
historians  are  employed  to  assist  us  from  our 
early  years  in  forming  an  habitual  relish  for 
shadows  and  colourings,  which  both  indispose 
for  the  search  of  truth  and  even  unfit  us  for  its 
reception,  unless  proposed  Justin  our  own  way. 
The  best  effect  of  the  belles  lettres  upon  the 
imagination  seems  generally  expressed  by  the 
word  taste.  And  what  is  this  taste,  but  a 
certain  disposition  which  loves  to  be  humoured, 
soothed,  and  flattered,  and  which  can  hardly 
receive  or  bear  the  most  important  truths,  if 
they  be  not  decorated  and  set  off  with  such  a 
delicacy  and  address  as  taste  requires  ?  I  say 
the  most  important  truths  ;  because  truths  of 
a  secular  importance  strike  so  closely  upon 
the  senses,  that  the  decision  of  taste  perhaps 
is  not  waited  for.  Thus,  if  a  man  be  in- 
formed of  the  birth  of  his  child,  or  that  his 
house  is  on  fire,  the  message  takes  up  his 
thoughts,  and  he  is  seldom  much  disgusted 
with  the  manner  in  which  it  is  delivered. 
But  what  an  insuperable  bar  is  the  refined 
taste  of  many  to  their  profiting  by  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel,  or  even  to  their  hearing 
it.  Though  the  subject  of  a  discourse  be 
weighty,  and  some  just  representation  given 
of  the  evil  of  sin,  the  worth  of  the  soul,  and 
the  love  of  Christ ;  yet,  if  there  be  something 
amiss  in  the  elocution,  language,  or  manner 
of  the  preacher,  people  of  taste  must  be  pos- 
sessed, in  a  good  measure,  of  grace  likewise, 
if  they  can  hear  him  with  tolerable  patience. 
And  perhaps  three-fourths  of  those  who  are 
accounted  the  most  sensible  and  judicious  in 
the  auditory,  will  remember  little  about  the 
sermon,  but  the  tone  of  the  voice,  the  awk- 
wardness of  the  altitude,  the  obsolete  expres- 
sions, and  the  like  ;  while  the  poor  and  sim- 
ple, not  being  incumbered  with  this  hurtful 
accomplishment,  receive  the  messenger  as  the 
Lord's  servant,  and  the  truth  as  the  Lord's 
word,  and  are  comforted  and  edified. — But  I 
stop.  Some  people  would  say,  that  I  must 
suppose  your  Lordship  to  have  but  little  taste, 
or  else  much  grace,  or  I  should  not  venture 
to  trouble  you  with  such  letters  as  mine. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXII. 

MY  LORD, 

The  apostle  speaks  of  a  blessedness  which  it 
is  the  design  of  the  gospel  to  impart  to  those 
who  receive  it.  The  Galatians  once  had  it, 
and  spoke  of  it.  The  apostle  reminds  them 
of  their  loss,  which  is  left  upon  record  as  a 
warning  to  us.  His  expression  has  led  me 
sometimes  to  consider  wherein  a  christian's 
present  blessedness  consists ;  I  mean,  that 
which  is  attainable  in  this  state  of  trial,  and 
the  sense  and  exercise  of  which  may  be,  and 
too  often  is,  suspended  and  taken  from  us. 
It  is  a  blessedness  which,  if  we  speak  of  man 
in  a  natural  state,  his  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor 
his  ear  heard  so  as  to  understand  it,  nor  can 
the  idea  of  it  arise  in  his  heart.  It  is  no  way 
dependent  upon  outward  circumstances.  Pros- 
perity cannot  impart  it,  preserve  or  supply 
the  want  of  it;  nor  can  adversity  put  it  out 
of  our  reach.  The  wise  cannot  acquire  it  by 
dint  of  superior  abilities  ;  nor  shall  the  sim- 
ple miss  it  for  want  of  capacity. 

The  state  of  true  believers,  compared  with 
that  of  others,  is  always  blessed  If  they  are 
born  from  above,  and  united  to  Jesus,  they 
are  delivered  from  condemnation,  and  are 
heirs  of  eternal  life,  and  may  therefore  well 
be  accounted  happy.  But  I  consider  now, 
not  their  harvest,  but  their  first  fruits;  not 
their  portion  in  reversion,  but  the  earnest  at- 
tainable in  this  life  ;  not  what  they  shall  be 
in  heaven,  but  what,  in  an  humble  attendance 
upon  the  Lord,  they  may  be  while  upon  earth , 
There  is  even  at  present  a  prize  of  our  high 
calling  set  before  us.  It  is  much  to  be  de- 
sired, that  we  had  such  a  sense  of  its  value  as 
might  prompt  us  so  to  run  that  we  might  ob- 
tain. I  have  thought  this  blessedness  may 
be  comprised  in  five  particulars,  though,  in 
order  to  take  a  succinct  view  of  the  subject, 
some  of  these  might  be  branched  out  into  se- 
veral others ;  but  I  would  not  by  too  many 
subdivisions  give  my  letter  the  air  of  a  ser- 
mon. 

In  the  first  pL  ce,  a  clear,  well  grounded, 
habitual  persuasion  of  our  acceptance  in  the 
Beloved  is  attainable ;  and  though  we  may 
be  safe,-  we  cannot  be  said  to  enjoy  blessed- 
ness without  it.  To  be  in  a  state  of  suspense 
and  uncertainty  in  a  point  of  so  great  import- 
ance is  painful  ;  and  the  Lord  has  accordingly 
provided  that  his  people  may  have  strong  con- 
solation on  this  head.  They  are  blessed  there- 
fore who  have  such  views  of  the  power,  grace, 
and  suitableness  of  Jesus,  and  the  certainty 
and  security  of  redemption  in  him,  together 
with  such  a  consciousness  that  they  have  an- 
chored their  hopes  and  ventured  their  all  upon 
his  person,  work,  and  promise,  as  furnishes 
them  with  a  reaAy  answer  to  all  the  cavils  of 
unbelief  and  Satan,   in  the  apostle's  manner, 


158 


LETTERS  TO 
That  Paul   could  thus 


A   NOBLEMAN. 


LET.  XX.II 


Rom.  viii.  31 — 37 
challenge  and  triumph  over  all  charges  and 
enemies,  was  not  an  appendage  of  his  office 
as  an  apostle,  but  a  part  of  his  experience 
as  a  believer ;  and  it  lies  equally  open  to 
us,  for  we  have  the  same  gospel  and  the  same 
promises  as  he  had  :  nor  is  the  efficacy  of  the 
Holy  Spirit's  teaching  a  whit  weakened  by 
length  of  time.  But  many  stop  short  of  this. 
They  have  a  hope,  but  it  rather  springs  from 
their  frames  and  feelings  than  from  a  spiri- 
tual apprehension  of  the  Redeemer's  engage- 
ments and  fulness,  and  therefore  fluctuates 
and  changes  like  the  weather.  Could  they 
be  persuaded  to  pray  with  earnestness  and 
importunity,  as  the  apostle  prays  for  them, 
Ephes.  i.  17, 18.  and  iii.  16,  19.  they  would  find 
a  blessedness  which  they  have  not  yet  known  ; 
for  it  is  said,  "  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive." 
And  it  is  said  likewise,  "  Ye  receive  not,  be- 
cause ye  ask  not." 

Could  this  privilege  be  enjoyed  singly,  the 
natural  man  would  have  no  objection  to  it. 
He  would  (as  he  thinks)  he  pleased  to  know 
he  should  be  saved  at  last,  provided  that 
while  here  he  might  live  in  his  sins.  But 
the  believer  will  not,  cannot  think  himself 
blessed,  unless  he  has  likewise  a  conscience 
void  of  offence.  This  was  the  apostle's  daily 
exercise,  though  no  one  was  further  from  a 
legal  spirit,  or  more  dependent  upon  Jesus 
for  acceptance.  But  if  we  live  in  any  known 
sin,  or  allow  ourselves  in  the  customary  omis- 
sion of  any  known  duty,  supposing  it  pos- 
sible in  such  a  case  to  preserve  a  sense  of 
our  acceptance  (which  can  hardly  be  supposed; 
for  if  the  Spirit  be  grieved,  our  evidences  de- 
cline of  course)  yet  we  could  not  be  easy.  If 
a  traveller  was  absolutely  sure  of  reaching 
his  journey's  end  in  safety,  yet  if  he  walked 
with  a  thorn  in  his  foot,  he  must  take  every 
step  in  pain.  Such  a  thorn  will  be  felt  in 
the  conscience  till  we  are  favoured  with  a  sim- 
plicity of  heart,  and  made  willing  in  all  things, 
great  or  small,  to  yield  obedience  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  Lord's  precepts,  and  make  them 
the  standing  rule  of  our  conduct,  without  wil- 
fully admitting  a  single  exception.  At  the 
best,  we  shall  be  conscious  of  innumerable 
shortcomings,  and  shameful  defilements ;  but 
these  things  will  not  break  our  peace,  if  our 
hearts  are  upright.  But  if  we  trifle  with  light, 
and  connive  at  what  we  know  to  be  wrong, 
we  shall  be  weak,  restless,  and  uncomfortable. 
How  many  who,  we  would  hope,  are  the  child- 
ren of  the  King,  are  lean  from  day  to  day, 
because  some  right-hand  or  right-eye  evil, 
which  they  cannot  persuade  themselves  to 
part  with,  keeps  them  halting  between  two 
opinions  !  and  they  are  as  distant  from  happi- 
ness, as  they  are  from  the  possibility  of  recon- 
ciling the  incompatible  services  of  God  and 
the  world.  But  happy  indeed  is  he  who  con- 
demned not  himself  in  that  thing  which  he 
alloweth. 


Real  communion  with  the  Lord,   in  his  ap- 
pointed means  of  grace,  is  likewise  an  import- 
ant branch  of  this  blessedness.    They  were  in- 
stituted for  this  end,  and  are  sufficient,  by  vir- 
tue of  his  power  and  Spirit,  to  answer  it.      I 
do  not  believe  this  enjoyment  will  be  always 
equal.      But  I  believe  a  comfortable  sense  of 
it,  in  some  measure,  is   generally  attainable. 
To  read  the  scriptures,  not  as  an  attorney  may 
read  a  will,  merely  to  know  the  sense,   but  as 
the  heir  reads  it,  as  a  description  and  proof  of 
his  interest ;  to  hear  the  gospel,   as   the  voice 
of  our  Beloved,  so  as  to  have  little  leisure  ei- 
ther for  admiring  the  abilities  or  censuring  the 
defects  of  the  preacher  ;  and,  in  prayer,  to  feel 
a  liberty  of  pouring  out  our  hearts  before  the 
Lord,  to  behold  some  glances  of  his  goodness 
passing  before  us,  and  to  breathe  forth  before 
him  the  tempers  of  a  child,  the  spirit  of  adop- 
tion ; — and   thus,   by  beholding  his  glory,   to 
be  conformed   more   and  more  to  his  image, 
and  to  renew  our  strength,  by  drawing  water 
out  of  the  wells  of  salvation  :    Herein  is  bles- 
sedness.     They  who  have   tasted   it  can   say, 
it  is  good  for  me  to  draw  nigh  to  God.      The 
soul,   thus  refreshed  by  the  water  of  life,  is 
preserved  from  thirsting  after  the  vanities  of 
the  world,  thus  instructed  in   the  sanctuary, 
comes  down  from  the  mount  filled  with  hea- 
venly wisdom,   anointed  with  a  holy  unction, 
and  therefore  qualified   to  judge,    speak,   and 
act  in  character,  in  all  the   relations  and  oc- 
casions of  secular  life.      In  this  way,   besides 
the  pleasure,  a  spiritual  taste  is  acquired,  some- 
thing analogous   to  the  meaning  of  the  word 
taste  when  applied  to   music  or  good  breed- 
ing,  by  which  discords  and  improprieties  are 
observed  and  avoided,   as  it  were   by  instinct, 
and  what  is  right  is  felt  and  followed,  not  so 
much  by  the  force  of  rules,  as  by  a  habit  insen- 
sibly acquired,  and  in  which  the  substance  of 
all  necessary  rules  are,  if  I  may  so  say,  di- 
gested.     O  that  I  knew  more  of  this  blessed- 
ness, and  more  of  its  effects  ! 

Another  branch  of  blessedness  is  a  power 
of  reposing  ourselves  and  our  concerns  upon 
the  Lord's  faithfulness  and  care,  and  may  be 
considered  in  two  respects.  A  reliance  upon 
him  that  he  will  surely  provide  for  us,  guide 
us,  protect  us,  be  our  help  in  trouble,  our 
shield  in  danger ;  so  that,  however  poor, 
weak,  and  defenceless  in  ourselves,  we  may 
rejoice  in  his  all-sufficiency  as  our  own  ; — and 
farther,  in  consequence  of  this,  a  peaceful, 
humble  submission  to  his  will,  under  all  events, 
which,  upon  their  first  impression,  are  con- 
trary to  our  own  views  and  desires.  Surely, 
in  a  world  like  this,  where  every  thing  is  un- 
certain, where  we  are  exposed  to  trials  on 
every  hand,  and  know  not  but  a  single  hour 
may  bring  forth  something  painful,  yea  dread- 
ful to  our  natural  sensations,  there  can  be  no 
blessedness  but  so  far  as  we  are  thus  enabled 
to  entrust  and  resign  all  to  the  direction  and 
faithfulness  of  the  Lord  our  Shepherd..      For 


evil  tidings  : 
though  the 


LET.  xxnr. 

want  of  more  of  this  spirit,  multitudes  of  pro- 
fessing christians  perplex  and  wound  them- 
selves, and  dishonour  their  high  calling,  by 
continual  anxieties,  alarms,  and  complaints. 
They  think  nothing  safe  under  the  Lord's 
keeping,  unless  their  own  eye  is  likewise  upon 
it,  and  are  seldom  satisfied  with  any  of  his 
dispensations ;  for,  though  he  gratify  their 
desires  in  nine  instances,  a  refusal  in  the  tenth 
spoils  the  relish  of  all,  and  they  shew  the 
truths  of  the  gospel  can  afford  them  little  com- 
fort, if  self  is  crossed.  But,  blessed  is  the 
man  who  trusteth  in  the  Lord,  and  whose 
hope  the  Lord  is  !  He  shall  not  be  afraid  of 
he  shall  be  kept  in  perfect  peace, 
earth  be  moved,  and  the  moun- 
tains cast  into  the  midst  of  the  sea. 

The  paper  admonishes  me  it  is  time  to  re- 
lieve your  Lordship.  And  I  have  not  room 
to  detain  you  long  upon  the  fifth  particular. 
It  belongs  to  a  believer's  blessedness  to  feel 
his  spirit  cheerful  and  active  for  the  Lord's 
service  in  the  world.  For  to  what  other  end 
should  he  wish  to  live  ?  If  he  thought  of 
himself  only,  it  would  be  better  to  depart  and 
be  with  Jesus  immediately.  But  he  is  a  debtor 
to  his  grace  and  love ;  and,  though  strictly 
he  can  make  no  returns,  yet  he  longs  to  shew 
his  thankfulness;  and,  if  the  Lord  give  him  a 
heart  to  redeem  his  time,  to  devote  his  strength 
and  influence,  and  lay  himself  out  for  his  ser- 
vice,— that  he  may  be  instrumental  in  promot- 
ing his  cause,  in  comforting  his  people, — or 
enable  him  to  let  his  light  shine  before  men,  that 
his  God  and  his  Father  may  be  honoured  ; — 
he  will  account  it  blessedness.  This  is  indeed 
the  great  end  of  life,  and  he  knows  it  will 
evidently  appear  so  at  the  approach  of  death ; 
and  therefore,  while  others  are  cumbered 
about  many  things,  he  esteems  this  the  one 
thing  needful. 

I  remain,  my  Lord,  &c, 


LETTERS  TO   A  NOBLEMAN. 


159 


LETTER  XXIII. 

July  —  1776. 

MY  LORD, 

That  I  may  not  weary  you  by  a  preamble, 
I  oblige  myself  to  take  the  turn  of  my  letter 
from  some  passage  of  scripture ;  and  I  fix 
upon  that  which  just  now  occurred  to  my 
thoughts,  a  clause  in  that  pattern  of  prayer 
which  he  who  best  knows  our  state  has  been 
pleased  to  leave  for  the  instruction  of  his 
people,  in  their  great  concern  of  waiting  at 
his  throne  of  grace,  Matth.  vi.  13.  "  Lead  us 
not  into  temptation."  This  petition  is  sea- 
sonable at  all  times,  and  to  all  persons  who 
have  any  right  knowledge  of  themselves,  or 
their  spiritual  calling. 

The  word  temptation,  taken  at  large,  in- 
cludes every  kind  of  trial.  To  tempt,  is  to  try 
or  prove.      In   this  sense,  it  is  said,  the  Lord   leaning  to 


tempted  Abraham,  that  i3,  he  tried  him ;  foi 
God    cannot    tempt    to  evil.       He   proposed 
such   an   act  of  obedience  tc  him,  as  was  a 
test  of  his  faith,    love,  dependence,  and  in- 
tegrity.     Thus,  all  our  afflictions,  under  his 
gracious  management,  are  appointed  to  prove, 
manifest,  exercise,  and  purify  the  graces  of  his 
children.    And  not  afflictions  only  ;  prosperity 
likewiseis  a  state  of  temptation:  and  many  who 
have  endured  sharp  sufferings,  and  came  off 
honourably,  have  been  afterwards  greatly  hurt 
and  ensnared  by  prosperity.       To  this   pur- 
pose the  histories  of  David  and  Hezekiah  are 
in  point.      But  by  temptation  we  more  fre- 
quently understand  the  wiles  and  force  which 
Satan   employs  in   assaulting    our    peace,    or 
spreading  snares  for  our  feet.      He  is  always 
practising  against  us,  either  directly  and  from 
himself,  by  the  access  he  has  to  our  hearts,  or 
mediately,   by  the   influence  he  has  over  the 
men  and  the  things  of  this  world.      The  words 
which  follow  confirm  this  sense, — "  Lead  us 
not  into  temptation;  but  deliver  us  from  evil," 
attto  <rov  Towgou,  from  the  evil  one,  as  it  might 
be   properly  rendered  here,  and  in  1  John  v. 
19.    The  subtilty  and  power  of  this  adversary 
are  very  great :   he  is  an  over-match  for  us ; 
and  we   have  no  hope   of  safety  but  in   the 
Lord's  protection.      Satan's  action  upon  the 
heart  may  be  illustrated  by  the  action  of  the 
wind  upon  the  sea.      The  sea  sometimes  ap- 
pears smooth,    but  it  is  always  disposed   to 
swell  and  rage,  and  to  obey  the  impulse  of 
every  storm.      Thus  the  heart  may  be  some- 
times quiet ;  but  the  wind  of  temptation  will 
awaken  and  rouse  it  in  a  moment :   for  it  is 
essential  to  our  depraved  nature    to    be  un- 
stable and  yielding  as  the  water  ;  and  when  it 
is  under  the  impression  of  the  enemy,  its  vio- 
lence can  only  be  controuled  by  him  who  says 
to  the  raging  sea,   "  Be  still  ;  here  shall  thy 
proud   waves  be   stayed."      The  branches  of 
temptation  are  almost  innumerable ;  but  the 
principal  may  be  reduced  to  the  several  facul- 
ties of  the  soul  (as  we  commonly  speak)   to 
which  they  are  more  directly  suited. 

He  has  temptations  for  the  understanding. 
He  can  blind  the  mind  with  prejudices  and 
false  reasonings,  and  ply  it  with  arguments 
for  infidelity,  till  the  most  obvious  truths  be- 
come questionable.  Even  where  the  gospel 
has  been  received,  he  can  insinuate  error, 
which,  for  the  suddenness  and  malignity  of  its 
effects,  may  be  properly  compared  to  poison. 
A  healthy  man  may  be  poisoned  in  a  mo- 
ment ;  and,  if  he  be,  the  baneful  drug  is  u- 
sually  mixed  with  his  food.  Many,  who  for  a 
while  seemed  to  be  sound  in  the  faith,  have 
had  their  judgments  strongly  and  strangely 
perverted,  and  prevailed  upon  to  renounce  and 
oppose  the  truths  they  once  prized  and  de- 
fended. Such  instances  are  striking  proofs 
of  human  weakness,  and  loud  calls  to  watch- 
fulness and  dependence,  and  to  beware  of 
our   own    understandings.       Fo* 


160 


LETTERS  TO  A   NOBLEMAN. 


LET.  XXIII. 


these  purposes  he  employs  both  preachers  and 
authors,  who,  by  fine  words  and  fair  speeches, 
beguile  the  hearts  of  the  unwary.  And,  by 
his  immediate  influence  upon  the  mind,  he  is 
able,  if  the  Lord  permits  him,  to  entangle 
those  who  are  providentially  placed  out  of  the 
reach  of  corrupt  and  designing  men. 

He  tempts  the  conscience.  By  working 
upon  the  unbelief  of  our  hearts,  and  darken- 
ing the  glory  of  the  gospel,  he  can  hold  down 
the  soul  to  the  number,  weight,  and  aggrava- 
tion of  its  sins,  so  that  it  shall  not  be  able 
to  look  up  to  Jesus,  nor  draw  any  comfort 
from  his  blood,  promises,  and  grace.  How 
many  go  burdened  in  this  manner,  seeking  re- 
lief from  duties,  and  perhaps  spending  their 
strength  in  things  not  commanded,  though 
they  hear,  and  perhaps  acknowledge  the  gos- 
pel ?  Nor  are  the  wisest  and  most  established 
able  to  withstand  his  assaults,  if  the  Lord  with- 
draw, and  give  him  leave  to  employ  his  power 
and  subtilty  unrestrained.  The  gospel  af- 
fords sufficient  ground  for  an  abiding  assur- 
ance of  hope  ;  nor  should  we  rest  satisfied  with- 
out it.  However,  the  possession  and  preser- 
vation of  this  privilege  depends  upon  the  Lord's 
presence  with  the  soul,  and  his  shielding  us 
from  Satan's  attacks  ;  for  I  am  persuaded  he 
is  able  to  sift  and  shake  the  strongest  believer 
upon  earth. 

He  has  likewise  temptations  suited  to  the 
will.  Jesus  makes  his  people  willing  in  the 
day  of  his  power  ;  yet  there  is  a  contrary  prin- 
ciple remaining  within  them,  of  which  Satan 
knows  how  to  avail  himself.  There  are  occca- 
sions  in  which  he  almost  prevails  to  set  self 
'  again  upon  the  throne,  as  Dagon  was  raised 
after  he  had  fallen  before  the  ark.  How  else 
should  any  who  have  tasted  that  the  Lord  is 
gracious,  give  way  to  a  repining  spirit,  account 
his  dispensations  hard,  or  his  precepts  too  strict, 
so  as  to  shrink  from  their  observance  through 
the  fear  of  men,  or  a  regard  to  their  wordly 
interest  ? 

Farther,  he  has  snares  for  the  affections.  In 
managing  these,  he  gains  a  great  advantage 
from  our  situation  in  a  world  that  knows  not 
God.  The  scriptures  give  Satan  the  title  of  god 
of  this  world  ;  and  believers  learn,  by  painful 
experience,  how  great  his  power  is  in  and  over 
the  persons  and  things  of  it.  So  that  to  be 
stedfast  in  wisdom's  ways,  requires  unremitted 
efforts,  like  pressing  through  a  crowd,  or  swim- 
ming against  a  stream.  How  hard  is  it  to 
live  in  the  midst  of  pitch  and  not  to  be  de- 
filed? The  air  of  the  world  is  infectious. 
Our  business  and  unavoidable  connections  are 
so  interwoven  with  occasions  of  sin,  and  there 
is  so  much  in  our  hearts  suited  to  them,  that 
unless  we  are  incessantly  upheld  by  almighty 
strength,  we  cannot  stand  a  day  or  an  hour. 
Past  victories  afford  us  no  greater  security 
than  they  did  Samson,  who  was  shamefully 
surprised  by  enemies  whom  he  had  formerly 
conquered.    Nor  are  we  only  tempted  by  com- 


pliances that  are  evil  in  themselves.  With 
respect  to  these,  perhaps,  conscience  may  be 
awake,  and  we  stand  upon  our  guard  ;  but 
we  are  still  upon  Satan's  ground,  and  while 
he  may  seem  to  allow  himself  defeated,  ho 
can  dexterously  change  his  method,  and  come 
upon  us  where  we  do  not  suspect  him  :  for, 
perimus  in  ileitis  ;  perhaps  our  greatest  dan. 
ger  arises  from  things  in  themselves  lawful. 
He  can  tempt  us  by  our  nearest  and  dearest 
friend,  and  pervert  every  blessing  of  a  kind 
providence  into  an  occasion  of  drawing  our 
hearts  from  the  Giver  ;  yea  spiritual  blessings, 
gifts,  comforts,  and  even  graces,  are  some- 
times the  engines  by  which  he  practises  against 
us,  to  fill  us  with  vain  confidence  and  self- 
sufficiency,  or  to  lull  us  into  formality  and 
indolence. 

That  wonderful  power  which  we  call  the 
imagination,  is,  I  suppose  rather  the  medium 
of  the  soul's  perceptions  during  its  present 
state  of  union  with  the  body,  than  a  spiritual 
faculty,  strictly  speaking ;  but  it  partakes 
largely  of  that  depravity  which  sin  has  brought 
upon  our  whole  frame,  and  affords  Satan  an 
avenue  for  assaulting  us  with  the  most  terri- 
fying, if  not  the  most  dangerous  of  his  temp- 
tations. At  the  best,  we  have  but  an  indif- 
ferent  command  over  it.  We  cannot,  by  an 
act  of  our  own  will,  exclude  a  thousand  pain- 
ful, wild,  inconsistent,  and  hurtful  ideas,  which 
are  ever  ready  to  obtrude  themselves  upon  our 
minds  ;  and  a  slight  alteration  in  the  animal 
system,  in  the  motion  of  the  blood  or  nervous 
spirit,  is  sufficient  to  withdraw  it  wholly  from 
our  dominion,  and  to  leave  us  like  a  city  with- 
out walls  or  gates,  exposed  to  the  incursion 
of  our  enemy.  We  are  fearfully  and  won- 
derfully made ;  and,  with  all  our  boasted 
knowledge  of  other  things,  can  form  no  con 
ception  of  what  is  so  vastly  interesting  to  us, 
the  mysterious  connection  between  soul  and 
body,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  are  mu- 
tually affected  by  each  other.  The  effects  we 
too  sensibly  feel.  The  wisest  of  men  would 
be  accounted  fools  or  mad,  were  they  to  ex- 
press in  words  a  small  part  of  what  passes 
within  them  ;  and  it  would  appear  that  much 
of  the  soberest  life  is  little  better  than  a  wak- 
ing dream  ;  but  how  dreadful  are  the  conse- 
quences when  the  Lord  permits  some  hidden 
pin  in  the  human  machine  to  be  altered  !  Im- 
mediately a  door  flies  open,  which  no  hand  but 
his  can  shut,  and  the  enemy  pours  in,  like  a 
flood,  falsehood  and  horror,  and  the  blackness 
of  darkness ;  the  judgment  is  borne  down  and 
disabled,  and  the  most  distressing  illusions 
seize  us  with  all  the  apparent  force  of  evidence 
and  demonstration.  WTien  this  is  the  case  in 
a  certain  degree,  we  call  it  distraction  ;  but 
there  are  various  degrees  of  it,  which  leave  a 
person  in  the  possession  of  his  senses  as  to  the 
things  of  common  life,  and  yet  are  sufficient, 
with  respect  to  his  spiritual  concerns,  to  shake 
the  verv  foundations  of  his  hope  and  deprive 


ET.  XXIV. 


LETTERS  TO   A   NOBLEMAN'. 


161 


im  of  all  peace  and  comfort,  and  make  him  a 
terror  to  himself.  All  the  Lord's  people  are 
not  called  to  navigate  in  these  deep  waters  of 
soul  distress;  hut  all  are  liahle.  Ah!  if  we  knew 
what  some  suffer,  the  korribilia  de  Deo,  and  the 
terribilia  de  fide,  which  excruciate  the  minds  of 
those  over  whom  Satan  is  permitted  to  tyran- 
nize in  this  way,  surely  we  should  be  more  ear- 
nest and  frequent  in  praying,  "  Lead  us  not 
into  temptation."  From  some  little  sense  I 
have  of  the  malice  and  subtilty  of  our  spi- 
ritual enemies,  and  the  weakness  of  those  bar- 
riers which  we  have  to  prevent  their  assaults, 
I  am  fully  persuaded  that  nothing  less  than 
the  continual  exertion  of  that  almighty  power 
which  preserves  the  stars  in  their  orbits,  can 
maintain  our  peace  of  mind  for  an  hour  or  a 
minute.  In  this  view,  all  comparative  dif- 
ference in  external  situations  seems  to  be  an- 
nihilated ;  for,  as  the  Lord's  presence  can 
make  his  people  happy  in  a  dungeon,  so 
there  are  temptations  which,  if  we  felt  them, 
would  instantly  render  us  incapable  of  re- 
ceiving a  moment's  satisfaction  from  an  as- 
semblage of  all  earthly  blessings,  and  make 
the  company  of  our  dearest  friends  tasteless, 
if  not  insupportable. 

Ah  !  how  little  do  the  gay  and  the  busy 
think  of  these  things  !  How  little  indeed 
do  they  think  of  them  who  profess  to  believe 
them  !  How  faint  is  the  sense  of  our  obli- 
gations to  him,  who  freely  submitted  to  the 
fiercest  onsets  of  the  powers  of  darkness,  to 
free  us  from  the  punishment  due  to  our  sins  ! 
otherwise  we  must  have  been  for  ever  shut 
up  with  those  miserable  and  merciless  spirits 
who  delight  in  our  torment,  and  who,  even 
in  the  present  state,  if  they  get  access  to  our 
minds,  can  make  our  existence  a  burden. 

But  our  Lord,  who  knows  and  considers 
our  weakness,  of  which  we  are  so  little  aware, 
allows  and  directs  us  to  pray,  "  Lead  us  not 
into  temptation."  We  are  not  to  expect  an 
absolute  freedom  from  temptation  ;  we  are 
called  to  be  soldiers,  and  must  sometimes 
meet  with  enemies,  and  perhaps  with  wounds  ; 
yet,  considering  this  prayer  as  provided  by  him 
who  knows  what  we  are,  and  where  we  are,  it 
may  afford  us  both  instruction  and  consolation. 
It  calls  to  a  constant  reflection  upon  our 
own  weakness.  Believers  especially  young 
ones,  are  prone  to  rest  too  much  in  grace  re- 
ceived. They  feel  their  hearts  warm,  and, 
like  Peter,  are  ready  to  please  themselves  with 
thinking  howr  they  would  act  in  such  or  such 
a  state  of  trial.  It  is  as  if  the  Lord  had  said, 
**  Toor  worms,  be  not  high  minded  ;  but  fear ; 
and  pray,  that  if  jt  may  be,  you  may  be  kept 
from  learning,  by  bitter  experience,  how  weak 
your  supposed  strength  is."  It  sweetly  inti- 
mates, that  all  our  ways,  and  all  our  enemies, 
are  in  the  hands  of  our  great  Shepherd.  He 
Knows  our  path.  We  are  short-sighted,  and 
cannot  tell  what  an  hour  may  bring  forth  ; 
but  we  are  under  his  protection,    and,   if  we 


depend  upon  him,  we  need  not  be  anxiously 
afraid.  He  will  be  faithful  to  the  *rust  we 
repose  in  him,  and  will  suffer  no  temptation 
to  overtake  us,  but  what  he  will  support  us 
under  and  bring  us  through.  But  it  becomes 
us  to  beware  of  security  and  presumption,  to 
keep  our  eyes  upon  him,  and  not  to  think  our- 
selves safe  a  moment  longer  than  our  spirits 
feel  and  breathe  the  meaning  of  this  petition. 

It  implies,  likewise,  the  duty  of  watchful- 
ness on  our  part,  as  our  Lord  joins  them  else- 
where, "  Watch  and  pray."  If  we  desire 
not  to  be  led  into  temptation,  surely  we  are 
not  to  run  into  it.  If  we  wish  to  be  preserved 
from  error,  we  are  to  guard  against  a  curious 
and  reasoning  spirit.  If  we  would  preserve 
peace  of  conscience,  we  must  beware  of  trif- 
ling with  the  light  and  motions  of  the  Holy 
Spirit;  for  without  his  assistance  we  cannot 
maintain  faith  in  exercise.  If  we  would  not 
be  ensnared  by  the  men  of  the  world,  we  are 
to  keep  at  a  proper  distance  from  them.  The 
less  we  have  to  do  with  them,  the  better,  ex- 
cepting so  far  as  the  providence  of  God  makes 
it  our  duty  in  the  discharge  of  our  callings  and 
relations,  and  taking  opportunities  of  doing 
them  good.  And  though  we  cannot  wholly 
shut  Satan  out  of  our  imaginations,  we  should 
be  cautious  that  we  do  not  wilfully  provide 
fuel  for  his  flame  ;  but  entreat  the  Lord  to 
set  a  watch  upon  our  eyes  and  our  ears,  and 
to  teach  us  to  reject  the  first  motions  and  the 
smallest  appearance  of  evil. 

I  have  been  so  intent  upon  my  subject,  that 
I  have  once  and  again  forgot  I  was  writing  to 
your  Lordship,  otherwise  I  should  not  have 
let  my  lucubration  run  to  so  great  a  length, 
which  I  certainly  did  not  intend  when  I  be- 
gan. I  shall  not  add  to  this  fault,  by  making 
an  apology.  I  have  touched  upon  a  topic  of 
great  importance  to  myself.  I  am  one  among 
many  who  have  suffered  greatly  for  want  of 
paying  more  attention  to  my  need  of  this 
prayer.  O  that  I  could  be  wiser  hereafter, 
and  always  act  and  speak  as  knowing  that  I 
am  always  upon  a  field  of  battle,  and  beset 
by  legions  ! 

I  am,  with  great  respect,   &C. 


LETTER  XXIV. 

September  —  1  776 
MY  LORD, 
Without  any  preamble,  I  purpose  now  to 
wait  on  your  Lordship,  with  a  few  thoughts 
on  the  meaning  of  that  name  which  first  ob- 
tained at  Antioch;  in  other  words,  what  it  is 
to  be  a  Christian  ?  What  are  the  effects  which, 
making  allowance  for  the  unavoidable  infir- 
mities attending  upon  the  present  state  of 
mortality,  may  be  expected  from  a  real  expe- 
rimental knowledge  of  the  gospel  ?  I  would 
not  insinuate  that  none  are  christians  who  do 
S 


J  (52 


LETTERS  TO   A  NOBLEMAN. 


LET, 


iXIV 


not  come  up  to  the  character  I  would  de- 
scribe; for  then  I  fear  I  should  unchristian 
myself;  but  only  to  consider  what  the  scrip- 
tures encourage  us  to  aim  at,  as  the  prize  of 
our  high  calling  in  this  life.  It  is  generally 
allowed  and  lamented,  that  we  are  too  apt  to 
live  below  our  privileges,  and  to  stop  short  of 
what  the  spirit  and  the  promises  of  the  gospel 
point  out  to  us  as  attainable. 

Mr  Pope's  admired  line,  "  An  honest  man's 
the  noblest  work  of  God,"  may  be  admitted 
as  a  truth,  when  rightly  explained.  A  chris- 
tian is  the  noblest  work  of  God  in  this  visible 
world,  and  bears  a  much  brighter  impres- 
sion of  his  glory  and  goodness  than  the  sun 
in  the  firmament;  and  none  but  a  christian 
can  be  strictly  and  properly  honest :  all  others 
are  too  much  under  the  power  of  self,  to 
do  universally  to  others  as  they  would  others 
should  do  unto  them ;  and  nothing  but  a 
uniform  conduct  upon  this  principle  deserves 
the  name  of  honesty. 

The  christian  is  a  new  creature,  born  and 
taught  from  above.  He  has  been  convinced 
of  his  guilt  and  misery  as  a  sinner,  has  fled  for 
refuge  to  the  hope  set  before  him,  has  seen 
the  Son,  and  believed  on  him.  His  natural 
prejudices  against  the  glory  and  grace  of  God's 
salvation  have  been  subdued  and  silenced  by 
almighty  power:  he  has  accepted  the  Beloved, 
and  is  made  acceptable  in  him.  He  now  knows 
the  Lord :  he  has  renounced  the  confused, 
distant,  and  uncomfortable  notions  he  once 
formed  of  God  ;  and  beholds  him  in  Christ, 
who  is  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life,  the 
only  door  by  which  we  can  enter  to  any 
true  satisfying  knowledge  of  God,  or  commu- 
nion with  him.  But  he  sees  God  in  Christ 
reconciled,  a  Father,  a  Saviour,  and  a  Friend, 
who  has  freely  forgiven  him  all  his  sins,  and 
given  him  the  spirit  of  adoption.  He  is 
now  no  longer  a  servant,  much  less  a  stran- 
ger, but  a  son ;  and  because  a  son,  an  heir, 
already  interested  in  all  the  promises,  admit- 
ted to  the  throne  of  grace,  and  an  assured  ex- 
pectant of  eternal  glory.  The  gospel  is  de- 
signed to  give  us  not  only  a  peradventure  or 
a  probability,  but  a  certainty,  both  of  our  ac- 
ceptance and  our  perseverance,  till  death  shall 
be  swallowed  up  in  life.  And  though  many 
are  sadly  fluctuating  and  perplexed  upon  this 
head,  and  perhaps  all  are  so  for  a  season,  yet 
there  are  those  who  can  say,  we  know  that 
we  are  of  God ;  and  therefore  they  are  sted- 
fast  and  immoveable  in  his  way,  because  they 
are  confident  that  their  labour  shall  not  be  in 
vain,  but  that,  when  they  shall  be  absent  from 
the  body,  they  shall  be  present  with  the  Lord. 
This  is  the  state  of  the  advanced  experienced 
christian,  who,  being  enabled  to  make  his  pro- 
fession the  chief  business  of  his  life,  is  strong 
in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  his  might. 
Every  one  who  has  this  hope  in  Christ,  puri- 
fieth  himself  even  as  he  is  pure.  I  would 
now  attempt  a  sketch   (»f  the  christian's  tem- 


per, formed  upon  these  principles  and  hopes, 
under  the  leading  branches  of  its  exercises, 
respecting  God,  himself,  and  his  fellow-crea- 
tures. 

The  christian's  temper  God-ward  is  eviden- 
ced by  humility  He  has  received  from  Geth- 
semane  and  Golgotha  such  a  sense  of  the  evil 
of  sin,  and  of  the  holiness  of  God,  combined 
with  his  matchless  love  to  sinners,  as  has  deeply 
penetrated  ids  heart :  he  has  an  affecting  re- 
membrance of  the  state  of  rebellion  and  en- 
mity in  which  he  once  lived  against  this  holy 
and  good  God ;  and  he  has  a  quick  percep- 
tion of  the  defilements  and  defects  which  still 
debase  his  best  services.  His  mouth  is  there- 
fore stopped  as  to  boasting ;  he  is  vile  in  his 
own  eyes,  and  is  filled  with  wonder  that  the 
Lord  should  visit  such  a  sinner  with  such  a 
salvation.  He  sees  so  vast  a  disproportion 
between  the  obligations  he  is  under  to  grace, 
and  the  returns  he  makes,  that  he  is  disposed, 
yea  constrained,  to  adopt  the  apostle's  words 
without  affectation,  and  to  account  himself 
less  than  the  least  of  all  saints  ;  and  knowing 
his  own  heart,  while  he  sees  only  the  outside 
of  others,  he  is  not  easily  persuaded  there  can 
be  a  believer  upon  earth  so  faint,  so  unfruit- 
ful, so  unworthy  as  himself.  Yet,  though 
abased,  he  is  not  discouraged,  for  he  enjoys 
peace.  The  dignity,  offices,  blood,  righteous- 
ness, faithfulness,  and  compassion  of  the  Re- 
deemer, in  whom  he  rests,  trusts,  and  lives, 
for  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and 
redemption,  are  adequate  to  all  his  wants  and 
wishes,  provide  him  with  an  answer  to  every 
objection,  and  give  him  no  less  confidence  in 
God,  than  if  he  were  sinless  as  an  angel :  for 
he  sees,  that  though  sin  has  abounded  in  him, 
grace  has  much  more  abounded  in  Jesus. 
With  respect  to  the  past,  all  things  are  be- 
come new  ;  with  respect  to  the  present  and 
future,  he  leans  upon  an  almighty  arm,  and 
relies  upon  the  word  and  power  which  made 
and  upholdstheheavensand  the  earth.  Though 
he  feels  himself  unworthy  of  the  smallest 
mercies,  he  claims  and  expects  the  greatest 
blessings  that  God  can  bestow;  and  being 
rooted  and  grounded  in  the  krtowledge  and 
love  of  Christ,  his  peace  abides,  and  is  not 
greatly  affected,  either  by  the  variation  of  his 
own  frames,  or  the  changes  of  God's  dispen- 
sations towards  him  while  here.  With  such  a 
sense  of  himself,  such  a  heartfelt  peace  and  hea- 
venly hope,  how  can  his  spirit  but  breathe  love 
to  his  God  and  Saviour?  It  is  indeed  the  per- 
fection of  his  character  and  happiness,  that 
his  soul  is  united  by  love  to  the  chief  good. 
The  love  of  Christ  is  the  joy  of  his  heart,  and 
the  spring  of  his  obedience.  With  his  Sa- 
viour's presence,  he  finds  a  heaven  begun  up- 
on earth  ;  and  without  it,  all  the  other  glories 
of  the  heavenly  state  would  not  content  him. 
The  excellence  of  Christ,  his  love  to  sinners, 
especially  his  dying  love ;  his  love  to  himself 
in  seeking  and  saving  him   when   loit,  saving 


»,KT.  XXIV. 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


103 


him  to  the  utmost — But  I  must  stop.  —Your 
Lordship  can  better  conceive  than  I  can  de- 
scribe, how  and  why  Jesus  is  dear  to  the  heart 
that  knows  him.  That  part  of  the  christian's 
life  which  is  not  employed  in  the  active  ser- 
vice of  his  Lord,  is  chiefly  spent  in  seeking 
and  maintaining  communion  with  him.  For 
this  he  plies  the  throne,  and  studies  the  word 
of  grace,  and  frequents  the  ordinances,  where 
the  Lord  has  promised  to  meet  with  his  peo- 
ple. These  are  his  golden  hours ;  and  when 
thus  employed,  how  poor  and  trivial  does  all 
that  the  world  calls  great  and  important  ap- 
pear in  his  eyes  !  Yea,  he  is  solicitous  to  keep 
up  an  intercourse  of  heart  with  his  Beloved 
in  his  busiest  scenes  ;  and  so  far  as  he  can 
succeed,  it  alleviates  all  his  labours,  and 
sweetens  all  his  troubles.  And  when  he  is 
neither  communing  with  his  Lord,  nor  acting 
for  him,  he  accounts  his  time  lost,  and  is  a- 
shamed  and  grieved.  The  truth  of  his  love 
is  manifested  by  submission.  This  is  two- 
fold and  absolute,  and  without  reserve  in  each. 
He  submits  to  his  revealed  will,  as  made 
known  to  him  by  precept  and  by  his  own  ex- 
ample. He  aims  to  tread  in  all  his  Saviour's 
footsteps,  and  makes  conscience  of  all  his 
commandments,  without  exception  and  with- 
out hesitation.  Again,  he  submits  to  his 
providential  will  :  he  yields  to  his  sove- 
reignty, acquiesces  in  his  wisdom ;  he  knows 
he  has  no  right  to  complain  of  any  thing,  be- 
cause he  is  a  sinner;  and  he  has  no  reason, 
because  he  is  sure  the  Lord  does  all  things 
*vell.  Therefore  this  submission  is  not  forced, 
but  is  an  act  of  trust.  He  knows  he  is  not 
more  unworthy  than  he  is  unable  to  chusefor 
himself,  and  therefore  rejoices  that  the  Lord 
has  undertaken  to  manage  for  him  ;  and  were 
he  compelled  to  make  his  own  choice,  he 
could  only  chuse,  that  all  his  concerns  should 
remain  in  that  hand  to  which  he  has  already 
committed  them.  And  thus  he  judges  of 
public  as  well  as  of  his  personal  affairs.  He 
cannot  be  an  unaffected  spectator  of  national 
sins,  nor  without  apprehension  of  their  de- 
served consequences.  He  feels,  and  almost 
trembles  for  others,  but  he  himself  dwells 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty,  in  a 
sanctuary  that  cannot  be  forced  ;  and  there- 
fore, should  he  see  the  earth  shaken,  and  the 
mountains  cast  into  the  midst  of  the  sea,  his 
heart  would  not  be  greatly  moved,  for  God  is 
his  refuge.  The  Lord  reigns.  He  sees  his 
Saviour's  hands  directing  every  dark  appear- 
ance, and  over-ruling  all  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  own  great  purposes  :  this  satisfies 
him,  and  though  the  winds  and  waves  should 
be  high,  he  can  venture  his  own  little  bark  in 
tho  storm,  for  he  has  an  infallible  and  almighty 
pilot  on  board  with  him.  And  indeed,  why 
should  he  fear  when  he  has  nothing  to  lose  ? 
His  best  concerns  are  safe  ;  and  other  things 
he  holds  as  gifts  from  his  Lord,  to  whose  call 
he  is  ready  to  resign  them,  in  whatever  way 


he  pleases  ;  well  knowing,  that  creatures  and 
instruments  cannot  of  themselves  touch  a  hair 
of  his  head  without  his  Lord's  permission,  and 
that  if  he  does  permit  them,  it  must  be  for  the 
best. 

I  might  enlarge  farther. — But  I  shall  pro- 
ceed to  consider  the  christian's  temper  respect- 
ing himself.  He  lives  godly  and  soberly. 
By  sobriety  we  mean  more  than  that  he  is 
not  a  drunkard  ;  his  tempers  towards  God  of 
course  form  him  to  a  moderation  in  all  tempo- 
ral things.  He  is  not  scrupulous  or  supersti- 
tious ;  he  understands  the  liberty  of  the  gos- 
pel, that  every  creature  of  God  is  good  if  it 
be  received  with  thanksgiving.  He  does  not 
aim  at  being  needlessly  singular,  nor  practise 
self-devised  austerities.  The  christian  is  nei- 
ther a  Stoic  nor  a  Cynic  ;  yet  he  finds  daily 
cause  for  watchfulness  and  restraint.  Satan 
will  not  often  tempt  a  believer  to  gross  crimes  : 
our  greatest  snares  and  sorest  conflicts  are 
usually  found  in  things  lawful  in  themselves, 
but  hurtful  to  us  by  their  abuse,  engrossing 
too  much  of  our  time,  or  of  our  hearts,  or 
somehow  indisposing  us  for  communion  with 
the  Lord.  The  christian  will  be  jealous  of 
any  thing  that  might  entangle  his  affections, 
damp  his  zeal,  or  straiten  him  in  his  opportu- 
nities of  serving  his  Saviour.  He  is  likewise 
content  with  his  situation,  because  the  Lord 
chuses  it  for  him ;  his  spirit  is  not  eager  for 
additions  and  alterations  in  his  circumstances. 
If  divine  providence  points  out  and  leads  to  a 
change,  he  is  ready  to  follow,  though  it  should 
be  what  the  world  would  call  from  a  better  to 
a  worse ;  for  he  is  a  pilgrim  and  a  stranger 
here,  and  a  citizen  of  heaven.  As  people 
of  fortune  sometimes,  in  travelling,  submit 
cheerfully  to  inconvenient  accommodations, 
very  different  from  their  homes,  and  comfort 
themselves  with  thinking  they  are  not  always 
to  live  so  ;  so  the  christian  is  not  greatly  soli- 
citous about  externals.  If  he  has  them,  he 
will  use  them  moderately.  If  he  has  but  little 
of  them,  he  can  make  a  good  shift  without 
them  :  he  is  but  upon  a  journey,  and  will  soon 
be  at  home.  If  he  be  rich,  experience  confirms 
our  Lord's  words,  Luke  xii.  15.  ;  and  satisfies 
him,  that  a  large  room,  a  crowd  of  servants, 
and  twenty  dishes  upon  his  table,  add  nothing 
to  the  real  happiness  of  life.  Therefore  lie 
will  not  have  his  heart  set  upon  such  things. 
If  he  be  in  a  humbler  state,  he  is  more  disposed 
to  pity  than  to  envy  those  above  him  ;  for  he 
judges  they  must  have  many  encumbrances 
from  which  he  is  freed.  However,  the  will 
of  God,  and  the  light  of  his  countenance,  are 
the  chief  things  the  christian,  whether  rich  or 
poor,  regards  ;  and  therefore  his  moderation 
is  made  known  unto  all  men. 

A  third  branch  of  the  christian's  temper 
respects  his  fellow-creatures.  And  here,  me- 
thinks,  if  I  had  not  filled  a  sheet  already,  I 
could  enlarge  with  pleasure.  We  have  in  this 
degenerate  day,  among  those  who  claim  and 


I'U 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


LET.   XXIV 


are  allowed  the  name  of  Christian,  too  many 
of  a  narrow,  selfish,  mercenary  spirit ;  but  in 
the  beginning  it  was  not  so.  The  gospel  is 
designed  to  cure  such  a  spirit,  but  gives  no 
indulgence  to  it.  A  christian  has  the  mind 
of  Christ,  who  went  about  doing  good,  who 
makes  his  sun  to  shine  upon  the  good  and  the 
evil,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  the 
unjust.  His  Lord's  example  forms  him  to 
the  habit  of  diffusive  benevolence  ;  he  breathes 
a  spirit  of  good  will  to  mankind,  and  rejoices 
in  every  opportunity  of  being  useful  to  the 
souls  and  bodies  of  others,  without  respect  to 
parties  or  interests.  He  commiserates,  and 
would  if  possible  alleviate  the  miseries  of  all 
around  him  ;  and  if  his  actual  services  are  re- 
strained by  want  of  ability,  yet  all  share  in 
his  sympathy  and  prayers.  Acting  in  the 
spirit  of  his  Master,  he  frequently  meets  with 
a  measure  of  the  like  treatment :  but  if  his 
good  is  requited  with  evil,  he  labours  to  over- 
come evil  with  good.  He  feels  himself  a  sin- 
ner, and  needs  much  forgiveness  :  this  makes 
him  ready  to  forgive.  He  is  not  haughty, 
captious,  easily  offended,  or  hard  to  be  recon- 
ciled ;  for  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  he  has  learned 
meekness.  And  when  he  meets  with  unkind- 
ness  or  injustice,  he  considers,  that  though  he 
has  not  deserved  such  things  from  men,  they 
are  instruments  employed  by  his  heavenly 
Father  (from  whom  he  has  deserved  to  suffer 
much  more),  for  his  humiliation  and  chastise- 
ment; and  is  therefore  more  concerned  for 
their  sins  than  for  his  own  sufferings,  and 
prays,  after  the  pattern  of  his  Saviour,  "  Fa- 
ther, forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do."  He  knows  he  is  fallible;  there- 
fore cannot  be  positive.  He  knows  he  is 
frail ;  and  therefore  dares  not  be  censorious. 
As  a  member  of  society,  he  is  just,  punctual 
in  the  discharge  of  every  relative  duty,  faith- 
ful to  his  engagements  and  promises,  render- 
ing to  all  their  dues,  obedient  to  lawful  au- 
thority, and  acting  to  all  men  according  to  the 
golden  rule,  of  doing  as  he  would  be  done  by. 
His  conduct  is  simple,  devoid  of  artifice,  and 
consistent,  attending  to  every  branch  of  duty  : 
and  in  the  closet,  the  family,  the  church,  and 
the  transactions  of  common  life,  he  is  the  same 
man  ;  for  in  every  circumstance  he  serves  the 
Lord,  and  aims  to  maintain  a  conscience  void 
of  offence  in  his  sight.  No  small  part  of  the 
beauty  of  his  profession  in  the  sight  of  men, 
consists  in  the  due  government  of  his  tongue. 
The  law  of  truth,  and  kindness,  and  puri- 
ty, is  upon  his  lips.  He  abhors  lying  ;  and 
is  so  far  from  inventing  a  slander,  that  he 
will  not  repeat  a  report  to  the  disadvantage 
of  his  neighbour,  however  true,  without  a 
proper  call.  His  converse  is  cheerful,  but 
inoffensive ;  and  he  will  no  more  wound  a- 
nother  with  his  wit  (if  he  has  a  talent  that 
way)  than  with  a  knife.  His  speech  is  with 
ijraee,  seasoned  with  salt,  and  suited   to  pro- 


mote the  peace  and  edification  of  all  around 
him. 

Such  is  the  christian  in  civil  life;  but  though 
he  loves  all  mankind,  he  stands  in  a  nearer 
relation,  and  bears  an  especial  brotherly  love, 
to  all  who  are  partakers  of  the  faith  and  hope 
of  the  gospel.  This  regard  is  not  confined 
within  the  pale  of  a  denomination,  but  ex- 
tended to  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
in  sincerity.  He  calls  no  man  master  him- 
self; nor  does  he  wish  to  impose  a  Shibboleth 
of  his  own  upon  others.  He  rejoices  in  the 
image  of  God,  wherever  he  sees  it,  and  in  the 
work  of  God,  wherever  it  is  carried  on. 
Though  tenacious  of  the  truths  which  the 
Lord  has  taught  him,  his  heart  is  open  to 
those  who  differ  from  him  in  less  essential 
points,  and  allows  to  others  that  right  of  pri- 
vate judgment  which  he  claims  for  himself, 
and  is  disposed  to  hold  communion  in  love 
with  all  who  hold  the  Head.  He  cannot, 
indeed,  countenance  those  who  set  aside  the 
one  foundation  which  God  has  laid  in  Zion, 
and  maintain  errors  derogatory  to  the  honour 
of  his  Saviour,  or  subversive  of  the  faith  and 
experience  of  his  people  ;  yet  he  wishes  well 
to  their  persons,  pities  and  prays  for  them, 
and  is  ready  in  meekness  to  instruct  them 
that  oppose  :  but  there  is  no  bitterness  in  his 
zeal,  being  sensible  that  raillery  and  invective 
arc  dishonourable  to  the  cause  of  truth,  and 
quite  unsuitable  in  the  mouth  of  a  sinner, 
who  owes  all  that  distinguishes  him  from  the 
vilest  of  men  to  the  free  grace  of  God.  In 
a  word,  he  is  influenced  by  the  wisdom  from 
above,  which,  as  it  is  pure,  is  likewise  peace- 
able, gentle,  and  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  ot 
mercy  and  good  works,  without  partiality, 
and  without  hypocrisy. 

I  must  just  recur  to  my  first  head,  and  ob- 
serve, that  with  this  spirit  and  deportment, 
the  christain,  while  he  is  enabled  to  maintain 
a  conscience  void  of  offence  towards  God  and 
man,  is  still  sensible  and  mindful  of  indwel- 
ling sin.  He  has  his  eye  more  upon  his  rule 
than  upon  his  attainments  ;  and  therefore  finds 
and  confesses,  that  in  every  thing  he  comes 
exceedingly  short,  and  that  his  best  services 
are  not  only  defective,  but  defiled.  He  ac- 
counts himself  an  unprofitable  servant,  is  abas- 
ed in  his  own  eyes,  and  derives  all  his  hope 
and  comfort,  as  well  as  his  strength,  from  Jesus, 
whom  he  has  known,  received,  and  trusted,  to 
whom  he  has  committed  his  soul,  in  whom  he 
rejoices,  and  worships  God  in  the  spirit,  re- 
nouncing all  confidence  in  the  flesh,  and  es- 
teeming  all  things  as  loss,  for  the  excellency 
of  the  knowedge  of  Christ  Jesus  his  Lord. 

If  I  have  lately  been  rather  tardy  in  making 
my  payments  to  your  Lordship,  I  have  pro- 
portionably  increased  the  quantity.  It  is  high 
time  I  should  now  relieve  your  patience.  I 
hope  I  long  to  be  a  christian  indeed  ;  and  I 
hope  this  hasty  exemplification  of  my  wishes 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


165 


LET.  XXV. 

will  answer  to  your  Lordship's  experience  '  simplicity  of  heart,  and  a  desire  of  pleasing 
better  than  1  fear  it  does  to  my  own.  May  |  the  Lord,  are  more  acceptable  in  his  sight, 
I  beg  a  remembrance  in  your  prayers,  that '  than  a  certain  coolness  of  conduct  which  fre- 
he  who  has  given  ine  to  will  and  desire,  may  j  quently  takes  place  afterwards,  when  we  are 
work  in  me  to  be  and  to  do   according  to  his '  apt  to  look  back  with   pity  upon  our  former 


own  good  pleasure. 

I  am,  Sec. 


LETTER  XXV. 
November 


1776. 


weakness,  and  secretly  to  applaud  ourselves 
i  for  our  present  greater  attainments  in  know- 
ledge, though  perhaps  (alas  that  it  should  ever 
be  so  !)  we  may  have  lost  as  much  in  warmth 
as  we  have  gained  in  light. 

From  the  time  we  know  the  Lord,  and  are 
bound  to  him  by  the  cords  of  love  and  grati- 
tude, the  two  chief  points  we  should  have  in 
our  view,  I  apprehend,  are,  to  maintain  com- 
munion with  him  in  our  own  souls,  and  to 
glorify  him  in  the  sight  of  men.      Agreeably 


MY  LORD, 
My  London  journey,  which  prevented  my  j 
writing  in  October,  made  me  amends  by  an  I 
opportunity  of  waiting  upon  your  Lordship  in  j  to  these  views,  though  the  scriptures  do  not 
person.  Such  seasons  are  not  only  pleasant  j  enumerate  or  decide,  totidem  verbis,  for  or 
at  the  time,  but  afford  me  pleasure  in  the  re-  j  against  many  things  which  some  plead  for, 
view.  I  could  have  wished  the  half-hour  we  and  others  condemn  ;  yet  they  furnish  us  with 
were  together  by  ourselves  prolonged  to  half  some  general  canons,  which,  if  rightly  applied, 


a  day.  The  subject  your  Lordship  was 
pleased  to  suggest  has  been  often  upon  my 
mind  ;  and  glad  should  I  be,  were  I  able  to 
offer  you  any  thing  satisfactory  upon  it. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  first  religious  impres- 
sions are  usually  mingled  with  much  of  a  le- 
gal spirit ;  and  that  conscience  at  such  a  time 
is  not  only  tender,  but  misinformed  and  scru- 
pulous ;  and  I  believe,  as  your  Lordship  in- 
timated, that  when  the  mind  is  more  enlighten- 
ed, and  we  feel  a  liberty  from  many  fetters 
we  had  imposed  upon  ourselves,  we  are  in 
danger  of  verging  too  far  towards  the  other 
extreme.  It  seems  to  me  that  no  one  person 
can  adjust  the  medium,  and  draw  the  line 
exactly  for  another.  There  are  so  many  par- 
ticulars in  every  situation,  of  which  a  stranger 
cannot  be   a  competent  judge,   and  the  best 


will  perhaps  go  a  good  way  towards  settling 
the  debate,  at  least  to  the  satisfaction  of  those 
who  would  rather  please  God  than  man. 
Some  of  these  canons  I  will  just  mark  to  your 
Lordship : — Rom.  xii.  1,2.;  1  Cor.  viii. 
13.  and  x.  31.  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  17.  ;  Ephes.  iv. 
30.  ;  Ephes.  v.  11,  15,  16.  ;  1  Thes.  v.  22.  ; 
Ephes.  vi.  18.  ;  to  which  I  may  add,  as  suit- 
able to  the  present  times,  Isa.  xxii.  12.  Luke 
xxi.  34.  I  apprehend  the  spirit  of  these  and 
similar  passages  of  scripture  (for  it  would  be 
easy  to  adduce  a  larger  number)  will  bring  a 
christian  under  such  restrictions  as  follow  : 

To  avoid  and  forbear,  for  his  own  sake, 
whatever  has  a  tendency  to  damp  and  indis- 
pose his  spirit  in  attendance  upon  the  means 
of  grace ;  for  such  things,  if  they  be  not 
condemned   as  sinful  per  se,  if  they  be  not 


human  advices   and   models  are  mixed  with   absolutely  unlawful,  yea  though  they  be,  when 
such   defects,   that   it   is  not  right  to  expect   duly  regulated,   lawful  and   light   (for  often 


others  to  be  absolutely  guided  by  our  rules, 
nor  is  it  safe  for  us  implicitly  to  adopt  the 
decisions  or  practices  of  others.  But  the 
scriptures  undoubtedly  furnish  sufficient  and 
infallible  rules  for  every  person,  however  cir- 
cumstanced ;  and  the  throne  of  grace  is  ap- 
pointed for  us  to  wait  upon  the  Lord  for  the 
best  exposition  of  his  precepts.  Thus  David 
often  prays  to  be  led  in  the  right  way,  in  the 
path  of  judgment.  By  frequent  prayer,  and 
close  acquaintance  with  the  scriptures,  and  an 
habitual  attention  to  the  frame  of  our  hearts, 
there  is  a  certain  delicacy  of  spiritual  taste 
and  discernment  to  be  acquired,  which  ren- 
ders a  nice  disquisition  concerning  the  nature 
and  limits  of  the  adiaphora,  as  they  are  called, 
or  how  near  we  may  go  to  the  utmost  bounds 
of  what  is  right,  without  being  wrong,  quite 
unnecessary.  Love  is  the  clearest  and  most 
persuasive  casuist ;  and  when  our  love  to  the 
Lord  is  in  lively  exercise,  and  the  rule  of  his 
word  is  in  our  eye,  we  seldom  make  great 
mistakes.  And  I  believe  the  overdoings  of  a 
young  convert,    proceeding  from    an    honest 


our  chief  snares  are  entwined  with  our  bles- 
sings) ;  yet  if  they  have  a  repeated  and  evi- 
dent tendency  to  deaden  our  hearts  to  divine 
things,  of  which  each  person's  experience  must 
determine,  there  must  be  something  in  them, 
either  in,  season,  measure,  or  circumstance, 
wrong  to  us ;  and  let  them  promise  what  they 
will,  they  do  but  rob  us  of  our  gold  to  pay  us 
with  counters.  For  the  light  of  God's  coun- 
tenance, and  an  open  cheerfulness  of  spirit  in 
walking  with  him  in  private,  is  our  chief  joy; 
and  we  must  be  already  greatly  hurt,  if  any 
thing  can  be  pursued,  allowed,  or  rested  in, 
as  a  tolerable  substitute  for  it. 

For  the  sake  of  the  church,  and  the  in- 
fluence example  may  have  upon  his  fellow- 
christians,  the  law  of  charity  and  prudence 
will  often  require  a  believer  to  absiain  from 
some  things,  not  because  they  are  unlawful, 
but  inexpedient.  Thus  the  apostle,  though 
strenuous  for  the  right  of  his  christian  liberty, 
would  have  abridged  himself  of  the  use,  so  as 
to  eat  no  flesh,  rather  than  offend  a  weak 
brother,  rather  than  mislead  him  to  art  agairst 


JbG 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


LET.  XXV 


the  present  light  of  his  conscience.  Upon 
this  principle,  if  I  could,  without  hurt  to  my- 
self, attend  some  public  amusements,  as  a 
concert  or  oratorio,  and  return  from  thence 
with  a  warm  heart  to  my  closet  (the  possibi- 
lity of  which  in  my  own  case  I  greatly  ques- 
tion) ;  yet  I  should  think  it  my  duty  to  for- 
bear, lest  some  weaker  than  myself  should  be 
encouraged  by  me  to  make  the  like  experi- 
ment, though  in  their  own  minds  they  might 
fear  it  was  wrong,  and  have  no  other  reason 
to  think  it  lawful  but  because  I  did  it ;  in 
which  case,  I  should  suspect,  that  though  I 
received  no  harm,  they  would.  And  I  have 
known  and  conversed  with  some,  who  I  fear 
have  made  shipwreck  of  their  profession,  who 
have  dated  their  first  decline  from  imitating 
others,  whom  they  thought  wiser  and  better 
than  themselves,  in  such  kind  of  compliances. 
And  it  seems  that  an  obligation  to  this  sort  of 
self-denial  rises  and  is  strengthened  in  pro- 
portion to  the  weight  and  influence  of  our 
characters.  Were  I  in  private  life,  I  do  not 
know  that  I  should  think  it  sinful  to  kill  a 
partridge  or  a  hare;  but,  as  a  minister,  I  no 
more  dare  do  it  than  I  dare  join  in  a  drun- 
ken frolic,  because  1  know  it  would  give 
offence  to  some,  and  be  pleaded  for  as  a  li- 
cence by  others. 

There  is  a  duty,  and    a  charity  likewise, 
which  we  owe  to  the  world  at  large,  as  well  as 
a  faithfulness  to  God  and  his  grace,  in  our  ne- 
cessary converse  among  them.      This   seems 
to  require,  that  though  we  should  not  be  need- 
lessly singular,  yet,  for  their  instruction,   and 
for  the   honour  of  our   Lord  and  Master,  we 
should  keep  up  a  certain   kind  of  singularity, 
and  shew  ourselves   called  to  be  a  separated 
people ; — that  though  the  providence  of  God 
has  given  us  callings  and  relations   to  fill  up 
(in  which  we  cannot  be  too  exact),  yet  we  are 
not  of  the  world,  but  belong  to  another  com- 
munity,   and  act    from    other    principles,  by 
other  rules,  and  to  other  ends,  than  the  gene- 
rality of  those  about  us.       I  have  observed, 
that  the  world  will  often  leave  professors  in 
quiet   possession  of  their  notions   and  senti- 
ments, and  places  of  worship,  provided  they 
will  not  be  too  stiff  in  the  matter  of  confor- 
mity  with   their  more    general  customs  and 
amusements.      But  I  fear  many  of  them  have 
had  their  prejudices  strengthened  against  our 
holy  religion  by  such  compliances,   and  have 
thought,  that  if  there  were  such  joy  and  com- 
fort to  be  found  in  the  ways  of  God  as  they 
hear  from  our  pulpits,  professors  would  not, 
in  such  numbers,  and  so  often,  run  amongst 
them,  to  beg  a  relief  from  the  burden  of  time 
hanging  upon  their   hands.       As    our  Lord 
Jesus  is  the  great  representative  of  his  people 
in  heaven,  he  does  them  the  honour  to  con- 
tinue a  succession  of  them  as   his  representa- 
tives upon  earth.      Happy  are  they  who  are 
favoured  with  most  of  the  holy  unction,  ana 
lust  enabled  to  manifest  to  all  around  them, 


by  their  spirit,  tempers,  and  conversation, 
what  is  the  proper  design  and  genuine  effect 
of  his  gospel  upon  the  hearts  of  sinners. 

In  our  way  of  little  life  in  the  country, 
serious  people  often  complain  of  the  snarep 
they  meet  with  from  worldly  people,  and  y«  t 
they  must  mix  with  them  to  get  a  livelihood. 
I  advise  them,  if  they  can,  to  do  their  busi- 
ness with  the  world  as  they  do  it  in  the  rain. 
If  their  business  calls  them  abroad,  they  will 
not  leave  it  undone  for  fear  of  being  a  little 
wet ;  but  then,  when  it  is  done,  they  present- 
ly seek  shelter,  and  will  not  stand  in  the  rain 
for  pleasure  :  so  providential  and  necessary 
calls  of  duty,  that  lead  us  into  the  world,  will 
not  hurt  us,  if  we  find  the  spirit  of  the  world 
unpleasant,  and  are  glad  to  retire  from  it,  and 
keep  out  of  it  as  much  as  our  relative  duties 
will  permit.  That  which  is  our  cross  is  not 
so  likely  to  be  our  snare;  but  if  that  spirit, 
which  we  should  always  watch  and  pray 
against,  infects  and  assimilates  our  minds  to 
itself,  then  we  are  sure  to  suffer  loss,  and  act 
below  the  dignity  of  our  profession. 

The  value  of  time  is   likewise  to  be  taken 
into  the  account.      It  is  a  precious  talent,  and 
our  christian  profession  opens  a  wide  field  for 
the  due  improvement  of  it.      Much  of  it  has 
been   already  lost,   and   therefore  we  are  ex- 
horted to  redeem    it.      I   think  many  things 
which   custom    pleads  for  will    be    excluded 
from  a   suitableness   to  a    christian,  for  this 
one  reason,  that  they  are  not  consistent  with 
the  simplest  notion  of  the  redemption  of  time. 
It  is  generally  said,  we  need  relaxation :    I 
allow  it  in  a  sense  :   the  Lord  himself  has  pro- 
vided  it ;     and  because    our  spirits    are    too 
weak  to   be   always   upon  the  wing  in  medi- 
tation and   prayer,  he  has    appointed  to    all 
men,  from  the  king  downwards,  something  to 
do  in  a  secular  way.      The  poor  are  to  labour, 
the  rich  are  not    exempted  from    something 
equivalent.      And   when   every  thing  of  this 
sort  in  each  person's  situation  is  properly  at- 
tended to,   I  apprehend,  if  the  heart  be  alive 
and  in  a  right  state,    spiritual  concernments 
will  present  themselves,  as  affording  the  no- 
blest,   sweetest,  and   most  interesting  relaxa- 
tion from  the  cares  and  business  of  life  ;  as 
on  the  other   hand,  that  business  will  be  the 
best  relaxation  and  unbending  of  the  mind 
from   religious  exercises ;    and    between  the 
two,  perhaps  there  ought  to  be  but  little  mete 
leisure  time.      A    life   in   tin's  sense,  divided 
between   God    and  the  world,    is    desirable ; 
when  one  part  of  it  is  spent  in  retirement, 
seeking  after  and  conversing  with  him  whom 
our  souls  love ;  and  the  other  part  of  it  em 
ployed  in   active  services  for  the  good  of  our 
family,  friends,  the  church,  and  society,  for 
his  sake.      Every  hour  which  does  not  fall  in 
with  one  or  other  cf  these  views,  I  apprehend 
is  lost  time. 

The  day  in  which  we  live  seems  likewise  to 
call  for  something  of  a  peculiar  spirit  in  the 


LET.  XXVI. 


LETTERS  TO  A  NOBLEMAN. 


1G7 


Lord's  people.  It  is  a  day  of  abounding  sin, 
and,  I  fear,  a  day  of  impending  judgment. 
The  world,  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Noah  and 
Lot,  is  secure.  We  are  soon  to  have  a  day 
of  apparent  humiliation  ;  but  the  just  causes 
for  it  are  not  confined  to  one  day,  but  will 
subsist,  and  too  probably  increase,  every  day. 
If  1  am  not  mistaken  in  the  signs  of  the  times, 
there  never  was,  within  the  annals  of  the  Eng- 
lish history,  a  period  in  which  the  spirit  and 
employment  described,  Ezek.  ix.  4,  could  be 
more  suitable  than  the  present.  The  Lord 
calls  for  mourning  and  weeping  ;  but  the 
words  of  many  are  stout  against  him.  New- 
species  of  dissipation  are  invented  almost 
daily,  and  the  language  of  those  who  bear  the 
greatest  sway  in  what  is  called  the  polite  cir- 
cle, I  mean  the  interpretative  language  of  their 
hearts,  is  like  that  of  the  rebellious  Jews, 
Jer.  xliv.  16,  17,  &c.  "  As  for  the  word  which 
thou  hast  spoken,  we  will  not  hearken  unto 
thee  at  all."  In  short,  things  are  coming  to  a 
point,  and  it  seems  to  be  almost  putting  to 
the  vote,  whether  the  Lord  or  Baal  be  God. 
In  this  state  of  affairs,  methinks,  we  cannot 
be  too  explicit  in  avowing  our  attachment  to 
the  Lord,  nor  too  careful  in  avoiding  an  im- 
proper correspondence  with  those  who  are  in 
confederacy  against  him.  We  know  not  how 
soon  we  may  greatly  need  that  mark  of  pro- 
vidential protection  which  is  restrained  to 
those  who  sigh  and  cry  for  our  abominations. 
Upon  the  whole,  it  appears  to  me,  that  it  is 
more  honourable,  comfortable,  and  safe  (if 
we  cannot  exactly  hit  the  golden  mean),  to 
be  thought  by  some  too  scrupulous  and  pre- 
cise, than  actually  to  be  found  too  compliant 
with  those  things  which,  if  not  absolutely  con- 
trary to  a  divine  commandment,  are  hardly 
compatible  with  the  genius  of  the  gospel,  or 
conformable  to  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ 
Jesus,  which  ought  also  to  be  in  his  people. 
The  places  and  amusements  which  the  world 
frequent  and  admire,  where  occasions  and 
temptations  to  sin  are  cultivated,  where  the 
law  of  what  is  called  good  breeding  is  the 
only  law  which  may  not  be  violated  with  im- 
punity, where  sinful  passions  are  provoked 
and  indulged,  where  the  fear  of  God  is  so 
little  known  or  regarded,  that  those  who  do 
fear  him  must  hold  their  tongues,  though  they 
should  hear  his  name  blasphemed,  can  hardly 
be  a  christian's  voluntary  chosen  ground.  Yet 
I  fear  these  characters  will  apply  to  every 
kind  of  polite  amusement  or  assembly  in  the 
kingdom. 

As  to  family  connexions,  I  cannot  think  we 
are  bound  to  break  or  slight  them.  But  as 
believers  and  their  friends  often  live  as  it  were 
in  two  elements,  there  is  a  mutual  awkward- 
ness, which  makes  their  interviews  rather  dry 
and  tedious.  But,  upon  that  account,  they 
are  less  frequent  than  they  would  otherwise 
be,  which  seems  an  advantage.  Both  sides 
keep  up  returns  of  civility  ;ind  affection;  but 


as  they  cannot  unite  in  sentiment  and  leading 
inclination,  they  will  not  contrive  to  be  very 
often  together,  except  there  is  something  con- 
siderable given  up  by  one  «r  the  other ;  and 
I  think  christians  ought  to  be  very  cautious 
what  concessions  they  make  upon  this  ac- 
count. But,  as  I  said  at  the  beginning,  no 
general  positive  rules  can  be  laid  down. 

I  have  simply  given  your  Lordship  such 
thoughts  as  have  occurred  to  me  while  writ- 
ing,  without  study,  and  without  coherence. 
I  dare  not  be  dogmatical  ;  but  I  think  what 
I  have  written  is  agreeable  both  to  particular 
texts,  and  to  the  general  tenor  of  scripture. 
I  submit  it  to  your  judgment. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XXVI. 

July  —  1777. 

MY  LORD, 

I  owe  your  Lordship  a  quire  of  letters  for  the 
favour  and  pleasure  of  your  late  visit ;  and 
therefore  I  must  begin  and  write  away. 

I  have  lately  read    Robertson's   History  of 
Charles  V.,  which,  like  most  other  histories, 
I  consider  as  a  comment  upon  those  passages 
of  scripture  which  teach  us  the  depravity  of 
man,  the  deceitfulness  of  the  heart,  the  ruin- 
ous effects  of  sin,  and  the  powerful,  though 
secret  rule  of  divine  providence,  moving,  di- 
recting, and  controuling  the  designs  and  ac- 
tions of  men,  with  an  unerring  hand,  to  the 
accomplishment  of  his  own  purposes,  both  of 
mercy  and  judgment.      Without  the  clue  and 
the  light  which  the  word  of  God  affords,  the 
history  of  mankind,  of  any,  of  every  age,  only 
'  presents  to  view  a  labyrinth  and  a  chaos;    a 
detail   of  wickedness  and  misery  to  make  us 
tremble,  and  a  confused  jumble  of  interfering 
incidents,  as  destitute  of  stability,  connection, 
:  or  order,   as   the   clouds  which   fly  over  our 
I  heads.      In  this  view,  Delirant  reges,  plectun- 
tur  Achivi,   may  serve  as  a  motto   to  all  the 
histories  I  have  seen  ;  but,  with  the  scripture 
i  key,  all  is  plain,  all  is  instructive.      Then  I 
see  verily  there  is  a  God,   who  governs  the 
J  earth,  who  pours  contempt  upon  princes,  takes 
the  wise  in  their  own  craftiness,  over-rules  the 
|  wrath  and  pride  of  man,  to  bring  his  own  de- 
'  signs  to  pass,  and  restrains  all  that  is  not  ne- 
|  cessary  to   that    end  ;   blasting  the   best   con- 
certed enterprizes  at  one  time,   by  means  ap- 
I  parently  slight,    and    altogether   unexpected, 
j  and  at  other  times  producing  the  most  impor- 
tant  events,   from   instruments  and   circum. 
stances  which  are,  at  first  thought,  too  feeble 
and  trivial  to  deserve  notice.      I  should  like 
to  see  a  writer  of  Dr.  Robertson's  abilities 
give'us  a  history  upon  this  plan;  but  I  think 
his  reflections  of  this  sort  are  too  geryeral,  too 
cold,  and  too  few.      What  an  empty  phantom 
do  the  great  men  of  the  world  pursue,  while 


1GS 


LETTERS  TO  A    NOBLEMAN. 


LET.  XXVI 


they  wage  war  with  the  peace  of  mankind, 
and  butcher,  in  the  course  of  their  lives,  per- 
haps hundreds  of  thousands,  to  maintain  the 
shadow  of  authority  over  distant  nations,  whom 
they  can  reach  with  no  other  influence  than 
that  of  oppression  and  devastation  !  But  when 
we  consider  those  who  are  sacrificed  to  their 
ambition,  as  justly  suffering  for  their  sins, 
then  heroes  and  conquerors  appear  in  their 
proper  light,  and  worthy  to  be  classed  with 
earthquakes  and  pestilences,  as  instruments 
of  divine  vengeance.  So  many  cares,  so  much 
pains,  so  many  inischiefs, — merely  to  support 
the  idea  a  worm  has  formed  of  his  own  gran- 
deur, is  a  proof  that  man,  by  nature,  is  not 
only  depraved,  but  infatuated.  Permit  me  to 
present  my  thoughts  to  more  advantage  in 
the  words  of  M.  Nicole  : 

"  Un  grand  dans  son  idee  n'est  pas  un  seul 
homme ;  c'est  un  homme  environ  de  tous 
ceux  qui  sont  a  lui,  et  qui  s'imagine  avoir  au- 
tant  de  bras  qu'ils  en  out  tous  ensemble,  parce 
qu'il  en  dispose  et  qu'il  les  remue.  Un  ge- 
neral d'armee  se  represente  toujours  a  lui- 
meme  au  milieu  de  tous  ses  soldats.  Ainsi 
chacun  tache  d'occuper  le  plus  de  place  qu'il 
peut  dans  son  imagination,  et  Ton  ne  se 
pousse,  et  ne  s'aggrandit  dans  le  monde,  que 
pouraugmenter  1  idee  que  chacun  se  forme  de 
soi-meme.  Voila  le  but  de  tous  les  desseins 
ambitieux  des  homines  !  Alexandre  et  Caesar 
n'ont  point  eu  d'  autre  vtie  dans  toutes  leurs 
batailles  que  celle-la.  Et  si  Ton  demande 
pourquoi  le  Grand  Seigneur  a  fait  depuis 
peu  perir  cent  mille  hommes  devant  Candie, 
on  peut  repondre  surement,  que  ce  n'est  que 


pou 


r  attacher  encore      cette  image  interieure 


qu'il   a  de   lui-mcme,    le  titre   de   conquer- 

ant."  * 

How  awful  is  the  case  of  those  who  live 
and  die  in  such  a  spirit,  and  who  have  multi- 
plied miseries  upon  their  fellow-creatures,  in 
order  to  support  and  feed  it !  Perhaps  they 
may,  upon  their  entrance  on  another  state,  be 
accosted  by  multitudes,  to  the  purport  of  that 
sarcastical  language  in  the  prophet's  sublime 
ode  of  triumph  over  the  king  of  Babylon,  Is. 
xiv.  5  — 17. 

Hie  est,  quem  fuga,  quern  pavor 
Praci'ssit  ?  hie,  quem  terricohs  gravis 
Strag  is  seeuta  est,  vastitasque?  hie 

Attoniti  spoliator  orbis  ? 

But  though  the  effects  of  this  principle  of 
self  are  more  extensive  and  calamitous,  in 
proportion  as  those  who  are  governed  by  it 
are  more  elevated,  the  principle  itself  is  deep- 
rooted  in  every  heart,  and  is  the  spring  of 
every  action,  till  grace  infuses  a  new  prin- 
ciple, and  self,  like  Dagon,  falls  before  the 
Lord  of  Hosts.  Great  and  small  are  but  re- 
lative terms;  and  the  passions  of  discontent, 
pride,  and  envy,  which,  in  the  breast  of  a  po- 
tentate, are  severely  felt  by  one  half  of  Eu- 
rope, exert  themselves  with  equal  strength  in 
the  heart  of  a  peasant,  though,  for  want  of 
materials  and  opportunities,  their  operations 
are  confined  within  narrow  bounds.  We  are 
fallen  into  a  state  of  gross  idolatry,  and  self  ;s 
the  idol  we  worship. 

I  am,  &c. 

»  Essais  i?e  Mora)",  vol.  i. 


LETTERS 


TO 


THE  REVEREND  MR.  S- 


LETTER  I. 


June  23,  1775. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  have  met  with  interruptions  till  now  or 
you  would  have  heard  from  me  sooner.  My 
thoughts  have  run  much  upon  the  subject  of 
your  last,  because  I  perceive  it  has  a  near  con- 
nection with  your  peace.  Your  integrity 
greatly  pleases  me  ;  far  be  it  from  me  to  shake 
the  principle  of  your  conduct,  yet  in  the  ap- 
plication I  think  there  is  a  possibility  of  car- 
rying your  exceptions  too  far. 

From  the  account  you  give  me  of  your  sen- 
timents, I  cannot  but  wonder  you  find  it  so 
difficult  to  accede  to  the  Athanasian  Creed, 
when  it  seems  to  me  you  believe  and  avow 
what  that  Creed  chiefly  sets  forth.  The  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity,  some  explication  of  the 
terms  being  subjoined,  is  the  catholic  faith, 
without  the  belief  of  which  a  man  cannot  be 
saved.  This  damnatory  clause  seems  to  me 
proved  by  Mark  xvi.  16,  "  He  that  believeth 
shall  be  saved,"  &c.  The  object  of  faith  must 
be  truth.  The  doctrine  of  the  deity  of  Christ, 
and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  union  with  the  Fa- 
ther, so  that  they  are  not  three  Gods,  but  one 
God,  is  not  merely  a  proposition  expressed  in 
words,  to  which  our  assent  is  required,  but  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  be  known,  since  with- 
out it  no  one  truth  respecting  salvation  can  be 
rightly  understood,  no  one  promise  duly  be- 
lieved, no  one  duty  spiritually  performed.  I 
take  it  for  granted,  that  this  doctrine  must 
appear  irrational  and  absurd  in  the  eye  of  rea- 
son, if  by  reason  we  mean  the  reason  of  man 
in  his  fallen  state,  before  it  is  corrected  and 
enlightened  by  a  heavenly  teacher.  No  man 
can  say  Jesus  is  Lord,  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
I  believe,  with  you,  that  a  man  may  be  saved 
who  never  heard  of  the  Creed,  who  never  read 
any  book  but  the  New  Testament,  or  perhaps 
a  Mntrle  Evangelist ;  but   he  must  be  taught 


of  God  the  things  that  accompany  salvation, 
or  1  do  not  think  he  can  be  saved.  The  mer- 
cies of  God  in  Christ  will  not  save  any,  as  I 
apprehend,  but  according  to  the  method  re- 
vealed in  his  word,  that  is,  those  who  are 
truly  partakers  of  faith  and  holiness.  For, 
as  the  religion  of  the  New  Testament  ascribes 
all  power  to  God,  and  considers  all  goodness 
in  us  as  the  effect  of  his  communication,  we 
being  by  nature  destitute  of  spiritual  life  or 
light,  so  those  whom  God  himself  is  pleased 
to  teach,  will  infallibly  attain  the  knowledge 
of  all  that  they  are  concerned  to  know.  This 
teaching  you  are  waiting  for,  and  it  shall  be 
given  you  ;  yea  the  Lord,  I  trust,  has  begun 
to  teach  you  already ;  but  if  you  consider 
yourself  as  a  learner,  and  that  it  is  possible, 
under  the  Spirit's  increasing  illumination,  you 
may  hereafter  adopt  some  things  which  at  pre- 
sent you  cannot  approve,  I  should  think  it  too 
early  as  yet  to  prescribe  to  yourself  rules  and 
determinations  for  the  government  of  your 
future  life.  Should  the  will  of  God  appoint 
you  a  new  path  for  service,  he  may,  sooner 
than  you  are  aware,  quiet  your  mind,  and 
enable  you  to  subscribe  with  as  full  a  persua- 
sion of  mind  as  you  now  object  to  subscrip- 
tion. If  it  depended  upon  me,  I  could  be 
content  that  the  Creed  should  rest  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea,  rather  than  embarrass  a  single 
person  of  your  disposition.  Nor  am  I  a  warm 
stickler  for  subscription  in  itself;  but  some- 
thing of  this  kind  seems  necessary,  upon  the 
supposition  of  an  establishment. 

When  I  think  of  an  inclosure,  some  hedge, 
wall,  bank,  ditch,  &c  is  of  course  included 
in  my  idea  ;  for  who  can  conceive  of  an  in- 
closure without  a  boundary  ?  So,  in  a  na- 
tional church,  there  must  be.  I  apprehend, 
something  marked  out,  the  approbation  or  re- 
fusal of  which  will  determine  who  do  or  do 


170 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.  S- 


not  belong  to  it ;  and  for  this  purpose  arti- 
cles of  some  kind  seem  not  improper.  You 
think,  it  would  be  better  to  have  these  articles 
in  scriptural  expressions.  But  if  it  be  law- 
ful to  endeavour  to  exclude  from  our  pulpits 
men  who  hold  sentiments  the  most  repugnant 
to  the  truth,  I  wish  you  to  consider,  whether 
this  can  be  in  any  measure  secured  by  articles 
in  which  the  scripture-doctrines  are  not  ex- 
plained and  stated,  as  well  as  expressed.  This 
proposal  is  strenuously  pleaded  for  by  many  in 
our  day,  upon  views  very  different  from  yours. 
The  Socinians,  for  instance,  would  readily 
subscribe  a  scriptural  declaration  of  the  high 
priesthood,  atonement,  and  intercession  of 
Christ  (while  they  are  allowed  to  put  their 
own  sense  upon  the  terms),  though  the  sense 
they  maintain  be  utterly  inconsistent  with 
what  those  who  are  enlightened  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  learn  from  the  s;:me  expressions. 

I  acknowledge,  indeed,  that  the  end  is  not 
answered  by  the  present  method  ;  since  there 
are  too  many,  like  the  person  you  mention, 
who  would  easily  subscribe  nine  hundred  ar- 
ticles, rather  than  baulk  his  preferment :  yet 
the  profligacy  of  some  seems  to  be  no  just 
reason  why  the  church,  why  any  church, 
should  not  be  at  liberty  to  define  the  terms 
upon  which  they  will  accept  members  or  teach- 
ers, or  why  conscientious  persons  should  ob- 
ject to  these  terms  (if  they  think  them  agree- 
able to  the  truth),  merely  because  they  are 
not  expressed  in  the  precise  words  of  scrip- 
ture. If  allowance  may  be  made  for  human 
infirmity  in  the  Liturgy,  I  see  not  why  the 
Articles  may  not  be  entitled  to  the  same  pri- 
vilege. For  it  seems  requisite  that  we  should 
be  as  well  satisfied  with  the  expressions  we 
use  with  our  lips,  in  frequent  solemn  prayer 
to  God,  as  in  what  we  subscribe  with  our 
hands.  I  am  persuaded  that  the  leaders  of 
the  Association  at  the  Feathers  Tavern,  some 
of  them  at  least,  though  they  begin  with  the 
affair  of  subscription,  would  not  (if  they  might 
have  their  wish)  stop  there,  but  woidd  go  on 
with  their  projected  reform,  till  they  had 
overturned  the  Liturgy  also,  or  at  least  weed- 
ed it  from  every  expression  that  bears  testi- 
mony to  the  deity  of  the  Saviour,  and  the 
efficacious  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  I 
bless  God  that  you  are  far  otherwise  minded. 

I  hope,  however,  though  you  should  not 
think  yourself  at  liberty  to  repeat  your  sub- 
scription, the  Lord  will  make  you  comforta- 
ble and  useful  in  your  present  rank  as  a  cu- 
rate. Preferment  is  not  necessary,  either  to 
our  peace  or  usefulness.  We  may  live  and 
die  contentedly,  without  the  honours  and  e- 
moluments  which  aspiring  men  thirst  after, 
if  he  be  pleased  to  honour  us  with  a  dispen- 
sation to  preach  his  gospel,  and  to  crown  our 
endeavours  with  a  blessing.  He  that  win- 
netfa  souls  is  wise ;  wise  in  the  choice  of  the 
highest  end  he  can  propose  to  himself  in  this 
life;  wise  in  the  improvement  of  the  only  means 


— .  LET.  I. 

by  which  this  desireable  end  can  be  attained. 
Wherever  we  cast  our  eyes,  the  bulk  of  the 
people  are  ignorant,  immoral,  careless.  They 
live  without  God  in  the  world  ;  they  are  nei- 
ther awed  by  his  authority,  nor  affected  by 
his  goodness,  nor  enabled  to  trust  to  his  pro- 
mises, nor  disposed  to  aim  at  his  glory.  If, 
perhaps,  they  have  a  serious  interval,  or  some 
comparative  sobriety  of  character,  they  ground 
their  hopes  upon  their  own  doings,  endeavours, 
or  purposes ;  and  treat  the  inexpressible  love 
of  God  revealed  in  Christ,  and  the  gospel- 
method  of  salvation  by  faith  in  his  name,  with 
neglect,  often  with  contempt.  They  have 
preachers,  whom  perhaps  they  hear  with  some 
pleasure,  because  they  neither  alarm  their 
consciences  by  insisting  on  the  spirituality  and 
sanction  of  the  divine  law,  nor  offend  their 
pride  by  publishing  the  humiliating  doctrines 
of  that  gospel,  which  is  the  power  of  God 
through  faith  unto  salvation.  Therefore 
what  they  do  speak,  they  speak  in  vain  ;  the 
world  grows  worse  and  worse  under  their  in- 
structions ;  infidelity  and  profligacy  abound 
more  and  more ;  for  God  will  own  no 
other  doctrine  but  what  the  apostle  calls  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus ;  that  doctrine  which 
drives  the  sinner  from  all  his  vain  pleas,  and 
points  out  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  only 
ground  of  hope,  the  supreme  object  of  desire, 
as  appointed  of  God  to  be  wisdom,  righteous- 
ness, sanctification,  and  redemption,  to  all 
who  believe  in  his  name.  When  ministers 
themselves  are  convinced  of  sin,  and  feel  the 
necessity  of  an  almighty  Saviour,  they  pre- 
sently account  their  former  gain  but  loss,  and 
determine,  with  the  apostle,  to  know  nothing 
but  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified.  In  pro- 
portion as  they  do  this,  they  are  sure  to  be 
wondered  at,  laughed  at,  and  railed  at,  if  the 
providence  of  God  and  the  constitution  of 
their  country,  secure  them  from  severer  treat- 
ment. But  they  have  this  invaluable  com- 
pensation, that  they  no  longer  speak  without 
effect.  In  a  greater  or  less  degree  a  change 
takes  place  in  their  auditories ;  the  blind  re- 
ceive their  sight,  the  deaf  hear,  the  lepers  are 
cleansed  ; — sinners  are  turned  from  darkness 
to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  to  God  ; 
— sinful  practices  are  forsaken  ;  and  a  new 
course  of  life  in  the  converts,  evidences  that 
they  have  not  followed  cunningly-devised 
fables,  or  taken  up  with  uncertain  notions ; 
but  that  God  has  indeed  quickened  them  by 
his  Spirit,  and  given  them  an  understanding 
to  know  him  that  is  true.  The  preachers, 
likewise,  while  they  attempt  to  teach  others, 
are  taught  themselves  :  a  blessing  descends 
upon  their  studies  and  labours,  upon  their 
perusal  of  the  scriptures,  upon  their  attention 
to  what  passes  within  them  and  around  them. 
The  events  of  every  day  contribute  to  throw 
light  upon  the  word  of  God  :  their  views  of 
divine  truth  grow  more  enlarged,  connected, 
and  comprehensive  ;  many  difficulties,  which 


LET.  I. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.  S . 


171 


perplexed  them  at  their  first  setting  out,  trou-  I 
ble  them  no  more  ;  the  God  whom  they  serve, 
and  on  whom  they  wait,  reveals  to  them 
those  great  things,  which,  though  plainly  ex- 
pressed in  the  letter  of  scripture,  cannot  be 
understood  and  realized  without  divine  teach- 
ing, 1  Cor.  ii.  9.  to  15.  Thus  they  go  on 
from  strength  to  strength ;  hard  things  become 
easy,  and  a  divine  light  shines  upon  their 
paths.  Opposition  from  men  perhaps  may 
increase  ;  they  may  expect  to  be  represeated, 
as  those  who  turn  the  world  upside  down  ; 
the  cry,  fj.iya.Xri  n  A^ripis*,  will  be  raised  a- 
gainst  them,  the  gates  of  the  temple  of  pre- 
ferment will  be  seldom  open  to  them ;  but 
they  will  have  the  unspeakable  consolation  of 
applying  to  themselves  those  lively  words  of 
the  apostle,  a;  Xwouf&lvoi,  x,a.i  Ss  ^a/^ovrs?,  a; 
•rro^oi,  voXXovi  Ss  TrXov-rt^oirit ,  vs'ftrdtv  t%ovrt;, 
xai  iruvTK.  xart%i>vris.f 

It  is  the  strain  of  evident  sincerity  which 
runs  through  your  letters,  that  gives  me  a 
pleasing  confidence  the  Lord  is  with  you. 
A  disinterested  desire  of  knowing  the  truth, 
with  a  willingness  to  follow  it  through  all 
disadvantages,  is  a  preparation  of  the  heart 
which  only  God  can  give.  He  has  directed 
you  to  the  right  method,  searching  the  scrip- 
tures, with  prayer.  Go  on,  and  may  his 
blessing  attend  you.  You  may  see,  from 
what  I  have  written  above,  what  is  the  desire 
of  my  heart  for  you.  But  I  am  not  impa- 
tient. Follow  your  heavenly  leader,  and  in 
his  own  time  and  manner  he  will  make  your 
way  plain.  I  have  travelled  the  path  before 
you,  I  see  what  you  yet  want ;  I  cannot  im- 
part it  to  you,  but  he  can,  and  I  trust  he  will. 
It  will  rejoice  my  soul  to  be  any  way  assistant 
to  you  ;  but  I  am  afraid  I  should  not  afford 
you  much,  either  profit  or  satisfaction,  by 
entering  upon  a  dry  defence  of  creeds  and 
articles. 

The  truths  of  scripture  are  not  like  mathe- 
matical theorems,  which  present  exactly  the 
same  ideas  to  every  person  who  understands 
the  terms.  The  word  of  God  is  compared  to 
a  mirror,  2  Cor.  iii.  18.  :  but  it  is  a  mirror 
in  which  the  longer  we  look  the  more  we  see  ; 
the  view  will  be  still  growing  upon  us  ;  and 
still  we  shall  see  but  in  part  while  on  this  side 
eternity.  When  our  Lord  pronounced  Peter 
blessed,  declaring  he  had  learnt  that  which 
flesh  and  blood  could  not  have  taught  him, 
yet  Peter  was  at  that  time  much  in  the  dark. 
The  sufferings  and  death  of  Jesus,  though 
the  only  and  necessary  means  of  his  salvation, 
were  an  offence  to  him.  But  he  lived  to 
glory  in  what  he  once  could  not  bear  to  hear 
of.  Peter  had  received  grace  to  love  the 
Lord  Jeuus,  to  follow  him,  to  venture  all, 
and  to  forsake  all  for  him ;  these  first  good 
dispositions  were  of  God,  and  they  led  to  fur- 
ther advances.      So  it  is  still.      By  nature,  self 


♦  Great  is  Diu^a. 


t  2  Cor.  vi.   10. 


rules  in  the  heart  •  when  this  idol  is  brought  low, 
and  we  are  truly  willing  to  be  the  Lord's,  and 
to  apply  to  him  for  strength  and  direction,  that 
we  may  serve  him,  the  good  work  is  begun ;  for 
it  is  a  truth  that  holds  universally  and  without 
exception,  a  man  can  receive  nothing  except 
it  be  given  him  from  heaven.  The  Lord  first 
finds  us  when  we  are  thinking  of  something 
else,  Isaiah  lxv.  1.  ;  and  then  we  begin  to 
seek  him  in  good  earnest,  and  he  has  promis- 
ed to  be  found  of  us.  People  may,  by  in- 
dustry and  natural  abilities,  make  themselves 
masters  of  the  external  evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  have  much  to  say  for  and  against 
different  schemes  and  systems  of  sentiments ; 
but  all  this  while  the  heart  remains  untouch- 
ed. True  religion  is  not  a  science  of  the 
head,  so  much  as  an  inward  and  heartfelt 
perception,  which  casts  down  imaginations, 
and  every  v^vfix  that  exalteth  itself  in  the 
mind,  and  brings  every  thought  into  a  sweet 
and  willing  subjection  to  Christ  by  faith. 
Here  the  learned  have  no  real  advantage  above 
the  ignorant ;  both  see  when  the  eyes  of  the 
understanding  are  enlightened  ;  till  then  both 
are  equally  blind.  And  the  first  lesson  in 
the  school  of  Christ  is  to  become  a  little  child, 
sitting  simply  at  his  feet,  that  we  may  be  made 
wise  unto  salvation. 

I  was  not  only  prevented  beginning  my  let- 
ter so  soon  as  I  wished,  but  have  been  un- 
usually interrupted  since  I  began  it.  Often, 
as  soon  as  I  could  well  take  the  pen  in  hand, 
I  have  been  called  away  to  attend  company 
and  intervening  business.  Though  I  per- 
suade myself,  after  what  I  have  formerly  said, 
you  will  put  a  favourable  construction  upon 
my  delay,  yet  it  has  given  me  some  pain.  I 
set  a  great  value  upon  your  offer  of  friend- 
ship, which,  I  trust,  will  not  be  interrupted 
on  either  side,  by  the  freedom  with  which  we 
mutually  express  our  difference  of  sentiments, 
when  we  are  constrained  to  differ.  You 
please  me  with  entrusting  me  with  the  first 
rough  draught  of  your  thoughts  ;  and  you 
may  easily  perceive  by  my  manner  of  writing, 
that  I  place  equal  confidence  in  your  candour. 
I  shall  be  glad  to  exchange  letters  as  often  as 
it  suits  us,  without  constraint,  ceremony,  oi 
apology  ;  and  may  he  who  is  always  present 
with  our  hearts  make  our  correspondence  use- 
ful. I  pray  God  to  be  your  sun  and  shield, 
your  light  and  strength,  to  guide  you  with 
his  eye,  to  comfort  you  with  his  gracious 
presence  in  your  own  soul,  and  to  make  you 
a  happy  instrument  of  comforting  many. 
I  am,  ike. 


172 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.  S- 


LET.  II. 


LETTER   II. 


July  14,   1775. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 
I  GLADLY  adopt  your  address,  and  can  assure 
you  that  the  interchange  of  every  letter  unites 
my  heart  more  closely  to  you.  I  am  glad  to 
find  that  your  views  of  articles  and  creeds 
are  not  likely  to  hinder  you  from  going  for- 
ward in  your  present  situation  ;  and  if,  with- 
out contracting  your  usefulness,  they  only 
prove  a  bar  to  your  preferment,  I  am  sure  it 
will  be  no  grief  of  mind  to  you  at  the  hour 
of  death,  or  the  day  of  judgment,  that  you 
were  enabled  to  follow  the  dictates  of  con- 
science, in  opposition  to  all  the  pleas  of  cus- 
tom or  interest.  Since,  therefore,  I  have  no 
desire  of  shaking  your  resolves,  may  we  not 
drop  this  subject  entirely  ?  For,  indeed,  I 
act  but  an  awkward  part  in  it,  being  by  no 
means  myself  an  admirer  of  articles  and 
creeds,  or  disposed  to  be  a  warm  advocate  for 
church-power.  The  propriety  of  our  national 
establishment,  or  of  any  other,  is  what  I  have 
not  much  to  do  with  ;  I  found  it  as  it  is,  nor 
have  I  influence  to  alter  it  were  I  willing. 
The  question  in  which  I  was  concerned  was 
simply,  Whether  I,  rebus  sic  stantibus,  could 
submit  to  it,  so  as  conscientiously  to  take  a 
designation  to  the  ministry  under  it?  I 
thought  I  could  ;  I  accordingly  did,  and  I 
am  thankful  that  I  never  have  seen  cause  to 
repent  it. 

You  seem  gently  to  charge  me  with  a  want 
of  candour  in  what  I  observed  or  apprehended 
concerning  the  gentlemen  of  the  Feathers 
Tavern.  If  I  mistake  not  (for  I  retain  no 
copies  of  my  letters),  I  expressed  myself  with  a 
double  restriction,  by  first  saying  "  the  leaders 
of  that  society,"  and  then  adding,  "or  some  of 
them  at  least."  I  apprehend  your  candour 
will  hardly  lead  you  to  suppose  that  there  are 
none  amongst  them  who  would  pull  down 
the  whole  fabric,  that  is,  I  mean  so  far  as  it 
crosses  the  Socinian  scheme,  if  it  was  left  to 
their  choice.  I  apprehend,  I  may,  without  the 
least  breach  of  candour,  suppose  that  the  ex- 
ceptions which  Mr.  Lindsay  has  made  to  the 
Liturgy  are  not  peculiar  to  himself.  It  seems 
plain  in  his  case,  and  from  his  own  writings, 
that  the  mere  removal  of  subscriptions,  which 
is  the  immediate  and  ostensible  object  of  the 
clerical  petition,  could  not  have  satisfied  him  ; 
and  it  is  past  a  doubt  with  me,  that  there  are 
others  of  the  clergy  like  minded  with  him.  In- 
deed, I  could  wish  to  be  thought  candid  by  you ; 
though,  I  confess,  I  am  not  a  friend  to  that 
lukewarmness  and  indifference  for  truth, 
which  bears  the  name  of  candour  amonjr 
many  in  the  present  day.  I  desire  to  main- 
tain a  spirit  of  candour  and  benevolence  to  all 
men,  to  wish  them  well,  to  do  them  every 
good    office  in  my  power,  and  to  co«nm«'nd 


what  appears  to  me  commendable  in  a  Soci- 
nian, as  readily  as  in  a  Calvinist.  But  with 
some  people  I  can  only  go  usque  ad  aras.  1 
must  judge  of  principles  by  the  word  of  God, 
and  of  the  tree  by  its  fruit.  I  mtddle  with 
no  man's  final  state ;  because  I  know  that  he 
who  is  exalted  to  give  repentance  and  remis- 
sion of  sins,  can  do  it  whenever,  and  to  who^u 
soever  he  is  pleased  :  yet  I  firmly  believe,  and 
I  make  no  scruple  of  proclaiming  it,  that 
swearers,  drunkards,  adulterers,  continuing 
such,  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God  ; 
and  I  look  with  no  less  compassion  upon 
some  persons,  whose  characters  in  common 
life  may  be  respectable,  when  I  see  them  un- 
happily blinded  by  their  own  wisdom  ;  and 
while  they  account  themselves,  and  are  ac- 
counted by  many  others,  master-builders  in 
Zion,  rejecting  the  only  foundation  upon 
which  a  sinner's  hope  can  be  safely  built. 

I  am  far  from  thinking  the  Socinians  all  hy 
pocrites,  but  I  think  they  are  all  in  a  most 
dangerous  error  ;  nor  do  their  principles  ex- 
hibit to  my  view  a  whit  more  of  the  genuine 
fruits  of  Christianity  than  deism  itself.  You 
say,  "  If  they  be  sincere,  and  fail  not  for  want 
of  diligence  in  searching,  I  cannot  help  think- 
ing, that  God  will  not  condemn  them  for  an 
inevitable  defect  in  their  understandings." 
Indeed,  my  friend,  I  have  such  a  low  opi- 
nion of  man  in  his  depraved  state,  that  I  be- 
lieve no  one  has  real  sincerity  in  religious  mat- 
ters till  God  bestows  it ;  and  when  he  makes 
a  person  sincere  in  his  desiies  after  truth,  he 
will  assuredly  guide  him  to  the  possession  of  it 
in  due  time,  as  our  Lord  speaks,  John  vi.  44, 
45.  To  suppose  that  any  persons  can  sin- 
cerely seek  the  way  of  salvation,  and  yet  miss 
it  through  an  inevitable  defect  of  their  under- 
standings, would  contradict  the  plain  promises 
of  the  gospel,  such  as  Matth.  vii.  7,  8,  John 
vii.  16,  17;  but  to  suppose  that  nothing  is 
necessary  to  be  known  which  some  persons 
who  profess  sincerity  cannot  receive,  would  be 
in  effect  to  make  the  scriptures  a  nose  of  wax, 
and  open  a  wide  door  for  scepticism.  I  am 
not  a  judge  of  the  heart ;  but  I  may  be  sure, 
that  whoever  makes  the  foundation-stone  a 
rock  of  offence  cannot  be  sincere  in  his  in- 
quiries.  He  may  study  the  scriptures  accu- 
rately, but  he  brings  his  own  preconceived 
sentiments  with  him,  and,  instead  of  sub- 
mitting them  to  the  touchstone  of  truth,  he 
makes  them  a  rule  by  which  he  interprets. 
That  they  who  lean  to  their  own  understand- 
ings should  stumble  and  miscarry,  I  cannot 
wonder;  for  the  same  God  who  has  promised 
to  fill  the  hungry  with  good  things,  has  threat- 
ened to  send  the  rich  empty  away.  So  Matth. 
xi.  25.  It  is  not  through  defect  of  under- 
standing, but  a  want  of  simplicity  and  hu- 
mility, that  so  many  stumble  like  the  blind 
at  noon-day,  and  can  see  nothing  of  those 
great  truths  which  are  written  in  the  gospel 
as  with  a  sun-beam. 


LET.   II. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REVEREND  Mil.  S- 


173 


You  wish  me  to  explain  myself  concerning 
the  doctrine   of  the  Trinity.      I  will  try  ;  yet 
I  know  I  cannot,  any  farther  than  as  he  who 
taught  me  shall  be  pleased  to  bear  witness  in 
your  heart  to  what  1  say.      My  first  principle 
in  religion   is  what  the  scriptures  teach   me 
of  the  utter  depravity  of  human  nature,   in 
connection  with   the  spirituality  and  sanction 
of  the  law  of  God.      I  believe  we  are  by  na- 
ture sinners,    by  practice    universally    trans- 
gressors ;  that  we  are  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins  ;  and  that   the  bent  of  our  natural  spirit 
is  enmity   against   the  holiness,   government, 
and  grace  of  God.      Upon  this  ground,   I  see, 
feel,  and  acknowledge  the  necessity  of  such  a 
salvation  as  the  gospel  proposes,  which,  at  the 
same  time    that    it    precludes    boasting,    and 
stains  the  pride  of  all  human  glory,  affords 
encouragement  to  those  who  may  be  thought, 
or  who  may  think  themselves,   the  weakest  or 
the  vilest  of  mankind.      I  believe,  that  what- 
ever notions  a  person  may  take  up  from  edu- 
cation  or   system,   no  one  ever  did,   or  ever 
will  feel  himself  and  own  himself  to  be  such 
a  lost,  miserable,  hateful  sinner,  unless  he  be 
powerfully  and  supernaturally  convinced  by 
the    Spirit   of    God.       There    is,   when   God 
pleases,  a  certain  light  thrown  into  the  soul, 
which   differs,   not    merely  in  degree  but  in 
Jund,  toto  generc,  from  any  thing  that  can  be 
effected  or  produced  by  moral  suasion  or  ar- 
gument.      But  (to  take  in  another  of  your 
queries)  the  Holy  Spirit  teaches  or  reveals  no 
new  truths,  either  of  doctrine  or  precept,  but 
only  enables  us  to  understand  what  is  already 
revealed  in  the  scriptures.      Here  a  change 
takes  place ;  the  person    that  was   spiritually 
blind  begins  to  see.     The  sinner's  character, 
as  described  in  the  word  of  God,  he  finds  to 
be  a  description  of  himself;  that  he  is  afar  off, 
a  stranger,  a  rebel ;  that  he  has  hitherto  lived 
in  vain.      Now  he  begins  to  see  the  necessity 
of   an  atonement,    an  advocate,    a  shepherd, 
a  comforter  ;  he  can  no  more  trust  to  his  own 
wisdom,  strength,  and  goodness,  but,  account- 
ing all  his  former  gain   but   loss,  for  the  ex- 
cellency of  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  he  re- 
nounces every  other  refuge,  and  ventures  his 
all  upon  the  person,  work,  and  promise  of  the 
Redeemer.      In   this  way,   I  say  he  will   find 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  not  only  a  propo- 
sition but  a  principle  ;  that  is,  from  his  own 
wants  and  situation   he  will  have  an  abiding 
conviction  that  the   Son   and  Holy  Spirit  are 
God,  and  must  be  possessed  of  the  attributes 
and  powers  of  Deity,  to   support  the  offices 
the   scriptures    assign   them,  and    to    deserve 
the  confidence  and  worship  the  scriptures  re- 
quire   to    be   placed    in   them,    and   paid    to 
them.      Without  this  awakened  state  of  mind, 
a    divine,     reputed    orthodox,    will    blunder 
wretchedly  even  in  defending   his   own  opi- 
nions.     I  have  seen  laboured  defences  of  the 
Trinity,  which  have  given  me  not  much  more 
satisfaction   than   I    should    probably   receive 


from  a  dissertation  upon  the  rainbow,  com- 
posed by  a  man  blind  from  his  birth.  In  ef- 
fect, the  knowledge  of  God  cannot  be  at- 
tained by  studious  discussion  on  our  parts  ; 
it  must  be  by  a  revelation  on  his  part,  Matth. 
xi.  27.  and  xvi.  17;  a  revelation,  not  object- 
ively of  new  truth,  but  subjectively  of  new 
light  in  us.  Then  he  that  runs  may  read. 
Perhaps  you  may  not  quite  understand  my 
meaning,  or  not  accede  to  my  sentiments  at 
present ;  I  have  little  doubt,  however,  but 
the  time  is  coming  when  you  will.  I  believe 
the  Lord  God  has  given  you  that  sincerity 
which  he  never  disappoints. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  arrogate  infallibility 
to  myself,  or  to  any  writer  or  preacher ;  yet. 
blessed  be  God,  I  am  not  left  to  float  up  anu, 
down  the  uncertain  tide  of  opinion,  in  thoss 
points  wherein  the  peace  of  my  soul  is  neaiv." 
concerned.  I  know,  yea  I  infallibly  know 
whom  I  have  believed.  I  am  under  no  more 
doubt  about  the  way  of  salvation  than  of  the 
way  to  London.  I  cannot  be  deceived,  be 
cause  the  word  of  God  cannot  deceive  me. 
It  is  impossible,  however,  for  me  to  give  you, 
or  any  person,  full  satisfaction  concerning  my 
evidence,  because  it  is  of  an  experimental 
nature,  Rev.  ii.  17.  In  general,  it  arises 
from  the  views  I  have  received  of  the  power, 
compassion,  and  grace  of  Jesus,  and  a  con- 
sciousness that  I,  from  a  conviction  of  my 
sin  and  misery,  have  fled  to  him  for  refuge, 
entrusted  and  devoted  myself  and  my  all  to 
him.  Since  my  mind  has  been  enlightened, 
every  thing  within  me,  and  every  tiling  around 
me,  confirms  and  explains  to  me  what  I  read 
in  scripture  ;  and  though  I  have  reason  enough 
to  distrust  my  own  judgment  every  hour,  yet 
I  have  no  reason  to  question  the  great  essen- 
tials, which  the  Lord  himself  hath  taught 
me. 

Besides  a  long  letter,  I  send  you  a  great 
book.  A  part  of  it,  for  I  do  not  ask  you  to 
read  the  whole,  may  perhaps  explain  my  mean- 
ing better  than  I  have  leisure  to  do  myself.  I 
set  a  high  value  upon  this  book  of  Mr.  Haly- 
burton's  ;  so  that,  unless  I  could  replace  it 
with  another,  I  know  not  if  I  would  part  with 
it  for  its  weight  in  gold.  The  first  and  long- 
est treatise  is,  in  my  judgment  a  masterpiece; 
but  I  would  chiefly  wish  you  to  peruse  the 
Essay  concerning  Faith,  towards  the  close  of 
the  book.  I  need  not  beg  you  to  read  it 
carefully,  and  to  read  it  all.  The  import- 
ance of  the  subject,  its  immediate  connection 
with  your  inquiries,  and  the  accuracy  of  the 
reasoning,  will  render  the  motive  of  my  re- 
quest unnecessary.  I  cannot  style  him  a  very 
elegant  writer;  and,  being  a  Scotchman,  he 
abounds  with  the  Scottish  idiom ;  but  you 
will  prefer  truth  to  ornament.  I  long  to  hear 
your  opinion  of  it.  It  seems  to  me  so  adapted 
to  some  things  that  have  passed  between  us 
as  if  written  on  purpose. 

The  Inquiry  concerning  Regeneration  and 


174 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR.   S 


LET.   Ill 


Justification,  which  stands  last  in  the  book,  I 
do  not  desire,  or  even  wish  you  to  read  ;  but 
if  you  should,  and  then  think  that  you  have 
read  a  speculation  more  curious  than  useful, 
1  shall  not  contradict  you.  I  think  it  must 
appear  to  you  in  that  light ;  but  it  was  bound 
up  with  the  rest,  and  therefore  could  not  stay 
behind;  but  I  hope  the  Essay  on  Faith  will 
please  you. 

I  take  great  pleasure  in  your  correspond- 
ence, still  more  in  the  thought  of  your  friend- 
ship, which  I  hope  to  cultivate  to  the  utmost, 
and  to  approve  myself  sincerely  and  affection- 
ately yours. 


LETTER  III. 

August  11,  1775. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

Next  week  I  go  to  London,  where  I  pur- 
pose, if  nothing  unforeseen  prevents,  to  stay 
a  month.  Many  things,  which  must  neces- 
sarily be  attended  to  before  my  departure, 
abridge  me  of  that  leisure  which  I  could  wish 
to  employ  in  answering  your  last.  However, 
I  will  spare  you  what  I  can.  I  thank  you  for 
yours.  Your  objections  neither  displease  nor 
weary  me.  While  truth  is  the  object  of  your 
inquiry,  the  more  freedom  you  use  with  me 
the  better.  Nor  do  they  surprise  me ;  for  I 
have  formerly  made  the  like  objections  my- 
self. I  have  stood  upon  your  ground,  and  I 
continue  to  hope  you  will  one  day  stand  up- 
on mine.  As  I  have  told  you  more  than  once, 
I  do  not  mean  to  dictate  to  you,  or  wish  you  to 
receive  any  thing  upon  my  ipse  dixit ;  but,  in 
the  simplicity  of  friendship,  I  will  give  you  my 
thoughts  from  time  to  time  upon  the  points 
you  propose,  and  leave  the  event  to  the  divine 
blessing. 

I  am  glad  you  do  not  account  the  Socinians 
master-builders.  However,  they  esteem  them- 
selves so,  and  are  so  esteemed,  not  only  by  a 
few,  as  you  think,  but  by  many.  I  fear  So- 
cinianism  spreads  rapidly  amongst  us,  and  bids 
fair  to  be  the  prevailing  scheme  in  this  land, 
especially  with  those  who  profess  to  be  the 
thinking  part.  The  term  Arminian,  as  at  pre- 
sent applied,  is  very  indiscriminate,  and  takes 
in  a  great  variety  of  persons  and  sentiments, 
amongst  whom,  I  believe,  there  are  many  who 
hold  the  fundamental  truths  of  the  gospel, 
and  live  a  life  of  faith  in  the  Son  of  God.  I 
am  far  from  supposing  that  God  will  guide 
every  sincere  person  exactly  to  adopt  all  my 
sentiments.  But  there  are  some  sentiments 
which  I  believe  essential  to  the  very  state  and 
character  of  a  true  christian.  And  these  make 
him  a  christian,  not  merely  by  being  his  ac- 
knowledged sentiments,  but  by  a  certain  pe- 
culiar manner  in  which  he  possesses  them. 
There  is  a  certain  important  change  takes 
place   in    the   heart,    by  the   operation  of  the 


Spirit  of  God,  before  the  soundest  and  most 
orthodox  sentiments  can  have  their  proper  in- 
fluence upon  us.  This  work,  or  change,  the 
scriptures  describe  by  various  names,  each  of 
which  is  designed  to  teach  us  the  marvellous 
effects  it  produces,  and  the  almighty  power 
by  which  it  is  produced.  It  is  sometimes 
called  a  new  birth,  John  iii.  3  ;  sometimes  a 
new  creature,  or  a  new  creation,  as  2  Cor.  v. 
17  ;  sometimes  the  causing  light  to  shine  out 
of  darkness,  2  Cor.  iv.  6 ;  sometimes  the 
opening  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  Acts  xxvi.  18  ; 
sometimes  the  raising  the  dead  to  life,  Ephes. 
ii.  5.  Till  a  person  has  experienced  this 
change,  he  will  be  at  a  loss  to  form  a  right 
conception  of  it :  but  it  means,  not  being  pro- 
selyted to  an  opinion,  but  receiving  a  prin- 
ciple of  divine  life  and  light  in  the  soul.  And 
till  this  is  received,  the  things  of  God,  the 
truths  of  the  gospel  cannot  be  rightly  discern- 
ed or  understood  by  the  utmost  powers  of  fal- 
len man,  who,  with  all  his  wisdom,  reason, 
and  talents,  is  still  but  what  the  apostle  calls 
the  natural  man,  till  the  power  of  God  visits 
his  heart,  1  Cor.  ii.  14.  This  work  is  some- 
times wrought  suddenly,  as  in  the  case  of 
Lydia,  Acts  xvi.  14  ;  at  other  times  very  gra- 
dually. A  person  who  before  was  a  stranger 
even  to  the  form  of  godliness,  or,  at  best,  con- 
tent with  a  mere  form,  finds  new  thoughts 
arising  in  his  mind,  feels  some  concern  about 
his  sins,  some  desire  to  please  God,  some  sus- 
picions that  all  is  not  right.  He  examines  his 
views  of  religion,  hopes  the  best  of  them,  and 
yet  cannot  rest  satisfied  in  them.  To-day, 
perhaps,  he  thinks  himself  fixed ;  to-morrow 
he  will  be  all  uncertainty.  He  inquires  of 
others ;  weighs,  measures,  considers,  meets 
with  sentiments  which  he  had  not  attended  to, 
thinks  them  plausible  ;  but  is  presently  shock- 
ed with  objections  or  supposed  consequences, 
which  he  finds  himself  unable  to  remove.  As 
he  goes  on  in  his  inquiry,  his  difficulties  in- 
crease. New  doubts  arise  in  his  mind ;  even 
the  scriptures  perplex  him,  and  appear  to  as- 
sert contrary  things.  He  would  sound  the 
depths  of  truth  by  the  plummet  of  his  reason; 
but  he  finds  his  line  is  too  short.  Yet  even 
now  the  man  is  under  a  guidance,  which  will 
at  length  lead  him  right.  The  importance  of 
the  subject  takes  up  his  thoughts,  and  takes 
off  the  relish  he  once  had  for  the  things  of 
the  world.  He  reads,  he  prays,  he  strives,  he 
resolves ;  sometimes  inward  embarrassments 
and  outward  temptations  bring  him  to  his 
wits  end.  He  almost  wishes  to  stand  where 
he  is,  and  inquire  no  more  ;  but  he  cannot 
stop.  At  length  he  begins  to  feel  the  inward 
depravity,  which  he  had  before  owned  as  an 
opinion  ;  a  sense  of  sin  and  guilt  cuts  him  out 
new  work.  Here  reasoning  will  stand  him  in 
no  stead.  This  is  a  painful  change  of  mind ; 
but  it  prepares  the  way  for  a  blessing.  It 
silences  some  objections  better  than  a  thou- 
sand arguments,  it  cuts  the  comb  of  his  own 


I. El.  III. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.  S- 


wisdom  and  attainments,  it  makes  him  weary 
of  working  for  life,  and  teaches  him,  in  God's 
due  time,  the  meaning  of  that  text,  "  To  him 
that  worketh  not,  but  believeth  in  him  who 
iustifieth  the  ungodly,  his  faith  is  counted  for 
righteousness."  Then  he  learns  that  scriptural 
faith  is  a  very  different  thing  from  a  rational 
assent  to  the  gospel, —  that  it  is  the  imme- 
diate gift  of  God  (Ephes.  ii.  8)  ;  the  operation 
of  God  (Col.  ii.  12);  that  Christ  is  not  only 
the  object,  but  the  author  and  finisher  of 
faith  (Heb.  xii.  2);  and  that  faith  is  not  so 
properly  a  part  of  that  obedience  we  owe  to 
God,  as  an  inestimable  benefit  we  receive 
from  him,  for  Christ's  sake  (Phil.  i.  29),  which 
is  the  medium  of  our  justification  (Rom.  v.  l), 
and  the  principle  by  which  we  are  united  to 
Christ,  as  the  branch  to  the  vine  (John  xvii. 
21 ).  I  am  well  aware  of  the  pains  taken  to 
put  a  different  sense  upon  these  and  other 
seemingly  mysterious  passages  of  scripture  ; 
but  thus  far  we  speak  that  which  we  know, 
and  testify  that  which  we  have  seen.  I  have 
described  a  path  in  which  I  have  known  many 
led,  and  in  which  I  have  walked  myself. 

The  gospel,  my  dear  Sir,  is  a  salvation  ap- 
pointed for  those  who  are  ready  to  perish,  and 
is  not  designed  to  put  them  in  a  way  to  save 
themselves  by  their  own  works.  It  speaks  to 
us  as  condemned  already,  and  calls  upon  us 
to  believe  in  a  crucified  Saviour,  that  we  may 
receive  redemption  through  his  blood,  even 
the  forgiveness  of  our  sins.  And  the  Spirit  of 
God,  by  the  gospel,  first  convinces  us  of  un- 
belief, sin,  and  misery ;  and  then,  by  reveal- 
ing the  things  of  Jesus  to  our  minds,  enables 
us,  as  helpless  sinners,  to  come  to  Christ,  to 
receive  him,  to  behold  him,  or,  in  other  words, 
to  believe  in  him,  pnd  expect  pardon,  life,  and 
grace  from  him  ;  renouncing  every  hope  and 
aim  in  which  we  once  rested,  and  accounting 
all  things  loss  and  dung  for  the  excellency  of 
the  knowledge  of  Christ,  John  vi.  35  ;  Is.  xlv. 
22,  with  John  vi.  40  ;  Col.  ii.  6.  In  some 
of  Omicron's  letters  you  will  find  my  thoughts 
more  at  large  upon  these  subjects  than  I  have 
now  time  to  write  them.  For  a  farther  illus- 
tration, I  refer  you  to  the  MSS.  sent  here- 
with. The  first  part,  written  in  short  hand, 
does  not  so  immediately  concern  our  present 
point  as  the  second,  which  you  may  read  with- 
out a  key.  It  relates  to  a  matter  of  indis- 
putable fact,  concerning  a  person  with  whom, 
as  you  will  perceive,  I  was  well  acquainted. 
You  may  depend  upon  the  truth  of  every 
tittle.  I  entrust  it  to  you  in  the  confidence 
of  friendship,  and  beg  that  it  may  not  go  out 
of  your  hands,  and  that,  when  you  have  per- 
used it,  you  will  return  it,  sealed  up,  by  a 
safe  conveyance,  to  my  house.  You  will  see 
in  it  the  sentiments  of  a  man  of  great  learn- 
ing, sound  reasoning,  an  amiable  and  irre- 
proachable character,  and  how  little  he  ac- 
counted of  all  these  advantages,  when  the 
Lord  was  pleased  to  enlighten  his  mind. 


-  175 

Though  we  have  not  exactly  the  same  views 
of  human  depravity,  yet  as  we  both  agree  to 
take  our  measure  of  it  from  the  word  of  God, 
I  trust  we  shall  not  always  differ  about  it. 
Adam  was  created  in  the  image  of  God,  in 
righteousness  and  true  holiness,  Ephes.  iv.  24. 
This  moral  image,  I  believe,  was  totally  lost 
by  sin.  In  that  sense  he  died  the  day,  the 
moment,  he  ate  the  forbidden  fruit.  God 
was  no  longer  his  joy  and  delight ;  he  was 
averse  from  the  thoughts  of  his  presence,  and 
would,  if  possible,  have  hid  himself  from  him. 
His  natural  powers,  though  doubtless  im- 
paired, were  not  destroyed.  Man,  by  nature, 
is  still  capable  of  great  things.  His  under- 
standing, reason,  memory,  imagination,  &c. 
sufficiently  proclaim  that  the  hand  that  made 
him  is  divine.  He  is,  as  Milton  says  of  Beel- 
zebub, majestic,  though  in  ruins.  He  can 
reason,  invent,  and,  by  application,  attain  a 
considerable  knowledge  in  natural  things. 
The  exertions  of  human  genius,  as  specified 
in  the  characters  of  some  philosophers,  poets, 
orators,  &c.  are  wonderful.  But  man  cannot 
know,  love,  trust,  or  serve  his  Maker,  unless 
he  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  his  mind.  God 
has  preserved  in  him  likewise  some  feelings  of 
benevolence,  pity,  some  sense  of  natural  jus- 
tice and  truth,  &c.  without  which  there  could 
be  no  society  :  but  these,  I  apprehend,  are 
little  more  than  instincts,  by  which  the  world 
is  kept  in  some  small  degree  of  order  ;  but, 
being  under  the  direction  of  pride  and  self, 
do  not  deserve  the  name  of  virtue  and  good- 
ness ;  because  the  exercise  of  them  does  not 
spring  from  a  principle  of  love  to  God,  nor  is 
directed  to  his  glory,  or  regulated  by  the  rule 
of  Ins  word,  till  a  principle  of  grace  is  super- 
added. You  think  I  will  not  say,  "  that  God 
judicially,  in  punishment  of  one  man's  sin, 
added  these  corruptions  to  all  his  posterity. ' 
Let  us  suppose,  that  the  punishment  annexea 
to  eating  the  forbidden  fruit  had  been  the  loss 
of  Adam's  rational  powers,  and  that  he  should 
be  degraded  to  the  state  and  capacity  of  a 
brute.  In  this  condition,  had  he  begotten 
children,  after  the  fall,  in  his  own  likeness, 
his  nature  being  previously  changed,  they 
must  have  been  of  course  brutes  like  himself; 
for  he  could  not  convey  to  them  those  origi- 
nal powers  which  he  had  lost.  Will  this  il- 
lustrate my  meaning  ?  Sin  did  not  deprive 
him  of  rationality,  but  of  spirituality.  His 
nature  became  earthly,  sensual,  yea  devilish  ; 
and  this  fallen  nature,  this  carnal  mind,  which 
is  enmity  against  God,  which  is  not  subject 
to  his  law,  neither  indeed  can  be  (Rom.  viii. 
7),  we  universally  derive  from  him.  Look 
upon  children ;  they  presently  shew  themselves 
averse  from  good,  but  exceedingly  propense 
to  evil.  This  they  can  learn  even  without  a 
master ;  but  ten  thousand  instructors  and  in- 
structions cannot  instil  good  into  them,  so  as 
to  teach  them  to  love  their  Creator,  unless  a 
divine  power  co-operates.      Just  as  it  is  with 


176 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR.  S- 


LET.  Ill 


the  earth,  which  produces  weeds  spontane- 
ously ;  but  if  you  see  a  cabbage,  or  an  apple- 
tree,  you  are  sure  it  was  planted  or  sown 
there,  and  did  not  spring  from  the  soil.  I 
know  many  hard  questions  may  be  started 
upon  this  subject ;  but  the  Lord,  in  due  time, 
will  clear  his  own  cause,  and  vindicate  his 
own  ways.  I  leave  all  difficulties  with  him. 
It  is  sufficient  for  me  that  scripture  asserts, 
and  experience  proves,  that  it  is  thus  in  fact, 
Rom.  iii.  9 — 21  ;  Job.  xiv.  4.  Thus  we  have 
not  only  forfeited  our  happiness  by  transgres- 
sion, but  are,  by  our  depravity,  incapable  of 
it,  and  have  no  more  desire  or  taste  for  such 
a  state  as  the  scriptures  describe  heaven  to  be, 
than  a  man  born  deaf  can  have  for  a  concert 
of  r  asic.  And  therefore  our  Lord  declares, 
that  except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  not  only 
shall  not,  but  cannot,  see  the  kingdom  of 
God.  Hence  a  twofold  necessity  of  a  Sa- 
viour— his  blood  for  the  pardon  of  our  sins,  and 
his  life,  spirit,  and  grace,  to  quicken  our  souls, 
and  form  us  anew  for  himself,  that  we  may 
feel  his  love,  and  shew  forth  his  praise. 

St.  Paul,  before  his  conversion,  was  not  sin- 
cere, in  the  sense  I  hope  you  to  be.  He  thought 
himself  in  the  right,  without  doubt,  as  many 
have  done  when  they  killed  God's  servants, 
John  xvi.  2.  He  was  blindly  and  obstinately 
zealous.  I  think  he  did  not  enter  into  the  me- 
rits of  the  cause,  or  inquire  into  facts  with  that 
attention  which  sincerity  would  have  put  him 
upon.  You  think  that  his  sincerity  and  zeal 
were  the  very  things  that  made  him  a  chosen 
instrument ;  he  himself  speaks  of  them  as  the 
very  things  that  made  him  peculiarly  unworthy 
of  that  honour  (1  Cor.  xv.  9.);  and  he  tells 
us,  that  he  was  set  forth  as  a  pattern  of  the 
Lord's  long-suffering  and  mercy,  that  the 
very  chief  of  sinners  might  be  encouraged, 
1  Tim.  i.  15,  16.  Had  he  been,  sincerely  de- 
sirous to  know  whether  Jesus  was  the  Mes- 
siah, there  was  enough  in  his  character,  doc- 
trines, miracles,  and  the  prophecies  concern- 
ing him,  to  have  cleared  up  the  point ;  but  he 
took  it  for  granted  he  was  right  in  his  opinion, 
and  hurried  blindly  on,  and  was,  as  he  said 
himself,  exceedingly  mad  against  them.  Such 
a  kind  of  sincerity  is  common  enough.  Peo- 
ple believe  themselves  right,  and  therefore 
treat  others  with  scorn  or  rage,  appeal  to  the 
scriptures,  but  first  lay  down  their  own  pre- 
conceived sentiments  for  truths,  and  then  ex- 
amine what  scriptures  they  can  find  to  coun- 
tenance them.  Surely  a  person's  thinking 
himself  right,  will  not  give  a  sanction  to  all 
that  he  does  under  that  persuasion. 

Ignorance  and  obstinacy  are  in  themselves 
sinful,  and  no  plea  of  sincerity  will  exempt 
from  the  danger  of  being  under  their  influ- 
ence,  Is.  xxvii.  11,  Luke  vi.  39.  It  appears 
to  me,  that,  though  you  will  not  follow  any 
man  implicitly,  you  are  desirous  of  discover- 
ing your  mistakes,  supposing  you  are  mis- 
taken in  any  point  of  importance.      You  read 


and  examine  the  word  of  God,  not  to  find 
arms  wherewith  to  defend  your  sentiments  at 
all  events,  but  to  know  whether  they  are  de- 
fensible or  not.  You  pray  for  God's  light 
and  teaching,  and  in  this  search  you  are  wil- 
ling to  risk  what  men  are  commonly  much 
afraid  of  hazarding — character,  interest,  pre- 
ferment, favour,  &c.  A  sincerity  of  this  kind 
I  too  seldom  meet  with :  when  I  do,  I  ac- 
count it  a  token  for  good,  and  am  ready  to 
say,  "  No  man  can  do  this,  except  God  be 
with  him.''  However,  sincerity  is  not  con- 
version ;  but  I  believe  it  is  always  a  fore- 
runner of  it. 

I  would  not  be  uncharitable  and  censorious, 
hasty  and  peremptory  in  judging  my  fellow- 
creatures.  But  if  I  acknowledge  the  word  of 
God,  I  cannot  avoid  forming  my  judgment 
upon  it.  It  is  true,  I  cannot  look  into  peo- 
ple's hearts  ;  but  hearts  and  principles  are  de- 
lineated to  my  hand  in  the  scriptures.  I  read, 
that  no  murderer  has  eternal  life  in  him  ;  I 
read  likewise,  "  if  any  man  love  not  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  anathema ;"  and 
therefore  I  conclude,  that  there  are  speculative 
errors,  as  heinous  in  their  guilt,  as  destruc- 
tive in  their  effects,  as  murder  ;  and  that  the 
most  moral,  regular  man,  as  to  social  life,  if 
he  loves  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is  in  the 
sight  of  God,  the  judge  of  all,  as  displeasing 
as  a  murderer.  It  has  pleased  God,  for  the 
peace  and  support  of  society,  to  put  a  black 
mark  upon  those  sins  which  affect  the  peace 
and  welfare  of  our  neighbour,  such  as  adul- 
tery and  murder.  But  undoubtedly  the  sins 
committed  immediately  against  himself  must 
be  more  heinous  than  any  which  offend  our 
fellow-creatures.  The  second  command- 
ment (Matth.  xxii.  39.),  is  like  the  first;  but 
it  depends  upon  it,  and  is  therefore  inferior 
to  it.  Men  ordinarily  judge  otherwise.  Tc 
live  regardless  of  God  and  the  gospel  is  looked 
upon  as  a  mere  pecadillo  in  comparison  with 
offences  against  society.  But  sooner  or  later  it 
will  appear  otherwise  to  all.  A  parcel  of  rob- 
bers may  pique  themselves  upon  the  justice, 
honour,  and  truth  they  observe  towards  one 
another;  but,  because  they  set  up  a  petty  in- 
terest, which  is  inconsistent  with  the  public 
good,  they  are  deservedly  accounted  villains, 
and  treated  as  such,  notwithstanding  their 
petty  morality  among  themselves.  Now  such 
a  company  of  robbers  bears  a  much  greater 
proportion  to  a  whole  nation,  than  a  nation, 
or  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  bears  to  the 
great  God.  Our  dependence  upon  him  is  ab- 
solute, our  obligations  to  him  infinite.  In 
vain  shall  men  plead  their  moral  discharge  of 
relative  duties  to  each  other,  if  they  fail  in 
the  unspeakably  greater  relation  under  which 
they  stand  to  God ;  and  therefore,  when  I  see 
people  living  without  God  in  the  world,  as  all 
do  till  they  ai:e  converted,  I  cannot  but  judge 
thera  in  a  dangerous  state  ; — not  because  I 
take   pleasure   in   censuring,    or  think  myself 


LET.  IV. 


LETTERS  TO  THE   REV.   MR.   S- 


177 


authorised  to  pass  sentence  upon  my  fellow- 
creatures,  but  because  the  scriptures  decide 
expressly  on  the  case,  and  I  am  bound  to  take 
my  sentiments  from  thence. 

The  jailor  was  certainly  a  christian  when 
baptised,  as  you  observe.  He  trembled;  he 
cried  out,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" 
Paul  did  not  bid  him  amend  his  life,  but  be- 
lieve in  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  believed  and  re- 
joiced. But  the  Lord  blessed  the  apostle's 
words,  to  produce  in  him  that  saving  faith 
which  filled  him  with  joy  and  peace.  It  was, 
as  I  observed  before,  something  more  than  an 
assent  to  the  proposition,  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ ;  a  resting  in  him  for  forgiveness  and 
acceptance,  and  a  cleaving  to  him  in  love. 
No  other  faith  will  purify  the  heart,  work  by 
love,  and  overcome  the  world. 

I  need  not  have  pleaded  want  of  leisure  as 
an  excuse  for  a  short  letter,  for  I  have  writ- 
ten a  long  one.  I  feel  myself  much  inte- 
rested in  your  concerns  ;  and  your  unex- 
pected frank  application  to  me  (though  you 
well  know  the  light  in  which  I  appear  to 
some  people)  I  consider  as  a  providential  call, 
which  binds  me  to  your  service.  I  hope  our 
correspondence  will  be  productive  of  happy 
effects,  and  that  we  shall  both  one  day  rejoice 
in  it. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 

September  6,  1775. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

I  BEGIN  to  fear  I  shall  fall  under  a  suspicion 
of  unkindness  and  forgetfulness  towards  you, 
and  therefore  I  am  willing  to  write  a  line  by 
way  of  prevention,  though  I  have  not  leisure 
to  attempt  any  thing  like  an  answer  to  the 
letter  you  put  into  my  hand  the  evening  be- 
fore I  left  O ;   I  must  therefore  content 

myself  with  a  tender  of  affection  and  respect, 
and  an  inquiry  after  your  welfare. 

Your  letter  will  give  me  an  opportunity  of 
saying  something  farther  when  time  shall  ad- 
mit ;  but  an  endeavour  to  answer  all  the  ob- 
jections that  may  be  started  between  us,  in  a 
way  of  reasoning,   would  require  a  volume, 

and  would  likewise  interfere  with  the  leading 

...  .  ® 

principle  upon  which  my  hope  of  giving  you 

satisfaction  in  due  time  is  grounded.  You 
seem  to  expect  that  I  should  remove  your 
difficulties ;  but  it  is  my  part  only  to  throw 
in  a  word  occasionally,  as  a  witness  of  what 
the  Lord  has  been  pleased  to  teach  me  from 
the  scriptures,  and  to  wait  for  the  rest  till  he 
(who  alone  is  able)  shall  be  pleased  to  com- 
municate the  same  views  to  you  :  for,  till  we  see 
and  judge  by  the  same  medium,  and  are 
agreed  in  the  fundamental  point,  that  faith 
is  not  the  effect  of  reasoning,  but  a  special 
gift  of  God,   which    he  bestows  when  and  to 


whom  he  pleases,  it  will  not  be  possible  for 
me  to  convince  you  by  dint  of  argument.  I 
believe,  as  I  have  observed  before,  that  lie 
has  already  given  you  a  desire  to  know  his 
will,  and  therefore  I  trust  he  will  not  disap- 
point your  search.  At  present  I  think  you 
want  one  thing,  which  it  is  not  in  my  power 
to  impart,  I  mean,  such  a  sense  of  the  de- 
pravity of  human  nature,  and  the  state  of 
all  mankind  considered  as  sinners,  as  may 
make  you  feel  the  utter  impossibility  of  at- 
taining to  the  peace  and  hope  of  the  gospel 
in  any  other  way,  than  by  renouncing  all 
hope  of  succeeding  by  any  endeavours  of 
your  own,  farther  than  by  humbly  waiting 
at  the  throne  of  grace,  for  power  to  cast 
yourself,  without  terms  and  conditions,  upon 
him  who  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost. 
We  must  feel  ourselves  sick,  before  we  can 
duly  prize  the  great  Physician,  and  feel  a 
sentence  of  death  in  ourselves,  before  we  can 
effectually  trust  in  God,  who  raiseth  the  dead. 
1  have  not  brought  your  sermons  with  me, 
for  I  thought  I  should  not  have  time  to  read 
them  attentively  while  in  this  hurrying  place. 
I  purpose  to  consider  them  with  care,  and  to 
give  you  my  thoughts  with  frankness,  when 
I  return.  However,  if  they  are  upon  the  plan 
intimated  in  your  letter,  I  will  venture  to  say 
one  thing  beforehand,  that  they  will  not  an- 
swer your  desired  end.  I  am  persuaded  you 
wish  to  be  useful — to  reclaim  sinners  from 
their  evil  ways — to  inspire  them  with  a  love 
to  God,  and  a  sincere  aim  to  walk  in  obe- 
dience to  his  will.  May  I  not  venture  to  ap- 
peal to  yourself,  that  you  meet  with  little  suc- 
cess,— that  the  people  to  whom  you  preach, 
though  they  perhaps  give  you  a  patient  hear- 
ing, yet  remain  as  they  were,  unchanged, 
and  unholy  ?  It  must  be  so  :  there  is  but 
one  sort  of  preaching  which  God  blesses  to 
these  purposes,  that  which  makes  all  the  world 
guilty  before  God,  and  sets  forth  Jesus  Christ, 
as  the  brazen  serpent  was  proposed  by  Moses, 
that  guilty  and  condemned  sinners,  by  look- 
ing to  him,  and  believing  on  his  name,  may 
be  healed  and  saved.  The  most  pressing  ex- 
hortations to  repentance  and  amendment  of 
life,  unless  they  are  enforced  in  a  certain  way, 
which  only  God  can  teach,  will  leave  our 
hearers  much  as  they  find  them.  When  we 
meet,  or  when  I  have  leisure  to  write  from 
home,  I  will  trouble  you  with  my  thoughts 
more  at  large.  Till  then,  permit  me  to  as- 
sure you  of  my  sincere  regard  and  best 
wishes,  and  that 

I  am,  &c. 


T 


178 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.   S~ 


LEI.  V. 


LETTER  V. 

October  21,  1775. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

The  calls  and  engagements  which  I  told  you 
engrossed  and  anticipated  my  time  when  I 
wrote  last,  have  continued  without  any  inter- 
mission hitherto,  and  I  am  still  far  behind 
hand  with  my  business.  I  am  willing  to  hope, 
that  the  case  has  been  much  the  same  with 
you,  and  that  want  of  leisure  has  been  the 
only  cause  of  my  not  having  been  pleasured 
with  so  much  as  a  note  from  you  since  my 
return  from  London. 

I  am  loatb,  for  my  own  sake,  to  charge 
your  silence  to  any  unwillingness  of  continu- 
ing that  intercourse  which  I  have  been,  and 
still  find  myself,  desirous  to  improve  on  my 
part.  For  though  we  are  not  agreed  in 
our  views ;  yet,  while  our  preliminary  agree- 
ment, to  allow  mutual  freedom,  and  to  exer- 
cise mutual  candour,  in  expressing  our  senti- 
ments, subsists,  we  may,  and  I  hope  shall  be 
glad  to  hear  from  each  other.  It  may  seem 
to  intimate  I  have  a  better  opinion  of  myself 
than  of  you,  that  while  I  seem  confident  your 
freedom  will  not  offend  me,  I  feel  now  and 
then  a  fear,  lest  mine  should  prove  displeas- 
ing to  you.  But  friendship  is  a  little  suspi- 
cious when  exercised  with  long  silence,  and  a 
plain  declaration  of  my  sentiments  has  more 
than  once  put  amiable  and  respectable  persons 
to  the  full  trial  of  their  patience. 

I  now  return  your  sermons  ;  I  thank  you 
for  the  perusal ;  I  see  much  in  them  that  I 
approve,  and  nothing  in  them  but  what  I  for- 
merly espoused.  But  in  a  course  of  years,  a 
considerable  alteration  has  taken  place  in  my 
judgment  and  experience,  I  hope,  yea,  I  may 
boldly  say,  I  am  sure,  not  for  the  worse. 
Then  I  was  seeking,  and  now,  through  mer. 
cy,  I  have  found,  the  pearl  of  great  price.  It 
is  both  the  prayer  and  the  hope  of  my  heart, 
that  a  day  is  coming  when  you  shall  make 
the  same  acknowledgement.  From  your  let- 
ters and  sermons,  I  am  encouraged  to  address 
you  in  our  Lord's  words,  "  Thou  art  not  far 
from  the  kingdom  of  God."  I  am  persuad- 
ed the  views  you  have  received  will  not  suffer 
you  to  remain  where  you  are.  But  fidelity 
obliges  me  to  add,  "  Yet  one  thing  thou  lack- 
est."  That  one  thing,  I  trust  the  Lord  will 
both  shew  you,  and  bestow  upon  you,  in  his 
due  time.  Yo-u  speak  somewhere  of  "  aton- 
ing for  disobedience  by  repentance."  Ah ! 
my  dear  Sir,  when  we  are  brought  to  estimate 
our  disobedience,  by  comparing  it  with  such 
a  sense  of  the  majesty,  holiness,  and  authority 
of  God,  and  the  spirituality,  extent,  and 
sanction  of  his  holy  law,  as  he,  and  he  only, 
can  impress  upon  the  heart  of  a  sinner,  we 
shall  be  convinced,  that  nothing  but  the  blood 


of  the  Son  of  God  can  atone  for  the  smallest 
instance  of  disobedience. 

I  intimated,  in  my  letter  from  London,  one 
defect  of  your  scheme,  which  will  probably  be 
the  first  to  engage  your  notice.  I  a:n  sure 
you  have  a  desire  to  be  useful  to  the  souls  of 
men,  to  be  an  instrument  of  reclaiming  them 
from  that  course  of  open  wickedness,  or  life- 
less formality,  in  which  you  see  them  enslav- 
ed ;  and,  in  a  word,  to  prevail  with  them  to 
live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly,  accord- 
ing to  the  just  and  comprehensive  sense  you 
have  given  of  those  words,  in  your  sermon  on 
Tit.  ii.  Hi  12.  Now,  inward  experience, 
and  a  pretty  extensive  observation  of  what 
passes  abroad,  have  sc  perfectly  convinced  me 
there  is  but  one  mode  of  preaching  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  owns  to  the  producing  of  these  ef- 
fects, that  I  am  not  afraid  to  pronounce  con- 
fidently, you  will  not  have  the  desires  of  your 
heart  gratified  upon  your  present  plan.  The 
people  will  give  you  a  hearing,  and  remain 
just  as  they  are,  till  the  Lord  leads  you  to 
speak  to  them  as  criminals  condemned  already, 
and  whose  first  essential  step  it  is,  to  seek 
forgiveness  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  a 
change  of  heart  and  state  by  his  grace,  before 
they  can  bring  forth  any  fruit  acceptable  to 
God. 

As  I  have  little  time  for  writing,  and  little 
hope  of  succeeding  in  a  way  of  argumenta- 
tion, I  have  substituted,  instead  of  a  longer 
letter,  the  heads  of  some  sermons  I  preached 
nine  or  ten  years  ago,  on  our  Lord's  dis- 
course with  Nicodemus,  However,  when  I 
have  heard  that  you  are  well,  and  that  you 
are  still  disposed  to  correspond  with  me,  I 
shall  be  ready  to  give  a  more  particular  an- 
swer to  the  subjects  you  pointed  out  to  me  in 
the  letter  you  favoured  me  with  the  day  before 
I  left  London.  I  pray  God  to  bless  you  in 
all  your  ways,  and  beg  you  to  believe,  that  I 
am,  with  sincerity,  &c. 


LETTER  VI. 

October  28. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

It  never  entered  my  pericranium,  that  you 
expected  I  should  fully  and  directly  answer 
your  letter  while  I  was  in  London  ;  and  yet 
you  reasonably  might,  as  you  knew  nothing 
of  my  engagements  :  but,  indeed,  it  was  im- 
practicable; I  could  only  send  you  a  hasty 
line,  as  a  token  that  I  remembered  you.  I 
informed  you,  when  I  returned,  that  I  was 
just  going  out  again.  Since  I  came  home  the 
second  time,  I  have  been  engrossed  by  things 
that  would  admit  of  no  delay ;  and,  at  length, 
not  having  so  much  as  a  note  from  you,  I 
thought  I  would  wait  till  I  heard  farther. 
But,  from  first  to  last  it  was  my  intention. 


T.ET.  VI. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR.  S- 


and  I  think,  my  promise,  to  answer  in  the 
manner  you  proposed,  as  soon  as  I  could. 
And  even  now  I  must  beg  a  little  longer 
time.  Believe  me,  that  as  the  wise  and  good 
providence  of  God  brought  us  together,  with- 
out any  expectation  of  mine,  I  will  do  all  in 
my  power  to  preserve  the  connection,  and 
particularly  by  giving  my  thoughts  on  such 
questions  as  you  propose.  And  though,  to 
consider  your  questions  in  the  manner  you 
wish,  and  to  point  out  the  agreement  of  de- 
tached texts  (as  they  occur)  with  my  views, 
seems,  in  prospect,  to  require  a  volume  rather 
than  a  sheet,  yet  I  am  not  discouraged  ;  only 
I  beg  you  to  make  allowances  for  other  things, 
and  to  be  assured,  that  before  I  had  the  plea- 
sure of  corresponding  with  you,  I  had  very 
little  spare  time.  Expect  then  the  best  satis- 
faction I  am  able  to  give  you,  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. To  prepare  the  way,  I  will  try  hard 
for  a  little  leisure,  to  give  you  a  few  thoughts 
upon  yours,  which  came  last  night. 

You  complain  that  I  have  hitherto  disap- 
pointed your  expectations.  If  you  have  pre- 
served my  first  papers,  I  believe  you  will  find, 
that  I  apprised  you  this  might  probably  be 
the  event,  and  certainly  must,  unless  it  should 
please  God  to  make  what  I  should  write  a 
means  of  giving  you  the  same  views  with  my- 
self. I  only  proposed,  as  a  witness,  to  bear 
a  simple  testimony  to  what  I  have  seen  and 
known.  So  far  as  you  believed  me  sincere 
and  unwilling  to  impose  upon  you,  I  thought 
you  might  admit,  there  was  perhaps  some 
weight  in  what  I  advanced,  though  for  the 
present,  you  could  not  see  things  in  the  same 
light.  And  if  you  allowed  a  possibility,  that 
my  changing  the  sentiments  which  I  once 
neld  in  common  with  yourself,  might  be  upon 
sufficient  grounds,  you  would,  as  I  trust  you 
do,  wait  upon  the  great  Teacher  for  his  in- 
struction j  otherwise  I  did  not  expect  to  con- 
vince you,  nor  do  I  yet,  only  I  am  glad  to 
put  myself  in  his  hands  as  an  instrument. 

You  quite  misunderstood  what  I  spoke  of 
the  light  and  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
He  reveals  to  me  no  new  truths,  but  has  only 
shown  me  the  meaning  of  his  own  written 
word  ;  nor  is  this  light  a  particular  revelation, 
it  is  common  to  all  who  are  born  again.  And 
thus,  though  you  and  I  cannot  fully  agree 
about  it,  yet  I  almost  daily  meet  with  persons 
from  the  east,  west,  north,  and  south,  whom, 
though  I  never  saw  them  before,  I  find  we 
understand  each  other  at  once.  This  (as  you 
bid  me  be  explicit)  is  the  one  thing  which  I 
think  you  at  present  lack.  And  I  limited 
my  expression  to  one  thing,  because  it  is  our 
Lord's  expression,  and  because  that  one  thing 
includes  many.  As  I  said  before,  I  cannot 
give  it  you  ;  but  the  Lord  can  :  and  from  the 
desire  he  has  raised  in  your  heart,  I  have  a 
warm  hope  that  he  will.  You  place  the  whole 
stress  of  your  inquiries  11  pon  reason  :  I  am 
far  from    discarding    reason,    when  it  is  en- 


— •  170 

lightened  and  sanctified  ;  but  spiritual  things 
must  be  spiritually  discerned,  and  can  be  re- 
ceived and  discerned  no  other  way  ;  for  to  our 
natural  reason  they  are  foolishness,  1  Cor.  ii. 
14,  15.  ;  Mat ih.  xi.  25.  This  certain  some- 
thing I  can  no  more  describe  to  those  who 
have  not  experienced  it,  than  I  could  describe 
the  taste  of  a  pine-apple  to  a  person  who  had 
never  seen  one.  But  scriptural  proofs  might 
be  adduced  in  abundance,  yet  not  so  as  to 
give  a  solid  conviction  of  it,  till  we  actually 
experience  it.  Thus  it  was  with  my  friend, 
whose  case  I  sent  you.  When  God  gave 
him  the  key,  as  he  expressed  it,  then  the 
scriptures  were  unlocked.  His  wishing  him- 
self a  deist  some  time  before,  was  not  from 
any  libertine  exceptions  he  made  to  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  gospel,  but  from  the  perplexing 
embarrassments  he  had  found,  by  endeavour- 
ing to  understand  the  doctrines  by  dint  of 
reason,  though  reason  in  him  was  as  strong 
and  penetrating  as  in  most  men  I  ever  met 
with.  Upon  your  present  plan,  how  can  I 
hope  to  satisfy  you,  though  even  St.  Paul  as- 
serts it,  that  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against 
God  ?  You  will  readily  agree  with  me  to  the 
proposition  as  it  stands  in  St.  Paul's  words, 
but  I  think  you  will  not  so  readily  assent  to 
what  I  have  no  more  doubt  than  of  my  own 
existence,  is  the  sense  of  it,  That  the  heart  of 
man,  of  any  man,  every  man,  however  appa- 
rently amiable  in  his  outward  conduct,  how 
ever  benevolent  to  his  fellow-creatures,  how 
ever  abundant  and  zealous  in  his  devotions 
is  by  nature  enmity  against  God  ;  not  indeed, 
against  the  idea  he  himself  forms  of  God,  but 
against  the  character  which  God  has  revealed 
of  himself  in  the  scriptures.  Man  is  an  e- 
nemy  to  the  justice,  sovereignty,  and  law  of 
God,  and  to  the  alone  method  of  salvation  he 
has  appointed  in  the  gospel  by  faith  only ; 
by  such  a  faith,  as  it  is  no  more  in  his  power 
to  contribute  to  the  production  of  in  himself, 
than  he  can  contribute  to  raising  the  dead,  or 
making  a  world.  Whatever  is  of  the  flesh  is 
flesh,  and  can  rise  no  higher  than  its  princi- 
ple ;  but  the  Lord  could  convince  you  of  this 
by  a  glance  of  thought. 

But  I  must  break  off,  for  want  both  of  room 
and  timfc.  Let  me  remind  you  of  our  agree- 
ment, to  use  and  to  allow  the  greatest  free- 
dom, and  not  to  be  offended  with  what  is 
meant  well  on  either  side.  Something  in 
your  last  letter  made  me  apprehensive  you 
were  a  little  displeased  with  me.  He  that 
knows  my  heart,  knows  that  I  wish  you  well 
as  my  own  soul. 

The  expression,  of  atoning  for  disobedience 
by  repentance,  was  in  one  of  your  sermons. 
I  considered  it  as  unguarded ;  but  on  my 
view  of  things,  it  were  in  a  manner  impos- 
sible I  could  use  that  expression,  though  per- 
haps, too  often  unguarded  myself. 
I  am,  &c. 


180 


LETTERS  TO  THE  KEY.  MR.  S- 


LETTER  VII. 

November  17,  1775. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

At  length  I  take  up  your  favour  of  August 
14,  with  design  to  give  it  a  more  explicit  an- 
swer. My  delaying  hitherto  has  been  una- 
voidable ;  I  am  sorry  to  have  your  patience  put 
to  so  long  a  trial,  and  should  be  more  sorry, 
but  that  I  consider,  that  in  my  former  papers, 
sermons,  Omicron's  letters,  &c.  you  already 
possess  the  whole  (in  substance)  of  what  I 
have  to  offer.  My  present  part  is  but  actum 
agere,  to  repeat  what  I  have  elsewhere  ex- 
pressed, only  with  some  variety  and  enlarge- 
ment. You  yourself  well  state  the  situation 
of  our  debate,  when  you  say,  "  Nor  in  truth 
do  you  offer  any  arguments  to  convince  me, 
nor  does  it  seem  very  consistent  on  your 
grounds  so  to  do.  And  if  this  important 
change  is  to  be  brought  about  by  the  inter- 
vention of  some  extraordinary  impulse  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  cannot  be  brought  about 
without  it ;  I  do  not  see  any  thing  farther 
that  I  have  to  do,  than  to  keep  my  mind  as 
much  unbiased  as  I  can,  and  to  wait  and  pray 
for  it."  I  think  my  letter  from  London  was 
to  the  purport  of  these  your  own  words, 
though  you  seemed  dissatisfied  with  it.  While 
we  see  through  a  different  medium,  it  will  be 
easy  for  you  to  answer  every  text  I  might 
adduce  in  support  of  my  sentiments,  as  you 
have  those  I  have  already  brought,  "  That 
you  understand  them  otherwise."  In  order 
to  support  my  sense  of  one  text,  I  should  per- 
haps quote  and  argue  from  twenty  more,  and 
still  "  you  would  understand  them  other- 
wise." The  life  of  man,  yea,  of  Methuselah, 
would  hardly  suffice  to  prove,  object,  and  de- 
fend, all  that  might  be  alledged  on  both  sides 
in  this  way ;  and  at  last  we  should  leave  off 
as  we  began,  more  fully  confirmed  in  our 
own  opinions,  unless  the  Lord,  by  his  Holy 
Spirit,  should  be  pleased  to  shew  the  person 
who  maintained  the  wrong  side  of  the  argu- 
ment where  his  mistake  lay.  However,  I 
mean  to  take  some  notice  of  your  queries  as 
they  offer  themselves. 

The  first  which  occurs  is  complicated. 
The  substance  I  think  is,  Whether  such  be- 
lief and  aims  as  you  possess,  will  stand  you  in 
no  stead  unless  you  likewise  believe  grace  ir- 
resistible, predestination  absolute,  faith  in  su- 
pernatural impulses,  &c.  ?  You  may  have  ob- 
served, I  have  several  times  waved  speaking 
about  predestination  or  election,  not  that  I 
am  ashamed  of  the  doctrine ;  because,  if  it 
be  indeed  absurd,  shocking,  and  unjust,  the 
blame  will  not  deservedly  fall  upon  me,  for  I 
did  not  invent  it,  but  upon  the  scriptures, 
where  I  am  sure  it  is  laid  down  in  as  plain 
terms,  as  that  God  created  the  heavens  and 
(he  earth.      I  own  I  cannot  but  wonder,  that 


—  •  LET.   VII 

persons  professing  any  reverence  for  the  Bibla 
should  so  openly  and  strongly  declare  their 
abhorrence  of  what  the  Bible  so  expressly 
teaches  ;  lvamely,  that  there  is  a  discrimina- 
tion of  persons  by  the  grace  and  good  plea- 
sure of  God,  where  by  nature  there  is  no  dif- 
ference ;  and  that  all  things  respecting  the 
salvation  of  these  persons  is  infallibly  secured 
by  a  divine  predestination. 

I  do  not  offer  this  as  a  rational  doctrine, 
though  it  be  highly  so  to  me ;  but  it  is  scrip- 
tural, or  else  the  scriptures  are  a  mere  nose 
of  wax,  and  without  a  determinate  meaning. 
What  ingenuity  is  needful  to  interpret  many 
passages  in  a  sense  more  favourable  to  our 
natural  prejudices  against  God's  sovereignty  ! 
Matth.  xi.  25,  26,  and  xiii.  10 — 17;  Mark 
xiii.  20,  22;  John  xvii.  passim;  John  x.  26  ; 
Rom.  viii.  28 — 30,  and  ix.  13 — 24,  and  xi. 
7;  Eph.  i.  4,  5;  1  Pet.  1,  2.  Were  I  fond 
of  disputing,  as  I  am  not,  I  think  I  could  put 
a  close  reasoner  hard  to  it,  to  maintain  the 
truth  of  scripture-prophecies,  or  the  belief 
of  a  particular  providence,  unless  he  would 
admit  a  divine  predestination  of  causes  and 
events  as  the  ground  of  his  arguments.  How- 
ever, as  I  said,  I  have  chosen  to  waive  the 
point;  because,  however  true  and  necessary 
in  itself,  the  knowledge  and  comprehension 
of  it  is  not  necessary  to  the  being  of  a  true 
christian,  though  I  can  hardly  conceive  he  can 
be  an  established  consistent  believer  without  it. 
This  doctrine  is  not  the  turning  point  between 
you  and  me;  the  nature  of  justification,  and 
the  method  of  a  sinner's  acceptance  with  God, 
are  of  much  more  immediate  importance ; 
and  therefore,  if  I  am  to  speak  plainly,  I  must 
say,  that  1  look  upon  your  present  senti- 
ments, attainments,  and  advances,  as  you  de- 
scribe them,  to  constitute  that  kind  of  gain 
the  apostle  speaks  of,  and  concerning  which  I 
hope  you  will  one  day  be  of  his  mind,  and  be 
glad  to  account  it  all  loss,  that  you  may  win 
Christ,  and  be  found  in  him,  "  not  having 
your  own  righteousness,  which  is  of  the  law, 
but  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by 
faith,"  Phil.  iii.  4,  7 — 10.  For,  as  you  tell 
me,  you  never  remember  a  time  when  you 
were  not  conscious  before  God  of  great  un- 
worthiness,  and  intervals  of  earnest  endeavours 
to  serve  him,  though  not  with  the  same  suc- 
cess, yet  something  in  the  same  way,  as  at 
present;  this  is  but  saying,  in  other  words, 
you  never  remember  a  time  when  old  things 
passed  away,  and  all  things  became  new  ;  ami 
yet  the  apostle  insists  much  upon  this,  2  Cor. 
iv.  6,  and  v.  17.  The  convictions  of  natural 
conscience,  and  those  which  are  wrought  in 
the  heart  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  are  different,  not 
only  in  degree,  but  in  kind;  the  light  of  a 
glow-worm  and  of  the  sun  do  not  more  essen- 
tially differ.  The  former  are  partial  and  su- 
perficial, leave  us  in  possession  of  a  supposed 
power  of  our  own,  are  pacified  by  some  ap- 
pearances of  an  outward   change,  and  make 


LET.  vxr. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR.  S .  181 

love;"  whereas  assent  is  often  given  where  it 
has  little  or  no  influence  upon  the  conduct. 
Thus,  for  instance,  every  one  will  assent  to 
this  truth,  All  men  are  mortal.  Yet  the  great- 
est part  of  mankind,  though  they  readily  as- 
sent to  the  proposition,  and  it  would  be  highly 
irrational  to  do  otherwise,  live  as  they  might 
do  if  the  reverse  were  true.  Rut  they  who 
have  divine  faith  feel,  as  well  as  say,  they  are 
pilgrims  and  sojourners  upon  earth.  Again, 
faith  gives  peace  of  conscience,  access  to  God, 
and  a  sure  evidence  and  subsistence  of  things 
not  seen  (Rom.  v.  1,  2  ;  Heb.  xi.  1);  where- 
as a  calm  dispassionate  reasoner  may  be  com- 
pelled to  assent  to  the  external  arguments  in 
favour  of  Christianity,  and  yet  remain  a  total 
stranger  to  that  communion  with  God,  that 
spirit  of  adoption,  that  foretaste  of  glory,  which 


us  no  farther  sensible  of  the  necessity  of  a 
Saviour,  than  to  make  our  doings  and  duties 
(if  I  may  so  express  myself)  full  weight, 
which  perhaps  might  otherwise  be  a  little  de- 
ficient when  brought  to  the  balance  of  the 
sanctuary.  But  truly  spiritual  convictions 
give  us  far  other  views  of  sin  ;  they  lead  us  to 
a  deep  and  awful  consideration  of  the  root, 
our  total  absol  ute  depravity,  and  our  utter  apos- 
tacy  from  God  by  which  we  are  as  incapable 
of  doing  good,  as  a  dead  man  is  of  perform- 
ing the  functions  of  life.  They  lead  us  to  the 
rule  and  standard,  the  strict,  holy,  inflexible 
law  of  God,  which  reaches  to  the  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  heart ;  requires  perfect, 
universal,  persevering  obedience ;  denounces 
a  curse  upon  every  failure  (Gal.  iii.  10),  and 
affords  neither  place  nor  strength  for  repent- 
ance. Thus  they  sweep  away  every  hope  and 
refuge  we  had  before,  and  fix  upon  us  a  sense 
of  guilt  and  condemnation,  from  which  there 
is  no  relief,  till  we  can  look  to  Jesus,  as  the 
wounded  Israelites  did  to  the  brazen  serpent; 
which  was  not  to  give  efficacy  to  medicines, 
and  plasters  of  their  own  application,  but  to 
heal  them  completely  of  itself  by  looking  at 
it.  John  iii.  14,  15,  and  vi.  40;  Isaiah  xliii. 
22. 

You  wish  me  to  explain  my  distinction  be- 
tween faith  and  rational  assent ;  and  though 
I  know  no  two  things  in  the  world  more 
clearly  distinct  in  themselves,  or  more  express- 
ly distinguished  in  scripture,  yet  I  fear  I  may 
not  easily  make  it  appear  to  you.  You  allow 
faith,  in  your  sense,  to  be  the  gift  of  God ; 
but  in  my  sense,  it  is  likewise  wrought  by  the 
operation  of  God,  Col.  ii.  12,  to  vvioZa.xy.oi  ft  - 

yiSo;  rm  luva/itais  aurov — /carol  T&v  tiftpyuav  rov 
x^ocrou;  <rns  itr%voe  olvtov*  that  same  energy  of 
the  power  of  his  strength,  by  which  the  dead 
body  of  Jesus  was  raised  from  the  dead.  Can 
these  strong  expressions  intend  no  more  than  a 
rational  assent,  such  as  we  give  to  a  proposition 
in  Euclid?  I  believe  fallen  reason  is,  of  it- 
self, utterly  incapable  even  of  assenting  to  the 
great  truths  of  revelation ;  it  may  assent  to 
the  terms  in  which  they  are  proposed,  but  it 
must  put  its  own  interpretation  upon  them, 
or  it  would  despise  them.  The  natural  man 
can  neither  receive  nor  discern  the  things  of 
God ;  and  if  any  one  would  be  wise,  the 
apostle's  first  advice  to  him  is,  Let  him  be- 
come a  fool,  that  he  may  be  wise ;  for  the 
wisdom  of  the  world  is  foolishness  with  God. 
Indeed  when  the  heart  is  changed,  and  the 
mind  enlightened,  than  reason  is  sanctified, 
and  if  I  may  so  say,  baptized,  renounces  its 
curious  disquisitions,  and  is  content  humbly 
to  tread  in  the  path  of  revelation.  This  is 
one  difference  ;  assent  may  be  the  act  of  our 
natural  reason  ;  faith  is  the  effect  of  imme- 
diate almighty  power.  Another  difference  is, 
faith   is  always  efficacious,   "  it   worketh   by 

•  Kphes    i.  19. 


is  the  privilege  and  portion  of  believers.  So 
likewise  faith  overcomes  the  world,  which  ra- 
tional assent  will  not  do.  Witness  the  lives 
and  tempers  of  thousands,  who  yet  would  be 
affronted,  if  their  assent  to  the  gospel  should 
be  questioned.  To  sum  up  all  in  a  word,  "  He 
that  believes  shall  be  saved."  But  surely 
many  who  give  a  rational  assent  to  the  gospel 
live  and  die  in  those  sins  which  exclude  from 
the  kingdom  of  God,  Gal  v.  19—21.  Faith 
is  the  effect  of  a  principle  of  new  life  im- 
planted in  the  soul,  that  was  before  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins  ;  and  it  qualifies  not  only 
for  obeying  the  Saviour's  precepts,  but  chiefly 
and  primarily  for  receiving  from  and  rejoicing 
in  his  fulness,  admiring  his  love,  his  work, 
his  person,  his  glory,  his  advocacy.  It  makes 
Christ  precious,  enthrones  him  in  the  heart, 
presents  him  as  the  most  delightful  object  to 
our  meditations ;  as  our  wisdom,  righteous- 
ness, sanctification,  and  strength ;  our  root, 
head,  life,  shepherd,  and  husband.  These  are 
all  scriptural  expressions  and  images,  setting 
forth,  so  far  as  words  can  declare,  what  Jesus 
is  in  himself  and  to  his  believing  people.  But 
how  cold  is  the  comment  which  rational  as- 
sent puts  upon  very  many  passages  wherein 
the  apostle  Paul  endeavours,  but  in  vain,  to 
express  the  fulness  of  his  heart  upon  this  sub- 
ject. A  most  valued  friend  of  mine,  a  cler- 
gyman, now  living,  had  for  many  years  given 
a  rational  assent  to  the  gospel.  He  laboured 
with  much  earnestness  upon  your  plan,  was 
very  exemplary  in  his  whole  conduct,  preach- 
ed almost  incessantly  (two  or  three  times  every 
day  in  the  week  for  years),  having  a  parish  in 
the  remote  parts  of  Yorkshire,  of  great  extent, 
and  containing  five  or  six  different  hamlets  at 
some  distance  from  each  other.  He  succeeded 
likewise  with  his  people,  so  far  as  to  break 
them  off"  from  outward  irregularities  ;  and  was 
mentioned  in  a  letter  to  the  Society  for  propa- 
gating the  Gospel,  which  I  have  seen  in  print, 
as  the  most  perfect  example  of  a  parish-priest 
which  this  nation,  or  perhaps  this  age,  has 
produced.  Thus  he  went  on  for  many  years 
teaching  his  people   what    he  knew,  for    he 


182  LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.  S 

could  teacli  them  no  more.  He  lived  in  such 
retirement  and  recess,  that  he  was  unac- 
quainted with  the  persons  and  principles  of 
any 


LET.  VII. 


who  are  now  branded  as  enthusiasts  and 
methodists.      One   day,   reading    Ephes.    iii. 
in  his    Greek   Testament,   his   thoughts  were 
stopped  by  the  word  anYcjxvtauiTov,   in  verse  8. 
He  was   struck,   and  led  to  think  with  him- 
self to  this   purpose: — "  The  apostle,  when 
speaking    of  the   love  and   riches  of  Christ, 
uses  remarkable    expressions ;    he  speaks   of 
heights,   depths,   and   lengths,   and  breadths, 
and  unsearchableness,  where   I  seem  to  find 
every  thing   plain,  easy,    and  rational.      He 
finds  mysteries  where    1  can   perceive  none. 
Surely,  though  I  use  the  words  gospel,  faith, 
and  grace  with  him,  my  ideas  of  them  must 
be   different   from   his."      This  led  him  to  a 
close  examination  of  all  his  epistles,  and,  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  brought  on  a  total  change 
in  his  views  and   preaching.      He   no  longer 
set  his  people  to  keep  a  law  of  faith,  to  trust 
in  their  sincerity  and  endeavours  upon  some 
general  hope  that  Christ  would  help  them  out 
where    they   came    short;    but   he    preached 
Christ  himself,  as  the  end  of  the  law  for  right- 
eousness  to   every  one   that  believeth.       He 
felt  himself,  and  laboured  to  convince  others, 
that  there  is  no  hope  for  a  sinner,  but  merely 
in  the  blood   of  Jesus,   and  no   possibility  of 
his  doing  any  works  acceptable  to  God,  till 
he  himself  be  first  made  accepted  in  the  Be- 
loved.    Nor  did  he  labour  in  vain.     Now  his 
preaching   effected   not  only  an   outward  re- 
formation, but  a  real  change  of  heart,  in  very 
many  of  his  hearers.    The  word  was  received, 
as  Paul  expresses  it,  not  with  a  rational  assent 
only,   but  with   demonstration  and  power  in 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  much  assurance;  and 
their  endeavours   to  observe  the  gospel  pre- 
cepts were  abundantly  more  extensive,  uni- 
form, and  successful,  when  they  were  brought 
to  say,    with  the  apostle,    "   I  am  erucified 
with    Christ :   nevertheless  I  live,  yet  not   I, 
but  Christ  liveth  in  me  ;  and  the  life  I  live 
in  the  flesh,    I  live  by  faith   in   the    Son   of 
God." 

Such  a  change  of  views  and  sentiments  I 
pray  God  my  friend  may  experience.  These 
things  may  appear  uncouth  to  you  at  present, 
as  they  have  done  to  many,  who  now  bless 
God  for  shewing  them  what  their  reason  could 
never  have  taught  them.  My  divinity  is  un- 
fashionable enough  at  present,  but  it  was  not 
so  always;  you  will  find  few  books  written 
from  the  era  of  the  Reformation  till  a  little 
before  Laud's  time,  that  set  forth  any  other. 
There  were  few  pulpits  till  after  the  Restora- 
tion from  which  any  other  was  heard.  A  la- 
mentable change  has  indeed  since  taken  place; 
but  God  has  not  left  himself  without  wit- 
nesses. You  think,  though  I  disclaim  infal- 
libility. 1  arrogate  too  much,  in  speaking  with 
so  much  certainty.  I  am  fallible,  indeed  ;  but 
I  am  sure  of  the  main    points   of  doctrine   I 


hold.  I  am  not  in  the  least  doubt,  whether 
salvation  be  of  faith  or  of  works ;  whether 
faith  be  of  our  own  power,  or  of  God's  ope- 
ration ;  whether  Christ's  obedience  or  our 
own  be  the  just  ground  of  our  hope;  whether 
a  man  can  truly  call  Jesus  Lord,  but  by  the 
teaching  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  have  no  more 
hesitation  about  these  points  than  I  should 
have,  were  I  asked,  Whether  it  was  God  oi 
man  that  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  ? 
Besides,  as  I  have  more  than  once  observed, 
your  sentiments  were  once  my  own ;  so  that 
I,  who  have  travelled  both  roads,  may  have, 
perhaps,  some  stronger  reason  to  determine 
me  which  is  the  right,  than  you  can  have,  who 
have  only  travelled  one. 

Your  two  sheets  may  lead  me  to  write  as 
many  quires,  if  I  do  not  check  myself.  I 
now  come  to  the  two  queries  you  propose, 
the  solution  of  which,  you  think,  will  clearly 
mark  the  difference  of  our  sentiments.  The 
substance  of  them  is,  1st,  Whether  I  think 
any  sinner  ever  perished  in  his  sins  (to  whom 
the  gospel  has  been  preached),  because  God 
refused  to  supply  him  with  such  a  proportion 
of  his  assistance  as  was  absolutely  necessary 
to  his  believing  and  repenting,  or  without  his 
having  previously  rejected  the  incitements  of 
his  Holy  Spirit  ?  A  full  answer  to  this  would 
require  a  sheet.  But  briefly,  I  believe,  that 
all  mankind  being  corrupt  and  guilty  before 
God,  he  might,  without  impeachment  to  his 
justice,  have  left  them  all  to  perish,  as  we  are 
assured  he  did  the  fallen  angels.  But  he  was 
pleased  to  shew  mercy,  and  mercy  must  be 
free.  If  the  sinner  has  any  claim  to  it,  so  far 
it  is  justice,  not  mercy.  He  who  is  to  be  our 
Judge  assures  us,  that  few  find  the  gate  that 
leadeth  to  life,  while  many  throng  the  road  to 
destruction.  Your  question  seems  to  imply, 
that  you  think  God  either  did  make  salvation 
equally  open  to  all,  or  that  it  would  have 
been  more  becoming  his  goodness  to  have 
done  so. 

But  he  is  the  potter,  we  are  the  clay ;  his 
ways  and  thoughts  are  above  ours,  as  the  hea- 
vens are  higher  than  the  ear,h.  The  Judge 
of  all  the  earth  will  do  right.  He  has  ap- 
pointed a  day,  when  he  will  manifest,  to  the 
conviction  of  all,  that  he  has  done  right. 
Till  then,  I  hold  it  best  to  take  things  upon 
his  word,  and  not  too  harshly  determine  what 
it  becomes  Jehovah  to  do.  Instead  of  say- 
ing what  I  think,  let  it  suffice  to  remind  you 
of  what  St.  Paul  thought,  Rom.  ix.  15 — 21. 
But  farther,  I  say,  that  unless  mercy  were  af- 
forded to  those  who  are  saved,  in  a  way  pe- 
culiar to  themselves,  and  which  is  not  afforded 
to  those  who  perish,  I  believe  no  one  soul 
could  be  saved.  For  I  believe  fallen  nwn, 
universally  considered  as  such,  is  as  incapable 
of  doing  the  least  thing  towards  his  salvation, 
till  prevented  by  the  grace  of  God  (as  our 
Article  speaks),  as  a  dead  body  is  of  restoring 
itself  to  life.    Whatever  difference  takes  place 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR.  S- 


T.ET.  VII 

between  men  in  this  respect  is  of  grace,  that 
is,  of  God,  undeserved.  Yea,  his  first  ap- 
proaches to  our  hearts  are  undesired  too;  for, 
till  he  seeks  us,  we  cannot,  we  will  not,  seek 
him,  Psalm  ex.  3.  It  is  in  the  day  of  his 
power,  and  not  before,  his  people  are  made 
willing.  But  I  believe,  where  the  gospel  is 
preached,  they  who  do  perish,  do  wilfully  re- 
sist the  light,  and  chuse  and  cleave  to  dark- 
ness, and  stifle  the  convictions  which  the  truths 
of  God,  when  his  true  gospel  is  indeed  preach- 
ed, will,  in  one  degree  or  other,  force  upon 
their  minds.  The  cares  of  this  world,  the  de- 
ceitfulness  of  riches,  the  love  of  other  things, 
the  violence  of  sinful  appetites,  their  preju- 
dices, pride,  and  self-righteousness,  either 
prevent  the  reception,  or  choke  the  growth,  of 
the  sood  seed :  thus  their  own  sin  and  ob- 
stinacy  is  the  proper  cause  of  their  destruc- 
tion :  they  will  not  come  to  Christ,  that  they 
may  have  life.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  true 
that  they  cannot,  unless  they  are  supernatu- 
rally  drawn  of  God,  John  v.  40,  vi.  44.  They 
will  not,  and  they  cannot  come.  Both  are 
equally  true,  and  they  are  consistent.  For  a 
man's  cannot  is  not  a  natural,  but  a  moral 
inability  :  not  an  impossibility  in  the  nature 
of  things,  as  it  is  for  me  to  walk  upon  the 
water,  or  to  fly  in  the  air ;  but  such  an  ina- 
bility as,  instead  of  extenuating,  does  exceed- 
ingly enhance  and  aggrarate  his  guilt.  He  is 
so  blinded  by  Satan,  so  alienated  from  God 
by  nature  and  wicked  works,  so  given  up  to 
sin,  so  averse  from  that  way  of  salvation, 
which  is  contrary  to  his  pride  and  natural 
wisdom,  that  he  will  not  embrace  it,  or  seek 
after  it ;  and  therefore  he  cannot,  till  the 
grace  of  God  powerfully  enlightens  his  mind, 
and  overcomes  his  obstacles.  But  this  brings 
me  to  your  second  query  : 

2.  Do  I  think  that  God,  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  his  providence,  grants  this  assist- 
ance in  an  irresistible  manner,  or  effects  faith 
and  conversion  without  the  sinner's  own 
hearty  consent  and  concurrence  ?  I  rather 
chose  to  term  grace  invincible  than  irresisti- 
ble :  for  it  is  too  often  resisted  even  by  those 
who  believe  ;  but  because  it  is  invincible,  it 
triumphs  over  all  resistance  when  He  is  pleased 
to  bestow  it.  For  the  rest,  I  believe  no  sin- 
ner is  converted  without  his  own  hearty  will 
and  concurrence.  But  he  is  not  willing  till 
he  is  made  so.  Why  does  he  at  all  refuse  ? 
Because  he  is  insensible  of  his  state  ;  because 
he  knows  not  the  evil  of  sin,  the  strictness 
of  the  law,  the  majesty  of  God  whom  he 
has  offended,  nor  the  total  apostacy  of  his 
heart ;  because  he  is  blind  to  eternity,  and 
ignorant  of  the  excellency  of  Christ ;  because 
lie  is  comparatively  whole,  and  sees  not  his 
need  of  this  great  physician  ;  because  he  relies 
upon  his  own  wisdom,  power,  and  supposed 
righteousness.  Now,  in  this  state  of  things, 
when  God  comes  with  a  purpose  of  mercy,  he 
begins  by  convincing  the  person  of  sin,  judg- 


183 


ment,  and  righteousness,  causes  him  to  feel 
and  know  that  he  is  a  lost,  condemned,  help- 
less creature,  and  then  discovers  to  him  the 
necessity,  sufficiency,  and  willingness,  of 
Christ  to  save  them  that  are  ready  to  perish, 
without  money  or  price,  without  doings  or  de- 
servings.  Then  he  sees  faith  to  be  very  dif- 
ferent from  a  rational  assent,  finds  that  noth- 
ing but  the  power  of  God  can  produce  a  well 
grounded  hope  in  the  heart  of  a  convinced 
sinner;  therefore  looks  to  Jesus,  who  is  the 
author  and  finisher  of  faith,  to  enable  him  to 
believe.  For  this  he  waits  in  what  we  call 
the  means  of  grace ;  he  prays,  he  reads  the 
word,  he  thirsts  for  God,  as  the  hart  pants  for 
the  water  brooks  ;  and  though,  perhaps,  for  a 
while  he  is  distressed  with  many  doubts  and 
fears,  he  is  encouraged  to  wait  on,  because 
Jesus  has  said,  "  Him  that  cometh  unto  me,  I 
will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  The  obstinacy  of 
the  will  remains  while  the  understanding  is 
dark,  and  ceases  when  that  is  enlightened. 
Suppose  a  man  walking  in  the  dark,  where 
there  are  pits  and  precipices  of  which  he  is  not 
aware.  You  are  sensible  of  his  danger,  and 
call  after  him  :  but  he  thinks  he  knows  better 
than  you,  refuses  your  advice,  and  is  perhaps 
angry  with  you  for  your  importunity.  He 
sees  no  danger,  therefore,  will  not  be  persuaded 
there  is  any ;  but  if  you  go  with  a  light,  get 
before  him,  and  show  him  plainly,  that  if  he 
takes  another  step  he  falls  beyond  the  power  of 
recovery ;  then  he  will  stop  of  his  own  ac- 
cord, blame  himself  for  not  minding  you  be- 
fore, and  be  ready  to  comply  with  your  far- 
ther  directions.  In  either  case  man's  will  acts 
with  equal  freedom  ;  the  difference  of  his  con- 
duct arises  from  conviction.  Something  like 
this  is  the  case  of  our  spiritual  concerns.  Sin- 
ners are  called  and  warned  by  the  word  ;  but 
they  are  wise  in  their  own  eyes,  and  take  but 
little  notice  till  the  Lord  gives  them  light, 
which  he  is  not  bound  to  give  to  any,  and 
therefore  cannot  be  bound  to  give  to  all.  They 
who  have  it  have  reason  to  be  thankful,  and 
subscribe  to  the  apostle's  words,  "  By  grace 
are  ye  saved,  through  faith ;  and  that  not  of 
yourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God." 

I  have  not  yet  half  done  with  the  first  sheet : 
I  shall  consider  the  rest  at  leisure,  but  send 
this  as  a  specimen  of  my  willingness  to  clear 
my  sentiments  to  you  as  far  as  I  can.  Unless 
it  should  please  God  to  make  what  I  offer  sa- 
tisfactory, I  well  know  beforehand  what  ob- 
jections and  answers  will  occur  to  you,  for 
these  points  have  been  often  debated  ;  and, 
after  a  course  of  twenty-seven  years,  in  which 
religion  has  been  the  chief  object  of  my 
thoughts  and  inquiries,  I  am  not  entirely  a 
stranger  to  what  can  be  offered  on  either 
side.  What  I  write,  I  write  simply  and  in 
love,  beseeching  him  who  alone  can  set  a  seal 
to  his  own  truth  to  guide  you  and  bless  you. 
This  letter  has  been  more  than  a  week  in 
hand  :    I  have  been  called  from  it,  I  suppose, 


181 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR.   S 


LET.  VIII. 


ten  times,  frequently  in  the  middle  of  a  pe- 
riod or  a  line.  My  leisure,  which  before  was 
small,  is  now  reduced  almost  to  a  nothing. 
But  I  am  desirous  to  keep  up  my  correspond- 
ence with  you,  because  I  feel  an  affectionate 
interest  in  you,  and  because  it  pleased  God 
to  put  it  into  your  heart  to  apply  to  me.  You 
cannot  think  how  your  first  letter  struck  me  : 
it  was  so  unexpected,  and  seemed  so  impro- 
bable that  you  should  open  your  mind  to  me, 
I  immediately  conceived  a  hope  it  would  prove 
for  good.      Nor  ana  I  yet  discouraged. 

When  you  have  leisure  and  inclination, 
write;  I  shall  always  be  glad  to  hear  from 
you,  and  I  will  proceed  in  answering  what  I 
have  already  by  me  as  fast  as  I  can.  But  I 
have  many  letters  now  waiting  for  answers, 
which  must  be  attended  to. 

I  recommend  you  to  the  blessing  and  care 
of  the  great  Shepherd,  and  remain,  &c. 


LETTER  VIII. 

December  8,  1775. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 
ARE  you  willing  I  should  still  call  you  so,  or 
are  you  quite  weary  of  me  ?  Your  silence 
makes  me  suspect  the  latter.  However,  it  is 
my  part  to  fulfil  my  promise,  and  then  leave 
the  event  to  God.  As  I  have  but  an  imper- 
fect remembrance  of  what  I  have  already 
written,  I  may  be  liable  to  some  repetitions. 
I  cannot  stay  to  comment  upon  every  line  in 
your  letter,  but  I  proceed  to  notice  such  pas- 
sages as  seem  most  to  affect  the  subject  in  de- 
bate. When  you  speak  of  the  scriptures 
maintaining  one  consistent  sense,  which,  if  the 
word  of  God,  it  certainly  must  do,  you  say 
you  read  and  understand  it  in  this  one  con- 
sistent sense  ;  nay,  you  cannot  remember  the 
time  when  you  did  not.  It  is  otherwise  with 
me  and  with  multitudes ;  we  remember  when 
it  was  a  sealed  book,  and  we  are  sure  it  would 
have  been  so  still,  had  not  the  Holy  Spirit 
opened  our  understandings.  But  when  you 
add,  though  I  pretend  not  to  understand  the 
whole,  yet  what  I  do  understand  appears  per. 
fectly  consistent,  I  know  not  how  far  this  ex- 
ception may  extend,  for  perhaps  the  reason 
why  you  allow  you  do  not  understand  some 
parts,  is  because  you  cannot  make  them  con- 
sistent with  the  sense  you  put  upon  other 
parts.  You  quote  my  words,  "  That  when 
we  are  conscious  of  our  depravity,  reason- 
ing stands  us  in  no  stead."  Undoubtedly 
reason  always  will  stand  rational  creatures  in 
some  stead ;  but  my  meaning  is,  that  when 
we  are  deeply  convinced  of  sin,  all  our  for- 
mer reasonings  upon  the  ways  of  God,  while 
we  made  our  conceptions  the  standard  by 
which  we  judge  what  is  befitting  him  to  do, 
as  if  lie  were  altogether  such  an  one  as  our- 
wives, — all  those  cobweb  reasonings  are  swept 


away,  and  we  submit  to  his  avms  tfn  without 
reasoning,  though  not  without  reason.  For 
we  have  the  strongest  reason  imaginable  to 
acknowledge  ourselves  vile  and  lost  without 
righteousness  and  strength,  when  we  actually 
feel  ourselves  to  be  so.  You  speak  of  the 
gospel  terms  of  justification.  This  term  is 
faith.  Mark  xvi.  16,  Acts  xiii.  39.  The 
gospel  propounds,  admits  no  other  term.  But 
this  faith,  as  I  endeavoured  to  show  in  my 
former  letter,  is  very  different  from  rational 
assent.  You  speak  likewise  of  the  law  of 
faith,  by  which,  if  you  mean  what  some  call 
the  remedial  law,  which  we  are  to  obey  as 
well  as  we  can,  and  such  obedience,  together 
with  our  faith,  will  entitle  us  to  acceptance 
with  God,  I  am  persuaded  the  scriptures 
speak  of  no  such  thing.  Grace  and  works 
of  any  kind,  in  the  point  of  acceptance  with 
God,  are  mentioned  by  the  apostle  not  only 
as  opposites  or  contraries,  but  as  absolutely 
contradictory  to  each  other,  like  fire  and  wa- 
ter, light  and  darkness  ;  so  that  the  affirma- 
tion of  one  is  the  denial  of  the  other.  Rom. 
iv.  5.  and  xi.  6.  God  justifies  freely,  justi- 
fies the  ungodly,  and  him  that  worketh  not. 
Though  justifying  faith  be  indeed  an  active 
principle,  it  worketh  by  love,  yet  not  for  ac- 
ceptance. Those  whom  the  apostle  exhorts 
"  to  work  out  their  own  salvation  with  fear 
and  trembling,"  he  considers  as  justified  al- 
ready ;  for  he  considers  them  as  believers, 
in  whom  he  supposed  God  had  already  be- 
gun  a  good  work ;  and  if  so,  was  confident 
he  would  accomplish  it,  Phil.  i.  6.  To  them, 
the  consideration  that  God,  who  dwells  in 
the  heart  of  believers,  wrought  in  them  to 
will  and  to  do,  was  a  powerful  motive  and 
encouragement  to  them  to  work,  that  is,  to 
give  all  diligence  in  his  appointed  means,  as 
a  right  sense  of  the  sin  that  dwelleth  in  us, 
and  the  snares  and  temptations  around  us, 
will  teach  us  still  to  work  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling. You  suppose  a  difference  between 
christians  (so  called)  who  are  devoted  to  God 
in  baptism,  and  those  who  in  the  first  ages 
were  converted  from  abominable  superstitions 
and  idolatrous  vices.  It  is  true  in  christian 
countries  we  do  not  worship  heathen  divinities 
eo  nomine  ;  and  this  is  the  principal  difference 
I  can  find.  Neither  reason  nor  observation 
will  allow  me  to  think,  that  human  nature  is  a 
whit  better  now  than  it  was  in  the  apostles  time. 
I  know  no  kinds  or  degrees  of  wickedness 
which  prevailed  among  heathens  which  are 
not  prevalent  among  nominal  christians,  who 
have  perhaps  been  baptized  in  their  infancy ; 
and  therefore,  as  the  streams  in  the  life  are 
equally  worldly,  sensual,  devilish,  I  doubt  not 
but  the  fountain  of  the  heart  is  equally  pol- 
luted and  poisonous ;  and  that  is  as  true,  as 
in  the  days  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  that 
unless  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see 
the  kingdom  of  God.  You  sent  me  a  ser- 
mon  upon   the   new    birth,    or  regeneration, 


LETTERS  TO  THE  UEV.   MR.  S- 


1.KT.  vni. 

and  you  have  several  of  mine  on  the  same 
subject.  I  wish  you  to  compare  them  with 
each  other,  and  with  scripture  ;  and  I  pray 
God  to  shew  you  wherein  the  difference  con- 
sists, and  on  which  side  the  truth  lies. 

When  you  desire   me  to  reconcile    God's 
•ieing  the  author  of  sin  with  his  justice,  you 
shew  that  you  misunderstand  the  whole  strain 
of  my  sentiments  ;  for  I  am  persuaded   you 
would  not  misrepresent  them.      It  is  easy  to 
charge  harsh  consequences,  which    I  neither 
allow,  nor  indeed  do  they  follow  from  my  sen- 
timents.     God  cannot  be  the  author  of  sin 
in  that  sense  you  would  fix  upon  me;  but  is 
it  possible  that  upon  your  plan  you  find  no 
difficulty  in  what  the  scriptures  teach  us  upon 
this  subject  ?     I  conceive  that  those  who  were 
concerned   in  the  death  of  Christ  were  very 
great  sinners,   and   that  in  nailing  him  to  the 
cross  they   committed  atrocious  wickedness ; 
yet,  if  the  apostle  may  be   believed,  all  this 
was  according  to  the  determinate  counsel  and 
foreknowledge  of  God,  Acts  ii.  23  ;  and  they 
did    no    more  than  what  his   hand  and  pur- 
pose had  determined  should  be  done,  chap.  iv. 
28.      And   you  will  observe  that  this  wicked 
act  (wicked  with  respect  to  the  perpetrators) 
was  not  only  permitted,  but  fore-ordained  in 
the  strongest  and  most  absolute  sense  of  the 
word.     The  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation 
of  men  depended  upon  its   being  done,  and 
}ust  in  that  manner,  and  with  all  those  circum- 
stances which    actually  took    place,    and   yet 
Judas  and  the  rest    acted   freely,    and    their 
wickedness  was   properly   their  own.      Now, 
my  friend,  the  arguments  which  satisfy  you 
that  the  scriptures  do  not  represent    God  as 
the  author  of  this  sin  in  this  appointment,  will 
plead   for  me  at  the  same  time  ;  and   when 
you  think  you  easily  overcome  me  by  asking, 
"  Can  God  be  the  author  of  sin  ?"   your  im- 
putation  falls  as   directly  upon   the  word   of 
God  himself.      God  is  no  more  the  author  of 
sin  than  the  sun  is  the  cause   of  ice  ;  but  it 
is  in  the   nature  of  water  to  congeal  into  ice 
when  the  sun's  influence   is  suspended  to  a 
certain  degree.       So  there  is  sin   enough  in 
the  hearts  of  men  to  make  the  earth  the  very 
image  of  hell,  and  to  prove  that  men  are  no 
better  than  incarnate  devils,   were  he  to  sus- 
pend his  influence  and  restraint.     Sometimes, 
and  in  some  instances,  he  is  pleased   to  sus- 
pend it  considerably;   and,  so  far  as  he  does, 
human  nature  quickly  appears  in  its  true  co- 
lours.     Objections  of  this  kind  have  been  re- 
peated and  refuted  before  either  you  or  I  were 
born  ;    and    the    apostle     evidently    supposes 
they  would    be  urged    against    his  doctrine, 
when  he  obviates  the   question,   "  Why  doth 
he  yet  find  fault ;  who  hath  resisted  his  will  ?" 
I'o  which  he  gives   no  other  answer  than  by 
referring    it  to    God's  sovereignty,    and   the 
power  which  a  potter  has  over   the  clay.      I 
think  I  have  in  a  former  letter  made  some 
reply  to  the  charge  of  positiveness  in  my  own 


1S5 


am  fallible, 
i   certainty 


opinion.  I  acknowledge  that  I 
yet  I  must  again  lay  claim  to 
about  the  way  of  salvation.  I  am  as  sure 
of  some  things  as  of  my  own  existence :  I 
should  be  so  if  there  was  no  human  creature 
upon  earth  but  myself.  However,  my  senti- 
ments are  confirmed  by  the  suffrages  of  thou- 
sands who  have  lived  before  me,  of  many 
with  whom  I  have  personally  conversed  in 
different  places  and  circumstances,  unknown 
to  each  other ;  yet  all  have  received  the  same 
views,  because  taught  by  the  same  Spirit  And 
I  have  likewise  been  greatly  confirmed  by  the 
testimony  of  many  with  whom  I  have  con- 
versed in  their  dying  hours.  I  have  seen 
them  rejoicing  in  the  prospect  of  death,  free 
from  fears,  breathing  the  air  of  immortality  ; 
heartily  disclaiming  their  duties  and  perform- 
ances;  acknowledging  that  their  best  actions 
were  attended  with  evil  sufficient  to  condemn 
them  ;  renouncing  every  shadow  of  hope,  but 
what  they  derived  from  the  blood  of  Christ, 
as  the  sole  cause  of  their  acceptance ;  yet  tri- 
umphing in  him  over  every  enemy  and  fear, 
and  as  sure  of  heaven  as  if  they  were  already 
there.  And  such  were  the  apostle's  hopes, 
wholly  founded  on  knowing  whom  he  had  be- 
lieved, and  his  persuasion  of  his  ability  to  keep 
that  which  he  had  committed  unto  him.  This 
is  faith,  a  renouncing  of  every  thing  we  are 
apt  to  call  our  own,  and  relying  wholly  upon 
the  blood,  righteousness,  and  intercession  of 
Jesus.  However,  I  cannot  communicate 
this  my  certainty  to  you  ;  I  only  tell  you 
there  is  such  a  thing,  in  hopes,  if  you  do 
not  think  I  wilfully  lie  both  to  God  and  man, 
you  will  be  earnest  to  seek  it  from  him  who 
bestowed  it  on  me,  and  who  will  bestow  it 
upon  all  who  will  sincerely  apply  to  him,  and 
patiently  wait  upon  him  for  it. 

I  cannot  but  wonder,  that  while  ycu  pro- 
fess to  believe  the  depravity  of  human  na- 
ture, you  should  speak  of  good  qualities  in- 
herent in  it.  The  word  of  God,  describes  it 
as  evil,  only  evil,  and  that  continually.  That 
there  are  such  qualities  as  Stoics  and  infidels 
call  virtue,  I  allow.  God  has  not  left  man 
destitute  of  such  dispositions  as  are  neces- 
sary to  the  peace  of  society  ;  but  I  deny  there 
is  any  moral  goodness  in  them,  unless  they 
are  founded  in  a  supreme  love  to  God,  have 
his  glory  for  their  aim,  and  are  produced  by 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  A  man  may  give  all 
his  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  his  body  to 
be  burned,  in  zeal  for  the  truth,  and  yet  be 
a  mere  nothing,  a  tinkling  cymbal,  in  the 
sight  of  him  who  seeth  not  as  man  seeth,  but 
judgeth  the  heart.  Many  infidels  and  avowed 
enemies  to  the  grace  and  gospel  of  Christ, 
have  made  a  fair  shew  of  what  the  world  call 
virtue  ;  but  christian  virtue  is  grace,  the  ef 
feet  of  a  new  nature  and  new  life ;  and  works 
thus  wrought  in  God  are  as  different  from  the 
faint,  partial  imitations  of  them  which  fallen 
nature  is  capable  of  producing,  as   a   living 


18G 


LETTERS  TO  THE 


man  is  from  a  statue.  A  statue  may  express 
the  features  and  lineaments  of  the  person 
whom  it  represents,  but  there  is  no  life. 

Your  comment  on   the  seventh   to  the  Ro- 
mans, latter  part,  contradicts  my  feelings.    You 
are  either  of  a  different  make  and  nature  from 
me,  or  else  you  are  not  rightly  apprised  of 
your  own  state,  if  you  do  not  find  the  apos- 
tle's  complaint  very  suitable  to  yourself.      I 
believe  it  applicable  to  the  most  holy  christian 
upon  earth.      But  controversies  of  this  kind 
are  worn   thread-bare.      When  you   speak  of 
the  spiritual  part  of  a  natural  man,   it  sounds 
to  me  like  the  living  part  of  a  dead  man,   or 
the  seeing  part  of  a   blind  man.      Paul  tells 
me,  that   the  natural  man,  whatever  his  spi- 
ritual  part  may  be,  can   neither  receive  nor 
discern  the  things  of  God.      What  the  apostle 
speaks   of  himself  (Rom.   vii.)    is   no  more, 
when  rightly  understood,  than  what  he  affirms 
of  all  who   are  partakers  of  a   spiritual  life, 
or  who  are  true   believers,    Gal.  v.  17.      The 
carnal   natural  mind  is  enmity  against   God, 
not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,   neither  indeed 
can  be.      When  you   subjoin,    "  Till  it  be  set 
at  liberty  from  the  law  of  sin,"   you  do  not 
comment  upon  the  text,  but  make  an  addition 
of  your  own,  which  the  text  will  by  no  means 
bear.     The  carnal  mind  is  enmity.    An  enemy 
may  be  reconciled,  but  enmity  itself  is  incur- 
able.      This  carnal  mind,    natural  man,   old 
man,  flesh  (for   the  expressions  are  all  equi- 
valent,  and  denote  and  include  the   heart  of 
man  as   he  is  by  nature),  may  be  crucified 
must  be  mortified,  but  cannot  be  sanctified 
All  that  is  good  or  gracious,   is  the  effect  of 
a    new    creation,    a    supernatural     principle, 
wrought  in  the  heart  by  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
and  the  agency  of  his  Spirit ;  and,  till  that  is 
effected,   the   to    v^tiXov,    the  highest   attain- 
ment, the  finest  qualifications   in  man,   how- 
ever they  may  exalt  him  in  his  own  eyes,  or 
recommend  him   to  the   notice  of  his  fellow- 
worms,   are  but  abomination  in  the  sight  of 
God,    Luke   xvi.  15.      The    gospel   is  calcu- 
lated and  designed  to   stain  the  pride   of  hu- 
man glory.      It  is  provided,   not  for  the  wise 
and  the  righteous,  for   those  who  think   they 
have   good   dispositions   and    good  works   to 
plead,  but   for  the  guilty,   the  helpless,   the 
wretched,   for  those  who  are  ready  to  perish  ; 
it  fills  the  hungry  with  good  things,   but  it 
sends  the  rich   empty  away.      See   Rev.  iii. 
17,  18. 

You  ask,  If  man  can  do  nothing  without 
an  extraordinary  impulse  from  on  high,  is  he 
to  sit  still  and  careless  ?  By  no  means — I  am 
far  from  saying  man  can  do  nothing,  though 
I  believe  he  cannot  open  his  own  eyes,  or  give 
himself  faith.  I  wish  every  man  to  abstain 
carefully  from  sinful  company,  and  sinful  ac- 
tions, \o  read  the  Bible,  to  pray  to  God  for 
his  heavenly  teaching.  For  this  waiting  up- 
on God  he  has  a  moral  ability  ;  and  if  he 
persevere  thus  in  seeking,  the  promise  is  sure, 


REV.   MR.   S .  LET.  VIII. 

that  he  shall  not  seek  in  vain.      But  I  would 
not  have  him  mistake  the  means  for  the  end  ; 
think   himself  good  because  he  is  preserved 
from  gross  vices  and   follies,  or  trust  to  his 
religious  course  of  duties  for  acceptance,   nor 
be    satisfied    till   Christ  be  revealed  in    him, 
formed  within  him,  dwell  in  his  heart  by  faith, 
and  till  he  can  say  upon  good  grounds,   "  I 
am  crucified  with  Christ ;  nevertheless  I  live  ; 
yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me."      I  need 
not  tell  you,  these  are  scriptural  expressions ; 
I  am  persuaded,  if  they  were  not,  they  would 
be  exploded  by  many  as  unintelligible  jargon. 
True  faith,  my  dear    Sir,   unites  the  soul  to 
Christ,  and  thereby  gives  access  to  God,  and 
fills  it  with  a  peace  passing   understanding,  a 
hope,   a  joy  unspeakable   and  full  of  glory; 
teaches  us  that  we  are  weak  in  ourselves,  but 
enables  us  to  be  strong   in  the  Lord,  and  in 
the  power  of  his  might.      To  those  who  thus 
believe,  Christ  is  precious,  their  beloved  ;  they 
hear  and  know  his  voice  :    the  very  sound  of 
his  name  gladdens  their  hearts,  and  he  mani- 
fests himself  to  them  as  he  does  not  to  the 
world.      Thus  the  scriptures   speak,  thus  the 
first  christians  experienced ;  and  this  is  pre- 
cisely the   language,   which,  in   our  days,   is 
despised  as  enthusiasm  and  folly.      For  it  is 
now  as  it  was  then,  though  these  things  are 
revealed  to  babes,    and  they  are    as  sure  of 
them  as  they  that  see  the  noon-day  sun,  they 
are  hidden  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  till  the 
Lord  makes  them  willing  to  renounce  their 
own  wisdom,   and  to  become  fools,   that  they 
may  be  truly  wise,  1  Cor.  i.  18,  19.  ;  iii.  8.  ; 
viii.  2.      Attention  to  the  education  of  chil- 
dren is  an  undoubted  duty ;  and  it  is  a  mercy 
when   it  so  far   succeeds  as   to  preserve  them 
from  gross  wickedness  ;  but  it  will  not  change 
the  heart.      They  who  receive  Christ  are  born, 
not  of  blood,   nor  of  the  will  of  the   flesh, 
nor   of  the  will  of  imn,  but  of  God,  John 
i.  13. 

If  a  man  professes  to  love  the  Lord  Jesus, 
I  am  willing  to  believe  him,  if  he  does  not 
give  me  proof  to  the  contrary  ;  but  I  am  sure, 
at  the  same  time,  no  one  can  love  him  in  the 
scriptural  sense,  who  does  not  know  the  need 
and  the  worth  of  a  Saviour  ;  in  other  words, 
who  is  not  brought,  as  a  ruined,  helpless  sin- 
ner, to  live  upon  him  for  wisdom,  righteous- 
ness, sanctification,  and  redemption.  They 
who  love  him  thus  will  speak  highly  of  him, 
and  acknowledge  that  he  is  their  all  in  all. 
And  they  who  thus  love  him,  and  speak  of 
him,  will  get  little  thanks  for  their  pains  in 
such  a  world  as  this  :  "  All  that  live  godly  in 
Christ  Jesus  must  suffer  persecution;"  the 
world,  that  hated  him,  will  hate  them.  And 
though  it  is  possible,  by  his  grace  to  put  to 
silence,  in  some  measure,  the  ignorance  of 
foolish  men  ;  and  though  his  providence  can 
protect  his  people,  so  that  not  a  hair  of  their 
heads  can  be  hurt  without  his  permission  :  yet 
the  world  will  shew  their  teeth,  if  they  are  not 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.  S 


LET.  VI II. 

suffered  to  bite.  The  apostles  were  account- 
ed babblers,  tu;  <ri^i»a.6a^ct,rtc  rou  xotrf*.ou  kxi 
vravrwv  •jri^i-^/n/^a.  I  need  not  point  out  to 
you  the  force  of  these  expressions.  We  are 
no  better  than  the  apostles ;  nor  have  we  rea- 
son to  expect  much  better  treatment,  so  far  as 
we  walk  in  their  steps.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  is  a  sober,  decent  way  of  speaking  of 
God,  and  goodness,  and  benevolence,  and  so- 
briety, which  the  world  will  bear  well  enough  ; 
nay,  we  may  say  a  little  about  Jesus  Christ, 
as  ready  to  make  up  the  deficiencies  of  our 
honest  and  good  endeavours,  and  this  will 
not  displease  them.  But  if  we  preach  him  as 
the  only  foundation,  lay  open  the  horrid  evils 
of  the  human  heart,  tell  our  hearers  that  they 
are  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  and  have  no 
better  ground  of  hope  in  themselves  than  the 
vilest  malefactors,  in  order  to  exalt  the  glory 
of  Jesus,  as  saving  those  who  are  saved  wholly 
and  freely  for  his  own  name's  sake ;  if  we  tell 
the  virtuous  and  decent,  as  well  as  the  pro- 
fligate, that  unless  they  are  born  again,  and 
made  partakers  of  living  faith,  and  count  all 
things  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ,  they  cannot  be  saved :  this 
the  world  cannot  bear.  We  shall  be  called 
knaves  or  fools,  uncharitable  bigots,  and 
twenty  hard  names.  If  you  have  met  with 
nothing  like  this,  I  wish  it  may  lead  you  to 
Hiispect  whether  you  have  yet  received  the 
right  key  to  the  doctrines  of  Christ :  for  de- 
pend upon  it,  the  offence  of  the  cross  is  not 
ceased. 

I  am  grieved  and  surprised  that  you  seem 
to  take  little  notice  of  any  thing  in  the  account 
of  my  deceased  friend,  but  his  wishing  him- 
self to  be  a  deist,  and  his  having  play-books 
about  him  in  his  illness.  As  to  the  plays, 
tluy  were  Shakespeare's,  which,  as  a  man  of 
taste,  it  is  no  great  wonder  he  should  some- 
times look  in.  Your  remark  on  the  other 
point  shews  that  you  are  not  much  acquainted 
with  the  exercises  of  the  human  mind  under 
certain  circumstances.  I  believe  I  observed 
formerly,  that  it  was  not  a  libertine  wish. 
Had  you  known  him,  you  would  have  known 
one  of  the  most  amiable  and  unblemished 
characters.  Few  were  more  beloved  and  ad- 
mired for  an  uniform  course  of  integrity,  mo- 
deration, and  benevolence ;  but  he  was  dis- 
couraged. He  studied  the  Bible,  believed  it 
in  general  to  be  the  word  of  God  ;  but  his 
wisdom,  his  strong  turn  for  reasoning,  stood 
so  in  bis  way,  that  he  could  get  no  solid  com- 
fort from  it.  He  felt  the  vanity  of  the  schemes 
proposed  by  many  men  admired  in  the  world 
as  teachers  of  divinity  ;  and  he  felt  the  vanity 
likewise  of  his  own.  He  was  also  a  minister, 
and  had  a  sincere  design  of  doing  good.  He 
wished  to  reform  the  profligate,  and  comfort 
the  afflicted  by  his  preaching ;  but  as  he  was 
not  acquainted  with  that  one  kind  of  preach- 
ing which  God  owns  to  the  edification  of  the 
hearers,  he  found  he  could  do   neither.      A 


187 


sense  of  disappointments  of  this  kind  distress- 
ed him.      Finding   in   himself  none  of  that 
peace  which  the  scriptures  speak  of,  and  none 
of  the  influence  he  hoped  for  attending  his 
ministry,   he  was  led  sometimes  to   question 
the  truth  of  the  scriptures.      We  have  a  spi- 
ritual  enemy  always   near,   to  press  upon  a 
mind  in  this  desponding  situation  :   nor  am  I 
surprised  that  he  should  then  wish  himself  a 
deist ;   since,   if  there  were  any  hope   for  a 
sinner  but  by  faith  in  the  blood  of  Jesus,  he 
had  as  much  of  his  own  goodness  to  depend 
upon  as  most  I  have  known.    As  for  the  rest, 
if  you  could  see  nothing  admirable  and  won- 
derful in  the  clearness,  the  dignity,   the  spi- 
rituality of  his  expressions,  after  the  Lord  re- 
vealed the  gospel  to  him,    I  can  only  say,   I 
am  sorry  for  it.    This  I  know,  that  some  per- 
sons of  sense,  taste,  learning,  and  reason,  and 
far   enough  from   my  sentiments,   have  been 
greatly  struck  with  them.      You  say,  a  death- 
bed repentance  is  what  you  would  be  sorry  to 
give  any  hope  of.      My  dear  friend,  it  is  well 
for  poor  sinners  that  God's  thoughts  and  ways 
are  as  much  above  men's,   as  the  heavens  are 
higher  than  the  earth.     We  agreed  to  commu- 
nicate  our   sentiments  freely,   and   promised 
not  to  be  offended  with  each  other's  freedom, 
if  we  could  help  it.      I  am  afraid  of  offending 
you  by  a  thought  just  now  upon  my  mind, 
and  yet  I  dare  not  in  conscience  suppress  it  : 
I  must  therefore  venture  to  say,   that  I  hope 
they  who  depend  upon  such  a  repentance  as 
your  scheme  points  out,  will  repent  of  their  re- 
pentance itself  upon  their  death-bed  at  least,  if 
not  sooner.    You  and  I,  perhaps,  should  have 
encouraged  the  fair-spoken  young  man,  who 
said  he  had  kept  all  the  commandments  from 
his  youth,  and  rather  have  left  the  thief  upon 
the  cross  to  perish  like  a  villain,  as  he  lived. 
But  Jesus  thought  differently.      I  do  not  en- 
courage sinners  to  defer  their  repentance  to 
their  death-beds.      I  press  the   necessity  of  a 
repentance   this  moment.      But   then   I   take 
care  to  tell  them,   that  repentance  is  the  gift 
of  God  ;  that  Jesus  is  exalted  to  bestow  it ; 
and  that  all  their  endeavours  that  way,  unless 
they  seek  to  him  for  grace,   will  be  vain  as 
washinc  a  blackmoor,  and  transient  as  wash- 
ing    a    sow  which    will  soon    return   to  the 
mire  again.     I  know  the  evil  heart  will  abuse 
the  grace  of  God ;  the  apostle  knew  this  like- 
wise,  Rom.   iii.  8,  and  vi.  3.      But  this  did 
not  tempt  him  to  suppress  the  glorious  grace 
of  the  gospel,    the  power  of  Jesus  to  save  to 
the  uttermost,  and  his  merciful  promise,  that 
whosoever  cometh  unto  him,  he  will  in  no  wise 
cast  him  out.      The  repentance  of  a  natural 
heart,  proceeding  wholly  from  fear,  like  that  of 
some  malefactors,  who  are  sorry,  not  that  they 
have  committed  robbery  or  murder,  but  that 
they  must  be  hanged  for  it ;   this  undoubtedly 
is  nothing  worth,  whether  in  time  of  health, 
or  in  a  dying  hour.      But  that  /tiruvoia,  that 
gracious  change  of  heart,  views,  and  disposi- 


188 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.   S 


LET.  VIII 


tions,  which  always  takes  place  when  Jesus  is 
made  known  to  the  soul  as  having  died,  that 
the  sinner  might  live,  and  hecn  wounded,  that 
he  might  be  healed ;  this,  at  whatever  period 
God  is  pleased  to  afford  and  effect  it  by  his 
Spirit,  brings  a  sure  and  everlasting  salvation 
with  it. 

Still  I  find  I  have  not  done  :  you  ask  my 
exposition  of  the  parables  of  the  talents  and 
pounds  ;  but  at  present  I  can  write  no  more. 
I  have  only  just  time  to  tell  you,  that  when  I 
begged  your  acceptance  of  Omicron,  nothing 
was  farther  from  my  expectation  than  a  cor- 
respondence with  you.  The  frank  and  kind 
manner  in  which  you  wrote  presently  won 
upon  my  heart.  In  the  course  of  our  letters 
upon  Subscription,  I  observed  an  integrity  and 
disinterestedness  in  you,  which  endeared  you 
to  me  still  more.  Since  that,  our  debates 
have  taken  a  much  more  interesting  turn  ;  I 
have  considered  it  as  a  call,  and  an  opportu- 
nity put  in  my  hand,  by  the  special  provi- 
dence of  him  who  ruleth  over  all.  I  have 
embraced  the  occasion,  to  lay  before  you  sim- 
ply, and  rather  in  a  way  of  testimony  than 
argumentation,  what,  in  the  main,  I  am  sure 
is  truth.  I  have  done  enough  to  discharge 
my  conscience,  but  shall  never  think  I  do 
enough  to  answer  the  affection  I  bear  you. 
I  have  done  enough  likewise  to  make  you 
weary  of  my  correspondence,  unless  it  should 
please  God  to  fix  the  subject  deeply  upon  your 
mind,  and  make  you  attentive  to  the  possibi- 


lity and  vast  importance  of  a  mistake  in  mat- 
ters of  everlasting  concernment.  I  pray  tha 
the  good  Spirit  of  God  may  guide  you  into 
all  truths.  He  only  is  the  effectual  teacher. 
I  still  retain  a  cheerful  hope,  that  some  things 
you  cannot  at  present  receive,  will  hereafter 
he  the  joy  and  comfort  of  your  heart :  but  I 
know  it  cannot  be  till  the  Lord's  own  time. 
I  cannot  promise  to  give  such  long  answers 
as  your  letters  require,  to  clear  up  every  text 
that  may  be  proposed,  and  to  answer  every 
objection  that  may  be  started ;  yet  I  shall  be 
glad  to  change  a  letter  now  and  then.  At 
present,  it  remains  with  you  whether  our  cor- 
respondence continues  or  not,  as  this  is  the 
third  letter  I  have  written  since  I  heard  from 
you,  and  therefore  must  be  the  last  till  I  do. 
I  should  think  what  remains  might  be  better 
settled  viva  voce ;  for  which  purpose  I  shall 
be  glad  to  see  you,  or  ready  to  wait  on  you 
when  leisure  will  permit,  and  when  I  know  it 
will  be  agreeable  :  but  if  (as  life  and  all  its 
affairs  are  precarious)  we  should  never  meet 
in  this  world,  I  pray  God  we  may  meet  at  the 
right  hand  of  Jesus,  in  the  great  day  when  he 
he  shall  come  to  gather  up  his  jewels,  and  to 
judge  the  world.  There  is  an  endless  diver- 
sity of  opinions  in  matters  of  religion  ;  which 
of  them  are  right  and  safe,  and  will  lead  to 
eternal  glory,  dies  iste  indicabit.  I  am  still  in 
a  manner  lost  amidst  more  engagements  than 
I  have  time  to  comply  with  ;  but  I  feel  and 
know  that  I  am,  &c. 


LETTERS 


TO  MR.  B- 


&c. 


LETTER  I. 


September  28,  1774. 

MY  DEAREST  SIR, 

I  SEE  the  necessity  of  having,  if  possible,  my 
principles  at  my  fingers  ends,  that  I  may  ap- 
ply them  as  occasions  arise  every  hour.  Cer- 
tainly if  my  ability  was  equal  to  my  inclination, 
I  would  remove  your  tumour  with  a  word  or 
a  touch ;  I  would  exempt  you  instantly  and 
constantly  from  every  inconvenience  and  pain  : 
but  you  are  in  the  hands  of  one  who  could  do 
all  this  and  more,  and  who  loves  you  infinitely 
better  than  I  can  do,  and  yet  he  is  pleased  to 
permit  you  to  suffer.  What  is  the  plain  in- 
ference ?  Certainly,  that  at  the  present  junc- 
ture, he  to  whom  all  the  concatenations  and 
consequences  of  events  are  present  in  one 
view,  sees  it  better  for  you  to  have  this  tu- 
mour than  to  be  without  it ;  for  I  have  no 
more  idea  of  a  tumour  rising,  or  any  other 
incidental  trial  befalling  you,  without  a  cause, 
without  a  need-be,  without  a  designed  advan- 
tage to  result  from  it,  than  I  have  of  a  moun- 
tain or  pyramid  rising  up  of  its  own  accord 
in  the  middle  of  Salisbury  Plain.  The  pro- 
mise is  express,  and  literally  true,  that  all 
things,  universally  and  without  exception, 
shall  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God.  But  they  work  together;  the  smallest 
as  well  as  the  greatest  events  have  their  place 
and  use, — like  the  several  stones  in  the  arch 
of  a  bridge,  where  no  one  would  singly  be 
useful,  but  every  one  in  its  place  is  necessary 
to  the  structure  and  support  of  the  arch  ;  or 
rather  like  the  movement  of  a  watch,  where 
though  there  is  an  evident  subordination  of 
parts  and  some  pieces  have  a  greater  compara- 
tive importance  than  others,  yet  the  smallest 
pieces  have  their  place  and  use,  and  are  so  far 
equally  important,  that  the  whole  design  of 
the  machine  would  be  obstructed  for  want  of 
them.  Some  dispensations  and  turns  of  di- 
vine providence   may  be  compared  to  the  main 


spring  or  capital  wheels  which  have  a  more 
visible,  sensible,  and  determining  influence 
upon  the  whole  tenor  of  our  lives  :  but  the 
more  ordinary  occurrences  of  every  day  are  at 
least  pins  and  pivots,  adjusted,  timed,  and 
suited  with  equal  accuracy,  by  the  hand  of 
the  same  great  Artist  who  planned  and  exe- 
cutes the  whole  ;  and  we  are  sometimes  sur- 
prised to  see  how  much  more  depends  and 
turns  upon  them  than  we  were  aware  of. 
Then  we  admire  his  skill,  and  say  he  has  done 
all  things  well.  Indeed,  with  respect  to  his 
works  of  providence,  as  well  as  of  creation,  he 
well  deserves  the  title  of  Maximus  in  minimis. 
Such  thoughts  as  these,  when  I  am  enabled  to 
realize  them,  in  some  measure  reconcile  me  to 
what  he  allots  for  myself  or  my  friends,  and 
convince  me  of  the  propriety  of  that  expos- 
tulation, which  speaks  the  language  of  love 
as  well  as  of  authority,  "  Be  still,  and  know 
that  I  am  God."  I  sympathize  with  you  in 
your  trial,  and  pray  and  trust  that  your  Shep- 
herd will  be  your  Physician  ;  will  superintend 
and  bless  the  use  of  means ;  will  give  you  in 
his  good  time  health  and  cure,  and  at  all  times 
reveal  unto  you  abundance  of  peace.  His 
promises  and  power  are  necessary  for  our  pre- 
servation in  the  smoother  scenes  he  has  allot- 
ted for  us,  and  they  are  likewise  sufficient  for 
the  roughest.  We  are  always  equally  in  dan- 
ger in  ourselves,  and  always  equally  safe  under 
the  shadow  of  his  wings.  No  storms,  as- 
saults, sieges,  or  pestilences  can  hurt  us,  till 
we  have  filled  up  his  appointed  measure  of 
service ;  and  when  our  work  is  done,  and  he 
has  ripened  us  for  glory,  it  is  no  great  matter 
by  what  means  he  is  pleased  to  call  us  home 
to  himself. 

I  have  only  room  to  present  our  joint  and 
sincerest  respects.      The  Lord  bless  you  all- 
I  am,  &c. 


190 


LETTERS  TO  MR.  B- 


LETTER  IE 


October  15,  1774. 


MY  DEAREST  SIR, 


I  think  the  greatness  of  trials  is  to  be  estimat- 
ed, rather  by  the  impression  they  make  upon 
our  spirits,  than  by  their  outward  appearance. 
The  smallest  will  be  too  heavy  for  us  if  we 
are  left  to  grapple  with  it  in  our  own  strength, 
or  rather,  weakness  ;  and  if  the  Lord  is  pleas- 
ed to  put  forth  his  power  in  us,  he  can  make 
the  heaviest  light.  A  lively  impression  of  his 
love,  or  of  his  sufferings  for  us,  or  of  the 
glories  within  the  vail,  accompanied  with  a 
due  sense  of  the  misery  from  which  we  are 
redeemed  ;  these  thoughts  will  enable  us  to 
De  not  only  submissive,  but  even  joyful  in 
tribulations.  When  faith  is  in  exercise, 
though  the  flesh  will  have  its  feelings,  the 
spirit  will  triumph  over  them.  But  it  is 
needful  we  should  know  that  we  have  no  suf- 
ficiency in  ourselves,  and  in  order  to  know  it, 
we  must  feel  it ;  and  therefore,  the  Lord 
sometimes  withdraws  his  sensible  influence, 
and  then  the  buzzing  of  a  fly  will  be  an  over- 
match for  our  patience ;  at  other  times,  he 
will  shew  us  what  he  can  do  in  us  and  for  us ; 
then  we  can  adopt  the  apostle's  words,  and 
say,  I  can  do  and  suffer  all  things  through 
Christ  strengthening  me.  He  has  said,  My 
grace  is  sufficient  for  thee.  It  is  observable, 
that  the  children  of  God  seldom  disappoint 
our  expectations  under  great  trials  ;  if  they 
show  a  wrongness  of  spirit,  it  is  usually  in 
such  little  incidents,  that  we  are  ready  to 
wonder  at  them  :  for  which,  two  reasons  may 
be  principally  assigned.  When  great  trials 
are  in  view,  we  run  simply  and  immediately 
to  our  all-sufficient  friend,  feel  our  depen- 
dence, and  cry  in  good  earnest  for  help;  but 
if  the  occasion  seems  small,  we  are  too  apt 
secretly  to  lean  to  our  own  wisdom  and 
strength,  as  if  in  such  slight  matters  we  could 
make  shift  without  him.  Therefore,  in  these 
we  often  fail.  Again,  the  Lord  deals  with  us 
as  we  sometimes  see  mothers  with  their  chil- 
dren. When  a  child  begins  to  walk,  he  is 
often  very  self-important ;  he  thinks  he  needs 
no  help,  and  can  hardly  bear  to  be  supported 
by  the  finger  of  another.  Now,  in  such  a 
case,  if  there  is  no  danger  of  harm  from  a 
fall,  as  if  he  is  on  a  plain  carpet,  the  mother 
will  let  him  alone  to  try  how  he  can  walk.  He 
is  pleased  at  first,  but  presently  down  he  comes; 
and  a  few  experiments  of  this  kind  convince 
him  he  is  not  so  strong  and  able  as  he  thought, 
and  make  him  willing  to  be  led.  But  was 
he  upon  the  brink  of  a  river  or  a  precipice, 
from  whence  a  fall  might  be  fatal,  the  tender 
mother  would  not  trust  him  to  himself,  no 
not  for  a  moment.  I  have  not  room  to  make 
the  application,  nor  is  it  needful.  It  requires 
the   same  grace   to  bear  with  a  right  spirit  a 


—  i.trr.  in 

crossword,  as  a  cross  injury;  or  the  breaking 

of  a  china-plate,  as  the  death  of  an  only  son. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

November  23,  1774. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

I  hope  to  be  informed  in  due  time,  that  the 
Lord  has  given  you  full  health  and  cure.  He 
has  preserved  me  hitherto  from  the  hands  of 
surgeons  ;  but  I  feel  as  if  my  flesh  would 
prove,  as  you  say,  a  very  coward,  were  it  need- 
ful to  submit  to  a  painful  operation.  Yet  I 
observe,  when  such  operations  are  necessary, 
if  people  are  satisfied  of  a  surgeon's  skill  and 
prudence,  they  will  not  only  yield  to  be  cut 
at  his  pleasure,  without  pretending  to  direct 
him  where,  or  how  long  he  shall  make  the 
incision,  but  will  thank  and  pay  him  for  put- 
ting them  to  pain,  because  they  believe  it  for 
their  advantage.  I  wish  I  could  be  more  like 
them  in  my  concerns.  My  body,  as  I  said, 
is,  through  mercy,  free  from  considerable  ail- 
ments, but  I  have  a  soul  that  requires  sur- 
geon's work  continually ;  there  is  some  tumor 
to  be  discussed  or  laid  open,  some  dislocation 
to  be  reduced,  some  fracture  to  be  healed,  al- 
most daily.  It  is  my  great  mercy,  that  one 
who  is  infallible  in  skill,  who  exercises  inces- 
sant care,  and  boundless  compassion  towards 
all  his  patients,  has  undertaken  my  case  ;  and 
complicated  as  it  is,  I  dare  not  doubt  his 
making  a  perfect  cure.  Yet,  alas  !  I  too 
often  discover  such  impatience,  distrust,  and 
complaining,  when  under  his  hand,  am  so 
apt  to  find  fault  with  the  instruments  he  is 
pleased  to  make  use  of,  so  ready  to  think  the 
salutary  wounds  he  makes,  unnecessary  or  too 
large  ;  in  a  word,  I  shew  such  a  promptness 
to  controul,  were  I  able,  or  to  direct  his  opera- 
tions, that,  were  not  his  patience  beyond  ex- 
pression, he  would  before  now  have  given  me 
up.     I  am  persuaded,  no  money  would  induce 

Mr.  to  attend  upon  a  patient  who  should 

act  towards  him  as  I  have  done  towards  my 
best  Physician.  Sometimes  I  indulge  a  hope 
that  I  am  growing  wiser,  and  think  surely, 
after  such  innumerable  proofs  as  I  have  had, 
that  he  does  all  things  well,  I  shall  now  be 
satisfied  to  leave  myself  quietly  and  without 
reserve  to  his  disposal.  A  thousand  such 
surrenders  I  have  made,  and  a  thousand  times 
I  have  interpretatively  retracted  them.  Yet 
still  he  is  gracious.  O,  how  shall  I  praise 
hirn  at  last ! 

I  thank  you  for  your  letter ;  I  never  receive 
one  from  you  without  pleasure,  and,  I  be- 
lieve, seldom  without  profit,  at  least  for  the 
time.  I  believe,  with  you,  that  there  is  much 
of  the  proper  and  defined  efficacy  of  the  gos- 
pel-mystery which  I  have  not  yet  experienced. 
And   1    suppose   they  who  are  advanced   far 


LETTERS  TO  MR.  B- 


LET.  IV. 

beyond  me  in  the  divine  life,  judge  the  same 
of  their  utmost  present  attainments.  Yet  I 
have  no  idea  of  any  permanent  state  in  this 
life,  that  shall  make  my  experience  cease  to 
be  a  state  of  warfare  and  humiliation.  At 
my  first  setting  out,  indeed,  I  thought  to  be 
better,  and  to  feel  myself  better  from  year  to 
year ;  I  expected  by  degrees  to  attain  every 
thing  which  I  then  comprised  in  my  idea  of  a 
saint.  I  thought  my  grain  of  grace,  by  much 
diligence  and  careful  improvement,  would  in 
time  amount  to  a  pound,  that  pound  in  a  far- 
ther space  of  time  to  a  talent,  and  then  I 
hoped  to  increase  from  one  talent  to  many  ; 
so  that  supposing  the  Lord  should  spare  me 
a  competent  number  of  years,  I  pleased  my- 
self with  the  thoughts  of  dying  rich.  But, 
alas  !  these  my  golden  expectations  have  been 
like  South  Sea  dreams  ;  I  have  lived  hitherto 
a  poor  sinner,  and  I  believe  I  shall  die  one. 
Have  I  then  gained  nothing  by  waiting  upon 
the  Lord  ?  Yes,  I  have  gained  that,  which  I 
once  would  rather  have  been  without,  such 
accumulated  proofs  of  the  deceitfulness  and 
desperate  wickedness  of  my  heart,  as  I  hope, 
by  the  Lord's  blessing,  has  in  some  measure 
taught  me  to  know  what  I  mean,  when  I  say, 
Behold,  I  am  vile  !  And  in  connection  with 
this,  I  have  gained  such  experience  of  the 
wisdom,  power,  and  compassion  of  my  Re- 
deemer, the  need,  the  worth  of  his  blood, 
righteousness,  attention,  and  intercession — the 
glory  that  he  displays  in  pardoning  iniquity  and 
sin,  and  passing  by  die  transgression  of  the 
remnant  of  his  heritage,  that  my  soul  cannot 
but  cry  out,  Who  is  a  God  like  unto  thee  ! 
Thus,  if  I  have  any  meaner  thoughts  of  my- 
self (Ezek.  xvi.  63),  and  any  higher  thoughts 
of  him  than  I  had  twenty  years  ago,  I  have 
reason  to  be  thankful  ;  every  grain  of  this 
experience  is  worth  mountains  of  gold.  And 
if,  by  his  mercy,  I  shall  yet  sink  more  in  my 
own  esteem,  and  he  will  he  pleased  to  rise 
still  more  glorious  to  my  eyes,  and  more  pre- 
cious to  my  heart ;  I  expect  it  will  be  much 
In  the  same  way.  I  was  ashamed  when  I 
began  to  seek  him,  I  am  more  ashamed  now  ; 
and  I  expect  to  be  most  of  all  ashamed  when 
he  shall  appear  to  destroy  my  last  enemy. 
But,  O  !  I  may  rejoice  in  him,  to  think  that 
he  will  not  be  ashamed  of  me. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 

May  19,  1775. 
MY  DEAR  SIR, 

I  HOPE  you  will  find  the  Lord  present  at  all 
times,  and  in  all  places.  When  it  is  so,  we 
are  at  home  everywhere  ;  when  it  is  otherwise, 
home  is  a  prison,  and  abroad  a  wilderness. 
1  know  what  I  ought  to  desire,  and  what  I 
do  desire.      I   point  him  out  to  others  as  the 


— .  im 

all  in  all;  I  esteem  him  as  such  in  my  own 
judgment ;  but,  alas  !  my  experience  abounds 
with  complaints.  He  is  my  sun  ;  but  clouds, 
and  sometimes  walls,  intercept  him  from  my 
view.  He  is  my  strength  ;  yet  I  am  prone  to 
lean  upon  reeds.  He  is  my  friend;  but  on 
my  part  there  is  such  coldness  and  ingratitude 
as  no  other  friend  could  bear.  But  still  he 
is  gracious,  and  shames  me  with  his  repeated 
multiplied  goodness.  O  for  a  warmer  heart, 
a  more  simple  dependence,  a  more  active  zeal, 
a  more  sensible  deliverance  from  the  effects 
of  this  body  of  sin  and  death  !  He  helps  me 
in  my  endeavours  to  keep  the  vineyards  of 
others  ;  but,  alas  !  my  own  does  not  seem  to 
flourish  as  some  do  around  me.  However, 
though  I  cannot  say  I  labour  more  abundantly 
than  they  all,  I  have  reason  to  say  with  thank- 
fulness, "  By  the  grace  of  God,  I  am  what  I 
am."  My  poor  story  would  soon  be  much 
worse,  did  not  he  support,  restrain,  and  watch 
over  me  every  minute.  Let  me  intreat  your 
praises  and  prayers  on  the  behalf  of  me  and 
mine,  and  may  the  Lord  bless  you  and  yours 
with  an  increase  in  every  good. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  V 

September  2,  1776. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

The  young  woman  I  spoke  of  is  still  living, 
and  not  much  weaker  than  when  I  left  her. 
The  Lord  was  pleased  to  relieve  her  on  Tues- 
day evening,  and  she  was  comfortable  the  re- 
mainder of  the  week.  But  yesterday  her  con- 
flicts returned,  and  she  was  in  great  distress 
The  enemy  who  always  fights  against  the 
peace  of  the  Lord's  children,  finds  great  ad- 
vantage against  them  when  their  spirits  are 
weakened  and  worn  down  by  long  illness,  and 
is  often  permitted  to  assault  them.  The  rea- 
sons are  hidden  from  us,  but  they  are  doubt- 
less worthy  of  his  wisdom  and  love,  and  they 
terminate  in  victory,  to  the  praise  of  his  glo- 
rious grace,  which  is  more  signally  manifested 
by  his  leading  them  safely  through  fire  and 
water,  than  if  their  path  was  always  smooth. 
He  is  sovereign  in  hio  dispensations,  and  ap- 
points some  of  his  people  to  trials  and  exer 
cises  to  which  others,  perhaps,  are  strangers 
all  their  days.  Believers  are  soldiers:  all  sol- 
diers, by  their  profession,  are  engaged  to  fight, 
if  called  upon,  but  who  shall  be  called  to  sus- 
tain the  hottest  service,  and  be  most  frequently 
exposed  upon  the  field  of  battle,  depends  upon 
the  will  of  the  general  or  king.  Some  of  our 
soldiers  are  now  upon  hard  service  in  Ame- 
rica, while  others  are  stationed  round  the  pa- 
lace, see  the  King's  face  daily,  and  have  no 
dangers  or  hardships  to  encounter.  These, 
however,  are  as  liable  to  a  call  as  the  others ; 
but,    if  not  called  upon,    they  may  enjoy  w;tU 


192 


LETTERS  TO  Mil.   B- 


LET.  VI. 


thankfulness  the  more  easy  post  assigned  them. 
Thus,  the  Captain  of  our  salvation  allots  to 
his  soldiers  such  stations  as  he  thinks  proper. 
He  has  a  right  to  employ  whom  he  will,  and 
where  he  will.  Some  are  comparatively  at 
ease  ;  they  are  not  exposed  to  the  fiercest  on- 
sets, hut  live  near  his  presence :  others  are, 
to  appearance,  pressed  ahove  measure,  beyond 
strength,  so  that  they  despair  even  of  life ; 
vet  they  are  supported,  and  in  the  end  made 
more  than  conquerors,  through  him  that  hath 
loved  them.  Long  observation  convinces  me, 
that  the  temptations  which  some  endure  are 
not  chastisements  brought  upon  them  by  un- 
faithfulness, or  for  anything  remarkably  wrong 
in  their  spirit  or  walk  ;  I  often  rather  consi- 
der that  in  this  warfare,  as  in  worldly  wars,  the 
post  of  danger  and  difficulty  is  the  post  of 
honour,  and  as  such  assigned  to  those  whom 
he  has  favoured  with  a  peculiar  measure  of 
his  grace.  This  young  woman,  in  particular, 
was  always  from  her  first  awakening  remark- 
ably humble  and  spiritual,  and  possessed  of  a 
broken  and  contrite  spirit.  I  never  saw  her 
in  a  wrong  spirit,  or  heard  her  speak  an  un- 
advised word  ;  yet  I  believe  it  is  impossible 
to  express  the  agonies  she  has  endured.  The 
effect  of  them  is  visible.  Her  animal  frame 
was  unable  to  sustain  the  burden.  I  believe 
they  were  the  immediate  cause  of  that  illness 
which  is  now  bringing  her  down  to  the  grave. 
I  doubt  not  but  these  cases  depend  in  a  great 
measure  upon  constitution  ;  but  then  the  tem- 
perament of  our  bodies  depends  upon  his  plea- 
sure, for,  if  the  very  hairs  of  our  head  are 
numbered,  it  is  impossible  that  those  circum- 
stances of  our  frame  which,  by  the  near  con- 
nection between  body  and  soul,  have  a  power- 
ful influence  upon  the  state  of  our  minds,  can 
escape  his  notice.  He  could  cure  such  bo- 
dily disorders  as  affect  the  peace  of  his  peo- 
ple in  a  moment,  yet  he  does  not,  though  he 
loves  them.  There  must  be  therefore  wise 
reasons  why  he  does  not ;  and,  though  we 
know  them  not  now,  we  shall  know  them 
hereafter.  Possibly  some  suffer  for  the  in- 
struction of  the  rest,  that  we  may  learn  to  be 
more  thankful  to  him  for  the  peace  we  enjoy, 
and  to  be  more  humbly  dependent  upon  him 
for  the  continuance  of  it.  The  Lord's  way 
is  in  the  deep,  and  his  path  in  the  great  wa- 
ters, untraceable  by  our  feeble  reasonings, 
but  faith  brings  in  a  good  report.  We  need 
not  doubt  but  he  does  all  things  well,  and  in 
due  time  we  shall  see  it.  In  the  meanwhile 
he  checks  our  vain  inquiries,  and  calls  upon 
us  to  be  still,  and  know  that  he  is  God. 

I  brought  home  with  me  a  thankful  sense 
of  the  kindness  and  friendship  I  am  favoured 
with  from  you  and  all  yours.  I  account  this 
connection  one  of  the  great  comforts  of  my 
life,  and  I  hope  it  has  heen,  and  will  be,  not 
only  pleasant  but  profitable  to  me.  Though 
I  am  but  an  unapt  scholar,  I  hope  I  am  not 
unwilling  to  learn,  and  the  Lord,  in  his  mer- 


ciful providence,  appoints  me  many  teachers. 
There  is  little  praise  due  to  us,  if  we  either 
communicate  or  receive  benefit  in  our  inter- 
course with  our  fellow-disciples.  In  both  we 
are  but  instruments  under  the  influence  of  a 
higher  hand.  Were  christians  to  meet  toge- 
ther without  their  Lord,  they  would  either 
trifle  or  quarrel  their  time  away.  But  as  he 
has  said,  where  two  or  three  are  met,  there 
am  I  in  the  midst  of  them,  we  may  well  he 
glad  of  opportunities  of  coming  together.  And 
though,  for  my  own  part,  I  am  so  poor  an  im- 
prover of  such  seasons,  that  the  recollection 
of  them,  when  past,  is  generally  accompanied 
with  shame  and  regret,  yet  he  is  gracious  and 
merciful,  and  seldom  leaves  me  to  complain 
that  they  were  wholly  in  vain. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  VI. 

July  22,  1777 


MY  DEAR  SIR, 


The  complaints  you  make  of  what  passes 
within,  encourage  me  under  what  I  feel  my- 
self. Indeed,  if  those  whom  I  have  reason 
to  believe  are  more  spiritual  and  humble  than 
I  am,  did  not  give  some  testimony  that  they 
find  their  hearts  made  of  the  same  materials 
as  mine  is,  I  should  be  sometimes  hard  put 
to  it  to  believe  that  I  have  any  part  or  lot  in 
the  matter,  or  any  real  knowledge  of  the  life 
of  faith.  But  this  concurrent  testimony  of 
many  witnesses  confirms  me  in  what  I  think 
the  scriptures  plainly  teach,  that  the  soil  of 
human  nature,  though  many  spots  are  cer- 
tainly better  weeded,  planted,  and  manured 
than  others,  is  everywhere  the  same,  univer- 
sally bad ;  so  bad  that  it  cannot  be  worse,  and 
of  itself  is  only  capable  of  producing  noxious 
weeds  and  nourishing  venomous  creatures. 
We  often  see  the  effects  of  culture,  skill,  and 
expense  will  make  a  garden  where  all  was  de- 
sert before.  When  Jesus,  the  good  husband- 
man, incloses  a  soil,  and  separates  it  from  the 
waste  of  the  world,  to  make  it  a  residence  for 
himself,  a  change  presently  takes  place ;  it  is 
planted  and  watered  from  above,  and  visited 
with  beams  infinitely  more  cheering  and  fer- 
tilizing than  those  of  the  material  sun.  But 
its  natural  propensity  to  bring  forth  weeds 
still  continues,  and  one  half  of  his  dispensa- 
tions may  be  compared  to  a  company  of  weed- 
ers,  whom  he  sends  forth  into  his  garden  to 
pluck  up  all  which  he  has  not  planted  with 
his  own  hand,  and  which,  if  left  to  grow, 
would  quickly  overpower  and  overtop  the  rest. 
But,  alas  !  the  ground  is  so  impregnated  with 
evil  seeds,  and  they  shoot  in  such  quick  suc- 
cession, that,  if  this  weeding  work  were  not 
constantly  repeated,  all  former  labour  would 


LET.   VIII. 


LETTERS  TO   MR.  B . 


193 


be  lost.  Ihnc  ilia;  lachrymcc  !  hence  arises 
the  necessity  of  daily  crosses  and  disappoint- 
ments, daily  changes  of  frame,  and  such  mul- 
tiplied convictions  that  we  are  nothing  and 
can  do  nothing  of  ourselves ;  all  are  needful, 
and  barely  sufficient  to  prevent  our  hearts 
from  being  over-run  with  pride,  self-depend- 
ence, and  security.      Yours,  &c. 


j  LETTER  VII. 

November  6,  1777. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

You  say  jou  are  more  disposed  to  cry  mise- 
rere than  hallelujah.  Why  not  both  together  ? 
When  the  treble  is  praise,  and  heart-humilia- 
tion for  the  bass,  the  melody  is  pleasant,  and 
the  harmony  good.  However,  if  not  both  to- 
gether, we  must  have  them  alternately  ;  not 
all  singing,  not  all  sighing,  but  an  interchange 
and  balance,  that  we  may  be  neither  lifted 
too  high,  nor  cast  down  too  low,  which  would 
be  the  case  if  we  were  very  comfortable  or 
very  sorrowful  for  a  long  continuance.  But 
though  we  change,  the  Saviour  changes  not. 
All  our  concerns  are  in  his  hands,  and  there- 
fore safe.  His  path  is  in  the  deep  waters,  his 
thoughts  and  methods  of  conduct  are  as  high 
above  ours  as  the  heavens  are  high  above  the 
earth  ;  and  he  often  takes  a  course  for  accom- 
plishing his  purposes  directly  contrary  to  what 
our  narrow  views  would  prescribe.  He  wounds 
in  order  to  heal,  kills  that  he  may  make  alive, 
casts  down  when  he  designs  to  raise,  brings 
a  death  upon  our  feelings,  wishes,  and  pros- 
pects, when  he  is  about  to  give  lis  the  desire 
of  our  hearts.  These  things  he  does  to  prove 
us ;  but  he  himself  knows,  and  has  determined 
beforehand,  what  he  will  do.  The  proof  in- 
deed usually  turns  out  to  our  shame.  Impa- 
tience and  unbelief  shew  their  heads,  and 
prompt  us  to  suppose  this  and  the  other  thing, 
yea  perhaps  all  things  are  agamst  us,  to  ques- 
tion whether  he  be  with  us  and  for  us,  or  not. 
But  it  issues  likewise  in  the  praise  of  his 
goodness,  when  we  find  that,  maugre  all  our 
unkind  complaints  and  suspicions,  he  is  still 
working  wonderfully  for  us,  causing  light  to 
shine  out  of  darkness,  and  doing  us  good  in 
defiance  of  ourselves. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  VIII. 

TO    MR.    B ,    JUN. 

August  24,  1774. 

DEAR  SIT,, 

The  lowness  of  your  voice,   and  a  blameable 
absence  of  mind    on  my  part,   prevented   me 


from  understanding  what  you  said  when  you 
took  your  leave  of  me  ;  nor  did  I  just  at  that 
instant  recollect  that  you  were  so  soon  goino- 
away.  I  could  not  otherwise  have  parted 
with  you,  without  a  particular  expression  of 
my  warmest  wishes  for  your  welfare,  and  com- 
mending you  with  an  emotion  which  my  heart 
always  feels  for  you  to  our  God  and  the  word 
of  his  grace.  Permit  me  therefore,  by  writ- 
ing, to  assure  you,  so  far  as  I  can  answei  for 
myself,  that  the  request  you  were  pleased  to 
make  for  my  remembrance  will  not  be  for- 
gotten by  me. 

You  are  going  abroad  :  you  will  carry  with 
you,  I  doubt  not,  the  best  advice,  strength- 
ened by  the  authority  and  affection  of  parents, 
whom  you  greatly  love  and  greatly  reverence. 
This  may  seem  to  make  anything  a  stranger 
can  offer  unnecessary,  if  not  impertinent ; 
yet,  confiding  in  your  candour  and  in  your 
good  opinion  of  my  intention,  I  shall  ven- 
ture to  let  my  pen  run  on  a  little  longer.  Not 
only  my  wishes,  but  my  hopes  are  strong  in 
your  behalf.  Perhaps  there  is  hardly  a  young 
man  in  the  kingdom,  born  to  a  fortune,  who 
is  setting  out  in  life  upon  equal  advantages 
with  yourself.  How  many,  at  your  years, 
who  have  been  brought  up  in  affluence,  are 
unprincipled,  uninstructed,  and  have  already 
entered  upon  a  course  of  dissipation  and  folly, 
in  which  it  is  impossible  they  themselves  cat. 
find  satisfaction,  and  which,  unless  they  are 
reclaimed  from  it  by  an  almighty  arm,  will 
infallibly  preclude  them  from  usefulness  and 
esteem  ;  whereas  your  early  years  have  been 
successfully  employed  in  the  pursuit  of  know- 
ledge, and  your  education  formed  under  the 
most  animating  and  endearing  influence  ;  and 
the  Lord  has  furnished  you  with  every  natu- 
ral ability  of  body  and  mind,  which  may  qua- 
lify you  to  serve  him  in  that  situation  of  life 
which  his  providence  has  allotted  you. 

What  may  I  not,  then,  further  hope  from 
these  beginnings,  especially  as  it  is  easy  to 
observe,  that  he  lias  given  you  an  amiable  and 
promising  disposition  of  spirit,  and  has  not 
only  preserved  you  from  being  hurried  down 
the  stream  of  a  giddy  world,  "but  enabled  you 
to  account  the  tender  restraint  under  which 
you  have  been  educated,  not  a  yoke,  but  a 
privilege. 

I  sympathize  with  you  at  what  you  will  feel 
when  you  are  first  separated  from  your  happy 
family.  But  the  Lord  God,  who  is  the  sun 
and  shield  of  those  who  fear  him,  will  be  al- 
ways near  you  !  His  favour  is  the  one  thing 
needful,  which  no  outward  advantages  can 
compensate  the  want  of;  and  the  right  know- 
ledge of  him  is  the  one  thing  needful,  which 
no  human  teaching  can  communicate. 

Were  I  more  intimate  with  you,  I  could 
have  asked  the  question,  and  perhaps  received 
the  satisfaction  to  know,  that  you  have  al- 
ready begun  to  consider  him  in  this  light  ; 
!  that  vou  feel  a  vanity  in  science,  an  emptiness 

U 


194- 


LETTERS  TO  xMISS  M 


B- 


LET.  IX. 


in  creatures,  and  find  that  you  have  desires, 
which  only  lie  who  gave  them  can  satisfy. 
I  trust  it  either  is,  or  will  be  thus.  As  to 
learning,  though  it  is  useful  when  we  know 
how  to  mike  a  right  use  of  it,  yet,  considered 
as  in  our  own  power,  and  to  those  who  trust 
to  it,  without  seeking  a  superior  guidance,  it 
is  usually  the  source  of  perplexity,  strife, 
scepticism,  and  infidelity.  It  is  indeed  like 
a  sword  in  a  madman's  hands,  which  gives 
him  the  more  opportunity  of  hurting  himself 
and  others.  As  to  what  the  world  calls  plea- 
sure, there  is  so  little  in  it,  that  even  the  phi- 
losophers of  old,  or  many  of  them,  though 
they  had  little  of  value  to  substitute  in  its 
room,  could  despise  it.  You  will  perhaps 
meet  with  some,  who  will  talk  another  lan- 
guage, who  will  pretend  to  be  too  wise  to 
submit  to  the  Bible,  and  too  happy  in  world- 
ly things,  to  expect  or  desire  any  happiness 
besides ;  but  I  trust  you  have  seen  enough  to 
enable  you  to  treat  such  persons  with  the  pity, 
and  such  pretensions  with  the  contempt,  they 
deserve. 

Should  we  set  our  concerns  with  an  eternal 
world  aside  for  a  moment,  it  would  be  easy 
to  demonstrate  that  religion  is  necessary,  in 
order  to  make  the  most  of  this  life,  and  to 
enjoy  temporal  good  with  the  highest  relish. 
In  such  a  world  as  this,  where  we  are  every 
moment  liable  to  so  many  unforeseen  and  un- 
avoidable contingencies,  a  man  without  reli- 
gion may  be  compared  to  a  ship  in  a  storm, 
without  either  rudder,  anchor,  or  pilot.  But 
then,  the  religion  which  only  deserves  the 
name,  must  come  from  above  :  it  must  be 
suited  to  the  state  and  wants  of  a  sinner,  it 
must  be  capable  of  comforting  the  heart,  it 
must  take  away  the  sting  and  dread  of  death, 
and  fix  our  confidence  upon  one  who  is  al- 
ways able  to  help  us.  Such  is  the  religion  of 
Jesus,  such  are  its  effects,  and  such  are  the 
criteria  whereby  we  are  to  judge  of  the  va- 
rious forms  and  schemes  under  which  it  is 
proposed  to  us.  But  I  forbear  ;  I  am  only 
reminding  you  of  what  you  know,  and  what 
you  have  known  to  be  verified  by  living  and 
dying  examples.  This  happiness,  my  dear 
Sir,  is  open  to  you,  to  all  who  seek.  He  is 
enthroned  in  heaven,  but  prayer  will  bring 
him  down  to  the  heart.  Indeed,  he  is  always 
beforehand  with  us  ;  and  if  we  feel  one  de- 
sire towards  him,  we  may  accept  it  as  a  token 
that  he  gave  it  us  to  encourage  us  to  ask  for 
more. 

May  he  be  your  guide  and  guard,  be  with 
you  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  and  bring 
you  back  to  your  father's  house  in  peace. 
Should  I  live  to  see  that  day,  you  have  few 
friends  whose  congratulations  would  be  warmer 
or  more  sincere  than  mine ;  and  if,  when  you 
are  settled  and  at  leisure,  you  will  afford  me 
a  letter,  it  will  be  both  a  pleasure  and  a  fa- 
vour to,  dear  Sir, 

Yours,  &c. 


LETTER  IX. 


TO  MISS  M- 


November  11,  1775. 


was  very  pleasant  to 


MY  DEAR  MISS  M- 

Ouk  late  visit  to  - 

myself;  if  any  thing  passed  that  was  of  ser- 
vice  to  you,  we  know  to  whom  the  thanks  are 
due ;  for  we  can  neither  communicate  nor 
receive  any  thing,  but  so  far  as  he  is  pleased 
to  enable  us.  One  reason  why  he  often  dis- 
appoints us  is,  that  we  may  learn  to  depend 
on  him  alone.  We  are  prone,  as  you  observe, 
to  rest  too  much  upon  sensible  comforts,  yet 
they  are  very  desirable;  only  as  to  the  measure 
and  seasons,  it  is  well  to  be  submissive  to  his 
will,  to  be  thankful  for  them  when  we  have 
them,  and  humbly  waiting  for  them  when  we 
have  them  not.  They  are  not,  however,  the 
proper  ground  of  our  hope ;  a  good  hope 
springs  from  such  a  sense  of  our  wants,  and 
such  a  persuasion  of  his  power  and  grace,  as 
engages  the  heart  to  venture,  upon  the  war- 
rant of  his  promises,  to  trust  in  him  for  sal- 
vation. In  a  sense,  we  are  often  hindering 
him  by  our  impatience  and  unbelief;  but, 
strictly  speaking,  when  he  really  begins  the 
good  work,  and  gives  us  a  desire  which  will  be 
satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  himself,  he  will 
not  be  hindered  from  carrying  it  on ;  for  he 
has  said,  I  will  work,  and  none  shall  let  it. 
Ah  !  had  it  depended  upon  myself,  upon  my 
wisdom  or  faithfulness,  I  should  have  hinder- 
ed him  to  purpose,  and  ruined  myself  long 
ago.  How  often  have  I  grieved  and  resisted 
his  Spirit !  but  hereby  I  have  learned  more 
of  his  patience  and  tenderness  than  I  could 
otherwise  have  known.  He  knows  our  frame, 
and  what  effects  our  evil  nature,  fomented  by 
the  artifices  of  Satan,  will  have ;  he  sees  us 
from  first  to  last.  A  thousand  evils  arise  in 
our  hearts.  A  thousand  wrongnesses  in  our 
conduct,  which^  as  they  do  arise,  are  new  to 
ourselves,  and  perhaps,  at  some  times,  we 
were  ready  to  think  we  were  incapable  of 
such  things  ;  but  none  of  them  are  new  to 
him,  to  whom  past,  present,  and  future  are 
the  same.  The  foresight  of  them  did  not 
prevent  his  calling  us  by  his  grace.  Though 
he  knew  we  were  vile,  and  should  prove  un- 
grateful and  unfaithful,  yet  he  would  be  found 
of  us;  he  would  knock  at  the  door  of  our 
hearts,  and  gain  himself  an  entrance.  Nor 
shall  they  prevent  his  accomplishing  liis  gra- 
cious purpose.  It  is  our  part  to  be  abased 
before  him,  and  quietly  to  hope  and  wait  for 
his  salvation,  in  the  use  of  his  appointed 
means.  The  power,  success,  and  blessing, 
are  wholly  from  himself.  To  make  us  more 
sensible  of  this,  he  often  withdraws  from  our 
perceptions;  and  as,  in  the  absence  of  the 
sun,  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest  roam  abroad; 


LET.  X. 


LETTERS  TO  MISS  M- 


B- 


195 


so,  when  Jesus  hides  himself,  we  presently 
perceive  what  is  in  our  hearts,  and  what  a 
poor  shift  we  can  make  without  him  ;  when 
he  returns,  his  light  chaces  the  evils  away, 
and  we  are  well  again.  However,  they  are 
not  dead  when  most  controuled  by  his  pre- 
sence. 

It  is  your  great  and   singular   mercy,  my 
dear  Miss,  that  he  has  taught  you  to  seek  him 
so  early  in  life.      You  are  entered  in  the  way 
of  salvation,  but  you  must  not  expect  all  at 
once.      The  work  of  grace  is  compared  to  the 
corn,  and  to  a  building ;   the  growth  of  the 
one,   and  the  carrying  forward  of  the  other, 
are  gradual.      In  a  building,   for  instance,  if 
it  be  large,    there  is  much  to  be  done  in  pre- 
paring and  laying  the  foundation,   before  the 
walls  appear  above  ground  ;  much  is  doing 
within,   when  the  work   does   not  seem,  per- 
haps, to  advance  without ;    and   when    it  is 
considerably  forward,   yet  being  encumbered 
with  scaffolds  and  rubbish,   a  byestander  sees 
it  at  a  great  disadvantage,   and  can  form  but 
an  imperfect  judgment  of  it.      But  all  this 
while  the  architect  himself,  even  from  the  lay- 
ing of  the  first  stone,   conceives  of  it  accord- 
ing to  the  plan  and  design  he  has  formed ;  he 
prepares  and  adjusts  the  materials,  disposing 
each  in  its  proper  time  and  place,  and  views 
it  in  idea  as  already  finished.      In  due  season 
it  is  completed,   but  not  in  a  day.      The  top- 
stone  is  fixed,  and  then,  the  scaffolds  and  rub- 
bish being  removed,  it  appears  to  others  as  he 
intended  it  should  be.      Men  indeed    often 
plan  what,  for  want  of  skill  or  ability,  or  from 
unforeseen  disappointments,   they  are  unable 
to  execute.      But  nothing  can  disappoint  the 
heavenly  Builder ;    nor  will  he   ever  be  re- 
proached with  forsaking  the  work  of  his  own 
hands,  or  beginning  that  which  he  could  not 
or  would  not  accomplish,  Phil.  i.  6.      Let  us 
therefore  be  thankful  for  beginnings,  and  pa- 
tiently wait  the  event.      His  enemies  strive  to 
retard  the  work,  as  they  did  when  the  Jews, 
by  his  order,  set  about  rebuilding  the  temple, 
■vet  it  was  finished  in  defiance  of  them  all. 
Believe  me  to  be,  &c. 


LETTER    X. 


April  29,  1776. 

MY  DEAR  MISS  M , 

I  thank  you  for  your  last ;  and  I  rejoice  in 
the  Lord's  goodness  to  you.  To  be  drawn 
by  love,  exempted  from  those  distressing  ter- 
rors and  temptations  which  some  are  beset 
with  ;  to  be  favoured  with  the  ordinances  and 
means  of  grace,  and  connected  with  those, 
and  with  those  only,  who  are  disposed  and 
qualified  to  assist  and  encourage  you  in  seek- 
ing the  Saviour ;  these  are  peculiar  privileges, 
which  all  concur  in  your  case  ;  he  loves  you, 
lie  deals   gently  with   you,   he   proves  well 


for  you,  and  accompanies  every  outward  pri- 
vilege with  his  special  blessing ;  and  I  trust  he 
will  lead  you  on  from  strength  to  strength, 
and  shew  you  still  greater  things  than  you 
have  yet  seen.  They  whom  he  teaches  are  al- 
ways increasing  in  knowledge,  both  of  them- 
selves and  of  him.  The  heart  is  deep,  and, 
like  Ezekiel's  vision,  presents  so  many  cham- 
bers of  imagery,  one  within  another,  that  it 
requires  time  to  get  a  considerable  acquaint- 
ance with  it,  and  we  shall  never  know  it  tho- 
roughly. It  is  now  more  than  twenty-eight 
years  since  the  Lord  began  to  open  mine  to 
my  own  view ;  and  from  that  time  to  this,  al- 
most every  day  has  discovered  to  me  some- 
thing which  till  then  was  unobserved ;  and 
the  farther  I  go,  the  more  I  seem  convinced 
that  I  have  entered  but  a  little  way.  A  per- 
son that  travels  in  some  parts  of  Derbyshire 
may  easily  be  satisfied  that  the  country  is  ca- 
vernous ;  but  how  large,  how  deep,  how  nu- 
merous, the  caverns  may  be,  which  are  hidden 
from  us  by  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and 
what  is  contained  in  them,  are  questions  which 
our  nicest  inquiries  cannot  fully  answer.  Thus 
I  judge  of  my  heart,  that  it  is  very  deep  and 
dark,  and  full  of  evil ;  but  as  to  particulars, 
I  know  not  one  of  a  thousand. 

And  if  our  own  hearts  are  beyond  our  com 
prehension,  how  much  more  incomprehensible 
is  the  heart  of  Jesus !   If  sin  abounds  in  us, 
grace  and  love  superabound  in  him  ;  his  ways 
and   thoughts  are   higher  than   ours,   as  the 
heavens  are  higher  than   the  earth  ;  his   love 
has  a  height,   and  depth,    and    length,    and 
breadth,  that  passeth  all  knowledge  ;  and  his 
riches  of  grace  are  unsearchable  riches,   Eph. 
iii.  8,  18,  19.      All  that  we  have  received  or 
can  receive  from  him,  or  know  of  him  in  this 
life,  compared  with  what  he  is  in  himself,  or. 
what  he  has  done  for  us,  is  but  as  the  drop  of  a 
bucket  compared  with  the  ocean,  or  a  single 
ray  of  light  in  respect  of  the  sun.      The  waters 
of  the  sanctuary  flow  to   us  at   first  almost 
upon  a  level,  ankle  deep,  so  graciously  does 
the  Lord  condescend   to  our  weakness :   but 
they  rise  as  we  advance,  and  constrain  us  to 
cry  out  with  the  apostle,   O  the  depth  !     We 
find  before  us,  as  Dr.   Watts  beautifully  ex- 
presses it, 

A  sea  of  love  and  grace  unknown. 
Without  a  bottom  or  a  shoie. 

0  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ ! 
It  will  be  growing  upon  us  through  time,  yea, 

1  believe  through  eternity.  What  an  astonish- 
ing and  what  a  cheering  thought,  that  this 
high  and  lofty  One  should  unite  himself  to 
our  nature,  that  so,  in  a  way  worthy  of  his  a- 
dorable  perfections,  he  might  by  his  Spirit, 
unite  us  to  himself!  Could  such  a  thought 
have  arisen  in  our  hearts,  without  the  war- 
rant of  his  word  < but  it  is  a  thought  which 
no  created  mind  was  capable  of  conceiving 
till  he  rtvealed  it),  it  would  have  been  pre 


I9f. 


LETTERS  TO  MISS  M- 


B 


LET.  XI 


sumption  and  blasphemy  ;  but  now  lie  has 
made  it  known,  it  is  the  foundation  of  our 
hope,  and  an  exhaustible  spring  of  life  and 
joy.  Well  may  we  say,  Lord,  what  is  man 
that  thou  shouldst  thus  visit  him  ! 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  XL 


September  3,  1776. 


MY  DEAK  MISS  M- 


We  saw  no  danger  upon  the  road  homeward  : 
but  my  judgment  tells  me  we  are  always  up- 
on the  brink  of  danger,  though  we  see  it  not ; 
and  that,  without  the  immediate  protection 
and  care  of  him  who  preserveth  the  stars  in 
their  courses,  there  could  be  no  travelling 
safely  a  few  miles,  nor  even  sitting  in  safety 
by  the  fire-side.  But  with  him  we  are  safe 
in  all  places  and  circumstances,  till  our  race 
is  done,  and  his  gracious  purposes  concern- 
ing us,  in  the  present  life,  are  completely 
answered  ;  then  he  will  call  us  home,  that  we 
may  see  his  face,  and  be  with  him  for  ever, 
and  then  it  will  not  much  signify  what  mes- 
senger he  shall  be  pleased  to  send  for  us. 

While  he  took  care  of  us  abroad,  he 
watched  over  our  concerns  at  home  likewise ; 
so  that  we  found  all  well  upon  our  return, 
and  met  with  nothing  to  grieve  us.  Many 
go  out  and  return  home  no  more,  and  many 
find  distressing  things  have  happened  in  their 
absence  ;  but  we  have  to  set  up  our  Ebenezer, 
and  to  say,  Hitherto  he  has  helped  us.  As- 
sist me  to  praise  him.  The  Lord  is  leading 
you  in  the  good  old  way,  in  which  you  may 
perceive  the  footsteps  of  his  flock  who  have 
gone  before  you.  They  had  in  their  day  the 
same  difficulties,  fears,  and  complaints,  as  we 
have,  and  through  mercy  we  partake  of  the 
same  consolation  which  supported  and  re- 
freshed them ;  and  the  promises  which  they 
trusted  and  found  faithful,  are  equally  sure 
to  us.  It  is  still  true,  that  they  who  believe 
shall  never  be  confounded.  If  left  to  our- 
selves, we  should  have  built  upon  sand  :  but 
he  has  provided  and  revealed  a  sure  founda- 
tion, removed  our  natural  prejudices  against 
it ;  and  new,  though  rains,  and  floods,  and 
storms  assault  our  building,  it  cannot  fall,  for 
it  is  founded  upon  a  rock.  The  suspicions 
and  fears  which  arise  in  an  awakened  mind, 
proceed,  in  a  good  measure,  from  remaining 
unbelief;  but  not  wholly  so,  for  there  is  a 
jealousy  and  diffidence  of  ourselves,  a  wari- 
ness owing  to  a  sense  of  the  deceitfulness  of 
our  hearts,  which  is  a  grace  and  a  gift  of  the 
Lord.  Some  people  who  have  much  zeal, 
but  are  destitute  of  this  jealous  fear  may  be 
compared  to  a  ship  that  spreads  a  great  deal 
of  sail,  but  is  not  properly  ballasted,  and  is 
therefore  in  danger  of  being  overset  whenever 


a  storm  comes.  A  sincere  person  has  many 
reasons  for  distrusting  his  own  judgment ;  is 
sensible  of  the  vast  importance  of  the  case,  and 
afraid  of  too  hastily  concluding  in  his  own 
favour,  and  therefore  not  easly  satisfied.  How- 
ever, this  fear,  though  useful  especially  to 
young  beginners,  is  not  comfortable ;  and  they 
who  simply  wait  upon  Jesus,  are  gradually 
freed  from  it,  in  proportion  as  their  know- 
ledge of  him,  and  their  experience  of  his  good- 
ness, increases.  He  has  a  time  for  settling 
and  establishing  them  in  himself,  and  his 
time  is  best.  We  are  hasty,  and  would  be 
satisfied  at  once,  but  his  word  is,  Tarry  thou 
the  Lord's  leisure.  The  work  of  grace  is  not 
like  Jonah's  gourd,  which  sprang  up  and 
flourished  in  a  night,  and  as  quickly  withered, 
but  rather  like  the  oak,  which,  from  a  little 
acorn  and  a  tender  plant,  advances  with  an 
almost  imperceptible  growth  from  year  to 
year,  till  it  becomes  a  broad  spreading  and 
deep-roeted  tree,  and  then  it  stands  for  ages. 
The  christian  oak  shall  grow  and  flourish  for 
ever.  When  I  see  any  soon  after  they  appear 
to  be  awakened,  making  a  speedy  profession 
of  great  joy,  before  they  have  a  due  acquain- 
tance with  their  own  hearts,  I  am  in  pain  for 
them.  I  am  not  sorry  to  hear  them  afterwards 
complain  that  their  joys  are  gone,  and  they  are 
almost  at  their  wits  end ;  for  without  some 
such  check,  to  make  them  feel,  their  weak- 
ness and  dependence,  I  seldom  find  them  turn 
out  well ;  either  their  fervour  insensibly  abates 
till  they  become  quite  cold,  and  sink  into 
the  world  again,  (of  which  I  have  seen  many 
instances),  or  if  they  do  not  give  up  all,  their 
walk  is  uneven,  and  their  spirit  has  not  that 
savour  of  brokenness  and  true  humility  which 
is  a  chief  ornament  of  our  holy  profession. 
If  they  do  not  feel  the  plague  of  their  hearts 
at  first,  they  find  it  out  afterwards,  and  too 
often  manifest  it  to  others.  Therefore  though 
I  know  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  free,  and 
will  not  be  confined  to  our  rules,  and  there 
may  be  excepted  cases ;  yet,  in  general,  I  be- 
lieve the  old  proverb,  "  Soft  and  fair  goes 
far,"  will  hold  good  in  christian  experience. 
Let  us  be  thankful  for  the  beginnings  of 
grace,  and  wait  upon  our  Saviour  patiently  for 
the  increase.  And  as  we  have  chosen  him 
for  our  physician,  let  us  commit  ourselves  to 
his  management,  and  not  prescribe  to  him 
what  he  shall  prescribe  for  us.  He  knows  us 
and  he  loves  us  better  than  we  do  ourselves, 
and  will  do  all  things  well. 

You  say,  "  It  never  came  with  power  and 
life  to  my  soul,  that  he  died  for  me."  If  you 
mean,  you  never  had  any  extraordinary  sud- 
den manifestation,  something  like  a  vision  or  a 
•voice  from  heaven,  confirming  it  to  you,  I 
can  say  the  same.  But  I  know  he  d.ed  for 
sinners  ;  I  know  I  am  a  sinner:  I  know  he 
invites  them  that  are  ready  to  perish ;  I  am 
such  a  one  :  I  know,  upon  his  own  invitation, 
I    have    committed    myself  to    him;    and    I 


LET.  XI. 


LETTLliS  TO   MISS   M- 


B 


191 


know,  by  the  effects,  that  he  has  been  with  me 
hitherto,  otherwise  I  should  have  been  an  a- 
postate  long  ago ;  and  therefore  I  know  that 
he  died  for  me  ;  for  had  he  been  pleased  to 
kill  me  (as  he  justly  might  have  done),  he 
would  not  have  shewn  me  such  things  as 
these. 

If  I  must  perish,  would  the  Lord 
Have  taught  my  heart  to  love  his  word  ? 
Would  he  have  given  ine  eyes  to  see 
My  danger  and  my  remedy  ? 
Reveal'd  his  name,  and  bid  me  pray, 
Had  he  resolv'd  to  say  me  nay  ? 

I  know  that  I  am  a  child,  because  he  teach- 
es ine  to  say,  Abba,  Father.  I  know  that  I 
am  his,  because  he  has  enabled  me  to  choose 


him  for  mine.  For  such  a  choice  and  desire 
could  never  have  taken  place  in  my  heart,  if 
he  had  not  placed  it  there  himself.  By  na- 
ture I  was  too  blind  to  know  him,  too  proud 
to  trust  him,  too  obstinate  to  serve  him,  too 
base-minded  to  love  him  ;  the  enmity  I  was 
filled  with  against  his  government,  righteous- 
ness, and  grace,  was  too  strong  to  be  subdued 
by  any  power  but  his  own.  The  love  I  bear 
to-  him  is  but  a  faint  and  feeble  spark,  but  it 
is  an  emanation  from  himself.  He  kindled 
it,  and  he  keeps  it  alive  ;  and  because  it  is  his 
work,  I  trust  many  waters  shall  not  quewch 
it. 

I  have  only  loom  to  assure  you,  that  I  am, 
&c. 


LETTERS 


TO 


THE  REVEREND  Mr.  R- 


LETTER  I. 


April  15,   1776. 


MY  DKAR  SJK, 


I  OFTEN   rejoice  on  your  behalf.      Your  call 
out  of  the  world  was  a  singular  and  comfort- 
able  instance   of  the  power  of  grace.      And 
when  I  consider  the  difficulties  and  snares  of 
your  situation,  and  that  you  have  been   kept 
in   the   middle   path,    preserved   from   undue 
compliances  on  the  one   hand,   and  unneces- 
sary singularities  on  the  other,  I  cannot  doubt 
but  the  Lord  has  hitherto  helped  and  guided 
you.    Indeed,  you  have  need  of  his  guidance. 
At  your  years,  and  with  your  expectations  in 
life,  your  health  firm,   and   your  natural  spi- 
rits lively,  you  are  exposed  to   many  snares ; 
yet,   if  the  Lord  keeps  you   sensible  of  your 
danger,   and  dependent  upon   him,    you  will 
walk    safely.       Your    security,    success,    and 
comfort,  depend  upon  him ;   and  in  the  way 
of  means,  chiefly  upon  your  being  preserved 
in  an  humble  sense  of  your   own  weakness. 
It  is  written,   "  Fear   not,    I  am  with   thee." 
It  is  written  again,   "  Blessed  is  the  man  who 
feareth  always."     There  is  a  perfect  harmony 
in  those  seemingly  different  texts.      May  the 
wisdom   that  cometh   from  above   teach  you 
and  me  to  keep  them  both  united  in  our  view. 
If  the  Lord  be  with  us,  we  have  no  cause  of 
fear.      His  eye  is   upon  us,   his  arm  over  us, 
his  ear  open  to  our  prayer ;  his  grace  suffi- 
cient, his  promise  unchangeable.      Under  his 
protection,   though   the   path   of  duty  should 
lie  through  fire  and  water,  we  may  cheerfully 
and    confidently    pursue  it.       On    the   other 
hand,  our  hearts  are  so  deceitful,  fallible,  and 
frail  ;  our  spiritual  enemies  so  subtle,  watch- 
ful, and  powerful;  and  they  derive  so  mm y 


advantages  from  the  occasions,  of  every  day,  in 
which  we  are  unavoidably  and  unexpectedly 
concerned ;  there  is  so  much  combustible 
within,  and  so  many  temptations  arising  from 
without,  capable  of  setting  all  in  a  flame  ;  that 
we  cannot  be  too  jealous  of  ourselves  and  our 
circumstances.  The  duke  of  Devonshire's 
motto,  if  I  mistake  not,  well  suits  the  chris- 
tian, Cavendo  tutus.  When  we  can  say,  in 
the  psalmist's  spirit,  "  Hold  thou  me  up,' 
we  may  warrantably  draw  his  conclusion, 
"  and  I  shall  be  safe ;"  but  the  moment  we 
lean  to  our  own  understanding,  we  are  in  im- 
minent danger  of  falling.  The  enemy  who 
wars  against  our  souls  is  a  consummate  mastei 
in  his  way,  fertile  in  stratagems,  and  equally 
skilful  in  carrying  on  his  assaults  by  sap  or 
by  storm.  He  studies  us,  if  I  may  so  say,  all 
around,  to  discover  our  weak  sides ;  and  he 
is  a  very  Proteus  for  changing  his  appear- 
ances, and  can  appear  <ns  a  sly  serpent,  a  roar- 
ing lion,  or  an  angel  of  light,  as  best  suits  his 
purpose.  It  is  a  great  mercy  to  be  in  some 
measure  acquainted  with  his  devices,  and  a- 
ware  of  them.  They  who  wait  humbly  upon 
the  Lord,  and  consult  carefully  at  his  word 
and  throne  of  grace,  are  made  wiser  than 
their  enemy,  and  enabled  to  escape  and  with- 
stand his  wiles.  I  know  you  will  not  expect 
me  to  apologise  for  putting  you  in  mind  of 
these  things,  though  you  know  them.  I  have 
a  double  warrant ;  the  love  I  bear  you,  and 
the  Lord's  command,  Heb.  iii.  13.  Use  the 
like  freedom  with  me ;  I  need  it,  and  hope  to 
be  thankful  for  it,  and  accept  it  as  one  of  the 
best  proofs  of  friendship. 

The  Lord  bless  and  keep  you.      Pray  foi 
us,  and  believe  me  to  be  sincerely  yours. 


I.ET.   II. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.  R . 


199 


LETTER  II. 

July  13,  177G. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

The  Lord,  who  mercifully  called  you  out  of 
a  state  of  thoughtless  dissipation,  and  has  hi- 
therto been  with  you,  will,  I  trust,  sweeten  all 
your  trials,  and  cause  his  light  to  shine  upon 
your  paths.  It  seems  probable,  that  if  you 
pay  a  just  regard  to  your  father's  negative, 
which  I  really  think  he  has  a  right  to  expect 
from  you,  and,  at  the  same  time,  make  a 
steady  and  conscientious  use  of  that  negative, 
which  he  generously  allows  you  to  put  upon 
his  proposals,  to  which  I  think  you  have  an 
equal  right ;  I  say,  while  things  remain  in 
this  situation,  and  you  continue  to  think  dif- 
ferently, it  seems  probable  that  the  hour  of 
your  exchanging  a  single  for  the  marriage  state 
is  yet  at  some  distance.  But  let  not  this 
grieve  you.  The  Lord  is  all-sufficient.  A 
lively  sense  of  his  love,  a  deep  impression  of 
eternity,  a  heart  filled  with  zeal  for  his  cause, 
and  a  thirst  for  the  good  of  souls,  will,  I 
hope,  enable  you  to  make  a  cheerful  sacri- 
fice of  whatever  has  no  necessary  connection 
with  your  peace  and  his  service.  And  you 
may  rest  assured,  that  whenever  he,  who  loves 
you  better  than  you  do  yourself,  sees  it  best 
for  you,  upon  the  whole,  to  change  your  con- 
dition, he  will  bring  it  about,  he  will  point 
out  the  person,  prepare  the  means,  and  secure 
the  success,  by  his  providence,  and  the  power 
he  has  over  every  heart.  And  you  shall  see 
that  all  previous  difficulties  were  either  gra- 
cious preventions,  which  he  threw  in  the  way 
to  prevent  your  taking  a  wrong  step,  or  tem- 
porary bars,  which,  by  his  removing  them  af- 
terwards, should  give  you  opportunity  of  more 
clearly  perceiving  his  care  and  interposition 
in  your  favour.  In  the  mean  time,  remember 
your  high  calling.  You  are  a  minister  and  an 
ambassador  of  Christ ;  you  are  entrusted  with 
the  most  honourable  and  important  employ- 
ment that  can  engage  and  animate  die  heart 
of  man.  Taura  /iiXtru,  u  toutois  itrfo)  iti/aiii 
avrois.* 

Filled  and  fired  with  a  constraining  sense 
of  the  love  of  Jesus,  and  the  worth  of  souls  ; 
impressed  with  an  ardour  to  carry  war  into 
Satan's  kingdom,  to  storm  his  strongholds, 
and  rescue  his  captives  ;  you  w:ill  have  little 
leisure  to  think  of  any  thing  else.  How  does 
the  love  of  glory  stimulate  the  soldier,  make 
him  forget  and  forego  a  thousand  personal  ten- 
dernesses, and  prompt  him  to  cross  oceans,  to 
traverse  deserts,  to  scale  mountains,  and  plunge 
into  the  greatest  hardships  and  the  thickest 
dangers  !  He  does  it  for  a  corruptible  crown, 
a  puff  of  breath,  an  empty  fame  ;  his  highest 
prospect  is   the   applause  and  favour  of  his 


prince.  We  likewise  are  soldiers  ;  we  have 
a  Prince  and  Captain  who  deserves  our  all. 
They  who  know  him,  and  have  hearts  to  con- 
ceive of  his  excellence,  and  to  feel  their  obli 
gations  to  him,  cannot  indeed  seek  their  own 
glory,  but  his  glory  is  dearer  to  them  than  a 
thousand  lives.  They  owe  him  their  souls, 
for  he  redeemed  them  with  blood,  his  own 
blood  ;  and  by  his  grace  he  subdued  and  par- 
doned them  when  they  were  rebels,  and  in 
arms  against  him.  Therefore  they  are  not 
their  own,  they  would  not  be  their  own. 
When  his  standard  is  raised,  when  his  ene- 
mies are  in  motion,  when  his  people  are  to  be 
rescued  ;  they  go  forth  clothed  with  his  pano- 
ply, they  fi^ht  under  his  eye,  they  are  sure  of 
liis  support,  and  he  shews  them  the  conqueror's 
crown.  O,  when  they  think  of  that  tu  S«u>t 
aya.6iA  with  which  he  has  promised  to  wel- 
come them  home,  when  the  campaign  is  over, 
hard  things  seem  easy,  and  bitter  things  sweet ; 
they  count  nothing,  not  even  their  own  lives, 
dear,  so  that  they  may  finish  their  course  with 
joy.  May  the  Lord  make  us  thus  minded  ; 
give  us  a  hearty  concern  for  his  business,  and 
he  has  engaged  to  take  care  of  ours ;  and  no- 
thing that  can  conduce  to  our  real  comfort 
and  usefulness  shall  be  withheld. 
Believe  me  to  be  sincerely  yours. 


LETTER  III. 

December  21,  1776 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

Your  letter  brought  me  tidings  of  joy,  and 
then  furnished  me  with  materials  for  a  bon- 
fire upon  the  occasion.  It  was  an  act  of 
passive  obedience  to  burn  it,  but  I  did  obey. 
I  congratulate  you  upon  the  happy  issue  to 
which  the  Lord  has  brought  your  affairs.  I 
see  that  his  good  Spirit  and  good  providence 
have  been  and  are  with  you.  I  doubt  not 
but  your  union  with  Miss will  be  a  mu- 
tual blessing,  and,  on  your  part,  heightened 
by  being  connected  with  such  a  family.  I 
could  enlarge  upon  this  head,  if  my  letter 
likewise  was  to  be  burnt  as  soon  as  you  have 
read  it.  I  look  upon  the  friendship  the  Lord 
has  given  me  there  as  one  of  my  prime  privi- 
leges, and  I  hope  I  shall  always  be  thankful 
that  it  proved  a  means  of  introducing  you 
into  it. 

I  congratulate  you  likewise  upon  your  ac- 
cession to  ,  not  because  it  is  a  good  liv 

ing,  in  a  genteel  neighbourhood,  and  a  fine 
country,  but  because  I  believe  the  Lord  sends 
you  there  for  fulfilling  the  desires  he  has  given 
you  of  being  useful  to  souls.  Church-pre- 
ferment, in  any  other  view,  is  dreadful ;  and 
I  would  as  soon  congratulate  a  man  upon 
seeing  a  millstone  tied  about  his  neck,  to  sink 


1  Tim.  iv.  15,  16. 


Well  done,  gool  servant 


200 


LETTERS  TO  THE   REV.   Mil.   11 . 


LET.  IV. 


him  into  the  depths  of  the  sea,  as  upon  his 
obtaining  what  is  called  a  good  living,  except 
I  thought  him  determined  to  spend  and  be 
spent  in  the  cause  of  the  gospel.  A  parish 
is  an  awful  millstone  indeed  to  those  who  see 
nothing  valuable  in  tiie  flock  but  the  fleece; 
but  the  Lord  has  impressed  your  heart  with  a 
sense  of  the  glory  and  importance  of  his  truth, 
and  the  worth  of  souls,  and  animated  your 
zeal  by  the  most  powerful  motive,  the  know- 
ledge of  his  constraining  love.  Your  case  is 
extraordinary.  Perhaps,  when  you  review  in 
your  mind  the  circle  of  your  former  gay  ac- 
quaintance, you  may  say,  with  Job's  servant, 
'  I  only  am  escaped  alive:"  The  rest  are  ei- 
ther removed  into  an  eternal  state,  or  are 
still  hurrying  down  the  stream  of  dissipation, 
and  living  without  God  in  the  world.  Yet 
there  was  a  time  when  there  seemed  no  more 
probability  on  your  side  than  on  theirs,  that 
you  should  obtain  mercy,  and  be  called  to  the 
honour  of  preaching  the  glorious  gospel.  You 
are  setting  out  with  every  possible  advantage. 
In  early  life,  with  a  cheerful  flow  of  spirits, 
affluent  circumstances,  and  now,  to  crown  all, 
the  Lord  gives  you  the  very  choice  of  your 
heart  in  a  partner ;  one  who,  besides  deserv- 
ing and  meeting  your  affection,  will,  I  am 
persuaded,  be  a  real  help-meet  to  you  in  your 
spiritual  walk.  How  much  is  here  to  be 
thankful  for  ! 

I  trust  the  Lord  has  given  you,  and  will 
maintain  in  you,  a  right  spirit,  so  as  not  to 
rest  in  his  gifts,  but  to  hold  them  in  connec- 
tion with  the  love  and  favotsr  of  the  giver. 
It  is  a  low  time  with  us,  when  the  greatest 
assemblage  of  earthly  blessings  can  seem  to 
satisfy  us  without  real  communion  with  him. 
His  grace  is  sufficient  for  you  ;  but  undoubt- 
edly such  a  scene  of  prosperity  as  seems  to 
lie  before  you,  is  full  of  snares,  and  calls  for 
a  double  effort  of  watchfulness  and  prayer. 
Your  situation  will  fix  many  eyes  upon  you, 
and  Satan  will  doubtless  watch  you,  and  ex- 
amine every  corner  of  the  hedge  around  you, 
to  see  if  he  can  find  a  gap  by  which  to  enter. 
We  have  but  few  rich  gospel-ministers ;  but 
it  is  too  evident  that  he  has  found  a  way  to 
damp  the  zeal  and  hurt  the  spirits  of  some  of 
those  few,  who  for  a  time  acted  nobly,  and 
seemed  to  walk  out  of  the  reach  of  the  allure- 
ments of  the  world.  I  am  not  jealous  of  you ; 
I  feel  a  comfortable  persuasion,  that  the  Lord 
lias  taken  a  fast  hold  of  your  heart,  and  given 
you  a  fast  hold  of  his  almighty  arm  ;  yet  I 
believe  you  will  not  be  displeased  with  me 
for  dropping  a  hint  of  this  kind,  and  at  this 
time. 

You  have  heard  of  the  trial  with  which  the 
Lord  has  been  pleased  to  visit  us  :  it  still  con- 
tinues, though  considerably  alleviated.  It  is 
tempered  with  many  mercies,  and  I  hope  he 
disposes  us  in  a  measure  to  submission.  I 
trust  it  will  be  for  good.  My  dear  friend  you 
are  now  coming   into   my  school,    where  you 


will  learn,  as  occasions  offei,  to  feci  more  in 
the  person  of  another  than  in  your  own.  But 
be  not  discouraged,  the  Lord  only  afflicts  for 
our  good.  It  is  necessary  that  our  sharpest 
trials  should  sometimes  spring  from  our  dear- 
est comforts,  else  we  should  be  in  danger  of 
forgetting  ourselves,  and  setting  up  our  rest 
here.  In  such  a  world,  and  with  such  hearts 
as  we  have,  we  shall  often  need  something  to 
prevent  our  cleaving  to  the  dust,  to  quicken 
us  to  prayer,  and  to  make  us  feel  that  our 
dependence  for  one  hour's  peace  is  upon  the 
Lord  alone.  I  am  ready  to  think  I  have 
known  as  much  of  the  good  and  happiness 
which  this  world  can  afford,  as  most  people 
who  live  in  it.  I  never  saw  the  person  with 
whom  1  wished  to  exchange  in  temporals. 
And  for  many  years  past  I  have  thought  my 
I  trials  have  been  light  and  few,  compared 
with  what  many,  or  most  of  the  Lord's  peo- 
ple have  endured.  And  yet,  though  in  the 
main  possessed  of  my  own  wishes,  when  I 
look  l>ack  upon  the  twenty-seven  years  past, 
I  am  ready  to  style  them,  with  Jacob,  few  and 
evil ;  and  to  give  the  sum-total  of  their  con- 
tents in  Solomon's  words, — all  is  vanity.  If 
I  take  these  years  to  pieces,  I  see  a  great 
part  of  them  was  filled  up  with  sins,  sorrows, 
and  inquietudes.  The  pleasures  too  are  gone, 
and  have  no  more  real  existence  than  the  base- 
less fabric  of  a  dream.  The  shadows  of  the 
evening  will  soon  begin  to  come  over  us; 
and  if  our  lives  are  prolonged,  a  thousand 
pains  and  infirmities,  from  which  the  Lord 
has  in  a  remarkable  measure  exempted  us 
hitherto,  will  probably  overtake  us,  and  at 
last  we  must  feel  the  parting  pang.  Sic  tran- 
sit gloria  i/iundi.  Sin  has  so  envenomed  the 
soil  of  this  earth,  that  the  amaranth  will  not 
grow  uyon  it.  But  we  are  hasting  to  a  better 
world,  and  to  bright  unclouded  skies,  where 
our  sun  will  no  more  go  down,  and  where  all 
tears  shall  be  wiped  from  our  eyes. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 

September  27,  1777. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

Mr.  called  upon  us  on  Thursday  even. 

ing,  and  from  that  hour  my  thoughts,  when 

awake,  have  seldom  been  absent  from . 

Few  people  are  better  qualified  to  feel  for 
you,  yourself  and  the  family  excepted ;  per- 
haps there  is  no  person   living  more    nearly 

interested   in  what  concerns  Mrs.  than 

myself.  I  could  not  therefore,  at  such  a 
time  as  this,  refrain  from  writing ;  and  glad 
should  I  be,  if  the  Lord  may  help  me  to 
drop  a  suitable  word,  and  accompany  it  with 
a  blessing  to  you  in  the  reading. 

I    am  glad    to    be   assured,    though   I   ex- 
pected  no  less,  that   Mrs.  happily  feels 


LET.   IV. 


LETTERS  TO   THE  REV.    MR.    R- 


lierself  safe  in  the  Lord's  hand,  and  under 
the  care  of  the  Good  Shepherd  and  Saviour, 
to  whom  she  has  often  committed  herself; 
and  finds  him  faithful  to  his  promise,  giving 
her  strength  in  her  soul  according  to  her  day, 
and  enabling  her  quietly  to  submit  to  his  holy, 
wise,  and  gracious  will.  And  it  is  my  prayer, 
tiiat  he  may  strengthen  you  likewise,  and  re- 
veal his  own  all-sufficiency  so  clearly  and 
powerfully  to  your  heart,  that  you  may  not 
be  afraid  of  any  event,  but  cheerfully  rely 
upon  him,  to  be  all  that  to  you,  in  every 
circumstance  and  change,  which  his  promise 
warrants  you  to  expect. 

I  am  willing  to  hope,  that  this  is  but  a 
short  season  of  anxiety,  appointed  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  your  faith  and  patience,  and  to  give 
you,  in  his  good  time,  a  signal  proof  of  his 
power  and  goodness  in  answering  prayer.  He 
sometimes  brings  us  into  such  a  situation  that 
the  help  of  creatures  is  utterly  unavailing, 
that  we  may  afterwards  be  more  clearly  sen- 
sible of  his  interposition.  Then  we  experi- 
mentally learn  the  vanity  of  all  things  here 
below,  and  are  brought  to  a  more  immediate 
and  absolute  dependence  upon  himself.  We 
have  need  of  having  these  lessons  frequently 
inculcated  upon  us  ;  but  when  his  end  is  an- 
swered, how  often,  after  he  has  caused  grief, 
does  he  shew  his  great  compassions,  and  save 
us  from  our  fears  by  an  outstretched  arm, 
and  such  a  seasonable  and  almost  unexpected 
relief,  as  constrains  us  to  cry  out,  What  has 
God  wrought  ?  and  who  is  a  God  like  unto 
thee  ?  Such,  I  hope,  will  be  the  issue  of 
your  present  trial,  and  that  he  who  gave  her 
to  you  at  first  will  restore  her  to  you  again. 
I  see  you  in  the  furnace ;  but  the  Lord  is 
sitting  by  it  as  a  refiner  of  silver,  to  mode- 
rate the  fire,  and  manage  the  process,  so  that 
you  shall  lose  nothing  but  dross,  and  be 
brought  forth  refined  as  gold,  to  praise  his 
name.  Apparent  difficulties,  however  great, 
are  nothing  to  him.  If  he  speaks  it  is  done  ; 
for  to  God  the  Lord  belong  the  issues  from 
death.      Should    his    pleasure    be  otherwise, 


-•  201 

and  should  he  call  your  dear  partner  to  a 
state  of  glory  before  you,  still  I  know  he  is 
able  to  support  you.  What  he  docs,  however 
painful  to  the  flesh,  must  be  right,  because 
he  does  it.  Having  bought  us  with  his  blood, 
and  saved  our  souls  from  hell,  he  has  every 
kind  of  right  to  dispose  of  us  and  ours  as 
he  pleases  ;  and  this  we  are  sure  of,  he  will 
not  lay  so  much  upon  us  as  he  freely  endured 
for  us,  and  he  can  make  us  amends  for  all 
we  suffer,  and  for  all  we  lose,  by  the  light 
of  his  countenance.  A  few  years  will  set  all 
to  rights ;  and  they  who  love  him  and  are  be- 
loved by  him,  though  they  may  suffer  as  others, 
shall  not  sorrow  as  others,  for  the  Lord  'will 
be  with  them  here,  and  he  will  soon  have 
them  with  him  j  there  all  tears  shall  be  wiped 
from  their  eyes. 

Perhaps  I  know  as  well  how  to  calculate 
the  pain  of  such  a  separation  as  any  one 
who  has  not  actually  experienced  it.  Many 
a  time  the  desire  of  my  eyes  has  been  threat- 
ened, many  a  time  my  heart  has  been  brought 
low ;  but  from  what  I  have  known  at  such 
seasons,  I  have  reason  to  hope,  that  had  it 
been  his  pleasure  to  bring  upon  me  the  thing 
that  I  feared,  his  everlasting  arm  would  have 
upheld  me  from  sinking  under  the  stroke.  As 
ministers,  we  are  called  to  comfort  the  Lord's 
afflicted  people,  and  to  tell  them,  the  know- 
ledge of  his  love  is  a  cordial  able  to  keep  the 
soul  alive  under  the  sharpest  trials.  We  must 
not  wonder  that  he  sometimes  put  us  in  a 
way  of  showing  that  we  do  not  deal  in  unfelt 
truths,  but  that  we  find  ourselves  that  solid 
consolation  in  the  gospel  which  we  encou- 
rage others  to  expect  from  it.  You  have 
now  such  an  occasion  of  glorifying  the  Lord, 
I  pray  he  may  enable  you  to  improve  it,  and 
that  all  around  you  may  see  that  he  is  with 
you,  and  that  his  good  word  is  the  support 
and  anchor  of  your  soul.  Then  I  am  sure, 
if  it  upon  the  whole  is  best  for  you,  he  will 
give  you  the  desire  of  your  heart,  and  vou 
shall  yet  live  to  praise  him  together. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETT  Kit 


TO 


THE  REVEREND  Mr.  O- 


A\ml  3,  1759. 

DEAR  SIB, 

You  see  I   have  prevented  you  in  your  pro- 
mise of  writing   first ;  and,  having   found  a 

pretext  for  troubling  Mr.  ,  I  was  willing 

to  venture  upon  you  without  any,  unless  you 
will  let  me  plead  a  desire  of  shewing  you  how 
welcome  your  correspondence  would  be  to 
me.  1  know  not  if  my  heart  was  ever  more 
jnited  to  any  person,  in  so  short  a  space  of 
time,  than  to  you ;  and  what  engaged  me  so 
much  was,  the  spirit  of  meekness  and  of  love 
(that  peculiar  and  inimitable  mark  of  true 
Christianity)  which  I  observed  in  you.  I 
mean  it  not  to  your  praise.  May  all  the 
praise  be  to  him,  from  whom  every  good  and 
perfect  gift  cometh,  who  alone  maketh  the 
best  to  differ  from  the  worst ;  but  I  think  I 
may  well  mention,  to  your  encouragement, 
that  all  who  conversed  with  you  greatly  re- 
gret your  speedy  departure ;  and  I  am  per- 
suaded the  same  temper,  the  same  candour, 
will  make  you  acceptable,  honourable,  and 
useful,  wherever  you  go.  Blessed  are  the 
poor  in  spirit,  the  meek,  the  merciful,  and  the 
peace-makers ;  they  shall  obtain  the  mercy 
they  want,  and  possess  the  peace  they  love. 
They  shall  inherit  the  earth.  The  earth,  sin- 
ful and  miserable  as  it  is,  shall  be  worthy  to 
be  called  an  inheritance  to  them,  for  they  shall 
enjoy  a  comparative  heaven  in  it.  They  shall 
be  called  the  children  of  God,  though  digni- 
fied with  no  title  among  men.  Alas,  how 
much  are  these  things  overlooked,  even  by 
many  who,  I  would  hope,  are  real  believers  ! 
Methinks  a  very  different  spirit  from  that  of 
the  church  of  Laodicea,  is  to  be  seen  amongst 
us,  though  perhaps  it  is  not  easy  to  say  which 
is  the  best  of  the  two.  That  was  neither  cold 
nor  hot,  this  (mirabile  dictu)  is  both  cold  and 
hot  at  once,  and  both  to  the  c.vtreme.  Hot, 
hasty,  and  arbitrary  in  those  few  things  where 


mediocrity  is  a  virtue ;  but  cool  and  remiss 
in  those  great  points,  where  the  application 
of  the  whole  heart,  and  soul,  and  mind,  and 
strength,  is  so  absolutely  necessary,  and  so 
positively  enjoined.  Surely  there  is  too  much 
room  for  this  observation,  and  I  perhaps  stand 
self-condemned  in  making  it. 

I  hope  you  will  take  opportunity  to  im- 
prove your  interest  in  Mr. by  letter.   Pie 

expressed  much  satisfaction  in  the  hour  he 
spent  with  you  before  you  sailed,  and  a  great 
regard  for  you ;  therefore  would,  I  doubt 
not,  give  you  a  fair  hearing ;  and  the  phrase 
litera  scripta  manet  is  true  in  more  senses  than 
one.  He  makes  such  large  concessions  some- 
times, that  I  am  apt  to  think  he  is  conscious 
of  the  weakness  of  his  own  argument ;  and 
then  he  is  as  soon  angry  with  himself  for  com- 
plying so  far,  and  flies  off  to  the  other  ex- 
treme. Yet,  for  the  most  part,  when  he  speaks 
plain,  and  is  not  restrained  by  complaisance 
for  particular  persons,  he  appears  not  only  a 
stranger  to  experimental  religion,  but  averse 
to  the  notion,  and  generally  inclined  to  treat 
it  with  levity.  His  obstacles  are  very  many 
and  very  great ;  his  reputation  as  a  learned 
man,  his  years,  his  regular  life,  and  perhaps, 
above  all,  his  performances  in  print,  especially 
his  last  book,  are  so  many  barriers  that  must 
be  broke  through  before  conviction  can  reach 
him.  But  the  grace  of  God  can  do  all  this 
and  more ;  and  indeed,  when  I  think  of  the 
many  truly  valuable  parts  of  his  character, 
and  the  indefatigable  pains  he  has  taken  in 
his  researches  after  truth,  I  am  willing  to 
hope,  that  the  Lord  will  at  length  teach  him 
the  true  wisdom,  and  enable  him,  however 
hard  it  may  seem,  to  give  up  his  own  attain- 
ments, and  sit  down  like  a  little  child  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus. 

I  hope  to  hear  soon  and  often  from  you.  I 
number   my  christian   correspondents   among 


LETTER  TO  THE  REV.  MR.  O- 


203 


my  principal  blessings,  a  few  judicious  pious 
friends,  to  whom,  when  I  can  get  leisure  to 
write,  I  send  my  heart  by  turns.  I  can  trust 
them  with  my  inmost  sentiments,  and  can  write 
with  no  more  disguise  than  I  think.  I  shall 
rejoice  to  add  you  to  the  number,  if  you  can 
agree  to  take  me  as  I  am,  as  I  think  you  will, 
and  suffer  me  to  commit  my  whole  self  to 
paper,  without  respect  to  names,  parties,  and 
sentiments.  I  endeavour  to  observe  my  Lord's 
commands,  to  call  no  man  master  upon  earth  ; 
yet  I  desire  to  own  and  honour  the  image  of 
God  wherever  I  find  it.  I  dare  not  say  I 
have  no  bigotry,  for  I  know  not  myself;  and 
remember,  to  my  shame,  that  formerly, 
when  I  ignorantly  professed  myself  free  from 
it,  I  was  indeed  over-run  with  it ;  but  this  I 
can  say,  I  allow  it  not :  I  strive  and  pray 
against  it ;  and  thus  far,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
I  have  attained,  that  I  find  my  heart  as  much 
united  to  many  who  differ  from  me  in  some 
points,  as  to  any  who  agree  with  me  in  all, 
I  set  no  value  upon  any  doctrinal  truth,  far- 
ther than  it  has  a  tendency  to  promote  practi- 
cal holiness.  If  others  should  think  those 
things  hinderances  which  I  judge  to  be  helps 
in  this  respect,  I  am  content  they  should  go 
on  in  their  own  way,  according  to  the  light 
God  has  given  them,  provided  they  will  agree 
with  me  tv  ru  travayxu.  If  it  should  be  ask- 
ed, which  are  the  necessary  things  ?  I  answer, 
Those  in  which  the  spiritual  worshippers  of 
all  ages  and  countries  have  been  agreed. 
Those,  on  the  contrary,  are  mere  subordinate 
matters,  in  which  the  best  men,  those  who 
have  been  the  most  eminent  for  faith,  prayer, 
humility,  and  nearness  to  God,  always  have 
been,  and  still  are,  divided  in  their  judg- 
ments. Upon  this  plan  I  should  think  it 
no  hard  matter  to  draw  up  a  form  of  sound 
words  (whether  dignified  with  the  name  of  a 
creed  or  no,  I  care  not),  to  which  true  be- 
lievers of  all  sorts  and  sizes  would  unani- 
mously subscribe.      Suppose  it  ran  something 


in  the  following  manner  :— I  believe  that  sin 
is  the  most  hateful  tiling  in  the  world ;  that  I 
and  all  men  are  by  nature  in  a  state  of  wrath 
and  depravity,  utterly  unable  to  sustain  the 
penalty,  or  to  fulfil  the  commands  of  God's 
holy  law ;  and  that  we  have  no  sufficiency  of 
ourselves  to  think  a  good  thought.  I  believe 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  chief  among  ten 
thousands  ;  that,  he  came  into  the  world  to 
save  the  chief  of  sinners,  by  making  a  propi- 
tiation for  sin  by  his  death,  by  paying  a  per- 
fect obedience  to  the  law  in  our  behalf;  and 
that  he  is  now  exalted  on  high,  to  give  re- 
pentance and  remission  of  sins  to  all  that  be- 
lieve ;  and  that  he  ever  liveth  to  make  inter- 
cession for  us.  I  believe  that  the  Holy  Spi- 
rit (the  gift  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ)  is 
the  sure  and  only  guide  into  all  truth,  and 
the  common  privilege  of  all  believers ;  and 
under  his  influence,  I  believe  the  holy  scrip- 
tures are  able  to  make  us  wise  unto  salvation, 
and  to  furnish  us  thoroughly  for  every  good 
work.  I  believe  that  love  to  God,  and  to 
man,  for  God's  sake,  is  the  essence  of  re- 
ligion, and  the  fulfilling  of  the  law  ;  that 
without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord  ; 
that  those  who,  by  a  patient  course  in  well- 
doing, seek  glory,  honour,  and  immortality, 
shall  receive  eternal  life ;  and  I  believe  that 
this  reward  is  not  of  debt,  but  of  grace,  even 
to  the  praise  and  glory  of  that  grace  where- 
by he  has  made  us  accepted  in  the  Beloved. 
Amen. 

I  pretend  not  to  accuracy  in  this  hasty 
draught ;  they  are  only  outlines,  which,  if 
you  please  to  retouch,  and  fill  up  at  your  lei- 
sure, I  hope  you  will  favour  me  with  a  sight 
of  it.  I  fear  I  have  tired  you,  and  shall  only 
add  my  prayers,  that  the  Lord  may  be  with 
you,  and  crown  your  labours  of  love  with  suc- 
cess, that  you  may  hereafter  shine  among  those 
who  have  been  instrumental  in  turning  many 
to  righteousness. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTERS 


TO 


THE  REVEREND  Mr.  P- 


LETTER  I. 


DEAR  SIR, 

The  account  which  \  received  by  Mr.  C , 

and  by  the  letter  which  he  brought  from  you, 
of  your  welfare  and  the  welfare  of  your  peo- 
ple, was  very  pleasing,  though  indeed  no  more 
than  I  expected.  I  believed,  from  the  first  of 
your  going  to  S  ,  that  you  would  like  the 

people,  and  I  believed  the  Lord  had  given 
you  that  frame  of  spirit  which  he  has  promis- 
ed to  bless.  What  reason  have  we  to  praise 
him  for  the  knowledge  of  his  gospel,  and  for 
the  honour  of  being  called  to  preach  it  to 
others !  and  likewise  that  he  has  been  pleased 
to  cast  your  lot  and  mine  amongst  a  people 
who  value  it,  and  to  crown  our  poor  labours 
with  some  measure  of  acceptance  and  useful- 
ness. How  little  did  we  think,  in  the  un- 
awakened  part  of  our  life,  to  what  it  was  his 
good  pleasure  to  reserve  us ! 

The  Lord  is  pleased,  in  a  measure,  to  show 
me  the  suitableness  and  necessity  of  an  hum- 
ble dependent  frame  of  heart,  a  ceasing  from 
self,  and  a  reliance  upon  him  in  the  due  use 
of  appointed  means-;  I  am  far  from  having 
attained,  but  I  hope  I  am  pressing,  at  least 
seeking  after  it.  I  wish  to  speak  the  word 
simply  and  experimentally,  and  to  be  so  en- 
gaged with  the  importance  of  the  subject,  the 
worth  of  souls,  and  the  thought  that  I  am 
speaking  in  the  name  and  presence  of  the 
Most  High  God,  as  that  I  might,  if  possible, 
forget  every  thing  else.  This  would  be  an 
attainment  indeed  !  More  good  might  be  ex- 
pected from  a  broken  discourse,  delivered  in 
such  a  frame,  than  from  the  most  advanta- 
geous display  of  knowledge  and  gifts  with- 
out it.  Not  that  I  would  undervalue  pro- 
p^ety  and  pertinence  of  expression  ;  it  is  our 
duty  to  study  to    find   out   acceptable   words, 


and  to  endeavour  to  appear  as  workmen  that 
need  not  be  ashamed ;  but  those  who  have 
most  ability  in  this  way,  have  need  of  a  dou- 
ble guard  of  grace  and  wisdom,  lest  they  be 
tempted  to  trust  in  it,  or  to  value  themselves 
upon  it.  They  that  trust  in  the  Lord  shall 
never  be  moved  ;  and  they  that  abase  them- 
selves before  him,  he  will  exalt.  I  am  well 
persuaded  that  your  conduct  and  views  have 
been  agreeable  to  these  sentiments  ;  and  there- 
fore the  Lord  has  supported,  encouraged,  and 
owned  you ;  and  I  trust  he  will  still  bless 
you,  and  make  you  a  blessing  to  many.  He 
that  walketh  humbly  walketh  surely. 
Believe  me  to  be,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

August  14,  1770. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

Your  letter  did  me  good  when  I  received  it, 
at  least  gave  me  much  pleasure ;  and  I  think 
it  has  given  me  a  lift  while  I  have  been  just 
now  reading  it.  I  know  not  that  I  ever  had 
those  awful  views  of  sin  which  you  speak  of; 
and  though  I  believe  I  should  be  better  for 
them,  I  dare  not  seriously  wish  for  them. 
There  is  a  petition  which  I  have  heard  in 
public  prayer,  "  Lord,  show  us  the  evil  of  ou 
hearts."  To  this  petition  I  cannot  venture  to' 
set  my  Amen,  at  least  not  without  a  quali- 
fication. Shew  me  enough  of  thyself  to  ba- 
lance the  view,  and  then  show  me  what  thou 
pleasest.  I  think  I  have  a  very  clear  and 
strong  conviction  in  my  judgment,  that  I  am 
vile  and  worthless,  that  my  heart  is  full  of 
evil,  only  evil,  and  that  continually.     I  know 


LET.  III. 


LETTERS  TO   THE   REV.   MR.   P . 


205 


something  of  it  too  experimentally ;  and  there- 
fore, judging  of  the  whole  by  the  sample, 
though  I  am  not  suitably  affected  with  what 
I  do  see,  I  tremble  at  the  thought  of  seeing 
more.  A  man  may  look  with  some  pleasure 
upon  the  sea  in  a  storm,  provided  he  stands 
safe  upon  the  land  himself;  but  to  be  upon 
the  sea  in  a  storm,  is  quite  another  thing. 
And  yet  surely  the  coldness,  worldliness, 
pride,  and  twenty  other  evils  under  which  I 
groan,  owe  much  of  their  strength  to  the  want 
of  that  feeling  sense  of  my  own  abominations 
with  which  you  have  been  favoured: — I  say 
favoured  ;  for  I  doubt  not  but  the  Lord  gave 
it  you  in  mercy,  and  that  it  has  proved,  and 
will  prove,  a  fnercy  to  you,  to  make  you 
more  humble,  spiritual,  and  dependent,  as 
well  as  to  increase  your  ability  for  preaching 
the  gospel  of  his  grace.  Upon  these  accounts, 
I  can  assure  you,  that  upon  a  first  reading, 
and  till  I  stopped  a  moment  to  count  the 
cost,  1  was  ready  to  envy  you  all  that  you 
had  felt.  I  often  seem  to  know  what  the 
scriptures  teach,  both  of  sin  and  grace,  as 
if  I  knew  them  not :  so  faint  and  languid  are 
my  perceptions,  I  often  seem  to  think  and 
ralk  of  sin  without  any  sorrow,  and  of  grace 
without  any  joy. 

I  have  had  some  people  awakened  by  dreams, 
as  you  had  by  streamers  ;  but,  for  ought  I 
know,  we  are  no  less  instrumental  to  the  good 
of  these,  than  to  any  other  person,  upon  whom, 
when  we  look,  our  hearts  are  ready  to  exult, 
and  say,  See  what  the  Lord  has  done  by  me. 
I  do  not  think  that,  strictly  speaking,  all  the 
streamers  of  the  north  are  able  to  awaken  a 
dead  soul.  I  suppose  people  may  be  terrified 
by  them,  and  made  thoughtful,  but  awakened 
only  by  the  word.  The  streamers  either  sent 
them  to  hear  the  gospel,  or  roused  them  to  at- 
tend to  it ;  but  it  was  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth  brought  home  to  the  heart,  that  did  the 
business.  Perhaps  the  streamers  reminded 
them  of  what  they  had  heard  from  you  before. 
Two  persons  here,  who  lived  like  heathens, 
and  never  came  to  church,  were  alarmed  bv 
some  terrifying  dreams,  and  came  out  to  hear- 
ing forthwith.  There  the  Lord  was  pleased 
to  meet  with  them.  One  of  them  died  tri- 
umphing ;  the  other,  I  hope,  will  do  so  when 
her  time  comes.  Whatever  means,  instru- 
ments, or  occasions  he  is  pleased  to  employ, 
the  work  is  all  his  own  ;  and  I  trust  you  and 
I  are  made  willing  to  give  him  all  the  glory, 
and  to  sink  into  the  dust  at  the  thought  that 
he  should  ever  permit  us  to  take  his  holy  name 
in  our  polluted  lips. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

June  13,  1772. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

You  say  that  your  experience  agrees  with  mine. 
It  must  be  so,  because  our  hearts  are  alike. 
The  heart  is  deceitful  and  desperately  wick- 
ed, destitute  of  good,  and  prone  to  evil.  This 
is  the  character  of  mankind  universally,  and 
those  who  are  made  partakers  of  grace  are  re- 
newed but  in  part ;  the  evil  nature  still  cleaves 
to  them,  and  the  root  of  sin,  though  mortifi- 
ed, is  far  from  being  dead.  While  the  cause 
remains  it  will  have  its  effects,  and  while  we 
are  burdened  with  the  body  of  this  death,  we 
must  groan  under  it.  But  we  need  not  be 
swallowed  up  with  overmuch  sorrow,  since 
we  have  in  Jesus,  a  Saviour,  a  righteousness, 
an  advocate,  a  shepherd.  "  He  knows  our 
frame,  and  remembers  that  we  are  but  dust." 
If  sin  abounds  in  us,  grace  abounds  much 
more  in  him  ;  nor  would  he  suffer  sin  to  re- 
main in  his  people,  if  he  did  not  know  how 
to  over-rule  it,  and  make  it  an  occasion  o. 
endearing  his  love  and  grace  so  much  the 
more  to  their  souls.  The  Lord  forbid  that 
we  should  plead  his  goodness  as  an  encourage- 
ment to  sloth  and  indifference.  Humilia- 
tion, godly  sorrow,  and  self-abasement  become 
us  ;  but  at  the  same  time,  we  may  rejoice  in 
the  lord.  Though  sin  remains,  it  shall  not 
have  dominion  over  us  ;  though  it  wars  in  us, 
it  shall  not  prevail  against  us.  We  have  a 
mercy-seat  sprinkled  with  blood,  we  have  an 
advocate  with  the  Father,  we  are  called  to 
this  warfare,  and  we  fight  under  the  eye  of 
the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  who  is  always 
near  to  renew  our  strength,  to  heal  our 
wounds,  and  to  cover  our  heads  in  the  heat 
of  battle.  As  ministers,  we  preach  to  those 
who  have  like  passions  and  infirmities  witli 
ourselves,  and  by  our  own  feelings,  fears,  and 
changes,  we  learn  to  speak  a  word  in  season 
to  them  that  are  weary,  to  warn  those  who 
stand,  and  to  stretch  out  a  hand  of  compas- 
sion towards  them  that  are  fallen ;  and  to 
commend  it  to  others,  from  our  own  experi- 
ence, as  a  faithful  saying,  that  Jesus  came  to 
save  the  chief  of  sinners.  Besides,  if  the 
Lord  is  pleased  to  give  us  some  liberty,  ac- 
ceptance, and  success  in  preaching  the  gospel, 
we  should  be  in  great  danger  of  running  mad 
with  spiritual  pride,  if  the  Lord  did  not  per- 
mit us  to  feel  the  depravity  and  vileness  ot 
our  hearts,  and  thereby  keep  us  from  forget- 
ting what  we  are  in  ourselves. 

With  regard  to  your  young  people,  you 
must  expect  to  meet  with  some  disappoint- 
ment. Perhaps  not  every  one  of  whom  you 
have  conceived  hopes  will  stand,  and  some 
who  do  belong  to  the  Lord  are  permitted  to 
make  sad  mistakes  for  their  future  humilia- 
tion.     It  is  our  part  to  watch,  warn,  and  ad- 


206 


LETTERS  TO   THE   REV.   MR.   P 


LET.  IV 


monish,  and  we  ought  likewise  to  be  concern- 
ed for  those  slips  and  miscarriages  which  we 
cannot  prevent.  A  minister,  if  faithful,  and 
of  a  right  spirit,  can  have  no  greater  joy  than 
to  see  his  people  walking  honourably  and 
steadily  in  the  truth  ;  and  hardly  any  thing 
will  give  him  more  sensible  grief,  than  to  see 
any  of  them  taken  in  Satan's  wiles.  Yet  still 
the  gospel  brings  relief  here.  He  is  wiser 
than  we  are,  and  knows  how  to  make  those 
things  subservient  to  promote  his  work,  which 
we  ought  to  guard  against  as  evils  and  hin- 
drances. We  are  to  use  the  means.  He  is 
to  rule  the  whole.  If  the  faults  of  some  are 
made  warnings  to  others,  and  prove  in  the 
end  occasions  of  illustrating  the  riches  of  di- 
vine grace,  this  should  reconcile  us  to  what 
we  cannot  help,  though  such  considerations 
should  not  slacken  our  diligence  in  sounding 
an  alarm,  and  reminding  our  hearers  of  their 


continual  danger. 


I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IV 

Jan.  26,  1775. 
DEAR  SIR, 
I  lately  read,  in  the  fifth  volume  of  the 
Morning  Exercises,  a  sermon  of  Mr.  Baxter's, 
on  Matth.  v.  1 6.  My  mind  is  something  im- 
pressed with  the  subject,  and  with  his  manner 
of  treating  it.  Some  of  Mr.  Baxter's  senti- 
ments in  divinity  are  rather  cloudy,  and  he 
sometimes,  upon  that  account,  met  with  but 
poor  quarter  from  the  staunch  Calvinists  of 
his  day.  But,  by  what  I  have  read  of  him, 
where  he  is  quiet,  and  not  ruffled  by  contro- 
versy, he  appears  to  me,  notwithstanding  some 
mistakes,  to  have  been  one  of  the  greatest 
men  of  his  age,  and  perhaps  in  fervour,  spiri- 
tuality, and  success,  more  than  equal,  both  as  a 
minister  and  a  christian,  to  some  twenty  taken 
together,  of  those  who  affect  to  undervalue 
him  in  this  present  day.  There  is  a  spirit  in 
some  passages  of  his  "  Saints  Rest,"  his 
"  Dying  Thoughts,"  and  other  of  his  practical 
treatises,  compared  with  which,  many  modern 
compositions,  though  well  written  and  well 
meant,  appear  to  me  to  great  disadvantage. 
But  I  was  speaking  of  his  sermon.  He  points 
out  the  way  at  which  we  should  aim  to  let 
our  light  shine  in  the  world,  for  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  conviction  and  edification  of 
men.  I  have  mentioned  where  it  is  to  be 
found,  that,  if  you  have  the  Morning  Exer- 
cises, or  if  they  should  come  in  your  way, 
you  may  look  at  it.  I  think  you  would  like 
it.  The  perusal  suggested  to  me  some  in- 
struction, and  much  reproof.  Alas !  my 
friend,  are  we  not  too  often  chargeable  with  a 
sad,  shameful  selfishness  and  narrowness  of 
spirit,  far,  very  far  different  from  that  acti- 
vity,   enlargement,    and    generosity    'A   soul, 


which  such  a  gospel  as  we  have  received 
might  be  expected  to  produce  ?  For  myself 
I  must  plead  guilty.  It  seems  as  if  my  heart 
was  always  awake,  and  keenly  sensible  to  my 
own  concernments,  while  those  of  my  Lord 
and  Master  affect  me  much  less  forcibly,  at 
least  only  by  intervals.  Were  a  stranger  to 
judge  of  me  by  what  I  sometimes  say  in  the 
pulpit,  he  might  think  that,  like  the  angels,  I 
had  but  two  things  in  view — to  do  the  will  of 
God,  and  to  behold  his  face.  But,  alas  ! 
would  he  not  be  almost    as  much   mistaken, 

as  if,  seeing  Mr.  G in  the  character  of  a 

tragedy-hero,  he  should  suppose  him  to  be 
the  very  person  whom  he  only  represents?  I 
hope  Satan  will  never  be  able  to  persuade  me 
that  I  am  a  mere  hypocrite  and  stage-player ; 
but  sure  I  am,  that  there  is  so  much  hypo- 
crisy in  me,  so  many  littlenesses  and  self- 
seekings  insinuating  into  my  plan  of  conduct, 
that  I  have  humbling  cause  to  account  my- 
self unworthy  and  unprofitable,  and  to  say, 
"  Enter  not  into  judgment  with  thy  servant, 
O  Lord,"  I  have  some  tolerable  idea  of 
what  a  christian  ought  to  be,  and  it  is,  I  hope, 
what  I  desire  to  be.  A  christian  should  be 
conformable  to  Christ  in  his  spirit  and  in  his 
practice;  that  is,  he  should  be  spiritually 
minded,  dead  to  the  world,  filled  with  zeal  for 
the  glory  of  God,  the  spread  of  the  gospel, 
and  the  good  of  souls.  He  should  be  hum- 
ble,  patient,  meek,  cheerful,  thankful  under 
all  events  and  changes.  He  should  account 
it  the  business  and  honour  of  his  life  to  imi- 
tate him,  who  pleased  not  himself,  who  went 
about  doing  good,  and  has  expressed  to  us 
the  very  feelings  of  his  heart,  in  that  divine 
aphorism,  which  surpasses  all  the  fine  admir- 
ed sayings  of  the  philosophers,  as  much  as 
the  sun  outshines  a  candle,  "  It  is  more  bles- 
sed to  give  than  to  receive."  The  whole  de- 
portment of  a  christian  should  shew  that  the 
knowledge  of  Jesus,  which  he  has  received 
from  the  gospel,  affords  him  all  he  could  ex- 
pect from  it, — a  balm  for  every  grief,  an  a- 
mends  for  every  loss,  a  motive  for  every  duty, 
a  restraint  from  every  evil,  a  pattern  for  every 
thing  which  he  is  called  to  do  or  suffer,  and 
a  principle  sufficient  to  constitute  the  actions 
of  every  day,  even  in  common  life,  acts  of 
religion.  He  should  (as  the  children  of 
this  world  are  wise  to  do  in  their  generation) 
make  every  occurrence  through  which  he 
passes  subservient  and  subordinate  to  his 
main  design.  Gold  is  the  worldly  man's 
god,  and  his  worship  and  service  are  uni 
form  and  consistent,  not  by  fits  and  starts, 
but  from  morning  to  night,  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end  of  the  year,  he  is  the  same 
man.  He  will  not  slip  an  opportunity  of 
adding  to  his  pelf  to-day,  because  he  may 
have  another  to-morrow,  but  he  heartily  and 
eagerly  embraces  both  ;  and  so  far  as  he  car- 
ries his  point,  though  his  perseverance  may 
expose  him  to  the  ridicule  or  reproach  of  bis 


LET.  V.  LETTERS  TO   THE  REV.    MR.   P 

neighbours,  he  thinks  himself  well  paid,  and 
says, 

Fopulus  me  sibilat  ;  at  mihi  plaudo 


207 


Ipse  domi,  simul  nummus  contemplor  in  acra. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  V 

Jan.  —  1776. 
DEAR  SIR, 

I  MAY  learn,  only  I  am  a  sad  dunce,  by  small 
and  common  incidents,  as  well  as  by  some 
more  striking  and  important  turns  in  life, 
that  it  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct 
his  steps.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say,  To-day 
or  to-morrow  I  will  do  this  or  that.  I  can- 
not write  a  letter  to  a  friend  without  leave  or 
without  help,  for  neither  opportunity  nor  abi- 
lity are  at  my  own  disposal.  It  is  not  need- 
ful that  the  Lord  should  raise  a  mountain  in 
my  way  to  stop  my  purpose  ;  if  he  only  with- 
draw a  certain  kind  of  imperceptible  support, 
which  in  general  I  have,  and  use  without  duly 
considering  whose  it  is,  then,  in  a  moment, 
I  feel  myself  unstrung  and  disabled,  like  a 
ship  that  has  lost  her  masts,  and  cannot  pro- 
ceed till  he  is  pleased  to  refit  me  and  re- 
new my  strength.  My  pride  and  propensity 
to  self-dependence  render  frequent  changes 
of  this  kind  necessary  to  me,  or  I  should 
soon  forget  what  I  am,  and  sacrifice  to  my 
own  drag.  Therefore,  upon  the  whole,  I 
am  satisfied,  and  see  it  best,  that  I  should 
be  absolutely  poor  and  pennyless  in  myself, 
and  forced  to  depend  upon  the  Lord  for  the 
smallest  things  as  well  as  the  greatest.  And 
if,  by  his  blessing,  my  experience  should  at 
length  tally  with  my  judgment  in  this  point, 
that  without  him  I  can  do  nothing,  then  I 
know  I  shall  find  it  easy,  through  him,  to 
do  all  things,  for  the  door  of  his  mercy  is 
always  open,  and  it  is  but  Ask  and  have. 
But,  alas  !  a  secret  persuasion  (though  con- 
trary to  repeated  convictions)  that  I  have 
something  at  home,  too  often  prevents  me 
from  going  to  him  for  it,  and  then  no  wonder 
,  I  am  disappointed.  The  life  of  faith  seems  so 
simple  and  easy  in  theory,  that  I  can  point 
it  out  to  others  in  few  words ;  but  in  prac- 
tice it  is  very  difficult,  and  my  advances  are 
so  slow  that  I  hardly  dare  say  I  get  forward 
at  all.  It  is  a  great  thing  indeed  to  have 
the  spirit  of  a  little  child,  so  as  to  be  habi- 
tually afraid  of  taking  a  single  step  without 
leading. 

I  have  heard  of  you  more  than  once  since 
I  heard  from  you,  and  am  glad  to  know  the 
Lord  is  still  with  you  ;  I  trust  he  has  not 
withdrawn  wholly  from  us.  We  have  much 
call  for  thankfulness  and  much  for  humilia- 
tion. Some  have  been  removed,  some  are 
evidently  ripening  for  glory,  and  now  and 
then  we  have  a  new  inquirer.      But  the  pro- 


gress of  wickedness  amongst  the  unconverted 
here  is  awful.  Convictions,  repeatedly  stifled 
in  many,  have  issued  in  a  hardness  and  bold- 
ness in  sinning  which  I  believe  is  seldom 
found  but  in  those  places  where  the  light  of 
the  gospel  has  been  long  resisted  and  abused. 
If  my  eyes  suitably  affected  my  heart,  I 
should  weep  day  and  night  upon  this  account, 
but,  alas !  I  am  too  indifferent.  I  feel  a 
woeful  defect  in  my  zeal  for  God  and  com- 
passion for  souls ;  and  when  Satan  and  con- 
science charge  me  with  cowardice,  treachery, 
and  stupidity,  I  know  not  what  to  reply.  I 
am  generally  carried  through  my  public  work 
with  some  liberty;  and,  because  I  am  not  put 
to  shame  before  the  people,  I  seem  content  and 
satisfied.  I  wish  to  be  more  thankful  for 
what  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  do  amongst  us, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  to  be  more  earnest 
with  him  for  a  farther  out-pouring  of  his  Spi- 
rit.     Assist  me  herein  with  your  prayers. 

As  to  my  own  private  experience,  the  ene- 
my is  not  suffered  to  touch  the  foundation  ot 
my  faith  and  hope:  thus  far  I  have  peace. 
But  my  conflicts  and  exercises  with  the  ef-. 
fects  of  indwelling  sin  are  very  distressing. 
I  cannot  doubt  of  my  state  and  acceptance, 
and  yet  it  seems  no  one  can  have  more  cause 
for  doubts  and  fears  than  myself,  if  such 
doubtings  were  at  all  encouraged  by  the  gos- 
pel :  but  I  see  they  are  not ;  I  see  that  what 
I  want  and  hope  for,  the  Lord  promises  to 
do,  for  his  own  name's  sake,  and  with  a  non 
obstante  to  all  my  vileness  and  perversion ; 
and  I  cannot  question  but  he  has  given  me 
(for  how  else  could  I  have  it?)  a  thirst  for 
that  communion  with  him,  in  love  and  con- 
formity to  his  image,  of  which,  as  yet,  I 
have  experienced  but  very  faint  and  imperfect 
beginnings.  But  if  he  has  begun,  I  venture, 
upon  his  word,  that  he  will  not  forsake  the 
work  of  his  own  hands. 

On  public  affairs  I  say  but  little.  Many 
are  censuring  men  and  measures,  but  I  would 
lay  all  the  blame  upon  sin.  It  appears  plain 
to  me  that  the  Lord  has  a  controversy  with  us, 
and  therefore  I  fear  what  we  have  yet  seen  is 
but  the  beginning  of  sorrows.  I  am  ready  to 
dread  the  event  of  this  summer ;  but  I  re  - 
member  the  Lord  reigns.  He  has  his  own 
glory  and  the  good  of  his  church  in  view,  and 
will  not  be  disappointed.  He  knows  how 
likewise  to  take  care  of  those  who  fear  him. 
I  wish  there  was  more  sighing  and  mourning 
amongst  professors,  for  the  sins  of  the  nation 
and  the  churches.  But  I  must  conclude,  and 
am,   &c. 


LETTER  VI. 

DEAR  SIR, 

No  very  considerable  alteration  has  taken  place 
since  I  wrote,  except  the  death  of  Mrs.  L . 


208 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.   P 


LET.  VII. 


v  ho  was  removed  to  a  better  world  in  Sep- 
tember last.  The  latter  part  of  her  course 
was  very  painful ;  but  the  Lord  made  her 
more  than  conqueror,  and  she  had  good  cause 
to  apply  the  apostle's  words,  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8. 
She  repeated  that  passage  in  her  last  illness, 
and  chose  it  for  her  funeral  text.  She  was  a 
christian  indeed.  Her  faith  was  great,  and 
so  were  her  trials.  Now  she  is  above  them 
all,  now  she  is  before  the  throne.  The  good 
Lord  help  us  to  be  followers  of  those  who, 
through  faith  and  patience,  have  attained  to 
the  hope  set  before  them. 

The  number  of  professors  still  increases  with 
us,  and  a  greater  number  of  persons  affords  a 
greater  variety  of  cases,  and  gives  greater  scope 
to  observe  the  workings  of  the  heart  and  Sa- 
tan. For  seven  years  I  had  to  say,  that  I 
had  not  seen  a  person  of  whom  I  had  con- 
ceived a  good  hope  go  back,  but  I  have 
met  with  a  few  disappointments  since.  How- 
ever, upon  the  whole,  I  trust  the  Lord  is  still 
with  us.  The  enemy  tries  to  disturb  and  de- 
file us,  and  if  the  Lord  did  not  keep  the  city, 
the  poor  watchman  would  wake  in  vain.  But 
the  eye  that  never  slumbereth  nor  sleepeth  has 
been  upon  us  for  good ;  and,  though  we  have 
cause  of  humiliation  and  complaint,  we  have 
likewise  much  cause  of  thankfulness.  My 
health  is  still  preserved  ;  and  I  hope  that  the 
Lord  does  not  suffer  my  desires  of  personal 
communion  with  him,  and  of  usefulness  in 
the  ministry,  to  decline.  He  supplies  me 
with  fresh  strength  and  matter  in  my  public 
work  :  I  hear  now  and  then  of  one  brought 
to  inquire  the  way ;  and  his  presence  is  at 
times  made  known  to  many  in  the  ordi- 
nances. 

To  combine  zeal  with  prudence  is  indeed 
difficult  There  is  often  too  much  self  in  our 
zeal,  and  too  much  of  the  fear  of  man  in  our 
prudence.  However,  what  we  cannot  attain 
by  any  skill  or  resolution  of  our  own,  we  may 
hope  in  measure  to  receive  from  him  who  giv- 
eth  liberally  to  those  who  seek  him,  and  de- 
sire to  serve  him.  Prudence  is  a  word  much 
abused,  but  there  is  a  heavenly  wisdom  which 
the  Lord  has  promised  to  give  to  those  who 
humbly  wait  upon  him  for  it.  It  docs  not 
consist  in  forming  a  bundle  of  rules  and 
maxims,  but  in  a  spiritual  taste  and  discern- 
ment, derived  from  an  experimental  know- 
ledge of  the  truth,  and  of  the  heart  of  man 
as  described  in  the  word  of  God;  and  its  ex- 
ercise consists  much  in  a  simple  dependence 
upon  the  Lord,  to  guide  and  prompt  us  in 
every  action.  We  seldom  act  wrong  when  we 
truly  depend  upon  him,  and  can  cease  from 
leaning  to  our  own  understanding.  When 
the  heart  is  thus  in  a  right  tune  and  frame, 
and  his  word  dwells  richly  in  us,  there  is  a 
kind  of  immediate  perception  of  what  is  pro- 
per for  us  to  do  in  present  circumstances, 
without  much  painful  inquiry  :  a  light  shines 
before  us  upon  the  path  of  duty  ;   and,    if  he 


permits  us  in  sue!)  a  spirit  to  make  some  mis- 
takes, he  will  likewise  teach  us  to  profit- by 
them,  and  our  reflections  upon  what  war. 
wrong  one  day  will  make  us  to  act  more 
wisely  the  next.  At  the  best  we  must  always 
expect  to  meet  with  new  proofs  of  our  own 
weakness  and  insufficiency,  otherwise  how 
should  we  be  kept  humble,  or  know  how  to 
prize  the  liberty  he  allows  us  of  coining  to 
the  throne  of  grace  for  fresh  forgiveness  and 
direction  every  day  ?  But  if  he  enables  us 
to  walk  before  him  with  a  single  eye,  he  will 
graciously  accept  our  desire  of  serving  him 
better  if  we  could,  and  his  blessing  will  make 
our  feeble  endeavours  in  some  degree  suc- 
cessful, at  the  same  time  that  we  see  defects 
and  evils  attending  our  best  services,  suffi 
cient  to  make  us  ashamed  of  them. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  VII. 

January  11,   1777. 
DEAR  SIR, 

We  all  need,  and  at  the  seasons  the  Lord 
sees  best  we  all  receive  chastisement.  I  hope 
you  likewise  have  reason  to  praise  him,  for 
supporting,  sanctifying,  and  delivering  mercy. 
The  coward  flesh  presently  shrinks  under  the 
rod,  but  faith  need  not  fear  it,  for  it  is  in  the 
hand  of  one  who  loves  us  better  than  we  dc 
ourselves,  and  who  knows  our  frame,  that  we 
are  but  dust,  and  therefore  will  not  suffer  us 
to  be  overdone  and  overwhelmed. 

I  feel  as  a  friend  should  feel  for  Mr.  B ; 

were  I  able  I  would  soon  send  him  health. 
If  the  Lord,  who  is  able  to  remove  his  illness 
in  a  minute,  permits  it  to  continue,  we  may 
be  sure,  upon  the  whole,  it  will  be  better  for 
him.  It  is,  however,  very  lawful  to  pray 
that  his  health  may  b.e  restored  and  his  use- 
fulness prolonged.  I  beg  you  to  give  my 
love  to  him,  and  tell  him  that  my  heart  bears 
him  an  affectionate  remembrance ;  and  I 
know  the  God  whom  he  serves  will  make 
every  dispensation  supportable  and  profitable 
to  him. 

If,  as  you  observe,  the  Song  of  Solomon 
describes  the  experience  of  his  church,  it  shews 
the  dark  as  well  as  the  bright  side.  No  one 
part  of  it  is  the  experience  of  every  individual 
at  any  particular  time.  Some  are  in  his  ban. 
queting-house,  others  upon  their  beds.  Some 
sit  under  his  banner,  supported  by  his  arm, 
while  others  have  a  faint  perception  of  him  at 
a  distance,  with  many  a  hill  and  mountain 
between.  In  one  thing,  however,  they  all 
agree,  ttiat  he  is  the  leading  object  of  their 
desires,  and  that  they  have  had  such  a  disco- 
very of  his  person,  work,  and  love,  as  makes 
him  precious  to  their  hearts.  Their  judgment 
of  him  is  always  the  same,  but   their  sensibi- 


LET.   VII. 

lity  varies, 
rooted  and 


LETTERS   TO 


The  love  they  bear  him,  though 
grounded  in  their  hearts,  is  not 
always  equal  in  exercise,  nor  can  it  be  so.  We 
are  like  trees,  which,  though  alive,  cannot 
put  forth  their  leaves  and  fruit  without  the 
influence  of  the  sun.  They  are  alive  in  win- 
ter as  well  as  in  summer  ;  but  how  different 
is  their  appearance  in  these  different  seasons  ! 
Were  we  always  alike,  could  we  always  be- 
lieve, love,  and  rejoice,  we  should  think  the 
power  inherent,  and  our  own  ;  but  it  is  more 
for  the  Lord's  glory,  and  more  suited  to  form 
us  to  a  temper  becoming  the  gospel,  that  we 
should  be  made  deeply  sensible  of  our  own 
inability  and  dependence,  than  that  we  should 
be  always  in  a  lively  frame.  I  am  persuaded 
a  broken  and  a  contrite  spirit,  a  conviction  of 
our  vileness  and  nothingness,  connected  with 
a  cordial  acceptance  of  Jesus  as  revealed  in 
the  gospel,  is  the  highest  attainment  we  can 
reach  in  this  life.  Sensible  comforts  are  de- 
sireable,  and  we  must  be  sadly  declined  when 
they  do  not  appear  so  to  us ;  but  I  believe 
there  may  be  a  real  exercise  of  faith  and 
growth   in  grace,  when  our  sezisible  feelings 


THE  REV.  MR.  P— 
are   faint  and    low. 


thriving  a  state,  when  thirsting, 


209 

A  soul  may  be  in  as 
seeking,  and 
mourning  after  the  Lord,  as  when  actually 
rejoicing  in  him,  as  much  in  earnest  when 
lighting  in  the  valley  as  when  singing  upon 
the  mount  j  nay,  dark  seasons  afford  the  surest 
and  strongest  manifestations  of  the  power  of 
faith.  To  hold  fast  the  word  of  promise,  to 
maintain  a  hatred  of  sin,  to  go  on  steadfastly 
in  the  path  of  duty,  in  defiance  both  of  the 
frowns  and  the  smiles  of  the  world,  when  we 
have  but  little  comfort,  is  a  more  certain  evi- 
dence of  grace  than  a  thousand  things  which 
we  may  do  or  forbear  when  our  spirits  are 
warm  and  lively.  I  have  seen  many  who 
have  been  upon  the  whole  but  uneven  walkers, 
though  at  times  they  seemed  to  enjoy,  at  least 
have  talked  of  great  comforts.  I  have  seen 
others,  for  the  most  part,  complain  of  much 
darkness  and  coldness,  who  have  been  re- 
markably humble,  tender,  and  exemplary  in 
their  spirit  and  conduct.  Surely,  were  I  to 
chuse  my  lot,  it  should  be  with  the  latter. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTERS 


TO  MRS.  G- 


LETTER  I. 


June  20,  1776. 

MADAM, 

It  would  be  both  unkind  and  ungrateful  in 
me,  to  avail  myself  of  any  plea  of  business,  for 
delaying  the  acknowledgment  I  owe  you  for 

your    acceptable    favour    from  ,    which, 

though  dated  the  6th  instant,  I  did  not  re- 
ceive till  the  10th. 

Could  I  have  known  in  time  that  you  were 

at  Mr.  's,  I  should  have  endeavoured  to 

have  called  upon  you  while  there ;  and  very 
glad  should  I  have  been  to  have  seen  you  with 
us.  But  they  who  fear  the  Lord  may  be 
sure,  that  whatever  is  not  practicable  is  not 
necessary.  He  could  have  over-ruled  every 
difficulty  in  your  way,  had  he  seen  it  expe- 
dient ;  but  he  is  pleased  to  shew  you,  that 
you  depend  not  upon  men,  but  upon  himself: 
and  that,  notwithstanding  your  connections 
may  exclude  you  from  some  advantages  in 
point  of  outward  means,  he  who  has  begun  a 
good  work  in  you,  is  able  to  carry  it  on,  in 
defiance  of  all  seeming  hiodrances,  and  make 
all  things  (even  those  which  have  the  most  un- 
favourable appearances)  work  together  for 
your  good. 

A  sure  effect  of  his  grace,  is  a  desire  and 
longing  for  gospel-ordinances  ;  and  when  they 
are  afforded,  they  cannot  be  neglected  with- 
out loss.  But  the  Lord  sees  many  souls  who 
are  dear  to  him,  and  whom  he  is  training  up 
in  a  growing  meetness  for  his  kingdom,  who 
are  by  his  providence  so  situated,  that  it  is  not 
in  their  power  to  attend  upon  gospel  preach- 
ing ;  and  perhaps  they  have  seldom  either 
christian  minister  or  christian  friend  to  assist 
or  comfort  them.  Such  a  situation  is  a  state 
of  trial  ;  but  Jesus  is  all-sufficient,  and  he  is 
always  near.  They  cannot  be  debarred  from 
his  word  of  grace,  which  is  every  where  at 
hand,  nor  from  his  throne  of  grace  ;  for  they 
who  feel  their  need  of  him,  and  whoschcarts  are 


drawn  towards  him,  are  always  at  the  foot  ol 
it.  Every  room  in  the  house,  yea,  every  spot 
they  stand  on,  fields,  lanes,  and  hedge-rows, 
all  is  holy  ground  to  them  ;  for  the  Lord  is 
there.  The  chief  difference  between  us,  and 
the  disciples  when  our  Saviour  was  upon 
earth,  is  in  this  :  They  then  walked  by  sight, 
and  we  are  called  to  walk  by  faith.  They 
could  see  him  with  their  bodily  eyes,  we  can- 
not ;  but  he  said  before  he  left  them,  "  It  is 
expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away."  How 
could  this  be,  unless  that  spiritual  commun- 
ion which  he  promised  to  maintain  with  his 
people  after  his  ascension,  were  preferable  to 
that  intercourse  he  allowed  them  whilst  he  was 
visibly  with  them  ?  But  we  are  sure  it  is  pre- 
ferable, and  they  who  had  tried  both  were  well 
satisfied  he  had  made  good  his  promise  ;  so 
that  though  they  had  known  him  after  the 
flesh,  they  were  content  not  to  know  him  so 
any  more.  Yes,  Madam,  though  we  cannot 
see  him,  he  sees  us  ;  he  is  nearer  to  us  than  we 
are  to  ourselves.  In  a  natural  state,  we  have 
very  dark,  and  indeed  dishonourable  thoughts 
of  God  :  we  conceive  of  him  as  at  a  distance  ; 
but  when  the  heart  is  awakened,  we  begin  to 
make  Jacob's  reflection,  "  Surely  the  Lord 
is  in  this  place,  and  I  knew  it  not."  And 
when  we  receive  faith,  we  begin  to  know  that 
this  ever  present  God  is  in  Christ ;  that  the  go- 
vernment of  heaven  and  earth,  the  dispensa- 
tions of  the  kingdom  of  nature,  providence, 
and  grace,  are  in  the  hands  of  Jesus,  that  it  is 
he  with  whom  we  have  to  do,  who  once  suffer- 
ed agony  and  death  for  our  redemption,  and 
whose  compassion  and  tenderness  are  the 
same,  now  he  reigns  over  all  blessed  for  ever, 
as  when  he  conversed  amongst  men  in  the  days 
of  his  humiliation.  Thus  God  is  made  known 
to  us  by  the  gospel,  in  the  endearing  views  of 
a  Saviour,  a  Shepherd,  a  Husband,  a  Friend  ; 
and  a  way  of  access  is  opened  for  us  through 


LETTERS  TO  MRS.  G 


LET.  I. 

the  vail,  that  is,  the  human  nature,  of  our  Re- 
deemer, to  enter,  with  humble  confidence, 
into  the  holiest  of  all,  and  to  repose  all  our 
cares  and  concerns  upon  the  strength  of  that 
everlasting  arm  which  upholds  heaven  and 
earth,  and  upon  that  infinite  love  which  sub- 
mitted to  the  shame,  pain,  and  death  of  the 
cross,  to  redeem  sinners  from  wrath  and  mi- 
sery. 

Though  there  is  a  height,  a  breadth,  a 
length,  and  a  depth,  in  this  mystery  of  re- 
deeming love,  exceeding  the  comprehension 
of  all  finite  minds ;  yet  the  great  and  leading 
principles  which  are  necessary  for  the  support 
and  comfort  of  our  souls,  may  be  summed  up 
in  a  very  few  words.  Such  a  summary  we 
are  favoured  with  in  Titus  ii.  11 — 14,  where 
the  whole  of  salvation,  all  that  is  needful  to  be 
known,  experienced,  practised,  and  hoped  for, 
is  comprised  within  the  compass  of  four  verses. 
If  many  books,  much  study,  and  great  discern- 
ment, were  necessary  in  order  to  be  happy,  what 
must  the  poor  and  simple  do  ?  Yet  for  them 
especially  is  the  gospel  designed ;  and  few 
but  such  as  these  attain  the  knowledge  and 
comfort  of  it.  The  Bible  is  a  sealed  book 
till  the  heart  be  awakened,  and  then  he  that 
runs  may  read.  The  propositions  are  few :  I  am 
a  sinner,  therefore  I  need  a  Saviour,  one  who 
is  able  and  willing  to  save  to  the  uttermost : 
such  a  one  is  Jesus;  he  is  all  that  I  want, 
wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption. But  will  he  receive  me  ?  Can  I 
answer  a  previous  question  ?  Am   I   will- 

ing to  receive  him  ?  If  so,  and  if  his  word 
may  be  taken,  if  he  meant  what  he  said,  and 
promised  no  more  than  he  can  perform,  I  may 
be  sure  of  a  welcome.  He  knew  long  before, 
the  doubts,  fears,  and  suspicions,  which  would 
arise  in  my  mind  when  I  should  come  to 
know  what  I  am,  what  I  have  done,  and  what 
I  have  deserved  ;  and  therefore  he  declared, 
before  he  left  the  earth,  "  Him  that  cometh'to 
me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  I  have  no 
money  or  price  in  my  hand,  no  worthiness  to 
recommend  me  j  and  I  need  none,  for  he 
saveth  freely  for  his  own  name's  sake.  I  have 
only  to  be  thankful  for  what  he  has  already 
shewn  me,  and  to  wait  upon  him  for  more. 
It  is  my  part  to  commit  myself  to  him  as  the 
physician  of  sin-sick  souls,  not  to  prescribe  to 
him  how  he  shall  treat  me.  To  begin,  carry 
on,  and  perfect  the  cure,  is  his  part. 

The  doubts  and  fears  you  speak  of,  are,  in 
a  greater  or  less  degree,  the  common  experi- 
ence of  all  the  Lord's  people,  at  least  for  a 
time.  Whilst  any  unbelief  remains  in  the  heart, 
and  Satan  is  permitted  to  tempt,  we  shall  feel 
these  things.  In  themselves  they  are  ground- 
less and  evil ;  yet  the  Lord  permits  and  over- 
rules them  for  good.  They  tend  to  make  us 
know  more  of  the  plagues  of  our  own  hearts, 
and  feel  more  sensibly  the  need  of  a  Saviour, 
and  make  his  rest  (when  we  attain  it)  doubly 
sweet  and  sura.     And  they   likewise   qualify 


—  211 

us  for  pitying  and  comforting  others.  Fear 
not ;  only  believe,  wait,  and  pray.  Expect 
not  all  at  once.  A  christian  is  not  of  hasty 
growth,  like  a  mushroom,  but  rather  like  the 
oak,  the  progress  of  which  is  hardly  percepti- 
ble, but  which  in  time  becomes  a  great  deep- 
rooted  tree.  If  my  writings  have  been  useful 
to  you,  may  the  Lord  have  the  praise.  To 
administer  any  comfort  to  his  children  is  the 
greatest  honour  and  pleasure  I  can  receive  in 
this  life.  I  cannot  promise  to  be  a  very 
punctual  correspondent,  having  many  engage- 
ments ;  but  I  hope  to  do  all  in  my  power  to 
shew  myself,  Madam, 

Yours,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

August  20,  1776. 

MADAM, 

Though  in  general  I  think  myself  tolerably 
punctual  when  I  can  answer  a  letter  in  six  or 
seven  weeks  after  the  receipt,  yet  I  feel  some 
pain  for  not  having  acknowledged  yours  soon- 
er. A  case  like  that  which  you  have  favour- 
ed me  with  an  account  of,  deserved  an  imme- 
diate attention,  and  when  I  read  it,  I  proposed 
writing  within  a  post  or  two,  and  I  can  hard- 
ly allow  any  plea  of  business  to  be  a  sufficient 
excuse  for  delaying  it  so  long ;  but  our  times 
are  in  the  Lord's  hands.  May  he  now  ena- 
ble me  to  send  you  what  may  prove  a  word  in 
season. 

Your  exercises  have  been  by  no  means  sin- 
gular, though  they  may  appear  so  to  yourself ; 
because,  in  your  retired  situation,  you  have 
not  (as  you  observe)  had  much  opportunity 
of  knowing  the  experience  of  other  christians ; 
nor  has  the  guilt  with  which  your  mind  has 
been  so  greatly  burdened  been  properly  your 
own.  It  was  a  temptation  forced  upon  you  by 
the  enemy,  and  he  shall  answer  for  it.  Un- 
doubtedly it  is  a  mournful  proof  of  the  depra- 
vity of  our  nature,  that  there  is  that  within  us 
which  renders  us  so  easily  susceptive  of  his 
suggestions  ;  a  proof  of  our  extreme  weak- 
ness, that  after  the  clearest  and  most  satisfy- 
ing evidences  of  the  truth,  we  are  not  able  W 
hold  fast  our  confidence,  if  the  Lord  permits 
Satan  to  sift  and  shake  us.  But  I  can  assure 
you  these  changes  are  not  uncommon.  I  have 
known  persons,  who,  after  walking  with  God 
comfortably  in  the  main  for  forty  years,  have 
been  at  their  wits  end  from  such  assaults  as 
you  mention,  and  been  brought  to  doubt,  not 
only  of  the  reality  of  their  own  hopes,  but  of 
the  very  ground  and  foundation  upon  which 
their  hopes  were  built.  Had  you  remained, 
as  it  seems  you  once  were,  attached  to  the 
vanities  of  a  gay  and  dissipated  life,  or  could 
you  have  been  content  with  a  form  of  godli. 
ness,  destitute  of  the  power,  it  is  probable  you 
would    havf    remained    a,    stringer    to    these 


212 

troubles.  Satan  would  have  employed  his 
arts  in  a  different  and  less  perceptible  way, 
to  have  soothed  you  into  a  false  peace, 
and  prevented  any  thought  or  suspicion  of 
danger  from  arising  in  your  mind.  But  when 
he  could  no  longer  detain  you  in  his  bondage, 
or  seduce  you  back  again  into  the  world,  then 
of  course  he  would  change  his  method,  and 
declare  open  war  against  you.  A  specimen 
of  his  power  and  malice  you  have  experienced  ; 
and  the  Lord  whom  you  loved,  because  he 
first  loved  you,  permitted  it,  not  to  gratify 
Satan,  but  for  your  benefit — to  humble  and 
prove  you,  to  shew  you  what  is  in  your  heart, 
and  to  do  you  good  in  the  issue.  These 
things,  for  the  present,  are  not  joyous  but 
grievous  ;  yet,  in  the  end,  they  yield  the  peace- 
able fruits  of  righteousness.  In  the  mean 
time  his  eye  is  upon  you  :  he  has  appointed 
bounds  both  to  the  degree  and  duration  of 
the  trial ;  and  he  does  and  will  afford  you 
such  supports,  that  you  shall  not  be  tried 
beyond  what  you  are  able  to  bear.  I  doubt 
not  but  your  conflicts  and  sorrows  will,  in  due 
time,  terminate  in  praise  and  victory,  and  be 
sanctified  to  your  fuller  establishment  in  the 
truth. 

I  greatly  rejoice  in  the  Lord's  goodness  to 
your  dying  parent.  How  wisely  timed,  and  how 
exactly  suited,  was  that  affecting  dispensation, 
to  break  the  force  of  those  suggestions  with 
which  the  enemy  was  aiming  to  overwhelm 
your  spirit !  He  could  not  stand  against  such 
an  illustrious  demonstrative  attestation,  that 
the  doctrines  you  had  embraced  were  not  cun- 
ningly devised  fables.  He  could  proceed  no 
farther  in  that  way  ;  but  he  is  fruitful  in  re- 
sources. His  next  attempt,  of  course,  was  to 
fix  guilt  upon  your  conscience,  as  if  you  had 
yourself  formed  and  willingly  entertained 
those  thoughts,  which,  indeed,  you  suffered 
with  extreme  reluctance  and  pain.  Here 
likewise  I  find  he  succeeded  for  a  time  ;  but  he 
who  broke  the  former  snare,  will  deliver  you 
from  this  likewise. 

The  dark  and  dishonourable  thoughts  of 
God,  which  I  hinted  at  as  belonging  to  a  na- 
tural state,  are  very  different  from  the  thoughts 
of  your  heart  concerning  him.  You  do  not 
conceive  of  him  as  a  hard  master,  or  think 
you  could  be  more  happy  in  the  breach  than 
in  the  observance  of  his  precepts.  You  do 
not  prefer  the  world  to  his  favour,  or  think 
you  can  please  him,  and  make  amends  for 
your  sins,  by  an  obedience  of  your  own. 
These,  and  such  as  these,  are  the  thoughts  of 
the  natural  heart, — the  very  reverse  of  yours. 
One  thought,  however,  I  confess  you  have 
indulged,  which  is  no  less  dishonourable  to 
the  Lord  than  uncomfortable  to  yourself. 
You  say,  "  I  dare  not  believe  that  God  will 
not  impute  to  me  as  sin,  the  admission  of 
thoughts  which  my  soul  ever  abhorred,  and  to 
which  my  will  never  consented."  Nay,  you 
fear  lest  they  should  not  only  be  imputed,  but 


LETTERS  TO  MILS.  G . 


LET.  II, 


unpardonable.  But  how  can  this  be  possi- 
ble !  Indeed,  I  will  not  call  it  your  thought, 
it  is  your  temptation.  You  tell  me  you  have 
children.  Then  you  will  easily  feel  a  plain 
illustration,  which  just  now  occurs  to  me. 
Let  me  suppose  a  case  which  has  sometimes 
happened  ;  a  child,  three  or  four  years  of  age 
we  will  say,  while  playing  incautiously  at  a 
lhtle  distance  from  home,  should  be  suddenly 
seized  and  carried  away  by  a  gipsey.  Poor 
thing  !  how  terrified,  how  distressed  must  it 
be  !  Methinks  I  hear  its  cries.  The  sight  and 
violence  of  the  stranger,  the  recollection  of  its 
dear  parents,  the  loss  of  its  pleasing  home, 
the  dread  and  uncertainty  of  what  is  yet  to 
befal  it.  Is  it  not  a  wonder  that  it  does  not 
die  in  agonies  ?  But  see,  help  is  at  hand  ! 
the  gipsey  is  pursued,  and  the  child  reco- 
vered. Now,  my  dear  Madam,  permit  me  to 
ask  you,  if  this  were  your  child,  how  would 
you  receive  it  ?  Perhaps,  when  the  first  trans- 
ports of  your  joy  for  its  safety  would  permit 
you,  you  might  gently  chide  it  for  leaving 
your  door.  But  would  you  disinherit  it? 
Would  you  disown  it?  Would  you  deliver  it 
up  again  to  the  gipsey  with  your  own  hands, 
because  it  had  suffered  a  violence  which  it 
could  not  withstand,  which  it  abhorred  and 
to  which  its  will  never  consented  ?  And  yet 
what  is  the  tenderness  of  a  mother,  of  ten 
thousand  mothers,  to  that  which  our  compas- 
sionate Saviour  bears  to  every  poor  soul  that 
has  been  enabled  to  flee  to  him  for  salvation  ! 
Let  us  be  far  from  charging  that  to  him,  of 
which  we  think  we  are  utterly  incapable  our- 
selves. Take  courage,  Madam ;  resist  the 
devil  and  he  will  flee  from  you.  If  he  were 
to  tempt  you  to  any  thing  criminal,  you  would 
start  at  the  thought,  and  renounce  it  with  ab- 
horrence. Do  the  same  when  he  tempts  you 
to  question  the  Lord's  compassion  and  good- 
ness. But  there  he  imposes  upon  us  with  a 
shew  of  humility,  and  persuades  us  that  we 
do  well  to  oppose  our  unworthiness  as  a  suf- 
ficient exception  to  the  many  express  promises 
of  the  word.  It  is  said,  the  blood  of  Jesus 
cleanseth  from  all  sin  :  that  all  manner  of  sin 
shall  be  forgiven  for  his  sake  ;  that  whoso- 
ever cometh  to  him,  he  will  in  no  wise  cast 
him  out ;  and  that  he  is  able  to  save  to  the 
uttermost.  Believe  his  word,  and  Satan  shall 
be  found  a  liar.  If  the  child  had  deliberate- 
ly gone  away  with  the  gipsey,  had  preferred 
that  wretched  way  of  life,  and  had  refused  to 
return,  though  frequently  and  tenderly  invited 
home ;  perhaps  a  parent's  love  might,  in  time, 
be  too  weak  to  plead  for  the  pardon  of  such 
continued  obstinacy.  But,  indeed,  in  this 
manner  we  have  all  dealt  with  the  Lord  ;  and 
yet,  whenever  we  are  willing  to  return,  he  is 
willing  to  receive  us  with  open  arms,  and 
without  an  upbraiding  word,  Luke  xv.  20, 
2:2.  Though  our  sins  have  been  deep-dyed 
like  scarlet  and  crimson,  enormous  as  moun- 
tains, and  countless  as    the  sands,    the  sum 


LF.1.  MI. 


LETTERS  TO  MRS.  G- 


total  is  only  this,  Sin  has  abounded;  but  where 
sin  has  abounded,  grace  has  much  more  a- 
bounded.  After  all,  I  know  the  Lord  keeps 
the  key  of  comfort  in  his  own  hands,  yet  he 
has  commanded  us  to  attempt  comforting  one 
another.  I  should  rejoice  to  be  his  instru- 
ment of  administering  comfort  to  you.  I 
shall  hope  to  hear  irom  you  soon  ;  and  that 
you  will  then  be  able  to  inform  me  lie  has  re- 
stored to  you  the  joys  of  his  salvation.  But 
if  not,  yet  wait  for  him,  and  you  shall  not 
wait  in  vain. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

June  —  1777. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

Temptations  may  be  compared  to  the  wind, 
which,  when  it  has  ceased  raging  from  one 
point,  after  a  short  calm,  frequently  renews  its 
violence  from  another  quarter.  The  Lord  si- 
lenced Satan's  former  assaults  against  you, 
but  he  is  permitted  to  try  you  again  in  another 
way.  Be  of  good  courage,  Madam,  wait 
upon  the  Lord,  and  the  present  storm  shall 
likewise  subside  in  good  time.  You  have  an 
infallible  pilot,  and  are  embarked  in  a  bottom 
against  which  the  winds  and  waves  cannot 
prevail.  You  may  be  tossed  about,  and  think 
yourself  in  apparent  jeopardy  ;  but  sink  you 
shall  not,  except  the  promises  and  faithfulness 
of  God  can  fail.  Upon  an  attentive  consi- 
deration of  your  complaint,  it  seems  to  me  to 
amount  only  to  this,  that  though  the  Lord 
has  done  great  things  for  you,  he  has  not  yet 
brought  you  to  a  state  of  independence  on  him- 
self,  nor  released  you  from  that  impossibility 
which  all  his  people  feel,  of  doing  any  thing 
without  him.  And  is  this  indeed  a  matter  of 
complaint  ?  Is  it  not  every  way  better,  more 
for  his  glory,  and  more  suited  to  keep  us 
mindful  of  our  obligations  to  him,  and  in  the 
event,  more  for  our  safety,  that  we  should  be 
reduced  to  a  happy  necessity  of  receiving  dai- 
ly out  of  his  fulness  (as  the  Israelites  receiv- 
ed the  manna),  than  to  be  set  up  with  some- 
thing of  a  stock  of  wisdom,  power,  and  good- 
ness of  our  own  ?  Adam  was  thus  furnished 
at  the  beginning  with  strength  to  stand  ;  yet, 
mutability  being  essential  to  a  creature,  he 
quickly  fell  and  lost  all.  We,  who  are  by 
nature  sinners,  are  not  left  to  so  hazardous  an 
experiment.  He  has  himself  engaged  to  keep 
us,  and  treasured  up  all  fulness  of  grace  for 
our  support  in  a  Head  who  cannot  fail.  Our 
gracious  Saviour  will  communicate  all  need- 
ful supplies  to  his  members,  yet  in  such  a 
manner,  that  they  shall  feel  their  need  and 
weakness,  and  have  nothing  to  boast  of  from 
first  to  last,  but  his  wisdom,  compassion,  and 
care.  We  are  in  no  worse  circumstances  than 
the  apostle  Paul,  who,  though  eminent  and] 


— .  213 

exemplary  in  the  christian  life,  found,  and 
freely  confessed,  that  he  had  no  sufficiency  in 
himself  to  think  a  good  thought.  Nor  did 
he  wish  it  otherwise ;  he  even  gloried  in  his 
infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  might 
rest  upon  him.  Unbelief,  and  a  thousand 
evils,  are  still  in  our  hearts ;  though  their 
reign  and  dominion  is  at  an  end,  they  are  not 
slain  or  eradicated;  their  effects  will  be  felt 
more  or  less  sensibly,  as  the  Lord  is  pleased 
more  or  less  to  afford  or  abate  his  gracious 
influence.  When  they  are  kept  down,  we  are 
no  better  in  ourselves,  for  they  aie  not  kept 
down  by  us  :  but  we  are  very  prone  to  think 
better  of  ourselves  at  such  a  time,  and  there- 
fore, he  is  pleased  to  permit  us  at  seasons  to 
feel  a  difference,  that  we  may  never  forget 
how  weak  and  how  vile  we  are.  We  cannot 
absolutely  conquer  these  evils,  but  it  becomes 
us  to  be  humbled  for  them  ;  and  we  are  to 
fight,  and  strive,  and  pray  against  them. 
Our  great  duty  is  to  be  at  his  footstool,  and 
to  cry  to  him  who  has  promised  to  perform 
all  things  for  us.  Why  are  we  called  sol- 
diers,  but  because  we  are  called  to  a  warfare  . 
And  how  could  we  fight,  if  there  were  no 
enemies  to  resist  ?  The  Lord's  soldiers  are 
not  merely  for  shew,  to  make  an  empty  pa- 
rade in  a  uniform,  and  to  brandish  their  arms 
when  none  but  friends  and  spectators  are  a- 
round  them.  No,  we  must  stand  upon  the 
field  of  battle;  we  must  face  the  fiery  darts; 
we  must  wrestle  (which  is  the  closest  and 
most  arduous  kind  of  fighting)  with  our 
foes :  nor  can  we  well  expect  wholly  to  es- 
cape wounds  ;  but  the  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life 
are  provided  for  our  healing.  The  Captain 
of  our  salvation  is  at  hand,  and  leads  us  on 
with  an  assurance,  which  might  make  even  a 
coward  bold, — that  in  the  end  we  shall  be 
more  than  conquerors  through  him  who  has 
loved  us. 

I  am  ready  to  think,  that  some  of  the  senti- 
ments in  your  letters  are  not  properly  yours, 
such  as  you  yourself  have  derived  from  the 
scriptures,  but  rather  borrowed  from  authors  or 
preachers,  whose  judgment  your  humility  has 
led  you  to  prefer  to  your  own.  At  least,  I 
am  sure  the  scriptures  do  not  authorise  the 
conclusion  which  distresses  you,  that  if  you 
were  a  child  of  God,  you  should  not  feel  such 
changes  and  oppositions.  Were  I  to  define  a 
christian,  or  rather  to  describe  him  at  large, 
I  know  no  text  I  would  choose  sooner,  as  a 
ground  for  the  subjeet,  than  Gal.  v.  17.  A 
christian  has  noble  aims,  which  distinguish 
him  from  the  bulk  of  mankind.  His  leading 
principles,  motives,  and  desires,  are  all  super- 
natural and  divine.  Could  he  do  as  he  would, 
there  is  not  a  spirit  before  the  throne  should 
excel  him  in  holiness,  love,  and  obedience. 
He  would  tread  in  the  very  footsteps  of  his 
Saviour,  fill  up  every  moment  in  his  service, 
and  employ  every  breath  in  his  praise.  This  he 
would  do,  but  alas !  he  cannot.      Against  this 


214 


LETTERS  TO  MRS.  &- 


desire  of  the  spirit,  there  is  a  contrary  desire 
and  working  of  a  corrupt  nature,  which  meets 
him  at  every  turn.  He  has  a  beautiful  copy 
set  before  him ;  he  is  enamoured  with  it ;  and 
though  he  does  not  expect  to  equal  it,  he  writes 
carefully  after  it,  and  longs  to  attain  to  the 
nearest  possible  imitation.  But  indwelling  sin 
and  Satan  continually  jog  his  hand,  and  spoil 
his  strokes.  You  cannot,  Madam,  form  a 
right  judgment  of  yourself,  except  you  make 
clue  allowance  for  those  things  which  are  not 
peculiar  to  yourself,  but  common  to  all  who 
have  spiritual  perception,  and  are  indeed  the 
inseparable  appendages  of  this  mortal  state. 
If  it  were  not  so,  why  should  the  most  spi- 
ritual and  gracious  people  be  so  ready  to  con- 
fess themselves  vile  and  worthless  ?  One  emi- 
nent branch  of  our  holiness,  is  a  sense  of 
shame  and  humiliation  for  those  evils  which 
are  only  known  to  ourselves,  and  to  him  who 
searches  our  hearts,  joined  with  an  acquies- 
cence in  Jesus,  who  is  appointed  of  God,  wis- 
dom, righteousness,  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption. I  will  venture  to  assure  you,  that 
though  you  will  possess  a  more  stable  peace, 
in  proportion  as  the  Lord  enables  you  to  live 
more  simply  upon  the  blood,  righteousness, 
and  grace  of  the  Mediator,  you  will  never 
grow  into  a  better  opinion  of  yourself  than 
you  have  at  present.  The  nearer  you  are 
brought  to  him,  the  quicker  sense  you  will 
have  of  your  continual  need  of  him,  and  there- 
by your  admiration  of  his  power,  love,  and 
compassion,  will  increase  likewise  from  year  to 
year. 

I  would  observe  farther,  that  our  spiritual 
exercises  are  not  a  little  influenced  by  our 
constitutional  temperament.  As  you  are  only 
an  ideal  correspondent,  I  can  but  conjecture 
about  you  upon  this  head.  If  your  frame  is 
delicate,  and  your  nervous  system  very  sen- 
sible and   tender,   I   should   probably  ascribe 


— .  LET.  Ill 

some  of  your  apprehensions  to  this  cause.  It 
is  an  abstruse  subject,  and  I  will  not  enter 
into  it ;  but,  according  to  the  observations  I 
have  made,  persons  of  this  habit  seem  to  live 
more  upon  the  confines  of  the  invisible  world, 
if  I  may  so  speak,  and  to  be  more  susceptive 
of  impressions  from  it,  than  others.  That 
complaint,  which,  for  want  of  a  better  name, 
we  call  lowness  of  spirits,  may  probably  af- 
ford the  enemy  some  peculiar  advantages  and 
occasions  of  distressing  you.  The  mind  then 
perceives  objects  as  through  a  tinctured  me- 
dium, which  gives  them  a  dark  and  discou- 
raging appearance ;  and  I  believe  Satan  has 
more  influence  and  address  than  we  are  aware 
of  in  managing  the  glass.  And  when  this  is 
not  the  case  at  all  times,  it  may  be  so  occa- 
sionally, from  sickness,  or  other  circumstances. 
You  tell  me  that  you  have  lately  been  ill, 
which,  together  with  your  present  situation, 
and  the  prospect  of  your  approaching  hour, 
may  probably  have  such  an  effect  as  I  have 
hinted.  You  may  be  charging  yourself  with 
guilt,  for  what  springs  from  indisposition, 
in  which  you  are  merely  passive,  and  which 
may  be  no  more  properly  sinful  than  the  head- 
ache, or  any  of  the  thousand  natural  shocks 
the  flesh  is  heir  to.  The  enemy  can  take  no 
advantage  but  what  the  Lord  permits  him; 
and  he  will  permit  him  none  but  what  he  de- 
signs to  over-rule  for  your  greater  advantage 
in  the  end.  He  delights  in  your  prosperity ; 
and  you  should  not  be  in  heaviness  for  an 
hour,  were  there  not  a  need-be  for  it.  Not- 
withstanding your  fears,  I  have  a  good  hope, 
that  he  who  you  say  has  helped  you  in  six 
troubles,  will  appear  for  you  in  the  seventh ; 
that  you  will  not  die,  but  live,  and  declare 
the  works  of  the  Lord,  and  come  forth  to 
testify  to  his  praise,  that  he  has  turned  your 
mourning  into  joy. 

I  am,  &c 


LETTERS 


TO  MISS  F- 


LETTER  I. 


October  3     1778. 

DEAR  MADAM, 

You  would  have  me  tell  you  what  are  the 
best  means  to  be  used  by  a  young  person,  to 
preyent  the  world,  with  all  its  opening  and 
ensnaring  scenes,  from  drawing  the  heart 
aside  from  God.  It  is  an  important  question : 
but  I  apprehend  your  own  heart  will  tell  you, 
that  you  are  already  possessed  of  all  the  in- 
formation concerning  it  which  you  can  well 
expect  from  me.  I  could  only  attempt  to 
answer  it  from  the  Bible,  which  lies  open  to 
you  likewise.  If  your  heart  is  like  mine,  it 
must  confess,  that  when  it  turns  aside  from 
God,  it  is  seldom  through  ignorance  of  the 
proper  means  or  motives  which  should  have 
kept  us  near  him,  but  rather  from  an  evil 
principle  within,  which  prevails  against  our 
better  judgment,  and  renders  us  unfaithful  to 
light  already  received. 

I  could  offer  you  rules,  cautions,  and  ad- 
vices in  abundance ;  for  I  find  it  compara- 
tively easy  to  preach  to  others.  But  if  you 
should  farther  ask  me,  How  you  shall  effec- 
tually reduce  them  to  practice  ?  I  feel  that  I 
am  so  deficient,  and  so  much  at  a  loss  in  this 
matter  myself,  that  I  know  not  well  what  to 
say  to  you.      Yet  something  must  be  said. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  I  would  observe, 
that  though  it  be  our  bounden  duty,  and  the 
highest  privilege  we  can  propose  to  ourselves, 
to  have  our  hearts  kept  close  to  the  Lord  ; 
yet  we  must  not  expect  it  absolutely  or  per- 
fectly, much  less  all  at  once-,  we  shall  keep 
close  to  him,  in  proportion  as  we  are  solidly 
convinced  of  the  infinite  disparity  between 
him  and  the  things  which  would  presume  to 
stand  in  competition  with  him,  and  the  folly, 
as  well  as  ingratitude,  of  departing  from  him. 
But  these  points  are  only  to  be  learned  by  ex- 
perience, and  by  smarting  under  a  series  of 


painful  disappointments  in  our  expectations 
from  creatures.  Our  judgments  may  be 
quickly  satisfied,  that  his  favour  is  better  than 
life,  while  yet  it  is  in  the  power  of  a  mere  trifle 
to  turn  us  aside.  The  Lord  permits  us  to 
feel  our  weakness,  that  we  may  be  sensible  of 
it;  for  though  we  are  ready,  in  words,  to 
confess  that  we  are  weak,  we  do  not  so  pro- 
perly know  it,  till  that  secret,  though  unal- 
lowed dependence  we  have  upon  some  strength 
in  ourselves,  is  brought  to  the  trial,  and  fails 
us.  To  be  humble,  and  like  a  little  child, 
afraid  of  taking  a  step  alone,  and  so  conscious 
of  snares  and  dangers  around  us,  as  to  cry  to 
him  continually  to  hold  us  up,  that  we  may 
be  safe,  is  the  sure,  the  infallible,  the  only 
secret  of  walking  closely  with  him. 

But  how  shall  we  attain  this  humble  frame 
of  spirit  ?  It  must  be,  as  I  said,  from  a  real 
and  sensible  conviction  of  our  weakness  and 
vileness,  which  we  cannot  learn  (at  least  I 
have  not  been  able  to  learn  it)  merely  from 
books  or  preachers.  The  providence  of  God 
concurs  with  his  Holy  Spirit  in  his  merciful 
design  of  making  us  acquainted  with  ourselveSi 
It  is  indeed  a  great  mercy  to  be  preserved 
from  such  declensions  as  might  fall  under  the 
notice  of  our  fellow-creatures ;  but  when  they 
can  observe  nothing  of  consequence  to  object 
to  us,  things  may  be  far  from  right  with  us 
in  the  sight  of  him  who  judges  not  only  ac- 
tions, but  the  thoughts  and  first  motions  of 
the  heart.  And  indeed,  could  we  for  a  sea- 
son so  cleave  to  God,  as  to  find  little  or  no- 
thing in  ourselves  to  be  ashamed  of,  we  are 
such  poor  creatures,  that  we  should  presently 
grow  vain  and  self-sufficient,  and  expose  our- 
selves to  the  greatest  danger  of  falling. 

There  are,  however,  means  to  be  observed 
on  our  part;  and  though  you  know  them,  I 
will  repeat   the  principal,  because  yon  desira 


216 


LETTERS  TO  MISS  F . 


LET.   I!. 


me.  The  first  is  Prayer ;  and  here,  above  ail 
things,  we  should  pray  for  humility.  It  may 
be  called  both  the  guard  of  all  other  graces, 
and  the  soil  in  which  they  grow.  The  second, 
Attention  to  the  scriptures.  Your  question 
is  directly  answered  in  Psalm  cxix.  9.  The 
precepts  are  our  rule  and  delight,  the  pro- 
mises our  strength  and  encouragement :  the 
good  recorded  of  the  saints  is  proposed  for 
our  encouragement;  their  miscarriages  are  as 
land-marks  set  tip  to  warn  us  of  the  rocks 
and  shoals  which  lie  in  the  way  of  our  pas- 
sage. The  study  of  the  whole  scheme  of  gos- 
pel-salvation, respecting  the  person,  life,  doc- 
trine, death  and  glory  of  our  Redeemer,  is 
appointed  to  form  our  souls  to  a  spiritual  and 
divine  taste ;  and  so  far  as  this  prevails  and 
grows  in  us,  the  trifles  that  would  draw  us 
from  the  Lord  will  lose  their  influence,  and 
appear,  divested  of  the  glare  with  which  they 
strike  the  senses,  mere  vanity  and  nothing. 
The  third  grand  means  is,  Consideration  or 
Recollection  ;  a  careful  regard  to  those  temp- 
tations and  snares,  to  which,  from  our  tem- 
pers, situations,  or  connections,  we  are  more 
immediately  exposed,  and  by  which  we  have 
been  formerly  hindered.  It  may  be  well  in 
the  morning,  ere  we  leave  our  chambers,  to 
forecast,  as  far  as  we  are  able,  the  probable 
circumstances  of  the  day  before  us.  Yet  the 
observance  of  this,  as  well  as  of  every  rule 
that  can  be  offered,  may  dwindle  into  a  mere 
form.  However,  I  trust  the  Lord,  who  has 
given  you  a  desire  to  live  to  him,  will  be  your 
guard  and  teacher.  There  is  none  teacheth 
like  him. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

March  —  1779. 

DEAR  MADAM, 

Our  experiences  pretty  much  tally  ;  they  may 
be  drawn  out  into  sheets  and  quires,  but  the 
sum-total  may  be  comprised  in  a  short  sen- 
tence, "  Our  life  is  a  warfare."  For  our  en- 
couragement, the  apostle  calls  it  a  good  war- 
fare. We  are  engaged  in  a  good  cause,  fight 
under  a  good  Captain,  the  victory  is  sure  be- 
forehand, and  the  prize  is  a  crown,  a  crown 
of  life.  Such  considerations  might  make 
even  a  coward  bold.  But  then  we  must  be 
content  to  fight  ,•  and  considering  the  na- 
ture, number,  situation,  and  subtilty  of  our 
enemies,  we  may  expect  sometimes  to  receive 
a  wound  ;  but  there  is  a  medicinal  tree,  the 
leaves  of  which  are  always  at  hand  to  heal 
us.  We  cannot  be  too  attentive  to  the  evil 
which  is  always  working  in  us,  or  to  the  stra- 
tagems which  are  employed  against  us;  yet 
our  attention  should  not  be  wholly  confined 
to  these  things.  We  are  to  look  upwards  like- 
wise to  him,  who  is   our  bead,  our  life,  o  it 


strength.  One  glance  of  Jesus  will  convey 
more  effectual  assistance  than  poring  upon 
our  own  hearts  for  a  month.  The  one  is  to 
be  done  ;  but  the  other  should  upon  no  ac- 
count be  omitted.  It  was  not  by  counting 
their  wounds,  but  by  beholding  the  brazen 
serpent,  the  Lord's  instituted  means  of  cure, 
that  the  Israelites  were  healed.  That  was 
an  emblem  for  our  instruction.  One  great 
cause  of  our  frequent  conflicts  is,  that  we 
have  a  secret  desire  to  be  rich,  and  it  is  the 
Lord's  design  to  make  us  poor :  we  want  to 
gain  an  ability  of  doing  something ;  and  he 
suits  his  dispensations,  to  convince  us  that 
we  can  do  nothing  :  we  want  a  stock  in  our- 
selves, and  he  would  have  us  absolutely  depen- 
dent upon  him.  So  far  as  we  are  content  to 
be  weak,  that  his  power  may  be  magnified  in 
us,  so  far  we  shall  make  our  enemies  know 
that  we  are  strong,  though  we  ourselves  shall 
never  be  directly  sensible  that  we  are  so;  only 
by  comparing  what  we  are  with  the  opposi- 
tion we  stand  against,  we  may  come  to  a  com- 
fortable conclusion,  that  the  Lord  worketn 
mightily  in  us,   Psal.  xli.  1 1. 

If  our  views  are  simple,  and  our  desires  to- 
wards the  Lord,  it  may  be  of  use  to  consider 
some  of  your  faults  and  mine,  not  as  the  faults 
of  you  and  me  in  particular,  but  as  the  fault 
of  that  depraved  nature  which  is  common  with 
us  to  all  the  Lord's  people,  and  which  made 
Paul  groan  as  feelingly  and  as  heartily  as  we 
can  do.  But  this  consideration,  though  true 
and  scriptural,  can  only  be  safely  applied  when 
the  mind  is  sincerely  and  in  good  earnest  de- 
voted to  the  Lord.  There  are  too  many  un- 
sound and  half  professors,  who  eagerly  catch 
at  it  as  an  excuse  for  those  evils  they  are  un- 
willing to  part  with.  But  I  trust  I  may 
safely  recommend  it  to  you.  This  evil  na- 
ture, this  indwelling  sin,  is  a  living  principle, 
an  active,  powerful  cause;  and  a  cause  that 
is  active  will  necessarily  produce  an  effect. 
Sin  is  the  same  thing  in  believers  as  in  the 
unregenerate  :  they  have  indeed  a  contrary 
principle  of  grace,  which  counteracts  and  re- 
sists it,  which  can  prevent  its  outbreakings, 
but  will  not  suppress  its  risings.  As  grace 
resists  sin,  so  sin  resists  grace,  Gal.  v.  17. 
The  proper  tendency  of  each  is  mutually 
weakened  on  both  sides ;  and,  between  the 
two,  the  poor  believer,  however  blameless 
and  exemplary  in  the  sight  of  men,  appears 
in  his  own  view  the  most  inconsistent  cha- 
racter under  the  sun.  He  can  hardly  think 
it  is  so  with  others ;  and,  judging  of  them  by 
what  he  sees,  and  of  himself  by  what  he  feels, 
in  lowliness  of  heart  he  esteems  others  better 
than  himself.  This  proves  him  to  be  right, 
for  it  is  the  will  of  God  concerning  him,  Phil, 
ii.  3.  This  is  the  warfare.  But  it  shall  not 
always  be  so.  Grace  shall  prevail.  The  evil 
nature  is  already  enervated,  and  ere  long  it 
will  die  the  death.  Jesus  will  make  us  more 
than  conquerors.      I  am,  &c. 


LETTERS 


TO 


THE  REV.  DR. 


LETTER  I. 


April  17,  1776. 
DEAR  SIR, 

By  this  time  I  hope  you  are  both  returned  in 
peace,  and  happy  together  in  your  stated  fa- 
voured tract ;  rejoicing  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
yourselves,  and  rejoicing  to  see  the  savour  of 
it  spreading  like  a  precious  perfume  among 
the  people.  Every  day  I  hope  you  find  pre- 
judices wearing  off,  and  more  disposed  to  hear 
the  words  of  life.  The  Lord  has  given  you  a 
fine  first  fruits,  which  I  trust  will  prove  the 
earnest  of  a  plentiful  harvest.  In  the  mean- 
time he  will  enable  you  to  sow  the  seed  in 
patience,  leaving  the  event  in  his  hands. 
Though  it  does  not  spring  up  visibly  at  once, 
it  will  not  be  lost.  I  think  he  would  not 
have  sent  you  if  he  had  not  a  people  there  to 
call  ;  but  they  can  only  come  forth  to  view  as 
he  is  pleased  to  bring  them.  Satan  will  try 
to  hinder  and  disturb  you,  but  he  is  in  a 
chain  which  he  cannot  break,  nor  go  a  step 
farther  than  he  is  permitted.  And  if  you 
have  been  instrumental  to  the  conversion  of 
but  a  few,  in  those  few  you  have  an  ample 
reward  already  for  all  the  difficulties  you  have 
or  can  meet  with.  It  is  more  honourable  and 
important  to  be  an  instrument  of  saving  one 
soul  than  to  rescue  a  whole  kingdom  from 
temporal  ruin.  Let  us  therefore,  while  we 
earnestly  desire  to  be  more  useful,  not  forget 
to  be  thankful  for  what  the  Lord  has  been 
pleased  already  to  do  for  us ;  and  let  us  ex- 
pect, knowing  whose  servants  we  are,  and 
what  a  gospel  we  preach,  to  see  some  new  mi- 
racles wrought  from  day  to  day,  for  indeed 
every  real  conversion  may  be  accounted  mi- 
raculous, being  no  less  than  an  immediate 
exertion   of  that  power  which   made  the  hea- 


vens and  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out 
of  darkness.  Your  little  telescope  is  safe. 
I  wish  I  had  more  of  that  clear  air  and  sun- 
shine you  speak  of,  that  with  you  I  might 
have  more  distinct  views  of  the  land  of  pro- 
mise. I  cannot  say  my  prospect  is  greatly 
clouded  by  doubts  of  my  reaching  it  at  last ; 
but  then  there  is  such  a  langour  and  deadness 
hanging  upon  my  mind,  that  it  is  almost  amaz- 
ing to  me  how  I  can  entertain  any  hopes  at 
all.  It  seems,  if  doubting  could  ever  be  rea- 
sonable, there  is  no  one  who  has  greater  rea- 
son for  doubting  than  myself.  But  I  know 
not  how  to  doubt,  when  I  consider  the  faith- 
fulness, grace,  and  compassion  of  him  who 
has  promised.  If  it  could  be  proved  that 
Christ  had  not  died,  or  that  he  did  not  speak 
the  words  which  are  ascribed  to  him  in  the 
gospel,  or  that  he  is  not  able  to  make  them 
good,  or  that  his  word  cannot  safely  be  taken  ; 
in  any  of  these  cases  I  should  doubt  to  pur- 
pose, and  lie  down  in  despair. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

July  15,  1776. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

I  begin  with  congratulations  first  to  you  and 
Mrs.  ,  on  your  safe  journey  and  good  pas- 
sage over  the  formidable  Humber.  Mrs.  — — 
has  another  river  to  cross  (may  it  be  many 
years  before  she  approaches  the  bank)  over 
which  there  is  no  bridge.  Perhaps  at  seasons 
she  may  think  of  it  with  that  reluctance  which 
she  felt  before  she  saw  the  Humber  ;  but  as 


218 


LETTERS  TO    1HE 


licr  fears  were  then  agreeably  disappointed, 
and  she  found  the  experiment,  when  called 
to  make  it,  neither  terrifying  nor  dangerous, 
so  I  trust  she  will  find  it  in  the  other  case. 
Did  not  she  think,  The  Lord  knows  where 
I  shall  be,  and  he  will  meet  me  there  with  a 
storm,  because  I  am  such  a  sinner  ?  Then 
how  the  billows  will  foam  and  rage  at  me, 
and  what  a  long  passage  I  shall  have,  and 
perhaps  I  shall  sink  in  the  middle,  and  never 
set  my  foot  in  Hull.  It  is  true,  I  am  not 
so  much  afraid  of  the  journey  I  go  by  land, 
though  I  know  that  every  step  of  the  way  the 
horses  or  the  chaise  may  fall,  and  I  be  killed ; 
but  how  do  I  know  but  he  may  preserve  me 
on  the  road  on  purpose  to  drown  me  in  the 
river  ?  But  behold,  when  she  came  to  it  all 
was  calm,  or,  what  was  better,  a  gentle,  fair 
breeze,  to  waft  her  pleasantly  over  before  she 
was  aware.  Thus  we  are  apt  perversely  to 
reason  :  he  guides  and  guards  me  through 
life ;  he  gives  me  new  mercies,  and  new 
proofs  of  his  power  and  care  every  day  ;  and 
therefore,  when  I  come  to  die,  he  will  for- 
sake me,  and  let  me  be  the  sport  of  winds 
and  waves.  Indeed  the  Lord  does  not  de- 
serve such  hard  thoughts  at  our  hands  as  we 
are  prone  to  form  of  him.  But  notwith- 
standing we  make  such  returns,  he  is  and 
will  be  gracious,  and  shame  us  out  of  our 
unkind,  ungrateful,  unbelieving  fears  at  last. 
If,  after  my  repeated  kind  reception   at  your 

house,   I  should  always  be  teasing  Mrs.  

with  suspicions  of  her  good-will,  and  should 
tell  every  body  I  saw,  that  I  verily  believed 
the  next  time  I  went  to  see  her  she  would 
shut  the  door  in  my  face,  and  refuse  me  ad- 
mittance, would  she  not  be  grieved,  offended, 
and  affronted  ?  Would  she  not  think,  What 
reason  can  he  assign  for  this  treatment  ?  He 
knows  I  did  every  thing  in  my  power  to  as- 
sure  him  of  a  welcome,  and  told  him  so  over 
and  over  again.  Does  he  count  me  a  de- 
ceiver? Yes  he  does:  I  see  his  friendship 
is  not  worth  preserving ;  so,  farewell.  I  will 
seek  friends  among  such  as  believe  my  words 
and  actions.  Well,  my  dear  madam,  I  am 
clear  1  always  believed  you  ;  I  make  no  doubt 
but  you  will  treat  me  kindly  next  time,  as 
you  did  the  last.  But  pray,  is  not  the  Lord 
as  worthy  of  being  trusted  as  yourself,  and 
are  not  his  invitations  and  promises  as  hearty 
and  as  honest  as  yours?  Let  us  therefore 
beware  of  giving  way  to  such  thoughts  of 
him  as  we  could  hardly  forgive  in  our  dear- 
est friends,  if  they  should  harbour  the  like  of 
us. 

I  have   heard  nothing  of  Mr.  P yet, 

but  that  he  is  in  town,  very  busy  about  that 
precious  piece  of  furniture  called  a  wife.  May 
the  Lord  direct  and  bless  his  choice.  In 
Captain  Cook's  voyage  to  the  South  Sea,  some 
fish  were  caught  which  looked  as  well  as  others, 
but  those  who  ate  of  them  were  poisoned  : 
alas  for  the  poor  man  who  catches  a  poisonous 


REV.      DR. .  let    lir. 

wife  !  There  are  such  to  be  met  with  in  the 
matrimonial  seas,  that  look  passing  well  to 
the  eye,  but  a  connexion  with  them  proves 
baneful  to  domestic  peace,  and  hurtful  to  the 
life  of  grace.  I  know  two  or  three  people, 
perhaps  a  few  more,  who  have  great  reason 
to  be  thankful  to  him  who  sent  the  fish,  with 
the  money  in  its  mouth,  to  Peter's  hook. 
He  secretly  instructed  and  guided  us  wheie 
to  angle,  and,  if  we  have  caught  prizes,  we 
owe  it  not  to  our  own  skill,  much  less  to  our 
deserts,  but  to  his  goodness. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

September  4,  1776. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

POOR  little  boy,  it  is  a  mercy  indeed 

that  he  recovered  from  such  a  formidable  hurt. 
The  Lord  wounded,  and  the  Lord  healed 
I  ascribe,  with  you,  what  the  world  calls  acci 
dent  to  him,  and  believe  that  without  his  per- 
mission for  wise  and  good  ends,  a  child  can 
no  more  pull  a  bowl  of  boiling  water  on  itself 
than  it  could  pull  the  moon  out  of  her  orbit. 
And  why  does  he  permit  such  things  ?  One 
reason  or  two  is  sufficient  for  us :  it  is  to  re- 
mind us  of  the  uncertainty  of  life  and  all 
creature -comforts  ;  to  make  us  afraid  of  cleav- 
ing too  close  to  pretty  toys,  which  are  so  pre- 
carious, that  often  while  we  look  at  them 
they  vanish,  and  to  lead  us  to  a  more  entire 
dependence  upon  himself;  that  we  might 
never  judge  ourselves  or  our  concerns  safe 
from  outward  appearances  only,  but  that  the 
Lord  is  our  keeper,  and  were  not  his  eye 
upon  us,  a  thousand  dangers  and  painful 
changes,  which  we  can  neither  foresee  nor  pre- 
vent, are  lurking  about  us  every  step,  ready 
to  break  in  upon  us  every  hour.  Men  are 
but  children  of  a  larger  growth.  How  many 
are  labouring  and  planning  in  the  pursuit  of 
things,  the  event  of  which,  if  they  obtain  them 
will  be  but  like  pulling  scalding  water  upon 
their  own  heads.  They  must  have  the  bowl 
by  all  means,  but  they  are  not  aware  what  is 
in  it  till  they  feel  it. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 


Jvhj  7,  1777. 


SIR, 


I  have  had  a  letter  from  you.r  minister  since 

his  arrival  at .      I  hope  he  will  be  restor  • 

ed  to  you  again  before  long,  and  that  he  and 
many  of  your  place  will  rejoice  long  in  each 
other.  Those  are  favoured  places  which 
are  blessed  with  a  sound  and  faithful  gospel- 
ministry,  if  the  people  know  and  consider  th» 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  DR. 


LET.  IV. 

value  of  their  privileges,  and  are  really  desi- 
rous of  profiting  by  them  ;  but  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  not  in  word,  but  in  power.  I  hope 
those  who  profess  the  gospel  with  you  will 
wrestle  in  prayer  for  grace  to  walk  worthy  of 
it.  A  minister's  hands  are  strengthened, 
when  he  can  point  to  his  people,  as  so  many 
living  proofs,  that  the  doctrines  he  preaches 
are  doctrines  according  to  godliness ;  when 
they  walk  in  mutual  love ;  when  each  one, 
in  their  several  places,  manifests  an  humble, 
spiritual,  and  upright,  conduct ;  when  they  are 
christians,  not  only  at  church,  but  in  the  fa- 
mily, the  shop,  and  the  field ;  when  they  fill 
up  their  relations  in  life,  as  husbands  or  wives, 
masters  or  servants,  parents  or  children,  ac- 
cording to  the  rule  of  the  word ;  when  they 
are  evidently  a  people  separated  from  the 
world  while  conversant  in  it,  and  are  careful 
to  let  their  light  shine  before  men,  not  only 
by  talking,  but  by  acting  as   the  disciples  of 


219 


Christ,  when  they  go  on  steadily,  not  by  fiis 
and  starts,  prizing  the  means  of  grace,  with- 
out resting  in  them  :  when  it  is  thus,  we  can 
say,  Now  we  live,  if  you  stand  fast  in  the 
Lord.  Then  we  come  forth  with  pleasure, 
and  our  service  is  our  delight,  and  we  are  en- 
couraged to  hope  for  an  increasing  blessing. 
But  if  the  people  in  whom  we  have  rejoiced 
sink  into  formality  or  a  worldly  spirit ;  if  they 
have  dissentions  and  jealousies  among  them- 
selves ;  if  they  act  improperly,  and  give  the 
enemies  occasion  to  say,  There,  there,  so 
would  we  have  it :  then  our  hearts  are  wound- 
ed and  our  zeal  damped,  and  we  know  not 
how  to  speak  with  liberty.  It  is  my  heart's 
desire  and  prayer  for  you,  that  whether  I  seo 
you,  or  else  be  absent  from  you,  I  may  know 
that  you  stand  fast  in  one  spirit  and  one  mind, 
striving  together  for  the  faith  of  the  gospel. 
I  sreij  &c. 


LETTERS 


TO  MRS. 


LETTER  I. 


iVw.  —  1775. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

TOO  much  of  that  impatience  which  you 
speak  of,  towards  those  who  differ  from  us  in 
some  religious  sentiments,  is  observable  on  all 
sides.  I  do  not  consider  it  as  the  fault  of  a 
few  individuals,  or  of  this  or  that  party,  so 
much  as  the  effect  of  that  inherent  imperfec- 
tion which  is  common  to  our  whole  race. 
Anger  and  scorn  are  equally  unbecoming  in 
those  who  profess  to  be  followers  of  the  meek 
and  lowly  Jesus,  and  who  acknowledge  them- 
selves to  be  both  sinful  and  fallible  ;  but  too 
often  something  of  this  leaven  will  be  found 
cleaving  to  the  best  characters,  and  mixed 
with  honest  endeavours  to  serve  the  best  cause. 
But  thus  it  was  from  the  beginning ;  and  we 
have  reason  to  confess  that  we  are  no  better 
than  the  apostles  were,  who,  though  they 
meant  well,  manifested  once  and  again  a 
wrong  spirit  in  their  zeal,  Luke  ix.  54.  Ob- 
servation and  experience  contribute,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  gradually  to  soften  and  sweet- 
en our  spirits ;  but  then  there  will  always  be 
ground  for  mutual  forbearance  and  mutual 
forgiveness  on  his  head.  However,  so  far  as 
I  may  judge  of  myself,  I  think  this  hastiness 
is  not  my  most  easily  besetting  sin.  I  am  not 
indeed  an  advocate  for  that  indifference  and 
lukewarmness  to  the  truths  of  God,  which 
seem  to  constitute  the  candour  many  plead 
for  in  the  present  day.  But  while  I  desire 
to  hold  fast  the  sound  doctrines  of  the  gospel, 
towards  the  persons  of  my  fellow  creatures 
I  wish  to  exercise  all  moderation  and  benevo- 
lence. Protestants  or  Papists,  Socinians  or 
Deists,  Jews,  Samaritans,  or  Mahometans, 
all  are  my  neighbours,  they  have  all  a  claim 
upon  me  for  the  common  offices  of  humanity. 
As  to  religion,  they  cannot  all  be  right;  nor 
may  I  compliment  them  by  allowing  the  dif- 


ferences between  us  are  but  trivial,  when  I 
believe  and  know  they  are  important ;  but  I 
am  not  to  expect  them  to  see  with  my  eyes. 
I  am  deeply  convinced  of  the  truth  of  John 
Baptist's  aphorism,  John,  iii.  27.  "  A  man 
can  receive  nothing,  except  it  be  given  him 
from  heaven."  I  well  know,  that  the  little 
measure  of  knowledge  I  have  obtained  in  the 
things  of  God,  has  not  been  owing  to  my 
own  wisdom  and  docility,  but  to  his  goodness. 
Nor  did  I  get  it  all  at  once ;  he  has  been 
pleased  to  exercise  much  patience  and  long- 
suffering  towards  me,  for  about  twenty-seven 
years  past,  since  he  first  gave  me  a  desire  of 
learning  from  himself.  He  has  graciously  ac- 
commodated himself  to  my  weakness,  borne 
with  mistakes,  and  helped  me  through  in- 
numerable  prejudices,  which,  but  for  his 
mercy,  would  have  been  insuperable  hindran- 
ces :  I  have  therefore  no  right  to  be  angry, 
impatient,  or  censorious,  especially  as  I  have 
still  much  to  learn,  and  am  so  poorly  influ. 
enced  by  what  I  seem  to  know.  I  am  weary  of 
controversies  and  disputes,  and  desire  to  chuse 
for  myself,  and  to  point  out  to  others,  Mary's 
part,  to  sit  at  Jesus'  feet,  and  to  hear  his 
words.  And,  blessed  be  his  name  !  so  far  as 
I  have  learned  from  him,  I  am  favoured 
with  a  comfortable  certainty  :  I  know  whom  I 
have  believed,  and  am  no  longer  tossed  about 
by  the  various  winds  and  tides  of  opinions,  by 
which  I  see  many  are  dashed  one  against  the 
other.  But  I  cannot,  I  must  not,  I  dare  not 
contend  ;  only,  as  a  witness  for  God,  I  am 
ready  to  bear  my  simple  testimony  to  what  I 
have  known  of  his  truth,  whenever  I  am  pro- 
perly called  to  it. 

I  agree  with  you,  that  some  accounted  evan- 
'  gelical  teachers  have  too  much  confined  them- 
selves to  a  few  leading  and  favourite  topics. 
I  think  this  a  fault ;  and  believe,  when  it  is 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. 


LET.  1. 

constantly  so,  the  auditories  are  deprived  of 
much  edification    and    pleasure,    which  they 
might  receive  fri  m  a  more  judicious  and  com- 
prehensive plan.      The  whole  scripture,  as  it : 
consists    of  histories,    prophecies,     doctrines,  | 
precepts,  promises,  exhortations,  admonitions, ! 
encouragements,   and  reproofs,  is   the  proper  j 
subject  of  the  gospel-ministry  ;  and  every  part  j 
should  in  its  place  and  course  be  attended  to ; 
yet,  so  as  that,  in  every  compartment  we  ex-  | 
Libit,   Jesus  should   be  the  capital  figure  ;  in 
whom  the  prophecies  are  fulfilled,  the  pro- 
mises established  ;  to  whom,  in  a  way  of  type 
and   emblem,    the    most    important    parts  of 
scripture  history  have  an  express  reference  ; 
and  from  whom  alone  we  can    receive  that 
life,  strength,  and  encouragement,  which  are 
necessary  to  make  obedience  either  pleasing 
or  practicable.      And  where  there  is  true  spi- 
ritual faith  in   the  heart,    and  in  exercise,   I 
believe  a  person  will  not  so  much  need  a  de- 
tail of  what   he  is  to   practice,  as  to  be  often 
greatly  at  a  loss  without  it.      Our   Saviour's 
commandments  are   plain  and  clear  in  them- 
selves ;  and  that  love  which  springs  from  faith, 
is  the  best  casuist  and  commentator  to  apply 
and  enforce  them. 

You  are  pleased  to  say,  "  Forgive  me  if  I 
transgress  ;  I  know  the  place  whereon  I  stand 
is  holy  ground."  Permit  me  to  assure  you, 
my  dear  Madam,  that  were  I,  which  I  am 
not,  a  person  of  some  importance,  you  would 
run  no  hazard  of  offending  me  by  controvert- 
ing any  of  my  sentiments :  I  hold  none 
(knowingly)  which  I  am  not  willing  to  sub- 
mit to  examination  j  nor  am  I  afraid  of  of- 
fending you  by  speaking  freely,  when  you 
point  out  my  way.  I  should  wrong  you,  if 
I  thought  to  please  you  by  palliating  or  dis- 
guising the  sentiments  of  my  heart ;  and  if  I 
attempted  to  do  so,  you  would  soon  see  through 
the  design,  and  despise  it.  There  may  per- 
haps be  an  improper  manner  of  chiming  upon 
the  name  of  Jesus,  and  I  am  not  for  vindicat- 
ing any  impropriety  ;  yet,  could  I  feel  what  I 
ought  to  mean  when  I  pronounce  that  name, 
I  should  not  fear  mentioning  it  too  often.  I 
am  afraid  of  no  excess  in  thinking  highly  of 
it,  because  I  read  it  is  the  will  of  God  that 
all  men  should  honour  the  Son  as  they  ho- 
nour the  Father.  Laboured  explications  of 
the  Trinity  I  always  avoid.  I  am  afraid  of 
darkening  counsel  by  words  without  know- 
ledge. Scripture,  and  even  reason,  assures 
me,  there  is  but  one  God,  whose  name  alone 
is  Jehovah.  Scripture  likewise  assures  me 
that  Christ  is  God,  that  Jesus  is  Jehovah.  I 
cannot  say  that  reason  assents  with  equal  rea- 
diness to  this  proposition  as  to  the  former. 
But,  admitting  what  the  scriptures  teach  con- 
cerning the  evil  of  sin,  the  depravity  of  hu- 
man nature,  the  method  of  salvation,  and  the 
offices  of  the  Saviour ;  admitting  that  God 
has  purposed  to  glorify,  not  his  mercy  only, 
but  his  justice,   in   the  work  of  redemption  ; 


2J1 


that  the  blood  shed  upon  the  cross  is  a  pro 
per,  adequate  satisfaction  for  sin  ;  and  that 
the  Redeemer  is  at  present  the  Shepherd  of 
those  who  believe  in  him,  and  will  hereafter 
be  the  Judge  of  the  world  ;  that,  in  order  to 
give  the  effectual  help  which  we  need,  it  is 
necessary  that  he  be  always  intimately  with 
those  who  depend  upon  him,  in  every  age, 
in  every  place  ;  must  know  the  thoughts  and 
intents  of  every  heart ;  must  have  his  eye  al- 
ways upon  them,  his  ear  always  open  to  them, 
his  arm  ever  stretched  out  for  their  relief; 
that  they  can  receive  nothing  but  what  he  be- 
stows, can  do  nothing  but  as  he  enables  them, 
nor  stand  a  moment  but  as  he  upholds  them  : 
admitting  these  and  the  like  promises,  with 
which  the  word  of  God  abounds,  reason  must 
allow,  whatever  difficulties  may  attend  the 
thought,  that  only  he  who  is  God  over  all, 
blessed  for  ever,  is  able  or  worthy  to  execute 
this  complicated  plan,  every  part  of  which  re- 
quires the  exertion  of  infinite  wisdom  and  al- 
mighty power ;  nor  am  I  able  to  form  any 
clear,  satisfactory,  or  comfortable  thoughts  of 
God,  suited  to  awaken  my  love  or  engage  my 
trust,  but  as  he  has  been  pleased  to  reveal 
himself  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  I  be- 
lieve, with  the  apostle,  that  God  was  once 
manifested  in  the  flesh  upon  earth,  and  that 
he  is  now  manifested  in  the  flesh  in  heaven  ; 
and  that  the  worship,  not  only  of  redeemed 
sinners,  but  of  the  holy  angels,  is  addressed 
to  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  and  who,  in  that 
nature  in  which  he  suffered,  now  exercises 
universal  dominion,  and  has  the  government 
of  heaven,  earth,  and  hell  upon  his  shoulders. 
This  truth  is  the  foundation  upon  which  my 
hope  is  built,  the  fountain  from  whence  I  de- 
rive all  my  strength  and  consolation,  and  my 
only  encouragement  for  venturing  to  the  throne 
of  grace,  for  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need. 

Till  God  in  human  flesh  I  see, 

My  thoughts  no  comfort  find  ; 
The  holy,  just,  and  sacved  Three, 

Are  terrors  to  my  mind. 
But  if  ImmanuePs  face  appear, 

My  hope,  my  joy  begins  ; 
His  name  forbids  my  slavish  fear, 

His  grace  removes  my  sins. 

I  am,  however,  free  to  confess  to  you,  that, 
through  the  pride  and  unbelief  remaining  in 
my  heart,  and  the  power  of  Satan's  tempta- 
tions, there  are  seasons  when  I  find  no  small 
perplexity  and  evil  reasonings  upon  this  high 
point ;  but  it  is  so  absolutely  essential  to  my 
peace  that  I  cannot  part  with  it,  for  I  can- 
not give  it  up  without  giving  up  all  hope  of 
salvation  on  the  one  hand,  and  giving  up  the 
Bible,  as  an  unmeaning,  contradictory  fable, 
on  the  other  ;  and,  through  mercy,  for  the 
most  part,  when  I  am  in  my  right  mind,  I 
am  as  fully  persuaded  of  this  truth  as  I  am  of 
my  own  existence  ;  but,  from  the  exercises  I 
have  had  about  it,  I  have  learned  to  subscribe 
to  the  apostle's  declaration,  that  "  no  man  can 
say   that    Jesus  Christ    is   Lord,   but  by   the 


222  LETTERS  TO 

Holy  Ghost."  I  am  vvoll  satisfied  it  will 
not  be  a  burden  to  me  at  the  hour  of  death, 
nor  be  laid  to  my  charge  at  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, that  I  have  thought  too  highly  of  Je- 
sus, expected  too  much  from  him  myself,  or 
laboured  too  much  in  commending  and  set- 
ting him  forth  to  others  as  the  r  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  true  God  and  eternal  life.  On 
the  contrary,  alas !  alas !  my  guilt  and  grief 
are,  that  my  thoughts  of  him  are  so  faint,  so 
infrequent,  and  my  commendations  of  him  so 
lamentably  cold  and  disproportionate  to  what 
they  ought  to  be. 

I   know   not  whose  letters  are  rapturous, 
but  I  wish  mine  were  more  so ;  not  that  I  am 
a  friend  to  ungrounded  sallies  of  imagination, 
nights  of  animal    passions,    or  heat   without 
light.      But  it  would  be  amazing  to  me,  were 
I  not  aware  of  human  depravity,   of  which  I 
consider  this  as  one  of  the  most  striking  proofs, 
that  they  who  have  any  good   hope  of  an  in- 
terest in  the  gospel  salvation  do  not  find  their 
hearts  (as  Dr.  Watts  expresses  it)  all  on  fire, 
and  that  their  very  looks  do   not  express  a 
transport  of  admiration,  gratitude,  and  love, 
when  they  consider  from  what  misery  they  are 
redeemed,  to  what  happiness  they  are  called, 
and  what  a  price  was  paid  for  their  souls.      I 
wish  to  be  more  like  the   apostle  Paul  in  this 
respect,  who,  though  he  often  forms  and  com- 
pounds new  words,    seems  at  a  loss   for  any 
that  could  suitably  describe  the  emotions  of 
his  heart.      But  I   am  persuaded   you  would 
not  object  to  the  just  fervour  of  scriptural  de- 
votion.     But  this  holy  flame  can   seldom   be 
found  unsullied  in  the  present  life.     The  tem- 
per, constitution,  and  infirmities  of  individuals 
will  mix  more  or   less  with  what  they  say  or 
do.     Allowances  must  be  made  for  such  things 
in  the  present  state  of  infirmity,  for  who  can 
hope  to  be  perfectly  free  from  them  ?      If  the 
heart  is  right  with  God,  and  sincerely  affected 
with  the  wonders  of  redeeming  love,  our  gra- 
cious High- Priest,  who  knows  our  weakness, 
pities  and  pardons  what  is  amiss,  accepts  our 
poor  efforts,   and  gradually  teaches  us  to  dis- 
cern and  avoid  what  is  blameable.     The  work 
of  grace,  in  its  first  stages,  I  sometimes  com- 
pare to  the  lighting  of  a  fire,  where  for  a  while 
there  is  abundance  of  smoke,  but  by  and  by  it 
burns  clearer  and  clearer.      There   is   often, 
both  in  letters  and  books,  what  might  be  very 
well  omitted  ;  but  if  a  love  to  God  and  souls 
be  the  leading  principle,  I  pass  as  gentle  cen- 
sure upon  the  rest  as  I  can,  and  apply  to  some 
eccentric  expressions,   what  Mr.  Prior  some- 
where says  of  our  civil  dissensions  in  this  land 
of  liberty, 

A  bad  cfl'cct,  but  from  a  noble  cause. 

I  am,  &c. 


MRS. 


LET.  II 


LETTER  II. 

February  16,  1776. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

It  gave  me  great  comfort  to  find,  that  what  I 
wrote  concerning  the  divine  character  of  Je- 
sus,  as  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,   met  with 
your  approbation.      This  doctrine  is,  in   my 
view,   the  great  foundation-stone  upon  which 
all   true  religion  is   built ;  but,   aks  !   in  the 
present  day,  it  is  the  stumbling-stone  and  rock 
of  offence,  upon  which  too  many,  fondly  pre- 
suming upon  their  own  wisdom,  fall  and  are 
broken.      I  am  so  far  from  wondering   that 
any  should  doubt  of  it,  that  I  am  firmly  per- 
suaded none    can    truly  believe   it,    however 
plainly  set  forth  in  scripture,  unless  it  be  re- 
vealed to  them  from  heaven,   or,  in  the  apos- 
tle's  words,    that  "   no  one    can    call    Jesus 
Christ  Lord,  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost."      I  be- 
lieve there   are  many  who   think  they  believe 
it,  because  they  have  taken    it  for   granted, 
and  never  attentively  considered  the  difficul- 
ties with  which   it  is  attended  in  the  eye  of 
fallen  reason.      Judging  by  natural   light,   it 
seems  impossible  to  believe  that  the  title  of 
the  true  God  and  eternal  life  should  properly 
belong  to  that  despised  man  who  hung  dead 
upon  the  cross,   exposed  to  the  insults   of  his 
cruel  enemies.      I  know  nothing  that  can  ob- 
viate   the   objections    the    reasoning   mind    is 
ready  to  form  against  it,  but  a  real  conviction 
of  the  sinfulness   of  sin,  and   the  state   of  a 
sinner  as  exposed  to  the  curse   of  the    holy 
law,  and  destitute  of  every  plea  and  hope  in 
himself.      Then  the  necessity  of  a  Redeemer, 
and  the   necessity  of  this   Redeemer's   being 
almighty,  is  seen  and   felt,  with  an  evidence 
which  bears  down  all  opposition  ;  for  neither 
the  efficacy  of  his  atonement  and  intercession, 
nor  his  sufficiency  to  guide,  save,  protect,  and 
feed  those  who  trust  in  him,  can  be  conceived 
of  without  it.      When  the  eyes  of  the  under- 
standing are  opened,  the  soul  made  acquaint- 
ed with   and   attentive  to  its   own   state  and 
wants,  he  that  runs  may  read  this  truth,  not 
in  a  few  detached  texts  of  a  dubious  import, 
and  liable  to  be  twisted  and  tortured  by  the 
arts   of  criticism,    but  as   interwoven  in  the 
very  frame  and  texture  of  the  Bible,  and  writ- 
ten, as  with  a  sun-beam,  throughout  the  prin- 
cipal parts  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment.   If  Christ  be  the  shepherd  and  the  hus- 
band of  his  people  under  the  gospel,  and  if 
his   coming  into   the  world   did   not  abridge 
those  who  feared  God  of  the  privileges  they 
were  entitled  to  before  his  appearance,  it  fol- 
lows, by  undeniable  consequence,  "  that  he  is 
God  over  all,  blessed  for  ever."      For  David 
tells  us,  that  his  shepherd  was  Jehovah  ;  and 
the  husband  of  the  Old  Testament  church  was 
the  Maker  and  God  of  the  whole  earth,  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel,  whose  name  is  the  Lord 


LETTERS  TO  MRS.  — 


LET.  II 

of  Hosts,  Psalm  xxiii.  1  ;  Is.  liv.  8,  with  xlvii. 
4.  I  agree  with  you,  Madam,  that  among 
the  many  attempts  which  have  been  made  to 
prove  and  illustrate  the  scripture  doctrine, 
that  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Spi- 
rit, are  one  God,  there  have  been  many  inju- 
dicious, unwarrantable  things  advanced,  which 
have  perplexed,  instead  of  instructing,  and  of 
which  the  enemies  of  the  truth  have  known 
how  to  make  their  advantage.  However,  there 
have  been  tracts  upon  these  sublime  subjects, 
which  have  been  written  with  judgment  and 
an  unction,  and,  I  believe,  attended  with  a 
blessing.  I  seem  to  prefer  Mr.  Jones's  book 
on  the  Trinity  to  any  I  have  seen,  because  he 
does  little  more  than  state  some  of  the  scrip- 
ture evidence  for  it,  and  draws  his  inferences 
briefly  and  plainly ;  though  even  he  has  ad- 
mitted a  few  texts,  which  may,  perhaps,  be 
thought  not  quite  full  to  the  point ;  and  he 
has  certainly  omitted  several  of  the  most  ex- 
press and  strongest  testimonies.  The  best 
and  happiest  proof  of  all,  that  this  doctrine  is 
true  in  itself,  and  true  to  us,  is  the  experi- 
ence of  its  effects.  They  who  know  his  name 
will  put  their  trust  in  him :  they  who  are 
rightly  impressed  with  his  astonishing  conde- 
scension and  love,  in  emptying  himself,  and 
submitting  to  the  death  of  the  cross  for  our 
sakes,  will  find  themselves  under  a  sweet  con- 
straint to  love  him  again,  and  will  feel  a  little 
of  that  emotion  of  heart  which  the  apostle 
expresses  in  that  lively  passage,  Gal.  vi.  14. 
The  knowledge  of  Christ  crucified,  like  Ithu- 
riel's  spear,  removes  the  false  appearances  by 
which  we  have  been  too  long  cheated,  and 
shews  us  the  men  and  the  things,  the  spirit, 
customs,  and  maxims  of  the  world,  in  their 
just  light.  Were  I  perfectly  master  of  my- 
self and  my  subject,  I  would  never  adduce  any 
text  in  proof  of  a  doctrine  or  assertion  from 
the  pulpit,  which  was  not  direct  and  conclu- 
sive; because,  if  a  text  is  pressed  into  an  ar- 
gument to  which  it  has  no  proper  relation,  it 
rather  encumbers  than  supports  it,  and  raises 
a  suspicion  that  the  cause  is  weak,  and  better 
testimonies  in  its  favour  cannot  be  obtained. 
Some  misapplications  of  this  kind  have  been 
so  long  in  use,  that  they  pass  pretty  current, 
though,  if  brought  to  the  assay,  thry  would 
be  found  not  quite  sterling :  but  I  endeavour 
to  avoid  them  to  the  best  of  my  judgment. 
Thus,  for  instance,  I  have  often  heard  (Rom. 
xiv.  23),  "  Whatever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin," 
quoted  to  prove,  that  without  a  principle  of 
saving  faith,  we  can  perform  nothing  accept- 
able to  God  :  whereas  it  seems  clear  from  the 
context,  that  faith  is  there  used  in  another 
sense,  and  signifies  a  firm  persuasion  of  mind 
respecting  the  lawfulness  of  the  action.  How- 
ever, I  doubt  not  but  the  proposition  in  itself 
is  strictly  true  in  the  other  sense,  if  consi- 
dered detached  from  the  connexion  in  which 
it  stands ;   but  I  should  rather  chuse  to  prove 


223 


affirmed,  as  Heb.  xi.  6;  Matth.  xii.  33.  In 
such  cases,  I  think  hearers  should  be  careful 
not  to  be  prejudiced  against  a  doctrine,  merely 
because  it  is  not  well  supported  ;  for  perhaps 
it  is  capable  of  solid  proof,  though  the  preacher 
was  not  so  happy  as  to  hit  upon  that  which 
was  most  suitable ;  and  extempore  preachers 
may  sometimes  hope  for  a  little  allowance  upon 
this  head  from  the  more  candid  part  of  their 
auditory,  and  not  be  made  offenders  for  an  in- 
advertence, which  they  cannot  perhaps  always 
avoid  in  the  hurry  of  speaking.  With  re- 
spect to  the  application  of  some  passages  in 
the  Old  Testament  to  our  Lord  and  Saviour, 
I  hold  it  safest  to  keep  close  to  the  specimens 
the  apostles  have  given  us,  and  I  would  ven- 
ture with  caution,  if  I  go  beyond  their  line  ; 
yet  it  is  probable  they  have  only  given  us  a 
specimen ;  and  that  there  are  a  great  number 
of  passages  which  have  a  direct  reference  to 
gospel-truths,  though  we  may  run  some  ha- 
zard  in  making  out  the  allusion.  If  St.  Paul 
had  not  gone  before  me,  I  should  have  hesi- 
tated to  assert,  that  the  prohibition,  "  Thou 
shalt  not  muzzle  the  ox  that  treadeth  out 
the  corn,"  was  given,  not  upon  the  account 
of  oxen,  but  altogether  for  our  sakes  :  nor 
should  I,  without  his  assistance,  have  found 
out  that  the  history  of  Sarah  and  Hagar  was  a 
designed  allegory,  to  set  forth  the  difference 
between  the  lavv  and  gospel  covenants.  There- 
fore, when  I  hear  ministers  tracing  some  other 
allusions,  I  cannot  be  always  sure  that  they 
push  them  too  far,  though  perhaps  they  are 
not  quite  satisfactory  to  my  judgment;  for  it 
may  be,  they  have  a  farther  insight  into  the 
meaning  of  these  places  than  myself.  And  I 
think  scriptures  may  be  sometimes  used  to 
advantage,  by  way  of  accommodation,  in  po- 
pular discourses,  and  in  something  of  a  dif- 
ferent sense  from  what  they  bear  in  the  place 
where  they  stand,  provided  they  are  not  al- 
leged as  proofs,  but  only  to  illustrate  a  truth 
already  proved  or  acknowledged.  Though 
Job's  friends  and  Job  himself  were  mistaken, 
there  are  many  great  truths  in  their  speeches, 
which,  as  such,  may,  I  think,  stand  as  the 
foundation  of  a  discourse.  Nay,  I  either 
have,  or  have  often  intended,  to  borrow  a 
truth  even  from  the  mouth  of  Satan,  "  Hast 
thou  not  set  a  hedge  about  him  ?"  Such  a 
confession  extorted  from  our  grand  adversary 
placing  the  safety  of  the  Lord's  people,  un- 
der his  providential  care,  in  a  very  striking 
light. 

I  perfectly  agree  with  you,  Madam,  that 
our  religious  sensations  and  exercises  are  much 
influenced  and  tinctured  by  natural  constitu- 
tion ;  and  that,  therefore,  tears  and  warm  emo- 
tions on  the  one  hand,  or  a  comparative  dry- 
ness of  spirit  on  the  other,  are  no  sure  indica- 
tions of  the  real  state  of  the  heart.  Appear- 
ances may  agree  in  different  persons,  or  vary  in 
the  same  person,  from  causes  merely  natural : 


it  from  other  passages,   where   it  is  directly  j  even  a  change  of  weather  may  have  s>ome  in- 


224 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. . 


LET.  III. 


fluence  in  raising  or  depressing  the  spirits, 
where  the  nerves  are  very  delicate ;  and  I 
think  such  persons  are  more  susceptive  of  im- 
pressions from  the  agency  of  invisible  powers, 
Doth  good  and  evil ;  an  agency  which,  though 
we  cannot  explain,  experience  will  not  permit 
us  to  deny.  However,  though  circumstan- 
tials rise  and  fall,  the  real  difference  between 
nature  and  grace  remains  unalterable.  That 
work  of  God  upon  the  heart,  which  is  some- 
times called  a  new  birth,  at  others  a  new  crea- 
tion, is  as  distant  from  the  highest  effects  of 
natural  principles,  or  the  most  specious  imi- 
tations which  education  or  resolutions  can  pro- 
duce, as  light  is  from  darkness,  or  life  from 
death.  Only  he  who  made  the  world  can  ei- 
ther make  a  christian,  or  support  and  carry  on 
his  own  work.  A  thirst  after  God  as  our  por- 
tion, a  delight  in  Jesus,  as  the  only  way  and 
door  ;  a  renunciation  of  self  and  of  the  world, 
so  far  as  it  is  opposite  to  the  spirit  of  the 
gospel :  these,  and  the  like  fruits  of  that  grace 
which  bringeth  salvation,  are  not  only  be- 
yond the  power  of  our  fallen  nature,  but  con- 
trary to  its  tendency ;  so  that  we  can  have 
no  desires  of  this  kind  till  they  are  given  us 
from  above,  and  can  for  a  season  hardly  bear 
to  hear  them  spoken  of,  either  as  excellent  or 
necessary. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

September  17,  1776. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

We  are  much  indebted  to  you  for  your  kind 
thoughts  of  us.  Hitherto  I  feel  no  uneasi- 
ness about  what  is  before  me ;  but  I  am  afraid 
my  tranquillity  does  not  wholly  spring  from 
trust  in  the  Lord,  and  submission  to  his  will, 
but  that  a  part  of  it  at  least  is  derived  from 
the  assurances  Mr  W.  gave  me,  that  the  ope- 
ration would  be  neither  difficult  nor  danger- 
ous. I  have  not  much  of  the  hero  in  my 
constitution  :  if  in  great  pains  or  sharp  trials 
I  should  ever  shew  a  becoming  fortitude,  it 
must  be  given  me  from  above.  I  desire  to 
leave  all  with  him,  in  whose  hands  my  ways 
are,  and  who  has  promised  me  strength  ac- 
cording to  my  day. 

I  rejoice  that  the  Lord  has  not  only  made 
you  desirous  of  being  useful  to  others  in  their 
spiritual  concerns,  but  has  given  you,  in  some 
instances,  to  see  that  your  desires  and  at- 
tempts have  nJi  oeen  in  vain.  I  shall  thank- 
fully accept  of  the  commission  you  are  pleas- 
ed to  offer  me,  and  take  a  pleasure  in  per- 
using any  papers  you  may  think  proper  to  put 
into  my  hands,  and  offer  you  my  sentiments 
with  that  simplicity  which  I  am  persuaded  will 
be  much  more  agreeable  to  you  than  compli- 
ments. Though  I  know  there  is  in  general  a 
delicacy  and  difficulty  in  services  of  this  kind, 


yet,  with  respect  to  yourself,   I  seem  to  have 
nothing  to  fear. 

I  have  often  wished  we  had  more   femaltt 
pens  employed  in  the  service  of  the  sanctuary 
Though  few  ladies  encumber  themselves  with 
the  apparatus  of  Latin  or  Greek,  or  engage  in 
voluminous  performances,  yet,  in  the  article  of 
essay-writing,  I  think  many  are  qualified  to  sue 
ceed  better  than  most  me'i,  having  a  peculiai 
easiness  of  style,  which  few  of  us  can  imitate. 
I  remember  you  once  shewed  me  a  paper,  to- 
gether with  the  corrections  and  alterations  pro. 
posed    by   a    gentleman   whose   opinion    you 
had  asked.      I  thought  his  corrections  had  in- 
jured it,  and  given  it  an  air  of  stiffness,  which 
is   often   observable  when   learned  men  write 
in  English.      Grammatical  rules,  -as  they  are 
called,   are  wholly  derived  from   the  mode  ol 
speaking  or  writing  which   obtains  amongst 
those  who   best  understand  the  language,   for 
the   language  must  be  supposed   established 
before  any  grammar  can  be  made  for  it ;  and 
therefore   women,   who,    from   the  course  of 
their  education  and  life,  have  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  reading  the  best-written  books,  and 
conversing  with  those  who  speak  well,  though 
they  do   not  burden  themselves  with  the  for- 
mality of  grammar,  have  often  more  skill  in 
the  English  language  than   the  men  who  can 
call   every   figure    of  speech   by  a   Latin  oi 
Greek  name.      You  may  be  sure,   Madam,   I 
shall  not  wish  your  papers  suppressed,  merely 
because   they  were   not  written   by  a  learned 
man.      Language  and  style,  however,  are  but 
the    dress.       Trifles,    however   adorned,    are 
trifles   still.      A   person  of  spiritual  discern 
ment  would  rather  be  the  author  of  one  page 
written  in   the  humble  garb  of  Bunyan,  upon 
a  serious  subject,  than  to  be  able  to  rival  the 
sprightliness  and   elegance   of  Lady  M.  W. 
Montague,    unless  it  could  be  with  a  view  to 
edification.    The  subjects  you  propose  are  im- 
portant ;  and,  with  respect  to  sacramental  me- 
ditations, and  all  devotional  exercises  so  called, 
I  perfectly  agree  with  you,  that,   to  be  affect- 
ing and  useful,   they  must  be  dictated  rather 
by  the  heart  than  by  the  head,  and  are  most 
likely  to  influence  others   when  they  are   the 
fruits  and  transcripts  of  our  own  experience. 
So  far  as  I   know,  we  are  but  scantily  pro- 
vided with   specimens  of  this  sort  in   print, 
and  therefore  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  an  acces- 
sion to  the  public  stock.    Your  other  thought 
of  helps  to  recollection  on  Saturday  evenings 
is,  I  think,  an  attempt  in  which   none  have 
been  beforehand  with  you.      So  that,  accord- 
ing to  the  general  appearance,    I   feel  myself 
disposed  to  encourage  you  to  do  as  you  have 
purposed.       On  the   other  hand,   if  I   meet 
with  any  thing,  on  the  perusal   of  the  papers, 
which   in   my  view  may  seem  to  need  altera- 
tion, I  will  freely  and  faithfully  point  it  out. 

I  can  almost  smile  now,  to  think  you  once 
classed  me  amongst  the  Stoics.  If  I  dare 
speak  with  confidence  of  myself  in  any  thing, 


LET.  IV. 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. . 


225 


I  think  I  may  lay  claim  to  a  little  of  that  pleas- 
ing,  painful  thing,    sensibility.      I   need  not 
boast  of  it,  for  it  has  too  often  been  my  snare, 
my  sin,  and  my  punishment.     Yet  I  would  be 
thankful  for  a  spice  of  it,  as  the  Lord's  gift,  and 
when  rightly  exercised,  it  is  valuable;  and  I 
think    I  should  make  but  an  awkward  minister 
without  it,  especially  here.    Where  there  is  this 
sensibility  in  the  natural  temper,   it  will  give 
a  tincture  or  cast  to  our  religious  expression. 
Indeed   I   often  find   this  sensibility  weakest 
where  it  should  be  strongest,  and  have  reason 
to  reproach   myself  that   I  am  not  more  af- 
fected by  the  character,   love,    and  sufferings 
of  my  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  my  own  pecu- 
liar personal  obligations  to  him.      However, 
my  views  of  religion  have  been  such  for  many 
years,  as  I  supposed  more  likely  to  make  me 
be  deemed  an  enthusiast  than   a  Stoic.      A 
moonlight  head-knowledge    derived    from    a 
system  of  sentiments,   however  true  in  them- 
selves, is  in  my  judgment  a  poor  thing  ;  nor, 
on  the  other  hand,  am  I  an  admirer  of  those 
rapturous  sallies,  which   are  more  owing  to  a 
warm  imagination   than  to  a  just  perception 
of  the  power  and  importance  of  gospel-truth. 
The  gospel   addresses  both   head   and  heart ; 
and,  where  it  has  its  proper  effect,  where  it  is 
received  as  the  word  of   God,   and  is  clothed 
with   the  authority  and  energy  of  the   Holy 
Spirit,  the  understanding  is  enlightened,    the 
affections   awakened   and   engaged,    the  will 
brought  into  subjection,  and  the  whole  soul 
delivered  to  its  impression,  as  wax  to  the  seal. 
When  this  is  the  case,  when  the  affections  do 
not  take  the   lead,   and   push  forward  with  a 
blind  impulse,  but  arise  from  the  principles  of 
scripture,  and  are  governed  by  them,  the  more 
warmth  the  better.     Yet  in  this  state  of  infir- 
mity nothing  is  perfect,  and  our  natural  tem- 
perament and  disposition  will  have  more  in- 
fluence upon  our  religious  sensations  than  we 
are  ordinarily  aware.     It  is  well  to  know  how 
to   make  proper   allowances   and  abatements 
upon  this  head,  in  the  judgment  we  form  both 
of  ourselves  and  of  others.      Many  good  peo- 
ple  are  distressed  and   alternately  elated  by 
frames  and  feelings,   which  perhaps  are  more 
constitutional  than  properly  religious  experi- 
ences.     I  dare  not  tell  you,   Madam,  what  I 
am,   but   I   can  tell  you  what  I  wish   to  be. 
The  love    of    God,    as  manifested   in   Jesus 
Christ,  is  what  I  would  wish  to  be  the  abiding 
object  of  my  contemplation  ;  not  merely  to  spe- 
culate upon  it  as  a  doctrine,  but  so  to  feel  it, 
and  my  own  interest  in  it,  as  to  have  my  heart 
filled  with  its  effects,  and  transformed  into  its 
resemblance  ;  that  with  this  glorious  exemplar 
in  my  view,    I  may  be  animated  to  a  spirit  of 
benevolence,  love  and  compassion  to  all  around 
me  ;  that  my  love  may  be  primarily  fixed  upon 
him  who  has  so  loved  me,  and  then,   for  his 
sake,  diffused   to  all  his  children,    and   to  all 
his  creatures.      Then,   knowing  that  much  is 
forgiven  to   me,  I  should  be  prompted  to  the 


ready  exercise  of  forgiveness,  if  I  have  aught 
against  any.  Then  I  should  be  humble,  pa- 
tient, and  submissive  under  all  his  dispensa- 
tions, meek,  gentle,  forbearing,  and  kind  to 
my  fellow-worms.  Then  I  should  be  active 
and  diligent  in  improving  all  my  talents  and 
powers  in  his  service,  and  for  his  glory,  and 
live  not  to  myself,  but  to  him  who  loved  me, 
and  gave  himself  for  me. 


I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 

November  29,  1776. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

I  AM  persuaded  you  need  not  be  told,  that 
though  there  are  perhaps  supposeable  extre- 
mities, in  which  serf  would  prevail  over  all 
considerations,  yet  in  general  it  is  more  easy 
to  suffer  in  our  own  persons  than  in  the  per- 
sons of  those  whom  we  dearly  love ;  for  through 
such  a  medium  our  apprehensions  possibly  re- 
ceive the  idea  of  the  trouble  enlarged  beyond 
its  just  dimensions,  and  it  would  sit  lighter 
upon  us  if  it  were  properly  our  own  case,  for 
then  we  should  feel  it  all,  and  there  would  be 
no  room  for  imagination  to  exaggerate. 

But  though  I  feel  grief,  I  trust  the  Lord 
has  mercifully  preserved  me  from  impatience 
and  murmuring,  and  that,  in  the  midst  of 
all  the  pleadings  of  flesh  and  blood,  there  is 
a  something  within  me  that  aims  to  say,  with- 
out reserve  or  exception,  "  Not  my  will,  but 
thine  be  done." 

It  is  a  comfortable  consideration,  that  he 
with  whom  we  have  to  do,  our  great  High- 
Priest,  who  once  put  away  our  sins  by  the 
sacrifice  of  himself,  and  now  for  ever  appears 
in  the  presence  of  God  for  us,  is  not  only 
possessed  of  sovereign  authority  and  infinite 
power,  but  wears  our  very  nature,  and  feels 
and  exercises  in  the  highest  degree  those  ten- 
dernesses and  commiserations  which  I  con- 
ceive are  essential  to  humanity  in  its  perfect 
state.  The  whole  history  of  his  wonderful 
life  is  full  of  inimitable  instances  of  this 
kind.  His  bowels  were  moved  before  his 
arm  was  exerted  :  he  condescended  to  mingle 
tears  with  mourners,  and  wept  over  distresses 
which  he  intended  to  relieve.  He  is  still  the 
same  in  his  exalted  state  :  compassions  dwell 
within  his  heart.  In  a  way  inconceivable  to 
us,  but  consistent  with  his  supreme  dignity 
and  perfection  of  happiness  and  glory,  he  still 
feels  for  his  people.  When  Saul  persecuted 
the  members  upon  earth,  the  Head  com- 
plained from  heaven  ;  and  sooner  shall  the 
most  tender  mother  sit  insensible  and  inat- 
tentive to  the  cries  and  wants  of  her  infant, 
than  the  Lord  Jesus  be  an  unconcerned  spec- 
tator of  his  suffering  children.  No  !  with 
the  eye,  and  the  ear,  and  the  heart  of  a  friend, 
he  attends  to  their  sorrows ;  he  counts  their 


226 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. . 


sighs,  puts  their  tears  in  his  bottle ;  and, 
when  our  spirits  are  overwhelmed  within  us, 
he  knows  our  path,  and  adjusts  the  time,  the 
measure  of  our  trials,  and  every  thing  that  is 
necessary  for  our  present  support  and  season- 
able deliverance,  with  the  same  unerring  wis- 
dom and  accuracy  as  he  weighed  the  moun- 
tains in  scales,  and  hills  in  a  balance,  and 
meted  out  the  heavens  with  a  span.  Still 
more,  besides  his  benevolent,  he  has  an  expe- 
rimental sympathy.  He  knows  our  sorrows, 
not  merely  as  he  knows  all  things,  but  as 
one  who  has  been  in  our  situation,  and 
who,  though  without  sin  himself,  endured, 
when  upon  earth,  inexpressibly  more  for  us 
than  he  will  ever  lay  upon  us.  He  has 
sanctified  poverty,  pain,  disgrace,  temptation 
and  death,  by  passing  through  these  states  ; 
and,  in  whatever  states  his  people  are,  they 
may  by  faith  have  fellowship  with  him  in  their 
sufferings,  and  he  will,  by  sympathy  and  love, 
have  fellowship  and  interest  with  them  in 
theirs.  What,  then,  shall  we  fear,  or  of  what 
shall  we  complain,  when  all  our  concerns  are 
written  upon  his  heart,  and  their  manage- 
ment, to  the  very  hairs  of  our  head,  are  un- 
der his  care  and  providence ;  when  he  pities 
us  more  than  we  can  do  ourselves,  and  has 
engaged  his  almighty  power  to  sustain  and 
relieve  us.  However,  as  he  is  tender,  he  is 
wise  also  ;  he  loves  us,  but  especially  with  re- 
gard to  our  best  interests.  If  there  were  not 
something  in  our  hearts  and  our  situation 
that  required  discipline  and  medicine,  he  so 
delights  in  our  prosperity  that  we  should  ne- 
ver be  in  heaviness.  The  innumerable  com- 
forts and  mercies  with  which  he  enriches  even 
those  we  call  our  darker  days,  are  sufficient 
proofs  that  he  does  not  willingly  grieve  us ; 
but  when  he  sees  a  need-be  for  chastisement, 
he  will  not  with-hold  it  because  he  loves  us  ; 
on  the  contrary,  that  is  the  very  reason  why 
he  afflicts.  He  will  put  his  silver  into  the 
fire  to  purify  it ;  but  he  sits  by  the  furnace  as 
a  refiner,  to  direct  the  process,  and  to  secure 
the  end  he  has  in  view,  that  we  may  neither 
suffer  too  much,  nor  suffer  in  vain. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  V 

December  — ,  1776. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

T  HAVE  often  preached  to  others  of  the  bene- 
fit of  affliction,  but  my  own  path  for  many 
years  has  been  so  smooth,  and  my  trials, 
though  I  have  not  been  without  trials,  compa- 
ratively so  light  and  few,  that  I  have  seemed 
to  myself  to  speak  by  rote  upon  a  subject  of 
which  I  had  not  a  proper  feeling.  Yet  the 
many  exercises  of  my  poor  afflicted  people, 
and   the  sympathy  the    Lord    has  given    me 


LET.  V 

with  them  in  their  troubles,  has  made  this  a 
frequent  and  favourite  topic  of  my  ministry 
among  them.  The  advantages  of  afflictions, 
when  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  employ  them  for 
the  good  of  his  people,  are  many  and  great. 
Permit  me  to  mention  a  few  of  them,  and 
the  Lord  grant  that  we  may  all  find  those 
blessed  ends  answered  to  ourselves,  by  the 
trials  he  is  pleased  to  appoint  us. 

Afflictions  quicken  us  to  prayer.  It  is  a 
pity  it  should  be  so.  Experience,  however, 
testifies  that  a  long  course  of  ease  and  pros- 
perity, without  painful  changes,  has  an  un- 
happy tendency  to  make  us  cold  and  formal 
in  our  secret  worship,  but  troubles  rouse  our 
spirits,  and  constrain  us  to  call  upon  the 
Lord  in  good  earnest,  when  we  feel  a  need 
of  that  help  which  we  only  can  have  from 
him. 

They  are  useful,  and  in  a  degree  neces- 
sary, to  keep  alive  in  us  a  conviction  of  the 
vanity  and  unsatisfying  nature  of  the  present 
world  and  all  its  enjoyments,  to  remind  us 
that  this  is  not  our  rest,  and  to  call  our 
thoughts  upwards,  where  our  true  treasure  is, 
and  where  our  conversation  ought  to  be. 
When  things  go  on  much  to  our  wish,  our 
hearts  are  too  prone  to  say,  "  It  is  good  to  be 
here."  It  is  probable,  that  had  Moses,  when 
he  came  to  invite  Israel  to  Canaan  found  them 
in  prosperity,  as  in  the  days  of  Joseph,  they 
would  have  been  very  unwilling  to  remove  j 
but  the  afflictions  they  were  previously  brought 
into  made  his  message  welcome.  Thus  the 
Lord,  by  pain,  sickness,  and  disappointments, 
by  breaking  our  cisterns,  and  withering  our 
gourds,  weakens  our  attachment  to  this  world, 
and  makes  the  thought  of  quitting  it  more 
familiar  and  more  desirable. 

A  child  of  God  cannot  but  greatly  desire 
a  more  enlarged  and  experimental  acquaint- 
ance with  his  holy  word,  and  this  attainment 
is  greatly  promoted  by  our  trials.  The  far 
greater  part  of  the  promises  in  scripture  are 
made  and  suited  to  a  state  of  affliction  ;  and 
though  we  may  believe  they  are  true,  we  can- 
not so  well  know  their  sweetness,  power,  and 
suitableness,  unless  we  ourselves  are  in  a  state 
to  which  tbey  refer.  The  Lord  says,  "  Call 
upon  me  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  I  will 
deliver."  Now  till  the  day  of  trouble  comes, 
such  a  promise  is  like  a  city  of  refuge  to  an 
Israelite,  who,  not  having  slain  a  man,  was 
in  no  danger  of  the  avenger  of  blood.  He 
had  a  privilege  near  him,  of  which  he  knew 
not  the  use  and  value,  because  he  was  not  in 
the  case  for  which  it  was  provided.  But 
some  can  say,  I  not  only  believe  this  pro- 
mise upon  the  authority  of  the  speaker,  but 
I  can  set  my  seal  to  it ;  I  have  been  in  trou- 
ble; I  took  this  course  for  relief,  and  I  was 
not  disappointed.  The  Lord  verily  heard  and 
delivered  me.  4  Thus  afflictions  likewise  give 
occasion  of  our  knowing  and  noticing  more 


LET.  VI. 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. . 


227 


of  the  Lord's  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness, 
in  supporting  and  relieving,  than  we  should 
otherwise  have  known. 

I  have  not  time  to  take  another  sheet,  and 
must  therefore  contract  my  homily.  Afflictions 
evidence  to  ourselves,  and  manifest  to  others, 
the  reality  of  grace.  And  when  we  suffer  as 
christians,  exercise  some  measure  of  that  pa- 
tience and  submission,  and  receive  some  mea- 
sure of  these  supports  and  supplies,  which  the 
gospel  requires  and  promises  to  believers,  we 
are  more  confirmed  that  we  have  not  taken 
up  with  mere  notions  ;  and  others  may  be 
convinced,  that  we  do  not  follow  cunningly 
devised  fables.  They  likewise  strengthen  by 
exercise  our  graces.  As  our  limbs  and  na- 
tural powers  would  be  feeble  if  not  called  to 
daily  exertion  ;  so  the  graces  of  the  Spirit 
would  languish,  unless  something  was  pro- 
vided to  draw  them  out  to  use.  And,  to  say 
no  more,  they  are  honourable  as  they  advance 
our  conformity  to  Jesus  our  Lord,  who  was 
a  man  of  sorrows  for  our  sakes.  Methinks,  if 
we  might  go  to  heaven  without  suffering, 
we  should  be  unwilling  to  desire  it.  Why 
should  we  ever  wish  to  go  by  any  other  path 
than  that  which  he  has  consecrated  and  endear- 
ed by  his  own  example  ?  especially  as  his  peo- 
ple's sufferings  are  not  penal ;  there  is  no  wrath 
in  them  ;  the  cup  he  puts  in  their  hands  is  very 
different  from  that  which  he  drank  for  their 
sakes,  and  is  only  medicinal  to  promote  their 
chief  good.  Here  I  must  stop  ;  but  the  sub- 
ject is  fruitful,  and  might  be  pursued  through 
a  quire  of  paper. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  VI. 


August  —  1778. 


MY  DEAR  MADAM, 


) 

im- 


Your  obliging  favour  of  the  22d  from  B  - 
which  I  received  last  night,  demands  an 
mediate  acknowledgement.  Many  things 
which  would  have  offered  by  way  of  answer, 
must  for  the  present  be  postponed  ;  for  the 
same  post  brought  an  information  which  turns 
my  thoughts  to  one  subject.  What  shall  I 
say?  Topics  of  consolation  are  at  hand  in 
abundance  ;  they  are  familiar  to  your  mind  ; 
and  were  I  to  fill  the  sheet  with  them  I  could 
suggest  nothing  but  what  you  already  know. 
Then  are  they  consolatory  indeed,  when  the 
Lord  himself  is  pleased  to  apply  them  to  the 
heart.  This  he  has  promised,  and  therefore, 
we  are  encouraged  to  expect  it.  This  is  my 
prayer  for  you :  I  sincerely  sympathize  with 
you  ;  I  cannot  comfort  you  ;  but  he  can  ;  and 
I  trust  he  will.  How  impertinent  would  it 
be  to  advise  you  to  forget  or  suspend  the  feel- 
ings  which  such  a  stroke  must  excite  !  Who 
can  help  feeling  !  nor  is  sensibility  in  itself 
sinful.      Christian  resignation  is  very  different 


from  that  stoical  stubbornness,  which  is  most 
easily  practised  by  those  unamiable  characters 
whose  regards  centre  wholly  in  self;  nor 
could  we  in  a  proper  manner  exercise  sub- 
mission to  the  will  of  God  under  our  trials,  if 
we  did  not  feel  them.  He  who  knows  our 
frame  is  pleased  to  allow,  that  afflictions  for 
the  present  are  not  joyous,  but  grievous.  But 
to  them  that  fear  him  he  is  near  at  hand,  to 
support  their  spirits,  to  moderate  their  grief, 
and  in  the  issue  to  sanctify  it ;  so  that  they 
shall  come  out  of  the  furnace  refined,  more 
humble,  and  more  spiritual.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  part  assigned  us  ;  we  are  to  pray  for 
the  help  in  need  ;  and  we  are  not  wilfully  to 
give  way  to  the  impression  of  overwhelming 
sorrow.  We  are  to  endeavour  to  turn  our 
thoughts  to  such  considerations  as  are  suited 
to  alleviate  it;  our  deserts  as  sinners,  the 
many  mercies  we  are  still  indulged  with,  the 
still  greater  afflictions  which  many  of  our  fel- 
low-creatures endure,  and,  above  all,  the  suf- 
ferings of  Jesus,  that  man  of  sorrows,  who 
made  himself  intimately  acquainted  with  grief 
for  our  sakes. 

When  the  will  of  the  Lord  is  manifested  to  us 
by  the  event,  we  are  to  look  to  him  for  grace 
and  strength,  and  to  be  still  and  know  that 
he  is  God,  that  he  has  a  right  to  dispose  of  us 
and  ours  as  he  pleases,  and  that  in  the  exer- 
cise of  this  right  he  is  most  certainly  good 
and  wise.  We  often  complain  of  losses  ;  but 
the  expression  is  rather  improper.  Strictly 
speaking,  we  can  lose  nothing,  because  we 
have  no  real  property  in  any  thing.  Our 
earthly  comforts  are  lent  us,  and  when  re- 
called, we  ought  to  return  and  resign  them 
with  thankfulness  to  him  who  has  let  them 
remain  so  long  in  our  hands.  But,  as  I  said 
above,  I  do  not  mean  to  enlarge  in  this  strain  ; 
I  hope  the  Lord,  the  only  Comforter  will 
bring  such  thoughts  with  warmth  and  efficacy 
upon  your  mind.  Your  wound,  while  fresh, 
is  painful ;  but  faith,  prayer,  and  time,  will, 
I  trust,  gradually  render  it  tolerable.  There 
is  something  fascinating  in  grief:  painful  as 
it  is,  we  are  prone  to  indulge  it,  and  to  brood 
over  the  thoughts  and  circumstances  which 
are  suited  (like  fuel  to  fire)  to  heighten  and 
prolong  it.  When  the  Lord  afflicts,  it  is  his 
design  that  we  should  grieve;  but  in  this,  as 
in  all  other  things,  there  is  a  certain  modera- 
tion which  becomes  a  christian,  and  which 
only  grace  can  teach  ;  and  grace  teaches  us, 
not  by  books  or  by  hearsay,  but  by  experi- 
mental lessons  :  all  beyond  this  should  be  a- 
voided  and  guarded  against  as  sinful  and 
hurtful.  Grief,  when  indulged  and  excessive, 
preys  upon  the  spirits,  injures  health,  indis- 
poses us  for  duty,  and  causes  us  to  shed  tears 
which  deserve  more  tears.  This  is  a  weeping 
world.  Sin  has  filled  it  with  thorns  and 
briars,  with  crosses  and  calamities.  It  is  a 
great  hospital,  resounding  with  groans  in 
every  quarter.       It  is  as    a  field    of  battle.. 


228 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. 


LET.  VII. 


where  many  are  falling  around  us  continual- 
ly :  and  it  is  more  wonderful  that  we  escape 
so  well,  than  that  we  are  sometimes  wounded. 
We  must  have  some  share;  it  is  the  unavoida- 
ble lot  of  our  nature  and  state.  It  is  like- 
wise needful  in  point  of  discipline  :  the  Lord 
will  ceitainly  chasten  those  whom  he  loves, 
though  others  may  seem  to  pass  for  a  time 
with  impunity.  That  is  a  sweet,  instructive, 
and  important  passage,  Heb.  xii.  5,  11.  It 
is  so  plain,  that  it  needs  no  comment ;  so  full, 
that  a  comment  would  but  weaken  it.  May 
the  Lord  inscribe  it  upon  your  heart,  my  dear 
Madam,  and  upon  mine. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  VII. 

November  —  1778. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

Your  obliging  favour  raised  in  me  a  variety 
of  emotions  when  I  first  received  it,  and  has 
revived  them  this  morning  while  perusing  it 
again.  I  have  mourned  and  rejoiced  with 
you,  and  felt  pain  and  pleasure  in  succession, 
as  you  diversified  the  subject.  However,  the 
weight  of  your  grief  I  was  willing  to  consider 
as  a  thing  that  is  past ;  and  the  thought  that 
you  had  been  mercifully  supported  under  it, 
and  brought  through  it,  that  you  were  restor- 
ed home  in  safety,  and  that  at  the  time  of 
writing  you  were  tolerably  well  and  compos- 
ed, made  joy  upon  the  whole  preponderate ; 
and  I  am  more  disposed  to  congratulate  you, 
and  join  you  in  praising  the  Lord  for  the 
mercies  you  enumerate,  than  to  prolong  my 
condolence  upon  the  mournful  parts  of  your 
letter.  Repeated  trying  occasions  have  made 
me  well  acquainted  with  the  anxious  inquiries 
with  which  the  busy  poring  mind  is  apt  to 
pursue  departed  friends.  It  can  hardly  be 
otherwise  under  some  circumstances.  I  have 
found  prayer  the  best  relief.  I  have  thought 
it  very  allowable  to  avail  myself  to  the  utmost 
of  every  favourable  consideration  ;  but  I  have 
had  the  most  comfort,  when  I  have  been  ena- 
bled to  resign  the  whole  concern  into  his 
hands,  whose  thoughts  and  ways,  whose  power 
and  goodness,  are  infinitely  superior  to  our 
conceptions.  I  consider,  in  such  cases,  that 
the  great  Redeemer  can  save  to  the  uttermost, 
and  the  great  teacher  can  communicate  light, 
and  impress  truth,  when  and  how  he  pleases. 
I  trust  the  power  of  his  grace  and  compassion 
will  hereafter  triumphantly  appear,  in  many 
instances,  of  persons,  who,  on  their  dying 
beds,  and  in  their  last  moments,  have  been, 
by  his  mercy,  constrained  to  feel  the  import- 
ance and  reality  of  truths,  which  they  did  not 
properly  understand  and  attend  to  in  the 
hour  of  health  and  prosperity.  Such  a  salu- 
tary change  I  have  frequently,  or  at  least 
more  than  once,  twice,  or  thrice,  been  an  eye- 


witness to,  accompanied  with  such  evidence 
as,  I  think,  has  been  quite  satisfactory.  And 
who  can  say  such  a  change  may  not  often  take 
place,  when  the  person  who  is  the  subject  of 
it  is  too  much  enfeebled  to  give  an  account  to 
by-standers  of  what  is  transacting  in  his 
mind  !  Thus  I  have  encouraged  my  hope. 
But  the  best  satisfaction  of  all  is,  to  be  duly 
impressed  with  the  voice  that  says,  "  Be  still, 
and  know  that  I  am  God."  These  words 
direct  us,  not  only  to  his  sovereignty,  his  un- 
doubted right  to  do  what  he  wiil  with  his  own, 
but  to  all  his  adorable  and  amiable  perfections, 
by  which  he  has  manifested  himself  to  us  in 
the  Son  of  his  love. 

As  I  am  not  a  Sadducee:  the  account  you 
give  of  the  music  which  entertained  you  on  the 
road  does  not  put  my  dependence  either  up- 
on your  veracity  or  your  judgment  to  any  trial. 
We  live  upon  the  confines  of  the  invisible 
world,  or  rather  perhaps  in  the  midst  of  it. 
That  unseen  agents  have  a  power  of  operating 
upon  our  minds,  at  least  upon  that  mysterious 
faculty  we  call  the  imagination,  is  with  me 
not  merely  a  point  of  opinion,  or  even  of 
faith,  but  of  experience.  That  evil  spirits  can, 
when  permitted,  disturb,  distress,  and  defile  us, 
I  know,  as  well  as  I  know  that  the  fire  can 
burn  me.  And  though  their  interposition  is 
perhaps  more  easily  and  certainly  distinguish- 
able, yet,  from  analogy,  I  conclude  that  good 
spirits  are  equally  willing,  and  equally  able, 
to  employ  their  kind  offices  for  our  relief  and 
comfort.  I  have  formed  in  my  mind  a  kind 
of  system  upon  this  subject,  which,  for  the 
most  part,  I  keep  pretty  much  to  myself;  but 
I  can  entrust  my  thoughts  to  you  as  they  oc- 
casionally offer.  I  apprehend  that  some  per- 
sons (those  particularly  who  rank  under  the 
class  of  nervous)  are  more  open  and  acces- 
sible to  these  impressions  than  others,  and 
probably  the  same  person  more  so  at  some 
times  than  others.  And  though  we  frequently 
distinguish  between  imaginary  and  real  (which 
is  one  reason  why  nervous  people  are  so  sel- 
dom pitied),  yet  an  impression  upon  the  ima- 
gination may,  as  to  the  agent  that  produces  it, 
and  to  the  person  that  receives  it,  be  as  much 
a  reality  as  any  of  the  sensible  objects  around 
him ;  though  a  bye-stander,  not  being  able  to 
share  in  the  perception,  may  account  it  a  mere 
whim,  and  suppose  it  might  be  avoided  or  re- 
moved by  an  act  of  the  will.  Nor  have  any 
a  right  to  with-hold  their  assent  to  what  the 
scriptures  teach,  and  many  sober  persons  de- 
clare, of  this  invisible  agency,  merely  because 
we  cannot  answer  the  questions,  How  ?  or 
Why  ?  The  thing  may  be  certain,  though  we 
cannot  easily  explain  it ;  and  there  may  be 
just  and  important  reasons  for  it,  though  we 
should  not  be  able  to  assign  them.  If  what 
you  heard,  or  which,  in  my  view,  is  much  the 
same,  what  you  thought  you  heard,  had  a 
tendency  to  compose  jour  spirit,  and  to  encou- 
rage your  application  to  the  Lord  for  help,  at 


LET.  VII. 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. 


229 


the  time  when  you  were  about  to  stand  in  need 
of  especial  assistance,  then  there  is  a  sufficient 
and  suitable  reason  assigned  for  it  at  once, 
without  looking  any  farther.  It  would  be 
dangerous  to  make  impressions  a  rule  of  duty ; 
but  if  they  strengthen  us,  and  assist  us  in 
the  performance  of  what  we  know  to  be  our 
duty,  we  may  be  thankful  for  them. 

You  have  taken  leave  of  your  favourite 
trees,  and  the  scenes  of  your  younger  life, 
but  a  few  years  sooner  than  you  must  have 
done,  if  the  late  dispensation  had  not  taken 
place.  All  must  be  left  soon  ;  for  all  below 
is  polluted,  and,  in  its  best  state,  is  too  scanty 
to  afford  us  happiness.      If  we  are   believers 


in  Jesus,  all  we  can  quit  is  a  mere  nothing, 
compared  with  what  we  shall  obtain.  To  ex- 
change a  dungeon  for  a  palace,  earth  for  hea- 
ven, will  call  for  no  self-denial  when  we  stand 
upon  the  threshold  of  eternity,  and  shall  have 
a  clearer  view  than  we  have  now  of  the  va- 
nity of  what  is  passing  from  us,  and  the  g]ory 
of  what  is  before  us.  The  partial  changes  we 
meet  with  in  our  way  through  life  are  design- 
ed to  remind  us  of,  and  prepare  us  for,  the 
great  change  which  awaits  us  at  the  end  of  it. 
The  Lord  grant  that  we  may  find  mercy  of 
the  Lord  in  that  solemn  hour. 

I  3TO,    &C. 


LETTERS 


TO  MRS.  T- 


LETTER  I. 


March  12,  1774. 
MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

My  heart  is  full,  yet  I  must  restrain  it.  Many 
thoughts  which  crowd  my  mind,  and  would 
have  vent,  were  I  writing  to  another  person, 
would  to  you  be  unseasonable.  I  write,  not 
to  remind  you  of  what  you  have  lost,  but  of 
what  you  have,  which  you  cannot  lose.  May 
the  Lord  put  a  word  into  my  heart  that  may 
be  acceptable,  and  may  his  good  Spirit  ac- 
company the  perusal,  and  enable  you  to  say, 
with  the  apostle,  that  as  bufferings  abound, 
consolations  also  abound  by  Jesus  Christ.  In- 
deed, I  can  sympathize  with  you.  I  remem- 
ber, too,  the  delicacy  of  your  frame,  and  the 
tenderness  of  your  natural  spirits;  so  that, 
were  you  not  interested  in  the  exceeding  great 
and  precious  promises  of  the  gospel,  I  should 
be  ready  to  fear  you  must  sink  under  your 
trial.  But  I  have  some  faint  conceptions  of 
the  all-sufficiency  and  faithfulness  of  the  Lord, 
and  may  address  you  in  the  king's  words  to 
Daniel,  "  Thy  God,  whom  thou  servest  con- 
tinually, he  will  deliver  thee."  Motives  for 
resignation  to  his  will  abound  in  his  word ; 
but  it  is  an  additional  and  crowning  mercy, 
that  he  has  promised  to  apply  and  enforce 
them  in  time  of  need.  He  has  said,  "  My 
grace  shall  be  sufficient  for  thee ;"  and  "  as 
thy  day  is,  so  shall  thy  strength  be."  This, 
I  trust,  you  have  already  experienced.  The 
Lord  is  so  rich  and  so  good,  that  he  can,  by 
a  glance  of  thought,  compensate  his  children 
for  whatever  his  wisdom  sees  fit  to  deprive 
them  of.  If  he  gives  them  a  lively  sense  of 
what  he  has  delivered  them  from,  and  pre- 
pared for  them,  or  of  what  he  himself  submit- 
ted to  endure  for  their  sakes,  they  find  at  once 
light  springing  up  out  of  darkness,  hard  things 
become  easy,  and  bitter  sweet.  I  remember 
to  have  read  of  a  good  man  in  the  last  cen- 
tury  (probably   you   may  have  met  with  the 


story),  who,  when  his  beloved  and  only  son 
lay  ill,  was  for  some  time  greatly  anxious 
about  the  event.  One  morning  he  staid  longer 
than  usual  in  his  closet;  while  he  was  there, 
his  son  died.  When  he  came  out,  hii  family 
were  afraid  to  tell  him,  but,  like  David,  he 
perceived  it  by  their  looks,  and  when,  upon 
inquiry,  they  said  it  was  so,  he  received  the 
news  with  a  composure  that  surprised  them. 
But  he  soon  explained  the  reason,  by  telling 
them,  that  for  such  discoveries  of  the  Lord's 
goodness  as  he  had  been  favoured  with  that 
morning,  he  could  be  content  to  lose  a  son 
every  day.  Yes,  Madam,  though  every  stream 
must  fail,  the  fountain  is  still  full,  and  still 
flowing.  All  the  comfort  you  ever  received 
in  your  dear  friend  was  from  the  Lord,  who 
is  abundantly  able  to  comfort  you  still ;  and 
he  is  gone  but  a  little  before  you.  May  your 
faith  anticipate  the  joyful  and  glorious  meet- 
ing you  will  shortly  have  in  a  better  world. 
Then  your  worship  and  converse  together  will 
be  to  unspeakable  advantage,  without  imper- 
fection, interruption,  abatement,  or  end.  Then 
all  tears  shall  be  wiped  away,  and  every  cloud 
removed  ;  and  then  you  will  see,  that  all  your 
concernments  here  below  (the  late  afflicting 
dispensation  not  excepted),  were  appointed 
and  adjusted  by  infinite  wisdom  and  infinite 
love. 

The  Lord,  who  knows  our  frame,  does  not 
expect  or  require  that  we  should  aim  at  a 
stoical  indifference  under  his  visitations.  He 
allows,  that  afflictions  are  at  present  not  joy- 
ous, but  grievous  ;  yea,  he  was  pleased,  when 
upon  earth,  to  weep  with  his  mourning  friends 
when  Lazarus  died.  But  he  has  graciously 
provided  for  the  prevention  of  that  anguish 
and  bitterness  of  sorrow,  which  is,  upon  such 
occasions,  the  portion  of  such  as  live  without 
God  in  the  world ;  and  has  engaged  that  all 
shall  work  together  for  good,  and  yield  the 


LET.  II. 


LETTERS  TO  MRS.  T- 


peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness.  May  he 
bless  you  with  a  sweet  serenity  of  spirit,  and 
a  cheerful  hope  of  the  glory  that  shall  shortly 
be  revealed. 

I  intimated  that  I  would  not  trouble  you 
with  my  own  sense  and  share  of  this  loss.  If 
you  remember  the  great  kindness  I  always 
received  from  Mr.  T— —  and  yourself,  as 
often  as  opportunity  afforded,  and  if  you  will 
believe  me  possessed  of  any  sensibility  or  gra- 
titude, you  will  conclude  that  my  concern  is 
not  small.  I  feel  likewise  for  the  public. 
Will  it  be  a  consolation  to  you,  Madam,  to 
know  that  you  do  not  mourn  alone  ?  A  cha- 
racter so  exemplary  as  a  friend,  a  counsellor, 
a  christian,  and  a  minister,  will  be  long  and 
deeply  regretted ;  and  many  will  join  with 
me  in  praying,  that  you,  who  are  most  nearly 
interested,  may  be  signally  supported,  and 
feel  the  propriety  of  Mrs.  Rowe's  acknow- 
ledgment, 

Thou  dost  but  take  the  dying  lamp  away, 
To  bless  me  with  thine  own  unclouded  day. 

We  join  in  most  affectionate  respects  and 
condolence.      May  the  Lord  bless  you  and 
keep  you,  lift  up  the  light  of  his  countenance 
upon  you,  and  give  you  peace. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

April  3,  1775. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

I  have  long  and  often  purposed  waiting  up- 
on you  with  a  second  letter,  though  one  thing 
or  other  still  caused  delay ;  for  though  I 
could  not  but  wish  to  hear  from  you,  I  was 
far  from  making  that  a  condition  of  my  writ- 
ing. If  you  have  leisure  and  spirits  to  fa- 
vour me  with  a  line  now  and  then,  it  will 
give  us  much  pleasure ;  but  if  not,  it  will  be 
a  sufficient  inducement  with  me  to  write,  to 
know  that  you  give  me  liberty,  and  that  you 
will  receive  my  letters  in  good  part.  At  the 
same  time,  I  must  add,  that  my  various  en- 
gagements will  not  permit  me  to  break  in  up- 
on you  so  often  as  my  sincere  affection  would 
otherwise  prompt  me  to  do. 

I  heartily  thank  you  for  yours,  and  hope 
my  soul  desires  to  praise  the  Lord  on  your 
behalf.  I  am  persuaded  that  his  goodness  to 
you,  in  supporting  you  under  a  trial  so  sharp 
in  itself,  and  in  the  circumstances  that  at- 
tended it,  has  been  an  encouragement  and 
comfort  to  many.  It  is  in  such  apparently 
severe  times  that  the  all-sufficiency  and  faith- 
fulness of  the  Lord,  and  the  power  and  pro- 
per effects  of  his  precious  gospel,  are  most 
eminently  displayed.  I  would  hope,  and  I 
do  believe,  that  the  knowledge  of  your  case 
has  animated  some  of  the  Lord's  people  a- 
gainst  those  anxious  fears,  which  they  some- 


-.  231 

times  feel  when  they  look  upon  their  earthly 
comforts  with  too  careful  an  eye,  and  their 
hearts  are  ready  to  sink  at  the  thought.  What 
should  I  do,  and  how  should  I  behave,  were 
the  Lord  pleased  to  take  away  my  desire  with 
a  stroke  ?  But  we  see  he  can  supply  their  ab- 
sence, and  afford  us  superior  comforts  without 
them.  The  gospel  reveals  one  thing  need- 
ful, the  pearl  of  great  price  ;  and  supposes 
that  they  who  possess  this  are  provided  for 
against  all  events,  and  haye  ground  of  un- 
shaken hope,  and  a  source  of  never -failing 
consolation  under  every  change  they  can  meet 
with  during  their  pilgrimage  state.  When 
his  people  are  enabled  to  set  their  seal  to  this, 
not  only  in  theory,  when  all  things  go  smooth, 
but  practically,  when  called  upon  to  pass 
through  the  fire  and  water,  then  his  grace  is 
glorified  in  them  and  by  them  :  then  it  ap. 
pears  both  to  themselves  and  to  others,  that 
they  have  neither  followed  cunningly  devised 
fables,  nor  amused  themselves  with  empty  no- 
tions ;  then  they  know  in  themselves,  and  it. 
is  evidenced  to  others,  that  God  is  with  them 
of  a  truth.  In  this  view  a  believer,  when  in 
some  good  measure  divested  from  that  nar- 
row selfish  disposition  which  cleaves  so  close 
to  us  by  nature,  will  not  only  submit  to  trials, 
but  rejoice  in  them,  notwithstanding  the  feel- 
ings and  reluctance  of  the  flesh.  For  if  I  am 
redeemed  from  misery  by  the  blood  of  Jesus, 
and  if  he  is  now  preparing  me  a  mansion  near 
himself,  that  I  may  drink  of  the  rivers  of 
pleasure  at  his  right  hand  for  evermore  ;  the 
question  is  not  (at  least  ought  not  to  be),  How 
may  I  pass  through  life  with  the  least  in- 
convenience ?  but,  How  may  my  little  span 
of  life  be  made  most  subservient  to  the  praise 
and  glory  of  him  who  loved  me,  and  gave 
himself  for  me  ?  Where  the  Lord  gives  this 
desire,  he  will  gratify  it;  and  as  afflictions 
for  the  most  part  afford  the  fairest  opportuni- 
ties of  this  kind,  therefore  it  is,  that  those 
whom  he  is  pleased  eminently  to  honour  are 
usually  called,  at  one  time  or  another,  to  the 
heaviest  trials  ;  not  because  he  loves  to  grieve 
them,  but  because  he  hears  their  prayers,  and 
accepts  their  desires  of  doing  him  service  in 
the  world.  The  post  of  honour  in  wars  is 
so  called  because  attended  with  difficulties  and 
dangers  which  but  few  are  supposed  equal  to ; 
yet  generals  usually  allot  these  hard  services 
to  their  favourites  and  friends,  who,  on  their 
parts,  eagerly  accept  them  as  tokens  of  favour 
and  marks  of  confidence.  Should  we,  there- 
fore, not  account  it  an  honour  and  a  privilege, 
when  the  Captain  of  our  salvation  assigns  us 
a  difficult  post  ?  since  he  can  and  does  (which 
no  earthly  commander  can)  inspire  his  soldiers 
with  wisdom,  courage,  and  strength,  suitable 
to  their  situation,  2  Cor.  xii.  9.  10.  I  am 
acquainted  with  a  few  who  have  been  led  thus 
into  the  fore-front  of  the  battle :  they  suffered 
much  ;  but  I  have  never  heard  them  say  they 
suffered  too   much;  for  the   Lord  stood   by 


?32 


LETTERS  TO  MRS.   T . 


LET.  III. 


them  and  stregthened  them.  Go  on,  my  dear 
Madam ;  yet  a  little  while,  Jesus  will  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  your  eyes;  you  will  see 
your  beloved  friend  again,  and  he  and  you 
will  rejoice  together  for  ever. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

1 

October  24  1 775. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

The  manner  in  which  you  mention  Omicron's 
letters,  I  hope,  will  rather  humble  me  than 
puff  me  up.  Your  favourable  acceptance  of 
them,  if  alone,  might  have  the  latter  effect; 
but  alas  !  I  feel  myself  so  very  defective  in 
those  things,  the  importance  of  which  I  en- 
deavoured to  point  out  to  others,  that  I  al- 
most appear  to  myself  to  be  one  of  those  who 
say,  but  do  not.  I  find  it  much  easier  to 
speak  to  the  hearts  of  others  than  to  my  own. 
Yet  I  have  cause  beyond  many  to  bless  God, 
that  he  has  given  me  some  idea  of  what  a 
christian  ought  to  be,  and  I  hope  a  real  de- 
sire of  being  one  myself;  but  verily  I  have 
attained  but  a  very  little  way.  A  friend  hint- 
ed to  me,  that  the  character  I  have  given  of 
C,  or  Grace  in  the  full  ear,  must  be  from  my 
own  experience,  or  I  could  not  have  written 
it.  To  myself,  however,  it  appears  otherwise; 
but  I  am  well  convinced,  that  the  state  of  C 
is  attainable,  and  more  to  be  desired  than 
mountains  of  gold  and  silver.  But  I  find 
you  complain  likewise  ;  though  it  appears  to 
me,  and  I  believe  to  all  who  know  you,  that 
the  Lord  has  been  peculiarly  gracious  to  you, 
in  giving  you  much  of  the  spirit  in  which  he 
delights,  and  by  which  his  name  and  the  power 
of  his  gospel  are  glorified.  It  seems,  there- 
fore, that  we  are  not  competent  judges  either 
of  ourselves  or  of  others.  I  take  it  for  grant- 
ed, that  they  are  the  most  excellent  christians 
who  are  most  abased  in  their  own  eyes :  but 
lest  you  think  upon  this  ground  that  I  am 
something,  because  I  can  say  so  many  hu- 
miliating things  of  myself,  I  must  prevent 
your  over-rating  me,  by  assuring  you,  that 
my  confessions  rather  express  what  I  know  I 
ought  to  think  of  myself,  than  what  I  actually 
do.  Naturalists  suppose,  that  if  the  matter 
of  which  the  earth  is  formed  were  condensed 
as  much  as  it  is  capable  of,  it  would  occupy 
but  a  very  small  space  ;  in  proof  of  which  they 
observe,  that  a  cubical  pane  of  glass,  which  ap- 
pears smooth  and  impervious  to  us,  must  be 
exceedingly  porous  in  itself;  since  in  every 
assignable  point  it  receives  and  transmits  the 
rays  of  light ;  and  yet  gold,  which  is  the  most 
solid  substance  we  are  acquainted  with,  is  but 
about  eight  times  heavier  than  glass  which  is 
made  up  (if  I  may  say  so)  of  nothing  but 
pores.  In  like  manner,  I  conceive,  that  in- 
herent grace,  when  it  is  dilated,  and  appears  to 


the  greatest  advantage  in  a  sinner,  would  be 
found  to  be  very  small  and  inconsiderable,  if  it 
were  condensed,  and  absolutely  separated  from 
every  mixture.  The  highest  attainments  in 
this  life  are  very  inconsiderable,  compared 
with  what  should  properly  result  from  our  re- 
lation and  obligations  to  a  God  of  infinite  ho- 
liness. The  nearer  we  approach  to  him,  the 
more  we  are  sensible  of  this.  While  we  only 
hear  of  God  as  it  were  by  the  ear,  we  seem  to 
be  something ;  but  when,  as  in  the  case  of 
Job,  he  discovers  himself  more  sensibly  to  us, 
Job's  language  becomes  ours,  and  the  height 
of  our  attainment  is,  to  abhor  ourselves  in 
dust  and  ashes. 

I  hope  I  do  not  write  too  late  to  meet  you 
at  Bath.  I  pray  that  your  health  may  be 
benefited  by  the  waters,  and  your  soul  com- 
forted by  the  Lord's  blessing  upon  the  ordi- 
nances, and  the  converse  of  his  children.  If 
any  of  the  friends  you  expected  to  see  are 
still  there,  to  whom  we  are  known,  and  my 
name  should  be  mentioned,  I  beg  you  to  say, 
we  desire  to  be  respectfully  remembered  to 
them.  Had  I  wings,  I  would  fly  to  Bath 
while  you  are  there.  As  it  is,  I  endeavour  to 
be  with  you  in  spirit.  There  certainly  is  a 
real,  though  secret,  a  sweet,  though  mysterious 
communion  of  saints,  by  virtue  of  their  com- 
mon union  with  Jesus.  Feeding  upon  the 
same  bread,  drinking  of  the  same  fountain, 
waiting  at  the  same  mercy-seat,  and  aiming  at 
the  same  ends,  they  have  fellowship  one  with 
another,  though  at  a  distance.  Who  can  tell 
how  often  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  equally 
present  with  them  all,  touches  the  hearts  of 
two  or  more  of  his  children  at  the  same  in- 
stant, so  as  to  excite  a  sympathy  of  pleasure, 
prayer,  or  praise,  on  each  other's  account  ?  It 
revives  me  sometimes  in  a  dull  and  dark  hour 
to  reflect,  that  the  Lord  has  in  mercy  given 
me  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  many  of  his 
people  ;  and  perhaps  some  of  them  may  be 
speaking  to  him  on  my  behalf,  when  I  have 
hardly  power  to  utter  a  word  for  myself.  For 
kind  services  of  this  sort,  I  persuade  myself  I 
am  often  indebted  to  you.  O  that  I  were 
enabled  more  fervently  to  repay  you  in  the 
same  way  !  I  can  say,  that  I  attempt  it ;  I 
love  and  honour  you  greatly,  and  your  con- 
cernments are  often  upon  my  mind. 

We  spent  most  of  a  week  with  Mr.  B 

since  we  returned  from  London,  and  he  has 
been  once  here.  We  have  reason  to  be  very 
thankful  for  his  connexion;  I  find  but  few 
like-minded  with  him,  and  his  family  is  filled 
with  the  grace  and  peace  of  the  gospel.  I 
never  visit  them  but  I  meet  with  something  to 
humble,  quicken  and  edify  me.  Oh  !  what 
will  heaven  be,  where  there  shall  be  all  who 
love  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  they  only  ;  where  all 
imperfection,  and  whatever  now  abates  or  in- 
terrupts their  joy  in  their  Lord  and  in  each 
other,  shall  cease  for  ever.  There  at  least  I 
hope  to  meet  you,  and  spend  an  eternity  with 


LET.  IV. 


LETTERS  TO  MRS.  T- 


you,  in  admiring  the  riches  and   glory  of  re- 
deeming love. 

We  join  in  a  tender  of  the  most  affection- 
ate respects. 

1  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 

October  28,  1777. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

What  can  I  say  for  myself,  to  let  your  oblig- 
ing letter  remain  so  long  unanswered,  when 
your  kind  solicitude  for  us  induced  you  to 
write  ?  I  am  ashamed  of  the  delay.  You 
would  have  heard  from  me  immediately,  had 
I  been  at  home.  But  I  have  reason  to  be 
thankful  that  we  were  providentially  called  to 
London   a  few  days  before  the  fire ;  so  that 

Mrs.  was  mercifully  preserved  from  the 

alarm  and  shock  she  must  have  felt,  had  she 
been  upon  the  spot.  Your  letter  followed 
me  hither,  and  was  in  my  possession  more 
than  a  week  before  my  return.  I  purposed 
writing  every  day,  but  indeed  1  was  much 
hurried  and  engaged.  Yet  I  am  not  ex- 
cused :  I  ought  to  have  saved  time  from  my 
meals  or  my  sleep,  rather  than  appear  negli- 
gent or  ungrateful.  I  now  seize  the  first  post 
I  could  write  by  since  I  came  home.  The 
•nre  devoured  twelve  houses;  and  it  was  a 
mercy,  and  almost  a  miracle,  that  the  whole 
town  was  not  destroyed,  which  must,  hu- 
manly speaking,  have  been  the  case,  had  not 
the  night  been  calm,  as  two-thirds  of  the 
buildings  were  thatched.  No  lives  were  lost, 
no  person  considerably  hurt ,  and  I  believe 
the  contributions  of  the  benevolent  will  pre- 
vent the  loss  from  being  greatly  felt.  It  was 
at  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
my  house. 

Your  command  limits  my  attention  at  pre- 
sent to  a  part  of  your  letter,  and  points  me 
out  a  subject.  Yet,  at  the  same  time,  you 
lay  me  under  a  difficulty.  I  would  not  wil- 
lingly offend  you,  and  I  hope  the  Lord  has 
taught  me  not  to  aim  at  saying  handsome 
things.  I  deal  not  in  compliments,  and  reli- 
gious compliments  are  the  most  unseemly  of 
any.  But  why  might  I  not  express  my  sense 
of  the  grace  of  God  manifested  in  you  as 
well  as  in  another  ?  I  believe  our  hearts  are 
all  alike  destitute  of  every  good,  and  prone 
to  every  evil.  Like  money  from  the  same 
mint,  they  bear  the  same  impression  of  total 
depravity ;  but  grace  makes  a  difference,  and 
grace  deserves  the  praise.  Perhaps  it  ought 
not  greatly  to  displease  you,  that  others  do, 
and  must,  and  will  think  better  of  you  than 
you  do  of  yourself.  If  I  do,  how  can  I  help 
it,  when  I  form  my  judgment  entirely  from 
what  you  say  and  write  ?      I  cannot  consent 


233 

you  knew,  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt, 
what  your  views  and  desires  are ;  yea,  you 
express  them  in  your  letter,  in  full  agree 
ment  with  what  the  scriptures  declare  of  the 
principles,  desires,  and  feelings  of  a  chris- 
tian. It  is  true  that  you  feel  contrary  prin- 
ciples, that  you  are  conscious  of  defects  and 
defilements  ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  you 
could  not  be  right  if  you  did  not  feel  these 
things.  To  be  conscious  of  them,  and  hum- 
bled for  them,  is  one  of  the  surest  marks 
of  grace ;  and  to  be  more  deeply  sensible  of 
them  than  formerly  is  the  best  evidence  of 
growth  in  grace.  But  when  the  enemy  would 
tempt  us  to  doubt  and  distrust,  because  we 
are  not  perfect,  then  he  fights,  not  only  against 
our  peace,  but  against  the  honour  and  faith- 
fulness of  our  dear  Lord.  Our  righteousness 
is  in  him,  and  our  hope  depends,  not  upon 
the  exercise  of  grace  in  us,  but  upon  the  ful- 
ness of  grace  and  love  in  him,  and  upon  his 
obedience  unto  death. 

There  is,  my  dear  Madam,  a  difference  be- 
tween the  holiness  of  a  sinner  and  that  of  an 
angel.  The  angels  have  never  sinned,  nor 
have  they  tasted  of  redeeming  love  :  they  have 
no  inward  conflicts,  no  law  of  sin  warring  in 
their  members ;  their  obedience  is  perfect ; 
their  happiness  is  complete.  Yet  if  I  be  found 
among  redeemed  sinners,  I  need  not  wish  to 
be  an  angel.  Perhaps  God  is  not  less  glori- 
fied by  your  obedience,  and,  not  to  shock  you, 
I  will  add  by  mine,  than  by  Gabriel's.  It  is 
a  mighty  manifestation  of  his  grace  indeed, 
when  it  can  live,  and  act,  and  conquer  in  such 
hearts  as  ours ;  when,  in  defiance  of  an  evil 
nature  and  an  evil  world,  and  all  the  force 
and  subtilty  of  Satan,  a  weak  worm  is  still 
upheld,  and  enabled  not  only  to  climb,  but 
to  thresh  the  mountains ;  when  a  small  spark 
is  preserved  through  storms  and  floods.  In 
these  circumstances,  the  work  of  grace  is  to 
be  estimated,  not  merely  from  its  imperfect 
appearance,  but  from  the  difficulties  it  has  to 
struggle  with  and  overcome ;  and  therefore 
our  holiness  does  not  consist  in  great  attain- 
ments, but  in  spiritual  desires,  in  hungerings, 
thirstings,  and  mournings  ;  in  humiliation  of 
heart,  poverty  of  spirit,  submission,  meekness ; 
in  cordial  admiring  thoughts  of  Jesus,  and  de- 
pendence upon  him  alone  for  all  we  want. 
Indeed  these  may  be  said  to  be  great  attain- 
ments ;  but  they  who  have  most  of  them  ara 
most  sensible  that  they,  in  and  of  themselves, 
are  nothing,  have  nothing,  can  do  nothing, 
and  see  daily  cause  for  abhorring  themselves 
and  repenting  in  dust  and  ashes. 

Our  view  of  death  will  not  always  be  alike, 
but  in  proportion  to  the  degree  in  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  pleased  to  communicate  his 
sensible  influence.  We  may  anticipate  the 
moment  of  dissolution  with  pleasure  and  de- 
sire in  the  morning,  and  be  ready  to  shrink 


that  you  should   seriously  appoint  me  to  ex-  from   the  thought  of   it  before  night.      But 
amine  and  judge  of  your  state.      I  thought  j  though  our  frames  and  perceptions  vary,   the 


234 


LETTERS  TO  AlliS.  T- 


report  of  faith  concerning  it  is  the  same.  The 
Lord  usually  reserves  dying  strength  for  a  dy- 
ing hour.  When  Israel  was  to  pass  Jordan, 
the  ark  was  in  the  river ;  and  though  the  rear 
of  the  host  could  not  see  it,  yet  as  they  suc- 
cessively came  forward  and  approached  the 
banks,  they  all  beheld  the  ark,  and  all  went 
safely  over.  As  you  are  not  weary  of  living, 
if  it  be  the  Lord's  pleasure,  so  I  hope,  for 
the  sake  of  your  friends  and  the  people  whom 
you  love,  he  will  spare  you  amongst  us  a  little 
longer  ;  but  when  the  lime  shall  arrive  which 
he  has  appointed  for  your  dismission,  I  make 
no  doubt  but  he  will  overpower  all  your  iears, 
silence  all  your  enemies,  and  give  you  a  com- 
fortable, triumphant  entrance  into  his  king- 
dom. You  have  nothing  to  fear  from  death  ; 
for  Jesus,  by  dying,  has  disarmed  it  of  its 
sting,  has   perfumed  the  grave,   and  opened 


— .  LET.  IV 

the  gates  of  glory  for  his  believing  people, 
Satan,  so  far  as  he  is  permitted,  will  assaul 
our  peace,  but  he  is  a  vanquished  enemy ; 
our  Lord  holds  him  in  a  chain,  and  sets  him 
bounds  which  he  cannot  pass.  He  provides 
for  us  likewise  the  whole  armour  of  God,  and 
has  promised  to  cover  our  heads  himself  in 
the  day  of  battle,  to  bring  us  honourably 
through  every  skirmish,  and  to  make  us  more 
than   conquerors   at  last.      If  you   think  my 

short   unexpected  interview  with  Mr.  C 

may  justify  my  wishing  he  should  know  that 
I  respect  his  character,  love  his  person,  and 
rejoice  in  what  the  Lord  has  done  and  is  doing 
for  him  and  by  him,  I  beg  you  tell  him  so  j 
but  I  leave  it  entirely  to  yourself. 

We  join  in  most  affectionate  respects. 
I  am,  &c. 


I 


LETTERS 

TO  MR.  


LETTER   L 


March  7,  1765. 

DEAR  SIR, 

Your  favour  of  the  I9th  February  came  to 
my  hand  yesterday.  I  have  read  it  with  at- 
tention, and  very  willingly  sit  down  to  offer 
you  my  thoughts.  Your  case  reminds  me  of 
my  own  :  my  first  desires  towards  the  mini- 
stry were  attended  with  great  uncertainties 
and  difficulties,  and  the  perplexity  of  my  own 
mind  was  heightened  by  the  various  and  oppo- 
site judgments  of  my  friends.  The  advice  I 
have  to  offer  is  the  result  of  painful  experi- 
ence and  exercise,  and  for  this  reason,  per- 
haps, may  not  be  unacceptable  to  you.  I 
pray  our  gracious  Lord  to  make  it  useful. 

I  was  long  distressed,  as  you  are,  about  what 
was  or  was  not  a  proper  call  to  the  ministry. 
It  now  seems  to  me  an  easy  point  to  solve ; 
but,  perhaps,  it  will  not  be  so  to  you,  till  the 
Lord  shall  make  it  clear  to  yourself  in  your 
own  case.  I  have  not  room  to  say  so  much 
as  I  could.  In  brief,  I  think  it  principally 
includes  three  things  : 

1.  A  warm  and  earnest  desire  to  be  employ- 
ed in  this  service.  I  apprehend  the  man  who 
is  once  moved  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  this 
work,  will  prefer  it,  if  attainable,  to  thousands 
of  gold  and  silver :  so  that,  though  he  is  at 
times  intimidated  by  a  sense  of  its  importance 
and  difficulty,  compared  with  his  own  great 
insufficiency  (for  it  is  to  be  presumed  a  call 
of  this  sort,  if  indeed  from  God,  will  be  ac- 
companied with  humility  and  self-abasement), 
yet  he  cannot  give  it  up.  I  hold  it  a  good 
rule  to  inquire  in  this  point,  whether  the  de- 
sire to  preach  is  most  fervent  in  our  most 
lively  and  spiritual  frames,  or  when  we  are 
most  laid  in  the  dust  before  the  Lord  ?  If  so, 
it  is  a  good  sign.      But  if,  as  is  sometimes 


I  the  case,  a  person  is  very  earnest  to  be  a 
preacher  to  others,  when  he  finds  but  little 
hungerings  and  thirstings  after  grace  in  his 
own  soul,  it  is  then  to  be  feared,  his  zeal 
springs  rather  from  a  selfish  principle  than 
from  the  Spirit  of  God. 

2.  Besides  this  affectionate  desire  and  rea- 
diness to  preach,  there  must  in  due  season  ap- 
pear some  competent  sufficiency  as  to  gifts, 
knowledge,  and  utterance.  Surely,  if  the 
Lord  sends  a  man  to  teach  others,  he  will  fur- 
nish him  with  the  means.  I  believe  many 
have  intended  well  in  setting  up  for  preachers, 
who  yet  went  beyond  or  before  their  call  in  so 
doing.  The  main  difference  between  a  mi- 
nister and  a  private  christian,  seems  to  consist 
in  these  ministerial  gifts,  which  are  imparted 
to  him,  not  for  his  own  sake,  but  for  the  edi- 
fication of  others.  But  then  I  say,  these  are 
to  appear  in  due  season  ;  they  are  not  to  be 
expected  instantaneously,  but  gradually,  in 
the  use  of  proper  means.  They  are  necessary 
for  the  discharge  of  the  ministry,  but  not  ne- 
cessary as  pre-requisites  to  warrant  our  desires 
after  it.  In  your  case,  you  are  young,  and 
have  time  before  you  ;  therefore,  I  think  you 
need  not  as  yet  perplex  yourself  with  inquir- 
ing if  you  have  these  gifts  already.  It  is  suf- 
ficient if  your  desire  is  fixed,  and  you  are 
willing,  in  the  way  of  prayer  and  diligence,  to 
wait  upon  the  Lord  for  them ;  as  yet  you 
need  them  not. 

3.  That  which  finally  evidences  a  proper 
call,  is  a  correspondent  opening  in  providence, 
by  a  gradual  train  of  circumstances  pointing 
out  the  means,  the  time,  the  place,  of  actually 
entering  upon  the  work.  And  till  this  coin- 
cidence arrives,  you  must  not  expect  to  be  al- 
ways clear  from  hesitation  in  your  own  mind. 


236  LETTERS  TO 

The  principal  caution  on  this  head  is,  not  to 
be  too  hasty  in  catching  at  iirst  appearances. 
If  it  be  the  Lord's  will  to  bring  you  into  his 
ministry,  he  has  already  appointed  your  place 
and  service  ;  and  though  you  know  it  not  at 
present,  you  shall  at  a  proper  time.  If  you 
had  the  talents  of  an  angel,  you  could  do  no 
good  with  them  till  his  hour  is  come,  and  till 
he  leads  you  to  the  people  whom  be  has  de- 
termined to  bless  by  your  means.  It  is  very 
difficult  to  restrain  ourselves  within  the  bounds 
of  prudence  here,  when  our  zeal  is  warm  :  a 
sense  of  the  love  of  Christ  upon  our  hearts, 
and  a  tender  compassion  for  poor  sinners,  is 
ready  to  prompt  us  to  break  out  too  soon  ; — 
but  he  that  believeth  shall  not  make  haste.  I 
was  about  five  years  under  this  constraint  : 
sometimes  I  thought  I  must  preach,  though 
it  was  in  the  streets.  I  listened  to  every  thing 
that  seemed  plausible,  and  to  many  things 
which  were  not  so.  But  the  Lord  graciously, 
and  as  it  were  insensibly,  hedged  up  my  way 
with  thorns ;  otherwise,  if  I  had  been  left  to 
my  own  spirit,  I  should  have  put  it  quite  out 
of  my  power  to  have  been  brought  into  such  a 
sphere  of  usefulness,  as  he  in  his  good  time 
has  been  pleased  to  lead  me  to.  And  I  can 
now  see  clearly,  that  at  the  time  I  would  first 
have  gone  out,  though  my  intention  was,  I 
hope,  good  in  the  main,  yet  I  over-rated  my- 
self, and  had  not  that  spiritual  judgment  and 
experience,  which  are  requisite  for  so  great  a 
service.  I  wish  you  therefore  to  take  time ; 
and  if  you  have  a  desire  to  enter  into  the  esta- 
blished church,  endeavour  to  keep  your  zeal 
within  moderate  bounds,  and  avoid  every  tiling 
that  might  unnecessarily  clog  your  admission 
with  difficulties.  I  would  not  have  you  hide 
your  profession,  or  to  be  backward  to  speak 
for  God ;  but  avoid  what  looks  like  preach- 
ing, and  be  content  with  being  a  learner  in 
the  school  of  Christ  for  some  years.  The  de- 
lay will  not  be  lost  time  ;  you  will  be  so  much 
the  more  acquainted  with  the  gospel,  with 
your  own  heart,  and  with  human  nature :  the 
last  is  a  necessary  branch  of  a  minister's 
knowledge,  and  can  only  be  acquired  by  com- 
paring what  passes  within  us,  and  around  us, 
with  what  we  read  in  the  word  of  God. 

I  am  glad  to  find  you  have  a  distaste  both 
for  Arminian  and  Antinomian  doctrines  ;  but 
let  not  the  mistakes  of  others  sit  too  heavy 
upon  you.  Be  thankful  for  the  grace  that 
has  made  you  to  differ ;  be  ready  to  give  a 
reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you  with  meek- 
ness and  fear  :  but  beware  of  engaging  in  dis- 
putes, without  evident  necessity,  and  some 
probable  hope  of  usefulness.  They  tend  to 
eat  out  the  life  and  savour  of  religion,  and  to 
make  the  soul  lean  and  dry.  Where  God 
has  begun  a  real  work  of  grace,  incidental 
mistakes  will  be  lessened  by  time  and  expe- 
rience ;  where  he  has  not,  it  is  of  little  sig- 
nification  what  sentiments    people    hold,    or 


MR. 


LET.  II 
Arminians  o? 


whether  they  call    themselves 
Calvinists. 

I  agree  with  you,  it  is  time  enough  for  you 
to  think  of  Oxford  yet ;  and  that  if  your  pur- 
pose is  fixed,  and  all  circumstances  render  it 
prudent  and  proper  to  devote  yourself  to  the 
ministry,  you  will  do  well  to  spend  a  year  or 
two  in  private  studies.  It  would  be  further 
helpful,  in  this  view,  to  place  yourself  where 
there  is  gospel-preaching,  and  a  lively  people. 
If  your  favourable  opinion  of  this  place 
should  induce  you  to  come  here,  I  shall  be 
very  ready  to  give  you  every  assistance  in  my 
power.  As  I  have  trod  exactly  the  path  you 
seem  to  be  setting  out  in,  I  might  so  far,  per- 
haps, be  more  serviceable  than  those  who  are 
in  other  respects  much  better  qualified  to  as- 
sist you.  I  doubt  not  but  in  this,  and  every 
other  step,  you  will  intreat  the  Lord's  direc- 
tion ;  and  I  hope  you  will  not  forget  to  pray 
for,      Sir, 

Your  affectionate  friend,  &c 


LETTER  II. 

January  7,  1767. 
DEAR  SIR, 

I  must  beg  you,  once  for  all,  to  release  me 
from  any  constraint  about  the  length  or  fre- 
quency of  my  letters.  Believe  that  I  think 
of  you,  and  pray  for  you,  when  you  do  not 
hear  from  me.  Your  correspondence  is  not 
quite  so  large  as  mine,  therefore  you  may 
write  the  oftener.  Your  letters  will  be  always 
welcome ;  and  I  will  write  to  you  when  I  find 
a  leisure  hour,  and  have  any  thing  upon  my 
mind  to  offer. 

You  seem  sensible  where  your  most  observa- 
ble failing  lies,  and  to  take  reproof  and  ad- 
monition concerning  it  in  good  part ;  I  there- 
fore hope  and  believe  the  Lord  will  give,  you 
a  growing  victory  over  it.  You  must  not  ex- 
pect habits  and  tempers  will  be  eradicated  in- 
stantaneously ;  but  by  perseverance  in  prayer, 
and  observation  upon  the  experiences  of  every 
day,  much  may  be  done  in  time.  Now  and 
then  you  will  (as  is  usual  in  the  course  of 
war)  lose  a  battle ;  but  be  not  discouraged, 
but  rally  your  forces,  and  return  to  the  fight. 
There  is  a  comfortable  word,  a  leaf  of  the  tree 
of  life,  for  healing  the  wounds  we  receive,  in 
1  John  ii.  1.  If  the  enemy  surprises  you, 
and  your  heart  smites  you,  do  not  stand  as- 
tonished as  if  there  was  no  help,  nor  give  way 
to  sorrow,  as  if  there  was  no  hope,  nor  at- 
tempt to  heal  yourself;  but  away  immediately 
to  the  throne  of  grace,  to  the  great  physician, 
to  the  compassionate  High -priest,  and  tell 
him  all.  Satan  knows,  that  if  he  can  keep  us 
from  confession,  our  wounds  will  rancle  ;  but 
do  you  profit  by  David's  experience,  Psal. 
xxxii.  3—5.     When  we  are  simple  and  open- 


I 


LET.  III.  LETTERS  TO  Mil. 

hearted  in  abasing  ourselves  before  the  Lord, 
though  we  have  acted  foolishly  and  ungrate- 
fully, he  will  seldom  let  us  remain  long,  with- 
out affording  us  a  sense  of  his  compassion  ; 
for  he  is  gracious ;  he  knows  our  frame,  and 
how  to  bear  with  us,  though  we  can  hardly 
bear  with  ourselves  or  with  one  another. 

The  main  thing  is  to  have  the  heart  right 
with  God  :   this  wi.'l  bring  us  in  the  end  safely 
through  many  mistakes  and  blunders ;  but  a 
double  mind,  a  selfish  spirit,  that  would  halve 
things  between  God  and  the  world,  the  Lord 
abhors.      Though  I  have   not  yet  had  many 
opportunities  of  commending  your  prudence, 
I   have  always  had  a  good  opinion  of  your 
sincerity  and  integrity  ;  if  I  am  not  mistaken 
in  this,  I  make  no  doubt  of  your  doing  well. 
If  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  bless  you,   he  will 
undoubtedly  make  you  humble  ;  for  you  can- 
not be  either  happy  or  safe,  or  have  any  pro- 
bable hope  of  abiding  usefulness,  without  it. 
I  do  not  know  that  I   have  had  any  thing  so 
much  at  heart  in  my  connections  with  you,  as 
to  impress  you  with  a  sense  of  the  necessity 
and  advantages  of  an  humble  frame  of  spirit ; 
I  hope  it  has  not  been  in  vain.      O,  to  be  lit- 
tle in  our  own  eyes  !   This  is  the  ground-work 
of  every  grace ;  this  leads  to  a  continual  de  • 
pendence  upon  the  Lord  Jesus ;  this  is  the 
spirit  which  he  has  promised    to  bless  ;  this 
conciliates  us  good  will    and    acceptance    a- 
mongst  men :   for  he  that  abaseth   himself  is 
sure  to  be  honoured.      And  that  this  temper 
is  so  hard  to  attain  and  preserve,  is  a  striking 
proof  of  our  depravity.      For  are  we  not  sin- 
ners ?     Were  we  not  rebels  and  enemies  be- 
fore we  knew  the  gospel  ?  and  have  we  not 
been  unfaithful,  backsliding,  and  unprofitable 
ever  since  ?      Are   we  not  redeemed  by  the 
blood  of  Jesus  ?  and   can  we   stand  a  single 
moment  except  he  upholds  us  ?   Have  we  any 
thing  which  we  have  not  received  ?  or  have 
we  received  any  thing  which  we  have  not  a- 
bused  ?     Why  then  is  dust  and  ashes  proud  ? 
I  am  glad  you  have  found  some   spiritual 
acquaintance  in   your  barren  land.      I  hope 
vou  will  be  helpful  to  them,  and  they  to  you. 
You  do  well  to  guard  against  every  appear- 
ance of  evil.      If  you  are  heartily  for  Jesus, 
S;itan  owes  you  a  grudge.     One  way  or  other, 
he  will  try  to  cut  you  out  work,  and  the  Lord 
may  suffer  him   to  go  to  the  length  of  his 
chain.     But  though  you  are  to  keep  your  eye 
upon  him,  and  expect  to  hear  from  him  at 
every  step,   you   need  not  be  slavishly  afraid 
of  him ;  for  Jesus  is  stronger  and  wiser  than 
he,   and  there  is  a  complete  suit  of  armour 
provided  for  all  who  are  engaged  on  the  Lord's 
side. 

I  am,  &c. 


237 


LETTER  III. 


Oct.  20,  1767. 

DEAR  SIR, 

A  CONCERN  for  the  perplexity  you  have  met 
with,  from  the  objections  which  have  been 
made  against  some  expressions  in  my  printed 
sermons,  and,  in  general,  against  exhorting 
sinners  to  believe  in  Jesus,  engages  me  to 
write  immediately;  otherwise  I  should  have 
waited  a  little  longer  ;  for  we  are  now  upon 
the  point  of  removing  to  the  vicarage,  and  I 
believe  this  will  be  the  last  letter  I  shall  write 
from  the  old  house.  I  shall  chiefly  confine 
myself  at  present  to  the  subject  you  propose. 

In  the  first  place,  I  beg  you  to  be  upon 
your  guard  against  a  reasoning  spirit.  Search 
the  scriptures ;  and  where  you  can  find  a  plain 
rule  or  warrant  for  any  practice,  go  boldly 
on  ;  and  be  not  discouraged  because  you  may 
not  be  clearly  able  to  answer  or  reconcile 
every  difficulty  that  may  either  occur  to  your 
own  mind,  or  be  put  in  your  way  by  others. 
Our  hearts  are  very  dark  and  narrow,  and  the 
very  root  of  all  apostacy  is  a  proud  disposi- 
tion, to  question  the  necessity  or  propriety  of 
divine  appointments.  But  the  child-like  sim- 
plicity of  faith  is  to  follow  God  without  rea- 
soning ;  taking  it  for  granted,  a  tiling  must 
be  right  if  he  directs  it,  and  charging  all 
seeming  inconsistencies  to  the  account  of  our 
own  ignorance. 

I  suppose  the  people  that  trouble  you  upon 
this  head,  are  those  who  preach  upon  Armi- 
nian  principles,  and  suppose  a  free  will  in 
man,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  to  turn  to 
God  when  the  gospel  is  proposed.  These,  if 
you  speak  to  sinners  at  large,  though  they 
will  approve  of  your  doing  so,  will  take  oc- 
casion, perhaps,  to  charge  you  with  acting  in 
contradiction  to  your  own  principles.  So,  it 
seems,  Mr.  has  said.  I  love  and  ho- 
nour that  man  greatly,  and  I  beg  you  will 
tell  him  so  from  me ;  and  tell  him  farther, 
that  the  reason  why  he  is  not  a  Calvinist,  is 
because  he  misapprehends  our  principles.  If 
I  had  a  proper  call,  I  would  undertake  to 
prove  the  direct  contrary ;  namely,  that  to  ex- 
hort and  deal  plainly  with  sinners,  to  stir  them 
up  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  to  lay 
hold  of  eternal  life,  is  an  attempt  not  recon- 
cileable  to  sober  reason,  upon  any  other  grounds 
than  those  doctrines  which  we  are  called  Cal- 
vinists  for  holding ;  and  that  all  the  absurdi- 
ties which  are  charged  upon  us,  as  conse- 
quences of  what  we  teach,  are  indeed  truly 
chargeable  upon  those  who  differ  from  us  in 
these  points.  I  think  this  unanswerably  prov- 
ed by  Mr.  Edwards,  in  his  Discourse  on  the 
Freedom  of  the  Will,  though  the  chain  of 
reasoning  is  so  close,  that  few  will  give  atten- 
tion or  take  pains  to  pursue  it.  As  to  myself, 
if  I  was  not  a  Calvinist,  I  think  I  should  have 


238 


LETTERS  TO  MR.  — 


LET.   IV. 


no  more  hope  of  success  in  preaching  to  men, 
than  to  horses  or  cows. 

But  these  objections  are  more  frequently 
urged  by  Calvinists  themselves ;  many  of  them, 
I  doubt  not,  good  men,  but  betrayed  into  a 
curiosity  of  spirit,  which  often  makes  their 
ministry  (if  ministers)  dry  and  inefficacious, 
and  their  conversation  sour  and  unsavoury. 
Such  a  spirit  is  too  prevalent  in  many  profes- 
sors, that  if  a  man  discovers  a  warm  zeal  for  the 
glory  of  God,  and  is  enabled  to  bear  a  faithful 
testimony  to  the  gospel-truths ;  yea,  though 
the  Lord  evidently  blesses  him,  they  overlook 
all,  and  will  undervalue  a  sermon,  which,  up- 
on the  whole,  they  cannot  but  acknowledge 
to  be  scriptural,  if  they  meet  with  a  single 
sentence  contrary  to  the  opinion  they  have 
taken  up.  I  am  sorry  to  see  such  a  spirit 
prevailing.  But  this  I  observe,  that  the  mi- 
nisters who  give  into  this  way,  though  good 
men  and  good  preachers  in  other  respects,  are 
seldom  very  useful  or  very  zealous  ;  and  those 
who  are  in  private  life,  are  more  ready  for 
dry  points  of  disputation,  at  least  harping  up- 
on a  string  of  doctrines,  than  for  experimen- 
ted and  heart-searching  converse,  whereby  one 
may  warm  and  edify  another.  Blessed  be- 
God,  who  has  kept  me  and  my  people  from 
this  turn  :  if  it  should  ever  creep  in  or  spread 
among  us,  I  should  be  ready  to  write  Ichabod 
upon  our  assemblies. 

I  advise  you,  therefore,  to  keep  close  to  the 
Bible  and  prayer:  bring  your  difficulties  to 
the  Lord,  and  entreat  him  to  give  you,  and 
maintain  in  you,  a  simple  spirit.  Search  the 
scriptures.  How  did  Peter  deal  with  Simon 
Magus  ?  We  have  no  right  to  think  worse  of 
any  who  can  hear  us,  than  the  apostle  did  of 
him.  He  seemed  almost  to  think  his  case 
desperate,  and  yet  he  advised  him  to  repent- 
ance and  prayer.  Examine  the  same  apostle's 
discourse,  Actsiii.,  and  the  close  of  St.  Paul's 
sermon,  Acts  xiii.  The  power  is  all  of  God  ; 
the  means  are  likewise  of  his  appointment ; 
and  he  always  is  pleased  to  work  by  such 
means  as  may  shew  that  the  power  is  his. 
What  was  Moses's  rod  in  itself,  or  the  trum- 
pets that  threw  down  Jericho  ?  What  influ- 
ence could  the  pool  of  Siloam  have,  that  the 
eyes  of  the  blind  man,  by  washing  in  it,  should 
be  opened  ?  or  what  could  Ezekiel's  feeble 
breath  contribute  to  the  making  dry  bones 
live  ?  All  these  means  were  exceedingly  dis- 
proportioned  to  the  effect ;  but  he  who  order- 
ed them  to  be  used,  accompanied  them  with 
his  power.  Yet,  if  Moses  had  gone  without 
his  rod,  if  Joshua  had  slighted  the  rams 
horns,  if  the  prophet  had  thought  it  foolish- 
ness to  speak  to  dry  bones,  or  the  blind 
man  refused  to  wash  his  eyes,  nothing  could 
have  been  done.  The  same  holds  good  in  the 
present  subject:  I  do  not  reason,  expostu- 
late, and  persuade  sinners,  because  I  think  I 
can  prevail  with  them,  but  because  the  Lord 
has  commanded  it.    He  directs  me  to  address 


them  as  reasonable  creatures ;  to  take  them 
by  every  handle ;  to  speak  to  their  con- 
sciences j  to  tell  them  of  the  terrors  of  the 
Lord  and  of  his  tender  mercies  ;  to  argue 
wita  them  what  good  they  find  in  sin  ;  whe 
ther  they  do  not  need  a  Saviour  ;  to  put  them 
in  mind  of  death,  judgment,  and  eternity,  &c. 
When  I  have  done  all,  I  know  it  is  to  little 
purpose,  except  the  Lord  speaks  to  their  hearts ; 
and  this  to  his  own,  and  at  his  own  time,  I 
am  sure  he  will,  because  he  has  promised  it. 
See  Isaiah  lv.  10,  11;  Matth.  xxviii.  20. 
Indeed,  I  have  heard  expressions  in  the  warmth 
of  delivery  which  I  could  not  wholly  approve, 
and  therefore  do  not  imitate.  But,  in  gene- 
ral, I  see  no  preaching  made  very  useful  for 
the  gathering  of  souls,  where  poor  sinners  are 
shut  out  of  the  discourse.  I  think  one  of  the 
closest  and  most  moving  addresses  to  sinners 
I  ever  met  with,  is  in  Dr.  Owen's  Exposition 
of  the  exxxth  Psalm,  from  p.  243  to  276  (in 
my  edition).  If  you  get  it,  and  examine 
it,  I  think  you  will  find  it  all  agreeable  to 
scripture;  and  he  was  a  steady,  deep-sighted 
Calvinist.  I  wish  you  to  study  it  well,  and 
make  it  your  pattern.  He  handles  the  same 
point  likewise  in  other  places,  and  shews  the 
weakness  of  the  exceptions  taken,  somewhere 
at  large,  but  I  cannot  just  now  find  the  pas 
sage.  Many  think  themselves  quite  right,  be- 
cause they  have  not  had  their  thoughts  exer- 
cised at  large,  but  have  confined  themselves 
to  one  track.  There  are  extremes  in  every 
thing.  I  pray  God  to  shew  you  the  golden 
mean. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 

Aug.  30,  1770. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  would  steal  a  few  minutes  here  to  write, 
lest  I  should  not  have  leisure  at  home.  I 
have  not  your  letter  with  me,  and  therefore 
can  only  answer  so  far  as  I  retain  a  general 
remembrance  of  the  contents. 

You  will,  doubtless,  find  rather  perplexity 
than  advantage  from  the  multiplicity  of  ad- 
vice you  may  receive,  if  you  endeavour  to  re- 
concile and  adopt  the  very  different  sentiments 
of  your  friends.  I  think  it  will  be  best  tc 
make  use  of  them  in  a  full  latitude  ;  that  is, 
to  correct  and  qualify  them  one  by  another, 
and  to  borrow  a  little  from  each,  without  con- 
fining yourself  entirely  to  any.  You  will 
probably  be  advised  to  different  extremes  :  it 
will  then  be  impossible  to  follow  both  ;  but  it 
may  be  practicable  to  find  a  middle  path  be- 
tween them;  and  I  believe  this  will  generally 
prove  the  best  and  safest  method.  Only  con- 
sult your  own  temper,  and  endeavour  to  in- 
cline rather  to  that  side  to  which  you  are  the 
least  disposed,  by  the  ordinary  strain  of  your 
own  inclination ;  for  on  that  side  you  will  be 


and  time  are  advancing, 


LET.  V.  LETTERS  TO  MR. 

in  the  least  danger  of  erring.  Warm  and 
hasty  dispositions  will  seldom  move  too  slow, 
and  those  who  are  naturally  languid  and  cool 
are  as  little  liable  to  over-  act  their  part. 

With  respect  to  the  particulars  you  instance, 
I  have  generally  thought  you  warm  and  en- 
terprising enough,  and  therefore  thought  it 
best  to  restrain  you  ;  but  I  meant  only  to 
hold  you  in,  till  you  had  acquired  some  far- 
ther knowledge  and  observation  both  of  your- 
self and  of  others.  I  have  the  pleasure  to 
hope  (especially  of  late)  that  you  are  become 
more  self-diffident  and  wary  than  you  were 
And  therefore,  as  your  years 
and  you  have  been 
for  a  tolerable  space  under  a  probation  of  si- 
lence, I  can  make  no  objection  to  your  at- 
tempting sometimes  to  speak  in  select  societies; 
Hut  let  your  attempts  be  confined  to  such,  I 
mean  where  you  are  acquainted  with  the  peo- 
ple, or  the  leading  part  of  them,  and  be  upon 
your  guard  against  opening  yourself  too  much 
among  strangers.  And  again,  I  earnestly 
desire  you  would  not  attempt  any  thing  of 
this  sort  in  a  very  public  way,  which  may  per- 
haps bring  you  under  inconveniences  and  will 
be  inconsistent  with  the  part  you  ought  to  act 
(in  my  judgment)  from  the  time  you  receive 
Episcopal  ordination.  You  may  remember 
a  simile  I  have  sometimes  used  of  green  fruit ; 
children  are  impatient  to  have  it  while  it  is 
green,  but  persons  of  more  judgment  will 
wait  till  it  is  ripe.  Therefore  I  would  wish 
your  exhortations  to  be  brief,  private,  and  not 
very  frequent.  Rather  give  yourself  to  read- 
ing, meditation,  and  prayer. 

As  to  speaking  without  notes,  in  order  to 
do  it  successfully,  a  fund  of  knowlege  should 
be  first  possessed.  Indeed,  in  such  societies 
as  I  hope  you  will  confine  your  attempts  to, 
it  would  not  be  practicable  to  use  notes  ;  but 
I  mean,  that  if  you  design  to  come  out  as  a 
preacher  without  notes  from  the  first,  you 
must  use  double  diligence  in  study ;  your 
reading  must  not  be  confined  to  the  scriptures ; 
you  should  be  acquainted  with  church  history, 
have  a  general  view  of  divinity  as  a  system, 
know  something  of  the  state  of  controversies 
in  past  times  and  at  present,  and  indeed  of  the 
general  history  of  mankind.  I  do  not  mean 
that  you  should  enter  deeply  into  these 
things:  but  you  will  need  to  have  your  mind 
enlarged,  your  ideas  increased,  your  style  and 
manner  formed  ;  you  should  read,  think, 
write,  compose,  and  use  all  diligence  to  exer- 
cise and  strengthen  your  faculties.  If  you 
would  speak  extempore  as  a  clergyman,  you 
must  be  able  to  come  off  roundly,  and  to  fill 
up  your  hour  with  various  matter,  in  tolera- 
ble coherence,  or  else  you  will  not  be  able  to 
overcome  the  prejudice  which  usually  prevails 
amongst  the  people.  Perhaps  it  may  be  as 
well  to  use  some  little  scheme  in  the  note-way, 
especially  at  the  beginning  ;  but  a  little  trial 
will  best  inform  you  what  is  most  expedient. 


.  239 

Let  your  backwardness  to  prayer  and  read- 
ing the  scriptures  be  ever  so  great,  you  must 
strive  against  it.  This  backwardness,  with 
the  doubts  you  speak  of,  are  partly  from  your 
own  evil  heart,  but  perhaps  chiefly  tempta- 
tions of  Satan  :  he  knows,  if  he  can  keep  you 
from  drawing  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salva- 
tion, he  will  have  much  advantage.  My  soul 
goes  often  mourning  under  the  same  com- 
plaints, but  at  times  the  Lord  gives  me  a  lit- 
tle victory.  I  hope  he  will  over-rule  all  our 
trials,  to  make  us  more  humble,  dependent, 
and  to  give  us  tenderness  of  spirit  towards  the 
distressed.  The  exercised  and  experienced 
christian,  by  the  knowledge  he  has  gained  of 
his  own  heart,  and  the  many  difficulties  he 
has  had  to  struggle  with,  acquires  a  skill  and 
compassion  in  dealing  with  others  ;  and  with- 
out  such  exercise,  all  our  study,  diligence,  and 
gifts  in  other  ways,,  *«rould  leave  us  much  at  a 
loss  in  some  of  the  most  important  parts  of 
our  calling. 

You  have  given  yourself  to  the  Lord  for 
the  ministry  his  providence  has  thus  far 
favoured  your  views ;  therefore  harbour  not  a 
thought  of  flinching  from  the  battle,  because 
the  enemy  appears  in  view,  but  resolve  to  en- 
dure hardship  as  a  good  solidier  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Lift  up  your  banner  in  his  name; 
trust  in  him,  and  lie  will  support  you ;  but, 
above  aU  things,  be  sure  not  to  be  either  en- 
ticed or  terrified  from  the  privilege  of  a  throne 
of  grace. 

Who  your  enemies  are,  or  what  they  say,  I 
know  not ;  for  I  never  conversed  with  them. 
Your  friends  here  have  thought  you  at  times 
harsh  and  hasty  in  your  manner,  and  rather 
inclining  to  self-confidence.  These  things  I 
have  often  reminded  you  of;  but  I  consider, 
ed  them  as  blemishes  usually  attendant  upon 
youth,  and  which  experience,  temptation,  and 
prayer  would  correct.  I  hope  and  believe 
you  will  do  well.  You  will  have  a  share  in 
my  prayers  and  best  advice  :  and  when  I  see 
occasion  to  offer  a  word  of  reproof,  I  shall 
not  use  any  reserve. 

Yours,  &c. 


LETTER  V 


July  25,  1772. 


DEAR  SIR, 

I  AM  glad  to  hear  you  are  accommodated  at 

D ,  where   I  hope  your  best   endeavours 

will  not  be  wanting  to  make  yourself  agree- 
able, by  an  humble,  inoffensive,  and  circum- 
spect behaviour. 

I  greatly  approve  of  your  speaking  from 
one  of  the  lessons  in  the  afternoon  ;  you  will 
find  it  a  great  help  to  bring  you  gradually  to 
that  habit  and  readiness  of  expression  which, 
you  desire  ;  and  you  will  perhaps  find  it  make 
more    impression    upon    your   hearers    than 


240  LETTERS  TO 

what  you  read  to  them  from  the  pulpit. 
However,  I  would  not  discourage  or  dissuade 
you  from  reading  your  sermons  for  a  time. 
The  chief  inconvenience  respecting  yourself 
is  that  which  you  mention.  A  written  ser- 
mon is  something  to  lean  upon  ;  but  it  is 
best  for  a  preacher  to  lean  wholly  upon  the 
Lord.  But  set  off  gradually ;  the  Lord  will 
not  despise  the  day  of  small  things ;  pray 
heartily  that  your  spirit  may  be  right  with 
him,  and  then  all  the  rest  will  be  well.  And 
keep  on  writing ;  if  you  compose  one  ser- 
mon, and  should  find  your  heart  enlarged  to 
preach  another,  still  your  labour  of  writing 
will  not  be  lost.  If  your  conscience  bears 
you  witness  that  you  desire  to  serve  the  Lord, 
his  promise  (now  he  has  brought  you  into 
the  ministry)  of  a  sufficiency  and  ability  for 
the  work,  belongs  to  you  as  much  as  to  ano- 
ther. Your  borrowing  help  from  others  may 
arise  from  a  diffidence  of  yourself,  which  is 
not  blameable  ;  but  it  may  arise  in  part  like- 
wise from  a  diffidence  of  the  Lord,  which  is 
hurtful.  I  wish  you  may  get  encouragement 
from  that  word,  Exodus  iv.  11,  12.  It  was 
a  great  encouragement  to  me.  While  I  wo.uld 
press  you  to  diligence  in  every  rational  means 
for  the  improvement  of  your  stock  in  know- 
ledge, and  your  ability  of  utterance,  I  would 
have  you  remember  that  preaching  is  a  gift. 
It  cannot  be  learned  by  industry  and  imita- 
tion only,  as  a  man  may  learn  to  make  a  chair 
or  a  table  :  it  comes  from  above ;  and  if  you 
patiently  wait  upon  God,  he  will  bestow  this 


Mli 


T.ET.  V 


gift  upon  you,  and  increase  it  in  you.  It 
will  grow  by  exercise.  To  him  that  hath  shall 
be  given,  and  he  shall  have  more  abundantly. 
And  be  chiefly  solicitous  to  obtain  an  unction 
upon  what  you  do  say.  Perhaps  those  ser 
mons  in  which  you  feel  yourself  most  defi- 
cient, may  be  made  most  useful  to  others.  1 
hope  you  will  endeavour  likewise,  to  be  plain 
and  familiar  in  your  language  and  manner 
(though  not  low  or  vulger),  so  as  to  suit 
yourself  as  much  as  possible  to  the  apprehen- 
sions of  the  most  ignorant  people.  There  are 
in  all  congregations  some  persons  exceeding- 
ly ignorant ;  yet  they  have  precious  souls,  and 
the  Lord  often  calls  such.  I  pray  the  Lord 
to  make  you  wise  to  win  souls.  I  hope  he 
will.  You  cannot  be  too  jealous  of  your 
own  heart :   but  let  not  such  instances  as  Mr. 

M discourage  you.      Cry  to  him  who  is 

able  to  hold  you  up,  that  you  may  be  safe,  and 
you  shall  not  cry  in  vain.  It  is,  indeed,  an 
alarming  thought,  that  a  man  may  pray  and 
preach,  be  useful  and  acceptable  for  a  time, 
and  yet  be  nothing.  But  still  the  foundation 
of  God  standeth  sure.  I  have  a  good  hope, 
that  I  shall  never  have  cause  to  repent  the 
part  I  have  taken  in  your  concerns.  While 
you  keep  in  the  path  of  duty,  you  will  find  it 
the  path  of  safety.  Be  punctual  in  waiting 
upon  God  in  secret.  This  is  the  life  of  every 
thing,  the  only  w*ay,  and  the  sure  way,  of 
maintaining  and  renewing  your  strength. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTERS 


TO 


THE  REVEREND  Mr. 


LETTER    I. 

June  29,  1757. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  ENDEAVOUR  to  be  mindful  of  you  in  my  pray- 
ers, that  you  may  find  both  satisfaction  and 
success,  and  that  the  Lord  himself  may  be 
your  light,  to  discover  to  you  every  part  of 
your  duty.  I  would  earnestly  press  you  and 
myself  to  be  followers  of  those  who  have  been 
followers  of  Christ ;  to  aim  at  a  life  of  self- 
denial;  to  renounce  self-will,  and  to  guard 
against  self-wisdom.  The  less  we  have  to  do 
with  the  world  the  better ;  and,  even  in  con- 
versing with  our  biethren,  we  have  been,  and 
unless  we  watch  and  pray,  shall  often  be,  en- 
snared. Time  is  precious,  and  opportunities 
once  gone,  are  gone  for  ever.  Even  by  read- 
ing, and  what  we  call  studying,  we  may  be 
comparatively  losers.  The  shorter  way  is  to 
be  closely  waiting  upon  God  in  humble,  se- 
cret, fervent  prayer.  The  treasures  of  wis- 
dom and  knowledge  aie  in  his  hands;  and  he 
gives  bountifully,  without  upbraiding.  On 
the  other  hand,  whatever  we  may  undertake 
with  a  sincere  desire  to  promote  his  glory,  we 
may  comfortably  pursue :  nothing  is  trivial 
that  is  done  for  him.  In  this  view,  I  would 
have  you,  at  proper  intervals,  pursue  your 
studies,  especially  at  those  times  when  you 
are  unfit  for  better  work.  Pray  for  me,  that 
I  may  be  enabled  to  break  through  the  snares 
of  vanity  that  lie  in  my  way  ;  that  I  may  be 
crucified  with  Christ,  and  live  a  hidden  life 
by  faith  in  him  who  loved  me  and  gave  him- 
self  for  me. 

Adieu. 


LETTER  II. 

August  31,  1757. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  wish  you  much  of  that  spirit  which  was  in 
theapostle,  which  made  him  content  to  become 
all  things  to  all  men,  that  he  might  gain  some. 
I  am  persuaded  that  love  and  humility  are  the 
highest  attainments  in  the  school  of  Christ, 
and  the  brightest  evidences  that  he  is  indeed 
our  master.  If  any  should  seem  inclined  to 
treat  you  with  less  regard,  because  you  are  or 
have  been  a  Methodist  teacher,  you  will  find 
forbearance,  meekness,  and  long-suffering,  the 
most  prevailing  means  to  conquer  their  pre- 
judices. Our  Lord  has  not  only  taught  us 
to  expect  persecution  from  the  world,  though 
this  alone  is  a  trial  too  hard  for  flesh  and 
blood ;  but  we  must  look  for  what  is  much 
more  grievous  to  a  renewed  mind,  to  be  in 
some  respects  slighted,  censured,  and  misun- 
derstood, even  by  our  christian  brethren,  and 
that,  perhaps,  in  cases  where  we  are  really 
striving  to  promote  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
good  of  souls,  and  cannot,  without  the  re- 
proach of  our  consciences,  alter  our  conduct, 
however  glad  we  should  be  to  have  their  ap- 
probation. Therefore,  we  are  required,  not 
only  to  resist  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the 
devil,  but  likewise  to  bear  one  another's  bui- 
dens  :  which  plainly  intimates  there  will  be 
something  to  be  borne  with  on  all  hands  ;  and 
happy  indeed  is  he  that  is  not  offended.  You 
may  observe  what  unjust  reports  and  surmises 
were  received,  even  at  Jerusalem,  concerning 
the  apostle  Paul :  and  it  seems  he  was  con- 
demned unheard,  and  that  by  many  thousands 
too,  Acts  xxi.  20,  21  :  but  we  do  not  find 
!  that  he  was  at  all  ruffled,  or  that  he  sought 
!  to  retort  any  thing  upon  them,  though  doubt- 
j  less,  had  he  been  so  disposed,  he  might  haw 
Z 


242 


LETTERS  TO   THE   REV.  MR. 


LET.  Ill 


found  something  to  have  charged  them  with 
in  his  turn;  but  he  calmly  and  willingly  com- 
plied with  every  thing  in  his  power  to  soften 
and  convince  them.  Let  us  be  followers  of 
this  pattern,  so  far  as  he  was  a  follower  of 
Christ  ;  for  even  Christ  pleased  not  himself. 
How  did  he  bear  with  the  mistakes,  weak- 
ness, intemperate  zeal  and  imprudent  propo- 
sals of  his  disciples,  while  on  earth  ;  and  how 
does  he  bear  with  the  same  things  from  you 
and  me,  and  every  one  of  his  followers  now  ? 
and  do  we,  can  we,  think  much  to  bear  with 
each  other  for  his  sake?  Have  we  all  a  full 
remission  of  ten  thousand  talents,  which  we 
owed  him,  and  were  utterly  unable  to  pay,  and 
do  we  wrangle  amongst  ourselves  for  a  few 
pence  ?   God  forbid  ! 

If  you  should  be  numbered  among  the  re- 
gular Independents,  I  advise  you  not  to  of- 
fend any  of  them  by  unnecessary  singularities. 
I  wish  you  not  to  part  with  any  truth,  or 
with  any  thing  really  expedient  ;  but  if  the 
omitting  any  thing  of  an  indifferent  nature 
will  obviate  prejudices,  and  increase  a  mutual 
confidence,  why  should  not  so  easy  a  sacrifice 
be  made  ?  Above  all,  my  dear  friend,  let  us 
keep  close  to  the  Lord  in  a  way  of  prayer: 
he  giveth  wisdom  that  is  profitable  to  direct ; 
he  is  the  Wonderful  Counsellor ;  there  is  no 
teacher  like  him.  Why  do  the  living  seek  to 
the  dead  ?  Why  do  we  weary  our  friends 
and  ourselves  in  running  up  and  down,  and 
turning  over  books  for  advice  ?  If  we  shut 
our  eyes  upon  the  world  and  worldly  things, 
and  raise  our  thoughts  upwards  in  humility 
and  silence,  should  we  not  often  hear  the  se- 
cret voice  of  the  Spirit  of  God  whispering  to 
our  hearts,  and  pointing  out  to  us  the  way  of 
truth  and  peace  ?  Have  we  not  often  gone 
astray,  and  hurt  either  ourselves  or  our  breth- 
ren, for  want  of  attending  to  this  divine  in- 
struction ?  Have  we  not  sometimes  mocked 
God,  by  pretending  to  ask  direction  from 
him,  when  we  had  fixed  our  determination 
before-hand  !  It  is  a  great  blessing  to  know 
that  we  are  sincere  ;  and  next  to  this,  to  be 
convinced  of  our  insincerity,  and  to  pray 
against  it. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

November  21,  1757. 

DEAR  SIR, 

Can  you  forgive  so  negligent  a  correspond- 
ent? I  am  indeed  ashamed;  but  (if  that  is 
any  good  excuse)  I  use  you  no  worse  than 
my  other  friends.  Whenever  I  write,  1  am 
obliged  to  begin  with  an  apology  ;  for,  what 
with  busiuess  and  the  incidental  duties  of 
every  day,  my  time  is  always  mortgaged  be- 
fore it  comes  into  my  hands,  especially  as  I 
have  so  little  skill  in  redeeming  and  improv- 


ing it.  I  long  to  hear  from  you,  and  I  long 
to  see  you  ;  and  indeed,  from  the  terms  of 
yours,  I  expected  you  here  before  this  ;  which 
has  been  partly  a  cause  of  my  delay.  I  have 
mislaid  your  letter,  and  cannot  remember  the 
particulars  ;  in  general,  I  remember  you  were 
well,  and  going  on  comfortably  in  your  work  ; 
which  was  matter  of  joy  to  me  ;  and  my  poor 
prayers  are  for  you,  that  the  Lord  may  own 
and  prosper  you  more  and  more.  The  two 
great  points  we  are  called  to  pursue  in  this 
sinful  divided  world,  are  peace  and  holiness  ;  I 
hope  you  are  much  in  the  study  of  them.  These 
are  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  a  disciple  of 
Jesus  ;  they  are  the  richest  part  of  the  enjoy- 
ments of  heaven ;  and  so  far  as  they  are  re- 
ceived into  the  heart,  they  bring  down  heaven 
upon  earth ;  and  they  are  more  inseparably 
connected  between  themselves  than  some  of  us 
are  aware  of.  The  longer  I  live,  the  more  I  see 
of  the  vanity  and  the  sinfulness  of  our  un- 
christian disputes;  they  eat  up  the  very  vitals 
of  religion.  I  grieve  to  think  how  often  I  have 
lost  my  time  and  my  temper  that  way,  in  pre- 
suming to  regulate  the  vineyards  of  others, 
when  I  have  neglected  my  own  ;  when  the 
beam  in  my  own  eye  has  so  contracted  my 
sight,  that  I  could  discern  nothing  but  the 
mote  in  my  neighbour's.  I  am  now  desirous 
to  chuse  a  better  part.  Could  I  speak  the 
publican's  word  with  a  proper  feeling,  I  wish 
not  for  the  tongue  of  men  or  angels  to  fight 
about  notions  or  sentiments.  I  allow  that 
every  branch  of  gospel-truth  is  precious,  that 
errors  are  abounding,  and  that  it  is  our  duty 
to  bear  an  honest  testimony  to  what  the  Lord 
has  enabled  us  to  find  comfort  in,  and  to  in- 
struct with  meekness  such  as  are  willing  to  be 
instructed  ;  but  I  cannot  see  it  my  duty,  nay, 
I  believe  it  would  be  my  sin,  to  attempt  to  beat 
my  notions  into  other  people's  heads.  Too 
often  I  have  attempted  it  in  time  past ;  but 
now  I  judge,  that  both  my  zeal  and  my  wea- 
pons were  carnal.  When  our  dear  Lord 
questioned  Peter,  after  his  fall  and  recovery, 
he  said  not,  Art  thou  wise,  learned,  and  elo- 
quent? Nay,  he  said  not,  Art  thou  clear,  and 
sound,  and  orthodox  ?  But  this  only,  "  Lovest 
thou' me?"  An  answer  to  this  was  sufficient 
then,  why  not  now?  Any  other  answer,  we 
may  believe,  would  have  been  insufficient  then. 
If  Peter  had  made  the  most  pompous  confes- 
sion of  his  faith  and  sentiments,  still  the  first 
question  would  have  recurred,  "  Lovest  thou 
me  ?  This  is  a  scripture  precedent.  Happy 
the  preacher,  whoever  he  be,  my  heart  and  my 
prayers  are  with  him,  who  can  honestly  and 
steadily  appropriate  Peter's  answer.  Such  a 
man,  I  say,  I  am  ready  to  hear,  though  he 
should  be  as  much  mistaken  in  some  points 
as  Peter  afterwards  appears  to  have  been  in 
others.  What  a  pity  is  it,  that  christians  in 
succeeding  ages  should  think  the  constraining 
force  of  the  love  of  Christ  too  weak,  and  sup- 
pose the  end  better  answered  by    forms,  sub- 


LETTERS  TO   THE  REV.   MR. 


L*.r.  V. 

scriptions,  and  questions  of  their  own  devis- 
ing ?   I  cannot  acquit  even  those  churches  who 
judge  themselves  nearest  the  primitive  rule  in 
this  respect:  alas  !  will-worship  and  presump- 
tion may  creep  into   the  best  external  forms. 
But  the  misfortune  both  in  churches  and  pri- 
vate christians  is,  that  we  are  too  prone  rather 
to  compare  ourselves  with  others,  than  to  judge 
by  the  scriptures  ;  and  while  each  can  see  that 
they  give  not  into  the  errors  and  mistakes  of 
the  opposite  party,  both  are  ready  to  conclude 
that  they  are  right:    and  thus  it  happens,  that 
an  attachment  to  a  supposed  gospel-order  will 
recommend  a  man  sooner  and  farther  to  some 
churches,  than  an   eminency   of  gospel-prac- 
tice.     I  hope  you  will  beware  of  such  a  spi- 
rit, whenever  you  publicly  assume   the   Inde- 
pendent character  :   this,  like  a  worm  at  the 
root,  has  nipt  the   graces,   and   hindered   the 
usefulness,    of  many  a    valuable    man ;  and 
those  who  change  sides  and  opinions   are  the 
most  liable  to  it.      For  the  pride  of  our  heart 
insensibly  prompts  us  to  cast  about   far  and 
near  for  arguments  to  justify  our  own  beha- 
viour, and  makes  us  too  ready  to  hold  the  o- 
pinions  we  have  taken  up  to  the  very  extreme, 
that  those  amongst  whom  we  are  newly  come 
may  not  suspect  our  sincerity.      In  a  word,  let 
us  endeavour  to  keep  close  to  God,  to  be  much 
in  prayer,  to  watch  carefully  over  our  hearts, 
and  leave  the  busy  warm  spirits  to  make  the 
best  of  their  work.      The  secret  of  the  Lord  is 
with  them  that   fear  him,   and  that   wait  on 
him  continually ;  to  these  he  will   shew  his 
covenant,  not  notionally,  but  experimentally. 
A  few  minutes  of  the   Spirit's   teaching  will 
furnish  us  with  more  real  useful  knowledge, 
than  toiling  through  whole  folios  of  commen- 
tators and  expositors.    They  are  useful  in  their 
places  and  are  not  to  be  undervalued  by  those 
who  can  perhaps  in  general  do  better  without 
them  ;  but  it  will  be  our  wisdom  to  deal  less 
with  the  streams,  and  be  more  close  in  apply- 
ing   to    the    fountain-head.       The    scripture 
Itself,  and  the  Spirit  of  God,  are  the  best  and 
the    only    sufficient   expositors    of  sciipture. 
kVhatever  men  have  valuable  in  their  writings, 
they  got  it  from   hence  ;   and   the   way    is  as 
open  to  us  as  to  any  of  them.      There  is  no- 
thing required  but  a  teachable  humble  spirit ; 
and  learning,  as  it  is  commonly  called,  is  not 
necessary  in  order  to  this.      I  commend  you 
to  the  grace  of  God,  and  remain 
Yours,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 

Jan.   10,  1760. 
DEAR  SIR, 
I    have   procured   Cennick's  sermons ;  they 
are,  in  my  judgment,  sound  and  sweet.      O 
that  you  and  I  had  a  double   portion  of  that 
spirit  and  unction  which  is  in  them.      Come, 


243 


let  us  not  despair ;  the  fountain  is  as  full  and 
as  free  as  ever ; — precious  fountain,  ever 
flowing  with  blood  and  water,  milk  and  wine. 
This  is  the  stream  that  heals  the  wounded, 
refreshes  the  weary,  satisfies  the  hungry, 
strengthens  the  weak,  and  confirms  the  strong ; 
it  opens  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  softens  the 
heart  of  stone,  teaches  the  dumb  to  sing,  and 
enables  the  lame  and  paralytic  to  walk,  to 
leap,  to  run,  to  fly,  to  mount  up  with  eagles 
wings  :  a  taste  of  this  stream  raises  earth  to 
heaven,  and  brings  down  heaven  upon  earth. 
Nor  is  it  a  fountain  only ;  it  is  a  universal 
blessing,  and  assumes  a  variety  of  shapes  to 
suit  itself  to  our  wants.  It  is  a  sun,  a  shield,  a 
garment,  a  shade,  a  banner,  a  refuse  :  it  is 
bread,  the  true  bread,  the  very  staff  of  life  :  it 
is  life  itself,  immortal,  eternal  life  ! 

The  cross  of  Jesus  Christ  my  Lorn, 

Is  food  and  med'cine,  shield  and  sword. 

Take  that  for  your  motto  ;  wear  it  in  your 
heart ;  keep  it  in  your  eye ;  have  it  often  in 
your  mouth  till  you  can  find  some'/.iing  better. 
The  cross  of  Christ  is  the  tree  of  life  and  the 
tree  of  knowledge  combined.  Blessed  be 
God,  there  is  neither  prohibition  nor  flaming 
sword  to  keep  us  back,  but  it  stands  like  a 
tree  by  the  highway-side,  which  affords  its 
shade  to  every  passenger  without  distinction. 
Watch  and  pray.  We  live  in  a  sifting  time: 
error  gains  ground  every  day.  May  the  name 
and  love  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  keep  us  and  all 
his  people.  Either  write  or  come  very  soon  to, 
Yours,  &c. 


LETTER  V. 

November  15,  1760. 

DEAR  SIR, 

If  your  visit  should  be  delayed,  let  me  have 
a  letter.  I  want  either  good  news  or  good 
advice  ;  to  hear  that  your  soul  prospers,  or  to 
receive  something  that  may  quicken  my  own. 
The  apostle  says,  "  Ye  know  the  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ:"  alas!  we  know  how  to 
say  something  about  it,  but  how  faint  and 
feeble  are  our  real  perceptions  of  it  !  Our  love 
to  him  is  the  proof  and  measure  of  what  we 
know  of  his  love  to  us.  Surely  then,  we  are 
mere  children  in  this  kind  of  knowledge,  and 
every  other  kind  is  vain.  What  should  we 
think  of  a  man  who  should  neglect  his  busi- 
ness, family,  and  all  the  comforts  of  life,  that 
he  might  study  the  Chinese  language  ;  though 
he  knows  before-hand  he  should  never  be  able 
to  attain  it,  nor  ever  find  occasion  or  opportu- 
nity to  use  it  ?  The  pursuit  of  every  branch 
of  knowledge  that  is  not  closely  connected 
with  the  one  thing  needful,  is  no  less  redicu- 
lous. 

You  know    something   of  our  friend    Mrs. 
B .      She   has   been   more   than  a  month 


LETTERS  TO  THE   REV.   MR. 


244 

confined  to  her  bed,  and  I  believe  her  next  re 
move  will  be  to  her  coffin.  The  Lord  has 
done  great  things  for  her.  Though  she  has 
been  a  serious  exemplary  person  all  her  life, 
when  the  prospect  of  death  presented,  she  be- 
gan to  cry  out  earnestly,  "  What  shall  I  do 
to  be  saved  ?"  But  her  solicitude  is  at  an  end  ; 
she  has  seen  the  salvation  of  God,  and  now  for 
the  most  part  rejoices  in  something  more  than 
hope.  This  you  will  account  good  news,  I 
am  sure.  Let  it  be  your  encouragement  and 
mine.  The  Lord's  arm  is  not  shortened,  nor 
is  his  presence  removed  j  he  is  near  us  still, 
though  we  perceive  him  not.  May  he  guide 
you  with  his  eye  in  all  your  public  and  pri- 
vate concerns,  and  may  he  in  particular  bless 
our  communications  to  our  mutual  advan- 
tage. 

I  am,  &c. 


LET.  VII. 


LETTER  VI. 

July  29,  1761. 

DEAR  SIR, 

Are  the  quarrels  made  up  ?  Tell  those  who 
know  what  communion  with  Jesus  is  worth, 
that  they  will  never  be  able  to  maintain  it,  if 
they  give  way  to  the  workings  of  pride,  jea- 
lousy, and  anger.  This  will  provoke  the  Lord 
to  leave  them  dry,  to  command  the  clouds  of 
his  grace  that  they  rain  no  rain  upon  them. 
These  things  are  sure  signs  of  a  low  frame, 
and  a  sure  way  to  keep  it  so.  Could  they  be 
prevailed  upon,  from  a  sense  of  the  pardoning 
love  of  God  to  their  own  souls,  to  forgive 
each  other,  as  the  Lord  forgives  us,  freely, 
fully,  without  condition  and  without  reserve, 
they  would  find  this  like  breaking  down  a 
stone-wall,  which  has  hitherto  shut  up  their 
prayers  from  the  Lord's  ears,  and  shut  out  his 
blessing  from  filling  their  hearts.  Tell  them, 
I  hope  to  hear  that  all  animosities,  little  and 
big,  are  buried,  by  mutual  consent,  in  the 
Redeemer's  grave.  Alas  !  the  people  of  God 
have  enemies  enough  :  Why,  then,  will  they 
weaken  their  own  hands  ?  Why  will  they  help 
their  enemies  to  pull  down  the  Lord's  work  ? 
Why  will  they  grieve  those  that  wish  them 
well,  cause  the  weak  to  stumble,  the  wicked 
to  rejoice,  and  bring  a  reproach  upon  their 
holy  profession  ?  Indeed,  this  is  no  light 
matter ;  I  wish  it  may  not  lead  them  to  some- 
thing worse ;  I  wish  they  may  be  wise  in 
time,  lest  Satan  gains  further  advantage  over 
them,  and  draw  them  to  something  that  shall 
make  them  (as  David  did)  roar  under  the 
pains  of  broken  bones.  But  I  must  break  of!'. 
May  God  give  you  wisdom,  faithfulness,  and 
patience.  Take  care  that  you  do  not  catch 
an  angry  spirit  youreslf,  while  you  aim  to 
suppress  it  in  others  ;  this  will  spoil  all,  and 
you  will  exhort,  advise,  and  weep  in  vain. 
iVlay  you  rather  be  an  example  and  pattern  to 


the  flock  ;  and  in  this  view,  be  not  surprised 
if  you  yourself  meet  some  hard  usage  ;  rather 
rejoice  that  you  will  thereby  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  exemplify  your  own  rules,  and  to 
convince  your  people,  that  what  you  recom- 
mend to  them  you  do  not  speak  by  rote,  but 
from  the  experience  of  your  heart.  One  end 
why  our  Lord  was  tempted,  was  for  the  en- 
couragement of  his  poor  followers,  that  they 
might  know  him  to  be  a  High-Priest  suited 
to  them,  having  had  a  fellow-feeling  in  their 
distresses.  For  the  like  reason,  he  appoints 
his  ministers  to  be  sorely  exercised,  both  from 
without  and  within,  that  they  may  sympa- 
thize with  their  flock,  and  know  in  their  own 
hearts  the  deceitfulness  of  sin,  the  infirmi- 
ties of  the  flesh,  and  the  way  in  which  the 
Lord  supports  and  bears  with  all  that  trust 
him.  Therefore  be  not  discouraged  ;  useful- 
ness and  trials,  comforts  and  crosses,  strength 
and  exercise,  go  together.  But  remember  he 
has  said,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  for- 
sake thee  ;  be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and 
I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life."  When  you 
get  to  heaven,  you  will  not  complain  of  the 
way  by  which  the  Lord  brought  you.  Fare- 
well.     Pray  for  us. 

Yours,  &c. 


LETTER  VII. 

Dec.  14,  1761. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  PRAY  the  Lord  to  accompany  you  ;  but  can- 
not help  fearing  you  go  on  too  fast.  If  you 
have  not  (as  I  am  sure  you  ought  not)  made 
an  absolute  promise,  but  only  conditional, 
you  need  not  be  so  solicitous ;  depend  upon 
it,  when  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  remove  you, 
he  will  send  one  to  supply  your  place.  I  am 
grieved  that  your  mind  is  so  set  upon  a  step, 
which,  I  fear,  will  occasion  many  inconveni- 
encies  to  a  people  who  have  deserved  your 
best  regard.  Others  may  speak  you  fairer, 
but  none  wishes  you  better  than  myself; 
therefore  I  hope  you  allow  me  to  speak  my 
mind  plainly,  and  believe  that  it  is  no  plea- 
sure to  me  to  oppose  your  inclinations.  As 
to  your  saying  they  will  take  no  denial,  It  has 
no  weight  with  me.  Had  they  asked  what 
you  were  exceedingly  averse  to,  you  would 
soon  have  expressed  yourself  so  as  to  con- 
vince them  it  was  to  no  purpose  to  urge  you ; 
but  they  saw  something  in  your  manner  or 
language  that  encouraged  them ;  they  saw 
the  proposal  was  agreeable  to  you,  that  you 
were  not  at  all  unwilling  to  exchange  your 
old  friends  for  new  ones ;  and  this  is  the  rea- 
son they  would  take  no  denial.  If  you  should 
live  to  see  those  who  are  most  forward  in 
pressing  you  become  the  first  to  discourage 
you,  you  will  think  seriously  of  my  words. 
If   I    thought  my  advice  would  prevail,  it 


let.  viu.  LETTERS  TO 

should  be  this :  Call  the  people  together,  and 
desire  them,  if  possible,  to  forget  you  ever  in- 
tended to  depart  from  them;  and  promise  not 
to  think  of  a  removal,  till  the  Lord  shall  make 
your  way  so  clear,  that  even  they  shall  have 
nothing  reasonable  to  object  against  it.  You 
may  keep  your  word  with  your  other  friends 
too;  for  when  a  proper  person  shall  offer,  as 
likely  to  please  and  satisfy  the  people  as  your- 
self, 1  will  give  my  hearty  consent  to  your 
removal. 

Consider  what  it  is  you  would  have  in  your 
office,  but  maintenance,  acceptance,  and  suc- 
cess. Have  you  not  these  where  you  are  ? 
Are  you  sure  of  having  them  where  you  are 
going  ?  Are  you  sure  the  Spirit  of  God 
(without  which  you  will  do  nothing)  will  be 
with  you  there,  as  he  has  been  with  you  hither- 
to ?  Perhaps,  if  you  act  in  your  own  spirit, 
you  may  find  as  great  a  change  as  Samson. 
1  am  ready  to  weep  when  I  think  what  diffi- 
culties were  surmounted  to  accomplish  your 
ordination  ;  and  now,  when  the  people  thought 
themselves  fixed,  that  you  should  so  soon  dis- 
appoint them. 

Yours,  &c. 


LETTER  VIII. 

Feburary  .5,  1,762. 
DEAR  SIR, 

I  have  Deen  often  thinking  of  you  since  your 
removal,  and  was  glad  to  receive  your  letter  to- 
day. I  hope  you  will  still  go  on  to  find  more 
and  more  encouragement  to  believe,  that  the 
Lord  has  disposed  and  led  you  to  the  step 
you  have  taken.  For  though  I  wrote  with 
the  greatest  plainness  and  earnestness,  and 
would,  if  in  my  power,  have  prevented  it 
while  under  deliberation,  yet,  now  it  is  done 
and  past  recall,  I  would  rather  help  than  dis- 
hearten you.  Indeed,  I  cannot  say  that  my 
view  of  the  affair  is  yet  altered.  The  best 
way  not  to  be  cast  down  hereafter,  is  not  to 
be  too  sanguine  at  first.  You  know  there  is 
something  pleasing  in  novelty;  as  yet  you 
are  new  to  them,  and  they  to  you  :  I  pray 
God,  that  you  may  find  as  cordial  a  regard 
from  them  as  at  present,  when  you  have  been 
with  them  as  many  years  as  in  the  place  you 
came  from.  And  if  you  have  grace  to  be 
watchful  and  prayful,  all  will  be  well ;  for 
we  serve  a  gracious  Master,  who  knows  how- 
to  over-rule  even  our  mistakes  to  his  glory 
and  our  own  advantage,  let  I  observe,  that 
when  we  do  wrong,  sooner  or  later  we  smart 
for  our  indiscretion,  perhaps  many  years 
afterwards.  After  we  have  seen  and  confes- 
sed our  fault,  and  received  repeated  proofs  of 
pardoning  love,  as  to  the  guilt,  yet  chastise- 
ment, to  remind  us  more  sensibly  of  our 
having  done  amiss,  will  generally  find  us  out. 
So  it  was  with  David  in  the  matter  of  Uriah  ; 


THE   REV.   MR. .  £<$& 

the  Lord  put  away  his  sin,  healed  his  broken 
bones,  and  restored  unto  him  the  light  of  his 
countenance ;  yet  many  troubles,  in  conse- 
quence of  this  affair,  followed  one  upon  ano- 
ther, till  at  length  (many  years  afterwards)  he 
was  driven  from  Jerusalem  by  his  own  son. 
So  it  was  with  Jacob:  he  dealt  deceitfully 
with  his  brother  Esau ;  notwithstanding  this 
the  Lord  appeared  to  him  and  blessed  him, 
gave  him  comfortable  promises,  and  revealed 
himself  to  him  from  time  to  time  ;  yet  after 
an  interval  of  twenty  years,  his  fault  was 
brought  afresh  to  his  remembrance,  and  his 
heart  trembled  within  him,  when  he  heard  his 
brother  was  coming  with  armed  men  to  meet 
him.  And  thus  I  have  found  it  in  my  own 
experience :  things  which  I  had  forgotten  a 
long  while  fiave  been  brought  to  my  mind  by 
providential  dispensations  which  I  little  ex- 
pected ;  but  the  first  rise  of  which  I  have 
been  able  to  trace  far  back,  and  forced  to  con- 
fess, that  the  Lord  is  indeed  He  that  judgeth 
the  heart  and  trieth  the  reins.  I  hint  this  for 
your  caution ;  you  know  best  upon  what 
grounds  you  have  proceeded  ;  but  if  (though 
I  do  not  affirm  it,  I  hope  otherwise),  I  say,  if 
you  have  acted  too  much  in  your  own  spirit, 
been  too  hasty  and  precipitate ;  if  you  have 
not  been  sufficiently  tender  of  your  people, 
nor  thoughtful  of  the  consequences  which 
your  departure  will  probably  involve  them  in  ; 
if  you  were  impatient  under  the  Lord's  hand, 
and,  instead  of  waiting  his  time  and  way  of 
removing  the  trials  and  difficulties  you  found, 
you  have  ventured  upon  an  attempt  to  free 
and  mend  yourself;  I  say,  if  any  of  these 
things  have  mixed  with  your  determinations, 
something  will  fall  out  to  shew  you  your 
fault :  either  you  will  not  find  the  success  you 
hope  for,  or  friends  will  grow  cold,  or  enemies 
and  difficulties  you  dream  not  of,  will  present 
themselves ;  or  your  own  mind  will  alter,  so 
as  what  seems  now  most  pleasant  will  afford 
you  little  pleasure.  Yet,  though  I  write  thus, 
I  do  not  mean,  as  I  said  before,  to  discourage 
you,  but  that  you  may  be  forewarned,  hum- 
ble, and  watchful.  If  you  should  at  any  time 
have  a  different  view  of  things,  you  may  take 
comfort  from  the  instances  I  have  mentioned. 
The  trials  of  David  and  Jacob  were  sharp, 
but  they  were  short;  and  they  proved  to  their 
advantage,  put  them  upon  acts  of  humiliation 
and  prayer,  and  ended  in  a  double  blessing. 
Nothing  can  harm  us  that  quickens  our  ear- 
nestness and  frequency  in  applying  to  a  throne 
of  grace  :  only  trust  the  Lord,  and  keep  close 
to  him,  and  all  that  befalls  you  shall  be  for 
good.  Temptations  end  in  victory  ;  troubles 
prove  an  increase  of  consolation  ;  yea,  our 
very  falls  and  failings  tend  to  increase  our 
spiritual  wisdom,  to  give  us  a  greater  know- 
ledge of  Satan's  devices,  and  make  us  more 
habitually  upon  our  guard  against  them.  Hap 
py  case  of  the  believer  in  Jesus  !  when  bitten 
by  the  fiery  serpent  he  needs  not  go  far  for  a 


246 


EKS  TO  THE  REV. 

bleeding 


MR. 


LET.   VIII. 


remedy  ;  he  lias   only  to  look  to  a 
Saviour,  and  be  healed. 

I  think  one  great  advantage  that  attends  a 
removal  into  a  new  place  is,  that  it  gives  an 
easy  opportunity  of  forming  a  new  plan,  and 
breaking  oft"  any  little  habits  which  we  have 
found  inconvenient,  and  yet,  perhaps  could  not 
so  readily  lay  aside,  where  our  customs  and  ac- 
quaintance had  been  long  formed.  I  earnest- 
ly recommend  to  you  to  reflect,  if  you  can- 
not recollect  some  things  which  you  have 
hitherto  omitted,  which  may  properly  be  now 
taken  up  ;  some  things  formerly  allowed, 
which  may  now  with  ease  and  convenience  be 
laid  aside.  1  only  give  the  hint  in  general ; 
for  I  have  nothing  in  particular  to  charge  you 
with.  I  recommend  to  you  to  be  very  choice 
of  your  time,  especially  the  fore  part  of  the 
day.  Let  your  morning  hours  be  devoted  to 
prayer,  reading,  and  study ;  and  suffer  not 
the  importunity  of  friends  to  rob  you  of  the 
hours  before  noon,  without  a  just  necessity  : 
and  if  you  accustom  yourself  to  rise  early  in 
the  morning,  you  will  find  a  great  advantage. 
Be  careful  to  avoid  losing  your  thoughts, 
whether  in  books  or  otherwise,  upon  any  sub- 
jects which  are  not  of  a  direct  subserviency 
to  your  great  design,  till  towards  dinner-time. 
The  afternoon  is  not  so  favourable  to  study  : 
.his  is  a  proper  time  for  paying  and  receiving 
visits,  conversing  among  your  friends,  or  un- 
bending with  a  book  of  instructive  entertain- 
ment, such  as  history,  &c.  which  may  increase 
your  general  knowledge,  without  a  great  con- 
finement of  your  attention  ;  but  let  the  morn- 
ing-hours be  sacred.  I  think  you  would 
likewise  find  advantage  in  using  your  pen 
more.  Write  short  notes  upon  the  scriptures 
you  read,  or  transcribe  the  labours  of  others ; 
make  extracts  from  your  favourite  authors, 
especially  those  who,  besides  a  fund  of  spiri- 
tual and  evangelical  matter,  have  a  happy  ta- 
lent of  expressing  their  thoughts  in  a  clear 
and  lively,  or  pathetic  manner.  You  would 
rind  a  continued  exercise  in  this  way  would 
be  greatly  useful  to  form  your  own  style,  and 
help  your  delivery  and  memory;  you  would 
become  insensibly  master  of  their  thoughts, 
and  find  it  more  easy  to  express  yourself  just- 
ly and  clearly  :  what  we  read  we  easily  lose, 
but  what  we  commit  to  paper  is  not  so  soon 
forgot.  Especially  remember  (what  you  well 
know,  but  we  cannot  too  often  remind  each 
other),  that  frequent  secret  prayer  is  the  life 
of  all  we  do.  If  any  man  lack  wisdom,  let 
1  im  ask  of  God,  and  it  shall  be  given  ;  but 
Ml  our  diligence  will  fail,  if  we  are  remiss  in 
this  particular.  I  am  glad  it  is  not  thought 
necessary  for  you  to  go  to  London  on  this 
occasion.  I  hope  you  will  not  think  it  neces- 
sary upon  any  other  account.  Rather  keep 
close  to  the  work  you  have  undertaken,  and 
endeavour  to  avoid  any  thing  that  looks  like 
ostentation,  or  a  desire  to  be  taken  notice  of. 
You  see  I  advise   you  with  the  freedom  of  a 


friend  who  loves  you,  and  longs  to  see  your 
work  and  your  soul  prosper. 

You  will,  I  doubt  not,  endeavour  to  pro- 
mote the  practice  of  frequent  prayer  in  the 
houses  that  receive  you.  I  look  upon  prayer- 
meetings  as  the  most  profitable  exercises  (ex- 
cepting the  public  preaching)  in  which  chris- 
tians can  engage  :  they  have  a  direct  tendency 
to  kill  a  wordly,  trifling  spirit,  to  draw  down 
a  divine  blessing  upon  all  our  concerns,  com- 
pose differences,  and  enkindle  (at  least  to 
maintain)  the  flame  of  divine  love  amongst 
brethren.  But  I  need  not  tell  you  the  ad- 
vantages; you  know  them:  I  only  would  ex- 
hort you,  and  the  rather  as  I  find  in  my  own 
case  the  principal  cause  of  my  leanness  and 
unfruitfulness  is  owing  to  an  unaccountable 
backwardness  to  pray.  I  can  write,  or  read, 
or  converse,  or  hear,  with  a  ready  will;  but 
prayer  is  more  spiritual  and  inward  than  any 
of  these,  and  the  more  spiritual  any  duty  is 
the  more  my  carnal  heart  is  apt  to  start  from 
it.  May  the  Lord  pour  forth  his  precious 
spirit  of  prayer  and  supplication  in  both  our 
hearts  ! 

I  am  not  well  pleased  with  the  account  you 
give  of  so  many  dry  bones.  It  increases  my 
wonder,  that  you  could  so  readily  exchange  so 
much  plump  flesh  and  blood  as  you  had  about 
you  for  a  parcel  of  skeletons.  I  wish  they 
may  not  haunt  you  and  disturb  your  peace. 
I  wish  these  same  dry  bones  do  not  prove 
thorns  in  your  sides  and  in  your  eyes.  You 
say,  now  you  have  to  pray,  and  prophecy,  and 
wait  for  the  four  winds  to  come  and  put  life 
into  these  bones.  God  grant  that  your  prayers 
may  be  answered  :  but  if  I  knew  a  man  who 
possessed  a  field  in  a  tolerable  soil,  which  had 
afforded  him  some  increase  every  year,  and  if 
this  man,  after  having  bestowed  seven  years 
labour  in  cultivating,  weeding,  manuring, 
fencing,  &c,  just  when  he  has  brought  his 
ground  (in  his  neighbour's  judgment)  into 
good  order,  and  might  reasonably  hope  for 
larger  crops  than  he  had  ever  yet  seen,  should 
suddenly  forego  all  his  advantages,  leave  his 
good  seed  for  the  birds  to  eat,  pull  up  the 
young  fences  which  cost  him  so  much  pains 
to  plant,  and  all  this  for  the  sake  of  making 
a  new  experiment  upon  the  top  of  a  moun- 
tain ;  though  I  might  heartily  wish  him  great 
success  I  could  not  honestly  give  him  great 
encouragement.  You  have  parted  with  that 
for  a  trifle  which  in  my  eyes  seems  an  ines- 
timable jewel,  I  mean  the  hearts  and  affec- 
tions of  an  enlightened  people.  This  appears 
to  me  one  of  the  greatest  honours  and  greatest 
pleasures  a  faithful  minister  can  possess,  and 
which  many  faithful  and  eminent  ministers 
have  never  been  able  to  obtain.  This  gave 
you  a  vast  advantage ;  your  gift  was  more 
acceptable  there  than  that  of  any  other  per- 
son, and  more  than  you  will  probably  find 
elsewhere.  For  I  cannot  make  a  comparison 
between  the  hasty  approbation  of  a  few,  whos* 


LET.  VIII. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR. 


247 


eyes  are  but  beginning  to  open,  and  their  af- 
fections and  passions  warm,  so  that  they  must, 
if  possible,  have  the  man  that  first  catches 
their  attention :  I  say,  I  cannot  think  this 
worthy  to  be  compared  to  the  regard  of  a 
people  who  understood  the  gospel,  were  able 
to  judge  of  men  and  doctrines,  and  had  trial 
of  you  for  so  many  years.  It  is,  indeed,  much 
to  your  honour  (it  proves  that  you  were  faith- 
ful, diligent,  and  exemplary),  that  the  people 
proved  so  attached  to  you  ;  but  that  you  should 
force  yourself  from  them,  when  they  so  dearly 
loved  you,  and  so  much  needed  you,  this  has 
made  all  your  friends  in  these  parts  to  won- 
der, and  your  enemies  to  rejoice ;  and  I,  alas  ! 
know  not  what  to  answer  in  your  behalf  to 
either.  Say  not,  "  I  hate  this  Micaiah,  for 
he  prophesies  not  good  of  me,   but  evil,"  but 


allow  me  the  privilege  of  a  friend.  My  heart 
is  full  when  I  think  what  has  happened,  and 
what  will  probably  be  the  consequence.  In  a 
few  words,  I  am  strongly  persuaded  you  have 
taken  an  unadvised  step,  and  would  therefore 
prepare  you  for  the  inconvenience  and  un- 
easiness you  may  probably  meet  with.  And 
if  I  am  (as  I  desire  I  may  prove)  mistaken, 
my  advice  will  do  no  harm;  you  will  want 
something  to  balance  the  caresses  and  success 
you  meet  with. 

We  should  be  very  glad  to  see  yon,  and 
hope  you  will  take  your  measures,  when  you 
do  come,  to  lengthen  your  usual  stay,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  difference  of  the  distance.  Pray 
for  us. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTERS 

TO  MRS.  P 


LETTER  I. 


May—,  1774. 

MY  DEAR  M ADA VI, 

I  HAVE  had  sudden  notice  that  I  may  send 
you  a  hasty  line,  to  express  our  satisfaction 
in  hearing  that  you  had  a  safe  though  peri- 
lous journey.  I  hope  I  shall  be  always  mind- 
ful to  pray  that  the  Lord  may  guide,  bless, 
and  comfort  you,  and  give  you  such  a  mani- 
festation of  his  person,  power,  and  grace,  as 
may  set  you  at  liberty  from  all  fear,  and  fill 
vou  with  abiding  peace  and  joy  in  believing. 
Remember  that  Jesus  has  all  power,  the  ful- 
ness of  compassion,  and  embraces  with  open 
arms  all  that  come  to  him  for  life  and  salvation. 

I   know  not  whether  Mrs.  's  illness 

was  before  or  since  my  last.  Through  mercy 
she  is  better  again  ;  and  I  remain  so,  though 
death  and  illness  are  still  walking  about  the 
town.  O  for  grace  to  take  warning  by  the 
suffering  of  others,  to  sit  loose  to  the  w  orld, 
and  so  to  number  our  days,  as  to  incline  our 
hearts  to  the  one  thing  needful !  Indeed  that 
one  thing  includes  many  things  sufficient  to 
engage  the  best  of  our  thoughts  and  the  most 
of  our  time,  if  we  were  duly  sensible  of  their 
importance  ;  but  1  may  adopt  the  psalmist's 
expression,  "  My  soul  cleaveth  to  the  dust." 
How  is  it  that  the  truths  of  which  I  have  the 
most  undoubted  conviction,  and  which  are 
of  all  others  the  most  weighty,  should  make 
so  little  impression  upon  me  ?  O  I  know  the 
cause  !  it  is  deeply  rooted.  An  evil  nature 
cleaves  to  me  ;  so  that  when  I  would  do  good, 
evil  is  present  with  me.  It  is,  however,  a 
mercy  to  be  made  sensible  of  it,  and  in  any 
measure  humbled  for  it.  Ere  long  it  will  be 
dropped  in  the  grave ;  then  all  compliments 
shall  cease.  That  thought  gives  relief.  I  shall 
not  always  live  this  poor  dying  life.  I  hope 
one  day  to  be  all  ear,  all  heart,  all  tongue; 
when  I  shall  see  the  Redeemer  as  he  is,  I 
shall   be   like   him.      This  will   be  a   heaven 


indeed,  to  behold  his  glory  without  a  vail,  to 
rejoice  in  his  love  without  a  cloud,  and  to 
sing  his  praises,  without  one  jarring  or  wan- 
dering note,  for  ever.  In  the  mean  time, 
may  he  enable  us  to  serve  him  with  our  best. 
O  that  every  power,  faculty,  and  talent,  were 
devoted  to  him  !  he  deserves  all  we  have,  and 
ten  thousand  times  more  if  we  had  it;  for  he 
has  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in 
his  own  blood.  He  gave  himself  for  us.  In 
one  sense  we  are  well  suited  to  answer  his 
purpose  ;  for  if  we  were  not  vile  and  worthless 
beyond  expression,  the  exceeding  riches  of  his 
grace  would  not  have  been  so  gloriously  dis- 
played.  His  glory  shines  more  in  redeeming 
one  sinner,  than    in    preserving   a    thousand 

angels.     Poor  Mr.  is  still  in  the  dark 

valley,  but  we  trust  prayer  shall  yet  bring  him 
out.  Mighty  things  have  been  done  in  an- 
swer to  prayer ;  and  the  Lord's  arm  is  not 
shortened,  neither  is  his  ear  heavy.  It  is  our 
part  to  wait  till  we  have  an  answer.  One  cf 
his  own  hymns  says. 

The  promise  may  be  long  deferr'd, 
But  never  conies  too  late. 

I  suppose  you  have  heard   of  the  death  of 

Mr.  T of  R .      This  is  apparently  a 

heavy  blow.      He  was  an  amiable,  judicious, 

candid  man,  and  an    excellent  preacher  in  a 

great  sphere  of  usefulness  ;  and  his  age  and 

constitution   gave  hopes   that   he  might  have 

been  eminently   serviceable   for  many   years. 

How  often  does  the  Lord  write  Vanity  upon 

all  our  expectations  from  men.      He  visited  a 

person  ill  of  a  putrid  fever,    and   carried  the 

seeds  of  infection  with  him  to  London,  where 

he  died.      Mrs.  is  a  very  excellent  and 

accomplished  woman,  but  exceedingly  delicate 

in  her  frame  and  spirits.    How  can  she  bear  so 

sudden  and  severe  a  stroke  !  But  yet  I  hope  she 

will  afford  a  proof  of  the  Lord's  all-sufficiency 

and  faithfulness.  O  Madam,  the  Lord  our  God 


LETTERS  TO   MRS.   P — 


LET.  It. 

is  a  great  God!  If  he  frowns,  the  smiles 
of  the  whole  creation  can  afford  no  com- 
fort ;  and  if  he  is  pleased  to  smile,  he  can 
enable  the  soul  under  the  darkest  dispen- 
sations to  say,  All  is  well.  Yet  the  flesh  will 
feel,  and  it  ought :  otherwise  the  exercise  of 
faith,  patience,  and  resignation,  would  be  im- 
practicable. I  have  lost  in  him  one  of  my 
most  valued  and  valuable  friends ;  but  what 
is  my  loss  to  that  of  his  people  ? 

The  Lord  bless  you  and  keep  you.  The 
Lord  increase  you  more  and  more,  you  and 
your  children.  The  Lord  lift  up  the  light  of 
his  countenance  upon  you,  and  give  you  his 
peace.  I  thank  him  for  leading  you  to  us, 
but  especially  for  making  your  visit  there  in 
any  measure  agreeable  and  profitable  to  your- 
self. If  I  have  been  an  instrument  in  his 
hand  for  your  comfort,  I  have  reason  to  re- 
member it  among  the  greatest  favours  he  has 
conferred  upon  me.  And  now,  dear  Madam, 
once  more  farewell.  If  the  Lord  spares  eur 
lives,  I  hope  we  shall  see  each  other  again 
upon  earth.  But  above  all,  let  us  rejoice  in 
the  blessed  gospel,  by  which  immortality  is 
brought  to  light,  and  a  glorious  prospect  o- 
pened  beyond  the  grave. 

There  sits  our  Saviour  thron'd  in  light, 
Cloth 'd  with  a  body  like  our  own. 

There  at  least,  after  all  the  changes  and  trials 
of  this  state,  we  shall  meet  to  part  no  more. 
I  am,  &c. 


249 


LETTER  II. 

1775. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

I  SHOULD  have  been  more  uneasy  at  being  pre- 
vented writing  immediately,  had  I  any  reason 
to  apprehend  my  advice  necessary  upon  the 
point  you  propose,  which,  by  this  time,  I  sup- 
pose is  settled  as  it  should  be  without  me.     I 

smiled    at     Miss     M 's     disappointment. 

However,  if  the  Lord  favours  her  with  a  taste 
for  the  library  of  my  proposing,  she  will  be 
like  the  merchant-man  seeking  goodly  pearls, 
and  will  count  all  other  books  but  pebbles 
in  comparison  of  those  four  volumes,  which 
present  us  with  something  new  and  important 
whenever  we  look  into  them.  1  shall  be  much 
obliged  to  her  if  she  will  commit  the  third 
chapter  of  Proverbs  to  her  memory,  and  I  shall 
pray  the  Lord  to  write  it  in  her  heart. 

You  surprise  me  when  you  tell  me,  the  in- 
cident of  my  birth-day  was  noticed  by  those 
I  never  saw.  Be  so  good  as  to  return  my 
thanks  to  my  unknown  friends,  and  tell  them, 
that  I  pray  our  common  Lord  and  Saviour  to 
bless  them  abundantly.  His  people  while 
here  are  scattered  abroad,  separated  by  hills 
and  rivers,  and  too  often  by  names  and  pre- 
judices ;  but  by  and   bye  we   shall  all  meet, 


where  we  shall  all  know  and  acknowledge  each 
other,  and  rejoice  together  for  evermore.  I  have 
lately  read  with  much  pleasure,  and  I  hope  with 
some  profit,  the  history  of  the  Greenland  Mis- 
sion. Upon  the  whole,  it  is  a  glorious  work. 
None  who  love  the  Lord  will  refuse  to  say,  it 
is  the  finger  of  God  indeed.  For  my  own 
part,  my  soul  rejoices  in  it :  and  I  honour  the 
instruments,  as  men  who  have  hazarded  their 
lives  in  an  extraordinary  manner  for  the  sake 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Sure  I  am  that  none 
could  have  sustained  such  discouragements  at 
first,  or  have  obtained  such  success  afterwards, 
unless  the  Lord  had  sent,  supported,  and 
owned  them. 

I  hope  we  shall  have  an  interest  in  your 
prayers.  I  trust  the  Lord  is  yet  with  us. 
V/e  have  some  ripe  for  the  sickle,  and  some 
just  springing  up  ;  some  tokens  of  his  gracious 
presence  amongst  us ;  but  sin  and  Satan  cut 
us  out  abundance  of  work  as  individuals, 
though,  through  mercy  as  a  society,  we  walk  in 
peace. 

The  toad  and  spider  is  an  exhibition  of  my 
daily  experience.  I  am  often  wounded,  but 
the  Lord  is  my  health  :  still  I  am  a  living 
monument  of  mercy  ;  and  I  trust  that  word, 
"  Because  I  live,  you  shall  live  also,"  will  car- 
ry me  to  the  end.  I  am  poor,  weak,  and  fool- 
ish ;  but  Jesus  is  wise,  strong,  and  abounding 
in  grace.  He  has  given  me  a  desire  to  trust 
my  all  in  his  hands,  and  he  will  not  disap- 
point the  expectation  which  he  himself  has 
raised.  At  present  I  have  but  little  to  say, 
and  but  little  time  to  say  it  in.  When  you 
think  of  this  place,  I  hope  you  will  think  and 
believe,  that  you  have  friends  here  most  cor- 
dially interested  in  your  welfare,  and  often  re- 
membering you  in  prayer.  May  the  Lord  be 
your  guide  and  shield,  and  give  you  the  best 
desires  of  your  heart.  I  pray  him  to  establish 
and  settle  you  in  the  great  truths  of  his  word. 
I  trust  he  will.  We  learn  more,  and  more 
effectually,  by  one  minute's  communication 
with  him  through  the  medium  of  his  written 
word,  than  we  could  from  an  assembly  of  di- 
vines, or  a  library  of  books. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

August  — ,  1775. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

It  is  not  owing  to  forgetfulness  that  your  let- 
ter has  been  thus  long  unanswered.  It  has 
lain  within  my  view  this  fortnight,  demand- 
ing my  first  leisure  hour  ;  but  affairs  of  daily 
occurrence  have  been  so  many  and  so  pressing, 
that  I  have  been  constrained  to  put  it  off  till 
now.  I  trust  the  Lord,  by  his  Spirit  and  provi- 
dence, will  direct  and  prosper  the  settlement 
of  your  children.  I  desire  my  love  to  Miss 
M .     My  idea  of  her  enlarges.    Methink« 


250 


LETTERS  TO  MRS.  P- 


LET.  IV 


I  see  her  aspiring  to  be  as  tall  as  her  mamma. 
I  hope  likewise  that  she  increases  in  grace 
and  wisdom  as  in  years  and  stature  ;  and  that 
hearing  our  Lord's  flock  is  a  little  flock,  she 
feels  an  earnest  thirst  to  be  one  of  the  happy 
number  which  constitutes  his  fold. 

There  the  Lord  dwells  amongst  them  upon  his  own  hill, 
With  the  flocks  all  around  him,  a-waiting  his  will. 

If  she  has  such  a  desire,  I  can  tell  who  gave  it 
her,  for  I  am  persuaded  it  was  not  born  with 
her  :  and  where  the  good  husbandman  sows, 
there  will  he  also  reap.     Therefore,  dear  Miss 

M ,  press  forward  :   knock  and  it  shall  be 

opened  unto  you,  for  yet  there  is  room.  O 
■what  a  fold  !  O  what  a  pasture  !  O  what  a 
shepherd  !  Let  us  love,  and  sing,  and  won- 
der. 

I  hope  the  good  people  at  Bristol,  and 
everywhere  else,  are  praying  for  our  sinful, 
distracted  land,  in  this  dark  day.  The  Lord 
is  angry,  the  sword  is  drawn,  and  I  am  afraid 
nothing  but  the  spirit  of  wrestling  prayer  can 
prevail  for  the  returning  it  into  the  scabbard. 
Could  things  have  proceeded  to  these  extre- 
mities, except  the  Lord  had  withdrawn  his 
salutary  blessing  from  both  sides  ?  It  is  a 
time  of  prayer.  We  see  the  beginning  of 
trouble,  but  who  can  foresee  the  possible  con- 
sequences ?  The  fire  is  kindled,  but  how 
far  it  may  spread,  those  who  are  above  may 
perhaps  know  better  than  we.  I  meddle  not 
with  the  disputes  of  party,  nor  concern  myself 
about  any  political  maxims,  but  such  as  are 
laid  down  in  scripture.  There  I  read,  that 
righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,  and  that  sin 
is  the  reproach,  and  if  persisted  in,  the  ruin 
of  any  people.  Some  people  are  startled  at 
the  enormous  sum  of  our  national  debt :  they 
who  understand  spiritual  arithmetic,  may  well 
be  startled  if  they  sit  down  and  compute  the 
debt  of  national  sin.  Imprimis,  Infidelity  ; 
Item,  Contempt  of  the  gospel ;  Item,  The  pro- 
fligacy of  manners  ;  Item,  Perjury  ;  Item, 
The  cry  of  blood,  the  blood  of  thousands,  per- 
haps millions,  from  the  East  Indies.  It  would 
take  sheets,  yea  quires,  to  draw  out  the  parti- 
culars under  each  of  these  heads,  and  then 
much  would  remain  untold.  What  can  we 
answer,  when  the  Lord  saith,  "  Shall  not  I 
visit  for  these  things  ?  shall  not  my  soul  be 
avenged  on  such  a  nation  as  this  ?"  Since  we 
received  the  news  of  the  first  hostilities  in  A- 
merica,  we  have  had  an  additional  prayer- 
meeting.  Could  I  hear  that  professors  in 
general,  instead  of  wasting  their  breath  in 
censuring  men  and  measures,  were  plying  the 
tl  rone  of  grace,  I  should  still  hope  for  a  re- 
spite. Poor  New  England  !  once  the  glory 
of  the  earth,  now  likely  to  be  visited  with  fire 
and  sword  !  They  have  left  their  first  love, 
and  the  Lord  is  sorely  contending  with  them. 
Yet  surely  their  sins  as  a  people  are  not  to 
be  compared  with  ours.  I  am  just  so  much 
affected  with   these  things,   as  to  know  that   I 


am  not  affected  enough.  Oh  !  my  spint  is 
sadly  cold  and  insensible,  or  I  should  lay 
them  to  heart  in  a  different  manner ;  yet  I 
endeavour  to  give  the  alarm  as  far  as  I  can. 
There  is  one  political  maxim  which  comforts 
me,  "  The  Lord  reigns."  His  hand  guides 
the  storm ;  and  he  knows  them  that  are  his, 
how  to  protect,  support,  and  deliver  them. 
He  will  take  care  of  his  own  cause,  yea,  he 
will  extend  his  kingdom,  even  by  these  for- 
midable methods.  Men  have  one  thing  in 
view,  he  has  another,  and  his  counsel  shall 
stand. 

The  chief  piece  of  news  since  my  last  is 
concerning  B.  A.  She  has  finished  her 
course,  and  is  now  with  the  great  multitude 
who  have  overcome  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, 
and  by  the  word  of  his  testimony.  Tuesday, 
the  1st  of  February,  she  was  in  our  assembly, 
was  taken  ill  the  next  day,  and  died  while  we 
were  assembled  the  Tuesday  following.  She 
had  an  easy  dissolution,  retained  her  senses 
and  her  speech  to  the  last  minute,  and  went 
without  a  struggle  or  a  sigh.  She  was  not 
in  raptures  during  her  illness,  but  was  com- 
posed, and  maintained  a  strong  and  lively 
faith.  She  had  a  numerous  levee  about  her 
bed  daily,  who  were  all  witnesses  to  the  power 
of  faith,  and  to  the  faithfulness  of  the  Lord, 
enabling  her  to  triumph  over  the  approaches 
of  death  ;  for  she  was  well  known  and  well 
respected.  She  will  be  much  missed ;  but  I 
hope  he  will  answer  the  many  prayers  she  put 
up  for  us,  and  raise  up  others  in  her  room. 
"  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord." 
Blessed  are  they  who  know  whom  they  have 
believed,  and  when  death  comes,  can  cheer- 
fully rest  their  hopes  on  him  who  died  that 
we  might  live.  B— —  had  been  long  a  pre- 
cious and  honourable  woman  ;  but  her  hope 
in  the  trying  hour  rested  not  in  what  she  had 
done  for  the  Lord,  but  upon  what  he  had 
done  for  her  ;  not  upon  the  change  his  grace 
had  wrought  in  her,  but  upon  the  righteous- 
ness he  had  wrought  out  for  her  by  his  obe- 
dience unto  death.  This  supported  her,  for 
she  saw  nothing  in  herself  but  what  she  was 
ashamed  of.  She  saw  reason  to  renounce  her 
own  goodness,  as  well  as  her  own  sins,  as  to 
the  point  of  acceptance  with  God,  and  died, 
as  St.  Paul  lived,  determined  to  know  nothing 
but  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified. 

The  time  when   Mr.  and  Mrs.   C re- 

move  to  Scotland  drawing  near,  Mrs.  is 

gone  to  spend  a  week  or  two  with  them,  and 
take  her  leave.  She  feels  something  at  part- 
ing with  a  sifter,  who  is  indeed  a  valuable 
person  ;  and  from  children  they  have  always 
lived  in  the  most  tender  intimacy  and  unin- 
terrupted friendship.  But  all  beneath  the 
moon  (like  the  moon  itself)  is  subject  to  in- 
cessant change.  Alterations  and  separations 
are  graciously  appointed  of  the  Lord,  to  re- 
mind us  that  this  is  not  our  rest,  and  to  pre- 
pare our  thoughts  for  that  approaching  change 


LETTERS  TO  MRS.  P 


LET.  IV. 

which  shall  fix  us  for  ever  in  an  unchange- 
able state.  O  Madam  !  what  shall  we  poor 
worms  render  to  him  who  has  brought  life 
and  immortality  to  life  by  the  gospel,  taken 
away  the  sting  of  death,  revealed  a  glorious 
prospect  beyond  the  grave,  and  given  us  eyes 
to  see  it  ?  Now  the  reflection,  that  we  must 
ere  long  take  a  final  farewell  of  what  is  most 
capable  of  pleasing  us  upon  earth,  is  not  only 
tolerable,  but  pleasant.  For  we  know  we 
cannot  fully  possess  our  best  friend,  our  chief 
treasure,  till  we  have  done  with  all  below ; 
nay,  we  cannot  till  then  properly  see  each 
other.  We  are  cased  up  in  vehicles  of  clay, 
and  converse  together  as  if  we  were  in  differ- 
ent coaches,  with  the  blinds  close  drawn  round. 
We  see  the  carriage,  and  the  voice  tells  us 
that  we  have  a  friend  within  ;  but  we  shall 
know  each  other  better,  when  death  shall  open 
the  coach  doors,  and  hand  out  the  company 
successively,  and  lead  them  into  the  glorious 
apartments  which  the  Lord  has  appointed  to 
be  the  common  residence  of  them  that  love 
him.  What  an  assembly  will  there  be ! 
What  a  constellation  of  glory,  when  each  in- 
dividual shall  shine  like  the  sun  in  the  king- 
dom of  their  Father  !  No  sins,  sorrows,  temp- 
tations ;  no  vails,  clouds,  or  prejudices,  shall 
interrupt  us  then.  All  names  of  idle  distinc- 
tion (the  fruits  of  present  remaining  darkness, 
the  channels  of  bigotry,  and  the  stumbling- 
block  of  the  world)  will  be  at  an  end. 

The  description  you  give  of  your  present 
residence  pleases  me  much,  and  chiefly  because 
it  describes  and  manifests  to  me  something 
still  more  interesting,  I  mean  the  peaceable 
situation  of  your  mind.  Had  he  placed  you 
in  an  Eden  some  months  ago,  it  would  hardly 
have  awakened  your  descriptive  talent.  But 
he  whom  the  wind  and  seas  obey  has  calmed 
your  mind,  and  I  trust  will  go  on  to  fill  you 
with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing.  It  is  no 
great  matter  where  we  are,  provided  we  see 
that  the  Lord  has  placed  us  there,  and  that 
he  is  with  us. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 


1776. 


So,  my  dear  Madam,  I  hope  we  have  found 
you  out,  and  that  this  letter  will  reach  you  in 
good  time  to  welcome  you  in  our  names  to 
London.  We  are  ready  to  take  it  for  granted 
that  you  will  now  most  certainly  make  us  a 
visit.  Do  come  as  soon,  and  stay  as  long,  as 
you  possibly  can.  Methinks  you  will  be  glad 
to  get  out  of  the  smell  and  noise  as  soon  as 
possible.  If  we  did  not  go  to  London  now 
and  then,  we  should  perhaps  forget  how  peo- 
ple live  there.  Especially  I  pity  professors  ; 
they  are  exposed  to  as  many  dangers  as  peo- 
ple who  live  in  mines;  chilling  damps,  scorch- 
ing hlasts   epidemical  disorders,  owing  to  the 


— .  251- 

impure  air.  Such  are  the  winds  of  false  doc- 
trines, the  explosions  of  controversy,  the 
blights  of  worldly  conversation,  the  contagion 
of  evil  custom.  In  short,  a  person  had  need 
have  a  good  constitution  of  grace,  and  like- 
wise to  be  well  supplied  with  antidotes,  to  pre- 
serve a  tolerable  share  of  spiritual  health  in 
such  a  situation. 

And  now,   how  shall   I  fill  up  the  rest  of 
the  paper  ?      It  is  a  shame  for  a  christian  and 
a  minister  to  say  he  has  no  subject  at  hand, 
when  the  inexhaustible  theme  of  redeeming 
love  is  ever  pressing  upon  our  attention.      I 
will  tell  you,  then,  though  you  know  it,  that 
the  Lord  reigns.    He  who  once  bore  our  sins, 
and   carried   our   sorrows,   is   seated   upon   a 
throne    of  glory,  and  exercises  all  power  in 
heaven  and  on  earth.    Thrones,  principalities, 
and  powers,  bow  before  him.    Every  event  in 
the  kingdoms  of  providence  and  of  grace  are 
under  his  rule.     His  providence  pervades  and 
manages  the  whole,  and  is  as  minutely  atten- 
tive to  every  part,  as  if  there  were  only  that 
single  object  in  his  view.      From  the  highest 
archangel  to  the  meanest  ant  or   fly,   all  de- 
pend on  him  for  their  being,   their  preserva- 
tion, and  their  powers.      He  directs  the  spar- 
rows where  to  build  their  nests,  and  to   find 
their  food.     He  over-rules  the  rise  and  fall  of 
nations,  and  bends,  with  an  invincible  energy 
and   unerring   wisdom,   all   events ;    so   that, 
while  many  intend  nothing  less,  in  the  issue 
their  designs  all  concur  and    coincide  in  the 
accomplishment  of  his  holy  will.    He  restrains 
with  a  mighty  hand  the  still  more  formidable 
efforts  of  the  powers  of  darkness  ;  and  Satan, 
with  all  his  hosts,  cannot  exert  their  malice  a 
hair's  breadth  beyond  the   limits  of  his  per- 
mission.    This  is  he  who  is  the  head  and  hus- 
band of  his  believing  people.    How  happy  are 
they  whom  it  is  his  good  pleasure  to  bless  ! 
How  safe  are  they  whom  he  has   engaged  to 
protect !      How  honoured  and  privileged  are 
they  to  whom  he  is  pleased  to  manifest  him- 
self,   and  whom   he  enables  and  warrants  to 
claim   him   as  their  friend  and  their  portion  ! 
Having  redeemed  them  by  his  own  blood,  he 
sets  a  high  value  upon  them :   he  esteems  them 
his  treasure,  his  jewels,  and  keeps  them  as  the 
pupil  of  his  eye.      They  shall  not  want ;  they 
need  not  fear ;  his  eye  is  upon  them  in  every 
situation,  his  ear  is  open  to  their  prayers,  and 
his  everlasting  arms  are  under  them  for  their 
sure  support.    On  earth  he  guides  their  steps, 
controuls   their   enemies,    and   directs  all  his 
dispensations  for  their  good ;   while  in   hea- 
ven, he  is  pleading  their  cause,  preparing  them 
a  place,  and   communicating   down   to   them 
the  reviving  foretastes  of  the  glory  that  shall 
be  shortly  revealed.      O  how  is  this  mystery 
hidden  from  an  unbelieving  world  !    Who  can 
believe  it,  till  it  is  made  known  by  experience, 
what  an  intercourse  is  maintained  in  this  land 
of  shadows   between   the  Lord  of  glory  and 
sinful  worms  !      How  should  we  praise  him. 


252 


LETTERS  TO  MRS.  P— ■ 


LET.   IV 


that  he  has  visited  us ;  for  we  were  once 
blind  to  his  beauty,  and  insensible  to  his 
love,  and  should  have  remained  so  to  the 
last,  had  he  not  prevented  us  with  his  good- 
ness, and  been  found  of  us  when  we  sought 
him  not. 

Mrs.  presents  her  love.      The  bite  of 

the  leech  which  I  mentioned  to  you  has  con- 
fined her  to  the  house  ever  since ;  but  I  hope 
she  will  be  able  to  go  out  to-morrow.  We 
were  for  a  while  apprehensive  of  worse  con- 
sequences; but  the  Lord  is  gracious:  he 
shews  us,  in  a  variety  of  instances,  what  de- 
pendent creatures  we  are,  how  blind  to  events, 
and  how  easily  the  methods  which  we  take  to 
relieve  ourselves  from  a  small  inconvenience 
may  plunge  us  into  a  greater.    Thus  we  learn 


(happy,  indeed,  if  we  can  effectually  learn  it), 
that  there  is  no  safety  but  in  his  protection, 
and  that  nothing  can  do  us  good  but  by  his 
blessing.  As  for  myself,  I  see  so  many  rea- 
sons why  he  might  contend  with  me,  that  I 
am  amazed  he  affords  me  and  mine  so  much 
peace,  and  appoints  us  so  few  trials.  We 
live  as  upon  a  field  of  battle ;  many  are.hourly 
suffering  and  falling  around  us,  and  I  can 
give  no  reason  why  we  are  preserved,  but  that 
he  is  God,  and  not  man.  What  a  mercy  that 
we  are  only  truly  known  to  him,  who  is  alone 
able  to  bear  us  ! 

May  the  Lord  bless  you  and  yours ;  may 
he  comfort  you,  guide  you,  and  guard  you. 
Come  quickly  to, 

Yours,  &c. 


LETTERS 


TO 


THE  REVEREND  MR.  B- 


LETTER  I. 


September  14,  1765. 

REV.   AND  DEAR  SIR, 

When  I  was  at  London,  in  June  last,  your 
name  first  reached  me,  and  from  that  time  I 
have  been  desirous  to  wish  you  success  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.  A  few  weeks  ago,  I  re- 
ceived a  farther  account  from  Mrs.  ,  with 

a  volume  of  your  sermons :  she  likewise  gave 
me  a  direction  where  to  write,  and  an  encou- 
ragement that  a  letter  would  not  be  unaccept- 
able. The  latter,  indeed,  I  did  not  much 
need,  when  I  had  read  your  book.  Though  we 
have  no  acquaintance,  we  are  already  united 
in  the  strictest  ties  of  friendship,  partakers  of 
the  same  hope,  servants  of  the  same  Lord, 
and  in  the  same  part  of  his  vineyard  :  I  there- 
fore hold  all  apologies  needless.  I  rejoice  in 
the  Lord's  goodness  to  you  ;  I  pray  for  his 
abundant  blessing  upon  your  labours  ;  I  need 
an  interest  in  your  prayers :  I  have  an  affec- 
tionate desire  to  know  more  concerning  you  : 
these  are  my  motives  for  writing. 

Mrs.  tells  mo  that  you  have  read  my 

Narrative :  I  need  not  tell  you,  therefore, 
that  I  am  one  of  the  most  astonishing  in- 
stances of  the  forbearance  and  mercy  of  God 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  In  the  close  of 
it,  I  mention  a  warm  desire  I  had  to  the  mi- 
nistry :  this  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  keep 
alive  for  several  years,  through  a  succession 
of  views  and  disappointments.  At  length  his 
hour  came,  and  my  way  was  made  easy.  I 
have  been  here  about  fifteen  months.  The 
Lord  has  led  me,  by  a  way  that  I  little  ex- 
pected, to  a  pleasant  lot,  where  the  gospel  has 
been  many  years  known,  and  is  highly  valued 
by  many.  We  have  a  large  church  and  con- 
gregation, and  a  considerable  number  of  lively 


thriving  believers,  and  in  gercral  go  on  with 
great  comfort  and  harmony.  I  meet  with  less 
opposition  from  the  world  than  is  usual  where 
the  gospel  is  preached.   This  burden  was  borne 

by  Mr.  B for  ten  years,  and  in  that  course 

of  time,  some  of  the  fiercest  opposers  were  re- 
moved, some  wearied,  and  some  softened  ;  so 
that  we  are  now  remarkably  quiet  in  that  re- 
spect. May  the  Lord  teach  us  to  improve  the 
privilege,  and  preserve  us  from  indifference. 
How  unspeakable  are  our  obligations  to  the 
grace  of  God !  What  a  privilege  is  it  to  be  a 
believer  !  They  are  comparatively  few,  and 
we  by  nature  were  no  nearer  than  others ;  it 
was  grace,  free  grace,  that  made  the  differ- 
ence. What  an  honour  to  be  a  minister  of 
the  everlasting  gospel  !  These,  upon  compa- 
rison, are  perhaps  fewer  still.  How  wonder- 
ful that  one  of  these  few  should  be  sought  for 
among  the  wilds  of  Africa,  reclaimed  from 
the  lowest  state  of  impiety  and  misery,  and 
brought  to  assure  other  sinners,  from  his  own 
experience,  that  "  there  is  forgiveness  with 
him,  that  he  may  be  feared."  And  you,  Sir, 
though  not  left  to  give  such  flagrant  proofs 
of  the  wickedness  of  the  heart  and  the  power 
of  Satan,  yet  owe  your  present  views  to  the 
same  almighty  grace.  If  the  Lord  had  not 
distinguished  you  from  your  brethren,  you 
would  have  been  now  in  the  character  of  a 
minister  misleading  the  people,  and  opposing 
those  precious  truths  you  are  now  labouring 
to  establish.  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord  !  but  un- 
to thy  name  be  the  glory.  I  shall  be  thank- 
ful to  hear  from  you  at  your  leisure.  Be 
pleased  to  inform  me,  whether  you  received 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth  before  or  since 
you  were  in  orders;  how  long  you  have  preach- 


254- 


LETTERS  TO   THE  REV.   MR.    13 


LFT.  II 


ed  the  joyful   sound   of  salvation   by  Jesus, 
and  what  is  the  state  of  things  in  your  parts. 
We   are   called   to  an   honourable   service, 
but  it  is  arduous.      What  wisdom  does  it  re- 
quire to  keep  the   middle  path   in   doctrines, 
avoiding  the  equally  dangerous  errors  on  the 
right  hand  and  the  left  !      What  steadiness,  to 
speak    the    truth   boldly  and  faithfully  in  the 
midst  of  a  gainsaying  world  !    What  humility, 
to  stand  against  the  tide  of  popularity  !   What 
meekness,  to  endure  all  things  for  the  elect's 
sake,  that  they  may  be  saved  !    "  Who  is  suf- 
ficient for  these  things  ?"   We  are  not  in  our- 
selves, but  there  is  an  all-sufficiency  in  Jesus. 
Our  enemy  watches  us  close ;   he  challenges 
and  desires  to  have  us,  that  he  may  sift  us  as 
wheat ;   he  knows  he  can  easily  shake  us,   if 
we  are  left  to  ourselves;   but  we  have  a  Shep- 
herd,   a    Keeper,    who    never    slumbers    nor 
sleeps.     If  he  permits  us  to  be  exercised,  it  is 
for  our  good  ;  he  is  at  hand  to  direct,  mode- 
rate, and  sanctify  every  dispensation  ;  he  has 
prayed   for   us,   that  our  faith   may  not  fail, 
and   he  has  promised  to  maintain  his  fear  in 
our  hearts,  that  we  may  not  depart  from  him. 
When  we  are  prone  to  wander,   he  calls  us 
back  ;  when  we  say,  My  feet  slip,  his  mercy 
holds  us  up  ;  when  we  are  wounded,  he  heals; 
when  we  are  ready  to  faint,  he  revives.      The 
people  of  God  are  sure  to  meet  with  enemies, 
but  especially  the  ministers  :    Satan  bears  them 
a  double  grudge  .    the  world  watches  for  their 
halting,  and  the  Lord  will  suffer  them  to  be 
afflicted,   that  they  may  be  kept  humble,   that 
they  may  acquire  a  sympathy  with  the  suffer- 
ings of  others,   that  they  may  be  experiment  • 
ally  qualified  to  advise   and   help   them,  and 
to  comfort  them  with  the  comforts  with  which 
they  themselves  have  been  comforted  of  God. 
But  the  Captain  of  our  salvation  is  with  us  ; 
his   eye   is  upon   us,  his  everlasting  arms  be- 
neath us  ;  in  his  name,  therefore,   we  may  go 
on,  lift  up  our  banners,  and  say,  "  If  God  be 
for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?      Nay,  in  all 
these   things  we   are  more   than   conquerors, 
through   him   that   loved   us."      The  time  is 
short :    yet  a  little  while,  and-  he  will  wipe  all 
tears  from  our   eyes,  and  put  a  crown  of  life 
upon  our  head  with  his  own  gracious  hand. 
In  this  sense,  how  beautiful  are  those  lines : 

-Temporls  illius 


Me  consolor  imagine ; 
Festis  quum  populus  me  reducem  choris, 
Faustisque  excipiet  vocibus,  et  Dei 
Pompa  cum  celebri,  me  comitabitur 

Augusta  ad  penetralia. 

Buch.  in  Psal.  xlii. 

If  any  occasions  should  call  you  into  these 
parts,  my  house  and  pulpit  will  be  glad  to 
receive  you.  Pray  for  us,  dear  Sir,  and  be- 
lieve me  to  be, 

Yours,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

November  2,  1765. 

VERY  DEAR  SIR, 

Your  letter  of  the  4th  ult.  gave  me  great  plea- 
sure. I  thank  you  for  the  particular  account 
you  have  favoured  me  with.  I  rejoice  with 
you,  sympathize  with  you,  and  find  my  heart 
opened  to  correspond  with  unreserved  free- 
dom. May  the  Lord  direct  our  pens,  and 
help  us  to  help  each  other.  The  work  you 
are  engaged  in  is  great,  and  your  difficulties 
many  ;  but  faithful  is  he  that  hath  called  you, 
who  also  will  do  it.  The  weapons  which  he 
has  now  put  in  your  hands  are  not  carnal, 
but  mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down 
of  strong  holds.  Men  may  fight,  but  they 
shall  not  prevail  against  us,  if  we  are  but  ena- 
bled to  put  our  cause  simply  into  the  Lord's 
hands,  and  keep  steadily  on  in  the  path  of 
duty.  He  will  plead  our  cause,  and  fight  our 
battles  ;  he  will  pardon  our  mistakes,  and 
teach  us  to  do  better.  My  experience  as  a 
minister  is  but  small,  having  been  but  about 
eighteen  months  in  the  vineyard;  but  for 
about  twelve  years  I  have  been  favoured  with 
an  increasing  acquaintance  among  the  people 
of  God,  of  various  ranks  and  denominations, 
which,  together  with  the  painful  exercises  of 
my  own  heart,  gave  me  opportunity  of  mak- 
ing observations  which  were  of  great  use  to 
me  when  I  entered  upon  the  work  myself; 
and  ever  since,  I  have  found  the  Lord  graci- 
ously supplying  new  lights  and  new  strength 
as  new  occurrences  arise.  So,  I  trust  i,t  will 
be  with  you.  I  endeavour  to  avail  myself  of 
the  examples,  advice,  and  sentiments  of  my 
brethren,  yet  at  the  same  time  to  guard  a- 
gainst  calling  any  man  master.  This  is  the 
peculiar  of  Christ.  The  best  are  but  men  : 
the  wisest  may  be  mistaken  ;  and  that  which 
may  be  right  in  another,  may  be  wrong  in 
me,  through  a  difference  of  circumstances. 
The  Spirit  of  God  distributes  variously,  both 
in  gifts  and  dispensations ;  and  I  would  no 
more  be  tied  to  act  strictly  by  others  rules, 
than  to  walk  in  shoes  of  the  same  size.  My 
shoes  must  fit  my  own  feet. 

I  endeavour  to  guard  against  extremes ;  our 
nature  is  prone  to  them;  and  we  are  liable 
likewise,  when  we  have  found  the  inconven- 
ience of  one  extreme,  to  revert  insensibly 
(sometimes  to  fly  suddenly)  to  the  other.  I 
pray  to  be  led  in  the  midst  of  the  path.  I 
am  what  they  call  a  Calvinist;  yet  there  are 
flights,  niceties,  and  hard  sayings,  to  be  found 
among  some  of  that  system,  which  I  do  not 
chuse  to  imitate.  I  dislike  those  sentiments 
against  which  you  have  borne  your  testimony 
in  the  note  at  the  end  of  your  preface;  but 
having  known  many  precious  souls  in  that 
party,  I  have  been  taught,  that  the  kingdom 
of   God  is  not  in  names  and  sentiments,  but 


LET.    III. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.   B 


255 


in  righteousness,  faith,  love,  peace,  and  joy  in 
the  Holy  Ghost.  I  should,  however,  upon 
some  occasions,  oppose  those  tenets,  if  they 
had  any  prevalence  in  my  neighbourhood ; 
but  they  have  not;  and  in  general,  I  believe, 
the  surest  way  to  refute  or  prevent  error,  is 
to  preach  the  truth.  I  am  glad  to  find  you 
are  aware  of  that  spirit  of  enthusiasm  which 
has  so  often  broken  loose  and  blemished  hope- 
ful beginnings,  and  that  the  foundation  you 
build  upon  is  solid  and  scriptural  :  this  will, 
I  hope,  save  you  much  trouble,  and  prevent 
many  offences.  Let  us  endeavour  to  make 
our  people  acquainted  with  the  scriptures,  and 
to  impress  them  with  a  high  sense  of  its  au- 
thority, excellence,  and  sufficiency.  Satan 
seldom  remarkably  imposes  on  ministers  or 
people,  except  where  the  word  of  God  is  too 
little  consulted  or  regarded.  Another  point 
in  which  I  aim  at  a  medium,  is  in  what  is 
called  prudence.  There  is  certainly  such  a 
thing  as  christian  prudence,  and  a  remarkable 
deficiency  of  it  is  highly  inconvenient.  But 
caution  too  often  degenerates  into  cowardice  ; 
and  if  the  fear  of  man,  under  the  name  of 
prudence,  gets  within  our  guard,  like  a  chil- 
ling frost,  it  nips  every  thing  in  the  bud. 
Those  who  trust  the  Lord,  and  act  openly 
with  an  honest  freedom  and  consistence,  I  ob- 
serve, he  generally  bears  them  out,  smoothes 
their  way,  and  makes  their  enemies  their 
friends,  or  at  least  restrains  their  rage  ;  while 
such  as  halve  things,  temporise,  and  aim  to 
please  God  and  man  together,  meet  with 
double  disappointment,  and  are  neither  useful 
nor  respected.  If  we  trust  to  him,  he  will 
stand  by  us ;  if  we  regard  men,  he  will  leave 
us  to  make  the  best  we  can  of  them. 

I  have  set  down  hastily  what  occured  to  my 
pen,  not  to  dictate  to  you,  but  to  tell  you  how 
I  have  been  led,  and  because  some  expressions 
in  your  letter  seemed  to  imply  that  you  would 
not  be  displeased  with  me  for  so  doing.  As 
to  books,  I  think  there  is  a  medium  here  like- 
wise. I  have  read  too  much  in  time  past; 
yet  I  do  not  wholly  join  with  some  of  our 
brethren,  who  would  restrain  us  entirely  to 
the  word  of  God.  Undoubtedly  this  is  the 
fountain  ;  here  we  should  dwell :  but  a  mo- 
derate and  judicious  perusal  of  other  authors 
may  have  its  use ;  and  I  am  glad  to  be-  be- 
holden to  such  helps,  either  to  explain  what  I 
do  not  understand,  or  to  confirm  me  in  what 
I  do.  Of  these,  the  writings  of  the  last  age 
afford  an  immense  variety. 

But  above  all,  may  we,  dear  Sir,  live  and 
feed  upon  the  precious  promises,  John  xiv. 
16,  17,  26.  and  xvi.  13 — 15.  There  is  no 
teacher  like  Jesus,  who,  by  his  Holy  Spirit, 
reveals  himself  in  his  word  to  the  understand- 
ing and  affections  of  his  children.  When  we 
thus  behold  his  glory  in  the  gospel-glass,  we 
are  changed  into  the  same  image.  Then  our 
hearts  melt,  our  eyes  flow,  our  stammering 
tongues   are    unloosed.       That    this  may  be 


your  increasing  experience  is   the  prayer  of, 
dear  Sir, 

Yours,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

January  21,  1766. 
DEAR  SIR, 

Your  letters  give  me  the  sincerest  pleasure. 
Let  us  believe  that  we  are  daily  thinking  of 
\  and  praying  for  each  other,  and  write  when 
'  opportunity  offers  without  apologies.  I  praise 
j  the  Lord  he  has  led  you  so  soon  to  a  settled 
judgment  in  the  leading  truths  of  the  gospel. 
For  want  of  this,  many  have  been  necessitated 
with  their  own  hands  to  pull  down  what,  in 
the  first  warm  emotions  of  their  zeal,  they 
had  laboured  hard  to  build.  It  is  a  mercy 
likewise,  to  be  enabled  to  acknowledge  what 
is  excellent  in  the  writings  or  conduct  of 
others,  without  adopting  their  singularities, 
or  discarding  the  whole  on  account  of  a  few 
blemishes.  We  should  be  glad  to  receive  in- 
struction from  all,  and  avoid  being  led  by  the 
ipse  dixit  of  any.  Nullius  jurare  in  verbum,  is 
a  fit  motto  for  those  who  have  one  master, 
even  Christ.  We  may  grow  wise  apace  in 
opinions,  by  books  and  men  ;  but  vital,  ex- 
perimental knowledge,  can  only  be  received 
from  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  great  instructor, 
and  comforter  of  his  people.  And  there  are 
two  things  observable  in  his  teaching:  1. 
That  he  honours  the  means  of  his  own  ap- 
pointment, so  that  we  cannot  expect  to  make 
any  great  progress  without  diligence  on  our 
parts.  2.  That  he  does  not  teach  all  at  once, 
but  by  degrees.  Experience  is  his  school  j 
and  by  this  I  mean  the  observation  and  im. 
provement  of  what  passes  within  us  and  a- 
round  us  in  the  course  of  every  day.  The 
word  of  God  affords  a  history  in  miniature  of 
the  heart  of  man,  the  devices  of  Satan,  the 
state  of  the  world,  and  the  method  of  grace. 
And  the  most  instructing  and  affecting  com- 
mentary on  it  to  an  enlightened  mind,  may 
be  gathered  from  what  we  see,  feel,  and  hear, 
from  day  to  day.  Res,  cetas,  usus,  semper 
aliquid  apportent  novi ;  and  no  knowledge  in 
spiritual  things  but  what  we  acquire  in  this 
way  is  properly  our  own,  or  will  abide  the 
time  of  trial.  This  is  not  always  sufficiently 
considered  :  we  are  ready  to  expect  that 
others  should  receive  upon  our  word,  in  half 
an  hour's  time,  those  views  of  things  which 
have  cost  us  years  to  attain.  But  none  can 
be  brought  forward  faster  than  the  Lord  is 
pleased  to  communicate  inward  light  Upon 
this  ground  controversies  have  been  multipli- 
ed among  christians  to  little  purpose,  for 
plants  of  different  standings  will  be  (ceteris 
paribus)  in  different  degrees  of  forwardness. 
A  young  christian  is  like  a  green  fruit  ;  it 
has   perhaps   a   disagreeable  austerity,   which 


25  (i 


LETTERS    lO    TilE   REV.   MR.   B . 


LET.   IV 


cannot  be  corrected  out  of  its  proper  course; 
it  wants  time  and  growth  :  wait  a  while,  and 
by  the  nourishment  it  receives  from  the  root, 
together  with  the  action  of  the  sun,  wind, 
and  rain,  in  succession  from  without,  it  will 
insensibly  acquire  that  flavour  and  maturity, 
for  the  want  of  which  an  unskilful  judge  would 
be  ready  to  reject  it  as  nothing  worth.  We 
are  favoured  with  many  excellent  books  in  our 
tongue  ;  but  I,  with  you,  agree  in  assigning 
one  of  the  first  places,  as  a  teacher,  to  Dr. 
Owen.  I  have  just  finished  his  discourse  on 
the  Holy  Spirit,  which  is  an  epitome,  if  not 
the  master-piece,  of  his  writings.  I  should 
be  glad  to  see  the  re-publication  you  speak 
of:  but  I  question  if  the  booksellers  will  ven- 
ture upon  it.  I  shall  perhaps  mention  it  to  my 
London  friends.  As  to  archbishop  Leighton, 
besides  his  select  works,  there  are  two  octavo 
volumes  published  at  Edinburgh,  in  the  year 
1748,  and  since  reprinted  at  London.  They 
contain  a  valuable  commentary  on  St.  Peter's 
First  Epistle,  and  lectures  on  Isa.  vi.  ;  Psal. 
xxxix.,  cxxx. ;  Rom.  iv.  and  a  part  of  chap.  xii. 
I  have  likewise  a  small  quarto  in  Latin,  of  his 
Divinity  Lectures,  when  professor  at  Edin- 
burgh ;  the  short  title  is,  Prcelectiones  Theo- 
logian. Mine  was  printed  in  London,  1698. 
I  believe  this  book  is  scarce  ;  I  set  the  high- 
est value  upon  it.  He  has  wonderfully  unit- 
ed the  simplicity  of  the  gospel,  with  all  the 
captivating  beauties  of  style  and  language. 
Bishop  Burnet  says,  he  was  the  greatest  mas- 
ter of  the  Latin  tongue  he  ever  knew,  of 
which,  together  with  his  compass  of  learning, 
he  has  given  proof  in  his  lectures :  yet  in  his 
gayer  dress,  his  eminent  humility  and  spiri- 
tuality appear  to  no  less  advantage  than  when 
clad  in  plain  English.  I  think  it  may  be 
said  to  be  a  diamond  set  in  gold.  I  could 
wish  it  translated,  if  it  was  possible  (which  I 
almost  question)  to  preserve  the  beauty  and 
spirit  of  the  original. 

Edwards  on  Free-will  I  have  read  with  plea- 
sure, as  a  good  answer  to  the  proud  reasoners 
in  their  own  way  ;  but  a  book  of  that  sort  can- 
not be  generally  read  :  where  the  subject-mat- 
ter is  unpleasing,  and  the  method  of  treating 
it  requires  more  attention  than  the  Athenian 
spirit  of  the  times  will  bear,  I  wonder  not  if 
it  is  uncalled  for,  and  am  afraid  we  shall  not 
see  him  upon  Original  Sin,  if  it  depends  upon 
the  sale  of  the  other.  His  answer  to  Dr. 
Taylor,  which  you  speak  of,  is  not  a  MS.  but 
has  been  already  printed  at  Boston. 

You  send  us  good  news  indeed,  that  two 
more  of  your  brethren  are  declaring  on  the 
gospel  side.  The  Lord  confirm  and  strengthen 
them,  add  yet  to  your  numbers,  and  make 
you  helps  and  comforts  to  each  other.  Surely 
he  is  about  to  spread  his  work.  Happy  those 
whom  he  honours  to  be  fellow-workers  with 
him.  Let  us  account  the  disgrace  we  suffer 
for  his  name's  sake  to  be  our  great  honour. 
Many  will  be  against  us,    but  there  are  mnrr 


for  us.  All  the  praying  souls  on  earth,  al. 
the  glorified  saints  in  heaven,  all  the  angels 
of  God,  yea  the  God  of  angels  himself,  all 
are  on  our  side.  Satan  may  rage,  but  he  is 
a  chained  enemy.  Men  may  contradict  and 
fight,  but  they  cannot  prevail.  Two  things 
we  shall  especially  need,  courage  and  patience, 
that  we  neither  faint  before  them,  nor  upon 
any  provocation  act  in  their  spirit.  If  we 
can  pity  and  pray  for  thein,  return  good  for 
evil,  make  them  sensible  that  we  bear  them  a 
hearty  good-will,  and  act  as  the  disciples  or 
him  who  wept  for  his  enemies  and  prayed  for 
his  murderers ;  in  this  way  we  shall  find  the 
Lord  will  plead  our  cause,  soften  opposers, 
and  by  degrees  give  us  a  measure  of  outward 
peace.  Warmth  and  imprudence  have  often 
added  to  the  necessary  burden  of  the  cross. 
I  rejoice  that  the  Lord  has  led  you  in  a  dif- 
ferent way,  and  I  hope  your  doctrine  and  ex- 
ample will  make  your  path  smoother  every 
day :  you  find  it  so  in  part  already.  As  the 
Lord  brings  you  out  a  people  witnesses  for 
you  to  the  truth  of  his  word,  you  will  find 
advantage  in  bringing  them  often  together. 
The  interval  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  is  a 
good  while,  and  affords  time  for  the  world  and 
Satan  to  creep  in.  Intermediate  meetings  for 
prayer,  &c.  when  properly  conducted,  are 
greatly  useful.  I  could  wish  for  larger  sheets 
and  longer  leisure,  but  I  am  constrained  to 
say  adieu,  in  our  dear  Lord  and  Saviour 
Yours,  &c 


LETTER  IV. 

December  12,  1767. 

DEAR  SIE, 

This  is  not  intended  as  an  answer  to  your  last 
acceptable   letter,  but  an   occasional   line,  in 

consequence   of  the  account   Mr.  T has 

given  me  of  your  late  illness.  I  trust  this  dis- 
pensation will  be  useful  to  you,  and  I  wish 
the  knowledge  of  it  may  be  so  to  me.  I  am 
favoured  with  an  unusual  share  of  health  and 
an  equal  flow  of  spirits.  If  the  blow  you  have 
received  should  be  a  warning  to  me,  I  shall 
have  cause  to  be  thankful.  I  am  glad  to 
hear  you  are  better:  I  hope  the  Lord  has  no 
design  to  disable  you  from  service,  but  ra- 
ther (as  he  did  Jacob)  to  strengthen  you  by 
wounding  you ;  to  maintain  and  increase  in 
you  that  conviction  which,  through  grace, 
you  have  received,  of  the  vanity  and  uncer- 
tainty of  every  thing  below ;  to  give  you  a 
lively  sense  of  the  value  of  health  and  op- 
portunities, and  to  add  to  the  treasury  of 
your  experience  new  proofs  of  his  power  and 
goodness  in  supporting,  comforting,  and  heal- 
ing you,  and  likewise  to  quicken  the  prayers 
of  your  people  for  you,  and  to  stir  them  up 
to  use  double  diligence  in  the  present  im- 
provement of  the   means  of  grace,    while  by 


tier,  v 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR.   B- 


this  late  instance  they  see  how  soon  and  sud- 
denly you  might  have  been  removed  from 
them. 

I  understand  you  did  not  feel  that  lively 
exercise  of  faith  and  joy  which  you  would 
have  hoped  to  have  found  at  such  a  sea- 
son ;  but  let  not  this  discourage  you  from  a 
firm  confidence  that,  when  the  hour  of  dismis- 
sion shall  come,  the  Lord  will  be  faithful  to 
his  gracious  promise,  and  give  you  strength 
sufficient  to  encounter  and  vanquish  your  last 
enemy.  You  had  not.  this  strength  lately, 
because  you  needed  it  not ;  for,  though  you 
might  think  yourself  near  to  death,  the  Lord 
intended  to  restore  you,  and  he  permitted  you 
to  feel  weakness,  that  you  might  know  your 
strength  does  not  consist  in  grace  received, 
but  in  his  fulness,  and  his  promise  to  commu- 
nicate from  himself  as  your  occasions  require. 
O,  it  is  a  great  thing  to  be  strong  in  the  grace 
that  is  in  Christ  Jesus  !  but  it  is  a  hard  les- 
son :  it  is  not  easy  to  understand  it  in  theory, 
but  when  the  Lord  has  taught  us  so  far,  it  is 
still  more  difficult  to  reduce  our  knowledge 
to  practice.  But  this  is  one  end  he  has  in 
view  in  permitting  us  to  pass  through  such  a 
variety  of  inward  and  outward  exercises,  that 
we  may  cease  from  trusting  in  ourselves,  or 
in  any  creature,  or  frame,  or  experiences,  and 
be  brought  to  a  state  of  submission  and  de- 
pendence upon  him  alone.  I  was  once  vi- 
sited something  in  the  same  way,  seized  with 
a  fit  of  the  apoplectic  kind,  which  held  me 
near  ai  hour,  and  left  a  disorder  in  my  head, 
which  q  xiie  broke  the  scheme  of  life  I  was 
then  in,  and  was  consequently  one  of  the 
means  the  Lord  appointed  to  bring  me  into 
the  ministry  ;  but  I  soon  perfectly  recovered. 

From  the   rememb.ance   Mrs. has    of 

what  she  then  suffered,    she    knows  how  to 

sympathize  with  Mrs.  B in   her  share  of 

your  trial.    And  I  think  dear  Mr. some 

years  since  had  a  sudden  stroke  on  a  Christ- 
mas day,  which  disabled  him  from  duty  for  a 
time.  To  him  and  to  me  these  turns  were 
only  like  the  caution  which  Philip  of  Macedon 
ordered  to  be  repeated  to  him  every  morning, 
"  Remember  thou  art  a  man."  I  hope  it 
will  be  no  more  to  you,  but  that  you  shall 
live  to  praise  him,  and  to  give  many  cause  to 
praise  him  on  your  behalf.  Blessed  be  God 
we  are  in  safe  hands  :  the  Lord  himself  is  our 
keeper ;  nothing  befals  us  but  what  is  ad- 
justed by  his  wisdom  and  love.  Health  is  his 
gift,  and  sickness,  when  sanctified  is  a  token 
of  love  likewise.  Here  we  may  meet  with 
many  things  which  are  not  joyous  but  grievous 
to  the  flesh ;  but  he  will,  in  one  way  or  other, 
sweeten  every  bitter  cup,  and  ere  long  he  will 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  our  eyes.  O  that 
joy,  that  crown,  that  glory  which  awaits  the 
believer  !  Let  us  keep  the  prize  of  our  high 
calling  in  view,  and  press  forward  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  the  Redeemer,  and  he  will  not  dis- 
appoint our  hopes. 


— .  257 

I  am  but  just  come  off"  from  a  journey,  am 
weary,  and  it  grows  late ;  I  must  therefore 
break  off.  When  you  have  leisure  and  strengtli 
to  write,  oblige  me  with  a  confirmation  of 
your  recovery,  for  I  shall  be  something  anx- 
ious about  you. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  V. 

March  14,  1775. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 
I  THOUGHT  you  long  in  writing,  but  am  afraiu 
I  have  been  longer.  A  heavy  family  afflic- 
tion called  me  from  home  in  December, 
which  put  me  out  of  my  usual  course,  and 
threw  me  behind-hand  in  my  correspondence; 
yet  I  did  not  suspect  the  date  of  your  last 
letter  was  so  old  by  two  months  as  I  find  it. 
Whether  I  write  more  frequently  or  more  sel- 
dom, the  love  of  my  heart  to  you  is  the  same, 
and  I  shall  believe  the  like  of  you  ;  yet,  if  it 
can  be  helped,  I  hope  the  interval  will  not  be 
so  long  again  on  either  side.  I  am  glad  that 
the  Lord's  work  still  flourishes  in  your  parts, 
and  that  you  have  a  more  comfortable  pros- 
pect at  home  than  formerly  ;  and  I  was  pleased 
with  the  acceptance  you  found  at  S  , 

which  I  hope  will  be  an  earnest  of  greater 
things.  I  think  affairs  in  general,  with  re- 
spect to  this  land,  have  a  dark  appearance ; 
but  it  is  comfortable  to  observe,  that,  amidst 
the  abound ings  of  iniquity,  the  Lord  is  spread- 
ing his  gospel,  and  that  though  many  oppose, 
yet  in  most  places  whither  the  word  is  sent, 
great  numbers  seem  disposed  to  hear.  I  am 
going  (if  the  Lord  please)  into  Leicestershire 
on  Friday.  This  was  lately  such  a  dark  place 
as  you  describe  your  country  to  be,  and  much 
of  it  is  so  still  ;  but  the  Lord  has  visited  three 
of  the  principal  towns  with  gospel-light.  I 
have  a  desire  of  visiting  these  brethren  in 
the  vineyard,  to  bear  my  poor  testimony  to 
the  truths  they  preach,  and  to  catch,  if  1  may, 
a  little  fire  and  fervour  among  them.  I  do 
not  often  go  abroad  j  but  I  have  found  a  lit- 
tle excursion  now  and  then  (when  the  way 
is  made  plain)  has  its  advantages,  to  quicken 
the  spirits  and  enlarge  the  sphere  of  observa- 
tion.     On  these  accounts   the  recollection  of 

my  N journey  gives  me  pleasure  to  this 

day  ;  and  very  glad  should  I  be  to  repeat  it, 
but  the  distance  is  so  great  that  I  consider  it 
rather  as  desirable  than  practicable. 

My  experiences  vary  as  well  as  yours :  but 
possibly  your  sensations,  both  of  the  sweet 
and  of  the  bitter,  may  be  stronger  than  mine. 
The  enemy  assaults  mc  more  by  sap  than 
storm,  and  I  am  ready  to  think  I  suffer  more 
by  languor  than  some  of  my  friends  do  by 
the  sharper  conflicts  to  which  they  are  called. 
So  likewise  in  these  seasons,  which  compara- 
tively 1  call  my  best  hours,  my  sensible  com- 
2  A 


258 


LETTERS  TO  THE  HEV.  MR.  B- 


forts  are  far  from  lively.  But  I  am  in  gene- 
ral enabled  to  hold  fast  my  confidence,  and 
to  venture  myself  upon  the  power,  faithful- 
ness, and  compassion  of  that  adorable  Saviour, 
to  whom  my  soul  has  been  directed  and  en- 
couraged to  flee  for  refuge.  I  am  a  poor, 
changeable,  inconsistent  creature;  but  he  deals 
graciously  with  me ;  he  does  not  leave  me 
wholly  to  myself;  but  I  have  such  daily 
proofs  of  the  malignity  and  efficacy  of  the  sin 
that  dwelleth  in  me,  as  ought  to  cover  me 
with  shame  and  confusion  of  face  and  make  me 
thankful  if  I  am  permitted  to  rank  with  the 
meanest  of  those  who  sit  at  his  feet.  That  I 
was  ever  called  to  the  knowledge  of  his  salva- 
tion, was  a  singular  instance  of  his  sovereign 
grace  ;  and  that  I  am  still  preserved  in  the 
way,  in  defiance  of  all  that  has  arisen  from 
within  and  from  without  to  turn  me  aside, 
must  be  wholly  ascribed  to  the  same  sove- 
reignty :  and  if,  as  I  trust,  he  shall  be  pleas- 
ed to  make  me  a  conqueror  at  last,  I  shall 
have  peculiar  reason  to  say,  Not  unto  me,  not 
unto  me.  but  unto  thy  name,  O  Lord,  be  the 
glory  and  the  praise  ! 

How  oft  have  sin  and  Satan  strove 
To  reml  my  soul  from  thee,  my  God  ! 
But  everlasting  is  thy  love, 
And  Jesus  seals  it  with  his  blood. 

The  Lord  leads  me  in  the  course  of  my 
preaching  to  insist  much  on  a  life  of  commu- 
nion with  himself,  and  of  the  great  design  of 
the  gospel  to  render  us  conformable  to  him  in 
love;  and  as  by  his  mercy  nothing  appears  in 
my  outward  conduct  remarkably  to  contra- 
dict what  I  say,  many  who  only  can  judge  by 
what  they  see,  suppose  I  live  a  very  happy 
life.  But,  alas !  if  they  knew  what  passes 
in  mv  heart,  how  dull  my  spirit  is  in  se- 
cret, and  how  little  I  am  myself  affected  by 
the  glorious  truths  I  propose  to  others,  they 
would  form  a  different  judgment.  Could  I 
be  myself  what  I  recommend  to  them,  I  should 
be  happy  indeed.  Pray  lor  me,  my  dear 
friend,  that  now  the  Lord  is  bringing  forward 
the  pleasing  spring,  he  may  favour  me  with  a 
spring-season  in  my  soul ;  for  indeed  I  mourn 
under  a  long  winter. 

I  am,  &c. 


LET.  VI 
And  as,  notwith- 


LETTER  VI. 

April  16,  1772. 

MY  DEAR.  FRIEND, 

I  HOPE  the  Lord  has  contracted  my  desires 
and  aims  almost  to  the  one  point  of  study,  the 
knowledge  of  his  truth.  All  other  acquisi- 
tions are  transient  and  comparatively  vain. 
And  yet,  alas  !  I  am  a  slow  scholar  ;  nor  can 
I  see  in  what  respect  I  get  forward,  unless 
that  every  day  I  am  more  confirmed  in  the 
conviction  of  my  own  emptiness  and  inabili- 


ty to  all  spiritual  good, 
standing  this,  I  am  still  enabled  to  stand  my 
ground,  I  would  hope,  since  no  effect  can  be 
without  an  adequate  cause,  that  I  have  made 
some  advance,  though  in  a  manner  impercep- 
tible to  myself,  towards  a  more  simple  depen- 
dence upon  Jesus  as  my  all  in  all.  It  is  given 
me  to  thirst  and  to  taste,  if  it  is  not  given  rne 
to  drink  abundantly  ;  and  I  would  be  thank- 
ful for  the  desire.  I  see  and  approve  the  wis- 
dom, grace,  suitableness,  and  sufficiency  of 
the  gospel-salvation  ;  and  since  it  is  for  sin- 
ners, and  I  am  a  sinner,  and  the  promises  are 
open,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  call  it  mine.  I  am  a 
weary,  laden  soul ;  Jesus  has  invited  me  to 
come,  and  has  enabled  me  to  put  my  trust  in 
him.  I  seldom  have  an  uneasy  doubt,  at  least 
not  of  any  continuance,  respecting  my  pardon, 
acceptance,  and  interest  in  all  the  blessings  of 
the  New  Testament.  And,  amidst  a  thou- 
sand infirmities  and  evils  under  which  I  groan, 
I  have  the  testimony  of  my  conscience  when 
under  the  trial  of  his  word,  that  my  desire  is 
sincerely  towards  him,  that  I  choose  no  other 
portion,  that  I  allowedly  serve  no  other  master. 

When    I  told  our  friend lately  to   this 

purpose,  he  wondered  and  asked,  "  How  is 
it  possible  that  if  you  can  say  these  things,  you 
should  not  be  always  rejoicing  ?"  Undoubted- 
ly I  derive  from  the  gospel  a  peace  at  bottom 
which  is  worth  more  than  a  thousand  worlds  ; 
but  so  it  is,  I  can  only  speak  for  myself, 
though  I  rest  and  live  upon  the  truths  of  the 
gospel,  they  seldom  impress  me  with  a  warm 
and  lively  joy.  In  public,  indeed,  I  some- 
times seem  in  earnest  and  much  affected,  but 
even  then  it  appears  to  me  rather  as  a  part  of 
the  gift  intrusted  to  me  for  the  edification  of 
others,  than  as  a  sensation  which  is  properly 
my  own.  For  when  I  am  in  private,  I  am 
usually  dull  and  stupid  to  a  strange  degree, 
or  the  prey  to  a  wild  and  ungovemed  ima- 
gination ;  so  that  I  may  truly  say,  when  I 
would  do  good,  evil,  horrid  evil,  is  present 
with  me.  Ah,  how  different  is  this  from  sen- 
sible comfort!  and  if  I  was  to  compare  myself 
with  others,  to  make  their  experience  my  stand- 
ard, and  was  not  helped  to  retreat  to  the  sure 
word  of  God  as  my  refuge,  how  hard  should 
I  find  it  to  maintain  a  hope  that  I  had  either 
part  or  lot  in  the  matter.  What  I  call  my 
good  times  are,  when  I  can  find  my  attention 
in  some  little  measure  fixed  to  what  I  am 
about,  which,  indeed,  is  not  always  nor  fre- 
quently my  case  in  prayer,  and  still  seldomer 
in  reading  the  scriptures.  My  judgment  em- 
braces these  means  as  blessed  privileges,  and 
Satan  has  not  prevailed  to  drive  me  from  them; 
but  in  the  performance,  I  too  often  find  them 
tasks,  feel  a  reluctance  when  the  seasons  return 
and  am  glad  when  they  are  finished.  O  what 
a  mystery  is  the  heart  of  man  !  What  a  war- 
fare is  the  life  of  faith,  at  least  in  the  path  the 
Lord  is  pleased  to  lead  me !  What  reason 
have  I  to  lie  in  the  dust  as  the  chief  of  sinners  ! 


I 


LET.  VI. 


LETTERS  TO   THE   REV.   MR.   B . 


259 


and  what  cause  for  thankfulness  that  salvation 
is  wholly  of  grace.  Notwithstanding  all  my 
complaints,  it  is  still  true  that  Jesus  died  and 
rose  again,  that  he  ever  liveth  to  make  inter- 
cession, and  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  to  think  of  that  joy  of 
heart  in  which  some  of  his  people  live,  and  to 
compare  it  with  that  apparent  deadness  and 
want  of  spirituality  which  I  feel,  this  makes 
me  mourn.  However,  I  think  there  is  a 
scriptural  distinction  between  faith  and  feel- 


ing, grace  and  comfort ;  they  are  not  insepa- 
rable, and  perhaps  when  together,  the  degree 
of  the  one  is  not  often  the  just  measure  of 
the  other.  But  though  I  pray  that  I  may  be 
ever  longing  and  panting  for  the  light  of  his 
countenance,  yet  I  would  be  so  far  satisfied, 
as  to  believe  the  Lord  has  wise  and  merciful 
reasons  for  keeping  me  so  short  of  the  com . 
forts  which  he  has  taught  me  to  desire  and 
value  more  than  the  light  of  the  sun. 
1  am,  Ac. 


LETTERS 


TO 


THE  REVEREND  Ma.  R- 


LETTER  I. 


January  16,  1772. 

DEAR  SIR, 
It  is  true,  I  was  apprehensive  from  your  si- 
lence that  I  had  offended  you  ;  but  when  your 
letter  came,  it  made  me  full  amends ;  and 
now  I  am  glad  I  wrote  as  I  did,  though  I  am 
persuaded  I  shall  never  write  to  you  again  in 
the  same  strain.  I  am  pleased  with  the  spirit 
you  discover ;  and  your  bearing  so  well  to 
be  told  of  the  mistakes  I  pointed  out  to  you, 
endears  you  more  to  me  than  if  you  had  not 
made  them.  Henceforward  I  can  converse 
freely  with  you,  and  shall  be  glad  when  I  have 
the  opportunity. 

As  to  your  view  of  justification,  I  did  not 
oppose  it ;  I  judge  for  myself,  and  I  am  wil- 
ling others  should  have  the  same  liberty.  If 
we  hold  the  Head,  and  love  the  Lord,  we  agree 
in  him,  and  I  should  think  my  time  ill  em- 
ployed in  disputing  the  point  with  you.  I 
only  meant  to  except  against  the  positive  man- 
ner in  which  you  had  expressed  yourself. 
My  end  is  answered,  and  I  am  satisfied.  In- 
deed, I  believe  the  difference  between  &  judi- 
cious Supra-lapsarian,  and  a  sound  Sub-lapsa- 
rian,  lies  more  in  a  different  way  of  expres- 
sing their  sentiments  than  is  generally  thought. 
At  the  close  of  Halyburton's  Insufficiency  of 
Natural  Religion,  he  has  an  Inquiry  into  the 
Nature  of  Regeneration  and  Justification, 
wherein  he  promises  a  scheme,  in  which,  if 
I  mistake  not,  the  moderate  of  both  parties 
might  safely  unite.  I  have  used  the  epithets 
judicious  and  sound,  because,  as  I  acknow- 
ledge, some  of  the  one  side  are  not  quite 
sound,  so  I  think  some  on  the  other  side  are 
not  so  judicious  as  I  could  wish  ;  that  is,  I 
think  they  do  not  sufficiently  advert  to  the 
present  state  of  human  nature,  and  the  dan- 
ger which  may  arise  from  leading  those  who 
are  weak  in  faith  and  judgment,  into  inquiries 
and  distinctions,  evidently  beyond  the  line  of 


their  experience,  and  which  may  be  hurtful : 
because,  admitting  them  to  be  true  when  pro- 
perly explained,  they  are  very  liable  to  be 
misunderstood.  To  say  nothing  of  Hr.  Hus- 
sey  (in  whose  provisions  I  have  frequently 
found  more  bones  than  meat,  and  seasoned 
with  much  of  an  angry  and  self-important 
spirit),  I  have  observed  passages  in  other 
writers,  for  whom  I  have  a  higher  esteem, 
which,  to  say  the  least,  appear  to  me  paradoxi- 
cal, and  hard  to  be  understood  ;  though,  per- 
haps, I  can  give  my  consent  to  them,  if  I  had 
such  restrictions  and  limitations  as  the  authors 
would  not  refuse.  But  plain  people  are  easi- 
ly puzzled.  And  though  I  know  several  in 
the  Supra-lapsarian  scheme,  at  whose  feet  I 
am  willing  to  sit  and  learn,  and  have  found 
their  preaching  and  conversation  savoury  and 
edifying ;  yet  I  must  say,  I  have  met  with 
many,  who  have  appeared  to  be  rather  wise 
than  warm,  rather  positive  than  humble,  ra- 
ther captious  than  lively,  and  more  disposed 
to  talk  of  speculations  than  experience. 
However,  let  us  give  ourselves  to  the  study 
of  the  word  and  to  prayer :  and  may  the 
great  Teacher  make  every  scriptural  truth  food 
to  our  souls.  I  desire  to  grow  in  knowledge, 
but  I  want  nothing  which  bears  that  name, 
that  has  not  a  direct  tendency  to  make  sin 
more  hateful,  Jesus  more  precious  to  my 
soul ;  and  at  the  same  time  to  animate  me 
to  a  diligent  use  of  every  appointed  means, 
and  an  unreserved  regard  to  every  branch  of 
duty.  I  think  the  Lord  has  shewn  me  in  a 
measure,  there  is  a  consistent  sense  running 
through  the  whole  scriptures,  and  I  desire  to 
be  governed  and  influenced  by  it  all :  doc- 
trines, precepts,  promises,  warnings,  all  have 
their  proper  place  and  use  ;  and  I  think  many 
of  the  inconveniencies  which  obtain  in  the 
present  day,  spring  from  separating  those 
things  which  God  hath  joined  together,  and 


LET.  III. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.  R- 


261 


insisting  on  some  parts  of  the  word  of  God, 
almost  to  the  exclusion  of  the  rest. 

I  have  filled  my  paper  with  what  I  did  not 
intend  to  say  a  word  of  when  I  began,  and  I 
must  leave  other  things  which  were  more  up- 
on my  mind  for  another  season.  I  thank 
you  for  saying  you  pray  for  me.  Continue 
that  kindness  ;  I  both  need  it  and  prize  it. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

July  31,  1773. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  received  your  sorrowful  epistle  yesterday, 
and  in  order  to  encourage  you  to  write,  I 
answer  it  to-day. 

The  ship  was  safe  when  Christ  was  in  her, 
though  he  was  really  asleep.  At  present  I 
can  tell  you  good  news,  though  you  know  it ; 
he  is  wide  awake,  and  his  eyes  are  in  every 
place.  You  and  I,  if  we  could  be  pounded 
together,  might  perhaps  make  two  tolerable 
ones.  You  are  too  anxious,  and  I  am  too 
easy  in  some  respects.  Indeed,  I  cannot  be 
too  easy,  when  I  have  a  right  thought  that 
all  is  safe  in  his  hands  ;  but  if  your  anxiety 
makes  you  pray,  and  my  composure  makes 
me  careless,  you  have  certainly  the  best  of  it. 
However,  the  ark  is  fixed  upon  an  immove- 
able foundation  ;  and  if  we  think  we  see  it 
totter,  it  is  owing  to  a  swimming  in  our  heads. 
Seriously,  the  times  look  dark  and  stormy, 
and  call  for  much  circumspection  and  prayer  ; 
but  let  us  not  forget  that  we  have  an  infallible 
pilot,  and  that  the  power,  and  wisdom,  and 
honour  of  God,  are  embarked  with  us.  At 
Venice  they  have  a  fine  vessel,  called  the 
Bucentaur,  in  which,  on  a  certain  day  of  the 
year,  the  Doge  and  nobles  embark,  and  go  a 
little  way  to  sea,  to  repeat  the  foolish  cere- 
mony of  marriage  between  the  Republic  and 
the  Adriatic  (in  consequence  of  some  lying, 
antiquated  Pope's  bull,  by  which  the  banns 
of  matrimony  between  Venice  and  the  Gulf 
were  published  in  the  daik  ages),  when,  they 
say,  a  gold  ring  is  very  gravely  thrown  over- 
board. Upon  this  occasion,  I  have  been  told, 
when  the  honour  and  government  of  Venice 
are  shipped  on  board  the  Bucentaur,  the  pilot 
is  obliged  by  his  office  to  take  an  oath,  that  he 
will  bring  the  vessel  safely  back  again,  in  de- 
fiance of  wind  and  weather.  Vain  mortals  ! 
If  this  be  true,  what  an  instance  of  God's 
long-suffering  is  it,  that  they  have  never  yet 
sunk  as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters  !  But  my 
story  will  probably  remind  you,  that  Jesus 
has  actually  entered  into  such  an  engagement 
in  behalf  of  his  church.  And  well  he  may,  for 
both  wind  and  weather  are  at  his  command  ; 
and  he  can  turn  the  storm  into  a  calm  in  a 
moment.      We  may  therefore  safely  and  con- 


fidently leave  the  government  upon  his  shoul- 
ders.     Duty  is  our  part,  the  care  is  his. 

A  revival  is  wanted  with  us  as  well  as  with 
you,  and  I  trust  some  of  us  are  longing  for 
it.  We  are  praying  and  singing  for  one  ;  and 
I  send  you,  on  the  other  side,  a  hymn,  thai 
you  (if  you  like  it)  may  sing  with  us.  Let 
us  take  courage  ;  though  it  may  seem  marvel- 
lous in  our  eyes,  it  is  not  so  in  the  Lord's. 
He  changes  the  desert  into  a  fruitful  field, 
and  bids  dry  bones  live.  And  if  he  prepare 
our  hearts  to  pray,  he  will  surely  incline  his 
ear  to  hear. 

The  miscarriages  of  professors  are  grievous  ; 
yet  such  things  must  be ;  how  else  could  the 
scriptures  be  fulfilled?  But  there  is  one  who 
is  able  to  keep  us  from  falling.  Some  who 
have  distressed  us,  perhaps  never  were  truly 
changed  ;  how  then  could  they  stand  ?  We 
see  only  the  outside.  Others  who  are  sincere 
are  permitted  to  fall  for  our  instruction,  that 
we  may  not  be  high-minded,  but  fear.  How- 
ever, he  that  walketb  humbly,  walketh  surely. 
Believe  me,  &c. 


LETTER    III. 

February  22,  1774. 

DEAR  SIR, 

Your  letter  by  last  post  surprised  and  grieved 
me.    We  knew  nothing  of  the  subject,  thougli 

Mrs.  remembers,    when  — — ^  was 

here,  a  hint  or  two  were  dropped  which  she 
did  not  understand,  but  no  name  was  men- 
tioned. 

This  instance  shews  the  danger  of  leaning 
to  impressions.  Texts  of  scripture,  brought 
powerfully  to  the  heart,  are  very  desirable  and 
pleasant,  if  their  tendency  is  to  humble  us, 
to  give  us  a  more  feeling  sense  of  the  pre- 
ciousnesss  of  Christ,  or  of  the  doctrines  of 
grace,  if  they  make  sin  more  hateful,  enliven 
our  regard  to  the  means,  or  increase  our  con- 
fidence in  the  power  and  faithfulness  of  God. 
But  if  they  are  understood  as  intimating  our 
path  of  duty  in  particular  circumstances,  or 
confirming  us  in  purposes  we  may  have  al- 
ready formed,  not  otherwise  clearly  warranted 
by  the  general  strain  of  the  word,  or  by  the 
leadings  of  Providence,  they  are  for  the  most 
part  ensnaring,  and  always  to  be  suspected. 
Nor  does  their  coming  into  the  mind  at  the 
time  of  prayer  give  them  more  authority  in 
this  respect.  When  the  mind  is  intent  upon 
any  subject  the  imagination  is  often  watchful 
to  catch  at  any  thing  which  may  seem  to 
countenance  the  favourite  pursuit.  It  is  too 
common  to  ask  counsel  of  the  Lord  when  we 
have  already  secretly  determined  for  ourselves  j 
and  in  this  disposition  we  may  easily  be  deceiv- 
ed by  the  sound  of  a  text  of  scripture,  which, 
detached  from  the  passage  in  which  it  stands^ 


262 


LETTERS  TO  THE   REV.    MR.    R- 


LET.   IV 


m:i>  seem  remarkably  to  tally  with  our  wishes. 
Many  have  been  deceived  this  way  ;  and  some- 
times, when  the  event  has  shewn  them  they 
were  mistaken,  it  lias  opened  a  door  for  great 
distress,  and  Satan  has  found  occasion  to 
make  them  doubt  even  of  their  most  solid 
experiences. 

I   have   sometimes  talked  to  — 


upon 

this  subject,  though  without  the  least  suspi- 
cion of  any  thing  like  what  has  happened. 
As  to  the  present,  case,  it  may  remind  us  all 
of  our  weakness.  I  would  recommend  prayer, 
patience,  much  tenderness  towards  her,  joined 
with  faithful  expostulation.  Wait  a  little 
while,  and  I  trust  the  Lord  who  loves  her 
will  break  the  snare.  I  am  persuaded,  in  her 
better  judgment,  she  would  dread  the  t'. oughts 
of  doing  wrong ;  and  I  hope  and  believe  the 
good  Shepherd,  to  whom  she  has  often  com- 
mitted her  soul  and  her  ways,  will  interpose 
to  restore  and  set  her   to  rights.      -     -     -     - 


I  am  sorry  you  think  any  of  whom 
you  have  hoped  well  are  going  back  ;  but  be 
not  discouraged.  I  say  again,  pray  and  wait, 
and  hope  the  best.  It  is  common  for  young 
professors  to  have  a  slack  time  ;  it  is  almost 
necessary,  that  they  may  be  more  sensible  of 
the  weakness  and  deceitfulness  of  their  hearts, 
and  be  more  humbled  in  future,  when  the 
Lord  shall  have  healed  their  breaches,  and  re- 
stored their  souls.  We  join  in  love  to  you 
and  yours.      Pray  for  us. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 

February  3,  1  775. 

DEAR  SIR, 

It  would  be  wrong  to  make  you  wait  long 
for  an  answer  to  the  point  you  propose  in 
your  last.  It  is  an  important  one.  I  am 
not  a  casuist  by  profession,  but  I  will  do  my 
best.  Suppose  I  imitate  your  laconic  manner 
of  stating  the  question  and  circumstances. 

I  doubt  not  but  it  is  very  lawful  at  your 
age  to  think  of  marriage,  and,  in  the  situa- 
tion you  describe,  to  think  of  money  likewise. 
I  am  glad  you  have  no  person,  as  you  say, 
fixedly  in  view;  in  that  case  advice  comes  a 
post  or  two  too  late.  But  your  expression 
seems  to  intimate  that  there  is  one  transiently 
in  view.  If  it  be  so,  since  you  have  nd  set- 
tlement, if  she  has  no  money,  I  cannot  but 
wish  she  may  pass  on  till  she  is  out  of  sight 
and  out  of  mind.  I  see  this  will  not  do  ;  I 
must  get  into  my  own  grave  way  about  this 
grave  business.  I  take  it  for  granted  that 
my  friend  is  free  from  the  love  of  filthy  lucre, 
and  that  money  will  never  be  the  turning 
point  with  you  in  the  choice  of  a  wife.  Me- 
thinks  I  hear  you  think,  if  I  wanted  money, 
I  would  either  dig  or  beg  for  it ;  but  to  preach 


or  marry  for  money,  that  be  far  from  me.  1 
commend  you.  However,  though  the  love 
of  money  be  a  great  evil,  money  itself,  ob- 
tained in  a  fair  and  honourable  w-ay,  is  de- 
sirable upon  many  accounts,  though  not  for 
its  own  sake.  Meat,  clothes,  fire,  and  books, 
cannot  easily  be  had  without  it ;  therefore, 
if  these  be  necessary,  money,  which  procures 
them,  must  be  a  necessary  likewise.  If 
things  were  otherwise  than  you  represent 
them,  if  you  were  able  to  provide  for  a  wife 
yourself,  then  I  would  say,  Find  a  gracious 
girl  (if  she  be  not  found  already),  whose  per- 
son you  like,  whose  temper  you  think  will 
suit,  and  then,  with  your  father  and  mother's 
consent  (without  which  I  think  you  would  be 
unwilling  to  move),  thank  the  Lord  for  her, 
marry  her,  and  account  her  a  valuable  por- 
tion, though  she  should  not  have  a  shilling. 
But,  while  you  are  without  income  or  settle- 
ment, if  you  have  thoughts  of  marriage,  I 
hope  they  will  be  reguiated  by  a  due  regard 
to  consequences.  They  who  set  the  least  va- 
lue upon  money  have  in  some  respects  the 
most  need  of  it.  A  generous  mind  will  feel 
a  thousand  pangs  in  straitening  circumstances, 
which  some  unfeeling  hearts  would  not  be 
sensible  of.  You  could  perhaps  endure  hard- 
ships alone,  yet  it  might  pinch  you  to  the 
very  bone  to  see  the  person  you  love  exposed 
to  them.  Besides,  you  might  have  a  John, 
a  Thomas,  and  a  William,  and  perhaps  half  a 
dozen  more  to  feed  (for  they  must  all  eat)  ;  and 
how  this  could  be  done  without  a  competency 
on  one  side  or  the  other,  or  so  much  on  both 
sides  as  will  make  a  competency  when  united, 
I  see  not.  Besides,  you  would  be  grieved 
not  to  find  an  occasional  shilling  in  your 
pocket  to  bestow  upon  one  or  other  of  the 
Lord's  poor,  though  you  should  be  able  to 
make  some  sort  of  a  shift  for  those  of  your 
own  house. 

But  is  it  not  written,  "  The  Lord  will  pro- 
vide ?"  It  is  ;  but  it  is  written  again,  "  Thou 
shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God."  Hastily 
to  plunge  ourselves  into  difficulties  upon  a 
persuasion  that  he  will  find  some  way  to  ex- 
tricate us,  seems  to  me  a  species  of  tempting 
him. 

Therefore  I  judge,  it  is  so  far  lawful  for 
you  to  have  a  regard  to  money  in  looking  out 
for  a  wife,  that  it  would  be  wrong,  that  is,  in 
other  words,  unlawful  for  you  to  omit  it,  sup- 
posing you  have  a  purpose  of  marrying  in  youi 
present  situation. 

Many  serious  young  women  have  a  predi- 
lection in  favour  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel ; 
and  I  believe  among  such  one  or  more  may 
be  found  as  spiritual,  as  amiable,  as  suitable 
to  make  you  a  good  wife,  with  a  tolerable  for- 
tune to  boot,  as  another  who  has  not  a  penny. 
If  you  are  not  willing  to  trust  your  own  judg- 
ment in  the  search,  entreat  the  Lord  to  find 
her  for  you.  He  chose  well  for  Isaac  and 
Jacob;  and  you,   as  a  believer,   have  warrant 


,ET.  VI. 


LETTERS  TO  THE   REV.   MR.   R 


263 


to  commit  your  way  to  him,  and  many  more 
express  promises  than  they  had  for  your  en- 
couragement. He  knows  your  state,  your 
wants,  what  you  are  at  present,  and  what  use 
he  designs  to  make  of  you.  Trust  in  him, 
and  wait  for  him;  prayer  and  faith,  and  pa- 
tience, are  never  disappointed.  I  commend 
you  to  his  blessing  and  guidance.  Remember 
us  to  all  in  your  house. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  V. 


May  28,  1775. 


DEAR  SIR, 


-  You  must  not  expect 

a  long  letter  this  morning ;  we  are  just  going 
to  court,  in  hopes  of  seeing  the  King,  for  he 
has  promised  to  meet  us.  We  can  say  he  is 
mindful  of  his  promises  ;  and  yet  is  it  not 
strange,  that  though  we  are  all  in  the  same 
place,  and  the  King  in  the  midst  of  us,  it  is 
but  here  and  there  one  (even  of  those  who 
love  him)  can  see  him  at  once  !  However,  in 
our  turns,  we  aro  all  favoured  with  a  glimpse 
of  him,  and  have  had  cause  to  say,  How  great 
is  his  goodness  !  How  great  is  his  beauty  ! 
We  have  the  advantage  of  the  queen  of  Sheba, 
a  more  glorious  object  to  behold,  and  not  so 
far  to  go  for  the  sight  of  it.  If  a  transient 
glance  exceeds  all  that  the  world  can  afford 
for  a  long  continuance,  what  must  it  be  to 
dwell  with  him  !  If  a  day  in  his  courts  be 
better  than  a  thousand,  what  will  eternity  be 
in  his  presence !  I  hope  the  more  you  see, 
the  more  you  love  ;  the  mors  you  drink,  the 
more  you  thirst ;  the  more  you  do  for  him, 
the  more  you  are  ashamed  you  can  do  so  lit- 
tle ;  and  that  the  nearer  you  approach  to  your 
journey's  end,  the  more  your  pace  is  quick- 
ened. Surely  the  power  of  spiritual  attrac- 
tion should  increase  as  the  distance  lessens. 
O  that  heavenly  load-stone !  may  it  so  draw  us, 
that  we  may  not  creep,  but  run.  In  common 
travelling,  the  strongest  become  weary,  if  the 
journey  be  very  long;  but  in  the  spiritual 
journey,  we  are  encouraged  with  a  hope  of 
going  on  from  strength  to  strength.  Instau- 
rabil  iter  vires,  as  Johnson  expresses  it.  No 
road  but  the  road  to  heaven  can  thus  commu- 
nicate refreshment  to  those  who  walk  in  it, 
and  make  them  more  fresh  and  lively  when 
they  are  just  finishing  their  course,  than  when 
they  first  set  out. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  VI. 

April  18,  1767. 

DEAR  SIR, 

Are  you  sick,  or  lame  of  your  right  hand,  oi 
are  you  busy  in  preparing  a  folio  for  the  press, 
that  I  hear  nothing  from  you  ?  You  see,  bv 
the  excuses  I  would  contrive,  I  am  not  will- 
ing to  suppose  you  have  forgotten  me,  but 
that  your  silence  is  rather  owing  to  a  cannot 
than  a  will  not. 

I  hope  your  soul  prospers.  I  do  not  ask 
you,  if  you  are  always  filled  with  sensible 
comfort :  but  do  you  find  your  spirit  more 
bowed  down  to  the  feet  and  will  of  Jesus,  so 
as  to  be  willing  to  serve  him  for  the  sake  of 
serving  him,  and  to  follow  him,  as  we  say, 
through  thick  and  thin ;  to  be  willing  to  be 
any  thing  or  nothing,  so  that  he  may  be  glo- 
rified ?  I  could  give  you  plenty  of  good  ad- 
vice upon  this  head ;  but  I  am  ashamed  to  do 
it,  because  I  so  poorly  follow  it  myself.  I 
want  to  live  with  him  by  the  day,  to  do  all 
for  him,  to  receive  all  from  him,  to  possess 
all  in  him,  to  live  all  to  him,  to  make  him  my 
hiding-place  and  my  resting-place.  I  want 
to  deliver  up  that  rebel  self  to  him  in  chains; 
but  the  rogue,  like  Proteus,  puts  on  so  many 
forms,  that  he  slips  through  my  fingers  :  but 
I  think  I  know  what  I  would  do,  if  I  could 
fairly  catch  him. 

My  soul  is  like  a  besieged  city ;  a  legion 
of  enemies  without  the  gates,  and  a  nest  of 
restless  traitors  within,  that  hold  a  correspon- 
dence with  them  without ;  so  that  I  am  de- 
ceived and  counteracted  continually.  It  is  a 
mercy  that  I  have  not  been  surprised  and 
overwhelmed  long  ago  ;  without  help  from  on 
high,  it  would  soon  be  over  with  me.  How 
often  have  I  been  forced  to  cry  out,  O  God, 
the  heathen  are  got  into  thine  inheritance ; 
thy  holy  temple  have  they  defiled,  and  de- 
faced all  thy  work  !  Indeed,  it  is  a  miracle 
that  1  still  hold  out.  I  trust,  however,  I 
shall  be  supported  to  the  end,  and  that  my 
Lord  will  at  length  raise  the  siege,  and  cause 
me  to  shout  deliverance  and  victory. 

Pray  for  me,  that  my  walls  may  be  strength- 
ened, and  wounds  healed.  We  are  all  pretty 
well  as  to  the  outward  man,  and  join  in  love 
to  all  friends. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  VII. 

July  6,  1776. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  was  abroad  when  your  letter  came,  but  em 
ploy  the  first  post  to  thank  you  for  your  con- 
fidence.     My  prayers  (when  I  can  pray)  you 
may  be  sure  of.    As  to  advice,  I  soe  not  that  tie 


2bt 


LETTERS  TO   THE   REV.   MR.   R- 


case  requires  much.  Only  he  a  quiet  child, 
and  lie  patiently  at  the  Lord's  feet.  He  is 
the  best  friend  and  manager  in  these  matters, 
for  he  has  a  key  to  open  every  heart 


Mr.  Z- 


I  should  not  have  taken 
-'s  letter  for  a  denial,  as  it  seems 


LET. 

Satan    will 


VII 


vou  did.  Considering  the  years  of  the  parties, 
and  other  circumstances,  a  prudent  parent 
could  hardly  say  more,  if  he  were  inclined  to 
favour  your  views.  To  me  you  seem  to  be 
in  a  tolerable  fair  way  ;  but  I  know,  in  af- 
fairs of  this  kind,  Mr.  Self  does  not  like  sus- 
pense, but  would  willingly  come  to  the  point 
at  once:  but  Mr.  Faith,  when  he  gets  liberty 
to  hold  up  his  head,  will  own,  that  in  order 
to  make  our  temporal  mercies  wear  well,  and 
to  give  us  a  clearer  sense  of  the  hand  that 
bestows  them,  a  waiting  and  a  praying  time 
are  very  seasonable.  Worldly  people  expect 
their  schemes  to  run  upon  all-fours,  as  we 
say,  and  the  objects  of  their  wishes  to  drop 
into  their  mouths  without  difficulty  ;  and  if 
they  succeed,  they  of  course  burn  incense  to 
their  own  drag,  and  say,  This  was  my  doing ; 
but  believers  meet  with  rubs  and  disappoint- 
ments, which  convince  them,  that  if  they  ob- 
tain any  thing,  it  is  the  Lord  must  do  it  for 
them.  For  this  reason,  I  observe,  that  he 
usually  brings  a  death  upon  our  prospects, 
even  when  it  is  his  purpose  to  give  us  success 
in  the  issue.  Thus  we  become  more  assured 
that  we  did  not  act  in  our  own  spirits,  and 
have  a  more  satisfactory  view,  that  his  provi- 
dence has  been  concerned  in  filling  up  the  ri- 
vers and  removing  the  mountains  that  were 
in  our  way.  Then,  when  he  has  given  us  our 
desire,  how  pleasant  is  it  to  look  at  it,  and 
say,  This  I  got  not  by  my  own  sword,  and 
my  own  bow,  but  I  wrestled  for  it  in  prayer, 
I  waited  for  it  in  faith,  I  put  it  into  the  Lord's 
hand,  and  from  his  hand  I  received  it? 

You  have  met  with  the  story  of  one  of  our 
kings  (if  I  mistake  not),  who  wanted  to  send 
a  nobleman  abroad  as  his  ambassador,  and  he 
desired  to  be  excused  on  account  of  some  af- 
fairs which  required   his  presence  at  home  : 
the  king  answered,  "  Do  you  take  care  of  my 
business,   and  I  will  take  care  of  yours."     I 
would  have  you  think  the  Lord  says  thus  to 
you.      You   were   sent   into   the    world    for  a 
nobler  end  than  to  be  pinned  to  a  girl's  ap- 
ron-string ;  and  yet,  if  the  Lord  sees  it  not 
orood  for  you  to  be  alone,  he  will  provide  you 
a  help-mate.      I  say,  if  he  sees  the  marriage- 
state  best  for  you,  he  has  the  proper  person 
already  in  his   eye,  and   though   she  were  in 
Peru  or  Nova  Zembla,  he  knows  how  to  bring 
you   together.      In  the  mean   time,   go  thou 
and  preach  the  gospel.      Watch  in  all  things  ; 
endure  afflictions  :   do  the  work  of  an   evan- 
gelist ;  make    full   proof   of   yoiar    ministry  : 
and  when  other  thoughts  rise    in   your   mind 
(for  you  have  no  door  to  shut  them  quite  out), 
run    with   them   to  the  throne   of  grace,    and 


commit  them  to  the   Lord.      Satan    will    per- 
haps try  to  force  them  upon  you  unseasonably 
and  inordinately  ;  but  if  he  sees  they  drive  you 
to  prayer,  he  will  probably  desist,  rather  than 
be  the  occasion  of  doing  you  so  much  good. 
Believe  likewise,  that  as  the  Lord  has  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  person,  so  he  fixes  the  time. 
His  time  is  like  the  time  of  the  tide  ;  all  the 
art  and  power  of  man  can  neither  hasten  nor 
retard  it  a  moment :   it  must  be   waited  for ; 
nothing  can  be  done  without  it,  and  when  it 
comes,  nothing  can  resist  it.    It  is  unbelief  that 
talks  of  delays ;  faith    knows    that    properly 
there  can  be  no  such  thing.      The  only  reason 
why  the  Lord  seems  to  delay   what  he  after- 
wards grants,  is,  that  the  best  hour  is  not  yet 
come.      I   know    you   have  been    enabled  to 
commit  and   resign   your  all   to  his  disposal. 
You  did  well.      May  he  help  you  to  stand  to 
the  surrender.      Sometimes  he  will  put  us  to 
the  trial,  whether  we  mean  what  we  say.      He 
takes   his  course  in  a    way    we    did  not  ex- 
pect ;    and   then,   alas !   how    often    does    the 
trial  put  us  to  shame  !    Presently  there  is  an 
outcry  raised  in  the  soul  against  his  manage- 
ment ;   this  is  wrong,   that  unnecessary,   the 
other  has  spoiled  the  whole  plan  :   in  short, 
all  these  things  are  against  us.      And  then  we 
go  into  the  pulpit,  and  gravely  tell  the  people 
how  wise  and  how  good   he   ;s ;  and   preach 
submission  to  his  will,  not  only  as  a  duty,  but 
a  privilege.     Alas  !  how  deceitful  is  the  heart ! 
Yet,  since  it  is,  and  will  be  so,  it  is  necessary 
we  should  know  it  by  experience.      We  have 
reason,  however,  to  say,  He  is  good  and  wise  ; 
for  he  bears  with  our  perverseness,  and  in  the 
event  shews   us,   that  if  he  had  listened    to 
our  murmurings,  and  taken  the  methods  we 
would  have  prescribed  to  him,  we  should  have 
been  ruined  indeed,  and  that  he  has  been  all 
the  while  doing  us  good  in  spite  of  ourselves. 
If  I  judge  right,  you   will   find   your   way 
providentially   opened  more   and  more;  and 
yet  it  is  possible,  that  when  you  begin  to  think 
yourself  sure,  something  may  happen   to  put 
you  in  a  panic  again.      But  a  believer,  like  a 
sailor,  is  not  to  be  surprised  if  the  wind  changes, 
but  to  learn  the  art  of  suiting   himself  to   all 
winds  for  the  time ;  and  though  many  a  poor 
sailor  is  shipwrecked,  the  poor   believer   shall 
gain  his  port.      O,  it  is  good  sailing  with    an 
infallible  pilot  at  the  helm,  who  has  the  wind 
and  weather  at  his  command  ! 

I  have  been  much  abroad,  which  of  course 
puts  things  at  sixes  and  sevens  at  home.  If  I 
did  not  love  you  well,  I  could  not  have  spared 
so  much  of  the  only  day  I  have  had  to  my- 
self for  this  fortnight  past.  But  I  was  will- 
ing you  should  know  that  I  think  of  you,  and 
feel  for  you,  if  I  cannot  help  you. 

I    have    read    Mr.  's  book.      Some 

things  I  think  strongly  argued  ;  in  some  he 
has  laid  himself  open  to  a  blow,  and  I  doubt 
liot  but  he  will  have  it.  I  expect  answers, 
replies,    rejoinders,    &c.    &c.    and    say,   with 


LETTERS  TO   THE   REV.   MR.   R . 


LET.  ViII. 

Leah,  Gad,  a  troop  cometh.  How  the  wolf 
will  grin  to  see  the  sheep  and  the  shepherds 
biting  and  worrying  one  another !  And  well 
he  may.  He  knows  that  contentions  are  a 
surer  way  to  weaken  the  spirit  of  love,  and 
stop  the  progress  of  the  gospel,  than  his  old 
stale  method  of  fire  and  sword.  Well,  I  trust 
we  shall  be  of  one  heart  and  one  mind  when 
we  get  to  heaven  at  last. 

Let  who  will  fight,  I  trust  neither  water  nor 
fire  shall  set  you  and  me  at  variance.  We  u- 
nite  in  love  to  you.  The  Lord  is  gracious  to 
us,  &c. 

I  am,  &c. 


2G5 


LETTER  VIII. 


1776. 


DEAR  SIR, 

I  DO  not  often  serve  your  letters  so,  but  this 
last  I  burnt,  believing  you  would  like  to  have 
it  out  of  danger  of  falling  into  improper  hands. 
When  I  saw  how  eagerly  the  flames  devoured 
the  paper,  how  quickly  and  entirely  every 
trace  of  the  writing  was  consumed,  I  wished 
that  the  fire  of  the  love  of  Jesus  might  as  com- 
pletely obliterate  from  your  heart  every  uneasy 
impression  which  your  disappointment  lias 
given  you    ----------- 


__-...  Surely  when  he  crosses  our 
wishes,  it  is  always  in  mercy,  and  because  we 
short-sighted  creatures  often  know  not  what 
we  ask  nor  what  would  be  the  consequences 
if  our  desires  were  granted. 

Your  pride,  it  seems,  has  received  a  fall, 
by  meeting  a  repulse.  I  know  self  does  not 
like  to  be  mortified  in  these  affairs  ;  but  if  you 
are  made  successful  in  wooing  souls  for 
Christ,  I  hope  that  will  console  you  for  meet- 
ing a  rebuff  when  only  wooing  for  yourself. 
Besides,  I  would  have  you  pluck  up  your 
spirits.  I  have  two  good  old  proverbs  at  your 
service  :  "  There  is  as  good  fish  in  the  sea  as 
any  that  are  brought  out  of  it."  and,  "  If  one 
won't,  another  will,  or  wherefore  serves  the  mar. 
ket  ?"  Perhaps  all  your  difficulties  have  arisen 
from  this,  that  you  have  not  yet  seen  the  right 
person  ;  if  so,  you  have  reason  to  be  thankful 
that  the  Lord  would  not  let  you  take  the 
wrong,  though  you  unwittingly  would  have 
done  it  if  you  could.  Where  the  right  one 
lies  hid  I  know  not,  but  upon  a  supposition 
that  it  will  be  good  for  you  to  marry,  I  may 
venture  to  say, 

Ubi  ubi  est,  diu  celari  non  potest. 

The  Lord  in  his  providence  will  disclose  her, 
put  her  in  your  way,  and  give  you  to  under- 
stand, This  is  she.  Then  you  will  find  your 
business  go  forward  with  wheels  and  wings, 
and  have  cause  to  say,  His  choice  ard  time 
were  better  than  your  own. 


Did  I  not  tell  you  formerly,  that  if  you 
would  take  care  of  his  business,  he  will  take 
care  of  yours  ?  I  am  of  the  same  mind  still. 
He  will  not  suffer  them  who  fear  him  and  de- 
pend upon  him  to  want  any  thing  that  is  truly 
good  for  them.  In  the  mean  while,  I  advise 
you  to  take  a  lodging  as  near  as  you  can  to 
Gethsemane,  and  to  walk  daily  to  mount  Gol- 
gotha, and  borrow  (which  may  be  had  for 
asking)  that  telescope  which  gives  a  prospect 
into  the  unseen  world.  A  view  of  what  is 
passing  within  the  vail  has  a  marvellous  effect 
to  compose  our  spirits,  with  regard  to  the 
little  things  that  are  daily  passing  here.  Praise 
the  Lord,  who  has  enabled  you  to  fix  your 
supreme  affection  upon  him,  who  is  alone  the 
proper  and  suitable  object  of  it,  and  from 
whom  you  cannot  meet  a  denial,  or  fear  a 
change.  He  loved  you  first,  and  he  will  love 
you  for  ever ;  and  if  he  be  pleased  to  arise 
and  smile  upon  you,  you  are  in  no  more  ne- 
cessity of  begging  for  happiness  to  the  pret- 
tiest creature  upon  earth,  than  of  the  light  of 
a  candle  on  midsummer  noon. 

Upon  the  whole,  I  pray  and  hope  the  Lord 
will  sweeten  your  cross,  and  either  in  kind  or 
in  kindness  make  you  good  amends.  Wait, 
pray,  and  believe,  and  all  shall  be  well.  A 
cross  we  must  have  somewhere ;  and  they 
who  are  favoured  with  health,  plenty,  peace, 
and  a  conscience  sprinkled  with  the  blood 
of  Jesus,  must  have  more  causes  for  thank- 
fulness than  grief.  Look  round  you,  and 
take  notice  of  the  very  severe  afflictions  which 
many  of  the  Lord's  own  people  are  groaning 
under,  and  your  trials  will  appear  compara- 
tively light.  Our  love  to  all  friends. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IX. 

June  3,  1777. 

DEAR  SIR, 

It  seems  I  must  write  something  about  the 
small-pox,  but  I  know  not  well  what ;  having 
had  it  myself,  I  cannot  judge  how  I  should 
feel  if  I  were  actually  exposed  to  it.  I  am 
not  a  professed  advocate  for  inoculation  ;  but 
if  a  person  who  fears  the  Lord  should  tell  me, 
"  I  think  I  can  do  it  in  faith,  looking  upon 
it  as  a  salutary  expedient,  which  he  in  his  pro- 
vidence has  discovered,  and  which,  therefore, 
appears  my  duty  to  have  recourse  to,  so  that 
my  mind  does  not  hesitate  with  respect  to  the 
lawfulness,  nor  am  1  anxious  about  the  event ; 
being  satisfied,  that  whether  I  live  or  die,  I 
am  in  that  path  in  which  I  can  cheerfully,  ex- 
pect his  blessing,"  I  do  not  know  that  I  could 
offer  a  word  by  way  of  dissuasion. 

If  another  person  should  say,  "  My  times 
are  in  the  Lord's  hands  ;  I  am  now  in  health, 
and  am  not  willing  to  bring  upon  myself  a 
disorder,  the  consequences  of  which  I  cannot 


26G 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.  R 


LET.  IX 


possibly  foresee  :  If  I  am  to  have  the  small- 
pox, I  believe  he  is  the  best  judge  of  the  sea- 
son and  manner  in  which  I  shall  be  visited, 
so  as  may  be  most  for  his  glory  and  my  own 
good:  and  therefore  1  chuse  to  wait  his  ap- 
pointment, and  not  to  rush  upon  even  the  pos- 
sibility of  danger  without  a  call.  If  the  very 
hairs  of  my  head  are  numbered,  I  have  no 
reason  to  fear,  that,  supposing  I  receive  the 
small-pox  in  a  natural  way,  I  shall  have  a 
single  pimple  more  than  he  sees  expedient ; 
and  why  should  I  wish  to  have  one  less  ? 
Nay,  admitting,  which,  however,  is  not  al- 
ways the  case,  that  inoculation  might  exempt 
me  from  some  pain  and  inconvenience,  and 
lessen  the  apparent  danger,  might  it  not  like- 
wise, upon  that  very  account,  prevent  my  re- 
ceiving some  of  those  sweet  consolations, 
which  I  humbly  hope  my  gracious  Lord 
would  afford  me,  if  it  were  his  pleasure  to  call 
me  to  a  sharp  trial.  Perhaps  the  chief  de- 
sign of  this  trying  hour  if  it  comes,  may  be 
to  shew  me  more  of  his  wisdom,  power,  and 
love,  than  I  have  ever  yet  experienced.  If  I 
could  devise  a  mean  to  avoid  the  trouble,  I 
know  not  how  great  a  loser  I  may  be  in  point 
of  grace  and  comfort.  Nor  am  I  afraid  of  my 
face ;  it  is  now  as  the  Lord  has  made  it,  and 
it  will  be  so  after  the  small-pox.  If  it  pleases 
him,  I  hope  it  will  please  me.  In  short,  though 
I  do  not  censure  others,  yet,  as  to  myself, 
inoculation  is  what  I  dare  not  venture  upon. 
If  I  did  venture,  and  the  issue  should  not 
be  favourable,  I  should  blame  myself  for  hav- 
ing attempted  to  take  the  management  out  of 
the  Lord's  hand  into  my  own,  which  I  never 
did  yet  in  other  matters,  without  finding  I  am 
no  more  able  than  I  am  worthy  to  choose  for 
myself.  Besides,  at  the  best,  inoculation 
would  only  secure  me  from  one  of  the  innu- 
merable natural  evils  the  flesh  is  heir  to ;  I 
should  still  be  as  liable  as  I  am  at  present  to  a 
putrid  fever,  a  bilious  cholic,  an  inflammation 


in  the  bowels  or  in  the  brain,  and  a  thousand 
formidable  diseases  which  are  hovering  round 
me,  and  only  wait  his  permission  to  cut  me 
off  in  a  few  days  or  hours  :  and  therefore  I 
am  determined,  by  his  grace,  to  resign  myself 
to  his  disposal.  Let  me  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  Lord  (for  his  mercies  are  great),  and 
not  into  the  hands  of  men." 

If  a  person  should  talk  to  me  in  this  strain, 
most  certainly  I  could  not  say,  Notwithstand- 
ing all  this,  your  safest  way  is  to  be  inocula- 
ted. 

We  preach  and  hear,  and  I  hope  we  know 
something  of  faith,  as  enabling  us  to  intrust 
the  Lord  with  our  souls :  I  wish  we  had  all 
more  faith  to  intrust  him  with  our  bodies,  our 
health,  our  provision,  and  our  temporal  com- 
forts likewise.  The  former  should  seem  to 
require  the  strongest  faith  of  the  two.  How 
strange  is  it,  that  when  we  think  we  can  do 
the  greater,  we  should  be  so  awkward  and  un- 
skilful when  we  aim  at  the  less  !  Give  my 
love  to  your  friend.  I  dare  not  advise  :  but 
if  she  can  quietly  return  at  the  usual  time, 
and  neither  run  intentionally  into  the  way  of 
the  small-pox,  nor  run  out  of  the  way,  but 
leave  it  simply  with  the  Lord,  I  shall  not 
blame  her.  And  if  you  will  mind  your  praying 
and  preaching,  and  believe  that  the  Lord  can 
take  care  of  her  without  any  of  your  contri- 
vances, I  shall  not  blame  you :  nay,  I  shall 
praise  him  for  you  both.  My  prescription  is, 
to  read  Dr.  Watts'  exxist  Psalm  every  morn- 
ing before  breakfast,  and  pray  it  over  till  the 
cure  is  effected.      Probatum  est. 

Hast  thou  not  given  thy  word, 

To  save  my  soul  from  death  ? 
And  I  can  trust  my  Lord 
To  keep  my  mortal  breath. 
I'll  go  and  come, 
Nor  fear  to  die, 
Till  from  on  high 
Thou  call  me  home. 

Adieu.      Pray  for  your's. 


LETTERS 


TO  MISS  TH- 


LETTER  I. 


MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

Let  what  has  been  said  on  the  subject  of  ac- 
quaintance, &c.  suffice.  It  was  well  meant 
on  my  side  and  well  taken  on  yours.  You 
may,  perhaps,  see  that  my  hints  were  not 
wholly  unnecessary,  and  I  ought  to  be  satisfied 
with  your  apology  and  am  so.  The  circum- 
stance of  your  being  seen  at  the  play-house 
has  nothing  at  all  mysterious  in  it :  as  you 
say  you  have  not  been  there  these  six  or  seven 
years,  it  was  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  mis- 
take. I  heard  you  had  been  there  within 
these  two  years :  I  am  glad  to  find  I  was  mis- 
informed. I  think  there  is  no  harm  in  your 
supposing,  that  of  the  many  thousands  who 
frequent  public  diversions  some  may  in  other 
respects  be  better  than  yourself;  but  I  hope 
your  humble  and  charitable  construction  of 
their  mistake  will  not  lead  you  to  extenuate 
the  evil  of  those  diversions  in  themselves. 
For  though  I  am  persuaded,  that  a  few,  who 
Know  better  what  to  do  with  themselves,  are, 
for  want  of  consideration,  drawn  in  to  expose 
themselves  in  such  places ;  yet  I  am  well  sa- 
tisfied that,  if  there  is  any  practice  in  this 
land  sinful,  attendance  on  the  playhouse  is 
properly  and  eminently  so.  The  theatres  are 
fountains  and  means  of  vice  ;  I  had  almost 
said,  in  the  same  manner  and  degree  as  the 
ordinances  of  the  gospel  are  the  means  of 
grace  :  and  I  can  hardly  think  there  is  a  chris- 
tian upon  earth  who  would  dare  to  be  seen 
there,  if  the  nature  and  effects  of  the  theatre 
were  properly  set  before  them.  Dr.  Wither- 
spoon  of  Scotland  has  written  an  exellent  piece 
upon  the  stage,  or  rather  against  it,  which  I 
wish  every  person  who  makes  the  least  pre- 
tence to  fear  God  had  an  opportunity  of  per- 
using. I  cannot  judge  much  more  favourably 
of  Ranelagh,  Vauxhall,  and  all  the  innume- 
rable train  of  dissipations  by  which  the  god 
of  this  world  blinds   the  eyes  of  multitudes, 


lest  the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel  should 
shine  in  upon  them.  What  an  awful  aspect 
upon  the  present  times  have  such  texts  as 
Isa.  xxii.  12 — 14,  Hi.  12,  Amos,  vi.  3,  6, 
James,  iv.  4.  I  wish  you,  therefore,  not  to 
plead  for  any  of  them,  but  use  all  your  in- 
fluence to  make  them  shunned  as  pest-houses, 
and  dangerous  nuisances  to  precious  souls ; 
especially,  if  you  know  any  who,  you  hope, 
in  the  main  are  seriously  disposed,  who  yet 
venture  themselves  in  those  purlieus  of  Satan, 
endeavour  earnestly  and  faithfully  to  unde- 
ceive them. 

The  time  is  short,  eternity  at  the  door  :  and 
was  there  no  other  evil  in  these  vain  amuse- 
ments than  the  loss  of  precious  time  (but, 
alas  !  their  name  is  legion),  we  have  not  lei- 
sure in  our  circumstances  to  regard  them. 
But,  blessed  be  God !  we  need  them  not. 
The  gospel  opens  a  source  of  purer,  sweeter, 
and  more  substantial  pleasures :  we  are  in- 
vited to  communion  with  God;  we  are  called 
to  share  in  the  theme  of  angels,  the  songs  of 
heaven,  and  the  wonders  of  redeeming  love 
are  laid  open  to  our  view.  The  Lord  him- 
self is  waiting  to  be  gracious,  waiting  with 
promises  and  pardons  in  his  hands.  Well, 
then,  may  we  bid  adieu  to  the  perishing  plea- 
sures of  sin  ;  well  may  we  pity  those  who 
can  find  pleasure  in  those  places  and  parties 
where  he  is  shut  out ;  where  his  name  is  only 
mentioned  to  be  profaned ;  where  his  com- 
mandments are  not  only  broken  but  insulted  ; 
where  sinners  proclaim  their  shame  as  in  So- 
dom, and  attempt  not  to  hide  it ;  where  at 
best  wickedness  is  wrapt  up  in  a  disguise  of 
delicacy,  to  make  it  more  insinuating,  and 
nothing  is  offensive  that  is  not  grossly  and  un. 
politely  indecent. 

I  sympathize  with  all  your  complaints ; 
but  if  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  make  them  sub- 
servient to  the  increase  of  your  sanctification 


268 


LETTERS  TO  MISS  TII- 


LET.  Ill 


to  wean  you  more  and  more  from  this  world, 
and  to  draw  you  nearer  to  himself,  you  will 
one  day  see  cause  to  be  thankful  for  them, 
and  to  number  them  amongst  your  choicest 
mercies.  A  hundred  years  hence  it  will  sig- 
nify little  to  you  whether  you  were  sick  or 
well  the  day  I  wrote  this  letter. 

We  thank  you  for  your  kind  condolence. 
There  is  a  pleasure  in  the  pity  of  a  friend  ;  but 
the  Lord  alone  can  give  true  comfort.  I  hope 
he  will  sanctify  the   breach,   and   do  us  good. 

Mrs.  exchanges  forgivenness  with   you 

about  your  not  meeting  in  London  ;  that  is, 
you  forgive  her  not  coming  to  you,  and  she 
forgives  you  entertaining  a  suspicious  thought 
of  her  friendship  (though  but  for  a  minute) 
on  account  of  what  she  was  really  unable  to 

do. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

September  1,  1767. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

I  SHALL  not  study  for  expressions  to  tell  my 
dear  friend  how  much  we  were  affected  by  the 
news  that  came  last  post.  We  had,  however, 
the  pleasure  to  hear  that  your  family  was  safe. 
I  hope  this  will  find  you  recovered  from  the 
hurry  of  spirits  you  must  have  been  thrown 
into,  a-nd  that  both  you  and  your  papa  are 
composed  under  the  appointment  of  him  who 
has  a  right  to  dispose  of  his  own  as  he  pleases; 
for  we  know,  that  whatever  may  be  the  se- 
cond causes  and  occasions,  nothing  can  hap- 
pen to  us  but  according  to  die  will  of  our  hea- 
venly Father.  Since  what  is  past  cannot  be 
recalled,  my  part  is  now  to  pray,  that  this, 
and  every  other  dispensation  you  meet  with, 
may  be  sanctified  to  your  soul's  good,  that 
you  may  be  more  devoted  to  the  God  of  your 
life,  and  have  a  clearer  sense  of  your  interest 
in  that  kingdom  which  cannot  be  shaken,  that 
treasure  which  neither  thieves  nor  flames  can 
touch,  that  better  and  more  enduring  sub- 
stance which  is  laid  up  for  believers,  where 
Jesus  their  Head  and  fhviour  Is.  With  this 
view  you  may  take  joyfully  the  spoiling  of 
your  goods. 

I  think  I  can  feel  for  my  friends  j  but  for 
such  as  I  hope  have  a  right  to  that  promise, 
that  all  things  shall  work  together  for  their 
good,  I  soon  check  my  solicitude,  and  ask 
myself,  Do  I  love  them  better,  or  could  I 
manage  more  wisely  for  them,  than  the  Lord 
does  ?  Can  I  wish  them  to  be  in  safer  or 
more  compassionate  hands  than  in  his?  Will 
he  who  delights  in  the  prosperity  of  his  ser- 
vants, afflict  them  with  sickness,  losses,  and 
alarms,  except  he  sees  there  is  need  of  these 
things  ?  Such  thoughts  calm  the  emotions 
of  my  mind.  I  sincerely  condole  you  ;  but 
the  command  is,  to  rejoice  always  in  the  Lord. 


The  visitation  was  accompanied  with  mercy. 
Not  such  a  case  as  that  of  the  late  Lady 
Molesworth's,  which  made  every  one's  ears 
to  tingle  that  heard  it.  Nor  is  yours  such  a 
case  as  of  some,  who,  in  almost  every  great 
fire  lose  their  all,  and  perhaps  have  no  know- 
ledge of  God  to  support  them. 

Though  our  first  apprehensions  were  for 
you,  we  almost  forgot  you  for  a  moment, 
when  we  thought  of  your  next-door  neigh- 
bour, and  the  circumstance  she  was  in,  so  un- 
fit to  bear  either  a  fright  or  a  removal.  We 
shaO  be  in  much  suspense  till  we  hear  from 
you.  God  grant  that  you  may  be  able  to 
send  us  good  news,  that  you  are  all  well, 
at  least  as  well  as  can  be  expected  after  such 
a  distressing  scene.  If  what  has  happened 
should  give  you  more  leisure,  or  more  incli- 
nation, to  spend  a  little  time  with  us,  I  think 
I  need  not  say  we  shall  rejoice  to  receive  you 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

September  17,  1767 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

The  vanity  of  all  tilings  below  is  confirmed 
to  us  by  daily  experience.  Amongst  other 
proofs,  one  is,  the  precariousness  of  our  inti- 
macies, and  what  little  things,  or  rather  what 
nothings  will  sometimes  produce  a  coolness, 
or  at  least  a  strangeness  between  the  dearest 
friends.  How  is  it  that  our  correspondence 
has  been  dropt,  and  that,  after  having  written 
two  letters  since  the  fire,  which  removed  you 
from  your  former  residence,  I  should  be  still 
disappointed  in  my  hopes  of  an  answer  ?  On 
our  parts  I  hope  there  has  been  no  abatement 
of  regard  ;  nor  can  I  charge  you  with  any 
thing  but  remissness.  Therefore,  waving  the 
past,  and  all  apologies  on  either  side,  let  me 
beg  you  to  write  soon,  to  tell  us  how  it  is 
with  you,  and  how  you  have  been  supported 
under  the  various  changes  you  have  met  with 
since  we  saw  you  last.  I  doubt  not  but  you 
have  met  with  many  exercises.  J  pray  that  they 
may  have  been  sanctified  to  lead  you  nearer 
to  the  Lord,  the  foundation  of  all  consola- 
tion, who  is  the  only  refuge  in  time  of  trou- 
bles, and  whose  gracious  presence  is  abun- 
dantly able  to  make  up  every  deficiency  and 
every  loss.  Perhaps  the  reading  of  this  may 
recal  to  your  mind  our  past  conversations, 
and  the  subjects  of  the  many  letters  we  have 
exchanged.  I  know  not  in  what  manner  to 
write  after  so  long  an  interval.  I  would  hope 
your  silence  to  us  has  not  been  owing  to  any 
change  of  sentiments,  which  might  make  such 
letters  as  mine  less  welcome  to  you.  Yet 
when  you  had  a  friend,  who  I  think  you 
believed  very  nearly  interested  himself  in  your 
welfare,  it  seems  strange  that  in  a  course  of 
two   years   you   should   havp.  nothing  to  com- 


LETTERS  TO  MISS  TH- 


LET.   III. 

municate.  I  cannot  suppose  you  have  for- 
gotten me ;  I  am  sure  I  have  not  forgotten 
you  ;  and  therefore  I  long  to  hear  from  you 
soon,  that  I  may  know  how  to  write  ;  and 
should  this  likewise  pass  unanswered,  I  must 
sit  down  and  mourn  over  my  loss. 

As  to  our  affairs,  I  can  tell  you  the  Lord 
has  been  and  is  exceedingly  gracious  to  us : 
our  lives  are  preserved,  our  healths  continued, 
an  abundance  of  mercies  and  blessings  on 
every  side  ;  but  especially  we  have  to  praise 
him  that  he  is  pleased  to  crown  the  means 
and  ordinances  of  his  grace  with  tokens  of  his 
presence.  It  is  my  happiness  to  be  fixed 
amongst  an  affectionate  people,  who  make  an 


269 


open  profession  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus, 
and  are  enabled,  in  some  measure,  to  shew 
forth  its  power  in  their  lives  and  conversation. 
We  walk  in  peace  and  harmony.  I  have 
reason  to  say  the  Lord  Jesus  is  a  good  master, 
and  that  the  doctrine  of  free  salvation,  by 
faith  in  his  name,  is  a  doctrine  according  to 
godliness;  for  through  mercy  I  find  it  daily 
effectual  to  the  breaking  down  the  strongholds 
of  sin,  and  turning  the  hearts  of  sinners  from 
dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God.  May 
the  Lord  give  my  dear  friend  to  live  in  the 
power  and  consolation  of  his  precious  truth  ! 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTERS 

TO  . 


LETTER  I. 


March  18,  1767. 
I.  CAN  truly  say,  that  I  bear  you  upon  my 
heart  and  in  my  prayers.  I  have  rejoiced  to 
see  the  beginning  of  a  good  and  gracious  work 
in  you  ;  and  I  have  confidence  in  the  Lord 
Jesus,  that  he  will  carry  it  on  and  complete 
it,  and  that  you  will  be  amongst  the  number 
of  those  who  shall  sing  redeeming  love  to  eter- 
nity. Therefore,  fear  none  of  the  things  ap- 
pointed for  you  to  suffer  by  the  way  ;  but  gird 
up  the  loins  of  your  mind,  and  hope  to  the 
end.  Be  not  impatient,  but.  wait  humbly  up- 
on the  Lord.  You  have  one  hard  lesson 
to  learn,  that  is,  the  evil  of  your  own  heart : 
you  know  something  of  it,  but  it  is  needful 
that  you  should  know  more  ;  for  the  more  we 
know  of  ourselves,  the  more  we  shall  prize  and 
love  Jesus  and  his  salvation.  I  hope  what 
you  find  in  yourself  by  daily  experience  will 
humble  you,  but  not  discourage  you ;  hum- 
ble you  it  should,  and  I  believe  it  does.  Are 
not  you  amazed  sometimes  that  you  should 
have  so  much  as  a  hope,  that,  poor  and  needy 
as  you  are,  the  Lord  thinketh  of  you  ?  But 
let  not  all  you  feel  discourage  you  ;  for  if  our 
Physician  is  almighty,  our  disease  cannot  be 
desperate ;  and  if  he  cast  none  out  that  come 
to  him,  why  should  you  fear?  Our  sins  are 
many,  but  his  mercies  are  more :  our  sins  are 
great,  but  his  righteousness  is  greater  :  we 
are  weak,  but  he  is  power.  Most  of  our 
complaints  are  owing  to  unbelief,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  a  legal  spirit;  and  these  evils  are 
not  removed  in  a  day.  Wait  on  the  Lord, 
and  he  will  enable  you  to  see  more  and  more 
of  the  power  and  grace  of  our  High- Priest. 
The  more  you  know  him,  the  better  you  will 
trust  him  :  the  more  you  trust  him,  the  better 
you  will  love  him  ;  the  more  you  love  him, 
the  better  you  will  serve  him.  This  is  God's 
way  :  you  are  not  called  to  buy,  but  to  beg  ; 
not  to  be  strong  in  yourself,  but  in  the  grace 


that  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  He  is  teaching  you 
these  things,  and  1  trust  he  will  teach  you  to 
the  end.  Remember  the  growth  of  a  belie- 
ver is  not  like  a  mushroom,  but  like  an  oak, 
which  increases  slowly  indeed,  but  surely. 
Many  suns,  showers,  and  frosts,  pass  upon  it 
before  it  comes  to  perfection ;  and  in  winter, 
when  it  seems  dead,  it  is  gathering  strength  at 
the  root.  Be  humble,  watchful,  and  diligent 
in  the  means,  and  endeavour  to  look  through 
all,  and  fix  your  eye  upon  Jesus,  and  all  shall 
be  well.  1  commend  you  to  the  care  of  the 
good  Shepherd,  and  remain,  for  his  sake, 
Yours,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

May  31,  1769. 
I  was  sorry  I  did  not  write  as  you  expected, 
but  I  hope  it  will  do  now.  Indeed,  I  have 
not  forgotten  you ;  you  are  often  in  my 
thoughts,  and  seldom  omitted  in  my  prayers 
I  hope  the  Lord  will  make  what  you  see  and 
hear  while  abroad  profitable  to  you,  to  increase 
your  knowledge,  to  strengthen  your  faith,  and 
to  make  you  from  henceforth  well  satisfied 
with  your  situation.  If  I  am  not  mistaken, 
you  will  be  sensible,  that  though  there  are 
some  desirable  things  to  be  met  with  in  Lon- 
don preferable  to  any  other  place,  yet  upon 
the  whole,  a  quiet  situation  in  the  country, 
under  one  stated  ministry,  and  in  connection 
with  one  people,  has  the  advantage.  It  is 
pleasant  now  and  then  to  have  opportunity  of 
hearing  a  variety  of  preachers,  but  the  best 
and  greatest  of  them  are  no  more  than  instru- 
ments ;  some  can  please  the  ear  better  than 
others,  but  none  can  reach  the  heart  any  far- 
ther than  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  open  it. 
This  he  shewed    you   upon   your  first  going 


LET.  III. 


LETTERS  TO 


271 


up,  and  I  doubt  not  but  your  disappointment 
did  you  more  good  than  if  you  had  heard 
with  all  the  pleasure  you  expected. 

The  Lord  was  pleased  to  visit  me  with  a 
slight  illness  in  my  late  journey.  I  was  far 
from  well  on  the  Tuesday,  but  supposed  it 
owing  to  the  fatigue  of  riding,  and  the  heat  of 
the  weather ;  but  the  next  day  I  was  taken 
with  a  shivering,  to  which  a  fever  succeeded. 
I  was  then  near  sixty  miles  from  home.  The 
Lord  gave  me  much  peace  in  my  soul,  and  I 
was  enabled  to  hope  he  would  bring  me  safe 
home,  in  which  I  was  not  disappointed  ;  and 
though  I  had  the  fever  most  part  of  the  way, 
my  journey  was  not  unpleasant.  He  likewise 
strengthened  me  to  preach  twice  on  Sunday  ; 
and  at  night  I  found  myself  well,  only  very 
weary,  and  I  have  continued  well  ever  since. 
I  have  reason  to  speak  much  of  his  goodness, 
and  to  kiss  the  rod,  for  it  was  sweetened  with 
abundant  mercies.  I  thought  that,  had  it 
been  his  pleasure  I  should  have  continued 
sick  at  Oxford,  or  even  have  died  there,  I  had 
no  objection.  Though  I  had  not  that  joy 
and  sensible  comfort  which  some  are  favoured 
with,  yet  I  was  quite  free  from  pain,  fear,  and 
care,  and  felt  myself  sweetly  composed  to  his 
will,  whatever  it  might  be.  Thus  he  fulfils 
his  promise  in  making  our  strength  equal  to 
our  day ;  and  every  new  trial  gives  us  a  new 
proof  how  happy  it  is  to  be  enabled  to  put  our 
trust  in  him. 

I  hope,  in  the  midst  of  all  your  engage- 
ments, you  find  a  little  time  to  read  his  good 
word,  and  to  wait  at  his  mercy-seat.  It  is 
good  for  us  to  draw  nigh  to  him.  It  is  an 
honour  that  he  permits  us  to  pray ;  and  we 
shall  surely  find  he  is  a  prayer-hearing  God. 
Endeavour  to  be  diligent  in  the  means ;  yet 
watch  and  strive  against  a  legal  spirit,  which 
is  always  aiming  to  represent  him  as  a  hard 
master,  watching  as  it  were  to  take  advantage 
of  us.  But  it  is  far  otherwise.  His  name  is 
Love ;  he  looks  upon  us  with  compassion ; 
he  knows  our  frame,  and  remembers  that  we 
are  but  dust ;  and  when  our  infirmities  pre- 
vail, he  does  not  bid  us  despond,  but  reminds 
us  that  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father, 
who  is  able  to  pity,  to  pardon,  and  to  save  to 
the  uttermost.  Think  of  the  names  and  re- 
lations he  bears.  Does  he  not  call  himself  a 
Saviour,  a  shepherd,  a  friend,  and  a  husband  ? 
Has  he  not  maue  Known  unto  us  his  love, 
his  blood,  his  righteousness,  his  promises,  his 
power,  and  his  grace,  and  all  for  our  encou- 
ragement ?  Away,  then,  with  all  doubting, 
unbelieving  thoughts  ;  they  will  not  only  dis- 
tress your  heart,  but  weaken  your  hands. 
Take  it  for  granted,  upon  the  warrant  of  his 
word,  that  you  are  his  and  he  is  yours  ;  that 
he  has  loved  you  with  an  everlasting  love,  and 
therefore  in  loving-kindness  has  drawn  you 
to  himself;  that  he  will  surely  accomplish  that 
which  he  has  begun,  and  that  nothing  which 
can  he  named  or  thought  of  shall  ever  be  able 


to  separate  you  from  him.  This  persuasion 
will  give  you  strength  for  the  battle  ;  this  is 
the  shield  which  will  quench  the  fiery  darts  of 
Satan ;  this  is  the  helmet  which  the  enemy 
cannot  pierce.  Whereas,  if  we  go  forth  doubt- 
ing and  fearing,  and  are  afraid  to  trust  any 
farther  than  we  can  feel,  we  are  weak  as  wa- 
ter, and  easily  overcome.  Be  strong,  there- 
fore, not  in  yourself,  but  in  the  grace  that  is 
in  Christ  Jesus.  Pray  for  me,  and  believe 
me  to  be, 

Yours,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

March  14,  

I  THINK  you  would  hardly  expect  me  to  write 
if  you  knew  how  I  am  forced  to  live  in  Lon- 
don. However,  I  would  have  you  believe  I 
am  as  willing  to  write  to  you  as  you  are  to 
receive  my  letters.  As  a  proof,  I  try  to  send 
you  a  few  lines  now,  though  I  am  writing  to 

you  and  talking  to  Mrs.  both  at  once  ; 

and  this  is  the  only  season  I  can  have  to  change 
a  few  words  with  her.  She  is  a  woman  of  a 
sorrowful  spirit ;  she  talks  and  weeps.  I  be- 
lieve she  would  think  herself  happy  to  be  si- 
tuated as  you  are,  notwithstanding  the  many 
advantages  she  has  at  London.  I  see  daily, 
and  I  hope  you  have  likewise  learned,  that 
places  and  outward  circumstances  cannot  of 
themselves  either  hinder  or  help  us  in  walking 
with  God.  So  far  as  he  is  pleased  to  be  with 
u-s,  and  teach  us  by  his  Spirit,  wherever  we 
are  we  shall  get  forward ;  and  if  he  does  not 
bless  us  and  water  us  every  moment,  the  more 
we  have  of  our  own  wishes  and  wills,  the 
more  uneasy  we  shall  make  ourselves. 

One  thing  is  needful  j  an  humble,  dependent 
spirit,  to  renounce  our  own  wills,  and  give 
up  ourselves  to  his  disposal  without  reserve. 
This  is  the  path  of  peace,  and  it  is  the  path  of 
safety  ;  for  he  has  said,  The  meek  he  will  teach 
his  way,  and  those  who  yield  up  themselves 
to  him  he  will  guide  with  his  eye.  I  hope 
you  will  tight  and  pray  against  every  rising  of 
a  murmuring  spirit,  and  be  thankful  for  the 
great  things  which  he  has  already  done  for 
you.  It  is  good  to  be  humbled  for  sin,  but 
not  to  be  discouraged ;  for  though  we  are 
poor  creatures,  Jesus  is  a  complete  Saviour ; 
and  we  bring  more  honour  to  God,  by  believ- 
ing in  his  name,  and  trusting  his  word  of  pro- 
mise, than  we  could  do  by  a  thousand  out- 
ward works. 

I  pray  the  Lord  to  shine  upon  your  soul, 
and  to  fill  you  with  all  joy  and   peace  in  be- 
lieving.     Remember   to  pray  for  us,  that  we 
may  be  brought  home  to  you  in  peace. 
I  am,  &c. 


272 


LETTERS  TO 


LETTER  IV. 

London,  August  19,  1775. 
YOU   see   I   am  mindful  of  my  promise,  and 
glad  should  I  be  to  write  something  that  the 
Lord  may  be  pleased  to  make  a  word  in  sea- 
son.     I   went  yesterday  into  the   pulpit  very 
dry  and  heartless.      I   seemed   to   have  fixed 
upon  a  text,  but  when  I  came  to  the  pinch,  it 
was  so  shut  up  that  I  could  not   preach  from 
it.      I   had  hardly   a  minute   to  choose,  and 
therefore  was   forced  to  snatch  at  that  which 
came   first  upon  my   mind,  which  proved  2 
Tim.    i.    12.      Thus   I  setoff  at    a   venture, 
having  no  resource  but  in  the  Lord's  mercy 
and    faithfulness ;     and,  indeed,    what  other 
can  we  wish  for  ?    Presently  my  subject  open- 
ed, and  I  know  not  when  I  have  been  favour- 
ed with  more  liberty.      Why  do  I  tell   you 
this  ?   Only  as  an  instance  of  his  goodness,  to 
encourage   you  to  put  your  strength  in  him, 
and  not  to  be  afraid,  even  when  you  feel  your 
own  weakness  and  insufficiency  most  sensibly. 
We  are  never  more  safe,  never  have  more  rea- 
son to  expect  the  Lord's  help,  than  when  we 
are  most  sensible   that  we    can  do    nothing 
without   him.       This  was    the    lesson    Paul 
learned,   to  rejoice    in   his   own  poverty  and 
emptiness,  that  the  power  of  Christ  might  rest 
upon  him.     Could  Paul  have  done  any  thing, 
Jesus  would  not  have  had  the  honour  of  doing 
all.       This  way  of  being   saved    entirely  by 
grace,  from  first  to  last,  is  contrary  to  our  na- 
tural wills  ;  it  mortifies  self,  leaving  it  nothing 
to  boast   of,   and   through  the  remains  of  an 
unbelieving,  legal   spirit,   it  often  seems  dis- 
couraging.     When  we  think  ourselves  so  ut- 
terly helpless  and  worthless,  we  are  too  ready 
to  fear  that  the  Lord  will  therefore  reject  us ; 
whereas,  in  truth,  such  a  poverty  of  spirit  is 
the  best  mark  we  can   have  of  an  interest  in 
his  promises  and  care. 

How  often  have  I  longed  to  be  an  instru- 
ment of  establishing  you  in  the  peace  and 
hope  of  the  gospel !  and  I  have  but  one  way 
of  attempting  it,  by  telling  you  over  and  over 
of  the  power  and  grace  of  Jesus.  You  want 
nothing  to  make  you  happy,  but  to  have  the 
eyes  of  your  understanding  more  fixed  upon 
the  Redeemer,  and  more  enlightened  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  behold  his  glory.  O  !  he  is  a 
suitable  Saviour  !  He  has  power,  authority, 
and  compassion,  to  save  to  the  uttermost.  He 
has  given  his  word  of  promise  to  engage  our 
confidence,  and  he  is  able  and  faithful  to 
make  good  the  expectations  and  desires  he 
has  raised  in  us.  Put  your  trust  in  him  ;  be- 
lieve, as  we  say,  through  thick  and  thin,  in 
defiance  of  all  objections  from  within  and 
without.  For  this  Abraham  is  recommended 
as  a  pattern  to  us.  He  overlooked  all  diffi- 
culties, he  ventured  and  hoped  even  against 
hope,  in  a  case  which,  to  appearance,  was  des~ 


LET.  IV 

perate ;  because   he   knew  that  he    who   had 
promised  was  able  to  perforin. 

Your  sister  is  much  upon  my  mind  ;    her 
illness  grieves  me ;  were  it  in    my  power,   1 
would  quickly  remove  it.     The  Lord  can,  and 
I  hope  he  will,  when  it  has  answered  the  end 
for  which  he  sent  it.      I  trust  he  has  brought 
her  to  us  for  good,  and  that  she   is   chastised 
by  him,  that  she  may  not  be  condemned  with 
the  world.      I  hope,   though   she   says   little, 
she  lifts  up  her  heart  to  him  for  a  blessing.     1 
wish  you  may  be   enabled   to   leave   her  and 
yourself,  and  all  your  concerns,  in  his  hands. 
He  has  a  sovereign  right  to  do  with   us  as  he 
pleases ;    and   if  we   consider  what   we   are, 
surely  we  shall  confess  we  have  no  reason  to 
complain ;    and  to  those  who  seek   him,  his 
sovereignty   is   exercised   in   a  way  of  grace. 
All  shall  work  together  for  good  ;  every  thing 
is   needful    that    he   sends;    nothing   can   be 
needful   that  he  with-holds.      Be  content  to 
bear   the   cross;    others  have  borne  it  before 
you.      You  have  need  of  patience  ;  and  if  you 
ask,   the  Lord  will  give  it;  but  there  can  be 
no  settled  peace  till  our  will  is  in  a  measure 
subdued.      Hide   yourself  under  the  shadow 
of  his  wings  ;  rely  upon  his  care  and  power  ; 
look  upon  him  as  a  physician  who  has  graci- 
ously  undertaken  to   heal    your   soul  of  the 
worst  of  sicknesses,    sin.      Yield   to  his   pre- 
scriptions, and  fight  against  every  thought  that 
would  represent  it  as  desirable  to  be  permit- 
ted to  choose  for  yourself.    When  you  cannot 
see  your  way,  be  satisfied  that  he  is  your  leader. 
When  your  spirit  is  overwhelmed  within  you, 
he  knows  your  path  ;  he  will  not  leave  you  to 
sink.      He  has  appointed  seasons  of  refresh- 
ment, and  you  shall  find  he  does   not  forget 
you.      Above  all,  keep  close  to  the  throne  or 
grace.      If  we  seem  to  get  no  good  by  at- 
tempting to  draw  near  him,  we  may  be  sure 
we   shall   get  none    by   keeping    away   from 
him. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  V. 

I  PROMISED  you  another  letter,  and  now  for 
the  performance.  If  I  had  said,  it  may  be, 
or,  perhaps  I  will,  you  would  be  in  suspense  ; 
but  if  I  promise,  then  you  expect  that  I  will 
not  disappoint  you,  unless  something  should 
render  it  impossible  for  me  to  make  my  word 
good.  I  thank  you  for  your  good  opinion  of 
me,  and  for  thinking  I  mean  what  I  say ;  and 
I  pray  that  you  may  be  enabled  moie  and 
more  to  honour  the  Lord,  by  believing  his 
promise ;  for  he  is  not  a  man  that  he  should 
tail  or  change,  or  be  prevented  by  any  tiling 
unforeseen  from  doing  what  he  has  said.  And 
yet  we  find  it  easier  to  trust  to  worms  than  to 
the  God  of  truth.  Is  it  not  so  with  you  ? 
And  I  can  assure  you  it  is  often  so  with  me- 


LET.   VI. 


LETTERS  TO 


273 


But  here  is  the  mercy,  that  his  ways  are  a- 
bove  ours,  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the 
earth.  Though  we  are  foolish  and  unbeliev- 
ing, he  remains  faithful  ;  he  will  not  deny 
himself.  1  recommend  to  you  especially  that 
promise  of  God,  which  is  so  comprehensive, 
that  it  takes  in  all  our  concernments,  I  mean, 
that  all  things  shall  work  together  for  good. 
How  hard  is  it  to  believe,  that  not  only  those 
things  which  are  grievous  to  the  flesh,  but 
even  those  things  which  draw  forth  our  cor- 
ruptions, and  discover  to  us  what  is  in  our 
hearts,  and  fill  us  with  guilt  and  shame,  should 
in  the  issue  work  for  our  good  !  Yet  the  Lord 
has  said  it.  All  your  pains  and  trials,  all 
that  befals  you  in  your  own  person,  or  that 
affects  you  upon  the  account  of  others,  shall 
in  the  end  prove  to  your  advantage.  And 
your  peace  does  not  depend  upon  any  change 
of  circumstances  which  may  appear  desirable, 
but  in  having  your  will  bowed  to  the  Lord's 
will,  and  made  willing  to  submit  all  to  his 
disposal  and  management.  Pray  for  this, 
and  wait  patiently  for  him,  and  he  will  do  it. 
Be  not  surprised  to  find  yourself  poor,  help- 
less, and  vile ;  all  whom  he  favours  and 
teaches  will  find  themselves  so.  The  more 
trrace  increases,  the  more  we  shall  see  to  a- 
base  us  in  our  own  eyes  ;  and  this  will  make 
the  Saviour  and  his  salvation  more  precious 
to  us.  He  takes  his  own  wise  methods  to 
humble  you,  and  to  prove  you,  and  I  am  sure 
he  will  do  you  good  in  the  end. 
1  am,  &c. 


LETTER  VI. 

September  16,  1775. 
When  you  receive  this,  I  hope  it  will  give 
you  pleasure  to  think,  that  if  the  Lord  be 
pleased  to  favour  us  with  health,  we  shall  all 
meet  again  in  a  few  days.  I  have  met  with 
much  kindness  at  London,  and  many  com- 
forts and  mercies  ;  however,  I  shall  be  glad 
to  return  home.  There  my  heart  lives,  let 
my  body  be  where  it  will.  I  long  to  see  all 
my  dear  people,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  see 
you.  I  steal  a  little  time  to  write  another 
line  or  two,  more  to  satisfy  you,  than  for  any 
thing  particular  I  have  to  say.  I  thank  you 
for  your  letter.  I  doubt  not  but  the  Lord  is 
bringing  you  forward,  and  that  you  have  a 
good  right  to  say  to  your  soul,  Why  art  thou 
cast  down  and  disquieted?  Hope  thou  in 
God  ;  for  I  shall  yet  praise  him.  An  evil 
heart,  an  evil  temper,  and  the  many  crosses 
we  meet  with  in  passing  through  an  evil 
world,  will  cut  us  out  trouble .  but  the 
Lord  has  provided  a  balm  for  every  wound, 
a  cordial  for  every  care;  the  fruit  of  all  is  to 
take  away  sin,  and  the  end  of  all  will  be  eter- 
nal life  in  glory.  Think  of  these  words ;  put 
them  in    the  balance  of  the  sanctuary  ;    and 


then  throw  all  your  trials  into  the  opposite 
scale,  and  you  will  find  there  is  no  proportion 
between  them.  Say  then,  "  Though  he  slay 
me,  1  will  trust  in  him;"  for  when  he  has 
fully  tried  me,  I  shall  come  forth  like  gold 
You  would  have  liked  to  have  been  with  me 
last  Wednesday.  I  preached  at  Westminster 
bridewell.  It  is  a  prison  and  house  of  cor- 
rection. The  bulk  of  my  congregation  were 
housebreakers,  highwaymen,  pickpockets,  and 
poor  unhappy  women,  such  as  infest  the  streets 
of  this  city,  sunk  in  sin,  and  lost  to  shame- 
I  had  a  hundred  or  more  of  these  before  me. 
I  preached  from  1  Tim.  i.  15,  and  began  with 
telling  them  my  own  story  :  this  gained  their 
attention  more  than  I  expected.  I  spoke  to 
them  near  an  hour  and  a  half.  I  shed  many 
tears  myself,  and  saw  some  of  them  shed  tears 
likewise.  Ah  !  had  you  seen  their  present 
condition,  and  could  you  hear  the  history  of 
some  of  them,  it  would  make  you  sing, 

O  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor  ! 

By  nature  they  were  no  worse  than  the  most 
sober  and  modest  people.  And  there  was 
doubtless  a  time  when  many  of  them  little 
thought  what  they  should  live  to  do  and  suf- 
fer. I  might  have  been,  like  them,  in  chains, 
and  one  of  them  have  come  to  preach  to  me, 
had  the  Lord  so  pleased. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  VII. 

Oct. 
I  AM  just  come  from  seeing  A- 
The  people  told  me  she  is  much  better  than 
she  was,  but  she  is  far  from  being  well.  She 
was  brought  to  me  into  a  parlour,  which  saved 
me  the  painful  task  of  going  to  inquire  and 
seek  for  her  among  the  patients.  My  spirits 
always  sink  when  I  am  within  those  mourn- 
ful walls,  and  I  think  no  money  could  prevail 
on  me  to  spend  an  hour  there  every  day.  Yet 
surely  no  sight  upon  earth  is  more  suited  to 
teach  one  thankfulness  and  resignation.  Sure- 
ly I  have  reason,  in  my  worst  times,  to  be 
thankful  that  I  am  out  of  hell,  out  of  bedlam, 
out  of  Newgate.  If  my  eyes  were  as  bad  as 
yours,  and  my  back  worse,  still  I  hope  I 
should  set  a  great  value  upon  this  mercy,  that 
my  senses  are  preserved.  I  hope  you  will 
think  so  too.  The  Lord  afflicts  us  at  times  ; 
but  it  is  always  a  thousand  times  less  than  we 
deserve,  and  much  less  than  many  of  our  fel- 
low-creatures are  suffering  around  us.  Let 
us  therefore  pray  for  grace  to  be  humble, 
thankful,  and  patient. 

This   day   twelvemonth    I   was   under  Mr. 

W 's  knife  ;  there  is  another  cause  for 

thankfulness,   that  the  Lord   inclined   me  to 
submit  to  the  operation,  and  brought  me  hap- 
pily through  it.     In  short,  I  have  so  many  rea- 
2B 


•J  7  4 


sons  for  thankfulness,  that  I  cannot  count 
them.  I  may  truly  say,  they  are  more  in 
number  than  the  hairs  of  my  head.  And  y?t, 
alas  !  how  cold,  insensible,  and  ungrateful  ! 
I  could  make  as  many  complaints  as  you  ; 
but  I  find  no  good  by  complaining,  except 
to  him  who  is  able  to  help  me.  It  is  better 
no  and  me  to  1»  admiring  the  compas-  j 


LETTERS    TO .  i.BT.  vn. 

sion  and  fulness  of  grace   that  is  in  our   Sa- 


viour, than  to  dwell  and  pore  too  much  up- 
on our  own  poverty  and  vUeness.  He  is  able 
to  help  aud  save  to  the  uttermost :  there  I 
desire  to  cast  anchor,  and  wish  you  to  do  so 
likewise.  Hope  in  God,  for  you  shall  vet 
praise  him. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTERS 


TO  MR.  C- 


LETTER  I. 


Junuaty  16,  1775. 

UF.AR  SIR, 

The  death  of  a  near  relative  called  me  from 
home  in  December,  and  a  fortnight's  absence 
threw  me  so  far  behind-hand  in  my  course, 
that  I  deferred  acknowledging  your  letter 
much  longer  than  I  intended.  I  now  thank 
you  for  it.  I  can  sympathize  with  you  in 
your  troubles;  yet  knowing  the  nature  of  our 
calling,  that,  by  an  unalterable  appointment, 
the  way  to  the  kingdom  lies  through  many 
tribulations,  I  ought  to  rejoice  rather  than 
otherwise,  that  to  you  it  is  given,  not  only  to 
believe,  but  also  to  suffer.  If  you  escaped 
these  things,  whereof  all  the  Lord's  children 
are  partakers,  might  you  not  question  your 
adoption  into  his  family?  How  could  the 
power  of  grace  be  manifest,  either  to  you,  in 
you,  or  by  you,  without  afflictions  ?  How 
could  the  corruptions  and  devastations  of  the 
heart  be  checked  without  a  cross  ?  How  could 
you  acquire  a  tenderness  and  skill  in  speak- 
ing to  them  that  are  weary,  without  a  taste 
of  such  trials  as  they  also  meet  with  ?  You 
could  only  be  a  hearsay  witness  to  the  truth, 
power,  and  sweetness  of  the  precious  pro- 
mises, unless  you  have  been  in  such  a  situa- 
tion as  to  need  them,  and  to  find  their  suit- 
ableness and  sufficiency.  The  Lord  has  given 
you  a  good  desire  to  serve  him  in  the  gos- 
pel, and  he  is  now  training  you  for  that  ser- 
vice. Many  things,  yea,  the  most  important 
things  belonging  to  the  gospel-ministry,  are 
not  to  be  learned  by  books  and  study,  but 
by  painful  experience.  You  must  expect  a 
variety  of  exercises  ;  but  two  things  he  has 
promised  you,  that  you  shall  not  be  tried 
above  what  he  will  enable  you  to  bear,  and 
that  all  shall  work  together  for  your  good. 
We  read  somewhere  of  a  conceited  orator, 
who  declaimed  upon  the  management  of  war 
in  the  presence  of  Hannibal,  and  of  the  con- 


tempt with  which  Hannibal  treated  his  per 
formance.  He  deserved  it ;  for  how  should 
a  man  who  had  never  seen  a  field  of  battle 
be  a  competent  judge  of  such  a  subject  ?  Just 
so,  were  we  to  acquire  no  other  knowledge  ot 
the  christian  warfare  than  what  we  could  de- 
rive from  cool  and  undisturbed  study,  instead 
of  coming  forth  as  able  ministers  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  competently  acquainted  with 
the  tb  vtttfimra,  with  the  devices,  the  deep- 
laid  counsels  and  stratagems  of  Satan,  we 
should  prove  but  mere  declaimers.  But  the 
Lord  will  take  better  care  of  those  whom  he 
loves  and  designs  to  honour.  He  will  try, 
and  permit  them  to  be  tried  in  various  ways. 
He  will  make  them  feel  much  in  themselves, 
that  they  may  know  how  to  feel  much  for 
others ;  according  to  that  beautiful  and  ex- 
pressive line, 

Haud  ignara  mali,  miseris  fuccurrere  disco. 

And  as  this  previous  discipline  is  necessary 
to  enable  us  to  take  the  field  in  a  public  ca- 
pacity with  courage,  wisdom,  and  success,  that 
we  may  lead  and  animate  others  in  the  fight, 
it  is  equally  necessary,  for  our  own  sakes, 
that  we  may  obtain  and  preserve  the  grace  ot 
humility,  which  I  perceive  with  pleasure  he 
has  taught  you  to  set  a  high  value  upon.  In- 
deed we  cannot  value  it  too  highly  ;  for  we 
can  be  neither  comfortable,  safe,  nor  habitu- 
ally useful,  without  it.  The  root  of  prido 
lies  deep  in  our  fallen  nature,  and,  where  the 
Lord  has  given  natural  and  acquired  abilities, 
it  would  grow  apace  if  he  did  not  mercifully 
watch  over  us,  and  suit  his  dispensations  to 
keep  it  down.  Therefore  I  trust  he  will 
make  you  willing  to  endure  hardships,  as  a 
good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ.  May  he  enable 
you  to  behold  him  with  faith  holding  out  the 
prize,  and  saying  to  you,  Fear  none  of  these 
things  that  thou  shalt  suffer :   be  thou  faithful 


27G 


LETTERS  TO  MR.   C- 


LEl    if. 


unto  death,   and   I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of 
life. 

We  sail  upon  a  turbulent  and  tumultuous 
sea;  but  we  are  embarked  on  a  good  bottom, 
and  in  a  good  cause,  and  we  have  an  infal- 
lible and  almighty  pilot,  who  has  the  winds 
and  weather  at  his  command,  and  can  silence 
the  storm  into  a  calm  with  a  word  whenever 
he  pleases.  We  may  be  persecuted,  but  we 
shall  not  be  forsaken  :  we  may  be  cast  down, 
but  we  cannot  be  destroyed.  Many  will 
thrust  sore  at  us  that  we  may  fall,  but  the 
Lord  will  be  our  stay. 

1  am  sorry  to  find  you  are  quite  alone  at 
Cambridge,  for  I  hoped  there  would  be  a 
succession  of  serious  students  to  supply  the 
place  of  those  who  are  transplanted  to  shine 
as  lights  in  the  world.  Yet  you  are  not  alone ; 
for  the  Lord  is  with  you,  the  best  counsellor 
and  the  best  friend.  There  is  a  strange  back- 
wardness in  us,  at  least  in  me,  fully  to  im- 
prove that  gracious  intimacy  to  which  he  in- 
vites us.  Alas !  that  we  so  easily  wander 
from  the  fountain  of  life  to  hew  out  cisterns 
for  ourselves,  and  that  we  seem  more  at- 
tached to  a  few  drops  of  his  grace  in  our 
fellow-creatures,  than  to  the  fulness  of  grace 
that  is  in  himself.  I  think  nothing  gives  me 
a  more  striking  sense  of  my  depravity  than 
my  perverseness  and  folly  in  this  respect ; 
jet  he  bears  with  me,  and  does  me  good  con- 
tinually. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

March  — ,  1776. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  know  not  the  length  of  your  college-terms, 
but  hope  this  may  come  time  enough  to  find 
you  still  resident.  I  shall  not  apologise  for 
writing  no  sooner,  because  I  leave  other  let- 
ters of  much  longer  date  unanswered  that  I 
may  write  so  soon.  It  gave  me  particular 
pleasure  to  hear  that  the  Lord  helped  you 
through  your  difficulties,  and  succeeded  your 
desires.  And  I  have  sympathized  with  you 
in  the  complaints  you  make  of  a  dark  and 
mournful  frame  of  spirits  afterwards.  But 
is  not  this  upon  the  whole  right  and  salutary, 
that  if  the  Lord  is  pleased  at  one  time  to 
strengthen  us  remarkably  in  answer  to  prayer, 
he  should  leave  us  at  another  time,  so  far  as 
to  give  us  a  real  sensibility  that  we  were  sup- 
ported by  his  power  and  not  our  own  ?  Be- 
sides, as  you  feel  a  danger  of  being  elated  by 
the  respect  paid  you,  was  it  not  a  merciful 
and  seasonable  dispensation  that  made  you 
feel  your  own  weakness,  to  prevent  your  being 
exalted  above  measure  ?  The  Lord,  by  with- 
drawing his  smiles  from  you,  reminded  you 
that  the  smiles  of  men  are  of  little  value, 
otherwise  perhaps  you   might  have  esteemed 


them  too  highly.  Indeed  you  scholars  that 
know  the  Lord  are  singular  instances  of  the 
power  of  his  grace  ;  for  (like  the  young  men 
in  Dan.  iii.)  you  live  in  the  very  midst  of 
the  fire.  Mathematical  studies,  in  particular, 
have  such  a  tendency  to  engross  and  fix  the 
mind  to  the  contemplation  of  cold  and  unin- 
teresting truth,  and  you  are  surrounded  with 
so  much  intoxicating  applause  if  you  succeed 
in  your  researches,  that  for  a  soul  to  be  kept 
humble  and  alive  in  such  a  situation,  is  such 
a  proof  of  the  Lord's  presence  and  power 
as  Moses  had  when  he  saw  the  bush  uncon- 
sumed  in  the  midst  of  the  flames.  I  believe 
I  had  naturally  a  turn  for  the  mathematics 
myself,  and  dabbled  in  them  a  little  way ; 
and  though  I  did  not  go  far,  my  head,  sleep- 
ing and  waking,  was  stuffed  with  diagrams 
and  calculations.  Every  thing  I  looked  at, 
that  exhibited  either  a  right  line  or  a  curve, 
set  my  wits  a  wool-gathering.  What,  then, 
must  have  been  the  case,  had  I  proceeded  to 
the  interior  arcana  of  speculative  geometry  ? 
I  bought  my  namesake's  Principia,  but  I  have 
reason  to  be  thankful  that  I  left  it  as  I  found 
it,  a  sealed  book,  and  that  the  bent  of  my  mind 
was  drawn  to  something  of  more  real  import- 
ance before  I  understood  it.  I  say  not  this 
to  discourage  you  in  your  pursuits ;  they  lie 
in  your  line  and  path  of  duty,  in  mine  they 
did  not.  As  to  your  academics,  I  am  glad 
that  the  Lord  enables  you  to  shew  those  among 
whom  you  live,  that  the  knowledge  of  his  gos- 
pel  does  not  despoil  you  either  of  diligence 
or  acumen.  However,  as  I  said,  you  need  a 
double  guard  of  grace,  to  preserve  you  from 
being  either  puffed  up  or  deadened  by  those 
things,  which,  considered  in  any  other  view 
than  quoad  hoc,  to  preserve  your  rank  and 
character  in  the  university  while  you  remain 
there,  are,  if  taken  in  the  aggregate,  little 
better  than  a  splendidum  nihil.  If  my  poor 
people  at could  form  the  least  concep- 
tion of  what  the  learned  at  Cambridge  chiefly 
admire  in  each  other,  and  what  is  the  intrinsic 
reward  of  all  their  toil,  they  would  say  (sup- 
posing they  could  speak  Latin),  Quam  suave 
istis  suavitatibus  carere  !  How  gladly  would 
some  of  them,  if  such  mathematical  and  me- 
taphysical lumber  could  by  any  means  get 
into  their  heads,  how  gladly  would  they  drink 
at  Lethe's  stream  to  get  it  out  again  !  How 
many  perplexities  are  they  freed  from  by  their 
happy  ignorance,  which  often  pester  those  to 
their  lives  end  who  have  had  their  natural  prone-, 
ness  to  vain  reasoning  sharpened  bv  acade* 
mical  studies. 

I  am.  &c. 


I.B.T.   III. 


LETTERS  TO  MR.   C 


277 


LETTER  III. 

May  18,  1776. 
DEAR  SIR, 

Though  I  wished  to  hear  from  you  sooner,  I 
put  a  candid  interpretation  upon  your  silence, 
was  something  apprehensive  for  your  health, 
but  felt  no  disposition  to  anger.  Let  your 
correspondence  be  free  from  fetters.  Write 
when  you  please,  and  when  you  can  :  I  will 
do  the  like.  Apologies  may  be  spared  on  both 
sides.  I  am  not  a  very  punctual  correspon. 
dent  myself,  having  so  many  letters  to  write, 
and  therefore,  have  no  right  to  stand  upon 
punctilios  with  you. 

I  sympathize  with  you  in  your  sorrow  for 
your  friend's  death.  Such  cases  are  very  dis- 
tressing !  But  such  a  case  might  have  been 
our  own.  Let  us  pray  for  grace  to  be  thank- 
ful for  ourselves,  and  submit  every  thing  in 
humble  silence  to  the  sovereign  Lord,  who  has 
a  right  to  do  as  he  pleases  with  his  own.  We 
feel  what  happens  in  our  own  little  connec- 
tions ;  but,  O  the  dreadful  mischief  of  sin  ! 
Instances  of  this  kind  are  as  frequent  as  the 
hours,  the  minutes,  perhaps  the  moments  of 
every  day :  and  though  we  know  but  one  in 
a  million,  the  souls  of  others  have  an  equal 
capacity  for  endless  happiness  or  misery.  In 
this  situation  the  Lord  has  honoured  us  with 
a  call  to  warn  our  fellow-sinners  of  their  dan- 
ger, and  to  set  before  them  his  free  and  sure 
salvation  ;  and  if  he  is  pleased  to  make  us 
instrumental  of  snatching  but  one  as  a  brand 
out  of  the  fire,  it  is  a  service  of  more  impor- 
tance than  to  be  the  means  of  preserving  a 
whole  nation  from  temporal  ruin.  I  congra- 
tulate you  upon  your  admission  into  the  mi- 
nistry, and  pray  him  to  favour  you  with  a 
single  eye  to  his  glory,  and  a  fresh  anointing 
of  his  Holy  Spirit,  that  you  may  come  forth 
as  a  scribe  well  instructed  in  the  mysteries  of 
his  kingdom,  and  that  his  word  in  your  mouth 
may  abundantly  prosper. 

I  truly  pity  those  who  rise  early  and  take 
late  rest,  and  eat  the  bread  of  carefulness, 
with  no  higher  prize  and  prospect  in  view 
than  the  obtaining  of  academical  honours. 
Such  pursuits  will,  ere  long,  appear  (as  they 
really  are)  vain  as  the  sports  of  children.  May 
the  Lord  impress  them  with  a  noble  ambition 
of  living  to  and  for  him.  If  these  adventur- 
ers, who  are  labouring  for  pebbles  under  the 
semblance  of  goodly  pearls,  had  a  discovery 
of  the  pearl  of  great  price,  how  quickly  and 
gladly  would  they  lay  down  their  admired 
attainments,  and  become  fools  that  they 
might  be  truly  wise !  What  a  snare  have  you 
escaped  !  You  would  have  been  poorly  con- 
tent with  the  name  of  a  mathematician  or  a 
poet,  and  looked  no  farther,  had  not  he  visited 
your  heart,  and  enlightened  you  by  his  grace. 
Now  I  trust  you  account   your  former  p-ain 


but  loss,  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge 
of  Jesus  Christ  the  Lord.  What  you  have 
attained  in  a  way  of  literature  wil!  be  useful 
to  you  if  sanctified,  and  chiefly  so  by  the 
knowledge  you  have  of  its  insufficiency  to  any 
valuable  purpose,  in  the  great  concerns  of 
walking  with  God,  and  winning  souls. 

I  am  pleased  with  your  fears  lest  you  should 
not  be  understood  in  your  preaching.  Indeed, 
there  is  a  danger  of  it.  It  is  not  easy  for 
persons  of  quick  parts  duly  to  conceive  how 
amazingly  ignorant  and  slow  of  apprehension 
the  bulk  of  our  congregations  generally  are. 
When  our  own  ideas  are  clear,  and  our  expres- 
sions proper,  we  are  ready  to  think  we  have  suf- 
ficiently explained  ourselves;  and  yet,  perhaps, 
nine  out  of  ten  (especially  of  those  who  are 
destitute  of  spiritual  light)  know  little  more 
of  what  we  say  than  if  we  were  speaking 
Greek.  A  degree  of  this  inconvenience  is 
always  inseparable  from  written  discourses. 
They  cast  our  thoughts  into  a  style  which, 
though  familiar  to  ourselves,  is  too  remote 
from  common  conversation  to  be  comprehend- 
ed by  narrow  capacities ;  which  is  one  chief 
reason  of  the  preference  I  give  feceteris  pari- 
bus) to  extempore  preaching.  When  we  read 
to  the  people,  they  think  themselves  less  con- 
cerned in  what  is  offered,  than  when  we  speak 
to  them  point-blank.  It  seems  a  good  rule, 
which  I  have  met  with  somewhere,  and  which, 
perhaps,  I  have  mentioned  to  you,  to  fix  our 
eyes  upon  some  one  of  the  auditory  whom  we 
judge  of  the  least  capacity;  if  we  can  make 
him  understand,  we  may  hope  to  be  under- 
stood by  the  rest.  Let  those  who  seek  to  be 
admired  for  the  exactness  of  their  composi- 
tions, enjoy  the  poor  reward  they  aim  at.  It 
is  best  for  gospel-preachers  to  speak  plain 
language.  .  If  we  thus  singly  aim  at  the  glory 
of  our  Master  and  the  good  of  souls,  we  may 
hope  for  the  accompanying  power  of  his 
Spirit,  which  will  give  our  discourses  a  weight 
and  energy  that  Demosthenes  had  no  concep- 
tion of. 

I  can  give  you  no  information  of  a  curacy 
in  a  better  situation.  But  either  the  Lord 
will  provide  you  one,  or  I  trust  he  will  give 
you  usefulness,  and  a  competency  of  health 
and  spirits  where  you  are.  He  who  caused 
Daniel  to  thrive  upon  pulse,  can  make  you 
strong  and  cheerful  even  in  the  Fens,  if  he 
sees  that  best  for  you.  All  things  obey  him, 
and  you  need  not  fear  but  lie  will  enable  you 
for  whatever  service  he  has  appointed  you  to 
perform. 

This  letter  has  been  a  week  in  hand,  owing 
to  a  variety  of  interruptions  from  without,  and 
indispositions  within.  I  seem  to  while  away 
my  life,  and  shall  be  glad  to  be  saved  upon 
the  footing  of  the  thief  upon  the  cross,  with- 
out any  hope  or  plea  but  the  power  and  grace 
of  Jesus,  who  has  said,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out.      Adieu. 

Pray  for  your's,  &c. 


27$ 


LKTTERS  TO  MR.   C 


LET.  IV. 


LETTER  IV. 

September  10,    1777. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  was  glad  to  hear  from  you  at  last,  not  being 
willing  to  think  myself  forgotten.  I  suppos- 
ed you  were  ill.  It  seems,  by  your  account, 
that  you  are  far  from  being  well ;  but  I  hope 
you  are  as  well  as  you  ought  to  be,  that  is,  as 
well  as  the  Lord  sees  it  good  for  you  to  be.  I 
say,  I  hope  so  ;  for  I  am  not  sure  that  the 
length  and  vehemence  of  your  sermons,  which 
you  tell  me  astonish  many  people,  may  not  be 
rather  improper  and  imprudent,  considering 
the  weakness  of  your  constitution  ;  at  least, 
if  this  expression  of  your's  be  justly  expound- 
ed by  a  report  which  has  reached  me,  that  the 
length  of  your  sermons  is  frequently  two 
hours,  and  the  vehemence  of  your  voice  so 
great,  that  you  may  be  heard  far  beyond  the 
church-walls.  Unwilling  should  I  be  to  damp 
your  zeal ;  but  I  feel  unwilling  likewise,  that 
by  excessive,  unnecessary  exertions,  you 
should  wear  away  at  once,  and  preclude  your 
own  usefulness.  This  concern  is  so  much 
upon  my  mind,  that  I  begin  with  it,  though  it 
makes  me  skip  over  the  former  part  of  your 
letter;  but  when  I  have  relieved  myself  upon 
this  point,  I  can  easily  skip  back  again.  I 
am  perhaps  the  more  ready  to  credit  the  re- 
port, because  I  know  the  spirits  of  you  ner- 
vous people  are  highly  volatile.  I  consider 
you  as  mounted  upon  a  fiery  steed ;  and  pro- 
vided you  use  due  management  and  circum- 
spection, you  travel  more  pleasantly  than  we 
plodding  folks  upon  our  sober,  phlegmatic 
nags ;  but  then,  if,  instead  of  pulling  the  rein 
you  plunge  in  the  spurs,  and  add  wings  to  the 
wind,  I  cannot  but  be  in  pain  for  the  conse- 
quences. Permit  me  to  remind  you  of  the 
Terentian  adage,  JV«  quidnimis.  The  end  of 
speaking  is  to  be  heard,  and  if  the  person 
farthest  from  the  preacher  can  hear,  he  speaks 
loud  enough.  Upon  some  occasions,  a  few 
sentences  of  a  discourse  may  be  enforced  with 
a  tone  of  voice  still  more  elevated ;  but  to  be 
uncommonly  loud  from  beginning  to  end,  is 
hurtful  to  the  speaker,  and,  I  apprehend,  no 
way  useful  to  the  hearer.  It  is  a  fault  which 
many  inadvertently  give  into  at  first,  and 
which  many  have  repented  of  too  late ;  when 
practice  has  rendered  it  habitual  it  is  not  easi- 
ly corrected.  I  know  some  think,  that  preach- 
ing very  loudly,  and  preaching  with  power, 
are  synonymous  expressions,  but  your  judg- 
ment is  too  good  to  fall  in  with  that  prejudice. 
If  I  were  a  good  Grecian,  I  would  send  you  a 
quotation  from  Homer,  where  he  describes 
the  eloquence  of  Nestor,  and  compares  it,  if  I 
remember  right,  not  to  a  thunder-storm  or  a 
hurricane,  but  to  a  fall  of  snow,  which,  though 
pressing,  insinuating,  and  penetrating,  is  soft 


and  gentle.      You  know-  the  passage  ;   I  think 
the  simile  is  beautiful  and  expressive. 

Secondly  (as  we  say),  as  to  long  preaching, 
there  is  still  in  being  an  old-fashioned  instru- 
ment, called  an  hour-glass,  which,  in  days  of 
yore,  before  clocks  and  watches  abounded, 
used  to  be  the  measure  of  many  a  good  sermon, 
and  I  think  it  a  tolerable  stint.  I  cannot  wind 
up  my  ends  to  my  own  satisfaction  in  a  much 
shorter  time,  nor  am  I  pleased  with  myself  if 
I  greatly  exceed  it.  If  an  angel  was  to  preach 
for  two  hours,  unless  his  hearers  were  angels 
likewise,  I  believe  the  greater  part  of  them 
would  wish  he  had  done.  It  is  a  shame  it 
should  be  so  5  but  so  it  is,  partly  through 
the  weakness,  and  partly  through  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  flesh,  we  can  seldom  stretch  our 
attention  to  spiritual  things  for  two  hours 
together  without  cracking  it,  and  hurting 
its  spring  ;  and  when  weariness  begins,  edi- 
fication ends.  Perhaps  it  is  better  to  feed 
our  people  like  chickens,  a  little  and  often, 
than  to  cram  them  like  turkeys,  till  they  can- 
not hold  one  gobbet  more.  Besides,  over- 
long  sermons  break  in  upon  family -con- 
cerns, and  often  call  off  the  thoughts  from  the 
sermon  to  the  pudding  at  home,  which  is  in 
danger  of  being  over-boiled.  They  leave  like- 
wise but  little  time  for  secret  or  family  reli- 
gion, which  are  both  very  good  in  their  place, 
and  are  entitled  to  a  share  in  the  Lord's  day. 
Upon  the  preacher  they  must  have  a  bad  effect 
and  tend  to  wear  him  down  before  his  time : 
and  I  have  known  some,  by  over -acting  at  first, 
have  been  constrained  to  sit  still  and  do  little 
or  nothing  for  months  or  years  afterwards,  I 
rather  recommend  to  you  the  advice  of  your 
brother  Cantab,  Hobson  the  carrier,  so  to  set  out 
as  that  you  may  hold  out  to  your  journey's  end. 

Now,  if  Fame,  with  her  hundred  mouths, 
has  brought  me  a  false  report  of  you,  and  you 
are  not  guilty  of  preaching  either  too  long  or 
too  loud,  still  I  am  not  willing  my  remons- 
trance may  stand  for  nothing.  I  desire  you 
will  accept  it,  and  thank  me  for  it,  as  a  proof 
of  my  love  to  you,  and  likewise  of  the  sincerity 
of  my  friendship  ;  for  if  I  had  wished  to  flat- 
ter you,  I  could  easily  have  called  another 
subject. 

I  have  one  more  report  to  trouble  you  with, 
because  it  troubles  me ;  and  therefore  you 
must  bear  a  part  of  my  burden.  Assure  me  it 
is  false,  and  I  will  send  you  one  of  the  hand 
somest  letters  I  can  devise  by  way  of  thanks. 
It  is  reported,  then  (but  I  will  not  believe  it 
till  you  say  I  must),  that  you  stand  upon  your 
tiptoes,  upon  the  point  of  being  whirled  out 
of  our  vortex,  and  hurried  away,  comet-like, 
into  the  regions  of  eccentricity  ;  in  plain  Eng- 
lish, that  you  have  a  hankering  to  be  an  itine 
rant.  If  this  be  true,  I  will  not  be  the  first 
to  tell  it  in  St  John's  College,  or  to  publish  it 
on  the  banks  of  Cam,  lest  the  mathematicians 
rejoice,   and  the  poets  triumph.      But,  to  bo 


LET.  V. 


LETTERS  TO  MR.   C- 


279 


serious,  for  it  is  a  serious  subject,  let  me  beg 
you  to  deliberate  well,  and  to  pray  earnestly 
before  you  take  this  step.  Be  afraid  of  acting 
in  your  own  spirit,  or  under  a  wrong  impres- 
sion ;  however  honestly  you  mean,  you  may 
be  mistaken.  The  Lord  has  given  you  a 
little  charge ;  be  faithful  in  it,  and  in  his 
good  time  he  will  advance  you  to  a  greater : 
but  let  his  providence  evidently  open  the  door 
for  you,  and  be  afraid  of  moving  one  step  be- 
fore the  cloud  and  pillar.  I  have  had  my 
warm  fits  and  desires  of  this  sort  in  my  time  ; 
but  I  have  reason  to  be  thankful  that  I  was 
held  in  with  a  strong  hand.  I  wish  there 
were  more  itinerant  preachers.  If  a  man  has 
grace  and  zeal,  and  but  little  fund,  let  him  go 
and  diffuse  the  substance  of  a  dozen  sermons 
over  as  many  counties  ;  but  you  have  natural 
and  acquired  abilities,  which  qualify  you 
for  the  more  difficult,  and,  in  my  judgment, 
not  less  important  station  of  a  parochial  mi- 
nister. I  wish  you  to  be  a  burning,  shining, 
steady  light.  You  may  perhaps  have  less 
popularity,  that  is,  you  will  be  less  exposed  to 
workings  of  self  and  the  snares  of  Satan,  if 
you  stay  with  us  ;  but  I  think  you  may  live  in 
the  full  exercise  of  your  gifts  and  graces, 
be  more  consistent  with  your  voluntary  en- 
gagements, and  have  more  peace  of  mind,  and 
humble  intercourse  with  God,  in  watching 
over  a  flock  which  he  has  committed  to  you, 
than,  by  forsaking  them,  to  wander  up  and 
down  the  earth  without  a  determined  scope. 

Thus  far  I  have  been  more  attentive  to  the 
utile  than  the  duke.  I  should  now  return  to 
join  you  in  celebrating  the  praises  of  poetry, 
and  the  other  subjects  of  your  letter ;  but 
time  and  paper  fail  together.  Let  me  hear 
from  you  soon,  or  I  shall  fear  I  have  displeas- 
ed you,  which,  fond  as  I  am  of  poetry,  would 
give  me  more  pain  than  I  ever  found  pleasure 
in  reading  Alexander's  Feast.  Indeed  I  love 
you ;  I  often  measure  over  the  walks  we  have 
taken  together  ;  and  when  I  come  to  a  favour- 
ite stile,  or  such  a  favourite  spot  upon  the  hill- 
top, I  am  reminded  of  something  that  passed, 

and  say,  or  at  least  think,  Hie  stetit  C . 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  V. 

DEAR  SIR, 

By  your  flying  letter  from  London,  as  well  as 
by  your  more  particular  answer  to  my  last,  I 
judge  that  what  I  formerly  wrote  will  answer 
no  other  end  than  to  be  a  testimony  of  my 
fidelity  and  friendship.  I  am  ready  to  think 
you  were  so  far  determined  before  you  ap- 
plied to  the  Bishop,  as  to  be  rather  pleased 
than  disappointed  by  a  refusal  which  seemed 
to  afford  you  liberty  to  preach  at  large.  As 
your  testimonium  was  not  countersigned,  the 
consequence    was  no  other  than  might  have 


been  expected ;  yet  I  have  been  told  (how 
true  I  know  not),  that  the  Bishop  would  have 
passed  over  the  informality,  if  you  had  not, 
unasked  by  him,  avowed  yourself  a  Methodist. 
I  think,  if  you  had  been  unwilling  to  throw 
hindrances  in  your  own  way,  the  most  perfect 
simplicity  would  have  required  no  more  of 
you  than  to  have  given  a  plain  and  honest 
answer  to  such  questions  as  he  might  think 
proper  to  propose.      You  might  have  assisted 

Mr.  for  a  season  without  being  in  full 

orders  ;  and  you  may  still,  if  you  are  not  re- 
solved at  all  events  to  push  out.  He  wrote  to 
me  about  you,  and  you  may  easily  judge  what 
answer  I  gave.  I  have  heard  from  him  a  se- 
cond time,  and  he  laments  that  he  cannot 
have  you.  I  likewise  lament  that  you  cannot 
be  with  him.  I  think  you  would  have  loved 
him ;  and  I  hoped  his  acquaintance  might  not 
have  proved  unuseful  to  you. 

If  you  have  not  actually  passed  the  Rubi- 
con ;  if  there  be  yet  room  for  deliberation,  I 
once  more  intreat  you  to  pause  and  consider. 
In  many  respects  I  ought  to  be  willing  to  learn 
from  you  ;  but  in  one  point  I  have  a  little  ad- 
vantage of  you  :  I  am  some  years  older,  both 
in  life  and  in  profession  ;  and  in  this  differ- 
ence of  time  perhaps  I  have  learned  something 
more  of  the  heart,  the  world,  and  the  devices 
of  Satan,  than  you  have  had  an  opportunity 
for.  I  hope  I  would  not  damp  your  zeal, 
but  I  will  pray  the  Lord  to  direct  it  into  the 
best  channel  for  permanent  usefulness.  I  say 
permanent :  I  doubt  not  that  you  would  be 
useful  in  the  itinerant  way  ;  but  I  more  and 
more  observe  great  inconveniences  follow  in 
that  way.  Where  you  make  a  gathering  of 
people,  others  will  follow  you  ;  and  if  they 
all  possessed  your  spirit,  and  had  your  disin- 
terested views  it  might  be  well.  But  gene- 
rally an  able  preacher  only  so  far  awakens 
people  to  a  desire  to  hear,  as  exposes  them  to 
the  incursions  of  various  winds  of  doctrine 
and  the  attempts  of  injudicious  pretenders, 
who  will  resemble  you  in  nothing  but  your 
eagerness  to  post  from  place  to  place.  From 
such  measures  in  time  proceed  errors,  parties, 
contentions,  offences,  enthusiasm,  spiritual 
pride,  and  a  noisy  ostentatious  form  of  godli- 
ness, but  little  of  that  power  and  life  of  faith 
which  shews  itself  by  humility,  meekness,  and 
love. 

A  parochial  minister,  who  lives  among  his 
people,  who  sees  and  converses  with  them  fre- 
quently, and  exemplifies  his  doctrine  in  their 
view  by  his  practice,  having  knowledge  of 
their  states,  trials,  growth,  and  dangers,  suits 
himself  to  their  various  occasions,  and,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  builds  them  up,  and  brings 
them  forward  in  faith  and  holiness.  He  is 
instrumental  in  forming  their  experience ;  he 
leads  them  to  a  solid,  orderly,  and  scriptural 
knowledge  of  divine  things.  If  his  name  is 
not  in  so  many  mouths  as  that  of  the  itinerant, 
it  is  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  his  charge. 


280 


LETTERS  TO   Wit.   C 


He  lives  with  them  as  a  father  with  his  child- 
ren. His  steady  consistent  behaviour  silences 
in  some  measure  the  clamours  of  his  enemies; 
and  the  Lord  opens  him  doors  of  occasional 
usefulness  in  many  places,  without  provoking 
our  superiors  to  discountenance  other  young 
men  who  are  seeking  orders. 

I  now  wish  I  had  taken  larger  paper,  for  I 
have  not  room  for  all  I  would  say.  I  have 
no  end  to  serve.  1  am  of  no  party.  I  wish 
well  to  irregulars  and  itinerants  who  love  and 
preach  the  gospel.  1  am  content  that  they 
should  labour  that  way,  who  have  not  talents 


— .  LET.  VII. 

nor  fund  to  support  the  character  and  fill  up 
the  office  of  a  parochial  minister.  But  I  think 
you  are  qualified  for  more  important  service. 
If  you  had  patient  faith  to  wait  a  while  for  the 
Lord's  opening,  I  doubt  not  but  you  might  yet 
obtain  Priest's  orders.  We  are  hasty  like  child- 
ren ;  but  God  often  appoints  us  a  wailing 
time.  Perhaps  it  requires  as  much  or  more 
grace  to  wait  than  to  be  active  ;  for  it  is  more 
trying  to  self.  After  all,  whatever  course 
you  take,  I  shall  love  you,  pray  for  you,  and 
be  glad  to  see  you. 

j  am,  &e. 


iETTERS 


TO  Mrs. 


LETTER  I. 


July  — ,  1764. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

The  complaints  you  make  are  inseparable  from 
a  spiritual  acquaintance  with  our  own  hearts  : 
I  would  not  wish  you  to  be  less  affected  with 
a  sense  of  indwelling  sin.  It  becomes  us  to 
be  humbled  unto  the  dust;  yet  our  grief, 
though  it  cannot  be  too  great  may  be  under  a 
wrong  direction;  and  if  it  leads  us  to  impa- 
tience or  distrust,  it  certainly  is  so. 

Sin  is  the  sickness  of  the  soul,  in  itself 
mortal  and  incurable,  as  to  any  power  in  hea- 
ven or  earth  but  that  of  the  Lord  Jesus  only. 
But  he  is  the  great,  the  infallible  Physician. 
Have  we  the  privilege  to  know  his  name? 
Have  we  been  enabled  to  put  ourselves  into 
his  hand  ?  We  have  then  no  more  to  do  but  to 
attend  to  his  prescriptions,  to  be  satisfied  with 
his  methods,  and  to  wait  his  time.  It  is  law- 
ful to  wish  we  were  well;  it  is  natural  to 
groan,  being  burdened  ;  but  still  he  must  and 
will  take  his  own  course  with  us ;  and,  how- 
ever dissatisfied  with  ourselves,  we  ought  still 
to  be  thankful  that  he  has  begun  his  work  in 
us,  and  to  believe  that  he  will  also  make  an 
end.  Therefore,  while  we  mourn,  we  should 
likewise  rejoice  ;  we  should  encourage  our- 
selves  to  expect  all  that  he  has  promised  ;  and 
we  should  limit  our  expectations  by  his  pro- 
mises. We  are  sure  that  when  the  Lord  de- 
livers us  from  the  guilt  and  dominion  of  sin, 
he  could  with  equal  ease  free  us  entirely  from 
sin  if  he  pleased.  The  doctrine  of  sinless  per- 
fection is  not  to  be  rejected,  as  though  it  were 
a  thing  simply  impossible  in  itself,  for  no- 
thing is  too  hard  for  the  Lord,  but  because  it 
is  contrary  to  that  method  which  he  has  chosen 
to  proceed  by.  He  has  appointed  that  sancti- 
fication  should  be  effected,  and  sin  mortified, 
not  at  once  completely,  but  by  little  and 
little ;  and  doubtless  he  has  wise  reasons  for 
it.      Therefore,   though    we   are    to  desire  a 


growth  in  grace,  we  should  at  the  same  time 
acquiesce  in  his  appointment,  and  not  to  be 
discouraged  or  despond,  because  we  feel  that 
conflict  which  his  word  informs  us  will  only 
terminate  with  our  lives. 

Again,  some  of  the  first  prayers  which  the 
Spirit  of  God  teaches  us  to  put  up,  are  for  a 
clearer  sense  of  the  sinfulness  of  sin,  and  our 
vileness  on  account  of  it.  Now,  if  the  Lord 
is  pleased  to  answer  your  prayers  in  this  re- 
spect, though  it  will  afford  you  cause  enough 
for  humiliation,  yet  it  should  be  received 
likewise  with  thankfulness,  as  a  token  for 
good.  Your  heart  is  not  worse  than  it  was 
formerly,  only  your  spiritual  knowledge  is 
increased ;  and  this  is  no  small  part  of  the 
growth  in  grace  which  you  are  thirsting  after, 
to  be  truly  humbled,  and  emptied,  and  made 
little  in  your  own  eyes. 

Farther,  the  examples  of  the  saints  record- 
ed in  scripture  (and  indeed  of  the  saints  in  ge- 
neral) prove,  that  the  greater  measure  any 
person  has  of  the  grace  of  God  in  truth,  the 
more  conscientious  and  lively  they  have  been  ; 
and  the  more  they  have  been  favoured  with 
assurances  of  the  divine  favour,  so  much  the 
more  deep  and  sensible  their  perception  of 
indwelling  sin  and  infirmity  has  always  been  : 
so  it  was  with  Job,  Isaiah,  Daniel,  and  Paul. 
It  is  likewise  common  to  overcharge  our- 
selves. Indeed  we  cannot  think  ourselves 
worse  than  we  really  are ;  yet  some  things 
which  abate  the  comfort  and  alacrity  of  our 
christian  profession  are  rather  impediments 
than  properly  sinful,  and  will  not  be  imputed 
to  us  by  him  who  knows  our  frame,  and  re- 
members that  we  are  but  dust.  Thus,  to 
have  an  infirm  memory,  to  be  subject  to  dis- 
ordered, irregular,  or  low  spirits,  are  faults 
of  the  constitution,  in  which  the  will  has  no 
share,  though  they  are  all  burdensome  and 
oppressive,  and  sometimes   needlessly  so,  by 


282 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. 


our  charging  ourselves  with  guilt  on  their  ac- 
count. The  same  may  be  observed  of  the 
unspeakable  and  fierce  suggestions  of  Satan 
with  which  some  persons  are  pestered,  but 
which  shall  be  laid  to  him  from  whom  they 
proceed,  and  not  to  them  who  are  troubled 
and  terrified  because  they  are  forced  to  feel 
them. 

Lastly,  it  is  by  the  experience  of  these 
evils  within  ourselves,  and  by  feeling  our  ut- 
ter insufficiency,  either  to  perform  duty,  or 
to  withstand  our  enemies,  that  the  Lord  takes 
occasion  to  shew  us  the  suitableness,  the  suf- 
ficiency, the  freeness,  the  unchangeableness 
of  his  power  and  grace.  This  is  the  inference 
St.  Paul  draws  from  his  complaints,  Rom.  vii. 
25.,  and  he  learned  it  upon  a  trying  occasion 
from  the  Lord's  own  mouth,  2  Cor.  xii.  8,  9. 
Let  us,  then,  dear  Madam,  be  thankful  and 
cheerful,  and,  while  we  take  shame  to  our- 
selves, let  us  glorify  God  by  giving  Jesus  the 
honour  due  to  his  name.  Though  we  are 
poor,  he  is  rich ;  though  we  are  weak,  he  is 
strong ;  though  we  have  nothing,  he  pos- 
sesses all  things.  He  suffered  for  us  ;  he 
calls  us  to  be  conformed  to  him  in  sufferings. 
He  conquered  in  his  own  person,  and  he  will 
make  each  of  his  members  more  than  con- 
querors in  due  season.  It  is  good  to  have  one 
eye  upon  ourselves,  but  the  other  should  ever 
be  fixed  on  him  who  stands  in  the  relation  of 
Saviour,  Husband,  Head,  and  Shepherd.  In 
him  we  have  righteousness,  peace,  and  power. 
He  can  controul  all  that  we  fear ;  so  that,  if 
our  path  should  be  through  the  fire  or  through 
the  water,  neither  the  flood  shall  drown  us 
nor  the  flame  kindle  upon  us,  and  ere  long 
he  will  cut  short  our  conflicts,  and  say,  Come 
up  hither.  "  Then  shall  our  grateful  songs 
abound,  and  every  tear  be  wiped  away." 
Having  such  promises  and  assurances,  let  us 
lift  up  our  banner  in  his  name,  and  press  on 
through  every  discouragement. 

With  regard  to  company  that  have  not  a 
savour  of  the  best  things,  as  it  is  not  your 
choice,  I  would  advise  you  (when  necessary) 
to  bear  it  as  a  cross.  We  cannot  suffer  by 
being  where  we  ought  to  be,  except  through 
our  own  impatience ;  and  I  have  an  idea, 
that  when  we  are  providentially  called  among 
such  (for  something  is  due  to  friends  and  re- 
lations, whether  they  walk  with  us  or  no),  that 
the  hours  need  not  be  wholly  lost.  Nothing 
can  pass  but  may  be  improved  :  the  most  tri- 
vial conversation  may  afford  us  new  views  of 
the  heart,  new  confirmations  of  scripture,  and 
renew  a  sense  of  our  obligations  to  distin- 
guishing grace,  which  has  made  us  in  any  de- 
gree to  differ.  I  would  wish,  when  you  go 
amongst  your  friends,  that  you  do  not  con- 
fine your  views  to  getting  safe  away  from 
them  without  loss,  but  entertain  a  hope  that 
you  may  be  sent  to  do  some  of  them  good. 
You  cannot  tell  what  effect  a  word  or  a  look 
may  have,  if  the  Lord   is  pleased  to  bless  it. 


•  LET.  I 

I  think  we  may  humbly  hope,  that  while  we 
sincerely  desire  to  please  the  Lord,  and  to  be 
guided  by  him  in  all  things,  he  will  not  suf- 
fer us  to  take  a  journey,  or  hardly  to  make  a 
short  visit,  which  shall  not  answer  some  good 
purpose  to  ourselves  or  others,  or  both.  While 
your  gay  friends  affect  an  air  of  raillery,  the 
Lord  may  give  you  a  secret  witness  in  their 
consciences  ;  and  something  they  observe  in 
you,  or  hear  from  you,  may  set  them  on  think- 
ing, perhaps  after  you  are  gone,  or  after  the 
first  occasion  has  entirely  slipped  your  me- 
mory, Eccles.  xi.  1.  For  my  own  part,  when 
I  consider  the  power,  the  freedom  of  divine 
grace,  and  how  sovereign  the  Lord  is  in  the 
choice  of  the  instruments  and  means  by  which 
he  is  pleased  to  work,  I  live  in  hopes  from 
day  to  day  of  hearing  of  wonders  of  this  sort. 
I  despair  of  nobody  ;  and  if  I  sometimes  am 
ready  to  think  such  or  such  a  person  seems 
more  unlikely  than  others  to  be  brought  in, 
1  relieve  myself  by  a  possibility  that  that  very 
person,  and  for  that  very  reason,  may  be  the 
first  instance.  The  Lord's  thoughts  are  not 
like  ours  :  in  his  love  and  in  his  ways  there 
are  heights  which  we  cannot  reach,  depths 
which  we  cannot  fathom,  lengths  and  breadths 
beyond  the  ken  of  our  feeble  sight.  Let  us, 
then,  simply  depend  upon  him,  and  do  our 
little  best,  leaving  the  event  in  his  hand. 
I  cannot  tell  if  you  know  any  thing  of  Mrs. 

.      In  a  letter  I  received  yesterday,    she 

writes  thus  : — "  I  am  at  present  very  ill  with 
some  disorder  in  my  throat,  which  seems  to 
threaten  my  life ;  but  death  or  life,  things 
present  or  things  to  come,  all  things  are  mine, 
and  I  am  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's.  O 
glorious  privilege  !  precious  foundation  of 
soul-rest  and  peace,  when  all  things  about 
us  are  most  troublous  !  Soon  we  shall  be  at 
home  with  Christ,  where  sin,  sorrow,  and 
death  have  no  place ;  and  in  the  meantime 
our  Beloved  will  lead  us  through  the  wilder- 
ness. How  safe,  how  joyous  are  we,  may  we 
be,  in  the  most  evil  case!"  If  these  should 
be  some  of  the  last  notes  of  this  swan,  I 
think  them  worth  preserving.  May  we  not 
with  good  reason  say,  Who  would  not  be  a 
Christian  ?  The  Lord  grant  that  you  and  I, 
Madam,  and  yours  and  mine,  may  be  happy 
in  the  same  assurance,  when  we  shall  have 
death  and  eternity  near  in  view 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

September  — ,  1764. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

Your  welfare  I  rejoice  in;  your  warfare  I 
understand  something  of.  St.  Paul  describes 
his  own  case  in  few  words,  "  Without  were 
fightings,  within  were  fears."  Does  not  this 
comprehend  all  you  would  say  ?  And  how 
are  you   to  know  experimentally  either  yotif 


LET.  II. 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. 


283 


own  weakness,  or  the  power,  wisdom,  and 
grace  of  God,  seasonably  and  sufficiently  af- 
forded, but  by  frequent  and  various  trials? 
How  are  the  graces  of  patience,  resignation, 
meekness,  and  faith,  to  be  discovered  and  in- 
creased, but  by  exercise  ?  The  Lord  has 
chosen,  called,  and  armed  us  for  the  fight ; 
and  shall  we  wish  to  be  excused?  Shall  we 
not  rather  rejoice  that  we  have  the  honour  to 
appear  in  such  a  cause,  under  such  a  captain, 
such  a  banner,  and  in  such  company  ?  A 
complete  suit  of  armour  is  provided,  weapons 
not  to  be  resisted,  and  precious  balm  to  heal 
us  if  haply  we  receive  a  wound,  and  precious 
ointment  to  revive  us  when  we  are  in  danger 
of  fainting.  Further,  we  are  assured  of  the 
victory  beforehand ;  and  O  what  a  crown  is 
prepared  for  every  conqueror,  which  Jesus, 
the  righteous  Judge,  the  gracious  Saviour, 
shall  place  upon  every  faithful  head  with  his 
own  hand  !  Then  let  us  not  be  weary  and 
faint,  for  in  due  season  we  shall  reap.  The 
lime  is  short ;  yet  a  little  while,  and  the  strug- 
gle of  indwelling  sin,  and  the  contradiction  of 
surrounding  sinners,  shall  be  known  no  more. 
You  are  blessed,  because  you  hunger  and  thirst 
after  righteousness  :  he  whose  name  is  Amen 
has  said  you  shall  be  filled.  To  claim  the 
promise  is  to  make  it  our  own ;  yet  it  is  be- 
coming us  to  practise  submission  and  patience, 
not  in  temporals  only,  but  also  in  spirituals. 
We  should  be  ashamed  and  grieved  at  our 
slow  progress,  so  far  as  it  is  properly  charge- 
able to  our  remissness  and  miscarriages ;  yet 
we  must  not  expect  to  receive  every  thing  at 
once,  but  wait  for  a  gradual  increase  ;  nor 
should  we  forget  to  be  thankful  for  what  we 
may  account  a  little  in  comparison  of  the 
much  we  suppose  others  have  received.  A 
little  grace,  a  spark  of  true  love  to  God,  a 
grain  of  living  faith,  though  small  as  mus- 
tard-seed, is  worth  a  thousand  worlds.  One 
draught  of  the  water  of  life  gives  interest  in 
and  earnest  of  the  whole  fountain.  It  be- 
cometh  the  Lord's  people  to  be  thankful ;  and 
to  acknowledge  his  goodness  in  what  we  have 
received,  is  the  surest  as  well  as  the  pleasant- 
est  method  of  obtaining  more.  Nor  should 
the  grief  arising  from  what  we  know  and  feel 
of  our  own  hearts,  rob  us  of  the  honour,  com- 
fort, and  joy  which  the  word  of  God  designs 
us,  in  what  is  there  recorded  of  the  person, 
offices,  and  grace  of  Jesus,  and  the  relations 
he  is  pleased  to  stand  in  to  his  people,  Psal. 
xxiii.  1,  Isa.  liv.  5,  Cant.  v.  16,  John  xv.  15, 
1  John,  ii.  1,  John  xv.  1,  Jer.  xxiii.  5,  1  Cor. 
i.  SO,  Matth.  i.  21 — 23.  Give  me  leave  to  re- 
commend to  your  consideration  Psal.  lxxxix. 
15 — 18.  These  verses  may  be  called  the  Be- 
liever's Triumph  :  though  they  are  nothing  in 
themselves,  yet  having  all  in  Jesus,  they  may 
rejoice  in  his  name  all  the  day.  The  Lord 
enable  us  so  to  do  !  The  joy  of  the  Lord  is 
the  strength  of  his  people  ;  whereas  unbe- 
lief makes   our   hands  hang  down,  and  our 


knees  feeble,  dispirits  ct>rselves,  and  discou- 
rages others  ;  and  though  it  steals  upon  us 
under  a  semblance  of  humility,  it  is  indeed 
the  very  essence  of  pride.  By  inward  and 
outward  exercises  the  Lord  is  promoting  the 
best  desire  of  your  heart,  and  answering  your 
daily  prayers.  Would  you  have  assurance  ? 
The  true  solid  assurance  is  to  be  obtained 
no  other  way.  When  young  christians  are 
greatly  comforted  with  the  Lord's  love  and 
presence,  their  doubts  and  fears  are  for  that 
season  at  an  end.  But  this  is  not  assurance  : 
so  soon  as  the  Lord  hides  his  face,  they  are 
troubled,  and  ready  to  question  the  very  foun- 
dation of  hope.  Assurance  grows  by  repeated 
conflicts,  by  our  repeated  experimental  proof 
of  the  Lord's  power  and  goodness  to  save  : 
when  we  have  been  brought  very  low  and 
helped,  sorely  wounded  and  healed,  cast  down 
and  raised  again,  have  given  up  all  hope,  and 
been  suddenly  snatched  from  danger,  and 
placed  in  safety,  and  when  these  things  have 
been  repeated  to  us  and  in  us  a  thousand  times 
over,  we  begin  to  learn  to  trust  simply  to  the 
word  and  power  of  God,  beyond  and  against 
appearances ;  and  this  trust,  when  habitual 
and  strong,  bears  the  name  of  assurance,  for 
even  assurance  has  degrees. 

You  have  good  reason,  Madam,  to  suppose 
that  the  love  of  the  best  christians  to  an  un- 
seen Saviour  is  far  short  of  what  it  ought  to 
be.  If  your  heart  be  like  mine,  and  you  ex- 
amine your  love  to  Christ  by  the  warmth  and 
frequency  of  your  emotions  towards  him,  you 
will  often  be  in  a  sad  suspense  whether  or  no 
you  love  him  at  all.  The  best  mark  to  judge, 
and  which  he  has  given  us  for  that  purpose, 
is  to  inquire  if  his  word  and  will  have  a  pre- 
vailing, governing  influence  upon  our  lives 
and  temper.  If  we  love  him,  we  do  endea- 
vour to  keep  his  commandments ;  and  it  will 
hold  the  other  way,  if  we  have  a  desire  to 
please  him  we  undoubtedly  love  him.  Obe- 
dience is  the  best  test ;  and  when,  amidst  all 
our  imperfections,  we  can  humbly  appeal  con- 
cerning the  sincerity  of  our  views,  this  is  a 
mercy  for  which  we  ought  to  be  greatly  thank- 
ful. He  that  has  brought  us  to  will,  will 
likewise  enable  us  to  do  according  to  his  good 
pleasure.  I  doubt  not  but  the  Lord  whom 
you  love,  and  on  whom  you  depend,  will  lead 
you  in  a  sure  way,  and  establish  and  strengthen, 
and  settle  you  in  his  love  and  grace.  Indeed 
he  has  done  great  things  for  you  already.  The 
Lord  is  your  Shepherd ; — a  comprehensive 
word.  The  sheep  can  do  nothing  for  them- 
selves ;  the  shepherd  must  guide,  guard,  feed, 
heal,  recover.  Well  for  us  that  our  Shepherd 
is  the  Lord  Almighty.  If  his  power,  care, 
compassion,  fulness,  were  not  infinite,  the  poor 
sheep  would  be  forsaken,  starved,  and  wor- 
ried. But  we  have  a  Shepherd  full  of  care, 
full  of  kindness,  full  of  power,  who  has  said, 
I  will  seek  that  which  is  lost,  and  bind  up 
that  which  was  broken,  and  bring  again  that 


281  LETTERS  TO 

which  was  driven  away,  and  will  strengthen 
that  which  was  sick.  How  tender  are  these 
expressions,  and  how  well  fulfilled  !  His 
sheep  feed  in  the  midst  of  wolves,  yet  are  pre- 
served safe  ;  for  though  they  see  him  not,  his 
eyes  and  his  heart  are  upon  them.  Do  we 
wonder  that  Daniel  was  preserved  in  the  lions 
den  ?  Why,  it  is  a  common  case.  Which  of 
God's  children  have  not  cause  to  say,  "  My 
soul  is  among  lions?"  But  the  Angel  of  the 
covenant  stops  their  mouths,  or  only  permits 
them  to  gape  and  roar,  to  shew  their  teeth, 
and  what  they  would  do  if  they  might ;  but 
they  may  not,  they  shall  not  bite  and  tear  us 
at  their  own  will.  Let  us  trust  him,  and  all 
shall  be  well. 

As  to  daily  occurrences,  it  is  best  to  be- 
lieve that  a  daily  portion  of  comforts  and 
crosses,  each  one  the  most  suitable  to  our 
case,  is  adjusted  and  appointed  by  the  hand 
which  was  once  nailed  to  the  cross  for  us ; 
that  where  the  path  of  duty  and  prudence 
leads,  there  is  the  best  situation  we  could  pos- 
sibly be  in  at  that  juncture.  We  are  not 
required  to  afflict  ourselves  immoderately  for 
what  is  not  in  our  power  to  prevent,  nor 
should  any  thing  that  affords  occasions  for 
mortifying  the  spirit  of  self  be  accounted  un- 
necessary. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 


1768. 


I  HAVE  been  for  some  time  hoping  to  hear  from 

you,    but  Mr.  was   here   last   Saturday, 

and  informed  me  that  you  were  ill,  or  had 
been  so  very  lately.  This  intelligence  prompted 
me  to  write  as  soon  as  I  could  find  leisure.  I 
think  the  Lord  has  seen  fit  to  visit  you  with 
much  indisposition  of  late  ;  I  say  he  has  seen 
fit,  for  all  our  trials  are  under  his  immediate 
direction,  and  we  are  never  in  heaviness  with- 
out a  need  be.  I  trust  he  does  and  will  give 
you  strength  equal  to  your  day,  and  sweeten 
what  would  be  otherwise  bitter  with  the  es- 
sence of  his  precious  love.  I  hope  soon  to 
hear  that  you  are  restored  to  health,  and  that 
you  have  found  cause  to  praise  him  for  the 
rod. 

How  happy  is  the  state  of  a  believer,  to 
have  a  sure  promise  that  all  shall  work  to- 
gether for  good  in  the  end,  and  in  the  mean 
time  a  sure  refuge  where  to  find  present  re- 
lief, support,  and  protection  !  How  comfort- 
able is  it,  when  trouble  is  near,  to  know  that 
the  Lord  is  near  likewise,  and  to  commit  our- 
selves and  all  our  cares  simply  to  him,  be- 
lieving that  his  eye  is  upon  us,  and  his  ear 
open  to  our  prayers.  Under  the  conduct  of 
such  a  Shepherd  we  need  not  fear ;  though  we 
are  called  to  pass  through  fire  and  water, 
through  the  valley   of  the  shadow   of   death, 


MRS. .  LET.  III. 

he  will  be  with  us,  and  will  .shew  himself 
mighty  on  our  behalf.  It  seems  almost  need- 
less to  say,  that  we  were  very  happy  in  the 
company  of  :   the  only  inconvenience 

was,  that  it  renewed  the  pain  it  always  gives 
me  to  part  with  them.  Though  the  visit  was 
full  as  long  as  I  could  possibly  expect,  it 
seemed  very  short.  This  must  be  the  case 
while  we  are  here  :  our  pleasures  are  short, 
interrupted,  and  mixed  with  troubles:  this  is 
not,  cannot  be  our  rest.  But  it  will  not  be 
always  the  case  ;  we  are  travelling  to  a  better 
world,  where  every  evil  and  imperfection  shall 
cease ;  then  we  shall  be  for  ever  with  the 
Lord  and  with  each  other.  May  the  pros- 
pect of  this  blessed  hope  set  before  us  revive 
our  fainting  spirits,  and  make  us  willing  to 
endure  hardships  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Here  we  must  often  sow  in  tears, 
but  there  we  shall  reap  in  joy,  and  all  tears 
shall  be  wiped  from  our  eyes  for  ever.  1 
hope  the, conversation  of  friends  whom  I  so 
greatly  love  and  honour  afforded  me  not  only 
pleasure  but  profit ;  it  left  a  savour  upon  my 
mind,  and  stirred  up  my  languid  desires  after 
the  Lord.  I  wish  I  could  say  the  good  effect 
has  remained  with  me  to  this  hour  ;  but,  alas ! 
I  am  a  poor  creature,  and  have  had  many 
causes  of  humiliation  since.  But,  blessed  be 
God,  amidst  all  my  changes  I  find  the  foun- 
dation stands  sure,  and  I  am  seldom  or  never 
left  to  doubt  either  of  the  Lord's  love  to  me 
or  the  reality  of  the  desires  he  has  given  me 
towards  himself;  though,  when  I  measure 
my  love  by  the  degrees  of  its  exercise,  or  the 
fruits  it  produceth,  I  have  reason  to  sit  down 
ashamed,  as  the  chief  of  sinners  and  the  least 
of  all  saints.  But  in  him  I  have  righteous- 
ness and  peace,  and  in  him  I  must  and  will 
rejoice. 

I  would  willingly  fill  up  my  sheet,  but  feel 
a  straitness  in  my  spirit,  and  know  not  what 
farther  to  say.  O  for  a  ray  of  divine  light  to 
set  me  at  liberty,  that  I  might  write  a  few 
lines  worth  reading,  something  that  might 
warm  my  heart,  and  comfort  yours.  Then 
the  subject  must  be  Jesus  ;  but  of  him  what 
can  I  say  that  you  do  not  know  ?  Well, 
though  you  know  him,  you  are  glad  to  hear 
of  him  again  and  again.  Come,  then,  mag- 
nify the  Lord  with  me,  and  let  us  exalt  his 
name  together.  Let  us  adore  him  for  his 
love,  that  love  which  has  a  height,  and  depth, 
and  length,  and  breadth,  beyond  the  grasp  of 
our  poor  conceptions ;  a  love  that  moved 
him  to  empty  himself,  to  take  on  him  the 
form  of  a  servant,  and  to  be  obedient  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross;  a  love 
that  pitied  us  in  our  lost  estate,  that  found 
us  when  we  sought  him  not,  that  spoke  peace 
to  our  souls  in  the  day  of  our  distress;  a 
lo've  that  bears  with  all  our  present  weak- 
ness, mistakes,  backslidings,  and  shortcom- 
ings ;  a  love  that  is  always  watchful,  always 
ready  to  guide,  to  comfort,   and   to   heal ;   a 


LET.  IV 


LETTERS   TO  MRS. . 


185 


love  that  will  not  be  wearied,  cannot  be  con- 
quered, and  is  incapable  of  changes ;  a  love 
that  will,  in  the  end,  prevail  over  all  oppo- 
sition, will  perfect  that  which  concerns  us, 
and  will  not  leave  us  till  it  has  brought  us 
perfect  in  holiness  and  happiness,  to  rejoice  in 
his  presence  in  glory.  The  love  of  Christ  ! 
it  is  the  wonder,  the  joy,  the  song,  of  angels, 
and  the  sense  of  it  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts, 
makes  life  pleasant,  and  death  welcome. — 
Alas  !  what  a  heart  have  I,  that  I  love  him 
no  better  !  But  I  hope  he  has  given  me  a 
desire  to  make  him  my  all  in  all,  and  to  ac- 
count every  thing  loss  and  dross  that  dares  to 
stand  in  competition  with  him. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER.    IV. 


1769. 


I  FOUND,  this  morning,  among  my  unanswer- 
ed letters,  one  from  you,  but  I  hope  I  left  it 
among  them  by  mistake.  I  am  willing,  how- 
ever, to  be  on  the  sure  side,  and  would  ra- 
ther write  twice  than  be  too  long  silent.  I 
heard  of  your  being  laid  on  the  bed  of  afflic- 
tion, and  of  the  Lord's  goodness  to  you  there, 
and  of  his  raising  you  up  again.  Blessed  be 
his  name  !  he  is  all-sufficient  and  faithful  ; 
and  though  he  cause  grief,  he  is  sure  to  shew 
compassion  in  supporting  and  delivering. 
Ah  !  the  evil  of  our  nature  is  deeply  rooted 
and  very  powerful,  or  such  repeated,  conti- 
nual corrections  and  chastisements  would  not 
be  necessary,  and  were  they  not  necessary 
we  should  not  have  them.  But  such  we 
are,  and  therefore  such  must  be  our  treat- 
ment ;  for  though  the  Lord  loves  us  with 
a  tenderness  beyond  what  the  mother  feels 
for  her  sucking  child,  yet  it  is  a  tendorness 
directed  by  infinite  wisdom,  and  very  different 
from  that  weak  indulgence  which  in  parents 
we  call  fondness,  which  leads  them  to  comply 
with  their  children's  desires  and  inclinations, 
rather  than  to  act  with  a  steady  view  to  their 
true  welfare.  The  Lord  loves  his  children, 
and  is  very  indulgent  to  them,  so  far  as  they 
can  safely  bear  it,  but  he  will  not  spoil  them. 
Their  sin-sickness  requires  medicines,  some 
of  which  are  very  unpalatable ;  but  when  the 
case  calls  for  such,  no  short-sighted  entrea- 
ties of  ours  can  excuse  us  from  taking  what 
he  prepares  for  our  good.  But  every  dose  is 
prepared  by  his  own  hand,  and  not  one  is  ad- 
ministered in  vain,  nor  is  it  repeated  any  of- 
tener  than  is  needful  to  answer  the  proposed 
end.  Till  then,  no  other  hand  can  remove 
what  he  lays  upon  us ;  but  when  his  merciful 
design  is  answered,  he  will  relieve  us  himself, 
and  in  the  mean  time,  he  will  so  moderate 
the  operation,  or  increase  our  ability  to  bear, 
that  we  shall  not  be  overpowered.  It  is  true, 
without  a  single  exception,  that  ill  his  paths 


are  mercy  and  truth  to  them  that  fear  him. 
His  love  is  the  same  when  he  wounds  as  when 
he  heals,  when  he  takes  away  as  when  he 
gives  :  we  have  reason  to  thank  him  for  all, 
but  most  for  the  severe. 

I  received  a  letter  from  you,  which  men- 
tions dear  Mrs.  's  case,  a  very  trying 

one  ;  but  in  this  likewise  we  see  the  Lord's 
faithfulness.  Our  own  experience,  and  all 
that  we  observe  of  his  dealings  with  others, 
may  convince  us  that  we  need  not  be  afraid 
to  entrust  ourselves  and  our  dearest  concerns 
in  his  hands ;  for  he  can  and  will  make  every 
thing  work  for  good. 

How  little  does  the  world  know  of  that  in- 
tercourse which  is  carried  on  between  heaven 
and  earth  !  what  petitions  are  daily  presented, 
and  what  answers  are  received,  at  the  throne 
of  grace  !  O  the  blessed  privilege  of  prayer  ! 
O  the  wonderful  love,  care,  attention,  and 
power  of  our  great  Shepherd  !  His  eye  is  al- 
ways upon  us  ;  when  our  spirits  are  almost 
overwhelmed  within  us,  he  knoweth  our  path. 
His  ear  is  always  open  to  us ;  let  who  will  over- 
look and  disappoint  us,  he  will  not.  When 
means  and  hope  fail,  when  every  thing  looks 
dark  upon  us,  when  we  seem  shut  up  on  every 
side,  when  we  are  brought  to  the  lowest  ebb, 
still  our  help  is  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  who 
made  heaven  and  earth.  To  him  all  things 
are  possible ;  and  before  the  exertion  of  his 
power,  when  he  is  pleased  to  arise  and  work, 
all  hindrances  give  way,  and  vanish  like  a 
mist  before  the  sun.  And  he  can  so  manifest 
himself  to  the  soul,  and  cause  his  goodness  to 
pass  before  it,  that  the  hour  of  affliction  shall 
be  the  golden  hour  of  the  greatest  consolation 
He  is  the  fountain  of  life,  strength,  grace, 
and  comfort,  and  of  his  fulness  his  children 
receive  according  to  their  occasions  :  but  this 
is  all  hidden  from  the  world ;  they  have  no 
guide  in  prosperity,  but  hurry  on  as  they  are 
instigated  by  their  blinded  passions,  and  are 
perpetually  multiplying  mischiefs  and  mise- 
ries to  themselves  ;  and  in  adversity  they  have 
no  resource,  but  must  feel  all  the  evil  of  af- 
fliction, without  inward  support,  and  without 
deriving  any  advantage  from  it.  We  have, 
therefore,  cause  for  continual  praise.  The 
Lord  has  given  us  to  know  his  name,  as  a 
resting-place  and  a  hiding-place,  a  sun  and 
a  shield.  Circumstances  and  creatures  may 
change ;  but  he  will  be  an  unchangeable 
friend.  The  way  is  rough,  but  he  trod  it 
before  us,  and  is  now  with  us  in  every 
step  we  take  ;  and  every  step  brings  us  nearer 
to  our  heavenly  home.  Our  inheritance  is 
surely  reserved  for  us,  and  we  shall  be  kept 
for  it  by  his  power  through  faith.  Our  pre- 
sent strength  is  small,  and,  without  a  freslj 
supply,  would  be  quickly  exhausted ;  but  he 
has  engaged  to  renew  it  from  day  to  day  ; 
and  he  will  soon  appear,. to  wipe  all  tears  from 
our  eyes ;  and  then  we  shall  appear  with  hirp 
in  glorv 


286 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. 


LET.  V 


t  am  very  sorry  if  our  friend  Mr.  ap- 
pears to  be  aiming  to  reconcile  things  that  are 
incompatible.  I  am,  indeed,  afraid  that  he 
has  been  for  some  time  under  a  decline  ;  and, 
as  you  justly  observe,  we  meet  with  too  many 
instances  to  teach  us,  that  they  who  express 
the  warmest  zeal  at  their  first  setting  out,  do 
not  always  prove  the  most  steady  and  thriving 
afterwards;  yet  lam  willing  to  hope  in  this  case, 
that  he  will  revive  and  flourish  again.  Some- 
times the  Lord  permits  those  whom  he  loves 
to  wander  from  him  for  a  season ;  and  when 
his  time  comes  to  heal  their  backslidings,  they 
walk  more  humbly,  thankfully,  and  fruitfully 
afterwards,  from  a  sense  of  his  abounding 
mercy,  and  the  knowledge  they  have  by  expe- 
rience acquired  of  the  deceitfulness  and  in- 
gratitude of  their  hearts.  I  hope  and  pray  it 
will  be  so  with  him.  However,  these  things 
for  the  present  are  grievous ;  and  usually  be- 
fore the  Lord  heals  such  breaches,  he  makes  his 
people  sensible,  that  it  is  an  evil  thing  and  a 
bitter,  to  forsake  him  when  he  led  them  by 
the  way. 

Indeed,  London  is  a  dangerous  and  ensnar- 
ing place  to  professors.  I  account  myself 
happy  that  my  lot  is  cast  at  a  distance  from 
it.  It  appears  to  me  like  a  sea,  wherein  most 
are  tossed  by  storms,  and  many  suffer  ship- 
wreck. In  this  retired  situation,  I  seem  to 
stand  upon  a  cliff;  and  while  I  pity  those 
whom  I  cannot  help,  I  hug  myself  in  the 
thoughts  of  being  safe  upon  the  shore.  Not 
that  we  are  without  our  trials  here ;  the  evil 
of  our  own  hearts,  and  the  devices  of  Satan, 
cut  us  out  work  enough  ;  but  we  are  happily 
screened  from  many  tilings  which  must  be 
either  burdensome  or  hurtful  to  those  who 
live  in  the  way  of  them  ;  such  as,  political 
disputes,  winds  of  doctrine,  scandals  of  false 
professors,  parties  for  and  against  particular 
ministers,  and  fashionable  amusements,  in 
some  measure  countenanced  by  the  presence 
of  persons  in  other  respects  exemplary.  In 
this  view,  I  often  think  of  our  dear  friend's 
expression,  upon  a  certain  occasion,  of  the 
difference  between  London  and  country  grace. 
I  hold  it  in  a  twofold  sense.  By  London 
grace,  when  genuine,  I  understand  grace  in  a 
very  advanced  degree.  The  favoured  few 
who  are  kept  alive  to  God,  simple-hearted, 
and  spiritually-minded  (I  mean  especially  in 
genteel  life),  in  the  midst  of  such  snares  and 
temptations,  appear  to  me  to  be  the  first  rate 
christians  of  the  land  :  I  adore  the  power  of 
the  Lord  in  them,  and  compare  them  to  the 
young  men  who  walked  unhurt  in  the  midst 
of  the  fire.  In  another  sense,  the  phrase 
London  grace  conveys  no  great  idea  to  me.  I 
think  there  is  no  place  in  the  kingdom  where 
a  person  may  set  up  for  a  professor  upon  a 
smaller  stock.  If  people  can  abstain  from  open 
immoralities,  if  they  will  fly  to  all  parts  of  the 
town  to  hear  sermons,  if  they  can  talk  about 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  if  they  have  some- 


thing to  say  upon  that  useless  question,  Who 
is  the  best  preacher  ?  if  they  can  attain  to  a 
speaking  acquaintance  with  some  of  an  acknow. 
ledged  character,  then  they  expect  to  pass 
muster.  I  am  afraid  there  are  many  who,  up- 
on  no  better  evidences  than  these,  deceive  both 
themselves  and  others  for  a  course  of  years. 
Though  I  feel  not  in  a  writing  cue  to-day,  I 
have  almost  filled  the  sheet  somehow ;  and  if 
a  line  or  a  word  may  be  a  means  of  suggest- 
ing a  seasonable  and  comfortable  thought 
to  you,  I  have  my  end.  Through  mercy  we 
are  all  pretty  well.  My  soul  is  kept  alive,  as 
it  were,  by  miracle.  I  feel  much  inwaid 
warfare  :  the  enemy  thrusts  sore  at  me,  that  I 
may  fall ;  and  I  have  abundant  experience  of 
the  evil  and  deceitfulness  of  my  heart ;  but 
the  Lord  is  gracious,  and,  in  the  midst  of  all 
conflicts,  I  have  a  peace  springing  from  the 
knowledge  of  his  power  and  grace,  and  a  con- 
sideration that  I  have  been  helped  to  commit 
myself  to  him. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  V. 

1769. 
We  are  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  late  vi- 
sit; and  I  am  glad  to  find  that  the  Lord  i9 
pleased  to  give  you  some  tokens  of  his  pre- 
sence when  you  are  with  us,  because  I  hope 
it  will  encourage  you  to  come  again.  I  ought 
to  be  very  thankful  that  our  christian  friends 
in  general  are  not  wholly  disappointed  of  a 
blessing  when  they  visit  us. 

I  hope  the  Lord  will  give  me  an  humble 
sense  of  what  I  am,  and  that  broken  and  con- 
trite frame  of  heart  in  which  he  delights.  This 
is  to  me  the  chief  thing.  I  had  rather  have 
more  of  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ,  more  of 
a  meek,  quiet,  resigned,  peaceful,  and  loving 
disposition,  than  to  enjoy  the  greatest  measure 
of  sensible  comforts,  if  the  consequence  should 
be  (as  perhaps  it  would)  spiritual  pride,  self- 
sufficiency,  and  a  want  of  that  tenderness  to 
others  which  becomes  one  who  has  reason  to 
style  himself  the  chief  of  sinners.  I  know, 
indeed,  that  the  proper  tendency  of  sensible 
consolations  is  to  humble ;  but  I  can  see, 
that,  through  the  depravity  of  human  nature, 
they  have  not  always  that  effect.  And  I  have 
been  sometimes  disgusted  with  an  apparent 
want  of  humility,  an  air  of  self-will  and  self- 
importance,  in  persons  of  whose  sincerity  I 
could  not  at  all  doubt.  It  has  kept  me  from 
envying  them  those  pleasant  frames  with  which 
they  have  sometimes  been  favoured  ;  for  I  be- 
lieve Satan  is  never  nearer  us  than  at  some 
times  when  we  think  ourselves  nearest  the 
Lord. 

What  reason  have  we  to  charge  our  souls 
in  David's  words,  "  My  soul,  wait  thou  only 
upon  God."      A  great  stress  should  be  laid 


i,et.  v. 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. 

upon  that  word  only.      We  dare  not  entirely 
shut  him  out  of  our  regards  but  we  are  too  apt 
to  suffer  something  to  share  with  him.      This 
evil  disposition  is  deeply  fixed  in  our  hearts  ; 
and  the  Lord  orders  all  his  dispensations  to- 
wards us  with  a  view  to  rooting  it  out ;  that, 
being  wearied  with  repeated  disappointments, 
we  may  at  length  be  compelled  to  betake  our- 
selves to  him  alone.      Why  else  do  we  expe- 
rience so  many  changes  and  crosses  ?  why  are 
we   so  often  in   heaviness  ?     We  know  that 
lie  delights  in  the  pleasure  and  prosperity  of 
his  servants ;  that  he  does  not  willingly  afflict 
or  grieve  his  children  ;  but  there  is  a  necessity 
on   our   parts,  in  order  to  teach  us  that  we 
have  no  stability  in  ourselves,  and    that   no 
creature  can  do  us  good  but  by  his  appoint- 
ment.     While  the  people  of  Israel  depended 
upon  him  for  food,  they  gathered  up  the  man- 
na every  morning  in  the  field  ;  but  when  they 
would  hoard  it  up  in  their  houses,  that  they 
might  have  a  stock  within  themselves,  they 
had  it  without  his  blessing,  and  it  proved  good 
for  nothing ;  it  soon  bred  worms,  and  grew 
offensive.      We  may  often  observe  something 
like  this  occur  both  in  our  temporal  and  spi- 
ritual concerns.      The  Lord  gives  us  a  dear 
friend  to  our  comfort ;  but  ere  long  we  for- 
get that  the  friend  is  only  the  channel  of  con- 
veyance, and  that  all  the  comfort  is  from  him- 
self.    To  remind  us  of  this,  the  stream  is  dried 
up,  the  friend  torn  away  by  death,  or  removed 
far  from  us,  or  perhaps  the  friendship   ceases, 
and  a  coolness  insensibly  takes  place,  we  know 
not  how  or  why  :  the  true  reason  is,  that  when 
we   rejoice  amiss    in    our    gourd,  the  Lord, 
for  our  good,  sends  a  worm  to  the  root  of  it. 
Instances  of  this  kind  are  innumerable  ;  and 
the  great  inference  from  them  all  is,  Cease  from 
man,   cease  from   creatures,    for  wherein  are 
they  to  be  accounted  of  ?  My  soul,  wait  thou 
only,  only  upon  the  Lord,  who  is  (according 
to   the  expressive  phrase,    Heb.   iv.    13.)  he 
with  whom  we  have  to  do  for  soul  and  body, 
for  time  and  eternity.      What  thanks  do  we 
owe,  that  though  we  have  not  yet    attained 
perfectly  this  great  lesson,  yet  we  are   admit- 
ted into  that  school   where  alone   it   can  be 
learned  !   and  though  we  are  poor,  slow  scho- 
lars, the  great  and  effectual  Teacher  to  whom 
we  have  been  encouraged  and  enabled  to  ap- 
ply, can  and  will  bring  us  forward  !    He  com- 
municates not  only  instructions,  but  capacities 
and  powers.      There  is  none  like  him  ;  he  can 
make  the  blind  to  see,  the  deaf  to  hear,  and  the 
dumb  to  speak  :    and  how  great  is  his  conde- 
scension and  patience  !  how  docs  he  accommo- 
date himself  to  our  weakness,  and  teach  us  as  we 
are  able  to  bear.      Though  all  are  very  dunces 
when  he  first  receives  them,  not  one  was  ever 
turned  out  as  incapable,   for   he  makes  them 
what  he  would  have  them  to  be.      O  that  we 
may  set  him  always  before  us,   and   consider 
every  dispensation,  person,  thing,  we  meet  in 
the  course  of  every  day,  as  messengers  from 


287 


him,  each  bringing  us  some  line  of  instruction 
for  us  to  copy  into  that  day's  experience. 
Whatever  passes  within  us  or  around  us  may 
be  improved  (when  he  teaches  us  how)  as  a 
perpetual  commentary  upon  his  good  word. 
If  we  converse  and  observe  with  this  view, 
we  may  learn  something  every  moment,  where- 
ever  the  path  of  duty  leads  us,  in  the  streets 
as  well  as  in  the  closet,  and  from  the  conver- 
sation of  those  who  know  not  God  (when  we 
cannot  avoid  being  present  at  it),  as  well  as 
from  those  who  do. 

Separation  of  dear  friends  is,  as  you  ob- 
served, hard  to  flesh  and  blood  ;  but  grace 
can  make  it  tolerable.  I  have  an  abiding 
persuasion,  that  the  Lord  can  easily  give  more 
than  ever  he  will  take  away.  Which  part  of 
the  alternative  must  be  my  lot,  or  when,  he 
only  knows ;  but  in  general  I  can  rely  on 
him  to  appoint  the  time,  the  manner ;  and  I 
trust  his  promise  of  strength  suited  to  the  day 
shall  be  made  good.  Therefore  I  can  for  the 
most  part  rejoice,  that  all  things  are  in  the  hand 
and  under  the  direction  of  Him  who  knows 
our  frame,  and  has  himself  borne  our  griefs 
and  carried  our  sorrows  in  his  own  body.  A 
time  of  weeping  must  come,  but  the  morning 
of  joy  will  make  amends  for  all.  Who  can 
expound  the  meaning  of  that  one  expression, 
"  an  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory  ?" 
The  case  of  unconverted  friends  is  still  more 
burdensome  to  think  of;  but  we  have  encour 
agement  and  warrant  to  pray  and  to  hope 
He  who  called  us  can  easily  call  others ;  and 
he  seldom  lays  a  desire  of  this  sort  very  closely 
and  warmly  upon  the  hearts  of  his  people,  but 
when  it  is  his  gracious  design  sooner  or  later 
to  give  an  answer  of  peace.  However,  it  be- 
comes us  to  be  thankful  for  ourselves,  and  to 
bow  our  anxieties  and  reasonings  before  his 
sovereign  will,  who  doth  as  he  pleases  with 
his  own. 

Methinks  winter  is  your  summer.  You 
have  been,  like  the  bee,  collecting  from 
many  flowers;  I  hope  you  will  carry  good 
store  of  honey  home  with  you.  May  you  find 
the  Lord  there,  and  he  can  easily  supply  the 
failure  of  means  and  creatures.  We  cannot 
be  in  any  place  to  so  much  advantage  as  where 
the  call  of  duty  leads.  What  we  cannot  a- 
void,  may  we  cheerfully  submit  to,  and  not 
indulge  a  vain  thought,  that  we  could  chuse  a 
better  situation  for  ourselves  (all  things  con- 
sidered) than  he  has  chosen  for  us. 

When  we  have  opportunity  of  enjoying 
many  ordinances,  it  is  a  mercy  to  be  able  to 
prize  and  improve  them ;  but  when  he  cuts 
ns  short  for  a  season,  if  we  wait  upon  him, 
we  shall  do  well  without  them.  Secret  pray- 
er, and  the  good  word,  are  the  chief  wells  from 
whence  we  draw  the  water  of  salvation.  These 
will  keep  the  soul  alive  when  creature-streams 
are  cut  off;  but  the  richest  variety  of  public 
means,  and  the  closest  attendance  upon  them 
will  leave  us  lean  and  pining  in  the  midst  of 


288 


plenty,  if  wc  are  remiss  and  formal  in  the 
other  two.  I  think  David  never  appears  in 
a  more  lively  frame  of  mind  than  when  he 
wrote  the  4'2d,  63d,  and  84th  Psalms,  which 
were  all  penned  in  a  dry  land,  and  at 
tance  fiom  the  public  ordinances. 
I  am,  &c. 


L UTTERS  TO  MRS. 

you  all.       Our  all-sufficient 


l£T.   VI 


dis- 


LETTER  VI. 

1772. 
I  HAD  been  wishing  to  hear  from  you,  that  I 
might  know  where  to  write.  I  hope  I  can 
assure  you  of  a  friendly  sympathy  with  you 
in  your  trials.  I  can,  in  some  measure,  guess 
at  what  you  feel,  from  what  I  have  seen  and 
felt  myself  in  cases  where  I  have  been  nearly 
concerned.  But  my  compassion,  though  sin- 
cere, is  ineffectual :  if  I  can  pity  I  cannot 
relieve.  All  I  can  do  is,  as  the  Lord  enables 
me,  to  remember  you  both  before  him.  But 
there  is  one  whose  compassion  is  infinite. 
The  love,  and  tenderness  of  ten  thousand 
earthly  friends,  of  ten  thousand  mothers  to- 
wards their  sucklings,  if  compared  with  his, 
are  less  than  a  drop  of  water  to  the  ocean  ; 
and  his  power  is  infinite  too.  Why  then  do 
our  sufferings  continue,  when  he  is  so  com- 
passionate, and  could  remove  them  with  a 
word  ?  Surely,  if  we  cannot  give  the  parti- 
cular reasons  (which  yet  he  will  acquaint  us 
with    hereafter,    John  xiii.    7.),    the   general 

reason  is  at  hand;  he  afflicts  not  for  his  own  Imuch  less  than  many  of  our  fellow-creatures 
pleasure,  but  for  our  profit ;  to  make  us  par-   daily  meet  with.      We  need  not  look  about 


God  can  give 
seasons  of  refreshment  in  the  darkest  hours, 
and  break  through  the  thickest  clouds  of  out- 
ward affliction  or  distress.  To  you  it  is  given, 
not  only  to  believe  in  Jesus,  but  to  suffer  for 
his  sake  :  for  so  we  do,  not  only  when  we  are 
crlled  to  follow  him  to  imprisonment  or  death, 
but  when  he  enables  us  to  bear  afflictive  dis- 
pensations with  due  submission  and  patience. 
Then  he  is  glorified;  then  his  grace  and 
power  are  manifested  in  us.  The  world,  so  far 
as  they  know  our  case,  have  a  proof  before 
them,  that  our  religion  is  not  merely  notional, 
but  that  there  is  a  power  and  reality  in  it. 
And  the  Lord's  people  are  encouraged  by  what 
they  see  of  his  faithfulness  to  ourselves.  And 
there  are  more  eyes  upon  us  still.  We  are  a 
spectacle  to  the  universe,  to  angels  as  well  as 
to  men.  Cheer  up  :  the  Lord  hath  put  you 
in  your  present  trying  situation,  that  you  may 
have  the  fairer  opportunity  of  adorning  your 
profession  of  the  gospel ;  and  though  you 
suffer  much,  he  is  able  to  make  you  abundant 
amends.  Nor  need  I  remind  you,  that  he 
has  suffered  unspeakably  more  for  you ;  he 
drank  for  your  sakes  a  cup  of  unmixed  wrath, 
and  only  puts  into  your  hand  a  cup  of  afflic- 
tion mixed  with  many  mercies. 

The  account  you  gave  of  the  poor  man  de- 
tained in  the  inn  was  very  affecting.  Such 
scenes  are,  or  should  be  instructive,  to  teach 
us  resignation  under  the  trials  we  must  meet 
with  every  day.  For  not  only  are  we  visited 
less  than  our  iniquities    have    deserved,    but 


takers  of  his  holiness,    and  because  he   loves 
us. 

JudRe  not  the  Lord  by  feeble  sense, 

But  trust  him  for  his  grace  ; 
Behind  a  frowning  providence 

He  hides  a  smiling  face. 

I  wish  you  much  comfort  from    David's 


for,  or  long  to  find,  others  in  a  worse  situation 
than  ourselves.  If  a  fit  of  the  gout  or  cho- 
lic  is  so  grievous  and  so  hard  to  bear,  what  do 
we  owe  to  him  who  delivered  us  from  that 
place  of  unutterable  torment,  where  there  is 
weeping,  wailing,  and  gnashing  of  teeth  for 
ever,  without  hope  or  respite  ?  And  if  we 
thought,  Psal.  cxlii.  3.  "When  my  spirit  I  cannot  help  interesting  ourselves  in  the  groans 
was  overwhelmed  within  me,   thou    kne  west ,  of  a  stranger,  how  ought  the  groans  of  Jesus  to 


my  path."  The  Lord  is  not  withdrawn  to  a 
great  distance,  but  his  eye  is  upon  you,  and 
he  sees  you  not  with  the  indifference  of  a  mere 
spectator  but  he  observes  with  attention  ;  he 
knowp,  he  considers  your  path  ;  yea,  he  ap- 
points it,  and  every  circumstance  about  it  is 
under  his  direction.  Your  trouble  began  at 
the  hour  he  saw  best;  it  could  not  come 
before,  and  he  has  marked  the  degeee  of  it  to 
a  hair's-breadth  and  the  duration  to  a  minute. 
He  knows  likewise  how  your  spirit  is  affect- 
ed ;  and  such  supplies  of  grace  and  strength, 
and  in  such   seasons  as  he  sees  needful,  he 


be,  as  it  were,  continually  sounding  in  our 
ears  ?  What  are  all  other  sufferings  compared 
to  his?  and  yet  he  endured  them  freely.  He 
needed  not  to  have  borne  them,  if  he  would 
have  left  us  to  perish;  but  such  was  his  love, 
he  died  that  we  might  live,  and  endured  the 
fiercest  agonies,  that  he  might  open  to  us  the 
gate  of  everlasting  peace  and  happiness.  How 
amazingly  perverse  is  my  heart,  that  I  can  be 
more  affected  with  a  melancholy  story  in  a 
newspaper  concerning  persons  I  never  saw, 
than  with  all  that  I  read  of  his  bitter  passion 
in   the  garden   and   on   the  cross,    though  I 


will  afford.  So  that  when  things  appear  dark-  j  profess  to  believe  he  endured  it  all  for  me  ! 
est,  you  shall  still  be  able  to  say,  Though  O  !  if  we  could  always  behold  him  by  faith  as 
chastened,  not  killed.  Therefore  hope  in  J  evidently  crucified  before  our  eyes,  how  would 
God,  for  you  shall  yet  praise  him.  lit  compose  our  spirits  as  to  all  the  streets  and 

I  shall  pray  that  the  Bathwaters  may  be  ,  bitters  of  this  poor  life  '.  What  a  barrier  wuuld 
besieficial  ;  and  that  the  waters  of  the  sane-  it  prove  against  all  the  snares  and  temptations 
tirary  there  may  be  healing  and  enlivening  to   whereby  Satan  would  draw  us  into  evil ;  and 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. 


LET.  VII. 

what  firm  ground  of  confidence  would  it  af- 
ford us  amidst  the  conflicts  we  sustain  from 
the  workings  of  unhelief  and  indwelling  sin  ! 
I  long  for  more  of  that  faith  which  is  the 
substance  of  things  hoped  for,  and  the  evi- 
dence of  things  not  seen,  that  I  may  be  pre- 
served humble,  thankful,  watchful,  and  de- 
pendent. To  behold  the  glory  and  the  love 
of  Jesus,  is  the  only  effectual  way  to  partici- 
pate of  his  image. 

We  are  to  set  out  to-night  from  the  inter- 
preter's house  towards  the  hill  difficulty,  and 
h  ipe  to  be  favoured  with  a  sight  of  the  cross 
by  the  way.  To  stand  at  the  foot  of  it,  with 
a  softened  heart  and  melting  eyes  ;  to  forget 
our  sins,  sorrows,  and  burdens,  while  we  are 
wholly  swallowed  up  in  the  contemplation  of 
him  who  bore  our  sins  in  his  own  body  upon 
the  tree,  is  certainly  the  most  desirable  situa- 
tion on  this  side  the  grave.  To  speak  of  it, 
and  to  see  it  by  the  light  of  the  Spirit, 
are  widely  different  things ;  and  though  we 
cannot  always  enjoy  this  view,  yet  the  remem- 
brance of  what  we  have  seen  is  an  excellent 
means  of  encouragement  to  mount  the  hill, 
and  to  face  the  lions. 

I  believe  I  shall  hardly  find  leisure  to  fill 
my  paper  this  time.  It  is  now  Saturday  even- 
ing, and  growing  late.  I  am  just  returned 
from  a  serious  walk,  which  is  my  usual  man- 
ner of  closing  the  week,  when  the  weather  is 
fine.  I  endeavour  to  join  in  heart  with  the 
Lord's  ministers  and  people,  who  are  seeking 
a  blessing  on  to-morrow's  ordinances.  At 
such  times  I  especially  remember  those  friends 
with  whom  I  have  gone  to  the  house  of  the 
Lord  in  company,  consequently  you  are  not 
forgot.  I  can  venture  to  assure  you,  that  if 
you  have  a  value  for  our  prayers,  you  have  a 
frequent  share  in  them,  yea,  are  loved  and  re- 
membered by  many  here ;  but  as  we  are  for- 
getful creatures,  I  hope  you  will  always  re- 
fresh our  memory,  and  quicken  our  prayers, 
by  a  yearly  visit.  In  the  morning  I  shall 
think  of  you  again.  What  a  multitude  of 
eyes  and  hearts  will  be  directed  to  our  Re- 
deemer to-morrow  !  He  has  a  numerous  and 
necessitous  family,  but  he  is  rich  enough  to 
supply  them  all,  and  his  tender  compassions 
extend  to  the  meanest  and  most  unworthy. 
Like  the  sun,  he  can  cheer  and  enlighten 
thousands  and  millions  at  once,  and  give  to 
each  as  bountifully  as  if  there  were  no  more 
to  partake  of  his  favour.  His  best  blessings 
are  not  diminished  by  being  shared  among 
many.  The  greatest  earthly  monarch  would 
soon  be  poor  if  he  was  to  give  a  little  (though 
but  a  little)  to  all  his  subjects  ;  but  Jesus  has 
unsearchable,  inexhaustible  riches  of  grace  to 
bestow.  The  innumerable  assembly  before 
the  throne  have  been  all  supplied  from  his 
fulness,  and  yet  there  is  enough  and  to  spare 
for  us  also,  and  for  all  that  shall  come  after 
us.  May  he  give  us  an  eager  appetite,  a 
hunger  and  thirst  that  will    not  be   put  off 


28D 


with  any  thing  short  of  the  bread  of  life  ;  and 
then  we    may   confidently   open  our  mouths 
wide,  for  he  has  promised  to  fill  them 
I  am,  Sec. 


LETTER  VII. 

1773. 
Since  I  wrote  last,  the  Lord  has  been  gracious 
to  us  here.  He  crowned  the  last  year  with 
his  goodness,  and  renews  his  benefits  to  us 
every  day.  He  has  been  pleased  to  bless  the 
preaching  of  his  gospel  amongst  us,  both  to 
consolation  and  conviction  ;  and  several  are, 
I  hope,  earnestly  seeking  him,  who  were  late- 
ly dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.     Dear  Mr. 

was  released  from  all  his  complaints  on  the  25th 
of  November.  A  few  days  before  his  death 
he  was  enabled  to  speak  more  intelligibly  than 
usual  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  ex- 
pressed a  comfortable  hope,  which  was  a  great 
satisfaction  to  us ;  for  though  we  had  not  the 
least  doubt  of  his  being  built  upon  the  Rock, 
it  was  to  us  an  answer  to  prayer  that  he  could 
again  speak  the  language  of  faith  ;  and  much 
prayer  had  been  made  on  this  account,  espe- 
cially that  very  evening.  After  that  night 
he  spoke  little,  and  hardly  took  any  notice, 
but  continued  chiefly  drowsy  till  he  died.  I 
preached   his  funeral  sermon,    from  Lam.  iii. 

31 — 33.      Mrs.  L 's  complaint  grows 

worse  and  worse ;  she  suffers  much  in  her 
body,  and  has  much  more  perhaps  to  suffer  : 
but  her  consolations  in  the  Lord  abound. 
He  enables  her  to  maintain  faith,  patience, 
and  submission,  in  an  exemplary  manner,  and 
shews  us,  in  his  dealings  with  her,  that  he  is 
all-sufficient  and  faithful  to  those  who  put 
their  trust  in  him.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that 
you  had  comfortable  seasons  while  at  Bath. 
It  is,  indeed,  a  great  mercy  that  God's  ordi- 
nances are  established  in  that  place  of  dissi- 
pation ;  and  I  hope  many  who  go  there  with 
no  higher  view  than  to  drink  the  Bath  waters, 
will  be  brought  to  draw  with  joy  the  waters 
of  life  from  those  wells  of  salvation.  He 
does  nothing  in  vain,  and  when  he  affords  the 
means,  we  may  confidently  hope  he  will  be- 
stow the  blessing.  The  dissipation  of  spirit 
you  complain  of,  when  you  are  in  a  strange 
place,  is,  I  suppose,  felt  by  most,  if  not  by 
all,  who  can  be  satisfied  in  no  place  without 
some  token  of  the  Lord's  presence.  I  con- 
sider it  gather  as  an  infirmity  than  a  sin, 
strictly  speaking  ;  though  all  our  infirmities 
are  sinful,  being  the  effects  of  a  depraved  na- 
ture. In  our  present  circumstances  new  things 
excite  new  ideas,  and  when  our  usual  course 
of  life  is  broken  in  upon,  it  disjoints  and  un- 
settles our  thoughts.  It  is  a  proof  of  our 
weakness  ;  it  may,  and  ought  to  be,  lamented  ; 
but  I  believe  we  shall  not  get  the  better  of  it, 
till  we  leave  the  mortal  body  to  moulder  into 

2  C 


290 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. 


r.  FT.  VI!. 


dust.  Perhaps  few  suffer  more  inconveniences 
from  this  article  than  myself,  which  is  one 
reason  why  I  love  home,  and  seldom  leave  it 
without  some  reluctance  ;  and  it  is  one  rea- 
son why  we  should  love  heaven,  and  long  for 
the  hour  when,  at  liberty  from  all  incum- 
brance, we  shall  see  the  Lord  without  a  vail, 
and  serve  him  without  distraction.  The 
Lord,  by  his  providence,  seconds  and  con- 
firms the  declarations  of  his  word  and  mini- 
stry. Much  we  read  and  much  we  hear  con- 
cerning the  emptiness,  vanity,  and  uncertainty 
of  the  present  state.  When  our  minds  are 
enlightened  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  we  receive 
and  acknowledge  what  his  word  declares  to 
be  truth ;  yet  if  we  remain  long  without 
changes,  and  our  path  is  very  smooth,  we  are 
for  the  most  part  but  faintly  affected  with 
what  we  profess  to  believe.  But  when  some 
of  our  dearest  friends  are  taken  from  us,  the 
lives  of  others  threatened,  and  we  ourselves 
are  brought  low  with  pain  and  sickness,  then 
we  not  only  say,  but  feel,  that  this  must  not, 
cannot,  be  our  rest.  You  have  had  several 
exercises  of  this  kind  of  late  in  your  family, 
and  I  trust  you  will  be  able  to  set  your  seal 
to  that  gracious  word,  That  though  afflictions 
in  themselves  are  not  joyous,  but  grievous, 
yet  in  due  season  they  yield  the  peaceful 
fruits  of  righteousness.  Various  and  blessed 
are  the  fruits  they  produce.  By  affliction  pray- 
er is  quickened,  for  our  prayers  are  very  apt  to 
grow  languid  and  formal  in  a  time  of  ease. 
Affliction  greatly  helps  us  to  understand  the 
scriptures,  especially  the  promises,  most  of 
which  being  made  to  times  of  trouble,  we 
cannot  so  well  know  their  fulness,  sweetness, 
and  certainty,  as  when  we  have  been  in  the 
situation  to  which  they  are  suited,  have  been 
enabled  to  trust  and  plead  them,  and  found 
them  fulfilled  in  our  own  case.  We  are 
usually  indebted  to  affliction  as  the  means  or 
occasion  of  the  most  signal  discoveries  we  are 
favoured  with  of  the  wisdom,  power,  and 
faithfulness  of  the  Lord.  These  are  best  ob- 
served by  the  evident  proofs  we  have  that  he 
is  near  to  support  us  under  trouble,  and  that 
he  can,  and  does,  deliver  us  out  of  it.  Israel 
would  not  have  seen  so  much  of  the  Lord's 
arm  outstretched  in  their  behalf,  had  not  Pha- 
raoh oppressed,  opposed,  and  pursued  them. 
Afflictions  are  designed  likewise  for  the  mani. 
festation  of  our  sincerity  to  ourselves  and  to 
others.  When  faith  endures  the  fire,  we 
know  it  to  be  of  the  right  kind  ;  and  others, 
who  see  we  are  brought  safe  out,  and  lose  no- 
thing but  the  dross,  will  confess  that  God  is 
with  us  of  a  truth,  Dan.  iii.  27,  28.  Surely 
this  thought  should  reconcile  us  to  suffer,  not 
only  with  patience,  but  with  cheerfulness,  if 
God  may  be  glorified  in  us.  This  made  the 
apostle  rejoice  in  tribulation,  that  the  power 
of  Christ  might  be  noticed,  as  resting  upon 
him,  and  working  mightily  in  him.  Many 
of  our  graces,  likewise,  cannot  thrive  or  shew 


themselves  to  advantage  without  trials,  such  as 
resignation,  patience,  meekness,  long-suffer- 
ing. I  observe  some  of  the  London  porters 
do  not  appear  to  be  very  strong  men,  yet  they 
will  trudge  along  under  a  burden  which  some 
stouter  people  could  not  carry  so  well ;  the 
reason  is,  that  they  are  accustomed  to  carry 
burdens,  and  by  continual  exercise  their 
shoulders  acquire  a  strength  suited  to  their 
work.  It  is  so  in  the  christian  life ;  activity 
and  strength  of  grace  is  not  ordinarily  acquir- 
ed by  those  who  sit  still  and  live  at  ease,  but 
by  those  who  frequently  meet  with  something 
which  requires  a  full  exertion  of  what  power 
the  Lord  has  given  them.  So  again,  it  is  by 
our  own  sufferings  we  learn  to  pity  and  sym- 
pathize with  others  in  their  sufferings  ;  such  a 
compassionate  disposition,  which  excites  our 
feelings  for  the  afflicted,  is  an  eminent  branch 
of  the  mind  which  was  in  Christ.  But  these 
feelings  would  be  very  faint,  if  we  did  not  in 
our  experience  know  what  sorrows  and  temp, 
tations  mean.  Afflictions  do  us  good  like- 
wise, as  they  make  us  more  acquainted  with 
what  is  in  our  own  hearts,  and  thereby  pro- 
mote humiliation  and  self-abasement.  There 
are  abominations  which,  like  nests  of  vipers, 
lie  so  quietly  within,  that  we  hardly  suspect 
they  are  there,  till  the  rod  of  affliction  rouses 
them  :  then  they  hiss  and  shew  their  venom. 
This  discovery  is,  indeed,  very  distressing ; 
yet,  till  it  is  made,  we  are  prone  to  think  our- 
selves much  less  vile  than  we  really  are,  and 
cannot  so  heartily  abhor  ourselves,  and  repent 
in  dust  and  ashes. 

But  I  must  write  a  sermon  rathsr  than  a 
letter,  if  I  wouid  enumerate  all  the  good  fruits 
which,  by'the  power  of  sanctifying  grace,  are 
produced  from  this  bitter  tree.  May  we, 
under  our  several  trials,  find  them  all  reveal- 
ed in  ourselves,  that  we  may  not  complain  ot 
having  suffered  in  vain.  While  we  have  such 
a  depraved  nature,  and  live  in  such  a  pollut- 
ed world  ;  while  the  roots  of  pride,  vanity, 
self-dependence,  self-seeking,  are  so  strong 
within  us,  we  need  a  variety  of  sharp  dispen- 
sations to  keep  us  from  forgetting  ourselves, 
and  from  cleaving  to  the  dust. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  VIII. 


1774. 


The  very  painful  illness  which  Mrs. 
so  long  endured,  had,  doubtless,  not  only  pre- 
pared you  to  expect  the  news  of  her  dismission, 
but  made  you  more  willing  to  resign  her.  You 
are  bereaved  of  a  valuable  friend  ;  but  life  in 
her  circumstances  was  burdensome ;  and  who 
can  be  sorry  to  consider  her  now  as  freed  from 
all  suffering,  and  possessed  of  all  happiness  ? 
But,  besides  this,  I  trust  the  Lord  has  favour- 
ed you  with  an  habitual  sense  of  the  wisdom 


LETTERS  TO  MRS. 


f.ET.  vill. 

and  propriety  of  all  his  appointments  ;  so  that 
when  his  will  is  manifested  by  the  event,  you 
are  enabled  to  say,  "  All  is  well."  "  I  was 
dumb,  and  opened  not  my  mouth,  because 
thou  didst  it."  She  is  but  gone  a  little  be- 
fore you  ;  and  after  a  few  more  changes,  you 
will  meet  her  again  to  unspeakable  advantage, 
and  rejoice  together  before  the  throne  for  ever. 
There  every  tear  will  be  wiped  away,  and  you 
shall  weep  no  more.  The  Lord  could  have 
prevented  the  cause  of  her  great  sufferings ; 
but  I  doubt  not  he  afflicted  her  in  wisdom  and 
mercy  :  he  could  easily  have  restored  her  to 
health  ;  but  the  time  was  hastening  when  he 
purposed  to  have  her  with  him  where  he  is, 
that  she  might  behold  his  glory,  and  have  all 
the  desires  he  put  into  her  heart  abundantly 
satisfied.  Precious  in  his  sight  is  the  death  of 
his  saints,  and  every  circumstance  is  under  the 
direction  of  infinite  wisdom.  His  sovereign- 
ty  forbids  us  to  say,  Why  hast  thou  done  this  ? 
and  his  love  assures  us  that  he  does  all  things 
well,  I  have  lost  a  friend  likewise.  I  believe 
I  may  say  few  persons  not  immediately  relat- 
ed to  her,  could  value  her  more  highly  than 
myself;  and  though  of  late  years  I  could  not 
have  the  pleasure  of  her  company,  it  was  a 
constant  satisfaction  to  me  to  know  I  had 
such  a  friend. 

Mr.  T *s  sickness  and  death  follow- 
ed immediately  upon  this  stroke.  I  doubt 
not  but  you  have  been  much  affected  with  this 
dispensation  likewise.  But  here  again  we 
have  the  same  stronghold  to  retreat  to  :  The 
Lord  has  done  it.  What  a  pleasing  prospect 
of  increasing  usefulness  is  now  interrupted  ! 
How  many  will  mourn  his  loss  !  Yet  we  are 
sure  the  work  which  the  Lord  had  appointed 
him  was  finished.  They  who  loved  his  mi- 
nistry, and  were  profited  by  it,  are  left  appa- 
rently destitute ;  but  Jesus,  the  good  Shep- 
herd, is  able  to  take  care  of  his  own,  and  will 
fulfil  his  promise  to  them  all.  He  has  said, 
Verily  they  shall  be  fed. 

We  have  had  trying  and  dying  times  here  ; 
half  my  time  almost  has  been  taken  up  with 
visiting  the  sick.  I  have  seen  death  in  a  variety 
of  forms,  and  have  had  frequent  occasion  of 
observing  how  insignificant  many  things  which 
are  now  capable  of  giving  us  pain  or  plea- 
sure, will  appear,  when  the  soul  is  brought 
near  to  the  borders  of  eternity.  All  the  con- 
cerns which  relate  solely  to  this  life,  will  then 
be  found  as  trivial  as  the  traces  of  a  dream 
from  which  we  are  awakened.  Nothing  will 
then  comfort  us  but  the  knowledge  of  Jesus 
and  his  love ;  nothing  grieve  us  but  the  re- 
membrance of  our  unfaithful  carriage  to  him, 


291 


and  what  poor  returns  we  made  to  his  abund- 
ant goodness.  The  Lord  forbid  that  this 
thought  should  break  our  peace  !  No,  faith  in 
his  name  may  forbid  our  fear,  though  we  shall 
see  and  confess  we  have  been  unprofitable  ser- 
vants. There  shall  be  no  condemnation  to  them 
that  are  in  him  ;  but  surely  shame  and  humi- 
liation will  accompany  us  to  the  very  threshold 
of  heaven,  and  ought  to  do  so.  I  surely  shall 
then  be  more  affected  than  I  am  now  with  the 
coolness  of  my  love,  the  faintness  of  my  zeal, 
the  vanity  of  my  heart,  and  my  undue  attach- 
ment to  the  things  of  time.  O  these  clogs, 
fetters,  vales,  and  mountains,  which  obstruct 
my  course,  darken  my  views,  slacken  my  pace, 
and  disable  nie  in  service.  Well  it  is  for  me 
that  I  am  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace. 
To-morrow  is  the  Sabbath.  I  am  usually 
glad  when  it  returns,  though  it  seldom  finds 
me  in  that  frame  of  mind  which  I  would  de- 
sire. But  it  is  my  happiness  to  live  amongst 
many  who  count  the  hours  from  one  ordinance 
to  another.  I  know  they  pray  that  I  may  be 
a  messenger  of  peace,  and  an  instrument  of 
good  to  their  souls ;  and  I  have  cause  to  hope 
their  prayers  are  in  a  measure  answered.  For 
their  sakes,  as  much  as  my  own,  I  am  glad  to 
go  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord.  O  that  in 
watering  others,  I  may  be  also  watered  my- 
self !  I  have  been  praying  that  to-morrow  may 
be  a  day  of  power  with  you  and  with  us,  and 
with  all  that  love  Jesus  in  sincerity ;  that  we 
may  see  his  glory,  and  taste  his  love  in  the 
sanctuary.  When  it  is  thus,  the  Sabbath  is  a 
blessed  day  indeed,  an  earnest  of  heaven. 
There  they  keep  an  everlasting  Sabbath, 
and  cease  not  night  or  day  admiring  the 
riches  of  redeeming  love,  and  adoring  him 
who  washed  his  people  from  their  sins  in  his 
own  blood.  To  have  such  imperfect  commu- 
nion with  them  as  is  in  this  state  attainable  in 
this  pleasing  exercise,  is  what  alone  can  make 
life  worth  the  name.  For  this  I  sigh  and 
long,  and  cry  to  the  Lord  to  rend  the  vail  of 
unbelief,  scatter  the  clouds  of  ignorance,  and 
break  down  the  walls  which  sin  is  daily  build- 
ing up  to  hide  him  from  my  eyes.  I  hope  I 
can  say,  my  soul  is  athirst  for  God,  and  no- 
thing less  than  the  light  of  his  countenance 
can  satisfy  me.  Blessed  be  his  name  for  the 
desire  ;  it  is  his  own  gift,  and  he  never  gives 
it  in  vain.  He  will  afford  us  a  taste  of  the 
water  of  life  by  the  way ;  and  ere  long  we 
shall  drink  abundantly  at  the  fountain  head, 
and  have  done  with  complaint  for  ever.  May 
we  be  thankful  for  what  we  receive,  and  still 
earnestly  desirous  of  more. 
I  am,  fkc. 


LETTERS 


TO  MISS  D- 


LETTER  I. 


August  — ,    1 772. 

MY  DEAR  MISS, 

The  Lord  brought  us  home  in  peace.  My 
visit  to  — — —  was  agreeable,  and  1  shall  of- 
ten think  of  it  with  pleasure,  though  the  dead- 
ness  and  dryness  of  my  own  spirit  a  good  part 
of  the  time  I  was  there  proved  a  considerable 
abatement.  I  am  eager  enough  to  converse 
with  the  Lord's  people,  when  at  the  same  time 
I  am  backward  and  indisposed  to  communion 
with  the  Lord  himself.  The  two  evils  charged 
upon  Israel  of  old,  a  proneness  to  forsake  the 
fountain  of  living  waters  and  to  trust  to  broken 
cisterns  (which  can  do  me  no  good  unless  he 
supplies  them),  run  through  the  whole  of  my 
experience  abroad  and  at  home.  A  few  drops  of 
grace  in  my  fellow-worms  endear  them  to  me 
exceedingly.  If  I  expect  to  see  any  christian 
friends,  I  count  the  hours  till  we  meet,  and 
promise  myself  great  benefit ;  but  if  the  Lord 
withdraws  his  influence,  the  best  of  them  prove 
to  me  but  clouds  without  water.  It  was  not, 
however,  wholly  so  with  me  all  the  time  I  staid 
with  my  friends,  but  I  suffer  much  in  learning 
to  depend  upon  the  Lord  alone.  I  have  been 
at  this  lesson  many  a  long  year,  but  am  so 
poor  and  dull  a  scholar,  that  I  have  not  yet 
made  any  tolerable  progress  in  it.  I  think 
I  received  some  instruction  and  advantage 
where  I  little  expected  it;  I  mean  at  Mr. 
Cox's  Museum.  The  efforts  of  his  ingenuity 
amazed  me,  while  at  the  same  time  I  was 
struck  with  their  insignificance.  His  fine 
things  were  curious  beyond  all  I  had  any  idea 
of;  and  yet,  what  are  they  better  than  toys 
and  amusement,  suited  to  the  taste  of  child- 
ren !  And  notwithstanding  the  variety  of  their 
motions  they  were  all  destitute  of  life.  There 
is  unspeakably  more  wisdom  and  contrivance 
in  the  mechanism  of  a  butterfly  or  a  bee,  that 
flies  unnoticed  in  the  fields,  than  in  all  his  ap- 
paratus put  together.      But  the  works  of  God 


are  disregarded,  while  the  feeble  imitations  of 
them  which  men  can  produce  gain  universal 
applause. 

If  you  and  I  could  make  self-moving  dra- 
gons and  elephants,  what  would  it  profit  us  ? 
Blessed  be  God,  that  he  has  given  us  some 
glimpses  of  his  wisdom  and  love,  by  which 
our  hearts,  more  hard  and  lifeless  by  nature 
than  the  stones  in  the  streets,  are  constrained 
and  enabled  to  move  upwards,  and  to  seek 
after  the  Lord.  He  has  given  us  in  his  word 
a  greater  treasure  than  all  that  we  ever  be- 
held with  our  eyes,  and  a  hope  which  shall  flou- 
rish when  the  earth  and  all  its  works  shall  be 
burnt  up.  Wha-t  will  all  the  fine  things  of 
men's  device  be  worth  in  that  day  ? 

I  think  the  passage  you   refer   to   in  Mr. 

justly  exceptionable.      His  intention  is 

good,  and  the  mistake  he  would  censure  very 
dangerous,  but  he  might  have  explained  him- 
self more  clearly.  I  apprehend  he  and  you 
do  not  mean  the  same  thing  by  being  in  the 
dark.  It  is  not  an  uncomfortable,  but  a 
careless  frame  which  he  would  censure.  They 
who  walk  in  darkness  and  see  no  light,  and 
yet  are  exhorted  to  stay  themselves  upon  God 
(Isa.  1.  10),  are  said  to  hearken  to  the  voice 
of  his  servant.  Though  they  cannot  see  the 
Lord,  they  are  seeking  and  mourning  after 
him,  and  waiting  in  the  use  of  means,  and 

warring  against  sin.      Mr.  had  another 

set  of  people  in  view,  who  trust  in  the  no- 
tions of  gospel-truth,  or  some  past  convictions 
and  comforts,  though  at  present  they  give  no 
evidence  of  spiritual  desires,  but  are  worldly 
in  their  spirit  and  conversation  ;  talk  of  trust- 
ing in  the  Lord  ;  account  it  a  weakness  to 
doubt  of  their  state,  and  think  all  is  well  be- 
cause they  profess  to  believe  the  doctrines  of 
grace.  In  a  word,  it  is  the  darkness  of  sin 
and  slotb  against  which  his  observation  is 
pointed.      Or  if,  indeed,  he  meant  more  than 


LETTERS  TO  MISS  D- 


LET.  II. 

this,  we  are  not  obliged  to  believe  him.  Re- 
member your  privilege ;  you  have  the  Bible 
in  your  hands,  and  are  not  bound  to  follow 
books  or  preachers  any  farther  than  what  they 
deliver  agrees  with  the  oracles  of  truth.  We 
have  great  reason  to  be  thankful  for  the  in- 
structions and  writings  of  spiritual  men,  but 
they  are  all  fallible  even  as  ourselves.  One 
is  our  master,  even  Christ :  what  he  says  we 
are  to  receive  implicitly  ;  but  we  do  not  owe 
implicit  subjection  to  the  best  of  our  fellow- 
creatures.  The  Bereans  were  commended 
that  they  would  not  take  even  the  apostle 
Paul  upon  trust,  but  searched  the  scriptures 
to  see  whether  these  things  were  so.  May 
the  Lord  give  us  a  spirit  of  humility  and  dis- 
cernment in  all  things ! 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

May  4,  1773. 
iVIethinKS  it  is  high  time  to  ask  you  how  you 
do,  to  thank  you  for  your  last  letter,  and  to 
let  you  know,  that  though  necessity  makes 
me  slack  in  writing,  yet  I  can  and  do  often 
think  of  you.  My  silence  has  sometimes  been 
owing  to  want  of  leisure ;  and  sometimes 
when  I  could  have  found  leisure,  my  harp 
has  been  out  of  tune,  and  I  had  no  heart  to 
write.  Perhaps  you  are  ready  to  infer,  by 
my  sitting  down  to  write  at  last,  that  my  harp 
is  now  well  tuned,  and  I  have  something  ex- 
traordinary to  offer :  beware  of  thinking  so, 
lest  you  should  be  sadly  disappointed.  Should 
I  make  myself  the  subjeet,  I  could  give  you 
at  present  but  a  mournful  ditty.  I  suppose 
you  have  heard  1  have  been  ill :  through  mercy 
I  am  now  well.  But  indeed  I  must  farther 
tell  you,  that  when  I  was  sick  I  was  well ; 
and  since  the  Lord  has  removed  my  illness,  I 
have  been  much  worse.  My  illness  was  far 
from  violent  in  itself,  and  was  greatly  sweet- 
ened by  a  calm  submissive  frame  the  Lord 
gave  me  under  it.  My  heart  seemed  more 
alive  to  him  then  than  it  has  done  since  my 
cough,  fever,  and  deafness  have  been  removed. 
Shall  I  give  you  another  bit  of  a  riddle,  that, 
notwithstanding  the  many  changes  I  pass 
through,  I  am  always  the  same  ?  This  is  the 
very  truth :  "  In  me,  that  is,  in  my  flesh, 
dwelleth  no  good  thing ;"  so  that,  if  some- 
times my  spirit  is  in  a  measure  humble,  lively, 
and  dependent,  it  is  not  because  I  am  grown 
better  than  I  was,  but  the  Lord  is  pleased  to 
put  forth  his  gracious  power  in  my  weakness; 
and  when  my  heart  is  dry  and  stupid,  when  I 
can  find  no  pleasure  in  waiting  upon  God, 
it  is  not  because  I  am  worse  than  I  was  be- 
fore, but  only  the  Lord  sees  it  best  that  I 
should  feel  as  well  as  say  what  a  poor  creature 
I  am.  My  heart  was  once  like  a  dungeon, 
out  of  the  reach  of  day,  and  always  dark  : 
die  Lord,  by  his  grace,  has  been  pleased  to 


293 


make  this  dungeon  a  room,  by  puttir  g  win- 
dows in  it ;  but  I  need  not  tell  you,  that 
though  windows  will  transmit  the  day-light 
into  a  room,  they  cannot  supply  the  want  of  it. 
When  the  day  is  gone,  windows  are  of  little  use  : 
when  the  day  returns,  the  room  is  enlightened 
by  them  again.  Thus,  unless  the  Lord  shines, 
I  cannot  retain  to-day  the  light  I  had  yesterday  ; 
and  though  his  presence  makes  a  delightful 
difference,  I  have  no  more  to  boast  of  in  my- 
self at  one  time  than  another  ;  yet  when  it  is 
dark,  I  am  warranted  to  expect  the  return  of 
light  again.  When  he  is  with  me,  all  goes 
on  pleasantly  ;  when  he  withdraws,  I  find  I 
can  do  nothing  without  him.  I  need  not 
wonder  that  I  find  it  so,  for  it  must  be  so 
of  course,  if  I  am  what  I  confess  myself  to 
be,  a  poor,  helpless,  sinful  creature  in  myself. 
Nor  need  I  be  over-much  discouraged,  since 
the  Lord  has  promised  to  help  those  who  can 
do  nothing  without  him,  not  those  who  can 
make  a  tolerable  shift  to  help  themselves. 
Through  mercy  he  does  not  so  totally  with- 
draw, as  to  leave  me  without  any  power  or 
will  to  cry  for  his  return.  I  hope  he  main- 
tains in  me  at  all  times  a  desire  of  his  pre- 
sence ;  yet  it  becomes  me  to  wait  for  him 
with  patience,  and  to  live  upon  his  faithful- 
ness, when  I  can  feel  nothing  but  evil  in  my- 
self. 

In  your  letter,  after  having  complained  of 
your  inability,  you  say,  you  converse  with 
many  who  find  it  otherwise,  who  can  go  when- 
ever they  will  to  the  Father  of  mercies  with  a 
child-like  confidence,  and  never  return  with- 
out an  answer,  an  answer  of  peace.  If  they 
only  mean  that  they  are  favoured  with  an  es- 
tablished faith,  and  can  see  that  the  Lord  is 
always  the  same,  and  that  their  right  to  the 
blessings  of  the  covenant  is  not  at  all  affected 
by  their  unworthiness,  I  wish  you  and  I  had 
more  experience  of  the  same  privilege.  In 
general,  the  Lord  helps  me  to  aim  at  it,  though 
I  find  it  sometimes  difficult  to  hold  fast  my 
confidence.  But  if  they  speak  absolutely  with 
respect  to  their  frames,  that  they  not  only 
have  something  to  support  them  under  their 
changes,  but  meet  with  no  changes  that  require 
such  support,  I  must  say,  it  is  well  that  they 
do  not  live  here  ;  if  they  did,  they  would  not 
know  how  to  pity  us,  and  we  should  not  know 
how  to  understand  them.     We  have  an  enemy 

at —  that  fights  against  our  peace,  and 

I  know  not  one  amongst  us  but  often  groans 
under  the  warfare.  I  advise  you  not  to  be 
troubled  by  what  you  hear  of  other  folk's  ex- 
perience, but  keep  close  to  the  written  word, 
where  you  will  meet  with  much  to  encourage 
you,  though  you  often  feel  yourself  weary  and 
heavy  laden.  For  my  own  part,  I  like  that 
path  best  which  is  well  beaten  by  the  foot, 
steps  of  the  flock,  though  it  is  not  always 
pleasant,  and  strewed  with  flowers.  In  our 
way,  we  find  some  hills,  from  whence  we  can 
cheerfully  look  about  us  ;  but  we  meet  with 


294 


LETTERS  TO  MISS  D . 


LET.   III. 


deep  valleys  likewise,  and  seldom  travel  long 
upon  even  ground. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

1775. 
I  AM  satisfied  with  your  answer  to  my  ques- 
tion :  we  are  not  proper  judges  of  each  other's 
circumstances,  and  I  am  in  some  measure 
weaned  from  judging  hastily,  that  what  would 
not  be  convenient  for  me,  must  therefore  ne- 
cessarily be  wrong  for  another.  However, 
my  solicitude  for  your  welfare  made  me  ven- 
ture to  drop  a  hint,  as  I  was  persuaded  you 
would  take  it  in  good  part.  Indeed,  all  situ- 
ations and  circumstances  (supposing  them  not 
sinful  in  themselves,  and  that  we  are  lawfully 
placed  in  them)  are  nearly  alike.  In  Lon- 
don I  am  in  a  crowd  ;  in  the  country  I  am 
sure  there  is  a  crowd  in  me.  To  what  pur- 
pose do  I  boast  of  retirement,  when  I  am 
pestered  by  a  legion  in  every  place  ?  How 
often,  when  I  am  what  I  call  alone,  may  my 
mind  be  compared  to  a  puppet-show,  a  fair,  a 
Newgate,  or  any  of  those  scenes  where  folly, 
noise,  and  wickedness  most  abound  ?  On  the 
contrary,  sometimes  I  have  enjoyed  sweet  re- 
collection and  composure  where  I  could  have 
hardly  expected  it.  But  still,  though  the 
power  be  all  of  the  Lord,  and  we  of  ourselves 
can  do  nothing,  it  is  both  our  duty  and  our 
wisdom  to  be  attentive  to  the  use  of  appointed 
.neans  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other, 
watchful  against  those  things  which  we  find, 
by  experience,  have  a  tendency  to  damp  our 
fervour,  or  to  dissipate  our  spirits.  A  com- 
fortable intimacy  with  a  fellow-worm  cannot 
be  maintained  without  a  certain  delicacy  and 
circumspection,  a  studiousness  in  improving 
opportunities  of  pleasing,  and  in  avoiding 
what  is  known  to  be  offensive.  For  though 
love  will  make  large  allowances  for  involun- 
tary mistakes,  it  cannot  easily  brook  a  slight. 
We  act  thus  as  it  were  by  instinct  towards 
those  whom  we  dearly  love,  and  to  whom 
we  feel  ourselves  greatly  obliged  :  and  happy 
are  they  who  are  most  influenced  by  this  sen- 
timent in  their  walk  before  the  Lord.  But, 
alas  !  here  we  are  chargeable  with  such  in- 
consistencies as  we  should  be  greatly  ashamed 
of  in  common  life.  And  well  it  is  for  us 
that  the  Lord's  thoughts  and  ways  are  above 
ours,  and  that  he  is  infinite  in  mercy  as  well 
as  in  power ;  for  surely  our  dearest  friends 
would  have  been  weary  of  us,  and  have  re- 
nounced us  long  ago,  had  we  behaved  to  them 
as  we  have  too  often  done  to  him.  He  is 
God,  and  not  man,  and  therefore  he  still  waits 
to  be  gracious,  though  we  have  so  often  trifled 
with  him.  Surely  we  may  well  say  with  the 
prophet,  "  Who  is  a  God  like  unto  thee,  that 
pardoneth  iniquity  !"    His  tenderness  and  for- 


bearance towards  his  own  people  (whose  sins 
being  committed  against  love,  and  light,  and 
experience,  are  more  aggravated  than  others) 
is  astonishing  indeed.  But  oh!  may  the  times 
past  suffice  to  have  grieved  his  Spirit,  and 
may  we  be  enabled  from  henceforth  to  serve 
him  with  a  single  eye  and  a  simple  heart,  to 
be  faithful  to  every  intimation  of  his  will,  and 
to  make  him  our  all  in  all ! 

Mr.  has  been  here,  and   I  have  been 

with  him  at  — —  since  his  return.  We  seem 
glad  to  be  together  when  we  can.  When  I 
am  with  him,  I  feel  quite  at  home  and  at 
ease,  and  can  tell  him  (so  far  as  I  dare  tell  a 
creature)  all  that  is  in  my  heart ;  a  plain  proof 
that  union  of  spirit  depends  no  more  upon  an 
exact  uniformity  of  sentiment  than  on  a  uni- 
formity of  prayers  ;  for  in  some  points  of 
doctrine  we  differ  considerably ;  but  1  trust  I 
agree  with  him  in  the  views  I  have  of  the  ex- 
cellency, suitableness,  and  sufficiency  of  the 
Saviour,  and  of  his  right  to  reign  without  a 
rival  in  the  hearts  of  his  redeemed  people. 
An  experimental  knowledge  of  Jesus,  as  the 
deliverer  from  sin  and  wrath,  and  the  author 
of  eternal  life  and  salvation  to  all  who  are  en- 
abled to  believe,  is  a  sufficient  ground  for 
union  of  heart.  In  this  point  all  who  are 
taught  of  God  are  of  one  mind.  But  an  ea- 
ger fighting  for  or  against  those  points  which 
are  usually  made  the  subject  of  controversy, 
tends  to  nourish  pride  and  evil  tempers  in 
ourselves,  and  to  alienate  our  hearts  from 
those  we  hope  to  spend  an  eternity  with.  In 
heaven,  we  shall  neither  be  Dissenters,  Mora- 
vians, nor  Methodists;  neither  Calvinists  nor 
Arminians  ;  but  followers  of  the  Lamb,  and 
children  of  the  kingdom.  There  we  shall 
hear  the  voice  of  war  no  more. 

We  are  still  favoured  with  health  and  many 
temporal  blessings.  My  spiritual  walk  is  not 
so  smooth  as  my  outward  path.  In  public  I 
am  mercifully  supported;  in  secret  I  most 
sensibly  feel  my  own  vileness  and  weakness ; 
but  through  all  the  Lord  is  gracious. 
I  am,  &c 


LETTER  IV. 

January  10,  1775. 
There  is  hardly  any  thing  in  which  the  Lord 
permits  me  to  meet  with  more  disappointment, 
than  in  the  advantage  I  am  ready  to  promisri 
myself  from  creature-converse.  When  I  ex- 
pect to  meet  any  of  my  christian  friends,  mj 
thoughts  usually  travel  much  faster  than  my 
body ;  I  anticipate  the  hour  of  meeting,  and 
my  imagination  is  warmed  with  the  expecta- 
tion of  what  I  shall  say  and  what  I  shall  hear  ; 
and  sometimes  I  have  had  seasons  for  which 
I  ought  to  be  more  thankful  than  I  am.  It 
is  pleasant,  indeed,  when  the  Lord  favours  us 
with   a  happy  hour,   and  is  pleased  to  cause 


LET.  IV. 


LETTERS  TO  MISS   D — . 


295 


our  hearts  to  burn  within  us  while  we  are 
speaking  of  his  goodness.  But  often  it  is 
far  otherwise  with  me  :  I  carry  with  me  a 
dissipation  of  spirit,  and  find  that  I  can  nei- 
ther impart  nor  receive.  Something  from 
within  or  from  without  crosses  my  schemes  ; 
and  when  I  retire  I  seem  to  have  gained  no- 
thing but  a  fresh  conviction,  that  we  can  nei- 
ther help  nor  be  helped,  unless  the  Lord  him- 
self is  pleased  to  help  us.  With  his  presence 
in  our  hearts,  we  might  be  comfortable  and 
happy  though  shut  up  in  one  of  the  cells  of 
Newgate  :  without  it,  the  most  select  com- 
pany, the  most  desirable  opportunities,  prove 
but  clouds  without  water. 

I  have  sometimes  thought  of  asking  you, 
whether  you  find  that  difference  between  being 
abroad  and  at  home  that  I  do?  But  I  take  it 
for  granted  that  you  do  not :  your  connec- 
tions and  intimacies  are,  I  believe,  chiefly 
with  those  who  are  highly  favoured  of  the 
Lord,  and  if  you  can  break  through  or  be 
upon  your  guard  against  the  inconveniencies 
which  attend  frequent  changes  and  much  com- 
pany, you  must  be  very  happy  in  them. 
But,  I  believe,  considering  my  weakness,  the 
Lord  has  chosen  wisely  and  well  for  me,  in 
placing  me  in  a  state  of  retirement,  and  not 
putting  it  in  my  power,  were  it  ever  so  much 
my  inclination,  to  be  often  abroad.  As  I 
stir  so  seldom,  I  believe,  when  I  do,  it  is  not 
upon  the  whole  to  my  disadvantage ;  for  I 
meet  with  more  or  less  upon  which  my  reflec- 
tions afterwards  may,  by  his  blessing,  be  use- 
ful to  me,  though  at  the  time  my  visits  most 
frequently  convince  me,  how  little  wisdom  or 
skill  I  have  in  improving  time  and  opportu- 
nities. But  were  I  to  live  in  London,  1 
know  not  what  might  be  the  consequence, 
fcideed,  I  need  not  puzzle  myself  about  it,  as 
my  call  does  not  lie  there  ;  but  I  pity  and 
pray  for  those  who  do  live  there,  and  I  admire 
such  of  them  as,  in  those  circumstances  which 
appear  so  formidable  to  me,  are  enabled  to 
walk  simply,  humbly,  and  closely  with  the 
Lord.  They  remind  me  of  Daniel,  unhurt  in 
the  midst  of  lions,  or  of  the  bush  which  Moses 
saw  surrounded  with  flames,  yet  not  consum- 
ed, because  the  Lord  was  there.  Some  such 
I  do  know,  and  I  hope  you  are  one  of  the 
number.      . 

This  is  certain,  that  if  the  light  of  God's 
countenance,  and  communion  with  him  in 
love,  afford  the  greatest  happiness  we  are  ca- 
pable of,  then  whatever  tends  to  indispose  us 
for  this  pursuit,  or  to  draw  a  vail  between 
him  and  our  souls,  must  be  our  great  loss. 
If  we  walk  with  him,  it  must  be  in  the  path 
of  duty,  which  lies  plain  before  us  when  our 
eye  is  single,  and  we  are  waiting  with  atten- 
tion upon  his  word,  Spirit,  and  providence. 
Now,  wherever  the  path  of  duty  leads  we  are 
safe ;  and  it  often  does  lead  and  place  us  in 
such  circumstances  as  no  other  consideration 
Would  make  us  chuse0     We  were  not  design- 


ed to  be  mere  recluses,  but  have  all  a  pari  to 
act  in  life.  Now,  if  I  find  myself  in  the 
midst  of  things  disagreeable  enough  in  them- 
selves to  the  spiritual  life,  yet — if,  when  the 
question  occurs,  What  dost  thou  here  ?  my 
heart  can  answer,  I  am  here  by  the  will  of 
God, — I  believe  it  to  be,  all  things  considered, 
my  duty  to  be  here  at  this  time  rather  than 
elsewhere.  If,  I  say,  I  am  tolerably  satisfied 
of  this,  then  I  would  not  burden  and  grieve 
myself  about  what  I  cannot  avoid  or  alter, 
but  endeavour  to  take  all  such  things  up  with 
cheerfulness,  as  a  part  of  my  daily  cross  ; 
since  I  am  called,  not  only  to  do  the  will  of 
God,  but  to  suffer  for  it:  but  if  I  am  doing  my 
own  will  rather  than  his,  then  I  have  reason 
to  fear,  lest  I  should  meet  with  either  a  snare 
or  a  sting  at  every  step.  May  the  Lord  Jesus 
be  with  you. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  V. 

April  IS,  1776. 
to  present 


DEAR  MADAM, 

AM  rather  of  the  latest 


my  con- 
gratulations to  you  and  Mr.   on  your 

marriage,  but  I  have  not  been  unmindful  of 
you.  My  heart  has  repeatedly  wished  you  all 
that  my  pen  can  express,  that  the  new  rela- 
tion in  which  the  providence  of  God  has 
placed  you  may  be  blessed  to  you  in  every 
respect,  may  afford  you  much  temporal  com . 
fort,  promote  your  spiritual  progress,  and  en- 
large your  sphere  of  usefulness  in  the  world 
and  in  the  church. 

By  this  time  I  suppose  visits  and  ceremonies 
are  pretty  well  over,  and  you  are  beginning 
to  be  settled  in  your  new  situation.  What 
an  important  period  is  a  wedding-day  !  What 
an  entire  change  of  circumstances  does  it  pro- 
duce !  What  an  influence  it  has  upon  every 
day  of  future  life !  How  many  cares,  in- 
quietudes, and  trials,  does  it  expose  us  to, 
which  we  might  otherwise  have  avoided  ! 
But  they  who  love  the  Lord,  and  are  guided 
by  his  word  and  providence,  have  nothing  to 
fear ;  for  in  every  state,  relation,  and  circum- 
stance in  life,  he  will  be  with  them,  and  will 
surely  do  them  good.  His  grace,  which  is 
needful  in  a  single,  is  sufficient  for  a  married 

life.      I   sincerely  wish    Mr.    and  you 

much  happiness  together  ;  that  you  may  be 
mutually  helps  meet,  and  assist  each  other  in 
walking  as  fellow-heirs  of  the  hope  of  eternal 
life.  Your  cares  and  trials,  I  know,  must  be 
increased  ;  may  your  comforts  be  increased 
proportionally !  They  will  be  so,  if  you  are 
enabled  heartily  and  simply  to  entreat  the 
Lord  to  keep  your  heart  fixed  near  to  himself. 
All  the  temporal  blessings  and  accommoda- 
tions he  provides  to  sweeten  life,  and  make 
our  passage  through  this  wilderness  more  a- 


29G 


LETTERS  TO  MISS  D . 


LET    V 


greeable,  will  fail  and  disappoint  us,  and  pro- 
duce us  more  thorns  than  roses,  unless  we 
can  keep  sight  of  his  hand  in  bestowing  them, 
and  hold  and  use  the  gifts  in  some  due  sub- 
serviency to  what  we  owe  to  the  giver.  But 
alas  !  we  are  poor  creatures,  prone  to  wander, 
,irone  to  admire  our  gourds,  cleave  to  our 
cisterns,  and  think  of  building  tabernacles, 
and  taking  our  •  rest  in  this  polluted  world. 
Hence  the  Lord  often  sees  it  necessary,  in 
mercy  to  his  children,  to  embitter  their  sweets, 
to  break  their  cisterns,  to  send  a  worm  to  their 
gourds,  and  to  draw  a  dark  cloud  over  their 
most  pleasing  prospects.  His  word  tells  us, 
that  all  here  is  vanity,  compared  with  the  light 
of  his  countenance  ;  and  if  we  cannot,  or  will 
not,  believe  it  upon  the  authority  of  his  word, 
we  must  learn  it  by  experience.  May  he 
enable  you  to  settle  it  in  your  hearts,  that 
creature-comforts  are  precarious,  insufficient, 
and  ensnaring  ;  that  all  good  comes  from  his 
hand,  and  that  nothing  can  do  us  good,  but 
so  far  as  he  is  pleased  to  make  it  the  instru- 
ment of  communicating,  as  a  stream,  that 
goodness  which  is  in  him  as  a  fountain.  Even 
the  bread  which  we  eat,  without  the  influence 
of  his  promise  and  blessing,  would  no  more 
support  us  than  a  stone  ;  but  his  blessing 
makes  every  thing  good,  gives  a  tenfold  value 
to  our  comforts,  and  greatly  diminishes  the 
weight  of  every  cross. 

The  ring  upon  your  finger  is  of  some  val- 
ue as  gold,  but  this  is  not  much  ;  what  makes 
:t  rhiefly  va' liable  to  you  is,  that  you  consider 


it  as  a  pledge  and  token  of  the  relation  you 
bear  to  him  who  gave  it  you.  I  know  n  i 
fitter  emblem  of  the  light  in  which  we  should 
consider  all  those  good  things  which  the  Lord 
gives  us  richly  to  enjoy.  When  every  thing 
we  receive  from  him  is  received  and  prized  as 
a  fruit  and  a  pledge  of  his  covenant-love,  then 
his  bounties,  instead  of  being  set  up  as 
rivals,  and  idols  to  draw  our  hearts  from  him, 
awaken  us  to  fresh  exercises  of  gratitude,  and 
furnish  us  with  fresh  motives  of  cheerful  obe- 
dience every  hour. 

Time  is  short,  and  we  live  in  a  dark  and 
cloudy  day.  When  iniquity  abounds,  the  love 
of  many  waxes  cold  ;  and  we  have  reason  to 
fear  the  Lord's  hand  is  lifted  up  in  displeasure 
at  our  provocations.  May  he  help  us  to  sit 
loose  to  all  below,  to  watch  unto  prayer  for 
grace  to  keep  our  garments  clean,  and  to  be 
faithful  witnesses  for  him  in  our  several 
places !  O,  it  is  my  desire  for  myself  and 
for  all  my  dear  friends,  that  whilst  too  many 
seem  content  with  a  half  profession,  a  name 
to  live,  an  outward  attachment  to  ordinances, 
and  sentiments,  and  parties,  we  may  be  am- 
bitious to  experience  what  the  glorious  gospel 
is  capable  of  effecting,  both  as  to  sanctifica- 
tion  and  consolation,  in  this  state  of  infirmi- 
ty ;  that  we  may  have  our  loins  girded,  and 
our  lamps  burning,  and  by  our  simplicity 
and  spirituality  constrain  those  who  know  us 
to  acknowledge  that  we  have  been  with  Jesus, 
have  sat  at  his  feet,  and  drank  of  his  Spirit. 
1  am,  &c. 


LETTERS 


TO  MRS.  H- 


LETTER  I. 


L.ONG  and  often  have  I  thought  of  writing  to 
you  ;  now  the  time  is  come.  May  the  Lord 
help  me  to  send  a  word  in  season  !  I  know 
not  how  it  may  be  with  you,  but  he  does,  and 
to  him  I  look  to  direct  my  thoughts  accord- 
ingly. I  suppose  you  are  still  in  the  school 
of  the  cross,  learning  the  happy  art  of  extract- 
ing real  good  out  of  seeming  evil,  and  to  grow 
tall  by  stooping.  The  flesh  is  a  sad  unto- 
ward dunce  in  this  school ;  but  grace  makes 
the  spirit  willing  to  learn  by  suffering  ;  yea  it 
cares  not  what  it  endures,  so  sin  may  be  mor- 
tified, and  a  conformity  to  the  image  of  Jesus 
DC  increased.  Surely  when  we  see  the  most 
and  the  best  of  the  Lord's  children  so  often  in 
heaviness,  and  when  we  consider  how  much 
he  loves  them,  and  what  he  has  done  and  pre- 
pared for  them,  we  may  take  it  for  granted 
that  there  is  a  need-be  for  their  sufferings. 
For  it  would  be  easy  to  his  power,  and  not  a 
thousandth  part  of  what  his  love  intends  to  do 
for  them,  should  he  make  their  whole  life  here, 
from  the  hour  of  their  conversion  to  their  death, 
a  continued  course  of  satisfaction  and  com- 
fort, without  any  thing  to  distress  them  from 
within  or  without.  But  were  it  so,  should  we 
not  miss  many  advantages  ?  In  the  first  place, 
we  should  not  then  be  very  conformable  to 
our  Head,  nor  be  able  to  say,  As  he  was,  so 
are  we  in  this  world.  Methinks  a  believer 
would  be  ashamed  to  be  so  utterly  unlike  his 
Lord.  What !  the  master  always  a  man  of 
sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief,  and  the  ser- 
vant always  happy  and  full  of  comfort !  Jesus 
despised,  reproached,  neglected,  opposed,  and 
betrayed,  and  his  people  admired  and  cares- 
sed ;  he  living  in  the  want  of  all  things,  and 
they  filled  with  abundance  ;  he  sweating  blood 
for  anguish,  and  they  strangers  to  distress  : 
how  unsuitable  would  these  things  be  !  how 
much  better  to  be  called  to  the  honour  of  fill- 
ing up  the  measure  of  his  sufferings !   A  cup 


was  put  into  his  hand  on  our  account,  and  his 
love  engaged  him  to  drink  it  for  us.  The 
wrath  which  it  contained  he  drank  wholly  him- 
self, but  he  left  us  a  little  affliction  to  taste, 
that  we  might  pledge  him,  and  remember  how 
he  loved  us,  and  how  much  more  he  endured 
for  us  than  he  will  ever  call  us  to  endure  for 
him.  Again,  how  could  we,  without  suffer- 
ings, manifest  the  nature  and  truth  of  gospel- 
grace  ?  What  place  should  we  then  have  foi 
patience,  submission,  meekness,  forbearance, 
and  a  readiness  to  forgive,  if  we  had  nothing 
to  try  us  either  from  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  or 
from  the  hand  of  men.  A  christian  without 
trials  would  be  like  a  mill  without  wind  or 
water;  the  contrivance  and  design  of  the 
wheel-work  within  side  would  be  unnoticed 
and  unknown,  without  something  to  put  it  in 
motion  from  without.  Nor  would  our  graces 
grow,  unless  they  were  called  out  to  exercise  : 
the  difficulties  we  meet  with  not  only  prove 
but  strengthen  the  graces  of  the  Spirit.  If  a 
person  was  always  to  sit  still,  without  making 
use  of  legs  or  arms,  he  would  probably  wholly 
lose  the  power  of  moving  his  limbs  at  last ; 
but  by  walking  and  working  he  becomes 
strong  and  active.  So,  in  a  long  course  of 
ease,  the  powers  of  the  new  man  would  cer- 
tainly languish  :  the  soul  would  grow  soft, 
indolent,  cowardly,  and  faint ;  and  therefore 
the  Lord  appoints  his  children  such  dispensa 
tions  as  make  them  strive,  and  struggle,  and 
pant.  They  must  press  through  a  crowd,  swim 
against  a  stream,  endure  hardships,  run,  wrestle, 
and  fight  j  and  thus  their  strength  grows  in  the 
using. 

By  these  things,  likewise,  they  are  made  more 
willing  to  leave  the  present  world,  to  which  we 
are  prone  to  cleave  too  closely  in  our  hearts 
when  our  path  is  very  smooth.  Had  Israel 
enjoyed  their  former  peace  and  prosperity  in 
Egypt,  when  Moses  came  to  invita  thewi  te 


298 


LETTERS  TO  MRS.  II 


LET.  II 


Canaan,  I  think  they  would  hardly  have  list- 
ened to  him.  But  the  Lord  suffered  them  to 
be  brought  into  great  trouble  and  bondage, 
and  then  the  news  of  deliverance  was  more  wel- 
come ;  yet  still  they  were  but  half  willing,  and 
they  carried  a  love  to  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt 
with  them  into  the  wilderness.  We  are  like 
them :  though  vre  say  this  world  is  vain  and 
sinful,  we  are  too  fond  of  it ;  and  though  we 
hope  for  true  happiness  only  in  heaven,  we  are 
often  well  content  to  stay  longer  here.  But 
the  Lord  sends  afflictions  one  after  another  to 
quicken  our  desires,  and  to  convince  us  that 
this  cannot  be  our  rest.  Sometimes,  if  you 
drive  a  bird  from  one  branch  of  a  tree,  he  will 
hop  to  another  a  little  higher,  and  from  thence 
to  a  third  ;  but  if  you  continue  to  disturb 
him,  he  will  at  last  take  wing  and  fly  quite 
away.  Thus  we,  when  forced  from  one 
creature-comfort,  perch  upon  another,  and  so 
on  ;  but  the  Lord  mercifully  follows  us  wilh 
trials,  and  will  not  let  us  rest  upon  any.  By 
degrees  our  desires  take  a  nobler  flight,  and 
can  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  himself, 
and  we  say,  To  depart  and  be  with  Jesus  is 
best  of  all. 

I  trust  you  find  the  name  and  grace  of  Jesus 
more  and  more  precious  to  you  ;  his  promises 
more  sweet,  and  your  hope  in  them  more  a- 
biding  ;  your  sense  of  your  own  weakness  and 
unworthiness  daily  increasing ;  and  your  per- 
suasion of  his  all-sufficiency  to  guide,  sup- 
port, and  comfort  you,  more  confirmed.  You 
owe  your  growth  in  these  respects  in  a  great  I 
measure  to  his  blessing  upon  those  afflictions 
which  he  has  prepared  for  you,  and  sanctified 
to  you.  May  you  praise  him  for  all  that  is 
past,  and  trust  him  for  all  that  is  to  come. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

Though  I  have  the  pleasure  of  hearing  of 
you,  and  sending  a  remembrance  from  time  to 
time,  I  am  willing,  by  this  opportunity,  to  di- 
rect a  few  lines  to  you,  as  a  more  express  tes- 
timony of  my  sincere  regard. 

I  think  your  experience  is  generally  of  the 
fearful,  doubting  cast.  Such  souls,  however, 
the  Lord  has  given  particular  charge  to  his 
ministers  to  comfort.  He  knows  our  infir- 
mities, and  what  temptations  mean,  and  as  a 
good  shepherd  he  expresses  a  peculiar  care  and 
tenderness  for  the  weak  of  the  flock,  Isaiah 
xl.  4.  But  how  must  I  attempt  your  com- 
fort ?  Surely  not  by  strengthening  a  mistake 
to  which  we  are  all  too  liable,  by  leading  you 
to  look  into  your  own  heart  fc*r  (what  you  will 
never  find  there)  something  in  yourself  where- 
on to  ground  your  hopes,  if  not  wholly,  yet  at 
least  in  part.  Rather  let  me  endeavour  to 
lead  you  out  of  yourself ;  let  me  invite  you  to 
look  unto  Jesus.      Should   we  look   for  light 


in  our  own  eyes,  or  in  the  sun  ?  Is  it  indwel 
ling  sin  distresses  you?  Then  I  can  tell  you 
(though  you  know  it)  that  Jesus  died  for  sin 
and  sinners.  I  can  tell  you,  that  his  blood 
and  righteousness  are  of  infinite  value;  that 
his  arm  is  almighty,  and  his  compassions  in- 
finite ;  yea,  you  yourself  read  his  promises 
every  day,  and  why  should  you  doubt  their 
being  fulfilled?  If  you  say  you  do  not 
question  their  truth,  or  that  they  are  accom- 
plished to  many,  but  that  you  can  hardly  be- 
lieve they  belong  to  you  ;  I  would  ask,  what 
evidence  you  would  require?  A  voice  or  an 
angel  from  heaven  you  do  not  expect.  Con- 
sider, if  many  of  the  promises  are  not  ex- 
pressly directed  to  those  to  whom  they  belong. 
When  you  read  your  name  on  the  super- 
scription of  this  letter,  you  make  no  scruple 
to  open  it :  w'hy,  then,  do  you  hesitate  at 
embracing  the  promises  of  the  gospel,  where 
you  read  that  they  are  addressed  to  those  who 
mourn,  who  hunger  and  thirst  after  right- 
eousness, who  are  poor  in  spirit,  &c.  and  can- 
not but  be  sensible  that  a  gracious  God  has 
begun  to  work  these  dispositions  in  your 
heart?  If  you  say,  that  though  you  do  at 
times  mourn,  hunger,  &c.  you  are  afraid  you 
do  it  not  enough,  or  not  aright ;  consider,  that 
this  sort  of  reasoning  is  very  far  from  the 
spirit  and  language  of  the  gospel ;  for  it  is 
grounded  on  a  secret  supposition,  that  in  the 
forgiveness  of  sin  God  has  a  respect  to  some- 
thing more  than  the  atonement  and  mediation 
of  Jesus ;  namely,  to  some  previous  good 
qualifications  in  a  sinner's  heart,  which  are  to 
share  with  the  blood  of  Christ  in  the  honour 
of  salvation.  The  enemy  deceives  us  in  this 
matter  the  more  easily,  because  a  propensity 
to  the  covenant  of  works  is  a  part  of  our  na- 
tural depravity.  Depend  upon  it,  you  will 
never  have  a  suitable  and  sufficient  sense  of 
the  evil  of  sin,  and  of  your  share  in  it,  so  long 
as  you  have  any  sin  remaining  in  you.  We 
must  see  Jesus  as  he  is,  before  our  apprehen- 
sions of  any  spiritual  truth  will  be  complete. 
But  if  we  know  that  we  must  perish  without 
Christ,  and  that  he  is  able  to  save  to  the  ut- 
termost, we  know  enough  to  warrant  us  to 
cast  our  souls  upon  him,  and  we  dishonour 
him  by  fearing  that  when  we  do  so  he  will 
disappoint  our  hope.  But  if  you  are  still 
perplexed  about  the  high  points  of  election, 
&c.  I  would  advise  you  to  leave  the  disposal 
of  others  to  the  great  Judge  ;  and  as  to  your- 
self, I  think  I  need  not  say  much  to  persuade 
you,  that  if  ever  you  are  saved  at  all,  it  must 
be  in  a  way  of  free  and  absolute  grace.  Leave 
disputes  to  others  ;  wait  upon  the  Lord,  and 
he  will  teach  you  all  things,  in  such  degree 
and  time  as  he  sees  best.  Perhaps  you  have 
suffered  for  taking  things  too  much  upon  trust 
from  men.  Cease  from  man,  whose  breath  is 
in  his  nostrils.  One  is  your  master,  even 
Christ.  Study  and  pray  over  the  Bible;  and 
you  may  take  it  as  a  sure  rule,  that  whatever 


LET.  III. 


LETTERS  TO  MRS.  H . 


299 


sentiment  makes  any  part  of  the  word  of  God 
unwelcome  to  you,  is  justly  to  be  suspected. 
Aim  at  a  cheerful  spirit.  The  more  you 
trust  God,  the  better  you  will  serve  him. 
While  you  indulge  unbelief  and  suspicion,  you 
weaken  your  own  hands,  and  discourage  others. 
Be  thankful  for  what  he  has  shewn  you,  and 
•wait  upon  him  for  more  ;  you  shall  find  he 
has  not  said,  "  Seek  ye  my  face  in  vain."  I 
heartily  commend  you  to  his  grace  and  care, 
and  am,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

At  length,  and  without  farther  apology  for 
my  silence,  I  sit  down  to  ask  you,  how  you 
fare  ?  Afflictions  I  hear  have  been  your  lot ; 
and  if  I  had  not  heard  so,  I  should  have 
taken  it  for  granted,  for  I  believe  the  Lord 
loves  you,  and  as  many  as  he  loves  he  chas- 
tens. I  think  you  can  say  afflictions  have 
been  good  for  you,  and  I  doubt  not  but  you 
have  found  strength  according  to  your  day  ; 
so  that  though  you  mav  have  been  sharply 
tried,  you  have  not  been  overpowered.  For 
the  Lord  has  engaged  his  faithfulness  for  this 
to  all  his  children,  that  he  will  support  them 
in  all  their  trials,  so  that  the  fire  shall  not  con- 
sume them  nor  the  floods  drown  them,  1  Cor. 
x.  13,  Isa   xliii.  2. 

If  you  can  say  thus  much,  cannot  you  go  a 
little  further,  and  add,  in  the  apostle's  words, 
"  None  of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count 
I  my  life  dear.  I  rather  glory  in  my  infir- 
mities, that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon 
me  ;  yea,  doubtless,  I  count  all  things  loss  and 
of  no  regard,  for  the  excellency  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord  ;  for  when  I 
am  weak,  then  am  I  strong."  Methinks  I 
hear  you  say,  "  God,  who  comforteth  those 
who  are  cast  down,  has  comforted  my  soul ; 
and  as  my  troubles  have  abounded,  my  con- 
solations in  Christ  have  abounded  also.  He 
has  delivered,  he  does  deliver,  and  in  him  I 
trust  that  he  will  yet  deliver  me."  Surely 
you  can  set  your  seal  to  these  words.  The 
Lord  help  you,  then,  to  live  more  and  more 
a  life  of  faith,  to  feed  upon  the  promises, 
and  to  rejoice  in  the  assurance  that  all  things 


are   yours,    and   shall   surely    work    foi    your 
good. 

If  I  guess  right  at  what  passes  in  your 
heart,  the  name  of  Jesus  is  precious  to  you  ; 
and  this  is  a  sure  token  of  salvation,  and  that 
of  God.  You  could  not  have  loved  him  if 
he  had  not  loved  you  first.  He  spoke  to 
you,  and  said,  "  Seek  my  face,"  before  your 
heart  cried  to  him  "  Thy  face,  O  Lord,  will 
I  seek."  Rut  you  complain,  "  Alas!  I  love 
him  so  little."  That  very  complaint  proves 
that  you  lo-ve  him  a  great  deal,  for  if  you 
loved  him  but  a  little,  you  would  think  you 
loved  him  enough.  A  mother  loves  her  child 
a  great  deal,  yet  does  not  complain  for  not 
loving  it  more,  nay,  perhaps,  she  hardly  thinks 
it  possible.  But  such  an  infinite  object  is 
Jesus,  that  they  who  love  him  better  than  pa- 
rents or  child,  or  any  earthly  relation  or  com- 
fort, will  still  think  they  hardly  love  him  at 
all,  because  they  see  such  a  vast  dispropor- 
tion between  the  utmost  they  can  give  him 
and  what  in  himself  he  deserves  from  them. 
But  I  can  give  you  good  advice  and  good 
news  :  love  him  as  well  as  you  can  now,  and 
ere  long  you  shall  love  him  better.  O,  when 
you  see  him  as  he  is,  then  I  am  sure  you 
will  love  him  indeed  !  If  you  want  to  love 
him  better  now  while  you  are  here,  I  believe 
I  can  tell  you  the  secret  how  this  is  to  be  at- 
tained :  trust  him.  The  more  you  trust  him 
the  better  you  will  love  him.  If  you  ask  far- 
ther, How  shall  I  do  to  trust  him  ?  I  an- 
swer, Try  him.  The  more  you  make  trial  of 
him,  the  more  your  trust  in  him  will  be 
strengthened.  Venture  upon  his  promises ; 
carry  them  to  him,  and  see  if  he  will  not 
be  as  good  as  his  word.  But,  alas  !  Satan 
and  unbelief  work  the  contrary  way.  We 
are  unwilling  to  try  him,  and  therefore  un- 
able to  trust  him ;  and  what  wonder,  then, 
that  our  love  is  faint,  for  who  can  love  at 
uncertainties  ? 

If  you  are  in  some  measure  thankful  for 
what  you  have  received,  and  hungering  and 
thirsting  for  more,  you  are  in  the  frame  I 
would  wish  for  myself,  and  I  desire  to  praise 
the  Lord  on  your  behalf.  Pray  for  us.  We 
join  in  love  to  you. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTERS 


TO  MISS  P- 


LETTER  1. 


August  17,  1776. 
IT  is  indeed  natural  to  us  to  wish  and  to 
plan,  and  it  is  merciful  in  the  Lord  to  dis- 
appoint our  plans,  and  to  cross  our  wishes. 
For  we  cannot  be  safe,  much  less  happy,  but 
in  proportion  as  we  are  weaned  from  our  own 
wills,  and  made  simply  desirous  of  being  di- 
rected by  his  guidance.  This  truth,  when  we 
are  enlightened  by  his  word,  is  sufficiently  fa- 
miliar to  the  judgment,  but  we  seldom  learn 
to  reduce  it  into  practice,  without  being 
trained  a  while  in  the  school  of  disappoint- 
ment. The  schemes  we  form  look  so  plau- 
sible and  convenient,  that  when  they  are 
broken  we  are  ready  to  say,  What  a  pity  ! 
We  try  again,  and  with  no  better  success  ; 
we  are  grieved,  and  perhaps  angry,  and  plan 
out  another,  and  so  on  :  at  length,  in  a  course 
of  time,  experience  and  observation  begin  to 
convince  us  that  we  are  not  more  able  than 
we  are  worthy  to  chuse  aright  for  ourselves. 
Then  the  Lord's  invitation  to  cast  our  cares 
upon  him,  and  his  promise  to  take  care  of  us, 
appear  valuable ;  and  when  we  have  done 
planning,  his  plan  in  our  favour  gradually 
opens,  and  he  does  more  and  better  for  us 
than  we  could  either  ask  or  think.  I  can 
hardly  recollect  a  single  plan  of  mine  of  which 
I  have  not  since  seen  reason  to  be  satisfied, 
that  had  it  taken  place  in  season  and  circum- 
stance just  as  I  proposed,  it  would,  humanly 
speaking,  have  proved  my  ruin,  or  at  least  it 
would  have  deprived  me  of  the  greater  good 
the  Lord  had  designed  for  me.  We  judge  of 
things  by  their  present  appearances,  but  the 
Lord  sees  them  in  their  consequences.  If  we 
could  do  so  likewise,  we  should  be  perfectly 
of  his  mind,  but  as  we  cannot,  it  is  an  un- 
speakable mercy  that  he  will  manage  for  us, 
whether  we  are  pleased  with  his  management 
or  not ;  and  it  is  spoken  of  as  one  of  his 
heaviest  judgments,  when  he  gives  any  person 


or  people  up  to  the  way  of  their  own  hearts, 
and  to  walk  after  their  own  counsels. 

Indeed,  we  may  admire  his  patience  to- 
wards us.  If  we  were  blind,  and  reduced  to 
desire  a  person  to  lead  us,  and  should  yet 
pretend  to  dispute  with  him,  and  direct  him 
at  every  step,  we  should  probably  soon  weary 
him,  and  provoke  him  to  leave  us  to  find  the 
way  by  ourselves  if  we  could.  But  our  gra- 
cious Lord  is  long-suffering  and  full  of  com- 
passion :  he  bears  with  our  frowardness,  yet 
he  will  take  methods  both  to  shame  and  to 
humble  us,  and  to  bring  us  to  a  confession 
that  he  is  wiser  than  we.  The  great  and  un- 
expected benefit  he  intends  us,  by  all  the  dis- 
cipline we  meet  with,  is  to  tread  down  our 
wills,  and  bring  them  into  subjection  to  his. 
So  far  as  we  attain  to  this,  we  are  out  of  the 
reach  of  disappointment,  for  when  the  will 
of  God  can  please  us,  we  shall  be  pleased 
every  day,  and  from  morning  to  night,  I 
mean  with  respect  to  his  dispensations.  O 
the  happiness  of  such  a  life  !  I  have  an  idea 
of  it:  I  hope  I  am  aiming  at  it,  but  surely  I 
have  not  attained  it.  Self  is  active  in  my 
heart,  if  it  does  not  absolutely  reign  there.  I 
profess  to  believe  that  one  thing  is  needful 
and  sufficient,  and  yet  my  thoughts  are  prone 
to  wander  after  a  hundred  more.  If  it  be 
true  that  the  light  of  his  countenance  is  bet- 
ter than  life,  why  am  I  solicitous  about  any 
thing  else  ?  If  he  be  all  sufficient,  and  gives 
me  liberty  to  call  him  mine,  why  do  I  go  a- 
begging  to  creatures  for  help  ?  If  he  be 
about  my  path  and  bed  ;  if  the  smallest,  as 
well  as  the  greatest  events  in  which  I  am  con- 
cerned are  under  his  immediate  direction ; 
if  the  very  hairs  of  my  head  are  numbered  ; 
then  my  care  (any  farther  than  a  care  to  walk 
in  the  paths  of  his  precepts,  and  to  follow  the 
openings  of  his  providence)  must  be  useless 
and  needless,   yea  indeed  sinful  and  heathen- 


LETTERS  TO  MISS  P- 


LET.  II. 

ish,  burdensome  to  myself  and  dishonourable 
to  my  profession.  Let  us  cast  down  the 
load  we  are  unable  to  carry,  and  if  the  Lord 
be  our  shepherd,  refer  all  and  trust  all  to 
him.  Let  us  endeavour  to  live  to  him  and 
for  him  to-day,  and  be  glad  that  to-morrow, 
with  all  that  is  behind  it,  is  in  his  hands. 

It  is  storied  of  Pompey,  that  when  his 
friends  would  have  dissuaded  him  from  put- 
ting to  sea  in  a  storm,  he  answered,  It  is 
necessary  for  me  to  sail,  but  it  is  not  neces- 
sary for  me  to  live.  O  pompous  speech,  in 
Pompey's  sense !  He  was  full  of  the  idea  of 
his  own  importance,  and  would  rather  have 
died  than  have  taken  a  step  beneath  his  sup- 
posed dignity.  But  it  may  be  accommodated 
with  propriety  to  a  believer's  case.  It  be- 
comes us  to  say,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to 
be  rich,  or  what  the  world  accounts  wise ;  to 
be  healthy,  or  admired  by  my  fellow- worms  ; 
to  pass  through  life  in  a  state  of  prosperity 
and  outward  comfort; — these  things  may  be, 
or  they  may  be  otherwise,  as  the  Lord  in  his 
wisdom  shall  appoint,  but  it  is  necessary  for 
me  to  be  humble  and  spiritual,  to  seek  com- 
munion with  God,  to  adorn  my  profession  of 
the  gospel,  and  to  yield  submissively  to  his 
disposal,  in  whatever  way,  whether  of  ser- 
vice or  suffering,  he  shall  be  pleased  to  call 
me  to  glorify  him  in  the  world :  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary for  me  to  live  long,  but  highly  expe- 
dient that  whilst  I  do  live  I  should  live  to 
him.  Here,  then,  I  would  bound  my  de- 
sires, and  here,  having  his  word  both  for  my 
rule  and  my  warrant,  I  am  secured  from  ask- 
ing amiss.  Let  me  have  his  presence  and  his 
Spirit,  wisdom  to  knovv  my  calling,  and  op- 
portunities and  faithfulness  to  improve  them  ; 
and  as  to  the  rest,  Lord,  help  me  to  say,  What 
thou  wilt,  when  thou  wilt,  and  how  thou  wilt. 
1  am,  &c. 


301 


LETTER  II. 

DEAR  MADAM, 

What  a  poor,  uncertain,  dying  world  is  this  ! 
What  a  wilderness  in  itself !  How  dark,  how 
desolate,  without  the  light  of  the  gospel  and 
trie  knowledge  of  Jesus  !  It  does  not  ap- 
pear so  to  us  in  a  state  of  nature,  because  we 
are  then  in  a  state  of  enchantment,  the  ma- 
gical lantern  blinding  us  with  a  splendid  de- 
J  usion. 


TTius  In  the  desert's  dreary  waste, 
By  mafjic  power  produced  in  haste, 

As  old  romances  say, 
Castles  and  groves,  and  music  sweet, 
The  senses  of  the  trav'ller  cheat, 

And  stop  him  in  his  way. 

But  while  he  gazes  with  surprise, 
The  charm  dissolves,  the  vision  dies, 

'Twas  but  enchanted  ground  : 
Thus,  if  the  Lord  our  spirit  touch, 
The  world,  which  promised  us  so  much, 

A  wilderness  is  found. 

It  is  a  great  mercy  to  be  undeceived  in  time  ; 
and  though  our  gay  dreams  are  at  an  end, 
and  we  awake  to  every  thing  that  is  disgust- 
ful and  dismaying,  yet  we  see  a  highway 
through  the  wilderness,  a  powerful  guard,  an 
infallible  guide  at  hand  to  conduct  us  through  ; 
and  we  can  discern,  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
wilderness,  a  better  land,  where  we  shall  be 
at  rest  and  at  home.  What  will  the  difficul- 
ties we  meet  by  the  way  then  signify  ?  The 
remembrance  of  them  will  only  remain  to 
heighten  our  sense  of  the  love,  care,  and 
power  of  our  Saviour  and  leader.  O  how 
shall  we  then  admire,  adore,  and  praise  him, 
when  he  shall  condescend  to  unfold  to  us  the 
beauty,  propriety,  and  harmony  of  the  whole 
train  of  his  dispensations  towards  us,  and  give 
us  a  clear  retrospect  of  all  the  way,  and  all  the 
turns  of  our  pilgrimage  i 

In  the  mean  while,  the  best  method  of  a- 
dorning  our  profession,  and  of  enjoying  peace 
in  our  souls,  is  simply  to  trust  him,  and  ab  ■ 
solutely  to  commit  ourselves  and  our  all  to 
his  management.  By  casting  our  burdens 
upon  him,  our  spirits  become  light  and  cheer- 
ful ;  we  are  freed  from  a  thousand  anxieties 
and  inquietudes,  which  are  wearisome  to  our 
minds,  and  which,  with  respect  to  events,  are 
needless  for  us,  yea,  useless.  But  though  it 
may  be  easy  to  speak  of  this  trust,  and  it  ap- 
pears to  our  judgment  perfectly  right  and 
reasonable,  the  actual  attainment  is  a  great 
thing  ;  and  especially  so  to  trust  the  Lord,  no« 
by  fits  and  starts,  surrendering  one  day,  and 
retracting  the  next,  but  to  abide  by  our  sur- 
render, and  go  habitually  trusting  thiough  all 
the  changes  we  meet,  knowing  that  his  love, 
purpose,  and  promise,  are  unchangeable. 
Some  little  faintings  perhaps  none  are  freed 
from  ;  but  I  believe  a  power  of  trusting  the 
Lord  in  good  measure  at  all  times,  and  living 
quietly  under  the  shadow  of  his  wing,  is  whai; 
the  promise  warrants  us  to  expect,  if  we  seek 
it  by  diligent  prayer ;  if  not  all  at  once,  yet 
by  a  gradual  increase.  May  it  be  your  ex- 
perience and  mine. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTERS 


TO 


THE  REVEREND  Mn.  B- 


LETTER  I. 


January  27,  1778. 

DEAR  AND  REVEREND  SIR, 

I  call  you  Dear  because  I  love  you,  and  I 
shall  continue  to  stile  you  Reverend  as  long  as 
you  dignify  me  with  that  title.  It  is,  indeed, 
a  pretty  sounding  epithet,  and  forms  a  strik- 
ing contrast  in  the  usual  application.  The  in- 
habitants of  the  moon  (if  there  be  any)  have 
perhaps  no  idea  how  many  Reverend,  Right 
Reverend,  and  Most  Reverend,  sinners  we 
have  in  Europe.  And  yet  you  are  reverend, 
and  I  revere  you,  because  I  believe  the  Lord 
liveth  in  you,  and  has  chosen  you  to  be  a  tem- 
ple of  his  presence,  and  an  instrument  of  his 
grace. 

I  hope  the  two  sermons  you  preached  in 
London  were  made  useful  to  others,  and  the 
medicines  you  took  there  were  useful  to  your- 
self. I  am  glad  to  hear  you  are  safe  at  home, 
and  something  better.  Cheerful  spring  is 
approaching :  then  I  hope  the  barometer  of 
your  spirits  will  rise.  But  the  presence  of 
the  Lord  can  bring  a  pleasanter  spring  than 
April,  and  even  in  the  depth  of  winter. 

At  present  it  is  January  with  me,  both  with- 
in  and  without.  The  outward  sun  shines  and 
looks  pleasant,  but  his  beams  are  faint,  and 
too  feeble  to  dissolve  the  frost.  So  is  it  in 
my  heart ;  I  have  many  bright  and  pleasant 
beams  of  truth  in  my  view,  but  cold  predo- 
minates in  my  frost-bound  spirit,  and  they 
have  but  little  power  to  warm  me.  I  could 
tell  a  stranger  something  about  Jesus  that 
would  perhaps  astonish  him  :  such  a  glorious 
person  !  such  wonderful  love  !  such  humilia- 
tion !  such  a  death  !  and  then  what  he  is 
now  himself,  and  what  he  is  to  his  people  ! 
What  a  sun  !  what  a  shield  !  what  a  root  ! 
what  a  life  !  what  a  friend  !  My  tongue  can 
run  on  upon  these  subjects  sometimes  ;  and 
could  my  heart  keep  pace  with  it  I  should  be 
the   happiest   fellow  in   the  country.      Stupid 


creature  !  to  know  these  things  so  well,  and 
yet  be  no  more  affected  with  them  !  Indeed, 
I  have  reason  to  be  upon  ill  terms  with  my- 
self !  It  is  strange  that  pride  should  ever 
find  any  thing  in  my  experience  to  feed  up- 
on ;  but  this  completes  my  character  for  folly, 
vileness,  and  inconsistence,  that  I  am  not  only 
poor,  but  proud  ;  and  though  I  am  convinced 
I  am  a  very  wretch,  a  nothing  before  the 
Lord,  I  am  prone  to  go  forth  among  my  fel- 
low-creatures as  though  I  were  wise  and 
good. 

You  wonder  what  I  am  doing ;  and  well 
you  may  :  I  am  sure  you  would,  if  you  lived 
with  me.  Too  much  of  my  time  passes  in 
busy  idleness,  too  much  in  waking  dreams.  I 
aim  at  something;  but  hindrances  from  with- 
in and  without  make  it  difficult  for  me  to  ac- 
complish any  thing.  I  dare  not  say  I  am  ab- 
solutely idle,  or  that  I  wilfully  waste  much 
of  my  time.  I  have  seldom  one  hour  free 
from  interruption.  Letters  come  that  must 
be  answered,  visitants  that  must  be  received, 
business  that  must  be  attended  to.  I  have  a 
good  many  sheep  and  lambs  to  look  after, 
sick  and  afflicted  souls,  dear  to  the  Lord; 
and  therefore,  whatever  stands  still,  these 
must  not  be  neglected.  Amongst  these  va- 
rious avocations,  night  comes  before  I  am 
ready  for  noon  ;  and  the  week  closes,  when, 
according  to  the  state  of  my  business,  it  should 
not  be  more  than  Tuesday.  O  precious,  ir- 
recoverable time !  O  that  I  had  more  wisdom 
in  redeeming  and  improving  thee  !  Pray  for 
me,  that  the  Lord  may  teach  me  to  serve  him 
better. 

I  am,  &c. 


LET.   III. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.   B- 


LETTER  II. 

April  28,  1778. 

DEAR  SIR, 
I  WAS  not  much  disappointed  at  not   meeting 
you  at  home  ;  I  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  get 
away  from  ,   if  you   are   seen  in  the 

street  after  breakfast.  The  horse-leech  has 
two  daughters,  saying,  Give,  give  :  the  cry 
there  is,  Preach,  preach.  When  you  have 
told  them  all,  you  must  tell  them  more,  or 
tell  it  them  over  again.  Whoever  will  find 
tongue,  they  will  engage  to  find  ears.  Yet  I 
do  not  blame  this  importunity,  I  wish  you 
were  teased  more  with  it  in  your  own  town ; 
for  though,  undoubtedly,  there  are  too  many, 
both  at  N  and  here,  whose  religion  lies 

too  much  in  hearing,  yet  in  many  it  proceeds 
from  a  love  to  the  truth,  and  to  the  ministers 
who  dispense  it.  And  I  generally  observe, 
that  they  who  are  not  willing  to  hear  a  stran- 
ger (if  his  character  is  known),  are  indiffer- 
ent enough  about  hearing  their  own  minister. 

I  beg  you  to  pray  for  me.  I  am  a  poor 
creature,  full  of  wants.  I  seem  to  need  the 
wisdom  of  Solomon,  the  meekness  of  Moses, 
and  the  zeal  of  Paul,  to  enable  me  to  make 
full  proof  of  my  ministry.  But,  alas !  you 
may  guess  the  rest. 

Send  me  "  The  way  to  Christ."  I  am  wil. 
ling  to  be  a  debtor  to  the  wise  and  unwise,  to 
doctors  and  shoemakers,  if  I  can  get  a  hint,  or 
a  Nota  Bene,  from  any  one,  without  respect 
to  parties.  When  a  house  is  on  fire,  Church- 
men, Dissenters,  Methodists,  Papists,  Mora- 
vians, and  Mystics,  are  all  welcome  to  bring 
water.  At  such  times,  nobody  asks,  Pray, 
friend,  whom  do  you  hear  ?  or,  What  do  you 
think  of  the  five  points  ?  &c.  &c. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER.   III. 

July  7,  1778. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

I  KNOW  not  that  I  have  any  thing  to  say  worth 
postage,  though  perhaps,  had  I  seen  you  be- 
fore you  set  off,  something  might  have  oc- 
curred which  will  not  be  found  in  my  letter. 
Yet  I  write  a  line,  because  you  bid  me,  and  are 
now  in  a  far,  foreign  country.     You  will  find 

Mr.  a  man  to   your  tooth,   but   he  is  in 

Mr.   W 's  connection.       So  I  remember 

venerable  Bede,  after  giving  a  high  character 
of  some  contemporary,  kicks  his  full  pail  of 
milk  down,  and  reduces  him  almost  to  no- 
thing, by  adding,  in  the  close,  to  this  purpose  : 
"  but,  unhappy  man,  he  did  not  keep  Easter 
our  way."  A  fig  for  all  connections,  say  I, 
and  say  you,  but  that  which  is  formed  by  the 
bands,  joints,  and  ligaments,  the  apostle  speaks 


— .  303 

of,  Eph.  iv.  16,  et  alibi.  Therefore,  I  ven- 
ture to   repeat   it,  that   Mr.  ,  though  he 

often   sees  and  hears  Mr.  W  ,  and   I  be- 

lieve loves  him  well,  is  a  good  man  ;  and  you 
will  see  the  invisible  mark  upon  his  forehead, 
if  you  examine  him  with  your  spiritual  spec- 
tacles. 

Now,  methinks  I  do  pity  you  :  I  see  you 
melted  with  heat,  stiffled  with  smoke,  and 
stunned  with  noise.  Ah  !  what  a  change 
from  the  brooks,  and  bushes,  and  birds,  and 
green  fields,  to  which  you  had  lately  access  ! 
Of  old  they  used  to  retire  into  the  deserts  for 
mortification.  If  I  was  to  set  myself  a  mo- 
derate penance,  it  might  be  to  spend  a  fort- 
night in  London  in  the  height  of  summer. 
But  I  forget  myself: — I  hope  the  Lord  is  with 
you,  and  then  all  places  are  alike.  He  makes 
the  dungeon  and  the  stocks  comfortable  (Acts 
xvi.);  yea,  a  fiery  furnace,  or  a  lion's  den. 
A  child  of  God  in  London  seems  to  be  in  all 
these  trying  situations  :  but  Jesus  can  pre- 
serve his  own.  I  honour  the  grace  of  God  in 
those  few  (comparatively  few,  I  fear)  who  pre- 
serve their  garments  undefiled  in  that  Sardis. 
The  air  is  filled  with  infection,  and  it  is  by 
special  power  and  miraculous  preservation 
they  enjoy  spiritual  health,  when  so  many 
sicken  and  fall  around  them  on  the  right  hand 
and  on  the  left.  May  the  Lord  preserve  you 
from  the  various  epidemical  soul-diseases  which 
abound  where  you  are,  and  be  your  comfort 
and  defence  from  day  to  day. 

Last  week  we  had  a  lion  in  town.  I  went 
to  see  him.  He  was  wonderfully  tame  ;  as 
familiar  with  his  keeper,  as  docile  and  obe- 
dient, as  a  spaniel.  Yet  the  man  told  me  he 
had  his  surly  fits,  when  they  durst  not  touch 
him.  No  looking-glass  could  express  my 
face  more  justly  than  this  lion  did  my  heart. 
I  could  trace  every  feature  :  as  wild  and  fierce 
by  nature,  yea,  much  more  so ;  but  grace  has 
in  some  measure  tamed  me.  I  know  and 
love  my  Keeper,  and  sometimes  watch  his 
looks  that  I  may  learn  his  will.  But,  oh !  I 
have  my  surly  fits  too  ;  seasons  when  I  re- 
lapse into  the  savage  again,  as  though  I  had 
forgotten  all. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 

July  13,  1778. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

As  we  are  so  soon  to  meet,  and  as  I  have  no 
thing  very  important  to  communicate,  and 
many  things  occur  which  might  demand  my 
time,  I  have  no  other  plea  to  offer,  either  to 
you  or  myself,  for  writing  again,  but  because 
I  love  you. 

I  pity  the  unknown  considerable  minister, 
with  whom  you  smoked  your  morning-pipe. 
But  we  must  take  men  and  things  as  we  find 
them  :   and  when  we   fall  in   company   with 


304 


LETTERS  TO   THE  REV.   Mil.   13 


those  from  whom  we  can  get  little  other  good, 
it  is  likely  we  shall  at  least  find  occasion  for 
the  exercise  of  patience  and  charity  towards 
them,  and  of  thankfulness  to  Him  who  hath 
made  us  to  differ.  And  these  are  good  things, 
though,  perhaps,  the  occasion  may  not  be 
pleasant.  Indeed,  a  christian,  if  in  a  right 
spirit,  is  always  in  his  Lord's  school,  and  may 
learn  either  a  new  lesson,  or  how  to  practise 
an  old  one,  by  every  thing  he  sees  or  hears, 
provided  he  does  not  wilfully  tread  upon  for- 
bidden ground.  If  he  were  constrained  to 
spend  a  day  with  the  poor  creatures  in  the 
common  side  of  Newgate,  though  he  could 
not  talk  with  them  of  what  God  has  done  for 
his  soul,  he  might  be  more  sensible  of  his 
mercy  by  the  contrast  he  would  observe  a- 
round  him.  He  might  rejoice  for  himself, 
and  mourn  over  them,  and  thus  perhaps  get 
as  much  benefit  as  from  the  bost  sermon  he 
ever  heard. 

It  is  necessary,  all  things  taken  together,  to 
have  connection  more  or  less  with  narrow- 
minded  people.  If  they  are,  notwithstanding 
their  prejudices,  civil  to  us,  they  have  a  right 
to  some  civility  from  us.  We  may  love  them, 
though  we  cannot  admire  them,  and  pick 
something  good  from  them,  notwithstanding 
we  see  much  to  blame.  It  is,  perhaps,  the 
highest  triumph  we  can  obtain  over  bigotry, 
when  we  are  able  to  bear  with  bigots  them- 
selves. For  they  are  a  set  of  troublesome 
folks,  whom  Mr.  Self  is  often  very  forward  to 
exclude  from  the  comprehensive  candour  and 
tenderness  which  he  professes  to  exercise  to- 
wards those  who  differ  from  him. 

I  am  glad  your  present  home  (a  believer 
should  be  always  at  home)  is  pleasant ;  the 
rooms  large  and  airy  ;  your  host  and  hostess 
kind  and  spiritual ;  and,  upon  the  whole,  all 
things  as  well  as  you  could  expect  to  find 
them,  considering  where  you  are.  I  could 
give  you  much  such  an  account  of  my  usual 
head-quarters  in  the  city  ;  but  still  London  is 
London.  I  do  not  wish  you  to  live  there,  for 
my  own  sake  as  well  as  yours  ;  but  if  the  Lord 
should  so  appoint,  I  believe  he  can  make  you 
easy  there,  and  enable  me  to  make  a  tolerable 
shift  without  you.  Yet  I  certainly  should 
miss  you  ;  for  I  have  no  person  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood with  whom  my  heart  so  thoroughly 
unites  in  spirituals,  though  there  are  many 
whom  I  love.  But  conversation  wkh  most 
christians  is  something  like  going  to  court ; 
where,  except  you  are  dressed  exactly  accord- 
ing to  a  prescribed  standard,  you  will  either 
not  be  admitted,  or  must  expect  to  be  hearti- 
ly stared  at.  But  you  and  I  can  meet  and 
converse,  sans  contrainte,  in  an  undress,  with- 
out fear  of  offending,  or  being  accounted  of- 
fenders for  a  word  out  of  place,  and  not  exact- 
ly in  the  pink  of  the  mode. 

I  know  not  how  it  is  :  I  think  my  senti- 
ments and  experience  are  as  orthodox  and 
Calvinistical  as  need  be  ;  and  yet  I  am  a  sort 


— .  LET    IV 

of  speckled  bird  among  i.«y  Calvinist  bretnren. 
I  am  a  mighty  good  Churchman,  but  pass 
amongst  such  as  a  Dissenter  in  prunello. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Dissenters  (many  of 
them  I  mean)  think  me  defective,  either  in 
understanding  or  in  conscience,  for  staying 
where  I  am.  Well,  there  is  a  middle  party, 
called  Methodists,  but  neither  do  my  dimen- 
sions exactly  fit  with  them.  I  am  somehow 
disqualified  for  claiming  a  full  brotherhood 
with  any  party.  But  there  are  a  few  among 
all  parties  who  bear  with  me  and  love  me, 
and  with  this  I  must  be  content  at  present. 
But  so  far  as  they  love  the  Lord  Jesus,  I  de- 
sire, and  by  his  grace  1  determine  (with  or 
without  their  leave)  to  love  them  all.  Party 
walls,  though  stronger  than  the  walls  of  Baby- 
lon, must  come  down  in  the  general  ruin, 
when  the  earth  and  all  its  works  shall  be  burnt 
up,  if  not  sooner. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  V 

July —  ,   177«. 

MY  DEAE  SIR, 

I  was  glad  to  hear  that  you  were  again  within 
a  few  miles  of  me ;  and  I  would  praise  the 
Lord,  who  led  you  out,  and  brought  you 
home  in  safety,  and  preserved  all  in  peace 
while  you  were  abroad,  so  that  you  found 
nothing  very  painful  to  embitter  your  return. 
Many  go  abroad  well,  but  return  no  more. 
The  affectionate  wife,  the  prattling  children, 
listen  for  the  well-known  sound  of  papa's 
foot  at  the  door;  but  they  listen  in  vain  :  a 
fall  or  a  fever  has  intercepted  him,  and  he  is 
gone  far,  far  away.  Some  leave  all  well  when 
they  go  from  home  ;  but  how  changed,  how 
trjing  the  scene  when  they  come  back!  In 
their  absence,  the  Lord  has  taken  away  the 
desire  of  their  eyes  with  a  stroke,  or  perhaps 
ruffians  have  plundered  and  murdered  their 
family  in  the  dead  of  the  night,  or  the  fire 
devoured  their  habitation. 

Ah  !  how  large  and  various  is  the  list  of 
evils  and  calamities  with  which  sin  lias  filled 
the  world !  You  and  I  and  ours  escape 
them  :  we  stand,  though  in  a  field  of  battle, 
where  thousands  fall  around  us,  because  the 
Lord  is  pleased  to  keep  us.  May  he  have 
the  praise,  and  may  we  only  live  to  love  and 
serve  him. 

Mrs.  has  been  very  ill,  and  my  heart 

often  much  pained  while  you  have  been  ab- 
sent. But  the  Lord  has  removed  bis  hand ; 
she  is  much  better,  and  I  hope  she  will  be 
seen  in  his  house  to-morrow.  I  have  few 
trials  in  my  own  person ;  but  when  the 
Lord  afflicts  her,  I  feel  it.  It  is  a  mercy 
that  he  has  made  us  one ;  but  it  exposes 
us  to  many  a  pain,  which  we  might  have 
missed,   if  we  cared  but  little  for  each  other 


LET.  VII. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR.   B- 


305 


Alas  !  there  is  usually  an  ounce  of  the  golden 
calf,  of  idolatry  and  dependence,  in  all  the 
warm  regard  we  bear  to  creatures.  Hinc  il- 
>ce  lachrymce  !  For  this  reason,  our  sharpest 
trials  usually  spring  from  our  most  valued 
comforts. 

I  cannot  come  to  you  :    therefore  you  must 
come  hither  speedily.      Be  sure  to  bring  Mr. 

B with  you.      I  shall  be  very  glad  to  see 

him,  and  I  long  to  thank  him  for  clothing 
my  book.  It  looks  well  on  the  outside,  and 
I  hope  to  find  it  sound  and  savoury.  I  love 
the  author,  and  that  is  a  step  towards  liking 
the  book.  For  where  we  love,  we  are  gene- 
rally tender,  and  favourably  take  every  thing 
by  the  best  handle,  and  are  vastly  full  of  can- 
dour :  but  if  we  are  prejudiced  against  the 
man,  the  poor  book  is  half  condemned  before 
we  open  it.  It  had  need  be  written  well,  for 
it  will  be  read  with  a  suspicious  eye,  as  if  we 
wished  to  find  treason  in  every  page.  I  am 
glad  I  diverted  and  profited  you  by  calling 
you  a  speckled  bird.  I  can  tell  you,  such  a 
bird  in  this  day,  that  wears  the  full  colour 
of  no  sect  or  party,  is  vara  avis  ;  if  not  quite 
so  scarce  as  the  phoenix,  yet  to  be  met  with 
but  here  and  there.  It  is  impossible  I  should 
be  all  of  a  colour,  when  I  have  been  a  debtor 
to  all  sorts ;  and,  like  the  jay  in  the  fable, 
have  been  beholden  to  most  of  the  birds  in  the 
air  for  a  feather  or  two.  Church  and  Meet- 
ing, Methodist  and  Moravian,  may  all  per- 
ceive something  in  my  coat  taken  from  them. 
None  of  them  are  angry  with  me  for  borrow- 
ing from  them;  but  then,  why  could  not  I 
be  content  with  their  colour,  without  going 
amongst  other  flocks  and  coveys,  to  make  my- 
self such  a  motley  figure  ?  Let  them  be  an- 
gry ;  if  I  have  culled  the  best  feathers  from 
all,  then  surely  I  am  finer  than  any. 
I  am,  &c 


LETTER  VI. 

August  — ,  1778. 

DEAR  SIR, 

If  the  Lord  affords  health,  if'  the  weather  be 
tolerable,  if  no  unforeseen  change  takes  place, 
if  no  company  comes  in  upon  me  to-night 
(which   sometimes  unexpectedly  happens), — 

with  these  provisos,  Mr.  S and  I  have 

engaged  to  travel  to on  Monday  next, 

and  hope  to  be  with  you  by  or  before  eleven 
o'clock. 

In  such  a  precarious  world,  it  is  needful 
to  form  our  plans  at  two  days  distance,  with 
precaution  and  exceptions,  James  iv.  13. 
However,  if  it  be  the  Lord's  will  to  bring  us 
together,  and  if  the  purposed  interview  be  for 
his  glorv  and  our  good,  then  I  am  sure  no- 
thing shall  prevent  it.  And  who  in  his  right 
wits  would  wish  either  to  visit  or  be  visited 
upon  any  other  terms  ?      O!   if  we  could  but 


be  pleased  with  his  will,  we  might  be  pleased 
from  morning  to  night,  and  every  day  in  the 
year. 

Pray  for  a  blessing  upon  our  coming  to- 
gether. It  would  be  a  pity  to  walk  ten  miles 
to  pick  straws,  or  to  come  with  our  empty 
vessels  upon  our  heads,  saying,  we  have  found 
no  water. 

I  am,   &c. 


LETTER  VII. 

October  — ,    1778. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

Your  letters  are  always  welcome;  the  last 
doubly  so,  for  being  unexpected.  If  you  ne- 
ver heard  before  of  a  line  of  yours  being  use- 
ful, I  will  tell  you  for  once,  that  I  get  some 
pleasure  and  instruction  whenever  you  write 
to  me.  And  I  see  not  but  your  call  to  let- 
ter-writing is  as  clear  as  mine,  at  least  when 
you  are  able  to  put  pen  to  paper. 

I  must  say  something  to  your  queries  about 
2  Sam.  xiv.  I  do  not  approve  of  the  scho- 
lastic distinctions  about  inspiration,  which 
seem  to  have  a  tendency  to  explain  away  the 
authority  and  certainty  of  one  half  of  the 
Bible  at  least.  Though  the  penmen  of  the 
scriptures  were  ever  so  well  informed  of 
some  facts,  they  would,  as  you  observe, 
need  express,  full,  and  infallible  inspiration, 
to  teach  them  what  the  Lord  would  have  se- 
lected and  recorded  for  the  use  of  the  church, 
amongst  many  others  which  to  themselves 
might  appear  equally  important. 

However,  with  respect  to  historical  pass- 
ages, I  dare  not  pronounce  positively  that 
any  of  them  are,  even  in  the  literal  sense,  un- 
worthy of  the  wisdom  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
the  dignity  of  inspiration.  Some,  yea  many 
of  them,  have  often  appeared  trivial  to  me ; 
but  I  check  the  thought,  and  charge  it  to  my 
own  ignorance  and  temerity.  It  must  have 
some  importance,  because  I  read  it  in  God's 
book,  On  the  other  hand,  though  I  will  not 
deny  that  they  all  may  have  a  spiritual  and 
mystical  sense  (for  I  am  no  more  qualified  to 
judge  of  the  deep  things  of  the  Spirit,  than 
to  tell  you  what  is  passing  this  morning  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea) ;  yet  if,  with  my  pre- 
sent modicum  of  light,  I  should  undertake  to 
expound  many  passages  in  a  mystical  sense,  I 
fear  such  a  judge  as  you  would  think  my  in- 
terpretations fanciful,  and  not  well  supported. 
I  suppose  I  should  have  thought  the  Bible 
complete,  though  it  had  not  informed  me  of 
the  death  of  Rebekah's  nurse,  or  where  she 
was  buried.  But  some  tell  me  that  Deborah 
is  the  law,  and  that  by  the  oak  I  am  to  un- 
derstand the  cross  of  Christ :  and  I  remem- 
ber to  have  heard  of  a  preacher  who  discover- 
ed a  type  of  Christ  crucified  in  Absalom  hang- 
ing by  the  hair  on  another  oak.  I  am  quite 
2  D 


S06 


LETTERS  TO   THE   REV.    MR.   B . 


LET.  VIII 


a  mole  when  compared  with  these  eagle-eyed 
divines,  and  must  often  content  myself  with 
plodding  upon  .he  lower  ground  of  accom- 
modation and  allusion,  except  when  the  New- 
Testament  writers  assure  me  what  the  mind 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  was.  I  can  find  the  gospel 
with  more  confidence  in  the  history  of  Sarah 
and  Hagar,  than  in  that  of  Leah  and  Rachel; 
though,  without  Paul's  help,  I  should  have 
considered  them  both  as  family-squabbles,  re- 
corded chiefly  to  illustrate  the  general  truth, 
that  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit  are  incident 
to  the  best  men,  in  the  most  favoured  situa- 
tions. And  I  think  there  is  no  part  of  Old- 
Testament  history  from  which  I  could  not 
(the  Lord  helping  me)  draw  observations  that 
might  be  suitable  to  the  pulpit,  and  profitable 
to  his  people :  so  I  might,  perhaps,  from 
Livy  or  Tacitus  But  then,  with  the  Bible 
in  my  hands,  1  go  upon  sure  grounds :  I  am 
certain  of  the  facts  I  speak  from,  that  they 
really  did  happen.  I  may  likewise  depend 
upon  the  springs  and  motives  of  actions,  and 
not  amuse  myself  and  my  hearers  with  speeches 
which  were  never  spoken,  and  motives  which 
were  never  thought  of,  till  the  historian  rum- 
maged his  pericranium  for  something  to  em- 
bellish his  work.  I  doubt  not  but,  were  you 
to  consider  Joab's  courtly  conduct  only  in  a 
literal  sense,  how  it  tallied  with  David's  de- 
sire, and  how  gravely  and  graciously  he  grant- 
ed himself  a  favour  while  he  professed  to  ob- 
lige Joab  :  I  say,  in  this  view  you  would  be 
able  to  illustrate  many  important  scriptural 
doctrines,  and  to  shew  that  the  passage  is  im- 
portant to  those  who  are  engaged  in  studying 
the  anatomy  of  the  human  heart. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  VIII. 

October  27,  1778. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 
I  have  been  witness  to  a  great  and  important 
revolution  this  morning,  which  took  place 
while  the  greatest  part  of  the  world  was  a- 
sleep.  Like  many  state  revolutions,  its  first 
beginnings  were  almost  undiscernable;  but 
the  progress,  though  gradual,  was  steady,  and 
the  event  decisive.  A  while  ago  darkness 
reigned.  Had  a  man  then  dropped,  for  the 
first  time,  into  our  world,  he  might  have 
thought  himself  banished  into  a  hopeless  dun- 
geon. How  could  he  expect  light  to  rise  out 
of  such  a  state  ?  And  when  he  saw  the  first 
glimmering  of  dawn  in  the  east,  how  could  he 
promise  himself  that  it  was  the  forerunner  of 
such  a  glorious  sun  as  has  since  arisen.  With 
what  wonder  would  such  a  new  comer  ob- 
serve the  bounds  of  his  view  enlarging,  and 
the  distinctness  of  objects  increasing  from  one 
minute  to  another;  and  how  well  content 
would  he  be  to  part  with  the  twinklings  of  the 


stars,  when  he  had  the  broad  day  all  around  him 
in  exchange!  I  cannot  say  this  revolution  is 
extraordinary,  because  it  happens  every  morn- 
ing; but  surely  it  is  astonishing,  or  rather  it 
would  be  so-,  if  man  was  not  astonishingly 
stupid. 

Such  strangers  once  were  we.  Darkness, 
gross  darkness,  covered  us.  How  confined 
were  our  views  !  And  even  the  things  which 
were  within  our  reach  we  could  not  distin- 
guish. Little  did  we  then  think  what  a  glo- 
rious day  we  were  appointed  to  see ;  what  an 
unbounded  prospect  would  ere  long  open  be- 
fore us.  We  knew  not  that  there  was  a 
Sun  of  righteousness,  and  that  he  would  dawn, 
and  rise,  and  shine  upon  our  hearts.  And  as 
the  idea  of  what  we  see  now  was  then  hidden 
from  us,  so  at  present  we  are  almost  equally 
at  a  loss  how  to  form  any  conception  of  the 
stronger  light  and  brighter  prospects  which 
we  wait  and  hope  for.  Comparatively  we  are 
in  the  dark  still  :  at  the  most,  we  have  but  a 
dim  twilight,  and  see  nothing  clearly;  but  it 
is  the  dawn  of  immortality,  and  a  sure  pre- 
sage and  earnest  of  glory. 

Thus,  at  times,  it  seems,  a  darkness  that 
may  be  felt  broods  over  your  natural  spirits: 
but  when  the  day-star  rises  upon  your  heart, 
you  see  and  rejoice  in  his  light.  You  have 
days  as  well  as  nights ;  and  after  a  few  more 
vicissitudes,  you  will  take  your  flight  to  the 
regions  of  everlasting  light,  where  your  sun 
will  go  down  no  more.  Happy  you,  and 
happy  I,  if  I  shall  meet  you  there,  as  1  trust 
I  shall.  How  shall  we  love,  and  sing,  and 
wonder,  and  praise  the  Saviour's  name. 

Last  Sunday  a  young  man  died  here  of  ex- 
treme old  age,  at  twenty-five.  He  laboured 
hard  to  ruin  a  good  constitution,  and  un- 
happily succeeded  ;  yet  amused  himself  with 
the  hopes  of  recovery  almost  to  the  last,  We 
have  a  sad  knot  of  such  poor  creatures  in  this 
place,  who  labour  to  stifle  each  other's  con- 
victions, and  to  ruin  themselves  and  associ- 
ates, soul  and  body.  How  industriously  is 
Satan  served  !  I  was  formerly  one  of  his  mos 
active  under-tempters.  Not  content  with  run- 
ning the  broad  way  myself,  I  was  indefatiga- 
ble in  enticing  others;  and  had  my  influence 
been  equal  to  my  wishes,  I  would  have  car- 
ried all  the  human  race  with  me.  And,  doubt- 
less, some  have  perished,  to  whose  destruction 
I  was  greatly  instrumental,  by  tempting  them 
to  sin,  and  by  poisoning  and  hardening  them 
with  principles  of  infidelity  ;  and  yet  1  wa* 
spared.  When  I  think  of  the  most  with  whom 
I  spent  my  unhappy  days  of  ignorance,  I  am 
ready  to  say,  I  only  am  escaped  alive  to  tell 
thee.  Surely  I  have  not  half  the  activity  and 
zeal  in  the  service  of  him  who  snatched  me  as 
a  brand  out  of  the  burning,  as  I  had  in  the 
service  of  his  enemy.  Then  the  whole  stream 
of  my  endeavours  and  affections  went  one  way  ; 
now  my  best  desires  are  continually  crossed, 
counteracted,  and  spoiled,   by   the   sin   which 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR.   B 


LET.  x. 

dwelleth  in  me  ;  then  the  tide  of  a  corrupt 
nature  bore  me  along,  now  I  have  to  strive  and 
swim  against  it.  The  Lord  cut  me  short  of 
opportunities,  and  placed  me  where  I  could 
do  but  little  mischief ;  but  had  my  abilities 
and  occasions  been  equal  to  my  heart,  I  should 
have  been  a  Voltaire  and  a  Tiberius  in  one 
character,  a  monster  of  profaneness  and  licen- 
tiousness. "  O  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor  !" 
A  common  drunkard  or  profligate  is  a  petty 
sinner  to  what  I  was.  I  had  the  ambition  of 
a  Cassar  or  an  Alexander,  and  wanted  to  rank 
in  wickedness  among  the  foremost  of  the  hu- 
man race.  When  you  have  read  this,  praise 
the  Lord  for  his  mercy  to  the  chief  of  sinners, 
and  pray  that  I  may  have  grace  to  be  faithful. — 
But  I  have  rambled.  I  meant  to  tell  you,  that 
on  Sunday  afternoon  I  preached  from  Ezekiel 
xxxiii.  10,  11,  "  Why  will  ye  die  ?"  &c.  I 
endeavoured  to  shew  poor  sinners,  that  if  they 
died,  it  was  because  they  would,  and  if  they 
would  they  must.  I  was  much  affected  for  a 
time:  I  could  hardly  speak  for  weeping,  and 
some  wept  with  me.  From  some,  alas !  I  can 
no  more  draw  a  tear,  or  a  relenting  thought, 
than  from  a  mill-stone. 

I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  IX. 

November  27,  1778. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

You  are  a  better  expositor  of  scripture  than 
of  my  speeches,  if  you  really  inferred  from  my 
last  that  I  think  you  shall  die  soon.  I  cannot 
say  positively  you  will  not  die  soon,  because 
life  at  all  times  is  uncertain ;  however,  ac- 
cording to  the  doctrine  of  probabilities,  I  think, 
and  always  thought,  you  bid  fair  enough  to 
outlive  me.  The  gloomy  tinge  of  your  weak 
spirits  led  you  to  consider  yourself  much 
worse  in  point  of  health  than  you  appear  to 
me  to  be. 

In  the  other  point  I  dare  be  more  positive, 
that  die  when  you  will,  you  will  die  in  the 
Lord.  Of  this  I  have  not  the  least  doubt ; 
snd  I  believe  you  doubt  of  it  less,  if  possible, 
than  I,  except  in  those  darker  moments  when 
the  atrabilious  humour  prevails. 

I  heartily  sympathize  with  you  in  your  com- 
plaints; but  I  see  you  in  safe  hands.  The 
Lord  loves  you,  and  will  take  care  of  you.  He 
who  raises  the  dead,  can  revive  your  spirits 
when  you  are  cast  down.  He  who  sets  bounds 
to  the  sea,  and  says,  "  Hitherto  shalt  thou 
come,  and  no  further,"  can  limit  and  moder- 
ate that  gloom  which  sometimes  distresses 
you.  He  knows  why  he  permits  you  to  be 
thus  exercised.  I  cannot  assign  the  reasons, 
but  I  am  sure  they  are  worthy  of  his  wisdom 
and  love,  and  that  you  will  hereafter  see,  and 
say,  He  has  done  all  things  well.  If  I  was  as 
wise  as  your  philosopher,  1  might  say  a  great 


307 


deal  about  a  melancholy  complexion  ;  but  I 
love  not  to  puzzle  myself  with  second  causes, 
while  the  first  cause  is  at  hand,  which  suffi- 
ciently accounts  for  every  phenomenon  in  a 
believer's  experience.  Your  constitution,  your 
situation,  your  temper,  your  distemper,  all 
that  is  either  comfortable  or  painPul  in  your 
lot,  is  of  his  appointment.  The  hairs  of  your 
head  are  all  numbered  :  the  same  power  which 
produced  the  planet  Jupiter  is  necessary  to 
the  production  of  a  single  hair,  nor  can  one 
of  them  fall  to  the  ground  without  his  notice, 
any  more  than  the  stars  can  fall  from  their 
orbits.  In  providence,  no  less  than  in  crea- 
tion, he  is  Maximus  in  minimis.  Therefore 
fear  not ;  only  believe.  Our  sea  may  some- 
times be  stormy,  but  we  have  an  infallible 
pilot,  and  shall  infallibly  gain  our  port. 
I  am,  &c. 


LETTER  X. 

February  23.  1779. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

On  Saturday,  and  not  before,  1  heard  you 
had  been  ill.  Had  the  news  reached  me 
sooner,  I  should  have  sent  you  a  line  sooner. 
I  hope  you  will  be  able  to  inform  me  that 
you  are  now  better,  and  that  the  Lord  con- 
tinues to  do  you  good  by  every  dispensation 
he  allots  you.  Healing  and  wounding  are 
equally  from  his  hand,  and  equally  tokens  of 
his  love  and  care  over  us.  I  have  but  little 
affliction  in  my  own  person,  but  I  have  been 
often  chastened  of  late  by  proxy.  The  Lord, 
for  his  people's  sake,  is  still  pleased  to  give 
me  health  and  strength  for  public  service, 
but  when   I   need   the   rod   he   lays   it  upon 

Mrs. .      In  this  way  I  have  felt  much, 

without  being  disabled  or  laid  aside.  But 
he  has  heard  prayer  for  her  likewise,  and  for 
more  than  a  fortnight  past  she  has  been  com- 
fortably well.  I  lay  at  least  one  half  of  her 
sicknesses  to  my  own  account :  she  suffers 
for  me,  and  I  through  her.  It  is  indeed 
touching  me  in  a  tender  part.  Perhaps  if  I 
could  be  more  wise,  watchful,  and  humble, 
it  might  contribute  more  to  the  re-establish- 
ment of  her  health  than  all  the  medicines  she 
takes. 

I  somehow  neglected  to  confer  with  you 
about  the  business  of  the  Fast-day.  The 
last  of  my  three  sermons,  when  I  had,  as  I 
expected,  the  largest  congregation,  was  a 
sort  of  historical  discourse,  from  Deut.  xxxii. 
15,  in  which,  running  over  the  leading  na- 
tional events  from  the  time  of  WicklifF,  I  en- 
deavoured to  trace  the  steps  and  turns  by 
which  the  Lord  has  made  us  a  fat  and  thriv- 
ing peeple,  and  in  the  event  blessed  us  be- 
yond his  favourite  Jeshurun  of  old,  with  civil 
and  religious  liberty,  peace,  honour,  and  pros- 
perity,  and    gospel-privileges :     How    fat  w» 


sua 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.  MR.   B . 


were  when  the  wai  terminated  in  the  year 
1763,  and  how  we  have  kicked,  and  forsaken 
the  Rock  of  our  salvation  of  late  years.  Then 
followed  a  sketch  of  our  present  state  and  spi- 
rit as  a  people,  both  in  a  religious  and  poli- 
tical view.  I  started  at  the  picture  while  I 
drew  it,  though  it  was  a  very  inadequate  re- 
presentation. We  seemed  willing  to  afflict  our 
souls,  for  one  day,  as  Dr.  Lowth  reads  Isa. 
lviii.  5.  But  the  next  day,  things  returned 
into  their  former  channel  :  the  fast  and  the 
occasion  seemed  presently  forgotten,  except 
by  a  few  simple  souls,  who  are  despised  and 
hated  by  the  rest  for  their  preciseness,  because 
they  think  sin  ought  to  be  lamented  every 
day  in  the  year. 

Who  would  envy  Cassandra  her  gift  of 
prophecy  upon  the  terms  she  had  it,  that  her 
declarations,  however  true,  should  meet  with 
no  belief  or  regard  ?  It  is  the  lot  of  gos- 
pel-ministers, with  respect  to  the  bulk  of 
their  hearers.  But  blessed  be  the  grace 
which  makes  a  few  exceptions.  Here  and 
there  one  will  hear,  believe,  and  be  saved. 
Every  one  of  these  is  worth  a  world,  and  our 
success  with  a  few  should  console  us  for  all 
our  trials. 

Come  and  see  us  as  soon  as  you  can,  only 

not  to-morrow,  for  I  am  then  to  go  to  T . 

My  Lord,  the  great  Shepherd  has  one  sheep 
there,  related  to  the  fold  under  my  care.  I 
can  seldom  see  her,  and  she  is  very  ill.  I 
expect  she  will  be  soon  removed  to  the  pas- 
ture above.      Our  love  to  Mrs.  B . 

Believe  me  yours,  &c. 


LETTER  XL 

April  23,  1779. 

MY  DEAR  FB1END, 

May  I  not  style  myself  a  friend,  when  I  re- 
member you  after  an  interval  of  several  weeks 
since  I  saw  you,  and  through  a  distance  of 
threescore  miles  ?  But  the  truth  is,  you  have 
been  neither  absent  nor  distant  from  my  heart 
a  day.  Your  idea  has  travelled  with  me  : 
you  are  a  kind  of  familiar,  very  often  before 
the  eye  of  my  mind.  This,  I  hope,  may  be 
admitted  as  a  proof  of  friendship. 

I  know  the  Lord  loves  you,  and  you  know 
it  likewise  :  every  affliction  affords  you  a  fresh 
proof  of  it.  How  wise  his  management  in 
our  trials  !  How  wisely  adjusted  in  season, 
weight,  and  continuance,  to  answer  his  gracious 
purposes  in  sending  them  !  How  unspeakably 
better  to  be  at  his  disposal  than  at  our  own ! 
So  you  say,  so  you  think,  so  you  find.  You 
trust  in  him,  and  shall  not  be  disappointed. 
Help  me  with  your  prayers,  that  I  may  trust 
him  too,  and  be  at  length  enabled  to  say 
without  reserve,  What  thou  wilt,  when  thou 
wilt,  how  thou  wilt.  I  had  rather  speak 
these    three   sentences   from  my  heart,  in   my 


LET.  XII. 

mother-tongue,   than  be  master  of  all  the  lan- 
guages in  Europe. 

I  am  yours,  &c. 


LETTER  XII. 

August  19,  1779. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

Among  the  rest  of  temporal  mercies,  I  would 
be  thankful  for  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  and  the 
convenience  of  the  post,  by  which  means  we 
can  waft  a  thought  to  a  friend  when  we  can- 
not get  at  him.  My  will  has  been  good  to 
see  you,  but  you  must  accept  the  will  for  the 
deed.      The  Lord  has  not  permitted  me. 

I  have  been  troubled  of  late  with  the  rheu- 
matism in  my  left  arm.  Mine  is  a  sinful, 
vi'e  body,  and  it  is  a  mercy  that  any  part  of 
it  is  free  from  pain.  It  is  virtually  the  seat 
and  subject  of  all  diseases ;  but  the  Lord 
holds  them  like  wild  beasts  in  a  chain,  under 
a  strong  restraint:  were  that  restraint  taken 
ofF,  they  would  rush  upon  their  prey  from 
every  quarter,  and  seize  upon  every  limb, 
member,  joint,  and  nerve,  at  once.  Yet, 
though  I  am  a  sinner,  and  though  my  whole 
texture  is  so  frail  and  exposed,  I  have  en- 
joyed for  a  number  of  years  an  almost  per- 
fect exemption  both  from  pain  and  sickness. 
This  is  wonderful  indeed,  even  in  my  own 
eyes. 

But  my  soul  is  far  from  being  in  a  healthy 
state.  There  I  have  laboured,  and  still  la- 
bour, under  a  complication  of  diseases  ;  and, 
but  for  the  care  and  skill  of  an  infallible  Phy- 
sician, I  must  have  died  the  death  long  ago. 
At  this  very  moment  my  soul  is  feverish,  drop- 
sical, paralytic.  I  feel  a  loss  of  appetite,  a 
disinclination  both  to  food  and  to  medicine ; 
so  that  I  am  alive  by  miracle :  yet  I  trust  I 
shall  not  die,  but  live,  and  declare  the  works 
of  the  Lord.  When  I  faint,  he  revives  me 
again.  I  am  sure  he  is  able,  and  I  trust  he 
has  promised  to  heal  me  j  but  how  inveterate 
must  my  disease  be,  that  is  not  yet  subdued, 
even  under  his  management  ! 

Well,   my  friend,  there  is  a  land  where  the 
inhabitants   shall   no    more    say,    I    am  sick 
Then  my   eyes  will  not  be  dim,  nor  my  eat 
heavy,  nor  my  heart  hard. 

One  sight  of  Jesus  as  he  is 
Will  strike  all  sin  for  ever  dead. 

Blessed  be  his  name  for  this  glorious  hope ! 
May  it  cheer  us  under  all  our  present  uneasy 
feelings,  and  reconcile  us  to  every  cross.  The 
way  must  be  right,  however  rough,  that  leads 
to  such  a  glorious  end. 

O  for  more  of  that  gracious  influence, 
which  in  a  moment  can  make  the  wilderness- 
soul  rejoice  and  blossom  like  the  rose !  I 
want  something  which  neither  critics  nor  com- 
mentators can  help  me  to.      The  scripture  it- 


LETTERS  TO  THE  REV.   MR.   B . 


lKT.  XIV. 

self,  whether  I  read  it  in  Hebrew,  Greek, 
French,  or  English,  is  a  sealed  book  in  all 
these  languages,  unless  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
is  present  to  expound  and  apply.  Pray  for  me. 
No  prayer  seems  more  suitable  to  me  than 
that  of  the  psalmist :  "  Bring  my  soul  out  of 
prison,  that  I  may  praise  thy  name." 
I  am,   &c. 


LETTER  XIII. 

August  28,  1779. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

I  want  to  hear  how  you  are.  I  hope  your 
complaint  is  not  worse  than  when  I  saw  you. 
I  hope  you  are  easier,  and  will  soon  find 
yourself  able  to  move  about  again.  I  should 
be  sorry,  if  to  the  symptoms  of  the  stone  you 
should  have  the  gout  superadded  in  your  right 
hand,  for  then  you  would  not  be  able  to  write 
to  me. 

We  go  on  much  as  usual,  sometimes  very 
poorly,  sometimes  a  little  better :  the  latter  is 
the  case  to-day.  My  rheumatism  continues, 
but  it  is  very  moderate  and  tolerable.  The 
Lord  deals  gently  with  us,  and  gives  us  many 
proofs  that  he  does  not  afflict  willingly. 

The  days  speed  away  apace :  each  one 
bears  away  its  own  burden  with  it,  to  return 
no  more.  Both  pleasures  and  pains  that  are 
past  are  gone  for  ever.  What  is  yet  future 
will  likewise  be  soon  past.  The  end  is  com- 
ing. O,  to  realize  the  thought,  and  to  judge 
of  things  now  in  some  measure  suitable  to 
the  judgment  we  shall  form  of  them  when  we 
are  about  to  leave  them  all  !  Many  things 
which  now  either  elate  or  depress  us,  will  then 
appear  to  be  trifles  light  as  air. 

One  thing  is  needful :  to  have  our  hearts 
united  to  the  Lord  in  humble  faith ;  to  set 
him  always  before  us ;  to  rejoice  in  him  as 
our  shepherd  and  our  portion  ;  to  submit  to 
all  his  appointments,  not  of  necessity,  because 
he  is  stronger  than  we,  but  with  a  cheerful 
acquiescence,  because  he  is  wise  and  good, 
and  loves  us  better  than  we  do  ourselves ;  to 
feed  upon  his  truth  ;  to  have  our  understand- 
ings, wills,  affections,  imaginations,  and  me- 
mory, all  filled  and  impressed  with  the  great 
mysteries  of  redeeming  love  ;  to  do  all  for  him, 
to  receive  all  from  him,  to  find  all  in  him. 
I  have  mentioned  many  things,  but  they  are 
all  comprised  in  one,  a  life  of  faith  in  the  Son 
of  God.  We  are  empty  vessels  in  ourselves, 
but  we  cannot  remain  empty.  Except  Jesus 
i'wells  in  our  hearts    and   fills  them  with  his 


809 


power   and   presence,   they  will  be  filled  with 
folly,  vanity,  and  vexation. 

I  am,   &c. 


LETTER  XIV. 

October  26,  1779. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

Being  to  go  out  of  town  to-day,  I  started  up 
before  light  to  write  to  you,  and  hoped  to 
have  sent  you  a  long  letter ;  when,  behold ! 
I  could  not  get  at  any  paper.  I  am  now 
waiting  for  a  peep  at  Mr.  B at  his  lodg- 
ings, who  came  to  town  last  night ;  and  I 
shall  write  as  fast  as  1  can  till  I  see  him. 

I  feel  for  you  a  little  in  the  same  way  as 
you  feel  for  yourself.  I  bear  a  friendly  sym- 
pathy in  your  late  sharp  and  sudden  trial.  I 
mourn  with  that  part  of  you  which  mourns  ; 
but  at  the  same  time  I  rejoice  in  the  proof 
you  have,  and  which  you  give,  that  the  Lord 
is  with  you  of  a  truth.  I  rejoice  on  your  ac- 
count, to  see  you  supported  and  comforted, 
and  enabled  to  say,  He  has  done  all  things 
well.  I  rejoice  on  my  own  account.  Such 
instances  of  his  faithfulness  and  all-sufficiency 
are  very  encouraging.  We  must  all  expect 
hours  of  trouble  in  our  turn.  We  must  all 
feel  in  our  concernments  the  vanity  and  un- 
certainty of  creature-comforts.  What  a  mercy 
is  it  to  know  from  our  own  past  experience, 
and  to  have  it  confirmed  to  us  by  the  expe- 
rience of  others,  that  the  Lord  is  good,  a 
stronghold  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  that 
he  knoweth  them  that  trust  in  him.  Crea- 
tures are  like  candles,  they  waste  while  they 
afford  us  a  little  light,  and  we  see  them  ex- 
tinguished in  their  sockets  one  after  another. 
But  the  light  of  the  sun  makes  amends  for 
them  all.  The  Lord  is  so  rich  that  he  ea- 
sily can,  so  good  that  he  certainly  will  give 
his  children  more  than  he  ever  will  take  away. 
When  his  gracious  voice  reaches  the  heart,  It 
is  I,  be  not  afraid  ;  be  still,  and  know  that 
I  am  God  :  when  he  gives  us  an  impression 
of  his  wisdom,  power,  love,  and  care,  then 
the  storm  which  attempts  to  rise  in  our  na- 
tural passions  is  hushed  into  a  calm ;  the 
flesh  continues  to  feel,  but  the  spirit  is  made 
willing.  And  something  more  than  submis- 
sion takes  place, — a  sweet  resignation  and 
acquiescence,  and  even  a  joy  that  we  have  any 
thing  which  we  value,  to  surrender  to  his 
call. 

I  am  yours,  &c. 


tXI)  OF  CAKDIPUONIA. 


DISCOURSES, 


OR 


SERMONS, 


AS  INTENDED  FOR  THE   PULPIT. 


•—     XrnXss   Km  to ga.. aft*    <rn;    £?.r,9u«.s.       Kai  un.o>ey>vu\vai(  utya  Iitti  to  tus  ivrifuus  (/.ua-r^iii 
&io;  ipavioufn  iv  rttoxt — I     IlM.    ill.    15,   16. 


PREFACE. 


The  following  Discourses  were  drawn  up  about  twelve  months  since,  when 
I  expected  a  speedy  opportunity  of  delivering  them  from  the  pulpit.  As 
the  views  I  then  had  are  now  over-ruled,  I  take  this  method  of  laying  them 
before  the  public  ;  that  those  who  have  thought  proper  to  foretell  the  part  I 
would  have  acted,  and  the  doctrine  I  would  have  taught,  if  my  desires  had 
taken  place,  may  be  either  satisfied  or  silenced. 

Yet  I  should  not  have  thought  it  worth  my  while,  to  give  either  myself 
or  others  this  trouble,  merely  for  my  own  vindication.  Attempts  of  this 
kind  usually  imply  too  much  of  a  man's  importance  to  himself,  to  be  either 
acceptable  or  successful.  Or,  at  best,  it  can  be  a  point  of  no  great  moment 
to  my  real  happiness,  what  the  few  persons  to  whom  my  little  name  is  known, 
are  pleased  to  say  or  think  of  me.  Nothing  but  great  inattention  to  our 
true  circumstances,  can  afford  us  leisure  either  to  censure  others,  or  to  justi- 
fy ourselves ;  unless  when  the  interests  of  religion  or  morality  are  evidently 
concerned.  A  few  years  will  fix  and  determine  our  characters  beyond  all 
possibility  of  mistake  ;  and  till  then  it  would  be  vain  to  hope  for  it. 

The  true  reasons,  therefore,  of  this  publication  are,  the  importance  of  the 
subjects  treated  of;  and  the  probability  that,  upon  this  occasion,  many  per- 
sons who  have  not  yet  considered  them  with  the  attention  they  deserve,  may 
be  induced  (some  from  a  motive  of  friendship,  and  others  from  curiosity)  to 
read  what  might  appear  in  my  name,  the  rather  for  being  mine. 

Had  I  written  with  a  design  to  print,  I  should  have  chosen  to  put  my  sen- 
timents in  another  form  ;  and  perhaps  a  desire  to  avoid  the  censure  of  severe 
critics,  would  have  made  me  more  solicitous  about  expression  and  method. 
But  as  I  profess  to  publish  not  what  I  might,  but  what  I  really  would  have 
spoken,  I  could  not  allow  myself  to  deviate  from  my  first  draught,  except 
in  a  few  places  where  I  thought  the  sense  entangled,  ambiguous,  or  de- 
fective. For  the  same  reason,  I  am  forced  to  decline  the  judgment  and  cor- 
rection of  my  friends,  the  advantages  of  which,  as  well  as  my  own  great 
need  of  them,  I  have  more  than  once  experienced. 

If  there  is  found  in  some  places  a  coincidence  of  thought  or  expression, 
I  hope  it  will  be  excused  ;  as  I  had  not  the  least  apprehension,  at  the  time 
of  composing,  that  what  I  designed  for  distinct  and  separate  occasions, 
would  ever  appear  abroad  in  one  view. 

In  a  word,  so  far  as  these  Essays  are  mine,  I  entreat  a  candid  perusal; 
and  that  those  who  read  them  in  order  to  form  their  judgment  of  the  author, 
do  not  make  their  estimate  from  a  sentence  here  and  there,  but  have  the  pa- 
tience to  read  them  throughout.  So  far  as  what  they  contain  is  agreeable  to 
scripture,  reason,  and  experience,  any  apology  would  be  impertinent.  In  this 
case  they  deserve  attention.  Every  particle  of  truth  is  valuable  in  itself,  by 
whatever  means  or  instruments  it  may  be  conveyed  to  us  ;  and,  like  a  torch, 
displays  itself  by  its  own  light,  without  any  relation  to  the  hand  that  bears  it 

Liverpool,  January  1,  1760. 


DISCOURSES,  &c. 


AS  INTENDED  FOR  THE  PULPIT. 


SERMON  I. 


ON  THE  DECEITFULNESS  OF  THE  HUMAN  HEART- 


The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked  :  who  can  know  it  ?  I  the  Lord 
search  the  heart,  I  try  the  reins,  even  to  give  every  man  according  to  his  ways,  and  according 
to  the  fruit  of  his  doings.     Jeb.  xvii    9,  10. 


THE  prophet  Jeremiah  had  a  hard  task.  He 
was  appointed  to  inculcate  unwelcome  truths 
upon  a  vain,  insensible  people.  He  had  the 
grief  to  find  all  his  expostulations  and  warn- 
ings, his  prayers  and  tears,  had  no  other  effect 
than  to  make  them  account  him  their  enemy, 
and  to  draw  reproach  and  persecution  upon 
himself.  He  lived  to  see  the  accomplishment 
of  his  own  predictions  ;  to  see  the  land  of  his 
nativity  desolated,  the  city  destroyed,  the  peo- 
ple almost  extirpated,  and  the  few  who  remain- 
ed, transported  into  a  distant  country,  to  end 
their  days  in  captivity. 

Those  who  have  resolved,  honestly  and 
steadily,  to  declare  the  word  of  the  Lord,  have, 
in  all  ages,  found  a  part  of  his  trial :  the  mes- 
sage they  have  had  to  deliver  has  been  disa- 
greeable and  disregarded.  It  is  no  hard  mat- 
ter to  frame  discourses  that  shall  meet  with 
some  degree  of  general  approbation  ;  nor  is  it 
difficult  to  foresee  the  reception  which  plain 
truth  must  often  meet  with :  but  those  who 
undertake  a  charge  must  perform  it ;  and  mi- 
nisters are  bound  to  declare  to  the  people 
every  thing  that  regards  their  welfare,  whether 
they  will  hear,  or  whether  they  will  forbear. 
If  the  watchman  sees  the  danger  coming,  and 
does  not  blow  the  trumpet,  to  give  the  most 


public  notice  possible,  he  is  answerable  for  all 
the  evils  that  may  follow.  This  is  applied  as 
a  caution  to  the  prophet  Ezekiel :  and  un- 
doubtedly, every  one  who  administers  in  holy 
things  is  concerned  in  it.  "  So  thou,  O  son 
of  man,  I  have  set  thee  a  watchman  unto  the 
house  of  Israel ;  therefore,  thou  shalt  hear 
the  word  at  my  mouth,  and  warn  them 
from  me.  When  I  say  unto  the  wicked,  O 
wicked  man,  thou  shalt  surely  die ;  if  thou 
dost  not  speak  to  warn  the  wicked  from  his 
way,  that  wicked  man  shall  die  in  his  iniquity, 
but  his  blood  will  I  require  at  thine  hand," 
Ezek.  xxxiii.  Let  this  awful  passage  plead 
our  excuse,  if  at  any  time  we  seem  too  urgent, 
or  too  plain,  in  our  discourses.  Too  plain  01 
urgent  we  cannot  be.  Our  business  is  mosl 
important ;  opportunities  are  critical  and  pre 
cious.  It  is  at  the  hazard  of  our  souls  if  we 
^peak  deceitfully  ;  and  at  the  hazard  of  yaurs. 
if  we  speak  in  vain. 

In  the  preceding  verses,  the  prophet  gives 
us  a  striking  image  of  the  opposition  between 
the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  in  their  present 
state,  their  hopes,  and  their  end.  The  ore  is 
compared  to  a  tree ;  the  other  to  heath  and 
stubble  :  the  one  planted  by  streams  of  wa- 
ter ;   the  other,   exposed  on    the  salt  burning 


3U 


ON  THR  DECE1TFULNESS 


SKR.  I. 


desert :   the  one,  green,  flourishing,  all  full  of  j 
fruit ;  the  other,  parched  and  withering.    The 
hope  of  the  one  is  fixed  on  the  Lord,   the  all- 
sufficient,     the  almighty    God  ;    the  rash   de-  \ 
pendence  of  the  other,  on  a  frail,  feeble  arm  of 
flesh.      Suitable  to  this  difference  is  their  end  : 
the  one,  blessed,  provided  against  all  evil,  so 
that  he   shall  not    be  careful  in  the  year  of, 
drought ;  the  other,  cursed,  and  cut  off'  from 
the  expectations   of  any  amendment.      "  He 
shall  not  see  when  good  cometh."      The  im-  I 
mediate  design  was  perhaps  to  shew  the  Jews,  \ 
that  there  was  no  way  to  avert  the  judgments  | 
of    God,   and   to   avoid  the   impending  evils  | 
which   threatened  them,  but  by  returning  to 
the  Lord,  who  had  begun  to  smite,  and  who 
alone  was  able  to   heal  them.      But  this  they 
refused.      They  preferred   their   own   contri- 
vances :  they  leaned  upon  an  arm  of  flesh  ; 
sometimes  upon  Egypt,  sometimes  upon  As- 
syria:   one  while  presuming  upon  force  ;  ano- 
ther while  upon  cunning.      They  were  fruit- 
ful  in  expedients,  and  when  one  broken  cis- 
tern failed  them,  they  had  recourse  to  another. 
But  the  prophet  denounces  the  curse  of  God 
both  on  them  and  their  supports  ;  subjoining 
the  words  of  my  text,  which  may  be  under- 
stood, either  as  a  farther  proof  of  what  he  had 
said,  or  an  assigned  cause  of  that    obstinacy 
and    perverseness    he    had    complained     of; 
"  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  j 
desperately  wicked  ;   who  can  know  it  ?" 

But,  without  confining  the  words  to  the 
first  occasion  of  their  delivery,  I  shall  consi- 
der them,  as  teaching  us  a  doctrine  abundant- 
ly confirmed  by  mpny  other  passages  of  scrip- 
ture, "  that  the  heart  is  deceitful  and  des- 
perately wicked  j"  which  I  shall  endeavour  to 
illustrate  in  a  plain  familiar  way.  I  shall, 
secondly,  from  the  next  verse,  enforce  this 
observation,  that  the  heart  (bad  as  it  is)  is 
incessantly  under  the  divine  inspection  and 
examination  :  "  I  the  Lord  search  the  heart, 
I  try  the  reins."  I  shall,  thirdly,  consider 
the  issue  and  design  of  this  inquest ;  that 
every  man  may,  in  the  end,  receive  accord- 
ing to  his  ways,  and  according  to  the  fruit  of 
his  doings.  And  may  the  Lord  enable  us 
so  to  try  and  examine  ourselves  here,  that  here- 
after we  may  be  found  unblameable  and  with- 
out rebuke  before  him,  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord. 

I.  The  heart  is  here  characterised,  first,  As 
deceitful,  and  that  a'mve,  or  in  all  things  : 
secondly,  As  desperately  wicked  ;  in  so  dan- 
gerous, so  deplorable  a  state,  as  is  not  to  be 
conceived  or  found  out.  "  Who  can  know 
it?"  The  word  in  the  original  [^JJ$]  which 
we  translate  desperately  wicked,  signifies  a 
mortal,  incurable  disease :  a  disease  which, 
seizing  on  the  vitals,  affects  and  threatens  the 
whole  frame  ;  and  which  no  remedy  can  reach. 
This  idea  leads  us  to  that  first  transgression, 
whereby  man  departing  from  God,  fatally  de- 
stroyed  his  soul's  health,  and  sunk   into  that 


state  so  pathetically  described  by  Isaiah,  chap, 
i.  "  The  whole  head  is  sick,"  all  the  powers 
of  the  understanding  disordered  ;  "  and  the 
whole  heart  faint,"  all  the  springs  of  the  af- 
fections enfeebled.  "  From  the  sole  of  the 
foot,  even  unto  the  head,  there  is  no  sound- 
ness, but  wounds,  bruises,  and  putrifying 
sores:"  the  evil  growing  worse  continually, 
and  no  help  or  helper  at  hand  :  "  they  have 
not  been  closed  nor  bound  up,  nor  mollified 
with  ointment."  In  consequence  of  this 
deep-rooted  disorder,  the  heart  is  deceitful ; 
that  is,  it  deceives  and  fails  us  in  every  in- 
stance ;  it  promises  more  than  it  can  perform  ; 
it  misleads  us  with  vain  desires  ;  and  mocks 
us  with  unsuccessful  efforts ;  like  the  faint  at- 
tempts of  a  sick  man,  to  perform  those  actions 
which  require  a  state  of  sound  health  and 
strength.  That  this  is  indeed  the  case,  will 
(I  think)  appear  from  the  following  particu- 
lars ;  to  which  I  intreat  your  attention. 

Scripture  and  reason  do  jointly  assure  us, 
that  all  we  see  is  the  work  of  an  Almighty 
Being. — The  heavens  and  the  earth,  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars,  and  even  the  grass  and 
flowers  of  the  field,  loudly  proclaim  the  pre- 
sence, the  power,  the  wisdom,  and  the  good- 
ness of  God  :  yet  behold  the  extreme  insen- 
sibility of  man  !  The  wisest  of  our  species, 
in  those  places  where  divine  revelation  was 
not  known,  ever  mistook  the  effect  for  the 
cause,  and  ascribed  that  honour  to  the  crea- 
ture which  is  due  only  to  the  Creator.  This 
was  the  very  best  of  the  case  ;  for,  in  general, 
they  sunk  still  lower,  to  worship  stocks  and 
stones  :  nay,  to  the  eternal  reproach  of  the 
natural  understanding  in  the  things  of  God, 
the  more  civilized  any  nation  was,  the  more 
renowned  for  arts  and  arms,  the  farther  they 
were  removed  from  those  they  termed  barba- 
rians ;  so  much  the  more  vile  and  contempti- 
ble the  idolatry  they  established  generally 
proved.  The  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians  paid 
divine  honours  to  cats,  monkies,  and  the  vilest 
reptiles.  The  fine  taste  of  the  Greeks  conse- 
crated those  for  gods,  who,  if  they  had  lived 
amongst  men,  would  have  been  deemed  the 
pests  of  society  ;  gods  who  were,  professedly, 
both  patterns  and  patrons  of  the  most  shame- 
ful vices.  The  prowess  of  the  Romans  esta- 
blished altars  to  fear  and  paleness.  So  deep- 
ly were  they  infatuated,  so  totally  lost  to  com- 
mon sense,  that  the  apostle  Paul's  worst  ene- 
mies could  find  no  more  plausible  accusation 
against  him,  in  one  of  the  politest  cities  then 
in  the  world,  than  that  he  had  ventured  to 
affirm,  "  they  were  no  gods  who  were  made 
with  hands." 

Thus  stood  the  case  with  heathens :  let  us 
now  come  nearer  home.  It  is  to  be  feared, 
the  greatest  difference  between  them  and  the 
generality  of  us  called  Christians  is,  that  we 
do  not  partake  in  their  gross  outward  idola- 
try. In  other  respects,  our  insensibility  is 
perhaps  as  much  g -eater  than  theirs,  as  our 


»ER.   I. 


OF  THE  HUMAN  HEART. 


315 


superior  knowledge  renders  it  more  inexcuse- 
able.  We  acknowledge  a  God  :  that  there  is 
but  one ;  that  he  is  the  cause  of  all  things  ; 
that  in  him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our 
being.  Had  the  poor  heathens  known  this, 
we  may  judge  by  their  application  to  their  mis- 
taken worship,  it  would  have  had  some  influ- 
ence on  their  practice.  But  what  numbers  of 
us  live  altogether  as  "  without  God  in  the 
world."  I  come  not  here  to  make  invectives  ; 
let  conscience  judge  and  give  evidence  accord- 
ingly. What  do  we  think  of  the  perpetual 
presence  of  God  around  us,  and  within  us  ? 
We  know  that  he  is  acquainted  with  all  our 
thoughts,  words,  and  actions ;  yet  are  we  not 
more  effectually  restrained  and  awed  by  the 
presence  of  our  fellow-worms,  than  by  the 
regard  of  that  eye  which  is  ten  thousand  times 
brighter  than  the  sun  ?  How  are  we  affected 
by  the  works  of  God  ?  Has  not  the  appear- 
ance of  a  fine  day,  or  the  beauty  of  an  exten- 
sive prospect,  a  force  to  extort  a  sense  of  sa- 
tisfaction from  every  one  ?  but  how  few  are 
there  of  us  that  can  realize  and  acknowledge 
the  hand  of  the  glorious  author  of  these 
things?  How  seldom,  and  how  faintly,  do  we 
adopt  the  reflection  of  David  ?  "  When  I 
consider  thy  heavens,  the  work  of  thy  fingers, 
the  moon  and  the  stars  which  thou  hast  or- 
dained ;  What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mind- 
ful of  him  ?  and  the  son  of  man,  that  thou 
visitest  him  ?"  Psal.  viii.  What  is  our 
judgment  of  the  word  of  God,  that  glorious 
message  of  love,  in  which  he  has  pointed  out 
to  us  the  way  of  salvation  ?  Is  not  this  book 
the  least  read,  the  least  admired,  and  the  least 
understood  of  any  ?  We  are  presently  affected, 
we  enter  with  all  our  spirit  into  the  moving 
incidents  (as  we  term  them)  of  a  romance  or 
tragedy,  though  we  know  they  are  not  founded 
on  truth,  nor  have  any  relation  to  ourselves  ; 
but  we  can  read  the  history  of  Jesus  Christ, 
his  life  and  doctrines,  his  death  and  passion, 
with  indifference,  though  we  say,  all  he  spoke, 
or  did,  or  suffered,  was  for  our  sakes.  What 
are  our  thoughts  of  that  eternity  to  which  we 
are  posting,  and  to  which,  for  aught  we  know, 
a  few  hours  may  introduce  us  ?  Is  it  not  in 
the  power  of  the  merest  trifle  that  occurs  to 
hide  this  important  point  from  our  view  ?  It 
were  easy  to  multiply  particulars  :  but  are 
not  these  sufficient  to  shew  the  deceitfulness, 
the  desperate  wickedness  of  the  heart  ?  Let 
me  add  one  more  :  the  judgments  of  God  are 
now  abroad  in  the  world  for  these  things.  We 
have  warnings  all  around  us.  We  know  that 
many  fruitful  lands  in  our  neighbourhood  are 
in  a  manner  turned  into  a  wilderness,  for  the 
sins  of  the  inhabitants.  Every  post  brings 
us  tidings  of  some  new  desolation,  and  we 
cannnot  tell  how  soon  the  case  may  be  our 
own ;  but  we  have  neither  sympathy  for  our 
fellow-creatures  nor  concern  for  ourselves. 
We  hear,  we  pity,  we  forget  in  the  same  in- 
itant :   but  these  things  are  remote.     Is,  then, 


what  we  see  and  feel  more  laid  to  heart  ? 
Our  friends  and  acquaintance  are  taken  from 
amongst  us  daily,  some  of  them  suddenly,  in 
the  midst  of  their  warmest  pursuits,  or  just 
upon  the  accomplishment  of  their  most  fa- 
vourite schemes  :  we  drop  an  unmeaning  tear, 
and  fly  to  every  officious  vanity  for  relief. 
Perhaps  we  are  visited  ourselves,  and  brought 
down  to  the  borders  of  the  grave  ;  but  even 
against  this  we  are,  for  the  most  part,  proof, 
or,  if  we  feel  a  slight  impression,  it  gradually 
wears  off  with  the  disease,  and  we  return  as 
soon  as  we  recover  to  our  former  follies  with 
redoubled  ardour. 

This  is  a  slight  view  of  the  insensibility  of 
the  human  heart :  let  us  now  consider  its  in- 
gratitude. The  Israelites  were  a  sample  of 
all  mankind  in  this  respect.  God  visited  them 
in  Egypt  in  the  midst  of  their  affliction. 
Without  any  application  on  their  part,  he 
undertook  and  effected  their  deliverance : 
he  brought  them  from  among  their  enemies 
"  with  a  high  hand,  and  a  stretched-out  arm  ;" 
he  led  them  safely  through  the  wilderness  ;  he 
screened  them  with  a  cloud,  from  the  piercing 
beams  of  the  sun  ;  he  gave  them  light  by  night, 
in  a  pillar  of  fire ;  he  fed  them  with  bread 
from  heaven,  and  caused  streams  to  flow  in 
the  sandy  desert ;  he  made  a  covenant  with 
them,  and  chose  them  for  his  peculiar  people  ; 
he  destroyed  all  their  enemies  before  them  ; 
and,  at  length,  put  them  in  the  full  and  peace- 
able possession  of  a  land  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey.  Interwoven  with  the  history  of 
God's  gracious  dealings  with  them,  we  have 
an  account  of  their  behaviour  towards  him, 
which  was  a  continual  series  of  rebellion,  per- 
verseness,  murmuring,  and  disobedience.  And 
are  we  better  than  they  ?  In  no  wise.  If 
we  had  leisure  to  consider  the  natural,  civil, 
and  religious  advantages  we  enjoy  as  a  nation, 
it  would  appear  that  we  likewise  have  long 
been  a  peculiarly  favoured  people.  The  eye 
of  the  Lord  our  God  has  been  upon  us  con- 
tinually for  good,  and  we  have  reason  to  say, 
"  He  has  not  dealt  so  with  any  nation."  The 
history  of  all  ages  and  countries  affords  us  no 
instance  of  national  prosperity  that  can  be 
compared,  either  for  degree  or  continuance, 
with  what  we  have  enjoyed  since  the  Revolu- 
tion :  nor  would  it  be  easy,  I  fear,  to  find  a 
parallel  in  any  history  of  our  great  ingrati- 
tude. What  I  have  said  in  the  former  ar- 
ticle will  necessarily  infer  this  ;  for  it  is  impos- 
sible that  those  who  have  so  little  sensibility, 
either  of  the  value  of  the  gifts  of  God,  or  ot 
his  hand  in  bestowing  them,  can  be  grateful. 
The  seat  of  ingratitude  is  in  the  heart :  the 
proof  appears  in  words  and  actions.  Now, 
what  are  the  prevailing  subjects  of  conversa- 
tion amongst  us  ?  Are  the  great  things  that 
God  has  done  for  us,  the  high  obligations  we 
are  under  to  him,  the  comforts  of  our  holy 
religion,  and  the  nature  of  that  blessed  hope 
set  before  us  by  the   gospel,  in  the  number  ? 


316 


ON   THE   DECE1TFULNESS 


SER.  I. 


On  the  contrary,  is  not  the  least  hint  or' 
these  things  in  company,  for  the  most  part, 
received  with  reserve,  if  not  with  contempt 
and  disgust  ?  "  Out  of  the  abundance  of  the 
heart  the  mouth  speaketh."  God,  and  the 
things  of  God,  have  little  place  there ;  but 
levity,  detraction,  ill-temper,  and,  not  seldom, 
profanencss  and  obscenity,  in  our  discourses, 
too  plainly  discover  the  nature  of  the  fountain 
from  whence  they  flow.  And  if  we  look  upon 
the  actions  of  men  in  general,  they  are  but 
of  a  piece  with  their  words  ;  engrossed  by 
business,  or  enslaved  to  pleasure,  for  a  season 
all  upon  the  stretch  in  amassing  treasures, 
and  then  perhaps  as  restless  and  eager  to  dis- 
sipate them.  Whatever  passion  ruh's  them 
for  the  time,  or  whatever  changes  they  may 
admit  in  their  schemes,  it  is  too  plain,  that 
a  principle  of  gratitude  to  God,  and  a  con- 
scious desire  to  please  him,  have  little  influence 
either  in  forming  or  executing  their  plans. 
If  these  things  are  so,  we  have  another  in- 
stance of  the  deceitfulness  and  desperate 
wickedness  of  the  heart:  it  is  full  of  the 
blackest  ingratitude. 

Need  any  thing  be  added  to  these  two 
charges  ?  Have  we  not  said  enough  to  con- 
firm the  prophet's  assertion  ?  If  not,  we  can 
name  a  third  particular,  if  possible,  more  ab- 
surd and  inexcusable  than  either  of  the  former. 
Man  is  not  only  insensible  of  the  greatest 
part  of  those  things  which  most  concern  him, 
and  ungrateful  and  disobedient  to  his  maker 
and  preserver,  his  best  and  only  friend,  but 
he  is  proud  too.  Though  he  has  nothing 
but  what  he  has  received,  has  received  no- 
thing but  what  he  has  perverted  and  misma- 
naged, and  must  render  a  strict  account  of 
his  mismanagement,  yet  he  is  proud.  We 
have  already  seen  his  blindness  and  baseness  ; 
there  wanted  only  pride  to  make  him  a  mon- 
ster indeed.  And  need  we  spend  time  to 
prove  this  ?  No.  This  at  least  is  an  univer- 
sal evil.  Any  man  may  easily  perceive  it  in 
every  man  but  himself;  and  every  thinking 
man  may  perceive  it  working  within  himself 
incessantly.  Whether  we  are  alone  or  in  com- 
pany, whether  with  friends  or  enemies,  with 
those  above  us  or  those  below  us,  pride  will 
insinuate.  Nay,  in  the  immediate  presence 
of  God,  when  we  come  together  to  implore 
his  mercy,  while  the  most  humbling  confes- 
sions are  upon  our  lips,  and  we  are  charging 
ourselves  as  most  miserable,  helpless  sinners, 
even  here  pride  will  find  us  out.  Those  must 
be  great  strangers  to  themselves,  who  are  not 
sensible  of  this.  Now,  why  is  dust  and  ashes 
proud  ?  proud  of  our  failings  !  proud  of  our 
infirmities  !  Is  it  not  from  hence,  because  the 
heart  is  deplorably  diseased,  desperately  wick- 
ed, and  deeply  deceitful  ? 

I  shall  pursue  this  point  no  farther.  I  shall 
not  attempt  to  enumerate,  at  present,  those 
"  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries,  forni- 
cations,   thef(s,    and  blasphemies"  /"Mark  vii. 


21),  which,  our  Lord  assures  us,  do  perpe- 
tually "  proceed  from  the  heart."  I  chose 
to  insist  on  insensibility,  ingratitude,  and 
pride,  because  these  are  the  vices  which,  in 
common  life,  we  most  condemn,  are  will- 
ing to  think  ourselves  most  free  from,  and 
can  the  least  bear  to  be  charged  with.  And 
it  must  be  allowed,  that  between  man  and 
man  there  is  often  the  appearance  of  much 
generosity,  gratitude,  and  condescension  ;  but 
what  will  it  avail  us,  that  we  stand  upon  some 
tolerable  terms  towards  each  other  in  these  re- 
spects, if  we  are  guilty  before  God  ?  "  The 
Lord  seeth  not  as  man  seeth"  (1  Sam.  xvi.  7)  : 
he  cannot  be  deceived  or  put  off  with  a  fair 
appearance ;  for  he  searcheth  the  heart  and 
trieth  the  reins.  This  is  the  next  point  to 
be  considered. 

II.  That  the  heart,  with  all  its  workings, 
and  all  its  faults,  is  incessantly  under  the  di- 
vine inspection  and  examination  :  "  I  the 
Lord  search  the  heart,  I  try  the  reins." 
The  heart  and  reins,  as  distinguished  in  scrip- 
ture-phrase, signify  those  different  powers  of 
the  mind,  the  affections  and  the  thoughts. 
The  words  search  and  try  have  an  emphasis 
in  the  original,  which  cannot  be  reached  with- 
out  a  paraphrase,  if  at  all. 

The  Loi  d  searches  ["IpPJ]  tne  heart :  he 
traces,  investigates  the  inmost  principle  of  our 
souls  to  its  first  rise,  with,  if  I  may  so  speak, 
a  mathematical  accuracy.  He  tries  [7HD] 
the  reins  :  he  watches  every  rising  thought ;  he 
brings  it  to  the  test  of  his  most  pure  law ;  he 
examines  it  with  the  utmost  exactness,  as  a 
refiner  assays  his  metals,  witli  a  purpose  to  re- 
ject whatever  is  inferior  to  the  prescribed 
standard.  To  form  a  more  just  idea  of  this 
scrutiny,  let  us  ask  ourselves  how  we  could 
bear  to  be  obliged  to  declare  aloud,  in  full 
company,  every  thought  which  passes  through 
our  minds,  every  wish  and  desire  of  which  we 
are  conscious,  without  the  least  reserve  or  ex- 
ception ?  I  am  persuaded  there  are  few  peo- 
ple so  lost  to  shame,  but,  if  they  were  brought 
to  this  trial,  they  would  rather  chuse  to  die 
than  comply  with  it.  Some  things  they  would 
perceive,  especially  upon  such  a  provocation, 
which  they  could  hardly,  upon  any  terms, 
prevail  witli  themselves  to  express.  The  Lord 
has  mercifully  kept  us  from  the  knowledge  of 
each  other's  hearts,  any  farther  than  we  are 
willing  to  disclose  ourselves  ;  for,  were  every 
man  compelled  to  speak  all  he  thinks,  there 
would  be  an  end  of  society  ;  and  man  would 
no  more  venture  to  dwell  with  man  than  with 
tigers  and  bears.  We  know  what  mischief  one 
ungoverned  tongue  may  sometimes  occasion  : 
now,  the  tongue  can  do  no  evil,  any  farther  than 
as  it  is  an  instrument  of  disclosing  the  hidden 
things  of  the  heart ;  yet  it  is  but  a  small  part 
of  these  the  worst  tongue  is  capable  of  dis- 
closing. What,  then,  would  be  the  case,  if 
all  our  hearts  were  open,  all  our  desires  known 
to  ont'  another  ?  What  a  mixture  of  confusion 


SEK.  I. 


Of    THE  HUMAN  HEART.  3J7 

our  neighbour,  if  every  angry  word,  every  de- 
gree of  ill-will  or  revenge,  is  considered  as 
murder  in  God's  sight  ?  It  will  not  suffice  to 
say,  I  am  no  thief  or  extortioner,  unless  we 
can  clear  ourselves  of  the  most  distant  wish  of 
possessing  what  was  the  property  of  another. 
If  we  are  sure  that  we  have  not  forsworn 
ourselves,  but  have  performed  to  the  Lord 
our  oaths,  it  is  only  thus  far  well,  that  we  shall 
not  be  condemned  for  open  and  actual  perjury : 
but  if  we  have  at  any  time  mentioned,  or  even 
thought  of  the  name  of  God,  without  the  high- 
est habitual  reverence,  we  have  taken  his  name 
in  vain  ;  and  he  has  declared  he  will  not  hold 
us  guiltless.  That  this  is  no  gloss  of  my  in- 
venting but  the  very  words  of  truth,  the  decla- 
ration of  him  by  whom  we  must  be  one  day 
judged,  the  5th  chapter  of  Matthew   will  in- 


ond  defiance,  shame,  rage,  fear,  and  con- 
tempt, would  overspread  every  countenance  ! 
and  yet  thus  we  are  exposed  to  the  searching 
eye  of  a  pure  and  holy  God !  The  Lord 
knows  the  thoughts  of  man's  heart,  that  they 
are  vain.  He  long  ago  declared  the  result  of  his 
observation  :  "  God  saw  that  the  wickedness 
of  man  was  great  in  the  earth ;  and  that  every 
imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was 
only  evil  continually,"  Gen.  vi.  And  though 
the  world  was  drowned  for  this,  matters  were 
not  mended  afterwards ;  for,  upon  a  second 
survey,  the  judgment  amounts  to  the  same  : 
f*  The  Lord  looked  down  from  heaven  upon 
the  children  of  men,  to  see  if  there  were  any 
that  did  understand,  and  seek  God.  They 
are  all  gone  aside ;  they  are  altogether  be- 
come filthy ;  there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no, 
not  one.      Their  throat  is  an  open  sepulchre  ;   form  you.      There  a  wanton  glance  is  styled 


with  their  tongues  they  have  used  deceit,  the 
poison  of  asps  is  under  their  lips."  Psal.  xiv. 
Is.  liv.  Compare  Rom.  iii.  How  it  was  in 
our  blessed  Saviour's  time,  we  have  already 
observed  ;  and  neither  scripture  nor  experi- 
ence gives  us  reason  to  hope  it  has  been  better 
since,  or  is  now.  The  apostle  Paul  has  as- 
sured us,  "  That,  in  the  last  days"  (a  charac- 
ter which,  it  is  likely,  coincides  with  our  days) 
'  perilous  times  shall  come.  For  men  shall 
be  lovers  of  their  own  selves,  covetous,  boast- 
ers, proud,  blasphemers,  disobedient  to  pa- 
rents, unthankful,  unholy,  without  natural 
affection,  truce-breakers,  false  accusers,  in- 
continent, fierce,  despisers  of  those  that  are 
good,  traitors,  heady,  high-minded,  lovers  of 
pleasure  more  than  lovers  of  God  :  having  a 
form  of  godliness,  but  denying  the  power 
thereof,"  2  Tim.  iii. — Surely,  I  say,  if  these 
are  marks  of  the  last  days,  they  must  be  al- 
ready commenced.  However,  we  see,  upon 
the  whole,  how  vile  and  hateful  our  hearts 
must  appear  in  the  sight  of  a  heart-searching 
God. 

III.  One  thing  more  we  have  to  consider: 
That  the  Lord  does  not  observe  the  heart  of 
man  with  the  indifference  of  a  mere  spectator, 
but  as  an  impartial  and  an  inflexible  judge; 
"  that  he  may  give  every  man  according  to 
his  ways,  and  according  to  the  fruit  of  his  do- 
ings." This  was  the  third  particular  to  be 
spoken  to. 

But,  alas !  what  can  be  said  to  this  ?  Is  it 
not  sufficient  to  fill  our  souls  with  astonish- 
ment, and  to  cause  all  faces  to  gather  black- 
ness, to  hear,  that  the  Lord  has  purposed  to 
render  to  every  man  according  to  his  works ; 
and  that  he  sits  judge,  not  only  upon  out- 
ward actions,  but  examines  the  very  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  heart?  Dare  any  of  us  abide 
the  issue  of  such  a  trial  ?  Which  of  us  will  pre- 
sume to  say,  I  am  clean  ?  To  what  purpose 
can  any  of  us  plead,  I  have  not  committed  a- 
dultery,  if  God  charges  us  with  every  inordinate 
desire, with  every  offence  of  the  eye  ?  What  will 
it  avail,  that  we  hj>"e  never  assaulted  the  life  of 


adultery ;  an  angry  expression  censured  as 
murder  ;  and  to  speak  unadvisedly  even  of  the 
hairs  of  our  head,  is  deemed  a  branch  of  pro- 
fane swearing.  And  why  ?  because  all  these 
spring  from  the  heart,  which  is  "  naked  and 
open,"  without  either  covering  or  concealment, 
"  in  the  sight  of  him  with  whom  we  have  to 
do,"  Heb.  iv.  This  is  thought  uncomfortable 
doctrine  ;  and  not  without  reason,  could  we  go 
no  farther.  For  there  is  nothing  in  heaven  or 
in  earth,  in  time  or  eternity,  that  affords  the 
least  glimpse  of  comfort  to  fallen  man,  if  ei- 
ther God  is  strict  to  mark  what  is  amiss,  or 
if  he,  trusting  in  himself,  presumes  to  plead 
with  his  Maker.  The  divine  law  requires 
perfect,  unremitted,  unsinning  obedience ;  it 
denounces  a  curse  upon  the  least  failure ; 
"  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in 
all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the 
law  to  do  them"  (Gal.  iii.  10.);  every  one, 
without  exception  of  person  or  circumstance, 
that  continueth  not,  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  life,  in  all  things,  great  and  small,  to 
do  them,  mv  vromirai  aura,  to  finish  them,  to  do 
them  completely,  without  any  defect  either  in 
matter  or  manner.  Most  uncomfortable  doc- 
trine indeed,  were  there  no  remedy  provided. 
For  the  law  of  God  is  as  eternal  and  un- 
changeable as  his  nature  :  it  must  not,  it  can- 
not be  attempered  or  brought  down  to  our  ca- 
pacities ;  neither  can  the  penalty  be  evaded: 
for  the  God  of  truth  has  said,  has  sworn,  that 
"  the  soul  that  sinneth  shall  die,"  Ezek.  xviii. 
4.  Here,  then,  we  must  receive  "  a  sentence 
of  death  in  ourselves,"  2  Cor.  i.  9.  Here, 
"  every  mouth  must  be  stopped,  and  all  the 
world  become  guilty  before  God,"  Rom.  iii, 
19.  Here  we  must  say,  with  the  apostla, 
"  Therefore,  by  the  deeds  of  the  law,  there 
shall  be  no  flesh  justified  in  his  sight"  (Gal.  ii. 
16.):  "for  by  the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin," 
Rom.  iii.  20.  O  that  we  could  all  sincerely 
say  so  ;  that  we  were  brought  to  this,  to  feel 
and  confess  our  lost,  undone  estate,  and  our  ut- 
ter  inability  to  save  ourselves  !  then  with  joy 
should  I  proceed  to  what   I  have  had  in  my 


ON  THE  DECEITFULNESS,  &C. 


318 

eye  all  along.      For  with  what   view   have   I 
said    so    much   upon  so   disagreeable  a  sub- 
ject ?   why  have  I  attempted  to  lay  open  some 
of  the  depths  of  the  heart  ?  but  that  I   might 
more  fully  illustrate  the  wonderful  grace  and 
goodness  of   God,   vouchsafed    to    us   in  the 
gospel  ;   and  at  the  same  time  shew  the  utter 
impossibility,  nor  of  being  saved  at  all,  but 
of  finding  salvation  in  any  other  way  than   in 
that    which    God    has    appointed.      For,    be- 
hold!    God   so  loved   the  world    (John  iii.), 
that  he   sent  his  Son  to   accomplish   that  for 
us,  which  the  law  could   not  do  through  the 
weakness    of  our    flesh,    Rom.    viii.       Jesus 
Christ  performed  perfect  obedience  to  the  law 
of  God  in  our  behalf ;  he  died,  and   satisfied 
the  penalty  due  to  our  sins ;  he  rose  from  the 
grave  as  our  representative  ;  he  is  entered  in- 
to heaven  as  our  forerunner.      "  He  has  re- 
ceived gifts  for  men,  even  for  the  rebellious," 
Psalms    lxviii.      He    is    "  exalted"    on   high 
"  to  bestow  repentance  and  remission  of  sins" 
(Acts  v.)  on  all  that   seek  to   him.      He  has 
established  his  ordinances  for  this  purpose  :   he 
has  commanded  his  people  not  to  neglect  the 
assembling  of  themselves   together.      He  has 
charged  his  ministers  at  such   seasons  to   de- 
clare first  the  guilty,  deplorable  condition  of 
mankind,    and    then    to    proclaim    the    glad 
tidings  of  salvation,  by  faith  which  is  in  him. 
He    has   promised   to   be  with  them    in    this 
work  to  the  end  of  the  world.      He  has  pro- 
mised, that  where  his  word  is  faithfully  preach- 
ed,  he  will  accompany  it  with  a  spirit   and 
power   that  will    bear  down  all    opposition. 
He  has  promised,  that  while  we  are  speaking 
to  the  ear,  he  will,  by  his  secret  influence,  ap- 
ply it  to  the  heart,  and  open  it  to  receive  and 
embrace  the  truth  spoken,  as   in  the   case  of 
Lydia.      Who  would  venture  to  preach  a  doc- 
trine so  unpalatable  to  the  carnal  mind,  as  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  him  crucified?    Who   would 
undertake  so  ungrateful  a  task  as  to  depreci- 
ate that  noble  creature  man,  and  arraign  him 
publicly    of  insensibility,   ingratitude,    pride, 
and  deceit ;  were  it  not  that  we  have,  first,  a 
command,  and  that,    at  our   peril,   to  speak 
plain,  and,  secondly,  a  promise   that  we  shall 
not  speak  in  vain?  Not  that  we  can  expect  to 
be   universally  received  :    The  time  is  come, 
when  many  "  will  not  endure  sound  doctrine" 
(2  Tim.  iv.  3.)  ;  but  some  there  will  be,  whom 
God  is  pleased  to  save  by  the   foolishness  of 
preaching,   so  called.      Some  such    1    would 
hope  are  in  this  assembly.      To  such    I  say, 
think  not  to  satisfy  the  divine  justice  by  any 
poor  performances  of  your  own  ;  think  not  to 
cleanse  or  expiate  the  evil   of  your  hearts  by 
any  of  your  own  inventions;  but,    "  behold 
the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sins 
of  the  world,"    John  i.   29.      He  died,  that 
you  may  live  :  he  lives,  that  you  may  live  for 
ever.     Put,  therefore,  your  trust  in  the  Lord  ; 
for  with  him  is  plenteous  redemption.      His 
sufferings  and  death  are  a  complete  final  pro- 


SER.   I. 

pitiation  for  sin.  "  He  is  able  to  save  to  the 
uttermost ;"  and  he  is  as  willing  as  he  is  able. 
It  was  this  brought  him  down  from  heaven ; 
for  this  he  emptied  himself  of  all  glory,  and 
submitted  to  all  indignity.  His  humiliation, 
expiates  our  pride;  his  perfect  love  atones  for 
our  ingratitude  ;  his  exquisite  tenderness 
pleads  for  our  insensibility.  Only  believe ; 
commit  your  cause  to  him  by  faith  and  pray- 
er. As  a  Priest,  he  shall  make  atonement 
for  your  sins,  and  present  your  persons  and 
your  services  acceptable  before  God.  As  a 
Prophet,  he  shall  instruct  you  in  the  true 
wisdom,  which  maketh  wise  to  salvation  ;  he 
shall  not  only  cause  you  to  know  his  com- 
mandments, but  to  love  them  too :  he  shall 
write  them  in  your  hearts.  As  a  King,  he 
shall  evermore  mightily  defend  you  against 
all  your  enemies.  He  shall  enable  you  to 
withstand  temptations,  to  support  difficulties, 
to  break  through  all  opposition.  He  shall 
supply  you  with  every  thing  you  need,  for  this 
life  or  a  better,  out  of  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  his  grace.  He  shall  strengthen  you  to  over- 
come all  things  ;  to  endure  to  the  end  ;  and 
then  he  shall  give  you  a  place  in  his  kingdom  ; 
a  seat  near  his  throne  ;  a  crown  of  life  ;  a  crown 
of  glory,  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that 
fadeth  not  away. 


SERMON  II. 

ON  THE  SAVIOUR  AND  HIS  SALVATION. 

This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  ac- 
ceptation, that  Christ  Jesus  cane  into  the 
uorld  to  save  sinners ;    of  whom  I  am  chief. 

1  Tim  i   15. 

Though  the  apostle  Paul  has  written  largely 
and  happily  upon  every  branch  of  christian 
doctrine  and  practice  ;  and  with  respect  to  his 
writings,  as  well  as  his  preaching  could  justly 
assert,  that  he  had  not  shunned  to  declare  the 
whole  counsel  of  God ;  yet  there  are  two 
points  which  seem  to  have  been  (if  I  may  so 
speak)  his  favourite  topics,  which  he  most  fre- 
quently repeats,  most  copiously  insists  on,  and 
takes  every  occasion  of  introducing.  The 
one  is,  to  display  the  honours,  powers,  and 
faithfulness  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  the 
other,  to  make  known  the  great  things  God 
had  done  for  his  own  soul.  How  his  heart 
was  filled  and  fired  with  the  first  of  these,  is 
evident  from  almost  every  chapter  of  his  Epis- 
tles. When  he  speaks  of  the  mystery  of  god- 
liness, "  God  manifested  in  the  flesh,"  and 
the  exceeding  grace  and  love  declared  to  a 
lost  world  through  him,  the  utmost  powers  of 
language  fall  short  of  his  purpose.  With  a 
noble  freedom  he  soars  beyond  the  little 
bounds  of  criticism  ;  and,  finding  the  most 
expressive  words  too  weaK  and  faint  for  nig 


SER.   II. 


ON   THE  SAVIOUR  ANTD  HIS  SALVATION. 


319 


ideas,  he  forms  and  compounds  new  ones, 
heaps  one  hyperbole  upon  another ;  yet,  after 
his  most  laboured  essays  to  do  justice  to  his 
subject,  he  often  breaks  off  in  a  manner  that 
shews  he  was  far  from  being  satisfied  with  all 
he  could  say.  This  reflection  is  most  obvious 
to  those  who  can  read  him  in  the  original : 
but  no  disadvantages  of  a  translation  can 
wholly  confine  that  inimitable  ardour  with 
which  he  seems  to  pour  his  whole  soul  into 
his  words,  when  he  is  speaking  of  his  Lord 
and  Saviour.  And  he  who  can  read  the  first 
chapters  of  his  epistles  to  the  Ephesians,  Co- 
losians,  and  Hebrews,  the  second  to  the  Phi- 
lippians,  or  many  similar  passages,  with  in- 
difference, must  be,  I  say,  not  merely  a  per- 
son of  small  devotion,  but  of  little  taste  and 
sensibility. 

And  how  deeply  his  mind  was  impressed 
with  the  mercies  he  had  received  in  his  con- 
version and  call,  is  equally  conspicuous.  He 
takes  every  occasion  to  aggrandize  the  good- 
ness of  God  to  himself;  to  exaggerate  and 
deplore  the  guilt  and  misery  of  his  former 
life,  in  which  he  once  trusted  ;  and  to  lament 
the  small  returns  he  was  able  to  make  for  such 
blessings ;  even  when  he  could  say,  without 
boasting,  that  he  had  "laboured  more  abund- 
antly" than  the  most  diligent  and  zealous  of 
his  fellow-servants. 

A  powerful  abiding  sense  of  these  two  points 
upon  the  apostle's  mind,  have  given  rise  to 
many  sudden,  lively,  and  beautiful  digressions 
in  the  course  of  his  writings.  The  context  to 
the  passage  I  have  read  is  of  this  kind.  Hav- 
ing incidentally  spoken  of  the  gospel  in  the 
11th  verse,  he  is  suddenly  struck  with  the  re- 
flection of  his  own  misery  while  ignorant  of 
it,  and  the  wonderful  goodness  of  God,  in 
affording  him  the  knowledge  of  salvation,  and 
honouring  him,  who  was  before  a  blasphemer, 
with  a  commission  to  publish  the  same  glad 
tidings  to  others.  This  thought  suspends  his 
argument,  and  fills  his  heart  and  mouth  with 
praise.  And  having  acknowledged,  that  "  the 
grace  of  our  Lord  was  exceeding  abundant" 
towards  himself,  he  subjoins  the  words  of  the 
text,  for  an  encouragement  to  others  ;  assur- 
ing us,  that  his  case  was  not  so  peculiar,  but 
that  multitudes  might  be  partakers  with  him 
in  the  same  hope  of  mercy. 

The  words  easily  resolve  into  two  parts : 

1st,  A  short,  but  comprehensive  proposi- 
tion, including  the  purport  of  the  whole  gos- 
pel, "  That  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world 
to  save  sinners." 

2d,  A  commendation  of  this  doctrine  in  a 
twofold  respect,  "as  a  faithful  saying,"  and 
as  "  worthy  of  all  acceptation  ;"  each  of  these 
illustrated  by  the  instance  of  himself,  when  he 
adds,  "of  whom  I  am  chief." 

I.  The  apostle  well  knew  the  different  recep- 
tion the  gospel  would  meet  in  the  world  ;  that 
many  poor,  guilty  souls,  trembling  under  a 
sense  of   sin  and   unworthiness,    would  very 


hardly  be  persuaded,  that  such  sinners  as  thev 
could  be  saved  at  all.  To  these  he  recom- 
mends it  as  "  a  faithful  s  ying  "  founded  up- 
on the  immutable  counsel,  promise,  and  oath  of 
God,  "  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world 
to  save  sinners  ;"  sinners  in  general  ;  "  the 
chief  of  sinners;"  such  as  he  represents  himself 
to  have  been.  He  knew  likewise,  that  many 
others,  from  a  mistaken  opinion  of  their  own 
goodness,  or  a  mistaken  dependence  on  some- 
thing of  their  own  chusing,  would  be  liable 
to  undervalue  this  faithful  saying.  For  the 
sake  of  these  he  adds,  "  it  is  worthy  of  all  ac- 
ceptation."  None  are  so  bad  but  the  gospel 
affords  them  a  ground  of  hope ;  none  are  so 
good  as  to  have  any  just  ground  of  hope  with- 
out it.  There  was  a  time  when  St.  Paul 
could  have  made  a  fair  profession  of  himself 
likewise  ;  he  could  say,  "  circumcised  on  the 
eighth  day,  of  the  stock  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe 
of  Benjamin,  an  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,  as 
to  the  law  a  Pharisee,  as  to  the  righteousness 
which  is  by  the  law,  blameless,"  Phil.  iii. 
But  he  has  been  since  taught,  "to  count  all 
things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ ;"  and  is  content  to  style  him- 
self the  chief  of  sinners. 

Having  thus  attempted  to  shew  the  design 
and  meaning  of  the  words,  I  propose,  some- 
what more  at  large,  to  unfold  the  proposition, 
and  point  out  some  of  those  important  and 
extensive  truths  it  contains.  I  say  some  of 
them  ;  for  it  is  not  possible  that  either  men  or 
angels  can  fully  sound  the  depth  of  this  one 
sentence,  "  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners."  I  shall  afterwards 
infer,  and  enforce  the  other  part  of  the  text, 
"  that  it  is  indeed  a  faithful  saying,  and  wor- 
thy of  all  acceptation."  And  may  He,  who 
came  into  the  world  to  procure  salvation  for 
sinners,  and  is  now  exalted  on  high  to  bestow 
it,  accompany  the  whole  with  his  promised 
blessing. 

The  tenorof  the  proposition  readily  suggests 
three  inquiries:  1st,  Who  this  person  is,  here 
spoken  of,  Jesus  Christ  ?  2d,  What  is  meant 
by  the  salvation  he  is  said  to  have  undertaken  ? 
3d,  By  what  means  he  effected  it  ? 

Let  us,  first,  speak  of  this  gracious,  this 
wonderful  person,  Jesus  Christ.  We  already 
bear  his  name  as  professed  Christians  ;  and  we 
speak  of  him  as  our  Master,  and  our  Lord ; 
and  so  far  we  say  well.  But,  as  he  has  told 
us,  many  will  call  him  Lord  at  the  great  day, 
to  whom  he  will  profess,  "  I  never  knew  you 
whence  you  are,  depart ;"  so  it  is  to  be  fear- 
ed there  are  many  now,  that  outwardly  ac- 
knowledge him,  who  neither  know  whence  he 
is,  nor  who  he  is.  Though  we  have  Moses 
and  the  prophets,  the  apostles  and  evangelists, 
continually  with  us  ;  though  it  is  the  immedi- 
ate aim  and  intent  of  all  their  writings,  in  every 
history,  promise,  prophecy,  type,  ceremony,  and 
law,  to  set  him  before  our  eyes  ;  and  though 
there  is  hardly  an  image  in  the  material  crea- 


S20  ON   THE  SAVIOUR  A 

tion  but  is  adopted  by  the  scriptures  to  sha- 
dow forth  his  excellency  ;  ignorance  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  what  he  has  done  for  his  people, 
is  the  great  cause  that  religion  appears  so  low 
and  contemptible  to  some,  and  is  found  so 
tedious  and  burdensome  by  others.  Let  us, 
therefore,  attend  to  the  record  God  has  given 
of  his  Son  ;  for  I  propose  in  tills  article  to 
sav  little  of  my  own,  but  to  lay  before  you  the 
express,  powerful,  indubitable  testimony  of 
holy  scripture. 

And  here  we  are  taught,  first,  That  Jesus 
Christ  is  God.  The  first  words  of  St.  John's 
Gospel  are  full  to  this  point :  "  In  the  be- 
ginning" (that  is,  at  the  commencement  of 
time  and  things,  when  as  yet  nothing  else 
existed)  "  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God."  To 
prevent  a  possibility  of  mistake,  and  to  con- 
firm the  eternity  of  this  divine  Word  in  the 
strongest  manner,  it  is  immediately  added, 
"  The  same  was  in  the  beginning  with  God  : 
all  things  were  made  by  him."  And  lest  this 
likewise  should  either  be  contested  or  mis- 
understood, it  is  guarded  by  an  universal  ne- 
gative, "  without  him  was  not  any  thing  made 
that  was  made."  Farther,  to  prevent,  if  pos- 
sible, the  surmise  that,  in  these  glorious  works, 
the  eternal  Word  acted  with  a  deputed  power 
only,  the  apostle  subjoins,  "  In  him  was  life," 
life  essentially  ;  and  from  him,  as  the  fountain, 
life  and  light  proceeded  to  his  creatures  :  "  In 
him  was  life,  and  that  life  was  the  light  of 
men."  To  this  agrees  the  declaration  of  St. 
Paul,  "  For  by  him  were  all  things  created 
that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  vi- 
sible and  invisible,  whether  thrones,  or  domi- 
nions, or  principalities,  or  powers ;  all  things 
were  created  by  him  and  for  him  ;"  by  his 
power  and  wisdom,  and  for  his  glory  and  plea- 
sure. "  And  he  is  before  all  things,  and  by 
him  all  things  consist,"  Col.  i.  Elsewhere 
he  speaks  of  him  expressly,  as  "  over  all  God 
blessed  for  ever  ;  who  upholdeth  all  things 
by  the  word  of  his  power  ;  the  same  yester- 
day, to-day,  and  for  ever."  It  were  easy  to 
enlarge  this  way  ;  but  I  shall  content  myself 
with  observing  this  general  proof  of  the  di- 
vinity of  Christ,  that  the  scriptures,  which 
were  given  to  make  us  wise  to  salvation,  do 
ascribe  to  him  the  names  of  God,  particularly 
Jehovah;  the  essential  attributes  of  God,  such 
as  eternity,  omnipresence,  omnipotence ;  the 
peculiar  works  of  God,  as  creation,  provi- 
dence, redemption,  and  forgiveness  of  sin ; 
and,  finally,  commands  us  to  pay  him  those 
divine  honours,  and  to  rely  on  him  with  that 
absolute  dependence,  which  would  be  idolatry 
if  referred  anywhere  below  the  Supreme  Ma- 
jesty of  heaven  and  earth. 

Again,  we  learn  from  scripture,  that  Christ 
is  truly  and  properly  Man.  This  is  indeed 
wonderful !  therefore  styled,  "  the  great  mys- 
tery of  godliness,"  1  Tim.  iii.  But  that  he 
of  whom  we  have  begun  to  speak  is  the  very 


ND   HIS  SALVATION. 


SEIt.    II. 


person  who  came  into  the  world  to  save  sin- 
ners, we  have  abundant  proof.  The  apostle 
John,  whose  testimony  %ve  have  already  cited, 
says,  a  few  verses  lower  (John  i.  14.),  "  And 
the  Word"  (that  glorious  Word,  which  was 
God  with  God)  "  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt 
among  us,  and  we  beheld  his  glory  ;"  (that 
is,  we  his  disciples,  whose  eyes  were  spiritually 
enlightened,  for  the  world  in  general  saw  no- 
thing of  it;)  "  as  the  glory  of  the  only-be- 
gotten of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth." 
In  other  places  it  is  said,  "  Himself  took  our 
infirmities,  and  bore  our  sicknesses  (Matth. 
viii  16),  and  "  was  in  aJl  points  tempted 
as  we  are,  yet  without  sin,"  Heb.  iv.  15 
"  As  the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and 
blood,  he  also  himself  likewise  took  part  of 
the  same,"  Heb.  ii.  14.  "  In  the  fulness  of 
time,  God  sent  forth  his  Son,  made  of  a  wo- 
man," Gal.  iv.  Many  are  the  mistakes  of 
mortals,  and  wide  the  extremes  into  which 
mistaken  mortals  run.  Some  have  rashly  ven- 
tured to  deny  our  Lord's  divinity  ;  some  have 
wildly  and  fancifully  explained  away  his  hu- 
manity ;  but  may  we,  through  grace,  abide  by 
the  scriptural  truth,  and  be  directed  in  the 
midst  of  the  path  of  judgment. 

From  this  mystical  union  of  the  divine  and 
human  nature  in  one  person,  the  scriptures 
speak  of  him,  thirdly,  under  the  character  of 
a  Mediator,  the  "  one  mediator  between  God 
and  man."  To  this  idea  the  names  Jesus 
Christ,  which  are  as  ointment  poured  forth, 
direct  us  in  their  original  import.  The  for- 
mer, which  signifies  the  Saviour,  pointing  out 
the  success  and  efficacy  of  his  undertaking ; 
the  latter,  which  is  the  same  with  Messiah  or 
the  Anointed,  expressing  both  his  divine  ap- 
pointment thereto,  and  the  complete  supply 
of  all  grace  and  power,  wherewith  he  was 
filled  for  the  discharge  of  it.  Thus  much  for 
the  person  spoken  of. 

We  proceed,  in  the  next  place,  to  consider 
the  design  of  his  appearance  in  the  world, 
"  to  save  sinners."  And  as  the  idea  of  deli- 
verance presupposes  a  state  of  distress,  it  will 
be  necessary  previously  to  inquire  into  the 
condition  of  those  whom  he  came  to  save, 
which  is  indeed  emphatically  implied  in  the 
appellation  given  them,  sinners.  Man  having 
broken  that  law  under  which  he  was  created, 
and  with  which  his  happiness  was  closely  con- 
nected, fe  1  under  accumulated  ruin.  The 
image  of  God,  in  which  he  was  formud,  was 
defaced,  a/id  a  far  different  image  set  up  in 
his  heart,  even  of  him  who  had  seduced  him 
from  his  allegiance ;  darkness  in  the  under- 
standing, rebellion  in  the  will,  sensuality  in 
the  affections  ;  the  justice  of  God  threatening 
a  penalty  he  could  neither  satisfy  nor  sus- 
tain ;  the  commandments  of  God  still  chal- 
lenging an  obedience  he  had  no  longer  any 
power  to  yield.  The  very  gifts  and  bounties 
of  God,  with  which  he  was  encompassed,  de- 
signed not  or.ly  for  his   comfort,   but  his  in- 


ON  THE  SAVIOUR  AND  MIS  SALVATION. 


SEK.  II. 

struction,  to  lead  him,  as  by  so  many  steps, 
to  their  gracious  author,  became  eventually 
the  occasions  of  withdrawing  him  farther  from 
his  duty,  and  increasing  as  well  as  aggravating 
his  ingratitude.  Thus  stood  man  towards  his 
Maker.  With  regard  to  his  fellow -creatures, 
self-love  and  inordinate  desires  having  raised 
a  variety  of  interfering  interests  in  the  breasts 
of  all,  peace  withdrew  from  the  earth.  Every 
man's  heart  and  hand  was  set  against  his 
neighbour,  and  violence,  rage,  envy,  and  con- 
fusion overspread  the  world.  Nor  could  he 
be  easier  in  himself:  hurried  by  restless  de- 
sires towards  things  either  unsatisfying  or  un- 
attainable, haunted  with  cares,  tortured  with 
pains,  tired  with  opposition,  shocked  with  dis- 
appointment ;  conscience,  like  the  hand  that 
appeared  at  Belshazzar's  feast  (Daniel,  v.), 
writing  bitter  things  against  him,  when  out- 
ward circumstances  allowed  a  short  repose,  and 
vanity,  like  a  worm,  destroying  the  root  of 
every  flower  that  promised  the  fairest  bloom 
of  success.  Behold  a  few  outlines  of  the  pic- 
ture of  fallen  man  !  miserable  in  his  life, 
more  miserable  in  the  continual  dread  of 
losing  such  a  life,  miserable  most  of  all,  that 
neither  his  fancy  can  feign,  nor  his  fear  con- 
ceive, the  consequences  of  the  death  he  dreads, 
which  will  introduce  him  to  the  immediate 
presence,  to  the  tribunal,  of  an  incensed,  al- 
mighty, ever-living  God  ! 

Such  was  the  state  from  which  Jesus  Christ 
came  to  save  us.  He  came  to  restore  us  to 
the  favour  of  God ;  to  reconcile  us  to  our- 
selves and  to  each  other  ;  to  give  us  peace 
and  joy  in  life,  hope  and  triumph  in  death, 
and  after  death,  glory,  honour,  and  immorta- 
lity. For  he  came  not  merely  to  repair,  and 
to  restore,  but  to  exalt ;  not  only  "  that  we 
might  have  life,"  the  life  we  had  forfeited, 
but  "  that  we  might  have  it  more  abundantly" 
(John,  x.)  ;  that  our  happiness  might  be  more 
exalted,  our  title  more  firm,  and  our  posses- 
sion more  secure,  than  the  state  of  Adam  in 
paradise  could  boast,  or  than  his  posterity 
could  have  attained  unto,  if  he  had  continued 
unsinning  upon  the  tenor  of  the  first  cove- 
nant. 


321 


nishing  instance  of  divine  goodness  leaves  us 
cold  and  unimpressed  ;  especially  if  to  this 
we  join  the  consideration  of  the  third  point 
I  proposed  to  speak  of,  By  what  means  Je- 
sus Christ  affected  this  salvation  for  sinners. 

In  the  passage  before  us,  it  is  only  said,  that 
he  came  into  the  world  on  this  account ;  which 
teaches  us,  this  was  the  sole  design  of  his  ad- 
vent ;  and  that,  coming  on  set  purpose  for 
this,  he  would  leave  nothing  undone  that  was 
necessary  to  accomplish  it.  He  emptied  him- 
self of  that  divine  glory  and  honour  he  pos- 
sessed with  the  Father  from  eternity.  "  He 
bowed  the  heavens,  and  came  down"  to  Our 
earth ;  and  that  not  with  an  external  glory, 
as  a  celestial  messenger,  to  constrain  the  at- 
tention and  homage  of  mankind,  "  but  was 
made  of  a  woman"  (Gal.  iv.)  ;  not  of  high  and 
noble  extraction  in  the  judgment  of  men, 
"but  in  the  form  of  a  servant;"  born  in  a 
stable,  laid  in  a  manger,  brought  up  in  an 
obscure  and  contemptible  place,  and  reputed 
no  higher  than  the  son  of  a  carpenter.  "  He 
was  despised  and  rejected  of  men  ;  there  was 
no  form  or  comeliness  in  him"  (Isa.  liii.),  to 
attract  a  general  regard ;  on  the  contrary, 
"  he  came  to  his  own,  and  his  own  received 
him  not,"  John  i.  Farther,  as  he  was  made 
of  a  woman,  he  was  "  made  under  the  law  ;' 
the  one  in  order  to  the  other ;  for  this  was 
the  way  divine  wisdom  had  appointed,  and 
which  divine  justice  required,  to  make  salva- 
tion possible  to  sinners.  Eternal  truth  had 
pronounced  tribulation,  wrath,  and  anguish 
upon  every  soul  of  man  that  doth  evil.  All 
men,  in  every  age  and  place,  had  corrupted 
their  ways  before  God  ;  yet  his  mercy  had 
designed,  that  where  sin  had  abounded, 
grace  should  much  more  abound,  Rom.  viii. 
Jesus  Christ  was  the  grand  expedient,  in 
whom  mercy  and  truth  met  together  (Psal. 
Ixxxv.),  and  the  inflexible  righteousness  of 
God  was  brought  to  correspond  and  harmon- 
ize with  the  peace  of  sinful  man.  That  jus- 
tice might  be  satisfied,  truth  vindicated,  and 
sinners  saved,  God  so  loved  a  lost  world, 
that,  when  no  inferior  means  could  avail, 
when  none  in   heaven  or  earth  were  willing, 


Now,  could  we  suppose   it  possible  that  a  or  worthy,   or   able,    to    interpose,   "  he  gave 
set  of  innocent  beings,  without  any  default  of  his    only-begotten    Son,"    John    iii.       Jesus 


their  own,  had  sunk  into  a  state  of  misery, 
we  must  confess  it  would  have  been  great 
grace  and  favour  in  the  Lord  Jesus  to  save 
them.  But  let  us  not  forget  the  stress  laid 
in  the  text  upon  the  word  sinners.      He  came 


Christ,  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory, 
and  the  express  image  of  his  person,  "  so  lov- 
ed the  world,"  that  he  assumed  our  nature, 
undertook  our  cause,  bore  our  sins,  sustained 
our  deserved   punishment ;  and  having  done 


to  save,  not  the  unfortunate,  but  the  ungodly,  j  and  suffered  all  that  the  case  required,  he  is 
Rom.  v.  How,  then,  should  every  heart  now  gone  before,  "  to  prepare  a  place"  (John 
glow  with  love  to  him,  who  hath  thus  loved  iv.)  for  all  that  believe  in  him  and  obey  him. 
us  !  If  any  of  us  can  hear  or  speak  of  this  ■  Man  lay  under  a  double  incapacity  for  happi- 
subject  with  indifference  or  disgust,  it  is  to  ness ;  he  could  neither  keep  the  law  of  God 
be  feared  we  are  quite  strangers  to  the  nature  in  future,  nor  satisfy  for  his  past  breach  and 
or  the  necessity  of  that  salvation  with  which  contempt  of  it.  To  obviate  the  former,  Jesus 
God  has  graciously  visited  his  people.  Let  Christ  performed  a  perfect,  unsinning  obe- 
us  no  more  usurp  the  sacred  words  of  gene-  dience  in  our  stead.  To  remove  the  latter 
rosity,   sensibility,    or  gratitude,  if  this  asto-   he    became  "  the  propitiation  for  our  sins ;' 

L'E 


322 


ON  THE  SAVIOUR  AND  HIS  SALVATION. 


sin.  II. 


yielded  up  his  life,  as  a  prey,  into  the  hands 
of  murderers,  and  poured  forth  his  precious 
blood,  in  drops  of  sweat  in  the  garden,  in 
streams  from,  his  side  upon  the  eross.  For 
this  he  endured  the  fiercest  temptations  of  the 
devil,  the  scorn,  rage,  and  malice  of  men,  and 
drank  the  bitter  cup  of  the  wrath  of  God, 
when  it  pleased  the  Father  to  bruise  him,  and 
make  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin.  His  love 
carried  him  through  all ;  and  when  he  had 
finally  overcome  the  sharpness  of  death,  he 
opened  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  all  believ- 
ers. In  few  words,  he  lived  and  died  for  us 
when  upon  earth  ;  nor  is  he  unmindful  of  us 
in  heaven,  but  lives  and  intercedes  on  our  be- 
half. He  continually  executes  the  offices  of 
prophet,  priest,  and  king,  to  his  people ;  in- 
structing them  by  his  word  and  Spirit ;  pre- 
senting their  persons  and  prayers,  acceptable 
to  God  through  his  merits ;  defending  them 
by  his  power,  from  all  their  enemies,  ghostly 
and  bodily  ;  and  ordering,  by  his  providence, 
all  things  to  work  together  for  their  good, 
till  at  length  they  are  brought  home,  to  be 
with  him  where  he  is,  and  to  behold  his 
glory. 

II.  From  what  has  been  said,  we  may  just- 
ly infer,  in  the  first  place  "  that  this  is,"  as 
the  apostle  styles  it,  "a  faithful  saying." 
When  man  first  fell,  God,  in  the  midst  of 
judgment  remembering  mercy,  declared,  un- 
sought and  undesired,  that  the  seed  of  the 
woman  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head, 
Gen.  iii.  In  every  succeeding  age,  he  con- 
firmed his  purpose  by  types,  promises,  pro- 
phecies, and  oaths.  At  length,  in  the  fulness 
of  time,  Christ,  the  desire  of  all  nations,  came 
into  the  world,  fulfilled  all  that  had  been  fore- 
told, and  encouraged  every  humble  penitent 
sinner  to  come  unto  him,  that  they  might 
have  life,  pardon,  and  peace.  To  doubt,  or 
to  deny,  his  readiness  to  save,  is,  so  far  as  in 
us  lies,  to  make  the  word  of  God  of  none  ef- 
fect ;  it  is,  to  charge  God  foolishly,  as  though, 
like  the  heedless  unskilful  builder  in  the  gos- 
pel, he  had  begun  to  build  that  which  was  not 
to  be  finished.  If,  after  all  that  is  set  before 
us,  it  is  possible  for  any  soul  to  miss  salva- 
tion, that  sincerely  desires  it,  and  seeks  it  in 
God's  appointed  way,  it  must  be  because  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  either  cannot  or  will  not 
save  them.  That  he  cannot,  is  flatly  false ; 
for,  "  all  power  is  his  in  heaven  and  in  earth" 
(Matth.  xxviii) ;  and  it  is  particularly  said, 
"  that  he  is  able  to  save  unto  the  uttermost 
all  that  come  unto  God  by  him"  (Heb. 
vii.):  and  that  he  will  not,  is  as  false  ;  for 
he  himself  hath  said,  "  Whosoever  cometh 
unto  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out,"  John,  vi. 

We  may  infer,  2dly,  That  this  doctrine  is 
not  only  faithful,  but  "worthy  of  all  accepta- 
tion." And  here,  methinks,  I  could  begin 
anew.  A  point  so  much  mistaken  by  some, 
und  neglected  by  most,  rather  requires  a  whole, 


or  many  discourses,  than  to  be  passed  over  in 
few  words.  The  most  high  and  wise  God 
has  esteemed  the  redemption  of  mankind  so 
precious,  "  that  he  spared  not  his  only  Son," 
Horn.  viii.  And  are  there  any  amongst  us, 
in  a  land  of  gospel-light  and  liberty,  where 
the  words  of  wisdom  are  sounding  in  our  ears 
every  day,  that  dare  make  light  of  this  mes- 
sage, just  give  it  a  hearing,  and  return  to  their 
farms,  their  merchandise,  and  their  diversions, 
as  though  this  unspeakable  grace  of  God  cal- 
led for  no  return  ?  Alas  !  "  How  shall  we 
escape  if  we  neglect  this  salvation  ?"  Heb.  ii. 
He  that  despised  Moses'  law  died  without 
mercy.  It  was  dangerous,  it  was  destructive, 
to  refuse  him  that  spoke  upon  earth ;  take 
heed  how  you  trifle  with  him  that  speaketh 
from  heaven  !  To  such  as  neglect  this,  "  there 
remains  no  other  sacrifice  for  sin,  but  a  cer- 
tain fearful  looking  for  of  fiery  indignation 
that  shall  devour  his  adversaries,"  Heb.  x. 
Let  none  of  us  think  it  is  well  with  us,  mere- 
ly because  we  were  born  and  educated  in  a 
christian  country,  have  means  of  instruction 
in  our  hands,  and  enjoy  frequent  opportuni- 
ties of  presenting  ourselves  before  God  in 
public  worship.  To  thousands  these,  so  far 
from  being  advantages,  will  greatly  aggravate 
their  condemnation,  and  point  the  sting  of  the 
never  dying  worm.  Better  were  it  for  us  to 
have  been  inhabitants  of  Tyre  and  Sidon 
(Luke  x.),  yea,  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
than  to  appear  in  judgment  with  no  better 
plea  than  this.  Neither  let  us  speak  peace  to 
ourselves,  because  we  are  not  so  bad  as  others, 
!but  perhaps  live  decently  and  comfortably, 
are  useful  in  society,  and  perform  many 
things  that  are  commonly  called  good  works. 
If  these  works  spring  from  a  true  love  of  God, 
if  they  are  framed  according  to  the  rule  of 
his  word,  if  they  are  performed  by  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  they  are  undoubtedly 
good,  and  shall  be  rewarded  before  men  and 
angels  ;  if  otherwise,  you  have  already  your 
reward,  in  the  complaisance  of  your  own 
minds,  and  the  approbation  of  friends  and  ac- 
quaintance. The  Christianity  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament imports  more  than  all  this.  It  is,  to 
believe  in  Jesus  Christ ;  so  to  believe  in  him, 
as  to  obey  him  in  all  his  commands,  to  trust 
him  in  all  his  dispensations,  to  walk  in  his 
steps,  copying  out  the  bright  example  of  his 
love,  meekness,  patience,  self-denial,  and  ac- 
tive zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of 
mankind.  It  is,  from  a  consciousness  of  our 
utter  inability  to  perform  these  great  things, 
to  depend  continually  upon  the  promised  aid 
and  direction  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  to  seek  this 
assistance  by  frequent  fervent  prayer,  to  oil'.r 
up  ourselves  daily  as  living  sacrifices  unio 
God  ;  and,  finally,  when  we  have  done  all,  to 
be  deeply  sensible  of  our  unworthiness  of  the 
least  of  his  mercies,  to  confess  ourselves  un- 
profitable servants,  and  to  place  all  our  hope» 


SEU.  III. 


ON  THE  CHRISTIAN  NAME. 


323 


upon  this  faithful  saying,   "  That  Jesus  Christ 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners." 

Thus,  from  the  consideration  of  the  person 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  greatness  of 
our  misery  by  nature,  and.  the  wonderful 
things  he  has  done  and  suffered  for  our  re- 
demption, we  may  learn  the  complete  security 
of  that  salvation  he  has  provided,  the  extreme 
danger  of  neglecting  it,  and  the  folly  and  pre- 
sumption of  attempting  to  establish  a  right- 
eousness jf  our  own,  independent  of  him  who 
is  appointed  of  God  unto  us,  wisdom,  right- 
eousness, sanctification,  and  redemption,  I 
Cor.  i.  In  setting  these  things  before  you 
plainly  and  faithfully,  I  trust  I  have  deliver- 
ed my  own  soul.  Time  is  short,  life  is  preca- 
rious, and  perhaps  to  some  this  may  be  the  last 
opportunity  of  the  kind  that  may  be  afforded 
them.  God  grant  we  may  be  wise  in  time, 
that,  to-day,  while  it  is  called  to-day,  we 
may  hear  his  voice.  Then  we  shall  under- 
stand more  of  the  text  than  words  can  teach 
us ;  then  we  shall  experience  "  a  peace  which 
passeth  a'l  understanding"  (Phil,  iv.)  ;  "  a 
joy"  which  "  a  stranger  intermeddleth  not 
with"  (Prov.  xvi.)  ;  and  a  hope  "full  of  glo- 
ry," which  shall  be  completed  in  the  end- 
less possession  of  those  "  pleasures  which  are 
at  the  right  hand  of  God"  (Psal.  xvi.);  where 
sin,  and  its  inseparable  attendant  sorrow,  shall 
cease  for  ever;  where  "  there  shall  be  no  more 
grief,  or  pain,  or  fear"  (Rev.  xxi.  );  but  every 
tear  shall  be  wiped  from  every  eye. 


SERMON  III. 

ON  THE  CHRISTIAN  NAME. 

And  the  disciples  were  called  Christians 

first  at  Anlioch. — Acts  xi.  26. 

The  evangelist  Luke  having  contributed  his 
appointed  part  to  the  history  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  proceeds,  in  the  book 
we  style  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  to  inform  us 
of  the  state  and  behaviour  of  those  faithful 
followers  he  left  behind  him  on  earth,  when 
he  ascended  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  his 
people,  to  that  heaven  from  whence  his  love 
had  brought  him  down.  We  are  informed, 
that  the  gracious  promises  he  had  made  while 
he  was  yet  with  them,  began  soon  to  take 
place ;  for,  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  was 
fully  come  (Acts  ii.),  the  Holy  Spirit  de- 
scended powerfully  upon  them,  qualified  them 
for  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  whole  world, 
and  gave  them  an  earnest  of  success  in  mak- 
ing their  first  essay  the  happy  means  of  con- 
verting about  three  thousand  souls. 

The  first  believers,  who  were  of  one  heart 
and  one  soul,  who  continued  stedfast  in  the 
apostles  doctrine,  and  had  all  things  in  com- 
mon, would  probably  have   been  well  content 


to  have  lived  together  in  Jerusalem,  till  death 
had  successively  transplanted  them  to  the  Je- 
rusalem which  is  above.  But  this  was  not  to 
be  their  rest ;  and  their  Lord,  who  had  ap- 
pointed them  to  be  "  the  salt  of  the  earth," 
and  "  the  light  of  the  world"  (Matth.  v.), 
made  use  of  the  rage  of  their  enemies  to  effect 
that  separation  which  those  who  are  united 
by  the  grace  of  God  are  often  so  loath  to  yield 
to.  Little  did  Herod  and  the  Jews  consider 
what  would  be  the  consequence  of  the  persecu- 
tion they  raised  against  the  church  of  Christ : 
but  persecutors  are  always  blind,  and  counter- 
act their  own  designs.  So  here  ;  for  we  are 
told,  that  those  whom  they  scattered  abroad 
"  went  every  where  preaching  the  word." 
Thus  the  word  of  the  Lord  "  ran  and  was 
glorified;"  their  bitterest  enemies  contribut- 
ing to  push  it  forward,  till,  in  a  few  years, 
it  was  published  "  from  sea  to  sea,"  and 
"  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth," 
Psal.  lxxii. 

For  a  while  these  faithful  followers  of  the 
Lamb  were  known  only  by  particular  names, 
according  to  the  different  humours  of  differ- 
ent places, — Nazarenes,  Galileans,  the  people 
of  that  ivay,  pestilent  fellows,  and  the  like  ; 
but  at  length,  when  they  grew  more  numer- 
ous, when  their  societies  wero  regularly  form- 
ed, and  their  enemies  universally  alarmed, 
they  began  to  bear  a  more  general  and  em- 
phatical  name.  St.  Luke  has  informed  us, 
that  this  was  the  case  in  fact,  and  has  like- 
wise told  us  where  it  first  obtained  ;  and  as  I 
suppose  he  did  not  this  without  some  design, 
I  shall  endeavour  to  draw  some  observations 
for  our  use  and  direction,  from  this  remark  in 
the  text,  That  "  the  disciples  were  called 
Christians  first  at  Antioch,"  which  I  shall  di- 
vide into  two :  thus, — That  the  first  general 
name  by  which  the  disciples  were  distinguish- 
ed from  the  world,  and  united  among  them- 
selves, was  that  of  Christians  ;  and,  secondly, 
That  this  took  place  first  at  Antioch.  Thus 
the  propositions  lie  in  the  text ;  but,  in  treat- 
ing of  each,  it  may  be  more  convenient  to  in- 
vert this  order,  and  consider  the  latter  as 
previous  to  the  former. 

Now,  if  we  consider  the  state  of  the  city  of 
Antioch,  before,  at  the  time,  and  since  the 
event  which  is  here  recorded  ;  from  each  of 
these  views  we  may  gather  some  lesson  of  in- 
struction for  ourselves,  which  ought  to  be  our 
view  in  all  we  read,  but  especially  when  we 
read  those  books  "  which  are  able  to  make  us 
wise  unto  salvation,"  and  where  no  one  sen- 
tence is  insignificant.  But  let  us  not  forget, 
with  all  we  read  and  hear  concerning  reli- 
gion, to  mingle  our  frequent  prayers  to  the 
great  Author  and  Fountain  of  all  grace,  for 
that  aid  and  assistance  of  his  Holy  Spirit, 
without  which  we  can  do  nothing  to  advan- 
tage. 

Antioch,  the  capital  of  Syria,  built  about 
three  hundred   years  before  Christ,  had  been 


324  ON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

long  the  most  flourishing  city  of  the  East. 
The  most  remarkable  circumstance  of  its  an- 
cient state,  as  suiting  our  present  purpose, 
was  its  having  been  the  seat  and  residence  of 
Antiochus,  the  most  cruel  and  inveterate  ene- 
my of  the  church  and  people  of  God ;  the 
most  direct  and  eminent  type  of  that  Anti- 
christ who  was  afterwards  to  appear  in  the 
world  ;  spoken  of  expressly  by  prophecy  in 
Daniel,  chap.  xi.  ;  the  completion  of  which 
you  may  see  at  large  in  the  first  book  of  Mac- 
cabees, in  Josephus,  and  more  briefly  in  the 
79th  and  80lh  Psalms.  But  behold  the  wis- 
dom, the  power,  and  the  providence  of  God  ! 
when  his  people  were  brought  low,  he  helped 
them ;  he  set  those  bounds  to  the  rage  of  the 
adversary  which  could  not  be  broken  through; 
and,  at  length,  in  his  appointed  time,  he  erect- 
ed this  first  general  standard  of  the  gospel 
upon  the  very  spot  where  his  grand  enemy 
had  so  long  encamped,  and  from  whence  bis 
pernicious  counsels  and  enterprizes  had  so 
far  proceeded.  The  application  of  this  is 
very  suitable  to  the  times  in  which  we  now 
live.  We  see  a  powerful  combination  against 
the    Protestant    interest.      Our   enemies    are 


many  and  mighty :  their  designs,  we  have 
reason  to  believe,  are  deep  laid,  and  their  ef- 
forts unwearied.  Once  and  again  our  hopes 
have  been  almost  swallowed  up  ;  and  though 
we,  through  the  singular  goodness  of  God, 
have  hitherto  escaped,  the  storm  has  fallen 
heavy  upon  our  brethren  abroad.  What  may 
be  the  immediate  issue  of  the  present  threat- 
ening appearances,  we  know  not ;  but  we 
may  encourage  ourselves,  from  the  experience 
of  past  ages,  as  well  as  from  the  sure  promises 
of  scripture,  that  however  the  kings  of  the 
earth  may  assemble,  and  the  rulers  take  coun  • 
sel  together  (Psal.  ii.),  God  has  a  hook  in 
their  nose,  and  a  bridle  in  their  jaws  (Isa. 
xxxvii.);  and  all  their  force  and  policy  shall 
at  last  bring  about  what  they  least  desire 
and  intend, — the  welfare  and  glory  of  God's 
church.  He  that  caused  the  christian  name 
go  forth  first  at  Antioch,  where  the  truth  of 
God  had  been  most  eminently  and  success- 
fully opposed,  can  likewise  introduce  a  tem- 
per and  worship  truly  christian,  in  those 
places  which  at  present  seem  destitute  of  ei- 
ther. And  for  this  it  is  our  duty  continually 
to  pray. 

Again,  if  we  .-onsider  the  state  of  Antioch 
at  the  time  the  disciples  were  first  called 
Christians  there,  we  may  learn  how  to  form  a 
judgment  of  our  profession.  This  city  was 
then  luxurious  and  dissolute  to  a  proverb,  even 
in  Asia,  where  luxury  and  effeminacy  were 
universally  prevalent.  Whether  this  name 
vias  assumed  by  the  disciples,  or  imposed  by 
their  enemies,  we  cannot  doubt  but  that,  in 
common  repute,  it  was  a  term  of  the  most  ex- 
treme reproach  and  ignominy.  Nor  can  I 
suppose  the  worst  appellations  any  sect  in  sue- 


NAME.  ser.  In 

implied  half  of  that  contempt  which  an  inhabi- 
tant of  Antioch  or  Daphne  expressed  when  he 
called  a  man  a  Christian.  If  we  imagine  a  sect 
of  people,  who,  at  this  time,  in  France,  should 
style  themselves  the  disciples  of  the  late  Da- 
mien,  and  be  called  after  his  name,  we  may 
perhaps  form  some  idea  of  what  the  people  of 
Antioch  understood  by  the  word  Christian. 
The  apostle  assures  us,  that  he  and  his  breth- 
ren were  "  accounted  the  filth  and  ofiscouring 
of  all  things"  (1  Cor.  iv. ),  w;  ft£ixafagfta.*rt  Tau 
xoff&ou — TravTU)/  vrtpi^pr,fia.  Pie  has  chosen  two 
words  of  the  most  vile  and  despicable  signifi- 
cation ;  which,  I  believe,  no  two  words  in  our 
language  will  fully  express.  The  outward 
state  of  things  is  since  changed,  and  the  ex- 
ternal profession  of  Christianity  is  now  no  re- 
proach ;  but  let  us  not  imagine  the  nature  of 
things  is  changed  too.  It  was  then  received 
as  a  maxim,  That  "  all  who  will  live  godly  in 
Christ  Jesus,  must  suffer  persecution"  (2  Tim. 
iii.)  :  and  it  is  a  truth  still  founded  upon  scrip- 
ture, and  confirmed  by  experience.  If  we 
know  nothing  of  it  in  our  own  cases,  it  is  be- 
cause our  tempers  and  manners  have  hitherto 
been  too  conformable  to  that  wicked  world 
which  in  our  baptisms  we  were  engaged  to  re- 
nounce. I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  farther 
upon  this  point  before  I  close  ;  in  the  mean 
time,  here  is  a  test  to  examine  ourselves  by. 
If  we  could  not  glory  in  the  christian  name, 
under  the  same  circumstances  as  the  disciples 
bore  it  at  Antioch,  we  are  yet  unworthy  of  it. 
Let  conscience  judge. 

Once  more,  Antioch,  the  city  where  the 
gospel  once  so  flourished,  that  from  thence 
the  whole  christian  church  received  that 
name  by  which  it  is  still  called,  is  now  no 
more.  It  has  been  a  heap  of  ruins  more  than 
five  hundred  years.  The  light  of  the  gospel 
has  been  long  withdrawn  ;  gaiety  and  festivi- 
ty are  likewise  forgot.  Slavery,  imposture, 
and  barbarism,  have  blotted  out  the  resem- 
blance, and  even  the  remembrance  of  what  it 
once  was.  O  that  our  yet  happy  land  could 
from  hence  take  a  timely  warning  !  Our  pri- 
vileges are  great ;  perhaps  greater,  all  things 
considered,  than  any  nation  has  possessed  since 
the  days  of  Solomon.  Our  preservation,  hith- 
erto has  been  wonderful ;  often  have  we  been 
in  extreme  danger,  but  have  always  found  de- 
liverance at  hand.  Yet  let  us  not  be  high- 
minded  ;  our  sins  and  aggravations  (it  is  to 
be  feared)  have  been,  and  still  are,  very  great 
likewise ;  and  God,  we  see,  is  no  more  a  re- 
specter of  places  than  of  persons.  Antioch 
is  ruined;  Philadelphia,  which  received  so  ho- 
nourable a  testimony  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord  himself  ( Rev.  iii.),  has  been  long  since 
destroyed.  Let  us  beware  of  boasting ;  let 
us  not  presume  too  much  on  what  we  are; 
nor  say,  "  The  temple  of  the  Lord,  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Lord  are  these."  Jer.  vii.  We  are 
the   bulwark    of  the   Protestant  interest,  and 


eeeding  ages  has  been  doomed  to  bear,  have  nonu  can  hurt  us.      If  the  Lord  is  with  us,  it 


seii.  nr. 


ON  THE  CHRISTIAN  NAME. 


325 


is  true  ;  if  we  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation 
wherewith  we  are  called,  we  are  safe  ;  but,  if 
otherwise,  we  know  not  how  soon  God  may 
visit  us  with  his  heavy  judgments,  war,  famine, 
discord,  or  pestilence;  till  we  become  a  warn- 
ing to  others,  as  others  are  now  proposed 
warnings  to  us.  Our  liberties,  our  proper- 
ties, our  religion,  are  in  God's  hands;  may 
he  incline  our  hearts  to  true  repentance,  lest 
at  length  these  blessings  should  be  taken  from 
us,  and  given  to  a  people  that  will  bring  forth 
more  fruit. 

There  is  an  ambiguity  in  the  original  word 
ffi*ipa.riirai,  which  our  translation  renders 
called  j  for,  though  that  is  the  more  general 
sense  it  bears  in  Heathen  writers,  wherever  it 
occurs  in  the  New  Testament,  except  in  this 
passage,  and  in  Rom.  vii.  3,  it  signifies  to  be 
taught  or  warned  by  a  revelation  from  heaven. 
Thus  it  is  spoken  of  Joseph  and  the  wise  men 
CMatth.  ii.)  ;  Simeon  (Luke  ii.);  Cornelius) 
(Actsx.);  Noah  (Heb.  xi.);  and  elsewhere. 
It  does  not  therefore  appear  quite  certain  from 
the  text,  whether  the  disciples  chose  this  name 
for  themselves,  or  the  wits  of  the  time  fixed  it 
upon  them  as  a  mark  of  infamy ;  or,  lastly, 
whether  it  was  by  the  special  direction  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  that  they  assumed  it.  But  I 
incline  to  the  latter  supposition;  partly,  be- 
cause, in  those  happy  days,  it  was  the  practice 
and  the  privilege  of  the  disciples  to  ask,  and 
to  receive,  direction  from  on  high  in  almost 
every  occurrence  ;  but,  chiefly,  on  account  of 
the  excellent  instructions  couched  under  this 
emphatical  name,  sufficient  to  direct  and  to 
animate  those  who  were  to  be  known  by  it,  in 
their  duty  to  each  other,  to  God,  and  to  the 
world.  Some  of  these  I  propose  to  infer  from 
the  other  proposition  contained  in  the  text, 
That  the  first  name  by  which  the  followers 
of  the  gospel  were  generally  known,  was  that 
of  Christians. 

Hitherto,  as  they  were  separated  from  the 
world,  so  they  had  been  divided  among  them- 
selves ;  and  so  strong  were  the  prejudices  sub- 
sisting between  the  members  of  the  same 
body,  that  we  find,  in  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter,  some  of  one  party  contended  with  the 
apostle  Peter  only  for  eating  with  those  of 
another.  Hence  we  read  the  phrases,  "  We  of 
thejevvs,"  "Theyof  the  Gentiles. "  Buthence- 
forward  they  are  taught  to  blend  and  lose  the 
greater  distinction  of  Jew  and  Gentle,  and  the 
lesser  divisions  of  Paul,  Apollos,  and  Cephas, 
in  a  denomination  derived  from  him  who  alone 
was  worthy  to  be  their  head,  and  who  was  e- 
qually  "  rich  in  mercy  to  all  that  call  upon 
him"  in  every  place. 

And,  as  they  thus  were  taught  union  and 
affection  among  themselves,  so  their  relation 
to  God,  the  way  of  their  access  to  him,  and 
their  continual  dependence  upon  him,  were 
strongly  implied  in  this  name.  A  christian 
is  the  child  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ ;  he 
draws  near  to  God   in   the  name  of  Christ ; 


he  is  led  and  supported  by  the  spirit  of  Christ ! 
Christ  is  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  be- 
ginning and  the  ending,  of  the  faith,  hope,  and 
love  of  every  believer.  From  him  alone  every 
good  desire  proceeds :  by  him  alone  every 
good  purpose  is  established  :  in  him  alone  any 
of  our  best  performances  are  acceptable.  Let 
us  beware  (it  is  a  necessary  caution  in  these 
days)  of  a  Christianity  without  Christ.  I  tes- 
tify to  you  in  plain  words,  that  this  is  no  bet- 
ter than  a  house  without  a  foundation,  a  tree 
without  a  root,  a  body  without  a  head,  a  hope 
without  hope ;  a  delusion,  which,  if  persisted 
in,  will  end  in  irremediable  destruction  :  "  For 
other  foundation  can  no  man  lay,  than  that 
which  is  laid,  Christ  Jesus  :"  he  is  the  corner- 
stone, "  chosen  of  God  and  precious."  Alas 
for  those  who  are  offended  with  him  in  whom 
God  is  well  pleased  !  but  those  who  trust  in 
him  shall  never  be  ashamed.  This  is  another 
important  lesson  comprised  in  the  word  Chris- 
tian. 

Nor  is  this  all :  in  the  name  of  Christian 
they  might,  and  we  may,  read  the  terms  up- 
on which  we  are  to  stand  with  the  world. 
If  I  were  asked  what  the  words  Platonist  or 
Pythagorean  signified,  I  should  say  they  ex- 
pressed certain  persons  who  embraced  the  sen- 
timents, submitted  to  the  institutions,  and  imi- 
tated the  conduct  of  Pythagoras  and  Plato  ; 
and,  in  order  to  describe  them  farther,  I  need 
do  no  more  than  give  an  account  of  the  lives 
and  writings  of  their  respective  masters.  Could 
I  thus,  in  some  distant,  unknown  country, 
where  the  name  of  Christianity  had  been  only 
heard  of,  have  an  opportunity  of  declaring  the 
history,  the  doctrines,  and  the  laws  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  how  he  lived,  how  he  taught,  how  he 
died,  and  upon  what  account ;  what  usage  he 
himself  received  from  the  world,  and  what  he 
taught  his  followers  to  expect  after  he  should 
leave  them :  if  I  should  then  describe  the 
lives  and  the  treatment  of  his  most  eminent 
servants,  who  lived  immediately  after  him,  and 
shew,  "  that  as  he  was,  so  were  they  in  the 
world"  ( 1  John  iv. ) ;  that  pursuing  his  pattern, 
they  found  exactly  the  same  opposition  ;— . 
would  not  the  inhabitants  of  such  a  country 
conclude,  even  as  the  scripture  has  assured  us, 
that  the  temper  of  Christianity,  and  the  temper 
of  the  world,  must  be  exactly  opposite ;  and 
that,  as  it  is  said,  "  Whoever  will  be  a  friend 
of  the  world  is  an  enemy  of  God"  (James  iv. ), 
so,  whoever  had  boldness  to  profess  himself  a 
friend  of  God,  must  necessarily  be  an  enemy 
to  the  world ;  and  would  be  sure  to  find  the 
world,  and  all  in  it,  at  sworn  enmity  with 
him  ?  But  if  I  should  farther  tell  them, 
that  though  the  same  laws,  the  same  warnings, 
and  the  same  examples,  still  subsist,  yet  that 
fierce  opposition  I  have  spoken  of  is  at  length 
nearly  over,  so  that  none  are  better  pleased 
with  the  world,  or  more  agreeable  to  it,  than 
many  of  those  who  speak  most  honourably  of 
the  christian  name  :   would   not  these  peopla 


326 


ON  THE  CHRISTIAN  NAME 
in  the  flush  :   yet, 


immediatly  infer,  that  one  of  these  contend- 
ing powers  must  have  yielded  to  the  trium- 
phant genius  of  the  other  ?  that  either  the 
whole  world  were  become  such  christians  as 
those  who  were  first  styled  so  at  Antioch,  or 
that  modern  christians  must  be,  for  the  most 
part,  so  only  by  profession,  and  have  neither 
right  nor  pretence  to  their  ancient  spirit  ?  And 
could  we  suppose  farther,  that  after  this  infor- 
mation, some  of  these  remote  people  were  to 
land  at  Dover,  and  make  the  tour  of  this 
kingdom,  can  you  think  they  would  be  long 
in  determining  which  of  these  is  indeed  the 
case? 

Numbers  are  deceived  by  restricting  many 
passages  in  the  New  Testament  to  the  times 
in  which  they  were  delivered,  though  it  seems 
to  have  been  the  great  care  of  the  apostles  to 
prevent,  if  possible,  our  making  this  mistake. 
St.  John,  having  expressly  said,  "  if  any  man 
love  the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not 
in  him,"  immediately  explains  what  he  means 
by  the  world,  namely,  "  the  lust  of  the  flesh, 
the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life," 
1  John  ii.  If  high  distinction,  vain  shew, 
and  sensual  pleasure,  make  no  part  of  the 
world  at  this  day,  I  must  allow  that  we  have 
no  part  in  the  apostle's  decision,  nor  any 
cause  to  observe  his  caution ;  but  if  these 
things  are  as  highly  prized,  as  eagerly,  and 
almost  as  universally  pursued  now  in  Bri- 
tain as  they  were  sixteen  hundred  years 
since  at  Rome  and  Antioch,  surely  we  bear 
the  name  of  Christians  in  vain  ;  if  our  hopes 
and  fears,  our  joys  and  sorrows,  our  com- 
forts and  our  cares,  are  not  very  different 
from  those  of  the  generality  among  whom  we 
live.  "  If  any  man,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  have 
not  the  spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his," 
Rom.  viii.  Now,  whatever  more  is  meant 
by  the  phrase  of  having  the  spirit  of  Christ, 
it  must  certainly  mean  thus  much  at  least,  a 
disposition  and  turn  of  mind  in  some  degree 
conformable  to  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ 
Jesus,  to  be  evidenced  by  a  life  and  conver- 
sation suitable  to  his  precepts  and  example  : 
"  He  was  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  and  se- 
parate from  sinners ;  he  went  about  doing 
good,"  Heb.  vii.  He  was  gentle  and  com- 
passionate, meek  and  patient  under  the  great- 
est provocations  ;  so  active  for  the  glory  of 
God,  that  his  zeal,  by  a  strong  and  lively  fi- 
gure, is  said  to  have  eaten  him  up  (John  ii.)  ; 
so  affected  with  the  worth  of  souls,  that  he 
wept  over  his  bitterest  enemies ;  so  intent  on 
his  charitable  designs  towards  men,  that  an 
opportunity  of  helping  or  instructing  them 
was  as  meat  and  drink  when  he  was  hungry 
(John,  iv.),  and  made  him  forget  weariness 
and  pain  ;  so  full  of  devotion  towards  God, 
that  when  the  day  had  been  wholly  consumed 
in  his  labours  of  love,  he  would  frequently 
redeem   whole   nights    for    prayer,   Luke   vi. 

But   I  must  stop. No  pen  can  describe, 

no  heart  conceive,  the  life  of  the  Son  of  God 


SF.H.  Ill 

in  all  these  things  he  was 
our  great  exemplar ;  and  no  profession  or  ap- 
pellation can  benefit  us,  unless  we  are  of 
those  who  copy  closely  and  carefully  after 
him.  For  thus  saith  the  beloved  apostle,  "  He' 
that  saith  he  abideth  in  him,  ought  himself  so 
to  walk  even  as  he  walked.  He  that  saith  I 
know  him,  and  keepeth  not  his  command- 
ments, is  a  liar,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  him,' 
1  John  ii. 

I  shall  conclude  with  a  short  address  to 
three  sorts  of  persons.  And,  first,  If  there 
are  any  such  here  (would  to  God  this  part  of 
my  labour  may  prove  needless  !)  I  would  re- 
commend this  subject  to  the  consideration  of 
those  who  have  almost,  if  not  altogether,  cast 
off  the  honourable  name  into  which  they  were 
baptized,  who,  trusting  to  what  they  call  the 
light  of  nature,  and  the  powers  of  human  rea- 
son, venture  to  determine  the  fitness  of  things 
by  their  own  standard,  and  declare  in  their 
words,  as  well  as  by  their  actions,  "  they  will 
not  have  this  man  to  rule  over  them,"  Luke, 
xix.  Is  not  this  an  unaccountable  event  upon 
your  plan,  that  the  name  which  first  went  out 
from  Antioch,  under  the  greatest  disadvan- 
tages, should  so  soon  overspread  the  world, 
without  arts  or  arms,  without  any  force,  or 
any  motive  of  any  external  kind  ?  Is  it  pos- 
sible that  any  kind  or  degree  of  enthusiasm 
could  influence,  not  a  few,  at  one  time,  or  in 
one  place,  but  multitudes,  of  all  ages,  sexes, 
tempers,  and  circumstances,  to  embrace  a  pro- 
fession which,  in  proportion  to  the  strictness 
wherewith  it  was  followed,  was  always  at- 
tended with  reproach  and  suffering  ?  Those 
places  which  were  most  noted  for  opposition 
to  this  way,  have  been  long  since  buried  in 
the  dust ;  but  a  succession  of  those  whom  the 
world  counted  "  not  worthy  to  live,  and  of 
whom  the  world  was  not  worthy"  (Acts  xxv. 
Heb.  xi.),  has  always  subsisted,  and  still  sub- 
sists. Had  you  lived  in  those  days  when  Je- 
sus Christ  assured  a  company  of  poor  disre- 
garded fishermen,  that  neither  the  power  nor 
the  policy  of  the  world,  nor  the  gates  of  hell, 
should  ever  prevail  against  them  (Matth.  xvi.), 
you  might  have  been  less  inexcusable  in  re- 
fusing to  believe  him.  But  now,  when  you 
have  the  accomplishment  of  this  promise  be- 
fore your  eyes,  and  well  know  (for  you  are 
book-read)  what  various  attempts  have  been 
made,  with  what  steadiness  and  formidable 
appearances  they  have  been  for  a  while  car- 
ried on,  to  render  these  words  vain,  but  how 
at  length  such  attempts  have  totally  failed, 
and  ended  in  the  confusion  and  ruin  of  those 
who  engaged  in  them, — what  tolerable  reason 
can  you  assign  for  the  part  you  act  ?  Docs 
the  tendency  of  the  gospel  displease  you  ?  Is 
it  an  enemy  to  that  virtue  you  are  so  fond  of 
talking  of?  On  the  contrary,  we  are  ready 
to  put  it  to  the  proof,  that  here  are  not  only 
the  sublimest  maxims  of  true  virtue,  but  that 
the  practice,   or  even   the  real  love  of  virtue, 


SER.  lit.  ON  THE  CHRISTIAN   NAME. 

are  quite  unattainable  upon  any  other  scheme,  |  our  Saviour  and  our  Judge 


327 

But  lie  has  al- 
and that  the  most  specious  pretences,  independ.  j  ready  told  us  that  he  will  then  own  none  but 
ent  of  this,  are  no  more  than  great  "  swelling '  those  who  were  faithfully  devoted  to  his  ser- 


words  of  vanity,"  2  Pet.  ii.  I  speak  the 
more  freely  upon  this  point,  because  I  speak 
from  experience.  I  was  once  as  you  are.  I 
verily  thought  that  I  "  ought  to  do"  (or  at 
least  that  I  might  do)  "  many  things  against 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,"  Acts  xxvi.  None  even 
went  farther  than  me,  according  to  the  limits 
of  my  years  and  capacity,  in  opposing  the 
truths  of  the  gospel.  But  the  mercy  of  God 
spared  me ;  and  his  providence  having  led  me 
through  various  changes  and  circumstances 
of  life;  in  each  of  which  I  have  had  a  still 
deeper  conviction  of  my  former  errors,  has  at 
length  given  me  this  opportunity  to  tell  you, 
(O  that  I  could  speak  it  to  your  hearts!) 
"  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee" 
(sooner  or  later)  "  must  bow"  (Phil,  ii.)  ;  be- 
lore  him  every  heart  must  either  bend  or 
break;  that  he  is  full  of  mercy,  love,  and  par 
don,  to  all  that  submit  themselves  to  him  ; 
but  that,  ere  long,  he  shall  be  "  revealed 
from  heaven  in  flaming  fire,  to  execute  judg- 
ment, and  to  convince  ungodly  sinners  of  all 
the  hard  speeches  they  have  spoken  against 
him,"  Jude. 

I  would,  2dly,  address  those  who,  while 
they  profess  to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  do 
in  their  works  manifestly  deny  him,  Tit.  i. 
This  is,  if  possible,  a  worse  case  than  the 
other,  yet  how  frequent !  You  believe  that 
Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  both  to  be  a 
propitiation  for  sin  and  also  to  give  us  an  ex- 
ample of  a  godly  life,  and  yet  continue  con- 
tentedly in  the  practice  of  those  sins  for  which 
he  poured  forth  his  soul,  in  the  pursuit  of 
those  vices  which  the  gospel  disallows,  and  in 
the  indulgence  of  those  desires  which  your 
own  consciences  condemn.  Think,  I  entreat 
you  of  these  words  in  the  50th  psalm  ;  unto 
the  wicked  God  saith,  "  What  hast  thou  to 
do,  that  thou  shouldst  take  my  covenant  into 
thy  mouth  :  seeing  thou  hatest  instruction, 
and  castest  my  words  behind  thee?"  This 
question  is  now  proposed  to  our  consciences, 
that  we  may  be  aware  in  time  of  the  danger 
of  insincerity,  and  not  "  perish  with  a  lie  in 
our  right  hands,"  Is.  xliv.  If  vie  cannot  an- 
swer it  now,  what  shall  we  say  in  that  awful 
hour  when  God  shall  speak  in  ten  thou- 
sand thunders  to  all  who,  in  this  life,  pre- 
sumed to  mock   him  with  an   empty  outside 


vice  here.  To  the  urgent  cries  and  strongest 
pleas  of  others,  he  will  give  no  other  answer, 
but  "  I  know  you  not,  I  never  knew  you,  ' 
Matth.   vii.      "    Depart  from   me  ye   cursed, 

into  everlasting   fire,"   Matth.  xxv. What 

will  it  then  avail  to  plead  our  privileges,  when, 
if  this  be  all,  we  may  read  our  doom  already  ? 
"  And  that  servant  who  knew  his  master's 
will,  and  prepared  not  himself,  neither  did 
according  to  his  will,  shall  be  beaten  with 
many  stripes  ;  for  unto  whomsoever  much  is 
given,  of  him  much  shall  he  required  ;  and  to 
whom  men  have  committed  much,  of  him 
they  will  ask  the  more,"  Luke  xii.  O  con- 
sider this,  ye  that  forget  God,  lest  he  tear 
you  in  pieces,  and  there  be  none  to  deliver. 

Finally,  let  those  who  through  grace  have 
attained  to  worship  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth, 
be  careful  to  adorn  and  hold  fast  their  pro- 
fession. You  see  your  calling  brethren  :  let 
the  name  of  Christian  always  remind  you  of 
your  high  obligation  to,  and  continual  depen- 
dence upon,  the  author  of  your  faith.  Use  it 
as  a  means  to  animate  and  regulate  your  whole 
behaviour.  And  if  upon  some  occasions,  you 
find  undeserved  ill  offices,  or  unkind  con- 
structions, wonder  not  at  it :  thus  it  must  and 
will  be,  more  or  less,  to  all  who  would  exer- 
cise themselves  in  keeping  a  conscience  void 
of  offence,  Acts  xxiv.  Yet  be  careful  to  mo- 
del your  actions  by  the  rule  of  God's  word. 
Our  Lord  says,  "  Blessed  are  ve  when  men 
revile  you,  and  say  all  manner  of  evil  against 
you  falsely,  for  my  sake,"  Matth.  v.  Ob- 
serve, first,  the  evil  spoken  of  you  must  be 
false  and  groundless;  and,  2dly,  the  cause 
must  be  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  and  not  for 
any  singularities  of  your  own,  either  in  senti- 
ment or  practice,  which  you  cannot  clearly 
maintain  from  scripture.  It  is  a  great  bles- 
sing when  the  innocence  and  simplicity  of  the 
dove  is  happily  blended  with  true  wisdom.  It 
is  a  mercy  to  be  kept  from  giving  unnecessary 
offence,  in  these  times  of  division  and  dis- 
cord. Endeavour  that  a  principle  of  love  to 
God,  and  to  mankind  for  his  sake,  may  have 
place  in  all  your  actions  :  this  will  be  a  secret, 
seasonable,  and  infallible  guide,  in  a  thousand 
incidents,  where  particular  rules  cannot  reach. 
"  Be  sober,  be  vigilant,  continue  instant  in 
prayer ;"  and   in  a  little  while  all   your  con- 


worship  ?  "  drawing  near  him  with  their  lips,  fliets  shall  determine  in  conquest,  faith  shall 
when  their  hearts  were  far  from  him,"  Is.  xxix.  j  give  place  to  sight,  and  hope  to  possession. 
For  the  day  is  at  hand,  the  day  of  the  Lord,  j  Yet  a  little  while,  and  "  Christ,  who  is  our 
when  God  shall  bring  every  hidden  thing  to  j  life,  shall  appear"  (Col.  iii.),  to  vindicate  his 


truth,  to  put  a  final  end  to  all  evil  and  of- 
fence ;  and  then  we  also,  even  all  who  have 
loved  him,  and  waited  for  him,  "  shall  appear 


light,    when  every  man's  works  shall  be  tried 

and  weighed  ;  tried  in  the  fire   of  his  purity, 

weighed   in  the  balance  of  his  righteousness  ; 

and  as  the  issue  proves,   so  must  the  conse-lwith  him  in  glory,"  Is.  xxv 

que-nce   abide  to  all  eternity  :    a  trial  and   a 

scrutiny  which  no  flesh  could    abide,  were  it 

not  for  the  interposing  merits  of  Jesus  Christ, 


328 


ON  ALL  THINGS  BEING 


SER. IV 


SERMON  IV. 

ON   ALL  THINGS  BEING  GIVEN   US  WITH  CHRIST. 

.lie  that  spared  not  Ins  own  S>>n,  but  delivered 
him  »/>  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him 
also  freely  give  as  all  things  ?     Rom.  viii.  52 

Vauiou.;  have  been  the  disputes,  and  various 
tiie  mistakes  of  men,  concerning  the  things  of 
God.  Too  often,  amidst  the  heat  of  fierce 
contending  parties,  truth  is  injured  by  both 
sides,  befriended  by  neither.  Religion,  the 
pretended  cause  of  our  many  controversies,  is 
sometimes  wholly  unconcerned  in  them :  I 
mean,  that  pure  religion  and  undefiled,  that 
wisdom  which  cometh  from  above,  abounds 
with  proof  of  its  divine  original,  being  "  pure, 
peaceable,  gentle,  and  easy  to  be  entreated, 
full  of  mercy  and  good  works,  without  par- 
tiality, and  without  hypocrisy,"  James  iii. 
Religion  is  a  serious  and  a  personal  concern. 
It  arises  from  a  right  knowledge  of  God  and 
ourselves ;  a  sense  of  the  great  things  he  has 
done  for  fallen  man  ;  a  persuasion,  or  at  least 
a  well-grounded  hope,  of  our  own  interest  in 
his  favour;  and  a  principle  of  unbounded 
love  to  him  who  thus  first  loved  us.  It  con- 
sists in  an  entire  surrender  of  ourselves,  and 
our  all  to  God  ;  in  setting  him  continually 
before  us,  as  the  object  of  our  desires,  the 
scope  and  inspector  of  our  actions,  and  our 
only  refuge  and  hope  in  every  trouble  :  final- 
ly, in  making  the  goodness  of  God  to  us  the 
motive  and  model  of  our  behaviour  to  our  fel- 
low-creatures, to  love,  pity,  relieve,  instruct, 
forbear,  and  forgive  them,  as  occasions  offer ; 
because  we  ourselves  both  need  and  experience 
these  things  at  the  hand  of  our  heavenly  Father. 
The  two  great  points  to  which  it  tends,  and 
to  which  it  urges  the  soul,  where  it  has  taken 
place,  incessantly  to  press  after,  are,  com- 
munion with  God,  and  conformity  to  him  : 
and  as  neither  of  these  can  be  fully  attained 
in  this  life,  it  teaches  us  to  pant  after  abetter; 
to  withdraw  our  thoughts  and  affections  from 
temporal  things,  and  fix  them  on  that  eternal 
state,  where  we  trust  our  desires  shall  be  a- 
bundantly  satisfied  ;  and  the  work  begun  by 
grace  shall  be  crowned  with  glory. 

Such  is  the  religion  of  the  gospel.  This 
the  life  and  doctrine  of  our  Lord,  and  the 
writings  of  his  apostles,  jointly  recommend. 
An  excellent  abridgement  of  the  whole  we 
have  in  this  8th  chapter  to  the  Romans,  de- 
scribing the  state,  temper,  practice,  privileges, 
and  immoveable  security  of  a  true  christian. 
Every  verse  is  rich  in  comfort  and  instruc- 
tion, and  might,  without  violence,  afford  a 
theme  for  volumes;  particularly  that  which  I 
have  read,  may  be  styled  evangelium  evange- 
lii  ■  a  complete  and  comprehensive  epitome 
of  whatever  is  truly  worthy  of  our  knowledge 


and  our  hope.  The  limits  of  our  time  are  too 
narrow  to  admit  any  previous  remarks  on  the 
context,  or  indeed  to  consider  the  subject  ac- 
cording to  the  order  of  an  exact  division  ; 
therefore,  I  shall  not  at  present  use  any  arti- 
ficial method  ;  but,  taking  the  words  as  they 
lie,  I  shall  offer  a  few  practical  observations, 
which  seem  naturally  and  immediately  to  arise 
from  the  perusal  of  them,  making  such  im- 
provement as  may  occur  as  I  go  along.  And 
may  the  Father  of  mercies,  who  has  put  this 
treasure  into  our  hands,  favour  us  with  his 
gracious  presence  and  blessing  ! 

I.  From  the  words,  "  Pie  spared  not  his 
own  Son,"  we  may  observe  in  one  vieV,  the 
wonderful  goodness  and  the  inflexible  severi 
ty  of  God.  So  great  was  his  goodness,  that 
when  man  was  by  sin  rendered  incapable  of 
any  happiness,  and  obnoxious  to  all  misery ; 
incapable  of  restoring  himself,  or  of  receiving 
the  least  assistance  from  any  power  in  heaven 
or  in  earth  ;  God  spared  not  his  only-begotten 
Son,  but  in  his  unexampled  love  to  the  world, 
gave  him,  who  alone  was  able  to  repair  the 
breach.  Every  gift  of  God  is  good  :  the  boun- 
ties of  his  common  providence  are  very  valua- 
ble :  that  he  should  continue  life,  and  supply 
that  life  with  food,  raiment,  and  a  variety  of 
comforts,  to  those  who  by  rebellion  had  forfeit- 
ed all,  was  wonderful :  but  what  are  all  inferior 
blessings,  compared  to  this  unspeakable  gift  of 
the  Son  of  his  love?  Abraham  had  given 
many  proofs  of  his  love  and  obedience  before 
he  was  commanded  to  offer  up  Isaac  upon  the 
altar  ;  but  God  seems  to  pass  by  all  that  went 
before,  as  of  small  account  in  comparison  of 
this  last  instance  of  duty:  "  Now  I  know 
that  thou  fearest  God,  seeing  thou  hast  no 
with-held  thy  son,  thine  only  son  from  me," 
Gen.  xxii.  Surely  we  likewise  must  say, 
"  In  this  was  manifested  the  love  of  God  to  us, 
because  he  gave  his  Son,  his  only  Son,  to  be  the 
life  of  the  world."  But  all  comparison  fails  . 
Abraham  was  bound  in  duty,  bound  by  gra~ 
titude  ;  neither  was  it  a  free-will  offering,  but 
by  the  express  command  of  God  :  but  to  us 
the  mercy  was  undesired,  as  well  as  undeserved. 
"  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God;"  on 
the  contrary,  we  were  enemies  to  him,  and  in 
rebellion  against  him  ;  "  but  that  he  loved  us, 
and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins,"  the  sins  we  had  committed  against  him- 
self. My  friends,  ought  not  this  love  to  meet  a 
return?  Is  it  not  most  desireable  to  be  able  to 
say  with  the  apostle,  upon  good  grounds,  "  We 
love  him,  because  he  first  loved  us?"  Should 
it  not  be  our  continual  inquiry,  "  What  shall 
we  render  to  the  Lord  for  all  his  benefits  ?" 
especially  for  this,  which  is  both  the  crown 
and  the  spring  of  all  the  rest  ?  Are  we  cold 
and  unaffected  at  this  astonishing  proof  of 
divine  love,  and  are  our  hearts  not  grieved 
and  humbled  at  our  own  ingratitude  ?  then 
are  we  ungrateful  and  insensible  indeed ! 

The  justice  and  severity  of  God  is  no  less 


SER. IV 

conspicuous  tlian  his  goodness  in  these  words  ; 
as  he  spared  not  to  give  his  Son  for  our  sakes, 
so,   when   Christ  appeared  in  our  nature,    un- 
dertook our  cause,  and  was  charged  with  our 
sins,  though  he  was  the  Father's  well-beloved 
Son,  he  was  not  spared.      He  drank  the  bit- 
ter cup  of  the  wrath  of  God  to  the  very  dregs  : 
he  bore  all  the  shame,    sorrow,    and   pain,  all 
the  distress  of  body  and  mind,  that  must  oth- 
erwise   have    fallen    upon    our    heads.       His 
whole  life,  from  the  manger  to  the  cross,  was 
one  series  of  humiliation   and  suffering,  John 
xviii.      Observe  him  in  the  world,   despised, 
vilified,  persecuted  even  to  death,  by  unrea- 
sonable and  wicked  men  ;  ridiculed,  buffeted, 
spit  upon  ;  and  at  length  nailed  to  the  accur- 
sed  tree !    Consider   him    in    the    wilderness 
(Lukeiv.),  given  up  to  the  power  and  assault- 
ed by  the   temptations   of  the   devil !    Behold 
him  in  the  garden  (  Luke  xxii. ),  and  say,  "  Was 
ever  sorrow  like  unto  his   sorrow,  wherewith 
the  Lord  afflicted  him  in  the  day  of  his  fierce 
anger  ?"   How  inconceivable  must  that  agony 
have  been,  which  caused  his  blood  to  forsake 
its  wonted  channels,  and  start  from  every  pore 
of  his  body !    Behold    him,   lastly,    upon    the 
cross  (Matth.  xxvii.),  suffering  the  most  painful 
and  ignominious  death  :  suspended  between 
two  thieves;  surrounded  by  cruel  enemies,  who 
made  sport  of  his  pangs  ;  derided  by  all   that 
passed  by  !    Attend  to  his  dolorous  cry,   ex- 
pressive of  an  inward  distress  beyond  all    we 
have  yet  spoken  of,   "  My  God,  my  God,  why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?"  St.  Paul  reminds  the 
Galatians,  that,  by  his  preaching  among  them, 
Jesus   Christ  had   "  been  evidently  set  forth 
crucified  before  their  eyes,"  Gal.  iii.      Would 
it  please  God  to  bless  my  poor   words   to  the 
like  purpose,  you  would  see  a   meaning   you 
never    yet   observed    in    that    awful  passage, 
"  Tribulation,  and  wrath,  and  anguish,  upon 
every  soul  of  man  that  dotli  evil"  (Rom.  ii. )  ; 
for  the  punishment  due  to  the  sins  of  all   that 
shall  stand  at  the  last  day  on  the  right  hand  of 
God,  met  and  centered  in   Christ,   the  Lamb 
of  expiation  ;  nor  was  the  dreadful  weight  re- 
moved, till  he,  triumphant  in  death,  pronoun- 
ced, "  It  is  finished,"  John  xix.      Let  us  not 
think  of  this  as  a  matter  of  speculation  only  ; 
our  lives,  our  precious  souls,  are  concerned  in 
it.      Let  us  infer  from  hence,  how  fearful   a 
thing  it  is  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living 
God,   Heb.   x.      The  apostle  Peter   (2  Peter 
ii.)  admonishes  those  to  whom  he  wrote,  from 
the  fearful  example  of  the  angels  who  sinned, 
and  of  the  old  world ;  where  the  same  word 
is  used  as  in  my  text,  ovk  itpti<ran> :    "  He  spa- 
red them  not:"   that  is,  he  punished  them  to 
the  utmost;  he  did  not  afford  them  the  least 
mitigation.      It  is  a  frequent  figure  of  speech, 
by  which  much  more  is  understood  than  is  or 
can  be  expressed.      Much  more,  then,  may  we 
say,  if  God  spared  not   his  own   Son,  "  what 
shall  be  the  end  of  those   who   obey   not  the 
gospel?"    1  Peter  iv.      If  the  holy  Jesus  was 


GIVEN   US  WITH   CHRIST. 


329 


thus  dealt  with,  when  he  was  only  accounted 
a  sinner  by  imputation,  where  shall  the  im- 
penitent and  the  ungodly  appear?  "  If  these 
things  were  done  in  the  green  tree,  what  shall 
be  done  in  the  dry  ?"  Luke  xxiii.  The  pu- 
nishment of  sin  in  the  soul  in  a  future  state 
is  twofold  :  the  wrath  of  God  in  all  its  dread- 
ful effects,  typified  by  fire  unquenchable  (Mark 
ix.),  and  the  stings  of  conscience,  represent- 
ed by  a  worm  that  never  dies.  Our  Lord  en- 
dured the  former  ;  but  the  other  perhaps  could 
have  no  place  in  him,  who  was  absolutely  per- 
fect and  sinless.  But  if  the  prospect  of  one 
made  him  amazed  and  sorrowful  beyond  mea- 
sure, what  consternation  must  the  concur- 
rence of  both  raise  in  the  wicked,  when  they 
shall  hear  and  feel  their  irrevocable  doom  . 
Alay  we  have  grace  to  reflect  on  these  things, 
that  we  may  flee  for  safety  to  the  hope  set  be- 
fore us,  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  only,  and  the 
sure  refuge  from  that  approaching  storm,  which 
shall  sweep  away  all  the  workers  of  iniquity 
as  a  flood,  Isa.  xxiii. 

II.  Here,  as  in  a  glass,  we  may  see  the 
evil  of  sin.  The  bitter  fruits  of  sin  are  in. 
deed  visible  every  where.  Sin  is  the  cause  of 
all  the  labour,  sickness,  pain,  and  grief,  under 
which  the  whole  creation  groans.  Sin  often 
makes  man  a  terror  and  a  burden,  both  to 
himself  and  those  about  him.  Sin  occasions 
discord  and  confusion  in  families,  cities,  and 
kingdoms.  Sin  has  always  directed  the  march, 
and  ensured  the  success,  of  those  instrument* 
of  divine  vengeance  whom  we  style  Mighty 
Conquerors.  Those  ravagers  of  mankind, 
who  spread  devastation  and  horror  far  and 
wide,  and  ruin  more  in  a  few  days  than  ages 
can  repair,  have  only  afforded  so  many  mel- 
ancholy proofs  of  the  malignity  of  sin.  For 
this,  a  shower  of  flaming  brimstone  fell  upon 
a  whole  country  ;  for  tins,  an  overwhelming 
deluge  destroyed  a  whole  world  ;  for  this,  prin- 
cipalities and  powers  were  cast  from  heaven, 
and  are  reserved  under  chains  of  darkness  (2 
Peter  ii. )  to  a  more  dreadful  doom.  But  none 
of  these  things,  nor  all  of  them  together,  afford 
sucha  convection  of  the  heinous  nature,  and  de- 
structive efVects  of  sin,  as  we  may  gather  from 
these  words,  "  He  spared  not  his  own  Son." 

III.  Here  we  may  likewise  see  the  value 
of  the  human  soul.  We  ordinarily  judge  of 
the  worth  of  a  thing  by  the  price  which  a  wise 
man,  who  is  acquainted  with  its  intrinsic  ex- 
cellency, is  willing  to  give  for  it.  Now,  the 
soul  of  a  man  was  of  such  estimation  in  the 
sight  of  God,  who  made  it,  that,  when  it  was 
sinking  into  endless  ruin,  he  spared  not  his 
own  Son,  but  freely  delivered  him  up  for  our 
ransom.  Two  things  especially  render  the 
soul  thus  important  in  the  view  of  infinite 
wisdom  :  1st,  The  capacity  he  had  given  it : 
for  "  he  formed  it  for  himself"   (Isa.  xliii.), 


capable   of  knowing, 


and 


enjoying 


God  ;  and  by  consequence,  incapable  of  hap- 
piness in  any  thing  beneath  him  ;  far  nothing 


330 


ON  ALL  THINGS  BEING 


SER.   IV 


can  satisfy  any  being  but  the  attainment  of 
its  proper  end  :  and,  2dly,  The  duration  he 
had  assigned  it,  beyond  the  limits  of  time, 
and  the  existence  of  the  material  world.  The 
most  excellent  and  exalted  being,  if  only  the 
creature  of  a  day,  would  be  worthy  of  little 
regard.*  On  the  other  hand,  immortality  it- 
self would  be  of  small  value  to  a  creature  that 
could  rise  no  higher  than  the  pursuits  of  ani- 
mal life  :  But  in  the  soul  of  man,  the  capa- 
bility of  complete  happiness  or  exquisite  mi- 
sery, and  that  for  ever,  makes  it  a  prize  wor- 
thy the  contention  of  different  worlds.  For 
this  an  open  intercourse  was  maintained  be- 
tween heaven  and  earth,  till  at  length  the 
Word  of  God  appeared  "  in  the  likeness  of 
sinful  flesh,"  that,  in  our  nature,  he  might 
encounter  and  subdue  the  sworn  enemy  of  our 
species.  All  that  has  been  transacted  in  the 
kingdoms  of  providence  and  grace,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  has  been  in  subser- 
viency to  this  grand  point,  the  redemption  of 
the  deathless  soul.  And  is  it  so?  And  shall 
there  be  found  amongst  us  numbers  utterly 
insensible  of  their  natural  dignity,  that  dare 
disparage  the  plan  of  infinite  wisdom,  and 
stake  those  souls  for  trifles,  which  nothing  less 
than  the  blood  of  Christ  could  redeem  !  There 
is  need  to  use  great  plainness  of  speech;  the 
matter  is  of  the  utmost  weight ;  be  not,  there- 
fore, offended  that  I  would  warn  you  against 
the  deceitfulness  of  sin.  Suffer  not  your 
hearts  to  be  entangled  in  the  vanities  of  the 
world  :  either  they  will  fail,  and  disappoint 
you  in  life,  or  at  least  you  must  leave  them 
behind  you  when  you  die.  You  must  en- 
ter an  invisible,  unknown  state,  where  you 
cannot  expect  to  meet  any  of  those  amuse- 
ments or  engagements  which  you  here  find  so 
necessary  to  pass  away  the  tedious  load  of  time 
that  hangs  upon  your  hands.  You,  to  whom 
a  few  hours  of  leisure  are  so  burdensome,  have 
you  considered  how  you  shall  be  able  to  sup- 
port an  eternity  ?  You  stand  upon  a  brink, 
and  all  about  you  is  uncertainty.  You  see, 
of  your  acquaintance,  some  or  other  daily  cal- 
led away,  some  who  were  as  likely  to  live  as 
yourselves.  You  know  not  but  you  may  be 
the  very  next.  You  cannot  be  certain  but 
this  very  night  your  soul  may  be  required  of 
you,  Luke,  xii.  Perhaps  a  few  hours  may 
introduce  you  into  the  presence  of  that  God 
whom  you  have  been  so  little  desirous  to 
please.  And  can  you,  in  such  a  situation, 
sport  and  play,  with  as  little  concern  as  the 
lamb,  already  marked  out  to  bleed  to-mor- 
row ?  Oh!  it  is  strange!  How  fatally  has 
the  god  of  this  world  blinded  your  eyes  !  and 
how  dreadful  must  your  situation  be  in  death, 
if  death  alone  can  undeceive  you  ' 

IV.  Lastly,  we  may  gather  from  these 
words  the  certainty  of  the  gospel-salvation. 
God  himself  delivered  up  his  Son  for  us  all. 

*  Vide  Young's  Night  Thoughts,  7th   Night. 


He  declared  himself  well  pleased  with  him 
(iWatth.  iii.)  as  our  Surety,  upon  his  first  en- 
trance upoxi  his  work ;  and  testified  his  ac 
ceptance  of  his  undertaking,  in  that  he  raised 
him  from  the  dead,  and  received  him  into 
heaven  as  our  Advocate.  Now,  "if  God  him- 
self be  thus  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?" 
Rom.  viii.  If  he  who  only  has  a  right  to  judge 
us,  is  pleased  to  justify  us,  "  who  can  lay  any 
thing  to  our  charge  ?  If  Christ  who  died"  for 
our  sins,  and  is  risen  on  our  behalf,  has  engaged 
to  "  intercede  for  us,  who  shall  condemn  ?" 
"  There  is  now  no  condemnation  to  them  that 
are  in  Christ  Jesus."  Nor  is  this  all ;  but 
every  thing  we  stand  in  need  of  is  fully  pro- 
vided ;  and  we  may  well  argue,  as  the  apostle 
has  taught  us  elsewhere,  "  If,  when  we  were 
enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the 
death  of  his  Son,  much  more,  being  recon- 
ciled, we  shall  be  saved  by  his  life"  ( Rom.  v.)  : 
or,  as  in  the  passage  before  us,  "  He  that 
spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up 
for  us  all,"  when  we  were  alienated  from  him, 
"  how  shall  he  not  with  him  freely  give  us  all 
things,"  now  he  has  taught  us  to  pray,  and 
given  us  his  own  promises  to  plead  for  all  we 
ask  ? — This  brings  me  to  the  second  clause  of 
the  text ;  only  it  may  be  proper,  before  I  enter 
upon  it,  to  subjoin  two  cautions,  to  prevent 
mistakes  from  what  has  been  already  said. 

1st,  Let  us  remember  that  all  is  a  free  gift. 
He  gave  his  Son  :  he  gives  all  things  with 
him.  The  gospel  allows  no  place  for  merit 
of  our  own  in  any  respect,  there  was  no  mov- 
ing cause  in  us,  unless  our  misery  may  he 
deemed  such.  Our  deliverance,  in  its  rise, 
progress,  and  accomplishment,  must  be  as- 
cribed to  grace  alone;  and  he  that  would 
glory,  must  glory  only  in  the  Lord,  1  Cor.  i. 

2dly,  Let  us  observe  the  apostle's  phrase. 
He  says  not  absolutely  for  all,  but  for  us  all ; 
that  is,  those  who  are  described  in  the  former 
part  of  the  chapter,  "  who  are  led  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh, 
who  are  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  cor- 
ruption," who  have  liberty  to  call  God  "  Ab- 
ba, father,"  and  prove  their  relation  by  fol- 
lowing him  as  "  dear  children."  Christ  is 
"  the  author  of  eternal  salvation  to  those  only 
who  obey  him,"  Heb.  v.  It  cannot  be  other- 
wise, since  a  branch  of  that  salvation  is  to  de- 
liver us  "  from  our  sins,"  and  "  the  present 
evil  world"  (Gal.  i.)  ;  to  "  purify  us  from 
dead  works,  to  serve  the  living  God."  "  Be 
not  deceived,  God  will  not  he  mocked  ;  what- 
soever a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  reap.  He 
that  soweth  to  the  flesh,  shall,"  notwithstand- 
ing all  that  Christ  has  done  or  suffered,  yea 
so  much  the  rather,  "  of  the  flesh  reap  cor- 
ruption," Gal.  vi. 

The  text  having  declared,  that  God  spared 
not  his  Son  for  our  sakes,  proceeds  to  infer, 
that  "  with  him  he  will  assuredly  give  us  all 
things."  Here  we  may  take  notice,  first,  that 
the  words   all  things  must   be  limited  to  sucb 


SER.  IV.  GIVEN   US  WITH  CHRIST. 

as  are   needful  and  good  for   us.      It  may  be 


331 


said  of  many  of  our  desires,  "  ye  know  not 
what  ye  ask"  (Matth.  xx.):  in  such  cases, 
the  best  answer  we  can  receive  is  a  denial. 
For  those  blessings  which  God  has  promised 
absolutely  to  give,  such  as  pardon,  grace, 
and  eternal  life,  we  cannot  be  too  earnest  or 
explicit  in  our  prayers  ;  but  in  temporal  things 
we  should  be  careful  to  ask  nothing  but  with 
submission  to  the  divine  will.  The  promises, 
it  is  true,  appertain  to  "  the  life  that  now  is, 
as  well  as  that  which  is  to  come,"  1  Tim.  iv. 
"  Whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas,  or 
life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or  things  to 
come :  all  are  ours,  if  we  are  Christ's,"  1 
Cor.  iii.  But  the  particular  modus  of  these 
things  God  has  reserved  in  his  own  hands,  to 
bestowthem  as  best  shall  suit  our  various  tem- 
pers, abilities,  and  occasions.  And  it  is  well 
for  us  that  it  is  so;  for  we  should  soon  ruin 
ourselves  if  left  to  our  own  choice  :  like  child- 
ren who  are  fond  to  meddle  with  what  would 
hurt  them,  but  refuse  the  most  salutary  me- 
dicines, if  unpalatable ;  so  we  often  pursue, 
with  earnestness  and  anxiety,  those  things, 
which,  if  we  could  obtain  them,  would  great- 
ly harm,  if  not  destroy  us.  Often,  too,  with 
a  rash  and  blind  impatience,  we  struggle  to 
avoid  or  escape  those  difficulties  which  God 
sees  fit  to  appoint  for  the  most  gracious  and 
merciful  purposes, — to  correct  our  pride  and 
vanity,  to  exercise  and  strengthen  our  faith, 
to  wean  us  from  the  world,  to  teach  us  a  clo- 
ser dependence  upon  himself,  and  to  awaken 
our  desires  after  a  better  inheritance. 

Again,  as  God,  by  his  promise  freely  to  give 
us  all  things,  has  not  engaged  to  comply  with 
the  measure  of  our  unreasonable,  short-sight- 
ed wishes:  so  neither  has  he  confined  himself 
as  to  the  time  or  manner  of  bestowing  his 
gifts.  The  blessing  we  seek,  though  perhaps 
not  wholly  improper,  may  be  at  present  un- 
seasonable ;  in  this  case,  the  Lord  will  sus- 
pend it,  till  he  sees  it  will  afford  us  the  com- 
fort and  satisfaction  he  intends  us  by  it :  and 
then  we  shall  be  sure  to  have  it.  Sometimes 
it  is  with-held,  to  stir  us  up  to  fervency  and 
importunity  in  our  prayers,  sometimes  to  make 
it  doubly  welcome  and  valuable  when  it 
comes.  So  likewise  as  to  the  manner  :  we 
ask  one  good  thing,  and  he  gives  an  equiva- 
lent in  something  else  ;  and  when  we  come  to 
weigh  all  things,  we  see  cause  to  say  his  choice 
was  best.  Thus  David  acknowledges  :  "  In 
the  day  that  I  called,  thou  didst  answer  me, 
and  strengthenedst  me  with  strength  in  my 
soul,"  P.sal.  cxxxviii.  David  asked  for  de- 
liverance from  trouble  ;  the  Lord  gave  him 
strength  to  bear  it ;  and  he  allows  his  prayer 
was  fully  answered.  A  parallel  case  the  a- 
postle  records :  he  besought  the  Lord  thrice 
(2  Cor.  xii.)  for  the  removal  of  that  trial 
which  he  calls  "  a  thorn  in  the  flesh:"  the 
answer  he  received  was,  "  My  grace  is  suffi- 
cient for  thee.'       Such  an  assurance  was  more 


valuable  than  the  deliverance  he  sought  could 
be.  Sometimes  we  seek  a  thing  in  a  way  of 
our  own,  by  means  and  instruments  of  oui 
own  devising.  God  crosses  our  feeble  pur 
poses,  that  he  may  give  us  the  pleasure  of  re- 
ceiving it  immediately  from  himself.  It  were 
easy  to  enlarge  on  this  head ;  let  it  suffice  to 
know,  our  concerns  are  in  his  hands  who  does 
all  things  well ;  and  who  will,  and  does,  ap- 
point all  to  work  together  for  our  good. 

From  the  latter  clause,  thus  limited  and 
explained,  many  useful  directions  might  be 
drawn.  I  shall  only  mention  two  or  three, 
and  conclude. 

1st,  Since  we  are  told,  that  God  freely  gives 
us  all  things,  let  us  learn  to  see  and  acknow- 
ledge his  hand  in  all  we  have,  and  in  all  we 
meet  with.  When  Jacob  was  returning  to 
Canaan  after  a  long  absence  (Gen.  xxxii.), 
the  fear  of  his  brother  Esau  occasioned  him 
to  divide  his  family  and  substance  into  separ- 
ate companies ;  and,  comparing  his  present 
situation  with  the  poor  condition  in  which  he 
had  been  driven  from  home  twenty  years  be- 
fore, he  breaks  out  into  this  act  of  praise  :  "  I 
am  not  worthy,  O  Lord,  of  all  thy  mercies ; 
for  with  my  staff'  I  passed  over  this  Jordan, 
and  now  I  am  become  two  bands  !"  How 
pious  and  how  cheering  was  this  reflection  ! 
And  afterwards  (Gen.  xxxiii.),  when  his  bro- 
ther Esau  asked  him  concerning  his  sons, 
"  They  are  the  children  (said  he),  which  God 
has  graciously  given  thy  servant."  Such  a 
deep  and  abiding  persuasion  of  the  most  high 
God  ordering  and  over-ruling  all  our  con- 
cerns, would,  like  the  light,  diffuse  a  lustre 
and  a  beauty  upon  every  thing  around  us. 
To  consider  every  comfort  of  life  as  an  effect 
and  proof  of  the  divine  favour  towards  us, 
would,  like  the  feigned  alchymist's  stone, 
turn  all  our  possessions  into  gold,  and  stamp  a 
value  upon  things  which  a  common  eye  might 
judge  indifferent.  Nor  is  this  more  than  the 
truth  :  "  The  hairs  of  our  head  are  all  num- 
bered," Matth.  x.  The  eye  of  divine  provi- 
dence is  upon  every  sparrow  of  the  field  ;  nor 
can  we  properly  term  any  circumstance  of 
our  lives  small,  since  such  as  seem  most  trifl- 
ing in  themselves  do  often  give  birth  to  those 
which  we  judge  most  important.  On  the 
other  hand,  to  be  able  to  discover  the  wisdom 
and  goodness  of  our  heavenly  Father  through 
th?  jirkest  cloud  of  troubles  and  afflictions, 
to  see  all  our  trials  appointed  to  us,  in  number, 
weight,  and  measure  ;  nothing  befalling  us  by 
chance,  nothing  without  need,  nothing  without 
a  support,  nothing  without  a  designed  advan- 
tage;— what  a  stay  must  these  apprehensions 
be  to  the  soul  !  Take  away  these,  and  man  is 
the  most  forlorn,  helpless,  miserable  object  in 
the  world;  pining  for  every  thing  he  has  not, 
trembling  for  every  thing  he  has  ;  equally  suf 
fering  under  the  pressure  of  what  does  happen, 
and  the  fear  of  what  may  :  liable  to  thousands 
of  unsuspected  dangers,  yet  unable  to  guard 


S3M  ON 

against  those  which  are  most  obvious.  Were 
tliere  no  future  life,  it  would  be  our  interest 
to  be  truly  and  uniformly  religious,  in  order 
to  make  the  most  of  this.  How  unhappy 
must  they  be,  to  whom  the  thoughts  of  a  God 
ever-present  is  a  burden  they  strive,  in  vain, 
to  shake  oft'!  But  let  us  learn  to  acknowledge 
him  in  all  our  ways,  and  then  he  will  direct 
and  bless  our  paths,  Prov.  iii. 

2d,  Since  all  we  have  is  the  gift  of  God, 
let  this  teach  us,  in  whatever  state  we  are, 
therewith  to  be  content.  Our  heavenly  Fa- 
ther knoweth  what  we  have  need  of  before 
we  ask  him,  Matth.  vi.  The  earth  is  his,  and 
the  fulness  thereof  (Psal.  xxiv.);  and  his  good- 
ness is  equal  to  his  power,  a  proof  of  which 
we  have  in  the  text.  He  has  already  given 
us  more  than  ten  thousand  worlds.      Are  you 


poor  . 


Be  satisfied  with  the  Lord's  appoint- 
ment. It  were  as  easy  to  him  to  give  you 
large  estates  as  to  supply  you  with  the  bread 
you  eat,  or  to  continue  your  breath  in  your 
nostrils  :  but  he  sees  poverty  best  for  you ; 
he  sees  prosperity  might  prove  your  ruin ; 
therefore  he  has  appointed  you  the  honour  of 
being  in  this  respect  conformable  to  your 
Lord,  who  when  on  earth  had  not  where  to 
lay  his  head,  Matth.  viii.  Have  any  of  you 
lost  a  dear  friend  or  relative,  in  whose  life 
you  thought  your  own  lives  bound  up?  Be 
still,  and  know  that  he  is  God,  Psal.  xlvi.  It 
was  he  who  gave  you  that  friend ;  his  blessing 
made  your  friend  a  comfort  to  you ;  and 
though  the  stream  is  now  cut  off,  the  foun- 
tain is  still  full.  Be  not  like  a  wild  bull  in 
a  net ;  the  Lord  has  many  ways  to  turn  your 
mourning  into  joy.  Are  any  of  you  sick  ? 
Think  how  the  compassionate  Jesus  healed 
diseases  with  a  word,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh. 
Has  he  not  the  same  power  now  as  then  ? 
Has  he  not  the  same  love  ?  Has  he,  in  his 
exalted  state,  forgot  his  poor  languishing  mem- 
bers here  below  ?  No,  verily  :  he  still  re- 
tains his  sympathy ;  he  is  touched  with  a 
feeling  of  our  infirmities ;  he  knows  our 
frame;  he  remembers  we  are  but  dust,  Psal. 
ciii.  It  is  because  sickness  is  better  for  you 
than  health,  that  he  thus  visits  you.  He 
dealt  in  the  same  manner  with  Lazarus,  whom 
he  loved,  John  xi.  Resign  yourselves,  there- 
fore to  his  wisdom,  and  repose  in  his  love. 
There  is  a  land  where  the  blessed  inhabitant 
shall  no  more  say,  "  I  am  sick"  (Isa.  xxxiii.)  ; 
and  there  all  that  love  the  Lord  Jesus  shall 
shortly  be.  Are  any  of  you  tempted  ?  "  Bles- 
sed is  the  man  that  endureth  temptation ; 
for  when  he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive  the 
crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord  has  promised 
to  them  that  love  him,"  James,  i.  Sure,  you 
need  no  other  argument  to  be  content,  shall 
I  say,  or  to  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad  ? 
"  My  sun,  despise  not  thou  the  chastening  of 
the  Lord,  nor  faint  when  thou  art  rebuked  of 
him,"  Heb.  xii.      Be  it  in  poverty  or  losses, 


\LL  THINGS  BEING,  &C.  SER.  IV 

other's  it  is  all  appointed  by  God,  and  shall 
issue  in  your  great  benefit,  if  you  are  of  the 
number  of  those  that  love  him. 

3d,    Once  more,    since  it  is  said   that    ah 
things  are  freely  given  us  in  and  together  with 
Christ,  let  us  "  give  all  diligence  to  make  our 
calling   and   election   sure"   (2   Pet.    i.);    to 
know  that  we  have  an  interest  in  him  and  his 
mediation  ;  and  then  (if  I  may  borrow  a  com- 
mon expression)  we  are  made  for  ever.      The 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  sent  from  God  o;i  a  mer- 
ciful errand   to   a  lost  world,  did  not  come 
empty:   no;  he  is  fraught  with   all  blessings, 
suitable  to  all  persons,  extending  to  all  times, 
enduring  to  all   eternity.      O   make   it    your 
great  care  to  know  him  and  to  please  him ; 
study  his  word,  call  upon  his  name,  frequent 
his  ordinances,  observe  his  sayings,    seek  to 
know   him   as   the    only  way  to   God  (John, 
xiv.)  ;  the  way  to  pardon,  peace,  and  divine 
communion  here,  and  to  complete  happiness 
hereafter.      When  once  you    can   say,   "  My 
Beloved  is  mine"  (Song  ii.),  I  account  all  his 
interest  my  own  ;   "  and  I   am  his,"   I  have 
given  myself  up    to    him  without  reserve, — 
you  will,  you  must  be  happy.      You  will  be 
interested  in  all  his  attributes  and  communi- 
cable perfections.      His  wisdom  will   be  your 
high    tower,    his    providence    your    constant 
shield,  his  love  your  continual  solace.      "  He 
will  give  his  angels  charge  over  you,  to  keep 
you  in  all  your  ways,"  Psal.  xci.    In  times  of 
difficulty  he   will    direct   your    counsels ;    in 
times  of  danger  he  will  fill  you  with  comfort, 
and  "  keep  you  in  perfect  peace"  (Isa.  xxvi.), 
when  others  quake  for  fear.      He  will  bless 
your  basket   and  your  store,  your  substance 
and   your  families  :   your  days  shall  happily 
pass  in  doing  your  Father's  will,  and  receiv- 
ing renewed  tokens   of  his   favour ;    and  at 
night  you  shall  lie  down,  and  your  sleep  shall 
be  sweet.       When  afflictions    befal  you    (for 
these  likewise  are  the  fruits  of  love),  you  shall 
see  your  God  near  at  hand,   "  a  very  present 
help   in  trouble  (Psal.  xlvi.);  you  shall  find 
your  strength  increased  in  proportion  to  your 
trial ;  you  shall  in  due  time  be   restored,   as 
gold  from  the  furnace,   purified  sevenfold,  to 
praise  your  great  deliverer.     Every  thing  you 
meet  in  life  shall  yield  you  profit;  and  death, 
which  puts  a  fatal  period  to  the  hope  of  the 
wicked  ;  death,  at  whose  name  thousands  turn 
pale,   shall  to  you  be  an  entrance  into  a  new 
and  endless  life.      He  who   tasted   death  for 
you  (Heb.  ii.),  and  sanctified  it  to  you,   shall 
lead  and  support  you  through   that  dark  val. 
ley  :   you  shall  shut  your  eyes  upon  the  things 
of  time,  to  open  them  the  next  moment  in  the 
blissful    presence    of    your    reconciled    God. 
You  that  a  minute  before  were  surrounded 
by  weeping,  helpless  friends,   shall,  in   an  in- 
stant,  be  transported  and  inspired  to  join  that 
glorious  song,   "  To  him  who  loved  us,  and 
washed   us  from  Our  sins  in  his  own  blood, 


in  body  or  mind,  in  your  own  person  or  an-    and  hath  made  us  priests  and  kings  to  God 


ON  SEARCHING    MIL  SCRIPTURES. 


SER.  V. 

and  his  Father;  to  him  be  glory  and  strength 
for  ever  and  ever.  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that 
was  slain,  to  receive  power  and  riches,  and 
wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honour,  and  glory, 
and  blessing,"  Rev.  v.  Thus  "  blessed  shall 
the  man  be  that  fears  the  Lord,  '  Psal.  cxxviii. 
"  Thus  shall  it  be  done  to  him  whom  the 
King  delighteth  to  honour,"  Esth.  vi.    Amen. 


SERMON  V. 

ON  SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES. 

Search  the  scrij>turcs,  for  in  them  ye  think  ye 
have  eternal  life,  and  they  are  they  wnich 
testify  of  me.     John  v.  59. 

The  phrase  in  the  Greek  is  ambiguous,  and 
maybe  either  rendered,  according  to  our  read- 
ing, as  a  command,  search  the  scriptures  ;  or 
else  as  simply  affirming,  ye  do  search  the  scrip- 
tures. And  as  the  words  were  spoken  to  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  who  were  exceedingly 
studious  in  the  letter  of  the  scriptures,  this 
may  perhaps  have  been  their  first  design. 
The  difference  is  not  material ;  and  either 
sense  will  afford  us  instruction.  If  we  re- 
ceive it  as  a  command,  we  should  consider  it 
as  given  by  the  Lord  himself,  whose  disciples 
we  profess  to  be,  as  bound  on  us  by  our  own 
acknowledgement,  since  in  them  we  think  and 
say  we  have  eternal  life  ;  and  as  absolutely 
necessary  to  be  complied  with,  since  it  is  these, 
and  these  only,  which  testify  of  Christ,  in  the 
knowledge  of  whom  our  eternal  life  consists. 
If  we  should  understand  it  in  the  latter  sense, 
as  spoken  to  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  it  may 
give  us  a  useful  caution  not  to  lay  too  much 
stress  either  on  what  we  think  or  on  what  we 
do.  For  these  persons,  we  find,  had  in  some 
respects  a  right  sentiment  of  the  holy  scrip- 
tures: they  believed  that  in  them  there  was 
eternal  life  ;  and,  in  a  sense  likewise,  they 
made  this  an  inducement  to  read,  yea,  to 
search  them.  But  though  they  thus  thought 
and  thus  acted,  and  though  the  scriptures, 
from  the  first  page  to  the  last,  do  testify  of 
Christ,  yet  they  could  not  understand  or  re- 
ceive this  testimony,  but  rejected  the  Messiah 
whom  they  professed  to  hope  for,  and  took  all 
their  pains  in  searching  the  scriptures  to  no 
purpose. 

In  what  I  am  about  to  lay  before  you,  I 
propose  the  following  order :  1st,  To  men- 
tion a  few  requisites,  without  which  it  is  im- 
possible rightly  to  understand  the  scriptures  : 
2d,  To  shew  how  the  scriptures  testify  of 
Christ:  3d,  To  consider  what  the  import  of  their 
testimony  is :  4th,  To  press  the  practice  of 
searching  the  scriptures,  from  the  argument 
used  in  the  text,  which  is  equally  applicable  to 
us  as  to  the  Jews  of  old,  that  in  them  we  think 
we  have  eternal  life. 


333 


I.  The  first  requisite  I  shall  mention  is  Sin- 
cerity;  1  mean  a  real  desire  to  be  instructed 
by  the  scriptures,  and  to  submit  both  our  sen- 
timents and  our  practices  to  be  controuled 
and  directed  by  what  we  read  there.  Without 
this,  our  reading  and  searching  will  only  issue 
in  our  greater  condemnation,  and  bring  us 
under  the  heavy  doom  of  the  servant  that  knew 
his  master's  will  and  did  it  not.  A  remark- 
able instance  of  this  we  have  in  the  42d  and 
two  following  chapters  of  Jeremiah.  After 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  death 
of  Gedaliah,  the  people  that  were  left  intreated 
the  prophet  to  inquire  of  the  Lord  for  them, 
concerning  their  intended  removal  into  Egypt. 
Their  request  was  fair  :  "  That  the  Lord  thy 
God  may  shew  us  the  way  wherein  we  may 
walk,  and  the  thing  that  we  may  do."  Their 
engagement  was  very  solemn  :  "  The  Lord 
be  a  true  and  faithful  witness  between  us,  if 
we  do  not  even  according  to  all  things  for  the 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  shall  send  to  us. 
Whether  it  be  good,  or  whether  it  be  evil, 
we  will  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord  our  God, 
to  whom  we  send  thee."  But  their  hypocrisy 
was  most  detestable.  The  Lord,  who  seeth 
the  inmost  purposes  of  the  soul,  could  not  be 
put  off  with  their  fair  pretences.  He  sent 
them  in  answer  an  express  prohibition  to  go 
into  Egypt ;  assuring  them  that  his  curse 
should  follow  them,  and  that  there  they  should 
certainly  perish.  Yet  they  went,  and  verified 
what  the  prophet  had  told  them  :  "  For  ye 
dissembled  in  your  hearts,  when  you  sent  me 
to  the  Lord  your  God,  saying,  Pray  for  us 
unto  the  Lord  our  God,  and  according  to  all 
that  the  Lord  our  God  shall  say,  so  declare 
unto  us,  and  we  will  do  it."  Then  they 
spoke  out,  and  like  themselves,  when  they 
told  him,  "  As  for  the  word  which  thou  hast 
spoken  unto  us,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  we 
will  not  hearken  unto  thee,  but  we  will  cer- 
tainly do  whatever  thing  goeth  forth  out  of 
our  own  mouth."  None  of  us  dare  speak 
thus  in  express  terms  ;  but  if  we  bring  our  pre- 
conceived opinions  or  purposes,  not  in  order 
to  examine  them  strictly  by  the  test  of  scrip- 
ture, but  to  find  or  wrest  some  passages  in 
the  word  of  God  to  countenance  or  justify 
ourselves ;  if  our  desire  is  not  simply  to 
be  led  in  the  very  way  of  God's  command- 
ments ;  if  we  are  not  really  willing  to  dis- 
cover every  error  and  evil  that  may  be  in  us, 
in  order  to  forsake  them, — we  closely  imitate 
these  deceitful,  obstinate,  insolent  Jews,  be 
our  pretences  ever  so  fair,  and  are  liable  to 
the  like  dreadful  judgment  for  our  hypocrisy; 
the  curse  of  God  upon  our  devices  here,  and 
the  portion  of  Lis  enemies  hereafter. 

Where  this  sincerity  is  wanting,  every  thing 
is  wrong;  neither  praying,  nor  hearing,  nor 
reading,  can  profit.  The  scriptures  abound 
with  the  severest  threatenings  against  those 
who  presume  to  mock  the  all-seeing  God. 
I  shall  only  produce  one  passage,  from  Ezekiel 


334 


ON  SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES. 


xiv.  5.  "  Son  of  man,  these  men  have  set 
up  their  idols  in  their  hearts,  and  put  the 
stumbling-block  of  iniquity  before  their  faces  : 
should  I  be  inquired  of  at  all  by  them  ? — 
Every  man  of  the  house  of  Israel  that  setteth 
up  his  idols  in  his  heart,  and  putteth  the 
stumbling-block  of  iniquity  before  his  face, 
and  cometh  to  the  prophet,  I  the  Lord  will 
answer  him  that  cometh,  according  to  the  mul- 
titude of  his  idols."  I  say  not  this,  that  I 
would  have  any  one  throw  aside  the  ordi- 
nances of  God,  especially  his  public  worship. 
These  are  the  means  which  God  has  appointed, 
in  which  he  has  commanded  us  to  wait,  and 
where  he  is  often  pleased  to  be  found,  even 
by  those  who  seek  him  not.  But  I  would 
intreat  such  persons  seriously  to  consider  the 
dreadful  condition  they  would  be  in,  if  death 
should  surprise  them  in  such  a  state  of  insin- 
cerity as  renders  their  very  prayers  and  sacri- 
fices "  an  abomination  to  the  Lord,"  and  per- 
verts those  things  which  are  designed  for  their 
advantage  into  an  occasion  of  their  falling. 

A  second  thing  necessary  is  Diligence.  This, 
with  the  former,  is  finely  described  in  the  book 
of  Proverbs.  "  My  son,  if  thou  wilt  receive 
my  words,  and  hide  my  commandment  with- 
in thee  ;  so  that  thou  incline  thine  ear  to  wis- 
dom, and  apply  thine  heart  to  understanding: 
yea,  if  thou  criest  after  knowledge,  and  lif't- 
est  up  thy  voice  for  understanding  ;  if  thou 
scekest  her  as  silver,  and  searchest  for  her  as 
hid  treasures  :  then  shalt  thou  understand  the 
fear  of  the  Lord,  and  find  the  knowledge  of 
God,"  Prov.  ii.  The  wisdom  of  God,  in 
which  we  are  concerned,  is  contained  in  his 
word.  The  best  understanding  is  to  keep  his 
commandments  (Psal.  cxi.)  :  but  as  we  can- 
not keep  them  unless  we  know  them,  neither 
can  we  know  them  without  a  diligent  inquiry. 
The  word  which  is  rendered  search,  igimau, 
is  borrowed  from  the  practice  of  miners  :  it 
implies  two  things,  to  dig,  and  to  examine. 
First,  with  much  labour  they  pierce  the  earth 
to  a  considerable  depth ;  and  when  they  have 
thus  found  a  vein  of  precious  ore,  they  then 
break  and  sift  it,  and  suffer  no  part  to  escape 
their  notice.  Thus  must  we  join  frequent 
assiduous  reading,  with  a  close  and  awakened 
meditation  ;  comparing  spiritual  things  with 
spiritual,  carefully  taking  notice  of  the  cir- 
cumstances, occasion,  and  application  of  what 
we  read  ;  being  assured,  that  there  is  a  trea- 
sure of  truth  and  happiness  under  our  hands, 
if  we  have  but  skill  to  discover  and  improve 
it.  Only  let  us  be  mindful  that  we  have  the 
same  views  in  reading  the  scriptures,  that  God 
has  in  revealing  them  to  us,  which  the  apostle 
thus  enumerates  : — "  All  scripture,"  or  the 
whole  scripture,  trara  y^aipn,  "  is  given  by 
inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  doc- 
trine, for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruc- 
tion in  righteousness  ;  that  the  man  of  God 
may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  to  every 
good  work."  2  Tiro.  iii.     And  elsewhere  it  is 


SElt.  V 

said  to  be  able  to  make  us  "  wise  unto  salva- 
tion." How  absurd  would  it  be  for  a  man  to 
read  a  treatise  of  husbandry  with  a  design  of 
learning  navigation,  or  to  seek  the  principles 
of  trade  and  commerce  in  an  essay  on  music  ? 
No  less  absurd  is  it  to  read  or  study  the  scrip- 
tures with  any  other  view  than  to  receive  its 
doctrines,  submit  to  its  reproofs,  and  obey  it? 
precepts,  that  we  may  be  made  "  wise  unto 
salvation."  All  disquisitions  and  criticisms 
that  stop  short  of  this,  that  do  not  amend  the 
heart,  as  well  as  furnish  the  head,  are  empty 
and  dangerous,  at  least  to  ourselves,  v»  hat- 
ever  use  they  may  be  of  to  others.  An  ex- 
perience of  this  caused  a  learned  critic  and 
eminent  commentator  (Grotius),  to  confess,  to- 
wards  the  close  of  his  life,  Ah  !  vitam  prorsus 
perdidi,  laboriose  nihil  agendo/  "  Alas!  I  have 
wasted  my  life  in  much  labour  to  no  purpose !" 
But,  on  the  contrary,  when  we  are  diligent 
and  studious,  that  we  may  be  better  acquaint- 
ed with  the  divine  precepts  and  promises,  and 
better  inclined  to  observe  and  trust  them,  then 
we  may  hope  for  happy  success  ;  for,  "  bless- 
ed is  the  man  whose  delight  is  in  the  law  of 
the  Lord,  and  who  meditates  therein  day  and 
night:  for  he  shall  be  like  a  tree  planted  by  the 
rivers  of  water,  which  bringeth  forth  its  fruit 
in  due  season  ;  his  leaf  also  shall  not  wither, 
and  whatsoever  he  doth  '  under  this  influence 
"  shall  prosper,"  Psal.  i.  Thus  God  has 
promised,  and  thus  many  have  found  it,  and 
been  enabled  to  adopt  the  words  of  David, 
"  Thou,  through  thy  commandments,  hast 
made  me  wiser  than  my  enemies,  for  they  are 

ever  with  me  :    I  have  more   understanding 

o 

than  all  my  teachers,  for  thy  testimonies  are 
my  meditation,"   Psal.  cxix. 

Humility  is  a  third  thing  very  necessary  to 
a  profitable  perusal  of  the  scriptures.  "  God 
giveth  his  grace  to  the  humble,"  James  iv. 
"  He  will  guide  the  meek  in  judgment,  he 
will  enlighten  the  simple  in  his  way,"  Psal. 
xxv.  The  proud  he  resisteth,  atTiTaa-nrxi, 
he  draws  up  against  him ;  he  prepares  him- 
self, as  it  were,  with  his  whole  force  to  op- 
pose his  progress.  A  most  formidable  ex- 
pression !  If  God  only  leaves  us  to  ourselves, 
we  are  all  ignorance  and  darkness  ;  and  what 
must  be  the  dreadful  case  of  those  against 
whom  he  appears  in  arms  ?  This  has  been  a 
principal  source  of  those  various  and  opposite 
heresies  and  mistakes,  which  are  the  reproach 
of  our  holy  profession,  that  vain  man,  though 
born  a  mere  "  wild  ass's  colt"  (Job,  xi.),  has 
undertaken,  by  his  own  strength  and  wisdom, 
to  decide  authoritatively  on  the  meaning  of 
scripture,  without  being  aware  of  the  igno- 
rance, prejudice,  and  weakness  which  influ- 
ence his  judgment  in  religious  matters,  with- 
out knowing  the  utter  inability  of  the  natural 
man  to  discern  the  things  of  God,  and  with- 
out attending  to  those  means  the  scriptures 
themselves  have  appointed  for  the  redress  of 
these  evils.      But  would  we  not  lose  our  time 


OX  SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES. 


SER.  V. 

and  pains ;  would  we  wish  not  to  be  misled 
ourselves,  or  not  to  mislead  others?  Let  us  aim 
at  a  humble  spirit :  let  us  reflect  much  on 
the  majesty  and  grandeur  of  the  God  we 
serve  :  let  us  adore  his  condescension  in  fa- 
"ouring  us  with  a  revelation  of  his  will :  let 
us  learn  to  consider  the  word  of  God,  and 
the  wisdom  of  God,  as  terms  of  the  same  im- 
port :  in  a  word,  let  us  study  to  know  our- 
selves, our  sinfulness  and  ignorance  ;  then  we 
shall  no  longer  read  the  scriptures  with  indif- 
ference or  prepossession,  but  with  the  greatest 
reverence  and  attention,  and  with  the  most 
enlarged  expectation. 

I  shall  mention  but  one  thing  more  upon 
this  head,  which  is  as  necessary  in  itself  as 
anv  of  the  preceding,  and  likewise  necessary 
in  order  to  obtain  them,  and  that  is  Prayer. 
Sincerity,  diligence,  and  humility,  are  the 
gifts  of  God  ;  the  blessing  we  seek  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  them  is  in  his  hand  ;  and  he  has  pro- 
mised to  bestow  all  good  things,  even  "  his 
Holy  Spirit,  upon  those  who  ask  him." 
Prayer  is  indeed  the  best  half  of  our  busi- 
ness while  upon  earth,  and  that  which  gives 
spirit  and  efficacy  to  all  the  rest.  Prayer  is 
not  only  our  immediate  duty,  but  the  highest 
dignity,  the  richest  privilege  we  are  capable 
of  receiving  on  this  side  eternity ;  and  the 
neglect  of  it  implies  the  deepest  guilt,  and 
includes  the  heaviest  punishment.  A  stranger 
to  prayer,  is  equally  a  stranger  to  God  and 
to  happiness,  "  like  a  wave  of  the  sea,  driven 
with  the  wind  and  tossed,"  James,  i.  Are 
any  of  you,  my  friends,  unacquainted  with 
prayer  ?  Then  are  you  without  God  in  the 
world,  without  a  guide  in  prosperity,  without 
resource  in  distress,  without  true  comfort  in 
life,  and  while  you  continue  so,  without  hope 
in  death.  But,  especially,  you  are  utterly 
unqualified  to  search  the  scriptures.  There 
is  a  veil  upon  the  mind  and  heart  of  every 
man  (as  the  apostle  assures  us,  2  Cor.  iii.),  so 
that  he  can  neither  see  nor  embrace  heavenly 
truths,  till  this  impediment  is  removed  : — the 
means  of  this  is  prayer.  Therefore  David  says, 
"  Open  thou  mine  eyes,  that  I  may  behold 
wondrous  things  out  of  thy  law"  (Psal.  cxix. ). 
He  knew  there  were  wonderful  things  con- 
tained in  the  law,  but  confesses  himself  inca- 
pable of  discerning  them  till  the  Lord  should 
interpose.  This  he  has  promised  to  do  in 
behalf  of  all  who  call  upon  him.  But  those 
who  seek  not  assistance  from  God,  can  find 
it  no  where  else :  "  for  every  good  and  per- 
fect gift  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from 
the  Father  of  lights,"  who  hath  said,  "  If  any 
man  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God," 
James  i.  A  critical  knowledge  of  the  origi- 
nal  languages,  a  skill  in  the  customs  and 
manners  of  the  ancients,  an  acquaintance  with 
the  Greek  and  Roman  classics,  a  perusal  of 
councils,  fathers,  scholiasts,  and  commenta- 
tors, a  readiness  in  the  subtleties  of  logical  dis- 
putation ; — these,  in  their  proper  place  and  sub- 


335 


serviency,  may  be  of  considerable  use  to  clear, 
illustrate,  or  enforce  the  doctrines  of  scripture  : 
but  unless  they  are  governed  by  a  temper  of 
humility  and  prayer ;  unless  the  man  that 
possesses  them  accounts  them  altogether  as 
nothing,  without  that  assistance  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  which  is  promised  to  guide  believers 
into  all  truth ;  unless  he  seeks  and  prays  foi 
this  guidance  no  less  earnestly  than  those  who 
understand  nothing  but  their  mother-tongue; 
I  make  no  scruple  to  affirm,  that  all  his  ap- 
paratus of  knowledge  only  tends  to  lead  him 
so  much  the  farther  astray ;  and  that  a  plain 
honest  ploughman,  who  reads  no  book  but 
his  Bible,  and  lias  no  teacher  but  the  God  to 
whom  lie  prays  in  secret,  stands  abundantly 
fairer  for  the  attainment  of  true  skill  in  divini- 
ty. But  happy  he,  who  by  faith  and  prayer  can 
realize  the  divine  presence  always  with  him  ! 
who  is  sincere  in  his  intentions,  diligent  in 
the  use  of  means,  diffident  of  himself,  yet  full 
of  trust  and  hope,  that  God,  whom  he  desires 
to  serve,  will  lead  and  guide  him  in  the  paths 
of  peace  and  righteousness  for  his  mercies 
sake,  Psal.  xxxi.  Those  things  which  are  ne- 
cessary for  him  to  know,  shall  be  made  so  plain, 
that  he  shall  not  mistake  them  ;  and  those 
things  with  which  he  is  not  so  immediately 
concerned,  shall  at  least  teach  him  humility  ; 
teach  him  to  adore  the  depths  of  divine  wisdom, 
and  to  long  for  that  happy  hour,  when  all 
that  is  imperfect  shall  be  done  away  ;  when 
we  shall  no  more  see  in  part,  but  shall  know 
even  as  we  are  known,  1  Cor.  xiii. 

II.  I  proceed  to  the  second  thing  proposed  : 
To  shew  how  the  scriptures  testify  of  Christ. 
In  general,  it  may  be  said,  that  he  is  the 
main  design  and  subject,  both  of  the  whole 
scripture,  and  of  each  particular  book.  This 
will  be  easily  allowed  of  the  New  Testament, 
but  it  is  not  so  obvious  with  regard  to  several 
parts  of  the  Old :  I  hope,  therefore,  it  will 
not  be  unacceptable  to  those  who  love  the 
word  of  God,  if  I  consider  this  point  some- 
thing at  large,  and  help  them  to  discover  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  almost  every  page  of  the 
Bible.  This  will  be  a  new  inducement  to 
them  to  search  the  scriptures,  when  they  shall 
perceive  that  many  passages  which  they  were 
accustomed  to  read  with  indifference,  as  hardly 
able  to  discern  any  wisdom  or  meaning  in 
them,  do  directly  testify  of  Christ. 

What  is  expressed  in  the  Old  Testament 
(for  of  this  I  am  now  to  speak)  concerning 
Christ,  may  be  reduced  to  three  heads, — pro- 
phecies, types,  and  ceremonies.  To  open  and 
trace  these  in  their  proper  extent,  would  re- 
quire volumes ;  but  it  is  only  a  hint  of  each 
that  the  bounds  of  our  present  meeting  will 
permit  me  to  offer. 

The  first  glimmering  of  light  which  dawned 
upon  a  lost  world  was  that  promise  (for  I  con- 
sider the  promises  as  a  branch  of  prophecy) 
which  God  (who,  in  the  midst  of  judgment, 
remembers  mercy)  made  to  the  woman,    that 


im 


ON   SEARCHING 


her  seed  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head, 
Gen.  iii.  This  was  absolute  and  general, 
giving  hopes  of  a  recovery,  but  no  informa- 
tion of  person,  time,  or  place  :  but  the  path 
of  this  just  one  was  as  the  light,  which  shin- 
eth  more  and  more  to  the  perfect  day,  Prov. 
iv.  In  the  time  of  Noah,  the  hope  and  de- 
sire of  all  nations  was  restrained  to  the  line 
of  Sliem  (Gen.  ix.),  and  afterwards  more  ex- 
pressly to  the  family  of  Abraham  :  when  this 
divided  into  two  branches,  God,  to  shew 
that  his  purpose  is  of  himself,  and  that  he 
will  do  as  pleaseth  him  with  his  own,  set  a- 
side  the  elder,  and  confirmed  to  Jacob,  the 
younger,  "  that  in  his  seed  all  the  families  of 
the  earth  should  he  blessed,"  Gen.  xxviii. 
Jacob  had  twelve  sons,  which  made  a  still 
more  explicit  restriction  necessary.  Accord- 
ingly, the  patriarch,  before  his  death,  decla- 
red that  this  high  privilege,  of  perpetuating 
the  line  of  the  Messiah,  was  fixed  in  the  tribe 
of  Judah  (Gen.  xlix.),  and  the  time  of  his 
advent  was  obscurely  marked  out,  by  the  pro- 
mise "  that  the  sceptre  should  not  depart 
from  Judah  till  the  Shiloh  came."  The  last 
personal  limitation  was  to  David  (1  Chron. 
xvii.)  that  of  his  family  God  would  raise  up 
the  King,  who  should  reign  for  ever,  and  over 
all.  Succeeding  prophets  gradually  foretold 
the  time,  place,  and  circumstances  of  his  birth, 
the  actions  of  his  life,  the  tenor  of  his  doctrine, 
the  success  he  met  with,  and  the  cause,  de- 
sign, and  manner  of  his  sufferings  and  death ; 
in  short,  to  almost  every  thing  that  we  read  in 
the  gospel,  we  may  annex  the  observation  that 
the  evangelists  have  made  upon  a  few  instances 
(in  order,  as  it  may  be  presumed,  to  direct  us 
in  searching  out  the  rest),  "  then  was  fulfilled 
that  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophets." 
From  them  we  learn,  that  the  Messiah  should 
be  born  of  a  virgin,  in  Bethlehem  of  Judah, 
four  hundred  and  ninety  years  after  the  com- 
mandment given  to  rebuild  Jerusalem  ;  that 
he  should  begin  his  ministry  in  Galilee ;  that 
he  should  be  despised  and  rejected  of  men, 
betrayed  by  one  of  his  disciples,  sold  for  thirty- 
pieces  of  silver,  with  which  money  the  potters 
field  should  be  afterwards  purchased  !  "  that 
he  should  be  cut  off,  but  not  for  himself;" 
and  that  his  death  should  be  followed  by  the 
sudden  and  total  ruin  of  the  Jewish  govern- 
ment. To  compare  these  promises  and  pro- 
phecies, among  themselves,  and  with  their  exact 
accomplishment  recorded  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment,— this  alone  would  engage  us  in  a  close 
and  profitable  search  into  the  scriptures,  and 
would  afford  us  the  most  convincing  proofs 
of  their  divine  original  and  excellence. 

The  types  of  Christ  in  the  Old  Testament 
may  be  considered  as  two-fold,  personal  and 
relative.  The  former  describing  under  the 
vail  of  history,  his  character  and  offices  as 
considered  in  himself:  the  latter  teaching 
under  a  variety  of  metaphors,  the  advantages 
those  who  believe  in  him  should  receive  from 


THE  SCRIPTURES. 

him.       Thus    Adam,    Enoch, 


SEP..  V 


Melchizedek, 

Isaac,  Joseph,  Moses,  Aaron,  Joshua,  Samp- 
son, David,  Solomon  and  others,  were  in  dif- 
ferent respects  types  or  figures  of  Christ. 
Some  more  immediately  represented  his  per- 
son  ;  others  prefigured  his  humiliation ;  others 
referred  to  his  exaltation,  dominion,  and  glo- 
ry. So,  in  the  latter  sense,  the  ark  of  Noah, 
the  rainbow,  the  manna,  the  brazen  serpent, 
the  cities  of  refuge,  were  so  many  emblems 
pointing  out  the  nature,  necessity,  means,  and 
security  of  that  salvation  which  the  Messiah 
was  to  establish  for  his  people.  Nor  are  these 
fanciful  allusions  of  our  own  making,  but 
warranted  and  taught  in  scripture,  and  easily 
proved  from  thence,  would  time  permit ;  for 
indeed,  there  is  not  one  of  these  persons  or 
things  which  I  have  named,  but  would  fur- 
nish matter  for  a  long  discourse,  if  closely  con- 
sidered in  this  view,  as  typical  of  the  promis- 
ed Redeemer. 

The  like  may  be  said  of  the  Levitical  cere- 
monies. The  law  of  Moses  is,  in  this  sense, 
a  happy  schoolmaster  to  lead  us  unto  Christ 
(Gal.  iii.)  :  and  it  may  be  proved  beyond 
contradiction,  that  in  these  the  gospel  was 
preached  of  old  to  all  those  Israelites  indeed, 
whose  hearts  were  right  with  God,  and  whose 
understandings  were  enlightened  by  his  Spirit, 
The  ark  of  the  covenant,  the  mercy-seat,  the 
tabernacle,  the  incense,  the  altar,  the  offerings, 
the  high-priest  with  his  ornaments  and  gar- 
ments, the  laws  relating  to  the  leprosy,  the 
Nazarite,  and  the  redemption  of  lands ; — all 
these,  and  many  more,  which  I  have  not  time 
to  mention,  have  a  deep  and  important  mean- 
ing beyond  their  outward  appearance  ;  each, 
in  their  place,  pointed  to  the  Lamb  of  God 
who  was  to  take  away  the  sins  of  the  world 
(John  i. ),  derived  their  efficacy  from  him, 
and  received  their  full  accomplishment  in 
him. 

Thus  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  do  mu- 
tually illustrate  each  other  ;  nor  can  either  be 
well  understood  singly.  The  Old  Testa- 
ment, in  histories,  types,  prophecies,  and  ce- 
remonies, strongly  delineates  him,  who,  in  the 
fulness  of  time,  was  to  come  into  the  world  to 
effect  a  reconciliation  between  God  and  man. 
The  New  Testament  shews  that  all  these  cha- 
racters and  circumstances  were  actually  fulfil- 
led in  Jesus  of  Nazareth ;  and  that  it  was  he 
of  whom  "  Moses  in  the  law,  and  the  pro- 
phets did  write  j"  and  that  we  are  not  to  look 
for  another. 

We  read  in  Genesis  (chap,  xxi.),  that  Abra- 
ham had  two  sons, — Isaac,  the  child  of  the 
promise,  the  son  of  his  old  age,  by  bis  wife 
Sarah, — and  Ishmael,  born  some  years  before* 
of  Hagar,  the  handmaid  and  servant  of  Sa- 
rah j  and  that  the  latter,  with  his  mother, 
were  cast  out  of  the  family.  The  occasion 
some  would  think  trivial,  namely,  the  anger 
and  jealousy  of  Sarah,  because  Ishmael  had 
mocked  her  son ;  but  when  it  was  grievous  to 


ON   SEARCHING   THE  SCRIPTURES. 


sun.  v. 

Abraham  to  put  them  away  upon  so  slight  a 
ground,  God  himself  interposed  and  com- 
manded him  to  comply  with  her  desire.  Had 
we  heard  no  more  of  this,  it  is  likely  we 
should  have  considered  it  as  a  piece  of  family- 
history,  of  no  very  great  importance  but  to 
those  who  were  immediately  concerned  in  it. 
We  should  perhaps  have  wondered  to  find  so 
much  said  upon  such  a  subject,  in  a  book 
which  we  profess  to  believe  was  written  by 
divine  inspiration  ;  we  should  probably  have 
presumed  to  arraign  the  divine  wisdom,  in 
descending  to  particulars,  in  which,  according 
to  our  views  of  the  fitness  of  things,  we  could 
discern  nothing  either  interesting  or  instruc- 
tive. To  guard  us  from  these  rash  mistakes, 
to  explain  the  true  meaning  of  this  particular 
transaction,  and  at  the  same  time  to  furnish 
us  with  a  key  for  understanding  many  pas- 
sages of  the  like  nature,  in  which  human 
wisdom  can  discover  neither  beauty  nor  be- 
nefit,— it  has  pleased  God  to  favour  us  with 
an  infallible  exposition  of  the  whole  matter. 
Not  for  the  sake  of  Abraham,  or  Isaac,  or 
Ishmael,  or  Hagar,  was  this  recorded  ;  much 
less  merely  to  gratify  our  curiosity.  No : 
"  These  things,"  saith  the  apostle  Paul,  "are 
an  allegory  :  for  these  are  the  two  covenants  ; 
the  one  from  the  mount  Sina,  which  gendereth 
to  bondage,  whicli  is  Agar.  For  this  Agar  is 
mount  Sina  in  Arabia,  and  answereth  to  Je- 
rusalem which  now  is,  and  is  in  bondage  with 
her  children.  But  Jerusalem  which  is  above 
is  free,  which    is  the  mother  of  us  all. — Now 


337 


ed  of  Hagar  in  reference  to  the  types.  In  the 
law  of  the  Passover,  it  was  especially  enjoin- 
ed (Exod.  xii.),  that  not  a  bone  of  the  pas- 
chal lamb  should  be  broken.  Now,  who 
would  have  thought  that  this  referred  to 
Christ !  yet  we  see  the  evangelist  expressly 
applies  it  to  him,  and  is  filled  with  wonder  at 
the  accomplishment.  The  legs  of  those  who 
were  crucified  at  the  same  time  were  purpose- 
ly broken  (Johnxix.),  but  our  Lord  was  pas- 
sed by  ;  and  that  it  should  be  so,  was  inti- 
mated near  fifteen  hundred  years  before,  in 
this  charge  concerning  the  lamb.  Again,  we 
find,  that  in  several  places  where  a  bullock 
was  commanded  to  be  slain  for  a  sin-offering, 
it  was  enjoined,  that  the  flesh  and  the  skin 
should  be  burnt  without  the  camp ;  and  from 
the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (chap,  xiii.),  we 
learn,  that  this  was  not  a  slight  or  arbitrary 
circumstance.  We  have  there  this  explica- 
tion :  "  For  the  bodies  of  those  beasts  whose 
blood  is  brought  into  the  sanctuary,  by  the 
high-priest,  for  sin,  were  burnt  without  the 
camp.  Wherefore  Jesus  also,  that  he  might 
sanctify  the  people  with  his  own  blood,  suf- 
fered without  the  gate.  Let  us  go  forth, 
therefore,  without  the  camp,  bearing  his  re- 
proach." I  must  not  enlarge  any  farther,  or 
it  were  easy,  by  the  clue  the  apostles  in  their 
writings  have  given  us,  to  trace  the  important 
meaning  of  many  of  those  institutions,  which 
scoffers,  who  are  wise  in  their  own  conceits, 
though  neither  acquainted  with  themselves 
nor  the  subject,   presume  to  censure  as  frivo- 


we,  brethren,  as  Isaac  was,  are  the  children  j  lous.  The  sense  of  the  sacred  writings  lies 
of  promise.  But  as  then  he  that  was  born  j  too  deep  for  a  captious,  superficial,  volatile 
after  the  flesh  persecuted  him  that  was  born  [survey;  it  must  be  a  search,  a  scrutiny;  a 
after  the  Spirit,  even  so  it  is  now.  Never-  j  humble,  diligent,  sincere,  and  persevering  in- 
theless,  what  saith  the  scripture?  Cast  out  the  quiry,  or  no  satisfaction  can  be  expected, 
bond-woman  and  her  son  :   for  the  son  of  the  |       The  import  of  the  scripture  testimony  con- 


bond-woman  shall  not  be  heir  with  the  son  of 
the  free-woman.  So  then,  brethren,  we  are 
not  the  children  of  the  bond-woman,  but  of 
the  free,"  Gal.  iv.  I  must  not  detain  you  by 
shewing  at  large  how  the  apostle  teaches  us  to 
discover  the  spirit  and  privileges  of  the  gos- 
pel, together  with  what  all  who  truly  receive 
it  must  expect  to  encounter,  in  a  passage 
whicli  we  might  otherwise  have  thought  su- 
perfluous, if  not  impertinent.  Keep  this  in 
your  mind  when  you  read  the  scriptures.    As 


cerning  Christ,  which  was  the  third  thing  I 
proposed  to  speak  of,  must  be  deferred  to 
another  opportunity.  I  hope  what  has  been 
already  said,  may,  through  the  divine  bles- 
sing, engage  you  to  search  the  scriptures. 
Remember  it  is  the  command  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ :  it  is  the  only  appointed  way  to 
the  knowledge  of  him,  whom  to  know,  so  as 
to  love,  serve,  and  obey  him,  is  both  the  foun- 
dation and  the  sum  of  our  happiness,  here  and 
hereafter.      We,  as  well  as  the  Jews,  think  we 


sure  yourselves,  that  there  is  nothing  vain  or  J  have  eternal   life  in  the  scriptures,  and  shall, 


useless  in  the  word  of  God.  Compare  one  place 
with  another,  the  law  with  the  gospel,  the 
prophets  with  the  evangelists;  pray  unto  God 
that  he  would  open  your  understandings  to 
understand  the  scriptures,  as  he  did  for  the 
disciples  (Lukexxiv.);  and  in  a  little  time 
you  will  find,  that  Christ  is  not  only  spoken 
of  in  a  few  verses,  here  and  there,  but  that, 
as  I  said  before,  he  is  the  main  scope  and 
subject  of  every  book,  and  almost  of  every 
chapter. 

I  would  add  an  instance  or  two  of  the  mean- 
ing of  the  ceremonies,  to  what  I  have  observ- 


like  them,  be  inexcuseable  and  self-condemn- 
ed if  we  neglect  it.  Let  us  not  be  like  fools, 
with  a  prize,  an  inestimable  prize,  in  our 
hands,  but  without  heart  or  skill  to  use  it. 
Better  would  it  have  been  for  us  to  have  lived 
and  died  in  the  wilds  of  America,  without 
either  means  of  grace  or  hopes  of  glory,  than 
to  slight  this  record  which  God  has  been 
pleased  to  give  us  of  his  Son.  But  happy  the 
man  whose  delight  is  in  the  law  of  his  God  ! 
He  has  sure  direction  in  every  difficulty,  cer- 
tain comfort  in  every  distress.  The  beauty 
of  the  precepts  is  preferable  in  his  eye  to 
2  F 


S38 


ON   SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES. 


SER.   VI. 


*  thousands  of  gold  and  silver,"  Psal.  cxix. 
The  comforts  of  the  promises  are  sweeter  to 
his  taste,  "  than  honey  or  the  honey-comb," 
Psal.  xix.  He  is  happy  in  life ;  for  the 
word  of  God  is  to  him  as  a  "  fountain  of  liv- 
ing water."  He  shall  be  happy  in  death; 
the  promises  of  his  God  shall  support  him 
through  that  dark  valley ;  and  he  shall  be 
happy  for  ever  in  the  presence  and  love  of 
him  for  whose  sake  he  now  searches  the  scrip- 
tures; "Whom,  having  not  seen,"  yet,  from 
the  testimony  there  given  of  hiin,  "he  loves; 
in  whom,  though  now  he  sees  him  not,  yet 
believing,  he  rejoices  with  joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory,"  1  Pet.  i. 


Pleraque  autem  (si  detur  libere  loquendi 
venia)  qua;  etiam  in  Theologicis  scholis  trac- 
tantur,  et  magno  cum  apparatu  et  strepitu 
docentur  et  disputantur,  spinosum  forte  acu- 
men habent,  sed  simul  certe  spinosum  sterili- 
tatem  :  lacerare  et  pungere  possunt,  animos 
pascere  non  possunt :  "  Nemo  enim  ex  spinis 
uvas  coliigit  unquam,  aut  ex  tribulis  ficus." 
"  Quorsum  alta  (inquit  quidam)  de  Trinitate 
disputare,  si  careas  humilitate,  etsic  Trinitati 
displiceas?"  Et  apte  S.  Augustinus  ad  illud 
Esaia?,  "  Ego  Deus  tuus  docens  te  utilia  ;" 
"  utilia  (inquit)  docens,  non  sublilia."  Et  hoc 
est  quod  opto  et  oro  ;  ut  nobis  pro  modulo 
nostro  subdocentibus,  ille  cfficacitc-i  vos  per- 
doceat,  qui  cathedram  in  ccelo  habens,  corda 
docet  in  terris. 

Archiep.  Leighton,  Preelect.  Tlieol. 
jtag.  4.  edit.  4to.  Lond.  1693. 


SERMON   VI. 

1HE  SAME  SUBJECT  CONTINUED. 

Search  the  scriptures,  for  in  them  ye  think  ye 
have  eternal  life,  and  they  are  they  which 
testify  of  me.     John  v.  59. 

In  a  former  discourse  on  these  words,  I  men- 
tioned four  things  as  highly  requisite,  if  we 
would  acquire  an  useful  knowledge  of  the 
scriptures, — sincerity  with  respect  to  the  end, 
diligence  in  the  use  of  means,  a  humble  sense 
of  our  own  weakness,  and  earnest  prayer  to 
God  for  the  assistance  of  his  grace  and  Spirit 
To  engage  us  to  this  practice,  and  perseve- 
rance therein,  I  next  considered  how  the 
scriptures  when  properly  searched  into  and 
compared,  do  clearly,  and  in  every  part,  tes- 
tify of  Christ,  that  he  is  the  end  of  the  law, 
the  sum  of  the  prophets,  the  completion  of  the 
promises,  the  scope  of  the  types  and  ceremo- 
nies, and  the  great  object  of  the  whole   Old 


III.  Concerning  the  import  of  the  testi- 
mony which  the  scriptures  bear  to  Christ. 

The  principal  difficulties  on  this  head  are, 
where  to  begin  on  a  subject  absolutely  bound- 
less, and  what  to  select  that  may  be  most 
suitable  and  useful  to  this  assembly,  from  the 
immense  variety  of  topics  that  offer.  For  this 
being  the  great  end  and  design  of  the  scrip- 
tures, to  proclaim  the  excellency  of  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord,  "  that  we,  through  him, 
may  have  strong  consolation"  (Heb.  xii.),  it 
is  inculcated  in  so  many  places,  set  in  such  a 
diversity  of  views,  and  couched  under  such 
deep  and  comprehensive  expressions,  that  not 
only  our  present  opportunity,  but  my  whole 
future  life,  would  be  too  short,  if  I  would 
collect,  state,  and  explain  all  that  properly 
belongs  to  this  single  article.  For  order's 
sake,  I  shall  reduce  the  little  I  must  say  at 
this  time  to  three  or  four  distinct  particulars, 
— whit  the  scriptures  testify  of  Christ,  as 
to  his  person,  his  offices,  his  power,  and  his 
love. 

When  we  hear  of  some  great  undertaking 
to  be  performed,  we  inquire  of  course  about 
the  person  who  is  chiefly  concerned  in  it ;  so, 
when  we  are  told  of  the  mighty  works  Jesus 
Christ  engaged  to  perform,  to  redeem  a  lost 
world,  to  satisfy  divine  justice,  to  make  an 
end  of  sin,  to  abolish  death,  and  to  bring  life 
and  immortality  to  light ;  the  first  question 
that  occurs  is,  Who  is  he  ?  Search  the  scrip- 
tures, and  you  will  have  a  clear  and  decisive 
answer.  The  prophet  Isaiah,  "  rapt  into 
future  times,"  describes  him  thus  :  "  Unto 
us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  Son  is  given,  and 
the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder  : 
and  he  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsel- 
lor, the  Mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father, 
the  Prince  of  Peace,"  Isaiah  ix.  6.  The 
union  of  the  divine  and  human  natures  in  the 
Messiah  is  so  strongly  asserted,  the  names  and 
attributes  of  God  are  so  clearly  ascribed,  in 
this  passage  to  one  who  should  be  born  into 
the  world,  that  he  who  runs  may  read ;  the 
way-faring  man,  though  a  fool,  must  under- 
stand it;  and  it  requires  a  considerable  share  of 
unhappy  ingenuity,  to  wrest  the  words  to  any 
other  than  their  obvious  meaning.  This  text, 
though  it  stood  alone  in  the  Bible  (supposing 
the  scriptures  to  be  a  revalation  from  God), 
would  be  a  full  warrant,  and  a  firm  founda- 
tion, for  that  great  point  of  christian  faith  and 
doctrine,  That  Jesus  Christ  is  very  God,  and 
very  man;  or,  as  the  apostle  better  expresses 
it,  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  But  it  is  not 
alone  :  on  the  contrary,  the  Messiah  is  seldom 
mentioned,  but  something  is  either  said  of 
him,  or  referred  to  him,  which  teaches  us  the 
same  important  truth.  "  Behold  the  days 
come,  saith  the  Lord  (by  Jeremiah,  chap, 
xxiii.),  that  I  will  raise  unto  David  a  right- 
eous Branch,   and   a   King  shall    reign    and 


Testament  dispensation.      I  am  now  to   say   prosper,  and  shall  execute  judgment  and  jus 


sorret'iing  to  the  third  point  I  proposed. 


tice  in  the  earth.      In  his  days  Judah  shall  be 


SEK.   VI. 


ON   SEARCHING   THE  SCRIPTURES. 


3;*9 


sas-ed,  and  Israel  shall  dwell  safely  :  and  this 
is  his  name  whereby  he  shall  be  called,  the 
LORD  OUR  righteousness."  Isaiah  in  general 
styles  him,  "  A  child  to  be  born  ;"  Jeremiah 
moie  particularly,  a  "  Branch  of  David:" 
Isaiah  ascribes  to  him  the  name  of  "  The 
Mighty  God ;"  Jeremiah  says,  he  shall  be 
called  "  The  Lord  our  righteousness."  You 
have  the  word  lord  in  capital  letters  here,  as 
in  other  places,  where  it  is  in  the  original  JE- 
HOVAH. Some  of  the  names  of  God  are  occa- 
sionally applied  to  inferior  subjects,  to  angels, 
to  magistrates,  and  sometimes  to  idols.  But 
Jehovah  is  allowed  by  all  to  signify  the  essen- 
tial and  incomrr  anicable  name  of  the  Most 
High  God.  Yet  this  is  not  the  only  place 
where  it  is  expressly  and  directly  applied  to 
the  Messiah.  Uavid  himself  speaks  to  the  same 
purpose :  "  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord, 
Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,"  Psalm  ex.  That 
the  Messiah  was  to  be  David's  son,  was  know  n 
and  acknowledged  by  the  Jews  in  our  Savi- 
our's time ;  but  how  he  could  be  the  son  of 
David,  and  yet  his  Lord,  was  a  difficulty  that 
utterly  posed  and  silenced  the  most  learned 
Rabbis  and  Scribes  among  them  ;  because, 
being  destitute  of  that  sincerity  and  humility 
we  have  before  spoken  of,  they  could  not 
understand  the  scriptures,  which  were  read  in 
their  synagogues  every  day. 

Now,  although  this  important  doctrine  was 
not  to  be  discovered  by  the  light  of  nature,  or 
the  powers  of  human  reason,  yet,  since  it  has 
pleased  God  to  make  it  known  to  us,  our  rea- 
son, humbly  tracing  the  steps  of  divine  reve- 
lation, can  easily  prove  the  expediency,  and 
even  the  necessity  that  it  should  be  so.  When 
we  are  informed  from  scripture,  that  all  man- 
kind being  sunk  into  a  state  of  sin  and  mi- 
sery, God  had  in  great  mercy  appointed  a 
person  to  atone  for  the  one,  and  deliver  them 
from  the  other ;  we  may  safely,  from  these 
principles,  infer,  by  our  own  reason,  1st,  That 
this  person  cannot  be  mere  man  :  for  as  the 
whole  human  race,  and  consequently  every 
individual,  is  supposed  to  be  previously  in- 
volved in  the  same  circumstances  of  guilt  and 
condemnation,  it  is  impossible  that  any  one  of 
these  should  be  able  either  to  answer  or  sa- 
tisfy for  himself,  much  less  be  qualified  to  in- 
terpose in  behalf  of  another.  From  hence 
reason  may  ascend  a  step  higher,  and  con  • 
elude,  2d,  That  no  mere  creature,  however 
great  and  excellent,  can  undertake  this  part; 
for  the  two  great  points  necessary  in  order  to 
our  redemption,  to  satisfy  the  justice  of  God, 
and  to  restore  the  divine  image  in  man,  are 
either  of  them  beyond  the  sphere  of  finite 
power.  We  read  in  the  scriptures  of  angels, 
archangels,  thrones,  principalities,  and  pow- 
ers ;  and  from  several  texts  we  may  collect, 
that  their  number  and  excellencies  are  beyond 
any  conceptions  we  can  form.  Could  we  sup- 
pose that  the  virtues  and  endowments  of  all 
these  various  and  exalted   beings  were  united 


and  centered  in  one  of  them ;  however  glo- 
rious this  being  would  be  in  other  respects, 
when  we  consider  him  as  a  creature  of  the 
divine  power,  he  will  be  found  to  be  as  unfit, 
and  as  unable,  to  interfere  in  the  behalf  of 
sinful  man,  as  the  meanest  worm  that  crawls 
upon  the  earth.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  being, 
great  and  small,  to  be  entirely  devoted,  ac- 
cording to  the  extent  of  its  capacity,  to  the  ser- 
vice and  glory  of  its  great  Creator  ;  therefore 
an  angel  is  no  more  capable  than  a  man  of  per- 
forming the  smallest  work  of  supererogation. 
The  highest  archangel  could  not  magnify  the 
law  of  God,  and  make  it  honourable  on  the 
behalf  of  man,  being  already  bound  thereto 
for  himself:  much  less  can  we  suppose  such 
a  being  capable  of  expiating  the  sins  of  man- 
kind by  suffering.  If  divine  justice  insisted 
on  a  propitiation,  it  must  follow,  that  nothing 
less  than  an  equivalent  could  be  accepted. 
But  what  would  be  the  temporary  sufferings 
of  a  creature,  or  of  all  creatures,  in  this  view  ? 
A  finite  satisfaction,  however  heightened  and 
exaggerated,  would  at  last  be  infinitely  short 
of  the  demand.  As  to  the  other  branch  of 
redemption,  the  restoration  of  the  image  of 
God  in  the  soul,  I  need  only  mention  it ;  for 
it  appears,  at  first  glance,  that  this  must  be 
the  prerogative  of  divine  power  alone  to  effect. 
It  remains,  therefore,  that  the  deliverance  of 
mankind  could  only  be  attempted  by  him, 
who,  we  are  assured  by  the  apostle,  agree- 
able to  the  passages  already  cited,  is  over  all, 
God  blessed  for  ever. 

That  the  Son  of  God  should  take  upon  him 
the  nature  and  circumstances  of  our  human- 
ity, sin  excepted,  in  order  to  atone  for  our 
transgressions,  is  indeed  such  an  instance  of 
condescension  and  love,  as  must  for  ever  daz- 
zle and  astonish  the  brightest  understandings. 
It  is  true,  some  persons  in  these  refined  times 
affect  to  speak  of  this  point  with  admirable 
coolness  and  precision.  But  in  the  beginning 
it  was  not  so.  Either  the  apostle  Paul  was 
less  master  of  his  temper,  or  more  unequal  to 
sublime  speculations,  than  these  gentlemen,  or 
else  we  must  allow  he  had  a  very  different 
view  of  the  subject :  for  he  cannot  mention  it 
without  appearing  to  be  transported,  and  (if 
I  may  use  the  expression)  swallowed  up  by 
the  thought ;  his  ideas  seem  too  great  for 
words  ;  and  it  is  well  if  his  best  attempts  to 
explain  himself  have  not  exposed  him,  in  the 
judgment  of  some  of  his  readers  to  the  charge 
of  solecism.  However,  though  this  doctrine, 
above  any  other,  is  a  proof  that  God  "  is  able 
to  do  for  us  exceeding  abundantly  beyond  all 
we  could  ask  or  think,"  it  is  not,  upon  the 
premises  I  before  mentioned,  in  the  least  re- 
pugnant to  right  reason  ;  rather  it  is  exactly 
calculated  to  remove  all  those  surmises  which 
would  rise  in  the  mind  of  a  reasonable  sinner 
upon  the  first  intimation  of  possible  forgive- 
ness. In  our  nature  Christ  fulfilled  the  law 
which  we  had  broken :   he  sustained  the  pe- 


340 


ON  SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES. 


nalty  we  had  incurred :  he  vanquished  the 
enemies  we  had  to  encounter  ;  he  trod  the  path 
which  he  has  marked  out  for  us  ;  he  is  entered 
in  our  name  into  that  heaven  he  has  promised 
us ;  and  retains  a  sympathy  with  us  in  all  our 
sufferings  and  temptations,  "  in  as  much  as  he 
himself  has  suffered,  being  tempted,"  Heb.  ii. 

I  am  next  to  consider  the  testimony  of 
scripture  concerning  the  offices  of  Christ. 
These  are,  in  general,  included  in  the  cha- 
racter of  Mediator.  "  There  is  one  God,  and 
one  mediator  between  God  and  man,  the  man 
Christ  Jesus,"  1  Tim.  ii.  In  this  word  is 
summed  up  all  that  Christ  has  already  done, 
now  does,  or  will  hereafter  do,  either  on  the 
part  of  God  or  on  that  of  man.  But  for  our 
better  apprehension,  it  is  proposed  to  us  under 
three  distinct  and  principal  views,  answerable 
to  the  three  particulars  in  which  the  misery  of 
fallen  man  does  principally  consist. 

And,  first,  man,  having  departed  from  God, 
"became  vain  in  his  imaginations,  and  his 
foolish  heart  was  darkened"  (Rom.  i.),  so  that 
he  totally  lost  the  knowledge  of  his  Creator, 
and  how  entirely  his  happiness  depended 
thereon.  He  forgot  God  and  himself,  and 
sunk  so  low  as  to  worship  the  work  of  his 
own  hands.  His  life  became  vain  and  miser- 
able :  in  prosperity,  without  security  or  satis- 
faction ;  in  adversity,  without  support  or  re- 
source :  his  death  dark  and  hopeless ;  no 
pleasing  reflection  on  the  past,  no  ray  of  light 
on  the  future.  Such  was  the  unhappy  case 
when  Christ  undertook  the  office  of  a  Pro- 
phet :  in  which  character,  under  various  dis- 
pensations, first  by  his  servants  inspired  of 
old,  and  afterwards  more  clearly  in  his  own 
person,  and  by  his  apostles,  he  has  instructed 
us  in  the  things  pertaining  to  our  peace  ;  not 
only  renewing  in  us  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  God,  which,  where  revelation  prevailed 
not,  was  universally  lost  out  of  the  world,  but 
disclosing  to  us  the  counsels  of  divine  love  and 
wisdom  in  our  favour,  those  great  things  which 
eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  and  which 
never  could  have  entered  into  the  heart  of 
man  to  conceive,  had  not  he  who  dwelt  in 
the  bosom  of  the  Father  declared  them  to  us. 
We  can  now  give  a  sufficient  answer  to  that 
question,  which  must  have  for  ever  overwhelm- 
ed every  serious  awakened  mind,  "  Where- 
withal shall  I  appear  before  the  Most  High 
God?"  Mic.  vi.  We  have  now  learned  how 
God  can  declare  and  illustrate  his  righteous- 
ness and  truth,  by  that  very  act  which,  with- 
out respect  to  satisfaction  given,  would  seem 
the  highest  impeachment  of  both,  I  mean  his 
justifying  the  ungodly.  We  have  now  a  glass 
by  which  we  can  discover  the  presence  of  the 
Creator  in  every  part  of  his  creation,  and  a 
clue  to  lead  us  through  the  mysterious  mazes 
of  divine  providence.  But  who  can  enumer- 
ate the  various,  the  important,  the  interest- 
ing lessons  we  receive  from  this  heavenly 
Teacher,  when,  by  the  influence  of  his  Holy 


SEK.  VI 

Spirit  he  powerfully  applies  his  written  word 
to  the  hearts  of  his  real  disciples,  who  search 
the  scriptures  with  a  sincere  desire  to  be  made 
wise  unto  salvation  !  Whatever  is  necessary 
to  make  life  useful  and  comfortable,  and  to 
gild  the  gloom  of  death  with  the  bright  pros- 
pect of  a  glorious  immortality,  is  there  con- 
tained :  so  that,  instructed,  by  these  writings 
alone,  a  poor  illiterate  mechanic  has  been 
often  enabled  to  converse  upon  a  dying-bed 
with  more  dignity,  certainty,  and  influence, 
than  any,  or  all  the  philosophers,  ancient  or 
modern,  could  attain. 

But,  besides  the  natural  ignorance  of  fallen 
man,  he  was  chargeable  with  aggravated  guilt. 
Guilt  and  ignorance  are  reciprocally  causes 
and  consequences  of  each  other.  Every  ad- 
ditional guilt  tends  to  increase  the  stupidily 
of  the  human  soul,  and  every  increase  of  this 
increases  in  the  same  proportion  the  natural 
indisposition  for  the  practice  or  the  love  of 
virtue,  makes  the  soul  more  blind  to  conse- 
quences, more  base  in  its  pursuits,  and  thus  to 
become  a  more  willing  and  assiduous  servant 
of  iniquity.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that  when 
the  understanding  was  totally  darkened  as  to 
|  the  knowledge  of  God,  the  will  and  affections 
became  wholly  disobedient  to  his  law.  Hut 
when  a  divine  light  has  in  some  measure  dis- 
covered the  heart  to  itself,  and  at  the  same  time 
set  an  offended  God  in  view,  every  such  sen- 
sible sinner  would  undoubtedly  imitate  our 
first  parents,  and  flee  (were  it  possible)  from 
the  presence  of  his  Maker  and  his  Judge. 
"  I  heard  thy  voice,"  says  Adam,  "  and  I  hid 
myself,  for  I  was  afraid,"  Gen.  iii.  Vain  at- 
tempt!  and,  if  it  were  practicable,  a  dreadful 
alternative  !  since  absence  from  God  imports 
the  utmost  misery  to  a  creature  who  can  be 
happy  only  in  his  favour.  But  here  the  scrip- 
tures bring  us  unspeakable  comfort,  testifying 
of  Christ  as  our  great  High-Priest.  To  point 
out  and  illustrate  this  part  of  his  character  is 
the  chief  end  and  design  of  the  whole  Levi- 
tical  law,  the  main  points  of  which  are  ex- 
plained, and  applied  to  our  blessed  Lord, 
throughout  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  The 
principal  parts  of  the  priests  office  were,  to 
sacrifice  in  behalf  of  the  people,  to  make  atone- 
ment, to  pray  for  them,  and  to  bless  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord.  No  sacrifices  could 
be  offered  or  accepted,  no  blessings  expected, 
but  through  the  hands  of  the  priests  whom 
God  had  appointed.  Thus  Christ,  the  High- 
Priest  of  our  profession,  offered  himself  a  sa- 
crifice without  either  spot  or  blemish  :  he  en- 
tered with  his  own  blood  within  the  vail,  to 
the  immediate  presence  of  our  offended  God, 
and  through  him  peace  and  good-will  is  pro- 
claimed to  sinful  men.  He  continues  still 
to  exercise  the  other  part  of  his  appointment . 
he  makes  continual  intercession  for  his  peo- 
ple ;  he  presents  their  prayers  and  impei  feet 
services  acceptable  before  the  throne  ;  he  gives 
them  confidence   and  access  to  draw  i*igh  to 


BER.  VI. 


ON  SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES.  341 

opposes  in  every  quarter,  and  presents  snares 
and  terrors  all  around  !  What  though  rase 
or  contempt,  threats  or  allurements,  are  by 
turns,  or  altogether,  employed  to  ruin  us  ; 
behold,  ''  greater  is  he  that  is  in  us,  than  he 
that  is  in  the  world"  (1  John  iv.);  "  Chris* 
has  overcome  the  world  for  us"  (John  xvi.), 
and  has  promised  to  make  us  conquerors,  yoa, 
more  than  conquerors,  in  our  turn.  What 
though  "  the  devil  goes  about  like  a  roaring 
lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour"  (1  Pet. 
vi.)  ;  it  is  an  argument  of  the  strongest  kind 
for  watchfulness  and  prayer.  But  we  need 
not  fear  him  :  The  "  beloved  of  the  Lord 
shall  dwell  in  safety"  (Deut.  xxxiii.):  The 
"  Lord  shall  cover  him  all  the  day  long;  he 
shall  deliver  him  from  the  snare  of  the  fowler" 
(Psal.  xci.)  ;  "  his  truth  shall  be  a  shield  and 
buckler"  to  all  who  enlist  under  his  banner ; 
and  at  length,  yea,  shortly,  "  the  God  of 
peace  shall  bruise  Satan  under  our  feet," 
Rom.  xvi. 

It  is  thus  the  scriptures,  to  help  the  weak- 
ness of  our  apprehensions,  testify  of  Christ, 
under  the  threefold  view  of  Prophet,  Priest, 
and  King  of  his  people.  These  are  his  prin- 
cipal and  leading  characters,  which  include 
and  imply  the  rest ;  for  the  time  would  fail 
to  speak  of  him,  as  he  is  declared  to  be  their 
head,  husband,   root,   foundation,  sun,  shield, 


God  ;  and  he  bestows  upon  them  those  gifts 
and  blessings  which  are  the  fruits  of  his  suf- 
ferings and  obedience.  The  Levitical  priests 
were,  like  their  people,  sinners,  and  were 
therefore  constrained  first  to  make  atonement 
for  themselves ;  they  were  mortal,  therefore 
their  service  passed  from  hand  to  hand ;  their 
sacrifices  were  imperfect,  therefore  needed  con- 
tinual repetition,  and  had  at  last  only  a  typi- 
cal and  ceremonial  efficacy ;  for  it  was  not 
possible  that  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats 
(Heb.  ix.  and  x.)  could  remove  either  the 
guilt  or  pollution  of  sin.  "  The  law  made 
nothing  perfect."  But  Jesus,  "  the  Media- 
tor of  the  new  covenant,"  is  "  such  a  High- 
Priest  as  became  us  ;  holy,  harmless,  unde- 
filed,  separate  from  sinners  ;  who  needeth  not 
(as  those  of  old)  to  offer  sacrifice,  first  for  his 
own  sins  and  then  for  the  people  ;  for  this  he 
did  once,  when  he  offered  up  himself,"  Heb. 
vii.  The  great  inference  from  this  doctrine, 
several  times  repeated  by  the  apostle  in  a  va- 
riety of  phrase,  is,  that  we  may  now  have  bold- 
ness to  appear  before  God,  that  our  prayers 
and  services  are  pleasing  in  his  sight,  and  all 
the  blessings  of  grace  and  glory  ready  to  be 
bestowed  on  us,  if  we  faithfully  apply  for 
them,  through  the  merits  of  his  Son. 

Once  more,  man  is  not  only  ignorant  of 
God  and  himself,  and  too  full  of  guilt  to  plead 
in  his  own  name,  but  he  is  likewise  weak  and 
defenceless ;  unable  to  make  his  way  through 
the  opposition  that  withstands  his  progress  to 
eternal  life,  or  to  secure  him  from  the  manv 
enemies  "  that  rise  up  against  him,"  Psal.  iii. 
We  read,  that  when  the  Gibeonites  made  a 
league  with  Joshua  (Jos.  ix.),  which  was  the 
only  step  that  could  save  them  from  utter 
ruin  the  neighbouring  states  and  cities  all 
united  to  destroy  them:  so  the  soul  that  is  de- 
sirous to  submit  to  Jesus  Christ,  immediately 
finds  itself  in  the  midst  of  war;  the  world, 
the  llesh,  and  the  devil,  unite  their  forces,  ei- 
ther to  recal  such  a  one  to  the  practice  and 
service  of  sin,  or  to  distress  him  to  the  utter- 
most for  forsaking  it.  And  none  could  sup- 
port this  conflict,  if  not  themselves  supported 
by  a  higher  hand.  But  Jesus,  the  antitype 
of  Joshua,  the  true  Captain  of  the  Lord's 
hosts,  reveals  himself  in  his  word  as  the  King 
of  his  church.      He  can  inspire  the   fainting 


shepherd,  lawgiver,  exemplar,  and  forerun- 
ner. In  brief,  there  is  hardly  any  comfort- 
able relation  or  useful  office  amongst  men, 
hardly  any  object  in  the  visible  creation,  which 
either  displays  beauty  or  produces  benefit,  but 
what  is  applied  in  the  word  of  God,  to  illus- 
trate the  excellence  and  sufficiency  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  intent  of  all  is,  that 
we  may  learn  to  trust  him,  and  delight  to 
serve  him;  for  these  must  go  together.  Who- 
ever would  be  benefited  by  his  mediation  as  a 
Priest,  must  submit  to  his  instructions  as  a 
Prophet,  and  yield  him  universal  obedience 
as  a  King.  Fatal  are  the  mistakes  in  this 
matter  now  in  the  world.  Some  talk  highly 
of  the  death  and  sufferings  of  Christ,  who  are 
little  solicitous  to  keep  his  commandments  ; 
others  labour  in  the  very  fire  to  observe  his 
law;  but  "  being  ignorant  of  God's  righteous- 
ness, and  going  about  to  establish  their  own" 
(Rom.  x.),  they  labour  to  no  purpose.      De- 


soul  with  unseen  supplies :   he,  when  the  ene-    pendence  on  the  merits  of  Christ,  and  obedi 


my  comes  in  like  a  flood  (Isa.  lix.),  can,  by 
his  Spirit,  lift  up  a  standard  against  him  ;  he 
can  take  the  prey  even  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
mighty.  He  has  said  it  of  his  church  in  ge- 
neral, and  he  will  make  it  good  to  every  indi- 
vidual that  trusts  in  him,  that  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  never  prevail  against  them.  What  though 
a  sense  of  the  guilt  and  remaining  power  of  sin 
often  fills  the  humble  soul  with  inexpressible 
distress  !  He  that  stills  the  raging  of  the  sea, 
and  the  violence  of  the  winds,  with  a  word, 
can  with  equal  ease  calm  all   the  unruly  mo. 


ence  to  his  commands,  are  inseparably  united; 
and  only  the  man  who  aims   at  both,  can  at 
tain  to  either. 

I  should  now  lay  before  you  some  scrip- 
ture testimonies  of  the  power  and  love  of 
Christ ;  but  I  have  anticipated  this  part  of 
my  subject  in  what  I  have  already  said.  His 
divine  nature  proclaims  his  power,  his  offices 
display  his  love.  We  have  seen,  that  lie  emp- 
tied himself  of  his  eternal  glories;  that  he 
bowed  the  heavens,  and  came  down  in  tht 
form  of  a  servant ;  that  he  submitted  to  all 


lions  of  the  mind.      What  though    tie  world  |  imaginable  sufferings  ;  all  that  the  malice  vi 


342 


OTM   SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES. 


SER.  vr. 


men,  all  that  the  avenging  justice  of  God 
could  inflict  ;  and  having  by  this  means  open- 
ed the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  taken  posses- 
sion there,  in  behalf  of  all  believers,  he  has 
caused  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  to  be  pub- 
lished through  the  world  ;  declaring,  "  that 
whosoever  cometh  to  him  (without  one  ex- 
ception), he  will  in  no  wise  cast  out,"  John 
vi.  Are  not  these  proofs  of  unspeakable,  un- 
exampled love  ?  We  have  seen,  that  he  fully 
performed  the  work  he  undertook  ;  that  he 
has  made  an  end  of  sin  (Dan.  ix.);  brought 
in  an  everlasting  righteousness,  spoiled  prin- 
cipalities and  powers  (Eph.  ii.)  ;  triumphed 
over  all  our  enemies,  broke  down  the  parti- 
tion-wall, and  brought  life  and  immortality  to 
light  by  his  gospel,  1  Tim.  i.  We  read,  that 
he  is  highly  exalted ;  "  that  God  has  given 
him  a  name  that  is  above  every  name"  (Phil. 
ii.)  ;  that  he  is  "far  above  all  principality, 
and  might,  and  dominion;"  and  what  more 
can  be  said  of  his  power  ?  Read  his  own  de- 
claration, "  All  power  is  given  me  in  heaven 
and  in  earth,"  Matth.  xxviii.  Were  these 
two  points,  the  power  and  the  love  of  Christ, 
rightly  understood,  and  fully  believed,  earth 
would  be  full  of  heaven.  But,  alas  !  we  are 
fools,  and  slow  of  heart  to  receive  all  that 
Moses  and  the  prophets  (Luke,  xxiv.),  the 
evangelists  and  apostles,  have  written  for  our 
instruction.  From  hence  proceeds  our  indif- 
ference, and  that  we  need  so  much  to  be  press- 
ed to  search  the  scriptures,  though  we  readily 
acknowledge  that  in  them  we  have  the  words 
of  eternal  life. 

IV.  It  remains,  therefore,  in  the  fourth 
and  last  place,  that  I  add  a  few  words  to  re- 
commend and  enforce  the  command  in  the 
text,  "  Search  the  scriptures,"  from  the  ar- 
gument there  subjoined,  "  for  in  them  ye 
think  ye  have  eternal  life  ;"  and  we  think 
right;  for  it  "  is  eternal  life  to  know  the  only 
true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  he  hath 
sent"  (John  xvii.)  :  and  every  article  of  this 
knowledge  is  contained  in  the  Old  and  New 
Testament ;  nor  can  any  part  of  it  be  met 
with  any  where  else.  Yet  let  conscience 
judge  this  day,  as  in  the  presence  of  the  liv- 
ing God,  the  searcher  of  hearts,  before  whom 
our  private  judgments  must  shortly  come  un- 
der a  review  :  has  any  book  a  smaller  share 
of  the  time,  the  memory,  or  the  affections  of 
many  of  us,  than  this  book  of  God  ?  Do  not 
the  successive  returns  of  business  and  amuse- 
ment so  far  engross  our  time  and  our  thoughts, 
that  we  have  either  no  leisure,  or  no  disposi- 
tion, to  attend  to  the  things  which  pertain 
to  our  peace  ?  Consider,  "  in  them  we  think 
we  have  eternal  life."  We  know  we  are  post- 
ing to  eternity  as  fast  as  the  wings  of  time  can 
carry  us  ;  we  know  that  the  consequences  of 
our  behaviour  in  this  span  of  life  will  attend 
us  into  an  invisible  unalterable  state  ;  and  we 
confess,  that  the  necessary  directions  for  our 
conduct  in  these   most  important  and  preca- 


rious circumstances,  are  to  be  found  only  in 
the  Bible  ;  what  words  then  can  describe  our 
fatal  insensibility,  if,  all  this  acknowledged,  we 
have  no  heart  to  consult,  or  to  value,  this  in- 
estimable treasure  put  into  our  hands  ? 

Many  inquiries,  more  curious  than  useful, 
have  been  started  concerning  the  divine  pro- 
cedure with  the  Heathen  nations,  and  those 
who  never  heard  of  the  gospel  of  peace. 
"  The  Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  (undoubted- 
ly) do  right"  (Gen.  xviii.),  and  will  be  justi- 
fied at  the  great  day,  when  every  man  shall 
receive  according  to  their  works.  Till  then 
we  must  wait  for  the  knowledge  of  what  he 
has  not  seen  fit  to  reveal.  But  thus  much  he 
has  already  told  us,  that  however  it  may  ga 
with  those  who  know  not  the  gospel,  dreadful 
will  be  the  doom  of  those  who,  having  it  pub- 
lished among  them,  refuse  to  obey  it.  "  The 
servant  who  knew  not  his  master's  will  shall 
be  beaten  with  few  stripes,"  Luke  xii.  But 
this  will  not  be  our  case ;  at  least  our  igno- 
rance will  be  rather  an  aggravation  than  an 
excuse;  a  wilful,  obstinate,  infatuated  igno- 
rance. We  have  the  words  of  eternal  life  in 
our  hands ;  "  line  upon  line,  precept  upon 
precept :"  but  how  do  we  imitate  those  (whom 
perhaps  we  have  been  ready  to  blame)  spoken 
of  in  the  parable,  who,  when  they  received  a 
kind  and  gracious  invitation  to  a  royal  feast, 
made  light  of  it,  and  "all  with  one  consent 
began  to  mike  excuse!"  Luke  xiv.  It  is 
easy  to  apply  this  to  the  Jews  of  old  ;  so  Da- 
vid could  clearly  judge  in  the  case  of  the  rich 
man  who  killed  his  poor  neighbour's  lamb  (2 
Sam.  xii.),  but  had  not  the  prophet  helped 
him,  he  would  not  have  collected  that  he  him- 
self was  the  person  intended.  But  to  bring 
the  general  truths  of  scripture  home  to  the 
heart  is  the  work  of  God  ;  and,  perhaps,  while 
I  am  speaking  at  random,  he  may  rouse  the 
consciences  of  some  to  say  in  particular,  Thou 
art  the  man.  Then  they  will  soon  see  how 
much  it  behoves  them  to  search  the  scriptures, 
when  they  understand  the  weighty  meaning 
of  the  words,  eternal  life. 

Some  of  us,  I  hope,  do  already  make  con- 
science of  frequent  reading  the  scriptures; 
but  let  us  remember  the  force  of  the  word 
search.  It  is  not  a  careless  superficial  read- 
ing, or  dispatching  such  a  number  of  chapters 
in  a  day,  as  a  task,  that  will  answer  the  end. 
I  have  already  reminded  you,  that  it  is  a  bus- 
iness will  need  your  best  application  ;  a  se- 
rious, impaitial,  humble,  persevering  inquiry, 
accompanied  with  earnest  prayer  for  the  light 
and  assistance  of  God's  Holy  Spirit.  When 
we  set  about  it  in  this  method,  we  shall  soon 
find  happy  effects  ;  pleasure  and  instruction 
will  go  hand  in  hand  ;  and  our  knowledge 
advance  as  the  growing  light.  The  precepts 
shall  inspire  us  with  true  wisdom  ;  teach  us 
how  to  order  all  our  affairs,  respecting  both 
worlds;  to  fill  up  our  several  stations  in  life 
with  propriety,  usefulness,  and  comfort ;  and 


SER.   VI. 


ON   SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES. 


343 


to  avoid  the  numerous  evils  and  distresses 
which  those  who  live  by  no  rule,  or  by  any 
other  rule  than  God's  word,  are  perpetually 
running  into.  The  promises  shall  be  a  sup- 
port in  every  trouble,  a  medicine  in  every  sick- 
ness, a  supply  in  every  need.  Above  all,  the 
scriptures  will  repay  our  trouble,  as  they  tes- 
tify of  Christ.  The  more  we  read  of  his  per- 
son, offices,  power,  love,  doctrine,  life,  and 
death,  the  more  our  hearts  will  cleave  to  him  : 
we  shall,  by  insensible  degrees,  be  transform- 
ed into  his  image.      We  shall,  with  the  apos- 


tle, say,  "  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed," 
2  Tim.  L  Every  thing  we  see  shall  be  at  once 
a  memorial  to  remind  us  of  our  Redeemer, 
and  a  motive  to  animate  us  in  his  service. 
And  at  length  we  shall  be  removed  to  see  him 
as  he  is,  without  a  cloud,  and  without  a  vail ; 
to  be  for  ever  with  him  ;  to  behold  and  to 
share  the  glories  of  that  heavenly  kingdorr 
"which  (Matth.  xxv. )  he  has  prepared  (foi 
his  followers)  from  before  the  foundation  o« 
the  world."     Amen. 


SERMONS 


PREACHED   IN  THE    PARISH-CHURCH   OF  OLNEY, 
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 


Blessed  is  the  people  that  know  the  joyful  sound  :  they  shall  walk,  O  Lord,  in  the  light 
of  thy  countenance.  In  thy  name  shall  they  rejoice  all  the  day  ;  and  in  thy  righteousness 
shall  they  he  exalted.      PsaI..  lxxxix.   IS,  16. 


TO  THE  INHABITANTS  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  OLNEY. 

M\    DEAR  FRIENDS, 

I  have  principally  two  motives  for  publishing  these  Discourse?.  The  one  is, 
to  exhibit  a  specimen  of  the  doctrine  that  is  taught  and  most  surely  believed 
amongst  us,  to  satisfy  those  who  desire  information,  and  to  stop,  if  possible, 
the  mouth  of  Slander.  I  cheerfully  submit  them  to  examination,  in  full  con- 
fidence that  they  contain  nothing  of  moment  which  is  not  agreeable  to  the 
general  strain  of  the  word  of  God,  and  to  the  principles  of  the  church  whereof 
I  am  a  minister,  as  specified  in  the  Articles,  Liturgy,  and  Homilies.  And 
that  what  I  now  print  is  to  the  same  purport  with  the  usual  course  of  my  preach- 
ing, I  doubt  not  but  all  who  statedly  hear  me,  will  do  me  the  justice  to  ac- 
knowledge. 

My  other  motive  is,  a  desire  of  promoting  your  edification.  It  is  my  com- 
fort that  many  of  you  live  by  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  and  highly  prize  them. 
You  will  not,  therefore,  be  unwilling  to  view  the  substance  of  what  you  once 
heard  with  acceptance.  But  it  is  to  be  feared,  that  the  far  greater  part  of  the 
congregation  have  need  to  have  the  things  pertaining  to  their  peace  pressed 
upon  them  again  and  again,  for  a  different  reason  ;  not  because  they  know 
them,  and  therefore  love  to  have  them  brought  to  their  remembrance,  but  be- 
cause they  have  hitherto  heard  them  without  effect.  For  the  sake  of  both, 
therefore,  I  am  willing  to  leave  an  abiding  testimony  amongst  you.  I  hereby 
take  each  of  your  consciences  to  witness,  that  I  am  clear  of  your  blood ;  and 
that,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  ability,  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare 
the  whole  counsel  of  God. 

In  the  choice  of  the  subjects  I  have  selected  for  publication,  I  have  not  been 
solicitous  to  comprise  a  succinct  scheme  of  gospel-doctrine,  but  have  given 
the  preference  to  such  topics,  which  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  times, 
and  of  my  hearers,  make  me  desirous  might  be  had  in  continual  remem- 
brance. 

The  exposition  of  the  third  commandment,  which  was  first  delivered  in 
your  hearing,  I  afterwards  preached  (nearer  the  form  in  which  it  now  appears) 
at  London ;  and  as  it  led  me  to  touch  on  some  particulars  of  a  very  public 
and  interesting  concern,  I  have  given  it  a  place  in  this  volume.  And  I  shall 
think  myself  happy  indeed,  if  it  may  please  God  to  give  weight  to  the  testi- 
mony of  so  obscure  a  person,  with  respect  to  a  grievance  under  which  the 
nation  groans. 

As  long  discourses  are  in  many  respects  inconvenient,  I  have  chosen  to 
publish  no  more  than  a  brief  summary  of  what  you  heard  more  at  large  from 
the  pulpit.  And  as  I  aim  to  speak  plain  truths  to  a  plain  people,  I  have  pur- 
posely avoided  any  studied  ornaments  in  point  of  expression,  being  desirous 
to  accommodate  myself  to  the  apprehensions  of  the  most  ignorant. 

May  it  please  the  God  of  all  grace  to  accompany  my  feeble  endeavours  to 
promote  the  knowledge  of  his  truth  with  the  powerful  influence  of  his  Holy 
Spirit  !  And  I  earnestly  entreat  all  who  know  how  to  draw  near  to  a  throne 
of  grace  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  strive  mightily  in  prayer  for  me,  that  I  may  stand 
fast  in  the  faith,  and  increase  in  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  the  Saviour,  and  that, 
for  his  sake,  I  may  labour,  without  fear  of  fainting,  in  the  service  to  which  he 
has  been  pleased  to  call  me.  May  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be 
with  you  all  ! 

I  am  your  affectionate  friend,  and  servant  in  the  gospel  of  Christ, 

John  Newton. 

Olney,  January  20,  1767. 


SERMONS 


PREACHED  IN  THE  PARISH-CHURCH  OF  OLNEY. 


SERMON  I. 


THE  SMALL  SUCCESS  OF  A  GOSPEL-MINISTRY 


At  that  time  Jesus  answered  and  said,  I  thank  thee,  0  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
because  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  ani  pendent,  and  hast  revealed  them  unto 
babes.      Matth   xi   25. 


Our  blessed  Lord  perfectly  knew  beforehand 
the  persons  who  would  profit  by  his  ministry  : 
but  his  observations,  conduct,  and  discourses, 
were  intended  as  a  pattern  and  instruction  to 
his  followers.  He  is  said  to  have  marvelled 
at  the  unbelief  of  some,  and  at  the  faith  of 
others ;  not  as  though  either  was  strange  to 
him,  who  was  acquainted  with  all  hearts,  and 
always  knew  what  he  himself  could  do ;  but 
it  is  spoken  of  him  as  a  man,  and  to  shew 
how  his  ministers  and  people  should  be  af- 
fected upon  the  like  occasions.  In  the  preced- 
ing verses  he  had  been  speaking  of  Caper- 
naum, and  other  places,  where  his  mighty 
works  had  been  performed  in  vain.  He  had  de- 
nounced a  sentence  against  them  •  and  fore- 
told thattheir  punishment  would  be  heavier  in 
proportion  to  the  greatness  of  the  privileges 
they  had  abused.  But  this  was  not  his  pleas- 
ing work.  Mercy  and  grace  were  his  delight, 
and  he  usually  expressed  sorrow  and  pain  for 
the  obstinacy  of  sinners.  He  wept  for  his  a- 
vowed  enemies,  and  prayed  for  the  mur- 
derers who  nailed  him  to  the  cross.  It  was 
not  without  grief  that  he  declared  the  ap- 
proaching doom  of  these  cities  ;  yet  raising 
his  thoughts  from  earth  to  heaven,  he  acqui- 
esced in  the  will  of  his  heavenly  Father,  and 


expressed  the  highest  satisfaction  in  his  ap- 
pointment. He  knew,  that,  however  some 
would  harden  themselves,  there  was  a  rem- 
nant who  would  receive  the  truth,  and  that 
the  riches  and  glory  of  the  divine  sovereignty 
and  grace  would  be  magnified.  Before  I  en- 
ter upon  the  particulars,  this  connection  of 
the  words  will  afford  us  ground  for  some  ob- 
servations. 

I.  That  the  small  success  and  efficacy  of 
the  preached  gospel  upon  multitudes  who  hear 
it,  is  a  subject  of  wonder  and  grief  to  the 
ministers  and  people  of  God.  It  was  so  to 
our  Lord  Jesus,  considered  as  a  preacher  and 
messenger ;  and  they,  so  far  as  they  have  re- 
ceived his  Spirit,  judge  and  act  as  he  did. 

1.  Those  who  have  indeed  tasted  that  the 
Lord  is  gracious,  have  had  such  a  powerful 
experience  in  their  own  souls  of  the  necessity 
and  value  of  the  gospel,  that  in  their  first 
warmth,  and  till  painful  experience  has  con- 
vinced them  of  the  contrary,  they  can  hardly 
think  it  possible  that  sinners  should  stand  out 
against  its  evidence.  They  are  ready  to  say, 
"  Surely  it  is  because  they  are  ignorant;  they 
have  not  had  opportunity  of  considering  the 
evil  of  sin,  the  curse  of  the  law,  and  the  im- 
mense goodness  of  God  manifested  in  his  Son  ; 


348 


THE  SMALL  SUCCESS 


SEK.  I 


but  when  these  things  shall  be  plainly  and 
faithfully  set  before  them,  surely  they  will 
submit,  and  thankfully  receive  the  glad  tid- 
ings." With  such  sanguine  hopes  Melanc- 
thon  entered  the  ministry  at  the  dawn  of  the 
Reformation :  he  thought  he  had  only  to 
speak  and  to  be  heard,  in  order  to  convince ; 
but  he  soon  found  himself  mistaken,  and  that 
the  love  of  sin,  the  power  of  prejudice,  and 
the  devices  of  Satan,  were  such  obstacles  in 
his  way,  as  nothing  less  than  the  mighty  oper- 
ations of  the  Spirit  of  God  could  break  through. 
And  all  who  preach  upon  his  principles,  and 
with  his  views,  have  known  something  of  his 
disappointment.  Speaking  from  the  feelings 
of  a  full  heart,  they  are  ready  to  expect  that 
others  should  be  no  less  affected  than  them- 
selves. But  when  they  find  that  they  are  heard 
with  indifference,  perhaps  with  contempt;  that 
those  whose  salvation  they  long  for,  are  en- 
raged against  them  for  their  labour  of  love ; 
and  that  they  cannot  prevail  upon  even  their 
dearest  friends,  and  nearest  relatives, — this 
grieves  and  wounds  them  to  the  heart. 

2.  They  have  been  convinced  themselves, 
that  unbelief  was  the  worst  of  all  their  sins  : 
and  therefore,  though  they  pity  all  who  live 
in  the  practice  of  sin,  yet  they  have  a  double 
grief  to  see  them  reject  the  only  means  of  sal- 
vation :  and  that  this  contempt  will  lie  more 
heavily  upon  them,  than  any  thing  they  can  be 
charged  with  besides.  It  gladdens  the  heart 
of  a  minister  to  see  a  large  and  attentive  as- 
sembly ;  but  how  is  this  joy  damped  by  a  just 
fear;  lest  any,  lest  many  of  them  should  re- 
ceive this  grace  of  God  in  vain,  and  have 
cause  at  last  to  bewail  the  day  when  the  name 
of  Jesus  was  first   sounded  in  their  ears  ! 

It  seems  plain  then,  that  those  who  are  in- 
different about  the  event  of  the  gospel,  who 
satisfy  themselves  with  this  thought,  that  the 
elect  shall  be  saved,  and  feel  no  concern 
for  unawakened  sinners,  make  a  wrong  in- 
ference from  a  true  doctrine,  and  know  not 
what  spirit  they  are  of.  Jesus  wept  for  those 
who  perished  in  their  sins.  St.  Paul  had 
great  grief  and  sorrow  of  heart  for  the  Jews, 
though  he  gave  them  this  character,  "  That 
they  pleased  not  God,  and  were  contrary  to 
all  men."  It  well  becomes  us,  while  we  admire 
distinguishing  grace  to  ourselves,  to  mourn 
over  others  :  and  inasmuch  as  secret  things  be- 
long to  the  Lord,  and  we  know  not  but  some 
of  whom  we  have  at  present  but  little  hopes, 
may  at  last  be  brought  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth,  we  should  be  patient  and  forbear- 
ing, after  the  pattern  of  our  heavenly  Father, 
and  endeavour,  by  every  probable  and  pru- 
dent means,  to  stir  them  up  to  repentance,  re- 
membering that  they  cannot  be  more  distant 
from  God,  than  by  nature  we  were  ourselves. 

II.  The  best  relief  against  those  discour- 
agements we  meet  with  from  men,  is  to  raise 
our  thoughts  to  God  and  heaven.  For  this  the 
Lord  Jesus  is  our  precedent  here.      He  said, 


"  I  thank  thee,  O  Father."  The  word  *  sis- 
nifies,  to  confess,  to  promise,  or  consent,  and 
to  praise.  As  if  it  had  been  said,  "  I  glori- 
fy thy  wisdom  in  this  respect,  I  acknowledge, 
and  declare  that  it  is  thy  will,  and  I  express  my 
own  consent  and  approbation."  Our  Lord's 
views  of  the  divine  counsels  were  perfect,  and 
therefore  his  satisfaction  was  complete.  It  is 
said,  "  He  rejoiced  in  spirit"  (Luke  x.  21.), 
when  he  uttered  these  words.  And  the  more  we 
increase  in  faith  and  in  the  knowledge  of  God, 
the  more  we  shall  be  satisfied  in  his  appoint- 
ments, and  shall  see  and  say,  "  He  hath  done 
all  tilings  well."  It  is  needful  for  our  com- 
fort to  be   well  established  in  the  truth  sucr. 

o 

gested  in  my  text,  That  the  Lord  hath  pro- 
vided for  the  accomplishment  of  his  own 
purposes,  and  that  his  counsels  shall  surely 
stand.      From  this  doctrine  we  may  infer, 

1.  That  where  the  faithful  labours  and  en- 
deavours of  ministers  and  others,  to  promote 
the  knowledge  of  grace  and  the  practice  of  ho- 
liness, fail  of  success,  yet  they  shall  be  accept- 
ed. The  servants  of  Christ  may  in  their 
humble  measure  adopt  the  words  of  their 
Lord  and  Master,  in  the  prophet  :  "  Though 
Israel  be  not  gathered,  yet  shall  I  be  glorious 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  and  my  God  shall  be 
my  strength,"  Isaiah  xlix.  5.  When  he  sent 
forth  his  first  disciples,  he  directed  them, 
whenever  they  entered,  to  say,  "  Peace  be  to 
this  house  !  and  if  a  son  of  peace  be  there," 
if  there  be  any  who  thankfully  accept  your 
salutation  and  message,  "  your  peace  shall 
rest  upon  it ;  if  not,  it  shall  return  to  you  a- 
gain,"  Luke  x.  6.  That  is,  your  good 
wishes  and  endeavours  shall  not  be  lost  for 
want  of  proper  objects,  but,  when  they  seem 
to  be  without  effect  on  others,  shall  be  pro- 
ductive of  the  happiest  consequences  to  your- 
selves :  you  shall  receive  all  you  were  de- 
sirous to  communicate.  Thus  his  ministers 
are  to  declare  his  whole  will,  whether  men 
will  hear,  or  whether  they  shall  forbear.  And 
if  they  do  this  with  a  single  eye  to  his  glory, 
and  in  humble  dependence  upon  his  bles- 
sing, they  are  not  answerable  for  the  event ; 
they  shall  in  no  wise  lose  their  reward. 

2.  Faithful  endeavours  in  the  service  of 
the  gospel  shall  not  wholly  fail.  Though 
all  will  not  hear,  some  certainly  shall  both 
hear  and  obey.  Though  all  are  by  nature 
equally  averse  anu  incapable,  yet  there  shall 
be  "  a  willing  people  in  the  day  of  God's 
power,"  Psalm  ex.  3.  If  the  wise  and  pru- 
dent turn  away  from  the  truth,  there  are  babes 
to  whom  it  shall  be  revealed.  The  Lord  re- 
news unto  us  a  pledge  of  his  faithfulness  in 
this  concern  every  time  the  rain  descends. 
For  thus  he  has  promised,  "  As  the  rain 
cometh  down,  and  the  snow  from  heaven,  and 
returneth  not  thither,  but  waterelh  the  earth, 
and  maketh  it  bring  forth  and  bud,  that  it  may 

*  The  original  word,  f%i>fju>\eyta/u,ai,  occurs  Matth.  Hi 
6   Luke  xxii.  6.  and  Hum.  xv.  9. 


SEK.  I. 


OF  A  GOSPEL  MINISTRY 


349 


give  seed  to  the  sower,  and  bread  to  the  eat- 
er :  so  shall  my  word  be  that  goeth  forth  out 
of  my  mouth  :  it  shall  not  return  unto  me 
void,  but  it  shall  accomplish  that  which  I 
please,  and  it  shall  prosper  in  the  thing  where- 
to I  sent  it,"  Isaiah  lv.  10. 

3.  The  divine  sovereignty  is  the  best  thought 
we  can  retreat  to  for  composing  and  strength- 
ening our  minds  under  the  difficulties,  discou- 
ragements, and  disappointments,  which  attend 
the  publication  of  the  gospel.  The  more  we 
give  way  to  reasonings  and  curious  inquiries, 
the  more  we  shall  be  perplexed  and  baffled. 
When  Jeremiah  had  been  complaining  of  some 
things  that  were  too  hard  for  him,  the  Lord 
sent  him  to  the  potter's  house,  and  taught  him 
to  infer,  from  the  potter's  power  over  the  clay, 
the  just  right  which  the  Lord  of  all  hath  to  do 
what  he  will  with  his  own,  Jer.  xviii.  6.  It  is 
only  the  pride  of  our  own  hearts  that  prevents 
this  consideration  from  being  perfectly  con- 
clusive and  satisfactory.  How  many  schemes 
derogatory  from  the  free  grace  of  God,  tend- 
ing to  darken  the  glory  of  the  gospel,  and  to 
depreciate  the  righteousness  of  the  Redeemer, 
have  taken  their  rise  from  vain  unnecessary 
attempts  to  vindicate  the  ways  of  God  ;  or  ra- 
ther to  limit  the  actings  of  Infinite  Wisdom 
to  the  bounds  of  our  narrow  understandings, 
to  sound  the  depths  of  the  divine  counsels 
with  our  feeble  plummets,  and  to  say  to  Om- 
nipotence, "  Hitherto  shalt  thou  go,  and  no 
farther."  But  upon  the  ground  of  the  divine 
sovereignty,  we  may  rest  satisfied  and  stable  : 
for  if  God  appoints  and  over- rules  all  accord- 
ing to  the  purpose  of  his  own  will,  we  have 
sufficient  security,  both  for  the  present  and 
the  future. 

1st,  For  the  present.  We  may  firmly  ex- 
pect, what  scripture  and  reason  concur  to  as- 
sure us,  that  "  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth 
will  do  right."  Whatever  to  us  appears 
otherwise  in  his  proceedings,  should  be 
charged  to  the  darkness  and  weakness  of  our 
minds  We  know,  that  in  every  point  of  sci- 
ence, difficulties  and  objections  occur  to  young 
beginners,  which,  at  first  view,  may  seem  al- 
most unanswerable  ;  but  as  knowledge  increas- 
es, the  difficulties  gradually  subside,  and  at 
last  we  perceive  they  were  chiefly  owing  to 
the  defects  of  our  apprehension.  In  divinity 
it  is  wholly  so ;  "  God  is  light,  and  in  him  is 
no  darkness  at  all;"  his  revealed  will  is,  like 
himself,  just,  holy,  pure  in  the  whole,  and 
perfectly  consistent  in  every  part.  We  may 
safely  rest  upon  this  general  maxim,  that 
"  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  shall  do  right." 
Though  he  does  not  give  us  a  particular  ac- 
count of  his  dealings,  and  we  are  not  fully 
able  to  comprehend  them;  yet  we  ought,  a- 
gainst  all  appearances  and  proud  reasonings, 
to  settle  it  firmly  in  our  minds,  that  every 
thing  is  conducted  worthy  the  views  which 
God  has  given  us  of  himself  in  his  holy  wordt 


as  a  being  of  infinite  justice,  wisdom,  good- 
ness, and  truth.      And  farther, 

2dly,  For  the  future.  He  has  appointed  a 
day  when  he  will  make  it  appear  that  he  has 
done  right.  Though  clouds  and  darkness  are 
now  upon  his  proceedings,  they  shall  ere  long 
be  removed.  When  all  his  designs  in  provi- 
dence and  grace  are  completed  ;  when  the  pre- 
sent imperfect  state  of  things  shall  be  finished  ; 
when  the  dead,  small  and  great,  are  sum- 
moned to  stand  before  him, — then  the  great 
Judge  will  condescend  to  unfold  the  whole 
train  of  his  dispensations,  and  will  justify  his 
proceedings  before  angels  and  men.  Then 
every  presumptuous  cavil  shall  be  silenced, 
and  every  difficulty  solved.  His  people  shall 
admire  his  wisdom,  his  enemies  shall  confess 
his  justice.  The  destruction  of  those  who 
perish  shall  be  acknowledged  deserved,  and  ot 
themselves  ;  and  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord 
shall  ascribe  all  the  glory  of  their  salvation  to 
him  alone.  What  we  shall  then  see,  it  is  now 
our  duty  and  our  comfort  assuredly  to  believe. 

The  great  subject  of  our  Saviour's  joy,  and 
which,  so  far  as  it  is  apprehended  will  bear 
up  his  servants  above  all  their  difficulties  and 
disappointments,  I  mean  the  consideration  of 
the  sovereign  hand  of  God  directing  the  suc- 
cess of  his  word  when  and  where  he  pleases, 
we  must  defer  speaking  of  till  the  next  oppor- 
tunity ;  and  we  shall  close  at  present  with  a 
few  inferences  from  what  has  been  said  thus 
far,  by  way  of  introduction. 

1 .  Take  heed  how  you  hear.  The  gospel 
of  salvation,  which  is  sent  to  you,  will  be  ei . 
ther  "  a  savour  of  life  unto  life,  or  of  death 
unto  death,"  to  every  soul  of  you.  There  is 
no  medium.  Though,  in  a  common  and  fa- 
miliar way  of  speaking,  we  sometimes  com- 
plain that  the  gospel  is  preached  without  ef- 
fect, there  is  in  reality  no  possibility  that  it 
can  be  without  effect:  an  effect  it  must  and 
will  have  upon  all  who  hear  it.  Happy  they 
who  receive  and  embrace  it  as  a  joyful  sound, 
the  unspeakable  gift  of  God's  love.  To  these 
it  will  be  "  a  savour  of  life  unto  life."  It 
will  communicate  life  to  the  soul  at  first,  and 
maintain  that  life,  in  defiance  of  all  opposi- 
tion, till  it  terminates  in  glory.  But  woe, 
woe  to  those  who  receive  it  not.  It  will  be 
to  them  ''  a  savour  of  death  unto  death."  It 
will  leave  them  under  the  sentence  of  death, 
already  denounced  against  them  by  the  law 
which  they  have  transgressed,  and  it  will  con- 
sign them  to  eternal  death,  under  the  hea- 
viest aggravations  of  guilt  and  misery.  Re- 
member the  doom  of  Capernaum,  and  why  it 
was  denounced.  Jesus  preached  amongst 
them  the  words  of  eternal  life,  and  they  re- 
jected him.  This  was  all.  In  other  things, 
perhaps,  they  were  no  worse  than  their  neigh- 
bours, and  probably  disdained  to  hear  them- 
selves judged  worthy  of  a  heavier  punishment 
than  Sodom,  and  those  cities  which,  for  their 


3o0 


1T1E  MYSTERIES   OF  TI 

still 


SILK.  11. 


abominations,  were  consumed  with  fire  from 
heaven.  But  our  Lord  assures  us,  it  shall 
be  more  tolerable  for  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  those  who 
slight  his  word.  For  this  guilt  and  condem- 
nation was  not  confined  to  the  Jews  who  re- 
jected his  person,  but  extends  to  all  who 
shall  at  any  time  treat  his  gospel  with  con- 
tempt. However  inconsiderable  his  ministers 
are  in  other  respects,  if  they  faithfully  deliver 
his  message,  he  has  declared  himself  closely 
interested  in  the  reception  they  meet  with  : 
"  He  that  receiveth  you,  receiveth  me;  and 
he  that  despiseth  you,  despiseth  both  me  and 
him  that  sent  me,"  Matth.  x.  40.  It  is  there- 
fore at  your  peril  to  treat  what  we  say  with  in- 
difference (if  we  speak  agreeably  to  the  scrip- 
tures) :  the  word  of  God  which  we  preach 
will  judge  you  at  the  last  day. 

2.    Be   afraid  of  being   wise  in   your  own 
eyes,   lest  you  should  approach  to  the  charac- 
ters of  those  from  whom  the  righteous   God 
sees  fit  to  hide  the  knowledge  of  those  truths, 
without  which   they  cannot  be  saved.      The 
gospel  is  not  proposed  to   you    to  ask    your 
opinion   of  it,  that  it  may  stand   or  fall  ac- 
cording to  your  decision,  but  it  peremptorily 
demands  your  submission.     If  you  think  your- 
selves qualified  to  judge  and  examine  it  by  that 
imperfect  and  depraved  light  which  you  call 
vour  reason,  you  will  probably  find   reasons 
enow  to  refuse  your  assent.     Reason  is  pro- 
perly exercised  in   the  ordinary   concerns  of 
life,  and  has   so   far  a   place  in   religious  in- 
quiries,  that  none  can  or  do  believe  the  gos- 
pel without  having  sufficient  reasons  for    it. 
But  you    need    a  higher   light,    the    light  of 
God's  Spirit,  without  which  the  most  glorious 
displays  of  his  wisdom  will  appear  foolishness 
to  you.      If  you  come  simple,  dependent,  and 
teachable  ;  if  you  pray  from  your  heart,  with 
David,  "   open   thou   mine   eyes,   that   I   may 
see  wondrous   things   in  thy  law  (Psal.  cxix. 
18), — you  will  be  heard  and  answered;   you 
will  grow  in  the  knowledge  and  grace  of  our 
Lord   Jesus  Christ;  but  if  you  neglect  this, 
and  trust  in   yourselves,    as    supposing    this 
promised  assistance  of  the   Holy  Spirit  unne- 
cessary, the  glorious  light  of  the  gospel  will 
shine  upon  you  in  vain  ;  for  Satan  will  main- 
tain such    hold  of  you   by  this  pride   of  your 
hearts,    as   still  to   keep  you  in  bondage   and 
darkness,   that  you   shall   neither  see  it,    nor 
desire  to  see  it. 

3.  Those  of  you  who  have  some  spiritual 
apprehensions  of  these  things,  have  reason  to 
praise  God  that  you  see  a   little.      You  were 


are.  Be  thankful.  Accept  it  as  a  token 
1'or  good.  Be  not  discouraged  that  the  be- 
ginnings are  small,  but  wait  on  the  Lord, 
and  they  shall  be  increased.  Seek  him  by 
prayer.  Converse  with  your  Bibles.  Attend 
upon  the  public  ordinances.  In  the  humble 
use  of  these  means  (while  you  endeavour  to 
act  faithfully  according  to  the  light  you  have 
already  received),  you  shall  gradually  advance 
in  wisdom  and  comfort.  The  christian  growth 
is  not  instantaneous  but  by  degrees,  as  the 
early  dawn  increases  in  brightness  till  the 
perfect  day  (Pro v.  iv.  18),  and  as  the  corn 
comes  forward  surely,  though  unperceived, 
Matth.  xiii.  31,  32.  In  this  manner  your 
views  of  gospel-truth  shall  increase  in  clear- 
ness, evidence,  and  influence,  till  you  are  re- 
moved from  this  land  of  shadows  to  the  re- 
gions of  perfect  light,  to  behold  the  truth  as 
it  shines  in  the  person  of  Jesus,  without  a  vail, 
and  without  a  cloud  for  ever 


THE 


SERMON   II. 

MYSTERIES    OF    THE    GOSPEL    HID    FROM 
MANY. 


At  that  time  Jesus  ansu'ered  and  said,  I  thank 
thee,  0  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
because  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the 
wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them 
unto  babes.     Matth  xi.  25. 

When  our  Lord  appeared  upon  earth,  though 
he  came  on  the  most  gracious  and  important 
business,  displayed  the  perfection  of  holiness 
in  his  conduct,  and  performed  innumerable 
acts  of  kindness  and  love,  lie  met  with  little 
regard.  He  found  many  enemies,  but  few 
hearty  friends.  Especially  those  who  were 
most  eminent  for  riches,  learning,  power,  or 
reputed  goodness,  disdained  him ;  and  most 
of  those  who  followed  him  were  either  people 
in  low  circumstances,  or  whose  character  had 
heen  offensive.  Publicans  and  sinners,  fisher- 
men, unlearned  and  obscure  persons,  were 
almost  the  only  friends  he  had.  The  Lord 
Jesus,  who  was  infinitely  above  the  selfish 
views  which  are  too  apt  to  influence  our  lit- 
tle minds,  was  well  satisfied  with  this  event. 
He  did  not  desire  honour  from  men.  "  The 
souls  of  the  poor  were  precious  in  his  sight," 
Psal.  lxxii.  13,  14.  He  spoke  kindly  to 
those  whom  men  abhorred ;  and  if  he  mourned 


over  the  obstinacy  of  the  chiefs  of  the  people, 
once  quite  blind  ;  you  neither  saw  your  dis-   it  was  for  their   own   sakes.      Yet  (as   I   oh-. 


ease  nor  your  remedy.  You  could  discern 
nothing  of  the  excellence  of  Christ,  or  the 
beauty   of    holiness.      But   now   the   eyes  of 


served  formerly)  when  he  considered  the  ap- 
pointment and  will  of  God  in  this  dispensa- 
tion, he  was  not  only  content,  but  he  rejoiced. 


your  understanding  are  in  some  measure  en-  He  expressed  his  approbation  in  these  words  : 
lightened.  It  is  the  grace  of  God  has  made  "  I  thank  thee,  O  Father,"  &c.  There  is 
you  thus  far  to  differ  from  what  you  once  i  something  observable  in  this  passage  which 
were,  and  from  what  multitudes  around  vou    will   be  of  continual   use  and  application,  so 


sen.  n. 

long  as  the  gospel  shall  be  preached.  For  as 
it  was  then,  so  is  it  still ;  the  things  that  are 
hid  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  are  revealed 
unto  babes.  Five  particulars  offer  from  the 
words  for  our  consideration  : 

1.  What  may  be  intended  by  these  things  ? 

2.  Where  and  in  what  sense  they  are  hid  ? 

3.  From  whom  ?      The  wise  and  prudent. 

4.  How  the  knowledge  of  them  is  to  be 
obtained  ?     By  revelation  :    Thou  hast  revealed. 

5.  Who  are  thus  favoured  ?  Babes. 

I.  By  the  things  which  it  pleases  God 
should  be  hid  from  the  wise,  and  revealed  to 
bsfbes,  we  may  understand, 

1.  In  general,  the  things  pertaining  to  sal- 
vation. That  most  men  are  ignorant  of  them, 
and  careless  about  them,  is  too  plain.  Out 
of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth 
speaketh,  and  the  tree  is  known  by  its  fruits. 
Men  speak  as  though  their  tongues  were  their 
own  ;  they  act  as  though  they  were  to  give  no 
account ;  they  live  as  though  they  were  to 
live  here  for  ever.  The  way  of  truth  is  hid 
from  their  eyes,  and  the  fear  of  God  has  no 
place  in  their  hearts. 

2.  More  particularly,  those  doctrines  which 
are  in  an  especial  sense  peculiar  to  the  gos- 
pel, seem  here"  to  be  intended.  If  the  prin- 
ciples of  what  some  call  natural  religion, 
though  agreeable  to  the  light  of  natural  con- 
science, are  little  regarded,  the  more  spiritual 
truths  of  the  Bible  are  not  only  neglected 
but  scorned  and  opposed.  The  same  spirit 
which  shewed  itself  under  our  Lord's  per- 
sonal ministry  still  subsists.  The  chief  doc- 
trines he  taught,  and  for  which  he  met  with 
the  fiercest  opposition,  were  precisely  the  same 
with  those  which  have  awakened  the  scorn  and 
rage  of  the  world  ever  since,  and  which  mul- 
titudes who  bear  the  name  of  christians  in  this 
day  oppose  with  all  their  strength.    Such  as, 

1st,  The  divinity  of  Christ.^—  When  he 
spoke  of  himself  as  existing  before  Abraham, 
and  said  that  God  was  his  own  Father,*  the 
Jews  took  up  stones  to  stone  him.  And  this 
mystery  is  still  hid  from  the  natural  man.  No 
one  can  say,  acknowledge,  and  believe  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  or  Jehovah  ;  that  he  who 
once  hung  upon  the  cross,  bleeding  to  death, 
is  God  the  maker  of  all  things,  the  rightful 
object  of  the  supreme  love,  trust,  and  homage 
of  men  and  angels,  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
1  Cor.  xii.  3. 

2dly,  Distinguishing  grace. — When  Jesus 
first  preached  at  Nazareth,  the  eyes  of  all  were 
fixed  upon  him  (Luke  iv.  16",  20)  ;  but  when, 

•John  v.  18.  n«T£{«i'S/ov£X.sj-£.  "  He  said  tliat  God 
was  his  own  Father,"  in  a  sense  peculiar  to  himself,  and 
exclusive  of  all  others.  The  Jews  well  understood  the 
meaning  of  this  assertion,  that  thereby  he  made  himself 
equal  with  God  ;  and  therefore,  as  they  did  not  believe 
in  him,  they  charged  him  with  blasphemy.  It  would 
indeed  have  been  blasphemy  in  a  mere  man,  or  in  the 
highest  archangel,  to  have  spoken  of  himself  in  these 
terms.  But  the  force  of  the  expression  is  lost  in  our 
version  of  the  New  Testament,  through  the  omission  of 
the  word  ISior,  his  own,  which  seems  one  of  the  most 
important  mistakes  to  be  found  in  that  translation. 


GOSPEL  HID   FROM   MANY. 


351 


making  application  to  themselves,  he  touch- 
ed upon  this  point,  from  the  examples  of 
Naaman  the  Syrian,  and  the  widow  of  Sa- 
repta,  who  were  released  when  many  lepers 
and  widows  in  Israel  were  passed  by  ;  they 
were  filled  with  indignation,  and  would  have 
thrown  him  headlong  down  the  rock.  And 
it  is  to  this  hour  an  offensive  doctrine  to  all 
who  do  not  know  the  value  and  the  need 
of  it. 

3dly,  The  new  birth. — When  this  was  pro- 
posed to  a  master  in  Israel,  he  cried  out, 
"  How  can  these  things  be?"  John  iii.  9. 
And  by  many  who  are  wise  and  prudent  in 
their  own  sight  it  is  at  this  day  accounted 
nonsense,  A  small  acquaintance  with  the 
general  strain  of  what  is  published  either  from 
the  pulpit  or  the  press,  may  prove  that  mo- 
dern divinity  has,  for  the  most  part,  found  a 
smoother  path  to  tread  than  that  by  which 
Nicodemus  was  conducted  to  the  knowledge 
of  himself  and  his  Saviour.  Such  a  doubt- 
ful inquirer  might  now  be  entertained  with 
many  ingenious  essays  on  the  beauty  of  vir- 
tue, the  efficacy  of  benevolence,  the  excel- 
lency of  the  human  mind,  and  other  favourite 
topics.  He  would  find  teachers  enow  to  en- 
courage and  improve  the  idea  he  has  of  his 
own  importance,  but  he  would  hardly  meet 
with  any  who  would  speak  to  him  in  our 
Lord's  language,  and  refer  him  to  the  bra- 
zen serpent,  and  a  new  birth,  in  order  to  learn 
the  means  and  the  nature  of  the  gospel-sal- 
vation. 

4thly,  The  nature  of  the  life  of  faith. — 
When  our  Lord  spoke  of  this,  under  the  me- 
taphor of  earing  his  flesh  and  drinking  his 
blood,  many  who  till  then  had  professed  them- 
selves his  disciples,  "  turned  back,  and  walk- 
ed no  more  with  him,"  John,  vi.  66.  And 
none  can  bear  it  now  who  are  not  taught  of 
God,  to  see  such  an  excellency  and  sufficiency 
in  Jesus,  and  such  emptiness  in  themselves, 
as  constrains  them  to  cry  out  with  Peter, 
"  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  ?"  John,  vi.  68. 
These  things  are  hid  from  the  wise  and  pru- 
dent.     But, 

II.  Where,  and  in  what  sense,  are  these 
things  hid  ? 

1.    Where  are  they  hid  ? 

1st,  They  are  hid  in  Christ.  "  In  him  are 
hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  know- 
ledge," Col.  ii.  3.  He  is  the  great  reposi- 
tory of  truth.  "  It  pleased  the  Father  that  in 
him  should  all  fulness  dwell,"  Col.  i.  19. 
And  he  is  the  messenger  by  whom  the  will  of 
God  is  made  known  to  man,  Luke,  ix.  35 ; 
John,  i.  18.      From  hence  observe, 

(1.)  You  can  attain  to  no  saving  truth,  but. 
in  and  by  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ.  If 
they  are  hid  in  him,  it  can  be  but  lost  labour 
to  seek  them  elsewhere. 

(2.)  Whatever  seeming  knowledge  you 
have,  if  it  does  not  endear  him  to  you,  it  is 
nothing  worth.     It  is  science  falsely  so  called. 


352 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE 


and  can  do  you  no  good  ;  for  in  the  know- 
ledge of  him,  and  of  him  alone,  is  eternal  life, 
John  xvii.  3. 

2dly,  They  are  hid  in  the  word  of  God. 
(1.)  They  are  contained  there.  "  The 
whole  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of 
God,  and  is  able  to  make  us  wise  unto  salva- 
tion' (2  Tim.  iii.  16.):  to  furnish  us  with 
a  sufficiency  of  knowledge  and  motives  for 
every  good  work.  The  word  of  God  is  per- 
fect. 

(2.)  Yet  though  contained  there,  they  are 
not  plain  to  every  eye.  Though  they  are  re- 
vealed in  the  letter,  they  are  still  hid  from 
the  wise  and  prudent.  Something  more  is 
necessary  than  barely  to  read,  in  order  to  un- 
derstand them  ;  otherwise  all  who  can  read, 
and  have  the  Bible,  would  be  equally  enlight- 
ened with  equal  application.  But  experience 
shews  it  far  otherwise.  This  leads  me  farther 
to  inquire. 

2.  In  what  sense  they  are  hid  ? 
1st,  They  are  not  hid  as  if  it  were  on  pur- 
pose that  those  who  sincerely  seek  them  should 
be  disappointed  in  their  search.  Far  be  it 
from  us  to  think  so  hardly  of  the  Lord.  We 
have  express  promises  to  the  contrary,  that 
all  who  earnestly  seek  shall  find.  Fear  not, 
you  that  sincerely  desire  an  experimental  and 
practical  knowledge  of  the  truths  of  God,  and 
are  willing  to  be  taught  in  his  appointed  way  : 
though  many  things  appear  difficult  to  you 
at  present,  the  Lord  will  gradually  increase 
your  light,  and  crown  your  endeavours  with 
success. 

2dly,  But  from  some  persons  they  are  hid, 
even  from  the  wise  and  prudeYit,  whom  we 
are  to  speak  of  hereafter.  Suffer  me  to  of- 
fer a  familiar  illustration  of  the  Lord's  wis- 
dom and  justice  in  this  procedure.  Let  me 
suppose  a  person  to  have  a  curious  cabinet, 
■which  is  opened  at  his  pleasure,  and  not 
exposed  to  common  view:  he  invites  all  to 
come  and  see  it,  and  offers  to  shew  it  to  any 
one  who  asks  him.  It  is  hid,  because  he 
keeps  the  key ;  but  none  can  complain,  be- 
cause he  is  ready  to  open  it  whenever  he  is 
desired.  Some,  perhaps,  disdain  the  offer, 
and  say,  Why  is  it  locked  at  all  ?  Some  think 
it  not  worth  seeing,  or  amuse  themselves  with 
guessing  at  the  contents.  But  thosi  who  are 
simply  desirous  for  themselves,  leave  others 
disputing,  go  according  to  appointment,  and 
are  gratified.  These  have  reason  to  be  thank- 
ful for  the  favour;  and  the  others  have  no 
just  cause  to  find  fault.  Thus  the  riches  of 
divine  grace  may  be  compared  to  a  richly- 
furnished  cabinet,  to  which  Christ  is  the  door. 
The  word  of  God  likewise  is  a  cabinet  gene- 
rally locked  up ;  but  the  key  of  prayer  will 
open  it.  The  Lord  invites  all ;  but  he  keeps 
the  dispensation  in  his  own  hand.  They  can- 
not see  these  things  except  he  shews  them  ; 
but  then  he  refuses  none  that  sincerely  ask 
him.      The  wise  men  of  the  world  can  gc  no 


SEK.  II 

farther  than  the  outside  of  this  cabinet ;  they 
may  amuse  themselves  and  surprise  others 
with  their  ingenious  guesses  at  what  is  with- 
in :  but  a  babe  that  has  seen  it  opened,  can 
give  us  more  satisfaction,  without  studying  or 
guessing  at  all.  If  men  will  presume  to  aim 
at  the  knowledge  of  God,  without  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ,  who  is  the  way  and  the  door ; 
if  they  have  such  a  high  opinion  of  their  own 
wisdom  and  penetration,  as  to  suppose  they 
can  understand  the  scriptures  without  the  as- 
sistance of  his  Spirit;  or  if  their  worldly  wis- 
dom teaches  them,  that  these  things  are  not 
worth  their  inquiry  ;  what  wonder  is  it  that 
they  should  continue  to  be  hid  from  their 
eyes  ?  They  will  one  day  be  stript  of  all  their 
false  pleas,  and  condemned  out  of  their  own 
mouths. 

Sdly,  The  expression,  "  Thou  hast  hid," 
«iay  perhaps  farther  imply,  that  those  whr 
seek  occasion  to  cavil  shall  meet  with  some 
thing  to  confirm  their  prejudices.  When  peo 
pie  examine  the  doctrines  or  profession  of  the 
gospel,  not  with  a  candid  desire  to  learn,  imi- 
tate, and  practise,  but  in  order  to  find  some 
plausible  ground  for  misrepresentation,  they 
frequently  have  their  wish.  The  wisdom  of 
God  has  appointed,  that  difficulties,  offences, 
objections,  and  stumbling-blocks,  should  at- 
tend, to  exercise  and  manifest  the  spirits  of 
these  wise  ones.  How  largely  do  they  expa- 
tiate on  the  divisions  and  difference  of  senti- 
ments which  too  much  prevail  among  those 
who  are  united  in  the  same  leading  truths. 
If  they  can  discover  an  instance  of  error, 
folly,  or  wickedness,  of  a  single  person  who 
professes  to  adhere  to  the  gospel-doctrine, 
how  do  they  rejoice  as  if  they  had  found  great 
spoil,  charge  the  faults  of  a  few  indiscrimi- 
nately upon  the  whole,-  and  labour  to  shew 
that  every  mistake  and  inadvertence  is  a  ne- 
cessary consequence  of  the  principles  which 
those  maintain  who  commit  it.  We  do  not 
plead  for  mistakes  and  errors  of  any  sort,  for 
weakness  in  judgment,  or  inconsistence  in 
practice.  But  as  these  things  are  more  or 
less  inseparable  from  the  present  state  of  hu- 
man nature,  they  necessarily  increase  and 
strengthen  the  prepossessions  of  scorners  a- 
gainst  the  truth,  and  are  so  far  a  means  of 
biding  it  from  their  eyes.  Yet  here  again 
the  fault  is  wholly  in  themselves;  for  they 
seek  and  desiro  such  occasions  of  stumbling, 
and  would  be  disappointed  and  grieved,  if 
they  could  not  meet  with  them.  But  those 
who  are  babes  in  their  own  eyes,  humble,  sin- 
cere,  and  teachable,  are  brought  safe  through, 
by  a  simple  dependant  spirit,  and  are  made 
wiser  every  day  by  their  observation  of  what 
passes  around  them. 

Many  inferences  and  advices  might  be  de- 
duced from  what  has  been  said.  I  shall  con- 
tent myself  with  three. 

I.  Examine  yourselves  what  understanding 
and  experience  you  have  of  the  things  I  men- 


SER.  il.  GOSPEL  HID 

tioned  under  the  first  head.  So  much  as  you 
know  of  these,  so  far  you  are  christians,  and 
no  farther.  "  A  form  of  godliness  without 
the  power"  (2  Tim.  iii.  5.),  is  one  of  the 
worst  characters  of  the  worst  times ;  yet  how 
common  in  the  present  day  ?  How  many  who 
chuse  to  be  called  Christians,  reject  the  testi- 
mony which  God  has  given  of  his  Son,  deny 
the  efficacy  of  his  grace,  speak  of  the  new 
birth  with  disdain,  as  unintelligible  and  un- 
necessary, and  account  all  that  can  be  said  of 
the  life  of  faith  (though  founded  upon  express 
scripture,  and  attested  by  many  witnesses)  no 
better  than  enthusiastic  jargon  !  But  if  you 
are  thus  minded,  however  sober  your  deport- 
ment, or  professedly  benevolent  your  disposi- 
tion, though  you  may  be  applauded  as  a  pat- 
tern of  generosity,  a  philosopher,  or  a  saint, 
by  your  acquaintance  and  neighbours,  if  the 
scriptures  are  true,  you  can  be  but  as  a  sound- 
ing brass  and  tinkling  cymbal  in  the  sight  of 
God.  You  would  have  despised  Thomas  in 
your  heart,  if  you  had  been  witness  to  his 
joyful  exclamation  when  he  worshipped  Jesus, 
and  cried,  "  My  Lord,  and  my  God!"  John 
xx.  28.  You  would  have  despised  Paul  as  a 
dark  enthusiast,  had  you  heard  him  say,  "  The 
life  which  T  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by 
faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and 
gave  himself  for  me,"  Gal.  ii.  20.  Yea,  you 
must  have  despised  Jesus  himself,  if  you  had 
been  present  at  his  conference  with  Nicode- 
mus.  Our  Lord  Jesus  is  now  in  heaven, 
Thomas  and  Paul  have  been  long  dead  ;  you 
cannot  reach  them ;  nor  do  they  stand  in 
your  way ;  therefore,  perhaps  you  are  content 
to  speak  well  of  them  in  general  terms.  But 
those  who  come  nearest  to  their  language  and 
spirit  are  the  objects  of  your  scorn  and  ha- 
tred. How  then  can  you  pretend  to  love 
him,  or  presume  that  he  loves  you  ?  Jesus  is 
worshipped  in  heaven ;  how  then  can  you  ex- 
pect to  come  there  ?  or  what  pleasure  could 
you  find  there  in  your  present  turn  of  mind  ? 
O,  kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  be  angry,  and  you 
perish  ;  for  in  a  little  time  his  wrath  will  burn 
like  fire. 

But  to  every  one  who  understands,  em- 
braces, and  lives  under  the  influence  of  these 
truths,  I  may  safely  apply  our  Lord's  words, 
"Blessed  art  thou"  (Matth.  xvi.  17.),  how- 
ever despised  by  men,  or  chastened  of  the 
Lord  ;  for  "  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  reveal- 
ed these  things  to  thee  ;"  thou  hast  assuredly 
received  them  from  God  by  his  Spirit.  He 
alone  is  able  to  cause  the  light  to  shine  into 
our  dark  hearts,  "  to  give  us  the  knowledge  of 
the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ," 
2  Cor.  iv.  6. 

2.  Do  not  entertain  hard  and  perplexing 
thoughts  about  the  counsels  of  God,  either 
respecting  others  or  yourselves. 

1st,  With  regard  to  others.  It  is  a  fre- 
quent difficulty,  either  thrown  in  the  way  of 
inquirers  after  truth  by  the  subtilty  of  Satan 


FROM  MANY. 


353 


or  perhaps  arising  from  the  natural  pride  of 
the  human  heart,  that  would  be  thought  able 
to  account  for  every  thing.  I  say,  when  tbsy 
begin  to  apprehend  the  gospel-way  of  salva- 
tion, this  perplexing  question  arises,  If  things 
are  so,  what  will  become  of  multitudes  ? 
What !  are  all  the  Heathens,  Mahometans, 
Papists,  and  even  all  the  Protestants,  except 
the  few  who  adopt  these  singular  sentiments, 
to  be  lost?  I  shall  not  attempt  to  conquer 
this  objection  by  dint  of  reasoning,  but  would 
rather  persuade  you  to  direct  your  reasonings 
another  way.  When  the  same  question,  for 
substance,  was  proposed  to  our  Lord,  his  an- 
swer to  those  who  asked  him  was,  "  Strive 
(each  one  for  yourselves)  to  enter  in  at  the 
strait  gate,"  Luke  xiii.  23,  24.  Take  care  of 
yourselves,  and  leave  the  cases  of  others  to  the 
Lord.  Remember  he  is  God,  and  therefore 
just  and  good. 

2dly,  With  regard  to  yourselves.  Secret 
things  belong  to  God ;  your  business  is  with 
what  is  revealed.  Some  put  the  word  of  sal- 
vation from  them  perversely,  and  think,  if  the 
Lord  designs  me  for  eternal  life,  he  will  call 
me  in  his  own  time  ;  till  then  I  will  go  on  in 
my  sins.  Those  who  can  reason  thus,  and 
take  encouragement  to  persist  in  wickedness, 
from  the  consideration  of  the  power  and  effi- 
cacy of  God's  grace,  do  thereby  avow  them- 
selves to  be  Satan's  willing  servants.  But  he 
terrifies  many  on  whom  he  cannot  thus  pre- 
vail, with  representing  to  them,  that,  let  them 
do  what  they  will,  it  is  all  in  vain ;  unless  the 
Lord  has  chosen  them,  notwithstanding  any 
good  beginnings  they  may  hope  he  has 
wrought  in  them,  they  will  come  to  nothing 
at  last.  It  is  your  business  to  give  all  dili- 
gence to  make  your  calling  sure.  If,  by  a 
humble  waiting  upon  God,  you  are  enabled 
to  have  your  conversation  according  to  the 
gospel,  listen  not  to  vain  and  perplexing  rea- 
sonings, but  commit  yourself  to  the  mercy 
and  guidance  of  the  Lord  ;  and  he,  in  his 
good  time,  will  enable  you  to  see,  and  to  say, 
that  it  is  not  in  vain  to  trust  in  him.  Your 
path  shall  be  like  the  advancing  light,  that 
shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day. 
The  Lord  has  already  provided  all  that  you 
can  reasonably  desire. 

(1.)  The  means  are  pointed  out,  in  the  use 
of  which  you  are  to  be  found,  and  wherein 
you  may  expect  his  blessing.  These  are 
chiefly  secret  prayer,  the  study  of  his  written 
word,  an  attendance  on  the  preached  gospel, 
and  free  converse  (as  proper  opportunities  are 
afforded)  with  his  believing  people.  If  you 
continue  in  the  observance  of  these,  and  act 
faithfully  to  the  light  you  have  already  re- 
ceived, by  breaking  off  from  the  evil  practices 
of  the  world,  and  watching  against  those  things 
which  you  yourselves  know  to  be  evil,  you 
will  certainly  gain  ground  in  light,  strength, 
and  comfort.  You  will  see  more  and  more 
of  the  gloiy  of  the  Lord  in  the  glass  of  the 
2G 


?54 


OF  THOSE  FKOM  WHOM 


SER.   Ill 


gospel  ;  and  in  proportion  to  your  views,  you 
shall  be  "  changed  into  the  same  image  from 
glory  to  glory."      For, 

(2.)  The  promise  is  sure.  What  God  has 
said  you  may  assuredly  depend  on.  And  what 
has  he  said  ?  What,  indeed,  has  he  not  said 
for  the  encouragement  of  those  who  are  sin- 
cerely desirous  to  seek  and  serve  him  ?  "  They 
that  seek  shall  find,"  Matth.  vii.  7,  8.  "  He 
giveth  power  to  the  faint ;  and  to  them  that 
have  no  might  he  increaseth  strength,"  Is.  xl. 
29.  "  They  that  wait  on  the  Lord  shall  re- 
new their  strength,"  Is.  xl.  31.  "I  will  pour 
water  upon  him  that  is  thirsty,  and  floods  up- 
on the  dry  ground,"  Is.  xliv.  3. 

If,  therefore,  you  feel  yourself  a  lost  sin- 
ner,  see  a  beauty  and  sufficiency  in  Jesus, 
have  a  hunger  and  thirst  after  his  righteous- 
ness, and  are  made  willing  to  expect  the  bles- 
sing in  his  way  ;  you  may  look  upon  this  as 
a  token  for  good.  Such  views  and  desires  as 
these  never  are  found  in  any  heart  till  he 
communicates  them.  By  nature  we  are  averse 
and  contrary  to  them.  Give  him  the  glory 
of  what  he  has  begun  ;  and  oppose  your  temp- 
tations, fears,  and  doubts,  with  this  argument, 
drawn  from  your  own  experience,  as  the  wife 
of  Manoah  formerly  reasoned  :  "  If  the  Lord 
had  been  pleased  to  kill  us,  he  would  not 
have  enabled  and  encouraged  us  to  call  upon 
him  ;  neither  would  he  at  this  time  have 
shewn  us  such  things  as  these,"  Judges  xiii. 
23. 


SERMON  HI. 

OF  THOSE  FROM  WHOM  THE  GOSPEL-HOCTHINES 
AUK  HID. 


At  that  time  Jesus  ansuered  and  said,  I  thank 
Ihee,  0  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
because  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the 
wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them  un- 
to babes      Matth.  xi.  25. 

The  judgments  of  God  are  a  great  deep.  He 
does  not  give  us  a  full  account  of  his  matters  ; 
much  less  can  we  by  searching  find  out  him 
to  perfection  ;  yet  if  we  carefully  attend  to 
what  he  has  revealed,  and  apply  his  written 
word  with  humility  and  caution  to  what  pas- 
ses in  ourselves,  and  around  us,  we  may  by  his 
grace  attain  to  some  considerable  satisfaction 
in  things  which  at  first  view  seem  hard  to  be 
understood.  The  subject  of  my  text  is  of  this 
nature.  That  God  should  hide  things  of 
everlasting  consequence  from  any  person, 
sounds  very  harsh ;  but  I  hope,  when  the 
words  are  explained,  we  shall  see,  that  though 
he  acts  as  a  sovereign  in  his  dispensations, 
his  ways  arc  just,  and  good,  and  equal. 

We  have  already   made  an   entrance  upon 
this  attempt.      Besides  some  general  observa 


tions  in  my  first  discourse,  I  endeavoured  to 
shew  you,  in  the  second,  1 .  What  the  things  are 
to  which  our  Lord  refers ;  2.  Where,  and 
in  what  sense  they  are  hid.  I  proceed  now 
to  consider, 

III.    From  whom  they   are  hid, — the  wise 
and  prudent.       It   will,    I   think,  be  readily 
supposed,  that  the  expression  does  not   mean 
those  who  are  truly  so,  and  in  God's  account. 
He  esteems  none  to  be  wise  and  prudent  but 
those  who  are  enlightened  with  his  spiritual 
wisdom,  who  now  serve  and  love  him  in  Christ. 
"  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  (or, 
as   the   word  likewise   signifies,   the  head  or 
principal  part)  of  wisdom"  (Psalm  cxi.  10)  ; 
and  from  such  as  these  he  hides  or  keeps  back 
nothing  that   is  profitable   for   them  :   on  the 
contrary,  that  promise  is  sure,   "  The   secret 
of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear   him  ;   and 
he  will  shew  them  his  covenant,"   Psalm  xxv. 
14.      When  our  Lord  said,   "  The  children  of 
this  world  are  wiser  in  their  generation   than 
the  children  of  light"  (Luke  xvi.  8.),  he  did 
not  mean   they  were  so  absolutely,  for  their 
boasted  wisdom  is  the  merest  folly,  but  only 
that  they  acted  consistently  with  their  own  prin- 
ciples.    The  wise  and  prudent  here  are  either 
those   who  are  wise  in  their  own  eyes,  and 
prudent  in  their  own  sight,  or  those  who   are 
generally  so  reputed  by  the  bulk  of  mankind. 
And  these  two  amount  to  the   same :   for  as 
the  natural  wisdom  of  man  springs  from  the 
same  fountain,  self,   and  is  confined   to  the 
same  bounds,  the  things  of  time  and  sense,  in 
all  alike  (though  there  is  variety  of  pursuits 
within  these  limits,  as  tempers  and   situations 
differ),  men  are  generally   prone   to  approve 
and  applaud  those  who  act  upon  their  own 
principles. 

We  may  take  notice,  then,  as  a  key  to  this 
inquiry,  that  what  is  accounted  wisdom  by  the 
world,  is  not  only  different  from  the  wisdom 
of  God,  but  inconsistent  with  it,  and  oppo- 
site to  it.  They  differ  as  fire  and  water,  light 
and  darkness ;  the  prevalence  of  the  one  ne- 
cessarily includes  the  suppression  of  the 
other.  See  this  at  large  insisted  on  by  St. 
Paul,  in  the  beginning  of  his  first  epistle  to 
the  Corinthians,  the  first,  second,  and  third 
chapters. 

Who,  then,  are  the  wise  and  prudent  in- 
tended in  my  text  ?  May  the  Holy  Spirit  en- 
able every  conscience  to  make  faithful  appli- 
cation of  what  shall  be  offered  upon  this 
head. 

1.  In  the  judgment  of  the  world,  those  are 
wise  and  prudent  persons  who  are  very 
thoughtful  and  diligent  about  acquiring 
wealth,  especially  if  their  endeavours  are 
crowned  with  remarkable  success.  If  a  man 
thrives  (as  the  phrase  is)  from  small  begin- 
nings, and  joins  house  to  house,  and  field  to 
field,  so  that  he  has  lands  to  call  after  his 
own  name,  and  large  possessions  to  leave 
to  his  children,  how  is  he  applauded  (though 


SER.    III. 


THE  GOSPEL  DOCTRINES  ARE  HID. 


355 


at  the  same  time  envied)  by  the  most  who 
know  him  !  I  do  not  deny,  that  a  proper  con- 
cern and  industry  in  our  secular  calling,  is 
both  lawful  and  our  duty  ;  and  I  allow,  that 
the  providence  of  God  does  sometimes  re- 
markably prosper  those  who   depend   on  him 


usually  bear  the  name  of  science  ;  if  he  can 
talk  of  the  magnitudes,  distances,  and  mo- 
tions of  the  heavenly  bodies,  can  foretell  an 
eclipse,  has  skill  in  mathematics,  is  well  read 
in  the  history  of  ancient  times,  and  can  inform 
you  what  is  found   in   books  concerning  the 


in  the  management  of  their  business ;  but  I  folly  and  wickedness  of  mankind  who  lived 
make  no  scruple  to  affirm,  that  where  this  is  some  thousands  of  years  ago  ;  or  if  he  under- 
the  main  concern  (as  some  call  it),  such  wis-  i  stands  several  languages,  and  can  call  a  thing 
dom  is  madness.  Such  persons  are  no  less :  by  twenty  different  names.  It  is  true,  when 
idolaters  than  those  who  worship  stocks  and '  these  attainments  are  sanctified  by  grace,  they 
stones.  And  if  the  things  of  God  are  hid  j  may,  in  some  respects,  have  their  use.  But, 
from  them,  it  is  surely  their  own  fault:  they;  in  general,  the  best  use  a  believer  will  or  can 
do  not  even  complain  of  it  as  a  hardship  ;  I  make  of  them,  is  to  lay  them  down  at  the  foot 
they  have  their  choice,  their  reward,  and  are  of  the  cross.  When  a  man,  possessed  of  a 
satisfied.  They  are  told  that  these  things  are  j  great  quantity  of  these  pebbles,  has  his  con- 
in  Christ,  and  the^e  they  are  content  that  science  awakened,  and  his  understanding 
they  should  remain:  they  see  no  beauty  nor  [  enlightened,  he  is  glad  to  renounce  them  all 
suitableness  in  them,  they  have  no  desire  after  for  the  pearl  of  great  price,  and  to  adopt  the 
him  ;  he  might  keep  his  heaven  and  truths  to  :  apostle's  determination,  "  to  know  nothing 
himself,  if  the\  could  always  have  their  fill  of,  but  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified,"  1  Cor. 
the  world.  They  are  told  that  these  things  i  ii.  2.  This  was  the  effect  when  the  word  of 
are  hid  in  the  scriptures,  but  they  have  neith-  i  God  mightily  grew  and  prevailed,    Acts   xix. 


er  leisure  nor  inclination  to  search  there  for 
them.  Their  time  is  taken  up  with  buying 
and  selling,  building  and  planting,  &c.  O, 
beware  of  this  wisdom  !  "  What  will  riches 
profit  you  in  the  day  of  wrath"  (Prov.  xi.  4), 
at  death,  or  judgment  ?  If  you  live  and  die 
in  this  spirit,  you  will  bemoan  your  choice 
when  it  is  too  late. 

2.  Those  are  accounted  wise  and  prudent, 
who  think  they  have  found  a  way  to  re- 
concile God  and  the  world  together.  If  a 
man  should  attempt  to  fly,  or  to  walk  upon  the 
water,  he  would  be  deemed  a  fool.  How  is  it 
that  this  endeavour,  which  is  equally  impossi- 
ble (and  expressly  declared  so  by  our  Lord), 
should  be  more  favourably  thought  of?  The 
deceitfulness  of  the  heart  and  the  subtilty  of 
Satan  concur  in  this  point.  You  will  have  a 
sort  of  religion,  but  then  you  take  care  not  to 
carry  things  too  far.  You  are  governed  by 
the  fear  and  regard  of  men.  Something  you 
will  do  to  satisfy  conscience,  but  not  too  much, 
lest  you  hurt  your  interest,  disoblige  your 
friends,  or  draw  on  yourselves  reproach,  or  a 
hard  name.  I  must  tell  you  from  the  word 
of  God,  your  attempt  to  halve  things  is  an  a- 
bomination  in  his  sight.  Would  it  not  be 
treason  by  the  law,  to  pay  the  king  an  out- 
ward respect,  and  yet  hold  secret  correspond- 
ence with  his  enemies?  The  decisions  of  the 
word  of  God  are  to  the  same  effect  in  this 
instance.  "  Love  not  the  world,  neither  the 
things  that  are  in  the  world.  If  any  man  love 
the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not 
in  him,"  1  John  ii.  15.  "  Know  ye  not, 
that  the  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  with 
God  ?  Whosoever,  therefore,  will  be  a  friend 
of  the  world,  is  the  enemy  of  God,"  James 
iv.  4. 

a.  A  man  is  deemed  wise,  who  has  con- 
siderable knowledge  and  curiosity  about  na- 
tural   thing?,    and    all    those   subjects  which 


19.  We  may  at  least  say,  that  this  kind  of 
wisdom  is  for  the  most  part  dangerous  and 
blinding  to  the  soul. 

1st,  It  tends  to  feed  and  exalt  self,  to  make 
a  person  something  in  his  own  eyes.  This 
we  are  prone  enough  to  by  nature.  An  in- 
crease of  unsanctified  knowledge  adds  fuel  to 
the  fire. 

2dly,  It  engrosses  the  time  and  thoughts. 
Our  minds  are  narrow,  capable  of  attending 
to  but  few  things  at  once;  and  our  span  is 
short,  and  will  hardly  admit  of  many  excursions 
from  the  main  concern.  If  we  were  to  live 
to  the  age  of  Methuselah,  we  might  pursue 
some  things  which  at  present  are  highly  im- 
proper and  impertinent,  from  this  considera- 
tion alone.  A  man  that  is  upon  an  urgent 
affair  of  life  and  death,  has  no  leisure  for 
amusement.  Such  is  our  situation.  We  are 
creatures  of  a  day.  Time  is  vanishing,  and 
eternity  is  at  stake. 

3dly,  The  delusion  here  is  specious,  and 
not  easily  discovered.  A  person  with  these 
accomplishments  is  not  always  enslaved  to 
money  or  to  sensual  pleasures  :  he  therefore 
pities  those  who  are,  and  comparing  himself 
with  others,  supposes  he  is  well  employed  be- 
cause his  favourite  studies  are  a  check  upon 
his  appetites,  and  prevents  his  selling  himself 
for  gold,  or  running  into  riot  with  the  thought- 
less. Yet  an  attachment  of  this  sort  equally 
blinds  him  with  respect  to  his  true  interest. 
Will  the  knowledge  of  books,  or  men,  or  stars, 
or  flowers,  purify  the  conscience  from  dead 
works,  to  serve  the  living  God  ?  It  is  too 
plain,  that  the  truths  of  the  gospel  are  hid 
from  none  more  effectually  than  from  many 
of  this  character.  None  cast  a  more  daring 
or  public  slight  upon  the  revealed  will  of  God 
than  some  who  are  admired  and  applauded  on 
account  of  their  knowledge  and  learning. 

4.    Your  nice   and    curious  reasoners  and 


356 


OF  THOSE  FROM   WHOM 


disputers,  that  will  see  {i\s  they  profess)  the 
bottom  of  every  thing,  and  trust  to  their  own 
judgment  and  inquiries,  independent  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  are  another  sort  of  wise  per- 
sons from  whom  these  things  are  often  and 
justly  hid.  And  this  character  may  be  found 
in  many,  both  learned  and  unlearned ;  for 
many  have  good  natural  faculties,  who  have 
not  had  the  advantages  of  learning  and  edu- 
cation. But  this  spirit  is  directly  contrary 
to  that  simplicity,  dependence,  and  obedience 
of  faith,  which  the  scriptures  exhort  us  to 
seek  after.      Its  effects  are  various: 

1st,  Some  (and  those  not  a  few)  are  led  to 
reject  the  word  of  God  altogether,  because 
it  evidently  contains  many  things  above  and 
contrary  to  their  vain  imaginations.  And 
herein  they  contradict  the  most  obvious  prin- 
ciples of  that  reason  which  they  lay  claim  to. 
A  revelation  from  God  can  only  be  thought 
necessary  or  probable,  but  on  the  supposition 
that  it  is  to  inform  us  of  something  which  we 
could  not  have  known  without  it.  There- 
fore, to  pretend  to  try  the  scripture-claim  to 
this  character  by  such  criteria  or  marks  as  we 
possess  beforehand,  is  the  same  thing  in  ef- 
fect as  to  determine  to  reject  it  without  any 
trial  at  all. 

2dly,  When  the  scriptures,  as  to  the  letter, 
are  acknowledged  to  be  true,  persons  of  this 
turn,  presuming  themselves  sufficient  judges 
of  the  sense,  are  helped  by  their  ingenuity 
to  explain  away  all  the  sublime  doctrines  of 
truth,  so  as  to  suit  the  prejudices  and  appre- 
hensions of  their  own  carnal  minds.  Thh, 
especially  when  joined  with  a  smattering  of 
learning,  has  been  the  chief  source  of  all  the 
errors  and  heresies  which  have  pestered  the 
church  of  God  in  all  ages.  This  is  a  prin- 
cipal cause  why  the  depravity  of  man  by  na- 
ture, the  deity  and  atonement  of  Christ,  the 
operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  all  the  doc- 
trines of  grace,  have  been  denied  by  men  wise 
in  their  own  eyes,  and  prudent  in  their  own 
sight,  though  evidently  contained  in  the  book 
which  they  profess  to  receive  as  of  divine  in- 
spiration. 

3dly,  Even  where  the  doctrines  of  grace 
have  been  notionally  received,  the  same  spirit 
of  wisdom  can  still  find  occasion  to  work. 
When  there  is  more  knowledge  in  the  head 
than  experience  in  the  heart,  many  and  va- 
rious are  the  evils  that  often  ensue.  Disputes 
and  hard  questions  aie  started,  contentions 
and  divisions  multiplied,  and  people  are  more 
eager  to  perplex  others  than  to  edify  them- 
selves. Thus  the  name  and  counsels  of  God 
are  profaned  by  an  irreverent  curiosity,  and 
the  clear,  express  declarations  of  his  will  dark- 
ened by  words  without  knowledge.  When 
this  natural  wisdom  puts  on  a  spiritual  ap- 
pearance, no  persons  are  more  fatally  deceived, 
or  more  obstinately  hardened.  They  think 
tliey  can  le;irn  no  more,  but  are  wise  enough 
to  teach  every  one ;   they  neglect   the   use  of 


SEA.  III. 

God's  appointed  means  themselves,  and  de- 
spise them  in  others :  they  are  proud,  censo- 
rious, obstinate,  and  full  of  conceit  Take 
care  of  Satan  at  all  times,  but  especially  when 
he  would  transform  himself  into  an  ann-el  of 
light.  There  is  reason  to  think  the  things  of 
God  are  entirely  hid,  as  to  their  power  and 
excellence,  from  some  who  fondly  dream  that 
none  are  acquainted  with  them  but  them- 
selves. 

The  consideration  of  this  subject  may  lead 
to  a  variety  of  improvement.  It  may  teach 
you, 

1.  What  to  fear, — A  .worldly  spirit.  This 
in  a  prevailing  degree  is  inconsistent  with  a 
work  of  grace,  and,  in  whatever  degree  it 
obtains,  or  is  indulged,  will  proportionably 
retard  and  abate  the  light  and  comfort  of 
our  souls.  The  cares  and  pleasures  of  this 
life  are  by  our  Lord  compared  to  thorns 
(Matthew  xiii.  22),  unprofitable  and  pain- 
ful ;  they  produce  no  fruit,  but  they  wound 
and  tear.  Yea,  they  are  thorns  in  the  eyes 
(Josh,  xxiii.  13),  which  will  prevent  the  great 
things  of  God  from  being  perceived. — A  spi- 
rit of  self-dependence.  "  Be  not  wise  in 
your  own  conceits,"  Rom.  xii.  16.  "  If  any 
man  think  that  he  knoweth  an)'  thing,  he 
knoweth  nothing  yet  as  he  ought  to  know," 
1  Cor.  viii.  2.  God  giveth  wisdom  to  the 
lowly,  but  he  confounds  the  devices  of  the 
proud.  His  promises  of  teaching,  leading, 
and  guidiug,  are  made  to  the  meek,  the  sim- 
ple, and  those  who  are  little  in  their  own 
eyes, 

2.  What  to  pray  for, — A  simple,  child-like 
temper,  that  you  may  come  to  the  word  as  to 
the  light,  and  look  beyond  yourselves  for  the 
assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  without  which 
your  most  laboured  inquiries  will  only  mis- 
lead you  farther  and  farther  from  the  truth. 

3.  How  to  examine  yourselves, — Not  by 
your  notions  and  attainments  in  knowledge, 
for  these  you  may  have  in  a  considerable  de- 
gree, and  be  wholly  destitute  of  true  grace. 
The  word  of  God  supposes  it  possible  that 
persons  may  have  great  gifts  (1  Cor.  xiii. 
1 — 3),  flaming  zeal,  and  much  success,  and 
yet,  having  no  true  love  to  God,  be  in  his 
sight  no  better  than  sounding  brass  or  a  tink- 
ling cymbal.  But  if  you  would  know  your 
state,  examine  by  your  prevailing  desires. 
Are  your  notions  of  grace  effectual  to  lead 
you  in  the  path  of  duty  ?  Do  you  hunger 
and  thirst  for  an  increase  of  holiness  ?  Does 
the  knowledge  you  have  of  Christ  lead  you  to 
love  and  trust  him  ?  Are  you  poor  in  spirit  ? 
You  know  nothing  aright  if  you  know  not 
yourselves. 

4.  Ye  that  are  believers  may  see  cause  lo 
praise  the  Lord  for  his  dispensations  towards 
you. 

1st,  Had  you  been  wise  in  men's  esteem, 
you  might  have  continued  fools  to  the  end  of 
your  lives.      If  the  Lord  has   taught   vou  tho 


sek.  nr. 


THE  GOSPEL-DOCTRINES  ARE  HID. 


357 


secret  of  them  that  fear  him  ;  if  he  has  shown   ing  to  make  them  known  to  every  sincere  in 


you  the  way  of  salvation ;  if  he  has  directed 
your  feet  in  the  paths  of  his  commandments  ; 
—then  you  have  the  true  wisdom,  which  shall 
oe  your  light  through  life,  and  in  death  your 
glory.      Therefore, 

2dly,  Be  not  grieved  that  ye  are  strangers 
to  human  wisdom  and  glory.  These  things 
which  others  so  highly  prize,  you  may  resign 
contentedly,  and  say,  Lord,  it  is  enough  if 
thou  art  mine.  Nay,  you  have  good  reason 
to  praise  his  wisdom  and  goodness  for  pre- 
serving you  from  those  temptations  which 
have  ensnared  and  endangered  so  many. 

3dly,   Do  you  desire  more  of  this  true  wis- 
dom ?      Seek  it  in  the  same  way  in  which  you 
have  received   the   first  beginnings.      Be  fre- 
quent  and  earnest  in  secret  prayer.      Study 
the  word  of  God,   and   study  it  not   to  recon- 
cile and  make   it    bend   to  your  sentiments, 
but  to  draw  all   your  sentiments  from   it,  to 
copy  it  in  your  heart,   and  express  it  in  your 
conduct.      Be  cautious  of  paying  too  great  a 
regard  to  persons  and  parties.      One  is  your 
master,  even  Christ.     Stand  fast  in  the  liberty 
with  which   he  has  made  you   free,  and  while 
you  humbly  endeavour  to  profit  by  all,  do  not 
resign  your  understanding  to  any  but  to  him 
who  is  the  only  wise  God,  the  only  effectual 
and   infallible   teacher.      Compare   the  expe- 
rience of  what  passes  within  your  own  breast 
with  the  observations  you  make  of  what  daily 
occurs  around  you,  and   bring  all    your  re- 
marks and  experiences  to   the  touch-stone  of 
God's  holy  word.      Thus  shall  you   grow  in 
knowledge  and  in  grace ;  and,  amidst  the  va- 
rious discouragements  which   may  arise  from 
remaining  ignorance  in  yourselves  or  others, 
take  comfort  in  reflecting  that  you  are  draw- 
ing near  to  the  land  of  light,  where  there  will 
be  no  darkness  at  all.      Then  vou  shall  lujow 


quirer.  This  discovery,  on  the  Lord's  part, 
is  a  revelation,  and  the  character  of  those  who 
obtain  it  is  expressed  by  the  word  babes.  Ot 
the  five  particulars  I  proposed  to  consider 
from  the  text,  these  two  yet  remain  to  be  spo- 
ken to. 

IV.    The  saving  knowledge  of  divine  truth 
is   a  revelation.      Our  Lord   uses   a  parallel 
expression,    when  he   commends  Peter's  con- 
fession of  his  faith,   "  Blessed   art   thou,    Si- 
mon Bar-jona  :   for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not 
revealed  this  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which 
is   in   heaven,"   Matth.  xvi.    17.       Peter  had 
Moses  and  the  prophets,    so   had   the   scribes 
and    the   Pharisees  ;    and  after  their  mannei 
they  were  diligent  in  reading   and    searching 
them.      But  that  he  could  acknowledge  Jesus 
to  be  the   Messiah,  when   they  rejected   him, 
was  because  the  Father  had  revealed  this  truth 
to  him,  and  given  him  a  clearer  knowledge  of 
it  than  he  could  have  received  from  the  writ- 
ten word  alone.     But  it  may  be  proper  to  in- 
quire into  the  meaning  of  this  term.      What 
are  we  here  to  understand  by  revelation  ? 

Sometimes  revelation  is  used  in  an  extra- 
ordinary sense,  as  when  of  old  the  Lord  made 
known  to  his  servants,  the  prophets,  those  doc- 
trines and  events,  which  till  then  were  nei- 
ther heard  nor  thought  of.  Of  this  we  are 
not  now  to  speak,  but  of  that  which  is  com- 
mom  to  all  believers,  and  necessary  to  salva- 
tion. 

Now  this  revelation  supposes  the  things  to 
be  revealed  were  real  and  certain  before,  but 
unknown,  and  not  to  be  found  out  any  other 
way. 

Revelation  is  not  the  creation  or  invention 
of  something  new,   but  the  manifestation  o 
what   was    till    then    unknown.       The    great 
things  of  eternity,  the  glorious  truths  of  the 


as  you   are  known  ;   your   love  and  your  joy    gospel,   are  real  and  certain  in   themselves  al- 


shall  likewise  be  perfect,  and  you  shall  be  sa- 
tisfied with  the  rivers  of  pleasure  which  are  be- 
fore the  throne  of  God,  world  without  end. 


SERMON  IV. 

1HE  NATURE  OF  SPIRITUAL  REVELATION,   AND 
WHO  ARE  FAVOURED  WITH  IT. 

At  that  time  jesus  answered  and  said,  I  thank 
thee,  0  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
because  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the 
wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them 
unto  babes.      Matth.  xi  15 

We  proceed  now  to  the  more  pleasing  part  of 
our  subject.  The  great  things  of  the  gospel, 
though  hid,  are  not  lost :  not  hid  as  in  the 
bottom  of  the  sea  ;  but  he  who  hides  them 
from  the  wise  and  prudent,  is  ready  and  will- 


ready,  and  do  not  begin  to  be  when  we  begin 
to  be  acquainted  with  them  :  yet  till  God  is 
pleased  to  reveal  them  to  the  heart,  we  have 
no  more  spiritual  and  effective  knowledge  of 
them  than  if  they  were  not.  Ignorance  of 
things  very  near  to  us,  and  in  which  we  are 
nearly  concerned,  may  be  from  two  causes  : 

1.  From  a  want  of  light.  Nothing  can 
be  perceived  in  the  dark.  If  you  are  in  a 
dark  room,  though  it  is  richly  adorned  and 
furnished,  all  is  lost  to  you.  If  you  stand  in 
a  dark  night  upon  the  top  of  a  hill  that  com- 
mands a  fine  prospect,  still  you  are  able  to 
see  no  more  than  if  you  were  in  a  valley. 
Though  you  were  in  a  dangerous  place,  with 
pitfalls  and  precipices,  and  thieves  and  mur- 
derers all  around  you,  still  you  might  ima- 
gine yourself  in  safety,  if  you  had  no  light 
with  you. 

2.  It  may  be  from  some  hindrance  or  ob- 
struction between  you  and  the  object.  Thus 
your  dearest  friend,  or  greatest  enemy,  might 


358 


THE  NATURE  OF  SPIRITUAL   REVELATION, 


SER.  IV 


be  within  a  few  yards  of  you,  and  you  know 
nothing  of  it,  if  there  was  a  wall  between 
you. 

These  comparisons  may  in  some  measure 
represent  our  case  by  nature.  God  is  near; 
"  in  him  we  live,  move,  and  have  our  being." 
Eternity  is  near;  we  stand  upon  the  brink  of 
it.  Death  is  near,  advancing  towards  us  With 
hasty  strides.  The  truths  of  God's  word  are 
most  certain  in  themselves,  and  of  the  utmost 
consequence  to  us.  But  we  perceive  none  of 
these  things  ;  we  are  not  affected  by  them, 
because  our  understandings  are  dark,  and  be- 
cause thick  walls  of  ignorance,  prejudice,  and 
unbelief,  stand  before  the  eyes  of  the  mind, 
and  keep  them  from  our  view.  Even  those 
notions  of  truth  which  we  sometimes  pick  up 
by  hearing  and  reading,  are  but  like  windows 
in  a  dark  room ;  they  are  suited  to  afford  an 
entrance  to  the  light  when  it  comes,  but  can 
give  no  light  of  themselves. 

I  think,  therefore,  we  may  conclude,  that 
God's  revealing  these  things  to  us  only  signi- 
fies his  effecting  such  a  change  in  us  by  his 
Holy  Spirit,  as  disposes  and  enables  us  to  be- 
hold them.  He  sends  a  divine  light  into  the 
soul  ;  and  things  begin  to  appear  so  plain, 
we  wonder  at  our  former  stupidity,  that  we 
could  not  perceive  them  before.  By  the  power 
of  his  Spirit,  he  breaks  down  the  walls  which 
prevented  and  confined  our  views ;  and  a  new 
unthought-of  prospect  suddenly  appears  be- 
fore us.  Then  the  soul  sees  its  danger :  "  I 
thought  myself  secure ;  but  I  find  I  am  in 
the  midst  of  enemies.  Guilt  pursues  me  be- 
hind ;  fear,  and  the  snare,  and  the  pit,  are  be- 
fore me;  which  way  shall  I  turn?"  Then 
it  perceives  its  mistake  :  "  While  my  views 
were  confined,  I  thought  there  was  nothing 
but  the  span  of  life  to  take  care  of;  but  now 
I  see  a  boundless  eternity  beyond  it."  It 
obtains  a  glimpse  likewise  of  the  glories  of 
the  better  world,  of  the  beauties  of  holiness, 
of  the  excellency  of  Jesus.  This  light  is  at 
first  faint  and  imperfect,  but  grows  stronger 
by  the  use  of  appointed  means ;  and  as  it  is 
increased,  every  thing  appears  with  a  stronger 
evidence. 

We  may  more  particularly  illustrate  this 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  it  influences  those 
leading  faculties  of  the  soul,  the  understand- 
ing, affections,  and  will.  By  nature,  the  will 
is  perverse  and  rebellious,  and  the  affections 
alienated  from  God :  the  primary  cause  of 
these  disorders  lies  in  the  darkness  of  the  un- 
derstanding. Here,  then,  the  change  begins. 
The  Spirit  of  God  enlightens  the  understand- 
ing, by  which  the  sinner  perceives  things  to 
be  as  they  are  represented  in  the  word  of 
God  ;  that  he  is  a  transgressor  against  the 
divine  law,  and  on  this  account  obnoxious  to 
wrath  ;  that  he  is  not  only  guilty,  but  de- 
praved and  unclean,  and  utterly  unable  either 
to  repair  past  evil,  or  to  amend  his  own 
heart  and  life.      He   sees  that  the  great  God 


might  justly  refuse  him  mercy  ;  and  that  he 
has  no  plea  to  offer    in   arrest   of  judgment. 
This  discovery  would  sink  him  into  despair, 
if  it  went  no  farther  ;   but,  by  the  same  light 
which  discovers  him  to  himself,  he  begins  to 
see  a  suitableness,  wisdom,  and  glory,  in  the 
method  of  salvation  revealed  in  the  gospel. 
He  reads  and  hears   concerning  the  person, 
sufferings,    and   offices  of   Christ,    in  a  very 
different  manner  from  what  he  did  before :  and 
as,  by  attending  to  the  word  and  ministry,  his 
apprehensions  of  Jesus  and  his  understand- 
ing become  more    clear  and  distinct,    a  spi- 
ritual hope  takes  place  and  increases   in  his 
soul  ;  and  the  sure  effects  of  this  is,  he  feels 
his  love  drawn   forth  to  him,  who  so  loved 
him  as  to  die   for   his  sins.      Beholding,    by 
faith,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  bleeding  and 
dying    upon   the    cross ;    and    knowing    for 
whom,  and  on  what  account,  he  suffered,  he 
learns  to  hate,  with  a  bitter  hatred,  those  sins 
which  nailed  him  there.      The  amazing  love 
of  Christ  constrains  him  to  account  all   things 
which  he  formerly  valued,  as  dross  and  dung, 
for  the  excellency  of  the   knowledge  of  his 
Saviour.      Nor  does  his  faith   stop  here ;  he 
views  him  who  once  suffered  and  died,  rising 
triumphant  from  the  tomb,  and  ascending  into 
heaven  in  the  character  of  the  representative, 
friend,  and  forerunner  of  his  people.     Having 
such  a  High-Priest,  he  is  encouraged  to  draw 
near  to  God,  to  claim  an   interest  in  the  pro- 
mises, respecting  the  life  that  now  is,  and  that 
which   is  to  come.      Thus  possessing,  in  the 
beginnings  of  grace,  an  earnest  of  the  glory 
that  shall  be  revealed,  a  real,  universal,  abid- 
ing change  necessarily  takes   place  in  the  af- 
fections.     Now  old  things  are   passed  away, 
and  all  things  become  new  :  the  soul  no  longer 
cleaves  willingly  to  the  dust,   or  can  be  satis- 
fied with   earthly  things,  but  thirsts  for  com- 
munion with  God,   and   an  increase   of  holi- 
ness.     Sin   is   no  longer  consented  to,  or  de- 
lighted in,   but  is  opposed    and    watched   a- 
gainst ;  and  every  unallowed   deviation   from 
the  will  of  God  excites  the  sincerest  grief  and 
humiliation,  and  leads  to  renewed  application 
to   the   blood   and  grace  of  Jesus  for  pardon 
and    strength.       Thus  the    will    likewise  is 
brought  into   an  unreserved    subjection  and 
surrender  to  the  power  of  Christ,  and  acts  as 
freely  in  his  service  as  it  once  did  against  him. 
For   that  what  is  termed  the  freedom  of  the 
human  will  should  consist  in  a  suspended  in- 
difference between  good  and  evil,  is  a  refine- 
ment, which,    however  admired  and  applaud- 
ed by  many,  is  equally  contrary  both  to  sound 
reasoning  and   to  universal  experience.      The 
will,  in  all   persons  and  cases,   is  determined 
by  the  present  dictates  of  the  understanding, 
and  the  bent  of  the  affections. 

By  ascribing  so  much  to  the  Spirit  of  God, 
I  do  not  mean,  as  you  may  perceive  by  what 
I  liave  just  now  said,  to  exclude  his  holy  word, 
or  preached  gospel.       All    these    truths  and 


AND  WHO  ARE  FAVOURED  WITH  IT. 


SEU. IV 

prospects  are  already  contained  in  the  word 
of  God  ;  but  without  the  light  of  the  Spirit 
they  are  not  discerned.  They  are  propound- 
ed to  you  in  the  public  ministry.  We  testify 
again  and  again  the  things  which  we  have  seen 
and  heard  of  the  word  of  life  :  and  when  we 
are  in  some  measure  affected  with  their  evi- 
dence, we  are  ready  to  wonder  how  any  of  you 
can  possibly  avoid  perceiving  them ;  till  we 
remember  how  it  was  with  ourselves,  and  then 
we  know,  by  our  own  experience,  that  we 
must  preach,  and  you  hear  in  vain,  unless  the 
Lord  is  pleased  to  open  your  hearts.  But 
observe, 

1.  The  Spirit  of  God  teaches  and  enlightens 
by  his  word  as  the  instrument.  There  is  no 
revelation  from  him,  but  what  is  (as  to  our 
perception  of  it)  derived  from  the  scriptures. 
There  may  be  supposed  illuminations,  and 
strong  impressions  upon  the  mind,  in  which 
the  word  of  God  has  no  place  or  concern  ; 
but  this  alone  is  sufficient  to  discountenance 
them,  and  to  prove  that  they  are  not  from  the 
Holy  Spirit.      For, 

2.  The  scriptures  are  the  appointed  rule  and 
test,  by  which  all  our  searches  and  discoveries, 
all  our  acquisitions  in  religious  knowledge, 
must  be  tried.  If  they  are  indeed  from  God, 
they  will  stand  this  trial,  and  answer  to  the 
word  as  face  answers  to  face  in  a  glass,  but 
not  otherwise.  "  To  the  law  and  to  the  testi- 
mony :  if  they  speak  not  according  to  this 
word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them," 
Isa.  viii.  20.  If  those  who  despise  all  claims  to 
the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  as  enthu- 
siasm, had  not  been  frequently  informed,  that 
we  expect,  we  acknowledge,  no  internal  revela- 
tion, but  by  the  medium  of  the  word  of  God, 
and  agreeable  to  it,  they  would  be  less  in- 
excuseahle  in  repeating  the  charges  of  folly 
and  infatuation,  which  they  ignorantly  fix 
upon  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  and  all  who  pro- 
fess a  dependence  on  it.  To  those  who  are 
indeed  candid  and  sincere  inquirers  after 
truth,  what  has  been  said  upon  this  part  of 
our  subject,  will,  I  hope,  suggest  the  propriety 
of  two  directions.      From  hence  learn, 

1st,  To  set  a  high  value  upon  the  word  of 
God.  All  that  is  necessary  to  make  you  wise 
to  salvation  is  there,  and  there  only.  In  this 
precious  book  you  may  find  a  direction  for 
every  doubt,  a  solution  of  every  difficulty,  a 
promise  suited  to  every  circumstance  you  can 
be  in.  There  you  may  be  informed  of  your 
disease  by  sin,  and  the  remedy  provided  by 
grace.  You  may  be  instructed  to  know 
yourselves,  to  know  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  in 
the  knowledge  of  whom  standeth  eternal  life. 
The  wonders  of  redeeming  love,  the  glories 
of  the  Redeemer's  person,  the  happiness  of 
the  redeemed  people,  the  power  of  faith,  and 
the  beauty  of  holiness,  are  here  represented 
to  the  life.  Nothing  is  wanting  to  make  life 
useful  and  comfortable,  death  safe  and  desir- 
able, and  to  bring  down  something  of  heaven 


359 


upon  earth.  But  this  true  wisdom  can  be 
found  no  where  else.  If  you  wander  from 
the  scriptures,  in  pursuit  either  of  present 
peace,  or  future  hope,  your  search  will  end  in 
disappointment.  This  is  the  fountain  of  liv- 
ing waters  :  if  you  forsake  it,  and  give  the 
preference  to  broken  cisterns  of  your  own  de- 
vising, they  will  fail  you  when  you  most  need 
them.  Rejoice,  therefore,  that  such  a  trea- 
sure is  put  into  your  hand  :  but  rejoice  with 
trembling.  Remember  this  is  not  all  you 
want :  unless  God  likewise  gives  you  a  heart 
to  use  it  aright,  your  privilege  wiil  only  aggra- 
vate your  guilt  and  misery.  Therefore  re- 
member. 

2dly,  The  necessity  of  prayer.  For  though 
the  things  of  nearest  consequence  to  you  are 
in  the  Bible,  and  you  should  read  it  over  and 
over,  till  you  commit  the  whole  book  to  your 
memory;  yet  you  will  not  understand,  or 
discern  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  unless  the 
Lord  the  Spirit  shews  it  to  you.  The  dis- 
pensation of  the  truth  is  in  his  hand  ;  and 
without  him  all  the  fancied  advantages  of  su- 
perior capacity,  learning,  criticism,  and  books, 
will  prove  as  useless  as  spectacles  to  the  blind. 
The  great  encouragement  is,  that  this  infalli- 
ble Spirit,  so  necessary  to  guide  us  into  the 
way  of  peace,  is  promised  to  all  who  sincere- 
ly ask  it.  This  Spirit  Jesus  is  exalted  to  be- 
stow: and  he  has  said,  "  Whosoever  comeih  to 
me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  him  out."  There- 
fore water  your  reading  with  frequent  prayer. 
We  proceed  to, 

V.  The  characters  of  those  persons  who 
succeed  in  their  inquiries,  and  have  the  things 
of  God  savingly  revealed  to  them  ;  they  are 
called  babes. 

1 .  They  are  for  the  most  part  babes  in  the 
world's  esteem.  They  are  despised  by  the 
wise  and  prudent  for  their  weak  capacities, 
small  attainments,  and  their  seeming  insig- 
nificance in  common  life.  But  the  Lord  does 
not  overlook  any  on  these  accounts.  He  is 
no  respecter  of  persons.  In  the  blessings  of 
his  common  providence,  those  which  are  more 
immediately  from  his  own  hand,  such  as  air 
and  light,  health  and  strength,  the  faculties  of 
sight  and  hearing,  &c.  he  bestows  as  freely, 
and  in  as  great  perfection,  to  the  poor  as  to 
the  rich,  to  the  ignorant  as  to  the  learned. 
And  thus  it  is  with  respect  to  his  grace. 
Our  incapacity  is  founded  in  our  nature,  and 
is  common  to  all,  and  not  in  any  particular 
circumstances.  He  is  as  ready  to  save  the 
mean  as  the  noble.  Many  of  the  great  and 
wise  are  offended  at  this.  As  they  engross  the 
earth,  they  would  willingly  engross  heaven 
also  to  themselves.  But  the  Lord  has  ap- 
pointed otherwise ;  and  it  has  been  one  re- 
proach constantly  attending  the  gospel,  that 
few  but  the  common  people  (Mark  xii.  37. 
John  vii.  48,  49.)  have  thought  it  worth  their 
notice. 

2.  They  are   babes  in   their   own  es»eem. 


THE  NATURE  OF  SPIRITUAL  REVELATION,  &C. 


3G0 

Not  that  some  are  more  humble  than  others 
by  nature,  and  therefore  the  Lord  gives  them 
a  preference  on  that  account,  for  by  nature 
we  are  all  alike,  equally  destitute  of  the  small- 
est good  ;  but  the  expression  teaches  us,  that 
those  to  whom  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  reveal 
these  things,  he  first  empties  and  humbles, 
strips  them  of  all  ground  of  boasting,  and 
brings  them  to  a  dependence  on  himself.  The 
true  believer  is  frequently  compared  to  a  little 
child  ;  and  it  is  easy  to  trace  an  instructive 
resemblance. 

1st,  A  child  or  babe  has  little  knowledge, 
and  its  capacity  and  powers  are  as  yet  very 
feeble.  All  whose  understandings  have  been 
spiritually  enlightened  will  acknowledge  them- 
selves children  in  this  respect.  The  little  they 
know  convinces  them  of  their  ignorance. 
They  are  convinced  that  their  views  of  things 
are  faint,  partial,  confused  ;  that  their  judg- 
ments are  weak ;  that  if  the  Lord  prevents  it 
not,  they  are  very  liable  to  be  imposed  on  by 
the  subtilty  of  Satan,  and  the  treachery  of 
their  own  hearts.  They  feel  that  they  have 
not  in  themselves  sufficiency  to  think  a  good 
♦bought. 

2dly,  A  child  is  teachable.  Conscious  of 
their  own  ignorance,  they  listen  to  all  about 
them,  and  think  every  one  is  qualified  to  teach 
them  something.  Among  men  none  are 
truly  teachable,  but  those  who  know  they 
need  to  be  taught.  The  natural  man,  if  pos- 
sessed of  any  advantages,  thinks  every  one 
needs  his  help.  The  humble  christian  gives 
this  proof,  that  the  confession  he  is  ready  to 
make  of  his  ignorance  is  genuine,  and  from 
his  heart,  that  lie  is  desirous  to  learn  from  all. 
lie  is  swift  to  bear,  slow  to  speak,  and  open 
to  conviction.  Though  he  will  not  assent  to 
every  thing  he  hears  without  proof  or  exami- 
nation, yet  he  is  disposed  to  receive  instruc- 
tion, and  thankful  to  those  by  whom  he  is 
profited.  He  is  fearful  of  being  mistaken, 
of  giving  way  to  prejudices,  and  therefore 
gladly  improves  every  means  of  information. 

3dly,  A  child  is  simple  and  dependent.  He 
does  not  reason,  but  implicitly  receives  what 
he  is  told  by  his  parents,  or  those  whom  he 
thinks  wiser  than  himself.  Such  a  resigna- 
tion, indeed,  the  believer  dares  not  make  of 
his  understanding  to  any  men,  however  high- 
ly he  may  esteem  them  in  the  main  ;  for  he 
has  learned  from  the  word  of  God,  not  to  put 
his  trust  in  man  :  but  this  is  the  desire  of  the 
renewed  heart,  with  respect  to  the  teaching  of 
God's  word  and  Spirit.  He  allows  no  rea- 
soning or  questioning  here ;  nor  will  he  say 
with  Nicodemus,  "  How  can  these  things 
be  ?"  It  is  enough  for  him  that  God  has 
said  it,  and  is  able  to  make  it  good.  This  is 
a  happy  temper.  In  this  way  innumerable 
difficulties  that  arise  from  appearances  and 
sophisms  are  avoided  ;  and  the  mind,  by  faith, 
steers  in  safely  across  the  immense  ocean  of 
conjectures  and    opinions,    which    disputants 


SER.  IT 

'and  reasoneis,  essaying  to  do,  are  sunk  and 
overpowered.  It  is  true,  there  are  various 
degrees  of  this  simplicity  ;  and  in  those  who 
possess  it  in  a  larger  measure,  there  is  a  re- 
maining principle  of  pride  and  unbelief,  which 
costs  them  much  prayer  and  many  conflicts  to 
subdue.  But  this,  in  some  degree,  is  essen- 
tial to  the  character  of  those  who  are  taught 
of  God  ;  they  desire  and  endeavour  to  sub- 
mit wholly  to  his  guidance  and  will  in  all 
things. 

Here,  then,  is  a  proper  topic  for  self-exami- 
nation. Let  each  one  ask  his  heart,  Have  I 
this  simple,  child-like  disposition  ? 

If  you  have,  if  it  is  the  desire  of  your  sou  . 
to  be  taught  of  God,  if  his  word  is  your  rule, 
if  you  depend  on  his  Spirit  to  teach  you  all 
things,  and  to  lead  you  as  it  were  by  the  hand, 
sensible  that,  unless  you  are  thus  led  and 
guided,  you  shall  certainly  go  astray  ;  be 
thankful  for  this,  accept  it  as  a  token  for 
good.  You  were  not  always  so  :  there  was  a 
time  when  you  were  wise  in  your  own  eyes, 
and  prudent  in  your  own  sight.  You  have 
good  warrant  to  hope  that  the  Lord,  who  has 
already  taught  you  to  depend  on  himself,  will 
shew  you  all  that  is  necessary  for  you  to 
know. 

But  if  this  is  not  the  case,  if  you  lean  to 
your  own  understanding,  what  wonder  is  it 
that  you  are  still  walking  in  darkness  and  un- 
certainty ?  Will  you  say,  I  have  read  the 
Bible  diligently;  I  have  taken  no  small  pains 
to  examine  things,  to  see  which  of  the  many 
divisions  that  obtain  among  Christians  is  pos- 
sessed of  the  truth  ;  but  I  am  still  at  a  loss : 
surely,  if  the  tenets  some  plead  forbad  been  in 
the  scriptures,  I  should  have  found  them  there  ? 
I  answer,  without  detracting  from  your  saga- 
city or  your  sincerity,  .your  case  is  easily  ac- 
counted for  from  the  verse  which  we  are  upon, 
if  your  inquiries  are  not  conducted  in  a  hum- 
ble dependence  upon  the  Spirit  of  God.  Too 
many  instances  we  could  produce  of  men, 
who  having  laboured  for  years  in  what  seems 
one  of  the  most  laudable  undertakings,  the  ex  • 
plaining  the  scriptures  for  the  use  of  others, 
have  at  last  been  in  a  remarkable  degree  unset- 
tled themselves;  and  the  only  visible  fruits  their 
reading  and  industry  have  afforded,  have  been 
error,  invective,  and  dissatisfaction ;  so  that 
their  labours  have  been  an  exemplification  of 
the  former  part  of  our  text,  a  proof  in  point 
how  entirely  the  things  of  God  are  often  hid 
from  the  wise  and  prudent. 

You  that  are  seeking  the  Lord,  and  are  lit- 
tle in  your  own  eyes,  rojoice  that  the  dispen- 
sation of  grace  is  in  his  bands.  If  men  had 
the  disposal  of  it,  you  might  perhaps  have 
been  overlooked.  We  should  have  been  ready 
to  have  accepted  the  fair-spoken  young  man 
who  accosted  our  Lord  with  so  much  outward 
respect,  and  had  so  much  to  say  in  his  own 
behalf  (Mark  x.  20)  ;  and  probably  we  should 
have  left  the  thief  upon  the  cross  to  perish  like 


SER.   V. 
a  wretch 


THE  SOVEREIGNTY  Off  DIVINE  GRACE,  &C. 


as  he  deserved.  "  But  the  Lord 
seeth  not  as  man  seeth,"  1  Sam.  xvi.  7.  "  His 
ways  are  higher  than  our  ways,  and  his  thoughts 
than  our  thoughts,"  Isa.  lv.  7,  9.  Therefore 
there  is  encouragement  for  the  meanest  and 
the  vilest.  He  has  excluded  none  but  those 
who  exclude  themselves.  "  Behold,  now  is 
the  accepted  time  ;  behold,  now  is  the  day  of 
salvation  !  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  ways, 
and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts,  and 
let  him  return  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  will  have 
mercy  upon  him,  and  to  our  God,  for  he  will 
abundantly  pardon. 


SERMON  V. 

THE  SOVEREIGNTY  OF  DIVINE  GRACE  ASSERTED 
AND  ILLUSTRATED. 

Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy 
sight.     Matth.  .\i.  26. 

That  the  doctrine  in  the  preceding  verse  is 
true  in  fact,  is  sufficiently  evident  from  com- 
mon observation.  The  greatest  part  of  those 
whom  the  world  esteems  wise  and  prudent, 
and  all  to  a  man  who  think  themselves  so, 
pay  but  small  regard  to  the  truths  of  the  gos- 
pel. They  are  hid  from  their  eyes,  and  re- 
vealed to  babes,  to  those  whom  they  despise 


SGI 
by 


assist  me,  that  I  may  not  darken  counsel 
words  without  knowledge  ! 

Let  us  begin  with  inquiring,  What  might 
be  his  principal  ends  in  sending  his  Son  into 
the  world,  that  we  might  have  life  through 
him  ?      These,  I  apprehend,  were  chiefly  two  : 

1.  The  redemption  and  complete  salvation 
of  all  who  believe.  All  mankind  are  by  na- 
ture in  the  same  state  of  sin  and  misery.. 
But  we  are  told,  that  at  the  great  day  there 
will  be  an  unspeakable  difference  in  the  cir- 
cumstances between  some  and  others.  Many 
will  then  stand  trembling  at  his  left  hand,  to 
whom  the  King  shall  say,  "  Depart."  But 
those  on  the  right  hand  will  hear  those  joyful 
words,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  in- 
herit the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world."  If  you  ask,  To 
what  is  this  difference  primarily  owing  ?  The 
answer  is  provided  :  "  Jesus  loved  them,  and 
washed  them  from  their  sins  in  his  own  blood  ; 
he  redeemed  them  out  of  every  nation,  and 
people,  and  language  ;  they  came  out  of  great 
tribulation,  and  washed  their  robes,  and  made 
them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  :  there- 
fore are  they  before  the  throne."  It  was  then 
for  their  sak.es,  who  should  be  hereafter  found 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,  that  "  God  sent  forth 
his  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the 
law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law, 
that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons." 

2.  But  besides  this,  God  had  another  and  a 
on  account  of  their  ignorance  and  insignifi-  still  higher  end  in  the  work  of  redemption, 
cance.      And  if  a  few  who  are  favoured  with   namely,  the  manifestation   of  his  own  glery. 


considerable  advantages  in  point  of  genius, 
education,  or  rank,  do  receive  the  truth  in  the 
love  of  it,  they  have  been  at  least  taught  that 
they  are  no  better  than  babes,  and  are  glad  to 
count  all  outward  things  but  loss  for  the  ex- 
cellency of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  the 
Lord. 

If  we  could  give  no  other  reason  for  this 
dispensation  of  grace  than  that  which  is  as- 
signed in  our  text,  it  ought  to  be  satisfactory, 
and  would  be  so,  if  it  was  not  for  the  pride 
of  our  hearts.  Surely  that  which  seems  good 
in  the  sight  of  God,  must  be  holy,  and  wise, 
and  good  in  itself.  How  vain  and  presumpt- 
uous is  blinded  man,  who  would  dare  to  reply 
against  his  Maker,  to  charge  his  holiness  with 
injustice,  his  wisdom  with  mistake,  his  good- 
ness with  partiality  !  All  their  vain  cavils  will 
be  silenced  at  the  great  day,  when  the  secrets 
of  all  hearts  are  opened,  and  God  will  be  jus- 
jfied  when  he  condemns.  However,  though 
we  dare  not  venture  too  far  into  the  depths  of 
the  divine  counsels,  yet,  from  the  light  he  has 
afforded  us  in  his  word,  we  may,  in  our  feeble 
manner,  assert  and  prove  that  his  ways  are 
just  and  equal ;  and,  besides  the  argument  of 
his  sovereignty,  that  so  it  has  pleased  him,  he 
has  been  pleased  to  favour  us  with  some  of  the 
reasons  why  it  has  so  pleased  him.  And  this 
is  the  subject  I  propose  to  lead  your  medita- 
tions to   from   these   words.      May  his  Spirit 


It  was  unspeakable  love  to  us  that  he  provid- 
ed the  means  of  salvation  at  all ;  and  we  can- 
not wonder,  much  less  ought  we  to  complain, 
that  in  justice  to  himself  he  appointed  such 
means,  and  such  a  way,  as  that  all  the  praise 
and  glory  of  the  contrivance  should  in  the 
end  redound  to  himself  alone.  In  order  to 
this,  it  was  necessary  that  the  following  things 
should  be  manifested  with  the  fullest  evi- 
dence. 

1  st,  The  greatness  of  man's  depravity,  guilt, 
and  misery  ;  that  it  was  not  a  small  thing, 
but  a  case  worthy  the  interposition  of  al- 
mighty power  and  infinite  grace. 

2dly,  The  utter  insufficiency  of  man  to  re- 
lieve himself;  that  so  God  might  have  the 
whole  honour  of  his  recovery,  and  we  might, 
be  for  ever  debtors  to  his  free  undeserved 
mercy. 

3dly,  That  whereas  there  are,  to  outward 
appearance,  a  great  variety  of  characters  a- 
mong  mankind,  it  was  necessary  the  dispen- 
sation of  his  grace  should  be  so  conducted  as 
to  shew,  that  no  case  was  too  hard  for  his 
power,  or  too  low  and  miserable  for  his  com- 
passion and  condescension. 

Upon  these  grounds  we  may  see  something 
of  his  wisdom  in  the  methods  he  has  appoint- 
ed, and  in  the  subjects  of  his  choice;  why  it  has 
seemed  good  in  his  sight,  to  hide  these  things 
from   the  wise  and  prudent,  and    to    reveal 


862 


THE  SOVEREIGNTY  OF  DIVINE  GRACE 


SF.R.  V. 


them  unto  babes  ;  for  such  reasons  as  these  : 
—1.  To  stain  the  pride  of  all  human  glory  ; 
2.  To  exclude  every  pretence  of  boasting  ;  3. 
That  there  might  be  a  ground  of  hope  pro- 
vided for  the  vilest  and  meanest ;  and,  4.  That 
the  salvation  of  believers  might  be  sure,  and 
not  subject  to  miscarry. 

I.  In  the  first  place,  then,  the  Lord  of 
hosts  hath  proposed  it,  "  to  stain  the  pride  of 
all  human  glory,"  Isaiah  xxiii.  9.  How  much 
men  are  disposed  to  admire  their  own  wisdom, 
learning,  and  fancied  accomplishments,  is  suf- 
ficiently obvious.  But  now  the  pride  of  all  this 
glory  is  stained,  inasmuch  as  it  is  proved  by 
experience  to  be  utterly  useless  in  the  most 
important  concerns.  One  man  has  talents  to 
rule  a  kingdom,  but  is  himself  a  slave  to  the 
vilest  lusts  and  passions.  Another  has  cour- 
age to  face  death  in  a  field  of  battle,  yet,  with 
regard  to  religion,  is  a  mere  coward  :  over- 
awed by  the  feeble  breath  of  the  multitude, 
he  is  both  ashamed  and  afraid  to  practise  what 
his  conscience  convinces  him  is  his  duty.  A- 
nother  almost  pretends  to  count  the  number 
of  the  stars,  and  to  call  them  all  by  their 
names  ;  yet  has  no  more  thought  of  the  God 
that  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  than 
the  beasts  that  perish.  Another  delights  in 
books  and  languages  which  few  can  under- 
stand but  himself;  nothing  so  false  or  fool- 
ish but  he  accounts  it  worth  his  study,  if  it 
has  but  the  stamp  of  antiquity  to  recommend 
it;  only  the  book  of  God  (though  much  more 
ancient  than  all  his  fables),  because  it  may  be 
read  in  plain  English,  is  thrown  by  as  un- 
worthy his  notice.  Another,  who  professes  to 
be  scripture-wise,  perverts  the  scriptures,  and 
abuses  his  own  reason,  to  establish  the  most  ab- 
surd errors,  or  to  overturn  the  plainest  truths. 
Another  amuses  himself  with  setting  forth  the 
praises  of  virtue  and  morality,  while  his  own 
conduct  furnishes  a  standing  proof,  either  of 
the  weakness  of  his  scheme,  or  the  insin- 
cerity of  his  heart.  Time  would  fail  to  re- 
count all  the  achievements  of  these  wise  and 
prudent  men.  But  behold  the  pride  of  them 
all  stained!  In  the  midst  of  all  their  acquisi- 
tions and  inventions,  they  are  strangers  to 
God,  to  themselves,  and  to  peace ;  they  are 
without  Christ,  and  without  hope  :  those 
things  which  alone  are  of  real  importance,  are 
hid  from  their  eyes.  Here  the  desperate  de- 
pravity and  deceitfulness  of  the  heart  are 
manifested,  to  the  glory  of  God ;  and  it  is 
clearly  seen,  that  if  he  does  not  interpose  to 
save,  men  are  wholly  unable  to  save  them- 
selves. 

II.  To  exclude  boasting.  "  Where  is  boast- 
ing then  ?  It  is  excluded."  As  the  apostle 
speaks  in  another  place,  "If  Abraham  was 
justified  by  works,  he  hath  whereof  to  glory" 
(Rom.  iv.  2.):  so,  if  men  were  saved,  either 
in  whole  or  in  part,  by  their  own  wisdom  and 
prudence,  they  might  in  the  same  degree  a- 
scribe   the    glory    and    praise  to   themselves. 


They  might  say,  My  own  power  and  wisdom 
gave  me  this;  and  thus  God  would  be  robbed 
of  the  honour  due  to  his  name.  But  now  this 
is  prevented.  The  word  of  the  Lord  is, 
"  Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wisdom, 
neither  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his  might ; 
let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches;  but 
let  him  that  glorieth  glory  in  this,  that  he 
understandeth  and  knoweth  me,  that  I  am  the 
Lord,"  Jeremiah  ix.  23,  24.  For  whatever 
outward  advantages  some  may  seem  to  pos- 
sess, as  to  the  things  of  God,  they  stand  al- 
together upon  a  level  with  the  meanest.  These 
things  cannot  be  understood  by  any  sagacity 
on  our  parts,  but  must  be  revealed  by  the 
Father  of  lights.  What  could  be  done  in 
this  way,  you  may  collect  from  St.  Paul's  re- 
presentation in  the  first  chapter  of  his  epistle 
to  the  Romans.  Many  of  the  Heathens 
were  eminent  for  wisdom  and  abilities,  and 
made  great  proficiency  in  science;  but  with 
regard  to  the  knowledge  of  God,  the  result 
of  all  their  researches  was  error,  superstition, 
and  idolatry  :  professing  themselves  to  be  wise 
they  became  fools,  and  their  disquisitions  had 
no  other  effect  than  to  leave  them  without  ex- 
cuse. Their  practice  (as  will  always  be  the 
case)  was  correspondent  to  their  principles ; 
and  in  the  midst  of  a  thousand  refinements 
in  theory,  they  were  abandoned  to  the  gros- 
sest and  most  detestable  vices.  If  it  be  said, 
These  had  not  the  light  of  revelation,  we  may 
observe  the  same  or  similar  effects  where  the 
gospel  is  known.  With  this  superior  light, 
men  are  still  equally  vain  in  their  imagina- 
tions ;  and  though  they  do  not  pay  an  out- 
ward and  formal  worship  to  stocks  and  stones, 
they  are  gross  idolaters ;  for  they  serve,  love, 
and  trust  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator. 
When  there  is  a  difference,  it  is  owing  to  grace, 
and  grace  is  acknowledged.  Such  will  readi- 
ly say,  "  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us, 
but  unto  thy  name  be  the  praise,"  Psal.  cxv. 
1 .  Thus  all  pretence  to  boasting  is  effectual- 
ly excluded  ;  and  he  that  can  glory  upon 
good  grounds,  must  glory  only  in  the  Lord. 
If  it  should  be  supposed  that  this  repre- 
sentation of  things  tends  to  discourage  a 
diligent  and  serious  inquiry  after  truth,  I 
answer,  When  rightly  understood,  it  will  have 
just  the  contrary  effect.  What  can  be  more 
suited  to  excite  diligence,  than  to  point  out 
the  method  in  which  it  will  assuredly  be 
crowned  with  success  ?  You  cannot  succeed 
without  the  light  and  assistance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  but  if  conscious  of  this,  and  aware 
of  your  own  insufficiency,  you  will  seek  his 
direction  and  guidance  by  humble  prayer,  it 
shall  be  afforded  you.  If  you  know  not  this, 
you  will  certainly  be  wearied  in  the  end 
by  repeated  disappointments  ;  but  if  you 
depend  upon  his  teaching  and  co-operation  in 
the  use  of  the  means  he  has  appointed,  your 
knowledge  shall  advance  as  the  growing 
lhrht." 


SER.  V.  ASSERTED  AND 

111.  This  method  of  the  divine  procedure 
opens  a  door  of  hope  to  the  vilest  and  the 
meanest.  Let  not  any  be  cast  down  on  ac- 
count of  any  peculiar  incapacity  or  difficulty 
in  their  case.  If  none  but  the  wise  and  the 
learned,  the  rich,  and  those  who  are  esteemed 
well-behaved  and  virtuous,  could  be  saved, 
or  if  these  stood  in  a  fairer  way  for  it  than 
others,  the  greatest  part  of  mankind  might 
give  up  hope,  and  sit  down  in  despair  at  once. 
But  the  case  is    exactly  the    reverse.       It  is 


ILLUSTRATED. 


363 


Then  you  are  in  the  less  danger  of  trusting 
to  your  own  righteousness.  And  as  to  the 
rest,  if  you  are  sick  of  sin,  if  you  sincerely 
desire  to  be  freed,  as  well  from  the  power 
as  from  the  guilt  of  it,  you  stand  as  fair  for 
salvation  as  the  most  sober  and  regular  per- 
son upon  the  earth.  St.  Paul,  speaking  to 
those  who  had  been  partakers  of  the  saving 
grace  of  God,  after  he  had  made  an  enumera- 
tion of  the  blackest  sins  which  man  can  be 
guilty  of,  adds,  "  And  such  were  some  of  you  ; 


true,  the  persons  I  am  speaking  of  are  not  the  but  ye  are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified,  but 
worse  for  these  distinctions,  whenever  they  are  ye  are  justified,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Je- 
sensible  how  vain  and  insufficient  they  are,  and  j  sus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God,"  1  Cor. 
betake  themselves  as  poor,  helpless,  miserable,  vi.  11. 
blind,  and  naked,  to  flee  for  refuge  to  the 
mercy  of  God  in  Christ.  But,  alas !  their 
supposed  qualifications  too  often  harden  them 
to  reject  the  counsel  of  God  against  them- 
selves. They  think  themselves  whole,  and 
therefore  see  not  the  necessity  or  value  of  the 
physician.  You  who  are  sensible  you  have 
nothing  of  your  own  to  trust  to,  take  en- 
couragement ;  the  Lord  has  suited  his  gospel 
to  your  circumstances. 

1.  Are  ye  poor?  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
has  sanctified  the  state  of  poverty  by  taking  it 
on  himself.  He  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head. 
He  will  not  therefore  despise  you  on  this  ac- 
count. Only  pray  that  you  may  likewise  be 
poor  in  spirit.  He  looks  through  all  outward 
distinctions,  and  often  passes  by  a  palace  to 
make  his  presence  and  power  known  in  a  mud- 
walled  cottage.  Perhaps  he  appointed  this 
state  in  mercy  to  your  souls,  that  you  might 
not  be  distracted  with  many  things,  nor  take 
up  with  a  portion  in  this  world.  You  can- 
not be  in  a  lower  or  more  afflicted  state  than 
Lazarus,  who,  while  he  lay  neglected  at  the 
rich  man's  gate,  oppressed  with  want,  and 
full  of  sores,  was  a  child  of  God,  and  the 
charge  of  angels. 

2.  Are  you  ignorant  ?  If  you  cannot  read, 
you  miss  indeed  a  considerable  advantage 
which  you  might  derive  from  the  perusal  of 
his  good  word,  and  I  would  wish  you  to  attain 
it  if  practicable.  If  not,  give  so  much  more 
diligent  attention  to  the  preaching  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  entreat  others  to  read  the  scriptures  to 
you ;  but  especially  pray.  The  Lord  can 
teach  you  without  a  book,  and  make  up  for 
every  defect.  It  is  very  possible  for  you  to 
attain  to  know  and  love  God,  to  love  your 
neighbour,  to  rejoice  in  Christ,  to  keep  his 
precepts,  to  be  content  with  your  station,  to 
live  by  faith,  and  to  die  with  comfort,  though 
you  cannot  distinguish  one  letter  from  another. 
The  prophet  Isaiah,  in  the  prospect  of  gospel, 
times,  gives  a  description  of  the  way  of  salva- 
tion, which  is  peculiarly  suited  for  your  com- 
fort. "  And  a  high  way  shall  be  there,  and 
it  shall  be  called  the  way  of  holiness ;  the  way- 
faring men,  though  fools,  shall  not  err  there- 
in," Isa.  xxxv.  8. 

3.  Have  you  been  notorious,  open  sinners  ? 


IV.  In  this  way  the  salvation  of  believers 
is  sure.  If  it  depended  on  any  thing  in  man, 
it  might  miscarry.  Man's  boasted  wisdom  is 
soon  changed.  A  few  hours  of  a  fever,  a 
small  blow  on  the  head,  may  change  a  wise 
man  into  a  fool.  "  But  it  is  of  grace,  to  the 
end  that  the  promise  might  be  sure  to  all  the 
seed."  Rom.  iv.  16.  Adam  had  a  stock  of 
wisdom,  yet  when  he  was  trusted  with  his  own 
happiness,  he  could  not  preserve  it.  But  the 
second  Adam  is  all-sufficient.  Our  depend- 
ence is  upon  him.  To  those  who  are  babes, 
he  is  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and 
all  that  they  want.  If  this  concern  had  been 
left  to  the  wisdom  of  man,  it  is  most  probable 
that  Christ  would  have  lived  and  died  in  vain, 
without  a  single  real  disciple.  But  now  the 
dispensation  of  grace  is  in  his  hands,  we  are 
sure  that  some  will  believe  in  him ;  and  we 
are  likewise  sure,  that  those  who  truly  do  so 
shall  never  be  ashamed  of  their  hope. 

Now,  from  what  has  been  said, 

1.  Inquire  what  is  the  temper  of  your  minds 
witli  regard  to  this  appointment.  Our  Lord 
rejoiced  in  it  as  the  wise  and  holy  will,  the 
good  pleasure  of  his  heavenly  Father.  If 
you  are  displeased  at  it,  is  it  not  a  proof  that 
you  have  not  the  mind  which  was  in  Christ 
Jesus  ?  If  God  wills  one  thing,  and  you  will 
another,  where  must  the  contention  end  ?  To 
what  purpose,  or  with  what  pretence  can  you 
use  that  expression  in  the  Lord's  prayer,  "  Thy 
will  be  done,"  when  in  effect  your  hearts  rise 
with  enmity  against  it  ?  This  is  one  topic  from 
whence  we  may  confirm  the  declaration  of  scrip, 
ture,  that  man  by  nature  is  not  only  a  trans- 
gressor of  the  law,  but  an  enemy,  yea  enmity 
itself,  against  God,  Rom.  viii.  7.  They  mav 
pay  some  profession  of  regard  to  the  power 
that  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  the  sea, 
and  the  fountains  of  water,  while  they  wor- 
ship they  know  not  what,  according  to  their 
own  vain  and  dark  imaginations.  But  the  at- 
tributes and  characters  of  God  revealed  in  scrip- 
ture, his  holiness,  justice,  truth,  and  sove- 
reignty, they  cannot  bear.  They  are  enemies 
to  the  declared  strictness  of  his  moral  govern- 
ment, and  enemies  to  the  methods  by  which 
he  has  proposed  to  communicate  his  grace. 
But  he  is  God,  and  who  can  controul  him  ? 


364 


OF  THE  PERSON   OF  CHRIST. 


SEH.  VI. 

he  would  leave  nothing  undone  that  might 
encourage  us  to  come  to  him,  and  find  rest  for 
our  souls.  May  his  gracious  Spirit  enable  me 
to  speak  aright,  and  so  open  your  hearts  to  un- 
derstand what  may  be  said  upon  this  high  sub- 
ject, that  we  may  have  joy  and  peace  In  believ- 
ing ! 

The  words  contain  a  threefold  declaration : 

1.  Of  his  person:  ''  No  man  knoweth  the 
Son,  but  the  Father ;  neither  knoweth  any 
man  the  Father,  save  the  Son." 

2.  Of  his  authority:  "  All  things  are  de- 
livered to  me  of  my  Father." 

3.  Of  his  office,  summarily  intimated  in  the 
expression,  "  He  to  whomsoever  the  Son  will 
reveal  him." 

To  treat  these  points  in  their  proper  extent 
would  be  a  subject  more  than  equal  to  the  abi- 
lities and  life  of  man.  Much  would  be  left 
unsaid  at  last.  We  cannot  order  our  speech 
by  reason  of  darkness.  This  is  a  theme  fit  for 
an  angel's  tongue  :  the  most  exalted  angel,  or 
all  the  angels  in  heaven,  would  be  unable  to 
comprehend  it,  for  it  is  infinite,  as  our  text 
declares  :  "  None  knows  the  Son,  but  the  Fa- 
ther." Here  we  are  too  prone  to  think  highly 
of  our  own  knowledge;  but  when  we  arrive 
in  yonder  world  of  light,  to  see  him  as  he  is, 
we  shall  be  ashamed  of  the  highest  conceptions 
we  had  of  him,  and  of  our  most  laboured  at- 
tempts to  express  them,  while  we  were  impri- 
soned in  this  distant  land.  Then  we  shall  say, 
with  the  queen  of  Sheba,  "  Behold,  the  half 
(the  thousandth  part)  was  not  told  us."  In 
the  mean  time  he  is  pleased  to  accept  our  im- 
perfect stammerings,  to  assist  our  feeble  in- 
quiries, and  does  not  disdain  (as  he  justly 
might)  to  hear  us  take  his  name  into  our  pol- 
luted lips. 

I.  The  inconceivable  iignity  of  his  person 
is  pointed  out  by  two  expressions : 

1.  "  No  man"  (or  rather,  as  it  might  be 
rendered  here  and  in  many  other  places,  No 
one*)  knoweth  the  Father,  but  the  Son."  No 
one — 

1st,  Not  the  wisest  man  in  a  state  of  na- 
ture. Various  degrees  of  knowledge  there  are 
amongst  the  sons  of  men.  There  is  a  great 
difference  between  man  and  man  ;  between  one 
who  knows  not  his  letters,  or  any  tiling  beyond 
the  bounds  of  his  own  village,  and  another  who 
has  a  large  acquaintance  with  arts  and  sciences, 
history  and  languages,  and  has  surveyed  the 
manners  and  boundaries  of  many  nations.  But 
with  regard  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  the 
pardon,  and  save  them  all,  he  condescends  in  philosopher  and  the  shepherd,  the  king  and  the 
this  verse  (as  it  were)  to  open  his  commission,  beggar,  are  just  upon  a  level.  Of  two  blind 
to  instruct  us  in  his  own  personal  dignity,  1  men,  one  may  know  many  things  more  than 
and  to  communicate  to  us  the  example  and  the  other,  but  with  regard  to  the  knowledge 
unlimited  authority  which  he  has  received  from  !  of  light  and  colours,  they  will  be  both  igno- 
God  to  treatwith  rebels.    He  knows  what  hearts  '  rant  alike. 


Who  can  say  unto  him,  What  hast  thou  done  ? 
You  must  either  submit  to  his  golden  sceptre 
in  time,  or  his  rod  of  iron  will  fall  upon  you 
for  ever. 

2.  Does  it  not  appear  from  hence,  that  the 
doctrine  of  free  sovereign  grace  is  rather 
an  encouragement  to  awakened  and  broken- 
hearted sinners  than  otherwise  ?  If  you  are 
most  unworthy  of  mercy,  and  destitute  of 
every  plea,  should  you  not  be  glad  to  hear, 
that  the  Lord  does  not  expect  worthiness  in 
those  whom  he  saves,  but  that  he  himself  has 
provided  the  only  plea  which  he  will  accept, 
and  a  plea  which  cannot  be  over-ruled,  the 
righteousness  and  mediation  of  his  well-be- 
loved Son  ? 


SERMON  VI. 

OF  THE  PERSON  OF  CHRIST. 

All  things  are  delivered  unlo  me  of  my  Fa- 
ther :  and  no  man  knoweth  the  Son,  but  the 
Father ;  neither  knoweth,  any  man  the  Fa- 
ther, save  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the 
Son  will  reveal  him.     Matth    xi.  27. 

The  two  preceding  verses  have  led  us  to  con- 
sider grace  (if  I  may  so  speak)  in  the  unfa- 
thomable depths  of  the  sovereign  will  and  good 
pleasure  of  God.  In  this  verse  our  Lord 
calls  us  to  the  contemplation  of  his  own  glo- 
rious person,  authority,  and  fulness.  In  him 
grace  is  treasured  up  as  in  a  repository  for  com- 
munications, to  be  dispensed  to  needy  perish- 
ing sinners. 

When  an  ambassador  is  deputed  from  an 
earthly  prince,  to  transact  some  business  of 
great  importance,  he  produces  his  commission 
and  authority,  without  which  all  he  could  pro- 
pose would  be  little  regarded ;  and  those  who 
are  most  honoured  and  attended  to  are  en- 
trusted with  full  powers,  that  is,  with  a  liberty 
to  act  and  propose  as  occasions  offer,  without 
farther  instructions,  and  with  full  security  that 
the  king  will  ratify  and  confirm  whatever  they 
agree  to,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  he  had  done 
it  in  his  own  person.  Thus  (if  we  may  pre- 
sume to  compare  small  things  with  great)  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  great  messenger  of  the 
Father's  love,  before  he  invites  every  weary, 
heavy-laden  sinner  to  come  to  him,  with  a 
gracious  assurance  that   he  will  receive,  and 


of  unbelief  we  have  ;  how  greatly  an  awaken- 
ed conscience  is  terrified  with  guilt ;  how  busy 
Satan  is  to  urge  us  to  question  either  his  abi- 
lity or  his  willingness  to  save  •   and  therefore 


Some  of  you  perhaps  think  yourselves  wiser 
than  many  of  your  neighbours.      But  I  can- 

*  Quint- 


OF  THE  PERSON  OF   CHRIST. 


SER.  VI. 

not  too  often  remind  you,  that  if  you  know 
not  Christ,  all  your  wisdom  is  folly,  and  you 
will  find  it  so  at  last. 

2dly,  Neither  do  his  own  people  know  him 
in  the  sense  of  the  text.  Some  knowledge  of 
him  indeed  they  have,  which  is  their  differ- 
encing character  from  the  world.  But  how 
small  a  portion  !  That  they  know  him  a  lit- 
tle is  plain,  because  they  love  him  and  trust 
him  ;  but  how  little,  is  plain  likewise,  because 
their  love  is  so  faint,  and  their  trust  so  feeble. 
Their  doubts,  fears,  complaints,  and  back- 
slidings,  are  so  many  mournful  proofs  that 
they  are  but  poorly  acquainted  with  him,  and 
sufficiently  evidence  that  a  great  part  of  what 
we  account  our  knowledge,  is  not  real  and  ex- 
perimental, but  notional  only.  The  literal 
sense  of  what  we  read  concerning  Jesus  is  at- 
tainable by  study  and  human  teaching ;  but 
the  spiritual  import  can  only  be  received  from 
him  who  teaches  the  heart,  who  increases  it  in 
us  by  the  various  exercises  and  dispensations 
we  pass  through  ;  and  the  best  have  much  more 
to  learn  than  they  have  already  attained.  There 
are  indeed  happy  moments  when  he  manifests 
himself  to  the  eye  of  faith,  in  his  glory  and  in 
his  love,  as  he  did  to  Peter  on  the  mount,  and 
to  Thomas,  when  a  sight  of  his  wounds  con- 
quered his  unbelief,  and  made  him,  in  a  trans- 
port of  joy,  cry  out,  "  My  Lord,  and  my  God." 
But  these  visits,  though  they  have  a  powerful 
influence  to  conquer  sin  and  fear,  are  tran- 
sient ;  and  when  the  cause  is  withdrawn,  there 
is  a  proportionable  abatement  in  the  effect.  The 
knowledge  of  Christ,  in  the  present  life,  may 
be  compared  to  the  knowledge  which  a  shep- 
herd has  of  the  sea,  from  having  viewed  it  from 
the  top  of  a  cliff.  In  a  sense,  it  may  be  said 
he  has  seen  the  sea  ;  but  how  little  has  he  seen 
in  comparison  of  what  lies  beyond  the  reach 
of  his  eye  !  How  inadequate  is  such  a  prospect 
to  give  him  an  idea  answerable  to  the  length, 
and  breadth,  and  depth  of  the  immense  ocean  ! 
Nay,  farther, 

3dly,  The  glorified  saints  and  holy  angels, 
who  behold  as  much  of  his  glory  as  creatures 
can  bear,  do  not  know  him  as  he  is.  They 
are  filled  with  his  power  and  love.  He  com- 
prehends them,  but  they  cannot  him.  A  ves- 
sel cast  into  the  sea,  can  but  receive  accor- 
ding to  its  capacity.  Thus  are  they  filled 
with  his  fulness  till  they  can  hold  no  more ; 
but  his  glory  still  remains  infinite  and  bound- 
less. The  glorious  seraphim,  therefore,  are 
represented  as  hiding  their  faces  with  their 
wings,  unable  to  bear  the  splendour  of  his 
presence.      For, 

\thhj,  "  None  knows  the  Son  but  the  Fa- 
ther." This  proves  his  divinity.  God  only 
knows  himself.  The  Son  is  his  eternal  Word, 
his  eternal  Wisdom,  and  therefore  beyond  the 
highest  reach  of  finite  understanding. 

2.  "  None  knows  the  Father  but  the  Son." 
Here  I  might  repeat  the  former  particulars. 


365 


his  works,  much  in  his  word,  more  still  in  his 
grace.  All  men  have  some  faint  perceptions 
of  his  power  and  presence.  He  manifests 
himself  to  his  own  family  below,  still  more  to 
his  family  above ;  yet,  after  all,  he  is  said  to 
dwell  in  light  which  no  man  can  approach. 
None  knows  him  but  the  Son,  and  he  knows 
him  perfectly,  knows  the  incomprehensible 
God;  therefore  he  is  God  himself.  As  he 
said  to  Philip,  "  He  that  hath  seen  me,  hath 
seen  the  Father,"  John  xvi.  9. 

Now,  if  we  had  no  other  proof  of  this  doc- 
trine but  the  passage  before  us,  since  this  is 
the  declaration  of  the  true  and  faithful  wit- 
ness, it  should  be  accepted  as  decisive.  But 
as  this  is  the  great  mystery  of  godliness,  the 
pillar  and  ground  of  truth,  the  foundation  of 
all  our  hopes,  I  shall  take  this  opportunity  to 
confirm  it  more  largely  from  other  concurrent 
testimonies  of  scripture. 

By  the  Son,  I  mean  the  person  who  spake 
these  words  :  he  who  was  foretold  by  the  pro- 
phets :  who  in  the  fulness  of  time  came  into 
the  world  ;  who,  with  respect  to  his  divine 
nature,  is  called  "the  Word"  (John  i.  1.), 
and,  with  respect  to  his  human  nature,  was 
born  of  the  Virgin  Mary  :  he  who  was  known 
upon  earth  by  the  name  of  Jesus;  whose  his- 
tory is  related  by  the  evangelists  ;  who  suffer- 
ed a  shameful  and  accursed  death  upon  the 
cross,  without  the  gates  of  Jerusalem.  Of 
him  we  affirm,  "  That  he  was,  and  is,  the  true 
God,  and  eternal  life,"  1  John  v.  20.  In  proof 
of  this,  besides  what  has  been  already  said,  let 
the  following  particulars  be  considered, 

1st,  That  the  proper  and  peculiar  titles  of 
God  are  attributed  to  him  frequently  in  the 
scriptures ;  so  frequently,  that  it  would  be  a 
very  long  task  to  transcribe  them  all.  Let  a 
few,  the  application  of  which  to  Christ  is  ex- 
press and  indisputable,  suffice  for  a  specimen  : 
"  The  Word  was  God"  (John  i.  1)  :  "  His 
name  shall  be  called  Emmanuel,  that  is,  God 
with  us"  (Matth.i.  23) :  "Jehovah  our  Right- 
eousness" (Jer.  xxiii.  6)  :  "  The  mighty  God," 
Isa.  ix.  6.  In  the  same  style  he  speaks  of 
himself  by  his  servants  the  prophets  and  a- 
postles :  "  Thy  maker  is  thine  husband,  the 
Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name ;  and  thy  Redeem- 
er the  Holy  One  of  Israel ;  the  God  of  the 
whole  earth  shall  he  be  called"  (Is.  liv.  5)  : 
"  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the 
ends  of  the  earth  ;  for  I  am  God,  and  there 
is  none  else"  (Is.  xlv.  22):  "I  am  Alpha 
and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the 
first  and  the  last,  the  Almighty,"  Rev.  i.  8, 
11. 

Amidst  the  variety  of  testimonies  which 
might  be  adduced  to  this  purpose,  there  are 
two  which  are  peculiarly  observable.  The 
Psalmist  expresses  the  majesty,  power,  and 
immutability  of  God,  in  these  sublime  terms : 
"  Of  old  thou  hast  laid  the  foundations  of 
the  earth,  and  the  heavens  are  the  work  of 
God  has  made  something  known  of  himself  in  !  thine  hands.       They  shall  perish,    but    thou 


3G6 


OF  THE  PERSON   OF  CHRIST. 


SEK.  VI 


shalt  endure  ;  yea  all  of  them  shall  wax  old 
like  a  garment  :  as  a  vesture  thou  shalt  change 
them,  and  they  shall  be  changed  :  but  thou 
art  the  same,  and  thy  years  shall  have  no  end," 
Psal.  cii.  25 — 27.  Surely  none  can  deny 
but  this  ascription  must  be  incommunicably 
due  to  the  Almighty  ;  yet  the  author  of  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (Heb.  i.  10 — 12.;  ap- 
plies these  words  directly  to  the  Son  of  God. 
The  other  passage  I  intend  is  the  vision  of 
Isaiah,  recorded  in  the  sixth  chapter ;  which 
not  only  proves  the  point  in  hand,  but  irre- 
fragably  establishes  the  doctrine  of  the  Tri- 
nity. For  the  Lord  of  hosts,  whom  Isaiah 
saw  and  heard,  is  affirmed  by  St.  John  to 
have  been  the  Son  (John  xii.  41.),  by  St. 
Paul  to  have  been  the  Holy  Ghost,  Acts 
xxviii.  25.  Isaiah,  therefore,  had  a  manifesta- 
tion of  what  was  afterwards  in  explicit  words 
set  forth  to  the  faith  of  the  church,  "that 
there  are  three  that  bear  record  in  heaven,  the 
Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and 
that  these  three  are  one,"  1  John  v.  7. 

2dly,  His  works  upon  earth  were  such  as 
necessarily  suppose  a  divine  power.  Who  can 
controul  the  elements  (Mark  iv.  39. ),  raise 
the  dead  (John  xi.  43.),  command  the  devils 
(Luke  iv.  36.),  search  the  heart,  and  forgive 
sin  (Mark  ii.),  but  God  alone?  If  it  should 
be  said,  that  many  of  his  servants  and  follow- 
ers wrought  miracles  equal  to  his  by  a  dele- 
gated power,  and  therefore  this  argument  is 
not  conclusive  ;  I  answer,  There  is  an  appar- 
ent difference  in  the  manner  of  their  working, 
which  proves  the  disparity  between  them  and 
him.  They  could  do  nothing  but  in  his  name, 
and  by  his  power ;  they  usually  addressed 
themselves  to  him  by  prayer,  and  always  as- 
cribed the  praise  and  glory  to  him,  Acts  iii. 
12 — 16.  But  his  power  was  independent, 
sovereign,  and  unlimited  :  "  he  spake,  and  it 
was  done;  he  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast." 
At  the  breath  of  his  rebuke,  the  raging  tem- 
pest and  the  boisterous  seas  were  instantly 
hushed  into  a  perfect  calm.  The  deaf  heard 
his  voice,  and  the  dead  came  forth  from  their 
graves,  at  the  first  call. 

3dly,  His  works  of  office  can  be  performed 
by  none  but  God.  This  might  be  proved 
concerning  each  of  the  offices  he  exercises  in 
consequence  of  his  high  character  as  Media- 
tor between  God  and  man  j  but  I  shall  speak 
only  of  two. 

(1.)  It  is  his  office  to  keep  his  believing 
people  in  this  present  evil  world.  To  act 
the  part  of  a  shepherd  (Matth.  ii.  6.  rrcifiatu) 
towards  them,  to  supply  their  wants  of  every 
kind,  to  direct  their  steps,  to  controul  their 
enemies,  to  over-rule  all  things  for  their  good, 
and  to  be  a  very  present  help  in  every  time 
of  trouble  ;  to  execute  this  important  charge, 
it  is  necessary  that  his  knowledge,  his  com- 
passion, his  power,  and  his  patience,  must  be 
boundless.  His  eye  must  be  every  moment 
upon  all  their  cases  at  once;  his  ear  must  be 


incessantly  open  to  receive  the  prayers  of  all 
people,  nations,  and  languages  ;  his  arm  must 
be  continually  stretched  out  to  support  so  many 
that  stand,  to  raise  up  so  many  that  fall,  to  af- 
ford seasonable  and  suitable  supplies,  at  the 
same  instant,  to  the  distresses  and  temptations 
of  millions.  If  this  is  the  office  he  has  under- 
taken, and  if  he  is  acknowledged  sufficient 
and  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  it,  what  more 
undeniable  evidence  can  be  given,  that  he  has 
all  the  attributes  we  can  conceive  as  essential 
and  peculiar  to  the  Godhead  ?  The  provoca- 
tions, defects,  and  backslidings,  of  his  people, 
are  likewise  so  numerous,  so  often  repeated,  and 
attended  with  such  black  aggravations,  that  if 
he  was  not  God,  invincible  in  goodness,  un- 
changeable in  purpose,  if  his  mercy  was  not,  as 
is  his  majesty,  infinite,  he  would  be  wearied 
out,  and  provoked  to  cast  them  off  for  ever. 
The  great  reason  why  he  bore  with  his  people 
of  old,  holds  equally  strong  with  respect  to  us  : 
"  I  am  the  Lord,  I  change  not,  therefore  ye 
sons  of  Jacob  are  not  consumed,"  Mai.  iii. 
6. 

(2.)  The  like  may  be  said  of  the  high  office, 
character,  and  appointment,  he  has  received,  to 
be  the  Judge  of  the  world,  of  angels,  and  of 
men.  For,  besides  that  it  is  quite  incredible, 
that  God,  who  is  jealous  of  his  glory,  should 
intrust  this  most  illustrious  prerogative  to  any 
mere  creature,  it  seems  evident  at  first  sight, 
that  no  creature  can  be  possibly  qualified  for 
the  discharge  of  it.  To  the  great  and  final 
Judge  all  hearts  must  be  open,  all  desires 
known,  and  every  secret  disclosed.  He  must 
be  intimately  acquainted  with  the  counsels 
and  plans  that  lay  hid  in  God  from  eternity  ; 
he  must  have  a  sovereign,  comprehensive,  in- 
tuitive view  of  every  event,  of  every  design, 
that  took  place  within  the  limits  of  time  and 
creation  ;  he  must  have  unlimited  authority  to 
pronounce  the  decisive  sentence  which  will 
fix  the  everlasting  state  of  all  intelligent  be- 
ings, and  uncontrouled  power  for  the  immedi- 
ate and  irrevocable  execution  of  his  supreme 
decree.  And  what  higher  than  this  can  our 
most  laboured  conceptions  reach  of  the  Al- 
mighty God  !  If  it  be  said,  that  Christ  will 
act  by  a  delegated  authority,  we  answer,  It  is 
a  contradiction  to  say,  that  God  can  delegate 
his  omniscience  to  a  creature ;  and  without 
this  attribute,  any  assignable  measure  of  wis- 
dom or  power  would  be  insufficient.  The 
power  and  fulness  of  the  Godhead  must  so  re- 
side in  the  Judge,  as  justly  to  denominate  him 
to  be  "  God  over  all  blessed  for  ever,"  Rom. 
ix.  5.  And  this  the  scriptures  assure  us  is 
the  casein  fact.  The  man,  Christ  Jesus,  who 
is  appointed  the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead,  is 
so  intimately  and  essentially  united  to,  and  in- 
habited by  the  Deity  (Col.  ii.  9.),  that  he  is 
the  proper  object  of  our  faith,  as  the  true  God, 
and  eternal  life. 

4thly,  The  honours  he  claims  from    us  af- 
ford a  further  argument  for  his  proper  divini- 


SER.  VII. 

ty.      He  challenges 


OF  THE  AUTHORITY  OF  CHRIST. 


361 


our  supreme  love,  obe- 
dience, trust,  and  worship  :  "  Ye  believe  in 
God,  believe  also  in  me"  (John  xiv.  1.); 
"  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man, 
and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you" 
(John  vi.  23.) ;  "  That  all  men  should  hon- 
our the  Son  even  as  they  honour  the  Father" 
(John  v.  23.);  "  My  sheep  know  my  voice, 
and  I  know  them,  and  they  follow  me ;  and 
I  give  unto  them  eternal  life"  (John  x.  27, 
28.);  "I  am  the  light  of  the  world"  (John  viii. 
12. )  ;  "  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life" 
(John  xi.  25).  If  we  could  suppose  an  apostle 
or  an  angel  speaking  of  himself  in  terms  like 
these,  requiring  our  unlimited  dependence, 
and  directing  our  hope  and  love  to  centre 
wholly  on  him,  we  might  justly  reject  him  as 
a  blasphemer.  How  the  apostles  understood 
these  expressions,  and  that  they  did  not  mis- 
take our  Lord's  meaning,  is  evident  from 
the  behaviour  of  Thomas.  He  saluted  his 
risen  Saviour,  "  My  Lord  and  my  God," 
John  xx.  28.  Had  his  transport  of  joy  car- 
ried him  too  far  in  giving  this  ascription  to 
Jesus,  he  would,  doubtless,  have  corrected 
him,  and  provided  us  with  a  caution  against 
committing  the  like  fault.  For  who  that  has 
tasted  his  love,  and  been  made  partaker  of  the 
power  of  his  resurrection,  can  avoid  adoring 
him  with  the  utmost  homage  their  words  can 
express,  or  their  hearts  conceive  ! 

From  hence  we  may  take  occasion  to  ob- 
serve, 

1.  His  wonderful  condescension,  that  for 
us,  and  our  salvation,  he  stooped  so  low,  drew 
a  vail  over  his  eternal  glories,  and  appeared  in 
the  form  of  a  servant,  to  suffer,  and  to  die  : 
"  Though  he  was  rich,  for  our  sakes  he  be- 
came poor,  that  we  through  his  poverty  might 
be  made  rich,"  2  Cor.  viii.  9.  This  was  love 
passing  knowledge,  to  pour  out  his  blood,  his 
life,  his  soul,  for  those,  who  by  nature  and 
practice,  were  enemies  and  rebels,  disobedient 
to  his  government,  and  averse  to  his  grace. 

2.  What  a  blessed  and  glorious  hope  is  set 
before  awakened  sinners  !  Add  to  the  con- 
sideration of  his  person,  what  we  have  yet  to 
offer  from  the  word  of  God  concerning  his 
authority  and  purpose,  and  say  if  these  truths 
do  not  give  sufficient  encouragement  to  be- 
lieve and  be  saved. 

3.  How  awful  must  be  the  case  of  those 
who  shall  be  found  in  final  rebellion  against 
him,  and  die  in  a  state  of  impenitence  and 
unbelief !  Alas  !  poor  obstinate  sinners,  that 
have  stood  out  so  long,  will  you  still  harden 
vour  hearts,  and  stop  your  ears,  and  rush  (like 
the  thoughtless  horse  in  the  battle)  upon  your 
own  destruction  ?  Do  you  consider  whom 
you  are  opposing  ?  "  Did  ever  any  harden 
himself  against  the  Lord  and  prosper  ?"  Job 
ix.  4.  "  Have  you  an  arm  like  God,  or  can 
you  thunder  with  a  voice  like  him  ?"  Job  xl. 
Where  will  you  stand,  or  what  will  you  say, 
"  when    he    shall  arise  to  shake  terribly  the 


earth  ?  when  he  shall  be  revealed  in  fire,  to 
take  vengeance  on  all  that  know  not  God, 
and  obey  not  the  gospel  ?"  2  Thess.  i.  8.  O, 
kiss  the  Son,  throw  down  your  arms,  and  fall 
prostrate  at  his  footstool,  lest  his  anger  awake, 
and  you  perish  without  hope  ;  for  in  a  little 
time  the  great  day  of  his  wrath  will  be  reveal- 
ed, which  will  burn  like  "  a  furnace,  and  all 
the  proud,  yea,  and  all  that  do  wickedly,  shall 
be  stubble ;  and  the  day  that  cometh  shall 
burn  them  up,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  tha» 
it  shall  leave  them  neither  root  nor  branch," 
Mai.  iv.  1.  Then  will  it  appear,  that  those, 
and  those  only  are  blessed,  who  put  their 
trust  in  him :  "  For  those  who  trust  in  him 
shall  never  be  ashamed  :  but  when  Christ  who 
is  their  life  shall  appear,  they  also  shall  ap- 
pear with  him  in  glory,"   Col.  iii.  4. 


SERMON  VII. 

OF  THE  AUTHORITY"  OF  CHRIST. 

All  things  are  delivered  unto  me  of  my  Father  : 
and  no  man  knoweth  the  Son,  but  the  Father  ; 
neither  knoweth  any  man  the  Father,  save 
the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  will 
reveal  him.     Matth.  xi.  27. 

We  have  spoken  something  of  the  dignity 
and  excellence  of  that  Mighty  One  on  whom 
our  help  is  laid  ;  and  are  now  to  consider, 

II.  The  covenant-authority  he  is  intrusted 
with  to  manage  the  great  concerns  of  man's 
salvation.  He  is  not  only  infinitely  sufficient, 
but  divinely  appointed  for  this  great  work. 

Of  this  covenant  there  is  express  mention 
in  many  parts  of  scripture,  to  some  of  which 
I  have  referred  in  the  note  *.  It  is  styled  the 
covenant  of  peace,  the  everlasting,  ordered, 
and  sure  covenant.  The  power  and  efficacy 
of  this  covenant  respected  the  future  incarna- 
tion of  our  Saviour.  He  asserted  his  right, 
while  in  the  form  of  a  servant,  in  the  words 
of  my  text ;  and  to  the  same  purpose  are  the 
words  of  John  the  Baptist :  "  The  Father 
loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  delivered  all  things 
into  his  hands,"  John  iii.  35.  But  the  full 
manifestation  of  it  was  deferred  to  the  time 
of  his  resurrection,  when,  and  by  which,  he 
was  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power, 
Rom.  i.  4.  Hence,  before  he  left  his  dis- 
ciples, he  assured  them,  "  All  power  is  com. 
mitted  to  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth,"  Matth. 
xxviii.  18. 

The  sum  is,  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
bv  virtue  of  his  divine  nature,  and  his  volun- 
tary undertaking  in  our  flesh,  to  fulfil  all 
righteousness  for  us,  both  as  to  obedience  and 
satisfaction,  is  exalted  in  that  nature  wherein 

*  Psal.  lxxxix.  3.  19.  ;  Prov.  viii.  23.  ;  Isaiah  xlii.  1. 
6.  compared  with  Matth.  xii.  18.  £1  ;  Isaiah  xlix.  8.  9  • 
Zcch.  vi.  13, 


3(38 


OF  THE  AUTHORITY  OF   CHRIST. 


SER.   VII. 


he  suffered,  to  be  the  sovereign  Judge  and 
Lord  of  all,  Phil.  ii.  6,  11.  He  it  is  now 
with  whom  we  have  to  do.  The  holy  God, 
considered  without  respect  to  the  covenant  of 
grace,  is  a  consuming  fire  to  sinners  ;  and  we 
cannot  stand  before  him.  But  now  he  re- 
veals himself",  he  dwells  as  in  his  temple,  in  the 
man  Christ  Jesus.  He  has  entrusted  all  his 
glory,  and  all  grace  in  his  hands  :  and  to  him 
we  are  to  look,  on  him  we  are  to  depend,  for 
all  the  blessings  we  need  for  time  and  eternity. 
For  "  all  things  are  delivered  to  him  of  the  Fa- 
ther." All  tilings  is  a  most  comprehensive  ex- 
pression. We  may  distribute  it  as  referring  to 
all  persons,  all  blessings,  and  all  dispensations. 

1.  All  persons  are  in  his  hands.  Hence  his 
sublime  title,  "  King  of  Kings,  and  Lord  of 
lords,"  Rev.  xix.  16.  He  doth  what  he  will 
among  the  armies  of  heaven,  and  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  earth,  Dan.  iv.  35-  Thus  Isaiah 
saw  his  glory,  and  spake  of  him,  Isaiah  vi. 
compared  with  John  12.  41. 

1st,  He  is  Lord  over  his  enemies,  and  those 
that  hate  him.  He  rules  them  with  a  rod  of 
iron,  and  so  disposes  their  designs  as  to  make 
them  (though  against  their  wills)  the  means 
and  instruments  of  promoting  his  own  pur- 
poses and  glory,  Psalm  ii.  9.  They  are  his 
servants,  even  when  they  rage  most  against 
him.  He  has  a  bridle  in  their  mouths  to 
check  and  turn  them  at  his  pleasure.  He  can 
and  often  does  controul  them  when  they  seem 
most  sure  of  success,  and  always  sets  them 
bounds,  which  they  cannot  pass.  So  he  shewed 
his  power  over  Pharoah  of  old ;  that  haughty 
king's  resistance  only  gave  occasion  for  a  more 
glorious  display  of  the  greatness  and  goodness 
of  the  God  of  Israel.  So  he  humbled  the 
pride  of  Herod,  and  gave  him  up,  in  the 
midst  of  his  guards,  a  prey  to  worms,  Acts 
xii.  23.  And  thus,  sooner  or  later,  all  his  ene- 
mies are  brought  to  lick  the  dust  before  him. 

2dly,  But  especially  he  is  Lord  of  his  own 
people.  By  nature,  indeed,  they  likewise  are 
his  enemies,  but  he  knows  them  all  by  name. 
They  have  been  in  a  peculiar  manner  given 
him  by  the  Father  (John  xvii.  6.)  ;  he  ac- 
counts them  his  portion,  and  he  will  not  lose 
his  own,  John  x.  15,  16.  He  knows  where 
to  find  them,  and  when  to  call  them  ;  and 
when  his  time  is  come,  one  word  or  look  from 
him  can  disarm  them  in  a  moment,  and  bring 
them  humbly  to  his  feet.  How  soon  did  he 
stop  and  change  the  persecuting  Saul  !  Acts 
ix.  When  they  are  thus  made  willing  in  the 
day  of  his  power,  he  takts  them  under  his 
special  care  ;  and  whoso  toucheth  them,  touch- 
eth  the  apple  of  his  eye.  He  guides,  and 
guards,  and  feeds,  and  strengthens  them  :  he 
keeps  them  night  and  day,  waters  them  every 
moment,  and  will  not  suffer  any  to  pluck 
them  out  of  his  hand,  nor  will  he  himself 
leave  them  or  forsake  them,  till  he  has  done 
all  that  lie  lias  spoken  to  them  of.  He  gives 
them  likewise  a  new  heart  and  graciou-  dis- 


positions, suited  to  the  honourable  relation  he 
has  brought  them  into  :  so  that  they  delight 
in  his  precepts,  and  yield  him  a  cheerful,  ha-" 
bitual,  and  universal  obedience,  from  the  con- 
straining sense  they  have  received  of  his  in- 
expressible love. 

2.  All  blessings  are  at  his  disposj.  Is  not 
this  a  welcome  declaration  to  awakened  souls? 
What  is  the  blessing  you  want  ?  Seek  to 
Jesus,  and  you  shall  not  be  disappointed. 
Hear  his  gracious  invitation,  "  Ho,  every  one 
that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he 
that  hath  no  money  :  come  ye,  buy  and  eat ; 
yea,  come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  mo- 
ney, and  without  price. — Incline  your  ear, 
and  come  unto  me:  hear,  and  your  soul  shall 
live,"  Is.  Iv.  1,  3.  The  promised  blessings 
which  he  holds  in  his  hands,  are  the  very  same 
that  the  awakened  enlightened  conscience  must 
have,  and  can  have  only  from  him. 

1st,  Pardon.  How  needful,  how  valuable 
is  the  pardon  of  sin  to  those  who  know  what 
sin  is,  what  it  deserves,  and  what  a  share  they 
have  in  it  !  Such  are  incapable  of  taking 
comfort  till  they  know  how  God  may  be  re- 
conciled and  sin  forgiven.  These  are  the  per- 
sons to  whom  Jesus  says,  "  Look  unto  me, 
and  be  ye  saved,"  Isa.  xlv.  22.  "I,  even  I, 
am  he  that  blotteth  out  thy  transgressions  for 
mine  own  sake,  and  will  not  remember  thy 
sins,"   Is.  xliii.  25. 

2dly,  Righteousness.  By  believing  in  him 
sinners  are  not  only  pardoned,  Lut  justified. 
They  are  accepted  in  the  beloved,  and  ac- 
counted righteous  by  his  righteousness  im 
puted  to  them,  which  we  are  assured  is  unto 
all,  and  upon  all  that  believe,  without  any 
difference  or  exception,  Rom.  iii.  22.  Hence 
his  people  adore  him,  and  glory  in  him  by  his 
name,  The  Lord  our  Righteousness.  In  him 
they  possess  a  righteousness  answerable  to  the 
demands  of  the  holy  law,  have  confidence  and 
liberty  of  access  to  God  at  present,  though 
conscious  of  innumerable  deficiencies  in  them- 
selves, and  they  shall  stand  with  boldness  be- 
fore him  in  this  righteousness,  and  not  be 
ashamed  in  the  great  day  of  his  appearance, 
when  he  shall  come  to  judge  the  world. 

3dly,  Strength.  The  forgiveness  of  sin 
that  is  past  would  little  avail,  unless  there  was 
provision  made  for  a  continual  supply  of  need- 
ful grace.  Without  this  we  shall  quickly 
grow  weary,  yield  to  the  force  of  surrounding 
temptations,  till  at  length  the  latter  end  would 
be  worse  than  the  beginning.  But  now  every 
sincere  soul  may  be  freed  from  this  fear.  The 
way  of  prevention  is  pointed  out,  and  the  suc- 
cess infallibly  secured  by  that  one  promise, 
though  there  are  many  to  the  same  effect, 
"  They  that  wait  on  the  Lord  shall  renew  their 
strength,"  Is.  xl.  31. 

4thly,  Healing.  This  is  often  necessary  ; 
for  the  spiritual  warfare  is  not  to  be  main- 
tained  long  without  wounds.  Our  great  ene- 
my is  so  subtle,  so  watchful,  so  well  provided 


SEK.    Vli. 


OF  THE  AUTHORITY   OF  CHRIST. 


:wj 


with  temptations  adapted  to  every  temper  and 
circumstance  ;  and  we  are  so  weak,  unprac- 
tised, and  so  often  remiss  and  off  our  guard, 
iliat  he  will  at  times  prevail  to  bring  us  into  a 
dark,  barren,  backsliding  state,  despoiled  of 
comfort,  and  oppressed  with  fears.  But  see 
what  a  good  and  gracious  shepherd  we  have  : 
hear  his  comfortable  words,  "  I  will  seek  that 
which  was  lost,  and  bring  again  that  which 
was  driven  away,  and  will  bind  up  that  which 
was  broken,  and  will  strengthen  that  which 
was  sick,"  Ezek.  xxxiv.  16. 

5thly,  Support  under  trouble.  He  has  en- 
gaged to  lead  his  people  safely  through  fire 
and  through  water,  Is.  xliii.  2.  He  gives  them 
leave  to  cast  all  their  care  upon  him,  with  an 
assurance  that  he  careth  for  them,  1  Pet.  v.  7. 
He  has  said,  All  things  shall  work  together 
for  their  good  (Rom.  viii.  28)  ;  that  his  grace 
shall  be  sufficient  for  them  (2  Cor.  xii.  9)  ; 
and  that  in  good  time  he  will  bruise  Satan  un- 
der their  feet  (Rom.  xvi.  20)  ;  make  them 
more  than  conquerors  (Rom.  viii.  37),  and 
place  them  out  of  the  reach  of  sin  and  sorrow 
for  ever.  Besides  the  habitual  peace  which 
arises  from  the  believing  consideration  of  these 
truths,  he  has  likewise  peculiar  seasons  of  re- 
freshment, when  he  manifests  himself  to  the 
soul  in  a  way  the  world  knows  not  of,  and 
often  makes  the  hour  of  their  sharpest  trials 
the  time  of  their  sweetest  and  highest  conso- 
lations. "  As  the  sufferings  of  Christ  abound 
in  us,  so  our  consolation  aboundeth  by  Christ," 
2  Cor.  i.  5. 

3.  All  dispensations  are  under  his  direc- 
tion. He  is  Lord  of  all,  and  does  according 
to  his  pleasure  among  the  armies  of  heaven, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth.  He  is  the 
supreme  disposer, 

1st,  Of  these  external  dispensations  which 
are  distinguished  by  the  name  of  providential. 

(1.)  Those  that  are  welcome  and  prosper- 
ous are  both  his  gifts  and  his  purchase.  To 
his  people  they  come  free  ;  but  he  paid  dear 
for  them.  And  this  gives  them  their  chief 
value  in  the  judgment  of  those  who  know 
him,  to  receive  them  as  the  pledges  and  fruits 
of  his  redeeming  love.  When  the  blessings 
of  common  providence  are  received  and  en- 
joyed as  the  gifts  of  God  reconciled  in  Christ, 
they  are  then,  and  not  otherwise,  truly  com- 
fortable. It  is  this  thought  enables  the  poor 
believer  often  to  taste  a  sweeter  relish  and  fla- 
vour in  bread  and  water,  than  the  voluptuary 
ever  knew  in  the  wasteful  profusion  and  stu- 
died refinements  of  luxury.  To  be  able  to 
look  back  and  see  how  the  hand  of  our  gra- 
cious Lord  has  led  us  from  our  childhood, 
chose  and  managed  better  for  us  than  we 
could  have  done,  corrected  our  mistakes,  and 
in  many  things  exceeded  our  desires  ;  to  look 
around  and  see  all  our  concerns  in  his  sure 
keeping,  who  delights  in  our  prosperity,  and 
will  suffer  nothing  to  grieve  us,  but  what  he 
mU'i.ds  to  employ  as  means  for  our  greater 


advantage  ;  and  to  look  forward  and  see,  that 
he  has  prepared  still  better  things  for  us  than 
ever  our  eyes  beheld,  or  our  hearts  conceived, 
— how  cheering  are  these  views  !  Those  who 
are  thus  stayed  upon  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  over- 
ruling and  managing  all  our  concerns,  are 
not  terrified  with  every  shaking  leaf:  "  their 
hearts  are  fixed,  trusting  in  the  Lord." 

(2.)  Afflictive  dispensations  are  likewise  of 
his  sending.  And  the  consideration  of  his 
hand  in  them,  the  good  he  designs  us  by  them, 
the  assurance  we  have  of  being  supported  un- 
der them,  and  brought  through  them  ;  accor- 
ding to  the  degree  in  which  these  things  are 
apprehended  by  faith,  and  accompanied  with 
a  humbling  sense  of  their  own  demerits,  his 
people  submit  to  his  appointment  with  patience 
and  thankfulness,  and  say,  after  the  pattern 
which  he  has  left  them,  The  cup  which  my  Sa- 
viour puts  into  my  hand,  shall  I  not  drink  it  ? 

In  brief,  it  is  he  who  appointed  the  time 
and  place  of  our  birth,  and  all  the  successive 
connections  of  our  lives.  Our  civil  and  our 
religious  liberties  are  both  owing  to  his  fa- 
vour ;  and  in  these  he  has  been  peculiarly  fa- 
vourable to  us.  "  He  has  not  dealt  so  with 
every  nation,"  Psal.  cxlvii.  20. 

2dly,  Of  the  dispensation  of  grace.  It  is  he 
who  raises  up  instruments  to  preach  his  gos- 
pel, appoints  them  their  places,  furnishes  them 
with  that  measure  of  gifts  and  sufficiency  which 
he  sees  requisite  and  best.  And  it  is  he  only 
that  makes  their  poor  labours  successful.  He 
sends  his  word  to  some,  and  brings  others  to 
his  word ;  and  in  both  cases,  he  so  makes  use 
of  ordinary  means,  that  to  a  common  eye  he 
seems  to  do  nothing,  when  in  reality  he  does 
all.  He  brought  St.  Paul  to  Corinth,  and  main- 
tained him  there  a  considerable  time  against 
all  the  efforts  of  his  enemies,  Acts  xviii,  10. 
He  over-ruled  the  thoughtless  rambling  of 
Onesimus  (Phil,  ll),  and  led  him,  by  a  way 
which  he  knew  not,  to  the  means  by  which  he 
had  appointed  to  bring  him  to  the  knowledge 
of  himself.  And  these  instances  are  recorded 
for  our  instruction,  as  specimens  of  what  he 
does  in  the  same  kind  every  day. 

Sdly,  Of  the  dispensation  of  death.  Our 
times  are  in  his  hands.  He  claims  it  as  his 
own  prerogative  that  he  keeps  the  keys  of  death 
and  the  invisible  state,  Rev.  i.  18.  None 
can  remove  us  sooner,  none  can  detain  us  a 
moment  longer,  than  his  call.  In  this  like- 
wise he  is  little  observed.  We  charge  death 
to  fevers,  frights,  and  falls  ;  but  these  are  only 
the  messengers  which  he  sends.  Sin  has 
brought  us  all  under  a  sentence  of  death  ;  but 
the  moment  and  the  manner  of  the  execution 
befal  us  according  to  his  good  pleasure.  Till 
then,  though  his  providence  leads  us  through 
fire  and  water,  though  we  walk  upon  the  brink 
of  a  thousand  apparent,  and  a  million  of  un. 
seen  dangers,  we  are  in  reality  in  perfect  safety. 
Having  appointed  St.  Paul  to  stand  before 
Caesar,  though  the  tempest  greatlv  assaulted. 
2  II 


870 


OF  THE 


AU    IIOIUTY   Ol' 
and  live. 


CHRIST. 


SliK.  VII. 


and  seemingly  overpowered  the  ship  he  was  in, 
St.  Paul  was  as  safe  on  the  stormy  sea,  when 
all  probable  hope  of  being  saved  (Acts  xxvii. 
24)  was  taken  away,  as  Caesar  himself  upon 
his  throne.  But  when  his  time  is  come,  in 
vain  are  all  the  assistance  of  friends,  the  skill 
of  the  physician,  or  the  power  of  medicines, 
to  procure  the  smallest  respite. 

4thly,  Of  the  dispensation  of  judgment. 
"  The  Father  hath  committed  all  judgment  to 
the  Son"  (John  v.  22)  ;  and  has  especially  ap- 
pointed a  day  wherein  he  will  judge  the  world 
in  righteousness  by  the  man  Christ  Jesus  whom 
he  hath  ordained,  Acts  xvii.  31.  Then  his 
glory  shall  be  confessed  by  all.  Every  eye 
shall  see  him,  and  they  also  that  pierced  him. 
Awful  will  that  day  be  to  those  who  hate  him, 
when  be  shall  appear  in  flaming  fire,  to  con- 
vince sinners  of  all  their  ungodly  deeds  which 
they  have  committed,  and  of  all  their  hard 
speeches  which  they  have  spoken  against  him, 
Jude  15.  They  must  give  an  account  of 
all.  Account,  did  I  say  ?  They  can  give 
none,  but  will  be  struck  dumb  before  him, 
and  hear  with  horror  their  dreadful  doom, 
"  Depart  from  me  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting 
fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels," 
Matth.  xxv.  41. 

But  it  will  be  a  joyful  time  to  his  own 
people.  The  clouds  of  infirmity,  affliction, 
and  reproach,  under  which  they  are  now  ob- 
scured, shall  vanish  away,  and  they  shall  shine 
forth  like  the  sun  in  the  presence  of  their  Fa- 
ther. God,  even  their  own  God,  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes.  They  shall  be 
glorified,  and  their  enemies  ashamed.  What 
joy  will  fill  their  hearts  when  Jesus  the  Judge 
shall  own  his  relation  to  them  before  assem- 
bled worlds,  and  shall  say,  "  Come,  ye  blessed 
of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared 
for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  woild." 
Then  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  be  heard  no 
more  ;  but  songs  of  triumph  and  shouts  of 
everlasting  joy  shall  take  place ;  and  so  shall 
they  be  ever  with  the  Lord. 

How  are  your  hearts  affected  with  this  sub- 
ject ?  Do  you  not  expect  that  I  should  close 
it  with  a  suitable  word  of  application  ? 

1.  To  those  who  are  as  yet  in  their  sins. 
Will  you  not  tremble  before  this  great  Lord 
God  ?  If  these  things  are  not  so,  if  you  can 
prove  that  we  have  followed  cunningly-de- 
vised fables,  go  on  secure.  But  have  I  not 
your  consciences  on  my  side  ?  Do  you  not 
feel  a  secret  foreboding  that  these  are  the 
truths  of  God?  And  dare  you  still  persist? 
Do  you  not  see  that  you  are  already  in  his 
hands?  In  a  moment  he  could  break  you  in 
pieces,  yet  he  spares.  He  affords  you  one 
opportunity  more.  To-day,  while  it  is  called 
to-day,  hear  his  voice,  lest  to-morrow  should 
surprise  you  into  eternity,  and  the  weight  of 
unpardoned  sins  should  sink  you  into  the  low- 
est hell.  As  he  has  power  to  punish,  so  like- 
wise he  is  mighty  to  save.      Believe  his  word 


His  obedience  unto  death  is  a  plea 
witli  which  you  may  approach  the  mercy-seat. 
He  has  power  to  take  away  your  heart  of 
stone,  to  subdue  your  enmity,  to  forgive  your 
sins  ;  and  what  he  does  he  does  freely,  with- 
out money  and  without  price.  You  need  not, 
you  cannot  mend  yourselves  before  you  come 
to  biin.  If  you  seek  him,  he  will  be  found  of 
you  ;  but  if  you  obstinately  reject  him,  you 
will  perish  under  the  most  aggravated  guilt, 
as  sinners  against  the  light  and  grace  of  the 
gospel. 

2.  You  that  see  your  need  of  a  Saviour,  lift 
up  your  heads  and  rejoice.  Is  he  not,  thus 
qualified,  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  ?  Why 
should  you  keep  back,  when  he  bids  you  come 
unto  him  that  you  may  find  rest?  Could  yoi 
invent  any  invitations  more  free,  more  full  than 
those  that  are  recorded  in  the  gospel  ?  Can  you 
desire  any  stronger  security  than  the  blood  of 
Jesus  and  the  oath  of  him  that  liveth  for  ever  ? 
Do  you  wish  to  know  how  other  great  sinners 
have  succeeded  in  their  application  to  him  ? 
Search  the  scriptures,  and  read  how  lie  saved 
Mary  Magdalene,  the  dying  thief,  the  cruel 
jailor,  the  persecuting  Saul,  and  many  of  those 
who  were  actually  concerned  in  nailing  him  to 
the  cross.  Be  patient,  continue  waiting  on 
him  in  prayer,  and  you  shall  find  he  has  not 
inclined  you  to  seek  his  face  in  vain. 

3.  To  believers  I  hope  this  is  a  comfortable 
theme.  You  see  all  your  concerns  are  in  safe 
hands.  He  to  whom  you  have  committed 
your  souls  is  able  to  keep  them.  Jesus,  who 
has  all  authority  and  power  in  heaven  and  in 
earth,  vouchsafes  to  be  your  Shepherd.  What 
then  can  you  want,  who  are  at  his  providing  ? 
What  have  you  to  fear,  who  are  under  his 
protection  ?  Why  then  do  you  so  often  dis- 
trust, so  often  complain  ?  It  is  because  your 
faith  is  weak.  Are  you  tempted  to  think  you 
could  place  yourselves  to  more  advantage  than 
he  has  placed  you,  that  you  could  do  better 
without  the  afflictions  he  is  pleased  to  send 
you,  that  you  cannot  spare  what  he  takes 
away,  nor  do  well  without  something  which 
he  with- holds  ?  Reject  all  such  thoughts; 
they  are  highly  dishonourable  to  your  Saviour, 
and  to  your  profession.  Those  who  know  not 
God  must  reason  thus  ;  but  you  have  a  cove- 
nant-promise,  that  all  things  are  working  to- 
gether for  your  good.  "  This  is  not  your 
rest,  it  is  polluted."  But  you  will  soon  be 
at  home ;  and  then,  when,  by  a  clearer  light, 
you  look  back  upon  the  way  by  which  the 
Lord  led  you  through  the  wilderness,  you  will 
be  ashamed  (if  shame  is  compatible  with  the 
heavenly  state)  of  your  misapprehensions  while 
in  this  dark  world,  and  will  confess  to  his 
praise,  that  mercy  and  goodness  surrounded 
you  in  every  step,  and  that  the  Lord  did  all 
things  well.  What  you  will  then  see,  it  is 
now  your  duty  and  your  privilege  to  believe. 
If  you  sincerely  desire  his  guidance  in  all' 
things,    labour   to   submit   to   it.       The  path 


SER.  VIII. 


THE  GLORY   AND   GRACE  OF  GOD,    &C. 


which  he  has  marked  out  for  you  is  difficult, 
but  he  has  trod  it  before  you,  and  it  leads  to 
glory.  The  time  is  short.  Yet  a  little  while, 
and  you  shall  receive  the  end  of  your  faith, 
even  the  salvation  of  your  souls. 


SERMON  VIII. 

THE  GLORY  AND  GRACE  OF    GOD  REVEALED  IN 
JESUS  CHRIST. 

AV  things  are  delivered  unto  me  of  my  Father  : 
and  no  man  knowelh  the  Son,  but  the  Father,- 
neither  knowelh  any  man  the  Father,  save 
the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  will 
reveal  him.     Matth   xi.  27. 

The  love  we  bear  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  confidence  we  place  in  him,  will  al- 
ways be  exactly  proportioned  to  the  appre- 
hensions we  form  of  him.  Therefore,  to 
"  o-row  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of 
him"  (2  Pet.  ii.  18.),  are  spoken  of  as  inse- 
parably connected.  On  this  account  the  scrip- 
tures are  frequent  and  full  in  describing  him 
to  us,  that  we  may  have  a  large  acquaintance 
with  his  all-sufficiency,  and  be  delivered  from 
our  sins  and  fears.  An  awakened  conscience, 
that  sees  the  need  of  a  Saviour,  well  knows 
that  the  person  who  can  deservedly  lay  claim 
to  its  trust,  must  have  these  three  properties, 
power,  authority,  and  intention  to  save.  How 
these  eminently  belong  to  Jesus,  we  learn 
from  his  own  words  here.  Power  belongeth 
to  him,  for  he  is  a  divine  person,  the  Creator, 
Possessor,  and  Upholder  of  all  things.  Au- 
thority is  his,  for  all  things  are  delivered  to 
him.  Thus  far  we  have  proceeded,  and  are 
now  to  speak  of  his  intention  or  office,  the 
design  of  his  appearance,  and  for  which  he  is 
authorised.  This  is  intimated  in  the  close  of 
my  text.      We  are  therefore  now  to  speak, 

III.  Of  his  office,  summarily  included  in 
this  one  thing,  To  reveal  the  knowledge  of  God. 
*'  Neither  knoweth  any  man  the  Father,  save 
the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  will 
reveal  him." 

The  knowledge  of  God  here  spoken  of,  in- 
tends something  more  than  merely  to  know 
that  there  is  a  God.  Some  faint  apprehen- 
sions of  this  all  men  have  by  n  iture.  This 
great  truth  is  so  clearly  manifested  in  the 
works  of  creation  and  providence,  that  any 
man  would  be  greatly  offended,  if  he  was  sup- 
posed to  be  ignorant  of  it.  But  as  it  is  one 
thing  to  know  that  there  is  a  king  over  the 
nation,  and  quite  another  thing  to  know  the 
king,  so  as  to  have  liberty  of  access  to  him, 
and  an  interest  in  his  favour;  so  is  it  in  the 
case  before  us.  Our  Lord  did  not  come  to 
tell  us  that  there  is  a  God  (the  devils  know 
this,  and  tremble),  but  to  reveal  to  us  such  a 
knowledge   of   God   as  may   stand    with  our 


371 

comfort,  to  teach  us  how  poor,  guilty,  helU 
deserving  sinners  may  draw  near  to  God  with 
hopes  in  his  mercy,  and  call  him  their  Father 
and  their  friend. 

Now,  besides  the  revelation  of  this  know- 
ledge  in  the  Old  Testament,  which  may  be 
properly  ascribed  to  Christ,  inasmuch  as  he  was 
the  Lord,  the  guide,  and  teacher  of  his  church 
from  the  beginning,  and  instructed  Moses 
and  the  prophets  in  the  things  concerning 
himself, — I  say,  besides  this  (which  was  made 
at  sundry  times,  and  in  divers  manners,  in  a 
more  dark  and  imperfect  way),  our  Lord  Je- 
sus, through  his  incarnation,  has  vouchsafed 
us  a  twofold  revelation  of  that  knowledge  of 
God  in  which  standeth  our  eternal  life, — 1. 
In  his  Person ;  and,   2.    By  his  Spirit. 

I.  In  his  Person.  In  this  respect  he  is 
said  to  be  "  the  brightness  of  the  Father's 
glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his  *  sub- 
stance," Heb.  i.  3.  That  God  is  great,  and 
good,  and  wise,  appears  in  part  from  his 
works  ;  but  it  is  only  a  small  portion  of  these 
attributes  we  can  spell  out  in  this  way  ;  and 
there  are  other  perfections  in  God,  of  which 
we  can  gain  no  certain  knowledge,  without  a 
farther  revelation.  But  would  we  see  a  glo- 
rious display  of  the  great  God,  let  us  turn 
our  eyes  to  Jesus,  and  behold  him  by  faith  in 
two  principal  views : 

1.  As  hanging  upon  the  cross.  Could  we 
have  seen  this  awful  transaction,  and  been  in 
a  right  frame  of  mind,  we  should  naturally 
have  asked  such  questions  as  these  :  Who  is 
he  ?  What  has  he  done  ?  Had  we  been  told, 
This  person,  thus  destitute  and  tormented,  is 
the  beloved  Son  of  God,  who  knew  no  sin, 
neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth  ;  we 
must  have  farther  asked,  Why  then  was  he 
scourged,  wounded,  and  nailed  to  the  tree  ? 
Why  are  those  barbarous  men  permitted  to 
mock  his  sufferings?  Why  does  he  not  deli- 
ver himself,  and  destroy  his  enemies  ?  The 
proper  answer  to  these  questions  includes  a 
revelation  of  the  divine  perfections. 

1st,  Wisdom.  We  had  deserved  to  perish, 
but  his  mercy  designed  to  save  us  with  an 
everlasting  salvation.  Yet  this  must  be  in  a 
way  worthy  of  himself.  Sin  must  be  punish- 
ed, and  the  honour  of  his  broken  law  vindi- 
cated.. How  could  this  be  done,  and  the  righ- 
teousness of  God  made  to  harmonize  with  our 
peace?  A  wisdom  astonishing  to  angels  is 
manifested  in  devising  this  wonderful  means. 
No  sacrifices  (Heb.  x.  4 — 7.)  or  offerings,  no 
acts  of  obedience  or  mediation,  which  crea- 
tures could  supply,  would  have  been  of  the 
least  avail  when  the  injured  majesty  of  God 
demanded  a  satisfaction.  But  the  eternal 
Word,  united  to  our  nature,  afforded  a  pro- 
pitiation worthy  of  God,  and  suitable  for  us. 
Jesus,  by  his  obedience  unto  death,  has  made 
an  end  of  sin  (Dan.  ix.  24),  and  brought  in 


372 


THE  GLORY  AND  GRACE  OF  GOD 


an  everlasting  righteousness,  available  for  all 
those  who  flee  to  him  as  the  hope  set  before 
them,  for  refuge  from  approaching  wrath. 

2diy,  Love.  "  God  so  loved  the  world." — 
If  you  ask,  How  ?  judge  from  this  instance  ; 
words  cannot  express  it.  He  so  loved  sin- 
ners, enemies,  rebels,  that  for  their  sakcs  he 
abandoned  and  delivered  up  his  beloved  Son 
into  the  hands  of  wicked  men,  permitted  him 
to  be  assaulted  by  the  powers  of  darkness  ; 
yea,  it  pleased  the  Father  himself  to  bruise 
him,  and  to  make  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin. 
This  is  love  without  parallel,  and  beyond  con- 
ception. We  can  only  admire,  and  say,  "  Be- 
hold what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  be- 
stowed on  us,"  1  John,  iii.  I.  When  Jesus 
Christ,  as  crucified,  is  clearly  apprehended  by 
faith,  then  w-e  have  the  most  convincing,  the 
most  affecting  proof,   that  God  is  love. 

3dly,  Justice.  Wonder  not  that  God's  own 
Son  is  thus  treated.  He  stands  in  the  place  of 
sinners,  and  therefore  he  is  not,  he  cannot  be. 
spared.  The  words  his  enemies  use  (Matth. 
xxvii.  42.)  to  his  reproach,  will,  in  the  lips  of 
his  redeemed  people,  be  an  expression  of  his 
highest  praise.  Having  undertaken  to  save 
others,  and  being  determined  not  to  give  up 
their  cause,  it  is,  in  that  respect,  absolutely 
impossible  for  him  to  save  himself. 

Again,  this  justice,  which  was  once  as  a 
flaming  sword,  to  forbid  and  exclude  every 
hope  of  salvation  to  fallen  man,  is  now  en- 
gaged in  our  behalf.  For  since  it  has  pleased 
the  Father  to  charge  sin  upon  his  own  Son, 
his  wrath  will  turn  away  from  all  who  be- 
lieve. The  immense  debt  is  already  paid,  and 
justice  will  not  exact  it  twice.  From  hence- 
forth God  is  not  only  gracious  and  merciful, 
but  (1  John,  i.  9.)  just  and  faithful,  in  the 
forgiveness  of  sin,  and  declares  his  own  right- 
eousness in  justifying  the  believer  in  Jesus, 
Rom.  iii.  26. 

2.  The  knowledge  of  God  is  made  known 
in  the  person  of  Christ,  if  we  contemplate 
him  as  reigning  in  glory.  He  is  no  longer  a 
man  of  sorrows,  oppressed  and  despised.  He 
is  now  upon  the  throne.  In  him  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead  dwells,  and  from  him,  as  light 
from  the  sun,  the  unsearchable  riches  of  his 
goodness  are  communicated  to  indigent,  un- 
worthy sinners.  All  the  divine  perfections 
shine  gloriously  in  him,  as  the  God-man,  the 
Mediator,  who  is  exalted  above  all  conception 
and  praise,  and  doth  according  to  his  will  in 
the  armies  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  earth. 

1st,  Grace.  The  great  God  is  pleased  to 
manifest  himself  in  Christ  as  the  God  of 
grace.  This  grace  is  manifold,  pardoning, 
converting,  restoring,  persevering  grace,  be- 
stowed upon  the  miserable  and  worthless. 
Grace  finds  the  sinner  in  a  hopeless,  helpless 
state,  sitting  in  darkness,  and  in  the  shadow 
of  death.  Grace  pardons  the  guilt,  cleanses 
the  pollution,  and  subdues  the  power  of  sin. 


SEK.  VIII 

Grace  sustains  the  bruised  reed,  binds  up  the 
broken  heart,  and  cherishes  the  smoking  flax 
into  a  flame.  Grace  restores  the  soul  from 
wandering,  revives  it  when  fainting,  heals  it 
when  wounded,  upholds  it  when  ready  to  fall, 
teaches  it  to  fight,  goes  before  it  in  the  bat. 
tie,  and  at  last  makes  it  more  than  conqueror 
over  all  opposition,  and  then  bestows  a  crown 
of  everlasting  life.  But  all  this  grace  is  es- 
tablished and  displayed  by  covenant  in  the 
Man  Christ  Jesus,  and  without  respect  to  him 
as  living,  dying,  rising,  reigning,  and  inter- 
ceding in  the  behalf  of  sinners,  would  never 
have  been  known. 

2dly,  Power.  The  whole  creation  proclaims 
that  power  belongs  unto  God.  But  in  no- 
thing will  his  power  be  more  illustriously  dis- 
played than  in  the  wonders  of  redeeming  love  ! 
What  power  is  necessary  to  raise  those  who  are 
spiritually  dead  in  sin,  to  soften  the  heart  of 
stone,  to  bring  light  out  of  darkness,  and  or- 
der out  of  confusion  ?  Wherever  his  gospel  is 
faithfully  preached,  it  is  always  confirmed  by 
this  accompanying  power.  How  quickly, 
how  easily,  did  he  change  Saul  from  a  perse- 
cutor to  an  apostle  ?  Again,  how  is  his  power 
illustrated  by  the  care  he  takes  of  all  who  be- 
lieve in  his  name,  affording  to  every  one  of 
them  seasonable,  suitable,  and  sufficient  sup- 
plies in  every  time  of  need  ?  So  that  his  weak, 
helpless,  and  opposed  people,  are  supported, 
strengthened,  and  enabled,  to  hold  on,  and  to 
hold  out,  against  all  the  united  efforts  of  the 
world,  sin,  and  Satan. 

3dly,  Bounty.  How  glorious  is  Jesus  in 
his  kingdom  !  Exalted  beyond  all  conception 
and  praise ;  wearing  upon  his  vesture,  and 
upon  his  thigh,  the  name  that  is  above  every 
name  ;  and  having  all  thrones,  principalities, 
and  powers,  obedient  to  his  will,  and  adoring 
at  his  feet.  But  all  his  riches  and  honours 
(so  far  as  their  capacities  can  receive)  he  con- 
descends to  share  with  his  people.  He  owns 
their  worthless  names,  he  permits  them  to 
claim  the  most  tender  relation  to  him,  and  to 
call  him  their  brother,  their  friend,  and  their 
husband.  Yea,  he  says  concerning  them, 
"  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit 
with  me  in  my  throne,  even  as  I  also  overcame, 
and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne," 
Rev.  iii.  21.  To  him  therefore  we  must  look 
for  the  most  astonishing  and  affecting  display 
of  the  divine  bounty. 

Thus  the  knowledge  of  God  is  revealed  in 
the  person  of  Christ  by  the  word.  But  great 
and  important  as  these  truths  are,  we  cannot 
receive  and  understand  them  merely  by  read- 
ing. The  Lord  Jesus  therefore  has  favoured 
his  church  with  a  farther  revelation.  That  is, 
II.  By  his  Spirit.  This  was  one  principal 
fruit  of  his  ascension  and  intercession,  Acts 
ii.  33.  With  the  promise  of  his  Spirit  he 
cheered  his  disciples  when  sorrowing  under 
the  apprehension  of  his  departure  :  "  It  is  ex- 
pedient for  you  that  I  go  away :   for  if  1   go 


skh.  vnr. 


REVEALED  IN  JESUS   CHRIST. 


S73 


not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  to 
you  ;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  him  unto 
you,"  John  xvi.  7.  The  offices  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  are  various  as  our  wants ;  he  teaches, 
comforts,  sanctifies,  and  seals  the  children  of 
God  ;  but  he  affects  all  these  benefits  by  re- 
vealing the  knowledge  of  God,  as  manifested 
in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  him- 
self. 

1.  In  convincing  sinners  of  their  lost  estate, 
which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  their  deliver- 
ance. None  will  prize  the  Saviour  but  those 
who  feel  their  need  of  him.  Two  things  are 
necessary  to  convince  a  man  of  his  lost  condi- 
tion by  nature  and  practice  as  a  sinner, — the 
spirituality  of  the  law,  and  the  sufferings  of 
Christ  :  the  one  shews  the  universality  of  sin, 
the  other  its  demerit.  But  these  can  only  be 
truly  discerned  by  the  light  of  the  Spirit  of 
Christ.  While  St.  Paul  (who  was  never  ab- 
solutely without  the  law)  was  ignorant  of  the 
law's  spirituality,  "  I  was  (says  he)  alive," 
Rom.  vii.  9.  I  had  so  little  knowledge,  both 
of  the  law  and  of  myself,  that  I  trusted  to  it 
for  righteousness,  and  vainly  thought  that  I 
yielded  it  obedience,  and  grounded  my  hopes 
of  salvation  thereon.  "  Bat  when  the  com- 
mandment came,"  when  the  Spirit  explained 
and  enforced  it  in  its  full  extent,  as  reaching 
to  the  very  thoughts  of  the  heart,  and  requir- 
ing an  obedience  absolutely  perfect,  "  then 
sin  revived,  and  I  died."  All  my  hopes 
vanished  ;  1  saw  every  principle,  affection,  and 
action,  polluted,  and  the  corruptions  which 
I  supposed  were  tamed,  broke  forth  with  re- 
doubled vigour.  Again,  though  sin  is  de- 
clared to  be  displeasing  to  God,  and  destruc- 
tive to  man,  by  all  the  evils  and  miseries  with 
which  the  world  is  filled,  and  all  the  punish- 
ments which  the  righteous  Judge  of  all  the 
earth  has  inflicted  on  the  account  of  it ;  yet 
the  just  demerit  of  sin  is  not  to  be  learned 
by  the  destruction  of  Sodom  or  of  the  old 
world,  but  only  from  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
who  has  borne  the  curse  for  sinners.  Nor  is  it 
sufficient  to  know  historically  that  he  did  suf- 
fer, and  how  he  suffered.  Where  these  things 
are  not  known  by  the  light  of  the  Spirit,  they 
are  no  more  regarded  than  a  worn-out  tale. 
But  where  the  Spirit  of  Christ  reveals  by  the 
word,  the  nature,  cause,  and  end  of  his  suffer- 
ings, then  sin  appears  exceedingly  sinful.  No- 
thing less  than  this  can  make  the  soul  abhor  it. 

2.  The  Spirit  produces  faith  in  Jesus,  as 
having  once  suffered,  and  now  mighty  to  save. 
His  blood,  his  righteousness,  his  intercession, 
compassion,  and  power,  are  presented  to  the 
soul  in  a  light  which  bears  down  the  objec- 
tions of  guilt,  unbelief,  and  Satan.  Then  the 
woands  made  by  sin  are  healed.  Then  old 
things  pass  away,  all  things  become  new,  all 
difficulties  are  solved,  and  God  is  revealed 
experimentally  to  the  soul,  as  holy,  righteous, 
and  true,  in  justifying  the  believer  in  Jesus. 

3.  Those  whom  the    Spirit  thus   comforts,  j 


he  also  seals,  Ephes.  i.  13.  He  impresses 
the  image  of  Christ  upon  them.  Such  is  the 
power  of  the  views  he  gives  them  of  his  glory, 
that  they  are  transformed  into  the  resemblance 
of  their  Lord,  2  Cor.  iii.  18.  Though  the  first 
traces  of  this  delineation  are  faint  and  indi- 
stinct in  the  sight  of  men,  yet  they  are  per- 
fect in  kind.  The  Spirit  impresses  feature 
for  feature,  and  grace  for  grace  (John  i.  16.) 
and  in  the  chief  thing  he  designs  and  effects  b) 
all  his  subsequent  dispensations  while  the  soul 
remains  in  the  body,  is  to  heighten  and  finish 
the  heavenly  signature.  Together  with  this, 
and  in  the  same  degree,  he  seals  and  ratifies  to 
their  consciences  an  interest  in  all  the  promises 
of  the  gospel ;  and  by  infusing  into  their 
hearts  the  temper  of  children,  he  gives  them 
confidence  at  the  throne  of  grace,  enables 
them  to  cry,  Abba,  Father,  and  bears  witness 
with  their  spirits  that  they  are  born  of  God. 
Thus  God  is  revealed  not  only  to  them,  but  in 
them  ;  and  they  are  made  conformable  to  him 
in  whom  they  believe,  in  all  righteousness, 
goodness,  and  truth. 

Let  me  once  more  address, 

1.  Poor  mourning  souls.  Are  you  seek- 
ing to  Jesus  ?  you  have  good  reason  ;  you 
see  he  is  a  mighty  Saviour.  He  is  furnished 
with  full  authority,  and  came  expressly  on 
purpose  to  save  such  as  you.  He  assures  you 
that  none  shall  sincerely  seek  him  in  vain.  Be- 
lieve his  word,  and  dismiss  your  fears.  He 
has  begun  his  good  work,  by  revealing  to  you 
your  misery,  danger,  and  helplessness,  by  lead- 
ing your  thoughts  to  himself.  He  will  not 
stop  here  ;  he  will,  in  due  time,  accomplish 
his  whole  commission,  by  revealing  to  you  that 
knowledge  of  God  in  which  standeth  your 
present  peace  and  eternal  life. 

2.  Careless  sinners.  How  greatly  will 
your  guilt  be  aggravated  if  you  receive  this 
grace  of  God,  the  gospel  of  salvation,  in  vain  ? 
Do  not  your  hearts  tremble  when  you  think 
of  meeting  the  Lord  Jesus  in  glory?  Have 
you  an  answer  ready,  when  he  shall  ask  you 
why  you  refused  his  instruction,  and  cast  his 
words  behind  you  ?  The  light  of  truth  has 
visited  you  :  how  long  will  you  resist  it  ?  how 
long  will  Satan  blind  your  eyes  ?  To  those 
who  accept  not  his  revelation  of  grace,  he  will 
be  ere  long  revealed  in  flaming  fire.  O  hum- 
ble yourselves  before  him,  while  the  hope  of 
mercy  is  yet  afforded  ;  and  pray  for  the  Spi- 
rit we  have  been  speaking  of,  that  you  may 
be  recovered  out  of  the  snare  of  the  devil,  and 
made  partakers  of  the  knowledge  and  image 
of  God. 

3.  Believers.  This  subject  is  the  food  of 
your  souls.  You  remember  when  you  had 
dark,  hard,  and  uncomfortable  thoughts  of 
God  ;  but  you  have  seen  his  glory  in  the  per- 
son of  Christ,  you  have  received  not  the  spi- 
rit of  the  world,  but  the  Spirit  of  God  (1  Cor. 
ii.  12.),  that  you  may  know  the  things  that 
are  freely  given  you  of  God.      You  were  once 


374 


LABOURING  AND 


darkness,  but  now  you  are  light  in  the  Lord, 
Eph.  v.  8.  Walk  then  as  children  of  the 
light ;  remember  your  calling,  your  privileges, 
your  obligations,  your  engagements.  Let 
these  all  animate  you  to  press  forward,  to  en- 
dure the  cross,  to  despise  the  shame.  Let  it 
not  grieve  you  to  suffer  with  Christ  here,  for 
hereafter  you  shall  reign  with  him.  The  hour 
is  swiftly  approaching,  when  you  shall  be  out 
of  the  reach  of  changes  and  sorrow  for  ever. 
Then  "  thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down  ;  nei- 
ther shall  thy  moon  withdraw  itself:  for  the 
Lord  shall  be  thine  everlasting  light,  and  the 
days  of  thy  mourning  shall  be  ended,"  Isaiah 
h.  20. 


SERMON  IX. 

LABOURING    AND    HEAVY-LADEN  SINNERS    DE- 
SCRIBED. 

Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour,  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Matth. 
xi.  28 

We  read  that  when  David  was  withdrawn  into 
the  wilderness   from  the  rage  of  Saul,  every 
one  that  was  in  distress,  or  in  debt,  or  discon- 
tented, gathered  themselves  unto  him,  and  he 
became  their  captain,   1  Sam.  xxii.  2.      This 
would  be  reckoned  but  small  honour  in  the 
judgment  of  Saul  and   his  court,  to  be  the 
head  of  a  company  of  fugitives.      Those  who 
judge  by  outward   appearances,  and  are  go- 
verned by   the  maxims    of  worldly    wisdom, 
cannot  have  much  more  honourable  thoughts 
of  the  present  state  of  Christ's  mystical  king- 
dom and  subjects  upon  earth.      The  case  of 
David  was  looked  upon  as  desperate  by  those 
who,    like  Nabal(l  Sam.  xxv.  10.),  lived  at 
their   ease.       They  did  not  know,  or  would 
not  believe,  the  promise  of  God,  that  he  should 
be  king  over  Israel  ;  and  therefore  they  pre- 
ferred the  favour  of  Saul,  whom  God  had  re- 
jected.     In    like   manner,   though   our  Lord 
Jesus   Christ  was  a  divine    person,    invested 
with   all   authority,  grace,  and  blessings,  and 
declared  the  purpose  of  God  concerning  him- 
self, and  all  who  should  obey  his  voice,  that 
he  would  be  their  King,  and  they  should  be 
his  happy  people ;  yet  the   most   that  heard 
him  saw  no  excellence    in    him,  or  nead  of 
him  ;  their   portion  and  their  hearts  were  in 
this  world,  therefore  they  rejected  him,  and 
treated  him  as  a  blasphemer  and  a  madman. 
A  few,  however,  there  were  who    felt    their 
misery,  and  desired  to  venture  upon  his  word. 
To  these  he  gave  the  freest  invitation.     Those 
who    accepted    it,    found    his    promise  made 
good,  and  rejoiced  in  his  light.      Thus  it  is 
still :   he   is  no  longer  upon  earth  to  call  us; 
but  he  has  left  these  gracious  words  for  an 
encouragement    to  all   who   need  a    Saviour. 


IIEAVY-LA1)ENT  SF.U.  IX 

The  greatest  part  of  mankind,  even  in  chris- 
tian countries,  are  too  happy,  or  too  busy  to 
regard  him.  They  think  they  deserve  some 
commendation,  if  they  do  not  openly  mock 
his  messengers,  disdain  his  message,  and  ofFer 
abuse  to  all  who  would  press  them  to-day, 
while  it  is  called  today,  to  hear  his  voice. 
Even  this  treatment  his  servants  must  expect 
from  many.  But  there  are  a  few,  like  Da- 
vid's men,  distressed  in  conscience,  deeply  in 
debt  to  the  law  of  God,  and  discontented  with 
the  bondage  of  sin,  who  see  and  believe  that 
He,  and  He  only,  is  able  to  save  them.  To 
these  labouring  and  heavy-laden  souls,  he  still 
says,  "  Come  unto  me,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest."  May  his  gracious  Spirit  put  life  and 
power  into  his  own  words,  and  into  what  he 
shall  enable  me  to  speak  from  them,  that  they 
may  at  this  time  receive  a  blessing  and  peace 
from  his  hands  ! 

The  text  readily  points  out  three  inquries : 

1.  Who  are  the  persons  here  invited  ? 

2.  What  is  it  to  come  to  Christ  ? 

3.  What  is  implied  in  the  promised  rest  ? 
I.  The  persons   are  those  who  labour  (the 

Greek  expresses  toil  with  weariness*)  and  are 
heavy-laden.  This  must,  however,  be  limit 
ed  to  spiritual  concerns,  otherwise  it  will  take 
in  all  mankind,  even  the  most  hardened  and 
obstinate  opposers  of  Christ  and  the  gospel. 
For  let  your  consciences  speak,  you  that  ac- 
count the  yoke  of  Christ  a  heavy  burden,  and 
judge  his  people  to  be  miserable  and  melan- 
choly, are  not  you  wearied  and  burdened  in 
your  own  way  ?  Surely  you  are  often  tired 
of  your  drudgery.  Though  you  are  so  wed- 
ded and  sold  to  your  hard  master,  that  you 
cannot  break  loose  ;  though  you  are  so  mad  as 
to  be  fond  of  your  chains  ;  yet  you  know,  and 
I  know  (for  I  remember  the  gall  and  worm- 
wood of  that  state),  that  you  do  not  find  all 
that  pleasure  in  your  wickedness  which  you 
pretend  to.  So  much  as  you  affect  to  despise 
hypocrisy,  you  are  great  hypocrites  yourselves. 
You  often  laugh  when  you  are  not  pleased  ; 
you  roar  out  your  boisterous  mirth  some- 
times, when  you  are  almost  ready  to  roar 
with  anguish  and  disquiet  of  spirit.  You 
court  the  friendship  of  those  whom  in  your 
heart  you  despise  ;  and  though  you  would  be 
thought  to  pay  no  regard  at  all  to  the  word 
of  God,  there  are  seasons  when  (like  him  you 
serve)  you  believe  and  tremble.  And  far 
ther,  what  visible  burdens  do  you  bring  upon 
yourselves  ?  "  The  way  of  transgressors  is 
hard,"  Prov.  xiii.  15.  Your  follies  multiply 
your  troubles  every  day.  Confusion  and  un 
easiness  in  your  families,  waste  of  substance, 
loss  of  health  and  reputation,  discord,  strife, 
sorrow,  and  shame;  these  are  the  bitter  fruits 
of  your  evil  ways,  which  prey  on  your  present 
hours,  and  make  your  future  prospects  darker 


*  Compare  Luke  v.  5.  John  iv.  G.  where  Ihe  origin, 
word  u  the  same. 


SER.  IX.  SINNERS  DESCRIBED 

every  day.      Surely  you  are  weary  and  heavy 
laden  beyond  expression. 

But  this  is  not  the  case  with  others.  You 
avoid  gross  vices,  you  have  perhaps  a  form  of 
godliness.  The  worst,  you  think,  that  can 
be  said  of  you  is,  that  you  employ  all  your 
thoughts,  and  every  means  that  will  not  bring 
you  under  the  lash  of  the  law,  to  heap  up 
money,  to  join  house  to  house,  and  field  to 
field ;  or  you  spend  your  days  in  a  thought- 
less indolence,  walk  in  the  way  of  your  own 
hearts,  and  look  no  farther :  and  here  you 
will  say  you  find  pleasure,  and  insist  on  it, 
that  you  are  neither  weary  nor  heavy  laden. 
I  might  enlarge  on  your  many  disappoint- 
ments, the  vain  fears  which  are  inseparable 
from  those  who  live  without  God  in  the  world, 
and  the  trouble  we  find  from  disorderly,  rest- 
less, and  unsatisfied  passions.  But,  to  wave 
these  things,  I  say  briefly,  that  if  you  are  not 
labouring  and  heavy  laden,  then  it  is  plain 
that  you  are  not  the  persons  whom  Christ  here 
invites  to  partake  of  his  rest.  And  though 
you  can  rest  without  him  now,  think,  O  think, 
what  rest  you  will  find  without  him  hereaf- 
ter? If  you  now  say,  Depart,  he  will  then 
say,  Depart.  And  who  will  smile  upon  you 
when  he  frowns  ?  To  whom  will  you  then 
flee  for  help  ?  or  where  will  you  leave  your 
glory  ?  O  that  it  would  please  him  to  touch 
your  hearts,  that,  as  weary  and  heavy-laden 
sinners,  you  might  fall  humbly  at  his  feet, 
before  his  wrath  burn  like  fire,  and  there  be 
none  to  quench  it ! 

But  to  proceed  :   let  us, 

1.  Explain  the  terms,  what  it  is  to  labour 
and  be  heavy  laden. 

2.  Shew  who  are  the  persons  that  answer 
this  description. 

First,  the  persons  are  said  to  be, 

1.  Labouring,  toiling,  weary.  This  is  not 
hard  to  be  understood.  Weariness  proceeds 
either  from  labour  or  from  weakness ;  and 
when  these  are  united,  when  a  person  has 
much  to  do,  or  to  bear,  and  but  little  strength, 
he  will  soon  be  weary.  The  case  of  some, 
however,  is,  that  when  they  are  tired,  they 
can  lay  down  their  burden,  or  leave  oft"  their 
work.  But  these  are  not  only  labouring, 
fainting,  weary,  but, 

2.  Heavy  laden,  likewise.  As  if  a  man  had 
a  burden  which  he  was  unable  to  bear  a  sin- 
gle minute,  so  fastened  upon  him,  that  he 
could  not  by  any  means  be  freed  from  it ;  but 
it  must  always  press  him  down,  night  anu 
day,  abroad  or  at  home,  sleeping  (if  sleep  in 
such  a  circumstance  was  possible)  and  wak- 
ing. How  would  the  poor  creature  be  weari- 
ed !  How  could  you  comfort  or  give  him 
ease,  unless  you  could  rid  him  of  his  burden  ? 
How  desirable  would  the  prospect  of  liberty 
be  to  such  a  one  !  and  how  great  his  oblisa- 
tions  and  acknowledgments  to  his  deliverer ! 

Secondly,  This  representation  is  an  emblem 
of  the  distresses,   and   burdens  of  those  who 


375 


seek  to  Jesus,  that  they  may  have  rest  in  their 
souls ;  nor  can  any  truly  seek  him  till  they 
feel  themselves  in  such  a  state.  They  may 
be  generally  comprised  under  three  classes  : 

1.  Awakened  sinners.  None  but  those 
who  have  felt  it  can  conceive  how  sinners  la- 
bour, toil,  and  faint,  under  their  first  convic- 
tions.     They  are  burdened, 

1st,  With  the  guilt  of  sin.  This  is  a  heavy 
load.  When  Jesus  bore  it,  it  made  him  sweat 
great  drops  of  blood.  It  is  true,  he  bore  the 
weight  of  all  his  people's  sins  ;  but  the  weight 
of  one  sin  is  sufficient  to  press  us  down,  if  God 
permits  it  to  lie  heavy  upon  us.  I  suppose 
the  best  of  us  can  remember  some  action,  some 
incident  or  other,  in  our  past  lives,  which  we 
would  wish  to  forget  if  we  could.  Now,  how 
would  you  be  distressed  to  have  a  person  sound 
ing  in  your  ears,  from  morning  till  night,  and 
every  day  of  your  lives,  that  worst  thing  that 
ever  you  did  ?  Would  it  not  weary  you  ?  This 
is  a  faint  image  of  the  convinced  sinner's  state. 
When  conscience  is  truly  awakened,  it  acts  this 
officious  and  troublesome  part ;  but  its  remon 
strances  are  not  confined  to  one  sin,  it  renews 
the  remembrance  and  the  aggravations  of  mul- 
titudes. Nor  is  this  the  voice  of  a  man,  but 
indeed  of  God,  who  speaks  in  and  by  the  con- 
science. The  poor  sinner  hears  and  trem- 
bles :  then  the  complaint  of  Job  is  under- 
stood :  "  Thou  writest  bitter  things  against 
me,  and  makest  me  to  possess  the  iniquities  of 
my  youth,"  Job  xiii.  26.  Do  you  wonder 
that  such  a  one  can  no  longer  take  pleasure  in 
worldly  things?  It  is  impossible,  unless  you 
could  silence  this  importunate  voice,  that  they 
can  bear  themselves  at  all.  Nay,  often  it  is  so 
strong  and  urgent,  gives  them  such  a  lively 
sense  of  what  sin  is,  and  what  it  deserves  from 
a  righteous  God,  that  they  are  almost  afraid  or 
ashamed  to  see  any  person  that  knows  them. 
They  are  ready  to  think,  that  people  can  read 
in  their  faces  what  passes  in  their  hearts,  and 
almost  expect  that  the  ground  should  open 
under  their  feet.  O  how  wearisome  is  it  to  be 
continually  bowed  down  with  such  a  burden 
as  this  ? 

2dly,  With  the  power  of  sin.  Perhaps  they 
were  once  in  some  measure  at  ease  in  this  re- 
spect; they  saw  others  whom  they  supposed  to 
be  worse;  and  therefore  trusted  in  themselves 
that  they  were  righteous.  But  convictions 
rouse  and  inflame  our  sinful  natures.  St  Paul 
exemplifies  this  by  his  own  case  before  con- 
version :  "  I  was  alive  without  the  law  once, 
but  when  the  commandment  came,  sin  revived, 
and  I  died,"  Rom.  vii.  9.  He  never  was 
strictly  without  the  law,  for  he  expected  sal- 
vation by  obeying  it;  but  he  was  without  the 
knowledge  of  its  spirtuality,  demands,  and 
sanction  ;  and  while  he  remained  thus,  he  was 
alive,  that  is,  his  hope  remained  good,  and  he 
was  satisfied  with  his  obedience.  But  when 
the  commandment  came,  when  its  extent,  pu- 
rity,  and  penalty  were  brought  home  to  lii« 


LABOURING   AND  HEAVY-LADEN,   &C. 


conscience,  sin  revived,  and  he  died.  He 
found  all  his  pretensions  to  liberty,  obedience, 
and  coin  fort  were  experimentally  confuted  by 
what  he  felt  in  himself.  The  more  an  awak- 
ened sinner  strives  against  his  corruptions, 
the  more  they  seem  to  increase.  This  wearies 
him  ;  for,  besides  the  greatness  of  the  toil  it- 
self, he  finds  himself  weak,  weak  as  water, 
weaker  and  weaker.  And  he  is  not  only 
weary,  but  heavy  laden  ;  for  this  likewise  is  a 
burden  which  he  cannot  shake  off.  He  sees 
that  he  cannot  succeed,  yet  he  dares  not  de- 
sist. 

2.  Those  who  are  seeking  salvation  by  the 
works  of  the  law  are  labouring  and  heavy  laden, 
engaged  in  what  is  beyond  their  strength,  and 
baffles  all  their  endeavours.  This  may  appear 
from  what  has  been  already  said.  It  is  a  hard 
task  to  keep  the  whole  law;  and  nothing  else 
will  either  please  God,  if  made  the  ground 
of  justification,  or  satisfy  the  conscience  that 
has  any  true  light.  Those  declarations  of  the 
word,  that  "  cursed  is  the  man  who  conti- 
nued! not  in  all  things  written  ki  the  book  of 
the  law  to  do  them"  (Gal.  iii.  1 0),  and  "  who- 
so keepeth  the  whole  law,  and  yet  oft'endeth  in 
one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all  '  (James  ii.  10), 
keep  them  in  continual  anxiety  and  servitude. 
The  wickedness  of  their  flesh  makes  it  impos- 
sible for  the  law  to  give  a  ground  of  hope ; 
yet  they  cannot  lay  down  their  burden,  but  are 
compelled  to  renew  the  fruitless  task.  I  speak 
not  of  mere  formalists,  who  go  through  a  round 
of  external  services  without  meaning  or  de- 
sign ;  but  all  who  are  in  a  measure  sincere, 
find  themselves  still  followed  with  a  restless 
inquiry,  "  What  lack  I  yet  ?"  Matth.  xix.  20. 
Endless  are  the  shifts  and  contrivances  they  are 
put  to,  but  all  in  vain  ;  for,  what  makes  it 
worse,  they  always  add  to  this  burden  many 
inventions  of  their  own,  as  though  the  de- 
mands of  the  law  were  too  few. 

3.  Those  who  are  under  temptation.  It 
is  a  hard  and  wearisome  service  to  be  in  close 
conflict  with  the  powers  of  darkness.  The 
leading  branches  of  this  exercise  are, 

1st,  When  the  soul  is  assaulted,  and,  as  it 
were,  filled  with  insufferable  blasphemies. 
When  Satan  is  permitted  to  shoot  these  fiery 
darts,  none  can  express  (not  even  those  who 
have  felt  them)  the  amazement  and  confusion 
that  fills  the  mind.  For  a  person  who  has 
received  a  reverence  for  the  name  and  attri- 
butes of  God  to  be  haunted  from  morning  to 
night,  from  day  to  day,  with  horrid  impreca- 
tions, so  strongly  impressed,  that  he  often 
starts  and  trembles  with  an  apprehension  that 
he  has  certainly  consented,  and  spoken  them 
aloud  with  his  lips, — this  is  irksome  and  ter- 
rifying beyond  description. 

2dly,  When  the  foundations  of  faith  and 
experience  are  attacked.  Many  who  have 
thought  themselves  grounded  in  the  truth, 
who  have  hoped  that  they  had  surely  tasted 
that  the  Lord  is   gracious,   and   have  in    tbrir 


SKI!.  IX. 

first  comforts  been  ready  to  say,  "  I  shall 
never  be  moved  (Psal.  xxx.  6),  thou,  Lord, 
of  thy  goodness  hast  made  my  mountain  so 
strong,"  have  found  themselves  afterwards  at 
their  wits  end,  when  the  enemy  has  been  per- 
mitted to  come  in  upon  them  like  a  flood, 
Isa.  lix.  19.  One  black  cloud  of  temptation 
has  blotted  out  all  their  comfortable  evidences  ; 
and  they  have  been  left  to  question,  not  only 
the  justness  of  their  own  hopes,  but  even  the 
first  and  most  important  principles  on  which 
their  hopes  were  built. 

3dly,  When  the  hidden  corruptions  and  a- 
bominations  of  the  heart  are  stirred  up.  And 
perhaps  there  is  no  other  way  but  this  of  com- 
ing to  the  knowledge  of  what  our  depraved  na- 
tures are  capable.  Such  things  a  season  of 
temptation  has  discovered  to  some,  which  ] 
believe  no  rack  nor  tortures  could  constrain 
them  to  disclose,  though  but  to  their  dearest 
friend.  This  subject,  therefore,  will  not  bear 
a  particular  illustration.  The  Lord's  people 
are  not  all  acquainted  with  these  depths  of 
Satan.  As  people  who  live  on  shore  have  a 
variety  of  trials,  dangers,  and  deliverances,  yet 
know  but  little  of  the  peculiar  exercises  of 
those  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships  j  so,  in 
the  present  case  there  are  great  waters  (Psal. 
cvii.  24),  depths  of  temptation,  known  com- 
paratively to  few.  Those  who  are  brought 
through  them,  have  more  to  say  of  the  won- 
ders of  God  in  the  great  deep  than  others ; 
and  this  is  his  design  in  permitting  it,  that 
they  may  know  more  of  him  and  more  of 
themselves.  But  while  they  are  under  these 
trials,  they  are  weary  and  heavy  laden  ;  and 
this  burden  they  must  bear  till  the  Lord  re- 
moves it.  The  help  of  men,  books,  and  or- 
dinances, is  sought  and  tendered  in  vain,  till 
his  appointed  hour  of  deliverance  draws  near. 

These,  therefore,  convinced,  striving,  and 
tempted  souls,  are  the  persons  to  whom  Jesus 
says,  "  Come  to  me,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.' 
The  purport  of  this  gracious  invitation  we  are 
to  consider  hereafter.  In  the  meantime  re- 
joice in  this,  Jesus  has  foreseen  your  cases, 
and  provided  accordingly.  He  says,  Come : 
that  is,  believe,  as  lie  himself  expounds  it : 
"  He  that  cometh  unto  me,  shall  never  hun- 
ger ;  and  he  that  believeth  on  me  shall  never 
thirst,"  John  vi.  35.  See  how  his  promises 
suit  the  state  you  are  in. 

1.  Are  you  heavy  laden  with  guilt?  The 
gospel-message  is,  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
his  Son,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin,"  1  John  i.  7. 

2.  Are  you  groaning  under  the  power  cf 
indwelling  sin  ?  Hear  his  gracious  words  : 
"  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life  :  he  that 
believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet 
shill  he  live,"  John  xi.  25.  And  to  the  same 
purpose  his  prophet :  "  He  giveth  power  to 
the  faint ;  and  to  them  that  have  no  might, 
he  increases  strength,"  Is.  xl.  29. 

3.  Are  you  striving  in  the  fire  to  keep  the 
law?      "  Wherefore  will  you  spend  your  mo- 


OF   COMING   TO   CHRIST. 


SER.  X. 

ney  for  that  which  is  not  bread,  and  your  la- 
bour for  that  which  satisfieth  not?"  Forego 
the  vain  attempt.  Is  it  not  written,  "  Christ 
is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every 
one  that  believeth  ?"  Rom.  x.  4. 

4.  Are  you  in  temptation  ?  He  that  says, 
"  Come  unto  me,"  has  been  tempted  himself 
(Heb.  ii.  18),  and  knows  how  to  pity  you. 
He  has  power  over  your  enemy,  and  can  deli- 
ver you  with  a  word,  Mark  i.  27.  Did  he  not 
thus  dispossess  Satan  in  the  days  of  his  humi- 
liation ?  And  if  then,  surely  he  is  no  less  able 
now  ;  for  since  that  time  he  has  gloriously 
triumphed  over  the  powers  of  darkness,"  Col. 
ii.  15.  And  as  his  arm  is  not  shortened,  nei- 
ther is  his  ear  heavy  ;  he  has  said,  without  ex- 
ception, "  Whosoever  cometh  unto  me  I  will 
in  no  wise  cast  him  out"  (John  vi.  37);  and 
thousands  who  have  been  in  your  distress, 
have  successively  found  that  promise  fulfilled  : 
"  The  God  of  peace  shall  bruise  Satan  un- 
der your  feet  shortly,"  Rom.  xvi.  20;  Zech. 
iii.  2. 


SERMON  X. 

OF  COMING  TO  CHRIST. 

C  inie  unto  me  all  ye  that  labour,  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Matth 
xi.  28. 

The  dispensation  of  the  gospel  may  be  com- 
pared to  the  cities  of  refuge  in  Israel.  It  was 
a  privilege,  an  honour  to  the  nation  in  ge- 
neral, that  they  had  such  sanctuaries  of  divine 
appointment ;  but  the  real  value  of  them  was 
known  to  few.  Those  only  who  found  them- 
selves in  that  case  for  which  they  were  pro- 
vided could  rightly  prize  them.  In  like  man- 
ner, the  gospel  of  Christ  is  the  highest  privi- 
lege and  honour  of  which  a  professing  nation 
can  boast ;  but  it  can  be  truly  esteemed  and 
understood  by  none  but  weary  and  heavy- 
laden  souls,  who  have  felt  their  misery  by  na- 
ture, are  tired  of  the  drudgery  of  sin,  and  have 
seen  the  curse  of  the  broken  law  pursuing  them 
like  the  avenger  of  blood  of  old.  This  is  the 
only  consideration  that  keeps  them  from  de- 
spair, that  God  has  provided  a  remedy  by  the 
gospel ;  and  Jesus  has  said,  "  Come  unto  me, 
and  1  will  give  you  rest."  If  they  could  re- 
ceive the  full  comfort  of  these  words,  and 
heartily  obey  the  call,  their  complaints  would 
be  at  an  end  ;  but  remaining  ignorance,  un- 
belief, and  Satan,  combine  in  various  ways  to 
keep  them  back.  Some  will  say,  "  O  that  I 
could  come  !    but,    alas!    I  cannot."      Others, 

"I  fear  I  do  not  come  aright." Having, 

therefore,  endeavoured  to  shew  you  the  persons 
chiefly  intended  here  under  the  character  of 
those  who  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  I  pro- 
ceed to  consider, 


.77 


II.  What  it  is  to  come  to  Christ.  I  have 
observed  in  general,  that  it  appears  to  have  the 
same  signification  with  believing  in  him.  But 
that  we  may  understand  it  the  more  clearly, 
let  us  inquire, 

1.  How  those  to  whom  he  personally  spoke 
these  words,  in  all  probability,  understood 
them  ? 

2.  How  far  their  apprehensions  of  them  are 
applicable  and  suitable  to  our  circumstances  ? 

3.  Whether,  as  we  have  the  same  necessity, 
we  have  not  likewise  equal  encouragement  to 
come  to  him  with  those  who  were  conversant 
with  him  upon  earth  ? 

1.  It  does  not  appear,  that  those  to  whom 
our  Lord  spoke  in  person,  were  so  much  per- 
plexed as  many  are  now,  to  know  what  com- 
ing or  believing  should  mean  ;  he  seems  to 
have  been  understood  (John  vi.  30,  and  xix. 
36.),  both  by  friends  and  enemies.  Many 
questioned  his  authority  and  right  to  exact  a 
dependence  on  himself;  but  they  seemed  to  be 
at  no  difficulty  about  his  meaning.  It  certain- 
ly implied  more  than  a  mere  bodily  coming 
into  his  presence.  He  was  surrounded,  and 
even  followed,  by  multitudes,  who  never  came 
to  him  in  the  sense  of  his  invitation.  To  such 
while  standing  about  him,  he  complained, 
"  Ye  will  not  come  unto  me,  that  ye  may 
have  life,"  John  v.  40.  Therefore,  if  we  con- 
sult what  is  written  of  those  who  came  to 
Jesus  for  relief,  and  obtained  it,  we  may  con- 
clude, that  coming  to  him  implies, 

1st,  A  persuasion  of  his  power,  and  of 
their  own  need  of  his  help.  They  knew  that 
they  wanted  relief,  and  conceived  of  him  as  an 
extraordinary  person,  empowered  and  able  to 
succour  them.  This  persuasion  of  Christ's  suf- 
ficiency and  willingness  was  then,  as  it  is  now, 
afforded  in  different  degrees.  The  centurion 
spoke  with  full  assurance  ;  "  Speak  the  word 
only,  and  my  servant  shall  be  healed,"  Matth. 
viii.  8.  The  leper  more  dubiously  :  "  Lord,  if 
thou  wilt,  thou  canst  make  me  clean,"  Matth. 
viii.  2.  Another,  in  still  fainter  language : 
"  If  thou  canst  do  any  thing,  have  compassion, 
and  help  us,"  Mark  ix.  22.  The  faith  of  this 
last  was,  as  the  man  himself  acknowledged, 
mixed  with  much  unbelief  and  fear  ;  yet  Je- 
sus did  not  despise  the  day  of  small  things; 
he  pardoned  his  suspicions,  confirmed  his 
fluctuating  mind,  granted  him  his  request ; 
and  his  case  is  recorded  as  an  instance  how 
graciously  he  acceptsand  cherishes  the  feeblest 
effects  of  true  faith  :  "  He  will  not  break  the 
bruised  reed,  nor  quench  the  smoking  flax." 

2dly,  An  actual  application.  This  evi- 
denced their  faith  to  be  right.  They  did  not 
sit  content  with  having  heard  of  him,  but  im- 
proved it :  they  went  to  him,  told  him  their 
cases,  and  implored  his  compassion.  Their 
faith  prevailed  against  all  discouragements.  In 
vain  the  multitude  charged  them  to  hold  their 
peace  (Mark  x.  48.);  knowing  that  he  only 
was  able  to  relieve  them,  they  cried  so  much 


373  OF  COMING 

the  more  a  great  deal.  Even  when  he  seem- 
ed  to  discover  a  great  reserve  (Mutih.  xv.  27.) 
they  still  waited,  and  knew  not  how  to  depart 
without  an  answer.  Nor  could  a  sense  of  un- 
worthiness,  fear,  or  shame,  keep  them  back, 
( Mark  v.  27.),  when  once  they  had  a  strong 
persuasion  of  his  power  to  save. 

3dly,  When  he  was  sought  to  as  a  soul-phy- 
sician, as  was  the  case  with  many  whose  bodi- 
ly diseases  he  healed,  and  with  others  who  were 
not  sick,  those  who  came  to  him,  continued 
with  him,  and  became  his  followers.  They 
depended  on  him  for  salvation,  received  him 
as  their  Lord  and  Master,  professed  an  obe- 
dience to  his  precepts,  accepted  a  share  in  his 
reproach,  and  renounced  every  thing  that  was 
inconsistent  with  his  will,  Luke  ix.  23,  60. 
Some  had  a  more  express  and  open  call  to 
this,  as  Matthew,  who  was  sitting  at  the  re- 
ceipt of  custom,  regardless  of  Jesus,  till  he 
passed  by  him,  and  said,  "  Follow  me,"  Matth. 
ix.  9.  That  word,  accompanied  with  the  power 
of  his  love,  won  his  heart,  and  diverted  him 
from  worldly  pursuits  in  an  instant.  Others 
were  more  secretly  drawn  by  his  Spirit  and 
providence,  as  Nathaniel,  and  the  weeping 
penitent  (John  i.  46.  ;  Luke  vii.  38.),  who 
silently  washed  his  feet  with  her  tears :  and 
this  was  the  design  and  effect  of  many  of  their 
bodily  and  family  afflictions.  The  man  who 
was  brought  to  be  healed  of  the  palsy  ( Mark  ii. 
5.)  received  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins;  and 
the  ruler,  who  first  came  to  Jesus  with  no  other 
view  than  to  obtain  the  life  of  his  son  (John 
iv.  53.),  obtained  much  more  than  he  asked 
or  expected.  The  Lord  afforded  such  an  af- 
fecting sense  of  his  power  and  goodness  upon 
that  occasion,  that  he  from  henceforth  believed, 
with  all  his  house. 

2.  These  things  are  applicable  to  us.  Jesus 
is  no  longer  visible  upon  earth  ;  but  he  has 
promised  his  spiritual  presence  to  abide  with 
his  word,  ordinances,  and  people,  to  the  end 
of  time.  Weary  and  heavy-laden  souls  have 
now  no  need  to  take  a  long  journey  to  seek 
him ;  for  he  is  always  near  them,  and  in  a 
spiritual  manner,  where  his  gospel  is  preached. 
Poor  and  inconsiderable  as  we  are  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  world,  I  trust  we  have  a  right  to 
claim  his  promise  (Matth.  xviii.  20),  and  to 
believe  that  he  is  even  now  in  the  midst  of  us. 
Therefore  come  unto  him  ;  that  is, 

1st,  Raise  your  hearts  and  breathe  forth 
your  complaints  to  him.  Do  you  see  your 
need  of  him  ?  Be  persuaded,  and  pray  to  him 
to  assure  you  more  strongly  of  his  power  and 
goodness.  He  is  just  such  a  Saviour  as  your 
circumstances  require,  as  you  yourself  could 
wish  for ;  and  he  is  able  to  convince  you  in  a 
moment  that  he  is  so.  If  he  is  pleased  to  cause 
a  ray  of  his  glory  to  break  in  upon  your  mind, 
your  fears,  and  doubts,  and  griefs,  would  in  • 
stantly  give  place. 

2dly,  Persevere  in  this  application  to  him. 
Set  a  high  value  upon   these   his   public   ordi- 


TO   CIIHJST. 


SEK.  X 


nances,  and  be  constant  in  attending  them. 
His  eye  is  fixed  upon  us  ;  his  arm  is  revealed 
amongst  us.  I  trust  it  is  a  time  of  his  grace, 
and  that  every  day  we  meet  he  does  some- 
thing for  one  or  another  in  the  assembly.  He 
has  a  fixed  time  for  every  one  whom  he  re- 
lieves. He  kn-ew  how  long  the  poor  man  had 
waited  at  the  pool- side  (John  v.  6.);  and 
when  his  hour  came,  he  spake  and  relieved 
him.  So  do  you  endeavour  to  be  found  in 
his  way  ;  and  not  here  only,  but  in  whatever 
he  has  made  your  duty.  Read  his  word ;  be 
frequent  in  secret  prayer.  You  will  find  many 
things  arising  from  within  and  without  to  dis- 
courage and  weary  you  in  this  course;  but 
persist  in  it,  and  in  good  time  you  shall  find 
rest  for  your  souls.  These  are  the  means 
which  the  Lord  has  appointed  you.  Converse 
likewise  at  proper  opportunities  with  his  peo- 
ple;  perhaps  he  may  unexpectedly  join  you, 
as  he  did  the  two  disciples  when  walking  to 
Emmaus  (Luke  xxiv.  32.),  and  cause  your 
hearts  to  burn  within  you.      Further, 

3dly,  You  are  to  follow  him,  to  take  up 
his  cross,  to  make  a  profession  of  his  name 
and  gospel,  to  bear  contentedly  a  share  in  the 
reproach  and  scorn  which  is  the  usual  lot  of 
those  who  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus,  in 
the  midst  of  an  unbelieving  and  perverse  ge- 
neration. You  are  not  only  to  trust  in  him 
as  a  priest  to  atone  for  your  sins,  but  to  re- 
ceive and  obey  him  as  your  teacher  and  your 
Lord.  If  you  are  truly  weary  and  heavy 
laden,  you  will  be  glad  to  do  this,  and  are 
crying  to  him  to  enable  you  .  and  you  are 
likewise  willing  to  forsake  every  thing  that  is 
inconsistent  with  his  will  and  service.  If  you 
are  desirous  to  come  to  Christ,  it  is  not  gi^ev- 
ous  to  you  to  think  of  parting  with  your  sin- 
ful pleasures  and  vain  companions.  Rather 
these  are  a  part  of  the  burden  from  which  you 
long  to  be  freed. 

Come  in  this  way,  and  you  shall  find  rest 
for  your  souls.  Are  any  of  you  thinking,^ 
O  that  I  could!  Surely  if  I  had  seen  him, 
and  heard  him,  I  should  have  ventured.  But 
now  unbelief  and  fear  keep  me  back.  I  ob- 
serve, therefore, 

3.  That  as  we  have  no  less  need  of  Jesus 
than  those  of  old,  who  saw  him  and  conversed 
with  him  ;  so  we  have  at  least  equal  encou- 
ragement to  come  unto  him.  This,  I  think 
will  appear,  if  we  consider  that, 

On  the  one  hand,  the  bodily  presence  of 
Christ,  considered  in  itself,  had  no  peculiar  or 
extraordinary  influence  upon  those  who  saw 
him,  but  all  was  wrought  by  the  power  of 
his  Spirit ;  the  same  Spirit  which  is  promised 
to  abide  with  his  church  for  ever. 

1st,  Multitudes  who  saw  and  heard  him 
were  unmoved  and  unconvinced  by  all  the 
wonders  of  his  love.  Though  he  spake  as 
never  man  spake,  and  went  about  doing  good, 
he  was  slighted,  opposed,  and  hated,  even  to 
the  death.      And  those  who  know  the  heart  of 


sek.  X.  OF  COMING 

man,  and  believe  that  the  carnal  mind  is  en- 
mity against  God,  will  allow  it  highly  pro- 
bable, that  upon  a  supposition  he  should  ap- 
pear again  in  the  same  circumstances  of  hu- 
miliation, and  to  use  the  same  authoritative 
freedom  in  vindicating  the  commands  of  God 
from  the  vain  figments,  traditions,  and  cus- 
toms of  men,  he  would  meet  with  little  bet- 
ter treatment,  even  in  those  countries  which 
are  called  by  his  name,  than  he  did  from  the 
proud,  self-righteous,  unbelieving  Jews.  We 
may  warrantably  suppose  there  were  many 
more  lepers,  blind,  &c.  in  the  places  where 
he  resorted,  than  those  who  came  to  him  to 
be  healed. 

2dly,  Many  of  his  professed  disciples,  even 
after  they  had  followed  him  for  a  while,  turn- 
ed back,  and  forsook  him,  John,  vi.  66.  We 
have,  therefore,  the  less  reason  to  wonder, 
when  we  see  any  give  up  the  profession  of 
the  gospel,  and  return  to  the  world  again.  It 
was  thus  from  the  beginning,  and  those  who 
do  so  now,  would  have  done  so  if  they  had 
lived  then.  His  looks,  his  voice,  his  gesture, 
and  even  his  discourses  and  miracles,  could 
not  engage  a  single  person  to  cleave  to  him 
with  full  purpose  of  heart,  unless  he  was 
likewise  spiritually  revealed  to  the  eye  of  their 
faith,  as  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  the 
brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  full  of  grace 
and  truth. 

3dly,  Even  his  true  disciples,  who  were 
constantly  with  him,  to  whom  he  had  per- 
sonally made  the  most  express  and  endearing 
promises,  and  who  sometimes  thought  them- 
selves assured  beyond  £he  power  of  a  doubt, 
yet  could  not  maintain  their  confidence  longer 
than  his  Spirit  upheld  them.  To  them  ex- 
pressly, though  not  to  them  exclusively,  Je- 
sus had  said,  "  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for 
you"  (John,  xiv.  2.),  and  I  will  come  again 
to  receive  you  to  myself,  that  "  where  I  am, 
there  ye  may  be  also,"  John  xiv.  3.  When 
he  had  concluded  that  affectionate  discourse, 
their  doubts  and  fears  were  dissipated,  and 
they  could  confidently  say,  "  Now  we  be- 
lieve" (John,  xvi.  30.);  yet  it  was  not  long 
before  they  found  his  reply  fulfilled.  Jesus 
said  unto  them,  "  Do  you  now  believe  ?  The 
hour  is  coming,  when  you  shall  be  scattered 
every  man  to  his  own,  and  shall  leave  me 
alone,"  John,  xvi.  32.  Will  not  this  in- 
stance convince  you  of  your  mistake,  when 
you  think  you  could  depend  more  on  a  voice 
from  heaven,  than  on  the  written  word  ?  The 
apostles  had  the  strongest  ground  of  assur- 
ance imaginable,  the  word  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
himself,  face  to  face  ;  and  yet  this  would  not 
support  them,  without  renewed  supplies  of 
strength. 

On  the  other  hand,  consider  if  the  loss  of 
his  bodily  presence  is  not  more  thaa  made  up 
to  us, 

1st,  By  the  fuller  manifestation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  than  was  afforded  before  his  ascension. 


TO   CHRIST. 


S79 


The  Holy  Ghost  was  not  then  given  in  that 
clear  and  abundant  measure  as  afterwards 
(John,  vii.  39.),  because  Jesus  was  not  yet 
glorified.  While  he  was  with  them,  he  was 
their  Comforter  and  Teacher ;  but  he  told 
them,  "  When  I  depart,  I  will  send  you  an- 
other Comforter"  (John,  xiv.  1  6,  and  xvi.  7.), 
whose  office  and  abode  with  you  will  be  in 
many  respects  so  much  more  advantageous, 
that  on  this  account  it  is  expedient  for  you 
that  I  go  away. 

2dly,  By  the  greater  number  and  variety  of 
promises  which  we  enjoy.  We  have  not  only 
the  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  in  com- 
mon with  them,  but  to  us  the  ancient  revela- 
tions of  the  will  and  love  of  God  are  en- 
larged, explained,  applied,  and  confirmed,  by 
the  superaddition  of  the  New,  Ephes.  iii.  5. 

3dly,  By  the  experience  of  multitudes  of 
all  ages,  people,  and  languages,  who  have 
gone  before  us,  since  their  time,  the  cloud  of 
witnesses  to  the  truth  and  grace  of  God,  the 
reality  of  eternal  things,  and  the  victorious 
power  of  faith,  is  now  increased  by  the  con- 
current evidence  of  thousands  and  millions, 
who  have  overcome  all  opposition  by  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  the  word  of  his  tes- 
timony. 

4thly,  By  the  proofs  and  living  witnesses 
of  his  power  and  grace  amongst  ourselves. 
Are  there  not  many,  with  whom  you  worship 
and  converse  from  day  to  day,  who  can  tell 
you,  they  were  even  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins,  but  he  has  quickened  them  ?  They  were 
once  as  you  are,  labouring  and  heavy  laden  : 
they  waited  for  him  long,  had  a  share  in  such 
temptations  and  conflicts  as  you  now  feel, 
were  often  at  a  stand,  and  upon  the  point  of 
concluding  their  case  to  be  desperate,  as  you 
may  think  yours  at  present ;  but  at  length 
they  were  enabled  to  come  unto  him,  and  they 
have  found  rest.  Every  such  instance  should 
encourage  you  to  gird  up  the  loins  of  your 
minds ;  to  be  patient,  and  hope  to  the  end. 
As  they  have  known  your  troubles,  so  shall 
you  partake  of  their  consolations  in  due  time. 
What  is  it  then  should  hinder  you  from  com- 
ing to  Jesus,  that  you  may  find  rest  ?  What 
exceptions  can  your  unbelief  devise  against 
the  invitations,  motives,  and  example,  which 
the  Lord  sets  before  you  by  his  preached  gos- 
pel ? 

(1.)  Is  it  a  sense  of  your  load  which  makes 
you  say  you  are  not  able  ?  But  consider  that 
this  is  not  a  work,  but  a  rest.  Would  a  man 
plead,  I  am  so  heavy  laden,  that  I  cannot 
consent  to  part  with  my  burden  ;  so  weary, 
i  that  I  am  not  able  either  to  stand  still  or  lie 
down,  but  must  force  myself  farther  ?  The 
greatness  of  your  burden,  so  far  from  being 
an  objection,  is  the  very  reason  why  you  should 
instantly  come  to  Christ,  for  he  alone  is  able 
to  release  you. 

(2.)  But  perhaps  you  think  you  do  not 
come  aright.      I    ask,  how  would   you  come  ? 


3«i) 


OK  BELIEVERS   REST  IN   CHRIST. 


JsEH.   X. 


If  you  can  come  as  a  helpless  unworthy  sinner, 
without  strength,  without  righteousness,  with- 
out any  hope  but  what  arises  from  the  worth, 
work,  and  word  of  Christ,  this  is  to  come  a- 
right.  There  is  no  other  way  of  being  ac- 
cepted. Would  you  refresh  and  strengthen 
yourself,  wash  away  your  own  sins,  free  your- 
self from  your  burden,  and  then  come  to  him 
to  do  these  things  for  you  ?  May  the  Lord 
help  you  to  see  the  folly  and  unreasonableness 
of  your  unbelief! 

I  have  observed  already,  that  coming  to 
Christ  signified  more  at  first  than  merely  to 
come  into  his  presence :  so  likewise,  it  means 
more  now  than  to  be  found  among  his  wor- 
shippers. Let  none  of  you  be  deceived  with 
a  form  of  godliness.  Examine  your  religious 
profession  by  these  tests  :  Have  you  laboured 
under  a  sense  of  your  misery  ?  Have  you 
known  the  burden  of  sin  ?  Has  Jesus  given 
you  rest?  Or  are  you  earnestly  seeking  to 
him  for  it  ?  If  you  understand  not  the  mean- 
ing of  these  questions,  you  are  not  yet  in  that 
slate  to  which  the  promises  are  made.  And 
why  are  you  not  labouring  and  heavy  laden  ? 
Are  you  not  sinners  ?  Has  not  the  righteous 
God  revealed  a  law  ?  Has  he  not  guarded  this 
law  with  the  sanction  of  a  dreadful  curse  ? 
Have  you  not  transgressed  this  holy  law  in 
thought,  word,  and  deed,  times  without  num- 
ber ?  If  you  have  not,  why  do  you  join  in  the 
public  confession,  and  call  for  mercy  when 
the  commandments  are  repeated  ?  If  you 
have,  how  will  you  escape  the  penalty  ?  How 
indeed,  if  you  dare  to  neglect  this  great  sal- 
vation ?  The  law  condemns  you  already ;  if 
you  receive  not  the  gospel  you  must  perish 
without  remedy ;  for  other  name  or  means 
whereby  men  can  be  saved  there  is  none  un- 
der heaven.  Once  more  you  are  warned  of 
danger  ;  once  more  the  refuge  is  set  before 
you.  We  preach  Jesus,  who  came  to  seek 
and  to  save  those  who  were  lost ;  Jesus,  who 
was  wounded  with  whips,  and  thorns,  and 
nails,  that  his  enemies  might  be  healed.  Does 
not  this  thought  affect  you  ?  Will  you  slight 
his  love,  despise  his  blood,  and  crucify  him 
afresh?  God  forbid.  Is  there  not  some  heart 
now  relenting,  beginning  to  feel  impressions 
of  fe:ir,  shame,  and  grief?  Happy  beginning  ! 
Obey  the  voice  of  God  now  opening  in  your 
conscience  !  Now  is  the  time  to  pray  ;  before 
you  knew  not  what  to  pray  for ;  but  now 
you  see  you  want  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  the 
teaching  of  his  Spirit.  "  Ask,  and  you  shall 
receive;  and  seek,  and  you  shall  find."  Take 
your  warrant  from  my  text;  Jesus  has  said, 
*'  Come  unto  me,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 
Let  your  hearts  answer,  "  Take  away  our 
iniquity,  and  receive  us  graciously:  Behold, 
we  come  unto  thee,  for  thou  art  the  Lord  our 
God  ;  and  in  thee  the  fatherless,  the  helpless, 
the  comfortless,  find  mercy." 


SERMON   XI. 

OF  BELIEVERS  REST  IN  CHRIST. 

Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heauy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Matth  xi. 
28. 

The  learned  have  a  variety  of  arguments 
whereby  to  prove  the  scriptures  to  be  tl.e 
word  of  God.  But  though  that  kind  of  proof, 
which  may  be  brought  in  a  way  of  reasoning 
and  external  evidence,  is  doubtless  useful  up- 
on proper  occasions;  yet  I  apprehend  the 
chief  and  most  satisfactory  argument  to  those 
who  are  capable  of  receiving  it,  arises  from 
the  correspondence  between  the  subject-mat- 
ter of  the  scriptures  and  the  state  of  an  awa- 
kened mind.  When  the  eyes  of  the  under 
standing  are  opened,  we  begin  to  see  every 
thing  around  us  to  be  just  so  as  the  scriptures 
have  described  them.  Then,  and  not  till  then, 
we  perceive,  that  what  we  read  in  the  Bible 
concerning  the  horrid  evil  of  sin,  the  vileness 
of  our  fallen  nature,  the  darkness  and  irmor- 
ance  of  those  who  know  not  God,  our  own 
emptiness,  and  the  impossibility  of  finding  re- 
lief and  comfort  from  creatures,  is  exactly 
true.  We  cannot  but  apply  the  words  of  the 
woman  of  Samaria,  and  say,  Come  and  see 
a  book  that  has  told  me  all  that  ever  I  did 
(John  iv.  29.),  the  ground  of  all  my  com- 
plaints, the  true  cause  and  nature  of  all  the 
evil  I  either  see,  hear,  or  feel,  from  day  to 
day.  And  as  we  find  our  disease  precisely 
described,  so  we  perceive  a  suitableness  in  the 
proposed  remedy.  We  need  a  Saviour,  and 
he  must  be  a  mighty  one  ;  but  though  our 
wants  and  sins,  our  fears  and  enemies,  are 
great  and  numerous,  we  are  convinced  that 
the  character  of  Christ  is  sufficient  to  answer 
them  all.  We  need  a  rest,  a  rest  which  the 
world  cannot  give.  Inquire  where  we  will 
among  the  creatures,  experience  brings  in  the 
same  answer  from  all,  "  It  is  not  in  me." 
This  again  confirms  the  word  of  God,  which 
has  forewarned  us  that  we  shall  meet  nothing 
but  disappointment  in  such  pursuits.  But  there 
is  a  spiritual  rest  spoken  of  which  we  know 
to  be  the  verj  thing  we  want,  and  all  our  re- 
maining solicitude  is  how  to  attain  it.  From 
hence,  as  I  said,  we  may  assuredly  conclude, 
that  the  book  which  gives  us  such  just  views 
of  every  thing  that  passes,  must  be  given  by 
inspiration  from  him  who  is  the  searcher  of 
hearts.  This  proof  is  equally  plain  and  con 
elusive  to  all  capacities  that  are  spiritually 
enlightened,  and  such  only  are  able  to  under- 
stand it.      We  are  now  to  speak, 

III.     Of  this    promised  rest       And    here 
two  things  offer  to  our  consideration  : 

1.  What  this  rest  is  ? 

2.  How  it  is  obtained? 


3EK.  XI 


OF  BELIEVERS  REST   IN   CHRIST. 


1.  The  Greek  word*  expresses  something 
more  than  rest,  or  a  mere  relaxation  from  toil ; 
it  denotes  refreshment  likewise.  A  person 
weary  with  long  bearing  a  heavy  burden,  will 
need  not  only  to  have  it  removed,  but  like- 
wise he  wants  food  and  refreshment,  to  restore 
his  spirits,  and  to  repair  his  wasted  strength. 
Such  is  the  rest  of  the  gospel.  It  not  only 
puts  a  period  to  our  fruitless  labour,  but  it 
affords  a  sweet   reviving  cordial.       There  is 


381 

is  turned  away,  and  thou  comfortedst  me. 
Behold,  God  is  my  salvation  :  I  will  trust, 
and  not  be  afraid :  for  the  Lord  Jehovah  is 
my  strength  and  my  song ;  he  also  is  become 
my  salvation,"  Isa.  xii.   1,  2. 

(3.)  There  is  likewise  a  rest  from  the  power 
of  sin.  In  vain  is  this  sought  from  resolu- 
tions and  endeavours  in  our  own  strength. 
Even  after  we  are  spiritually  disposed,  and 
begin  to  understand  the  gospel-salvation,  it  is 


not  only  peace,  but  joy  in  believing.      Taken  i  usually,  for  a  season,  rather  a  fight  than  a 
at  large,  we  may  consider  it  as  twofold  : 

1  st,  A  present  rest.  So  the  apostle  speaks, 
"  We  who  have  believed  do  enter  into  rest," 
Heb.  iv.  3. 

(1.)  The  common,  wearisome  pursuit  of 
the  world,  is  described  as  "  spending  their 
money  for  that  which  is  not  bread,  and  their 
labour  for  that  which  satisfieth  not"  (Isa.  Iv. 
2)  ;  wandering  from  object  to  object  in  quest 
of  good  (Psal.  iv.  6),  but  still  mortified  by 
incessant  and  repeated  disappointment.  We 
should  pity  a  person  whom  we  should  see 
•eeking  some  necessary  thing  day  after  day, 
which  we  knew  was  impossible  to  be  found 
there.  It  is,  however,  the  case  with  all  till 
they  come  to  Christ,  Satisfaction  is  what 
they  profess  to   aim   at,  and  they  turn  every 


rest.  But  when  we  are  brought  nearer  to 
Christ,  and  taught  to  live  upon  him  as  our 
sanctification,  deriving  all  our  strength  and 
motives  from  him  by  faith,  we  obtain  a  com- 
parative rest  in  this  respect  also.  We  find 
hard  things  become  easy,  and  mountains  sink 
into  plains,  by  his  power  displayed  in  our  be- 
half.     Farther, 

(4.)  There  is  a  rest  from  our  own  works. 
The  believer  is  quite  delivered  from  the  law 
as  a  covenant,  and  owes  it  no  longer  service 
in  that  view.  His  obedience  is  gracious, 
cheerful,  the  effect  of  love,  and  therefore  hj 
is  freed  from  those  fears  and  burdens  which 
once  disturbed  him  in  the  way  of  duty.  At 
first  there  was  a  secret,  though  unallowed  de- 
pendence on  himself.      When  his  frames  were 


in  him.  When  they  come  to  him  their  wishes 
are  answered.  This  is  exemplified  by  our 
Lord  in  the  character  of  a  merchant-man  seek- 
ing goodly  pearls  (Math.  xiii.  46),  who  was  still 


tone  (as  we  say),  try  every  expedient  to  meet  j  lively  he  was  strong,  and  thought  he  had  sorae- 
with  it,  but  in  vain.      It  is  only  to  be  found  '.  thing  to   trust  to,   but  under  a  change  (and 

changes  will  happen)  he  was  at  his  wits  end. 
But  there  is  a  promised,  and  therefore  an  at- 
tainable rest  in  this  respect, — a  liberty  and 
power  to  repose  on  the  finished  work  and  un- 
upon  the  inquiry  till  he  had  found  one  pearl  of  changeable  word  of  Christ;  to  follow  him 
great  price.      This  answered  and  exceeded  his  ,  steadily  through  light  and  darkness  ;   to  glory 


desires  :  upon  the  discovery  of  this  one,  he  re- 
joiced to  forego  all  his  former  acquisitions,  and 
to  give  up  every  other  possession  on  purpose 
that  he  might  obtain  it. 

(2.)  I  have  spoken  something  concerning 
the  wearisome  exercise  of  a  conscience  bur- 
dened with  guilt;  but  by  coming  to  Jesus, 
and  believing  in  him,  an  end  is  put  to  this. 
When  we  are  enabled  to  view  our  sins  as  laid 
upon  Christ,  that  those  who  come  are  accepted 
in  the  Beloved,  that  there  is  no  more  condem- 
nation, but  pardon,  reconciliation,  and  adop- 
tion are  the  sure  privileges  of  all  who  trust  in 
him, — O  the  sweet  calm  that  immediately  takes 
place  in  the  soul  !  It  is  something  more  than 
deliverance.  There  is  a  pleasure  more  than 
answerable  to  the  former  pain,  a  comfort 
greater  than  all  the  trouble  that  went  before 
it.  Yea,  the  remembrance  of  the  former  bit- 
terness greatly  enhances  tiie  present  pleasure. 
And  the  soul  understands  and  experiences  the 
meaning  of  those  scriptures :  "  When  the  Lord 
turned  the  captivity  of  Zion,  then  was  our 
mouth  filled  with  laughter,  and  our  tongue 
with  singing,"  Psal.  cxxvi.  1,  2.  "  In  that 
day  thou  shalt  say,  O  Lord,  I  will  praise  thee  : 
though  thou  wast  angry  with  me,  thine  anger 


in  him  only  when  our  frames  are  brightest; 
and  to  trust  in  him  assuredly  when  we  are  at 
our  lowest  ebb. 

Such  is  the  present  rest ;  different  in  de- 
grees according  to  the  proportion  of  faith,  and 
capable  of  increase  even  in  those  who  have 
attained  most,  so  long  as  we  remain  in  this 
imperfect  state.      But  there  is, 

2dly,  A  future  rest,  besides  and  beyond  all 
that  can  be  experienced  here  :  "  There  re- 
maineth  yet  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God,' 
Heb.  iv.  9.  Faint  and  imperfect  are  our  most 
enlarged  ideas  of  that  glory  which  shall  be  re- 
vealed. "  It  does  not  yet  appear  what  we 
shall  be,"  1  John  iii.  2.  Who  can  describe 
or  conceive  the  happiness  of  heaven  ?  The 
most  we  can  clearly  understand  of  it  lies  in 
negatives.  It  will  be  as  unlike  as  possible  to 
tiiis  wilderness  of  sin  and  sorrow  where  we 
are  now  confined.  Here  we  are  in  a  warfare, 
but  then  we  shall  enter  into  perfect  rest. 

( 1 . )  A  rest  from  all  sin.  There  no  un- 
clean thing  shall  defile  or  disturb  us  for  ever. 
We  shall  be  free  from  sin  in  ourselves.  This 
alone  would  be  worth  dying  for  Indwelling 
sin  is  a  burden  under  which  even  the  redeem- 

I  ed  of  the  Lord  must  groan,  whilst  they  so- 
journ in  the  body;  and  those  who  are  most 

j  spiritual  are  most  deeply  affected  with  shame. 


382  OF  BELIEVERS  REST  IN 

humiliation,  and  gritf,  on  this  account,  be- 


cause they  have  the  clearest  views  of  the  holi- 
ness of  God,  the  spirituality  of  the  law,  the  love 
of  Christ,  and  the  deceitfulness  of  their  own 
hearts.  Therefore  the  apostle  Paul,  though 
perhaps  in  grace  and  talents,  in  zeal  and  use- 
fulness, distinguished  above  all  the  children 
of  Adam,  accounted  himself  the  chief  of  sin- 
ners (1  Tim.  i.  15.),  less  than  the  least  of  all 
saints  (Eph.  iii.  8.),  and  cried  out,  under  the 
disparity  he  felt  between  what  he  was  and 
what  he  would  be,  "  O  wretched  man  that 
I  am  !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body 
of  this  death  ?"  Rom.  vii.  24.  But  we  shall 
not  carry  this  burden  beyond  the  grave.  The 
hour  of  dissolution  shall  free  us  from  the  in- 
bred enemies  (the  inseparable  concomitants  of 
this  frail  perishing  nature)  which  now  trouble 
us,  and  we  shall  see  them  no  more  for  ever. 

Again,  we  shall  be  free  from  all  the  displeas- 
ing  effects  of  sin  in  others.      Our  hearts  shall 
be  no  more  pained,  nor  our  ears  wounded,  nor 
our  eyes  filled  with  tears,  by  those  evils  which 
fill  the  earth.      Now,  like  Lot  in   Sodom,  we 
are  grieved  every  day  with  the  filthy   conver- 
sation of  the  wicked,  2  Pet.  ii.  7.      Who  that 
has  any  love  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  any  spark  of 
true  holiness,  any  sense  of  the  worth  of  souls 
in  his  heart,  can  see  what  passes  amongst  us 
without  trembling  ?    How   openly,   daringly, 
almost  universally,  are  the  commandments  of 
God  broken,  his  gospel  despised,  his  patience 
abused,  and  his  power  defied  !   To  be  a  silent 
spectator  of  these  things  is  sufficiently  griev- 
ous; but  if  (as  we  are  in  duty  bound)  we 
dare   to  stand  as  witnesses  for    God    in  the 
midst  of  a  crooked  and   perverse  nation,  we 
find  the  spirit  of  the  first  born.      Cain  instant- 
ly takes  fire,  and  denounces  war  against  all 
who  should  presume  to  say,  that  we  ought  to 
obey  and  fear  God  rather  than  men.      Invec- 
tives and  ill  treatment,  are  the  certain   lot  of 
all  who  openly  and  consistently  appear  on  the 
Lord's  side ;  and  if  they   escape  stripes  and 
bonds,  imprisonment  and  death,  it  is  to  be  a- 
scribed  to  the  restraints  of  divine  providence, 
and  (as  a  means  in  our  happy  land)   to  the 
temper  of  the  laws,  and  to  the  clemency  of  the 
powers  under  wi.om  we  live.      These  things 
often  constrain  the  believer  to  say,  "  O  that  I 
had  wings  like  a  dove  !  for  then  would  I  flee  a- 
way,  and  be  at  rest,''  Psal.  lv.  6.      Let  us  not 
be  weary  or  faint  in  our  minds;  ere  long  this 
wish  shall  be  answered.      A  glorious   rest  a- 
waits  you,  where  sin  and  sinners  shall   have 
no  plate,  nor  the  alarms  of  war  be  heard  any 
more. 

(2.)  A  rest  from  all  outward  afflictions, 
which,  though  necessary,  and,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  divine  grace,  profitable,  are  griev- 
ous to  bear ;  but  then  they  will  be  necessary 
no  more.  Where  there  is  no  sin,  there  shall 
be  no  sorrow.  Then,  believers,  God  "  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  your  eyes  ;  and  there 
shall  he   no   more    death,    neither  sorrow   nor 


CHRIST.  SEKA1.  XI 

crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain: 
for  the  former  things  are  passed  away,"  Rev. 
xxi.  4. 

(:$.)  A  rest  from  Satan's  temptations.  How 
busy  is  this  adversary  of  God  and  man  !  what 
various  arts,  what  surprising  force,  what  con- 
stant assiduity,  does  he  employ  to  ensnare, 
distress,  and  terrify  those  who  by  grace  have 
escaped  from  his  servitude !  He  says,  like 
Pharoah  of  old,  "  I  will  pursue,  I  will  over- 
take, I  will  destroy,"  Exod.  xv.  9.  He  fol- 
lows them  to  the  last  stage  of  life,  but  he  can 
follow  them  no  farther.  The  moment  of  their 
departure  out  of  the  body,  shall  place  them 
beyond  his  reach  for  ever 

(4.)  A  rest  from  unsatisfied  desires.      Here 
the  more  we  drink,  the  more  we   thirst ;  but 
there  our  highest  wishes  shall  be  crowned  and 
exceeded  ;   we  shall  rest  in   full  communion 
with  him  whom  we  love  ;  we  shall  no   more 
complain  of  interruptions  and  imperfections, 
of  an  absent  God,  and  a  careless  heart.   Here, 
when  we  obtain  a  little  glimpse  of  his  presence, 
when  he  brings  us  into  his  banqueting-honse, 
and  spreads  his  banner  of  love  over  us,  how 
gladly  would  we  remain  in  such  a  desirable 
frame  !    How  unwilling  are  we  to  come  down 
from  the  mount !    But  these  pleasing  seasons 
are  quickly  ended,  and   often   give  place  It 
some  sudden  unexpected  trial,  which  robs  us 
of  all  that  sweetness  in  which   we   lately  re- 
joiced.     But  when  we  ascend  the  holy  hill  of 
God  above,  we  shall  come  down  no  more  ;  we 
shall  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord,  never  offend 
him,    never   be    separated    from    him    again. 
We  shall  likewise  rest  in  full  conformity  to 
him,  Psal.  xvii.  15.      Here  we  find  a  mixture 
of  evil  in  our   best  moments  :   when  we  ap- 
proach nearest  to  him,  we  have   the  quickest 
sense  of  our  defilement,  and  how  much  we 
fall  short  in  every  branch  of  duty,   in   every 
temper  of  our  hearts ;  but  when  we  shall  see 
Jesus  as  he  is,  we  shall  be  fully  transformed 
into  his  image,  and  be  perfectly  like  him. 

2.  But  how  is  this  rest  to  be  obtained? 
Blessed  be  God,  in  that  way  which  alone  can 
render  it  attainable  by  such  unworthy  indi- 
gent creatures.  If  it  was  to  be  bought,  we 
have  nothing  to  offer  for  it ;  if  it  was  propos- 
ed as  a  reward  of  merit,  we  can  do  nothing 
to  deserve  it  But  Jesus  has  said,  "  I  will  give 
you  rest."  Our  title  to  it  cost  him  dear  ;  he 
purchased  it  for  us  with  his  own  blood ;  but 
to  us  it  comes  freely.  Faith  in  his  name  puts 
us  in  immediate  possession  of  the  first-fruits, 
the  earnest  of  this  inheritance ;  and  faith  will 
lead  us  powerfully  and  safely  through  all  hind- 
rances and  enemies  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  the 
whole.  Faith  unites  us  to  Christ ;  gives  us  an 
immediate  interest  in  all  the  benefits  of  his 
life,  death,  and  intercession  ;  opens  the  way 
of  communication  for  all  needful  supplies  of 
grace  here,  and  insures  to  us  the  accomplish- 
ment of  all  the  Lord  has  spoken  to  us  of,  in 


state  of  glory.      "  He  that  helieveth  shall  be 


sen.  xi. 


OF  BELIEVERS  REST  IN   CHRIST. 


383 


saved  '  (Mark  xvi.  16.)  ;  saved  in  defiance  of 
all  the  opposition  of  earth  and  hell;  saved 
notwithstanding  he  is  in  himself  unstable  as 
water,  weak  as  a  bruised  reed,  and  helpless  as 
infancy.  What  Jesus  will  give,  none  can 
take  away.  Only  remember  that  it  is  a  free 
gift.  Receive  it  thankfully,  and  rejoice  in  the 
Giver.  Let  him  have  all  the  glory  of  his 
own  undertaking.  Renounce  every  hope  and 
every  plea,  but  his  promise  and  mediation. 
Commit  your  souls  to  him,  and  then  fear  no- 
thing. "  The  eternal  God  is  your  refuge, 
and  underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms," 
Deut.  xxxiii  27.  He  will  fight  your  battles, 
heal  your  wounds,  refresh  your  fainting  spi- 
rits, guide  you  by  his  counsel  while  here,  and 
at  last  receive  you  to  himself. 

May  we  not  therefore  say,  Happy  are  the 
people  that  are  in  such  a  case  !  happy  they, 
who  have  been  enabled  to  accept  this  gracious 
invitation,  who  have  already  entered  upon  the 
rest  of  grace,  and  have  a  well-grounded  ex- 
pectation that  they  shall  rest  in  glory  !  Be- 
lievers, what  should  you  fear,  or  why  com- 
plain ?  Look  back  to  where  the  Lord  found 
you  sleeping  in,  helpless  and  hopeless,  yet 
insensible  of  your  danger :  look  forward  to 
what  he  has  provided  for  you,  an  inheritance 
incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not 
away  ;  a  crown  of  life,  a  kingdom  that  can- 
not be  shaken  .  think  of  the  love,  the  suffer- 
ing, the  glory  of  him  to  whom  you  owe  these 
blessings ;  and  let  these  considerations  ani- 
mate you  to  run  with  patience  and  thankful- 
ness the  race  that  is  set  before  you,  Heb. 
xii.  1. 

Happy  likewise  are  you,  whose  hearts  are 
fixed  upon  this  rest,  and  this  Saviour,  though 
as  yet  you  are  in  heaviness  through  manifold 
temptations.  The  Lord  will  give  you  rest. 
Doubt  it  not;  he  cannot  deny  himself;  wait 
his  hour;  though  he  seem  to  tarry  long,  yet 
maintain  your  confidence  in  his  promise.  Re- 
double your  prayers,  cry  mightily  to  him,  he 
will  not  (as  perhaps  many  around  you  do)  re- 
buke your  importunity,  and  charge  you  to 
hold  your  peace.  Look  at  the  generations  of 
old,  and  see ;  did  ever  any  trust  in  the  Lord, 
and  was  confounded  ?  or  did  any  abide  in  his 
fear,  and  was  forsaken  (  or  whom  did  he  ever 
despise  that  called  upon  him? 

And  you,  who  are  yet  strangers  to  rest,  are 
thus  far  happy,  that  you  are  still  spared,  and 
have  the  gospel  continued  to  you.  The  Lord 
is  still  waiting  to  be  gracious  ;  he  says  to  all, 
Come  unto  me,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your 
souls.  Do  you  not  see  this  rest  desirable  ? 
What  rest,  either  here  or  hereafter,  can  you 
expect,  if  you  remain  in  the  service  of  sin  ? 
Why  may  not  you  c/btain  your  liberty  ?  You 
are  no  worse  than  others,  either  by  nature  or 
practice.  Though  you  have  been  transgres- 
sors from  the  womb,  you  are  not  excluded,  if 
you  do  not  exclude  yourselves  :  though  your 
•»inful   habits  and  inclinations  are   exceeding 


strong,  he  is  able  to  subdue  them.  There  is 
a  power  in  his  blood,  and  in  that  Spirit  which 
he  is  exalted  to  bestow,  sufficient  to  make  the 
Ethiopian  change  his  skin,  and  the  leopard 
his  spots  (Jer.  xiii.  23.),  to  soften  the  hardest 
heart,  and  to  pardon  the  most  aggravated 
guilt,  and  to  enable  those  to  do  good  who  have 
been  accustomed  to  do  evil.  Arise,  he  call- 
eth  you.  O  may  he  accompany  the  outward 
call  of  his  word  with  the  efficacious  power  of 
his  grace,  that  you  may  this  inslant  obey  his 
voice,  and  flee  to  him  for  refuge !  Whi- 
ther can  you  flee  else  ?  Who  but  Jesus  can 
save  you  from  the  wrath  to  come  ?  Be  wise, 
and  delay  no  longer.  "  But  if  you  will  not 
hear,  mine  eye  shall  weep  for  you  in  secret 
places,"  Jer.  xiii.  17.  If  you  will  not  come 
to  Jesus  for  life,  you  must  die.  If  you  are 
out  of  Christ,  God  is  angry  with  you  every 
day.  The  curse  of  his  broken  law  lies  heavy 
upon  you,  whether  you  are  asleep  or  awake, 
abroad  or  at  home,  at  the  market  or  in  the 
church.  The  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  against 
you  ;  if  you  turn  not,  he  will  whet  his  sword 
(Psal.  vii.  12.)  ;  he  hath  bent  his  bow,  and 
made  it  ready  :  he  hath  prepared  the  instru- 
ments of  death  to  smite  you ;  he  hath  or- 
dained the  arrows  of  his  vengeance  against 
you  :  And  can  you,  dare  you,  go  on  in  your 
sins,  and  say,  I  shall  have  peace  ?  O  may 
you  be  wise  in  time  !  "  It  is  a  fearful  thing 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God,' 
Heb.  x.  31.  "  Consider  this,  ye  that  forget 
him,  lest  he  tear  you  in  pieces,  and  there  be 
none  to  deliver."  Psal.  1.  22. 


SERMON   XII. 

OF  THE  YOKE  OF  CHRIST. 

Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me :  for 
I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart  :  and  ye  shall 
find  rest  to  your  souls.      Matth.  xi    29. 

Those  who  are  enabled  to  come  unto  Christ, 
not  only  experience  a  change  of  state,  but  of 
character,  disposition,  and  practice.  They  are 
not  only  freed  from  condemnation,  but  they 
are  made  partakers  of  a  divine  nature.  They 
are  delivered  from  the  slavery  and  yoke  of 
Satan,  and  made  willing  in  the  day  of  the 
Lord's  power,  to  accept  and  embrace  his 
yoke,  which  is  commended  to  us  in  the  fol- 
lowing verse,  as  easy  and  pleasant.  Our  Lord 
speaks  of  his  service  as  a  yoke  or  burden,  be- 
cause it  is  so  esteemed  by  all  who  know  him 
not.  They  account  him  a  hard  master,  and 
think  his  service  wearisome ;  but  those  who 
have  made  the  experiment,  find  it  otherwise  : 
though,  it  must  be  confessed,  it  exposes  to 
some  difficulties,  calls  for  the  daily  exercise  of 
self-denial,  and  will  not  admit  either  of  com 
petition  or  composition  with  the  world,    nor 


384. 


OF  THE   YOKE  OF  CHRIST. 


SDK.    XII 


can  be  pleasing  to  the  unrenewed  part  of  our 
nature.  But  the  knowledge  of  his  love,  the 
hope  of  glory,  and  those  seasonable  refresh  ■ 
ments  with  which  he  is  pleased  to  favour 
those  who  come  unto  him,  sweeten  every  bit- 
ter thing,  and  make  them  willing  to  bear  his 
yoke,  and  to  prefer  it  to  all  that  the  woild  ac- 
counts freedom. 
Let  us  inquire, 

1.  What  is  meant  by  the  yoke  of  Christ? 

2.  The  proper  means  by  which  we  are  en- 
abled to  take  it  upon  us ;  that  is,  the  believ- 
ing consideration  of  him,  as  our  effectual 
teacher  and  perfect  pattern. 

3.  The  happy  effect  of  bearing  hi«i  yoke  : 
We  shall  find  rest  to  our  souls. 

I.  The  yoke  of  Christ,  taken  at  large,  in- 
cludes all  the  dependence,  obedience,  and 
submission  which  we  owe  him,  as  our  right- 
ful Lord  and  gracious  Redeemer.  He  has 
a  double  right  to  us ;  "  he  made  us,"  Psal. 
c.  3.  We  are  the  creatures  of  his  power  : 
he  gave  us  our  being,  with  all  our  capaci- 
ties and  enjoyments.  And  farther,  "  he 
bought  us"  (Acts,  xx.  28.);  he  pitied  us  in 
our  low  and  fallen  state,  and  gave  his  own 
life,  his  precious  blood,  to  ransom  us  from 
that  ruin  and  misery  which  was  the  just  de- 
sert of  our  sins.  There  is  good  reason,  there- 
fore, that  we  should  be  his,  and  live  and  cleave 
to  him  in  love  alone  ;  that  we  should  no  longer 
live  to  ourselves,  but  to  him  who  died  for 
us,  and  rose  again.  In  particular,  we  may 
consider, 

1.  The  yoke  of  his  profession.  This  is  very 
pleasing  to  a  gracious  soul,  so  far  as  faith  is 
in  exercise.  Far  from  being  ashamed  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ,  he  is  ready  and  willing  to 
tell  all  who  will  hear,  what  God  has  done  for 
his  soul.  Many  young  converts,  in  the  first 
warmth  of  their  affection,  have  more  need  of 
a  bridle  than  of  a  spur  in  this  concern.  For 
want  of  prudence  to  time  things  rightly,  and 
perhaps  for  want  of  more  tenderness  mixed  with 
their  zeal,  they  are  apt  to  increase  their  own 
troubles,  and  sometimes,  by  pushing  things 
too  far,  to  obstruct  the  success  of  their  well- 
meant  endeavours  to  convince  others.  But 
though  this  is  a  fault,  it  is  a  fault  on  the  right 
side,  which  time,  experience,  and  observation, 
will  correct.  And  though  we  are  hasty  enough 
to  condemn  the  irregular  overflowings  of  a 
heart  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  eternal 
things,  I  doubt  not  but  the  Lord,  who  owns 
and  approves  the  main  principle  from  whence 
they  spring,  be!. olds  them  with  a  far  more 
favourable  eye  than  he  does  the  cold,  cau- 
tious, temporizing  conduct  of  some  others, 
who  value  themselves  upon  their  prudence. 
We  should  judge  thus,  if  we  had  servants  of 
our  own.  If  we  had  one  who  was  heartily 
and  affectionately  devoted  to  our  interests,  al- 
ways  ready  to  run  by  night  or  by  day,  refus- 
ing no  danger  or  difficulty,  from  a  desire  to 
please  us,    though   sometimes,    through   igno- 


rance or  inattention,  he  should  make  a  mis- 
take, we  should  prefer  him  to  another  of 
greater  knowledge  and  abilities,  who  was  al- 
ways slow  and  backward,  and  dit covered  at 
least  as  much  care  to  save  himself  from  in- 
conveniences as  to  promote  our  service.  How. 
ever,  this  warm  zeal  usually  suffers  abate- 
ment ;  we  are  flesh  as  well  as  spirit ;  and 
there  are  some  circumstances  attending  a  pro- 
fession of  the  gospel,  on  the  account  of  which 
it  may  be  with  propriety  termed  a  yoke  to  us 
who  have  so  many  remaining  evils  within  us, 
and  so  many  outward  temptations  to  call  them 
forth.  It  will  certainly  stir  up  opposition 
from  the  world,  and  may  probably  break  in 
upon  our  dearest  connections,  and  threaten 
our  most  necessary  temporal  interests,  2  Tim. 
iii.  12;   Matth.  x.  36. 

2.  The  yoke  of  his  precepts.  These  the 
gracious  soul  approves  and  delights  in  ;  but 
still  we  are  renewed  but  in  part.  And  when 
the  commands  of  Christ  stand  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  the  will  of  man,  or  call  upon  us  to 
sacrifice  a  right  hand  or  a  right  eye ;  though 
the  Lord  will  surely  make  those  who  depend 
upon  him  victorious  at  the  last,  yet  it  will  cost 
them  a  struggle ;  so  that,  when  they  are  sen- 
sible how  much  they  owe  to  his  power  work- 
ing in  them,  and  enabling  them  to  overcome 
they  will,  at  the  same  time,  have  a  lively  con- 
viction of  their  own  weakness.  Abraham  be- 
lieved in  God,  and  delighted  to  obey;  yet  when 
he  was  commanded  to  sacrifice  his  only  son, 
this  was  no  easy  trial  of  his  sincerity  and  obe- 
dience ;  and  all  who  are  partakers  of  his  faith 
are  exposed  to  meet,  sooner  or  later,  with 
some  call  of  duty  little  less  contrary  to  the 
dictates  of  flesh  and  blood. 

3.  The  yoke  of  his  dispensations.  This 
none  can  bear  as  they  ought,  but  those  who 
come  to  him.  It  is  natural  to  us  to  repine, 
to  fret,  and  toss  like  a  wild  bull  in  a  net  (Isa. 
li.  20.),  when  we  are  under  afflictions.  Be- 
lievers likewise  find  their  flesh  weak,  when 
their  spirits  are  willing;  yet  they  see  sufficient 
reasons  to  submission,  and  they  know  where 
to  apply  for  grace.  Affliction  is  a  touchstone 
that  discovers  what  spirit  a  man  is  of.  The 
hypocrite  may  keep  up  a  fair  semblance  of 
true  piety,  while  all  things  go  smooth  and  to 
his  wish  ;  but  in  sharp  troubles  the  mask  will 
drop  off.  Satan  proceeded  upon  this  maxim 
in  his  contest  with  Job  ;  and  the  maxim  is  a 
truth,  though  Satan  was  mistaken  in  the  appli- 
cation. 

II.  The  appointed  means  by  which  sinners 
are  enabled  to  bear  this  threefold  yoke,  is  sug- 
gested in  the  words,  "  Learn  of  me,  for  I 
am  meek  and  lowly."  However  amiable  and 
desirable  the  disposition  I  have  described 
may  appear,  you  will  never  acquire  it  by  any 
strength,  wisdom,  or  diligence  of  your  own 
Our  Lord,  to  prevent  you  wearying  yourselves 
with  unsuccessful  efforts  and  needless  disap- 
pointments,    has    assured     you     beforehand, 


SER.  XII. 


OF  THE    YOKE  OF  CHRIST. 


385 


"  Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing  "  John  xv. 
5.  But  here  he  graciously  offers  you  the  as- 
sistance you  need.  As  if  he  had  said,  I  know 
you  are  unable  of  yourselves,  but  I  will  help 
you.  Be  not  afraid  of  the  prospect,  but  con- 
sider what  I  can  do.  To  my  power  all  things 
are  easy ;  I  can  make  the  crooked  straight, 
and  the  rough  smooth ;  I  can  sweetly  engage 
your  affections,  subdue  your  wills  ;  influence 
your  practice,  and  deliver  you  from  your  sin- 
ful fears.  Consider  likewise  what  I  have 
done  ;  thousands,  who  by  nature  were  as  un- 
skilful and  impatient  as  yourselves,  have  been 
made  willing  in  the  day  of  my  power. 

Therefore,  Learn  of  me. — Be  not  afraid  to 
come  to  me,  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  of 
heart.  Great  and  mighty  as  I  am,  you  may 
freely  apply  to  me  in  every  doubt  and  diffi- 
culty. Awakened  souls,  through  a  sense  of 
guilt,  and  the  power  of  unbelief,  are  back- 
ward and  unwilling  to  come  to  Christ.  They 
think,  surely  he  will  take  no  notice  of  such  a 
one  as  I  am.  But  observe  how  kind  and 
condescending  is  his  invitation ;  how  graci- 
ously suited  to  engage  our  confidence !  It 
was  said  of  a  Roman  emperor,  that  those  who 
durst  speak  to  him  were  ignorant  of  his  great- 
ness, but  those  who  durst  not  were  still  more 
ignorant  of  his  goodness.  This  was  a  false 
and  impious  compliment  when  applied  to  a 
sinful  mortal ;  but  it  is  justly  applicable  to 
Jesus,  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords. 
His  glorious  majesty  may  well  fill  our  hearts 
with  awe,  and  humble  us  unto  the  dust  before 
him  :  but  his  immense  compassions,  tender- 
ness, and  love,  are  revealed,  to  overbalance 
our  fears,  to  give  us  confidence  to  draw  nigh 
to  him,  and  an  encouraging  hope  that  he  will 
draw  nigh  to  us. 

Again,  Learn  of  me. — I  know  the  cause 
why  these  things  appear  so  hard.  It  is  owing 
to  the  pride  and  impatience  of  your  hearts. 
To  remedy  this,  take  me  for  your  example ; 
I  require  nothing  of  you  but  what  I  have  per- 
formed before  you,  and  on  your  account :  in 
the  path  I  mark  out  for  you,  you  may  per- 
ceive my  own  footsteps  all  the  way.  This  is 
a  powerful  argument,  a  sweet  recommenda- 
tion of  the  yoke  of  Christ,  to  those  who  love 
him,  that  he  bore  it  himself.  He  is  not  like 
the  Pharisees,  whom  he  censured  f  Matt,  xxiii. 
4.)  on  this  very  account,  who  bound  heavy 
burdens,  and  grievous  to  be  borne,  and  laid 
them  on  men's  shoulders,  but  they  themselves 
would  not  move  them  with  one  of  their  fin- 
gers. 

1.  Are  you  terrified  with  the  difficulties  at- 
tending your  profession,  disheartened  by  hard 
usage,  or  too  ready  to  shew  resentment  against 
those  who  oppose  you  ?  Learn  of  Jesus,  imi- 
tate and  admire  his  constancy  :  "  Consider  him 
who  endured  the  contradiction  of  sinners 
against  himself,"  Heb.  xii.  3.  Make  a  com- 
parison (so  the  word*  imports)  between  your- 


self  and  him,  between  the  contradiction  which 
he  endured,  and  that  which  you  are  called  to 
struggle  with,  then  surely  you  will  be  asham- 
ed to  complain.  Admire  and  imitate  his 
meekness :  when  he  was  reviled,  he  reviled 
not  again ;  when  he  suffered,  he  threatened 
not ;  he  wept  for  his  enemies,  and  prayed  for 
his  murderers.  Let  the  same  mind  be  in  you 
which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus. 

2.  Uo  you  find  it  hard  to  walk  stedfastly 
in  his  precepts,  especially  in  some  particular 
instances,  when  the  maxims  of  worldly  pru- 
dence, and  the  pleadings  of  flesh  and  blood, 
are  strongly  against  you  ?  Learn  of  Jesus. 
He  pleased  not  himself  (Rom.  xv.  3.),  he 
considered  not  what  was  safe  and  easy,  but 
what  was  the  will  of  his  heavenly  Father.  In- 
treat  him  to  strengthen  you  with  strength  in 
your  soul,  that  as  you  bear  the  name  of  his 
disciples,  you  may  resemble  him  in  every  part 
of  your  conduct,  and  shine  as  lights  in  a  dark 
and  selfish  world,  to  the  glory  of  his  grace. 

3.  Are  you  tempted  to  repine  at  the  dis- 
pensations of  divine  providence  ?  Take  Jesus 
for  your  pattern.  Did  he  say,  when  the  un- 
speakable sufferings  he  was  to  endure  for  sin- 
ners were  just  coming  upon  him,  "The  cup 
which  my  Father  has  put  into  my  hands  shall 
I  not  drink  it?"  (John  xviii.  11.)  and  shall 
we  presume  to  have  a  will  of  our  own  ?  es- 
pecially when  we  further  reflect,  that  as  hi« 
sufferings  were  wholly  on  our  account,  so  all 
our  sufferings  are  by  his  appointment,  and  all 
designed  by  him  to  promote  our  best,  that  is, 
our  spiritual  and  eternal  welfare  ? 

It  is  thus  by  looking  to  Jesus  that  the  be- 
liever is  enlightened  and  strengthened,  and 
grows  in  grace  and  sanctification,  according 
to  that  passage  of  St.  Paul,  "  We  all  with 
open  face,"  or  unvailed  face,  "  beholding  as 
in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are  changed 
into  the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory,  as 
by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,"  2  Cor.  iii.  18. 
The  word  of  God  is  a  glass  in  which  the  good- 
ness  and  beauty  of  the  Lord  Jesus  are  mani- 
fested to  the  eye  of  faith  by  the  light  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  In  this  wonderful  glass  the 
whole  object  is  not  seen  at  once,  but  every 
view  we  take  strengthens  the  sight  to  discover 
something  not  perceived  before.  And  the 
prospect  is  not  only  affecting,  but  transform- 
ing ;  by  beholding  we  are  gradually  formed 
into  the  resemblance  of  him  whom  we  see, 
admire,  and  love.  All  those  whom  Jesus  thus 
teaches  to  bear  his  yoke,  find  his  promise  ful- 
filled ;  they  obtain, 

III.  Rest  to  their  souls.  Those  who  are 
truly  awakened  want  nothing  to  make  them 
happy,  but  to  be  assured  that  they  have 
an  interest  in  the  Redeemer's  love.  Now, 
this  satisfaction  is  peculiar  to  those  who  take 
his  yoke  upon  them,  and  are  daily  learning  of 
him,  and  copying  after  him.      For, 

1.     This    affords  the  best   and    most    uo 
shaken  evidence    that  he  has  begun  a  good 

•?I 


3S6 


OF  THE   YOKE  OF  CHRIST. 


SEK.    XII 


work  of  grace  in  our  hearts:  I  say  the  best, 
because  the  most  unshaken.  Many  are  greatly 
perplexed  to  know  if  they  are  truly  converted ; 
and  are  kept  the  longer  in  suspense,  because  they 
overlook  the  ordinary  scriptural  method  of  con- 
firmation. They  expect  to  know  it  by  some  ex- 
traordinary sensation  suddenly  impressed  upon 
their  minds.  But  besides  that  there  have  been 
many  instances  in  which  this  expected  evi- 
dence has  been  counterfeited,  and  a  ground- 
less confidence  has  been  placed  in  a  delusion 
or  vain  imagination  (to  the  hurt  of  many,  if 
not  to  their  overthrow),  even  when  they  are 
from  the  gracious  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  for 
the  most  part  transient;  and  when  a  different 
frame  takes  place,  the  believer  is  often  tempt- 
ed to  question  the  reality  of  what  went  before. 
I  think  therefore  the  testimony  of  an  enlighten- 
ed conscience,  judging  by  the  word  of  God, 
and  deciding  in  our  favour,  that  by  his  grace 
we  have  been  enabled  to  take  up  the  yoke  of 
Christ,  is  in  some  respects  a  more  satisfactory 
evidence,  that  we  are  his,  and  that  he  is  ours, 
than  if  an  angel  was  sent  from  heaven  to  tell 
us,  that  our  names  are  written  in  the  book 
of  life. 

2.  The  promise  of  the  peculiar  manifesta- 
tion of  his  love  (John.  xiv.  21.),  is  made 
and  restricted  to  those  who  walk  in  the  path 
of  obedience.  If  the  discoveries  the  Lord  is 
pleased  sometimes  to  make  of  himself  to  the 
soul,  are  not  the  proper  and  direct  evidences  of 
a  state  of  grace,  they  are  however  exceedingly 
desirable.  Whoever  has  tasted  the  sweets  of 
that  water  of  life,  cannot  but  long  for  repeated 
draughts.  When  he  lifts  up  the  light  of  his 
countenance  upon  the  soul,  then  is  love,  joy, 
and  peace  within,  however  dark  and  distress- 
ing things  may  be  without.  But  this  desir- 
able presence  can  only  be  expected,  while  we 
bear  his  yoke,  and  walk  in  his  steps.  If  we 
turn  aside  into  forbidden  paths,  if  we  decline 
or  dishonour  the  profession  of  his  truth,  we 
grieve  the  Holy  Spirit,  on  whose  communica- 
tions our  comforts  are  suspended;  we  give  the 
enemies  of  our  souls  encouragement  to  assault 
us,  and  are  in  danger  of  falling  from  one 
wickedness  to  another,  without  the  power  of 
withstanding  either  the  greatest  or  the  smallest 
temptation,  till  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  turn 
again  to  our  assistance.  In  such  a  situation 
there  can  be  no  rest.  "  But  he  that  walketh 
uprightly,  walketh  surely,  and  findeth  rest," 
Prov.  x.  9. 

And  true  rest  is  no  otherwise  to  be  obtain- 
ed. Those  of  you  who  refuse  the  yoke  of 
Christ,  well  know  in  yourselves  that  you  are 
far  from  rest.  Your  experience  agrees  with 
this  declaration  in  the  prophet :  **  There  is  no 
peace,  saith  my  God,  to  the  wicked,"  Isa.  lvii. 
21.  In  what  respect  will  you  dare  to  pretend 
that  you  have  the  advantage  of  those  who  bear 
the  yoke  of  Christ? 

We  allow,  the  profession  of  the  gospel  is 
subject  to  inconveniences,  but  surely  not  to  so 


many  as  you  meet  with  who  are  ashamed,  or 
afraid,  or  averse  to  maintain  it.  If  those  who 
are  of  your  household  are  not  your  foes  on 
this  account,  yet  we  can  see  how  it  fares  with 
those  who  live  without  the  fear  of  God.  How 
many,  and  how  sharp  are  your  trials  from  dis- 
obedient children,  unfaithful  servants,  false 
friendships,  ungoverned  passions,  and  unsa- 
tisfied desires  !  Nor  do  you  save  anything  in 
point  of  character,  not  even  with  those  by  whom 
you  are  most  desirous  to  be  esteemed.  They 
cannot  indeed  reproach  you  with  being  a  be- 
liever, but  may  they  not,  do  they  not  reproach 
and  despise  you  for  being  a  drunkard,  or  a 
liar,  or  a  miser,  or  an  extortioner  ?  And  is 
this  more  honourable  than  to  suffer  shame  for 
the  cause  of  Christ  ? 

Do  the  precepts  of  Christ  seem  hard  ?  Cer- 
tainly not  so  hard  as  that  miserable  bondage 
you  are  under  to  Satan,  the  god  of  this  world, 
who  works  in  you,  and  rules  over  you  at  his 
will.  He  will  not  allow  you  to  listen  to  the 
united  remonstrances  of  conscience,  health, 
interest,  and  reputation.  But  you  are  hurried 
on  in  his  drudgery,  ■  constrained,  like  a  mill- 
horse,  to  toil  in  the  same  tedious  round  of 
felly  and  sin,  though  you  are  aware  of  the 
consequences  and  wages  beforehand.  How 
absurd  is  it  for  you  to  boast  of  your  freedom, 
while  you  are  compelled  to  rush  into  present 
misery,  and  to  dare  your  eternal  ruin,  with 
your  eyes  open  ! 

And  how  greatly  are  you  to  be  pitied  under 
the  many  unavoidable  afflictions  of  life,  to 
which  you  are  equally  liable  with  the  servants 
of  Christ !  When  your  idols  are  torn  from 
you,  when  sickness  seizes  you,  or  death  stares 
you  in  the  face,  then  how  do  you  fret  and 
pine  !  how  many  are  your  fears  and  alarms  • 
Then  you  are  your  own  tormentors.  The  re- 
view of  the  past  affords  you  only  shame  and 
regret.  If  you  look  forward  to  the  future, 
you  are  filled  with  forboding  fears  and  dis- 
tressing apprehensions  ;  you  are  weary  of  liv- 
ing and  afraid  to  die. 

Why  then  will  you  continue  thus,  when  Je- 
sus says,  "  Come  unto  me,  that  you  may  have 
rest  ?"  O  may  he  incline  your  hearts  this  day 
to  hear  his  voice  !  Have  you  been  hardened 
in  your  evil  ways  by  a  suspicion  that  your 
case  is  desperate,  that  it  is  now  too  late,  and 
that  he  whom  you  have  so  often  rejected  will 
refuse  you  mercy  ?  Beware  of  such  a  thought : 
"  There  is  foregiveness  with  him,"  Ps.  exxx. 
4.  "  Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time  ;  ber 
hold,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation."  He  is 
gracious  to  pardon  and  mighty  to  save;  only 
acknowledge  your  offences,  and  throw  down 
the  arms  of  your  rebellion.  He  is  mighty 
to  save,  and  no  less  willing  than  able.  As 
yet  there  is  hope,  but  who  can  tell  how  long 
his  patience  may  bear  with  you  ?  Take  no- 
tice of  that  awful  denunciation,  "  He  that 
being  often  reproved  hardened)  his  neck,  shall 
suddenly  be   destroyed,   and   that   without  re- 


SER.   XIII. 

medy,"  Prov.  xxix.  1.  If  you  seek  him  to- 
day with  all  your  hearts,  you  shall  find  him. 
But  who  can  answer  for  to-morrow  ?  To- 
morrow, or  to-night,  your  souls  may  be  re- 
quired of  you  ;  or,  if  your  lives  are  spared, 
you  may  be  given  up  to  judicial  and  incurable 
hardness  of  heart.  If  his  Spirit  should  cease 
from  striving  with  you,  you  are  lost  for  ever. 


SERMON  XIII. 

THE  SERVICE  OF   CHRIST  EASY  AND  PLEASANT. 

For  my  yoke  is  ea.iy,   and  my  burden   is  light. 

MaTTH.  xi  30. 

This  verse  alone,  if  seriously  attended,  to, 
might  convince  multitudes,  that  though  they 
bear  the  name  of  Christians,  and  are  found 
among  the  Lord's  worshipping  people,  they 
are  as  yet  entire  strangers  to  the  religion  of 
the  gospel.  Can  it  be  supposed  that  our  Lord 
would  give  a  false  character  of  his  yoke  ?  If 
not,  how  can  any  dream  that  they  are  his  fol- 
lowers while  they  account  a  life  of  commu- 
nion with  God,  and  entire  devotedness  to  his 
service,  to  be  dull  and  burdensome  ?  Those, 
however,  who  have  made  the  happy  trial,  find 
it  to  be  such  a  burden  as  wings  are  to  a  bird. 
Far  from  complaining  of  it,  they  are  con- 
vinced that  there  is  no  real  pleasure  attainable 
in  any  other  way. 

What  the  yoke  of  Christ  is,  we  have  already 
considered.  It  includes  the  profession  of  his 
gospel,  obedience  to  his  precepts,  and  submis- 
sion to  his  will  under  every  dispensation.  But 
since  it  is  confessed  that  a  sinful  nature  and  a 
sinful  world  will  bring  many  difficulties,  trials, 
and  temptations  upon  all  who  walk  in  this 
way,  it  may  be  worth  our  while  to  inquire 
more  particularly  what  there  is  in  the  yoke  of 
Christ  that  overpowers  all  these  hardships, 
and  makes  such  amends  for  every  suffering, 
that,  upon  the  whole,  every  believer  will  sub- 
scribe to  this  as  a  sure  and  experienced  truth, 
that  the  "yoke  is  easy,  and  the  burden  light." 

I.  Those  who  bear  the  yoke  of  Christ  act 
from  a  principle  which  makes  all  things  easy. 
This  is  love.  It  is  said  of  Jacob,  that  when 
he  served  a  hard  master  seven  years  for  Ra- 
chel, they  seemed  to  him  but  a  few  days,  for 
the  love  which  he  bare  her,  Gen.  xxix.  20. 
And  many  of  you  find  it  easy  to  do  much  for 
your  parents,  children,  and  friends,  because 
you  love  them.  But  there  is  no  love  like 
that  which  a  redeemed  sinner  bears  to  him  who 
"  has  loved  him,  and  washed  him  from  his  sins 
in  his  own  blood."  Farther,  love  produces  the 
greatest  effects  when  it  is  mutual.  We  are 
willing  to  do  and  suffer  much  to  gain  the  af- 
fection of  a  person  we  regard,  though  we  are 
not  sure  of  success  ;  but  when  the  affection  is 
reciprocal,  it  adds  strength  to  every  motive. 


THE  SERVICE  OF  CHRIST,    &C. 


387 

Now,  the  believer  does  not  love  at  uncertain- 
ties :  he  knows  that  Jesus  loved  him  first, 
loved  him  when  he  was  in  a  state  of  enmity 
( 1  John  iv.  19)  ;  and  that  nothing  but  the  ma- 
nifestation and  power  of  this  love  could  have 
taught  his  hard,  unfeeling  heart  to  love  him 
whom  he  never  saw,  1  Pet.  i.  8.  This  love, 
therefore,  affords  two  sweet  and  powerful  en- 
couragements in  service. 

1.  A  cordial  desire  to  please.  Love  does 
what  it  can,  and  is  only  sorry  that  it  can  do 
no  more.  We  seldom  think  much,  as  I  have 
hinted  already,  either  of  time,  pains,  or  ex- 
pense, when  the  heart  is  warmly  engaged. 
The  world,  who  understand  not  this  heart- 
felt spring  of  true  religion,  think  it  strange 
that  the  believer  will-not  run  into  the  same 
excess  of  riot  with  them,  1  Pet.  iv.  4.  They 
wonder  what  pleasure  he  can  find  in  secret 
prayer,  in  reading  and  hearing  the  word  of 
God  ;  they  pity  the  poor  man  who  has  such  a 
melancholy  turn,  and  gravely  advise  him  not 
to  carry  things  too  far.  But  the  believer  can 
give  them  a  short  answer  in  the  apostle's 
words ;  "  The  love  of  Christ  constrains  me,' 
2  Cor.  v.  14.  His  ruling  passion  is  the  same 
with  theirs,  which  makes  his  pursuit  no  less 
uniform  and  abiding  ;  but  the  objects  are  as 
different  as  light  from  darkness.  They  love 
the  perishing  pleasures  of  sin,  the  mammon 
of  unrighteousness,  and  the  praise  of  men  j 
but  he  loves  Jesus. 

2.  A  pleasing  assurance  of  acceptance.  If 
we  know  not  whether  what  we  do  will  be  fa- 
vourably received  or  not,  it  makes  us  remiss 
and  indifferent.  But  this  animates  the  Lord's 
people ;  they  are  assured,  that  he  will  not 
overlook  the  smallest  services  or  sufferings 
they  are  engaged  in  for  his  sake.  He  has 
told  them  in  his  word,  That  if  they  give 
but  a  cup  of  cold  water  in  his  name,  and  on 
his  account,  he  will  accept  and  acknowledge 
it,  as  if  it  were  done  immediately  to  himself, 
Mark  ix.  41. 

II.  It  makes  a  service  still  more  easy  and 
pleasant,  if  besides  acting  from  a  principle  of 
love,  the  service  itself  is  agreeable  to  our  in- 
clination. Esau  would  probably  have  done 
any  thing  to  please  his  father,  in  hopes  of  ob- 
taining the  blessing ;  but  no  command  could 
please  him  more  than  to  be  sent  for  venison, 
because  he  was  a  cunning  hunter,  and  his 
pleasure  lay  in  that  way,  Gen.  xxv.  27.  and 
xxvii.  3.  Now,  the  believer  has  received  a 
new  nature ;  so  that  the  Lord's  command- 
ments are  not  grievous  to  him,  but  he  delights 
in  them  with  his  whole  heart.  It  is  true,  he 
groans  under  remaining  corruptions  ;  and  this 
is  properly  his  burden,  not  the  service  of 
Christ,  which  he  approves  and  delights  in,  but 
because  he  can  serve  him  no  better.  So  far  as 
faith  is  in  exercise,  he  rejoices  in  every  part  of 
the  yoke  of  Christ.  He  glories  in  the  profes 
sion  of  his  name.  He  has  made  Moses 
choice  ;  he  prefers  even  the  reproach  of  Chris* 


388 


THE  SF.RVICE  OK  CHRIST 


to  all  the  honours  of  the  world  (Heh.  xi.  26.)  ; 
and  has  a  measure  of  that  spirit,  hy  which  the 
apostles  were  enabled  to  rejoice  that  they  were 
counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  his  name, 
Acts  v.  41.      He  heartily  consents  to  the  pre- 
cepts ;  he  esteems  them  as  a  light  to  his  feet ; 
he  makes  them  his  meditation   all  the   day. 
Nothing  pleases  him  more  than  to  find  an  in- 
creasing victory  over  the  hindrances  to  his  o- 
bedience  ;  and  the  time  of  his  greatest  grief 
is,  when,  through  infirmity,  or  the  prevalence 
of  temptation,  he    is   seduced   to    neglect  or 
transgress  them,  though  in   the   smallest  in- 
stance, and  in  what  does   not  pass  under  hu- 
man observation.       Even   afflictions,   though 
not  joyous  in  themselves,  but  grievous,  are 
cheerfully  submitted  to,  because  the  Lord  has 
appointed  them,  and    is    pleased  to  account 
them  a  filling  up  of  his  sufferings,  Col.  i.  24. 
HI.  In  other  cases,  even   when  there  is  a 
principle  of  love,  and  the  service  not  disagree- 
able  in   itself,    yet  weakness  may    render  it 
wearisome  or  impracticable.     Though  perhaps 
you   would  willingly  take  a  long  journey  to 
serve  a  friend  ;  yet  if  you  are  sick  or  lame, 
what  could  you  do  ?      But  the  yoke  of  Christ 
is  light  and  easy  in  this  respect,  that  there  is  a 
sufficiency  of  strength  provided  for  the  perfor- 
mance.     This  consideration  makes  every  dif- 
ficulty vanish  ;  for  though  these  should  be  in- 
creased tenfold,  yet  if  strength  be  increased  in 
an  equal  proportion,  it  amounts  to  the  same 
thing.     What  is  hard  or  impossible  to  a  child, 
is  easy  to  a  man  ;   what  is  hard  to  flesh  and 
blood,  is  easy  to  faith  and  grace.    The  believer, 
though  weak  in  himself,  is  strong  in  the  Lord. 
The  power  on  which  he  depends  is  not  in  his 
own  keeping  ;  but  it  is  treasured   up   in  the 
covenant  of  grace,  or  in  the  Lord   Jesus,  in 
whom  all  fulness  dwells,  and  is  always  to  be 
obtained  by  prayer.      Every  child  of  God  is 
interested  in  the  blessing  of  Asher  :    "  Thy 
shoes  shall  be  iron  and  brass  ;   and  as  thy  day 
is,  so  shall  thy  strength  be,"  Deut.  xxxiii.  25. 
By  the  day  may  be  understood, 

1.  A  day  of  service.  Whatever  the  Lord 
appoints  for  us  to  do,  if  we  depend  upon  him 
in  the  use  of  appointed  means,  he  will  certain- 
ly qualify,  furnish,  and  strengthen  us,  for  the 
accomplishment  of  it.  If  David  is  called  out 
to  meet  Goliah,  though  he  is  but  a  stripling 
(1  Sam.  xvii.  37.),  and  the  other  a  practised 
warrior  from  his  youth,  he  shall  not  be  dis- 
heartened or  overcome,  but  be  made  a  conquer- 
or though  all  appearances  are  against  him.  If 
we  are  in  the  path  of  duty,  and  if  our  help 
and  hope  is  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  we  may 
confidently  expect  that  he  will  uphold  us, 
however  faint  and  enfeebled  we  may  seem  to 
be  to  ourselves  or  others. 

2.  A  day  ot  suffering.  If,  like  Daniel  and 
his  companions,  we  should  be  threatened  with 
lions  and  flames,  we  may  confidently  commit 
our  way  to  God  ;  he  can  controul  the  fire,  and 
ttop  the  lions  mouth,   Dan.   iii.    16.  and  vi. 


3EU.  XIU 
17       While 


22;  Psal.  xci.  13;  2  Tim.  iv. 
all  things  are  in  his  hands,  whose  we  are,  and 
whom  we  serve,  why  should  we  fear  that  they 
will  act  beyond  the  bounds  of  his  permission, 
or  that  he  will  permit  them  to  do  any  thing 
which  is  not  his  purpose  to  over-rule  to  his 
advantage  ?  Such  considerations  in  the  hour 
of  need,  seasonably  impressed  by  his  good 
Spirit,  together  with  a  trust  in  his  promises, 
shall  inspire  us  with  new  strength  to  meet  the 
greatest  danger  undismayed  ;  and  with  regard 
to  trials  immediately  from  his  own  gracious 
hand,  he  will  so  adjust  them,  in  number,  sea- 
son, weight,  and  measure,  to  the  ability  he 
communicates,  that  we-  both  shall  be  able  to 
bear,  and  also  find  away  made  for  us  to  escape. 
With  such  assurances,  we  may  boldly  say, 
"  The  Lord  is  on  my  side,  I  will  not  fear 
what  man  (or  Satan)  can  do  unto  me." 

IV.  There  is  further,  a  consideration  of 
profit  and  advantage,  which  makes  the  yoke 
of  Christ  easy.  The  believing  soul  is  not 
mercenary.  He  loves  his  master  and  his  ser- 
vice ;  yet  it  is  impossible  to  serve  God  for 
nought.  In  the  keeping  of  his  command- 
ments, there  is  a  reward,  though  not  of  debt, 
yet  of  grace  (Psal.  xix.  11.):  A  great  and 
sure  reward,  respecting  both  the  life  that  now 
is,  and  that  which  is  to  come. 

Those  who  sincerely  take  up  the  yoke  of 
Christ,  and  cleave  to  him  in  love  alone,  have 
ample  compensation  in  the  present  life  for  all 
that  their  profession  can  cost  them.  They  en- 
joy the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience,  which 
is  compared  to  a  continual  feast.  St.  Paul, 
though  a  champion  for  free  grace,  and  deter- 
mined to  glory  only  in  the  excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  (2  Cor.  i.  12.),  ex- 
presses a  high  and  just  value  for  this  privilege; 
and  that  it  afforded  comfort,  yea  joy,  in  a  time 
of  trouble.  Superadded  to  this,  they  are  of- 
ten favoured  with  the  peculiar  consolations  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  which,  though  slightly  es- 
teemed by  those  who  know  them  not,  satisfy 
the  soul  as  with  marrow  and  fatness,  and  can 
change  the  voice  of  mourning  into  songs  of 
praise  in  an  instant,  Psal.  lxiii.  3.  And  though 
these  are  not  their  constant  food,  yet  they  have 
real  and  habitual  communion  with  God,  from 
day  to  day,  in  his  ordinances  and  providences. 
They  live  in  his  presence  ;  they  converse  with 
him,  and  he  with  them  ;  their  good  things  are 
doubly  pleasing,  because  they  receive  them 
from  his  hand :  and  this  thought  likewise 
sweetens  every  bitter  cup  of  affliction  which 
he  prepares  for  their  good.  The  mutual  in- 
tercourse and  communion  his  people  have  with 
each  other,  is  likewise  a  considerable  branch 
of  their  present  reward.  How  pleasing  is  it, 
when  speaking  to  each  other  in  his  name, 
they  take  sweet  counsel  together  !  they  are 
confirmed  in  his  way,  by  finding  how  their 
experiences  answer  as  face  to  face  in  a  glass; 
and  he  causes  their  hearts  to  burn  within  them, 
while   they  are   freely  declaring  what   he  has 


SER.   XIII. 


EASY  AND  PLEASANT. 


389 


done  for  their  souls.  Lastly,  they  are  happy 
in  a  comfortable  expectation  of  a  better  world, 
(Gen.  xix.  18.)  ;  and  when  the  appointed  time 
comes,  death  will  put  an  end  to  all  their 
troubles ;  and  then  shall  they  fully  know  and 
possess  the  future  reward  which  the  Lord  has 
prepared  and  reserved  for  them  that  love  him. 

This  is  briefly  summed  up  by  the  apostle  : 
They  shall  be  absent  from  the  body  (2  Cor.  v. 
8),  and  all  its  inseparable  evils ;  sin  and  sorrow, 
want,  pain,  and  every  distress  that  belongs  to 
this  mortal  state,  shall  affect  them  no  more ; 
and  they  shall  be  present  with  the  Lord,  whom 
they  love.  Then  they  shall  see  his  face  with- 
out a  cloud,  and  share  his  joy  without  abate- 
ment or  interruption  ;  and  all  this  shall  be  for 
ever.  When  they  are  made  pillars  of  the  new 
Jerusalem  (Rev.  iii.  12;  1  Thess.  iv.  17.), 
they  shall  come  out  no  more.  The  pros- 
pect of  tliis  makes  them  rejoice  under  all  their 
tribulations  ;  for  they  know  whereto  they  lead, 
and  how  they  will  end.  "  These  light  and 
momentary  afflictions  are  working  for  them  a 
far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory,"  2  Cor.  iv.   17. 

From  these  things  I  hope  it  will  appear  that 
the  yoke  of  Christ  is  easy.  His  people  serve 
him  because  they  love  him ;  they  love  his  ways : 
he  is  their  strength  ;  he  comforts  them  now, 
and  will  be  their  portion  for  ever. 

But  perhaps  some,  whom  I  would  willingly 
comfort,  will  rather  be  discouraged  by  this  re- 
presentation, and  say,  Alas  !  if  it  is  thus,  I  am 
yet  to  seek.  My  love  is  so  faint,  my  strength 
so  feeble,  my  consolations  so  small,  my  obe- 
dience so  imperfect,  that  I  am  afraid  I  have 
?iot  known  the  easy  yoke  of  Christ.  There 
are  therefore  some  other  things  to  be  taken 
into  the  account,  and  which  are  no  just  ex- 
ception to  the  character  our  Lord  here  gives 
of  his  yoke. 

1.  The  entrance,  or  first  application  of  the 
mind  to  the  yoke,  or  profession  of  the  gospel, 
is  seldom  pleasant.  Though  the  work  of 
grace  leads  to  love,  it  usually  begins  in  fear. 
On  this  point  we  have  already  spoken  at  lar^e. 
It  is  no  pleasing  state  to  be  weary  and  heavy 
laden,  to  see  ourselves  obnoxious  to  a  curse, 
and  unable  to  escape ;  yet,  by  apprehensions 
of  this  kind,  the  soul  is  prepared  to  embrace 
the  yoke  of  Christ ;  and  none  but  those  who 
have  experienced  the  misery  of  a  fallen  state, 
will  be  truly  desirous  of  the  gospel-rest. 

2.  The  progress  is  gradual.  The  first  dawn- 
ings  of  grace  in  the  heart  are  faint,  and  hardly 
perceptible  ;  hence  the  whole  process  is  com- 
pared to  things  that  are  very  inconsiderable  in 
their  first  principles.  The  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven is  like  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  which  is 
hid  and  lost  in  the  earth  for  a  season  ;  it  is 
like  leaven,  which  when  cast  into  meal  may 
be  concealed  and  unnoticed  for  a  while,  but 
by  degrees  diffuses  its  influence  through  the 
whole  mass  (Matth.  xiii.  31,  S3);  it  is  like 
the  corn,   which  springs  up  and  come«  for- 


ward night  and  day,  a  man  k.-iows  not  how» 
Mark  iv.  27.  The  growth  in  the  christian 
life  being  thus  slow  and  indistinct,  many  who 
aim  to  ascertain  their  interest  rather  by  the 
degree  than  the  reality  of  grace,  are  often  de- 
jected to  find  their  attainments  proceed  no 
faster.  It  is  indeed  a  humbling  considera- 
tion, but  ought  not  to  rob  us  of  the  comfort 
arising  from  a  believing  view  of  what  Jesus 
has  completely  wrought  out  for  us,  and  of 
what  he  has  promised  he  will  infallibly  per- 
form in  us,  in  his  own  good  time.  A  deliver- 
ance from  this  poring  into  ourselves  for  the 
grounds  of  our  hope,  is  a  part,  a  considerable 
part  of  the  rest  to  which  he  invites  us. 

3.  The  difficulties  attendant  on  that  course 
of  faith  and  obedience,  which  is  included  in 
taking  his  yoke  upon  us,  are  many  and  great. 
While  we  sojourn  in  a  wilderness-state,  and 
in  a  sinful  nature,  there  will  be  fightings 
without  and  fears  within.  It  is  the  appointed 
and  necessary  rule  of  our  profession,  that 
"  through  much  tribulation  we  must  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God,"  Acts  xiv.  22.  All 
who  are  against  him  will  be  against  us  for  his 
sake,  and  the  evil  heart  of  unbelief  will  shew 
itself  in  a  variety  of  forms,  as  it  is  acted  upon 
by  various  impressions,  from  the  things  of 
sense  and  the  powers  of  darkness.  But  these 
troubles  do  not  arise  from  the  spiritual  yoke 
of  Christ,  but  from  our  present  situation  and 
circumstances,  and  shall  therefore  shortly 
cease  for  ever.  His  ways  are  ways  of  plea- 
santness, though  we  are  sure  to  meet  with 
perplexity  and  uneasiness,  so  far  and  so  often 
as  we  wander  from  thein  into  our  own  crooked 
paths.      But, 

4.  The  end  is  sure.  "  He  that  endureth 
to  the  end  shall  be  saved"  (Matth.  x.  22)  ; 
and  all  who  are  in  his  way,  have  his  promise 
and  power  engaged  in  their  behalf,  that  they 
shall  certainly  endure,  that  he  will  so  lead, 
guide,  support,  and  strengthen  them,  that 
neither  life  nor  death,  nor  things  present  nor 
things  to  come,  shall  separate  them  from  his 
love,  Rom.  viii.  38.  Your  complaints  and 
fears,  therefore,  are  no  proof  that  you  are 
not  right.  Go  on,  in  his  name.  Trust  in 
him  in  whom  you  Ivave  believed,  and  be  no- 
thing terrified  by  your  adversaries.  The 
longer  you  wear  the  yoke,  the  easier  you  will 
find  it. 

Let  each  one  examine  himself  by  what  has 
been  offered.  If  you  have  not  a  principle  of 
true  love  to  Christ,  and  a  prevailing  desire 
to  live  in  all  holy  obedience  to  his  will,  you 
are  no  christian  ;  and,  though  you  may  begin 
warmly,  you  will  not  be  able  to  hold  out,  but 
your  profession  will  wither  away  for  want  of 
root  and  moisture.  Nor  is  it  difficult  to  know 
whether  you  love  him  or  no  ;  if  you  do,  you 
have  seen  your  need  of  him,  and  abhor  your- 
self in  dust  and  ashes. 

From  hence   likewise  you  may  discern  the 
.  difference  between  the  religion  of  the  gospel 


390 


BELIEVERS  CAUTIONED  AGAINST 


ser.  xrv 


SERMON  XIV. 

BELIEVERS    CAUTIONED    AGAINST    MISCONDUCT 
IN  THEIR  PROFESSION. 

Let  not  your  good  be  evil  spoken  of 

Rom.  xiv.  16. 

The  immediate  occasion  of  this  caution  you 
may  learn  from  the  context.  It  has  pleased 
God  from  the  beginning,  to  permit  his  people, 
who  all  agree  in  the  great  and  essential  truths 
of  the  gospel,  to  differ  in  some  things  of  less 
importance.       This   difference    of   judgment 


and    the    formal  worship   that  many  are   con- 
tented with,    in  which  the  heart  lias  no  place. 
Remember  that  "  God  is  a  Spirit"  (John  iv. 
24),  and  unless  you  love  him,  you  cannot  pos- 
sibly please  him.      If  a  man  would  give  all  the 
substance   of  his  house  for  love,   it  would  be 
utterly  contemned.     His  commandments  like- 
wise are   spiritual ;  they  extend   beyond  the 
surface  of  the  outer  conduct,  and  take  cog- 
nisance even  of  the  retired  thoughts  and  in- 
tents of  the  heart.      Many   sins  may  be   a- 
voided,    and    many    duties   performed,    from 
motives  and  principles  which,   not  being   de- 
rived from  his  word,  or  conformable  to  it,  are 
therefore  sinful  in  themselves,  and  make  every 
thing  proceeding  from  them  defective  and  dis- 
pleasing in  his  sight.      If  you  are  attempting 
to  serve  him  by  your  own  natural  strength  and 
understanding,,  be  assured  that  you  have  not 
yet  taken  up  the  yoke  of  Christ ;  if  you  had, 
you  would  find  it  answerable  to  the  character 
ho  has  given  of  it,  for  his  word  is  truth.      But 
your  constrained  obedience  you  know  in  your- 
selves, far  from  being  easy  and  light,  is  a  heavy 
burden,  which  you  would  be  glad  to  cast  off 
if  you  durst.      You  serve  the  Lord  as  a  slave 
serves  a  hard  master,  not  with  a  willing  mind, 
but  of  necessity,  and  from  a  dread  of  punish- 
ment.     But  in  vain  do  you  draw  near  to  him 
with  your  lips  while  your   heart  is   far  from 
him.      Therefore  spend  no  longer  your  labour 
for  that  which  is  not  bread,   but  come  to  Je- 
sus, that  you  may  find  rest  for  your  souls.   He 
is  able  to  take   away  your  heart  of  stone  and 
give  you  a  heart  of  flesh,   to  put  a  new  spirit 
in  you  that  shall  delight  in  his  yoke,   to  give 
you  strength   and    ability  for  every   part    of 
your  duty,  and  to  make  you  a  willing  people 
in  the  day  of  his  power. 

Believers,  rejoice  in  your  security.  The 
Lord  has  given  you  a  never-dying  principle 
of  love,  and  provided  for  you  a  never-failing 
supply  of  grace.  These  will  bear  you  up 
through  all  your  journey,  and  at  last  bring 
you  safely  home  to  the  mansions  provided  for 
you  in  your  Father's  house.  Then  shall  you 
praise  him,  world  without  end. 


gives  room  for  the  mutual  exercise  of  pa- 
tience, forbearance,  tenderness,  and  charity, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  too  often  affords  op- 
portunity for  the  remaining  corruptions  of  the 
heart  to  discover  and  exert  themselves.  The 
Jewish  converts  were  for  some  time  attached 
to  the  observance  of  that  distinction  in  meats 
and  drinks  which  had  been  enjoyed  by  the  law 
of  Moses  :  the  Gentiles,  on  the  contrary,  claim- 
ed a  right  to  be  free  from  this  yoke,  as  a  part 
of  the  liberty  which  they  had  received  from 
Christ.  The  apostle  does  not  in  this  place 
blame  either  party  with  respect  to  their  own 
judgment  and  practice  ;  but  he  reproves  them 
for  censuring  and  despising  eacli  other,  and 
he  especially  reproves  those  who  understood 
their  liberty  in  the  gospel,  for  not  being  pru- 
dent in  the  use  of  it,  but  rather  forward  to 
provoke  and  offend  their  weaker  brethren. 
He  confirms  their  liberty,  but  admonishes 
them  not  to  abuse  it,  either  by  urging  others 
to  act  against  their  consciences,  or  by  treating 
them  with  contempt,  because  they  had  not  en- 
tirely laid  aside  these  scruples  and  prejudices  to 
which  they  had  been  long  accustomed.  "  Let 
not  your  good  be  evil  spoken  of."  Be  thank- 
ful for  your  liberty,  but  do  not  firing  it  into 
discredit  and  reproach,  by  acting  in  an  unbe- 
coming spirit  towards  others. 

The  instruction  in  my  text,  understood  in 
this  sense,  has  always  been  applicable  and 
seasonable  in  the  christian  church,  and  per- 
haps never  more  so  than  in  our  land  and  in 
our  times.  While  believers  in  Jesus,  who  are 
led  by  the  same  Spirit  into  the  same  funda- 
mental truths,  and  stand  in  the  most  endeared 
relation  to  each  other  through  their  common 
Head,  place  such  undue  stress  upon  lesser  in- 
cidental differences,  and  are  professed  parti- 
sans for  the  little  interests  of  systems,  deno- 
minations, and  leaders,  love,  the  grand  cha- 
racteristic of  their  profession,  is  hardly  dis- 
cernable ;  they  censure  and  grieve  each  other, 
retard  the  success  of  the  cause  which  they 
would  all  be  thought  to  have  most  at  heart, 
and  open  the  mouths  of  the  adversaries  to  re. 
vile  that  which  they  understand  not.  The 
prevalence  of  this  wrong  disposition  calls  for 
the  admonition  in  my  text.  Be  thankful  for 
your  privileges ;  you  not  only  claim  the  rights 
of  private  judgment  and  liberty  of  conscience, 
as  men  and  as  christians,  but  as  Britons  you 
possess  them.  "  Let  not  then  your  good  be 
evil  spoken  of;"  allow  to  others  that  freedom 
which  you  expect  yourselves  ;  and,  if  you  do 
not  suppose  yourselves  infallible,  suppose  it 
possible  that  some  may  be  as  near  to  the  Lord 
as  yourselves,  who  cannot  agree  with  you  in 
every  sentiment  you  have  adopted. 

But  this  direction  may  be  taken  in  a  much 
more  general  sense.  It  behoves  all  who  ho- 
nour the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  be  careful  in 
every  part  of  their  conduct,  that  they  do  not 
give  occasion  for  their  good  to  be  evil  spoken 


MISCONDUCT  IN  THEIR  PROFESSION. 


SER.  XIV. 

of.  To  make  the  subject  as  suitable  as  I  can 
to  the  different  states  and  characters  of  all 
present,  I  shall, 

1.  Inquire  what  is  the  believer's  good. 

2.  Explain  and  apply  the  advice  here  given, 
"  Let  not  your  good  be  evil  spoken  of." 

I.  All  mankind  have  something  near  at 
heart,  on  which  their  dependence  is  placed, 
and  wherein  they  find  their  chief  pleasure. 
This  (whatever  it  is)  is  their  good  ;  and,  ac- 
cording to  the  object  in  which  they  delight,  is 
their  proper  character.  By  nature  the  world 
and  worldly  things  are  the  highest  good  we 
seek  after ;  and  these,  in  one  view  or  other,  as 
tempers  and  situations  vary,  are  pursued  with 
unwearied  earnestness.  Riches,  honours,  sin- 
ful pleasures,  are  the  poor  things  in  view, 
when  the  unrenewed  heart  cries  out,  in  its 
eager  pursuits,  "  Who  will  shew  us  any 
good ?  '  Psal.  iv.  6.  If  your  strongest  de- 
sires tend  this  way,  your  good  will  not  be  evil 
spoken  of  by  many.  Men  will  praise  you 
when  you  do  well  for  yourself;  you  are  not 
therefore  concerned  in  the  admonition  of  my 
text.  Only  take  notice  what  the  word  of 
God  declares  of  your  good,  and  of  you  for 
accounting  it  so.  Your  good  is  vanity,  your 
fruit  is  vexation  of  spirit,  and  you  who  set 
your  hearts  on  such  a  good  as  the  objects  of 
sense  can  furnish,  are  adjudged  "  enemies  to 
God,"  James  iv.  4.  You  yourselves  will 
speak  evil  of  this  good  when  you  come  to  die, 
if  you  die  in  your  sins.  Then  you  will  see  a 
propriety  in  Esau's  words  to  your  own  case, 
"  Behold,  I  am  at  the  point  to  die,  and  what 
profit  shall  this  birthright  do  to  me  ?"  Gen. 
xxv.  23. 

As  the  world  is  the  good  of  the  unconvert- 
ed, so  a  covenant  God  in  Christ  is  the  good 
and  portion  of  all  who  are  called  by  his  grace. 
They  are  ever  looking  to  the  obedience  and 
blood  of  Jesus,  applied  by  the  Spirit  of  grace, 
as  the  sole  foundation  of  their  hope  and  com- 
fort. God  is  their  good  in  the  highest  sense, 
and  every  thing  else  is  good,  so  far  as  it  leads 
to  him,  and  assists  them  in  maintaining  com- 
munion with  him.  In  this  view  we  may  men- 
tion several  particulars,  each  of  which  they  ac- 
count their  good,  because  the  means  of  enjoy- 
ing and  glorifying  their  God. 

1.  The  gospel,  that  gracious  revelation  by 
which  they  have  been  taught  to  know  them- 
selves, and  to  know  Jesus,  is  their  good.  All 
the  doctrines,  precepts,  and  promises,  con- 
tained in  the  scriptures,  are  a  very  precious 
treasure,  in  which  they  rejoice  more  than  those 
■who  find  great  spoil.  Each  of  them  can  say, 
in  the  language  of  the  Psalmist,  "  The  law  of 
thy  mouth  is  dearer  to  me  than  thousands  of 
gold  and  silver  How  sweet  are  thy  words  unto 
my  taste,  yea,  sweeter  than  honey  to  my  mouth! 
O  how  love  I  thy  law  !  It  is  my  meditation 
all  the  day  long,"  Psal.  cxix.  72,  97,  103. 
By  this  word  they  are  enlightened,  quickened, 
warned,  comforted,  and  supported  ;  therefore 


391 


it  is  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  their  hearts,  and 
more  than  their  necessary  food,  Job  xxiii.  12. 

2.  The  ordinances  make  a  part  of  their 
good.  A  famine  of  the  word  of  the  Lord 
would  distress  them  greatly;  and  if  they  may 
but  have  frequent  opportunities  of  this  kind, 
and  meet  with  his  gracious  presence  in  them, 
they  can  be  content  to  be  without  many  things 
which  the  men  of  this  world  highly  value. 
When  beset  with  many  straits,  and  surround- 
ed with  troubles,  they  can  find  refreshmen. 
in  the  Lord's  assurance  by  the  prophet,  "  And 
though  the  Lord  give  you  the  bread  of  ad- 
versity, and  the  water  of  affliction,  yet  shall 
not  thy  teachers  be  removed  into  a  corner  any 
more ;  but  thine  eyes  shall  see  thy  teachers," 
Isa.  xxx.  20.  If  this  promise  is  fulfilled  to 
them,  they  will  not  greatly  complain  of  the 
bread  of  adversity,  although  that  is  joined 
with  it.  But  on  the  contrary,  they  find  it  a 
hard  trial  to  be  deprived  of  lively  ordinances 
and  faithful  ministers,  however  advantageous 
and  pleasing  their  situation  may  be  in  tem- 
poral things,  because  these  are  not  their  good. 

3.  They  account  their  profession  a  part  of 
their  good.  They  esteem  it  a  high  privilege  to 
bear  the  name  of  Christ,  though  it  exposes 
them  to  the  reproach  of  the  world.  They  ac- 
count it  a  great  and  important  trust  to  have 
the  honour  of  the  gospel  committed  to  them, 
and  in  some  measure  dependent  on  their  con- 
duct. When  they  are  in  their  right  minds, 
they  would  rather  die  than  be  guilty  of  any 
thing  that  might  bring  it  into  discredit.  Wil- 
fully they  cannot,  they  dare  not  do  it ;  but 
through  ignorance  and  infirmity  they  are 
prone  to  mistake,  and  therefore  need,  and  are 
desirous  to  observe,  the  caution  in  my  text. 

4.  Their  experiences  are  their  good,  their 
choice  pearls  ;  I  mean,  the  inward  dealings  of 
the  Lord  with  their  souls  :  the  proofs  they 
have  had  of  his  power  and  wisdom  in  bring- 
ing them  thus  fur  safely  on  their  way  to  his 
kingdom,  the  discoveries  he  has  given  them  of 
the  deceitfulness  of  their  own  hearts,  the 
manifestations  of  his  grace,  love,  and  nearness 
to  them,  notwithstanding  all  their  unworthi- 
ness  and  unfaithfulness.  Some  of  these  ex- 
periences have  cost  them  dear,  have  cost  them 
many  a  pang,  trouble,  and  conflict ;  yet  they 
would  not  be  without  them  to  avoid  all  that 
they  have  suffered ;  and  they  are  content  to 
suffer  on,  if  by  any  means  they  may  increase 
this  precious  stock.  They  delight  to  recollect 
how  low  they  were  brought,  how  wonderfully 
delivered,  what  answers  they  have  been  fa- 
voured with  to  their  poor  prayers  ;  and  from 
hence  to  collect  the  all-sufficiency  and  good- 
ness of  him  to  whom  they  have  fled  for  re- 
fuge, and  to  derive  arguments  wherewith  to 
combat  their  unbelieving  fears  in  time  to 
come.  Thus  far  their  experiences  are  their 
good  ;  not  as  the  foundation  of  their  hope,  or 
the  source  of  their  comfort,  for  these  their 
whole  reliance  is  on  the  obedience  and  blood 


392  BhLIEVERS  CAUTI 

of  Jesus  the  Saviour ;  but  as  evidences,  that 
they  have  neither  "  followed  cunningly-devis- 
ed fables,  nor  received  the  grace  of  God  in 
vain,"  2  Pet.  i.   ]  6.  ;    2  Cor.  vi.  1. 

Thus  much  in  general,  that  you  may  all 
have  something  whereby  to  try  your  spirits, 
and  to  know  whether  you  have  embraced  the 
good  of  the  Lord's  chosen  people,  Psal.  cvi. 
4,  5.  If  your  good  does  not  lie  in  such 
things  as  I  have  mentioned,  you  have  no  dur- 
able riches,  nothing  but  what  you  must  soon 
leave  behind  you.  Can  you  be  content  to  be 
stript  of  all,  and  to  enter  poor,  naked,  and 
friendless,  into  an  eternal  world  ?  O  that  you 
would  take  our  Lord's  advice  !  He  might 
command,  for  he  has  all  authority  :  but  he 
says,  "  I  counsel  thee  to  buy  of  me  gold  tried 
in  the  fire,  that  thou  mayest  be  rich  :  and 
white  raiment,  that  thou  mayest  be  clothed, 
p.nd  that  the  shame  of  thy  nakedness  do  not 
appear;  and  anoint  thine  eyes  with  eye-salve, 
that  thou  mayest  see,"  Rev.  iii.  18. 

But  some  there  are  whose  hearts  can  go 
along  with  me  in  what  I  have  said.  The  great 
God  himself  is  your  good.  His  word  and 
ordinances,  your  profession  of  his  name,  and 
your  experience  of  his  goodness,  are  what 
you  rejoice  in.  To  you,  then,  I  address  the 
rest  of  my  discourse.  "  Let  not  your  good 
be  evil  spoken  of."      I  am, 

II.  To  explain  and  apply  this  advice.  The 
words  plainly  imply  two  things  : 

1.  That  there  are  many  ready  enough  to 
speak  evil  of  your  good:  many  who  despise 
the  gospel,  and  you  for  professing  it ;  they 
watch  for  your  halting,  and  will  be  glad  of 
the  smallest  occasion  to  expose  you.  The 
world,  that  loves  its  own,  will  make  allow- 
ances in  other  cases.  Indiscretions,  and  even 
vices,  will  be  charged  to  the  account  of  human 
infirmity,  and  the  amiable  name  of  candour 
shall  be  employed  to  conceal  or  palliate  such 
things  as  can  by  no  means  be  justified.  But 
if  you  are  a  professed  believer  in  Jesus,  you 
must  not  expect  this  candour  will  be  extend- 
ed to  you ;  rather,  all  your  words  and  actions 
will  be  sifted,  your  mistakes  exaggerated ; 
and  if  any  part  of  your  conduct  will  bear  a 
double  construction,  it  will  generally  be  view- 
ed in  the  most  unfavourable  light.  Nay, 
even  when  there  is  no  just  occasion  afforded, 
falsehoods  and  calumnies  have  been,  and  will 
be,  industriously  propagated  against  the  ser- 
vants of  Christ,  Matth.  v.  11.  That  it  must 
be  so,  we  are  often  warned  by  scripture,  and 
it  is  abundantly  confirmed  by  experience. 

2.  That  though  it  is  impossible  wholly  to 
stop  the  mouths  of  evil-minded  men,  yet  they 
would  not  be  able  to  talk  so  fast  if  the  impru- 
dence of  believers  did  not  too  often  afford 
them  advantage.  That  such  occasions  should 
sometimes  be  given  by  those  whose  hearts  and 
aims  are  in  the  main  sincere,  will  not  be 
thought  strange  to  any  person  who  is  ac- 
quainted with  the  true  state  of  human  nature. 


ONED  AGAINST 


SEfi.  XIV 


Through  inadvertence,  want  of  experience, 
errors  of  judgment,  sudden  and  unexpected 
temptations,  and  other  evils  inseparable  from 
our  present  situation,  persons,  whose  chief 
desire  is  to  adorn  the  doctrine  of  their  God 
and  Saviour  in  all  things,  may,  and  do,  in 
some  instances  cause  their  good  to  be  evil 
spuken  of.  It  is,  however,  our  bounden 
duty,  as  we  regard  the  honour  of  God  and  his 
truth,  to  endeavour  as  much  as  possible  to 
cut  off"  occasion  from  them  that  seek  occasion 
in  this  respect,  2  Cor.  xi.  12.  .  1  Pet.  ii. 
12. 

In  order  to  this,  let  us  inquire,  what  are  the 
most  common  objections  which  are  made  a- 
gainst  the  gospel  preaching  and  profession, 
not  only  by  malicious  enemies,  but  sometimes 
by  persons  who  discover  no  very  bad  inten- 
tion, but  are  partly  imposed  upon  by  the  mis- 
representations of  others,  and  partly  stumbled 
by  the  faults  of  professors  ? 

1st,  It  is  objected,  that  our  doctrine  lays 
no  sufficient  stress  upon  good  works.  We 
dare  not  indeed  recommend  them  out  of  their 
proper  place,  or  propose  them  as  the  ground 
of  our  acceptance  with  God.  But  I  hope 
none  who  attend  here  will  dare  to  say,  that 
they  are  not  frequently  reminded,  that  "  with- 
out holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord,"  Heb. 
xii.  14.  However,  the  world  will  judge  more 
by  what  they  see  in  you,  than  by  what  they 
hear  from  me.  Be  upon  your  guard,  there- 
fore, lest  by  any  instances  of  a  trifling,  fool- 
ish, unkind,  or  unjust  conduct,  you  let  your 
good  be  evil  spoken  of.  It  will  not  be  a 
sufficient  apology  to  say,  that  your  principles 
do  not  allow  of  these  things,  if  those  who 
know  you  can  charge  them  upon  your  prac- 
tice. 

2dly,  It  is  farther  objected,  that  the  evan- 
gelical system  is  a  scheme  chiefly  made  up  of 
notions  and  subtle  distinctions,  and  opens  a 
door  to  a  thousand  disputes.  This  is  one  un- 
happy consequence  of  our  many  divisions  and 
subdivisions,  and  the  heat  with  which  they  are 
contended  for  by  their  respective  partisans. 
Let  this  engage  you  to  avoid  a  disputing  con- 
tentious spirit.  "  Be  swift  to  hear,  slow  to 
speak"  (James  i.  19.)  ;  and  when  a  reason  is 
asked  "  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you"  ( 1  Pet. 
iii.  15.),  give  your  answers  with  meekness 
and  fear,  lest  you  cause  your  good  to  be  evil 
spoken  of. 

3dly,  It  is  likewise  a  very  common  objec- 
tion, that  an  usual  effect  of  this  doctrine,  is 
to  make  people  idle  and  careless  with  regard 
to  the  necessary  concerns  and  business  of  life. 
Indeed  I  should  not  be  unwilling  to  plead 
with  candid  and  fair  reasoners,  in  behalf  cf 
young  converts,  on  this  point.  At  first  set. 
ting  out,  the  change  is  so  great,  their  views  of 
eternal  things  so  strong  and  affecting,  that, 
considering  human  infirmity,  it  can  hardly 
be  otherwise  but  that  the  attention  will  be  al- 
most entirely  taken  up  with  them  for  a  season. 


SER.  XIV. 


MISCONDUCT  IN   THEIR  PROFESSION. 


303 


While  a  sense  of  unpardoned  sin  is  fixed  up- 
on the  conscience  and  a  person  now  duly  a- 
ware  of  the  uncertainty  of  life,  is  in  suspence 
about  the  greatest  of  all  concerns,  and  knows 
not  how  or  whether  he  shall  be  able  to  flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come,  it  is  no  wonder  if  this 
solicitude  should  in  a  great  measure  swallow 
up  his  thoughts,  and  leave  him  but  little  ei- 
ther leisure  or  ability  to  attend  to  other  con- 
cerns, which,  however  proper  in  their  respec- 
tive places,  are  confessedly,  in  comparison  of 
this,  of  little  or  no  importance.  In  like  man- 
ner, the  removal  of  this  burden  is  usually  ac- 
companied with  sucli  a  lively  sense  of  the  wis- 
dom, love,  power,  and  grace  of  God,  revealed 
in  Christ  Jesus  by  the  gospel,  as  may  for  a  little 
while  almost  overpower  and  extinguish  the 
apprehension  of  inferior  things.  But  if  this  in- 
difference about  common  duties  continues  very 
long,  or  is  indulged  to  an  extreme,  it  gives 
great  and  just  offence.  It  causes  the  ways  of 
truth  to  be  evil  spoken  of,  and  we  hardly 
know  what  to  say,  but  this,  That  the  fault  is 
not  owing  to  the  gospel,  but  to  the  neglect  of 
what  the  gospel  teaches  and  enjoins.  This  is 
no  new  inconvenience  ;  the  apostles  observed 
and  reproved  it  in  their  day.  There  were 
such  mistaken  persons  among  the  Thessalo- 
nians,  who  supposed  or  pretended,  that  the 
gospel  exempted  them  from  labour.  Of  these 
he  says,  "  Now  them  that  are  such  we  exhort 
and  command,  that  with  quietness  they  work, 
and  eat  their  own  bread;"  and  farther  directs, 
"  that  if  they  would  not  work,  neither  should 
they  eat,"  2  Thess.  iii.  10. — 12.  The  Sab- 
bath is  the  Lord's ;  and  the  same  commmand' 
which  forbids  us  to  do  any  work  then,  re- 
quires us  to  labour  on  the  other  six  days. 
"  Let  not  your  good  be  evil  spoken  of."  Be 
faithful  to  your  trust,  diligent  in  your  busi- 
ness, do  every  thine  heartily  as  unto  the  Lord, 
and  not  unto  men.  Give  no  one  just  cause 
to  say,  that  since  you  have  become  religious, 
you  care  not  (as  the  phrase  is)  which  end  goes 
foremost ;  for  this  would  be  to  put  a  stum- 
bling-block in  their  way,  and  to  increase  their 
prejudices  against  the  truth. 

4thly,  Once  more,  the  gospel-doctrine  is 
charged  with  weakening  the  bands  of  natural 
and  social  relation  ;  that  it  makes  children  and 
servants  heady,  high-minded,  and  disobedient, 
so  that  they  presently  think  themselves  wiser 
than  all  about  them,  and  are  obstinately  bent 
to  have  their  own  wills.  This  objection  will 
indeed  cleave  to  the  gospel,  so  long  as  the 
spirit  of  the  world  and  the  spirit  of  God  are 
opposite  to  each  other.  For  cases  will  inevi- 
tably arise,  where  we  must  either  displease 
God  or  man,  and  then  we  ought  not  to  hesi- 
tate a  moment.  But  professors  should  take 
care  to  be  assured  that  there  is  such  a  neces- 
sity, befor;  they  act  against  lawful  authority; 
and  especially  when  the  point  in  dispute  lies 
between  children  and  parents.      For   though 


mother  when  God's  commands  require  it  ; 
yet  next,  under  God,  parents  are,  above  all, 
to  be  honoured,  consulted,  and  obeyed  ;  and 
the  excepted  cases  are  not  near  so  numerous 
as  persons  in  the  warmth  of  their  first  zeal  are 
apt  to  suppose.  The  enemy  suits  his  temp- 
tations to  occasions  ;  and  it  is  no  uncommon 
thing  to  be  drawn  to  act  violently  in  our  own 
spirits,  while  we  imagine  we  are  striving  in 
the  cause  of  God  and  truth. 

In  short,  we  are  directed  to  examine  our- 
selves, and  others  are  allowed  to  examiue  us 
by  our  fruits.  The  people  of  the  world  are 
not  proper  judges  of  spiritual  experiences, 
but  they  can  judge  tolerably  right  of  tempers 
and  actions.  Some  will  watch  you  out  of  ill- 
will,  and  some  will  observe  you  for  informa- 
tion. If  they  hear  you  have  begun  to  make 
a  religious  profession,  they  will  take  notice, 
to  see  if  you  are  the  better  for  it.  They  will 
observe  you  not  only  in  the  church,  but  in 
the  shop  and  in  the  house  ;  and  if  they  per- 
ceive you  are  all  of  a  piece,  steady,  quiet, 
humble,  diligent,  who  knows  but  this  may  be 
a  means  in  the  hand  of  God  to  win  upon 
them,  and  to  give  them  a  more  favourable  re- 
gard to  the  means  which  have  wrought  so  ef- 
fectually on  you  ?  But,  on  the  contrary,  if 
you  are  imprudent,  rash,  and  careless,  if  you 
either  conform  to  the  world,  or  neglect  your 
acknowledged  duty  in  it,  you  will  cause  your 
good  to  be  evil  spoken  of,  bring  difficulties 
upon  yourselves,  and  put  it  out  of  your  own 
power  to  be  useful  to  others.  Fray,  there 
fore,  for  wisdom  and  grace,  to  make  your 
light  so  shine  before  men,  that  they,  seeing 
your  good  works,  may  glorify  your  Father 
who  is  in  heaven.  This  is  the  great  design 
and  proper  effect  of  the  gospel,  when  rightly 
understood.  For  as  it  is  the  grace  of  God 
alone  which  bringeth  salvation  ;  so  this  grace 
not  only  enlightens  the  understanding,  but 
purifies  the  heart,  regulates  the  conduct,  works 
by  love,  and  overcomes  the  world.  It  effec- 
tually teaches  and  enforces  (what  the  best 
schemes  of  morality  and  philosophy  have  al- 
ways failed  in)  the  denial  of  all  ungodliness 
and  worldly  lusts  (Tit.  ii.  11 — 15.):  and  by 
the  motives  it  displays,  and  the  strength  it 
communicates,  enables  the  true  christian  to 
adorn  his  character  in  every  relation,  and  to 
fill  up  the  whole  circle  of  duty  as  it  respects 
himself,  his  neighbour,  and  the  God  with 
whom  he  has  to  do.  It  teaches  to  live  so- 
berly, righteously,  and  godly  ;  to  avoid  what- 
ever is  contrary  to  the  purity  of  the  gospel ; 
to  practise  moderation  in  the  use  even  of  law- 
ful things  ;  and  to  do  unto  others  as  we  would 
they  should  do  unto  us.  It  teaches  the  rich 
to  be  humble  and  bountiful,  the  poor  to  be 
thankful  and  resigned.  It  teaches  superiors 
to  be  kind,  inferiors  to  be  faithful.  Hus« 
bands  and  wives,  parents  and  children,  mas- 
ters and  servants,  magistrates  and  people,  are 


we  ought  to  disobey  and   forsake  father  and  J  all  instructed  by  this  grace  to  a  conduct  an 


894 


THE  EXTENT  AND  SANCTION 


Swerable  to  their  high  culling,  and  the  com- 
mon relation  they  stand  in  to  him  who  has 
loved  them,  and  washed  them  from  their  sins 
in  his  own  blood.  For  the  morality  of  the 
gospel  has  a  nobler  spring,  and  a  more  exten- 
sive scope,  than  the  ties  of  social  life.  Their 
sobriety  and  righteousness  are  not  substituted 
in  the  place  of  vital  godliness,  but  are  the 
fruits  derived  from  it.  The  grace  of  God 
teaches  them  to  live  godly,  to  delight  in  him, 
to  obey  him,  to  do  every  tiling  for  his  sake, 
as  under  his  eye,  and  to  be  continually  go- 
verned by  a  sense  of  his  unspeakable  love  ma- 
nifested in  his  Son,  and  "  an  expectation  of 
the  blessed  hope  set  before  us,  the  glorious 
appearance  of  the  great  God,  and  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  who  gave  himself  for  us,  that 
by  his  blood  and  Spirit  he  might  redeem  us 
from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a 
peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works."  La- 
bour to  shew,  that  you  are  not  only  called  by 
nis  name,  but  have  sat  at  his  feet,  and  drank  of 
his  Spirit ;  and  if,  after  all,  unreasonable  and 
wicked  men  will  speak  evil  of  you  and  your 
good,  be  not  moved  at  it,  but  pity  and  pray 
for  them.  When  he  shall  return  to  vindicate 
your  cause,  and  wipe  away  your  reproach, 
then  "  every  cloud  shall  be  removed,  and  the 
righteous  shall  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the 
kingdom  of  their  Father,"   Matth.  xiii.  43. 


SERMON  XV. 

THE  EXTENT  AND  SANCTION  OF   THE  THIHD 
COMMANDMENT. 

Tlion  shall  not  lake  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy 
God  in  vain  :  for  the  Lord  will  not  hold 
him  guiltless  that  taketh  his  name  in  vain. 
Exod.  xx.  7. 

The  foundation  of  true  religion  is  laid  in 
a  right  knowledge  of  God  and  ourselves. 
How  deficient  we  are  in  each  of  these,  how 
far  fallen  from  original  righteousness,  is 
strongly  implied  in  this  prohibition,  which 
would  be  wholly  unnecessary,  if  we  were  not 
wholly  sunk  in  stupidity  and  wickedness. 
That  such  worms  as  we  should  be  liable  to 
triile  with  the  Divine  Majesty,  whose  pre- 
sence fills  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  before 
whom  the  angels  hide  their  faces  ;  that  such 
frail  dependent  creatures  have  need  to  be  cau- 
tioned, that  we  do  not  profane  the  name  of 
the  God  in  whom  we  live,  and  move,  and  have 
our  being,  is  a  striking  proof  of  our  depravi- 
ty; and  that  we  can  dare  to  break  through 
this  caution,  and  slight  the  awful  threatening 
with  which  it  is  closed,  is  a  dreadful  aggra- 
vation of  our  guilt. 

These  words,  when  first  spoken  to  the  Is- 
raelites, were  delivered  in  flames  and  thun- 
der.     The  mountain  shook,  the  people  trem- 


SEK.  XV. 

bled  ;  and  even  Moses,  who  had  been  honour- 
ed with  peculiar  freedom  of  access  to  God, 
was  constrained  to  cry,  "  I  exceedingly  fear 
and  quake,"  Heb.  xii.  22.  Such  a  scene,  or 
rather  an  infinitely  more  dreadful  one,  shall 
hereafter  take  place,  "  when  the  Lord  him- 
self shall  again  descend  from  heaven  with  a 
shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and 
the  trump  of  God"  (1  Thess.  iv.  16.) ;  "  when 
he  shall  be  revealed  in  flaming  fire,  to  take 
vengeance  on  all  who  know  him  not,  and  obey 
not  his  gospel"  (2  Thess.  i.  8.)  :  "  then  shall 
sinners  be  convinced  not  only  of  their  ungod- 
ly deeds,  but  of  all  tlieir  hard  speeches  which 
they  have  spoken  against  him"  (Jude,  15.); 
and  they  shall  know  the  full  meaning  of  that 
terrible  exception  which  I  have  read,  "  that 
the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that  tak- 
eth his  name  in  vain." 

The  terms  of  my  text  require  little  expla- 
nation. The  name  of  God  is  in  every  one's 
mouth  upon  one  occasion  or  other,  in  places 
where  his  revealed  will  is  known.  In  a  more 
eminent  and  peculiar  sense,  his  name  is  dis- 
covered to  his  believing  people  in  Christ  Je- 
sus the  Lord  ;  those  who  know  the  name  of 
God  in  Christ  will  put  their  trust  in  him 
(Psal.  ix.  10.);  they  dare  not,  they  cannot, 
blaspheme  that  holy  name  by  which  the}'  are 
called.  But  I  shall  take  it  more  extensively 
here ;  for  though  but  few  understand  the 
name  of  God  in  an  evangelical  and  saving 
sense,  there  is  not  a  person  in  this  assembly 
but  kno'.vs  and  makes  mention  of  his  holy 
name,  so  far  as  to  render  them  transgressors 
of  this  commandment.  To  take  his  name 
in  vain,  is  to  use  it  falsely  or  profanely,  in- 
considerately, without  due  reverence,  or  un- 
profitably,  and  without  a  suitable  necessity. 
The  sanction,  "  The  Lord  will  not  hold  him 
guiltless,"  has  indeed  a  meaning  and  empha- 
sis beyond  what  is  expressed.  Similar  forms 
of  speaking  are  frequent  in  scripture,  as, 
"  The  Lord  will  not  spare  that  man"  (Deut. 
xxix.  20;  2  Pet.  ii.  4,  5.);  that  is,  he  will 
punish  him  to  the  utmost ;  for  it  is  immedi- 
ately added,  "  All  the  curses  of  this  book 
shall  come  upon  him."  Again,  "  He  spared 
not  the  angels  ;"  that  is,  he  shewed  them  no 
mercy,  as  the  following  words  declare :  "  He 
spared  not  the  old  world,  he  visited  them 
with  utter  destruction,  and  swept  them  all 
away  with  a  flood."  So  "  he  will  not  hold 
him  guiltless,"  implies  two  things  :  1st,  That 
the  Lord  God  has  appointed  a  day  to  call 
sinners  to  an  account  for  their  words,  as  well 
as  their  actions.  2dly,  That  whatever  shall  be- 
come of  others,  those  who  have  presumed  to 
take  his  name  in  vain,  have  their  doom  al- 
ready determined.  Whoever  escapes,  they 
shall  surely  be  punished ;  whomsoever  he  ac- 
quits, he  will  certainly  condemn  them. 

As  the  import  of  the  expressions  is  not  dif- 
ficult, so  likewise  it  will  be  far  more  easy 
than  agreeable  to  point  out  some  of  the  man/ 


OF  THE  THIRD   COMMANDMENT.  395 


SER.   XV. 

ways  in  which  this  commandment  is  custom- 
arily and  carelessly  broken.  The  law  is  ge- 
neral, and  each  particular  precept  is  spiritual 
(  Horn.  vii.  14) ;  and  perhaps  this  will  be  found 
of  a  more  extensive  signification  than  some  of 
you  are  aware.  The  delightful  theme  of  a 
minister  of  the  gospel  is  to  preach  Jesus  Christ, 
and  him  crucified;  to  open  the  treasures  of 
divine  mercy,  and  to  shew  the  grace,  freeness, 
and  security  of  the  promises  ;  to  raise  up  them 
that  fall,  to  strengthen  those  that  stand ;  "  to 
support  the  weak,  to  comfort  the  feeble-mind- 
ed ;  to  preach  deliverance  to  the  captives,  and 
the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are 
bound,"  1  Thess.  v.  14.;  Luke  iv.  18.  But 
these  subjects  do  not  comprise  the  whole  of 
our  message  ;  and  in  general  we  find  that  the 
full  soul  loatheth  the  honey-comb  (Prov. 
xxvii.  7.)  ;  and  multitudes,  through  ignorance 
of  the  spirituality  and  purity  of  God's  holy 
law,  and  a  partial  judgment  of  their  own 
hearts,  can  neither  see  the  beauty  nor  the  ne. 
cessity  of  the  gospel-salvation.  We  are  there- 
fore constrained  frequently  to  insist  on  far 
less  pleasing  subjects,  to  lift  up  our  voices 
like  a  trumpet  (Is.  lviii.  1),  to  demand  a  ge- 
neral attention,  while  we  attempt  to  shew  our 
hearers  their  transgressions  and  their  sins,  that 
they  may  thereby  make  the  doctrine  of  the 
cross  of  Christ  welcome  and  desirable.  It  is 
painful  to  the  patient,  and  without  doubt  un- 
pleasing  to  the  human  artist,  to  probe  a  deep 
and  dangerous  wound ;  but  necessity  com- 
mands, and  without  it  a  complete  and  lasting 
cure  is  not  to  be  expected. 

1.  The  first  and  most  direct  way  in  which 
the  name  of  God  is  taken  in  vain,  is  by  per- 
jury ;  that  is,  when  he  is  expressly  appealed 
to  in  confirmation  of  what  is  false,  or  when 
engagements  are  made,  as  in  his  name  and 
presence,  which  are  not  strictly  and  literally 
complied  with.  I  need  not  take  up  your  time 
in  proving  that  this  is  a  sin  of  a  deep  dye  in 
itself,  and  attended  with  peculiar  aggrava- 
tions under  the  light  of  the  gospel ;  and  I 
wish  it  was  more  difficult  to  prove  the  fre- 
quency of  it  in  our  land,  but  this  likewise  is 
as  obvious  as  the  light.  I  have  sometimes 
met  with  a  random  assertion,  that  though  we 
are  wicked  enough,  we  are  not  worse  than 
other  countries.  In  other  things  I  am  con- 
tent to  wave  the  parallel ;  but  with  respect  to 
the  sin  of  perjury,  I  fear  we  are  much  worse 
than  any  nation  now  under  the  sun,  perhaps 
worse  than  any  that  the  sun  ever  saw.  I  am 
afraid,  there  are  more  and  more  daring  in- 
stances of  this  wickedness  amongst  us  than 
in  all  the  rest  of  Europe.  By  an  unhappy 
kind  of  necessity,  it  is  interwoven,  as  it  were, 
with  the  very  constitution  of  the  body  politic, 
and  diffuses  itself  like  a  deadly  contagion 
amongst  all  orders  and  ranks  of  people.  Oaths 
are  so  excessively  multiplied,  and  so  generally 
neglected,  that  it  is  equally  difficult  and  rare 
for  a  person  to   engage  through  a  course   of 


years  in  any  kind  of  employment,  either  civil 
or  commercial,  (O  that  it  stopped  even  here  !) 
without  being  ensnared.  Some  are  so  ex- 
pressed, that  it  is  morally  impossible  to  com- 
ply with  them  ;  others  so  circumstanced,  that 
they  are  usually  swallowed  without  the  re- 
motest design  of  regarding  either  in  whole  or 
in  part.  If  here  and  there  a  few  make  con- 
science of  their  engagements,  and  are  desirous 
to  perform  to  the  Lord  their  oaths  (Matth.  v. 
33),  or  decline  taking  such  as  open  a  door 
either  to  honour  or  profit,  so  strong  is  the 
torrent  the  oilier  way,  that  it  is  well  if  they 
escape  the  charge  of  singularity  and  precise- 
ness.  Though  wickedness  of  every  kind  too 
much  abounds  amongst  us,  perjury  is  perhaps 
peculiarly  and  eminently  our  national  sin  ; 
and  I  tremble  to  think  it  is  so,  for  it  gives 
too  just  a  ground  to  fear  the  approach  of  na- 
tional judgments.  Surely  all  who  have  any 
regard  for  the  honour  of  God,  any  sense  of  the 
worth  of  souls,  w  ill  pray  earnestly  that  this 
iniquity  may  not  be  our  ruin,  but  that  the 
Lord  would  be  pleased  to  inspire  and  succeed 
the  most  proper  means  for  the  removal,  or  at 
least  the  mitigation  of  this  evil.  This  would 
be  an  event  worthy  to  stand  in  the  annals  of 
the  happy  times  and  auspicious  government 
under  which  we  live. 

2.  And  though  the  matter  of  an  oath  be 
strictly  true,  yet  if  it  is  not  transacted  with  a 
serious  acknowledgment  and  homage  of  that 
Divine  Being  to  whom  appeal  is  made,  such 
an  oath,  however  lawful  and  necessary  it  may 
be  in  itself,  is,  with  regard  to  all  such  thought- 
less triflers,  no  better  than  taking  the  name  of 
God  in  vain.  It  cannot  but  be  grievous  to 
every  serious  mind,  to  observe  the  little  re- 
verence and  solemnity,  or  rather  the  total  want 
of  common  decency,  which  too  frequently  pre- 
vails among  us  in  this  respect,  so  that  some- 
times it  is  not  easy  to  say  whether  those  who 
tender  the  oath,  or  those  who  take  it,  seem 
least  in  earnest.  Without  doubt  this  indiffer- 
ence may  be  assigned  as  one  cause  of  the  in- 
crease and  prevalence  of  perjury.  If  those 
who  are  authorised  to  require  or  receive  those 
solemn  appeals,  were  themselves  impressed 
with  a  due  reverence  of  the  awful  majesty  of 
God,  and  were  solicitous  to  inspire  all  who 
came  before  them  with  the  same  sentiments, 
and  would  remind  them  (those  especially  who 
appear  very  positive  and  unguarded)  of  the 
impiety  and  danger  of  swearing  falsely,  it  is 
possible  many  mischiefs  would  be  prevented. 
Some  persons  would  probably  tremble  and 
start  back  from  the  first  temptation  to  this 
wickedness,  and  others  might  be  deterred  from 
persisting  in  it,  who,  for  want  of  such  admo- 
nitions and  examples,  and  because  they  never 
saw  any  solemnity  observed,  precipitately  rush 
upon  this  enormous  evil,  and  are  at  length 
given  up  to  a  dreadful  habit  of  wilful  and 
corrupt  perjury. 

3.  If  an  oath,  lawful  and  necessary  in  itself. 


306 


THE  EXTENT  AND  SANCTION 


may  thus  become  criminal  through  inconside- 
ration,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  throng  of  pro- 
fane swearers,  who  wound  our  ears  and  pol- 
lute our  language,  by  a  horrid  mixture  of  exe- 
crations and  blasphemies  in  their  common  con- 
versation ?  "  Their  throats  are  an  open  se- 
pulchre :  their  mouths  are  full  of  cursing  and 
bitterness  :  the  poison  of  asps  is  under  their 
lips,"  Rom.  iii.  13,  14.  This  I  have  to  say 
from  the  word  of  God,  that  the  Lord  will  not 
hold  them  guiltless.  In  vain  their  thought- 
less plea,  that  they  mean  no  harm  :  in  vain 
their  presumptuous  comparison  of  themselves 
with  others,  as  though  these  were  trivial  escapes 
that  did  not  affect  the  peace  of  society.  If 
these  were  small  sins  singly,  their  frequency 
would  swell  to  a  vast  amount ;  but  is  it  in- 
deed a  small  sin,  to  rush  against  the  thick 
bosses  of  God's  buckler,  and  to  despise  so  ter- 
rible a  threatening  as  this  ?  Surely  "  the  pla- 
gue shall  never  depart  from  the  house  of  the 
swearer."  "  As  he  clotheth  himself  with 
cursing  like  as  with  his  garment ;  so  it  shall 
enter  into  his  bowels  like  water,  and  like  oil 
into  his  bones,"  Ps.  cix.  17,  18.  A  habit  of 
swearing  is  a  sure  sign  not  only  of  an  unsanc- 
tified  heart,  but  of  a  conscience  hardened,  and 
as  it  were  seared  with  a  hot  iron,  callous,  and 
quite  insensible. 

4.  Some  persons  who  scruple  expressly  to 
mention  the  name  of  God,  accustom  them- 
selves to  swear  by  his  creatures,  by  the  heavens, 
by  the  light,  or  by  their  own  souls,  &c.  But 
that  this  likewise  is  a  direct  violation  of  the 
law,  and  exposes  to  the  same  penalties,  we 
are  assured  by  him  who  best  knew  how  to  ex- 
plain his  own  commands.  Our  Lord  de- 
termines this  point  in  his  sermon  on  the 
mount,  so  as  not  to  leave  the  possibility  of  a 
doubt.  "  I  say  unto  you,  Swear  not  at  all ; 
neither  by  heaven,  for  it  is  God's  throne  ;  nor 
by  the  earth,  for  it  is  his  footstool. Nei- 
ther shalt  thou  swear  by  thy  head  because 
thou  canst  not  make  one  hair  thereof  white  or 
black,"  Matth.  v.  34—36.  "  And  whoso 
shall  swear  by  the  temple,  swcareth  by  it, 
and  by  him  that  dwelleth  therein ;  and  he 
that  shall  swear  by  heaven,  sweareth  by  the 
throneof  God,  and  by  him  that  sitteth  thereon," 
Matth.  xxiii.  21,  22.  "  But  let  your  com- 
munication be  yea,  yea  ;  nay,  nay  ;  for  what- 
soever is  more  than  these  cometh  of  evil." 
This  decision  evidently  condemns,  not  only 
what  is  usually  deemed  swearing,  but  the 
whole  multitude  of  idle  expletives,  whether  fa- 
shionable or  vulgar,  which  have  the  force  of 
affirmations  in  common  discourse.  Will  any 
who  live  in  a  christian  country,  and  have  the 
Bible  at  hand,  think  to  plead  ignorance  of 
these  things  in  the  great  day? 

5.  If  I  should  stop  here,  some  of  you  would 
applaud  yourselves,  and  perhaps  not  be  dis- 
pleased with  me  for  what  I  have  hitherto  said. 
Some  who  think  themselves  clear  thus  far, 
will  join   with   me  in   saying,  "  Because  of  J  floor, 


SER.  XV 

swearing,  the  land  mourns,"  Jer.  xxiii.  10. 
But  are  there  no  other  ways  of  taking  the 
name  of  God  in  vain  ?  Yes ;  many  do  it  as 
often  as  they  pray  ;  and  it  is  easily  proved  a- 
gainst  numbers  who  join  in  our  established 
worship.  Let  each  one  consider  with  what 
dispositions  and  desires  they  have  engaged  in 
the  service  we  have  already  gone  through 
this  day.  Our  mouths  have  all  spoken  the 
same  things ;  but  have  they  been  the  language 
of  our  hearts?  In  the  confession,  we  acknow- 
ledge, that  there  is  no  health  in  us,  and  speak 
as  if  we  were  true  penitents.  In  the  commu- 
nion-service, we  cry  for  mercy  as  miserable 
sinners ;  we  pray  that  the  thoughts  of  our 
heart  may  be  cleansed  by  the  inspiration  of 
God's  Holy  Spirit;  that  we  may  perfectly 
love  him,  ai  d  worthily  magnify  his  holy  name; 
and  for  this  we  appeal  to  God,  as  to  whom  al) 
hearts  are  open,  all  desires  known,  and  from 
whom  no  secrets  are  hid.  More  than  a  few  of 
you,  at  certain  seasons,  publicly  declare,  that 
the  remembrance  of  your  sins  is  grievous,  and 
the  burden  of  them  is  intolerable.  Now,  what 
apprehensions  can  such  of  you  have  of  God 
as  can  dare  to  use  this  solemn  language  when 
your  hearts  meant  no  such  thing  ?  Is  not  this 
to  take  his  name  in  vain  in  the  grossest  man- 
ner? Is  it  not  plain  that  you  think  him  alto- 
gether such  a  one  as  yourselves  (Psal.  1.  21.)  ; 
nay,  more  easily  imposed  upon,  and  more 
safely  to  be  trifled  with,  than  a  fallible  mor- 
tal ?  Strange  it  is  to  think,  that  many  can, 
not  only  content  themselves  with  this  lip-ser- 
vice, but  make  it  the  meritorious  ground  of 
their  hope,  and  conceit  themselves  religious 
because  they  come  so  often  to  church  to  mock 
the  power  that  made  them  !  But  hardly  can 
any  wickedness  be  imagined  more  daring,  and 
more  dreadfully  provoking  to  the  Most  High, 
than  such  a  religion  as  this.  To  all  such 
worshippers  I  may  address  those  striking  words 
of  St.  Peter  to  Ananias,  "  Thou  hast  not  lied 
unto  men,  but  unto  God,"  Acts  v.  4. 

6.  The  whole  lives  of  those  who  live  in  the 
allowed  practice  of  known  sin,  under  the  pro- 
fession of  the  christian  name,  may  be  con- 
sidered as  one  continual  breach  of  this  com- 
mand. In  all  you  say  and  do,  you  blaspheme 
that  holy  name  by  which  you  are  called ;  and 
still  more  so  if  you  are  declared  friends  and 
favourers  of  evangelical  preaching.  By  your 
means,  "the  ways  of  truth  are  evil  spoken  of," 
2  Pet.  ii.  2.  You  give  occasion  to  those  of- 
fences of  which  it  is  said,  "  Woe  to  that  man 
by  whom  the  offence  cometh,"  Matth.  xviii.  7. 
You  injure  the  cause  of  Christ,  stumble  the 
weak  in  the  faith,  grieve  the  hearts  of  all  who 
love  the  Lord,  and  make  his  enemies  rejoice. 
"  Better  it  would  have  been  for  you  never  to 
have  known  the  ways  of  righteousness"  (2  Pet. 
ii.  21.),  than  thus  to  abuse  your  knowledge. 
You  are  now  mingled  with  his  faithful  servants, 
as  the  chaff  is  blended  with  the  wheat  upon  the 
But  "  behold  the   Judge  standeth   a* 


SER.  XV. 


OF  THE  THIRD  COMxMANDMENl .  397 


the  door,"  James  v.  9.  His  fan  is  in  his 
hand,  he  will  throughly  purge  his  floor  ;  and 
when  he  gathers  the  wheat  into  his  garner, 
you  will  be  consumed  like  stubble  before  the 
flame  of  his  indignation,  Matth.  iii.  12.  What 
distress  and  remorse  will  seize  your  hearts, 
when  you  shall  see  them  with  whom  you  have 
often  joined  in  the  same  ordinances,  that 
have  lived  with  you  under  the  same  roof, 
dined  at  the  same  table,  perhaps  slept  in  the 
same  bed,  when  you  shall  see  them  received  in- 
to the  kingdom,  and  you  yourselves  excluded, 
and  thrust  into  that  outer  darkness,  where  there 
is  weeping,  and  wailing,  and  gnashing  of  teeth 
for  ever  ?  Luke  xiii.  28. 

From  this  subject  we  may  observe,  by  way 
of  inference  and  application, 

1.  The  truth  and  propriety  of  that  scrip- 
ture, "  We  know  that  what  things  soever  the 
law  saith,  it  saith  to  them  that  are  under  the 
law  ;  that  every  mouth  may  be  stopped,  and 
all  the  world  may  become  guilty  before  God," 
Rom.  iii.  19.  What  person  in  this  assembly 
can  plead  guiltless  to  every  part  of  this  charge  ? 
Must  we  not  all  stand  silentand  self-condemn- 
ed ?  And  if  you  are  a  transgressor,  what  can 
you  do,  either  to  repair  the  dishonour  you 
have  opened  to  the  Divine  Majesty,  or  to  pre- 
vent the  contagious  effects  of  your  own  evil 
example  ?  Nothing  can  be  more  false,  than  a 
too  frequent  form  of  speech  amongst  us  ;  when 
a  man  of  some  amiable  qualifications  in  social 
life  tramples  without  fear  upon  the  laws  of 
God,  how  often  is  it  said,  by  way  of  extenua- 
tion, he  is  no  one's  enemy  but  his  own  !  when 
indeed  his  practice  declares  him  to  be  an  ene- 
my of  God,  an  enemy  to  his  holiness  and  go- 
vernment :  and  he  is  a  most  mischievous  ene- 
my to  all  who  live  under  his  influence,  and 
within  the  circle  of  his  acquaintance,  by  tempt- 
ing and  encouraging  them  to  sin  to  the  hazard 
of  their  souls.  Things  standing  thus  with  all 
men  by  nature,  with  what  language  can  we 
answer  the  law's  demands  ?  Must  we  not  a- 
dopt  the  pathetic  confession  of  the  prophet  ? 
"  For  this  our  heart  is  faint ;  for  these  things 
our  eyes  are  dim.  The  crown  is  fallen  from 
our  heads  ;  woe  unto  us  that  we  have  sinned !" 
Lam.  v.  16. 

2.  The  necessity  and  value  of  the  gospel ; 
otherwise  how  can  you  escape  the  penalty,  and 
stand  acquitted  before  the  supreme  Judge  ? 
If  you  refuse  this,  "  there  remaineth  no  more 
sacrifice  for  sins,  Heb.  x.  26.  But  if  you 
humble  yourself,  and  apply  to  Jesus,  there  is 
yet  hope.  He  died  for  sinners,  the  chief  of 
sinners,  and  the  greatest  of  sins.  For  his 
sake,  all  manner  of  sin  and  blasphemy  is  par- 
donable :  "  He  is  able  to  save  to  the  utter- 
most." But  he  must  do  the  whole,  and  have 
all  the  glory.  Believe  in  his  name.  This  is 
the  first  step ;  without  grace  derived  from 
him,  you  can  do  nothing.  Remember  his 
agony  and  bloody  sweat,  his  cross  and  pas- 
sion :  and  that  he  is  now   exalted  a  Prince 


and  a  Saviour,  on  the  behalf  of  those  who 
are  ready  to  perish.  Let  this  be  your  plea 
and  encouragement  to  draw  near  to  a  throne 
of  grace.  Pray  for  his  Spirit  to  reveal  his 
righteousness,  power,  and  love  to  your  souls  ; 
and  as  your  knowledge  of  him  increases, 
your  repentance  will  be  more  spiritual,  evan- 
gelical, and  effectual.  Entreat  him  to  enable 
you  to  forsake  your  former  evils,  to  set  a 
guard  upon  the  door  of  your  lips,  and  to  in- 
spire you  with  an  awful  veneration  of  that 
holy  name  which  you  have  hitherto  profaned. 
He  can  teach  your  polluted  lips  to  shew  forth 
his  praise. 

And  let  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord,  whom 
he  has  delivered  from  the  guilt  and  power  ot 
this  iniquity,  adore  the  grace  and  mercy  that 
has  saved  them.      Look  back  upon  your  past 
lives,  and  rejoice  with  trembling.     How  often 
have  you  defied  his  vengeance  and  power,  and 
perhaps  madly  uttered  horrid  imprecations  a- 
gainst  yourselves  ?   Why  have  others  been  cut 
off   in    these    sins,  and    you    spared  ?    Yes ; 
"  such  were  some  of  you  :    but  ye  are  washed, 
ye  are  sanctified,  ye  are  justified  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our 
God,"  1  Cor.  vi.  11.     And  now  your  tongues, 
which  once  uttered  blasphemies  almost  with 
every  breath,   or,   under  a  form  of  godliness, 
pronounced  a  language  foreign  to  your  hearts, 
delight  in  extolling   the  name  of  Jesus,  and 
celebrating  the  wonders    of  redeeming  love. 
Now,  when  you  speak  of  the  great  God,  your 
hearts  are  awed  with  an  apprehension  of  his 
majesty,   yet  comforted  with  the  thought  that 
this  God  is  your  God,  your  almighty  friend, 
your  everlasting  portion.      Now  you  feel  the 
influence  of  the   Spirit  of  adoption,  whereby 
you  cry,    "  Abba,   Father."      Little  did  you 
think  in  the  days  of  your  ignorance,  that  the 
God  whom  you  was  presumptuously  offend- 
ing,  had,  in  the  counsels  of  his  everlasting 
love,  chosen  you  to  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ, 
Eph.  i,  4.      But  he  was  found  of  you  when 
you  sought  him  not,  Isa.  lxv.  1.      He  passed 
by  you  when  you  were  lying  in   your  blood, 
and  bade  you  liviv  Ezek.  xvi.  6,  8.      This  was 
the  secret  reason  why  you  could  not  destroy 
yourselves.      And  at  length  his  time  of  love 
came,  the  hour  which  he   had  appointed  to 
open  your  eyes,  to  shew  you  mercy,  to  deli- 
ver you  from  the  power  of  darkness,  and  to 
translate   you  into   the  kingdom  of  his  dear 
Son,   Col.  i.    13.      Do  not  your  hearts  glow 
with  a  sense  of  your  obligations  to  him  who 
hath  loved  you,   and  washed   you  from  your 
sins  in  his  own  blood?    Will  you  not  live  to 
him  who  has  saved  you  from  so  great  a  death  ? 
Yea,  doubtless  you  will  count  all  things  but 
loss  for  the  excellency  of  the   knowledge  of 
Christ  Jesus  the   Lord.        You  will   use    all 
your  influence  to  diffuse  the  savour  of  his  pre- 
cious name.      You  will  take  shame  to  your- 
selves, and  ascribe  glory  to  him.      You  will 
be   zealous  for  his  cause,   and  have  a  tender 


S98 

compassion  for  poor  sinners,  who  know  not 
what  they  do,  remembering,  from  your  past 
experience,  the  misery  and  gall  of  an  uncon- 
verted state.  Let  as  many  of  us  as  have  re- 
ceived mercy  be  thus  minded  ;  let  it  be  our 
great  study  to  shew  forth  the  praises  of  him 
who  has  called  us  out  of  darkness  into  his 
marvellous  light,  till  the  welcome  hour  shall 
arrive,  when  he  will  say  to  all  who  fear  and 
love  him,  and  long  for  his  appearance,  "  Come, 
ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom 
prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world,"  Matth.  xxv.  34. 


SERMON  XVI. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  COMPARED  TO  A  RACE. 

— So  run  that  ye  may  obtain.      1  Cor.  ix.  24. 

The  scriptures  teach  us  to  derive  profitable 
lessons  from  common  occurrences  :  and  since 
we  cannot  avoid  seeing  and  hearing  the  vani- 
ties of  those  who  know  not  God,  unless  we 
would  go  wholly  out  of  the  world,  we  may 
learn  some  instruction  from  them  at  a  dis- 
tance. The  country  of  Greece,  and  especial- 
ly the  neighbourhood  of  Corinth,  was  famous 
for  trials  of  skill  in  a  variety  of  exercises,  such 
as  racing,  wrestling,  fighting,  and  the  like. 
And  because  the  children  of  the  world  are 
very  wise  in  their  generation,  and  spare  no 
pains  to  accomplish  the  point  they  have  in 
view,  the  apostle  would  stir  up  believers  to 
diligence  from  their  example  ;  and  therefore, 
in  several  places,  compares  the  christian  life 
to  one  or  other  of  the  contests  which  were  ma- 
naged in  the  public  games,  and  here  particu- 
larly to  a  race.  In  those  ancient  races  much 
solemnity  was  observed.  The  ground  or 
course  was  exactly  marked  out ;  those  who 
were  to  run  went  through  a  strict  regimen 
and  exercise  beforehand  ;  a  vast  concourse  of 
people  were  assembled  as  spectators ;  autho- 
rised judges  were  appointed  to  award  the 
prize,  which  was  a  crown  of  laurel  or  oak 
leaves,  to  the  winner :  and  before  they  began, 
a  herald  publicly  proclaimed  the  rules  to  be 
observed  by  the  competitors ;  which  unless 
strictly  complied  with,  all  their  pains  and  en- 
deavours issued  only  in  disappointment  and 
shame.  To  each  of  these  particulars  the  a- 
postle  alludes  in  different  parts  of  his  writ- 
ings. 

Let  us,  then,  briefly  consider  wherein  the  al- 
lusion holds,  and  take  notice  of  some  things 
in  which  there  is  a  remarkable  difference. 

I.  That  the  christian  life  is  compared  to  a 
race,  may  intimate  to  us, 

1.  That  it  is  a  laborious  and  strenuous  ser- 
vice, and  incompatible  with  an  indolent  and 
careless  frame  of  spirit.  Not  that  we  can  do 
any  thing  of  ourselves  ;  in  this  sense,   "  it  is 


THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  SEK.  XVI 

not  of  him  that  willeth,  or  of  bim  that  run- 
neth," Rom.  ix.  16.  But  when  a  believer  is 
animated  by  a  view  of  Jesus,  and  the  prize 
of  the  high  calling,  to  run  the  race  set  before 
him,  he  finds  that  it  demands  his  utmost 
strength,  courage,  and  patience.  A  spectator 
may  divert  himself  with  the  prospect,  or  the 
company  ;  he  may  make  observations  upon 
what  passes  around  him,  and  ride  as  softly  as 
he  pleases;  but  then  he  has  no  pretensions  to 
the  prize.  But  those  who  are  actually  can- 
didates for  it,  may  be  easily  distinguished 
without  being  pointed  out:  they  have  no  lei- 
sure for  amusement;  their  eyes  are  fixed,  and 
their  thoughts  wholly  engaged,  upon  what 
they  have  in  hand ;  and  they  exert  all  their 
powers,  and  strain  every  nerve,  to  reach  the 
goal.  How  inconsistent  is  the  conduct  of 
many  professors  !  They  enter  the  lists,  they 
inform  themselves  of  the  rules,  they  even  pre- 
sume to  expect  the  prize,  though  they  idle  a- 
way  their  whole  lives,  without  once  attempt- 
ing to  run  in  good  earnest.  Not  so  those 
who  are  taught  and  called  of  God  :  a  sense  of 
the  worth  of  their  souls,  of  the  love  of  Christ, 
of  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed,  of  their 
own  weakness,  and  of  the  many  obstacles  that 
withstand  their  progress,  stirs  them  up  to 
watchfulness,  diligence,  and  prayer,  and  ex- 
cites a  holy  jealousy,  "  lest  a  promise  being 
made  of  entering  into  his  rest,  any  of  them 
should  come  short  of  it,"  Heb.  iv.  1. 

2.  That  we  should  press  forward,  and  not 
rest  in  what  we  have  received.  If  a  man  sets 
out  in  a  race  with  the  greatest  speed,  and 
seems  to  outstrip  all  his  antagonists ;  yet  if 
he  does  not  persevere  to  the  end,  he  will  be 
sure  to  lose.  The  apostle  alludes  to  a  race 
in  another  place,  where  he  says,  "  Forgetting 
the  things  that  are  behind,  and  reaching  forth 
to  those  that  are  before,  I  stretch  forward," 
Phil.  iii.  13,  14.  The  Greek  word  beauti- 
fully expresses  the  earnestness  and  energy  of 
those  who  run,  and  are  determined  to  be  first : 
they  make  no  account  of  the  ground  already 
passed  over,  but  exert  themselves  to  the  ut- 
most, labour  with  their  hands  and  feet,  and 
strain  every  joint  to  the  utmost,  as  though  the 
whole  success  depended  on  each  single  step. 
We  see  too  many  instances  of  persons  who 
begin  warmly,  and  seem  to  run  well  for  a 
season ;  but  they  are  hindered  in  their  pro- 
gress, slacken  their  pace  first,  and  then  stop 
short.  Take  notice  of  the  exhortation  in  my 
text:  "  So  run  that  you  may  obtain;"  for  it 
will  be  adreadful  disappointment  if  you  should 
be  set  aside  disapproved,  when  others  receive 
the  prize. 

II.  The  heralds  or  criers  in  the  christian 
race  are  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  their 
proper  name  of  office  is  expressed  by  the  same 
word.  They  have  it  in  charge  to  invite  all  to 
run,  and  to  declare  the  prescribed  rules  ;  and 
these  must  be  carefully  attended  to;  for  "  if," 
or,  as  it  might  be  rendered,  "  although,  a  man 


SER.  XVI. 


COMPARED  TO  A  RACE. 


3:i9 


strive"  (2  Tim.  If.  5),  although  he  wrestle, 
and  fight,  and  run,  weary  himself,  and  excel 
others;  yet,  after  all,  he  loses  the  prize,  "  he 
is  not  crowned,  unless  he  strive  lawfully," 
unless  he  strictly  conforms  to  the  prescribed 
regulations  :  he  will  be  judged  unqualified, 
though  in  other  respects  skilful  and  diligent, 
unless  he  runs  in  the  limits  marked  out,  fights 
with  the  usual  weapons,  and  observes  in  all 
points  the  discipline  of  the  place.  We  are 
bound  in  duty,  at  the  same  time  that  we  pro- 
claim the  race,  and  point  out  the  prize  to  your 
view,  to  tell  you,  that  without  faith  and  holi- 
ness (Mark  xvi.  16;  Heb,  sii.  14)  there  can 
be  no  acceptance.  And  we  cannot  but  be 
grieved  to  see  how  little  these  cautions  are  re- 
garded by  multitudes.  Soma  ore  labouring, 
as  it  were  in  the  fire,  to  establish  a  righteous- 
ness by  their  own  works,  and  refuse  to  believe 
in  Christ  for  salvation.  Others  who  profess 
indeed  to  believe  in  him,  call  themselves  his 
people,  and  affect  to  speak  highly  of  his  gos- 
pel, yet  eventually  deny  him  by  their  works 
and  conversation.  But  unless  you  can  alter 
the  sure  determinations  of  the  word  of  God, 
there  must  be  an  alteration  in  yourselves,  or  else 
when  you  think  you  have  attained,  and  shall 
confidently  demand  the  prize,  you  will  hear 
him  say,  "  I  know  you  not  whence  you  are  ; 
depart  from  me,  all  ye  workers  of  iniquity," 
Luke  xiii.  27. 

There  is  a  circumstance  in  this  resemblance 
which  I  would  not  pass  over,  because  it  is  pe- 
culiar to  the  christian  race.  The  ministers  or 
heralds  are  not  only  to  invite  others,  but  are 
likewise  to  run  themselves.  To  this  the  apos- 
tle alludes,  when  he  says,  "  Lest,  when  I  have 
preached  to  others,  1  should  be  myself  a  cast- 
away" (1  Cor.  ix.  27),  or  be  disapproved  of 
the  Judge  for  breaking  those  regulations  him- 
self which  he  had  been  authorised  to  propound 
to  all.  We  have  need  to  preach  to  ourselves 
no  less  than  to  you,  and  to  entreat  your  prayers 
for  us,  that  we  may  stand  perfect  and  com- 
plete in  the  whole  will  of  God.  And  the  cau- 
tion may  be  proportionally  extended  to  every 
one  that  is  entrusted  with  any  measure  >f 
gifts  for  the  edification  of  the  people  of  God. 
Keep  close  to  his  word ;  pray  for  his  Spirit ; 
be  diligent  and  temperate  in  all  things ;  and 
maintain  a  watchful  jealousy  over  your  own 
hearts ; — these  are  the  means  by  which  the 
Lord  keeps  his  people  from  falling.  But 
trust  not  to  any  outward  talent,  calling,  or 
usefulness ;  for  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  be 
instrumental  to  the  good  of  others  in  families 
and  societies,  and  yet  to  come  short  of  the 
kingdom  himself  at  last. 

III.  I  have  observed  that  a  great  consourse 
of  spectators  attended  at  the  ancient  games. 
The  christian,  in  his  race  and  warfare,  has 
likewise  innumerable  eyes  upon  him,  a  great 
cloud  of  witnesses,  Heb.  xii.  1.  We  are  ex- 
hibited (says  the  apostle)  as  a  spectacle  to  the 
world,  to  the  whole  universe,  both  to  angels 


and  to  men,  1  Cor.  iv.  9.  Though  he  may  be 
placed  in  an  obscure  situation,  yet  his  neigh- 
bours at  least  will  observe  him,  to  see  how  his 
profession  and  practice  agree.  Invisible  beings 
attend  him  in  every  step  ;  the  good  angels 
(Luke  xv.  10)  rejoice  over  the  returning  sin- 
ner, and  it  is  probable,  by  God's  appoint- 
ment, support  and  refresh  him  in  ways  which 
are  beyond  our  apprehension.  The  powers 
of  darkness  watch  him  with  subtilty  and  envy, 
and  go  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  their  commis- 
sion, in  their  endeavours  either  to  divert  him 
from  his  course,  or  to  make  it  uncomfortable 
to  him.  How  should  this  thought  both  ani- 
mate and  humble  every  sincere  soul !  Be  not 
discouraged,  because  to  appearance  you  are 
almost  left  to  serve  God  alone.  If  the  vail 
of  flesh  and  blood  could  be  drawn  aside,  you 
would  see  you  are  not  alone  ;  all  the  host  of 
heaven  are  on  your  side;  the  glorious  com- 
pany that  are  before  the  throne  of  God,  day 
without  night,  rejoicing,  are  engaged  in  your 
cause,  and  drink  of  the  same  fountain  from 
which  you  are  supplied.  The  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect,  who  are  now  all  eye,  all 
ear,  all  love,  were  once,  as  you  are,  partakers 
of  the  same  infirmities,  sorrows,  and  cares  ; 
and  you  ere  long  shall  be  as  they  are,  clothed 
with  light,  and  freed  from  every  burden. 
And  Jesus,  the  Lord  of  angels,  the  King  of 
saints,  beholds  your  toil  and  conflict  with  com- 
placence, and  says,  "  Hold  that  fast  which 
thou  hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown," 
Rev.  iii.  11.  He  is  always  near  to  succour, 
strengthen,  and  to  save.  Rejoice,  therefore, 
that  you  run  not  as  unnoticed,  but  rejoice 
with  trembling.  Be  ashamed  to  think  how 
disproportionate  your  efforts  are  to  the  com- 
pany that  behold  you,  and  to  the  prize  that 
awaits  you.  Remember  likewise  other  eyes 
are  upon  you  ;  Satan  envies  your  privileges, 
and  scorns  your  profession  :  he  is  every  mi- 
nute waiting  permission  to  sift  you  as  wheat 
(Luke,  xxii.  31)  ;  he  is  incessantly  spreading 
snares  for  your  feet,  and  preparing  his  arrows 
against  you  ;  therefore  be  not  high-minded, 
but  fear,  and  give  all  diligence  so  to  run  that 
you  may  obtain. 

IV.  The  judge  who  presides  at  the  end  of 
the  race  is  Jesus,  the  Judge  of  alL  He  holds 
forth  the  prize  full  in  view  to  the  eye  of  faith, 
and  shall  shortly  crown  the  conqueror  with 
his  own  hand.  How  sweetly  does  the  apostle 
spiritualize  upon  this  circumstance  !  "  I  have 
fought  a  good  light,  I  have  finished  my 
course;  I  have  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth 
there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  life,  which 
the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge"  (who  does  not 
decide  by  appearances,  nor  can  be  influenced 
by  partiality,  as  is  too  frequent  among  men), 
"  shall  give  me  at  that  day  ;  and  not  to  me 
only,  but  to  all  who  love  his  appearing,"  2 
Tim.  iv.  7,  8.  Be  of  good  cheer,  believer  ; 
your  case  may  be  misrepresented  or  misun- 
derstood  by  men,  but  the  Lord,  the  righteous 


*00  THE  CHRIS 

and  unerring  Judge,  will  vindicate,  approve, 
and  reward  you  in  the  great  day,  when  he  shall 
come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  ad- 
mired in  all  them  that  believe. 

Thus  much  concerning  the  resemblance  of 
the  christian  life  to  a  race,  to  which  the  apos- 
tle alludes.  I  shall  briefly  take  notice  of  some 
particulars  in  which  the  resemblance  fails ; 
and  a  very  interesting  and  important  differ- 
ence may  be  observed, 

1.  In  the  reward.  The  "bodily  exercise" 
employed  in  the  games  (for  to  these  the 
apostle  refers),  "  profited  little"  (1  Tim. 
iv.  8.)  :  a  crown  of  oak  or  laurel,  or  some 
such  bauble,  was  their  highest  aim,  and  this 
the  most  of  the  competitors  came  short  of: 
for  though  all  ran,  one  only  received  the  prize. 
Of  little  more  value,  and  equal  uncertainty, 
is  the  prize  that  has  engaged  the  time  and 
thoughts  of  many.  "  But  godliness"  (thewhole 
course  and  conflict  in  which  the  believer 
is  engaged)  "  is  profitable  for  all  things,"  or 
in  every  view,  having  promises  to  support  the 
life  that  now  is,  and  to  crown  that  which  is  to 
come.  "  He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit 
all  things ;  and  I  will  be  his  God,  and  he 
shall  be  my  son,"  Rev.  xxi.  7.  "  I  will  give 
him  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the 
midst  of  the  paradise  of  God,"  Rev.  ii.  7.  "  I 
will  make  him  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my 
God,  and  he  shall  go  no  more  out;  yea,  I  will 
grant  him  to  sit  down  with  me  in  my  throne," 
Rev.  iii.  12,  21.  The  Lord  will  give  grace  here, 
and  will  with-hold  no  good  thing  from  those 
who  walk  uprightly  (Psal.  lxxxiv.  11.)  ;  and 
hereafter  he  will  crown  grace  with  glory,  and 
place  his  servants  out  of  the  reach  of  every 
trouble  and  enemy,  in  the  kingdom  which  his 
love  has  prepared  for  them  from  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  "  Having  there- 
fore these  promises,  dearly  beloved,  let  us 
cleanse  ourselves  from  all  filthiness  of  the 
flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting  holiness  in  the  fear 
of  the  Lord,"  2  Cor.  vii.  1. 

2.  In  races,  though  many  run,  one  only  can 
receive  the  prize.  But  thanks  be  to  God,  it 
is  not  so  in  the  christian  race.  All  who  run, 
as  the  Lord  has  appointed,  shall  be  sure  to 
win.  No  opposition  can  prevail  against  them, 
nor  will  the  number  of  candidates  be  any  di- 
minution to  the  happiness  of  each  individual. 
The  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light,  like  the 
light  of  the  sun,  is  not  diminished  by  being 
shared  amongst  many  ;  each  one  possesses  the 
whole,  in  the  same  perfection  as  he  could  do, 
if  there  was  none  to  enjoy  it  but  himself. 

3.  In  the  races  the  apostle  alludes  to,  none 
were  compelled  to  run.  The  proclamation 
was  general ;  but  those  who  did  not  chuse  to 
engage,  suffered  no  disadvantage.  But  it  is  not 
so  in  the  race  to  which  you  are  invited  by  the 
gospel.  The  Lord  is  greatly  offended  with 
those  who  slight  the  message,  and  refuse  to 
enter  the  lists.  If  you  only  give  his  ministers 
a  hearing,  and  return  to  your  farms  and  mer- 


TIAN  LIFE 


SER.  XVI. 


chandise,  (Matth.  xxii.  5.)  forget  the  worth  of 
your  precious  souls,  and  suffer  your  thoughts 
to  be  engrossed  with  the  cares  and  pleasures 
of  this  life,  to  the  neglect  of  this  one  thing 
needful,  the  Lord  will  account  it  a  contempt 
offered  to  himself,  and  will  ere  long  call  you 
before  his  tribunal  to  answer  for  it. 

4.  Those  who  ran,  and  did  not  win  the  prize, 
only  I  »st  their  labour,  or  at  the  worst  were  ex- 
posed to  shame  ;  but  they  were  liable  to  no 
positive  punishment.  But  you  who  are  pro- 
fessors of  the  gospel,  if  you  come  short  at 
last,  will  be  lost  for  ever.  "  So  run  that  you 
may  obtain."  Be  not  content  with  having 
set  out ;  the  promise  is  made  to  perseverance. 
"  He  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved" 
(Matth.  x.  22.)  ;  but  if  any  draw  back,  or 
stop  short,  the  Lord  will  have  no  pleasure  in 
them,  Heb.  x.  38.  They  will  not  only  lose 
the  prize,  but  will  receive  a  heavy  and  aggra- 
vated doom.  It  would  have  been  better  for 
them  not  to  have  known  the  ways  of  right- 
eousness, than  after  they  have  known  it,  to 
turn  from  the  holy  commandment  delivered  to 
them.  If  you  were  forced  to  run  for  your  lives, 
you  would  be  very  thoughtful  about  the  event. 
But  if  you  are  not  found  amongst  those  who 
come  in  for  the  prize  of  eternal  life,  you  will 
be  cast  into  outer  darkness,  and  sink  under  the 
curse  of  God  for  ever. 

Fain,  therefore,  would  I  persuade  you  to 
address  yourselves  with  earnestness  to  run  the 
race  set  before  you.  Flee  from  approaching 
wrath.  The  wrath  of  God  is  already  reveal- 
ed against  all  unrighteousness,  and  soon  it 
will  be  poured  forth  upon  the  head  of  every 
transgressor.  Though  God  is  patient  and 
forbearing,  he  is  angry  with  the  wicked  every 
day.  If  he  turn  not,  he  will  whet  his  glitter- 
ing sword  ;  he  hath  bent  his  bow,  and  made 
it  ready.  He  hath  also  prepared  for  him  the 
instruments  of  death ;  he  hath  ordained  his 
arrows  against  those  who  shall  finally  disobey 
his  great  command,  to  receive  the  gospel  of 
his  grace.  It  is  impossible  to  elude  his  eye, 
or  to  withstand  his  power.  You  are  upon  the 
brink  of  danger,  if  you  are  not  already  en- 
tered in  this  race ;  you  stand  upon  a  preci- 
pice, and  hell  from  beneath  has  opened  its 
mouth  to  receive  you.  But  a  respite  is  still 
afforded ;  the  Lord  waits  to  be  gracious  ;  and 
as  yet  there  is  room.  The  gate  of  mercy  is 
not  yet  shut :  "  turn  therefore  to  the  strong 
hold,  as  prisoners  of  hope;"  no  longer  refuse 
his  gracious  invitation,  or  trifle  with  your  pre- 
cious souls  ;  seek  to  Jesus  that  you  may  live  ; 
apply  to  him  for  faith  and  repentance ;  and, 
in  his  strength  and  name  prepare  to  run  this 
important  race.  Meditate  upon  the  glorious 
prize,  which  is  provided  for  all  who  endure  to 
the  end;  it  is  freely  proposed  to  all  who  run. 
Pardon,  grace,  and  eternal  life,  are  promised 
and  bestowed,  without  money  and  without 
price.  If,  after  so  many  repeated  calls,  you 
still  harden  your  hearts,  and  stop  your  ears. 


HER.  XVI. 

and  determine  that  you  will  not  come  unto 
Jesus,  that  you  may  have  life,  you  must  as- 
suredly perish,  without  mercy,  and  without 
excuse. 

But  if  you  are  desirous  to  run,  remember 
the  admonition  in  my  text,  "  So  run  that  you 
miy  obtain."  Your  steps  must  be  regulated 
by  the  word  of  God,  or  you  will  wander  wide 
from  the  good  old  way  ;  you  must  derive 
your  sufficiency  and  strength  from  Christ  by 
faith  and  prayer,  or  you  will  faint,  and  be 
unable  to  endure  to  the  end.  We  read  of 
some  (Gal.  v.  7.)  that  run  well  for  a  season, 
but  were  afterwards  hindered,  and  turned 
aside.  Be  upon  your  guard  ;  for  there  are 
many  that  will  strive  to  divert  you  from  your 
course.  Satan,  the  world,  and  your  own  evil 
hearts,  will  combine,  and  form  various  at- 
tempts to  slacken  your  pace,  and  to  withdraw 
your  attention  from  the  one  thing  needful. 
Dread  the  thoughts  of  stopping  short,  or 
turning  back  ;  and  the  more  you  meet  with 
opposition,  be  so  much  the  more  earnest  to 
redouble  your  diligence,  and  especially  to  cry 
mightily  to  him  who  is  able  to  keep  you  from 
falling,  to  preserve  you  unblameable  in  love 
while  here,  and  at  last  to  present  you  faultless 
before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with  exceed- 
ing joy. 

Believers,  why  are  not  we  as  wise  in  our 
generation  as  the  children  of  the  world  ?  We 
see  how  those  who  are  fond  of  a  common 
horse-race  are  thinking  and  talking  of  it,  and 
preparing  for  it  every  day.  Does  not  their 
diligence  shame  us,  who  are  so  cold,  faint, 
and  dilatory,  in  the  most  important,  and  ho- 
nourable concerns  !  Let  us  gird  up  the  loins 
of  our  mind  :  some  cf  you  have  not  far  to  run 
now  ;  you  have  taken  many  a  weary  step  since 
you  were  first  called;  but  the  end  is  at  hand; 
the  period  of  your  complete  salvation  is  now 
much  nearer  than  when  you  first  believed, 
Rom.  xiii.  11.  Think  of  Jesus,  the  forerunner 
and  the  judge  :  he  has  already  entered  within 
the  vail  for  us,  his  eye  is  upon  us,  he  is  near 
to  assist,  and  waiting  to  receive  us.  May  his 
Spirit  and  his  example  animate  us  to  press 
forward  to  the  prize  of  our  high  calling,  to 
tread  down  every  difficulty,  and  to  be  faith- 
ful unto  death,  that  we  may  receive  the  crown 
of  life  ! 


COMPARED   TO    A    RACE. 


4U1 


SERMON   XVII. 

NO  ACCESS  TO  GOD   BUT    BY  THE    GOSPEL    OF 
CHRIST. 

Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  the  Lord,  and 
bow  myself  before  the  high  God  ?  Shall  I 
come  before  him  with  burnt-offerings,  with 
calves  of  a  year  old  ?  Will  the  Lord  be 
pleased  with  thousands 'f  rams,  or  with  ten 
thousands  of  rivers  of  oil  ?  Shall  I  give  my 
first-born  for  my  transgression,  the  fruit  of 
my  body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul  ?  He  hath 
shelved  thee,  0  man,  what  is  good,  and  what 
doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  just- 
ly, and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly 
with  thy  God  ?      Micah  vi.  6,   7,   8. 

There  is  no  question  that  can  arise  in  the 
mind  of  man,  that  is  of  so  high  importance  as 
this  in  my  text,  and  yet,  alas  !  how  seldom  is 
it  laid  to  heart !  May  the  Spirit  of  God  im- 
press it  upon  all  your  consciences  !  You  are 
now  come  before  God  to  worship ;  ask  your- 
selves, wherewith?  On  what  do  you  ground 
your  hope,  that  you  offer  him  acceptable  ser- 
vice ?  You  must  shortly  appear  before  him 
in  judgment.  Are  you  prepared  to  meet 
him  ?  Amos,  iv.  12.  What  plea  have  you  pro- 
vided ?  Take  heed  in  time.  Be  sure  that  it 
is  such  a  one  as  he  will  admit,  lest  your 
hopes  should  fail,  and  you  perish  in  his  pre  ■ 
sence  as  chaff  before  the  devouring  flame. 

The  passage  plainly  expresses  the  inquiry 
of  an  awakened  mind.  It  is  te  be  feared 
many  of  you  have  often  read  these  words  with- 
out being  suitably  affected  with  their  meaning. 
But  if  you  can  indeed  make  them  your  own, 
if  you  are  truly  solicitous  how  you  are  to 
come  before  God  both  here  and  hereafter,  I 
hope  his  good  Spirit  will  enable  you  to  re- 
ceive satisfaction  from  the  answer  given  by 
the  prophet. 

If  you  can  speak  these  words  from  your 
heart,  you  will  readily  acknowledge  that  they 
imply  the  following  things  : 

1.  A  sense  of  duty  ;  that  you  are  under  an 
obligation  to  come  and  bow  before  the  High 
God.  You  are  sensible  that  you  ought  not, 
and  you  find  that  you  cannot,  live  without 
paying  him  homage  and  worship,  but  that  he 
has  a  right  to  your  service,  and  expects  it. 
Too  many  shew,  in-  this  respect,  that  they  are 
dead  while  they  live,  dead  to  God,  insensible 
and  regardless  of  their  many  obligations  to  him, 
in  whom  they  live,  and  move,  and  have  their 
being.  They  live  without  prayer  ;  they  offer 
no  praises  to  the  God  of  their  lives,  but  rise 
up  and  lie  down,  go  out  and  come  in,  with- 
out one  reflection  on  his  power,  goodness, 
and  providence,  even  like  the  beasts  that  pe- 
rish. But  the  awakened  soul  cannot  do  so. 
He  trembles  to  think  that  he  once  could  no- 
2  K 


402 


gleet  that  God,  whom  all  the  hosts  of  heaven 
worship,  and  is  convinced,  that  however  fair 
his  character  might  have  been  amongst  men, 
he  justly  deserved  to  have  been  struck  to  hell 
for  so  long  restraining  prayer  before  God. 

2.  A  sense  of  the  majesty  and  glory  of  God. 
Whoever  seriously  asks  this  question,  has  an 
awful  view  of  the  Lord  as  the  High  God. 
Many,  who  do  not  wholly  neglect  prayer  and 
worship,  yet  have  no  spiritual  and  humbling 
apprehensions  of  the  God  whom  they  profess 
to  serve.  Their  prayers,  whether  in  public 
or  private,  are  only  lip-service,  as  though  they 
thought  him  altogether  such  a  one  as  them- 
selves. Their  petitions  are  not  guided  by 
their  desires,  but  they  utter  with  their  mouths 
what  they  find  in  the  book,  though  their  hearts 
have  no  love  or  relish  of  the  things  they  ask 
for.  How  often  is  God  mocked  by  those 
who  join  in  our  established  worship  ?  Has 
he  not  been  so  this  morning  by  some  of  you  ? 
How  little  he  is  reverenced  by  many,  is  plain 
from  the  little  regard  they  pay  to  his  com- 
mands. They  will  break  his  Sabbaths,  blas- 
pheme his  name,  live  in  drunkenness,  whore- 
dom, anger,  and  malice,  and  yet  pretend  to 
worship  him.  But  those  who  rightly  under- 
stand the  inquiry  in  my  text,  cannot  do  thus. 
They  consider  him  as  the  High  God  :  they 
know  that  he  humbles  himself  to  behold 
even  the  worship  of  heaven,  and  are  therefore 
struck  with  this  thought,  Wherewith  can  I,  a 
poor  worm,  who  am  but  dust  and  ashes,  come 
before  this  High  God  ? 

3.  A  sense  of  guilt.  Alas!  says  the  soul 
that  is  enlightened  to  see  itself,  I  am  not  only 
mean,  but  vile.  "  I  have  sinned,  but  what 
shall  I  do  unto  thee,  O  thou  preserver  of 
men  ?"  Job  vii.  20.  Wherewith  shall  such  a 
polluted,  obnoxious  creature  as  I  am  appear 
before  a  holy  God  ?  Can  my  services  atone  for 
my  sins,  or  what  service  can  I  perform  that 
is  not  defiled  and  rendered  unworthy  of  ac- 
ceptance by  the  evil  of  my  heart  ?  But  could 
I  perform  ever  so  well  from  this  day  forward, 
what  would  this  avail  for  what  is  past  ?  If  I 
had  offended  a  man  like  myself,  I  might  think 
of  making  some  amends ;  but  my  sins  are 
against  God.  His  justice,  wisdom,  holiness, 
and  truth,  have  all  demands  upon  me.  What 
then  can  I  bring  ?  Will  sacrifices  appease 
him  ?  No  ;  these,  though  of  his  own  appoint- 
ment, are  not  of  themselves  sufficient.  "  It 
is  not  possible  for  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats 
to  take  away  sins,"  Heb.  x.  4.  Though  all 
the  beasts  of  the  forest,  and  the  cattle  upon  a 
thousand  hills  were  mine,  though  T  should 
offer  all  Lebanon,  hills  of  frankincense,  rivers, 
yea,  ten  thousand  rivers  of  oil,  all  would  not 
do.  Or  should  I  give  my  son,  my  only  son, 
the  fruit  of  my  body,  neither  would  this  atone 
for  the  sin  of  my  soul. 

Here,  then,  you  may  see,  that  to  an  awa- 
kened sinner  sin  is  the  heaviest  burden  ima- 
ginable.     He  is  willing,   and  would    be    glad 


NO   ACCESS  TO  GOD   BUT  SER.  XVII. 

(if  it  might  be),  to  purchase  the  pardon  of 
sin  with  the  loss  of  every  thing  he  accounts 
most  valuable.  If  he  had  the  whole  world, 
he  would  freely  part  with  it  to  be  free  from 
guilt.  But  at  the  same  time  he  finds  it  a 
burden  that  he  cannot  shake  off;  he  knows 
that  he  never  can  be  delivered  for  any  thing 
lie  can  do  or  propose,  and  therefore  the  great 
subject  of  inquiry  always  upon  his  mind  is, 
Wherewith,  or  how  shall  I  pppear  and  stand 
before  the  High  God  ? 

I  hope  some  of  you  are  thus  minded ;  to 
you  I  have  a  comfortable  message  from  the 
other  part  of  my  text.  But  as  I  cannot  hope 
thus  of  you  all,  I  must  previously  take  notice, 
that  there  is  hardly  any  one  passage  in  the 
Bible  more  generally  misunderstood,  and 
which  ignorant  and  careless  men  are  more 
prone  to  wrest  to  their  own  destruction,  than 
the  verses  under  our  present  consideration. 
Not  a  few,  having  their  eyes  blinded  by  the 
god  of  this  world,  and  their  hearts  enslaved 
to  the  love  and  practice  of  sin,  are  content  to 
understand  it  as  if  it  was  rather  a  rebuke  than 
an  encouragement  to  them,  who,  like  the  jai 
lor  (Acts  xvi.  30.),  are  deeply  affected  with 
a  concern  for  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 
Their  comment  is  to  this  purpose,  "  He  hath 
shewed  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good  :"  that  is, 
you  need  not  terrify  yourself  at  this  rate ; 
there  is  nothing  so  evil  in  sin,  or  so  awful  in 
God's  threatenings  as  you  suppose.  He  has 
said,  indeed,  "the  soul  that  sinneth  shall 
die"  (Ezek.  xviii.  4.);  yet  here  you  see  an 
easy  way  to  escape,  "  Do  justly,"  which  is, 
being  interpreted,  Do  not  grossly  cheat  and 
injure  your  neighbour ;  abstain  from  robbery, 
extortion,  and  heavy  oppression  :  and  "  love 
mercy  ;"  that  is,  Be  ready  to  do  what  are 
commonly  called  good-natured  offices,  and  to 
give  a  shilling  or  a  guinea  (according  to  your 
circumstances)  now  and  then  to  the  poor,  and 
you  will  be  safe  enough.  How  they  explain 
the  other  clause,  "  walk  humbly,"  upon  tin's 
plan,  I  confess  myself  unable  to  conceive,  and 
therefore  I  believe  they  are  glad  to  omit  it ; 
for  I  am  sure  light  cannot  be  more  contrary 
to  darkness,  than  such  language  as  this  is  op- 
the  idea  of  walking  humblv  with 


posite  to 
God. 

According  to  this  opinion,  "  to  do  justly, 
and  to  love  mercy,"  are  the  whole  of  religion. 
They  are  indeed  essential  parts  of  it ;  and 
miserable  will  you  be  who  talk  in  this  strain, 
if  God,  at  the  great  day,  should  judge  you  by 
this  text  to  which  you  now  so  presumptuously 
appeal.  How  wonderful  is  the  pride  and 
arrogance  of  fallen  man,  who  will  dare  to  urge 
a  plea  before  God,  which  must  issue  in  his 
own  confusion  !  Do  you  indeed  deal  justly  ? 
It  implies  something  more  than  not  being  an 
arrant  knave.  Do  you  at  all  times,  and  in  all 
respects,  behave  to  every  person  as  you  would 
they  should  do  unto  you  ?  Did  you  never  take 
the  least  advantage  of  the  ignorance  or  neces- 


Sfcrt.  XVII. 


BY  THE  GOSPEL   OF  JESUS  CHRIST. 


403 


sity  of  your  neighbour  ?  Did  you  never  speak 
or  report  any  thing  to  his  prejudice,  without 
sufficient  warrant  and  sufficient  cause  ?  You 
feel  how  tender  you  are  of  your  own  chara- 
cter and  interests.  Have  you  been  equally 
tender  of  the  interests  of  others,  of  all  others 
with  whom  you  have  had  connections,  with-- 
out  being  influenced  in  any  instance  or  degree 
by  partiality  or  mercenary  views  ?  If  you  can- 
not appeal  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts  that  you 
have  walked  in  this  integrity,  your  pretence 
that  you  have  done  justly  is  vile  hypocrisy, 
and  you  may  tremble  to  think  how  easily  you 
may  be  condemned  out  of  your  own  mouth. 
Ala's  !  if  God,  to  whom  all  your  thoughts  and 
actions  have  been  incessantly  exposed,  should 
enter  into  judgment  witli  you,  how  unable 
would  you  be  to  answer  him  in  one  of  a  thou- 
sand ! 

Again,  do  you  love  mercy  ?  Do  you  love 
it  as  a  miser  loves  money  ?  Is  it  the  pleasure 
of  your  hearts  to  overcome  evil  with  good  ? 
If  your  brother  or  neighbour  offend  you,  not 
seven  times  but  seventy  times  seven  (Matth. 
xviii.  22.),  do  you  find  it  delightful  to  repeat 
your  forgiveness,  to  bless  thein  that  curse 
you,  to  pray  for  them  that  despitef'ully  use 
you,  and  to  requite  repeated  injuries  with  re- 
peated acts  of  kindness  ?  If  not,  what  have 
you  to  do  with  mercy,  either  to  pretend  that 
you  love  mercy  yourself,  or  to  indulge  a  hope 
of  obtaining  mercy  from  God,  if  you  know 
no  better  way  of  seeking  it  than  by  your  own 
works.  But  suppose  you  were  less  culpable 
in  these  particulars,  can  you  say  that  you  walk 
humbly  with  God  ?  Alas  !  how  impossible  is 
this,  while  you  trust  in  your  own  righteous- 
ness/while you  slight  and  despise  his  threa- 
tenings,  while  your  hearts  rise  against  his  gos- 
pel !  Are  you  not  impatient  under  the  afflic- 
tions which  he  sends,  and  unthankful  for  in- 
numerable: mercies  which  he  is  daily  bestow- 
ing upon  you  ?  And  is  this  to  walk  humbly 
with  God  ?  Bear  with  me  for  a  plain  word, 
which  I  purposely  speak  plainly  that  it  may 
not  be  forgot ;  I  say,  that  if  any  man  or  wo- 
man can  be  saved  in  this  way,  that  is,  upon 
the  account  of  doing  justly,  loving  mercy,  and 
walking  humbly  with  God,  then  Satan  him- 
self has  no  cause  to  despair 

I  return  now  to  those  who  see  and  acknow- 
ledge  themselves  to  be  sinners,  without  right- 
eousness and  strength,  and  are  desirous  to 
appear  before  God  with  comfort.  To  you  I 
bring  good  tidings ;  the  Lord  help  you  to- 
believe  and  rejoice  1  He  hath  shewed  you 
that  which  is  good,  which  is  the  only  and 
sufficient  ground  whereon  to  build  your  hopes; 
he  has  shewed  or  revealed  it,  for  otherwise 
you  could  never  have  found  it  out.  What 
the  law  cannot  do,  in  that  it  is  weak  and  in- 
effectual through  the  flesh,  God  has  clone  by 
sending  his  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh, 
Horn.  viii.  3.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  that 
good  to  which  the  p  ophet  refers  :    Moses  and 


the  prophets,  and  all  the  scriptures,  testify  of 
him,  and  Mi  call  among  the  rest.  One  of  the 
most  illustrious  testimonies  to  the  person  and 
office  of  our  Emmanuel  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, is  to  be  found  in  the  chapter  preceding 
my  text.  "  But  thou,  Bethlehem-Ephratah, 
though  thou  be  little  among  the  thousands  of 
Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  he  come  forth 
unto  me  that  is  to  be  ruler  in  Israel,  whose 
goings  forth  have  been  from  of  old,  from 
everlasting.  And  he  shall  stand  and  feed  in 
the  strength  of  the  Lord,  in  the  majesty  of  the 
name  of  the  Lord  his  God  ;  and  they  shall  a- 
bide:  for  now  shall  he  be  great  unto  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  And  this  man  shall  be  the  peace," 
Micah  v.  2 — 5.  All  other  sacrifices  and  sa- 
viours are  insufficient ;  but  Jesus,  by  the 
once  offering  up  of  himself  hath  made  a 
full,  perfect,  and  everlasting  atonement,  and 
now  he  reigns  in  our  nature,  possessed  of  all 
the  fulness  of  grace,  exercising  the  power  of 
God  in  the  salvation  of  men.  Would  you 
then  come  before  the  High  God?  come  in 
the  name  of  Jesus,  and  you  shall  find  accep- 
tance. In  him  God  is  well  pleased  (Matth. 
iii.  17.)  ;  and  for  his  sake  he  is  well  pleased 
with  all  who  honour  his  beloved  Son,  and  put 
their  trust  in  him.  He  has  authority  and 
compassion  sufficient  to  save  the  most  deplor- 
able and  the  most  unworthy.  If  you  read  the 
history  of  his  life  and  death,  you  will  read  of 
a  display  of  love  and  grace  beyond  expression  ; 
and  he  is  the  same  still.  Before  he  ascend- 
ed, he  left  an  assurance  for  your  encourage- 
ment, that  whosoever  cometh  unto  him  he 
will  in  no  wise  cast  him  out.  If  you  say,  I 
want  faith,  remember  it  is  his  gift,  and  he  has 
promised  to  do  whatever  you  ask  in  his  name. 
Therefore  fight  against  unbelief,  resist  Satan 
with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit.  If  it  is  sug- 
gested that  you  are  a  great  sinner,  you  can- 
not deny  it,  nor  need  you;  avow  the  charge, 
take  shame  to  yourselves,  and  give  glory  to 
God  ;  but  it  is  equally  true,  that  Jesus  is  a 
great  Saviour,  he  is  able  to  save  to  the  utter, 
most  ;  and  though  your  iniquities  are  great, 
yet  cast  not  away  your  hope,  for  his  mercy  is 
greater  than  the  heavens. 

When  you  come  in  this  way,  what  does  the 
Lord  require  of  you  ?  Is  it  to  make  your  own 
peace  ?  He  would  as  soon  require  you  to  make 
a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth.  Is  it  to  keep 
your  own  soul  ?  No  more  than  he  requires 
you  to  keep  the  sun  in  its  course.  His  own 
arm  has  wrought  salvation,  and  he  will  secure 
it.  He  requires  none  of  your  help  here ; 
nay,  he  disdains  the  thought  :  you  might  as 
well  offer  to  help  him  to  govern  the  world. 
But  this  he  requires  of  you,  "  to  do  justly,  to 
love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy 
God  ;"  and  the  methods  of  his  grace  will  ena- 
ble you  to  do  so. 

1.  "  To  do  justly."  We  are  by  nature  at- 
tached to  worldly  goods,  and  wholly  influenced 
-v  selfish  principles.     But  f;  ith  in  Jesus  euro 


4UI 


OF  A   LIVING   AND   A   DEAD   FAITH. 


SEK.   XVIII. 


rriunicates  new  motives,  views,  and  aims  to  the 
soul :  it  teaches  us  to  have  our  treasure  in 
heaven  ;  to  sit  loose  to  the  world  ;  to  be  satis- 
fied with  that  station  and  competence  which 
Divine  Providence  has  allotted  us  J-  and  to 
love  our  neighbours  as  ourselves,  because  they 
are  our  fellow-sinners,  and  are  capable  of  being 
called  to  a  participation  with  us  in  the  honour  . 
able  relation  and  privilege  of  the  children  of 
God.  Upon  these  principles  the  practice  of 
justice  is  attainable,  but  upon  no  other  ;  for 
though  there  are  many  characters  honourable 
and  blameless  in  the  outward  concerns  of  life, 
and  in  the  judgment  of  men,  there  is  no  per- 
son upon  earth  who  does  or  can  love  or  prac- 
tise justice  in  its  full  extent,  till  he  has  re- 
ceived the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  lives  upon  him 
by  faith,  for  wisdom  and  strengh  from  day  to 
day. 

2.  "  To  love  mercy."  None  can  truly  love 
it  but  those  who  have  tasted  it.  When  your 
hearts  feel  the  comforts  of  God's  pardoning 
love,  you  will  delight  to  imitate  him.  When 
you  can  truly  rejoice  that  he  has  freely  forgiven 
you  that  immense  debt,  which  is  expressed  by 
ten  thousand  talents  (Matth.  xviii.  24),  you 
will  have  no  desire  to  take  your  fellow-servant 
by  the  throat  for  a  few  pence.  This  sense  of 
God's  goodness,  and  the  contrnual  need  you 
find  of  his  renewed  mercy  from  day  to  day, 
will  soften  your  spirit  (if  you  are  a  believer), 
disarm  and  gradually  weaken  every  proud 
thought  that  would  plead  for  the  exercise  of 
anger  and  resentment  towards  those  who  have 
offended  you.  You  will  be  swift  to  hear,  slow 
to  speak,  slow  to  wrath  ;  you  will  put  on  (as 
the  beloved  of  God)  bowels  of  meekness  (Col. 
iii.  12),  long-suffering  and  compassion,  forbear- 
ing  and  forgiving,  if  you  have  ought  against 
any  ;  because  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  has  freely 
forgiven  you.  If  you  find  this  practice  diffi- 
cult, it  is  owing  partly  to  the  remaining  depra- 
vity of  your  nature,  and  partly  because  you 
have  had  but  a  faint  sense  of  his  mercy. 
Pray  for  a  more  powerful  manifestation  of  it, 
and  you  will  do  better ;  mercy  will  be  your 
delight. 

3.  "  To  walk  humbly."  "  Can  two  walk 
together  except  they  are  agreed?"  Amos  iii. 
3.  When  Christ  is  your  peace,  you  will  de- 
light in  God  ;  you  will  set  him  before  you, 
commune  with  him,  study  to  please  him,  and 
to  keep  all  his  commandments.  This  is  to 
walk  with  God  ;  and  you  will  walk  humbly, 
remembering  how  much  you  owe  to  free  grace, 
and  how  far  you  fall  short  in  your  best  endea- 
vours. These  considerations,  impressed  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  will  humble  you,  will  keep  you 
from  being  high  in  your  own  esteem,  wise  in 
your  own  conceit,  and  from  seeking  great 
things  for  yourself.  You  will  be  habitually 
thankful  when  the  Lord  gives,  content  when 
lie  with-holds,  patient  when  he  afflicts.  You 
will  confess  yourself  unworthy  of  the  smallest 
mercies  you  possess,  and  acknowledge  in  your 


heaviest  trials,   that   he  has  laid   far  less  upon 
you  than  your  iniquities  have  deserved. 

This  is  the  pattern  we  are  to  copy  after,  «nd 
this  is  the  certain  tendency  and  effect  of  his 
grace.  A  measure  of  this  disposition  is  found 
in  all  who  are  christians  indeed.  Yet  we  may 
take  shame  to  ourselves  that  we  are  still  so  far 
defective  in  every  branch  of  our  duty.  Let 
us  stir  up  ourselves  to  greater  diligence,  watch- 
fulness, and  prayer,  that  we  may  obtain  more 
lively,  abiding,  and  transforming  views  of  that 
which  is  our  true  good,  that  so  we  may  be 
enabled  to  glorify  our  heavenly  Father,  and 
to  adorn  our  profession,  by  doing  justly,  lov- 
ing mercy,  and  walking  humbly  with  o\ir 
God. 


SERMON   XVIII. 

OF  A  LIVING  AND  A  DEAD  FAITH. 

For  as  the  body  without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so 
faith  without  works  is  dead  also. 

James  ii.  26. 

Whoever  has  read  the  scriptures  with  atten- 
tion, must  have  observed  several  passages, 
which,  at  first  view,  and  till  throughly  exa- 
mined and  compared,  appear  hard  to  reconcile 
to  each  other.  No  instance  of  this  sort  is  mo. 
remarkable  than  the  seeming  difference  of  judg- 
ment between  St.  Paul  and  St.  James  on  the 
point  of  justification.  St.  Paul  having  said, 
''  That  a  man  is  justified  by  faith  without  the 
deeds  of  the  law"  (Rom.  iii.  28),  produces 
the  example  of  Abraham  to  confirm  his  asser- 
tion. St.  James  (in  the  chapter  before  us), 
from  the  example  of  the  same  Abraham,  draws 
a  conclusion  which  seems  directly  to  contra- 
dict this :  "  Ye  see  then  how  that  by  works  a 
man  is  justified,  and  not  by  faith  only,"  James 
ii.  24.  Can  any  two  opinions  be  more  oppo- 
site in  appearance  ?  How  then  can  both  be 
true,  or  how  can  we  believe  both  writers  in- 
fallible in  their  doctrine,  and  influenced  by 
the  unerring  Spirit  of  God  ?  Must  we  cleave 
to  the  one,  and  reject  the  other  ?  and  if  so, 
how  shall  we  know  which  is  the  real  truth  ? 

We  may  confidently  answer,  The  apostles 
are  both  right :  their  doctrine  is  equally  from 
God,  and  does  not  clash  in  any  particular. 
The  darkness  and  difficulty  is  in  the  appre- 
hensions of  men,  and  not  in  the  word  of  God. 
Yet  a  difficulty  there  is,  and  I  hope  I  shall 
not  detain  you  unprofitably  at  this  time,  by 
endeavouring  to  clear  it,  and  afterwards  to 
press  upon  you  the  words  of  my  text  as  a 
proper  inference  from  the  whole. 

When  men  who  are  strangers  to  christian 
experience,  and  who  trust  more  to  their  own 
sagacity  and  learning  than  to -the  word  and 
Spirit  of  God,  attempt  to  resolve  cases  of  this 
sort,  they  make  strange  work.      And  it  is  no 


SEK.  XVI  If. 


OF   A    LIVING   AND   A   DEAD   FAITH. 


405 


wonder;  for  how  can  any  one-  explain  what 
he  does  not  understand  ?  It  would  tire  you  if 
I  should  relate  a  tenth  part  of  the  conjectures 
of  learned  men  upon  this  very  subject.  I 
shall  mention  one  or  two  as  a  specimen.  A 
writer  of  some  eminence  in  the  world  con- 
fesses the  difficulty  I  have  noticed  in  its  full 
strength.  He  allows  and  affirms  that  it  is  not 
only  hard,  but  impossible,  to  reconcile  the 
apostles  to  each  other,  and  concludes  that, 
since  it  is  impossible  to  hold  both  their  sen- 
timents, we  must  abide  by  him  who  wrote  the 
last.  This,  from  many  arguments  his  learn- 
ing furnished  him  with,  he  thinks  to  have  been 
St.  James.  Accordingly,  he  gives  up  the 
other,  and  his  doctrine  of  faith  without  works, 
to  shift  for  themselves.  He  supposes  that  St. 
Paul,  in  the  heat  of  his  argument,  carried  the 
matter  a  little  too  far,  and  that  St.  James 
wrote  afterwards  to  correct  him. 

But  to  shew  you  (excuse  a  -familiar  ex- 
pression) how  doctors  differ,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  warn  even  true  believers  against 
hastily  judging  beyond  the  line  of  their  ex- 
perience, I  would  observe,  that  that  great 
servant  of  God,  Luther,  soon  after  he  be- 
gan to  preach  the  gospel,  made  a  mistake  no 
less  bold  and  presuming  on  the  other  side  of 
the  question.  He  had  felt  the  power  of  St. 
Paul's  doctrine  in  his  own  soul,  and  would 
have  defied  an  angel  that  would  have  dared 
to  oppose  it ;  therefore,  when  his  adversaries 
pressed  him  with  the  authority  of  St.  James, 
not  having  at  that  time  light  to  give  a  more 
solid  answer,  he  ventured  to  deny  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  whole  epistle,  and  rashly  insisted, 
both  in  his  sermons  and  books,  that  St.  James 
never  wrote  it.  But  Luther,  though  mistaken 
in  this  point,  was  under  the  Lord's  teaching ; 
he  went  on  from  strength  to  strength,  increas- 
ing in  knowledge  and  grace ;  and  when  his 
judgment  was  better  informed,  he  publicly  re- 
tracted his  former  unguarded  assertion. 

Leaving,  therefore,  the  authority  of  men, 
let  us  betake  ourselves  to  the  word  of  God, 
and  humbly  seek  the  light  of  his  Spirit,  who 
is  promised  to  guide  his  people  in  their  sin- 
cere inquiries  after  truth. 

Now,  if  you  consider  the  scope  and  design 
of  our  apostles,  and  take  in  the  context,  I 
hope  this  seeming  opposition  will  be  soon  re- 
moved. St.  Paul  is  evidently  treating  on  the 
great  point  of  a  sinner's  justification  in  the 
sight  of  God ;  he  shews  that  it  cannot  be  of 
the  law,  because  by  the  law  all  men  were  al- 
ready condemned,  and  because  then  boasting 
could  not  be  excluded,  but  that  it  was  freely 
Jjy  grace,  through  the  redemption  that  is  by 
Christ  Jesus.  His  reasoning  will  appear  to 
greater  advantage  by  perusing  the  whole  pas- 
sage, than  by  producing  a  few  detached  sen- 
tences. After  he  had  summed  up  the  evidence 
with  respect  both  to  Jews  and  Gentiles,  and 
pronounced  his  verdict,  that  every  mouth  must 
be  stopped,  and  that  the  whole  world  stood 


guilty  before  God,  he  proceeds  thus:  "There- 
fore by  the  deeds  of  the  law,  there  shall  no 
flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight :  for  by  the  law 
is  the  knowledge  of  sin.  But  now  the  right- 
eousness of  God  without  the  law  is  manifested, 
being  witnessed  by  the  law  and  the  prophets  ; 
even  the  righteousness  of  God  which  is  by 
faith  of  Jesus  Christ  unto  all,  and  upon  all 
them  that  believe  ;  for  there  is  no  difference  : 
For  all  have  sinned  and  come  short  of  the  glo- 
ry of  God  :  Being  justified  freely  by  his  grace, 
through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus  ; 
Whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation, 
through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  right- 
eousness for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past, 
through  the  forbearance  of  God  ;  to  declare, 

j  I  say,  at  this  time  his  righteousness ;  that  he 
might  be  just,  and  thejustifier  of  him  which 
believeth  in  Jesus.      Where  is  boasting  then  ? 

I  It  is  excluded.  By  what  law  ?  of  works  ? 
Nay  ;  but  by  the  law  of  faith.  Therefore  we 
conclude,  that  a  man  is  justified  by  faith  with- 
out the  deeds  of  the  law,"  Rom.  iii.  20 — 28. 

\  And  because  the  Jews  had  a  high  opinion  of 

!  Abraham,  he  proceeds  in  the  next  chapter 
to  shew  that  Abraham  was  justified  in  the 
same  way.  "  For  what  saith  the  scripture  ? 
Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  counted 
unto  him  for  righteousness.  Now  to  him 
that  worketh,  is  the  reward  not  reckoned  or 
grace,  but  of  debt.  But  to  him  that  worketh 
not,  but  believeth  on  him  that  justitieth  the 
ungodly,  his  faith  is  counted  for  righteous- 
ness," Rom.  iv.  3 — 5.  The  circumstance  in 
Abraham's  life  referred  to  is,  when  he  be- 
lieved the  promise  of  God,  that  though  he  was 
then  childless,  he  should  be  the  father  of  many 


nations  (Gen.  xii.  3.  ;  xvii.  4.),  and  that  par- 
ticularly from  him  should  proceed  the  Mes- 
siah, the  promised  seed,  in  whom  both  he  him- 
self, and  all  the  families  of  the  earth  should 
be  blessed. 

St.  James  expressly  treats  of  those  who  rested 
in  a  notion  which  they  called  faith,  and  account- 
ed sufficient  for  their  salvation,  though  it  had 
no  influence  upon  their  hearts,  tempers,  and 
conduct.  He  shews  that  their  hope  is  vain, 
because  such  a  faith  as  this  the  devils  have. 
And  he  proves,  by  the  example  of  Abraham, 
that  his  faith  was  very  different  from  theirs, 
because  it  enabled  him  to  perform  the  hardest 
and  most  painful  act  of  obedience  the  offering 
up  of  his  only  son.  "  What  doth  it  profit, 
my  brethren,  though  a  man  say  he  hath  faith, 
and  have  not  works?  can  (this)  *  faith  save 
him?  If  a  brother  or  a  sister  be  naked,  and 
destitute  of  daily  food ;  and  one  of  you  say 
unto  them,  Depart  in  peace,  be  you  warmed, 
and  filled  :  notwithstanding  ye  give  them  not 
those  things  which  are  needful  to  the  body  ; 
what  doth  it  profit?  Even  so  faith,  if  it  hath 
not  works,  is  dead,  being  alone.  Yea,  a  man 
may  say,  Thou  hast  faith,  and  I  have  works  : 
shew  me  thy  faith  without  thy  works,   and    I 

**  *itrri;,  this  faith. 


406 


OF  A   LIVING   AND   A    DEAD   FAITH. 


3EH.  XVIII. 


will  shew  thee  my  faith  by  my  works.  Thou 
believest  that  there  is  one  God  ;  thou  dost 
well :  the  devils  also  believe  and  tremble. 
But  wilt  thou  know,  O  vain  man  !  that  faith 
without  works  is  dead?  Was  not  Abraham, 
our  father,  justified  by  works,  when  he  had 
offered  Isaac,  his  son,  upon  the  altar  ?  Seest 
thou  how  faith  wrought  with  his  works,  and  by 
works  was  faith  made  perfect  ?  And  the  scrip- 
ture was  fulfilled  (confirmed),  which  saith, 
Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  imputed 
unto  him  for  righteousness  ;  and  he  was  call- 
ed the  friend  of  God.  Ye  see  then  how  that 
by  works  a  man  is  justified,  and  not  by  faith 
only,  James  ii.  14 — 24.  It  is  exceedingly 
plain  that  he  had  not  the  same  thing  in  view 
which  St.  Paul  had;  for  the  incident  to  which 
he  here  refers,  happened  a  great  many  years 
after  Abraham  had  been  declared  justified  in 
the  sight  of  God. 

The  sum  is,  the  one  declares  that  nothing 
renders  us  acceptable  to  God  but  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Ckrist ;  the  other,  that  such  a 
faith,  when  true  and  genuine,  is  not  solitary, 
but  accompanied  with  every  good  work.  The 
one  speaks  of  the  justification  of  our  persons  ; 
this  is  by  faith  only  :  the  other,  of  the  justi- 
fication of  our  profession  ;  and  this  is  by  faith 
also,  but  not  alone,  for  it  works  by  love,  and 
produces  obedience. 

St.  James  has  the  same  view  in  speaking  of 
Rahab  (James  ii.  25.)  ;  and  by  producing 
her  as  a  confirmation,  it  is  still  more  evident, 
that  he  is  only  considering  works  as  the  proofs 
of  our  sincerity.  We  have  no  sure  ground  to 
conclude,  that  Rahab,  in  the  act  of  receiving 
the  spies,  and  at  that  time,  had  any  saving 
faith,  or  any  view  to  the  Messiah  and  the  co- 
venant of  grace  ;  though  it  is  most  probable 
she  had,  after  she  was  joined  to  the  people  of 
Israel,  and  became  acquainted  with  divine 
revelation.  But  in  Jericho  her  thoughts  seem 
to  have  been  confined  to  a  temporal  deliver- 
ance ;  and  the  profession  of  faith  which  she 
made  to  the  spies  implies  no  more.  "  And 
she  said  unto  the  men,  I  know  that  the  Lord 
;iath  given  you  the  land,  and  that  your  terror 
is  fallen  upon  us,  and  that  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land  faint  because  of  you.  For  we 
nave  heard  how  the  Lord  dried  up  the  waters 
of  the  Red-sea  for  you,  when  you  came  out 
of  Egypt ;  and  what  you  did  unto  the  two 
kings  of  the  Amorites. — And  as  soon  as  we 
had  heard  these  things,  our  hearts  did  melt; 
neither  did  there  remain  any  more  courage  in 
any  man,  because  of  you  :  for  the  Lord  your 
God,  he  is  God  in  heaven  above,  and  in  earth 
beneath.  Now,  therefore,  I  pray  you,  swear 
•  into  me  by  the  Lord,  since  I  have  shewed 
you  kindness,  that  you  will  also  shew  kind- 
ness unto  my  father's  house ;  and  give  me  a 
true  token,"  Joshua  ii.  9 — 12.  Had  she  said 
thus,  and  yet  delivered  the  spies  up  to  the 
king  of  Jericho,  it  would  have  proved,  that 
she  did  not  speak    from   her  heart;  but  her 


profession  was  justified  by  receiving  them  into 
her  house,  concealing  them  from  the  search 
made  after  them,  and  sending  them  awav  in 
peace.  Surely  this  conduct  of  Rahab  will 
be  sufficient  to  condemn  many  who  would  be 
thought  christians. 

We  may,  therefore,  deduce  two  propositions, 
perfectly  consistent  with  each  other,  from  the 
passage  in  question. 

I .  That  there  is  no  acceptance  for  any  of  the 
sons  of  Adam  with  the  just  and  holy  God,  but 
through  Jesus  Christ  as  our  righteousness  re- 
ceived by  faith;  and  that  in  this  concern  works 
of  every  kind  are  absolutely  excluded. 

This  is  the  capital  doctrine  of  the  gospel ; 
it  is  not  only  clearly  asserted  in  innumerable 
passages  both  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
New,  but  is  St.  Paul's  express  subject  and 
design  in  his  epistles  to  the  Romans  and  the 
Galatians.  Though  he  was  yielding  and 
compliant  in  many  things  of  less  importance, 
and  was  willing  to  become  all  things  to  all 
men,  yet  he  would  not  give  place,  no  not  for 
an  hour,  to  any  who  offered  to  invalidate  this 
foundation-truth.  He  declares,  that  to  mix 
any  thing,  to  contend  for  any  qualification  or 
observance,  as  of  necessary  influence,  to  con- 
cur with  the  perfect  work  of  Christ  in  the  justi- 
fication of  a  sinner,  is  to  darken,  alter,  and  de- 
stroy the  gospel  which  he  preached  ;  and  de- 
nounces an  anathema  against  every  one  who 
should  be  guilty  of  this  presumption,  yea, 
though  he  should  be  (if  such  a  thing  were 
possible)  an  angel  from  heaven,  Gal.  i.  8.  9. 
How  cordially  he  rested  his  own  hope  upon 
the  truth  which  he  proposed  to  others,  he 
declares  elsewhere  :  "  Yea  doubtless,  and  I 
count  all  things  but  loss,  for  the  excellency  ol 
the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord  :  for 
whom  I  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things, 
and  do  count  them  but  dung  that  I  may  win 
Christ ;  and  be  found  in  him,  not  having  mine 
own  righteousness,  which  is  of  •  the  law,  but 
that  which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ,  the 
righteousness  of  God  by  faith,"  Phil.  iii.  8,  9. 

If  this  is  the  scriptural  doctrine,  let  each  of 
you  examine  on  what  ground  you  stand.  Has 
God  appointed  one  way  of  salvation  ?  and 
will  any  of  you  dare  to  propose  another  ? 
This  would  be  both  wicked  and  dangerous  : 
"  Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that 
which  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ,"  1  Cor. 
iii.  11.  You  may  please  yourselves  now  with 
what  you  account  your  good  works  ;  but  when 
God  shall  "  lay  judgment  to  the  line,  and 
righteousness  to  the  plummet"  (Isa.  xxviii. 
1  7. ),  none  will  be  able  to  abide  his  appearance, 
but  those  who  can  plead  a  righteousness  per- 
fectly answerable  to  the  law's  demands,  which 
can  only  be  found  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  right- 
eous one. 

And  as  this  doctrine  is  of  so  great  and  es- 

*  Ex  toftu.  of  law;  that  is,  of  any  law  whatsoever, 
not  of  the  law,  as  if  he  only  meant  the  Jewish  law  The 
article  r«  seems  here  to  lie  purposely  left  out. 


SEK.  xvnr. 


OF  A   LIVING  AND   A  DEAD   FAITH. 


407 


sential  importance,  beware  how  you  listen  to 
any  other.  Take  heed  how  you  hear  (Mark 
iv.  24.  ;  Luke  viii.  18.);  be  not  influenced 
by  the  names,  characters,  or  stations  of  men, 
when  the  salvation  of  your  souls  is  at  stake. 
Prize  the  liberty,  which  as  protestants  and 
Britons  you  enjoy,  of  bringing  every  doctrine 
to  the  trial  of  God's  word,  and  freely  use  it. 
I  account  it  my  honour  and  happiness  that  I 
preach  to  a  free  people,  who  have  the  Bible 
in  their  hands.  To  your  Bibles  I  appeal.  I 
entreat,  I  charge  you  to  receive  nothing  upon 
my  word,  any  farther  than  I  prove  it  from  the 
word  of  God  ;  and  bring  every  preacher,  and 
every  sermon  that  you  hear  to  the  same  stan- 
dard. If  this  is  the  truth,  you  had  need  to 
be  well  established  in  it ;  for  it  is  not  the  cur- 
rent and  fashionable  doctrine  of  the  times.  | 
Let  me  then  farther  recommend  to  you  (it  is 
8  direction  our  Lord  has  given),  to  examine  j 
doctrines  by  their  effects  :  "  By  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them,"  Matth.  vii.  ]  6.  The 
truths  of  God,  when  faithfully  preached,  in 
numble  dependence  upon  his  blessing,  will 
be  attested  by  his  power.  At  such  times, 
and  in  such  places,  a  visible  change  will  soon 
be  observable  in  some  one  or  other  of  the 
hearers  ;  they  cease  to  do  evil,  they  learn  to  do 
well  ;  they  acknowledge  God  in  all  their  ways, 
and  glorify  him  before  men,  by  living  accord- 
ing to  his  precepts.  And  if  you  ask  them 
the  reason  of  this  change,  they  will  freely  a- 
scribe  it  to  the  blessing  of  God  upon  that  sort 
of  preaching,  which  by  too  many  is  accounted 
foolishness,  1  Cor.  i.  21. 

On  the  other  ha"d,  we  are  not  afraid  to 
challenge  those  who  are  most  acquainted  with 
men  and  bcoks,  to  produce  instances  of  the 
same  effects  wrought  by  any  other  doctrine 
than  that  which  commends  the  Lord  Christ  in 
his  person,  offices,  and  power,  as  the  only  ob- 
ject of  a  sinner's  hope.  How  much  is  said 
and  wrote  to  tell  people  what  they  should  be, 
and  what  they  should  do  !  yet  where  these 
principles  are  not  enforced,  there  is  nothing 
effectually  done,  nothing  indeed  attempted, 
beyond  a  formal  round  of  dull  and  heartless 
service  ;  a  little  something  that  looks  like  re- 
ligion, on  the  Lord's  day  to  appear  in  church 
at  the  summons  of  the  bell,  to  repeat  words 
because  other  people  do  the  same,  to  hear 
what  is  delivered  from  the  pulpit  with  little 
attention  or  affection,  unless  something  occurs 
that  is  suited  to  exalt  self,  or  to  soothe  con- 
science, and  then  to  run  with  eagerness  into 
the  world  again. 

Or  if  here  and  there  a  person  is  truly 
touched  by  the  secret  influence  and  guidance 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  where  this  evangelical 
doctrine  is  not  publicly  maintained,  the  con- 
sequence always  is,  that  they  renounce  the 
things  which  they  before  held  for  truths,  are 
brought  into  that  way  of  thinking  which  is 
agreeable  to  St.  Paul's  doctrine,  and  receive 
if  gladlv  whenever  it  comes  in  their  way. 


It  must  be  allowed,  however,  ut  the  same 
time,  that  there  are  counterfeit  professors, 
whose  religion  lies  in  notions,  and  who,  while 
they  profess  to  believe  in  God,  in  works  deny 
him  ;  by  reason  of  whom  the  ways  of  truth 
are  evil  spoken  of,  2  Pet.  ii.  2.  This  the 
apostles  have  taught  us  to  expect;  nay,  it  was 
so  from  the  beginning,  even  while  the  apostles 
were  themselves  personally  with  the  churches. 
To  such  St.  James  addresses  the  passage  I 
have  been  reading  to  you,  of  which  my  text 
is  the  conclusion ;  and  as  I  dare  not  hope 
that  there  are  none  such  in  this  great  assem- 
bly, it  is  highly  proper  that,  before  I  con- 
clude, I  should  take  notice  of  a  second  pro- 
position which  naturally  offers  from  the  sub- 
ject we  have  had  in  hand  ;  and  more  espe- 
cially from  the  reasoning  of  St.  James,  and 
from  the  words  of  my  text. 

2.  That  true  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
has  a  prevailing  and  habitual  influence  upon 
the  hearts  and  lives  of  those  who  possess  it ; 
and  that  they  are  vain  men,  and  deceivers  of 
themselves,  who  pretend  to  faith  in  him,  while 
their  lives  and  conversations  shew  them  to  be 
enslaved  to  the  love  of  the  world,  and  the  do- 
minion of  sin.  The  apostle,  to  inspire  us 
with  a  just  abhorrence  of  this  false  profession, 
makes  use  of  two  comparisons,  which  are  ex- 
ceedingly striking.  May  God  open  the  eyes 
of  those  who  are  concerned  in  it,  to  perceive 
and  tremble  at  the  justness  and  horror  of  th« 
resemblance ! 

1st,  He  compares  it  to  the  faith  of  devils  . 
"  Thou  believest  there  is  one  God ;  thou  dost 
well.  The  devils  also  believe,  and  tremlde," 
James,  ii.  10.  Are  there  any  here  whom  it  is 
needful  to  address  in  this  harsh  manner?  My 
dear  brethren,  bear  with  me;  I  wish  you  well, 
and  would  willingly  rejoice  in  every  good  ap- 
pearance ;  but,  alas  !  how  little  does  it  signify 
what  you  believe,  or  what  you  say,  unless  your 
acknowledged  principles  have  an  effect  upon 
your  conduct ! 

Do  you  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  ? 
so  does  Satan.  Do  ;ou  believe  the  election 
of  God,  the  sovereignty  of  grace,  the  perse- 
verance of  the  saints  ?  it  is  possible  the  devil 
may  have  a  more  extensive  knowledge  in 
these  doctrines  than  the  wisest  of  men  ;  yet 
this  benefits  him  not ;  it  is  not  want  of  know- 
ledge, but  want  of  love,  that  makes  him  what 
he  is. 

The  only  effect  mentioned  of  the  faith  of 
devils  is,  that  it  increases  their  terror  and  ag- 
gravates their  guilt.  They  believe  (there  are 
no  sceptics  in  hell),  and  tremble.  Is  not 
this  too  much  the  case  of  some  of  you  ?  If 
you  knew  less,  you  would  be  easier  at  least, 
and  less  inexcusable ;  and  yet  perhaps  you 
mistake  your  state,  and  think  yourselves,  on 
this  account,  far  less  blameable  than  you  real- 
ly are.  Perhaps  sometimes,  when  you  reflect 
sincerely  on  your  ways,  and  how  strangely 
you  are  hurried  to  act  contrary  to  the  convic- 


-108 


GUILT  REMOVED, 


JSEH.    XfX. 


tious  which  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  forces 
upon  you,  you  are  ready  to  charge  the  Lord 
and  his  dispensations  hardly,  and  to  say,  O 
that  he  would  give  me  his  grace  !  but  if  not, 
■what  can  I  do  without  it  ?  Let  conscience 
now  speak  faithfully,  and  it  will  tell  you,  that 
if  you  are  condemned,  it  will  not  be  for  what 
you  cannot  do,  but  for  wilfully  refusing  to 
improve  the  power  already  given  you.  When 
I  tell  you,  that  without  holiness  no  man  shall 
see  the  Lord  with  comfort,  and  that  you  must 
break  off  from  your  vain  company  and  evil 
practices,  if  you  expect  or  desire  to  be  saved, 
you  know  that  I  speak  the  truth ;  and  your 
looks  often  testify  that  you  feel  the  force  of 
it.  Now,  while  the  word  of  God  is  sound- 
ing in  your  ears,  you  perhaps  are  thinking, 
"  It  is  time,  high  time  indeed,  to  break  off; 
though  the  Lord  has  forborne  me  long,  he 
will  surely  strike  at  last,  if  I  go  on  thus." 
And  yet,  alas !  what  I  have  formerly  seen 
gives  me  much  cause  to  fear,  that  to-morrow, 
or  the  next  time  they  entice  you,  you  will 
consent  again.  But  could  I  tell  you,  that 
by  going  a  different  way,  you  might  gain  a 
sum  of  money,  or  could  I  make  it  appear, 
that  the  next  time  you  went  to  such  a  place, 
your  house  would  certainly  be  robbed,  I  make 
no  doubt  but  you  would  forbear.  And  yet 
gold  is  not  grace.  It  is  then  plain  that,  you 
have  power,  but  your  will  is  in  fault.  God 
has  enlightened  your  conscience ;  but  you 
rebel  against  it.  O  repent !  while  there  is  yet 
space  afforded.  Call  upon  the  name  of  Je- 
sus •  who  knows  but  he  may  even  yet  deliver 
you 

2dly,  He  compares  it  to  a  dead  carcase, 
which  is  not  only  unprofitable,  but  loathsome 
and  offensive.  May  God  shew  you  to-day, 
how  odious  your  profession  is  in  his  sight  ! 
for  by  assenting  to  the  truths  of  the  gospel, 
and  outwardly  favouring  the  cause,  and  the 
instruments  which  the  Lord  has  raised  up  to 
promote  it,  you  are  so  far  professors.  May 
he  enable  you  to  be,  not  only  almost,  but  al- 
together christians  !  For  while  you  thus  halt 
between  two  opinions,  and  stand  divided  be- 
tween God  and  the  world,  you  are  an  abo- 
mination to  God,  a  grief  to  his  people,  a 
stumbling  block  to  the  ignorant,  and  are  (if 
this  was  of  any  weight  in  comparison  of  what 
I  have  already  said)  secretly  despised  by  those 
who  pretend  to  court  your  acquaintance.  Your 
guilt  is  in  some  respects  more  aggravated, 
and  your  example  unspeakably  more  mis- 
chievous, than  either  would  be  if  you  openly 
rejected  the  truth.  You  stand  in  the  rank  of 
those  wicked  servants  who  know  their  mas- 
ter's will,  but  do  it  not.  The  great  Judge 
has  determined  concerning  these,  that  they 
shall  be  beaten  with  many  stripes,  Luke,  xii. 
48.  Awake  to  righteousness,  and  sin  not ; 
look  up  to  Jesus,  who  is  exalted  to  bestow 
uoth  faith  and  repentance,  that  you  may  no 
longer  be  torn  in  pieces  by  those   inward  con- 


tentions,    but    experience    that    peace 
passes  all  understanding,    Phil.  iv.  7 


SERMON  XIX. 

G'JILT  IlEMOVED,  AND  PEACE  KESTOKED. 

0   Lord,   open  thou  my   lips,   and    my   mouth 
shall  shciu  forth  thy  praise.    Psalm  li.   15. 

The  history  of  David  is  full  of  instruction 
Every  thing  recorded  of  him  affords  us  eithei 
consolation  or  caution.  In  his  example  wt 
see  much  of  the  sovereign  power  and  provi- 
dence of  God.  When  a  youth,  though  the 
least  of  his  father's  house,  he  was  singled  out, 
and  called  from  following  sheep,  to  rule  a 
kingdom.  We  see  him  supported  through  a 
variety  of  difficulties,  and  at  length  established 
in  his  throne,  to  the  amazement  and  confu- 
sion of  his  enemies.  In  him  likewise  we  have 
a  striking  proof  of  the  evil  that  is  in  the  heart 
of  man.  Who  would  have  thought  it,  that 
David,  the  man  so  highly  favoured,  so  won- 
derfully preserved,  the  man  after  God's  own 
heart,  who,  in  the  time  of  his  distress,  could 
say,  "  My  soul  thirsteth  for  God,  even  for 
the  living  God"  (Psalm  xlii.  2.),  that  he 
should  be,  in  an  unguarded  hour.,  seduced, 
surprised,  and  led  captive  of  the  devil!  From 
gazing  he  proceeds  to  adultery,  from  adultery 
to  murder,  and  at  length  sinks  into  such  a 
stupid  frame  of  mind,  that  an  express  mes- 
sage from  God  was  needful  to  convince  him 
of  his  sin.  And  in  this  circumstance  we  far- 
ther see  the  riches  of  divine  grace  and  mercy, 
how  tenderly  the  Lord  watches  over  his  sheep, 
how  carefully  he  brings  them  back  when  wan- 
dering from  him,  and  with  what  rich  good- 
ness he  heals  their  backslidings,  and  loves 
them  freely.  David  was  fallen,  but  not  lost. 
"  The  thing  which  he  had  done  displeased  the 
Lord"  (2  Sam.  xi.  27),  yet  his  loving-kind- 
ness and  faithfulness  were  unalterable.  He 
was  interested  in  that  covenant,  "  which  is 
well  ordered  in  all  things  and  sure"  (2  Sam. 
xxiii.  5.);  and  therefore,  when  he  confessed 
his  sin,  the  Lord  assured  him,  by  his  servant 
Nathan,  that  "  he  had  put  away  his  sin,  and 
he  should  not  die  for  it,"   2  Sam.  xii.  13. 

However,  though  the  Lord  is  thus  gracious 
in  passing  by  the  iniquity  of  his  children,  yet 
he  will  let  them  know,  by  sorrowful  experi- 
ence, that  "  it  is  an  evil  and  a  bitter  thing  to 
sin  against  him,"  Jer.  ii.  19.  Though  he 
will  not  cast  off,  he  will  chasten  ;  he  will 
withdraw  his  presence,  and  suspend  his  gra- 
cious influences ;  and  this  to  a  sensible  heart 
is  a  heavy  punishment.  Though  David  was 
delivered  from  the  fear  of  death  and  hell,  he 
penned  this  psalm  in  the  bitterness  of  his  soul. 
He  did  not  consider  the  Lord  as  his  enemy, 
but  as  a  friend   and    a   father,   whom  he  had 


SEK.   XIX. 


AND  PEACE   RESTORED. 


40'J 


greatly  oifended.  He  longed  to  be  reconcil 
ed ;  but  could  not  as  yet  recover  his  former 
confidence.  He  hoped,  indeed,  that  a  time 
of  refreshment  would  come  from  his  presence  ; 
and  therefore  he  continued  waiting- ;  but  for 
the  present  he  made  heavy  complaints,  that 
his  bones  were  broken,  and  his  mouth  stop- 
ped. He  had  lost  his  strength  and  life,  and 
found  he  could  not  restore  himself.  He  was 
struck  dumb  by  his  late  fall ;  and  therefore 
he  breathes  out  this  prayer,  "  O  Lord,  open 
thou  my  lips,  and  my  mouth  shall  shew  forth 
thy  praise." 

From  these  words  I  propose  to  consider 
that  mournful  case,  which  too  often  happens 
in  the  christian  life,  when  the  believer's  mouth 
is  stopped,  and  his  lips  closed,  so  that  he  can- 
not shew  forth  (he  praisfe  of  his  God.  And 
in  this  view, 

1.  I  shall  point  out  to  you  the  persons  who 
have  reason  to  make  this  complaint. 

2.  Explain  what  is  implied  in  their  lips 
being  thus  shut  up. 

3.  Shew  you  by  what  means  the  Lord  opens 
the  closed  lips.      And, 

4.  I  shall  observe,  that  when  a  person's  lips 
are  thus  opened,  his  mouth,  and  all  that  is 
within  him,  will  certainly  shew  forth  the  Lord's 
praise.  May  the  Holy  Spirit  apply  the  word, 
and  command  a  blessing  upon  the  whole  ! 

I.  This  petition  especially  suits  two  sorts 
of  persons  : 

1.  The  backsliding  believer ;  one  who  has 
formerly  known  the  goodness  of  God ;  has 
rested  in  his  love,  and  rejoiced  in  his  salva- 
tion ;  "  has  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious" 
(1  Pet.  ii.  3),  and  walked  with  comfort  in 
the  way  of  his  commandment ;  but  at  length, 
by  an  unguarded  conduct,  or  by  building 
wood,  hay,  and  stubble  upon  the  Lord's  foun- 
dation (1  Cor.  iii.  11 — 13),  has  grieved  the 
good  Spirit  of  God,  and  he  is  withdrawn. 
The  Comforter  and  instructor  of  his  soul  is 
far  from  him,  and  therefore  he  sits  in  dark- 
ness and  silence,  Lam.  i.  16.  He  only  retains 
a  sense  of  his  loss,  and  can  do  no  more  than 
sigh  out  this  prayer  :  "  O  Lord,  open  thou  my 
lips." 

2.  The  doubting  believer  ;  the  unbelieving 
believer  (if  I  may  be  allowed  the  expression)  : 
— I  mean  one  who  has  been  deeply  convinced 
of  sin,  and  taught  by  the  Spirit  of  God  that 
there  is  no  salvation  but  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  one  who  loves  the  word,  and  ways, 
and  people  of  God,  who  is  careful  to  the  ut- 
most of  his  power  to  abstain  from  the  evil  that 
is  in  the  world,  and  esteems  "  the  loving- 
kindness  of  the  Lord  to  be  better  than  life" 
(Psal.  lxiii.  3)  ;  one  ;it  whom  the  enemy  has  of- 
ten thrust  sore  that  he  might  fall  (Psal.  cxviii. 
13),  but  the  Lord  has  secretly  upheld  him 
through  many  a  bitter  hour,  and  he  finds  he 
is  not  cut  off  yet,  though  he  perhaps  expects 
it  every  day.  Such  as  these  have  indeed  suf- 
ficient "round   to  sav,  "If  the  Lord  was  not 


on  my  side,  I  had  been  swallowed  up  long 
ago,"  Psal.  cxxiv.  3.  They  have  reason  to 
conclude  with  David,  "  By  this,  if  by  nothing 
else,  I  know  that  thou  favourest  me,  seeing 
my  enemies,  who  have  assaulted  me  so  conti- 
nually, have  not  yet  prevailed  against  me," 
Psal.  xli.  11.  But  yet,  through  a  sense  of 
past  guilt,  a  sight  of  present  corruptions,  the 
prevalence  of  unbelief,  the  workings  of  a  le- 
gal spirit,  the  want  of  a  clear  apprehension  of 
the  Lord's  way  of  justifying  the  ungodly,  and 
from  the  force  of  Satan's  temptations,  who  is 
exceeding  busy  to  press  all  these  things  upon 
the  heart,  their  mouths  are  stopped  likewise. 
They  cannot  be  ieve,  and  therefore  they  can- 
not speak.  However,  there  are  seasons  and 
intervals  when  they  obtain  a  little  glimpse  of 
hope,  and  then  the  whole  desire  of  their  souls 
is  expressed  in  the  words  of  my  text,  "  O 
Lord,  open  thou  my  lips,  and  my  mouth  shall 
shew  forth  thy  praise." 

II.  I  proceed  to  consider  what  may  be  in. 
eluded  in  this  case,  what  it  is  to  havs  the 
mouth  stopped.  The  persons  I  have  men- 
tioned have  the  same  liberty  of  speech  in  com- 
mon affairs  as  others  ;  but  because  they  cannot 
converse  freely  with  him,  who,  notwithstanding 
all  their  doubts  and  fears,  and  follies,  still 
maintains  a  secret  hold  of  their  souls  they  ac- 
count themselves  no  better  than  dumb.  They 
cannot  speak  to  the  Lord,  nor  of  him,  nor 
for  him,  as  they  wish  and  ought  to  do.  These 
are  the  three  heads  of  their  complaint,  and 
therefore  they  sigh  and  say,  "  O  Lord  open 
thou  my  lips  !" 

1.  Alas !  says  the  believer  that  has  sinned,  and 
lost  his  strength,  "  O  that  it  was  with  me  as 
in  times  past !"  Job  xxix.  2.  I  well  remem- 
ber when  I  had  freedom  of  access,  and  found 
it  good  to  draw  near  to  my  God,  when  I 
could  pour  out  all  my  complaints  and  cares 
before  him,  and  leave  them  with  him.  I  re- 
member the  time  when  my  heart  was  over- 
whelmed within  me,  and  my  spirit  was  burden- 
ed, Psal.  cxlii.  3.  I  saw  myself  a  wretched, 
helpless  sinner.  Innumerable  evils  took  hold 
of  me.  I  thought  I  was  marked  out  for  de- 
struction. I  found  Satan  at  my  right  hand, 
waiting  for  a  permission  to  seize  my  soul,  and 
make  me  his  prey  for  ever,  Zech.  iii.  1.  I 
looked  around,  but  saw  no  way  to  escape,  and 
gave  up  all  for  lost.  But,  O  !  I  remember, 
when  none  in  heaven  or  earth  could  help  me, 
how  the  Lord  drew  "  near  to  me  in  the  day 
of  my  distress,  and  said  unto  my  soul,  Fear 
not,  I  am  thy  salvation,"  Lam.  iii.  57.  He 
revealed  himself  as  an  almighty,  suitable 
Saviour.  He  said,  "  Deliver  from  going 
down  to  the  pit,  I  have  found  a  ransom,"  Job 
xxxiii.  24.  "  He  brought  me  out  of  the  hor 
rible  pit  and  miry  clay,  and  set  my  feet  upon 
a  rock,"  Psal.  xl.  2.  "  He  brought  me  into 
his  banqucting-house,  and  his  banner  over  me 
was  love.  1  sat  under  his  shadow  with  great 
delight,  and  his  fruit  was  sweet  unto  my  taste," 


410 

Cant.  ii.  3,  4.      l'liis  was  the  beginning,  but 
it  was  not  all ;  many  a  gracious  visit    he  fa- 
voured me   with   afterwards.       O   the   sweet 
hours  of  secret  prayer  !   O  the  happy  commu- 
nion in  which  I  walked  with  him   all   the  day 
long  !    "  Then  in  the  multitude  of  thoughts 
within  me,   his  comforts  refreshed   my  soul," 
Psal.  xciv.  19.    Then  I  could  smile  at  Satan's 
rage,  and  face  a  frowning  world.      Every  bles- 
sing of  common  providence  was  doubly  wel- 
come, for  I  could  r«.ad  his  name  of  love  writ- 
ten upon  it ;  and  every  affliction  brought  re- 
signation and  peace,  because   I  saw  my  Fa- 
ther's hand  in  it,   and   found   at  a  throne  of 
grace  renewed  strength  always  suited  to  my 
need.      Happy  were  those  times ;  but,  alas ! 
they  are  gone.      I  could  hardly  then  persuade 
myself  that   I  should  be  moved  any  more.      1 
little  thought  there  was  such  desperate  wicked- 
ness in  my  heart,  that,  after  so  much  experi- 
ence of  his  goodness,    I  should  foolishly  wan- 
der from  him  again.    But,  O  !  what  a  change 
have  I  lived  to  see  !      I  have  grieved  that  good 
Spirit  of  God  by  which  I  was  sealed,  and  now 
I  find   myself  in   the   hands  of  my  enemies. 
The  Lord  hides  himself  and  stands  afar  off, 
and  1  have  lost  the  power  of  prayer.      Those 
precious  promises  which  once  were  the  joy  of 
my  soul,  which    I   could   boldly  plead    at  the 
throne  of  grace,  and   say  All  these  are  mine, 
have   no   longer  any  power  or  sweetness ;   I 
read  them,   but    I   cannot  feel  them,  and  my 
trials  and  sins,  which  once  I  could  cast  upon 
my  Saviour,  and  find   instant  relief,  are  now 
a   heavy  burden,    too   great   for  me   to  bear. 
Mercies  have  lost  their  relish,  and  afflictions 
have   lost  their  usefulness,  since   neither  the 
one  nor  the    other    are  of  force   to    stir    up 
my  soul  to  prayer.    "  O  Lord,  open  thou  my 
lips." 

I  remember  likewise,  when  I  had  this  free- 
dom in  speaking  with  God,  how  pleasing  it 
was  to  me  to  speak  of  him.  My  heart  was 
full,  and  running  over  with  a  sense  of  his 
goodness,  so  that  it  was  my  meat  and  drink 
to  say,  "  Come  unto  me,  all  you  that  fear  God, 
and  I  will  tell  you  what  he  hath  done  for 
my  soul,"  Psal.  lxvi.  16.  Then  the  company 
of  his  people  was  delightful  indeed.  The 
meanest  of  his  children  that  would  sit  and 
hear  me  speak  of  his  loving-kindness,  was 
precious  to  me:  I  esteemed  them  the  excel- 
lent of  the  earth  in  whom  was  all  my  delight, 
Psal.  xvi.  3.  and  lv.  14.  We  took  sweet 
counsel  together,  and  walked  to  the  house  of 
God  in  company.  And  I  thank  God  I  love 
them  still ;  but  I  can  neither  help  them,  nor 
be  helped  by  them,  as  in  times  past.  In 
vain  they  say  unto  me,  Come,  sing  us  one 
of  the  songs  of  Zion.  Alas  !  how  can  I  sing 
the  songs  of  the  Lord  in  a  strange  land  ?  My 
lnrp  is  hung  upon  the  willows,  my  tongue 
cleaveth  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  Psal. 
t.v.xvii.  3  —  5.      I  dwell  in   darkness   and    si- 


GU1LT  REMOVED,  SER.  XIX 

lence,  as  those  who  have  been  long  dead.   "  O 
Lord,  open  thou  my  lips." 

And  when  I  could  thus  speak  to  God,  and 
of  him,   I   had  likewise   liberty  to  speak    for 
him.      I  was  then  very  jealous  for  the   Lord 
of  hosts,    1  Kings  xix.    10.      It  wounded  my 
soul   to  hear    his  name  profaned,   to  see  his 
commandments  broken,  and  his  gospel  slight- 
ed.     1  had  a  tender  concern  for  poor  sinners  ; 
I  could  not  but  wish,  that,   if  possible,    every 
person  I  met  might  know  what  I   knew,  ana 
feel  what  I  felt.      And  especially  where  I  had 
friendship  and  influence,  I  was  ready  to  im- 
prove   it  to  the  best  purpose.      The  love  of 
Christ  constrained  me  to  lay   myself  out   for 
his  service,  2  Cor.  v.  14.    I  could  not  but  op- 
pose sin  and  self-righteousness,  and  plead  the 
cause  of  my  Saviour^bpon  every  occasion.      I 
was  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  for  I 
felt  it  to  be  the  power  of  God   unto   salvation. 
in    my  own  soul   (Rom.   i.    16.),  and   durst 
recommend  it  to  every  one,  as  the  only  balm 
for    sin    and  sorrow.       But  now  the   crown 
is  fallen  from  my  head  :   woe  unto  me  that  I 
have  sinned,  Lam.  v.  1 6.      I  am  shut  out  from 
the  fountain,  and  all  my  streams  are  dried  up. 
My  comforts  and  my  usefulness  are  declined 
together.      "  O  Lord,  open  thou  my  lips,  and 
my  mouth  shall  shew  forth  thy  praise." 

Such  is  the  complaint  of  the  backslider  in 
heart,  when  he  is  filled  with  his  own  ways. 
And, 

2.  This,  with  a  little  variation,  will  suit  the 
doubting  tempted  soul  too  These  will  con- 
fess, that  the  experience  I  have  described  is 
the  desire  of  their  hearts.  Such  communica- 
tion with  God,  such  a  freedom  in  his  ways, 
such  a  zeal  for  his  service,  is  the  very  thing 
they  mean,  when  they  entreat  the  Lord  to 
open  their  lips.  And  indeed  they  cannot, 
they  dare  not  deny,  but  they  have  at  times 
had  some  little  tastes  of  them,  otherwise  they 
would  not  know  what  I  mean.  For  these 
things  are  to  the  natural  man  the  merest 
folly  imaginable  ;  he  understands  them  not, 
therefore  he  despises  them ;  nay,  he  hates 
them  with  a  perfect  hatred,  and  opposes 
them  with  all  his  heart.  But  still  they  com- 
plain under  a  present  burden.  One  dark 
hour  of  temptation  blots  out  all  the  traces  of 
comfort  they  have  known,  and  they  refuse  con- 
solation. They  will  insist  on  it,  I  have  nei- 
ther part  nor  lot  in  the  matter;  I  cannot  get 
near  him,  and  I  fear  I  never  shall.  When  I 
attempt  to  pfray,  a  sense  of  my  sins  and  sin- 
fulness stops  n, y  mouth.  I  see  the  Lord, 
not  upon  the  golden  mercy -seat,  but  upon  the 
fiery  throne  of  justice,  and  I  am  ready  to 
call  upon  the  rocks  and  mountains  to  hide  me 
from  his  presence.  When  I  would  commune 
with  his  people,  I  am  silenced  by  that  dreadful 
word,  "  What  hast  thou  to  do  to  declare  my 
statutes,  or  to  take  my  covenant  into  thy 
mouth?"  Psal.  I.   16.      When   I    would   bear 


Slill.  XIX. 


AND  PEACE 


my  feeble  testimony  for  him  in  the  world, 
conscience  alarms  me,  and  says,  "  Thou  that 
teachest  others,  teachest  thou  not  thyself?" 
Rom.  ii.  21.  And  then  "  the  enemy  comes 
in  like  a  flood"  (Isaiah  lix.  19.),  with  "  God 
has  forsaken  him  ;  persecute  and  take  him, 
for  there  is  ncne  to  deliver  him,".  Psal.  lxxi. 
11.  Thus  I  "  spend  my  days  in  groaning 
and  water  my  couch  with  tears,"   Psal.  vi.  6. 

This  is  a  heavy  case  indeed  ;  and  would  be 
insupportable,  but  that  the  faithful  Shepherd, 
in  a  secret  unseen  way,  affords  timely  succour, 
and  sets  bounds  to  the  raging  enemy,  beyond 
which  he  cannot  pass.  "  Hitherto  shalt  thou 
come"  (Job  xxxviii.  11.);  thus  far  thou  art 
permitted  to  vex,  and  wound,  and  tear,  "  but 
no  farther."  The  Lord  knows  our  frame,  and 
has  promised  with  every  temptation  to  provide 
either  strength  to  endure,  or  a  way  to  escape, 
1  Cor.  x.  13.  Two  things  are  proper  to  be 
mentioned  for  the  encouragement  of  such  souls 
to  wait  on,  and  expect  deliverance. 

The  first  is,  The  examples  of  the  saints, 
riiink  not  your  lot  strange,  as  though  some 
new  and  unheard-of  thing  had  befallen  you. 
Thousands,  and  ten  thousands,  now  in  glory, 
have  tasted,  yea  drank  deeply  of  this  cup  before 
you.  And  many  yet  upon  earth,  who  are  now 
rejoicing  in  the  light  of  God's  countenance, 
have  said  in  times  past,  as  you  say  now,  "  I 
shall  one  day  perish  by  the  hand  of  these  ene- 
mies (1  Sam.  xxvii.  1.)  ;  the  Lord  hath  cast 
me  quite  ofF,  and  I  shall  never  live  to  see  his 
goodness  in  the  land  of  the  living,"  Psal 
lxxiv.  1.  Or  if  you  choose  scripture  proofs, 
you  need  only  read  the  book  of  Job,  the 
Psalms,  and  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah, 
to  be  convinced  that  some  whom  you  number 
amongst  the  Lord's  most  eminent  and  highly- 
favoured  servants  have  been  reduced  to  use 
such  expressions  as  suit  your  case,  no  less  than 
if  they  had  been  wrote  for  you  alone.  Do 
not  they  say,  "  That  they  were  broken  with 
breach  upon  breach  (Job  xvi.  14.)  ;  that  the 
arrows  of  God  stuck  fast  in  them  (Psal. 
xxxviii.  2.)  ;  that  the  Lord  wrote  bitter  things 
against  them,  and  counted  them  his  enemies 
(Job  xiii.  26.  and  xxxii.  10.);  that  he  had 
shut  them  up  within  stone  walls,  and  covered 
himself  with  a  cloud,  that  their  prayers  might 
not  pass  through?"  Lam.  iii.  9.  44.  These 
are  but  a  small  part  of  their  complaints  ;  and 
what  can  you  say  more  than  this  ? 

Again,  consider  the  precious  promises  of 
the  word.  Are  they  not  expressly  directed  to 
you?  Do  you  account  yourself  a  backslider? 
"  Return  unto  me,  ye  backsliding  children, 
and  I  will  receive  you,  saith  the  Lord,"  Jer. 
iii.  14,  22.  Do  you  think  yourself  a  sinner 
of  uncommon  size?  yet,  saith  the  Lord, 
"  Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be 
white  as  snow;  though  they  be  red  like  crim- 
son, they  shall  be  as  wool,"  Isa.  i.  18.  Do 
you  say  your  neck  is  as  an  iron  sinew,  and 
your  brow  brass  ?  yet  hear   the  w  \rd  of  the 


RESTORED.  4JJ 

Lord,  "  Hearken  unto  me,  ye  stout-hearted 
that  are  far  from  righteousness.  I  bring  near 
my  righteousness  ;  it  shall  not  be  far  ofF," 
Isa.  xlvi.  12,  13.  Is  there  something  pecu- 
liarly dreadful  in  your  case,  something  that 
you  could  hardly  be  prevailed  on  to  intrust  to 
your  dearest  friend  ?  yet  be  not  afraid  ;  for 
Truth  has  said.  "  All  manner  of  sin  and  blas- 
phemy shall  be  forgiven  unto  men,"  Matth. 
xii.  31.  "  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way, 
and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts  :  and 
let  him  return  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will 
have  mercy  upon  him  ;  and  to  our  God  for  he 
will  abundantly  pardon,"  Isa.  lv.  7.  But 
still,  when  we  have  said  all,  we  are  but  miser- 
able comforters.  Even  with  the  word  of  God 
in  our  mouths*,  we  speak  too  often  in  vain. 
It  is  the  Lord  alone  that  can  open  the  lips. 
And,  O  !  that  this  may  be  the  happy  oppor- 
tunity of  his  gracious  appearance  in  favour  of 
all  here  present,  that  our  wounds  may  be  heal- 
ed, and  our  tongues  unloosed  to  proclaim  his 
praise  !  Lift  up  your  hearts  to  him,  while  I  en- 
deavour to  shevv  you  by  what  means,  or  in 
what  manner,  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  open  the 
lips  that  have  been  long  closed.  This  is  the 
third  particular  I  proposed  to  consider  from 
my  text. 

III.  I  say  then,  that  when  the  Lord  is  about 
to  open  the  lips,  he  proceeds  by  the  following 
steps  : 

1.  "  He  opens  the  eyes."  We  are  often  in 
a  similar  case  with  Hagar  in  the  wilderness. 
The  water  was  spent  in  the  bottle,  and  she  sat 
down  in  despair.  There  was  a  well  or  foun- 
tain close  to  her,  sufficient  to  have  supplied 
her  with  water  to  her  life's  end  ;  but  she  saw 
it  not  till  God  opened  her  eyes,  Gen.  xxi.  15 
— 19.  Just  so,  many  a  poor  soul  is  distres- 
sed, and  says,  My  stock  is  spent ;  I  had  but 
little  grace  at  the  best,  and,  alas  !  that  little  is 
gone.  And  now,  if  the  Lord  should  ask  some 
hard  thing,  would  you  not  do  it  to  obtain  a 
supply  ?  You  would  willingly  take  a  long 
journey,  or  part  with  all  your  wealth,  to  have 
grace  abounding  in  your  hearts ;  but  you 
know  you  cannot  expect  help  in  this  way.  It 
is  true,  all  contrivances  of  our  own  will  have 
no  effect ;  but,  blessed  be  God,  they  are  as 
needless  as  they  would  be  useless.  We  need 
not  dig  in  the  earth,  nor  climb  the  skies,  nor 
cross  the  seas ;  our  remedy  is  near,  Rom.  x. 
6 — 8.  We  need  no  costly  offerings  of  silver 
or  gold  ;  our  remedy  is  cheap.  Come,  pore 
no  longer  upon  your  empty  bottle,  but  look 
to  the  fountain,  the  river,  the  ocean  of  all 
grace.  May  the  Lord  open  your  eyes,  as  he 
did  the  eyes  of  Elisha's  servant  (2  Kings  vi. 
17.),  and  I  will  undertake  to  point  you  to  an 
object  that  shall  answer  all  your  wants.  Look 
unto  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  look  unto  him 
as  he  hung  naked,  wounded,  bleeding,  dead, 
and  forsaken  upon  the  cross.  Look  unto  him 
again  as  he  now  reigns  in  glory,  possessed 
of  all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  with  thou- 


412  GUILT 

sands  of  thousands  of  saints  and  angels  wor- 
shipping before  him,  and  ten  thousand  tunes 
ten  thousand  ministering  unto  him  ;  and  then 
compare  your  sins  with  his  blood,  your  wants 
with  his  fulness,  your  unbelief  with  his  faith- 
fulness, your  weakness  with  his  strength,  your 
inconstancy  with  his  everlasting  love.  If  the 
Lord  opens  the  eyes  of  your  understanding, 
you  would  be  astonished  at  the  comparison. 
Would  you  compare  a  small  grain  of  sand 
upon  the  shore  with  the  massy  mountains 
which  hide  their  heads  in  the  clouds,  and 
spread  their  roots  from  sea  to  sea  ?  or  the 
spark  of  a  glow-worm  with  the  noon-day's 
sun  ?  yet  there  is  less  disproportion  between 
these,  than  between  the  utmost  capacity  of 
your  desires  and  wants,  and  the  immense  re- 
sources provided  for  you,  in  the  righteousness, 
compassion,  and  power  of  our  dear  Redeemer. 
"  He  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost"  (Heb. 
vii.  25.);  and  all  our  trouble  arises  chiefly 
from  this,  that  our  eyes  are  holden,  so  that 
we  do  not  know  him,  Luke  xxiv.  16.  There- 
fore the  first  step  towards  opening  the  lips  is 
to  open  our  eyes,  that  we  may  see  him,  and 
look  upon  him  by  such  a  sight  as  unloosed 
the  tongue  of  unbelieving  Thomas,  and  con- 
strained him  to  cry  out,  "  My  Lord,  and  my 
God  !"  John  xx.  28. 

2.  When  the  eyes  are  thus  opened,  the 
Lord,  in  the  next  place,  and  by  that  as  a 
means,  "  opens  the  ear."  When  Christ  is 
out  of  sight,  we  are  deaf  to  all  the  calls,  in- 
vitations, and  promises  of  the  scripture.  But 
a  believing  view  of  him  who  died  that  we 
might  live,  rouses  the  attention,  and  makes 
us  willing  and  able  to  hear  what  the  Lord  will 
speak  to  his  people,  Psal.  lxxxv.  8.  And 
what  does  he  say  from  the  cross  ?  "  Look 
unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,"  Isaiah  xiv.  22. 
"  If  I  be  lifted  up,  I  will  draw  all  men  to 
me,"  John  xii.  32.  "  Behold  my  hands,  my 
feet,  my  pierced  side  ;  all  this  I  bore  for  you," 
John  xx.  27.  "  Be  not  afraid,  only  believe," 
Mark  v.  36.  "  O  thou  of  little  faith,  where- 
fore dost  thou  doubt  ?"  Matth.  xiv.  31.  "  See, 
sinner,  how  I  have  loved  thee,  I  have  trodden 
the  wine-press  alone,"  Isaiah  Ixiii.  3.  "  I  have 
destroyed  death,  and  him  that  had  the  power 
of  death,"  Heb.  ii.  14.  "  There  is  hence- 
forth no  condemnation  to  them  that  believe  in 
me,"  Rom.  viii.  1.  And  what  does  he  say 
from  his  kingdom  ?  "  I  have  prayed  for  thee 
that  thy  faith  fail  not,"  Luke  xxii.  32.  "  For 
a  season  you  have  sorrow  ;  but  I  will  see  you 
again,  and  your  heart  shall  rejoice,"  John  xvi. 
22.  "  Him  that  conieth  to  me,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out,"  John  vi.  37.  "  I  am  the  first 
and  the  last ; — that  was  dead  and  am  alive. 
I  keep  the  keys  of  death  and  hell,  and  save 
whom  I  will,"  Rev.  i.  17.  18.  "  Cast  thy 
burden  upon  me,  I  will  sustain  thee,"  Psal. 
lv.  22.  *«  I  will  take  away  thy  iniquity," 
Micah  vii.  19.  *  Be  of  good  cheer,  thy  sins 
are  forgiven  thee,"    Matth     ix.    2       "  Go   in 


SER.  XIX 

John  viii.    1  1.      My 


REMOVED, 

peace,  and  sin  no  more,' 

sacrifice,  my  God,  what  words  are  these  ! 

3.  By  opening  the  eye  to  see  his  excellence 
and  power,  and  the  ear  to  hear  his  gracious 
words,  he,  in  the  next  place,  "opens  the  heart." 
He  breaks  the  prison  doors,  forces  for  him- 
self an  entrance,  and  sets  the  prisoner  at 
liberty.  He  touches  the  rock,  and  the  waters 
flow,  Psal.  lxxviii.  20.  Now  a  true  and  filial 
repentance  takes  place  ;  now  sin  appears  ex- 
ceedingly sinful  indeed.  There  was  a  sor- 
row before,  but  it  was  fruitless  and  ineffec- 
tual ;  but  the  sight  of  him  who  was  pierced 
for  our  sins,  and  the  welcome  sound  of  par, 
don  proclaimed  in  thu  conscience,  produce  a 
sorrow  after  a  godly  sort,  a  repentance  never 
to  be  repented  of.  Thus  it  was  with  the  wo- 
man who  washed  our  Lord's  feet  (Luke  vii. 
38.  47.)  ;  she  had  been  a  great  sinner,  much 
was  forgiven  her,  and  therefore  she  loved 
much.  Thus  it  was  with  Peter :  he  had  been 
a  grievous  backslider ;  he  had  been  with  Je- 
sus upon  the  mount,  and  saw  the  excel- 
lent glory ;  he  was  stout  in  his  protestation, 
"  Though  all  men  deny  thee,  yet  will  not  I  : " 
but  he  shrunk  at  the  voice  of  a  girl,  and  said, 
"  I  know  not  the  man."  When  the  servants 
spoke  to  him,  he  cursed  and  swore  ;  but  when 
Jesus  looked  upon  him,  he  wept,  Luke  xxii. 
61.  62.  Do  you  think  our  Lord  looked  upon 
him  with  disdain  and  indignation?  rather  with 
a  look  of  love;  a  look  that  at  once  convinced 
him  of  his  sin,  and  gave  him  to  understanu 
that  the  Lord  pitied  and  forgave  him.  This 
look  broke  his  heart  in  pieces.  He  went  out 
and  wept  bitterly.  And  afterwards,  though 
greatly  humbled  as  to  confidence  in  himself, 
yet,  when  asked  the  question,  he  could  bold- 
ly appeal  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  "  Lord, 
thou  knowest  all  things,  thou  knowest  that 
I  love  thee,"  John  xxi.  17. 

And  when  the  eyes,  the  ears,  the  heart,  are 
thus  opened  ;  when  the  understanding  is  en- 
lightened, the  will  engaged,  and  the  affections  . 
inflamed,  the  cure  is  wrought.  Then  the  lips 
will  open  of  course,  and  the  mouth  be  filled 
with  thanksgiving  and  praise.  O  that  it 
would  please  the  Lord  to  give  to  me,  and  to 
each  of  you,  a  clearer  knowledge  of  this  bles- 
sed change  from  heart-felt  experience,  than  is 
in  the  power  of  words  (of  my  poor  words  es- 
pecially) to  describe:  "Come,  my  friends, 
let  us  return  unto  the  Lord  :  for  he  hath 
wounded,  and  he  will  heal  us ;  he  hath  smit- 
ten, and  he  will  bind  us  up,"  Hosca  vi.  1. 
Verily  we  are  all  guilty  in  this  matter;  we 
have  all  provoked  him  by  unbelief,  and  wan- 
dered from  his  good  way ;  and  therefore  we 
live  so  far  below  our  privileges,  and  are  so 
often  heavy  and  sorrowful,  when  we  have  in 
him  grounds  of  continual  joy.  Now,  let  us 
unite  in  this  prayer,  "  O  Lord,  open  thou  our 
lips,  display  thy  power  in  the  midst  of  us, 
heal  all  our  breaches,  rend  the  vail  of  our  un- 
belief*  blot  out  the  thick  clouds  of  our  sins. 


AND  PEACE   RESTORED. 


413 


SKR.   XIX. 

cleanse  us  from  all  our  iniquities  and  idols,  John  xiii.  7.  The  mourning  soul  often  asks 
and  teach  our  stammering  tongues,  and  barren  the  question  with  David,  "  I  will  say  unto 
hearts,  to  shew  forth  the  praise  of  thy  abun-  God  my  rock,  Why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ? 
dant  goodness."  |  why  go  I  mourning  because  of  the  enemy  ?" 

I  proceed  to  observe,  in  the  last  place,  j  Psal.    xlii.   9.      When   the  Lord  turns   your 

IV.  That  if  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  answer  mourning  into  joy,  you  shall  know  why.    You 


our  desire,  and  to  open  your  lips  in  this  man 
ner,  then  you  will  surely  praise  him.  You 
will  praise  him  with  your  mouths,  and  in  your 
lives ;  you  will  thankfully  acknowledge  his 
mercy,  his  power,  and  his  wisdom. 

1.  You  will  praise  his  mercy.  Is  the  cool- 
ing stream  welcome  to  the  thirsty  soul  ?  is  a 
reprieve  acceptable  to  a  poor  condemned  male- 
factor ?  Still  more  welcome  is  a  sense  of  par- 
doning love  to  a  soul  that  has  felt  the  evil  and 
effects  of  sin.      What !   to  be  taken  from  the 


will  then  see  that  there  was  a  need  ( 1  Pet.  i. 
6.)  of  all  these  things.  It  is  to  shew  you 
what  is  in  your  hearts,  to  mortify  the  spirit 
of  self-righteousness,  "  to  teach  you,  that  with- 
out him  you  can  do  nothing"  (John  xv.  5.), 
to  make  you  wise  and  experienced  against 
Satan's  devices  ;  to  give  you  a  tender  sympa- 
thy and  fellow-feeling  in  the  sufferings  and 
infirmities  of  your  brethren,  and  to  enable 
you  to  encourage  and  comfort  others  (2  Cor. 
i.  4.)  who  shall  be  hereafter  in  your  case,  by 


dunghill  (1  Sam.  ii.  8),  and  made  a  compan-  [  relating  what  you  have  seen  and  known  your 

self  in  your  various  conflicts  and  strivings  a- 
gainst  sin.  These  are  some  of  the  reasons 
why  the  Lord  suffers  his  dear  children  to 
groan  being  burdened,  and  sometimes  permits 
their  enemies  to  gain  a  short  advantage  over 
them,  that  he  may  humble  and  prove  then 
(Deut.  viii.  2 — 16),  in  order  to  do  them 
good  in  their  latter  end.  And,  O !  with 
what  wisdom  is  all  this  appointed !  A  little 
of  it  we  may  see  at  present,  but  we  shall  not 
have  a  complete  view  till  we  get  safe  home. 
Then  to  look  back  upon  the  w  .y  by  which  he 
led  us  through  this  vfilderness,  will  furnish 
matter  for  eternal  praise. 

Farther,  not  only  your  mouths,  but  your 
lives  shall  praise  him.  What  is  the  language 
of  a  believing  heart,  when  the  Lord  pardons 
his  sins,  and  binds  up  his  wounds  ?  It  is  this, 
"  Now  Lord,  I  am  thine,  thy  vows  are  upon 
me,  for  thou  hast  redeemed  me,  O  Lord  God 
of  truth,"  Psal.  cxvi.  14,  16.;  and  xxxi.  5. 
"  Shall  I  continue  in  sin  because  grace  has 
abounded?  God  forbid!"  Rom.  vi.  1.  "I 
am  crucified  with  Christ,  crucified  to  the 
world,  and  the  world  to  me,"  Gal.  ii.  20  ;  and 
vi.  14.  "  The  love  of  Christ  constrains  me," 
2  Cor.  v.  14.  "The  time  past  is  sufficient 
to  have  lived  in  vanity ;  henceforth  I  am  the 
Lord's,"  1  Pet.  iv.  3.  "Has  he  bound  me 
by  his  tender  mercies,  to  present  myself,  body 
and  soul  to  his  service?   (Rom.  xii.  1.)  here, 

0  Lord,  I  offer  my  whole  self,  all  that  I  am, 
and  all  that  I  have,  a  living  sacrifice,  holy 
and  acceptable  to  thee.  O  let  me  never, 
never,  wander  from  thee  again,  but  walk  in 
the  light,  as  thou  art  in  the  light,  and  have 
communion  with  thee  here  below,  till  thou 
shalt  remove  me  out  of  the  reach  of  sin  and 
sorrow  for  ever,"  1  John  i.  7. 

If  there  are  any  here  who  have  neither 
known  the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord,  nor 
mourned  under  the  sense  of  his  displeasure, 

1  am  sure  your  lips  are  closed  to  this  hour. 
And  should  you  die  thus  incapable  of  prais- 
ing the  God  who  made  you,   and   the  grace 


ion  with  princes  !  to  have  all  our  guilt  and 
complaints  removed  at  once !  to  be  snatched 
as  it  were  from  the  brink  of  hell,  and  placed 
in  the  very  suburbs  of  heaven  !  to  be  able  to 
say,  "  O  Lord,  thou  wast  [  justly]  angry  with 
me  [and  I  went  mourning  under  a  sense 
of  thy  displeasure]  ;  but  [now]  thine  anger  is 
turned  away,  and  thou  comfortedst  me"  (Isa. 
xii.  1.)  !  is  not  this  a  mercy  ?  especially  consi- 
dering how  undeserving  we  are  of  the  smallest 
favour  !  And  farther,  the  way  in  which  it  was 
conveyed  !  that  the  pardon,  though  free  to  us, 
is  a  pardon  "bought  with  blood:"  that  it 
cost  the  Lord  Jesus  his  life,  his  soul,  to  effect 
that  blessed  reconciliation  in  which  we  are  be- 
ginning to  rejoice  !  still  more,  that  all  we  can 
now  receive  of  his  love  is  but  a  taste,  a  small 
thing,  in  comparison  of  what  he  has  reserved 
for  us  !  O  what  mercy  is  here  !  O  what  thanks 
does  it  call  for  !  "  O  Lord,  open  thou  our  lips, 
and  our  mouth  shall  shew  forth  thy  praise.'' 

2.  You  will  praise  his  power.  I  thought 
says  the  poor  soul  at  such  a  time,  I  was  fallen 
so  low  that  there  was  no  help.  The  more  I 
toiled  and  laboured  in  my  own  strength,  the 
farther  the  blessing  seemed  from  me.  I  know 
from  experience,  that  none  but  an  almighty 
arm  could  relieve  me.  Creatures,  means,  and 
contrivances,  I  had  tried,  and  tried  again, 
but  found  them  all  physicians  of  no  value. 
But  now,  "  The  right  hand  of  the  Lord  has 
done  wonderfully,  the  right  hand  of  the  Lord 
has  brought  mighty  things  to  pass,"  Psal. 
cxviii.  15,  16.  What  shall  I  say  ?  "  He  hath 
both  spoken  himself,  and  also  hath  done  it," 
Isa.  xxxviii.  15.  The  Work  is  his;  to  him 
be  all  the  glory.  I  got  not  this  victory  by  my 
own  bow  (Psal.  xliv.  6),  neither  did  my  own 
arm  save  me ;  "  but  the  Lord  himself  has 
been  pleased  to  shew  the  exceeding  greatness 
of  his  mighty  power  in  my  behalf,"  Eph.  i. 
19.  Therefore,  "not  unto  us,  but  unto  thy 
name,  O  Lord,  be  the  glory  and  the  praise," 
Psal.  cxv.  1. 

3.  You  will  praise  his  wisdom.      "  What  I 


do  (said  our   Lord  to   Peter),   thou   knowest   which  has  brought  the  sound  of  the  gospel  to 
not  now,    but  thou   shalt    know    hereafter,"   your  ears,  it  were  better  for  you  that  you  had 


414 


OF  THE   ASSURANCE  Ol'    FAITH. 


SEli.   XX. 


never  been  born,  Matlh.  xxvi.  24.  You  have 
much  reason  to  cry  out,  "  O  Lord,  open  thou 
my  lips."  Open  my  eyes  to  see  my  danger, 
to  see  the  evil  of  my  nature  and  life.  Open 
my  lips  to  confess  my  wickedness.  Open  my 
heart  to  receive  thy  word,  that  I  likewise  may 
bear  a  part  in  the  praises  thy  people  pay  thee, 
and  not  perish  (as  without  thy  mercy  I  must 
do)  with  a  lie  in  my  right  hand,  Isa.  xliv.  20. 
Consider,  the  time  is  short  ( 1  Cor.  vii.  29)  ; 
death  is  near  and  may  be  sudden.  May  the 
Lord  enable  you  to  consider  the  things  be- 
longing to  your  peace,  before  they  are  hid 
from  your  eyes  !    Luke,  xix.  42. 

And  you,  my  friends,  who  at  present  en- 
joy the  light  of  God's  countenance,  who  know 
your  sins  are  forgiven  (1  John,  ii.  12.)  for 
his  name's  sake,  and  have  a  happy  freedom 
of  access  at  a  throne  of  grace,  O  be  mindful 
of  your  privileges ;  beware  of  sin,  beware  of 
self,  beware  of  Satan.  Your  enemy  envies 
you  your  liberty  ;  he  watches  you  with  sub- 
tiky  and  malice  ;  he  spreads  snares  for  your 
feet ;  he  desires  to  have  advantage  of  you, 
"  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat,"  Luke  xxii. 
31.  Therefore  be  upon  your  guard,  be  hum- 
ble, make  much  of  secret  prayer,  keep  close 
to  the  scriptures  of  God  :  by  the  words  of  his 
lips  you  shall  be  preserved  from  the  paths  of 
the  destroyer,  Psalm  xvii.  4.  Attend  dili- 
gently upon  the  ordinances,  and  speak  of- 
ten one  to  another  (Mai.  iii.  16.),  in  love 
and  faithfulness,  of  what  the  Lord  has  done 
and  prepared  for  you,  and  of  what  manner  of 
persons  you  ought  to  be,  in  all  holy  conver- 
sation and  godliness,  2  Pet.  iii.  11.  Thus 
you  shall  be  kept  safe  from  evil.  Jesus  has 
prayed  for  you,  that  your  faith  may  not  fail, 
Luke  xxii.  32.  Fix  your  eye  (Heb.  xii.  2)  and 
your  heart  upon  him,  as  he  that  must  do  all 
for  you,  all  in  you,  and  all  by  you.  And  he  has 
said,  '•  Yet  a  little  while,  and  behold  I  come 
quickly,"  Rev.  iii.  11.  Hold  fast  that  which 
thou  hast.  "  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death, 
and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life.  Amen. 
Even  so,  come,  Lord  Tesus,"  Rev.  ii.  10, 
and  xxii.  20. 


SERMON  XX. 

OF  THE   ASSURANCE   OF   FAITH. 

And  ive  know  that  we  are  of  God 

1  John  v.  19. 

A  WELL-GROUNDED  and  abiding  persuasion, 
not  only  that  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  are 
true  in  themselves,  but  that  we,  through  grace, 
are  surely  and  unchangeably  interested  in 
them,  is  highly  desirable.  If  we  may  be  safe, 
we  cannot  be  happy  and  comfortable  without 
it.    when    once   we   have   received    an    experi- 


mental knowledge  of  the  deceitfulness  of  our 
own  hearts,  and  the  variety,  subtilty,  and  force 
of  Satan's  temptations  :  and  he  who  knows 
our  frame  and  situation  has,  in  his  holy  word, 
made  a  full  provision  for  us  in  this  respect, 
and  declared  it  to  be  his  intention,  that  those 
who  flee  for  refuge  to  the  hope  he  has  set  be- 
fore them,  might  have  strong  consolation 
(Heb.  vi.  18.)  ;  not  be  left  at  an  uncertainty 
in  a  concern  of  the  highest  importance,  but 
be  rooted,  grounded,  established,  and  settled 
in  the  knowledge  of  his  love,  and  be  enabled 
to  maintain  it  as  an  unshaken  principle  through 
every  change  of  dispensation  and  frame,  "  that 
he  who  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  them  will 
perform  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ,' 
Phil.  i.  6. 

This  animating  confidence,  so  well  suited, 
and  so  necessary  to  render  the  soul  superior 
to  all  the  trials  of  life,  to  inspire  a  noble  dis- 
dain of  the  sinful  pleasures  and  vain  pursuits 
of  the  present  evil  world,  and  to  engage  the 
grateful  exertion  of  every  faculty  and  power 
in  the  service  of  God,  is  generally  expressed 
by  the  word  Assurance.  But  though  the 
word  is  in  frequent  use,  the  thing  itself  has 
been,  and  still  is,  a  subject  of  much  dispute 
and  controversy  amongst  professors  of  the 
gospel.  Many  not  being  conscious  of  such  a 
cheering  persuasion  in  themselves,  and  too 
hasty  in  supposing  their  attainments  must  be 
a  standard  to  others,  have  ventured  to  deny 
the  possibility  of  such  an  assurance,  and  treat- 
ed every  claim  to  it  as  visionary  and  enthusi- 
astic. On  the  other  hand,  some  have  main- 
tained the  opposite  extreme,  and  held  assur- 
ance so  essential  to  faith,  that  without  it  no 
person  has  a  scriptural  warrant  even  to  hope 
that  a  work  of  grace  is  begun  in  his  heart. 
This  sentiment,  especially  when  asserted  by 
persons  of  undoubted  character  forgifts,  graces, 
and  usefulness,  has  greatly  startled  and  dis- 
couraged weak  and  feeble-minded  souls,  and 
been  too  often  an  occasion  of  adding  to  the 
distress  of  those  who  rather  ought  to  have 
been  comforted. 

Great  differences  of  judgment  have  like- 
wise obtained  concerning  the  means  whereby, 
the  manner  in  which,  and  the  persons  to 
whom,  this  assurance  is  communicated,  sup- 
posing it  attainable.  It  is  not  needful  to 
insist  on  particulars.  Perhaps  the  best  way 
to  prevent  or  remove  mistakes,  is  to  propose 
the  truth  simply,  which,  so  far  as  it  takes 
place,  will  necessarily  prevent  the  entertain- 
ment of  error.  I  only  mention  in  general, 
that  there  is  a  variety  of  sentiments  on  this 
point,  and  the  most  of  them  supported  by  re- 
spectable names,  in  order  to  caution  you  a- 
gainst  paying  too  great  a  deference  to  human 
authority,  and  to  urge  you  to  praise  God  for 
your  Bibles,  and  to  be  diligent  in  the  perusal 
of  them.  If  you  search  the  scriptures,  and 
pray  for  the  Spirit,  you  may  arrive  to  a  clear 


SEP..   XX. 

satisfaction  for  yourselves,  no  less  than  if  all 
the  learned  were  of  one  mind,  and  all  of  your 
side. 

My  text  assures  us  that  this  assurance  was 
possessed  in  the  first  ages  of  the  church.  There 
were  some  who  could  say  without  hesitation, 
"  We  know  that  we  are  of  God  ;"  and  though 
they  are  an  apostle's  words,  he  uses  them  not 
exclusively  as  an  apostle,  but  generally  as  a 
believer.  The  greatest  part  of  the  chapter, 
and  indeed  of  the  epistle,  shews  that  he  consi- 
ders those  to  whom  he  was  writing  as  partak- 
ers with  him  in  the  common  privileges  of  chris- 
tians. So  likewise  St.  Paul  joins  the  believ- 
ing Corinthians  with  himself,  when  he  says, 
"  We  know,  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this 
tabernacle  were  dissolved,  we  have  a  building 
of  God,  an  house  not  made  with  hands,  eter- 
nal in  the  heavens,"  2  Cor.  v.  1.  And  else- 
where he  takes  it  for  granted,  that  they  (some 
of  them  at  least)  had  this  assurance,  and 
presses  them  to  a  lively  discharge  of  their  duty 
upon  that  consideration  :  "  for  as  much  as  ye 
know  that  your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the 
Lord,"    1  Cor.  xv.  58. 

And  we  need  make  no  scruple  of  affirming 
from  the  fullest  evidence,  that  this  precious 
privilege  was  not  confined,  or  designed  by  God 
to  be  so,  to  the  first  ages  of  the  gospel.  There 
have  been  in  all  periods  of  the  church,  where 
the  word  and  ordinances  of  Christ  have  been 
faithfully  administered,  many  who  could  say, 
"  We  know  that  we  are  of  God  ;"  and  we 
trust  there  are  more  than  a  few  who  can  say 
so,  and  give  a  solid  scriptural  evidence  of  the 
hope  that  is  in  them,  even  in  this  degenerate 
day.  But  because  arguments  from  facts, 
which  must  depend  upon  pe.sons  testimony  in 
their  own  cases,  are  not  allowed  to  be  fully 
conclusive ;  and  because  the  greater  part  of 
those  who  we  hope  sincerely  love  the  Lord 
Jesus,  live  far  below  their  just  right  and  pri 
vilege,  and  are  perplexed  with  doubts  and 
fears,  which  dishonour  their  profession,  weak- 
en their  hands,  and  make  their  lives  uncom- 
fortable :  I  shall  endeavour  at  this  time  to 
state  and  explain  the  nature  of  assurance,  to 
prove  that  it  is  attainable,  to  point  out  the 
means  by  which  we  are  to  expect  it,  and  to 
take  notice  of  the  hindrances  which  keep  so 
many  who  are  interested  in  the  gospel-salva- 
tiorvfrom  enjoying  their  privilege,  and  make 
them  unwilling  or  afraid  to  say,  "  We  know 
that  we  are  of  God."  What  1  have  to  otter 
on  these  particulars,  will  occur  under  one  or 
other  of  the  following  propositions  :  — 

I.  Assurance  is  not  essential  to  the  being 
of  faith.  It  is  a  strong  faith,  but  we  read  like- 
wise of  a  weak  faith  (Rom.  xiv.  l),  a  little 
faith  (Matth.  iv.  31),  and  faith  like  a  grain 
of  mustard-seed,  Matth.  xvii.  20.  True  sav- 
ing faitli  in  Jesus  Christ  is  only  distinguish- 
able by  its  different  degrees;  but  in  every  de- 
gree, and  in  every  subject,  it  is  universally  of 
the  same  kind,  and  produces  (according  to  its 


OF  THE  ASSURANCE  OF  FA  ITU. 


415 


degree)  the  same  uniform  effects.  It  purifies 
the  heart  from  the  love  and  practice  of  sin 
(Acts  xv.  9)  ;  it  works  by  love  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  his  ordinances,  ways,  and  peo- 
ple (Gal.  v.  6)  ;  and  it  enables  the  possessor 
to  overcome  the  world  (1  John  v.  4),  to  stand 
fast  against  its  frowns,  and  to  resist  the  more 
pleasing,  but  not  less  dangerous,  influence  of 
its  smiles.  Each  of  these  effects  is  beyond 
the  power,  and  contrnry  to  the  inclination  of 
the  natural  man.  "  No  man  can  say  that  Je- 
sus Christ  is  t'.e  Lord"  (1  Cor.  xii.  3),  that 
is,  can  give  him  the  honour  due  to  his  name, 
renounce  every  other  hope  of  salvation,  and 
count  all  things  but  loss  and  dung  that  he  may 
win  Christ  (Phil.  iii.  8),  "  but  by  the  Holy 
Ghost."  Yet  thus  far  many  have  undoubtedly 
attained,  who  have  not  assurance  ;  but  while 
they  give  sufficient  evidence  by  their  conduct 
that  they  have  received  precious  faith  in  their 
hearts,  they  go  mourning  all  the  day  long, 
and  almost  pass  sentence  against  themselves 
as  unbelievers.  Now,  what  these  mourners 
want,  in  order  to  their  establishment  and  as- 
surance, is  not  some  new  principle,  which  they 
have  not  yet  received,  but  only  a  stronger  de- 
gree of  that  faith  which  they  already  possess. 
Some  good  writers  speak  of  a  faith  of  reliance, 
a  faith  of  adherence,  a  faith  of  assurance,  and 
of  the  direct  and  reflex  acts  of  faith,  &c.  ;  but 
these  are  not  scriptural  modes  of  expression, 
nor  do  they  appear  to  me  to  throw  light  upon 
the  subject,  but  rather  to  increase  the  per- 
plexity of  plain  people,  who  are  apt  to  ima- 
gine these  are  so  many  different  kinds  of  faith. 
The  scriptures  mention  only  two  kinds,  a  liv- 
ing and  a  dead  faith,  James  ii.  17.  True  faith 
is  faint  and  weak  in  its  beginnings,  like  the 
life  of  a  new-born  infant,  but  it  is  growing  up 
to  maturity,  and  shall  increase  with  the  in- 
crease of  God,  "  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the 
measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ," 
Eph.  iv.  13.      From  thence  it  follows, 

II.  The  grounds  and  principles  of  faith  and 
assurance  are  exactly  the  same.  The  first 
and  lowest  act  of  saving  faith  necessarily  in- 
cludes three  things  : 

1.  An  apprehension  of  the  sufficiency  and 
authority  of  Christ  to  save.  Men  that  live  in 
their  sins  will  rest  upon  a  slender  hope  !  but 
a  conscience  truly  awakened  must  have  sure 
grounds  to  go  upon,  and,  without  the  disco- 
very of  such  a  Saviour  as  is  revealed  in  the 
gospel,  would  sink  into  despair.  It  is  afraid 
of  being  deceived,  and  is  so  far  enlightened 
that  it  cannot  be  easily  imposed  upon  ;  a  sense 
of  the  sinfulness  of  sin,  an  impression  of  the 
majesty  of  God,  will  not  suffer  it  to  rest  in  any 
thing  short  of  a  perfect  atonement  and  a. per- 
fect righteousness.  But  when  the  eyes  of  the 
mind  are  opened,  and  Jesus  is  seen  as  revealed 
by  the  word  and  Spirit  of  God,  all  scruples  of 
this  sort  are  silenced,  and  the  soul  perceives 
and  feels,  that  he  is  fully  equal  to  the  mightv 
undertaking. 


416 


OF  THE  ASSURANCE   OF  FAITH. 


2.  An  application  to  him.  This  of  course 
follows  a  persuasion  of  his  ability  to  save ; 
for  who  will  sit  down  and  perish,  when  there 
is  a  possibility  of  relief  ?  There  is,  perhaps, 
a  great  questioning  of  Christ's  willingness ; 
but  still,  since  there  is  a  peradventure,  a  sense 
of  distress  on  the  one  hand,  and  a  view  of  his 
power  and  grace  on  the  other,  will  extort  a 
cry,  "  Lord,  save  me,  or  I  perish"  Matth. 
viii.  25  ;  and  xiv.  30. 

3.  From  hence  there  arises  a  hope  in  his 
mercy,  which  is  fainter  or  stronger  according 
as  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  is  more  or  less  dis- 
tinct, and  the  surrender  unto  him  more  or  less 
simple  and  unreserved,  and  therefore,  in  ge- 
neral, it  is  very  faint  at  first;  for  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ  in  a  measure  depends  upon 
our  knowledge  of  the  scriptures,  which  testify 
of  him,  and  on  the  proofs  we  have  had  of  his 
wisdom,  grace,  and  love  to  ourselves  ;  but  the 
young  convert,  in  whom  the  seed  of  faith  is 
but  lately  sown,  has  but  little  acquaintance 
with  the  word  ;  for  he  has  but  just  begun  to 
know  the  value  of  it,  and  he  has  but  little 
experience  ;  though  his  eyes  are  opened,  his 
sight  is  not  yet  confirmed,  nor  his  spiritual 
senses  exercised. 

Farther,  though  he  was  sincerely  convinced 
of  his  need  of  a  Saviour,  there  is  still  much 
of  a  legal  bias,  and  a  principle  of  self-right- 
eousness in  his  heart,  which,  so  far  from  being 
removed,  is  not  yet  discovered  to  himself; 
and  while  he  thinks  he  looks  to  Christ  alone, 
he  is  looking  in  himself  for  qualifications  to 
recommend  him,  and  afraid  to  draw  near  with 
confidence,  because  he  cannot  find  them.  These 
things  discourage  his  hopes,  and  demonstrate 
lis  faith  to  be  but  weak. 

But  the  strongest  and  most  lively  assurance 
that  we  can  conceive  attainable  in  the  present 
life,  is  wrought  and  maintained  by  the  very 
same  principles  which  have  so  faint  an  influ- 
ence in  the  infancy  of  faith.  Let  us  hear  the 
great  champion  St.  Paul,  in  the  close  of  an 
exemplary,  laborious  life,  giving  an  account 
to  a  dear  and  intimate  friend  of  the  hope  that 
was  in  him.  He  had  been  honoured  and  dis- 
tinguished for  grace,  gifts,  and  usefulness,  in 
a  peculiar  manner ;  he  had  laboured  more  a- 
bundantly  than  all  the  apostles  ;  he  had  fully 
preached  the  gospel,  and  gathered  churches 
throughout  a  very  large  part  of  the  Roman 
empire  (1  Cor.  xv.  10;  Rom.  xv.  19);  his 
first  call  was  extraordinary,  by  the  Lord's  ap- 
pearing to  him  in  glory  ;  and  some  of  his  suc- 
ceeding experiences  had  been  no  less  singular, 
for  he  had  been  caught  up  into  the  third  hea- 
vens (Cor.  xii.  2)  :  finally,  his  suffering  for 
the  gospel  had  been  as  great  and  remarkable 
as  his  services.  But  when  he  expresses  his 
assurance  of  support  and  salvation,  he  says 
not  a  syllable  of  these  things,  but  rests  the 
whole  upon  such  points  as  were  common  to  him 
with  all  believers:  "  I  know  whom  I  have  be- 
lieved,   and  I  am  persuaded   that  he  is  able  to 


StK.   XX 

keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him 
against  that  day,"  2  Tim.  i.  12.  We  see 
there  St.  Paul's  assurance  was  founded  on, 
1st,  A  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  object 
of  his  faith  ;  2dly,  A  consciousness  of  trans- 
actions which  had  passed  between  him  and 
his  Saviour, — he  had  committed  something  to 
him,  thaf.  was,  his  soul  with  all  its  interests; 
3dly,  A  persuasion  of  his  ability,  willingness, 
and  faithfulness,  to  secure  and  preserve  what 
he  had  taken  charge  of.  And  these  are  the 
very  same  principles  which  are  necessary  to 
the  first  act  of  weak  faith,  only  here  they  ex- 
ert themselves  with  their  proper  power  and 
efficacy.      From  hence, 

III.  Assurance  is  equally  open  to  all  be- 
lievers. It  is  not  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
great  services  or  sufferings;  it  is  not  confined 
to  apostles,  ministers,  or  martyrs,  but  is  a 
prize  set  before  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  sincerity,  being  no  other  than  the 
growth  and  establishment  of  that  faith  which 
they  have  already  received.  The  reasons  why 
all  who  believe  are  not  happy  in  this  assurance 
of  hope,  are  to  be  sought,  not  in  the  will  of 
God,  who  hath  made  abundant  provision  for 
our  comfort,  but  in  the  perverseness,  ignorance, 
and  misapprehensions  of  our  own  hearts,  and 
from  inattention  to  his  revealed  word.  We 
are  not  straitened  in  him,  but  in  ourselves. 
It  is  not  easy  to  enumerate  the  many  ways  in 
which  our  depravity  works  to  keep  this  good 
thing  from  us.  A  few  of  the  principal  are 
these  : — 

1.  Insincerity.  Where  grace  is  really  im- 
planted by  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  will  surely  pre- 
vail at  length,  and  subdue  the  whole  soul  t<_ 
the  obedience  of  faith.  But  in  too  many  there 
is,  for  a  long  time,  not  only  a  great  opposi- 
tion from  indwelling  corruption,  but  a  secret 
cleaving  of  the  will  to  evil ;  a  double-minded 
ness  (James  i.  8),  a  kind  of  halting  between 
two  opinions  (1  Kings  xviii.  21),  so  that 
while  the  desire  and  prayer  of  the  sou)  seems 
expressed  against  all  sin  universally  (Prov. 
xxiii.  26),  there  is  still  an  allowed  reserve  of 
something  inconsistent  with  light  received, 
Psal.  ix.  1.  An  habitual  indulgence  of  known 
or  suspected  evil,  or  an  habitual  neglect  of  any- 
known  duty,  will  certainly  prevent  the  growth 
of  grace  and  consolation.  For  the  Lord  claims 
(what  is  his  just  due)  the  whole  heart,  and  will 
not  afford  the  strengthening  light  of  his  coun- 
tenance, while  any  idol  is  deliberately  set  up 
in  his  presence.  "  Then,"  says  David  (and 
not  till  then),  "  shall  I  not  be  ashamed,  when 
I  have  respect  unto  all  thy  commandments," 
Psal.  cxix.  6.  And  our  Lord  Jesus,  when 
asked,  "  How  wilt  thou  manifest  thyself  unto 
us  ?"  answered,  "  If  a  man  love  me,  he  will 
keep  my  words,  and  my  Feather  will  love  him, 
and  we  will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our 
abode  with  him,"  John  xiv.  22,  23.  Till  the 
pride  and  naughtiness  of  our  spirits  are  con- 
quered,  and  we   are  made  willing  to  give  up 


SER.  XX 

all,  to  renounce  whatever  is  contrary  to  his 
precepts,  though  pleasing  as  a  right  eye,  and 
seemingly  necessary  as  the  right  hand,  it  is  in 
vain  to  expect  a  full  and  abiding  assurance  of 
his  love, 

2.  Indolence.  VVitti  respect  to  this  valu- 
able blessing,  it  may  be  often  said,  "  Ye  re- 
ceive not,  because  ye  ask  not,"  James  iv.  2. 
It  is  too  common  for  those  who  were  earnest 
in  crying  for  mercy,  while  they  thought  them- 
selves under  the  curse  and  power  of  the  law, 
to  grow  slack  and  remiss  in  prayer  soon  after 
they  obtain  some  hope  of  salvation  from  the 
gospel,  and  particularly  they  do  not  "  give  all 
diligence  to  make  their  calling  and  election 
sure"  (2  Pet.  i.  10),  in  the  careful  use  of  every 
means  appointed  for  their  establishment  in  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Therefore  that  word 
is  fulfilled  in  them,  "  The  slothful  soul  de- 
sireth,  and  hath  nothing,"  Prov.  xiii.  4.  They 
go  on  for  months  or  years  in  a  complaining, 
unsettled  state,  and  deservedly,  because  they 
are  not  earnest  in  seeking,  asking,  waiting, 
knocking  at  the  gate  of  wisdom,  and  at  the 
throne  of  grace,  for  that  blessing  which  the 
Lord  has  promised  to  those  who  persevere  in 
wrestling  prayer,  and  will  take  no  denial. 

3.  Misapprehensions.  These  arise  from  a 
neglect  of  examining  the  scriptures,  and  an 
undue  deference  to  the  decisions  of  men.  If 
assurance  is  supposed  unattainable,  it  will  con. 
sequently  not  be  sought  after.  If  it  is  ex- 
pected as  an  instantaneous  impression  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  upon  the  mind,  independent  of 
his  word,  or  to  arise  from  some  sudden,  power- 
ful application  of  a  particular  text  of  scripture, 
this  persuasion  will  end  in  disappointment. 
For,  though  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  Lord 
does  at  times  favour  his  people  with  peculiar 
manifestations  of  his  goodness,  and  perhaps 
seal  some  promise  especially  suited  to  their  pre- 
sent circumstances,  with  a  remarkable  sweet- 
ness and  evidence  upon  their  minds,  yet  these 
do  rarely  produce  the  assurance  we  are  speak- 

"g  of.  These  are  but  visits  seldom  vouch- 
safed, and  quickly  suspended  ;  and  those  who 
depend  chiefly  on  such  impressions,  instead 
of  endeavouring  to  grow  in  the  scriptural 
knowledge  of  Christ,  ire  generally  as  change- 
able in  their  hopes  as  in  their  frame.  While 
their  affections  are  thus  engaged,  "  their  moun- 
tain stands  strong,  and  they  think  they  shall 
never  be  moved  (Psal.  xxx.  7)  ;  but  when 
the  cause  is  withdrawn,  the  effect  ceases,  and 
they  presently  relapse  into  their  former  fears 
and  inquietudes  :  Not  to  say  that  expectations 
of  this  sort  have  a  tendency  to  great  inconve- 
niencies,  and  often  open  a  door  to  the  delu- 
sions of  enthusiasm  and  dangerous  imposi- 
tions ;  for  Satan,  when  permitted,  knows  how 
to  transform  himself  into  an  angel  of  light, 
2  Cor.  xi.  1 4.  If  inherent  sanctification,  or 
a  considerable  increase  of  it,  is  considered  as 
the  proper  ground  of  assurance,  those  who  are 
most  humble,  sincere,  and  desirous  of  being 


OF  THE  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 


417 


conformed  to  the  will  of  God,  will  be  the  most 
perplexed  and  discouraged  in  their  search  af- 
ter it.  For  they  of  all  others  will  be  the  least 
satisfied  with  themselves,  and  have  the  quick- 
est sense  of  the  innumerable  defilements  and 
defects  which  the  scriptures  assure  us  are  in- 
separable from  our  best  tempers  and  best  ac- 
tions. These  mistakes,  with  others  that  might 
be  mentioned,  prevent  many  from  seeking  af- 
ter assurance  at  all,  and  bewilder  many  more, 
by  putting  them  upon  a  wrong  pursuit.  But 
what  then  is  assurance  ?  and  how  is  it  to  be 
attained  ?  I  shall  attempt  an  answer  to  these 
questions  together  in  the  next  proposition. 

IV.  "  Assurance  is  the  result  of  a  compe- 
tent spiritual  knowledge  of  the  person  and 
work  of  Christ  as  revealed  in  the  gospel,  and 
a  consciousness  of  dependence  on  him  and  his 
work  alone  for  salvation."  What  I  appre- 
hend necessary  to  make  my  meaning  plain, 
will  occur  from  a  brief  explanation  of  the 
terms  I  have  made  use  of  in  this  description. 

1.  By  the  term  spiritual  knowledge,  I  would 
ascribe  it  to  the  influence  and  teaching  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  God,  and  distinguish  it  both 
from  that  speculative  knowledge  of  divine 
things  which  natural  men  may  acquire  from 
books  and  human  instruction,  and  likewise 
from  that  knowledge  which  a  real  believer 
may  obtain  in  the  same  way,  beyond  the  li- 
mits of  his  present  experience.  Those  who 
are  favoured  with  gVeat  outward  advantages 
particularly  the  light  of  a  clear  gospel-mini- 
stry, may  very  soon  arrive  to  a  notional  ap- 
prehension of  the  most  important  truths  ;  but 
with  respect  to  the  spiritual  and  abiding  per. 
ception  of  those  truths,  there  is  no  effectual 
teacher  but  the  Spirit  of  God ;  and  we  often 
find,  that  what  we  think  we  have  learned  of 
men,  w  e  have  occasion  to  be  taught  again  by 
the'Lord  the  Spirit,  for  our  acquisitions  fail 
us  when  we  have  most  need  of  them,  and  will 
not  stand  the  trial  of  an  hour  of  temptation. 
But,  so  far  as  we  have  received  our  views  of 
Jesus,  his  person,  offices,  mediation,  and  pro- 
mises, from  him,  we  possess  them,  and  should 
be  able  to  defy  an  angel,  if  he  were  to  pro- 
pose to  us  any  other  doctrine  than  that  which 
we  have  surely  known  and  believed,  Gal.  i.  8. 

2.  I  use  the  word  competent,  because  there 
is  not,  that  I  know  of,  any  determinate  stan- 
dard where  to  fix.  When  our  knowledge  is 
so  far  increased  as  to  overpower  the  objec- 
tions arising  from  inward  corruptions,  defects 
of  obedience,  unbelieving  fears,  and  the  tem- 
ptations of  Satan  ;  when  we  can  cut  them 
short  with  that  question  of  the  apostle,  "  Who 
is  he  that  condeinneth  ?  it  is  Christ  that  died" 
(Rom.  viii.  34),  assurance  follows  of  course. 
For  I  do  not  understand  assurance  in  the 
strictest  sense  for  the  highest  decree  of  cer- 
tainty imaginable.  Assurance  itself  is  capa- 
ble of  increase;  and  will  be  so  continually, 
while  there  is  any  darkness  in  our  understand- 
ings, or  any  remaining  propensity  to  a  self 

2L 


418 


OF  THE  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 


righteous  spirit.  Then  only  will  our  assur- 
ance be  perfect,  when  we  shall  see  Jesus  as  he 
is,  and  be  completely  freed  from  all  our  in- 
firmities. For  these,  in  whatever  degree  they 
prevail,  will  so  far  affect  the  strength  and 
steadiness  of  our  confidence  in  God. 

3.  This  knowledge  is  wrought  in  us  by  the 
Spirit,  through  the  medium  of  the  written 
word.  He  teaches  no  unrevealed  truths.  We 
are  not  to  expect  that  he  will  assure  us  by  a 
voice  from  heaven,  or  by  a  sudden  impulse 
upon  our  hearts,  that  our  names  in  particular 
are  written  in  the  book  of  life ;  but  he  opens 
our  understandings  to  understand  the  scrip- 
tures (Luke  xxiv.  45),  to  assent  to,  and  feel, 
that  we  are  such  sinners  as  are  there  describ- 
ed, to  see  the  dignity  and  sufficiency  of  Christ 
Jesus,  as  God-man,  the  Mediator,  the  suita- 
bleness of  his  offices,  the  value  of  his  atone- 
ment and  righteousness,  and  the  harmony  and 
glory  of  the  divine  attributes,  in  the  adorable 
methods  of  redeeming  love,  which  renders  it 
just,  righteous,  and  worthy  of  God  to  justify 
and  save  the  believing  sinner,  Rom.  iii.  26. 
He  likewise  gives  us  to  understand  the  free- 
dom and  security  of  the  gospel-promises  con- 
firmed by  the  oath  of  God,  and  sealed  with 
the  blood  of  his  Son.  He  shews  us  the  esta- 
blishment and  immutability  of  the  covenant  of 
grace  ;  convinces  us,  that  there  is  a  fulness  of 
wisdom,  grace,  life  and  strength,  treasured  up 
in  Christ,  for  the  use  and  support  cf  those  who 
in  themselves  are  poor,  miserable,  and  help- 
less, and  to  be  freely  communicated  in  mea- 
sure and  season,  as  he  sees  necessary  to  sup- 
port, nourish,  and  revive  the  believing  soul, 
and  to  lead  him  in  the  path  of  perseverance 
to  everlasting  life.  Such  a  discovery  of  al- 
mighty power,  and  unchangeable  love,  engag- 
ed for  the  infallible  salvation  of  every  believer, 
which  they  cannot  lose  by  their  own  unwor- 
thiness,  nor  be  deprived  of  by  all  the  opposi- 
tion which  earth  or  hell  can  raise  against  them 
(John  x.  28),  produces  a  suitable  assurance 
in  the  soul  that  receives  it.  And  we  can  con- 
fidently say,  "  We  know  that  we  are  of  God," 
when  we  can  in  this  manner  know  in  whom 
we  have  believed. 

4.  Such  discoveries  of  the  person  and  grace 
of  Christ  are  connected  with  a  heart-felt  con- 
sciousness, that  the  believer's  dependence  for 
all  the  great  hopes  and  ends  of  salvation  are 
fixed  on  him  and  his  work  alone.  They  draw 
forth  acts  of  surrender  and  trust,  and  keep  the 
mind  from  forming  any  vain  scheme  of  hope 
or  refuge,  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  from  any 
other  quarter.  Indeed,  from  the  very  first 
dawnings  of  faith,  as  I  have  observed,  the 
soul  is  led  to  commit  itself  into  the  hands  of 
Jesus ;  but  while  knowledge  was  weak,  and 
the  heart  very  imperfectly  humbled,  there  was 
a  secret,  though  unallowed,  dependence  upon 
self,  upon  resolutions,  frames,  and  duties. 
But  as  Jesus  rises  more  glorious  in  the  eye 
of  faith,  self  is  in  the  same  degree  depressed 


SER.  XX 

and  renounced  ;  and  when  we  certainly  see 
that  there  is  no  safety  or  stability  but  in  his 
name,  we  as  certainly  feel  that  we  expect 
them  from  him,  and  from  him  only.  And 
the  Holy  Spirit  assists  here  likewise,  bears  a 
comfortable  witness  with  our  spirits  (Rom. 
viii.  15,  16),  by  drawing  us  to  a  throne  of 
grace,  pleading  in  us  as  a  spirit  of  adoption, 
and  prompting  us  to  renew  the  renunciation 
of  ourselves,  and  to  glory  in  Jesus,  as  made 
unto  us,  of  God,  wisdom,  righteousness, 
sanctification,  and  redemption  (1  Cor,  i.  30), 
from  day  to  day.  And  from  hence  arises  a 
solid,  permanent  assurance.  The  believer, 
though  weak  and  unstable  as  water  in  him. 
self,  and  though  continually  assaulted  by  a 
powerful  combination  against  his  peace,  can 
look  through  all  to  Jesus,  and  say,  "  I  am  per- 
suaded, that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  an- 
gels, nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things 
present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor 
depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to 
separate  me  from  the  love  of  God  which  is 
in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,"  Rom.  viii.  38,  39. 

What  remains  then,  but  to  animate  and 
press  every  sincere  believer  to  strive,  in  God's 
appointed  way,  for  a  comfortable  assurance, 
that  they  are  accepted  in  the  Beloved,  passed 
from  death  unto  life,  and  infallibly  freed  from 
all  condemnation.  Though  this  knowledge 
is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  our  safety,  it  is 
exceeding  useful  to  make  us  unwearied,  cheer- 
ful, and  evangelical,  in  a  course  of  holy  obe- 
dience, to  the  exertion  of  all  our  powers  and 
faculties  in  the  service  of  him  who  has  loved 
us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own 
blood,  and  to  give  us  courage  to  endure  and 
surmount  the  many  difficulties  and  opposi- 
tions which  we  are  sure  to  meet  with  in  the 
course  of  our  profession.  Unbelief  and  dis- 
trust weaken  our  hands,  "  and  make  our 
knees  feeble,"  Heb.  xii.  12.  The  more 
steadily  we  confide  in  God,  the  better  we  shall 
serve  him  ;  we  shall  be  enabled  to  cast  all  our 
cares  upon  him,  to  rely  on  his  promise,  that  he 
will  make  our  strength  equal  to  our  day  ;  and 
having  a  well-grounded  expectation  of  re- 
ceiving  the  end  of  our  hope,  even  the  salva- 
tion of  our  souls,  we  shall  stand  fast  in  the 
evil  day,  and  say,  "  None  of  these  things 
move  me;  neither  count  I  my  life  dear,  so 
that  I  may  finish  my  course  with  joy,"  Acts 
xx.  24.  I  would  only  subjoin  two  cautions 
to  those  who  are  thus  minded. 

1.  Remember  that  the  progress  of  faith  to 
assurance  is  gradual.  Expect  it  not  sud- 
denly, but  wait  upon  the  Lord  for  it  in  the 
ways  of  his  appointment.  As  it  depends  up- 
on the  manifestation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  lef 
this  engage  you  to  constancy  and  earnestness 
in  prayer  ;  and  as  it  arises  from  a  knowledgo 
of  Jesus,  be  assiduous  in  searching  the  scrip 
tures,  which  testify  of  him.  The  blessing 
of  the  Lord  and  the  hand  of  the  diligent  con 
cur  in  the  attainment  of  this  benefit,  Prov.  x 


SER.  XX. 


OF  THE  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 


419 


4.  22.  If  you  persevere  in  this  path,  you  will 
be  helped  forward  by  the  experience  of  every 
day  j  and  every  dispensation  of  providence, 
as  well  as  every  exercise  and  frame  of  mind 
you  pass  through,  will  be  sanctified,  to  give 
you  an  increasing  conviction,  that  you  are 
nothing,  and  that  Jesus  is  all  in  all. 

2.  As  you  cannot  see  or  maintain  a  sight 
of  your  interest  in  the  covenant,  but  by  the 
light  of  the  Spirit,  beware  of  grieving  him, 
Ephes.  iv.  30.  If  you  indulge  a  careless, 
trifling  disposition,  or  venture  upon  known 
sin,  you  will  find  dark  clouds  raised  be- 
tween the  Sun  of  righteousness  and  your 
souls.  Assurance  is  not  so  invariable,  but 
that  it  may  be  affected,  weakened,  and  per- 
haps for  a  season  quite  suspended,  by  un- 
faithfulness and  backsliding  on  our  part.  If 
you  have  a  persuasion  of  your  interest  in  the 
love  of  God,  that  remains  always  the  same, 
though  prayer  is  restrained,  the  ordinances 
slighted,  and  watchfulness  intermitted ;  take 
heed,  lest  this  instead  of  assurance,  should  be 
vain  confidence  and  presumption.  The  hope 
that  maketh  not  ashamed,  endears  every  pre- 
cept and  ordinance  to  the  soul,  weans  the  af- 
fections from  low  and  trivial  pursuits,  and 
strengthens  the  exercise  of  every  gracious 
principle. 

As  it  is  thus  possible  and  desirable  for  a 
believer  to  "  know  that  he  is  of  God ;"  so  a 
concern  for  many  here  present  will  not  suffer 
me  to  close,  without  desiring  you  to  consider 
if  you  have  not  cause  to  conclude,  from  scrip- 
ture-testimony,  that  you  are  not  of  God.    See 


the  cause  determined  by  an  apostle  :  "  Whoso- 
ever doeth  not  righteousness,  is  not  of  God," 
1  John  iii.  10.  And  again,  by  another,  "  If 
any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is 
none  of  his,"  Rom.  viii.  9.  Are  not  these 
decisions  plain  and  absolute?  If  your  love 
and  dependence  are  not  fixed  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  if  your  tempers  and  practice 
are  not  governed  by  his  commands,  you  are 
not  of  God.  Who,  then,  do  you  belong  to  ? 
The  whole  world  is  divided  between  two  mas- 
ters, and  ranged  under  opposite  banners.  A 
neutrality  is  impossible.  If  you  are  not  of 
God,,  you  belong  at  present  to  Satan  ;  you 
are  his  captives  (2  Tim.  ii.  26.)  ;  he  leads 
you  blindfold  ;  and  he  meditates  your  destruc- 
tion, when  'you  shall  have  worn  out  your 
lives  in  his  miserable  service.  And  will  you 
continue  fond  of  your  bondage,  and  follow 
him  like  an  ox  to  the  slaughter  ?  There  is 
a  redemption-price  paid,  there  is  an  arm 
of  power  revealed  in  favour  of  such  help- 
less perishing  prisoners.  Jesus,  whom  we 
preach,  "  is  able  to  take  the  prey  out  of  the 
hand  of  the  mighty,  and  to  deliver  the  law- 
ful captive,"  Isaiah  xlix.  24.  The  Lord  help 
you  to  apply  to  him  before  iniquity  is  your 
ruin.  O  may  he  incline  you  to  believe  and 
be  saved!  Acts  xvi.  81.  If  you  reject  him, 
you  seal  yourself  to  an  aggravated  condem- 
nation, and  must  perish  without  mercy  :  but 
if  you  hear  his  voice,  and  call  upon  his  name, 
he  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost,  and  to 
bless  you,  in  turning  every  one  of  you  from 
your  iniquities,"  Heb.  vii.  25. ;  Acts  iii.   26 


, 


REVIEW 


OF 


ECCLESIASTIC AJ,  HISTORY 


INTRODUCTION. 


Though  the  actions  of  mankind  appear  greatly  diversified  from  the  influence 
of  particular  circumstances,  human  nature  has  been  always  the  same.  The 
history  of  all  ages  and  countries  uniformly  confirms  the  scriptural  doctrine, 
that  man  is  a  depraved  and  fallen  creature,  and  that  some  selfish  temper,  am- 
bition, avarice,  pride,  revenge,  and  the  like,  are,  in  effect,  the  main  springs 
and  motives  of  his  conduct,  unless  so  far,  and  in  such  instances,  as  they  are 
corrected  and  subdued  by  divine  grace. 

Therefore,  when  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  most  dreadful  degree  of  impiety 
that  can  be  imagined,  enmity  against  God,  he  does  not  consider  it  as  the 
fault  of  the  particular  time  in  which  he  lived,  or  impute  it  singly  either  to  the 
idolatrous  Heathens,  or  the  obstinate  Jews,  but  he  affirms  universally,  that  the 
carnal  mind  (  to  pgovjj/ia  tth  tfagxog),  the  wisdom,  the  most  spiritual  and  discerning 
faculty  of  man,  is  enmity  against  God.  Men  differ  considerably  in  capacity, 
rank,  education,  and  attainments  ;  they  jar  in  sentiments  and  interests  ;  they 
mutually  revile,  hate,  and  destroy  one  another  :  but  in  this  point  they  all  a- 
gree  ;  whether  Greeks  or  Barbarians,  wise  or  ignorant,  bond  or  free,  the  bent 
and  disposition  of  their  minds,  while  unrenewed  by  giace,  is  black  and  impla- 
cable enmity  against  the  blessed  God. 

To  those  who  acknowledge  the  authority  of  scripture,  St.  Paul's  express  as- 
sertion should  be  sufficient  proof  of  this  point,  if  we  could  produce  no  other  ; 
but  besides  the  many  other  passages  in  the  book  of  God  to  the  same  effect, 
it  may  be  demonstrated  by  the  most  obvious  proofs,  experience  and  matter  of 
fact.  The  history  of  the  Old  Testament  from  the  death  of  Abel,  the  nature 
and  grounds  of  the  opposition  which  Jesus  and  his  apostles  met  with,  and 
the  treatment  of  the  most  exemplary  Christians  that  have  lived  in  suc- 
ceeding ages,  are  indisputable  evidences  of  this  offensive  truth  ;  for  what  can 
be  stronger  marks  of  enmity  against  God,  than  to  despise  his  word,  to  scorn 
his  favour,  to  oppose  his  will,  to  carress  his  enemies,  and  to  insult  and  abuse 
his  servants,  for  no  other  offence  than  their  attachment  to  his  service  ? 

But  when,  from  these  premises,  the  apostle  infers,  "  so  then  they  that  are  in 
the  flesh  cannot  please  God,"  though  the  consequence  is  evident,  it  may  seem 
at  first  view  unnecessary ;  for  can  it  be  supposed  that  the  carnal  mind,  which 
breathes  a  spirit  of  defiance  and  enmity  against  God,  will  have  any  desire  or 
thought  of  pleasing  him  ?  Yet  thus  it  is The  carnal  mind  is  not  only  despe- 
rately wicked,  but  deeply  deceitful  ;  it  deceives  others,  and  often  it  deceives 
itself.  As  the  magicians  of  Egypt,  though  enemies  to  Moses,  attempted  to 
counterfeit  his  miracles,  and  as  Balaam  could  say,  "  The  Lord  my  God," 
though  he  was  wickedly  engaged  against  the  Lord's  people  ;  so  it  has  been 
usual  with  many  who  have  hated  and  denied  the  power  of  godliness,  to  value 
themselves  highly  upon  the  form  of  it,  and  while  they  are  alienated  from  the 
iife  of  God,  through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  them,  they  affect  to  be  thought 
his  best  servants,  and  make  the  most  confident  claims  to  his  favour 


424  INTRODUCTION. 

The  pure  religion  of  Jesus  cannot  but  be  despised  and  rejected  by  the  car- 
nal mind:  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  God;  they  are  beyond 
his  sphere  ;  he  does  not  apprehend  them,  and  therefore  cannot  approve  them  ; 
nay,  he  is  averse  and  unwilling  to  meddle  with  them,  and  therefore  it  is  im- 
possible he  should  understand  them.  But  the  fiercest  opposifion  arises  from 
the  complication  of  presumption  and  hypocrisy  we  have  spoken  of;  when 
men,  destitute  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  from  a  vain  conceit  of  their  own  wisdom 
and  goodness,  arrogate  to  themselves  an  authoritative  decision  in  religious 
concerns,  and  would  reduce  the  judgment  and  practice  of  others  to  their  own 
corrupt  standard. 

Such  was  eminently  the  character  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  who,  with 
unwearied  malice,  persecuted  our  Lord  to  the  death  of  the  cross  ;  and  he  for- 
warned  his  disciples  to  expect  the  like  treatment ;  he  sent  them  forth  as  lambs 
in  the  midst  of  wolves,  and  assured  them  that  their  attachment  to  him  would 
draw  on  them  the  hatred  of  mankind,  so  far  as  even  to  deprive  them  of  the 
rights  of  civil  society,  and  the  pleasures  of  relative  life.  A  man's  foes  shall 
be  those  of  his  own  household  :  his  parents  shall  forget  their  affection,  his 
children  their  duty,  his  servants  their  reverence,  and  even  the  wife  of  his  bosom 
shall  despise  him,  when  he  boldly  professes  the  gospel ;  nay,  the  most  amiable 
qualities,  joined  to  the  most  endearing  connections,  are  not  sufficient  wholly 
to  suppress  the  enmity  which  fills  the  hearts  of  the  unregenerate,  against  those 
in  whom  they  discern  the  image  of  Christ ;  and  that  this  enmity  would  some- 
times assume  a  religious  form,  and  under  that  appearance,  proceed  to  the 
greatest  extremities,  he  informed  them,  in  another  place  :  "  The  time  cometh 
that  whosoever  killeth  you,  will  think  that  he  doeth  God  service." 

If  a  faith  and  practice,  agreeable  to  the  New  Testament,  were  not  always 
attended  with  a  measure  of  this  opposition,  we  should  want  one  considerable 
evidence  that  the  gospel  is  true ;  and  infidels  would  be  possessed  of  one  solid 
objection  against  it,  namely,  That  our  Lord  was  mistaken  when  he  predicted 
the  reception  his  doctrine  would  meet  with.  But  the  scriptures  cannot  be 
broken  :  the  word  of  Christ  is  fulfilling  every  day,  and  especially  in  this  par- 
ticular. Many,  perhaps,  will  be  ready  to  object  here,  and  to  maintain,  that, 
in  our  nation,  and  at  this  present  time,  the  charge  is  invidious  and  false.  It 
will  be  pleaded,  that  when  Christianity  had  to  struggle  with  Jews  and  Pagans, 
it  could  not  but  be  opposed  ;  but  that  with  us,  under  the  guard  of  a  national 
establishment,  an  opposition  to  Christianity  (unless  by  the  feeble  efforts  of 
Deists  and  Libertines)  is  impracticable  and  inconsistent  by  the  very  terms  ; 
and  that  if  the  delusions  of  a  few  visionary  enthusiasts  are  treated  with  that 
contempt  and  indignation  which  they  justly  deserve,  this  should  not  be  styled 
an  opposition  to  Christianity,  but  rather  a  warrantable  concern  for  its  vindi- 
cation, especially  as  no  coercive  methods  are  used  ;  for  though  some  attempts 
have  been  made  to  restrain  the  leaders  from  poisoning  the  minds  of  the  peo- 
ple, yet  no  person  is  injured,  either  in  life  or  property,  on  account  of  his  o- 
pinions,  how  extravagant  soever  they  may  be. 

To  this  extenuation  it  may  be  replied, 

1.  I  do  not  assert,  that  persecution  and  reproach  must  necessarily  attend 
the  name  of  a  Christian,  or  that  it  is  not  possible  to  make  a  high  profession 
of  religion  under  that  name,  and  at  the  same  time  preserve  or  acquire  a  large 
share  of  the  honours,  riches,  and  friendship  of  the  world  ;  but  I  maintain  with 
the  apostle  that  "  all  who  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecu- 
tion." The  distinction  he  makes  in  these  words,  is  observable  : — So  much  god- 
liness as  may  be  professed  without  a  peculiar  relation  to  Jesus,  the  world  will 
bear  ;  sobriety  and  benevolence  they  will  applaud  ;  nay,  even  prayers,  fast- 
ings, and  other  external  acts,  may  be  commended  : — but,  to  live  godly  in 


INTRODUCTION.  425 

Christ  Jesus, — so  as  to  profess  our  whole  dependence  upon  his  free  salvation 
to  seek  all  our  strength  from  his  grace  ;  to  do  all  expressly  for  his  sake ;  and 
then  to  renounce  all  trust  or  confidence  in  what  we  have  done,  and  to  make 
mention  of  his  righteousness  only : — this  the  world  cannot  bear  ;  this  will 
surely  provoke  the  contempt  or  hatred  of  all  who  have  not  the  same  spirit, 
whether  accounted  Christians  or  Infidels,  Papists  or  Protestants.  That  no- 
thing less  than  what  I  have  mentioned  can  be  the  import  of  living  godly  in 
Christ  Jesus,  I  shall  in  due  time  prove  by  a  cloud  of  witnesses. 

2.  I  acknowledge,  with  thankfulness  to  God,  and  to  those  whom  he  has 
placed  in  just  authority  over  us,  that  the  interposition  of  stripes,  imprison- 
ment, tortures,  and  death,  in  matters  pertaining  to  conscience,  has  no  place 
in  our  happy  land  : 


•  jacet  (semperque  jaceat !) 


Divini  imago  zeli  et  pestis. 

The  spirit  of  persecution  is  repressed  by  the  wisdom  of  our  laws  and  the 
clemency  of  our  princes,  but  we  have  no  ground  to  believe  it  is  extinct,  or 
rather  we  have  sufficient  evidence  of  the  contrary.  Not  to  mention  some  re- 
cent instances  in  which  power  has  been  strained  to  its  full  extent,  it  is  no- 
torious that  scorn,  invective,  and  calumny  (which  can  act  unrestrained  by 
human  laws),  are  employed  for  the  same  ends  and  purposes,  which,  in  other 
countries,  are  more  speedily  effected  by  anathemas  and  sanguinary  edicts. 
.  3.  The   opposition   I   am  speaking  of  is   not  primarily  between  men   and 

I  men,  simply  considered,  but  between  the  spirit  of  the  world  and  the  Spirit 
that  is  of  God,  and  thci  efore  the  manifestation  of  each  will  be  in  mutual  pro- 
portion. The  Lord  Jesus  himself  sustained  the  fiercest  contradiction  of  sin- 
ners, because  his  character  was  superlatively  excellent :  his  apostles,  though 
far  inferior  to  their  Lord,  expressed  so  much  of  his  temper  and  conduct,  that 
they  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  in  the  next  degree  to  him  :  As  he 
was,  so  were  they  in  the  world.  St.  Paul,  who  laboured  more  abundantly 
than  his  brethren,  experienced  a  larger  share  of  dishonour  and  ill  treatment. 
Though  educated  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  and  no  stranger  to  Grecian  lite- 
rature, when  he  shewed  himself  determined  to  know  nothing  but  Jesus,  and 
to  glory  only  in  his  cross,  he  was  accounted  by  Jew  and  Gentile,  as  the 
filth  and  off-scouring  of  all  things ;  and  thus  it  will  hold  universally.  If, 
therefore,  any  who  sincerely  espouse  the  gospel,  meet  with  little  disturbance 

(or  censure,  it  is  not  because  the  carnal  mind  is  better  reconciled  to  the  truth 
than  formerly  in  the  apostles   days,   Dut  because  our  zeal,  faith,  and  activity 
are  so  much  inferior  to  theirs,  and  our  conduct  more  conformable  to  the  pre 
vailing  taste  around  us. 

4.  I  confess,  that  (as  our  Saviour  has  taught  us  to  expect  by  the  parable  ot 
the  tares)  revivals  of  religion  have  been  generally  attended  with  some  inci- 
dental offences,  and  counterfeited  by  many  false  appearances.  It  has  been 
so  in  times  past  ;  it  is  so  at  present ;  and  we  are  far  from  justifying  every 
thing,  and  in  every  degree,  that  the  world  is  ready  to  condemn.  However, 
we  cannot  but  com;  lain  of  a  want  of  candour  and  ingenuousness  in  this  re- 
spect also.  Many  who  bring  loud  charges  against  what  is  irregular  and 
blameable,  are  evidently  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  prejudice  and  alarm  weak 
minds.  They  do  not  confine  their  reproof  to  what  is  erroneous  and  unscrip- 
tural,  but  endeavour,  by  ambiguous  expressions,  invidious  names,  and  indis- 
criminate censures,  to  obscure  the  state  of  the  question,  and  to  brand  error 
and  truth  with  the  same  mark  of  infamy  :  they  either  cannot,  or  will  not  dis- 
tinguish between  evangelical  principles  and  the  abuse  of  them  ;  and  when 


4,20  INTRODUCTION. 

the  distinction  has  heen  pointed  out  to  them  again  and  again,  they  refuse  at 
tention,  and  repeat  the  same  stale  misrepresentations  which  they  know  have 
been  often  refuted :  they  will  not  allow  a  grain  for  infirmity  or  inadvertence 
in  those  whom  they  oppose,  while  they  demand  the  largest  concessions  for 
themselves  and  their  adherents  :  they  expect  strict  demonstrations  from  others, 
while,  in  their  own  cause,  they  are  not  ashamed  to  produce  slanders  for  proofs, 
and  jests  for  arguments  : — thus  they  triumph  without  a  victory,  and  decide, 
ex  cathedra,  without  so  much  as  entering  upon  the  merits  of  the  cause.  These 
methods,  however  successful,  are  not  new  inventions  :  by  such  arts  and  arms 
as  these,  Christianity  was  opposed  from  its  first  appearance :  in  this  way  Lu- 
cian,  Celsus,  and  Julian  employed  their  talents,  and  made  themselves  famous 
to  future  times. 

I  judge  it  therefore  a  seasonable  undertaking  to  attempt  the  apology  of 
Evangelical  Christianity,  and  to  obviate  the  sophistry  and  calumnies  which 
have  been  published  against  it;  and  this  I  hope  to  do,  without  engaging  in 
any  controversy,  by  a  plain  enumeration  of  facts.  I  propose  to  give  a  brief 
delineation  of  Ecclesiastical  History  from  our  Saviour's  time,  and,  that  the 
reader  may  know  what  to  expect,  I  shall  here  subjoin  the  principal  points  I 
have  in  view. 

1.  I  shall  consider  the  genius  and  characteristic  marks  of  the  gospel  which 
Jesus  taught,  and  shew  that,  so  long  as  this  gospel  was  maintained  in  its  pu- 
rity, it  neither  admitted  or  found  a  neutrality,  but  that  all  who  were  not 
partakers  of  its  benefits  were  exceedingly  enraged  against  it.  I  shall  make  it 
appear  that  the  same  objections  which  have  attended  any  reformations  in  later 
ages,  were  equally  strong  against  Christianity,  as  taught  by  Christ  and  his  first 
disciples,  and  that  the  offences  and  irregularities  which  have  been  known  to 
attend  a  revival  of  evangelical  doctrine  in  our  time,  were  prevalent,  to  a  con- 
siderable  degree,  under  the  preaching  and  inspection  of  the  apostles. 

2.  When  I  come  to  the  lives  and  conduct  of  those  called  the  Fathers,  whose 
names  are  held  in  ignorant  admiration  by  thousands,  I  shall  prove,  on  the  one 
hand,  that  the  doctrines  for  which  the  fathers  were  truly  commendable,  and 
by  which  many  were  enabled  to  seal  their  profession  with  their  blood,  were 
the  same  which  are  now  branded  with  the  epithets  of  absurd  and  enthusiastic; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  fathers,  however  venerable,  were  men  like 
ourselves,  subject  to  mistakes  and  infirmities,  and  began  very  soon  to  depart 
from  the  purity  and  simplicity  of  the  gospel. 

3.  The  progress  of  our  history  will  manifest  that  the  accession  of  wealth 
and  power  to  the  christian  profession  proved  greatly  detrimental  to  the  faith, 
discipline,  and  manners  of  the  churches  ;  so  that,  after  the  emperors  publicly 
espoused  the  cause  of  Christ,  the  power  and  beauty  of  the  gospel  was  gra- 
dually eclipsed.  Yet,  in  the  most  degenerate  times,  God  had  a  spiritual 
people,  who,  though  partaking  in  some  degree  of  the  general  declension,  re- 
tained sc  much  of  the  primitive  truth  and  practice  as  to  incur  the  hatred  and 
persecution  of  (what  is  called)  the  christian  world. 

4.  I  shall  treat  of  the  means  and  instruments  by  which  the  Lord  supported 
and  revived  his  declining  cause  during  several  centuries: — 1.  In  the  valleys 
of  Piedmont,  Provence,  &c.  by  Berengarius,  Waldo,  and  others.  2.  In 
England,  by  Wickliff  and  his  followers  3.  In  Bohemia,  by  John  Huss  and 
Jerome  of  Prague.  4.  In  Germany,  by  Luther.  Here  I  shall  take  occasion 
to  observe,  (1.)  That  these  successive  reformations  were  all  projected  and  exe- 
cuted, so  far  as  God  was  pleased  to  give  success,  upon  the  same  principles 
which  are  now  so  industriously  exploded  by  many  who  would  be  thought 
champions  of  the  Protestant  faith  ;  and  (2.)  That  Luther's  reformation,  the  most 
extensive  and  successful,  and  of  which  we  have  the  best  accounts,  was  soon 


INTRODUCTION.  427 

followed  by  errors,  heresies,  and  a  numerous  train  of  abominations  (as  had 
been  the  case  with  primitive  Christianity)  which  the  Romanists,  in  imitation 
of  their  Pagan  predecessors,  joyfully  laid  to  the  charge  of  the  doctrine  which 
Luther  preached. 

5.  As  it  was  not  long  before  the  reformed  countries  needed  a  second  re 
formation,  I  shall  give  some  account  of  the  endeavours  of  many  good  men  in 
Germany  and  other  places  in  this  view,  their  principles,  success,  and  the 
treatment  they  met  with  from  those  who  ought  to  have  supported  them,  and 
then  I  shall  briefly  take  notice  of  the  similar  occurrences  in  our  own  country, 
from  the  end  of  Queen  Mary's  reign  to  the  present  time,  together  with  what 
has  been  most  remarkable  in  the  history  of  the  gospel  in  our  American  set- 
tlements. 

6.  I  shall  occasionally  consider  the  character  and  conduct  of  those  persons 
whom  God  has  honoured  with  eminent  usefulness,  in  the  different  periods  of 
his  church,  point  out  the  defects  in  their  plan,  and  the  mistakes  which,  through 
infirmity,  in  some  degree  blemished  their  undertakings. 

7.  Finally,  to  make  it  evident  that  the  spiritual  worshippers  of  God  have 
always  been  a  sect  everywhere  spoken  against,  I  shall  enumerate  some  of  the 
reproachful  names  that  have  been  successively  fixed  on  them,  as  the  mark  oi 
general  contempt  and  abhorrence,  such  as  Patarienes,  Lollards,  Huguenots, 
Gospellers,  Puritans,  Pietists,  &c. 

These  particulars  will  be  illustrated  in  the  course  of  our  history,  not  exactly 
in  the  order  here  laid  down,  but  as  the  series  of  the  narration  shall  require  or 
suggest.  I  shall  not  confine  myself  to  a  nice  uniformity  of  method,  or  a  dry 
detail  of  facts,  but  shall  endeavour  to  illustrate  and  apply  the  several  inci- 
dents to  the  use  and  edification  of  common  readers,  and  with  a  view  to  my 
primary  design,  which  is  (as  I  have  already  said)  to  vindicate  the  doctrines  of 
the  Reformation,  or  in  other  words,  the  main  doctrines  taught  in  the  Articles 
and  Homilies  of  the  Church  of  England,  from  those  unjust  and  disingenuous 
invectives,  which  are  every  day  cast  upon  them,  by  not  a  few  who  owe  all 
their  distinction  and  authority  to  their  having  solemnly  engaged  to  defend 
them. 

Whoever  considers  the  intricacy  and  variety  of  ecclesiastical  history,  and  that 
the  best  collections  of  that  sort  have  swelled  to  a  number  of  folios,  will  not 
expect  to  find  every  thing  that  might  have  deserved  a  place.  The  life  of  man 
would  hardly  suffice  to  furnish  a  work  of  this  sort  in  its  just  extent. 

I  must  content  myself  with  selecting  a  competent  number  of  the  most  au  • 
thentic  and  interesting  topics  from  the  voluminous  materials  already  publish- 
ed, but  which,  either  from  the  size  or  scarceness  of  the  books,  or  the  languages 
in  which  they  are  written,  are  little  more  known  to  the  generality  of  readers, 
than  if  they  had  never  appeared  in  print. 

I  shall  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  interfering  in  the  controversies  on  church- 
government  ;  reserving  to  myself,  and  willingly  leaving  to  others,  the  rights  of 
private  judgment,  the  just  privilege  of  Christians,  Protestants,  and  Britons. 

It  must  be  confessed,  that  the  bulk  of  ecclesiastical  history,  as  it  is  gene- 
rally understood,  is  little  more  than  a  history  of  what  the  passions,  prejudices, 
and  interested  views  of  men,  have  prompted  them  to  perpetrate,  under  the 
pretext  and  sanction  of  religion.  Enough  has  been  written  in  this  way  ;  curio- 
sity, nay,  malice  itself,  need  desire  no  more.  I  propose  to  open  a  more  plea- 
sing prospect ;  to  point  out,  by  a  long  succession  of  witnesses,  the  native  ten- 
dency, and  proper  influence  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  ;  to  produce  the  concur- 
ring suffrage  of  different  ages,  people,  and  languages,  in  favour  of  what 
the  wisdom  of  the  world  rejects  and  reviles  ;  to  bring  unanswerable  proofs, 
that  the  doctrine  of  grace  is  a  doctrine  according  to  godliness,  that  the  con- 


428  INTRODUCTION. 

straining  love  of  Christ  is  the  most  powerful  motive  to  obedience,  that  it  is  the 
property  of  true  faith  to  overcome  the  world,  and  that  the  true  church  and 
people  of  Christ  have  endured  his  cross  in  every  age.  The  enemy  has  thrust 
sore  at  them  that  they  might  fall,  but  the  Lord  has  been  their  refuge  and 
support ;  they  are  placed  upon  a  rock  that  cannot  be  shaken ;  they  are  kept 
(tp^ov^ovfuvoi),  guarded  and  garrisoned  by  the  power  of  God  ;  and  therefore  the 
gates  of  hell  have  not,  cannot,  shall  not,  prevail  against  them. 


Per  damna,  per  casdes,  ab  ipso 
Ducit  opes  animumque  ferro. 


Olney,  November,    1769. 


*»*  A  review  of  Ecclesiastical  History,  upon  the  plan  proposed  in  this  Introduction,  was  a 
subject  the  Author  had  very  much  at  heart ;  so  much  so,  that  he  had  begun  to  prepare  ma- 
terials, and  entered  some  little  way  upon  it  several  years  before  his  admission  into  the  mini- 
stry. From  the  extent,  however,  and  unforeseen  difficulties  of  the  undertaking,  as  well  as 
from  the  many  interruptions  he  met  with  in  the  discharge  of  his  professional  duties,  and  the 
occasional  occurrences  of  every  day,  he  had  proceeded  only  the  length  of  the  two  first  Books, 
when  he  relinquished  his  design,  and  afterwards  laid  it  entirely  aside.  However  mu-ch  the 
prosecution  of  this  subject  might  have  been  wished,  either  by  his  friends  or  the  public  at 
large,  it  is  presumed  the  omission  will  be  the  more  readily  excused,  when  it  is  considered, 
that  the  observations  made  with  respect  to  the  first  century,  seem  to  have  been  originally  in- 
tended, and  with  very  little  variation  will  be  found,  to  apply  to  every  succeeding  period. 


REVIEW 


OF 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


BOOK  I. 


OF  THE  FIRST  PERIOD  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


CHAP.   I. 

THE  WISDOM  AND  GOODNESS  OF  GOD  CONSPI- 
CUOUS IN  THE  PERIOD  ASSIGNED  FOR  CHRIST'S 
APPEARANCE.  ILLUSTRATED  BY  A  SUMMA- 
RY VIEW  OF  THE  STATE  OF  MANKIND,  BEFORE 
AND  AT  THE  TIME  OF  HIS  BIRTH. 

When  the  first  man  had  fallen  from  the  hap- 
piness and  perfection  of  his  creation,  had  ren- 
dered himself  corrupt  and  miserable,  and  was 
only  capable  of  transmitting  depravity  and 
misery  to  his  posterity,  the  goodness  of  God 
immediately  revealed  a  remedy  adequate  to 
his  distressed  situation.  The  Lord  Jesus 
was  promised  under  the  character  of  the  seed 
of  the  woman,  as  the  great  deliverer,  who 
should  repair  the  breach  of  sin,  and  retrieve 
the  ruin  of  human  nature.  From  that  hour, 
he  became  the  object  of  faith,  and  the  author 
of  salvation,  to  every  soul  that  aspired  to  com- 
munion with  God,  and  earnestly  sought  de- 
liverance from  guilt  and  wrath.  This  dis- 
covery of  a  Saviour  was,  in  the  first  ages, 
veiled  under  types  and  shadows ;  and,  like  the 
advancing  day,  became  brighter  and  brighter, 
as  the  time  of  his  manifestation  drew  near : 
but  it  was  always  sufficient  to  sustain  the  hopes, 
and  to  purify  the  hearts  of  the  true  worship- 
pers of  God.  That  the  patriarchs  and  pro- 
phets of  old  were,  in  this  sense,  Christians, 
that  is  to  say,  that  their  joy  and  trust  centred 
in  the  promised  Messiah,  and  that  the  faith, 
whereby  they  overcame  the  world,  was  the 
same  faith  in  the  same  Lord  with  ours,  is  un- 
answerably proved  by  St.  Paul  in  several  pas- 
sages (Rom.  iv. ;  Gal.  iii.  16,  17.);  particu- 
larly in  Heb.  xi.,  where  he  at  large  insists  on 


the  characters  of  Abel,  Enoch,  Noah,  Abra- 
ham, and  Moses,  to  illustrate  this  very  point. 

At  length,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  as  the  a- 
postle  speaks  (Gal.  iv.  4.),  the  time  marked 
out  by  the  ancient  prophecies,  the  time  to 
which  all  the  previous  dispensations  of  Divine 
Providence  had  an  express  reference  and  subor- 
dination, and  which  was  peculiarly  suited  to 
place  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God,  and  the 
truths  of  divine  revelation,  in  tfie  clearest  light; 
the  long-expected  Messiah  appeared  as  the 
surety  and  Saviour  of  sinners,  to  accomplish 
the  great  work  of  redemption.  For  these 
purposes,  he  was  born  of  a  virgin  of  the  family 
of  David,  at  the  town  of  Bethlehem,  as  the 
prophets  had  foretold.  This  great  event  took 
place  in  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  the  reign 
of  Augustus  Caesar,  computing  from  the  bat- 
tle of  Actium  ;  and,  according  to  the  most 
received  authorities  *,  almost  1920  years  from 
the  calling  of  Abraham,  and  about  4000  from 
the  creation. 

The  pride  and  vanity  of  man,  which  prompt 
him  to  cavil  with  his  Maker,  and  to  dispute 
when  he  ought  to  obey,  have  often  objected 
to  the  expedience  and  propriety  of  this  appoint- 
ment. It  has  been  asked,  If  Christ's  appear- 
ance was  so  absolutely  necessary,  why  was  it  so 
long  deferred?  Or,  if  mankind  could  do  with- 
out him  for  so  many  thousand  years,  why  not 
longer,  or  for  ever  ?  In  attempting  a  solution 
of  this  difficulty,  some  well-meaning  persons, 
from  a  too  earnest  desire  to  render  the  coun- 
sels of  God  more  acceptable  to  the  narrow  ap- 
prehensions of  unsanctified  reason,  have  given 
up  the  ground  they  ought  to  have  maintained, 

*  Bossuet.  Univ.  Hist.  Prideaux,  Connect, 


430 


STATE  OF  MANKIND 


BOOK   I 


and  made  such  concessions,  as  (if  extended 
to  their  just  consequence)  would  amount  to 
all  that  the  most  hardened  infidel  can  desire. 
The  most  direct  and  proper  answer  is  suggest- 
ed by  St.  Paul  (Rom.  ix.  20. )  on  a  similar  oc- 
casion, Who  art  thou,  O  man,  that  repliest 
against  God  ?  *  That  the  will  and  wisdom  of 
the  Creator  should  direct  and  limit  the  inquir- 
ies of  his  rational  creatures,  is  a  principle 
highly  consonant  to  right  reason  itself.  And 
there  can  hardly  be  a  stronger  proof  of  human 
depravity,  than  that  this  argument  is  so  gene- 
rally esteemed  inconclusive.  But  waving  this, 
a  sufficient  answer  may  be  made  from  the  pre- 
mises already  advanced. 

God  was  not  a  debtor  to  sinful  men.  He 
might  have  left  them  all  to  perish,  as  he  left 
the  sinning  angels,  without  the  least  impeach- 
ment of  his  goodness ;  but  his  mercy  inter- 
posed, and  he  spared  not  his  own  Son,  that 
sinners  might  be  saved  in  a  way  consistent 
with  his  perfections.  But  though,  in  com- 
passion to  us,  he  provided  the  means  of  sal- 
vation, we  cannot  wonder  that,  in  justice  to 
himself,  he  laid  the  plan  in  such  a  manner  as 
might  most  clearly  illustrate  the  riches  of  his 
own  grace,  and  most  effectually  humble  and 
silence  the  pardoned  offenders,  to  prevent  their 
boasting  and  trusting  in  themselves,  and  to 
give  them  the  most  affecting  views  of  his  un- 
merited goodness.  We  may  therefore  humbly 
conceive  one  reason  why  Christ  was  no  sooner 
manifested  in  the  flesh,  to  have  been,  that  the 
nature,  effects,  and  inveteracy  of  sin,  might  be 
more  evidently  known,  and  the  insufficiency 
of  every  other  means  of  relief  demonstrated 
by  the  universal  experience  of  many  ages. 

What  is  the  history  of  mankind  but  a  dif- 
fusive exemplification  of  the  scripture-doc- 
trines concerning  the  dreadful  nature  and  ef- 
fects of  sin,  and  the  desperate  wickedness  of 
the  heart  of  man  ?  We  are  accustomed  from 
our  infancy  to  call  evil  good  and  good  evil. 
We  acquire  an  early  prejudice  in  favour  of 
heroes,  conquerors,  and  philosophers.  But  if 
we  consider  the  facts  recorded  in  the  annals 
of  antiquity,  divested  from  the  false  glare  and 
studied  ornaments  with  which  the  vanity  of 
writers  has  disguised  them,  they  will  afford 
but  a  dark  and  melancholy  review.  The  spi- 
rit of  the  first-born  Cain  appears  to  have  in- 
fluenced the  whole  human  race.  The  peace 
of  nations,  cities,  and  families  has  been  con- 
tinually disturbed  by  the  bitter  effects  of  am- 
bition, avarice,  revenge,  cruelty,  and  lust. 
The  general  knowledge  of  God  was  soon  lost 
out  of  the  world  ;  and  when  his  fear  was  set 
aside,   the  restraints,   dictated  by  the  interests 

*  It  is  observable  in  this  passage,  that  the  apostle  fore- 
sees and  states  the  great  objection  which  would  be  made 
to  his  doctrine,  but  does  not  attempt  to  answer  it  any 
farther,  than  by  referring  all  to  the  will  of  him  who 
formed  the  whole  mass,  and  has  a  right  to  dispose  of  it 
Had  succeeding  writers  and  teachers  imitated  his  exam- 
ple, declared  the  plain  truth  in  plain  words,  and  avoid- 
ed vain  and  endless  reasonings,  how  many  offences  would 
have  been  prevented ! 


of  civil  society,  were  always  too  weak  to  pre- 
vent the  most  horrid  evils.  In  a  word,  the 
character  of  all  ages  and  countries  before  the 
coming  of  Christ  (a  few  excepted,  where  the 
light  of  revelation  was  afforded)  is  strongly, 
though  briefly,  drawn  by  St.  Paul : — Foolis't 
and  infatuated  to  the  highest  degree,  disobe- 
dient to  the  plainest  dictates  of  nature,  rea. 
son,  and  conscience,  enslaved*  to  divers  disho- 
nourable lusts  and  pleasures,  livivg  in  malice 
and  envy,  hateful  and  abominable  in  them- 
selves, and  incessantly  hating  and  worrying 
one  another,  Titus  iii.  3. 

It  would  be  more  easy  than  pleasant  to  make 
out  this  charge  by  a  long  induction  of  parti- 
culars ;  and,  without  having  recourse  to  the 
most  savage  and  uncultivated,  the  proof  might 
be  rested  on  the  character  of  the  two  most  ce- 
lebrated and  civilized  nations,  and  at  the  time 
of  their  greatest  refinement,  the  Greeks  and 
the  Romans.  St.  Paul  (Rom.  i.  21 — 32) 
has  given  us  the  result  of  their  boasted  im- 
provements in  arts  and  sciences,  in  war  and 
commerce,  in  philosophy  and  literature  ;  and 
he  says  no  more  than  is  abundantly  confirmed 
by  their  own  poets  and  historians,  f  Notwith- 
standing the  marks  and  fruits  of  fine  taste 
and  exalted  genius  which  were  found  amongst 
them,  they  were  habitually  abandoned  to  the 
grossest  vices.  Devoted  to  the  most  stupid 
idolatry,  they  worshipped  the  works  of  their 
own  hands,  nay,  erected  altars  to  their  follies 
and  passions.  Their  moral  characters  were 
answerable  to  their  principles.  Without  na- 
tural affection,  they  frequently  exposed  their 
helpless  infants  to  perish.  They  burned  with 
lusts,  not  to  be  named  without  horror,  and  this 
not  the  meaner  sort  only,  or  in  secret,  but  some 
of  their  finest  spirits  and  most  admired  writers^ 
were  sunk  so  low  as  to  glory  in  their  shame, 
and  openly  avow  themselves  the  disgrace  of 
humanity.  In  their  public  concerns,  notwith- 
standing their  specious  pretences,  they  were 
covenant-breakers,  implacable,  unmerciful,  and 
unjust.  Guilty  of  the  severest  oppression, 
while  they  boasted  highly  of  equity  and  mo- 
deration,§  as  was  particularly  manifested  on 
the  destruction  of  Carthage  and  Corinth  ;  two 
memorable  instances  of  the  spirit  of  a  govern- 
ment so  undeservedly  admired  in  after  times. 
And  as  the  Roman  power,  so  the  Grecian  elo- 
quence, was  perverted  to  the  worst  purposes, 

*  Enslaved.  So  the  original  term  may  be  emphati- 
cally rendered — At  the  controul  of  various  and  opposite 
passions,  hurried  about  by  them  all  in  their  turns,  and 
incapable  of  resisting  or  refusing  the  motions  of  any. 

■f-  An  affecting  comment  on  this  passage  might  be  col- 
lected from  Horace,  Juvenal,  Sallust,  and  Suetonius. 

t  See  Virgil,  Eclog.  2. 

^  See  Acts  xxvii.  42.  The  soldiers  would  have  killed 
all  the  prisoners,  right  or  wrong,  rather  than  one  of 
them  should  have  a  possibility  of  escaping ;  and  in  this, 
without  doubt,  they  consulted  their  own  safety,  and  the 
spirit  of  their  laws.  Why,  then,  were  the  Romans  so 
much  admired?  Could  there  be  a  greater  proof  o»' 
cruelty  and  injustice  found  amongst  the  most  barbarous 
nations,  than  to  leave  prisoners,  who  might  possibly  be 
innocent,  exposed  to  the  wanton  caprice  of  their  keep- 
er*? 


CHAP.  I. 


AT  THE  INCARNATION. 


431 


— to  palliate  crimes,  to  consecrate  folly,  and 
to  recommend  falsehood  under  the  guise  and 
semblance  of  truth. 

Such  was  the  character  of  the  people  re- 
puted the  wisest  and  the  best  of  the  heathens, 
and  particularly  so  at  the  birth  of  Christ,  when 
the  Roman  empire  was  at  the  summit  of  au- 
thority and   splendour.       A  long  experience 
had   shewn   the  general  depravity  to  be  not 
only  inveterate,  but  incurable.       For  during 
several  preceding  ages,  a  reformation  had  been 
desired  and  attempted.    The  principal  leaders 
in  tliis  commendable  design  were   called  phi- 
losophers, and  many  of  their  writings  are  still 
extant.      It  must  be  acknowledged  that  some 
of  them  had  a  faint  view  of  several  important 
truths  ;  but  as  they  neither  knew  the   cause 
and  extent  of  the   disorder,   nor  the  only  ef- 
fectual remedy,  they  met  with  little  success. 
Their  schemes  were  various,  inconsistent,  and 
even  opposite,  and  each  party  more  successful 
in  opposing  the  fallacy  of  other  sects  than  in 
maintaining  their  own.     Those  who  came  near- 
est the  truth,  and  were  in  earnest  to  promote 
it,  were  very  few.      Even  these  were  ignorant 
of  some  things  absolutely  necessary  to  the  at- 
tainment of  the  desired  end.      The  best  of 
them  were  restrained  by  the  fear  of  men  and 
a  regard  to  established  customs.      What  they 
could  and  did  propound,  they  had  no  suffi- 
cient authority  or  influence  to  impress  upon 
the  consciences  of  men.     And  if,  in  a  few  in- 
stances,  they  seemed  to   succeed,   the  advan- 
tage was  only  imaginary.      Where  they  pre- 
vailed on  any  to  relinquishintemperan.ee,  they 
made  them  full  amends  by   gratifying  their 
pride.      The  business    passed   from   hand   to 
hand,  from  sect  to  sect,    but  all  to  no  pur- 
pose.     After  innumerable  disputations,    and 
volumes  concerning   the  supreme    good,  the 
beauty  of  virtue,    the   fitness  of  things,   and 
other  high-sounding  topics,   they  left  matters 
as  bad  or  worse  than  they  found  them.    They 
could  not  effectually  inculcate  their  doctrine 
upon  a  single  village  or  family.      Nay,  they 
were  but  half  persuaded  themselves,  and  could 
not  act  up  to  their  own  principles,*  when  they 
most  needed  their  support. 

A  still  more  affecting  view  of  the  degene- 
racy of  human  nature  we  have  in  the  history 
of  the  Israelites,  whom  God  was  pleased  to  set 
apart  from  the  rest  of  mankind,  for  several 
important  purposes.  He  revealed  himself  to 
this  people  when  they  were  groaning  under  a 
heavy  bondage  in  Egypt,  from  which  they  had 
neither  spirit  nor  power  to  deliver  themselves  • 
he  freed  them  from  their  captivity  by  a  series 
of  illustrious  miracles ;  he  led  them  through 
the  sea  and  the  desert ;  he  honoured  them 
with  the  symbols  of  his  immediate  presence ; 
was  a  wall  of  fire  round  about  them,  and  a 
glory  in  the  midst  of  them  ;  he  spoke  to  them 
with  an  audible  voice,  and  fed  them  with  manna 

*  Witness  the  prevarication  of  Socrates,  and  the  ir- 
resolution of  Cicero,  towards  th"*  close  of  their  lives. 


from  heaven ;  he  put  them  in  possession  of  a 
good  land,  and  fought  against  all  their  enemies. 
Might  it  not  have  been  expected  that  a  people 
so  highly  favoured  and  honoured,  should  have 
been  obedient  and  thankful  ?  Some  of  them 
were  so  ;  his  grace  always  preserved  a  spiritual 
people  amongst  them,  whose  faith  in  the  Mes- 
siah taught  them  the  true  meaning  of  the  Levi- 
tical  law,  and  inspired  them  with  zeal  and  sin 
cerity  in  the  service  of  God.  But  the  bulk  of 
the  nation  was  always  refractory  and  disobe- 
dient. While  in  the  wilderness  they  mur- 
mured against  the  Lord  upon  e.very  new  dif- 
ficulty. Within  a  few  days  after  the  law  had 
been  delivered  in  flames  and  thunder  from  the 
top  of  Sinai,  they  formed  a  molten  calf  to 
worship,  and  would  have  made  a  captain  who 
might  lead  them  back  to  Egypt.  They  de- 
spised the  good  land,  therefore  their  carcases 
fell*  in  the  wilderness,  1  Cor.  x.  5.  Their 
posterity  retained  the  same  spirit ;  they  learned 
the  ways  of  the  Heathen,  whom  the  Lord  cast 
out  before  them  ;  they  adopted  every  idola- 
trous practice  ;  they  transgressed  every  divine 
command.  During  a  long  succession  of  warn- 
ings, chastisements,  and  deliverances,  they  be- 
came worse  and  worse,  so  that,  in  Jeremiah's 
time,  they  equalled  or  exceeded  the  Heathens 
around  them  in  ignorance  and  wickedness. 
They  mocked  the  messengers  of  God,  de- 
spised his  words,  and  misused  his  prophets, 
till  his  wrath  arose  against  them,  and  there 
was  no  remedy.  At  length  their  land  was 
laid  waste,  Jerusalem  burnt,  the  greater  part 
of  the  people  destroyed,  and  the  remainder 
carried  captives  into  Chaldea. 

Upon  their  return  from  captivity,  they 
seemed  for  a  little  while  to  retain  a  sense  of 
their  duty  and  of  the  judgments  they  hau 
suffered.  But  all  was  soon  forgot.  Their 
wickedness  now  put  on  a  new  form,  and  dis- 
covered the  evil  of  the  heart  of  man  in  a  new 
point  of  view.  They  were  no  longer  prone 
to  idolatry.  They  avoided  the  most  distant 
appearance  of  it  with  scrupulous  exactness, 
and  professed  the  highest  attachment  to  God. 
They  boasted  themselves  in  his  law ;  and,  from 
a  presumption  that  they  were  his  peculiar 
people,  they  despised  and  hated  the  rest  of 
mankind.  It  is  not  our  present  concern  closely 
to  follow  their  history.  Let  it  suffice  to  say 
that,  by  substituting  a  regard  to  the  letter  of 
the  law  in  the  place  of  spiritual  obedience, 
and  by  presuming  to  multiply  their  own  in- 
ventions and  traditions,-}-  and  to  hold  them  no 

*  They  were  overthrown  (x.a.iKrT^n" '«►).  they  fell 
in  heaps,  like  grass  before  the  scythe,  in  the  wilderness ; 
and  this,  after  all  the  great  things  they  had  seen  and 
been  partakers  of.  Of  the  many  hundred  thousands 
who  were  above  twenty  years  old  when  they  were  deli- 
vered from  Egypt,  only  two  persons  were  spared  to  en- 
ter the  promised  land  ;  a  striking  admonition  to  us  not 
to  rest  in  the  participation  of  external  privileges  of  any 
kind,  for  these  people  had  seen  the  Lord's  wonders  at 
the  Ked-Sea,  had  rejoiced  in  the  destruction  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, and  been  fed  with  manna  from  heaven. 

+  See  one  instance,  Matth.  xv.  5.  The  expression  is 
«atKer  obscure,  but  the  sense  is :  "  What  you  might  ex 


STATE  OF  MANKIND,  &C. 


432 

less  binding  than  the  positive  commands  of 
God ;  they,  by  degrees,  attained  to  a  pitch  of 
impiety  unknown  to  former  times,  and  which 
was  so  much  the  more  offensive  and  abomi- 
nable, as  it  was  covered  with  the  mask  of  re- 
ligion, and  accompanied  with  a  claim  to  su- 
perior sanctity. 

Pride,  hypocrisy,  and  interest,  divided  them 
into  sects ;  and  the  contests  of  each  party  for 
superiority  threw  the  state  into  frequent  com- 
motions. Their  intrigues  at  length  brought 
upon  them  the  Roman  power.  The  city  was 
taken  by  Pompey  ;  and  though  they  after- 
wards retained  a  shadow  of  liberty,  their  go- 
vernment was  determined  from  that  time  by 
the  will  of  the  conquerors.  At  length  He- 
rod, a  foreigner,  obtained  it.  In  his  reign 
Christ  was  born. 

Thus  the  state  of  mankind,  before  the  coming 
of  Christ,  proved,  with  the  fullest  evidence,  the 
necessity  of  his  interposition.  And,  in  the  mean 
time,  the  world  had  not  been  left  utterly  help- 
less and  hopeless.  His  future  advent  had  been 
revealed  from  the  beginning ;  and  by  faith  in 
that  revelation  a  remnant  had  subsisted  in 
every  age,  who  had  triumphed  over  the  gene- 
ral evil,  and  maintained  the  cause  of  God  and 
truth.  It  was  not  necessary  to  the  salvation 
of  these,  that  he  should  have  been  manifested 
sooner ;  for  they  beheld  his  day  afar  off,  and 
rejoiced  in  his  name.  With  respect  to  others, 
destitute  of  divine  faith,  his  incarnation  would 
have  had  the  same  effect  at  any  period  as  it 
had  on  multitudes  who  actually  saw  him  in 
the  flesh,  but,  offended  with  the  meanness  of 
his  circumstances,  and  the  great  honours  he 
vindicated  to  himself,  rejected  him  with  dis- 
dain. 

But  farther,  the  late  appearance  of  Christ 
in  the  world  gave  room  for  the  full  accom- 
plishment of  the  prophecies  concerning  him, 
which  had  been  repeated  at  different  times, 
with  increasing  clearness  and  precision ;  inso- 
much that  the  time,  place,  and  every  circum- 
stance of  his  birth,  life,  and  death,  had  been 
distinctly  foretold.  Thus  the  truth  and  au- 
thority of  the  Old  Testament  were  confirmed, 
and  the  wisdom,  power,  ,and  providence  of 
God,  overruling  and  directing  the  contingen- 
cies of  human  affairs,  to  produce  this  grand 
event  in  its  determinate  period,  were  display- 
ed to  the  highest  advantage.  And  as  the  state 
of  the  moral  world  made  his  presence  highly 
necessary,  so  God,  in  due  time,  disposed  the 
political  state  of  mankind  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  prepare  the  way  for  a  speedy  and  ge- 
neral publication  of  the  gospel  through  the 
world. 

pect  from  me  for  your  support,  I  have  put  out  of  my 
own  power ;  it  is  devoted  to  the  service  of  God  and  the 
temple."  And  teachers  allowed  this  to  be  a  legal  ex- 
emption. Any  man  who  would  pay  handsomely  to  the 
priests  and  the  temple,  might  treat  his  parents  as  he 
pleased.  Thus  they  set  aside  the  express  command  of 
God,  by  their  own  authority,  and  for  their  own  advan- 
tage. The  same  dispensing,  commuting,  engrossing  spi- 
rit has  too  often  appeared  in  the  christian  church 


BOOK   I. 


It  would  be  pleasing  to  consider  how  the 
rise  and  fall  and  change  of  empires  were  made 
successively  subservient  to  introduce  the  king- 
dom of  Jesus.  But  this  would  lead  me  be- 
yond my  present  bounds.  I  can  only  just 
hint  at  two  or  three  events,  which  had  a  more 
general  influence.  The  first  is,  The  rapid 
progress  of  Alexander,  whose  extensive  con- 
quests, divided  amongst  his  successors,  laid 
the  foundation  of  four  powerful  monarchies, 
and  opened  an  intercourse  between  countries 
till  then  unknown  to  each  other.  By  this 
means  the  Greek  tongue  became  familiar  and 
common  to  many  nations;  and,  soon  after, 
the  Hebrew  scriptures  were  translated  into 
that  language,  and  the  prophecies  concerning 
the  Messiah  were  laid  open  to  the  Gentiles. 
To  this  may  be  added  the  several  dispersions 
of  the  Jews,  who,  upon  various  occasions,  had 
been  settled  in  almost  every  considerable  city 
under  the  heathen  governments.  By  their 
traditions  and  prophecies,  imperfectly  under- 
stood, a  general  expectation  had  been  raised 
of  some  extraordinary  deliverer,  who  would 
shortly  appear.  Lastly,  by  the  growth  of  the 
Roman  empire,  many  nations  and  people,  who 
were  before  acquainted  by  means  of  one  com- 
mon language,  became  more  closely  united 
under  one  dominion.  Every  province  had  a 
necessary  connection  with  Rome,  and  Rome 
was  the  centre  and  resort  of  the  greatest  part 
of  the  then  habitable  world. 

As  to  the  Jews,  many  things  concurred  to 
animate  their  wishes  and  expectations  of  the 
Messiah's  approach.  The  prophecies  were  in 
their  hands.  Many  of  their  wise  men  were,, 
apprised,  that  the  term  of  seventy  weeks,  spo- 
ken of  by  Daniel,  was  drawing  to  a  period. 
The  sceptre  seemed  departing  from  Judah  : 
they  groaned  under  a  foreign  yoke,  from  which 
they  vainly  imagined  the  Messiah  would  set 
them  free,  and  give  them,  in  their  turn,  a 
temporal  dominion  over  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Though  this  mistake  prompted  them 
to  reject  Christ,  when  he  preached  a  deliver- 
ance unsuitable  to  their  worldly  notions,  yet 
it  made  them  solicitous  and  eager  for  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  person  on  whom  their  hopes 
were  fixed.  A  few  amongst  them,  however, 
better  instructed  in  the  true  meaning  of  the 
prophecies,  were  secretly  waiting  in  the  exer- 
cises of  faith  and  prayer  for  the  consolation  of 
Israel,   Luke,  ii.  3. 

From  this  general  view  of  the  moral  and 
political  state  of  mankind,  and  the  leading 
designs  of  divine  revelation  and  providence, 
previous  to  the  b'rth  of  Christ,  we  may  con- 
clude, that  the  tin.e  fixed  on,  from  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  for  his  actual  exhi- 
bition amongst  men,  was  not  an  arbitrary,  but 
a  wise  and  gracious  appointment ;  a  determi- 
nation admirably  suited  to  place  the  most  im- 
portant truths  in  the  strongest  light.  In  this 
way  the  depravity,  misery,  and  helplessness 
of  man    the  mercy  of  God,  and  the  truth  of 


CHAP.   II. 


CHARACTER  OF 


the  scriptures,  were  unquestionably  proved  to 
all  succeeding  times.  The  necessity  of  a  Sa- 
viour was  felt  and  acknowledged ;  and  the 
suitableness,  all-sufficiency,  and  condescen- 
sion of  Jesus,  when  he  undertook  and  accom- 
plished the  great  designs  in  which  his  love 
engaged  him,  were  more  strongly  illustrated 
by  the  preceding  contrast.  He  knew  the 
whole  human  race  were  sinners,  rebels,  ene- 
mies against  God.  He  knew  the  terms,  the 
price  of  our  redemption,  that  he  must  obey, 
suffer,  weep,  and  die  :  Yet  he  came.  He 
emptied  himself  of  his  glory  and  honour,  and 
took  on  him  the  form  of  a  servant,  to  bring 
the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  to  men.  In  ef- 
fect, the  gospel  of  Christ  soon  appeared  to  be 
the  great  desideratum,  and  completely  redress- 
ed the  evils  which  philosophy  had  given  up  as 
desperate.  The  genius  and  characteristic 
marks  of  this  gospel  will  be  considered  in  the 
following  chapter. 


CHAP.  II. 

THE  CHARACTER  AND  GENIUS    OF   THE  GOSPEL, 
AS  TAUGHT  AND  EXEMPLIFIED  BY  CHRIST. 

A  SUCCINCT  history  of  the  life  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  is  no  part  of  our  plan.  This  the  in- 
spired evangelists  have  performed  with  the 
highest  advantage  and  authority  ;  and  their 
writings  (through  the  mercy  of  God)  are  ge- 
nerally known  and  read  in  our  own  tongue. 
It  will  be  sufficient  for  me  to  select  a  few 
passages  from  them,  to  explain  and  confirm 
the  several  points  I  have  proposed  to  treat  of 
in  this  book,  as  principles  whereon  to  ground 
our  observations  on  the  spirit  and  conduct  of 
after-times. 

At  present  I  propose  to  state  the  true  cha- 
racter and  genius  of  his  doctrine.  This  may 
seem  a  digression  from  my  main  design.  But 
as  I  shall  often  have  occasion  to  speak  of  the 
gospel,  and  the  opposition  it  has  met  with,  it 
will  not  be  improper,  in  the  first  place,  to  ex- 
hibit a  general  idea  of  .what  we  mean  by  the 
gospel,  especially  as  the  professed  followers  of 
Christ  have  been,  and  still  are,  not  a  little  di- 
vided upon  the  point. 

We  may  describe  the  gospel  to  be — "  A 
divine  revelation  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ, 
discovering  the  misery  of  fallen  man  by  sin, 
ind  the  means  of  his  complete  recovery  by 
the  free  grace  of  God,  through  faith,  unto  ho- 
liness and  happiness."  The  explanation  and 
proof  of  these  particulars,  from  our  Lord's 
express  declarations,  and  the  tenor  of  his  con- 
duct, will  sufficiently  point  out  the  principal 
marks  and  characters  of  his  gospel.  But,  be- 
fore we  enter  upon  this,  two  things  may  be 
premised 

1.  Though  I  confine  myself  to  the  writings 
of  the  evangelists  in  this  disquisition,  yet  it 


THE  GSOPEL,   &C.  433 

should  be  remembered,  that  whilst  our  Lord 
was  visibly  conversant  with  men,  he  did  not 
ordinarily  discover  the  whole  system  of  bis  doc- 
trine in  express  terms.  He  spoke  to  themul 
titude,  for  the  most  part,  in  parables  (Matth. 
xiii.  10,  11.),  and  was  not  forward  to  pro- 
claim himself  the  Messiah  upon  every  occa- 
sion, Matth  xvi.  20.  And  even  in  his  more 
intimate  discourses  with  his  disciples  (John, 
xvi.  12 — 25.),  he  taught  them  with  a  wise  and 
gracious  accommodation  to  their  circumstances 
and  weakness.  *  The  full  explanation  of  many 
things  he  referred  to  the  time  when,  having 
accomplished  his  wish,  and  returned  victo- 
rious and  triumphant  into  heaven,  he  should 
send  down,  according  to  his  promise,  the  Holy 
Spirit,  to  enlighten  and  comfort  his  people. 
Then,  and  not  before,  they  fully  understood 
the  meaning  of  all  they  had  seen  and  heard 
while  he  was  with  them,  Mark,  ix.  10  j  John 
ii.  22. 

2.  The  doctrine  of  tie  gospel  is  not  like  a 
mathematical  problem,  which  conveys  pre- 
cisely the  same  degree  of  truth  and  cer- 
tainty to  every  one  that  understands  the  terms. 
If  so,  all  believers  would  be  equally  enlight- 
ened, who  enjoy  the  common  privilege  of  the 
written  word.  But  there  is,  in  fact,  an  amaz- 
ing variety  in  this  respect.  Where  this  doc- 
trine is  truly  understood,  though  in  the  lowest 
degree,  it  inspires  the  soul  with  a  supreme 
love  to  Jesus,  and  a  trust  in  him  for  salva- 
tion. And  those  who  understand  it  best,  have 
not  yet  received  all  the  evidence,  comfort,  and 
influence  from  it,  which  it  is  capable  of  af- 
fording. The  riches  of  grace  and  wisdom  in 
this  dispensation  are  unsearchable  (Eph.  iii. 
8.)  and  immense,  imparted  in  different  mea- 
sures, and  increased  from  time  to  time,  ac- 
cording to  the  good  pleasure  (1  Cor.  xii.  11.) 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  who  furnishes  his  people 
with  light  and  strength  proportioned  to  their 
exigencies,  situation,  and  the  services  or  trials 
he  calls  them  to  ;  not  without  respect  to  the 
degree  of  their  diligence,  obedience,  and  sim- 
plicity, in  waiting  upon  him.  For  these  rea- 
sons, it  is  not  to  be  expected,  that  every  one 
who  serves  God  with  his  spirit  in  the  gospel 
of  his  Son,  should  have  exactly  the  same  views 
of  this  sublime  subject.  Neither  do  I  pre- 
sume to  think  myself  capable  of  displaying  it 
in  its  full  light  and  beauty.  I  desie,  there- 
fore, to  write  with  candour,  and  entreat  a  can- 
did perusal,  as  conscious  of  my  infirmities, 
and  the  imperfections  necessarily  attending 
the  human  mind,  in  this  present  state  of 
things.      Yet  I  am  not  afraid  to  express  my 

*  Our  Lord  taught  his  disciples  gradually  ;  their  know- 
ledge advanced  as  the  light,  or  (according  to  his  own 
beautiful  simile)  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear ;  first  green 
corn,  then  fully  ripe.  He  considered  their  difficulties, 
he  made  allowances  for  their  infirmities.  It  is  to  be 
wished  his  example  was  followed  by  all  who  teach  in  his 
name.  Some  are  so  hasty,  they  expect  to  teach  to  others, 
in  one  discourse  or  interview,  "all  that  they  have  attain- 
ed themselves  by  the  study  and  experience  of  man> 
years. 

2M 


434 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


just  confidence,  that  I  shall  advance  no  prin- 
ciple, as  a  part  of  the  gospel-doctrine,  which 
does  not  assuredly  belong  to  it. 

I  now  proceed  to  explain  and  confirm  the 
definition  I  have  given  of  the  gospel. 

1.  It  is  a  divine  revelation,  a  discovery  of 
truths,  which,  though  of  the  highest  moment, 
could  have  been  known  no  other  way.  That 
God  will  forgive  sin,  is  beyond  the  power  of 
unassisted  reason  to  prove.  The  prevailing 
custom  of  sacrifices,  is  indeed  founded  upon 
such  a  hope  ;  but  this  practice  was,  without 
doubt,  derived  from  revelation,  for  reason 
could  not  have  suggested  such  an  expedient. 
And  those  among  the  Heathens,  whether 
priests  or  philosophers,  who  spoke  of  forgive- 
ness of  sin,  knew  but  little  what  sin  was.  Re- 
velation was  needful  to  discover  sin,  in  its 
true  nature  and  demerit ;  and  where  this  is 
known,  the  awakened  and  wounded  conscience 
is  not  easily  persuaded,  that  a  just  and  holy 
God  will  pardon  iniquity ;  so  likewise  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  after  all  the  fine 
things  said  upon  the  subject,  remained  a  pro- 
blematical point  among  the  Heathens.  Their 
best  arguments,  though  conclusive  to  us,  were 
not  so  to  themselves.  When  they  laid  aside 
their  books,  and  returned  to  the  common  af- 
fairs of  life,  they  forgot  the  force  of  their  own 
demonstrations.*  But  the  gospel  of  Christ  is 
an  express,  complete,  and  infallible  revelation, 
as  he  himself  often  assured  his  hearers,  John 
vii.  16.  and  viii.  26. 

And  as  the  subject-matter  of  the  gospel 
contained  in  the  New  Testamant  is  a  revela- 
tion from  God,  so  it  is  only  by  a  divine  reve- 
lation, that  what  is  there  read  or  heard,  can 
be  truly  understood.  This  is  an  offensive 
assertion,  but  must  not  be  omitted  when  the 
question  is  concerning  the  marks  and  charac- 
ters of  Christ's  doctrine.  Thus  when  Peter 
made  that  noble  confession,  "  Thou  art  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God,"  our  Lord  an- 
swers, "  Blessed  art  thou  Simon,  for  flesh 
and  blood  hath  not  revealed  this  to  thee,  but 
my  Father  which  is  in  heaven,"  Matth.  xvi. 
16,  17.  If  Peter  could  read,  and  had  the 
scriptures  to  peruse,  these  were  advantages 
derived  from  flesh  and  blood,  from  his  birth, 
parents,  and  teachers;  advantages  which  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  our  Lord's  most  inve- 
terate enemies,  enjoyed  in  common  with  him. 
The  difference  lay  in  a  revelation  of  the  truth 
to  his  heart.  As  it  is  said  in  another  place, 
"  Thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise 
and  prudent,  and  revealed  them  unto  babes."+ 

2.  It  is  a  revelation  in  the  person  of  Jesus 

*  Cicero  frankly  confesses  this  :  "  Nescio  quomodo, 
dum  lego,  assentior  ;  cum  posui  librum,  et  mecum  ipse 
de  immortalitate  animorum  coepi  cogitare,  assentio  om- 
nis  ilia  elabitur."     Tuse.  Qaest.  lib.  1. 

f  That  babes  should  be  admitted  to  this  knowledge, 
and  express  a  certainty;  where  the  wise  are  all  perplexity 
and  darkness,  is  extremely  mortifying  to  human  pride. 
But  are  not  these  the  words  of  Christ  ?  How  arrogant, 
how  dangerous  must  it  be  to  be  displeased  with  that 
dispensation  at  which  he  rejoiccdl 


BOOK   1 

Christ.  As  a  revela  ion,  it  stands  distinguish- 
ed from  all  false  religions  ;  and  as  revealed  in 
the  person  of  Jesus,  it  is  distinguished  from 
all  former  dispensations  of  the  true  God, 
who,  in  time  past,  had  spoken  by  the  pro- 
phets, but  was  pleased  in  those  last  days  to 
speak  unto  us  by  his  Son.  The  law  was 
given  by  Moses,  both  to  enforce  the  necessity 
of  an  universal  sinless  obedience,  and  to  point 
out  the  efficacy  of  a  better  Mediator ;  but 
grace  and  truth,  grace  answerable  to  the  sin- 
ner's guilt  and  misery,  and  truth,  and  the 
full  accomplishment  of  all  its  typical  services, 
came  by  Jesus  Christ.  All  the  grand  pecu- 
liarities of  the  gospel,  centre  in  this  point,  the 
constitution  of  the  person  of  Christ,  Col.  ii. 
3,  9.  ;  John  xvii.  3.  In  the  knowledge  of 
him  standeth  our  eternal  life.  And  though 
our  Lord,  on  some  occasions,  refused  to  an- 
swer the  captious  questions  of  his  enemies, 
and  expressed  himself  so  as  to  leave  his  hear- 
ers in  suspense,  yet  at  other  times,  he  clearly 
asserted  his  own  just  rights  and  honours,  and 
proposed  himself  as  the  supreme  object  of 
love,  trust,  and  worship,  the  fountain  of  grace 
and  power,  the  resurrection,  life,  and  happi- 
ness of  all  believers. 

That  he  vindicated  to  himself  those  chara- 
cters and  prerogatives  which  incommunieably 
belong  to  God,  is  evident  from  the  texts  re- 
ferred to.  He  was  a  judge  of  the  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  heart  (Matth.  ix.  2,  3.): 
he  forgave  sins ;  he  adopted  the  style  of  Su- 
preme Majesty*  :  his  wonderful  works  were 
proof  of  an  almighty  power ;  he  restored 
sight,  health,  and  life,  with  a  word  (Matth. 
viii.  3,  9,  30.  ;  John  iv.  53.);  he  controuled 
the  elements  ( Matth.  xiv.  25.;  Mark  iv.  39.), 
and  shewed  himself  Lord  of  quick  and  dead, 
angels,  and  devils  (John  xi.  25,  44.  ;  Luke 
iv.  34.  ;  Matth.  iv.  II,  26,  53.  );  and  both 
his  enemies  and  his  friends  understood  his 
claim.  The  Jews  attempted  to  stone  him  for 
making  himself  equal  to  God  (John  v.  18.  ; 
x.  33.)  ;  and  he  received  from  Thomas  the 
most  express  and  solemn  ascription  of  deity 
that  can  be  offered  from  a  creature  to  his 
Creator,  John  xx.  28. 

Yet  all  this  glory  was  vailed.  The  Word 
was  made  flesh ;  he  assumed  the  human  na- 
ture, and  shared  in  all  its  infirmities,  sin  ex- 
cepted. He  was  born  of  a  woman  ;  he  pas- 
sed through  the  states  of  infancy,  childhood, 
and  youth,  and  gradually  increased  in  wis- 
dom and  stature,  Luke  ii.  52.  He  was  often, 
yea,  always  afflicted ;  he  endured  hunger, 
thirst,  and  weariness  (Mark  xi.  12. ;  John  iv. 

*  John  viii.  58.;  xiv.  9.  "  He  that  hath  seen  me 
hath  seen  my  Father."  Which  of  all  the  creatures  of 
God  dare  use  these  words  ?  God,  in  the  strict  sense,  is 
invisible  and  inaccessible;  but  he  communicates  with 
his  creatures,  through  Christ  his  Son,  without  whom 
he  cannot  be  seen,  or  known  at  all.  We  cannot  enjoy 
any  spiritual,  clear,  and  comfortable  views  qf  God,  un- 
less our  thoughts  fix  upon  the  Man  Christ  Jesus;  he  is 
the  door  and  the  vail  to  the  holy  of  holies;  and  thcr« 
is  no  coming  to  the  Father  by  any  other  way. 


AP.    II. 


AS  TAUGHT   BY   OUR  LORD. 


435 


6,  7)  ;  he  sighed,  he  wept,  he  groaned,  he  bled, 
lie  died  (Mark  vii.  34.  ;  John  xi.  35,  38.  ; 
Luke  xxii.  44)  ;  but,  amidst  all,  he  was  spot- 
less and  undented.  He  repelled  the  temptations 
of  Satan  (Matth.  iv.  1,  12  ;  he  appealed  to 
his  most  watchful  enemies  for  his  integrity ; 
he  rendered  universal,  unceasing  obedience  to 
the  will  of  God,  and  completely  fulfilled  the 
■whole  law,  John  viii.  46.  ;  xiv.  30.  ;  xvii.  4. 
In  him  the  perfection  of  wisdom  and  goodness 
shined  forth.  He  burned  with  love  to  God, 
with  compassion  to  men  ;  a  compassion  which 
he  freely  extended  to  the  most  necessitous, 
and  the  most  unworthy.  He  returned  good 
for  evil,  wept  for  his  enemies  (Luke  xix.  41), 
prayed  for  his  murderers,  Luke  xxiii.  34. 
Such  was  his  character,  a  divine  person  in  the 
human  nature,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh, 
1  Tim.  iii.  16.  And  from  this  union,  all  he 
did,  and  all  he  said,  derived  a  dignity,  autho- 
rity, and  efficacy,  which  rendered  him  every 
way  worthy  to  be  the  Teacher,  Exemplar, 
Lord,  and  Saviour  of  mankind. 

3.  In  the   person  and  sufferings   of  Christ, 
there  is  at  once   a  discovery  of  the  misery  of 
fallen  man,  and  the  means  of  his  complete  re- 
covery.     It  has  already  been  observed,  that 
the  full  explication  of  these  truths  was  defer- 
red till  after  his  resurrection  ;  and  the  subse- 
quent writings  of  his  apostles   are  useful  to 
give  us  a  complete  view  of  the  cause,  design, 
and  benefits  of  his  passion.      At  present  we 
confine  ourselves  to  his  own  words.      He  fre- 
quently taught  the  necessity  and  certainty  of 
his  sufferings  (Matth.  xvi.  21.;   xx.  28.);  he 
spoke  of  them  as  the  great  design  of  his   in- 
carnation, that  it  was  by  this  means  he  should 
draw   all  unto    himself    (John  xii.   32.  ;    x. 
17.)  ;  that    he    was,  on  this   account,    espe- 
cially, the  object  of  his  Father's  complacency, 
because  he  voluntarily  substituted  himself  to 
die  for  his  people.      He  enforced  the  necessity 
of  believing   on  him  in  this   view  (John  iii. 
14 — 18.)  ;  and  applied  to  himself  the  prophe- 
cies of  tlie  Old  Testament  (Luke  xxiv.  25 — 
27.  ;   Isa.  liii.),  which  speak  to  the  same  pur- 
pose.      Isaiah    had   foretold,    that   the    Lord 
would  lay  upon  him  the  iniquities  of  us  all ; 
that  he  was  to  be  wounded  for  our  transtcres- 
sions,  and  by  his  stripes  we  should  be  healed. 
Here  then   we  see   the  manifold  wisdom   of 
God ;  his  inexpressible  love  to  us  commend- 
ed ,  his  mercy  exalted,  in  the  salvation  of  sin- 
ners ;  his  truth  and  justice  vindicated,  in   the 
full  satisfaction  for  sin  exacted  from  the  Sure- 
ty; his  glorious  holiness,  and  opposition  to  all 
evil:    and    his   invariable   faithfulness  to  his 
threatenings    and  his  promises.      Considered 
in  this  light,  our  Saviour's  passion  is  the  most 
momentous,  instructive,  and  comfortable  theme 
that  can  affect  the  heart  of  man.      But  if  his 
substitution  and  proper  atonement  are  denied, 
the  whole  is  unintelligible.      We  can  assign 
no  sufficient  reason  why  a  person  of  his  ex- 
cellence was  abandoned  to  such  miseries  and 


indignities  ;  nor  can  we  account  for  that  ago- 
ny and  distress  which  seized  him  at  the  pros- 
pect of  what  was  coming  upon  him.  It  would 
be  highly  injurious  to  his  character  to  suppose 
he  was  thus  terrified  by  the  apprehension  of 
death  or  bodily  pain,  when  so  many  frail  and 
sinful  men  have  encountered  death,  armed 
with  the  severest  tortures,  with  far  less  emo- 
tion. 

Here,  as  in  a  glass,  we  see  the  evil  of  sin, 
and  the  misery  of  man.  The  greatness  of 
the  disorder  may  be  rationally  inferred  from 
the  greatness  of  the  means  necessary  to  re- 
move it.  Would  we  learn  the  depth  of  the 
fall  of  man,  let  us  consider  the  depth  of  the 
humiliation  of  Jesus  to  restore  him.  Behold 
the  beloved  of  God,  perfectly  spotless  and 
holy,  yet  made  an  example  of  the  severest  ven- 
geance; prostrate  and  agonizing  in  the  garden; 
enduring  the  vilest  insults  from  wicked  men ; 
torn  with  whips,  and  nails,  and  thorns  ;  sus- 
pended, naked,  wounded,  and  bleeding  up- 
on the  cross,  and  there  heavily  complaining, 
that  God  had,  for  a  season,  forsaken  him.  Sin 
was  the  cause  of  all  his  anguish.  He  stood 
in  the  place  of  sinners;  and  therefore  was  not 
spared.  Not  any,  or  all  tli6  evils  which  the 
world  has  known,  afford  such  proof  of  the 
dreadful  effects,  and  detestable  nature  of  sin, 
as  the  knowledge  of  Christ  crucified.  Sin 
had  rendered  the  case  of  mankind  so  utterly 
desperate,  that  nothing  less  than  the  blood 
and  death  of  Jesus  could  retrieve  it.  If  any 
other  expedient  could  have  sufficed,  his  pray- 
er, that  the  bitter  cup  might  pass  from  him, 
would  surely  have  been  answered.  But  what 
his  enemies  intended  as  the  keenest  reproach, 
his  redeemed  people  will  forever  repeat  as  the 
expression  of  his  highest  praise  :  "  He  saved 
others,  himself  he  cannot  save,"  Luke  xxiii. 
35.  Justice  would  admit  no  inferior  atone- 
ment ;  love  would  not  give  up  the  cause  of 
fallen  ruined  man.  Being  therefore  deter- 
mined to  save  others,  he  could  not  consistent- 
ly, with  this  gracious  design  and  undertaking, 
deliver  himself. 

Again,  the  means  and  certainty  of  a  salva- 
tion proportioned  to  the  guilt  and  misery  or 
sinners,  and  a  happiness  answerable  to  the 
utmost  capacity  of  the  soul  of  man,  are  reveal- 
ed in  the  same  astonishing  dispensation  of  di 
vine  love.  When  Jesus  was  baptized,  he  was 
pointed  out  by  a  voice  from  heaven  :  "  This 
is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  (or  for  whose 
sake)  I  am  well  pleased,"  Matth.  iii.  17.  He 
afterwards  proclaimed  his  own  authority  and 
sufficiency,  that  all  things  were  delivered  into 
his  hands,  and  invited  every  weary,  heavy- 
laden  soul  to  seek  to  him  for  refreshment  and 
peace,  Matth.  xi.  27 — 29.  He  gave  the  most 
express  assurances  that  whoever  applied  to 
him  should  in  no  case  be  rejected,  John  vi.  37. 
He  mentioned  his  death  and  sufferings  (John 
xii.  32.  33. )  as  the  principal  circumstance  that 
should    engage    the    hearts,'  and  confirm   the 


43G 


CHARACTER  OF  THE   GOSFEL 


BOOK   1. 


hopes  of  sinners.      He  gave  repeated  promises,  I 
that  those  who  believe  in  him  shall  never  pe-  I 
rish  (John  x.  38) ;  that  neither  force  nor  fraud 
should  frustrate  his  intentions  in  their  favour; 
that  after  his  ascension,  he  would  send  the  Holy  j 
Spirit  (John  xvi.    7,    13,  14. )  to  supply  his 
bodily  presence ;  and  that  his  power,  grace,  | 
and  providence,  should  be  with  his  people  to  j 
the  end  of  the  world   (Matth.   xxviii.    20.) :  | 
finally,  that  he  would  manage  their  concerns 
in  heaven  (John  xiv.  3,  13,  14),  and  at  length 
return  to  take  them  to  himself,  that  they  might 
be  with  him  for  ever,  to  behold,  and  to  share 
his  glory. 

4.  In  this  revelation,  God  has  illustriously 
displayed  the  glory  of  his  free  grace.  The 
miserable  and  guilty,  who  find  themselves 
without  either  plea  or  hope,  but  what  the  gos- 
pel proclaims  by  Christ,  are  invited  without 
exception,  and  received  without  condition. 
Though  they  have  been  the  vilest  offenders, 
they  are  freely  accepted  in  the  Beloved  ;  and 
none  of  their  iniquities  shall  be  remembered 
any  more ;  on  the  contrary,  the  most  respec- 
table characters  amongst  men  are  declared  to 
be  of  no  avail  in  point  of  acceptance  with  God  ; 
but,  in  this  respect,  all  the  race  of  Adam  are 
upon  equal  terms,  and  must  be  involved  in  the 
same  ruin,  without  an  absolute  dependence  on 
the  great  Mediator.  This  is  an  illustrious 
peculiarity  of  the  gospel,  which  the  proud  fal- 
len nature  of  man  cannot  but  resist  and  find 
fault  with,  till  the  conscience  is  truly  affected 
with  the  guilt  and  dement  of  sin.  The  whole 
tenor  of  our  Saviour's  ministry  was  suited  to 
depreciate  the  most  specious  attainments  of 
those  who  trusted  in  themselves  that  they  were 
righteous,  and  to  encourage  all  who  felt  and 
confessed  themselves  to  be  miserable  sinners : 
Parcere  subjectis,  et  deballare  superbos.  This 
was  a  chief  cause  of  the  opposition  he  met 
with  in  his  own  person,  and  has  awakened 
the  hatred  and  dislike  of  the  bulk  of  mankind 
against  his  doctrine  ever  since.  It  is  ne- 
cessary,  therefore,  to  confirm  it  by  proofs 
which  cannot  be  evaded  by  any  who  profess 
to  acknowledge  him  to  be  a  teacher  sent  from 
God. 

He  was  daily  conversant  with  many  who 
were  wise  and  righteous  in  their  own  eyes : 
and  we  find  he  omits  no  opportunity  to  expose 
and  condemn  their  pretensions.  He  spake 
one  parable  purposely  to  persons  of  this  stamp 
(Luke  xviii.  9 — 14.),  and  describes  a  Phari- 
see  boasting  of  his  observance  of  the  law  :  He 
paid  tithes,  he  fasted,  he  prayed  ;  he  was  not 
chargeable  with  adultery  or  extortion  ;  he 
could  say  more  for  himself  than  many  can 
who  affect  to  be  thought  religious:  but  the 
poor  publican  (though  despicable  in  his  sight), 
who,  conscious  of  his  unworthiness,  durst  not 
lift  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  but  smote  upon  his 
breast,  and  cried  for  mercy,  was  in  a  happier 
and  safer  condition  than  the  other  with  all  his 
Coasted  obedience. 


Another  remarkable  instance  is  that  of  the 
ruler  (Matth.  xix.  16.  Luke  xviii.  18.),  who 
accosted  our  Lord  in  a  respectful  manner, 
asking  him,  What  he  should  do  to  inherit  e- 
ternal  life  ?  His  address  was  becoming :  his 
inquiry  seemed  sincere ;  and  the  character  he 
gave  of  himself  was  such  as  men,  who  see  not 
the  heart,  might  have  judged  exemplary  and 
praise-worthy.  When  our  Lord  referred  him 
to  the  precepts  of  the  law,  he  answered  that 
he  had  kept  them  all  from  his  youth.  Yet 
one  thing,  we  read,  was  wanting.  What 
could  this  one  thing  be,  which  rendered  so 
fair  a  character  of  no  value  ?  We  may  collect 
it  from  the  event :  He  wanted  a  deep  sense 
of  his  need  of  a  Saviour.  If  he  had  been 
possessed  of  this  one  thing,  he  would  willing- 
ly have  relinquished  all  to  follow  Jesus.  But, 
ignorant  of  the  spirituality  of  the  law,  he 
trusted  to  a  defective  obedience  :  and  the  love 
of  the  world  prevailing  in  his  heart,  he  chose 
rather  to  part  with  Christ  than  with  his  pos. 
sessions. 

On  the  other  hand,  how  readily  our  Lord 
received  sinners,  notorious  sinners,  who  were 
vile  to  a  proverb,  appears  from  the  remarka- 
ble account  given  by  St.  Luke  (chap.  vii.  37), 
of  a  woman  whose  character  had  been  so  in. 
famous,  that  the  Pharisee  wondered  that  Jesus 
could  permit  her  to  touch  him.  But  though 
a  great  sinner,  she  found  great  forgiveness  ; 
therefore  she  loved  much,  and  wept  much  * 
She  had  nothing  to  say  for  herself;  but  Je- 
sus espoused  her  cause,  and  pronounced  her 
pardon.  He  likewise  silenced  the  proud  ca- 
viller by  a  parable,  that  sweetly  illustrates  the 
freeness  and  genuine  effect  of  the  grace  of 
God,  which  can  only  be  possessed  or  prized 
by  those  who  see  they  must  perish  without  it. 

And  this  was  the  general  effect  of  his 
preaching.  Publicans  and  sinners  thronged 
to  hear  him,  received  his  doctrine,  and  found 
rest  for  their  souls.  As  this  discrimination 
gave  a  general  offence,  he  took  occasion  to 
deliver  the  parable  of  the  prodigal  (Luke,  xv. 
11.)  ;  in  the  former  part  of  which  he  gives  a 
most  endearing  view  of  the  grace  of  God,  in 
pardoning  and  accepting  the  most  undeserv- 
ing. He  afterwards,  in  the  close,  shews  the 
pride,  stubbornness,  and  enmity  of  the  self, 
righteous  Pharisees,  under  the  character  of 
the  elder  brother  f.  While  his  language  and 
deportment  discovered  the  disobedience  and 
malice  of  his  heart,  he  pretended  that  he  had 

*  She  washed  his  feet  with  tears;  r,°!-xrt  /S»evi«,  she 
began  to  rain  tears  upon  his  feet :  her  head  was~wa!ers, 
and  her  eyes  fountains :  to  leceive  a  free  r  anion  of  many 
sins,  a  pardon  bought  with  blood, — it  is  this  causes  tht 
heart  to  melt,  and  the  eyes  to  flow. 

f  It  may  be  objected  to  this  interpretation,  That  the 
father  speaks  to  the  elder  brother  in  terms  of  compla- 
cence :  "  Son,  thou  art  ever  with  me,  and  all  that  I 
have  is  thine."  But  this  is  not  the  only  place  where  our 
Lord  addresses  the  Pharisees  in  their  own  style,  accord- 
ing to  the  opinion  they  conceived  of  themselves.  Thus 
(Matth.  viii.  It'.),  he  says,  "  The  children  of  the  king- 
dom shall  be  cast  out  imo  outer  darkness.  — He  does  not 
mean  those  who  were  truly  the  children  of  the  kingdom 
but  those  who  pretended  to  be  so. 


CHAP.    II. 


AS  TAUGHT  BY  OUR  LORD. 


iS  7 


never  broke  his  father's  commands.  The  self- 
condemned  sinner,  when  he  first  receives  hope 
of  pardon,  experiences  a  joy  and  peace  in  be- 
lieving. This  is  represented  by  the  feast  and 
fatted  calf.  But  the  religious  orderly  brother 
had  never  received  so  much  as  a  kid  .  he  had 
found  no  true  comfort  in  all  his  formal  round 
of  duties ;  and  therefore  was  exceedingly  an- 
gry that  the  prodigal  should  at  once  obtain 
those  marks  of  favour  which  he,  who  had  re- 
mained with  his  father,  had  always  been  a 
stranger  to. 

But  the  capital  exemplification  of  this,  and 
indeed  of  every  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  is  con- 
tained  in  the  account  given  of  the  thief  upon 
the  cross  (Luke,  xxiii.  39 — 42.);  a  passage 
which  has  perhaps  been  more  mistaken  and 
misrepresented    by   commentators,   than    any 


of  any  means  to  change  a  sinner's  heart,  with- 
out the  powerful  efficacy  of  divine  grace.  The 
one  malefactor,  brought  at  length  to  deserved 
punishment,  far  from  repenting  of  his  crimes, 
regardless  of  his  immediate  appearance  be- 
fore God,  thought  it  some  relaxation  of  his 
torments,  to  join  with  the  barbarous  multi- 
tude in  reviling  Jesus,  who  hung  upon  a  cross 
by  his  side.  He  was  not  ignorant  that  Jesus 
was  put  to  death  for  professing  himself  the 
Messiah ;  but  he  upbraided  him  with  his  cha- 
racter, and  treated  him  as  an  impostor.  In 
this  man  we  see  the  progress,  wages,  and  ef- 
fects of  sin.  His  wickedness  brought  him  to 
a  terrible  end,  and  sealed  him  up,  under  a  fa- 
tal hardness  of  heart :  so  that  he  died  despe- 
rate, though  Jesus  Christ  was  crucified  be- 
fore his  eyes  *      But  his  companion  was  im- 


other  in  the  New  Testament.  The  grace  of  pressed  by  what  he  saw  :  his  heart  relented  ; 
God  has  shone  so  bright  in  this  instance,  that  it 
has  dazzled  the  eyes  even  of  good  men.  They 
have  attempted  to  palliate  the  offender's  crime, 
or  at  least  to  suppose  that  this  was  the  first 
fault  of  the  kind  he  had  committed  ;  that  per. 
haps  he  had  been  surprised  into  it,  and  might, 
in  other  respects,  have  been  of  a  fairer  cha- 
racter. They  conjecture,  that  this  was  the 
first  time  he  had  heard  of  Jesus;  and  that 
there  was  not  only  some  sort  of  merit  in  his 
faith  and  confession  under  these  circumstances, 
but  that  the  death  of  Jesus  happily  coinciding 
with  his  own,  afforded  him  an  advantage  pe- 
culiar to  himself;  and  that,  therefore,  this 
was  an  exempt  case,  and  not  to  be  drawn  into 
a  precedent  to  after  times. 

If  it  was  my  professed  design  to  comment 
upon  this  malefactor's  case,  I  should  consider 
it  in  a  different  light.  The  nature  of  his  pu- 
nishment, which  was  seldom  inflicted  but  on 
those  who  were  judged  the  most  atrocious 
criminals,  makes  it  more  than  probable  that 
he  did  not  suffer  for  a  first  offence.  Nor  was 
he  simply  a  thief.  The  history  of  those  times 
abounds  with  the  mischiefs  committed  by  pub- 
lic robbers,  who  used  to  join  in  considerable 
bands,  for  rapine  and  murder,  and  commit 
the  greatest  excesses.  In  all  likelihood,  the 
malefactors  crucified  with  Jesus  were  of  this 
sort,  accomplices  and  equals  in  guilt ;  and 
therefore  judged  to  die  together,  receiving  (as 
appears  by  the  criminal's  own  confession  on 
the  cross)  the  just  reward  of  their  deeds.  * 
Here  was  indeed  a  fair  occasion  to  shew  the 
sovereignty  and  triumph  of  grace,  contrasted 
with  the  most  desperate  pitch  of  obdurate 
wickedness.  To  shew,  on  the  one  hand,  that 
the  compassion  and  the  power  of  Christ  were 
not  diminished  when  his  sufferings  were  at 
the  height,  and  he  seemed  abandoned  to  his 
enemies;  and,  on  the  other,  the  insufficiency 

*  It  seems  probable,  from  history,  that  these  were  of 
Barabbas's  gang.  They  had  made  an  insurrection,  com- 
mitted murder,  and  were,  with  their  ringleader  con- 
victed and  condemned.  He,  in  dishonour  to  Jesus,  was 
spared,  whilst  these,  his  accomplices,  were  executed  with 
him. 


he  observed  the  patience  of  the  divine  suf- 
ferer ;  he  heard  him  pray  for  his  murderers; 
he  felt  himself  miserable,  and  feared  the  God 
with  whom  he  had  to  do.  In  this  distress  he 
received  faith  to  apply  to  Jesus ;  and  his 
prayer  was  granted,  and  exceeded.  He  who 
sent  the  fair-spoken  ruler  away  sorrowful,  an. 
swered  the  first  desire  of  a  malefactor  at  the 
point  of  death  :  "  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with 
me  in  paradise."  This  certainly  was  an  in. 
stance  of  free  distinguishing  grace.  Here 
was  salvation  bestowed  upon  one  of  the  vilest 
sinners,  through  faith  in  Jesus,  without  pre- 
vious works,  or  a  possibility  of  performing 
any.  And  as  such,  it  is  recorded  for  the  en- 
couragement of  all  who  see  themselves  desti 
tute  of  righteousness  and  strength,  and  that, 
like  the  thief  on  the  cross,  they  have  no  refuge 
or  hope,  but  in  the  free  mercy  of  God  through 
Christ. 

5.  The  medium  by  which  the  gospel  ba- 
comes  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation,  is 
faith.  By  faith  we  do  not  mean  a  bare  as- 
sent, founded  upon  testimony  and  rational 
evidence,  that  the  facts  recorded  in  the  New 
Testament  are  true.  A  faith  of  this  sort  ex- 
perience proves  to  be  consistent  with  a  wick- 
ed life  ;  whereas  the  gospel-faith  purifies  the 
heart,  and  overcomes  the  world.  Neither  do 
we  mean  a  confidence  of  the  forgiveness  of 
sin,  impressed  upon  the  mind  in  a  sudden  and 
instantaneous  manner.  Faith  is  indeed  found- 
ed upon  the  strongest  evidence,  and  may  often 
be  confirmed  by  ineffable  manifestations  from 
the  fountain  of  light  and  comfort;  but  the 
discriminating  property  of  true  faith  is,  "  a 
reliance  upon  Jesus  Christ  for  all  the  ends 
and  purposes  for  which  the  gospel  reveals 
him ;"  such  as,  the  pardon  of  sin,  peace  of 

»  Compare  Matth.  xxvn.  39.  How  can  it  be  expect- 
ed that  no  more  than  a  constant  repetition  of  Christ's 
death,  should  be  an  invincible  means  of  changing  the 
heart,  when  the  actual  sight  of  his  sufferings  was  attend- 
ed with  so  little  effect !  Sin  must  be  felt  as  the  disease 
and  ruin  of  the  soul,  and  the  sufferings  of  Jesus  ac- 
knowledged as  the  only  possible  remedy,  before  we  can 
truly  sympathize  with  him,  and  say,  *'  1  am  crucified 
with  Christ." 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL,  &C. 


438 

conscience,  strength  for  obedience,  and  eter- 
nal life.  It  is  wrought  by  the  operation  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  presupposes  a  know- 
ledge of  him,  and  of  ourselves ;  of  our  indi- 
gence, and  his  fulness ;  our  unworthiness, 
and  his  merits ;  our  weakness,  and  his  pow- 
er. The  true  believer  builds  upon  the  per- 
son and  word  of  Christ  (Matth.  vii.  24.  ;  xvi. 
18.)  as  the  foundation  of  his  hope.  He  en- 
ters by  him  as  the  only  door  (John  x.  9.)  to 
the  knowledge,  communion,  and  love  of  God: 
he  feeds  upon  him  by  faith  in  his  heart,  with 
thanksgiving,  as  the  bread  of  life  (John  vi. 
54 — 57.)  ;  he  embraces  his  righteousness  as 
the  wedding-garment  (Matth.  xxii.  11.;  Rom. 
xiii.  14.),  whereby  alone  he  expects  admis- 
sion to  the  marriage-feast  of  heaven  :  he  de- 
rives all  his  strength  and  comfort  from  his  in- 
fluence, as  the  branch  from  the  root  (John 
xv.  4,  5.):  he  entrusts  himself  to  his  care,  as 
the  wise  and  good  shepherd  of  his  soul,  John 
x.  14.  Sensible  of  his  own  ignorance,  de- 
fects, and  his  many  enemies,  he  receives 
Christ  as  his  teacher,  priest,  and  king  (John 
vi.  68.)  ;  obeys  his  preceptor,  confides  in  his 
mediation,  expects  and  enjoys  his  powerful 
protection.  In  a  word,  he  renounces  all  con- 
fidence in  the  flesh  (Phil.  iii.  3.),  and  rejoices 
in  Christ  Jesus  as  his  Saviour ;  and  thus  lie 
attains  to  worship  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth, 
is  supported  through  all  the  conflicts  and 
trials  of  life,  possesses  a  stable  peace  in  the 
midst  of  a  changing  world,  goes  on  from 
strength  to  strength,  and  is  at  length  made 
more  than  conqueror,  through  him  that  has 
loved  him.  This  is  the  life  of  faith.  The 
degree  and  exercise  of  it  is  various  in  differ- 
ent persons,  and  in  the  same  person  at  dif- 
ferent times,  as  has  been  already  hinted  ;  but 
the  principle  itself  is  universal,  permanent, 
and  efficacious  in  all  that  truly  believe  ;  and 
nothing  less  than  this  faith  is  sufficient  to 
give  any  man  a  right  to  the  name  of  a  chris- 
tian, 

6.  The  final  cause  or  great  ends  of  the  gos- 
pel, respecting  man,  are  holiness  and  happi- 
ness (Matth.  i.  21.  ;  xxv.  34.  ;  John  xvii. 
24.)  ;  the  complete  restoration  of  the  soul  to 
the  favour  and  image  of  God,  or  eternal  life 
begun  here,  to  be  consummated  in  glory. 
What  has  been  already  said  renders  it  need- 
less to  enlarge  upon  this  head  ;  nor  shall  we 
concern  ourselves  here  to  vindicate  the  doc- 
trine we  have  laid  down  from  the  charge  of 
licentiousness  :  because  it  is  our  professed  de- 
sign, in  the  progress  of  this  work,  to  prove, 
from  the  history  of  the  church,  not  only  that 
these  principles,  when  rightly  understood,  will 
infallibly  produce  obedience  and  submission 
to  the  whole  will  of  God,  but  that  these 
only  can  do  it.  Wherever  and  whenever  the 
doctrines  of  free  grace  and  justification  by 
faith  have  prevailed  in  the  christian  church  ; 
and  according  to  the  degree  of  clearness  with 
which  they  have  been  enforced,   the  practical 


BOOK  r. 

duties  of  Christianity  have  flourished  in  the 
same  proportion.  Wherever  they  have  de- 
clined, or  been  tempered  with  the  reasonings 
and  expedients  of  men,  either  from  a  well 
meant,  though  mistaken  fear,  lest  they  should 
be  abused,  or  from  a  desire  to  accommodate 
the  gospel,  and  render  it  more  palatable  to 
the  depraved  taste  of  the  world,  the  conse- 
quence has  always  been,  an  equal  declension 
in  practice.  So  long  as  the  gospel  of  Christ 
is  maintained  without  adulteration,  it  is  found 
sufficient  for  every  valuable  purpose ;  but 
when  the  wisdom  of  man  is  permitted  to  add 
to  the  perfect  work  of  God,  a  wide  door  is 
opened  for  innumerable  mischiefs: — the  di- 
vine commands  are  made  void,  new  inven- 
tions are  continually  taking  place,  zeal  is  di- 
verted into  a  wrong  channel,  and  the  greatest 
stress  laid  upon  things  either  unnecessary  or 
unwarrantable.  Hence  perpetual  occasion  is 
given  for  strife,  debates,  and  divisions,  till  at 
length  the  spirit  of  Christianity  is  forgot,  and 
the  power  of  godliness  lost,  amidst  fierce  con 
tentions  for  the  form. 

To  sum  up  this  inquiry  in  a  few  words  :  the 
gospel  is  a  wise  and  gracious  dispensation, 
equally  suited  to  the  necessities  of  man,  and 
to  the  perfections  of  God  :  it  proclaims  relief 
to  the  miserable,  and  excludes  none  but  those 
who  exclude  themselves  :  it  convinces  a  sin- 
ner, that  he  is  unworthy  of  the  smallest  mer- 
cy, at  the  same  time  that  it  gives  him  a  confi- 
dence to  expect  the  greatest ;  it  cuts  off  all 
pretence  of  glorying  in  the  flesh,  but  it  ena- 
bles a  guilty  sinner  to  glory  in  God  :  to  them 
that  have  no  might,  it  increases  strength  ;  it 
gives  eyes  to  the  blind,  and  feet  to  the  lame; 
subdues  the  enmity  of  the  heart ;  shews  the 
nature  of  sin,  the  spirituality  and  sanction  of 
the  law,  with  the  fullest  evidence  ;  and,  by 
exhibiting  Jesus,  as  made  of  God,  wisdom, 
righteousness,  sanctification,  and  redemption, 
to  all  who  believe,  it  makes  obedience  practi- 
cable, easy,  and  delightful.  The  constraining 
love  of  Christ  engages  the  heart,  and  every 
faculty  in  his  service.  His  example  illustra- 
tes and  recommends  his  precepts ;  his  pre- 
sence inspires  courage  and  activity  under 
every  pressure;  and  the  prospect  of  the  glory 
to  be  revealed  is  a  continual  source  of  joy 
and  peace,  which  passeth  the  understanding 
of  the  natural  man.  Thus  the  gospel  filleth 
the  hungry  with  good  things  ;  but  it  sendeth 
the  rich  and  self-sufficient  empty  away,  and 
leaves  the  impenitent  and  believing  in  a  state 
of  aggravated  guilt  and  condemnation. 


chap,  in. 


GROUNDS  OF   THE  OPPOSITION  TO,  &C. 


439 


CHAF    III. 

CONCERNING  THE  TRUE  GROUNDS  OF  THE  OP- 
POSITION OUR  LORD  MET  WITH  IN  THE 
COURSE  OF  HIS  MINISTRY  :  AND  THE  OBJEC- 
TIONS AND  ARTIFICES  HIS  ENEMIES  EMPLOY 
ED  TO  PREJUDICE  THE  PEOPLE  AGAINST 
HIM,  AND  PREVENT  THE  RECEPTION  OF  HIS 
DOCTRINE. 

If  our  knowledge  of  the  history  of  Jesus  was 
confined  to  the  excellence  of  his  character, 
and  the  diffusive  scoodness  that  shone  forth  in 
all  his  actions,  we  should  hardly  conceive  it 
possible,  that  any  people  could  be  so  lost  to 
gratitude  and  humanity  as  to  oppose  him.  He 
went  about  doing  good  :  he  raised  the  dead, 
hea'ed  every  disease,  and  relieved  the  distres- 
ses of  all  who  applied  to  him,  without  any  dif- 
ference of  cases,  characters,  or  parties,  as  the 
sun,  with  a  rich  and  unwearied  profusion,  fills 
every  eye  with  his  light.  Wisdom  flowed 
from  his  lips,  and  his  whole  conduct  was  per- 
fect and  inculpable.  How  natural  is  it  to 
expect,  that  a  person  so  amiable  and  benevo- 
lent,  so  blameless  and  exemplary,  should  have 
been  universally  revered.* 

But  we  find  in  fact  it  was  far  otherwise. 
Instead  of  the  honours  he  justly  deserved,  the 
returns  he  met  with  were  reproach,  persecu- 
tion, and  death.  The  wonders  of  his  power 
and  goodness  were  maliciously  ascribed  to 
Satan  ;  he  was  branded  as  an  impostor,  mad- 
man, and  demoniac  ;  he  was  made  the  sport 
of  servants  and  soldiers;  and,  at  length,  pub- 
licly executed  with  every  possible  circum- 
stance of  ignominy  and  torture,  as  a  malefac- 
tor of  the  worst  sort. 

What  could  be  the  cause  and  motives  of  such 
injurious  treatment  ?  This  is  the  subject  of 
our  present  inquiry.  It  might  indeed  be  an- 
swered very  briefly,  as  it  has  been,  by  ascrib- 
ing it  to  the  peculiar  wickedness  and  perverse- 
ness  of  the  Jews.  There  is  not  a  fallacy 
more  frequent  or  pleasing  to  the  minds  of 
men,  than,  while  they  act  contrary  to  present 
duty,  to  please  themselves  with  imagining  how 
well  they  would  have  behaved  in  another  si- 
tuation, or  a  different  age.  They  think  it  a 
mark  of  virtue  to  condemn  the  wickedness  of 


*  The  Heathen  moralists  have  supposed,  that  there  is 
something  so  amiable  in  virtue.,  that  could  it  be  visible, 
it  would  necessarily  attract  the  love  and  admiration  of 
all  beholders.  This  sentiment  has  been  generally  ad- 
mired: and  we  need  not  wonder,  since  it  flatters  the 
pride  of  man  without  thwarting  his  passions.  In  the 
Lord  Jesus  this  great  desideratum  was  vouchsafed ;  vir- 
tue and  goodness  were  pleased  to  become  visible,  were 
manifest  in  the  tlesh.  But  did  the  experiment  answer 
to  the  ideas  of  the  philosophers  ?  Alas  !  to  the  reproach 
of  mankind,  Jews  and  Gentiles  conspired  to  treat  him 
with  the  utmost  contempt.  They  loved  darkness,  and 
therefore  could  not  bear  the  light.  They  had  more  com- 
passion and  affection  for  the  most  infamous  malefactor ; 
therefore,  when  the  alternative  was  proposed  to  them, 
they  released  Barabbas,  a  robber  and  a  mu-Jerer,  and 
nailed  Jesus  and  virtue  to  the  cross. 


former  times,  not  aware  that  they  themselves 
are  governed  by  the  same  spirit.  Thus  these 
very  Jews  spoke  highly  of  the  persons  of  the 
prophets,  while  they  rejected  their  testimony, 
and  blamed  their  forefathers  for  shedding  in- 
nocent blood,  at  the  time  they  were  thirsting 
for  the  blood  of  Jesus,  Matth.  xxiii.  2S,  30. 
It  is  equally  easy  at  present  to  condemn  the 
treachery  of  Judas,  the  cowardice  of  Pilate, 
the  blindness  of  the  people,  and  the  malice  of 
the  priests,  who  were  all  personally  concern- 
ed in  the  death  of  Christ.  It  is  easy  to  think, 
that  if  we  had  seen  his  works,  and  heard  his 
words,  we  would  not  have  joined  with  the 
multitude  in  crying,  Crucify  him;  though,  it 
is  to  be  feared,  many  who  thus  flatter  them- 
selves have  little  less  enmity  against  his  per- 
son and  doctrine  than  his  actual  murderers. 
On  this  account,  I  shall  give  a  detail  of  the 
true  reasons  why  Christ  was  opposed  in  the 
flesh,  and  of  the  measures  employed  against 
him,  in  order  to  shew,  that  the  same  grounds 
of  opposition  are  deeply  rooted  in  the  fallen 
human  nature ;  and  how  probable  it  is,  that 
if  he  was  to  appear  again  in  the  same  ob- 
scure manner,  in  any  country  now  called  by 
his  name,  he  would  meet  with  little  better 
treatment,  unless  when  the  constitution  and 
laws  of  a  civil  government  might  interpose  to 
prevent  it. 

But  it  may  be  proper,  in  the  first  place, 
briefly  to  delineate  the  characters  of  the  sects 
or  parties  mentioned  by  the  evangelists,  whose 
leaders,  jointly  and  separately,  both  from  com- 
mon and  distinct  motives,  opposed  our  Sa- 
viour's ministry,  and  cavilled  at  his  doctrine. 
These  were  the  Pharisees,  Sadducees,  and  He- 
rod ians.  * 

The  Pharisees,  including  the  Scribes  (who 
were  chiefly  of  this  sect),  were  professedly  the 
guardians  of  the  law,  and  public  teachers  of 
the  people.  They  were  held  in  high  venera- 
tion by  the  common  people,  for  the  austerity 
of  their  deportment,  the  frequency  of  their 
devotions,  and  their  exactness  in  the  less  es- 
sential parts  of  the  law.  They  observed  the 
traditions  of  the  elders,  were  still  adding  to 
them  ;  and  the  consequence  was  (as  it  will 
always  be  in  such  a  case),  that  they  were  sc 
pleased  with  their  own  inventions,  as  to  pre- 
fer them  to  the  positive  commands  of  God  • 
and  their  studious  punctuality  in  trifles,  with- 
drew their  regard  from  the  most  important 
duties.  Their  specious  shew  of  piety  was  a 
fair  outside,  under  which  the  grossest  abomi- 
nations were  concealed  and  indulged.  They 
were  full  of  pride,  and  a  high  conceit  of  their 
own  goodness  :  they  fasted  and  prayed  to  be 
seen  and  esteemed  of  men ;  they  expected  re- 
verence and  homage  from  all,  and  challenged 
the  highest  titles  of  respect,  to  be  saluted  as 
doctors  and  masters,  and  to  be  honoured  with 
the  principal  seats  in  all  assemblies.      Many 


*  See  Matth.  xxiii. ; 
9— It- 


Mark  vii.  13.  ;  and  Luke  xviii 


4-10 


GROUNDS  OF 


of  them  made  their  solemn  exterior  a  cloak 
for  extortion  and  oppression  ;  and  the  rest,  if 
not  hypocrites  in  the  very  worst  sense,  yet  de- 
ceived both  themselves,  and  others,  by  a  form 
of  godliness,  when  they  were  in  effect  enslav- 
ed by  their  passions,  and  lived  according  to 
the  corrupt  rule  of  their  own  imaginations. 

The  Saddacees,  their  antagonists  and  rivals, 
were  equally,  though  different!}',  remote  from 
the  true  knowledge  and  worship  of  God. 
They  not  only  rejected  the  tradition  of  the 
elders,  but  a  great  part  of  the  scriptures  like- 
wise ;  and  admitted  only  the  five  books  of 
Moses  as  of  divine  authority.  From  this  cir- 
cumstance, together  with  the  difficulty  (Matth. 
xxii.  23)  they  proposed  to  our  Lord,  and  the 
answers  he  gave  them,  it  appears,  that  they 
were  persons  ,who,  professing  in  general  terms 
to  acknowledge  a  revelation  from  God,  yet 
made  their  own  prejudices  and  mistakes,  un- 
der the  dignified  name  of  Reason,  the  stand- 
ard to  determine  what  books  should  be  receiv- 
ed as  authentic,  and  in  what  sense  they  should 
be  understood.  The  doctrine  of  a  resurrec- 
tion did  not  accord  with  their  notions ;  there- 
fore they  rejected  it  (Acts  xxiii.  8),  toge- 
ther *  with  those  parts  of  scripture  which 
asserted  it  most  expressly.  Their  question 
concerning  the  seven  brethren  seems  to  have 
been  a  trite  objection,  which  they  had  often 
made,  and  which  had  never  been  answered 
to  satisfaction  till  our  Lord  resolved  it.  But 
the  whole  difficulty  was  founded  upon  false 
principles  ;  and  when  these  were  removed,  all 
fell  to  the  ground  at  once.  From  this,  how- 
ever, we  may  learn  their  characteristic ;  they 
were  the  cautious  reasoners  of  those  times, 
who  valued  themselves  on  examining  every 
thing  closely,  refusing  to  be  influenced  by 
the  plausible  sounds  of  antiquity  and  autho- 
rity. 

The  Herodians  (Matthew  xxii.  16;  Mark 
iii.  6)  were  those  who  endeavoured  to  ingra- 
tiate themselves  with  Herod.  It  is  most  pro- 
bable that  they  received  their  name  and  dis- 
tinction, not  so  much  from  any  peculiar  sen- 
timents, as  from  attempting  to  accommodate 
their  religion  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
times.  The  Pharisees,  boasting  of  their  pri- 
vileges as  the  children  of  Abraham,  could 
hardly  brcok  a  foreign  yoke;  but  the  Hero- 
dians, from  motives  of  interest,  were  advo- 
cates for  Herod  and  the  Roman  power.  Thus 
they  were  opposite  to  the  Pharisees  in  politi- 
cal matters,  as  the  Sadducees  were  in  points  of 
doctrine  ;  and  therefore  the  question  concern- 
ing tribute  was  proposed  to  our  Lord  jointly 
by  the  Pharisees  and   Herodians,  the  former 

•  That  the  Sadducees  received  only  the  law  of  Moses, 
is  the  general  opinion  ;  though  I  do  not  say  that  it  has 
been  either  indubitably  proved,  or  universally  held. 
That  they  put  their  own  sense  upon  the  scriptures  (whe- 
ther in  whole  or  in  part),  which  they  did  profess  to  re- 
ceive, is  manifest,  from  their  asserting  that  there  is  no 
resurrection,  neither  angel  nor  spirit.  A  tenet  which 
contradicts  not  one  or  a  few  texts,  but  the  whole  strain 
and  tenor  both  of  the  law  and  the  prophets. 


THE  OPPOSITION   TO,  BOOK  i. 

designing  to  render  him  obnoxious  to  the  peo- 
ple, if  he  allowed  of  tribute,  the  latter  to  ac- 
cuse him  to  the  government,  if  he  refused  it. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  evident  the 
leading  principles  of  these  sects  were  not  pe- 
culiar to  themselves.     They  may  rather  be  con- 
sidered universally  as  specimens  of  the  differ- 
ent appearances  a  religious  profession  assumes 
where  the  heart  is  not  divinely  enlightened  and 
converted  to  the  love  of  the  truth.      In  all  such 
persons,  however  high  the  pretence  of  religion 
may  be  carried,  it  cannot  proceed  from  a  no- 
bler principle,  or  aim  at  a  nobler  object  than 
self.       These  dispositions   have    appeared    in 
every  age  and  form  of  the  christian  church, 
and  are  always  active  to  oppose  the  self-deny- 
ing doctrines  of  the  gospel  upon  different  pre- 
tences.     The  man  who,  fond  of  his  fancied  at- 
tainments and  scrupulous  exactness  in  exter- 
nals,, despises  all  who  will  not  conform  to  his 
rules,  and  challenges  peculiar  respect  on  ac- 
count of  his  superior  goodness,   is  a  proud 
Pharisee.      His  zeal  is  dark,  envious,  and  bit- 
ter ;    his  obedience    partial  and    self-willed 
and  while  he  boasts  of  the  knowledge  of  God 
his  heart  rises  with  enmity  at  the  grace  of  the 
gospel,  which  he  boldly  charges  with  opening 
a  door  to  licentiousness.      The  modern  Sad' 
ducee  (like  those  of  old)  admits  of  a  revela- 
tion, but  then,   full   of  his  own  wisdom  and 
importance,   he  arraigns  even  the  revelation 
he  seems  to   allow  at   the  bar  of  his  narrow 
judgment;  and,  as  the  sublime  doctrines  of 
truth  pass  under   his  review,  he  affixes  with- 
out hesitation,   the  epithets  of  absurd,   incon- 
sistent, and  blasphemous  to  whatever  thwarts 
his  pride,  prejudice,  and  ignorance,  and  those 
parts  of  scripture  which  cannot  be  warped  to 
speak  his  sense,  he  discards  from  his  canon  as 
interpolated   and  supposititious.      The  Hero- 
dian  is  the  man,  however  denonimated  or  dig- 
nified, who  is  governed  by  interest,  as  the  others 
by  pride,  and  vainly  endeavours  to  reconcile 
the  incompatible  services  of  God  and  the  world, 
Christ  and  Belial.     He  avoids  the  excesses  of 
religious  parties,    speaks  in  terms  of  modera- 
tion, and  is  not  unwilling  to  be  accounted  the 
pattern   and   friend  of  sobriety  and   religion. 
Fie  stands  fair  with  all  who  would  be  religi- 
ous upon   cheap   terms,  and   fair  in  his  own 
esteem,  having  numbers  and  authority  on  his 
side.      Thus  he  almost  persuades  himself  he 
has  carried  his  point,  and  that  it  is  not  so  im- 
possible to  serve  two  masters  as  our  Lord's 
words  seem  to  import ;  but  the  preaching  of 
the  pure  gospel,  which  enforces  the  one  thing 
needful,  and  will  admit  of  no  compliances  with 
wordly  interests,  interferes  with  his  plan,  and 
incurs  his  resentment  likewise,  though,  per. 
haps,   he  will  shew   his  displeasure  by  more 
refined   and   specious   methods  than  the  cla- 
morous  rage  of  hot   bigotry  has   patience  to 
wait  for. 

■   We   now   proceed. — The  first  great  cause 
why  Jesus  was  rejected   by  those  to  whom  he 


CHAP.   Ill, 


AND  OFFENCES  AGAINST  OUR  LORD.  441 


appealed,  may  be  deduced  from  the  tenor  of 
his  doctrine,  a  summary  of  which  has  been 
given  in  the  former  chapter.  It  offended  the 
pride  of  the  Pharisees,  was  repugnant  to  the 
wise  infidelity  of  the  Sadducees,  and  con- 
demned the  pliant  temper  of  the  Herodians. 
The  doctrines  of  free  grace,  faith,  and  spi- 
ritual obedience  were  diametrically  opposite 
to  their  inclinations.  They  must  have  parted 
with  all  they  admired  and  loved  if  they  had 
complied  with  him  ;  but  this  is  a  sacrifice  too 


equal  with  God,  to  be  encompassed  with  po- 
verty and  distress,  seemed  such  profane  con- 
tradiction, as  might  justify  every  mark  of  in- 
dignity they  could  offer  him.  And  this  dif- 
ficulty must  equally  affect  every  unenlightened 
mind.  If  man  had  been  left  to  devise  in 
what  manner  the  Lord  of  the  universe  would 
probably  descend  to  dwell  a  while  with  poor 
mortals  in  a  visible  form,  they  would  undoubt- 
edly have  imagined  such  a  scene,  if  their 
thoughts  could  have  reached  it,  as  is  described 


great  for  any  to  make  who  had  not  deeply  felt  i  by  the  prophets  on  other  occasions  :    the  hea- 
and  known  their  need  of  a  Saviour.      These, !  vens  bowing,  the  earth   shaking,  the  moun- 


on  the  contrary,  were  the  whole,  who  saw  no  j  tains  ready  to  start  from  their  places,  and  all 
want  of  a  physician,  and  therefore  treated  his  nature  labouring  to  do  homage  to  her  Creator. 


offers  with  contempt 

Besides,  their  dislike  to  his  doctrine  was  in- 
creased by  his  manner  of  enforcing  it.  He 
spoke  with  authority,  and  sharply  rebuked  the 
hypocrisy,  ignorance,  ambition,  and  avarice  of 
those  persons  who  were  accounted  the  wise 
and  the  good,  who  sat  in  Moses's  chair,  and 
had  hitherto  been  heard  and  obeyed  with  re- 
verence. But  Jesus  exposed  their  true  cha- 
racters :   he  spoke  of  them   as   blind  guides ; 


Or,  if  he  came  in  a  milder  way,  they  would 
at  least  have  contrived  an  assemblage  of  all 
that  we  conceive  magnificent, — a  pomp  and 
splendour  surpassing  all  the  world  ever  saw. 
Expecting  nations  crowding  to  welcome  his 
arrival,  and  thrones  of  gold,  and  palaces  of 
ivory,  would  have  been  judged  too  mean  to 
accommodate  so  glorious  a  guest.  But  the 
Lord's  thoughts  and  ways  are  different  from 
man's.      The  beloved  son  of  God.  by  whom 


he  compared  them  to  painted  sepulchres,*  and  \  all  things  were  made,   was  born   in   a  stable, 


cautioned  the  people  against  them,  as  dange 
rous  deceivers,    Matth.   xxiii.    27.      It  is   no 
wonder,   therefore,   that  on  this  account  they 
hated  him  with  a  perfect  hatred. 

Again,  they  were  exceedingly  offended  with 
the  high  character  he  assumed  as  the  Son  of 
God,  and  the  Messiah.  On  this  account,  they 
condemned  him  to  die  for  blasphemy.  They 
expected  a  Messiah  indeed,  who  they  pro- 
fessed was  spoken  of  in  the  scriptures ;  but 
they  understood  not  what  the  scriptures  had 
revealed,  either  concerning  his  divine  nature 
or  his  voluntary  humiliation,  that  he  was  to 
be  the  Son  and  Lord  of  David,  yet  a  man  of 
sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief.  They  de- 
nied his  divinity,  and  themselves  unwittingly 
fulfilled  the  prophecies  that  spoke  of  his  suf- 
ferings ;  affording,  by  their  conduct,  a  me- 
morable proof  how  fatally  persons  may  mis- 
take the  sense  of  the  word  of  God,  while  they 
profess  highly  to  esteem  it. 

What  farther  increased  their  contempt  of 
his  claims  and  contributed  to  harden  their 
hearts  more  implacably  against  him,  was  the 
obscurity  and  poverty  of  his  state.  While 
they  were  governed  by  wordly  wisdom,  and 
sought  not  the  teaching  of  God's  Spirit,  they 
could  not  but  suppose  an  utter  repugnance 
between  the  meanness  of  his  condition  and 
the  honours  he  vindicated  to  himself.  They 
expected  a  Messiah  to  come  in  pomp  and 
power,  to  deliver  them  from  the  Roman  yoke. 
For  a  person  truly  divine,   who  made  himself 

*  Nothing  is  more  loathsome  to  our  senses  than  a 
corpse  in  the  state  of  putrefaction,  or  a  more  striking 
contrast  to  the  outside  of  a  sumptuous  ornamented  mo- 
nument. Perhaps  the  visible  creation  does  not  afford  any 
other  image  that  would  so  strongly  express  the  true  cha- 
racter of  hypocrisy,  and  how  hateful  it  appears  in  the 
sight  of  God,  who  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  ini- 
quity, and  before  whom  all  things  are  naked  and  open. 


and  grew  up  in  an  obscure  and  mean  condi. 
tion.  He  came  to  suffer  and  to  die  for  sin, 
to  sanctify  poverty  and  affliction  to  his  peo- 
ple, to  set  a  perfect  example  of  patience  and 
submission  ;  therefore  he  made  himself  of  no 
reputation,  but  took  upon  him  the  form  and 
offices  of  a  servant.  This  was  the  appoint- 
ment of  divine  wisdom  ;  but  so  incredible  in 
the  judgment  of  blinded  mortals,  that  the 
apostle  assures  us,  "  no  man  can  say  that  Je- 
sus is  the  Lord"  (I  Cor.  xii.  3),  can  perceive 
and  acknowledge  his  inherent  excellence  and 
authority,  through  the  disgraceful  circum- 
stances of  his  humiliation,  "  but  by  the  Holy 
Ghost."  His  enemies,  therefore,  thought  they 
sufficiently  refuted  his  assertions  by  referring 
to  his  supposed  parents,  and  the  reputed  place 
of  his  nativity. 

Their  envy  and  hatred  were  still  more  en- 
flamed,  by  observing  the  character  of  his  fol- 
lowers. These  were  chiefly  poor  and  illiterate 
persons,  and  many  of  them  had  been  notorious- 
ly wicked,  or  accounted  so  ;  publicans  and  sin- 
ners, whose  names  and  professions  were  vile  to 
a  proverb.  And  for  such  as  these,  and  al- 
most these  only,  to  acknowledge  the  person 
whom  they  refused,  and  by  professing  them- 
selves his  disciples  (John  vii.  49.  ix.  34.),  to 
set  up  for  being  wiser  than  their  teachers ; 
this  was  a  mortification  to  their  pride,  which 
they  could  not  bear,  especially  when  they 
found  their  number  daily  to  increase,  and 
therefore  could  not  but  fear  their  own  influ- 
ence would  proportionally  decline. 

Once  more  :  Mistaking  the  nature  of  his 
kingdom,  which  he  often  spoke  of,  they  op- 
posed him  from  reasons  of  state.  They  feared, 
or  pretended  to  fear,  that  if  they  suffered  him 
to  go  on,  the  increase  of  his  disciples  would 


442 


GROUNDS  OF  THE  OPPOSITION  TO, 


give  umbrage  to  the  Romans,  who  would ' 
come  and  take  away  both  their  places  and  their 
nation,  John  xi.  49.  Some  perhaps  really  had 
this  apprehension  ;  but  it  was  more  generally 
a  pretence,  which  the  leaders  made  use  of  to 
alarm  the  ignorant.  They  were  in  truth  im- 
patient of  the  Roman  yoke,  prone  to  tumults, 
and  ready  to  listen  to  every  deceiver  who  pro- 
mised them  deliverance,  under  pretence  of 
being  their  expected  Messiah  But  from 
enmity  and  opposition  to  Jesus,  they  became 
loyal  at  once.  So  they  might  accomplish 
their  designs  against  him,  they  were  content 
to  forget  other  grievances,  and  openly  pro- 
fessed, they  would  have  no  other  king  but 
C»sar. 

These  were  some  of  the  chief  motives  which 
united  the  opposite  interests,  and  jarring  sen- 
timents of  the  Jewish  sects  against  our  blessed 
Lord.      We  are  next  to  consider  the  methods 
they  employed  to  prejudice  the  multitudes  a- 
gainst  him.      The  bulk  of  the  common  peo- 
ple seldom  think  for  themselves  in  religious 
concerns,  but  judge  it  sufficient  to  give  up 
their  understandings  and  consciences  to  their 
professed  teachers  *.      They  are,  however,  for 
the  most  part,  more   unprejudiced  and   open 
to  conviction  than  their  guides,  whose  repu- 
tation and  interest  are  more  nearly  concerned 
to  maintain  every  established  error,    and    to 
stop  up  every  avenue  by  which  truth  and  te- 
formation  might  enter.      The  Jewish  people, 
uninfluenced  by  the  proud  and  selfish  views 
of  the  priests  and  rulers,  readily  honoured  the 
ministry  of  Christ,  and  attended  him  in  great 
multitudes.      If  they  did  not  enter  into  the 
grand  design  of  his  mission,  they  at  least  gave 
him    testimonies    of   respect.       When    Jesus 
caused    (Matth.   xv.   31.    Luke  vii.    16.)  the 
dumb  to  speak,  the  maimed  to  be  whole,  the 
lame  to  walk,  and  the  blind  to  see,  they  glo- 
rified  the   God  of  Israel,  saying,   "  A  great 
prophet  is  risen  up  amongst  us,  God  has  vi- 
sited hit  people."      Now,  what  was  to  be  done 
in  this  case?  would  the   Scribes  and    Phari- 
sees   stand  unconcerned  ?  No  ;  it   is  said  in 
several  places,  they  were  filled  with  indigna- 
tion f,  and  essayed  every  means  to  bring  his 
person  and  miracles  into  disrepute.      The  me- 
thods they  used  are  worthy  of  notice,  having 
been  often  repeated  since    (as  to  their  sub- 
stance) against  the  servants  of  Christ. 

1.  They  availed  themselves  of  a  popular 
mistake  concerning  his  birth.  Jesus  was 
born  in  Bethlehem,  accordingto  the  scriptures  ; 
but  being  removed  from  thence  in  his  infan- 
cy to  avoid  Herod's  cruelty,  and  his  parents 


BOOK   I 

Galilee,  he 
been    born 


»  This  is  much  to  be  lamented  ;  for  if  the  blind  lead 
the  blind,  shall  they  not  both  fall  into  the  ditch  ?  Matth. 
xv.  14.  When  the  blind  lead  the  blind,  how  indeed 
can  it  be  otherwise,  if  the  former  imagine  they  see,  and 
the  latter  are  content  to  be  led!  Aias  for  the  people 
that  are  in  such  a  case !  alas  for  their  guides ! 

■f  It  is  a  strong  symptom  of  hypocrisy  and  enmity  to 
the  gospel,  to  be  offended  with  any  new  and  remarka- 
ble displays  of  divine  grace. 


afterwards  living  at  Nazareth  in 
was  supposed  by  many,  to  have 
there.  Even  Nathaniel  was  prejudiced  by 
this  mistake,  but  happily  yielded  to  Philip's 
advice  to  examine  for  himself.  But  it  pre- 
vented many  from  inquiring  much  about  Jesus, 
and  therefore  his  enemies  made  the  most  of 
it,  and  confidently  appealed  to  the  scripture, 
when  it  seemed  to  decide  in  their  favour. 
Search  and  look  (John  vii.  42.  52.),  for  out 
of  Galilee  ariseth  no  prophet.  It  is  probable 
many  were  staggered  with  this  objection,  and 
thought  it  sufficient  to  invalidate  all  his  dis- 
courses and  miracles ;  since,  let  him  say  and 
do  what  he  would,  he  could  not  possibly  be 
the  Messiah,  if  he  was  born  in  Galilee. 

2.  They  urged,  that  he  could  not  be  of 
God,  because  he  infringed  the  law  of  Moses, 
and  broke  the  Sabbath,  John  ix.  16.  This, 
though  it  may  seem  a  groundless  objection  to 
us,  was  not  so  to  many  at  that  time,  who 
knew  not  the  spiritual  design  and  meaning  of 
the  law,  and  perhaps  had  not  the  opportunity 
to  hear  our  Lord  vindicate  himself.  They 
urged  this  vehemently  against  the  force  of  a 
notorious  miracle,  and  not  without  some  co- 
loui,  from  the  words  of  Moses  himself  (Deut. 
xiii.  2.)  ;  who  had  warned  them  to  beware  of 
false  teachers,  though  they  should  confirm 
their  doctrine  by  signs  and  wonders. 

3.  They  reproached  the  freedom  of  his  con- 
versation. Jesus  was  of  easy  access,  and 
condescended  to  converse  and  eat  with  any 
who  invited  him.  He  neither  practised  nor 
enjoined  the  austerities,  which  carry  the  air  of 
superior  sanctity  in  the  judgment  of  weak  and 
superstitious  minds.  They  therefore  styled 
him  a  glutton  and  wine-bibber  (Luke  vii.  34.), 
a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners  ;  that  is,  as 
they  intended  it,  a  companion  with  them,  and 
a  conniver  at  their  wickedness.  Nothing 
could  be  more  false  and  slanderous  than  this 
charge,  or  more  easily  refuted,  if  the  people 
would  examine  closely.  But  as  it  came  from 
teachers  who  were  highly  reverenced  for  mor- 
tification, and  as  Jesus  was  usually  attended 
by  many  with  whom  it  was  thought  infamous 
to  associate,  it  could  not  but  have  great  weight 
with  the  credulous  and  indolent. 

4.  They  laid  much  stress  upon  the  mean 
condition  of  his  followers.  They  were  most- 
ly Galileans,  a  people  of  small  estimation,  and 
of  the  lowest  rank,  fishermen,  or  publicans ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  few  or  none  of  the 
rulers  or  Pharisees,  who  were  presumed  to  be 
best  qualified  (John  vii.  48.)  to  judge  of  his 
pretensions,  had  believed  on  him.  Those 
who  are  aquainted  with  human  nature,  can- 
not but  know  how  strongly  this  appeal  to  the 
judgment  of  persons  eminent  for  their  learn- 
ing or  station,  operates  upon  minds  who  have 
no  better  criterion  of  truth.  How  could  a 
Jew,  who  had  been  from  his  infancy  supersti- 
tiot.sly  attached  to  the  Pharisees,  suppose,  that 


CHAP.   III. 


AND   OFFENCES  AGAINST  OUll  LORD. 


413 


these  eminently  devout  men,  who  spent  their 
lives  in  the  study  of  the  law,  would  have  re- 
jected Jesus,  if  he  had  been  a  good  man  ? 

5.  When,  notwithstanding  all  their  surmises, 
multitudes  still  professed  high  thoughts  of  Je- 
sus, beholding  his  wonderful  works,  they  pro- 
ceeded with  the  most  blasphemous  effYontry  to 
defame  the  miracles  they  could  not  deny,  and 
maliciously  ascribed  them  to  the  agency  of  the 
devil,  Matth.  xii.  14.  This  pertinacious  resist- 
ance to  the  conviction,  both  of  their  senses  and 
consciences,  was  the  highest  stage  of  impiety, 
and  constituted  their  sin,  as  our  Lord  assured 
them,  unpardonable.  Not  that  any  sin,  con- 
sidered in  itself,  is  too  great  for  the  blood  of 
Jesus  to  expiate  ;  but  as  they  utterly  renoun- 
ced and  scorned  his  mediation,  there  remained 
no  other  sacrifice,  but  they  were  judicially 
given  up  to  incurable  impenitence  and  hard- 
ness of  heart.  Yet  it  is  probable,  that  even 
this  black  assertion  was  not  without  influence 
upon  some,  who  were  wedded  to  their  sins, 
and  therefore  glad  of  any  pretext,  how  un- 
reasonable soever,  to  refuse  the  testimony  of 
truth. 

6.  Another  means  they  made  use  of,  the  last 
we  shall  enumerate,  and  not  the  least  effectual 
to  intimidate  the  minds  of  the  people  from 
acknowledging  Jesus,  was  the  convincing  ar- 
gument of  violence  and  ill  treatment.  Hav- 
ing the  power  in  their  hands  they  employed  it 
against  his  followers,  and  made  an  agreement, 
that  whoever  confessed  he  was  Christ,  should 
be  put  out  of  the  synagogue  (John  ix.  22.), 
that  is,  excommunicated.  This  decree  seems 
to  have  been  made  by  the  Sanhedrim,  or  great 
council,  and  to  imply,  not  merely  an  exclu- 
sion from  the  rights  of  public  worship,  but 
likewise  a  positive  punishment  equivalent 
to  an  outlawry  with  us.  The  fear  of  incur- 
ring this  penalty  (John  xii.  42.)  restrained  the 
parents  of  the  man  born  blind,  and  prevent- 
ed many  others  who  were  in  their  hearts  con- 
vinced that  he  was  the  Messiah,  from  owning 
him  as  such.  They  loved  the  world  ;  they 
preferred  the  praise  of  men  to  the  praise  of 
God  ;  and  therefore  remained  silent  and  neu- 
ter. 

From  such  motives,  and  by  such  methods, 
our  Lord  was  resisted  and  opposed  by  the 
heads  of  the  Jewish  nation.  The  scribes  and 
teachers,  to  whom  the  key  of  knowledge  was 
by  authority  committed,  disdained  to  use  it 
themselves,  and  those  who  were  willing  they 
hindered.  Had  they  been  wise  and  faithful, 
they  would  have  directed  the  people  to  Christ ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  they  darkened  the  plain- 
est scriptures,  and  perverted  the  clearest  facts, 
to  prevent,  if  possible,  his  reception.  In  vain 
he  spoke  as  never  man  spoke,  and  multiplied 
the  wonders  of  his  power  and  love  in  their 
presence.  In  vain  to  them.  — They  pursued  him 
•vith unwearied  subtlety  and  malice*,  traduced 

*  Mark  xii.  13.  They  sent  unto  him  certain  of  the 
Phirisces  tu  catch  him.     Aj-jewa/  expresses  the  art  and 


him  to  the  people  and  to  the  government,  and 
would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than  his 
death ;  so  obstinate  and  wicked  is  the  heart  of 
man,  so  fatal  are  the  prejudices  of  pride  and 
worldly  interest.  For  as  we  observed  before, 
these  tempers  were  not  peculiar  to  the  Jews 
they  are  essential  to  depraved  nature  and  oper 
ate  universally,  where  the  grace  of  God  does  not 
make  a  difference.  To  this  hour  the  gospel 
of  Christ  is  opposed  upon  the  same  grounds, 
and  by  the  like  artifices,  as  were  once  employ- 
ed against  his  person. 

The  doctrines  which  his  faithful  ministers 
deduce  and  enforce  from  the  written  word, 
are  no  other  than  what  he  himself  taught, 
namely,  a  declaration  of  his  personal  honours 
and  authority,  of  the  insufficiency  of  form- 
al worship,  in  which  the  heart  is  not  concern- 
ed, of  the  extent  and  spirituality  of  the  law  of 
God,  and  of  salvation,  freely  proclaimed  to  the 
miserable,  through  faith  in  his  name.  The 
self-righteous,  the  self-wise,  and  all  who  are 
devoted  to  the  pleasures  and  honours  of  the 
world,  have  each  their  particular  exceptions 
to  these  truths.  The  wisdom  of  God  they 
account  foolishness ;  and  the  language  of  their 
hearts  is,  We  will  not  have  this  man  to  reign 
over  us.  And  the  success  of  these  doctrines, 
which  is  chiefly  visible  among  such  as  they 
have  been  accustomed  to  despise,  is  equally 
offensive  ;  yet  so  inconsistent  are  they,  that  if 
here  and  there  a  few  persons,  who  were  before 
eminent  for  their  rank,  attainments,  or  morali- 
ty, are  prevailed  on  to  account  all  things  but 
loss  and  dung,  for  the  excellency  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ  Jesus  their  Lord,  this,  instead 
of  removing  their  first  objection,  excites  their 
rage  and  contempt  still  more. 

And  as  the  motives  of  their  hatred,  so  their 
methods  of  expressing  it,  are  the  same.  They 
are  not  ashamed  to  adopt  and  exaggerate  the 
most  vulgar  misconceptions ;  they  set  the 
scripture  at  variance  with  itself;  and  while 
they  pass  over  the  plainest  and  most  important 
passages  unnoticed,  they  dwell  upon  a  few 
texts  of  more  dubious  import,  and  therefore 
more  easily  accommodated  to  their  sense. 
With  these  they  flourish  and  triumph,  and  af- 
fect an  high  zeal  in  defence  of  the  word  of 
God.  They  reproach  the  pure  gospel  as  li- 
centious, because  it  exposes  the  vanity  of 
their  singularities  and  will-worship,  and  are 
desirous  to  bind  heavier  burdens  upon  men' 
shoulders,  which  few  of  themselves  will  touch 
with  one  of  their  fingers.  They  enlarge  on 
the  weakness  and  ignorance  of  those  who 
mostly  receive  the  new  doctrine,  and  entrench 
themselves  under  the  sanction  of  learned  and 
dignified  names.  They  even  venture  to  explode 
and  vilify  the  evident  effects  of  God's  grace, 
and  ascribe  the  agency  of  his  Spirit  to  enthu- 

assiduity  of  sportsmen,  in  the  various  methods  they  use 
to  ensnare,  entangle,  or  destroy  their  game.     It  well 
suits  the  spirit  and  design  of  our  Lord's  enemies  in  the 
question  proposed,  and  is  finley  contrasted  by  themeslf 
ness  and  wisdom  of  his  arrswer 


lU 


STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH 


HOOK    !• 


siasm,  infatuation,  and  madness,  if  not  ex- 
pressly to  diabolical  influence.  And,  lastly, 
so  far  as  divine  providence  permits,  they  shew 
themselves  actuated  by  the  primitive  spirit  of 
oppression  and  violence,  in  pursuing  the  faith- 
ful followers  of  the  truth  with  censures  and 
penalties. 

But  let  who  will  rage  and  imagine  vain 
things,  Jesus  is  the  King  in  Zion.  He  is  the 
same,  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever.  There 
were  a  happy  few  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  who 
Deheld  his  glory,  trusted  on  him  for  salva- 
tion, and  attended  him  amidst  the  many  re- 
proaches and  sufferings  he  endured  from  sin- 
ners. Of  these  his  first  witnesses,  we  are  to 
speak  in  the  following  chapter.  His  gospel 
likewise,  tiiough  opposed  by  many,  and  slight- 
ed by  more,  is  never  preached  in  vain.  To 
some  it  will  always  be  the  power  and  wisdom 
of  God  ;  they  know  in  whom  they  have  be- 
lieved, and  therefore  are  not  ashamed  to  ap- 
pear in  his  cause  against  all  disadvantages. 
Supported  and  encouraged  by  his  Spirit,  they 
go  on  from  strength  to  strength,  and  are  suc- 
cessively made  more  than  conquerors,  by  his 
blood  and  the  word  of  his  testimony. 


CHAP.  IV. 

OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  CALLING  AND  CHABAC- 
TERS  OF  OUR  LORD'S  APOSTLES  AND  DISCI- 
PLES PREVIOUS  TO  HIS  ASCENSION. 

From  what  has  been  observed  in  the  preced- 
ing chapters,  it  is  evident,  that  those  who  as- 
sert a  principle  of  free  will  in  man,  sufficient- 
ly enabling  him  to  chuse  and  determine  for 
himself,  when  the  truths  of  the  gospel  are 
plainly  laid  before  him,  do  thereby  (as  far  as 
in  them  lies)  render  the  salvation  of  mankind 
highly  precarious,  if  not  utterly  hopeless  and 
impracticable.  Notwithstanding  God  was 
pleased  to  send  his  own  Son  with  a  gracious 
message  ;  notwithstanding  his  whole  life  was 
a  series  of  wonders,  and  all  his  actions  dis- 
covered a  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  an- 
swerable to  his  high  character ;  notwithstand- 
ing the  time,  manner,  and  design  of  his  ap- 
pearance and  sufferings  had  been  clearly  fore- 
told ;  yet,  so  far  as  a  judgment  can  be  made 
from  the  event,  he  would  certainly  have  lived 
and  died  in  vain,  without  influence  or  honour, 
without  leaving  a  single  disciple,  if  the  same 
grace  that  provided  the  means  of  redemption, 
had  not  engaged  to  make  them  effectual,  by 
preparing  and  disposing  the  hearts  of  sinners 
to  receive  him. 

In  the  account  given  us  by  the  evangelists 
of  those  who  professed  themselves  his  dis- 
ciples, we  may  discern,  as  in  miniature,  the 
general  methods  of  his  grace  ;  and,  compar- 
ing his  personal  ministry  with  the  effects  of 
his  gospel  in  all  succeeding  times,  we  max  be 


assured  that  the  work  and  the  power  are  still 
the  same.  The  choice  he  made  of  his  dis- 
ciples, the  manner  of  their  calling,  their  cha- 
racters, and  even  their  defects,  and  failings; 
in  a  word,  all  that  is  recorded  concerning 
them,  is  written  for  our  instruction,  and  is 
particularly  useful  to  teach  us  the  true  mean- 
ing of  what  passes  within  our  own  observa- 
tion. 

1.  Several  things  are  worthy  our  notice,  in 
this  view,  with  respect  to  the  choice  of  his 
disciples. 

1st,  They  were  comparatively  very  few 
He  was,  indeed,  usually  attended  by  multi- 
tudes in  the  different  places  where  he  preach- 
ed, because  he  spoke  with  a  power  they  had 
never  met  with  before,  and  because  he  healed 
the  sick,  fed  the  hungry,  and  did  good  to  all. 
But  he  had  very  few  constant  followers. 
Those  who  assembled  at  Jerusalem  after  his 
ascension,  are  said  to  have  been  but  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  (Acts,  i.  15.);  and  when 
he  appointed  his  disciples  a  solemn  meeting 
in  Galilee,  informing  them  beforehand  of  the 
time  and  place  where  he  would  come  to  them, 
the  number  that  then  met  here  is  expressed 
by  the  apostle  to  have  been  more  than  five 
hundred,  1  Cor.  xv.  6.*  We  can  hardly 
suppose,  that  any  who  loved  him,  and  were 
able  to  travel,  would  have  been  absent  upon 
so  interesting  an  occasion  ;  but  how  small  a 
company  was  this,  compared  with  the  many 
thousands  among  whom  he  had  conversed  in 
all  the  cities  and  villages  through  which  he 
had  passed,  preaching  the  gospel,  and  per- 
forming innumerable  miracles,  for  more  than 
three  years  !  Well  might  the  prophet  say,  fore- 
seeing the  small  success  he  would  meet  with, 
'  Who  hath  believed  our  report,  and  to  whom 
hath  the  arm  of  the  Lord  been  revealed  ?"  But 
since  he,  in  whom  the  fulness  of  grace  resided, 
had  so  few  disciples,  it  may  lessen  our  surprise, 
that  his  gospel,  though  in  itself  the  power  and 
wisdom  of  God,  should  meet  with  so  cold  a 
reception  amongst  men,  as  it  has  in  fact  al- 
ways done. 

2dly,  Of  those  few  who  professed  a  more 
entire  attachment  to  his  person,  a  consider- 
able part,  after  attending  him  for  some  time, 
went  back,  and  walked  no  more  with  him. 
They  were  but  superficially  convinced,  and  ra- 
ther struck  with  the  power  of  his  words  and 
works,  than  deeply  sensible  of  their  own  need 
of  him.  When,  therefore,  upon  a  certain  oc- 
casion, he  spake  of  the  more  inward  and  ex- 
perimental part  of  religion,  the  life  of  faith, 
and  the  necessity  of  eating  his  flesh,  and  drink- 
ing his  blood,  so  many  were  offended  at  his 
doctrine,  and  forsook  him  (John,  vi.  66,  67.), 


•  The  word  brethren  here  used  does  not  prove  that 
none  but  men  were  present  at  that  time,  any  more  than 
that,  because  the  apostles,  in  their  public  preaching, 
addressed  their  hearers  as  men  and  brethren,  there  were 
therefore  no  women  amongst  them,  or  that  the  women 
were  not  considered  as  having  any  'interest  or  concern 
in  the  gospel-ministry. 


CHAP     IV. 


IMMEDIATELY    BEFORE  THE  ASCENSION. 


415 


that  he  said  unto  the  twelve,  "  Will  ye  also 
go  away?"  which  seems  to  imply,  that  there 
were  few  but  these  remaining.  Therefore, 
though  we  see  at  present  that  where  the  sound 
of  the  gospel  brings  multitudes  together, 
many,  who  for  a  season  appeared  in  earnest, 
gradually  decline  in  their  profession,  and  at 
length  wholly  return  to  their  former  ways, 
we  have  the  less  reason  to  wonder  or  be  dis- 
couraged, remembering  that  it  was  thus  from 
the  beginning. 

3dly,  Those  who  believed  in  Christ  then, 
were  chiefly  (as  we  had  occasion  to  observe 
before)  persons  of  low  condition,  and  many 
of  them  had  been  formerly  vile  and  obnoxious 
in  their  conduct.  While  the  wise  and  learn- 
ed rejected  him,  his  more  immediate  followers 
were  Galileans,  fishermen,  publicans,  and 
sinners.  This  was  observed,  and  urged  to  his 
reproach  and  theirs  ;  and  the  like  offence  has 
always  attended  his  gospel.  But  what  en- 
raged his  enemies,  fills  the  hearts  and  mouths 
of  his  poor  people  with  praise.  They  adore 
his  condescension  (Luke,  i.  52,  53.)  in  tak- 
ing notice  of  the  most  unworthy,  and  admire 
the  efficacy  of  his  grace  in  making  those  who 
were  once  wretched  slaves  to  Satan,  a  free 
and  willing  people  in  the  day  of  his  power. 

4thly,  But  this  was  not  universally  the 
case.  Though  not  many  wise,  rich,  or  noble 
were  called,  there  were  some  even  of  these. 
His  grace  triumphed  over  every  circumstance 
of  life.  Zaccheus  was  a  rich  man,*  Nico- 
demus  a  ruler  of  the  Jews,  Joseph  an  ho- 
nourable counsellor.  We  also  read  of  a  no- 
bleman or  courtier,  who  believed,  with  all 
his  house.  In  every  age,  likewise,  there  have 
been  some  persons  of  distinguished  eminence 
for  birth,  honours,  and  abilities,  who  have 
cheerfully  engaged  in  the  profession  of  a  de- 
spised gospel,  though  they  have  thereby  in- 
curred a  double  share  of  opposition  from  the 
men  of  the  world,  especially  from  those  of 
their  own  rank.  The  number  of  these  has 
been  always  sufficient  to  confute  those  who 
would  insinuate  that  the  gospel  is  only  suited 
to  the  taste  of  the  vulgar  and  ignorant ;  yet 
it  has  always  been  so  small  as  to  make  it  evi- 
dent, that  the  truth  is  not  supported  by  the 
wisdom  or  influence  of  men,  but  by  the 
power  and  providence  of  God. 

5thly,  It  was  farther  observable,  that  seve- 
ral of  our  Lord's  few  disciples  were  under 
previous  connections  amongst  themselves. 
Peter  and  Andrew  were  brothers  (John,  i. 
40.),  as  likewise  James  and  John ;  and  these, 
together  with  Philip,  and  perhaps  Nathaniel, 
seem  to  have  been  all  of  one  town.f      The 

*  Zaccheus  was  a  chief  or  principal  publican,  to  whom 
che  rest  were  accountable ;  a  commissioner  of  the  pub- 
lic revenue.  And  he  was  rich.  The  Greek  is  more  ex- 
pressive, And  this  was  a  rich  man,  Luke,  xix.  2,  per- 
haps alluding  to  what  had  passed  a  little  before,  chap, 
xviii.  25.  This  remark  is  added,  to  remind  us,  that 
what  is  impossible  with  men,  is  easy  to  him  who  can 
speak  to  the  heart,  and  turn  il  as  he  will. 

1  Compare  Mark,  i.  1G,  Luke,  v.  10,  with  .John,  u 


other  James  and  Jude  were  also  brethren. 
So  it  is  said,  Jesus  loved  Mary,  and  her 
sister,  and  Lazarus,  three  in  one  house,  when 
perhaps  the  whole  place  hardly  afforded  a 
fourth  ;  and  more  in  a  single  village  than 
were  to  be  found  in  many  larger  cities  taken 
together.  This  circumstance  more  strongly 
maiked  the  discrimination  of  his  grace,  in 
making  the  means  effectual  where  and  to  whom 
he  pleased.  Such  has  been  the  usual  event 
of  his  gospel  since.  It  is  proclaimed  to  all, 
but  accepted  by  few ;  and  of  these  several  are 
often  found  in  one  family,  while  their  next 
door-neighbours  account  it  a  burden  and  of- 
fence. It  flourishes  here  and  there  in  a  few 
places  (Amos,  iv.  7.),  while  those  of  the  ad- 
jacent country  are  buried  in  more  than  Egyp- 
tian darkness,  and  resist  the  endeavours  of 
those  who  would  invite  them  to  partake  of  the 
same  benefits.  Thus  the  Lord  is  pleased  to 
display  his  own  sovereignty,  in  raising  and 
sending  forth  his  ministers,  when  and  where 
he  sees  fit,  and  in  determining  the  subjects 
and  measure  of  their  success.  If  others  dis- 
pute and  cavil  against  this  procedure,  i  those 
who  believe  have  cause  to  adore  his  goodness 
to  themselves.  And  a  day  is  at  hand,  when 
every  mouth  shall  be  stopped  that  would  con- 
tend with  the  just  Judge  of  all  the  earth. 
The  impenitent  and  unbelieving  will  not  then 
dare  to  charge  him  with  injustice  for  dealing 
with  them  according  to  their  own  counsels 
and  desires,  inasmuch  as  when  the  light  of 
truth  was  ready  to  break  upon  them,  they 
chose  darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their 
deeds  were  evil. 

2.  In  the  calling  of  our  Lord's  disciples, 
and  the  manner  in  which  they  were  brought 
to  know  and  serve  him,  we  may  discover  the 
same  variety  as  at  this  day  appears  in  the 
conversion  of  sinners  by  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel. 

Some,  from  a  religious  education,  an  early 

44,  45.  These  six,  and  more  than  these,  were  fisher- 
men (John,  xxi.  2),  and  such  they  continued,  only  their 
net-success  and  capture  were  so  much  changed,  that  it 
became  a  new  calling :  He  made  them  fishers  of  men. 
In  the  fishermen's  calling  there  is  required  a  certain 
dexterity,  much  patience,  and  a  readiness  to  bear  hard- 
ships. Perhaps  many  observations  they  made  in  their 
former  business  were  useful  to  them  afterwards.  And 
the  Lord  still  brings  up  his  servants  so,  that  the  remem- 
brance of  former  years  (the  years  of  ignorance)  becomes 
a  rule  and  encouragement  in  future  and  different  scenes 
of  life.  ,     , 

t  See  Rom.  xi.  23.  There  are  but  few  who  dispute  upon 
the  subject  of  the  divine  decrees  with  that  reverence  and 
caution  St.  Paul  expresses.  In  chap,  ix.,  when  an  ob- 
jection was  started,  he  cuts  it  short  with,  *•  Hut  who  ait 
thou,  O  man,  that  repliest  against  God  ?"  And  here  he 
breaks  oft  abruptly,  with  "  O  the  depth  !"  &c.  He  seems 
to  have  followed  the  narrow  winding  streams  of  human 
reasoning,  till  he  finds  himself  unawares  upon  the  brink 
of  an  ocean  that  has  neither  bounds  nor  bottom.  And 
every  word  expresses  the  reverence  and  astonishment 
with  which  his  mind  was  filled;  the  wisdom  of  the  di- 
vine councils  in  their  first  plan  ;  the  knowledge  of  their 
extensive  consequences  in  this  world,  in  all  worlds,  in 
time,  and  in  eternity ;  the  riches  of  that  wisdom  and 
knowledge;  the  depth  of  those  riches;  his  counsels  in- 
accessible, his  proceedings  untraceable  :  All  is  wonder- 
ful in  St.  Paul's  view.  How  different  this  from  the 
trifling,  arrogant  spirit  of  too  many  upon  thi  -  topic  1 


416  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH 

acquaintance  with  the  scriptures,  and  the  se- 
cret influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  their 
hearts,  are  gradually  prepared  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  truth.  They  read,  and  strive,  and 
pray ;  they  feel  an  uneasiness,  and  a  want, 
which  they  know  not  how  to  remedy  ;  they 
are  sincerely  desirous  to  know  and  do  the 
will  of  God  ;  and  yet,  through  misapprehen- 
sion, and  the  influence  of  popular  prejudice, 
they  are,  for  a  season,  with-held  from  the 
means  that  would  relieve  them.  But  at  length 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  explains  to  them 
the  meaning  of  their  former  exercises,  exactly 
answers  to  the  state  of  their  minds,  and  there- 
by brings  its  own  evidence.  Similar  to  this 
was  the  case  of  Nathaniel.  When  our  Lord 
referred  him  to  what  had  passed  under  the 
fig-tree,  where  he  had  thought  himself  alone 
and  unobserved,  his  doubts  and  scruples  va- 
nished in  an  instant.  There  is  little  doubt 
but  Nathaniel  had  been  praying  under  the  fig- 
tree,  and  probably  desiring  a  farther  know- 
ledge of  the  prophecies,  and  their  accomplish- 
ment in  the  Messiah.  He  had  heard  of  Je- 
sus, but  could  not  fully  clear  up  the  objec- 
tions made  against  him  ;  but  now  he  was  con- 
vinced and  satisfied  in  a  moment. 

The  attention  of  some  is  drawn  by  what 
they  see  and  hear  around  them.  They  form 
a  favourable  opinion  of  the  gospel  from  the 
remarkable  effects  it  produces;  but  their  first 
inquiries  are  damped  by  difficulties  which  they 
cannot  easily  get  over,  and  they  are  ready  to 
say,  How  can  these  things  be  ?  Their  inter- 
ests and  connections  in  life  are  a  farther  hin- 
drance ;  the  fear  of  man,  which  bringeth  a 
snare,  is  a  great  restraint  upon  their  inquiries  ; 
but  now  and  then,  when  they  can  venture 
without  being  noticed,  they  seek  farther  in- 
struction. Now,  though  this  hesitating  spirit, 
which  pays  so  much  deference  to  worldly  re- 
gards in  the  search  of  truth,  is  highly  blame- 
able  ;  yet  the  Lord,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  is 
often  pleased  to  produce  a  happy  anu  abiding 
change  from  such  imperfect  beginnings.  As 
they  increase  in  knowledge,  they  gain  more 
courage,  and  in  time  arrive  to  a  comfortable 
experience  and  open  profession  of  the  truth. 
Thus  it  was  with  Nicodemus  :  he  was  at  first 
ignorant  and  fearful  ;  but  his  interview  with 
Jesus  by  night,  had  a  good  effect.  He  after- 
wards ventured  to  speak  more  publicly  (John 
vii.  50.)  in  his  favour,  though  still  he  did  not 
join  himself  to  the  disciples:  but  the  circum- 
stances of  Christ's  death  freed  him  from  all 
fear,  and  inspired  him  to  attempt  the  most 
obnoxious  service,  when  the  apostles  them- 
selves were  afraid  to  be  seen,  John  xix.  39. 

Others  are  first  prompted  to  hear  the 
gospel  from  no  higher  motive  than  curio- 
sity ;  but  going  as  mere  spectators,  they  find 
themselves  retained  as  parties  unawares.  The 
word  of  God,  powerful  and  penetrating  as  a 
two-edged  sword,  discovers  the  thoughts  and 
intents  of  their  hearts,  presses  upon  their  con- 


BOOK   I. 

sciences,  and  seems  addressed  to  themselves 
alone.  The  sentiments  they  carry  away  with 
them  are  far  different  from  those  they  brought ; 
and  a  change  in  their  whole  deportment  im- 
mediately takes  place.  Such  was  the  case  of 
Zaccheus  (Luke  xix.  5.)  :  he  had  heard  much 
of  Jesus,  and  desired  to  see  him ;  for  this 
end,  he  ran  before,  and  climbed  a  tree,  from 
whence  he  purposed  to  behold  him  unob- 
served. But  how  great  must  his  surprise 
and  emotion  have  been,  when  Jesus,  whom  he 
had  considered  as  a  stranger,  looked  up,  called 
him  by  his  name,  and  invited  himself  to  his 
house. 

Some  are  drawn  by  the  report  of  others, 
freely  declaring  what  the  Lord  has  done  for 
their  souls.  The  relation  awakens  in  them 
desires  after  him  which  are  not  disappointed ; 
for  he  is  rich  enough  to  satisfy  all  who  seek 
to  him.  So  the  Samaritans,  whose  expecta- 
tions were  first  raised  by  the  woman's  decla- 
ration, "  Come  and  see  a  man  which  told  me 
all  things  that  ever  I  did  ;  is  not  this  the 
Christ  ?"  (Johniv.  43.)  had  soon  a  more  con- 
vincing testimony,  and  could  say,  "  Now  we 
believe,  not  because  of  thy  word,  but  we  have 
heard  him  ourselves ;  and  know  that  this  is 
indeed  the  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world." 

To  a  few  the  first  impulses  of  divine  grace 
come  suddenly  and  unthought  of,  when  their 
hearts  and  hands  are  engaged  quite  another 
way ;  as  Saul,  who  was  seeking  his  father's 
asses,  received  the  unexpected  news  of  a  king- 
dom. A  ray  of  truth  pierces  their  minds  like 
lightning,   and   disposes  them   to   leave  their 


schemes  unfinished,  to  seek  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  his  righteousness  only.  Thus  our 
Lord  passed  by  the  sons  of  Zebedee  when 
mending  their  nets  (Mark  i.  16,  19),  and 
Matthew  while  busied  at  the  receipt  of  cus- 
tom, Mark  ii.  14.  He  only  said,  Follow  me; 
he  used  no  arguments,  he  proposed  no  re- 
wards ;  but  he  spoke  to  their  hearts,  and, 
by  the  constraining  power  of  his  love,  engag 
ed  them  to  a  cheerful  and  immediate  ohe 
dience. 

Afflictions  likewise  are  now,  no  less  thai» 
formerly,  a  happy  means  to  bring  many  to 
Jesus.  He  prepares  them  for  heavenly  bles- 
sings, by  embittering  or  removing  their  crea- 
ture-comforts. Had  they  continued  in  pros- 
perity, they  would  not  have  thought  of  him  ; 
but  the  loss  of  health,  or  friends,  or  substance, 
disappointments  in  life,  or  a  near  prospect  of 
death,  constrain  them  in  good  earnest  to  seek 
for  one  able  to  deliver  them.  In  the  time  of 
their  distress,  they  say,  Arise,  and  save  us ; 
not  that  afflictions  in  themselves  can  produce 
this  turn  of  thought.  Too  many,  in  such  cir- 
cumstances, toss  like  a  wild  bull  in  a  net, 
but  when  he  sends  afflictions  for  this  purpose, 
they  accomplish  that  which  he  pleases.  Thus, 
when  he  was  upon  earth,  many  who  came,  or 
were  brought  (Mark  ii.  9.)  to  him  for  the  re- 
lief of  bodily  disorders,  experienced   a  double 


IMMEDIATELY  BEFORE  THE   ASCENSION. 


CHAP.  IV. 

cure.  He  healed  (John  ix.  7,  36,  38.)  their 
diseases,  and  pardoned  their  sins.  At  the 
same  time  that  he  restored  the  blind  to  sight 
(John  iv.  53),  he  opened  the  eyes  of  their 
minds.  He  sometimes  made  the  afflictions 
of  one  the  means  to  bring  a  whole  family  to 
the  knowledge  of  his  grace.  A  considerable 
part  of  his  followers  were  such  as  these, 
whom  he  had  graciously  relieved  from  dis- 
tresses incurable  by  any  hand  but  his.  Some 
had  been  long  and  grievously  tormented ; 
had  assayed  every  means,  but  found  them- 
selves worse  and  worse,  till  they  applied  to 
him  ;  and  having  known  the  happy  effects  of 
his  power  and  compassion,  they  would  leave 
him  no  more. 

Lastly,  We  sometimes  meet  with  instances 
of  his  mercy  and  ability  to  save  even  to  the 
uttermost,  in  the  unhoped-for  conversion  of 
desperate  and  hardened  sinners,  who  have 
gone  on  with  a  high  hand,  regardless  of  mer- 
cies, warnings,  and  judgments,  till  they  seem- 
ed past  conviction,  and  given  up  to  a  repro- 
bate mind.  Their  state  resembles  that  of  the 
demoniac,  Luke  viii.  They  are  so  entirely 
under  the  power  of  the  devil  (though  perhaps 
they  vainly  boast  of  freedom),  that  no  argu- 
ments, no  motives,  no  resolutions,  can  restrain 
them  within  bounds ;  but  they  break  through 
every  tie  of  nature,  conscience,  and  reason, 
and  are  restless  drudges  in  the  service  of  sin, 
though  they  feel  themselves  miserable  at  pre- 
sent, and  see  inevitable  ruin  before  their  eyes. 
Yet  even  this  case  is  not  too  hard  for  him  on 
whom  the  sinner's  help  is  laid.  Pie  can  dis- 
possess the  legion  with  a  word  ;  he  can  take 
the  prey  from  the  mighty,  and  deliver  the  law- 
ful captive,  bind  the  strong  one  armed,  and 
divide  his  spoil.  Happy  change  !  when  the 
power  of  grace  not  only  sets  the  soul  at  liberty 
from  sin  and  Satan,  but  puts  it  in  possession 
of  what  were  lately  the  instruments  of  its  sla- 
very !  when  all  the  powers  and  faculties  of 
body  and  mind  are  redeemed  to  the  Lord's 
use,  and  the  experience  of  past  evil  is  made 
conducive  to  future  comfort  and  advantage  ! 
Such  an  instance  was  that  great  sinner,  that 
penitent,  believing  happy  soul,  of  whom  it  is 
emphatically  remarked,  "  She  loved  much, 
because  much  had  been  forgiven  her,V  Luke 
vii.  47.  Sometimes  the  deliverance  is  deferred 
till  near  the  period  of  life.  The  poor  wretch, 
labouring  under  the  pangs  or  dread  of  death, 
and  trembling  at  the  apprehension  of  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  living  God,  is  snatched 
as  a  brand  out  of  the  fire  ;  he  receives  faitli 
in  a  suffering  Saviour,  and  feels  the  power  of 
atoning  blood  ;  his  terrors  cease,  and  joy  suc- 
ceeds, a  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory. 
Thus  the  expiring  malefactor  was  converted 
upon  the  cross  (Luke  xxiii.  43),  and  receiv- 
ed an  infallible  assurance  of  salvation. 

3.  The  characters  of  our  Lord's  disciples, 
with  the  account  we  have  of  their  defects  and 
failings,   may  farther  illustrate  the  history  of 


44,7 


his  church  and  gospel,  and  afford  an  apology 
for  the  blemishes,  which,  through  human  in- 
firmity, do  more  or  less  attend  the  prevalence 
of  his  doctrines. 

The  grace  of  God  has  a  real  influence  upon 
the  whole  man.  It  enlightens  the  under- 
standing, directs  the  will,  purifies  the  affec- 
tions, regulates  the  passions,  and  corrects  the 
different  excesses  to  which  different  persons 
are  by  constitution  or  habit  inclined,  yet  it 
seldom  wholly  changes  the  complexion  or  tem- 
per of  the  animal  frame.  It  does  not  impart 
any  new  natural  powers,  though  it  teaches  the 
use  and  improvement  of  those  we  have  re- 
ceived. It  will  dispose  us  to  seek  instruction, 
make  us  open  to  conviction,  and  willing  to 
part  with  our  prejudices,  so  far  and  so  soon 
as  we  discover  them,  but  it  will  not  totally 
and  instantaneously  remove  them.  Hence 
there  are  a  great  variety  of  characters  in  the 
christian  life  ;  and  the  several  graces  of  the 
Spirit,  as  zeal,  love,  meekness,  faith,  appear 
with  peculiar  advantage  in  different  subjects, 
yet  so  that  every  commendable  property  is 
subject  to  its  particular  inconvenience.  Per- 
fection cannot  be  found  in  fallen  man.  The 
best  are  sometimes  blameable,  and  the  wisest 
often  mistaken.  Warm  and  active  tempers, 
though  influenced  in  the  main  by  the  noble 
ambition  of  pleasing  God  in  all  things,  are  apt 
to  overshoot  themselves,  and  to  discover  a  re- 
sentment and  keenness  of  spirit  which  cannot 
be  wholly  justified.  Others  of  a  more  fixed 
and  sedate  temper,  though  less  subject  to  this 
extreme, are  prone  to  its  opposite;  their  gentle- 
ness degenerates  into  indolence,  their  caution 
into  cowardice.  The  principle  of  self,  like- 
wise, which,  though  subdued,  is  not  eradi- 
cated, will  in  some  instances  appear.  Add  to 
this  the  unknown  access  and  influence  which 
the  evil  spirits  have  upon  our  minds,  the  sud- 
den and  new  emergencies  which  surprise  us 
into  action  before  we  have  had  time  to  deli- 
berate, with  many  other  considerations  of  a 
like  nature;  and  it  will  be  no  wonder  that 
some  things  are  always  amiss'  in  the  best 
and  most  successful  attempts  to  promote  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  souls.  And  it 
is  farther  to  be  noted  that  some  individuals 
will  be  found  who,  though  seemingly  engaged 
in  the  same  good  work,  and  for  a  time  pre- 
tending to  much  zeal,  are  essentially  defective 
in  their  hearts  and  views ;  and  when  at  length 
their  true  characters  are  exposed,  the  world, 
who  either  cannot,  or  will  not  distinguish, 
charge  the  faults  of  a  few  upon  a  whole  pro- 
fession, as,  in  the  former  case,  they  wound 
the  character  of  a  good  man  for  unavoidable 
and  involuntary  mistakes.     We  shall  therefore 

*  A  lukewarm,  cautious  spirit  can  easily  avoid,  and 
readily  censure  the  mistakes  and  faults  of  those  who, 
fired  with  an  honest  warmth  for  the  honour  of  God  and 
the  good  of  souls,  are  sometimes  transported  beyond  the 
bounds  of  strict  prudence.  But  though  the  best  inten- 
tion cannot  make  that  right  which  is  wrong  in  itself,  yet 
the  zeal,  diligence,  and  disinterested  aim  of  such  person* 
are  worthy  of  our  esteem. 


44-3  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  BOOK  I 

shew,  that  either  the  exceptions  made,  and  so  |  But,  whilst  his  heart  was  full  of  wickedness, 
loudly  reverberated  in  our  ears,  against  the  he  could  find  fault  with  others,  and  charge 
gospel  doctrine,  on  these  accounts,  are  unjust,  '  their  best  expressions  of  love  with  indiscre 
or  that  there  was  sufficient  cause  to  reject  and  * 
condemn  our  Lord  and  his  apostles   for  the 


same  reasons. 

The  character  of  Peter  is  marked  with  ad- 
mirable propriety  and  consistency  by  the  evan- 
gelists. He  everywhere  appears  like  himself. 
Earnestly  devoted  to  his  Master's  person,  and 
breathing  an  honest  warmth  for  his  service, 
he  was  in  a  manner  the  eye,  the  hand,  the 
mouth  of  the  apostles  :  he  was  the  first  to  ask, 
to  answer,  to  propose,  and  to  execute :  he 
made  a  noble  confession,  for  which  our  Lord 
honoured  him  with  a  peculiar  commendation  : 
he  waited  but  for  a  command  to  walk  to  him 
upon  the  water .  he  was  not  afraid  to  expose 
himself  in  his  Lord's  defence,  when  he  was 
surrounded  and  apprehended  by  his  enemies  : 
and  though,  in  this  last  instance,  his  affection 
was  ill  expressed,  yet  his  motive  was  undoubt- 
edly praise -worthy.  His  heart  flamed  with 
zeal  and  love  and  therefore  he  was  always 
forward  to  distinguish  himself. 

But  the  warmth  of  Peter's  temper  often 
betrayed  him  into  great  difficulties,  and  shewed 
that  the  grace  he  had  received  was  consistent 
with  many  imperfections.  Though  he  sin- 
cerely loved  Christ,  and  had  forsaken  all  for 
him,  he  was  at  one  time  so  ignorant  of  the 
true  design  of  his  incarnation,  that  he  was  an- 
gry and  impatient  to  hear  him  speak  of  his 
sufferings,  and  brought  upon  himself  a  most 
severe  rebuke.  Not  content  with  the  ordinary  been  chosen 
services  allotted  to  him,  he  offered  himsel-f  to 
unnecessary  trials,  as  in  the  above  instance, 
when  he  pressed  to  walk  upon  the  water.  The 
event  shewed  him  his  own  weakness  and  in- 
sufficiency, yet  his  self-confidence  revived  and 
continued.  When  our  Lord  warned  him  again 
and  again  of  his  approaching  fall,  he  thought, 
and  boldly  affirmed  that  it  was  impossible. 
He  was  sincere  in  his  protestation  ;  but  the 
actual  experiment  was  necessary  to  convince 
and  humble  him.  Accordingly,  when  left  to 
himself,  he  fell  before  the  first  temptation. 
And  here  the  impetuosity  of  his  temper  was 
still  manifest.  He  did  not  stop  at  a  simple 
denial  of  Jesus,  he  confirmed  it  by  an  oath,* 
and  at  length  proceeded  to  utter  bitter  impre- 
cations against  himself,  if  he  so  much  as  knew 
him,  whom  he  had  seen  transfigured  in  glory 
upon  the  mount,  and  prostrate  in  an  agony  in 
the  garden.  Such  was  the  weakness  and  in- 
consistency of  this  prince  of  the  apostles. 

None  of  these  excesses  appeared  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  traitor  Judas.  He  was  so  circum- 
spect and  reserved,  that  we  do  not  find  any  of 
the  disciples  had   the   least  suspicion  of  him. 

*  Mark  xiv.  71.  "  He  began  to  curse  and  swear" — 
To  imprecate  the  most  dreadful  curses  upon  himself, 
and  call  solemnly  on  God  to  execute  them.  This  was 
indeed  the  most  probable  method  to  free  himself  from 
the  suspicion  of  being  a  disciple  of  Jesus,  for  no  such 
language  had  been  till  then  heard  among  his  follower* 


tion.  When  Mary  anointed  our  Lord's  feet 
with  ointment  (John  xii.  5,  6),  he  was  dis- 
pleased at  the  waste,  and  professed  a  warm 
concern  for  the  poor ;  but  we  are  told  the 
true  reason  of  his  economy  :  It  was  not  be- 
cause he  cared  for  the  poor,  but  because  he 
was  a  thief,  and  had  the  bag  which  contained 
the  common  stock  entrusted  to  him.  The 
charge  of  the  bag  is  an  office  full  of  tempta- 
tion, and  an  attachment  to  the  bag  has  been 
often  at  the  bottom  of  many  censures  and  mis- 
representations which  have  been  thrown  out 
against  the  people  of  God.  It  has  been,  and 
it  will  be  so  ;  but  the  Lord  has  appointed  that 
wherever  the  gospel  should  be  preached,  to 
the  end  of  the  world,  this  action  of  Mary, 
with  the  observation  of  Judas  upon  it,  and  the 
motive  from  which  he  made  it,  should  be 
handed  down  together,  that  we  may  not  be 
discouraged  at  things  of  the  same  kind.  With- 
out doubt,  the  treason  of  Judas,  and  his  un- 
happy end,  after  having  maintained  a  fair 
character  so  long,  and  shared  with  the  rest  in 
the  honours  of  the  apostleship,  were  to  them 
an  occasion  of  grief,  and  afforded  their  ene- 
mies a  subject  of  reproach  and  triumph.  But 
we  may  believe  one  reason  why  our  Lord 
chose  Judas,  and  continued  him  so  long  with 
his  disciples,  to  have  been,  that  we  might  learn 
by  this  awful  instance  not  to  be  surprised  if 
some,  who  have  made  a  shew  in  the  church, 
to  important  offices,  and  fur- 
nished with  excellent  gifts,  do  in  the  end 
prove  hypocrites  and  traitors :  "  Let  him 
that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest  he 
fall." 

A  desire  of  pre-eminence  and  distinction  is 
very  unsuitable  to  the  followers  of  Jesus,  who 
made  himself  the  servant  of  all ;  very  unbe- 
coming the  best  of  the  children  of  men,  who 
owe  their  breath  to  the  mercy  of  God,  have 
nothing  that  they  can  call  their  own,  and  have 
been  unfaithful  in  the  improvement  of  every 
talent.  We  allow  that  every  appearance  of 
this  is  a  blemish  in  the  christian  character, 
and  especially  in  a  christian  minister ;  but  if, 
on  some  occasions,  and  in  some  degree,  hu- 
man infirmity  has  wrought  this  way,  though 
no  example  can  justify  it,  yet  those  who, 
through  ignorance  of  their  own  hearts,  are 
too  rigid  censurers  of  others,  may  be  reminded 
that  this  evil  frequently  discovered  itself  in 
the  apostles.  They  often  disputed  who  should 
be  the  greatest ;  and,  when  our  Lord  was 
speaking  of  his  approaching  sufferings,  two  of 
them  chose  that  unseasonable  time  to  preclude 
the  rest,  and  petitioned  that  they  might  have 
the  chief  seats  in  his  kingdom.  The  first  of- 
fence was  theirs  ;  but  when  the  ten  heard  it, 
they  were  all  moved  with  indignation,  and 
shewed  themselves  equally  desirous  of  supe- 
riority      It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  unless  the 


CHAP.   IV. 


IMMEDIATELY  BEFORE  THE  ASCENSION. 


44  9 


apostles  were  hypocrites  and  mercenaries,  some 
transient  escapes  of  this  sort  (though  confes- 
sedly criminal  and  indecent)  are  no  sure  proofs 
that  such  a  person  is  not  in  the  main  sincere, 
disinterested,  and  truly  devoted  to  the  service 
of  God  and  his  gospel. 

No  less  contrary  to  the  meek  and  gracious 
spirit  of  Jesus  is  an  angry  zeal,  expressing  it 
self  in  terms  of  ill-will  and  bitterness  to  those 
who  oppose  or  injure  us.  One  of  the  highest 
attainments  and  brightest  evidences  of  true 
grace,  is,  from  a  sense  of  the  love  and  exam- 
ple of  Christ,  to  shew  bowels  of  mercy  and 
long  suffering  to  all  men,  and  by  persever- 
ance in  well-doing  to  overcome  evil  with 
good.  And  a  contrary  behaviour  (if  frequent 
and  notorious)  will,  like  a  dead  fly  in  preci- 
ous ointment,  destroy  the  savour,  if  not  the 
efficacy  of  all  we  can  attempt  for  the  service 

»of  God  in  the  world.  However,  if  repeated 
falsehoods,  and  studied  provocations  do  some- 
times, in  an  unguarded  moment,  extort  from 
the  disciples  of  Christ  such  expressions  and 
marks  of  displeasure  as  in  their  cooler  hours 
they  willingly  retract  and  sincerely  repent  of 
before  God,  this  ought  not  to  be  exaggerated 
beyond  bounds,  as  an  offence  inconsistent 
with  their  profession,  at  least  not  by  any  who 
would  be  afraid  to  speak  dishonourably  of 
the  apostles  James  and  John,  who  once  went 
so  far  in  their  anger*  as  to  demand  that  fire 
might  be  sent  from  heaven  to  devour  their  ad- 
versaries, Luke  ix.  54. 

We  might  proceed  to  other  particulars ; 
but  enough  has  been  said  to  shew  the  general 
resemblance  which  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
in  latter  times  bears  to  our  Lord's  personal 
ministry :  The  doctrine  is  the  same,  the  ef- 
fects the  same.  It  was,  and  it  is  to  many,  "  a 
stone  of  stumbling,  and  a  rock  of  offence." 
The  opposition  it  has  met  with  has  been  al- 
ways owing  to  the  same  evil  principle  of  pride, 
and  the  love  of  sin,  which  are  latent  in  every 
unrenewed  heart :  Though  the  pretexts  are 
various,  they  may  be  reduced  to  a  few  lead- 
ing motives  which  are  always  at  work.  The 
professors  of  this  gospel  have  at  no  time  been 
very  numerous,  if  compared  with  those  who 
have  rejected  it ;  and  of  these,  too  many  have 
dishonoured  or  forsaken  it.  Neither  have 
those  who  have  received  it  most  cordially,  and 
been  most  desirous  to  adorn  and  promote  it, 
been  wholly  exempt  from  mistakes  and  im- 
perfections.     The  tenor  of  their  conduct  has 

*  They  thought  they  were  influenced  by  a  commend, 
able  zeal  for  their  Master,  and  that  their  proposal  was 
warranted  by  an  authorised  precedent.  We  do  not  find 
that  they  ever  wished  for  fire  to  consume  the  Scribes 
vid  Pharisees,  who  were  Christ's  most  inveterate  ene- 
mies. But  when  the  Samaritan*  rejected  him,  the  vile 
Samaritans  whom  they,  upon  a  national  prejudice,  had 
Deen  accustomed  to  hate,  then  their  hearts  deceived 
them,  and  they  indulged  their  own  corrupt  passions, 
while  they  supposed  they  were  animated  by  a  zeal  for 
Christ.  A  re  we  not  often  deceived  in  the  same  wav  ? 
Can  we  not  silently  bear,  or  ingenuously  extenuate  the 
faults  and  mistakes  of  our  own  party,  while  wc  are  all 
zeal  and  emotion  to  expose,  censure,  and  condemn  what 
is  amiss  in  others  f 


proved  them  partakers  of  a  more  excellent 
spirit  than  others  ;  their  faith  in  Jesus  has  not 
been  an  empty  notion,  but  fruitful  of  good 
works,  such  as  no  man  could  do  except  God 
was  with  him.  They  have  been  governed  by 
higher  motives,  and  devoted  to  nobler  aims, 
than  the  world  can  either  understand  or  bear  ; 
— yet  they  are  deeply  conscious  of  inherent 
infirmity,  and  sometimes  (to  their  great  grief ) 
they  give  too  visible  proofs  of  it,  which  their 
watchful  adversaries  are  glad  to  aggravate  and 
charge  upon  them  as  consequences  of  theii 
doctrine.  This  should  induce  all  who  love 
the  Lord  Jesus  to  redouble  their  guard,  and 
to  pray  with  David  that  they  may  be  led  in 
the  right  way  because  of  their  observers.  If 
the  question  is  concerning  the  infirmities,  or 
even  the  vices  of  others,  almost  every  one  is 
ready  to  plead  in  their  behalf  j  allowances  are 
freely  and  largely  made  for  human  frailty,  and 
none  are  willing  to  be  thought  harsh  or  cen- 
sorious. But  the  believer  in  Jesus  must  look 
for  no  abatement  or  extenuation  ;  even  the 
professed  admirers  of  candour  and  charity 
will  not  hesitate  to  put  the  worst  construction 
upon  all  he  says  or  does;  for  they  are  seek- 
ing occasion  to  wound  the  gospel  through  his 
misconduct.  They  are  sensible  that  he  is 
generally  above  them  ;  and  therefore  rejoice  to 
find  or  pretend  a  flaw,  on  which  they  may  ex- 
patiate, to  reduce  him  as  near  as  possible  to 
their  own  level ;  though,  if  their  censures  are 
extended  to  their  just  consequence,  they  will 
(as  we  have  seen)  fall  hard  upon  the  apostles 
themselves. 

I  hope,  that  what  I  have  said  upon  this  sub- 
ject will  neither  be  misunderstood  nor  per- 
verted. We  do  not  defend  even  the  infirmi- 
ties of  the  best  men  j  much  less  would  we 
provide  a  plea  for  persecution  or  ambition 
Let  not  the  man,  who  supposes  gain  to  be 
godliness,  who  makes  the  gospel  a  ladder 
whereby  to  climb  the  heights  of  wordly  pre- 
ferment, whose  heart,  like  the  insatiable  fire, 
is  craving  more,  and  practising  every  art  to 
accumulate  wealth  and  honour  in  the  church  ; 
let  not  the  proud  man  who  would  lord  it  over 
conscience,  and  though  unable  to  command 
fire  from  heaven,  would  gladly  prepare  fire 
and  slaughter  upon  earth  for  all  who  will 
not  venture  their  souls  upon  his  faith  ;  let 
not  these  avail  themselves  of  the  examples 
of  James  and  John  :  but  rather  let  them  trem- 
ble at  the  reflection,  that  while  they  manifest 
no  part  of  the  apostles  graces,  they  are  entire- 
ly possessed  of  those  tempers,  the  smallest 
traces  of  which  our  Lord  so  severely  rebuked 
in  his  disciples. 

The  first  believers,  though  not  faultless,  were 
sincere  :  The  natural  disposition  of  their  hearts 
was  changed  ;  they  believed  in  Jesus ;  they 
loved  him  ;  they  devoted  themselves  to  his 
service ;  they  submitted  to  his  instructions, 
shared  in  his  reproach,  and  could  not  be  either 
enticed  or  intimidated  to  leave  him.  Their 
2  N    . 


450 


STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH 


BOOK  t 


gracious  blaster  was  their  guide  and  guard, 
their  advocate  and  counsellor;  when  they 
were  in  want,  in  danger,  in  trouble,  or  in 
doubt,  they  applied  to  him,  and  found  relief; 
bence  they  learned  by  degrees  to  cast  all  their 
care  upon  him.  He  corrected  every  wrong 
disposition  ;  he  pardoned  their  failings,  and 
enabled  them  to  do  better.  His  precepts 
taught  them  true  wisdom  ;  and  his  own  exam- 
pie,  which,  to  those  who  loved  him,  had  the 
force  of  a  thousand  precepts,  was  at  once  the 
model  and  the  motive  of  their  obedience.  To 
make  them  ashamed  of  aspiring  to  be  chief, 
he  himself,  though  Lord  of  all,  conversed  a- 
monsr  them  as  a  servant,  and  condescended  to 
wash  their  feet ;  to  teach  them  forbearance  and 
gentleness  to  their  opposers,  they  saw  him 
weep  over  his  bitterest  enemies,  and  heard  him 
pray  for  his  actual  murderers. 

Thus  they  gradually  advanced  in  faith,  love, 
and  holiness,  as  the  experience  of  every  day 
disclosed  to  them  some  new  discovery  of  the 
treasures  of  wisdom,  grace,  and  power,  resid- 
ing in  their  Lord  and  Saviour :  he  explained 
to  them  in  private  the  difficulties  which  oc- 
curred in  his  more  public  discourses ;  by  his 
observations  on  the  common  occurrences  of  life 
he  opened  to  them  the  mysterious  volumes  of 
creation  and  providence,  which  none  but  those 
whom  he  vouchsafes  to  teach  can  understand 
aright :  he  prayed  for  them,  and  with  them, 
and  taught  them  to  pray  for  themselves  :  he 
revealed  unto  them  the  unseen  realities  of  the 
eternal  world,  and  supported  them  under  the 
prospect  of  approaching  trials ;  particularly 
of  his  departure  from  them,  by  assuring 
them  that  he  was  going  on  their  behalf  to 
prepare  them  a  place  in  his  kingdom,  and  that 
in  a  little  time  he  would  return  to  receive 
them  to  himself,  that  they  might  dwell  with 
him  for  ever. 

What  he  personally  spoke  to  them,  and  act- 
ed in  their  presence,  was  recorded  by  his  di- 
rection, and  has  been  preserved  by  his  provi- 
dence, for  the  use  and  comfort  of  his  church. 
Though  his  enemies  have  raged  horribly,  they 
have  not  been  able  to  suppress  the  divine  vol- 
ume; and,  though  invisible  to  mortal  eyes,  he 
is  still  near  to  all  that  seek  him  ;  and  so  sup- 
plies the  want  of  his  bodily  presence  by  the 
secret  communications  of  his  Spirit,  that  his 
people  have  no  reason  to  complain  of  any  dis- 
advantage :  Though  they  see  him  not,  they 
believe,  love,  rejoice,  and  obey;  their  atten- 
tion and  dependence  are  fixed  upon  him  ;  they 
intrust  him  with  all  their  concerns ;  they 
rely  upon  his  promises  ;  they  behold  him  as 
their  High-priest,  Advocate,  and  Shepherd ; 
they  live  upon  his  fulness,  and  plead  his  right- 
eousness ;  and  they  tind  and  feel  that  their  re- 
liance is  not  in  vain. 

The  disciples  were  content  for  his  sake  to 
bear  the  scorn  and  injurious  treatment  of  the 
world :   they   expected  no   better   usage,    nor 


desired  an  higher  honour,  than  to  be  fellow- 
gufferers  with  their  Lord.  When  he  proposed 
returning  to  Judea,  at  a  time  they  thought 
dangerous,  and  they  could  not  alter  his  pur- 
pose, they  did  not  wish  to  be  left  behind  : 
"  Let  us  go  (says  one  of  them  to  the  rest), 
"  that  we  may  die  with  him."  It  is  true,  when 
he  was  actually  apprehended,  the  first  shock 
of  the  trial  vias  too  strong  :  they  forsook  him 
and  fled.  He  permitted  this,  both  to  exempt 
them  from  danger,  and  to  let  them  know  that 
of  themselves  they  could  do  nothing.  But  it 
seems  they  did  not  go  far.  When  Thomas 
afterwards  said,  "  Except  I  shall  see  in  his 
hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  fing- 
er into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my 
hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not  believe,"  he 
spoke  like  one  who  had  been  an  eye-witness 
to  his  sufferings,  and  expresses  an  earnestness 
as  if  he  still  saw  him  wounded  and  bleeding. 
This  catastrophe  indeed  almost  disconcerted 
them  ;  they  had  trusted  it  was  he  that  should 
deliver  Israel ;  but  they  saw  him  oppressed 
and  slain  by  wicked  men.  From  that  time  to 
his  resurrection  was  a  mournful  interval,  the 
darkest  and  most  distressing  period  his  church 
ever  knew. 

But  the  third  day  dispelled  their  grief:  He 
returned  victorious  from  the  grave,  proclaim- 
ing peace  by  the  blood  of  the  cross;  he  de- 
clared, and  his  appearance  proved  it,  that  the 
ransom  was  paid  and  accepted ;  and  that  hav- 
ing now  overcome  the  sharpness  of  death,  he 
had  opened  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  all  be- 
lievers. Then  he  spoke  peace  to  their  hearts  : 
he  opened  their  understandings  to  know  the 
scriptures,  and  breathed  upon  them  his  Holy 
Spirit :  he  conversed  frequently  with  them 
during  forty  days  ;  gave  them  a  large  com- 
mission to  preach  his  gospel,  and  an  invalu- 
able promise  of  his  presence  with  them  to  the 
end  of  the  world. 

When  he  had  thus  confirmed  them  by  those 
instructions  and  assurances,  which  his  wisdom 
saw  necessary,  he  was  received  up  to  heaven. 
They  followed  him  with  their  hearts  and  eyes 
a  while,  and  then  returned  to  Jerusalem  re- 
joicing. They  were  not  ashamed  of  their  cru- 
cified Lord,  or  unwilling  to  bear  the  con- 
temptuous names  of  Galileans  or  Nazarenes 
for  his  sake.  They  were  not  afraid,  as  if  left 
like  sheep  without  a  shepherd  in  the  midst  ot 
their  enemies  :  they  knew,  that  though  they 
could  see  him  no  more,  his  eye  would  be  al- 
ways upon  them,  and  his  ear  open  to  theii 
prayer  :  they  waited,  according  to  his  com 
mand,  for  a  farther  supply  of  his  Spirit,  to 
qualify  them  for  the  important  and  difficult 
services  which  were  before  them.  Nor  did 
they  wait  long ;  a  few  days  after  his  ascen- 
sion, while  they  were  praying  with  one  heart 
and  mind,  the  place  where  they  were  assem- 
bled was  shaken  as  with  a  mighty  wind  ;  the 
Spirit  of  power  and  wisdom  was  abundantly 


CHAP.  IV. 


IMMEDIATELY  BEFORE  THE  ASCENSION. 


451 


communicated  to  them  ;  they  spoke  with  new 
tongues,  and  immediately  began  to  preach 
boldly,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

With  this  solemn  and  memorable  event,  I 
shall  open  the  second  book,  and  take  up  the 
thread  of  the  gospel  history  from  that  glo- 
rious day  of  divine  power.  The  contents  of 
this  first  book,  namely,  a  brief  view  of  the 
necessity  and  nature  of  the  gospel-dispensa- 
tion,— the  causes  why  it  is  and  has  been  op- 
posed,— and  the  circumstances  of  the  first  be- 
lievers,— I  have  premised,  as  general  prin- 
ciples, for  my  own  and  the  reader's  assistance 
in  the  progress  of  the  work. 

It  is  much  to  be  wished,  that  every  reader 
might  be  impressed  with  the  importance  of 
our  subject.  It  is  not  a  point  of  curiosity, 
but  of  universal  concern,  and  that  in  the 
highest  and  most  interesting  sense.  Most  of 
the  researches  and  disquisitions  which  employ 
the  time  and  talents  of  men,  are  of  a  trivial  or 
indifferent  nature.  We  may  range  on  dif- 
ferent sides  concerning  them  ;  we  may  give 
or  refuse,  or  retract  our  assent,  when  and  as 
often  as  we  please ;  we  may  be  totally  igno- 
rant of  them  without  loss,  or  be  skilled  in 
them  all  without  deriving  any  solid  comfort 
or  advantage  from  them  :  but  the  gospel  of 
Christ  is  not  like  the  dry  uninteresting  theo- 
ries of  human  wisdom ;   it  will  either  wound 


or  heal,  be  a  savour  of  life  or  of  death,  a 
source  of  endless  comfort,  or  the  occasion  of 
aggravated  condemnation,  to  all  that  hear  of  it. 
To  receive  it,  is  to  receive  the  earnest  and  as- 
surance of  eternal  happiness ;  to  reject  it,  or 
remain  wilfully  ignorant  of  its  characters  and 
properties,  will  leave  the  soul  oppressed  with 
guilt,  and  exposed  to  the  wrath  of  God  for 
ever.  It  highly  concerns  us,  therefore,  to  in- 
quire, Whether  we  believe  the  gospel  or  no, 
whether  what  we  call  the  gospel  is  the  same  that 
Christ  and  his  apostles  taught,  and  whether 
it  has  had  the  same  or  similar  effects  upon 
our  hearts  ?  We  live  where  the  gospel  is  ge- 
nerally professed,  and  we  are  reputed  chris- 
tians from  our  cradles ;  but  the  word  of  God 
cautions  us  to  take  heed,  lest  we  be  deceived. 
We  see  Christianity  divided  into  innumerable 
sects  and  parties,  each  supported  by  names, 
arguments,  and  books,  and  fighting  for  the 
credit  of  a  denomination  :  but  how  many  for- 
get, that  in  a  little  time  all  these  divisions  and 
subdivisions  will  be  reduced  to  two  ;  the  only 
real  and  proper  distribution  by  which  man- 
kind, as  to  their  religious  character,  ever  was 
or  will  be  distinguished,  and  according  to  which 
their  final  states  will  be  speedily  decided, — 
The  children  of  God,  and  the  children  of  the 
wicked  one. 


BOOK  II. 


OF  THE  SECOND  PERIOD  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


CHAP.  I. 

OF  THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  FROM  OUR 
LORD'S  ASCENSION  TO  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE 
FIRST  CENTURY. 

The  natural  weakness  of  man  is  conspicuous 
in  his  most  important  undertakings  :  having 
no  fund  of  sufficiency  in  himself,  he  is  forced 
to  collect  all  from  without ;  and  if  the  great- 
ness of  his  preparations  are  not  answerable  to 
the  extent  of  his  designs,  he  has  little  hopes 
of  success.  Farther,  when  he  has  planned 
and  provided  to  the  utmost  of  his  power,  he 
is  still  subject  to  innumerable  contingencies, 
which  he  can  neither  foresee  nor  prevent ; 
and  has  often  the  mortification  to  see  his  fair- 
est prospects  blasted,  and  the  whole  apparatus 
of  his  labour  and  care  only  contribute  to 
make  his  disappointment  more  conspicuous 
and  painful. 

The  reverse  of  this  is  the  character  of  the 
wonder-working  God.  To  his  power  every 
thing  is  easy  :  he  knows  how  to  employ  every 
creature  and  contingence,  as  a  means  to  ac- 
complish his  designs  ;  not  a  seeming  difficulty 
can  intervene  but  by  his  permission  ;  and  he 
only  permits  it  to  illustrate  bis  own  wisdom 
and  agency,  in  making  it  subservient  to  his 
will.  Thus,  having  all  hearts  and  events  in 
his  hands,  he  fulfils  his  own  counsels  with  the 
utmost  ease  and  certainty;  and  to  shew  that 
the  work  is  his  own,  he  often  proceeds  by 
such  methods  as  vain  men  account  weak  and 
insignificant;  producing  the  most  extensive 
and  glorious  consequences  from  small  and  in- 
considerable beginnings.  Thus  the  Lord  of 
hosts  hath  purposed  to  stain  the  pride  of  all 
human  glory. 

This  observation  might  be  confirmed  by  in- 
numerable examples  taken  from  the  common 
history  and  experience  of  mankind  ;  but  the 
subject  of  our  present  undertaking  exhibits 
the  most  illustrious  proof      When  the  Jews 


had  seen  Jesus  crucified,  dead,  and  buried, 
they  expected  to  hear  no  more  of  him  :  his 
disciples  were  few,  men  of  no  authority, 
learning,  or  influence ;  and  since  their  mas- 
ter, who  had  made  them  such  large  promises, 
was  at  last  unable  to  save  himself  from  death, 
it  was  probably  expected,  that  his  followers 
would  disperse  of  course,  forsake  their  sup- 
posed delusions,  and  return  to  their  fishing, 
and  other  employments  suited  to  their  capa. 
cities  and  talents. 

They  knew  not  that  Jesus  had  arisen  from 
the  dead,  and  had  frequently  shewn  himself 
to  his  servants,  to  comfort  and  confirm  their 
hearts.  They  little  thought  that  he,  whom 
they  had  seen  expire  on  the  cross,  was  im- 
moveably  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  God, 
possessed  of  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth  ; 
but  his  disciples  knew  this,  and  therefore  con- 
tinued to  assemble  in  his  name.  We  do  not 
find  that  there  was  much  notice  taken  of  them 
till  the  feast  of  Pentecost,  which  was  about 
ten  days  after  his  ascension.  At  this  sea- 
son,* by  the  Jewish  law,  the  first  fruits  of 
the  earth  were  presented  at  the  temple.  An 
appointment,  typical  of  those  more  sublime 
first  fruits  of  spiritual  gifts  and  graces  with 
which  the  Lord  on  this  day  enriched  his  dis- 
ciples, according  to  bis  promise,  enabling 
them  to  pi  each  his  gospel,  and  make  his  word 
effectual  to  the  conversion  of  a  large  multi- 
tude ;  as  an  earnest  of  that  divine  power,  by 
which  he  would  support  and  extend  his  church 
and  ministry  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

When  the  hearts  of  God's  people  are  united 
in  love,  and  pleading  his  promises  in  the  fer 
vent  exercise  of  faith  and  prayer,  great  things 
may  be  expected.  Such  was  the  happy  state 
of  the  disciples  on  this  solemn  day  :  they  were 
assembled  with  one  accord ;  no  jars  or  divi- 

*  Tiberius,  A.  D.  53.]  In  fixing  the  dates  of  our 
history,  I  shall  conform  to  wliat  I  think  the  mo-.t  ]ir<>- 
hable  and  authorised  opinion,  without  perplexing  ci- 
ther myself  or  my  readers  with  the  niceties  of  critical 
chronology. 


CHAP.  I. 

sions  had  as  yet  taken  place  among  them  ; 
they  were  animated  with  one  desire,  and  pray- 
ing with  one  mind.  Suddenly  and  wonder- 
fully they  obtained  an  answer :  the  place  they 
were  in  was  shaken  as  by  a  mighty  wind  (Acts 
ii)  ;  their  hearts  were  filled  with  the  power- 
ful energy  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  they  were 
instantaneously  enabled  to  speak  languages 
which  till  then  they  were  unacquainted  with. 
These  inward  powers  were  accompanied  with 
the  visible  symbols  of  fiery  tongues,  which  sat 
upon  each  of  their  heads  :  a  fit  emblem  both 
of  the  new  faculties  they  had  received,  and  of 
the  conquering,  assimilating  efficacy  of  the 
Spirit  by  whom  they  spoke  ;  whose  operations, 
like  the  fire,  are  vehement,  penetrating,  trans- 
forming, and  diffusive;  spreading  from  heart 
to  heart,  from  place  to  place,  till  the  flame, 
which  was  now  confined  within  a  few  breasts, 
was  communicated  to  many  nations,  people, 
and  languages. 

The  effects  of  this  divine  communication 
were  immediately  manifest  ;  they  were  filled 
with  love,  joy,  and  faith,  and  began  boldly 
and  publicly  to  praise  God.  Their  emotion 
and  zeal  could  not  be  long  unnoticed  :  those 
who  first  observed  it,  spoke  of  it  to  others,  and 
a  rumour  was  spread  abroad.  Jerusalem  was 
at  that  time  the  occasional  resort  of  the  Jews 
and  Jewish  proselytes,  who  were  dispersed 
throughout  the  known  world,  and  multitudes 
had  come  from  different  countries  to  celebrate 
the  feast.  The  promiscuous  throng,  who  as- 
sembled upon  the  report,  and  had  been  ac- 
customed to  different  languages,  were  there- 
fore greatly  astonished  to  hear  of  the  wonder- 
ful works  of  God,  every  man  in  his  own 
tongue.  While  some  expressed  their  surprise 
at  this,  others  ascribed  it  to  the  effects  of  wine, 
and  shewed  their  scorn  and  despite  to  the  Spirit 
of  grace,  by  reviling  the  apostles  as  drunk- 
ards. Thus  they  no  sooner  entered  upon 
their  public  service,  than  they  began  to  find 
the  same  treatment  which  their  Lord  had  met 
with,  and  were,  for  his  sake,  the  subjects  of 
calumny  and  derision.  This  is  a  remarkable 
instance  of  the  sagacity  and  temper  which 
the  men  of  the  world  discover  in  the  judg- 
ment they  form  of  a  work  of  God  ;  nor  is  it 
probable,  that  our  modern  reasoners  would 
have  judged  more  favourably,  if  they  could 
have  been  present  at  such  a  scene,  where  se- 
veral persons  were  speaking  loud  at  the  same 
time,  and  each  in  a  different  language  :  since 
they  account  the  operations  of  the  same  Spirit, 
madness,  and  folly,  even  where  they  are  not 
attended  with  such  extraordinary  circum- 
stances. 

This  weak  and  perverse  slander  was  imme- 
diately refuted  by  the  apostle  Peter,  who  ad- 
dressed the  people  in  a  grave  and  solemn  dis- 
course ;  and,  having  in  few  words  explain- 
ed the  nature  of  the  fact,  and  shewn  that  it 
was  an  accomplishment  of  ancient  prophecies, 
he  proceeded  to  apply  himself  more  closely  to 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL,  &C. 


453 

their  consciences.  He  assured  them  that 
what  they  saw  and  heard  was  wrought  by  the 
power  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  they  had 
rejected  before  Pilate.  He  informed  them 
of  that  honour  and  glory  which  he  now  pos. 
sessed,  and  charged  them  as  accomplices  in 
the  murder  of  a  person  whose  character  and 
dignity  God  had  vindicated  by  raising  him 
from  the  dead.  Though  our  Saviour  had  but 
few  disciples  during  his  personal  ministry,  he 
had  doubtless  left  a  deep  impression  of  his 
words  and  works  in  the  hearts  of  many.  This 
discourse  of  Peter  would  naturally  recal  him 
to  the  remembrance  of  those  who  had  seen 
him  in  the  flesh,  and  lead  them  to  reflect  how 
earnestly  and  unjustly  they  had,  at  the  insti- 
gation of  their  priests,  compelled  Pilate  to  put 
him  to  death.  These  reflections,  the  close- 
ness of  Peter's  address,  and  the  power  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  concurred  to  give  them  a  deep 
conviction  of  their  sin  ;  they  were  pierced  to 
the  heart,  they  no  longer  wondered  as  curious 
spectators,  but  were  solicitous  for  themselves, 
and  cried  out,  Brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ? 
Peter  then  proceeded  to  open  the  treasure  of 
gospel-grace,  and  to  direct  them  to  Jesus, 
whom  they  had  crucified,  for  salvation.  The 
effect  of  this  day's  preaching  (for  though  only 
Peter  is  named,  it  is  probable,  there  were 
more  than  one  preacher  or  one  discourse)  was 
signally  happy.  Three  thousand  souls  were 
converted,  and,  professing  their  faith  and  re- 
pentance, were  by  baptism  publicly  joined  to 
the  church. 

A  further  addition  was  soon  after  made : 
Peter  and  John  having  recovered  a  man  from 
incurable  lameness  by  faith  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  the  report  of  the  miracle  brought  a 
great  concourse  of  people  together  a  second 
time,  Acts  iii.  Peter  improved  the  occasion 
to  preach  to  them  at  the  temple  gate,  to  the 
purport  of  his  former  discourse.  He  had  an 
attentive  auditory,  and  his  word  was  made  ef- 
fectual to  the  conversion  of  many.  But  by 
this  time  the  enemies  of  Jesus  were  greatly 
alarmed  at  the  progress  of  his  doctrine  (Acts 
iv.  16,  47. ) ;  and  having  *  notice  of  what  had 
passed,  the  priests  and  Sadducees  violently 
apprehended  Teter,  with  John,  and  put  them 
in  prison.  He  had  not  finished  his  discourse  ; 
but  he  had  said  enough  to  be  remembered  ; 
and  this  interruption,  with  the  boldness  of  his 
following  defence,  made  his  words  more  re- 
garded. The  next  day  they  were  brought 
before  the  high-priest,  rulers,  and  elders; 
and  being  asked  concerning  the  late  miracle, 
Peter,  who  once  had  trembled  at  the  voice  of 


•  Many  consultations  have  been  held,  and  devices 
framed,  to  stop  the  progress  of  the  gospel,  as  if  it  were  a 
dangerous  infection.  But  all  such  attempts  are  vain  ; 
they  may  as  easily  restrain  the  dawning  of  the  day  as 
suppress  the  spreading  of  the  gospel.  When  the  Lord 
is  pleased  to  raise  up  tit  instruments  to  promote  it,  and 
to  vouchsafe  a  season  of  refreshment  from  his  pretence, 
then  its  influence  cannot  be  restrained  ;  a  spark  becomes 
a  flame,  a  little  one  a  multitude,  and  opposition  only 
makes  the  effects  more  visible  and  noticed 


45 1 


progress  of  the  gospf.i. 


a  girl,  was  not  afraid  to  use  the  utmost  free- 
dom and  plainness  with  the  council  and  heads 
of  the  Jewish  nation.  He  confessed  the 
name  and  cause  of  Jesus,  reminded  them  of 
their  wickedness  in  causing  him  to  be  crucifi- 
ed, and  in  direct  answer  to  their  question,  as- 
sured them  that  the  miracle  was  wrought  in 
his  name,  and  by  his  power.  Though  the 
council  were  highly  offended  with  this  lan- 
guage, and  the  more  so,  as  they  observed  the 
persons  who  spoke  were  private  and  unletter- 
ed men ;  yet,  being  unable  to  deny  the  fact, 
for  the  man  who  had  been  lame  stood  before 
them,  and  unwilling  to  incur  the  odium  of 
punishing  an  action  they  were  ashamed  to 
disapprove,  they  dissembled  their  rage,  and 
forbidding  the  apostles  to  speak  any  more  to 
the  people,  they  dismissed  them  ;  yet  they  did 
not  depart  until  they  had  protested  against 
this  inhibition,  and  declared  their  resolution 
to  obey  God  rather  than  men. 

The  believers  though  numerous,  amounting 
to  many  thousands,  lived  in  harmony  and  love, 
as  children  of  one  family.  The  greater  part 
of  them  wore  poor ;  those  therefore  who  had 
estates,  or  money,  willingly  put  their  all  into 
a  common  stock  for  the  use  of  the  whole, 
which  was  entrusted  to  the  care  of  the  apos- 
tles. This  is  recorded  as  an  instance  of  the 
benevolent  and  disinterested  spirit  with  which 
the  gospel  inspired  them,  but  it  is  not  enjoin- 
ed as  a  precedent  to  be  universally  observed, 
since  we  have  many  proofs,  that  the  usual  dis- 
tinctions in  civil  life  were  retained  in  other 
churches  planted  by  the  apostles ;  and  it  soon 
gave  occasion  to  discover,  that  in  the  best  so- 
cieties there  may  be  found  some  unworthy 
intruders,  and  that  very  specious  actions  may 
be  performed  from  base  and  dishonourable 
motives.  Even  under  this  richest  dispensa 
tion  of  grace,  there  were  some  professors  in- 
fluenced by  no  higher  motives  than  hypocrisy 
and  vain  glory.  Ananias  (Acts  v.),  with 
liis  wife  Sapphira,  attempted  to  impose  on  the 
apostles  by  a  concerted  lie,  and  would  have 
had  the  praise  of  giving  their  whole  substance, 
when  their  avarice  would  only  permit  them 
to  spare  a  part.  As  a  warning  to  all  preten- 
ders, who  seek  to  join  or  serve  the  church 
from  sordid  or  selfish  views,  Peter,  by  the 
direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  denounced  a 
severe  sentence  against  this  unhappy  pair,  and 
they  both  fell  dead  at  his  feet.*  The  cause 
and  suddenness  of  their  death  was  a  vindica- 
tion of  the  apostles  integrity  and  authority, 
and  a  seasonable  admonition  to  others,  to  de- 
ter any  from  attempting  to  associate  with  the 
disciples,  who  were  not  in  heart  devoted  to  the 
Lord. 

The  numbers  of  the  believers  still  increased, 
and  the  report  of  the  apostles  doctrine  and 
miracles  extended  from  Jerusalem  to  the  ad- 

*  The  apostolic  censures  were  not  like  the  papal  ana- 
themas, lirii/n  J'ulmina,  words  without  effect;  they  were 
Accomplished  in  an  instant.— See  Acts  \iii.  12. 


I300K    If 

jacent  parts.  The  priests  and  Sadducees  there- 
fore soon  renewed  their  efforts  to  suppress 
them  :  they  apprehended  the  apostles  again, 
and  put  them  in  the  common  prison  as  male- 
factors; but  the  Lord,  to  confirm  the  faith  and 
courage  of  his  people,  and  to  shew  how  easily 
he  can  protect  those  who  serve  him,  delivered 
them  the  same  night  by  his  angel.  In  the 
morning,  when  their  enemies  were  met,  and 
commanded  them  to  be  brought  to  their  tri- 
bunal, they  were  surprised  to  hear  that  the 
prison-doors  were  found  secure,  and  the  pri- 
soners all  escaped.  They  were,  however, 
soon  informed  that  they  were  not  gone  far, 
but  were  preaching  boldly  to  the  people,  as 
the  angel  had  directed  them,  regardless  of 
their  adversaries  designs  against  them.  They 
were  alarmed  at  this  notice,  and  began  to  be 
apprenhensive  of  the  event  *  ;  yet,  hurried  on 
by  their  enmity  to  Jesus  and  his  gospel,  they 
once  more  sent  their  officers  to  take  them, 
which  they  attempted  in  the  mildest  manner 
possible  ;  for,  as  the  prosecution  was  ground- 
less and  malicious,  they  were  not  without 
fear  lest  the  multitude  should  interpose  :  but 
they  had  to  do  with  the  followers  of  Jesus, 
who  would  countenance  no  tumult  in  their 
own  favour,  and  were  neither  afraid  nor  a- 
shamed  to  confess  his  name  in  the  face  of 
danger.  The  apostles,  therefore,  peaceably 
yielded  themselves,  and  being  brought  beforo 
the  council,  were  severely  questioned  for  dis- 
regarding the  late  prohibition  they  had  re- 
ceived. Peter  and  the  rest  answered  with 
their  usual  firmness;  they  avowed  the  fact, 
and  their  determination  to  persevere  f,  and 
charged  them  as  betrayers  and  murderers  of 
Jesus  in  stronger  terms  than  before.  The 
majority  of  the  council  were  exceedingly  en- 
raged at  their  boldness  :  they  were  cut  to  the 
heart,  and  consulted  to  put  them  to  death. 
But  the  more  moderate  advice  of  Gamaliel 
prevailed.  He  shewed  them,  from  some  re- 
cent instances,  that  if  this  new  sect  was  no 
more  than  a  human  institution,  they  need 
not  give  themselves  trouble  to  suppress  it,  for 
it  would  soon  sink  and  disappear  of  itself; 
but  if  it  was  indeed  of  God,  their  opposition 
would  be  not  only  in  vain,  but  in  effect  a  rebel- 
lion against  God  himself:  he  therefore  recom- 
mended milder  methods;  and  having  con- 
siderable repute  among  them  for  his  wisdom, 
the  rest  assented  to  him.      In  this  manner  the 

•  Acts  v.  24.  It  is  not  only  a  fruitless,  but  a  very  un- 
easy undertaking  to  fight  against  the  truth,  and  those 
who  profess  it.  The  boldest  and  wisest  champions  in 
this  desperate  cause  are  often  brought  to  their  wits  end, 
and  to  foresee  their  own  disappointment. 

f  Peter  and  the  apostles  answered,  "  We  ought  to  o- 
bey  God  rather  than  men."  It  should  seem  that  this  (if 
any)  may  be  called  a  natural  maxim,  and  that  the  rudest 
savage,  or  the  least  fluid  that  can  be  made  to  understand 
the  terms,  must  assent  to  the  truth  of  the  proposition,  as 
readily  as  they  perceive  that  two  and  two  make  four; 
how  strange  then  is  it,  that  men  of  the  greatest  parts 
and  penetration  in  other  things  so  seldom  receive  it ! 
There  are  few  periods  to  be  found,  even  in  the  chris- 
tian church,  in  which  those  who  steadily  acted  upon  this 
principle  were  not  considered  as  heretics  of  the  worst 
sort 


CHAP.  I.  AFTER  THE 

Lord,  who  has  the  hearts  of  all  in  his  power, 
delivered  the  apostles  a  third  time  by  raising 
them  an  advocate  from  amongst  their  enemies; 
yet,  to  save  appearances,  and  that  it  might  not 
be  thought  the  council  had  proceeded  so  far 
without  good  cause,  they  were  not  dismissed 
till  they  had  been  scourged,  and  again  enjoin- 
ed silence.  They  departed,  rejoicing  that  they 
had  the  honour  to  suffer  disgrace  for  the  sake 
of  Christ*,  and  returned  to  encourage  their 
companions ;  continuing  still  publicly,  and 
from  house  to  house,  to  teach  and  preach  in 
the  name  of  Jesus. 

These  were  happy  times  (Acts  vi.),  when 
the  whole  company  of  the  faithful  were  of  one 
heart  and  mind,  firmly  united  in  affection, 
sentiment,  ordinance,  and  practice.  Their  ad- 
versaries, though  angry,  and  desirous  to  in- 
jure them,  were  powerfully  restrained  by  the 
Divine  Providence  ;  so  that  they  enjoyed 
peace  in  the  midst  of  war,  and  were  favoured 
with  much  grace  in  their  hearts,  and  a  daily 
increase  in  their  numbers.  Yet  it  was  not 
long  before  an  occasion  arose  which  might 
have  had  unhappy  effects,  if  the  wisdom  and 
authority  of  the  apostles  had  not  provided  an 
early  remedy.  The  church,  as  yet,  consisted 
only  of  Jewish  believers ;  but  these  were 
distinguished  into  Jews  properly  so  called, 
that  is,  natives  and  inhabitants  of  Judea, 
and  Hellenists  or  Grecians,  the  name  given 
to  those  of  the  Jewish  race  and  profession  who 
had  been  dispersed  and  settled  in  the  Heathen 
countries.  Many  of  these,  as  has  been  ob- 
served, were  at  that  time  in  Jerusalem,  and 
among  the  first  converts  of  the  gospel.  As 
the  multitude  who  were  supplied  out  of  the 
common  stock  was  very  great,  it  is  no  wonder 
if  a  few  individuals  were  overlooked  :  some 
unavoidable  instances  of  this  sort  gave  rise  to 
a  complaint,  not  only  of  negligence,  but  par- 
tiality, in  the  distribution  of  the  money;  and 
the  Hellenists,  or  strangers,  thought  the 
others  had  an  undue  preference  shewn  them. 
The  apostles,  though  upright  and  impartial, 
were  unable  to  do  every  thing  themselves; 
and  therefore,  to  prevent  such  mistakes  and 
suspicions,  and  that  they  might  devote  their 
whole  time  and  attention  to  the  more  import- 
ant services  of  the  ministry,  they  entirely  di- 
vested themselves  of  the  pecuniary  charge  ; 
and,  by  their  advice  seven  men  were  chosen, 
on  whom,  by  prayer  and  imposition  of  hands, 
they  solemnly  devolved  this  trust.  Thus  the 
office  of  deacons  was  instituted.      They  were 

*  Hare  were  faith  and  love  in  exercise:  to  suffer  re- 
proach for  Christ  was  in  their  esteem  ail  honour  and  pri- 
vilege. It  is  mournful  to  observe  how  little  of  this  spi- 
rit is  to  be  found  amongst  us.  How  soon  are  we  offend- 
ed and  troubled  when  our  names  are  reproached  !  how 
uneasy  to  lie  under  contempt !  how  impatient  to  justify 
ourselves,  and  to  be  thought  well  of  by  all  persons  !  Far 
from  accounting  it  an  honour  to  bp  made  conformable 
to  Jesus  in  this  respect,  we  feel  it  a  burden  which  we  are 
restless  to  shake  off:  yet  it  must  be  borne,  or  we  must 
give  up  profession  and  all ;  for  neither  are  our  charac- 
ters more  respectable  than  the  first  Christians  nor  is  the 
world  better  reconciled  to  the  things  of  God  now  than  it 
was  then. 


ASCENSION".  455 

men  full  of  wisdom  and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and 
to  them  the  care  of  the  public  money,  and  the 
support  of  the  poor,  was  peculiarly  confided. 
Some  of  them,  perhaps  all,  were  occasionally 
preachers  ;  but  this  was  no  part  of  their  office 
as  deacons.  By  this  expedient,  the  cause  of 
murmuring  was  taken  away,  and  the  peace 
of  the  church  confirmed. 

Tiberius,  a.  p.  34.]  Thus  the  gospel  flou- 
rished, in  defiance  of  opposition.  The  Jews, 
provoked  more  and  more,  began  to  lose  all 
patience  ;  the  mild  counsels  of  Gamaliel  could 
no  longer  restrain  them,  but  their  blinded  pas- 
sions hurried  them  to  the  last  extremities. 
Stephen,  one  of  the  seven  deacons  newly  e» 
lected,  was  the  first  who  received  the  honour 
and  crown  of  martyrdom.  His  zeal  for  the 
truth  did  not  begin  with  his  new  office,  though 
it  is  probable  his  undertaking  that  charge  might 
place  him  more  in  view,  and  expose  him  more 
immediately  to  persecution.  Promotions  in 
the  world  are  attended  with  worldly  advan- 
tages ;  but  such  promotions  in  the  church  as 
are  agreeable  to  the  Spirit  of  God,  will  ra- 
ther entitle  a  man  to  a  larger  share  of  labours 
and  sufferings,  and  the  painful  pre-eminence 
of  standing  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle,  to 
sustain  the  hottest  brunt  of  every  storm.  Ste- 
phen was  no  sooner  a  public  person  than  Le 
became  the  mark  of  public  opposition.  At 
first  they  pretended  to  dispute  with  him,  but 
when  they  were  unable  to  resist  the  wisdom 
and  spirit  by  which  he  spake,  they  had  re- 
course to  more  effectual  methods  to  silence 
him  ;  they  suborned  false  witnesses,  a  main 
instrument  of  persecution,  against  him  ;  and 
having  framed  such  an  accusation  as  was 
most  likely  to  alarm  the  prejudice,  and  in- 
flame the  rage  of  the  people,  they  brought  him 
before  the  council,  and  charged  him,  that  he 
had  spoken  blasphemous  words  against  Moses 
and  against  God.  Stephen,  though  alone,  and 
unsupported  in  the  midst  of  furious  enemies, 
appeared  firm  and  unmoved  as  a  rock  in  the 
midst  of  the  waves  :  he  was  not  only  devoid 
of  fear,  but  filled  with  joy  (Acts  vii.)  :  the 
testimony  of  a  good  conscience,  the  honour  of 
suffering  for  his  Lord,  and  a  sense  of  the 
love  of  God  shed  abioad  in  his  heart,  not  only 
preserved  his  soul  in  peace,  but  spread  a  lus- 
tre and  glory  upon  his  countenance,  so  tha* 
all  who  sat  in  the  council,  looking  upon  him, 
saw  his  face  as  it  had  been  the  face  of  an  an- 
gel. In  such  a  disposition,  he  thought  it 
not  worth  while  to  attempt  his  own  defence, 
but  employed  the  whole  time  allotted  him  in 
behalf  of  his  adversaries,  that,  if  possible-, 
by  a  distinct  view  of  God's  dealing  with  their 
nation,  and  their  behaviour  towards  him,  he 
might  engage  them  to  consider  their  ways,  to 
repent,  and  believe  the  gospel.  While  he 
spake  of  the  things  that  had  been  long  since 
transacted,  and  kept  within  the  bounds  of  Mo- 
ses, David,  and  Solomon,  they  had  patience 
to  hear  him ;  but  when  he  began  to  maka  ap- 


45G 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


ROOK  II 


plication  to  themselves,  with  that  warmth  and 
plainness  which  the  case  required,  they  could 
bear  no  more  :  his  words  cut  them  to  the. 
heart :  they  no  longer  preserved  the  exterior 
gravity  of  their  stations  and  characters,  but 
gnashed  at  him  with  their  teeth,  as  though 
they  would  have  devoured  him  alive. 

But  vain  are  the  attempts  of  men  to  inti- 
midate those  whom  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  com- 
fort. He  is  always  near  to  support  his  faith- 
ful servants,  and  can  manifest  himself  in  a 
way  which  the  woild  knows  nothing  of.  Such 
a  seasonable  and  sufficient  discovery  he  made 
of  himself  to  Stephen.  As  he  looked  stead- 
fastly up  to  heaven,  silently  appealing  from 
the  injustice  of  his  judges,  he  saw  the  hea- 
vens opened,  and  Jesus  standing  in  glory  at 
the  right  hand  of  God,  as  attending  to  all 
that  passed,  and  ready  to  receive  him  to  him- 
self. Transported  with  this  divine  assurance, 
he  was  not  at  leisure  to  drop  a  single  word  to 
soften  his  incensed  enemies ;  he  endeavoured 
to  communicate  the  glorious  idea  with  which 
his  soul  was  filled,  and.  without  regarding 
the  sure  consequence  of  such  a  declaration, 
he  told  them  plainly  what  he  saw.  This  de- 
termined their  resolves.  Hitherto  they  had 
been  willing  to  preserve  the  form  at  least  of 
a  judicial  process  ;  but  now,  renouncing  every 
restraint,  and  unmindful  of  their  late  ac- 
knowledgment to  Pilate,  that  it  was  not  law- 
ful for  them  to  put  any  man  to  death,  they 
stopped  their  ears  to  shut  out  any  remon- 
strance that  might  be  offered,  dragged  him 
violently  out  of  the  city,  and  stoned  him  to 
death.  His  dying  deportment,  which  shewed 
how  eminently  he  was  filled  with  the  Spirit  of 
Jesus,  whom  he  saw,  is  recorded  as  a  fit  pat- 
tern for  the  imitation  of  all  who  should  be 
called  to  sutler  for  the  truth  in  succeeding 
times.  He  kneeled  down  with  the  sweetest 
composure,  and,  having  committed  his  depart- 
ing soul  into  his  Redeemer's  hands,  his  only 
remaining  concern  was  for  his  murderers,  and 
his  last  breath  was  a  prayer  that  this  sin  might 
not  be  laid  to  their  charge.  Such  resolution 
in  the  defence  of  truth,  such  calmness  under 
sufferings,  such  tenderness  and  compassion  to- 
wards those  who  oppose,  are  the  surest  marks 
of  a  high  attainment  in  Christianity. 

The  death  of  Stephen,  far  from  satiating 
the  rage  of  the  rulers  (Acts  viii.),  rather  ani- 
mated and  excited  them  to  new  mischief. 
They  observed  no  farther  measures,  but  gave 
full  vent  to  their  cruelty,  and  raised  a  general 
persecution  against  the  church.  A  young  man 
named  Saul,  whom  the  Lord,  from  before  his 
birth,  had  designed  for  a  nobler  service,  was 
at  this  time  one  of  their  most  zealous  and  ac- 
tive instruments ;  he  had  been  a  consenting 
spectator  of  Stephen's  death,  and  kept  the 
raiment  of  those  that  slew  him.  Encouraged 
by  their  example,  he  soon  entered  upon  ac- 
tion himself,  and  made  havoc  of  the  church, 
forcibly  entering  into  their  houses,  and  drag. 


ging  many  to  prison,  both  men  and  women. 
The  disciples,  therefore,  according  to  their 
Lord's  direction  (Matth,  x.  23)  gave  way  to 
the  storm,  and  dispersed  themselves  through- 
out Judea  and  Samaria,  spreading  the  know- 
ledge of  the  gospel  wherever  they  went.  Thus 
the  methods  taken  to  suppress  the  truth  proved 
(as  they  often  have  since)  the  means  of  pro- 
moting its  progress ;  yet  the  Lord,  who  ap- 
points limits  beyond  which  the  fiercest  at- 
tempts of  men  cannot  pass,  preserved  the  a- 
postles  in  safety  at  Jerusalem,  where  he  had 
farther  occasion  for  their  service.  Amongst 
the  many  who  left  the  city  was  Philip,  another 
of  the  deacons  :  he  preached  Christ  and  his 
gospel  in  Samaria,  performed  many  cures  and 
miracles  among  the  people,  and  a  great  num- 
ber received  faith  and  were  baptized.  Here 
the  gospel  triumphed  over  the  illusions  of  Si- 
mon, surnamed  Magus,  or  the  Sorcerer,  who, 
by  his  vain  arts  and  arrogant  pretensions,  had 
long  held  the  people  in  subjection  and  asto- 
nishment. But  the  superior  power  of  truth 
dispelled  the  charm  ;  his  votaries  forsook  him  ; 
and  even  the  impostor  himself  was  so  far  con- 
vinced, that  Philip  acted  by  that  divine  power 
and  authority  to  which  he  had  only  pretended, 
that  he  professed  himself  a  believer  likewise, 
and  behaved  so  fairly,  that  Philip  admitted 
him  to  baptism  without  suspicion  ;  but  when, 
soon  after,  Peter*  and  John  came  to  Samaria 
to  communicate  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  the  new  disciples  by  imposition  of  hands, 
Simon  discovered  his  true  character  •  he  of- 
fered money  for  a  power  to  impart  the  same 
gifts  ;  a  proposal  which  shewed  his  ignorance, 
wickedness,  and  ambitionin  the  strongest  light, 
and  proved  him  an  entire  stranger  to  the  grace 
of  God.  From  him  the  hateful  practice  of 
merchandizing  in  spiritual  concerns  has  de- 
rived the  name  of  Simony ,  a  crime  which, 
though  condemned  by  the  laws  of  every  chris- 
tian country,  as  highly  injurious  and  re- 
proachfulf  to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  no  laws 
or  obligations  have  hitherto  been  able  to  sup- 
press. Peter  severely  rebuked  his  hypocrisy, 
yet  exhorted  him   to  repentance  and   prayer. 

*  Acts  viii.  14.  "  They  sent  Peter  and  John."  We 
find  nothing  in  this  book  to  countenance  Hie  pre-emi- 
nence which  the  Papists  ascribe  to  Peter.  He  and  John 
were  deputed  by  all  the  apostles,  and  went  upon  equal 
terms.  Peter  did  not  send  John,  nor  go  himself,  with- 
out the  advice  and  direction  of  the  rest.  John  had  once 
desired  to  call  for  fire  from  heaven  upon  the  Samaritans ; 
but  he  was  now  better  ins'ructed,  and  gladly  went  to  im- 
part to  them  the  best  gifts  he  could  bestow.  If  the 
Lord  is  pleased  to  make  any  partakers  of  the  same  pre- 
cious faith  with  ourselves,  though  they  were  once  ene- 
mies, we  should  gladly  forget  all  that  is  past,  and  receive 
them  as  dear  brethren  and  intimate  friends. 

+  In  these  abuses  the  church  of  Rome  seems  to  derive 
rather  from  Simon  Magus  than  from  Simon  Peter;  yet 
it  is  to  be  wished  such  practices  were  confined  to  the 
church  of  Rome  only.  Our  laws  have  guarded  against 
them  by  a  very  solemn  and  circumstantial  oath;  but 
that  this  oath,  if  not  literally  broken,  is  often  scanda- 
lously evaded,  we  need  no  other  proof  than  the  shame- 
ful advertisements  which  frequently  appear  in  our  pub- 
lic papers ;  not  to  say,  that  though'  there  is  no  money 
in  the  case,  yet  all  presentations,  exchanges,  and  ad- 
vancements that  are  transacted  upon  interested  view s, 
are  so  far  simoniacal  in  the  sight  of  him  who  judges  th 
heart. 


CHAP.   I. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 


457 


His  words  seemed  to  have  some  weight  with 
Simon  for  the  present ;  but  we  hear  no  more 
of  him  among  the  believers :  on  the  contrary, 
he  is  recorded  in  history  as  an  inveterate  ene- 
my to  the  faith  and  purity  of  the  gospel,  and 
the  author  of  those  wild,  absurd,  and  impure 
heresies  which  disturbed  the  first  ages  of  the 
church. 

About  this  time  an  eunuch,  or  great  officer 
of  Candace,  Queen  of  Ethiopia,  who  had  been 
worshipping  at  Jerusalem  (which  makes  it  pro- 
bable that  he  was  a  proselyte  to  the  faith  of 
the  God  of  Israel)  was  returning  homeward. 
Though  this  nobleman  had  been  at  Jerusa- 
km,  he  had  either  not  heard  of  the  apostles 
and  their  new  doctrines,  or,  being  influenced 
by  the  priests  and  rulers,  had  not  thought 
them  worthy  his  notice.  He  was  going  home 
ignorant  as  he  came  ;  but  the  Lord,  who  is 
mindful  of  his  peop.e  when  they  think  not  of 
him,  appoints  the  time  and  the  means  of 
bringing  them  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  ; 
and  these  are  often  seemingly  precarious  and 
contingent,  that  the  work  may  more  clearly 
be  known  to  be  his,  and  the  praise  ascribed 
to  his  power  and  providence.  Philip,  by  the 
direction  of  an  angel,  intercepted  the  Ethi- 
opian upon  the  road  :  he  found  him  well  em- 
ployed, reading  the  prophet  Isaiah  as  he  sat 
in  his  chariot :  he  had  a  very  confused  idea 
of  the  passage  he  was  reading,  but  he  knew 
it  contained  an  important  meaning,  and  was 
desirous  to  discover  it.  Those  who  have  a 
just  sense  of  the  excellence  of  the  scripture, 
and  peruse  it  as  he  did  with  a  sincere  inten- 
tion to  be  instructed  by  it,  may  be  encouraged 
from  this  instance  to  persevere,  though  they 
find  it  at  present  hard  to  be  understood  :  he 
who  gave  them  the  desire  will  in  due  time 
provide  them  a  teacher,  and  make  dark  things 
plain  to  them.  When  Philip  drew  near,  and 
asked  him,  without  ceremony,  if  he  under- 
stood what  he  read,  he  was  not  offended  with 
the  abruptness  of  his  address,  but  courteously 
invited  him  to  sit  with  him,  confessing  his  ig- 
norance and  the  need  he  had  of  assistance. 
The  passage  which  had  perplexed  him  afforded 
Philip  a  fair  opportunity  of  preaching  Jesus  : 
the  eunuch  believed,  and  was  baptised  in  a 
water  they  were  passing  by.  In  this  case 
there  seems  to  have  been  no  exertion  of  an 
outward  miracle  to  confirm  the  word.  Nor 
was  it  necessary :  the  manner  of  Philip's 
meeting  with  him,  the  suitableness  of  the 
question  to  the  dubious  state  of  his  mind, 
and  the  discovery  he  obtained,  that  the  pro- 
phetical marks  of  the  Messiah  exactly  coin- 
cided with  the  history  of  Jesus,  afforded  him 
sufficient  evidence.  The  only  extraordinary 
circumstance  was  the  sudden  disappearing  of 
Philip,  who,  having  performed  his  service, 
was  removed  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  to 
Aiotus,  a  place  thirty  miles  distant ;  from 
whence,  proceeding  along  the    sea-coast,  he 


preached  at  Joppa,  Ljdda,  and  all  the  inter- 
mediate places,  till  he  came  to  Caesarea.  In 
the  meantime  the  eunuch,  rejoicing  in  the 
Lord's  goodness,  pursued  his  journey  to  E- 
thiopia.  We  have  no  farther  account  of  him 
in  the  New  Testament;  but  some  ancient 
writers  assure  us  that  he  was  the  means  of 
propagating  the  faith  which  he  had  received, 
first  in  his  own  country,  and  afterwards  in 
places  still  more  remote. 

Tiberius,  a.d.  35.]  The  church  having 
suffered  much  from  the  violence  of  the  perse 
cution,  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  afford  them 
intermission,  and  to  give  a  remarkable  proof 
of  the  power  of  his  grace  (Acts  ix.),  by  the 
conversion  of  Saul,  one  of  their  fiercest  op 
posers.  He  had  been  educated  a  Pharisee, 
in  a  zealous  attachment  to  the  law,  and,  from 
a  mistaken  principle  of  conscience,  thought  it 
his  duty  to  suppress  the  followers  of  Jesus. 
The  warmth  of  his  temper  prompted  him  to 
uncommon  earnestness  against  them ;  and  as 
he  was  a  young  man,  he  was  probably  farther 
instigated  by  a  desire  to  ingratiate  himself  with 
the  Jewish  rulers.  Not  content  with  the  mis- 
chief he  had  done  at  Jerusalem,  he  still  breath- 
ed out  threatenings  and  slaughter  against 
them,  and  meditated  their  destruction  even  in 
distant  places.  With  this  view  he  obtained 
letters  of  authority  from  the  chief  priests, 
and  set  out  for  Damascus,  that  if  he  found  any 
disciples  there,  he  might  bring  them  bound 
with  him  to  Jerusalem.  Little  was  he  aware 
of  the  event  of  his  journey  !  Little  did  the 
believers  imagine,  that  the  man  who  now 
thirsted  for  their  blood,  would  soon  be  their 
companion  and  leader !  The  Lord  often  per- 
mits those  to  whom  he  shews  mercy,  to  run 
great  previous  lengths  in  their  obstinacy  and 
ignorance:  their  subsequent  change  is  hereby 
more  noticed,  the  riches  of  his  grace  are  more 
remarkably  exemplified  for  the  encouragement 
of  others ;  and  such  persons,  from  a  lively 
sense  of  their  past  wickedness,  and  the  unde- 
served favour  they  have  received,  are  usually 
more  strongly  impressed  with  a  sense  of  di- 
vine love,  and  more  warmly  devoted  to  his 
service.  Some  such  there  have  been  in  every 
period  of  the  church,  and  especially  whenever 
there  has  been  a  remarkable  revival  of  the 
power  of  godliness.  When  Saul  was  drawing 
near  to  Damascus,  perhaps  within  sight  of  the 
city,  anticipating  his  bloody  designs,  and  exult- 
ing in  thought  over  the  defenceless  sheep  of 
Christ,  whom  he  had  been  taught  to  consider 
as  schismatics  and  heretics,  who  deserved  to 
be  extirpated  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  he 
was  suddenly  surrounded  by  a  glorious  light, 
exceeding  the  brightness  of  the  mid-day  sun, 
and  heard  a  voice,  not  of  uncertain  applica- 
tion, but  expostulating  with  him  by  name, 
"  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me  ?"  If 
he  was  alarmed  at  the  question,  he  was  much 
more  so,  when,  upon  asking,  "  Who  art  thou. 


458 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSfEL 


BOOK    II 


Lord  ?"  lie  was  answered,  "  I  am  Jesus  tlie 
Nazarene  *,  whom  thou  persecutest."  So 
nearly  is  the  Lord  interested  in  his  people, 
and  so  dangerous  is  it  to  injure  them  :  he  ac- 
counts their  cause,  their  sufferings,  their  ene- 
mies, his  own.  The  Nazarene  was  an  epithet 
of  contempt  affixed  to  the  name  of  Jesus  hy 
those  who  hated  him  f  ;  and  it  is  probable 
that  Saul  had  often  spoke  of  him  in  these 
terms;  but  now  he  found  himself  in  the  Na- 
zarene's  power,  and  unable  either  to  escape  or 
to  plead ;  he  fell  to  the  earth  trembling  and 
astonished  beyond  expression ;  he  not  only 
he  ird  his  voice,  but  saw  his  person  (Acts  ix. 
27.  1  Cor.  xv.  9.);  an  interview  which  he 
C3iild  not  have  sustained  a  moment,  if  the 
glory  of  Jesus  had  not  been  tempered  with  the 
milder  beams  of  grace  and  love.  The  Lord 
spared  him,  accepted  his  feeble  surrender  of 
himself,  moderated  his  fears,  and  dismissed 
him  to  Damascus  as  a  willing  trophy  of  his 
victorious  grace,  and  a  singidar  instance  how 
easily  he  can  subdue  the  hardest  hearts  to 
himself.  The  brightness  of  the  vision  had 
overpowered  his  bodily  eyes,  so  that  he  was 
led  by  the  hand ;  but  the  eyes  of  his  mind 
were  opened ;  his  heart,  his  aims  were  changed ; 
he  was  become  a  new  man,  and,  instead  of 
threatenings  and  slaughter,  he  now  breathed 
prayer  and  devotion  to  Jesus,  and  love  to  his 
people.  He  remained  at  Damascus  three 
days  without  sight  or  food :  but  the  Lord  re- 
membered his  distress,  and  sent  to  him  a  disci- 
ple name  Ananias,  who,  from  the  character  he 
had  heard  of  him,  was  at  first  greatly  surprised 
at  the  command  he  received  to  go  to  such  a  per- 
son ;  but  the  Lord  condescended  to  acquaint 
him,  that  Said  was  a  chosen  instrument,  whom 
he  had  appointed  to  do  and  suffer  great  things 
for  his  sake.  When  Ananias  laid  his  hands 
on  him,  a  thick  film,  resembling  scales,  fell 
from  his  eyes ;  his  sight  was  restored,  his 
mind  composed,  and  he  was  immediately  bap- 
tized. Saul  had  several  companions  with  him 
in  his  journey,  who  saw  the  dazzling  light, 
heard  the  sound  of  the  voice  which  spoke  to 
him,  and  fell  to  the  ground  with  surprise  as 
he  did  ;  they  knew  enough  of  the  circumstan- 
ces of  the  case  to  witness  for  him,  that  he  nei- 
ther imposed  upon  others  nor  himself;  but 
we  have  no  account  that  any  of  them  were 
converted,  the  most  extraordinary  occurrences 
being  insufficient  to  change  the  heart,  without 
the  interposition  of  divine  grace. 

Thus  the  late  persecuting  Saul  was  num- 
bered with  the  disciples,  and  soon  distinguish- 
ed himself  amongst  them  :  He  now  knew  by 
experience  the  wickedness  and  danger  of  op- 
posing  the  gospel,  and  was  desirous  to  repair 
the  mischief  of  his  former  rage  and  ill  exam- 
ple.     A  sense  of  the  mercy  he  had  received, 

*  This  is  the  exact  import  of  the  Greek, Iritis  o  NaJ&r 
(ui-;,  Acts  xxii.  8. 

t  And  for  this  reason  inserted  in  the  title  which  Pilate 
put  over  his  cross. 


and  compassion  for  the  souls  of  others,  made 
him  seek  every  opportunity  to  persuade  and 
convince  the  Jews,  his  former  companions  and 
brethren  ;  but  he  soon  found  the  same  treat- 
ment from  them,  which  he  himself  had  often 
offered  to  the  disciples.  They  opposed  and 
vilified  him  as  an  apostate,  and  at  length  con. 
suited  to  kill  him  :  his  former  zeal  in  their 
cause  was  forgot,  or,  if  remembered,  it  was  an 
argument  suited  to  inflame  their  resentment. 
But  no  counsel  can  prevail  against  those  whom 
the  Lord  protects.  Saul  had  timely  notice  of 
their  designs,  and  because  they  watched  the 
gates  of  the  city  incessantly,  he  was  let  down 
by  a  basket  over  the  wall  *  ;  for  though  he 
neither  distrusted  his  cause  nor  his  protector, 
he  was  not  unmindful  to  employ  prudent 
means  for  his  preservation.  But  before  this 
he  had  made  some  excursions  from  Damascus, 
and  visited  Arabia  ;  for  his  own  words  assure 
us,  that  it  was  not  till  the  third  year  after  his 
conversion  that  he  returned  to  Jerusalem.  In 
this  interval  the  Lord,  who  had  appeared  to 
him  in  the  way,  by  subsequent  revelations, 
fully  instructed  him  in  the  knowledge  of  his 
will,  and  qualified  him  for  the  apostolical  of- 
fice ;  so  that  he  could  afterwards  say,  that  he 
received  neither  his  authority  nor  his  informa- 
tion from  men.  When  became  to  Jerusalem 
he  would  have  joined  himself  to  the  disciples  ; 
but  they,  remembering  his  former  conduct, 
and  not  clearly  informed  of  the  manner  and 
reality  of  his  change,  were  at  first  afraid  of 
him.  They  had  a  right  to  be  satisfied  of  his 
sincerity.  But  being  soon  afterwards  intro- 
duced by  Barnabas,  he  related  to  them  the 
means  of  his  conversion,  and  the  occasion  of 
his  leaving  Damascus.  He  continued  for 
some  time  in  Jerusalem  and  the  neighbour- 
hood, preaching  and  disputing  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  Jews,  who  hated 
all  the  servants  of  Christ,  could  not  but  be 
particularly  enraged  at  him,  who  had  for- 
saken their  party  ;  against  him,  therefore,  they 
chiefly  set  themselves,  and  making  repeated 
attempts  to  kill  him,  he  withdrew  again  from 
Judea,  and  went  through  Syria  to  Tarsus,  in 
Cilicia,  his  native  place. 

Caligula,  a.d.  38.]  Upon  his  recess  the 
churches  in  Judea,  Samaria,  and  Galilee,  had 
an  interval  of  rest  f.  The  Jews,  about  this 
time,  were  taken  up   with  their  own  affairs. 

*  2  Cor.  xi.  5,".  "  Through  a  window  in  abasket  was 
I  let  down  by  the  wall."  The  Lord  often  confounds  the 
pride  of  his  enemies  by  the  manner  in  which  he  delivers 
his  servants :  he  permits  violent  oppositions,  and  great 
preparations,  to  be  made  against  them,  and  then  discon- 
certs the  combinations  of  the  many  and  the  mighty,  by 
feeble  and  unthought-of  means. 

f  The  churches  hud  rest,  and  walked  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord,  and  in  the  comforts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  were 
edified  and  multiplied,  Acts  ix.  31.  Some  well-mean- 
ing persons  seem  to  forget  this  passage,  when  they  take 
it  for  granted,  that  the  work  of  God  cannot  flourish,  ex- 
cept there  is  a  violent  outward  opposition  against  it.  The 
world  will  dislike  the  gospel ;  but  it  is  possible  in  some 
measure  to  put  to  silence  the  ignorance  of  foolish  men 
by  well-doing;  and  the  Lord  can,  and  often  does,  favour 
his  people  with  peace,  and  put  their  enemies  under  re- 
straint. 


CHAP.    I. 

Caligula,  who  had  lately  succeeded  Tiberius  in 
the  empire,  presumed  to  arrogate  divine  wor- 
ship to  himself,  and  commanded  altars  and 
temples  to  be  erected  to  his  honour ;  he  was 
readily  obeyed  in  many  places  :  but  when  he 
required  his  statue  to  be  put  up  in  the  tem- 
ple at  Jerusalem,  the  Jewish  nation  engaged 
as  one  man  to  prevent  it  *.  They  had  reject- 
ed the  Holy  One  and  the  true,  and  the  troubles 
were  now  beginning  to  take  place,  which  end- 
ed at  length  in  their  total  ruin  and  extirpation. 
Against  this  first  affront  and  profanation  in- 
tended to  their  temple,  they  united  in  earnest 
supplications  to  Petronius,  the  governor  of 
Syria,  and  with  much  entreaty,  obtained  per- 
mission to  send  their  deputies  to  the  Emperor, 
who  was,  though  with  great  difficulty,  prevail- 
ed on  to  desist  from  his  purpose  as  to  the 
temple;  but  at  the  same  time,  he  forbade  them, 
under  the  severest  penalties,  to  oppose  the  e- 
rection  or  dedication  of  temples  to  him,  in 
any  place  without  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  This 
injunction  encouraged  their  enemies  to  affront 
their  religion  wherever  they  pleased,  and  laid 
a  foundation  for  innumerable  disturbances 
and  dissensions,  in  which  the  Jews,  whether 
aggressors  or  not,  were  always  the  greatest 
sufferers.  While  they  were  thus  distracted 
among  themselves,  the  believers  enjoyed  a 
favourable  respite,  and  walking  in  the  fear  of 
the  Lord,  and  in  the  comforts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  were  edified  and  increased. 

A.  D.  39.]  As  Peter  had  formerly  second- 
ed the  labours  of  Philip,  the  deacon,  at  Sama- 
ria, he  now  visited  those  places  where  he  had 
preached  on  his  way  to  Cassarea,  and  strength- 
ened the  disciples  he  found  there,  by  his  doc- 
trine and  miracles.  At  Lyddaf  he  restored  a 
man  to  immediate  health,  who  had  been  many 
years  ill  of  a  dropsy.  Being  afterwards  in- 
vited to  Joppa,  he  raised  Tabitha,  or  Dorcas, 
to  life,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  poor  and  the 
widows,  whom  she  had  assisted  by  her  alms 
and  labours.  While  he  made  some  stay  here, 
his  commission  was  enlarged,  and  he  received 
direction  from  the  Lord  to  communicate  the 
gospel  to  the  Gentiles,  which  had  hitherto 
been  restrained  to  the  Jews,  except  in  the 
case  of  the  eunuch,  for  which  Philip  had  been 
authorised  by  the  express  command  of  an 
angel. 

When  our  Lord  sent  forth  the  apostles  to 
preach  while   he  was  yet   upon   earth,  he  ex- 

*  Josephus,  de  Bell.  Jud.  lib  2. 

+  Acts  ix.  32.  "  He  came  to  the  saints  at  Lydda." 
J  lie  scriptures  do  not  use  the  word  saint  in  the  narrow 
and  appropriate  sense  of  some,  or  with  that  improper 
extent  which  others  have  given  to  it  in  after  times  ;  it  is 
neither  peculiar  to  apostles  and  fathers,  nor  applicable 
to  all  who  bear  it  in  the  Roman  calcidar,  but  it  is  the 
common  appellation  of  all  who  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  are  saved  from  sin  and  condemnation  by  his 
grace.  There  have  been  saints  in  all  ages,  but  real 
saints  (while  living)  have  usually  been  branded  witli  op- 
probrious names.  The  world,  which  knows  not  Christ 
cannot  distinguish  his  people,  but  will  rather  give  the 
title  of  saints  to  many  wiio  have  hated  and  persecuted 
the  gospel. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 


459 


1  pressly  confined  their  mission  to  the  house  of 
Israel ;  and  though,  after  his  resurrection,  he 
commanded  them  to  disciple  all  nations,  they 
did  not  immediately  understand  the  extent  of 
his  meaning ;  though  they  were  under  an  in- 
fallible guidance,  they  were  not  fully  instruct- 
ed at  once,  but  received  intimations  of  their 
duty  from  time  to  time,  as  circumstances 
varied,  and  as  the  designs  of  divine  providence 
were  successively  opening.  The  great  Shep- 
herd and  Head  of  the  church  has  an  appoint- 
ed time  and  manner  for  the  accomplishment 
of  all  his  purposes ;  nothing  can  be  effectual- 
ly done  but  when  and  where  he  pleases:  but 
when  his  hour  is  come,  then  hard  things  be- 
come  easy,  and  crooked  things  straight ;  his 
word,  Spirit,  and  providence,  then  will  all 
concur  to  make  the  path  of  duty  plain  to  those 
who  serve  him,  though  perhaps,  till  this  know 
ledge  is  necessary,  he  permits  them  to  remain 
ignorant  of  what  he  has  designed  them  for. 
By  this  discipline  they  are  taught  to  depend 
entirely  upon  him,  and  are  afterwards  more 
fully  assured  that  he  has  sent  and  succeeded 
them.  Peter  was  not  yet  freed  from  the  Jewish 
prejudice,  that  all  intercourse  with  the  Hea- 
thens was  unlawful  ;  or  if  he  had  been  so 
himself,  he  could  not  have  easily  convinced 
the  many  thousands  of  his  brethren  who  la- 
boured under  the  same  mistake.  This  service 
was  therefore  pointed  out  to  him  by  means 
which  left  no  room  for  doubt  in  his  own  mind, 
and  enabled  him  fully  to  vindicate  his  conduct 
to  others. 

Cornelius  (Acts  x.),  a  Roman  centurion,  or 
captain,  with  his  family  and  dependants,  were 
the  first  fruits  of  the  Gentile  converts.      He 
lived  at  Caesarea,  a  city  not  far  from  Joppa, 
and  which  was  the  ordinary  residence  of  the 
Roman  governors;  and  therefore  promiscu- 
ously inhabited  by  Gentiles  and  Jews.      It  is 
not    probable  that    he    had    never   heard    of 
Christ,  or  the  new  institution  that  was  spread- 
ing   under   his  name;    but,    without    doubt, 
what  he  knew  of  it  was  only  from  public  ru- 
mour, in  which  the  misrepresentations  of  ma- 
lice, and  the  surmises  of  ignorance,  usually 
so  far  prevail,  that  persons  of  the  best  dispo- 
sitions are  often  deterred  from   making  those 
inquiries  which  the  importance  of  {ruth  de- 
serves.     But  the  Lord,  whom  he  knew  not, 
had  been  gradually  preparing  him  for  the  re- 
ception of  the    gospel;    he   was    already  re- 
claimed from  idolatry;  he  was  a  devout  wor- 
shipper of  God,  exemplary  in  his  family,  just 
in  his  dealings,  and  charitable   to   the  poor. 
How  few  of  those  now  called  christians  can 
equal  his  character  while  a  stranger  to   the 
gospel,  we  may  collect  from  daily  observation  ; 
yet  those  who  plead  for  the  sufficiency  of  what 
they  style  natural  religion,  would  do  well  to 
observe,  that  though  he  was  in  many  respects 
a  good  man,  and  his  sincerity  was  approved 
by   God  himself;    yet  he  lacked   one  thing. 
But  none  who  are  made  sincerely  desirous  to 


460 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


BOOK   II 


know  the  will  of  God,  shall  be  left  finally 
destitute  :  he  will  find  a  way  to  give  them 
necessary  information.  Cornelius,  who  had 
often  waited  upon  God  by  fasting  and  prayer, 
and  had,  doubtless,  at  times,  felt  that  sus- 
pense and  anxiety  which  can  only  be  entirely 
removed  by  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  gospel- 
covenant,  obtained  at  length  an  illustrious 
answer ;  an  angel  appeared  to  him,  assured 
him  that  his  prayer  was  heard,  and  directed 
liim  to  send  for  Peter,  who  should  inform  him 
more  fully  of  his  duty. 

It  is  observable,  that  though  the  angel  was 
so  minutely  exact  in  his  directions,  as  to  men- 
tion the  street  and  the  very  house  where  Peter 
resided,  he  said  not  a  word  of  the  gospel  to 
Cornelius,  but  referred  him  wholly  to  Peter. 
The  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  is  pleased 
to  make  his  people  instrumental  in  teaching 
each  other.  This  not  only  secures  the  honour 
of  the  success  to  him  alone,  but  it  conduces 
to  their  comfort  and  advantage.  An  angel 
could  only  speak  historically,  that  the  thing  is 
so  ;  but  it  comes  nearer  to  our  level  when 
delivered  by  men  who  have  been  in  the  very 
case  of  others,  and  can  say  experimentally, 
that  they  have  found  it  so.  Who  so  fit  to 
commend  the  physician's  skill  and  tenderness 
as  those  who  have  been  themselves  cured  by 
him  of  a  desperate  disease  ?  Peter  had  him- 
self tasted  that  the  Lord  was  gracious;  he 
nad  greatly  sinned,  yet  had  been  freely  for- 
given ;  he  had  seen  his  excellent  glory  upon 
the  mount,  and  had  received  an  express  com- 
mission from  his  mouth.  In  these  and  other 
respects,  he  was  a  proper  person  to  proclaim 
him  to  others,  more  so  than  an  angel  from 
heaven.  We  may  therefore  safely  infer,  a 
fortiori,  that  no  man,  however  great  his  ta- 
lents may  otherwise  be,  can  be  qualified  or  fit 
to  preach  the  gospel,  until  he  has  known  the 
evil  of  sin  himself,  and  been  a  partaker  of  the 
pardoning  grace  of  God  through  a  crucified 
Redeemer. 

Cornelius  was  not  disobedient  to  the  hea- 
venly vision  :  his  example  and  instructions 
had  been  a  blessing  to  his  household,  so  that 
he  had  servants  about  him  to  whom  lie  could 
communicate  this  extraordinary  event,  and 
depend  on  their  fidelity.  Having  related  his 
vision  to  them,  he  sent  them  to  Joppa  to  invite 
Peter  to  his  house. 

When  they  departed  from  Ca?sarea,  Peter 
«vas  under  the  influence  of  the  national  pre- 
judice, which  would  hardly  have  permitted 
him  to  have  gone  with  them  ;  but,  while  they 
were  on  the  journey,  the  Lord  prepared  his 
mind  to  comply.      The  time  was  now  come,* 

»  In  the  Lord's  dispensations  in  favour  of  his  people, 
tliere  is  often  a  counterpart,  resembling  that  which  is  re- 
lated in  this  chapter.  The  minds  of  two  or  more  per- 
sons are  inclined,  by  different  means  to  concur  in  the 
s;:nie  design,  though  perhaps  they  are  far  asunder,  and 
know  nothing  of  each  other's  intentions:  in  time,  cir- 
cumstances  fall  out  which  connect  their  views,  and 
urove  that  the  whole  was  from  the  Lord. 


when  it  was  necessary  he  should  know  the  ex  ten 
sive  designs  of  God  in  favour  of  sinners  of  all 
nations,   people,  and  languages ;  and  that  the 
partition  wall  between  Jews  and  Gentiles  was 
broken  down  and  taken  away  by  the  death  of 
Christ.       He  received  this    intimation    by    a 
vision,  which  exactly  corresponded  in  its  cir- 
cumstances with   the  case  in   hand.      About 
noon  the  following  day,  when  the  messengers 
were  near  to  Joppa,  he  was  retired  to  the  top  of 
the  house,  for  the  convenient  exercise  of  secret 
prayer;  and  having  an  appetite  for  food,  he 
saw,  as  it  were,  a  large  sheet  or  wrapper  let 
down  from  heaven,  suspended  by  the  four  cor- 
ners, containing  all  sorts  of  beasts,  birds,  and 
reptiles,  without  any  regard  to  the  ceremonial 
distinction  of  clean  and  unclean  ;  this  appear- 
ance was  accompanied  with  a  voice  directing 
him,   To  slay  and  eat.      When   he  answered, 
That  he  had   never   yet  transgressed  the  law, 
by  eating   unclean  food ;    the  voice  replied, 
What  God   hath  cleansed,  that  call  not  thou 
common  or  unclean.      To  impress  the  whole 
upon  his  mind,  and  to  convince  him  that  the 
vision  was  real  and  significant,  it  was  repeated 
three  times.      When  it  was  finally  withdrawn 
and  while  he  was  thinking  what  it  might  im- 
port,*  the   men  sent   by   Cornelius  were  in- 
quiring for  him  at  the  door  below  :   of  which, 
receiving  previous  notice  by  the  secret  sug- 
gestion of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  being  direct- 
ed  to    go  with   them  without  hesitation,  he 
went  down  and  spoke  to  them  before  they  had 
time  to  send  him  word  of  their  arrival   by  the 
people  of  the  house.      When    he  had  heard 
their   business,   and   compared   the  vision  of 
Cornelius  with  his  own,  he  scrupled  no  long- 
er; but  lodging  the  strangers  that  night,  he 
accompanied  them  the  next  day,   taking  with 
him  five  of  the  brethren  from   Joppa,  to  be 
witnesses  of  what    the  Lord  intended  to  do. 
Cornelius,  who  earnestly  expected  his  arrival, 
had    assembled    his    friends    and  dependants 
against  his  coming  ;  he  received  Peter  before 
them  all  witli  the  greatest  respect  and  cordia- 
lity,  and  gave  him   a   particular   account  of 
what  had  passed,  professing  that  both  he  and 
his  friends  were  ready  to  receive  and  obey  his 
instructions.      Peter  now  perceived   and  ac- 
knowledged  the    great    truth    the   Lord   had 
pointed  out  by  so  many  harmonising  circum- 
stances, that  the  blessings  of  the  gospel  were 
no  longer  to  be  confined  to  the  Jews,  but  that 
Jesus  was  appointed  to  be  a  light  to  enlighten 
the  Gentiles  also,   Acts  x.  34. f      In  his  dis- 

»  Peter  was  faithful  to  the  light  he  had  already  re- 
ceived, and  did  not  hastily  follow  the  first  impulse  up- 
on his  mind  :  though  the  liberty  seemed  to  be  authorised 
by  a  voice  from  heaven,  he  did  not  accept  it  without 
consideration.  His  example  should  be  considered  by 
those  who  give  themselves  Jp  to  the  influence  of  every 
sudden  impression,  without  taking  time  to  consider  its 
nature  and  tendency,  and  how  far  it  is  consistent  with 
the  revealed  will  of  God. 

t  Few  passages  of  scripture  seem  to  have  been  more 
misunderstood  and  misrepresented  than  this  and  the  foj- 
lowing  verse.  As  some  have  presumed,  that  St.  Paul's 
doctrine  c*  justification  is  corrected  if  not  confuted,  bv 


CHAP.   I. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 


4GI 


course  to  tl  2m,  he  declared  the  person,  cha- 
racter and  c  ffices  of  Jesus,  who  had  been  lately 
crucified,  affirming  himself  to  have  been  an 
eye-witness  of  what  he  related ;  he  assert- 
ed his  honour  and  authority  as  the  Lord  of 
al!,.  the  sovereign  judge  of  the  living  and  the 
dead  ;  that  he  was  the  divine  Saviour  spoken 
of  by  the  prophets,  and  that  all  who  believed 
in  his  name  should  receive  the  remission  of 
sin.  Here  we  see  the  apostle's  doctrine  to 
the  Gentiles  was  the  same  that  he  had  preach- 
ed at  Jerusalem  upon  and  after  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  and  the  same  with  what  our  Lord 
had  declared  concerning  himself,  a  free  and 
complete  salvation  by  faith.  He  did  not  in 
the  least  attempt  to  accommodate  his  subject 
to  any  supposed  prejudices  of  his  new  hearers, 
but  faithfully  acquitted  himself  of  his  mes- 
sage, and  left  the  event  to  God.  The  mys- 
tery of  Christ  crucified,  which  was  a  stumbl- 
ing-block to  the  Jews,  was  by  many  of  the 
Gentiles  accounted  foolishness  and  absurdity  ; 
but  the  apostles  proposed  it  simply  and  in- 
differently to  all.  In  the  present  case,  the 
success  was  (what  has  perhaps  seldom  hap- 
pened) universal;  the  whole  company  be- 
lieved, and  received  the  Holy  Ghost  imme- 
diately, previous  to  baptism,  and  without  the 
usual  imposition  of  the  apostle's  hands.  This 
signal  attestation,  with  which  the  Lord  ho- 
noured their  faith,  unanswerably  removing 
every  doubt  concerning  their  fitness,  Peter 
immediately  directed  them  to  be  baptized  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  through  whom 
they  had  already  received  that  inward  and 
spiritual  grace,  of  which  baptism  was  the  out- 
ward and  visible  sign. 

When  this  affair  was  reported  in  Judea,  it 
was  not  at  first  agreeable  to  those  who  knew 
not  the  warrant  and  grounds  on  which  Peter 
had  proceeded  ;  so  that  when  he  returned  to 
Jerusalem,  he  found  himself  under  a  neces- 
sity of  vindicating  (Acts  xi.)  his  conduct  to 
the  Jewish  converts  ;  a  full  proof  that  they  did 
not  think  him  infallible,  or  possessed  of  that 
superiority  over  the  whole  church  which  de- 
signing men,  for  promoting  their  own  ends, 
have  since  ascribed  to  him.  But  though  he 
was  an  apostle,  and  had  acted  by  the  express 
command  of  God,  and  though  their  expostu- 

St.  James ;  so  the  apostle  Peter  has  been  supposed  to 
contradict  both  St.  Paul  and  himself  (see  1  Pet.  i.  1,  2), 
in  another  important  truth  of  the  gospel.  This  mistake 
is  more  excuseable  in  those  who  do  not  understand  the 
original ;  but  those  who  do,  ought  not  to  avail  themselves 
of  an  ambigvrjus  word.  The  Greek  t^o-two;,  from 
whence  tr^oe-uroX^TTr.c  is  derived,  does  not  convey  the 
same  idea  that  an  English  reader  receives  from  the  word 
person;  it  does  not  properly  signify  a  personal  identity, 
but  the  outward  appearance  and  circumstance  of  a  per- 
son or  thing.  Thus  it  is  sometimes  rendered  face,  as 
Matth.  vi.  1' .  and  many  other  places;  and  is  applied  to 
the  sky  or  air,  Matth.  xvi.  3- ;  countenance,  Luke  ix. 
29.  ;  presence,  2  Cor.  x.  1. ;  fashion,  James  i.  1 1.  The 
meaning  here  is  the  same  as  in  Coloss.  iii.  25.  The  Lord 
is  not  moved  by  the  outward  distinctions  and  differences 
amongst  men,  to  which  we  often  pay  regard  :  compare 
1  Sam.  xvi.  7.  He  neither  receives  or  rejects  any  for 
being  Jew  or  Gentile,  rich  or  poor,  bond  or  free,  male 
•»  female,  but  is  rich  in  mercy  to  all  who  call  ui'"n  him. 


lation  seems  to  have  been  hasty  and  rough, 
yet  he  did  not  think  it  beneath  him  to  give  an 
orderly  and  circumstantial  account  of  the 
whole  business :  they,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  open  to  conviction  ;  and,  when  they  had 
heard  his  relation,  they  instantly  acquiesced, 
and  glorified  God  for  his  grace  given  to  the 
Gentiles.  This  mutual  condescension  and  in- 
genuousness preserved  the  first  christians  in 
peace,  though  they  were  not  always  exempted 
from  mistakes  and  wrong  impressions. 

By  this  time  the  believers  who  had  been  dis- 
persed by  persecution  had  spread  the  gospel 
beyond  the  bounds  of  Judea  and  Galilee  into 
Cyprus  and  Syria,  and  probably  to  more  dis- 
tant parts,  particularly  to  Rome,  which,  being 
the  centre  and  conflux  of  the  empire,  would 
hardly  be  long  unvisited ;  however,  in  all 
places,  the  preaching  of  the  word  was  con- 
fined to  the  Jews  till  Peter's  mission  to  Cor. 
nelius  afforded  an  authorised  precedent  for 
imparting  it  to  the  Heathens. 

a.  D.  40.]  It  was  soon  after  publicly 
preached  in  Antioch,  the  capital  of  Syria, 
and  no  less  eminent  for  luxury  and  depravity 
of  manners  j  yet,  amongst  these  dissolute  and 
enslaved  people,  the  gospel  of  Christ,  accom- 
panied with  a  divine  power,  was  suddenly  and 
remarkably  prevalent  to  turn  a  great  multi- 
tude from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the 
power  of  Satan  to  God.  The  means  of  this 
happy  change  are  expressly  mentioned  :  What 
the  philosophers  had  long  attempted  in  vain, 
by  cold  encomiums  on  the  beauty  of  virtue, 
was  speedily  effected  by  those  who  simply 
preached  the  Lord  Jesus  as  the  author,  finisher, 
and  fountain  of  salvation.  When  the  news 
of  this  good  beginning  was  brought  to  Jeru- 
salem, the  apostles  sent  Barnabas  to  Antioch  ; 
who,  being  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  himself,  was  greatly  rejoiced  when  he 
saw  the  numbers  and  sincerity  of  the  con- 
verts, and  animated  them  by  his  exhortations 
to  cleave  to  the  Lord  with  steady  resolution  j 
for  he  was  sensible  of  what  they  perhaps  were 
little  aware  of  as  yet,  how  many  arts  the  enemy 
of  souls  employs  to  discourage  those  who  are 
beginning  to  walk  in  Wisdom's  ways.  He 
afterwards  went  to  Saul,  and  prevailed  on 
him  to  leave  Tarsus,  and  join  with  him  in 
the  service  of  the  gospel  at  Antioch.  By 
the  Lord's  blessing  on  the  endeavours  of  these 
faithful  labourers,  the  church  was  so  greatly 
increased,  that  the  believers  there  first  received 
the  general  denomination  of  Christians  ;  a  sig- 
nificant and  instructive  appellation,  strongly 
importing  their  duty  and  relation  to  Christ, 
and  to  each  other,  and  has  therefore  univer- 
sally obtained,  and  will  probably  subsist  to 
the  end  of  time.  But  though  this  name  he 
accounted  honourable  with  us,  and  has  al- 
ways been  deemed,  by  those  who  truly  de- 
serve it,  the  noblest  title,  the  highest  stylc 
of  man,  it  had  not  the  same  general  estima- 
tion  when   first    imposed :   in   the  mouth  o* 


462 


PROGRESS  OF  Til  Li  GOSPEL 


unbelievers,  whether  Jews  or  Heathens,  it 
was  a  term  of  infamy  and  reproach,  and  ex- 
pressive of  the  highest  contempt,*  and  may  be 
therefore  ranked  among  the  many  opprobrious 
epithets  by  which  the  Lord's  faithful  followers 
have  been  marked  out  to  the  rage  and  scorn 
of  the  world. 

Caligula  having  rendered  himself  univer- 
sally odious  by  his  inhumanity  and  caprice, 
was  assassinated  in  his  palace,  in  the  fourth 
year  of  his  reign. f 

Claudius,  a.  d.  41.]  He  was  succeeded  by 
Claudius,  who,  soon  after  his  entrance  on  the 
government,  bestowed  the  kingdom  of  Judea  on 
Herod  Agrippa,  a  grandson  of  Herod,  styled 
the  Great  (mentioned  Matth.  ii.),  and  nephew 
to  Herod  the  Tetrarch,  who  put  John  the  Bap- 
tist to  death.  This  prince  experienced  much 
of  that  vicissitude  which  usually  attends  am- 
bition :  he  had  been  detained  in  prison  and 
chains  by  Tiberius,  greatly  favoured  and  ad- 
vanced by  Caligula,  and  now  seemed  to  liave 
attained  the  summit  of  his  wishes  ;  but,  em- 
ploying his  power  to  persecute  the  church 
(  Actsxii.)  he  was  suddenly  cut  offin  the  height 
of  his  prosperity;  for  who  can  harden  him- 
self against  the  Lord  and  prosper  ?  Herod 
was  a  professed  zealot  for  the  law  of  Moses 
and  the  Jewish  institutions,  and  studied  by 
every  means  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the 
people.  He  first  expended  vast  sums  in  the 
defence  and  ornamem  of  the  city ;  but  it  was 
in  his  power  to  attempt  a  still  more  accept- 
able service,  by  exerting  his  authority  against 
the  people  of  Christ ;  and  the  motives  of  va- 
nity and  popularity,  by  which  he  was  governed, 
prompted  him  to  embrace  the  occasion.  He 
began  by  apprehending  the  apostle  James,  the 
son  of  Zebedee,  whom  he  hastily  put  to  death  ; 
and,  finding  that  the  Jews  were  highly  pleased 
with  this  step,  he  proceeded  to  imprison  Peter, 
intending  to  delay  his  execution  till  after  the 
Passover  [a.  D.  44],  that  his  zeal  against  these 
innovators  might  be  applauded  by  a  greater 
number  of  spectators.  This  stroke,  though  very 
afflictive  to  the  church,  was  wisely  permitted, 
to  illustrate  the  courage  and  fidelity  of  the 
apostles  :  it  shewed  that  their  miraculous 
powers,  and  high  office,  afforded  them  no  sure 
exemption  from  persecution,  but  that  they 
ventured  and  acted  upon  the  same  principles 
of  faith  and  love  to  Jesus,  in  common  with 
other  believers.  Thus  James  finished  his 
course,  and  received  the  crown  the  first  of  the 
apostles.  But  Peter,  being  designed  for  far- 
ther services,  was  still  safe,  though  to  an  eye 
of  sense  he  seemed  marked  out  for  a  speedy 
sacrifice  :  incessant  prayer  was  made  on  his 
behalf  by  the  disciples;  and  the  united  pray- 
ers of  God's  people  have  an  efficacy  which 
can  be  withstood  by  no  human  power  :   when 

* Quos  per  flagitia  invisos  vulgus  Christianos  ap- 

pellabut :  auctornominis  ejus  cinistus,  qui,  Tiberio  Im- 
perante,  per  procuratorenl  Pontium  Pilatum  suppliers 
afleciuserat.  Tacitus,  Arm  15. 

f  Jo6cpluis,  Ant.  lib.  x. 


BOOK   II 

he  inclines  them  to  join  with  earnestness  and 
perseverance  in  prayer,  it  is  because  he  has 
already  determined  to  grant  their  petition. 
In  this  case  the  answer  was  signal,  though  not 
immediate.  The  night  before  Peter  was  to 
have  been  brought  forth  to  suffer,  he  was 
sleeping  between  his  keepers  with  that  serenity 
which  is  peculiar  to  those  who  have  a  good 
cause,  a  good  conscience,  and  a  steady  faith 
in  God.  Neither  the  inconveniences  of  a 
prison,  nor  the  expectation  of  death,  could 
discompose  him,  for  he  knew  in  whom  he  had 
believed  ;  but  he  was  awakened  by  an  angel, 
who  freed  him  from  his  chains,  opened  the 
prison-doors,  and  brought  liim  into  the  street, 
unperceived  by  the  guards.  After  the  angel 
had  thus  set  him  at  liberty,  and  was  departed 
Peter  went  to  the  fiouse  where  his  friends 
were  at  that  instant  praying  for  his  deliver 
ance.  Thus  they  had  a  remarkable  proof,  that 
the  Lord  is  indeed  a  God  that  heareth  prayer  ; 
and  it  is  recorded  for  our  encouragement. 

In  the  morning,  Herod  found  himself  dis- 
appointed of  his  prey.  The  guards,  upon  ex- 
amination,* being  unable  to  give  an  account 
of  their  prisoner,  he  commanded  them  to  be 
put  to  death.  It  is  probable  that  Herod,  or 
his  advisers,  might  suspect  a  miraculous  in- 
terposition (as  the  apostles  had  been  deliver- 
ed the  same  way  a  few  years  before)  :  but  to 
punish  the  keepers,  as  if  they  had  been  guilty 
of  conniving  at  his  escape,  was  the  most  likely 
method  to  stop  farther  inquiry,  and  prevent 
the  people  from  supposing  any  thing  extraor- 
dinary in  the  affair. 

Herod  did  not  long  survive  this  event.  He 
lived  and  died  a  monument  of  the  instability 
of  human  greatness.  He  was  much  devoted 
to  his  Roman  masters,  and  had  a  taste  for 
their  magnificence.  This  induced  him  to  ce- 
lebrate games  and  shows  at  Caesarea,  in  ho- 
nour of  the  emperor  :  here  he  laboured  to 
display  the  utmost  of  his  grandeur.  His  pride 
was  farther  flattered  by  the  arrival  of  an  em- 
bassy from  Tyre  and  Sidon.  These  cities  had 
incurred  his  displeasure  ;  but  as  they  chiefly 
drew  their  subsistence  from  his  dominions, 
they  were  compelled  to  supplicate  peace, 
which,  though  they  had  highly  offended  him, 
they  obtained  by  their  interest  with  Blastus 
his  chamberlain.  The  king  appointed  a  day 
to  receive  their  submission,  when  he  appeared 
with  a  splendour  that  dazzled  the  eyes  of  the 
spectators :  he  addressed  himself  to  the  am- 
bassadors in  a  pompous  oration,  suited,  we 
may  suppose,  to  give  them  the  highest  idea 
both  of  his  power  and  his  clemency.  When 
he  had  ended,  he  heard  his  praises  resound 
from   every  quarter :   the  multitude  shouted. 

*  Herod  examined  them  himself.  It  is  probable  he 
found  strong  reason  to  think  Peter  had  been  mira- 
culously delivered ;  but,  like  a  wise  politician,  he  dis- 
sembled his  conviction,  and,  to  stifle  all  suspicion, 
wreaked  his  resentment  upon  the  soldiers.  They,  with- 
out doubt,  believed  there  was  something  extraordinary 
in  the  case,  and  might  have  said  so  it'  they  had  lived  ;— 
but  dead  men  tell  no  tides. 


CHAP.   I. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 


463 


It  is  the  voice  of  a  God,  not  of  a  man.  His 
vain  heart  was  elated  with  this  impious  com- 
pliment, which  indeed  was  no  more  than  had 
often  been  used  upon  such  occasions  among 
the  Heathens ;  but  when  it  was  now  adopted 
by  those  who  professed  a  knowledge  of  the 
true  God,  the  proud  worm,  who  durst  be 
pleased  with  it,  was  made  a  sudden  and  awful 
example  of  the  divine  displeasure  :  the  aven- 
ging angel  of  the  Lord  smote  him  with  an  ir- 
resistible, though  invisible  stroke;  and,  while 
surrounded  with  the  fancied  insignia  of  ma- 
jesty, and  in  the  midst  of  their  idolatrous  ac- 
clamations, he  found  and  confessed  himself  a 
mortal.  He  was  seized  with  excruciating 
pains,  and  expired  in  a  few  days,  being  in  a 
manner  devoured  by  vermin  bred  from  his 
bowels.  With  his  death  the  persecution 
ceased.  He  perished,  and  was  quickly  for- 
got ;  but  the  word  of  God,  which  he  had 
attempted  to  suppress,  grew  and  multiplied 
as  before. 

The  church  of  Antioch  during  this  time 
greatly  increased,  and  enjoyed  the  benefit  of 
many  excellent  teachers,  some  of  whom  were 
endued  with  a  prophetical  spirit,  by  which 
the  Lord  intimated  his  will  to  them  in  parti- 
cular cases.  In  this  way  they  had  been  in- 
formed of  an  approaching  dearth,  and,  as  sea- 
sons of  scarcity  would  severely  affect  the  dis- 
ciples in  Judea,  who  laboured  under  peculiai 
difficulties,  they  cheerfully  contributed  to  their 
relief,  and  sent  the  collection  to  Jerusalem  by 
Saul  and  Barnabas,  who,  having  fulfilled  their 
commission,  returned  to  Antioch  about  this 
time.  [a.  D.  45.]  These  two  were  soon  after- 
wards (Acts  siii.)  appointed  by  an  express  re- 
velation to  propagate  the  knowledge  of  the 
gospel  in  other  countries  :  they  were  set  apart 
to  this  service  by  the  solemn  prayers  of  the 
church,  and  attended  by  John,  surnamed 
Mark,  who  had  accompanied  them  from  Je- 
rusalem. Thus  they  went  forth,  like  Abra- 
ham, uncertain  whither  they  were  to  go,  but 
assured  of  an  infallible  guidance  and  power 
to  direct  and  prepare  the  way. 

It  is  generally  believed  that,  nearly  about 
the  same  time,  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem  like- 
wise separated,  to  preach  the  gospel  in  the 
districts  respectively  allotted  them  by  the  di- 
rection of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  we  have  some 
account  from  antiquity  of  their  several  pro- 
vinces, according  to  which  they  divided  among 
them  the  greatest  part  of  the  known  world, 
from  India  to  Barbary,  and  from  Abyssinia 
to  Scythia.  Indeed  there  is  no  doubt  but 
they  executed  their  commission  as  apostles, 
and  spread  the  gospel  far  and  wide;  but  the 
particulars  recorded  of  their  labours,  suffer- 
ings, and  circuits  are  not  transmitted  with 
such  authenticity  and  clearness  as  to  give  en- 
tire satisfaction.  The  only  certain  history  we 
have  of  the  apostolic  age  is  that  of  Luke, 
which  we  call  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  ;  and 
•his,   from  the  period  we  are  now  come  to,  is 


confined  to  those  events  in  which  Paul  was 
personally  concerned,  and  does  not  even  carry 
on  his  history  to  the  end  of  his  life.  The 
wisdom  of  God  having  given  us,  both  in  the 
life  of  Jesus  and  of  his  first  servants,  rather 
a  specimen  sufficient  for  our  instruction  than 
a  complete  history  to  gratify  our  curiosity,  to 
this  plan  we  shall  conform  ;  and,  while  we 
have  the  light  of  an  inspired  writer,  we  shall 
not  wander  after  the  glimmerings  of  tradi- 
tion. I  shall  therefore,  in  the  progress  of 
this  chapter,  confine  myself  to  the  Evan- 
gelist's narration,  so  far  as  it  goes,  and,  when 
he  leaves  us,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  comprise, 
in  a  very  narrow  compass,  the  most  certain 
or  most  probable  incidents  which  we  can  re- 
cover to  complete  the  records  of  the  first  cen- 
tury. 

S  ml  and  Barnabas  embarked  at  Seleucia, 
a  sea-port  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Antioch, 
and  sailed  to  Cyprus :  they  landed  at  Sala- 
mis,  on  the  east  side,  and  proceeded  through 
the  island  to  Paphos,  in  the  west,  making  the 
first  tender  of  the  gospel  in  every  place  to  th« 
Jews.  At  Paphos  the  Roman  governor,  Ser- 
gius  Paulus,  was  desirous  to  hear  the  apos- 
tles doctrine :  he  was  attended  by  Elymas,  a 
pretended  magician  and  prophet,  who  fearing 
the  discovery  of  his  impostures,  laboured  to 
divert  the  governor  from  his  purpose,  and  to 
prejudice  him  against  them.  But  Saul  sharply 
rebuked  his  wickedness,  and,  by  the  impulse 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,*  denounced  a  sentence 
against  him,  suitable  to  his  crime ;  he  who 
endeavoured  to  detain  others  in  darkness  and 
ignorance,  was  suddenly  struck  blind  himself. 
This  punishment,  which  he  could  neither  fore- 
see nor  avoid,  discovered  the  vanity  of  his 
claims,  and  convinced  the  governor,  that  the 
preachers  spoke  by  an  authority  superior  to 
their  own  ;  he  therefore  attended  more  care- 
fully to  their  words,  and  became  soon  a  par- 
taker of  their  faith. 

From  Cyprus  they  sailed  to  Perga,  in  Pam- 
phylia ;  where  their  attendant  Mark,  eithor 
already  wearied  with  fatigue,  or  apprehensive 
of  greater  difficulties,  or  from  a  fickleness  and 
levity  of  temper,  would  proceed  no  farther 
with  them,  but  returned  to  Jerusalem.  By 
this  indiscretion  he  not  only  lost  many  valu- 
able opportunities,  which  he  afterwards  re- 
gretted, but  in  the  end  gave  occasion  to  a 
great  difference  between  Barnabas  and  Paul. 
Such  is  the  state  of  humanity,  that  those  per- 
sons in  a  society  who  cannot  do  much  good, 
are  often,  by  their  imprudence,  the  cause  of 
much   harm,   even  where   they  intend   other- 

*  It  is  expressly  said,  that  Saul  or  Paul  was  rilled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost ,  therefore  the  severe  expressions 
in  his  reprimand  were  not  the  effects  of  intemperate 
anger,  but  a  solemn  declaration  of  the  sorcerer's  true 
character :  yet  it  is  safer  to  imitate  the  apostle  in  his  pa- 
tience and  humility,  than  in  this  singular  instance.  The 
power  of  God,  which  accompanied  his  words,  proved 
by  what  impulse  and  authority  he  spoke.  We,  who  are 
not  apostles,  and  who  make  no  claim  to  apostolic  power, 
shall  act  more  in  character  to  conform  to  the  general 
rule  St.  Paul  has  given  us,  2  1  im.  ii.  24,  25 


464 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


BOOK  II 


wise.  From  Perga  they  proceeded  to  An- 
tioch,  in  Pisidia,  and  entered  into  the  syna- 
gogue, [a.  D.  46.]  Their  habit  and  manners 
bespoke  them  Jews,  but,  perhaps  the  rulers  of 
the  synagogue  were  not  apprised  of  their  cha- 
racter. When  the  ordinary  service  was  fi- 
nished, they  were  desired  to  propound  their 
sentiments.  Paul,  who  was  usually  the  speak- 
er, addressed  them  in  along  discourse,  a  va- 
luable abstract  of  which  is  preserved  to  us. 
In  his  introduction,  he  reminded  them  of  their 
ancient  history  and  prophecies  ;  but  the  sum 
and  substance  of  his  sermon  was  Jesus.  He 
proved  from  the  scripture  that  he  was  the 
Messiah,  in  whom  the  promises  centred,  and 
proposed  him  to  all  as  the  great  object  of 
faith,  through  whom,  and  by  whom  alone, 
forgiveness  of  sin  was  to  be  obtained,  and  a 
free  justification  from  those  offences  for  which 
the  law  of  Moses  had  made  no  provision.  In 
the  close,  he  solemnly  warned  them  of  the 
danger  of  rejecting  this  Saviour  and  his  gos- 
pel. His  discourse  made  no  great  impres- 
sion upon  the  Jews ;  but  some  of  the  Hea- 
thens, who  had  been  occasionally  present,  de- 
sired to  hear  the  matter  farther  explained. 
Accordingly,  on  the  next  Sabbath,  almost  the 
whole  city  was  collected  to  hear  the  gospel, 
which  exceedingly  offended  the  Jews,  and 
prompted  them  to  interpose  with  cavil  and 
abuse.  The  apostles  then  told  them,  in  plain 
terms,  that  though  their  message  was  first  to 
them,  yet,  since  they  refused  to  receive  it, 
they  would  henceforth  freely  proclaim  it  to 
the  Heathens,  from  whom  they  expected  a 
more  favourable  hearing  ;  nor  were  they  dis- 
appointed in  their  hope,  for  many  of  the  lat- 
ter received  the  word  with  joy,  both  in  the 
city  and  adjacent  country.*  The  Jews,  far- 
ther exasperated  by  this  success,  so  wrought 
upon  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  some  per- 
sons of  influence,  both  men  and  women,  who 
were  probably  proselytes,  and  superstitiously 
devoted  to  their  new  profession,  that  Paul 
and  Barnabas  were  violently  compelled  to  de- 
part ;  but  they  left  behind  them  disciples,  the 
fruits  of  their  ministry,  who  were  filled  with 
joy  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  thereby  enabled 
to  maintain  the  faith,  though  their  teachers 
were  forced  from  them. 

The  apostles,  shaking  off  the  dust  of  their 
feet  (as  our  Lord  had  commanded),  for  a  tes- 
timony against  the  obstinate  infidelity  of  the 
Jews,  went  from  thence  to  Iconium,  the  chief 
city  of  Lycaonia,  where  they  made  many  con- 
verts, both  Jews  and  Gentiles.  But  the  Jews 
who  believed  not,  actuated  by  the  same  spirit 

*  When  the  Jews  saw  the  multitudes,  they  were  filled 
with  envy.  Among  the  clamours  raised  against  persons 
and  doctrines  in  our  own  time,  some  have  not  been 
ashamed  to  allege  the  great  concourse  of  people  usually 
attending,  as  a  sufficient  objection,  forgetting  (as  it 
should  seem),  that  this  was  one  circumstance  that  pro- 
voked and  instigated  the  enemies  of  Christianity  from 
the  beginning,  John,  vii  40,  48,  am'  *J    48,  and  xii. 


in  every  place,  opposed  them  earnestly  *  ;  yet 
they  staid  so  long,  and  met  with  such  success, 
that  the  city  was  divided,  a  part  holding  with 
them,  and  a  part  influenced  by  their  enemies, 
who  from  thence  took  occasion  to  represent 
them  to  the  magistrates  as  disturbers  of  the 
public  peace  ;  a  charge  which  has  often  been 
falsely  urged  against  the  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel. At  length  their  adversaries  prevailed, 
and  violent  measures  were  resolved  on  ;  but 
they,  having  notice  of  it,  withdrew  in  time  to 
Lystra,  in  the  same  province,  where  they  pur- 
sued their  ministry  with  their  usual  zeal  and 
firmness,  without  being  deterred  by  the  oppo- 
sition they  had  already  met  with,  or  were  like- 
ly to  meet  in  every  place.  Among  their  hear- 
ers at  Lystra,  there  was  one  who  had  been  a 
cripple  from  his  birth.  Paul,  observing  his 
attention,  and  some  indications  of  faith  in  his 
behaviour,  was  directed  to  confirm  the  doc- 
trine of  Jesus  by  a  signal  miracle.  He  com- 
manded the  lame  man  to  stand  upright  upon 
his  feet ;  and  his  word  was  accompanied  with 
immediate  power :  the  man,  who  had  never 
walked,  instantly  sprang  up,  and  possessed  the 
perfect  use  of  his  limbs.  It  appeared,  from 
this  instance,  that  though  miracles  have  a  ten- 
dency to  rouse  the  attention,  and  are  a  proof 
of  a  power  beyond  the  ordinary  course  of 
things,  yet  they  cannot,  of  themselves,  in- 
form or  convince  the  mind  of  truth  :  for  the 
ignorant  multitude,  though  greatly  struck 
with  what  they  saw,  were  so  far  from  believ- 
ing the  apostles  doctrine,  on  the  evidence  of 
this  miracle,  that  they  endeavoured  to  account 
for  it  on  their  own  idolatrous  principles : 
they  forgot  all  they  had  heard  of  Jesus,  and 
cried  out,  The  gods  are  come  down  to  us  in 
the  likeness  of  men.  Agreeable  to  their 
blinded  notions,  they  calkd  Barnabas,  Jupiter 
and  Paul,  Mercury  d  imagining  something  in 
them  peculiarly  characteiistic  of  those  fabu- 
lous deities.  In  the  warmth  of  their  super- 
stition, they  assembled  with  their  high  priest 
and  victims  f ,  and  would  have  offered  sacrifices 
to  the  men  who  came  to  turn  them  from  dumb 
idols  to  serve  the  living  God.  But  nothing 
gives  the  faithful  ministers  of  Christ  greater 
pain,  than  to  have  any  part  of  that  honour  or 
dependence  addressed  to  themselves,  which 
they  are  desirous  wholly  to  engage  for  their 
Lord  and  Master.      Paul  and   Barnabas,  who 

*  Acts  xiv.  2.  "  The  Jews  stirred  up  the  people." 
There  is  a  natural  enmity  in  the  hearts  of  some  men, 
but  in  many  it  is  dormant;  they  are  engaged  in  business 
and  pleasure,  and  would  be  content  to  let  the  people  of 
God  alone,  as  unworthy  their  notice;  these  must  be 
stirred  up  by  the  more  zealous  to  join  in  the  common 
cause:  and  accordingly  no  pains  of  misrepresentations 
are  spared  to  rouse  them  from  their  indolence. 

f  The  high  priest  was  probably  willing  to  avail  him- 
self of  the  superstition  of  the  people,  and  thought  it  a 
favourable  occasion  to  establish  the  belief  of  a  peculiar 
sanctity  and  virtue  in  the  temple  at  Lystra,  which  might 
increase  the  number  of  votaries  and  promote  his  own 
wealth  and  influence.just  asa  legendary  report  of  the  ap- 
pearance or  miracles  of  some  saint,  or  angel,  has  been 
improved  to  procure  a  veneration  for  particular  cities  ot 
temples  in  Christian  counties. 


CHAP.   I. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 


403 


had  suffered  persecution  and  ill-treatment 
with  patience,  were  transported  beyond  their 
usual  bounds  at  these  marks  of  ignorant  ap- 
plause ;  they  rushed  in  among  the  people, 
confessed  their  own  infirmities,  boldly  reprov- 
ed their  blind  idolatry,  and  directed  them 
where  alone  their  thanks  and  worship  were 
due;  yet,  with  all  they  could  say,  they  hard- 
ly prevailed  on  them  to  desist.  It  was  happy 
for  them  that  they  sought  not  their  own  glory, 
and  could  not  be  elated  with  the  applause  of 
men.  Poor  and  precarious  is  the  reward  of 
those  who  aim  no  higher  than  this  ;  for,  as  the 
tide,  after  running  a  while  violently  one  way, 
soon  afterwards  by  degrees  reverts  to  the  con- 
trary extreme,  so  inconstant  is  the  praise  and 
regard  of  the  unthinking  many,  who  are  go- 
verned by  appearances,  and  susceptive  of  every 
new  impression.  Some  of  the  restless  Jews 
followed  the  apostles  from  Iconium,  and,  by 
their  insinuations,  prevailed  on  the  same  peo- 
ple to  treat  those  as  malefactors,  whom  a  little 
before  they  had  revered  as  deities:  they  tumul- 
tuously  assaulted  Paul  (who,  being  the  chief 
speaker,  was  usually  the  chief  sufferer), 
stoned  him,  and  dragged  him  out  of  the  city, 
supposing  they  had  killed  him  ;  but  the  Lord, 
to  whom  the  issues  of  life  and  death  belong, 
restored  him,  and  healed  his  bruises,  so  that 
he  rose  up  while  the  disciples  were  sorrowfully 
standing  round  him;  and  having  entered  into 
the  city,  to  shew  that  he  was  neither  dead 
nor  intimidated,  he  was  enabled  to  accompany 
Barnabas  the  next  day  to  Derbe. 

Here  they  continued  some  time,  and  taught 
many  ;  and  this  was  the  boundary  of  their 
present  progress.  From  hence  they  returned 
regardless  of  their  enemies,  to  the  places  they 
had  been  at  before,  to  Lystra,  Iconium,  An- 
tioch,  and  Perga,  confirming  the  believers, 
forming  them  into  societies,  and  constituting 
elders  and  pastors,  from  amongst  themselves, 
in  every  church.  In  all  places  they  took  care 
to  instruct  the  believers  in  the  nature  of  their 
profession,  and  reminded  them  of  an  unalte- 
rable necessity  in  the  present  constitution  of 
things,  that  through  much  tribulation  we  must 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God*,  Acts  xiv.  22. 
After  this,   recommending   the  new   converts 


*  That  this  was  the  case  in  the  primitive  times  is  gene- 
rally allowed ;  but  we  have  been  told  by  some,  that 
things  are  now  greatly  altered  in  this  respect :  they  would 
persuade  us,  that  our  Lord's  words  (Matth.  vii.  13.)  are 
no  longer  in  force ;  that  the  way  to  the  kingdom,  in  our 
happy  days,  is  broad,  spacious,  smooth,  and  thronged  by 
multitudes,  the  very  characters  he  has  given  us  of  the 
road  to  destruction.  Such  teachers  and  writers  are  little 
aware  how  they  proclaim  their  own  ignorance.  If  they 
knew  the  spirit  of  enmity  which  the  world  bears  to  true 
Christianity, — the  trials  with  which  the  Lord  visits  his 
people,  to  prove  and  exercise  their  faith,— the  assaults 
and  temptations  they  endure  from  the  powers  of  darkness, 
—the  griefs  they  feel  from  a  sense  of  their  own  unfaith- 
fulness and  unfruitfulness,— the  fightings  without,  and 
fears  within,  which  are  more  or  less  experienced  in  the 
christian  life — if  they  knew  these  things,  they  would  speak 
otherwise.  The  beaten  way  to  honours  and  preferments 
is,  perhaps,  free  from  these  tribulations ;  but  not  so  the 
way  that  will  lead  to  the  kingdom  of  God. 


to  the  grace  and  care  of  the  Lord,  in  whom 
they  had  believed,  they  again  took  shipping, 
and  returned  to  Antioch  in  Syria.  Upon  their 
arrival,  they  assembled  the  whole  church,  and 
gave  them  a  particular  account  of  all  that  the 
Lord  had  done  for  them,  and  by  them,  in  their 
late  circuit.  [A-  D-  47.]  This  is  the  news 
which  believers  delight  to  relate  and  hear : 
the  traverses  of  policy,  or  the  events  of  war, 
the  usual  topics  of  conversation,  afford  them 
but  little  entertainment ;  but  it  rejoices  their 
hearts  to  be  informed  of  new  accessions  to  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom,  and  to  see  how  his  wis- 
dom and  grace  triumph  over  all  opposition. 

Hitherto  the  church  had  only  to  struggle 
with  outward  difficulties;  but  as  human  na- 
ture is  always  the  same,  and  the  apostolical 
times  were  to  transmit  instruction  to  the  peo- 
ple of  God  in  every  succeeding  period,  mis- 
takes, disputes,  and  divisions  were,  by  degrees 
permitted  to  take  place  among  professed  be- 
lievers. If  it  had  not  been  so,  we  might  not 
only  have  been  discouraged  by  the  great  dis- 
parity between  the  first  christians,  and  those 
who  have  lived  since,  but,  for  want  of  rules 
and  precedents  of  sufficient  authority,  we 
should  have  been  continually  at  a  loss  how- 
to  oppose  and  confute  the  various  errors 
which  have  appeared  and  been  revived  during 
so  many  centuries  :  the  Divine  Wisdom  there- 
fore thought  fit  to  suffer  every  false  and  dan- 
gerous notion,  whereby  the  enemy  of  souls 
would  at  any  time  attempt  to  corrupt  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  faith,  to  make  its  first  entrance 
while  the  apostles  were  yet  living,  that  we 
might  have  their  instructions  and  examples  ti> 
guide  us  in  every  emergency.  However 
paradoxical  it  may  seem,  we  hope,  in  a  pro- 
per place,  to  shew,  that  no  new  opinion, 
either  right  or  wrong,  respecting  the  faith  in 
Christ,  has  been  started  since  the  close  of  the 
scriptural  canon.  As  the  gospel,  that  good 
and  perfect  gift,  came  down  from  the  Fa- 
ther of  lights  complete,  and  has  received  no 
amendment  from  the  hands  through  which  it 
has  successively  passed, — so,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  grand  deceiver  exerted  all  his  force 
against  it,  and  availed  himself  of  all  his  in- 
fluence on  the  ignorance  and  wickedness  of 
men  from  the  very  beginning,  and  has  no  sub- 
tle devices  in  reserve  now,  having  tried  his 
utmost  resources  over  and  over.  It  is  true, 
length  of  time,  and  change  of  circumstances, 
have  afforded  him  opportunities  of  placing  his 
delusions  in  various  lights,  and  have  given 
some  of  his  schemes  a  seeming  strength  and 
establishment  which  they  had  not  at  first ,  but 
as  a  man  attained  to  his  full  stature  and  vig- 
our, is  the  same  individual  person  that  was 
once  an  infant,  unable  to  standalone,  so  there 
neither  is,  nor  has  been,  any  erroneous  prin. 
ciple,  however  authorised  or  recommended, 
or  perhaps  applauded  as  a  new  discovery,  by 
those  who  are  ignorant  of  scripture  and  an 
2  O 


4G6  PROGRESS  OF  THE 

tiquity,  but  we  can,  from  express  passages  in 
the  apostles  writings,  shew  that  the  same  ex- 
isted in  their  time,  though  in  a  more  feeble 
<md  infantile  state.  This  point  we  are  to  il- 
lustrate more  at  large  hereafter  ;  at  present  I 
am  only  concerned  to  take  notice  of  a  dissen- 
tion  that  arose  among  the  believers  at  Anti- 
och,  not  long  after  the  return  of  Saul  and 
Barnabas,  which  made  their  presence  there 
particularly  useful.  This  was  occasioned  by 
some  Judaising  professors,  who  came  down 
from  Judea,  and  taught  the  Gentile  converts, 
that  except  they  were  circumcised,  and  kept 
the  law  of  Moses,  they  could  not  be  saved. 
This  dangerous  position,  arising  from  a  mis- 
apprehension of  the  righteousness  of  Christ, 
as  the  only  ground  of  a  sinner's  acceptance 
with  God,  and  tending  to  substitute  a  quick- 
sand for  the  foundation  of  hope,  instead  of  the 
immoveable  rock  which  God  has  laid  in  Zion, 
was  warmly  opposed  by  these  apostles  of  the 
Gentiles  ;  they  had  a  double  conviction  of  its 
falsehood,  both  from  the  nature  of  the  faith 
they  had  received  themselves,  and  the  effects 
of  the  gospel  they  had  imparted  to  others;  but 
many  weaker  minds,  having  less  experience  of 
the  work  of  grace  in  their  own  hearts,  and 
less  acquaintance  with  what  the  Lord  had 
wrought  in  others,  were  staggered.  When 
therefore,  after  many  debates,  the  point  was 
not  settled  to  satisfaction,  it  was  resolved  to 
depute  Paul  and  Barnabas  to  consult  the  a- 
postles  and  elders  at  Jerusalem,  [a.  D.  49.] 
If  this,  as  seems  probable  was  the  journey  St. 
Paul  refers  to  in  Gal.  ii.,  they  were  directed 
to  take  this  step  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  since 
he  there  says,  that  he  went  up  to  Jerusalem 
by,  or  in  consequence  of,  a  revelation.  They 
were  accompanied  by  some  brethren  ;  and  in 
every  place  where  they  found  believers,  they 
comforted  them  with  the  account  of  their  late 
progress.  At  Jerusalem  they  were  cordially 
received  ;  and  having  declared  the  happy  fruits 
of  their  preaching  to  the  Heathens,  though 
they  had  not  attempted  to  bind  them  to  the 
Mosaic  law,  they  proceeded  to  declare  the 
tenet  which  had  been  lately  advanced,  and  their 
motives  for  opposing  it.  They  soon  found 
persons  of  the  same  legal  spirit,  who  justified 
and  repeated  the  obligation  of  the  ceremonial 
law  upon  all  who  embraced  the  gospel.  Up- 
on this,  a  particular  day  was  named  for  the 
whole  assembly  to  meet,  and  discuss  the  ques- 
tion. In  this  convention  there  was  the  high- 
est room  to  expect,  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
would  influence  their  resolves,  and  guard  them 
from  giving  their  sanction  to  an  error;  and  he 
did  so ;  yet  not  by  an  audible  voice  or  instan- 
taneous impulse,  but  by  presiding  over  their 
debates,  and  enabling  them,  in  the  conclusion, 
to  collect  and  pronounce  the  true  state  of  the 
question  with  infallible  evidence  and  certainty. 
Here  again  it  is  plain,  that  Peter  little  thought 
himself  entitled  to  that  supreme  prerogative, 
as  the  immediate  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ,  which 


GOSPEL  BOOK   II. 

his  pretended  successors  falsely  ascribe  to  him  ; 
nor  did  his  brethren  remind  him  of  his  privi- 
lege, otherwise  there  could  have  been  no  de- 
bate, for  his  declaration  would  have  been  de- 
cisive ;  but  waving  the  claim  of  authority,  he 
argued  the  insignificance  of  the  Jewish  rites  as 
to  salvation,  from  the  Lord's  conduct  towards 
Cornelius  and  his  friends,  by  his  ministry 
These  were  the  first  Gentile  converts ;  and  in 
this  instance,  he  said,  the  Lord  had  fully  de- 
clared his  mind,  making  no  difference  between 
Jew  and  Gentile,  purifying  their  hearts  by 
faith  in  his  blood,  and  imparting  to  them  those 
substantial  blessings,  of  which  the  ceremonial 
law  exhibited  no  more  than  the  shadow ;  and 
which,  in  comparison  of  the  liberty  of  the  gos- 
pel, he  termed  an  unnecessary  yoke,  ton  heavy 
to  be  borne.  The  assembly  then  kept  silence, 
while  Paul  and  Barnabas  related  more  at  large 
the  fruits  of  their  late  mission  among  the  Hea- 
thens. The  conference  was  closed,  and  the  de- 
termination given,  not  by  Peter,  but  by  James, 
who  asserted  the  Gentiles  freedom  from  the 
Jewish  yoke,  and  enjoined  them  only  to  ab- 
stain from  fornication,  from  things  offered  to 
idols,  and  from  blood.  The  two  latter  points 
were  necessary  to  preserve  a  friendly  inter- 
course between  the  Gentile  and  Jewish  con- 
verts, so  long  as  these  were  indulged  in  ob- 
serving the  Levitical  institutions ;  and  the 
prohibition  from  fornication,  though  immedi- 
ately belonging  to  the  moral  law,  which  was  of 
universal  obligation,  was  added  to  give  the 
Gentiles  a  deeper  sense  of  the  guilt  and  evil 
of  a  practice,  which  the  most  civilized  and  vir- 
tuous Heathens  considered  as  almost,  if  not 
wholly,  innocent. 

This  sentence  was  generally  embraced  ;  and 
a  letter  to  the  same  effect  was  written  to  the 
believers  at  Antioch,  confirming  them  in  their 
christian  liberty.  In  this  they  thought  it  a 
sufficient  condemnation  of  the  opposite  opi- 
nion to  say,  They  had  given  no  such  com- 
mandment :  a  protestation  the  apostles  might 
have  often  repeated  had  they  lived  to  this 
day  ;  but  since  their  genuine  writings  still  sub- 
sist, we  may,  by  parity  of  reason,  still  infer, 
that  we  need  not  be  afraid  of  rejecting  any 
thing  that  is  enjoined  as  binding  upon  the 
conscience,  if  we  can  be  sure  that  the  apostles, 
who  were  divinely  inspired  to  explain  the 
christian  faith  and  practice,  have  given  us  no 
precept  in  its  favour.  They  likewise  took 
care  to  assert  their  firm  persuasion,  that  their 
decision  was  agreeable  to  the  dictates  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  This  convocation  has  generally 
been  styled  the  first  christian  council ;  but  in  - 
deed,  when  we  compare  it  with  those  which 
bore  the  same  name  afterwards,  and  were  pro- 
fessedly formed  upon  this  precedent,  we  shall 
be  almost  tempted  to  say,  that  it  was  not  only 
the  first,  but  the  last.  Here  were  no  intrigues 
practised,  no  temporal  interests  consulted,  no 
fierce  and  bloody  anathemas  issued,  to  give  a 
sanction    to   persecution,    no  uncertainty   or 


CHAP     i, 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 


467 


animosity   in    the  issue ;    but  the  affair  was 
conducted  with  freedom  and  moderation,  and 
the  conclusion  made  by  general  consent,  and 
to  the  satisfaction  of  both  parties.      How  dif- 
ferent in  these  respects  from  the  spirit  of  after 
times  !      But  though  this  answered   the  end 
in  the  present  case,  the  judgment  of  the  apos- 
tles was  not  entirely  obeyed,    even  while  they 
lived.       This    debate   was    revived    in    other 
places,  and   proved  a  frequent  impediment  to 
the  peace  of  the  church,    so  long  at  least  as 
the  temple  and  worship  of  Jerusalem  continu- 
ed, and  gave   St.    Paul  occasion  to  write  his 
epistle  to  the  Galatians  expressly  on  this  sub- 
ject ;  nay,  it  seems  the  mistake  still  subsisted 
in   Judea,  though  none  publicly  ventured  to 
contradict  the  decree  when  it  was  made;  for 
when,  some  time  after,  Peter  went  to  Antioch, 
and  conversed  (  Gal.  ii.  11)  freely  with  the  Gen- 
tile converts,  living  after  theirmanner  for  a  sea- 
son, yet,  when  some  brethren  came  down  from 
Jerusalem,  he  was   so  fearful  to  offend  them 
in  this  matter,  that  he  separated  himself  again, 
and,  by  his   influence,  prevailed  on   Barnabas 
likewise  to  dissemble  in  favour  of  those  of  the 
circumcision.        For    this    weak    compliance, 
whereby  he  seemed  to  overthrow  what  he  had 
before  established,   St.  Paul  withstood  him  to 
his  face :   he  did  not  detract  from  his  charac- 
ter   by    insinuations  to  his  prejudice  behind 
his  back,  nor  did  he  content  himself  with  re- 
proving him  in  secret ;  but  as  the  offence  was 
public,  tending  to  confirm  the   Jews  in  their 
bigotry,  and  to  offend  the  weak  on  both  sides, 
he  boldly   and  publicly  rebuked  him   before 
them  all.      Strange  weakness,  incident  to  the 
best  of  men  !  that  Peter,   who  had   first  laid 
aside  his  prejudices,  who  had  visited  the  Gen- 
tiles by  divine  direction,  had  seen  the  happy 
effects  of  his  compliance,  and  vindicated  his 
own  conduct  so  unanswerably  upon  a  late  oc- 
casion, should  now  shrink  and  trifle,  expose 
himself,  and  grieve  his  brethren,  through  fear 
of  those  who   came  from   Jerusalem  !    To  be 
delivered  from  the  fear  of  man  is  a  deliver- 
ance indeed  !      It  was  happy  for  Peter  that 
he  had,  in  his  brother  Paul,  a  faithful  friend, 
who,   by  a  few  well-timed  words,  broke  the 
chain,  and  set  him  at  liberty.      It  is  surpris- 
ing that  any  who  have  read  this  passage  should 
dream  of  fixing  on  Peter,  above  any  other  of 
the  apostles,  to  be  the  supreme  and  infallible 
head  of  the  christian  church. 

Justus  and  Silas,  two  of  the  brethren,  were 
sent  with  Barnabas  and  Paul  to  accompany 
the  letter,  and  to  declare  the  purport  of  it 
more  at  large.  They  were  gladly  received  at 
Antioch,  and  not  only  confirmed  the  peace  of 
the  church,  but  were  further  helpful  to  their 
faith,  by  the  singular  gifts  with  which  the 
Lord  had  honoured  them.  In  a  little  time 
Justus  returned  to  Jerusalem,  but  Silas  chose 
to  continue  longer,  and  was  afterwards  the 
constant  companion  of  St.  Paul  in  his  travels. 

a.  D,  50.]      This  obstacle  being  temovcd, 


the  gospel  flourished  greatly  at  Antioch. 
But,  amidst  all  their  services  and  success 
there,  Paul  and  Barnabas  could  not  forscet 
the  converts  they  had  left  in  Cyprus  and  Asia 
Minor.  They  proposed  therefore  to  make 
them  a  second  visit,  to  comfort  them,  and  to 
see  how  the  work  had  prospered  in  their  ab- 
sence :  but  a  difficulty  was  started  concerning 
John,  surnamed  Mark,  who  had  formerly  left 
them  at  Perga ;  and  having  probably  repent- 
ed of  his  irresolution,  was  now  desirous  to 
proceed  with  them  again.  Paul  warmly  op- 
posed this,  thinking  him  highly  culpable  for 
his  inconstancy,  and  perhaps  too  much  in- 
fluenced against  him  by  a  spirit  of  resentment 
not  wholly  excuseable.  On  the  other  hand, 
Barnabas  undertook  his  apology ;  in  which, 
besides  his  tenderness  to  his  fault,  he  seems  to 
have  been  moved  by  considerations  which 
ought  to  have  no  place  where  the  service  of 
God  is  concerned.  John  was  his  sister's  son  ; 
and  this  led  him  to  consider  his  conduct  in 
the  most  favourable  light.  Thus  they  were 
both  a  little  partial  in  the  cause ;  but  much 
more  wrong  in  the  issue ;  for  the  contention 
became  so  sharp  between  them,  that  it  broke 
their  harmony.  They  determined  to  part. 
Accordingly,  Barnabas  took  Mark,  whose 
company  he  had  dearly  purchased  by  the  loss 
of  Paul's,  and  sailed  to  Cyprus,  his  native 
place ;  and  Paul,  chusing  Silas  in  his  room, 
went  through  Syria  and  Cilicia,  being  recom- 
mended to  the  Lord  by  the  prayers  of  the 
brethren.  So  that  their  former  work  was  now 
divided  between  them. 

I  must  venture  to  digress  here  a  little  for 
the  sake  of  two  remarks,  of  which  the  course 
of  our  history  may  often  remind  the  reader. 
1.  How  small  an  occasion  will  discover  hu- 
man infirmity  even  in  the  brightest  characters  ! 
Not  all  the  graces  of  Paul  and  Barnabas,  nor 
the  remembrance  of  the  services  and  difficul- 
ties they  had  jointly  experienced,  nor  the  im- 
portance of  the  common  cause  in  which  they 
were  engaged,  nor  the  fear  of  giving  offence 
to  the  world  and  to  the  church,  could  restrain 
these  dear  friends,  fellow-labourers,  and  fel- 
low-sufferers,  from  contending  and  separating 
about  a  trifle.  2.  How  wise  is  the  over-rul- 
ing providence  of  God,  permitting  such  things 
for  the  trial  of  some,  the  instruction  of  others, 
and  the  better  carrying  on  his  own  designs  i 
In  succeeding  revivals  of  religion,  the  like 
differences*  have  sometimes  taken  place  a- 
mong  the  main  instruments,  and  from  as  tri- 
vial causes ;  and  though  they  have  not  ob- 
tained without  fault  in  some,  and  inconven- 
ience to  many  ;  yet  the  event  lias  proved  them" 
no   hindrance  upon    the   whole.       The  work 

*  To  mention  only  one  by  anticipation, — the  unhappy- 
dispute  between  Luther  and  Zuinglius,  and  their  re- 
spective followers,  concerning  the  words,  "  This  is  my 
body."  The  difference  between  them  was  little  more 
than  imaginary ;  but  the  mischiefs  it  occasioned  were 
real,  important,  and  numerous,  and  would  probably 
have  stifled  the  Reformation  in  its  birth,  if  it  had  not 
been  60  remarkably  une'er  an  almiglrtv  protection. 


4-G8 


PROGRESS  OF 


lias  become  more  diffusive,  and  more  incon- 
testible,  when  persons  of  different  tempers, 
sentiments,  and  talents,  who  seemed  to  super- 
ficial observers  as  the  heads  of  different  par- 
ties, have  laboured  with  equal  zeal  and  suc- 
cess in  advancing  the  one  great  design  of  the 
gospel.  As  a  skilful  gardener  raises  many 
plants  in  a  little  spot  of  ground,  and  removes 
them  afterwards  to  places  where  they  will 
have  more  room  to  grow  and  flourish ;  so 
they  who  are  designed  for  extensive  useful- 
ness, are  often  first  reared  within  a  little  com- 
pass, within  the  sight  and  knowledge  of  each 
other,  where  they  are  sheltered  and  strength- 
ened, while  tender,  by  their  mutual  advices, 
prayers  and  examples,  and  seem  to  have  only 
one  heart  and  one  mind.  But  were  they  al- 
ways to  continue  thus  closely  connected,  no 
one  would  have  room  to  expand  according  to 
the  measure  of  gifts  and  services  which  the 
Lord  has  appointed  them  ;  therefore  they  are 
thinned  and  transplanted  :  either  persecutions 
from  without,  or  weaknesses,  mistakes,  or 
jealousies  among  themselves,  scatter  them  afar, 
to  places  and  undertakings  they  had  no  thoughts 
of,  and  which  would  not  have  been  otherwise 
attempted. 

The  apostle  Paul,  with  his  companion  Silas 
(Acts  xvi.),  proceeded,  as  has  been  mentioned, 
through  Syria  and  Cilicia,  to  the  parts  he 
had  formerly  visited.  When  he  came  to  Ly- 
stra,  he  chose  Timothy  for  his  associate  and 
companion  in  his  journey,  who  it  is  probable 
had  been  converted  by  his  ministry,  and  a  wit- 
ness to  his  sufferings  for  the  gospel  when  he 
was  there  before.  Timothy  was  of  Jewish 
extract  by  the  mother's  side,  and  carefully 
educated  from  his  infancy  in  the  knowledge 
.)f  the  scriptures  ;  but  his  father  was  a  Greek. 
This  circumstance  being  generally  known  to 
the  Jews,  and  likely  to  render  him  less  ac- 
ceptable among  them,  Paul,  to  obviate  their 
prejudices,  directed  him  to  be  circumcised  ; 
thus  shewing  his  readiness  to  become  all 
things  to  all  men,  so  far  as  was  consistent 
with  a  good  conscience,  and  conducive  to  edi- 
fication :  for  though,  when  the  observance  of 
the  Mosaic  law  was  insisted  on  as  necessary 
to  salvation,  he  steadily  opposed  it,  and  would 
not  admit  the  least  addition  to  the  doctrine  of 
free  justification  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  he 
was  willing  to  permit  it  to  the  Jewish  con- 
verts in  their  present  situation,  and  to  accom- 
modate himself  to  their  weakness,  for  their 
advantage.  He  had  before  withstood  the 
circumcision  of  Titus,  who  was  a  Gentile 
when  it  was  urged  as  a  necessary  point ;  but 
now  that  debate  was  settled  in  favour  of  gos- 
pel-liberty :  he  proposed  the  circumcision  of 
Timothy  himself.  The  seeming  inconsistence 
of  his  conduct  vanishes,  if  the  difference  of 
the  two  cases  is  rightly  understood  ;  but  those 
who  act  from  the  most  enlarged  principles, 
who  know  when  and  in  what  points  resolu- 
tion is  necessary,  and  when  and   how  far  it  is 


THE  GOSPEL  BOOK  it 

expedient  to  yield  to  others,  will  always  be 
thought  inconstant  and  inconsistent  by  the 
zealots  of  parties.  In  the  course  of  his  pro- 
gress, he  delivered  in  every  city,  the  decree 
lately  determined  at  Jerusalem,  which,  though 
primarily  directed  to  Antioch,  was  of  equal 
force,  as  a  rule  and  bond  of  peace,  in  all 
places  where  there  were  both  Jewish  and  Gen- 
tile converts.  Thus,  having  watered  his  for- 
mer planting,  he  proceeded  to  preach  in 
Phrygia  and  Galatia.  The  route  of  the  gos- 
pel was  directed  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  who 
restrained  the  apostle  from  entering  the  pro- 
vince which  is  called,  by  way  of  distinction, 
the  Proconsular  Asia,  of  which  Ephesus  was 
the  capital  :  not  that  this  country  was  to  be 
excluded  from  the  knowledge  of  Christ ;  for 
St.  Paul  preached  in  many  parts  of  it  after- 
wards with  great  success  (Acts  xix.  10)  ; 
but  the  proper  season  was  not  yet  come,  the 
Lord  having  an  important  service  for  them 
first  in  another  place.  For  the  same  reason, 
and  by  the  same  influence,  they  were  pre- 
vented going  into  Bithynia,  which  they  had 
some  thoughts  of  attempting.  Thus,  in  a 
manner  undetermined  where  they  were  to  la- 
bour, they  came  to  Troas,  a  sea-port  in  the 
Archipelago ;  and  when  their  journey  was 
now  bounded  by  the  sea,  they  received  a  fur- 
ther intimation  of  the  Lord's  will,  and  found 
that  he  had  been  leading  them  in  the  right 
way  ;  for  they  were  brought  to  a  port  proper 
for  embarking  to  the  place  where  the  Lord 
had  designed  to  send  them. 

A.  D.  51.]  Here  St.  Paul  had  a  vision  by 
night,  of  a  man  standing  by  him,  whose  garb 
and  expression  intimated  his  country,  and 
entreating  him,  saying,  "  Come  over  into 
Macedonia,  and  help  us."  This  vision  was 
attended  with  such  circumstances  as  left  no 
room  to  doubt  either  its  origin  or  meaning  ; 
so  that,  when  he  had  communicated  it  to  his 
companions,  they  assuredly  collected,  that  the 
Lord  called  them  into  Macedonia.  Accord- 
ingly they  took  shipping,  and  having  a  fa- 
vourable wind,  they  soon  arrived  at  Neapolis  ; 
from  whence  they  proceeded  by  land  to  Phi- 
lippi,  a  place  of  note,  and  a  Roman  colony. 
Their  preaching  and  continuance  in  this  city, 
which,  in  time,  became  the  seat  of  a  flourish- 
ing church,  was  productive  of  certain  interest- 
ing and  important  events. 

On  the  Sabbath-day  they  went  out  of  the 
city  to  a  place  by  the  river  side  (a  usual  re- 
sort of  the  Jews  for  the  exercise  of  public 
prayer),  where,  meeting  with  some  women,  as 
it  should  seem,  before  the  rest  were  assem- 
bled, they  spake  freely  of  the  great  subjecr 
which  was  always  uppermost  in  their  hearts 
and  mouths.  One  of  them,  named  Lydia,  a 
native  of  Thyatira,  and  then  resident  at  Phi- 
lippi,  gave  a  peculiar  attention  to  St.  Paul's 
discourse :  the  reason  is  assigned,  the  Lord 
opened  her  heart.  The  rest  heard  the  samu 
words  j  but  the  hearts   of  all  are  dull,   con. 


CHAP.  I. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 


489 


tracted,  and  averse  to  spiritual  truths,  so  that, 
without  a  divine  interposition,  the  most  power- 
ful speakers  speak  in  vain.  Lydia  heard  to 
good  purpose :  she  believed,  and  was  imme- 
diately baptized,  with  her  family,  and  gladly 
received  the  messengers  of  gospel-grace  into 
her  house. 

Continuing  to  preach  in  this  place  so  long 
as  they  remained  at  Philippi,  they  were  often 
met  by  a  young  woman  under  the  influence 
of  an  evil  spirit,  who,  as  they  passed  by,  cried 
after  them,  These  men  are  the  servants  of  the 
Most  High  God,  who  declare  unto  us  the  way 
of  salvation,  in  like  manner  as  the  demoniacs 
had  sometimes  confessed  our  Saviour's  autho- 
rity and  mission.  It  may  seem  strange  that 
an  evil  spirit  should  testify  in  favour  of  the 
preachers  of  the  gospel  ;  but  perhaps  it  was 
either  to  make  them  suspected  of  a  confede- 
racy, or  to  draw  them  into  a  snare.  How- 
ever, when  this  had  been  often  repeated,  St. 
Paul,  who  could  not  bear  to  be  spoken  well 
of  by  a  spirit  which  was  not  of  God,  com- 
manded him,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  to  quit 
his  possession.  The  spirit,  compelled  to  obey, 
left  the  woman  instantly.  But  this  opened 
a  way  to  give  them  disturbance  in  another 
manner.  Her  masters,  to  whom  she  had  for- 
merly brought  great  profit  by  her  divining  ta- 
lent, finding  she  was  no  longer  willing  or  able 
to  procure  them  advantage  by  that  means,  ap- 
prehended Paul  and  Silas,  as  the  chief  instru- 
ments of  their  loss,  and  brought  them  before 
the  magistrates  with  the  heavy  charge  (which 
is  usually  revived  when  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  interferes  with  the  views  of  interest), 
that  they  exceedingly  disturbed  the  peace  of 
the  city,  by  attempting  innovations  contrary 
to  the  established  religion  :  they  styled  them 
Jews  to  the  Romans,  on  account  of  their  open 
abhorrence  of  idol-worship,  which  was  care- 
fully supported  by  the  Roman  laws  and  cus- 
toms. The  unthinking  multitude  soon  joined 
in  the  alarm,  and  the  magistrates,  easily  pre- 
judiced by  the  terms  of  the  accusation,  in- 
stead of  acting  as  impartial  judges,  declared 
themselves  parties  in  the  affair.  Without  ex- 
amining into  particulars,  they  violently  tore 
off  the  clothes  of  Paul  and  Silas  ;  and,  hav- 
ing caused  them  to  be  beat  with  many  stripes, 
they  cast  them  into  prison,  giving  the  jailor 
a  particular  charge  to  keep  them  safely.  This 
command  was  executed  with  severity.  He 
thrust  them  into  the  inner  prison,  and  fas- 
tened their  feet  in  the  stocks.  But  no  walls 
or  dungeons  can  exclude  those  comforts  of 
God's  Spirit  which  are  promised  to  those  who 
suffer  for  righteousness  sake,  and  which  are 
able  to  overpower  the  sense  of  every  incon- 
venience. Paul  and  Silas  were  so  little  dis- 
composed by  this  cruel  treatment,  that  they 
joyfully  sung  hymns  of  praise  to  God,  and 
were  heard  by  the  other  prisoners,  who  proba- 
bly were  surprised  at  the  cheerfulness  they 
expressed  in  such  circumstances.      But  they 


were  surprised  much  more  at  the  testimony 
the  Lord  immediately  gave  in  behalf  of  his 
servants  ;  for,  while  they  were  thus  engaged, 
on  a  sudden  the  earth  trembled ;  the  very 
foundations  of  the  prison  were  shaken,  so  that 
all  the  doors  flew  open,  and  every  one's  fet- 
ters and  bonds  were  instantly  loosed.  The 
noise  awakened  the  jailor,  who,  supposing  the 
prisoners  were  all  escaped,  and  dreading  the 
consequences,  in  the  first  transports  of  his 
terror,  drew  his  sword  to  slay  himself;  for 
so  the  false  wisdom  of  the  Heathens,  ignorant 
of  the  awful  realities  beyond  the  grave,  taught 
men  to  avoid  the  pressure  of  present  troubles 
by  desperately  plunging  themselves  into  an 
unknown  eternity.  But  St.  Paul,  though 
in  another  part  of  the  prison,  and  in  the  dark, 
was  made  acquainted  with  his  purpose,  and 
called  out  to  him  with  a  loud  voice,  "  Do 
thyself  no  harm ;  we  are  all  here."  It  in- 
creased his  surprise  to  find  that  his  design 
was  made  known  to  them,  and  that  those 
whom  he  had  treated  so  hardly  should  forget 
all  their  wrongs  and  interest  themselves  in  his 
preservation.  Such  an  instance  of  forgiveness 
and  tenderness  to  an  enemy,  deeply  affected 
him,  and  convinced  him  of  the  wrong  he  had 
done  them,  more  forcibly  than  the  sharpest 
expostulations  could  have  done.  This  is  in- 
deed the  peculiar  triumpli  of  a  christian,  to 
overcome  evil  with  good.  He  immediately 
called  for  alight,  and,  in  an  agonyof  guilt  and 
terror,  sprung  in,  and  cast  himself  at  the  feet 
of  those  over  whom  he  had  so  lately  tyrannized. 
After  this  expression  of  his  respect,  and  com- 
punction for  the  injury  he  had  done  them,  he 
brought  them  out,  and  addressed  them  with 
that  question,  of  the  last  importance  to  every 
awakened  soul,  "  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?"  Paul  and  Silas,  who  had  but  one 
answer  to  this  question,  suited  to  every  rank 
of  life,  and  to  sinners  of  every  degree,  di- 
rected him  to  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
as  the  only  and  infallible  means  of  salvation. 
This  faith  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  give;  so 
that,  when  he  had  brought  them  to  his  house, 
and  heard  them  explain  the  doctrine  more  at 
large,  he  believed,  and  was  baptized  with  all 
his  family.  Upon  this  his  sorrow  was  turned 
into  permanent  joy,  and  now  it  appeared  why 
the  Lord  had  permitted  his  servants  to  be  thus 
rudely  handled.  Amongst  other  reasons,  it 
was  on  the  account  of  this  jailor,  who  would 
otherwise  have  remained  a  stranger  to  the  gos- 
pel, if  the  Lord,  in  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
his  mercy,  had  not  thus  sent  it  to  him,  and,  by 
the  concurrent  dispensations  of  his  providence, 
disposed  him  to  receive  it  with  thankfulness, 
as  life  from  the  dead.  It  likewise  proved  the 
vanity  of  all  attempts  to  suppress  the  truth. 
The  magistrates  and  people  abused  the  preach- 
ers, and  put  them  in  prison;  but  the  effect 
was  quite  contrary  to  their  intentions,  for  by 
this  means  the  jailor,  the  instrument  of  their 
cruelty,    with  his  household,   were  converted, 


470 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


BOOK    II. 


and  thus  the  apostle's  enemies,  through  the 
over-ruling  hand  of  God,  became  subservient 
to  his  design,  and  helped  him  to  some  of  the 
first  members  of  this  new  church. 

The  jailor,  thus  made  partaker  of  the  faith, 
expressed  his  gratitude  to  his  prisoners :  he 
washed  their  stripes,  and  set  meat  before  them, 
and  was  soon  freed  from  any  suspence  on  their 
account ;  for,  in  the  morning,  the  magistrates 
sent  him  orders  to  dismiss  them  from  confine- 
ment. But  St.  Paul  was  willing  to  let  them 
know  that  they  had  failed  in  their  duty,  and 
acted  against  those  very  laws  and  customs,  of 
which,  as  Romans,  they  professed  to  be  so 
tenacious.  A  citizen  of  Rome  was  not  liable 
to  bonds  or  scourging,  and  a  subject  of  Rome, 
though  not  a  citizen,  could  not  be  legally  pu- 
nished till  he  had  been  permitted  to  answer 
his  accusers  face  to  face,  Acts,  xxv.  16.  The 
apostle  was  injured  in  both  these  respects ; 
they  had  punished  him  without  trial,  and  they 
had  bound  and  beat  him,  though  he  was  a 
Roman  :  he  therefore  asserted  his  privilege. 
He  might  have  insisted  on  satisfaction  ;  but 
he  was  a  christian,  a  willing  disciple  of  a  suf- 
fering Saviour :  he  had  been  once  a  persecu- 
tor himself,  and  had  obtained  forgiveness : 
therefore  he  found  it  easy  to  forgive.  His 
remonstrance  made  the  magistrates  willing 
to  submit  to  his  terms ;  they  came  them- 
selves, and  honourably  dismissed  their  pri- 
soners, entreating  them,  that,  to  prevent  far- 
ther inconveniencies,  they  would  withdraw 
from  the  city ;  which  they  did,  after  they 
had  taken  leave  of  Lydia  and  the  other  dis- 
ciples. 

A.  D.  52.]  From  hence,  passing  through 
Amphipolis  and  Apollonia,  they  came  to  Thes- 
salonica,  the  residence  of  the  Roman  gover- 
nor. Here  Paul,  according  to  his  usual  cus- 
tom, applying  himself  first  to  the  Jews,  dis- 
coursed and  reasoned  with  them  in  their  sy- 
nagogues three  successive  Sabbaths,  out  of 
their  own  scriptures,  opening  *  the  true  sense 
of  the  prophecies  concerning  the  Messiah, 
and  then  shewing  their  accomplishment  in  the 
person  of  Jesus.  His  labour  was  not  wholly 
in  vain  ;  some  of  them  believed,  and  became 
disciples  ;  but  the  rest,  and  the  greater  part, 
discovered  the  indignation  and  enmity  of  their 
hearts  against  the  truth.  Under  such  leaders, 
the  unthinking  rabble  are  easily  instigated  to 
do  mischief ;  so  that  they  found  no  difficulty 
to  raise  a.  tumultuous  mob,  who  assaulted  the 
house  of  Jason,  where  Paul  and  Silas  resided; 
but  not  finding  them  there,  they  forced  away 

*  Acts,  xvii.  5.  Opening  and  alleging ;  first  explain- 
ing the  true  sense  of  the  passage,  and  then  laying  down 
plain  and  undeniable  deductions  from  it,  applicable  to 
the  case  in  hand.  Thus  much  is  implied  in  the  Greek 
words  iixvoiyav  xa.i  Tx.$inid'.f*.itt>;.  A  proper  model  for 
preachers  and  writers  in  divinity.  How  many  contro- 
versies would  cease,  how  much  time  would  be  redeem- 
ed, how  many  offences  would  be  avoided,  if  it  was  uni- 
versally followed,  if  the  scriptures  were  explained  in 
their  true  sense  and  connection,  and  nothing  advanced 
but  what  could  be  fairly  deduced  from  such  an  explana- 
tion. 


Jason,  and  some  of  the  new  believers,   before 
the   magistrates.      The  accusation   was,    that 
the  preachers  of  the  gospel,  who,  from  the 
effect  of  their  doctrine  in  disturbing  the  false 
peace*  of  sin,  began  to  be  sufficiently  describ- 
ed, when  spoken  of  as  men   who  turned  the 
world  upside  down,  and  threw  all   into  con- 
fusion  wherever    they   appeared,    were   come 
thither    also ;    that    Jason    had   received   and 
countenanced   them ;     and  that   their   funda- 
mental  tenets  were   inconsistent  with  obedi- 
ence to  government,  since  they  professed  and 
inculcated  subjection  to  one  Jesus,  whom  they 
styled    their  King.      By  such  misrepresenta- 
tions, the  enemies  of  the  gospel-doctrine  have 
often  aimed  to  render  it  obnoxious  to  the  ci- 
vil powers.      The  rulers  were  alarmed  at  this 
accusation  ;    but  being  unwilling  to   proceed 
to  extremities,   though  obliged  to  take  some 
notice  of  what  seemed  to  affect  the  interest  of 
Csesar,  they  took  sufficient  security  of  Jason 
and  the  rest  for  their  good  behaviour,  and  dis- 
missed them  without  farther  trouble.      Li  the 
mean  time,  Paul  and  Silas,  against  whom  the 
violence  had  been  chiefly  intended,  were  sent 
safely  away  by  the  brethren  to  Berea,  where, 
regardless  of  their  past  dangers  and  sufferings, 
they  pursued  their  endeavours  to  recommend 
the  gospel   to   the  Jews;  and,  in   this   place, 
they  met  with  a  friendly  reception.     Tt  is  said 
the  Bereans  were  more  noble  than   those  of 
Thessalonica ;    for  to  be  open   to  conviction 
and  information  is  the  mark  of  a  noble  mind : 
they  were  of  a  more  free  and  ingenuous  tem- 
per, not   slaves   to   the   fear  of  man,   cr  the 
power  of  prejudice  :   they  heard  with  candour, 
and    examined    the    scriptures   themselves   to 
find  the  truth.     The  gospel  of  Christ  is  suited 
to  give  the  fullest  satisfaction  to  inquirers  of 
this  spirit.      Accordingly,  many  of  them  be- 
lieved.     But  when  the  Jews  of  Thessalonica 
were  informed   of  this,   they  followed    Paul 
thither,  with  a  view  to  repeat   the  part  they 
had  acted    in   their  own  city;  but  they  came 
too  late :    Paul  had  already  planted  the  gos- 
pel ;    and,    leaving   Silas  and   Timothy,   who 
were  less  obnoxious,  to  remain  a  little  longer 
with  the  brethren,  he  was  conducted  first  to- 
wards the  sea,   to  elude  the  attempts   of  his 
enemies,   and   afterwards   to    Athens,    a   city 
which,   for  its  eminence  in  literature  and  all 
the  polite  arts,  was  styled,  by  general  consent, 
the  seat  of  the  Muses. 

While  the  apostle  waited  at  Athens  for  the 
arrival  of  Silas  and  Timothy,  his  spirit  was 
inflamed  with  a  lively  concern  for  the  honour 

*  It  is  still  thought  a  sufficient  and  unanswerable  ob- 
jection against  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  to  say,  These 
opinions  cause  divisions  and  separations,  and  break  the 
peace  of  families  and  communities.  We  may  bring  the 
point  to  a  short  issue:  Did  our  Lord  foretell  this  as  one 
sure  and  perpetual  consequence  that  would  attend  the 
prevalence  of  his  gospel,  or  did  he  not  ?  If  he  did  not, 
what  is  the  meaning  of  Matth.  xii.  54—36  ?  If  he  did 
then  by  what  name  are  we  to  call  that  manner  of  preaci 
ing,  which  has  either  no  tendency,  or  no  power,  to  dis- 
turb the  false  and  dangerous  peace  of  a  wicked  world  ' 


CHAP.  I. 

of  God,  and  the  welfare  of  souls  :  it  grieved 
him  to  see  a  city,  so  famed  for  refinement  and 
philosophy,  wholly  given  to  idolatry,  and,  with 
respect  to  the  most  important  concerns  of  life, 
quite  upon  a  level  with  the  most  ignorant 
barbarians.  St.  Paul  is  generally  allowed,  by 
those  who  will  allow  him  little  else,  to  have 
been  a  man  of  taste  and  letters.  He  was  now 
at  Athens,  the  school  of  philosophy,  and  centre 
of  the  fine  arts  :  painting,  statuary,  architec- 
ture, and  elegance  appeared  in  every  quarter : 
but  the  affecting  observation  he  had  made  of 
the  state  of  the  inhabitants,  so  filled  his  mind, 
that  he  could  take  little  notice  of  any  thing 
else.  To  those  who  understand  the  nearness 
and  importance  of  an  eternal  state,  the  high- 
est improvements  of  unsanctified  reason  afford 
little  more  entertainment  than  the  trivial  sports 
of  children,  or  the  more  wretched  amusements 
of  lunatics.      He  was  so  struck  with  the  iff- 

0 

norance,  superstition,  and  wickedness  of  the 
people,  that  he  could  relish  none  of  the  beau- 
ties of  the  place  ;  but,  full  of  a  different  emo- 
tion, compassionately  laboured  to  inspire  them 
with  true  wisdom.  He  was  soon  encounter- 
ed by  the  Epicurean  and  Stoic  philosophers, 
the  respectable  advocates  for  those  principles 
of  pleasure  and  pride,  to  one  or  the  other  of 
which  all  men  are  enslaved  till  the  gospel  sets 
them  free.  Here,  in  some  measure  accom- 
modating himself  to  the  prevailing  taste,  he 
reasoned  with  the  reasoners,  and  silenced  the 
wise  men  of  the  world,  in  their  own  way,  by 
dint  of  argument ;  but  the  contest  was  un- 
equal; their  syllogisms  soon  failed  them;  and 
they  were  forced  to  retreat  to  their  last  re- 
fuge, an  affected  wit  and  raillery.  Unable  to 
answer  the  force  of  his  discourses,  they  tri- 
umphed without  a  victory,  and  expressed  their 
contempt  of  him  and  his  doctrine  by  a  word 
of  the  lowest  and  most  despicable  significa- 
tion, which  our  version  not  improperly  ren- 
ders a  babler;  but  perhaps  no  term  in  our 
language  can  sufficiently  express  the  poign- 
ancy of  the  original.  Others  so  entirely  mis- 
took the  state  of  the  question,  that  they  thought 
he  was  a  publisher  or  setter  forth  of  strange 
gods ;  they  thought  that  Jesus  and  the  Re- 
surrection were  deities  they  had  not  before 
heard  of;  and  his  discourse  always  turning 
upon  these  topics,  they  concluded,  indeed  with 
reason,  that  his  only  business  and  desire  was 
to  proclaim  to  all  the  divinity  whom  he  wor- 
shipped. And  it  is  no  wonder  that,  from  a 
half-attention  to  his  words,  they  should  be  in. 
duced  to  personify  the  Resurrection  as  a  de- 
ity, since  the  Heathens  had  altars  erected, 
not  only  to  Honour,  Virtue,  and  Liberty, 
but  to  the  vices  and  disorders  of  human  na- 
ture, such  as  Fear,  Shame,  Famine,  and  Fe- 
vers. 

This  weak  mistake  gave  occasion  to  sum- 
mon him  before  the  council,  who  bore  the 
name  of  Areopagus,  or  the  Hill  of  Mars, 
from  the  place  where   they  met,  an  assembly 


AFTER   THE  ASCENSION. 


471 


in  high  estimation  for  authority  and  wisdom, 
and  whose  particular  office  it  was  to  superin- 
tend the  public  religion,  and  preserve  it  from 
innovation.  It  does  not  appear,  however, 
that  he  underwent  a  formal  trial  before  them. 
His  opponents  seemed  rather  disposed  to  gra- 
tify their  curiosity  than  their  malice :  their 
politeness,  perhaps,  made  them  something 
averse  to  the  severer  forms  of  prosecution, 
and  content  with  the  less  invidious,  though 
to  many  not  less  formidable  methods,  of  scorn 
and  ridicule.  Their  prevailing  passion  was 
the  love  of  novelty  ;  they  spent  their  time  in 
telling  or  hearing  some  new,  or,  as  the  Greek 
expresses  it,  some  newer  thing.  The  expected 
news  lost  its  relish  the  moment  it  was  known: 
and  they  were  always  in  search  for  something 
newer  still  ;  therefore  the  gospel,  though  the 
strongest,  as  well  as  the  most  important  news 
they  had  ever  met  with,  could  not  engage  such 
volatile  minds  :  while  it  was  the  newer  thin", 
the  freshest  news,  they  were  content  to  listen  ; 
but  as  soon  as  they  were  satisfied  what  it  was, 
they  wanted  to  hear  something  else.  The 
apostle  no  where  met  with  so  little  success  as 
amongst  this  polite,  learned,  ignorant  people  ; 
and  wherever  this  Athenian  spirit  prevails,  it 
retards  the  success  of  the  gospel  more  than  all 
the  arts  and  violence  of  persecution. 

The  discourse  of  the  apostle  on  this  occa- 
sion is  equally  a  standard  of  tine  address  and 
of  just  reasoning  He  had  observed  their  reli- 
gious rites  and  woiship  with  attention,  and  had 
selected  from  among  their  numerous  altars  the 
one  which  was  most  fit  for  his  purpose.  The 
beauty  of  his  exordium  is  obscured  by  the 
expression,  too  superstitious,  in  our  version  : 
tho  Greek  word  to  which  it  answers  is  ambi- 
guous, and  suited  to  bespeak  a  favourable 
hearing,  rather  than  importing  an  abrupt  re- 
proof; q.  d.  "  I  perceive,  indeed,  Athenians, 
that  you  are  observant  of  the  invisible  powers 
in  an  unusual  manner  ;  for,  besides  the  va- 
riety of  temples  and  altars  which  you  have  in 
common  with  other  cities  of  Greece,  I  ob- 
served one  with  a  peculiar  inscription,  TO  THE 
UNKNOWN  GOD.  This  God,  as  yet  unknown 
to  you,  is  he  whom  I  serve ;  and  the  new 
doctrine,  of  which  you  ask  me,  relates  to  his 
will  and  worship."  This  was  the  most  happy 
and  pertinent  medium  to  enlarge  from  that 
could  be  imagined.  The  Athenians,  always 
eager  to  hear  some  newer  thing,  expected  an 
account  of  new  deities,  but  Paul  referred  them 
to  an  altar  and  inscription  among  themselvei, 
which,  merely  by  being  obvious,  had  escaped 
their  reflection.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  this 
observation  and  inscription  may  suit  the  de- 
votions of  many  who  think  themselves  chris- 
tians. The  same  address  is  visible  in  his 
whole  argument.  To  the  Jews  he  quoted 
the  books  of  the  holy  scriptures ;  but  with 
these  Heathens  he  appealed  to  the  volume  of 
creation,  and  argued,  from  the  impresses  of 
power,  wisdom,  and  goodness  everywhere  dis- 


472 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


BOOK  U. 


played  before  their  eyes,  the  excellence  and 
independence  of  their  great  Author,  how  lit- 
tle he  stood  in  need  of  men,  and  how  un- 
worthy of  his  divine  majesty  all  their  labo- 
rious inventions  were,  while  they  thought  to 
honour  him  by  worshipping  the  works  of  their 
own  hands  :  he  asserted  the  providence  and 
omnipresence  of  God,  that  he  was  the  foun- 
tain of  life  and  all  its  comforts,  the  supreme 
disposer  of  all  events,  and  the  common  Father 
of  mankind,  confirming  this  part  of  his  doc- 
trine by  a  quotation  from  Aratus,  one  of  their 
own  poets.  He  afterwards  proceeded  to  the 
topics  of  revelation,  a  resurrection  to  future 
life,  and  a  final  judgment  by  the  man  Christ 
Jesus.  It  would  require  too  much  room  to 
point  out  particularly  the  spirit,  propriety,  and 
evidence  of  this  short  sermon.  But  no  ora- 
tory or  reasoning  can  change  the  heart.  The 
effect  was  the  same,  as  maybe  observed  amongst 
ourselves,  when  much  inferior  instruments  de- 
clare the  truths  of  God  :  some  mocked,  and 
accounted  this  wisdom  the  merest  folly;  others, 
pleased  with  his  manner,  and  perhaps  affected 
with  some  transient  emotions  of  mind,  ex- 
pressed a  willingness  to  hear  him  again;  and 
a  few,  a  very  few,  believed,  among  whom  was 
Dionysius  one  of  the  Areopagite  judges. 

Having  so  little  encouragement  to  prolong 
his  stay  at  Athens,  the  apostle  proceeded  to 
Corinth,  at  that  time  accounted  the  chief  city 
of  Greece.  Here  he  unexpectedly  found 
companions  prepared  for  him  (Acts  xviii.). 
Aquila,  a  native  of  Pontus,  by  birth  a  Jew, 
with  Priscilla  his  wife,  had  received  the  faith 
of  the  gospel  in  Italy,  from  whence  they  had 
lately  been  constrained  to  remove  by  an  edict 
of  the  emperor,  enjoining  all  Jews  to  depart 
from  Rome.  Whether  the  christians  were 
particularly  aimed  at  by  the  name  of  Jews  in 
this  decree  is  uncertain ;  but  as  their  Lord 
and  Master  had  lived  in  Judea,  and  the  first 
preachers  and  converts  were  generally  of  that 
nation,  perhaps,  likewise,  because  they  asserted 
and  proved  their  doctrines  from  those  books 
for  which  the  Jews  professed  the  highest  ve- 
neration, the  christians  were  for  some  time 
considered  as  Jews  by  most  of  the  Heathens. 
This  happy  pair,  partners  in  faith  and  affec- 
tion, were  led  by  that  Divine  Providence 
which  certainly,  though  secretly,  guides  the 
steps  of  his  servants,  to  seek  a  retreat  in  Co- 
rinth, about  the  time  St.  Paul  arrived  there. 
They  soon  became  acquainted,  and,  of  course, 
intimate.  He  often  mentions  them  in  his 
writings,  as  having,  upon  many  occasions,  af- 
forded him  help  and  comfort ;  for,  as  in  na- 
ture so  in  grace,  none  are  so  sufficient  to  them- 
selves but  they  may  be  glad  of  assistance  from 
others,  even  from  such  as  are  in  many  respects 
their  inferiors.  They  abode  and  wrought  to- 
gether, being  of  the  same  business  ;  for  though 
St.  Paul  well  understood  his  liberty,  and  that, 
as  it  preacher  of  the  gospel,  he  had  a  right  to 
expect  a  maintenance  from  those  to  whom  he 


ministered,  yet  he  condescended  to  work  a-i 
a  common  handicraft,  at  the  employment  of 
making  tents.  One  reason  of  his  submitting 
to  this,  he  informs  us  himself,  was  a  prudent 
precaution  to  obviate  any  insinuations  that 
might  be  raised  or  received  against  him  of  a 
design  to  make  gain  of  godliness,  or  to  abuse 
his  influence  to  mercenary  purposes.  But  his 
example  may  farther  teach  us  that  secular 
employments  are  not  in  themselves  incompa- 
tible with  a  faithful  and  regular  discharge  of 
the  gospel-ministry,  when  the  circumstances 
of  the  times  may  so  require.  But  his  main 
and  proper  business,  to  which  he  always  at- 
tended, in  season  and  out  of  season,*  was 
preaching  the  gospel  of  Christ.  To  this  he 
addressed  himself  at  Corinth,  first  (as  usual) 
to  the  Jews,  being  pressed  in  spirit,  borne  on 
by  a  constraining  sense  of  the  love  of  Christ 
and  the  worth  of  souls,  and  probably  more 
confirmed  and  warmed  by  the  accounts  brought 
him  by  Silas  and  Timothy,  who  rejoined  him 
here  from  Macedonia.  Animated,  rather  than 
discouraged,  by  the  opposition  he  had  formerly 
met  with,  he  strenuously  urged  to  the  Jews, 
from  their  own  scriptures,  the  proofs  that 
Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  with  such  evidence  as 
must  have  gained  their  assent,  had  they  not 
been  hardened  and  obstinate ;  but  when  they 
persisted  in  returning  contradiction  and  de- 
spite to  his  repeated  labours  of  love,  he  at 
length  gave  them  up,  and  told  them,  that 
having  discharged  his  duty  and  his  conscience, 
their  blood  would  be  upon  their  own  heads  ; 
that  their  guilt  was  most  aggravated,  and 
their  destruction  approaching  :  and  that,  for 
the  future,  lie  would  frequent  their  synagogues 
no  more,  but  address  himself  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. He  accordingly  preached  in  the  house 
of  one  Justus,  near  the  synagouge,  and  though 
most  of  the  Jews  were  hardened  beyond  the 
reach  of  conviction,  yet  the  Lord  had  a  small 
remnant  amongst  them  here  likewise.  Cris- 
pus,  a  chief  ruler,  or  president  of  the  syna- 
gogue, believed  with  all  his  house  ;  and  of 
the  Heathens  many  were  converted  and  bap- 
tized. 

If  Corinth  was  less  celebrated  than  Athens 
for  philosophy  and  science,  it  was  more  so  for 
riches  and  luxury,  which  are  no  less  powerfui 
hinderances  to  the  reception  of  the  truth.  This 
consideration,  joined  to  the  violent  spirit  of 
his    opposers,  might  perhaps  have  prompted 

*  2  Tim.  iv.  2.  Be  instant  in  season  and  out  of  sea- 
son :  not  unseasonably,  as  supposing  a  time  in  which  it 
would  be  better  to  forbear,  but  in  season,  at  set  and 
stated  times,  and  out  of  season,  that  is  occasionally. 
Improve  every  opportunity  that  offers,  not  on  the  Lord's 
day  only,  but  on  any  other;  not  only  in  a  solemn  and 
full  discourse,  but  let  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  good  oi 
souls,  be  your  scope  in  every  conversation.  It  answers 
to  the  account  the  apostle  gives  of  his  own  conduct. 
He  preached  publicly,  and  from  house  to  house,  by  night 
and  by  day,  Acts  xx.  20,  31.  As  a  physician,  bejides  his 
ordinary  round  of  practice,  is  ready  to  arlonl  his  help 
upon  every  sudden  application,  this  should  be  the  aim 
ot  a  gospel-minister;  he  should  be  constant  to  all  his 
stated  appointments,  and  willing  to  make  the  most  cf 
every  unexpected  call  to  service. 


CHAT.  I. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 


473 


him  to  a  speedy  departure  ;  but  the  Lord, 
whom  he  served,  appeared  to  him  in  a  vision, 
and  bid  him  not  be  afraid  or  discouraged,  but 
continue  to  preach,  assuring  him  his  labour 
should  not  be  in  vain  ;  for,  though  present 
appearances  might  promise  but  little  success 
[a.  D.  53],  he  had  many  people  known  to 
himself  in  that  proud,  sensual,  idolatrous  city. 
It  signifies  but  little  what  enemies  or  difficul- 
ties a  faithfitl  minister  may  be  threatened  with, 
if  the  Lord  has  many  people  in  that  place  ; 
he  who  sent  him  to  call  them  out  of  darkness 
into  his  marvellous  light,  will  support  and  de- 
fend him,  so  that  either  none  shall  rise  against 
him,  or  at  least  none  be  able  to  prevail  to  his 
real  harm.  That  the  people,  whom  the  Lord 
here  spoke  of  as  his  own,  were  no  better,  ei- 
ther by  nature  or  practice,  than  others,  is 
plain  from  what  the  apostle  reminds  them  of 
after  their  conversion,  1  Cor.  vi.  9 — 11.  We 
learn  from  the  same  epistle  (chap.  ii.  3), 
that  his  conflicts  and  exercises  at  this  time 
were  very  great.  Supported,  however,  by 
such  a  seasonable  and  gracious  encourage- 
ment, he  remained  there  a  year  and  a  half; 
and  all  the  efforts  of  his  enemies  were  insuf- 
ficient either  to  damp  his  zeal  and  activity, 
or  to  prevent  the  success  of  his  labours, 
though  the  Lord  permitted  them  to  try  what 
they  could  do,  and  thereby  more  clearly  shewed 
that  the  safety  of  his  servants  depends  on  him- 
self. 

When  Gallio  was  proconsul  of  Achaia  (who, 
as  it  seems  by  Luke's  expression,  entered  up- 
on his  government  during  the  apostle's  abode 
at  Corinth),  the  Jews  appeared  tumultuously 
before  the  tribunal,  with  the  old  accusation, 
that  he  subverted  the  laws  of  Moses.  Gallio 
prevented  Paul's  intended  defence,  and  refused 
to  interfere  in  points  foreign  to  the  Roman 
laws  :  He  said,  that  if  their  charge  had  been 
laid  for  any  trespass  or  immorality,  he  would 
readily  have  taken  cognizance  of  the  affair, 
but  should  leave  them  to  settle  their  religious 
disputes  between  themselves.  With  this  re- 
primand he  dismissed,  or  rather  drove  them 
from  his  presence.  The  conduct  of  Gallio 
in  this  affair  has  been  considered  in  differ- 
ent lights,  and  praised  or  censured  accord- 
ingly. History  gives  him  a  fair  character  for  e- 
quity  and  moderation  ;  and  it  must  be  allow- 
ed he  judged  right,  in  refusing  to  interpose 
the  civil  authority  to  give  sanction  to  perse- 
cution :  yet  he  seems,  upon  this  occasion,  to 
have  discovered  that  political  indifference 
which  has  prompted  so  many  great  and  wise 
men,  in  the  world's  estimation,  to  treat  the 
gospel  as  a  trivial  scheme  unworthy  their  no- 
tice. He  rather  shewed  contempt  than  impar- 
tiality :  he  would  not  hear  either  party,  be- 
cause he  despised  both,  and  therefore  drove 
them  away  with  scorn.  In  fine,  the  Jews  not 
only  failed  in  their  design,  but  were  themselves 
assaulted  by  some  of  the  inhabitants,  who  beat 
Sosthenes,  the  chief  ruler   of  the   synagogue, 


even  in  the  open  court,  and  Gallio,  thou"-h  he 
saw  it,  cared  for  none  of  these  things ;  which 
is  a  further  proof  that  he  was  influenced  by 
some  other  motives  than  impartiality  and  a  re- 
gard to  justice,  or  he  would  not  have  suffered 
his  authority  to  beinsulted,  and  aperson  (upon 
his  own  principles  innocent)  abused  before  his 
face.  I  suppose  (though  it  is  a  controverted 
point)  that  the  Sosthenes  here  mentioned  was 
at  that  time  an  enemy  to  Paul,  and  joined  in 
the  prosecution  attempted  against  him.  Per- 
haps he  was  afterwards  converted,  and  accom- 
panied the  apostle  in  his  travels,  as  this  name 
is  prefixed,  with  his  own,  to  his  first  epistle 
to  the  Corinthians. 

Nero,  a.  d.  54.]  St.  Paul,  after  about 
two  years  stay  in  Greece,  from  his  first  land- 
ing at  Macedonia,  embarked  at  Cenchrea,  the 
port  of  Corinth,  intending  for  Syria.  In  this 
voyage  they  touched  at  Ephesus,  the  chief 
city  of  the  Proper  or  Proconsular  Asia.  Here, 
as  in  other  places,  he  entered  into  the  Jews 
synagogues,  desirous,  if  possible,  to  lead  them 
to  the  knowlege  of  the  Messiah.  At  this  ci- 
ty he  left  his  dear  companions  Aquila  and 
Priscilla,  who  would  willingly  have  detained 
him  longer ;  but  St.  Paul  having  formed  the 
plan  of  his  progress  in  such  a  manner  as  he 
judged  most  suitable  to  his  main  design, 
readily  sacrificed  the  dictates  of  affection  to  the 
calls  of  duty,  and  persisted  in  his  purpose  to 
be  at  Jerusalem  on  the  approaching  passover  : 
he  took  leave  of  them  therefore,  with  a  pro- 
mise of  returning  at  a  proper  time,  and  pro- 
ceeding on  his  voyage,  landed  at  Caesarea, 
from  whence  he  went  to  Jerusalem.  His  stay 
here  was  not  long  :  having  answered  the  design 
of  his  journey,  and  conversed  with  the  breth- 
ren, he  revisited  the  places  where  he  had  for- 
merly preached,  and  went  first  to  Antioch, 
and  from  thence  through  the  provinces  of  Ga- 
latia  and  Phrygia.  In  this  circuit  he  lost  no 
time,  but  published  the  glad  tidings  of  salva- 
tion, and  confirmed  the  hearts  of  the  disciples, 
wherever  he  came. 

While  he  was  on  this  service,  there  came  to 
Ephesus  a  Jew  of  Alexandria,  named  Apol- 
los  :  he  had  been  as  yet  only  instructed  in  the 
rudiments  of  the  faith,  so  far  as  was  commu- 
nicated by  the  teaching  and  baptism  of  John  ; 
but  though  his 'knowledge  was  not  extensive, 
his  zeal  was  lively  and  fervent,  and  having  a 
prompt  elocution,  and  great  readiness  in  the 
scriptures,  he  preached  concerning  Christ  with 
much  freedom  and  earnestness,  according  to 
the  measure  of  light  he  had  received.  Aquila 
and  Priscilla  were  amongst  his  hearers;  and 
having  more  experience  and  knowledge  than 
himself,  they  easily  perceived  wherein  he  was 
deficient,  and,  with  candour  and  tenderness, 
instructed  him  farther.  This  passage  is  wor- 
thy the  notice  both  of  preachers  and  hearers. 
What  Apollos  had  learned,  he  willingly  com- 
municated; what  he  was  yet  ignorant  of,  he 
as  willingly  received  when  proposed  to  hiia 


471 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


BOOK  II. 


his  zeal  and  humility  went  hand  in  hand. 
This  is  an  amiable  and  thriving  character. 
The  man  who  is  faithful  to  present  light,  and 
open  to  farther  conviction,  will  soon  be  wise 
and  successful ;  the  Lord  will  provide  him 
both  teachers  and  hearers;  he  shall  profit! 
others,  and  be  profited  himself  every  day.  The 
prudence  and  moderation  of  Aquila  and  Pris- 
cilla  are  no  less  commendable  j  they  did  not 
acquiesce  in  all  he  said,  because  he  was  elo- 
quent and  mighty  in  the  scriptures;  neither 
did  they  reject  and  disdain  him  because  they 
knew  more  than  he,  much  less  expose  and  re- 
vile him  as  a  low  ignorant  preacher,  but  they 
spoke  to  him  in  private  :  they  approved  what 
was  right,  and  shewed  him  mildly  and  faith- 
fully wherein  he  was  defective ;  they  com- 
mended his  zeal,  and  improved  his  knowledge. 
With  these  advantages,  and  letters  of  recom- 
mendation to  the  brethren,  he  went  from  thence 
to  Corinth,  where  he  was  highly  serviceable 
to  the  church,  publicly  maintaining  and  prov- 
ing against  the  Jews,  with  great  earnestness 
of  spirit  and  strength  of  argument,  that  Jesus 
was  the  Messiah. 

Not  long  after  his  departure  (Acts  xix.), 
Paul  having  completed  his  progress  through 
the  upper  or  interior  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  re- 
turned, according  to  his  promise,  to  Ephesus. 
Here  he  found  some  more  disciples,  who,  like 
Apollos,  though  acquainted  with  the  doctrine 
and  baptism  of  John,  were  hitherto  strangers 
to  those  peculiar  gifts,  graces,  and  comforts, 
■which,  as  the  fruits  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  were 
bestowed  on  the  believers  in  Jesus;  but,  by 
the  imposition  of  the  apostle's  hands,  they 
were  immediately  made  partakers  of  the  same 
benefits. 

a.  D.  55.]  The  apostle,  unwilling  to  give 
up  his  own  people,  the  Jews,  continued  his 
labours  of  love  among  them  for  three  months, 
if,  by  any  means,  he  might  bring  them  to  the 
acknowledgement  of  the  truth  ;  but  at  length 
perceiving,  that,  instead  of  yielding,  they 
hardened  themselves  still  more,  and  obstinate- 
ly laboured  to  traduce  and  defame  the  author 
and  way  of  salvation  before  the  people,  he 
finally  desisted,  and  selecting  those  who  had 
received  the  gospel  from  the  many  who  might 
hinder  and  confuse  them,  he  formed  them  in- 
to a  society  among  themselves.  He  continu- 
ed daily  to  preach  and  defend  the  gospel,  for 
two  years  afterwards,  in  a  public  school,  with 
indefatigable  zeal  and  diligence,  seconding 
his  more  stated  services  with  occasional  and 
pressing  exhortations  from  house  to  house, 
and  watering  the  seed  with  many  prayers  and 
tears.  His  labours  were  not  in  vain  ;  he  had 
great  success,  not  only  in  the  city  of  Ephesus, 
but  amongst  many,  who,  resorting  thither 
from  other  parts,  and  with  different  views, 
were  providentially  led  to  hear  him,  and  be- 
ing divinely  convinced  themselves,  carried 
home  the  joyful  tidings  with  them  :  so  that 
the  knowledge  of  the  gospel   was   generally 


spread  throughout  the  province.  The  atten- 
tion of  the  people  was  still  farther  excited,  and 
their  prejudices  softened,  by  the  numerous 
displays  and  visible  tendency  of  fhat  divine 
power  by  which  the  Lord  confirmed  the  words 
of  his  servant.  Many  striking  miracles,  em- 
blematical of  the  healing  efficacy  of  gospel- 
grace,  were  wrought  by  the  most  inconsider. 
able  means ;  so  that  persons  afflicted  with 
various  maladies,  or  possessed  by  evil  spirits, 
were  perfectly  restored  to  health,  by  the  ap- 
plication of  handkerchiefs  or  aprons  that  had 
touched  his  body. 

Among  the  various  methods  by  which  the 
gospel  has  been  opposed,  one  is  by  a  feeble 
imitation  and  a  pretended  acknowledgement 
of  some  of  its  principles,  while  the  heart  is 
unacquainted  or  unaffected  with  the  design 
and  scope  of  the  whole  doctrine.  Enmity, 
or,  at  best,  interest,  is  often  the  spring  of 
many  attempts  that  are  veiled  under  a  fair 
profession  of  good  words  ;  but  such  attempts 
will  always  issue  in  the  dissappointment  or 
confusion  of  those  who  venture  on  them.  An 
instance  of  this  kind  happened  at  Ephesus : 
some  vagrant  Jews,  who  made  claim  to  a 
power  of  exorcising  or  dispossessing  evil  spi- 
rits, struck  with  the  miracles  wrought  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  presumed  to  adopt  this  sacred 
name  into  the  number  of  their  professed  mys- 
teries ;  and  meeting  with  a  fit  subject  for  the 
exercise  of  their  art,  they  undertook  to  adjure 
the  evil  spirit  to  depart  from  a  man,  by  the 
name  of  Jesus  whom  Paul  preached.  But 
the  man,  under  the  influence  of  the  evil  spirit, 
insulted  and  exposed  them  ;  lie  acknowledged 
the  authority  of  Jesus,  and  the  fidelity  of 
Paul ;  but,  demanding  farther,  who  they  were 
that  durst  make  £ree  with  these  names  ?  far 
from  obeying  their  summons,  he  fiercely  as 
saulted  them,  and  forced  them,  though  seven 
in  number,  to  flee  for  their  lives,  naked, 
wounded,  and  terrified.  Great  indeed  is 
the  power  of  the  name  of  Jesus ;  but  when 
not  pronounced  by  faith,  it  is  spoken  in  vain  : 
Satan  laughs  at  such  vain  pretenders,  and  pre- 
vails against  them.  So,  when  those  who  are 
destitute  of  faith,  undertake  to  write  or  preach 
concerning  Jesus,  it  will  seldom  prove  to 
more  purpose  than  if  they  attempted  to  exor- 
cise the  people  ;  instead  of  delivering  others 
from  the  power  of  Satan,  they  are  more  and 
more  subjected  to  him  themselves ;  and,  un- 
less the  grace  of  God  interposes  to  teach  them 
better,  their  latter  end  is  usually  worse  than 
their  beginning. 

This  public  defeat  of  the  enemy  added  to 
the  triumph  of  the  gospel  and  the  honour  of 
the  apostle,  and  produced  a  reverence  and  awe 
in  the  hearts  of  many,  convincing  them  of 
the  power  of  evil  spirits  when  not  restrained, 
and  the  danger  of  trifling  with  the  name  or 
ministry  of  Christ ;  and  many  who  had  been 
addicted  to  the  magic  arts  (for  which  Ephesus 
was  peculiarly  infamous)  renounced  their  de- 


CHAP.  I. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 


4  75 


lusions,  confessed  their  folly  and  wickedness 
to  the  apostle,  made  a  public  profession  of  the 
gospel,  and,  in  proof  that  their  faith  and  re- 
pentance were  sincere,  brought  the  books  con- 
taining the  secrets  and  principles  of  their  pre- 
tended skill,  and  publicly  committed  them  to 
the  flames.  These  were  either  so  numerous 
or  so  dear,  that  the  value  was  computed  at 
fifty  thousand  pieces  of  silver.  What  this 
sum  might  be  in  our  money,  the  learned  are 
not  agreed  ;  the  lowest  calculations  fix  it  at 
about  fifteen  hundred  pounds,  while  some 
compute  it  at  more  than  seven  thousand.  We 
are  not,  however,  sure  they  were  all  on  the 
subject  of  magic  ;  a  variety  of  other  disquisi- 
tions might  possibly  contribute  to  enlarge  the 
pile.  Curious  books  and  curious  arts  had 
been  multiplied;  but  the  one  book  of  truth 
now  made  the  rest  useless  and  tasteless  ;  they 
had  now  found  the  pearl  of  great  price,  and 
willingly  parted  with  their  once  admired 
pebbles :  and  we  may  believe,  that  if  the 
worth  and  power  of  the  holy  scriptures  were 
once  generally  known,  many  curious  libraries 
in  our  days,  if  they  escaped  unburnt,  would  at 
least  remain  unread  and  unnoticed.  When 
the  wise  thus  renounced  their  wisdom,  and 
the  artful  their  gain,  burnt  their  books  with 
their  own  hands,  and  devoted  themselves  to 
the  study  of  the  scriptures  alone,  it  is  once 
more  observed,  so  mightly  grew  the  word  of 
God,  and  prevailed  ! 

A.  D.  57.]  The  apostle,  of  whom  it  may 
be  said  with  more  propriety  than  of  Caesar, 
that  he  accounted  nothing  done  while  any 
thing  remained  to  do,  in  the  midst  of  his  im- 
portant engagement?  at  Ephesus,  was  still  me- 
ditating new  services  ;  he  retained  a  warm 
affection  and  care  for  his  friends  in  different, 
distant,  and  opposite  quarters  ;  he  had  thoughts 
of  revisiting  Macedonia  and  Greece,  and, 
from  thence,  once  more  to  go  to  Jerusalem  ; 
and,  not  content  with  reviewing  his  past  la- 
bours, he  longed  to  preach  in  places  he  had 
not  yet  seen, — saying,  After  I  have  been 
there,  I  must  also  see  Rome  :  nor  was  Rome 
the  boundary  of  his  views  ;  for  from  thence 
he  proposed  to  proceed  to  Spain,  Rom.  xv. 
24.  We  are  taught  from  our  infancy  to  ad- 
mire those,  who,  in  the  language  of  the  world, 
are  styled  great  captains  and  conquerors,  be- 
cause they  burned  with  a  desire  to  carry 
slaughter  and  terror  into  every  part  of  the 
globe,  and  to  aggrandize  their  names  by  the 
depopulation  of  countries,  and  the  destruction 
of  their  species,  while  this  generous  spirit  of 
St.  Paul  is  almost  totally  overlooked  :  un- 
wearied by  difficulties,  undismayed  by  dan- 
gers, unsatisfied  with  the  greatest  success, 
unaffected  with  the  justest  applause,  he  seemed 
to  lay  his  benevolent  schemes  wide  as  the  hu- 
man race :  he  reaped  no  profit,  he  sought  no 
praise;  he  rejected  the  allurements  of  plea- 
sure, to  which  the  greatest  conquerors  have 
often  been  irresolute  slaves  ;   he  endured  the 


reproach  and  contempt  of  the  people,  which 
no  hero,  but  the  true  christian,  was  ever 
strong  enough  to  bear  with  patience ;  and  all 
this  only  to  make  others  partakers  of  the  hap- 
piness which  he  enjoyed  himself.  However, 
finding  it  necessary  to  continue  some  time 
longer  where  he  was,  he  dispatched  his  be- 
loved Timothy  to  Macedonia,  to  apprize  his 
friends  of  his  intention,  and  to  prepare  .hem 
for  his  visit,  when  a  proper  opportunity  should 
permit. 

In  the  mean  time  (Acts  xix.  23),  an  inci- 
dent fell  out  which  well  illustrates  the  causes 
and  genius  of  that  opposition  and  outcry 
which  is  usually  made  when  the  power  of 
gospel-truth  interferes  with  the  passions  and 
interests  of  designing  men.  St.  Paul's  great 
success  and  the  additions  daily  made  to  the 
church  of  Christ,  had  a  visible  tendency  to 
lessen  the  estimation  and  gain  of  those  whose 
chief  resource  was  in  the  ignorance  and  wick- 
edness of  the  people.  These  were  not  back- 
ward to  take  the  alarm,  and  had  been  waiting 
an  opportunity,  to  shew  their  resentment. 
The  Lord,  who  holds  all  hearts  in  his  own 
hands,  had  restrained  them  hitherto,  that  his 
work  of  grace  might  not  be  disturbed;  but 
when  the  apostle  was  upon  the  point  of  depar- 
ture, this  restraint  was  in  some  measure  taken 
off.  The  temple  of  Diana,  at  Ephesus,  was 
celebrated  for  its  magnificence  far  and  near ; 
so  that  many  shrines  or  models  of  it  were 
made  for  sale,  and  in  much  demand.  This 
branch  of  business  brought  in  considerable 
gain  to  the  silversmiths,  and  other  mechanics  ; 
but  if  the  gospel  of  Christ  continued  to 
spread,  it  was  highly  probable  that  these,  with 
many  other  such  toys,  would  be  little  inquired 
after.  Demetrius,  a  leading  man  amongst 
them,  convening  his  brethren  and  dependants, 
and  as  many  as  he  could,  whose  interest  seem- 
ed more  immediately  affected  by  this  novel 
doctrine,  harangued  them  with  much  address 
and  influence  on  a  point  in  which  they  had 
so  near  and  mutual  a  concern  ;  he  reminded 
them,  with  a  seasonable  frankness,  that  their 
gain  was  at  stake  :  *  this  was  the  main  argu- 
ment; yet,  as  one  not  wholly  governed  by 
mercenary  views,  he  expressed  a  very  tender 
concern  for  the  honour  of  Diana,  lest  her 
worship,  and  their  advantage,  should  cease 
together,  as  they  certainly  would,  if  this  Paul 
should  be  peaceably  suffered  to  persuade  the 
people,  that  they  can  be  no  gods  which  are 
made  with  hands.  An  appeal  to  the  two  pre- 
vailing passions  of  mankind,  interest  and  su- 
perstition, is  seldom  made  in  vain.  The 
arguments  of  Demetrius  have  been  employed 
a    thousand    times    over    against  the   gospel, 

*  This  is  the  main  objection  against  the  gospel,  though 
pretexts  are  industriously  sought  to  hide  it;  it  alarms 
those  who  thrive  by  the  ignorance  or  wickedness  of  the 
times;  gain  is  the  motive,  the  honour  of  Diana  the 
plea.  But  it  may  be  easily  proved,  that  such  occupa- 
tions as  are  endangered  by  the  success  of  the  gospel,  are 
in  themselves  injurious  to  the  peace  and  good  order  of 
civil  society. 


476 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


BOOK  II. 


though  all  opposers  have  not  had  his  honesty 
in  avowing  their  leading  motive.  The  doc- 
trine which  discountenances  folly  and  wicked- 
ness, will  certainly  be  defamed  and  resisted 
by  all  who  find  their  account  in  promoting 
them ;  but  as  this  motive  is  rather  invidious, 
if  insisted  on  alone,  they  express  likewise  an 
earnest  zeal  for  whatever  tenets  have  the  sanc- 
tion of  authority,  antiquity,  or  custom,  with 
■which  their  private  interest  is  inseparably 
connected.  He  had  said  enough  to  inflame 
his  hearers;  and  these  were  sufficientlj  nu- 
merous to  stimulate  the  unthinking  rabble, 
who,  though  quiet  till  they  are  headed  by  art- 
ful leaders,  are  easily  roused  to  rage  and  tu- 
mult when  thus  influenced,  as  the  sea  that  has 
been  long  calm  obeys  the  impulse  of  the  rising 
gale.  The  outcry  began  by  Demetrius,  and 
his  companions  ;  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephe- 
sians,  was  soon  resounded  through  the  city  ; 
and  the  multitude,  being  informed  that  their 
established  religion,  their  stately  temple,  and 
costly  rites,  were  all  in  danger,  rushed  from 
all  parts  tumultuously  into  the  public  theatre, 
dragging  two  of  St.  Paul's  dear  companions, 
Gaius  and  Aristarchus,  along  with  them,  per- 
haps with  a  design  to  throw  them  to  the  wild 
beasts,  which  were  kept  for  the  barbarous 
diversion  of  the  people  at  their  public  games. 
The  apostle,  warmly  concerned  for  his  friends 
safety,  and  confiding  in  the  goodness  of  his 
cause,  and  the  providence  of  his  God,  was  not 
intimidated  by  this  violent  uproar,  but  pur- 
posed to  face  the  enraged  mob ;  but  the  ear- 
nest solicitations  of  the  disciples,  who  could 
not  but  be  anxious  for  the  event,  restrained 
him  :  and  even  some  who  had  not  received 
his  doctrine,  from  a  regard  to  what  they  knew 
of  his  character  and  conduct,  employed  their 
endeavours  to  preserve  him.  These,  in  the 
text,  are  styled  Asiarchs,  persons  of  note  who 
presided  in  the  regulation  of  the  games. 
Some  of  them  sent  to  inform  him,  that  in  the 
present  confusion,  it  was  not  in  their  power 
to  protect  him  from  violence,  and  therefore 
desired  he  would  keep  in  safety.  Though 
his  resolution  was  not  shaken,  yet  judging 
this  might  be  a  providential  intimation,  that 
it  was  not  his  duty  at  that  time  to  expose  him- 
self, he  desisted.  The  mob,  thus  disappointed 
with  respect  to  him,  and  secretly  restrained 
from  hurting  the  others,  continued  in  the  ut- 
most confusion,  though  few  knew  why  they 
were  assembled,  unless  it  was  to  join  in  the 
cry,  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians,  which 
they  repeated  without  intermission  for  two 
hours.  When  they  had  thus  exhausted  them- 
selves, and  their  passions,  through  weariness, 
began  to  subside,  a  public  officer  of  the  city 
seized  the  favourable  moment  to  expostulate 
with  them  concerning  their  behaviour ;  he 
spoke  with  freedom  and  address,  but  with 
that  indifference  which  the  wise  men  of  the 
world  so  frequently  discover  in  religious  con- 
cerns.     Many  deserve  commendation  for  their 


readiness  to  allow  others  the  peaceable  pos- 
session of  their  own  sentiments,  who,  at  the 
same  time,  deserve  our  pity,  that  they  have 
no  inclination  or  leisure  to  inquire  for  them- 
selves. He  allowed,  in  general  terms,  the 
honours  of  Diana,  and  pleaded,  in  behalf  of 
the  men,  that  they  had  not  spoken  against 
Diana  in  particular,  or  intermeddled  with  her 
temple,*  Acts  xix.  37.  This  W3S  probably 
true  in  fact :  St.  Paul  declared  the  folly  of 
idolatry  in  general,  but  did  not  enter  into 
direct  confutation  of  any  detached  part  of  the 
Heathen  mythology :  he  propossd  the  plain 
truth  of  the  gospel  ;  and  when  this  was  re- 
ceived, the  whole  system  of  idol-wership  fell 
to  the  ground  of  itself.  He  farther  reminded 
them,  that  if  they  had  any  just  cause  of  com- 
plaint, they  ought  to  seek  redress  in  a  course 
oflaw;-)-  and  then  hinting  at  the  consequences 
they  were  liable  to,  if  called  to  a  strict  ac- 
countj  for  their  riot,  he  prevailed  on  them  to 
separate  and  depart  quietly.  Thus  the  apos- 
tle, though  threatened  with  a  most  imminent 
and  formidable  danger,  was  preserved  unhurt, 
and  suffered  neither  in  his  person  nor  charac- 
ter. An  encouraging  proof  that  those  who 
act  in  the  path  of  duty,  and  depend  on  the 
power  of  God,  are  equally  safe  in  all  times 
and  circumstances ;  no  less  safe  when  sur- 
rounded by  enraged  enemies,  than  when  en- 
circled by  kind  and  assiduous  friends. 

He  did  not  continue  long  at  Ephesus  after 
this  tumult ;  but  taking  leave  of  the  disciples, 
went  to  Troas,  and  from  thence  (as  he  had 
purposed)  to  Macedonia,  Acts  xx.  We  have 
but  little  account  of  this  progress  in  the 
history  of  the  Acts  ;  but  from  some  passages 
of  his  epistles  (2  Cor.  ii.  12.  13.  and  vii.  5.), 
written  about  that  time,  we  are  informed,  that 
his  exercises  and  trials,  both  inward  and  out- 
ward, were  very  great.  His  solicitous  affection 
for  the  churches  was  far  from  being  the  smallest 
source  of  his  troubles,  and  cost  him  many  a 
pang.§  He  loved  them  in  the  bowels  of  Je- 
sus Christ ;  he  could  willingly  have   devoted 

•  The  words  robbers  of  churches,  should  rather  be 
rendered  robbers  of  temples  ;  for  though  the  word  church 
is  now  expressive'of  some  particular  places  of  worship, 
it  is  never  in  the  New  Testament  applied  to  buildings, 
but  to  persons  only. 

t  The  servants  of  Christ  will  seldom  be  compelled  to 
answer  for  themselves  in  a  course  of  law,  except  in  those 
places  where  sanguinary  laws  are  contrived  purposely 
against  them.  In  default  of  these,  their  adversaries  will 
often  stoop  to  appeal  from  the  magistrate  to  the  mob. 

%  It  seems,  however,  there  was  no  more  said  of  it.  It 
had  been  a  notorious  breach  of  the  peace,  but  then  it 
had  been  against  St.  Paul  and  his  companions,  who  had 
sufficient  fa-vour  shewen  them  if  they  came  off  with 
their  lives.  In  any  other  case,  such  a  tumult  would 
have  been  deemed  a  high  offence. 

\  2  Cor.  xi.  28.  "  That  which  cometh  on  me  daily. 
The  word  is  imtru-rairn.—  and  gives  the  idea  of  a  camp 
or  castle  hard  beset  with  continual  onsets  and  assaults  ; 
or  of  a  man  who  has  his  way  to  force  through  a  great 
crowd  that  are  coming  to  meet  him  ;  so  that  he  must 
not  only  be  much  encumbered  and  hindered,  but  unless 
he  exerts  himself  to  the  utmost,  is  in  danger  of  being 
trampled  under  their  feet.  By  this  lively  figure,  the 
apostle  describes  the  part  he  took  in  the  weltare  of  all 
the  churches.  His  cares  on  their  behalf  were  so  nume- 
rous, urgent,  and  continual,  that  they  found  full  em- 
ployment for  his  prayers,  his  thoughts,  and  his  time. 


CHAP.  I.  AFTER  THE 

his  labours  and  lite  to  each  of  them,  but  he 
could  not  be  with  them  all ;  and  knowing  the 
weakness  of  the  heart,  the  subtlety  of  Satan, 
and  the  obvious  temptations  arising  from  the 
fear  of  man,  the  love  of  the  world,  and  the 
arts  of  false  teachers,  he  was  jealous  over  those 
from  whom  he  was  absent  with  a  godly  jea- 
lousy, 2  Cor.  xi.^  2.  At  Troas  he  expected 
to  have  met  with  Titus,  on  his  return  from 
Macedonia  ;  but  missing  him,  though  he  had 
favourableoppoi  tunitiesof  preaching  the  gos- 
pel at 'Troas  (2  Cor.  ii.  12.  13.),  his  mind 
was  not  at  liberty  to  improve  them  ;  but  he 
hasted  to  be  in  Macedonia,  that  he  might  the 
sooner  be  satisfied.  There,  he  tells  us  him- 
self, he  had  no  rest,  but  was  troubled  on  every 
side ;  without  were  fightings,  within  were 
fears ;  but  he  speaks  of  it  as  a  seasonable  and 
gracious  interposition  of  that  God,  whose  cha- 
racter and  prerogative  it  is  to  be  a  comforter 
of  those  that  are  cast  down  (2  Cor.  vii.  6.), 
that,  in  these  circumstances,  he  was  comfort- 
ed by  the  coming  of  Titus,  who  relieved  his 
fears  by  the  favourable  account  he  brought 
him  from  Corinth. 

A.  D.  58.]  How  long  he  staid  in  these 
parts  we  are  not  told  ;  but,  in  general,  that 
he  spent  some  time,  and  visited  many  places; 
and  it  seems  to  have  been  in  this  circuit  that 
he  preached  in  Illyricum,  a  part  of  which 
country  borders  upon  Macedonia.  He  after- 
wards proceeded  to  Greece,  where  he  staid 
three  months ;  he  intended  to  have  embarked 
from  thence  at  some  port,  and  to  have  pro- 
ceeded immediately  to  Syria  by  sea;  but,  up- 
on information  that  his  restless  enemies,  the 
Jews,  were  plotting  to  intercept  and  kill  him, 
he  determined  to  return  through  Macedonia. 
Several  of  his  friends  offered  to  accompany 
him  through  Asia,  who,  embarking  before 
him,  waited  for  him  at  Troas,  where  he,  at  a 
convenient  time,  joined  them  from  Philippi, 
and  remained  there  seven  days. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  week,  they  had  a 
solemn  assembly  ;  and  St.  Paul,  who  was  to 
take  a  long  and  last  farewell  of  the  disciples 
there  the  next  morning,  indulged  his  own  and 
their  affections,  by  protracting  his  discourses 
and  advices  beyond  the  usual  bounds ;  he 
spent  the  whole  day,  even  till  midnight,  in 
expatiating  upon  the  pleasing  topics  of  re- 
deeming love.  This  does  not,  indeed,  appear 
to  have  been  his  usual  practice  ;  but  should  a 
company  of  believers  now  spend  a  night  to- 
gether in  the  exercises  they  best  love,  though 
it  were  but  once,  and  when  they  had  no  ex- 
pectation of  meeting  again  till  they  should 
meet  in  glory,  it  would  be  sufficient  to  open 
the  mouths  of  prejudice  and  slander  amongst 
them,  as  regardless  of  the  order  of  families, 
and  the  duties  of  common  life.  Particular 
notice  is  taken,  that  they  had  many  lights  in 
the  upper  chamber,  where  they  were  met,  per- 
haps A.o  remind  us,  that  the  first  christians 
Were  careful  to  conduct  their  assemblies  with 


ASCENSION. 


477 


order  and  propriety,  so  as  to  give  no  just 
cause  of  offence;  yet  their  enemies  quickly 
began  to  charge  them  with  meeting  in  the 
dark,  and  invented  many  false  and  wicked 
slanders  upon  that  supposition.  The  like 
falsehoods  have  been  often  repeated.  A  young 
man  of  the  company,  either  less  attentive,  or 
less  warmly  engaged  than  the  rest,  dropped 
asleep,  and  not  only  lost  much  of  an  invalu- 
able opportunity,  but  fell  out  of  a  window, 
in  which  he  was  seated,  from  the  third  storey, 
and  was  taken  up  to  appearance  dead  ;  an 
incident  which  might  have  given  those  who 
hated  the  apostle  a  farther  occasion  to  cla- 
mour, and  to  revile  his  unseasonable  zeal  ; 
but  he  went  down  in  the  spirit  of  faith  and 
prayer,  and  embracing  the  young  man,  re- 
stored him  to  his  friends  alive.  After  they 
were  recovered  from  the  hurry  of  this  event, 
and  had  taken  some  refreshment,  he  resumed 
his  discourse,  and  continued  in  conference 
with  them  till  the  break  of  day,*  when  he 
bade  them  farewell. 

His  companions  went  along  the  coast  by 
shipping  at  Assos,  a  place  not  very  distant, 
and  to  which  the  apostle  chose  to  go  by  land, 
and  on  foot.  Some  think  he  did  this  by  way 
of  self-denial ;  but  it  is  not  likely  that  he, 
who  was  the  great  asserter  of  evangelical  and 
filial  liberty,  would  lay  any  stress  upon  such 
singularities.  Self  may  readily  submit  to 
many  things  of  this  sort,  and  derive  food, 
complacence,  and  strength  from  them.  It  is 
more  probable  he  chose  to  walk,  either  that 
he  might  embrace  occasions  of  service  by  the 
way,  or  for  the  advantage  of  leisure  and  re- 
tirement ;  for  christians  engaged  in  a  very 
public  sphere  of  life  (as  he  was)  are  glad  tc 
redeem  opportunities  of  being  alone,  at  the 
price  of  some  inconveniences.  Cut  this  cir- 
cumstance is  mentioned  as  characterising  the 
simplicity  of  his  spirit;  though  greatly  ho- 
noured, and  greatly  beloved,  he  thought  it  not 
beneath  him  to  walk  from  place  to  place,  like 
an  obscure  person. 

Embarking  at  Assos,  and  having  touched 
at  Mitylene  and  Samos,  intermediate  places, 
they  arrived  in  a  few  days  at  Miletus.  St. 
Paul  purposely  passed  Ephesus,  that  he  might 
not  be  detained  or  grieved  by  the  many  dear 
friends  he  had  in  that  city  ;  for  he  was  resol- 
ved, if  possible,  to  be  at  Jerusalem  on  the  ap- 
proaching day  of  Pentecost ;  but  from  Mile- 
tus he  sent  for  the  elders  or  bishops  of  the 
church  at  Ephesus,  to  receive  his  final  charge 
and  benediction.  When  they  came,  he  ad- 
dressed them  in  a  solemn  and  affectionate  dis- 
course.      The   substance   of  it,   which  is  re- 

*  This,  as  we  have  observed,  was  upon  a  particular 
occasion  :  they  expected  to  see  each  other  no  more,  and 
hardly  knew  how  to  part.  The  like  circumstances  might 
justify  such  protracted  meetings  of  christian  friends 
still  ;  but,  in  general,  they  are  to  be  avoided.  If  fre- 
quently indulged,  they  would  break  in  upon  other  things, 
indispose  those  who  attend  for  the  ordinary  duties  of 
their  stations,  be  prejudicial  to  health,  and,  for  thes* 
and  other  reasons,  prove  a  cause  of  offence. 


479 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


book  ri 


corded  for  our  instruction,  if  considered  only 
as  a  piece  of  oratory,  lias  been  often  admired 
and  celebrated  by  critics  ;  but  there  are  strokes 
in  it,  the  force  and  beauty  of  which  no  critic 
can  truly  relish,  except  he  has  tasted  of  the 
same  spirit  which  filled  and  animated  the  a- 
postlc's  heart  when  he  spoke  it. 

He  began  with  an  appeal  to  themselves 
concerning  his  conduct  while  resilient  among 
them,  and  reminded  them  of  the  diligence, 
fidelity,  and  tenderness  which  he  had  mani- 
fested in  the  course  of  his  ministry,  how  he 
had  seconded  his  public  instructions  with  pri- 
vate and  repeated  exhortations,  watering  them 
both  with  many  prayers  and  tears  :  he  inform- 
ed them  of  the  object  and  service  of  his  present 
journey,  and  how  uncertain  he  was  what  the 
issue  might  prove  to  himself.  But  though  he 
had  general  intimations  from  the  Spirit  of 
God,  to  expect  afflictions  and  bonds  in  every 
place,  his  determination  was  fixed ;  he  had 
counted  the  cost,  and  saw  that  nothing  he 
could  meet  with  was  worth  his  serious  thought, 
so  that  he  might  be  able  to  fulfil  his  ministry 
with  honour,  and  to  finish  his  course  with 
joy  ;  *  but  this  he  said,  he  was  assured  of, 
that  the  pleasing  opportunities  he  had  enjoy- 
ed with  the  believers  at  Ephesus,  and  in  that 
neighbourhood,  were  ended ;  and  that  they 
now  saw  and  heard  him  for  the  last  time. 
Only  those  who  know  the  endeared  affection 
that  subsists  between  a  minister  of  Christ  and 
those  to  whom  God  has  made  him  the  in- 
strument of  saving  their  souls,  can  judge  of 
the  emotion  with  which  he  spoke,  and  his 
friends  heard,  this  part  of  his  discourse.  When 
he  had  thus  touched  and  engaged  their  ten- 
derest  passions,  and  prepared  them  to  receive 
his  parting  solemn  charge  with  a  due  atten- 
tion, he  exhorted  them,  in  the  most  animated 
terms,  to  follow  his  example,  in  performing 
the  part  of  faithful  overseers,  or  bishops,  in 
the  church  which  he  now  committed  to  their 
care  ;  suggesting  two  most  powerful  motives, 
the  consideration  that  they  were  appointed  to 
this  office  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  the 
souls  entrusted  to  them  were  the  church  of 
God,  which  he  had  purchased  with  his  own 
blood.  He  likewise  warned  them,  that  the 
utmost  circumspection  would  be  needful ;  for 
that  he  foresaw,  that,  after  his  departure, 
grievous  wolves  would  enter  amongst  them, 
not  sparing  the  flock;  and  also,  that  out  of 
their  own  number  of  professed  disciples,  men 
should  arise,  speaking  perverse  things.      This 

*  The  state  of  obedience  and  service  which  we  owe  to 
him  who  died  for  us,  and  rose  again,  is  often  compared 
to  a  race  or  course  ;  by  which  is  intimated,  the  assiduity 
with  which  we  ought  to  pursue  our  calling,  the  brevity 
of  out  labours  and  sufferings,  the  little  attention  we 
should  pay  to  objects  around  us,  and  that  our  eye  and 
aim  should  be  constantly  directed  to  the  prize  set  be- 
fore us.  Every  step  in  this  race  is  attended  with  trouble; 
but  the  end  will  be  unspeakable  joy.  Those  to  whom 
the  King  shall  say,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servant,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord,"  will  not 
then  comnlain  of  the  difficulties  they  -net  by  the  way. 


double  danger  of  false  teachers  from  without 
and  a  restless  curious  spirit  within  the  fold, 
all  societies  of  christians  are  exposed  to;  and 
it  is  a  strong  call  to  ministers  in  all  ages,  to 
be  mindful  of  the  apostle's  charge,  and  to 
take  heed  to  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  has  made  them  overseers.  He  again 
put  them  in  remembrance  of  his  own  conduct, 
!iis  assiduity  and  disinterestedness ;  that  he 
had  not  sought  his  own  advantage,  but  had 
rather  wrought  with  his  own  hands,  that  he 
might  not  be  chargeable  to  them :  finally, 
commending  them  to  God,  and  the  word  oi 
his  grace,  he  closed  his  discourse,  with  pro- 
posing to  their  consideration  an  aphorism  of 
our  Lord  Jesus,  and  illustrated  by  the  whole 
tenor  of  his  life,  "  It  is  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive."  This  sentiment,  so  highly 
expressive  of  the  spirit  of  the  divine  author, 
which  had  been  hitherto  preserved  in  the 
hearts  and  mouths  of  his  disciples,  was  upon 
this  occasion  inserted  into  the  written  word, 
and  is  the  only  authentic  tradition  concern- 
ing him  which  has  been  transmitted  to  the 
church.  Having  finished  his  pathetic  address, 
he  kneeled  down,  and  prayed  with  them.  The 
final  farewell  was  very  affecting;  for  how 
could  those  who  owed  him  their  souls,  who 
had  been  so  often  comforted  and  edified  by 
his  instructions  and  example,  consider  that 
they  were  to  see  him  no  more  in  this  world, 
without  being  greatly  moved.  They  accom- 
panied him  to  the  ship,  and  then  returned. 
The  word  which  Luke,  the  historian,  makes 
use  of  upon  this  occasion,  intimates,  that  the 
concern  was  mutual  :  it  signifies,  to  draw 
asunder  by  force,  to  separate  things  closely 
joined  together  :  "  When  we  had  gotten  from 
them,"  or,  as  it  might  be  rendered,  "  When 
we  had  torn  ourselves  from  them,"  well  ex 
presses  the  close  union  of  their  affections,  and 
the  sorrow  and  reluctance  which  both  sides 
felt  at  parting. 

When  this  struggle  was  over,  St.  Paul  and 
his  company  put  to  sea  with  a  favourable 
gale  (Acts  xxi.)  ;  and,  having  touched  at  Coos 
and  Rhodes,  two  islands  of  note  in  the  iEgean 
sea,  continued  their  course  to  Patara  in  Lycia, 
where  they  seasonably  met  with  a  ship  upon 
the  point  of  departure  for  Phoenicia  ;  and,  em- 
barking in  her,  they  passed  on  the  south  side 
of  Cyprus,  and  had  a  safe  voyage  to  Tyre, 
where,  that  being  the  destined  port  of  the 
vessel,  they  landed.  As  lie  was  not  now  very 
far  distant  from  Jerusalem,  and  had  finished 
that  part  of  his  voyage  in  which  he  was  most 
exposed  to  unavoidable  delays  by  the  occur- 
rences of  winds  and  weather,  so  that  he  had  a 
fair  probability  of  reaching  Jerusalem  within 
his  prescribed  time,  he  consented  to  stay  seven 
days  with  some    disciples*    he  found   there, 

*  AnvzovTH  -rovs  Hi™!  might  be  rendered,  finding 
out  Die  disciples.  There  seems  no  reason  for  suppres- 
sing the  article,  and  the  verb  is  used  for  finding  out, 
in  consequence  of  some  description  or  'nijuiry,  Luk'.'  ii 


CHAP.  I. 

Acts  xxi.  4 


AFTER  THE 

From  some  of  these  he  received 
an  intimation,  by  a  prophetic  impulse,  of  the 
dangers  he  would  be  exposed  to  if  he  went  to 
Jerusalem ;  but  he  knew  whom  he  had  be- 
lieved, and,  being  convinced  that  his  duty 
called  him  to  persevere,  he  was  not  intimi- 
dated by  a  prospect  of  suffering.  At  the  ap- 
pointed time  he  embarked  again,  the  disciples, 
with  their  families,  accompanying  him  to  the 
water  side,  where  he  took  leave  of  them  in  an 
affectionate  prayer  upon  the  sea-shore.  *  He 
landed  next  at  Ptolemais,  a  city  of  Palestine, 
and  staid  one  day  with  the  brethren  there. 
The  next  day  he  proceeded  to  Caesarea,  and 
lodged  at  the  house  of  Philip,  the  deacon, 
who  had  four  daughters  endued  with  the  spi- 
rit of  prophecy. 

During  his  stay  at  Caesarea,  a  prophet, 
named  Agabus,  came  down  from  Jerusalem  ; 
and,  agreeable  to  the  manner  of  the  ancient 
prophets,  who  frequently  enforced  their  de- 
clarations by  expressive  signs  and  actions,  he 
bound  his  own  hands  and  feet  with  the  apos- 
tle's girdle,  assuring  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  that  in  the  same  manner  the  Jews 
would  bind  the  hands  and  feet  of  the  man  to 
whom  that  girdle  belonged,  and  deliver  him 
up  as  a  criminal  to  the  Roman  power.  Upon 
these  repeated  premonitions  of  what  he  was  to 
expect,  not  only  the  disciples  of  Caesarea,  but 
those  who  had  come  with  him,  earnestly  en- 
treated him  to  desist  from  his  purpose.  We 
may  learn  from  this  passage  that  the  clearest 
intelligence  of  approaching  danger  is  not  al- 
ways a  sufficient  warrant  to  decline  it,  even 
when,  in  the  judgment  of  our  brethren,  we 
might  decline  it  without  sin.  St.  Paul  was 
satisfied  that,  all  circumstances  considered,  it 
was  right  for  him  to  proceed  :  he  had  taken 
his  determination  upon  good  grounds,  was 
brought  so  far  on  his  way  in  safety ;  and 
to  be  told  (though  from  an  infallible  autho- 
rity) that  his  views  of  service  could  not  be 
completed  without  great  risk  and  trouble  to 
himself,  did  not  discourage  him  in  the  least. 
He  was  less  affected  by  the  prospect  of  suf- 
ferings from  the  Jews  than  by  the  solicitations 
of  his  friends,  and  told  them,  that  though  they 
could  not  shake  his  resolution,  their  concern 
and  importunity  exceedingly  distressed  him. 
"  What  mean  you  to  weep,  and  to  break  my 
heart  ?  I  am  ready,  not  to  be  bound  only, 
but  also  to  die  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord  Je- 
sus." In  this  short  speech  we  may  discern  a 
spirit  which  is  indeed  the  honour  of  human 
nature.  Inflexibly  firm  to  his  character  and 
duty,  yet  expressing  the  most  tender  feelings 
for  his  friends,  while  he  contemplated  the  se- 
verest trials  that  might  affect  himself  unmoved, 


16.  We  readily  suppose,  from  the  apostle's  character, 
that  his  first  inquiry,  upon  coming  to  any  place  where 
the  gospel  had  been  preached,  related  to  those  who  loved 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  how  they  were  to  be  met  with. 

*  Could  many  persons  now  living  have  seen  this,  with- 
out doubt  they  would  have  said,  they  had  seen  a  strange 
company  of  enthusiasts  and  fanatics. 


ASCENSION. 


479 


he  was  almost  overpowered  by  what  he  felt  for 
others.  But  when  they  saw  that  he  was  not 
to  be  dissuaded,  they  desisted  from  their  suit, 
and  acquiesced  in  the  will  of  the  Lord. 

A.  D.  60.]  Having  staid  some  time  at  Cae- 
sarea, he  proceeded  to  Jerusalem,  his  friends, 
who  had  crossed  the  sea  with  him,  resolving 
to  expose  themselves  to  a  share  of  the  dangers 
from  which  they  could  not  divert  him.  They 
were  accompanied  likewise  by  an  old  disciple, 
named  Mnason,  of  Cyprus,  who  resided  at 
Jerusalem,  and  had  offered  1  is  house  for  their 
accommodation.  Their  arrival  was  welcome 
to  the  brethren  ;  and  the  next  day  St.  Paul 
introduced  his  friends  to  St.  James  and  the 
elders,  who  seem  to  have  met  together  on  pur- 
pose to  receive  him.  To  them  he  gave  a  suc- 
cinct account  of  the  success  with  which  God 
had  honoured  his  ministry  among  the  Gen- 
tiles ;  which,  when  they  had  heard,  they  una- 
nimously glorified  God  on  his  behalf,  and  re- 
joiced to  hear  of  the  accession  of  such  num- 
bers to  the  christian  faith,  Acts  xxi.  But  at 
the  same  time  they  gave  him  to  understand 
that  the  bulk  of  the  Jewish  converts  had  re- 
ceived no  small  prejudice  against  him ;  that 
there  were  even  many  thousands  who  had 
heard  and  believed  hard  things  of  him,  as  one 
who  taught  the  Jews  to  apostatize  from  the 
law  of  Moses,  and  forbade  them  to  practise 
circumcision,  and  the  other  rites  and  customs 
of  their  forefathers.  In  order  to  shew  them 
that  this  charge  was  groundless,  they  advised 
him  to  join  himself  publicly  with  four  men 
who  were  under  a  vow,  and  to  attend  with 
them  the  prescribed  course  of  purification  in 
the  temple. 

From  this  passage  we  are  led  to  remark, 
that,  through  the  weakness  of  human  nature, 
the  prejudices  of  education,  and  the  arts  of 
Satan,  many  thousands  of  professed  christians, 
in  the  first  and  purest  period  of  the  primitive 
church,  while  under  the  care  of  the  apostles, 
had  imbibed  from  hear-say,  a  degree  of  coldness 
and  dislike  towards  one  of  the  Lord's  most 
faithful  and  most  favoured  servants.  How  fc\r 
the  methods  St.  Paul  was  advised  to  pursue, 
for  the  removal  of  this  misapprehension,  was 
suited  to  his  character  and  known  integrity, 
is  a  question  flot  easily  determined.  The  a- 
postles,  considered  in  one  light,  as  the  pen- 
men of  a  large  part  of  the  sacred  canon  of 
faith  and  practice,  which  the  Lord  was  pleased 
by  them  to  communicate  to  his  church,  were, 
doubtless,  so  far  under  the  full  direction  and 
inspiration  of  his  Holy  Spirit ;  but  we  have 
no  reason  to  believe,  that  in  every  part  of 
their  own  personal  conduct  they  were  strictly 
infallible  ;  nay,  we  have  good  warrant  to  con- 
clude the  contrary,  as  St.  Paul  himself  as- 
sures us,  that,  upon  a  certain  occasion,  al- 
ready mentioned,  he  withstood  Peter  to  h]% 
face,  because  he  was  to  be  blamed.  It  is 
therefore  no  way  derogatory  from  the  charac- 
ter   and   authority   of  St.    Paul,    to    inquire, 


4S0  PROGRESS  OF 

whether,  upon  this  occasion,  the  tenderness  of 
his  spirit  towards  weak  believers,  and  his  de- 
sire of  becoming  all  things  to  all  men,  when 
the  foundation-truths  of  the  gospel  were  not 
affected,  might  not  carry  him  too  far:  for 
though  a  reserve  was  made  by  James,  in  fa- 
vour of  the  Gentile  converts,  that  they  should 
not  be  burdened  with  the  observance  of  Jew- 
ish rites  ;  yet  the  express  end  and  design  for 
which  this  step  was  proposed  to  him,  and  for 
which  he  seems  to  have  undertaken  it,  was 
that  all  might  know  or  believe,  not  only  that 
he  was  not  against  others  adhering  to  the  Jew- 
ish ceremonies,  but  that  he  likewise  orderly 
and  statedly  practised  them  himself.  A  cir- 
cumstance which  is  far  from  being  clear,  or  in- 
deed probable,  if  we  consider  the  strain  of  his 
epistle  to  the  Galatians  :  which,  though  the 
addition  at  the  close  of  our  copies,  mentions 
as  sent  from  Rome,  is  generally  allowed  to 
have  been  written  during  his  stay  at  Ephesus 
at  the  latest,  if  not  sooner  ;  and  further, 
that,  for  some  time  past,  his  converse  had  been 
almost  wholly  confined  to  the  Gentile  believ- 
ers, or  to  those  churches  of  which  they  form- 
ed the  largest  part.  If  he  became  as  a  Jew 
amongst  the  Jews,  it  was,  as  he  says  himself 
( 1  Cor.  ix.  20. ),  only  with  the  hope  of  gaining 
the  Jews  :  which  motive  could  no  longer  take 
place  when  he  had  finally  withdrawn  from 
their  synagogues.  Those,  therefore,  who  sup- 
pose that,  in  this  instance,  he  was  over-persua- 
ded to  deviate  from  that  openness  of  conduct 
which  he  generally  maintained,  seem  to  have 
some  ground  for  their  suspicion.  This,  how- 
ever, is  certain,  his  temporising  did  not  ans- 
wer the  proposed  end;  but,  instead  of  render- 
ing him  more  acceptable,  involved  him  in  the 
greatest  danger :  for  when  the  seven  days 
were  almost  fulfilled,  some  Jews  of  Asia,  see- 
ing him  in  the  temple,  pointed  him  out  to  the 
multitude  as  the  dangerous  man  who  had  a- 
postatized  from  his  religion,  and  was  using 
his  endeavours,  wherever  he  went,  to  draw 
oeople  from  the  worship  of  God  according  to 
the  law  of  Moses.  To  this  they  added,  that 
le  had  profaned  the  holy  place,  by  bringing 
Gentiles  with  him  into  the  temple.  This  they 
conjectured  from  having  seen  TYophymus,  an 
Ephesian,  with  him  in  the  city.  This  part 
of  the  charge  was  wholly  false  :  he  had  not 
brought  his  Gentile  friends  into  the  temple  ; 
but  he  appeared  so  publicly  with  them  upon 
other  occasions,  as  to  give  some  room  for  a 
surmise  of  this  sort.  If  he  submitted  to  the 
proposal  of  the  elders,  and  attended  in  the 
temple  himself,  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  Jew- 
ish converts,  he  would  not  go  so  far  as  to  be 
ashamed  of  his  friends,  to  make  himself  more 
acceptable  to  his  enemies.  It  is  our  duty  to 
avoid  giving  just  offence;  but  if  we  boldly 
and  honestly  avow  the  Lord's  people  upon  all 
proper  occasions,  without  regard  to  names  and 
parties,  we  must  expect  to  suffer  from  the 
zealots  of  all  sides. 


THE  GOSPEL 


BOOR.   II. 


Those  who  first  laid  hands  on  him  were 
soon  assisted  by  great  numbers  ;  for  the  whole 
city  was  moved,  and  the  people  ran  together 
from  all  quarters.  They  dragged  him  out  of 
the  temple,  and  were  upon  the  point  of  kill- 
ing him,  without  giving  him  time  or  leave  to 
speak  a  word  for  himself:  they  thought  him 
absolutely  in  their  power ;  but  they  were  pre- 
vented by  the  appearance  of  Lysias,  a  Roman 
officer,  who  had  a  post  near  the  temple  to 
prevent  or  suppress  insurrections.  Upon  the 
first  notice  he  received  of  this  disturbance,  he 
came  down  with  a  party  of  soldiers.  The 
evangelist  observes,  that  when  the  Jews  ran 
to  kill  Paul,  the  Romans  ran  to  save  him. 
Thus  the  succour  the  Lord  provides  for  his 
people  is  always  proportioned  to  the  case,  and 
effectual  to  the  end.  When  danger  is  pres- 
sing, relief  is  speedy.  Lysias,  though  igno- 
rant of  the  cause  of  this  tumult,  judging,  by 
its  violence,  that  the  apostle  must  have  been 
some  great  malefactor,  commanded  him  to  be 
bound  with  two  chains ;  and  when  he  could 
obtain  no  satisfactory  information  from  the 
people,  had  him  removed  to  the  castle,  or  Ro- 
man station.  But  such  was  the  -violence  of 
the  incensed  unmeaning  multitude,  that  the 
soldiers  were  constrained  to  carry  him  in  their 
arms  up  the  steps,  or  stairs,  which  led  thither 
from  the  temple.  Here  Paul  obtained  leave  to 
speak  for  himself,  the  tribune  inclining  rather 
to  a  more  favourable  opinion  of  him,  when  he 
found  he  could  speak  Greek ;  and  the  people 
attended  with  some  composure,  when  they 
heard  him  address  them  in  the  Hebrew,  or  Sy- 
riac  language. 

In  his  discourse  (Acts  xxii.)  he  told  them, 
that  he  had  been  brought  up  amongst  them- 
selves, and  appealing  to  the  high  priest  and 
elders  concerning  the  zeal  and  earnestness  with 
which  he  had  formerly  served  their  party,  he 
related  the  extraordinary  dispensation  by  which 
the  Lord  Jesus  had  conquered  his  heart.  This 
was  St.  Paul's  usual  method  of  defence,  and 
though  no  means  are  sufficient  to  reach  the 
heart  without  a  divine  influence,  yet  humanly 
speaking,  a  simple  and  faithful  declaration  of 
what  God  has  done  for  our  souls,  seems  most 
likely  to  convince,  or  at  least  to  soften  and 
silence,  those  who  oppose.  Enraged  as  the 
Jews  had  been,  they  listened  with  patience  to 
his  relation,  till  he  proceeded  to  intimate  the 
Lord's  designs  in  favour  of  the  Gentiles,  and 
that  he  was  appointed  an  apostle  to  them. 
Accustomed  to  despise  the  rest  of  mankind, 
and  to  deem  themselves  the  only  people  of  God, 
they  could  not  bear  this ;  they  interrupted 
him  instantly,  and,  with  one  voice,  declared 
it  was  not  fit  such  a  fellow  should  live  upon 
the  earth  :  they  cast  off  their  clothes,  threw 
dust  in  the  air,  and  their  fury  seemed  to  de- 
prive them  of  their  reason.  Lysias,  the  tri 
bune,  secured  him  from  their  violence,  but 
commanded  him  to  be   examined   by  scourg- 

crinie  from  his 


ing,  that  he  might  know  his 


chap.  I.  AFTER  THE 

own  mouth,  according  to  a  barbarous  custom 
of  putting  those  to  torture  against  whom  there 
was  no  sufficient  evidence,  that  their  own  ex- 
torted confession  might  furnish  some  grounds 
of  proceeding  against  them :  a  custom  still 
prevalent  in  most  countries  called  christian, 
though  contrary  to  religion,  to  reason,  and  to 
the  common  sentiments  of  humanity.  Our 
Lord  Jesus  was  examined  in  this  manner  be- 
fore Pilate  ;  and  though  the  apostle  was  ready 
to  follow  the  steps  of  his  master  in  suffering, 
yet,  upon  this  occasion,  he  pleaded  his  right 
of  exemption  from  such  treatment,  as  being  a 
native  of  Tarsus,  a  city  honoured  with  the 
freedom  of  Rome.  A  Roman  citizen  was  not 
legally  liable  either  to  be  bound  or  scourged  : 
therefore,  when  the  tribune  understood  his 
privilege,  he  stopped  farther  proceedings,  and 
was  something  apprehensive  for  himself,  that 
he  had  in  part  violated  them  already,  by  order- 
ing him  to  be  bound  ;*  but,  being  still  desirous 
to  know  what  was  laid  to  his  charge,  he  con- 
vened the  chief  priests,  and  the  members  of 
the  Sanhedrim  on  the  next  day ;  and  brought 
him  again  before  them. 

The  apostle,  fixing  his  eyes  upon  the  high, 
priest  and  council,  as  one  who  was  neither  a- 
shamed  nor  afraid  to  appear  at  their  tribunal, 
began  (Acts  xxiii.)  with  a  declaration,  that 
he  had  lived  to  that  day  in  the  exercise  of  a 
good  conscience ;  but  Ananias,  the  high- 
priest,  forgetting  his  character  as  a  judge, 
commanded  those  who  stood  near  to  strike 
him  on  the  face.  The  apostle  severely  rebuk- 
ed his  partiality,  in  perverting  the  cause  of 
justice,  and  warned  him  of  the  righteous  judg- 
ment of  God,  the  supreme  Judge,  who  would 
surely  punish  his  hypocrisy  -f.  His  reply  to 
those  who  reproved  him  for  speaking  in  such 
terms  to  the  high-priest,  seems  to  intimate, 
that  the  injurious  treatment  he  had  received 
had  raised  an  undue  warmth  in  his  spirit, 
though  it  may  be  supposed  that  he  denounced 
his  future  doom  under  a  superior  and  pro- 
phetic impulse  j  but  knowing  that  the  coun- 
cil was  composed  of  Pharisees  and  Sadducees, 
who  were  at  variance  amongst  themselves  a- 
bout  several  weighty  points,  particularly  the 
doctrine  of  a  resurrection,  he  declared  himself 
a  Pharisee,  and  that  the  opposition  he  met 
with  from  the  Sadducees,  was  owing  to  his  be- 
lief and  hope  in  that  doctrine.  The  Phari- 
sees immediately  suspended  their  present  re- 
sentment, to  embrace  the  occasion  offered  of 
opposing  their  old  antagonists,  and,  upon  this 
issue,  espoused  his  cause,  declaring  him  inno- 
cent; and  said,  that  if  a  spirit  or  angel  (the 
existence  of  both  which  the  Sadduceesdenied) 

*  A  Roman  citizen  might  be  bound  with  a  chain,  but 
not  tied  with  thongs,  or  beaten  with  rods :  "  Facinus  est 
vincere  civem  Romanum,  scelus  verberari."     Cicero. 

t  Thou  whitcd  wall ! — A  clay  wall,  glossed  over  with 
white,  is  an  apt  emblem  of  a  man  who  carries  on  a  ma- 
licious design  under  the  pretence  and  forms  of  justice. 
Hateful  is  the  character  and  dreadfully  dangerous  the 
condition  of  such. 


ASCENSION, 


481 


had  spoken  to  him,  they  ought  not  to  fight  a- 
gainst  God  by  refusing  to  hear  him.  Upon 
this  a  great  dissention  took  place,  and  Lysias, 
fearing  that  Paul  would  be  torn  in  pieces  be- 
tween the  contending  parties,  put  an  end  to 
the  conference,  and  ordered  the  soldiers  to 
take  him  by  force,  and  secure  him  in  the  castle. 
It  is  indeed  often  well  for  believers,  that  the 
people  of  the  world,  though  agreed  in  one 
point,  namely,  to  oppose  the  gospel,  are  divid- 
ed and  subdivided  in  other  respects  ;  so  that, 
for  the  sake  of  a  favourite  passion,  or  to  cross 
an  opposite  interest,  they  will  sometimes  pro- 
tect those  whom  they  would  otherwise  willing- 
ly destroy. 

The  next  night  he  received  full  amends  for 
all  he  had  suffered,  and  was  confirmed  against 
the  utmost  efforts  of  his  enemies  malice  ;  for 
the  Lord  Jesus,  whom  he  served,  vouchsafed 
to  appear  to  him  in  a  vision,  commanded  him 
to  be  of  good  cheer,  owned  his  gracious  accep- 
tance of  his  late  testimony  in  Jerusalem,  and 
promised  that  none  should  hinder  him  the 
honour  of  bearing  witness  to  his  truth  at  Rome 
likewise.  The  world  has  been  sometimes  sur- 
prised at  the  confidence  which  the  faithful 
servants  of  Christ  have  shewn  in  the  midst 
of  dangers,  and  in  the  face  of  death  ;  but 
if  their  supports  were  known,  the  wonder 
would  cease.  If  the  Lord  speaks,  his  word 
is  effectual ;  and  when  he  says,  Be  of  good 
courage,  and  fear  not  !  his  people,  out  of 
weakness,  are  made  strong. 

Little  were  the  incredulous  Jews  aware  of 
what  a  power  and  vigilance  were  engaged  in 
his  preservation  ;  and,  therefore,  impatient  of 
delays,  they  resolved  to  destroy  him  imme- 
diately. To  manifest  their  resolution,  and  to 
quicken  their  diligence,  more  than  forty  of 
them  bound  themselves,  under  the  penalty  of 
the  great  curse,  or  anathema,  not  to  eat  or 
drink  till  they  had  killed  him.  They  ac- 
quainted the  priests  and  rulers  with  their  en- 
gagement, and  proposed  that  they  should 
request  Lysias  to  order  him  once  more  to  ap- 
pear before  them  in  council,  and  that  then 
those  who  had  combined  in  this  oath  would 
be  ready  to  assassinate  him.  But  no  counsel 
or  device  can  stand  against  the  Lord  !  This 
black  design  was,  by  some  means,  providen- 
tially made  known  to  a  young  man,  who 
was  Paul's  sister's  son,  who  gave  notice  of  it 
first  to  him,  and  then,  by  his  desire,  to  Ly- 
sias, who,  finding  the  Jews  implacably  bent 
against  Paul's  life,  determined  to  place  him 
farther  out  of  their  reach,  and  accordingly 
sent  him  away,  that  same  night,  under  a  strong 
guard,  who  conducted  him  to  Caesarea,  and 
delivered  him  to  Felix  the  Roman  governor, 
together  with  a  letter  from  Lysias,  importing 
his  care  to  preserve  the  prisoner,  because  he 
understood  him  to  be  a  Roman  citizen,  and 
that  he  had  commanded  his  accusers  to  fol- 
low. Thus  the  conspiracy  nhich  his  enemies 
2P 


43'2 


PROGRESS  OF 


had  formed  to  destroy  him,   proved  the  occa- 
sion of  his  deliverance  out  of  their  hands. 

In  about  five  days  afterwards,  Ananias  the 
high-priest,  with  the  elders  of  the  council,  ap- 
peared before  Felix  against  Paul,  Acts  xxiv. 
The  charge  was  opened  by  Tertullus,  a  venal 
orator,  or  advocate,  whom  they  had  retained 
for  this  purpose  .  who  began  with  a  commen- 
dation of  the  governor,  in  terms  which  might 
have  suited  the  illustrious  actions  and  wise 
measures  of  princes  studious  of  the  public 
good,  but  were  ill  applied  to  Felix  (who  was 
infamous  for  his  cruelty  and  oppression),  and 
in  the  name  of  the  Jews  who  hated  him.  But 
enmity  to  the  gospel  will  make  men  stoop  to 
the  meanest  flattery  and  servility,  if  by  that 
means  they  have  hope  of  gaining  their  point ! 
The  sum  of  the  accusation  was,  that  Paul  was 
an  enemy  to  church  and  state,  a  disturber  of 
the  established  religion,  and  a  mover  of  sedi- 
tion against  the  government ;  to  which  was 
added,  as  a  popular  proof  of  the  charge,  that 
he  was  a  ringleader  of  the  sect  or  heresy  of 
the  Nazarenes,  so  called  from  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, who  was  crucified  by  a  former  governor 
for  asserting  himself  to  be  a  king.  Thus 
much  seems  implied  in  the  term  Nazarene,  as 
the  Jews  used  it.  The  apostle  began  his  de- 
fence with  a  protestation  of  his  innocence,  as 
to  any  design  of  moving  sedition  or  tumult, 
which  he  said  his  enemies  were  unable  to 
prove  by  a  single  fact :  he  proceeded  to  in- 
form the  governor  of  the  true  motives  of  their 
enmity  against  him,  and  acknowledged  that 
lie  worshipped  God  in  a  way  which  they 
stigmatized  with  the  name  of  heresy  or  divi- 
sion ;  for  the  proper*  meaning  of  heresy  is 
no  more  than  sect  or  party.  By  farther  de- 
claring, that  he  worshipped  the  God  of  his 
fathers,  and  believed  all  things  written  in  the 
law  and  the  prophets,  he  proved  from  the  ob- 
ject and  the  manner  of  his  worship,  that  he 
was  not  guilty  of  any  blameable  innovations  ; 
he  professed  the  hope  of  a  resurrection,  which, 
his  enemies  could  not  but  allow,  and  that  it 
was  his  constant  studyf  (Acts  xxiv.  16.)  and 
endeavour  to   maintain  a  conscience  void  of 


*  As  the  apostle  only  cautions  Titus  to  reject  or  avoid 
a  heretic,  Tit.  iii.  10.  but  has  not  defined  him  expressly, 
many  writers  and  teachers,  have  had  a  fair  field  to 
exercise  their  skill  or  their  passions  upon  the  subject; 
yet  the  question  is  far  from  determined  to  this  day. 
Some  would  treat  all  those  as  heretics,  who  differ  from 
them  either  in  judgment  or  practice ;  others  explain  the 
word  quite  away,  as  though  the  admonition  to  avoid  a 
heretic,  was  wholly  unnecessary.  Perhaps  the  advice 
to  Titus,  13  nearly,  if  not  exactly,  equivalent  to  Rom. 
xvi.  17-  The  spirit  of  truth  produces  unity  ;  the  spirit 
of  division  is  heresy.  And  the  man  who  fiercely  stickles 
for  opinions  of  his  own,  who  acts  contrary  to  the  peace- 
able, forbearing,  humble  spirit  of  the  gospel,  who  affects 
to  form  a  party,  and  to  be  thought  considerable  in  it,  is 
so  far  a  heretic. 

t  The  Greek  word  (a<rx(&>)  here  used,  denotes  the 
study,  diligence,  and  proficiency  of  a  person  who  is 
desirous  to  excel  and  be  eminent  in  any  particular  art ; 
as  a  painter,  for  instance,  he  searches  out  the  best  mas- 
ters and  the  best  pieces,  he  studies  and  copies  the  beau- 
ties of  other  works,  and  is  continually  retouching  and 
improving  upon  his  own  ;  his  acquaintance,  reflections, 
and  recioations,  are  all  accommodated  to  his  main  pur- 


THE  GOSPEL  BOOK   II. 

'  offence ;  and,  added,  that  it  was  not  he,  but 
the  Jews  themselves,  who  had  raised  the  tu- 
mult, by  assaulting  him,  when  he  was  peace- 
ably attending  in  the  temple,  according  to  the 
prescribed  rules.  He  observed,  that  his  first 
accusers  were  not  present,  as  they  ought  to 
have  been ;  and  challenged  any  who  were 
within  hearing  to  prove  their  allegations  in  any 
one  instance. 

Felix,  having  perhaps  a  favourable  opinion 
of  the  christian  profession,  which  had  been 
settled  some  time  at  Caesarea,  and  being  like- 
wise desirous  of  further  information,  deferred 
the  full  discussion  of  the  affair  till  the  arrival 
of  Lysias,  and  committed  Paul,  in  the  mean 
time,  to  the  care  of  a  centurion,  as  a  prisoner 
at  large,  allowing  him  to  go  abroad  in  the  city, 
and  giving  his  friends  liberty  to  visit  him  at 
home.  And  thus  he  was  providentially  deli- 
vered from  the  blood-thirsty  Jews,  and  found 
an  assylum  in  the  Roman  power,  which  they 
had  endeavoured  to  engage  for  his  destruc- 
tion. 

A.  D.  59.]  He  was  sent  for  not  long  after, 
by  Felix,  and  discoursed  before  him  and  his 
wife  Drusilla  concerning  the  faith  of  Christ. 
Curiosity  was  the  governor's  motive  ;  but  the 
apostle,  who  knew  his  character,  was  faithful 
to  him,  and  would  not  speak  of  the  faith  of 
Christ  only,  to  one  who  could  not  understand 
it,  but  made  a  home  application  by  enlarging 
on  righteousness,  temperance,  and  the  impor- 
tant consequences  of  a  future  judgment. 
These  were  fit  topics  to  press  upon  an  unjust 
and  rapacious  governor,  who  lived  in  adul- 
tery, Drusilla  (his  reputed  wife),  having  for- 
saken a  lawful  husband  to  live  with  him.  She 
was  by  birth  a  Jewess,  daughter  of  Ihe  Herod 
whose  death  we  have  already  mentioned  ;  and 
having  renounced  her  religion  and  her  hus- 
band, for  Felix,  was,  by  the  judgment  of 
God,  given  up  to  hardness  of  heart ;  so  that 
it  does  not  appear  that  the  apostle's  discourse 
made  ary  impression  upon  her.  It  was 
otherwise  with  Felix,  who,  though  a  wicked 
man,  had  sinned  against  less  light:  he  trem- 
bled at  what  he  heard,  and,  not  able  to  con- 
ceal  his  concern,  he  cut  short  the  interview, 
with  a  promise  to  send  for  him  again,  at  a 
convenient  season.  So  great  sometimes  is 
the  power  of  truth,  when  faithfully  enforced  ! 
With  this  only  advantage  on  his  side,  Paul 
the  prisoner  triumphs  over  a  haughty  gover- 
nor, and  makes  him  tremble.  Great  likewise 
is  the  power  of  sin  !  Felix  trembled  at  the 
review  of  the  past,  and  the  prospect  of  the 
future  ;  but  he  could  not  stop  ;  he  found  some 
avocation  for  his  present  relief,  and  put  off 
his  most  important  concerns  to  a  future  op- 
portunity, which    it  is  probable  never  came. 

pose ;  and  though  his  pencil  is  sometimes  at  rest,  his 
imagination  is  seldom  idle.  Similar  to  this  is  the  exer- 
cise of  a  good  conscience  formed  upon  the  model  of  the 
scriptures,  and  improved  by  diligence,  meditation,  ex» 
mination,  and  experience. 


CHAP.   1. 

He  saw  and  heard  Paul  afterwards  ;  but  the 
same  man  had  no  more  the  same  influence  ; 
the  accompanying  force  of  the  Spirit  was 
withheld  ;  and  then  he  had  no  farther  view 
in  conversing  with  him,  but  the  hope  of  re- 
ceiving money  for  his  enlargement.  When 
the  apostle  had  continued  in  this  situation 
about  two  years,  Felix  was  recalled  from  his 
government.  He  had  governed  the  Jews  with 
severity  and  injustice,  and  had  reason  to  fear 
they  would  accuse  hhn  to  the  emperor ; 
therefore,  to  ingratiate  himself  with  them,  he 
left  Paul  in  his  confinement,  thinking  that 
the  detention  of  the  person  they  hated  might 
make  them  more  readily  excuse  what  was 
past ;  or  at  least,  he  durst  not  provoke  them 
farther  by  releasing  him. 

A.  D.  60.]      When  Festus,   who  succeeded 
Felix  in    the  government,  went  up  to  Jeru- 
salem (Acts  xxv.),  the  high- priest  and  elders 
applied  to  him,  and  requested  that  Paul  might 
be  sent  thither  to  be  tried  before  the  council ; 
and  they  appointed  proper  instruments  to  as- 
sault and  murder  him  in   the  journey.      It 
seems  they  expected  this  favour  would  be  ea- 
sily granted,   as  it  is  usual   for  governors,  at 
their  first  coming  among  a  people,  to  do  some 
popular  act ;  but    Festus  refused,   and  com- 
manded them  to  follow  him  to  Caesarea,  where 
he  himself  would  judge   in  the  cause.      The 
Jews  accordingly  exerted   themselves   in  one 
more  effort,  and  when  Festus  was  returned  to 
Caesarea,   presented  themselves  before  him  on 
an  appointed   day  ;  and  Paul   being  brought 
into  the  court,    they  accused   him  heavily,  as 
they  had  done  before,   and   to   as  little  effect, 
not  being  aide  to  prove  any  thing  against  him, 
or  to  invalidate  his  protestation  that  he  had 
committed  no  offence,   either  against  the  law, 
or  the   temple,    or  the    Roman   government. 
Festus,  who   had  refused  to  send  him  to  Je- 
rusalem before,    was   now   willing   to  oblige 
them,  perceiving  the  controversy  was  of  a  re- 
ligious kind,  and  what  he  had  little  knowledge 
sf;  he  therefore  asked  Paul  if  he  was  willing 
to  be  tried,  in  his  presence,  before  the  council 
at  Jerusalem.      The  apostle,   who  knew  what 
treatment  he  might  expect   from   the   Jews, 
answered,  That  he  was  then  at  Caesar's  judg- 
ment-seat,  where  he   ought  to   be  tried,   and 
that,   if  found  guilty,  he  was  not  unwilling 
to  suffer  ;  but   that,   against  the  proposal  of 
being  delivered   up  to  those  who  thirsted  for 
his  blood,  he  appealed  to  Caesar.      This  was 
one  privilege  of  a  Roman  citizen,  that,  when 
he  thought  himself  aggrieved   in  an  inferior 
court,  he  might,  by  entering  such  an  appeal, 
put  a  stop  to  proceedings,  and  refer  the  cause 
to  the  immediate  determination   of  the  em- 
peror.     From  the  example  of  St.  Paul,  who 
counted  not  his  life  dear,  but  was  willing,  not 
only  to  be  bound,  but  to  die  for  the  Lord  Je- 
sus,   we  learn  that   it   is  very  allowable  for  a 
christian  to  avail  himself  of  the  laws  and  pri- 
vileges of  his  country,    when  unjustly  perse- 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION.  483 

cuted   for   righteousness  sake  ;  and  perhaps, 
in  some  cases,  it  would  be  blameable  to  omit 


it.  Civil  liberty  is  a  depositum  with  which 
we  are  entrusted  for  posterity,  and,  by  all  law- 
ful means,  should  be  carefully  preserved. 
Festus,  after  having  consulted  with  his  coun- 
cil and  lawyers  upon  this  unexpected  turn, 
admitted  the  appeal,  and  determined  he  should 
be  sent  to  Rome.  Paul  had  long  had  a  de- 
sire to  visit  the  believers  in  that  city,  and  had 
formed  some  plans  concerning  it.  But  it  is 
not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his  steps. 
His  way  was  now  opened  in  a  manner  he 
had  not  thought  of,  but  in  such  a  manner  as 
made  it  more  evident  that  his  bonds  proved 
to  the  furtherance  of  the  gospel. 

Soon   after   this,  Agrippa,   son  of  the  late 
Herod,  who  had  large  territories,  and  the  title 
of  king,   under  the  Romans,   came  with  his 
sister   Bernice,   to   congratulate   Festus  upon 
his  accession   to  his  government :   he  was  a 
man  of  a  fair  character,  a  professed  Jew,  but 
possessed  of  moderation  and  prudence.     Dur- 
ing their  stay,   Festus  informed  them  of  what 
had  lately  happened  concerning   Paul.      The 
whole  that  he  understood  of  the  affair  was, 
that  he  had  not  been  guilty  of  any  crime,  but 
that  his  accusers  had  certain  questions  against 
him,  of  their  own  superstitions,  and  concern- 
ing one  Jesus,  who  was  dead,  and  whom  Paul 
affirmed  to  be  alive.      To  him  the  life  and  the 
death  of  Jesus  were  points  of  equal  indiffer- 
ence ;   not  so   to    those  who  believe  he  died 
for   them,   and  who  expect   that,   because  he 
lives,  they  shall  live  also.      This  imperfect  ac- 
count  made  Agrippa   desirous   to  hear  Paul 
himself;  and  accordingly,   the   next  day,    A- 
grippa,   Bernice,  and  Festus,  being  seated  in 
court,*  attended   by  their   officers  and   train, 
and  a  number  of  the  principal  people,   Paul 
was  once  more  brought  forth  to  speak  in  pub- 
lic  for  himself,    Acts    xxvi.      On  this  occa- 
sion he   addressed  himself  particularly  to  A- 
grippa  ;  and,  having  expressed  his  satisfaction 
that  he  was  permitted  to   speak  before   one 
who  was  so  well  acquainted  with  the  laws  and 
customs  of  the  Jews,  he  related  the  cause  of 
his    present    confinement :     he   professed   his 
faith  and  hope  in  the  scriptures;  and  then,  as 
he  had  done  before,  he  gave  him  an  account 
of  the  extraordinary  means  by  which  he  had 
been  changedf  from  a  persecutor  to  a  follow- 
er of  Jesus,  in  his  journey  to  Damascus.     His 
defence,  therefore  (as  has  been  formerly  ob- 
served), was  rather  experimental   than   argu  • 

*  The  apology  St.  Paul  made  for  himself  was  not  his 
trial  He  had  already  stopped  all  proceedings  at  law  by 
his  appeal  to  Caesar;  nor  was  Festus  then  as  a  judge 
upon  his  tribunal. 


peaking  of  his  past  conduct  towards  the  disciples, 
he  calls  it  madne.-s, — being  exceedingly,  or  (as  we  ex- 


tsr 


press  it),  raging  mad  against  them.  A  man  in  this  state 
will  attack  any  person  he  meets ;  he  waits  for  no  provo 
cation,  listens  to  no  entreaty,  regards  no  consequences. 
Thus  the  apostle  judged  of  himself  when  a  persecutor  oi 
the  church  ;  and  the  spirit  of  persecution  in  every  age 
has  been  the  same.  May  God  restore  those  to  their 
right  minds  who  are  governed  by  iW 


484 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


BOOK    II 


mentative,  and  made  very  different  impres- 
sions upon  his  hearers.  Festus,  who  seems 
to  have  had  a  good  opinion  of  his  sincerity 
and  intention,  yet,  supposing  no  man  in  his 
sober  senses  could  believe  such  a  strange  story, 
interrupted  him  in  his  narration,  and,  with  an 
air  rather  of  pity  than  indignation,  said,  "Paul, 
thou  art  beside  thyself;  much  learning  hath 
made  thee  mad."*  A  similar  judgment  is 
passed  by  too  many  upon  all  who  profess  an 
acquaintance  with  the  life  of  faith  in  an  un- 
seen Jesus  ;  but  ordinarily,  now,  the  effect  is 
not  ascribed  to  the  excess  of  learning,  but  to 
the  want  of  it,  as,  on  the  other  hand,  a  man 
who  maintains  the  wildest  absurdities,  puts 
his  judgment  and  understanding  to  little  ha- 
zard in  the  world's  esteem,  if  his  chimeras  are 
set  off  with  a  competent  apparatus  of  litera- 
ture. Agrippa,  however,  was  differently  af- 
fected, especially  when  Paul  made  a  bold  ap- 
peal to  himself,  concerning  the  notoriety  of 
the  facts  which  had  lately  happened,  and  the 
truth  of  the  prophecies  with  which  they  were 
connected.  Here  the  power  of  truth  tri- 
umphed again,  and  Agrippa  was  so  struck, 
that,  without  regarding  the  numerous  assem- 
bly, or  the  displeasure  such  a  declaration  might 
give  both  to  the  Jews  and  Romans,  particu- 
larly to  Festus,  who  had  expressed  his  senti- 
ment just  before,  he  gave  way  to  the  emotions 
of  his  mind,  and  said  aloud,  "  Almost  thou 
persuadest  me  to  be  a  christian."  Yet  this 
was  but  an  involuntary  conviction  ;  it  did.  ho- 
nour to  the  apostle,  but  was  of  no  benefit  to 
himself.  And  the  concession,  which,  at  first 
view,  seems  to  proceed  from  an  ingenuous 
spirit,  when  closely  examined,  amounts  but 
to  this,  that  though  Agrippa  was  indeed  con- 
vinced of  the  truth,  his  heart  was  so  attached 
to  the  present  evil  world,  that  he  had  neither 
courage  nor  will  to  follow  it;  as  when  we  say 
of  a  picture,  It  looks  almost  alive,  we  do  not 
mean  strictly  that  there  is  any  more  life  in 
the  painting  than  in  the  canvas  on  which  it 
is  drawn,  but  only  that  the  resemblance  is 
strong  :  so  the  almost  christian,  however  spe- 
cious in  his  professions,  is  still  destitute  of 
that  living  principle  which  alone  can  enable 
him  to  make  them  good,  and  is,  in  reality, 
an  utter  stranger  to  true  Christianity.  In  the 
graceful  return  the  apostle  made  to  the  king's 
acknowledgment  he  hinted  at  this  defect,  wish- 
ing that  both  Agrippa,  and  all  who  heard  him, 
were  not  only  almost,  but  altogether,  as  he 
was  himself,  with  an  exception  to  the  chains 
he  wore  for  the  cause  of  the  gospel.  This 
answer  discovers,  in  one  view,  the  confidence 
he  had  in  his  cause,  the  happy  frame  of  his 
mind,  the  engaging  turn    of  his  address,   and 

*  His  answer  to  Festus  is  expressed  with  much  accu- 
racy and  precision.  "  I  am  not  mad,  most  noble  Fes- 
tus ;  but  speak  forth  (ovrctpOtyyofAai)  the  words  of  truth 
and  soberness."  Madness  discovers  itself  either  in  the 
apprehension  of  a  false  object,  or  in  the  false  apprehen- 
sion of  a  true  one.  The  things  he  spoke  of  were  true 
in  themselves,  and  his  ideas  of  them  just  and  propor- 
tionate. 


his  unbounded  benevolence :  he  could  wisb 
nothing  better  than  what  he  himself  felt,  to 
his  dearest  friends,  and  he  wished  nothing 
worse  to  his  greatest  enemies ;  nay,  he  wished 
that  his  enemies  might,  if  possible,  experience 
all  his  comforts,  without  any  of  his  trials 
When  Festus  and  Agrippa  were  withdrawn, 
they  agreed,  in  their  opinion,  that  he  had 
done  nothing  deserving  of  death,  or  even  of 
imprisonment,  and  that  he  might  have  been 
released,  if  he  had  not  himself  prevented  it 
by  appealing  to  Caesar. 

In  consequence  of  the  determination  to  send 
him  to  Rome  (  Acts  xxvii),  he  was  committed  to 
the  custody  of  a  centurion  named  Julius,  with 
whom  he  embarked  in  a  vessel  that  was  on  a 
trading  voyage  to  several  parts  of  the  Lesser 
Asia.  Aristarchus,  and  some  other  of  his 
friends,  went  with  him,  and  particularly  the 
evangelist  Luke,  who  seems  to  have  been  the 
inseparable  companion  of  his  travels  from 
the  first  time  he  was  at  Troas.  They  touched 
the  following  day  at  Sidon,  where  the  centu- 
rion gave  him  liberty  to  refresh  himself  and 
visit  his  friends.  At  their  next  port,  Myra 
in  Lycia,  a  vessel  offering  which  was  bound 
directly  for  Italy,  they  went  on  board  her. 
In  the  beginning  of  this  passage  they  were  re- 
tarded by  contrary  winds.  At  length  they 
reached  the  island  of  Crete  (now  called  Can- 
dia)  ;  and  having  put  into  a  port,  called  the 
Fair-havens,  Paul  would  have  persuaded 
j  them  to  have  staid  there,  intimating  that,  as 
the  winter  was  now  advancing,  they  would 
meet  with  many  inconveniences  and  dangers 
if  they  ventured  to  proceed  any  further. 
Long  voyages  were  seldom  attempted  dur- 
ing the  winter  in  those  days,  or,  for  many 
ages  after,  till  the  knowledge  of  the  compass 
made  way  for  those  great  improvements  in 
navigation  which  now  embolden  the  marinei 
to  sail  indifferently  at  any  season  of  the  year. 
But  it  is  probable  the  apostle's  precaution 
was  not  merely  founded  upon  the  obvious 
disadvantages  of  the  season,  but  rather  upon 
an  extraordinary  pre-intimation  of  what  was 
soon  to  happen.  But  his  remonstrance  was 
over-ruled,  the  centurion  preferring  thejudg- 
ment  of  the  master  of  the  ship,  who  thought 
it  best,  if  possible,  to  reach  another  haven  at 
the  west  end  of  the  island,  which  was  thought 
to  be  more  commodious  and  safe  than  the 
place  Paul  proposed.  A  favourable  wind 
springing  from  the  south,  determined  their 
resolve,  and  they  set  sail  with  a  good  confi- 
dence of  soon  reaching  their  desired  port. 

There  is  little  doubt  but  Paul's  case  and 
character  had  by  this  time  engaged  the  notice 
of  many  of  his  fellow-passengers  in  the  ship. 
Upon  a  superficial  inquiry,  they  would  learn, 
that  he  was  the  follower  of  one  Jesus,  who 
had  been  crucified  ;  that  he  was  esteemed  a 
setter-forth  of  strange  gods,  and  charged  with 
having  disturbed  the  public  peace  wherever  he 
came.      He  probably  took  frequent  occasions 


CHAP.   t. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 


485 


to  speak  of  his  Lord  and  Master  to  those 
about  him ;  and  as  he  had  several  compa- 
nions, the  manner  of  their  social  worship  could 
hardly  pass  unobserved  ;  but  no  emergency 
had  as  yet  occurred  to  manifest  the  solidity 
and  force  of  his  principles  to  full  advantage, 
and  to  make  it  evident  to  all  with  whom  he 
sailed,  that  his  God  was  far  unlike  the  idols  of 
the  Heathens ;  and  that  the  religion  which 
prompted  him  to  do  and  suffer  so  much  for 
the  sake  of  Jesus,  was  founded,  not  in  the 
imaginations  and  inventions  of  men,  but  in 
reality  and  truth.  In  prosperous  circum- 
stances, most  people  are  easily  satisfied  with 
their  own  principles,  and  are  ready  to  take  it 
for  granted,  that  even  the  notions  received 
from  no  better  source  than  tradition  or  cus- 
tom, cannot  be  wrong,  or  at  least  will  not 
be  dangerous :  but  it  is  in  a  season  of  com- 
mon distress  that  the  truth  and  efficacy  of  vi- 
tal religion  appear  with  the  most  incontestible 
authority.  The  God  who  alone  can  deliver 
when  all  hope  of  safety  is  taken  away,  and 
the  religion  which  can  inspire  a  man  with  con- 
fidence and  peace,  when  there  is  nothing  but 
dismay  and  confusion  around  him,  will  then 
extort  some  acknowledgement,  even  from 
those  who  had  before  thought  of  them  with 
indifference.  From  these  considerations,  we 
may  collect  one  general  reason  why  the  Lord, 
who,  by  his  divine  providence,  adjusts  the 
time  and  circumstances  of  every  event,  and 
without  whose  permission  not  a  sparrow  can 
fall  to  the  ground,  permits  his  faithful  peo- 
ple to  be  so  often  exercised  with  severe 
trials :  it  is,  to  manifest  that  their  hopes 
are  well-grounded;  that  they  have  not  ta- 
ken up  with  words  and  notions,  but  have  a 
real  and  sure  support,  and  can  hope  and  re- 
joice in  God  under  those  pressures  which  de- 
prive others  of  all  their  patience,  and  all  their 
courage ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  evince 
that  his  power  and  faithfulness  are  surely  en- 
gaged on  their  behalf;  that  he  puts  an  ho- 
nour upon  their  prayers,  is  near  to  help  them 
in  the  time  of  trouble,  and  can  deliver  them  out 
of  their  greatest  extremities.  We  are  not,  then, 
to  wonder  that  this  favoured  servant  of  the 
Lord,  after  having  endured  so  many  suffer- 
ings and  hardships  upon  the  land,  was  ex- 
posed, in  the  course  of  this  voyage,  to  equal 
dangers  and  difficulties  upon  the  sea  ;  for  they 
had  not  long  quitted  their  last  port,  before 
their  hopes  of  gaining  a  better  were  blasted  : 
they  were  overtaken  by  a  sudden  and  violent 
storm.  The  name  given  it  by  the  historian, 
Euroclydon,  expresses  its  direction  to  have 
been  from  the  eastern  quarter,  and  its  energy 
upon  the  waves.  The  tempest  irresistibly 
overpowered  the  mariners,  and  rendered  their 
art  impracticable  and  vain  :  they  were  com- 
pelled to  abandon  the  ship  to  the  direction  of 
the  wind,  and  were  hurried  away,  they  knew 
not  where.  Mention  is  made  of  the  difficulty 
thev  had  to  secure  the  ship's  boat,  as  the  only 


probable  means  of  escaping,  if  they  should  be 
wrecked,  which  yet,  in  the  event,  was  wholly 
useless  to  them  ;  likewise  of  their  endeavours 
to  strengthen  the  ship  by  girding  her  with 
ropes,  and  of  their  throwing  a  considerable 
part  of  the  lading  and  tackling  into  the  sea. 
In  this  distressed  situation,  expecting  every 
hour  to  be  either  swallowed  up  by  the  waves, 
or  dashed  to  pieces  against  unknown  rocks 
or  shores,  they  continued  fourteen  days. — 
When  they  were  almost  worn  out  with  hard- 
ship and  anxiety,  and  there  was  no  human 
probability  of  deliverance,  the  Lord  manifest- 
ed the  care  he  had  of  his  servants.  The  sea- 
men had  not  seen  sun  or  stars  for  many  days; 
but  his  eye  had  been  upon  Paul  and  his  com- 
panions every  moment.  No  one  on  board 
could  even  conjecture  into  what  part  of  the 
sea  the  ship  was  driven  ;  but  the  Lord  knew, 
and  his  angels  knew  :  and  now  one  was  com- 
manded to  appear,  to  comfort  the  apostle,  and 
to  give  him  a  word  of  comfort  for  all  on 
board.  Upon  this  he  addressed  the  people  in 
the  ship,  exhorting  them  to  take  some  food, 
and  to  be  of  good  courage  ;  for  that  the  God 
to  whom  he  belonged,  and  whom  he  served, 
had  given  him  assurance,  by  an  angel,  not 
only  of  his  own  safety,  but  that  the  lives  of 
all  on  board  should  be  preserved  for  his  sake; 
that  the  ship  would  be  cast  upon  a  certain 
island ;  but  he  fully  relied  on  the  promise, 
that  not  one  of  them  should  be  lost.  He  had 
been  told,  that  he  must  stand  before  Cassar 
which  was  a  sufficient  earnest  of  his  preserva- 
tion ;  for  who,  or  what,  can  disappoint  the 
purpose  of  God  !  Amidst  all  these  threaten- 
ing appearances,  Paul  was,  in  reality,  as  safe 
in  the  storm  as  Cassar  could  be  thought  upon 
the  throne.  And  thus  all  his  servants  are  in- 
violably preserved  by  his  watchful  providence; 
so  that  neither  elements  nor  enemies  can  hurt 
them,  till  the  work  he  has  appointed  them  is 
accomplished. 

At  length  the  seamen  perceived  indications 
that  they  were  drawing  near  to  land :  and 
when  they  were  driven  into  a  convenient  depth 
of  water,  they  cast  anchor,  and  waited  for  the 
approach  of  day.  In  this  interval  the  people 
were  encouraged  by  Paul's  advice  and  exam 
pie,  to  eat  a  hearty  meal,  by  which  theii 
strength  and  spirits  were  recruited  to  sustain 
the  fatigue  they  were  yet  to  undergo.  In  the 
morning  they  saw  an  island  ;  but  knew  it  not. 
The  mariners,  regarding  their  own  safety  only, 
were  about  to  make  their  escape  in  the  boat ; 
but  Paul,  informing  the  soldiers  that  they 
could  not  be  saved  unless  the  seamen  remain- 
ed in  the  ship,  they  paid  so  much  regard  to 
his  judgment  as  immediatly  to  cut  the  ropes 
by  which  the  boat  was  fastened,  and  give  her 
up  to  the  sea. 

Their  only  remaining  resource  was,  to  force 
the  ship  upon  the  shore,  in  a  place  where 
landing  would  be  most  practicable ;  and  of 
this  the  mariners  were  the  most  proper  judges 


436 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


book  rr. 


If  this  island,  as  is  generally  supposed,  was  that 
which  we  now  call  Malta,  we  know  that  it  is 
almost  environed  with  rocks.  They  having 
therefore  discovered  an  open  bay,  with  a  beach 
of  sand  or  pebbles  *,  endeavoured  to  run  the 
ship  there ;  but  had  the  management  of  this 
business  been  left  to  the  soldiers  and  passen- 
gers, who  were  unexperienced  in  sea-affairs, 
they  might  probably  have  let  her  drive  at  ran- 
dom against  the  rocks  where  an  escape  would, 
humanly  speaking,  have  been  impossible.  In 
this  view,  we  may  observe,  that  the  apostle's 
firm  confidence  in  the  promise  he  had  received 
was  connected  with  a  prudent  attention  to  the 
means  in  their  power,  from  which  the  pro- 
mise received  was  so  far  from  dispensing  them, 
that  it  was  their  chief  encouragement  to  be 
diligent  in  employing  them.  This  incident 
may  he  applied  to  points  of  more  general  im- 
portance :  and,  if  carefully  attended  to,  might 
have  determined  or  prevented  many  unneces- 
sary and  perplexing  disputes  concerning  the 
divine  decrees,  and  their  influence  on  the  con- 
tingencies of  human  life.  What  God  has  ap- 
pointed shall  surely  come  to  pass;  but  in  such 
a  manner,  that  all  the  means  and  secondary 
causes,  by  which  he  has  determined  to  fulfil 
his  designs,  shall  have  their  proper  place  and 
subserviency.  Accordingly,  they  made  the 
best  of  their  way  to  the  shore  :  but  before 
they  quite  reached  it,  the  ship  was  stopped  by 
a  point  or  bank  f ,  where  her  fore-part  stuck 
fast,  and  remained  immoveable  ;  but  her  stern 
or  hinder  part,  was  presently  broken  by  the 
violence  of  the  surges.  In  the  general  confu- 
sion, the  soldiers,  unmindful  how  much  they 
were  indebted  to  Paul,  proposed  that  all  the 
prisoners  should  be  killed  without  distinction, 
lest  they  should  be  accountable  if  any  of  them 
escaped  ;  but  the  centurion,  who  interested 
himself  in  his  preservation,  rejected  the  mo- 
tion, and  commanded  every  one  to  do  what 
they  could  for  their  own  safety.  Many  who 
could  swim  cast  themselves  into  the  sea  ;  the 
rest  availed  themselves  of  planks  and  broken 
pieces  of  the  ship  ;  and  the  merciful  provi- 
dence of  the  Lord  gave  their  endeavours  suc- 
cess ;  so  that  the  whole  company,  consisting 
of  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  persons,  came 
safe  to  land. 

The  inhabitants  (Acts  xxviii. ),  though  called 
barbarians,  received  and  accommodated  them 
with  great  humanity,  and  manifested  a  tender- 
ness too  rarely  found  upon  such  occasions  a- 
mongst  those  who  bear  the  name  of  christians  : 

*  '*  They  discovered  a  certain  creek  with  a  shore." 
But  there  was  a  shore  all  round  the  island.  AiyixXoc 
does  not  express  the  sea-coast  in  general,  or  a  rocky 
craggy  shore,  but  the  skirts  of  an  open  bay,  convenient 
for  lanching,  landing,  or  drawing  a  net  for  fish.  See 
Matth.  xiii.  2.  48.,  John  xxi.  4.  A  mariner  who  under- 
stood Greek  would  perhaps  render  the  sentence  thus : 
"  They  observed  a  certain  bay,  with  a  beach."  And  this 
they  chose  as  the  most  likely  place  to  get  safe  to  land. 

+  Tstod  $iQa\airtrou  is  rendered  in  our  version,  a  place 
where  two  seas  met ;  but  there  is  nothing  answerable  to 
the  word  met.  Probably  it  means  what  the  mariners 
call  a  spit,  or  point  of  sand  running  off  from  the  shore 
and  wnieh  had  a  sufficient  depth  of  water  on  either  side. 


they  brought  them  under  cover,  and  kindled 
fires  to  warm  and  dry  them.  The  apostle,  who 
cheerfully  suited  himself  to  all  circumstances, 
assisted  in  supplying  the  fire  with  fuel ;  but 
having  gathered  a  parcel  of  sticks,  a  viper, 
which  was  unperceived  in  the  midst  of  them, 
fastened  itself  upon  his  hand.  He  had  just 
escaped  from  storm  and  shipwreck,  and  was 
exposed  to  as  great  a  danger  of  another  kind. 
Such  is  the  nature  of  our  present  state  ;  and 
it  is  a  proof  of  our  pride  and  ignorance,  that 
we  are  seldom  greatly  apprehensive  for  our- 
selves, but  when  some  formidable  appearance 
is  before  our  eyes.  A  tempest,  pestilence,  or 
earthquake,  alarms  us,  and  not  without  rea- 
son ;  but  alas  !  we  are  not  such  mighty  crea- 
tures, as  to  have  nothing  to  fear  but  from 
such  powerful  agents  :  A  tyle,  a  fly,  a  hair, 
or  a  grain  of  sand,  are  sufficient  instruments, 
in  the  hand  of  God,  to  remove  a  king  from 
the  throne  to  the  grave,  or  to  cut  off'  the  con- 
queror at  the  head  of  his  victorious  armies. 
On  the  other  hand,  those  who  serve  the  Lord, 
and  trust  in  him,  are  equally  safe  under  all 
events ;  neither  storms,  nor  flood,  nor  flames, 
nor  the  many  unthought-of  evils  which  lurk 
around  in  the  smoothest  scenes  of  life,  have 
permission  to  hurt  them  till  their  race  is 
finished,  and  then  it  little  signifies  by  what 
means  they  are  removed  into  their  Master's  joy. 
The  apostle,  in  the  strength  of  divine  faith, 
shook  off'  the  venomous  creature  into  the  fire, 
and  remained  unmoved  and  unhurt.  The 
islanders,  who  saw  what  had  passed,  judged 
at  first  (from  those  faint  apprehensions  of  a 
superior  power  inflicting  punishment  on  the 
wicked,  which  seem  to  remain  in  the  darkest 
and  most  ignorant  nations),  that  he  was  cer- 
tainly a  murderer,  who,  though  he  had  escaped 
the  seas,  was  pursued  by  vengeance,  and  mark- 
ed out  for  destruction;  but  when,  after  ex- 
pecting for  some  time  to  see  him  drop  down 
dead,  they  found  that  he  had  received  no  harm, 
they  retracted  their  censure,  and  conceived 
him  to  be  a  god,  or  something  more  than  man. 
This  event  probably  prepared  them  to  hear 
him  with  attention. 

The  apostle  and  his  friends  were  courteous- 
ly entertained  three  days  by  Publius,  the  chief 
person  of  the  island,  who  resided  near  the 
place  of  their  landing  :  He  requited  the  kind- 
ness of  his  host,  by  restoring  to  health  his 
father,  who  had  been  some  time  ill  of  a  fever 
and  dysentery.  In  the  same  manner  he  laid  his 
hands  on  many  sick  persons,  who  were  healed 
in  answer  to  his  prayers.  These  acceptable 
services  procured  him  much  favour  from  the 
inhabitants;  and  when,  after  three  months  stay 
he  was  about  to  depart,  they  furnished  him 
liberally  with  necessary  provisions  for  his 
voyage. 

A.  D.  61.]  They  sailed  from  thence  in  a  ship 
of  Alexandria  that  had  wintered  in  the  island  ; 
and  stopping  three  days  at  Syracuse  in  Sicily, 
soon    after    arrived    at    Rhegium,    and   from 


CHAP.   1. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 


487 


thence  in  two  days,  at  Puteoli,  near  Naples, 
where  they  disembarked,  and  continued  a  week, 
at  the  request  of  the  christians  of  the  place. 
From  Puteoli  to  Rome  their  journey  lay  about 
one  hundred  miles  by  land. 

The  disciples  at  Rome  having  heard  of 
Paul's  approach,  several  of  them  met  him  at 
a  place  called  Appii  Forum,  and  another  party 
at  the  Three  Taverns  ;  the  former  place  being 
about  fifty,  and  the  other  thirty  miles  from 
the  city.  At  the  sight  of  these  believers, 
whom  he  had  loved  unseen,  we  are  told  he 
thanked  God,  and  took  courage.  Even  the 
apostle  Paul,  though  habitually  flaming  with 
zeal  and  love,  was  not  always  in  the  same 
frame.  We  learn  from  his  own  account  of 
himself,  that  he  had  sometimes  sharp  exer- 
cises of  mind;  and  perhaps  this  was  such  a 
time  when  his  thoughts  were  much  engaged 
on  what  awaited  him  upon  his  arrival  at  Rome, 
and  his  appearance  before  the  cruel  and  capri- 
cious Nero.  The  Lord  has  so  constituted  his 
body,  the  church,  that  the  different  members 
are  needful  and  helpful  to  each  other,  and 
the  stronger  are  often  indebted  to  the  weaker. 
St.  Paul  himself  was  revived  and  animated  at 
this  juncture  by  the  sight  of  those  who  were 
in  every  respect  inferior  to  him  ;  it  rejoiced 
him  to  see  that  Christ  his  Lord  was  worship- 
ped at  Rome  also  ;  and  being  in  the  presence 
c.f  those  with  whom  he  could  open  his  mind, 
and  freely  confer  upon  the  glorious  truths 
that  filled  his  heart,  he  forgot  at  once  the 
fatigue  he  had  lately  suffered,  and  the  future 
difficulties  he  had  reason  to  expect. 

Upon  their  arrival  at  Rome,  the  centurion 
delivered  up  the  prisoners  to  the  proper  offi- 
cer ;  but  Paul  had  the  favour  allowed  him  to 
live  in  a  house  which  he  hired,  under  the 
guard  of  one  soldier.  Here  he  immediately 
discovered  his  usual  activity  of  spirit  in  his 
Master's  cause ;  and,  without  losing  time, 
sent  on  the  third  day  for  the  principal  per- 
sons of  the  Jews  (according  to  his  general 
custom  of  making  the  first  declarations  of  the 
gospel  to  them),  and  acquainted  them  with 
the  cause  of  his  prosecution  and  appeal ;  he 
assured  them,  that  he  had  no  intention,  in 
vindicating  himself,  to  lay  any  thing  to  the 
charge  of  his  own  people  ;  adding,  that,  not 
for  any  singularities  of  his  own,  or  for  any 
offence  against  the  law  of  Moses,  but  for  the 
hope  of  Israel,  he  was  bound  with  the  chain* 
he  then  wore.  They  answered,  that  they  had 
received  no  information  concerning  him  from 
Judea  ;  but  that  they  understood  the  sect  to 
which  he  professed  an  attachment  was  every 
where  spoken  against ;  they  therefore  desired 
to  hear  his  sentiments,  and  appointed  a  day 
for  the  purpose,  when  many  of  them  came  to 

*  Among  the  Romans,  the  prisoner  was  always  chained 
to  the  soldier  or  soldiers  who  guarded  him.  St.  Paul 
speaks  of  his  chain  both  to  friends  and  enemies,  with 
an  indifference  that  shews  how  well  content  he  was  to 
wear  it  for  his  Master's  sake.  See  Ephes.  vi.  20.  2 
Tim.  i.  16. 


him,  and  he  spent  the  whole  day,  from  morn- 
ing till  evening,  in  proving,  confirming,  and 
explaining,  the  nature  and  necessity  of  the 
gospel  and  kingdom  of  Christ,  from  the  books 
of  Moses  and  the  prophets.  His  discourse 
had  good  effect  upon  some,  but  others  believed 
not,  and  they  departed  with  considerable  dis- 
agreement among  themselves  ;  the  apostle  tak- 
ing leave  of  them  with  that  solemn  warning, 
which  our  Lord  had  often  used  in  the  course 
of  his  ministry  from  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah 
(chap.  i.  9,  10),  denouncing  incurable  and 
judicial  blindness  and  hardness  of  heart  upon 
those  who  wilfully  rejected  the  proposal  of 
the  truth. 

He  remained  a  prisoner  in  his  own  hired 
house  for  the  space  of  two  years,  having  an 
unrestrained  liberty  to  receive  all  who  came 
to  him,  and  to  preach  the  glad  tidings  of  sal- 
vation by  Christ;  which  we  learn  from  his 
epistles  (Philip,  i.  12)  he  did  with  so  much 
success,  that  his  imprisonment  evidently  con- 
tributed to  the  furtherance  of  the  gospel,  en- 
larged the  number  of  believers,  and  animated 
the  zeal  and  confidence  of  those  who  had 
already  received  faith  and  grace. 

A.  D.  63.]  The  history  of  St.  Luke  ends 
here,  which  I  have  followed  more  closely  than 
I  at  first  designed,  partly  because  the  facts  he 
has  recorded  suggests  many  reflections  which 
have  more  or  less  a  reference  to  our  main 
design,  and  partly  from  a  reluctance  to  leave 
the  only  sure  and  incontestible  history  by 
which  our  researches  into  the  establishment 
and  state  of  the  primitive  church  can  be 
guided  ;  for  though  some  monuments  of  the 
early  ages  of  Christianity,  which  are  still  ex- 
tant, have  a  great  share  of  merit,  and  will 
afford  us  materials  to  make  good  our  plan, 
yet  they  must  be  selected  with  caution,  for  it 
would  be  a  want  of  ingenuousness  not  to 
acknowledge,  that  there  are  great  mixtures 
and  blemishes  to  be  found  in  the  writings  of 
those  who  lived  nearest  to  the  apostles  times  ; 
and  in  the  most  ancient  historical  remains 
several  things  have  a  place,  which  shew,  that 
a  spirit  of  credulity  and  superstition  had  very 
early  and  extensive  influence ;  the  evident 
traces  of  which  have  given  too  fair  an  occa- 
sion to  some  persons  of  more  learning  than 
candour,  to  attempt  to  bring  the  whole  of 
those  records  into  disrepute.  But  where  the 
characteristic  genius  and  native  tendency  of 
the  gospel  are  rightly  understood,  and  care- 
fully attended  to,  a  mind,  not  under  the  power 
of  bias  and  prejudice,  will  be  furnished  with 
sufficient  data,  whereby  to  distinguish  what 
is  genuine  and  worthy  of  credit  from  the 
spurious  and  uncertain  additions  which  have 
been  incautiously  received. 

I  shall  be  brief  in  deducing  our  history  from 
this  period  to  the  close  of  the  first  century. 
St.  Paul,  after  more  than  two  years  confine- 
ment at  Rome,  having  not  yet  finished  his 
appointed  measure  of  service,  was  providen- 


4S8 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


UOOK    II. 


tiaily  preserved  from  the  designs  of  all  his 
enemies,  and  set  at  liberty.  We  are  told  by 
some,  that  in  pursuance  of  the  design  he  had 
long  before  expressed,  he  went  into  Spain, 
and  from  thence  to  Gaul,  now  called  France; 
nor  have  endeavours  been  wanting  to  prove, 
that  he  preached  the  gospel  even  in  the  British 
isles.  That  he,  at  some  time,  accomplished 
his  desire  of  visiting  Spain,  is  not  improbable ; 
but  we  have  no  certain  evidence  that  he  did 
so :  much  less  is  there  any  ground  for  sup- 
posing that  he  was  either  in  France  or  Bri- 
tain. From  his  own  writings,  however,  we 
have  good  reason  to  believe,  that,  upon  his  dis- 
mission from  Rome,  he  revisited  the  churches 
of  Syria,  and  some  other  parts  of  Asia ;  for, 
in  his  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  he  mentions  his 
purpose  of  seeing  them,  in  company  with  his 
beloved  Timothy ;  and  writing  to  Philemon, 
who  lived  at  Colosse,  he  requests  him  to  pre- 
pare him  a  lodging,  for  that  he  hoped  to  be 
with  him  shortly.  And  it  was  probably  in 
this  progress  that  he  preached  in  Crete,  and 
committed  the  churches  he  gathered  there  to 
the  care  of  Titus ;  for  we  have  no  account  in 
the  Acts,  of  his  having  visited  that  island 
before,  except  the  little  time  he  touched  there 
in  his  passage  to  Rome,  which  seems  not  to 
have  been  sufficient  for  so  great  a  work. 
How  he  was  employed  afterwards  we  know 
not ;  but  it  is  generally  agreed,  that,  towards 
the  latter  part  of  Nero's  reign,  he  returned  to 
Rome,  and  there  received  the  crown  of  mar- 
tyrdom. 

In  the  accounts  preserved  of  the  rest  of  the 
apostles,  we  likewise  meet  with  great  uncer- 
tainty ;  nor  can  any  thing  be  determined  to 
satisfaction,  concerning  either  the  seat  of  their 
labours,  or  the  time  or  manner  of  their  deaths. 
I  shall  therefore  wave  a  detail  of  what  is 
not  supported  by  sufficient  proof.  I  only  ob- 
serve concerning  St.  Peter,  that  the  assertion 
of  his  having  been  bishop  of  Rome,  on  which 
(and  not  on  the  true  rock)  the  whole  system 
of  the  Papacy  is  built,  is  not  only  inconsistent 
with  what  is  recorded  of  him  in  the  Acts,  and 
the  silence  of  St.  Paul  concerning  him,  in  the 
epistles  he  wrote  from  thence,  but  is  so  far 
without  foundation  in  ecclesiastical  history, 
that  it  still  remains  a  point  of  dubious  con- 
troversy, whether  he  ever  saw  Rome  in  his 
life  :  if  he  did,  it  was  probably  towards  the 
close  of  it ;  and  the  most  received  opinion  is, 
that  he  suffered  martyrdom  there  at  the  same 
time  with  St.  Paul ;  that  Peter  was  crucified, 
and  that  Paul  had  the  favour  of  being 
beheaded,  in  consideration  that  he  was  a  Ro- 
man citizen. 

The  christians,  though  generally  despised, 
and  often  insulted  for  their  profession,  had 
not  hitherto  been  subject  to  a  direct  and  ca- 
pital persecution  ;  but  Nero,  who,  intoxicated 
with  power,  had,  in  a  few  years,  arrived  at  a 
pitch  of  wickedness  and  cruelty  till  then  un  • 


heard  of,  at  length  directed  his  rage  against 
the  servants  of  Christ. 

A.  D.  64.]  In  his  tenth  year  the  city  of 
Rome  was  set  on  fire,  and  a  very  considerable 
part  of  it  consumed.  This  calamity  was  ge- 
nerally imputed  to  him  as  the  author,  and  it 
seems  not  without  justice.  Mischief,  and  the 
misery  of  others,  were  the  study  of  his  life ; 
and  he  is  reported  to  have  expressed  great 
pleasure  at  the  spectacle,  and  to  have  sung 
the  burning  of  Troy  while  Rome  was  in 
flames.  Though  he  afterwards  did  many  po- 
pular things,  and  spared  no  expense  in  re- 
lieving the  people  and  rebuilding  the  city,  he 
could  not  clear  himself  from  the  suspicion  of 
the  fact,  any  otherwise  than  by  charging  it 
upon  the  christians.  The  heathen  historian 
Tacitus,  in  his  account  of  this  event,  enables 
us  so  well  to  judge  of  the  character  which  the 
christians  bore  in  his  time,  that  I  shall  sub- 
join a  translation  of  it  for  the  information  of 
the  unlearned. 

"  But  neither  the  emperor's  donations,  nor 
the  atonements  offered  to  the  gods,  could  re- 
move the  scandal  of  this  report ;  but  it  was 
still  believed  that  the  city  had  been  burnt  by 
his  instigation.  Nero,  therefore,  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  rumour,  charged  the  fact,  and  inflicted 
the  severest  punishment  for  it  upon  the  chris- 
tians, as  they  were  commonly  called,  a  peo- 
ple detestable  for  their  crimes.  The  author 
of  this  sect  was  Christ ;  who,  in  the  reign  of 
Tiberius,  was  put  to  death  by  Pontius  Pilate. 
The  destructive  superstition,  which  was  by 
this  means  suppressed  for  the  present,  soon 
broke  out  again,  and  not  only  overspread  Ju- 
dea,  where  it  first  arose,  but  reached  even  to 
Rome,  where  all  abominations,  from  every 
quarter,  are  sure  to  meet  and  to  find  accept- 
ance. Some  who  confessed  themselves  chris- 
tians were  first  apprehended,  and  a  vast  mul- 
titude afterwards,  upon  their  impeachment, 
who  were  condemned,  not  so  much  for  burn- 
ing the  city,  as  for  being  the  objects  of  uni- 
versal hatred.  Their  sufferings  and  torments 
were  heightened  by  mockery  and  derision. 
Some  were  inclosed  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts, 
that  they  might  be  torn  in  pieces  by  dogs ; 
others  were  crucified  ;  and  others,  being  co- 
vered with  inflammable  matter,  were  lighted 
up  as  torches  at  the  close  of  day.  These  spec- 
tacles were  exhibited  in  Net o's  gardens,  where 
he  held  a  kind  of  Circensian  shew,  either  mix- 
ing with  the  populace  in  the  habit  of  a  cha- 
rioteer, or  himself  contending  in  the  race. 
Hence  it  came  to  pass,  that,  criminal  and 
undeserving  of  mercy  as  they  were,  yet  they 
were  pitied,  as  being  destroyed  merely  to 
gratify  his  savage  and  cruel  disposition,  and 
not  with  any  view  to  the  public  good." 

From  this  quotation  it  appears  that  the 
christians  were  considered  by  the  heathens  as 
a  sect  that  had  been  almost  crushed  by  the 
death  of  their  Master,  but  suddenly  recovered 


CHAP.    I. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION, 


489 


strength,  and  spread  far  and  near  soon  after- 
wards ;  that  they  were  so  extremely  odious, 
on  account  of  the  supposed  absurdity  and 
wickedness  of  their  principles,  as  to  be  thought 
capable  of  committing  the  worst  crimes,  when 
no  sufficient  proof  could  be  found  of  their 
having  committed  any  ;  that  they  were  treated 
as  the  professed  enemies  of  mankind,  and 
therefore,  upon  the  first  occasion  that  offered, 
were  promiscuously  destroyed,  with  the  most 
unrelenting  cruelty  ;  that  they  did  not  suffer 
as  common  malefactors,  who,  when  under  the 
actual  punishment  of  their  crimes,  are  usually 
beheld  with  some  commiseration,  but  that 
insult  and  derision  were  added  to  the  most 
exquisite  inventions  of  torture  ;  and,  lastly, 
that,  if  these  violent  proceedings  were  blamed 
by  any,  it  proceeded  rather  from  the  hatred 
they  bore  to  Nero,  than  from  a  suspicion  that 
the  christians  met  with  any  thing  more  than 
their  just  desert.  These  things  are  carefully 
to  be  observed,  if  we  would  form  a  right 
judgment  of  the  primitive  church.  It  is  pos- 
sible many  persons  suppose  that  St.  Paul's 
epistles  to  the  Romans,  Corinthians,  and  Ephe- 
sians  were  (like  the  pastoral  letters  of  bishops 
in  our  own  times)  addressed  to  the  bulk  of 
the  inhabitants  in  those  places ;  but  the  case 
was  far  otherwise.  The  Romans,  to  whom 
St.  Paul  wrote,  were  inconsiderable  for  their 
number,  most  of  them  contemptible  in  the 
sight  of  the  world  on  account  of  their  poverty 
and  low  rank  in  life,  and  (as  the  above  ex- 
tract from  Tacitus  proves)  the  objects  of  pub- 
lic detestation,  for  their  attachment  to  the 
name  and  doctrines  of  Jesus. 

Whether  this  persecution  was  confined  to 
Rome,  or  carried  on  by  public  authority 
through  all  the  provinces  where  christians  were 
to  be  found,  is  not  absolutely  certain,  though 
the  latter  seems  most  probable  ;  for  it  is  hardly 
to  be  supposed  that  Nero  would  rage  against 
them  in  the  capital,  and  suffer  them  to  live  in 
peace  everywhere  else.  Tertullian  expressly 
asserts  that  Nero  enjoined  their  destruction 
by  public  edicts  in  the  several  provinces ;  and 
bis  testimony  seems  worthy  of  credit,  as  he 
mentions  it  in  his  Apology,  which,  though 
written  more  than  a  century  afterwards,  was 
not  at  so  great  a  distance  of  time  but  he 
might  easily  have  been  contradicted,  if  he  had 
advanced  an  untruth.  Besides,  the  example 
of  Nero,  without  his  express  injunctions, 
seerns  to  have  been  sufficient  to  awaken  per- 
secution against  a  people  so  generally  hated 
as  the  christians  were.  Multitudes  upon  this 
occasion  had  the  honour  to  seal  their  profes- 
sion with  their  blood  ;  but  the  cause  for  which 
they  suffered  triumphed  over  all  opposition, 
and  the  martyrs  places  in  the  church  were 
supplied  by  an  accession  of  fresh  converts. 

This  storm,  though  sharp,  was  not  of  very 
long  continuance  ;  it  terminated  with  the  life 
of  Nero,  who  was  compelled,  though  with  ex- 
treme reluctance,  to  destroy  himself  with  his 


own  hands,  that  he  might  escape  the  most  ig- 
nominious punishment,  he  having  been,  by  a 
decree  of  the  senate,  justly  and  solemnly 
branded  with  the  character  which  malice  and 
ignorance  would  have  fixed  upon  the  chris- 
tian name,  and  condemned  to  be  whipped  to 
death  as  an  enemy  of  the  human  race. 

A.  D.  68,  69.]  After  him,  Galba,  Otho, 
and  Vitellius  were  successively  acknowledged 
emperors  ;  but  their  reigns  were  short,  and 
their  deaths  violent.  The  Jewish  war,  which 
ended  in  the  final  catastrophe  and  dispersion 
of  that  nation,  was  at  this  time  carried  on  un- 
der the  command  of  Vespasian,  who,  while 
engaged  in  that  service,  was  saluted  emperor 
by  his  army. 

A.  D.  70.]  Upon  this,  leaving  the  conduct 
of  the  war  to  his  son  Titus,  he  returned  to 
Italy,  and,  soon  after  the  death  of  Vitellius, 
was  peaceably  established  in  the  government. 
Titus  having  a  secret  commission  from  God 
(whom  he  knew  not),  to  execute  his  fierce 
displeasure  against  the  Jews,  upon  whom 
wrath  was  now  come  to  the  uttermost,  aftei 
destroying  the  whole  country  of  Judea  with 
fire  and  sword,  laid  siege  to  Jerusalem ;  and, 
having  taken  it  at  the  end  of  five  months, 
with  an  incredible  slaughter  of  the  Jews,  and 
the  destruction  of  the  temple,  he  burnt  the 
city  and  pulled  down  the  very  walls.  More 
than  a  million  of  people,  who  had  trusted  in 
lying  words,  and  boasted  themselves  of  an 
empty  profession,  perished  in  this  war ;  and 
those  who  survived  were  reduced  to  slavery, 
sold  and  dispersed  into  all  parts,  at  the  will 
of  the  conquerors.  Thus  ended  the  Jewish 
economy  ;  and  the  law  of  Moses  having  re- 
ceived the  accomplishment  of  all  its  types, 
ceremonies,  and  precepts,  in  the  person,  life, 
and  death  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,  was  irrevo- 
cably abrogated  as  to  its  observance,  which 
was  rendered  utterly  impracticable,  by  the  de- 
struction of  the  temple,  and  the  cessation  of 
the  priesthood. 

A.  D.  79.]  Under  Vespasian,  and  Titus, 
who  succeeded  him,  the  christian  church  en- 
joyed considerable  peace  and  liberty,  though 
upon  many  occasions  they  suffered  from  the 
ill-will  of  their  adversaries.  Few,  however, 
were  put  to  death  publicly  and  professedly 
for  their  religion,  till  Domitian,  who  came  to 
the  empire  after  his  brother  Titus  [a.  D.  81], 
and  who  too  much  resembled  Nero  in  his  tem- 
per and  conduct,  imitated  him  likewise  in  his 
employing  his  power  against  the  followers  of 
Christ,  [a.  d.  94.]  Several  are  mentioned 
in  history,  who  suffered  in  his  time ;  but  as 
little  of  moment,  or  that  can  be  fully  de- 
pended on,  is  recorded  concerning  them,  I 
wave  a  recital  of  bare  names.  It  is  generally 
believed  that  St.  John  was  banished  to  the  isle 
of  Patmos  by  this  emperor,  where  he  wrote 
his  Epistles  to  the  churches  of  Asia,  and  the 
Revelation  of  future  events  which  he  had  re- 
ceived from  the  Lord.      Some  there  are  v  ho 


490 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


BOOK   II 


place  these  events  much  earlier,  under  the 
reign  of  Claudius ;  but  the  former  opinion 
seems  most  probable,  and  best  supported  by 
the  testimony  of  the  ancients.  But  the  story 
of  his  having  been  cast  into  a  cauldron  of 
boiling  oil,  in  the  presence  (as  some  add)  of 
the  Roman  senate,  does  not  seem  supported 
by  any  tolerable  evidence.  It  is  believed  that 
he  gained  his  liberty  from  banishment,  and  re- 
turned to  Ephesus  or  the  neighbouring  parts ; 
that  he  afterwards  wrote  his  Gospel  a  little 
before  his  death,  which  is  supposed  to  have 
happened  about  the  last  year  of  the  century. 
If  so,  he  was  probably  about  a  hundred  years 
of  age,  and  survived  the  rest  of  the  apostles 
a  considerable  space. 

Domitian,  having  made  the  earth  groan 
under  his  cruelties  and  excesses  was  assassi- 
nated in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  reign. 
[a.  D.  96.]  Nerva  suceeded  (a  man  of  much 
fairer  character),  who  repealed  the  sanguinary 
edicts  of  his  predecessor;  and  it  does  not  ap- 
pear that  the  christians  were  generally  perse- 
cuted during  his  short  government.  Before 
his  death  (for  he  did  not  live  two  years),  he 
adopted  Trajan  for  his  successor,  who  came 
to  the  empire  [a.  D.  98.]  with  a  general  ap- 
probation, and  is  still  reputed  one  of  the  best 
and  wisest  princes  that  Rome  was  favoured 
with.  From  his  conduct  and  that  of  some  of 
the  following  emperors,  it  appears,  that  the 
gospel  of  Christ  was  not  only  hated  by  such 
persons  as  Nero  and  Domitian,  who  seemed 
professed  enemies  to  every  thing  that  was 
good  and  praise-worthy,  but  that  men  who 
desired  to  be  thought  the  patrons  of  virtue, 
and  to  act  upon  the  most  benevolent  princi- 
ples, had  objections  equally  strong  against  it ; 
for  if  Trajan  did  not  issue  edicts  expressly 
against  the  christians,  there  was  a  very  sharp 
persecution  carried  on  against  them  in  his 
reign  ;  and  when  Pliny  (in  an  epistle  still  ex- 
tant) represented  to  him  the  greatness  of  their 
sufferings,  and  the  multitude  and  innocence 
of  the  sufferers,  the  emperor  interposed  no 
farther  by  his  answer,  than  to  forbid  informa- 
tions against  them,  upon  suspicion,  to  be  en- 
couraged, but  directed,  that  such  as  were 
proved  to  be  christians,  and  refused  to  join  in 
the  Heathen  sacrifices,  should  suffer  death :  and 
when  he  visited  Asia,  Ignatius,  who  was  bishop 
of  Antioch,  being  brought  before  him,  he  con- 
demned him,  with  his  own  mouth,  to  be  sent 
to  Rome  to  be  devoured  by  wild  beasts.  But 
we  shall  resume  the  account  of  what  happened 
under  his  reign  hereafter,  his  second  or  third 
year  [a.  D.  100]  coinciding,  according  to  the 
generally-received  computation,  with  the  end 
of  the  first  century,  which  I  have  fixed  as  the 
limit  of  our  researches  in  the  present  volume.  * 

But  before  I  conclude  the  chapter,  it  may  be 
useful  to  inquire,  what  might  be  the  motives 
which  influenced  the  Heathens  so  eagerly  to 

*  Stc  Introduction,  note. 


embrace  every  occasion  of  shewing  their  dis- 
pleasure against  the  professors  of  Christianity. 

The  original  and  proper  cause  of  the  injuri- 
ous treatment  the  first  christians  met  with  from 
the  heathens,  and  particularly  from  the  Ro- 
man  government  which  usually  tolerated  every 
kind  of  religious  worship  that  did  not  inter- 
fere with  the  public  tranquillity  and  the  obe- 
dience due  to  the  state,  was  one  that  is  of  an 
abiding  and  universal  influence,  namely,  that 
enmity  of  the  carnal  heart,  which  cannot  be 
brought  to  submit  to  the  wisdom  and  will  of 
God.  This  has  been  the  secret  source  of  all 
the  persecution  which  has  been  the  lot  of  the 
true  disciples  of  Christ  in  every  age.  The 
sublime  doctrines  of  the  gospel  were  offensive 
to  the  pretended  wisdom  of  men,  and  the  spi- 
rituality of  its  precepts  no  less  thwarted  their 
passions.  Men,  if  only  left  to  themselves, 
cannot  but  oppose  a  system,  which,  at  the 
same  time,  that  it  reduces  all  their  boasted 
distinctions  of  character  to  a  perfect  level,  in 
point  of  acceptance  with  God,  enjoins  a  life 
and  conversation  absolutely  inconsistent  with 
the  customs  and  pursuits  which  universally 
prevail,  and  brands  many  of  the  most  allowed 
and  authorised  practices  with  the  hard  names 
of  wickedness  and  folly.  But  they  are  no 
left  to  themselves,  but  are  in  a  degree  they  are 
little  aware  of,  under  the  influence  of  Satan, 
who,  for  the  power  he  maintains  and  exerts 
over  them,  is  styled  in  scripture,  the  God  of 
this  World.  Since  their  own  evil  dispositions 
are  thus  instigated  by  the  great  enemy  of  God 
and  goodness,  it  is  entirely  owing  to  the 
powerful  restraints  of  the  providence  of  the 
Most  High,  that  his  servants  can,  at  any  time, 
or  in  any  place,  enjoy  an  interval  of  rest;  and 
though  he  has  always  made  good  his  promise 
in  favour  of  his  church,  that  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  it :  though  they  who 
oppose  it,  successively  perish,  and  leave  their 
schemes  unfinished,  while  the  interest  against 
which  they  rage,  triumphs  over  all  their  at- 
tacks, and  subsists,  revives,  and  flourishes, 
amidst  the  changes  which  sweep  away  almost 
the  remembrance  of  the  most  prosperous  hu- 
man establishments ;  yet  he  is  pleased,  for 
wise  reasons,  to  permit  them  to  try  what  they 
can  do.  Hereby  the  faith  and  patience  of  his 
people  are  strengthened  and  displayed,  his  care 
over  them  illustrated,  and  those  who  are  sin- 
cerely devoted  to  him  are  evidently  distin- 
guished from  hypocrites  and  pretenders,  who 
join  in  an  outward  attachment  to  his  gospel  in 
times  of  prosperity,  but  are  presently  wearied 
and  disgusted  when  storms  and  troubles  arise. 

Amongst  the  more  particular  reasons  why 
Christianity  was  obnoxious  to  the  Heathens, 
not  only  to  persons  of  vile  character,  as  Nero, 
but  to  such  as  Trajan  and  Marcus  Aurelius, 
who  are,  even  to  this  day,  highly  extolled  for 
their  probity  and  discernment,  we  may  men- 
tion these  that  follow  :  and  more  than  one  of 
them  may  be  easily  accommodated  to  similar 


CHAP.  1. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION1. 


491 


events,  which  stand  upon  the  records  of  history 
down  to  our  own  times  ;  and  their  effect  will 
probably  be  felt  by  many  who  are  yet  unborn. 

1.  The  doctrine  of  the  cross  was,  and  per- 
haps always  will  be,  the  capital  offence.  The 
christians  professed  to  place  all  their  hopes 
on  the  actions  and  sufferings  of  one,  who 
died,  to  all  appearance,  like  a  common  male- 
factor. This,  considered  in  one  view,  was 
thought  such  a  kind  and  degree  of  infatua- 
tion, as  provoked  the  most  sovereign  and  uni- 
versal contempt;  and,  in  another  view,  it 
raised  a  grave  concern  for  the  interests  of 
morality  and  virtue,  in  those  whose  pride  was 
flattered  by  their  own  empty  declamations  on 
those  sounding  topics.  Every  thing  that  was 
evil,  they  thought,  might  be  expected  from 
men  who  openly  declared,  that  they  hoped 
for  eternal  happiness,  not  for  their  own  works, 
which  in  this  connection  they  depreciated  and 
renounced,  but  on  account  of  the  righteous- 
ness and  mediation  of  another.  If  it  was 
possible  that  christians  could  maintain  that 
course  of  conduct  which  the  gospel  requires, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  conceal  the  principles 
and  motives  on  which  they  act,  they  might 
perhaps  come  off  more  easily  with  the  world  ; 
for  the  justice,  temperance,  goodness,  and 
truth,  which  become  their  high  calling,  are 
suited  to  conciliate  peace  with  all  men.  But 
their  principles  must  not,  cannot,  be  con- 
cealed. Those  who  know  and  love  Jesus,  and 
are  sensible  of  their  immense  obligations  to 
him,  will  glory  in  him,  and  in  him  only  ;  they 
will  avow,  that  it  is  not  by  their  own  power 
or  holiness  that  they  escape  the  pollutions 
of  the  world,  but  that  they  derive  all  their 
strength  froir  faith  in  his  blood,  and  from 
the  supports  of  his  grace.  They  dare  not 
conceal  this,  nor  do  they  desire  it,  though 
they  are  sensible  that  the  world,  whether  it 
bears  the  name  of  Heathen  or  Christian,  will 
hate  and  despise  them  for  it. 

2.  The  Romans,  though  attached  to  their 
old  system  of  idolatry,  were  not  averse  to  the 
admission  of  new  divinities,  upon  the  ground 
of  what  a  modern  writer  calls  a  spirit  of  in- 
tercommunity ;  that  is,  every  one  had  a  liberty 
to  adopt  what  worship  he  pleased,  provided 
due  honour  was  given  to  the  ancient  esta- 
blishments. The  votaries  of  the  Egyptian, 
Roman,  and  Syrian  deities,  while  they  paid 
some  peculiar  regard  to  their  own  favourites, 
indulged  each  other  in  a  mutual  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  resf, :  but  the  religion  of  Jesus 
was  absolutely  incompatible  with  them  all, 
would  admit  of  no  competition  ;  and  his  fol- 
lowers could  not  avoid  declaring,  upon  all 
occasions,  that  they  were  no  gods  that  were 
made  with  hands.  On  this  account  they  were 
considered  as  a  most  uncharitable,  proud,  and 
narrow-hearted  sect,  as  the  Jews,  for  the  same 
reason,  had  been  before  them.  And  thus  it 
will  always  be.  Nothing  will  more  effectu- 
ally secure  a  man  in  the  peaceful  possession 


of  his  own  errors,  than  his  pleading  for  the 
indifference  of  error  in  general,  and  allowing 
those  who  most  widely  differ  from  him  to  be 
all  right  in  their  own  way  ;  and  this  lukewarm 
comprehension,  which  is  a  principal  part  of 
that  pretended  candour  and  charity  for  wnich 
our  own  times  are  so  remarkable,  preserves  a 
sort  of  intercourse  or  confederacy  amongst 
multitudes,  who  are  hardly  agreed  in  anyone 
thing  but  their  joint  opposition  to  the  spirit 
and  design  of  the  gospel.  But  they  who  love 
the  truth  cannot  but  declare  against  every  de- 
viation from  it ;  they  are  obliged  to  decline 
the  proposed  intercommunity,  and  to  vindi- 
cate the  commands  and  institutions  of  God 
from  the  inventions  and  traditions  of  men  : 
they  not  only  build  for  themselves  upon  the 
foundation  which  God  has  laid  in  Zion,  but 
they  are  free  to  profess  their  belief,  that  other 
foundation  can  no  man  lay  ;  that  there  is  no 
other  name  given  under  heaven  by  which  a 
sinner  can  be  saved  ;  and  that  none  can  have  an 
interest  in  this  name  but  by  that  faith  which 
purifies  the  heart,  works  by  love,  and  over- 
comes the  world  ;  therefore  they  always  have 
been,  and  always  will  be,  hated,  as  unchari- 
table  and  censorious,  and  are  sure  to  be 
treated  accordingly,  so  far  as  opportunity  and 
circumstances  will  permit  those,  who  think 
themselves  aggrieved,  to  discover  their  resent- 
ment. 

3.  The  wisest  and  most  respectable  charac- 
ters among  the  Heathen  rulers,  either  for 
reasons  of  state,  or  from  their  own  supersti- 
tion, were  generally  the  most  solicitous  to 
preserve  the  old  religion  from  innovations. 
The  history  of  mankind  furnishes  us  with  fre- 
quent proofs,  that  persons,  in  other  respects 
of  the  greatest  penetration  and  genius,  have 
often  be';n  as  blindly  devoted  to  the  absurdi- 
ties of  a  false  religion  as  the  weakest  among 
the  vulgar ;  or,  if  they  have  seen  the  folly  ot 
many  things  that  have  the  sanctions  of  anti- 
quity and  custom  ;  yet  the  maxims  of  a  false 
policy,  and  that  supposed  connection  and  al- 
liance between  the  established  religion  and  the 
welfare  of  the  state,  which  has  been  instilled 
into  them  from  their  infancy,  induce  them  to 
think  it  their  interest,  if  not  their  duty,  to 
keep  up  the  same  exterior,  and  to  leave  things 
as  they  found  them.  Trajan  seems  to  have 
been  influenced  by  these  considerations  ;  he 
was  zealous  for  the  Heathen  system,  in  which 
he  had  been  educated,  and  regarded  it,  as  the 
Romans  were  accustomed  to  do,  as  the  basis, 
or  at  least  the  chief  security,  of  the  govern- 
ment. The  christians,  therefore,  were  to  be 
punished,  not  only  for  their  obstinacy  in 
maintaining  their  own  opinions,  but  as  being 
eventually  enemies  to  the  state;  for  though 
their  conduct  was  peaceable,  and  they  paid 
a  cheerful  obedience  to  laws  and  governors, 
while  they  did  not  interfere  with  that  obedi- 
ence they  owed  to  Christ,  their  supreme  Lord, 
yet  their  doctrines,  which  Etruck  at  the  very 


492 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL 


BOOK    II. 


root  of  idolatry,  made  them  accounted  dan- 
gerous to  society,  and  deserving  to  be  exter- 
minated from  it. 

4.  These  suspicions  were  strengthened  by 
the  great  success  and  spread  the  gospel  ob- 
tained in  this  first  century :  within  the  com- 
pass of  a  few  years,  it  had  extended  to  almost 
every  part  of  the  Roman  empire.  In  this 
view  it  appeared  formidable,  and  called  for  a 
speedy  and  vigorous  suppression  before  it 
should  become  quite  insuperable,  by  the  ac- 
cession of  fresh  strength  and  numbers.  But 
the  event  did  not  answer  their  expectation  : 
believers  grew  and  multiplied,  in  defiance  of 
all  the  cruelties  exercised  upon  them  ;  the 
numbers  and  constancy  of  the  sufferers,  and 
the  gentle  spirit  of  meekness,  forgiveness,  and 
love,  which  they  discovered,  often  made  last- 
ing impressions  upon  the  people,  sometimes 
upon  their  tormentors  and  judges;  and,  by 
the  blessing  of  God  upon  their  doctrine,  thus 
powerfully  recommended  by  their  conduct, 
and  sealed  by  their  blood,  new  converts  were 
continually  added  to  the  church. 

5.  When  it  was  thus  determined  to  extirpate, 
if  possible,  these  odious  and  dangerons  people, 
pretexts  and  occasions  were  always  ready  : 
slanderous  reports  concerning  their  tenets  and 
assemblies  were  industriously  promoted,  and 
willingly  believed.  Some  of  these  took  their 
rise  from  misapprehension ;  some  were  pro- 
bably invented  by  those  who  apostatized  from 
the  church,  who,  to  justify  themselves,  as  well 
as  to  evince  their  sincerity,  pretended  to  make 
discoveries  of  horrid  evils  that  prevailed  a- 
mongst  them,  under  the  disguise  of  religion. 
Many,  who  would  not  have  invented  such 
stories  themselves,  were,  however,  well  pleased 
to  circulate  what  they  had  heard,  and  took  it 
for  granted,  that  every  thing  was  true,  which 
confirmed  the  opinion  they  had  before  enter- 
tained of  this  pestilential  and  despicable  sect. 
But  neither  violence  nor  calumny  could  pre- 
vail against  the  cause  and  people  of  God  and 
his  Christ.  They  were  supported  by  an  al- 
mighty arm  :  and  though  many  had  the  honour 
to  lay  down  their  lives  in  this  glorious  cause, 
many  more  were  preserved,  by  his  provi- 
dence, in  the  most  dangerous  circumstances. 

The  gospel  of  Christ,  though  contradictory 
to  the  received  opinions,  laws,  customs,  and 
pursuits,  of  every  place  where  it  appeared, 
though  unsupported  either  by  arts  or  arms, 
though  opposed  by  power  and  policy  on  every 
side,  in  a  space  of  about  sixty-six  years  from 
our  Lord's  ascension,  according  to  the  pro- 
mise he  gave  his  disciples,  had  spread  suc- 
cessively from  Jerusalem,  through  Judea  and 
Samaria,  even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Chris- 
tians were  to  be  found  in  every  province 
where  the  Roman  power  ruled,  and  in  most 
of  their  principal  cities ;  and  though  not 
many  noble,  mighty,  or  wise,  were  called, 
yet  some  there  were ;  and  the  power  of  the 
gtace  of  Jesus  was    displayed    in    every  rank 


of  life.  Courtiers,  senators,  and  commanders, 
notwithstanding  the  difficulty  of  their  situa- 
tion, were  not  ashamed  of  his  cross  ;  and  some 
of  the  learned  obtained  that  peace  and  happi- 
ness, by  embracing  his  gospel,  which  they 
had  sought  to  no  purpose  in  the  vain  intrica- 
cies of  a  false  philosophy.  Nor  was  the  suc- 
cess of  the  gospel  confined  within  the  limits  of 
the  Roman  empire,  but  extended  eastward  to 
Parthia  and  Babylon,  where  the  Roman  eagles 
were  not  acknowledged.  We  are  not  sure, 
however,  that  there  were  many  collected  so- 
cieties of  christians  in  every  province,  or  that 
those  societies  were  in,general  very  numerous. 
Those  parts  of  Asia  and  Greece  which  had 
been  the  scene  of  St.  Paul's  labours,  seem  to 
have  had  the  greatest  number  of  settled 
churches,  in  proportion  to  their  extent ;  and 
their  largest  assemblies  were  probably  in  their 
principal  cities,  such  as  Antioch,  Alexandria, 
and  Rome.  But  we  have  reason  to  believe, 
from  our  Lord's  own  declarations,  that  real 
christians,  in  the  most  flourishing  times  of  the 
church,  have  been  very  few,  in  comparison 
with  the  many  who  choose  the  broad  and 
beaten  road  which  leads  to  destruction  (Matth. 
vii.  13,  14.):  but  these  few  are  under  lii« 
conduct  and  blessing,  as  the  salt  of  the  earth, 
and  are  therefore  scattered  far  and  wide,  ac- 
cording to  the  disposal  of  his  wise  providence, 
who  appoints  the  time  of  their  birth,  and  the 
bounds  of  their  habitation. 

If  by  the  epithet  primitive  we  mean  that 
period  during  which  the  professed  churches  of 
Christ  preserved  their  faith  and  practice  re- 
markably pure,  and  uninfluenced  by  the  spirit 
and  maxims  of  the  world,  we  cannot  extend 
it  far  beyond  the  first  century.  We  are  sure 
that  a  mournful  declension  prevailed  very 
early,  and  quickly  spread,  like  a  contagion, 
far  and  wide ;  and,  indeed,  the  seeds  of  those 
evils  which  afterwards  produced  such  a  plen- 
tiful harvest  of  scandals  and  mischiefs,  were 
already  sown,  and  began  to  spring  up,  while 
the  apostles  were  yet  living.  And  we  shall 
shew  hereafter,  that  the  first  and  purest  age 
of  the  church  was  not  free  from  such  ble- 
mishes as  have  been  observable  in  all  succeed- 
ing revivals  of  true  religion.  These  things 
are  to  be  guarded  against  with  the  utmost  at- 
tention ;  but  they  will  more  or  less  appear 
while  human  nature  continues  in  its  present 
state  of  infirmity.  While  the  professors  of 
Christianity  were  few  in  comparison  of  their 
opponents,  while  they  were  chiefly  poor  and 
obscure  persons,  and  had  sharp  persecutions 
to  grapple  with,  so  long  they  preserved  the 
integrity  and  purity  of  their  profession  in 
general ;  and  the  disorders  which  appeared 
among  them  were  faithfully  and  successfully 
opposed  and  corrected ;  afflictions  and  suf- 
ferings kept  them  firmly  united  in  a  love  to 
the  truth,  and  to  each  other  :  but  when  they 
were  favoured  with  intervals  of  peace,  and 
the  increase  of  numbers  and  riches  seemed  to 


chap   i. 


AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 


493 


give  them  a  more  fixed  establishment  in  the 
world,  they  were  soon  corrupted ;  and  that 
beautiful  simplicity  which  is  the  characteristic 
of  genuine  Christianity,  was  obscured  by  will- 
worship  and  vain  reasonings.  Amongst  the 
multitudes  who  abandoned  idolatry,  and  em- 
braced the  christian  faith,  there  were  several 
who  had  borne  the  specious  name  of  philoso- 
phers. Some  of  these,  on  the  one  hand,  la- 
boured to  retain  as  many  of  their  favourite 
sentiments  as  tl-ey  could  by  any  means  recon- 
cile to  the  views  they  had  formed  of  the  gos- 
pel; and,  on  the  other  hand,  they  endeavoured, 
if  possible,  to  accommodate  the  christian 
scheme  to  the  taste  and  prejudices  of  the 
times,  in  hopes  thereby  to  make  it  more  gene- 
rally acceptable.  Thus  the  doctrines  of  the 
scriptures  were  adulterated  by  those  within 
the  church,  and  misrepresented  to  those  with- 
out. Perhaps  the  first  alterations  of  this 
kind  were  not  attempted  with  a  bad  inten- 
tion, or  extended  to  the  most  important  points  ; 
but  the  precedent  was  dangerous ;  for  the 
progress  of  error,  like  that  of  sin,  is  from 
small  beginnings  to  awful  and  unthought-of 
consequences.  Gospel  truth,  like  a  bank 
opposed  to  a  torrent,  must  be  preserved  en- 
tire, to  be  useful  ;  if  a  breach  is  once  made, 
though  it  may  seem  at  first  to  be  small,  none 
but  he  who  says  to  the  sea,  Hitherto  shalt 
thou  come,  but  no  farther,  can  set  bounds  to 
the  threatening  inundation  that  will  quickly 
follow.  In  effect,  a  very  considerable  devia- 
tion from  the  plan  of  the  apostles  had  taken 
place  in  the  churches  before  the  decease  of 
some  who  had  personally  conversed  with  them. 
We  have  no  ecclesiastical  book  of  this  age 
extant  worthy  of  notice,  except  that  called, 
the  first  of  the  two  epistles  to  the  Corinthians, 
which  are  ascribed  to  Clement  bishop  of 
Rome,  who  is  supposed  to  be  the  Clement 
mentioned  by  St.  Paul,  in  his  epistle  to  the 
Romans.  This  epistle  is  not  unsuitable  to 
the  character  of  the  time  when  it  was  written, 
and  contains  many  useful  things ;  yet  it  is 
not,  as  we  have  it,  free  from  fault,  and  at  the 
best  deserves  no  higher  commendation,  than 
as  a  pious  well-meant  performance  :  it  stands 
first,  both  in  point  of  time  and  merit,  in  the 
list  of  those  writings  which  bear  the  name  of 
the  apostolical  fathers ;  for  the  rest  of  them, 
if  the  genuine  productions  of  the  persons 
whose  names  they  bear,  were  composed  in 
the  second  century :  for  as  to  the  epistle 
ascribed  to  Barnabas,  St.  Paul's  companion, 
those  who  are  strangers  to  the  arguments  by 
which  many  learned  men  have  demonstrated 
it  to  be  spurious,  may  be  convinced,  only  by 
reading  it,  if  they  are  in  any  measure  ac- 
quainted with  the  true  spirit  of  the  apostle's 
writings.  We  are  indeed  assured,  that  both 
the  epistles  of  Clement,  this  which  bears  the 
name  of  Barnabas,  several  said  to  have  been 
written  by  Ignatius,  the  authenticity  of  which 
has  likewise  been  disputed,  one  by  Polycarp, 


and  the  book  called  the  Shepherd  of  Hennas, 
which  is  filled  with  visionary  fables,  were  all 
in  high  esteem  in  the  first  ages  of  the  church 
were  read  in  their  public  assemblies,  and 
considered  as  little  inferior  to  the  canonical 
writings  ;  which  may  be  pleaded  as  one  proof 
of  what  I  have  advanced  concerning  that  de- 
clension of  spiritual  taste  and  discernment 
which  soon  prevailed :  for  I  think  I  may 
venture  to  say,  there  are  few,  if  any  of  the 
protestant  churches,  but  have  furnithed  au- 
thors whose  writings  (I  mean  the  writings  of 
some  one  author)  have  far  surpassed  all  the 
apostolical  fathers  taken  together ;  and  that 
not  only  in  point  of  method  and  accuracy, 
but  in  scriptural  knowledge,  solid  judgment, 
and  a  just  application  of  evangelical  doctrine 
to  the  purposes  of  edification  and  obedience. 

But  though  the  first  christians  were  men 
subject  to  passions  and  infirmities,  like  our 
selves,  and  were  far  from  deserving,  or  desir- 
ing that  distinguishing  admiration,  and  impli 
cit  submission,  to  all  their  sentiments,  which 
were  paid  them  by  the  ignorance  and  super 
stition  of  after  times;  yet  they  were  eminen 
for  faith,  love,  self-denial,  and  a  just  contempt 
of  the  world  ;  multitudes  of  them  cheerfully 
witnessed  to  the  truth  with  their  blood,  and,  by 
their  steadfastness  and  patience,  under  trials, 
and  their  harmony  among  themselves  often 
extorted  honourable  testimonies,  even  from 
their  opposers.  Could  they  have  transmitted 
their  spirit,  together  with  their  name,  to  suc- 
ceeding generations,  the  face  of  ecclesiastical 
history  would  have  been  very  different  from 
what  it  now  bears ;  but,  by  degrees,  the  love 
of  novelty,  and  the  thirst  of  power,  a  relaxed 
attention  to  the  precepts  of  Christ,  and  an  un- 
due regard  to  the  names,  authority,  and  pre- 
tensions of  men,  introduced  those  confusions, 
contentions,  and  enormities,  which  at  length 
issued  in  an  almost  universal  apostacy  from 
that  faith  and  course  of  practice  which  alone 
are  worthy  the  name  of  Christianity.  The  pro- 
secution of  this  subject,  more  especially  with  a 
view  to  the  history  of  the  favoured  few  who 
were  preserved  from  the  general  contagion, 
and  of  the  treatment  they  met  with,  who  had 
the  courage  to  censure  or  withstand  the  abuses 
of  the  times  they  lived  in,  will  be  attempted 
in  the  following  volumes  of  this  work  *,  it 
God,  in  whose  hands  our  times  are,  is  pleased 
to  afford  opportunity,  and  if  the  specimen 
presented  to  the  public,  in  this  volume  should 
so  far  meet  the  approbation  of  competent 
judges,  as  to  encourage  the  author  to  proceed. 

Some  particulars  which  may  conduce  to 
render  the  state  of  the  church  in  the  first 
century  more  evident  to  the  reader,  as  well 
as  to  give  light  into  the  true  state  of  reli- 
gion amongst,  ourselves,  and  which  could  not 
be  well  introduced  in  the  course  of  our  nar- 
ration, without  making  too  frequent   and  too 

*  See  Introduction,  note. 


494 


long    digressions,    I    have,    for    that    reason, 
treated  of  separately  in  the  chapters  that  follow 


ST.  PAUL  AN  EXEMPLAR 

culiar  to  himself: 


CHAP.   II. 

AN  ESSAY  ON  THE  CHARACTER  OF  ST.  PAUL, 
CONSIDERED  AS  AN  EXEMPLAR  OR  PATTERN 
OF  A  MINISTER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST. 

The  success  with  which  the  first  promulga- 
tion of  the  gospel  was  attended,  is  to  be  ulti- 
mately ascribed  to  the  blessing  and  operation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  the  great  means 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  is  pleased  to  accom- 
pany with  an  efficacious  power  upon  the  souls 
of  men,  is  the  subject-matter  of  the  gospel  it- 
self. He  concurs  with  no  other  doctrine  but 
that  of  the  scripture.  The  most  laboured 
endeavours  to  produce  a  moral  change  of 
heart  and  conduct,  will  always  prove  ineffec- 
tual, unless  accommodated  to  the  principles 
of  revelation  respecting  the  ruin  of  human 
nature  by  sin,  and  the  only  possible  method 
of  its  recovery  by  Jesus  Christ. 

And  as  the  Holy  Spirit  bears  witness  to  no 
other  doctrine,  so  he  ordinarily  restrains  his 
blessing  to  those  ministers  who  have  them- 
selves experienced  the  power  of  the  truths 
which  they  deliver  to  others.  A  man  may 
be  systematically  right,  and  strenuous  in  the 
delivery  and  defence  of  orthodox  notions  ;  yet 
if  he  is  not  in  some  degree  possessed  of  the 
dispositions  and  motives  which  become  a  mi- 
nister of  the  New  Testament,  he  will  seldom 
be  honoured  with  much  success  or  acceptance  : 
the  want  of  that  disinterested  and  dependent 
frame  of  mind  which  the  gospel  inculcates  on 
all  who  profess  it,  will  render  his  labours  in- 
significant;  for  the  Holy  Spirit,  on  whose  in- 
fluence success  entirely  depends,  will  seldom 
co-operate  with  any  but  those  who  are  sin- 
cerely governed  by  his  precepts. 

A  great  stress  therefore  is  laid  in  the  New 
Testament,  upon  the  principles,  tempers,  and 
conduct,  which  ought  to  distinguish  the  men 
who  have  the  honour  to  be  intrusted  with  the 
important  charge  of  preaching  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  To  delineate  their  proper  character, 
and  to  form  their  manners  suitable  to  their 
high  calling,  is  the  principal  scope  of  the  epistles 
to  Timothy  and  Titus  :  and  when  we  consider 
what  we  read  there,  in  connection  with  many 
passages  to  the  same  purpose,  which  occur 
occasionally  in  the  inspired  writings,  we  may 
well  adopt  the  apostle's  words,  "  Who  is 
sufficient  for  these  things?"  A  christian,  even 
in  private  life,  is  exposed  to  innumerable  snares 
and  dangers,  from  his  situation  in  an  evil 
world,  the  power  and  subtlety  of  his  spiritual 
enemies,  and  the  influence  of  the  body  of  sin 
in  himself,  which,  though  weakened  and  de- 
spoiled of  dominion,  is  not  yet  destroyed.  A 
minister  of  the  gospel,  besides  these  trials  in 
common  with  other  christians,  has   many  pe- 


BOOK   II. 

His  services  are  more  diffi. 
cult,  his  temptations  more  various,  his  con- 
duct more  noticed ;  many  eyes  are  upon  him, 
— some  enviously  watching  for  his  halting, 
and  some  perhaps  too  readily  proposing  him 
as  a  pattern,  and  content  to  adopt  whatever 
has  the  sanction  of  his  example:  if  encour- 
aged and  acceptable,  he  is  in  danger  of  being 
greatly  hurt  by  popularity  and  the  favour  of 
friends  ;  if  opposed  and  ill-treated  (and  tin's 
he  must  expect  in  some  instances  if  he  is  faith- 
ful), he  is  liable  either  to  be  surprised  into 
anger  and  impatience,  or  to  sink  into  dejection  ■ 
and  fear.  It  is  therefore  a  great  encourage- 
ment to  find  from  scripture  (and  not  from 
scripture  only),  how  the  grace  of  God  has  e- 
nabled  others,  in  equal  circumstances  of  dan- 
ger and  temptation,  to  rise  superior  to  all  im- 
pediments, and  to  maintain  such  a  course  of 
conduct,  that  they  stand  proposed  as  proper 
patterns  for  our  imitation,  and  call  upon  us  to 
be  followers  of  them,  as  they  were  of  Christ. 

Amongst  these  the  character  of  St.  Paul 
shines  with  a  superior  lustre  ;  he  stands  dis- 
tinguished by  the  eminence  of  his  knowledge, 
grace,  labours,  and  success,  as  a  noble  and  ani- 
mating exemplar  of  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ. 
And  if  it  should  be  thought  a  digression  from 
the  design  of  an  Ecclesiastical  History,  to 
allot  a  few  pages  to  the  consideration  of  his 
principles,  and  the  uniform  tenor  of  his  life, 
yet  I  hope  the  digression  will  not  be  unprofit- 
able in  itself,  or  judged  unsuitable  to  my 
general  plan ;  for  I  proposed  not  to  confine 
myself  to  a  dry  detail  of  facts,  but  to  point 
out  the  genuine  tendency  of  the  gospel  where 
it  is  truly  received,  and  the  spirit  by  which  it 
is  opposed,  and  to  shew  the  impossibility  of 
reviving  practical  godliness  by  any  other  means 
than  those  which  were  so  signally  successful  in 
the  first  age  of  the  church. 

Were  I  to  exhibit  any  recent  character  with 
these  views,  the  exceptions  of  partiality  and 
prejudice  would  not  be  so  easily  obviated; 
the  merits  of  such  a  character,  however  com- 
mendable upon  the  whole,  would  be  objected 
to,  and  the  incidental  infirmities  and  indis- 
cretions of  the  person  (for  the  best  are  not 
wholly  free  from  blemish)  would  be  studi- 
ously collected  and  exaggerated  as  a  suffi- 
cient contrast  to  all  that  could  be  said  in  his 
praise.  But  modesty  forbids  the  same  open 
disingenuous  treatment  of  one  who  was  an 
apostle  of  Christ :  besides,  he  lived,  and  died 
long  ago :  and  as  some  learned  men  have 
found,  or  pretended  to  find,  a  way  to  recon- 
cile his  writings  with  the  prevailing  taste  of 
the  times,  he  is  commended  in  general  terms, 
and  claimed  as  a  patron  by  all  parties  of  the 
religious  world  ;  therefore  I  am  warranted  to 
take  it  for  granted,  that  none  who  profess  the 
name  of  Christians  will  be  angry  with  me  for 
attempting  to  place  his  spirit  and  conduct  in 
as  full  a  light  as  I  can,  or  for  proposing  him 
as  a  proper  criterion,  whereby  to  judge  of  the 


CHAP.  II. 

merits  and  pretensions  of  all    who 
themselves  ministers  of  Christ. 

Many  things  worthy  our  notice  and  imita- 
tion have  occurred  concerning  this  apostle, 
whilst  we  were  tracing  that  part  of  his  history 
which  St.  Luke  has  given  us  in  the  Acts  ; 
but  I  would  now  attempt  a  more  exact  deli- 
neation of  character,  as  it  is  farther  exempli- 
fied in  his  own  epistles,  or  may  be  illustrated 
from  a  review  of  what  has  been  occasionally 
mentioned  before. 

We  may  observe  much  of  the  wisdom  of 
God  in  disposing  the  circumstances  in  which 
his  people  are  placed  previous  to  their  con- 
version :  they  only  begin  to  know  him  when 
he  is  pleased  to  reveal  himself  to  them  by  his 
grace ;  but  he  knew  them  long  before :  he 
determines  the  hour  of  their  birth,  their  situa- 
tion in  life,  and  their  earliest  connections  : 
he  watches  over  their  childhood  and  youth, 
and  preserves  them  from  innumerable  evils 
and  dangers  into  which  their  follies,  while  in 
a  state  of  ignorance  and  sin,  might  plunge 
them ;  and  he  permits  their  inclinations  to 
take  such  a  course,  that,  when  he  is  pleased  to 
call  them  to  the  knowledge  of  his  truth,  many 
consequences  of  their  past  conduct,  and  the 
reflections  they  make  upon  them,  may  con- 
cur, upon  the  whole,  rn  a  subserviency  to  fit 
them  for  the  services  into  which  he  designs  to 
lead  them  afterwards.  Thus  he  leads  the 
blind  by  a  way  that  they  knew  not,  and  often 
for  the  manifestation  of  his  wisdom,  powo>' 
and  grace,  in  bringing  good  out  of  evil,  l.e, 
for  a  season,  gives  them  up  so  far  to  the  ef- 
fects of  their  own  depravity,  that,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  men,  none  seem  more  unlikely  to  be 
the  subjects  of  his  grace,  than  some  of  those 
whom  he  has  purposed  not  only  to  save  from 
ruin,  but  to  make  instrumental  to  the  salva- 
tion of  others.  I  doubt  not  but  some  of  my 
readers,  who  are  acquainted  with  their  own 
hearts,  will  easily  apply  this  observation  to 
themselves ;  but  there  are  instances  in  which 
the  contrast  is  so  striking  and  strong,  that  it 
will  be  made  for  them  by  those  who  know 
them.  It  is,  however,  peculiarly  exemplified 
in  the  case  of  St.  Paul :  he  was  set  apart 
from  the  womb,  as  he  himself  tells  us  (Gal. 
i.  15),  to  be  a  chosen  instrument  of  preach- 
ing among  the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ.  The  frame  of  his  heart,  and  the 
manner  of  his  life,  the  profession  he  had 
made,  and  the  services  in  which  he  was  en- 
gaged before  his  conversion,  were  evidently 
suited  to  render  him  an  unsuspected,  as  well 
as  a  zealous  witness  to  the  truth  and  power 
of  the  gospel,  after  he  had  embraced  it.  The 
Lord's  purpose  was  to  shew  the  insufficiency 
of  all  legal  appointments  and  human  attain- 
ments, the  power  of  his  grace  in  subduing 
the  strongest  prejudices,  and  the  riches  of  his 
mercy  in  pardoning  the  most  violent  attempts 
against  his  gospel.  We  know  not  how  this 
purpose  could  have  been  more  effectually  an- 


OF  A  MINISTER  OF  CHRIS'I 
account 


495 

swered,  in  a  single  instance,  than  by  making 
choice  of  our  apostle,  who  had  been  possessed 
of  every  advantage  that  can  be  imagined  ex- 
clusive of  the  gospel,  and,  in  consequence  of 
these  advantages,  had  made  the  most  pertina- 
cious efforts  to  suppress  it :  he  was  born  a 
Jew,  bred  up  under  Gamaliel,  a  chief  of  the 
Pharisees  (Phil,  iii.),  the  sect  which  pro- 
fessed the  most  peculiar  attachment  to  the 
law  of  Moses  :  his  conduct  before  he  became 
a  christian  was  undoubtedly  moral,  if  we  un- 
derstand morality  in  that  lean  and  confined 
sense  which  it  too  frequently  bears  among 
ourselves,  as  signifying  no  more  than  an  ex- 
emption from  gross  vices,  together  with  a 
round  of  outward  duties  performed  in  a  mer- 
cenary, servile  spirit,  to  soothe  conscience, 
and  purchase  the  favour  of  God.  While  he 
was  thus  busied  in  observing  the  letter  of  the 
law,  he  tells  us,  he  was  alive, — that  is,  he 
pleased  himself  in  his  own  attainments,  doubt- 
ed not  of  his  ability  to  please  God,  and  that 
his  state  was  safe  and  good.  Upon  these 
principles  (which  act  uniformly  upon  all  who 
are  governed  by  them)  his  heart  was  filled 
with  enmity  against  the  doctrines  and  people 
of  Jesus,  and  his  blinded  conscience  taught 
him  that  it  was  his  duty  to  oppose  them.  He 
was  a  willing  witness  at  the  death  of  Stephen 
(Acts  xxii.  20),  and,  from  a  spectator,  soon 
became  a  distinguished  actor  in  the  like  tra- 
gedies. Such  is  the  unavoidable  gradation, 
in  a  state  of  nature,  from  bad  to  worse.  The 
excess  and  effects  of  his  rage  are  described 
by  St.  Luke  in  very  lively  colours ;  and  he 
often  acknowledges  it  in  his  epistles ;  for, 
though  the  Lord  forgave  him,  he  knew  not 
how  to  forgive  himself  for  having  persecuted 
and  wasted  the  church  of  God  (Gal  i.  13, 
1  Cor.  xv.  9)  :  he  made  havock  of  the  dis- 
ciples like  a  lion  or  a  wolf  amongst  a  flock 
of  sheep, — pressing  into  their  houses,  sparing 
none,  not  even  women.  Thus  he  was  filled 
with  the  hateful  spirit  of  persecution,  which 
is  undistinguishing  and  unrelenting.  The 
mischiefs  he  could  do  in  Jerusalem  not  being 
sufficient  to  gratify  his  insatiable  cruelty  and 
thirst  of  blood,  he  obtained  (as  has  been  for- 
merly observed)  a  commission  from  the  high- 
priest  to  harrass  the  disciples  at  Damascus. 
In  this  journey,  when  he  was  near  the  city, 
he  was  suddenly  struck  to  the  ground  by  the 
voice  and  appearance  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
From  that  hour  a  memorable  change  took 
place  in  his  heart  and  views ;  and,  having 
been  baptized  by  Ananias,  and  received  a 
free  pardon  of  all  his  wickedness,  with  a  com- 
mission to  the  apostolic  office,  he  began  to 
preach  that  faith  which  before  he  had  so  in- 
dustriously laboured  to  destroy.  In  this  new 
light  we  are  now  to  consider  him  ;  and  what- 
ever may  be  reasonably  expected  from  a  sense 
of  such  a  display  of  grace  and  mercy  in  his 
behalf,  we  shall  find  manifested  in  the  subse- 
quent  course  of  his  life.      Happy    ar«   those 


4-U6 


ST.  PAUL  AN  EXEMPLAR 


who  come  the  nearest  to  such  an  exemplary 
pattern. 

I.  The  characteristic  excellence  of  St.  Paul, 
which  was  as  the  spring  or  source  of  every 
other  grace,  was  the  ardency  of  the  supreme 
love  he  bore  to  his  Lord  and  Saviour :  it 
would  not  be  easy  to  find  many  periods 
throughout  his  epistles  which  do  not  evidence 
the  fulness  of  his  heart  in  this  respect :  he 
seems  delighted  even  with  the  sound  of  the 
name  of  Jesus,  so  that,  regardless  of  the  cold 
rules  of  studied  composition,  we  find  him  re- 
peating it  ten  times  in  the  compass  of  ten  suc- 
cessive verses,  1  Cor.  1 — 10.  Hewas  so  struck 
with  the  just  claim  the  Saviour  had  to  every 
neart,  that  he  accounted  a  want  of  love  to 
him  the  highest  pitch  of  ingratitude  and 
wickedness,  and  deserving  the  utmost  seve- 
rity of  wrath  and  ruin,  1  Cor.  xvi.  22.  When 
he  was  conscious  that,  for  his  unwearied  ap- 
plication to  the  service  of  the  gospel,  in  de- 
fiance of  the  many  dangers  and  deaths  which 
awaited  him  in  every  place,  he  appeared  to 
many  as  one  beside  himself,  and  transported 
beyond  the  bounds  of  sober  reason,  he  thought 
it  a  sufficient  apology  to  say,  "  The  love  of 
Christ  constrains  us"  (2  Cor.  v.  14);  we  are 
content  to  be  fools  for  his  sake,  to  be  despised, 
so  he  may  be  honoured,  to  be  nothing  in  our- 
selves, that  he  may  be  all  in  all :  he  had  such 
a  sense  of  the  glorious,  invaluable  excellence 
of  the  person  of  Christ,  of  his  adorable  con- 
descension in  taking  the  nature  and  curse 
of  sinners  upon  himself,  and  his  complete 
suitableness  and  sufficiency,  as  the  wisdom, 
righteousness,  sanctification,  and  redemption 
of  his  people,  that  he  often  seems  at  a  loss 
for  words  answerable  to  the  emotions  of  his 
heart  ;  and  when  he  has  exhausted  the  powers 
of  language,  and  astonished  his  readers  with 
his  inimitable  energy,  he  intimates  a  convic- 
tion of  his  inability  to  do  justice  to  a  sub- 
iect,  the  height,  and  depth,  and  length,  and 
breadth  of  which  are  too  great  for  our  feeble 
capacities  to  grasp.  But  besides  these  general 
views,  he  was  particularly  affected  with  the 
exceeding  abundant  love  and  grace  of  Christ 
to  himself,  when  he  reflected  on  the  circum- 
stances in  which  the  Lord  had  found  him, 
and  the  great  tilings  he  had  done  for  him. 
That  he  who  had  before  been  a  persecutor, 
a  blasphemer,  and  injurious,  should  be  for- 
given, accepted  as  a  child  of  God,  intrusted 
with  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  and  appointed 
to  everlasting  salvation,  was  indeed  an  in- 
stance of  wonderful  grace.  So  it  appeared 
to  himself;  and  at  the  thought  of  it  he  often 
seems  to  forget  his  present  sulqect,  and  breaks 
forth  into  inimitable  digressions  to  the  praise 
of  him  who  had  loved  him,  and  given  him- 
self for  him.  Happily  convinced  of  the  ten- 
dency and  efficacy  of  this  principle  in  him- 
self, he  proposes  it  to  others,  instead  of  a 
thousand  arguments,  whenever  he  would  in- 
culcate the  most  unreserved  obedience  to  the 


BOOK   II 

whole  will  of  God,  or  stir  up  believers  to  a 
holy  diligence  in  adorning  the  doctrine  of 
their  God  and  Saviour  in  all  things  ;  and  his 
exhortations  to  the  conscientious  discharge  of 
the  Tarious  duties  of  relative  life  are  gene- 
rally enforced  by  this  grand  motive.  In  a 
word,  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  the  ha- 
bitual and  favourite  subject  that  employed 
his  thoughts,  his  tongue,  and  his  pen,  was 
the  love  of  Christ. 

Supported  and  animated  by  this  love,  he 
exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  in  promoting 
the  knowledge  of  him  whom  he  loved,  and 
bearing  testimony  to  his  power  and  grace  : 
nothing  could  dishearten,  or  terrify,  or  bribe 
him  from  his  duty  ;  and  this  must,  and  will  be 
universally  the  leading  principle  of  a  faithful 
minister.  Should  a  man  possess  the  tongue 
of  men  and  angels,  the  finest  genius,  and  the 
most  admired  accomplishments,  if  he  is  not 
constrained,  and  directed  by  the  love  of  Christ, 
he  will  either  do  nothing,  or  nothing  to  the 
purpose  :  he  will  be  unable  to  support  either 
the  frowns  or  the  smiles  of  the  world  ;  his 
studies  and  endeavours  will  certainly  be  in- 
fluenced by  low  and  selfish  views :  interest, 
or  a  desire  of  applause,  may  stimulate  him  to 
shine  as  a  scholar,  a  critic,  or  a  philosopher ; 
but  till  the  love  of  Christ  rules  in  his  heart, 
he  will  neither  haye  inclination  nor  power  to 
exert  himself  for  the  glory  of  God,  or  the 
good  of  souls. 

II.  The  inseparable  effect,  and  one  of  the 
surest  evidences  of  love  to  Christ,  is  a  love  to 
his  people.  Of  this  likewise  our  apostle  ex- 
hibits an  instructive  and  affecting  example  ; 
the  warmth  and  cordiality  of  his  love  to  those 
who  loved  his  Lord  and  Master,  appear  in 
every  page  of  his  writings  ;  he  so  rejoiced  in 
their  prosperity,  that,  to  hear  of  it  at  any 
time,  made  him  in  a  manner  forget  his  own 
sorrows,*  when  encompassed  with  troubles 
on  every  side  ;  and  though,  in  many  instances, 
he  did  not  meet  that  grateful  return  he  had 
reason  to  expect,  yet  he  could  not  be  discou- 
raged ;  but  when  he  had  occasion  to  expostu- 
late with  some  upon  this  account,  he  adds,  I 
will  still  gladly  spend  and  be  spent  for  you, 
though  the  more  I  love  you,  the  less  I  am 
loved,  2  Cor.  xii.  5.  Of  such  a  generous 
temper  as  this,  the  world,  would  they  observe 
it,  must  acknowledge  (as  the  magicians  in 
Egypt),  this  is  the  finger  of  God  ;  for  nothing 
but  his  grace  can  produce  a  conduct  so  con- 
trary to  the  natural  inclination  of  man,  as  to 
persevere  and  increase  in  kindness  and  affec- 
tion  to  those   who  persevere  in  requiting  it 

*2'Cor.  vii.  7,  15;  see  likewise  Phil.  ii.  28.  which 
finely  intimates  his  tenderness  and  aftce  icn.  He  was 
oppressed  with  sorrow  upon  sorrow;  yet  he  felt  more 
tor  the  Philippians  than  tor  himself.  He  mourned  over 
Epaphroditus,  when  sick  for  their  snkes;  and  sent  him 
away  for  their  comfort  when  recovered  :  and,  this  he  did 
as  the  most  effectual  means  to  lessen  his  own  burden, 
by  sympathizing  in  that  jov  his  friends  would  have  in 
the  interview,  though  he  could  not  directly  partake  with 
them. 


!i 


CHAP.  II. 


OF  A  MINISTER  OF  CHRIST. 


497 


with  coldness  and  ingratitude.  His  epistles 
to  the  Thessalonians  abound  in  such  expres 
sions  and  strains  of  tenderness  as  would  doubt- 
less be  generally  admired  (especially  by  those 
who  can  read  them  in  the  original),  were  they 
not  overlooked,  through  the  unhappy  disre- 
gard which  too  many  shew  to  that  best  of 
books  in  which  they  are  contained.  When 
he  is  appealing  to  themselves  concerning  the 
sincerity  of  his  conduct,  and  how  far  he  had 
been  from  abusing  his  authority,  he  says,  We 
were  gentle  among  you,  even  as  a  nurse  (or 
mother)  cherisheth  her  children ;  who,  by 
her  tender  and  assiduous  offices,  supplies 
their  inability  to  take  care  of  themselves,  1 
Thess.  ii.  7,  8.  It  would  be  well  if  all  who 
have  aimed  to  derive  a  plenitude  of  power 
from  the  example  of  the  apostle,  were  equally 
desirous  to  imitate  him  in  the  use  of  it.  He 
then  adds,  So,  being  affectionately  desirous  of 
you,  we  were  willing  to  have  imparted  unto 
you,  not  the  gospel  of  God  only,  but  also  our 
own  souls,  because  ye  were  dear  unto  us. 
No  comment  can  do  justice  to  the  spirit  of 
this  sentiment,  or  to  the  force  of  the  expres- 
sion in  the  Greek.  In  another  passage,  which 
is  rendered  in  our  version,  We  being  taken 
from  you,'  the  original  term  *  has  an  empha- 
sis which  no  single  word  in  our  language  can 
answer ;  it  imports  such  a  state  of  separation 
as  is  made  between  a  parent  and  a  child  by 
the  death  of  either,  when  the  child  is  left  a 
helpless  and  exposed  orphan,  or  the  parent  is 
bereaved  of  the  staff  and  comfort  of  his  age ; 
it  beautifully  intimates  the  endearing  affec- 
tion which  subsisted  between  the  apostle  and 
the  persons  he  was  writing  to  ;  and  demon- 
strates the  greatest  tenderness,  simplicity,  and 
condescension.  But  his  regard  went  beyond 
words,  and  was  evidenced  by  the  whole  course 
of  his  actions.  Nor  was  it  confined  to  those 
who  had  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  his  personal 
ministry  :  his  heart  was  charged  with  the  care 
and  welfare  of  all  the  churches  ;  and  those 
who  had  not  seen  his  face  in  the  flesh,  had  an 
unceasing  share  in  his  solicitude  and  prayers 
(Col.  ii.  1.):  nay,  so  strong  was  his  love  to 
the  churches,  that  it  balanced  his  habitual 
desire  to  be  with  Christ ;  he  could  not  deter- 
mine which  was  most  eligible,  to  suffer  with 
the  members  upon  earth  (so  that  he  might  be 
serviceable  to  them),  or  to  reign  with  the 
Head  in  heaven,  Phil.  i.  23,  24.  In  the 
passage  referred  to,  we  see  the  happy  centri- 
petal and  centrifugal  forces  which  carried  him 
on  through  the  circle  of  duty,  he  constantly 
tended  and  gravitated  to  his  centre  of  rest : 
but  successive  opportunities  of  usefulness  and 
service  drew  him  off,  and  made  him  willing  to 
wait  yet  longer. 

In  this  part  of  his  character  we  are  not  to 
consider  him  exclusively  as  an  apostle.  All 
vho  have   truly  known   the  gospel  to  be  the 

AT9tfa.viir6ttTi(,  1  Thess.  ii.  17. 


power  of  God  unto  salvation,  are  partakers  of 
the  same  spirit,  according  to  the  measure  of 
their  faith.  That  person  is  unworthy  the 
name  of  a  christian,  who  does  not  feel  a  con- 
cern and  affection  for  his  brethren  who  are  in 
the  world.  It  must  be  allowed,  that  preju- 
dices and  misapprehensions  too  often  prevent 
the  Lord's  people  from  knowing  each  other ; 
but,  so  far  as  they  believe  a  person  to  be  a 
child  of  God  through  faith,  they  cannot  but 
love  him.  This  is  the  immutable  criterion  which 
our  Lord  himself  has  given,  whereby  his  real 
disciples  are  to  be  known  and  acknowledged, 
John  xiii.  35.  He  has  not  directed  us  to 
judge  by  their  discourses,  their  knowledge, 
or  even  their  zeal,  but  by  the  evidence  they 
give  of  mutual  love  ;  and  we  may  as  easily 
conceive  of  a  sun  without  light,  or  a  cause 
without  an  effect,  as  of  a  person  duly  affected 
with  a  sense  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  love 
of  Christ,  and  not  proportionably  filled  with 
a  spirit  of  love  to  all  who  are  like  minded. 
But  especially  this  disposition  is  essential  to  a 
minister  of  the  gospel ;  and  the  apostle  assures 
us,  that  all  imaginable  qualifications  are  of  no 
avail  without  it;  though  we  could  possess  the 
powers  of  a  prophet,  or  an  angel,  or  the  zeal 
of  a  martyr,  if  we  are  destitute  of  this  love, 
we  are,  in  the  sight  of  God,  but  as  sounding 
brass,*  or  a  tinkling  cymbal. 

III.  St.  Paul's  inflexible  attachment  to  the 
great  doctrines  of  the  gospel  is  another  part  of 
his  character  which  deserves  our  attention  : 
he  knew  their  worth,  experienced  their  power 
in  his  own  soul,  and  saw,  that  though  they 
were  unacceptable  to  the  wisdom  of  the  world, 
they  bore  the  impress  of  the  manifold  wisdom 
of  God.  He  takes  notice  that,  in  those  early 
days,  there  were  many  who  corrupted  the 
word  of  God. ■[•  The  word  properly  signifies 
to  adulterate,  to  imitate  the  practice  of  dis- 
honest vintners,  who  mix  and  sophisticate 
their  liqours,  so  that,  though  the  colour  is 
preserved  and  the  taste  perhaps  nearly  coun- 
terfeited, the  quality  and  properties  are  quite 
altered  and  depraved.  But  he  says,  We  are 
not  as  they  :  he  preached  the  gospel  in  its  pu- 
rity and  simplicity,  the  sincere  genuine  milkf 
of  the  word,  neither  weakened  by  water,  nor 
disguised  by  any  artful  sweetening  to  render 
it  more  palatable :  he  added  nothing  of  his 
own,  nor  employed  any  art  or  gloss  to  palliate 
the  truth,  that  it  might  be  more  acceptable  to 
men  of  carnal  minds  ;  as  he  was  not  ashamed 
of  it,  neither  was  he  afraid  lest  it  should  fall 
without  success  to  the  ground,  if  not  support- 
ed and  assisted  by  inventions  of  his  own  ;  he 
knew  whose  word  it  was,  and  therefore  cheer- 

*  Sounding  brass,  without  meaning,  and  without  life. 
Such  are  the  most  specious  gifts  and  performances,  if 
unaccompanied  by  a  spirit  of  love:  they  may  perhaps 
be  useful  to  others,  as  the  sound  of  a  bell  gives  notice, 
and  brings  people  together,  but  flic  possessor  himself  is 
a  lifeless  instrument ;  he  designs  no  good,  and  will  re- 
ceive no  reward. 

t  Kw/jUvuvTis,  2  Cor.  ii.  17.  J  AioXot  ?<x?m,  1  PeC 
ii.  2. 

'2  Q 


49S 


ST.  PAUL  AN  EXEMPLAR 


BOOK   II 


fully  ventured  the  issue  with  him  who  alone 
could  procure  it  a  welcome  reception  ;  and 
as  he  disdained  the  thought  of  deviating  a 
tittle  himself  from  the  plain  and  full  declara- 
tion of  the  truth,  neither  could  he  bear,  no 
not  for  an  hour,  with  those  who  presumed  to 
do  so,  Gal.  ii.  5.  I  doubt  not  but  the  warmth 
of  his  zeal,  in  this  respect,  has  disgusted  many 
in  the  present  day,  wherein  a  seeming  can- 
dour and  forbearance  is  pleaded  for  and  ex- 
tended to  almost  every  sentiment,  except  the 
truths  in  which  St.  Paul  gloried.  There  is 
little  doubt  but  many,  if  they  had  the  courage 
and  honesty  to  speak  out,  would  add  St.  Paul 
himself  to  the  list  of  those  whom  they  despise 
as  uncharitable  and  hot-brained  bigots;  for 
who  has  offended  more  than  he  against  the 
rules  of  that  indifference  to  error,  which  is  at 
present  miscalled  charity.  The  Galatians,  in 
a  short  time  after  he  left  them,  had  ventured 
to  admit  some  alteration  in  the  doctrine  they 
had  received  from  him  ;  it  was  chiefly  in  one 
point :  they  had  been  persuaded  into  an  un- 
due regard  for  the  law  of  Moses.  This,  some 
may  think,  was  little  more  than  a  circumstan- 
tial :  that  it  could  not  have  any  great  or  direct 
influence  upon  their  moral  practice  ;  and  that 
they  might  be  very  good  men,  and  good  chris- 
tians, though,  in  this  one  thing,  they  could 
not  see  exactly  with  their  teacher's  eyes.  But 
how  different  was  the  apostle's  judgment !  If 
the  Galatians  had  returned  to  the  practice  of 
idolatry,  or  broken  out  into  the  most  scanda- 
lous immoralities,  he  could  hardly  have  ex- 
pressed his  surprise  and  grief  in  stronger 
terms  ;  he  changes  his  usual  manner  of  ad- 
dress, and  speaks  to  them  as  a  senseless  peo- 
ple (Gal.  iii.  l),  under  the  power  of  some 
unaccountable  fascination ;  he  tells  them, 
that,  by  admitting  such  an  addition  (Gal.  j. 
6 — 9),  small  and  inconsiderable  as  they  might 
think  it,  they  had,  in  effect,  received  another 
gospel,  which  was,  however,  so  enervated  and 
despoiled  of  efficacy,  that  it  was,  more  pro- 
perly speaking,  become  no  gospel  at  all,  ut- 
terly unworthy  the  least  pretence  to  the 
name.  Further,  he  denounces  an  anathema 
(the  highest  curse)  upon  any  person  who 
should  dare  to  preach  any  such  pretended 
gospel,  even  though,  if  such  a  thing  were  pos- 
sible, it  should  be  himself,  or  an  angel  from 
heaven  ;  and  this  denunciation  he  immediately 
repeats,  lest  it  should  be  thought  that  he 
spoke  rather  from  warmth  of  temper  than 
from  a  just  sense  of  the  importance  of  the 
case.  What  would  some  of  my  readers  think 
of  a  man  who  should,  at  this  time,  express 
himself  in  terms  like  these  ?  But  let  it  be 
remembered,  that  our  apostle,  who  was  so 
ready  with  an  anathema  upon  this  occasion, 
snd  who,  in  another  place  (1  Cor  xvi.  22.), 
passes  the  same  severe  judgment  upon  any 
man  who  does  not  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
was  far  from  speaking  thus  from  emotions  of 


anger  and  ill-will  ;  the  disposition  of  his  own 
mind,  the  tender  concern  with  which  he  viewed 
the  worst  of  sinners  may  be  judged  of  from 
his  willingness  to  be  made  an  anathema  him- 
self (Rom.  ix.  3),  after  the  manner  of  Christ, 
if,  by  all  he  could  suffer,  he  might  be  a  means 
of  saving  the  Jews,  who  were  his  worst  ene- 
mies, and  from  whom  he  had  constantly  re- 
ceived the  most  unjust  and  cruel  treatment ; 
but,  when  the  cause  of  the  gospel  and  the 
honour  of  Christ  were  in  question,  he  could 
not,  he  durst  not,  consult  with  the  feelings  of 
flesh  and  blood  :  but  as  the  minister  and  mes- 
senger of  the  Lord,  he  solemnly  declared 
what  must,  and  will  be,  the  awful  conse- 
quence of  neglecting  or  corrupting  the  word 
of  life. 

Every  faithful  minister  of  the  gospel  is  pos- 
sessed of  a  degree  of  the  same  attention  to  the 
purity  of  the  truth  and  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  saints ;  they  must  not  deviate  from 
their  instructions,  nor  can  they  behold  with 
indifference  the  specious  attempts  of  others 
to  mislead  the  unwary ;  they  know  what 
censures  they  must  expect  upon  this  account. 
It  is  sufficient  for  them  that  they  can  appeal 
to  the  searcher  of  hearts,  that  though,  as  the 
servants  of  Christ,  they  dare  not  aim  to  please 
men  by  speaking  smooth  things,  yet  they  act 
from  principles  of  benevolence  and  love,  and 
would  rejoice  in  the  salvation  of  their  greatest 
opposers.  The  world  perhaps  would  judge 
more  favourably  of  them  if  they  knew  all ;  if 
they  were  witnesses  to  the  prayers  and  tears 
which  they  pour  out  for  them  in  secret,  and 
the  emotions  of  mind  they  feel  when  they 
are  constrained  to  declare  the  more  awful 
parts  of  their  message  ;  but  as  ministers,  and 
in  their  public  work,  they  cannot  avoid  point- 
ing out  the  danger  of  those  who  venture  their 
souls  and  eternal  hopes  upon  any  other  doc- 
trine than  that  which  St.  Paul  preached. 

IV.  But  though  St.  Paul  was  so  tenacious 
of  the  great  foundation-truths  of  the  gospel, 
and  would  not  admit  or  connive  at  any  doc- 
trine that  interfered  with  them,  he  exercised, 
upon  all  occasions,  a  great  tenderness  to  weak 
consciences,  in  matters  that  were  not  essential 
to  the  faith,  and  when  the  scruples  were  owing 
rather  to  a  want  of  clear  light  than  to  obsti- 
nacy. This  was  evident  in  his  conduct  with 
regard  to  the  great  controversy  that  soon  took 
place  between  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  con- 
verts, about  the  distinction  of  meats,  and 
drinks,  and  other  rituals  enjoined  by  the  law 
of  Moses;  the  obligation  (Rom.  xiv. )  of 
which,  many  who  had  been  educated  in  the 
practice  of  those  observances,  did  not  imme- 
diately see  was  superseded  by  the  gospel  of 
Christ :  He  knew  and  asserted  his  own  liber- 
ty; yet,  in  condescension  to  the  weakness  ot 
others,  he  often  abridged  himself  of  it,  and 
declared  that,  rather  than  grieve  or  cause 
offence   to  a  weak  brother,  he  would  eat  no 


CHAP.  II. 

meat  while  the  world  stood.  His  practice 
herein  will  probably  be  of  general  application, 
mutatis  mutandis,  so  long  as  the  present  state 
of  human  infirmity  subsists.  A  defect  in 
knowledge,  the  prejudices  of  education  and 
custom,  the  remains  of  a  legal  spirit,  the  in- 
fluence of  great  names,  and  other  causes  of  a 
like  nature,  will  probably  always  operate,  so 
far  as  to  keep  up  lesser  differences  in  judg- 
ment and  practice  amongst  those  who  agree 
in  the  great  and  fundamental  truths.  The 
enemy  gains  too  much  advantage  from  these 
things,  not  to  improve  such  differences  into 
divisions.  Self  is  too  prevalent  in  the  best 
men,  and  the  tendency  of  self  is,  to  exact 
submission,  to  hurry  to  extremes,  to  exag- 
gerate trifles  into  points  of  great  conse- 
quence, and  to  render  us  averse  to  the  heal- 
ing expedients  of  peace.  From  these  sources, 
discords  and  evils  innumerable  have  been  mul- 
tiplied and  perpetuated  among  the  various 
denominations  under  which  the  Lord's  peo- 
ple have  been  ranged,  which  have  greatly- 
hindered  the  welfare  and  progress  of  the  com- 
mon cause,  and  exposed  each  contending  party 
to  the  scorn  of  their  real  enemies.  But  were 
the  spirit  and  conduct  of  our  apostle  more 
adopted,  many  debates  would  entirely  cease ; 
and  in  those  things  where  a  difference  of  judg- 
ment would  still  subsist,  the  exercise  of  pa- 
tience, gentleness,  and  mutual  forbearance, 
would  perhaps  afford  fairer  occasion  for  the 
display  of  the  christian  character,  than  if  we 
were  all  exactly  of  a  mind ;  then  the  strong 
would  bear  the  infirmities  of  the  weak,  the 
one  would  not  censure,  nor  the  other  despise; 
nor  would  those  whose  minds  have  been  en- 
larged by  a  variety  of  experience  and  observa- 
tion, think  it  at  all  strange,  much  less  would 
they  be  angry,  if  others  who  have  not  had  the 
same  advantages  cannot  immediately  enter  into 
all  their  sentiments.  St.  Paul,  in  knowledge, 
abilities,  and  usefulness,  was  eminently  su- 
perior to  all  those  among  whom  he  chiefly  con- 
versed, and,  as  an  apostle,  he  had  a  stronger 
right  than  any  man  since  the  apostle's  day 
could  have  to  exact  an  implicit  deference  and 
submission ;  but  he  had  drunk  deeply  of  the 
spirit  of  his  Master,  and  we  are  concerned  to 
follow  him,  as  he  followed  Christ,  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  tenderness  to  the  weakest  of  the  flock. 
It  is  not  my  present  business  to  define  what 
are  properly  essentials  in  the  christian  religion, 
and  to  separate  them  clearly  from  the  less  im- 
portant points,  which,  for  that  reason,  and  in 
contradistinction  to  the  other,  are  called  cir- 
cumstantials. This  would  lead  me  too  far, 
though  perhaps  it  would  not  be  so  difficult  as 
a  person  might  at  first  expect,  who  should  be 
told  of  all  that  has  been  written  (with  little 
satisfaction)  upon  the  subject.  I  forseea  fu- 
ture period  in  our  history,  when  a  disquisition 
of  this  kind  will  be  almost  necessary ;  and  if 
I  am  spared  to  reach  so  far,  I  shall  probably 
embrace  the  occasion.      In  the  mean   time  I 


OF  A  MINISTER  OF  CHRIST. 


4<J9 


would  just  hint  an  observation  or  two  upon 
this  head,  which  the  intelligent  reader  (if  he 
thinks  them  just)  may  apply  as  he  sees  pro- 
per. 

1.  Circumstantials  and  essentials  in  reli 
gion  (if  we  speak  with  propriety)  are  derived 
from  the  same  source,  and  resolved  into  the 
same  authority.  To  consider  the  commands 
of  God  as  essentials,  and  the  inventions  and 
traditions  of  men  superadded  thereto  as  cir- 
cumstantials, would  be  a  very  improper,  and 
indeed  a  very  false  division  of  the  subject. 
Nothing  but  what  is  prescribed  by  the  word 
of  God,  or  may  be  fairly  deduced  from  it,  is 
worthy  the  name  even  of  a  circumstantial  in 
true  religion.  Human  appointments,  if  not 
repugnant  to  scripture  and  the  light  of  con- 
science, may  be  submitted  to  for  the  sake  of 
peace,  or  when  the  general  purposes  of  edifi . 
cation  cannot  be  attained  without  them ;  but 
they  seem  not  to  deserve  a  place  even  among 
the  circumstantials  of  a  religion  whicli  is  of 
divine  institution.  All  the  laboured  ariru- 
ments,  whether  for  or  against  the  colour  of 
a  garment,  the  shape  of  a  building,  and  a 
multitude  of  other  things  equally  insignifi- 
cant, seem  to  have  occasioned  a  needless  loss 
of  time  and  temper,  chiefly  by  a  mistake  of 
the  question  on  both  sides. 

2.  Essentials  in  Christianity  are  those  things 
without  which  no  man  can  be  a  christian  in 
the  sight  of  God,  and  by  the  decision  of  his 
word  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  those  things 
only  are  essential  which  whoever  possesses,  is 
by  scripture-declaration,  in  a  state  of  favour 
with  God  through  Christ.  These  might  be 
branched  out  into  many  particulars  ;  but  they 
are  fully  and  surely  comprised  in  two,  Faith 
and  Holiness.  These  are  essential  to  the  be- 
ing of  a  christian,  are  only  to  he  found  in  a 
christian,  are  infallible  tokens  that  the  pos- 
sessor is  accepted  in  the  Beloved,  and  who- 
ever dies  without  them  must  assuredly  perish  : 
These  are  essentials,  because  they  are  abso- 
lutely necessary  ;  for  it  is  written,  "  He  that 
believeth  not  shall  be  damned"  (Mark  xvi. 
16.),  and  "  Without  holiness  no  man  shall  see 
the  Lord"  (Heb.  xii.  14.):  and  they  are  es- 
sential likewise,  because  they  demonstrate  an 
interest  in  the  promise  of  everlasting  life. 
Thus  our  Lord  declares,  "  He  that  hearetli 
my  words,  and  believeth  on  him  that  sent  me, 
hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall  not  come  into 
condemnation,  but  is  passed  from  death  unto 
life"  (John  v.  24.)  ;  and  the  apostle,  writing 
to  the  believing  Romans,  tells  them,  "  Now, 
being  made  free  from  sin,  and  become  the  ser- 
vants of  God,  you  have  your  fruit  unto  holi» 
ness,  and  the  end  everlasting  life,"  Rom.  vi, 
22.  These  then  are  the  essentials  of  religion  : 
and  though  they  are  produced  by  the  same 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  derived  from  u 
knowledge  of  the  same  truths,  and  therefore 
cannot  be  separated,  they  may  properly  be  dis- 
tinguished for  the  conviction    of   those  who 


600 


ST.   PAUL  AN  EXEMPLAR 


BOOK   II 


pretend  to  one  without  the  other.  The  most 
specious  appearances  of  holiness,  which  are 
not  accompanied  with  faith  in  Christ,  may  be 
safely  rejected  as  counterfeits.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  profession  of  faith  which  is  not  evi- 
denced by  the  fruits  of  holiness,  by  gracious 
tempers,  and  a  tenor  of  life  becoming  the  gos- 
pel, is  dead,  delusory,  and  destructive. 

If  the  question  is  removed  another  step, 
and  it  should  be  asked,  Which,  or  how  many, 
of  the  doctrines  of  scripture  are  necessary  to 
produce  the  faith  and  holiness  supposed  re- 
quisite ?  it  may  suffice  to  say,  That,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  no  person  can  be  expected 
to  believe  in  Christ,  till  convinced  of  his  need 
of  him,  and  of  his  ability,  as  a  Saviour,  fully 
to  answer  his  expectations :  and  as  a  su- 
preme love  to  God,  and  a  hatred  of  all  sin, 
are  evidently  included  in  the  idea  of  holiness, 
it  supposes  a  disposition  of  mind,  which  every 
man's  experience  proves  to  be  beyond  the 
power  of  fallen  nature  ;  and  therefore  a  com- 
petent knowledge  and  cordial  acceptance  of 
what  the  scriptures  teach  concerning  the  na- 
ture and  desert  of  sin,  the  person  and  media- 
tory acts  of  Christ,  the  causes,  ends,  and  ef- 
fects of  his  mediation,  together  with  the  ne- 
cessity of  that  change  of  heart  which  is  ex- 
pressed by  a  being  born  again,  appear  to  be 
essentially  necessary  to  that  faith  and  holiness 
which  are  described  in  the  gospel. 

3.  The  circumstantials  of  religion  include 
all  those  particulars  of  revelation,  which  a 
person  possessed  of  the  above-mentioned  es- 
sentials may  as  yet  be  unacquainted  with,  or 
unable  to  judge  of  with  certainty.  A  care- 
ful application  to  the  scriptures,  a  diligent 
waiting  upon  God  in  prayer,  and  an  improve, 
ment  of  the  means  of  grace,  will  (by  the  di- 
vine blessing,  which  is  promised  to  those  who 
seek  in  this  manner)  increase  our  light,  com- 
prehension, and  certainty,  with  regard  to 
these  points,  which,  though  not  essentially 
necessary  to  the  being  of  a  christian,  are  ex- 
ceedingly conducive  to  his  well-being,  to  his 
growth  and  establishment  in  the  truth. 

This  subject  may  be  perhaps  illustrated 
from  the  animal  frame,  in  which  what  we  call 
the  vital  parts  may  be  considered  as  essential 
to  life,  because  there  can  be  no  life  without 
them.      We  may  easily  conceive,  that  a  man 


may  have  a  suitable  influence  upon  their  prac- 
tice :  But,  in  the  mean  time,  a  consolation  is 
provided,  in  the  promises  of  God,  made  to 
those  who  have  received  the  seeds  of  faith  and 
true  holiness,  against  the  fears,  doubts,  and 
involuntary  mistakes,  which,  from  remaining 
ignorance,  they  are  yet  subject  to :  He  will 
supply  what  is  wanting,  pardon  what  is  amiss, 
and  lead  them  on  from  strength  to  strength  ; 
they  are  to  walk  by  the  light  already  afforded, 
to  wait  on  him  for  an  increase,  to  be  diffident 
of  themselves,  and  gentle  to  others,  and  things 
which  as  yet  they  know  not,  God  will,  in  his 
due  time,  reveal  to  them.  But  to  return  from 
this  digression  : 

V.  Every  part  of  St.  Paul's  history  and 
writings  demonstrates  a  disinterested  spirit, 
and  that  his  uncommon  labours  were  directed 
to  no  other  ends  than  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  good  of  men.  No  man  had  probably  so 
great  an  influence  over  his  hearers,  or  could 
have  a  juster  claim,  from  the  nature  and  num- 
ber of  his  services,  to  a  suitable  provision  for 
himself;  but  he  could  say  with  truth,  We 
seek  not  yours,  but  you.  To  cut  off  all  oc- 
casions of  misapprehension  on  this  head,  he 
usually  submitted  to  work  with  his  own  hands, 
rather  than  be  chargeable  to  his  friends.*  It 
is  true,  he  does  not  propose  himself  to  us  a 
pattern  in  this  respect;  for  he  tells  us  (1  Cor. 
IX.  14.),  that  the  labourer  is  worthy  of  his 
hire;  and  that  the  Lord  had  ordained,  that 
those  who  preach  the  gospel  should  live  by  the 
gospel;  and  when  he  saw  it  expedient,  lie 
did  not  refuse  to  be  himself  assisted  by  others. 
He  shewed,  by  accepting  such  assistance  from 
some,  that  he  understood  his  liberty,  and  did 
not  act  from  a  spirit  of  pride  or  singularity 
when  he  declined  it ;  and,  by  his  more  gene- 
ral practice,  he  evidenced  that  he  was  supe- 
rior to  all  selfish  and  mercenary  motives;  and, 
upon  the  whole,  he  was  content  to  appear 
and  live  as  a  poor  m£h  ;  and  though  he  had 
learned,  in  the  school  of  Christ,  how  to  abound 
as  well  as  to  suffer  want,  the  latter  seems  to 
have  been  more  frequently  his  lot  (Phil.  iv. 
12.)  :  lie  saw  too  many  false  teachers,  who, 
under  the  sanction  of  a  sacred  character,  made 
merchandize  of  souls  ;  and  he  not  only  se- 
verely censured  them,  but,  by  this  self-denial, 
which  they  were  unable  to  imitate,   he  mani- 


may  live  without  an  arm   or  leg,   or  several  i  fested  the  vanity  of  their  pretences  in  setting 


members  and  organs,  which,  though  highly  va- 
luable for  use  and  comfort,  are  not  necessa- 
rily connected  with  life  ;  but  if  we  conceive 
of  him  as  deprived  of  his  head,  heart,  or 
lungs,  we  can  no  longer  consider  him  as  liv- 
ing ;  yet  it  is  desirable  to  have  a  body  not 
only  animated,  but  organized.  So  likewise 
in  religion,  those  who  are  truly  partakers  of 
it  will  not  too  curiously  inquire,  how  much 
knowledge,  or  what  degree  of  practice  is  barely 
consistent  with  a  possibility  of  life,  but  they 
will  earnestly  desire  to  be  acquainted  with  the 
whole  will  of  God,   and  that  svery  part  of  it 


themselves  forth  as  the  apostles  of  Christ. 
This  seems  to  have  been  his  chief  design  in 
it,  and  the  reason  of  his  repeating,  with  so 
much  earnestness,  his  determination  to  take 
nothing   from  the  Corinthians,  who  were  too 

»  I  Cor.  ix.  18.  That  I  may  make  the  gospel  of  Christ 
without  charge. — ASao-ami/  &r,<ru,  that  1  may  set  it  be- 
fore you  gratis,  or  a  free  gospel.  The  messengers  of 
good  news  are  usually  gratilied  with  a  reward  ;  but  the 
apostle,  though  he  brought  the  most  welcome  and  im- 
portant tidings  that  ever  rejoiced  the  hearts  of  men, 
would  not  encumber  or  disgrace  the  news,  by  receiving 
any  thing  for  it.  The  truth  is,  he  took  as  much  plea- 
sure in  delivering  his  message  as  they  could  in  hearing 
it,  and  found  his  reward  in  his  employment. 


CHAP.   II. 


OF  A   MINISTER  OF  CHRIST. 


501 


much  inclined  to  listen  to  some  of  these  teach- 
ers, to  his  disadvantage.  But  whatever  pa- 
rade they  might  make  of  gifts  or  zeal,  or 
however  they  might  presume  to  equal  them- 
selves to  him  in  other  respects,  he  knew  they 
would  not  attempt  to  share  with  him  in  the 
glory  of  preaching  the  gospel  freely,  which 
was  diametrically  inconsistent  with  their  whole 
design.  The  circumstances  with  us  are  so 
far  different,  that,  in  proposing  St.  Paul  as  a 
pattern  of  disinterestedness,  we  do  not  lay  a 
stress  upon  his  preaching  the  gospel  without 
expense  to  his  hearers  ;  yet,  in  his  noble  con- 
tempt of  worldly  advantage,  and  making  every 
thing  stoop  to  the  great  ends  of  his  mission, 
he  stands  as  a  precedent  to  all  christian  mini- 
sters in  succeeding  times.  In  those  passages 
of  his  epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus,  where 
the  negative  part  of  a  minister's  character, 
whether  bishop  or  deacon,  is  given,  this  is 
constantly  one  branch  of  it,  that  he  must  not 
be  influenced  by  a  love  of  gain  ;  and  as  con- 
stantly the  word  is  compounded  with  the  epi- 
thet filthy:  "Not  given  to  filthy  lucre;" 
to  intimate,  that  nothing  can  be  more  disho- 
nest or  dishonourable  than  to  make  a  traffic 
of  this  service.  Nor  is  this  the  judgment  of 
scripture  only,  but  the  general  voice  of  man- 
kind. Nothing  is  a  greater  bar  to  a  mini- 
ster's usefulness,  or  renders  his  person  and 
labours  more  contemptible,  than  a  known  at- 
tachment to  money,  a  gripping  fist,  and  a 
hard  heart.  They  who  enter  into  the  priest's 
office  for  a  piece  of  bread,  who  are  less  con- 
cerned for  the  flock  than  the  fleece,  who  em- 
ploy all  their  arts  and  influence  to  exchange 
a  less  emolument  for  a  greater,  or  to  super- 
add one  to  another,  may  have  the  reward  they 
seek  ;  but  of  all  the  methods  of  acquiring 
wealth,  which  do  not  directly  expose  a  man 
to  the  lash  of  human  laws,  this  is  the  most  to 
be  lamented  and  avoided.  If  the  scriptures 
are  true,  if  St.  Paul  was  a  servant  of  Christ, 
and  if  the  authority  of  his  precepts  and  ex- 
ample is  still  binding,  a  day  will  come  when 
mercenary  preachers  will  wish  they  had  beg- 
ged their  bread  from  door  to  door,  or  been 
chained  to  the  oar  of  a  galley  for  life,  rather 
than  have  presumed  to  intrude  into  the  church 
upon  such  base  and  unworthy  views.  It  is  to 
be  feared,  that  too  many  read  the  awful  de- 
nunciations upon  this  head  in  the  prophets  Je- 
remiah (chap,  xxiii.)  and  Ezekiel  (chap.  xiii. 
and  xxxiv.),  with  indifference,  as  supposing 
they  only  relate  to  the  Jews  who  lived  at  that 
time  ;  but  they  are  equally  applicable  to  all 
who  prostitute  the  word  and  worship  of  God 
to  the  purposes  of  ambition  and  avarice. 

VI.  From  the  foregoing  particulars  we  may 
collect  the  idea  of  true  christian  zeal,  as  ex- 
emplified in  our  apostle.  Hardly  any  word  in 
our  language  is  more  misunderstood,  or  abused 
than  zeal.*     It  is  used  in  the  New  Testament 

*  AH  religious  parties  profess  a  great  regard  to  the 
pieeept,  Jude  3.     "  Contend  earnestly  for  the  faith." 


indifferently  in  a  good  or  bad  sense  ;  and  it  is 
considered  as  a  vice  or  virtue,  according  to  its 
object  and  principle.  It  sometimes  denotes  en- 
vy,* indignation,  or  disdain,  an  obstinate  and 
ignorant  opposition  to  the  truth,  a  misguided 
warmth  in  unnecessary  things,  and  a  conten- 
tious, disputatious  temper.  A  zeal  replete  with 
these  characters  has  too  frequently  been  the 
bane  and  opprobrium  of  the  christian  church  ; 
but  it  is  good  to  be  zealously  affected  in  a  good 
thing ;  and  then  it  is  sinful  to  be  otherwise. 
Our  passions  were  not  given  us  in  vain.  When 
the  judgment  is  well  informed,  and  the  un- 
derstanding duly  enlightened  by  the  word  of 
God,  the  more  warmth  the  better ;  but  this 
earnestness  in  an  ignorant  or  prejudiced  per- 
son is  dangerous,  and  hurtful  to  himself  and 
others ;  it  is  like  haste  in  a  man  in  the  dark, 
who  knows  not  where  he  is  going,  nor  what 
mischiefs  he  may  suffer  or  occasion.  False 
zeal  spends  its  strength  in  defence  of  names 
and  forms,  the  externals  of  religion,  or  the  in- 
ventions of  men  ;  it  enforces  its  edicts  by  com- 
pulsion and  severity;  it  would  willingly  call 
for  fire  from  heaven,  but,  unable  to  do  this, 
it  kindles  the  flame  of  persecution,  and,  if  not 
providentially  restrained,  wages  war  with  the 
peace,  comfort,  and  liberty  of  all  who  disdain 
to  wear  its  chains,  and  breathes  threatening, 
slaughter  and  destruction  with  an  unrelenting 
spirit.  Its  mildest  weapons  (which  it  never 
employs  alone,  except  where  it  is  checked  by 
a  superior  power)  are  calumny,  contempt  and 
hatred  ;  and  the  objects  it  seeks  to  worry  are 
generally  the  quiet  in  the  land,  and  those  who 
worship  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth  :  in  a 
word,  it  resembles  the  craft  by  which  it  works, 
and  is  earthly,  sensual,  devilish.  But  the 
true  christian  zeal  is  a  heavenly,  gentle  flame  : 
it  shines  and  warms,  but  knows  not  to  destroy  : 
it  is  the  spirit  of  Christ,  infused,  with  a  sense 
of  his  love,  into  the  heart ;  it  is  a  generous 
philanthropy  and  benevolence,  which,  like  the 
light  of  the  sun,  diffuses  itself  to  every  object, 
and  longs  to  be  the  instrument  of  good,  if 
possible,  to  the  whole  race  of  mankind.  A 
sense  of  the  worth  of  souls,  the  importance 
of  unseen  things,  and  the  awful  condition  of 
unawakened  sinners,  makes  it  indeed  earnest 
and  importunate,  but  this  it  shews  not  by  bit- 
terness and  constraint,  but  by  an  unwearied 
perseverance  in  attempting  to  overcome-}-  evil 
with  good :   it   returns   blessings    for    curses, 

And  if  noisy  anger,  bold  assertions,  harsh  censures,  and 
bitter  persecuting  zeal  can  singly  or  jointly  answer  the 
apostle's  design,  there  is  hardly  a'  party  but  may  glory  in 
their  obedience.  But  if  the  weapons  of  our  warfaie  are 
not  carnal ; — if  the  wrath  of  man  woiketh  not  the  right- 
eousness of  God  ; — if  the  true  Christian  contention  can 
only  be  maintained  by  scripture  arguments,  meekness, 
patience,  prayer,  and"  an  exemplary  conversation; — if 
this  is  the  true  state  of  the  case,  where  is  the  church  or 
party  (may  1  not  say,  where  is  the  person?)  that  has  not 
still  much* to  learn  and  to  practise  on  this  point? 

*  Compare  Acts  v.  17;  Rom.  xiii.  15,  x.  2;  Phil. 
iii.  6;  Gal.  i.  14;  Acts  xvi.  20;  James  iii.  16;  in  all 
which  places  the  word  is  the  same  that  is  rendered  zeal 
in  2  Cor.  ix.  2;  Col.  iv.  13;  John  ii.  17. 

t  See  Romans  xxii-  20,  21.     This  practice  the  apo* 


502 


ST.   PAUL  AN  EXEMPLAR 


BOOK   II. 


prayers  for  ill  treatment ;  and,   though  often  I  entreaties  ;   when  he  met  with  hard  and  inji;- 
reviled  and  affronted,    cannot   be  discouraged    rious  treatment,   he  bore  it  patiently,   and,   if 


from  renewed  efforts  to  make  others  partakers 
of  the  happiness  itself  possesses  :  it  knows 
how  to  express  a  becoming  indignation  against 
the  errors  and  follies  of  men  ;  but  towards 
their  persons  it  is  all  gentleness  and  compas- 
sion:* it  weeps  (and  would,  if  possible,  weep 
tears  of  blood)  over  those  who  will  not  be  per- 
suaded ;  but,  while  it  plainly  represents  the 
consequences  of  their  obstinacy,  it  trembles 
at  its  own  declarations,-)-  and  feels  for  them 
who  cannot  feel  for  themselves,  it  is  often 
grieved,  but  cannot  be  provoked.  The  zea. 
lous  christian  is  strictly  observant  of  his  own 
failings,  candid  and  tender  to  the  faults  of 
others  :  he  knows  what  allowances  are  due  to 
the  frailty  of  human  nature,  and  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  present  state,  and  willingly  makes 
all  the  allowances  possible;  and  though  he 
dare  not  call  evil  good,  cannot  but  judge  ac- 
cording to  the  rule  of  the  scripture,  yet  he 
will  conceal  the  infirmities  of  men  as  much 
as  he  can,  will  not  speak  of  them  without 
just  cause,  much  less  will  he  aggravate  the 
case,  or  boast  himself  over  them.  Such  was 
the  zeal  of  our  apostle.  Bold  and  intrepid  in 
the  cause  of  God  and  truth,  unwearied  in  ser- 
vice, inflexible  in  danger,  when  duty  called, 
lie  was  not  to  be  restrained,  either  by  the 
threats  of  enemies,  the  solicitations  of  friends, 
or  the  prospect  of  any  hardships  to  which  he 
might  be  exposed  -.  he  cheerfully  endured  hun- 
ger and  thirst,  watching  and  weariness,  po- 
verty and  contempt,  and  counted  not  his  life 
dear,  so  that  he  might  fulfil  the  great  pur- 
poses of  the  ministry  which  he  had  received  of 
the  Lord.  But  at  the  same  time,  in  all  his 
intercourse  with  men,  he  was  gentle,  mild, 
and  compassionate  ;  he  studied  the  peace,  and 
accommodated  himself  to  the  weakness  of  all 
about  him  :  when  he  might  command,  he  used 

tie  recommends  by  the  metaphor  of  heaping  coals  of 
fire  on  an  enemy's  head.  As  metals  that  endure  a  mo- 
derate warmth  without  alteration  are  melted  down  and 
quite  dissolved  by  an  intense  heat,  so  the  hard  heart, 
even  of  an  enemy,  may  be  sometimes  softened  by  a  se- 
ries, and  indefatigable  heaping  up  of  favours  and  obli- 
gations. This  is  a  noble  piece  of  chemistry,  but  al- 
most as  much  out  of  repute  and  practice  as  the  search 
after  the  philosopher's  stone. 

•  When  St.  Paul,  speaking  of  the  Judaizing  false 
teachers,  and  their  adherents,  says,  "  I  would  they  were 
even  cut  off  which  trouble  you,  he  seems  to  allude  to 
the  circumcision  they  so  strenuously  enforced,  Ga-1.  v. 
)2;  compare  Phi),  iii.  2.  His  wish  concerning  these 
sectaries  has  been  often  perverted,  to  give  sanction  to 
the  rage  of  persecutors ;  but  he  does  not  mean  to  cut 
them  off  with  fire  and  sword,  or  to  cut  them  off  from 
fire  and  water,  but  to  have  them  excluded  from  com- 
munion and  converse  with  true  believers. 

f  How  awful  to  declare,  to  denounce  the  terrors  of 
the  Lord  !  those  terrors  which  are  represented  to  us  by 
fire  unquenchable,  with  the  additional  idea  of  eternity, 
Matth.  iii.  13;  Mark  ix.  43. — As  such  descriptions  shock 
and  alarm  a  guilty  conscience,  there  are  two  different 
methods  by  which  the  removal  of  this  alarm  is  attempt- 
ed: some  "seek  and  find  peace  and  security  from  the 
blood  of  Jesus;  and  some,  who  are  not  pleased  with 
this  method,  satisfy  themselves  and  their  friends  with 
criticisms  upon  the  terms,  and  tell  us  that  the  phrase 
•■  for  ever  and  ever,"  signifies  a  limited  space,  and  that 
"  fire  that  cannot  be  quenched,"  denotes  fire  that  goes 
out  of  itself. 


opportunity  ottered,  requited  it  with  kindness. 
Thus  as  he  had  drunk  of  the  spirit,  so  he 
walked  in  the  steps  of  his  Lord  and  Master. 

All  who  bear  the  name  of  ministers  of 
Christ  would  do  well  to  examine  how  fai 
their  tempers  and  conduct  are  conformable  to 
St.  Paul's.  Are  there  not  too  many  who 
widely  differ  from  him  ?  Where  he  was  im- 
moveable as  an  iron  pillar,  they  are  flexible 
and  yielding  as  a  reed  waving  in  the  wind, 
suiting  their  doctrines  and  practice  to  the  de- 
praved state  of  the  world,  and  prostituting 
their  talents  and  calling  to  the  unworthy  pur- 
suit of  ambition  and  applause.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  things  less  essential,  or  not  com- 
manded, they  invade  the  rights  of  private 
judgment,  and  attempt  to  bind  heavy  yokes* 
and  impositions  upon  those  whom  Christ  has 
made  free ;  and  while  they  readily  tolerate,  if 
not  countenance,  scepticism,  and  immorality, 
they  exert  all  their  strength  and  subtlety  to 
disquiet  or  suppress  those  who  differ  from 
them  in  the  slightest  circumstance,  if  they 
profess  to  differ  for  conscience  sake.  But 
Jesus  has  no  such  ministers :  their  claim  is 
utterly  vain  •  none  but  those  who  are  igno- 
rant of  the  plainest  truths  can  allow  them 
this  character  :  their  tempers,  their  behaviour, 
the  tenor  of  their  professed  instructions,  and 
the  total  want  of  efficacy  and  influence  in  their 
ministrations,  plainly  demonstrate  that  he  nei- 
ther sent  them  nor  owns  them. 

VII.  Having  considered  the  subject-mat- 
ter, and  the  leading  » iews  of  the  apnstle's  mi- 
nistry, it  may  not  be  improper  to  take  some 
notice  of  his  manner  as  a  preacher.  This  he 
reminds  the  Corinthians  of.  They  were  re- 
puted a  polite  and  ingenuous  people.  St. 
Paul  was  aware  of  their  character,  and  ex- 
presses himself  as  if  he  had  been  deliberating 
before  he  saw  them  in  what  way  he  should 
address  them  with  the  fairest  probability  of 
success.  He  tells  them  (1  Cor.  ii.  2 — 4), 
that  he  determined  to  know  nothing  among 
them  but  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified, 
including  in  this  one  comprehensive  expres- 
sion, the  whole  scheme  of  gospel-doctrine. 
And  as  to  the  manner  in  which  he  delivered 
this  doctrine,  he  says,  "  My  speech  and  my 
preaching  was  not  with  enticing  words  of 
man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of  the 
Spirit,  and  with  power."  We  are  sure  thai 
he  did  not  renounce  justness  of  reasoning, 
or  propriety  of  expression ;  in  these  respects 
he  exceeded   their  most  admired  orators,  as 

*  Matth.  xxiii.  4.  "  They  bind  heavy  burdens  and 
grievous  to  be  borne,"  a  weight  of  traditions  and  ob- 
servances, "  and  lay  them  upon  men's  shoulders  ;  but 
they  themselves  will  not  move  them  with  one  of  their 
fingers."  There  is  a  double  opposition  in  this  passage, 
between  to  be  borne  and  to  move,  and  between  the 
shoulders  and  ajinger.  It  has  been  often  found  since, 
that  those  who  are  most  impatient  of  restraint  them- 
selves are  most  earnest  in  pressing  yoke*  and  bands  upon 
others. 


CHAP.   II. 


OF  A  MINISTER  OF  CHRIST. 


503 


may  appear  to  any  who  have  skill  and  can- 
dour to  compare  his  epistles  and  discourses, 
in  the  original,  with  the  best  performances  of 
the  Greek  writers  ;  but  he  renounced  the  en- 
ticing or  plausible  words  of  man's  wisdom. 
In  the  term  man's  wisdom,  I  apprehend,  may 
be  included  whatever  the  natural  faculties  of 
man  are  capable  of  discovering  or  receiving, 
independent  of  the  peculiar  teaching  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  which  is  promised  and  re- 
strained to  those  who,  sensible  of  their  own 
foolishness,  are  brought  to  believe  in  Jesus 
Christ,  the  wisdom  of  God ;  and  the  enticing 
words  of  man's  wisdom  may  include  all  those 
ways  and  arts  which  the  wise  men  of  the 
world  have  used  or  approved,  as  most  effec- 
tual to  express,  adorn,*  or  defend  their  own 
wise  sentiments  and  discoveries.  These,  and 
the  methods  of  setting  them  off  to  advantage, 
have  been  divided  into  many  branches,  and 
dignified  with  sounding  names;  but  all  the 
efforts  of  man's  wisdom,  considered  as  en- 
gaged in  the  subjects  of  religion  and  morals, 
may  be  summed  up  in  three  particulars  :  1. 
A  vain  inquiry  into  things  which  lie  wholly 
bevond  the  capacity  of  man  in  his  present 
state,  and  which  can  only  be  discovered  by 
supernatural  revelation  ;  2.  A  vain  attempt 
to  account  for  every  thing  according  to  the 
light  and  principles  of  depraved  reason  ;  3. 
A  studious  exactness  in  language,  either  an 
easy  flow  of  words  to  please  and  amuse  the 
ear,  or  a  torrent  of  strong  and  figurative  ex- 
pressions to  engage  the  passions,  according  as 
a  different  taste  or  fashion  happens  to  prevail. 
It  would  be  too  dry  a  task  to  illustrate  these 
points  by  adducing  specimens  of  each  from 
the  works  of  the  ancient  and  modern  philo- 
sophers; but  if  we  had  not  other  employment 
in  hand,  it  would  be  easy  to  shew  that  man's 
wisdom,  in  the  first  sense,  is  uncertainty,  in 
the  second  prejudice,  in  the  third,  imposition 
and  artifice.  It  is  sufficient  for  my  present 
purpose  that  the  apostle  renounced  them  all. 
Instead  of  vainf  conjectures,  he  spoke  from 
certain  experience  ;  he  could  say,  I  received 
of  the  Lord  that  which  I  also  delivered  to  you. 
Instead  of  accommodating  his  doctrine  to  the 

*  In  1  Cor.  xiv.  9.  St  Paul  recommends  *'  words 
easy  to  be  understood."  His  reasoning  in  that  chapter 
is  levelled,  not  only  against  the  absurdity  of  speaking  in 
an  unknown  tongue,  but  against  the  use  of  any  terms, 
or  the  treating  upon  any  subjects  which  are  not  adapted 
to  the  level  of  the  auditory.  Many  discourses  that  are 
expressed  in  English  phrases,  are  as  useless  to  the  bulk 
of  the  people  as  if  they  were  delivered  in  Greek ;  for 
what  have  the  people  to  do  with  scholastic  or  metaphy- 
sical niceties,  or  curious  researches  into  antiquity,  or 
elegant  dissertations  upon  the  fitness  of  things  i  They 
cannot  understand  them ;  and  if  they  could,  they  would 
find  them  nothing  to  their  purpose. 

+  Though  the  apostle  disclaimed  the  light  sophistry 
which  obtained  in  the  schools,  the  tenor  of  his  preach- 
ing was  founded  upon  the  clearest  principles,  and  con- 
tained a  chain  of  the  justest  consequences.  He  did  not 
only  assert,  but  prove  and  demonstrate  the  truth  of  his 
doctrines,  by  ancient  prophecies,  by  recent  facts,  and  by 
a  present  iricontestible  efficacy.  Yet  it  is  called  **  the 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit,"  to  intimate  that  the  strong- 
est and  best  adapted  evidence  is  insufficient  to  the  pur- 
poses of  salvation  unless  accompanied  with  a  divine 
power 


taste  and  judgment  of  his  hearers,  he  spoke 
with  authority,  in  the  name  of  God  whom  he 
served:  instead  of  losing  time  in  measuring 
words  and  syllables,  that  he  might  obtain  the 
character  of  a  fine  speaker,  he  spoke,  from 
the  feeling  and  fulness  of  his  heart,  the  words 
of  simplicity  and  truth.  The  success  of  his 
preaching  did  not  at  all  depend  upon  the  soft- 
ness and  harmony  of  his  periods,  and  there- 
fore he  disdained  an  attention  to  those  petty 
ornaments  of  speech,  which  were  quite  neces. 
sary  to  help  out  the  poverty  of  man's  wisdom  • 
he  sought  something  else,  which  those  who 
preach  themselves  rather  than  Christ  Jesus 
the  Lord,  have  little  reason  to  expect;*  I 
mean  the  power  and  demonstration  of  the 
Spirit :  he  knew  that  this  alone  could  give 
him  success ;  and  ministers  may  learn  from 
him  what  to  avoid,  and  what  to  seek  for,  if 
they  would  be  useful  to  their  hearers.  Men 
can  but  declare  the  truths  of  the  gospel ;  it  is 
the  Spirit  of  God  who  alone  can  reveal  them  : 
nothing  less  than  a  divine  power  can  present 
them  to  the  mind  in  their  just  importance, 
and  throw  light  into  the  soul,  by  which  they 
may  be  perceived  :  nothing  less  than  this 
power  can  subdue  the  will,  and  open  the  heart 
to  receive  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it :  without 
this  concurring  agency,  even  St.  Paul  would 
have  preached  in  vain.  From  what  has  been 
said,  we  may  remark  two  obvious  reasons, 
amongst  others,  why  we  have  so  much  unsuc- 
cessful preaching  in  our  days,  either  the  gos- 
pel-truths are  given  up,  or  the  gospel-simpli- 
city departed  from.  Where  either  of  these  is 
the  case,  the  Lord  refuses  his  power  and  bles- 
sing. 

VIII.  Another  observable  part  of  St.  Paul's 
character,  is  his  unaffected  humility.  In  the 
midst  of  his  eminent  and  extensive  services, 
he  retained  a  deep  sense  of  the  part  he  once 
acted  against  the  Lord.  He  speaks  of  him- 
self, on  this  account,  in  the  most  abasing  Ian 
guage,  as  the  chief  of  sinners,  and  strongly 
expresses  his  unworthiness  of  the  grace  and 
apostleship  he  had  received,  by  comparing 
himself  to  an  untimely  birth  ;f  and  though 
his  insight  into  the  mysteries  of  the  gospel, 
the  communion  he  maintained  with   God,  by 

*  A  man  who  has  languages  and  sciences  in  his  head, 
but  does  not  know  or  relish  the  gospel  of  Christ,  is  an 
ignorant,  indeed  a  stupid  person,  unaffected  with  the 
grandest  view  of  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  that  ever 
was  or  can  be  displayed  ;  and  whoever  truly  knows  and 
embraces  this  mystery  of  godliness  is  a  wise  man,  a 
person  of  an  excellent  understanding,  though  he  may 
not  be  much  acquainted  with  those  uncertain,  unsatis- 
fying systems  which  men  have  agreed  to  honour  with 
the  name  of  knowledge.     See  Ps.  cxi.  10. 

f  1  Cor.  xv.  8.  "  As  one  born  out  of  due  time." 
The  original  word  is  txr^ux,  that  is,  an  abortion.  He 
speaks  of  himself  under  this  despicable  image  (the  true 
sense  of  which  is  not  easily  perceived  by  an  English 
reader),  to  shew  the  deep  and  humbling  sense  he  re- 
tained of  the  part  he  once  acted  against  the  church  of 
Christ;  he  considered  himself  as  unworthy  and  con- 
temptible to  the  last  degree,  as  one  of  whom  no  good 
hope  could  be  justly  formed  at  that  time,  much  less 
that  he  should  be  honoured  with  a  sight  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  from  heaven,  and  with  a  call  to  the  apostolic 
office. 


ft04 


ST.  PAUL  AN   EXEMPLAlt 


BOOK   IT. 


faith  in  his  Son,  and  the  beauty  of  holiness 
which  shone  in  his  conversation,  were  all 
beyond  the  common  measure  ;  yet  having,  in 
the  same  proportion,  a  clearer  sense  of  his 
obligations,  and  of  the  extent  and  purity  of 
the  divine  precepts,  he  thought  nothing  of  his 
present  attainments,  in  comparison  of  those 
greater  degrees  of  grace  he  was  still  pressing 
after.  *  While,  in  the  eyes  of  others,  he  ap- 
peared not  only  exemplary,  but  unequalled, 
he  esteemed  himself  less  than  the  least  of  all 
saints  (Ephes.  iii.  9.)  J  and  his  patience  and 
condescension  towards  others,  and  his  acquies- 
cence under  all  the  trying  dispensations  of 
providence  with  which  lie  was  exercised,  were 
a  proof  that  this  was  not  an  affected  manner 
of  expression,  but  the  genuine  dictate  of  his 
heart.  To  speak  of  one's  self  in  abasing 
terms  is  easy ;  and  such  language  is  often  a 
thin  vail,  through  which  the  motions  of  pride 
may  be  easily  discerned  :  but  though  the  lan- 
guage of  humility  may  be  counterfeited,  its 
real  fruits  and  actings  are  inimitable.  Here 
again  he  is  a  pattern  for  christians.  An 
humble  frame  of  mind  is  the  strength  and 
ornament  of  every  other  grace,  and  the  pro- 
per soil  wherein  they  grow.  A  proud  chris- 
tian, that  is,  one  who  has  a  high  conceit  of 
his  own  abilities  and  attainments,  is  no  less  a 
contradiction  than  a  sober  drunkard,  or  a 
generous  miser.  All  other  seeming  excel- 
lencies are  of  no  real  value,  unless  accom- 
panied with  this  ;  and  though  a  person  should 
appear  to  have  little  more  than  a  conscious- 
ness of  his  own  insufficiency,  and  a  teachable 
dependent  spirit,  and  is  waiting  upon  the 
Lord,  in  his  appointed  way,  for  instruction 
and  a  blessing,  he  will  infallibly  thrive,  as  a 
tree  planted  by  the  water-side  ;  for  God,  who 
resisteth  the  proud,  has  promised  to  give 
grace  to  the  humble,  James  iv.  6.  But,  in 
an  especial  manner,  humility  is  necessary  and 
beautiful  in  a  minister  ;  the  greatest  abilities, 
and  most  unwearied  diligence,  will  not  ensure 
success  without  it ;  a  secret  (if  allowed)  ap- 
prehension of  his  own  importance,  will  de- 
prive him  of  that  assistance  without  which  he 
can  do  nothing ;  his  arm  will  be  dried  up, 
and  his  right  eye  will  be  darkened  (Zech.  xi. 
17.)  ;  for  the  Lord  of  hosts  hath  purposed 
to  stain  the  pride  of  all  human  glory,  and 
will  honour  none  but  those  who  abase  them- 
selves, and  are  willing  to  give  all  the  praise 
to  him  alone.  If  any  man  hath  ground  to 
set  a  value  upon  his  knowledge,  gifts,  and 
services,  St.  Paul  might  justly  claim  the  pre- 
eminence :  but  though  he  was  an  apostle, 
and  an  inspired  writer  ;  though  lie  had  planted 
churches  through  a  considerable  part  of  the 
known  world  ;  though  he  was  received  as  an 

*  Phil.  iii.  13,  "  Forgetting  the  tilings  that  ave  be- 
hind." As  a  traveller  upon  urgent  business  posts  from 
1>lace  to  place,  forgets  the  distance  and  inconveniences 
whind  him,  and  has  all  his  thoughts  taken  up  with  the 
place  he  would  be  at,  and  the  remainder  of  the  road  that 

toads  to  it. 


angel  by  many  to  whom  he  preached,  and, 
by  a  peculiar  favour,  had  been  caught  up 
into  the  third  heaven  ;  yet  he  was,  by  grace, 
preserved  from  being  exalted  above  measure, 
or  from  assuming  an  undue  superiority  over 
his  brethren.  The  authority  with  which  he 
was  entrusted  he  employed  solely  to  their 
advantage,  and  accounted  himself  the  least 
of  all,  and  the  servant  of  all.  How  very  op. 
posite  has  been  the  conduct  of  many  since  his 
time,  who  have  aimed  to  appropriate  the  name 
of  ministers  of  Christ,  exclusively  to  them- 
selves. 

Such  was  our  apostle;  and  the  same  spirit 
(though  in  an  inferior  degree)  will  be  found  in 
all  the  faithful  ministers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  : 
they  love  his  name  ;  it  is  the  pleasing  theme 
of  their  ministry  ;  and  to  render  it  glorious  in 
the  eyes  of  sinners  is  the  great  study  of  their 
lives  ;  for  his  sake  they  love  all  who  love  him, 
and  are  their  willing  servants  to  promote  the 
comfort  and  edification  of  their  souls :  They 
love  his  gospel,  faithfully  proclaim  it  without 
disguise  or  alteration,  and  shun  not  to  de- 
clare the  whole  counsel  of  God,  so  far  as  they 
are  themselves  acquainted  with  it  :  they  con- 
tend earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints,  and  are  desirous  to  preserve  and 
maintain  the  truth  in  its  power  and  purity. 
The  knowledge  of  their  own  weakness  and 
fallibility  makes  them  tender  to  the  weakness 
of  others ;  and  though  they  dare  not  lay,  or 
allow,  any  other  foundation  than  that  which 
God  has  laid  in  Zion,  yet,  knowing  that  the 
kingdom  of  God  does  not  consist  in  meats 
and  drinks,  but  in  righteousness,  peace,  and 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  guard  against 
the  influence  of  a  party-spirit ;  and,  if  their 
labours  are  confined  to  christians  of  one  de- 
nomination, their  love  and  prayers  are  not 
limited  within  such  narrow  bounds,  but  ex- 
tend to  all  who  love  and  serve  their  Master : 
they  have  entered  upon  the  ministry,  not  for 
low  and  sordid  ends,  for  popular  applause  or 
filthy  lucre,  but  from  a  constraining  sense  of 
the  love  of  Jesus,  and  a  just  regard  to  the 
worth  and  danger  of  immortal  souls  :  their 
zeal  is  conducted  and  modelled  by  the  ex- 
ample and  precepts  of  their  Lord ;  their  de- 
sire is  not  to  destroy,  but  to  save,  and  they 
wish  their  greatest  enemies  a  participation  in 
their  choicest  blessings.  In  the  subject  mat- 
ter and  manner  of  their  preaching,  they  shew 
that  they  seek  not  to  be  men-pleaser?,  but  to 
commend  the  truth  to  every  man's  conscience 
in  the  sight  of  God ;  and  when  they  have 
done  their  utmost,  and  when  God  has  blessed 
their  labours,  and  given  them  acceptance  and 
success  beyond  their  hopes,  they  are  conscious 
of  the  defects  and  evils  attending  their  best 
endeavours,  of  the  weal  influence  the  truths 
they  preach  to  others  have  upon  their  own 
hearts,  that  their  sufficiency  of  every  kind  is 
of  God,  and  not  of  themselves  ;  and  therefore 
they  sit  down   ashamed,   as  unprofitable  ser- 


IRREGULARITIES  AND  OFFENCES,  &C. 


CHAP.  III. 

vants,  and  c;in  rejoice  or  glory  in  nothing, 
but  in  him  who  came  into  the  world  to  save 
the  chief  of  sinners. 

It  might  be  expected  that  a  spirit  and  con- 
duct, thus  uniformly  benevolent  and  disinte- 
rested, and  witnessed  to,   in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  by  the  good  effect  of  their   ministry 
and  example  amongst  their  hearers,  would  se- 
cure them  the  good-will  of  mankind,  and  entitle 
them  to  peace,  if  not  to  respect :    But,  on  the 
contrary,   these  are  the  very  people  who  are 
represented  as  deceivers  of  souls,  and  disturb- 
ers of  society  :    they  are  not  permitted  to  live 
in  some  places ;  and  it  is  owing  to  a  concur- 
rence of  favourable  circumstances,  if  they  are 
permitted  to  speak  in  any:    The  eyes  of  many 
are   upon   them,   watching  for  their  halting  ; 
their  infirmities  are  aggravated,  their  expres- 
sions wrested,  their  endeavours  counteracted, 
and   their  persons  despised.      The  design  of 
our  history  is,  to  shew,  in  the  course  of  every 
period  of  the  church,  that  those  who  have  ap- 
proached nearest  to  the  character  I  have  at- 
tempted  to   delineate   from    St.    Paul,*  have 
always  met  with  such  treatment ;    and  from 
his  declaration,  that  all  who  will  live  godly  in 
Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution  (2  Tim. 
iii.  12.),  we  may  expect  it  will  always  be  so, 
while  human  nature  and  the  state  of  the  world 
remain  as   they  are.      However,  it  may  be  a 
consolation  to  those  who  suffer  for  righteous- 
ness sake,  to   reflect,   that  the   apostles  were 
treated  thus  before  them,  particularly  St.  Paul, 
who,   as  he  laboured,   so  he  suffered  more  a- 
bundantly  than  the  rest;  his  person  was  treat- 
ed with    contempt  and  despite,  his  character 
traduced,    his   doctrine   misrepresented ;    and 
though  his  natural  and  acquired  abilities  were 
great,   and  he  spoke  with  power  and  the  de- 
monstration of  the  Spirit,  yet  he  was  esteemed 
the  filth  and  ofF-scouring  of  all  things,  a  bab- 
bler, and  a  madman,f  Acts,  xvii.  ]  8. 

*  Our  Lord's  declaration,  "  Behold,  I  send  you  forth 
as  lambs  in  the  midst  of  wolves,"  is  applicable  to  all  his 
servants.  The  sight  of  a  lamb  is  sufficient  to  provoke 
the  rage  and  appetite  of  a  wolf  :  Thus  the  spirit  of  the 
gospel  awakens  the  rage  and  opposition  of  the  world; 
they  have  an  antipathy  to  it,  and  owe  it  a  grudge  where- 
evet  they  see  it. 

*  2  Cor.  v.  13.  See  likewise  Mark,  iii.  21.  "  And 
wheu  his  friends  heard  it,  they  went  out  to  lay  hold  of 
him,  for  they  said,  He  is  beside  himself  :"  That  is  to 
say,  his  attention  to  the  office  he  has  undertaken  has 
transported  him  beyond  the  bounds  of  reason,  and  made 
him  forget  his  station,  his  friends,  and  his  safety;  there- 
fore, out  of  pure  affection  and  prudence,  they  would 
have  confined  him :  Nor  is  it  any  wonder  that  our 
Lord's  friends  and  relatives  should  thus  think  and  speak 
of  him,  since  we  are  assured  that  even  his  brethren  did 
not  believe  on  him,  John,  vii.  3.  And  there  seems  to 
have  been  no  possible  medium.  All  who  were  conver- 
sant with  him,  must  either  receive  him  as  the  Messiah, 
or  pity,  if  not  despise,  him  as  a  madman.  This  was  the 
mildest  judgment  they  could  form  ;  the  Pharisees  in- 
deed went  farther,  and  pronounced  hiin  an  impostor 
and  a  devil.  Such  was  the  treatment  our  Lord  and 
Master  found.  Let  not,  then,  his  disciples  and  servants 
be  surprised  or  grieved  that  they  are  misrepresented  and 
misunderstood,  on  account  of  their  attachment  to  him  ; 
but  let  them  comfort  themselves  with  his  gracious  words, 
John,  xv   18—21. 


505 


CHAP.  III. 

OF  THE  IRREGULARITIES  AND  OFFENCES  WHICH 
APPEARED  IN  THE  APOSTOLIC  CHURCHES. 

There  are  few  things  in  which  the  various 
divisions  of  professing  christians  are  so  gene, 
rally  agreed,  as  in  speaking  highly  and  honour- 
ably of  primitive  Christianity.  In  many  per- 
sons this  is  no  more  than  an  ignorant  admira- 
tion, not  capable  of  distinguishing  what  is 
truly  praise-worthy,  but  disposed  to  applaud 
every  thing  in  the  gross  that  has  the  sanction 
of  antiquity  to  recommend  it.  The  primitive 
christians  have  been  looked  upon,  by  some,  as 
if  they  were  not  men  of  the  same  nature  and 
infirmities  with  ourselves,  but  nearly  infalli- 
ble and  perfect.  This  is  often  taken  for 
granted  in  general ;  and  when  particulars  are 
insisted  on,  it  is  observable,  that  they  are  sel- 
dom taken  from  the  records  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  the  churches  which  flourished  in 
the  apostles  times ;  but  rather  from  those 
who  lived  in  and  after  the  second  century, 
when  a  considerable  deviation  in  doctrine,  spi- 
rit, and  conduct,  from  those  which  were  indeed 
the  primitive  churches,  had  already  taken 
place,  and  there  were  evident  appearances  of 
that  curiosity,  ambition,  and  will-worship, 
which  increased  by  a  swift  progress,  till  at 
length  professed  Christianity  degenerated  into 
little  more  than  an  empty  name. 

If  christians  of  the  early  ages  are  supposed  to 
have  been  more  exemplary  than  in  after  periods, 
chiefly  because  they  lived  nearer  to  the  times 
of  our  Lord  and  his  apostles,  it  will  follow  of 
course,  that  the  earlier  the  better.  We  may 
then  expect  to  find  most  of  the  christian  spirit 
among  those  who  were  converted  and  edified 
by  the  apostles  personal  ministry  :  and  though 
we  cannot  allow  the  assumption  (for  the  power 
of  godliness  depends  not  upon  dates,  periods, 
or  instruments,  but  upon  the  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit),  yet  we  are  content  to  join  issue 
upon  the  conclusion,  and  are  willing  that  all 
claims  to  a  revival  of  religion,  and  a  real  refor- 
mation of  manners,  shall  be  admitted  or  reject- 
ed, as  they  accord  or  disagree  with  the  accounts 
we  have  of  the  churches  planted  by  the  apos- 
tles, and  during  the  time  that  these  authorised 
ministers  of  Christ  presided  over  them.  We 
can  find  no  other  period  in  which  we  can,  to 
so  much  advantage,  propose  the  visible  church- 
es of  Christ  as  a  pattern  and  specimen  of 
what  his  grace  and  gospel  may  be  expected  to 
produce  in  the  present  state  of  human  nature  ; 
for  the  apostles  were  furnished,  in  an  extraor- 
dinary manner,  with  zeal,  wisdom,  and  autho- 
rity for  their  work,  and  God  was  remarkably 
present  with  them,  by  the  power  of  his  Spirit. 
Besides,  as  all  the  information  we  have  con- 
cerning this  period  is  derived  from  the  inspired 
writings,   we    have  that  certainty   of  facts  to 


5UG 


IRREGULARITIES  AND  OFFENCES 


book  ir. 


ground  our  observations  upon  which  no  other 
history  can  all'ord. 

We  have  a  pleasing  description  of  the  first 
of  these  churches,  which  was  formed  at  Jeru- 
salem soon  after  our  Lord's  ascension.  On 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  many  who  had  person- 
ally consented  to  the  death  of  Jesus,  received 
power  to  believe  in  his  name,  and  publicly 
joined  themselves  to  his  disciples  ;  a  sense  of 
his  love  and  grace  to  each  united  the  whole 
body  so  closely  together,  that,  though  they 
were  a  multitude  of  several  thousands,  it  is 
said  (Acts  iv.  32.),  they  were  of  one  heart 
and  of  one  soul:  neither  said  any  of  them, 
that  aught  of  the  things  which  he  possessed 
was  his  own,  but  they  had  all  things  common  ; 
and  they  continued  stedfastly  in  the  apostles 
doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in  breaking  of 
bread,  and  in  prayers.  These  were  happy 
times  indeed  !  No  interfering  interests  or 
jarring  sentiments,  no  subtle  or  factious  spi- 
rits, no  remissness  in  the  means  of  grace,  no 
instances  of  a  conduet  in  any  respect  unbe- 
coming the  gospel,  were  to  be  found  among 
them  ;  it  seemed  as  if  the  powerful  sense  of 
divine  truths,  which  they  had  received,  had 
overborne,  if  not  extirpated,  every  evil  dispo- 
sition in  so  large  an  assembly  ;  yet,  even  this 
(the  difference  of  numbers  excepted)  is  no 
peculiar  case.  The  like  has  been  observaLle 
again  and  again,  when  God  has  been  pleased 
to  honour  ministers,  far  inferior  to  thf)  apos- 
tles, with  a  sudden  and  signal  influence,  in 
places  where  the  power  of  the  gospel  had  been 
little  known  before.  In  such  circumstances, 
the  truth  has  been  often  impressed  and  re- 
ceived with  astonishing  effects  ;  many,  who 
before  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  hav- 
ing been,  like  those  of  old,  pierced  to  the 
heart,  and  then  filled  with  comfort,  from  a 
believing  knowledge  of  him  on  whom  their 
sins  were  laid,  find  themselves,  as  it  were,  in 
a  new  world  ;  old  things  are  past  away  ;  the 
objects  of  time  and  sense  appear  hardly  worth 
their  notice:  the  love  of  Christ  constrains 
them,  and  they  burn  in  love  to  all  who  will 
join  them  in  praising  the  Saviour.  Here  indeed 
is  a  striking  change  wrought :  yet  the  infirmi- 
ties inseparable  from  human  nature,  though 
for  the  present  overpowered,  will,  as  occa- 
sions arise,  discover  themselves  again,  so  far 
as  to  prove  two  things  universally:  1.  That 
the  best  of  men  are  still  liable  to  mistakes 
and  weaknesses,  for  which  they  wili  have 
cause  to  mourn  to  the  end  of  their  lives.  2. 
That  in  the  best  times  there  will  he  some  in- 
truders, who  for  a  season  may  make  a  profes- 
sion, and  yet  in  the  end  appear  to  have  neither 
part  nor  lot  in  the  matter.  Thus  it  was  in 
the  church  of  Jerusalem  :  the  pleasing  state 
of  things  mentioned  above  did  not  continue 
very  long ;  an  Ananias  and  a  Sapphira  were 
soon  found  amongst  them,  who  sought  the 
praise  of  men,  and  made  their  profession  a 


cloak  for  covetousness  and  hypocrisy  (Acts 
v.)  ;  grudgings  and  murmurings  arose  in  a 
little  time  between  the  Jews  and  the  Helle- 
nists (Acts  vi.)  ;  and  it  was  not  long  before 
they  were  thrown  into  strong  debates,  and  in 
danger  of  divisions,  upon  account  of  the  ques- 
tion first  started  at  Antioch,  Whether  the  law 
of  Moses  was  still  in  force  to  believers  or  not  ? 
Acts  xv. 

In  these  latter  times,  when  it  has  been  at- 
tempted to  vindicate  and  illustrate  a  revival 
of  religion,  by  appealing  to  the  writings  of  St. 
Paul,  and  the  delineation  he  has  given  us  of 
the  faith  and  practice  of  a  christian,  the  attempt 
has  often  excited  disdain  :  it  has  been  thought 
a  sufficient  answer,  to  enumerate  and  exag- 
gerate the  faults,  mistakes,  and  inconsistencies 
(or  what  the  world  is  pleased  to  account  such) 
that  are  charged  upon  the  persons  concerned 
in  such  an  appeal,  as  necessarily  proving,  that 
where  these  blemishes  are  found,  there  can  be 
no  resemblance  to  the  first  christians.  If  the 
frequency  did  not  lessen  the  wonder,  it  might 
seem  very  unaccountable  that  any  person  who 
has  read  the  New  Testament  should  venture 
upon  this  method  in  a  Protestant  country, 
where  the  people  have  the  scriptures  in  their 
hands,  and  are  at  liberty  to  judge  for  them- 
selves. But  as  there  are  not  a  few,  even  a- 
mong  Protestants,  who  seem  to  expect  their 
assertions  will  pass  for  proofs,  I  propose,  in 
this  chapter,  to  point  out  several  things,  which, 
though  undoubtedly  wrong,  had  a  considerable 
prevalence  among  the  first  christians,  leaving 
the  application  to  the  judicious  reader.  I  ac- 
knowledge my  firm  persuasion,  that  a  certain 
system  of  doctrine,  revived  of  late  years,  is 
the  doctrine  of  the  Reformation,  and  of  the 
New  Testament;  which,  though  not  suited 
to  the  general  and  prevailing  taste,  is  attend- 
ed, more  or  less,  with  the  blessing  and  power 
of  God,  in  turning  sinners  from  darkness  to 
light :  I  confess,  that  both  ministers  and  peo- 
ple who  espouse  this  despised  cause,  have  suf- 
ficient ground  for  humiliation  :  we  have  seen, 
we  still  see,  many  things  amongst  us  which 
we  cannot  approve ;  we  fear  that  too  many 
are  a  real  discredit  to  the  cause  they  profess ; 
and  we  are  conscious,  that  the  best  of  us  fall 
mournfully  short  of  what  might  be  expected 
from  the  sublime  principles  which,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  we  have  been  taught  from  his 
word  :  we  desire  to  be  open  to  conviction, 
not  to  contend  for  errors,  or  even  to  vindi- 
cate any  thing  that  can  be  proved  contrary  to 
the  scripture ;  but  if  some  things  not  justi- 
fiable, which  we  must  own  have  accompanied 
what  we  verily  believe  to  be  a  work  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  are  (as  some  would  represent 
them)  sufficient  to  discredit  this  work,  to  im- 
peach the  truth  of  the  doctrines,  or  the  sin 
cerity  of  the  instruments  in  the  gross  ;  then 
we  are  sure  it  will  follow  upon  the  same  prin- 
ciples, that  the  Jews  and   Heathens  had  just 


CHAP    III. 

ground  and  warrant  to  reject  the  doctrine  of  i 
the  apostles,  and  to  treat  their  persons  with 
contempt. 

A  competent  knowlege  and  consideration 
of  the  present  state  of  man,  in  himself,  and 
of  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed, 
are  necessary  to  preserve  us  from  being  offend- 
ed with  the  gospel  of  Christ,  on  account  of  the 
imperfections  that  may  be  found  in  the  con-  j 
duct  of  those  who  have  sincerely  received  it ; 
due  allowances  must  be  made  for  the  remains 
of  ignorance  and  prejudice,  the  power  of  habit, 
temper,  and  constitution,  in  different  persons. 
The  various  combinations  of  these,  and  other 
particulars,  make  each  individual  character, ' 
though  agreeing  in  one  common  nature,  and 
influenced  by  the  same  general  principles,  in 
some  respects  an  original.  The  power  and 
subtlety  of  Satan,  and  his  address  in  suiting 
his  temptations  to  the  peculiar  inclinations  and 
situation  of  every  person,  must  be  taken  into 
the  account :  and  likewise  the  immense  varie- 
ty of  occasions  arising  from  without,  such  as,  ' 
the  provocations  and  arts  of  enemies,  the  in- 
fluence of  mistaken  friends,  the  necessary  en- 
gagements, connections,  and  relations  of  com- j 
mon  life,  the  artifices  of  seducers,  and  the  ] 
scandals  of  false  professors.  These  things, 
and  others  which  might  be  named,  concur  to 
make  the  path  of  duty  exceeding  difficult,  es- 
pecially to  young  beginners,  who,  so  soon 
as  they  become  sincerely  desirous  to  serve 
the  Lord,  find  themselves  immediately  in  the 
midst  of  scenes,  in  which  they  can  only  be 
fitted  to  act  their  parts  aright  by  a  gradual  and 
painful  experience.  They,  whose  intentions  are 
right,  usually  set  out  with  warm  hearts  and  san- 
guine expectations,  little  aware  of  the  difficul- 
ties that  are  before  them  :  they  have  indeed  a 
sure  rule  to  act  by  in  the  scriptures,  and  they 
have  a  sure  promise,  that  the  Spirit  of  God,  will 
be  their  guide  and  teacher ;  but  at  first  they 
have  but  little  acquaintance  with  the  scriptures, 
and  until  they  are  humbled,  by  being  left 
to  commit  many  mortifying  mistakes,  they  are 
too  prone  to  lean  to  their  own  understand- 
ings ;  every  day  brings  them  into  some  new 
difficulty,  wherein  they  can  get  little  direction 
from  what  they  have  passed  through  before, 
and  often  emergencies  are  so  pressing  as  hard- 
ly to  leave  room  for  deliberation  :  in  short,  it 
seems  to  be  the  Lord's  pleasure,  not  so  much 
to  preserve  them  from  mistakes  and  indiscre- 
tions at  first,  as  to  take  occasion  to  humble 
them  upon  this  account,  and  to  shew  them 
now  to  correct  them  when  made.  Thus  they 
■ire  more  confirmed  in  a  sense  of  their  own 
weakness  and  of  his  goodness,  and  are  trained 
up,  by  time,  observation,  and  repeated  trials, 
to  a  more  perfect  exercise  of  every  branch  of 
christian  wisdom  by  degrees  their  judgments 
are  formed  to  greater  maturity  ;  they  are  more 
jealous  of  themselves,  more  acquainted  with 
Satan's  devices,  more  capable  of  distinguish- 
ing the  spirit  and  conduct  of  mankind,  and 


IN  THE  APOSTOLIC  CHURCHES. 


507 


especially  more  simply  dependent  upon  God 
for  his  teaching  and  direction  ;  and  thus  they 
grow  into  a  participation  of  the  spirit  of  the 
gospel,  and  are  enabled  to  act  and  speak  as  be- 
comes the  servants  of  Christ.  When  his 
gospel  is  faithfully  preached  and  cordially  re- 
ceived, there  always  will  be  some  who  are  able, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  to  put  to  silence  the 
ignorance  of  foolish  men,  and  to  demean  them- 
selves so,  that  if  any  will  speak  evil  of  them, 
the  shame  is  retorted  upon  themselves  ;  but 
among  the  numbers  who  are  forming  in  the 
same  school,  there  will  likewise  be  some  (for 
the  reasons  I  have  suggested)  whose  conduct 
will,  in  some  respects,  be  liable  to  censure, 
though  their  hearts  are  sincere ;  and  there 
will  frequently  be  others,  who  (like  the  hear- 
ers compared  by  our  Lord  to  seed  sown  upon 
rocky  ground)  will  thrust  themselves  amongst 
professors,  be  called  by  the  same  name,  and 
accounted  by  the  world  the  same  people,  who 
at  length  discover  themselves  to  be  mere  hy- 
pocrites: these  indeed  will  furnish  occasion 
enough  for  exception  ;  and  they  who  are  glad 
to  have  it  so,  will  readily  suppose  or  pretend 
that  they  are  all  alike.  It  remains  to  shew, 
that  in  this  sense  there  is  no  new  thing  under 
the  sun.      It  was  so  from  the  beginning. 

The  apostle  Paul  bears  an  honourable  testi- 
mony to  the  sincerity,  zeal,  and  grace  of  the 
believers  amongst  whom  he  had  preached,  and 
to  whom  he  had  written  ;  he  commends  their 
work  of  faith  and  labour  of  love  ;  he  styles 
them  his  joy,  his  glory,  and  his  crown,  and 
expresses  his  confidence,  that  the  Lord,  who 
had  begun  a  good  work  in  them,  would  as- 
suredly complete  it :  but  though  he  knew 
there  were  many  persons  among  them  who 
were  well  established  in  the  truth,  and  judi- 
cious in  their  conduct,  his  admonitions  upon 
several  occasions  shew  there  were  others,  whose 
judgments  were  weak  and  their  behaviour  un 
warrantable. 

He  speaks  of  the  Corinthians  (2  Cor.  i.  5), 
as  a  people  enriched  in  the  knowledge  of 
Christ,  and  honoured  with  the  eminency  of 
gifts;  yet  he  takes  notice  of  many  things 
blameable  in  them  ;  insomuch  that  if  the  peo- 
ple who  now  censure  appearances  of  a  reli- 
gious kind,  because  they  are  not  wholly  free 
from  imperfection,  could  have  had  opportu- 
nity to  judge  of  the  christians  at  Corinth  in 
the  same  spirit,  it  is  probable  they  would  have 
despised  and  condemned  those  whom  the  apos- 
tle loved,  as  much  as  they  can  possibly  do  any 
set  of  people  now. 

They  had  first  received  the  gospel  from  St. 
Paul,  but  it  had  been  confirmed  to  them  after- 
wards by  other  ministers.  The  servants  of 
Christ  all  preach  the  same  truths  ;  but  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  furnishes  them  all  for  the 
work  he  appoints  them  to,  distributes  to  each 
one  severally,  according  to  his  own  will ;  he 
communicates  a  diversity  of  gifts,  not  all  to 
one  person,  but  each  has  a  talent  given  him 


A08 


IRREGULARITIES  AND  OFFENCES 


to  profit  withal  ;  one  is  favoured  with  a  pecu- 
liar insight  into  the  mysteries  of  the  gospel  • 
another  has  a  power  and  pathos  of  expres- 
sion ;  and  another  is  happy  in  a  facility  of 
applying  to  distressed  and  wounded  con- 
sciences. It  is  the  duty  and  privilege  of 
christians  to  avail  themselves  of  these  differ- 
ent talents  ;  to  profit  by  each,  to  be  thankful 
for  all.  and  to  esteem  every  faithful  minister 
very  highly  for  his  work's  sake.  But  the  Co- 
rinthians were  unduly  influenced  by  personal 
attachments,  as  their  several  inclinations  led 
them ;  they  formed  imprudent  comparisons 
and  preferences,  were  divided  into  parties, 
and  drawn  into  contentions  upon  this  ac- 
count ;  one  saying,  I  am  of  Paul ;  another, 
I  am  of  Apollos,  or,  I  of  Cephas  (1  Cor.  i. 
12;  and  iii.  4):  they  thought  it  a  mark  of 
zeal  tc  be  strenuous  for  their  respective  fa- 
vourites ;  but  St.  Paul  assured  them,  that  it 
was  a  sign  they  were  weak  and  low  in  the 
christian  life,  and  a  means  to  keep  them  so. 
Disputes  and  prepossessions  of  this  kind  draw 
the  mind  away  from  its  proper  nourishment, 
and  afford  occasion  for  the  various  workings 
of  our  selfish  passions.  Wherever  the  Lord 
is  pleased  to  raise  up,  in  or  near  the  same 
place,  ministers  who  are  of  eminence  in  their 
different  gifts,  the  effects  of  this  spirit  will 
be  more  or  less  observable  ;  and  it  is  eagerly 
observed  by  the  world,  and  amplified  to  the 
jtmost,  as  a  weighty  objection  :  the  ministers 
are  represented  to  be  artful,  designing  men  ; 
who,  under  the  sacred  names  of  Christ,  and 
the  gospel,  are  aiming  chiefly  or  solely  to 
form  a  party  of  dependants  upon  themselves  ; 
and  the  people  are  accounted  silly  sheep, 
carried  away  captive  by  the  influence  of  their 
popular  leaders,  insomuch  that  they  cannot, 
or  dare  not,  receive  the  doctrines  they  profess 
to  love  from  any  but  their  own  favourites. 
The  disposition  is  certainly  wrong ;  but  let  it 
be  censured  with  candour,  not  as  the  pecu- 
liarity of  this  or  that  party,  but  as  a  fault 
which  human  nature  is  always  prone  to  in 
similar  circumstances  :  it  shewed  a  want  of 
solid  judgment  in  the  Corinthians,  but  was 
no  impeachment  of  their  sincerity  :  much  less 
did  it  prove  that  Paul,  Apollos,  or  Cephas 
were  mercenary,  ambitious  men,  who  prosti- 
tuted their  talents  and  influence  to  gain  dis- 
ciples to  themselves,  rather  than  to  Christ. 
The  same  premises  will  admit  of  no  stronger 
conclusion  now  than  in  the  apostles  days. 

The  proper  design  and  tendency  of  the  re- 
ligion of  Jesus  is,  to  wean  the  affections  from 
the  world,  to  mortify  the  dictates  of  self-love, 
and  to  teach  us  (by  his  example)  to  be  gentle, 
forbearing,  benevolent,  and  disinterested. 
This  the  world  is  aware  of;  and  though  they 
declare  their  dislike  to  the  principles  which 
alone  can  produce  such  a  spirit,  they  always 
expect  it  from  the  people  who  profess  them ; 
and  therefore  when,  amongst  the  numbers  of 
these,  they  can  find  a  few  instances  of  persons 


BOOK  II 

too  much  actuated  by  selfish,  worldly  or  angry 
tempers,  it  is  eagerly  objected :  These  are  ex- 
cellent people,  if  you  would  judge  of  them  by 
the  length  and  frequency  of  their  devotions, 
and  by  what  they  have  to  say  of  their  per- 
suasion of  God's  love  to  them  ;  but  touch 
them  in  their  property,  and  they  shew  them- 
selves as  unwilling  to  forego,  and  as  anxious 
to  grasp,  the  good  things  of  this  world,  as  if 
they  had  no  better  claim  to  heaven  than  our- 
selves. It  is  much  to  be  lamented,  that  such 
occasions  of  reproach  are  afforded  to  those 
who  seek  them.  But  what  would  they  have 
said  of  the  Corinthians,  whom  the  apostle  re 
proves  in  the  following  terms  :  "  Now  there 
fore  there  is  utterly  a  fault  among  you,  be- 
cause you  go  to  law  one  with  another  ;  why 
do  you  not  rather  take  wrong  ?  why  do  you 
not  rather  suffer  yourselves  to  be  defrauded  ? 
Nay,  you  do  wrong  and  defraud,  and  that 
your  brethren,"  1  Cor.  vi.  7,  8.  And,  in 
the  preceding  chapter,  he  speaks  of  an  enor- 
mity among  them,  hardly  to  be  heard  of 
among  the  Heathens,  which,  though  the 
fault  of  one  person,  brought  dishonour  upon 
them  all,  because  they  had  not  explicitly  dis- 
owned it,  and  proceeded  against  the  offender. 
This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at ;  for  we  have 
often  seen,  in  our  own  time,  that  though  evil 
practices  have  been  censured  in  the  strongest 
terms  of  disallowance,  and  the  offenders  pub- 
licly and  notoriously  disclaimed,  yet  many 
will  still  be  so  destitute  of  candour  and  equity 
as  to  insist  on  it,  they  are  all  alike. 

The  irregularities  in  the  public  worship  at 
Corinth  were  such,  as  if  practised  amongst 
ourselves,  would  excite  a  greater  clamour  than 
any  thing  of  that  nature  which  has  been  hither- 
to complained  of.  It  appears  that,  far  from 
conducting  their  assemblies  with  decency  and 
order,  they  were  sometimes  in  the  greatest 
confusion :  different  persons  had  a  psalm,  a 
doctrine,  a  tongue,  a  revelation,  an  interpre- 
tation, many  speaking  together,  and  some, 
times  in  different  languages  ;  so  that  the  apos- 
tle thought  it  very  probable,  that,  if  an  un- 
believer came  in  amongst  them,  he  would 
of  course  say,  they  were  mad,  1  Cor.  xiv.  23. 
And  this  want  of  decorum  extended  to  their 
celebration  of  the  Lord's  supper  ;  where,  says 
the  apostle,  Every  one  taketh  before  another ; 
and  one  is  hungry,  and  another  is  drunken,  I 
Cor.  xi.  21.  I  apprehend  that  these  in- 
stances of  disorder  cannot  be  paralleled  by 
the  most  irregular  proceedings  in  our  time, 
amongst  any  people  that  hold  the  principles 
which  I  am  at  present  engaged  to  vindicate. 

Many  of  the   Corinthians,   ns  well  as  the 
Galatians,  *  had  discovered  great  unsteadiness 

*  Yet  he  says  of  the  Galatians,  that  when  he  first  went 
among  them,  they  received  him  as  an  angel  of  (Sod, 
and,  if  possible,  would  have  plucked  out  their  own 
eyes  to  have  given  them  to  him,  Gal.  iv.  15.  Great  is 
the  power  of  the  gospel ;  it  subdues  and  possesses  the 
heart,  and  conciliates  a  tenderness  and  relation  between 
ministers  and  ncople,  nearer  and  dearer  than  the  ties  of 


CHAP.  in. 


IN   THE  APOSTOLIC   CHURCHES. 


509 


towards  St.  Paul,  and  had  been  seduced  by 
false  teachers  and  pretended  apostles.  Inex- 
perienced minds  are  very  liable  to  such  decep- 
tions :   meaning  well  themselves,  they  are  too 


see  them  issue  in  a  universal  confusion,  like 
that  of  Babel.  In  the  same  light,  it  is  most 
probable,  the  Heathens  beheld  and  derided 
the  primitive  christians  :    for  they  likewise  had 


apt  to  listen  to  the  fair  words  and  fine  speeches  i  their  shaking  and  sifting  times  ;  many  amongst 
of  those  who  lie  in  wait  to  deceive.  The !  them,  who  seemed  to  begin  in  the  spirit, 
love  of  Christ,   and  the  love  of  holiness,  are  I  were  stopped  short  in  their  course  by  the  arts 


the  leading  properties  of  a  gracious  heart,  and 
such  a  one,  till  experience  has  made  him 
wise,  conceives  a  good  opinion  of  all  who  pro- 
fess a  regard  for  Jesus,  or  for  sanctification  : 
he  is  not  aware,  at  first,  that  there  are  those 
in  the  world  who  attempt  to  divide  what  God 
has  joined  together.  When  the  blood  and 
righteousness  of  Christ  are  recommended,  not 
as  the  source,  but  as  a  substitute  for  vital 
experimental  religion  ;  or  when  some  other 
spirit  is  preached  than  that  whose  office  it  is 
to  testify  of  Jesus  ;  in  either  case  the  food  of 
the  soul  is  poisoned,  and  the  evil  begins  to 
operate  before  it  is  perceived.  Faithful  mi- 
nisters are  accounted  too  low  or  too  high,  too 
strict  or  too  remiss,  according  to  the  scheme 
newly  adopted ;  they  are  first  disregarded, 
and  at  length  considered  as  enemies,  because 
they  persist  in  the  truth,  and  refuse  to  suit 
themselves  to  the  new  taste  of  their  hearers. 
Thus  error,  once  admitted,  makes  an  alarming 
progress :  and  no  power  but  that  of  God  can 
stop  it.  Hence  proceed  divisions,  subdivi- 
sions, distinctions,  refinements,  bitterness, 
strife,*  envyings,  and  by  degrees  enthusiasm, 
in  the  worst  sense  of  the  word  :  an  evil  to  be 
dreaded  and  guarded  against  no  less  earnestly 
than  the  beginning  of  a  fire  or  a  pestilence. 
Such  trying  circumstances  will  demonstrate 
who  are  indeed  upon  the  right  foundation  ; 
for  others,  having  once  begun,  depart  from 
the  truth,  grow  worse  and  worse,  deceiving 
and  being  deceived  ;  and  many  who  are  built 
upon  the  rock,  and  therefore  cannot  be  totally 
or  finally  drawn  away,  yet  suffer  unspeakable 
loss;  the  wood,  hay,  and  stubble  (1  Cor.  iii. 
10 — 15),  the  unadvised  additions  they  have 
made  to  the  scriptural  truths  they  once  re- 
ceived, are  burnt  up  in  the  time  of  tempta- 
tion ;  they  lose  much  of  their  comfort  and 
stability,  and  have  in  a  manner  all  to  begin 
again.  The  world,  that  knows  not  the  weak- 
ness of  man,  or  the  power  and  devices  of 
Satan,  laughs  at  those  things,  and  expects  to 

flesh  and  blood.  But  alas!  how  great  likewise  is  the 
inconstancy  of  mortals !  the  apostle  experienced  it  to  his 
grief;  and  where  he  had  the  greatest  prospect,  he  was 
most  disappointed :  those  who  once  would  have  plucked 
out  their  own  eyes  for  his  service,  afterwards  accounted 
him  their  enemy,  for  telling  them  the  truth.  We  need 
not  therefore  wonder  if  there  are  instances  of  this  kind 
at  present. 

*  That  bitterness  and  strife  were  too  frequent  in  the 
primitive  churches,  appears  from  James  iii.  14.;  Gal. 
v.  15.  ;  and  other  texts.  Our  Lord's  admonition,  Matth. 
vii.  3 — 5.  has  always  been  too  little  regarded  ;  and  few 
are  yet  sufficiently  convinced  of  the  folly  and  absurdity 
of  pointing  out,  and  in  an  angry  spirit  condemning,  the 
mistakes  and  faults  of  others,  while  we  indulge  greater 
in  ourselves.  Reformation  (like  modern  charity)  should 
begin  at  home . 


of  false  teachers,  to  their  great  hindrance,  and 
some  to  their  final  overthrow. 

St.  Paul  addresses  no  one  church  in  terms 
of  greater  tenderness  and  approbation  than  the 
Thessalonians ;  he  commends  their  work  of 
faith,  and  labour  of  love,  and  patience  of  hope 
in  our  Lord  Jesus  ;  and  mentions  them  as  a 
pattern  to  the  other  churches  in  Macedonia 
and  Greece.  Yet  even  among  these  he  under- 
stood there  were  some  who  walked  disorderly, 
and  were  busybodies,  not  working  at  all ;  he 
strongly  disapproved  their  conduct,  declaring, 
that  if  any  would  not  work,  neither  should 
he  eat,  2  Thess.  iii.  10,  11.  When  persons 
are  newly  awakened  to  a  concern  for  theii 
souls,  and  deeply  impressed  with  the  impor- 
tance of  eternity,  it  is  no  wonder  (considering 
the  animal  frame)  if  their  attention  is  so  en- 
gaged and  engrossed  for  a  season,  that  they 
cannot  attend  to  the  affairs  of  common  life 
with  their  usual  alacrity  and  freedom  :  *  if 
their  concern  is  of  a  right  kind,  they  are  gra- 
dually brought  to  peace  and  hope  in  believ- 
ing ;  they  recover  their  spirits,  and  their  civil 
callings  being  now  sanctified  by  a  desire  to 
glorify  God  in  them,  their  diligence  is  not 
less,  but  frequently  greater  than  before ;  for 
now  they  act  not  to  please  men,  or  to  please 
themselves,  but  what  they  do,  they  do  heartily 
as  to  the  Lord.  However,  amongst  a  number 
of  people,  natural  temper,  indiscretion,  or  in- 
advertance,  may  cause  some  to  deviate  from 
the  general  rule ;  and  though  we  cannot 
justify  any  who  are  remiss  in  the  discharge  of 
the  relative  duties  of  society,  we  may  justify 
the  doctrines  and  principles  they  acknow- 
ledge, from  the  charge  of  leading  them  into 
this  mistake,  unless  it  can  be  proved  that  St. 
Paul's  preaching  was  justly  chargeable  with 
the  same  fault. 

But  these  are  small  things  compared  to 
what  he  says  in  another  place.  He  complains 
to  the  Philippians  in  this  affecting  language 
(Phil.  iii.  18,  19):  "  Many  walk  (not  some 
only,    but  many),   of  whom    I   have   told  you 

*  See  James  iv.  9.  The  word  y,x.Tnipua.  rendered  heart- 
nest,  answers  nearest  to  dejection  ;  the  derivation  import- 
ing a  downcast  countenance  ;  and  it  expresses  that  kind 
of  sorrow  which  sinks  the  spirits,  and  fixes  the  eye  upon 
the  earth.  Something  of  this  is  usually  diseernable 
when  a  real  conviction  of  sin  takes  place  in  the  heart. 
The  inspired  apostle  recommends  this  temper  and  de- 
meanour as  most  suitable  to  the  case  of  sinners  who  are 
destitute  of  faith  and  love,  and  cannot  therefore  rejoice 
upon  good  grounds ;  and  yet  when  any  person  begins  to 
be  impressed  in  this  manner,  and  to  see  the  propriety 
of  tjie  apostle's  advice,  it  frequently  happens,  that  all 
who  know  him,  both  friends  and  enemies,  will  agree  to 
pronounce  him  disordered  in  his  senses.  So  different, 
so  opposite,  are  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  the  spirit  of  'h« 
world ' 


510 


IRREGULARITIES  AND  OFFENCES,    &C.  BOOK  II. 

offenders  (2  Cor.  vii.  9),  and  to  increase  their 
circumspection  for  the  time  to  come.  It  was 
true   likewise  that  there  were  some  gathered 


often,  and  now  tell  you  even  weeping,  that 
they  are  enemies  to  the  cross  of  Christ,* 
whose  end  is  destruction,  whose  God  is  their 
belly,  who  mind  earthly  things."  St.  Paul 
had  occasion  to  express  himself  thus,  and  that 
again  and  again,  even  in  the  golden  days  of 
primitive  Christianity.  Could  their  worst  ene- 
mies have  given  them  a  worse  character?  Can 
even  malice  itself  desire  to  fix  a  harsher  im- 
putation upon  any  denomination  of  people 
now  subsisting  ?  Yet  these  are  the  words  of 
truth  and  soberness,  the  words  of  an  inspired 
apostle,  the  words  not  of  resentment  but 
of  grief:  he  spoke  of  it  weeping;  he  would 
willingly  have  hoped  better  things ;  but  he 
knew  what  tempers  and  practices  were  incon- 
sistent with  a  sincere  acceptance  of  the  gospel  ; 
and,  unless  he  would  shut  his  eyes,  and  stop 
his  ears,  he  could  not  but  be  sensible  that  many 
who  were  reputed  christians  dishonoured  the 
name  of  Christianity,  and  caused  the  ways  of 
truth  to  be  evil  spoken  of.  Now,  what  is  the 
consequence  ?  Shall  the  apostle  bear  the  blame 
of  the  evils  and  abominations  he  lamented  ?f 
for,  if  he  had  not  preached,  these  evils  would 
not  have  appeared  under  the  christian  name. 
Shall  the  wickedness  of  his  pretended  fol- 
lowers be  charged  as  the  necessary  effect  of 
that  pure  and  heavenly  doctrine  whch  he  had 
delivered  ?  By  no  means.  The  grace  of 
God,  which  he  preached,  taught  and  enabled 
those  who  received  it  in  their  hearts  to  deny 
all  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  and  to  live 
soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  the  present 
world.  If  inquiry  was  made  concerning  the 
tendency  of  his  doctrine,  he  could  apppeal  to 
the  tempers  and  lives  of  multitudes  (1  Cor. 
iii.  2,  3),  who  had  been  thereby  delivered  from 
the  love  and  power  of  sin,  and  filled  with  the 
fruits  of  righteousness  which  are  by  Jesus 
Christ,  to  the  glory  and  praise  of  God.  But 
it  was  likewise  true  that  they  were  still  en- 
cumbered with  a  depraved  nature  :  they  were 
in  a  world  full  of  temptations  and  snares ; 
and  as  their  numbers  were  very  great,  some 
instances  had  occurred  of  persons  sincerely 
well  disposed,  who  had  too  visibly  declined 
from  the  rule  by  which  they  professed  and 
desired  to  walk.  Against  their  mistakes  and 
faults  he  watchfully  directed  his  exhortations 
and  admonitions,  as  occasions  offered  ;  and 
they  were  generally  attended  with  a  good  ef- 
fect,   to    convince,   humble,   and    restore  the 

*  What  disigreeable  things  the  apostle  was  apprehen- 
sive of  meeting,  when  he  should  revisit  Corinth,  we 
may  learn  from  2  Cor.  xii.  20,  21. 

+  The  apostle  knew  that  some  did,  or  would  presume 
to  infer  a  liberty  to  sin  from  the  doctrine  which  he 
preached  (Rom.  vi.  1),  yet  he  would  not  suppress  or  dis- 
guise the  truths  of  God  to  prevent  such  a  poor  disinge- 
nuous perversion  :  he  knew  likewise  that  no  one  who 
had  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  can  either  form 
such  a  conclusion  himself,  or  listen  to  it  if  proposed  by 
others;  therefore  he  thought  it  unnecessary  to  refute  it  at 
large.  Shall  we  continue  in  sin  that  grace  may  abound  ? 
God  forbid  !  This  is  a  sufficient  answer.  Thus  absurd 
blasphemy  exposes  ana  confutes  itself:  the  terms  are 
inconsistent,  impossrLde,  and  contradictory  in  the  high- 
est degree. 


by  the  preacing  of  the  gospel  into  the  num- 
ber of  professors,  who  were  not  effectually 
called  and  changed  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
These,  though  for  a  time  they  had  a  name  to 
live,  were  no  better  than  dead  ;  and  one  rea- 
son why  the  Lord  permitted  the  offences  and 
divisions  we  have  mentioned  to  take  place  was 
that,  by  the  means  of  such  heresies,  those  that 
were  approved  might  be  made  manifest,  and 
the  chaff  separated  from  the  wheat ;  for  though 
the  ignorant  world  would  call  even  those  per- 
sons christians,  whose  conduct  proved  them 
enemies  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  yet  time,  the  test 
of  truth,  unanswerably  evinced  the  difference. 
Thus  St.  John,  who  lived  some  years  after 
the  rest  of  the  apostles,  and  saw  many  turn 
their  backs  upon  the  teachers  and  doctrines 
they  had  once  owned,  has  observed  to  this 
purpose  : — "  They  went  out  from  us,  but  they 
were  not  of  us :  for  if  they  had  been  of  us, 
they  would  no  doubt  have  continued  with  us  : 
but  they  went  out,  that  they  might  be  made 
manifest  that  they  were  not  all  of  us,"  1  John 
ii.  19.  In  a  word,  there  were  too  many  pre- 
tenders ;  some  things  amiss  where  the  heart 
and  views  were  right  in  the  main,  and  imper- 
fections in  the  best :  the  scorners  and  cavil- 
lers, who  hated  the  light  of  the  gospel,  and 
were  always  in  search  of  something  to  con- 
firm their  prejudices  against  it,  met  with  much 
answerable  to  their  wishes,  even  in  the  first 
and  best  churches  ;  but  to  men  of  candour, 
who  were  ingenuous  seekers  of  the  truth,  the 
spirituality,  humility,  and  brotherly  love  that 
prevailed  among  the  christians,  and  the  power- 
ful effects  of  their  public  ordinances,  demon- 
strated that  the  truth  was  on  their  side,  ana 
that  God  was  assuredly  with  them. 

We  offer  the  same  apology,  the  same  train 
of  reasoning  in  behalf  of  what  is  now  so  ge- 
nerally deemed  the  foolishness  of  preaching. 
The  doctrines  we  defend,  which  some  (who 
cannot  do  it  ignorantly)  have  the  effrontery 
to  misrepresent  as  novel  opinions,  are,  we 
doubt  not,  the  doctrines  of  Christ  and  his 
apostles;  and  in  substance  the  doctrines 
taught  from  the  word  of  God  by  Wickliffe, 
Luther,  and  the  venerable  reformers  of  our 
own  church.  We  preach  Christ  crucified, 
Christ  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness, 
and  the  power  of  God  for  sanctification 
to  every  one  that  believeth  ;  we  preach  sal- 
vation by  grace  through  faith  in  his  blood  ; 
and  we  are  sure  that  they  who  receive  this 
doctrine  unfeignedly  will,  by  their  lives  and 
conversations,  demonstrate  it  to  be  a  doctrine 
according  .to  godliness  :  they  are  not  indeed 
delivered  from  infirmities,  they  are  liable  to 
mistakes  and  indiscretions,  and  see  more  amiss 
in  themselves  than  their  worst  enemies  can 
charge  them  with  ;  but  sin  is  their  burden  ; 
they  sigh  to  be  delivered  from  i»,  and  the> 


CHAP.  IV. 

expect  a  complete  redemption.  We  cannot 
indeed  say  so  much  for  all  who  outwardly 
avow  a  belief  of  this  doctrine :  there  are  pre- 
tenders who,  while  they  profess  to  believe  in 
God,  in  works  they  deny  him.  But  it  has 
been  so  from  the  beginning.  The  miscar- 
riages of  such  persons  are  charged  indiscri- 
minately upon  the  societies  among  whom  they 
are  mixed,  and  upon  the  truths  which  they 
seem  to  approve ;  but  there  is  a  righteous 
God,  who  in  due  time  will  vindicate  his  own 
gospel,  and  his  own  people  from  all  aspersions. 
St.  Paul  observed  such  things  in  his  day, 
and  he  spoke  of  them  likewise,  but  he  spoke 
of  them  weeping.  The  true  state  of  the  mind 
may  be  determined  from  the  temper  with 
which  the  miscarriages  of  professors  are  ob- 
served. The  profane  expatiate  on  them  with 
delight,  the  self-righteous  with  disdain  ;  but 
they  who  know  themselves,  and  love  the  Lord, 
cannot  speak  of  them  without  the  sincerest 
emotions  of  grief :  they  are  concerned  for  the 
honour  of  the  gospel,  which  is  defamed  un- 
der this  pretence ;  they  are  grieved  for  the  un- 
happy and  dangerous  state  of  those  by  whom 
such  offences  come,  and  they  fear  for  them- 
selves, lest  the  enemy  should  gain  an  advan- 
tage over  them  likewise,  for  they  know  they 
have  no  strength  nor  goodness  of  their  own  ; 
therefore,  avoiding  unnecessary  reflections  on 
others,  they  endeavour  to  maintain  a  watch- 
ful jealousy  over  themselves,  and  to  fix  their 
hearts  and  hopes  upon  Christ  Jesus  their  Lord, 
who,  they  are  persuaded,  is  able  to  keep  them 
from  falling,  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost,  and 
at  length  to  present  them  faultless  before  the 
presence  of  his  glory,  with  exceeding  joy. 


CHAP.  IV 

OK  THE  HERESIES   PROPAGATED   BY  FALSE 
TEACHERS  IN  THE  APOSTLES  DAYS. 

The  parables  in  the  13th  chapter  of  St. 
Matthew  are  prophetical  of  the  reception  and 
event  of  the  gospel  in  succeeding  ages.  In 
this  view  our  Lord  himself  has  explained 
them.  Wherever  it  is  preached,  the  hearers 
may  be  classed  according  to  the  distribution 
in  the  parable  of  the  sower  .  some  hear  with- 
out understanding  or  reflection  ;  in  some  it 
excites  a  hasty  emotion  in  the  natural  affec- 
tions, and  produces  an  observable  and  sudden 
change  in  their  conduct,  resembling  the  ef. 
fects  of  a  real  conversion  to  God;  but  the 
truth  not  being  rooted  in  the  heart,  nor  the 
soul  united  to  Christ  by  a  living  faith,  these 
hopeful  appearances  are  sooner  or  later  blasted, ! 
and  come  to  nothing :  others  are  really  con- 
vinced in  their  judgment  of  the  truth  and  im- 
portance of  what  they  hear,  but  their  hearts 
cleave  to  the  dust,  and  the  love  of  this  world, 


OF  THE  HERESIES,  &C. 


51  i 

the  care  of  what  they  have,  the  desire  of  what 
they  have  not,  the  calls  of  business,  or  the 
solicitations  of  pleasure,  choke  the  word  which 
they  seem  to  receive,  so  that  it  brings  fortk 
no  fruit  to  perfection  :  a  part,  however  (usual- 
ly the  smallest  part),  who  are  compared  to  the 
good  ground,  are  disposed  and  enabled,  by 
divine  grace,  to  receive  it  thankfully,  as  life 
from  the  dead.  And  though  they  meet  with 
many  difficulties,  and,  like  the  corn  upon  the 
ground,  pass  through  a  succession  of  trying 
and  changing  seasons,  yet,  having  the  love, 
promise,  and  power  of  God  engaged  on  their 
behalf,  in  defiance  of  frosts,  and  blasts,  and 
storms,  they  are  brought  to  maturity,  and, 
when  fully  ripe,  are  safely  gathered  into  his 
garner,  Matth.  iii.  12.  This  is  an  epitome 
of  the  ecclesiasistical  history  of  every  nation, 
and  of  every  parish,  to  which  this  word  of 
salvation  is  sent. 

But  the  parable  of  the  tares  (Matth.  xiii. 
12.)  teaches  us  farther  to  expect,  that  besides 
the  general  influence  which  Satan,  as  the  God 
of  this  world,  will  exert  to  blind  the  eyes  of 
mankind,  lest  the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel 
should  shine  upon  them  (2  Cor.  iv.  4.),  he 
will  take  occasion,  from  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  to  insinuate  a  variety  of  errors.  His 
first  attempts  in  this  way  are  often  so  specious 
unsuspected,  that  they  are  compared  to  a  man's 
sowing  seed  by  stealth,  and  in  the  night,  but, 
as  the  corn  grew,  a  large  crop  of  tares  spring- 
ing up  with  it,  demonstrated  that  an  enemy 
had  been  there.  This,  in  fact,  has  been  uni- 
versally  the  case,  in  every  country  and  age 
where  the  gospel  has  been  received ;  and  we 
may  remark,  that  the  sowing  the  good  seed 
was  the  occasion  of  the  tares  being  cast  into 
the  same  ground.  When  a  people  are  in- 
volved in  gross  darkness  and  ignorance,  sleep- 
ing in  a  false  peace,  and  buried  in  the  plea- 
sures and  pursuits  of  the  world,  they  have  nei- 
ther leisure,  nor  inclination,  to  invent  or 
attend  to  novelties  in  religion  ;  each  one  is 
satisfied  with  that  form  (if  even  the  form  of 
godliness  is  retained)  which  he  has  received 
from  his  parents,  and  neither  pretends  nor  de- 
sires to  be  wiser  than  those  who  went  before 
him  :  but  when  the  truth  has  shone  forth  and 
been  received,  and  seems  to  bid  fair  for  farther 
success,  Satan  employs  all  his  power  and  sub- 
tilty,  either  to  suppress  or  counterfeit  it  or 
both.  Mucli  has  been  done  in  the  former 
way  ;  he  has  prevailed  so  far  as  to  enkindle 
the  fiercest  animosities  against  the  nearest  re- 
latives, and  persuaded  men  that  they  might 
do  acceptable  service  to  God,  by  punishing 
his  faithful  servants  with  torture,  fire,  and 
sword  (John  xvi.  2.)  :  and  no  less  industri- 
ous and  successful  has  he  been  in  practising 
upon  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  mankind 
to  admit  and  propagate,  instead  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ,  and  under  that  name,  an  endless 
diversity  of  opinions,  utterly  incompatible  with 
it.      Of  these  some  are  ingenious  and  artful, 


5  VI 


OF  THE  HERESIES  PROPAGATED 


BOOK    II. 


adapted  to  gratify  the  pride  of  those  who  are 
wise  in  their  own  conceits;  others  more  gross 
and  extravagant,  suited  to  inflame  the  imagi- 
nations, or  to  gratify  the  appetites  of  such  per- 
sons as  have  not  a  turn  for  speculation  and 
refinement. 

As  these  appearances  have  always  accom- 
panied the  gospel,  so  they  have  always  been  a 
stumbling-block  and  offence  to  the  world,  and 
have  furnished  those  who  hated  the  light  with 
a  pretext  for  rejecting  it:  and  the  doctrines  of 
truth  have  been  charged  as  the  source  and 
cause  of  those  errors  which  have  only  sprung 
from  their  abuse  and  perversion.  When  Po- 
pery, for  a  series  of  ages,  detained  mankind 
in  darkness  and  bondage,  and  deprived  them  of 
the  knowlege  of  the  holy  scriptures,  the  tide  of 
error  ran  uniformly  in  one  great  channel;  when 
dead  works  were  substituted  in  the  place  of 
living  faith  ;  and  the  worship  and  trust  which 
is  only  due  to  Jesus  the  great  Mediator,  was 
blasphemously  directed  to  subordinate  inter- 
cessors, to  angels  and  to  saints,  whether  real 
or  pretended  ;  when  forgiveness  of  sin  was  ex- 
pected, not  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  but  by  pen- 
ances, pilgrimages,  masses,  and  human  absolu- 
tions, by  the  repetition  of  many  prayers,  or  the 
payment  of  sums  of  money  ;  while  things  con- 
tinued thus,  the  world  was  generally  in  that 
state  of  stupidity  and  blind  security  which  is 
miscalled  religious  peace  and  uniformity  ;  and 
the  controversies  of  the  times  were  chiefly 
confined  to  those  points  which  immediately 
affected  the  power,  wealth,  or  pre-eminence 
of  the  several  religious  orders  by  whom  the 
people  were  implicitly  led.  Some  differences 
of  opinion  were  indeed  known  ;  but  the  charge 
of  heresy  and  dangerous  innovations  was  sel- 
dom somuch  as  pretended  against  any,  but  the 
few  who  refused  to  wear  the  mark  of  the  beast 
upon  their  right  hands  and  foreheads,  and  who, 
by  the  mercy  of  God,  retained  and  professed 
the  main  truths  of  Christianity  in  some  degree 
of  power  and  purity.  But  when  it  pleased 
God  to  revive  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel, 
by  the  ministry  of  Luther  and  his  associates, 
and  many  were  turned  from  darkness  to  light, 
the  enemy  of  mankind  presently  changed  his 
methods,  and,  by  his  influence,  the  sowing  of 
the  good  seed  was  followed  by  tares  in  abun- 
dance. In  the  course  of  a  few  years,  the  glory 
of  the  Reformation  was  darkened,  and  its  pro- 
gress obstructed,  by  the  enthusiasm  and  infa- 
tuation of  men,  who,  under  a  pretence  of  im- 
proving upon  Luther's  plan,  propagated  the 
wildest,  most  extravagant  and  blasphemous 
opinions,  and  perpetrated,  under  the  mask  of 
religion,  such  acts  of  cruelty,  villany,  and  licen- 
tiousness, as  have  been  seldom  heard  of  in  the 
world.  The  papists  beheld  these  excesses  with 
pleasure  :  many  of  them  could  not  but  know 
that  Luther,  and  the  heads  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, did  all  that  could  be  expected  from  them, 
to  shew  the  folly  and  iniquity  of  such  pro- 
tt-edings  ;  but,  against  the  light  of  truth  and 


fact,  they  laboured  to  persuade  the  world,  that 
these  were  the  necessary  consequences  of 
Luther's  doctrine ;  and  that  no  better  issue 
could  be  justly  hoped  for  when  men  presumed 
to  depart  from  the  authorised  standards  of 
popes  and  councils,  and  to  read  and  examine 
the  scriptures  for  themselves. 

This  religious  madness  was,  however,  of  no 
long  duration  :  the  people  who  held  tenets  in- 
consistent with  the  peace  of  society,  were  de- 
servedly treated  as  rebels  and  incendiaries  by 
the  governing  powers  ;  the  ringleaders  were 
punished,  and  the  multitudes  dispersed  ;  their 
most  obnoxious  errors  were  gradually  aban- 
doned, and  are  now  in  a  manner  forgot. 
After  the  peace  of  Passau,  the  Reformation 
acquired  an  establishment  in  Germany,  and 
other  places ;  and  since  that  time,  error  has 
assumed  a  milder  form,  and  has  been  support, 
ed  by  softer  methods,  and  more  respectable 
names. 

In  our  own  country,  the  same  spirit  of  en- 
thusiasm and  disorder  has  appeared  at  different 
times,  though  it  has  been  restrained  by  the 
providence  of  God,  from  proceeding  to  the 
same  extremities,  and  has  been  most  noto- 
rious, when,  or  soon  after,  the  power  of  gos- 
pel-truth has  been  more  eminently  revived  ; 
for,  as  I  have  already  observed,  when  reli- 
gion is  upon  the  decline,  and  only  so  much 
of  a  profession  retained  as  is  consistent  with 
the  love  of  the  present  world,  and  a  confor- 
mity to  the  maxims  and  practices  of  the  many, 
we  seldom  hear  of  any  errors  prevailing,  but 
such  as  will  find  a  favourable  toleration,  and 
may  be  avowed  without  exciting  very  strong 
and  general  expressions  of  contempt  and  ill- 
will  against  those  who  maintain  them.  But 
whenever  real  religion,  as  a  life  of  faith  in  the 
Son  of  God,  is  set  forth  upon  the  principles 
of  scripture,  and,  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  witnesses  are  raised  up,  who  by  their 
conduct  demonstrate  that  they  are  crucified, 
with  Christ,  to  the  law,  to  sin,  and  to  the 
world,  then  is  the  time  for  Satan  to  discredit 
this  work,  by  imposing  a  variety  of  false 
views  and  appearances  upon  the  minds  of  the 
ignorant  and  unwary  ;  and  he  is  seldom  at  a 
loss  for  fit  instruments  to  promote  his  designs. 
Since  the  late  revival  of  the  Reformation 
doctrines  amongst  us,  we  have  perhaps  fewer 
things  of  this  kind  to  apologize  for,  than  have 
been  observable  on  any  similar  occasion;  and 
the  best  apology  we  can  offer  for  what  has 
been  really  blaineable,  is,  to  shew  that  it  was 
even  thus  in  the  apostles  days  ;  and  that,  if 
any  arguments  taken  from  these  blemishes 
are  conclusive  against  what  some  chuse  to  call 
the  novel  doctrines  now,  they  would,  with 
equal  reason,  conclude  against  the  validity  of 
the  New  Testament. 

And  not  to  confine  myself  to  such  things  as 
the  world  is  most  prone  to  except  against,  I 
shall  endeavour  to  shew,  that  the  seeds  of  all 
errors  and  heresies,  the  fashionable  as  well  as 


CHAP.   IV. 


IN   THE   APOSTLES  DAYS. 


513 


those  which  are  more  generally  despised,  were 
sown  in  the  first  age,  and  appeared  so  early 
as  to  give  oecasion  for  the  apostles  censures 
against  them.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  to  paral- 
lel every  name  and  every  singularity  that  a 
subtle  head  or  a  warm  imagination  may  have 
started  ;  but  to  assign,  in  general,  the  princi- 
ples to  which  all  these  delusions  may  be  re- 
duced, the  sources  to  which  these  inebriating 
and  dangerous  streams  may  be  traced :  for, 
indeed,  the  operations  of  the  human  mind 
seem  to  be  much  more  simple  and  limited 
than  we  are  ordinarily  aware.  As  there  can 
be  no  new  truths,  though  every  truth  appears 
new  to  us  which  we  have  not  known  before, 
so  it  is  probable,  that  there  can  be  now  no 
new  errors ;  at  least  it  is  certain,  that  a  com- 
petent knowledge  of  antiquity,  or  even  a  care- 
ful perusal  of  the  apostles  writings,  will  fur- 
nish sufficient  evidence,  that  some  modern 
authors  and  teachers  are  by  no  means  the  in- 
ventors of  the  ingenious  schemes  they  have 
presented  to  the  public.  Truth,  like  the  sun, 
maintains  a  constant  course ;  every  thing 
would  stagnate  and  die  if  we  were  deprived 
of  it  for  a  single  day  ;  but  errors  are  like 
comets ;  which,  though  too  eccentric  to  be 
subject  exactly  to  our  computations,  yet  have 
their  periods  of  approach  and  recess,  and  some 
of  them  have  appeared  and  been  admired,  have 
been  withdrawn  and  forgot,  over  and  over 
again. 

Error,  in  the  simplest  form,  is  a  misappre- 
hension of  the  truth.  Some  part  of  the  gos- 
pel must  be  known  before  any  erroneous  con- 
ceptions of  it  can  take  place.  Thus  we  read 
(Acts  viii.  9 — 22),  that  Simon  Magus  was 
struck  with  Philip's  preaching,  and  the  ef- 
fects which  attended  it :  he  was  so  far  im- 
pressed, that  it  is  said  he  believed  :  that  is, 
he  made  a  profession  of  faith  ;  he  was  con- 
vinced there  was  something  extraordinary  in  the 
doctrine,  but  he  understood  it  not :  and  the 
event  shewed  he  had  no  part  nor  lot  in  the 
matter.  He  is  thought  by  the  ancients  to 
have  been  the  founder  of  that  capital  sect, 
which  is  known  in  general  by  the  name  of 
Gnostics,  and  which,  like  a  gangrene,  spread 
far  and  wide,  in  various  branches  and  subdi- 
visions, each  successive  head  refining  upon 
the  system  of  the  preceding.  In  Sir  Peter 
King's  History  of  the  Apostles  Creed,  and 
Mosheim's  Ecclesiastical  History,  the  Eng- 
lish reader  may  see  the  substance  of  the  fig- 
ments which  these  unhappy  men,  wise  in  their 
own  conceit,  vented  under  the  name  of  the 
christian  religion. 

The  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  him 
crucified,  which  St.  Paul  preached,  and  in 
which  he  gloried,  is  the  pillar  and  ground  of 
truth,  the  rock  upon  which  the  church  is 
built,  and  against  which  the  gates  of  hell  shall 
never  prevail,  1  Cor.  ii.  2;  Gal.  vi.  14;  1 
Tim.    Hi.    15;  Matth.  xvi.  18.      Mistakes  in 


this  point  are  fundamental,  dangerous,  and, 
if  persisted  in,  destructive ;  for  as  such  a 
knowledge  of  God  as  is  connected  with  his 
favour  and  communion  is  eternal  life,  so  none 
can  come  to  the  Father  but  by  the  Son  (John 
xvii.  3 ;  and  xiv.  6),  nor  can  any  know  him, 
but  those  to  whom  the  Son  will  reveal  him, 
Matth.  xi.  27.  On  this  account  Satan's  great 
endeavour  (and  on  his  success  herein  the 
strength  of  his  kingdom  depends)  is  to  darken 
and  pervert  the  minds  of  men,  lest  they  should 
acknowledge  and  understand  what  the  scrip- 
tures declare  of  his  person,  character,  and 
offices,  as  well  knowing,  that  if  these  are  set 
aside,  whatever  else  is  left  of  religion  will  be 
utterly  unavailing.  Jesus  Christ  is  revealed 
in  the  scriptures,  and  was  preached  by  his 
first  disciples,  as  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  a 
divine  person  in  the  human  nature,  who,  by 
submitting  to  ignominy,  pain,  and  death, 
made  a  full  and  proper  atonement  for  sin, 
and  wrought  out  an  everlasting  righteousness 
in  favour  of  all  who  should  believe  in  his 
name  ;  and  he  is  set  forth  in  that  nature  in 
which  he  suffered,  as  the  object  of  our  su- 
preme love,  trust,  and  adoration.  Other  im- 
portant doctrines,  laigely  insisted  on  in  the 
word  of  God,  su.u  as  the  demerit  of  sin,  the 
obnoxiousness  of  sinners  to  punishment,  and 
the  misery  and  incapacity  of  man  in  his  fallen 
state,  are  closely  connected  with  this,  and 
cannot  be  satisfactorily  explained  without  it. 
The  necessary  method  of  our  recovery  exhi- 
bits the  most  striking  view  of  the  ruin  in 
which  sin  has  involved  us,  and  is  the  only 
adequate  standard  whereby  to  estimate  the 
unspeakable  love  of  God  manifested  in  our 
redemption.  On  the  other  hand,  a  know- 
ledge of  the  true  state  of  mankind,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  fall,  is  necessary  to  obviate  the 
prejudices  of  our  minds  against  a  procedure, 
which,  though  in  itself  the  triumph  of  divine 
wisdom,  is  in  many  respects  contradictory  to 
our  natural,  and  therefore  false,  notions  of 
the  fitness  of  things.  St.  Paul  declares,  that 
the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  neither  can  he  discern  them 
(1  Cor.  ii.  14.);  and  in  another  place,  that 
no  man  can  say  (that  is,  sincerely,  and  upon 
solid  conviction)  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord,  but 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  1  Cor.  xii.  3.  To  wor- 
ship him  who  had  been  hanged  on  a  cross, 
and  to  expect  eternal  happiness  from  his 
death,  was  to  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block  ;  it 
offended  their  notions  of  the  unity  of  the 
godhead,  and  opposed  their  high  esteem  of 
their  own  righteousness  ;  and  to  the  Greeks, 
or  Heathens,  it  appeared  the  greatest  folly 
and  absurdity  imaginable.  For  these  rea- 
sons the  gospel  was  rejected  by  multitudes  as 
soon  as  proposed,  and  those  who  preached  it 
were  accounted  babblers  and  madmen,  not 
because  they  were  at  a  loss  for  propriety  of 
expression,  or  discovered  any  thing  ridiculous 
2  R 


!>n 


OF  THE   HERESIES  PROPAGATED 


BOOK  n. 


in  their  conduct,  but  because  they  enforced 
tenets  which  were  adjudged  inconsistent  with 
the  common  sense  of  mankind. 

But,  notwithstanding  these  prejudices,  the 
energy  of  their  preaching,  and  the  miraculous 
powers  with  which  it  was  accompanied,  made 
an  impression  upon  many  persons,  so  far  as 
to  induce  them  to  profess  the  name  of  Jesus, 
though  they  were  not  spiritually  enlightened 
into  the  mysteries  of  his  religion,  nor  their 
hearts  thoroughly  subdued  to  the  obedience 
of  the  faith.  There  are  other  points  within 
the  compass  of  the  gospel-ministry  more  a- 
dapted  to  affect  the  minds  of  men  in  their 
natural  state.  Few  are  so  hardened,  but  they 
have  a  conscience  of  sin,  some  fears  with  re- 
spect to  its  consequences,  and  a  pre-intima- 
tion  of  immortality.  Such  are  capable  of  be- 
ing greatly  affected  and  moved  by  a  pathetic 
declaration  of  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  the  so- 
lemnities of  a  future  judgment,  the  joys  of 
heaven,  or  the  torments  of  hell.  We  cannot 
doubt  that  these  topics,  when  insisted  on  with 
that  strength  of  argument  and  warmth  of  spi- 
rit, of  which  the  apostles  were  capable,  would 
engage  the  attention  of  many  who  were  not 
partakers  of  that  divine  light,  by  which  alone 
the  whole  scheme  of  truth,  in  its  harmony 
and  beauty,  can  be  perceived.  The  seed  sown 
upon  the  rock  sprang  up  immediately,  the 
quickness  of  its  growth,  and  the  suddenness 
of  its  decay,  proceeding  from  the  same  cause, 
a  want  of  depth  in  the  soil.  Not  a  few  of 
these  hasty  believers  presently  renounced  the 
faith  altogether,  and  others,  who  went  not  so 
far  as  to  disown  the  name,  endeavoured  to 
accommodate  the  doctrine  to  their  preposses- 
sions, and  to  explain  or  reject  what  they  could 
not  understand,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form 
a  system  upon  the  whole  agreeable  to  their 
own  wills.  Men  of  corrupt  and  prejudiced 
minds  thus  tampered  with  the  truth  ;  and  their 
inventions,  when  made  known,  were  adopted 
by  others  of  the  same  cast  of  thought :  as 
they  were  differently  inclined,  they  directed 
their  inquiries  to  different  points,  and  each 
found  partizans  and  adherents  in  their  re- 
spective ways.  Thus  errors,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, sects  and  divisions,  were  multiplied  ; 
for  when  men  depart  from  the  unerring  guid- 
ance of  God's  word,  there  is  no  end  of  their 
imaginations  ;  one  singularity  produces  an- 
other, and  every  new  leader  is  stimulated  to 
carry  his  discoveries  farther  than  those  who 
have  gone  before  him.  Farther,  as  human  na- 
ture is  universally  the  same,  we  may  judge  from 
what  we  have  seen,  that  there  always  have 
been  persons  inclined  to  join  in  a  religious 
profession,  from  the  unworthy  motives  of 
worldly  interest,  and  a  desire  to  stand  fair 
with  their  fellow-creatures0  Temptations  to 
this  were  not  so  strong  indeed  at  first,  nor  so 
general,  as  they  have  often  been  since  ;  yet 
the  force  of  friendship,  relation  (and  when 
Christianity    had    been  of  some   years  stand- 


ing), education,  custom,  and  human  autho- 
rity, is  very  considerable  :  nor  is  even  perse- 
cution a  sufficient  bar  against  hypocrites  and 
intruders.  They  who  suffer  for  the  gospel, 
though  despised  by  the  world,  are  highly  es- 
teemed and  considered  by  their  own  side;  it 
procures  them  an  attention  which  they  would 
not  have  otherwise  obtained  ;  it  may  give  them 
an  importance  in  their  own  eyes,  furnish  them 
with  something  to  talk  of,  and  make  them 
talked  of  by  others.  There  are  people  who, 
for  the  sake  of  these  advantages,  will,  for  a 
season,  venture  upon  many  hardships,  though, 
when  the  trial  comes  very  close,  they  will  not 
endure  to  the  end.  In  a  word,  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  but  that,  amongst  the  num- 
bers who  professed  the  gospel  at  first,  there 
would  be  found  the  same  variety  of  tempers, 
circumstances,  views,  and  motives,  as  have 
ordinarily  appeared  amongst  a  great  number 
of  people,  suddenly  formed  in  any  other  pe- 
riod of  time  ;  and  the  apostles  writings  prove 
that  it  was  really  so.  From  these  general 
principles,  we  may  easily  account  for  the  early 
introduction  and  increase  of  errors  and  here- 
sies, and  that  they  should  be  in  a  manner  the 
same  as  they  have  sprung  up  with,  or  followed 
succeeding  revivals  of  the  trnth.  Nor  is  it 
just  cause  of  surprise,  if  sincere  christians 
have  been,  in  some  instances,  entangled  in 
the  prevailing  errors  of  the  times  :  designing 
no  harm  themselves,  they  suspect  none,  and 
are  therefore  liable  to  be  imposed  on  by  those 
who  lie  in  wait  to  deceive,  Ephes.  iv.  14. 

When  Christianity  first  appeared,  the  Hea- 
then wisdom,  known  by  the  name  of  Philo- 
sophy, was  in  the  highest  repute  :  it  had  two 
principal  branches,  the  Grecian  and  the  East- 
ern. The  former  admitted  (at  least  did  not 
condemn)  a  multiplicity  and  subordination  of 
deities  ;  amongst  whom,  as  agents  and  media- 
tors between  their  supreme  Jupiter  and  mor- 
tals, the  care  and  concerns  of  mankind  were 
subdivided,  to  each  of  which  homage  and  sa- 
crifices were  due :  their  mythology,  or  the 
pretended  history  of  their  divinities,  was  pue- 
rile and  absurd,  and  many  of  their  religious 
rites  inconsistent  with  the  practice  of  public 
decorum  and  good  morals.  Some  of  the  phi- 
losophers endeavoured  to  guard  against  the 
worst  abuses,  and  to  form  a  system  of  religion 
and  morality,  in  which  they  seem  to  have 
proceeded  as  far  as  could  be  expected  from 
men  who  were  totally  ignorant  of  the  true 
God,  and  of  their  own  state :  some  truths 
they  were  acquainted  with,  truths  in  theory, 
but  utterly  impracticable  upon  any  principles 
but  those  of  revelation.  Amongst  a  vast 
number  of  opinions  concerning  the  chief  good 
of  man,  a  few  held,  that  man's  honour  and 
happiness  must  consist  in  conformity  to,  and 
communion  with,  God ;  but  how  to  attain 
these  desirable  ends,  they  were  entirely  igno- 
rant. 

The  eastern  philosophy  was  solemn  and  mys- 


CHAP.   IV. 

terious,  and  not  less  fabulous  than  the  other  ; 
but  the  fables  were  of  a  graver  cast.  It  seemed 
to  mourn  under  the  sense  of  moral  evil,  and 
laboured  in  vain  to  account  for  its  entrance  : 
its  precepts  were  gloomy  and  severe  ;  and  a 
perfect  course  of  bodily  mortification  was  re- 
commended as  the  great  expedient  to  purify 
the  soul  from  all  its  defilements,  and  to  re- 
unite it,  by  degrees,  to  its  great  Author. 
St.  Paul,   in  several  passages   ( Col.  ii.  8  ; 

1  Tim.  vi.  20.),  cautions  the  christians  a- 
gainst  corrupting  the  simplicity  of  their  faith, 
by  admitting  the  reasoning  and  inventions  of 
vain  men.      In   some   places   (I   Tim.    i.    4; 

2  Tim.  iii.  9.)  he  seems  to  speak  more  di- 
rectly of  the  Gnostics,  whose  heresies  were 
little  more  than  the  fables  of  the  eastern  phi- 
losophy, in  a  new  dress,  with  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  Jesus  Christ  as  an  extraordinary  per- 
son, yet  so  as  utterly  to  exclude  and  deny  all 
the  important  truths  revealed  in  the  scriptures 
concerning  him.  They  dignified  their  scheme 
with  the  name  of  Gnosis,  or  Science  ;  but  it 
was  falsely  so  called,  and  stood  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  the  gospel.  On  other  occasions  ( Rom. 
i.  21 — 23  ;  1  Cor.  i.  20 — 23,)  he  appears  to 
have  had  the  Grecian  philosophy  chiefly  in 
view.  But,  notwithstanding  his  admonitions, 
it  was  not  long  before  the  errors  of  philoso- 
phy had  an  ill  influence  upon  the  professors 
of  the  christian  faith  ;  and  even  several  of  the 
fathers  darkened  the  glory  of  the  truth,  by 
endeavouring  to  accommodate  it  to  the  taste 
and  genius  of  that  Heathen  wisdom  which 
they  had  before  admired,  and  still  thought 
might  be  useful  to  embellish  and  recommend 
the  gospel. 

But  to  confine  myself  to  the  apostles  times, 
it  is  plain,  from  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul,  John, 
Jude,  and  Peter  (Tit.  i.  10;  1  John,  iv.  1  ; 
2  Pet.  ii.  18,  19;  Jude,  4.)  that  many  false 
prophets  and  teachers  had,  in  their  days,  crept 
in,  who  propagated  damnable  heresies,  even 
denying  the  Lord  who  bought  them,  turning 
the  grace  of  God  into  licentiousness,  speak- 
ing great  swelling  words  of  vanity,  boasting 
themselves  of  freedom,  while  they  were  in 
bondage  to  their  own  lusts.  And  in  the  epistle 
to  the  church  of  Ephesus  (  Rev.  ii.  6),  our  Lord 
himself  mentions  a  sect,  who  bore  the  name 
of  Nicolaitans,  and  expresses  his  disapproba- 
tion of  them  in  these  awful  terms:  "  Whom 
I  also  hate  !"  The  peculiar  tenets  of  the 
people  condemned  in  these  passages  of  scrip- 
ture are  not  expressly  mentioned  ;  but  from 
these  sources  were  most  probably  derived  the 
sects  which,  in  the  second  century,  were  known 
by  the  names  of  their  several  leaders,  Cerin- 
thus,  Saturninus,  Cerdo,  Marcion,  Basilides, 
Valentinus,  and  others  :  who  all,  building  up- 
on the  common  foundation  of  the  eastern 
philosophy,  or  Gnosis,  superadded  their  own 
peculiarities,  and  were  differently,  though  e- 
qtially,  remote  from  the  truth.  The  one 
thing  in  which    they  all   agreed  was,   in  per- 


IX  THE  APOSTLES  DAYS. 


515 


verting  and  opposing  the  scripture-doctrine 
concerning  the  person  of  Christ.  On  this 
point  their  opinions  were  as  discordant  as 
absurd  :  some  denied  that  Christ  was  come 
in  the  flesh  ;  they  pretended  that  Christ  was 
sent  from  heaven  by  the  supreme  God,  and 
united  himself  to  Jesus,  the  son  of  Joseph 
and  Mary,  at  his  baptism ;  and  that,  when 
the  Jews  apprehended  the  man  Jesus,  and 
nailed  him  to  the  cross,  Christ  returned  to 
heaven,  and  left  him  to  suffer  by  himself. 
Others  ascribed  a  heavenly  derivation  to  his 
body,  affirming  that  it  passed  through  the 
Virgin  Mary,  without  any  participation  of  her 
substance  ;  while  others  asserted,  that  he  had 
no  substantial  flesh  ;  but  that  his  body  was  a 
mere  phantom,  or  apparition,  which  was  nei- 
ther really  born,  nor  did  or  could  truly  suf- 
fer. Again,  there  were  others  who  held  the 
reality  of  his  human  nature,  yet  maintained, 
that  Christ  did  not  suffer  at  all,  but  that  Si- 
mon of  Cyrene,  the  bearer  of  his  cross,  being 
taken  by  the  Jews  for  him,  was  crucified  in 
his  stead,  while  he  stood  by,  and  laughed  at 
their  mistake.  A  brief  recital  of  these  extra- 
vagancies is  sufficient  for  my  present  pur- 
pose :  for  a  more  particular  account,  I  refer  the 
reader  to  Sir  Peter  King's  History  of  the  Creed, 
already  mentioned.  Many  passages  in  the 
apostles  writings  are  directed  against  these 
dangerous  errors  ;  for  they  strike  at  the  root 
of  the  faith  and  hope  of  the  gospel,  and  are 
subversive  of  the  whole  tenor  both  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament.  It  was  believed  by  the 
ancients,  that  St.  John  wrote  his  gospel  with 
some  view  to  these  heresies  ;  and  it  is  cer 
tain  that,  in  his  first  epistle,  where,  putting 
the  disciples  upon  their  guard  against  the 
many  false  prophets  who  were  gone  out  into 
the  world,  he  observes,  that  the  common  point, 
in  which  all  their  divers  opinions  agreed,  was 
a  denial  that  Jesus  Christ  was  come  in  the 
flesh,  1  John,  ii.  22,  and  iv.  3.  He  reminds 
them,  that  as  they  had  heard  Antichrist  must 
come,  even  so  now  there  were  many  Anti- 
christs ;  and  that  the  name  was  applicable  to 
all  who  denied  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ.  He 
admits  that  these  false  teachers  went  out  from 
amongst  themselves,  that  is,  they  had  borne 
the  christian  name  ;  but  he  refers  to  the  doc- 
trines they  taught,  as  a  sufficient  proof  that 
they  had  never  been  of  the  number  of  true 
christians  ;  for  if  they  had  been  of  us,  no 
doubt  they  would  have  continued  with  us, 
1  John,  ii.  19.  If  opinions,  equally  wild  and 
extravagant,  were  at  this  time  maintained  and 
propagated  by  persons  who,  for  a  season,  had 
been  warm  for  truth  and  reformation,  we  are 
not  afraid  that  they  would  prejudice  our  cause 
with  any  who  will  allow  due  weight  to  the 
reasoning  of  St.  John  ;  for  if  they  had  been 
really  of  us  once,  they  would  have  still  con- 
tinued with  us. 

But  the  truth  is,  the  teachers  in  our  time, 
whose  leading  tenets   most   nearly  symbolize 


616 


OF   THE   HERESIES  PROPAGATED 


BOOK    II. 


with  these  ancient  heresies,  are  not  charged,  or 
even  suspected  of  having  had  any  attachment 
to  the  doctrines  which  I  am  concerned  to  vin- 
dicate ;  nor  is  an  apology  expected  from  them, 
for  they  gave  hut  little  offence.  Since  the 
fabulous  disguise,  under  which  the  Gnostics 
of  old  veiled  their  opinions,  has  been  laid  a- 
side,  their  opposition  to  the  deity  and  atone- 
ment of  Christ  has  been  adopted  by  so  many 
who  are  applauded  for  ingenuity,  fine  reason- 
ing, and  great  learning,  that  it  bids  fair  to  be 
the  fashionable  divinity  of  the  age;  and  though 
the  sufferings  of  Jesus  are  not  denied,  yet 
their  proper  causes  and  ends  are  openly  ex- 
ploded ;  and  the  attempt  has  often  proved  an 
easy  path  to  acceptance,  wealth,  and  dignity. 
The  attachment  of  the  Jewish  converts  to 
the  law  of  Moses  was  another  source  of  error, 
which  occasioned  daily  disputes  in  the  church- 
es, and  gave  rise,  in  the  issue,  to  dangerous 
heresies,  subversive  of  the  true  faith.  Even 
those  of  them  who  had  sincerely  received  the 
gospel,  could  not  easily  be  persuaded,  that  a 
law  given  to  Moses  by  God  himself,  with  so 
much  solemnity,  from  Mount  Sinai,  was  to 
be  entirely  abrogated  ;  and  that  their  obliga- 
tion to  it  was,  ipso  facto,  vacated  the  moment 
they  believed  in  Jesus,  who,  by  his  obedience 
unto  death,  had  accomplished  all  its  types 
and  ceremonies,  and  wrought  out  for  his  peo- 
ple an  everlasting  righteousness  commensu- 
rate to  its  utmost  requirements.  The  apostles, 
who,  after  the  pattern  of  their  Lord,  were 
gentle  and  tender  to  the  weak  of  the  flock, 
bore  with  their  infirmities  (Rom.  xiv.  2.  6.), 
and  allowed  them  to  retain  a  distinction  of 
meats,  and  days,  and  other  observances,  pro- 
vided they  did  not  consider  these  things  in 
such  a  point  of  view  as  to  interfere  with  God's 
appointed  method  of  justication  by  faith  in 
his  Son.  But  the  matter  was  carried  much 
farther;  for  lio  sooner  was  there  a  church 
formed  at  Antioch,  than  they  were  troubled 
with  perverse  teachers  (Acts  xv.  1.)  who  told 
them,  that  except  they  were  circumcised,  and 
kept  the  law  of  Moses,  they  could  not  be 
saved.  The  Galatians  were  greatly  hurt  by 
teachers  of  this  sort  (Gal.  v.  4.)  ;  and  as  the 
Jews  were  dispersed  through  all  the  provin- 
ces, the  peace  of  the  church  was  more  or 
less  affected  by  their  attempts  to  enforce  the 
observance  of  the  law,  in  almost  every  place, 
till  after  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  receiv- 
ed, and  obedience  to  the  Levitical  law  ren- 
dered impracticable  by  the  destruction  of  Je- 
rusalem and  the  temple,  Col.  ii  16.  Tit.  i.  10. 
Phil.  iii.  2.  1  Tim.  i.  7.  From  that  period, 
it  is  probable,  the  distinction  of  Jew  and  Gen- 
tile believers  ceased,  and  both  parties  were 
firmly  incorporated  into  one  body :  but  a 
great  number  of  the  zealots  for  the  law  sepa- 
rated themselves,  and  were  known  in  the  fol- 
lowing age  by  the  name  of  Ebionites,  adopt- 
ing foi  their  rule  a  mixture  of  law  and  gos- 
pt'l,  so  very  different  from  the  gospel  St.  Paul 


preached,  that  they  openly   expressed   an  ab- 
horrence both  of  his  person  and  writings. 

We  have  an  account  likewise  of  some  pre- 
tended teachers,  who  opposed  the  important 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  Some  express- 
ly maintained,  that  there  was  no  resurrection, 
whom  St.  Paul  confutes  at  large,  in  the  15th 
chap,  of  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians. 
Others  affirmed  that  the  resurrection  was  past 
already,  2  Tim.  18.  Perhaps  they  pretended 
that  a  moral  change  was  designed  by  the  me- 
taphorical expression  of  a  ressurection.  The 
philosophers  had  used  the  word  in  this  sense  : 
and  this  would  be  sufficient  to  gain  it  admit- 
tance with  some,  who  would  willingly  recon- 
cile their  profession  to  the  wisdom  of  the  world. 
In  either  way  the  very  foundations  of  hope 
were  removed.  If  this  point  is  denied,  the 
whole  system  of  christian  doctrine  falls  to 
the  ground  ;  and  that  dreadful  train  of  conse- 
quences must  be  admitted,  which  the  apostle 
enumerates  in  1  Cor.  xv.  14.  18.  "  If  there 
be  no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  then  is  Christ 
not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your 
faith  also  vain,  ye  are  yet  in  your  sins ;  then 
they  also  who  are  fallen  asleep  in  Christ  are 
perished."  Since  the  fertile  resurrection  of 
ancient  mistakes,  which  is  the  sin  and  scandal 
of  the  present  age,  we  have  been  gravely  told, 
that  the  word  signifies  no  more  than  the  soul's 
awaking  from  the  long  sleep  into  which  they 
suppose  the  period  we  call  death  will  plunge 
it;  and  that  the  body  has  no  share  in  the  re- 
vival, but  dies  without  hope :  but  we  may 
thank  God  for  the  scriptures,  which  brings 
comfort  where  philosophy  gives  up  the  cause 
as  desperate.  Faith  in  Christ  is  so  closely 
connected  with  the  doctrine  of  a  resurrection, 
that  it  is  common  with  those  who  oppose  the 
former  to  use  all  their  address  to  explain  the 
latter  quite  away  ;  and  whether  they  say,  it  is 
past  already,  or,  diat  it  will  never  come,  their 
motives,  their  design,  and  their  manner  of  rea- 
soning, are  the  same. 

That  there  were  persons  who  abused  the 
doctrines  of  grace,  as  an  encourajement  to 
continue  in  the  practice  cf  sin,  may  be  infer- 
red from  the  epistle  of  St.  James,  and  several 
passages  of  the  other  apostles.  Such,  in  our 
modern  phrase,  are  styled  Antinomians ;  a 
name,  it  must  be  confessed,  of  very  indetermi- 
nate application  :  it  is  an  epithet,  which  many 
would  fix,  indiscriminately,  upon  allwho  preach 
a  free  salvation  by  faith  in  the  blood  of  Je- 
sus. If  it  is  all  of  grace,  and  we  can  do  no- 
thing of  ourselves  ;  if  it  is  not  of  him  thai 
willeth,  nor  of  him  that  runneth,  but  of  God 
that  sheweth  mercy  ;  then  we  may  live  as  we 
please,  endeavours  are  useless,  and  obedience 
unnecessary,  Rom.  xi.  6.  and  ix.  16.  2  Cor. 
iii.  5.  These  are  the  inferences  which  the 
unenlightened  heart  charges  as  unavoidable 
consequences  from  the  gospel-doctrine  ;  and 
from  hence  we  obtain  a  corroborating  proof, 
that  we  do  not  mistake   St.    Paul's   sense,  or 


CHAP.   IV. 


IN   THE  APOSTLES  DAYS. 


51? 


preach  a  gospel  different  from  bis,  because 
he  foresaw  that  the  same  objections  would 
seem  to  lie  against  himself  (Rom.  iii.  7.  and 
ix.  19.)  ;  and  he  guards  and  protests  against 
such  a  perversion,  "  Shall  we  continue  In  sin, 
that  grace  may  abound  ?  God  forbid,"  Rom. 
vi.  1.  It  seems  to  have  been  upon  this  account 
that  he  was  slandered,  and  by  some  affirmed 
to  have  taught,  "  Let  us  do  evil,  that  good 
may  come"  (Rom.  iii.  8.)  ;  that  is,  in  modern 
language  (and  such  things  are  not  spoken  in 
corners  amongst  us),  If  any  man  would  be 
a  proper  subject  of  what  they  call  grace,  let 
him  become  still  more  vile,  and  plunge  into 
the  most  atrocious  wickedness ;  for  the  great- 
er the  sinner,  the  better  qualified  for  mercy. 
We  are  content  to  be  reproached,  as  St.  Paul 
was  in  his  time,  for  the  truth's  sake  ;  and  we 
would  be  chiefly  concerned  for  the  unhappy 
scoffers,  who,  unless  God  is  pleased  to  give 
them  repentance  unto  life,  will  one  day  wish 
they  had  been  idiots,  or  lunatics,  rather  than 
have  vented  their  malicious  wit  against  the 
grace  and  gospel  of  the  Lord  Christ.      But  it 


knovveth  them  that  are  his  ;  and,  Let  every 
one  that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ  depart  from 
iniquity,  2  Tim.  ii.  19. 

St.  Paul,  writing  to  the  Thessalonians  con 
cerning  the  man  of  sin  (2  Thess.  ii.  3 — 10), 
who  was  to  be  fully  revealed  in  the  following 
ages,  reminds  them,  that  the  mystery  of  ini- 
quity, though  at  that  time  restrained  from  a 
full  manifestation,  did  already  work  ;  teach- 
ing us,  that  the  seeds  of  that  grand  apostacy, 
which  at  length  overspread  the  whole  pro  - 
fessing  church,  were  sown,  and  springing  up, 
at  the  time  of  his  writing.  And  he  mentions 
several  particulars  in  his  epistle  to  the  Colo- 
sians  (chap.  ii.  18 — 23)  ;  such  as  a  volun- 
tary, or  self- devised  humility,  in  worshipping 
angels  as  mediators  or  intercessors  ;  a  dogma- 
tic inhibition  of  things  which  God  had  left 
free  ;  and  a  specious  scheme  of  will- worship 
and  mortification,  which,  under  pretence  of 
self-denial,  did  really  gratify  pride,  vanity, 
and  self-righteousness.  The  progress  of  oui 
history  will  shew  what  a  harvest  of  dreadful 
and  wide-spreading  evils  were  produced  from 


must  be  allowed,  we  have  seen   Antinomians    these  principles,  until  at  length  tlie  gospel  of 


in  the  worst  sense  of  the  word,  men  who  have 
pleaded  for  sin,  and  while  they  have  laid 
claim  to  faith,  have  renounced  and  blasphem- 
ed that  holiness,  without  which,  no  man  shall 
see  the  Lord.  We  cannot  wonder,  that  even 
candid  and  well-meaning  persons  have  been 
greatly  prejudiced  and  discouraged  in  their 
inquiries  after  truth,  by  the  presumption  and 
wickedness  of  such  pretended  christians.  But 
no  period  of  the  church,  in  which  the  gospel- 
doctrine  was  known  and  preached,  has  been 
free  from  offences  of  this  sort.  It  was  so  in 
the  apostles  days.  There  were  then  many 
unruly  and  vain  talkers,   and  deceivers,  who 


Christ  was  wholly  obscured,  and  the  lives  and 
consciences  of  men  were  given  up  to  the 
power  of  Antichrist,  who,  as  God,  insolently 
sat  down  in  the  temple  of  God,  and  exalted 
himself  above  all  laws,  human  and  divine. 
It  is  sufficient  to  my  purpose  at  present,  to 
take  notice,  that  the  beginnings  of  that  spiri- 
tual infatuation,  w'..ich  so  long  detained  the 
world  in  chains,  and  darkness,  and  slavery, 
under  the  tyranny  of  the  church  of  Rome, 
were  observable  in  St.  Paul's  time,  and  there- 
fore deserve  a  place  in  the  list  of  those  pesti- 
lent heresies  by  which  the  enemy  of  souls  at- 
tempted  to  defile  the  faith,  and  disturb  the 


subverted  whole  houses,  teaching  things  which   peace,  of  the  primitive  church 


they  ought  not  (Tit.  i.  10.  11.);  who  pro- 
fessed that  they  knew  God,  but  in  works  de- 
nied him,  being  abominable,  and  disobedient, 
and  to  every  good  work  reprobate  (Tit.  i. 
16.);  who  pretended  to  faith,  but  were  des- 
titute of  those  fruits  which  true  faith  always 
produces,  James  ii.  14.  These  are  described 
(Jude  12,  13),  as  clouds  without  water,  car- 
ried about  of  winds  ;  trees  whose  fruit  wither- 
eth,  twice  dead,  plucked  up  by  the  root ;  rag- 
ing waves  of  the  sea,  foaming  out  their  own 
shame ;  wandering  stars,  to  whom  is  reserved 


Many  other  things  are  alluded  to,  which, 
for  want  of  authentic  records  of  the  first  cen- 
tury, we  cannot  with  certainty  explain.  Be- 
sides the  doctrine  of  the  Nicolaitans,  already 
mentioned,  we  read  of  the  blasphemy  of  them 
who  said  they  were  Jews  but  were  not,  but  of 
the  synagogue  of  Satan  (  Rev.  iii.  9)  ;  of  them 
who  held  the  doctrine  of  Balaam,  and  of  the 
woman  Jezebel,  who  called  herself  a  pro- 
phetess, Rev.  ii.  14,  20.  These  were  cer- 
tainly heretics :  for  our  Lord  severely  rebukes 
the  churches  for  not  opposing  them  to  the  ut- 


the  blackness  of  darkness  for  ever ;  sporting  most ;  and,  as  he  gives  different  names,  they 
themselves  with  their  own  deceivings,  and  probably  differed  from  each  other,  though 
beguiling  unstable  souls,  2  Pet.  ii.  13.  j  their  ultimate  tendency  was  the  same,  to  per- 
14.  In  opposition  to  such  deceivers,  it  is  vert  the  faith  of  the  hearers,  and  to  introduce 
written,  If  we  say  that  we  have  fellowship  licentiousness  of  practice.  The  gospel-truth 
with  him,  and  walk  in  darkness,  we  lie,  and  is  a  doctrine  according  to  godliness,  and  has 
do  not  the  truth,  1  John  i.  6.  He  that  j  a  sanctifying  influence ;  for  the  grace  of  God 
saith,  I  know  him  and  keepeth  not  his  com-  |  teaches  all  who  are  partakers  of  it,  to  forsake 
mandments,  is  a  liar,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  I  all  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts  and  to  live 
him,  1  John  ii.  4.  For  every  man  that  hath  I  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly,  in  the  pre- 
this  hope  in  him,  purifieth  himself  even  as  he  |  sent  world,  Titus  ii.  11,  12.  But  errors  and 
is  pure,  1  John  iii.  3.  The  foundation  of  heresies,  in  whatever  degree  they  prevail,  have 
God  standeth  sure,  having  this  seal,  The  Lord    poisonous  effects  upon  those  who  admit  them 


518 


OF  THE  HERESIES  PROPAGATED 


some  are  calculated  to  set  aside  the  whole 
frame  of  obedience  which  we  owe  to  our  God 
and  Saviour,  and  the  most  refined  and  plau- 
sible will  deliver  the  soul  into  the  power  of 
some  easy,  besetting,  and  beloved  sin,  and 
furnish  arms  and  arguments  to  maintain  it. 
And  this  explains  what  would  otherwise  seem 
a  very  strange  phenomenon.  When  the  truth 
is  proposed  with  the  greatest  clearness,  and 
the  greatest  advantages,  its  votaries,  at  all 
Jmes,  and  in  all  places,  have  been  but  few; 
but  whoever  will  stand  up  on  the  side  of  error, 
however  wild  and  absurd  his  opinions  and 
conduct  may  be,  will  hardly  fail  of  obtaining 
adherents.  It  is  because  error  will  tolerate 
those  lusts  and  follies  which  truth  will  not 
endure  ;  and  in  the  present  state  of  human 
depravity,  more  people  will  be  found  willing 
to  give  up  their  understandings,  than  to  part 
with  their  sins. 

We  may  likewise  collect  from  several  texts 
in  the  epistles,  that  there  were  those  of  old 
who  denied  what  the  scriptures  teach  concern- 
ing the  depravity  of  human  nature,  the  real 
guilt  of  sin  (1  John  i.  8,  10)  ;  the  influences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  ( Jude  1 9),  and  the  terrors 
of  a  future  judgment  (2  Pet.  iii.  9),  though 
we  cannot  be  sure  that  these  doctrines  were 
opposed  so  openly  and  so  strenuously  as  they 
are  in  our  own  days.  But  I  have  enumerated 
enough  to  answer  my  purpose  by  way  of 
apology  for  the  evangelical  doctrine,  the  mo- 
dern opposers  of  the  last  mentioned  points  not 
Deing  under  any  suspicion  or  charge  of  what 
is  called  enthusiasm  ;  and  all  who  are  de- 
spised or  persecuted  for  resting  the  hope  of 
their  salvation  solely  on  the  mediation  of  Jesus 
and  his  obedience  unto  death,  even  the  death 
of  the  cross,  are  known  to  acknowledge  them 
as  essential  truths ;  indeed,  they  stand  inse- 
parably connected  with  what  they  believe  of 
his  person,  offices,  power,  and  grace.  A  con- 
science impressed  with  the  majesty,  holiness, 
and  justice  of  the  great  God,  and  that  trembles 
at  the  denunciations  of  his  law  against  every 
transgression,  dares  not  hope  for  peace  with- 
out the  discovery  of  an  adequate  atonement 
for  sin,  nor  venture  its  eternal  concerns  upon 
the  interposition  of  a  creature.  To  such  a 
one,  all  that  is  revealed  of  the  love  and  suffer- 
ings of  Jesus,  would  afford  no  solid  ground 
of  consolation,  if  the  infinite  dignity  of  his 
divine  nature,  and  his  voluntary  substitution 
in  the  place,  and  on  the  behalf  of  sinners, 
were  not  revealed  with  equal  clearness  ;  and  a 
conviction  of  that  total  insufficiency  for  every 
good  work  (2  Cor.  iii.  5),  and  the  prevalence 
of  indwelling  sin  (Rom.  vii.  18 — 34),  which 
the  scriptures  so  expressly  declare  to  be  the 
condition  of  every  child  of  Adam,  would 
plunge  an  awakened  mind  into  hopeless  de- 
spair, if  it  was  not  relieved  by  the  gracious 
promise  of  the  infallible  Spirit  (John  xiv.  26, 
and  xvi.  7,  13),  whose  office  is  to  teach,  guide, 
comfort,  and  seal  the  children  of  God  unto  the 


BOOK  II. 

day  of  complete  redemption  (Ephes.  iv.  30); 
but  having  such  a  great  high  priest  (Heb.  vii. 
1,  and  ix.  24,  and  x.  19),  who,  by  his  own 
blood,  has  entered  into  the  holy  place,  to  appear 
in  the  presence  of  God  for  us,  and  having,  in 
the  promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (Rom.  viii. 
16,  26,  27),  a  source  of  succour  and  comfort 
answerable  to  all  our  ignorance,  weakness, 
necessities,  and  temptations,  we  are  enabled, 
in  the  midst  of  fightings  and  fears  (2  Cor.  vii. 
5),  to  maintain  a  humble  confidence  that  we 
shall  not  be  ashamed  before  him  at  his  coming, 
but  have  boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment, 
the  great  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord,  1  John 
ii.  28,  and  iv.  17.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  those,  who  do  not  acknowledge 
the  deity  of  the  Saviour  (not  finding  any 
other  basis  whereon  to  rest  the  validity  of  an 
atonement  for  sin),  should  embrace  every 
shadow  of  an  argument  against  its  necessity, 
and  be  willing  to  think  as  highly  as  possible 
of  their  own  righteousness  and  abilities  ;  or, 
that  being  thus  persuaded  that  they  can  please 
God,  without  the  influence  of  his  Spirit, 
themselves,  they  should  treat  all  claims  to 
this  assistance  in  others  as  enthusiasm  and 
folly.  Nor  can  we  be  surpiised,  that  many 
who  reject  the  scripture-testimony  concerning 
Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  should  use  all 
their  address  to  prove,  that  the  soul  sinks  into 
sleep  and  inactivity  at  death,  that  the  resur- 
rection of  the  flesh  is  improbable,  and  that  it 
is  injurious  to  the  goodness  of  God,  to  sup- 
pose he  will  inflict  eternal  punishment  for  sins 
committed  within  the  compass  of  a  short  life. 
Such  reasonings  may  be  expected  from  men, 
who  presume  upon  the  sufficiency  of  their 
own  wisdom,  who  neither  expect  nor  desire 
divine  teaching,  and  who  find  a  little  relief  in 
these  sentiments,  against  the  fears  and  fore- 
bodings which  will  sometimes  force  them- 
selves upon  their  minds. 

It  appears,  however,  from  the  indisputable 
evidence  of  the  New  Testament,  that,  in  the 
first  age  of  the  church,  the  enemy  sowed  the 
tares  of  error  and  heresy  in  great  abundance, 
and  that  the  figments  published  in  that  period 
by  men  who  professed  some  regard  to  the 
name  of  Christ,  have  not  been  surpassed,  ei- 
ther as  to  absurdity  or  wickedness,  by  any  at- 
tempts of  the  same  kind,  in  any  age  or  coun- 
try since.  It  is  true  the  vigilance  and  au- 
thority of  the  apostles  restrained  these  ex- 
cesses from  rising  to  that  height  to  which  they 
afterwards  attained ;  but  if  the  people  who 
now  object  to  the  variety  of  names,  sects,  and 
sentiments,  which  have  gradually  prevailed 
amongst  us  within  these  thirty  years  past,  had 
lived  in  the  primitive  church,  they  would  have 
had  at  least  equal  cause  for  making  the  like 
objections.  If,  upon  these  accounts,  they  now 
think  themselves  at  liberty  to  reject  all  parties 
alike,  without  examination,  as  empty  pretend- 
ers to  the  truth,  purity,  and  power  of  religion, 
there  is  little  doubt  but  they  would  have  don»- 


CHAF     IV. 

the  same  then.  The  apostles  were  personally 
present  with  the  first  churches:  their  writings 
were  appointed  to  be  the  rule  of  succeeding 
times,  and,  through  the  mercy  of  God  are  in 
our  hands.  Whoever  is  sincerely  desirous  to 
know  the  will  of  God,  by  attending  to  these 
lively  oracles  will  be  enabled  to  discern  the 
path  of  truth  and  peace,  through  the  midst  of 
that  maze  of  opinions  wherein  so  many  are 
bewildered  and  lost ;  but  whoever  is  too  wise 
or  too  indolent  to  search  the  scriptures  humbly 
and  diligently  for  himself,  would  have  paid 
as  little  regard  to  the  authority  of  the  apos- 
tles, if  he  could  have  conversed  with  them : 
nay,  the  advantage  is  on  our  side ;  for,  as  the 
scriptures  are  held  in  professed  veneration, 
we  run  no  immediate  risk  of  character  or  in- 
terest by  consulting  them  ;  or  they  may  be 
perused  in  retirement,  unobserved  by  our  near- 
est friends :  whereas  the  apostles,  though  highly 
spoken  of  amongst  us,  were  accounted  while 
they  lived  the  filth  and  off-scouring  of  all 
tilings ;  they  were  despised  for  their  poverty 
and  the  meanness  of  their  appearance,  and  de- 
tested as  bigots  and  enthusiasts ;  so  that  it  re- 
quired some  degree  of  faith  and  grace  not  to 
be  ashamed  of  them. 

Let  not  the  reader  be  offended,  if  I  close 
this  book,  as  I  did  the  former,  with  entreating 
him  to  reflect  on  die  importance  of  having 
right  views  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  and  of 
the  spirit  of  Christianity.  These  are  topics  of 
universal  concern.  A  believer  in  Jesus,  how- 
ever obscure,  unnoticed,  or  oppressed  in  the 
present  life,  is  happy  :  he  is  a  child  of  God, 
the  charge  of  angels,  and  heir  of  glory  (Rom. 
viii.  14,  17)  ;  he  has  meat  to  eat  that  the  world 
knows  not  of;  and  from  the  knowledge  of 
his  union  and  relation  to  his  Redeemer  (Phil. 
iv.  7.)  he  derives  a  peace  which  passes  under- 
standing, and  a  power  suited  to  every  service 
and  circumstance  of  life  :  though  weak  in  him- 
self, he  is  strong  in  the  grace  that  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord,  (2  Cor.  xii.  9;  2  Tim.  ii.  1), 
upon  whom  he  relies,  as  his  wisdom,  righte- 
ousness, sanctification,  and  expects  from  him, 
in  due  time,  a  complete  redemption  from  every 
evil  ( 1  Cor.  i.  30)  :  his  faith  is  not  merely 
speculative,  like  the  cold  assent  which  we  give 
to  a  mathematical  truth,  nor  is  it  the  blind 
impulse  of  a  warm  imagination,  but  it  is  the 
effect  of  an  apprehension  of  the  wisdom,  power, 
and  love  displayed  in  the  redemption  of  sin- 
ners by  Jesus  Christ;  it  is  a  constraining 
principle  (Gal.  v.  6;  Acts  xv.  9;  1  John 
v.  4;  Heb.  xi.  1  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  18),  that  works 
by  love,  purifies  the  heart,  and  overcomes  the 
world ;  it  gives  the  foretaste  and  evidence  of 
things  invisible  to  mortal  eyes,  and,  trans- 
forming the  soul  into  the  resemblance  of  what 
it  beholds  fills  the  heart  with  benevcJence,  gen- 


fhi   THE  APOSTLES  DAYS. 


519 

tleness,  and  patience,  and  directs  every  action 
to  the  subiimest  ends,  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  good  of  mankind. 

But  whatever  is  styled  religion,  that  is  not 
thus  pure,  thus  peaceable,  thus  operative,  or 
at  least  that  does  not  lead  the  soul  to  desire 
the  graces  of  the  Spirit,  and  to  seek  them  in 
God's  appointed  way,  by  faith  in  his  Son,  is 
unworthy  of  the  name.  If  you  have  not  the 
Spirit  of  Christ,  you  are  none  of  his  (Rom. 
viii.  9) ;  whatever  else  you  may  have,  you 
have  no  interest  in  the  promised  blessings  of 
the  gospel ;  whatever  else  you  can  do,  you  can- 
not please  God,  Heb.  xi.  6.  If  you  do  not 
count  all  things  loss,  and  of  no  value  (Phil, 
iii.  8),  in  comparison  of  the  excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  you  cer- 
tainly do  not  understand  the  word  gospel  in 
St.  Paul's  sense  ;  if  you  did,  you  would  be  of 
his  mind  :  and  are  you  not  in  danger  of  incur- 
ring that  anathema  which,  under  the  influence 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  he  denounces  ( 1  Cor. 
xvi.  22)  against  all  who  love  not  the  Lord 
Jesus  ?  Search  the  scriptures,  if  you  really 
think  that  in  them  you  have  eternal  life,  John 
v.  39.  If,  indeed,  you  could  prove  them  to 
be  cunningly-devised  fables,  you  might  ne- 
glect them  without  danger  (2  Pet.  i.  16); 
but,  if  the  scriptures  are  true,  there  is  a  day 
coming  when  God  shall  judge  the  world,  Acts 
xvii.  31.  I  need  not  appeal  to  scripture  to 
convince  you  that,  whatever  your  situation  in 
life  is,  you  must  leave  it,  and  experience  a 
moment  when  the  pleasures  or  honours  of  this 
world  will  afford  you  no  comfort ;  but,  if  the 
scriptures  are  true,  you  must  then  appear  be- 
fore the  judgment-seat  of  Christ  ;  you  must 
stand  either  at  the  right  hand  or  the  left,  2 
Cor.  v.  10.  Important  alternative!  For  to 
those  on  the  left  hand  the  King  will  say, 
"  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,"  Matth.  xxv. 
41.  If  hitherto,  while  you  have  professed 
his  name,  you  have  had  your  heart  filled  with 
enmity  against  his  doctrine  and  his  people ; 
if  you  have  accounted  his  wisdom  foolishness, 
and  reproached  the  operations  of  his  Spirit  as 
enthusiasm  and  madness, — it  is  to  be  hoped 
you  have  done  it  through  ignorance ;  you 
knew  not  what  you  did  (1  Tim.  i.  15;  Luke 
xxiii.  34)  :  there  is,  then,  forgiveness  with 
him  ;  as  yet  he  is  upon  a  throne  of  grace. 
May  the  Spirit  of  God  lead  you  to  him  be- 
fore he  takes  his  seat  upon  the  throne  of 
judgment !  otherwise  you  are  lost  for  ever. 
My  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God,  for  my 
readers,  will  be,  that  not  one  of  them  may 
fall  under  that  awful  sentence,  Behold,  ye  de- 
spisers,  and  wonder,  and  perish ;  for  I  work 
a  work  in  your  days,  which  you  shall  in  no 
wise  believe,  though  a  man  declare  it  unto 
you  Acts  xiii.  41. 


OLNEY  HYMNS, 


IN 


THREE  BOOKS. 


Cantabitis,  Ai cades,  inquit, 


Alontibus  haec  vestris,  soli  cantare  periti 

Arcades.      O  milii  turn  quam  molliter  ossa  quicscant, 

Ves.tra  meos  olim  si  fistula  dicat  amores  ! 

VlKGIL,  Eel.  x.  31. 

And  they  sung  as  it  were  a  new  song  before   the  throne; and   no  man  could   learn 

that  song,  but  the redeemed  from  the  eauh.      Rev.  xiv.  3. 

As  sorrowful,  yet  always  rejoicing. 2  Cor.  vi.   10. 


PREFACE. 

Copies  of  a  few  of  these  Hymns  have  already  appeared  in  periodical  publi- 
cations, and  in  some  recent  collections.  I  have  observed  one  or  two  of  them 
attributed  to  persons  who  certainly  had  no  concern  in  them,  but  as  tran- 
scribers. All  that  have  been  at  different  times  parted  with  in  manuscript  are 
included  in  the  present  volume ;  and  (if  the  information  were  of  any  great 
importance)  the  public  may  be  assured,  that  the  whole  number  were  com- 
posed by  two  persons  only.  The  original  design  would  not  admit  of  any 
other  association.  A  desire  of  promoting  the  faith  and  comfort  of  sincere 
christians,  though  the  principal,  was  not  the  only  motive  to  this  undertaking. 
It  was  likewise  intended  as  a  monument  to  perpetuate  the  remembrance  of 
an  intimate  and  endeared  friendship.  With  this  pleasing  view,  I  entered  upon 
my  part,  which  would  have  been  smaller  than  it  is,  and  the  book  would  have 
appeared  much  sooner,  and  in  a  very  different  form,  if  the  wise,  though 
mysterious  providence  of  God,  had  not  seen  fit  to  cross  my  wishes.  We  had 
not  proceeded  far  upon  our  proposed  plan,  before  my  dear  friend  was  pre- 
vented, by  a  long  and  affecting  indisposition,  from  affording  me  any  farther 
assistance.  My  grief  and  disappointment  were  great ;  I  hung  my  harp  upon 
the  willows,  and  for  some  time  thought  myself  determined  to  proceed  no  far- 
ther without  him.  Yet  my  mind  was  afterwards  led  to  resume  the  service. 
My  progress  in  it,  amidst  a  variety  of  other  engagements,  has  been  slow  ;  yet, 
in  a  course  of  years,  the  Hymns  amounted  to  a  considerable  number ;  and 
my  deference  to  the  judgment  and  desires  of  others,  has  at  length  overcome 
the  reluctance  I  long  felt  to  see  them  in  print,  while  I  had  so  few  of  my 
friend's  Hymns  to  insert  in  the  collection.  Though  it  is  possible  a  good  judge 
of  composition  might  be  able  to  distinguish  those  which  are  his,  I  have  thought 
it  proper  to  preclude  a  misapplication,  by  subjoining  the  letter  C*  to  each  of 
them.     For  the  rest  I  must  be  responsible. 

There  is  a  style  and  manner  suited  to  the  composition  of  Hymns,  which 
may  be  more  successfully,  or  at  least  more  easily,  attained  by  a  versifier  than 
by  a  poet.  They  should  be  Hymns,  not  Odes,  if  designed  for  public  worship, 
and  for  the  use  of  plain  people.  Perspicuity  simplicity,  and  ease,  should  be 
chiefly  attended  to  ;  and  the  imagery  and  colouring  of  poetry,  if  admitted  at 
all,  should  be  indulged  very  sparingly,  and  with  great  judgment.  The  late 
Dr.  Watts,  many  of  whose  Hymns  are  admirable  patterns  in  this  species  of 
writing,  might,  as  a  poet,  have  a  right  to  say,  That  it  cost  him  some  labour 
to  restrain  his  fire,  and  to  accommodate  himself  to  the  capacities  of  common 
readers.  But  it  would  not  become  me  to  make  such  a  declaration.  It  be- 
hoved me  to  do  my  best.  But  though  I  would  not  offend  readers  of  taste 
by  a  wilful  coarseness  and  negligence,  I  do  not  write  professedly  for  them.  If 
the  Lord,  whom  I  serve,  has  been  pleased  to  favour  me  with  that  mediocrity 
of  talent,  which  may  qualify  me  for  usefulness  to  the  weak  and  the  poor  of 
his  flock,  without  quite  disgusting  persons  of  superior  discernment,  I  have 
reason  to  be  satisfied. 

As  the  workings  of  the  heart  of  man,  and  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  are  in  gene 
ral  the  same  in  all  who  are  the  subjects  of  grace,  I  hope  most  of  these  Hymns 
being  the  fruit  and  expression  of  my  own  experience,  will  coincide  with  the 
views  of  real  christians  of  all  denominations.     But  I  cannot  expect  that  every 
sentiment  I  have  advanced  will  be  universally  approved.     However,  I  am  not 
conscious  of  having  written  a  single  line,  with  an  intention  either  to  flatter  or 

*  Cowpcr. 


524  PREFACE. 

to  offend  any  party  or  person  upon  earth.  1  have  simply  declared  my  own 
views  and  feelings,  as  I  might  have  done  if  I  had  composed  Hymns  in  some  of 
the  newly-discovered  islands  in  the  South  Sea,  where  no  person  had  any  know- 
ledge of  the  name  of  Jesus  but  myself.  I  am  a  friend  of  peace  ;  and  being 
deeply  convinced,  that  no  one  can  profitably  understand  the  great  truths  and 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  any  farther  than  he  is  taught  of  God,  I  have  not  a 
wish  to  obtrude  my  own  tenets  upon  others,  in  a  way  of  controversy  :  yet  I 
do  not  think  myself  bound  to  conceal  them.  Many  gracious  persons  (for  many 
such  I  am  persuaded  there  are),  who  differ  from  me,  more  or  less,  in  those 
points  which  are  called  Calvinistic,  appear  desirous  that  the  Calvinists  should, 
for  their  sakes,  studiously  avoid  every  expression  which  they  cannot  approve. 
Yet  few  of  them,  I  believe,  impose  a  like  restraint  upon  themselves,  but  think 
the  importance  of  what  they  deem  to  be  truth,  justifies  them  in  speaking  their 
sentiments  plainly  and  strongly.  May  I  not  plead  for  an  equal  liberty  ?  The 
views  I  have  received  of  the  doctrines  of  grace  are  essential  to  my  peace  ;  I 
could  not  live  comfortably  a  day  or  an  hour  without  them.  I  likewise  be- 
lieve, yea,  so  far  as  my  poor  attainments  warrant  me  to  speak,  I  know  them  to 
be  friendly  to  holiness,  and  to  have  a  direct  influence  in  producing  and  main- 
taining a  gospel-conversation ;  and  therefore  I  must  not  be  ashamed  of  them. 

The  Hymns  are  distributed  into  three  Books.  In  the  first,  I  have  classed 
those  which  are  formed  upon  select  passages  of  scripture,  and  placed  them 
in  the  order  of  the  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  The  second  con- 
tains occasional  Hymns,  suited  to  particular  seasons,  or  suggested  by  particu- 
lar events  or  subjects.  The  third  book  is  miscellaneous,  comprising  a  variety 
of  subjects  relative  to  a  life  of  faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  which  have  no  express 
reference  either  to  a  single  text  of  scripture,  or  to  any  determinate  season  or 
incident.  These  are  farther  subdivided  into  distinct  heads.  This  arrangement 
is  not  so  accurate,  but  that  several  of  the  Hymns  might  have  been  differently 
disposed.  Some  attention  to  method  may  be  found  convenient,  though  a 
logical  exactness  was  hardly  practicable.  As  some  subjects  in  the  several 
books  are  nearly  coincident,  I  have,  under  the  divisions  in  the  third  Book, 
pointed  out  those  which  are  similar  in  the  two  former.  And  I  have  likewise 
here  and  there,  in  the  first  and  second,  made  a  reference  to  Hymns  of  a  like 
import  in  the  third. 

This  Publication,  which,  with  my  humble  prayer  to  the  Lord  for  his  bles- 
sing upon  it,  I  offer  to  the  service  and  acceptance  of  all  who  love  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,  of  every  name  and  in  every  place,  into  whose  hands 
it  may  come,  I  more  particularly  dedicate  to  my  dear  friends  in  the  parish  and 
neighbourhood  of  Olney,  for  whose  use  the  Hymns  were  originally  composed  ; 
as  a  testimony  of  the  sincere  love  I  bear  them,  and  as  a  token  of  my  gratitude 
to  the  Lord,  and  to  them,  for  the  comfort  and  satisfaction  with  which  the 
discharge  of  my  ministry  among  them  has  been  attended. 

The  hour  is  approaching,  and,  at  my  time  of  life,  cannot  be  very  distant, 
when  my  heart,  my  pen,  and  my  tongue,  will  no  longer  be  able  to  move  in 
their  service.  But  I  trust,  while  my  heart  continues  to  beat,  it  will  feel  a 
warm  desire  for  the  prosperity  of  their  souls  ;  and  while  my  hand  can  write, 
and  my  tongue  speak,  it  will  be  the  business  and  the  pleasure  of  my  life,  to 
aim  at  promoting  their  growth  and  establishment  in  the  grace  of  our  God 
and  Saviour.  To  this  precious  grace  I  commend  them,  and  earnestly  entreat 
them,  and  all  who  love  his  name,  to  strive  mightily  with  their  prayers  to  God 
for  me,  that  I  may  be  preserved  faithful  to  the  end  and  enabled  at  last  to 
finish  my  course  with  joy. 

JOHN  NEWTON 

Olney,  Burks,  Feb.  1 5th  1779. 


OLNEY  HYMNS, 


BOOK   I. 

ON  SELECT  PASSAGES  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


GENESIS. 


HYMS    J 


ADAM.       CHAP.   III. 


1  On  man,  in  his  own  image  made, 

How  much  did  God  bestow  ! 

The  whole  creation  homage  paid, 

And  own'd  him  Lord  below. 

2  He  dwelt  in  Eden's  garden,  stor'd 

With  sweets  for  every  sense; 
And  there,  with  his  descending  Lord, 
He  walk'd  in  confidence. 

8   But  oh  !    by  sin  how  quickly  chang'd  ! 
His  honour  forfeited, 
His  heart  from  God  and  truth  estrang'd, 
His  conscience  till'd  with  dread  ! 

4  Now  from  his  Maker's  voice  he  flees, 

Which  was  before  his  joy, 
And  thinks  to  hide,  amidst  the  trees, 
From  an  all-seeing  eye. 

5  Compell'd  to  answer  to  his  name, 

With  stubbornness  and  pride, 
He  cast  on  God  himself  the  blame, 
Nor  once  for  mercy  cried. 

6  But  grace,  unask'd,  his  heart  subdu'd, 

And  all  his  guilt  forgave; 
By  faith  the  promis'd  Seed  he  view'd, 
And  felt  his  power  to  save. 


7   Thus  we  ourselves  would  justify, 
Though  we  the  law  transgress  ; 
Like  him,  unable  to  deny, 
Unwilling  to  confess. 

fl   But  when,  by  faith,  the  sinner  sees 
A  pardon,  bought  with  blood, 
Then  he  forsakes  his  foolish  pleas, 
And  gladly  turns  to  God. 


HYMN  II. 

CAIN  AND  ABEL.       CHAP.  IV.    S 8. 

1  When  Adam  fell,  he  quickly  lost 
God's  image,  which  he  once  possess'd  : 
See  all  our  nature  since  could  boast, 
In  Cain,  his  first-born  son,  express'd  ! 

2  The  sacrifice  the  Lord  ordain'd, 
In  type  of  the  Redeemer's  blood, 
Self-righteous  reas'ning  Cain  disdain'd, 
And  thought  his  own  first-fruits  as  good. 

3  Yet  rage  and  envy  fill'd  his  mind, 
When,  with  a  sullen  downcast  look, 
He  saw  his  brother  favour  find, 
Who  God's  appointed  method  took. 

4  By  Cain's  own  hand  good  Abel  died, 
Because  the  Lord  approv'd  his  faith  ; 
And  when  his  blood  for  vengeance  cried, 
He  vainly  thought  to  hide  his  death. 


Z2(i  OLNEY 

b   Such  was  the  wicked  murd'rer  Cain  ; 
And  such  hy  nature  still  are  we, 
Until  by  grace  we're  born  again, 
Malicious,  blind,  and  proud  as  he. 

6  Like  him,  the  way  of  grace  we  slight, 
And  in  our  own  devices  trust; 

Call  evil  good,  and  darkness  light, 
And  hate  and  persecute  the  just. 

7  The  saints  in  ev'ry  age  and  place, 
Have  found  his  history  fulfill'd  ; 

The  numbers  all  our  thoughts  surpass, 
Of  Abels  whom  the  Cains  have  kill'd.  * 

8  Thus  Jesus  fell — but,  oh  !  his  blood 
For  better  things  than  Abel's  cries  ;  f 
Obtains  his  murd'rers  peace  with  God, 
A  nd  gains  them  mansions  in  the  skies. 


HYMN  III. 

WALKING  WITH  GOD.       CHAP.   V.  24. 

1  Oh  !   for  a  closer  walk  with  God, 

A  calm  and  heavenly  frame  ; 
A  light  to  shine  upon  the  road 
That  leads  me  to  the  Lamb  ! 

2  Where  is  the  blessedness  I  knew, 

When  first  I  saw  the  Lord  ? 
Where  is  the  soul-refreshing  view 
Of  Jesus  and  bis  word  ? 

3  What  peaceful  hours  I  once  enjoyed  ! 

How  sweet  their  mem'ry  still ! 
But  they  have  left  an  aching  void, 
The  world  can  never  fill. 

4  Return,  O  holy  Dove,  return, 

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

5  The  dearest  idol  I  have  known, 

Whate'er  that  idol  be, 
Help  me  to  tear  it  from  thy  throne, 
And  worship  only  thee. 

6  So  shall  my  walk  be  close  with  God, 

Calm  and  serene  my  frame  ; 
So  purer  light  shall  mark  the  road, 
That  leads  me  to  the  Lamb. 

C. 


HYMN  IV. 


ANOTHER. 


By  faith  in  Christ  I  walk  with  God, 
With  heaven,  my  journey's  end,  in  view  j 
Supported  by  his  staff  and  rod,  J 
My  road  is  safe  and  pleasant  too. 

I  travel  through  a  desert  wide, 
Where  many  round  me  blindly  stray  ; 
But  he  vouchsafes  to  be  my  guide, § 
And  will  not  let  me  miss  my  way. 


*    Rom.  viii.  36. 
J   Psai.  xxiii.  1 


Hcb.  xn.  24. 
Psal.  cvii. 


HYMNS.  bo;)K  I, 

3  Though  snares  and  dangers  throng  my  path, 
And  earth  and  hell  my  course  withstand, 

I  triumph  over  all  by  faith,* 
Guarded  by  his  almighty  hand. 

4  The  wilderness  affords  no  food, 
But  God  for  my  support  prepares  ; 
Provides  me  every  needful  good, 

And  frees  my  soul  from  wants  and  cares. 

5  With  him  sweet  converse  I  maintain, 
Great  as  he  is,  I  dare  be  free  ; 

Tell  him  all  my  grief  and  pain, 
And  he  reveals  his  love  to  me. 

6  Some  cordial  from  his  word  he  brings, 
Whene'er  my  feeble  spirit  faints  ; 

At  once  my  soul  revives  and  sings, 
And  yields  no  more  to  sad  complaints. 

7  I  pity  all  that  worldlings  talk 

Of  pleasures  that  will  quickly  end  : 
Be  this  my  choice,  O  Lord,  to  walk 
With  thee,  my  guide,  my  guard,  my  friend 


HYMN  V. 

LOT  IN  SODOM.       CHAP.  XIII.    10. 

1  How  hurtful  was  the  choice  of  Lot, 

Who  took  up  his  abode 
(Because  it  was  a  fruitful  spct) 
With  them  who  fear'd  not  God  ! 

2  A  pris'ner  he  was  quickly  made, 

Bereav'd  of  all  his  store  ; 
And,  but  for  Abram's  timely  aid, 
He  had  return'd  no  more. 

3  Yet  still  he  seem'd  resolv'd  to  stay, 

As  if  it  were  his  rest  j 
Although  their  sins  from  day  to  dayf 
His  righteous  soul  distress'd. 

4  A  while  he  stayed,  with  anxious  mind, 

Expos'd  to  scorn  and  strife ; 
At  last  he  left  his  all  behind, 
And  fled  to  save  his  life. 

5  In  vain  his  sons-in-law  he  warn'd, 

They  thought  he  told  but  dreams ; 
His  daughters,  too,  of  them  had  learn'd, 
And  perish'd  in  the  flames. 

6  His  wife  escap'd  a  little  way, 

But  died  for  looking  back  : 
Does  not  her  case  to  pilgrims  say, 
"   Beware  of  growing  slack  !" 

7  Yea,  Lot  himself  could  ling'ring  stand, 

Though  vengeance  was  in  view  ; 
'Twas  mercy  pluck'd  him  by  the  hand, 
Or  he  had  perish'd  too. 

8  The  doom  of  Sodom  will  be  ours, 

If  to  the  earth  we  cleave  : 
Lord,  quicken  all  our  drowsy  powers, 
To  flee  to  thee,  and  live. 
*  Psal.  xxvii.  I,  2  t  "  fet.  ii.  8. 


HYMN   VIII. 


GENESIS. 


HYMN  VI. 


JEHOVAH-JIREH;    OR,   THE  LORD  WILL  PRO- 
VIDE.      CHAP.  XXII.    14. 

I    The  saints  should  never  be  dismayed, 
Nor  sink  in  hopeless  fear  : 
For  when  they  least  expect  his  aid, 
The  Saviour  will  appear. 

!  This  Abram  found — he  rais'd  the  knife, 
God  saw,  and  said,   "  Forbear  : 
Yon  ram  shall  yield  his  meaner  life ; 
Behold  the  victim  there!" 

!   Once  David  seem'd  Saul's  certain  prey ; 
But  hark  !   the  foe's  at  hand  ;  * 
Saul  turns  his  arms  another  way, 
To  save  the  invaded  land. 


When  Jonah  sunk  beneath  the  wave, 
He  thought  to  rise  no  more ;  f 

But  God  prepar'd  a  fish  to  save, 
And  bear  him  to  the  shore. 


fail, 


5  Bless'd  proofs  of  power  and  grace  divine, 

That  meet  us  in  his  word  ! 
May  ev'ry  deep-felt  care  of  mine 
Be  trusted  with  the  Lord. 

6  Wait  for  his  seasonable  aid, 

And  though  it  tarry,  wait ; 
The  promise  may  be  long  delayed, 
But  cannot  come  too  late. 

C 


HYMN  VII. 

ANOTHER. 

Though  troubles  assail, 
And  dangers  affright, 
Though  friends  should  all 
And  foes  all  unite  ; 
Yet  one  thing  secures  us, 
Whatever  betide, 
The  scripture  assures  us, 
The  LORD  will  provide. 

!  The  birds  without  barn 
Or  storehouse  are  fed  ; 
From  them  let  us  learn 
To  trust  for  our  bread  : 
His  saints,  what  is  fitting, 
Shall  ne'er  be  denied, 
So  long  as  'tis  written, 
The  Lord  will  provide. 

We  may,  like  the  ships, 
By  tempests  be  tossed, 
On  perilous  deeps, 
But  cannot  be  lost : 
Though  Satan  enrages 
The  wind  and  the  tide, 
The  promise  engages, 
The  Lord  will  provide. 
J  Sam.  xxiii.  |. 


His  call  we  obey, 
Like  Abram  of  old, 
Not  knowing  our  way, 
But  faith  makes  us  bold  ; 
For  though  we  are  strangers, 
We  have  a  good  guide, 
And  trust  in  all  dangers, 
The  Lord  will  provide. 

When  Satan  appears 
To  stop  up  our  path, 
And  fill  us  with  fears, 
We  triumph  by  faith; 
He  cannot  take  from  us, 
Though  oft  he  has  tried, 
This  heart-cheering-promise, 
The  Lord  will  provide. 

He  tells  us  we're  weak, 
Our  hope  is  in  vain, 
The  good  that  we  seek 
We  ne'er  shall  obtain  ; 
But  when  such  suggestions 
Our  spirits  have  plied, 
This  answers  all  questions, 
The  Lord  will  provide. 

No  strength  of  our  own, 
Or  goodness  we  claim  ; 
Yet  since  we  have  known 
The  Saviour's  great  name, 
In  this  our  strong  tower 
For  safety  we  hide, 
The  Lord  is  our  power, 
The  Lord  will  provide. 

When  life  sinks  apace, 
And  death  is  in  view, 
This  word  of  his  grace 
Shall  comfort  us  through  ; 
No  fearing  or  doubting, 
With  Christ  on  our  side, 
We  hope  to  die  shouting, 
The  Lord  will  provide. 


HYMN  VIII. 

ESAU.      CHAP.  xxv.  34.     Heb.  xii.  16. 

I    Poor  Esau  repented  too  late, 
That  once  he  his  birth-right  despisM, 
And  sold  for  a  morsel  of  meat, 
What  could  not  too  highly  be  priz'd  • 
How  great  was  his  anguish  when  told 
The  blessing  he  sought  to  obtain, 
Was  gone  with  the  birth-right  he  soldi 
And  none  could  recall  it  again  ! 

I   He  stands  as  a  warning  to  all, 
Wherever  the  gospel  shall  come  ; 
O  hasten  and  yield  to  the  call, 
While  yet  for  repentance  there's  room . 
Your  season  will  quickly  be  past; 
Then  hear  and  obey  it  to-day, 
Lest,  when  you  seek  mercy  at  last, 
The  Saviour  should  frown  you  away 


528  OLNEY 

3  What  is  it  the  world  can  propose  ? 
A  morsel  of  meat  at  the  best ! 
For  this  are  you  willing  to  lose 
A  share  in  the  joys  of  the  blest  ? 
Its  pleasures  will  speedily  end, 

Its  favour  and  praise  are  but  breath; 
And  what  can  its  profits  befriend 
Your  soul  in  the  moment  of  death  ? 

4  If  Jesus,  for  these,  you  despise, 
And  sin  to  the  Saviour  prefer ; 
In  vain  your  entreaties  and  cries, 
When  summon'd  to  stand  at  his  bar : 
How  will  you  his  presence  abide  ? 
What  anguish  will  torture  your  heart  ? 
The  saints  all  enthron'd  by  his  side, 
And  you  be  compell'd  to  depart. 

5  Too  often,  dear  Saviour,  have  I 
Preferr'd  some  poor  trifle  to  thee ; 
How  is  it  thou  dost  not  deny 

The  blessing  and  birth-right  to  me  ? 
No  better  than  Esau  I  am, 
Though  pardon  and  heaven  be  mine  ; 
To  me  belongs  nothing  but  shame ; 
The  praise  and  the  glory  be  thine. 


HYMN   IX. 
Jacob's  ladder,     chap,  xxviii.  12. 

1  If  the  Lord  our  leader  be, 
We  may  follow  without  fear  ; 
East  or  west,  by  land  or  sea, 
Home,  with  him,  is  ev'ry  where. 
When  from  Esau  Jacob  fled, 
Though  his  pillow  was  of  stone, 
And  the  ground  his  humble  bed, 
Yet  he  was  not  left  alone. 

2  Kings  are  often  waking  kept, 
Rack'd  with  cares  on  beds  of  state  ; 
Never  king  like  Jacob  slept, 

For  he  lay  at  heaven's  gate ; 
Lo  !  he  saw  a  ladder  r-ear'd, 
Reaching  to  the  heavnely  throne ; 
At  the  top  the  Lord  appear'd. 
Spake,  and  claim'd  him  for  his  own. 

8   "  Fear  not,  Jacob,  thou  art  mine, 
And  my  presence  with  thee  goes : 
On  thy  heart  my  love  shall  shine, 
And  my  arm  subdue  thy  foes  : 
From  my  promise  comfort  take, 
For  my  help  in  trouble  call ; 
Never  will  I  thee  forsake, 
Till  I  have  accomplish'd  all." 

4   Well  does  Jacob's  ladder  suit. 
To  the  gospel -throne  of  graco. 
We  are  at  the  ladder's  foot. 
Ev'ry  hour,  in  ev'ry  place 
By  assuming  flesh  and  b.ooc 
Jesus  heaven  and  earth  unites 
We  by  faith  ascend  to  God,* 
God  to  dwell  with  us  delignts 

*  «  Cor.  vi.  I". 


HYMNS.  BOOK 

5  They  who  know  the  Saviour's  name, 
Are  for  all  events  prepar'd  ; 
What  can  changes  do  to  them, 
Who  have  such  a  guide  and  guard  ? 
Should  they  traverse  earth  around, 
To  the  ladder  still  they  come  ; 
Ev'ry  spot  is  holy  ground, 
God  is  there — and  he's  their  home. 


HYMN  X. 

MY  NAME  IS  JACOB.       CHAP.  XXxii.   27. 

1  Nay,  I  cannot  let  thee  go, 
Till  a  blessing  thou  bestow  ; 
Do  not  turn  away  thy  face, 
Mine's  an  urgent  pressing  case. 

2  Dost  thou  ask  me  who  I  am  ? 

Ah,  my  Lord,  thou  know'st  my  name  ; 
Yet  the  question  gives  a  plea, 
To  support  my  suit  with  thee. 

3  Thou  didst  once  a  wretch  behold, 
In  rebellion  blindly  bold, 

Scorn  thy  grace,  thy  power  defy  ; 
That  poor  rebel,  Lord,  was  I. 

4  Once  a  sinner  near  despair, 
Sought  thy  mercy-seat  by  prayer; 
Mercy  heard  and  set  him  free ; 
Lord  that  mercy  came  to  me. 

5  Many  years  have  pass'd  since  then, 
Many  changes  I  have  seen, 

Yet  have  been  upheld  till  now  ; 
Who  could  hold  me  up  but  thou  ? 

6  Thou  hast  help'd  in  ev'ry  need; 
This  emboldens  me  to  plead  : 
After  so  much  mercy  past, 
Canst  thou  let  me  sink  at  last  ? 

7  No — I  must  maintain  my  hold, 
'Tis  thy  goodness  makes  me  bold  ; 
I  can  no  denial  take, 

When  I  plead  for  Jesus'  sake. 


HYMN  XI. 

PLENTY  IN  THE  TIME  OF  DEARTH. 
56. 


CHAP.   xlL 


1    My  soul  once  had  its  plenteous  years, 
And  throve,  with  peace  and  comfort  fill'd 
Like  the  fat  kine  and  ripen'd  tars, 
Which  Pharaoh  in  his  dream  beheld. 

■  2  WTith  pleasing  frames  and  grace  receiv'd, 
With  means  and  ordinances  fed, 

I       How  happy  for  a  while  I  liv'd, 
And  little  fear'd  the  want  of  bread. 

3   But  famine  came,  and  left  no  sign 
Of  all  the  plenty  I  had  seen  ; 
Like  the  dry  ears  and  half-starv'd  kine, 
I  then  look'd  wither'd,  faint,  and  lean 


HYMN  XIV.  EXODUS. 

To  Joseph  the  Egyptians  went ; 
To  Jesus  I  made  known  my  case; 
He,  when  my  little  stock  was  spent, 
Open'd  his  magazine  of  grace. 

5  For  he  the  time  of  death  foresaw, 
And  made  provision  long  before: 
That  famish'd  souls,  like  me,  might  dra^ 
Supplies  from  his  unbounded  store. 

6  Now  on  his  bounty  I  depend, 
And  live  from  fear  of  dearth  secure; 
Maintain'd  by  such  a  mighty  friend, 
I  cannot  want  till  he  is  poor. 

*l  O  sinners,  hear  his  gracious  call  ! 
His  mercy's  door  stands  open  wide  ; 
He  has  enough  to  feed  you  all, 
And  none  who  come  shall  be  denied. 


529 


HYMN  XII. 

JOSEPH  MADE  KNOWN  TO  HIS  BRETHREN.    CHAP, 
xlv.  3.  4. 

1  When  Joseph  his  brethren  beheld 
Afflicted,  and  trembling  with  fear, 
His  heart  with  compassion  was  fill'd, 
From  weeping  he  could  not  forbear. 
A  while  his  behaviour  was  rough, 

To  bring  their  past  sin  to  their  mind  ; 
But  when  they  were  humbled  enough, 
He  hasted  to  shew  himself  kind. 

2  How  little  they  thought  it  was  he, 
Whom  they  had  ill-treated  and  sold ! 
How  great  their  confusion  must  be, 
As  soon  as  his  name  he  had  told  ! 

"  I'm  Joseph  your  brother,"  he  said, 
"  And  still  to  my  heart  you  are  dear ; 
You  sold  me,  and  thought  I  was  dead, 
But  God,  for  your  sakes,  sent  me  here." 

S   Though  greatly  distressed  before, 

When  charg'd  with  purloining  the  cup, 

They  now  were  confounded  much  more, 

Not  one  of  them  durst  to  look  up. 

"  Can  Joseph,  whom  we  would  have  slain, 

Forgive  us  the  evil  we  did  ? 

And  will  he  our  households  maintain  ? 

O,  this  is  a  brother  indeed !" 

4  Thus  dragg'd  by  my  conscience,  I  came, 
And  laden  with  guilt,  to  the  Lord, 
Surrounded  with  terror  and  shame, 
Unable  to  utter  a  word. 

At  first  he  look'd  stern  and  severe, 
What  anguish  then  pierced  my  heart ! 
Expecting  each  moment  to  hear 
The  sentence  "  Thou  cursed,  depart !' 

5  But,  oh !   what  surprise  when  he  spoke, 
While  tenderness  beam'd  in  his  face  ; 
My  heart  then  to  pieces  was  broke, 
Overwhelmed  and  confounded  by  grace: 
"  Poor  sinner,  I  know  thee  full  well, 
By  thee  I  was  sold  and  was  slain ; 

But  I  died  to  redeem  thee  from  hell, 
And  raise  thee  in  glory  to  reign. 


6  I'm  Jesus,  whom  thou  hast  blasphem'd, 
And  crucified  often  afresh  ; 
But  let  me  henceforth  be  esteem'd 
Thy  brother,  thy  bone,  and  thy  flesh : 
My  pardon  I  freely  bestow, 
Thy  wants  I  will  fully  supply  ; 
I'll  guide  thee  and  guard  thee  below, 
And  soon  will  remove  thee  on  high. 

7  Go,  publish  to  sinners  around, 
That  they  may  be  willing  to  come, 
The  mercy  which  now  you  have  found, 
And  tell  them  that  yet  there  is  room  " 
O  sinners  !   the  message  obey, 
No  more  vain  excuses  pretend; 
But  come  without  further  delay, 
To  Jesus  our  brother  and  friend. 


ODUS. 


HYMN  XIII. 

THE  bitter  WATERS.       CHAP.   XV.   23.   25. 

1  Bitter,  indeed,  the  waters  are, 

Which  in  this  desert  flow  ; 
Though  to  the  eye  they  promise  fair, 
They  taste  of  sin  and  woe. 

2  Of  pleasing  draughts  I  once  could  dream, 

But  now,  awake,  I  find 
That  sin  has  poison 'd  ev'ry  stream, 
And  left  a  curse  behind. 

3  But  there's  a  wonder-working  wood, 

I've  heard  believers  say, 
Can  make  these  bitter  waters  good, 
And  take  the  curse  away. 

4  The  virtues  of  this  healing  tree 

Are  known  and  priz'd  by  few; 
Reveal  this  secret,  Lord,  to  me, 
That  I  may  prize  it  too. 

3  The  cross  on  which  the  Saviour  died, 
And  conquer'd  for  his  saints; 
This  is  the  tree,  by  faith  applied, 
Which  sweetens  all  complaints. 

6  Thousands  have  found  the  bless'd  effect, 

No  longer  mourn  their  lot : 
While  on  his  sorrows  they  reflect, 
Their  own  are  all  forgot. 

7  When  they,  by  faith,  behold  the  cross, 

Though  many  griefs  they  meet ; 
They  draw  again  from  ev'ry  loss, 
And  find  the  bitter  sweet. 


HYMN   XIV. 

JEHOVAH-ROPHI  ;  OR,  THE  LORD  MY  HEALER. 
CHAP.  XV.  26. 

1   Heal  us,  Emmanuel,  here  we  are, 
Waiting  to  feel  thy  touch ; 
Deep  wounded  souls  to  thee  repair, 
And,  Saviour,  we  are  such. 
2  S 


530 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


BOOK    I 


Our  faith  is  feeble,  we  confess, 

We  faintly  trust  thy  word  • 
But  wilt  thou  pity  us  the  less  ? 

I3e  that  far  from  thee,  Lord  ! 

Remember  him  who  once  applied 

With  trembling  for  relief; 
"  Lord,  I  believe,"  with  tears  he  cried,  * 

"  O  help  my  unbelief!" 

She  too,  who  touch'd  thee  in  the  press, 

And  healing  virtue  stole, 
Was  answered,  "  Daughter,  go  in  peace, 

Thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole."  f 

Conceal'd  amid  the  gath'ring  throng, 
She  would  have  shunn'd  thy  view  ; 

And  if  her  faith  was  firm  and  strong, 
Had  strong  misgivings  too. 

Like  her,  with  hopes  and  fears,  we  come, 

To  touch  thee  if  we  may  ; 
Oh  !   send  us  not  despairing  home, 

Send  none  unheal'd  away  ! 

C. 


HYMN  XV. 

MANNA.       CHAP.   xvi.    18. 

1  Manna  to  Israel  well  supplied 

The  want  of  other  bread  ; 
While  God  is  able  to  provide, 
His  people  shall  be  fed. 

2  Thus,  though  the  corn  and  wine  should  fail, 

And  creature-streams  be  dry, 
The  prayer  of  faith  will  still  prevail, 
For  blessings  from  on  high. 

3  Of  his  kind  care  how  sweet  a  proof! 

It  suited  ev'ry  taste  ; 
Who  gather'd  most,  had  just  enough, 
Enough  who  gather'd  least. 

4  'Tis  thus  our  gracious  Lord  divides 

Our  comforts  and  our  cares ; 
His  own  unerring  hand  provides, 
And  gives  us  each  our  shares. 

5  He  knows  how  much  the  weak  can  bear, 

And  helps  them  when  they  cry  ; 
The  strongest  have  no  strength  to  spare, 
For  such  he'll  strongly  try. 

6  Daily  they  saw  the  manna  come, 

And  cover  all  the  ground  ; 
But  what  they  tried  to  keep  at  home, 
Corrupted  soon  was  found. 

7  Vain  their  attempt  to  store  it  up, 

This  was  to  tempt  the  Lord ; 
Israel  must  live  by  faith  and  hope, 
And  not  upon  a  hoard. 


*  Mark  ix.  C4 


'  Mark  v  34. 


HYMN  XVI. 

manna  hoarded,     chap.  xvi.  20. 

1  The  manna,  favour'd  Israel's  meat, 

Was  gather'd  day  by  day  ; 
When  all  the  host  was  serv'd,  the  heat 
Melted  the  rest  away. 

2  In  vain  to  hoard  it  up  they  tried, 

Against  to-morrow  came ; 
It  then  bred   worms  and  putrified, 
And  prov'd  their  sin  and  shame. 

3  'Twas  daily  bread,  and  would  not  keep, 

But  must  be  still  renew'd  ; 
Faith  should  not  want  a  hoard  or  heap, 
But  trust  the  Lord  for  food. 

4  The  truths  by  which  the  soul  is  fed, 

Must  thus  be  had  afresh  ; 
For  notions  resting  in  the  head 
Will  only  feed  the  flesh. 

5  However  true,  they  have  no  life 

Or  unction  to  impart ; 
They  breed  the  worms  of  pride  and  strife 
But  cannot  cheer  the  heart. 

6  Nor  can  the  best  experience  past 

The  life  of  faith  maintain  ; 
The  brighest  hope  will  faint  at  last, 
Unless  supplied  again. 

7  Dear  Lord,  while  we  in  prayer  are  fount!, 

Do  thou  the  manna  give  ; 
Oh  !   let  it  fall  on  all  around, 
That  we  may  eat  and  live  ! 


HYMN  XVII. 

jehovah-nissi  ;  OR,  the  lord  my  banner. 
CHAP.  xvii.  15. 

1  By  whom  was  David  taught 

To  aim  the  dreadful  blow, 
When  he  Goliah  fought, 
And  laid  the  Gittite  low  ? 
No  sword  nor  spear  the  stripling  took, 
Bui  chose  a  pebble  from  the  brook. 

2  'Twas  Israel's  God  and  King 

Who  sent  him  to  the  fight  ; 
Who  gave  him  strength  to  sling, 
And  skill  to  aim  aright. 
Ye  feeble  saints,  your  strength  endures, 
Because  young  David's  God  is  yours. 

3  Who  order'd  Gideon  forth 

To  storm  the  invaders  camp,* 
With  arms  of  little  worth, 

A  pitcher  and  a  lamp  ? 
The  trumpets  made  his  coming  known, 
And  all  the  host  was  overthrown. 


►  Jiulgts  \  ii.  -C'. 


HYMN  XX. 


4  Oh  !   I  have  seen  the  day, 

When  with  a  single  word, 
God  helping  me  to  say, 
My  trust  is  in  the  Lord, 
My  soul  has  quell'd  a  thousand  foes, 
Fearless  of  all  that  could  oppose. 

5  But  unbelief,  self-will, 

Self-righteousness,  and  pride, 
How  often  do  they  steal 
My  weapon  from  my  side  ? 
Yet  David's  Lord,  and  Gideon's  friend, 
Will  help  his  servant  to  the  end. 

C. 


HYMN  XVIII. 

THE  GOLDEN  CALF.       CHAP.  XXxii.   4,  31. 

1  When  Israel  heard  the  fiery  law 

From  Sinai's  top  proclaim'd, 
Their  hearts  seem'd  full  of  holy  awe, 
Their  stubborn  spirits  tam'd. 

2  Yet,  as  forgetting  all  they  knew, 

Ere  forty  days  were  past, 
With  blazing  Sinai  still  in  view, 
A  molten  calf  they  cast. 

3  Yea,  Aaron,  God's  anointed  priest, 

Who  on  the  mount  had  been, 
He  durst  prepare  the  idol  beast, 
And  lead  them  on  to  sin. 

4  Lord,  what  is  man,  and  what  are  we, 

To  recompense  thee  thus  ! 
In  their  offence  our  own  we  see, 
Their  story  points  at  us. 

5  From  Sinai's  top  we  heard  thee  speak, 

And  from  mount  Calv'ry  too  ; 
And  yet  to  idols  oft  we  seek, 
While  thou  art  in  our  view. 

6  Some  golden  calf,  or  golden  dream, 

Some  fancied  creature  good, 
Presumes  to  share  the  heart  with  him, 
Who  bought  the  whole  with  blood. 

7  Lord,  save  us  from  our  golden  calves, 

Our  sin  with  grief  we  own  ; 
We  would  no  more  be  thine  by  halves, 
But  live  to  thee  alone. 


NUMBERS. 

2 


LEVITICUS. 


HYMN  XIX. 

THE  TRUE  AARON.       CHAP.  viii.   7 — 9. 

See  Aaron,  God's  anointed  priest, 

Within  the  vail  appear, 
In  robes  of  mystic  meaning  drest, 

Presenting  Israel's  prayer. 


The  plate  of  gold  which  crowns  hi 

His  holiness  describes ; 
His  breast  displays,  in  shining  rows, 

The  names  of  all  the  tribes. 

With  the  atoning  blood  he  stands 

Before  the  mercy-seat ; 
And  clouds  of  incense  from  his  hands 

Arise  with  odour  sweet. 

Urim  and  Thummim  near  his  heart 

In  rich  engravings  worn, 
The  sacred  light  of  truth  impart, 

To  teach  and  to  adorn. 

Through  him  the  eye  of  faith  descries 

A  greater  Priest  than  he  : 
Thus  Jesus  pleads  above  the  skies, 

For  you,  my  friends,  and  me. 

He  bears  the  names  of  all  his  saints 
Deep  on  his  heart  engrav'd  ; 

Attentive  to  the  state  and  wants 
Of  all  his  love  has  sav'd. 

In  him  a  holiness  complete, 
Light  and  perfections  shine, 

And  wisdom,  grace,  and  glory  meet  ; 
A  Saviour  all  divine  ! 


8  The  blood,  which  as  a  priest  he  bears 

For  sinners,  is  his  own; 
The  incense  of  his  prayers  and  tears 
Perfume  the  holy  throne. 

9  In  him  my  weary  soul  has  rest, 

Though  I  am  weak  and  vile, 
I  read  my  name  upon  his  breast, 
And  see  the  Father  smile. 


531 

brows 


NUMBERS. 


HYMN  XX. 

BALAAM'S  WISH.  *      CHAP.   XXiii.    10. 

How  bless'd  the  righteous  are, 
When  they  resign  their  breath  ; 

No  wonder  Balaam  wish'd  to  share 
In  such  a  happy  death. 

"  Oh  !   let  me  die,"  said  he, 
"  The  death  the  righteous  do  ; 

When  life  is  ended,  let  me  be 
Found  with  the  faithful  few." 

The  force  of  truth,  how  great ! 

When  enemies  confess, 
None  but  the  righteous,  whom  they  hate^ 

A  solid  hope  possess. 

But  Balaam's  wish  was  vain, 

His  heart  was  insincere  ; 
He  thirsted  for  unrighteous  gain, 

And  sought  a  portion  here. 
Book  III    Hymn  lxxi. 


532 

5  He  seem'd  the  Lord  to  know, 

And  to  offend  him  loth ; 
But  Mammon  prov'd  his  overthrow  ; 
For  none  can  serve  them  both. 

6  May  you,  my  friends,  and  I, 

Warning  from  hence  receive ; 
If  like  the  righteous  we  would  die, 
To  choose  the  life  they  live. 


JOSHUA. 


HYMN  XXI. 

GtBEON.       CHAP.  X.   6. 

1  When  Joshua,  by  God's  command, 
Invaded  Canaan's  guilty  land, 
Gibeon,  unlike  the  nations  round, 
Submission  made,  and  mercy  found, 

2  Their  stubborn  neighbours,  who,  enrag'd, 
United  war  against  them  wag'd, 

By  Joshua  soon  were  overthrown, 
For  Gibeon's  cause  was  now  his  own. 

<$  He  from  whose  arm  they  ruin  fear'd, 
Their  leader  and  ally  appear'd  ; 
An  emblem  of  the  Saviour's  grace, 
To  those  who  humbly  seek  his  face. 

4  The  men  of  Gibeon  wore  disguise, 
And  gain'd  their  peace  by  framing  lies  ; 
For  Joshua  had  no  power  to  spare, 

If  he  had  known  from  whence  they  were. 

5  But  Jesus  invitation  sends, 
Treating  with  rebels  as  his  friend's; 
And  holds  the  promise  forth  in  view, 
To  all  who  for  his  mercy  sue. 

6  Too  long  his  goodness  I  disdain'd, 
Yet  went  at  last,  and  peace  obtain'd ; 
But  soon  the  noise  of  war  I  heard, 
And  former  friends  in  arms  appear'd. 

7  Weak  in  myself,  for  help  I  cried, 
Lord,  I  am  press'd  on  every  side  ; 
The  cause  is  thine,  they  fight  with  me, 
But  every  blow  is  aim'd  at  thee. 

8  With  speed  to  my  relief  he  came, 
And  put  my  enemies  to  shame  : 
Thus  sav'd  by  grace,  I  live  to  sing 
The  love  and  triumphs  of  my  King. 


OLNEY   HYMNS. 


BOOK   I 


JUDGES. 


HYMN  XXII. 

JEHOVAH-SHALOM;    OR,    THE    LORD    IS  PEACE. 
CHAP.  vi.  24. 

1  Jesus,  whose  blood  so  freely  stream'd, 
To  satisfy  the  law's  demand, 

By  thee  from  guilt  and  wrath  redeem'd, 
Before  the  Father's  face  I  stand. 

2  To  reconcile  offending  man, 
Make  Justice  drop  her  angry  rod  ; 

What  creature  could  have  form'd  the  plan, 
Or  who  fulfil  it,  but  a  God  ? 

3  No  drop  remains  of  all  the  curse, 
For  wretches  who  deserv'd  the  whole ; 
No  arrows  dipt  in  wrath  to  pierce 
The  guilty,  but  returning  soul. 

4  Peace  by  such  means  so  dearly  bought, 
What  rebel  could  have' hop' d  to  see  ? 
Peace,  by  his  injur'd  Sovereign  wrought, 
His  Sovereign  fastened  to  the  tree. 

Now,  Lord,  thy  feeble  worm  prepare  ! 
For  strife  with  earth  and  hell  begins ; 
Confirm  and  gird  me  for  the  war, 
They  hate  the  soul  that  hates  his  sins. 

Let  them  in  horrid  league  agree  ! 
They  may  assault,  they  may  distress ; 
But  cannot  quench  thy  love  to  me, 
Nor  rob  me  of  the  Lord,  my  peace. 

C. 


HYMN  XXIII. 

GIDEON'S  FLEECE.       CHAP.   VI.  37 40. 

1  The  signs  which  God  to  Gideon  gave, 
His  holy  sovereignty  made  known, 
That  he  alone  has  power  to  save, 
And  claims  the  glory  as  his  own. 

2  The  dew  which  first  the  fleece  had  fill'd, 
When  all  the  earth  was  dry  around, 
Was  from  it  afterwards  with-held, 
And  only  fell  upon  the  ground. 

3  To  Israel  thus  the  heavenly  dew 

Of  saving  truth  was  long  restrain'd  ; 
Of  which  the  Gentiles  nothing  knew, 
But  dry  and  desolate  remain'd. 

4  But  now  the  Gentiles  have  receiv'd 
The  balmy  dew  of  gospel-peace  ; 
And  Israel,  who  his  Spirit  griev'd, 
Is  left  a  dry  and  empty  fleece. 

This  dew  still  falls  at  his  command, 
To  keep  his  chosen  plants  alive  ; 
They  shall,  thougli  in  a  thirsty  land, 
"  Like  willows  by  the  waters  thrive."* 
«•    'sa.  vliv    4. 


HYMN  XXVI.  I  SAMUEL. 

6  But  chiefly  when  his  people  meet, 
To  hear  his  word  and  seek  his  face, 
The  gentle  dew,  with  influence  sweet, 
Descends,  and  nourishes  their  grace. 

7  But,  ah  !   what  numbers  still  are  dead, 
Though  under  means  of  grace  they  lie  ! 
The  dew  still  falling  round  their  head, 
And  yet  their  heart  untouch'd  and  dry. 

8  Dear  Saviour !  hear  us  when  we  call, 
To  wrestling  prayer  an  answer  give  ; 
Pour  down  thy  dew  upon  us  all, 
That  all  may  feel,  and  all  may  live. 


533 


HYMN  XXIV. 

samson's  lion.     chap.  xiv.  8. 

1  The  lion  that  on  Samson  roar'd, 

And  thirsted  for  his  blood, 
With  honey  afterwards  was  stor'd, 
And  furnish'd  him  with  food. 

2  Believers,  as  they  pass  along, 

With  many  lions  meet, 
But  gather  sweetness  from  the  strong, 
And  from  the  eater  meat. 

3  The  lions  rage  and  roar  in  vain, 

For  Jesus  is  their  shield  ; 
Their  losses  prove  a  certain  gain," 
Their  troubles  comfort  yield. 

4  The  world  and  Satan  join  their  strength, 

To  fill  their  souls  with  fears ; 
But  crops  of  joy  they  reap  at  length, 
From  what  they  sow  in  tears. 

5  Afflictions  make  them  love  the  word, 

Stir  up  their  hearts  to  prayer, 
And  many  precious  fruits  afford 
Of  their  Redeemer's  care. 

6  The  lions  roar,  but  cannot  kill ; 

Then  fear  them  not,  my  friends, 
They  bring  us,  though  against  their  will, 
The  honey  Jesus  sends. 


I  SAMUEL. 


HYMN  XXV. 

HANNAH  ;  OR,  THE  THRONE  OF  GRACE. 
CHAP.  i.  18. 

1  When  Hannah,  press'd  with  grief, 
Pour'd  forth  her  soul  in  prayer, 
She  quickly  found  relief, 
And  left  her  burden  there  : 
Like  her,  in  ev'ry  trying  case, 
Let  us  approach  the  throne  of  grace. 


2  When  she  began  to  pray, 
Her  heart  was  pain'd  and  sad; 

But  ere  she  went  away, 
Was  comforted  and  glad  : 
In  trouble  what  a  resting-place 
Have  they  who  know  the  throne  of  grace  ; 

3  Though  men  and  devils  rage, 
And  threaten  to  devour, 

The  saints,  from  age  to  age, 
Are  safe  from  all  their  power; 
Fresh  strength  they  gain  to  run  their  race, 
By  waiting  at  the  throne  of  grace. 

4  Eli  her  case  mistook  ; 

How  was  her  spirit  mov'd 
By  his  unkind  rebuke  ! 

But  God  her  cause  approv'd. 
We  need  not  fear  a  creature's  face, 
While  welcome  at  a  throne  of  grace. 

5  She  was  not  fill'd  with  wine, 

As  Eli  rashly  thought; 
But  with  a  faith  divine, 

And  found  the  help  she  sought: 
Though  men  despise  and  call  us  base, 
Still  let  us  ply  the  throne  of  grace. 

6  Men  have  not  power  or  skill 

With  troubled  souls  to  bear ; 
Though  they  express  good-will, 

Poor  comforters  they  are  : 
But  swelling  sorrows  sink  apace, 
When  we  approach  the  throne  of  grace. 

7  Numbers  before  have  tried, 

And  found  the  promise  true ; 
Nor  yet  one  been  denied. 

Then  why  should  I  or  you  ? 
Let  us  by  faith  their  footsteps  trace, 
And  hasten  to  the  throne  of  grace. 

8  As  fogs  obscure  the  light. 

And  taint  the  morni..g  air, 
But  soon  are  put  to  flight, 

If  the  bright  sun  appear : 
Thus  Jesus  will  our  troubles  chase, 
By  shining  from  the  throne  of  grace.  * 


HYMN  XXVI. 

DAGON  BEFORE  THE  ARK.       CHAP.   V.   4,  5. 

1  When  first  to  make  my  heart  his  own, 
The  Lord  reveal'd  his  mighty  grace ; 
Self  reigned  like  Dagon  on  the  throne, 
But  could  not  long  maintain  its  place. 

2  It  fell,  and  own'd  the  power  divine, 
(Grace  can  with  case  the  victory  gain) 
But  soon  this  wretched  heart  of  mine 
Contriv'd  to  set  it  up  again. 

3  Again  the  Lord  his  name  proclaimed, 
And  brought  the  hateful  idol  low ; 
Then  self,  like  Dagon,  broken,  maimed, 
Seemed  to  receive  a  mortal  blow. 

»  Book  II.  Hymn  lxi. 


534 


OLNEY   HYMNS. 


BOOK  I. 


4  Yet  self  is  not  of  life  bereft. 
Nor  ceases  to  oppose  his  will ; 
Though  but  a  maimed  stump  be  left 
'Tis  Dagon,  'tis  an  idol  still. 

5  Lord,  must  I  always  guilty  prove, 
And  idols  in  my  heart  have  room  ?* 
Oh  !  let  the  fire  of  heavenly  love 
The  very  stump  of  self  consume ! 


HYMN  XXVII. 

THE  MILCH-KINE  DRAWING  THE  ARK: FAITH'S 

SURRENDER  OF  ALL.       CHAP.   vi.    12. 

The  kine  unguided  went 

By  the  directest  road, 
When  the  Philistines  homeward  sent 

The  ark  of  Israel's  God. 

2  Lowing  they  passed  along 

And  left  their  calves  shut  up  ; 
They  felt  an  instinct  for. their  young, 
But  would  not  turn  or  stop. 

3  Shall  brutes,  devoid  of  thought, 

Their  Maker's  will  obey  ; 
And  we  who  by  his  grace  are  taught, 
More  stubborn  prove  than  they  ? 

4  He  shed  his  precious  blood, 

To  make  us  his  alone ; 
If  wash'd  in  that  atoning  flood, 
We  are  no  more  our  own. 

5  If  he  his  will  reveal, 

Let  us  obey  his  call ; 
And  think,  whate'er  the  flesh  may  feel, 
His  love  deserves  our  all. 

(5  We  should  maintain  in  view 
His  glory,  as  our  end  ; 
Too  much  we  cannot  bear  or  do, 
For  such  a  matchless  friend. 

7  His  saints  should  stand  prepared 

In  duty's  path  to  run  ; 
Nor  count  their  greatest  trials  hard, 
So  that  his  will  be  done. 

8  With  Jesus  for  our  guide, 

The  path  is  safe,  though  rough ; 

The  promise  says,  "  I  will  provide," 

And  faith  replies,  "Enough." 


HYMN   XXVIII. 

saul's  armour,     chap.  xvii.  38 — 40. 

1  When  first  my  soul  enlisted 

My  Saviour's  foes  to  fight, 
Mistaken  friends  insisted 

I  was  not  arm'd  aright. 

•    Hosen  jtiv.  8. 


So  Saul  advised  David, 
He  certainly  would  fail, 

Nor  could  his  life  be  saved, 
Without  a  coat  of  mail. 

2  But  David,  though  he  yielded 

To  put  the  armour  on, 
Soon  found  he  could  not  wield  it, 

And  ventur'd  forth  with  none. 
With  only  sling  and  pebble, 

He  fought  the  fight  of  faith  ; 
The  weapons  seem'd  but  feeble, 

Yet  prov'd  Goliah's  death. 

3  Had  I  by  him  been  guided, 

And  quickly  thrown  away 
The  armour  men  provided, 

1  might  have  gain'd  the  day ; 
But  arm'd  as  they  advis'd  me, 

My  expectations  fail'd ; 
My  enemy  surpris'd  me, 

And  had  almost  prevail'd. 

4  Furnish'd  with  books  and  notions, 

And  arguments  and  pride, 
I  practii'd  all  my  motions, 

And  Satan's  pow'r  defied  ; 
But  soon  perceiv'd  with  trouble, 

That  these  would  do  no  good  ; 
Iron  to  him  is  stubble,  * 

And  brass  like  rotten  wood. 

5  I  triumph'd  at  a  distance, 

While  he  was  out  of  sight ; 
But  faint  was  my  resistance, 

When  forc'd  to  join  in  fight : 
He  broke  my  sword  in  shivers, 

And  pierc'd  my  boasted  shield  * 
Laugh'd  at  my  vain  endeavours, 

And  drove  me  from  the  field. 

6  Sal  an  will  not  be  braved 

By  such  a  worm  as  I ; 
Then  let  me  learn,  with  David, 

To  trust  in  the  Most  High ; 
To  plead  the  name  of  Jesus, 

And  use  the  sling  of  prayer ; 
Thus  arm'd,  when  Satan  sees  us, 

He'll  tremble  and  despair. 


II.  SAMUEL. 


HYMN  XXIX. 

DAVID'S  FALL.       CHAP.   xi.   27. 

1  How  David,  when  by  sin  deceiv'd, 

From  bad  to  worse  went  on  ! 
For  when  the  Holy  Spirit's  griev'd, 
Our  strength  and  guard  are  gone. 

2  His  eye  on  Bathsheba  once  fix'd, 

With  poison  fill'd  his  soul ; 
He  ventur'd  on  adult'ry  next, 
And  murder  crown'd  the  whole. 

»  Joh.  xli.  27- 


HYMN  xxxir.  I.  KINGS. 

3  So  from  a  spark  of  fire  at  first, 

That  has  not  been  descried, 
A  dreadful  flame  has  often  burst, 
And  ravag'd  far  and  wide. 

4  When  sin  deceives,  it  hardens  too, 

For  though  he  vainly  sought 
To  hide  his  crimes  from  public  view, 
Of  God  he  little  thought. 

5  He  neither  would  nor  could  repent, 

No  true  compunction  felt ; 

Till  God  in  mercy  Nathan  sent, 

His  stubborn  heart  to  melt. 

6  The  parable  held  forth  a  fact, 

Design'd  his  case  to  show; 
But  though  the  picture  was  exact 
Himself  he  did  not  know. 

7  "  Thou  art  the  man,"  the  prophet  said, 

That  word  his  slumber  broke  j 
And  when  he  own'd  his  sin,  and  prayed, 
The  Lord  forgiveness  spoke. 

8  Let  those  who  think  they  stand  beware 
For  David  stood  before  ; 

Nor  let  the  fallen  soul  despair, 
For  mercy  can  restore. 


HYMN  XXX. 

IS  THIS  THY  KINDNESS  TO  THY  FRIEND  ?     CHAP. 

xvi.   17. 
I   Poor,  weak,  and  worthless,  though  I  am, 

I  have  a  rich  almighty  Friend  ; 

Jesus,  the  Saviour,  is  his  name ; 

He  freely  loves,  and  without  end. 

He  ransom'd  me  from  hell  with  blood, 
And  by  his  power  my  foes  control'd ; 
He  found  me,  wand'ring  far  from  God, 
And  brought  me  to  his  chosen  fold. 

3  He  cheers  my  heart,  my  want  supplies, 
And  says  that  I  shall  shortly  be 
Enthron'd  with  him  above  the  skies, 
Oh  !   what  a  filend  is  Christ  to  me 

4  But,  ah  !  my  inmost  spirit  mourns, 
And  well  my  eyes  with  tears  may  swim, 
To  think  of  my  perverse  returns ; 

I've  been  a  faithless  friend  to  him. 

5  Often  my  gracious  Friend  I  grieve, 
Neglect,  distrust,  and  disobey, 
And  often  Satan's  lies  believe, 
Sooner  than  all  my  Friend  can  say. 

6  He  bids  me  always  freely  come, 
And  promises  whate'er  I  ask  ; 

But  I  am  straiten'd,  cold,  and  dumb, 
And  count  my  privilege  a  task. 

1  Before  the  world,  that  hates  his  cause, 
My  treach'rous    heart   has    throbb'd    with 

shame  ; 
Loth  to  forego  the  world's  applause, 
I  hardly  dare  avow  his  name. 


535 

8   Sure,  were  not  I  most  vile  and  base, 
I  could  not  thus  my  Friend  requite  ! 
And  were  not  he  the  God  of  grace, 
He'd  frown,  and  spurn  me  from  his  sight. 


I.  KINGS. 


HYMN  XXXI. 

ASK  WHAT  I  SHALL  GIVE  THEE.        CHAP.  Hi.   5 

1  Come,  my  soul,  thy  suit  prepare, 
Jesus  loves  to  answer  prayer  ; 
He  himself  has  bid  thee  pray, 
Therefore  will  not  say  thee  nay. 

2  Thou  art  coming  to  a  King,  * 
Large  petitions  with  thee  bring  ; 
For  his  grace  and  power  are  such, 
None  can  ever  ask  too  much. 

3  With  my  burden  I  begin, 
Lord,  remove  this  load  of  sin  ! 
Let  thy  blood,  for  sinners  spilt, 
Set  my  conscience  free  from  guilt. 

4  Lord,   I  come  to  thee  for  rest, 
Take  possession  of  my  breast ; 

There  thy  blood-bought  right  maintain, 
And  without  a  rival  reign. 

5  As  the  image  in  the  glass 
Answers  the  beholder's  face  ; 
Thus  unto  my  heart  appear, 
Print  thine  own  resemblance  there. 

S  While  I  am  a  pilgrim  here, 
Let  thy  love  my  spirit  cheer ; 
As  my  Guide,  my  Guard,  my  Friend, 
Lead  me  to  my  journey's  end. 

7   Shew  me  what  I  have  to  do, 
Ev'ry  hour  my  strength  renew  ; . 
Let  me  live  a  life  of  faith, 
Let  me  die  thy  people's  death. 


HYMN  XXXII. 

ANOTHER. 

1  If  Solomon  for  wisdom  prayed, 
The  Lord  before  had  made  him  wise, 
Else  he  another  choice  had  made, 

And  ask'd  for  what  the  worldlings  prize. 

2  Thus  he  invites  his  people  still ; 

He  first  instructs  them  how  to  choose, 
Then  bids  them  ask  whate'er  they  will, 
Assur'd  that  he  will  not  refuse. 

3  Our  wishes  would  our  ruin  prove, 
Could  we  our  wretched  choice  obtain, 
Before  we  feel  the  Saviour's  love 
Kindle  our  love  to  him  again. 

*  Psal.  Ixxxi.  10. 


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ISIOK    I. 


4    But  when  our  hearts  perceive  his  worth, 
Desires,  till  then  unknown,  take  place  ; 
Our  spirits  cleave  no  more  to  earth, 
But  pant  for  holiness  and  grace. 

6   And  dost  thou  say,  "  Ask  what  thou  wilt?" 
Lord,  I  would  seize  the  golden  hour  ; 
1  pray  to  be  releas'd  from  guilt, 
And  freed  from  sin  and  Satan's  power. 

6  More  of  thy  presence,  Lord,  impart, 
More  of  thine  image  let  me  bear  ; 
Erect  thy  throne  within  my  heart, 
And  reign  without  a  rival  there. 

7  Give  me  to  read  my  pardon  seal'd, 
And  from  thy  joy  to  draw  my  strength  ; 
To  have  thy  boundless  love  reveal'd, 

In  all  its  height,  and  breadth,  and  length. 

8  Grant  these  requests,  I  ask  no  more, 
But  to  thy  care  the  rest  resign ; 
Sick,  or  in  health,  or  rich,  or  poor, 
All  shall  be  well  if  thou  art  mine. 


HYMN  XXXIII. 


ANOTHER. 


Behold  the  throne  of  grace  ! 
The  promise  calls  me  near; 
There  Jesus  shews  a  smiling  face, 
And  waits  to  answer  prayer. 

2  That  rich  atoning  blood, 
Which  sprinkled  round  I  see, 

Provides  for  those  who  come  to  God, 
An  all-prevailing  plea. 

3  My  soul,  ask  what  thou  wilt, 
Thou  canst  not  be  too  bold ; 

Since  his  own  blood  for  thee  he  spilt, 
What  else  can  he  with-hold  ? 

4  Beyond  thy  utmost  wants, 
His  love  and  power  can  bless  : 

To  praying  souls  he  always  grants 
More  than  they  can  express. 

5  Since  'tis  the  Lord's  command, 
My  mouth  I  open  wide; 

Lord,  open  thou  thy  bounteous  hand, 
That  I  may  be  supplied. 

6  Thine  image,  Lord,  bestow, 
Thy  presence  and  thy  love ; 

.1  ask  to  serve  thee  here  below, 
And  reign  with  thee  above. 

7  Teach  me  to  live  by  faith, 
Conform  my  will  to  thine  ; 

Let  me  victorious  be  in  death, 
And  then  in  glory  shine. 

8  If  thou  these  blessings  give, 
And  wilt  my  portion  be, 

Cheerful  the  world's  poor  toys  I  leave 
To  them  who  know  not  tliee. 


HYMN   XXXIV, 


THE    QUEEN  OF  SHEBA.       CHAP.    X.    1. 9- 

1  From  Sheba  a  distant  report, 
Of  Solomon's  glory  and  fame, 
Invited  the  queen  to  his  court, 

But  all  was  outdone  when  she  came  ; 
She  cried,  with  a  pleasing  surprise, 
When  first  she  before  him  appear'd, 
"  How  much  what  I  see  with  my  eyes, 
Surpasses  the  rumour  I  heard  !" 

2  When  once  to  Jerusalem  come, 

The  treasure  and  train  she.  had  brought, 
The  wealth  she  possessed  at  home, 
No  longer  had  place  in  her  thought ; 
His  house,  his  attendants,  his  throne, 
All  struck  her  with  wonder  and  awe : 
The  glory  of  Solomon  shone 
In  every  object  she  saw. 

3  But  Solomon  most  she  admir'd, 
Whose  spirit  conducted  the  whole ; 
His  wisdom,  which  God  had  inspir'd, 
His  bounty  and  greatness  of  soul ; 
Of  all  the  hard  questions  she  put, 

A  ready  solution  he  shewed  ; 

Exceeded  her  wish  and  her  suit, 

And  more  than  she  ask'd  him  bestowed. 

4  Thus  I,  when  the  gospel  proclaim'd 
The  Saviour's  great  name  in  my  ears, 
The  wisdom  for  which  he  is  fam'd, 
The  love  which  to  sinners  he  bears  ; 

I  long'd,  and  I  was  not  deniad, 
That  I  in  his  presence  might  bow ; 
I  saw,  and  transported  I  cried, 
"  A  greater  than  Solomon  thou  !" 

5  My  conscience  no  comfort  could  find, 
By  doub.s  and  hard  questions  opposed ; 
But  he  restor'd  peace  to  my  mind, 
And  answer'd  each  doubt  I  proposed, 
Beholding  me  poor  and  distress'd, 

His  bounty  supplied  all  my  wants  : 
My  prayer  could  have  never  express'd 
So  much  as  this  Solomon  grants. 

6  I  heard,  and  was  slow  to  believe, 
But  now  with  my  eyes  I  behold, 

Much  more  than  my  heart  could  conceive, 
Or  language  could  ever  have  told 
How  happy  thy  servants  must  be, 
Who  always  before  thee  appear  ! 
Vouchsafe,  Lord,  this  blessing  to  me, 
I  find  it  is  good  to  be  here. 

HYMN  XXXV. 

ELIJAH  FED  BY  RAVENS.  *       CHAP.   Xvii.    6, 

1   Elijah's  example  declares, 
Whatever  distress  may  betide, 
The  saints  may  commit  all  their  cares 
To  him  who  will  surely  provide  : 
*  Book  III.  Hymn  xlvii. 


HYMN  XXXVII.  II.   KINGS. 

When  rain  long  with-held  from  the  earth, 
Occasioned  a  famine  of  bread, 
The  prophet,  secur'd  from  the  dearth, 
By  ravens  was  constantly  fed. 

f  More  likely  to  rob  than  to  feed, 
Were  ravens  who  live  upon  prey  : 
But  when  the  Lord's  people  have  need, 
His  goodness  will  find  out  a  way . 
This  instance  to  those  may  seem  strange, 
Who  know  not  how  faith  can  prevail  ; 
But  sooner  all  nature  shall  chance, 
Than  one  of  God's  promises  fail. 

S   Nor  is  it  a  singular  case, 
The  wonder  is  often  renew'd  ; 
And  many  can  say  to  his  praise, 
He  sends  them  by  ravens  their  food : 
Thus  worldlings,  though  ravens  indeed, 
Though  greedy  and  selfish  their  mind, 
If  God  has  a  servant  to  feed, 
Against  their  own  wills  can  be  kind. 


53  7 


6  And  thus,  though  faint,  it  often  seems, 
He  keeps  their  grace  alive  ; 

Supplied  by  his  refreshing  streams, 
Their  dying  hopes  revive. 

7  Though  in  ourselves  we  have  no  stock, 
The  Lord  is  nigh  to  save  : 

His  door  flies  open  when  we  knock, 
And  'tis  but  ask  and  have. 


II  KINGS. 


HYMN  XXXVII. 


4  Thus  Satan,  that  raven  unclean, 
Who  croaks  in  the  ears  of  the  saints, 
Compell'd  by  a  power  unseen, 
Administers  oft  to  their  wants  ; 
God  teaches  them  how  to  find  food, 
From  all  the  temptations  they  feel : 
This  raven  who  thirsts  for  my  blood, 
Has  help'd  me  to  many  a  meal. 

5  How  safe  and  how  happy  are  they, 
Who  on  the  good  shepherd  rely  ! 

He  gives  them  out  strength  for  their  day, 
Their  wants  he  will  surely  supply  j 
He  ravens  and  lions  can  tame, 
All  creatures  obey  his  command  : 
Then  let  me  rejoice  in  his  name, 
And  leave  all  my  cares  in  his  hand. 


HYMN  XXXVI. 

THE  MEAL  AND  CRUISE  OF  OIL.     CHAP.  Xvii. 

1  By  the  poor  widow's  oil  and  meal 

Elijah  was  sustain'd  ; 
Though  small  the  stock,  it  lasted  well, 
For  God  the  store  maintain'd. 

2  It  seem'd  as  if  from  day  to  day, 

They  were  to  eat  and  die; 
But  still,  though  in  a  secret  way, 
He  sent  a  fresh  supply. 

3  Thus  to  his  poor  he  still  will  give 

Just  for  the  present  hour : 
But  for  to-morrow  they  must  live 
Upon  his  word  and  power. 

4  No  barn  or  store-house  they  possess, 

On  which  they  can  depend; 
Yet  have  no  cause  to  fear  distress, 
For  Jesus  is  their  friend. 

5  Then  let  no  doubt  your  mind  assail : 

Remember  God  has  said, 
"  The  cruise  and  barrel  shall  not  fail, 
My  people  shall  be  fed." 


16. 


JERICHO  :    OR, 


THE  WATERS    HEALED. 

ii.  19—22. 


CHAf 


1  Though  Jericho  pleasantly  stood, 
And  look'd  like  a  promising  soil ; 
The  harvest  produc'd  little  food, 
To  answer  the  husbandman's  toil. 
The  water  some  property  had, 

Which  poisonous  proved  to  the  ground  ; 
The  springs  were  corrupted  and  had, 
The  streams  spread  a  barrenness  round. 

2  But  soon  by  the  cruise  and  the  salt, 
Prepar'd  by  Elisha's  command, 
The  water  was  cured  of  its  fault, 
And  plenty  enriched  the  land  : 

An  emblem  sure  this  of  the  grace, 
On  fruitless  dead  sinners  bestow'd  ; 
For  man  is  in  Jericho's  case, 
Till  cured  by  the  mercy  of  God. 

3  How  noble  a  creature  he  seems  ! 
What  knowledge,  invention,  and  skill  ! 
How  large  and  extensive  his  schemes  ! 
How  much  can  he  do  if  he  will ! 

His  zeal  to  be  learned  and  wise 
Will  yield  to  no  limits  or  bars  ; 
He  measures  the  earth  and  the  skies, 
And  numbers  and  marshals  the  stars. 

4  Yet  still  he  is  barren  of  good  ; 
In  vain  are  his  talents  and  art ; 
For  sin  has  infected  his  blood, 

And  poison'd  the  springs  of  his  heart : 
Though  cockatrice  eggs  he  can  hatch  * 
Or,  spider-like,  cobwebs  can  weave  ; 
'Tis  madness  to  labour  and  watch 
For  what  will  destroy  or  deceive. 

5  But  grace,  like  the  salt  in  the  cruise, 
When  cast  in  the  spring  of  the  soul, 
A  wonderful  change  will  produce, 
Diffusing  new  life  through  the  whole ; 
The  wilderness  blooms  like  a  rose, 
The  heart  which  was  vile  and  abhorr'd. 
Now  fruitful  and  beautiful  grows, 
The  garden  and  joy  of  the  Lord. 

*  Isa.  lix.  5. 


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OLNEY  HYMNS. 


BOOK  1 


HYMN  XXXVIII. 

MAAMAN.       CHAP.   V.    ]  4. 

1  Before  Elisha's  gate 

The  Syrian  leper  stood  ; 
But  could  not  brook  to  wait, 

He  deem'd  himself  too  good  : 
He  thought  the  prophet  would  attend, 
And  not  to  him  a  message  send. 

2  Have  I  this  journey  come, 

And  will  he  not  be  seen  ? 
I  were  as  well  at  home, 

Would  washing  make  me  clean  ; 
Why  must  I  wash  in  Jordan's  flood  ? 
Damascus'  rivers  are  as  good. 

3  Thus,  by  his  foolish  pride, 

He  almost  missed  a  cure ; 
Howe'er  at  length  he  tried, 

And  found  the  method  sure  : 
Soon  as  his  pride  was  brought  to  yield, 
The  leprosy  was  quickly  heal'd. 

4  Leprous  and  proud  as  he, 

To  Jesus  thus  I  came, 
From  sin  to  set  me  free, 

When  first  I  heard  his  fame ; 
Surely,  thought  I,  my  pompous  train 
Of  vows  and  tears  will  notice  gain. 

£   My  heart  devis'd  the  way 

Which  I  suppos'd  he'd  take, 
And  when  I  found  delay, 
Was  ready  to  go  back  ; 
Had  he  some  painful  task  enjoined, 
I  to  performance  seem'd  inclined. 

6  When  by  his  word  he  spake, 

"  That  fountain  opened  see; 
'Twas  opened  for  thy  sake, 
Go  wash,  and  thou  art  free  ;" 
Oh  !  how  did  my  proud  heart  gainsay  ; 
I  fear'd  to  trust  this  simple  way. 

7  At  length  I  trial  made, 

When  I  had  much  endur'd  ; 
The  message  I  obeyed, 

I  wash'd,  and  I  was  cured  : 
Sinners,  this  healing  fountain  try, 
Which  cleans'd  a  wretch  so  vile  as  I. 


HYMN  XXXIX. 

THE  BORROWED  AXE.      CHAP.   vi.   5,  6. 

1  The  prophets  sons,  in  times  of  old, 

Though  to  appearance  poor, 
Were  rich,  without  possessing  gold, 
And  honoured,  though  obscure. 

2  In  peace  their  daily  bread  they  ate, 

By  honest  labour  earned  ; 
While  daily  at  Elisha's  feet, 

They  grace  and  wisdom  learned. 


3  The  prophet's  presence  cheer'd  their  toil, 

They  watch'd  the  words  he  spoke  : 
Whether  they  turn'd  the  furrowed  soil, 
Or  fell'd  the  spreading  oak. 

4  Once  as  they  listened  to  his  theme, 

Their  conference  was  stopped  ; 

For  one  beneath  the  yielding  stream, 

A  borrowed  axe  had  dropped. 

5  "Alas!  it  was  not  mine  (he  said), 

How  shall  I  make  it  good?" 
Elisha  heard,  and  when  he  prayed, 
The  iron  swam  like  wood. 

6  If  God,  in  such  a  small  affair, 

A  miracle  perform ; 
It  shews  his  condescending  care 
Of  poor  unworthy  worms. 

7  Though  kings  and  nations,  in  his  view, 
Are  but  as  motes  and  dust ; 

His  eye  and  ear  are  fixed  on  you, 
Who  in  his  mercy  trust. 

8  Not  one  concern  of  ours  is  small, 
If  we  belong  to  him  ; 

To  teach  us  this,  the  Lord  of  all 
Once  made  the  iron  swim. 


HYMN  XL. 

MORE  WITH  US  THAN  WITH  THEM.    CHAP.vi.  16 

1  Alas  !   Elisha's  servant  cried, 
When  he  the  Syrian  army  spied ; 
But  he  was  soon  released  from  care, 
In  answer  to  the  prophet's  prayer. 

2  Straightway  he  saw,  with  other  eyes, 
A  greater  army  from  the  skies, 
A  fiery  guard  around  the  hill:  — 
Thus  are  the  saints  preserved  still. 

3  When  Satan  and  his  host  appear, 
Like  him  of  old,  I  faint  and  fear  ; 
Like  him,  by  faith,  with  joy  I  see, 
A  greater  host  engaged  for  me. 

4  The  saints  espouse  my  cause  by  prayer, 
The  angels  make  my  soul  their  care  ; 
Mine  is  the  promise  sealed  with  blood, 
And  Jesus  lives  to  make  it  good. 


I  CHRONICLES. 


HYMN  XLI. 

FAITH'S  REVIEW  AND  EXPECTATION'. 

CHAP.  xvii.  16,  17. 

1   Amazing  grace !   (how  sweet  the  sound 
That  sav'd  a  wretch  like  me  ! 
I  once  was  lost,  but  now  am  found, 
Was  blind,  but  now  I  see. 


HYMN  XLIV 
2 


JOB. 


bH9 


'Twas  grace  tliat  taught  my  heart  to  fear, 
And  grace  my  fears  reliev'd  ; 

How  precious  did  that  grace  appear, 
The  hour  I  first  believ'd. 

Through  many  dangers,  toils,  and  snares, 

I  have  already  come ; 
'Tis  grace  has  brought  me  safe  thus  far, 

And  grace  will  lead  me  home. 

The  Lord  has  promis'd  good  to  me, 

His  word  my  hope  secures  ; 
He  will  my  shield  and  portion  be, 

As  long  as  life  endures. 

Yea,  when  this  heart  and  flesh  shall  fail, 

And  mortal  life  shall  cease ; 
I  shall  possess,  within  the  vail, 

A  life  of  joy  and  peace. 

The  earth  shall  soon  dissolve  like  snow, 

The  sun  forbear  to  shine; 
But  God,  who  call'd  me  here  below, 

Will  be  for  ever  mine. 


NEHEMIAH. 


HYMN  XLII. 

THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD  IS  YOUR  8TRENGTH. 

CHAP.  viii.  10. 

Joy  is  a  fruit  that  will  not  grow 

In  nature's  barren  soil ; 
All  we  can  boast,  till  Christ  we  know, 

Is  vanity  and  toil. 

!   But  where  the  Lord  has  planted  grace, 
And  made  his  glories  known  ; 
There  fruits  of  heavenly  joy  and  peace 
Are  found,  and  there  alone. 

!  A  bleeding  Saviour,  seen  by  faith, 
A  sense  of  pard'ning  love, 
A  hope  that  triumphs  over  death, 
Give  joys  like  those  above. 

t  To  take  a  glimpse  within  the  vail, 
To  know  that  God  is  mine, 
Are  springs  of  joy  that  never  fail, 
Unspeakable !   divine ! 

i  These  are  the  joys  which  satisfy, 
And  sanctify  the  mind  ; 
Which  make  the  spirit  mount  on  high, 
And  leave  the  world  behind. 

i  No  more,  believers,  mourn  your  lot, 
But  if  you  are  the  Lord's, 
Resign  to  them  that  know  him  not 
Such  joys  as  earth  affords. 


JOB. 


HYMN  XLIII. 

OH  THAT  I  WERE  AS  IN  MONTHS  PAST. 
CHAP.  xxix.  2. 

SWEET  was  the  time  when  first  I  felt 
The  Saviour's  pard'ning  blood 

Applied  to  cleanse  my  soul  from  guilt, 
And  bring  me  home  to  God. 

Soon  as  the  morn  the  light  reveal'd, 
His  praises  tuned  my  tongue  ; 

And  when  the  ev'ning  shades  pxevail'd, 
His  love  was  all  my  song. 

In  vain  the  tempter  spread  his  wiles, 
The  world  no  more  could  charm  ; 

I  lived  upon  my  Saviour's  smiles, 
And  leau'd  upon  his  arm. 

In  prayer  my  soul  drew  near  the  Lord, 

And  saw  his  glory  shine ; 
And  when  I  read  his  holy  word, 

I  call'd  each  promise  mine. 

Then  to  his  saints  I  often  spoke 
Of  what  his  love  had  done  ; 

But  now  my  heart  is  almost  broke, 
For  all  my  joys  are  gone. 

Now,  when  the  ev'ning  shade  prevails, 
My  soul  in  darkness  mourns ; 

And  when  the  morn  the  light  reveals, 
No  light  to  me  returns. 

My  prayers  are  now  a  chatt'ring  noise, 

For  Jesus  hides  his  face  ; 
I  read, — the  promise  meets  my  eyes, 

But  will  not  reach  my  case. 

Now  Satan  threatens  to  prevail, 
And  make  my  soul  his  prey ; 

Yet,  Lord,  thy  mercies  cannot  fail, 
O  come  without  delay  .' 


HYMN  XLIV. 

THE  CHANGE.  *       ibid. 


1  Saviour,  shine,  and  cheer  my  soul, 

Bid  my  dying  hopes  revive  ; 
Make  my  wounded  spirit  whole, 

Far  away  the  tempter  drive  : 
Speak  the  word,  and  set  me  free, 
Let  me  live  alone  to  thee. 

2  Shall  I  sigh  and  pray  in  vain, 

Wilt  thou  still  refuse  to  hear ; 
Wilt  thou  not  return  again, 

Must  I  yield  to  black  despair? 
Thou  hast  taught  my  heart  to  pray, 
Canst  thou  turn  thy  face  away  ? 
*  Book  II.  Hymn  xxxiv.  and  Book  III.  hymn  xxxvt 


540  OLNEY  HYMNS. 

3   Once  I  thought  my  mountain  strong, 
Firmly  fix'd,  no  more  to  move  ; 
Then  thy  grace  was  all  my  song. 
Then  my  soul  was  fill'd  with  love  : 
Those  were  happy  golden  days, 
Sweetly  spent  in  prayer  and  praise. 


4  When  my  friends  have  said,   "  Beware, 

Soon  or  late  you'll  find  a  change,' 
I  could  see  no  cause  for  fear, 

Vain  their  caution  seem'd,  and  strange  : 
Not  a  cloud  obscur'd  my  sky, 
Could  I  think  a  tempest  nigh  ? 

5  Little,  then,  myself  I  knew, 

Little  thought  of  Satan's  power; 
Now  I  find  their  words  were  true, 
Now  I  feel  the  stormy  hour  ! 
Sin  has  put  my  joys  to  flight, 
Sin  has  chang'd  my  day  to  night. 

6  Satan  asks,  and  mocks  my  woe, 

"  Boaster,  where  is  now  your  God  ■ 
Silence,  Lord,  this  cruel  foe, 

Let  liim  know  I'm  bought  with  blood  : 
Tell  him,  since  I  know  thy  name, 
Though  I  change,  thou  art  the  same. 


PSALMS. 


HYMN  XLV. 

PLEADING  FOR  MERCY.       PSALM  VI. 

1  In  mercy,  not  in  wrath,  rebuke 

Thy  feeble  worm,  my  God  ! 
My  spirit  dreads  thine  angry  look, 
And  trembles  at  thy  rod. 

2  Have  mercy,  Lord,  for  I  am  weak, 

Regnrd  my  heavy  groans  ; 
O,  let  thy  voice  of  comfort  speak  , 
And  heal  my  broken  bones. 

3  By  day,  my  busy  beating  head 

Is  fill'd  with  anxious  fears  ; 
By  night  upon  my  restless  bed, 
I  weep  a  flood  of  tears. 

4  Thus  I  sit  desolate  and  mourn, 

Mil?'"'  eyes  grow  dull  with  grief; 
How  long,  my  Lord,  ere  thou  return, 
And  bring  my  soul  relief? 

b   O,  come  and  shew  thy  power  to  save, 
And  spare  my  fainting  breath  ; 
For  who  can  praise  thee  in  the  grave, 
Or  sing  thy  name  in  death  ? 

6   Satan,  my  cruel  envious  foe, 

Insults  me  in  my  pain  : 
He  smiles  to  see  me  brought  so  low, 

And  tells  me  hope  is  vain. 

7    But  hence,  thou  enemy,  depart. 
Nor  tempt  me  to  despair  ; 
My  Saviour  comes  to  cheer  my  heart, 
The  Lord  has  heard  my  prave 


BOOK  I. 


HYMN  XLVI. 

NONE    UPON    EARTH    I   DESIRE    BESIDES    THEE. 

PSAL.  lxxiii.  25. 


How  tedious  and  tastless  the  hours, 

When  Jesus  no  longer  I  see ; 
Sweet    prospects,    sweet   birds,    and  sweet 
flowers, 

Have  lost  all  their  sweetness  with  me ; 
The  midsummer  sun  shines  but  dim, 

The  fields  strive  in  vain  to  look  gay  ; 
But  when  I  am  happy  in  him, 

December's  as  pleasant  as  May. 

His  name  yields  the  richest  perfume, 

And  sweeter  than  music  his  voice; 
His  presence  disperses  my  gloom, 

And  makes  all  within  me  rejoice  : 
I  should,  were  he  always  thus  nigh, 

Have  nothing  to  wish  or  to  fear  ; 
No  mortal  so  happy  as  I, 

My  summer  would  last  all  the  year 

Content  with  beholding  his  face, 

My  all  to  his  pleasure  resign'd, 
No  changes  of  season  or  place, 

Would  make  any  change  in  my  mind 
While  bless'd  with  a  sense  of  his  love, 

A  palace  a  toy  would  appear ; 
And  prisons  would  palaces  prove, 

If  Jesus  would  dwell  with  me  there. 

Dear  Lord,  if  indeed  I  am  thine, 

If  thou  art    my  sun  and  my  song  ; 
Say  why  do  I  languish  and  pine, 

And  why  are  my  winters  so  long  ? 
O  drive  these  dark  clouds  from  my  sky, 

Thy  soul-cheering  presence  restore  ; 
Or  take  me  unto  thee  on  high, 

Where  winter  and  clouds  are  no  more. 


HYMN  XLVII. 

THE  BELIEVER'S  SAFETY.       PSAL.   Xci 

1  Incarnate  God  !  the  soul  that  knows 

Thy  name's  mysterious  power, 
Shall  dwell  in  undisturb'd  repose. 
Nor  fear  the  trying  hour. 

2  Thy  wisdom,  faithfulness,  and  love, 

To  feeble  helpless  worms, 
A  buckler  and  a  refuge  prove 
From  enemies  and  storms. 

3  In  vain  the  fowler  spreads  his  net, 

To  draw  them  from  thy  care ; 
Thy  timely  call  instructs  their  feet 
To  shun  their  artful  snare. 

4  When,  like  a  baneful  pestilence, 

Sin  mows  its  thousands  down 
On  ev'ry  side,  without  defence 
Thy  grace  secures  thine  own. 


HYMN  LI.  PSALMS 

5  No  midnight  terrors  haunt  their  bed,  3 

No  arrow  wounds  by  day  ; 
Unhurt  on  serpents  they  shall  tread, 
If  found  in  duty's  way. 

6  Angels,  unseen,  attend  the  saints, 

And  bear  them  in  their  arms, 
To  cheer  their  spirit  when  it  faints, 
And  guard  their  life  from  harms. 

7  The  angels  Lord  himself  is  nigh 

To  them  that  love  his  name  ; 
Ready  to  save  them  when  they  cry, 
And  put  their  foes  to  shame. 

8  Crosses  and  changes  are  their  lot, 

Long  as  they  sojourn  here  ; 
But  since  their  Saviour  changes  not, 
What  have  the  saints  to  fear  ? 


541 


HYMN  XLVIII. 

ANOTHER. 

That  man  no  guard  or  weapons  needs, 
Whose  heart  the  blood  of  Jesus  knows; 
But  safe  may  pass,  if  duty  leads, 
Through  burning  sands  or  mountain-snows. 

Releas'd  from  guilt,  he  feels  no  fear ; 
Redemption  is  his  shield  and  tower  : 
He  sees  his  Saviour  always  near. 
To  help  in  ev'ry  trying  hour. 

Though  I  am  weak,  and  Satan  strong, 
And  often  to  assault  me  tries ; 
When  Jesus  is  my  shield  and  song, 
Abash'd,  the  wolf  before  me  flies. 

His  love  possessing  I  am  blest, 
Secure  whatever  change  may  come ; 
Whether  I  go  to  east  or  west, 
With  him  I  still  shall  be  at  home. 

If  plac'd  beneath  the  northern  pole, 
Though  winter  reigns  with  rigour  there, 
His  gracious  beams  would  cheer  my  soul, 
And  make  a  spring  throughout  the  year  : 

Or  if  the  desert's  sun-burnt  soil, 
My  lonely  dwelling  e'er  should  prove ; 
His  presence  would  support  my  toil, 
Whose  smile  is  life,  whose  voice  is  love. 


HYMN  XLIX. 

BE  LED  THEM  BY  A  RIGHT  WAY.     PSAL.  CVli.  7. 

1  When  Israel  was  from  Egypt  freed, 

The  Lord,  who  brought  them  out, 
Help'd  them  in  ev'ry  time  of  need, 
But  led  them  round  about.  * 

2  To  enter  Canaan  soon  they  hop'd, 

But  quickly  ch.tng'd  their  mind, 
When  the  Red  Sea  their  passage  stopp'd, 
And  Pharoah  march'd  behind. 
*  Exod.  xiii.  17. 


The  desert  fill'd  them  with  alarms, 

For  water  and  for  food  ; 
And  Amalek,  by  force  of  arms, 

Tt>  check  their  progress  stood. 

They  often  murmur'd  by  the  way, 
Because  they  judg'd  by  sight ; 

But  were  at  length  constrain'd  to  say, 
The  Lord  had  led  them  right. 

In  the  Red  Sea,  that  stopp'd  them  first, 
Their  enemies  were  drown'd ; 

The  rocks  gave  water  for  their  thirst, 
And  manna  spread  the  ground. 

By  fire  and  cloud  their  way  was  shown, 

Across  the  pathless  sands  ; 
And  Amalek  was  overthrown 

By  Moses'  lifted  hands. 

The  way  was  right  their  hearts  to  prove, 
To  make  God's  glory  known ; 

And  shew  his  wisdom,  power,  and  love, 
Engag'd  to  save  his  own. 

Just  so,  the  true  believer's  path, 
Through  many  dangers  lies  ; 

Though  dark  to  sense,  'tis  right  to  faith, 
And  leads  us  to  the  skies. 


HYMN  L. 

WHAT  SHALL  I  RENDER?  *  PSAL.  CXvi.    12.    13 

1  For  mercies,  countless  as  the  sands, 

Which  daily  I  receive 
From  Jesus  my  Redeemer's  hands, 
My  soul,  what  canst  thou  give  ? 

2  Alas  !   from  such  a  heart  as  mine, 

What  can  I  bring  him  forth  ? 
My  best  is  stain'd  and  dyed  with  sin, 
My  all  is  nothing  worth. 

3  Yet  this  acknowledgment  I'll  make 

For  all  he  has  bestowed, 
Salvation's  sacred  cup  I'll  take, 
And  call  upon  my  God. 

4  The  best  returns  for  one  like  me, 

So  wretched  and  so  poor, 
Is  from  his  gifts  to  draw  a  plea, 
A  ud  ask  him  still  for  more. 

5  I  cannot  serve  him  as  I  ought, 

No  works  have  I  to  boast ; 
Yet  would  I  glory  in  the  thought, 
That  I  shall  owe  him  most. 


HYMN  LI. 

DWELLING  IN  MESECH.        PSAL.   CXX.   5—7' 

What  a  mournful  life  is  mine, 
Fill'd  with  crosses,  pains,  and  cares ! 
Ev'ry  work  defiled  with  sin, 
Ev'ry  step  beset  with  snares  ! 
*  Book  III.  Hymn  htvii. 


542  OLNEY 

2  If  alone  I  pensive  sit, 
I  myself  can  hardly  hear  ; 
If  I  pass  along  the  street, 
Sin  and  riot  triumph  there. 

5  Jesus  !  how  my  heart  is  pain'd, 
How  it  mourns  for  souls  deceiv'd  ! 
When  I  hear  thy  name  profan'd, 
When  I  see  thy  Spirit  griev'd. 

4  When  thy  children's  griefs  I  view, 
Their  distress  becomes  my  own  ; 
All  I  hear,  or  see,  or  do, 
Makes  me  tremble,  weep,  and  groan. 

£   Mourning  thus  I  long  had  been, 
When  I  heard  my  Saviour's  voice  : 
"  Thou  hast  cause  to  mourn  for  sin, 
But  in  me  thou  may'st  rejoice." 

6  This  kind  word  dispell'd  my  grief, 
Put  to  silence  my  complaints : 
Though  of  sinners  I  am  chief, 
He  has  rank'd  me  with  his  saints. 

7  Though  constrairt'd  to  dwell  a  while 
Where  the  wicked  strive  and  brawl, 
Let  them  frown,  so  he  but  smile, 
Heaven  will  make  amends  for  all. 

8  There,  believers,  we  shall  rest, 
Free  from  sorrow,  sin,  and  fears ; 
Nothing  shall  our  peace  molest, 
Through  eternal  rounds  of  years. 

9  Let  us  then  the  fight  endure, 
See  our  Captain  looking  down  ; 
He  will  make  the  conquest  sure, 
And  bestow  the  promis'd  crown. 


PROVERBS. 


HYMN  LII. 

WISDOM.     CHAP.  viii.  22 — 31. 

1  Ere  God  had  built  the  mountains, 
Or  rais'd  the  fruitful  hills  ; 
Before  he  till'd  the  fountains 
That  feed  the  running  rills ; 

In  me,  from  everlasting, 
The  wonderful  I  am, 
Found  pleasures  never  wasting, 
And  Wisdom  is  my  name. 

2  When,  like  a  tent  to  dwell  in, 
He  spread  the  skies  abroad, 
And  swath'd  about  the  swelling 
Of  ocean's  mighty  flood  ; 

He  wrought  by  weight  and  measure, 
And  1  was  with  him  then  ; 
Myself  the  Father's  pleasure, 
And  mine  the  sons  of  men. 


HYMNS. 

3  Thus  Wisdom's  words  discover 
Thy  glory  and  thy  grace, 
Thou  everlasting  lover 

Of  our  unworthy  race  ! 
Thy  gracious  eye  surreyed  us, 
Ere  stars  were  seen  above  ; 
In  wisdom  thou  hast  made  us, 
And  died  for  us  in  love. 

4  And  couldst  thou  be  delighted 
With  creatures  such  as  we  ! 
Who,  when  we  saw  thee,  slighted, 
And  naiPd  thee  to  a  tree  ? 
Unfathomable  wonder, 

And  mystery  divine ! 

The  voice  that  speaks  in  thunder, 

Says,  "  Sinner,  I  am  thine  '" 


BOOK  I 


HYMN  LIII. 

A  FRIEND  THAT  STICKETH  CLOSER  THAN  A 
BROTHER.      CHAP.  Xviii.   24. 

1  One  there  is,  above  all  others, 
Well  deserves  the  name  of  Friend ; 
His  is  love  beyond  a  brother's, 
Costly,  free,  and  knows  no  end  : 

They  who  once  his  kindness  prove 
Find  it  everlasting  love. 

2  Which  of  all  our  friends  to  save  us, 
Could  or  would  have  shed  their  blood .' 
But  our  Jesus  died  to  have  us 
Reconcil'd  to  him  in  God  : 

This  was  boundless  love  indeed ! 
Jesus  is  a  friend  in  need. 

S   Men,  when  rais'd  to  lofty  stations, 
Often  know  their  friends  no  more  ; 
Slight  and  scorn  their  poor  relations, 
Though  they  valued  them  before  j 
But  our  Saviour  always  owns 
Those  whom  he  redeem'd  with  groans^ 

4  When  he  liv'd  on  earth  abased, 
Friend  of  sinners  was  his  name ; 
Now  above  all  glory  raised, 

He  rejoices  in  the  same  : 

Still  he  calls  them  brethren,  friends, 
And  to  all  their  wants  attends. 

5  Could  we  bear  from  one  another 
What  he  daily  bears  from  us ; 

Yet  this  glorious  Friend  and  Brother 
Loves  us  though  we  treat  him  thus  : 
Though  for  good  we  render  ill, 
He  accounts  us  brethren  still. 

6  O  for  grace  our  hearts  to  soften  ! 
Teach  us,  Lord,  at  length  to  love  ; 
We,  alas  !   forget  too  often, 
What  a  friend  we  have  above  : 

But  when  home  our  souls  are  brought, 
We  will  love  thee  as  we  ought. 


HYMN  LVII. 


ECCLESIASTES. 


HYMN  LIV. 

VANITY  OF  LIFE.  *       CHAI\   i.    2. 

The  evils  that  beset  our  path, 

Who  can  prevent  or  cure  ? 
We  stand  upon  the  brink  of  death, 

When  most  we  seem  secure. 

t  If  we  to-day  sweet  peace  possess, 
It  soon  may  be  withdrawn  ; 
Some  change  may  plunge  us  in  distress 
Before  to-morrow's  dawn. 

Disease  and  pain  invade  our  health, 

And  find  an  easy  prey; 
And  oft,  when  least  expected,  wealth 

Takes  wings  and  flies  away. 

A  fever  or  a  blow  can  shake 

Our  wisdom's  boasted  rule, 
And  of  the  brightest  genius  make 

A  madman  or  a  fool. 

The  gourds  from  which  we  look  for  fruit, 

Produce  us  only  pain  ; 
A  worm  unseen  attacks  die  root, 

And  all  our  hopes  are  vain. 

I  pity  those  who  seek  no  more 
Than  such  a  world  can  "ive : 

Wretched  they  are,  and  blind,  and  poor, 
And  dying  while  they  live. 

Since  sin  has  fill'd  the  earth  with  woe, 

And  creatures  fade  and  die ; 
Lord,  wean  our  hearts  from  things  below, 

And  fix  our  hopes  on  high. 


SOLOMON  S  SONG 
5 


543 


HYMN  LV. 

VANITY  OF  THE  WORLD. 


ibid. 


God  gives  his  mercies  to  be  spent ; 
Your  hoard  will  do  your  soul  no  good  ; 
Gold  is  a  blessing  only  lent, 
Repaid  by  giving  others  food. 

The  world's  esteem  is  but  a  bribe ; 

To  buy  their  peace  you  sell  your  own  ; 

The  slave  of  a  vain-glorious  tribe, 

Who  hate  you  while  they  make  you  known. 

The  joy  that  vain  amusements  give, 
Oh  !   sad  conclusion  that  it  brings ! 
The  honey  of  a  crowded  hive, 
Defended  by  a  thousand  stings. 

'Tis  thus  the  world  rewards  the  fools 
That  live  upon  her  treacherous  smiles  ; 
She  leads  them  blindfold  by  her  rules, 
And  ruins  all  whom  she  beguiles. 
*   Book  II.  Hymn  vi. 


God  knows  the  thousands  who  go  down 
From  pleasure  into  endless  woe  ; 
And  with  a  long  despairing  groan, 
Blaspheme  their  Maker  as  they  go. 

O  fearful  thought !  be  timely  wise  ; 
Delight  but  in  a  Saviour's  charms ; 
And  God  shall  take  you  to  the  skies, 
Embrac'd  in  everlasting  arms. 

G 

HYMN  LVI. 


VANITY  OF  THE  CREATURE  SANCTIFIED.       ibid, 

1  Honey  though  the  bee  prepares, 
An  envenom'd  sting  it  wears  ; 
Piercing  thorns  a  guard  compose 
Round  the  fragrant  blooming  rose. 

2  Where  we  think  to  find  a  sweet, 
Oft  a  painful  sting  we  meet ; 
When  the  rose  invites  our  eye, 
We  forget  the  thorn  is  nigh. 

3  Why  are  thus  our  hopes  beguil'd  ? 
Why  are  all  our  pleasures  spoil'd  ? 
Why  do  agony  and  woe 

From  our  choicest  comforts  grow  ? 

Sin  has  been  the  cause  of  all ! 
'Twas  not  thus  before  the  fall; 
What  but  pain,  and  thorn,  and  sting, 
From  the  root  of  sin  can  spring  ? 

Now  with  every  good  we  find 
Vanity  and  grief  entwined  ; 
What  we  feel,  or  what  we  fear, 
All  our  joys  embitter  here. 

Yet,  through  the  Redeemer's  love, 
These  afflictions  blessings  prove  ; 
He  the  wounding  stings  and  thorns 
Into  healing  med'cines  turns. 

From  the  earth  our  hearts  they  wean, 
Teach  us  on  his  arm  to  lean- 
Urge  us  to  a  throne  of  grace, 
Make  us  seek  a  resting-place. 

In  the  mansions  of  our  King, 
Sweets  abound  without  a  sting  ; 
Thornless  there  the  roses  blow, 
And  the  joys  unmingled  flow. 


SOLOMON'S  SONG. 


HYMN  LVII. 

THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.       CHAP.  i.   3. 

How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds 

In  a  believer's  ear  ! 
It  soothes  his  sorrows,  heals  his  wounds. 

And  drives  away  his  fear 


544.  OLNEY  HYMNS. 

2  It  makes  the  wounded  spirit  whole, 
And  calms  the  troubled  breast; 
'Tis  manna  to  the  hungry  soul, 
And  to  the  weary  rest. 

S   Dear  name  !   the  rock  on  which  I  build, 
My  shield  and  hiding-place  ; 
My  never-failing  treasury,  fill'd 
With  boundless  stores  of  grace. 


By  thee  my  prayers  acceptance  gain, 

Although  with  sin  defiPd  ; 
Satan  accuses  me  in  vain, 

And  I  am  own'd  a  child. 

Jesus !  ray  Shepherd,  Husband,  Friend, 
My  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King ! 

My  Lord,  my  Life,  my  Way,  my  End  ! 
Accept  the  praise  I  bring. 

Weak  is  the  effort  of  my  heart, 
And  cold  my  warmest  thought ; 

But  when  I  see  thee  as  thou  art, 
I'll  praise  thee  as  I  ought. 

Till  then  I  would  thy  love  proclaim 

With  ev'ry  fleeting  breath  ; 
And  may  the  music  of  thy  name 

Refresh  my  soul  in  death ! 


ISAIAH. 

HYMN  LVIH. 

O  LORD,  I  WILL  PRAISE  THEE  !       CHAP.   XU. 

1  I  WILL  praise  thee  ev'ry  day, 
Now  thine  anger's  turn'd  away  ! 
Comfortable  thoughts  arise 
From  the  bleeding  sacrifice. 

2  Here,  in  the  fair  gospel-field, 
Wells  of  free  salvation  yield 
Streams  of  life  a  plenteous  store, 
And  my  soul  shall  thirst  no  more. 

S  Jesus  is  become  at  length 

My  salvation  and  my  strength  ; 
And  his  praises  shall  prolong, 
While  I  live,  my  pleasant  song. 

4  Praise  ye,  then,  his  glorious  name, 
Publish  his  exalted  fame  ! 

Still  his  worth  your  praise  exceeds, 
Excellent  are  all  his  deeds. 

5  Raise  again  the  joyful  sound, 
Let  the  nations  roll  it  round  ! 
Zion,  shout,  for  this  is  he : 
God,  the  Saviour,  dwells  in  thee. 


BOOK  1 


HYMN  LIX. 

THE  REFUGE,    RIVER,    AND    ROCK  OF    THE 

church,     chap,  xxxii.  2. 


1  He  who  on  earth  as  man  was  known, 
And  bore  our  sins  and  pains, 

Now  seated  on  the  eternal  throne, 
The  God  of  glory  reigns. 

2  His  hands  the  wheels  of  nature  guide, 

With  an  unerring  skill ; 
And  countless  worlds,  extended  wide, 
Obey  his  sovereign  will. 

3  While  harps  unnumber'd  sound  his  praise, 

In  yonder  world  above  ; 
His  saints  on  earth  admire  his  ways, 
And  glory  in  his  love. 

4  His  righteousness  to  faith  reveal'd, 

Wrought  out  for  guilty  worms, 
Affords  a  hiding-place  and  shield 
From  enemies  and  storms. 

5  This  land,  through  which  his  pilgrims  go 

Is  desolate  and  dry  ; 
But  streams  of  grace  from  him  o'erflow 
Their  thirst  to  satisfy. 

6  When  troubles,  like  a  burning  sun, 

Beat  heavy  on  their  head, 
To  this  almighty  Rock  they  run, 
And  find  a  pleasing  shade. 

7  How  glorious  he,  how  happy  they 

In  such  a  glorious  Friend  ! 
Whose  love  secures  them  all  the  way. 
And  crowns  them  at  the  end. 


HYMN  LX. 

ZION,  OR  THE  CITY  OF  GOD.*       CHAP.   XXxiiL 

20,   21. 

1  Glorious  things  of  thee  are  spoken,f 
Zion,  city  of  our  God  ! 

He,  whose  word  cannot  be  broken, 
Form'd  thee  for  his  own  abode  :| 
On  the  Rock  of  ages  founded,§ 
What  can  shake  thy  sure  repose  ? 
With  salvation's  walls  surrounded, || 
Thou  may'st  smile  at  all  thy  foes. 

2  See  !    the  streams  of  living  waters, 
Springing  from  eternal  love,^ 
Well  supply  thy  sons  and  daughters, 
And  all  fear  of  want  remove. 

Who  can  faint  w|^n  such  a  river, 
Ever  flows  their  thirst  to  assuage  ? 
Grace,  which,  like  the  Lord,  the  giver, 
Never  fails  from  age  to  age. 


t 


*  Book  II.  Hymn  xxiv. 
t   Psal.  exxxn    14 
il  Isaiah,  xxvi.  1. 


f  Psal.  lxxxvii.  3. 
§  Matth.  xvi.  18. 
\  Psal  xlvi.  1 


HYMN   LXII.  ISAIAH. 

'3   Round  each  habitation  hov'ring, 
See  the  cloud  and  fire  appear !  * 
For  a  glory  and  a  cov'ring, 
Shewing  that  the  Lord  is  near  ; 
Thus  deriving  from  their  banner, 
Light  by  night,  and  shade  by  day : 
Safe  they  feed  upon  the  manna 
Which  he  gives  them  when  they  pray. 

4   Bless'd  inhabitants  of  Zion, 

Wash'd  in  the  Redeemer's  blood  ! 
Jesus,  whom  their  souls  rely  on, 
Makes  them  kings  and  priests  to  Go.l.f 
'Tis  his  love  his  people  raises 
Over  self  to  reign  as  kings, 
And  as  priests,  his  solemn  praises 
Each  for  a  thank-off'ring  brings. 

5  Saviour,  if  of  Zion's  city 

I  through  grace  a  member  am, 
Let  the  world  deride  or  pity, 
I  will  glory  in  thy  name  : 
Fading  is  the  worldling's  pleasure, 
All  his  boasted  pomp  and  show  ; 
Solid  joys  and  lasting  treasure, 
None  but  Zion's  children  know. 


545 


HYMN  LXI. 

LOOK    UNTO    ME,    AND    BE    YE    SAVED.        CHAT. 
xlv.   22. 

1  As  THE  serpent  raised  by  Moses  f 
Healed  the  burning  serpents  bite  ; 
Jesus  thus  himself  discloses 

To  the  wounded  sinner's  sight : 
Hear  his  gracious  invitation, 
"  I  have  life  and  peace  to  give, 
I  have  wrought  out  full  salvation  j 
Sinner,  look  to  me,  and  live. 

2  Pore  upon  your  sins  no  longer, 
Well  I  know  their  mighty  guilt ; 
But  my  love  than  death  is  stronger, 
I  my  blood  have  freely  spilt : 

Though  your  h«art  has  long  been  harden'd, 
Look  on  me, — it  soft  shall  grow ; 
Past  transgressions  shall  be  pardon'd, 
And  I'll  wash  you  white  as  snow. 

3  I  have  seen  what  you  were  doing, 
Though  you  little  thought  of  me ; 
You  were  madly  bent  on  ruin, 
Rut  I  said, — It  shall  not  be: 
You  had  been  for  ever  wretched, 
Had  not  I  espous'd  your  part ; 
Now  behold  my  arms  outstretched 
To  receive  you  to  my  heart. 

4  Well  may  shame,  and  joy,  and  wonder, 
All  your  inward  passions  move  ; 
I  could  crush  thee  with  my  thunder, 
But  I  speak  to  thee  in  love  : 

*  Isaiah,   iv.  5,   6.  t  Rev.  i.  6. 

J  Numbers,  xxi.  9» 


See  !   your  sins  are  all  forgiven, 
I  have  paid  the  countless  sum  ; 
Now  my  death  has  open'd  heaven, 
Thither  you  shall  shortly  come." 

5  Dearest  Saviour,  we  adore  thee 
For  thy  precious  life  and  deatli ; 
Melt  each  stubborn  heart  before  thee, 
Give  us  all  the  eye  of  faith  : 
From  the  law's  condemning  sentence, 
To  thy  mercy  we  appeal ; 
Thou  alone  canst  give  repentance, 
Thou  alone  our  souls  canst  heal. 


HYMN  LXII 

THE  GOOD  PHYSICIAN. 

1    How  lost  was  my  condition, 
Till  Jesus  made  me  whole  ' 
There  is  but  one  Physician 
Can  cure  a  sin-sick  soul. 
Next  door  to  death  he  found  me, 
And  snatch'd  me  from  the  grave  ; 
To  tell  to  all  around  me, 
His  wond'rous  power  to  save. 

2  The  worst  of  all  diseases 
Is  light  compar'd  with  sim 
On  every  part  it  seizes, 
But  rages  most  within  : 
'Tis  palsy,  plague,  and  fever, 
And  madness, — all  combin'd  ; 
And  none  but  a  believer, 
The  least  relief  can  find. 

S   From  men  great  skill  professing 
I  thought  a  cure  to  gain  ; 
But  this  proved  more  distressing. 
And  added  to  my  pain. 
Some  said  that  nothing  ail'd  me, 
Some  gave  me  up  for  lost : 
Thus  every  refuge  fail'd  me, 
And  all  my  hopes  were  cross'd. 

4  At  length  this  great  Physician, 
How  matchless  is  his  grace, 
Accepted  my  petition, 

And  undertook  my  case  : 
First  gave  me  sight  to  view  him, 
For  sin  my  eyes  had  seal  d, 
Then  bid  me  look  unto  him ; 
I  look'd,  and  I  was  heal'd. 

5  A  dying,  risen,  Jesus, 
Seen  by  the  eye  of  faith, 

At  once  from  danger  frees  us, 
And  saves  the  soul  from  deuti:. 
Come,  then,  to  this  Physician, 
His  help  he  11  freely  give ; 
He  makes  no  hard  condition, 
'Tis  onlv — look  and  live. 


T 


b46 


HYMN  LXIII. 


TO    THE    AFFLICTED,    TOSSED    WITH    TEMPESTS, 
AND  NOT  COMFORTED.       CHAP.  liv.   5—11. 

1  Pensive,  doubting,  fearful  heart, 
Hear  what  Christ  the  Saviour  says  ; 
Every  word  should  joy  impart, 
Change  thy  mourning  into  praise: 
Yes,  he  speaks,  and  speaks  to  thee, 
May  he  help  thee  to  believe ! 
Then  thou  presently  wilt  see 
Thou  hast  little  cause  to  grieve. 

2  "  Fear  ihou  not,  nor  be  asham'd, 
All  thy  sorrows  soon  shall  end : 

I  who  heaven  and  earth  have  fram'd, 
Am  thy  husband  and  thy  friend  : 
I  the  High  and  Holy  One, 
Israel's  God,  by  all  ador'd, 
As  thy  Saviour  will  be  known, 
Thy  Redeemer  and  thy  Lord. 

3  For  a  moment  I  withdrew, 

And  thy  heart  was  fill'd  with  pain  ; 
But  my  mercies  I'll  renew, 
Thou  shalt  soon  rejoice  again  : 
Though  I  seem  to  hide  my  face, 
Very  soon  my  wrath  shall  cease  ; 
'Tis  but  for  a  moment's  space, 
Ending  in  eternal  peace. 

When  my  peaceful  bow  appears,* 

Painted  on  the  wat'ry  cloud, 

'Tis  to  dissipate  thy  fears, 

Lest  the  earth  should  be  o'erflow'd  ; 

'Tis  an  emblem  too  of  grace, 

Of  my  cov'nant-love  a  sign  ; 

Though  the  mountains  leave  their  place, 

Thou  shalt  be  for  ever  mine. 

S   Though  afflicted,  tempest-tossed, 
Comfortless  a  while  thou  art, 
Do  not  think  thou  canst  be  lost, 
Thou  art  graven  on  my  heart  : 
All  thy  wastes  1  will  repair, 
Thou  shalt  be  rebuilt  anew; 
And  in  thee  it  shall  appear 
What  a  God  of  love  can  do." 


HYMN   LXIV 

THE  CONTIUTE  HEART.       CHAP.   lvii.   15. 

The  Lord  will  happiness  divine 

On  contrite  hearts  bestow; 
Then  tell  me,  gracious  God,  is  mine 

A  contrite  heart  or  no  ? 

I  hear,  but  seem  to  hear  in  vain, 

Insensible  as  steel  ; 
If  ought  is  felt,  'tis  only  pain, 

To  find  I  cannot  feel. 

*  Go:?,  ix.  13.  1 1. 


OLNEY  HYMNS.  BOOK 

3  I  sometimes  think  myself  inclined 
To  love  thee  if  I  could, 

But  often  feel  another  mind, 
Averse  to  all  that's  good. 

4  My  best  desires  are  faint  and  few, 
I  fain  would  strive  for  more  ; 

But  when  I  cry,  "  My  strength  renew," 
Seem  weaker  than  before. 


5  Thy  saints  are  comforted,  I  know, 

And  love  thy  house  of  prayer; 
I  therefore  go  where  others  go, 
But  find  no  comfort  there. 

6  O  make  this  heart  rejoice  or  ache  ' 

Decide  this  doubt  for  me ; 
And  if  it  be  not  broken,  break, 
And  heal  it,  if  it  be. 

C. 


HYMN  LXV. 

THE  FUTURE  PEACE  AND  GI.ORY.  OF  THE 
CHURCH.       CHAP.  Ix.    15 — 20. 

1  Hear  what  God  the  Lord  hath  spoken, 
O  my  people,  faint  and  few, 
Comfortless,  afflicted,  broken, 

Fair  abodes  I  build  for  you  ; 
Themes  of  heart-felt  tribulation 
Shall  no  more  perplex  your  ways ; 
You  shall  name  your  walls  Salvation, 
And  your  gates  shall  all  be  Praise. 

2  There,  like  streams  that  feed  the  garden, 
Pleasures  without  end  shall  flow  ; 

For  the  Lord,  your  faith  rewarding, 
All  his  bounty  shall  bestow  : 
Still  in  undisturbed  possession, 
Peace  and  righteousness  shall  reign  j 
Never  shall  you  feel  oppression, 
Hear  the  voice  of  war  again. 

3  Ye  no  more  your  suns  descending, 
Waning  moons  no  more  shall  see  ; 
But,  your  griefs  for  ever  ending, 
Find  eternal  noon  in  me  : 

God  shall  rise,  and  shining  o'er  you, 
Change  to  day  the  gloom  of  night ; 
He  the  Lord  shall  be  your  glory, 


God  your  everlasting  light. 


C 


JEREMIAH. 


HYMN  LXVI. 

TRUST  OF  THE  WICKED  AND  THE  RIGHTEOUS 
COMPARED.       CHAP.   Xvii.  5 8. 

1    As  parched  in  the  barren  sands, 
Beneath  a  burning  sky, 
The  worthless  bramble  with'ring  stands. 
And  only  grows  to  die  : 


HYMN  LXIX. 


LAMENTATIONS. 


0-17 


Such  is  the  sinner's  awful  case, 
Who  makes  the  world  his  trust, 

And  dares  his  confidence  to  place 
In  vanity  and  dust. 

3  A  secret  curse  destroys  his  root, 

And  dries  his  moisture  up  ; 
He  lives  a  while  but  bears  no  fruit, 
Then  dies  without  a  hope. 

4  But  happy  he  whose  hopes  depend 

Upon  the  Lord  alone  ; 
The  soul  that  trusts  in  such  a  friend 
Can  ne'er  be  overthrown. 

5  Though  gourds  should  wither,  cisterns  break, 

And  creature-comforts  die, 
No  change  his  solid  hope  can  shake, 
Or  stop  his  sure  supply. 

6  So  thrives  and  blooms  the  tree  whose  roots 

By  constant  streams  are  fed  ; 
Arrayed  in  green,  and  rich  in  fruits, 
It  rears  its  branching  head. 

7  It  thrives  though  rain  should  be  denied, 

And  drought  around  prevail ; 
'Tis  planted  by  a  river's  side, 
Whose  waters  cannot  fail. 


HYMN  LXVII. 


JEHOVAII-TSIDKENU  ; 
RIGHTEOUSNESS. 


OR,  THE   LORD  Ol'K 
CHAP,  xxiii.  6. 


1  My  God,  how  perfect  are  thy  ways  ! 

But  mine  polluted  are  ; 
Sin  twines  itself  about  my  praise, 
And  slides  into  my  prayer. 

2  When  I  would  speak  what  thou  hast  done 

To  save  me  from  my  sin, 
I  cannot  make  thy  mercies  known, 
But  self-applause  creeps  in. 

3  Divine  desire,  that  holy  flame 

Thy  grace  creates  in  me, 

Alas  !  impatience  is  its  name, 

When  it  returns  to  thee. 

4  This  heart  a  fountain  of  vile  thoughts, 

How  does  it  overflow  ! 
While  self  upon  the  surface  floats, 
Still  bubbling  from  below. 

5  Let  others  in  the  gaudy  dress, 

Of  fancied  merit  shine, 
The  Lord  shall  be  my  righteousness, 
The  Lord  for  ever  mine. 

C. 


HYMN  LXVIIL 

EPHRAIM  REPENTING.       CHAP.   XXxi.    18—20. 

1   My  God,  till  I  receiv'd  thy  stroke, 
How  like  a  beast  was  I  ! 
So  unaccustom'd  to  the  yoke, 
So  backward  to  comply. 


2  With  grief  my  just  reproach  I  bear, 

Shame  fills  me  at  the  thought ; 

How  frequent  my  rebellions  were ! 

What  wickedness  I  wrought ! 

3  Thy  merciful  restraint  1  scorn'd, 

And  left  the  pleasant  road  ; 
Yet  turn  me,  and  I  shall  be  turn'd, 
Thou  art  the  Lord  my  God. 

4  Is  Ephrairn  banish'd  from  my  thoughts, 

Or  vile  in  my  esteem  ? 
No,  saith  the  Lord,  with  all  his  faults, 
I  still  remember  him. 

5  Is  he  a  dear  and  pleasant  child  ? 

Yes,  dear  and  pleasant  still; 
Though  sin  his  foolish  heart  beguil'd, 
And  he  withstood  my  will. 

6  My  sharp  rebuke  has  laid  him  low, 

He  seeks  my  face  again ; 
My  pity  kindles  at  his  woe, 
He  shall  not  seek  in  vain. 

C. 


LAMENTATIONS. 


HYMN  LXIX. 

THE  LOUD  IS  MY  PORTION.       CHAP.   Hi.    24 

1  From  pole  to  pole  let  others  roam, 

And  search  in  vain  for  bliss; 
My  soul  is  satisfied  at  home, 
The  Lord  my  portion  is. 

2  Jesus,  who  on  his  glorious  throne 

Rules  heaven,  and  earth,  and  sea. 
Is  pleas'd  to  claim  me  for  his  own, 
And  give  himself  to  me. 

3  His  person  fixes  all  my  love, 

His  blood  removes  my  fear ; 
And  while  he  pleads  for  me  above, 
His  arm  preserves  me  here. 

4  His  word  of  promise  is  my  food, 

His  Spirit  is  my  guide : 
Thus  daily  is  my  strength  renew'd, 
And  all  my  wants  supplied.* 

5  For  him  I  count  as  gain  each  loss, 

Disgrace,  for  him,  renown  ; 
Well  may  I  glory  in  my  cross, 
While  he  prepares  my  crown  ! 

6  Let  worldlings  then  indulge  their  boast, 

How  much  they  gain  or  spend  : 
Their  joys  must  soon  give  up  the  ghost, 
But  mine  shall  know  no  end. 

*  Book  III.     Hymn  lix. 


S48 


EZEKIEL. 


HYMN   LXX. 


HUMBLED  AND  SILENCED  BY  MERCY. 
CHAP.   xvi.  63. 

Once  perishing  in  blood  I  lay, 
Creatures  no  help  could  give ; 

But  Jesus  pass'd  me  in  the  way, 
He  saw,  and  bid  me  live. 

•J  Though  Satan  still  his  rule  maintain'd, 
And  ali  his  arts  employed  ; 
That  mighty  word  his  rage  restrain'd, 
I  could  not  be  destroyed. 

3  At  length  the  time  of  love  arriv'd, 

When  I  my  Lord  should  know  ; 
Then  Satan,  of  his  power  depriv'd, 
Was  forc'd  to  let  me  go. 

4  O  can  1  e'er  that  day  forget, 

When  Jesus  kindly  spoke  ! 
"  Poor  soul !  my  blood  has  paid  thy  debt, 
And  now  I  break  thy  yoke. 

5  Henceforth  I  take  thee  for  my  own, 

And  give  myself  to  thee ; 
Forsake  the  idols  thou  hast  known, 
And  yield  thyself  to  me." 

6  Ah,  worthless  heart !   it  promis'd  fair, 

And  said  it  would  be  thine ; 
I  little  thought  it  e'er  would  dare 
Again  with  idols  join. 

7  Lord,  dost  thou  such  backslidings  heal, 

And  pardon  all  that's  past  ? 

Sure,  if  I  am  not  made  of  steel, 

Thou  hast  prevail'd  at  last. 

8  My  tongue  which  rashly  spoke  before, 

This  mercy  will  restrain  ; 
Surely  I  now  shall  boast  no  more, 
Nor  censure,  nor  complain. 


HYMN  LXXI. 

the  covenant,     chap,  xxxvi.  25 — 28. 

The  Lord  proclaims  his  grace  abroad  .' 
Behold  I  change  your  hearts  of  stone ; 
Each  shall  renounce  his  idol-god. 
And  serve,  henceforth,  the  Lord  alone. 

My  grace,  a  flowing  stream,  proceeds 
To  wash  your  filthiness  away  ; 
Ye  shall  abhor  your  former  deeds, 
And  learn  my  statutes  to  obey. 

My  truth  the  great  design  ensures, 
I  give  myself  away  to  you  ; 
You  shall  be  mine,  I  will  be  your's, 
Y->ur  God  unalterably  true. 


OLNEY   HYMNS.  BOOK  !. 

4   Yet  not  unsought,  or  unimplor  d, 
The  plenteous  grace  shall  I  confer  ;  * 
No — your  whole  heart  shall  seek  the  Lord, 
I'll  put  a  praying  spirit  there. 

From  the  first  breath  of  life  divine, 
Down  to  the  last  expiring  hour, 
The  gracious  work  shall  all  be  mine, 
Begun  and  ended  in  my  power. 

C. 


HYMN  LXXI  I. 

JEHOYAH-SHAMMAH  ;  OR,  THE  LORD  13  THERE. 

CHAP,  xlviii.  35. 

1  "  As  birds  their  infant  brood  protect.f 
And  spread  their  wings  to  shelter  them," 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  to  his  elect, 

"  Thus  will  I  guard  Jerusalem." 

2  And  what  then  is  Jerusalem, 
This  darling  object  of  his  care  ? 
Where  is  its  worth  in  God's  esteem  ? 
Who  built  it  ?  who  inhabits  there  ! 

3  Jehovah  founded  it  in  blood, 
The  blood  of  his  incarnate  Son  ; 

There  dwell  the  saints,  once  foes  to  God, 
The  sinners  whom  he  calls  his  own. 

4  There,  though  besieg'd  on  every  side, 
Yet  much  belov'd  and  guarded  well, 
From  age  to  age  they  have  defied 
The  utmost  force  of  earth  and  hell. 

5  Let  earth  repent,  and  hell  despair, 
This  city  has  a  sure  defence; 

Her  name  is  call'd,  The  Lord  is  there, 
And  who  has  power  to  drive  him  thence? 

C. 


DANIEL. 


HYMN  LXXIII. 

THE  POWER  AND  TRIUMPH  OF  FAITH. 
CHAP.   iii.   6. 

1  Supported  by  the  word, 
Though  in  himself  a  worm, 
The  servant  of  the  Lord 
Can  wondrous  acts  perform  : 

Without  dismay  lie  boldly  treads 
Where'er  the  path  of  duty  leads. 

2  The  haughty  king  in  vain, 
With  fury  on  his  brow, 
Believers  would  constrain 
To  golden  gods  to  bow ; 

The  furnace  could  not  make  them  fear, 
Because  they  knew  the  Lord  was  nea» 


»  Ver.  o". 


f  Isaiah  xxi.  5. 


HYMN  LXXVI. 

S   As  vain  was  the  decree 

Which  charg'd  them  not  to  pray  ; 
Daniel  still  bow'd  his  knee, 
And  worshipp'd  thrice  a-day  : 
Trusting  in  God,  he  fear'd  not  men, 
Though  threaten'd  with  the  lion's  den. 

4  Secure  they  might  refuse 
Compliance  with  such  laws  ; 
For  what  had  they  to  lose, 
When  God  espous'd  their  cause  ? 

He  made  the  hungry  lions  crouch, 
Nor  durst  the  fire  his  children  touch. 

5  The  Lord  is  still  the  same, 
A  mighty  shield  and  tower, 
And  they  who  trust  his  name 
Are  guarded  by  his  power ; 

He  can  the  rage  of  lions  tame, 

And  bear  them  harmless  through  the  flame. 

6  Yet  we  too  often  shrink 
When  trials  are  in  view  ; 
Expecting  we  must  sink, 
And  never  can  get  through : 

But  could  we  once  believe  indeed, 
From  all  these  fears  we  should  be  freed. 


ZECHAKIAH. 


5*9 


JONAH. 


IIY3IN   LXXIV. 

BELSHAZZAR.       CHAP.   V.    5,  6. 

1  Poor  sinners  !  little  do  they  think 

With  whom  they  have  to  do  ! 
But  stand  securely  on  the  brink 
Of  everlasting  woe. 

2  Belshazzar  thus,  profanely  bold, 

The  Lord  of  hosts  defied  ; 
But  vengeance  soon  his  boasts  control'd, 
And  humbled  all  his  pride. 

3  He  saw  a  hand  upon  the  wall, 

(And  trembled  on  his  throne) 
Which  wrote  his  sudden  dreadful  fall 
In  characters  unknown. 

*  Why  should  he  tremble  at  the  view 
Of  "hat  he  could  not  read  ? 
Foreboding  conscience  quickly  knew 
His  ruin  was  decreed. 

k   See  him  o'erwhelm'd  with  deep  distress! 
His  eyes  with  anguish  roll ; 
His  looks  and  loosen'd  joints  express 
The  terrors  of  his  soul. 

o  His  pomp  and  music,  guests  and  wine, 
No  more  delight  afford ; 
O  sinner  !  ere  this  case  be  thine, 
Begin  to  seek  the  Lord. 

7  The  law,  like  this  hand-writing  stands, 
And  speaks  the  wrath  of  God;* 
But  Jesus  answers  its  demands, 
And  cancels  it  with  blood. 

•  Col.  ii.  H. 


HYMN  LXXV. 

THE  GOURD.       CHAP.  IV.    7 

'.    As  once  for  Jonah,  so  the  Lord, 
To  soothe  and  cheer  my  mournful  hours, 
Prepar'd  for  me  a  pleasing  gourd  : 
Cool  was  its  shade,  and  sweet  its  flowers. 

}   To  prize  his  gift  was  surely  right ; 
But  through  the  folly  of  my  heart, 
It  hid  the  giver  from  my  sight, 
And  soon  my  joy  was  turn'd  to  smart. 

i   While  I  admir'd  its  beauteous  form, 
Its  pleasant  shade  and  grateful  fruit, 
The  Lord  displeas'd  sent  forth  a  worm 
Unseen  to  prey  upon  the  root. 

I  trembled  when  I  saw  it  fade, 
But  guilt  restrain'd  the  murm'ring  word  ; 
My  folly  I  confess'd,  and  prayed, 
Forgive  my  sin,  and  spare  my  gourd. 

His  wondrous  love  can  ne'er  be  told : 
He  heard  me,  and  reliev'd  my  pain  ; 
His  word  the  threatening  worm  control'd, 
And  bid  my  gourd  revive  again. 

Now,  Lord,  my  gourd  is  mine  no  more, 
'Tis  thine,  who  only  could'st  it  raise; 
The  idol  of  my  heart  before, 
Henceforth  shall  flourish  to  thy  praise. 


ZECHARIAH. 


HYMN  LXXVI. 

PRAYER  FOR  THE  LORD'S  PROMISED  PRESFNCK 
CHAP.  ii.    10. 

1  Son  of  God,  thy  people  shield  ! 
Must  we  still  thine  absence  mourn  ? 
Let  thy  promise  be  fulfilled, 

Thou  hast  said,  "  I  will  return." 

2  Gracious  Leader,  now  appear  ! 
Shine  upon  us  with  thy  light ! 
Like  the  spring,  when  thou  art  near, 
Days  and  suns  are  doubly  bright. 

?  As  a  mother  counts  the  days 
Till  her  absent  son  she  see, 
Longs  and  watches,  weeps  and  prays. 
So  our  spirits  long  for  thee. 

1  Come,  and  let  us  feel  thee  nigh, 
Then  thy  sheep  shall  feed  in  peace, 
Plenty  bless  us  from  on  high, 
Evil  from  amongst  us  cease. 


.■>50 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


BOOK    I 


5  With  thy  love,  and  voice,  and  aid, 
Thou  canst  every  care  assuage  ; 
Then  we  shall  not  be  afraid 
Though  the  world  and  Satan  rage. 

6  Thus  each  day  for  thee  we'll  spend, 
While  our  callings  we  pursue, 
And  the  thoughts  of  such  a  friend, 
Shall  each  night  our  joy  renew. 

7  Let  thy  light  be  ne'er  withdrawn  ; 
Golden  days  afford  us  long  : 
Thus  we  pray  at  early  dawn, 
This  shall  be  our  evening  song. 


HYMN  LXXVII. 


A  BKAND  PLUCKED  OUT  OF    THE  FIRE. 
CHAP.  iii.   1 5. 


1  With  Satan,  my  accuser,  near, 
My  spirit  trembled  when  I  saw 
The  Lord  in  majesty  appear, 

And  heard  the  language  of  his  law. 

2  In  vain  I  wish'd  and  strove  to  hide 
The  tatter 'd  filthy  rags  I  wore, 
While  my  fierce  foe  insulting  cried, 
"  See  what  you  trusted  in  before  !" 

3  Struck  dumb,  and  left  without  a  plea, 
I  heard  my  gracious  Saviour  say, 

"  Know,  Satan,  I  this  sinner  free, 
I  died  to  take  his  sins  away. 

This  is  a  brand  which  I,  in  love, 
To  save  from  wrath  and  sin  design  •. 
In  vain  thy  accusations  prove, 
I  answer  all,  and  claim  him  mine." 

5  At  his  rebuke  the  tempter  fled; 
Then  he  removed  my  filthy  dress ; 

"  Poor  sinner,  take  this  robe,"  he  said, 
"  It  is  thy  Saviour's  righteousness. 

6  And  see  a  crown  of  life  prepared  : 
That  I  might  thus  thy  head  adorn, 

I  thought  no  shame  or  suff'ring  hard, 
But  wore  for  thee  a  crown  of  thorn.  ' 

7  O  how  I  heard  these  gracious  words  ! 
They  broke  and  heal'd  my  heart  at  once, 
Constrain'd  me  to  become  the  Lord's, 
And  all  my  idol-gods  renounce. 

8  Now,  Satan,  thou  hast  lost  thy  aim, 
Against  this  brand  thy  threats  are  vain  ; 
Jesus  has  pluck'd  it  from  the  flame, 
And  who  shall  put  it  in  again? 


HYMN  LXXVII  I. 

ON  ONE  STONE  SHALL  BE  SEVEN  EYES. 
CHAP  iii.    9. 

1  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord's  anointed, 
Who  his  blood  for  sinners  spilt, 
Is  the  stone  by  God  appointed, 
And  the  church  is  on  him  built : 

He  delivers  all  who  trust  him  from  their  guilt. 

2  Many  eyes  at  once  are  fixed 
On  a  person  so  divine : 

Love,  with  awful  justice  mixed, 
In  his  great  redemption  shine  : 
Mighty  Jesus,  give  me  leave  to  call  thee  mine 

3  By  the  Father's  eye  approved, 
Lo,  a  voice  is  heard  from  heaven,* 
"  Sinners,  this  is  my  beloved, 

For  your  ransom  freely  given, 
All  offences  for  his  sake  shall  be  forgiven." 

4  Angels  with  their  eyes  pursued  him,f 
When  he  left  his  glorious  throne ; 
With  astonishment  they  viewed  him 

Put  the  form  of  servant  on :  [known. 

Angels  worshipp'd  him  who  was  on  earth  un- 

5  Satan  and  his  host  amazed, 
Saw  this  stone  in  Zion  laid  ; 
Jesus,  though  to  death  abased, 

Bruis'd  the  subtle  serpent's  head,|      [shed. 
When,  to  save  us,  on  the  crosss  his  blood  he 

6  When  a  guilty  sinner  sees  him, 
While  he  looks  his  soul  is  heal'd  : 
Soon  this  sight  from  anguish  frees  him, 
And  imparts  a  pardon  seal'd  :§ 

May  this  Saviour  be  to  all  our  hearts  reveal  d 

7  With  desire  and  admiration, 

All  his  blood-bought  flock  behold  : 
Him  who  wrought  out  their  salvation, 
And  inclos'd  them  in  his  fold  ;!| 
Yet  their  warmest  love  and  praises  are  too  cold. 

8  By  the  eye  of  carnal  reason, 
Many  view  him  with  disdain  ;  ^ 
How  will  they  abide  the  season, 

When  he'll  come  with  all  his  train  ?   [vain. 
To  escape  him  then  they'll  wish,   but  wish  in 

9  How  their  hearts  will  melt  and  tremble 
When  they  hear  his  awful  voice  ;  *  * 
But  his  saints  he'll  then  assemble, 

As  his  portion  and  his  choice, 
And  receive  them  to  his  everlasting  joys. 

*  Matth.  iii  .17-         +  1  Tim.  iii.  16. 
X  John  xii.  31.  §  John  iii.  15. 

||  1  Pet.  ii.  7-  II  Psal.  cxviii.  22. 

**  Rev.  i.  7. 


HYMN  LXXXI. 


MATTHEW. 


551 


HYMN  LXXIX. 


i 


PRAISE  FOR  THE  FOUNTAIN  OPENED. 

There  is  a  fountain  fill'd  with  blood 
Drawn  from  Emmanuel's  veins  ; 

And  sinners  plung'd  beneath  that  flood, 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains. 

2  The  dying  thief  rejoic'd  to  see 

That  fountain  in  his  day ; 
And  there  have  I,  as  vile  as  he, 
Wash'd  all  my  sins  away. 

3  Dear  dying  Lamb,  thy  precious  blood 

Shall  never  lose  its  power, 
Till  all  the  ransom'd  church  of  God 
Be  sav'd  to  sin  no  more. 

4  E'er  since,  by  faith,  I  saw  the  stream 

Thy  flowing  wounds  supply, 
Redeeming  love  has  been  my  theme, 
And  shall  be  till  I  die. 

5  Then  in  a  nobler,  sweeter  souir, 

I  11  sing  thy  power  to  save  ; 
When  this  poor  lisping  stamm'ring  tongue 
Lies  silent  in  the  grave. 

6  Lord,  I  believe    thou     hast  prepar'd 

(Unworthy  though  I  be) 
For  me  a  blood-bought  free  reward, 
A  golden  harp  for  me  ! 

1   'Tis  strung,  and  tuned,  for  endless  years, 
And  form'd  by  power  divine  ; 
To  sound  in  God  the  Father's  ears 
No  other  name  but  thine. 

C. 


MALACHI. 


HYMN  LXXX. 

THEY  SHALL  EE  MINE,  SAITH  THE  LORD.    CHAP, 
iii.    16 18. 

1  When  sinners  utter  boasting  words, 

And  glory  in  their  shame  ; 
The  Lord,  well  pleas'd,  an  ear  affords 
To  those  who  fear  his  name. 

2  They  often  meet  to  seek  his  face, 

And  what,  they  do,  or  say, 
Is  noted  in  his  book  of  grace 
Against  another  day, 

3  For  they  by  faith  a  day  descry, 

And  joyfully  expect, 
When  he,  descending  from  the  sky, 
His  jewels  will  collect : 

4  Unnotic'd  now,  because  unknown, 

A  poor  and  suffering  few ; 
He  comes  to  claim  them  for  his  own, 
And  bring  them  forth  to  view 


5  With  transport  then  their  Saviour's  care 

And  favour  they  shall  prove  ; 
As  tender  parents  guard  and  spare 
The  children  of  their  love. 

6  Assembled  worlds  will  then  discern 

The  saints  alone  are  blest ; 
When  wrath  shall  like  an  oven  burn, 
And  vengeance  strike  the  rest. 


MATTHEW. 

HYMN  LXXXI. 

THE  BEGGAR.       CHAP.  vii.    7 — 8. 

1  Encourag'd  by  thy  word 
Of  promise  to  the  poor, 
Behold,  a  beggar,  Lord, 
Waits  at  thy  mercy's  door  ! 

No  hand,  no  heart,  O  Lord,  but  thine, 
Can  help  or  pity  wants  like  mine. 

2  The  beggar's  usual  plea, 
Relief  from  men  to  gain, 
If  off'er'd  unto  thee, 

I  know  thou  would'st  disdain  ; 
And  pleas  which  move  thy  gracious  ea?, 
Are  such  as  men  would  scorn  to  hear. 

3  I  have  no  right  to  say, 
That  though  I  now  am  poor, 
Yet  once  there  was  a  day 
When  I  possessed  more  ; 

Thou  know'st  that,  from  my  very  birth, 
I've  been  the  poorest  wretch  on  earth. 

4  Nor  can  I  dare  profess, 
As  beggars  often  do, 
Though  great  is  my  distress, 
My  wants  have  been  but  few ; 

If  thou  should'st  leave  my  soul  to  starve, 
It  would  be  what  I  well  deserve. 

5  'Twere  folly  to  pretend 
I  never  begg'd  before ; 
Or  if  thou  now  befriend, 
I'll  trouble  thee  no  more  : 

Thou  often  hast  reliev'd  my  pain, 
And  often  I  must  come  again. 


6  Though  crumbs  are  much  too 
For  such  a  dog  as  I, 

No  less  than  children's  food 
My  soul  can  satisfy  : 

0  do  not  frown  and  bid  me  so. 

1  must  have  all  thou  canst  bestow. 

7  Nor  can  I  willing  be 
Thy  bounty  to  conceal 
From  others  who,  like  me, 
Their  wants  and  hunger  feel  : 

I'll  teH  them  of  thy  mercy's  store, 
And  try  to  send  a  thousand  more. 


rood 


5.52 


OLNKY 


8   Tliy  thoughts,  thou  only  wise  ! 
Our  thoughts  and  ways  transcend, 
Far  as  the  arched  skies 
Above  the  earth  extend  :  * 
Sucli  pleas  as  mine  men  would  not  hear, 
Hut  God  receives  a  beggar's  prayer. 


HYMN  LXXXIT. 

THE  LEPER.       CHAP.   viii.   2.    3. 

1  Oft  as  the  leper's  case  I  read. 

My  own  describ'd  I  feel; 
Sin  is  a  leprosy  indeed, 

Which  none  but  Christ  can  heal. 

2  A  while  I  would  have  pass'd  for  well, 

And  strove  my  spots  to  hide : 
Till  it  broke  out  incurable, 
Too  plain  to  be  denied. 

S   Then  from  the  saints  I  thought  to  flee, 
And  dreaded  to  be  seen  : 
]  thought  they  all  would  point  at  me, 
And  cry,  "  Unclean,  unclean  !" 

4  What  anguish  did  my  soul  endure 

Till  hope  and  patience  ceas'd  ! 
The  more  I  strove  myself  to  cure, 
The  more  the  plague  increas'd. 

5  While  thus  I  lay  distress'd,  I  saw 

The  Saviour  passing  by  ; 
To  him,  though  fill'd  with  shame  and  awe, 
I  rais'd  my  mournful  cry.» 

6  Lord,  thou  canst  heal  me  if  thou  wilt, 

For  thou  canst  all  things  do ; 
O  cleanse  my  leprous  soul  from  guilt, 
My  filthy  heart  renew  ! 

7  He  heard,  and,  with  a  gracious  look, 

Pronounc'd  the  healing  word  ; 
"  I  will, — be  clean  :"  and  while  he  spoke, 
I  felt  my  health  restor'd. 

8  Come,  lepers,  seize  the  present  hour, 

The  Saviour's  grace  to  prove  ; 
He  can  relieve,  for  he  is  power ; 
He  will,  for  he  is  love. 


HYMNS 
3 


BOOK  I 


HYMN  LXXXII1. 

A  SICK  SOUL.       CHAP.   ix.    12. 

1  Physician  of  my  sin-sick  soul, 

To  thee  I  bring  my  case  ; 
My  raging  malady  control, 
A  nd  heal  me  by  thy  grace. 

2  Pity  the  anguish  I  endure, 

See  how  I  mourn  and  pine  ; 
For  never  can  I  hope  a  cure 
From  any  hand  but  thine. 

*  Isaiah  lv.  8.  9. 


I  would  disclose  my  whole  complaint, 

But  where  shall  I  begin? 
No  words  of  mine  can  fully  paint 

That  worst  distemper,  sin. 

It  lies  not  in  a  single  part, 

But  through  my  frame  is  spread, 
A  burning  fever  in  my  heart, 
A  palsy  in  my  head. 

It  makes  me  deaf,  and  dumb,  and  blind, 

And  impotent  and  lame; 
And  overclouds,  and  fills  my  mind 

With  folly,  fear,  and  shame. 

A  thousand  evil  thoughts  intrude, 

Tumultuous,  in  my  breast ; 
Which  indispose  me  for  my  foods 

And  rob  me  of  my  rest. 

Lord,  I  am  sick,  regard  my  cry, 

And  set  my  spirit  free  ; 
Say,  canst  thou  let  a  sinner  die, 

Who  lon<js  to  live  to  thee  ? 


HYMN  LXXXIV. 

SATAN  RETURNING.       CHAP.   Xli.   43 45. 

1  When  Jesus  claims  the  sinner's  heart, 

Where  Satan  ruled  before ; 
The  evil  spirit  must  depart, 
And  dares  return  no  more. 

2  But  when  he  goes  without  constraint, 

And  wanders  from  his  home, 
Although  withdrawn,  'tis  but  a  feint, 
He  means  again  to  come. 

3  Some  outward  change  perhaps  is  seen, 

If  Satan  quit  the  place  ; 
But  though  the  house  seem  swept  and  pWo 
Tis  destitute  of  grace. 

4  Except  the  Saviour  dwell  and  reign 

Within  the  sinner's  mind, 
Satan,  when  he  returns  again, 
Will  easy  entrance  find. 

5  With  rage,  and  malice  seven-fold, 

He  then  resumes  his  sway, 
No  more  by  checks  to  be  control'd, 
No  more  to  go  away. 

6  The  sinner's  former  state  was  bad, 

But  worse  the  latter  far  : 
He  lives  possessed,  blind,  and  mad, 
And  dies  in  dark  despair. 

7  Lord  save  me  from  this  dreadful  end, 

And  from  this  heart  of  mine ! 
O  drive  and  keep  away  the  fiend, 
Who  fears  no  voice  but  thine! 


HYMN   LXXXVIII. 


MATTHEW. 


553 


HYMN  LXXXV. 

THE  SOWER.       CHAP.   xiii.   3. 

1  Ye  sons  of  earth,  prepare  the  plough, 

Break  up  your  fallow-ground: 
The  sower  is  gone  forth  to  sow, 
And  scatter  blessings  round. 

2  The  seed  that  finds  a  stony  soil 

Shoots  forth  a  hasty  blade, 
But  ill  repays  the  sower's  toil, 

Soon  wither'd,  scorch'd,  and  dead. 

S   The  thorny  ground  is  sure  to  baulk 
All  hopes  of  harvest  there  : 
We  find  a  tall  and  sickly  stalk, 
But  not  the  fruitful  ear. 

4  The  beaten  path  and  high-way  side 

Receive  the  trust  in  vain  ; 
The  watchful  birds  the  spoil  divide, 
And  pick  up  all  the  grain. 

5  But  where  the  Lord  of  grace  and  power 

Plas  bless' d  the  happy  field, 
How  plenteous  is  the  golden  store 
The  deep-wrought  furrows  yield. 

6  Father  of  mercies,  we  have  need 

Of  thy  preparing  grace  : 
Let  the  same  hand  that  gives  the  seed 
Provide  a  fruitful  place. 

c. 


HYMN  LXXXVI. 

THE  WHEAT  AND  TARES.       CHAP.   xiii.   37 42. 

1  Though  in  the  outward  church  below 
The  wheat  and  tares  together  grow, 
Jesus  ere  long  will  weed  the  crop, 
And  pluck  the  tares  in  anger  up. 

2  Will  it  relieve  their  horrors  there, 
To  recollect  their  stations  here  ? 

How  much  they  heard,  how  much  they  knew, 
How  long  amongst  the  wheat  they  grew  ? 

3  O  this  will  aggravate  their  ease, 
They  perish'd  under  means  of  grace  : 
To  them  the  word  of  life  and  faith 
Became  an  instrument  of  death. 

4  We  seem  alike  when  thus  we  meet, 
Strangers  might  think  we  all  are  wheat ; 
But  to  the  Lord's  all-searching  eyes, 
Each  heart  appears  without  disguise. 

5  The  tares  are  spar'd  for  various  ends ; 
Some  for  the  sake  of  praying  friends  ; 
Others  the  Lord,  against  their  will, 
Employs  his  counsels  to  fulfil. 

b   But  though  they  grow  so  tall  and  strong, 
His  plan  will  not  require  them  long  : 
In  harvest,  when  he  saves  his  own 
The  tares  shall  into  hell  be  thrown. 


HYMN  LXXXVII. 

PETER  WALKING  UPON  THE  WATER. 
CHAP.  xiv.   28 31. 

1  A  WORD  from  Jesus  calms  the  sea, 

The  stormy  wind  controls, 
And  gives  repose  and  liberty 
To  tempest-tossed  souls. 

2  To  Peter  on  the  waves  he  came, 

And  gave  him  instant  peace  : 
Thus  he  to  me  reveal'd  his  name, 
And  bid  my  sorrows  cease. 

3  Then,  fill'd  with  wonder,  joy,  and  love, 

Peter's  request  was  mine  : 
Lord,  call  me  down,  I  long  to  prove 
That  I  am  wholly  thine. 

4  Unmov'd  at  all  I  have  to  meet 

On  life's  tempestuous  sea, 
Hard  shall  be  easy,  bitter  sweet, 
So  I  may  follow  thee. 

5  He  heard  and  smil'd,  and  bid  me  try 

I  eagerly  obeyed  ; 
But  when  from  him  I  turn'd  my  eye. 
How  was  my  soul  dismayed. 

6  The  storm  increas'd    on  ev'ry  side, 

I  felt  my  spirit  shrink, 
And  soon,  with  Peter,  loud  I  cried, 
"  Lord,  save  me  or  I  sink  !" 

7  Kindly  he  caught  me  by  the  hand, 

And  said,  "  Why  dost  thou  fear  ? 
Since  thou  art  come  to  my  command, 
And  I  am  always  near. 

8  Upon  my  promise  rest  thy  hope, 

And  keep  my  love  in  view  : 
I  stand  engag'd  to  hold  thee  up, 
And  guide  thee  safely  through.* 


HYMN  LXXXVIII. 

WOMAN  OF  CANAAN.   CHAP.  XV.  22 — 28 

1  Prayer  an  answer  will  obtain, 
Though  the  Lord  a  while  delay  : 
None  shall  seek  his  face  in  vain, 
None  be  empty  sent  away. 

2  WTien  the  woman  came  from  Tyre, 
And  for  help  to  Jesus  sought, 
Though  he  granted  her  desire, 
Yet  at  first  he  answer'd  not. 

3  Could  she  guess  at  his  intent, 
When  he  to  his  followers  said, 
"  I  to  Israel's  sheep  am  sent, 

Dogs  must  not  have  children's  bread." 

4  She  was  not  of  Israel's  seed, 
But  of  Canaan's  wretched  race, 
Thought  herself  a  dog  indeed  : 
Was  not  this  a  hopeless  case  ? 


554 


OLNEY  HYMN'S. 


BOOK   I 


5  Yet  although  from  Canaan  sprung, 
Though  a  dog  herself  she  styl'd, 
She  had  Israel's  faith  and  tongue, 
And  was  own'd  for  Abrah'm's  child. 

6  From  his  words  she  draws  a  plea  : 

"  Though  unworthy  children's  bread, 
'Tis  enough  for  one  like  me 
If  with  crumbs  I  may  be  fed." 

7  Jesus  then  his  heart  reveal'd  : 

"  Woman,  canst  thou  thus  believe  ? 

I  to  thy  petition  yield  ; 

All  that  thou  canst  wish,  receive." 

8  'Tis  a  pattern  set  for  us, 

How  we  ought  to  wait  and  pray  : 
None  who  plead  and  wrestle  thus, 
Shall  be  empty  sent  away. 


HYMN  LXXXIX. 

V.  HAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHRIST  ?      CHAP.  xxii.   42. 

I    What  think  ye  of  Christ  ?   is  the  test 
To  try  both  your  state  and  your  scheme, 
You  cannot  be  right  in  the  rest, 
Unless  you  think  rightly  of  him. 
As  Jesus  appears  in  your  view, 
As  he  is  beloved  or  not ; 
So  God  is  disposed  to  you, 
And  mercy  or  wrath  is  your  lot. 

S  Some  take  him  a  creature  to  be, 
A  man,  or  an  angel  at  mostj 
Sure,  these  have  not  feelings  like  me, 
Nor  know  themselves  wretched  and  lost : 
So  guilty,  so  helpless  am  I, 
I  durst  not  confide  in  his  blood, 
Nor  on  his  protection  rely, 
Unless  1  were  sure  he  is  God. 

3  Some  call  him  a  Saviour,  in  word, 

But  mix  their  own  works  with  his  plan, 
And  hope  he  his  help  will  afford, 
When  they  have  done  all  that  they  can. 
If  doings  prove  rather  too  light 
(A  little,  they  own,  they  may  fail), 
They  purpose  to  make  up  full  weight, 
By  casting  his  name  in  the  scale. 

4  Some  style  him  the  Pearl  of  great  price, 
And  say  he's  the  fountain  of  joys  ; 

Yet  feed  upon  folly  and  vice, 
And  cleave  to  the  world  and  its  toys : 
Like  Judas,  the  Saviour  they  kiss, 
And,  while  they  salute  him,  betray  ; 
Ah  !   what  will  profession  like  this 
Avail  in  the  terrible  day  ? 

5  If  ask'd,  what  of  Jesus  I  think  ? 
Though  still  my  best  thoughts  are  but  poor, 
1  say,  He's  my  meat  and  my  drink, 

My  life,  and  my  strength,  and  my  store ; 
My  shepherd,  my  husband,  my  friend, 
My  Saviour  from  sin  and  from  thrall  j 
My  hope  from  beginning  to  end, 
My  portion,  my  Lord,  and  my  all. 


HYMN  XC. 


THE  FOOLISH  VIRGINS.*     CHAP.   XXV.    1 

1  When,  descending  from  the  sky, 

The  Bridegroom  shall  appear 
And  the  solemn  midnight  cry 

Shall  call  professors  near, 
How  the  sound  our  hearts  will  damp  ! 
How  will  shame  o'erspread  each  face  !. 
If  we  only  have  a  lamp, 
Without  the  oil  of  grace. 

2  Foolish  virgins  then  will  wake, 

And  seek  for  a  supply  ; 
But  in  vain  the  pains  they  take, 

To  borrow  or  to  buy. 
Then  with  those  they  now  despise, 
Earnestly  they  wish  to  share  ; 
But  the  best  among  the  wise 
Will  have  no  oil  to  spare. 

3  Wise  they  are,  and  truly  blest, 

Who  then  shall  ready  be  ! 
But  despair  will  seize  the  rest, 

And  dreadful  misery : 
Once  they'll  cry,  we  scorn  to  doubt, 
Though  in  lies  our  trust  we  put ; 
Now  our  lamp  of  hope  is  out, 
The  door  of  mercy  shut. 

4  If  they  then  presume  to  plead, 

"  Lord,  open  to  us  now ; 
We  on  earth  have  heard  and  prayed, 

And  with  thy  saints  did  bow  :" 
He  will  answer  from  his  throne, 
"  Though  you  with  my  people  mix'd, 
Yet  to  me  ye  ne'er  were  known  ; 
Depart,  your  doom  is  fix'd." 

5  O  that  none  who  worship  here 

May  hear  that  word,  "  Depart !" 
Lord,  impress  a  godly  fear 

On  each  professor's  heart : 
Help  us,  Lord,  to  search  the  camp, 
Let  us  not  ourselves  beguile  ; 
Trusting  to  a  dying  lamp, 
Without  a  stock  of  oil. 


HYMN  XCI. 

PETER  SINNING  AND  REPENTING.       CHAP 
xxvi.  73. 

1  When  Peter  boasted,  soon  he  fell, 

Yet  was  by  grace  restor'd  ; 
His  case  should  be  regarded  well 
By  all  who  fear  the  Lord. 

2  A  voice  it  has,  and  helping  hand 

Backsliders  to  recall  j 
And  cautions  those  who  think  they  stand, 
Lest  suddenly  they  fall. 

*  Book  III.  Hymn  Ixxii. 


HYMN  XCIII. 

3   He  said,  "  Whatever  others  do, 


MARK. 


555 


With  Jesus  I'll  abide  ;" 
Yet  soon,  amidst  a  murd'rous  crew, 
His  suffering  Lord  denied. 

He  who  had  been  so  bold  before, 

Now  trembled  like  a  leaf ; 
Not  only  lied,  but  curs'd  and  swore, 

To  gain  the  more  belief. 

When  he  blasphem'd,  he  heard  the  cock, 

And  Jesus  look'd  in  love  ; 
At  once,  as  if  by  lightning  struck, 

His  tongue  forebore  to  move. 

Deliver'd  thus  from  Satan's  snare, 

He  starts,  as  from  a  sleep  ; 
His  Saviour's  look  he  could  not  bear, 

But  hasted  forth  to  weep. 

But  sure  the  faithful  cock  had  crow'd 

A  hundred  times  in  vain, 
Had  not  the  Lord  that  look  bestow'd 

The  meaning  to  explain. 

As  I,  like  Peter,  vows  have  made, 

Yet  acted  Peter's  part ; 
So  conscience,  like  the  cock,  upbraids 

My  base,  ungrateful  heart. 

Lord  Jesus,  hear  a  sinner's  cry, 

My  broken  peace  renew  ; 
And  grant  one  pitying  look,  that  I 

May  weep  with  Peter  too. 


MARK. 


HYMN   XCII 

THE  LEGION  DISPOSSESSED.     CHAI\   V.    1 8,    ]  9. 

1  Legion  was  my  name  by  nature, 
Satan  rag'd  within  my  breast ; 
Never  misery  was  greater, 
Never  sinner  more  possess'd  : 
Mischievous  to  all  around  me, 
To  myself  the  greatest  foe ; 
Thus  I  was  when  Jesus  found  me, 
Fill'd  with  madness,  sin,  and  woe. 

2  Yet  in  this  forlorn  condition, 
When  he  came  to  set  me  free, 
I  replied  to  my  Physician, 

*:  What  have  I  to  do  with  thee  ?" 
But  he  would  not  be  prevented, 
Rescu'd  me  against  my  will ; 
Had  he  staid  till  I  consented, 
I  had  been  a  captive  still. 

3  "  Satan,  though  thou  fain  wouldst  have  it, 
Know  this  soul  is  none  of  thine ; 

I  have  shed  my  blood  to  save  it, 
Now  I  challenge  it  for  mine:  * 

*  Book  III.  Hymn  liv 


Though  it  long  has  thee  resembled, 
Henceforth  it  shall  me  obey." 
Thus  he  spoke,  while  Satan  trembled, 
Gnash'd  his  teeth,  and  fled  away. 

Thus  my  frantic  soul  he  healed, 
Bid  my  sins  and  sorrow  cease  ; 
"  Take,"  said  he,  my  pardon  sealed, 
I  have  sav'd  thee,  go  in  peace  :" 
Rather  take   me,  Lord,  to  heaven, 
Now  thy  love  and  grace  I  know  ; 
Since  thou  hast  my  sins  forgiven, 
Why  should  I  remain  below  ! 

"  Love,"  he  said,  "  will  sweeten  labours, 
Thou  hast  something  yet  to  do  ; 
Go  and  tell  your  friends  and  neighbours 
What  my  love  has  done  for  you  : 
Live  to  manifest  my  glory, 
Wait  for  heaven  a  little  space  ; 
Sinners,  when  they  hear  thy  story, 
Will  repent,  and  seek  my  face." 


HYMN  XCIII 

L'HE  RULER'S  DAUGHTER  RAISED.       CHAT.   V. 

39—42. 

Could  the  creatures  help  or  ease  us, 
Seldom  should  we  think  of  prayer  ; 
Few,  if  any,  come  to  Jesus, 
Till  reduc'd  to  self-despair  : 
Long  we  either  slight  or  doubt  him  ; 
But  when  all  the  means  we  try 
Prove  we  cannot  do  without  him, 
Then  at  last  to  him  we  cry. 

Thus  the  ruler,  when  his  daughter 
Suffer'd  much,  though  Christ  was  nigh, 
Still  deferr'd  it,  till  he  thought  her 
At  the  very  point  to  die : 
Though  he  mourn'd  for  her  condition, 
He  did  not  entreat  the  Lord, 
Till  he  found  that  no  physician 
But  himself  could  help  afford. 

Jesus  did  not  once  upbraid  him, 
That  he  had  no  sooner  come  ; 
But  a  gracious  answer  made  him, 
And  went  straightway  with  him  home 
Yet  his  faith  was  put  to  trial, 
When  his  servants  came,  and  said, 
"  Though  he  gave  thee  no  denial, 
'Tis  too  late,  the  child  is  dead." 

Jesus,  to  prevent  his  grieving, 
Kindly  spoke,  and  eas'd  his  pain  ; 
"  Be  not  fearful,  but  believing, 
Thou  shalt  see  her  live  again." 
When  he  found  the  people  weeping, 
"  Cease,"  he  said;   "  no  longer  mourn; 
For  she  is  not  dead,  but  sleeping -.'' 
Then  they  laughed  him  to  scorn. 

O  thou  meek  and  lowly  Saviour, 
How  determin'd  is  thy  love  ' 
Not  this  rude  unkind  behaviour 
Could  thy  gracious  purpose  move  ; 


5.ri0 


Soon  as  be  the  room  had  enter'd, 
Spoke,  and  took  her  by  the  hand  ; 
Death  at  once  his  prey  surrender'd, 
And  she  liv'd  at  his  command. 

Fear  not,  then,  distress'd  believer, 
Venture  on  his  mighty  name  ; 
He  is  able  to  deliver, 
And  his  love  is  still  the  same  : 
Can  his  pity  or  his  power 
Suffer  thee  to  pray  in  vain  ? 
Wait  but  his  appointed  hour, 
And  thy  suit  thou  shalt  obtain. 


HYMN  XCIV. 

BUT  ONE  LOAF.  *       CHAP.  viii.    1 4. 

1  When  the  disciples  cross'd  the  lake 

With  but  one  loaf  on  board, 
How  strangely  did  their  hearts  mistake 
The  caution  of  their  Lord ! 

2  "  The  leaven  of  the  Pharisees 

Beware,"  the  Saviour  said  : 
They  thought,  it  is  because  he  sees 
We  have  forgotten  bread. 

3  It  seems  they  had  forgotten  too, 

What  their  own  eyes  had  view'd  ; 
How  with  what  scarce  suffic'd  for  few, 
He  fed  a  multitude. 

4  If  five  small  loaves,  by  his  command, 

Could  many  thousands  serve; 
Might  they  not  trust  his  gracious  hand, 
That  they  should  never  starve  ? 

5  They  oft  his  power  and  love  had  known, 

And  doubtless  were  to  blame; 
But  we  have  reason  good  to  own, 
That  we  are  just  the  same. 

6  How  often  has  he  brought  relief, 

And  every  want  supplied  ! 
Yet  soon,  again,  our  unbelief 

Says,   "  Can  the  Lord  provide  ?" 

7  Be  thankful  for  one  loaf  to-day, 

Though  that  be  all  your  store  ; 
To-morrow,  if  you  trust  and  pray, 
Shall  timely  bring  you  more. 


HYMN  XCV. 

BAHTIMEUS.       CHAP.   X.    47,   48. 

"  Mercy,  O  thou  Son  of  David !" 
Thus  blind  Baitimeus  prayed; 
"  Others  by  this  word  are  saved, 
Now  to  me  afford  thine  aid." 
Many  for  his  crying  chid  him, 
But  he  call'd  the  louder  still; 
Till  the  gracious  Saviour  bid  him, 
"  Come,  and  ask  me  what  you  will." 
♦Book  III.    Hymn  lvii. 


OLNEY  HYMN'S. 
2 


BOOK    I. 


Money  was  not  what  he  wanted, 
Though  by  begging  us'd  to  live  ; 
But  he  ask'd,  and  Jesus  granted, 
Alms  which  none  but  he  could  give  : 
"  Lord  remove  this  grievous  blindness, 
Let  my  eyes  behold  the  day  ;" 
Strait  he  saw,  and,  won  by  kindness, 
Follow'd  Jesus  in  the  way. 

3   Oh  !   methinks  I  hear  him  praising, 
Publishing  to  all  around, 
"  Friends,  is  not  my  case  amazing  ? 
What  a  Saviour  I  have  found  : 
O  that  all  the  blind  but  knew  him, 
And  would  be  advis'd  by  me ! 
Surely  would  they  hasten  to  him, 
He  would  cause  them  all  to  see." 


HYMN  XCVI. 

THE  HOUSE  OF  PRAYER.       CHAP.   xi.    17. 

Thy  mansion  is  the  christian's  heart, 

0  Lord,  thy  dwelling-place  secure  ! 
Bid  the  unruly  throng  depart, 
And  leave  the  consecrated  door 

!  Devoted  as  it  is  to  thee, 
A  thievish  swarm  frequents  the  place ; 
They  steal  away  my  joys  from  me, 
And  rob  my  Saviour  of  his  praise. 

There,  too,  a  sharp  designing  trade, 
Sin,  Satan,  and  the  world  maintain ; 
Nor  cease  to  press  me,  and  persuade 
To  part  with  ease,  and  purchase  pain. 

1  know  them,  and  I  hate  their  din, 
Am  weary  of  the  bustling  crowd  ; 
But  while  their  voice  is  heard  within, 
I  cannot  serve  thee  as  I  would. 

Oh  !   for  the  joy  thy  presence  gives, 
What  peace  shall  reign  when  thou  art  here; 
Thy  presence  makes  this  den  of  thieves 
A  calm  delightful  house  of  prayer. 

And  if  thou  make  thy  temple  shine, 
Yet,  self-abas'd,  will  I  adore ; 
The  gold  and  silver  are  not  mine, 
I  give  thee  what  was  thine  before. 

C. 


HYMN  XCVII. 

THE  BLASTED  FIG-TREE.       CHAP.   xi.   20 

1  One  awful  word  which  Jesus  spoke 
Against  the  tree  which  bore  no  fruit, 
More  piercing  than  the  lightning's  stroke, 
Blasted  and  dried  it  to  the  root. 

2  But  could  a  tree  the  Lord  offend 
To  make  him  shew  his  anger  thus  V 
He  surely  had  a  farther  end, 

To  be  a  warning  word  to  u«. 


HYMN  XCIX. 

3 


LUKE. 


557 


The  fig-tree  by  its  leaves  was  known  ; 
But  having  not  a  fig  to  shew, 
It  brought  a  heavy  sentence  down, 
"  Let  none  hereafter  on  thee  grow  " 

4  Too  many,  who  the  gospel  hear, 
Whom  Satan  blinds,  and  sin  deceives, 
We  to  this  fig-tree  may  compare, 
They  yield  no  fruit,  but  only  leaves. 

5  Knowledge,  and  zeal,  and  gifts,  and  talk, 
Unless  combin'd  with  faith  and  love, 
And  witness'd  by  a  gospel-walk, 

Will  not  a  true  profession  prove. 

6  Without  the  fruit  the  Lord  expects, 
Knowledge  will  make  our  state  the  worse ; 
The  barren  trees  he  still  rejects, 

And  soon  will  blast  them  with  his  curse. 

7  O  Lord,  unite  our  hearts  in  prayer ! 
On  each  of  us  thy  Spirit  send, 

That  we  the  fruits  of  grace  may  bear, 
And  find  acceptance  in  the  end. 


LUKE. 


HYMN  XCVIII. 

THE  TWO  DEBTORS.       CHAP.   viii.   47. 

1  Oxce  a  woman  silent  stood, 

While  Jesus  sat  at  meat ; 
From  her  eyes  she  pour'd  a  flood, 

To  wash  his  sacred  feet ; 
Shame  and  wonder,  joy  and  love, 

All  at  once  poscess'd  her  mind, 
That  she  e'er  so  vile  could  prove, 

Yet  now  forgiveness  find. 

2  "  How  came  this  vile  woman  here  ? 

Will  Jesus  notice  such  ? 
•  Sure,  if  he  a  prophet  were, 

He  would  disdain  her  touch  !" 
Simon  thus,  with  scornful  heart, 

Slighted  one  whom  Jesus  lov'd  ; 
But  her  Saviour  took  her  part, 
And  thus  his  pride  reprov'd  : 

5  "  If  two  men  in  debt  were  bound, 

One  less,  the  other  more, 
Fifty,  or  five  hundred  pound, 

And  both  alike  were  poor : 
Should  the  lender  both  forgive, 

When  he  saw  them  both  distress'd, 
Which  of  them  would  you  believe 

Engag'd  to  love  him  best  ?" 

[  "  Surely  he  who  most  did  owe," 

The  Pharisee  replied : 
Then  our  Lord,   "  By  judging  so, 

Thou  dost  for  her  decide ; 
Simon,  if,  like  her,  you  knew 

How  much  you  forgiveness  need ; 
You  like  her  had  acted  too, 

And  welcom'd  me  indeed. 


5  "  When  the  load  of  sin  is  felt, 

And  much  foregiveness  known, 
Then  the  heart  of  course  will  melt, 

Though  hard  before  as  stone : 
Blame  not  then  her  love  and  tears, 

Greatly  she  in  debt  has  been ; 
But  I  have  remov'd  her  fears, 

And  pardon'd  all  her  sin." 

6  When  I  read  this  woman's  case, 

Her  love  and  humble  zeal, 
I  confess,  with  shame  of  face, 

My  heart  is  made  of  steel. 
Much  has  been  forgiven  to  me, 

Jesus  paid  my  heavy  score  ; 
What  a  creature  must  I  be, 

That  I  can  love  no  more ! 


HYMN  XCIX. 

THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN.      CHAP.    X.   33 35. 

1  How  kind  the  good  Samaritan 

To  him  who  fell  among  the  thieves  ! 

Thus  Jesus  pities  fallen  man, 

And  heals  the  wounds  the  soul  receives. 

2  Oh  !    I  remember  well  the  day, 
When  sorely  wounded,  nearly  slain, 
Like  that  poor  man  I  bleeding  lay, 

And  groan'd  for  help,  but  groan'd  in  vain. 

3  Men  saw  me  in  this  helpless  case, 
And  pass'd  without  compassion  by  ; 
Each  neighbour  turn'd  away  his  face, 
Unmoved  by  my  mournful  cry. 

4  But  he  whose  name  had  been  my  scorn, 
(As  Jews  Samaritans  despise) 

Came,  when  he  saw  me  thus  forlorn, 
With  love  and  pity  in  his  eyes. 

5  Gently  he  rais'd  me  from  the  ground, 
Press'd  me  to  lean  upon  his  arm, 
And  into  every  gaping  wound, 

He  pour'd  his  own  all-healing  balm. 

5  Into  his  church  my  steps  he  led, 
The  house  prepar'd  for  sinners  lost, 
Gave  charge  I  should  be  cloth'd  and  fed, 
And  took  upon  him  all  the  cost. 

7  Thus  sav'd  from  death,  from  want  secui'd, 
I  wait  till  he  again  shall  come, 
(When  I  shall  be  completely  cur'd) 
And  take  me  to  his  heavenly  home. 

5  There,  through  eternal  boundless  days, 
When  nature's  wheel  no  longer  rolls, 
How  shall  I  love,  adore,  and  praise, 
This  good  Samaritan  to  souls  ! 


558 


OT.XEY 


HYMNS. 
6 


BOOK  r. 


hymn  c. 


MARTHA  AND  MARY.       CHAP.    X.   38 42. 

1  Martha  her  love  and  joy  express'd, 
By  care  to  entertain  her  guest ; 
While  Mary  sat  to  hear  her  Lord, 
And  could  not  bear  to  lose  a  word. 

2  The  principle,  in  both  the  same, 
Produc'd  in  each  a  different  aim  ; 
The  one  to  feast  the  Lord  was  led, 
The  other  waited  to  be  fed. 

3  But  Mary  chose  the  better  part, 

Her  Saviour's  words  refresh'd  her  heart ; 
While  busy  Martha  angry  grew, 
And  lost  her  time  and  temper  too. 

4  With  warmth  she  to  her  sister  spoke, 
But  brought  upon  herself  rebuke  : 

"  One  thing  is  needful,  and  but  one, 
Why  do  thy  thoughts  on  many  run  ?" 

5  How  oft  are  we,  like  Martha,  vex'd, 
Encumber'd,  hurried,  and  perplex'd  ? 
While  trifles  so  engross  our  thought, 
The  one  thing  needful  is  forgot. 

6  Lord,  teach  us  this  one  thing  to  choose, 
Which  they  who  gain  can  never  lose  ; 
Sufficient  in  itself  alone, 

And  needful,  were  the  world  our  own. 

7  Let  grov'lling  hearts  the  world  admire, 
Thy  love  is  all  that  I  require : 
Gladly  I  may  the  rest  resign, 

If  the  one  needful  thing  be  mine  ! 


HYMN  CI. 

THE  HEART  TAKEN.   CHAP.  XI.  21,  22. 

1  The  castle  of  the  human  heart, 

Strong  in  its  native  sin, 
Is  guarded  well  in  every  part, 
By  him  who  dwells  within. 

2  For  Satan  there  in  arms  resides, 

And  calls  the  place  his  own  : 
With  care  against  assaults  provides, 
And  rules  as  on  a  throne. 

3  Each  traitor  thought,  on  him  as  chief, 

In  blind  obedience  waits  ; 
And  pride,  self-will,  and  unbelief, 
Are  posted  at  the  gates. 

4  Thus  Satan  for  a  season  reigns, 

And  keeps  his  goods  in  peace  ; 
The  soul  is  pleas'd  to  wear  his  chains, 
Nor  wishes  a  release. 

5  But  Jesus,  stronger  far  than  he, 

In  his  appointed  hour, 
Appears  to  set  his  people  free 
From  the  usurper's  power. 


'  This  heart  I  bought  with  blooc',"  he  says, 

"  And  now  it  shall  be  mine:" 
His  voice  the  strong  one  arm'd  dismays, 
He  knows  he  must  resign. 

7  In  spite  of  unbelief  and  pride, 

And  self  and  Satan's  art, 
The  gates  of  brass  fly  open  wide, 
And  Jesus  wins  the  heart. 

8  The  rebel  soul  that  once  withstood 

The  Saviour's  kindest  call, 
Rejoices  now,  by  grace  subdued, 
To  serve  him  with  her  all. 


HYMN  CI!. 
THE  WU1.I/J.ING.      chap.  xii.   16 — 21. 

"  My  barns  are  full,  my  stores  increase, 

And  now,  for  many  years, 
Soul,  eat  and  drink,  and  take  thine  ease, 

Secure  from  wants  and  fears." 

1  Thus  while  a  worldling  boasted  once, 
As  many  now  presume, 
He  heard  the  Lord  himself  pronounce 
His  sudden,  awful  doom. 

3  "  This  night,  vain  fool,  thy  soul  must  pass 

Into  a  world  unknown  ; 
And  who  shall  then  the  stores  possess, 
Which  thou  hast  call'd  thine  own  ?" 

4  Thus  blinded  mortals  fondly  scheme 

For  happiness  below  ; 
Till  death  disturbs  the  pleasing  dream, 
And  they  awake  to  woe. 

5  Ah  !   who  can  speak  the  vast  dismay 

That  fills  the  sinner's  mind, 
When,  torn  by  death's  strong  hand  away, 
He  leaves  his  all  behind  ! 

6  Wretches,  who  cleave  to  earthly  things, 

But  are  not  rich  to  God, 
Their  dying  hour  is  full  of  stings, 
And  hell  their  dark  abode. 

7  Hear  Saviour,  make  us  timely  wise, 

Thy  gospel  to  attend, 
That  we  may  live  above  the  skies, 
When  this  poor  life  shall  end. 


HYMN  CI  1 1. 

THE  BARREN  FIG-TREE.       CHAP.  xiii.  6 — 9. 

1    The  church  a  garden  is, 
In  which  believers  stand, 
Like  ornamental  trees 
Planted  hy  God's  own  hand  j 
His  Spirit  waters  all  their  roots, 
And  ev'ry  branch  abounds  with  fruits. 


HYMN  CV.  LUKE. 

2  But  other  trees  there  are, 
In  this  inclosure  grow, 
Which,  though  they  promise  fair, 
Have  only  leaves  to  show ; 

No  fruits  of  grace  are  on  them  found, 
They  stand  but  cumb'rers  of  the  ground, 

3  The  under  gard'ner  grieves, 
In  vain  his  strength  he  spends, 
For  heaps  of  useless  leaves 
Afford  him  small  amends  : 

He  hears  the  Lord  his  will  make  known, 
To  cut  the  barren  fig-trees  down. 

4  How  difficult  his  post, 
What  pangs  his  bowels  move, 
To  find  his  wishes  cross'd, 
His  labours  useless  prove ! 

His  last  relief,  his  earnest  prayer, 
"  Lord,  spare  them  yet  another  year  : 

5  Spare  them,  and  let  me  try, 
What  farther  means  may  do  ; 
I'll  fresh  manure  apply, 
My  digging  I'll  renew  ; 

Who  knows  but  yet  they  fruit  may  yield  ! 
If  not — 'tis  just  they  must  be  fell'd." 

6  If  under  means  of  grace 
No  gracious  fruits  appear, 
It  is  a  dreadful  case; 
Though  God  may  long  forbear, 

At  length  he'll  strike  the  threaten'd  blow,* 
And  lay  the  barren  fig-tree  low. 


550 


HYMN  CIV, 

THE  PRODIGAL  SON.        CHAP.   XV.    11  —  24. 

1  Afflictions,  though  they  seem  severe, 

In  mercy  oft  are  sent ; 
They  stopp'd  the  prodigal's  career, 
And  forc'd  him  to  repent. 

2  Although  he  no  relentings  felt, 

Till  he  had  spent  his  store ; 
His  stubborn  heart  began  to  melt 
When  famine  pinch'd  him  sore. 

3  "  What  have  I  gain'd  by  sin  (he  said), 

But  hunger,  shame,  and  fear  ? 
My  father's  house  abounds  with  bread. 
While  I  am  starving  here. 

4  I'll  go  and  tell  him  all  I've  done, 

And  fall  before  his  face  ; 
Unworthy  to  be  call'd  his  son, 
I'll  seek  a  servant's  place." 

5  His  father  saw  him  coming  back, 

He  saw,  and  ran,  and  smiled; 
And  threw  his  arms  around  the  neck 
Of  his  rebellious  child. 

b  "  Father,  I've  sinn'd — but,  O  forgive  !" 
"  I've  heard  enough,"  he  said  ; 
"  Rejoice,  my  house,  my  son's  alive, 
For  whom  I  mourn'd  as  dead  : 

*  Book  II.  Hymn  xxvi. 


7  Now  let  the  fatted  calf  be  slain, 
And  spread  the  news  around  ; 

My  son  was  dead,  but  lives  again, 
Was  lost  but  now  is  found." 

8  'Tis  thus  the  Lord  his  love  reveals, 
To  call  poor  sinners  home  ; 

More  than  a  father's  love  he  feels, 
And  welcomes  all  that  come. 


HYMN   CV. 


THE    RICH    MAN    AND    LAZARUS. 
19—25. 


CHAP.     XVI. 


1  A  WORLDLING  spent  each  day 
In  luxury  and  state, 
While  a  believer  lay 
A  beggar  at  his  gate  : 

Think  not  the  Lord's  appointment  strange, 
Death  made  a  great  and  lasting  change. 

2  Death  brought  the  saint  release 
From  want,  disease,  and  scorn  ; 
And  to  the  land  of  peace, 
His  soul,  by  angels  borne, 

In  Abrahm's  bosom  safely  placed, 
Enjoys  an  everlasting  feast. 

3  The  rich  man  also  died, 
And  in  a  moment  fell 
From  all  his  pomp  and  pride 
Into  the  flames  of  hell ; 

The  beggar's  bliss  from  far  beheld, 
His  soul  with  double  anguish  fill'd. 

4  "  O  Abrah'm,  send,"  he  cries, 
(But  his  request  was  v;>in) 

"  The  beggar  from  the  skies, 

To  mitigate  my  pain  ! 
One  drop  of  water  I  entreat, 
To  soothe  my  tongue's  tormenting  heat." 

5  Let  all  who  worldly  pelf 
And  worldly  spirits  have, 
Observe,  each  for  himself, 
The  answer  Abrah'm  gave  : 

"  Remember  thou  wast  fill'd  with  good, 
While  the  poor  beggar  pin'd  for  food. 

6"   Neglected  at  thy  door, 

With  tears  he  begg'd  his  bread  : 
But  now  he  weeps  no  more, 
His  griefs  and  pains  are  fled  ; 
His  joys  eternally  will  flow, 
While  thine  expire  in  endless  woe.'' 

7  Lord,  make  us  truly  wise, 

To  choose  thy  people's  lot, 

And  earthly  joys  despise, 

Which  soon  will  be  forgot : 
The  greatest  evil  we  can  fear, 
Is  to  possess  our  portion  here  ? 


560 


OLNEY  HYMN?,. 


HYMN  CVI. 


THE  IMPORTUNATE  WIDOW.*     CHA1\  xviii.  1  —  7. 

1  Oua  Lord,  who  knows  full  well 

The  heart  of  every  saint, 
Invites  us  by  a  parable, 
To  pray  and  never  faint. 

2  He  bows  his  gracious  ear, 

We  never  plead  in  vain  ; 
Yet  we  must  wait  till  he  appear, 
And  pray,  and  pray  again. 

3  Though  unbelief  suggest, 

Why  should  we  longer  wait  ? 
He  bids  us  never  give  him  rest, 
But  be  importunate. 

4  'Twas  thus  a  widow  poor, 

Without  support  or  friend, 
Beset  the  unjust  judge's  door, 
And  gain'd  at  last  her  end. 

5  For  her  he  little  car'd, 

As  little  for  the  laws ; 
Nor  God  nor  man  did  he  regard, 
Yet  he  espous'd  her  cause. 

6  She  urg'd  him  day  and  night, 

Would  no  denial  take  ; 
At  length  he  said,  "  I'll  do  her  right, 
For  my  own  quiet's  sake." 

7  And  shall  not  Jesus  hear 

His  chosen  when  they  cry  ? 
Yes,  though  he  may  a  while  forbear, 
He'll  help  them  from  on  high. 

8  'Tis  nature,  truth,  and  love, 

Engage  him  on  their  side ; 
When  they  are  griev'd,  his  bowels  move, 
And  can  they  be  denied  ? 

9  Then  let  us  earnest  be, 

And  never  faint  in  prayer  ; 
He  loves  our  importunity, 

And  makes  our  cause  his  care. 


HYMN  CVTI. 

ZACCHEUS.       CHAP.   XIX.    1 6. 

1  Zaccheus  climb'd  the  tree, 
And  thought  himself  unknown  ; 
But  how  surpris'd  was  he, 
When  Jesus  call'd  him  down  ! 

The  Lord  beheld  him,  though  conceal'd, 
And  by  a  word  his  power  reveal'd. 

2  Wonder  and  joy  at  once 
Were  painted  in  his  face: 

"  Does  he  my  name  pronounce, 
And  does  he  know  my  case  ? 

Will  Jesus  deign  with  me  to  dine? 

Lord,  I,  with  all  I  have,  am  thine." 
»  Book  II.  Hymn  lx. 


BOOK    I 

3  Thus  where  the  gospel's  preach'd, 
And  sinners  come  to  hear, 

The  hearts  of  some  are  reach'd 

Before  they  are  aware  : 
The  word  directly  speaks  to  them, 
And  seems  to  point  them  out  by  name. 

4  'Tis  curiosity 

Oft  brings  them  in  the  way, 

Only  the  man  to  see, 

And  hear  what  he  can  say  : 
But  how  the  sinner  starts  to  find, 
The  preacher  knows  his  inmost  mind. 

5  His  long  forgotten  faults 
Are  brought  again  in  view, 
And  all  his  secret  thoughts 
Reveal'd  in  public  too; 

Though  compass'd  with  a  crowd  about, 
The  searching  word  has  found  him  out 

6  While  thus  distressing  pain 
And  sorrow  fills  his  heart: 
He  hears  a  voice  again, 
That  bids  his  fears  depart. 

Then,  like  Zaccheus,  he  is  blest, 
And  Jesus  deigns  to  be  his  guest. 


HYMN   CVIII. 

THE  BELIEVER'S  DANGER,   SAFETY,  AND  DUTY 

chap.  xxii.  31,  32. 

1  "  Simon,  beware!"  the  Saviour  said, 

"  Satan,  your  subtle  foe, 
Already  has  his  measures  laid, 
Your  soul  to  overthrow. 

2  He  wants  to  sift  you  all  as  wheat, 

And  thinks  his  victory  sure  ; 
But  I  his  malice  will  defeat, 
My  prayer  shall  faith  secure." 

3  believers,  tremble  and  rejoice, 

Your  help  and  danger  view  ; 

This  warning  has  to  you  a  voice, 

This  promise  speaks  to  you. 

•!    Satan  beholds,  with  jealous  eye, 
Your  privilege  and  joy ; 
He's  always  watchful,  always  nigh, 
To  tear  and  to  destroy. 

5  But  Jesus  lives  to  intercede, 

That  faith  may  still  prevail ; 
He  will  support  in  time  of  need, 
And  Satan's  art  shall  fail. 

6  Yet  let  us  not  the  warning  slight, 

But  watchful  still  be  found  ; 
Though  lakh  cannot  be  slain  in  fight, 
It  may  receive  a  wound. 

7  While  Satan  watches,  dare  we  sleep  ? 

We  must  our  guard  maintain  ; 
But,  Lord,  do  thou  the  city  keep. 
Or  else  we  watch  in  vain.* 

*  Psal.  cxxvii.  1. 


HYMN   CXI  I. 


JOHN. 


561 


HYMN  CIX. 

FATHER,  FORGIVE  THEM.       CHAI\   Xxiii.    34. 

i  "  Father,  forgive,"  the  Saviour  said, 
"  They  know  not  what  they  do  :" 
His  heart  was  mov'd  when  thus  he  prayed 
For  me,  my  friends,  and  you. 

2  He  saw  that,  as  the  Jews  abus'd 

And  crucified  his  flesh, 
So  he  by  us  would  be  refus'd, 
And  crucified  afresh. 

3  Through  love  of  sin,  we  long  were  prone 

To  act  as  Satan  bid  ; 
But  no\v,  with  grief  and  shame  we  own 
We  knew  not  what  we  did. 

4  We  knew  not  the  desert  of  sin, 

Nor  whom  we  thus  defied  ; 
Nor  where  our  guilty  souls  had  been, 
If  Jesus  had  not  died. 

5  We  knew  not  what  a  law  we  broke, 

How  holy,  just,  and  pure  ! 
Nor  what  a  God  we  durst  provoke, 
But  thought  ourselves  secure. 

6  But  Jesus  all  our  guilt  foresaw, 

And  shed  his  precious  blood, 
To  satisfy  the  holy  law, 

And  make  our  peace  with  God. 

7  My  sin,  dear  Saviour,  made  thee  bleed, 

Yet  didst  thou  pray  for  me  ! 
I  knew  not  what  I  did,  indeed, 
When  ignorant  of  thee. 


HYMN  CX. 

THE  TWO  MALEFACTORS.    CHAP.  XXlii.  39 43. 

1  Sovereign  grace  has  power  alone 
To  subdue  a  heart  of  stone  ; 
And  the  moment  grace  is  felt, 
Then  the  hardest  heart  will  melt. 

2  When  the  Lord  was  crucified, 
Two  transgressors  with  him  died ; 
One,  with  vile  blaspheming  tongue, 
ScofY'd  at  Jesus  as  he  hung. 

3  Thus  he  spent  his  wicked  breath, 
In  the  very  jaws  of  death ; 
Perish'd,  as  too  many  do, 

With  the  Saviour  in  his  view. 

4  But  the  other,  touch'd  with  grace, 
Saw  the  danger  of  his  case  ; 
Faith  receiv'd  to  own  the  Lord, 
Whom  the  scribes  and  priests  abhorr'd. 

5  "  Lord,"  he  prayed,  "  remember  me, 
When  in  glory  thou  shalt  be." 

"  Soon  with  me,"  the  Lord  replies, 
•*  Thou  shalt  rest  in  paradise." 


6  This  was  wondrous  grace  indeed, 
Grace  vouchsaf 'd  in  time  of  need  ; 
Sinners,  trust  in  Jesus'  name, 
You  shall  find  him  still  the  same. 

7  But  beware  of  unbelief, 
Think  upon  the  harden'd  thief; 
If  the  gospel  you  disdain, 
Christ,  to  you,  will  die  in  vain. 


JOHN. 


HYMN  CXI. 

THE  WOMAN  OF  SAiMARIA.      CHAP.   iv.   28. 

1  Jesus,  to  what  didst  thou  submit, 

To  save  thy  dear-bought  flock  from  hell 
Like  a  poor  traveller,  see  him  sit, 
Athirst  and  weary,  by  the  well. 

2  The  woman  who  for  water  came, 
(What  great  events  on  small  depend  !) 
Then  learnt  the  glory  of  his  name, 
The  well  of  life,  the  sinner's  friend. 

3  Taught  from  her  birth  to  hate  the  Jews, 
And  fill'd  with  party-pride,  at  first 
Her  zeal  indue'd  her  to  refuse 

Water  to  quench  the  Saviour's  thirst. 

4  But  soon  she  knew  the  gift  of  God  : 
And  Jesus,  whom  she  scorn'd  before, 
Unask'd,  that  drink  on  her  bestowed, 
Which  whoso  tastes  shall  thirst  no  more. 

5  His  words  her  prejudice  remov'd, 
Her  sin  she  felt,  relief  she  found  ; 
She  saw  and  heard,  believ'd  and  lov'd, 
And  ran  to  tell  her  neighbours  round. 

6  O  come,  this  wondrous  man  behold. 
The  promis'd  Saviour!   this  is  he 
Whom  ancient  prophecies  foretold, 
Born,  from  our  guilt  to  set  us  free. 

7  Like  her,  in  ignorance  content, 

I  worshipp'd  long  I  knew  not  what ; 

Like  her,  on  other  things  intent, 

I  found  him  when  I  sought  him  not. 

8  He  told  me  all  that  e'er  I  did, 
And  told  me  all  was  pardon'd  too ; 
And  now,  like  her,  as  he  has  bid, 

I  live  to  point  him  out  to  you 


HYMN  CXI  I. 

THE  POOL  OF  BETHESDA.*     CHAP.   V.   2 — 4. 

1        Beside  the  gospel-pool 
Appointed  for  the  poor, 
From  year  to  year  my  helpless  soul 
Has  waited  for  a  cure. 

*  Book  III.  Hymn  vii. 


5G2 

2  How  often  have  I  seen 
The  healing  waters  move, 

And  others,  round  me,  stepping  in, 
Their  efficacy  prove  ! 

3  But  my  complaints  remain  ; 
I  feel  the  very  same, 

As  full  of  guilt,  and  fear,  and  pain, 
As  when  at  first  I  came. 

4  O  would  the  Lord  appear, 
My  malady  to  heal ; 

He  knows  how  long  I've  languish'd  here 
And  what  distress  I  feel. 

5  How  often  have  I  thought, 
Why  should  I  longer  lie  ? 

Surely  the  mercy  I  have  sought 
Is  not  for  such  as  I. 

5        But  whither  can  I  go  ? 
There  is  no  other  pool 
Where  streams  of  sovereign  virtue  flow, 
To  make  a  sinner  whole. 

7  Here  then,  from  day  to  day, 
I'll  wait,  and  hope,  and  try  : 

Can  Jesus  hear  a  sinner  pray, 
Yet  suffer  him  to  die  ? 

8  No  :  he  is  full  of  grace ; 
He  never  will  permit 

A  soul  that  fain  would  see  his  face, 
To  perish  at  his  feet. 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


BOOK  I 


HYMN  CXIII. 


ANOTHER. 


1  Here  at  Bethesda's  pool,  the  poor, 

The  wither'd,  halt,  and  blind, 
With  waiting  hearts  expect  a  cure, 
And  free  admittance  find. 

2  Here  streams  of  wondrous  virtue  flow, 

To  heal  a  sin-sick  soul ; 
To  wash  the  filthy  white  as  snow 
And  make  the  wounded  whole. 

S  The  dumb  break  forth  in  songs  of  praise, 
The  blind  their  sight  receive, 
The  cripple  run  in  wisdom's  ways, 
The  dead  revive  and  live. 

4  Restrain'd  to  no  one  case  or  time, 

These  waters  always  move  ; 
Sinners  in  ev'ry  age  and  clime 
Their  vital  influence  prove. 

5  Yet  numbers  daily  near  them  lie, 

Who  meet  with  no  relief; 
With  life  in  view,  they  pine  and  die, 
In  hopeless  unbelief. 

6  'Tis  strange  they  should  refuse  to  bathe, 

And  yet  frequent  the  pool  ; 

But  none  can  even  wish  for  faith 

While  love  of  sin  bears  rule* 


7  Satan  their  consciences  has  seal'd, 

And  stupified  their  thought, 
For,  were  they  willing  to  be  heal'd, 
The  cure  would  soon  be  wrought. 

8  Do  thou,  dear  Saviour,  interpose, 

Their  stubborn  will  constrain  ; 
Or  else  to  them  the  water  flows 
And  grace  is  preach'd  in  vain. 


HYMN  CXIV. 


THE  DISCIPLES  AT  SEA. 


CHAP.   VI.    16 21. 


1  Constrain'd  by  their  Lord  to  embark, 
And  venture  without  him  to  sea, 

The  season  tempestuous  and  dark. 
How  griev'd  the  disciples  must  be ! 
But  though  he  remain'd  on  the  shore, 
He  spent  the  night  for  them  in  prayer  ; 
They  still  were  as  safe  as  before, 
And  equally  under  his  care. 

2  They  strove,  though  in  vain,  for  a  while, 
The  force  of  the  waves  to  withstand  ; 
But  when  they  were  wearied  with  toil, 
They  saw  their  dear  Saviour  at  hand. 
They  gladly  received  him  on  board, 
His  presence  their  spirits  reviv'd, 

The  sea  became  calm  at  his  word, 
And  soon  at  their  port  they  arriv'd. 

3  We,  like  the  disciples,  are  toss'd 
By  storms  on  a  perilous  deep, 
But  cannot  be  possibly  lost, 

For  Jesus  has  charge  of  the  ship. 
Though  billows  and  winds  are  enrag'd, 
And  threaten  to  make  us  their  sport, 
This  pilot  his  word  has  engag'd 
To  bring  us  in  safety  to  port. 

4  If  sometimes  we  struggle  alone, 
And  he  is  withdrawn  from  our  viev», 
It  makes  us  more  willing  to  own 
We  nothing  without  him  can  do  : 
Then  Satan  our  hopes  would  assail, 
But  Jesus  is  still  within  call ; 

And  when  our  poor  efforts  quite  fail, 
He  comes  in  good  time,  and  does  all. 

5  Yet,  Lord,  we  are  ready  to  shrink, 
Unless  we  thy  presence  perceive ; 
O  save  us,  we  cry,  or  we  sink, 
We  would,  but  we  cannot  believe. 
The  night  has  been  long  and  severe, 
The  winds  and  the  seas  are  still  high  ; 
Dear  Saviour,  this  moment  appear, 
And  say  to  our  souls,  "  It  is  I  !"* 

*  Book  II.  Hymn  lxxxvii. 
+  Book  III.  Hymn  xviii. 


HYMN  CXVIII. 


JOHN. 


563 


HYMN  CXV. 


WILL  YE  ALSO  GO  AWAY?       CHAP.   vi.   67—69. 

1  When  any  turn  from  Zion's  way, 

(Alas!  what  numbers  do!) 
Metliinks  I  hear  my  Saviour  say, 
"  Wilt  thou  forsake  me  too  ?" 

2  Ah !   Lord,  with  such  a  heart  as  mine, 

Unless  thou  hold  me  fast, 
I  feel  I  must,  I  shall  decline, 
And  prove  like  them  at  last. 

3  Yet  thou  alone  hast  power,  I  know, 

To  save  a  wretch  like  me  : 
To  whom,  or  whither  could  I  go, 
If  I  should  turn  from  thee  ? 

4  Beyond  a  doubt  I  rest  assur'd, 

Thou  art  the  Christ  of  God, 
Who  hast  eternal  life  secur'd 
By  promise  and  by  blood. 

5  The  help  of  men  and  angels  join'd 

Could  never  reach  my  case, 
Nor  can  I  hope  relief  to  find 
But  in  thy  boundless  grace. 

5  No  voice  but  thine  can  give  me  rest, 
And  bid  my  fears  depart, 
No  love  but  thine  can  make  me  blest, 
And  satisfy  my  heart. 

7  What  anguish  has  that  question  stirr'd 
If  I  will  also  go  ? 
Yet,  Lord,  relying  on  thy  word, 
I  humbly  answer,  No. 


HYMN  CXVI. 

THE  RESURRECTION  AND  THE  LIFE. 
CHAP.  xi.   25. 

1  "  I  AM,"  saith  Christ,  "  your  glorious  Head, 
(May  we  attention  give  !) 
The  resurrection  of  the  dead, 
The  life  of  all  that  live. 

?  By  faith  in  me  the  soul  receives 
New  life,  though  dead  before  ; 
And  he  that  in  my  name  believes, 
Shall  live,  to  die  no  more. 

3  The  sinner,  sleeping  in  his  grave, 

Shall  at  my  voice  awake; 
And  when  I  once  begin  to  save, 
My  work  I  ne'er  forsake." 

4  Fulfil  thy  promise,  gracious  Lord, 

On  us  assembled  here ; 
Put  forth  thy  Spirit  with  the  word, 
And  cause  the  dead  to  hear. 

5  Preserve  the  poiver  of  faith  alive 

In  those  who  love  thy  name; 
For  sin  and  Satan  daily  strive 
To  quench  the  sacred  flame 


6  Thy  power  and  mercy  first  prevail'd, 

From  death  to  set  us  free ; 
And  often  since  our  life  had  fail'd. 
If  not  renew'd  by  thee. 

7  To  thee  we  look,  to  thee  we  bow, 

To  thee  for  help  we  call  ; 
Our  life  and  resurrection  thou, 
Our  hope,  our  joy,  our  all. 


HYMN  CXVI  I.     . 

WEEPING  MARY.       CHAP.   XX.    11 16. 

1  Mary  to  her  Saviour's  tomb 
Hasted  at  the  early  dawn  ; 

Spice  she  brought,  and  sweet  perfume , 
But  the  Lord  she  lov'd  was  gone 
For  a  while  she  weeping  stood, 
Struck  with  sorrow  and  surprise, 
Shedding  tears,  a  plenteous  flood, 
For  her  heart  supplied  her  eyes 

2  Jesus,  who  is  always  near, 
Though  too  often  unperceiv'd, 
Came,  his  drooping  child  to  cheer, 
Kindly  asking  why  she  griev'd  ? 
Though  at  first  she  knew  him  not, 
When  he  call'd  her  by  her  name, 
Then  her  griefs  were  all  forgot, 
For  she  found  he  was  the  same. 

3  Grief  and  sighing  quickly  fled, 
When  she  heard  his  welcome  voice ; 
Just  before  she  thought  him  dead, 
Now  he  bids  her  heart  rejoice. 
What  a  change  his  word  can  make, 
Turning  darkness  into  day  ! 

You  who  weep  for  Jesus'  sake, 
He  will  wipe  your  tears  away 

4  He  who  came  to  comfort  her, 
When  she  thought  her  all  was  lost, 
Will  for  your  relief  appear, 
Though  you  now  are  tempest-toss'd. 
On  his  word  your  burden  cast, 

On  his  love  your  thoughts  employ ; 
Weeping  for  a  while  may  last, 
But  the  morning  brings  the  joy. 


HYMN  CXVIII. 

LOVEST  THOU  ME  ?       CHAP.   xxi.    ll>. 

1  Hark,  my  soul !  it  is  the  Lord, 
'Tis  thy  Saviour,  hear  his  word  ; 
Jesus  speaks,  and  speaks  to  thee, 

"  Say,  poor  sinner,  lov'st  thou  me? 

2  I  deliver'd  thee  when  bound, 

And,  when  wounded,  heal'd  thy  wound 
Sought  thee  wand'ring,  set  thee  right, 
Turn'd  thy  darkness  into  light. 


564 

3  Can  a  woman's  lender  care 
Cease  towards  the  child  she  bare  ? 
Yes,  she  may  forgetful  be, 

Yet  will  I  remember  thee. 

4  Mine  is  an  unchanging  love, 
Higher  than  the  heights  above, 
Deeper  than  the  depths  beneath, 
Free  and  faithful,  strong  as  death. 

5  Thou  shalt  see  my  glory  soon, 
When  the  work  of  grace  is  done, 
Partner  of  my  throne  shalt  be, 
Say,  poor  sinner,  lov'st  thou  me  ?' 

6  Lord,  it  is  my  chief  complaint, 
That  my  love  is  weak  and  faint ; 
Yet  I  love  thee  and  adore : 

O  for  grace  to  love  thee  more ! 


OlNKY  hymns. 


BOOK   I. 


HYMN  CXIX 


ANOTHER. 


1  'TlS  a  point  I  long  to  know, 
Oft  it  causes  anxious  thought, 
Do  1  love  the  Lord  or  no  ? 
Am  I  his,  or  am  I  not  ? 

2  If  I  love,  why  am  I  thus  ? 
Why  this  dull  and  lifeless  frame  ' 
Hardly,  sure,  can  they  be  worse. 
Who  have  never  heard  his  name 

S    Could  my  heart  so  hard  remain 
Prayer  a  task  and  burden  prove 
Ev'ry  trifle  give  me  pain, 
If  I  knew  a  Saviour's  love  ? 

4  When  I  turn  my  eyes  within, 
All  is  dark,  and  vain,  and  wild ; 
Fill'd  with  unbelief  and  sin, 
Can  I  deem  myself  a  child  ? 

5  If  I  pray,  or  hear,  or  read, 
Sin  is  mix'd  with  all  I  do  ; 
You  that  love  the  Lord  indeed, 
Tell  me,  is  it  thus  with  you  ? 

6  Yet  I  mourn  my  stubborn  will, 
Find  my  sin  a  grief  and  thrall : 
Should  I  grieve  for  what  I  feel, 
If  I  did  not  love  at  all? 

7  Could  I  joy  his  saints  to  meet, 
Chuse  the  ways  I  once  abhorr'd, 
Find  at  times  the  promise  sweet, 
If  I  did  not  love  the  Lord  ? 

8  Lord,  decide  the  doubtful  case : 
Thou,  who  art  thy  people's  sun, 
Shine  upon  thy  work  of  grace, 
If  it  be  indeed  begun. 

9  Let  me  love  thee  more  and  more, 
If  I  love  at  all,  I  pray ; 

If  I  have  not  lov'd  before, 
Help  me  to  begin  to-day. 


ACTS. 


HYAJN  CXX. 

THE  DEATH  OF  STEPHEN.       CHAP.    vii.  54 CO 

1  As  some  tall  rock  amidst  the  waves, 
The  fury  of  the  tempest  braves, 
While  the  fierce  billows,  tossing  high. 
Break  at  its  foot,  and,  murm'ring,  die : 

2  Thus  they  who  in  the  Lord  confide, 
Though  foes  assault  on  ev'ry  side, 
Cannot  be  mov'd  or  overthrown, 
For  Jesus  makes  their  cause  his  own. 

3  So  faithful  Stephen,  undismayed, 
The  malice  of  the  Jews  surveved: 
The  holy  joy  which  fill'd  his  breast 
A  lustre  on  his  face  impress'd. 

4  "  Behold  !"  he  said,  "  the  world  of  light 
Is  oper.'d  to  my  strengthen'd  sight ; 
My  glorious  Lord  appears  in  view, 
That  Jesus  whom  ye  lately  slew.' 

5  With  such  a  friend  and  witness  near, 
No  form  of  death  could  make  him  fear  ; 
Calm,  amidst  showers  of  stones,  he  kneels, 
And  only  for  his  murd'rers  feels. 

6  May  we,  by  faith,  perceive  thee  thus, 
Dear  Saviour,  ever  near  to  us ! 

This  sight  our  peace  through  life  shall  keep, 
And  death  be  fear'd  no  more  than  sleep. 


HYMN  CXXI. 

THE  REBEL'S  SURRENDER  TO  GRACE. 

LORD,  WHAT  WILT  THO'J  HAVE  ME  TO  DO  ? 

CHAP.   IX.    6. 

1  LORD,  thou  hast  won,  at  length  I  yield  ; 
My  heart,  by  mighty  grace  compell'd 

Surrenders  all  to  thee ; 
Against  thy  terrors  long  I  strove, 
But  who  can  stand  against  thy  love  ? 

Love  conquers  even  me. 

2  All  that  a  wretch  could  do  I  tried, 
Thy  patience  scorn'd,  thy  power  defied, 

And  trampled  on  thy  laws  ; 
Scarcely  thy  martyrs  at  the  stake 
Could  stand  more  steadfast  for  thy  sake, 

Than  I  in  Satan's  cause. 

J  But  since  thou  hast  thy  love  reveal'd 
And  shown  my  soul  a  pardon  seal'd, 

I  can  resist  no  more ; 
Couldst  thou  for  such  a  sinner  bleed  ? 
Canst  thou  for  such  a  rebel  plead  ? 
I  wonder  and  adore  ! 


HYMN  CXXIV. 

4  If  thou  had'st  bid  thy  thunders  roll, 
And  lightnings  flash,  to  blast  my  soul, 

I  still  had  stubborn  been : 
But  mercy  has  my  heart  subdu'd, 
A  bleeding  Saviour  I  have  view'd, 
And  now  I  hate  my  sin. 

£   Now,  Lord,  I  would  be  thine  alone, 
Come,  take  possession  of  thine  own, 

For  thou  hast  set  me  free  ; 
Releas'd  from  Satan's  hard  command, 
See  all  my  powers  waiting  stand, 
To  be  employed  by  thee. 

6  My  will  conform'd  to  thine  would  move  ; 
On  thee  my  hope,  desire,  and  love, 

In  flx'd  attention  join  ; 
My  hands,  my  eyes,  my  ears,  my  tongue, 
Have  Satan's  servants  been  too  long, 

But  now  they  shall  be  thine. 

7  And  can  I  be  the  very  same, 

Who  lately  durst  blaspheme  thy  name, 

And  on  thy  gospel  tread  ? 
Surely  each  one  who  hears  my  case, 
Will  praise  thae,  and  confess  thy  grace 

Invincible  indeed  ! 


HYMN  CXXII. 

PETER  RELEASED  FROM  PRISON.       CHAP.  xii. 

5—8. 

1   Fervent  persevering  prayers 

Are  faith's  assur'd  resource; 
Brazen  gates  and  iron  bars 

In  vain  withstand  their  force. 
Peter,  when  in  prison  cast, 

Though  by  soldiers  kept  with  care, 
Though  the  doors  were  bolted  fast, 

Was  soon  releas'd  by  prayer. 

'i  While  he  slept,  an  angel  came, 

And  spread  a  light  around, 
Touch'd,  and  call'd  him  by  his  name, 

And  rais'd  him  from  the  ground. 
All  his  chains  and  fetters  burst, 

Ev'ry  door  wide  open  flew  : 
Peter  thought  he  dream'd  at  first, 

But  found  the  vision  true. 

S  Thus  the  Lord  can  make  a  way 

To  bring  his  saints  relief; 
Theirs  it  is  to  wait  and  pray, 

In  spite  of  unbelief. 
He  can  break  through  walls  of  stone, 

Sink  the  mountain  to  a  plain  ; 
They  to  whom  his  name  is  known, 

Can  never  pray  in  vain. 

i   Thus,  in  chains  of  guilt  and  sin, 

Poor  sinners  sleeping  lie ; 
No  alarm  is  felt  within, 

Although  condemn'd  to  die; 
Till,  descending  from  above, 

(Mercy  smiling  in  his  eyes) 
Jesus,  with  a  voice  of  love, 
Awakes,  and  bids  them  rise. 


ACTS. 

'■  5   Glad  the  summons  they  obey, 


505 


I 


And  liberty  desire  : 
Straight  their  fetters  melt  away, 

Like  wax  before  the  fire  : 
By  the  word  of  him  who  died, 

Guilty  prisoners  to  release, 
Every  door  flies  open  wide, 

And  they  depart  in  peace. 


HYMN   CXXIII. 

THE  TREMBLING  GAOLER.    CHAP.  Xvi.   29 — 31 

1  A  reliever  free  from  care, 
Mav  in  chains  or  dungeons  sing. 
If  the  Lord  be  with  him  there, 
And  be  happier  than  a  king : 
Paul  and  Silas  thus  confin'd, 
Though  their  backs  were  torn  by  whips, 
Yet,  possessing  peace  of  mind, 

Sung  his  praise  with  joyful  lips. 

2  Suddenly  the  prison  shook, 
Open  flew  the  iron  doors  ; 
And  the  gaoler,  terror-struck, 
Now  his  captives  help  implores : 
Trembling  at  their  feet  he  fell, 

"  Tell  me,  Sirs,  what  must  I  do, 
To  be  saved  from  guilt  and  hell  ? 
None  can  tell  me  this  but  you." 

J  "  Look  to  Jesus,''  they  replied; 
"  If  on  him  thou  canst  believe, 
By  the  death  which  he  hath  died, 
Thou  salvation  shalt  receive." 
While  the  living  word  he  heard, 
Faith  sprang  up  within  his  heart ; 
And,  releas'd  from  all  he  fear'd, 
In  their  joy  his  soul  had  part. 

i  Sinners,  Christ  is  still  the  same, 
O  that  you  could  likewise  fear  J 
Then  the  mention  of  his  name 
Would  be  music  to  your  ear: 
Jesus  rescues  Satan's  slaves, 
His  dear  wounds  still  plead,  "  Forgive  !" 
Jesus  to  the  utmost  saves  ; 
Sinners,  look  to  him  and  live. 


HYMN   CXXIV. 

THE  EXORCISTS.       CHAP.   xix.    13 — 16. 

1  When  the  apostle  wonders  wrought, 
And  heal'd  the  sick  in  Jesus'  name, 
The  sons  of  Sceva  vainly  thought 
That  they  had  power  to  do  the  same. 

2  On  one  possess'd  they  tried  their  art, 
And,  naming  Jesus  preached  by  Paul, 
They  charg'd  the  spirit  to  depart, 
Expecting  he'd  obey  their  call. 

3  The  spirit  answered  with  a  mock, 

"  Jesus  I  know,  and  Paul  I  know ; 
I  must  have  gone  if  Paul  had  spoke : 
But  who  are  ye  that  bid  me  go? 


.SG( 

•1 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


BOOK   I 


With  fury  then  the  man  he  fill'd, 
Who  on  the  poor  pretenders  flew  ; 
Naked  and  wounded,  almost  kill'd, 
They  fled  in  all  the  people's  view. 

5  Jesus !  that  name  pronounc'd  by  faith, 
Is  full  of  wonder-working  power  ; 

It  conquers  Satan,  sin,  and  death, 
And  cheers  in  trouble's  darkest  hour. 

6  But  they  who  are  not  born  again, 
Know  nothing  of  it  but  the  sound  ; 
They  do  not  take  his  name  in  vain, 
When  most  their  zeal  and  pains  abound. 

7  Satan  their  vain  attempts  derides, 
Whether  they  talk,  or  pray,  or  preach  ; 
Long  as  the  love  of  sin  abides, 

His  power  is  safe  beyond  their  reach. 

8  But  you,  believers,  may  rejoice, 
Satan  well  knows  your  mighty  Friend  ; 
He  trembles  at  your  Saviour's  voice, 
And  owns  he  cannot  gain  his  end. 


HYMN  CXXV. 
Paul's  voyage.,      chap,  xxvii. 

1  If  Paul  in  Caesar's  court  must  stand, 

He  need  not  fear  the  sea ; 
Secur'd  from  harm  on  every  hand 
By  the  divine  decree. 

2  Although  the  ship  in  which  he  sail'd 

By  dreadful  storms  was  toss'd ; 
The  promise  over  all  prevail'd, 
And  not  a  life  was  lost. 

t  Jesus,  the  God  whom  Paul  ador'd, 
Who  saves  in  time  of  need, 
Was  then  confess'd,  by  all  on  board, 
A  present  help  indeed  ! 

4  Though  neither  sun  nor  stars  were  seen, 

Paul  knew  the  Lord  was  near  ! 
And  faith  preserv'd  his  soul  serene, 
When  others  shook  for  fear. 

5  Believers  thus  are  toss'd  about, 

On  life's  tempestuous  main; 
But  grace  assures,  beyond  a  doubt 
They  shall  their  port  attain. 

6  They  must,  they  shall  appear  one  day, 

Before  their  Saviour's  throne ; 
The  storms  they  meet  with  by  the  way, 
But  make  his  power  known. 

1  Their  passage  lies  across  the  brink 
Of  many  a  threatening  wave  ; 
The  world  expects  to  see  them  sink, 
But  Jesus  lives  to  save. 

8   Lord,  though  we  are  but  feeble  worms, 
Yet  since  thy  word  is  past, 
We'll  venture  through  a  thousand  storms, 
To  see  thy  face  at  last. 


ROMANS. 


HYMN  CXXVI. 

THE  GOOD  THAT  I  WOULD,  I  DO  NOT. 
CHAP.  vii.  19. 

I  WOULD,  but  cannot  sing, 
Guilt  has  untun'd  my  voice 
The  serpent's  sin-envenom'd  sting 
Has  poison'd  all  my  joys. 

I  know  the  Lord  is  nigh, 
And  would,  but  cannot  pray ; 
For  Satan  meets  me  when  I  try, 
And  frights  my  soul  away. 

I  would,  but  can't  repent, 
Though  I  endeavour  oft  ; 
This  stony  heart  can  ne'er  relent, 
Till  Jesus  make  it  soft. 

I  would,  but  cannot  love, 
Though  wooed  by  love  divine ; 
No  arguments  have  power  to  move 
A  soul  so  base  as  mine. 

I  would,  but  cannot  rest, 
In  God's  most  holy  will ; 
I  know  what  he  appoints  is  best, 
Yet  murmur  at  it  still. 

;       Oh  could  I  but  believe ! 
Then  all  would  easy  be : 
I  would,  but  cannot, — Lord,  relieve; 
My  help  must  come  from  thee  ! 

'        But  if  indeed  I  would, 
Though  I  can  nothing  do ; 
Yet  the  desire  is  something  good, 
For  which  my  praise  is  due. 

?       By  nature  prone  to  ill, 

Till  thine  appointed  hour, 
I  was  as  destitute  of  will, 
As  now  I  am  of  power, 

)       Wilt  thou  not  crown  at  length 
The  work  thou  hast  begun  ? 
And  with  a  will,  afford  me  strength, 
In  all  thy  ways  to  run  ? 


HYMN  CXXVII. 
salvation  drawing  nearer.     CHAP.  x'ni. 

1    Darkness  overspreads  us  here, 
But  the  night  wears  fast  away ; 
Jacob's  Star  will  soon  appear, 
Leading  on  eternal  day  ! 
Now  'tis  time  to  rouse  from  sleep, 
Trim  our  lamps,  and  stand  prepar'd 
For  our  Lord  strict  watch  to  keep, 
Lest  he  find  us  off  our  guard. 


HYMN  CXXX. 

2  Let  his  people  courage  take, 
Bear  with  a  submissive  mind 
All  they  suS'er  for  his  sake, 
Rich  amends  they  soon  will  find: 
He  will  wipe  away  their  tears, 
Near  himself  appoint  their  lot ; 
All  their  sorrows,  pains,  and  fears, 
Quickly  then  will  be  forgot. 

3  Though  already  sav'd  by  grace, 
From  the  hour  we  first  believ'd  ; 
Yet  while  sin  and  war  have  place, 
We  have  but  a  part  receiv'd  ; 
Still  we  for  salvation  wait, 
Every  hour  it  nearer  comes  ! 
Death  will  break  the  prison  gate, 
And  admit  us  to  our  homes. 

4  Sinners,  what  can  you  expect  ? 
You  who  now  the  Saviour  dare, 
Break  his  laws,  his  grace  reject, 
You  mus$  stand  before  his  bar  ! 
Tremble,  lest  he  say,  Depart ! 
Oh  the  horrors  of  that  sound  ! 
Lord,  make  every  careless  heart 
Seek  thee  while  thou  may'st  be  found. 


I  CORINTHIANS. 

HYMN  CXXVIII. 

THAT  ROCK  WAS  CHRIST.       CHAP.   X.   4. 

When    Israel's  tribes   were    parch'd    with 

thirst, 
Forth  from  the  rock  the  waters  burst, 
And  all  their  future  journey  through 
Yielded  them  drink,  and  gospel  too  ! 

2  In  Moses   rod  a  type  they  saw 
Of  his  severe  and  fiery  law  • 
The  smitten  rock  prefigur'd  him 
From  whose  pierc'd  side  all  blessings  stream. 

S   But,  ah,  the  types  were  all  too  faint, 
His  sorrows  or  his  worth  to  paint ; 
Slight  was  the  stroke  of  Moses'  rod, 
But  he  endur'd  the  wrath  of  God. 

4  Their  outward  rock  could  feel  no  pain, 
But  ours  was  wounded,  torn,  and  slain  j 
The  rock  gave  but  a  watery  flood, 

But  Jesus  pour'd  forth  streams  of  blood. 

5  The  earth  is  like  their  wilderness, 

A  land  of  drought  and  sore  distress  ; 
Without  one  stream  from  pole  to  pole, 
To  satisfy  a  thirsty  soul. 

6  But  let  the  Saviour's  praise  resound ; 
In  him  refreshing  streams  are  found  ; 
Which  pardon,  strength,  and  comfort  give 
And  thirsty  sinners  drink  and  live. 


GALATIANS. 


i67 


II  CORINTHIANS. 


HYMN  CXXIX. 

MY  GRACE  IS  SUFFICIENT  FOR  THEE. 

chap.  xii.  9. 

1  Oppress'd  with  unbelief  and  sin, 
Fightings  without,  and  fears  within  ; 
While  earth  and  hell,  with  force  combin'd, 
Assault  and  terrify  my  mind : 

2  What  strength  have  I  against  such  foes, 
Such  hosts  and  legions  to  oppose  ? 
Alas  !   I  tremble,  faint,  and  fall ; 
Lord,  save  me,  or  I  give  up  all. 

3  Thus  sorely  press'd,  I  sought  the  Lord, 
To  give  me  some  sweet  cheering  word  j 
Again  I  sought,  and  yet  again  ; 

I  waited  long  but  not  in  vain. 

4  Oh  !   'twas  a  cheering  word  indeed  ! 
Exactly  suited  to  my  need  ; 

"  Sufficient  for  thee  is  my  grace  ; 

Thy  weakness  my  great  power  displays." 

5  Now  I  despond  and  mourn  no  more, 

I  welcome  all  I  fear'd  before;  [blest, 

Though  weak,  I'm  strong,  though  troubled. 
For  Christ's  own  power  shall  on  me  rest. 

6  My  grace  would  soon  exhausted  be, 
But  his  is  boundless  as  the  sea ; 
Then  let  me  boast,  with  holy  Paul, 
That  I  am  nothing,  Christ  is  all. 


GALATIANS. 


HYMN  CXXX. 

THE  INWARD  WARFARE..       CHAP.   V.    17. 

Strange  and  mysterious  is  my  life, 

What  opposites  I  feel  within  ! 

A  stable  peace,  a  constant  strife ; 

The  rule  of  grace,  the  power  of  sin  : 
Too  often  I  am  captive  led, 
Yet  daily  triumph  in  my  Head. 

I  prize  the  privilege  of  prayer, 

But  oh  !  what  backwardness  to  pray  ! 

Though  on  the  Lord  I  cast  my  care, 

I  feel  its  burden  every  day ; 
I  seek  his  will  in  all  I  do, 
Yet  find  my  own  is  working  too. 

I  call  the  promises  my  own, 

And  prize  them  more  than  mines  of  gold  . 

Yet  though  their  sweetness  I  have  known, 

They  leave  me  unimpress'd  and  cold : 
One  hour  upon  the  truth  I  feed, 
The  next  I  knew  not  what  I  read 


568  OLNEY 

4  I  love  the  holy  day  of  rest, 

When  Jesus  meets  his  gather' d  saints : 
Sweet  day,  of  all  the  week  the  best ! 
For  its  return  my  spirit  pants ; 
Yet  often,  through  my  unbelief, 
It  proves  a  day  of  guilt  and  grief. 

5  While  on  my  Saviour  I  rely, 

I  know  my  foes  shall  lose  their  aim, 
And  therefore  dare  their  power  defy, 
Assur'd  of  conquest  through  his  name  ; 
But  soon  my  confidence  is  slain, 
And  all  my  fears  return  again. 

6  Thus  diff'rent  powers  within  me  strive, 
And  grace  and  sin  by  turns  prevail ; 

I  grieve,  rejoice,  decline,  revive, 
And  victory  hangs  in  doubtful  scale  : 
But  Jesus  has  his  promise  past, 
That  grace  shall  overcome  at  last. 


PHILIPPIANS. 


HYMNS. 


BOOK   t, 


HYMN  CXXXI. 

CONTENTMENT.*       CHAP.   iv.    II. 

1  Fierce  passions  discompose  the  mind, 

As  tempests  vex  the  sea; 
But  calm  content  and  peace  we  find, 
When,  Lord,  we  turn  to  thee. 

2  In  vain  by  reason  and  by  rule 

We  try  to  bend  the  will ; 
For  none  but  in  the  Saviour's  school 
Can  learn  the  heavenly  skill. 

3  Since  at  his  feet  my  soul  has  sat 

His  gracious  words  to  hear, 
Contented  with  my  present  state, 
I  cast  on  him  my  care. 

4  "  Art  thou  a  sinner,  soul  ?"  he  said, 

"  Then  how  canst  thou  complain? 
How  light  thy  troubles  here,  if  weigh  d 
With  everlasting  pain  ! 

5  If  thou  of  murm'ring  wouldst  be  cur'd 

Compare  thy  griefs  with  mine  ; 
Think  what  my  love  for  thee  endur'd 
And  thou  wilt  not  repine. 

6  'Tis  I  appoint  thy  daily  lot, 

And  I  do  all  things  well ; 
Thou  soon  shalt  leave  this  wretched  spot, 
And  rise  with  me  to  dwell. 

7  In  life  my  grace  shall  strength  supply, 

Proportion 'd  to  thy  day 
At  death  thou  still  shalt  find  me  nigh 
To  wipe  thy  tears  away." 

*  Book  III.  Hymn  Iv. 


8   Thus  I,  who  once  my  wretched  days 
In  vain  repinings  spent, 
Taught  in  my  Saviour's  school  of  grace, 
Have  learn'd  to  be  content. 

C. 


HEBREWS. 


HYMN  CXXXII. 

OLD  TESTAMENT  GOSPEL.       CHAP.   IV.    2. 

Israel,  in  ancient  days, 

Not  only  had  a  view 

Of  Sinai  in  a  blaze, 

But  learn'd  the  gospel  too  : 
The  types  and  figures  were  a  glass, 
In  which  they  saw  the  Saviour's  face. 

The  paschal  sacrifice, 
And  blood-besprinkled  door,* 
Seen  with  enlighten'd  eyes, 
And  once  apnlied  with  power, 

Would  teach  the  need  of  other  blood, 

To  reconcile  an  angry  God. 

The  lamb,  the  dove,  set  forth 
His  perfect  innocence,f 
Whose  blood  of  matchless  worth, 
Should  be  the  soul's  defence  ; 
For  he  who  can  for  sin  atone, 
Must  have  no  failings  of  his  own. 

The  scape-goat  on  his  head| 

The  people's  trespass  bore, 

And  to  the  desert  led, 

Was  to  be  seen  no  more : 
In  him  our  Surety  seem'd  to  say, 
"  Behold,  I  bear  your  sins  away." 

Dipt  in  his  fellow's  blood, 

The  living  bird  went  free;§ 

The  type,  well  understood, 

Express'd  the  sinner's  plea, 
Describ'd  a  guilty  soul  enlarg'd, 
And  by  a  Saviour's  death  discharg'd, 

Jesus,  I  love  to  trace 

Throughout  the  sacred  page, 

The  footsteps  of  thy  grace, 

The  same  in  ev'ry  age. 
O  grant  that  I  may  faithful  be 
To  clearer  light  vouchsaf 'd  to  me ! 

C. 


*  Exortns  xii.  13. 
}   Lev.  xvi.  21. 


f  Lev.  xii.  P. 

§   Lev   xiv.  51 — 54 


HYMN   CXXXV. 


HEBREWS. 


509 


HYMN  CXXXIIL 

THE  WORD  QUICK  AND  POWERFUL. 
CHAP.   iv.    12,    13. 

The  word  of  Christ,  our  Lord, 
With  whom  we  have  to  do, 
Is  sharper  than  a  two-edg'd  sword, 
To  pierce  the  sinner  through  : 

Swift  as  the  lightning's  blaze, 
When  awful  thunders  roll, 
It  fills  the  conscience  with  amaze, 
And  penetrates  the  soul. 

No  heart  can  be  conceal'd 
P'rom  his  all-piercing  eyes  ; 
Each  thought  and  purpose  stands  reveal'd, 
Naked,  without  disguise. 

He  sees  his  people's  fears, 
He  notes  their  mournful  cry, 
He  counts  their  sighs  and  falling  tears, 
And  helps  them  from  on  high. 

Though  feeble  is  their  good, 
It  has  its  kind  regard  ; 
Yea,  all  they  would  do  if  they  could,* 
Shall  find  a  sure  reward. 

He  sees  the  wicked  too, 
And  will  repay  them  soon, 
For  all  the  evil  deeds  they  do, 
And  all  they  would  have  done.f 

Since  all  our  secret  ways 
Are  mark'd  and  known  by  thee 
Afford  us,  Lord,  thy  light  of  grace, 
That  we  ourselves  may  see. 


HYMN  CXXXIV. 

LOOKING  UNTO  JESUS.       CHAP.   xii.    2. 

1  By  various  maxims,  forms,  and  rules, 
That  pass  for  wisdom  in  the  schools, 

I  strove  my  passion  to  restrain, 
But  all  my  efforts  prov'd  in  vain. 

2  But  since  the  Saviour  I  have  known, 
My  rules  are  all  reduc'd  to  one, 

To  keep  my  Lord,  by  faith,  in  view ; 
This  strength  supplies,  and  motives  too. 

S  I  see  him  lead  a  suff'ring  life, 
Patient  amidst  reproach  -^nd  strife  ; 
And  from  his  pattern  courage  take, 
To  bear  and  suffer  for  his  sake. 

4   Upon  the  cross  I  see  him  bleed, 

And  by  the  sight  from  guilt  am  freed  ; 
This  sight  destroys  the  life  of  sin, 
And  quickens  heavenly  life  within. 


5  To  look  to  Jesus  as  he  rose, 
Confirms  my  faith,  disarms  my  foes; 
Satan  I  shame  and  overcome, 

By  pointing  to  my  Saviour's  tomb. 

6  Exalted  on  his  glorious  throne, 

I  see  him  make  my  cause  his  own  ; 
Then  all  my  anxious  cares  subside, 
For  Jesus  lives,  and  will  provide. 

7  I  see  him  look  with  pity  down, 

And  hold  in  view  the  conq'ror's  crown; 
If  press'd  with  griefs  and  cares  before, 
My  soul  revives,  nor  asks  for  more. 

8  By  faith  I  see  the  hour  at  hand, 
When  in  his  presence  I  shall  stand  ; 
Then  it  will  be  my  endless  bliss, 
To  see  him  where,  and  as  he  is 


HYMN  CXXXV. 

LOVE-TOKENS.     CHAP.   xii.   5 11. 

1  Afflictions  do  not  come  alone, 

A  voice  attends  the  rod ; 
By  both  he  to  his  saints  is  known, 
A  Father  and  a  God  ! 

2  "  Let  not  my  children  slight  the  stroke 

I  for  chastisement  send, 
Nor  faint  beneath  my  kind  rebuke, 
For  still  I  am  their  friend. 

3  The  wicked  I  perhaps  may  leave 

A  while,  and  not  reprove ; 

But  all  the  children  I  receive, 

I  scourge,  because  I  love. 

4  If,  therefore,  you  are  left  without 

This  needful  discipline, 
You  might  with  cause  admit  a  doubt, 
If  you,  indeed,  were  mine. 

5  Shall  earthly  parents  then  expect 

Their  children  to  submit  ? 
And  will  not  you,  when  I  correct, 
Be  hum-bled  at  my  feet  ? 

S  To  please  themselves  they  oft  chastise, 
And  put  their  sons  to  pain  ; 
But  you  are  precious  in  my  eyes, 
And  shall  not  smart  in  vain. 

7  I  see  your  hearts  at  present  fill'd 

With  grief  and  deep  distress  ; 
But  soon  these  bitter  seeds  shall  yield 
The  fruits  of  righteousness. " 

8  Break  through  the  clouds,  dear  Lord,  and 


Let  us  perceive  thee  nigh  ! 


- 
And  to  each  mourning  child  of  thine 

These  gracious  words  apply. 


[shine, 


*  1  Kin«s,  viii.  18. 


f  \Taflh.  v.  2«. 


570 


OLNEY 


REVELATION. 


HYMN   CXXXVI. 

EPHESUS.     CHAP.   ii.    1 7. 

1  Thus  saith  the  Lord  to  Ephesus, 
And  thus  he  speaks  to  some  of  us:  — 
"  Amidst  my  churches,  lo,  I  stand, 
And  hold  the  pastors  in  my  hand  : 

2  Thy  works  to  me  are  fully  known, 
Thy  patience  and  thy  toil  I  own  ; 
Thy  views  of  gospel-truth  are  clear, 
Nor  canst  thou  other  doctrine  bear. 

S  Yet  I  must  blame  while  I  approve ; 
Where  is  thy  first,  thy  fervent  love  ? 
Dost  thou  fovget  my  love  to  thee  ? 
That  thine  is  grown  so  faint  to  me ! 

4  Recall  to  mind  the  happy  days, 

When  thou  wast  fill'd  with  joy  and  praise ; 
Repent,  thy  former  works  renew, 
Then  I'll  restore  thy  comforts  too. 

5  Return  at  once,  when  I  reprove, 
Lest  I  thy  candlestick  remove  ; 
And  thou,  too  late,  thy  loss  lament, 
I  warn  before  I  strike, — Repent." 

6  Hearken  to  what  the  Spirit  saith, 
To  him  that  overcomes  by  faith, 

"  The  fruit  of  life's  unfading  tree, 
In  paradise  his  food  shall  be." 


HYMN  CXXXVII. 

SMYRNA.     CHAP.   ii.    11. 

1  The  message  first  to  Smyrna  sent, 

A  message  full  of  grace, 
To  all  the  Saviour's  flock  is  meant, 
In  ev'ry  age  and  place. 

2  Thus  to  his  church,  his  chosen  bride, 

Saith  the  great  First  and  Last, 
Who  ever  lives,  though  once  he  died, 
"  Hold  thy  profession  fast. 

3  Thy  works  and  sorrow  well  I  know, 

Performed  and  borne  for  me  ; 
Poor  though  thou  art,  despis'd  and  low, 
Yet  who  is  rich  like  thee  ? 

4  I  know  thy  foes,  and  what  they  say, 

How  long  they  have  blasphem'd ; 
The  synagogue  of  Satan  they, 

Though  they  would  Jews  be  deem'd. 

5  Though  Satan  for  a  season  rage, 

And  prisons  be  your  lot, 
I  am  your  friend,  and  I  engage 
You  shall  not  be  forgot. 


HYMNS.  BoOK  1 

6  Be  faithful  unto  death,  nor  fear 

A  few  short  days  of  strife; 
Behold  !   the  prize  you  soon  shall  wear, 
A  crown  of  endless  life  !" 

7  Hear  what  the  Holy  Spirit  saith 

Of  all  who  overcome  ; 
u  They  shall  escape  the  second  death, 
The  sinner's  awful  doom  !" 


HYMN  CXXXVII. 

SARDIS.       CHAP.  iii.    1 6. 

1  "  Write  to  Sardis,"  saith  the  Lord, 

And  write  what  he  declares, 
He  whose  Spirit,  and  whose  Word, 

Uphold  the  seven  stars  : 
"  All  thy  works  and  ways  I  search, 
Find  thy  zeal  and  love  decayed  ; 
Thou  art  call'd  a  living  church, 

But  thou  art  cold  and  dead. 

2  Watch,  remember,  seek,  and  strive, 

Exert  thy  former  pains  ; 
Let  thy  timely  care  revive 

And  strengthen  what  remains  ; 
Cleanse  thine  heart,  thy  works  amend, 
Former  times  to  mind  recall, 
Lest  my  sudden  stroke  descend, 

And  smite  thee  once  for  all. 

3  Yet  I  number  now  in  thee 

A  few  that  are  upright ; 
These  my  Father's  face  shall  see, 

And  walk  with  me  in  white : 
When  in  judgment  I  appear, 
They  for  mine  shall  be  confess'd  : 
Let  my  faithful  servants  hear, 

And  woe  be  to  the  rest !" 

C. 


HYMN  CXXXIX. 

PHILADELPHIA.       CHAP.   iii.    7—13. 

1    Thus  saith  the  holy  One  and  true, 
To  his  beloved  faithful  few, 
"  Of  heaven  and  hell  I  hold  the  keys, 
To  shut,  or  open,  as  I  please. 

3   I  know  thy  works,  and  I  approve; 

Though  small  thy  strength,  sincere  thy  love 
Go  on,  my  word  and  name  to  own, 
For  none  shall  rob  thee  of  thy  crown. 

3  Before  thee  see  my  mercy's  door 
Stands  open  wide,  to  shut  no  more ; 
Fear  not  temptation's  fiery  day, 
For  I  will  be  thy  strength  and  stay. 

4  Thou  hast  my  promise,  hold  it  fast, 
Tiie  trying  hour  will  soon  be  past ; 
Rejoice,  for,  lo!   I  quickly  come, 
To  take  thee  to  my  heavenly  hornet 


HYMN  CXLI 

5 


A  pillar  there,  no  more  to  move, 
Inscrib'd  with  all  my  names  of  love ; 
A  monument  of  mighty  grace, 
Thou  shalt  for  ever  have  a  place." 

6  Such  is  the  conqueror's  reward, 
Prepar'd  and  promis'd  by  the  Lord  ! 
Let  him  that  hath  the  ear  of  faith, 
Attend  to  what  the  Spirit  saith. 


HYMN  CXL. 

LAODICEA.       CHAP.  ill.    14 20. 

Hear  what  the  Lord,  the  great  Amen, 
The  true  and  faithful  witness  says ! 
He  form'd  the  vast  creation's  plan, 
And  searches  all  our  hearts  and  ways. 

To  some  he  speaks,  as  once  of  old, 
"  I  know  thee,  thy  profession's  vain  : 
Since  thou  art  neither  hot  nor  cold, 
I'll  spit  thee  from  me  with  disdain. 

Thou  boasted,  "  I  am  wise  and  rich, 
Increas'd  in  goods,  and  nothing  need  ;" 
And  dost  not  know  thou  art  a  wretch, 
Naked,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and  dead. 

Yet  while  I  thus  rebuke,  I  love, 

My  message  is  in  mercy  sent ; 

That  thou  may'st  my  compassion  prove, 

I  can  forgive  if  thou  repent. 

Wouldst  thou  be  truly  rich  and  wise  ! 
Come,  buy  my  gold  in  fire  well  tried, 
My  ointment  to  anoint  thine  eyes, 
My  robe  thy  nakedness  to  hide. 

See  at  thy  door  I  stand  and  knock  ! 
Poor  sinner,  shall  I  wait  in  vain  ? 
Quickly  thy  stubborn  heart  unlock, 
That  I  may  enter  with  my  train. 


REVELATION. 

7 


57i 


Thou  canst  not  entertain  a  king, 
Unworthy  thou  of  such  a  guest, 
But  I  my  own  provisions  bring, 
To  make  thy  soul  a  heavenly  feast." 


HYMN  CXLI. 

THE  LITTLE  BOOK  *.       CHAP.   X. 

1  When  the  belov'd  desciple  took 
The  angel's  little  open  book, 

Which,  by  the  Lord's  command,  he  ate, 
It  tasted  bitter  after  sweet. 

2  Thus  when  the  gospel  is  embrac'd, 
At  first  'tis  sweeter  to  the  taste 
Than  honey,  or  the  honey-comb, 
But  there's  a  bitterness  to  come. 

3  What  sweetness  does  the  promise  yield. 
When  by  the  Spirit's  power  seal'd  ! 
The  longing  soul  is  fill'd  with  good, 
Nor  feels  a  wish  for  other  food. 

4  By  these  inviting  tastes  allur'd 
We  pass  to  what  must  be  endur'd  ; 
For  soon  we  find  it  is  decreed, 
That  bitter  must  to  sweet  succeed. 

5  When  sin  revives,  and  shews  its  power, 
When  Satan  threatens  to  devour, 
When  God  afflicts,  and  men  revile, 
We  draw  our  steps  with  pain  and  toil. 

6  When  thus  deserted,  tempest-toss'd, 
The  sense  of  former  sweetness  lost, 
We  tremble  lest  we  were  deceiv'd, 
In  thinking  that  we  once  believ'd. 

7  The  Lord  first  makes  the  sweetness  known, 
To  win  and  fix  us  for  his  own ; 

And  though  we  now  some  bitter  meet, 
We  hope  for  everlasting  sweet. 

•  Book  III.  Hymn  xxvii. 


OLNEY  HYMNS, 


&c. 


BOOK  II. 

ON  OCCASIONAL  SUBJECTS. 

I.  SEASONS. 

NEW-YEAR  HYMNS. 


HYMN  I. 


TIME  HOW  SWIFT 


While  with  ceaseless  course  the  sun 

Hasted  through  the  former  year, 

Many  souls  their  race  have  run, 

Never  more  to  meet  us  here  : 

Fix'd  in  an  eternal  state, 

They  have  done  with  all  below  j 

We  a  little  longer  wait, 

But  how  little  none  can  know. 

As  the  winged  arrow  flies, 
Speedily  the  mark  to  find  ; 
As  the  lightning  from  the  skies 
Darts,  and  leaves  no  trace  behind  : 
Swiftly  thus  our  fleeting  days 
Bear  us  down  life's  rapid  stream  ; 
Upwards,  Lord,  our  spirits  raise, 
All  below  is  but  a  dream. 

Thanks  for  mercies  past  receive, 
Pardon  of  our  sins  renew  ; 
Teach  us  henceforth  how  to  live, 
With  eternity  in  view: 
Bless  thy  word  to  young  and  old, 
Fill  us  with  a  Saviour's  love  ; 
And  when  life's  short  tale  is  told, 
May  we  dwell  with  thee  above. 


HYMN  IT, 

TIME  HOW  SHORT. 

1    Time,  with  an  unwearied  hand, 
Pushes  round  the  seasons  past : 
And  in  life's  frail  glass  the  sand 
Sinks  apace,  not  long  to  last ; 
Many  as  well  as  you  or  I, 
Who  last  year  assembled  thus, 
In  their  silent  graves  now  lie  ; 
Graves  will  open  soon  for  us. 

Daily  sin,  and  care,  and  strife, 
While  the  Lord  prolongs  our  breath, 
Make  it  but  a  dying  life, 
Or  a  kind  of  living  death  : 
Wretched  they,  and  most  forlorn, 
Who  no  better  portion  know  ; 
Better  ne'er  to  have  been  born 
Than  to  have  our  all  below. 

When  constrain'd  to  go  alone, 
Leaving  all  you  love  behind, 
Ent'ring  on  a  world  unknown, 
What  will  then  support  your  mind  ? 
When  the  Lord  his  summons  sends,* 
Earthly  comforts  lose  their  power  ; 
Honour,  riches,  kindred,  friends, 
Cannot  cheer  a  dying  hour. 

•    Isaiah  x.  3 


HYMN  V.  SEASONS. 

4   Happy  souls,  who  fear  the  Lord  ; 
Time  is  not  too  swift  for  you  ; 
When  your  Saviour  gives  the  word, 
Glad  you'll  bid  the  world  adied  : 
Then  he'll  wipe  away  your  tears, 
Near  himself  appoint  your  place  ; 
Swifter  fly,  ye  rolling  years, 
Lord,  we  long  to  see  thy  face. 


573 


HYMN  III. 


UNCERTAINTY  OF  LIFE. 

1  See,  another  year  is  gone  ! 
Quickly  have  the  seasons  pass'd ! 
This  we  enter  now  upon 

May  to  many  prove  their  last : 
Mercy  hitherto  has  spar'd, 
But  have  mercies  been  improv'd  ? 
Let  us  ask,  Am  I  prepar'd, 
Should  I  be  this  year  remov'd  ? 

2  Some  we  now  no  longer  see, 
Who  their  mortal  race  have  run, 
Seem'd  as  fair  for  life  as  we, 
When  the  former  year  begun  : 
Some,  but  who  God  only  knows, 
Who  are  here  assembled  r.ow, 
Ere  the  present  year  shall  elose, 
To  the  stroke  of  death  must  bow. 

8   Life  a  field  of  battle  is, 

Thousands  fall  within  our  view, 

And  the  next  death-bolt  that  flies, 

May  be  sent  to  me  or  you. 

While  we  preach  and  while  we  hear, 

Help  us,  Lord,  each  one  to  think, 

Vast  eternity  is  near, 

I  am  standing  on  the  brink. 

4  If,  from  guilt  and  sin  set  free, 
By  the  knowledge  of  thy  grace, 
Welcome,  then,  the  call  will  be, 
To  depart  and  see  thy  face. 
To  thy  saints,  while  here  below, 
With  new  years,  new  mercies  come  ; 
But  the  happiest  year  they  know, 
Is  their  last,  which  leads  them  home. 


HYMN  IV. 

A  NEW- YEAR'S  THOUGHT  AND  PRAYER. 

1 1   Time  by  moments  steals  away, 
First  the  hour,  and  then  the  day  ; 
Small  the  daily  loss  appears, 
Yet  it  soon  amounts  to  years  : 
Thus  another  year  is  flown, 
Now  it  is  no  more  our  own, 
If  it  brought  or  promis'd  good, 
Than  the  years  before  the  flood. 


2  But  (may  none  of  us  forget) 
It  has  left  us  much  in  debt; 
Favours  from  the  Lord  receiv'd, 
Sins  that  have  his  Spirit  griev'd, 
Mark'd  by  an  unerring  hand, 
In  his  book  recorded  stand  : 
Who  can  tell  the  vast  amount 
Plac'd  to  each  of  «ur  account  ? 

3  Happy  the  believing  soul, 

Christ  for  you  has  paid  the  whole  f 
While  you  own  the  debt  is  large, 
You  may  plead  a  full  discharge  ; 
But,  poor  careless  sinner,  say, 
What  can  you  to  justice  pay  ? 
Tremble,  lest  when  life  is  past, 
Into  prison  you  be  cast. 

4  Will  you  still  increase  the  score  ? 
Still  be  careless  as  before  ? 

O  forbid  it,  gracious  Lord! 
Touch  their  spirits  by  thy  word  ! 
Now  in  mercy  to  them  show 
What  a  mighty  debt  they  owe  ! 
All  their  unbelief  subdue, 
Let  them  find  forgiveness  too. 

5  Spar'd  to  see  another  year, 
Let  thy  blessing  meet  us  here  ; 
Come,  thy  dying  work  revive, 
Bid  thy  drooping  garden  thrive. 
Sun  of  righteousness,  arise  ! 

Warm  our  hearts,  and  bless  our  eyes ; 
Let  our  prayer  thy  bowels  move, 
Make  this  year  a  time  of  love. 


HYMN   V. 

DEATH   AND  WAR.        1  778. 

1  Hark,  how  time's  wide  sounding  bcil 
Strikes  on  each  attentive  ear  ! 
Tolling  loud  the  solemn  knell 

Of  the  late  departed  year ; 
Years,  like  mortals,  wear  away, 
Have  their  birth  and  dying  day, 
Youthful  spring,  and  wintry  age, 
Then  to  others  quit  the  stage. 

2  Sad  experience  may  relate 
What  a  year  the  last  has  been  ! 
Crops  of  sorrow  have  been  great, 
From  the  fruitful  seeds  of  sin  ; 

Oh  !   what  numbers  gay  and  blythe, 
Fell  by  death's  unsparing  scythe  ! 
While  they  thought  the  world  their  own, 
Suddenly  he  mow'd  thern  down. 

'?   See,  how  war,  with  dreadful  stride, 
Marches  at  the  Lord's  command, 
Spreading  desolation  wide, 
Through  a  once  much  favour'd  lano[ ; 
War,  with  heart  and  arms  of  steel, 
Preys  on  thousands  at  a  meal ; 
Daily  drinking  human  gore, 
Still  he  thirsts  and  calls  for  moie. 


574 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


BOOK  II. 


If  the  God  whom  we  provoke, 
Hither  should  his  way  direct, 
What  a  sin-avenging  stroke 
May  a  land  like  this  expect! 
They  who  now  securely  sleep, 
Quickly  then  would  wake  and  weep  ; 
And  too  late  would  learn  to  fear, 
When  they  saw  the  daager  near. 

You  are  safe  who  know  his  love, 
He  will  all  his  truth  perform ; 
To  your  souls  a  refuge  prove, 
From  the  rage  of  every  storm  : 
But  we  tremble  for  the  youth  ; 
Teach  them,  Lord,  thy  saving  truth ; 
Join  them  to  thy  faithful  few, 
Be  to  them  a  refuge  too. 


HYMN  VI. 

EARTHLY  PROSPECTS  DECEITFUL. 

Oft  in  vain  the  voice  of  truth 
Solemnly  and  loudly  warns  ; 
Thoughtless,  unexperienc'd  youth, 
Though  it  hears,  the  warning  scorns. 
Youth  in  fancy's  glass  surveys 
Life  prolong'd  to  distant  years, 
While  the  vast  imagin'd  space 
Fill'd  with  sweets  and  joys  appears. 

Awful  disappointment  soon 
Overclouds  the  prospect  gay  ; 
Some  their  sun  goes  down  at  noon, 
Torn  by  death's  strong  hand  away  : 
Where  are  then  their  pleasing  schemes  ? 
Where  the  joys  they  hope  to  find  ? 
Gone  for  ever,  like  their  dreams, 
Leaving  not  a  trace  behind. 

Others,  who  are  spar'd  a  while, 
Live  to  weep  o'er  fancy's  cheat ; 
Find  distress,  and  pain,  and  toil, 
Bitter  things  instead  of  sweet : 
Sin  has  spread  a  curse  around, 
Poison'd  all  things  here  below  ; 
On  this  base  polluted  ground, 
Peace  and  joy  can  never  grow. 

Grace  alone  can  cure  our  ills, 
Sweeten  life  with  all  its  cares ; 
Regulate  our  stubborn  wills, 
Save  us  from  surrounding  snares. 
Though  you  oft  have  heard  in  vain, 
Former  years  in  folly  spent, 
Grace  invites  you  yet  again, 
Once  more  calls  you  to  repent. 

Call'd  again,  at  length,  beware, 
Hear  the  Saviour's  voice,  and  live ; 
Lest  he  in  his  wrath  should  swear, 
He  no  more  will  warning  give. 
Pray  that  you  may  hear  and  feel, 
Ere  the  day  of  grace  be  past ; 
Lest  your  hearts  grow  hard  as  steel, 
Or  this  year  should  prove  your  lai,t. 


HYMNS 


BEFORE  ANNUAL    SERMONS  TO    YOUNG    PEOPLE 
ON  NEW-YEAR  EVENINGS. 


HYMN  VII. 

PRAYER  FOR  A  BLESSING. 

1  Now,  gracious  Lord,  thine  arm  reveal, 

And  make  thy  glory  known  ; 
Now  let  us  all  thy  presence  feel, 
And  soften  hearts  of  stone  ! 

2  Help  us  to  venture  near  thy  throne, 

And  plead  a  Saviour's  name  j 
For  all  that  we  can  call  our  own, 
Is  vanity  and  shame. 

3  From  all  the  guilt  of  former  sin 

May  mercy  set  us  free  ; 
And  let  the  year  we  now  begin, 
Begin  and  end  with  thee. 

4  Send  down  thy  Spirit  from  above, 

That  saints  may  love  thee  more, 
And  sinners  now  may  learn  to  love, 
Who  never  lov'd  before. 

5  And  when  before  thee  we  appear 

In  our  eternal  home, 
May  growing  numbers  worship  here, 
And  praise  thee  in  our  room. 


HYMN  VIII. 

ANOTHER. 

1  Bestow,  dear  Lord,  upon  our  youth, 

The  gift  of  saving  grace  ; 
And  let  the  seed  of  sacred  truth 
Fall  in  a  fruitful  place. 

2  Grace  is  a  plant,  where'er  it  grows, 

Of  pure  and  heavenly  root ; 
But  fairest  in  the  youngest  shews, 
And  yields  the  sweetest  fruit. 

3  Ye  careless  ones,  O  hear  betimes 

The  voice  of  sovereign  love  ! 
Your  youth  is  stain'd  with  many  crimes, 
But  mercy  reigns  above. 

4  True,  you  are  young,  but  there's  a  stone 

Within  the  youngest  breast, 
Or  half  the  crimes  which  you  have  done, 
Would  rob  you  of  your  rest. 

5  For  you  the  public  prayer  is  made, 

Oh  !  join  the  public  prayer ' 
For  you  the  sacred  tear  is  shed, 
O  shed  yourselves  a  tear  I 


HYMN  XII 
6 


SEASONS. 
5 


575 


We  pray  that  you  may  early  prove 
The  Spirit's  power  to  teach  ; 

You  cannot  be  too  young  to  love 
That  Jesus  whom  we  preach. 


HYMN  IX. 

ANOTHER. 

Now  may  fervent  prayer  arise, 
Wing'd  with  faith  and  pierce  the  skies; 
Fervent  prayer  shall  bring  us  down 
Gracious  answers  from  the  throne. 

Bless,  O  Lord,  the  op'ning  year, 
To  each  soul  assembled  here  ; 
Clothe  thy  word  with  power  divine, 
Make  us  willing  to  be  thine. 

Shepherd  of  thy  blood-bought  sheep  ' 
Teach  the  stony  heart  to  weep : 
Let  the  blind  have  eyes  to  see, 
See  themselves  and  look  on  thee  ! 

Let  the  minds  of  all  our  youth 
Feel  the  force  of  sacred  truth  ; 
While  the  gospel-call  they  hear, 
May  they  learn  to  love  and  fear. 

Shew  them  what  their  ways  have  been, 
Shew  them  the  desert  of  sin  ; 
Then  thy  dying  love  reveal, 
This  shall  melt  a  heart  of  steel. 

Where  thou  hast  thy  work  begun, 
Give  new  strength  the  race  to  run  ; 
Scatter,  darkness,  doubts,  and  fears, 
Wipe  away  the  mourner's  tears. 

Bless  us  all,  both  old  and  young ; 
Call  forth  praise  from  every  tongue  j 
Let  the  whole  assembly  prove 
All  thy  power,  and  all  thy  love. 


HYMN   X. 

CASTING  THE  GOSPEL-NET. 

When  Peter,  through  the  tedious  night,* 
Had  often  cast  his  net  in  vain, 
Soon  as  the  Lord  appear'd  in  sight, 
He  gladly  let  it  down  again. 

Once  more  the  gospel-net  we  cast, 
Do  thou,  O  Lord,  the  effort  own  ; 
We  learn  from  dissappointments  past, 
To  rest  our  hope  on  thee  alone. 

Upheld  by  thy  supporting  hand, 
We  enter  on  another  year  ; 
And  now  we  meet  at  thy  command, 
To  seek  thy  gracious  presence  here. 

May  this  be  a  much-favour'd  hour 
To  souls  in  Satan's  bondage  led  ; 
O  clothe  thy  word  with  sovereign  power 
To  break  the  rocks,  and  raise  the  dead  ! 
*  Luke  v.  4. 


Have  mercy  on  our  num'rous  youth, 
Who,  young  in  years,  are  old  in  sin  : 
And  by  thy  Spirit,  and  thy  truth, 
Shew  them  the  state  their  souls  are  in. 

Then  by  a  Saviour's  dying  love, 
To  every  wounded  heart  reveal  d, 
Temptations,  fears,  and  guilt  remove. 
And  be  their  sun,  and  strength,  and  shield. 

To  mourners  speak  a  cheering  word, 
On  seeking  souls  vouchsafe  to  shine  ; 
Let  poor  backsliders  be  restor'd, 
And  all  thy  saints  in  praises  join. 

O  hear  our  prayer,  and  give  us  hope, 
That  when  thy  voice  shall  call  us  home, 
Thou  still  wilt  raise  a  people  up, 
To  love  and  praise  thee  in  our  room. 


HYMN  XI. 

PLEADING  FOR  AND  WITH  YOUTH. 

Sin  has  undone  our  wretched  race, 

But  Jesus  has  restor'd, 
And  brought  the  sinner  face  to  face 

With  his  forgiving  Lord. 

This  we  repeat,  from  year  to  year, 
And  press  upon  our  youth  ; 

Lord,  give  them  an  attentive  ear, 
Lord,  save  them  by  thy  truth. 

Blessings  upon  the  rising  race  ! 

Make  this  a  happy  hour, 
According  to  thy  richest  grace, 

And  thine  almighty  power. 

We  feel  for  your  unhappy  state. 

(May  you  regard  it  too) 
And  would  a  while  ourselves  forget, 

To  pour  out  prayer  for  you. 

We  see,  though  you  perceive  it  not, 
The  approaching,  awful  doom  ; 

O  tremble  at  the  solemn  thought, 
And  flee  the  wrath  to  come. 

Dear  Saviour,  let  this  new-born  year 
Spread  an  alarm  abroad  ; 

And  cry,  in  every  careless  ear, 
"  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God !" 


HYMN  XII. 

PRAYER  FOR  CHILDREN. 

Gracious  Lord,  our  children  see, 
By  thy  mercy  we  are  free; 
But  shall  these,  alas  !   remain, 
Subjects  still  of  Satan's  reign  ; 
Israel's  young  ones,  when  of  old 
Pharoah  threaten'd  to  with  hold  ; 
Then  thy  messenger  said,  "  No, 
Let  the  children  also  go."  * 
*  Exod.  to  9. 


576 


OLNEY 


When  the  ange!  of  the  Lord, 
Drawing  forth  his  dreadful  sword, 
Slew,  with  an  avenging  hand, 
All  the  first-born  of  the  land  ;  * 
Then  thy  people's  doors  he  pass'd, 
Where  the  bloody  sign  was  placed  : 
Hear  us  now,  upon  our  knees, 
Plead  the  blood  of  Christ  for  these  ! 

Lord,  we  tremble,  for  we  know 
How  the  fierce  malicious  foe, 
Wheeling  round  his  watchful  flight, 
Keeps  them  ever  in  his  sight : 
Spread  thy  pinions,  King  of  kings  ! 
Hide  them  safe  beneath  thy  wings  j 
Lest  the  rav'neus  bird  of  prey 
Stoop,  and  bear  the  brood  away. 


HYMN  XIII. 

THE  SHUNAMITE.  f 

1  The  Shunamite,  oppress'd  with  grief, 
When  she  had  lost  the  son  she  lov'd 
Went  to  Elisha  for  relief, 
Nor  vain  her  application  prov'd. 

2  He  sent  his  servant  on  before, 
To  lay  a  staff  upon  his  head  ; 
This  he  could  do,  but  do  no  more  ; 
He  left  him,  as  he  found  him, — dead. 

3  But  when  the  Lord's  almighty  power 
Wrought  with  the  prophet's  prayer  and  faith, 
The  mother  saw  a  joyful  hour, 

She  saw  her  child  restor'd  from  death. 

4  Thus,  like  the  weeping  Shunamite, 
For  many  dead  in  sin  we  grieve  ; 
Now,  Lord,  display  thine  arm  of  might, 
Cause  them  to  hear  thy  voice  and  live. 

5  Thy  preachers  bear  the  staff  in  vain, 
Though  at  thine  own  command  we  go  ; 
Lord,  we  have  tried  and  tried  again, 
We  find  them  dead,  and  leave  them  so. 

6  Come  then  thyself— to  ev'ry  heart 
The  glory  of  thy  name  make  known  j 
The  means  are  our  appointed  part, 
The  power  and  grace  are  thine  alone. 

HYMN  XIV. 
Elijah's  prayer.}: 

1  Does  it  not  grief  and  wonder  move, 
To  think  of  Israel's  shameful  fall  ? 
Who  needed  miracles  to  prove 
Whether  the  Lord  was  God  or  Baal ! 

2  Methinks  I  see  Elijah  stand, 

His  features  glow  with  love  and  zeal : 
In  faith  and  prayer  he  lifts  his  hand, 
And  makes  to  heaven  his  great  appeal. 

*  Exixt.  xii.  15.        t  '2  Kings  iv.  31.         J  1  Kui^s  xviii. 


HYMN'S  BOOK  II 

3   "  O  God,  if  I  thy  servant  am, 
If  'tis  thy  message  fills  my  heart, 
Now  glorify  thy  holy  name, 
And  shew  this  people  who  thou  art !" 

He  spake,  and,  lo !   a  sudden  flame 
Consum'd  the  wood,  the  dust,  the  stone  j 
The  people  struck,  at  once  proclaim, 
"  The  Lord  is  God,  the  Lord  alone:" 

Like  him,  we  mourn,  an  awful  day, 
When  more  for  Baal  than  God  appear  ; 
Like  him,  believers,  let  us  pray, 
And  may  the  God  of  Israel  hear  ! 

Lord,  if  thy  servant  speak  thy  truth, 
If  he  indeed  is  sent  by  thee, 
Confirm  the  word  to  all  our  youth, 
And  let  them  thy  salvation  see. 

Now  may  thy  Spirit's  holy  fire 

Pierce  every  heart  that  hears  thy  word, 

Consume  each  hurtful  vain  desire, 

And  make  them  know  thou  art  the  Lord. 


HYMN  XV. 

PREACHING  to  the  dry  bones.  * 

Preachers  may,  from  Ezekiel's  case, 
Draw  hope  in  this  declining  day  ; 
A  proof,  like  this,  of  sovereign  grace, 
Should  chace  our  unbelief  away 

When  sent  to  preach  to  mould  ring  bones, 
Who  could  have  thought  he  would  succeed  . 
But  well  he  knew  the  Lord  from  stones 
Could  raise  up  Abrah'm's  chosen  seed. 

Can  these  be  made  a  num'rous  host, 
And  such  dry  bones  new  life  receive? 
The  prophet  answer'd,  "  Lord,  thou  know'st 
They  shall,  if  thou  commandment  give." 

Like  him,  around  I  cast  my  eye, 
And,  oh  !   what  heaps  of  bones  appear ; 
Like  him,  by  Jesus  sent,  I'll  try, 
For  he  can  cause  the  dead  to  hear. 

Hear,  ye  dry  bones,  the  Saviour's  word  ! 
He,  who,  when  dying,  gasp'd,  "  Forgive,' 
That  gracious  sinner-loving  Lord 
Says,  "  Look  to  me,  dry  bones,  and  live." 

Thou  heavenly  wind,  awake  and  blow, 
In  answer  to  the  prayer  of  faith  ; 
Now  thine  almighty  influence  show, 
And  fill  dry  bones  with  living  breath. 

O  make  them  hear,  and  feel,  and  shake, 
And  at  thy  call  obedient  move ; 
The  bonds  of  death  and  Satan  break, 
And  bone  to  bone  unite  in  love. 

*   Ezek.  vocvS. 


HYMN  XIX. 


SEASONS. 


577 


HYMN   XVI 


THE  ROD  OF  MOSES. 

1  When  Moses  wav'd  his  mystic  rod, 
What  wonders  follow'd  while  he  spoke  ! 
Firm  as  a  wall  the  waters  stood,* 

Or  gush'd  in  rivers  from  the  rock  !  f 

2  At  his  command  the  thunders  roll'd, 
Lightning  and  hail  his  voice  obeyed,^ 
And  Pharaoh  trembled  to  behold 
His  land  in  desolation  laid. 

3  But  what  could  Moses'  rod  have  done, 
Had  he  not  been  divinely  sent  ? 

The  power  was  from  the  Lord  alone, 
And  Moses  but  the  instrument. 

4  O  Lord,  regard  thy  people's  prayers  ! 
Assist  a  worm  to  preach  aright  ; 
And  since  thy  gospel-rod  he  bears, 
Display  thy  wonders  in  our  sight. 

5  Proclaim  the  thunders  of  thy  law, 
Like  lightning  let  thine  arrows  fly, 
That  careless  sinners,  struck  with  awe, 
For  refuge  may  to  Jesus  cry  ! 

6  Make  streams  of  godly  sorrow  flow 
From  rocky  hearts,  unus'd  to  feel ; 
And  let  the  poor  in  spirit  know, 
That  thou  art  near,  their  griefs  to  heal. 

*  But  chiefly,  we  would  now  look  up 
To  ask  a  blessing  for  our  youth, 
The  rising  generation's  hope, 
That  they  may  know  and  love  thy  truth. 

8  Arise,  O  Lord,  afford  a  sign, 

Now  shall  our  prayers  success  obtain  ; 
Since  both  the  means  and  power  are  thine, 
How  can  the  rod  be  rais'd  in  vain ! 


HYMN  XVII. 

GOD  SPEAKING  FROM  MOUNT  ZION. 

1  The  God  who  once  to  Israel  spoke 
From  Sinai's  top,  in  fire  and  smoke, 
In  gentler  strains  of  gospel-grace 
Invites  us  now  to  seek  his  face. 

2  He  wears  no  terrors  on  his  brow, 
He  speaks  in  love  from  Zion  now  ; 
It  is  the  voice  of  Jesus'  blood, 
Calling  poor  wand'rers  home  to  God. 

3  The  holy  Moses  quak'd  and  fear'd, 
When  Sinai's  thund'ring  law  he  heard  ; 
But  reigning  grace,  with  accents  mild, 
Speaks  to  the  sinner  as  a  child. 

4  Hark  !   how  from  Calvary  it  sounds, 
From  the  Redeemer's  bleeding  wounds  . 
"  Pardon  and  grace  I  freely  give, 
Poor  sinner,  look  to  me,  and  live." 

•  Exod.  xiv,  22.     f  Numb,  xx   11.     t  Kxod.  Lx 


5  What  other  arguments  can  move 

The  heart  that  slights  a  Saviour's  love  ! 
Yet,  till  almighty  power  constrain, 
This  matchless  love  is  preach'd  in  vain. 

6  O  Saviour,  let  thy  power  be  felt, 
And  cause  each  stony  heart  to  melt ! 
Deeply  impress  upon  our  youth, 
The  light  and  force  of  gospel-truth. 

7  With  this  new  year  may  they  begin 
To  live  to  thee,  and  die  to  sin  ; 

To  enter  by  the  narrow  way, 
Which  leads  to  everlasting  day. 

8  How  will  they  else  thy  presence  bear, 
When,  as  a  Judge,  thou  shalt  appear ! 
When  slighted  love  to  wrath  shall  turn, 
And  the  whole  earth  like  Sinai  burn  ! 

HYMN  XVIII. 

A  PRAYER  FOR  POWER  ON  THE  MEANS  OF  GRACE 

1  O  THOU,  at  whose  almighty  word 

The  glorious  light  from  darkness  sprung, 

Thy  quick'ning  influence  afford, 

And  clothe  with  power  the  preacher's  tongue. 

2  Though  'tis  thy  truth  he  hopes  to  speak, 
He  cannot  give  the  hearing  ear : 

Tis  thine  the  stubborn  heart  to  break, 
And  make  the  careless  sinner  fear. 

3  As  when  of  o^  the  water  flow'd 
Forth  from  the  rock  at  thy  command,* 
Moses  in  vain  had  wav'd  his  rod. 
Without  thy  wonder-working  hand 

4  As  when  the  walls  of  Jericho,  f 
Down  to  the  earth  at  once  were  cast, 

It  was  thy  power  that  brought  them  low 
And  not  the  trumpet's  feeble  blast. 

5  Thus  we  would  in  the  means  be  found. 
And  thus  on  thee  alone  depend, 

To  make  the  gospel's  joyful  sound 
Effectual  to  the  promis'd  end. 

6  Now,  while  we  hear  thy  word  of  grace, 
Let  self  and  pride  before  it  fall  j 

And  rocky  hearts  dissolve  apace, 
In  streams  of  sorrow  at  thy  call. 

7  On  all  our  youth  assembled  here, 
The  unction  of  thy  Spirit  pour ; 
Nor  let  them  lose  another  year, 

Lest  thou  shouldst  strive  and  call  no  more. 


HYMN  XIX. 

Elijah's  mantle.     2  kinos  ii.   u H, 

I   Elisha,  struck  with  grief  and  awe, 

Cried,  "  Ah  !   where  now  is  Israel's  stay  ? 
Wlien  he  his  honour'd  master  saw 
Borne  by  a  fiery  car  away. 


*  Numb.  xx.  11. 


2X 


t  Joshua  vi.  20. 


578  OLNEY 

2  But  while  he  look'd  a  last  adieu, 
His  mantle,  as  it  fell,  he  caught : 
The  Spirit  rested  on  him  too, 
And  equal  miracles  he  wrought, 

3  "  Where  is  Elijah's  God  ?"  he  cried, 
And  with  the  mantle  smote  the  flood  ; 
His  word  control'd  the  swelling  tide, 
The  obedient  waters  upright  stood. 

4  The  wonder-working  gospel,  thus 
From  hand  to  hand  has  been  conveyed; 
We  have  the  mantle  still  with  us, 

But  where,  O  where,  the  Spirit's  aid  ? 

5  When  Peter  first  his  mantle  wav'd,* 
How  soon  it  melted  hearts  of  steel ! 
Sinners  by  thousands  then  were  sav'd, 
But  now  how  few  its  virtues  feel  ? 

6  Where  is  Elijah's  God,  the  Lord, 
Thine  Israel's  hope,  and  joy,  and  boast  ? 
Reveal  thine  arm,  confirm  thy  word, 
Give  us  another  Pentecost ! 

7  Assist  thy  messenger  to  speak, 
And  while  he  aims  to  lisp  thy  truth, 
The  bonds  of  sin  and  Satan  break, 
And  pour  thy  blessing  on  our  youth. 

8  For  them  we  now  approach  thy  throne, 
Teach  them  to  know  and  love  thy  name ; 
Then  shall  thy  thankful  people  own 
Elijah's  God  is  still  the  same. 


HYMNS 

AFTER  SERMONS    TO    YOUNG    PEOPLE    ON    NEW- 
YEAR  EVENINGS,  SUITED  TO  THE  SUBJECTS. 


HYMNS. 

5 


BOOK  II. 


Shew  them  how  vile  they  are  by  sin, 
And  wash  them  in  thy  cleansing  blood  ; 
Oh  !   make  them  willing  to  be  thine, 
And  4>e  to  them  a  covenant-God. 

6  Long  may  thy  light  and  truth  remain, 
To  bless  this  place  when  we  are  gone  ; 
And  numbers  here  be  born  again, 
To  dwell  for  ever  near  thy  throne. 


HYMN  XX. 

David's  charge  to  solomon. 
xxviii.  9. 


1  CHRON. 


1  O  David's  Son,  and  David's  Lord  ! 
From  age  to  age  thou  art  the  same; 
Thy  gracious  presence  now  afford, 
And  teach  our  youth  to  know  thy  name. 

2  Thy  people,  Lord,  though  oft  distress'd 
Upheld  by  thee,  thus  far  are  come; 
And  now  we  long  to  see  thy  rest, 
And  wait  thy  word  to  call  us  home. 

S  Like  David,  when  this  life  shall  end, 
We  trust  in  thee,  sure  peace  to  find; 
Like  him,  to  thee  we  now  commend 
The  children  we  must  leave  behind. 

4  Ere  long  we  hope  to  be  where  care, 
And  sin,  and  sorrow,  never  come ; 
But,  oh  !  accept  our  humble  prayer, 
That  these  may  praise  thee  in  our  room. 

*  Acts 


HYMN   XXI. 

THE    LORD'S  CALL  TO  HIS    CHILDREN.       2  COR. 
vi.    17.   18. 

1  Let  us  adore  the  grace  that  seeks 

To  draw  our  hearts  above  ! 
Attend,  'tis  God  the  Saviour  speaks, 
And  every  word  is  love. 

2  Though,  fill'd  with  awe,  before  his  throne 
Each  angel  veils  his  face  ; 

He  claims  a  people  for  his  own 
Amongst  our  sinful  race. 

Careless,  a  while,  they  live  in  sin, 

Enslav'd  to  Satan's  power ; 
But  they  obey  the  call  divine, 

In  his  appointed  hour. 

"  Come  forth  (he  says),  no  more  pursue 
The  paths  that  lead  to  death  : 

Look  up,  a  bleeding  Saviour  view  ; 
Look,  and  be  sav'd  by  faith. 

My  sons  and  daughters  you  shall  be, 

Through  the  atoning  blood ; 
And  you  shall  claim,  and  find  in  me, 

A  Father  and  a  God." 

Lord,  speak  these  words  to  ev'ry  heart, 
By  thine  all-powerful  voice  ; 

That  we  may  now  from  sin  depart, 
And  make  thy  love  our  choice, 

If  now  we  learn  to  seek  thy  face 

By  Christ  the  living  way, 
We'll  praise  thee  for  this  hour  of  grace 

Through  an  eternal  day. 


HYMN  XXII. 

THE    PRAYrER  OF  JAEKZ.      1  CHRON.  iv.  9 10 

1  Jesus,  who  bought  us  with  his  blood, 

And  makes  our  souls  his  care, 
Was  known  of  old  as  Israel's  God, 
And  answer'd  Jabez'  prayer. 

2  Jabez  !  a  child  of  grief !  the  name 

Befits  poor  sinners  well ; 
For  Jesus  bore  the  cross  and  shame, 
To  save  our  souls  from  hell. 

3  Teach  us,  O  Lord,  like  him  to  plead 

For  mercies  from  above ; 
O  come,  and  bless  our  souls  indeed 
With  light,  and  joy,  and  love. 


HYMN  XXV.  SEASONS. 

4  The  gospel's  promis  d  land  is  wide 

We  fain  would  enter  in ; 
But  we  are  press'd  on  ev'ry  side 
With  unbelief  and  sin. 

5  Arise,  O  Lord,  enlarge  our  coast, 

Let  us  possess  the  whole, 
That  Satan  may  no  longer  boast, 
He  can  thy  work  control. 

6  Oh  !  may  thy  hand  be  with  us  still, 

Our  guide  and  guardian  be, 
To  keep  us  safe  from  ev'ry  ill, 
Till  death  shall  set  us  free. 

7  Help  us  on  thee  to  cast  our  care, 

And  on  thy  word  to  rest, 
That  Israel's  God,  who  heareth  prayer, 
Will  grant  us  our  request. 


579 


HYMN  XXIII. 

WAITING  AT  WISDOM'S  GATES.  PHOV.  viii.  34,  35. 

1  Ensnar'd  too  long  my  heart  has  been 

In  Folly's  hurtful  ways ; 
Oh  !   may  I  now,  at  length,  begin 
To  hear  what  Wisdom  says ! 

2  'Tis  Jesus,  from  the  mercy-seat, 

Invites  me  to  his  rest ; 
He  calls  poor  sinners  to  his  feet, 
To  make  them  truly  bless'd. 

3  Approach,  my  soul,  to  Wisdom's  gates, 

While  it  is  call'd  to-day  ; 
No  one  who  watches  there,  and  waits, 
Shall  e'er  be  turn'd  away. 

4  He  will  not  let  me  seek  in  vain, 

For  all  who  trust  his  word 
Shall  everlasting  life  obtain, 
And  favour  from  the  Lord. 

5  Lord,  I  have  hated  thee  too  long, 

And  dar'd  thee  to  thy  face ; 
I've  done  my  soul  exceeding  wrong 
In  slighting  all  thy  grace. 

6  Now  I  would  break  my  league  with  death, 

And  live  to  thee  alone ; 
Oh  !  let  thy  Spirit's  seal  of  faith 
Secure  me  for  thine  own. 

7  Let  all  the  saints  assembled  here, 

Yea,  let  all  heaven  rejoice, 
That  I  begin  with  this  new  year 
To  make  the  Lord  my  choice. 


HYMN  XXIV 

ASKING  THE  WAY  TO  ZION.       JER.   1.    5. 

Zion,  the  city  of  our  God, 

How  glorious  is  the  place  ' 
The  Saviour  there  has  his  abode, 

And  sinners  see  his  face  ' 


2  Firm  against  every  adverse  shock, 
Its  mighty  bulwarks  prove  ; 

'Tis  built  upon  the  living  Rock, 
And  wall'd  around  with  love. 

3  There  all  the  fruits  of  glory  grow, 
And  joys  that  never  die  ; 

And  streams  of  grace  and  knowledge  flow, 
The  soul  to  satisfy. 

4  Come,  set  your  faces  Zion-ward, 
The  sacred  road  inquire ; 

And  let  a  union  to  the  Lord 
Be  henceforth  your  desire. 

5  The  gospel  shines  to  give  you  light, 
No  longer,  then,  delay; 

The  Spirit  waits  to  guide  you  right, 
And  Jesus  is  the  way. 

6  O  Lord,  regard  thy  people's  prayer, 

Thy  promise  now  fulfil ; 
And  young  and  old  by  grace  prepare 
To  dwell  on  Zion's  hill. 


HYMN  XXV. 

WE  WERE  PHARAOH'S  BONDMEN.       DEUT 
vi.  20 — 23. 

1  Beneath  the  tyrant  Satan's  yoke, 

Our  souls  were  long  oppress'd  : 
Till  grace  our  galling  fetters  broke. 
And  gave  the  weary  rest. 

2  Jesus,  in  that  important  hour, 

His  mighty  arm  made  known  : 
He  ransom'd  us  by  price  and  power, 
And  claim'd  us  for  his  own. 

3  Now,  freed  from  bondage,  sin,  and  death, 

We  walk  in  wisdom's  ways; 
And  wish  to  spend  our  ev'ry  breath 
In  wonder,  love,  and  praise. 

4  Ere  long,  we  hope  with  him  to  dwell 

In  yonder  world  above  ; 
And  now  we  only  live  to  tell 
The  riches  of  his  love. 

5  O  might  we,  ere  we  hence  remove, 

Prevail  upon  our  youth 
To  seek,  that  they  may  likewise  prove 
His  mercy  and  his  truth. 

6  Like  Simeon,  we  shall  gladly  go,* 

When  Jesus  calls  us  home ; 
If  they  are  left  a  seed  below, 
To  serve  him  in  our  room. 

7  Lord,  hear  our  prayer,  indulge  our  hope 

On  these  thy  Spirit  pour, 
That  they  may  take  our  story  up, 
When  we  can  speak  no  more. 

*  Luke  ii.  29. 


580 


OLNEY 


HYMN  XXVI. 

TRAVELLING  IN  BIRTH  FOR  SOULS.    CAL.  iv.   19. 

1  What  contradictions  meet 
In  ministers  employ  ! 

It  is  a  bitter  sveet, 

A  sorrow  full  of  joy  : 
No  other  post  affords  a  place, 
For  equal  honour  or  disgrace  ! 

2  Who  can  describe  the  pain 
Which  faithful  preachers  feel, 
Constrain'd  to  speak  in  vain, 
To  hearts  as  hard  as  steel ! 

Or  who  can  tell  the  pleasures  felt, 
When  stubborn  hearts  begin  to  melt ! 

3  The  Saviour's  dying  love, 
The  soul's  amazing  worth, 
Their  utmost  efforts  move, 
And  draw  their  bowels  forth  : 

They  pray,  and  strive,  their  rest  departs, 
Till  Christ  be  form'd  in  sinners  hearts. 

4  If  some  small  hope  appear, 
They  still  are  not  content; 
But,  with  a  jealous  fear, 
They  watch  for  the  event : 

Too  oft  they  find  their  hopes  deceiv'd, 
Then  how  their  inmost  souls  are  griev'd  ! 

5  But  when  their  pains  succeed 
And  from  the  tender  blade 
The  ripening  ears  proceed, 
Their  toils  are  overpaid  : 

No  harvest-joy  can  equal  theirs, 
To  find  the  fruit  of  all  their  cares. 

6  On  what  has  now  been  sown, 
Thy  blessing,  Lord,  bestow  ; 
The  power  is  thine  alone, 

To  make  it  spring  and  grow  : 
Do  thou  the  gracious  harvest  raise, 
And  thou  alone  shalt  have  the  praise. 


HYMN  XXVII. 

WE  ARE  AMBASSADORS  FOR  CHRIST. 
2  COR.   V.    20. 

1  I  MY  message  by  the  preacher  seal, 

And  let  thy  power  be  known, 
That  every  sinner  here  may  feel 
The  word  is  not  his  own. 

2  Amongst  the  foremost  of  the  throng, 

Who  dare  thee  to  thy  face, 
He  in  rebellion  stood  too  long, 
And  fought  against  thy  grace. 

8   But  grace  prevail'd,  he  mercy  found, 
And  now  by  thee  is  sent, 
To  tell  his  fellow  rebels  round, 
And  call  them  to  repent. 


HYMNS.  BOOK  II 

4  In  Jesus  God  is  reconcil'd, 

The  worst  may  be  forgiv'n  ; 
Come  and  he'll  own  you  as  a  child, 
And  make  you  heirs  of  heaven. 

5  O  may  the  word  of  gospel-truth 

Your  chief  desires  engage  ! 
And  Jesus  be  your  guide  in  youth, 
Your  joy  in  hoary  age. 

6  Perhaps  the  year  that's  now  begun 

May  prove  to  some  their  last : 
The  sands  of  life  may  soon  be  run, 
The  day  of  grace  be  past. 

7  Think,  if  you  slight  this  embassy, 

And  will  not  warning  take 
When  Jesus  in  the  clouds  you  see, 
What  answer  will  you  make  ? 


HYMN  XXVIII. 

PAUL'S  FAREWELL  CHARGE.       ACTS  XX.  26,  27 

1  When  Paul  was  parted  from  his  friends, 

It  was  a  weeping  day, 
But  Jesus  made  them  all  amends, 
And  wip'd  their  tears  away. 

2  Ere  long  they  met  again  with  joy, 

(Secure  no  more  to  part), 
Where  praises  every  tongue  employ, 
And  pleasure  fills  each  heart. 

3  Thus  all  the  preachers  of  his  grace 

Their  children  soon  shall  meet; 
Together  see  their  Saviour's  face, 
And  worship  at  his  feet. 

4  But  they  who  heard  the  word  in  vain. 

Though  oft  and  plainly  warn'd, 
Will  tremble  when  they  meet  again 
The  ministers  they  scorn'd. 

5  On  your  own  heads  your  blood  will  fall, 

If  any  perish  here ; 
The  preachers  who  have  told  you  all, 
Shall  stand  approv'd  and  clear. 

6  Yet,  Lord,  to  save  themselves  alone 

Is  not  their  utmost  view  ; 
Oh  !  hear  their  prayer,  thy  message  ov\  n, 
And  save  their  hearers  too. 


HYMN  XXIX. 

HOW  SHALL  I  PUT  THEE  AMONG.THE  CHILDKEfv 
JER.  iii.    19. 

1  Alas  !  by  nature  how  deprav'd, 

How  prone  to  ev'ry  ill  ! 
Our  lives  to  Satan  how  enslav'd, 
How  obstinate  our  will  J 

2  And  can  such  sinners  be  restor'd, 

Such  rebels  reconcil'd  ? 
Can  grace  itself  the  means  afford, 
To  make  a  foe  a  child  ? 


HYMtf  XXXII 

•J 


Yes,  grace  has  found  the  wondrous  means, 

Which  shall  effectual  prove, 
To  cleanse  us  from  our  countless  sins, 

And  teach  our  hearts  to  love. 

Jesus  for  sinners  undertakes, 

And  died  that  we  may  live  ; 
His  blood  a  full  atonement  makes, 

And  cries  aloud,   "  Forgive." 

Yet  one  thing  more  must  grace  provide, 

To  bring  us  home  to  God, 
Or  we  shall  slight  the  Lord  who  died, 

And  trample  on  his  blood. 

The  Holy  Spirit  must  reveal 
The  Saviour's  work  and  worth  ; 

Then  the  hard  heart  begins  to  feel 
A  new  and  heavenly  birth. 

Thus  bought  with  blood,  and  born  again, 
Redeem'd  and  sav'd  by  grace, 

Rebels  in  God's  own  house  obtain 
A  son's  and  daughter's  place. 


HYMN  XXX. 

WINTER. .  * 

See  how  rude  Winter's  icy  hand 
Has  strip'd  the  trees,  and  seafd  the  ground  ! 
But  Spring  shall  soon  his  rage  withstand, 
And  spread  new  beauties  all  around. 

My  soul  a  sharper  winter  mourns, 
Barren  and  fruitless  I  remain  ; 
When  wi'l  the  gentle  spring  return, 
Ana  bid  my  graces  grow  again  ? 

Jesus,  my  glorious  Sun,  arise  ! 
'Tis  thine  the  frozen  heart  to  move  ; 
Oh  !   hush  these  storms,  and  clear  my  skies, 
And  let  me  feel  thy  vital  love! 

Dear  Lord,  regard  my  feeble  cry, 
I  faint  and  droop  till  thou  appear ; 
Wilt  thou  permit  thy  plant  to  die  ? 
Must  it  be  winter  all  the  year  ? 

Be  still  my  soul,  and  wait  his  hour, 
With  humble  prayer  and  patient  faith ; 
Till  he  reveals  his  gracious  power, 
Repose  on  what  his  promise  saith. 

He,  by  whose  all-commanding  word-}- 
Seasons  their  changing  course  maintain, 
In  every  change  a  pledge  affords, 
That  none  shall  seek  his  face  in  vain. 


HYMN  XXXI. 

WAITING  FOR  SPRING. 

Though  cloudy  skies  and  northern  blasts 
Retard  the  gentle  spring  a  while, 
The  sun  will  conqueror  prove  at  last, 
And  nature  wear  a  vernal  smile. 
*  Book  III.  Jlymr.  xxxi.        +  Gen.  viii.  22. 


SEASONS. 

2  The  promise,  which  from  age  to  age, 


58 I 


Has  brought  the  changing  seasons  round, 
Again  shall  calm  the  winter's  rage, 
Perfume  the  air,  and  paint  the  ground. 

3  The  virtue  of  that  first  command, 
I  know  still  does  and  will  prevail, 
That  while  the  earth  itself  shall  stand, 
The  spring  and  summer  shall  not  fail. 

4  Such  changes  are  for  us  decreed  : 
Believers  have  their  winters  too  ; 
But  spring  shall  certainly  succeed, 
And  all  their  former  life  renew. 

5  Winter  and  spring  have  each  their  use, 
And  each,  in  turn,  his  people  know  ; 
One  kills  the  weeds  their  hearts  produce, 
The  other  makes  their  graces  grow. 

6  Though  like  dead  trees  a  while  they  sppm, 
Yet,  having  life  within  their  root, 

The  welcome  spring's  reviving  beam 
Draws  forth  their  blossoms,  leaves,  and  fruit, 

7  But  if  the  tree  indeed  be  dead, 

It  feels  no  change,  though  spring  returii ; 
Its  leafless,  naked,  barren  head, 
Proclaims  it  only  fit  to  burn. 

8  Dear  Lord,  afford  our  souls  a  spring, 
Thou  knovv'st  our  winter  has  been  long  ; 
Shine  forth,  and  warm  our  hearts  to  sing, 
And  thy  rich  grace  shall  be  our  song. 


HYMN  XXXII. 

SPRING. 

1  Bleak  winter  is  subdu'd  at  length, 

And  forc'd  to  yield  the  day; 
The  sun  has  wasted  all  his  strength, 
And  driven  him  away. 

2  And  now  long  wish'd  for  spring  is  come, 

How  alter'd  is  the  scene  ! 
The  trees  and  shrubs  are  dress' d  In   bloom, 
The  earth  arrayed  in  green. 

3  Where'er  we  tread,  beneath  our  feet, 

The  clust'ring  flowers  spring  ; 
The  artless  birds,  in  concert  sweet, 
Invite  our  hearts  to  sing. 

4  But,  ah  !   in  vain  I  strive  to  join, 

Oppress'd  with  sin  and  doubt; 
I  feel  'tis  winter  still  within, 
Though  all  is  spring  without. 

5  Oh  !   would  my  Saviour  from  on  high 

Break  through  these  clouds  and  shine  . 
No  creature  then  more  bless'd  than  I, 
No  song  more  loud  than  mine. 

5  Till  then  no  softly-warbling  thrush, 
Nor  cowslip's  sweet  perfume, 
Nor  beauties  of  each  painted  bush, 
Can  dissipate  my  gloom. 


582 

7  To  Adam,  soon  as  he  trangress'd, 

Thus  Eden  bloom'd  in  vain ; 

Not  paradise  could  give  him  rest, 

Or  soothe  his  heart-felt  pain. 

8  Yet  here  an  emblem  I  perceive 

Of  what  the  Lord  can  do  ; 
Dear  Saviour,  help  me  to  believe, 
That  I  may  flourish  too. 

9  Thy  word  can  soon  my  hopes  revive, 

Can  overcome  my  foes, 
And  make  my  languid  graces  thrive, 
And  blossom  like  the  rose. 


HYMN  XXXIII. 

ANOTHER. 

1  Pleasing  spring  again  is  here  ! 
Trees  and  fields  in  bloom  appear ! 
Hark  !   the  birds,  with  artless  lays, 
Warble  their  Creator's  praise  ! 
Where,  in  winter,  all  was  snow, 
Now  the  flowers  in  clusters  grow  : 
And  the  corn  in  green  array, 
Promises  a  harvest-day. 

2  What  a  change  has  taken  place '. 
Emblem  of  the  spring  of  grace  ; 
How  the  soul,  in  winter,  mourns, 
Till  the  Lord,  the  Sun,  returns  ; 
Till  the  Spirit's  gentle  rain 
Bids  the  heart  revive  again  ; 
Then  the  stone  is  turn'd  to  flesh, 
And  each  grace  springs  forth  afresh. 

3  Lord,  afford  a  spring  to  me ! 
Let  me  feel  like  what  I  see ; 
Ah  !   my  winter  has  been  long, 
Chill'd  my  hopes,  and  stopp'd  my  song  ! 
Winter  threaten'd  to  destroy 

Faith,  and  love,  and  every  joy ; 

If  thy  life  was  in  the  root, 

Still  I  could  not  yield  thee  fruit. 

4  Speak,  and  by  thy  gracious  voice 
Make  my  drooping  soul  rejoice ; 
O,  beloved  Saviour  !  haste, 
Tell  me  all  the  storms  are  past ; 
On  thy  garden  deign  to  smile, 
Raise  the  plants,  enrich  the  soil ; 
Soon  thy  presence  will  restore 
Life  to  what  seem'd  dead  before. 

5  Lord,  I  long  to  be  at  home, 
Where  these  changes  never  come? 
Where  the  saints  no  wintet  /ear, 
Where  'tis  spring  throughout  the  year, 
How  unlike  this  state  below  ! 

There  the  flowers  unwithering  blow  ; 
There  no  chilling  blasts  annoy  ; 
All  is  love,  and  bloom,  and  joy 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


BOOK   II 


HYMN  XXXIV. 


SUMMER  STORMS. 


1  Though  the  morn  may  be  serene, 
Not  a  threat'ning  cloud  be  seen, 
Who  can  undertake  to  say, 
'Twill  be  pleasant  all  the  day  ? 
Tempests  suddenly  may  rise, 
Darkness  overspread  the  skies, 
Lightnings  flash,  and  thunders  roar, 
E'er  a  short-liv'd  day  be  o'er. 

2  Often  thus  the  child  of  grace 
Enters  on  his  christian  race; 
Guilt  and  fear  are  overborne, 
'Tis  with  him  a  summer's  morn : 
While  his  new-felt  joys  abound, 
All  things  seem  to  smile  around  ; 
And  he  hopes  it  will  be  fair, 

All  the  day,  and  all  the  year. 

3  Should  we  warn  him  of  a  change, 
He  would  think  the  caution  strange  ; 
He  no  change  or  trouble  fears, 

Till  the  gath'ring  storm  appears  ;  | 
Till  dark  clouds  his  sun  conceal, 
Till  temptation's  power  he  feel  ; 
Then  he  trembles  and  looks  pale, 
All  his  hopes  and  courage  fail. 

4  But  the  wonder-working  Lord 
Soothes  the  tempest  by  his  word  ; 
Stills  the  thunder,  stops  the  rain, 
And  his  sun  breaks  forth  again : 
Soon  the  cloud  again  returns, 
Now  he  joys,  and  now  he  mourns  ; 
Oft  his  sky  is  overcast, 

Ere  the  day  of  life  be  past. 

5  Tried  believers  too  can  say, 

In  the  course  of  one  short  day, 
Though  the  morning  has  been  fair 
Prov'd  a  golden  hour  of  prayer, 
Sin  and  Satan,  long  ere  night, 
Have  their  comforts  put  to  flight : 
Ah  !  what  heart-felt  peace  and  joy 
Unexpected  storms  destroy. 

6  Dearest  Saviour  !  call  us  soon 
To  thine  high  eternal  noon  ; 
Never  there  shall  tempest  rise, 
To  conceal  thee  from  our  eyes ; 
Satan  shall  no  more  deceive, 
We  no  more  thy  Spirit  grieve ; 

But  through  cloudless,  endless  days, 
Sound,  to  golden  harps,  thy  praise. 

*  Book  Til.  Hymn  lxviii. 
t  Book  I.  Hymn  xliv. 


HYMN  XXVII. 


SEASONS. 


5S3 


HYMN  XXXV. 


HAY-TIME. 


The  grass  and  flowers  which  clothe  the  field, 

And  look  so  green  and  gay, 
Touch'd  by  the  scythe,  defenceless  yield, 
And  fall,  and  fade  away. 

!   Fit  emblem  of  our  mortal  state  ! 
Thus,  in  the  scripture-glass, 
The  young,  the  strong,  the  wise,  the  great, 
May  see  themselves  but  grass.  * 

Ah  !   trust  not  to  your  fleeting  breath, 
Nor  call  your  time  your  own ; 

Around  you  see  the  scythe  of  death 
Is  mowing  thousands  down. 

And  you,  who  hitherto  are  spar'd, 
Must  shortly  yield  your  lives; 

Your  wisdom  is,  to  be  prepar'd 
Before  the  stroke  arrives. 

The  grass,  when  dead,  revives  no  more  ; 

You  die  to  live  again  ; 
But  oh  !   if  death  should  prove  the  door, 

To  everlasting  pain ! 

Lord,  help  us  to  obey  thy  call, 

That,  from  our  sins  set  free, 
When,  like  the  grass,  our  bodies  fall, 

Our  souls  may  spring  to  thee. 


HYMN  XXXVI. 

HARVEST. 

1    See  the  corn  again  in  ear ! 

How  the  fields  and  vallies  smile  ! 

Harvest  now  is  drawing  near, 

To  repay  the  farmer's  toil  : 

Gracious  Lord  secure  the  crop, 

Satisfy  the  poor  with  food  j 

In  thy  mercy  is  our  hope, 

We  have  sinn'd  but  thou  art  good. 

U  While  I  view  the  plenteous  grain 
As  it  ripens  on  the  stalk, 
May  I  not  instruction  gain, 
Helpful  to  my  daily  walk  ? 
All  this  plenty  of  the  field 
Was  produc'd  from  foreign  seeds, 
For  the  earth  itself  would  yield 
Only  crops  of  useless  weeds. 

8  Though,  when  newly  sown,  it  lay 
Hid  a  while  beneath  the  ground, 
(Some  might  think  it  thrown  away,) 
Yet  a  large  increase  is  found: 
Though  conceal'd,  it  was  not  lost, 
Though  it  died,  it  lives  again  ; 
Eastern  storms  and  nipping  frosts 
Have  oppos'd  its  growth  in  vain. 

*    Isaiah  xl.  7. 


Let  the  praise  be  all  the  Lord's, 
As  the  benefit  is  ours  : 
He  in  season  still  affords 
Kindly  heat  and  gentle  showers  : 
By  his  care  the  produce  thrives, 
Waving  o'er  the  furrow'd  lands, 
And,  when  harvest-time  arrives 
Ready  for  the  reaper  stands. 

Thus  in  barren  hearts  he  sows, 
Precious  seeds  of  heavenly  joy  ;* 
Sin  and  hell  in  vain  oppose, 
None  can  grace's  crop  destroy : 
Threaten'd  oft,  yet  still  it  blooms, 
After  many  changes  past, 
Death,  the  reaper,  when  he  comes, 
Finds  it  fully  ripe  at  last. 


CHRISTMAS. 


HYMN  XXXVII 

PRAISE  FOR  THE  INCARNATION. 

1  Sweeter  sounds  than  music  knows, 

Charm  me  in  Emmanuel's  name ; 
All  her  hopes  my  spirit  owes 

To  his  birth,  and  cross,  and  shame. 

2  When  he  came  the  angels  sung, 

"  Glory  be  to  God  on  high  !" 
Lord,  unloose  my  stamm'ring  tongue, 
Who  should  louder  sing  than  I  f 

3  Did  the  Lord  a  man  become 

That  he  might  the  law  fulfil, 
Bleed  and  suffer  in  my  room, 

And  canst  thou,  my  tongue,  be  still  ? 

4  No,  I  must  my  praises  bring, 

Though  they  worthless  are  3»id  weak  ; 
For,  should  I  refuse  to  sing, 

Sure  the  very  stones  would  speak. 

5  O  my  Saviour,  Shield,  and  Sun, 

Shepherd,  Brother,  Husband,  Friend, 
Ev'ry  precious  name  in  one, 
I  will  love  thee  without  end. 


HYMN   XXXVIII. 

JEHOVAH-JESUS. 

1  My  song  shall  bless  the  Lord  of  all, 
My  praise  shall  climb  to  his  abode  ; 
Thee,  Saviour,  by  that  name  I  call, 
The  great,  supreme,  the  mighty  God. 

2  Without  beginning  or  decline, 
Object  of  faith  and  not  of  sense  ; 
Eternal  ages  saw  him  shine, 

He  shines  eternal  ages  hence. 

*   Iloseaxiv.  7;  Mark  iv.  26— St'> 


584 

3 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


BOOK  17. 


As  much,  when  in  the  manger  laid, 
Almighty  ruler  of  the  sky, 
As  when  the  six  days  work  he  made 
Fill'd  all  the  morning-stars  with  joy. 

Of  all  the  crowns  Jehovah  bears, 
Salvation  is  his  dearest  claim, 
That  gracious  sound  well-pleas'd  he  hears, 
And  owns  Emmanuel  for  his  name. 

A  cheerful  confidence  I  feel, 
My  well-plac'd  hopes  with  joy  I  see  ; 
My  bosom  glows  with  heavenly  zeal, 
To  worship  him  who  died  for  me. 

As  man,  he  pities  my  complaint, 
His  power  and  truth  are  all  divine  ; 
He  will  not  fail,  he  cannot  faint, 
Salvation's  sure,  and  must  be  mine. 


HYMN   XXXIX. 

MAN  HONOURED  ABOVE  ANGELS. 

1  Now  let  us  join  with  hearts  and  tongues, 
And  emulate  the  ange's  songs  ; 

Yea,  sinners  may  address  their  King 
In  songs  that  angels  cannot  sing. 

2  They  praise  the  Lamb  who  once  was  slain  ; 
But  we  can  add  a  higher  strain,* 

Not  only  say  "  He  sufler'd  thus," 
But  that  "  He  sutfer'd  all  for  us." 

3  When  angels  by  transgression  fell, 
Justice  consign'd  them  all  to  hell ; 
But  mercy  form'd  a  wonderous  plan, 
To  save  and  honour  fallen  man. 

4  Jesus,  who  pass'd  the  angels  by,f 
Assum'd  our  flesh  to  bleed  and  die  ; 
And  still  he  makes  it  his  abode, 

As  man,  he  fills  the  throne  of  God. 

5  Our  next  of  kin,  our  brother  now, 
Is  he  to  whom  the  angels  bow ; 
They  join  with  us  to  praise  his  name, 
But  we  the  nearest  interest  claim. 

6  But  ah  !   how  faint  our  praises  rise  ! 
Sure,  'tis  the  wonder  of  the  skies, 
That  we,  who  share  his  richest  love, 
So  cold  and  unconcern'd  should  prove. 

7  O  glorious  hour,  it  comes  with  speed, 
When  we,  from  sin  and  darkness  freed, 
Shall  see  the  God  who  died  for  man, 
And  praise  him  more  than  angels  can.* 

»  Rev.  v.  t  Heb-  "•  16- 

*   Book  III.  Hymn  Ixxxvjji. 


HYMN  XL. 


SATURDAY  EVENING. 

Safely  through  another  week, 
God  has  brought  us  on  our  way ; 
Let  us  now  a  blessing  seek 
On  the  approaching  Sabbath  day, 

Day  of  all  the  week  the  best, 

Emblem  of  eternal  rest ! 

Mercies  multiplied  each  hour 
Through  the  week  our  praise  demand ; 
Guarded  by  almighty  power, 
Fed  and  guided  by  his  hand, 

Though  ungrateful  we  have  been, 

Only  made  returns  of  sin. 

While  we  pray  for  pard'ning  grace, 
Through  the  dear  Redeemer's  name, 
Shew  thy  reconciled  face, 
Shine  away  our  sin  and  shame; 
From  our  worldly  care  set  free, 
May  we  rest  this  night  with  thee  ! 

When  the  morn  shall  bid  us  rise, 
May  we  feel  thy  presence  near  ! 
May  thy  glory  meet  our  eyes 
When  we  in  thy  house  appear  ! 

There  afford  us,  Lord,  a  taste 

Of  our  everlasting  feast. 

I  May  thy  gospel's  joyful  sound 
Conquer  sinners,  comfort  saints  ; 
Make  the  fruits  of  grace  abound, 
Bring  relief  for  all  complaints  ; 
Thus  may  all  our  Sabbaths  prove 
Till  we  join  the  church  above  ! 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  YEAR. 


HYMN  XLI. 

EJ5ENEZER.* 

1  The  Lord,  our  salvation  and  light, 
The  guide  and  the  strength  of  our  dayi 
Has  brought  us  together  to-night, 

A  new  Ebenezer  to  raise  : 
The  year  we  have  now  passed  through, 
His  goodness  with  blessings  has  crown'd 
Each  morning  his  mercies  were  new ; 
Then  let  our  thanksgivings  abound. 

2  Encompass'd  with  dangers  and  snares, 
Temptations,  and  fears,  and  complaints, 
His  ear  he  inclin'd  to  our  prayers, 

His  hand  open'd  wide  to  our  wants ; 

*    1  Sam.  vii 


HYMN  XLI1I. 


We  never  besought  him  in  vain  • 
When  burden'd  with  sorrow  or  sin, 
He  help'd  us  again  and  again, 
Or  where  before  now  had  we  been  ? 

His  gospel,  throughout  the  long  year, 
From  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  he  o-ave  • 
How  oft  has  he  met  with  us  here 
And  shown  himself  mighty  to  save  ? 
His  candlestick  has  been  remov'd 
From  churches  once  privileg'd  thus  ; 
But  though  we  unworthy  have  prov'd, 
It  still  is  continued  to  us. 

For  so  many  mercies  recciv'd, 
Alas !   what  returns  have  we  made  ? 
His  Spirit  we  often  have  griev'd, 
And  evil  for  good  have  repaid  : 
How  well  it  becomes  us  to  cry, 
"  O,  who  is  a  God  like  to  thee 
Who  passeth  iniquities  by, 
And  plungest  them  deep  in  the  sea  '." 

To  Jesus,  who  sits  on  the  throne, 
Our  best  hallelujahs  we  bring ; 
To  thee  it  is  owing  alone 
That  we  are  permitted  to  sing : 
Assist  us,  we  pray,  to  lament 
The  sins  of  the  year  that  is  past, 
And  grant  that  the  next  may  be  spent 
Far  more  to  thy  praise  than  the  last. 

HYMN  XLII. 

ANOTHER. 

Let  hearts  and  tongues  unite, 
And  loud  thanksgivings  raise  ; 
'Tis  duty,  mingled  with  delight 
To  sing  the  Saviour's  praise. 


ORDINANCES. 

2 


585 


To  him  we  owe  our  breath, 
He  took  us  from  the  womb, 
Which  else  had  shut  us  up  in  death, 
And  prov'd  an  early  tomb. 

When  on  the  breast  we  hung 
Our  help  was  in  the  Lord  ; 
'Twas  he  first  taught  our  infant  tongue 
To  form  the  lisping  word. 

When  in  our  blood  we  lay, 
He  would  not  let  us  die, 
Because  his  love  had  fixed  a  day 
To  bring  salvation  nigh. 

In  childhood  and  in  youth, 
His  eye  was  on  us  still ; 
Though  strangers  to  his  love  and  truth, 
And  prone  to  cross  his  will. 

And  since  his  name  we  knew, 
How  gracious  has  he  been  ; 
What  dangers  has  he  led  us  through, 
What  mercies  have  we  seen .' 

Now  through  another  year, 
Supported  by  his  care  : 
We  raise  our  Ebenezer  here, 

"  The  Lord  has  help'd  thus  far." 

Our  lot  in  future  years 
Unable  to  foresee, 
He  kindly,  to  prevent  our  fears, 
Says,   "  Leave  it  all  to  me.' 

Yea,  Lord,  we  wish  to  cast 
Our  cares  upon  thy  breast ; 
Help  us  to  praise  thee  for  the  past, 
And  trust  thee  for  the  rest 


II.  ORDINANCES. 


HYMN  XLIII. 

ON  OPENING  A  PLACE  FOR  SOCIAL  PRAYER. 

O  LORD,  our  languid  souls  inspire 

For  here  we  trust  thou  art : 
Send  down  a  coal  of  heavenly  fire, 

To  warm  each  waiting  heart. 

!  Dear  Shepherd  of  thy  people,  hear, 
Thy  presence  now  display  ; 
As  thou  hast  given  a  place  for  prayer, 
So  give  us  hearts  to  pray. 


3  Shew  us  some  tokens  of  thy  love, 

Our  fainting  hope  to  raise; 
And  pour  thy  blessings  from  above, 
That  we  may  render  praise. 

4  Within  these  walls  let  holy  peace, 

And  love  and  concord  dwell ; 
Here  give  the  troubled  conscience  ease 
The  wounded  spirit  heal. 

5  The  feeling  heart,  the  melting  eye, 

The  humbled  mind  bestow  ; 
And  shine  upon  us  from  on  high, 
To  make  our  graces  grow 


5«f, 


May  we  in  faith  receive  thy  word, 
In  faith  present  our  prayers  ; 

And,  in  the  presence  of  our  Lord, 
Unbosom  all  our  cares. 

And  may  the  gospel's  joyful  sound, 
Enforc'd  by  mighty  grace, 

Awaken  many  sinners  round, 
To  come  and  fill  the  place. 


OLNEY  HYMNS 
5 


HYMN  XLIV. 

ANOTHER. 

1  Jesus,  where'er  thy  people  meet, 
There  they  behold  thy  mercy-seat ; 
Where'er  they  seek  thee,  thou  art  found, 
And  every  place  is  hallow'd  ground. 

2  For  thou,  within  no  walls  confin'd, 
Inhabitest  the  humble  mind  ; 

Such  ever  bring  thee  where  they  come, 
And  going,  take  thee  to  their  home. 

3  Dear  Shepherd  of  thy  chosen  few, 
Thy  former  mercies  here  renew  ; 
Here  to  our  waiting  hearts  proclaim 
The  sweetness  of  thy  saving  name. 

4  Here  may  we  prove  the  power  of  prayer 
To  strengthen  faith,  and  sweeten  care; 
To  teach  our  faint  desires  to  rise, 

And  bring  all  heaven  before  our  eyes. 

0  Behold,  at  thy  commanding  word, 
We  stretch  the  curtain  and  the  cord  ;* 
Come  thou,  and  fill  this  wider  space, 
And  bless  us  with  a  large  increase. 

6   Lord,  we  are  few,  but  thou  art  near ; 
Nor  short  thine  arm,  nor  deaf  thine  ear : 
O  rend  the  heavens,  come  quickly  down, 
And  make  a  thousand  hearts  thine  own  ! 

C 

HYMN  XLV. 

THE  LORD'S  DAY. 

1  How  welcome  to  the  saints,  when  press'd 
With  six  days  noise,  and  care,  and  toil, 
Is  the  returning  day  of  rest, 

Which  hides  them  from  the  world  a  while ! 

2  Now,  from  the  throng  withdrawn  away, 
They  seem  to  breathe  a  different  air  ; 
Compos' d  and  soften'd  by  tbe  day, 

All  things  another  aspect  wear 

8   How  happy  if  their  lot  is  cast, 
Where  statedly  the  gospel  sounds . 
The  word  is  honey  to  their  taste,   [wounds. 
Renews    their    strength,    and    heals    their 

4  Though  pinch'd  with  poverty  at  home, 
With  sharp  afflictions  daily  fed, 
It  makes  amends,  if  they  can  come 
To  God's  own  house  for  heavenly  bread. 
*  Isa.  liv.  2. 


BOOK   M, 

With  joy  they  hasten  to  the  place 
Where  they  their  Saviour  oft  have  met; 
And  while  they  feast  upon  his  grace, 
Their  burdens  and  their  griefs  forget. 

This  favour'd  lot,  my  friends,  is  ours ; 
May  we  the  privilege  improve, 
And  find  these  consecrated  hours 
Sweet  earnests  of  the  joys  above  ! 

We  thank  thee  for  thy  day,  O  Lord  ; 
Here  we  thy  promis'd  presence  seek  ; 
Open  thine  hand,  with  blessings  stor'd, 
And  give  us  manna  for  the  week. 


HYMN  XL VI. 


GOSPEL-PRrVII.EGES. 


1  O  HAPPY  they  who  know  the  Lord, 

With  whom  he  deigns  to  dwell  ! 
He  feeds  and  cheers  them  by  his  word, 
His  arm  supports  them  well. 

2  To  them,  in  each  distressing  hour, 

His  throne  of  grace  is  near  : 
And  when  they  plead  his  love  and  power 
He  stands  engag'd  to  hear. 

3  He  help'd  his  saints  in  ancient  days, 

Who  trusted  in  his  name  ; 
And  we  can  witness  to  his  praise, 
His  love  is  still  the  same. 

4  Wand'ring  in  sin,  our  souls  he  found, 

And  bid  us  seek  his  face  ; 
Gave  us  to  hear  the  gospel-sound, 
And  taste  the  gospel-grace. 

5  Oft  in  his  house  his  glory  shines, 

Before  our  wond'ring  eyes  ; 
We  wish  not  then  for  golden  mines, 
Or  aught  beneath  the  skies. 

6  His  presence  sweetens  all  our  cares, 

And  makes  our  burdens  light; 

A  word  from  him  dispels  our  fears, 

And  gilds  the  gloom  of  night. 

7  Lord,  we  expect  to  suffer  here, 

Nor  would  we  dare  repine  ; 
But  give  us  still  to  find  thee  near, 
And  own  us  still  for  thine. 

8  Let  us  enjoy  and  highly  prize 

These  tokens  of  thy  love, 
Till  thou  shalt  bid  our  spirits  rise, 
To  worship  thee  above. 


HYMN  XLV  1 1. 

ANOTHER. 

1    Happy  are  they  to  whom  the  Lord 
His  gracious  name  makes  known; 
And  by  his  Spirit,  and  his  word, 
Adopts  them  for  his  own. 


HYMN  L. 

2 


ORDINANCES. 


i87 


He  calls  them  to  his  mercy-seat, 
And  hears  their  humble  prayer  ; 

And  when  within  his  house  they  meet, 
They  find  his  presence  near. 

The  force  of  their  united  cries 
No  power  can  long  withstand ; 

For  Jesus  helps  them  from  the  skies, 
By  his  almighty  hand. 

Then  mountains  sink  at  once  to  plains, 
And  light  from  darkness  springs  ; 

Each  seeming  loss  improves  their  gains, 
Each  trouble  comfort  brings. 

Though  men  despise  them,  or  revile, 

They  count  the  trial  small  ; 
Whoever  frowns,  if  Jesus  smile, 

It  makes  amends  for  all. 

Though  meanly  clad,  and  coarsely  fed, 
And,  like  their  Saviour,  poor, 

They  would  not  change  their  gospel-bread 
For  all  the  worldling's  store. 

When  cheer'd  with  faith's  sublimer  joys, 
They  mount  on  eagles'  wings, 

They  can  disdain,  as  children's  toys, 
The  pride  and  pomp  of  kings. 

Dear  Lord,  assist  our  souls  to 

The  debt  of  praise  we  owe, 
That  we  enjoy  a  gospel  day, 

And  heaven  begun  below. 


pay 


HYMN  XLVIII. 

PRAISE  FOR  THE  CONTINUANCE  OFTHE  GOSPEL  * 

1  Once,  while  we  r.im'd  at  Zion's  songs, 

A  sudden  mourning  check'd  our  tongues  f 
Then  we  were  call'd  to  sow  in  tears, 
The  seeds  of  joy  for  future  years. 

2  Oft  as  that  memorable  hour 

The  changing  year  brings  round  again, 
We  meet  to  praise  the  love  and  power 
Which  heard  our  cries  and  eased  our  pain. 

3  Come,  ye  who  trembled  for  the  ark, 
Unite  in  praise  for  answer'd  prayer  ! 
Did  not  the  Lord  our  sorrows  mark  ? 
Did  not  our  sighing  reach  his  ear  ? 

4  Then  smaller  griefs  were  laid  aside, 
And  all  our  cares  summ'd  up  in  one  : 

"  Let  us  but  have  thy  word,"  we  cried, 
"  In  other  things  thy  will  be  done." 

5  Since  he  has  granted  our  request, 
And  we  still  hear  the  gospel-voice, 
Although  by  many  trials  prest, 

In  this  we  can  and  will  rejoice. 

6  Though  to  our  lot  temptations  fall, 
Though  pain,  and  want,  and  cares  annoy, 
The  precious  gospel  sweetens  all, 

And  yields  us  med'cine,  food,  and  joy. 

*  Wherever  a  separation  is  threatened  between  a  mi- 
nister and  people  who  dearly  love  each  other,  this  Hymn 
may  be  as  seasonable  as  it  was  once  in  Olney. 


HYMN  XLIX. 


A  FAMINE  OF  THE  WORD. 


Gladness  was  spread  through  Israel's  host 
When  first  they  manna  viewed ; 

They  labour'd  who  should  gather  most, 
And  thought  it  pleasant  food. 

But  when  they  had  it  long  enjoyed, 

From  day  to  day  the  same, 
Their  hearts  were  by  the  plenty  cloyed, 

Although  from  heaven  it  came. 

Thus  gospel-bread  at  first,  is  priz'd, 

And  makes  a  people  glad  ; 
But  afterwards  too  much  despis'd 

When  easy  to  be  had. 

But  should  the  Lord,  displeas'd,  with-hold 

The  bread  his  mercy  sends, 
To  have  our  houses  fill'd  with  gold 

Would  make  but  poor  amends. 

How  tedious  would  the  week  appear, 

How  dull  the  Sabbath  prove, 
Could  we  no  longer  meet  to  hear 

The  precious  truths  we  love  ! 

How  would  believing  parents  bear, 

To  leave  their  heedless  youth 
Expos'd  to  every  fatal  snare, 

Without  the  light  of  truth  ! 

The  gospel,  and  a  praying  few, 
Our  bulwark  long  have  prov'd  ; 

But  Olney  sure  the  day  will  rue 
When  these  shall  be  remov'd. 

Then  sin,  in  this  once-favour'd  town, 

Will  triumph  unrestrain'd  ; 
And  wrath  and  vengeance  hasten  down, 

No  more  by  prayer  detain'd. 

Preserve  us  from  this  judgment,  Lord, 

For  Jesus'  sake  we  plead  ; 
A  famine  of  the  gospel-word 

Would  be  a  stroke  indeed  ! 


HYMN  L. 

PUAYER  FOR  MINISTERS. 

Chief  Shepherd  of  thy  chosen  sheep, 
From  death  and  sin  set  free  ! 

May  ev'ry  under-shepherd  keep 
His  eye  intent  on  thee  ! 

With  plenteous  grace  their  hearts  prepare 

To  execute  thy  will ; 
Compassion,  patience,  love,  and  care, 

And  fathfulness,  and  skill. 

Inflame  their  minds  with  holy  zeal, 
Their  flocks  to  feed  and  teach ; 

And  let  them  live,  and  let  them  feel 
The  sacred  truths  they  preach. 


5S8 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


BOOK   II 


Oh  !   never  let  the  sheep  complain 
That  toys,  which  fools  amuse, 

Ambition,  pleasure,  praise,  or  gain, 
Debase  the  shepherd's  views. 

He  that  for  these  forbears  to  feed 
The  souls  whom  Jesus  loves, 

Whate'er  he  may  profess  or  plead, 
An  idol  shepherd  proves.* 

The  sword  of  God  shall  break  his  arm, 

A  blast  shall  blind  his  eye  j 
His  word  shall  have  no  power  to  warm, 

His  gifts  shall  all  grow  dry. 

O  Lord,  avert  this  heavy  woe, 

Let  all  thy  shepherds  say  ! 
And  grace,  and  strength,  on  each  bestow, 

To  labour  while  'tis  day. 


HYMN  LI. 

PRAYER  FOR  A  REVIVAL. 

1  Saviour,  visit  thy  plantation, 

Grant  us,  Lord,  a  gracious  rain  ! 
All  will  come  to  desolation, 

Unless  thou  return  again  : 
Keep  no  longer  at  a  distance, 

Shine  upon  us  from  on  high  ; 
Lest,  for  want  of  thine  assistance, 

Ev'ry  plant  should  droop  and  die. 

2  Surely  once  thy  garden  flourish'd, 

Ev'ry  part  look'd  gay  and  green : 
Then  thy  word  our  spirits  nourish'd, 

Happy  seasons  we  have  seen. 
But  a  drought  has  since  succeeded, 

And  a  sad  decline  we  see  ; 
Lord,  thy  help  is  greatly  needed ; 

Help  can  only  come  from  thee. 

3  Where  are  those  we  counted  leaders, 

Fill'd  with  zeal,  and  love,  and  truth  ? 
Old  professors,  tall  as  cedars, 

Bright  examples  to  our  youth  ! 
Some,  in  whom  we  once  delighted, 

We  shall  meet  no  more  below ; 
Some,  alas  !   we  fear  are  blighted, 

Scarce  a  single  leaf  they  show. 

4  Younger  plants — the  sight  how  pleasant — 

Cover'd  thick  with  blossoms  stood  ; 
But  they  cause  us  grief  at  present, 

Frosts  have  nipn'd  them  in  the  bud  ! 
Dearest  Saviour,  hasten  thither, 

Thou  canst  make  them  bloom  again  j 
Oh  !   permit  them  not  to  wither, 

Let  not  all  our  hopes  be  vain  ! 

5  Let  our  mutual  love  be  fervent, 

Makes  us  prevalent  in  prayers  : 
Let  each  one  esteem'd  thy  servant 
Shun  the  world's  bewitching  snares  : 

*  Zech  xi.  17 


Break  the  tempter's  ratal  power 
Turn  the  stony  heart  to  flesh ; 

And  begin  from  this  good  hour, 
To  revive  thy  work  afresh. 


HYMN  LIT. 

HOPING  FOR  A  REVIVAL. 

1  MY  harp  untun'd  and  laid  aside, 
(To  cheerful  hours  the  harp  belongs) 
My  cruel  foes  insulting  cried, 

"  Come,  si.ig  us  one  of  Zion's  songs." 

2  Alas  !   when  sinners,  blindly  bold, 
At  Zion  scofF,  and  Zion's  King ; 
When  zeal  declines,  and  love  grows  cold, 
Is  this  a  day  for  me  to  sing  ? 

3  Time  was,  whene'er  the  saints  I  met, 
With  joy  and  praise  my  bosom  glow'd  ; 
But  now,  like  Eli,  sad  I  sit, 

And  tremble  for  the  ark  of  God. 

4  While  thus  to  grief  my  soul  gave  way. 
To  see  the  work  of  God  decline; 
Methought  I  heard  my  Saviour  say, 

"  Dismiss  thy  fears,  the  ark  is  mine. 

5  Though  for  a  time  I  hide  my  face, 
Rely  upon  my  love  and  power ; 
Still  wrestle  at  a  throne  of  grace, 
And  wait  for  a  reviving  hour. 

6  Take  down  thy  long-neglected  harp, 
I've  seen  thy  tears,  and  heard  thy  prayer, 
The  winter-season  has  been  sharp, 

But  spring  shall  all  its  wastes  repair." 

7  Lord,  I  obey  ;  my  hopes  revive  ; 
Come,  join  with  me,  ye  saints,  and  sing 
Our  foes  in  vain  against  us  strive, 

For  God  will  help  and  healing  bring. 


SACRAMENTAL  HYMNS. 


HYMN  LIII. 

WELCOME  TO  THE  TABLE. 

1  This  is  the  feast  of  heavenly  wine, 

And  God  invites  to  sup  ; 
The  juices  of  the  living  vine 
Were  press'd,  to  fill  the  cup. 

2  Oh  !  bless  the  Saviour,  ye  that  eat, 

With  royal  dainties  fed  ; 
Not  heaven  affords  a  costlier  treat, 
For  Jesus  is  the  bread. 

3  The  vile,  the  lost,  he  calls  to  them, 

Ye  trembling  souls,  appear  ! 
The  righteous  in  their  own  esteem 
Have  no  acceptance  here. 


HYMN  LVII. 

4 


Approach,  ye  poor,  nor  dare  refuse 
The  banquet  spread  for  you ; 

Dear  Saviour,  this  is  welcome  news, 
Then  I  may  venture  too. 

If  guilt  and  sin  afford  a  plea, 

And  may  obtain  a  place, 
Surely  the  Lord  will  welcome  me, 

And  I  shall  see  his  face. 

C. 


HYMN  LIV. 

CHRIST  CRUCIFIED. 

1  When  on  the  cross  my  Lord  I  see, 
Bleeding  to  death  for  wretched  me, 
Satan  ami  sin  no  more  can  move, 
For  I  am  all  transform'd  to  love. 

2  His  thorns  and  nails  pierce  thro'  my  heart, 
In  every  groan  I  bear  a  part ; 

I  view  his  wounds  with  streaming  eyes; 
But,  see  !   he  bows  his  head,  and  dies  ! 

S   Come,  sinners,  view  the  Lamb  of  God, 
Wounded,  and  dead,  and  bath'd  in  blood  ! 
Behold  his  side,  and  venture  near, 
The  well  of  endless  life  is  here. 

4  Here  I  forget  my  cares  and  pains  ; 
I  drink,  yet  still  my  thirst  remains; 
Only  the  fountain-head  above 

Can  satisfy  the  thirst  of  love. 

5  O  that  I  thus  could  always  feel ! 
Lord,  more  and  more  thy  love  reveal  ! 
Then  my  glad  tongue  shall  loud  proclaim 
The  grace  and  glory  of  thy  name. 

S  Thy  name  dispels  my  guilt  and  fear, 
Revives  my  heart  and  charms  my  ear : 
Affords  a  balm  for  ev'ry  wound, 
And  Satan  trembles  at  the  sound. 


ORDINANCES 

5 


589 


HYMN  LV. 

JESUS  HASTING  TO  SUFFER. 

i   The  Saviour,  what  a  noble  flame 
Was  kindled  in  his  breast, 
When,  hasting  to  Jerusalem, 
He  march'd  before  the  rest ! 

2   Good-will  to  men,  and  zeal  for  God, 
His  ev'ry  thought  engross  ; 
He  longs  to  be  baptiz'd  with  blood,* 
He  pants  to  reach  the  cross. 

S  With  all  his  sufferings  full  in  view, 
And  woes  to  us  unknown, 
Forth  to  the  task  his  spirit  flew, 
'Twas  love  that  urg'd  him  on. 

4  Lord,  we  return  thee  what  we  can  ; 
Our  hearts  shall  sound  abroad, 
Salvation  to  the  dying  man, 
And  to  the  rising  God  ! 
*  Luke  xii.  50. 


And  while  thy  bleeding  glories  here, 
Engage  our  wond'ring  eyes, 

We  learn  our  lighter  cross  to  bear, 
And  hasten  to  the  skies. 


HYMN  LVI. 


IT  IS  GOOD  TO  BE  HERE. 


1  Let  me  dwell  on  Golgotha, 
Weep  and  love  my  life  away  : 
While  I  see  him  on  the  tree, 
Weep,  and  bleed,  and  die  for  me. 

2  That  dear  blood,  for  sinners  spilt, 
Shews  my  sin  in  all  its  guilt : 

Ah  !   my  soul,  he  bore  thy  load  ; 
Thou  hast  slain  the  Lamb  of  God. 

3  Hark!  his  dying  word,   "  Forgive, 
Father,  let  the  sinner  live  ; 
Sinner,  wipe  thy  tears  away, 

I  thy  ransom  freely  pay." 

4  While  I  hear  this  grace  reveal'd, 
And  obtain  a  pardon  seal'd, 

All  my  soft  affections  move, 
Weaken'd  by  the  force  of  love. 

5  Farewell,  world  !  thy  gold  is  dross, 
Now  I  see  the  bleeding  cross ; 
Jesus  died  to  set  me  free 

From  the  law,  and  sin,  and  thee  ! 

6  He  has  dearly  bought  my  soul ; 
Lord,  accept,  and  claim  the  whole ! 
To  thy  will  I  all  resign, 

Now  no  more  my  own,  but  thine. 


HYMN  LVIL 

LOOKING  AT  THE  CROSS. 

1  In  evil  long  I  took  delight, 

Unaw'd  by  shame  or  fear, 
Till  a  new  object  struck  my  sight, 
And  stopp'd  my  wild  career. 

2  I  saw  one  hanging  on  a  tree, 

In  agonies  and  blood, 
Who  fix'd  his  languid  eyes  on  me 
As  near  his  cross  I  stood. 

3  Sure  never  till  my  latest  breath 

Can  I  forget  that  look  ; 
It  seem'd  to  charge  me  with  his  death, 
Though  not  a  word  he  spoke. 

4  My  conscience  felt,  and  own'd  the  guilt, 

And  plung'd  me  in  despair  ; 

I  saw  my  sins  his  blood  had  spilt, 

And  help'd  to  nail  him  there. 

5  Alas  !   I  knew  not  what  I  did  ; 

But  now  my  tears  are  vain  ; 
Where  shall  my  trembling  soul  be  hid.' 
For  I  the  Lord  have  slain. 


590 


OLNEY   HYMNS. 


BOOK   it. 


6  Another  look  he  gave,  which  said, 

"  1  freely  all  forgive; 
This  blood  is  for  thy  ransom  paid, 
I  die,  that  thou  may'st  live." 

7  Tims,  while  his  death  my  sin  displays, 

In  all  its  blackest  hue, 
(Such  is  the  mystery  of  grace), 
It  seals  my  pardon  too. 

8  With  pleasing  grief,  and  mournful  joy, 

My  spirit  now  is  fill'd, 
That  I  should  such  a  life  destroy 
Yet  live  by  him  I  kill'd. 


HYMN  LVIII. 

SUPPLIES  IN  THE  WILDERNESS. 

1  When  Israel,  by  divine  command, 

The  pathless  desert  trod, 
They  found,  though  'twas  a  barren  land, 
A  sure  resource  in  God. 

2  A  cloudy  pillar  mark'd  their  road, 

And  screen'd  them  from  the  heat; 
From  the  hard  rocks  the  water  flow'd, 
And  manna  was  their  meat. 

3  Like  them,  we  have  a  rest  in  view, 

Secure  from  adverse  powers; 
Like  them,  we  pass  a  desert  too ; 
But  Israel's  God  is  ours. 

4  Yes,  in  this  barren  wilderness, 

He  is  to  us  the  same, 
By  his  appointed  means  of  grace, 
As  once  he  was  to  them. 

5  His  word  a  light  before  us  spreads, 

By  which  our  path  we  see ; 
His  love  a  banner  o'er  our  heads, 
From  harm  preserves  us  free. 

6  Jesus,  the  bread  of  life,  is  given 

To  be  our  daily  food : 
We  drink  a  wond'rous  stream  from  heaven, 
'Tis  water,  wine,  and  blood. 

7  Lord,  'tis  enough,  I  ask  no  more, 

These  blessings  are  divine  ; 
I  envy  not  the  worldling's  store, 
If  Christ  and  heaven  are  mine. 


HYMN  LIX. 

COMMUNION  WITH  THE  SAINTS  IN  GLORY. 

1  Refreshed  by  the  bread  and  wine, 
The  pledges  of  our  Saviour's  love  : 
Now  let  our  hearts  and  voices  join 
In  songs  of  praise  with  those  above. 

52   Do  they  sing,  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  ?" 
Although  we  cannot  reach  their  strains, 
Yet  we,  through  grace,  can  sing  the  same, 
For  us  he  died,  for  us  he  reigns. 


3  If  they  behold  hiin  face  to  face, 
While  we  a  glimpse  can  only  see ; 
Y'et  equal  debtors  to  his  grace, 
As  safe  and  as  belov'd  are  we. 

4  They  had,  like  us,  a  suffering  time, 

Our  cares,  and  fears,  and  griefs  they  knew; 
But  they  have  conquer'd  all  through  him, 
And  we  ere  long  shall  conquer  too. 

5  Though  all  the  songs  of  saints  in  light 
Are  far  beneath  his  matchless  worth, 
His  grace  is  such,  he  will  not  slight 
The  poor  attempts  of  worms  on  eart  h 


ON  PRAYER 


HYMN  LX. 

EXHORTATION  TO  PRAYER. 

1  What  various  hindrances  we  meet 
In  coming  to  a  mercy-seat ! 

Yet  who  that  knows  the  worth  of  prayer, 
But  wishes  to  be  often  there. 

2  Prayer  makes  the  darken'd  cloud  withdraw 
Prayer  climbs  the  ladder  Jacob  saw 
Gives  exercise  to  faith  and  love, 

Brings  ev'ry  blessing  from  above. 

3  Restraining  prayer,  we  cease  to  fight; 
Prayer  makes  the  christian's  armour  bright ; 
And  Satan  trembles  when  he  sees 

The  weakest  saint  upon  his  knees. 

4  While  Moses  stood  with  arms  spread  wide, 
Success  was  found  on  Israel's  side  ;* 

But  when  through  weariness  they  fail'd, 
That  moment  Amaluk  prevail'd. 

5  Have  you  no  words  ?  ah  !   think  again, 
Words  flow  apace  when  you  complain, 
And  till  your  fellow-creature's  ear, 
With  the  sad  tale  of  all  your  care. 

6  Were  half  the  breath  thus  vainly  spent, 
To  heaven  in  supplication  sent, 
Your  cheerful  song  would  oft'ner  be, 
"  Hear  what  the  Lord  has  done  for  me." 

C. 


HYMN  LXI. 


POWER  of  prayer. 

In  themselves,  as  weak  as  worms, 
How  can  poor  believers  stand, 
When  temptations,  foes,  and  storms^ 
Press  them  close  on  ev'ry  hand  ? 

*  Exod.  xvii.  II. 


HYMN  LXIII. 


ORDINANCES. 


59] 


2  Weak,  indeed,  they  feel  they  are, 
But  they  know  the  throne  of  grace  ; 
And  the  God  who  answers  prayer, 
Helps  them  when  they  seek  his  face. 

3  Though  the  Lord  a  while  delay, 
Succour  they  at  length  obtain  ; 

He  who  taught  their  hearts  to  pray, 
Will  not  let  them  cry  in  vain. 

4  Wrestling  prayer  can  wonders  do, 
Bring  relief  in  deepest  straits  ; 
Prayer  can  force  a  passage  through 
Iron  bars  and  brazen  gates. 

5  Hezekiah  on  his  knees 
Proud  Assyria's  host  subdued  ; 
And  when  smitten  with  disease, 
Had  his  life  by  prayer  renewed. 

6  Peter,  though  confin'd  and  chain'd, 
Prayer  prevail'd  and  brought  him  out : 
When  Elijah  prayed,  it  rain'd, 

After  three  long  years  of  drought 

7  We  can  likewise  witness  bear. 
That  the  Lord  is  still  the  same ; 
Though  we  fear'd  he  would  not  hear, 
Suddenly  deliverance  came. 

8  For  the  wonders  he  has  wrought, 
Let  us  now  our  praises  give ; 
And  by  sweet  experience  taught, 
Call  upon  him  while  we  live. 


ON  THE  SCRIPTURES. 


HYMN  LXII. 

THE  LIGHT  AND  GLORY  OF  THE  WORD. 

i   The  Spirit  breathes  upon  the  word, 
And  brings  the  truth  to  sight ; 
Precepts  and  promises  afford 
A  sanctifying  light. 

2  A  glory  gilds  the  sacred  page, 

Majestic  like  the  sun  ; 
It  gives  a  light  to  every  age, 
It  gives,  but  borrows  none. 

3  The  hand  that  gave  it  still  supplies 

The  gracious  light  and  heat ; 
His  truths  upon  the  nations  rise, 
They  rise,  but  never  set. 


Let  everlasting  thanks  be  thine, 
For  such  a  bright  display, 

As  makes  a  world  of  darkness  shine 
With  beams  of  heavenly  day, 

My  soul  rejoices  to  pursue 
The  steps  of  him  I  love  ; 

Till  glory  breaks  upon  my  view 
In  brighter  worlds  above. 


HYMN  LXIII. 

THE  WORD  MORE  PRECIOUS  THAN  GOLD 

Precious  Bible !  what  a  treasure 
Does  the  word  of  God  afford  ! 
All  I  want  for  life  or  pleasure, 
Food  and  med'cine,  shield  and  sword : 
Let  the  world  account  me  poor, 
Having  this  I  need  no  more. 

Food  to  which  the  world's  a  stranger, 

Here  my  hungry  soul  enjoys ; 

Of  excess  there  is  no  danger, 

Though  it  fills,  it  never  cloys  : 
On  a  dying  Christ  I  feed, 
He  is  meat  and  drink  indeed  ! 

When  my  faith  is  faint  and  sickly, 
Or  when  Satan  wounds  my  mind, 
Cordials  to  revive  me  quickly, 
Healing  med'cines  here  I  find  : 

To  the  promises  I  flee, 

Each  affords  a  remedy. 

In  the  hour  of  dark  temptation, 

Satan  cannot  make  me  yield ; 

For  the  word  of  consolation 

Is  to  me  a  mighty  shield  : 

While  the  scripture  truths  are  sure, 
From  his  malice  I'm  secure. 

Vain  his  threats  to  overcome  me, 

When  I  take  the  Spirit's  sword  ; 

Then,  with  ease,  I  drive  him  from  me, 

Satan  trembles  at  the  word  : 

'Tis  a  sword  for  conquest  made, 
Keen  the  edge,  and  strong  the  blade 

Shall  I  envy,  then,  the  miser, 
Doating  on  his  golden  store  ? 
Sure  I  am,  or  should  be,  wiser ; 
I  am  rich  'tis  he  is  poor  : 

Jesus  gives  me  in  his  word, 

Food  and  med'cine,  shield  and  sword 


592 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


liJOK    II 


III.  PROVIDENCES. 


HYMN  LXIV. 

ON    THE    COiMMENCEMENT   OF    HOSTILITIES     IN 
AMERICA. 

1  The  gath'ring  clouds,  with  aspect  dark 

A  rising  storm  presage  ; 
Oh  !   to  be  hid  within  the  ark, 
And  shelter'd  from  its  rage. 

2  See  the  commission'd  angel  frown  !  * 

That  vial  in  his  hand, 
Fill'd  with  fierce  wrath,  is  pouring  down 
Upon  our  guilty  land  ! 

3  Ye  saints,  unite  in  wrestling  prayer, 

1  f  yet  there  may  be  hope  ; 
Who  knows  but  mercy  yet  may  spare, 
And  bid  the  angel  stop  ?  f 

4  Already  is  the  plague  begun,  \ 

And  fired  with  hostile  rage, 
Brethren,  by  blood  and  interest  one, 
With  brethren  now  engage. 

5  Peace  spreads  her  wings,  prepar'd  for  flight, 

And  war,  with  flaming  sword, 
And  hasty  strides,  draws  nigh  to  fight 
The  battles  of  the  Lord. 

6  The  first  alarm,  alas  !   how  tew, 

While  distant,  seem  to  hear  ! 
But  they  will  hear,  and  tremble  too, 
When  God  shall  send  it  near. 

7  So  thunder  o'er  the  distant  hills 

Gives  but  a  murm'ring  sound ; 
But  as  the  tempest  spreads,  it  fills, 
And  shakes  the  welkin  §  -round. 

8  May  we  at  least,  with  one  consent, 

Fall  low  before  the  throne ; 
With  tears  the  nation's  sins  lament, 
The  church's  and  our  own. 

9  The  humble  souls  who  mourn  and  pray, 

The  Lord  approves  and  knows  ; 
His  mark  secures  them  in  the  day 
When  vengeance  strikes  his  foes. 


FAST-DAY  HYMNS. 

HYMN  LXV. 

CONFESSION  AND  PRAYER.       Dec.    13,   1776. 

1    Oh  !   may  the  power  which  melts  the  rock, 
Be  felt  by  all  assembled  here  ! 
Or  else  our  service  will  but  mock 
The  God  whom  we  profess  to  fear  ! 

•  Rev,  xvi.  1.      f  ISam.  xxiv.  16.      {  Numb.  xvi.  46. 
4  Firmament  or  atmosphere. 


2  Lord,  while  thy  judgments  shake  the   land. 
Thy  people's  eyes  are  fixed  on  thee ! 

We  own  thy  just  uplifted  hand, 
Which  thousands  cannot,  will  not  see. 

3  How  long  hast  thou  bestow'd  thy  care 
On  this  indulg'd  ungrateful  spot ; 
While  other  nations,  far  and  near, 
Have  envied  and  admir  d  our  lot. 

4  Here  peace  and  liberty  have  dwelt, 
The  glorious  gospel  brightly  shone ; 
And  oft  our  enemies  have  felt 

That  God  has  made  our  cause  his  own. 

5  But,  ah  !  both  heaven  and  earth  have  heard 
Our  vile  requittal  of  his  love  ! 

We,  whom  like  children  he  has  rear'd, 
Rebels  against  his  goodness  prove.* 

6  His  grace  despis'd,  his  power  defied 
And  legions  of  the  blackest  crimes, 
Profaneness,  riot,  lust,  and  pride, 
Are  signs  that  mark  the  present  times. 

7  The  Lord,  displeas'd,  has  rais'd  his  rod ; 
Ah,  where  are  now  the  faithful  few, 
Who  tremble  for  the  ark  of  God, 

And  know  what  Israel  ought  to  do  ?  f 

8  Lord,  hear  thy  people  ev'rywhere, 
Who  meet  to  mourn,  confess,  and  pray  ; 
The  nation  and  thy  churches  spare, 
And  let  thy  wrath  be  turn'd  away. 


HYMN  LXVI. 

HOSES  AND  AMALEK.  f      Feb.  27,  1778. 

1  While  Joshua  led  the  armed  bands 

Of  Israel  forth  to  war ; 
Moses  apart,  with  lifted  hands, 
Engag'd  in  humble  prayer. 

2  The  armed  bands  had  quickly  fail'd, 

And  perish'd  in  the  fight, 
If  Moses'  prayer  had  not  prevail'd 
To  put  the  foes  to  flight. 

3  When     Moses'    hands    through    weakness 

The  warriors  fainted  too ;  [dropp'd, 

Israel's  success  at  once  was  stopp'd, 
And  Am'lek  bolder  grew. 

4  A  people,  always  prone  to  boast, 

Were  taught  by  this  suspense, 
That  not  a  num'rous  armed  host, 
But  God,  was  their  defence. 

Isaiah  i.  2.        f  1  Chroii.  xii.  32.         t  Exod.  xvii.  9. 


HYMN  LXIX. 

5  We  now  of  fleets  and  armies  vaunt, 

And  ships  and  men  prepare ; 
But  men  like  Moses  most  we  want 
To  save  the  state  by  prayer. 

6  Yet,  Lord,  we  hope  thou  hast  prepar'd 

A  hidden  few  to-day 
(The  nation's  secret  strength  and  guard) 
To  weep,  and  mourn,  and  pray. 

7  O  hear  their  prayers,  and  grant  us  aid  ! 

Bid  war  and  discord  cease  ; 
Heal  the  sad  breach  which  sin  has  made, 
And  bless  us  all  with  peace. 


PROVIDENCES. 


593 


HYMN  LXVII. 

THE  HIDING-PLACE.       Feb.    10,    1779. 

1  See  the  gloomy  gath'ring  cloud 
Hanging  o'er  a  sinful  land  ! 
Sure  the  Lord  proclaims  aloud 
Times  of  trouble  are  at  hand. 
Happy  they  who  love  his  name  ; 
They  shall  always  find  him  near  ; 
Though  the  earth  were  wrapt  in  flame, 
They  have  no  just  cause  for  fear. 

2  Hark,  his  voice  in  accents  mild, 
(O  how  comforting  and  sweet!) 
Speaks  to  every  humble  child, 
Pointing  out  a  sure  retreat ! 

"  Come,  and  in  my  chambers  hide,* 
To  my  saints  of  old  well  known ; 
There  you  safely  may  abide, 
Till  the  storm  be  overblown. 

3  You  have  only  to  repose 

On  my  wisdom,  love,  and  care ; 
When  my  wrath  consumes  my  foes, 
Mercy  shall  my  children  spare  : 
While  they  perish  in  the  flood, 
You  that  bear  my  holy  mark,-)- 
Sprinkled  with  atoning  blood, 
Shall  be  safe  within  the  ark." 

4  Sinners,  see  the  ark  prepar'd  ! 
Haste  to  enter  while  there's  room  ; 
Though  the  Lord  his  arm  has  bar'd 
Mercy  still  retards  your  doom : 
Seek  him  while  there  yet  is  hope, 
Ere  the  day  of  grace  he  past, 

Lest  in  wrath  he  give  you  up, 

And  this  call  should  prove  your  last. 


HYMN  LXVIII. 

ON  THE  EARTHQUAKE.       Sept.   8,    1775. 

Although  on  massy  pillars  built, 
The  earth  has  lately  shook ; 

It  trembles  under  Britain's  guilt. 
Before  its  Maker's  look. 


*  Isaiah  xxvi.  20, 


+  Ezek.  ix.  \. 


2  Swift  as  the  shock  amazement  spreads. 

And  sinners  tremble  too  ; 
What  flight  can  screen  their  guilty  heads. 
If  earth  itself  pursue  ? 

3  But  mercy  spar'd  us  while  it  warn'd, 

The  shock  is  felt  no  more ; 
And  mercy  now,  alas  !   is  scorn'd 
By  sinners,  as  before. 

4  But  if  these  warnings  prove  in  vain, 

Say,  sinner,  canst  thou  tell, 
How  soon  the  earth  may  quake  again, 
And  open  wide  to  hell  ? 

5  Repent  before  the  Judge  draws  nigh, 

Or  else  when  he  comes  down, 
Thou  wilt  in  vain  for  earthquakes  cry 
To  hide  thee  from  his  frown.* 

6  But  happy  they  who  love  the  Lord, 

And  his  salvation  know  ; 
The  hope  that's  founded  on  his  word. 
No  change  can  overthrow. 

7  Should  the  deep-rooted  hills  be  hurl'd, 

And  plung'd  beneath  the  seas, 
And  strong  convulsions  shake  the  world, 
Your  hearts  may  rest  in  peace. 

8  Jesus,  your  Shepherd,  Lord,  and  Chief, 

Shall  shelter  you  from  ill ; 

And  not  a  worm  or  shaking  leaf 

Can  move,  but  at  his  will. 


HYMN  LXIX. 

ON  THE  FIRE  AT  OLNEY.       Sept.    22,    1777 

1  Wearied  by  day  with  toils  and  cares, 
How  welcome  is  the  peaceful  night  ' 
Sweet  sleep  our  wasted  strength  repairs, 
And  fits  us  for  returning  light. 

2  Yet  when  our  eyes  in  sleep  are  clos'd, 
Our  rest  may  break  ere  well  begun; 
To  dangers  ev'ry  hour  expos'd, 

We  neither  can  forsee  nor  shun. 

3  'Tis  of  the  Lord  that  we  can  sleep 
A  single  night  without  alarms; 
His  eye  alone  our  lives  can  keep 
Secure  amidst  a  thousand  harms. 

4  For  months  and  years  of  safety  past, 
Ungrateful  we,  alas  !   have  been  ; 
Though  patient  long,  he  spoke  at  last, 
And  bid  the  fire  rebuke  our  sin. 

5  The  shout  of — Fire  !  a  dreadful  cry, 
Impress'd  each  heart  with  deep  dismay, 
While  the  fierce  blaze  and  redd'ning  sky 
Made  midnight  wear  the  face  of  day. 

6  The  throng  and  terror  who  can  speak  ? 
The  various  sounds  that  fill'd  the  air — 
The  infant's  wail,  the  mother's  shriek, 
The  voice  of  blasphemy  and  prayer. 

*    Rev.  vi.  IS. 
2  Y 


594  OLNEY 

7  But  prayer  prevail'd  and  sav'd  the  town  : 
The  few  who  lov'd  the  Saviour's  name 
Were  heard,  and  mercy  hasted  down 

To  change  the  wind  and  stop  the  flame. 

8  O  may  that  night  be  ne'er  forgot! 
Lord,  still  increase  thy  praying  few  ! 
Were  Olney  left  without  a  Lot, 
Ruin  like  Sodom's  would  ensue. 


HYMN  LXX. 

A  WELCOME  TO  CHRISTIAN  FRIENDS. 

1  Kindred  in  Christ,  for  his  dear  sake, 
A  hearty  welcome  here  receive  ; 
May  we  together  now  partake 

The  joys  which  only  he  can  give  ! 

2  To  you  and  us  by  grace  'tis  given 

To  know  the  Saviour's  precious  name, 
And  shortly  we  shall  meet  in  heaven, 
Our  hope,  our  way,  our  end  the  same. 

S  May  he,  by  whose  kind  care  we  meet, 
Send  his  good  Spirit  from  above, 
Make  our  communications  sweet, 
And  cause  our  hearts  to  burn  with  love ! 

4  Forgotten  be  each  worldly  theme, 
When  christians  see  each  other  thus; 
We  only  wish  to  speak  of  him 

Who  liv'd,  and  died,  and  reigns  for  us. 

5  We'll  talk  of  all  he  did  and  said, 
And  suffer'd  for  us  here  below  ; 
The  path  he  mark'd  for  us  to  tread, 
And  what  he's  doing  for  us  now. 

6  Thus,  as  the  moments  pass  away, 
We'll  love,  and  wonder,  and  adore, 
And  hasten  on  the  glorious  day, 
When  we  shall  meet  to  part  no  more. 


HYMN  LXXr. 

AT  PARTING. 

1  As  the  sun's  enliv'ning  eye 
Shines  on  ev'ry  place  the  same ; 
So  the  Lord  is  always  nigh 

To  the  souls  that  love  his  name. 

2  When  they  move  at  duty's  call, 
He  is  with  them  by  the  way  : 
He  is  ever  with  them  all, 

Those  who  go  and  those  who  stay, 

S   From  his  holy  mercy-seat 

Nothing  can  their  souls  confine  ; 
Still  in  spirit  they  may  meet, 
And  in  sweet  communion  join. 

4   For  a  season  calPd  to  part, 
Let  us  then  ourselves  commend 
To  the  gracious  eye  and  heart 
Of  our  ever-present  Friend. 


HYMNS.  book  il 

I  5  Jesus,  hear  our  humble  prayer  ! 
Tender  Shepherd  of  thy  sheep  .' 
Let  thy  mercy  and  thy  care 
All  our  souls  in  safety  keep. 

In  thy  strength  may  we  be  strong, 
Sweeten  ev'ry  cross  and  pain  ; 
Give  us.  if  we  live,  ere  long, 
Here  to  meet  in  peace  again. 

Then,  if  thou  thy  help  afford, 
Ebenezers  shall  be  rear'd, 
And  our  souls  shall  praise  the  Lord, 
Who  our  poor  petitions  heard. 


FUNERAL  HYMNS. 


HYMN  LXXII. 

ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  BELIEVXR. 

1  In  vain  my  fancy  strives  to  paint 

The  moment  after  death, 
The  glories  that  surround  the  saints 
When  yielding  up  their  breath. 

2  One  gentle  sigh  their  fetters  breaks  ; 

We  scarce  can  say,  "  They're  gone  !" 
Before  the  willing  spirit  takes 
Her  mansion  near  the  throne. 

3  Faith  strives,  but  all  its  efforts  fail, 

To  trace  her  in  her  flight ; 
No  eyes  can  pierce  within  the  vail, 
Which  hides  that  world  of  light. 

4  Thus  much  (and  this  is  all)  we  know, 

They  are  completely  blest, 
Have  done  with  sin,  and  care,  and  woe 
And  with  their  Saviour  rest. 

5  On  harps  of  gold  they  praise  his  name, 

His  face  they  always  view ; 
Then  let  us  follow'rs  be  of  them 
That  we  may  praise  him  too. 

6  Their  faith  and  patience,  love  and  zea' 

Should  make  their  mem'ry  dear ; 
And,  Lord,  do  thou  the  prayers  fulfil 
They  offer'd  for  us  here  ! 

7  While  they  have  gain'd,  we  losers  are, 

We  miss  them  day  by  day  ; 
But  thou  canst  ev'ry  breach  repair, 
And  wipe  our  tears  away. 

8  We  pray,  as  in  Elisha's  case, 

When  great  Elijah  went, 
May  double  portions  of  thy  grace, 
To  us  who  stay  be  sent. 


HYMN  LXXVI. 


PROVIDENCES. 


HYMN  LXXIII. 

ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  MINISTER. 

1  His  master  taken  from  his  head, 

Elisha  saw  him  go, 
And,  in  desponding  accents  said, 
"  Ah  !  what  must  Israel  do  ?" 

2  But  he  forgot  the  Lord  who  lifts 

The  beggar  to  the  throne, 
Nor  knew  that  all  Elijah's  gifts 
Would  soon  be  made  his  own. 

3  What !   when  a  Paul  has  run  his  course, 

Or  when  Apollos  dies, 
Is  Israel  left  without  resource  ? 
And  have  we  no  supplies  ? 

4  Yes  !  while  the  dear  Redeemer  lives, 

We  have  a  boundless  store, 
And  shall  be  fed  with  what  he  gives, 
Who  lives  for  evermore. 

C. 


HYMN  LXX1V. 

THE  TOLLING  BELL. 

'.    Oft  as  the  bell,  with  solemn  toll, 
Speaks  the  departure  of  a  soul, 
Let  each  one  ask  himself  "  Am  I 
Prepar'd  should  I  be  call'd  to  die  ?' 

2  Only  this  frail  and  fleeting  breath 
Preserves  me  from  the  jaws  of  death  : 
Soon  as  it  fails,  at  once  I'm  gone, 
And  plung'd  into  a  world  unknown. 

S  Then  leaving  all  I  lov'd  below, 
To  God's  tribunal  I  must  go  ; 
Must  hear  the  Judge  pronounce  my  fate, 
And  fix  my  everlasting  state. 

4  But  could  I  bear  to  hear  him  say, 
"  Depart,  accursed,  far  away  ! 
With  Satan  in  the  lowest  hell, 
Thou  art  for  ever  doom'd  to  dwell." 

5  Lord  Jesus  !  help  me  .now  to  flee, 
And  seek  my  hope  alone  in  thee ; 
Apply  thy  blood,  thy  Spirit  give, 
Subdue  my  sin,  and  let  me  live. 

6  Then,  when  the  solemn  bell  I  hear, 
If  sav'd  from  guilt,  I  need  not  fear  ; 
Nor  would  the  thought  distressing  be, 
Perhaps  it  next  may  toll  for  me. 

7  Rather  my  spirit  would  rejoice, 

And  long,  and  wish  to  hear  thy  voice, 
Glad  when  it  bids  me  earth  resign, 
Secure  of  heaven,  if  thou  art  mine. 


HYMN  LXXV 

HOPE  BEYOND  THE  GRAVE. 

1  My  soul,  this  curious  house  of  clay, 

Thy  present  frail  abode, 
Must  quickly  fall  to  worms  a  prey, 
And  thou  return  to  God. 

2  Canst  thou,  by  faith,  survey  with  joy 

The  change  before  it  come  ? 
And  say,  "  Let  death  this  house  destroy 
I  have  a  heavenly  home  ! 

3  The  Saviour,  whom  I  then  shall  see 

With  new-admiring  eyes, 
Already  has  prepar'd  for  me 
A  mansion  in  the  skies."  * 

4  I  feel  this  mud-wall'd  cottage  shake, 

And  long  to  see  it  fall ; 
That  I  my  willing  flight  may  take 
To  him  who  is  my  all. 

5  Burden'd  and  groaning  then  no  more, 

My  rescu'd  soul  shall  sing, 
As  up  the  shining  path  I  soar, 
"  Death  thou  hast  lost  thy  sting.' 

Dear  Saviour  help  us  now  to  seek 
And  know  thy  grace's  power, 

That  we  may  all  this  language  speak, 
Before  the  dying  hour. 


HYMN  LXXVI. 

THERE  THE  WEARY  ARE  AT  REST. 

Courage,  my  soul !  behold  the  prize 
The  Saviour's  love  provides, — 

Eternal  life  beyond  the  skies 
For  all  whom  here  he  guides. 

The  wicked  cease  from  troubling  there. 

The  weary  are  at  rest;f 
Sorrow,  and  sin,  and  pain,  and  care, 

No  more  approach  the  blest. 

A  wicked  world,  and  wicked  heart, 
With  Satan  now  are  joia'd  ; 

Each  acts  a  too  successful  part 
In  harrassing  my  mind. 

In  conflict  with  this  threefold  troop, 

How  weary,  Lord,  am  I ! 
Did  not  thy  promise  bear  me  up, 

My  soul  must  faint  and  die. 

But  fighting  in  my  Saviour's  strength, 
Though  mighty  are  my  foes, 

I  shall  a  conq'ror  be  at  length 
O'er  all  that  can  oppose. 

Then  why,  my  soul,  complain  or  fear  ? 

The  crown  of  glory  see  ! 
The  more  I  toil  and  suffer  here, 

The  sweeter  rest  will  be. 

*  2  Cor.  v.  1.  t  J°b  iil.  l"' 


59G 


OLNEY   HYMNS. 

3 


HYMN  LXXVII. 

THE  DAY  OF  JUDGMENT. 

1  Day  of  judgment,  day  of  wonders  ! 
Hark  !   the  trumpet's  awful  sound, 
Louder  than  a  thousand  thunders, 
Shakes  the  vast  creation  round  !  [confound  ! 

How  the  summons  will    the  sinner's  heart 

2  See  the  Judge  our  nature  wearing, 
Cloth'd  in  majesty  divine  ! 

You  who  long  for  his  appearing, 
Then  shall  say,  This  God  is  mine  !    [thine  ! 
Gracious    Saviour,  own   me    in  that  day  for 

3  At  his  call  the  dead  awaken, 
Rise  to  life  from  earth  and  sea : 
All  the  powers  of  nature  shaken, 

By  his  looks  prepare  to  flee ;  [thee  ! 

Careless    sinner!   what   will  then    become  of 

4  Horrors  past  imagination 

Will  surprise  your  trembling  heart, 
When  you  hear  your  condemnation, 
"  Hence,  accursed  wretch,  depart ! 
Thou  with  Satan  and  his  angels  have  thy  part !" 

5  Satan,  who  now  tries  to  please  you, 
Lest  you  timely  warning  take, 

When  that  word  is  past,  will  seize  you, 
Plunge  you  in  the  burning  lake: 
Think,  poor  sinner,  thy  eternal  all's  at  stake. 

6  But  to  those  who  have  confessed, 
Lov'd  and  serv'tl  the  Lord  below, 
He  will  say,  "  Come  near,  ye  blessed, 
See  the  kingdom  I  bestow: 

You  for  ever  shall  my  love  and  glory  know." 

7  Under  sorrows  and  reproaches, 

May  this  thought  your  courage  raise  ! 
Swiftly  God's  great  day  approaches, 
Sighs  shall  then  be  chang'd  to  praise: 
We  shall  triumph  when  the  world  is  in  a  blaze. 


HYMN  LXXVIII. 

THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD.   * 

God,  with  one  piercing  glance,  looks  thro' 
Creation's  wide  extended  frame; 
The  past  and  future  in  his  view, 
And  days  and  ages  are  the  same.-J- 

Sinners  who  dare  provoke  his  face, 
Who  on  his  patience  long  presume, 
And  trifle  out  his  day  of  grace, 
Will  find  he  has  a  day  of  doom. 


Book  111.  Hyirw  iv. 


+  2  Pet.  iii.  K—'.O. 


BOOK   If. 

As  pangs  the  lab'ring  woman  feels, 
Or  as  the  thief,  in  midnight  sleep  ; 
So  comes  that  day,  for  which  the  wheels 
Of  time  their  ceaseless  motion  keep  ! 

Hark  !   from  the  sky  the  trump  proclaims 
Jesus  the  Judge  approaching  nigh  ! 
See,  the  creation  wrapt  in  flames, 
First  kindled  by  his  vengeful  eye! 

When  thus  the  mountains  melt  like  wax  ; 
When  earth,  and  air,  and  sea,  shall  burn  ; 
When  all  the  frame  of  nature  breaks, 
Poor  sinner,  whether  wilt  thou  turn  ? 

The  puny  works  which  feeble  men 
Now  boast,  or  covet,  or  admire ; 
Their  pomp  and  arts,  and  treasures,  then 
Shall  perish  in  one  common  fire. 

Lord,  fix  our  hearts  and  hopes  above  ! 
Since  all  below  to  ruin  tends; 
Here  may  we  trust,  obey,  and  love, 
And  there  be  found  amongst  thy  friends. 


HYMN  LXXIX. 

THE  GREAT  TRIBUNAL.* 

1  John,  in  vision,  saw  the  day 
When  the  Judge  will  hasten  down  t 
Heaven  and  earth  shall  flee  away 
From  the  terror  of  his  frown  ; 
Dead  and  living,  small  and  great, 
Raised  from  the  earth  and  sea, 

At  his  bar  shall  hear  their  fate, — 
What  will  then  become  of  me  ? 

2  Can  I  bear  his  awful  looks  ? 
Shall  I  stand  in  judgment  then, 
When  I  see  the  open'd  books, 
Written  by  the  Almighty's  pen  ? 
If  he  to  remembrance  bring, 
And  expose  to  public  view, 
Ev'ry  work  and  secret  thing, 

Ah  !  my  soul,  what  canst  thou  do  ? 

3  When  the  list  shall  be  produe'd 
Of  the  talents  I  enjoyed  ; 
Means  and  mercigs,  how  abus'd  ! 
Time  and  strength,  how  misemployed ' 
Conscience  then,  compelFd  to  read, 
Must  allow  the  charge  is  true  ; 

Say,  my  soul,  what  canst  thou  plead  ? 
In  that  hour,  what  wilt  thou  do  ? 

4  But  the  book  of  life  I  see, 
May  my  name  be  written  there  ! 
Then  from  guilt  and  danger  free, 
Glad  I'll  meet  him  in  the  air  : 
That's  the  book  I  hope  to  plead, 
'Tis  the  gospel  open'd  wide; 
Lord,  I  am  a  wretch  indeed  ! 

I  have  sinn'd,  but  thou  hast  died,  f 


*  Ilev.  xx.  11.  12. 


f  Rom.  •>  iii.  3* 


HYMN    LXXXII 

5 


CREATION. 


Now  my  soul  knows  what  to  do  ; 
Thus  I  shall  with  boldness  stand, 
Number'd  with  the  faithful  few, 
Own'd  and  sav'd  at  thy  right-hand: 


597 


If  thou  help  a  feeble  worm 
To  believe  thy  promise  now, 
Justice  will  at  last  confirm 
What  thy  mercy  wrought  below. 


IV.  CREATION. 


HYMN  LXXX. 

THE  OLD  AND  NEW  CREATION. 

1  That  was  a  wonder-working  word 
Which  could  the  vast  creation  raise  ! 
Angels,  attendant  on  their  Lord,* 
Admir'd  the  plan,  and  sung  his  praise. 

2  From  what  a  dark  and  shapeless  mass, 
All  nature  sprung  at  his  command  ! 
Let  there  be  light,  and  light  there  was, 
And  sun,  and  stars,  and  sea,  and  land. 

3  With  equal  speed  the  earth  and  seas 
Their  mighty  Maker's  voice  obeyed  ; 

He  spake,  and  straight  the  plants  and  trees, 
And  birds,  and  beasts,  and  men  were  made. 

4  But  man,  the  lord  and  crown  of  all, 
By  sin  his  honour  soon  defac'd ; 

His  heart  (how  alter'd  since  the  fall !) 
Is  dark,  deform'd,  and  void,  and  waste. 

5  The  new  creation  of  the  soul 

Does  now  no  less  his  power  display,-)- 
Than  when  he  form'd  the  mighty  whole, 
And  kindled  darkness  into  day. 

6  Though,  self-destroyed,  O  Lord,  we  are, 
Yet  let  us  fee!  what  thou  canst  do  ; 
Thy  word  the  ruin  can  repair, 

And  all  our  hearts  create  anew 


HYMN  LXXXI. 

THE  BOOK  OF  CREATION. 

t   The  book  of  nature  open  lies, 
With  much  instruction  stor'd ; 
But  till  the  Lord  anoints  our  eyes, 
We  cannot  read  a  word. 

2   Philosophers  have  por'd  in  vain, 
And  guess'd  from  age  to  age  : 
For  reason's  eye  could  ne'er  attain 
To  understand  a  page. 


Job  xxxviii.  7- 


t  2  Cor.  iv.  6. 


3  Though  to  each  star  they  give  a  name, 

Its  size  and  motions  teach  ; 
The  truths  which  all  the  stars  proclaim, 
Their  wisdom  cannot  reach. 

4  With  skill  to  measure  earth  and  sea, 

And  weigh  the  subtile  air ; 
They  cannot,  Lord,  discover  thee, 
Though  present  ev'rywhere. 

5  The  knowledge  of  the  saints  excels 

The  wisdom  of  the  schools  ; 
To  them  his  secrets  God  reveals, 
Though  men  account  them  fools. 

6  To  them  the  sun  and  stars  on  high, 

The  flowers  that  paint  the  field,  * 
And  all  the  artless  birds  that  fly, 
Divine  instruction  yield. 

7  The  creatures  on  their  senses  press, 

As  witnesses  to  prove 
Their  Saviour's  power  and  faithfulness, 
His  providence  and  love. 

8  Thus  may  we  study  nature's  book, 

To  make  us  wise  indeed ! 
And  pity  those  who  only  look 
At  what  they  cannot  read.f 


HYMN  LXXXII. 


THE  RAINBOW. 


1  When  the  sun,  with  cheerful  beams, 
Smiles  upon  a  low'ring  sky, 

Soon  its  aspect  soften 'd  seems, 
And  a  rainbow  meets  the  eye  : 
While  the  sky  remains  serene, 
This  bright  arch  is  never  seen. 

2  Thus  the  Lord's  supporting  power 
Brightest  to  his  saints  appears, 
When  affliction's  threat  ning  hour 
Fills  the  sky  with  clouds  and  fears, 

He  can  wonders  then  perform, 
Paint  a  rainbow  on  the  storm,  f 


Matth.  vi.  26—28. 
J  Gen.  »x. 


+  Rom.  i.  '.'.(\ 


59$ 


OLNEY 


All  their  graces  doubly  shine, 
When  their  troubles  press  them  sore  ; 
And  the  promises  divine 
Give  them  joys  unknown  before  : 
As  the  colours  of  the  bow 
To  the  cloud  their  brightness  owe. 

Favour'd  John  a  rainbow  saw,* 
Circling  round  the  throne  above  ; 
Hence  the  saints  a  pledge  may  draw 
Of  unchanging  cov'nant  love  : 
Clouds  a  while  may  intervene, 
But  the  bow  will  still  be  seen. 


HYMN  LXXXIII. 

THUNDER. 

1  When  a  black  o'erspreading  cloud 

Has  darken'd  all  the  air, 
And  peals  of  thunder,  roaring  loud, 
Proclaim  the  tempest  near; 

2  Then  guilt  and  fear,  the  fruits  of  sin, 

The  sinner  oft  pursue  : 
A  louder  storm  is  heard  within, 
And  conscience  thunders  too. 

S  The  law  a  fiery  language  speaks, 
His  danger  he  perceives ; 
Like  Satan,  who  his  ruin  seeks, 
He  trembles  and  believes. 

4  But  when  the  sky  serene  appears, 

And  thunders  roll  no  more, 
He  soon  forgets  his  vows  and  fears, 
Just  as  he  did  before. 

5  But  whither  shall  the  sinner  flee, 

When  nature's  mighty  frame, 
The  pond'rous  earth,  and  air,  and  sea,f 
Shall  all  dissolve  in  flame  ? 

6  Amazing  day  !  it  comes  apace  : 

The  Judge  is  hasting  down  : 

Will  sinners  bear  to  see  his  face, 

Or  stand  before  his  frown  ? 

7  Lord,  let  thy  mercy  find  a  way 

To  touch  each  stubborn  heart ; 
That  they  may  never  hear  thee  say, 
"  Ye  cursed  ones,  depart." 

8  Believers,  you  may  well  rejoice  J 

The  thunder's  loudest  strains 
Should  be  to  you  a  welcome  voice, 
That  tells  you,  "Jesus  reigns." 


HYMN  LXXXIV. 

LIGHTNING  IN  THE  NIGHT. 

A  GLANCE  from  heaven  with  sweet  effect 
Sometimes  my  pensive  spirit  cheers ; 
But  ere  I  can  my  thoughts  collect, 
As  suddenly  it  disappears. 


HYMNS.  BOOK  II. 

2  So  lightning  in  the  gloom  of  night 
Affords  a  momentary  day  ; 
Disclosing  objects  full  in  sight, 
Which,  soon  as  seen,  are  snatch'd  away. 

3  Ah  !   what  avail  these  pleasing  scenes  ? 
They  do  but  aggravate  my  pain  ; 
While  darkness  quickly  intervenes, 
And  swallows  up  my  joys  again. 

4  But  shall  I  murmur  at  relief? 
Though  short,  it  was  a  precious  view, 
Sent  to  control  my  unbelief, 

And  prove  that  what  I  read  is  true. 

5  The  lightning's  flash  did  not  create 
The  op'ning  prospect  it  reveal'd  ; 
But  only  shew'd  the  real  state 

Of  what  the  darkness  had  conceal'd. 

6  Just  so,  we  by  a  glimpse  discern 
The  glorious  things  within  the  vail ; 
That,  when  in  darkness,  we  may  learn 
To  live  by  faith,  till  light  prevail. 

7  The  Lord's  great  day  will  soon  advance, 
Dispersing  all  the  shades  of  night ; 
Then  we  no  more  shall  need  a  glance, 
But  see  by  an  eternal  light. 


*   Rev.  iv.  r>. 


f  2  Pet.  iii.  10. 


HYMN  LXXXV. 

ON  THE  ECLIPSE  OF  THE  MOON,  JULY  30,  1  7  76. 

1  THE  moon  in  silver  glory  shone, 

And  not  a  cloud  in  sight, 
When  suddenly  a  shade  begun 
To  intercept  her  light. 

2  How  fast  across  her  orb  it  spread, 

How  fast  her  light  withdrew  ! 
A  circle,  ting'd  with  languid  red, 
Was  all  appear'd  in  view. 

3  While  many,  with  unmeaning  eye, 

Gaze  on  thy  works  in  vain, 
Assist  me,  Lord,  that  I  may  try 
Instruction  to  obtain. 

4  Fain  would  my  thankful  heart  and  lips 

Unite  in  praise  to  thee, 
And  meditate  on  thy  eciinse 
In  sad  Gethsemane. 

5  Thy  people's  guilt,  a  heavy  load, 

(When  standing  in  their  room) 

Depriv'd  thee  of  the  light  of  God, 

And  fill'd  thy  soul  with  gloom. 

6  How  punctually  eclipses  move, 

Obedient  to  thy  will  ! 
Thus  shall  thy  faithfulness  and  love 
Thy  promises  fulfil. 

*   Dark  like  the  moon  without  the  sun, 
I  mourn  thine  absence,  Lord  ! 
For  light  or  comfort  I  have  none, 
But  what  thv  beams  afford. 


HYMN  LXXXIX.  CREATION. 

8  But  lo  !  the  hour  draws  near  apace,  5 

When  changes  shall  be  o'er, 
Then  I  shall  see  thee  face  to  face, 
And  be  eclips'd  no  more. 


599 


HYMN  LXXXVI. 

MOON-LIGHT. 

1  The  moon  has  but  a  borrow'd  light, 

A  faint  and  feeble  ray  ; 
She  owes  her  beauty  to  the  night, 
And  hides  herself  by  day. 

2  No  cheering  warmth  her  beam  conveys, 

Though  pleasing  to  behold  ; 
We  might  upon  her  brightness  gaze 
Till  we  were  starv'd  with  cold. 

3  Just  such  is  all  the  light  to  man 

Which  reason  can  impart ; 

It  cannot  shew  one  object  plain, 

Nor  warm  the  frozen  heart. 

4  Thus  moon-light  views  of  truths  divine 

To  many  fatal  prove, 
For  what  avail  in  gifts  to  shine,* 
Without  a  spark  of  love  ? 

5  The  gospel,  like  the  sun  at  noon, 

Affords  a  glorious  light ; 
Then  fallen  reason's  boasted  moon 
Appears  no  longer  bright. 

6  And  grace  not  light  alone  bestows, 

But  adds  a  quick'ning  power  ; 
The  desert  blossoms  like  the  rose,f 
And  sin  prevails  no  more. 


HYMN  LXXXVII. 

THE  SEA.  | 

1  If,  for  a  time,  the  air  be  calm, 
Serene  and  smooth  the  sea  appears, 
And  shews  no  danger  to  alarm 

The  unexperienc'd  landsman's  fears  : 

2  But  if  the  tempest  once  arise, 

The  faithless  water  swells  and  raves ; 
Its  billows,  foaming  to  the  skies, 
Disclose  a  thousand  threat' ning  graves. 

S  My  untried  heart  thus  seem'd  to  me 
(So  little  of  myself  I  knew) 
Smooth  as  the  calm  unruffled  sea, 
But,  ah !  it  prov'd  as  treach'rous  too ! 

4  The  peace  of  which  I  had  a  taste, 
When  Jesus  first  his  love  reveal'd, 
I  fondly  hop'd,  would  always  last, 
Because  my  foes  were  then  conceal'd. 

*   1  Cor.  xiii.  1.  Tsa.  xxx».  I 

*  Bonk  !  Ilvnm  cxv. 


But  when  I  felt  the  tempter's  power, 
Rouse  my  corruptions  from  their  sleep, 
I  trembled  at  the  stormy  hour, 
And  saw  the  horrors  of  the  deep. 

6  Now  on  presumption's  billows  borne, 
My  spirit  seem'd  the  Lord  to  dare ; 
Now,  quick  as  thought,  a  sudden  turn 
Plung'd  me  in  gulfs  of  black  despair. 

7  Lord,  save  me,  or  I  sink,  I  prayed, 
He  heard,  and  bid  the  tempest  cease ; 
The  angry  waves  his  word  obeyed, 
And  all  my  fears  were  hush'd  to  peace. 

8  The  peace  is  his,  and  not  my  own, 
My  heart  (no  better  than  before) 
Is  still  to  dreadful  changes  prone, 
Then  let  me  never  trust  it  more. 


HYMN  LXXXVIII. 

THE  FLOOD. 

1  Though  small  the  drops  of  falling  rain, 

If  one  be  singly  view'd  ; 
Collected  they  o'erspread  the  plain, 
And  form  a  mighty  flood. 

2  The  house  it  meets  with  in  its  course 

Should  not  be  built  on  clay, 
Lest,  with  a  wild  resistless  force, 
It  sweep  the  whole  away. 

3  Though  for  a  while  it  seem'd  secure, 

It  will  not  bear  the  shock, 
Unless  it  has  foundations  sure, 
And  stands  upon  a  rock. 

4  Thus  sinners  think  their  evil  deeds, 

Like  drops  of  rain,  are  small ; 
But  it  the  power  of  thought  exceeds, 
To  count  the  sum  of  all. 

5  One  sin  can  raise,  though  small  it  seems, 

A  flood  to  drown  the  soul ; 
What  then,  when  countless  million  streams 
Shall  join  to  swell  the  whole  ? 

6  Yet,  while  they  think  the  weather  fair, 

If  warn'd,  they  smile  or  frown  ; 
But  they  will  tremble  and  despair, 
When  the  fierce  flood  comes  down. 

7  Oh  !  then,  on  Jesus  ground  your  hope. 

That  stone  in  Zion  laid  ;* 
Lest  your  poor  building  quickly  droj>, 
With  ruin  on  your  head. 


HYMN  LXXXIX. 


THE   THAW. 


The  ice  and  snow  we  lately  saw, 
Which  cover'd  all  the  ground, 

Are  melted  soon  before  the  thaw, 
And  can  no  more  be  found. 

*   Matth.  vii-  -'1.  ;  1  Peter  ii.  0, 


coo 

2  Could  all  the  art  of  man  suffice 

To  move  away  the  snow, 
To  clear  the  rivers  from  the  ice, 
Or  make  the  waters  flow  ? 

3  No,  'tis  the  work  of  God  alone  ; 

An  emblem  of  the  power 
By  which  he  melts  the  heart  of  stone 
In  his  appointed  hour. 

4  All  outward  means,  till  he  appears, 

Will  inetfectual  prove  : 
Though  much  the  sinner  sees  and  hears, 
He  cannot  learn  to  love. 

5  But  let  the  stoutest  sinner  feel 

The  soft'ning  warmth  of  grace, 
Though  hard  as  ice,  or  rocks,  or  steel, 
His  heart  dissolves  apace. 

6  Seeing  the  blood  which  Jesus  spilt, 

To  save  his  soul  from  woe, 
His  hatred,  unbelief,  and  guilt, 
All  melt  away  like  snow. 

7  Jesus,  we  in  thy  name  entreat, 

Reveal  thy  gracious  arm  ; 
And  grant  thy  Spirit's  kindly  heat. 
Our  frozen  hearts  to  warm. 


HYMN  XC. 

THE  LOADSTONE. 

As  needles  point  towards  the  pole, 
When  touch'd  by  the  magnetic  stone  ; 
So  faith  in  Jesus  gives  the  soul 
A  tendency  before  unknown. 

Till  then,  by  blinded  passions  led, 
In  search  of  fancied  good  we  range  ; 
The  paths  of  disappointment  tread, 
To  nothing  fix'd,  but  love  of  change. 

But  when  the  Holy  Ghost  imparts 
A  knowledge  of  the  Saviour's  love, 
Our  wand'ring,  weary,  restless  hearts, 
Are  fix'd  at  once,  no  more  to  move. 

Now  a  new  principle  takes  placs, 
Which  guides  and  animates  the  will ; 
This  love,  another  name  for  grace, 
Constrains  to  good,  and  bars  from  ill. 

By  love's  pure  light  we  soon  perceive 
Our  noblest  bliss  and  proper  end  ; 
And  gladly  ev'ry  idol  leave, 
To  love  and  serve  our  Lord  and  F/iend. 

>   Thus  borne  along  by  faith  and  hope, 
We  feel  the  Saviour's  words  are  true  ; 
"  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up, 
Will  draw  the  sinner  upward  too."* 

»  John  xii.  32. 


OLNEY   HYMNS. 


BOOK    II. 


HYMN   XCI. 

THE  Sl'IDER  AND  THE  BEE. 

1  On  the  same  flower  we  often  see 
The  loathsome  spider  and  the  bee; 
But  what  they  get  by  working  there. 
Is  different  as  their  natures  are. 

2  The  bee  a  sweet  reward  obtains, 
And  honey  well  repays  his  pains; 
Home  to  the  hive  he  bears  the  store, 
And  then  returns  in  quest  of  more. 

3  But  no  sweet  flowers  that  grace  the  field 
Can  honey  to  the  spider  yield  ; 

A  cobweb  all  that  he  can  spin, 
And  poison  all  he  stores  within. 

4  Thus  hi  that  sacred  field,  the  word, 
With  flowers  of  God's  own  planting  stoi  'd 
Like  bees  his  children  feed  and  thrive, 
And  bring  home  honey  to  the  hive. 

5  There,  spider-like,  the  wicked  come, 
And  seem  to  taste  the  sweet  perfume  : 
But  the  vile  venom  of  their  hearts 
To  poison  all  their  food  converts. 

6  From  the  same  truths  believers  prize, 
They  weave  vain  refuges  of  lies  ; 
And  from  the  promise  licence  draw, 
To  trifle  with  the  holy  law. 

Lord,  shall  thy  word  of  life  and  love 
The  means  of  death  to  numbers  prove  ! 
Unless  thy  grace  our  hearts  renew,* 
We  sink  to  hell,  with  heaven  in  view. 


HYMN  XCII. 

THE  BEE  SAVED  FROM  THE  SPIDER. 

1  The  subtle  spider  often  weaves 

His  unsuspected  snares 
Among  the  balmy  flowers  and  leaves, 
To  which  the  bee  repairs. 

2  When  in  his  web  he  sees  one  hang, 

With  a  malicious  joy, 
He  darts  upon  it  with  his  fang, 
To  poison  and  destroy. 

3  How  welcome  then  some  pitying  friend, 

To  save  the  threaten'd  bee  : 
The  spider's  treach'rous  web  to  rend, 
And  set  the  captive  free  ! 

4  My  soul  has  been  in  such  a  case : 

When  first  I  knew  the  Lord, 
I  hasted  to  the  means  of  grace, 

Where  sweets  I  knew  were  stor'd. 

5  Little  I  thought  of  danger  near, 

That  soon  my  joys  would  ebb  : 
But,  ah  !    I  met  a  spider  there, 
Who  caught  me  in  his  web. 
•  Book  HI.  Hymn  lxxi. 


HYMN  xcv.  CREATION. 

0  Then  Satan  rais'd  his  pois'nous  sting,  2 

And  aim'd  his  blows  at  me  ; 
While  I,  poor  helpless  trembling  thing, 
Could  neither  fight  nor  flee. 

1  But,  oh  !   the  Saviour's  pitying  eye 

Relieved  me  from  despair ; 

He  saw  me  at  the  point  to  die, 

And  broke  the  fatal  snare. 

8   My  case  his  heedless  saints  should  warn, 
Or  cheer  them  if  afraid  ; 
May  you  from  me  your  danger  learn, 
And  where  to  look  for  aid. 


601 


HYMN  XCIII. 


THE  TAMED  LION. 


1  A  LION,  though  by  nature  wild, 

The  art  of  man  can  tame ; 
He  stands  before  his  keeper  mild, 
And  gentle  as  a  lamb. 

2  He  watches,  with  submissive  eye, 

The  hand  that  gives  him  food, 
As  if  he  meant  to  testify 
A  sense  of  gratitude. 

S   But  man  himself,  who  thus  subdues 
The  fiercest  beasts  of  prey, 
And  nature  more  unfeeling  shews, 
And  far  more  fierce  than  they. 

4  Though  by  the  Lord  preserv'd  and  fed, 

He  proves  rebellious  still  : 
And  while  he  eats  his  Maker's  bread, 
Resists  his  holy  will. 

5  Alike  in  vain  of  grace  that  saves, 

Or  threat'ning  law  he  hears  ; 
The  savage  scorns,  blasphemes,  and  raves, 
But  neither  loves  nor  fears. 

6  O  Saviour  !  how  thy  wond'rous  power 

By  angels  is  proclaim'd  ! 
When  in  their  own  appointed  hour, 
They  see  this  lion  tani'd. 

7  The  love  thy  bleeding  cross  displays, 

The  hardest  heart  subdues  j 
Here  furious  lions,  while  they  gaze, 
Their  rage  and  fierceness  lose.  * 

8  Yet  we  are  but  renew'd  in  part, 

The  lion  still  remains  ; 
Lord,  drive  him  wholly  from  my  heart, 
Or  keep  him  fast  in  chains. 


HYMN  XCIV. 

SHEEP. 

1    The  Saviour  calls  his  people  sheep, 
And  bids  them  on  his  love  rely  ; 
For  he  alone  their  souls  can  keep, 
And  he  alone  their  wants  supply 
*  Isaiah  xi.  6. 


The  bull  can  fight,  the  hare  can  flee, 
The  ant  in  summer  food  prepare; 
But  helpless  sheep,  and  such  are  we, 
Depend  upon  the  Shepherd's  care. 

3  Jehovah  is  our  Shepherd's  name,  * 
Then  what  have  we,  though  weak,  to  fear 
Our  sin  and  folly  we  proclaim, 
If  we  despond  while  he  is  near. 

4  When  Satan  threatens  to  devour, 
When  troubles  press  on  every  side, 
Think  of  our  Shepherd's  care  and  power. 
He  can  defend,  he  will  provide. 

5  See  the  rich  pastures  of  his  grace, 
Where,  in  full  streams,  salvation  flows ! 
There  he  appoints  our  resting  place, 
And  we  may  feed,  secure  from  foes. 

6  There,  'midst  the  flock,  the  Shepherd  dwells, 
The  sheep  around  in  safety  lie ; 

The  wolf  in  vain  with  malice  swells, 
For  he  protects  them  with  his  eye.+ 

7  Dear  Lord,  if  I  am  one  of  thine, 
From  anxious  thoughts  I  would  be  free, 
To  trust,  and  love,  and  praise,  is  mine, 
The  care  of  all  belongs  to  thee. 


HYMN  XCV. 

the  garden. 

1  A  garden  contemplation  suits, 

And  may  instruction  yield, 
Sweeter  than  all  the  flowers  and  fruits 
With  which  the  spot  is  fill'd. 

2  Eden  was  Adam's  dwelling-place, 

While  bless'd  with  innocence  ; 
But  sii,  o'erwhelm'd  him  with  disgrace, 
And  drove  the  rebel  thence. 

3  Oft  as  the  garden- walk  we  tread 

We  should  bemoan  his  fall : 
The  trespass  of  our  legal  head 
In  ruin  plung'd  us  all. 

4  The  garden  of  Gethsemane 

The  second  Adam  saw, 
Oppress'd  with  woe,  to  set  us  free 
From  the  avenging  law. 

5  How  stupid  we,  who  can  forget, 

With  gardens  in  our  sight, 
His  agonies  and  bloody  sweat 
In  that  tremendous  night. 

6  His  church  as  a  fair  garden  stands, 

Which  walls  of  love  inclose, 
Each  tree  is  planted  by  his  hands,  i 
And  by  his  blessing  grows. 

7  Believing  hearts  are  gardens  too, 

For  grace  has  sown  its  seeds, 
Where  once,  by  nature,  nothing  grew 
But  thorns  and  worthless  weeds. 


•  Psal.  xxiii.  1. 


t  Micah  v.  4. 


}  Isa.  lxi.  3, 


602 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


Such  themes,  to  those  who  Jesus  love, 

May  constant  joys  afford, 
And  make  a  barren  desert  prove 

The  garden  of  the  Lord. 


HYMN  XCVI. 

FOR  A  GARDEN -SEAT  OR  SUMMER-HOUSE. 

1  A  SHELTER  from  the  rain  or  wind,* 

A  shade  from  scorching  heat, 
\.  resting-place  you  here  may  find 
To  ease  your  weary  feet. 

2  Enter,  but  with  a  serious  thought 

Consider  who  is  near  : 
This  is  a  consecrated  spot, 
The  Lord  is  present  here. 

3  A  question  of  the  utmost  weight, 

While  reading,  meets  your  eye ; 
May  conscience  witness  to  your  state, 
And  give  a  true  reply  ! 

4  Is  Jesus  to  your  heart  reveal'd, 

As  full  of  truth  and  grace  ? 
And  is  his  name  your  hope  and  shield, 
Your  rest  and  hiding-place? 

5  If  so,  for  all  events  prepar'd, 

Whatever  storms  may  rise, 
He  whom  you  love  will  safely  guard, 
And  guide  you  to  the  skies. 

6  No  burning  sun,  or  storm,  or  rain, 

Will  there  your  peace  annoy  ; 
No  sin,  temptation,  grief  or  pain, 
Intrude  to  damp  your  joy. 

7  But  if  his  name  you  have  not  known, 

O  seek  him  while  you  may  ! 
Lest  you  should  meet  his  awful  frown 
In  that  approaching  day. 

8  When  the  avenging  Judge  you  see, 

With  terrors  on  his  brow, 
Where  can  you  hide,  or  whither  flee, 
If  you  reject  him  now  ? 


HYMN  XCVII. 

THE  CREATURES  IN  THE  LORD'S  HANDS. 

1  The  water  stood  like  walls  of  brass, 
To  let  the  sons  of  Israel  pass,f 
And  from  the  rock  in  rivers  burst, 

At  Moses'  prayer,|  to  quench  their  thirst. 

2  The  fire,  restrain'd  by  God's  commands, 
Could  only  burn  his  people's  bands :§ 
Too  faint,  when  he  was  with  them  there, 
To  singe  their  garments  or  their  hair. 


*   Isa.  xxxii.  2. 
t  Numb.  xx.  11. 


t  Exod.  xiv.  22. 
',    Dan   iii-  i'7. 


BOOK    II. 

3  At  Daniel's  feet  the  lions  lay,* 

Like  harmless  lambs,  nor  touch'd  their  prey; 
And  ravens,  which  on  carrion  fed, 
Procur'd  Elijah  flesh  and  bread.f 

4  Thus  creatures  only  can  fulfil 
Their  great  Creator's  holy  will ; 
And  when  his  servants  need  their  aid 
His  purposes  must  be  obeyed. 

5  So  if  his  blessing  he  refuse, 

Their  power  to  help  they  quickly  lose ; 
Sure  as  on  creatures  we  depend, 
Our  hopes  in  disappointment  end. 

6  Then  let  us  trust  the  Lord  alone, 
And  creature-confidence  disown  ; 
Nor,  if  they  threaten,  need  we  fear  ; 
They  cannot  hurt  if  he  be  near. 

7  If  instruments  of  pain  they  prove, 
Still  they  are  guided  by  his  love, 
As  lancets  by  the  surgeon's  skill, 
Which  wound  to  cure  and  not  to  kill. 


HYMN  XCVIII 

ON    DREAMING. 

When  slumber  seals  our  weary  eyes, 
The  busy  fancy  wakeful  keeps ; 
The  scenes  which  then  before  us  rise, 
Prove  something  in  us  never  sleeps. 

As  in  another  world  we  seem, 
A  new  creation  of  our  own  ; 
All  appears  real,  though  a  dream, 
And  all  familiar,  though  unknown. 

Sometimes  the  mind  beholds  again 
The  past  day's  bus'ness  in  review, 
Resumes  the  pleasure  or  the  pain, 
And  sometimes  all  we  meet  is  new. 

4  What  schemes  we  form  !  what  pains  we  take 
We  fight,  we  run,  we  fly,  we  fall  j 

But  all  is  ended  when  we  wake, 
We  scarcely  then  a  trace  recal. 

5  But  though  our  dreams  are  often  wild, 
Like  clouds  before  the  driving  storm, 
Yet  some  important  may  be  styl'd, 
Sent  to  admonish  or  inform. 

6  What  mighty  agents  have  access, 

What  friends  from  heaven  or  foes  from  hell, 
Our  minds  to  comfort  or  distress, 
When  we  are  sleeping,  who  can  tell  ? 

7  One  thing  at  least,  and  'tis  enough, 
We  learn  from  this  surprising  fact, 
Our  dreams  afford  sufficient  proof, 
The  soul  without  the  flesh  can  act. 

8  This  life,  which  mortals  so  esteem, 
That  many  chuse  it  for  their  all, 
They  will  confess,  was  but  a  dream,  J 
When  wakened  by  death's  awful  call. 

*   Dan,  vi.  25.         f  1  Kingsxvii.  6.         X  Isa.  xxix.  8. 


HYMN  C. 


CREATION. 


603 


HYMN  XCIX. 


THE  WORLD. 


1  See,  the  world  for  youth  prepares, 
Harlot-like,  her  gaudy  snares  ! 
Pleasures  round  her  seem  to  wait, 
But  'tis  all  a  painted  cheat, 

2  Rash  and  unsuspecting  youth 
Thinks  to  find  thee  always  smooth, 
Always  kind,  till  better  taught, 
By  experience  dearly  bought. 

S   So  the  calm,  but  faithless  sea, 
(Lively  emblem,  world,  of  thee,) 
Tempts  the  shepherd  from  the  shore, 
Foreign  regions  to  explore. 

4  While  no  wrinkled  wave  is  seen, 
While  the  sky  remains  serene, 

Fill'd  with  hopes  and  golden  schemes, 
Of  a  storm  he  little  dreams. 

5  But  ere  long  the  tempest  raves, 
Then  he  trembles  at  the  waves ; 
Wishes  then  he  had  been  wise, 
But  too  late  he  sinks  and  dies. 

6  Hapless  thus  are  they,  vain  world, 
Soon  on  rocks  of  ruin  hurl'd, 
Who  admiring  thee,  untried, 
Court  thy  pleasure,  wealth,  or  pride. 

7  Such  a  shipwreck  had  been  mine, 
Had  not  Jesus  (name  divine  !) 
Sav'd  me  with  a  mighty  hand, 
And  restor'd  my  soul  to  land. 

8  Now,  with  gratitude  I  raise 
Ebenezers  to  his  praise  -t 

Now  my  rash  pursuits  are  o'er, 
I  can  trust  thee,  world,  no  more. 


HYMN  C. 

THE  ENCHANTMENT  DISSOLVED. 

Blinded  in  youth  by  Satan's  arts, 
The  world  to  our  unpractis'd  hearts, 

A  flatt'ring  prospect  shows  ; 
Our  fancy  forms  a  thousand  schemes 
Our  gay  delights  and  golden  dreams, 

And  undisturb'd  repose. 

So  in  the  desert's  dreary  waste, 
By  magic  power  produc'd  in  haste, 

(As  ancient  fables  say) 
Castles,  and  groves,  and  music  sweet, 
The  senses  of  the  trav'ller  meet, 

And  stop  him  in  his  way, 

But  while  he  listens  with  surprise, 
The  charm  dissolves,  the  vision  dies, 

'Twas  but  enchanted  ground  : 
Thus,  if  the  Lord  our  spirit  touch, 
The  world,  which  promis'd  us  so  much, 

A  wilderness  is  found. 

At  first  we  start,  and  feel  distress'd, 
Convinc'd  we  never  can  have  rest 

In  such  a  wretched  place ; 
But  he  whose  mercy  breaks  the  chavm, 
Reveals  his  own  almighty  arm, 

And  bids  us  seek  his  face. 

Then  we  begin  to  live  indeed, 

When  from  our  sin  and  bondage  freed 

By  this  beloved  Friend  ; 
We  follow  him  from  day  to  day, 
Assur'd  of  grace  through  all  the  way 

And  glory  at  the  end. 


OLNEY  HYMNS, 

&c. 


BOOK   III. 


ON  THE  RISE,  PROGRESS,  CHANGES,  AND  COMFORTS  OF  THE 

SPIRITUAL  LIFE. 


I.  SOLEMN  ADDRESSES  TO  SINNERS. 


HYMN   I. 

EXPOSTULATION. 

1  No  words  can  declare, 
No  fancy  can  paint, 
What  rage  and  despair, 
What  hopeless  complaint, 
Fill  Satan's  dark  dwelling, 
The  prison  beneath 

What  weeping,  and  yelling, 
And  gnashing  of  teeth  ! 

2  Yet  sinners  will  chuse 
This  dreadful  abode ; 
Each  madly  pursues 
The  dangerous  road  ; 

Though  God  give  them  warning, 
They  onward  will  go, 
They  answer  with  scorning, 
And  rush  upon  woe. 

3  How  sad  to  behold 
The  rich  and  the  poor, 
The  young  and  the  old, 
All  blindly  secure! 
All  posting  to  ruin, 
Refusing  to  stop  ! 

Ah !   think  what  you're  (ioing, 
While  yet  there  is  hope. 

4  How  weak  is  your  hand, 
To  fight  with  the  Lord  ! 
How  can  you  withstand 
The  edge  of  his  sword  ? 


What  hope  of  escaping 
For  those  who  oppose, 
When  hell  is  wide  gaping 
To  swallow  his  foes  ! 

How  oft  have  you  dar'd 
The  Lord  to  his  face  ! 
Yet  still  you  are  spar'd 
To  hear  of  his  grace  ; 
Oh  !   pray  for  repentance 
And  life-giving  faith, 
Before  the  just  sentence 
Consign  you  to  death. 

It  is  not  too  late 

To  Jesus  to  flee, 

His  mercy  is  great, 

His  pardon  is  free; 

His  blood  has  such  virtue 

For  all  that  believe, 

That  nothing  can  hurt  you. 

If  him  you  receive. 


HYMN    II 


ALABM. 


Stop,  poor  sinner  !  stop,  and  think, 

Before  you  farther  go  ! 
Will  you  sport  upon  the  brink 

Of  everlasting  woe  ? 


f 


HYMN   IV. 

Once  again,  I  charge  you,  stop  ! 
For,  unless  you  warning  take, 
Ere  you  are  aware,  you  drop 
Into  the  burning  lake  ! 

2   Say,  have  you  an  arm  like  God, 
That  you  his  will  oppose  ? 
Fear  you  not  that  iron  rod 

With  which  he  breaks  his  foes  ? 
Can  you  stand  in  that  dread  day, 
When  he  judgment  shall  proclaim, 
And  the  earth  shall  melt  away, 
Like  wax  before  the  flame  ? 

S   Pale-fac'd  death  will  quickly  come, 

To  drag  you  to  his  bar ; 
Then  to  hear  your  awful  doom 

Will  fill  you  with  despair  : 
All  your  sins  will  round  you  crowd, 
Sins  of  a  blood-crimson  dye; 
Each  for  vengeance  crying  loud, 

And  what  can  you  reply  ? 

4  Though  your  heart  be  made  of  steel, 

Your  forehead  lin'd  with  brass, 
God  at  length  will  make  you  feel, 

He  will  not  let  you  pass : 
Sinners  then  in  vain  will  call, 
(Though  they  now  despise  his  grace) 
Rocks  and  mountains  on  us  fall,* 

And  hide  us  from  his  face. 

5  But  as  yet  there  is  a  hope 

You  may  his  mercy  know, 
Though  his  arm  is  lifted  up, 

He  still  forbears  the  blow; 
'Twas  for  sinners  Jesus  died, 
Sinners  he  invites  to  come ; 
None  who  come  shall  be  denied, 

He  says,  "  There  still  is  room."-f- 


TO   SINNERS. 


605 


HYMN  III. 

WE  WERE  ONCE  AS  YOU  ARE. 

1  Shall  men  pretend  to  pleasure, 

Who  never  knew  the  Lord, 
Can  all  the  worldling's  treasure 

True  peace  of  mind  afford  ? 
They  shall  obtain  this  jewel 

In  what  their  hearts  desire, 
When  they  by  adding  fuel 

Can  quench  the  flame  of  fire. 

2  Till  you  can  bid  the  ocean, 

When  furious  tempests  roar,i 
Forget  its  wonted  moiion, 

And  rage  and  swell  no  more; 
In  vain  your  expectation 

To  find  content  in  sin, 
Or  freedom  from  vexation, 

While  passions  reign  within. 

8   Come  turn  your  thoughts  to  Jesus, 
If  you  would  good  possess  ; 
'Tis  he  alone  that  frees  us 

From  guilt  and  from  distress  : 
•  Rev.  vu  16.     f  Lukexiv.  22.      J  Isa.  lvii.  20   a» 


When  he  by  faith  is  present, 
The  sinner's  troubles  cease  ; 

His  ways  are  truly  pleasant, 
And  all  his  paths  are  peace.* 

Our  time  in  sin  we  wasted, 

And  fed  upon  the  wind; 
Until  his  love  we  tasted, 

No  comfort  could  we  find : 
But  now  we  stand  to  witness 

His  power  and  grace  to  you 
May  you  perceive  its  fitness, 

And  call  upon  him  too  ! 

Our  pleasure  and  our  duty, 

Though  opposite  before, 
Since  we  have  seen  his  beauty, 

Are  join'd  to  part  no  more  : 
It  is  our  highest  pleasure, 

No  less  than  duty's  call, 
To  love  him  beyond  measure, 

And  serve  him  with  our  all. 


HYMN  IV. 


PREPARE  TO  MEET  GOD. 

SJNNER,  art  thou  still  secure  ? 
Wilt  thou  still  refuse  to  pray  ? 
Can  thy  heart  or  hands  endure 
In  the  Lord's  avenging  day? 
See,  his  mighty  arm  is  bar  d  ! 
Awful  terrors  clothe  his  brow  ! 
For  his  judgment  stand  prepar'd, 
Thou  must  either  break  or  bow. 

At  his  presence  nature  shakes, 
Earth  affrighted  hastes  to  flee, 
Solid  mountains  melt  like  wax  ; 
What  will  then  become  of  thee  ? 
Who  his  advent  may  abide  ? 
You  that  glory  in  your  shame, 
Will  you  find  a  place  to  hide 
When  the  world  is  wrapt  in  flame  ? 

Then  the  rich,  the  great,  the  wise, 
Trembling,  guilty,  self-condemn 'd, 
Must  behold  the  wrathful  eyes 
Of  the  Judge  they  once  blasphem'd  . 
Where  are  now  their  haughty  looks  ? 
Oh  their  horror  and  despair ! 
When  tbey  see  the  open'd  books, 
And  their  dreadful  sentence  hear! 

Lord,  prepare  us  by  thy  grace  ! 
Soon  we  must  resign  our  breath  ; 
And  our  souls  be  call'd  to  pass 
Through  the  iron  gate  of  death  ; 
Let  us  now  our  day  improve, 
Listen  to  the  gospel -voice  ; 
Seek  the  things  that  are  above, 
Scorn  the  world's  pretended  joys, 

*  Prov.  iii.  I;. 


606  OLNEY  HYMNS. 

5  Oh  !  when  flesh  and  heart  shall  fail, 


Let  thy  love  our  spirits  cheer ; 
Strengthen'd  thus,  we  shall  prevail 
Over  Satan,  sin,  and  fear  : 
Trusting  in  thy  precious  name, 
May  we  thus  our  journey  end  j 
Then  our  foes  shall  lose  their  aim, 
And  the  Judge  will  be  our  friend. 


HYMN  V. 

INVITATION. 

Sinners,  hear  the  Saviour's  call, 

He  now  is  passing  by ; 
He  has  seen  thy  grievous  thrall, 

And  heard  thy  mournful  cry, 
He  has  pardons  to  impart, 
Grace  to  save  thee  from  thy  fears ; 
See  the  love  that  fills  his  heart, 

And  wipe  away  thy  tears. 

Why  art  thou  afraid  to  come, 
And  tell  him  all  thy  case  ? 

He  will  not  pronounce  thy  doom, 
Nor  frown  thee  from  his  face : 

Wilt  thou  fear  Emmanuel  ? 

Wilt  thou  dread  the  Lamb  of  God, 

Who,  to  save  thy  soul  from  hell, 
Has  shed  his  precious  blood  ? 


BOOK  III. 

3  Think  how  on  the  cross  he  hung, 

Pierc'd  with  a  thousand  wounds  • 
Hark,  from  each,  as  with  a  tongue, 

The  voice  of  pardon  sounds  ! 
See,  from  all  his  bursting  veins, 
Blood  of  wondrous  virtue  flow  ! 
Shed  to  wash  away  thy  stains, 

And  ransom  thee  from  woe. 

4  Though  his  majesty  be  great, 

His  mercy  is  no  less ; 
Though  he  thy  transgressions  hate, 

He  feels  for  thy  distress  : 
By  himself  the  Lord  hath  sworn, 
He  delights  not  in  thy  death,* 
But  invites  thee  to  return, 

That  thou  may'st  live  by  faith. 

5  Raise  thy  downcast  eyes,  and  see 

What  throngs  his  throne  surround  J 
These,  though  sinners  once  like  thee, 

Have  full  salvation  found  : 
Yield  not  then  to  unbelief! 
While  he  says,  "  There  yet  is  room," 
Though  of  sinners  thou  art  chief 

Since  Jesus  calls  thee,  come. 

similar  hymns. 

Book  I.  Hymn  75,  91 

Book  II.  Hymn  1,  2,  3,  4,  6,  35,  77,  78,  83 


II.  SEEKING,  PLEADING,  AND  HOPING. 


HYMN  VI. 

THE  BURDENED  SINNER. 

2   Ah  !  what  can  I  do, 
Or  where  be  secure  ! 
If  justice  pursue, 
What  heart  can  endure  ? 
The  heart  breaks  asunder, 
Though  hard  as  a  stone, 
When  God  speaks  in  thunder, 
And  makes  himself  known. 

2  With  terror  I  read 
My  sins  heavy  score, 
The  numbers  exceed 
The  sands  on  the  shore ; 
Guilt  makes  me  unable 
To  stand  or  to  flee  ; 
So  Cain  murder'd  Abel, 
And  trembled  like  me. 


3  Each  sin,  like  his  blood, 
With  a  terrible  cry, 
Calls  loudly  on  God 
To  strike  from  on  high  : 
Nor  can  my  repentance, 
Extorted  by  fear, 
Reverse  the  just  sentence, 
'Tis  just,  though  severe. 

4  The  case  is  too  plain, 

I  have  my  own  choice  ; 
Again,  and  again, 
I  slighted  his  voice, 
His  warnings  neglected, 
His  patience  abus'd, 
His  gospel  i ejected, 
His  mercy  refus'd. 

5  And  must  I  then  go, 
For  ever  to  dwell 

In  torments  and  woe, 
With  devils  in  hell  ? 

•  Ezek.  xxxiii.  Ji. 


HYMN   IX. 

Oh  !   where  is  the  Saviour 
I  scorn'd  in  times  past? 
His  word  in  my  favour 
Would  save  me  at  last. 

6  Lord  Jesus  on  thee 
I  venture  to  call, 
Oh  look  upon  me, 
The  vilest  of  all ! 

For  whom  didst  thou  languish, 

And  bleed  on  the  tree  ? 

O  pity  my  anguish, 

And  say,  "  'Twas  for  thee.' 

7  A  case  such  as  mine 
Will  honour  thy  power ; 
All  hell  will  repine, 
All  heaven  will  adore  ; 
Tf  in  condemnation 
Strict  justice  takes  place, 
It  shines  in  salvation, 

More  glorious  through  grace. 


SEEKING,    &C. 


607 


HYMN  VII. 

BEHOLD,  I  AM  VILE  ! 

0  LORD,  how  vile  am  I, 
Unholy  and  unclean  ! 

How  can  I  dare  to  venture  nigh 
With  such  a  load  of  sin  ? 

Is  this  polluted  heart 
A  dwelling  fit  for  thee  ? 
Swarming,  alas  !  in  ev'ry  part, 
What  evils  do  I  see  ! 

If  I  attempt  to  pray, 
And  lisp  thy  holy  name, 
My  thought's  are  hurried  soon  away, 

1  know  not  where  I  am. 

If  in  thy  word  I  look, 
Such  darkness  fills  my  mind, 
I  only  read  a  sealed  book, 
But  no  relief  can  find. 

Thy  gospel  oft  I  hear, 
But  hear  it  still  in  vain ; 
Without  desire,  or  love,  or  fear, 
1  like  a  stone  remain. 

Myself  can  hardly  bear 
This  wretched  heart  of  mine  ; 
How  hateful,  then,  must  it  appear 
To  those  pure  eyes  of  thine  ? 

And  must  I  then  indeed 
Sink  in  despair  and  die?      [bleed 
Fain  would  I  hope  that  thou  didst 
For  such  a  wretch  as  I. 

That  blood  which  thou  hast  spilt, 
That  grace  which  is  thine  own, 
Can  cleanse  the  vilest  sinner's  guilt, 
And  soften  hearts  of  stone. 


Low  at  thy  feet  I  bow, 
O  pity  and  forgive ! 
Here  will  I  lie,  and  wait  till  thou 
Shalt  bid  me  rise  and  live. 


HYMN  VIII. 

THE  SHINING  LIGHT. 

My  former  hopes  are  fled, 
My  terror  now  begins ; 
I  feel,  alas  !  that  I  am  dead 
In  trespasses  and  sins. 

Ah  !  whither  shall  I  fly  ? 
I  hear  the  thunder  roar ; 
The  law  proclaims  destruction  nigh, 
And  vengeance  at  the  door. 

When  I  review  my  ways, 
I  dread  impending  doom  ; 
But  sure  a  friendly  whisper  says, 
"  Flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.' 

I  see,  or  think  I  see, 
A  glimm'ring  from  afar  ; 
A  beam  of  day  that  shines  for  me, 
To  save  me  from  despair. 

Forerunner  of  the  sun,* 
It  marks  the  pilgrim's  way  j 
I'll  gaze  upon  it  while  I  run, 
And  watch  the  rising  day. 


HYMN  IX. 

ENCOURAGEMENT. 

1  My  soul  is  beset 
With  grief  and  dismay, 
I  owe  a  vast  debt, 
And  nothing  can  pay: 
I  must  go  to  prison, 
Unless  that  dear  Lord, 
Who  died  and  is  risen. 
His  pity  afford. 

2  The  death  that  he  died, 
The  blood  that  he  spilt, 
To  sinners  applied, 
Discharge  from  all  guilt : 
This  great  intercessor 
Can  give,  if  he  please, 
The  vilest  transgressor 
Immediate  release. 

3  When  nail'd  to  the  tree, 
He  answer'd  the  prayer 
Of  one  who,  like  me, 
Was  nigh  to  despair  --f 


*  Psal.  exxx.  6 


t  Lukt  xxiii.  IA 


608 


OLNEY 


He  did  not  upbraid  him 
With  all  lie  had  done, 
But  instantly  made  him 
A  saint  and  a  son. 

The  jailor,  I  read, 
A  pardon  receiv'd  :  * 
And  how  was  he  freed  ? 
He  only  believ'd : 
His  case  mine  resembled, 
Like  me  he  was  foul, 
Like  me  too  he  trembled, 
But  faith  made  him  whole 

Though  Saul  in  his  youth, 
To  madness  enrag'd, 
Against  the  Lord's  truth 
And  people  engag'd ; 
Yet  Jesus,  the  Saviour, 
Whom  long  he  revil'd,f 
Receiv'd  him  to  favour, 
And  made  him  a  child. 

A  foe  to  all  good, 
In  wickedness  skill'd, 
Manasseh  with  blood 
Jerusalem  fill'd  ;f 
In  evil  long  harden'd, 
The  Lord  he  defied  ; 
Yet  he  too  was  pardon'd 
When  mercy  he  cried. 

Of  sinners  the  chief, 
And  viler  than  all, 
The  jailor  or  thief, 
Manasseh  or  Saul ; 
Since  they  were  forgiven, 
Why  should  I  despair, 
While  Christ  is  in  heaven, 
And  still  answers  prayer. 


HYMN  X. 

THE  WAITING  SOUL. 

1  Breathe  from  the  gentle  south,  O  Lord, 

And  cheer  me  from  the  north  ; 
Blow  on  the  treasures  of  thy  word, 
And  call  the  spices  forth  ! 

2  I  wish,  thou  know'st  to  be  resign'd, 

And  wait  with  patient  hope  ; 
But  hope  delayed  fatigues  the  mind, 
And  drinks  the  spirits  up. 

S   Help  me  to  reach  the  distant  goal, 
Confirm  my  feeble  knee, 
Pity  the  sickness  of  a  soul 
That  faints  for  love  of  thee. 

4   Cold  as  I  feel  this  heart  of  mine, 
Yet  since  I  feel  it  so 
It  yields  some  hope  of  life  divine, 
Within,  however  low. 

»  Acts  xvi.  15.  f   1  Tim.  i-  16. 

J  2  Chion.  xxxiii.  12.  1-5. 


HYMNS  BOOK   111 

|  5   I  seem  forsaken  and  alone, 
I  hear  the  lion  roar, 
And  ev'ry  door  is  shut  but  one 
And  that  is  mercy's  door. 

There,  till  the  dear  Deliv'rer  come, 
I'll  wait  with  humble  prayer  ; 

And  when  he  calls  his  exile  home. 
The  Lord  shall  find  him  there 


HYMN  XI 

THE  EFFORT 

1  Cheer  up,  my  soul,  there  is  a  mercy-seat 
Sprinkled  with  blood,  where  Jesus  answers 

prayer.; 
There  humbly  cast  thyself  beneath  his  feet, 
For  never  needy  sinner  perish'd  there. 

2  Lord,  I  am  come  !  thy  promise  is  my  plea, 
Without  thy  word  I  durst  not  venture  nigh  ; 
But  thou  hastcall'd  theburden'd  soul  to  thee, 
A  weary,  burden'd  soul,  O  Lord,  am  I  ! 

3  Bow'd  down  beneath  a  heavy  load  of  sin, 
By  Satan's  fierce  temptations  sorely  prest, 
Beset  without,  and  full  of  fears  within, 
Trembling  and  faint,  I  come  to  thee  for  rest. 

4  Be  thou  my  refuge,  Lord,  my  hiding-place, 
I  know  no  force  can  tear  me  from  thy  side ; 
Unmov'd  I  then  may  all  accusers  face, 
And  answer  ev'ry  charge  with  "  Jesus  died.' 

5  Yes,  thou  didst  weep,  and  bleed,  and  groan, 
and  die, 

Well  hast  thou  known  what  tierce  tempta- 
tions mean  ; 

Such  was  thy  love;  and  now,  enthron'd  on 
high, 

The  same  compassions  in  thy  bosom  reign. 

Lord,  give  me  faith  ; — he  hears  :  what  grace 

is  this  ! 
Dry  up  thy  tears,    my  soul,   and   cease  to 

grieve ; 
He  shews  me  what  he  did,  and  who  he  is, 
I  must,  1  will,  I  can,  I  do  believe. 


HYMN  XII. 

ANOTHER. 

1  Approach,  my  soul,  the  mercy-seat 

Where  Jesus  answers  prayer, 
There  humbly  fall  before  his  feet, 
For  none  can  perish  there. 

2  Thy  promise  is  my  only  plea, 

With  this  I  venture  nigh  ; 
Thou  callest  burden'd  souls  to  thee, 
And,  such,  O  Lord,  am  I 


HYMN  XIV. 

3  Bow'd  down  beneath  a  load  of  sin, 

By  Satan  sorely  press'd, 
By  wars  without,  and  fears  within, 
I  come  to  thee  for  rest. 

4  Be  thou  my  shield  and  hiding-place ! 

That,  shelter'd  near  thy  side, 
I  may  my  fierce  accuser  face, 

And  tell  him,  "  Thou  hast  died.' 

ti  O  wond'rous  love  !  to  bleed  and  die, 
To  bear  the  cross  and  shame, 
That  guilty  sinners,  such  as  I, 
Might  plead  thy  gracious  name. 

6  "  Poor  tempest-tossed  soul,  be  still, 
My  promis'd  grace  receive  :" 
'Tis  Jesus  speaks, — I  must,  I  will, 
I  can,  I  do  believe. 


HYMN   XIII. 

SEEKING  THE  BELOVED. 

t 

i   To  those  who  know  the  Lord,  I  speak, 
Is  my  beloved  near  ? 
The  bridegroom  of  my  soul  I  seek, 
O  when  will  he  appear  ! 

2  Though  once  a  man  of  grief  and  shame, 
Yet  now  he  fills  a  throne, 
And  bears  the  greatest,  sweetest  name, 
That  earth  or  heaven  have  known. 

S   Grace  flies  before,  and  love  attends 
His  steps  where'er  he  goes  ; 
Though  none  can  see  hirn  but  his  friends, 
And  they  were  once  his  foes. 

4  He  speaks — obedient  to  his  call 

Our  warm  affections  move  ; 
Did  he  but  shine  alike  on  all, 
Then  all  alike  would  love. 

5  Then  love  in  every  heart  would  reign. 

And  war  would  cease  to  roar ; 
And  cruel  and  blood-thirsty  men 
Would  thirst  for  blood  no  more. 


SEEKING,    &C. 


609 


Such  Jesus  is,  and  such  his  grace, 

0  may  he  shine  on  you  !* 

And  tell  him,  when  you  see  his  face, 

1  long  to  see  him  too. 


HYMN  XIV. 


REST  FOR  WEARY  SOULS. 


1  Does  the  gospel-word  proclaim 
Rest  for  those  who  weary  be  ?  -f 
Then,  my  soul,  put  in  thy  claim, 
Sure  that  promise  speaks  to  thee : 
Marks  of  grace  I  cannot  shew, 
All  polluted  is  my  best; 

Yet  I  weary  am,  I  know, 
And  the  weary  long  for  rest. 

2  Burden'd  with  a  load  of  sin, 
Harrass'd  with  tormenting  doubt, 
Hourly  conflicts  from  within, 
Hourly  crosses  from  witiiout : 
All  my  little  strength  is  gone, 
Sink  I  must  without  supply ; 
Sure  upon  the  earth  is  none 
Can  more  weary  be  than  I. 

3  In  the  ark  the  weary  dovej 
Found  a  welcome  resting-place  ; 
Thus  my  spirit  longs  to  prove 
Rest  in  Christ,  the  ark  of  grace. 
Tempest-toss'd  I  long  have  been, 
And  the  flood  increases  fast ; 
Open,  Lord,  and  take  me  in, 
Till  the  storm  he  overpast. 

4  Safely  lodg'd  within  thy  breast, 
What  a  wondrous  change  I  find  ! 
Now  I  know  thy  promis'd  rest 
Can  compose  a  troubled  mind  : 
You  that  weary  are,  like  me, 
Harken  to  the  gospel-call ; 

To  the  ark  for  refuge  flee, 
Jesus  will  receive  you  all ! 

SIMILAR  HYMNS. 

Book  I.  Hymn  45,  69,  82,  83,  84. 
Book  II.  Hymn  29. 


96. 


III.  CONFLICT. 


HYMN  XV. 

LIGHT  SHINING  OUT  OF  DARKNESS. 

God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 

His  wonders  to  perform  ; 
He  plants  his  footsteps  in  the  sea, 

And  rides  upon  the  storm. 


2   Deep  in  unfathomable  mines 
Of  never-failing  skill, 
He  treasures  up  his  bright  designs, 
And  works  his  sovereign  will. 

»  Cant.  v.  8.  t  Matth.  xi,  28, 

X  Gen.  viii.  9. 
2  Z 


(ilO 

3  Ye  fearful  saints,  fresh  courage  take, 

The  clouds  ye  so  much  dread, 
Art-  big  with  mercy,  and  shall  break 
In  blessings  on  your  head. 

4  Judge  not  the  Lord  by  feeble  sense, 

But  trust  him  for  his  grace; 
Behind  a  frowning  providence, 
He  hides  a  smiling  face. 

His  purposes  will  ripen  fast, 

Unfolding  every  hour ; 
The  bud  may  have  a  bitter  taste, 

But  sweet  will  be  the  Hower. 

Blind  unbelief  is  sure  to  err,* 
And  scan  his  wwk  in  vain  ; 

God  is  his  own  interpreter, 
And  he  will  make  it  plain. 


OLNEY  HYMNS.  book  III 

3  IiOng  unafflicted,  undismayed, 
In  pleasure's  path  secure  I  strayed  ; 
Thou  mad'st  me  feel  thy  ehast'ning  rod,  * 
And  straight  I  turn'd  unto  my  God. 

4  What  though  it  pierc'd  my  fainting  heart, 
I  bless  thine  hand  that  caus'd  the  smart  ; 
It  taught  my  tears  a  while  to  flow, 
But  sav'd  me  from  eternal  woe. 

5  Oh  !  hadst  thou  left  me  unchastis'd, 
Thy  precepts  I  had  still  despis'd  ; 
And  still  the  snare  in  secret  laid, 
Had  my  unwary  feet  betrayed. 

6  I  love  thee,  therefore,  O  my  God ! 
And  breathe  towards  thy  dear  abode, 
Where  in  thy  presence  fully  blest, 
Thy  chosen  saints  for  ever  rest. 

C. 


HYMN  XVI. 

WELCOME  CROSS. 

1  'Tis  my  happiness  below 
Not  to  live  without  the  cross, 
But  the  Saviour's  power  to  know, 
Sanctifying  every  loss : 

Trials  must  and  will  befall ; 
But  with  humble  faith  to  see 
Love  inscribed  upon  them  all, 
This  is  happiness  to  me. 

2  God,  in  Israel,  sows  the  seeds 
Of  affliction,  pain,  and  toil  ; 

These  spring  up,  and  choke  the  weeds 
Which  would  else  o'erspread  the  soil  : 
Trials  make  the  promise  sweet, 
Trials  give  new  life  to  prayer  ; 
Trials  bring  me  to  his  feet, 
Lay  me  low,  and  keep  me  there. 

<5   Did  I  meet  no  trials  here, 
No  chastisement  by  the  way ; 
Might  I  not  with  reason  fear, 
I  should  prove  a  cast-away, 
Bastards  may  escape  the  rod,  f 
Sunk  in  earthly,  vain  delight; 
But  the  true-born  child  of  God 
Must  not,  would  not,  if  he  might. 


HYMN  XVII. 

AFFLICTIONS  SANCTIFIED  BY  THE  WORD. 

1  O  HOW  I  love  thy  holy  word, 
Thy  gracious  covenant,  O  Lord  ! 
It  guides  me  in  the  peaceful  way, 
I  think  upon  it  all  the  day. 

2  What  are  the  mines  of  shining  wealth, 
The  strength  of  youth,  the  bloom  of  health  ! 
What  are  all  joys  compar'd  with  those 
Thine  everlasting  word  bestows. 

*  John  xiii.  7.  f  Hub.  xii.  8, 


HYMN   XVIII. 

TEMPTATION. 

1  The  billows  swell,  the  winds  are  high, 
Clouds  overcast  my  wintry  sky  ; 

Out  of  the  depths  to  thee  I  call, 

My  fears  are  great,  my  strength  is  small. 

2  O  Lord  !   the  pilot's  part  perform, 

And  guide  and  guard  me  thro'  the  storm  ; 
Defend  me  from  each  threat'ning  ill, 
Control  the  waves,  say,  "  Peace,  be  still.' 

3  Amidst  the  roaring  of  the  sea, 

My  soul  still  hangs  her  hope  on  thee ; 
Thy  constant  love,  thy  faithful  care 
Is  all  that  saves  me  from  despair. 

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

5  Though  tempest-toss'd,  and  half  a  ivreck, 
My  Saviour  through  the  floods  I  seek  ; 
Let  neither  winds  nor  stormy  main 
Force  back  my  shatter'd  bark  again. 

C. 


HYMN  XIX. 

LOOKING  UPWARDS  IN  A  STORM. 

1  GOD  of  my  life,  to  thee  I  call, 
Afflicted  at  thy  feet  I  fall ;  f 
When  the  great  water-floods  prevail, 
Leave  not  my  trembling  heart  to  fail .' 

2  Friend  of  the  friendless  and  the  faint ' 
Where  should  I  lodge  my  deep  complaint 
Where  but  with  thee,  whose  open  door 
Invites  the  helpless  and  the  poor. 

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

»  Psal.  cxix.  71.  t  Psal  lxix.  15. 


HYMN   XXII 

i 


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

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

Poor,  though  I  am,  despis'd,  forgot,* 
Yet  God,  my  God,  forgets  me  not ; 
And  he  is  safe,  and  must  succeed, 
For  whom  the  Lord  vouchsafes  to  plead. 

C. 


CONFLICT. 

5 


511 


HYMN  XX. 

THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW  OF  DEATH. 

1  My  soul  is  sad  and  much  dismayed  ; 
See,  Lord,  what  legions  of  my  foes, 
With  fierce  Apollyon  at  their  head, 
My  heavenly  pilgrimage  oppose  ! 

2  See,  from  the  ever-burning  lake, 
How  like  a  smoky  cloud  they  rise  ! 
With  horrid  blasts  my  soul  they  shake, 
With  storms  of  blasphemies  and  lies. 

S  Their  fiery  arrows  reach  the  mark,f 
My  throbbing  heart  with  anguish  tear ; 
Each  lights  upon  a  kindred  spark, 
And  finds  abundant  fuel  there. 

4  I  hate  the  thought  that  wrongs  the  Lord  • 
Oh  !   I  would  drive  it  from  my  breast, 
With  my  own  sharp  two-edged  sword, 
Far  as  the  east  is  from  the  west. 

5  Come,  then  and  chase  the  cruel  host, 
Heal  the  deep  wounds  I  have  receiv'd ! 
Nor  let  the  powers  of  darkness  boast, 
That  I  am  foil'd,  and  thou  art  griev'd. 


HYMN  XXI. 

THE  STORM  HUSHED. 

1  Tis  past — the  dreadful  stormy  night 

Is  gone,  with  all  its  fears  ! 
And  now  I  see  returning  light, 
The  Lord,  my  Sun,  appears. 

2  The  tempter,  who  but  lately  said, 

I  soon  should  be  his  prey, 
Has  heard  my  Saviour's  voice,  and  fled 
With  shame  and  grief  away. 

3  Ah  !   Lord,  since  thou  didst  hide  thy  face, 

What  has  my  soul  endur'd  ? 
But  now  'tis  past, — I  feel  thy  grace, 
And  all  my  wounds  are  cur'd  ! 

4  O  wondrous  change  !  but  just  before, 

Despair  beset  me  round, 
I  heard  the  lion's  horrid  roar, 
And  trembled  at  the  sound. 


i'sal.  x.1.  17. 


i  Kjih.  vi.  16 


Before  corruption,  guilt,  and  fear, 

My  comforts  blasted  fell  ; 
And  unbelief  discover'd  near 

The  dreadful  depths  of  hell. 

6  But  Jesus  pitied  my  distress, 

He  heard  my  feeble  cry, 
Reveal'd  his  blood  and  righteousness 
And  brought  salvation  nigh. 

7  Beneath  the  banner  of  his  love 

I  now  secure  remain  ; 
The  tempter  frets,  but  dares  cot  move, 
To  break  my  peace  again. 

8  Lord,  since  thou  thus  hast  broke  my  bands, 

And  set  the  captive  free, 
I  would  devote  my  tongue,  my  hands, 
My  heart,  my  all,  to  thee. 


HYMN  XXII. 

HELP  IN  TIME  OF  NEED. 

1  Unless  the  Lord  had  been  my  stay, 
With  trembling  joy  my  soul  may  say, 

My  cruel  foe  had  gain'd  his  end  • 
But  he  appear'd  for  my  relief, 
And  Satan  sees  with  shame  and  grief, 

That  I  have  an  almighty  Friend. 

2  Oh  !   'twas  a  dark  and  trying  hour, 
When,  harass'd  by  the  tempter's  power 

I  felt  my  strongest  hopes  decline  ! 
You  only  who  have  known  his  arts, 
You  only  who  have  felt  his  darts, 

Can  pity  such  a  case  as  mine. 

3  Loud  in  my  ears  a  charge  he  read, 
(My  conscience  witness'd  all  he  said), 

My  long  black  list  of  outward  sin  ; 
Then  bringing  forth  my  heart  to  view, 
Too  well  what's  hidden  there  he  knew, 

He  shew'd  me  ten  times  worse  within. 

1  'Twas  all  too  true,  my  soul  replied, 
But  I  remember  Jesus  died, 

And  now  he  fills  a  throne  of  grace  : 
I'll  go  as  I  have  done  before, 
His  mercy  I  may  still  implore, 

I  have  his  promise,   "  Seek  my  face.' 

>   But,  as  when  sudden  fogs  arise, 

The  trees  and  hills,  the  sun  and  skies, 

Are  all  at  once  conceal'd  from  view : 
So  clouds  of  horror,  black  as  night, 
By  Satan  rais'd,  hid  from  my  sight 

The  throne  of  grace  and  promise  too. 

J   Then,  while  beset  with  guilt  and  fear, 
He  tried  to  urge  me  to  despair, 

He  tried,  and  he  almost  prevail'd  ; 
But  Jesus  by  a  heavenly  ray, 
Drove  clouds,  and  guilt,  and  fear  away. 
And  all  the  tempter's  malice  fail'd. 


612 


ULNEY   HYMNS. 


BOOK  III 


I* 


HYMN  XXIII. 

FEACK  AFTER  A  STORM. 

1  When  darkness  long  has  veil'd  my  mind, 
And  smiling  day  once  more  appears, 
Then,  my  Redeemer,  then  I  find 

The  folly  of  my  doubts  and  fears. 

2  Straight  I  upbraid  my  wand'ring  heart, 
And  blush  that  I  should  ever  be 
Thus  prone  to  act  so  base  a  part, 

Or  harbour  one  hard  thought  of  thee  1 

3  Oh  !   let  me  then  at  length  be  taught, 
"What  I  am  still  so  slow  to  learn, 
That  God  is  love,  and  changes  not, 
Nor  knows  the  shadow  of  a  turn. 

4  Sweet  truth,  and  easy  to  repeat ! 
But  when  my  faith  is  sharply  tried, 
I  find  myself  a  learner  yet, 
Unskilful,  weak,  and  apt  to  slide. 

5  But,  O  my  Lord,  one  look  from  thee 
Subdues  the  disobedient  will, 
Drives  doubt  and  discontent  away, 
And  thy  rebellious  worm  is  still. 

6  Thou  art  as  ready  to  forgive, 
As  I  am  ready  to  repine  ; 

Thou,  therefore,  all  the  praise  receive, 
Be  shame  and  self-abhorrence  mine. 


HYMN  XXIV. 

MOURNING  AND  LONGING. 

The  Saviour  hides  his  face  ! 
My  spirit  thirsts  to  prove 
Itenew'd  supplies  of  pard'ning  grace, 
And  never-fading  love. 

The  favour'd  souls  who  know 
What  glories  shine  in  him, 
Pant  for  his  presence,  as  the  roe 
Pants  for  the  living  stream. 

What  Rifles  tease  me  now  ! 
They  sw^im  like  summer- flies, 
They  cleave  to  every  thing  I  do, 
And  swim  before  my  eyes. 

How  dull  the  Sabbath-day, 
Without  the  Sabbath's  Lord! 
How  toilsome  then  to  sing  and  pray, 
And  wait  upon  the  word  ! 

Of  all  the  truths  I  hear, 
How  few  delight  my  taste  ! 
I  glean  a  berry  here  and  there, 
But  mourn  the  vintage  past. 

Y7et  let  me  (as  I  ought) 
Still  hope  to  be  supplied; 
No  pleasure  else  is  worth  a  thought, 
Nor  shall  I  be  denied. 


Though  I  am  but  a  worm, 
Unworthy  of  his  care, 
The  Lord  will  my  desire  perform, 
And  grant  me  all  my  prayer. 


HYMN  XXV. 

REJOICE  THE  SOUL  OF  THY  SERVANT. 

1  When  my  prayers  are  a  burden  and  task, 
No  wonder  I  little  receive  ; 

0  Lord  !   make  me  willing  to  ask, 
Since  thou  art  so  ready  to  give : 
Although  I  am  bought  with  thy  blood, 
And  all  thy  salvation  is  mine, 

At  a  distance  from  thee  my  chief  good, 

1  wander,  and  languish,  and  pine. 

2  Of  thy  goodness  of  old  when  I  read, 
To  those  who  were  sinners  like  me, 
Why  may  I  not  wiestle  and  plead, 
With  them  a  partaker  to  be? 

Thine  arm  is  not  short'ned  since  then, 
And  those  who  believe  in  thy  name, 
Ever  find  thou  art  Yea  and  Amen, 
Through  all  generations  the  same. 

3  While  my  spirit  within  me  is  press'd 
With  sorrow,  temptation,  and  fear, 
Like  John,  I  would  flee  to  thy  breast,* 
And  pour  my  complaints  in  thine  ear  : 
How  happy  and  favour'd  was  he, 
Who  could  on  thy  bosom  repose  ! 
Might  this  favour  be  granted  to  me, 
I'd  smile  at  the  rage  of  my  foes. 

4  I  have  heard  of  thy  wonderful  name, 
How  great  and  exalted  thou  art ; 
But  ah  !    I  confess  to  my  shame, 

It  faintly  impresses  my  heart : 
The  beams  of  thy  glory  display, 
As  Peter  once  saw  thee  appear ; 
That,  transported  like  him,  I  may  say, 
"  It  is  good  for  my  soul  to  be  here."f 

What  a  sorrow  and  weight  didst  thou  feel, 
When  nail'd,  for  my  sake,  to  the  tree ! 
My  heart  sure  is  harder  than  stee', 
To  feel  no  more  sorrow  for  thee  ; 
Oh  !   let  me  with  Thomas  descry 
The  wounds  in  thy  hands  and  thy  side, 
And  have  feelings  like  his,  when  I  cry, 
"  My  God  and  my  Saviour  has  died  !"f 

But  if  thou  hast  appointed  me  still 
To  wrestle,  and  suffer,  and  fight; 
O  make  me  resign  to  thy  will, 
For  ail  thine  appointments  are  right- 
This  mercy,  at  least,  I  entreat, 
That,  knowing  how  vile  I  have  been, 
I,  with  Mary,  may  wait  at  thy  feet,§ 
And  weep  o'er  the  pardon  of  sin. 


*  John  xiii.  25. 
X  John  xx.  28. 


+  Matth.  xvii.  6. 
§  Luke  vii.  58. 


HYMN  XXIX. 


CONFLICT 
4 


313 


HYMN  XXVI. 

SELF-ACQUAINTANCE. 

Dear  Lord  !  accept  a  sinful  heart, 

Which  of  itself  complains, 
And  mourns,  with  much  and  frequent  smart, 

The  evil  it  contains. 

There  fiery  seeds  of  anger  lurk, 

Which  often  hurt  my  frame  ; 
And  wait  but  for  the  tempter's  work, 

To  fan  them  to  a  flame. 

Legality  holds  out  a  bribe 

To  purchase  life  from  thee  ; 
And  discontent  would  fain  perscribe 

How  thou  shalt  deal  with  me. 

While  unbelief  withstands  thy  grace, 

And  puts  the  mercy  by, 
Presumption,  with  a  brow  of  brass, 

Says,  "  Give  me,  or  I  die." 

How  eager  are  my  thoughts  to  roam 

In  quest  of  what  they  love  ; 
But,  ah  !   when  duty  calls  them  home, 

How  heavily  they  move  ! 

O  cleanse  me  in  a  Saviour's  blood  ! 

Transform  me  by  thy  power; 
And  make  me  thy  belov'd  abode, 

And  let  me  rove  no  more. 

C. 


HYMN  XXVII. 

BITTER  AND  SWEET. 

1    Kindle,  Saviour,  in  my  heart 

A  flame  of  love  divine  : 
Hear,  for  mine  I  trust  thou  art, 

And  sure  I  would  be  thine: 
If  my  soul  has  felt  thy  grace, 
If  to  me  thy  name  is  known, 
Why  should  trifles  fill  the  place 

Due  to  thyself  alone? 

2  'Tis  a  strange  mysterious  life 

I  live  from  day  to  day  ; 
Light  and  darkness,  peace  and  strife, 

Bear  an  alternate  sway  : 
When  I  think  the  battle  won, 
I  have  to  fight  it  o'er  again; 
When  I  say  I'm  overthrown, 

Relief  I  soon  obtain. 

3  Often  at  the  mercy  seat, 

While  calling  on  thy  name, 
Swarms  of  evil  thoughts  I  meet, 

Which  fill  my  soul  with  shame  : 
Agitated  in  my  mind, 
Like  a  feather  in  the  air, 
Can  I  thus  a  blessing  find? 

My  soul,  can  this  be  prayer  ? 


But  when  Christ,  my  Lord  and  Friend, 
Is  pleas'd  to  shew  his  power ; 

All  at  once  my  troubles  end, 
And  I've  a  golden  hour  : 

Then  I  see  his  smiling  face, 

Feel  the  pledge  of  joys  to  come  ; 

Often,  Lord,  repeat  this  grace, 
Till  thou  shalt  call  me  home 


HYMN  XXVIII. 

PRAYER  FOR  PATIENCE. 

1  Lord,  who  hast  suffer'd  all  for  me, 
My  peace  and  pardon  to  procure, 
The  lighter  cross  I  bear  for  thee 
Help  me  with  patience  to  endure. 

2  The  storm  of  loud  repining  hush  ; 

I  would  in  humble  silence  mourn  ;  [bush. 
Why  should  the  unburnt,  though  burning 
Be  angry,  as  the  crackling  thorn  ? 

J  Man  should  not  faint  at  thy  rebuke, 
Like  Joshua  falling  on  his  face," 
When  the  curs'd  thing  that  Achan  took 
Brought  Israel  into  just  disgrace. 

1  Perhaps  some  golden  wedge  suppress'd, 
Some  secret  sin  offends  my  God; 
Perhaps  that  Babylonish  vest, 
Self-righteousness,  provokes  the  rod. 

i  Ah  !  were  I  buffeted  all  day, 
Mock'd,  crown'd  with  thorns,  and  spit  upon, 
I  yet  should  have  no  right  to  say, 
My  great  distress  is  mine  alone. 

6  Let  me  not  angrily  declare, 

No  pain  was  ever  sharp  like  mine, 
Nor  murmur  at  the  cross  I  bear, 
But  rather  weep,  rememb'ring  thine. 


HYMN  XXIX. 


SUBMISSION. 

1  O  Lord,  my  best  desire  fulfil, 

And  help  me  to  resign 
Life,  health,  and  comfort  to  thy  wiL15 
And  make  thy  pleasure  mine. 

2  Why  should  I  shrink  at  thy  command, 

Whose  love  forbids  my  fears, 
Or  tremble  at  the  gracious  hand 
7'hat  wipes  away  my  tears  ? 

3  No.  let  me  rather  'Veely  yield 

Whal  most  I  prize  to  thee  ; 
Who  never  hast  a  good  with-held, 
<*     vilt  with-hold  from  me. 

*  Joshua  vii.  10,  11. 


614 


OLNEY    HYMNS. 


BOOK   IJI 


Thy  favour  all  my  journey  through 
Thou  art  engag'd  to  grant ; 

What  else  I  want,  or  think  I  do, 
"lis  better  still  to  want. 

Wisdom  and  mercy  guide  my  way, 

Shall  I  resist  them  both  ? 
A  poor  blind  creature  of  a  day, 

And  crush'd  before  the  moth  ! 

But,  ah  !   my  inward  spirit  cries, 
Still  bind  me  to  thy  sway  ; 

Else  the  next  cloud  that  vails  my  skies 
Drives  all  these  thoughts  away, 

c 


HYMN   XXXI. 


HYMN  XXX. 

WHY  SHOULD  I  COMPLAIN  ? 

1  When  my  Saviour,  my  Shepherd  is  near, 
How  quickly  my  sorrows  depart ! 

New  beauties  around  me  appear, 

New  spirits  enliven  my  heart: 

His  presence  gives  peace  to  my  soul, 

And  Satan  assaults  me  in  vain  ; 

While  my  Shepherd  his  power  controuls, 

I  think  I  no  more  shall  complain. 

2  But,  alas  !  what  a  change  do  I  find,  [sight ! 
When  my  Shepherd  withdraws  from  my 
My  fears  all  return  to  my  mind, 

My  day  is  soon  chang'd  into  night  : 
Then  Satan  his  efforts  renews 
To  vex  and  ensnare  me  again  ; 
All  my  pleasing  enjoyments  I  lose, 
And  can  only,  lament  and  complain. 

3  By  these  changes  I  often  pass  through, 

I  am  taught  my  own  weakness  to  know ; 
I  am  taught  what  my  Shepherd  can  do, 
And  how  much  to  his  mercy  I  owe  : 
It  is  he  that  supports  me  through  all ; 
When  I  faint,  he  revives  me  again  ; 
He  attends  to  my  prayer  when  I  call, 
And  bids  me  no  longer  complain. 

4  Wherefore  then  should  I  murmur  and  grieve, 

Since  my  Shepherd  is  always  the  same, 
And  has  promis'd  he  never  will  leave* 
The  soul  that  confides  in  his  name  ? 
To  relieve  me  from  all  that  I  fear, 
He  was  buffeted,  tempted,  and  slain  ; 
,  ud  at  length  he  will  surely  appear, 
Tnough  he  leaves  me  a  while  to  complain. 

5  While  I  dwell  in  an  enemy's  land, 
Can  I  hope  to  be  always  in  peace  ! 

'Tis  enough  that  my  Shepherd's  at  hand, 
And  that  shortly  this  warfare  will  cease  ; 
For  ere  long  he  will  bid  me  removef 
From  this  region  of  sorrow  and  pain, 
To  abide  in  his  presence  above, 
And  then  I  no  move  shall  complain. 


RETURN,  O  LORD,  HOW  LONG  ! 

1  Return  to  bless  my  waiting  eyes, 

And  cheer  my  mourning  heart,  O  Lord ' 
Without  thee,  all  beneath  the  skies 
No  real  pleasure  can  afford. 

2  When  thy  lov'd  presence  meets  my  sight, 
It  softens  care  and  sweetens  toil ; 

The  sun  shines  forth  with  double  light, 
The  whole  creation  wears  a  smile. 

3  Upon  thine  arm  of  love  I  rest, 
Thy  gracious  voice  forbids  my  fear  •, 
No  storms  disturb  my  peaceful  breast, 
No  foes  assault  when  thou  art  near. 

4  But  ah  !   since  thou  hast  been  away, 
Nothing  but  trouble  have  I  known  ; 
And  Satan  marks  me  for  his  prey 
Because  he  sees  me  left  alone. 

My  sun  is  hid,  my  comforts  lost, 
My  graces  droop,  my  sins  revive ; 
Distress'd,  dismayed,  and  tempest-toss'd. 
My  soul  is  only  jubt  alive. 

Lord,  hear  my  cry,  and  come  again ! 
Put  all  mine  enemies  to  shame, 
And  let  them  see  'tis  not  in  vain 
That  I  have  trusted  in  thy  name. 


Jer.  i.  19. 


+  Rev.  ii.  10 


HYMN  XXXII 

CAST  DOWN,  BUT  NOT  DESTROYED. 

1  Though  sore  beset  with  guilt  and  fear, 
I  cannot,  dare  not  quite  despair ; 

If  I  must  perish,  would  the  Lord 
Have  taught  my  heart  to  love  his  word  ? 
Would  he  have  given  me  eyes  to  see* 
My  danger  and  my  remedy, 
Reveal'd  his  name,  and  bid  me  pray, 
Had  he  resolv'd  to  say  me  nay  ? 

2  No — though  cast  down,  I  am  not  slain  ; 
I  fall,  but  I  shall  rise  again  ;f 

The  present,  Satan,  is  thy  hour, 

But  Jesus  shall  control  thy  power ; 

His  love  will  plead  for  my  relief, 

He  hears  my  groans,  he  feels  my  grief . 

Nor  will  he  suffer  thee  to  boast 

A  soul  that  thought  his  help  was  lost. 

3  'Tis  true,  I  have  unfaithful  been, 
And  griev'd  his  Spirit  by  my  sin  ; 
Yet  still  his  mercy  he'll  reveal, 

And  all  my  wounds  and  follies  heal : 
Abounding  sin  I  must  confess,}: 
But  more  abounding  is  his  grace; 
He  once  vouchsaf'd  for  me  to  bleed, 
And  now  he  lives  my  cause  to  plead. 
*  Juiifcs  xiii.  23.       t  Mical,  vii.  8.       J  Horn.  v.  2U 


HYMN   XXXV. 

4  I'll  cast  myself  before  bis  feet, 


CONFLICT. 


Hi  5 


I  see  him  on  bis  mercy-seat, 

('Tis  sprinkled  with  atoning  blood)  ; 

There  sinners  find  access  to   God  : 

Ye  burden'd  souls,  approach  with  me, 

And  make  the  Saviour's  name  your  plea ; 

Jesus  will  pardon  all  who  come, 

And  strike  your  fierce  accuser  dumb. 


HYMN  XXXIII. 

THE  BENIGHTED  TRAVELLER. 

1  Forest  beasts,  that  live  by  prey, 
Seldom  shew  themselves  by  day  ; 
But  when  day-right  is  withdrawn,* 
Then  they  rove  and  roar  till  dawn. 

2  Who  can  tell  the  traveler's  fears, 
When  their  horrid  yells  he  hears  ? 
Terror  almost  stops  his  breath, 
While  each  step  he  looks  for  death. 

3  Thus,  when  Jesus  is  in  view, 
Cheerful  I  my  way  pursue  ; 
Walking  by  my  Saviour's  light, 
Nothing  can  my  soul  affright. 

4  But  when  he  forbears  to  shine, 
Soon  the  traveler's  case  is  mine  ; 
Lost,  benighted,  struck  with  dread, 
What  a  painful  path  I  tread  ! 

5  Then  my  soul  with  terror  hears, 
Worse  than  lions,  wolves,  or  bears, 
Roaring  loud  in  ev'ry  part, 
Through  the  forest  of  my  heart. 

6  Wrath,  impatience,  envy,  pride, 
Satan  and  his  host  beside, 
Press  around  me  to  devour  ; 
How  can  I  escape  their  power? 

7  Gracious  Lord,  afford  me  light, 
Put  these  beasts  of  prey  to  flight ; 
Let  thy  power  and  love  be  shewn  ;f 
Save  me,  for  I  am  thine  own. 


HYMN  XXXIV 

THE  PRISONER. 

1  When  the  poor  pris'ner  through  a  grate 

Sees  others  walk  at  large, 
How  does  he  mourn  his  lonely  state, 
And  long  for  a  discharge  ! 

2  Thus  I,  confin'd  in  unbelief, 

My  loss  of  freedom  mourn, 
And  spend  my  hours  in  fruitless  grief, 
Until  my  Lord  return. 

•  Psal.  civ.  20.        t  P*al.  exix-  94- 


The  beam  of  day,  which  pierces  through 
the  gloom  in  which  I  dwell, 

Only  discloses  to  my  view 
The  horrors  of  my  cell. 

Ah  !  how  my  pensive  spirit  faints, 

To  think  of  former  days  ! 
When  I  could  triumph  with  the  saints, 

And  join  their  songs  of  praise  ! 

But  now  my  joys  are  all  cut  off, 

In  prison  I  am  cast, 
And  Satan,  with  a  cruel  scoff,* 

Says,  "  Where's  your  God  at  last  I" 

>   Dear  Saviour,  for  thy  mercy's  sake, 
My  strong,  my  only  plea, 
These  gates  and  bars  in  pieces  break,-]- 
And  set  the  pris'ner  free  ! 

7   Surely  my  soul  shall  sing  to  thee. 
For  liberty  restor'd  ; 
And  all  thy  saints  admire  to  see 
The  mercies  of  the  Lord. 


HYMN  XXXV. 
PERPLEXITY  relieved. 

Uncertain  how  the  way  to  find 

Which  to  salvation  led, 
I  listen'd  long,  with  anxious  mind, 

To'  hear  what  others  said. 

When  some  of  joys  and  comforts  told, 

I  fear'd  that  I  was  wrong  : 
For  I  was  stupid,  dead,  and  cold, 

Had  neither  joy  nor  song. 

The  Lord  my  lab'ring  heart  reliev'd, 
And  made  my  burden  light ; 

Then  for  a  moment  I  believ'd, 
Supposing  all  was  right. 

Of  fierce  temptations  others  talk'd, 

Of  anguish  and  dismay, 
Through  what  distresses  they  had  walk'd 

Before  they  found  the  way. 

Ah  !  then  I  thought  my  hopes  were  vain, 

For  I  had  liv'd  at  ease ; 
I  wish'd  for  all  my  fears  again 

To  make  me  more  like  these. 

;  I  had  my  wish  ;  the  Lord  disclos'd 
The  evils  of  my  heart, 
And  left  my  naked  soul  expos'd 
To  Satan's  fiery  dart. 

'  Alas  !   "  I  now  must  give  it  up," 
I  cried  in  deep  dsspair: 
How  could  I  dream  of  drawing  hope 
From  what  I  cannot  >near  ? 

5   Again  my  Saviour  brought  me  aid, 
And  when  he  set  me  free, 
"  Trust  simply  on  my  word,"  he  said, 
"  And  leave  the  rest  to  me." 

*  Psal.  ex  v.  2.  t  Psal-  exlli.  7. 


t>1G 


HYMN  XXXVI. 


OLNEY  HYMNS.  BoOl    1X1 

Each  sweet  Ebenezer 
I  have  in  review, 
Confirms  his  good  pleasure 
To  help  me  quite  through. 


PRAYER  ANSWERED  BY  CROSSES. 

1    I  ask'd  the  Lord,  that  I  might  grow 
In  faith,  and  love,  and  ev'ry  grace; 
Might  more  of  his  salvation  know, 
And  seek  more  earnestly  his  face. 

J  'Twas  he  who  taught  me  thus  to  pray, 
And  he,  I  trust,  has  answer'd  prayer : 
But  it  has  been  in  such  a  way, 
As  almost  drove  me  to  despair. 

3  I  hop'd  that  in  some  favour'd  hour, 
At  once  he'd  answer  my  request, 
And  by  his  love's  constraining  power 
Subdue  my  sins,  and  give  me  rest. 

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

5  Yea  more,  with  his  own  hand  he  seem'd 
Intent  to  aggravate  my  woe  ; 

Cross'd  all  the  fair  designs  I  schem'd, 
Blasted  my  gourds,  and  laid  me  low. 

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

*  These  inward  trials  I  employ, 

From  self  and  pride  to  set  thee  free ; 
And  break  thy  schemes  of  earthly  joy, 
That  thou  may'st  seek  thy  all  in  me." 


HYMN  XXXVII, 

I  WILL  TRUST,  AND  NOT  BE  AFRAID. 

1  Begone,  unbelief! 
My  Saviour  is  near, 
And  for  my  relief 
Will  surely  appear  : 

By  prayer  let  me  wrestle, 
And  he  will  perform  ; 
With  Christ  in  the  vessel, 
I  smile  at  the  storm. 

2  Though  dark  be  my  way, 
Since  he  is  my  guide, 
'Tis  mine  to  obey, 

'Tis  his  to  provide ; 
Though  cisterns  be  broken, 
And  creatures  all  fail, 
The  word  he  has  spoken 
Shall  surely  prevail. 

S   His  love  in  time  past 
Forbids  me  to  think 
He'll  leave  me  at  last 
In  trouble  to  sink  ; 


Determin'd  to  save, 

He  watch'd  o'er  my  path, 

When,  Satan's  blind  slave, 

I  sported  with  death  ; 

And  can  he  have  taught  me 

To  trust  in  his  name, 

And  thus  far  have  brought  me 

To  put  me  to  shame  ? 

Why  should  I  complain 
Of  want  or  distress, 
Temptation  or  pain  ? 
He  told  me  bo  less  : 
The  heirs  of  salvation, 
I  know  from  his  word, 
Through  much  tribulation 
Must  follow  their  Lord.  * 

How  bitter  that  cup, 
No  heart  can  conceive, 
Which  he  drank  quite  up, 
That  sinners  might  live  ! 
His  way  was  much  rougher 
And  darker  than  mine; 
Did  Jesus  thus  suffer, 
And  shall  I  repine  ? 

Since  all  that  I  meet 
Shall  work  for  my  good, 
The  bitter  is  sweet, 
The  med'cine  is  food  ; 
Though  painful  at  present, 
'Twill  cease  before  long, 
And  then,  O  how  pleasant 
The  conqueror's  song !  -f 


HYMN  XXXVIII. 


questions  to  unbelief. 

1  If  to  Jesus  for  relief 

My  soul  has  fled  by  prayer, 
Why  should  I  give  way  to  grief. 

Or  heart-consuming  care? 
Are  not  all  things  in  his  hands  ? 
Has  he  not  his  promise  pass'd  ? 
Will  he  then  regardless  stand, 

And  let  me  sink  at  last  ? 

2  While  I  know  his  providence 

Disposes  each  event, 
Shall  I  judge  by  feeble  sense, 

And  yield  to  discontent ! 
If  he  worms  and  sparrows  feed, 
Clothe  the  grass  in  rich  array, f 
Can  he  see  a  child  in  need, 

And  turn  his  eye  away  ? 

*  Acts  xiv.  22.      t  Rom.  vni.  ",.      f  Matth.  vi.  26. 


HYMN   XLI. 

3  When  his  name  was  quite  unknown, 

And  sin  my  life  employed, 
Then  he  watch'd  me  as  his  own, 

Or  I  had  been  destroyed ; 
Now  his  mercy  seat  I  know, 
Now  by  grace  am  reconcil'd  ; 
"Would  he  spare  me  while  a  foe,* 

To  leave  me  when  a  child  ? 

4  If  he  all  my  wants  supplied, 

When  I  disdain'd  to  pray, 
Now  his  Spirit  is  my  guide, 

How  can  he  say  me  nay  ? 
If  he  would  not  give  me  up, 
When  my  soul  against  him  fought, 
Will  he  disappoint  the  hope 

Which  he  himself  has  wrought. 

5  If  he  shed  his  precious  blood 

To  bring  me  to  his  fold, 
Can  I  think  that  meaner  goodf 

He  ever  will  with-hold  ! 
Satan,  vain  is  thy  device ! 
Here  my  hope  rests  well  assur'd, 
In  that  great  redemption-price, 

I  see  the  whole  secur'd. 


HYMN  XXXIX. 

GREAT  EFFECTS  BY  WEAK  MEANS. 

1  Unbelief  the  soul  dismays, 
What  objections  will  it  raise 
But  true  faith  securely  leans 
On  the  promise,  in  the  means. 

2  If  to  faith  it  once  be  known, 
God  has  said,  "  It  shall  be  done, 
And  in  this  appointed  way  ;" 
Faith  has  then  no  more  to  say. 

3  Moses'  rod,  by  faith  up-rear'd,{ 
Through  the  sea  a  path  prepar'd ; 
Jericho's  devoted  wall§ 

At  the  trumpets  sound  must  fall. 

4  With  a  pitcher  and  a  lamp,  || 
Gideon  overthrew  a  camp  ; 

And  a  stone,  well  aim'd  by  faith, *fl 
Prov'd  the  arm'd  Philistine's  death. 

5  Thus  the  Lord  is  pleas'd  to  try 
Those  who  on  his  help  rely  ; 

By  the  means  he  makes  it  known, 
That  the  power  is  all  his  own. 

6  Yet  the  means  are  not  in  vain, 
If  the  end  we  would  obtain  ; 
Though  the  breath  of  prayer  be  weak, 
None  shall  find  but  they  who  seek. 

7  God  alone  the  heart  can  reach, 
Yet  the  ministers  must  preach  ; 
'Tis  their  part  the  seed  to  sow, 
And  'tis  his  to  make  it  grow. 


CONFLICT. 


6i7 


*  Rom.  v.  10 

5  Josh.  vi.  2  i. 


t  Rom.  viii.  52.     %  Exod.  xiv.  21. 
||  Judges  vii.  22.     fl     1  Sam.  xvii.  42. 


HYMN  XL. 

WHY  ART  THOU  CAST  DOWN  ? 

1  Be  still,  my  heart !   these  anxious  cares 
To  thee  are  burdens,  thorns,  and  snares* 
They  cast  dishonour  on  thy  Lord, 

And  contradict  his  gracious  word. 

2  Brought  safely  by  his  hand  thus  far, 
Why  wilt  thou  now  give  place  to  fear  ? 
How  canst  thou  want  if  he  provide, 
Or  lose  thy  way  with  such  a  guide  ? 

3  When  first  before  his  mercy-seat, 
Thou  didst  to  him  thy  all  commit ; 
He  gave  thee  warrant,  from  that  hour, 
To  trust  his  wisdom,  love,  and  power. 

4  Did  ever  trouble  yet  befall, 
And  he  refuse  to  hear  thy  call  ? 
And  has  he  not  his  promise  past, 
That  thou  shalt  overcome  at  last  ? 

5  Like  David,  thou  may'st  comfort  draw, 
Sav'd  from  the  bear's  and  lion's  paw ; 
Goliath's  rage  I  may  defy, 

For  God,  my  Saviour,  still  is  nigh. 

S   He  who  has  helped  me  hitherto, 

Will  help  me  all  my  journey  through, 
And  give  me  daily  cause  to  raise 
New  Ebenezers  to  his  praise. 

7  Though  rough  and  thorny  be  the  road 
It  leads  me  home,  apace,  to  God  ; 
Then  count  thy  present  trials  small, 
For  heaven  will  make  amends  for  all. 


HYMN  XLI. 

THE  WAY  OF  ACCESS. 

1  One  glance  of  thine,  eternal  Lord  ! 

Pierces  all  nature  through  ; 
Nor  heaven,  nor  earth,  nor  hell   afford 
A  shelter  from  thy  view. 

2  The  mighty  whole,  each  smaller  part, 

At  once  before  thee  lies  ; 
And  every  thought  of  every  heart 
Is  open  to  thine  eyes. 

3  Though  greatly  from  myself  conceal'd, 

Thou  see'st  my  inward  frame  j 
To  thee  I  always  stand  reveal'd, 
Exactly  as  I  am. 

Since,  therefore,  I  can  hardly  bear 

What  in  myself  I  see  ; 
How  vile  and  black  must  I  appear, 

Most  holy  God,  to  thee  ? 

But  since  my  Saviour  stands  between, 
In  garments  dyed  in  blood, 

'Tis  he,  instead  of  me,  is  seen, 
When  I  approach  to  God. 


618  OLNEY 

6'   Tims,  though  a  sinner,  I  am  safe  ; 
He  pleads  before  the  throne, 
His  life  and  deatli  in  my  behalf, 
And  calls  my  sins  his  own. 

7  What  wondrous  love,  what  mysteries, 
In  this  appointment  shine  ! 
My  breaches  of  the  law  are  his,* 
And  his  obedience  mine. 


HYMN  XLII. 


THE  PILGRIM  S  SONG. 


From  Egypt  lately  freed 
By  the  Itedemer's  grace, 
A  rough  and  thorny  path  we  tread, 
In  hopes  to  see  his  face. 

The  flesh  dislikes  the  way, 
But  faith  approves  it  well ; 
This  only  leads  to  endless  day, 
All  others  lead  to  hell. 


HYMNS.  BOOK  III. 

3  The  promis'd  land  of  peace 
Faith  keeps  in  constant  view; 

How  diff'rent  from  the  wilderness 
We  now  are  passing  through. 

4  Here  often  from  our  eyes 
Clouds  hide  the  light  divine  ; 

There  we  shall  have  unclouded  skies, 
Our  Sun  will  always  shine. 

5  Here  griefs,  and  cares,  and  pains, 
And  fears,  distress  us  sore  ; 

But  there  eternal  pleasuie  reigns, 
And  we  shall  weep  no  more. 

6  Lord,  pardon  our  complaints, 
We  follow  at  thy  call ; 

The  joy  prepar'd  for  sufT'ring  saints 
Will  make  amends  for  all. 

SIMILAR  HYMNS. 

Book  I.  Hymn  10,  13,  21,  22,  24,  27,  40 
43,  44,  51,  56,  63,  76,  88,  107,  11.5,  126 
130,  131,  136,  142. 

Book  II.  Hymn  30,  31,  84,  87,  92. 


IV.  COMFORT. 


HYMN  XLIII. 

FAITH  A  NEW  AND  COMPREHENSIVE  SENSE. 

Sight,  hearing,  feeling,  taste,  and  smell, 

Are  gifts  we  highly  prize  ; 
But  faith  does  singly  each  excel, 

And  all  the  live  comprize. 

2  More  piercing  than  the  eagle's  sight, 

It  views  the  world  unknown, 
Surveys  the  glorious  realms  of  light, 
And  Jesus  on  the  throne. 

3  It  hears  the  mighty  voice  of  God, 

And  ponders  what  lie  saith  ; 
His  word  and  works,  his  gifts  and  rod, 
Have  each  a  voice  to  faith. 

4  It  feels  the  touch  of  heavenly  powcr,f 

And  from  that  boundless  source, 
Derives  fresh  vigour  every  hour 
To  run  its  daily  course. 

5  The  truth  and  goodness  of  the  Lord 

Are  suited  to  its  taste  ;  \ 
Mean  is  the  worldling's  pamper'd  board, 
To  faith's  perpetual  feast. 

6  It  smells  the  dear  Redeemer's  name 

Like  ointment  poured  forth  ;  § 
Faith  only  knows,  or  can  proclaim, 
Its  savour  or  its  worth. 


*    2  Cor.  v.  21. 
X  PmI.  cxix.  103. 


t  Luke  viii.  46. 
S  Solomon's  Son^   i  3 


7  Till  saving  faith  possess  the  mind, 
In  vain  of  sense  we  boast ; 
We  are  but  senseless,  tasteless,  blind, 
And  deaf,  and  dead,  and  lost. 


HYMN  XLIV. 

THE  happy  change. 

1  How  bless'd  thy  creature  is,  O  Lord, 

When,  with  a  single  eye, 
He  views  the  lustre  of  thy  word, 
The  day-spring  from  on  high  ! 

2  Through  all  the  storms  that  veil  the  skies, 

And  frown  on  earthly  things, 
The  Sun  of  righteousness  he  eyes, 
With  healing  on  his  wings. 

3  Struck  by  that  light,  the  human  heart,* 

A  barren  soil  no  more, 
Sends  the  sweet  smell  of  grace  abroad, 
Where  serpents  lurk'd  before. 

4  The  soul,  a  dreary  province  once 

Of  Satan's  dark  domain, 
Feels  a  new  empire  form'd  within, 
And  owns  a  heavenly  reign. 

5  The  glorious  orb,  whose  golden  beam* 

The  fruitful  year  control, 
Since  first,  obedient  to  thy  word, 
He  started  from  the  gaol, 
•    Isa.  xxxv.  7 


HYMN  XLVIII. 


COMFORT. 


Has  cheer'd  the  nations  with  the  joys 

His  orient  rays  impart; 
But,  Jesus,  'tis  thy  light  alone 

Can  shine  upon  the  heart. 

C. 


HYMN  XLV. 

RETIREMENT. 

Far  from  the  world,  O  Lord,  I  flee, 
From  strife  and  tumult  far; 

From  scenes  where  Satan  wages  still 
His  most  successful  wnr. 

2  The  calm  retreat,  the  silent  shade, 

With  prayer  and  praise  agree, 
And  seem  by  thy  sweet  bounty  made, 
For  those  who  follow  thee. 

3  There  if  thy  Spirit  touch  the  soul, 

And  grace  her  mean  abode, 
Oh  !   with  what  peace,  and  joy,  and  love, 
She  communes  with  her  God. 

4  There,  like  the  nigtingale,  she  pours 

Her  solitary  lays, 
Nor  asks  a  witness  of  her  song, 
Nor  thirsts  for  human  praise. 

5  Author  and  guardian  of  my  life, 

Sweet  source  of  light  divine, 
And  (all  harmonious  names  in  one) 
My  Saviour,  thou  art  mine. 

6  What  thanks  I  owe  thee,  and  what  love, 

A  boundless,  endless  store, 
Shall  echo  through  the  realms  above, 
When  time  shall  be  no  more. 

C. 


HY.UN  XLVI. 

JESUS  MY  ALL. 

1  Why  should  I  fear  the  darkest  hour, 
Or  tremble  at  the  tempter's  power  ? 
Jesus  vouchsafes  to  be  my  tower. 

2  Though  hot  the  fight,  why  quit  the  field  ? 
Why  must  I  either  flee  or  yield, 

Since  Jesus  is  my  mighty  shield  ? 

3  When  creature-comforts  fade  and  die, 
Worldlings  may  weep,  but  why  should  I  ? 
Jesus  still  lives,  and  still  is  nigh. 

4  Though  all  the  flocks  and  herds  were  dead, 
My  soul  a  famine  need  not  dread, 

For  Jesus  is  my  living  bread. 

5  I  know  not  what  may  soon  betide, 
Or  how  my  wants  shall  be  supplied  ; 
But  Jesus  knows  and  will  provide. 

6  Though  sin  would  fill  me  with  distress, 
The  throne  of  grace  I  dare  address, 
For  Jesus  is  my  righteousness. 


619 


7  Though  faint  my  prayers,  and  cold  my  live 
My  stedfast  hope  shall  not  remove, 
While  Jesus  intercedes  above. 

8  Against  me  earth  and  hell  combine, 
But  on  my  side  is  power  divine ; 
Jesus  is  all,  and  he  is  mine. 


HYMN  XLVII. 

THE  HIDDEN  LIFE. 

1  To  tell  the  Saviour  all  my  wants, 

How  pleasing  is  the  task  ! 
Nor  less  to  praise  him  when  he  grants 
Beyond  what  I  can  ask. 

2  My  lab'ring  spirit  vainly  seeks 

To  tell  but  half  the  joy  ; 
With  how  much  tenderness  he  speaks, 
And  helps  me  to  reply. 

3  Nor  were  it  wise,  nor  should  I  choose, 

Such  secrets  to  declare  ; 
Like  precious  wines,  their  taste  they  lose, 
Expos'd  to  open  air. 

4  But  this,  with  boldness,  I  proclaim, 

Nor  care  if  thousands  hear, 
Sweet  is  the  ointment  of  his  name, 
Not  life  is  half  so  dear. 

5  And  can  you  frown,  my  former  friends, 

Who  knew  what  once  I  was, 
And  blame  the  song  that  thus  commends 
The  Man  who  bore  the  cross  ? 

S  Trust  me,  I  draw  the  likeness  true, 
And  not  as  fancy  paints: 
Such  honour  may  he  give  to  you, 
For  such  have  all  his  saints. 

C. 


HYMN  XLVIII. 

JOY  AND  PEACE  IN   BELIEVING. 

1  Sometimes  a  light  surprises 

The  christian  while  he  sings  ; 
It  is  the  Lord  who  rises 

With  healing  in  his  wings; 
When  comforts  are  declining, 

He  grants  the  soul  again, 
A  season  of  clear  shining, 

To  cheer  it  after  rain. 

2  In  holy  contemplation, 

We  sweetly  then  pursue 
The  theme  of  God's  salvation, 

And  find  it  ever  new  : 
Set  free  from  present  sorrow, 

We  cheerfully  can  say, 
E'n  let  the  unknown  to-morrow* 

Bring  with  it  what  it  may 

*  Matth.  vi  34. 


620 
3 


OLNEV   HYMNS. 


It  can  bring  with  it  nothing, 

But  he  will  bear  us  through  ; 
Who  gives  the  lilies  clothing, 

Will  clothe  his  people  too: 
Beneath  the  spreading  heavens, 

No  creature  but  is  fed  ; 
And  he  who  feeds  the  ravens, 

Will  give  his  children  bread. 

Though  vine  nor  fig-tree  neither 

Their  wonted  fruit  shall  bear,  * 
Though  all  the  field  should  wither, 

Nor  flocks  nor  herds  be  there ; 
Yet  God  tlie  same  abiding, 

His  praise  shall  tune  my  voice  ; 
For  while  in  him  confiding, 

I  cannot  but  rejoice. 


HYMN  XLIX. 

TRUE  PLEASURES. 

1    Lord,  my  soul  with  pleasure  springs, 
When  Jesus'  name  I  hear, 

And  when  God  the  Spirit  brings 
The  word  of  promise  near  : 

Beauties,  too,  in  holiness, 

Still  delighted  I  perceive ; 

Nor  have  words  that  can  express 
The  joys  thy  precepts  give. 

'2   Cloth'd  in  sanctity  and  grace, 

How  sweet  it  is  to  see 
Those  who  love  thee  as  they  pass, 

Or  when  they  wait  on  thee  ! 
Pleasant  too,  to  sit  and  tell, 
What  we  owe  to  love  divine, 
Till  our  bosoms  grateful  swell, 

And  eyes  begin  to  shine. 

S   Those  the  comforts  I  possess, 

Which  God  shall  still  increase  ; 
All  his  ways  are  pleasantness, f 
And  all  his  paths  are  peace. 
Nothing  Jesus  did  or  spoke, 
Henceforth  let  me  ever  slight ; 
For  1  love  his  easy  yoke,! 
And  find  his  burden  light. 

C. 

HYMN  L. 

THE  CHRISTIAN". 

1  Honour  and  happiness  unite, 

To  make  the  christian's  name  a  praise  : 
How  fair  the  scene,  how  clear  the  light, 
That  fills  the  remnant  of  his  days  ! 

2  A  kingly  character  he  bears, 

No  change  his  priestly  office  knows  j 
Unfading  is  the  crown  he  wears, 
His  joys  ean  never  reach  a  close. 


BOOK   III. 

i  3   Adorn'd  with  glory  from  on  high, 

Salvation  shines  upon  his  face  ; 

His  robe  is  of  the  ethereal  dye, 

His  steps  are  dignity  and  grace. 

Inferior  honours  he  disdains, 
Nor  stoops  to  take  applause  from  earth, 
The  King  of  kings  himself  maintains 
The  expenses  of  his  heavenly  birth. 

The  noblest  creature  seen  below, 
Ordain'd  to  fill  a  throne  above; 
God  gives  him  all  he  can  bestow, 
His  kingdom  of  eternal  love  ! 

My  soul  is  ravish'd  at  the  thought ! 
Methinks  from  earth  I  see  him  rise ! 
Angels  congratulate  his  lot, 
And  shout  him  welcome  to  the  skies  ! 

C. 


Hat  iii.  17,  18.     +  Prov.  iii.  17.      %  M..U1 


i    v  i    ::i  I 


HYMN  LI. 

LIVELY  HOPE  AND  GRACIOUS  FEAR. 

I  WAS  a  grov'lling  creature  once, 
And  basely  cleav'd  to  earth  ; 

I  wanted  spirit  to  renounce 
The  clod  that  gave  me  birth. 

But  God  has  breath'd  upon  a  worm, 

And  sent  me,  from  above, 
Wings,  such  as  clothe  an  angel's  form, 

The  wings  of  joy  and  love. 

With  these  to  Pisgah's  top  I  fly, 

And  there  delighted  stand, 
To  view  beyond  a  shining  sky 

The  spacious  promis'd  land. 

The  Lord  of  all  the  vast  domain 

Has  promis'd  it  to  me ; 
The  length  and  breadth  of  all  the  plain, 

As  far  as  faith  can  see. 

How  glorious  is  my  privilege  ! 

To  thee  for  help  1  call  ; 
I  stand  upon  a  mountain's  edge, 

O  save  me,  lest  I  fall  J 

Though  much  exalted  in  the  Lord, 
My  strength  is  not  my  own  ; 

Then  let  me  tremble  at  his  word, 
And  none  shall  cast  me  down. 

C. 


HYMN  LII. 

CONFIDENCE. 

1   Yes  !  since  God  himself  has  said  it, 
On  the  promise  I  rely  ; 
His  good  word  demands  my  credit, 
What  can  unbelief  reply  ? 
He  is  strong,  and  can  fulfil, 
He  is  truth,  and  therefore  will. 


HYMN  LV 
2 


COMFORT. 


As  to  all  the  doubts  and  questions 
Which  my  spirit  often  grieve, 
These  are  Satan's  sly  suggestions, 
And  I  need  no  answer  give ; 

He.  would  fain  destroy  my  hope, 
But  the  promise  bears  it  up. 

Sure  the  Lord  thus  far  has  brought  me 

By  his  watchful  tender  care ; 

Sure  'tis  he  himself  has  taught  me 

How  to  seek  his  face  by  prayer ; 
After  so  much  mercy  past, 
Will  he  give  me  up  at  last  ? 

True,  I've  been  a  foolish  creature, 
And  have  sinn'd  against  his  grace, 
But  forgiveness  is  his  nature, 
Though  he  justly  hides  his  face  : 
Ere  he  called  me,  well  he  knew* 
What  a  heart  like  mine  would  do. 

In  my  Saviour's  intercession 
Therefore  I  will  still  confide  ! 
Lord,  accept  my  free  confession, 
I  have  sinn'd,  but  thou  hast  died  :  f 

This  is  all  I  have  to  plead, 

This  is  all  the  plea  I  need. 


HYMN  LI II. 

PEACE  RESTORED. 

1  Oh!   speak  that  gracious  word  again, 

And  cheer  my  drooping  heart! 
No  voice  but  thine  can  soothe  my  pain, 
Or  bid  my  fears  depart. 

2  And  canst  thou  still  vouchsafe  to  own 

A  wretch  so  vile  as  I  ? 
And  may  I  still  approach  thy  throne, 
And  Abba,  Father,  cry  ? 

3  O,  then,  let  saints  and  angels  join, 

And  help  me  to  proclaim 
The  grace  that  heal'd  a  breach  like  mine, 
And  put  my  foes  to  shame  ! 

4  How  oft  did  Satan's  cruel  boast 

My  troubled  soul  affright ! 
He  told  me  I  was  surely  lost, 
And,  God  had  left  me  quite.f 

5  Guilt  made  me  fear,  lest  all  were  true 

The  lying  tempter  said  ; 
But  now  the  Lord  appears  in  view, 
My  enemy  is  fled. 

6  My  Saviour,  by  his  powerful  word, 

Has  turn'd  my  night  to  day  ; 
And  his  salvation's  joy's  restored, 
Which  I  had  sinn'd  away. 

7  Dear  Lord,  I  wonder  and  adore  ! 

Thy  grace  is  all  divine  ! 
O  keep  me,  that  I  sin  no  more 
Against  such  love  as  thine  ! 

*  Isa.  xlviii.  8.  t  Rom.  viii.  34. 

t  Psal.  ixxi.  11. 


621 


HYMN  LIV. 

HEAR  WHAT  HE  HAS  DONE  FOR  MY  SOUL. 

1  Sav'd  by  blood,  I  live  to  tell 
What  the  love  of  Christ  hath  done; 
He  redeem'd  my  soul  from  hell, 
Of  a  rebel  made  a  son  : 

Oh  !   I  tremble  still,  to  think 
How  secure  I  liv'd  in  sin  ; 
Sporting  on  destruction's  brink, 
Yet  preserv'd  from  falling  in. 

2  In  his  own  appointed  hour, 

To  my  heart  the  Saviour  spoke ; 
Touch  d  me  by  his  Spirit's  power, 
And  my  dang'rous  slumber  broke. 
Then  I  saw  and  own'd  my  guilt, 
Soon  my  gracious  Lord  replied  : 
"  Fear  not,  I  my  blood  have  spilt, 
'Twas  for  such  as  thee  I  died." 

3  Shame  and  wonder,  joy  and  love, 
All  at  once  possess'd  my  heart ; 
Can  I  hope  thy  grace  to  prove 
After  acting  such  a  part  ? 

"  Thou  hast  greatly  sinn'd,"  he  said, 
"  But  I  freely  all  forgive  ; 
I  myself  thy  debt  have  paid, 
Now  I  bid  thee  rise  and  live." 

4  Come,  my  fellow-sinners,  try, 
Jesus'  heart  is  full  of  love! 

O  that  you,  as  well  as  I, 

May  his  wondrous  mercy  prove. 

He  has  sent  me  to  declare, 

All  is  ready,  all  is  free : 

Why  should  any  soul  despair, 

When  he  sav'd  a  wretch  like  me  ? 


HYMN  LV. 


FREEDOM  FROM  CARE. 


1  While  I  liv'd  without  the  Lord, 
(If  I  might  be  said  to  live,) 
Nothing  could  relief  afford, 
Nothing  satisfaction  give. 

2  Empty  hopes  and  groundless  fear 
Mov'd  by  turns  my  anxious  mind  ; 
Like  a  feather  in  the  air, 

Made  the  sport  of  every  wind. 

3  Now,  I  see,  whate'er  betide, 
All  is  well  if  Christ  be  mine; 
He  has  promis'd  to  provide, 

I  have  only  to  resign. 

1   When  a  sense  of  sin  and  thrall 
Forc'd  me  to  the  sinner's  Friend, 
He  engaged  to  manage  all, 
By  the  way  and  to  the  end. 


622 


OLNEY   HYMNS. 


HOOK    III 


5  "  Cast,"  he  said,  "  on  me  thy  care," 
'Tis  enough  that  I  am  nigh  ; 

1  will  all  thy  burdens  hear, 
I  will  all  thy  wants  supply. 

6  Simply  follow  as  I  lead, 
Do  not  reason,  but  believe  ; 
Call  on  me  in  time  of  need, 
Thou  shalt  surely  help  receive." 

7  Lord,  I  would,  I  do  submit, 
Gladly  yield  my  all  to  thee ; 
What  thy  wisdom  sees  most  fit, 
Must  be  surely  best  for  me. 

*5   Only,  when  the  way  is  rough, 
And  the  coward  flesh  would  start, 
Let  thy  promise  and  thy  love 
Cheer  and  animate  my  heart. 


HYMN  LVI. 

HUMILIATION  AND  PRAISE. 

(Imitated  from  the  German. 

1  When  the  wounded  spirit  hears 

The  voice  of  Jesus'  blood, 
How  the  message  stops  the  tears 

Which  else  in  vain  had  flowed  -. 
Pardon,  grace,  and  peace  proclaim'ct, 
And  the  sinner  call'd  a  child; 
Then  the  stubborn  heart  is  tam'd, 

Itenew'cl  and  reconcil'd. 

2  Oh  !   'twas  grace  indeed  to  spare 

And  save  a  wretch  like  me  ! 
Men  or  angels  could  not  bear 

What  I  have  offer'd  thee : 
Were  thy  bolts  at  their  command, 
Hell  ere  now  had  been  my  place ; 
Thou  alone  could'st  silent  stand, 

And  wait  to  shew  thy  grace. 

3  If,  in  one  created  mind, 

The  tenderness  and  love 
Of  thy  saints  on  earth  were  join'd, 

With  all  the  hosts  above  ; 
Still  that  love  were  weak  and  poor, 
If  compar'd,  my  Lord,  with  thine  ; 
Far  too  scanty  to  endure 

A  heart  so  vile  as  mine. 

4  Wondrous  mercy  I  have  found, 

But,  ah  !  how  faint  my  praise  ! 
Must  I  be  a  cumber-ground, 

Unfruitful  all  my  days  ? 
Do  I  in  thy  garden  grow, 
Yet  produce  tl.ee  only  leaves  J 
Lord,  forbid  it  should  be  so  ! 

The  thought  my  spirit  grieves. 

•>    Heavy  charges  Satan  brings, 
To  fill  me  with  distress  ; 
Let  me  hide  beneath  thy  wings, 
And  plead  thy  righteousness. 

*   Psal.  lv.  22.     1  Pet.  v.  7. 


Lord,  to  thee  for  help  I  call, 
'Tis  thy  promise  bids  me  come: 
Tell  him  thou  hast  paid  for  all, 
And  that  shall  strike  him  dumb. 


HYMN  LVII. 


TOR  THE  POOK. 


1  When  Hagar  found  the  bottle  spent,* 

And  wept  o'er  Ishmael, 
A  message  from  the  Lord  was  sent 
To  guide  her  to  a  well. 

2  Should  not  Elijah's  cake  and  cruise  f 

Convince  us  at  this  day, 
A  gracious  God  will  not  refuse 
Provisions  by  the  way  ? 

3  His  saints  and  servants  shall  be  (mi, 

The  promise  is  secure  ; 
"  Bread  shall  be  given  them,"  as  he  said, 
"  Their  water  shall  be  sure."J 

4  Repasts  far  richer  they  shall  prove, 

Than  all  earth's  dainties  are  ; 
'Tis  sweet  to  taste  a  Saviour's  love, 
Though  in  the  meanest  fare. 

5  To  Jesus,  then,  your  trouble  bring, 

Nor  murmur  at  your  lot; 
While  you  are  poor,  and  he  is  King, 
You  shall  not  be  forgot. 


HYMN  LVIIL 

HOME  IN  VIEW. 

1  As  when  the  weary  trav'ller  gains 
The  height  of  some  o'erlooking  hill, 
His  heart  revives,  if  cross  the  plains 
He  eyes  his  home,  though  distant  still. 

2  While  he  surveys  the  much-lov'd  spot, 
He  slights  the  pace  that  lies  between; 
His  past  fatigues  are  now  forgot, 
Because  his  journey's  end  is  seen. 

3  Thus,  when  the  christian  pilgrim  views, 
By  faith,  his  mansion  in  the  skies, 

The  sight  his  fainting  strength  renews, 
And  wings  his  speed  to  reach  the  prize  : 

4  The  thought  of  home  his  spirit  cheers, 
No  more  he  grieves  for  troubles  past ; 
Nor  any  future  trial  fears,  § 

So  he  may  safe  arrive  at  last. 

5  'Tis  there,  he  says,  I  am  to  dwell 
With  Jesus,  in  the  realms  of  day, 
Then  I  shall  bid  my  cares  farewell, 
And  he  will  wipe  my  tears  away. 


»   Hen.  xxi.  19 
is>a.  xxxiii.  16. 


t  1  Kings  Nvii.  14. 
V   tcte  xx   24. 


HYMN  LSI.  DEDICATION  AND  SURRENDER.  623 

6  Jesus,  on  thee  our  hope  depends,  I  SIMILAR  HYMNS. 

Book  I.  Hymn  4,  7,   9,    11,  25,  35,  36,   39, 
41,  46,  47,  48,  70,  95,  123,  132. 
I  Book  II.  Hymn  45,  46,  47. 


To  lead  us  on  to  thine  abode: 
Assur'd  our  home  will  make  amends 
For  all  our  toil  while  on  the  road. 


V.  DEDICATION  AND  SURRENDER. 


HYMN    LIX. 

OLD  THINGS  ARE  PASSED  AWAY. 

1  Let  worldly  minds  the  world  pursue, 

It  has  no  charms  for  me ; 
Once  I  admir'd  its  trifles  too, 
But  grace  has  set  me  free. 

2  Its  pleasures  now  no  longer  please, 

No  more  content  afford  ; 
Far  from  my  heart  be  joys  like  these, 
Now  I  have  seen  the  Lord. 

3  As  by  the  light  of  op'ning  day 

The  stars  are  all  conceal' d  ; 
So  earthly  pleasures  fade  away, 
When  Jesus  is  reveal'd. 

4  Creatures  no  more  divide  my  choice, 

I  bid  them  all  depart ; 
His  name,  and  love,  and  gracious  voice, 
Have  fix'd  my  roving  heart. 

6   Now,  Lord,  I  would  be  thine  alone, 
And  wholly  live  to  thee; 
But  may  I  hope  that  thou  wilt  own 
A  worthless  worm  like  me  ? 

6  Yes !   though  of  sinners  I'm  the  worst, 
I  cannot  doubt  thy  will ; 
For  if  thou  hadst  not  lov'd  me  first, 
I  had  refus'd  thee  still.  * 


HYMN  LX. 


THE  POWER  OF  GRACE. 


1  Happy  the  birth  where  grace  presides, 

To  form  the  future  life ; 
In  wisdom's  paths  the  soul  she  guides, 
Remote  from  noise  and  strife. 

2  Since  I  have  known  the  Saviour's  name, 

And  what  for  me  he  bore, 

No  more  I  toil  for  empty  fame, 

I  thirst  for  gold  no  more. 

«  Jer.  xxxi  3. 


}   Plac'd  by  his  hand  in  this  retreat, 
1  make  his  love  my  theme ; 
And  see  that  all  the  world  calls  great, 
Is  but  a  waking  dream. 

i   Since  he  has  rank'd  my  worthless  name 
Amongst  his  favour'd  few, 
Let  the  mad  world  who  scoff  at  them, 
Revile  and  hate  me  too. 

5  O  thou,  whose  voice  the  dead  can  raise, 

And  soften  hearts  of  stone, 
And  teach  the  dumb  to  sing  thy  praise  ! 
This  work  is  all  thine  own. 

6  Thy  wond'ring  saints  rejoice  to  see 

A  wretch  like  me  restor'd ; 
And  point,  and  say,   "  How  chang'd  is  he, 
Who  once  defied  the  Lord  !" 

7  Grace  bid  me  live,  and  taught  my  tongue 

To  aim  at  notes  divine  ; 
And  grace  accepts  my  feeble  song  ; 
The  glory,  Lord,  be  thine  ! 


HYMN  LXI. 

MY  SOUL  THIHSTETH  FOR  GOD. 

1  I  THIRST,  but  not  as  once  I  did, 
The  vain  delights  of  earth  to  share ; 
Thy  wounds,  Emmanuel,  all  forbid 
That  I  should  seek  my  pleasures  there. 

2  It  was  the  sight  of  thy  dear  cross, 

First  wean'd  my  soul  from  earthly  things, 
And  taught  me  to  esteem  as  dross 
The  mirth  of  fools  and  pomp  of  kings. 

3  I  want  that  grace  that  springs  from  thee, 
That  quickens  all  things  where  it  flows, 
And  makes  a  wretched  thorn  like  me, 
Bloom  as  the  myrtle,  or  the  rose. 

4  Dear  fountain  of  delight  unknown  ! 
No  longer  sink  below  the  brim  ; 
But  overflow,  and  pour  me  down 

|       A  living  and  life-giving  stream  ! 


624 

5 


For  sure,  of  all  the  plants  that  share 
The  notice  of  thy  Father's  eye, 
None  proves  less  grateful  to  his  care, 
Or  yields  him  meaner  fruit  than  I. 

C 


HYMN  LXII. 


LOVE  CONSTRAINING   TO  OBEDIENCE. 

1  No  strength  of  nature  can  suffice 

To  serve  the  Lord  aright ; 
And  what  she  has,  she  misapplies, 
For  want  of  clearer  light. 

2  How  long  beneath  the  law  I  lay 

In  bondage  and  distress! 
I  toil'd  the  precept  to  obey, 
But  toil'd  without  success. 

3  Then,  to  abstain  from  outward  sin 

Was  more  than  I  could  do  ; 
Now,  I  feel  its  power  within, 
I  feel  I  hate  it  too. 

4  Then  all  my  servile  works  were  done 

A  righteousness  to  raise  ; 
Now,  freely  chosen  in  the  Son, 
I  freely  choose  his  ways. 

5  What  shall  I  do,  was  then  the  word, 

That  I  may  worthier  grow  ? 
What  shall  I  render  to  the  Lord  ? 
Is  my  inquiry  now. 

6  To  see  the  law  by  Christ  fulfill'd, 

And  hear  his  pard'ning  voice, 
Changes  a  slave  into  a  child,* 
And  duty  into  choice. 


HYMN  LXIH. 

THE  HEART  HEALED  AND  CHANGED  BY  MERCY. 

1    Sin  enslav'd  me  many  years, 

And  led  me  bound  and  blind; 

Till  at  length  a  thousand  fears 
Came  swarming  o'er  my  mind- 

Where,  I  said  in  deep  distress, 

Will  these  sinful  pleasures  end  ? 

How  shall  I  secure  my  peace, 
And  make  the  Lord  my  friend  ? 

1   Friends  and  ministers  said  much 

The  gospel  to  enforce ; 
But  my  blindness  still  was  such, 

I  chose  a  legal  course : 
Much  I  fasted,  watch'd,  and  strove, 
Scarce  would  shew  my  face  abroad 
Fear'd,  almost,  to  speak  or  move, 

A  stranger  still  to  Cod. 

•    Rom.  hi.  ."1 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 
3 


BOOK  III 


Thus,  afraid  to  trust  his  grace, 

Long  time  did  I  rebel ; 
Till,  despairing  of  my  case, 

Down  at  his  feet  I  fell : 
Then  my  stubborn  heart  he  broke, 
And  subdued  me  to  his  sway, 
By  a  simple  word  he  spoke, 

"  Thy  sins  are  done  away." 


HYMN  LXIV, 


HATRED  OF  SIN. 


Ho-LY  Lord  God  !   I  love  thy  truth, 
Nor  dare  thy  least  commandment  slight, 
Yet  pierc'd  by  sin,  the  serpent's  tooth, 
I  mourn  the  anguish  of  the  bite. 

But  though  the  poison  lurks  within, 
Hope  bids  me  still  with  patience  wait, 
Till  death  shall  set  me  free  from  sin, 
Free  from  the  only  thing  I  hate. 

Had  I  a  throne  above  the  rest, 
Where  angels  and  archangels  dwell, 
One  sin,  unslain,  within  my  breast, 
Would  make  that  heaven  as  dark  as  hell. 

The  pris'ner,  sent  to  breathe  fresh  air, 
And  bless'd  with  liberty  again, 
Would  mourn,  were  he  condemn'd  to  wear 
One  link  of  all  his  former  chain. 

But,  oh  !   no  foe  invades  the  bliss, 
When  glory  crowns  the  christian's  head  ; 
One  view  of  Jesus  as  he  is, 
Will  strike  all  sin  for  ever  dead. 


HYMN  LXV. 

THE  CHILD.* 

1  Quiet,  Lord,  my  froward  heart, 
Make  me  teachable  and  mild, 
Upright,  simple,  free  from  art, 
Make  me  as  a  weaned  child : 

From  distrust  and  envy  free, 
Pleas'd  with  all  that  pleases  thee. 

2  What  thou  shalt  to-day  provide, 
Let  me  as  a  child  receive ; 
What  to-morrow  may  betide, 
Calmly  to  thy  wisdom  leave  : 

'Tis  enough  that  thou  wilt  care, 
Why  should  I  the  burden  bear  ? 

3  As  a  little  child  relies 

On  a  care  beyond  his  own  ; 

Knows  he's  neither  strong  nor  wise  ; 

Fears  to  stir  a  step  alone  : 
Let  me  thus  with  thee  abide, 
As  my  Father,  guard,  and  guide. 

*   Psal.  cxxxi.  2. ;  Matth.  xviii.  3,  4. 


HYMN  LXV1I 

4 


DEDICATION  AND   SURRENDER. 


625 


Thus  preserv'd  from  Satan's  wiles, 
Safe  from  dangers,  free  from  fears, 
May  I  live  upon  thy  smiles, 
Till  the  promis'd  hour  appears, 
When  the  sons  of  God  shall  prove 
All  their  Father's  boundless  love. 


HYMN  LXVI. 

TRUE  HAPPINESS. 

Fix  my  heart  and  eyes  on  thine  ! 
What  are  other  objects  worth  ? 
But  to  see  thy  glory  shina 
Is  a  heaven  begun  on  earth  : 
Trifles  can  no  longer  move  ; 
Oh  !  I  tread  on  all  beside, 
When  I  feel  my  Saviour's  love, 
And  remember  how  he  died  ! 

Now  my  search  is  at  an  end, 
Now  my  wishes  rove  no  more  ! 
Thus  my  moments  I  would  spend, 
Love,  and  wonder,  and  adore  : 
Jesus,  source  of  excellence  ! 
All  thy  glorious  love  reveal ! 
Kingdoms  shall  not  bribe  me  hence, 
While  this  happiness  I  feel. 

Take  my  heart,  'tis  all  thine  own, 
To  thy  will  my  spirit  frame  ; 
Thou  shalt  reign,  and  thou  alone, 
Over  all  I  have  or  am  : 
If  a  foolish  thought  shall  dare 
To  rebel  against  thy  word, 
Slay  it,  Lord,  and  do  not  spare, 
Let  it  feel  thy  Spirit's  sword  ! 

Making  thus  the  Lord  my  choice, 
I  have  nothing  more  to  choose, 
But  to  listen  to  thy  voice, 
And  my  will  in  thine  to  lose  : 
Thus,  whatever  may  betide, 
I  shall  safe  and  happy  be, 
Still  content  and  satisfied, 
Having  all  in  having  thee. 


I 


HYMN  LXVII 


THE  HAPPY  DEBTOR. 


1  Ten  thousand  talents  once  I  owed, 

And  nothing  had  to  pay, 
But  Jesus  freed  me  from  the  load, 
And  wash'd  my  debt  away. 

2  Yet  since  the  Lord  forgave  my  sin, 

And  blotted  out  my  score, 
Much  more  indebted  I  have  been 
Than  e'er  I  was  before. 

3  My  guilt  is  cancell'd  quite,  I  know, 

And  satisfaction  made; 
But  the  vast  debt  of  love  I  owe 
Can  never  be  repaid. 

4  The  love  I  owe  for  sin  forgiven, 

For  power  to  believe, 
For  present  peace  and  promis'd  heaven, 
No  angel  can  conceive. 

5  That  love  of  thine,  thou  sinner's  Friend 

Witness  thy  bleeding  heart ! 
My  little  all  can  ne'er  extend 
To  pay  a  thousandth  part. 

6  Nay  more,  the  poor  returns  I  make, 

I  first  from  thee  obtain  ;* 
And  'tis  of  grace,  that  thou  wilt  take 
Such  poor  returns  again. 

7  'Tis  well,  it  shall  my  glory  be 

(Let  who  will  boast  their  store) 
In  time  and  to  eternity, 

To  owe  thee  more  and  more. 


SIMILAR  HYMNS. 

Book  I.  Hymn  27,  50,  70,  93,  1  22. 
Book  II.  Hymn  23,  90. 


VI.  CAUTIONS. 


HYMN  LXV1II. 

THE  NEW  CONVERT. 

The  new-born  child  of  gospel -grace, 
Like  some  fair  tree  when  summer's  nigh, 
Beneath  Emmanuel's  shining  face, 
Lifts  up  his  blooming  branch  on  high. 


No  fears  he  feels,  he  sees  no  foes, 
No  conflict  yet  his  faith  employs, 
Nor  has  he  learnt  to  whom  he  owes 
The  strength  and  peace  his  soul  enjoys 


1  Chron.  xxix.  H. 
3  A 


G2G  OLNEY 

S    But  sin  soon  darts  its  cruel  sting, 
And  comforts  sinking  day  by  day, 
What  sectn'd  his  own,  a  self-fed  spring, 
Proves  but  a  brook  that  glides  away. 

4   When  Gideon  arm'd  his  num'rous  host, 
The  Lord  soon  made  his  numbers  Jess; 
And  said,  lest  Israel  vainly  boast,* 
"  My  arm  procur'd  me  thus  success." 

Thus  will  he  bring  our  spirits  down, 
And  draw  our  ebbing  comforts  low, 
That,  sav'd  by  grace,  but  not  our  own, 
We  may  not  claim  the  praise  we  owe. 


HYMN  LXIX. 

TRUE  AND  FALSE  COMFORTS. 

1  O  God,  whose  favourable  eye 

The  sin-sick  soul  revives, 
Holy  and  heavenly  is  the  joy 
Thy  shining  presence  gives  : 

2  Not  such  as  hypocrites  suppose, 

Who  with  a  graceless  heart, 
Taste  not  of  thee,  but  drink  a  dose, 
Prepar'd  by  Satan's  art. 

3  Intoxicating  joys  are  theirs, 

Who,  while  they  boast  their  light, 
And  seem  to  soar  above  the  stars, 
Are  plunging  into  night, 

4  Lull'd  in  a  soft  and  fatal  sleep, 

They  sin,  and  yet  rejoice  ; 
Were  they  indeed  the  Saviour's  sheep, 
Would  they  not  hear  his  voice  ? 

3   Be  mine  the  comforts  that  reclaim 
The  soul  from  Satan's  power, 
That  make  me  blush  for  what  I  am, 
And  hate  my  sin  the  more. 

6   'Tis  joy  enough,  my  All  in  All, 
At  thy  dear  feet  to  lie ; 
Thou  wilt  not  let  me  lower  fall, 
And  none  can  higher  fly. 

C 


HYMN  LXX. 

TRUE  AND  FALSE  ZEAL. 

1  Zeal  is  that  pure  and  heavenly  flame 

The  fire  of  love  supplies; 
While  that  which  often  bears  the  name 
is  self  in  a  disguise. 

2  True  zeal  is  merciful  and  mild, 

Can  pity  and  forbear  ; 
The  false  is  headstrong,  tierce,  and  wild, 
And  breathes  revenge  and  war. 

•   Judaea  vii. 


HYMNS.  book  irr. 

3  While  zeal  for  truth  the  christian  warms, 

He  knows  the  worth  of  peace; 
But  self  contends  for  names  and  forms, 
Its  party  to  increase. 

4  Zeal  has  attain'd  its  highest  aim, 

Its  end  is  satisfied, 
If  sinners  love  the  Saviour's  name, 
Nor  seeks  it  aught  beside. 

5  But  self,  however  well  employed, 

Has  its  own  ends  in  view, 
And  says,  as  boasting  Jehu  cried,* 
"  Come,  see  what  I  can  do." 

6  Self  may  its  poor  reward  obtain, 

And  be  applauded  here, 
But  zeal  the  best  applause  will  gain 
When  Jesus  shall  appear. 

7  Dear  Lord,  the  idol  self  dethrone, 

And  fnom  our  hearts  remove, 
And  let  no  zeal  by  us  be  shown 
But  that  which  springs  from  love. 

HYMN  LXXI. 

A  LIVING  AND  A  DEAD  FAITH. 

1  The  Lord  receives  his  highest  praise 
From  humble  minds  and  hearts  sincere, 
While  all  the  loud  professor  says 
Offends  the  righteous  Judge's  car. 

2  To  walk  as  children  of  the  day, 
To  mark  the  precepts  holy  light, 

To  wage  the  warfare,  watch  and  pray, 
Shew  who  are  pleasing  in  his  sight. 

3  Not  words  alone  it  cost  the  Lord, 
To  purchase  pardon  for  his  own ; 
Nor  will  a  soul,  by  grace  restor'd, 
Return  the  Saviour  words  alone. 

4  With  golden  bells,  the  priestly  vest.f 
And  rich  pomegranates  border'd  round, 
The  need  of  holiness  express'd, 

And  call'd  for  fruit  as  well  as  sound. 

5  Easy,  indeed,  it  were  to  reach 
A  mansion  in  the  courts  above, 

If  swelling  words  and  fluent  speech 
Might  serve  instead  of  faith  and  love. 

6  But  none  shall  gain  the  blissful  place, 
Or  God's  unclouded  glory  see, 

Who  talks  of  free  and  sovereign  grace, 
Unless  that  grace  has  made  him  free. 


HYMN  LXX II. 

ABUSE  OF  THE  GOSFEL. 

1    Too  many,  Lord,  abuse  thy  grace, 
In  this  licentious  day  ; 
And  while  they  boast  they  see  thy  face, 
They  tu  n  their  own  away. 


2  King    {..  16. 


t  Exod.  xx\  iii.  33 


HYMN  LXXVI.  CAUTIONS. 

2  Thy  book  displays  a  gracious  light,  3 

That  can  the  blind  restore ; 
But  these  are  dazzled  by  the  sight, 
And  blinded  still  the  more. 

8   The  pardon  such  presume  upon 
They  do  not  beg,  but  steal ; 
And  when  they  plead  it  at  thy  throne, 
Oh  !  where's  the  Spirit's  seal? 

4  Was  it  for  this,  ye  lawless  tribe, 

The  dear  Redeemer  bled  ? 
Is  this  the  grace  the  saints  imbibe 
From  Christ  the  living  Head  ? 

5  Ah  !   Lord,  we  know  thy  chosen  few 

Are  fed  with  heavenly  fare ; 
But  these,  the  wretched  husks  they  chew, 
Proclaim  them  what  they  are. 

6  The  liberty  our  hearts  implore, 

Is  not  to  live  in  sin, 
But  still  to  wait  at  Wisdom's  door, 
Till  Mercy  calls  us  in. 

C. 


G27 


HYMN  LXXIII. 

THE  NARROW  WAY. 

1  What  thousands  never  knew  the  road  ! 
What  thousands  hate  it  when  'tis  known  ! 
None  but  the  chosen  tribes  of  God 

Will  seek  or  chuse  it  for  their  own. 

2  A  thousand  ways  in  ruin  end, 
One  only  leads  to  joys  on  high  ; 
By  that  my  willing  steps  ascend, 
Pleas'd  with  a  journey  to  the  sky. 

3  No  more  I  ask,  or  hope  to  find 
Delight  or  happiness  below  ; 
Sorrow  may  as  well  possess  the  mind 
That  feeds  where  thorns  and  thistles  grow. 

4  The  joy  that  fades  is  not  for  me, 
I  seek  immortal  joys  above  : 
There  glory  without  end  shall  be 
The  bright  reward  of  faith  and  love. 

5  Cleave  to  the  world,  ye  sordid  worms! 
Contented  lick  your  native  dust ; 

But  God  shall  fight,  with  all  his  storms, 
Against  the  idol  of  your  trust. 

C 


HYMN  LXXIV. 

DEPENDENCE. 

To  keep  the  lamp  alive, 
With  oil  we  fill  the  bow]  ; 
'Tis  water  makes  the  willow  thrive, 
And  grace  that  feeds  the  soul. 

The  Lord's  unsparing  hand 
Supplies  the  living  stream, 
It  is  not  at  our  own  command, 
But  still  deriv'd  from  him. 


Beware  of  Peter's  word,* 
Nor  confidently  say, 
"  I  never  will  deny  thee,  Lord,' 
But  grant  I  never  may. 

Man's  wisdom  is  to  seek 
His  strength  in  God  alone ; 
And  ev'n  an  angel  would  be  weak, 
Who  trusted  in  his  own. 

Retreat  beneath  his  wings, 
And  in  his  grace  confide ; 
This  more  exalts  the  King  of  kings,  + 
Than  all  your  works  beside. 

In  Jesus  is  our  store, 
Grace  issues  from  his  throne ; 
Whoever  says,   "  I  want  no  more," 
Confesses  he  has  none. 

C. 


HYMN    LXXV. 

NOT  OF  WORKS. 

Grace,  triumphant  in  the  throne, 

Scorns  a  rival,  reigns  alone  ! 

Come,  and  bow  beneath  her  sway, 

Cast  your  idol-works  away. 

Works  of  man,  when  made  his  plea, 

Never  shall  accepted  be  ; 

Fruits  of  pride  (vain-glorious  worm  !) 

Are  the  best  he  can  perform. 

Self,  the  god  his  soul  adores, 
Influences  all  his  powers; 
Jesus  is  a  slighted  name, 
Self-advancement  all  his  aim, 
But  when  God  the  Judge  shall  come. 
To  pronounce  the  final  doom, 
Then  for  rocks  and  hills  to  hide 
All  his  works  and  all  his  pride  ! 

Still  the  boasting  heart  replies, 
What !   the  worthy  and  the  wise, 
Friends  to  temperance  and  peace, 
Have  not  these  a  righteousness  ? 
Banish  ev'ry  vain  pretence 
Built  on  human  excellence  ; 
Perish  ev'ry  thing  in  man, 
But  the  grace  that  never  can. 

C 


HYMN  LXXVI. 

sin's  deceit. 

Sin,  when  view'd  by  scripture-light, 
Is  a  horrid,  hateful  sight ; 
But  when  seen  in  Satan's  glass, 
Then  it  wears  a  pleasing  face. 

When  the  gospel-trumpet  sounds, 
When  I  think  how  grace  abounds, 
When  I  feel  sweet  peace  within, 
Then  I'd  rather  die  than  sin. 

«    Matlh.  xxvi.  33.  f  John  vi.  tX 


G28 

3  When  the  cross  I  view  by  faith, 
Sin  is  madness,  poison,  death  ; 
Tempt  me  not,  'tis  all  in  vain, 
Sure  I  ne'er  can  yield  again. 

4  Satan,  for  a  while  debarr'd, 
When  he  finds  me  off  my  guard, 
Puts  his  glass  before  my  eyes, 
Quickly  other  thoughts  arise. 

5  What  before  excited  fears, 
Rather  pleasing  now  appears  ; 
If  a  sin,  it  seems  so  small, 
Or,  perhaps,  no  sin  at  all. 

6  Often  thus,  through  sin's  deceit, 
Grief,  and  shame,  and  loss  I  meet ; 
Like  a  fish,  my  soul  mistook, 

Saw  the  bait,  but  not  the  hook. 

7  O  my  Lord  !  what  shall  I  say  ? 
How  can  I  presume  to  pray  ? 
Not  a  word  have  I  to  plead, 
Sins  like  mine  are  black  indeed ! 

8  Made  by  past  experience  wise, 
Let  me  learn  thy  word  to  prize ; 
Taught  by  what  I've  felt  before, 
Let  me  Satan's  glass  abhor. 


HYMN  LXXVII. 

ARE  THERE  FEW  THAT  SHALL  BE  SAVED  ? 

1  Destruction's  dang'rous  road, 
What  multitudes  pursue  ! 

While  that  which  leads  the  soul  to  God, 
Is  known  or  sought  by  few. 

2  Believers  enter  in 

By  Christ,  the  living  gate : 
But  they  who  will  not  leave  their  sin, 
Complain  it  is  too  strait. 

3  If  self  must  be  denied, 
And  sin  forsaken  quite, 

They  rather  chuse  the  way  that's  wide, 
And  strive  to  think  it  ri^ht. 

0 

4  Encompass'd  by  a  throng, 
On  numbers  they  depend  ; 

So  many  surely  can't  be  wrong, 
And  miss  a  happy  end. 

5  But  numbers  are  no  mark 
That  men  will  right  be  found, 

A  few  were  sav'd  in  Noah's  ark,* 
For  many  millions  drown'd. 

Obey  the  gospel-call, 
And  enter  while  you  may  ! 
The  flock  of  Christ  is  always  small, f 
And  none  are  safe  but  they. 

7        Lord,  open  sinners  eyes, 
Their  awful  state  to  see  ; 
And  make  them  ere  the  storm  arise, 
To  thee  foi  safety  flee. 
*    1  Pet.  iii.  20.  f  Luke  xli.  52. 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


BOOK  III. 


HYMN  LXXV1II. 


THE  SLUGGARD. 


1  The  wishes  that  the  sluggard  frames,* 

Of  course  must  fruitless  prove  ; 
With  folded  arms  he  stands  and  dreams, 
But  has  no  heart  to  move. 

2  His  field  from  others  may  be  known, 

The  fence  is  broken  through  ; 
The  ground  with  weeds  is  overgrown, 
And  no  good  crop  in  view. 

3  No  hardship  he,  nor  toil,  can  bear, 

No  difficulty  meet ; 
He  wastes  his  hours  at  home,  for  fear 
Of  lions  in  the  street. 

4  What  wonder,  then,  if  sloth  and  sleep 

Distress  and  famine  brinsc ! 
Could  he  in  harvest  hope  to  reap, 
Who  would  not  sow  in  spring  ? 

5  'Tis  often  thus  in  soul-concerns: 

We  gospel-sluggards  see, 
Who,  if  a  wish  would  serve  their  turns, 
Might  true  believers  be. 

6  But  when  the  preacher  bids  them  watch, 

And  seek,  and  strive,  and  pray , ■f 
At  ev'ry  poor  excuse  they  catch, 
A  lion  in  the  way  ! 

7  To  use  the  means  of  grace,  how  loth  ! 

We  call  them  still  in  vain  ; 
They  yield  to  their  beloved  sloth, 
And  fold  their  arms  again. 

8  Dear  Saviour,  let  thy  power  appear, 

The  outward  call  to  aid  ; 
These  drowsy  souls  can  only  hear 
The  voice  that  wakes  the  dead 


HYMN  LXXIX. 

NOT  IN  WORD,  BUT  IN  POWER. 

1  How  soon  the  Saviour's  gracious  call, 
Disarm'd  the  rage  of  bloody  Saul  \\ 
Jesus,  the  knowledge  of  thy  name, 
Changes  the  lion  to  a  lamb  ! 

2  Zaccheus,  when  he  knew  the  Lord,§ 
What  he  had  gain'd  by  wrong,  restor'd  ; 
And  of  the  wealth  he  priz'd  before, 

He  gave  the  half  to  feed  the  poor. 

3  The  woman  who  so  vile  had  been,  || 
When  brought  to  weep  o'er  pardon'd  sin. 
Was  from  her  evil  ways  estrang'd, 

And  shew'd  that  grace  her  heart  ebang'd. 

+   Prov.  vi.  10.  ;  xx.  4. ;  xxii.  15. ;  xxiv.  5i>. 

t  1  Cor.  ix.  24.  ;   Luke  xiii.  24.  X  Act*  ix.  6. 

§  Luke  xix.  8.  ||  Luke  vii-  47 


HYMN  LXXXII. 

4  And  can  we  think  tlie  power  of  grace 
Is  lost,  by  change  of  time  and  place  ? 
Then  it  was  mighty,  all  allow, 
And  is  it  but  a  notion  now  ? 

5  Can  they  whom  pride  and  fashion  sway, 
Who  Mammon  and  the  world  obey, 
In  envy  or  contention  live, 
Presume  that  they  indeed  believe  ? 

6  True  faith  unites  to  Christ  the  root, 
By  him  producing  holy  fruit; 


PRAISE.  629 

And  they  who  no  such  fruit  can  show, 
Still  on  the  stock  of  nature  grow. 

7  Lord,  let  thy  wofd  effectual  prove, 
To  work  in  us  obedient  love  ! 
And  may  each  one  who  hears  it,  dread 
A  name  to  live,  and  yet  be  dead.  * 

SIMILAR  HYMNS. 

Book  I.    Hymn  8,  20,  85,  87,  91,  104,  125, 

139,  141. 
Book  II.  Hymn  34,  49,  86,  91,  99. 


VII.  PRAISE. 


HYMN  LXXX. 


PRAISE  FOR  FAITH. 


Of  all  the  gifts  thine  hand  bestows, 

Thou  giver  of  all  good  ! 
Not  heaven  itself  a  richer  knows, 

Than  my  Redeemer's  blood. 

Faith,  too,  the  blood-receiving  grace, 
From  the  same  hand  we  gain  ; 

Else,  sweetly  as  it  suits  our  case, 
That  gift  had  been  in  vain. 

Till  thou  thy  teaching  power  apply, 

Our  hearts  refuse  to  see, 
And  weak,  as  a  distemper'd  eye, 

Shut  out  the  view  of  thee. 

Blind  to  the  merits  of  thy  Son, 

What  misery  we  endure  ! 
Yet  fly  that  hand,  from  which  alone 

We  could  expect  a  cure. 

We  praise  thee,  and  would  praise  thee  more, 

To  thee  our  all  we  owe ; 
The  precious  Saviour  and  the  power 

That  makes  him  precious  too. 

c. 


HYMN  LXXXI. 

GRACE  AND  PROVIDENCE. 

Almighty  King  !  whose  wondrous  hand 
Supports  the  weight  of  sea  and  land, 
Whose  grace  is  such  a  boundless  store, 
No  heart  shall  break  that  sighs  for  more. 

Thy  providence  supplies  my  food, 
And  'tis  thy  blessing  makes  it  good ; 
Mv  soul  is  nourish'd  by  thy  word, 
Let  soul  and  body  praise  the  Lord. 


My  streams  of  outward  comfort  came 
From  him,  who  built  this  earthly  frame  ; 
Whate'er  I  want  his  bounty  gives, 
By  whom  my  soul  for  ever  lives. 

Either  his  hand  preserves  from  pain, 
Or,  if  I  feci  it,  heals  again  ; 
From  Satan's  malice  shields  my  breast, 
Or  over-rules  it  for  the  best. 

Forgive  the  song  that  falls  so  l~w 
Beneath  the  gratitude  I  owe  ! 
It  means  thy  praise,  however  pool, 
An  angel's  scng  can  do  no  more. 

v.*. 


HYMN  LXXXII. 


PRAISE  FOR  REDEEMING  LOVE. 

Let  us  love,  and  sing  and  wonder, 
Let  us  praise  the  Saviour's  name ! 
He  has  hush'd  the  law's  loud  thunder, 
He  has  quench 'd  Mount  Sinai's  flame  • 
He  has  wash'd  us  with  his  blood, 
He  has  brought  us  nigh  to  God. 

Let  us  love — the  Lord  who  bought  us, 

Pitied  us  when  enemies, 

Call'd  us  by  his  grace,  and  taught  us, 

Gave  us  ears,  and  gave  us  eyes  : 
He  has  wash'd  us  with  his  blood, 
He  presents  our  souls  to  God. 

Let  us  sing, — though  fierce  temptations 
Threaten   hard  to  bear  us  down  ; 
For  the  Lord,  our  strong  salvation, 
Holds  in  view  the  conq'ror's  crown  :  * 
He  who  wash'd  us  with  his  blood 
Soon  will  biing  us  home  to  God. 

•  Rev.  iii.  1. 


030 

4 


Let  us  wonder, — grace  and  justice 
Join,  and  point  to  mercy's  store  ! 
When  through  grace  in  .Christ  our  trust  is, 
Justice  smiles,  and  asks  no  more  : 
lie  who  wash'd  us  with  his  blood, 
Has  secur'd  our  way  to  God. 


Let  us  praise, — and  join  the  chorus 
Of  the  saints  enthron'd  on  high ; 
Here  they  trusted  him  before  us, 
Now  their  praises  fill  the  sky:* 

"  Thou  hast  wash'd  us  with  thy  blood  ; 

Thou  art  worthy,  Lamb  of  God  !" 

Hark,  the  name  of  Jesus  sounded 
Loud  from  golden  harps  above  ! 
Lord,  we  blush,  and  are  confounded, 
Faint  our  praises,  cold  our  love  ! 

Wash  our  souls  and  songs  with  blood, 
For  by  thee  we  come  to  God. 


HYMN    LXXXIII. 

I  WILL  PRAISE  THE  LORD  AT  ALL  TIMES. 

1  Winter  has  a  joy  for  me, 

While  the  Saviour's  charms  I  read, 
Lowly,  meek,  from  blemish  free, 
In  the  sinow  drop's  pensive  head. 

2  Spring  returns,  and  brings  along 
Life-invigorating  suns  ; 

Hark  !  the  turtle's  plaintive  song, 
Seems  to  speak  his  dying  groans ! 

S   Summer  has  a  thousand  charms, 
All  expressive  of  his  worth  ; 
'Tis  his  sun  that  lights  and  warms, 
His  the  air  that  cools  the  earth. 

4  What !  has  autumn  left  to  say 
Nothing  of  a  Saviour's  grace  ? 
Yes,  the  beams  of  milder  day 
Tell  me  of  his  smiling  face. 

5  Light  appears  with  early  dawn  ; 
While  the  sun  makes  haste  to  rise, 
See  his  bleeding  beauties  drawn 
On  the  blushes  of  the  skies. 

6  Evening,  with  a  silent  pace, 
Slowly  moving  in  the  west, 
Shews  an  emblem  of  his  grace, 
Points  to  an  eternal  rest. 


HYMN    LXXXIV. 

PERSEVERANCE. 

Rejoice,  believer,  in  the  Lord, 
Who  makes  your  cause  his  own  ; 

The  hope  that's  built  upon  his  word 
Can  ne'er  be  overthrown. 

«   Rev-       U 


OLNEY  HYMNS.  BOOK  III 

2  Though  many  foes  beset  your  road, 
And  feeble  is  your  arm ; 

Your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God,* 
Beyond  the  reach  of  harm. 

3  Weak  as  you  are,  you  shall  not  faint, 
Or,  fainting,  shall  not  die, 

Jesus,  the  strength  of  ev'ry  saint,f 


Will  aid  you  from  on  high. 

4  Though  sometimes  unperceiv'd  by  sens'?, 

Faith  sees  him  always  near, 
A  guide,  a  glory,  a  defence ; 
Then  what  have  you  to  fear  ? 

5  As  surely  as  he  overcame, 

And  triumph'd  once  for  you, 
So  surely  you  that  love  his  name, 
Shall  triumph  in  him  too. 


HYMN  LXXXV. 

SALVATION. 

1  Salvation  !  what  a  glorious  plan, 

How  suited  to  our  need  ! 
The  grace  that  raises  fallen  man 
Is  wonderful  indeed  ! 

2  'Twas  wisdom  form'd  the  vast  design, 

To  ransom  us  when  lost ; 
And  love's  unfathomable  mine 
Provided  all  the  cost. 

3  Strict  Justice,  with  approving  look, 

The  holy  covenant  seal'd  ; 
And  Truth  and  Power  undertook 
The  whole  should  be  fulfill'd. 

4  Truth,  Wisdom,  Justice,  Power,  and  Love 

In  all  their  glory  shone, 
When  Jesus  left  the  courts  above, 
And  died  to  save  his  own. 

5  Truth,  Wisdom,  Justice,  Power,  and  Love, 

Are  equally  displayed  ; 
Now  Jesus  reigns  enthron'd  above, 
Our  Advocate  and  Head. 

6  Now  sin  appears  deserving  death, 
Most  hateful  and  abhorr'd  ; 

And  yet  the  6Jnner  lives  by  faith, 
And  dares  approach  the  Lord. 


HYMN  LXXXVI. 


REIGNING  GRACE. 


1    Now,  may  the  Lord  reveal  his  face, 

And  teach  our  stamm'ring  tongues 
To  make  his  sovereign,  reigning  grace,  { 

The  subject  of  our  songs  ! 
No  sweeter  subject  can  invite 

A  sinner's  heart  to  sing, 
Or  more  display  the  glorious  right 

Of  our  exalted  King 


*  Col.  in.  3. 


+  Isa.  x).  29. 


t  Rom.  v.  21. 


HYMN  LXXXVIII.  PRAISE 

*i  This  subject  fills  the  starry  plains  6 

With  wonder,  joy,  and  love  ; 
And  furnishes  the  noblest  strains 

For  all  the  harps  above  : 
While  the  redeem'd  in  praise  combine 

To  grace  upon  the  throne,* 
Angels  in  solemn  chorus  join, 

And  make  the  theme  their  own. 

<}   Grace  reigns  to  pardon  crimson  sins, 

To  melt  the  hardest  hearts  ; 
And  from  the  work  it  once  begins,  f 

It  never  more  departs. 
The  world  and  Satan  strive  in  vain 

Against  the  chosen  few ;  J 
Secur'd  by  grace's  conqu'ring  reign, 

They  all  shall  conquer  too. 

4  Grace  tills  the  soil,  and  sows  the  seeds, 

Provides  the  sun  and  rain  ; 
Till  from  the  tender  blade  proceeds 

The  ripen'd  harvest-grain. 
'Twas  grace  that  call'd  our  souls  at  first ; 

By  grace  thus  far  we're  come ; 
And  grace  will  help  us  through  the  worst, 

And  lead  us  safely  home. 

5  Lord,  when  this  changing  life  is  past, 

If  we  may  see  thy  face, 
How  shall  we  praise  and  love  at  last, 

And  sing  the  reign  of  grace  !  j| 
Yet  let  us  aim,  while  here  below, 

Thy  mercy  to  display  ; 
And  own,  at  least,  the  debt  we  owe, 

Although  we  cannot  pay, 


631 


HYMN  LXXXVII. 

PRAISE  TO  THE  REDEEMER. 

Prepare  a  thankful  song 
To  the  Redeemer's  name  ! 
His  praises  should  employ  each  tongue, 
And  ev'ry  heart  inflame  ! 

He  laid  his  glory  by, 
And  dreadful  pains  endur'd, 
That  rebels,  such  as  you  and  I, 
From  wrath  might  be  secur'd. 

Upon  the  cross  he  died, 
Our  debt  of  sin  to  pay  ; 
The  blood  and  water  from  his  side 
Wash  guilt  and  filth  away. 

And  now  he  pleading  stands, 
For  us,  before  the  throne, 
And  answers  all  the  taw's  demands 
With  what  himself  hath  done. 

He  sees  us,  willing  slaves, 
To  sin,  and  Satan's  power ; 
But,  with  an  outstretch'd  arm,  he  saves, 
In  his  appointed  hour. 


Rev.  v.  9,  12. 
Horn.  viii.  35 — 39. 


\  Phil.  i.  e. 
II   Psal.  cxv.  1. 


The  Holy  Ghost  he  sends, 
Our  stubborn  souls  to  mova, 
To  make  his  enemies  his  friends, 
And  conquer  them  by  love. 

7  The  love  of  sin  departs, 
The  life  of  grace  takes  place, 

Soon  as  his  voice  invites  our  hearts 
To  rise  and  seek  his  face. 

8  The  world  and  Satan  rage, 
But  he  their  power  controls ; 

His  wisdom,  love,  and  truth,  engage 
Protection  for  our  souls. 

9  Though  press'd,  we  will  not  yield, 
But  shall  prevail  at  length  : 

For  Jesus  is  our  sun  and  shield, 
Our  righteousness  and  strength. 

10  Assur'd  that  Christ,  our  King, 
Will  put  our  foes  to  flight, 

We  on  the  field  of  battle  sing, 
And  triumph  while  we  fight. 


HYMN  LXXXVIII. 

MAN,  BY  NATURE,  GRACE,  AND  GLORTt. 

1  Lord,  what  is  man  !    extremes  how  wide 
In  this  mysterious  nature  join  ! 
The  flesh,  to  worms  and  dust  allied 
The  soul,  immortal  and  divine  ! 

2  Divine  at  first,  a  holy  flame, 
Kindled  by  the  Almighty's  breath  ; 
Till,  stain'd  by  sin,  it  soon  became 
The  seat  of  darkness,  strife,  and  death. 

3  But  Jesus,  oh  !   amazing  grace  ! 
Assum'd  our  nature  as  his  own, 
Obeyed  and  suffer'd  in  our  place, 
Then  took  it  with  him  to  his  throne. 

4  Now,  what  is  man,  when  grace  reveals 
The  virtue  of  a  Saviour's  blood  ! 
Again  a  life  divine  he  feels, 
Despises  earth,  and  walks  with  God. 

5  And  what,  in  yonder  realms  above, 
Is  ransom'd  man  ordain'd  to  be  ! 
With  honour,  holiness,  and  love, 
No  seraph  more  adorn'd  than  he. 

6  Nearest  the  throne,  and  first  in  song, 
Man  shall  his  hallelujahs  raise  ; 

While  wond'ring  angels  round  him  throng, 
And  swell  the  chorus  of  his  praise. 


SIMILAR  HYMNS. 

Bo<  k  I.    Hymn  57,   53,   59,   79,   80. 
Bo(  k  II.  Hymn  37,  38,  39,  41    42. 


(.32 


OLNEY  HYMNS. 


BOOK  HE 


VIII.    SHORT  HYMNS. 


BEFORE   SERMON. 


HYMN  LXXXIX. 

Confirm  the  hope  thy  word  allows, 
Behold  us  waiting  to  be  fed  ; 
Bless  the  provision  of  thy  house, 
And  satisfy  thy  poor  with  bread  : 
Drawn  by  thine  invitation,  Lord, 
Athirst  and  hungry  we  are  come  ; 
Now,  from  the  fulness  of  thy  word, 
Feast  us,  and  send  us  thankful  home. 


HYMN    XC. 

1  Now,  Lord,  inspire  the  preacher's  heart. 

And  teach  his  tongue  to  speak  ; 
Food  to  the  hungry  soul  impart, 
And  cordials  to  the  weak. 

2  Furnish  us  all  with  light  and  powers 

To  walk  in  Wisdom's  ways ; 
So  shall  the  benefit  be  ours, 

And  thou  shalt  have  the  praise. 


HYMN  XCI. 

1  Thy  promise,  Lord,  and  thy  command, 

Have  brought  us  here  to-day  ; 
And  now,  we  humbly  waiting  stand, 
To  hear  what  thou  wilt  say.* 

2  Meet  us,  we  pray,  with  words  of  peace, 

And  fill  our  hearts  with  love ; 

That  from  our  follies  we  may  cease, 

And  henceforth  faithful  prove. 


HYMN  XCII. 

Hungry,  and  faint,  and  poor, 
Behold  us,  Lord,  again 
Assembled  at  thy  mercy's  door, 
Thy  bounty  to  obtain. 

Thy  word  invites  us  nigh, 
Or  we  must  starve  indeed  ; 
For  we  no  money  have  to  buy, 
No  righteousness  to  plead. 

♦  Psal.  lxxxv.  R. 


13 


The  food  our  spirits  want 
Thy  hand  alone  can  give; 
Oh  !   hear  the  prayer  of  faith,  and  grant 
That  we  may  eat  and  live. 


HYMN  XCIII. 
PSAI-.  cvi.  4,  5. 

1  Remember  us,  we  pray  thee,  Lord, 
With  those  who  love  thy  gracious  nam 
And  to  our  souls  thai  good  afford. 
Thy  promise  has  prepar'd  for  the* 

2  To  us  thy  great  salvation  show 
Give  us  a  taste  of  love  divine. 
That  we  thy  people's  joy  may  know 
And  in  their  holy  triumph  join. 


HYMN  XCIV. 

1  Not  to  Sinai's  dreadful  blaze, ' 
But  to  Zion's  throne  of  grace, 
By  a  way  mark'd  out  with  blood, 
Sinners  now  approach  to  God 

2  Not  to  hear  the  fiery  law, 
But  with  humble  joy  to  draw 
Water,  by  that  well  supplied, f 
Jesus  open'd  when  he  died. 

3  Lord,  there  are  no  streams  but  thine 
Can  assuage  a  thirst  like  mine  : 
'Tis  a  thirst  thyself  didst  give, 

Let  me,  therefore,  drink  and  live. 


HYMN  XCV. 

Often  thy  public  means  of  grace, 
Thy  thirsty  people's  wat'ring  place, 

The  archers  have  beset  :| 
Attack'd  them  in  thy  house  of  prayer, 
To  prison  dragg'd,  or  to  the  bar, 

When  thus  together  met, 

But  we  from  such  assaults  are  freed, 
Can  pray,  and  sing,  and  hear,  and  read. 

*  !Ieb.  xii.  18.22.     t  Isa.  xii.  3.     t  Judges  v    1. 


HYMN  CIII. 


And  meet,  and  part,  in  peace : 
May  we  our  privileges  prize, 
In  their  improvement  make  us  wise, 

And  bless  us  with  increase. 

Unless  thy  presence  thou  afford, 
Unless  thy  blessing  clothe  the  word, 

In  vain  our  liberty ! 
What  would  it  profit  to  maintain 
A  name  for  life,  should  we  remain 

Formal  and  dead  to  thee  ? 


AFTER  SERMON 


HYMN   XCVI. 

Deut.  xxxiii.  26,  2a 

1   With  Israel's  God  who  can  compare  ? 
Or  who  like  Israel  happy  are  ? 
O  people,  saved  by  the  Lord, 
He  is  thy  shield  and  great  reward  ! 

It  Upheld  by  everlasting  arms, 

Thou  art  secur'd  from  foes  and  harms  : 
In  vain  their  plots,  and  false  their  boasts, 
Our  refuge  is  the  Lord  of  hosts. 


SHORT  HYMNS. 

2  He  finds  them  in  a  barren  land, 


633 


HYMN  XCVII. 

Haeakkuk  iii.  17,  18. 

Jesus  is  mine  !   I'm  now  prepar'd 

To  meet  with  what  I  thought  most  hard  : 

Yes,  let  the  winds  of  trouble  blow, 

And  comforts  melt  away  like  snow; 

No  blasted  trees  or  failing  crops, 

Can  hinder  my  eternal  hopes ; 

Tho'  creatures  change,  the  Lord's  the  same; 

Then  let  me  triumph  in  his  name. 


HYMN  XCVIII 

We  seek  a  rest  beyond  the  skies, 

In  everlasting  day ; 
Through  floods  and  flames  the  passage  lies, 

But  Jesus  guards  the  way  : 
The  swelling  flood,  and  raging  flame, 

Hear  and  obey  his  word ; 
JThen  let  us  triumph  in  his  name, 

Our  Saviour  is  the  Lord. 


HYMN  XCIX. 

Deut.  xxxii.  9,  10. 

)    The  saints  Emmanuel's  portion  are, 
Redeem'd  by  price,  reclaim'd  by  power; 
His  special  choice,  and  tender  care, 
Owns  them  and  guards  them  ev'ry  hour 


Beset  with  sins,  and  fears,  and  woes  ; 
He  leads  and  guides  them  by  his  hand, 
And  bears  them  safe  from  all  their  foes. 


HYMN  C. 
Heb.  xiii.  20 — 21. 

1  Now  may  he  who  from  the  dead 
Brought  the  Shepherd  of  the  sheep, 
Jesus  Christ,  our  King  and  Head, 
All  our  souls  in  safety  keep  ! 

2  May  he  teach  us  to  fulfil 
What  is  pleasing  in  his  sight ; 
Perfect  us  in  all  his  will, 

And  preserve  us  day  and  night ! 

3  To  that  dear  Redeemer's  praise, 
Who  the  covenant  seal'd  with  blood, 
Let  our  hearts  and  voices  raise 
Loud  thanksgivings  to  our  God. 


HYAiN  CI. 

2  Cor.  xiii.  14. 

May  the  grace  of  Christ  our  Saviour 
And  the  Father's  boundless  love, 
With  the  Holy  Spirit's  favour, 
Rest  upon  -us  from  above  ! 
Thus  may  we  abide  in  union 
With  each  other  and  the  Lord ; 
And  possess,  in  sweet  communion, 
Joys  which  earth  cannot  afford. 


HYMN  CII. 

The  peace  which  God  alone  reveals, 
And  by  his  word  of  grace  imparts, 
Which  only  the  believer  feels,* 
Direct  and  keep,  and  cheer  your  hearts  i 
And  may  the  Holy  Three  in  one, 
The  Father,  Word,  and  Comforter, 
Pour  an  abundant  blessing  down 
On  ev'ry  soul  assembled  here ! 


HYMN  CIII. 

To  thee  our  wants  are  known, 

From  thee  are  all  our  powers ; 

Accept  what  is  thine  own, 

And  pardon  what  is  ours  : 
Our  praises,  Lord,  and  prayers  receive, 
And  to  thy  word  a  blessing  give. 

*  Phil.  iv.  7. 


fiS4 


OLNEY  HYMNS 


()  grant  that  each  of  us 
Now  met  before  thee  here, 
May  meet  together  thus, 
When  thou  and  thine  appear  ! 

And  follow  thee  to  heaven  our  home. 

Ev'n  so,  Amen  !  Lord  Jesus,  come  !* 


GLORIA  PATRI. 


HYMN  CIV. 

1  The  Father  we  adore, 
And  everlasting  Son, 

The  Spirit  of  his  love  and  power, 
The  glorious  Three  in  One. 

2  At  the  creation's  birth 

This  song  was  sung  on  high, 
Shall  sound,  through  ev'ry  age,  on  earth, 
And  through  eternity. 

HYMN  CV. 

1    P'ather  of  angels  and  of  men, 
Saviour,  who  hast  us  bought, 
Spirit,  by  whom  we're  born  again, 
And  sanctified  and  taught! 
«    Rev.  v  V£0. 


BOOK   III 

2   Thy  glory,  holy  Three  in  One, 
Thy  people's  song  shall  be  ; 
Long  as  the  wheels  of  time  shall  run, 
And  to  eternity. 


HYMN  CVI. 

Glory  to  God  the  Father's  name, 
To  Jesus,  who  for  sinners  died ; 
The  Holy  Spirit  claims  the  same, 
By  whom  our  souls  are  sanctified. 

Thy  praise  was  sung,  when  time  began, 
By  angels,  through  the  starry  spheres ; 
And  shall,  as  now,  be  sung  by  man, 
Through  vast  eternity's  long  years. 


HYMN  CVI  I. 

Ye  saints  on  earth,  ascribe,  with  heaven's  high 

host, 
Glory  and  honour  to  the  One  in  Three : 
To  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost; 
As  was,  and  is,  awd  evermore  shall  be. 


POEMS. 


THE    KITE 


OR 


PRIDE  MUST  HAVE  A   FALL. 


My  waking  dreams  arc  best  eoneeal'd. 
Much  folly,  little  good,  they  vield  ; 
But  now  and  then,  I  gain,  when  sleeping, 
A  friendly  hint  that'g  worth  the  keeping. 
Lately  I  dreamt  of  one  who  cried, 
*'  Beware  of  self,  beware  of  pride ; 
When  you  are  prone  to  build  a  Babel, 
Recal  to  mird  this  little  fable." 


Once  on  a  time  a  paper  kite 

Was  mounted  to  a  wond'rous  height, 

Where,  giddy  with  its  elevation, 

It  thus  express'd  self-admiration  : 

"  See  how  yon  crowds  of  gazing  people 

Admire  my  flight  above  the  steeple  : 

How  would  they  wonder  if  they  knew 

All  that  a  kite  like  me  can  do  ! 

Were  I  but  free,  I'd  take  a  flight, 

And  pierce  the  clouds  beyond  their  sight  ; 

But,  ah  !  like  a  poor  pris'ner  bound, 

My  string  confines  me  near  the  ground  : 

I'd  brave  the  eagle's  towering  wing, 

Might  I  but  fly  without  a  string." 

It  tugg'd  and  pull'd,  while  thus  it  spoke, 
To  break  the  string  : — at  laat  it  broke. 
Depriv'd  at  once  of  all  its  stay, 
In  vain  it  tried  to  soar  away ; 


Unable  its  own  weight  to  bear, 

It  flutter'd  downward  through  the  air; 

Unable  its  own  course  to  guide, 

The  winds  soon  plung'd  it  in  the  tide. 

Ah  !  foolish  kite,  thou  hadst  no  wing, 

How  couldst  thou  fly  without  a  string  ? 

Hy  heart  replied,   "  O  Lord,  1  see 
How  much  this  kite  resembles  me  ! 
Forgetful  that  by  thee  I  stand, 
Impatient  of  thy  ruling  hand  ; 
How  oft  I've  wish'd  to  break  the  lines 
Thy  wisdom  for  my  lot  assigns  ? 
How  oft  indulg'd  a  vain  desire, 
For  something  more  or  something  higher  i 
And,  but  for  grace  and  love  divine, 
A  fall  thus  dreadful  had  been  mine." 


A  THOUGHT  ON  THE  SEA-SHORE. 


In  ev'ry  object  here  I  see 
Something,  O  Lord,  that  leads  to  thee 
Firm  as  the  rocks  thy  promise  stands, 
Thy  mercies  countless  as  the  sands, 
Thy  love  a  sea  immensely  wide, 
Thy  grace  an  ever-flowing  tide. 


In  ev'ry  object  here  I  see 

Something,  my  heart,  that  points  at  thee  : 

H::rd  as  the  rocks  that  bound  the  strand, 

Unfruitful  as  the  barren  sand, 

Deep  and  deceitful  as  the  ocean, 

And,  like  the  tide,  in  constant  motion 


636 


POEMS, 


THE  SPIDER  AND  THE  TOAD. 


SOME  author  (no  great  matter  who, 

Provided  what  he  says  he  true) 

Relates  he  saw,  with  hostile  rage, 

A  spider  and  a  toad  engage  ; 

For  though  with  poison  both  are  stor'd, 

Each  by  the  other  is  abhorr'd  : 

It  seems  as  if  their  common  venom 

Provok'd  an  enmity  between  'em. 

Implacable,  malicious,  cruel, 

Like  modern  hero  in  a  duel, 

The  spider  darted  on  his  foe, 

Infixing  death  at  ev'ry  blow. 

The  toad,  by  ready  instinct  taught, 

An  antidote,  when  wounded,  sought, 

From  the  herb  plantane,  growing  near, 

Well-known  to  toads,  its  virtues  rare 

The  spider's  poison  to  repel ; 

It  cropp'd  the  leaf  and  soon  was  well. 

This  remedy  it  often  tried, 

And  all  the  spider's  rage  defied. 

The  person  who  the  contest  viewed, 

While  yet  the  battle  doubtful  stood, 

Remov'd  the  healing  plant  away, 

And  thus  the  spider  gain'd  the  day ; 

For  when  the  toad  returned  once  more, 

Wounded,  as  it  had  done  before, 

To  seek  relief,  and  found  it  not, 

It  swell'd  and  died  upon  the  spot. 

In  ev'ry  circumstance  but  one 
(Could  that  hold  too,  I  were  undone!) 
No  glass  can  represent  my  face 
More  justly  than  this  tale  my  case. 
The  toad's  an  emblem  of  my  heart, 
And  Satan  acts  the  spider's  part. 


!  free,  > 

3.  J 


Envenom'd  by  his  poison,  I 
Am  often  at  the  point  to  die ; 
But  he  who  hung  upon  the  tree, 
From  guilt  and  woe  to  set  me 
Is  like  the  plantane  leaf  to  me. 
To  him  my  wounded  soul  repairs, 
He  knows  my  pain  and  hears  my  prayers 
From  him  I  virtue  draw  by  faith, 
Which  saves  me  from  the  jaws  of  death  : 
From  him  fresh  life  and  strength  I  gain, 
And  Satan  spends  his  rage  in  vain. 
No  secret  arts  or  open  force 
Can  rob  me  of  this  sure  resource: 
Though  banish'd  to  some  distant  land, 
My  med'cine  would  be  still  at  hand ; 
Though  foolish  men  its  worth  deny, 
Experience  gives  them  all  the  lie; 
Though  Deists  and  Socinians  join, 
Jesus  still  lives,  and  still  is  mine. 
'Tis  here  the  happy  difference  lies, 
My  Saviour  reigns  above  the  skies, 
Yet  to  my  soul  is  always  near, 
For  he  is  God  and  everywhere. 
His  blood  a  sovereign  balm  is  found 
For  ev'ry  grief  and  ev'ry  wound  ; 
And  sooner  all  the  hills  shall  flee 
And  hide  themselves  beneath  the  sea, 
Or  ocean,  starting  from  its  bed, 
Rush  o'er  the  cloud-topt  mountains  head. 
The  sun,  exhausted  of  its  light, 
Become  the  source  of  endless  night, 
And  ruin  spread  from  pole  to  pole, 
Tlian  Jesus  fail  the  tempted  soul. 


MESSIAH; 


OR 

FIFTY  EXPOSITORY  DISCOURSES 

ON  THE  SERIES  OF 

SCRIPTURAL  PASSAGES 

WHICH  FORM  THE  SUBJECT  OF  HANDEL'S  CELEBRATED 

ORATORIO 

OF  THAT  NAME, 
PREACHED  IN  THE  YEARS    1784  AND  1785, 
IN  THE 

PARISH  CHURCH  OF  ST.  MARY  WOOLNOTH, 

LOMBARD    STREET, 

LONDON. 


Ah! 


Tantamne  rein,  tam  negligenter,  agere  !  Ter. 

Oh,  that  they  were  wise,  that  they  understood  this  !- 

Deut.  xxxii.  29. 


TO  THE 

PARISHIONERS   OF  ST.   MARY  WOOLNOTH, 

AND 

ST.  MARY  WOOLCHURCH  HAW, 

LONDON, 

THESE  SERMONS 

ON    THE 

MESSIAH 

ARE    AFFECTIONATELY    INSCRIBED    BY    TliK 

AUTHOR, 

TO   REMAIN   AS  A  TESTIMONY  OF  HIS  Rfc,SPECT 

FOR    THEIR    PERSONS, 

AND  HIS  SOLICITUDE  FOR  THEIR  WELFARE, 

WHLN  HIS  PRESENT  RELATION 

TO     THEM,      AS     THEIR     MINISTER, 
SHALL    BE    DISSOLVED. 


PKKFACE. 


The  following  Sermons,  as  to  the  substance  (for  most  of  them  are  consi- 
derably abridged),  were  preached  to  a  public  and  numerous  assembly ;  and 
therefore  an  accurate  and  logical  discussion  of  the  several  subjects  was  not 
aimed  at.  They  are  rather  popular  discourses,  in  which  the  Author,  though 
he  wished  not  to  treat  the  politer  part  of  his  auditory  with  disrespect,  thought 
it  likewise  his  duty  so  to  adapt  his  manner  to  the  occasion,  as  to  be  in- 
telligible to  persons  of  weak  capacities  and  in  the  lower  ranks  of  life.  He 
conceives  himself  to  be  a  debtor  to  every  class  of  his  hearers,  and  that  he 
ought  to  endeavour  to  please  all  men,  with  a  view  to  their  edification  ;  but, 
farther  than  this,  not  to  be  greatly  affected,  either  by  their  approbation  or  by 
their  censure. 

Many  of  the  subjects  are  so  nearly  coincident,  that  repetitions  could  not 
be  always  avoided,  without  the  appearance  of  affectation.  Besides,  as  it  may 
be  expected  that,  in  a  large  congregation,  there  are  always  some  persons 
present  for  the  first  time, — with  respect  to  these,  an  observation  may  be  new, 
though  perhaps  the  more  stated  hearers  may  recollect  its  having  been  men- 
tioned before.  For  a  similar  reason,  such  repetitions  are  not  improper  in 
print.  Many  persons  read  part  of  a  book,  who  may  not  have  opportunity 
or  inclination  to  read  the  whole.  Should  any  one,  by  opening  these  Sermons 
at  a  venture,  meet  with  a  passage  which,  by  a  divine  blessing,  may  either 
awaken  a  careless,  or  heal  a  wounded  spirit,  that  passage  will  be  exactly  in 
the  right  page,  even  though  the  purport  of  it  should  be  expressed  in  se- 
veral other  places.  Farther,  since  we  do  not  always  so  much  stand  in  need 
of  new  information,  as  to  have  what  we  already  know  more  effectually  im- 
pressed upon  the  mind,  there  are  truths  which  can  scarcely  be  inculcated 
too  often,  at  least  until  the  design  for  which  they  were  mentioned  once  be 
effectually  answered.  Thus,  when  the  strokes  of  a  hammer  are  often  re- 
peated, not  one  of  them  can  be  deemed  superfluous  ;  the  last,  which  drives 
the  nail  to  the  head,  being  no  less  necessary  than  any  of  those  which  pre- 
ceded it. 

From  those  readers,  whose  habits  of  thinking  on  religious  subjects  are 
formed  by  a  close  attachment  to  particular  systems  of  divinity,  the  Author 
requests  a  candid  construction  of  what  he  advances,  if  he  ventures  in  some 
instances  to  deviate  a  little  from  the  more  beaten  track.  If  he  is  sometimes 
constrained  to  differ  from  the  judgment  of  wise  and  good  men,  who  have  de- 
served well  of  the  church  of  God,  he  would  do  it  with  modesty :  far  from  de- 
preciating their  labours,  he  would  be  thankful  for  the  benefit  which  he  hopes 
lie  has  received  from  them.  It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  him,  that  in  all  doc- 
trinal points  of  primary  importance,  his  views  are  confirmed  by  the  suffrage 
of  writers  and  ministers  eminent  for  genuine  piety  and  sound  learning,  who 
assisted  him  in  his  early  inquiries  after  truth,   and  at  whose  feet  he  is  still 


ok)  PREFACE. 

willing  to  sit.  Yet,  remembering  that  he  is  authorised  and  commanded  to 
call  no  man  Master,  so  as  to  yield  an  implicit,  and  unqualified  submission  to 
human  teachers,  while  he  gladly  borrows  every  help  he  can  from  others,  he 
ventures  likewise  to  think  for  himself.  His  leading  sentiments  concerning  the 
grand  peculiarities  of  the  gospel  were  formed  many  years  since,  when  he  was 
in  a  state  of  almost  entire  seclusion  from  society, — when  he  had  scarcely 
any  religious  book  but  the  Bibje_within  his  reach,  and  had  no  knowledge, 
either  of  the  various  names,  parties,  and  opinions  by  which  christians  were 
distinguished  and  divided,  or  the  controversies  which  subsisted  among  them 
He  is  not  conscious  that  any  very  material  difference  has  taken  place  in  his 
sentiments  since  he  first  became  acquainted  with  the  religious  world  ;  but, 
after  a  long  course  of  experience  and  observation,  he  seems  to  possess  them 
in  a  different  manner.  The  difficulties  which  for  a  season  perplexed  him  on 
some  points,  are  either  removed  or  considerably  abated.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  now  perceives  difficulties  that  constrain  him  to  lay  his  hand  upon  his 
mouth,  in  subjects  which  once  appeared  to  him  obvious  and  plain.  Thus, 
if  he  mistakes  not  himself,  he  is  less  troubled  with  scepticism,  and  at  the 
same  time  less  disposed  to  be  dogmatical,  than  he  formerly  was.  He  feels 
himself  unable  to  draw  the  line  with  precision  between  those  essential  points 
which  ought  to  be  earnestly  contended  for  (in  a  spirit  of  meekness),  as  for 
the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  and  certain  secondary  positions,  con- 
cerning which  good  men  may  safely  differ,  and  wherein,  perhaps,  we  cannot 
reasonably  expect  them  to  be  unanimous  during  the  present  state  of  imper- 
fection. But  if  the  exact  boundary  cannot  be  marked  with  certainty,  he 
thinks  it  both  desirable  and  possible  to  avoid  the  extremes  into  which  men  ot 
warm  tempers  have  often  been  led. 

Not  that  the  Author  can  be  an  advocate  for  that  indifference  to  truth, 
which,  under  the  specious  semblance  of  moderation  and  candour,  offers  a  com- 
prehension, from  which  none  are  excluded  but  those  who  profess  and  aim  to 
worship  God  in  the  spirit,  to  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  to  renounce  all 
confidence  in  the  flesh.  Moderation  is  a  christian  grace ;  it  differs  much 
from  that  tame,  unfeeling  neutrality  between  truth  and  error  which  is  so  pre- 
valent in  the  present  day.  As  the  different  rays  of  light,  which,  when  sepa- 
rated by  a  prism,  exhibit  the  various  colours  of  the  rainbow,  form,  in  their 
combination,  a  perfect  and  resplendent  white,  in  which  every  colour  is  incor- 
porated, so,  if  the  graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  complete  in  us,  the  result 
of  their  combined  effect  would  be  a  truly  candid,  moderate,  and  liberal  spi- 
rit towards  our  brethren.  The  christian,  especially  he  who  is  advanced  and 
I  established  in  the  life  of  faith,  has  a  fervent  zeal  for  God,  for  the  honour  of 
his  name,  his  law,  and  his  gospel.  The  honest  warmth  which  he  feels  when 
such  a  law  is  broken,  such  a  gospel  is  despised,  and  when  the  great  and  glo- 
rious name  of  the  Lord  his  God  is  profaned,  would,  by  the  occasion  of  his  in- 
firmities, often  degenerate  into  anger  or  contempt  towards  those  who  oppose 
themselves,  if  he  was  under  the  influence  of  zeal  only.  But  his  zeal  is 
blended  with  benevolence  and  humility  ;  it  is  softened  by  a  consciousness  of 
his  own  frailty  and  fallibility.  He  is  aware  that  his  knowledge  is  very  li- 
mited in  itself,  and  very  faint  in  its  efficacy  ;  that  his  attainments  are  weak 
and  few  compared  with  his  deficiencies;  that  his  gratitude  is  very  dispropor- 
tionate to  his  obligations,  and  his  obedience  unspeakably  short  of  conformity 
to  his  prescribed  rule;  that  he  has  nothing  but  what  he  has  received,  and  has 
received  nothing  but  what,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  he  has  misapplied  and 
misimproved.  He  is  therefore  a  debtor  to  the  mercy  of  God,  and  lives  upon 
his  multiplied  forgiveness  ;  and  he  makes  the  gracious  conduct  of  the  Lord 
towards  himself  a  pattern  for   his  own  conduct  towards   his  fellow -creatures 


PREFACE.  Gil 

He  cannot  boast,  nor  is  he  forward  to  censure.  He  considers  himself,  les! 
he  also  be  tempted  (Gal.  vi.  1)  ;  and  thus  he  learns-tenderness  and  compassion 
to  others,  and  to  bear  patiently  with  those  mistakes,  prejudices,  and  prepos- 
sessions in  them,  which  once  belonged  to  his  own  character,  and  from  which, 
as  yet,  he  is  but  imperfectly  freed.  But  then,  the  same  considerations  which 
inspire  him  with  meekness  and  gentleness  towards  those  who  oppose  the  truth, 
strengthen  his  regard  for  the  truth  itself,  and  his  conviction  of  its  importance. 
For  the  sake  of  peace,  which  he  loves  and  cultivates,  he  accommodates  him- 
self as  far  as  he  lawfully  can,  to  the  weakness  and  misapprehensions  of  those 
whe  mean  well,  though  he  is  thereby  exposed  tq  the  censure  of  bigots  of  all 
parties,  who  deem  him  flexible  and  wavering,  like  a  reed  shaken  with  the 
wind.  But  there  are  other  points  nearly  connected  with  the  honour  of  God, 
and  essential  to  the  life  of  faith,  which  are  the  foundations  of  his  hope  and  the 
sources  of  his  joy.  For  his  firm  attachment  to  these,  he  is  content  to  be 
treated  as  a  bigot  himself;  for  here  he  is  immoveable  as  an  iron  pillar,  nor 
can  either  the  fear  or  the  favour  of  man  prevail  on  him  to  give  place,  no  not 
for  an  hour,  Gal.  ii.  5.  Here  his  judgment  is  fixed,  and  he  expresses  it  in 
simple  and  unequivocal  language,  so  as  not  to  leave  either  friends  or  enemies 
in  suspense  concerning  the  side  which  he  has  chosen,  or  the  cause  which  is 
nearest  to  his  heart. 

The  minister  who  possesses  a  candour  thus  enlightened  and  thus  qualified, 
will  neither  degrade  himself  to  be  the  instrument,  nor  aspire  to  be  the  head 
of  a  party.  He  will  not  servilely  tread  in  the  paths  prescribed  him  by  men, 
however  respectable.  He  will  not  multiply  contentions,  in  defence  either  of 
the  shibboleths  of  others,  or  of  any  nostrum  of  his  own,  under  a  pretence  that 
he  is  pleading  for  the  cause  of  God  and  truth.  His  attention  will  mat  be  re- 
strained to  the  credit  or  interest  of  any  detached  denomination  of  christians, 
but  extended  to  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity.  On  the 
other  hand,  knowing  that  the  gospel  is  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God,  and 
the  only  possible  mean  by  which  fallen  man  can  obtain  either  peace  or  recti- 
tude, he  most  cordially  embraces  and  avows  it.  Far  from  being  ashamed  of 
it,  he  esteems  it  his  glory.  He  preaches  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  and  him  cru- 
cified. He  dares  not  sophisticate  (2  Cor.  iv.  2),  disguise,  or  soften  the  great 
doctrines  of  the  grace  of  God,  to  render  them  more  palatable  to  the  depraved 
taste  of  the  times.  He  disdains  the  thought ;  and  he  will  no  more  encounter 
the  prejudices  and  corrupt  maxims  and  practices  of  the  world  with  any  wea- 
pon but  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  (Eph.  iv.  21),  than  he  would  venture  to  fight 
an  enraged  enemy  with  a  wooden  sword. 

Such  is  the  disposition  which  the  Author  wishes  for  himself,  and  which  he 
would  endeavour  to  cultivate  in  others.  He  hopes  that  nothing  of  a  contrary 
tendency  will  be  found  in  the  volumes*  now  presented  to  the  public.  Mes- 
siah, the  great  subject  of  the  Oratorio,  is  the  leading  and  principal  subject  of 
every  sermon.  His  person,  grace,  and  glory ;  his  matchless  love  to  sinners , 
his  humiliation,  sufferings,  and  death  ;  his  ability  and  willingness  to  save  to 
the  uttermost ;  his  kingdom,  and  the  present  and  future  happiness  of  his  wil- 
ling people  are  severally  considered,  according  to  the  order  suggested  by  the 
series  of  texts.  Nearly  connected  with  these  topics  are  the  doctrines  of 
the  fall  and  depravity  of  man,  the  agenc}'  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  nature 
and  necessity  of  regeneration,  and  of  that  holiness  without  which  no  man  shall 
see  the  Lord.  On  these  subjects  the  Author  is  not  afraid  of  contradiction 
from  those  who  are  taught  of  God. 

With  respect  to  some  other  points  which  incidentally  occur,  he  has  endea- 

*   These  Sermons  were  originally  printed  in  two  volumes. 

3  B 


bl2  PREFACE. 

vourcd  so  to  treat  them  as  to  avoid  administering  fuel  to  the  flame  of  angry 
controversy.  He  is  persuaded  himself,  and  shall  be  happy  to  persuade  his 
readers,  that  the  remaining  differences  of  opinion  among  those  who  truly 
understand  and  cordially  believe  the  declarations  of  scripture  on  the  preced- 
ing articles,  are  neither  so  wide  nor  so  important  as  they  have  been  some- 
times represented.  Many  of  these  differences  are  nearly  verbal,  and  would 
cease,  if  due  allowance  was  made  for  the  imperfection  of  human  language, 
and  the  effects  of  an  accustomed  phraseology,  which  often  lead  people  to 
affix  different  ideas  to  the  same  expressions,  or  to  express  the  same  ideas  in 
different  words.  And  if,  in  some  things,  we  cannot  exactly  agree  since  we 
confess  that  we  are  all  weak  and  fallible,  mutual  patience  and  forbearance 
would  be  equally  becoming  the  acknowledgments  we  make  and  the  gospel 
which  we  profess.  We  should  thereby  act  in  character,  as  the  followers  of 
him  who  was  compassionate  to  the  infirmities  and  mistakes  of  his  disciples, 
and  taught  them  not  every  thing  at  once,  but  gradually,  as  they  were  able  to 
bear. 

The  Author  ought  not  to  be  very  solicitous  upon  his  own  account,  what 
reception  his  performance  may  meet  with.  The  fashion  of  this  world  is 
passing  away.  The  voice,  both  of  applause  and  of  censure,  will  soon  be 
stifled  in  the  dust.  It  is  therefore  but  a  small  thing  to  be  judged  of  man's 
judgment,  1  Cor.  iv.  3.  But  conscious  of  the  vast  importance  of  the  subject 
which  he  thus  puts  into  the  reader's  hands,  he  cannot  take  leave  of  him 
without  earnestly  entreating  his  serious  attention.  The  one  principle  which 
he  assumes  for  granted,  and  which  he  is  certain  cannot  be  disproved,  is,  That 
the  Bible  is  a  revelation  from  God.  By  this  standard  he  is  willing  that  what- 
ever he  has  advanced  may  be  tried.  If  the  Bible  be  true,  we  must  all  give 
an  account,  each  one  of  himself,  to  the  great  and  final  Judge.  That,  when 
we  shall  appear  before  his  awful  tribunal,  we  may  be  found  at  his  right 
hand,  accepted  in  the  Beloved,  is  the  Author's  fervent  prayer,  both  for  his 
readers  and  for  himself. 


LinJon,  1 5th  April,  1786. 


MESSIAH,  &c. 


SERMON  I. 


THE  CONSOLATION. 


Cmufcrt  yc,  comfort  ye  my  people,  sailh  your  God.  Speak  ye  comf/rtcibiy  to  Jerusalem,  and 
cry  unto  \er,  that  her  warfare  is  accomplished,  that  her  iniquity  is  pardoned  :  for  she  hath 
received  at  the  Lord's  hand  double  for  all  her  sins. — Isaiah,  xl.  1,  2. 


The  particulars  of  the  great  mystery  of  god- 
liness, as  enumerated  by  the  apostle  Paul, 
constitute  the  grand  and  inexhaustible  theme 
of  the  gospel  ministry  :  "  God  manifest  in  the 
flesh,  justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels, 
preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the 
world,  received  up  into  glory,"  1  Tim.  iii.  16. 
It  is  my  wish  and  purpose  to  know  nothing 
among  you  but  this  subject;  to  preach  no- 
thing to  you  but  what  has  a  real  connection 
with  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  him 
crucified,  and  with  the  causes  and  effects  of 
his  obedience  unto  death,  even  the  death  of 
the  cross.  But  a  regard  to  the  satisfaction 
and  advantage  of  my  stated  hearers,  has  often 
made  me  desirous  of  adopting  some  plan, 
which  might  lead  me  to  exhibit  the  principal 
outlines  of  the  Saviour's  character  and  media- 
tion in  a  regular  series  of  discourses,  so  as  to 
form,  if  not  a  picture,  at  least  a  slight  sketch, 
of  those  features  of  his  glory  and  of  his  grace 
which  endear  him  to  the  hearts  of  his  people. 
Such  a  plan  has  lately,  and  rather  unexpect- 
edly, occurred  to  me.  Conversation  in  al- 
most every  company,  for  some  time  past,  has 
much  turned  upon  the  commemoration  of 
Handel ;  the  grand  musical  entertainments, 
and  particularly  his  Oratorio  of  the  Messiah, 
which  have  been  repeatedly  performed  on  that 
occasion  in  Westminster  Abbey.  If  it  could 
be  reasonably  hoped,  that  the  performers  and 
the  company  assembled  to  hear  the  music,  or 


the  greater  part,  or  even  a  considerable  part 
of  them,  were  capable  of  entering  into  the 
spirit  of  the  subject,  I  will  readily  allow  that 
the  Messiah,  executed  in  so  masterly  a  man- 
ner, by  persons  whose  hearts,  as  well  as  their 
voices  and  instruments,  were  tuned  to  the 
Redeemer's  praise ;  accompanied  with  the 
grateful  emotions  of  an  audience  duly  affected 
with  a  sense  of  their  obligations  to  his  love ; 
might  afford  one  of  the  highest  and  noblest 
gratifications  of  which  we  are  capable  in  the 
present  life.  But  they  who  lave  the  Re- 
deemer, and  therefore  delight  to  join  in  his 
praise,  if  they  did  not  find  it  convenient,  or 
think  it  expedient,  to  hear  the  Messiah  at 
Westminster,  may  comfort  themselves  with 
the  thought,  that,  in  a  little  time,  they  shall 
be  still  more  abundantly  gratified.  Ere  long 
death  shall  rend  the  vail  which  hides  eternal 
things  from  their  view,  and  introduce  them 
to  that  unceasing  song  and  universal  chorus, 
which  are  even  now  performing  before  the 
throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  Till  then,  I 
apprehend,  that  true  christians,  without  the 
assistance  of  either  vocal  or  instrumental  mu- 
sic, may  find  greater  pleasure  in  a  humble 
contemplation  on  the  words  of  the  Messiah, 
than  they  can  derive  from  the  utmost  eForts 
of  musical  genius.  This,  therefore,  is  the  plan 
I  spoke  of.  I  mean  to  lead  your  meditations 
to  the  language  of  the  Oratorio,  and  to  con- 
sider  in   their  order  (if  the  Lord,  on  whom 


Till-;   CONSOLATION. 


our  breath  depends,  shall  he  pleased  to  aflbrd 
life,  ability,  and  opportunity)  the  several  sub- 
lime and  interesting  passages  of  scripture 
which  are  the  basis  of  that  admired  compo- 
sition. 

If  he  shall  condescend  to  smile  upon  the 
attempt,  pleasure  and  profit  will  go  hand  in 
hand.  There  is  no  harmony  to  a  heaven- 
born  soul  like  that  which  is  the  result  of  the 


(J44  Ititj    UUJNSUL.AT1UJN.  SER.  I. 

they  rebuilt  their  city  and  temple,  they  met 
with  many  insults  and  much  opposition,  and 
continued  to  be  a  tributary  and  dependent 
people.  I  shall  therefore  waive  the  consider- 
ation of  this  sense. 

The  eye  of  the  prophet's  mind  seems  to  be 
chiefly  fixed  upon  one  august  personage,  who 
was  approaching  to  enlighten  and  bless  a  mi- 
serable world ;  and  before  he  describes  the 
combination  and  coincidence  of  all  the  divine  I  circumstances  of  his  appeara,nce,  he  is  directed 
attributes  and  perfections,  manifested  in  the  j  to  comfort  the  mourners  in  Zion,  with  an  as- 
work  of  redemption  ;  mercy  and  truth  meeting  !  surance,  that  this  great  event  would  fully 
together,  inflexible  righteousness  correspond-  [  compensate  them  for  all  their  sorrows.  The 
inn-  with  the  peace  of  offenders,  God  glorious,  I  state  of  Jerusalem,  the  representative  name  of 
and  sinners  saved.  There  is  no  melody  upon  •  the  people  of  God,  was  very  low  in  Isaiah's 
•  earth  to  be  compared  with  the  voice  of  the  time.  The  people,  who,  in  the  days  of  Solomon, 
blood  of  Jesus,  speaking  peace  to  a  guilty '  were  attached  to  the  service  of  God,  honoured 
conscience,  or  with  the  voice  of  the  Holy  Spi-  '  with  signal  tokens  of  his  presence  and  favour, 
rit,  applying  the  promises  to  the  heart,  and;  and  raised  to  the  highest  pitch  of  temporal 
sweetly  inspiring  a  temper  of  confidence  and  prosperity,  were  now  degenerated  ;  the  gold 
adoption.  These  are  joys  which  the  world  can  |  was  become  dim,  and  the  fine  gold  changed, 
neither  give  nor  take  away,  which  never  pall ,  Iniquity  abounded,  judgments  were  impend- 
upon  the  mind  by  continuance  or  repetition  ; .  ing,  yet  insensibility  and  security  prevailed, 
the  sense  of  them  is  always  new,  the  recol-  and  the  words  of  many  were  stout  against  the 
lection  of  them  is  always  pleasant.  Nor  do  Lord.  But  there  were  a  few  who  feared  the 
they  only  satisfy,  but  sanctify  the  soul.  They  Lord,  whose  eyes  affected  their  hearts,  and 
strengthen  faith,  animate  hope,  add  fervency  who  mourned  for  the  evils  which  they  could 
to  love,  and  both  dispose  and  enable  the  chris-   not  prevent.      These,  and  these  only,  were,  in 


tian  to  run  in  all  the  paths  of  holy  obedience 
with  an  enlarged  heart. 

The  Messiah  of  Handel   consists  of  three 


strictness  of  speech,  the  people  of  the  Lord, 
and  to  these  the  message  of  comfort  is  ad- 
dressed.     Speak   to   Jerusalem   comfortably, 


parts.      The   first  contains  prophecies  of  his   speak  to  her  heart  (as  the  Hebrew  word  is), 
advent,  and  the  happy  consequences,  together   to  her  very  case,  and  tell  her  that  there  is  a 
with  the  angel's  message  to  the  shepherds,  in- 
forming them  of  his  birth,   as  related  by  St. 

Luke.  The  second  part  describes  his  pas-  j  at  hand.  In  the  prophetic  style,  things  fu- 
sion, death,  resurrection,  and  ascension  ;  his  j  ture  are  described  as  present,  and  that  which 
taking  possession  of  his  kingdom  of  glory,  the  j  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  of  as  sure 


balm  for  all  her  wounds,  a  cordial  for  all  her 
griefs,  in  this   one  consideration,   Messiah  is 


commencement  of  his  kingdom  of  grace  upon 
earth,  and  the  certain  disappointment  and 
ruin  of  all  who  persist  in  opposition  to  his 
will.  The  third  part  expresses  the  blessed 
fruits  and  consummation  of  his  undertaking, 
in  the  deliverance  of  his  people  from  sin,  sor- 
row, and  death,  and  in  making  them  finally 
victorious  over  all  their  enemies.  The  tri- 
umphant song  of  the  redeemed,  to  the  praise 
of  the  Lamb,  who  bought  them  with  his  own 
blood,  closes  the  whole.  The  arrangement  or 
series  of  these  passages  is  so  judiciously  dis- 
posed, so  well  connected,  and  so  fully  com- 
prehends all  the  principal  truths  of  the  gos- 
pel, that  I  shall  not  attempt  either  to  alter  ot- 
to enlarge  it.  The  exordium  or  introduction, 
which  I  have  read  to  you  from  the  prophecy 
of  Isaiah,  is  very  happily  chosen. 

If,  as  some  eminent  commentators  sup- 
pose, the  prophet  had  any  reference,  in  this 
passage,  to  the  return  of  Israel  from  Babylon 
into  their  own  land,  his  principal  object  was 
undoubtedly  of  much  greater  importance.  In- 
deed, their  deliverance  from  captivity,  and 
their  state  afterwards  as  a  nation,  do  not  ap- 
pear to  correspond  with  the  magnificent  images 


to  take  place,  is  considered  as  already  done. 
Thus  the  prophet,  "rapt  into  future  times," 
contemplates  the  manifestation  of  Messiah,  the 
accomplishment  of  his  great  undertaking,  and 
all  the  happy  consequences  of  his  obedience 
unto  death  for  men,  as  though  he  stood  upon 
the  spot,  and  with  John,  the  harbinger  of  our 
Lord  (whose  appearance  he  immediately  de- 
scribes),  was  pointing  with  his  finger  to  the 
Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world. 

This  comfortable  message  consists  of  two 
parts.  First,  the  removal  of  evil, — "  Her  war- 
fare is  accomplished,  her  iniquity  is  pardoned." 
Secondly,  a  promise  of  good,  more  than  equi- 
valent to  all  her  afflictions, — "She  hath  re- 
ceived at  the  Lord's  hand  double  for  all  her 
sins." 

I.  Two  ideas  are  included  in  the  original 
term,  translated  "warfare:" 

1 .  A  state  of  service,  connected  with  hard- 
ship, like  that  of  the  military  life,  Numb. 
i.   3. 

2.  An  appointed  time,  as  it  is  rendered  in 
Job,  vii.   1,  and  xiv.   14. 

These    ideas    equally   apply  to    the   Mosaic 


employed  in  the  following  verses;   for  though    dispensation.      The  spirit  of  that  institution 


SliR.  I. 


THE  CONSOLATION. 


645 


was  comparatively  a  spirit  of  bondage,  dis- 
tance, and  fear  ;  and  the  state  of  the  church, 
while  under  the  law,  is  resembled  by  the 
apostle  to  that  of  a  minor,  who,  though  he  be 
an  heir,  is  under  tutors  and  governors,  and 
diff'ereth  but  little  from  a  servant,  until  the 
time  appointed  of  the  Father,  Gal.  iv.  1 — 4. 
The  ceremonial  law,  with  respect  to  its  inef- 
ficacy,  is  styled  weak,  and  with  respect  to 
the  long  train  of  its  multiplied,  expensive, 
difficult,  and  repeated  appointments,  a  yoke 
and  burden.  But  it  was  only  for  a  prescribed 
time  The  gospel  was  designed  to  superse/ 
it,  and  to  introduce  a  state  of  life,  povy  ■, 
liberty,  and  confidence.  The  blackness  /  d 
darkness,  the  fire  and  tempest,  and  other  r- 
cumstances  of  terror  attendant  on  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  law  at  Mount  Sinai  (Heb. 
xii.  18 — 22.),  which  not  only  struck  the  peo- 
ple with  dismay,  but  caused  even  Moses  him  ■ 
self  to  say,  "  I  exceedingly  fear  and  quake," 
were  expressive  of  its  design  ;  which  was  not 
to  lead  the  people  of  Israel  to  expect  peace 
and  hope  from  their  bent  obedience  to  that 
covenant,  but  rather  to  convince  them  of  the 
necessity  of  a  better  covenant,  established  up- 
on better  promises,  and  to  direct  their  hopes 
to  Messiah,  who  was  prefigured  by  all  their 
sacrifices,  and  who,  in  the  fulness  of  time, 
was  to  make  a  complete  atonement  for  sin, 
by  the  sacrifice  of  himself.  Then  their  legal 
figurative  constitution  would  cease,  the  sha- 
dows give  place  to  the  substance,  and  the  true 
worshippers  of  God  would  be  instructed,  en- 
abled, and  encouraged,  to  worship  him  in 
spirit  and  in  truth ;  no  more  as  servants,  but 
in  the  temper  of  adoption,  as  the  children  of 
God,  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  his  love. 

There  is  a  considerable  analogy  to  this  dif- 
ference between  the  law  and  the  gospel,  as 
contradistinguished  from  each  other,  in  the 
previous  distress  of  a  sinner,  when  he  is  made 
sensible  of  his  guilt  and  danger  as  a  trans- 
gressor of  the  law  of  God,  and  the  subsequent 
peace  which  he  obtains  by  believing  the  gos- 
pel. The  good  seed  of  the  word  of  grace  can 
only  take  root  and  flourish  in  a  soil  duly  pre- 
pared. And  this  preparation  of  the  heart 
(Prov.  xvi.  1),  without  which,  all  that  is  read 
or  heard  concerning  Messiah  produces  no  per- 
manent good  effect,  is  wholly  from  the  Lord. 
The  first  good  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon 
the  heart  of  fallen  man,  is  to  convince  of  sin, 
John  xvi.  9.  He  gives  some  due  impressions 
of  the  majesty  and  holiness  of  the  God  with 
whom  we  have  to  do,  of  our  dependence  upon 
him,  of  our  obligations  to  him  as  our  Creator, 
Lawgiver,  and  Benefactor ;  then  we  begin  to 
form  our  estimate  of  duty,  of  sin,  and  its  de- 
sert, not  from  the  prevalent  maxims  and  judg- 
ment of  mankind  around  us,  but  from  the  un- 
erring standard  of  scripture.  Thence  new 
and  painful  apprehensions  arise — the  lofty 
looks  of  man  are  humbled,  his  haughtiness 
is  brought  low,   his  mouth   stopped,   or  only 


opened  to  confess  his  gui/t  and  vileness,  and 
to  cry  for  mercy.  He  now  feels  himself  un- 
der the  law  ;  it  condemns  him,  and  he  cannot 
reply;  it  commands  him,  and  he  cannot  obey. 
He  has  neither  righteousness  nor  strength, 
and  must  sink  into  despair,  were  it  not  that  he 
is  now  qualified  to  hearken  to  the  gospel  with 
other  ears,  and  to  read  the  scriptures  with 
other  eyes  (if  I  may  so  speak),  than  he  once 
did.  He  now  knows  he  is  sick,  and  there- 
fore knows  his  need  of  a  physician.  This 
state  of  anxiety,  conflict,  and  fear,  which 
keeps  comfort  from  his  heart,  and  perhaps 
slumber  from  his  eyes,  is  often  of  long  conti- 
nuance. There  is  no  common  standard  where- 
by to  determine  either  the  degree  or  the  du- 
ration. Both  differ  in  different  persons  ;  and 
as  the  body  and  the  mind  have  a  strong  and 
reciprocal  influence  upon  each  other,  it  is  pro- 
bable the  difference  observable  in  such  cases 
may  in  part  depend  upon  constitutional 
causes.  However,  the  time  is  a  prescribed 
time,  and  though  not  subject  to  any  rules  or 
reasonings  of  ours,  is  limited  and  regulated 
by  the  wisdom  of  God.  He  wounds  and  he 
heals,  in  his  own  appointed  moment.  None 
that  continue  waiting  upon  him,  and  seeking 
salvation,  in  the  means  which  he  has  directed, 
shall  be  finally  disappointed.  Sooner  or  later 
he  gives  them,  according  to  his  promise,  beauty 
for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and 
the  garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heavi- 
ness, Isa.  lxi.  S.  This  warfare  is  accom- 
plished, when  they  rightly  understand  and 
cordially  believe  the  following  clause. 

Her  iniquity  is  pardoned. — Though  the 
sacrifices  under  the  law  had  an  immediate  and 
direct  effect  to  restore  the  offender,  for  whom 
they  were  offered,  to  the  privileges  pertaining 
to  the  people  of  Israel,  considered  as  a  nation 
or  commonwealth,  they  could  not,  of  them- 
selves, cleanse  the  conscience  from  guilt.  It  is 
a  dictate  of  right  reason,  no  less  than  of  reve- 
lation, that  it  is  not  possible  that  the  blood  of 
bulls  and  of  goats  should  take  away  sin,  Heb. 
x.  4.  For  this  purpose,  the  blood  of  Chris*, 
had  a  retrospective  efficacy,  and  was  the  only 
ground  of  consolation  for  a  convinced  sinnei 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world.  He  was 
proposed  to  our  first  parents  as  the  seed  of 
the  woman,  who  should  bruise  the  serpent's 
head,  Gen.  iii.  15.  In  this  seed  Abraham 
believed,  and  was  justified,  and  all  of  every  age 
who  were  justified,  were  partakers  of  Abra- 
ham's faith.  Therefore  the  apostle  teaches 
us,  that  when  God  set  him  forth  as  a  propi- 
tiation, through  faith  in  his  blood,  he  de- 
clared his  righteousness  in  the  remission  of 
sins  that  were  past,  Rom.  iii,  25.  For  though 
we  may  suppose  God  would  have  declared  his 
mercy  in  forgiving  sin  upon  any  terms,  no 
consideration  but  the  death  of  his  Son  could 
have  exhibited  his  righteousnes..;  that  is,  his 
holiness,  justice,  and  truth,  in  the  pardon  of 
sin.      True  penitents  and  believers  were  p;«r- 


64  fi 


THE   CONSOLATION. 


ser.  r. 


doncd  and  saved  under  the  law,  but  not  by 
the  law.  Their  faith  looked  through  all  the 
legal  institutions  to  him  who  was  represented 
and  typified  by  them.  But  the  types  which 
revealed  him,  in  a  sense  concealed  him  like- 
wise ;  so  that,  though  Abraham  saw  his  day, 
and  rejoiced,  and  a  succession  of  the  servants 
of  God  foresaw  his  glory  and  his  sufferings, 
and  spake  of  him  ;  yet,  in  general,  the  church 
of  the  Old  Testament  rather  desired  and 
longed  for,  than  actually  possessed,  that  ful- 
ness of  light  and  knowledge  concerning  the 
person,  offices,  love,  and  victory  of  Mes- 
siah, which  is  the  privilege  of  those  who  en- 
joy and  believe  the  gospel,  Heb.  xi.  39,  40. 
Yet  great  discoveries  of  these  things  were 
vouchsafed  to  some  of  the  prophets,  particu- 
larly to  Isaiah,  who,  on  account  of  the  clear- 
ness of  his  views  of  the  Redeemer  and  his 
kingdom,  has  been  sometimes  styled  the  fifth 
evangelist.  The  most  evangelical  part  of  his 
prophecy,  or  at  least  that  part  in  which  he 
prosecutes  the  subject  with  the  least  interrup- 
tion,  begins  with  this  chapter  and  with  this 
verse.  And  he  proposes  it  for  the  comfort  of 
the  mourners  in  Zion  in  his  day.  We  know- 
that  the  Son  of  God,  of  whom  Moses  and 
the  prophets  spake,  is  actually  come  (1  John 
v.  20)  ;  that  the  atonement  for  sin  is  made, 
the  ransom  for  sinners  paid  and  accepted. 
Now  the  shadows  are  past,  the  vail  removed, 
the  night  is  ended,  the  dawn,  the  day,  is  ar- 
rived, yea  the  Sun  of  righteousness  is  arisen, 
with  healing  in  his  wings,  Mai.  iv.  2.  God 
is  reconciled  in  his  Son,  and  the  ministers  of 
the  gospel  are  now  authorised  to  preach  com- 
fort to  all  who  mourn  under  a  sense  of  sin ; 
to  tell  them,  all  manner  of  sin  is  forgiven,  for 
the  Redeemer's  sake,  and  that  the  iniquity  of 
those  who  believe  in  him  is  freely  and  abun- 
dantly pardoned 


race  of  mankind  if  they  truly  believed  in  the 
Son  of  God.  We  read,  that  he  groaned  and 
bled  upon  the  cross,  till  he  could  say,  It  is  fi- 
nished, but  no  longer.  It  becomes  us  to  re- 
fer to  infinite  wisdom  the  reasons  why  his  suf- 
ferings were  prolonged  for  such  a  precise  time; 
but  I  think  we  may  take  it  for  granted,  that 
they  did  not  endure  an  hour  or  a  minute 
longer  than  was  strictly  necessary.  The  ex- 
pression seems  to  be  elliptical,  and  I  appre- 
hend the  true  sense  is,  that  Jerusalem  should 
receive  blessings,  double,  much  greater  than 
all  the  afflictions  which  sin  had  brought  upon 
her;  and  in  general  to  us,  to  every  believing 
sinner,  that  the  blessings  of  the  gospel  are  an 
unspeakably  great  compensation,  and  over- 
balance, for  all  afflictions  of  every  kind  with 
which  we  have  been,  or  can  be  exercised. 
Afflictions  are  the  fruit  of  sin,  and  because  our 
sins  have  been  many,  our  afflictions  may  be 
many.  "  But  where  sin  has  abounded,  grace 
has  much  more  abounded,"  Rom.  v.  20. 

Before  our  Lord  healed  the  paralytic  man 
who  was  brought  to  him,  he  said,  "  Be  of  good 
cheer,  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee,"  Mark  ii.  5. 
His  outward  malady  rendered  him  an  object 
of  compassion  to  those  who  brought  him  : 
but  he  appears  to  have  been  sensible  of  an  in- 
ward malady,  which  only  Jesus  could  discern, 
or  pity,  or  relieve.  I  doubt  not  but  his  con- 
science was  burdened  with  guilt.  An  assu- 
rance therefore  that  his  sins  were  forgiven, 
was  sufficient  to  make  him  be  of  good  cheer, 
whether  his  palsy  were  removed  or  not.  To 
this  purpose  the  psalmist  speaks  absolutely 
and  without  exception.  "  Blessed  is  the  man, 
(however  circumstanced),  whose  transgression 
is  forgiven,  whose  iniquity  is  covered,"  Psal. 
xxxii.  1.  Though  he  be  poor,  afflicted,  dis- 
eased, neglected  or  despised,  if  the  Lord  im- 
puteth  not  his  iniquity  to  him,  he  is  a  blessed 


II.  Though  the  last  clause  of  the  verse  does  !  man.      There  is  no  situation  in  human  life  so 


not  belong  to  the  passage,  as  selected  for  the 
Oratorio,  it  is  so  closely  connected  with  the 
subject,  that  I  am  not  willing  to  omit  it.  "  She 
has  received  at  the  Lord's  hand  double  for  all 
her  sin."  The  meaning  here  cannot  be,  that 
her  afflictions  had  already  been  more  and 
greater,  than  her  sins  had  deserved.  The  just 
desert  of  sin  cannot  be  received  in  the  present 
life,  for  the  wages  of  sin  is  death  and  the  curse 
of  the  law,  or,  in  the  apostle's  words,  ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord  and  the  glory  of  his  power,  2  Thess.  i.  9, 
Therefore  a  living  man  can  have  no  reason  to 
complain  under  the  heaviest  sufferings.  If  we 
acknowledge  ourselves  to  be  sinners,  we  have 
likewise  cause  to  acknowledge,  that  he  hath 
rot  dealt  with  us  according  to  our  iniquities. 
Nor  car.  the  words  be  so  applied  to  Messiah, 
as  to  intimate,  that  even  his  sufferings  .were 
more  than  necessary,  or  greater  than  the  exL 
gence  of  the  case  required.  The  efficacy  of 
his  atonement  is  indeed  greater  than  the  actual 
application,   and  sufficient  to  save  the   whole 


deplorable,  but  a  sense  of  the  pardoning  love 
of  God  can  support  and  comfort  the  sufferer 
under  it,  compose  his  spirit,  yea,  make  him  ex- 
ceedingly joyful  in  all  his  tribulations.  For 
he  who  feels  the  power  of  the  blood  of  Jesus 
cleansing  his  conscience  from  guilt,  and  giving 
him  access  by  faith  to  the  throne  of  grace,  with 
liberty  to  say,  Abba,  Father;  he  knows  that 
all  his  trials  are  under  the  direction  of  wisdom 
and  love,  are  all  working  together  for  his  good, 
and  that  the  heaviest  of  them  are  light,  and  the 
longest  momentary,  in  comparison  of  that  far 
more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory 
which  is  reserved  for  him  in  a  better  world, 
2  Cor.  iv.  16,  17.  Even  at  present  in  the 
midst  of  his  sufferings,  having  communion 
with  God,  and  a  gracious  submission  to  his 
will,  he  possesses  a  peace  that  passeth  under- 
standing, and  which  the  world  can  neither 
give  nor  take  away. 

I  shall  close  this  preliminary  discourse  with 
a  few  observations  by  way  of  improvement. 

1.  How  justly  may  wo  adopt  the  prophet'' 


SER.  I. 


THE  CONSOLATION. 


647 


words,  "Who  is  aGod  like  unto  thee!"  Micah, 
vii,  18.  Behold  and  admire  his  goodness! 
Infinitely  happy  and  glorious  in  himself,  he 
has  provided  for  the  comfort  of  those  who 
were  rebels  against  his  government,  and  trans- 
gressors of  his  holy  law.  What  was  degene- 
rate Israel,  and  what  are  we,  that  he  should 
thus  prevent  us  with  his  mercy,  remember  us 
in  our  low  estate,  and  redeem  us  from  misery, 
in  such  a  way,  and  at  such  a  price  !  Salvation 
is  wholly  of  grace  (Ephes.  ii.  5)  ;  not  only 
undeserved,  but  undesired  by  us,  till  he  is 
pleased  to  awaken  us  to  a  sense  of  our  need 
of  it.  And  then  we  find  every  thing  prepared 
that  our  wants  require,  or  our  wishes  can  con- 
ceive ;  yea,  that  he  has  done  exceedingly  be- 
yond what  we  could  either  ask  or  think.  Sal- 
vation is  wholly  of  the  Lord  (Psal.  iii.  8),  and 
bears  those  signatures  of  infinite  wisdom, 
power,  and  goodness,  which  distinguish  all  his 
works  from  the  puny  imitations  of  men.  It 
is  every  way  worthy  of  himself;  a  great,  a  free, 
a  full,  a  sure  salvation.  It  is  great, — whether 
we  consider  the  objects,  miserable  and  hell- 
deserving  sinners  ;  the  end,  the  restoration  of 
such  alienated  creatures  to  his  image  and  fa- 
vour, to  immortal  life  and  happiness  ;  or  the 
means,  the  incarnation,  humiliation,  sufferings 
and  death  of  his  beloved  Son.  It  is  free, — 
without  exception  of  persons  or  cases,  with- 
out any  conditions  or  qualifications,  but  such 
as  he  himself  performs  in  them,  and  bestows 
upon  them.  It  is  full, — including  every  desi- 
rable blessing  ;  pardon,  peace,  adoption,  pro- 
tection and  guidance  through  this  world,  and 
in  the  world  to  come  eternal  life  and  happi- 
ness, in  the  unclouded,  uninterrupted  enjoy- 
ment of  the  favour  and  love  of  God,  with  the 
perfect  and  perpetual  exclusion  of  every  evil, 

2.  When  the  Lord  God,  who  knows  the 
human  heart,  would  speak  comfort  to  it,  he 
proposes  one  object,  and  only  one,  as  the  ne- 
cessary and  all-sufficient  source  of  consola- 
tion. This  is  Messiah.  Jesus  in  his  person 
and  offices,  known  and  received  by  faith,  af- 
fords a  balm  for  every  wound,  a  cordial  for 
every  care.  If  we  admit  that  they  who  live 
in  the  spirit  of  the  world,  can  make  a  poor 
shift  to  amuse  themselves,  and  be  tolerably 
satisfied  in  a  state  of  prosperity,  while  every 
thing  goes  on  according  to  their  wish  ;  while 
we  make  this  concession  (which  however  is 
more  than  we  need  allow  them,  for  we  know 
that  no  state  of  life  is  free  from  anxiety,  dis- 
appointment, weariness,  and  disgust),  yet  we 
must  consider  them  as  objects  of  compassion. 
It  is  a  proof  of  the  weakness  and  disorder  of 
their  minds,  that  they  are  capable  of  being 
satisfied  with  such  trifles.  Thus  if  a  lunatic 
conceives  his  cell  to  be  a  palace,  that  his  chains 
are  ornaments  of  gold,  if  he  calls  a  wreath  of 
iiis  straw  a  crown,  puts  it  on  his  head,  and  af- 
fects the  language  of  majesty — we  do  not  sup- 
pose the  poor  creature  to  be  happy,  because 
he  tells  us  that  he  is  so  j  but  we  rather  consider, 


his  complacence  in  his  situation,  as  an  effect 
and  proof  of  his  malady.  We  pity  him,  and, 
if  we  were  able,  would  gladly  restore  him  to 
his  senses,  though  we  know  a  cure  would  im- 
mediately put  an  end  to  his  pleasing  delusions. 
But,  I  say,  supposing  or  admitting  the  world 
could  make  its  votaries  happy  in  a  state  of 
prosperity,  it  will,  it  must,  leave  themjyith- 
out  resource  in  the  day  of  trouble.  And  they 
are  to  be  pitied  indeed,  who,  when  their  gourds 
are  withered,  when  the  desire  of  their  eyes  is 
taken  from  them  with  a  stroke,  or  the  evil 
which  they  most  feared  touches  them,  or  when 
death  looks  them  closely  in  the  face,  have  no 
acquaintance  with  God,  no  -^ccess__to_  the 
throne  of  grace,  but  being  without  Christ,  are 
without  a  solid  hope  of  good  hereafter,  though 
they  are  forced  to  feel  the  vanity  and  incon- 
stancy of  every  thing  here.  But  they  who 
know  Messiah,  who  believe  in  him,  and  par- 
take of  his  spirit,  cannot  be  comfortless.  They 
recollect  what  he  suffered  for  them,  they  know 
that  every  circumstance  and  event  of  life  is 
under  his  direction,  and  designed  to  work  for 
their  good  :  that  though  they  sow  in  tears, 
they  shall  sooii  reap  in  joy :  and  therefore 
they  possess  their  souls  in  patience,  and  are 
cheerful,  yea  comfortable,  under  those  trying 
dispensations  of  providence,  which  when  they 
affect  the  lovers  of  pleasure,  too  often  either 
excite  in  them  a  spirit  of  presumptuous  mur- 
muring against  the  will  of  God  ;  or  sink  them 
into  despondency,  and  all  the  melancholy 
train  of  evils  attendant  on  those  who  languish 
and  pine  away  under  that  depression  of  spi- 
rits, emphatically  styled  a  broken  heart. 

3.  To  be  capable  of  the  comfort  my  text 
proposes,  the  mind  must  be  in  a  suitable  dis- 
position. A  free  pardon  is  a  comfort  to  a 
malefactor,  but  it  implies  gujlt ;  and  therefore 
they  who  have  no  apprehension  that  they  have 
broken  the  laws,  would  be  rather  offended 
than  comforted,  by  an  offer  of  pardon*  This 
is  one  principal  cause  of  that  neglect,  yea  con- 
tempt, which  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God 
meets  with  from  the  world.  If  we  could  sup- 
pose that  a  company  of  people  who  were  all 
trembling  under  an  apprehension  of  his  dis- 
pleasure, constrained  to  confess  the  justice  of 
the  sentence,  but  not  as  yet  informed  of  any 
way  to  escape,  were  to  hear  this  message  for 
the  first  time,  and  to  be  fully  assured  of  its 
truth  and  authority,  they  would  receive  it  as 
life  from  the  dead.  But  it  is  to_be  feared, 
that  for  want  of  knowing  themselves,  and 
their  real  state  in  the  sight  of  him  with  whom 
they  have  to  do,  many  persons,  who  have  re- 
ceived pleasure  from  the  music  of  the  Mes- 
siah, have  neither  found,  nor  expected,  nor 
desired  to  find,  any  comfort  from  thG  words. 


618 


SERMON   II. 


THE  HARBINGER. 


The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness, 
Pre;  are  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight 
in  the  desert  a  high-way  for  our  God.  Every 
valley  shall  be  exalted,  and  every  mountain 
and  hill  shall  be  made  law  ;  and  the  crooked 
shall  be  made  straight,  and  the  rough  places 
plain.  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together  : 
fur  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it. 
Isaiah,  xl.  3. — 5. 

The  general  style  of  the  prophecies  is  poeti- 
cal. The  inimitable  simplicity  which  charac- 
terizes every  part  of  divine  revelation,  is  di- 
versified according  to  the  nature  of  the  sub- 
ject ;  and  the  magnificence  and  variety  of  im- 
agery which  constitute  the  life  and  spirit  of 
poetry,  evidently  distinguish  the  style  of  the 
Psalms,  or  Isaiah,  and  the  other  poetical 
books,  from  that  of  the  historical,  even  in  the 
common  versions.  The  various  rules  and 
properties  of  Hebrew  poetry  are  not,  at  this 
distance  of  time,  certainly  known.  But  the 
present  Bishop  of  London*,  in  his  elegant  and 
instructive  lectures  on  the  subject,  and  in  the 
discourse  prefixed  to  his  translation  of  Isaiah, 
has  fully  demonstrated  one  property.  It  usu- 
ally consists  either  of  parallel,  or  contrasted 
sentences.  The  parallel  expressions  (except- 
ing in  the  book  of  Proverbs)  are  most  preva- 
lent. In  these  the  same  thought,  for  sub- 
stance, expressed  in  the  first  member,  is  re- 
peated, with  some  difference  of  phrase,  in  the 
following  ;  which,  if  it  enlarges  or  confirms 
the  import  of  what  went  before,  seldom  varies 
the  idea.  Almost  any  passage  I  first  cast  my 
eye  upon,  will  sufficiently  explain  my  mean- 
ing. For  instance,  in  the  fifty-ninth  chapter 
of  Isaiah : 

Ver.   1.  Behold  the  Lord's  hand  is  not  shor- 
tened, that  it  cannot  save  ; 
Neither  is   his   ear  heavy,    that   it  cannot 
hear. 
9.  Therefore  is  judgment  far  from  us, 
Neither  doth  justice  overtake  us. 
We  wait  for  light,  but  behold  obscurity ; 
For  brightness,  but  we  walk  in  darkness. 
So  in  chap.  Iv,  2. 

Wherefore    do   ye    spend  money   for    that 

which  is  not  bread  ? 
And  your  labour  for  that  which  satisfreth 

not? 
Harken  diligently  unto  me,  and  eat  yc  that 

which  is  good, 
And  let  your  soul  delight  itself  in  fatness. 

*  Dr.  Lowtli. 


1'ili:    HARBINGER.  SER.  It. 

I  So  likewise  in  the  second  Psalri: 
Ver.  4.   He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall 
laugh  ; 
The  Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision. 
5.  Then    shall    he    speak    unto    them    in    his 
wrath, 
And  vex  them  in  his  sore  displeasure. 


These  specimens  may  suffi  ce  for  my  present 
purpose.  The  knowledge  of  this  peculiarity 
of  the  poetical  idiom,  may  often  save  us  the 
trouble  of  enquiring  minutely  into  the  mean- 
ing of  every  single  word,  when  one  plain  and 
comprehensive  sense  arises  from  a  view  of  the 
whole  passage  taken  together.  This  observa- 
tion applies  to  the  first  of  the  verses  in  iry 
text.  Though  it  be  true  that  John  the  Bap- 
tist lived  for  a  season  retired  and  unnoticed 
in  a  wilderness,  and  began  to  preach  in  the 
wilderness  of  Judea,  th«  expression,  The  voice 
of  him  that  crieth  in  the  ivilderness,  does  not 
merely  foretel  that  circumstance.  The  verse 
consists  of  two  parallels.  The  prophet,  "rapt 
into  future  times,"  hears  a  voice  proclaiming 
the  approach  of  Messiah,  and  this  is  the  ma- 
jestic language : 

In  the  wilderness  prepare  ye  the  way  of  the 

Lord, 
Make  straight  in  the  desert  a  highway  for 

our  God. 

The  wilderness  and  the  desert  are  the  same 
here,  as  likewise  in  chap.  xxxv.  1,  where  the 
happy,  the  sudden,  the  unexpected  effects  of 
his  appearance  are  described  :  — 

The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall 

be  glad  for  them  ; 
And  the  desert  shall  rejoice,  and  blossom 

as  the  rose. 

Now,  to  see,  by  the  eye  of  faifj),  the  glory 
of  the  Redeemer  in  bis  appearance ;  to  see 
power  divine  preparing  the  way  before  him.- 
to  enter  into  the  gracious  and  wonderful  de- 
sign of  his  salvation  ;  to  acknowledge,  admire, 
and  adore  him  as  the  Lord,  and  humbly  to 
claim  him  as  our  God,  must  afford  a  pleasure 
very  different  from  that  which  the  most  excel- 
lent music,  however  well  adapted  to  the  words, 
can  possibly  give.  The  latter  may  be  relished 
by  a  worldly  mind  ;  the  former  is  appropriate, 
and  can  only  be  enjoyed  by  those  who  are 
taught  of  God. 

When  the  eastern  monarchs  travelled,  har- 
bingers went  before  to  give  notice  that  the 
King  was  upon  the  road,  and  likewise  proper 
persons  to  prepare  his  way  and  to  remove  ob- 
stacles. Some  of  them  (if  we  may  depend 
upon  history),  in  the  affectation  of  displaying 
their  pomp  and  power,  effected  extraordinary 
things  upon  such  occasions.  For  man,  though 
vain,  would  appear  wise ;  though  a  sinful 
worm,  he  would  fain  be  accounted  great.  We 
read  of  their  having  actually  filled  up  valley*, 


SEH     It. 


THE  HARBINGER. 


G19 


and  levelled  hills,  to  make  a  commodious  road, 
for  themselves  or  their  armies,  through  places 
otherwise  impassable.  The  prophet  thus  il- 
lustrates great  things  by  small,  and  accomo- 
dates the  language  and  usages  of  men  to  di- 
vine truth.  Messiah  is  about  to  visit  a  wil- 
derness world,  and  those  parts  of  it  which  he 
blesses  with  his  presence,  shall  become  the 
garden  of  the  Lord.  Till  then  it  is  all  deso- 
late, rocky,  and  wild.  But  his  'way  shall  be 
prepared.  Mountainous  difficulties  shall  sink 
down  before  him  into  plains.  In  defiance  of 
all  obstacles,  his  glory  shall  be  revealed  in  the 
wilderness,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it,  for  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it. 

The  leading  ideas  respecting  Messiah's  ap- 
pearance suggested  by  this  sublime  represen- 
tation, are, 

I.  The  state  of  the  world  at  his  coming, — 
"  A  wilderness." 

II.  The  preparation  of  his  way, — "  Every 
valley  shall  he  exalted,  and  every  mountain 
and  hill  shall  be  made  low." 

III.  The  manner  and  effects  of  his  mani- 
festation,— "  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall 
be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it." 

I.  The  word  "  wilderness,"  I  suppose,  ge- 
nerally excites  the  idea  of  an  intricate,  soli- 
tary, uncultivated,  dangerous  place.  Su^h  is 
the  description  Jeremiah  gives  of  that  wilder- 
ness through  which  the  Lord  led  Israel,  when 
he  had  delivered  them  from  Egypt :  "  A  land 
of  deserts  and  of  pits,  a  land  of  drought  and 
of  the  shadow  of  death,  a  land  that  no  man 
passeth  through,  and  where  no  man  dwelt," 
Jer.  ii.  6.  The  world,  in  which  we  sojourn 
for  a  season,  does  not  appear  to  us  in  tin's  un- 
pleasing  view  at  first.  The  spirit,  and  the 
things  of  it,  are  congenial  to  our  depraved  in- 
clinations ;  and  especially  in  early  life,  our 
unexperienced  hearts  form  high  expectations 
from  it ;  and  we  rather  hope  to  find  it  a  para- 
dise than  a  wilderness.  But  when  the  con- 
vincing power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  opens  the 
eyes  of  the  understanding,  we  awake  as  from 
a  dream  ;  the  enchantment  by  which  we  were 
deluded  is  broken,  and  we  then  begin  to  judge 
rightly  of  the  world  :  that  it  is  a  wearisome 
wilderness  indeed,  and  that  our  only  impor- 
tant concern  with  it  is  to  get  happily  out  of 
it.  In  a  spiritual  view,  a  wilderness  is  a  sig- 
nificant emblem  of  the  state  of  mankind,  both 
Jews  and  Heathens,  at  that  period  which  the 
apostle  calls  the  fulness  of  time,  when  God 
sent  forth  his  son,  Gal.  iv.  4. 

Israel,  once  the  beloved  people  of  God,  was 
at  that  time  so  extremely  degenerated,  that, 
a  few  individuals  excepted,  the  vineyard  of 
the  Lord,  so  highly  cultivated,  so  signally 
protected,  yielded  only  wild  grapes,  Isa.  v.  4. 
Though  they  were  not  addicted  to  imitate  the 
idolatry  of  the  Heathens,  as  their  forefathers 
had  been,  they  were  no  less  alienated  from 
the  true  God  ;  and  their  wickedness  was  the 
more  aggravated,   for  being  practised  under  a 


professed  attachment  to  the  forms  of  his  law. 
lhey  drew  nigh  to  God  with  their  lips,  but 
their  hearts  were  far  from  him,  Mark  vii.  6. 
Their  very  worship  profaned  the  ?mple  in 
which  they  gloried,  and  the  holy  house  of 
prayer,  through  their  abominations,  was  be- 
come a  den  of  thieves.  They  owned  the  di- 
vine authority  of  the  scriptures,  and  read 
them  with  seeming  attention,  but  rendered 
them  of  none  effect,  through  the  greater  at- 
tention they  paid  to  the  corrupt  traditions  oj 
their  elders.  They  boasted  in  their  relation 
to  Abraham  as  their  father,  but  proved  them- 
selves to  be  indeed  the  children  of  those  who 
had  persecuted  and  murdered  the  prophets, 
Matt,  xxiii.  30,  31.  The  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, who  sat  in  the  chair  of  Moses,  and  were 
the  public  teachers  of  the  people,  under  an 
exterior  garb  of  sanctity,  of  prayer,  and  fast- 
ing, were  guilty  of  oppression,  fraud,  and  nn 
cleanness ;  and  while  they  trusted  in  them- 
selves that  they  were  righteous,  and  despised 
others,  their  real  character  was  a  combination 
of  pride  and  hypocrisy.  Therefore  he  who 
knew  their  hearts,  and  saw  through  all  their 
disguises,  compared  them  to  painted  sepul- 
chres, fair  to  outward  appearance,  but  within 
full  of  filth  and  impurity,  Math,  xxiii.  27. 
From  the  spirit  of  these  blind  guides,  we  may 
judge  of  the  spirit  of  the  blind  people  who 
held  them  in  admiration,  and  were  willingly 
directed  and  led  by  them.  Thus  was  the 
faithful  city  become  a  harlot :  it  was  once  full 
of  judgment,  righteousness  lodged  in  it,  but 
now  murderers,  Isa.  i.  21.  Such  a  wilder- 
ness was  Judea  when  Messiah  condescended 
to  visit  it. 

Among  the  Heathens,  ignorance,  idolatry, 
sensuality,  and  cruelty  universally  prevailed. 
Their  pretended  wise  men  had  indeed  talked  of 
wisdom  and  morality  from  age  to  age,  but  their 
speculations  were  no  more  than  swelling  words 
of  vanity,  cold,  trifling,  uncertain,  and  with- 
out any  valuable  influence  either  upon  them- 
selves  or  upon  others.  They  had  philosophers, 
poets,  orators,  musicians,  and  artists,  eminent 
in  their  way ;  but  the  nations  reputed  the 
most  civilized  were  overwhelmed  with  abomi- 
nable wickedness  equally  with  the  rest.  The 
shocking  effect  of  their  idolatry  upon  their 
moral  principles  and  conduct,  notwithstand- 
ing their  attainments  in  arts  and  science,  is 
described  by  the  apostle  in  the  close  of  the 
first  chapter  of  his  epistle  to  the  Romans. 
With  great  propriety,  therefore,  the  state  of 
the  world,  both  Jew  and  Gentile,  considered 
in  a  moral  view,  is  compared  by  the  prophet 
to  a  wilderness — a  barren  and  dreary  waste. 
The  pursuits  and  practices  of  the  world  were 
diametrically  opposite  to  the  spirit  and  design  or 
that  kingdom  which  Messiah  was  about  to  set 
up,  and  therefore,  as  the  event  proved,  directly 
disposed  to  withstand  his  progress.      But, 

II.    Before  his  appearance  a  way  was  pre 
pared  for  him  in  the  wilderness. 


C50 


THE   HARBINGER. 


The  providence  of  God,  by  a  gradual  train 
of  dispensations,  disposed  the  political  state  of 
mankind  in  a  subserviency  to  this  great  event. 
All  the  commotions  and  revolutions  which 
take  place  in  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  are 
so  many  detached  parts  of  a  complicated  but 
wisely-determined  plan,  of  which  the  esta- 
blishment of  Messiah's  kingdom  is  the  final 
cause.  The  kings  and  politicians  of  the  world 
are  not  aware  of  this.  God  is  not  in  their 
thoughts.  But  while  they  pursue  their  own 
ends,  and  make  havoc  of  the  peace  of  man- 
kind, to  gratify  their  own  interests  and  am- 
bition, and  look  no  higher,  they  are  igno- 
rantly,  and  without  intention,  acting  as  in- 
struments of  the  will  of  God.  The  wrath  of 
man  is  over-ruled  to  his  praise  and  his  pur- 
pose (Psal.  lxxvi.  10),  and  succeeds  so  far 
as  it  is  instrumental  to  the  accomplishment 
of  his  designs,  and  no  farther.  While  they 
move  in  this  line,  their  schemes,  however  in- 
judiciously laid,  and  whatever  disproportion 
there  may  seem  between  the  means  they  are 
possessed  of  and  the  vast  objects  they  aim  at, 
prosper  beyond  their  own  expectations  ;  but 
the  remainder  of  their  wrath  he  will  restrain. 
Their  best  projected  and  best  supported  en- 
terprises issue  in  shame  and  disappointment, 
if  they  are  not  necessary  parts  of  that  chain 
of  causes  and  events  which  the  Lord  of  all 
has  appointed.  Thus  Sennacherib,  when  sent 
by  the  God  whom  he  knew  not  to  execute  his 
displeasure  against  the  kingdom  of  Judah, 
had,  for  a  time,  a  rapid  and  uninterrupted  se- 
ries of  conquests  (Isa.  xxxvii.  26 — 29);  but 
his  attempt  upon  Jerusalem  was  beyond  the 
limits  of  his  commission,  and  therefore  failed. 
Among  the  principal  instruments  who  were 
appointed  to  prepare  a  way  in  the  wilderness 
for  Messiah,  and  to  facilitate  the  future  spread 
of  his  kingdom,  we  may  take  notice  of  Alex- 
ander; and  this  designation  secured  his  suc- 
cess, though  the  extravagancies,  excesses,  and 
rashness  which  marked  his  character,  were 
sufficient  to  have  rendered  his  undertakings 
abortive,  had  he  not  been  in  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  as  an  axe  or  a  saw  in  the  hand 
of  the  workman.  By  his  conquests  the  know- 
ledge of  the  Greek  language  was  diffused 
among  many  nations  ;  and  the  Hebrew  scrip- 
tures being  soon  afterwards  translated  into 
that  language  an  expectation  of  some  great 
deliverer  was  raised  far  and  wide,  before  Mes- 
siah appeared.  When  this  service  was  fulfill- 
ed, the  haughty  presumptuous  worm  who  had 
been  employed  in  it,  was  no  longer  necessary, 
and  therefore  was  soon  laid  aside  :  and  all  his 
proud  designs,  for  the  establishment  of  his 
own  family  and  dominion,  perished  with  him. 
His  empire  was  divided  towards  the  four 
winds  of  heaven,  and  this  division  likewise 
contributed  to  bring  forward  the  purpose  of 
God,  Dan.  viii.  8.  For  each  of  the  four 
kingdoms  established  by  his  successors  being 
thus  separated,  became  a  more  easy  Drey  to 


SKR.  II 

the  Roman  power.  This  power,  which  had 
been  gradually  increasing  and  extending  in 
the  course  of  several  hundred  years,  was  at 
its  height  about  the  time  of  our  Lord's  birth. 
The  greatest  part  of  the  habitable  earth  which 
was  at  that  time  distinctly  known  was  united 
under  one  empire,  composed  of  various  king- 
doms and  governments,  which,  though  once 
independent  and  considerable,  were  then.no 
more  than  Roman  provinces;  and  as  all  the 
provinces  had  an  immediate  connexion  with 
Rome,  a  way  was  thus  prepared,  and  an  in- 
tercourse opened  on  every  side,  for  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  gospel. 

Among  the  Jews,  the  professing  people  of 
God,  a  way  was  prepared  for  Messiah  by  the 
ministry  of  his  harbinger,  John  the  Baptist, 
who  came  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elijah 
(as  had  been  foretold  of  him  by  the  prophets, 
particularly  by  the  last  of  the  prophets,  Ma- 
lachi),  preaching  the  baptism  of  repentance 
for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  proclaiming 
that  the  Saviour  and  his  kingdom  were  at  hand. 
He  who  sent  him  accompanied  his  mission 
with  a  divine  power.  A  multitude  of  per 
sons,  of  various  descriptions,  were  impressed 
by  his  message,  insomuch  that  John  himself 
seems  to  have  been  astonished  at  the  numbers 
and  characters  of  those  who  came  to  his  bap- 
tism. 

When  the  ministry  of  John  had  thus  pre- 
viously disposed  the  minds  of  many  for  the 
reception  of  Messiah,  and  engaged  the  atten- 
tion of  the  people  at  large,  Messiah  himself 
entered  upon  his  public  office,  on  the  same 
scene  and  among  the  same  people.  As  he 
increased,  John  willingly  decreased.  So  the 
morning  star  ceases  to  be  seen  as  the  sun  ad- 
vances above  the  horizon.  This  distinguished 
servant  of  God  having  finished  his  work,  was 
removed  to  a  better  world.  Not  in  the  tri- 
umphant manner  in  which  Elijah  was  trans- 
lated, but  as  he  came  to  announce  a  new  dis- 
pensation, under  which  believers  were  to  ex- 
pect opposition  and  ill-treatment,  to  walk  by 
faith,  and  frequently  to  be  called  to  seal  their 
testimony  with  their  blood,  he  was  permitted 
to  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the  revenge  of  a  wanton 
woman  ;  and  though  we  are  assured  that  none 
of  the  race  of  Adam  was  greater  in  the  esti- 
mation of  God  than  he,  his  death  was  asked 
and  procured  as  the  reward  of  an  idle  dance, 
Math.  xi.   11  ;   xiv.  8—11. 

III.  The  latter  part  of  my  text  describes 
the  manner  and  immediate  effects  of  Mes- 
siah's appearance  during  his  personal  mi- 
nistry, with  an  intimation  of  its  future  and 
more  extensive  consequences. 

The  valleys  shall  be  exalted. — A  valley  is 
an  emblem  of  a  low  condition.  Such  was  the 
condition  of  most  of  our  Lord's  followers; 
but  his  notice  and  favour  exalted  them  highly. 
He  came  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor,  to 
fill  the  hungry  with  good  things,  to  save  the 
chief  of  sinners,  to  open  a  door  of  hope  anil 


SER.   II. 


THE   HARBINGER. 


651 


salvation  to  persons  of  die  vilest  and  most 
despicable  characters  in  human  estimation. 
Such,  for  instance,  was  the  woman  mentioned 
by  the  evangelist  Luke,  chap.  vii.  37,  38. 
The  Pharisee  thought  our  Lord  dishonoured 
himself  by  permitting  such  a  one  to  touch 
him,  nor  had  she  a  word  to  say  in  her  own 
behalf.  But  the  compassionate  Saviour  highly 
exalted  her,  when  he  vouchsafed  to  plead  her 
cause,  to  express  his  gracious  acceptance  of 
her  tears  and  love,  and  to  assure  her  that  her 
sins,  though  many,  were  all  forgiven.  Very 
low  likewise  was  the  state  of  the  malefactor 
on  the  cross  ;  he  had  committed  great  crimes, 
was  suffering  grievous  torments,  and  in  the 
very  jaws  of  death,  Luke  xxiii.  42.  But 
grace  visited  his  heart ;  he  was  plucked  as  a 
brand  out  of  the  fire,  and  exalted  to  para- 
dise and  glory.  The  world  accounts  the 
proud  happy,  and  honours  the  covetous  if 
they  be  prosperous.  But  true  honour  cometh 
from  God.  They  who  are  partakers  of  the 
faith  and  hope  of  the  gospel,  and  have  inte- 
rest in  the  precious  promises,  are  indeed  the 
rich,  the  happy,  the  excellent  of  the  earth, 
however  they  may  be  unnoticed  or  despised 
by  their  fellow-creatures.  The  honour  of 
places  likewise  is  to  be  considered  in  this 
light.  Bethlehem,  though  but  of  little  note 
among  the  thousands  of  Judali,  was  rendered 
more  illustrious  by  the  birth  of  Messiah  than 
Babylon  or  Rome.  The  Galileans  were  held 
in  contempt  by  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem, 
a's  a  mean  and  provincial  people  ;  but  the 
places  in  Galilee  which  our  Lord  frequently 
visited,  or  where  he  sometimes  resided,  are 
spoken  of  as  exalted  unto  heaven,  by  the  ho- 
nour and  privilege  of  his  presence,  though 
some  of  them  were  no  more  than  fishing- 
towns.  And  so  at  this  day,  if  we  have  spi- 
ritual discernment,  we  shall  judge  that  a  lit- 
tle village,  where  the  gospel  is  known,  prized, 
and  adorned  by  a  suitable  conversation,  has  a 
dignity  and  importance  far  preferable  to  all 
the  parade  of  a  wealthy  metropolis,  if  desti- 
tute of  the  like  privileges. 

On  the  contrary,  every  mountain  and  hill 
shall  be  brought  low.— Messiah  came  to  pour 
contempt  on  all  human  glory.  He  detected 
the  wickedness  and  confounded  the  pride  of 
the  Scribes,  and  Pharisees,  and  rulers,  and 
made  it  appear  that  what  is  highly  esteemed 
among  men,  the  ra  v^nXev,  or  summit  of 
their  boasted  excellency,  is  worthless,  yea, 
abomination  in  the  sight  of  God,  Luke  xvi. 
15.  And  by  living  himself  in  a  state  of  po- 
verty, and  associating  chiefly  with  poor  peo- 
ple, he  placed  the  vanity  of  the  distinctions 
and  affluence  which  mankind  generally  ad- 
mire and  envy,  in  the  most  striking  and  hu- 
miliating light.  Such  likewise  was  and  will 
be  the  effect  of  his  gospel.  When  faithfully 
preached,  it  is  found  mighty,  through  God,  to 
the  pulling  down  of  strong-holds,  high  thoughts, 
and   every  species  of  self-exaltation.      When 


the  convincing  word  touches  the  heart,  it  has 
an  effect  like  the  hand-writing  which  Bel- 
shazzar  saw  upon  the  wall,  Dan.  v.  6.  In 
that  day  the  lofty  looks  of  man  are  humbled, 
and  his  haughtiness  bowed  down  (Isa.  ii.  11); 
he  dares  no  longer  plead  the  goodness  of  his 
heart,  or  trust  to  the  work  of  his  hands.  A 
sense  of  forgiveness  and  acceptance  through 
the  Beloved,  received  by  faith  in  his  atone- 
ment, lays  him  still  lower  :  he  now  renounces 
as  loss,  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  all  that  he  once  es- 
teemed as  gain,  and  is  glad  that  he  has  no- 
thing to  trust  or  glory  in  but  the  cross,  Phil. 
i Ii-  7,  8.  Farther,  every  mountain  that  op- 
poses the  kingdom  of  Messiah,  in  due  time 
must  sink  into  a  plain,  Zech.  iv.  7.  Though 
the  nations  rage,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel 
together,  he  who  sitteth  in  the  heavens  will 
support  and  maintain  his  own  work,  and  all 
their  power  and  policy  shall  fall  before  it. 

The  crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the 
rough  places  plain. — He  came  to  reqtify  the 
perverse  disposition  of  the  hearts  of  men,  to 
soften  and  subdue  their  obstinate  spirits,  and 
to  form  to  himself  a  willing  people  in  the  day 
of  his  power.  The  Jewish  teachers,  by  their 
traditions  and  will-worship  had  given  an  ap-. 
parent  obliquity  to  the  straight  and  perfect 
rule  of  the  law  of  God,  and  deformed  the 
beauties  of  holiness,  binding  heavy  burdens, 
and  grievous  to  be  borne,  upon  the  conscience; 
but  he  vindicated  the  law  from  their  corrupt 
glosses,  and  made  the  path  of  obedience  plain, 
practicable,  and  pleasant. 

Thus,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  was  revealed. — 
Not  to  every  eye :  many,  prejudiced  by  his 
outward  appearance,  and  by  the  low  mistaken 
views  the  Jews  indulged  of  the  office  and 
kingdom  of  Messiah,  whom  they  expected, 
could  see  no  form  or  excellence  in  him  that 
they  should  desire  him;  but  his  disciples  could 
say,  "  We  beheld  his  glory,"  John  i.  14.  He 
spake  with  authority.  His  word  was  power. 
He  controlled  the  elements,  he  raised  the 
dead.  He  knew,  and  revealed,  and  judged 
the  thoughts  of  men's  hearts.  He  forgave 
sin,  and  thus  exercised  the  rights  and  dis 
played  the  perfections  of  divine  sovereignty  irc 
his  own  person.  But  the  prophecy  looks, 
forward  to  future  times.  After  his  ascension 
he  filled  his  apostles  and  disciples  with  light 
and  power,  and  sent  them  forth  in  all  direc- 
tions to  proclaim  his  love  and  grace  to  a  sin- 
ful world.  Then  the  glory  of  the  Lord  was 
revealed,  and  spread  from  one  kingdom  to 
another  people.  We  still  wait  for  the  full  ac- 
complishment of  this  promise,  and  expect  a 
time  when  the  whole  earth  shall  be  filled  with 
his  glory  :  For  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath 
spoken  it.  It  is  to  the  power  of  his  word 
that  we  owe  the  continuance  of  day  and 
night,  and  the  regular  return  of  the  seasons 
of  the  year.  But  these  appointments  are 
only  for    a  limited   term ;   the  hour  is   com- 


1.19 


THE  SHAKING   OF  THE 


SER.  ill, 


ing,  when  the  frame  of  nature  shall  be  dis- 
solved. Heaven  and  eartli  shall  pass  away ; 
but  not  a  jot  or  tittle  of  what  he  hath  declared 
concerning  his  kingdom  of  grace  shall  fail,  till 
the  whole  be  fulfilled. 

Those  of  yon  who  have  heard  the  Messiah 
will  do  well  to  recollect,  whether  you  were 
affected  by  such  thoughts  as  these  while  this 
passage  was  performed  ;  or  whether  you  were 
only  captivated  by  the  music,  and  paid  no  more 
regard  to  the  words  than  if  they  had  no  mean- 
ing. They  are,  however,  the  great  truths  of 
God.  May  they  engage  your  serious  atten- 
tion, now  they  are  thus  set  before  y~j  ! 


SERMON  III. 

THE   SHAKING    OF    THE    HEAVENS    AND    THE 
EARTH. 

Thus  faith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  Yet  once,  it  is  a 
tittle  while,  and  I  will  shake  the  heavens,  and 
the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  dry  land  : 
And  I  will  shake  all  nations,  and  the  Desire 
of  all  nations  shall  come  ;  and  I  will  fill  this 
house  with  glory,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 
Haggai.  ii   6,  7. 

God  shook  the  earth  when  he  proclaimed  his 
law  to  Israel  from  Sinai.  The  description, 
though  very  simple,  presents  to  our  thoughts 
a  scene  unspeakably  majestic,  grand,  and  aw- 
ful.     The  mountain  was  in  flames  at  the  top, 

and  trembled  to  its  basis,  Exod.  xix.  16 19. 

Dark  clouds,  thunderings  and  lightnings  filled 
the  air.  The  hearts  of  the  people,  of  the 
whole  people,  trembled  likewise;  and  even 
Moses  himself  said,  "  I  exceedingly  fear  and 
quake."  Then,  as  the  apostle,  referring  to 
this  passage,  observes,  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
shook  the  earth,  Heb.  xii.  26.  But  the  pro- 
phet here  speaks  of  another,  a  greater,  a  more 
important,  and  extensive  concussion.  Yet 
once,  it  is  a  little  while,  and  I  will  shake  not 
the  earth  only,  but  also  the  heavens. 

If  we  really  believe  that  the  scriptures  are 
true,  that  the  prophecies  were  delivered  by 
holy  men,  who  spake  as  they  were  moved  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  that  they  shall  all  be 
certainly  fulfilled, — how  studious  should  we 
be  to  attain  a  right  understanding  of  pas- 
sages and  events,  in  which  we  are  so  nearly 
interested,  that  our  hearts  may  be  duly  af- 
fected by  them  !  But,  alas  !  experience  and 
observation  strongly  confirm  the  remark  of 
tht  poet, 

Men  are  but  children  of  a  larger  growth. 

If  you  put  a  telescope  into  the  hands  of  a 
child,  he  will  probably  admire  the  outside,  es- 
pecially if  it  be  finely  ornamented.  But  the 
use  of  it,  in  giving  a  more  distinct  view  of 
distant  objects,  is  what  the  child  has  no  con- 
ception of.    |  The  music  of  »he  Messiah  is  but 


an  ornament  of  the  words,  which  have  a  very 
weighty  sense.  This  sense  no  music  can  ex- 
plain, and  when  rightly  understood,  will  have 
such  an  effect  as  no  music  can  produce.  That 
the  music  of  the  Messiah  has  a  great  effect  in 
its  own  kind,  I  can  easily  believe.  The  an- 
cients, to  describe  the  power  of  the  music  of 
Orpheus,  pretend,  that  when  he  played  upon 
his  harp,  the  wild  beasts  thronged  around  him 
to  listen,  and  seemed  to  forget  their  natural 
fierceness.  Such  expressions  are  figurative, 
and  designed  to  intimate,  that,  by  his  address 
and  instructions,  he  civilized  men  of  fierce 
and  savage  dispositions.  But  if  we  were  to 
allow  the  account  to  be  true  in  the  literal 
sense,  I  should  still  suppose  that  the  wild 
beasts  were  affected  by  his  music  only  while 
they  heard  it,  and  that  it  did  not  actually 
change  their  natures,  and  render  lions  and  ti- 
gers gentle  as  lambs,  from  that  time  forward. 
Thus  I  can  allow,  that  they  who  heard  the 
Messiah  might  be  greatly  impressed  during 
the  performance;  but  when  it  was  ended,  I 
suppose  they  would  retain  the  very  same  dis- 
positions they  had  before  it  began.  And 
many,  I  fear,  were  no  more  affected  by  this 
sublime  declaration  of  the  Lord's  design  to,' 
shake  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  than  they',' 
would  have  been,  if  the  same  music  had  been 
set  to  the  words  of  a  common  ballad. 

The  Jews,  when  they  returned  from  capti- 
vity, and  undertook  to  rebuild  the  temple  of 
the  Lord,  met  with  many  discouragements. 
They  were  disturbed  by  the  opposition  and 
arts  of  their  enemies,  who  at  one  time  so  far 
prevailed,  as  to  compel  them,  for  a  season,  to 
intermit  the  work.  And  when  the  founda- 
tion of  the  temple  was  laid,  the  joy  of  those 
who  hoped  soon  to  see  the  solemn  worship  of 
God  restored,  was  damped  by  the  grief  of 
others,  who  remembered  the  magnificence  of 
the  first  temple,  and  wept  to  think  how  far 
the  second  temple  would  come  short  of  it, 
Hag.  ii.  3.  In  these  circumstances,  the  pro- 
phets Haggai  and  Zechariah  were  sent  to  ani- 
mate the  people  by  a  promise,  that,  inferioi 
as  the  second  temple  might  appear,  compared 
with  that  which  Solomon  built,  the  glory  of 
the  latter  house  should  be  greater  than  the 
glory  of  the  former,  Ezra,  iii.  12,  13.  Had 
this  depended  upon  a  profusion  of  silver  and 
gold,  the  Lord  could  have  provided  it :  for 
"  the  silver  is  mine,  and  the  gold  is  mine, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."  But  the  glory  spo- 
ken of  was  of  a  different  kind.  The  presence 
of  Messiah  in  the  second  temple  would  render 
it  far  more  honourable  and  glorious,  though 
less  pompous,  than  the  temple  of  Solomon  ; 
and  would  be  attended  with  greater  conse- 
quences than  even  the  manifestation  of  the 
God  of  Israel  on  Mount  Sinai.  Then  he  only 
shook  the  earth  ;  but  under  the  second  temple 
he  would  sliake  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  the 
sea  and  the  dry  land,  to  introduce  the  king- 
dom of  Messiah. 


SEP..  Ill 


HEAVENS  AND  THE  EARTH. 


653 


"We  may  consider  from  the  words, 

I.  A  character  of  Messiah, — "  The  Desire 
of  all  nations." 

II.  The  effects  of  his  appearance, — "  Shak- 
ing the  heavens  and  the  earth." 

III.  His  "  filling  the  house  with  glory." 
This  clause  of  ver.  7.  is  not  in  the  passage  set 
to  music  ;  but  as  it  is  an  eminent  part  of  the 
prophecy,  I  shall  not  exclude  it. 

I.  Messiah  is  here  styled,  "  The  Desire  of 
all  nations."  The  propriety  of  this  title  may 
be  illustrated  by  two  considerations. 

1.  Before  he  came  into  the  world  to  save 
sinners,  an  expectation  prevailed  in  many  na- 
tions, that  a  great  deliverer  and  friend  of 
mankind  was  at  hand.  This  was,  perhaps, 
partly  the  effect  of  some  ancient  traditions, 
founded  on  the  promises  of  God  respecting 
the  seed  of  the  woman,  the  traces  of  which, 
though  much  corrupted  by  the  addition  of 
fables,  were  not  worn  out — but  might  be 
chiefly  owing  to  several  dispersions  of  the 
people  of  Israel,  and  imperfect  notices,  de- 
rived from  the  scriptures  in  their  hands.  The 
sense  of  many  prophecies  cencerning  Mes- 
siah, though  misapplied,  is  remarkably  ex- 
pressed in  a  short  poem  of  Virgil,*  written  a 
few  years  before  our  Saviour's  birth.  This 
eclogue,  of  which  we  have  a  beautiful  imita- 
tion in  our  own  language  by  Mr.  Pope,  af- 
fords a  sufficient  proof  that  the  Heathens  had 
an  idea  of  some  illustrious  personage,  who 
would  shortly  appear,  and  restore  peace,  pros- 
perity, and  all  the  blessings  of  their  imaginary 
golden  age  to  mankind.  The  miseries  and 
evils  with  which  the  world  was  filled,  made 
the  interposition  of  such  a  deliverer  highly 
desirable.  There  were  even  a  few  among 
the  Heathens,  such  as  Socrates  and  his  im- 
mediate disciples,  who  seem  to  have  felt  the 
necessity  of  a  divine  teacher  ;  and  to  be  sen- 
sible that  man,  in  a  state  of  nature,  was  too 
depraved,  and  too  ignorant,  to  be  either  able 
or  disposed  to  worship  God  acceptably  with- 
out one.      There  is  reason  to  believe,  that  the 

I  revelation  which  we  enjoy,  though  despised 
}  by  too  many  who  affect  to  be  called  philoso- 
(  pliers  in  modern  times,  would  have  been  highly 
prized  by  the  wisest  and  best  of  the  philosophers 
of  antiquity.  Socrates  thought  men  were  not 
capable  of  knowing  and  expressing  their  own 
wants,  nor  of  asking  what  was  good  for  them- 
selves, unless  it  should  please  God  to  send 
them  an  instructor  from  heaven,  to  teach  them 
how  to  pray.      And  therefore, 

2.  The  need  that  all  nations  had  of  such  a 
Saviour,  is  sufficient  to  establish  his  right  to 
this  title,  admitting  they  had  no  knowledge 
or  expectation  of  him.  If  we  could  suppose 
a  nation  involved  for  ages  in  the  darkness  of 
night,  though  they  had  no  previous  notion  of 
light,  yet  light  might  be  said  to  be  their  de- 
sire, because  the  light,   whenever  they  should 

*    Virg.  Eel  iv. 


enjoy  it,  would  put  an  end  to  tiieir  calamity, 
would  answer  their  wants,  and,  in  that  sense 
accomplish  their  wishes;  for  if  they  could  not 
directly  wish  for  light,  they  would  naturally 
wish  for  relief.  The  Heathens  were  mise- 
rably bewildered.  They  had  a  thirst,  for  hap- 
piness, which  could  noi_be  satisfied  by  any, 
or  all  the  expedients  and  pursuits  within  their 
reach.  They  had  fears  and  forebodings  of 
conscience,  for  which  they  knew  no  remedy. 
They  were  so  sensible,  both  of  their  guilt  and 
their  weakness,  that,  being  ignorant  of  the  cha- 
racter of  the  true  God,  and  of  that  forgiveness 
which  is  with  him,  in  times  of  extremity  they 
frequently  offered  the  most  expensive  sacri- 
fices to  the  objects  of  their  idolatrous  super- 
stition, even  the  blood  and  lives  of  their  child- 
ren, Mica!i,  vi.  6.  When  Messiah  appeared, 
as  he  was  the  glory  of  Israel,  so  he  was  a 
light  to  the  Gentiles,  as  we  shall  have  oppor- 
tunity of  observing  more  at  large  hereafter. 
He,  therefore,  who  came  purposely  to  bless 
the  nations,  by  turning  them  from  darkness 
to  light,  and  from  the  worship  of  dumb  idols 
to  serve  the  living  and  true  God,  may  justly 
be  called  their  desire,  though  in  the  time  of 
their  ignorance,  they  could  form  no  suitable 
conception  of  him 

II.  "  I  will  shake  the  heavens  and  the 
earth." — This  part  of  the  prophecy  has  been, 
in  a  measure,  literally  fulfilled.  At  his  birth, 
a  new  star  appeared.  At  his  death,  the  sun, 
withdrew  his  shining,  the  earth  quaked,  the 
rocks  rent,  and  the  dead  arose.  During  his 
life,  he  often  suspended  and  over-ruled  the 
stated  laws  of  nature,  and  exercised  supreme 
power  over  the  visible  and  invisible  worlds. 
He  shook  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  spoiled 
principalities  and  powers,  triumphing  over 
them  by  his  cross.  He  shook  the  kingdoms 
of  the  earth  ;  the  idols  trembled  and  disap- 
peared before  his  gospel,  till  at  length  the 
Roman  empire  renounced  Heathenism,  and 
embraced  the  Christian  name. 

But  the  language  of  prophecy  is  highly  fi- 
gurative. Mountains  and  trees,  land  and  wa- 
ter, sun  and  moon,  heaven  and  earth,  often 
signify  nations,  people,  and  governments ; 
and  particularly,  heaven  and  earth  are  used  to 
denote  the  religious  and  political  establish- 
ment of  Israel  ;  or,  as  we  say,  their  constitu- 
tion in  church  and  state.  This,  without  doubt, 
is  the  primary  sense  here.  The  appearance 
of  Messiah  shall  be  connected  with  the  total 
dissolution  of  the  Jewish  economy.  The  whole 
of  their  Levitical  institution  was  fulfilled,  su- 
perseded, and  abrogated  by  Messiah,  which 
was  solemnly  signified  by  the  rending  of  the 
vail  of  the  temple  from  the  top  to  the  bottom 
at  his  death.  And  a  few  years  afterwards  the 
temple  itself  was  destroyed,  by  which  event, 
the  worship  of  God  according  to  the  law,  ot 
which  the  temple-service  was  an  essential  part, 
was  rendered  utterly  impracticable.  Their 
civil  state  likewise  was  dissolved ;   they  were 


t554 


THE  SHAKING  OF 


extirpated  from  the  promised  land,  and  dis- 
persed far  and  wide  among  the  nations  of  tlie 
earth.  Though,  in  one  sense,  they  are  pre- 
served, by  the  wonderful  providence  of  God, 
as  a  distinct  people,  unaffected  by  the  changes 
and  customs  around  them  ;  in  another  sense, 
they  are  not  a  people,  having  neither  settle- 
ment nor  government,  but  living  as  strangers 
and  foreigners  in  every  country  where  their 
lot  has  been  cast,  Hos.  iii.  4.  Nothing  like 
this  can  be  found  in  the  history _of  mankind. 
It  is  an  obvious,  striking,  and  perpetual  proof  of 
the  truth  of  the  scriptures.  What  was  foretold 
concerning  them  by  Moses  and  the  succeed- 
ing prophets,  is  accomplished  to  a  demonstra- 
tion before  our  eyes.  How  unlikely  was  it 
once  that  it  should  be  thus !  yet  thus  it  must 
be,  because  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spo- 
ken it.  And  all  that  he  has  spoken  is  equally 
sure.  He  will  yet  again  shake  the  heavens 
and  the  earth,  dissolve  the  frame  of  nature, 
and  execute  his  threatened  judgments  upon 
all  those  who  do  not  receive  and  obey  his 
gospel. 

III.  "  He  shall  fill  this  house  with  glory." 
He  did  so,  when  he  condescended  to  visit  it 
in  person.  The  blind  and  the  lame  came 
thither  to  him,  and  he  healed  them,  Matth. 
xxi.  13 — 16.  Children  felt  his  power,  and 
sung  hosannah  to  the  son  of  David,  a  title 
appropriate  to  Messiah  ;  and  when  the  Pha- 
risees rebuked  them,  he  said,  "  If  these 
should  hold  their  peace,  the  stones  would  cry 
out,"  Luke  xix.  40.  As  the  Lord  in  his 
own  house,  he  purged  the  temple,  and  drove 
out  those  who  profaned  it,  and  not  one  of  his 
enemies  durst  offer  the  least  resistance  to  his 
will.  And  when  he  left  it  the  last  time,  with 
sovereign  authority,  he  denounced  that  awful 
sentence,  which  was  soon  afterwards  executed 
by  the  Romans,  both  upon  the  temple  and  the 
nation,  Matth.  xxiii.  37.  His  glory  filled  the 
temple  when  he  was  an  infant,  so  that  Simeon 
and  Anna  then  acknowledged  his  character, 
and  spake  of  him  to  those  who  were  waiting 
for  the  consolation  of  Israel,  Luke,  ii.  25, 
38.  Especially  his  glory  was  manifested,  when 
he  proclaimed  himself  the  fountain  of  life, 
and  invited  every  thirsty  weary  sinner  to  come 
to  him,  to  drink  and  live  for  ever,  John, 
vii.  37. 

The  temple  of  Jerusalem  Lis  been  long 
since  destroyed.  But  he  has  still  a  house,  a 
house  not  made  with  hands.  This  is  his 
church,  comprising  all  the  members  of  his 
mystical  body.  He  dwells  in  each  of  them 
individually  j  he  dwells  in  and  among  them 
collectively  Where  two  or  three  are  met 
in  his  name,  where  his  ordinances  are  ad- 
ministered and  prized,  where  his  gospel  is 
faithfully  preached  and  cordially  received, 
there  he  is  present  in  the  midst  of  them  ; 
There  his  glory  is  seen,  his  voice  heard,  lus 
power  felt,  his  goodness  tasted,  and  the  savour 
of  lus  name  is  diffused  as  a  precious   oint- 


THE  HEAVENS,   &C.  SER.  III. 

ment,  which  refreshes  the  heart  of  his  people, 
renews  their  strength,  and  comforts  them  un- 
der all   their  sorrows  and   cares.      The  glory 
and  magnificence  of  the  temple-worship,  even 
in  the  days  of  Solomon,   was  faint   compared 
with  the  glory  displayed  to  the  hearts  of  be- 
lievers  who  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth, 
under  the  New- Testament  dispensation.    But 
it   can  only  be   perceived    by  an   enlightened 
and  spiritual  mind.      To  outward  appearance 
all  may  be  low  and  humiliating.      The  malice 
of  their  enemies  has  often  constrained  his  peo- 
ple to  assemble  in  woods  and  on  mountains, 
in  places  under  ground,  or  in  the  dead  of  the 
night,  to  secrete  themselves  from  informers. 
But   vaulted  roofs  and  costly  garments,  the 
solemn  parade  of  processions,  music  and  cho- 
risters, and  the  presence  of  nobles  and  digni- 
taries, are  not  necessary  to  constitute  the  glory 
of  gospel-worship.      It  is  enough  that  he,    in 
whose  name  they  meet,    condescends   to  visit 
them  with  the  power  and  influence  of  his  Spi- 
rit, to  animate  and  hear  their  prayers,  to  feed 
them  with  the  good  word  of  his  grace,  and  to 
fill  them  with  joy  and  peace  in  believing.      If 
they  have  these  blessings,  they  desire  no  more, 
they  are  compensated  for  all  their  difficulties 
and  hardships  ;  and,   however  unnoticed  and 
despised  by  the  world,   they  can   say,   "  This 
is  none  other  than  the  house  of  God,   this  is 
the  gate   of  heaven,"    Gen.    xxviii.   7.      For 
they  approach  by  faith  to   the  city  of  the  liv- 
ing  God,   the  Jerusalem   which   is   above,   to 
the  worship  which   is  carried  on  day  without 
night,  by  the  innumerable  company  of  angels, 
and    the  spirits   of  just   men   made    perfect, 
Heb.  xii.  22. 

But  every  member  of  this  myjitical.t_emple, 
being  by  nature  afar  off  from  God,  experi- 
ences a  previous  change,  which  may  be  not 
unfitly  described  by  the  terms  of  my  text. 
Before  the  Lord  takes  possession  of  his  peo- 
ple, and  in  order  to  it,  he  shakes  the  heavens 
and  the  earth.  Their  former  views  of  God 
and  of  themselves  are  altered  by  a  light  which 
penetrates  the  soul.  All  that  they  have  been 
building  in  religion  till  then  is  shaken  and 
overturned.  Their  vain  hopes  are  shaken  to 
the  foundation.  This  concussion  makes  way 
for  the  perception  of  his  glory  as  a  Saviour. 
In  this  day  of  his  power  they  are  made  wil- 
ling to  throw  open  the  gates  of  their  hearts, 
that  the  King  of  glory  may  enter. 

But  as  I  do  not  stand  here  to  amuse  you 
with  a  declamation  on  a  subject  in  which  you 
are  not  immediately  interested,  and  as  my  of- 
fice as  a  preacher  both  warrants  and  requires 
me  to  address  myself  not  only  to  your  under- 
standings but  likewise  to  your  consciences,  I 
must  be  allowed,  before  I  conclude,  to  pro- 
pose this  question  to  your  consideration,  Is 
Messiah,  the  desire  of  all  nations,  the  object 
of  your  chief  desire?  How  much  depends 
upon  the  answer  ?  Do  you  wish  to  know 
your  present  state   in  the  sight  of  God  7      If 


SEK.   IV. 


THE  LORD  COMING  TO  HIS  TEMPLE. 


05i 


you  are  faithful  to  yourselves  you  may  be  sa- 
tisfied, provided  you  will  abide  by  the  deci- 
sion of  scripture.  God  is  well  pleased  in  his 
Son  ;  if  you  are  well-pleased  with  him,  if  he 
is  precious  to  you,  and  the  desire  of  your  soul 
is  supremely  directed  to  him,  then  you  as- 
suredly  possess  the  beginning,  the  foretaste, 
and  th°  earnest  of  eternal  life.  If  you  so  en- 
ter into  the  descriptions  given  in  the  Bible  of 
his  person,  love,  office,  and  glory,  as  to  place 
your  whole  dependence  upon  him,  to  devote 
yourselves  simply  co  him,  and  to  place  your 
happiness  in  his  favour,  then  you  are  happy 
indeed  !  happy  even  at  present,  though  not 
exempted  from  a  share  in  the  afflictions  inci- 
dent to  this  morl  »1  state.  For  your  sins  are 
pardoned,  your  persons  are  accepted  in  the 
Beloved  :  to  you  belong  the  promises  of  guid- 
ance, protection,  and  supply  through  life,  vic- 
tory over  death,  and  then  a  crown  of  glory 
which  fadeth  not  away.  To  say  all  in  a  few 
words,  God  is  your  Father,  and  heaven  is 
your  home. 

But  on  the  other  hand,  if  you  trust  in  your- 
selves that  you  are  righteous  and  good,  at  least 
comparatively  so  ;  if  your  attachment  to  the 
business  or  the  pleasures  of  the  world  en- 
grosses your  thoughts  and  application,  so  that 
you  have  no  leisure  to  attend  to  the  record 
which  God  has  given  of  his  Son,  or  no  relish 
for  the  subject,  you  have  been  hitherto  guilty 
of  treating  the  most  glorious  display  of  the 
wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  with  contempt. 
Many  persons  thus  employed  and  thus  dis- 
posed, bear  respectablecharacters  in  civil  life, 
from  which  I  do  not  Ivisb  to  detrao .  But 
however  amiable  you  may  be  in  the  judgment 


SERMON   IV. 

THE  LORD  COMING  TO  HIS  TEMPLE. 

The  Lord,  whom  ye  seek,  shall  suddenly  come 
to  his  temple,  even  the  Messenger  of  the  co- 
venant in  whom  ye  delight  :  behold,  he  shall 
come,  sailh  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  But  who  mny 
abide  the  day  of  his  coming  ?  and  u>ho  shall 
stand  when  he  appeareth  ?  for  he  is  like  a 
refiner's  fire,  and  like  fuller's  soap. — And  he 
shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi — that  they  may 
offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offering  in  righteous- 
ness.    Malachi,  iii.  1 — 3. 

"  Whereunto  shall  we  liken  the  people  of  this 
generation,  and  to  what  are  they  like  ?"  Luke 
vii.  31.  I  represent  to  myself  a  number  of 
persons  of  various  characters,  involved  in  one 
common  charge  of  high  treason.  They  are 
already  in  a  state  of  confinement,  but  not  yet 
brought  to  their  trial.  The  facts,  however, 
are  so  plain,  and  the  evidence  against  them  so 
strong  and  pointed,  that  there  is  not  the  least 
doubt  of  their  guilt  being  fully  proved,  and 
that  nothing  but  a  pardon  can  preserve  them 
from  punishment.  In  this  situation,  it  should 
seem  their  wisdom  to  avail  themselves  of  every 
expedient  in  their  power  for  obtaining  mercy 
But  they  are  entirely  regardless  of  their  dan 
ger,  and  wholly  taken  up  with  contriving  me- 
thods of  amusing  themselves,  that  they  may 
pass  away  the  term  of  their  imprisonment  with 
an  much  cheerfulness  as  possible.  Among 
other  resources  they  call  in  the  assistance  of 
music.      And  amidst  a  great  variety  of  sub- 


of  your  fellow-creatures,   vou  are  a  sinner  in  ,  jects  in  this  way,  they  are  particularly  pleased 


the  sight  of  God,  and  will  be  treated  by  him 
as  an  enemy  to  his  government  and  glory,  if 
you  finally  persist  in  a  rejection  of  his  gospel. 
The  great  point  which  will  determine  your 
state  for  eternity,  will  be  this,  What  think  you 
of  Christ  ?  For  it  is  written,  "  If  any  man  love 
not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  Anathe- 
ma Maranatha,"  1  Cor.  xvi.  22.  He  must 
and  will  fall  under  the  curse  and  condemna- 
tion of  die  law,  and  be  punished  with  ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his  power.  To- 
day, therefore,  while  it  is  called  to-day  (for  to- 
morrow is  not  ours),  may  you  hear  his  voice, 
and  flee  for  refuge  to  the  hope  set  before  you  ! 


with  one.  They  choose  to  make  the  solemni- 
ties of  their  impending  trial,  the  character  of 
their  judge,  the  methods  of  his  procedure,  and 
the  awful  sentence  to  which  they  are  exposed, 
the  ground-work  of  a  musical  entertainment. 
And,  as  if  they  were  quite  unconcerned  in  the 
event,  their  attention  is  chiefly  fixed  upon  the 
skill  of  the  composer,  in  adapting  the  style  of 
his  music  to  the  very  solemn  language  and 
subject  with  which  they  are  trifling.  The 
King,  however,  out  of  his  great  clemency  and 
compassion  towards  those  who  have  no  pity 
for  themselves,  prevents  them  with  his  good- 
ness. Undesired  by  them,  he  sends  them  a 
gracious  message.  He  assures  them  that  he 
is  unwilling  they  should  suffer  :  he  requires, 
yea,  he  entreats  them  to  submit.  He  points 
out  a  way  in  which  their  confession  and  sub- 
mission shall  be  certainly  accepted;  and  in 
this  way,  which  he  condescends  to  prescribe, 
he  offers  them  a  free  and  a  full  pardon.  But 
instead  of  taking  a  single  step  towards  a  com- 
pliance with  his  goodness,  they  set  his  mes- 
sage likewise  to  music ;  and  this,  together 
with  a  description  of  their  present  state,  and 
of  the  fearful  doom  awaiting  them  if  they  con- 
tinue  obstinate,   is  sung  for  their   diversion. 


656 


THE  LOUD  COMING  TO  HIS  TEMPLE. 


skiu  rv 


accompanied  with  the  sound  of  cornet,  flute, 
harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  dulcimer,  and  all 
kinds  of  instruments,  Dan.  iii.  5.  Surely,  if 
such  a  case  as  I  have  supposed  could  be  found 
in  real  life,  though  I  might  admire  the  musi- 
cal taste  of  these  people,  I  should  commise- 
iate  their  insensibility ! 

But  is  not  this  case  more  than  a  supposi- 
tion ?  Is  it  not,  in  the  most  serious  sense,  ac- 
tually realized  amongst  ourselves  ?  I  should 
insult  your  understandings  if  I  judged  a  long 
application  necessary.  I  know  my  supposi- 
tion must  have  already  led  your  thoughts  to 
the  subject  of  the  Messiah,  and  to  the  spirit 
and  temper  of  at  least  the  greater  part  of  the 
performers,  and  of  the  audiences.  The  holy 
scripture  concludes  all  mankind  under  sin, 
Rom.  iii.  9.  It  charges  them  all  with  trea- 
son and  rebellion  against  the  great  sovereign 
Lawgiver  and  Benefactor,  and  declares  the 
misery  to  which,  as  sinners,  we  are  obnoxious. 
But  God  is  long-suffering,  and  waits  to  be 
gracious.  The  stroke  of  death,  which  would 
instantly  place  us  before  his  awfid  tribunal, 
is  still  suspended.  In  the  meantime  he  af- 
fords us  his  gospel,  by  which  he  assures  us 
there  is  forgiveness  with  him.  He  informs 
us  of  a  Saviour,  and  that,  of  his  great  love 
to  sinners,  he  has  given  his  only  Son  to  be 
an  atonement  and  mediator  in  favour  of  all 
who  shall  sue  for  mercy  in  his  name.  The 
character  of  this  Saviour,  his  vfhspeakable 
love,  his  dreadful  sufferings,  the  agonies  he 
endured  in  Gethsemane,  and  upon  the  cross, 
are  made  known  to  us.  And  as  his  past  hu- 
miliation, so  his  present  glory,  and  his  invi- 
tation to  come  to  him  for  pardon  and  eternal 
life,  are  largely  declared.  These  are  the  prin- 
cipal points  expressed  in  the  passages  of  the 
Messiah.  Mr.  Handel,  who  set  them  to  mu- 
sic, has  been  commemorated  and  praised,  many 
years  after  his  death,  in  a  place  professedly 
devoted  to  the  praise  and  worship  of  God  ; 
yea  (if  I  am  not  misinformed),  the  stated 
worship  of  God  in  that  place  was  suspended 
for  a  considerable  time,  that  it  might  be  duly 
prepared  for  the  commemoration  of  Mr.  Han- 
del. But,  alas  !  how  few  are  disposed  to 
praise  and  commemorate  Messi.h  himself! 
The  same  great  truths,  divested  of  the  music, 
when  delivered  from  the  pulpit,  are  heard  by 
many  admirers  of  the  oratorio  with  indiffer- 
ence, too  often  with  contempt. 

Having  thus,  as  I  conceived  myself  bound 
in  duty,  plainly  and  publicly  delivered  my 
sentiments,  of  the  great  impropriety  of  mak- 
ing the  fundamental  truths  of  Christianity  the 
subject  of  a  public  amusement,  I  leave  what 
I  have  said  to  your  serious  reflections,  hoping 
it  will  not  be  forgotten  ;  for  I  do  not  mean  to 
trouble  you  often  with  a  repetition  of  it.  Let 
us  now  consider  the  passage  before  us.  If 
you  read  it  with  attention,  and  consider  the 
great  ideas  it  suggests,  and  the  emphatical 
language  with   which   they  are  clothed,    you 


will  not,  perhaps,  think  the  manner  of  my 
introducing  it  wholly  improper. 

Malachi  confirms  and  unites  the  prophecies 
of  Isaiah  and  Haggai,  which  were  the  subject 
of  our  two  last  discourses.  John  is  the  mes- 
senger, spoken  of  in  the  beginning  of  the  first 
verse,  sent  to  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord. 
Then  the  Lord  himself  shall  come  suddenly 
to  his  temple,  that  is,  immediately  after  the 
appearance  of  his  forerunner,  and  with  regard 
to  the  people  in  general,  unexpectedly. 

The  question,  "  Who  may  abide  the  day  of 
his  coming  ?"  intimates  the  greatness  and 
solemnity  of  the  event.  If  we  take  his  com- 
ing in  an  extensive  sense  to  denote  the  whole 
of  his  sojourning  upon  earth,  from  his  incar- 
nation to  his  ascension,  it  is  unspeakably  the 
greatest  of  all  events  recorded  in  the  annals 
of  mankind ;  and  though  he  lived  in  the  form 
of  a  servant,  and  died  the  death  of  a  malefac- 
tor, the  vast  consequences  which  depend  upon 
his  appearance  under  these  humiliating  cir- 
cumstances, rendered  it  a  manner  of  coming 
every  way  worthy  of  himself.  It  afforded  a 
more  awful  discovery  of  the  majesty,  glory, 
and  holiness  of  God,  than  was  displayed  upon 
Mount  Sinai,  and  proved  a  closer  and  more 
searching  appeal  to  the  hearts  and  consciences 
of  men.  To  enter  more  into  the  spirit  and 
meaning  of  the  question  here  proposed,  we 
shall  briefly  take  notice  of  the  following 
points,  which  the  words  offer  to  our  serious 
meditation.  May  the  Holy  Spirit  whose  office 
it  is  to  glorify  the  Saviour,  enlighten  our 
hearts  to  understand  them,  with  application 
to  ourselves ! 

I.  The  names  which  are  here  ascribed  to 
Messiah. 

II.  The  suddenness  of  his  coming. 

III.  The  searching  power  of  it  in  p;eneral, 
expressed  by  "a  refiner's  fire,"  and  by  "ful- 
ler's soap." 

IV.  Its  purifying  power  on  the  sons  of 
Levi,  the  priesthood  hi  particular. 

I.  The  names  ascribed  to  Messiah. 

The  Lord. — It  is  a  general  rule  with  our 
translators  to  express  LORD  in  capital  let- 
ters, where  it  answers  to  Jehovah  in  the  He- 
brew, and  there  only.  The  word  here  is  not 
Jehovah,  but  Adonai.  It  is  however  a  name 
of  God,  though  not  incommunicable  like  the 
other,  being  frequently  applied  to  kings  and 
superiors.  It  properly  implies  authority  and 
rule,  as  we  say,  A  Lord  and  Master.  In  this 
connection  it  is  undoubtedly  a  divine  name. 
The  Lord  is  said  to  come  to  his  temple,  to 
his  own  temple.  It  was  a  house  consecrated 
to  the  God  of  Israel.  The  first  temple  he  hon- 
oured with  tokens  of  his  presence;  the  second 
he  visited  in  person  ;  on  which  account  it  ex- 
ceeded the  first  in  glory.  Messiah,  there- 
fore, who  appeared  in  our  nature,  and  was 
known  amongst  men  as  a  man,  and  who  is  now 
worshipped  both  in  heaven  and  upon  earth,  is 
the  God  of  Israel.    He  came  to  !  is  own.     This 


uER.  IV. 


THE  LORD   COMING  TO   I11S  TEMPLE. 


657 


doctrine  of  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  is  the 
pillar  and  ground  of  truth  :  the  only  founda- 
tion on  which  a  sinner,  who  knows  the  just 
desert  of  his  sin,  can  build  a  solid  hope  of 
salvation,  is,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  true  God 
and  eternal  life,  1  John  v.  20.  Unless  this 
be  admitted,  the  whole  tenor  both  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament,  is  unintelligible.  To 
say  that  this  doctrine  approves  itself  to  human 
reason  in  its  present  fallen  depraved  state, 
would  be  to  contradict  the  apostle,  who  as-- 
serts,  that  no  man  can  say  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  Lord,  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  1  Cor  xii.  3. 
But  it  is  highly  reasonable  to  those  who  see 
that  they  must  perish,  without  such  an  atone- 
ment as  shall  declare  the  righteousness  of 
God,  no  less  than  his  mercy,  in  the  forgive- 
ness of  sin  ;  who  feel  the  necessity  of  holiness 
in  order  to  happiness;  and  are  acquainted 
with  the  nature  and  variety  of  the  snares, 
temptations,  and  enemies  to  which  they  are 
exposed.  Such  persons  cannot  venture  their 
eternal  concerns  upon  the  dignity,  or  care,  or 
power,  or  patience  of  a  mere  creature,  how- 
ever exalted  and  excellent ;  they  must  be  as- 
sured that  their  Saviour  is  almighty,  or  they 
dare  not  trust  in  him  ;  nor  would  they  dare 
to  honour  the  Son  as  they  honour  the  Father, 
to  love  him  with  all  their  heart,  and  soul,  and 
strength,  to  devote  themselves  absolutely  to 
his  service,  and  to  expect  their  supreme  hap- 
piness from  his  favour  and  approbation,  if 
they  did  not  know  that  he  is  over  all,  God 
blessed  for  ever. 

With  respect  to  the  inferior  character  he 
sustains  in  our  nature,  and  for  our  sakes,  as 
the  Father's  servant,  he  is  styled,  The  Mes- 
senger of  the  covenant.  He  is  the  gift,  pro- 
mise, head,  and  substance  of  the  everlasting 
covenant.  And  he  came  himself  to  establish 
the  covenant,  and  to  declare  and  bestow  the 
blessings  it  contained.  God,  who  had  before 
spoken  at  divers  times  and  in  sundry  manners 
by  his  prophets,  spoke  in  the  fulness  of  time 
by  his  Son  (Heb.  i.  l)  ;  testifying  to  him  by 
a  voice  from  heaven,  This  is  my  beloved  Son, 
hear  him ;  in  him  I  am  well  pleased,  Mat. 
iii.  17.  To  the  same  purpose  our  Lord 
spake  of  himself.  He  prefaced  his  gracious 
invitation  to  all,  without  exception,  who  are 
weary  and  heavy  laden,  to  come  to  him  for 
rest  (Mat.  xi.  27),  with  a  declaration  of  his 
commission  and  authority,  saying,  "  All  things 
are  delivered  unto  me  of  my  Father,  and  no 
*ne  (oySf/?)  knoweth  the  Son  but  the  Father, 
neither  knoweth  any  one  the  Father,  save  the 
Son,  and  he  to  whom  the  Son  will  reveal  him." 
The  law  was  given  by  Moses  (John  i.  17); 
the  moral  law,  to  discover  the  extent  and 
abounding  of  sin  ;  the  ceremonial  law,  to 
point  out,  by  typical  sacrifices  and  ablutions, 
the  way  in  which  forgiveness  was  to  be  sought 
and  obtained; — but  grace,  to  relieve  us  from 
the  condemnation   of  the  one,  and  truth  an- 


swerable to  the  types  and  shadows  of  the 
other,  came  by  Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  farther  said,  "  The  Lord  whom  ye  seek, 
and  the  Messenger  in  whom  ye  delight." — 
Messiah  was  the  hope  and  desire  of  the  true 
Israel  of  God,  from  the  earliest  times ;  and 
when  he  was  born  into  the  world,  there  was  a 
prepared  people  waiting  and  longing  for  him, 
as  their  consolation.  The  people  at  large 
likewise  professed  to  expect  great  things  from 
the  coming  of  Messiah.  But  their  expecta- 
tions were  low  and  earthly.  They  supposed 
that  he  would  deliver  them  from  the  Roman 
yoke,  and  give  them  victory  and  power  over 
the  heathen  nations.  The  more  grievous 
bondage  of  sin  under  which  they  were  en- 
slaved, they  were  not  sensible  of,  nor  had  they 
a  disposition  suited  to  the  privileges  and  ho- 
nours of  the  kingdom  which  he  designed  to 
establish  ;  and  therefore,  their  understandings 
being  darkened  by  prejudice  and  preposses- 
sion, they  could  not  discern  his  character. 
The  prophecies  which  were  read  in  their  syn- 
agogues every  sabbath,  marked  out  the  time 
and  circumstances  of  Messiah's  appearance, 
the  places  which  he  should  principally  visit, 
the  doctrine  he  should  teach,  and  the  works 

1  which  he  should  perform  :  but  though  all 
these  particulars  exactly  applied  to  Jesus,  they 
obstinately   rejected   him,    and   proceeded   to 

,  fulfil  what  was  farther  foretold  of  his  suff'er- 

l  ings  and  death,  with  such  a  minute  punctu- 
ality, as  if  they  had  designedly  taken  the  pro- 

|  phecies  for  the  rule  of  their  conduct.  Thus, 
by  giving  neither  more  nor  less  than  thirty 
pieces  of  silver  to  his  betrayer,  by  buying  the 
potter's  field,  and  no  other,  with  the  money 
afterwards  ;  by  casting  lots  for  one  of  his  gar- 
ments, and  making  a  distribution  of  the  rest ; 
by  piercing  his  side  contrary  to  the  custom  in 
such  punishments,  and  by  omitting  to  break 
his  legs,  vihich,  from  their  treatment  of  the 
malefactors  who  suffered  with  him,  seems  to 
have  been  usual — in  these  and  several  othei 
instances,  they  acted,  though  unwittingly,  as 
if  it  had  been  their  design  and  study  to  ac- 
complish the  scriptures  to  their  own  confusion 
and  condemnation. 

II.  This  was  the  reason  why  his  coming  to 
his  temple  was  to  them  sudden.  Though  long 
foretold  and  long  expected,  and  though  the 
precise  time  of  his  advent,  and  the  accom- 
panying signs,  were  accurately  defined  and 
described,  yet  when  the  season  arrived,  he 
came  suddenly,  unlooked  for,  and  unknown. 
He  came  upon  them  in  an  hour  that  they 
thought  not  of,  and  in  a  manner  of  which  they 
were  not  aware.  When  he  stood  in  the  midst 
of  them,  they  knew  not  that  it  was  he.  How 
dreadfully  does  sin  harden  and  infatuate  the 
hearts  of  men  !  The  Jews,  in  our  Saviour's 
time,  furnish  us  with  a  striking  instance,  that 
it  is  possible  for  people  fatally  to  miscarry 
with  the  greatest  advantages  and  means  fo? 
3  C 


h:>8 


the  lord  coming  to  his  temple. 


SER.   IV. 


information  in  their  possession.  They  ac- 
counted themselves  the  people  of  God,  made 
their  boast  of  his  law,  and  their  relation  to 
Abraham.  But  they  hated  Messiah,  and 
crucified  him,  who  was  the  object  of  Abra- 
ham's faith.  The  opposition  of  their  leaders 
and  teachers  was  the  most  malicious,  for  many 
of  them  acted  against  the  light  of  their  minds, 
and  were  often  convicted  in  their  consciences, 
though  they  refused  to  be  convinced.  But 
an  ignorant  attachment  to  these  blind  guides 
was  ruinous  to  their  blind  followers,  who, 
though  they  sometimes,  from  a  view  of  his 
mighty  works  were  struck  with  astonishment 
and  constrained  to  say,  "  Is  not  this  the  son  of 
David  ?"  were  at  length  influenced  by  their 
priests  to  prefer  a  murderer  to  him,  and,  with 
a  clamorous  importunity,  to  compel  Pilate  to 
put  him  to  death.  The  like  misapprehensions 
produce  the  like  effects  among  professed  chris- 
tians at  this  day.  We  likewise  have  the  scrip- 
tures :  but  how  many  who  admit  their  autho- 
rity in  words,  live  willingly  ignorant  of  their 
contents,  and  act  in  direct  contradiction  to 
their  tenor  !  The  power  of  the  Saviour  is 
likewise  displayed  among  us,  his  preached 
gospel  is  daily  made  effectual  to  the  great  pur- 
poses for  which  it  is  vouchsafed ;  yet  multi- 
tudes reject  it  with  no  less  pertinacity  than  the 
Jews  rejected  him  in  person.  At  length  death 
surprises  them,  and  they  sink  into  darkness 
beyond  recall.  To  them  the  Lord  may  be 
said  to  come  suddenly,  for  they  think  not  of 
him  till  they  actually  find  themselves  at  his 
tribunal.  And  this  not  only  when  they  are 
cut  off  by  a  sudden  stroke,  but  often  when 
their  dissolution  is  most  gradual,  and  every 
one  about  them  can  perceive  its  approach  by 
their  countenances ;  they  themselves,  though 
wasting  with  disease,  and  worn  out  with  pain, 
still  flatter  themselves  with  hopes  of  amend- 
ment and  recovery  to  their  las*  gasp  ;  and  a 
lingering  death  is  to  them  no  less  sudden  than 
if  they  were  killed  by  a  flash  of  lightning. 

III.  It  is  asked,  "  Who  may  abide  the  day 
of  his  coming?  The  effect  is  compared  to  a 
refiner's  fire,  and  to  fuller's  soap.  The  re- 
finer's fire  penetrates  the  metal,  and  thereby 
searches,  discovers,  and  consumes  the  dross. 
The  fuller's  soap  also,  though  it  does  not 
destroy  the  texture  of  the  cloth,  cleanses  it, 
by  removing,  and  as  it  were  consuming  the 
spots  and  defilement  which  are  found  in  it. 
The  idea  conveyed  by  these  illustrations  is  the 
same.  The  day  of  his  coming  is  a  day  of 
trial,  a  trial  which  issues  in  the  purification  of 
the  work  of  God  in  his  church,  and  in  the  de- 
tection and  destruction  of  every  thing  in  it 
which  is  contrary  to  his  will. 

The  coming  of  Messiah  may  be  taken  in 
several  senses. 

To  the  Jews,  according  to  the  promise  of 
God  repeated  from  age  to  age,  he  came  in 
person.  The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and 
dwelt  among  them,  John  i.  12.      The  term  in 


the  original  alludes  to  the  visible  symbol  of 
the  divine  presence,  which  resided  in  the  ta- 
bernacle and  temple.  Thus  for  a  season  he 
resided  among  them,  in  a  temple  not  made 
with  hands,  but  formed,  by  the  immediate 
agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  womb  of  a 
virgin.  Tins  was  a  happy  time  to  those  who 
received  and  acknowledged  him.  But  the 
bulk  of  die  nation  could  not  abide  the  trial 
which  his  appearance  exposed  them  to,  they 
were  proved  by  it  to  be  but  reprobate  and 
counterfeit  silver.  The  thoughts  of  many 
hearts  were  revealed,  Luke  ii.  35.  Many 
specious  characters  were  detected.  The  pre- 
tended  sanctity  and  outward  strictness  of  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  was  evidenced  to  be 
mere  hypocrisy.  He  exposed  them  in  their 
true  colours,  and  upon  many  occasions  put 
them  to  shame  and  to  silence.  And  where  his 
word  did  not  cleanse  like  soap,  it  burnt  like 
fire,  and  the  persons  and  places  that  rejected 
him  were  rendered  inexcusable.  Their  great 
privilege  of  seeing  his  wonderful  works,  and 
hearing  his  gracious  words,  being  abused,  ag- 
gravated their  guilt  and  condemnation,  and 
made  their  doom  heavier  than  that  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah.  To  them  the  day  of  the 
Lord,  which  in  their  own  sense  they  professed 
to  desire  was  darkness,  and  not  light,  Amos, 
v.  18.  If  he  had  not  come  and  spoken  to 
them  himself,  they  had  not  had  sin,  John 
xv.  22.  That  is,  comparatively,  he  found 
them  great  sinners,  and  they  would  have  been 
such  if  he  had  not  visited  them.  But  after 
he  had  spoken  to  them,  and  spoken  in  vain, 
they  had  no  cloak  for  their  sin.  From  that 
time  they  were  deprived  of  every  shadow  of 
plea,  excuse,  or  extenuation.  And  all  their 
former  wickedness  was  light,  compared  with 
the  enormous  crime  they  were  guilty  of  in  re- 
jecting and  crucifying  the  Son  of  God.  By 
refusing  him,  they  rendered  their  case  help, 
less  and  hopeless,  because  there  is  no  other 
name  but  his,  given  among  men,  whereby 
they  may  be  saved.  But  he  cleansed  those 
who  received  him,  he  removed  their  guilt, 
their  fears,  their  ignorance.  He  gave  them  a 
clean  heart  and  a  new  spirit.  Yet  to  these 
also  he  was  as  a  refiner's  fire,  and  as  fuller's 
soap.  They  likewise  had  prejudices  and  sel- 
fish tempers,  which  were  not  at  once  removed. 
He  called  them  to  a  state  of  suffering  and 
self-denial,  to  forsake  all,  and  to  take  up  their 
cross  daily  for  his  sake. 

In  another  sense,  his  coming  is  not  restrain- 
ed to  a  particular  time.  Wherever  his  gos- 
pel is  preached,  the  Lord  is  come.  It  is  by 
the  gospel  he  rides  forth  prosperously,  con- 
quering and  to  conquer,  Psal.  xlv.  4.  Thus 
he  has  promised  to  be  present  with  his  mi- 
nisters, and  wherever  two  or  three  are  met 
in  his  name,  to  the  end  of  the  world.  Thus 
he  is  come  to  us.  And  the  effects  are  the 
same  as  when  he  was  personally  upon  earth. 
His    gospel    still    discovers    the   thoughts    of 


SEK.  IV 


THE  LORD  COMING  TO  HIS  TEMPLE. 


659 


many  hearts.  Many  persons  who  till  then 
were  reputed  religious,  by  the  contempt  they 
cast  upon  this  wonderful  expedient  of  infinite 
wisdom  and  love  to  save  sinners,  manifest 
their  ignorance  and  hatred  of  the  law  and  ho- 
liness of  God,  and  that  the  religion  they  pre- 
tend to  is  an  empty  ijfeless  form,  destitute  of 
love  and  power.  To  them,  though  in  itself  a 
savour  of  life,  it  proves  a  savqur  of  death.  It 
provokes  their  enmity,  increases  their  obdu- 
racy, and  leaves  them  without  excuse.  But 
it  is  life  indeed  to  those  who  receive  it.  They 
are  raised  by  it  from  a  death  of  sin,  unto  a 
life  of  righteousness  and  peace.  Their  tem- 
pers, desires,  pursuits,  and  hopes  are  changed 
and  elevated.  Old  things  pass  away,  and  all 
things  become  new  to  them,  according  as  it  is 
written,  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ  Jesus,  he 
is  a  new  creature,"  2  Cor.  v.  17. 

He  comes  to  individuals  by  the  power  of 
his  Spirit.  This  makes  the  word  of  his  gos- 
pel effectual.  For  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
not  in  word  only,  but  in  power.  When  he 
thus  visits  the  hearts  of  sinners,  his  word  is 
like  fire  and  soap ;  "  quick  and  powerful, 
sharper  than  a  two-edged  sword,"  Heb.  iv. 
12.  Then  they  feel  and  tremble,  and  cry  out 
with  the  prophet,  "  Wo  is  me,  I  am  undone!" 
But  in  this  way  their  dross  is  consumed,  their 
defilement  removed.  When  he  thus  wounds, 
he  likewise  heals.  He  gives  them  faith  ;  by 
faith  they  look  unto  him,  and  are  enlightened 
and  saved. 

We  surely  expect  that  he  will  come  again. 
Not  as  lie  once  came,  in  a  state  of  humilia- 
tion. The  Babe  of  Bethlehem,  the  Man  of 
sorrows,  who  hung,  and  bled,  and  died  upon 
the  cross  for  our  sins,  will  return  in  glory. 
"  Behold,  he  cometh  in  the  clouds,  and  every 
■  eye  shall  see  him,"  Rev.  i.  7.  Concerning 
this  day,  emphatically  called  the  day  of  the 
Lord,  we  may  well  say,  "  Who  may  abide 
it?"  To  those  who  have  not  been  the  sub- 
jects of  his  refining  operations  here,  he  will 
then  be  a  consuming  fire.  That  great  day 
(for  which  all  other  days  were  made),  "  when 
the  Lord  shall  descend  with  the  voice  of  the 
archangel  and  the  trump  of  God,  will  burn 
like  an  oven,  and  all  the  proud,  and  all  that 
do  wickedly,  shall  be  as  stubble,  and  the  day 
that  cometh  shall  burn  them  up,"  Mai.  iv.  1. 
Where,  then,  shall  the  impenitent  ungodly 
sinner  appear  ?  But  it  will  be  a  joyful  day 
to  them  that  love  his  appearing.  He  will 
arise  upon  them,  as  the  Sun  of  righteousness, 
with  healing  in  his  wings  ;  he  will  wipe  away 
their  tears,  vindicate  their  characters,  acknow- 
ledge them  before  an  assembled  world,  and 
say  unto  them,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for 
you,"  Matth.  xxv.  34. 

IV.  It  is  particularly  said,  "  He  will  pu- 
rify the  sons  of  Levi, — that  they  may  offer 
unto  the  Lord  an  offering  in  righteousness." 
The   sons   of    Levi,   the  priests,  the  officiat- 


ing ministers  of  God,  were  gone  out  of  the 
way,  and  had  corrupted  the  covenant  of  the 
Lord,  and  thereby  had  caused  many  to  stum 
ble,  Mai.  ii.  8,  9.  They  dishonoured  their 
office,  and  became  themselves  vile  and  con- 
temptible. Thus  they  went  on  from  bad  to 
worse,  till  the  men  of  that  generation  filled 
up  the  measure  of  the  iniquity  of  their  fore- 
fathers, by  the  rejection  of  Messiah.  He  also 
rejected  them.  The  blasted  barren  fig-tree 
(Matth.  xxi.  19.),  which  withered  to  the  very 
root  at  his  word,  was  an  emblem  of  their  con- 
dition. In  a  little  time,  wrath  came  upon 
them  to  the  uttermost;  they  saw  the  temple 
in  which  they  had  trusted,  and  which  they 
had  profaned,  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  greater 
part  of  them  perished.  But  a  remnant  of 
them  was  purified.  We  read,  that  after  his 
ascension,  a  great  company  of  the  priests  were 
obedient  to  the  faith,  Acts  vi.  7.  And  his 
apostles  and  disciples  were  sent  forth  with  a 
new  spirit,  and  a  new  character,  to  offer  and 
to  serve  in  righteousness.  The  purport  of  this 
passage  has  been  repeatedly  exemplified  un- 
der the  christian  dispensation.  A  declension 
from  the  simplicity  and  purity  of  worship, 
principles,  and  morals,  was  visible  very  ear'y 
in  the  church  The  progress  of  it  was  rapid, 
especially  from  the  time  of  Constantine.  When 
persecution  ceased,  and  a  tide  of  wealth  and 
worldly  honours  flowed  in  upon  those  who, 
by  their  profession,  were  bound  to  be  patterns 
of  humility  and  self-denial  to  others  ;  from 
that  period,  till  the  Reformation,  ecclesiasti- 
cal history  affords  us  little  more  than  a  detail 
of  such  instances  of  pride,  intrigue,  oppres- 
sion, and  cruelty,  under  the  pretext  of  reli- 
gion, as  had  not  been  known  among  the  hea. 
thens.  And  the  nations  which  were  relieved 
from  the  chains  and  darkness  of  Popery  at 
the  Reformation,  did  not  long  preserve  much 
more  than  a  name  and  a  form  to  distinguish 
them.  In  most  countries,  the  state  became 
the  idol  of  the  church,  and  the  church  the 
creature  of  the  state.  How  it  is  with  us  in 
this  nation,  I  need  not  say.  Facts  speak  for 
themselves.  It  is  a  mournful  fact,  that  the 
ministry  is  become  contemptible ;  nor  is  it 
difficult  to  assign  the  cause.  But  we  are  fa- 
voured with  the  gospel,  and  are  eye-witnesses 
of  its  purifying  power.  It  still  produces  the 
effects  which  marked  its  progress  when  it  was 
preached  by  the  apostles.  It  enlightens  the 
dark  mind,  softens  the  hard  heart,  heals  the 
wounded  spirit ;  and  many  persons  who  be- 
fore were  burdensome  to  society,  are  rendered 
by  it  ornamental  and  useful.  When  every 
other  argument  and  motive  has  failed  of  suc- 
cess, the  consideration  of  the  mercies  of  God 
in  Christ,  revealed  by  the  gospel,  constrains 
the  believing  sinner  to  present  himself  a  liv- 
ing, willing,  holy  sacrifice  unto  God.  Thus, 
being  purified  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  he  of- 
fers to  the  Lord  a  sacrifice  in  righteousness. 
Such  principles  and  aims  are  essential  to  n 


6(}()  IMMANUEL. 

christian  minister.  He  knows  the  terrors  of 
the  Lord,  and  has  tasted  of  his  goodness. 
He  is  constrained  by  love,  the  love  of  Christ, 
and  the  love  of  souls.      He  preaches,  as  the 


SEH.   V 

ercise  of  his  mercy  towards  sinners  might  be 
made  to  correspond  with  his  justice  and  truth, 
and  with  the  honour  of  his  moral  government, 
His  gospel  reveals  this  expedient,  and  points 


ible,  until  integrity,  benevolence,  and  useful- 
ness, are  the  proper  objects  of  contempt, 


apostle  did,  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified  ;  j  out  a  way  in  which  mercy  and  truth  meet  to. 
a  subject  which,  though  despised  and  re- |  gether ;  and  bis  inflexible  righteousness  is  dis- 
proached  by  the  formal  Jew  and  the  sceptical  j  played  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  peace  of 
Greek,  is  evidenced  by  its  efficacy  to  be  the  I  sinners  who  submit  to  his  appointment ;  and 
wisdom  and  power  of  God.  Such  ministers  thus  God  appears  not  only  gracious  but  just, 
may  be,  and  frequently  are,  depreciated  and  in  receiving  them  to  favour.  This  is  the 
disregarded  ;    but  they  cannot  be  contempt-    greatest    of   all  his  works,    and  exhibits  the 

most  glorious  discovery  of  his  character  and 
perfections.  The  means  are  answerable  to 
the  grandeur  of  the  design,  and  are  summa- 
rily expressed  in  my  text. 

I  shall  not  take  up  your  time  with  attempt- 
ing to  clear  the  difficulties  which  have  been 
observed  in  the  context.  It  may  suffice  for 
my  purpose  to  affirm,  that  this  passage  ex- 
pressly  and  exclusively  refers  to  the  Messiah, 
for  which  my  warrant  is  the  authority  of  the 
evangelists  Matthew  and  Luke  (Matth.  i.  23  ; 
Luke  i.  31,  32),  who  directly  apply  it  to  him, 
and  assure  us  that  it  was  accomplished  in  him. 
If  sinners  are  to  be  saved,  without  injury  to 
the  honour  of  his  law  and  government  (and 
otherwise  they  must  perish),  two  things  are 


SERMON  V. 

IMMANUEL. 

Behold  a  virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bear  a  sun, 
and  shall  call  his  name  Immanuel,  God  with 
us.     Isaiah,  vii.  14. 

There  is  a  signature  of  wisdom  and  power 
impressed  upon  the  works  of  God,  which  evi- 
dently distinguishes  them  from  the  feeble  imi 


tations  of  men.      Not  only  the  splendour  of  i  necessary, 

the  sun,  but  the  glimmering  light  of  the  glow-        I.    That  a  virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bring 

worm,  proclaims  his  glory.    The  structure  and  :  forth  a  son. 

growth  of  a  blade  of  grass  are  the  effects  of  |       II.   That  this  son  of  the  virgin  shall  have 

the  same  power  which  produced  the  fabric  of  a  just  right  to  be  called  Immanuel,  God  with 

the  heavens  and  the  earth.      In  his  word  like-   us. 

wise  he  is  inimitable.       He  has  a  style   and        I.    A  virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bring  forth 


manner  peculiarly  his  own.  What  he  is  pleased 
to  declare  of  himself  by  the  prophet,  may  be 
prefixed  as  a  proper  motto  to  the  whole  reve- 
lation of  his  will  in  the  Bible.  "  My  thoughts 
are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways 
my  ways,  saith  the  Lord.  For  as  the  heavens 
are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways 
higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  than 
your  thoughts,"  Isa.  lv.  8,  9.  This  superi- 
ority of  his  thoughts  to  ours,  causes  a  pro- 
portionable difference  in  his  manner  of  opera- 
tion. His  ways  are  above  our  conceptions, 
and  often  contrary  to  them.  He  sometimes 
produces  great  effects  by  means  which,  to  us, 
appear  unsuitable  and  weak.  Thus  he  gave 
Gideon  a  complete  victory,  not  by  providing 
him  an  army  equal  to  that  of  the  enemy,  but 
by  three  hundred  men  furnished  with  earthen 
pitchers  and  lamps,  Judges  vii.  19,  20.  At 
other  times  the  greatness  of  his  preparations 
intimates  that  there  are  difficulties  in  the  case, 
insuperable  to  any  power  but  his  own,  where 
our  narrow  apprehensions,  until  enlightened 
and  enlarged  by  his  teaching,  can  scarcely 
perceive  any  difficulty.  It  is  eminently  so 
with  respect  to  the  restoration  of  fallen  man 
to  his  favour.  We  have  but  slight  thoughts 
of  his  holiness,  and  therefore  are  but  slightly 
affected  by  the  evil  of  sin.  But  though  he  be 
rich  in  mercy,  no  wisdom  but  his  own  could 
have  proposed   an   expedient  whereby  the   ex- 


a  son.  The  Mediator,  the  surety  for  sinful 
men,  must  himself  be  a  man.  Because  those 
whom  he  came  to  redeejji-were  partakers  of 
flesh  and  blood,  he  therefore  took  part  of  the 
same.  Had  not  Messiah  engaged  for  us  and 
appeared  in  our  nature,  a  case  would  have  oc- 
curred which  I  think  we  may  warrantably  deem 
incongruous  to  the  divine  wisdom.  I  mean, 
that  while  fire  and  hail,  snow  and  vapour,  and 
the  stormy  wind,  fulfil  the  will  of  God,  while 
the  brutes  are  faithful  to  the  instincts  implant- 
ed in  them  by  their  Maker,  a  whole  species  of 
intelligent  beings  would  have  fallen  short  of 
the  original  law  and  design  of  their  creation, 
and  indeed  have  acted  in  direct  and  continual 
opposition  to  it.  For  the  duty  of  man  to  love, 
serve,  and  trust  God  with  all  his  heart  and 
mind,  and  to  love  his  neighbour  as  himself,  is 
founded  in  the  very  nature  and  constitution 
of  things,  and  necessarily  results  from  his  re- 
lation to  God,  and  his  absolute  dependence  on 
him  as  a  creature.  Such  a  disposition  must 
undoubtedly  have  been  as  natural  to  man  be- 
fore his  fall,  as  it  is  for  a  bird  to  fly,  or  a  fish 
to  swim.  The  prohibitory  form  of  the  law 
delivered  to  Israel  from  Mount  Sinai,  is  a 
sufficient  intimation  that  it  was  designed  for 
sinners.  Surely  our  first  parents,  while  in  a 
state  of  innocence,  could  not  stand  in  need 
of  warnings  and  threatening  to  restrain  them 
from  worshipping  idols,  or  profaning  the  name 


SER.  V.  IMMANUEL. 

of  the  great  God  whom  they  loved.  Nor 
would  it  have  heen  necessary  to  forbid  mur- 
der, adultery,  or  injustice,  if  his  posterity  had 
continued  under  the  law  of  their  creation,  the 
law  of  love.  But  the  first  act  of  disobedience 
degraded  and  disabled  man,  detached  him  from 
his  proper  centre,  if  I  may  so  speak,  and  inca- 
pacitated him  both  for  his  duty  and  his  happi- 
ness. After  his  fall,  it  became  impossible  for 
either  Adam  or  his  posterity  to  obey  the  law  of 
God.  But  Messiah  fulfilled  it  exactly,  as  aman, 
and  the  principles  of  it  are  renewed,  by  the 
power  of  his  grace,  in  all  who  believe  on  him. 
And  though  their  best  endeavours  fall  short, 
his  obedience  to  it  is  accepted  on  their  behalf, 
and  he  will  at  length  perfectly  restore  them 
to  their  primitive  order  and  honour.  When 
they  shall  see  him  as  he  is,  they  will  be  like 
him,  and  all  their  powers  and  faculties  will 
be  perfectly  conformed  to  his  image. 

Again,  Messiah  must  not  only  be  a  man, 
but  a  partaker  of  our  very  nature.  It  had 
been  equally  easy  to  the  power  of  God  to  have 
formed  the  body  of  the  second  Adam,  as  he 
formed  the  first,  out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth. 
But  though,  in  this  way,  he  would  have  been 
a  true  and  perfect  man,  he  would  not  have 
been  more  nearly  related  to  us  than  to  the  an- 
gels, Therefore,  when  God  sent  forth  his 
Son  to  be  made  under  the  law,  to  redeem 
us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  that  we  might 
receive  the  adoption  of  children  (Gal  iv.  4,  5), 
and  be  re-admitted  into  his  happy  family,  he 
was  made  of  a  woman.  Thus  he  became 
our  Goel,  our  near  kinsman,  with  whom  the 
ri^ht  of  redemption  lay. 

But  farther,  if  he  had  derived  his  human 
nature  altogether  in  the  ordinary  way,  from 
sinful  parents,  we  see  not  how  lie  could  have 
avoided  a  participation  in  that  defilement  and 
and  depravity  which  the  fall  of  Adam  had  en- 
tailed upon  all  his  posterity.  But  his  body, 
that  holy  thing,  conceived  and  born  of  a  vir- 
gin, was  the  immediate  production  of  God. 
Therefore  he  was  perfectly  pure  and  spotless, 
and  qualified  to  be  such  a  high  priest  as  be- 
came us,  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  and  se- 
parate from  sinners  (Heb,  vii.  26)  ;  who  need- 
ed not,  as  the  typical  high-priests  of  Israel, 
to  offer  up  sacrifice,  first  for  his  own  sin,  and 
(hen  for  the  sins  of  the  people,  Heb.  vii.  27. 
These  difficulties  were  obviated  by  a  virgin's 
conceiving  and  bearing  a  son.  His  obedi- 
ence was  without  defect,  his  nature  without 
blemish,  and,  having  no  sin  of  his  own,  when 
lie  voluntarily  offered  himself  to  make  an  a- 
tonement  for  the  sins  of  his  people,  his  sacri- 
fice was,  so  far;  answerable  to  the  strict  and 
extensive  demands  of  the  law  and  justice  of 
God. 

Let  us  niaka  a  solemn  pause,  and  call  upon 
our  souls  to  admire  and  adore  the  wisdom  and 
power  of  God  in  this  appointment.  Thus  the 
Lord  created  a  new  thing  upon  the  earth ! 

II.    But  surely  our  admiration  and   grati- 


fi6l 


tude  will  be  raised  still  higher,  if  we  rightly 
understind  the  latter  part  of  my  text.  This 
son  of  the  virgin  shall  be  called  Immanuel, 
God  with  us.  Though  the  human  nature  of 
Christ  was  absolutely  perfect,  his  obedience 
commensurate  to  the  utmost  extent  of  the  law, 
and  his  substitution  and  sufferings  for  sinners 
voluntary,  yet,  had  he  been  no  more  than  a 
man,  he  would  not  have  been  equal  to  the 
great  undertaking  of  saving  sinners.  A  due 
consideration  of  the  majesty,  holiness,  autho- 
rity, and  goodness  of  God  will  make  sin  ap- 
pear to  be,  as  the  apostle  expresses  it,  exceed- 
ingly sinful,  Rom.  vii.  13.  Whoever  has  a 
right  sense  of  the  nature  and  effects  of  that 
rebellion  against  the  Most  High,  which  the 
scripture  intends  by  the  term  sin,  will  not 
need  many  arguments  to  convince  him  that 
the  Mediator  between  God  and  man  must  be 
possessed  of  such  dignity  and  power  as  can- 
not be  attributed  to  a  creature  without  de- 
stroying the  idea  of  a  created  and  dependent 
being,  by  ascribing  to  him  those  perfections 
which  are  incommunicably  divine. 

If  Messiah  had  been  a  sinless  and  perfect 
man,  and  no  more,  he  might  have  yielded  a 
complete  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  but  it 
could  have  been  only  for  himself.  The  most 
excellent  and  exalted  creature  cannot  exceed 
the  law  of  his  creation.  Asa  creature,  he  is 
bound  to  serve  God  with  his  all,  and  his  obli- 
gations will  always  be  equal  to  his  ability. 
But  an  obedience  acceptable  and  available  for 
others,  for  thousands  and  millions,  for  all  who 
are  willing  to  plead  it,  must  be  connected  with 
a  nature  which  is  not  thus  necessarily  bound. 
A  sinner,  truly  convinced  of  his  obnoxious- 
ness  to  the  displeasure  of  God,  must  sink  into 
despair,  notwithstanding  the  intimation  of  a 
saviour,  if  he  were  not  assured  by  the  scrip 
ture  that  it  was  a  divine  person  in  the  human 
nature  who  engaged  for  us.  It  is  tin's  alone 
affords  a  solid  ground  for  hope,  to  know  that 
he  who  was  before  all,  by  whom  all  things 
were  made,  and  by  whom  they  consist,  assumed 
the  nature  of  man  ;  that  the  great  Lawgiver 
himself  submitted  to  be  under  his  own  law. 
This  wonderful  condescension  gave  an  im- 
mense value  and  dignity  to  all  that  he  did,  to 
all  that  he  suffered:  thus  he  not  only  satis- 
fied but  honoured  the  law.  So  that  we  may, 
without  hesitation,  affirm,  that  the  law  of  God 
was  more  honoured  by  Messiah,  in  his  obe- 
dience to  it,  during  the  few  years  of  his  re- 
sidence upon  earth,  and  terminated  by  his  last 
and  highest  act  of  obedience  in  submitting  to 
the  death  of  the  cross,  than  it  could  have  been 
by  the  unsinning  obedience  of  all  mankind  to 
the  end  of  time. 

But  Messiah  was  not  only  to  obey  the  law 
for  us,  but  he  was  likewise  to  expiate,  to  sus- 
tain, and  to  exhaust  the  curse  due  to  sin, 
Gal.  iii.  13.  In  this  attempt  no  mere  crea- 
ture could  have  endured.  Nor  could  the  suf- 
ferings of  a   creature  have  been   proposed  to 


G62 


IMMANUEL 


.SEK.    V. 


the  universe,  to  angels,  and  men,  as  a  con- 
sideration sufficient  to  vindicate  the  righteous- 
ness and  truth  of  God  in  the  remission  of  sin, 
after  he  had  determined  and  solemnly  declared 
that  the  wages  of  sin  is  death.  The  apostle 
assures  us  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  blood 
of  bulls  and  of  goats  to  take  away  sin,  Heb. 
x.  4.  They  who  differ  from  the  apostle  in 
their  judgment,  who  think  it  very  possible  for 
God,  if  he  pleased,  to  forgive  the  sinner  who 
should  offer  a  bull  or  a  goat,  or  even  without 
any  offering,  by  the  sovereign  exercise  of  his 
mercy,  may  be  reminded  that  the  question  is 
not  simply  what  God  can  do,  but  what  it  be- 
comes him  to  do,  agreeable  to  his  perfections, 
and  to  his  character  as  governor  of  the  world. 
Of  this  his  infinite  wisdom  is  the  only  com- 
petent judge;  and  we  learn  from  his  word, 
that  it  is  impossible  any  blood,  but  that  of  his 
own  Son,  can  cleanse  us  from  guilt,  or  save 
us  from  misery.  The  blood  of  a  bull  or  a 
goat,  of  a  man  or  an  angel  (if  angels  could 
bleed),  are  all  equally  insufficient  to  the  great 
purpose  of  declaring  his  righteousness,  of 
manifesting  to  all  intelligent  creatures  his 
inflexible  displeasure  against  sin,  in  the  very 
act  of  affording  mercy  to  sinners.  But  since 
the  atoning  blood  is  the  blood  of  Immanuel, 
of  him  who  is  God  with  us  ;  the  sinner  who 
makes  it  hi?  plea,  builds  his  hope  upon  a  rock 
which  cannot  be  removed  ;  and  obtaining  for- 
giveness in  this  way,  he  likewise  obtains  by  it 
such  a  knowledge  of  tlieheinousness  of  sin,  as 
disposes  him  from  that  hour  to  fear,  hate,  and 
forsake  it 

But  though  forgiveness  be  an  essential 
part  of  salvation,  it  is  not  the  whole.  We 
cannot  be  happy,  except  the  power  of  sin  be 


same  moment  ?  Or  how  can  he  engage  to 
give  rest  to  every  weary  soul,  to  secure  them 
from  perishing,  and  to  bestow  upon  them 
eternal  life?  David  comfortably  concluded, 
that  because  the  Lord  was  his  shepherd,  he 
should  not  want,  and  had  no  reason  to  fear 
(Psal.  xxiii.  1.  4.),  not  even  when  passing 
through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death. 
To  us  Jesus  is  made  known  as  the  griat  shep- 
herd of  the  sheep  ;  but  how  can  we  place  the 
like  confidence  in  him,  unless  we  likewise  are 
assured  that  our  shepherd  is  the  Lord  ? 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  vindicate  this  doc- 
trine largely  from  the  exceptions  of  those  who 
call  themselves  men  of  reason.  It  is  a  point 
of  revelation,  and  it  is  expressly  revealed.  It 
demands  our  assent  upon  the  authority  of 
God,  who  requires  us  to  receive  this  record 
which  he  has  given  us  of  his  Son.  Thus  fai 
it  approves  itself  to  our  reason,  that  however 
difficult  it  may  be  to  our  conceptions,  yet  thus 
it  must  be,  upon  a  supposition  that  sinners 
can  be  saved  without  prejudice  to  the  honour 
of  the  divine  government.  If  w-e  affirm,  that 
he  who  was  born  in  a  stable,  and  suffered  as 
a  malefactor  upon  Mount  Calvary,  is  the 
true  God  and  eternal  life,  many  will  think  it 
a  hard  saying.  But  it  is  the  doctrine  of 
scripture,  the  very  pillar  and  ground  of  truth.; 
the  only  foundation  of  hope  for  an  awakened 
conscience,  the  only  standard  by  which  we 
can  properly  estimate  the  evil  of  sin,  the 
worth  of  the  soul,  and  the  love  of  God.  We 
do  not,  however,  say,  that  the  human  nature 
of  Christ,  considered  in  itself,  possesses  the 
attributes  of  Deity,  or  is  the  proper  object  of 
worship ;  nor  do  we  suppose  that  God  could 
suffer,   bleed,  or  die.      But  we  say  with  the 


likewise  destroyed.  A  well-grounded  hope  apostle,  "  that  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling 
in  the  mercy  of  God,  is  connected  with  a  the  world  unto  himself,"  2  Cor.  v.  19.  We 
thirst  for  sanctification,  and  a  conformity  to  believe  that  the  human  nature  was  so  inti- 
his  image.  But  neither  this  hope  nor  this  j  mately  and  indissolubly  united  to  the  divine, 
desire  is  natural  to  us.  Our  case  requires  that  the  properties  and  actings  of  each  nature 
the  help  of  an  almighty  arm,  of  the  power  j  are  justly  ascribed  to  the  one  person  of  Christ, 


which  can  cause  the  blind  to  see,  the  deaf 
to  hear,  the  dead  to  arise;  which  can  take 
away  the  heart  of  stone,  and  create  a  heart  of 
flesh.  So  likewise  the  difficulties  attendant 
on  our  christian  profession,  arising  from  the 
spirit  of  the  world  around  us,  the  snares  to 
which  we  are  exposed  in  every  situation,  our 
weakness,  the  deceitfulness  of  our  hearts,  the 
subtilty,  vigilance,  and  power  of  our  spi- 
ritual enemies,  are  so  many  and  great,  that 
unless  he,  on  whom  we  depend  for  salvation,   know  ledge  of  God,  and  were  unable  to  form 


God-man,  Immanuel,  God  with  us.  Thus 
we  read  that  the  final  judgment  of  the  world 
is  committed  to  a  man,  and  that  God  hath 
purchased  his  church  with  his  own  blood, 
Acts  xvii.  31  ;  xx.  '28. 

Behold  then  the  character  of  Messiah  in 
this  prophecy  !  a  man  !  a  God  !  a  divine  per- 
son in  the  human  nature !  God  manifested 
in  the  flesh  !    Immanuel,  God  with  us! 

As  fallen  creatures,  we  had  lost  the  true 


be  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost,  we  can  have 
no  security,  either  for  our  progress,  or  our 
perseverance,  in  the  grace  of  God.  Unless 
the  Saviour  of  sinners  be  omnipresent,  omni- 
scient, unchangeable,  "  the  same  yesterday,  to- 
day, and  for  ever,"  that  is,  unless  he  be  God, 
how  can  he  answer  the  prayers,  satisfy  the 
wants,  and  relieve  the  distresses  of  all  who 
trust  in  him  in  every  age,  and  of  all  who  in 
every   place  equally   need  his  support  at  the 


such  conceptions  of  his  greatness  and  good- 
ness, as  are  necessary  to  inspire  us  with  reve- 
rence, to  engage  our  confidence,  or  produce 
obedience  to  his  will.  His  glory  shines  in  the 
heavens  and  fills  the  earth ;  we  are  surround- 
ed by  the  tokens  of  his  power  and  presence  ; 
yet,  till  we  are  instructed  by  his  word,  and  en- 
lightened by  his  Holy  Spirit,  he  is  to  us  an 
unknown  God.  The  prevalence  of  idolatry- 
was    early,    and    (with    an    exception    to   tin.' 


ser.  v.  IMMANUEL. 

people  of  Israel)  soon  became  universal.  Men 
who  boasted  of  their  reason,  worshipped  the 
sun  and  moon,  yea,  the  works  of  their  own 
hands,  instead  of  the  Creator.  And  even  where 
revelation  is  vouchsafed,  the  bulk  of  mankind 
live  without  God  in  the  world.  But  he  is 
known,  trusted,  and  served,  by  those  who 
know  Messiah.  To  them  his  glory  is  dis- 
played in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  2  Cor. 
iv.  6.  His  agency  is  perceived  in  the  crea- 
tion, his  providence  is  acknowledged,  and  his 
presence  felt  as  God  with  us. 

As  fallen  creatures,  God  is  against  us,  and 
we  are  against  him.  The  alienation  of  our 
hearts  is  the  great  cause  of  our  ignorance  of 


Gl>3 


him.  We  are  willingly  ignorant.  The  thoughts 
of  him  are  unwelcome  to  us,  and  we  do  not 
Kke  to  retain  him  in  our  knowledge.  Guilt 
is  the  parent  of  atheism.  A  secret  forebod- 
ing, that  if  there  be  a  God,  we  are  obnoxious 
to  his  displeasure  ;  and  that  if  he  takes  cog- 
nizance of  our  conduct,  we  have  nothing  to 
hope,  but  every  thing  to  fear  from  him,  con- 
strains many  persons  to  try  to  persuade  them- 
selves that  there  is  no  God  ;  and  many  more 
to  think,  or  at  least  to  wish,  that  if  there  be  a 
God,  he  does  not  concern  himself  with  human 
affairs.  What  a  proof  is  this  of  the  enmity  of 
the  heart  of  man  against  him  ;  that  so  many 
persons  who  would  tremble  at  the  thought  of 
Deing  in  a  ship,  driven  by  the  winds  and 
waves,  without  compass  or  pilot,  should  yet 
think  it  desirable,  if  it  were  possible,  to  be 
assured,  that  in  a  world  like  this,  so  full  of 
uncertainty,  trouble,  and  change,  all  tilings 
were  left  at  random,  without  the  interference 
of  a  supreme  governor  !  But  this  enmity, 
these  dark  apprehensions,  are  removed,  when 
the  gospel  is  received  by  faith.  For  it  brings 
us  the  welcome  news,  that  there  is  forgiveness 
with  him  ;  that  God  is  reconciled  in  his  Son 
to  all  who  seek  his  mercy.  In  this  sense, 
likewise,  Messiah  is  Immanuel,  God  with  as, 
on  our  side,  no  longer  the  avenger  of  sin,  but 
the  author  of  salvation. 

Immanuel  is  God  with  us,  God  in  our 
nature  still.  He  suffered  as  a  man,  and  as  a 
man  he  now  reigns  on  the  throne  of  glory  ; 
exercising  all  power  and  authority,  and  re- 
ceiving all  spiritual  worship  both  in  heaven 
and  upon  earth.  He  is  the  head  of  all  prin- 
cipalities and  powers,  thrones  and  dominions. 
Thus  man  is  not  only  saved,  but  unspeakably 
honoured  and  ennobled.  He  is  brought  into 
the  nearest  relation  to  him,  who  is  over  all 
blessed  for  ever.  The  angels  adore  him  ; 
only  redeemed  sinners  can  say,  "  He  loved 
us,  and  gave  himself  for  us  ;  he  has  washed 
us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood"  (Gal. 
ii.  20;  Rev.  i.  5) ;  he  is  our  Saviour,  our  shep- 
herd, our  Immanuel,  God  with  us. 

I  shall  conclude  with  a  few  obvious  reflec- 
tions which  offer  from  this  important  subject. 

1.  What  a  cold  assent  is  paid  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Godhead  of  Christ  by  many  who 


profess  and  receive  it  as  a  truth  !  They  have 
received  from  education,  from  books  or  mi- 
nisters, what  is  called  an  orthodox  scheme  of 
religious  sentiments,  and  with  this  they  are 
contented.  They  have  not  been  accustomed 
to  doubt  of  it,  and  therefore  take  it  for  grant- 
ed that  they  really  believe  it.  But  as  I  have 
already  hinted,  it  is  so  contrary  to  our  natu- 
ral apprehensions,  that  no  man  can,  from  his 
heart,  say  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  unless  he  (* 
be  taught  of  God.  And  a  cordial  belief  of 
this  point  will  and  must  produce  great  and 
abiding  effects.  They  who  know  the  Sa- 
viour's name,  will  so  trust  in  him,  as  to  re- 
nounce every  other  ground  of  confidence. 
They  will  love  him  supremely,  and  forsake 
every  thing  that  stands  in  competition  with 
his  favour.  They  will  glory  in  his  cross, 
they  will  espouse  his  cause,  and  devote  them- 
selves to  his  service.  They  will  make  conti  ■ 
nual  application  to  him,  that  they  may  receive 
out  of  his  fulness  grace  according  to  their 
need.  They  will  obey  his  precepts,  and  walk 
in  his  Spirit.  Happy  were  it,  indeed,  if  all 
who  join  in  repeating  the  Creed,  and  who  bow 
their  knee  at  the  mention  of  his  name,  were 
thus  minded.  But  the  lives,  tempers,  and 
pursuits  of  thousands,  give  too  sure  an  evi- 
dence, that  when  they  express  their  assent 
with  their  lips,  they  neither  know  what  they 
say,  nor  whereof  they  affirm.  Their  acknow- 
ledgment of  his  character,  has  no  more  salu- 
tary influence,  than  that  of  the  evil  spirits 
when  he  was  upon  earth,  who  said  and  per- 
haps with  a  much  fuller  conviction,  "  We 
know  thee  who  thou  art,  the  holy  one  of  God," 
Mark  i.  24. 

2.  What  a  strong  foundation  does  this  doc- 
trine afford  for  the  faith  and  hope  of  those 
who  indeed  know  JYIessiah,  and  have  put  their 
trust  in  him  !  This  truth  is  the  rock  upon 
which  the  church  is  built,  and  the  gates  of 
hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  "  If  God  be 
for  us,  who  shall  be  against  us  ?"  The  diffi- 
culties of  our  warfare  are  great,  the  enemies 
of  our  peace  are  many.  The  world  may 
frown,  and  Satan  will  rage,  but  Jesus  has 
overcome  the  world,  and  is  greater  than  all 
our  foes.  He  will  guide  his  people  with  his 
unerring  wisdom,  support  them  with  his  al- 
rnighty  arm,  supply  them  out  of  the  inex- 
haustible riches  of  his  grace,  revive  them  when 
fainting,  heal  them  when  wounded,  plead  for 
them  above  as  their  great  high  priest,  manage 
for  them  upon  earth  as  their  great  shepherd, 
and  at  last  make  them  more  than  conquerors, 
and  give  them  a  crown  of  life. 

3.  On  the  contrary,  how  dreadful  must  be 
the  state  of  those  who  finally  reject  him,  and 
say  in  their  hearts,  "  We  will  not  have  this 
man  to  rule  over  us  !"  He  is  now  proposed 
as  a  Saviour,  he  invites  sinners  to  come  to  him, 
that  they  may  have  life,  and  assures  us,  "that 
him  that  cometh  he  will  in  nowise  cast  out," 
John  vi.  87.      Happy  are  they  who  hear  and 


Gfil 


SALVATION   PUBLISHED 


obey  his  voice  to-day,  while  it  is  called  to-day. 
To-morrow  is  uncertain.  Death  may  be  at 
the  door,  and  at  death  our  state  will  be  deter- 
mined for  eternity.  They  who  refuse  him 
now,  in  the  character  of  a  Saviour,  must  then 
appear  at  his  tribunal,  and  stand  before  him 
as  their  Judge;  and  must  answer,  in  their  own 
persons,  for  all  their  transgressions  of  the  holy 
law,  and  for  their  contempt  of  the  gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God. 


SERMON  VI. 

SALVATION  PUBLISHED  FROM  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

0  Zion,  that  bringesl  good  tidings,  get  thee  up 
into  the  high  mountains  :  0  Jerusalem,  that 
bringest  good  tidings,  lift  up  thy  vjice  with 
strength,  lift  it  up,  be  not  afraid:  sat/  unto 
the  cities  of  Judah,  Behold  your  God  ! 

Isaiah,  xl.  9. 

It  would  be  improper  to  propose  an  altera- 
tion, though  a  slight  one,  in  the  reading  of  a 
text,  without  bearing  my  testimony  to  the 
great  value  of  our  English  version,  which  I 
believe,  in  point  of  simplicity,  strength,  and 
fidelity  is  not  likely  to  be  excelled  by  a  new 
translation  of  the  whole  scriptures.  But  there 
are  undoubtedly  particular  passages  where  a 
small  change  in  the  expression  might  render 
the  sense  clearer,  and  be  equally  answerable 
to  the  original  Hebrew  or  Greek.  The  ad- 
dress of  this  verse  as  it  stands  in  the  Messiah 
is,  "  O  thou  that  tellest  good  tidings,"  &c.  as 
the  Bishop  of  London  has  lately  translated  it. 
Zion  and  Jerusalem  are  considered  by  the 
prophet,  not  as  bringing,  but  as  receiving  good 
tidings  ;  and  the  publisher  of  these  good  tid- 
ings is  written  with  a  feminine  construction. 
The  sense  may  be  thus  expressed,  "  Let  her 
that  bringeth  good  tidings  to  Jerusalem  and 
Zion,  get  up  into  the  high  mountains  and  lift 
up  her  voice."  But  the  apostrophe  is  more 
animated.  That  it  was  the  custom  in  Israel 
for  the  women  to  publish  and  celebrate  good 
news  with  songs  and  instruments  iswell  known. 
We  have  an  early  instance  in  the  book  of  Ex- 
odus. When  the  Lord  had  delivered  them 
from  the  power  of  Pharaoh,  and  they  saw 
their  enemies,  who  had  so  lately  threatened 
them,  dead  upon  the  sea  shore,  Miriam,  the 
sister  of  Aaron,  took  a  timbrel  in  her  hand, 
and  all  the  women  went  out  after  her  with  tim- 
brels and  with  dances  ;  and  Miriam  answer- 
ed them,  "  Sing  ye  to  the  Lord,  for  he  hath 
triumphed  gloriously  :  the  horse  and  his  rider 
hath  he  thrown  into  the  sea,"  Exod.  xv.  20, 
21.  So  afterwards,  when  David  returned 
from  the  slaughter  of  the  Philistines,  the  wo- 
men came  out  to  meet  him  and  Saul,  with 
tablets  and  instruments  of  music  ;  and  they 
answered  one  another  as   they   played,    "Saul 


hath  slain  his  thousands,  and  David  his  tei 
thousands,"  1  Sam.  xviii.  6,  7.  Thus  like 
wise  Deborah,  in  her  sublime  song,  repre- 
sents the  mother  of  Sisera  (Judges  v.  28,  29) 
and  her  women  singing  alternately,  from  a 
confident,  though  vain  expectation,  that  Si- 
sera  would  return  a  conqueror.  In  my  text, 
the  prophet,  in  prospect  of  Messiah's  appear- 
ance, speaks  of  it  as  an  event  suited  to  excite 
a  general  joy.  The  gospel  (as  the  word  im- 
ports) is  good  news,  glad  tidings  indeed  !  the 
best  news  that  ever  reached  the  ears,  or  cheered 
the  heart  of  man.  The  women  are  therefore 
called  upon  to  proclaim  his  approach,  on  the 
tops  of  the  hills  and  mountains,  from  whence 
they  may  be  seen  and  heard  to  the  greatest 
advantage,  for  the  spreading  of  the  tidings 
throughout  the  whole  country.  Zion  is  as  a 
besieged  city,  but  let  her  know  that  relief  is 
at  hand;  say  unto  her,  "  Behold  your  God!" 
The  Lord  God  will  come  with  a  strong  hand, 
or  against  the  strong  one,  and  his  people  shall 
know  him  as  their  shepherd,  full  of  care, 
kindness,  and  power. 

The  promise  of  Immanuel,  God  with  us,  is 
now  to  be  spread  like  the  morning  from  the 
tops  of  the  mountains.  The  day  is  bieaking, 
and  this  passage  prepares  for  the  following, 
"  Arise,  shine,  for  thy  light  is  come  !"  The 
welcome  news  is  to  be  dispersed  from  Jerusa- 
lem to  Samaria,  from  Jew  to  Gentile,  from  one 
kingdom  to  another  people,  till  all  the  nations 
and  ends  of  the  earth  shall  see  the  salvation 
of  God,  Psal.  xcviii.  3. 

The  cause  of  this  exultation  arises  from  the 
character  of  Messiah,  compared  with  the  de- 
sign of  his  appearance,  and  this  is  answerable 
to  the  condition  in  which  he  finds  mankind. 

Tl>e  deplorable  state  of  fallen  man  by  na- 
ture is  largely  described  both  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament and  in  the  New.  It  may  suffice  to 
take  notice  of  three  principal  features  which 
characterise  our  whole  species,  and  apply  to 
every  individual  of  the  race  of  Adam,  until 
the  grace  of  God,  which  bringeth  salvation, 
affords  relief.  These  are  guilt,  alienation  of 
heart,  and  misery. 

1.  Guilt, — All  have  sinned.  We  are  the 
creatures  of  God.  He  made  us,  and  he  pre- 
serves us.  Our  life,  faculties,  and  comforts 
are  all  from  him.  He  is  therefore  our  great 
Lord,  our  supreme  benefactor.  Of  course  we 
belong  to  him.  His  we  are,  and  not  our 
own.  It  follows,  that  dependence,  gratitude, 
submission,  and  obedience  are  incumbent  onus, 
as  they  must  be  upon  all  intelligent  creatures, 
from  the  very  nature  of  things.  The  relation 
which  subsists  between  an  infinitely  wise  and 
good  Creator  and  his  creatures,  if  capable  of 
knowing  him,  necessarily  implies  this  subjec- 
tion ;  and  the  obligation  is  indissoluble.  But 
we  have  evidently  broken  this  law  of  our  crea- 
tion. We  have  violated  the  order  of  God's 
government.  We  have  implicitly,  if  not  for- 
mally,   renounced    our   allegiance,    disowned 


StR.   VI. 

his  right  over  us,  and  set  up  for  ourselves. 
A  dependent  creature  affecting  independence  ; 
a  worm  presuming  upon  its  own  power,  mak- 
ing itself  its  own  end  ;  a  rebel  against  the  di- 
vine government,  boasting  of  morality  and 
goodness,  and  trusting  to  his  own  conduct  to 
recommend  him  to  the  favour  of  his  Maker ; 
a  being  formed  for  immortality,  proposing  his 
whole  happiness  in  things  which  he  feels  to  be 
unsatisfying,  knows  to  be  uncertain,  and  from 
which  he  is  conscious  he  must,  in  a  few  years 
at  most,  be  finally  removed  :  these  are  sole- 
cisms which  strongly  prove  the  depravity,  de- 
generacy, and  demerit  of  man.  It  is  possible 
that,  had  we  been  wholly  left  to  ourselves,  we 
should  never  have  been  aware,  while  in  this 
world,  of  the  just  and  inevitable  consequences 
of  ourrebellion.  Having  lost  all  rightthoughts 
of  God,  and  conceiving  of  him,  as  if  he  were 
altogether  like  ourselves,  we  might  have  felt 
neither  fear  nor  remorse.  But  there  is-3.  re- 
velation, by  which  we  are  informed  of  his  de- 
termined purpose  to  avenge  disobedience,  and 
to  vindicate  the  honour  of  his  government; 
and  we  are  assured  that  he  is  not  an  indif- 
ferent spectator  of  our  opposition  to  his  esta- 
blished order.  His  justice  and  truth  are  en- 
gaged to  punish  transgressors,  and  our  ob- 
noxiousness  to  punishment  is  what  we  mean 
by  guilt.  If  the  scripture  be  true  there  is  no 
way  of  escape,  unless  he  himself  be  pleased  to 
appoint  one.  This  he  has  done,  and  the  de- 
claration of  this  appointment  is  a  part  of  the 
good  tidings  contained  in  my  text.  Proclaim 
it  from  the  tops  of  the  mountains  that  there  is 
forgiveness  with  him.  Say  unto  Jerusalem,  Be- 
hold Messiah  !  Behold  your  God  !  He  comes 
to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself, 
Heb.  ix.  26.  He  can  do  it,  for  he  is  God  ; 
and  he  will  do  it,  for  he  has  taken  on  him  our 
nature  for  this  very  purpose,  2  Cor.  v.  21. 
Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world  ! 

2.  Alienation  of  mind. — Not  only  is  it  true 
that  we  have  sinned  against  the  Lord,  but  a 
principle  of  aversion  from  him  is  deeply  rooted 
in  our  hearts.  Therefore  one  part  of  our  na- 
tural character  is,  haters  of  God,  Rom.  i.  30. 
This  is  thought  a  hard  saying.  Many  who 
will  admit  that  their  conduct  is  blameable,  and 
that  they  are  not  altogether  what  they  ought 
to  be,  will  by  no  means  plead  guilty  to  this 
charge.  If  they  fall  short  of  their  duty,  and 
in  some  instances  transgress  his  command- 
ments, they  say  it  is  their  infirmity,  they  are 
sorry,  and  hope  to  do  better  some  time  or 
other.  However,  they  are  willing  to  think 
that  their  hearts  are  tolerably  good,  they  mean 
well,  and  are  shocked  at  the  idea  of  hating 
God.  They  rather  presume  that  they  love 
him,  though  they  are  not  so  careful  to  please 
him  as  they  should  be.  I  do  not  assert  that 
we  hate  God  under  that  character  which  our 
vain  imaginations  form  of  him.  If  we  can 
persuade  ourselves,  in  direct  contradiction  to, 


FROM  THE  MOUNTAINS. 


6r>r> 


the  testimony  of  scripture,  that  he  is  not  strict 
to  mark  what  is  amiss ;  that  he  will  dispense 
with  the  strictness  of  his  law;  that  he  will 
surely  have  mercy  upon  us,  because  we  are 
not  openly  abandoned  and  profligate  in  our 
conduct ;  that  he  will  accept  of  lip-worship, 
in  which  the  heart  has  no  concern,  reward  us 
for  actions  in  which  we  had  no  intention  of 
pleasing  him,  permit  us  to  love  and  serve  the 
world  with  all  our  mind,  and  soul,  and  strength, 
while  we  live,  and  make  us  happy  in  another 
world,  when  we  c;in  live  in  this  no  longer. 
If  we  form  such  an  image  of  God,  it  is  too 
much  like  our  own  to  provoke  our  enmity, 
for  it  is  destitute  of  holiness,  justice,  and  truth. 
But  the  carnal  mind  is  and  must  be  enmity 
against  God  (Rom.  viii.  7),  according  to  the 
character  he  has  given  of  himself  in  his  word. 
We  have  an  inbred  dislike  to  all  his  moral  at- 
tributes, to  the  rule  of  his  government,  and  to 
the  methods  of  his  grace.  We  cannot,  that  is, 
we  will  not  propose  either  his  glory  as  our 
chief  end,  or  his  favour  as  our  chief  good. 
The  proof  is  plain.  The  ends  which  we  ac- 
tually pursue,  and  the  supposed  good  which 
we  deliberately  prefer,  are  utterly  inconsistent 
with  the  plan  which  he  has  prescribed  for  us. 
His  ways,  though  truly  pleasant  in  themselves, 
appear  unpleasing  to  us,  and  we  think  we  can 
plan  better  for  ourselves.  We  do  not  like  to 
retain  God  in  our  thoughts  (Rom.  i.  28), 
which  is  a  sure  sign  of  enmity.  Nay,  this 
enmity  is  so  strong  in  us  naturally  that  we 
cannot  bear  others  should  think  more  highly 
of  God  than  we  do,  or  be  more  attached  to 
him  than  we  are.  This  was  the  ground  of 
the  first  murder.  Abel  loved  God,  and  God 
was  pleased  to  testify  his  approbation  of  Abel, 
and  therefore  Cain  killed  him,  1  John  iii.  12. 
This  has  been  the  great  cause  of  the  opposi- 
tion and  ill-treatment  which  the  servants  of 
God  have  met  with  from  the  men  of  the  world 
in  all  succeeding  asces;  a  cause  which  still 
subsists,  and  will  continue  to  operate  upon 
posterity  yet  unborn.  Can  we  shew  a  stronger 
mark  of  dislike  to  a  person  than  by  hating  all 
who  profess  a  regard  to  him,  and  when  that 
is  the  only  cause  of  our  resentment  <  Such 
is  the  prevailing  enmity  against  God.  For 
how  often  do  we  see,  that,  when  his  grace  en- 
ables a  sinner  to  forsake  the  spirit  and  prac- 
tice of  the  world,  his  former  friends  are  im- 
mediately offended,  and  perhaps  those  of  his 
own  household  become  his  inveterate  ene- 
mies ? 

But,  O  thou  that  bringest  good  tidings, 
lift  up  thy  voice  !  Say  to  poor  sinners,  Be- 
hold your  God  !  He  comes  to  take  this  en- 
mity away !  The  cross  of  Christ  subdues  it, 
when  every  other  expedient  has  been  found 
ineffectual.  The  heart,  too  hard  to  be  soften- 
ed by  a  profusion  of  temporal  benefits,  and 
too  stout  to  be  subdued  by  afflictions,  is  melt- 
ed by  the  dying  love  of  a  Saviour,  and  by  that 
discovery  of  the  divine  perfections   which  is 


6G6  SALVATION  PUBLISHED,  &C.  sen.  vi. 

exhibited   in  redemption.      We  have  a  strik-  of  the  goodness,  patience,  and  forbearance  of 
ing  instance  of  this  effect,  in  the  case  of  Saul  of   God,   it  likewise  abounds  with  marks  of  his 


Tarsus,  Acts  ix.  ] — 20.      His  misguided  con- 
science, under  the  influence  of  prejudice,  per- 
suaded him,  that  he  ought  to  do  many  things 
against  Jesus  of  Nazareth.      Instigated  with 
rage,   and  not   satisfied   with   the  injuries  he 
had  offered  to  his  disciples  at  Jerusalem,   but 
still  breathing  out  threatnings  and   slaughter, 
he  journeyed  towards  Damascus,  designing  to 
harass  and  persecute  them  wherever  he  found 
them.      In  this  temper  of  mind,  he  was  sud- 
denly arrested  on  his  way,  by  a  light,  and  a 
voice  from  heaven.      He  fell  to  the  ground. 
But  Jesus,   whom  he  had  ignorantly  perse- 
cuted, instructed  him  in  the  knowledge  of  his 
person  and  love,  pardoned  his  sin,  aiid  com- 
missioned him  to  preach  the  faith  he  had  la- 
boured to  destroy.      How  sudden,  how  evi- 
dent, how  abiding  was  the  change  which  then 
took  place  in  his  heart  and   in  his  conduct ! 
From  that  moment  he  accounted  "all  things 
loss  and  dung,  for  the  excellency  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ  Jesus  his  Lord,"  PhiL.  iii.  8. 
Unwearied   by   labour  and   hardship,    undis- 
mayed by  opposition  and  danger,  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life  in  the  cause  of  his  Mas- 
ter ;  and  like  Caesar,  accounting  nothing  done 
while  anything  remained  to  do,  his  active  and 
intrepid  spirit  was  continually  meditating  new 
services,    Acts    xix.    21.      And,    though    he 
knew  that  bonds  and  afflictions  awaited  him 
in  every  place,  he  was  always  upon  the  wing 
to  publish  to  his  fellow-sinners  the  grace  and 
glory  of  him  whom  he  had  so  long  opposed, 
only  because  he  knew  him  not.    And  although 
the  circumstances  attending  the  apostle's  case 
were  extraordinary,  the  case  itself,  as  to  the 
substance,  is  not  singular.      I  trust  many  per- 
sons in  this  assembly  have  been  the  subjects 
of  a  like  change.      The  doctrine  whicli  Paul 
preached,  has  enlightened  your   understand- 
ings, has  inspired  you  with  hopes  and  desires 
to  which  you  were  once  strangers,  and  given 


displeasure.     I  think  we  have  sufficient  reason 
to  attribute  earthquakes,   hurricanes,   famine, 
and   pestilence,    to  sin  as   their  original  and 
proper  cause.      We  can  hardly  conceive,   that 
if  mankind  had  continued  in  that  happy  state 
of  love  and  obedience  to  God,  in  which  our 
first   parents   were  created,   they  would  have 
been  exposed  to  such  calamities.      When  God 
at  the  beginning,   surveyed  every  thing   that 
he    had  made,    "behold    it   was   very  good," 
Gen.    i.   31.      All  was  beauty  and   harmony, 
till  sin  introduced  disorder  and  a  curse.     But 
far  worse  than   what  we  suffer   immediately 
from   the   providence   of   God,   are   the  evils 
which    we    bring    upon    ourselves  and  upon 
each   other.      The   dreadful   consequences    of 
war,   rapine,   discord,  hatred,   ambition,  ava- 
rice, and  intemperance,   furnish  part  of  every 
page  in  the  mournful  history  of  human  life, 
and  are  felt  in  every  nation,  city,  village,  and 
family.      Want,     cares,    and    diseases,     prey 
upon  individuals.      Disappointment,  dissatis- 
faction, vanity,  and  vexation  of  spirit,  are  ex- 
perienced by  persons  of  every  rank,    and   in 
every  stage  of  human  life.      How  much  more 
desirable  would  it  be,  were  it  not  for  the  hope 
of  the  gospel,  to  share  with  the  brute  creation, 
than  to  bear  tile   name  of  man  in  his  fallen 
state  !    The  brutes  have  few  wants  ;  their  pro- 
pensities and  the  means   of  gratifying  them, 
are  suited  to  their  natures,    adapted  to  their 
powers,  and  conducive  to  the  preservation  of 
the  species.      They   neither  regret  the   past, 
nor  tremble  under  apprehensions  of  the  fu- 
ture.     It    is   far  otherwise  with   man.      His 
boasted  pleasures  end  wish  a  sting,  and  often 
he  cannot  bear  his  own  reflections  on  them. 
He   suffers   almost   as  much   from  imaginary 
fears,  as  from  real  afflictions.    The  more  he  pos- 
sesses, the  more  are  the  sources  of  his  anxieties 
multiplied  and  enlarged.      And  after  having 
been  long  wearied  with  a  train  of  mortifica- 


a  new  direction  to  the  conduct  and  aims  of  tions,  pains,  and  inquietudes,  he  must  at  last, 


your  life.  You  were  once  afar  off  from  God, 
but  you  are  now  brought  nigh  by  the  blood 
of  Christ.  You  once  lived  to  yourselves,  but 
now  you  feel  that  you  are  no  longer  your 
own,  and  have  devoted  yourselves  to  him  who 
died  to  save  you  from  the  present  evil  world, 
and  from  the  wrath  to  come. 

3.  Misery. — If  we  are  guilty  in  the  sight 
of  God,  and  alienated  from  him  in  our  hearts, 
we  must  be  miserable.  Guilt  entails  a  burden, 
and  a  foreboding  of  evil  upon  the  conscience. 
And  our  alienation  from  the  fountain  of  living 
waters  (Jer.  ii.  13)  compels  us  (for  we  are 
insufficient  to  our  own  happiness)  to  seek  our 
resources  from  broken  cisterns,  and  pits  which 
will  hold  no  water.  Farther,  sin  has  filled 
the  world  with  woe.  The  whole  creation  tra- 
vails and  groans;  and  natural  evil  is  insepa- 
rable from  moral,  as  the  shadow  from  the 
biily.     Though  tnc  earth  be  filled  with  tokens 


however  unwilling,  yield  to  that  stroke  of 
death,  the  thought  of  which,  when  strongly 
realized  to  his  mind,  was  always  sufficient  to 
embitter  the  happiest  hours  of  his  life. 

But  publish  the  glad  tidings  from  the 
mountains,  and  let  the  joyful  sound  diffuse 
over  die  plain. — Your  God  cometh  !  Mes- 
siah establishes  a  new,  a  spiritual  kingdom 
upon  the  earth,  and  his  happy  subjects  are 
freed  from  the  misery  in  which  they  were  in- 
volved. They  commit  all  their  concerns  to 
him,  and  he  manages  for  them.  Their  fears 
are  removed,  their  irregular  desires  corrected, 
and  all  that  is  really  good  for  them,  is  secured 
to  them  by  his  love,  promise,  and  care.  Afflic- 
tions still  await  them,  but  they  are  sanctified. 
To  them  the  nature  of  affliction  is  changed. 
They  are  appointments  graciously  designed 
for  their  advantage.  Their  crosses,  no  less 
than  their  comfoits,  are  tokens  of  God's  fa- 


SER.  Vi  I. 

vour  (Heb.  xii.  6,  7);  they  have  them  only 
because  their  present  situation  requires  disci- 
pline, and  they  could  not  be  so  well  without 
them.  They  are  assured  of  support  under 
them  (2  Cor.  xii.  9),  and  a  final  deliverance 
out  of  them  all :  for  there  is  a  happy  hour 
approaching,  when  all  their  troubles  shall 
cease,  and  they  shall  enter  upon  a  state  of 
eternal,  uninterrupted,  inconceivable  joy,  (Isa. 
lx.  20  ;    Rev.  xxi.  4. 

For  these  purposes  the  Son  of  God  was  re- 
vealed. The  prophets  saw  his  day  afar  off, 
and  proclaimed  his  approach. — Thy  God 
cometh  !  Though  truly  a  man,  he  is  truly 
God.  Neither  man  nor  angel  could  remove 
our  guilt,  communicate  to  us  a  spiritual  life, 
relieve  us  from  misery,  aad  give  us  stable 
peace  in  a  changing  world,  hope  and  triumph 
in  death,  and  eternal  life  beyond  it.  But  his 
wisdom  and  power  are  infinite,  and  his  pur- 
pose unchangeable.  He  would  not  have  in- 
vited the  weary  and  heavy  laden  to  come  to 
him,  if  he  was  not  able  and  determined  to 
give  them  rest.  None  that  seek  him  are  dis- 
appointed, or  sent  empty  away:  a  sufficient 
proof  that  his  compassion,  his  bounty,  his  ful- 
ness are  properly  divine.  Therefore  the 
apostle,  speaking  of  the  riches  of  his  grace, 
uses  the  epithet,  "unsearchable,"  Ephes.  iii.  8. 
His  treasury  of  life  and  salvation  is  inexhaus- 
tible, like  a  boundless,  shoreless,  bottomless 
ocean ;  like  the  sun,  which  having  cheered 
the  successive  generations  of  mankind  with 
his  beams,  still  shines  with  undiminished 
lustre,  is  still  the  fountain  of  light,  and  has 
always  a  sufficiency  to  fill  innumerable  mil- 
lions of  eyes  in  the  same  instant. 

Does  the  language  of  my  text  cause  joy  to 
spring  up  in  your  hearts?  or  is  it  nothing  to 
you?  If  you  heard  the  Messiah  you  were, 
perhaps,  affected  by  the  music  of  the  passage; 
how  much  are  you  to  be  pitied,  if  you  were 
hitherto  unaffected  by  the  sentiment !  Yet 
once  more,  hear, — Thy  God  cometh  !  He  did 
come  in  the  fulness  of  time,  according  to  the 
prophecy,  and  the  word  of  prophecy  assures 
us  that  he  will  come  again.  "  Behold  he 
cometh  in  the  clouds  :  and  every  eye  shall  see 
him,  and  they  also  that  pierced  him,  Rev. 
i-  7. — Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  Amos,  iv.  12. 


THE  MORNING  LIGHT. 


6G7 


SERMON  VII 

THE  MORNING  LIGHT. 

Arise,  shine,  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory 
oj (he  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee.  For,  behold, 
darkness  shall  cover  the  earth,  and  gross 
darkness  the  people  ;  but  the  Lord  shall  arise 
upon  thee,  and  his  glory  shall  be  seen  uvm 
thee:  and  the  Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy 
light  and  kings  to  the  brigh'ness  of  thy  ris- 
ing.    Isaiah,  lx.  1 — o. 

One  strong  internal  proof  that  tZie  Bible  is  a 
divine  revelation,  may  be  drawn  from  the 
subject-matter,  and  particularly  that  it  is  the 
book,  and  the  only  book,  which  teaches  us  to 
think  highly  and  honourably  of  God.  I  sav, 
the  only  book,  for  there  is  no  right  knowledge 
of  God  where  the  Bible  is  not  known.  What 
is  the  Jupiter  of  Homer,  compared  with  the 
God  of  Israel,  as  he  is  represented  to  us  by  his 
servants  the  prophets?  And  if  the  heathen 
philosophers,  in  some  detached  passages,  have 
sentiments  not  altogether  unworthy  of  him, 
history  honestly  tells  us  how  they  obtained 
them.  They  travelled,  and  they  are  generally 
said  to  have  travelled  into  Phoenicia  or  Egypt, 
to  the  confines  of  that  people  who  alone  thought 
rightly  of  God,  because  to  them  only  he  had 
made  himself  known  by  a  revelation.  If  such 
a  description  as  we  have  in  the  fortieth  chap- 
ter of  Isaiah,  from  the  twelfth  verse  to  the 
end,  had  been  known  only  of  late  years,  re- 
covered, we  will  suppose,  out  of  the  ruins  of 
Herculaneum,  there  is  little  doubt  but  it 
would  have  engaged  the  attention  and  admi- 
ration of  the  learned  world.  For  the  most  ad- 
mired writings  of  antiquity,  upon  a  candid 
comparison,  are  unspeakably  inferior  to  it. 
The  inimitable  sublimity  of  the  prophets  is 
natural,  just,  and  unforced,  and  flows  from 
the  grandeur  of  their  subjects,  because  they 
were  influenced  by  him  who  alone  can  speak 
worthily  of  himself. 

A  song  so  V3rt,  a  theme  so  high, 
Calls  for  the  voice  that  tuned  the  slty. 


With  them,  the  whole  compass  of  the  creation 
is  but  as  dust  upon  the  balance,  in  respect  of 
the  great  Creator.  His  purpose  is  fate,  hij 
voice  is  power.  He  speaks  and  it  is  done. 
Thus  he  called  the  universe  into  being;  and 
thus,  as  the  great  Lord  and  proprietor  of  all 
he  still  maintains  and  governs  it,  directing  the 
frame  of  nature,  and  every  particular  event 
and  contingence,  to  the  promoting  of  his  own 
glory,  the  last  and  highest  end  of  all  his 
works. 

The  principal  of  these  is,  the  exhibition  of  his 
perfections  in  the  person  of  his  Son.  The  pro- 
phecies we  have  already  considered  announce 
this  event,  with  a  gradual  increase  of  clearness 
and  precision,  as  the  period  of  accomplishm  m 


668 


THE  MORNING  LIGHT. 


BER.  VII. 


's  supposed  to  draw  nigh.  We  lately  heard  the 
command  to  proclaim  Ilia  approach  from  the 
hills  and  the  tops  of  the  mountains.  Here  the 
prophet  begins  to  contemplate  the  effects  of  his 
actual  appearance.  The  earth  is  considered 
as  involved  in  a  state  of  gross  darkness,  but 
the  sun,  the  Sun  of  righteousness  is  about  to 
arise,  and  to  fill  it  by  his  beams,  with  light, 
life,  and  glory.  These  effects,  indeed,  will 
not  extend  to  all,  for  many  will  love  darkness 
rather  than  light.  But  he  will  not  shine  in 
vain.  There  will  be  a  people  prepared  to  re- 
ceive him,  and  to  rejoice  in  his  light.  They 
shall  arise  as  from  sleep,  as  from  the  grave, 
and  his  light  reflected  upon  them  shall  cause 
them  to  shine  likewise.  Darkness  shall  still 
cover  those  who  reject  him ;  yea,  their  dark- 
ness will  be  increased.  But  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  seen  upon  all  who  believe,  and 
their  numbers,  from  age  to  age,  shall  be  en- 
larged. Nations  shall  come  to  him,  and  kings 
shall  be  subservient  to  the  spreading  of  his 
kingdom.  Such  is  the  scope  of  the  passage 
before  us.  I  shall  briefly  consider  a  few  of 
the  leading  particulars  contained  in  it. 

I.  As  the  sun  is  the  source  of  light  to  the 
natural  world,  so  is  Messiah  to  the  moral  and 
spiritual  world.  Light,  and  its  opposite,  dark- 
ness, are  figuratively  used  in  scripture.  The 
latter  is  applied  to  a  state  of  ignorance,  sin, 
and  misery,  as  in  the  following  texts.  "  He 
that  waiketh  in  darkness,  knoweth  not  whi- 
ther he  goeth,"  John  xii.  35.  "  If  we  say 
that  we  have  fellowship  with  him,  and  walk  in 
darkness,  we  lie,  and  do  not  the  truth,"  1  John 
i.  6.  "  Cast  ye  die  unprofitable  servant  into 
outer  darkness  :  there  shall  be  weeping  and 
gnashing  of  teeth,"  Matth.  xxv.  30.  The 
former,  therefore,  signifies  true  knowledge, 
holiness,  and  happiness.  "  Ye  were  some- 
time darkness,  but  now  are  ye  light  in  the 
Lord  :  walk  as  children  of  the  light,"  Eph.  v. 
8.  "  When  I  sit  in  darkness,  the  Lord  shall 
be  a  light  unto  me,"  Micah  vii.  8.  "  Light 
is  sown  for  the  righteous,  and  joy  for  the  up- 
right in  heart,"  Psal.  xcvii.  11.  I  select  but 
one  instance  of  each  kind  ;  an  attentive  reader 
of  the  scriptures  will  meet  with  many  expres- 
sions of  a  like  import.  But  there  is  likewise 
an  intermediate  state ;  light  advancing  from 
the  early  dawn  to  the  perfect  day.  This  twi- 
light, no  less  than  day-light  is  from  the  sun. 
Such  was  the  state  of  the  Old  Testament 
church.  Messiah  was  the  source  of  their 
knowledge,  hope,  and  joy ;  but  he  was  (if  I 
may  so  speak)  below  the  horizon  as  to  them. 
Though  believers  under  that  dispensation  were 
a  people  saved  of  the  Lord,  they  were  trained 
up  under  types  and  shadows,  were  influenced 
by  a  spirit  of  comparative  bondage  and  dis- 
tance, like  children  under  age,  and  rather 
longed  for  than  actually  possessed  the  gracious 
liberty  which  the  children  of  God  enjoy  un- 
der the  gospel.  But  the  sun  arose,  and  the 
shadows  vanished,   when  the  Sou   of  God   in- 


carnate dwelt  and  conversed  with  men,  ho- 
noured his  temple  with  his  personal  presence, 
and  superseded  all  the  Levitical  sacrifices,  by  the 
one  offering  of  himself  upon  the  cross.  "  The 
law  was  given  by  Moses,  but  grace  and  truth 
came  by  Jesus  Christ."  But  more  especially 
we  date  the  beginning  of  his  visible  kingdom 
from  the  day  of  Pentecost,  which  followed  his 
ascension.  Then  he  signally  bestowed  the 
gifts  which,  as  mediator,  he  had  received  for 
men,  and,  by  the  power  of  his  Holy  Spirit, 
authorized  and  qualified  his  servants  to  go 
forth  and  preach  salvation  in  his  name.  Then 
the  partition- wall  between  Jew  and  Gentile  was 
taken  away,  and  his  righteousness  was  openly 
shown  in  the  sight  of  the  Heathen.  Abra- 
ham, Moses,  Elijah,  and  other  servants  of 
God,  had  been  highly  favoured  and  highly 
honoured  ;  but  we  are  assured  by  our  Lord 
himself,  that  none  born  of  woman  had  been 
greater  than  John  his  forerunner — and  yet  he 
added,  "  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven," 
that  is,  in  Uie  New-Testament  or  gospel - 
church,  "  is  greater  than  he,"  Math.  xi.  11. 
The  apostles  were  happy  in  the  peculiar  pri- 
vilege of  attending  on  his  person,  yet  he  told 
them,  "  it  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go 
away,"  John  xvi.  7.  There  were  still  greater 
privileges  depending  upon  the  influence  of  the 
promised  Comforter,  who  was  to  abide  with 
the  church  for  ever.  By  the  power  of  his 
Holy  Spirit,  the  Lord  is  now  present  with  all 
his  ministers  and  people  in  every  place,  whe- 
ther retired  in  secret  from  the  view  of  men, 
or  assembled  together  in  his  name  (Matth. 
vi.  6,  xviii.  20,  xxviii.  20)  ;  and  though  the 
great  events  upon  which  their  hopes  are  found- 
ed, his  life,  passion,  death,  resurrection,  and 
ascension  took  place  long  ago,  he  so  realizes 
the  declaration  of  them  in  his  word  to  their 
hearts,  that  they  are  no  less  assured  of  what 
they  read  than  the  apostles,  who  saw  him  with 
their  own  eyes.  Thus  the  gospel-state  is  a 
dispensation  of  light.  The  Sun  is  risen  with 
life  and  healing  in  his  beams,  and  they  who 
have  the  eyes  of  their  understanding  opened, 
enjoy  a  bright  and  marvellous  day.  They  see, 
admire,  adore,  rejoice,  and  love. 

II.  The  subjects  of  Messiah's  kingdom,  the 
living  members  of  his  church,  are  so  irradi- 
ated by  him  that  they  shine  likewise,  as  the 
moon  shines,  but  with  a  borrowed  light  de- 
rived from  the  sun.  Beholding,  in  this  glass, 
the  glory  of  the  Lord,  they  are  changed  into 
the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory  (2  Cor. 
iii.  18),  according  to  the  measure  and  growth 
of  their  faith.  Two  points  may  be  observed 
under  this  head. 

1 .  The  fact  that  they  do  thus  shine.  Though 
they  were  once  darkness,  they  are  now  light, 
Ephesians,  v.  8.  A  dark,  ignorant,  wicked, 
selfish  christian  is  a  contradiction  in  terms. 
There  may  be  such,  there  are  too  many  such, 
amongst  those  who  make  a  profession  of  the 
name   of   Christ ;    but   they    who  truly    know 


SEK.    VII. 


THli  .MORNING  LIGHT. 


(KJ9 


him  walk  in  the  light,  as  he  is  in  the  light. 
They  have  knowledge,  a  good  understand- 
ing, Psal.  cxi.  10.  Perhaps  the  greater  part 
of  real  christians  have  little  acquaintance  with 
the  literature  and  science  of  the  world  :  their 
moral  capacities  may  be  weak,  and  not  im- 
proved by  education  ;  they  may  be  in  the 
esteem  of  men,  as  they  are  in  their  own, 
but  babes ;  yet  they  know  more  than  the 
wisest  philosophers  who  are  destitute  of  the 
grace  of  God.  They  know  themselves,  they 
know  the  Lord,  they  know  the  evil  of  sin, 
and  the  way  of  salvation  ;  what  their  proper 
happiness  consists  in,  and  how  it  is  to  be  ob- 
tained. They  have  learned  to  endure  afflic- 
tion, to  forgive  injuries,  and  to  overcome  evil 
with  good.  They  have  attained  a  just  sense 
of  the  vanity  of  the  world  and  the  importance 
of  eternity.  They  are  instructed  to  be  con- 
tented and  useful  in  their  stations,  to  dis- 
charge their  duties  in  relative  life  with  pro- 
priety, and  to  meet  death  with  comfort.  In 
all  these  particulars,  many  who  have  dazzling 
talents,  and  are  celebrated  for  abilities  and 
endowments,  are  miserably  at  a  loss.  True 
believers  are  conformed  to  the  spirit  and  tem- 
per of  their  Saviour,  and  therefore  are  dif- 
ferent and  distinguished  from  the  world  around 
them.  And  they  have,  at  least,  the  begin- 
nings of  true  peace  and  solid  happiness,  in 
communion  with  him  whom  they  serve. 

2.  The  cause. — They  shine  wholly  by  his 
light.  If  their  own  words  may  be  taken,  the 
proof  of  this  is  easy.  They  are  free  to  confess 
that  they  are  wise  only  by  his  wisdom,  strong 
by  his  power  working  in  them,  and  that  with, 
out  him  they  have  not  sufficiency  to  think  a 
good  thought,  2  Cor.  iii.  5.  Experience  has 
taught  them  that  they  cannot  stand  unless  he 
upholds  them,  nor  watch  unless  he  watcheth 
with  them,  nor  be  safe  or  happy  a  single  day 
without  fresh  communications  from  him.  But 
this  their  experience  and  acknowledgment  is 
the  express  and  current  doctrine  of  scripture. 
There  is  a  real,  though  mystical  union  be- 
tween Christ  and  his  people.  He  is  the  vine 
(John  xv.  l),  they  the  branches:  he  is  their 
head,  they  the  members  of  his  body.  They 
dwell  in  him  by  faith,  he  dwells  in  them  by 
his  Spirit.  He  is  their  root  and  their  life  ; 
all  their  springs  are  in  him,  and  it  is  out  of 
his  fulness  that  they  receive,  John  i.  1 6. 
Therefore  the  apostle  says,  "  I  live,  yet  not 
I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me"  (Gal.  ii.  20);  "  I 
can  do  all  things  through  Christ  strengthen- 
ing me,"  2  Cor.  xii.  9.  And  our  Lord  him- 
self, who  comforted  Paul  with  that  promise, 
"  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee,"  apprised  all 
his  followers  of  their  entire  dependence  upon 
him,  by  saying,  "  Without  me  ye  can  do  no- 
thing," John  xv.  5.  The  language  of  the 
Old  Testament  is  to  the  same  purport.  "  They 
looked  unto  him  and  were  enlightened,"  Psal. 
xxxiv.  5.  "  In  the  Lord  Jehovah  I  have 
righteousness:  and   strength,"   Isaiah   xlv.  24. 


"  He  giveth  power  to  the  faint,  and  to  them 
that  have  no  might  he  increaseth  strength," 
Isaiah  xl.  29.  Thus  things  are  constituted 
and  conducted,  that  no  flesh  should  glory  in 
his  presence,  but  that  he  who  glorieth  may- 
glory  in  the  Lord,  1  Cor.  i,  29 — 31. 

III.  They  who  wilfully  refuse  and  turn 
from  this  light,  do  thereby  involve  themselves 
in  double  darkness,  and  become  more  infatu- 
ated and  wicked  than  those  to  whom  the  light 
has  not  been  proposed.  Their  evils,  likewise, 
are  more  aggravated  than  they  would  have  been 
if  the  light  had  not  visited  them.  Thus  our 
Lord  Messiah  speaks  of  the  Jews,  "  If  I  had 
not  come  and  spoken  unto  them,  they  had 
not  had  sin ;  but  now  they  have  no  cloak 
for  their  sin,"  John  xv.  22.  And  again, 
"  For  judgment  I  am  come  into  this  world, 
that  they  which  see  not  might  see,  and  they 
which  see  might  be  made  blind,"  John  ix.  39. 
He  came  to  make  the  ignorant  wise  unto  sal- 
vation ;  but  they  who,  from  a  proud  conceit 
of  their  own  wisdom  and  sufficiency,  disdain 
his  instruction,  being  left  to  themselves,  give 
abundant  evidence  that  the  light  they  boast 
of  is  but  gross  and  palpable  darkness.  The 
grossest  errors,  the  greatest  obduracy  of  heart, 
the  most  extreme  profaneness  of  spirit,  and 
the  most  abominable  wickedness  in  practice, 
may  be  expected,  and  will  certainly  be  found 
where  the  gospel  is  despised. 

It  is  evident,  that  the  morality  which  is  so 
highly  admired  by  the  christian  world,  and 
set  in  opposition  to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  is 
much  leaner  and  more  scanty  than  the  mora- 
lity of  the  Heathens.  I  speak  of  the  idea 
only  ;  for  neither  have  the  Heathens  of  old, 
nor  of  the  present  day,  acted  up  to  their  own 
rules.  But  I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm,  that 
none  of  our  modern  moralists  who  have  dis- 
owned the  gospel  revelation,  have  given  us  a 
system  of  morality  equal  to  that  of  Tally  the 
Pagan.  Many  of  the  Heathens  acknow- 
ledged the  desirableness  and  necessity  of  re- 
velation ;  though  infidels,  born  in  a  christian 
land,  think  it  a  high  mark  of  their  wisdom  to 
despise  it ;  and  avowed  atheists,  that  is,  men 
who  deny  either  the  being  or  the  providence 
of  God,  or  the  obligations  mankind  are  under 
to  obey  him,  are  seldom  to  be  met  with  hut 
in  countries  where  the  Bible  is  known.  The 
heart  must  have  obstinately  and  repeatedly  re- 
sisted light  and  conviction,  before  it  can  ordi- 
narily proceed  to  these  dreadful  lengths.  But 
while  the  blind  stumble  in  the  noon  of  day, 
Messiah's  people  shall  walk  in  confidence  and 
peace  (Psal.  lxxxix.  15,  16.),  and  shine  as 
lights  in  the  midst  of  a  crooked  and  perverse 
generation,  Phil.  ii.  15. 

IV.  The  third  verse  of  this  chapter  fore- 
tells, and  therefore  secures,  the  conversion  of 
the  Gentiles  or  Heathens.  The  times  and 
the  seasons  are  in  the  disposal  of  God,  but  the 
scriptures  must  be  fulfilled.  Much  was  done 
in  the  first  age  of  Christianity.      A  single  in 


670 


THE  MORNING   LIGHT. 


SEK.  VII. 


strument,  the  apostle  Paul,  as  he  himself  in- 
forms us,  preached  the  faith,  which  he  for- 
merly laboured  to  destroy,  "from  Jerusalem 
round  about  to  Illyricum"  (Rom.  xv.  19.), 
and  probably  much  farther  afterwards.  And 
the  Lord,  who  appointed  him  to  this  service, 
accompanied  his  message  with  his  own  power; 
so  that  he  had  signal  success,  in  turning  men 
from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  worship 
of  dumb  idols,  to  serve  the  living  and  true 
God  ;  and  in  planting  the  gospel,  and  gather- 
ing churches  in  every  province.  The  gospel 
found  an  early  reception  at  Rome,  which  fa- 
cilitated its  spread  into  the  different  parts  of 
the  Roman  empire.  And  we  have  reason  to 
believe  it  was  introduced  into  our  island  in  a 
few  years  after  our  Lord's  ascension.  And 
though  what  was  called  the  conversion  of  hea- 
then nations  in  some  following  ages,  went 
little  farther  than  to  prevail  on  them  to  as- 
sume the  name  of  Christians,  and  left  them 
considered  as  nations,  as  destitute  of  the  spi- 
rit and  blessings  of  Christianity  as  it  found 
them  ;  yet  I  cannot  doubt,  that  wherever  the 
New  Testament,  and  the  sufferings  of  Mes- 
siah, were  known,  some  individuals  at  least 
experienced  a  real  and  saving  change.  And 
we  are  warranted  to  hope  for  still  greater 
things  ;  for  a  time  when  the  gross  darkness, 
which  as  yet  covers  a  great  part  of  the  world, 
shall  be  dispelled  ;  and  the  Redeemer's  king- 
dom, spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  as  a 
stone  cut  out  without  hands,  shall  become  a 
great  mountain,  and  fill  the  whole  earth,  Dan, 
ii.  35.  But  this  pleasing  subject  will  come 
more  directly  under  our  consideration  hereafter. 
V.  The  call  in  my  text  may  be  taken  in  a 
general  sense,  like  that  of  the  apostle,  "  Awake, 
thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the  dead, 
and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light,"  Eph.  v.  14. 
Natural  light  requires  eyes  to  perceive  it.  It 
would"  be  absurtTTo  point  out  the  beauties  of 
an  extensive  prospect  to  a  blind  man.  To 
him  the  face  of  nature  presents  only  a  univer- 
sal blank.  But  the  light  of  the  gospel  not 
only  discovers  the  most  important  objects  to 
those  who  can  see,  but  has  a  marvellous  effi- 
cacy to  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind.  It  is  the 
appointed  instrument  of  divine  power  for  this 
purpose.  In  vain  would  be  the  labour  and 
expectation  of  the  husbandman,  if  God  did 
not  afford  the  rain,  and  the  snow,  to  water  the 
earth,  and  the  enlivening  influences  of  the 
sun,  to  draw  forth  the  tender  blade,  and  to 
ripen  the  corn.  Equally  unsuccessful  would 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  prove  to  sinful 
men,  though  in  itself  it  be  eminently  the 
truth  and  wisdom  of  God,  exactly  suited  to 
their  state,  and  of  the  highest  importance  to 
their  welfare,  if  he  had  not  promised  that  his 
word,  where  simply  and  faithfully  delivered 
in  dependence  upon  his  blessing,  shall  not  be 
spoken  in  vain,  but  shall  certainly  accomplish 
the  end  for  which  he  has  sent  it,  Is.  lv.  10,11. 
This  promise,  together  with  the  experience  of 


its  truth  in  our  own  case,  and  our  knowledge 
of  its  uniform  effects  in  every  age  and  coun- 
try where  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  has  been 
preached,  encourages  ministers  to  persevere  in 
publishing  the  glad  tidings,  in  defiance  of  all 
the  opposition  and  disappointments  we  meet 
with.  We  lament,  but  cannot  wonder,  that 
the  gospel  is  so  generally  neglected.  Asa 
dispensation  of  grace,  it  offends  the  pride  of 
man,  as  a  dispensation  of  holiness,  it  contia- 
dicts  his  desires  and  passions.  His  spirit  is 
degraded,  his  heart  is  pre-engaged,  he  loves 
the  present  world,  and  has  no  more  taste  or 
inclination  for  a  life  of  communion  with  God 
here,  and  such  a  heaven  as  the  scriptures  pro- 
pose hereafter,  than  the  beasts  of  the  field. 
But  the  Lord  has  said,  "  I  will  work,  and 
who  shall  let  it?"  Is.  xliii.  13.  When  he 
is  pleased  to  clothe  the  word  preached  with 
the  influences  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  and  to  ap- 
ply it  to  the  conscience,  it  is  quick,  powerful, 
penetrating,  and  irresistible  as  lightning  ;  it 
conveys  a  voice,  which  the  deaf,  yea,  the  dead, 
must  hear  :  it  forces  a  light  upon  the  mind 
which  cannot  be  evaded.  Then  things  are 
seen  as  they  are.  The  nature  and  desert  of 
sin  is  apprehended,  and  then  the  gospel  is 
found  to  be  the  only  balm  for  a  distressed  and 
wounded  conscience.  Therefore,  having  the 
Lord's  command  and  promise,  we  are  not  to 
be  discouraged  by  the  carelessness  or  obsti- 
nacy of  those  who  know  not  what  they  do. 
We  are  aware  of  the  difficulty,  yea,  the  im- 
possibility  of  succeeding  in  our  endeavour  to 
save  the  souls  of  our  hearers,  if  we  had  only 
to  depend  upon  our  own  arguments  or  ear- 
nestness. We  are  not  to  reason,  but  to  obey. 
Our  business  is  to  deliver  our  message,  and 
in  our  happier  moments  to  water  it  with  our 
prayers  and  tears.  When  we  have  done  this 
we  can  do  no  more.  The  event  must  be  left 
with  him  in  whose  name  we  speak.  We  must 
not  suppress  nor  disguise  what  we  are  com- 
manded to  declare;  nor  wilfully  make  any 
additions  of  our  own,  to  accommodate  it  to 
the  taste  or  prejudice  of  our  hearers,  2  Cor. 
iv.  2.  Let  those  preach  smooth  things  who 
will  venture  to  answer  at  the  great  tribunal, 
for  the  souls  that  have  miscarried  under  their 
ministry ;  we  dare  not.  Let  those  be  asham- 
ed of  the  gospel  of  Christ  (Rom.  i.  16.),  who 
feel  no  obligations  to  him  for  his  dying  love; 
we  cannot,  and  by  the  grace  of  God,  we  will 
not ;  we  will  glory  in  it.  God  forbid  that  we 
should  glory  in  any  thing  else!  (Gal.  vi.  14.) 
Like  Ezekiel,  we  are  commanded  to  preach 
and  prophesy  to  dry  bones,  and  he  who  sends 
us  can  cause  the  dry  bones  to  live.  "  O  ye 
dry  bones,  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord  !  Ezek. 
xxxvii.  4.  The  word  of  his  salvation  is  sent 
to  you.  The  Lord  is  risen  indeed  !  Arise, 
shine,  for  your  light  is  come  !  In  his  name 
we  proclaim  pardon  and  peace  to  all  who  will 
seek  him.  But  seek  him  to-day,  while  it  is 
called  to-day  ;    to  morrow  is  not  yours.     Seek 


SEli.  VIII. 


THE  SUN    RISING,    &C. 


him  now,  while  he  may  be  found.  Harden 
not  your  hearts.  Tremble,  lest  a  promise 
being  left  us  of  entering  into  his  rest,  any  of 
you  should  finally  come  short  of  it,  Heb.  iv.  1. 


SERMON  VIII. 

THE  SUN  RISING  UPON  A  DARK  WORLD. 

The  people  that  umlked  in  darkness  have  seen  a 
great  li»ht ;  they  that  dwell  in  the  land  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  upon  them  hath  the  light 
shined      Isaiah,  ix.  2. 

Contrasts  are  suited  to  illustrate  and 
strengthen  the  impression  of  each  other.  The 
happiness  of  those,  who,  by  faith  in  Messiah, 
are  brought  into  a  state  of  peace,  liberty,  and 
comfort,  is  greatly  enhanced  and  heightened 
by  the  consideration  of  that  previous  state  of 
misery  in  which  they  once  lived,  and  of  the 
greater  misery  to  which  they  were  justly  ex- 
posed. They  are  not  only  made  meet  to  be  par- 
takers of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light 
(Col.  i.  12,  13),  but  they  have  been  delivered 
from  the  powers  of  darkness.  Thus,  while  they 
have  communion  with  God  as  a  father,  they 
contemplate  their  privilege  with  a  greater  plea- 
sure, than  they  probably  could  do  if  they  had 
never  known  a  difference.  They  remembei 
a  time  when  they  were  afar  ofT,  without  hope, 
and  without  God  in  the  world  ;  and  they  re- 
member how  carelessly  they  then  trifled  upon 
the  brink  of  destruction.  In  this  deplorable 
and  dangerous  situation  they  were  found  of 
the  Lord,  when  they  sought  him  not,  Isa. 
lxv.  1.  He  convinced,  humbled,  and  par- 
doned them,  and  brought  them  near  to  him- 
self, into  a  state  of  adoption  and  communion 
by  the  blood  of  Jesus.  The  admiration,  gra- 
titude, and  love,  which  they  feel  for  this  un- 
deserved grace,  gives  them  a  more  lively  sense 
of  the  blessings  they  enjoy.  Yea,  the  thought 
of  what  they  have  been  redeemed  from  (of 
which  they  will  then  have  a  much  clearer  per- 
ception than  at  present)  will  add  to  their  joys 
in  heaven,  and  inspire  such  a  song  of  praise 
as  will  be  peculiar  to  themselves,  and  in  which 
the  holy  angels,  who  never  felt  the  stings  of 
guilt,  nor  tasted  the  sweetness  of  pardoning 
mercy,  will  not  be  able  to  join  them.  They 
are  accordingly  represented,  in  the  prophetical 
vision,  as  standing  nearest  to  the  throne,  and 
uniting  in  the  noblest  strains  of  praise  to  him 
who  sitteth  upon  it  (Rev.  v.  9 — 21),  while 
the  surrounding  angels  can  only  take  part  in 
the  chorus,  and  admire  and  adore,  when  they 
behold  the  brightest  displays  of  the  glory  of 
the  wonder-working  God,  manifested  in  his 
love  to  worthless,  helpless  sinners. 

These  opposite  ideas  are  joined  in  my  text. 
The  people  who  are  spoken  of  as  rejoicing  in 
a  great  light,   were,  till  this  light  arose  and 


671 

shone  upon  them,  in  darkness ;  walking,  sit- 
ting, living  in  darkness,  and  in  the  land  of  the 
shadow  of  death.  That  this  passage  refers  to 
Messiah,  we  have  a  direct  proof.  The  evan- 
gelist refers  it  expressly  to  him,  and  points 
out  the  time  and  manner  of  its  literal  accom- 
plishment, Matth.  iv.  15,  16.  I  shall  first 
consider  the  literal  sense  and  completion  of 
the  prophecy,  and  then  shew  how  fitly  it  ap- 
plies to  the  state  of  mankind  at  large,  and  to 
the  happy  effects  of  the  gospel  of  salvation  ; 
which,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  has  been  the 
instrument  of  bringing  multitudes  of  many 
nations,  peoples,  and  languages,  out  of  a  state 
of  gross  darkness,  into  marvellous  light,  1  Pet. 
ii.  9. 

I.  Hebrew  words  (like  many  in  our  own 
language)  have  often  more  than  one  significa- 
tion. But  only  one  sense  can  be  expressed 
in  a  version.  And  therefore  interpreters  and 
translators  frequently  differ.  Which  of  the 
different  words,  used  to  express  the  meaning 
of  the  same  original  term,  is  most  happily 
chosen,  may  be  sometimes  decided  by  the  con- 
text. The  two  words,  in  the  first  verse  of 
this  chapter,  rendered  lightly  afflicted  and 
grievously  afflicted,  signify  likewise,  the  one 
to  think  lightly  of,  to  account  vile  ;  and  the 
other,  to  honour,  to  render  honourable,  and 
glorious.  Both  these  words  occur  in  one 
verse,  and  are  used  in  these  senses,  in  the 
Lord's  message  to  Eli,  "  Them  that  honour 
me  I  will  honour,  and  they  that  despise  me 
shall  be  lightly  esteemed,"  1  Sam.  ii.  SO.  Had 
the  same  words  been  thus  rendered  in  the 
passage  before  us,  the  sense  of  both  verses 
would,  I  think,  have  been  more  plain,  con- 
nected, and  consistent  to  the  following  pur- 
port, agreeable  to  the  translation  given  by 
Vitringa,  and  the  present  bishop  of  London. 
"  Nevertheless  there  shall  not  be  dimness  [or 
darkness]  as  in  the  time  of  her  vexation  or 
distress.  He  formerly  debased  [made  ligh' 
or  vile]  the  land  of  Zebulon  and  Naphtali 
but  in  the  latter  time  he  hath  made  it  glori 
ous,  even  [the  land]  by  the  way  of  the  sea., 
beyond  Jordan,  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles.  [For] 
th^  people  that  walked  in  darkness  have  seen 
a  great  light,"  &c. — Such  was  the  afflicted 
and  low  state  of  Galilee  previous  to  the  coin- 
ing  of  Messiah  ;  such  was  the  exaltation  and 
honour  it  derived  from  his  appearance. 

1.  The  land  allotted  to  the  tribes  of  Issa- 
char,  Zebulon,  and  Naphtali,  was  chiefly  in- 
cluded in  the  province,  which,  upon  a  subse- 
quent division  of  the  country,  obtained  the 
name  of  Galilee.  The  northern  part  of  it, 
the  inheritance  of  Naphtali,  was  the  boundary 
or  frontier  towards  Syria,  and  had  been  fre- 
quently vexed  and  afflicted,  when  the  sins  of 
Israel  brought  the  armies  of  their  enemies 
upon  them,  as  frontier  countries  usually  suftei 
most  in  times  of  invasion  and  war.  Particu 
larly  this  part  of  the  land,  called  Galilee  of 
the  Gentiles,  was  the  first,  and  most  immedi 


672 


THE   SUN   1US1NG 


KEK.  vill. 


ately  exposed  to  the  ravages  of  Tiglath-Pileser 
and  Sennacherib.  And  as  the  people  there 
were  likewise  more  mixed  with  foreigners, 
and  at  the  greatest  distance  from  the  capital, 
Jerusalem,  on  these  accounts  Galilee  was 
lightly  esteemed  by  the  Jews  themselves. 
They  thought  that  no  prophet  could  arise  in 
Galilee,  John  vii.  52.  It  even  prejudiced 
Nathaniel  against  the  first  report  he  received 
of  Jesus  as  Messiah,  that  he  lived,  and  was 
generally  supposed  (by  those  who  were  con- 
tent to  be  governed  by  popular  rumour,  with- 
out enquiring  attentively  for  themselves)  to 
have  been  born  in  Galilee.  He  asked  with 
an  appearance  of  surprise,  "  Can  any  good 
thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ?""  John  i.  46. 
They  were  accounted  a  rude,  unpolished,  pro- 
vincial people.  And  therefore,  when  Peter 
would  have  denied  any  acquaintance  with  his 
Lord,  he  was  discovered  to  be  a  Galilean 
(Mark  xiv.  70),  by  his  dialect  and  manner  of 
speech 


know  the  God  of  Israel,  it  was  a  land  of  dark- 
ness at  the  time  of  Messiah's  appearance. 
Though  they  were  not  idolaters,  ignorance 
prevailed  among  them.  The  law  and  the  pro- 
phets were  read  in  their  synagogues,  but  we 
may  believe  to  little  good  purpose,  while  they 
were  under  the  direction  of  perverse  teachers, 
who  substituted  the  traditions  of  men  for  the 
commands  of  God.  The  single  circumstance 
of  keeping  herds  of  swine,  as  the  Gadarenes 
did,  seems  a  proof  that  the  law  of  Moses  was 
but  little  regarded  by  them.  They,  as  well  as 
the  people  of  Judea,  were  under  the  guidance 
of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  in  their  religious 
concerns,  who  were,  if  I  may  use  a  modern 
phrase,  the  clergy  of  that  time  ;  and  these,  we 
are  assured  by  him  who  knew  their  hearts, 
were  generally  corrupted,  blind  leaders  of  the 
blind.  Yet  they  were  held  in  ignorant  admi- 
ration, and  implicitly  submitted  to.  From 
the  character  of  the  public  ministers  of  reli- 
gion, we  may,   without  great  danger  of  mis- 


2.  This  despised  and  least  valued  part  of  take,  infer  the  character  of  the  people  who  are 
the  land  of  Israel  was  the  principal  scene  of  I  pleased  and  satisfied  with  their  ministrations. 
Messiah's  life  and   ministry,   insomuch  that,  I  As  the  disciple  cannot,  ordinarily,  be  expect 


as  I  have  observed,  he  was  supposed  to  have 
been  born  there,  a  mistake  which  his  enemies 
industriously  supported  and  made  the  most 
of;  for  those  who  could  persuade  themselves 
that  it  was  so  in  fact,  would  think  themseives 
justified  in  rejecting  his  claim,  it  being  one 
undeniable  mark  of  Messiah,  given  by  the  pro- 
phet Micah,  that  he  was  to  be  born  in  Beth- 
lehem of  Judah,  Micah  v.  2.  He  was,  how- 
ever, brought  up  at  Nazareth,  and  lived  for  a 
time  in  Capernaum,  towns  in  Galilee,  but  both 
of  so  little  repute,  that,  had  they  not  been 
connected  with  his  history,  it  is  not  probable 
that  their  names  would  have  been  transmitted 
to  posterity. 

3.  But  by  his  residence  there,  Galilee  was 
honoured  and  ennobled.  He  himself  de- 
clared, that  on  this  account,  Chorazin,  Betb- 
saida,  and  Capernaum  (though  probably  none 
of  them  were  nore  than  inconsiderable  fishing- 
towns)  were  exalted  even  to  heaven,  Matth.  xi. 
21 — 23.  Those  were  highly  privileged  places 
which  our  Lord  condescended  to  visit  in  per- 
son ;  so  likewise  are  those  places  where  he  is 
pleased  to  send  his  gospel.  I  have  observed 
formerly,  and  I  make  no  apology  for  repeat- 
ing a  truth  so  very  important  and  so  little  at- 
tended to,  that  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  bles- 
sed God,  when  faithfully  preached,  and  thank- 
fully received  and  improved,  renders  an  obscure 
village  more  honourable,  and  of  more  real  con- 
sequence, than  the  metropolis  of  a  great  em- 
pire, where  this  light  shineth  not.  For  what 
are  the  dark  places  of  the  earth,  however  ce- 
lebrated for  numbers  and  opulence,  for  the 
monuments  of  ambition  and  arts,  but  habita- 
tions of  cruelty,  infatuation,  and  misery  ! 

4.  Though  Galilee  was  favoured  with  the 
scriptures,  and  with  synagogue-worship,  and 
the  inhabitants  wire  a  people  who  professed  to. 


ed  to  be  superior  to  his  master  (  Luke  vi.  40,', 
the  religion  of  the  scribes  may  be  taken  as 
a  standard  of  that  of  the  Galileans,  who  were 
instructed  by  them  .  yet  these  were  the  peo- 
ple among  whom  Messiah  chiefly  conversed  ; 
so  that  his  enemies  styled  him  a  Galilean  and 
a  Nazarene,  as  a  mark  of  reproach  and  con- 
tempt. Many  of  his  apostles,  perhaps  the 
most  of  them,  were  Galileans  likewise.  He 
seeth  not  as  man  seeth,  1  Sam.  xvi.  7.  The 
most  of  his  immediate  followers  while  upon 
earth  were  such  as  men  despised,  on  account 
of  their  situation,  rank,  or  callings ;  publi- 
cans and  sinners,  fishermen  and  Galileans. 
This  was,  among  other  reasons,  for  the  en- 
couragement of  the  poor,  the  destitute,  the 
despised,  the  miserable,  and  the  guilty,  in  suc- 
ceeding ages,  who  should  desire  to  put  their 
trust  in  his  name  and  to  implore  his  mercy. 
To  those  who  received  him  he  was  the  light, 
the  true  light ;  he  relieved  them  from  th»- 
ignorance,  wickedness,  and  distress  in  which 
he  found  them.  They,  on  their  parts,  bore 
testimony  to  him.  They  saw  and  acknow- 
ledged his  glory.  They  felt  his  power,  and 
devoted  themselves  to  his  service.  Thus  much 
for  the  literal  sense. 

II.  But  this  prophecy  is  not  to  be  restrain- 
ed to  the  first  and  more  immediate  season  of 
its  accomplishment.  The  Lord  speaks  thus 
of  Messiah  in  another  place  :  "  It  is  a  light 
thing  that  thou  shouldest  be  my  servant,  to 
raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the 
preserved  of  Israel :  I  will  also  give  thee  for 
a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  mayest  be 
my  salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  Isaiah, 
xlix.  6.  And  there  are  many  declarations  of 
a  like  import.  He  is  still  the  light  of  the 
world  (John  viii.  12),  though  no  longer  vi- 
sible and  conversant  with  men.      By  the  in~ 


r>KR.  VIII. 


UPON  A  DARK  WORLD. 


673 


fiuence  and  power  of  his  Spirit,  he  is  still 
present  wherever  his  gospel  is  known.  This 
his  word  of  grace  and  truth  he  sends  where 
he  pleases,  and  with  a  discrimination  not  un- 
like that  which  he  observed  when  he  was  upon 
earth.  The  gospel  is  preached  to  the  poor. 
Courts  and  palaces  are  seldom  favoured  with 
it.  While  he  passes  by  many  great  cities, 
many  habitations  of  the  wise  and  wealthy,  he 
is  known  in  villages  and  cottages.  His  con- 
descension and  favour  to  those  who  are  un- 
noticed by  the  world,  cannot  be  too  highly 
extolled.  That  the  others  are  excluded  from 
the  same  benefits  is  more  properly  to  be  a- 
scribed  to  their  obstinacy  than  to  his  will. 
They  exclude  themselves.  He  stands  at  the 
door  and  knocks,  Rev.  iii.  20.  His  word  is 
within  their  reach  ;  his  ministers  are  within 
their  call.  They  might  easily  enjoy  every 
mean  and  help  which  the  gospel  provides  for 
sinners  if  they  pleased,  but  they  do  not  please. 
They  are  either  engaged  in  a  round  of  sen- 
sual pleasure,  or  engrossed  by  studies  and 
pursuits  which  possess  their  hearts  and  fill  up 
their  thoughts  and  time,  so  that  they  have 
neither  leisure  nor  inclination  to  attend  to 
the  things  which  pertain  to  their  peace.  In- 
stead of  inviting  his  gospel  to  them,  they  too 
frequently  employ  their  power  and  influence 
to  discountenance,  and,  if  possible,  to  sup- 
press it.  They  have  their  choice.  The  great 
and  the  gay  will  not  receive  his  message;  it 
is  therefore  sent  to  the  poor  and  to  the  wretch- 
ed, and  they  will  hear  it.  Yet  as  he  visited 
Jerusalem  in  person,  and  taught  there,  so 
London  likewise  is  favoured  with  the  light  of 
his  gospel.  But  alas !  how  few  believe  the 
report !  They  who  do,  experience  the  change 
described  in  my  text.  Their  darkness  is 
changed  into  marvellous  light. 
J  Mankind,  till  enlightened  by  the  word  and 
Spirit  of  grace,  are  truly  in  a  state  of  dark- 
ness. Thick  darkness  is  a  vail  which  con- 
ceals from  us,  not  only  distant,  but  the  near- 
est objects.  A  man  in  the  dark  cannot  per- 
ceive either  friend  or  enemy  ;  he  may  be  in 
great  danger,  yet  think  himself  in  safety  ;  or, 
if  he  thinks  himself  in  danger,  be  unable  to 
take  any  step  for  his  preservation,  from  a  want 
of  light.  Thus,  though  God  be  our  maker 
and  preserver,  though  in  him  we  live,  move, 
and  have  our  being,  though  we  are  surrounded 
with  his  presence,  and  proofs  of  his  wisdom 
and  goodness  are  before  us  wherever  we  turn 
our  eyes,  yet  we  live  without  him  in  the  world. 
Equally  ignorant  are  we  of  ourselves,  of  the 
proper  happiness  of  our  nature,  or  how  it  is 
to  be  attained.  We  know  neither  the  cause, 
nor  the  cure,  nor  the  consequences  of  our 
proneness  to  cleave  to  the  dust,  and  of  placing 
our  affection  on  inadequate  and  unsatisfying 
objects. 

And  if  we  suppose  a  person  awakened  to  a 
conviction  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  to  under- 
stand  that   nothing   less  than   the  favour  of 


God  can  make  a  rational  and  immortal  crea- 
ture happy,  still,  without  the  gospel,  he  would 
be  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death.  His 
case  may  be  compared  to  that  of  a  person 
shipwrecked  upon  some  desert,  inhospitable 
coast,  suffering  great  horrors  and  anxiety, 
from  his  exposedness  to  perish,  by  hunger, 
by  enemies,  or  wild  beasts — who,  if  he  saw, 
at  no  very  great  distance,  an  island,  and  was, 
by  some  means,  informed  and  assured,  that 
that  island  was  the  seat  of  safety,  plenty,  and 
pleasure ;  and  that,  if  he  was  once  there,  his 
dangers  would  all  cease,  and  his  utmost  wishes 
be  satisfied;  still,  if  there  were  neither  bridge, 
nor  boat,  nor  any  means  by  which  he  might 
arrive  thither,  to  know  that  happiness  was  so 
near  him,  yet  inaccessible  to  him,  would  but 
aggravate  his  misery,  and  make  his  despair 
more  emphatically  pungent.  Miserable  in- 
deed must  we  be,  if  we  clearly  perceived  that 
only  he,  whose  creatures  we  are,  can  make  us 
happy;  and  that,  as  sinners,  we  have  forfeited 
his  favour,  and  are  utterly  incapable  of  re- 
gaining it,  if  we  were  left  under  these  views, 
without  any  hope  of  relief.  Such  must  have 
been  our  situation  sooner  or  later,  if  God, 
who  is  rich  in  mere}',  had  not  himself  pro- 
vided the  means  of  reconciliation.    For  thousrh 

o 

a  hope  of  pardon  is  easily  taken  up  by  those 
who  are  ignorant  of  the  holiness  of  God,  and 
the  malignity  of  sin,  yet  nothing  but  a  decla- 
ration from  himself,  that  there  is  forgiveness 
with  him,  can  give  peace  to  a  truly  awakened 
conscience.  But  Jesus  dispels  this  darkness, 
and  brings  life  and  immortality  to  light  by 
the  gospel.      For, 

1.  The  office  and  agency  of  the  Holy  Spi- 
rit, so  absolutely  necessary  to  make  us  duly 
sensible,  either  of  our  danger,  or  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  escaping  it,  is  entirely  the  effect  of 
his  mediation.  The  soul  of  man,  originally 
formed  to  be  the  temple  of  the  living  God, 
when  defiled  by  sin,  was  justly  forsaken  by  its 
great  inhabitant ;  and,  since  the  fall,  answers 
the  prophetical  description  given  of  Babylon : 
"  It  is  become  the  habitation  of  devils,  the 
hold  of  every  foul  spirit,  and  a  cage  of  every 
unclean  and  hateful  bird,"  Rev.  xviii.  2.  If 
we  ask,  as  with  good  reason  we  may,  How 
can  the  wise  and  holy  God,  who  is  of  purer 
eyes  than  to  behold  iniquity,  and  with  whom 
evil  cannot  dwell,  return  to  his  sanctuary, 
thus  polluted  and  profaned  ?  an  answer  is  af- 
forded in  that  gracious  promise,  "  I  will 
sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  you  shall 
be  clean  :  from  all  your  filthiness,  and  from 
all  your  idols,  will  I  cleanse  you  :  and  I  will 
take  away  the  stony  heart,  and  I  will  give 
you  an  heart  of  flesh,  and,"  in  order  to  this, 
"  I  will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,"  Ezek. 
xxxvi.  25,  26.  But  the  source  of  this  mercy 
is  his  sovereign  love  and  purpose,  to  give  the 
seed  of  the  woman,  his  only  Son,  to  be  the 
mediator  of  sinners.  By  his  atonement,  to 
be  manifested  in  due  time,  but  which  had  a 

<3  D 


b74, 


CHARACTERS  AND  NAMES  OF  MESSIAH. 


jEK.  IX. 


virtual    influence    from    the    beginning,    the 
Holy  Spirit  returned  to  dwell  with  men. 

2.  His  obedience  unto  death,  when  revealed 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  enlightened  con- 
science,  affords  a  clear  and  satisfactory  dis- 
covery of  reconciliation  with  God  :  it  shews, 
that,  on  his  part,  every  hindrance  to  the  free 
exercise  of  mercy  is  thereby  removed,  the  ho- 


death,  are  translated  into  the  kingaom  of  life 
and  salvation,  Col.  i.   13. 

How  greatly  are  they  to  be  pitied  who  re  • 
ject  the  light  of  the  gospel !  It  is  true,  they 
cannot  see  it ;  but  it  is  equally  true,  they  will 
not.  But  may  I  not  hope  that  this  is  a  day 
of  divine  power,  in  which  some  of  you  shall 
be  made  a  willing   people?      Do  not  reason 


nour  of  his  law  vindicated,  and  the  demands  of,  against  your  own  life,  but  repent,  and  believe 


his  justice  answered.  On  our  parts,  by  open- 
ing a  door  of  hope,  it  removes  that  enmity 
and  obduracy  of  heart,  which  are  nourished 
by  consciousness  of  guilt,  and  a  secret  fore- 
boding of  deserved  punishment.  But  when 
the  dignity  of  the  Redeemer's  person,  the 
causes,  nature,  and  design  of  his  sufferings 
are  understood,  emotions  of  admiration,  love, 
and  gratitude,  till  then  unknown,  are  felt, 
and  obstinate  sinners  are  made  a  willing  peo- 
ple in  this  day  of  divine  power. 

S.  The  doctrine  of  the  cross  pours  a  light 
upon  every  subject  and  circumstance  in  which 
we  are  concerned.  It  enlarges  the  mind,  and 
forms  the  judgment  and  taste,  agreeable  to 
the  standard  of  truth,  and  the  real  nature  of 
things.  It  rectifies  those  prejudices  and  pre- 
possessions which  dispose  us  to  mistake  good 
for  evil,  and  evil  for  good  (Isa.  v.  20),  to 
pursue  trifles  with  earnestness,  and  to  trifle 
with  things  of  the  greatest  importance.  In 
Jesus  Christ  crucified,  all  the  treasures  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge  are  at  once  both  hid- 
den and  exhibited.  This  object  the  holy  an- 
gels, whose  knowledge  of  the  wonders  in 
creation,  without  doubt,  greatly  surpasses  our 
conceptions,  incessantly  contemplate  with  de- 
light, as  affording  the  brightest  displays  of 
the  manifold  wisdom  of  God,  Eph.  iii.  10. 
It  is  especially  the  fountain  of  wisdom  to  sin- 
ners. They  look  unto  him,  and  are  enlight- 
ened. The  slight  and  partial  thoughts  they 
once  entertained  of  the  great  God,  the  mista- 
ken judgment  they  formed  of  themselves,  of 
their  state  and  their  conduct,  are  corrected 
by  their  knowledge  of  the  cross  :  from  thence 
they  derive  a  solid  hope,  a  humble  spirit,  just 
views  of  their  duty  and  obligations,  and  mo- 
tives and  prospects  which  animate  them  in  a 
course  of  cheerful,  persevering  obedience  to 
the  will  of  God. 

4.  In  this  way,  God,  as  revealed  in  Christ, 
is  apprehended  and  chosen,  as  the  chief  and 
proper  good  of  the  soul.  Thus  the  poor  are 
enriched  with  the  pearl  of  great  price,  and 
the  weary  obtain  rest.  The  mind,  no  longer 
burdened  with  anxiety,  nor  mortified  with  a 
succession  of  disappointments,  which  attended 
the  vain  pursuit  of  happiness  in  earthly  things, 
possesses  present  peace,  and  rejoices  in  the 
expectation  of  future  glory.  It  is  released 
from  the  slavery  of  hewing  out  broken  cis- 
terns, and  introduced  to  the  fountain  of  living 
waters.  Or,  to  close  with  the  beautiful  image 
in  my  text,  The  people  who  once  walked  in 
darkrress,   and   the   region   of  the  shadow  of 


the  gospel.  The  light  shines  around  you, 
whether  you  perceive  it  or  not;  and  it  has  an 
efficacy  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind.  Where 
the  gospel  is  preached,  the  Lord  is  present. 
If  you  call  upon  him,  he  will  hear,  and  you 
shall  receive  your  sight.  If  the  grace  and  the 
glory  of  the  Saviour  have  hitherto  made  no 
impression  upon  your  heart,  you  are  spiri- 
tually blind.  Could  you  be  sensible  of  your 
disorder,  the  remedy  is  at  hand.  If  now,  at 
last,  you  are  willing  to  seek  him,  he  will  be 
found  of  you.  But  if  you  deliberately  prefei 
darkness,  your  state  is  awfully  dangerous ; 
and  if  you  persist  in  your  obstinacy,  your 
ruin  is  unavoidable.  God  is  gracious  and 
long-suffering,  but  he  will  not  be  mocked, 
Gal.  vi.  7.  Humble  yourselves  at  once,  and 
implore  his  mercy,  or  else  prepare  to  meet 
him  in  judgment.  But  be  assured  he  will 
not  meet  you  as  a  man.  You  must  either 
bend  or  break.  The  Lord  forbid  that  he 
should  say  to  any  of  you,  in  the  great  day  of 
his  appearance,  "  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed, 
into  everlasting  fire!" 


SERMON   IX. 

CHARACTERS  AND  NAMES  OF  MESSIAH. 

For  unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is 
given  ;  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his 
shoulder  :  and  his  name  shall  be  called, 
Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God, 
the  Everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace. 
Isaiah,  ix.  6. 

Such  was  the  triumphant  exultation  of  the 
Old  Testament  church  !  Their  noblest  hopes 
were  founded  upon  the  promise  of  Messiah  ; 
their  sublimest  songs  were  derived  from  the 
prospect  of  his  advent.  By  faith,  which  is 
the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  they  consi- 
dered the  gracious  declarations  of  the  faithful 
unchangeable  God  as  already  accomplished 
though  the  actual  performance  respected  a 
period,  as  yet  future  and  distant ;  especially 
as  believers,  under  that  dispensation,  already 
felt  the  influence  of  the  redemption  which 
Messiah  was  to  consummate  in  the  fulness  of 
time.  It  was  the  knowledge  of  his  engage- 
ment on  the  behalf  of  sinners  that  gave  life  and 
significancy  to  all  the  institutions  of  the  cere- 
monial law,  which  otherwise,  though  of  di- 
vine appointment,  would  have  been  a  heavy 


SER.   IX. 


CHARACTERS  AND  NAMES  OF  MESSIAH. 


675 


and  burdensome  yoke,  Acts  xv.  10.  Isaiah, 
therefore,  prepares  this  joyful  song  for  the 
true  servants  of  God,  who  lived  in  his  time; 
and  though  it  was  a  day  of  trial  and  rebuke, 
they  were  provided  with  a  sufficient  compen- 
sation for  all  their  sufferings,  in  being  war- 
ranted to  say,  "  Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  un- 
to us  a  son  is  given  ;  and  the  government 
shall  be  upon  his  shoulder,"  &c. 

This  ancient  song  is  still  new.  It  has  been, 
and  will  be  taken  up  from  age  to  age,  by  the 
New  Testament  church,  with  superior  ad- 
vantage. I  trust  many  of  you  understand  it 
well,  and  rejoice  in  it  daily.  Men  naturally 
look  for  something  wherein  to  rejoice  and 
glory.  Little  reason  have  the  wise  to  glory 
in  their  supposed  wisdom  (Jer.  ix.  £3.),  or 
the  strong  in  their  fading  strength,  or  the  rich 
in  their  transitory  wealth  ;  but  this  is  a  just 
and  unfailing  ground  of  glory  to  true  chris- 
tians, that  "  Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us 
a  son  is  given,"  &c. 

"When  a  sinner  is  enlightened  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  to  understand  the  character  and  offices 
of  Messiah,  his  ability  and  willingness  to  save 
those  who  are  ready  to  perish,  and  the  hap- 
piness of  all  who  are  brought  into  subjec- 
tion to  his  gracious  government,  pnd  when  he 
begins  to  feel  the  cheering  effects  of  faith  in 
bis  name,  then  this  song  becomes  his  own, 
and  exactly  suits  the  emotions  and  gratitude 
of  his  heart.  But  many  persons  will  despise 
and  pity  him  as  a  weak  enthusiast.  And  yet, 
perhaps,  they  do  not  think  so  unfavourably  of 
the  rapture  of  Archimedes,  of  whom  it  is  re- 
lated, that  having  suddenly  discovered  the  so- 
lution of  a  difficult  problem  while  he  was 
bathing,  he  was  so  transported  with  joy,  that 
he  forgot  his  situation,  sprung  instantly  from 
the  bath,  and  ran  through  the  city,  crying, 
"  I  have  found  it,  I  have  found  it  !"  He  is 
not  usually  charged  with  madness  on  this  ac- 
count, though  the  expression  of  his  joy  was 
certainly  over-proportioned  to  the  cause.  The 
truth  is,  the  world  will  allow  of  a  vehemence 
approaching  to  ecstacy,  on  almost  any  oc- 
casion, but  on  that  alone,  which,  above  all 
others,  will  justify  it.  A  person  who  would 
be  thought  destitute  of  taste,  if  he  was  unaf- 
fected by  the  music  to  which  this  passage  is 
set,  would,  at  the  same  time,  hazard  his  repu- 
tation for  good  sense,  with  some  judges,  if  he 
owned  himself  affected  by  the  plain  meaning  of 
the  words.  Incompetent  judges  surely  !  who 
are  pleased  to  approve  of  warmth  and  emo- 
tion of  spirit,  provided  the  object  be  trivial, 
and  only  condemn  it  in  concerns  of  the  great- 
est importance  !  But  I  trust  the  character 
of  my  auditory  is  very  different,  and  that  the 
most  of  you  desire  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of 
this  passage,  and  to  have  a  more  lively  sense 
of  your  own  interests  in  it.  May  the  Lord 
grant  your  desire,  and  accompany  our  me- 
ditations upon  it  with  his  power  and  bless 
ing! 


Every  clause  in  this  passage  might  furnish 
subject  for  a  long  discourse ;  but  my  plan 
will  only  permit  me  briefly  to  touch  upon  the 
several  particulars,  which  will  lead  to  a  reca- 
pitulation or  summary  of  what  has  been  al- 
ready considered  more  largely  concerning  the 
person,  offices,  and  glory  of  Messiah.  We 
have, 

I.  His  incarnation. — "  Unto  us  a  child  is 
born ;"  in  our  nature,  born  of  a  woman : 
"  Unto  us  a  son  is  given  ;"  not  merely  a  man- 
child,  but,  emphatically,  a  son,  the  Son  of 
God.  This  was  the  most  precious  gift,  the 
highest  proof  and  testimony  of  divine  love. 
The  distinction  and  union  of  these  widely 
distant  natures,  which  constitute  the  person 
of  Christ,  the  God-man,  the  Mediator,  is,  in 
the  judgment  and  language  of  the  apostle, 
the  great  mystery  of  godliness  (1  Tim.  iii.  16), 
the  pillar  and  ground  of  truth.  I  shall  not 
repeat  what  I  have  already  offered  on  this 
point  in  the  fifth  sermon.  It  is  the  central 
truth  of  revelation,  which,  like  the  sun,  dif- 
fuses a  light  upon  the  whole  system,  no  part  of 
which  can  be  rightly  understood  without  it. 
Thus  the  Lord  of  all  humbled  himself,  to  ap- 
pear in  the  form  of  a  servant  for  the  sake  of 
sinners. 

II.  His  exaltation. — "  The  government 
shall  be  upon  his  shoulder."  In  our  nature 
he  suffered,  and  in  the  same  nature  he  reigns. 
When  he  had  overcome  the  sharpness,  the 
sting  of  death,  he  took  possession  of  the  king- 
dom of  glory  as  his  own,  and  opened  it  to  all 
who  believe  in  him.  Now  we  can  say,  He 
who  governs  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and 
whom  all  things  obey,  is  the  child  who  was 
born,  the  son  who  was  given  for  us.  Some 
subsequent  passages  will  lead  us  hereafter  to 
contemplate  more  directly  the  glory  of  the 
Redeemer's  administration  in  the  kingdoms  of 
providence  and  grace.  At  present,  there- 
fore, I  shall  only  observe,  that  the  exaltation 
of  the  Redeemer  infers  the  dignity  and  security 
of  the  people  who  are  united  to  him  by  faith. 
They  have,  in  one  respect,  an  appropriate  ho- 
nour, in  which  the  angels  cannot  share.  Their 
best  friend,  related  to  them  in  the  same  na- 
ture, is  seated  upon  the  throne  of  glory.  Since 
he  is  for  them,  who  can  be  against  them  ? 
What  may  they  not  expect,  when  he,  who  has 
so  loved  them  as  to  redeem  them  with  his  own 
blood,  has  all  power  committed  unto  him, 
both  in  heaven  and  on  earth !   For, 

III.  The  names  and  characters  here  ascrib- 
ed to  him,  are  not  only  expressive  of  what  he 
is  in  himself,  but  of  what  he  has  engaged  to 
be  to  them. 

1.  His  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful. — 
In  another  place  the  word  is  rendered  Secret, 
Judges  xiii.  18.  It  is  true  of  him  in  both 
senses.  He  is  Wonderful  in  his  person,  obe- 
dience, and  sufferings;  in  his  grace,  govern- 
ment, and  glory.  So  far  as  we  understand 
his  name,  the  revelation  by  which,  as  by   a 


b'/6 


CHARACTERS  AND   NAMES  OF  MESSIAH. 


SER.  IX. 


name,  he  is  made  known,  we  may,  we  must, 
believe,  admire,  and  adore.  But  how  limited 
and  defective  is  our  knowledge  !  His  name  is 
Secret.  Who  can  by  searching  find  him  out? 
Job  xi.  7.  His  greatness  is  incomprehensible, 
his  wisdom  untraceable,  his  fullness  inexhaust- 
ible, his  power  infinite.  No  one  knoweth  the 
Son  but  the  Father.  But  they  have  a  true, 
though  not  an  adequate  knowledge  of  him, 
who  trust,  love,  and  serve  him  ;  and  in  their 
view  he  is  Wonderful !  The  apostle  expresses 
the  sentiment  of  their  hearts,  when  he  says, 
"  Yea,  doubtless,  I  count  all  things  but  loss 
and  dung  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge 
of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord." 

2.  Another  of  his  names  is  Counsellor. — 
The  great  councils  of  redemption,  in  which 
every  concern  respecting  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  salvation  of  sinners  was  adjusted,  were 
established  with  him,  and  in  him,  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  And  he  is  our  Coun- 
sellor or  Advocate  with  the  Father,  who  pleads 
our  cause,  and  manages  all  our  affairs  in  per- 
fect righteousness,  and  with  infallible  success  ; 
so  that  no  suit  can  possibly  miscarry  which 
he  is  pleased  to  undertake.  To  him  likewise 
we  must  apply  (and  we  shall  not  apply  in 
vain)  for  wisdom  and  direction,  in  all  that  be- 
longs to  our  duty,  and  the  honour  of  our  pro- 
fession in  the  present  life.  In  all  our  diffi- 
culties, dangers,  and  cares,  we  must  look  to 
him  for  guidance,  and  support.  This  is  to  be 
wise  unto  salvation.  His  secret  is  with  them 
that  consult  him  ;  so  that  though  the  world 
may  deem  them  weak  and  ignorant  as  babes 
(and  he  teaches  them  to  think  thus  of  them- 
selves), they  have  a  cheering  and  practical 
knowledge  of  many  important  subjects,  which 
are  entirely  hidden  from  those  who  are  wise 
and  prudent  in  their  own  eyes. 

3.  He  is  the  Mighty  God. — Though  in  the 
office  of  mediator,  he  acts  in  the  character  of 
a  servant,  his  perfections  and  attributes  are 
truly  divine.  Only  the  mighty  God  could 
make  a  provision  capable  of  answering  the 
demands  of  the  holy  law,  which  we  had  trans- 
gressed. Only  the  mighty  God  could  be  a 
suitable  Shepherd  to  lead  millions  of  weak 
helpless  creatures  to  glory,  through  the  many 
difficulties,  dangers,  and  enemies,  they  are 
exposed  to  in  their  passage.  Add  to  this,  the 
honour,  dependence,  and  obedience,  which 
this  great  Shepherd  claims  from  his  sheep,  are 
absolute  and  supreme ;  and  they  would  be 
guilty  of  idolatry,  if  they  did  not  know  that 
he  is  the  mighty  God.  Though  real  chris- 
tians, who  are  enlightened  and  taught  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  may,  and  do  differ  in  their  views 
and  explanations  of  some  revealed  truths,  I 
conceive  they  must  be  all  agreed  in  this  point. 
It  is  not  only  necessary  to  be  known  as  the 
only  solid  foundation  of  a  sinner's  hope,  but 
it  immediately  respects  the  object  of  divine 
worship.  For  if  the  Redeemer  is  not  possess- 
ed of  the  incommunicable  perfections  of  Deity, 


the  New  Testament,  in  its  most  obvious  and 
literal  signification,  would  be  chargeable,  not 
only  with  countenancing,  but  with  expressly 
teaching  and  enjoining  idolatry. 

4.  Farther,  he  shall  be  called  the  Everlast- 
ing Father. — He  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them 
brethren  (Heb.  ii.  11),  having  condescended 
to  assume  their  human  nature.  But  they  are 
also  his  children.  They  are  born  into  his  fa- 
mily by  the  efficacy  of  his  own  word  and  Spi- 
rit. F'rom  him  they  derive  their  spiritual  life, 
being  united  to  him  by  faith,  and  receiving 
from  first  to  last  out  of  his  fulness.  And  he 
is  an  everlasting  Father.  Our  fathers  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh  are  subject  to  death.  But  his 
relation  to  them  subsists  unchangeably  and 
therefore  they  cannot  be  destitute :  and  he  is 
thus  equally  to  them  all.  They  live  upon  the 
earth,  and  are  removed  from  it,  in  a  long  suc- 
cession of  ages ;  but  he  is  the  Father  of  the 
everlasting  age,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  for  ever.  All  generations  shall  call  him 
blessed.  To  him,  therefore,  the  apostle  teaches 
us  to  apply  that  sublime  passage  of  the  Psal- 
mist :  "  Thou,  Lord,  in  the  beginning  hast  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  earth,  and  the  heavens 
are  the  work  of  thy  hands.  They  shall  per- 
ish, but  thou  remainest;  and  they  all  shall 
wax  old  as  doth  a  garment ;  and  as  a  vesture 
shalt  thou  fold  them  up,  and  they  shall  be 
changed  ;  but  thou  art  the  same,  and  thy  years 
shall  not  fail,"  Psal.  cii.  25 — 27.  Heb.  i,  10 
— 12. 

5.  Lastly,  he  shall  be  called  the  Prince  of 
Peace, — whose  sovereign  prerogative  it  is,  to 
speak  peace  to  his  people  (Psal.  lxxxv.  8); 
and  there  is  no  peace,  deserving  the  name, 
but  that  which  he  bestows.  The  scripture  ex- 
pressly declares,  that  there  is  no  peace  to  the 
wicked,  Is.  lvii.  21.  By  whatever  name  we 
call  that  thoughtless  security  and  insensibility, 
in  which  mankind  generally  live,  while  igno- 
rant of  God  and  of  themselves,  we  cannot  al- 
low it  to  be  peace.  It  is  the  effect  of  blind- 
ness and  hardness  of  heart;  it  will  neither 
bear  reflection  nor  examination.  Can  they 
be  said  to  possess  peace,  however  fatally  re- 
gardless they  may  be  of  futurity,  who  are  at 
present  under  the  dominion  of  restless,  insati- 
able, and  inconsistent  passions  and  appetites? 
But  the  kingdom  of  Messiah  is  a  kingdom  of 
peace,  and  in  him,  his  happy  subjects  enjoy  a 
peace  which  passeth  al!  understanding  (Phil. 
iv.  7),  such  as  the  world  can  neither  give  nor 
take  away.  He  has  made  peace  by  the  blood 
of  his  cross  (Col.  i.  20),  for  all  that  come  unto 
God  by  him.  Until  they  are  in  trouble  and 
distress,  until  they  feel  the  bitterness  and  fear 
the  consequences  of  their  sins,  and  see  the  im- 
possibility of  helping  themselves,  they  will  not 
apply  to  him ;  but  whenever  they  do  seek 
him,  thus  weary  and  heavy-laden,  he  hears 
their  prayer.  Their  minds,  for  a  season,  are 
like  the  sea  in  a  storm,  they  are  distressed 
with  guilt,   fears,  and  temptations;  but  when 


SEH.   IX. 


CHARACTERS  AND  NAMES  OF  MESSIAH. 


G77 


lie  reveals  his  mighty  name  and  boundless 
grace  to  their  hearts,  and  says,  Peace  be  still 
(Mark  iv.  39),  then  there  is  a  great  calm.  Be- 
ing justified  by  faith,  they  have  peace  with  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  gives 
them  peace  likewise  in  a  changing  troublesome 
world,  by  inviting  and  enabling  them  to  cast 
all  their  cares  upon  him,  and  to  trust  all  their 
concerns  in  his  hands,  upon  the  assurance  his 
word  gives  them,  that  he  careth  for  them,  and 
will  manage  and  over-rule  every  thing  for 
their  good.  In  proportion  as  their  faith  real- 
izes his  promises,  they  feel  a  composure  and 
satisfaction.  Knowing  that  the  hairs  of  their 
head  are  numbered,  that  their  afflictions,  no 
less  than  their  comforts,  are  tokens  of  his  love, 
that  he  will  give  them  strength  according  to 
their  day,  that  he  will  be  their  guide  and  their 
guard  even  unto  death  ;  they  are  not  greatly 
moved  by  any  events,  or  disturbed  by  appre- 
hensions, because  their  hearts  are  fixed  (Psal. 
cxii.  7),  trusting  in  the  Lord.  Farther,  he 
teaches  them  (what  can  only  be  learnt  of  him) 
how  to  seek  and  maintain  peace  among  men. 
His  love  subdues  the  power  of  self,  and  forms 
them  to  a  spirit  of  philanthropy  and  benevo- 
lence, which  has  often  such  an  effect,  that 
they  who  dislike  them  for  their  attachment  to 
him  and  to  his  precepts,  and  would  willingly 
speak  evil  of  them,  are  ashamed,  and  put  to 
silence,  by  their  perseverance  in  well-doing. 
Thus  their  peace  increases  as  a  river,  which 
runs  with  a  deeper  and  a  broader  stream  as  it 
approaches  the  ocean.  For  their  peace  is  then 
strongest  and  most  unshaken,  when  they  draw 
near  to  death,  and  are  upon  the  point  of  re- 
signing their  souls  into  his  hands.  This  is 
the  time,  when,  if  not  before,  the  false  peace 
of  the  worldling,  will  give  way  to  terror  and 
dismay.  But  "mark  the  perfect  man,  and 
behold  the  upright,  for  the  end  of  that  man 
is  peace,"  Psal.  xxxvii.  37.  It  must  be  al- 
lowed, that  many  of  his  people,  through  the 
power  of  temptation  and  remaining  unbelief, 
have,  at  some  seasons,  uncomfortable  fears 
concerning  a  dying  hour  ;  but  when  the  time 
of  their  dismission  actually  arrives,  we  seldom 
see  them  afraid  of  the  summons.  There  is  a 
strength  necessary  to  support  the  soul  at  the 
approach  of  death,  wluch  is  usually  with-held 
till  the  time  of  need.  But  then  it  is  vouch- 
safed. They  who  have  frequently  access  to 
the  beds  of  dying  believers,  can  bear  testimo- 
ny, as  eye-witnesses,  to  the  faithfulness  of 
their  Lord.  How  often  have  we  seen  them 
triumphing  in  the  prospect  of  immortality  ! 
as  happy,  in  defiance  of  pain  and  sickness,  as 
we  can  well  conceive  it  possible  to  be  while 
in  the  body,  and  as  sure  of  heaven,  as  if  they 
were  already  before  the  throne. 

Such  is  the  character  of  Messiah  !  This  is 
the  God  whom  we  adore  ;  our  almighty,  un- 
changeable Friend  !  His  greatness  and  good- 
ness, hisgloryand  his  grace,  when  once  known, 


admiration,  gratitude,  and  desire.  From  hence 
spring  a  cheerful,  unreserved  obedience  to  his 
commands,  and  a  deliberate  voluntary  submis- 
sion to  his  holy  will.  For  his  people  do  not 
serve  him  or  yield  to  him  by  constraint ;  at 
least  it  is  only  the  pleasing  constraint  of  love, 
which  makes  their  duty  their  delight,  and 
their  burden  and  grief  is  that  they  can  serve 
him  no  better. 

May  we  be  all  thus  minded  !  I  dare  not 
hope  it  is  so  with  us  all  at  present.  But  this 
is  the  day  of  his  grace.  For  this  cause  he 
came  into  the  world,  that  he  might  draw  many 
hearts  to  himself,  John  xii.  32.  And  for  this 
purpose  he  favours  us  with  his  gospel,  by 
which  he  still  says,  "  Look  unto  me,  and  be 
ye  saved,"  Isaiah,  xlv.  22.  "  Come_unto  me, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest,"  Matth.  xi.  28.  To 
be  found  among  his  faithful  followers,  in  the 
great  day  when  he  shall  come  to  judge  the 
world,  is  the  one  thing  which,  above  all  others, 
deserves  our  solicitude. 

Hear  then  his  voice  to-day.  Perhaps  you 
are  apprised  of  the  necessity  of  a  change  of 
heart  and  life,  at  some  future  period,  in  order 
to  die  safely.  Such  a  change  is  equally  neces- 
sary if  you  wish  to  live  comfortably.  While 
you  are  unfit  to  die,  you  can  have  no  true  en- 
joyment of  life.  It  were  easy  to  prove  at 
large  that  procrastination  is  highly  dangerous. 
Admitting  that,  according  to  your  present 
feelings,  you  really  think  yourself  determined 
to  seek  the  Lord  at  some  future  time,  do  you 
consider  how  many  uncertainties  you  presume 
upon  ?  Are  you  sure  that  you  shall  not  be 
suddenly  cut  off  by  an  unexpected  and  un- 
thought-of  stroke,  or  visited  by  a  fever  which 
may  quickly  bring  you  into  a  state  of  delirium 
or  stupefaction,  and  render  your  projected  re- 
pentance impracticable?  Yea,  it  will  in  any 
circumstances  be  impracticable,  unless  God  is 
pleased  to  influence  your  mind  by  his  good 
Spirit.  If  you  grieve  this  Spirit  now,  by  re- 
sisting his  operations,  what  reason  have  you 
to  expect  that  he  will  then  return  ?  Do  we 
not  see  many  instances  of  what  the  poet, 
with  great  propriety,  calls,  "  A  slow  sudden 
death  ?"  How  many  people,  while  pining 
away  under  the  power  of  some  incurable  dip- 
ease,  amuse  themselves  with  the  hope  of  re- 
covery to  the  last  gasp ;  and  though  their  ac- 
quaintance read  death  in  their  countenance  for 
weeks  or  months,  in  defiance  of  such  repeated 
and  long-continued  warnings,  they  die  as  sud- 
denly, with  respect  to  their  own  apprehensions, 
as  if  killed  by  lightning.  Tremble,  lest  such 
be  your  last  end,  if  you  trifle  with  God,  who 
now  calls  you  by  his  gospel,  to  seek  him  to- 
day, while  it  is  called  to-day. 

But  I  would  lead  you  to  consider  your  de- 
lay not  only  as  dangerous  but  as  unreason- 
able. Why  are  you  afraid  of  being  happy 
too  soon  ?  What  strange  and  hard  thoughts 
have  you  of  God,  if  you  suppose  you  can  find 


fix  the  heart,,  no  more  to  rove,  and  fill  it  with  [more  pleasure  in  living  according  to  your  own 


Tllli  angel's  message  and  song. 


G78 

wills  than  in  obedience  to  his  commands! 
Can  the  world  give  you  such  peace  and  satis- 
faction as  I  have  attempted  to  describe  ?  Do 
you  think  a  real  persuasion  that  God  is  your 
friend,  and  that  heaven  will  be  your  home, 
will  spoil  the  relish  of  your  earthly  enjoy- 
ments, or  make  your  lives  uncomfortable  ? 
What  hard  thing  does  the  Lord  require  of 
you,  that  you  are  so  unwilling  to  comply  ? 
IC  we  set  aside,  for  a  moment,  the  considera- 
tion of  a  future  state  and  a  final  judgment, 
yet  even  in  a  temporal  view  you  would  be 
great  gainers,  if  your  spirit  and  your  conduct 
were  regulated  by  the  gospel.  What  heart- 
breaking troubles,  what  losses,  contests,  pains 
of  body,  and  remorse  of  conscience,  would 
some  of  you  have  avoided,  if  you  had  believed 
and  obeyed  the  word  of  God  !  What  distresses 
may  your  headstrong  passions  soon  plunge 
you  into,  if  you  presume  to  go  on  in  your 
sins  !  For  that  the  way  of  transgressors  is 
hard,  is  not  only  declared  in  scripture,  but 
proved  by  the  history  and  observation  of  every 
day.  Forsake  the  foolish,  therefore,  and  live. 
And  while  the  door  of  mercy  is  still  open  be- 
fore you,  pray  to  him  who  is  able  to  bless  you 
indeed,  by  delivering  you  from  the  guilt  and 
from  the  power  of  your  iniquities;  lest,  if 
being  often  reproved  (Prov.  xxix.  1),  and  still 
hardening  your  hearts,  you  should  suddenly 
be  destroyed,  and  that  without  remedy. 


SER.  X. 


SERMON  X. 

THE  ANGEL'S  MESSAGE  AND  SONG. 

There  were  in  the  same  country  shepherds  a- 
biding  in  the  field,  keeping  watch  over  their 
flock  by  night.  And  lu,  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  came  vpon  them,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  shone  round  about  them :  and  they 
were  sore  afraid.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
said  unto  them,  Fear  not ;  for,  behold,  I 
bring  unto  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy, 
which  shall  be  to  all  people.  For  unto  you 
is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Sa- 
viour, which  is  Christ  the  Lord.  And  this 
shall  be  a  sign  unto  you  ;  Ye  shall  find  the 
babe  wrapped  in  swaddling-clothes,  lying  in 
a  manger.  And  suddenly  there  was  with 
the  angel  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host, 
praising  God,  and  saying,  Glory  to  God  in 
the  highest,  on  earth  peace,  good  will  towards 
men.     Luke,  ii.  8  — 14. 

The  gratification  of  the  great,  the  wealthy, 
and  the  gay  was  chiefly  consulted  in  the  late 
exhibitions  in  Westminster- Abbey.  Butmot- 
vvithstanding  the  expense  of  the  preparations, 
and  the  splendid  appearance  of  the  auditory, 
I  may  take  it  for  granted  that  the  shepherds 
who  were  honoured  with  the  first  information 
of  the  birth  of  Messiah,  enjoyed,  at  free  cost, 
a  much  more  sublime  and  delightful  etertain- 


ment.  How  poor  and  trivial  is  the  most  stu- 
died magnificence  and  brilliancy  of  an  earthly 
court  compared  with  that  effulgence  of  glory 
which  surrounded  the  shepherds  !  The  per- 
formers of  this  Oratorio,  if  I  may  be  allowed 
the  expression,  were  a  multitude  of  the  hea- 
venly host.  And  though  I  do  not  suppose 
that  the  angel  delivered  his  message  in  the 
cadence  which  we  call  recitative,  I  have  no 
doubt  but  the  chorus  was  a  song,  sweetly  me- 
lodious as  from  blest  voices;  a  song  which 
the  redeemed  and  the  angels  of  the  Lord  are 
still  singing  before  the  throne  ;  a  new  song 
(Rev.  v.  9),  a  song  which  will  be  always  new 
We  are  made  acquainted  with  the  subject,  yea, 
with  the  very  words  of  this  song.  May  oil. 
hearts  be  suitably  affected  by  the  consideration 
of  them  to-day  !  The  melody  and  harmony 
of  heaven  are  far  above  our  conceptions.  The 
music  of  tnat  happy  land  has  no  dependence 
upon  the  vibrations  of  the  air,  or  the  admi- 
rable structure  of  the  human  ear.  But  we 
have  reason  to  believe  there  is,  in  the  world 
of  light  and  love,  something  analogous  to 
what  we  call  music,  though  different  in  kind, 
and  vastly  superior  in  effect  to  any  strains 
that  can  be  produced  by  the  most  exquisite 
voices  or  instruments  upon  earth ;  as  we  rea- 
dily judge  the  glory  of  an  angel  to  be  un- 
speakably more  excellent,  both  in  kind  and  in 
degree,  than  any  thing  that  is  deemed  glorious 
among  mortals. 

To  consider  this  passage  at  large  would  re- 
quire many  discourses.  I  shall  confine  my- 
self at  present  to  a  few  brief  reflections  on  the 
circumstances  of  this  heavenly  vision,  the  mes- 
sage of  the  angel,  and  the  concluding  chorus 
or  song. 

I.    The  circumstances. 

1.  Lo,  an  angel  came  upon  them,  &c. — 
Suddenly,  when  they  had  no  expectation  of 
such  a  visit,  without  any  thing  that  might  pre- 
viously engage  their  attention,  all  at  once,  like 
a  flash  of  lightning,  a  glory  shone  around 
them,  and  an  angel  appeared.  We  do  not 
wonder  that  they  were  impressed  with  fear. 
We  live  near,  perhaps  in  the  midst  of,  an  in- 
visible world,  full  of  great  and  wonderful 
realities,  which  yet,  by  too  many  persons,  are 
considered  and  treated  as  nonentities,  because 
they  are  not  perceived  by  our  bodily  senses. 
But  the  scripture  assures  us  of  the  fact ;  and 
to  reject  this  testimony,  because  it  is  not  con- 
firmed by  our  senses,  is  no  less  irrational  and 
unphilosophical  than  impious.  A  man  born 
blind  can  have  no  more  conception  of  light 
and  colours  than  we  have  of  what  passes  in 
the  world  of  spirits.  And  a  nation  of  blind 
men,  if  there  were  such  a  nation,  would  pro- 
bably treat  a  seeing  person  as  a  visionary  mad- 
man, if  he  spoke  to  them  of  what  he  saw. 
But  he  would  be  sure  of  his  own  perceptions, 
though  he  could  not  satisfy  the  inquiries  and 
cavils  of  the  blind.  Our  senses  are  accom- 
modated to  our  present  statu  ;   but   there  may 


THE  ANGEL'S  MESSAGE  AND  SOXG. 


SEU.  X. 

be  a  multitude  of  objects,  as  real  in  them- 
selves, and  as  near  to  us,  as  any  that  we  be- 
hold with  our  eyes,  of  which  we,  for  want  of 
suitable  faculties,  can  have  no  idea.  To  de- 
ny this,  and  to  make  our  senses  the  criteria  of 
the  existence  of  things  which  are  not  within 
their  reach,  is  exactly  such  an  absurdity  as  a 
blind  man  would  be  guilty  of,  who  should 
deny  the  possibility  of  a  rainbow,  because  he 
never  heard  it  or  felt  it.  However,  faith  is 
the  evidence  of  things  not  seen.  And  they 
who  believe  the  word  of  God  cannot  doubt  of 
the  existence  of  an  invisible  state  and  invi- 
sible ajrents.  The  barrier  between  the  in- 
habitants  of  that  state  and  us  is  too  strong 
to  be  passed,  for  the  will  of  the  great  Creator 
seems  to  be  the  barrier.  Otherwise  it  is  pro- 
bable they  could  easily  surprise  us,  since, 
upon  special  occasions,  they  have  been  per- 
mitted to  discover  themselves.  We  have  a 
natural  dread  of  such  visitants,  even  though 
they  should  appear  to  us,  as  they  did  to  the 
shepherds,  as  messengers  of  peace  and  mercy 
from  God.  Yet  we  must  shortly  mingle 
with  them.  Death  will  introduce  us  into  the 
world  of  spirits,  and  what  we  shall  then  meet 
with,  what  beings  will  be  ready  to  accost  us 
upon  our  first  entrance  into  that  unknown, 
unchangeable  state,  who  can  say?  It  deserves 
our  serious  thought.  We  are  now  encom- 
passed  by  the  objects  of  sense,  but  we  must  be 
soon  separated  from  them  all.  We  live  in  a 
crowd,  but  we  must  die  alone.  Happy  are 
they,  who,  like  Stephen,  shall  be  able  to  com- 
mend their  departing  spirits  into  the  hands 
of  Jesus  !  He  is  Lord  of  all  worlds,  and  has 
the  keys  of  hades,  of  the  invisible  state. 

2.  The  angel  spoke — The  gospel  was  preach- 
ed by  an  angel  to  Zacharias,  to  the  virgin 
mother  of  Messiah,  now  to  the  shepherds ; 
and,  perhaps,  to  none  but  these.  The  angel, 
who  appeared  to  Cornelius,  said  nothing  to 
him  of  Jesus,  but  only  directed  him  to  send 
for  Peter,  Acts  x.  4,  5.  The  glorious  gospel 
of  the  blessed  God,  with  respect  to  its  digni- 
tv,  depth,  and  importance,  may  seem  a  fitter 
theme  for  the  tongue  of  an  angel  than  of  a 
man ;  but,  angels  never  sinned,  and  though 
they  might  proclaim  its  excellency,  they  could 
not,  from  experience,  speak  of  its  efficacy. 
In  this  respect  sinful  worms  are  better  qua- 
lified to  preach  to  others,  concerning  him  by 
whom  they  have  themselves  been  healed  and 
saved.  Their  weakness,  likewise,  is  better 
suited  to  shew  that  the  influence  and  success 
of  the  gospel  is  wholly  owing  to  the  power  of 
God.  It  has  therefore  pleased  God  to  put 
this  treasure  into  earthen  vessels,  and  to  com- 
mit the  ministry  of  his  word,  not  to  angels, 
but  to  men.  They  whom  he  is  pleased  to 
employ  in  this  office,  however  weak  and  un- 
worthy in  themselves,  derive  an  honour  and 
importance  from  the  message  entrusted  to 
them,  and  are  so  far  worthy  of  the  same  at- 
tention,  as  if  an  angel   from   heaven   spoke. 


679 


They  are  sinful  men,  and  have  reason  to  think 
humbly  of  themselves :  nor  should  they,  as 
the  servants  of  a  suffering,  crucified  Master, 
either  wonder  or  complain  if  they  meet  with 
unkindness  from  those  whom  they  wish  to 
serve;  but  they  may  magnify  their  office, 
(Rom.  xi.  13.)  and  it  is  at  the  peril  of  their 
hearers  to  despise  it.  What  the  world  ac- 
counts in  us  the  foolishness  of  preaching,  is 
made  to  those  who  simply  receive  it,  the  wis- 
dom and  power  of  God.  To  others,  even  an- 
gels would  preach  in  vain.  They  who  hear 
not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  who  submit  not 
to  the  ordinary  methods  and  means  of  grace 
which  God  has  appointed,  would  not  be  per 
suaded,  though  one  should  rise  from  the  dead 

3.  The  angel  was  sent  with  the  most  inter- 
esting news  that  could  be  made  known  to 
mankind  ;  not  to  Caesar,  or  to  Herod,  or  to 
the  High  Priest,  but  to  obscure  and  lowly 
shepherds.  The  Lord  seeth  not  as  man  seeth  ; 
the  petty  distinctions  that  obtain  among  men 
are  not  regarded  by  him.  He  is  equally  near 
to  them  that  fear  him  in  every  situation  of 
life,  as  the  sun  shines,  as  freely  and  fully,  up- 
on a  cottage  as  upon  a  palace.  These  shep- 
herds were  doubtless,  of  the  number  of  the 
happy  few,  who,  in  that  time  of  degeneracy, 
were  waiting  and  longing  for  the  consolation 
of  Israel.  The  heads  of  the  Jewish  people 
found  their  consolation  in  their  rank  and 
wealth,  and  in  the  respect  paid  them  by  the 
vulgar.  These  things  usually  add  to  the  idea 
of  self-importance,  and  feed  those  tempers 
which  are  most  displeasing  to  the  Lord,  and 
which  indispose  the  mind  to  the  reception  of 
the  gospel,  or  to  any  due  inquiry  concerning 
it.  And  thus,  in  fact  from  age  to  age,  it  has 
generally  been  hidden  from  the  wise  and  the 
great,  and  revealed  unto  babes.  The  magi, 
or  wise  men  who  lived  in  the  east,  where  the 
knowledge  of  astronomy  obtained,  but  where 
the  scripture  was  not  known,  were  guided  to 
Messiah  by  the  appearance  of  a  new  star  or 
meteor.  The  shepherds,  who  were  acquaint- 
ed with  the  prophecies  concerning  Messiah, 
were  informed  of  their  accomplishment  by  an 
angel.  Thus  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  suit 
the  different  manner  of  making  known  his 
will,  to  the  previous  situation  of  the  persons. 

II.  The  message  of  the  angel,  though 
concise,  was  comprehensive  and  full.  It  con- 
tained the  Fact,  "  Unto  you  is  born  this  day" 
— the  Place,  "  In  the  city  of  David,"  that  is, 
in  Bethlehem,  so  called,  because  David  like- 
wise had  been  born  there  (Luke  ii.  4.) — the 
1  Office  of  Messiah,  "  A  Saviour" — his  Name, 
Honour,  and  Character,  "  Christ,"  or  the 
Anointed  ;  "  the  Lord,"  the  head  and  king 
of  Israel,  and  of  the  church,  the  Lord  of  all. 
I  do  but  recite  these  particulars  now,  as  they 
will  repeatedly  offer  to  our  consideration  in 
the  series  of  subjects  before  roe.  The  de- 
scription of  the  state  in  which  they  would  find 
him,  was  such,  as  could  only  be  reconciled  to 


680 


THE  ANCEl/s  MESSAGE  AND  SONG. 


his  titles  and  honours,  by  that  simple  faith, 
which,  without  vain  reasoning,  acquiesces  in 
the  declarations  of  God.  For  how  unlikely 
would  it  seem  to  a  merely  human  judgment, 
that  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  the  promised  Mes- 
siah, the  Lord  of  all,  should  be  a  babe  wrap- 
ped in  swaddling  clothes,  and  lying  in  a  man- 
ger. Yet  thus  it  was.  Though  rich  in  him- 
self, he  became  poor  for  our  sakes,  2  Cor. 
viii.  9.  On  this  account,  as  the  scriptures 
had  foretold,  he  was  despised  and  rejected  of 
men.  Though  he  came  to  his  own,  as  a  Lord 
or  Master  to  his  own  house  ;  yet,  coming  in 
this  manner,  his  own  professed  servants,  who 
pretended  that  they  were  longing  and  waiting 
for  him,  slighted  and  opposed  him  ;  preferred 
a  notorious  malefactor  to  him,  and  put  him  to 
death  as  an  impostor  and  blasphemer.  But 
the  shepherds  reasoned  not  through  unbelief, 
and  therefore  they  were  not  staggered  :  they 
obeyed  the  message,  they  went,  they  saw,  they 
believed. 

The  seeming  repugnance  between  the  great- 
ness of  Messiah's  claims,  and  the  state  of  hu- 
miliation in  which  he  appeared  when  upon 
earth,  was  the  great  stumbling-block  then,  and 
continues  to  be  so  at  this  day.  Because  he 
stooped  so  low,  and  made  himself  of  no  repu- 
tation, too  many  still  refuse  to  acknowledge 
his  divine  character.  But  they  who  are  wil- 
ling to  be  taught  by  the  word  and  Spirit  of 
God,  see  a  beauty  and  propriety  in  his  sub- 
mitting to  be  born  in  a  stable,  and  to  live  as  a 
poor  man,  destitute  of  house  or  property. 
Hereby  he  poured  contempt  upon  worldly 
pomp  and  vanity,  sanctified  the  state  of  poverty 
to  his  followers,  and  set  them  an  encouraging 
example  to  endure  it  with  cheerfulness.  They, 
like  the  shepherds  and  his  first  disciples,  are 
delivered  from  their  natural  prejudices,  and 
are  enabled  to  behold  his  glory,  through  the 
vail  of  his  outward  humiliation,  as  the  glory 
of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father.  And  his 
condescension  in  becoming  poor  for  their 
sakes,  that  they  through  his  poverty  might  be 
made  rich,  affects  their  hearts  with  admiration 
and  gratitude. 

But  though  too  many,  who  are  governed  by 
the  spirit  and  maxims  of  this  world,  are  far 
from  admiring  his  love,  in  assuming  our  na- 
ture under  those  circumstances,  which,  from 
his  infancy  to  his  death,  exposed  him  to  the 
contempt  of  his  enemies,  it  is  otherwise 
thought  of  in  yonder  world  of  light.  For  we 
read,  that  when  the  angel  had  declared  to  the 
shepherds  the  glad  tidings,  a  multitude  of  the 
heavenly  host  expressed  their  joy  by  a  song, 
which  is  the  next  subject  that  offers  to  our 
consideration. 

III.  Their  highest  praise  was  excited  by  a 
view  of  the  effects  which  this  unexampled 
love  would  produce. 

1.  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest. "  In  the 
highest  heaven,  in  the  highest  degree,  for  this 
highest  instance  of  his  mercy.      At  the   crea- 


S.CR.  TU 

tion  these  morning-stars  sung  for  joy,  Job 
xxx viii.  7.  But  redemption  was  a  greater 
work  than  they  had  yet  seen,  and  a  work  by 
which  his  goodness,  wisdom,  and  power,  would 
be  still  more  abundantly  magnified.  The 
glory  of  God,  the  exhibition  of  his  adorable 
perfections,  to  the  view  of  intelligent  crea- 
tures, is  the  last  and  highest  end  of  all  his 
works.  Nor  would  it  be  worthy  of  the  infi- 
nite eternal  God,  in  comparison  with  whose 
immensity,  the  aggregate  of  all  created  good 
is  no  more  than  a  point  compared  with  the 
universe,  or  a  single  ray  of  light  compared 
with  the  sun,  to  propose  any  thing  short  of  hi' 
own  glory,  as  the  ultimate,  final  cause  of  his 
designs.  And  in  proportion  as  any  finite  in- 
telligences are  conformed  to  the  will  of  their 
Creator,  and  impressed  with  a  sense  of  his 
pre-eminence,  their  highest  end  and  aim  will 
be  the  same  with  his.  If,  therefore,  we  com- 
pare the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  his 
creatures  together,  we  may  refer  to  them  what 
our  Lord  was  pleased  to  declare  of  the  two 
great  commandments.  The  former  is  incom- 
parably the  first  and  greatest  of  his  ends  ;  the 
second,  in  its  proper  place  and  subordination, 
is  like  unto  it,  and  inseparably  connected  with 
t,  or  rather  derived  from  it.  The  former  is, 
if  I  may  so  speak,  the  essential  difference  of 
the  divine  operations ;  the  latter,  so  far  as 
consistent  with  it,  is  the  result  of  a  glorious 
and  efficacious  property  of  his  consummate 
excellence.  In  the  redemption  of  fallen  man, 
both  are  displayed  to  the  highest  advantage. 
"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth 
peace,  good-will  towards  men." 

The  glory  of  his  goodness  ; — this  shines 
bright  in  the  capacities  and  happiness  he  has 
communicated  to  angels ;  but  it  shines  with 
greater  brightness  in  the  mercy  afforded  to 
mankind ;  whether  we  consider  the  objects, 
who  are  sinners,  rebels,  and  enemies  j  or  his 
purpose  in  their  favour,  not  only  to  restore 
the  life  they  had  forfeited,  but  to  bestow  it 
more  abundantly  (John  x.  10),  with  respect 
to  title,  security  and  honour  ;  or  lastly,  and 
principally,  the  mean  by  which  their  deliver- 
ance from  everlasting  misery,  and  their  pos- 
session of  everlasting  happiness,  is  procured  ; 
and  which  could  only  be  procured  by  the  hu- 
miliation and  death  of  the  Son  of  his  love. 

The  glory  of  his  wisdom,  in  adjusting  the 
demands  of  his  holiness,  justice  and  truth, 
with  the  purposes  of  his  mercy ; — in  provid- 
ing such  a  method  for  the  exercise  of  his 
mercy,  as  renders  his  displeasure  against  sin 
more  conspicuous  by  pardoning,  than  by  pu- 
nishing it ; — in  abasing  the  sinner's  pride,  by 
the  very  considerations  which  inspire  his  hope 
and  confidence ;  so  that  while  he  confesses 
himself  unworthy  of  the  very  air  that  he 
breathes,  he  is  encouraged  and  warranted  to 
claim  a  participation  in  all  the  blessings  of 
grace  and  glory  : — and  finally,  in  proposing 
motives,  which,  when  rightly  understood,  are 


SER.  X. 


THE  ANGELS  MESSAGE  AND  SONG. 


081 


always  found  sufficient  to  influence  the  heart, 
even  though  it  has  been  habitually  hardened 
in  sin,  long  deaf  to  the  voice  of  reason,  con- 
science, and  interest,  and  equally  unaffected 
by  the  judgments  or  the  mercies  of  God,  till 
enlightened  to  perceive  the  excellency  of  the 
gospel. 

The  glory  of  his  power,  in  making  all  the 
acts  of  free  agents,  through  a  long  succession 
of  ages,  subservient  to  this  great  purpose,  not 
excepting  those  who  most  laboured  to  obstruct 
it ; — in  changing  the  disposition  of  the  sinner, 
however  obstinate  ; — and  in  carrying  on  his 
work  of  gnce,  when  once  begun,  in  such 
feeble  inconsistent  creatures  as  men  are,  in 
defiance  of  all  difficulties  and  opposition  aris- 
ing from  within  or  without. 

These  are  subjects  which  the  angels  desire 
to  look  into  (1  Pet.  i.  12),  which  fill  the 
most  exalted  intelligences  with  admiration. 
The  glory  of  God  was  manifested,  was  cele- 
brated in  the  highest  heavens,  when  Messiah 
was  born  of  a  woman. 

2.  The  great  design  and  effect  of  his  ap- 
pearance with  regard  to  mankind,  is  peace. 
"  On  earth  peace.  '  Man,  as  a  fallen  crea- 
ture, is  in  a  state  of  war  and  rebellion  against 
his  Maker.  He  has  renounced  his  allegiance 
and  dependence,  is  become  his  own  end.  He 
is  now  against  God,  disobedient  to  his  laws, 
and  disaffected  to  his  government.  And  his 
conscience,  if  not  stupified  and  cauterized  by 
frequent  resistance  of  conviction,  suggests 
that  God  is  against  him.  He  feels  he  is  not 
happy  here,  he  fears  he  shall  be  miserable 
hereafter.  This  apprehension  strengthens  his 
aversion  from  God.  And,  indeed,  without  an 
express  assurance  from  the  Lord  himself, 
whom  he  has  offended,  that  there  is  forgiven- 
ess with  him,  he  would  not  only  fear,  but 
sink  into  despair,  if  he  rightly  understood  the 
horrid  enormity  of  a  state  of  alienation  from 
the  blessed  God.  But  infinite  wisdom  and 
mercy  have  provided,  and  propounded  a 
method,  by  which  the  honour  of  the  divine 
perfections  and  government  are  secured,  and 
pardon  and  peace  vouchsafed  to  rebels.  God 
was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  him- 
self. The  knowledge  of  this  mercy,  when  re- 
vealed to  the  sinner's  heart,  subdues  his  en- 
mity, constrains  him  to  throw  down  his  arms, 
and  to  make  an  unreserved  submission  and 
surrender  of  himself;  forms  him  to  a  temper 
of  love  and  confidence,  and  disposes  him  to 
habitual  and  cheerful  obedience.  Now  mercy 
and  truth  are  met  together,  righteousness  and 
peace  have  kissed  each  other  (Psal.  lxxxv. 
10)  ;  and  God  is  glorified  in  the  highest,  for 
peace  proclaimed  upon  the  earth. 

The  expression  of  "  good  will  towards 
men,"  seems  to  rise  upon  the  former.  Not 
only  peace,  but.  acceptance  and  adoption  in 
the  Beloved.  Sinners  who  believe  in  the  Son 
of  God,  are  not  merely  delivered  from  the 
condemnation    they  have    deserved,    but    are 


united  to  their  Saviour  ;  considered  as  one 
with  him,  his  children,  the  members  of  his 
body,  and  made  partakers  of  his  life,  and  hi3 
glory.  God  is  their  portion,  and  heaven  is 
their  home.  The  Lord's  satisfaction  in  this, 
as  the  greatest  of  all  his  works,  is  expressed 
by  the  prophet  in  such  astonishing  terms  o( 
condescension,  as  surpass  our  utmost  concep- 
tions ;  and  we  can  only  say,  Lord,  what  is 
man  that  thou  art  thus  mindful  of  him  !  We 
believe,  admire,  and  adore.  "  The  Lord  thy 
God  in  the  midst  of  thee  is  mighty  :  He  will 
save,  he  will  rejoice  over  thee  with  joy,  he  will 
rest  in  his  love,  he  will  rejoice  over  thee  with 
singing,"   Z'eph.  iii.  17. 

Assuredly  this  song  of  the  heavenly  host  is 
not  the  language  of  our  hearts  by  nature. 
We  once  sought  our  pleasure  and  happiness 
in  a  very  different  way.  We  were  indifferent 
to  the  glory  of  God,  and  strangers  to  his 
peace.  And  some  of  us  are  still  blind  to  the 
excellencies  of  the  gospel,  and  deaf  to  its  gra- 
cious invitations.  But  we  must  not  expect  to 
sing  with  the  great  company  of  the  redeemed 
hereafter,  before  the  throne  of  glory,  unless 
we  learn,  and  love  their  song  while  we  are 
here,  Rev.  xiv.  3.  They  who  attain  to  the 
inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light,  are  first 
made  meet  for  it  in  the  present  life,  and  in 
this  way.  They  believe  the  testimony  of  the 
scripture  respecting  their  own  guilt,  unworthi- 
ness,  and  helplessness  ;  then  they  receive  the 
record  which  God  has  given  of  his  Son.  They 
renounce  all  confidence  in  the  flesh  (Phil.  iii. 
3)  ;  they  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  from  his 
fulness  they  derive  grace  to  worship  God  in 
the  Spirit.  A  sense  of  their  obligations  to 
the  J'aviour,  disposes  them  to  praise  him  now 
as  they  can  ;  and  they  rejoice  in  hope  of  see- 
ing him  ere  long  as  he  is,  and  that  then  they 
shall  praise  him  as  they  ought.  For  heaven 
itself,  as  described  in  the  word  of  God,  could 
not  be  a  state  of  happiness  to  us,  unless  we 
are  like-minded  with  the  apostle,  to  account 
all  things  loss  and  dung  for  the  excellency  of 
the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord, 


SERMON  XL 

Messiah's  entrance  into  Jerusalem 

Rejoice  greatly,  0  daughter  of  Zion  ;  shout,  0 
daughter  of'  Jerusalem  :  behold  thy  A'ing 
cumeth  into  thee  :  he  is  just,  and  hatting  sal- 
vation ;  lowly,  and  riding  upon  an  ass,  and 
upon  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass. — Awl  he  shall 
speak  peace  unto  the  Heathen. — Zech  ix  9, 
10. 

The  narrowness  and  littleness  of  the  mind  of 
fallen  man  are  sufficiently  conspicuous  in  the 
idea  he  forms  of  magnificence  and  grandeur. 
The  pageantry  and  parade  of  a  Ron  an 
triumph,  or  of  an  eastern  monarch,  as  desciib 


682 


MESSIAH  S  ENTRANCE 


i'd  in  history,  exhibit  him  to  us  in  what  he 
himself  accounts  his  best  estate.  If  you  sup- 
pose him  seated  in  an  imperial  carriage,  ar- 
rayed in  splendid  apparel,  wearing  a  crown  or 
tiara  ornamented  with  jewels,  preceded  and 
followed  by  a  long  train  of  guards  and  attend- 
ants, surrounded  by  the  unmeaning  acclama- 
tions of  ignorant  multitudes,  you  see  the  poor 
worm  at  the  summit  of  his  happiness.  He 
has  no  conception  of  any  thing  greater  than 
this.  And  the  spectators  are  generally  of  the 
same  mind.  They  admire,  and  they  envy,  his 
lot ;  and  there  is  hardly  a  person  in  the  crowds 
around  him,  but  would  be  very  glad  to  take 
his  place,  were  it  practicable.  Yet  this  great 
little  creature  would  surely  be  mortified,  if, 
in  the  height  of  his  self-complacence,  he 
could  consider,  that  he  had  the  very  same  re- 
gard for  a  pre-eminence  in  finery,  the  same 
desire  to  be  admired  and  envied,  and  felt  the 
same  kind  of  satisfaction  in  distinction  above 
his  fellows,  when  he  was  a  child  of  ten  years 
old.  He  is  in  effect  a  child  still,  only  he  has 
changed  his  play-things,  and  now  acts  upon. a 
larger  scale,  but  with  the  same  trifling  and 
contracted  views. 

How  different  was  Messiah's  entry  into  Je- 
rusalem foretold  in  this  prophecy,  the  accom- 
plishment of  which  we  read  in  the  evangel- 
ists '  And  how  differently  was  he  affected  by 
the  objects  around  him  !  He  poured  contempt 
upon  the  phantom  of  human  glory.  This 
King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords  was  meek 
and  lowly,  riding  upon  an  ass's  colt,  Luke 
xix.  35 — 38.  And  though  a  secret  divine 
influence  constrained  the  multitude  to  ac- 
knowledge his  character,  and,  with  some  ac- 
commodation to  the  customs  of  the  times,  to 
strew  their  garments  in  the  way,  as  they  pro- 
claimed the  King  who  came  in  the  name  of 
Jehovah;  yet  he  appeared  unmoved  by  their 
applause.  Had  the  history  of  Jesus,  like 
those  which  we  have  of  Socrates  or  Cyrus, 
been  merely  the  work  of  a  human  writer,  am- 
bitious to  adorn  a  favourite  character  with  the 
most  splendid  qualities  of  a  philosopher  or  a 
hero,  we  should  never  have  known  how  his 
mind  was  engaged  in  this  situation.  The 
Saviour  must  be  divine,  his  historian  must  be 
inspired,  the  fact  must  be  true;  for  man 
could  not  have  invented  such  a  circumstance, 
that  this  meek  and  lowly  Saviour  took  no 
notice  of  the  zeal  and  homage  of  his  friends, 
because  his  heart  was  filled  with  compassion 
for  his  enemies,  who  were  thirsting  for  his 
blood       For  it  was  then,  amidst  the  acclama- 


SEU.  XI. 

attention  to  the  new-born  Saviour,  that  the 
jealousy  of  Herod  was  excited,  and  attempts 
made  to  destroy  him.  But  this  wonderful  in- 
fant was  brought  up  in  a  state  of  obscurity,  in 
a  place  of  no  repute,  and  known  by  no  higher 
description  than  that  of  the  carpenter's  son. 
In  the  course  of  his  ministry  he  appeared  and 
was  treated  as  a  poor  man,  he  had  no  certain 
dwelling-place,  he  submitted  to  receive  sup- 
plies for  his  support  from  the  contributions 
of  a  few  of  his  followers,  for  the  most  of 
them  were  poor  like  himself.  And  though  he 
wrought  many  wonderful  works  for  the  relief 
of  the  necessitous  and  miserable,  he  admitted 
no  alteration  in  his  own  external  state,  but 
was  content  to  be  poor  and  despised,  for  our 
sakes,  to  the  end  of  his  life.  I  think  the  only 
occasion  on  which  he  permitted  a  public  ac- 
knowledgment of  his  person  and  character, 
was  when  he  fulfilled  this  prophecy.  And 
still  he  was  the  same  meek  and  lowly  Saviour. 
As  his  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world,  neither 
were  there  any  marks  of  human  grandeur  in 
his  procession.  He  approached  Jerusalem, 
attended,  indeed,  by  a  concourse  of  people, 
but  riding  upon  an  ass,  and  weeping  for  his 
enemies. 

The  passage  of  the  Messiah  which  follows 
the  chorus  of  the  heavenly  host,  is  taken  from 
these  verses.  It  does  not  include  the  whole 
of  them.  In  one  clause  there  is  a  small  alter- 
ation in  the  expression,  but  it  does  not  affect 
the  sense.  Instead  of,  "  He  is  just,  having 
salvation,"  it  is,  "  He  is  a  righteous  Sa- 
viour." 

We  may  notice, 

I.  The  prophet's  address, — "  O  daughter 
of  Zion  and  Jerusalem." 

II.  The  exhortation  to  joy, — "  Rejoice  and 
shout." 

III.  The  cause  assigned  for  this  joy, — 
"  Thy  King  cometh." 

IV.  The  characters  of  the  King, — "  A 
righteous  Saviour." 

V.  His  great  design, — "  To  speak  peace 
to  (he  heathen." 

I.  The  address, — "  O  daughter  of  Zion 
and  Jerusalem."  Zion  and  Jerusalem  are  in 
differently  used  as  emblems  of  the  church,  or 
professing  people  of  God.  When  they  occur 
together,  as  here,  contradistinguished  from 
each  other,  Zion,  the  city  of  David,  the  seat 
of  government,  and  of  the  temple-worship, 
may  denote  the  principal  persons  of  the  eccle- 
siastical and  civil  state;  and  Jerusalem  may 
be  expressive  of  the  people  at  large,  the  daugh- 


tion  of  his  disciples,  that  he  beheld  the  city  I  ters   of  a  place  signifying,  according  to  the 
and  wept  over  it,  while   he  foretold   the   evils  '  Hebrew  idiom,  the  inhabitants.      They  boast- 


which  the  rejection  of  him  would  bring  upon 
it.  "  Oh  that  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou, 
at  least  in  this  thy  day,  the  things  belonging 
to  thy  peace  !  But  now  they  are  hidden  from 
thine  eyes." 

An  angel  proclaimed  his  birth  to  the  shep 
herds  ;   and  wise  men  from  the  east  paid  such 


ed  that  they  were  the  Lord's  peculiar  people  ; 
they  had  the  prophecies  and  promises  con- 
cerning Messiah  in  their  hands,  and  were  pro- 
fessedly expecting  and  waiting  for  his  appear- 
ance. They  are,  therefore,  called  upon  to  re- 
joice in  it.  But  when  he  actually  came, 
though   he   came  to  his  own,  to  his  own  na 


SER.  XI. 


INTO  JERUSALEM. 


G83 


tion,    city  and  temple ;    his   own    people,    to 
whose   affection   and  allegiance    lie    had    the 
justest   claim,  received  him  not,  John  i.  11. 
There  were  a  few,  however,  who  truly  waited 
for  him  as  the  hope  and  consolation  of  Israel, 
at  the  time  of  his  birth  ;  and  many  more  were 
afterwards  convinced  by  his  gracious  words 
and   works,   that  he  only  had   the  words   of 
eternal  life,  and  became   his   followers.      By 
their  acknowledged  principles,  they  were  all 
bound    to   acknowledge  that    prophet    whom 
Moses    had    foretold    God    would    raise    up 
among  them  like  unto  himself  (Deut.  xviii. 
15 — 19;   Acts  vii.  37),  that  is,  to  be,  as  he 
had  been,  a  lawgiver,  to  institute  a  new  dis 
pensation  of  the  true  religion  ;  and  their  re- 
fusal involved  them,  as  a  nation,  in  the  pu- 
nishment, which  Moses  had  likewise  denounc- 
ed against  those  who  should  refuse  to  heark- 
en to  him.      Thus  their  peculiar  advantage  in 
possessing  a  divine  revelation,  while  the  rest 
of  mankind  were  left  ignorant  of  the  will  of 
God,   proved   an  aggravation   of  their  guilt, 
and  rendered  their  obstinacy  more  inexcusa- 
ble, and  their  condemnation  more  severe.     I 
am  bound  to  take  every  opportunity  of  notic- 
ing the  striking  parallel  in  this  respect,  be- 
tween   the    Jewish    nation    in    our    Saviour's 
time,  and  the  nations,  who,  since  that  period, 
have  admitted  the  New  Testament  as  a  revel- 
ation from  God.      By  assuming  the  Ciiristian 
name,   and  so  far  calling  the  Saviour  Lord, 
while  they  reject  the  spirit  and  design  of  the 
gospel,  and  treat  the  ministers  of  it  with  ne- 
glect or  contempt,  they  tread  in  the  steps,  and 
share  in  the  guilt,  of  those  who  pretended  to 
expect  Messiah,  and  yet  crucified  him  when 
he  appeared  among  them.    In  person  he  could 
be  crucified  but  once  ;  but  the  scripture  speaks 
of  those  who  crucify  the  Son  of  God  afresh, 
and  put  him  to  open  shame.      How  far  this  is 
the  case  of  the  persons  who  can  bear  to  hear 
of  his  passion  and  his  kingdom  when  made 
the  subject  of  a  musical  entertainment,  but 
upon  no  other  occasion,  deserves  their  serious 
consideration. 

II.  The  exhortation  can  only  be  complied 
with  by  those  who  are  sensible  of  their  need 
of  a  Saviour,  and  his  authority  and  ability  to 
save.  To  these  the  prophet  brings  a  joyful 
message,  and  they  will  rejoice  and  shout. 
The  joy  of  harvest  (Isa.  ix.  3),  and  of  the 
victors  in  war  when  dividing  the  spoil  of  the 
vanquished,  is  celebrated  with  shouting.  But 
sinners  who  by  the  knowledge  of  Messiah,  are 
delivered  from  going  down  into  the  pit,  from 
the  dominion  of  the  powers  of  darkness,  and 
are  translated  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  expe- 
rience a  joy  far  superior,  in  kind  and  degree, 
to  any  satisfaction  that  temporal  things  can 
afford.  It  is  a  joy  unspeakable,  and  full  of 
glory,  1  Pet.  i.  8.  Jesus,  when  known  and 
received  by  faith,  is,  in  the  highest  sense,  light 
to  those  who  sit  in  darkness,  health  to  the 
sick,    food    to    the    hungry,    and    rest    to    the 


weary  soul.  Thus  many  rejoiced  in  his  good- 
ness when  he  was  upon  earth ;  and  he  still 
has  a  people,  and  will  have  to  the  end  of  time, 
who  do  and  shall  rejoice  in  him  upon  these 
accounts,  though  every  spring  of  temporal  jov 
should  be  dried  up.  They  who  know  his 
name,  and  put  their  trust  in  him,  are  warrant- 
ed to  appropriate  those  strong  expressions  of 
another  prophet :  "  Although  the  fig-tree  shall 
not  blossom,  neither  shall  fruit  be  in  the  vine, 
the  labour  of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the  fields 
shall  yield  no  meat,  the  flock  shall  be  cut  off 
from  the  fold,  and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in 
the  stalls ;  yet  I  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  I 
will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation,"  Hab. 
iii.  17,  18. 

III.  The  ground  and  cause  of  this  joy  is 
assigned, — "  Thy  King  coineth."  Messiah 
is  a  king.  This  title  he  avowed  to  Pilate 
(Mark  xv.  2),  by  whose  order  it  was  affixed 
over  him  upon  his  cross.  That  this  was  not 
a  slight  and  arbitrary  circumstance,  but  pro- 
vidential and  important,  we  may,  I  think,  in- 
fer from  the  care  taken  by  the  evangelists  to 
preserve  the  remembrance  of  it,  for  it  is  re- 
corded by  them  all.  He  is,  indeed,  King  of 
kings,  King  and  Lord  of  nations,  King  of 
worlds  ;  but  he  is  here  spoken  of  as  King  of 
Zion.  The  kingdom  he  came  to  establish 
upon  earth  is  not  of  this  world,  nor  like  the 
kingdoms  of  tlie  world.  The  maxims,  lan- 
guage, interests,  and  aims  of  it,  are  peculiar 
to  itself.  His  power  and  providence  rule 
over  all ;  but  he  is  only  known,  admired,  and 
willingly  obeyed  by  the  subjects  of  his  spirit- 
ual kingdom,  who,  though  they  are  in  the 
world,  are  not  of  it,  but  strangers  and  pil- 
grims upon  the  earth.  Their  -rcXirtv^a,  or 
true  citizenship,  is  in  heaven,  Phil.  ii.  20. 
These  are  his  peculiar  people.  And  though 
they  partake  with  others  in  the  changes  and 
trials  incident  to  this  mortal  life,  and  have 
their  several  departments  and  duties  assigned 
them  according  to  his  will,  as  members  of  so- 
ciety, and  it  does  not  yet  appear  what  they 
shall  be  (1  John  iii.  2);  they  are  even  now 
the  children  and  servants  of  the  Lord,  and  he 
manifests  himself  to  them  as  he  does  not  to 
others.  Happy  are  these  his  subjects  who 
dwell  under  his  shadow.  He  rules  them,  not 
with  that  rod  of  iron  by  which  he  bruises  and 
breaks  the  power  of  his  enemies,  but  with  his 
golden  sceptre  of  love.  He  reigns  by  his 
own  right,  and  by  their  full  and  free  consent, 
in  their  hearts.  He  reigns  upon  a  throne  of 
grace,  to  which  they  have  at  all  times  access  ; 
and  from  whence  they  receive,  in  answer  to 
their  prayers,  mercy  and  peace,  the  pardon  of 
all  their  sins,  grace  to  help  in  every  time  of 
need,  and  a  renewed  supply  answerable  to  all 
their  wants,  cares,  services,  and  conflicts.  So 
(hat,  though  they  are  surrounded  with  snares, 
and  fiercely  opposed  by  many  enemies,  they 
cat: not  be  overpowered,  for  the  Lord  himself 
is  their  king  and  their  Saviour.      We  have, 


684  Messiah's 

IV.  Two  characters  of  this  King, — "  He  is 
just,  having  salvation,"  or,  as  it  is  in  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Messiah,  "  He  is  a  righteous  Sa- 
viour." 

1.  He  is  righteous.  —  His  kingdom  is  found- 
ed in  righteousness.  It  is  the  effect  and  re- 
ward of  his  obedience  unto  death,  by  which 
he  made  an  end  of  sin,  and  brought  in  an 
everlasting  righteousness.  As  his  people  re- 
ceive and  expect  all  from  his  hand,  so  like- 
wise for  his  sake.  Such  is  his  command,  and 
such  is  his  promise.  "  If  ye  shall  ask  any 
thing  in  my  name,  I  will  do  it,"  John  xiv.  14. 
In  pleading  their  cause,  and  managing  their 
concerns,  he  is  their  righteous  advocate.  And 
therefore,  because  his  intercession  is  founded 
upon  a  righteous  stipulation,  which  he  has 
completely  fulfilled,  he  does  not  say,  "  Father," 
I  ask,  but  "  I  will,  that  those  whom  thou  hast 
given  me,  be  with  me  where  I  am,  that  they 
may  behold  my  glory,"  John  xvii.  24. 

2.  He  is  a  Saviour. — Having  salvation  in 
himself;  yea,  he  is  their  salvation,  Isa.  xii.  2. 
His  wisdom,  power,  compassion,  and  deter- 
mined purpose,  are  all  engaged  to  save  them 
fully,  freely,  and  for  ever  ;  to  save  them  from 
guilt,  from  Satan,  and  from  sin,  through  all 
the  dangers  and  trials  of  this  life  ;  to  save 
them  to  the  uttermost,  till  he  fixes  them  final- 
ly out  of  the  reach  of  all  evil,  and  puts  them 
in  possession  of  all  the  happiness  of  which 
their  natures  are  capable,  in  a  conformity  to 
his  own  image,  and  the  enjoyment  of  un- 
clouded, uninterrupted  communion  with  God. 

V.  His  great  design  was  not  confined  to 
Israel  after  the  flesh;  "  he  shall  speak  peace 
to  the  Heathen"  also.  His  kingdom  com- 
prises, besides  the  believing  posterity  of  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  and  Jacob,  a  great  multitude 
gathered  from  amidst  all  nations,  people,  and 
languages,  from  the  east  and  the  west,  from 
the  north  and  the  south,  Luke  xiii.  28,  29. 
Though  the  Heathen  were  universally  alien- 
ated from  God,  by  evil  works  and  an  evil  con- 
science, he  has  undertaken  to  reconcile  them, 
and  to  bring  those  near  who  were  once  afar 
off.  By  their  knowledge  of  him,  their  prisons 
shall  be  opened,  their  chains  broken  (Isa.  xlv. 
14),  their  condemnation  reversed,  and  they 
shall  be  renewed,  and  accepted  in  the  Belov- 
ed, as  the  true  children  of  Abraham.  He 
shall  likewise  conciliate  peace  between  Jew 
and  Gentile,  make  of  both  one  people  (Eph. 
ii.  13 — 16),  pulling  down  the  walls  of  se- 
paration and  prejudice,  that  with  one  heart 
and  mind  they  may  love,  serve,  and  praise 
him.  For  where  faith  in  him  obtains,  all  dis- 
tinctions are  lost  and  superseded.  There  is 
then,  neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  circumcision 
nor  uncircumcision,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond 
nor  free,  but  Christ  is  all,  and  in  all,  Col.  iii. 
11. 

Much  has  been  already  done  by  the  gospel. 
Multitudes  have  been  turned  from  darkness 
to  light,  and  from  the  worship  of  dumb  idol*  to 


ENTRANCE    &C.  ser.  xl. 

serve  the  living  and  true  God.  And  we  expect 
a  time  when  this  promise  will  be  more  exten 
sively  and  literally  fulfilled  ;  when  the  king- 
dom shall  be  the  Lord's  to  the  end  of  the 
earth  ;  when  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  shall 
come  in,  all  Israel  shall  be  saved,  and  the  na- 
tions shall  learn  war  no  more. 

From  these  characters  of  the  Saviour,  we 
may  collect  the  character  of  his  people.  For 
they  beholding  his  glory,  are  changed  (ac- 
cording to  the  measure  of  their  faith)  into  the 
same  image.  The  incommunicable  perfec- 
tions of  God,  such  as  his  sovereignty,  and  all- 
sufficiency,  can  only  produce  in  his  people 
correspondent  impressions  of  reverence,  sub- 
mission, and  dependence ;  an  attempt  to  be 
like  him  in  these  respects  would  be  highly  im- 
pious, and  was  indeed  the  original  source  of 
our  apostacy  from  him.  Man,  by  indulging 
a  desire  of  being  like  God,  rebelled  against 
him,  aspired  at  independence,  and  preferred 
the  gratification  of  his  own  will  to  the  righte- 
ous and  equitable  commands  of  his  Maker. 
The  unavoidable  consequence  of  this  madness 
is  misery.  It  is  not  possible  that  he  should 
be  happy,  till  he  be  reduced  to  his  proper 
state  of  subordination.  But  that  light  of  the 
glory  of  God  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ, 
which  is  revealed  to  the  renewed  heart  by  the 
gospel,  has  a  transforming  effect  upon  those 
who  receive  it ;  they  are  made  partakers  of  a 
divine  nature,  and  resemble  him,  whose  they 
are,  and  whom  they  serve,  in  righteousness, 
goodness,  and  truth,  Eph.  v.  9. 

They  are  righteous  as  he  is  righteous.  I 
speak  not  of  their  relative  state,  as  they  are 
accepted  and  accounted  righteous  in  the  Be- 
loved, but  of  their  real  character.  They  learn 
of  him  to  love  righteousness  and  hate  iniquity, 
Psal.  xlv.  7.  Their  principles  are  right, 
drawn  from  the  revealed  truths  of  God.  They 
comport  themselves  as  becomes  weak  and  un- 
worthy sinners,  and  ascribe  the  glory  of  their 
salvation  to  the  Lord  alone  ;  and  therefore 
the  general  tenor  of  their  conduct  is  governed 
by  the  righteous  rules  of  his  precepts ;  of 
which  they  have  the  most  endearing  and  ani- 
mating exemplification  in  the  conduct  of  their 
Saviour ;  from  him  they  learn  to  frame  their 
tempers,  desires,  and  hopes,  and  thus  give  evi- 
dence that  they  are,  in  deed  and  in  truth,  a 
saved  people.  His  love,  in  proportion  as  it 
is  realized  in  their  hearts  by  faith,  teaches 
them  likewise  to  love  one  another,  and  to  ex- 
ercise benevolence  to  all  men.  When  they 
understand  the  true  nature  of  his  spiritual 
kingdom,  which  consisteth  not  in  external 
distinctions  and  forms,  but  in  righteousness, 
peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost  (Rom.  xiv. 
1  7) ;  and  that  it  is  his  great  design  to  form  to 
himself  a  people  from  amongst  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  who  shall  be  one  body,  enlivened 
by  one  and  the  same  spirit,  they  acquire  a 
large  and  comprehensive  mind.  They  rise 
above  the  influence  of  names,  parties,  and  di- 


8ER.  XII. 


EFFECTS   OF  MESSIAH  S  APPEARANCE. 


685 


visions ;  are  freed  from  the  narrow  views 
and  interests  of  self;  and  put  on,  as  the  elect 
of  God,  bowels  of  mercies,  kindness,  humi- 
lity, meekness,  long-suffering,  forbearance  and 
forgiveness  (Col.  iii.  12),  in  conformity  to 
the  pattern  and  will  of  their  great  exemplar. 
Thus  he  speaks  peace  to  them,  and  hushes  all 
their  angry  tumultuous  passions  into  a  calm. 

Such  is  tie  spirit  and  tendency  of  the  gos- 
pel. Let  us  try  ourselves  by  this  touchstone, 
measure  ourselves  by  this  rule,  and  weigh 
ourselves  in  these  balances  of  the  sanctuary. 
They  that  are  Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh, 
have  put  off  the  old  man,  and  are  renewed  in 
the  spirit  of  their  minds.  If  he  be  indeed 
your  King,  your  consciences  will  bear  you 
witness  that  you  revere,  imitate  and  obey  him. 
If  he  be  your  Saviour,  you  certainly  must  be 
sensible  yourselves,  and  others  must  observe 
that  you  are  different  from  what  you  once  were. 

And  if  any  of  you  should  be  convinced, 
that  hitherto  you  have  been  a  christian  only 
in  name  and  in  form,  but  destitute  of  that 
which  constitutes  the  life  and  power  of  real 
godliness,  this  will  be  a  good  beginning;.  For 
though  it  be  high  time  that  you  should  in 
good  earnest  attend  to  these  things,  blessed  be 
God  it  is  not  yet  too  late.  He  is  a  righteous 
and  a  gracious  Saviour  ;  seek  him  as  such, 
and  he  will  speak  peace  to  you  also.  His 
sure  promise  is  recorded  for  your  encourage- 
ment, "  Him  that  cometh  unto  me  I  will  in 
nowise  cast  out,  John  i.  37. 


SERMON  XII. 

EFFECTS  OF  MESSIAH'S  APPEARANCE. 

Thiii  the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  opened,  and 
the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped  ■ 
Then  shall  the  lame  man  leap  as  a  hart,  and 
the  tongue  of  the  dumb  sing.     Is.  xxxv.  5,  6. 

How  beautiful  and  magnificent  is  the  imagery 
by  which  the  prophet,  in  this  chapter,  repre- 
sents the  effects  of  Messiah's  appearance ! 
The  scene,  proposed  to  our  view,  is  a  barren 
and  desolate  wilderness.  But  when  he,  who 
in  the  beginning  said  "  Let  there  be  light, 
and  there  was  light,"  condescends  to  visit  this 
wilderness,  the  face  of  nature  is  suddenly 
changed  by  his  presence.  Fountains  and 
streams  of  water  burst  forth  in  the  burning 
desert,  the  soil  becomes  fruitful,  clothed  with 
verdure,  and  adorned  with  flowers.  The 
towering  cedars,  which  were  the  glory  of  Le- 
banon, and  the  richest  pastures,  which  were 
the  excellency  of  Carmel,  present  themselves 
to  the  eye,  where,  a  little  before,  all  was  un- 
comfortable and  dreary.  How  is  it,  that  so 
few  of  those  who  value  themselves  upon  their 
taste,  and  who  profess  to  be  admirers  of  pas- 
toral poetry  in  particular,  are  struck  with  the 


elegance  and  beauty  of  this  description  ?    Alas, 
we  can  only  ascribe  their  indifference  to  the 
depravity  of  the  human  heart.      They  would, 
surely,  have  admired  this  picture,   could  they 
have  met  with  it  in  any  of  their  favourite  au- 
thors ;   but  descriptive   paintings  in  this  style, 
so  exquisitely  combining  grandeur   with  sim- 
plicity, are  only  to  be  found  in  the  Bible,  a 
book    which    their    unhappy    prejudices    and 
passions  too  often  lead  them  to  depreciate  and 
neglect.      But  they  who  have  a  scriptural  and 
spiritual  taste,  not  only  admire  this  passage 
as  a  description  of  a  pleasing  change  in  out- 
ward nature,  but  consider  it  as  a  just  and  ex- 
pressive representation  of  a  more  important, 
a  moral  change,  of  which  they  have  themselves 
been,  in  a  measure,  the  happy  subjects.      The 
barren  wilderness  reminds  them  of  the  state 
of  mankind   by   the   fall,    and   of  their  own 
hearts,  before  Messiah,  the  Sun  of  righteous- 
ness, arose  upon  them  with  healing,  with  light, 
power,  and  comfort,  in  his  beams.      In  that 
memorable  hour,  old  things  passed  away,  and 
all  tilings  became  new.      The  Lord,  by  shin- 
ing into  their  hearts,  and  shewing  them  his 
glory  in  the  person  of  Christ,  has  created  for 
them  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth.      The 
works   of    God  around  them  in  his  creation 
and  providence  assume  a  different  appearance. 
Before,  they  lived  without  him  in  the  world  ; 
but   now,    they  see   his  hand   wherever  they 
look,  they  hear  his  voice  in  every  event ;  for 
now  the  principles  of  his  grace  are  planted  in 
their  souls,  and  they  are  no  longer  barren  nor 
unfruitful,   but  are   filled   with   the  fruits  of 
righteousness,    which  are  by  Jesus  Christ  to 
his  praise,  Phil.  i.  11. 

The  verses  which  I  have  read  exhibit  the 
effects  of  Messiah's  power  and  goodness,  by 
another  image  equally  pleasing.  Not  only 
the  wilderness,  but  the  inhabitants  of  the  wil- 
derness partake  of  the  virtue  of  the  great  Re- 
deemer. He  finds  them  in  circumstances  of 
distress,  which  he  only  can  relieve.  But 
when  he  comes  the  blind  receive  their  sight, 
the  deaf  hear,  the  lame  walk,  and  the  dumb 
have  voices  given  them  to  resound  his  praise. 
These  mighty  works,  in  their  literal  sense, 
marked  his  character,  and  confirmed  his  claims 
when  he  was  upon  earth  ;  and  to  these  he 
himself  appealed  in  proof  of  his  being  the 
promised  Saviour  whom  the  prophets  had 
foretold,  and  that  no  other  was  to  be  expect- 
ed, Matth.  xi.  3 — 6. 

But  the  words  have  a  still  more  sublime 
and  important  sense.  As  the  great  Physician, 
he  cured  all  manner  of  bodily  diseases  and  in- 
firmities. But  this  was  not  the  principal  de- 
sign for  which  he  came  into  the  world.  The 
maladies  to  which  sin  has  subjected  the  body, 
are  but  emblems  of  the  more  dreadful  evils 
which  it  has  brought  upon  the  soul.  He 
came  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  mind  ;  to  make 
the  obstinate  will  attentive  and  obedient  to 
the  voice  of  God  ;  to  invigorate  our  benumbed 


686 


EFFECTS   OF  MESSIAH  S   APPEARANCE. 


hur.  xn 


and  paralytic  faculties,  that  we  may  be  active 
and  cheerful  in  his  service  ;  and  to  open  our 
lips,  that  our  mouths  may  shew  forth  his 
praise.  1  have  a  good  hope  that  I  may  war- 
rantably  say,  "  This  day  is  this  scripture  ful- 
filled in  your  ears,"  Euke  iv.  21.  Some  of 
you  who  were  once  darkness,  are  now  light  in 
the  Lord 

These  different  effects  are  produced  by  one 
simple,  but  powerful  operation.  While  La- 
zarus lay  in  the  grave,  all  his  natural  powers 
were  inactive.  But  when  the  voice  of  the 
Son  of  God  restored  him  to  life  (John  xi.  43), 
he  was,  of  course,  immediately  enabled  to  see, 
to  hear,  to  move,  and  to  speak.  Thus,  while 
we  were  spiritually  dead,  we  were  necessarily 
blind,  deaf,  dumb,  and  motionless,  with  re- 
spect to  all  the  objects  and  faculties  of  that 
life  of  God  in  the  soul,  which  is  the  perfec- 
tion and  honour  of  our  nature.  When  we 
are  made  partakers  of  this  life,  by  a  new  and 
heavenly  birth,  then  our  spiritual  senses  are 
brought  into  exercise,  then  the  eyes  of  the 
blind  are  opened,  to  see  the  beauty  and  glory 
of  divine  truths :  we  hear  the  voice  of  God, 
we  feel  a  liberty  to  walk  and  act  in  his  ser- 
vice, and  our  tongues  are  taught  to  praise 
him.  Here  are  four  chief  effects  of  a  work 
of  grace  upon  the  heart,  which  distinguish 
believers  from  the  rest  of  mankind. 

And  these  effects  are  all  to  be  ascribed  to 
Messiah.  For  they  are  all  wrought  by  the 
agency  of  his  Holy  Spirit.  The  gifts  and 
graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  are  abso- 
lutely necessary,  as  well  for  the  perpetuating 
of  his  gospel  from  age  to  age,  as  for  making 
it  efficacious  and  successful,  are  bestowed  up- 
on sinners  wholly  upon  the  account  of  his 
mediation.  It  was,  when  he  ascended  on 
high  and  led  captivity  captive,  that  he  pro- 
cured these  blessings  for  rebellious  men,  that 
the  Lord  God  might  dwell  among  them,  Psal. 
lxviii.  18.  And  it  was  only  for  his  sake,  and 
on  the  account  of  what  he  has  to  accomplish 
in  the  fulness  of  time,  as  intimated  in  the 
promise  of  the  seed  of  the  woman  appointed 
to  bruise  the  serpent's  head,  that  there  were 
any  gracious  communications  afforded  to 
fallen  man,  from  the  first  entrance  of  sin  into 
the  world.  But  now  the  Redeemer's  great 
work  is  fulfilled,  his  salvation  is  more  openly 
revealed  and  applied  by  the  publication  of 
the  gospel,  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down 
from  Heaven,  and  sinners  hear  the  voice  of 
God  and  live.  Then  all  the  changes  prefi- 
gured and  predicted  in  my  text  take  place, 
and  the  wilderness  becomes  a  fruitful  field. 

1.  They  were  once  blind,  but  now  they  see. 
The  religion  of  true  believers  is  not  the  effect 
of  imagination  and  blind  impulse,  but  is  de- 
rived from  a  solid  knowledge,  which  will  bear 
the  strictest  scrutiny,  and  is  the  reasonable 
service  of  an  enlightened  understanding.  They 
see  God ;  their  apprehensions  of  him  are,  in 
some  measure,    answerable    to   his  greatness 


and  his  goodness,  and  inspire  them  with  reve- 
rence and  love.  Their  conceptions  of  other 
tilings  in  which  they  are  most  nearly  interest- 
ed, are  agreeable  to  the  truth.  Sin  appears 
to  them  hateful  in  itself,  as  well  as  mischie 
vous  in  its  consequences  ;  and  holiness,  not 
only  necessary  by  the  ordination  of  God,  but 
desirable  for  its  own  sake,  as  essentially  be- 
longing to  the  true  dignity  and  happiness  of 
man.  They  know  themselves  ;  they  see  and 
feel  that  thdy  are  such  creatures  as  the  Bible 
describes  them  to  be,  weak,  depraved,  and  vile. 
Of  course,  they  see  the  folly  of  attempting  to 
recommend  themselves  to  God,  and  can  no 
longer  place  any  dependence  on  what  they 
once  accounted  their  wisdom,  power,  or 
righteousness ;  and  therefore  they  see  the  ab- 
solute necessity  of  a  Saviour.  They  see,  like- 
wise, and  approve  the  method  of  salvation  pro- 
posed by  the  gospel,  as  worthy  of  the  wisdom 
and  justice  of  God,  and  every  way  adapted  to 
the  exigencies  of  their  sins,  wants,  and  fears. 
They  see  and  admire  the  excellence,  dignity, 
and  sufficiency  of  him,  on  whom  their  help  is 
laid.  His  power,  and  authority  engage  their 
confidence,  his  love  captivates  and  fixes  their 
hearts.  They  see  the  vanity  of  the  present 
state,  and  the  vast  importance  of  eternity.  In 
these  respects  they  have  all  of  them  a  good 
understanding,  however  inferior  in  natural  ca- 
pacity or  acquired  knowledge  to  the  wise  men 
of  the  world. 

2.  Their  knowledge,  so  far  as  they  have  at- 
tained, is  not  merely  speculative,  cold,  and  in- 
distinct, like  the  light  of  the  moon.  The  Sun 
of  righteousness  has  shined  into  their  hearts. 
The  light  they  enjoy  is  vital,  cheering,  and  ef- 
fective. Because  they  thus  see,  they  hear 
likewise.  They  were  once  deaf  to  the  voice 
of  God,  whether  he  spoke  by  his  word  or  his 
providence,  whether  in  the  language  of  mercy 
or  judgment.  But  now  their  deaf  ears  are  un- 
stopped. They  are  now  attentive,  submissive, 
and  willing  to  receive  his  instructions,  and  to 
obey  his  commands.  With  them,  one  "  Thus 
saith  the  Lord,"  has  the  force  of  a  thousand 
arguments.  They  desire  no  farther  proof  of 
a  doctrine,  no  other  warrant  for  their  prac- 
tice, no  other  reason  for  any  dispensation, 
than  Thus  the  Lord  has  said,  This  he  re< 
quires,  and,  This  is  his  appointment.  Thus 
their  wills  are  brought  into  subjection ;  and 
they  so  understand,  as  to  believe  and  obey. 

3.  Farther,  with  their  sight  and  hearing 
they  receive  power  and  activity.  Once  they 
were  tied  and  bound  in  the  chain  of  their  sins, 
or  like  a  man  benumbed  with  a  dead  palsy, 
unable  to  move.  If  they  sometimes  seemed 
to  express  desires  that  might  be  called  good 
with  respect  to  their  object,  they  were  faint 
and  ineffectual.  But  now  their  fetters  are 
broken,  the  health  and  strength  of  their  souls 
is  restored,  and  God  has  wrought  in  them  not 
only  to  will  but  also  to  do  according  to  his 
good  pleasure,   Phil.  ii.  13.      It  is  not  mor« 


SER.  XII. 


EFFECTS   OF    MESSIAH  S  APPEARANCE. 


687 


wonderful  that  a  cripple  should  suddenly  re- 
cover the  use  of  his  limbs,  than  that  a  person 
who  has  long  been  fettered  in  sinful  habits 
should  be  enabled  to  move  and  act  with  ala- 
crity in  the  service  of  God.  But  in  the  day 
of  divine  power  sinners  are  made  both  willing 
and  able.  How  burdensome  was  that  which 
they  once  accounted  their  religion  !  how  little 
comfort  did  it  yield  them  !  how  little  did  it 
assist  them  against  their  passions  or  against 
their  fears  !  But  all  things  are  become  new, 
since  they  have  attained  to  a  life  of  faith  in 
the  Son  of  God.  Their  religious  service  is 
now  pleasant,  and  their  warfare  against  sin 
and  the  world  victorious.  Their  obligations, 
motives,  resources,  encouragements,  and  pro- 
spects inspire  them  with  a  holy  vigour  to  run, 
with  patience  and  perseverance,  the  race  that 
is  set  before  them. 

4.  Having  their  sight  and  hearing  thus  re- 
stored, and  their  hearts  enlarged  to  walk  at  li- 
berty in  the  ways  of  wisdom,  they  are  no 
longer  dumb,  silent,  and  sullen,  but,  out  of 
the  abundance  of  their  hearts,  their  mouths 
speak  the  language  of  gratitude,  praise,  and 
joy.  For  though  most  people  have  the  fa- 
culty of  speech,  and  can  use,  or  rather  abuse 
their  tongues  fluently;  though  we  are  suffi- 
ciently expert  from  our  childhood,  in  the  dia- 
lects of  falsehood,  profaneness,  and  folly ; 
yet,  by  nature,  we  are  dumb  with  respect  to 
the  language  that  becomes  us,  as  the  creatures 
of  God,  and  as  those  who  have  sinned  against 
him,  and  yet  are  invited  to  seek  his  mercy. 
But  when  grace  teaches  the  heart,  then  the 
heart  teaches  the  mouth,  Prov.  xvi.  23.  When 
we  believe,  then  we  speak,  yea,  we  sing  and 
greatly  rejoice  ;  as  it  is  written,  "  In  that  day 
I  will  praise  thee ;  though  thou  wast  angry, 
thine  anger  is  turned  away,"  Isa.  xii.  1.  And 
again,  "  The  voice  of  joy  and  thanksgiving  is 
in  the  tabernacles  of  the  righteous,"  Psal. 
cxviii.  15.  "  Let  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord 
say,  That  he  is  good,  and  his  mercy  endureth 
for  ever,  Psal.  cvii.  1,  2. 

It  is  of  great  importance  to  examine  our- 
selves by  this  test,  and  not  to  be  satisfied  with 
our  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  any  farther  than 
our  consciences  bear  us  witness,  that  it  has 
produced  a  real  moral  change  in  our  tempers, 
conduct,  and  pursuits.  For  there  is  a  know- 
ledge which  is  falsely  so  called.  It  puffeth 
up,  but  edifieth  not.  Our  Lord's  declaration 
deserves  our  most  serious  attention :  "  For 
judgment  I  am  come  into  this  world,  that 
they  which  see  not  may  see,  and  that  they 
which  see,  might  be  made  blind,"  John  ix.  39. 
It  is  very  possible,  yea,  very  easy,  by  the  help 
of  books,  sermons,  and  converse,  to  acquire  an 
orderly  and  systematic  knowledge  of  divine 
truths  ;  it  may  be  learnt  thus,  like  any  other 
branch  of  human  science,  and  the  head  be  well 
stored  with  orthodox  sentiments  ;  and  there 
may  be  an  ability  to  prove  and  defend  them, 
in  a  way  of  argumentation,   while  the  heart  is 


utterly  a  stranger  to  their  salutary  influence. 
Such  characters  are  too  common.    None  make 
a   greater   paiade  and  boast   of   seeing    than 
these  persons.      None  are  more  fatally  blind- 
ed.     They  smile  with  disdain  when  they  speak 
of  a  self-righteousness  founded  upon  prayers, 
alms-deeds,  and  sacraments,  but  are  not  aware 
that  they  themselves  live  in  the  very  spirit  of 
the   Pharisees  (Luke  xviii.  2),  so  clearly  de- 
scribed  and  so  expressly  condemned   in   the 
New  Testament.     Their  supposed  knowledge 
of  the  doctrines  which  they  misunderstand  and 
abuse,  is  the  righteousness  on  which  they  build 
their  hopes  ;  and  trusting  to  this,  they  despise 
ali  those  who  are  stricter  in  practice  than  them- 
selves, as  ignorant  and  legal,  and  discover  al- 
most as  great   dislike   to  close  and    faithful 
preaching  as  they  could  do  to  poison.    Though 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,   when  rightly  re- 
ceived, are  productive  of  godliness,  it  is  to  be 
feared  there  are  people  who  espouse  and  plead 
for  them  to  quiet  their  consciences,  by  fur- 
nishing them  with  excuses  for  the  sins   they 
are  unwilling  to  forsake.    It  is  not  surprising 
that  they  who   are  displeased  with  the   yoke 
of  our  Lord's  precepts  should  seem  friendly 
to  the  idea  of  salvation  without  the  works  of 
the  law.    The  notion  of  the  final  perseverance 
of  believers  may  afford  a  pillow  for  those  to 
rest  on,  who,  being  at  present  destitute  of  all 
feeling   of  spiritual  life,  labour  to  persuade 
themselves  that  they  are   christians,   because 
they  had  some  serious  thoughts,  and   made 
some  profession  of  the  truth,  many  years  ago. 
So  likewise,  in  what  the  scriptures  teach  of  the 
total  inability  of  fallen  man,  they  think  they 
have    a  plea   to  justify  their  negligence  and 
sloth,  and  therefore  are  not  disposed  to  con- 
tradict the    testimony.      The    invitation    and 
command  to  wait,  and  watch,  and  strive  in 
the  ways  and  means  of  the  Lord's  appoint- 
ment, they  evade,   as  they  think,  with  impu- 
nity, by  confessing  the  charge,  and   saying, 
I  am  a  poor  creature  indeed,  I  can  do  nothing 
of  myself  aright,  and  therefore  to  what  pur- 
pose should   I  attempt  to  do  any  thing  ?      A 
minister  may  preach  upon  these  points,  in  ge- 
neral terms,  and  obtain  their  good  word.    But 
if  he   speaks  plainly   and  faithfully   to  con- 
science ;  if  he  bears  testimony  not  only  against 
dead  works,  but  against  a  dead  faith, — against 
spiritual  pride,    evil  tempers,    evil   speaking, 
love  of  the  world,   and  sinful    compliances ; 
if  he  insists  that  the  branches  of  the  true  vine 
should  bear  grapes,   and  not  the  same  fruit  as 
the  bramble  ;   hearers  of  this  stamp  will  think 
they  do  God  service  by  censuring  all  he  can 
say   as   low   and  legal   trash.      Flow   awful ! 
that   people   should   be   blinded   by  the  very 
truths  which  they  profess  to  believe !    Yet  I 
fear  such  cases  are  too  frequent.      God  grant 
a  delusion  of  this  kind   may  never  be  found 
amongst  us  !    For  if  the  salt  itself  should  lose 
its  savour,  wherewith  shall  it  be  salted?  Matth. 
v.  13.      May   we   come  simply  to   the  light, 


688  THE  GREAT 

with  a  desire  of  seeing  more  of  ourselves,  and 
more  of  our  Saviour,  tliat  we  may  be  more 
humble  and  spiritual,  more  afraid  of  sin,  more 
watchful  and  successful  in  striving  against  it, 
and,  in  our  whole  conversation,  more  conform- 
able to  our  glorious  Head  ! 

But  to  return:  —  From  what  has  been  of- 
fered upon  this  subject  we  may  observe, 

1.  That  true  Christianity  is  friendly  to  so- 
ciety, and  to  the  common  interests  of  man- 
kind. It  is  the  source  of  peace,  tenderness, 
benevolence,  and  every  humane  temper.  It 
is  calculated  to  soothe  the  fierce  disposition, 
to  enlarge  the  selfish  spirit,  and  to  transform 
the  lion  into  the  lamb.  What  then  must  we 
think  of  those  pretended  friends  to  liberty  and 
free  inquiry,  whose  unhappy  zeal  is  employed 
to  rob  us  of  the  only  light  and  balm  of  life  ! 
who,  by  their  misrepresentations  and  cavils, 
endeavour  to  persuade  others,  though  they 
cannot  effectually  persuade  themselves,  that 
the  gospel,  a  scheme  so  wise  in  its  constitu- 
tion, so  salutary  in  its  design,  so  powerful  in 
its  effects,  is  no  better  than  an  imposition,  the 
contrivance  of  superstitious  or  artful  men  ! 
Why  should  they  attempt  to  take  away  the 
foundation  of  our  hope  and  the  spring  of  our 
comfort  (if  they  were  able),  when  they  know 
they  have  nothing  to  substitute  in  their  place  ! 
Let  us  think  of  them  with  that  compassion 
which  their  state  calls  for,  and  pray  for  them, 
if  peradventure  God  will  give  them  repent- 
ance to  the  acknowledgment  of  the  truth, 
2  Tim.  ii.  25. 

2.  The  change  thus  wrought  is  great,  mar- 
vellous, and,  if  not  so  frequent,  might  be 
styled  miraculous.  It  is  more  than  educa- 
tion, example,  persuasion,  or  resolution  can 
perform.  It  is  the  work  of  God  alone  to 
open  the  blind  eyes,  to  change  the  heart  of 
stone  into  flesh,  and  to  raise  the  dead. 

This  thought  should  exclude  boasting.  The 
happy  subjects  of  this  change  were  no  better 
by  nature  or  practice  than  others.  They  have 
nothing  but  what  they  have  received.  The 
glory  and  praise  is  due  to  the  Lord  alone. 
It  should  likewise  soften  their  censure  of  those 
who  are  still  in  a  state  of  alienation  from  God, 
or  at  least  prevent  the  emotions  of  anger  and 
resentment  towards  them.  They  know  not 
what  they  do.  Their  danger  should  excite 
our  pity  and  our  friendly  endeavours  to  reco- 
ver them  from  the  error  of  their  way.  And, 
especially,  we  should  be  careful  so  to  regulate 
our  behaviour,  that,  if  they  obey  not  the  word, 
they  may  without  the  word  be  convinced  and 
won  (1  Pet.  iii.  1)  by  the  force  of  our  ex- 
ample. If  the  Lord  be  pleased  to  do  that  for 
them  which  he  has  done  for  us,  their  dislike 
of  us,  and  their  opposition  to  us,  will  be 
quickly  at  an  end ;  and  though  they  set  out 
after  us,  they  may  possibly  make  a  swifter 
progress  in  the  christian  life  than  we  have 
done.  Thus,  though  Saul  of  Tarsus  ap- 
proached Damascus  as  an  enemy  and  a  per- 


SHEPHERD. 


SER.  XIII. 


secutor,  when  the  scales  fell  from  his  eyes,  he 
not  only  immediately  joined  the  disciples,  but 
in  a   little  time  became  a  pattern  to  them. 

That  the  change  is  the  work  of  God,  should 
likewise  be  considered  by  those  who,  from  a 
sense  of  the  greatness  of  their  sins,  and  the 
strength  of  their  sinful  habits,  are  ready  to 
sink  into  despair.  Whatever  apparent  diffi- 
culty there  may  be  in  your  case,  it  is  easy  to 
divine  power.  All  things  are  possible  with 
God  (Mark  x.  27),  and  all  things,  likewise, 
are  possible  to  him  that  believeth,  Mark  ix.  23. 
The  promises  invite  you  to  apply  to  him  who 
is  the  author  and  finisher  of  faith,  and  who 
has  said  for  your  encouragement,  "  Him  that 
cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in  nowise  cast  out  " 


SERMON  XIII. 

THE  GREAT  SHEPHERD. 

He  shall  feed  his  flock  Nice  a  shepherd  ;  he  shall 
gather  the  lambswith  his  arm,  and  carry  them 
in  his  bosom,  and  shall  gently  lead  those  that 
are  with  young.     Isaiah,  xl.  11. 

It  is  not  easy  for  those  whose  habits  of  life 
are  insensibly  formed  by  the  customs  of  mo- 
dern times,  to  conceive  any  adequate  idea  of 
the  pastoral  life,  as  It  obtained  in  the  eastern 
countries,  before  that  simplicity  of  manners, 
which  characterized  the  early  ages,  was  cor- 
rupted by  the  artificial  and  false  refinements 
of  luxury.  Wealth,  in  those  days,  consisted 
principally  in  flocks  and  herds,  and  Abraham, 
Isaac,  Jacob,  and  others,  who  were,  to  speak 
in  modern  language,  persons  of  high  distinc- 
tion, were  likewise  shepherds.  The  book  of 
Genesis,  which  is  an  authentic  and  infallible 
history  of  the  most  ancient  times,  exhibits  a 
manner  of  living  so  different  from  our  own, 
that,  perhaps,  few  persons  are  qualified  to  en- 
ter fully  into  the  spirit  of  the  description. 
The  poets  seem  to  have  derived  their  idea  of 
the  golden  age  from  some  imperfect  tradition 
of  this  primitive  state ;  and,  if  we  compare  it 
with  the  state  of  things  around  us,  methinks 
we  have  reason  to  say,  "  How  is  the  gold  be- 
come dim,  and  the  fine  gold  changed!"  Lam. 
iv.  1.  The  opulence  of  Jacob  may  be  con- 
jectured from  the  present  he  sent  to  his  bro- 
ther Esau,  Gen.  xxxii.  14,  15.  Yet  Jacob 
attended  his  flocks  himself,  in  the  drought  by 
day,  and  in  the  frost  by  night.  Gen,  xxxi.  40. 
The  vigilance,  the  providence,  the  tenderness, 
necessary  to  the  due  discharge  of  the  shep- 
herd's office,  have  been  frequently  applied  in 
describing  the  nature  and  ends  of  government: 
and  it  has  been  esteemed  a  high  encomium  of 
a  good  king,  to  style  him  the  shepherd  of  his 
people.  This  character  Messiah,  the  Saviour, 
condescends  to  bear ;  and  happy  are  they, 
who,  with  a  pleasing  consciousness,  can  say. 


SER.  XIII. 


THE  GREAT  SHEPHERD. 


689 


"  We  are  his  people  and  the  sheep  of  his  pas- 
ture,"  Psal.  c.  3. 

The  passage  will  lead  me  to  speak  of  the 
shepherd,  the  flock,  and  his  care  and  tender- 
ness over  them. 

I.  Our  Lord  expressly  styles  himself  the 
Shepherd,  the  good  Shepherd  of  the  Sheep  (John 
x.  11,  14),  and  the  apostle  Peter  styles  him 
the  chief  Shepherd,  1  Peter  v.  4.  His  faith- 
ful ministers  have  the  honour  to  be  under- 
shepherds;  he  appoints,  and  qualifies  them 
to  feed  his  flock.  They  are  the  messengers 
of  his  will,  but  they  can  do  nothing  without 
him;  they  can  only  communicate  what  they 
receive,  and  cannot  watch  over  the  flock,  unless 
they  are  themselves  watched  over  by  him, 
Psal.  exxvii.  1.  For,  with  respect  to  efficacy, 
he  is  the  chief,  and  indeed,  the  sole  Shepherd. 
The  eyes  of  all  are  upon  him,  and  his  eye  is 
upon,  and  over  all  his  flock.  The  Old-Tes- 
tament church  had  a  shepherd,  and  their  shep- 
herd was  Jehovah,  Psal.  xxiii.  1.  Unless 
therefore  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  our 
souls  likewise  be  Jehovah,  we  fall  unspeak- 
ably short  of  the  privilege  of  ancient  Israel,  if 
their  Shepherd  was  almighty,  and  if  ours  could 
be  but  a  creature.  Surely  we  could  not  then 
say,  what  yet  the  apostle  affirms,  that  v/e  have 
a  better  covenant,  established  upon  better  pre- 
mises (Heb.  viii.  6)  ;  since  Messiah  himself 
is  expressly  declared  to  be  tha  surety  and  the 
mediator  of  this  covenant.  Rut  would  it  not 
be  better  upon  this  supposition,  with  David, 
who  could  say,  "  Jehovah  is  my  Shepherd," 
than  with  us,  who  are  entrusted  to  the  care 
of  a  delegated  and  inferior  keeper,  if  Jesus  be 
not  Jehovah  ?  Besides,  who  but  Jehovah  can 
relieve  the  necessities  of  multitudes  in  all 
places,  in  the  same  moment,  and  be  equally 
near  and  attentive  to  them  in  every  age?  The 
sinner,  who  is  enlightened  to  know  himself, 
his  wants,  enemies,  and  dangers,  will  not  dare  to 
confide  in  any  thing  short  of  an  almighty  arm  ; 
he  needs  a  shepherd,  who  is  full  of  wisdom, 
full  of  care,  full  of  power;  able,  like  the  sun, 
to  shine  upon  millions  at  once,  and  possessed 
of  those  incommunicable  attributes  of  Deity, 
omniscience  and  omnipresence.  Such  is  our 
great  Shepherd  ;  and  he  is  eminently  the  good 
Shepherd  also,  for  he  laid  down  his  life  for 
the  sheep,  and  has  redeemed  them  to  God  by 
his  own  blood. 

II.  A  shejrfierd  is  a  relative  name ;  it  has 
reference  to  a  flock.  This  great  and  good 
Shepherd  has  a  flock,  whom  he  loved  from 
everlasting,  and  whom,  having  loved,  he  will 
love  to  the  end,  John  xiii.  1. 

Formosi  pecoris  custos,  formosior  ipse  ! 

He  humbled  himself  for  their  sakes,  sub- 
mitted to  partake  of  their  nature  and  their 
sorrows,  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant, 
and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh. 
He  died  for  his  sheep,  the  just  for  the  unjust 
(1  Pet.    iii.    18),  to  redeem   them   from  the 


curse  of  the  law,  from  the  guilt  and  dominion 
of  sin,  from  the  power  of  Satan,  and  to  brin" 
them  to  Go«l.  They,  by  nature,  are  all  gone 
astray,  every  one  to  his  own  way  (Isa.  liii. 
6) ;  but  having  thus  bought  them  with  his 
blood,  in  his  own  appointed  time,  he  seeks, 
finds,  and  restores  his  sheep.  By  the  power 
of  his  word  and  Spirit,  he  makes  himself 
known  to  their  hearts,  causes  them  to  hear 
and  understand  his  voice,  and  guides  them 
into  his  fold.  Then  they  become  his  sheep 
in  the  sense  of  my  text.  They  are  under  his 
immediate  protection  and  government. 

Considered  as  individuals,  they  are  fitly 
described  by  the  name  of  sheep.  A  sheep  is 
a  weak,  defenceless,  improvident  creature; 
prone  to  wander,  and  if  once  astray,  is  seldom 
known  to  return  of  its  own  accord.  A  sheep 
has  neither  strength  to  fight  with  the  wolf, 
nor  speed  to  escape  from  him  ;  nor  has  it  the 
foresight  of  the  ant,  to  provide  its  own  suste- 
nance. Such  is  our  character,  and  our  situa- 
tion Unable  to  take  care  of  ourselves,  prone 
to  wander  from  our  resting  place,  exposed  to 
enemies  which  we  can  neither  withstand  nor 
avoid,  without  resource  in  ourselves,  and 
taught,  by  daily  experience,  the  insufficiency 
of  every  thing  around  us:  yet,  if  this  Shep- 
herd >e  our  Shepherd,  weak  and  helpless  as 
we  are,  we  may  be  of  good  courage.  If  we 
can  say  with  David,  "  The  Lord  is  my  Shep- 
herd," we  may  make  the  same  inferences 
which  he  did,  "  Therefore  I  shall  not  want;" 
therefore  I  need  not  fear. 

Collectively  they  are  a  flock.  They  are 
not,  indeed,  in  one  place.  They  are  scatter, 
ed  abroad,  dispersed  through  different  ages 
and  countries,  separated  by  seas  and  moun- 
tains, and,  too  often,  by  misapprehensions  and 
prejudices,  by  names  and  forms  ;  and  only  a 
very  small  part  of  the  flock  are  known  to  each 
other.  But  they  are  all  equally  known  to 
him,  and  equally  under  his  eye.  In  his  view 
they  are  one  flock,  one  body  ;  they  are  ani- 
mated by  one  and  the  same  spirit ;  their  views, 
hopes,  and  aims  are  the  same ;  and,  yet  a  little 
while,  they  shall  be  all  brought  together,  a 
number  without  number,  to  rejoice  and  to 
join  in  worship,  before  his  throne  of  glory. 
For  they  have  an  inheritance  reserved  for 
them  in  heaven  (1  Pet.  i.  4,  5),  and  they 
shall  be  safely  kept,  while  they  are  sojourners 
upon  earth,  for  the  Shepherd  of  Israel  is  their 
keeper. 

III.  He  shall  feed  his  flock  like  a  shep- 
herd. The  word  is  not  restrained  to  feeding. 
It  includes  all  the  branches  of  the  shepherd's 
office.  He  shall  act  the  part  of  a  shepherd  to 
his  flock.  We  have  a  beautiful  miniature 
description  of  what  he  has  engaged  to  do, 
and  what  he  actually  does,  for  his  people,  as 
their  Shepherd,  in  the  twenty-third  Psalm. 
And  the  subject  is  more  largely  illustrated  in 
the  thirty-fourth  chapter  of  Ezekiel's  pro- 
phecy.     His  sheep,    from  age    to   age,    havn 

3  E 


690 


THE  GREAT  SHEPHERD 


been  witnesses  to  the  truth  of  his  promises. 
He  has  a  flock  at  present  who  rejoice  in  his 
care,  and  greater  multitudes,  as  yet  unborn, 
shall  successively  arise  in  their  appointed  sea- 
sons, and  call  him  blessed,  Psal.  lxxii.  17. 
For  he  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for 
ever. 

He  feeds  them. — He  leads  them  into  green 
and  pleasant  pastures.  These  pastures  are, 
his  word  and  ordinances,  by  which  he  com- 
municates  to  them  of  his  own  fulness;  for  in 
strict  propriety  of  speech,  he  himself  is  their 
food.  They  eat  his  flesh  and  drink  his  blood, 
John  vi.  54.  This  was  once  thought  a  hard 
saying  (John  vi.  58)  by  some  of  his  professed 
followers,  and  is  still  thought  so  by  too  many. 
But  it  is  his  own  saying,  and  therefore  I  am 
not  concerned  either  to  confirm  or  to  vindi- 
cate it.  The  knowledge  they  receive  by  faith, 
of  his  incarnation  and  sufferings  unto  death, 
of  the  names  he  bears,  and  of  the  offices  and 
relations  in  which  he  is  pleased  to  act  for 
them,  is  the  life  and  food  of  their  souls.  The 
expression  of  feeding  them,  is  agreeable  to  the 
analogy  he  has  been  pleased  to  establish  be- 
tween the  natural  and  the  spiritual  life.  As 
the  strength  of  the  body  is  maintained  and  re- 
newed by  eating  and  drinking  ;  so  they  who, 
in  this  sense,  feed  upon  him  in  their  hearts  by 
faith  with  thanksgiving,  even  they  live  (John 
vi.  57)  by  him  ;  for  his  flesh  is  meat  indeed, 
and  his  blood  is  drink  indeed. 

He  guides  them. — First  by  his  example. 
He  has  trodden  the  path  of  duty  and  trial  be- 
fore them ;  and  they  perceive  and  follow  his 
footsteps.  Again,  by  his  word  and  Spirit  he 
teaches  them  the  way  in  which  they  should 
go  ;  and  both  inclines  and  enables  them  to 
walk  in  it,  Is.  xxx.  21.  He  guides  them, 
likewise,  by  his  providence  ;  he  appoints  the 
bounds  of  their  habitations,  the  line  and  call- 
ing in  which  they  are  to  serve  him,  and  ordtrs 
and  adjusts  the  circumstances  of  their  lives 
according  to  his  infinite  wisdom,  so  as  finally 
to  accomplish  his  gracious  designs  in  their  fa- 
vour. 

He  guards  them. — It  is  written  concerning 
him,  "  He  shall  stand  and  feed  in  the  strength 
of  the  Lord,  in  the  majesty  of  the  name  of  the 
Lord  his  God,"  Micah  v.  4.  If  we  con- 
ceive of  a  flock  of  sheep  feeding  in  the  midst 
of  wolves,  who  are  restrained  from  breaking 
in  upon  them,  not  by  any  visible  inclosure, 
but  merely  by  the  power  of  the  shepherd's 
eye,  which  keeps  them  in  awe  and  at  a  dis- 
tance, it  will  give  us  some  idea  of  the  situa- 
tion of  his  people.  He  provides  them  food 
in  the  midst  of  many  and  mighty  enemies 
(Psal.  xxiii.  5),  who  envy  them  their  privilege, 
but  cannot  prevent  it.  If  he  should  with- 
draw his  attention  from  the  flock  for  a  single 
minute,  they  would  be  worried.  But  he  has 
promised  to  keep  them  night  and  day  (Is. 
xxvii.  3),  and  every  moment;  therefore  their 
enemies  plot  and  rage  in  vain.      Their  visible 


SER.  XIII 

foes  are  numerous  ;  but  if  we  could  look  into 
the  invisible  world,  and  take  a  view  of  the 
subtilty,  malice,  machinations,  and  assiduity 
of  the  powers  of  darkness,  who  are  incessantly 
watching  for  opportunities  of  annoying  them, 
we  should  have  a  most  striking  conviction, 
that  a  flock  so  defenceless  and  feeble  in  them- 
selves, and  against  which  such  a  combination 
is  formed,  can  only  be  kept  by  the  power  of 
God. 

He  heals  them. — A  good  shepherd  will  ex- 
amine the  state  of  his  flock.  But  there  is  no 
attention  worthy  of  being  compared  with  his. 
Not  the  slightest  circumstance  in  their  con- 
cerns escapes  his  notice.  When  they  are 
ready  to  faint,  borne  down  with  heavy  exercises 
of  mind,  wearied  with  temptations,  dry  and 
disconsolate  in  their  spirits,  he  seasonably  re- 
vives them.  Nor  are  they  in  heaviness  with- 
out a  need-be  for  it.  All  his  dispensations 
towards  them  are  medicinal,  designed  to  cor- 
rect, or  to  restrain,  or  to  cure,  the  maladies  of 
their  souls.  And  they  are  adjusted,  by  his 
wisdom  and  tenderness,  to  what  they  can  bear, 
and  to  what  their  case  requires.  It  is  he  like- 
wise, who  heals  their  bodily  sickness,  and 
gives  them  help  in  all  their  temporal  troubles. 
He  is  represented  to  us,  as  counting  their 
sighs  (Psal.  lvi.  8),  putting  their  tears  into 
his  bottle,  recording  their  sorrows  in  his  book 
of  remembrance ;  and  even  as  being  himself 
touched  with  a  feeling  of  their  infirmities 
(Heb.  iv.  15),  as  the  head  feels  for  the  mem- 
bers of  the  body. 

He  restores  them. — The  power  and  subtilty 
of  their  enemies  are  employed  to  force  or  en- 
tice them  from  his  rule,  and  too  often  prevail 
for  a  season.  The  sheep  turn  aside  into  for- 
bidden paths ;  and  whenever  they  do,  they 
would  wander  farther  and  farther,  till  they 
were  quite  lost  again,  if  he  were  not  their 
Shepherd.  If  he  permits  them  to  deviate,  he 
has  a  time  to  convince  them,  that  it  was  an 
evil  and  a  bitter  thing  to  forsake  the  Lord 
their  Shepherd  (Jer.  ii.  19),  and  to  humble 
them,  and  to  bring  them  back.  Thus  they 
become  more  sensible  of  their  own  weakness, 
and  of  their  obligations  to 


his  gracious  care  ; 
for  he  will  not  suffer  their  enemies  to  triumph 
over  them.  He  will  not  lose  one  of  his  true 
flock;  not  one  convinced  sinner,  who  has,  i •> 
deed  and  in  truth,  surrendered  and  entrusted 
his  all  to  him.  They  must,  and  they  shall 
smart  and  mourn  for  their  folly  ;  but  he  wilJ, 
in  due  season,  break  their  snares,  and  lead 
them  again  into  the  paths  of  peace,  for  hit 
own  name's  sake. 

The  flock  are  not  all  sheep.  There  are 
among  them  lambs.  These  are  especially 
mentioned,  and  for  these  he  expresses  a  pecu- 
liar tenderness.  He  will  gather  them  in  hLs 
arm,  and  carry  them  in  his  bosom.  Though 
they  are  weaklings,  they  shall  not  be  left  be- 
hind. This  is  a  beautiful  and  pathetic  imago. 
If  a  poor  lamb  is  weary,   and   unable  to  keep 


SER.   XIII. 


THE   GREAT  SHEPHERD. 


691 


up  with  the  flock,  it  shall  be  carried.      This 
clause  affords  encouragement, 

1.  To  young  people. — Early  serious  im- 
pressions are  often  made  upon  the  hearts  of 
children,  which  we  are  to  cherish,  by  direct- 
ing their  thoughts  to  the  compassion  of  the 
good  Shepherd,  who  has  said,  "  Suffer  little 
children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them 
not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God," 
Mark  x.  14.  This  high  and  holy  one,  who 
humbles  himself  to  notice  the  worship  of  the 
heavenly  host,  hears  the  prayers  of  worms 
upon  the  earth ;  and  his  ear  is  open  to  the 
prayers  of  a  child,  no  less  so,  than  to  the 
prayer  of  a  king. 

2.  To  young  converts. — These,  at  what- 
ever age,  are  children  in  the  Lord's  family, 
lambs  in  his  flock.  They  are,  as  yet,  weak, 
unsettled,  and  unexperienced.  Almost  every 
day  brings  them  into  a  new  and  untried  situa- 
tion. They  often  meet  with  opposition  and 
discouragement,  where  they  have  promised 
themselves  help  and  countenance.  Perhaps 
their  nearest  friends  are  displeased  with  them. 
They  are  liable,  likewise,  while  they  are  en- 
quiring the  way  to  Zion,  to  be  perplexed  by 
the  various  opinions  and  angry  contentions 
prevailing  among  the  different  religious  per- 
sons or  parties  to  whom  they  may  address 
themselves.  They  are  frequently  discouraged 
by  the  falls  and  miscarriages  of  professors, 
some  of  whom,  it  is  possible,  they  may  have 
admired,  and  looked  up  to,  as  patterns  for 
their  own  imitation.  Add  to  these  things, 
what  they  suffer  from  new  and  unexpected 
discoveries  of  the  evil  and  dcceitfulness  of 
their  hearts ;  the  mistakes  they  commit,  in 
judgment  and  practice,  for  want  of  a  more 
solid  and  extensive  knowledge  of  the  scrip- 
tures ;  and  the  advantage  the  great  enemy  of 
their  souls  derives  from  these  their  various 
difficulties  to  assault  their  peace  and  obstruct 
their  progress.  What  would  become  of  them 
in  such  circumstances,  if  their  faithful  Shep- 
herd had  not  promised  to  lead,  and  uphold 
them,  with  the  arm  of  his  power  ? 

There  is,  likewise,  particular  mention  made 
of  "  those  who  are  with  young."  These  he 
will  gently  lead.  If  we  take  the  word  accord- 
ing to  our  version,  it  may  signify  a  state  of 
conviction  or  trouble.  Many  are  the  afflic- 
tions of  the  righteous  (Psal.  xxxiv.  19),  by 
which  they  are  often  wearied  and  heavy 
laden.  But  when  their  spirits  are  overwhelm- 
ed within  them,  he  knoweth  their  path.  Jacob 
would  not  permit  his  cattle  that  were  with 
young  to  be  over-driven  for  one  day,  lest 
they  should  die,  Gen.  xxxiii.  13.  Much  less 
will  this  good  Shepherd  suffer  the  burdened 
among  his  flock  to  be  hurried  and  tempted 
beyond  what  they  are  able,  or  what  he  will 
enable  them  to  bear. 

But  the  word  signifies,  those  that  have 
young,  rather  than  those  that  are  with  young. 
Two  boi  ts  of  persons  in  the  Lord's  flock,  who 


come  under  this  description,  feel  an  especial 
need  of  his  compassion,  tenderness,  and  pa. 
tience. 

i.  He  only  knows  the  feelings  of  the  hearts 
of  parents  ;  what  solicitude  and  anxiety  they 
have  for  their  young  ones,  the  sucklings,  if  I 
may  so  speak,  of  the  flock,  which  mingle  with 
all  their  endeavours,  to  manage  rightly  the 
important  charge  committed  to  them,  and  to 
bring  their  children  up  in  the  nurture  and  ad- 
monition of  the  Lord. 

2.  Ministers,  likewise,  have  painful  exer- 
cises of  mind.  The  apostle  Paul  speaks  of 
travailling  in  birth  again,  till  Christ  be  formed 
in  our  hearers,  Gal.  iv.  19.  When  we  know 
of  any  newly  awakened,  and  beginning  to  seek 
his  salvation,  how  solicitous  is  our  care  to 
bring  them  forward,  to  comfort  them,  to  warn 
them  against  the  devices  of  their  hearts,  and 
of  their  enemies !  And  how  piercing  our 
grief  and  disappointment,  if  they  miscarry  ' 
How  much  is  felt  in  sympathy  for  the  trials 
of  the  flock  !  What  wisdom,  faithfulness, 
courage,  meekness,  and  unction  from  on  high, 
are  necessary  to  the  due  discharge  of  what  we 
owe  to  the  flocks  of  which  we  have  the  over- 
sight !  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ! 
And  when  we  have  done  our  best,  our  all, 
what  defects  and  defilements  have  we  to 
mourn  over  !  But  this  is  our  great  consola- 
tion, that  he,  who  knows  us,  and  leads  us, 
considers  our  frame,  and  remembers  that  we 
are  but  dust. 

In  this  delineation  of  the  character  and  con- 
duct of  the  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep  (Heb. 
xiii.  20),  we  have  an  affecting  exemplar  and 
pattern,  for  the  imitation  of  those  who  act  in 
the  honourable  office  of  under-shepherds,  and 
are  called,  by  their  profession  and  engagement, 
to  feed  his  sheep  and  lambs.  Whether  there 
be  any  ministers  in  our  assembly,  or  not,  you 
will  at  least  permit  me  to  speak  a  word  to  my 
own  heart ;  which  may,  I  hope,  at  the  same 
time,  impress  your  minds  with  a  sense  of  our 
great  need  of  your  prayers.  Brethren,  pray 
for  us  !  ( 1  Thes.  v.  25)  and  pray  to  the  Lord 
of  the  harvest,  that  he  may  send  forth  more 
faithful  labourers  into  his  harvest,  Matth.  ix. 
38.  For  it  is  his  work  alone.  It  is  not  ne- 
cessary, that  a  minister  of  the  gospel  should 
be  in  the  first  line  of  those  who  are  admired 
for  their  abilities  or  literature;  much  less  that 
he  should  be  distinguished  by  such  titles,  ho- 
nours, and  emoluments  as  this  world  can  give. 
But  it  is  necessary,  and  of  the  last  importance 
to  his  character  and  usefulness  here,  and  to 
his  acceptance  in  the  great  day  of  the  Lord, 
that  he  should  have  a  shepherd's  eye  and  a 
shepherd's  heart.  He  must  serve  the  flock, 
not  for  filthy  lucre,  or  by  constraint  (that  con- 
straint, which  the  apostle  attributes  to  the  love 
of  Christ,  only  excepted),  but  willingly,  and 
with  a  view  to  their  edification,  1  Pet.  v. 
2,  3.  And  he  must,  indeed,  serve  them, 
not  acting  as  a  lord  over  God's  heritage,  but 


692  REST  FOR  T 

as  an  example  to  the  flock ;  not  preaching 
himself  (2  Cor.  iv.  5),  perverting  his  sacred 
office  to  the  purposes  of  ambition  or  vain  giory, 
or  the  acquisition  of  wealth ;  but  preaching 
Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  and  employing  all  his 
powers  to  turn  sinners  from  the  error  of  their 
ways.  He  who  winneth  souls  is  wise,  Prov. 
xi.  30.  If  it  be  wisdom  to  propose  the 
noblest  end,  the  faithful  minister  is  wise;  the 
end  at  which  he  aims,  in  subordination  to  the 
will  and  glory  of  God,  is  the  salvation  of  souls; 
and  the  recovery  of  one  immortal  soul  to  the 
favour  and  image  of  God,  is,  and  will  at 
length  be  found,  a  greater  and  more  impor- 
tant event,  than  the  deliverance  of  a  whole 
kingdom  from  slavery  or  temporal  ruin.  If 
it  be  wisdom,  to  pursue  a  right  end  by  the 
fittest  means,  he  is  wise  ;  he  knows  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ  to  be  the  power  of  God,  the  ap- 
pointed, the  effectual,  the  only  sufficient  mean 
for  his  accomplishing  his  great  purpose;  there- 
fore, however  unfashionable  it  may  be,  he  is 
not  ashamed  of  it,  he  preaches  it,  and  he  glo- 
ries in  it.  If  it  be  an  effect  of  wisdom,  not  to 
be  deterred  from  the  prosecution  of  a  great 
and  noble  design,  by  the  censure  and  dislike 
of  weak  and  incompetent  judges,  the  faithful 
minister  is  truly  wise.  He  loves  his  fellow 
creatures,  and  would  willingly  please  them 
for  their  good,  but  he  cannot  fear  them,  be- 
cause he  fears  and  serves  the  Lord.  He 
looks  forward,  with  desire,  to  the  day  of  that 
solemn  and  general  visitation,  when  the  Shep- 
herd and  Bishop  of  souls  shall  himself  appear, 
1  Pet.  ii.  25  ;  v.  4.  And  if  he  may  then 
stand  among  those  who  are  pardoned  and  ac-i 
cepted  in  the  Beloved,  and  receive  the  crown 
of  life,  which  his  Lord  has  promised  to  them 
that  love  him  (2  Tim.  iv.  8), — this  thought 
fully  reconciles  him  to  the  trials  of  his  situa- 
tion ;  and  however  depreciated,  misrepresent- 
ed, opposed,  or  ill-treated  here,  he  can  say, 
"  None  of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count 
I  my  life  dear  to  myself,  so  that  I  may  finish 
my  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  I 
have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the 
gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,"  Acts  xx.  24. 
There  is  a  counter-part  to  this  character 
described  in  strong  and  glowing  language  by 
'he  prophets.  There  are  idol-shepherds,  who 
feed  not  the  flock,  but  themselves  (Ezek. 
xxxiv.  2);  who  neither  attempt  to  heal  the 
sick,  to  strengthen  the  feeble,  to  bind  up  that 
which  is  broken,  nor  to  recover  that  which  has 
been  driven  away;  shepherds  (Isa.  lvi.  10, 
11),  who  cannot  understand,  greedy,  lovers  of 
gain — and  who,  by  a  change  of  metaphor,  are 
compared  to  slumbering  watchmen,  and  dumb 
dogs  that  cannot  bark.  The  New  Testament 
teaches  us  to  expect  that  such  persons,  under 
the  name  of  ministers,  will  be  found  likewise  in 
the  visible  church  of  Christ :  men  of  corrupt 
minds  (1  Tim.  vi.  5;  Rom.  xvi.  18),  desti- 
tute of  the  truth,  who  serve  not  the  Lord 
Tesus,  but  their  own  belly  ;  men  who  arc  of 


HE  WEARY. 


sF.n.  xiv. 


the  world  (1  John  iv.  5),  and  speak  of  the 
world  ;  and  therefore  the  world  heareth  and 
favoureth  them.  But,  alas ! — neither  the 
wretched  slave  who  toils  at  the  galley-oar,  nor 
he  that  is  doomed  to  labour  in  a  deep  mine, 
where  the  light  of  the  sun  never  reaches  him, 
nor  the  lunatic  who  howls  in  a  chain,  are  such 
emphatical  objects  of  our  compassion,  as  the 
unhappy  man  who  prostitutes  the  name  and 
function  of  a  minister  of  Christ  to  the  srratifi- 
cation  of  his  pride  and  avarice  ;  and  whose 
object  is  not  the  welfare  of  the  flock,  but  the 
possession  of  the  fleece  (Ezek.  xxxiii.  7,  8) ; 
who  intrudes  into  the  post  of  a  watchman, 
but  gives  no  alarm  of  the  impending  danger. 
If  the  scriptures  be  true  ;  if  the  gospel  be  not 
indeed,  as  Pope  Leo  X.  profanely  styled  it, 
a  lucrative  fable ;  the  more  he  accumulates 
riches,  the  more  he  rises  in  dignity,  the  more 
his  influence  extends,  the  more  he  is  to  be 
commiserated.  He  may  have  the  reward  he 
seeks  :  He  may  be  admired  and  flattered ;  he 
may  for  a  season,  be  permitted  to  withstand 
and  discountenance  the  efforts  of  the  Lord's 
faithful  servants ;  he  may  shine  in  the  accom- 
plishments of  a  scholar  or  a  courtier :  But 
nothing  less  than  repentance,  and  faith  in  the 
Redeemer,  whose  name  and  cause  he  has  dis- 
honoured, can  finally  screen  him  from  the 
full  effect  of  that  terrible  denunciation — "  Wo 
to  the  idol-shepherd  that  forsaketh  (or  nc- 
glecteth)  the  flock  :  The  sword  shall  be  upon 
his  arm,  and  upon  his  right  eye  :  His  arm 
shall  be  clean  dried  up,  and  his  right  eye  shall 
be  utterly  darkened,  Zcch.  xi.  17. 


SERMON   XIV. 

REST  FOR  THE  WEARY. 

Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.    AIatth.  xi  28. 

Which  shall  we  admire  most,  the  majesty, 
or  the  grace,  conspicuous  in  this  invitation  ? 
How  soon  would  the  greatest  earthly  monarch 
be  impoverished,  and  his  treasures  utterly  ex- 
hausted, if  all  that  are  poor  and  miserable  had 
encouragement  to  apply  freely  to  him,  with  a 
promise  of  relief  fully  answerable  to  their 
wants  and  wishes  !  But  the  riches  of  Christ 
are  unsearchable  and  inexhaustible.  If  mil- 
lions of  millions  of  distressed  sinners  seek  to 
him  for  relief,  he  has  a  sufficiency  for  them 
all.  His  mercy  is  infinite  to  pardon  all  their 
sins ;  his  grace  is  infinite  to  answer  and  ex- 
ceed their  utmost  desires;  his  power  is  infi- 
nite, to  help  them  in  all  their  difficulties.  A 
number  without  number  have  been  thus  wait- 
ing upon  him,  from  age  to  age  ;  and  not 
one  of  them  has  been  sent  away  disappointed 
and  empty.  And  the  streams  of  his  bounty 
are  still  flowing,  and  still  full.     Thus  the  suit, 


SER.  XIV. 


REST  FOR  THE  WEARY. 


his  brightest  material  image,  has  been  the 
source  of  light  to  the  earth,  and  to  all  its  in- 
habitants, from  the  creation ;  and  will  be 
equally  so  to  all  succeeding  generations,  till 
time  shall  be  no  more.  There  is,  indeed,  an 
appointed  hour  when  the  sun  shall  cease  to 
shine,  and  the  course  of  nature  shall  fail.  But 
the  true  Sun,  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  has 
no   variableness   or  shadow  of  turning  (Mai, 


693 
the  text  are. 


The  two  principal  points  in 
the  invitation  and  the  promise. 

I.  The  invitation  is  expressed  in  very  ge- 
neral terms  :  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  la- 
bour and  are  heavy  laden."  There  is  no  qua- 
lifying or  restraining  clause,  to  discourage  any 
person  who  is  willing  to  accept  it.  Whoever 
hath  an  ear  to  hear,  let  him  hear.  "  Let  him 
that  is  athirst  come,  and  whosever  will,  let  him 


iv.    2;  James  i.    17);  and  they  who  depend  ]  take  of  the  water  of  life  freely,"  Rev.  xxii.  17. 


upon  him  while  in  this  world,  shall  rejoice  in 
his  light  for  ever.  Can  we  hesitate  to  accept 
of  these  words,  as  affording  a  full  proof  of  the 
divine  character,  the  proper  Godhead  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour;  supposing  only,  that  he 
meant  what  he  said,  and  that  he  is  able  to 
make  his  promise  good  ?  Can  a  creature,  how- 
ever excellent  and  glorious,  use  this  language? 
Can  a  creature  discharge  the  debts,  soothe  the 
distresses,  and  satisfy  the  desires  of  every  in- 
dividual who  looks  to  him  ?  Who,  but  the  Lord 
God  (Psal.  cxlvi.  8;  Isa.  Ixi.  2),  can  raise  up 
all  that  are  bowed  down,  and  comfort  all  that 
mourn ! 

Again,  as  is  his  majesty,  so  is  his  mercy. 
In  acts  of  grace  amongst  men  there  are  always 
some  limitations.  If  a  king  proclaims  a  pardon 
to  a  rebellious  nation,  there  are  still  exceptions. 
Some  ringleaders  are  excluded.  Either  their 
crimes  were  too  great  to  be  forgiven,  or 
their  obstinacy  or  influence  are  supposed 
to  be  too  great,  to  render  their  safety  consist- 
ent with  the  safety  of  the  state.  But  the  Sa- 
viour excludes  none  but  those  who  wilfully 
exclude  themselves.  As  no  case  is  too  hard 
for  his  power,  so  no  person  who  applies  to 
him  is  shut  out  from  his  compassion.  Him 
that  cometh  to  him,  whatever  his  former  cha- 
racter or  conduct  may  have  been,  he  will  in 
nowise  cast  out,  John  vi.  37.  This  glori- 
ous exercise  of  sovereign  mercy  is  no  less  a 
divine  attribute,  than  the  power  by  which  he 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  It  is  the 
consideration  of  his  mercy  in  pardoning  sin, 
and  in  saving  sinners,  which  causes  that  ad- 
miring exclamation  of  the  prophet,  "  Who  is 
a  God  like  unto  thee!    Micah.  vii.  18. 

This  passage  (including  the  two  following 
verses)  closes  the  first  part  of  the  Oratorio. 
In  tracing  the  series  of  the  scriptures  thus 
far,  we  have  considered  several  signal  prophe- 
cies which  foretold  his  appearance  ;  we  have 
seen  their  accomplishment  in  his  birth  and 
have  (I  hope)  joined  with  the  heavenly  host, 
in  ascribing  glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  for 
this  unspeakable  gift  and  effect  of  his  love. 
We  have  learnt  from  the  prophets,  his  charac- 
ters, as  the  great  Restorer,  and  the  great  Shep- 
herd. The  evangelist  proposes  him  to  our 
meditation  here,  in  a  gracious  and  inviting 
attitude,  as  opening  his  high  commission,  pro- 
claiming his  own  sovereign  authority  and 
power,  and  declaring  his  compassionate  pur- 
pose, and  readiness  to  give  refreshment  and 
rest  to  the  weary  and  heavy  laden. 


I  cannot  doubt  but  these  words  authorize  me 
to  address  myself  to  every  person  in  this  as- 
sembly.  I  speak  first  to  you  who  are  spend- 
ing your  money  for  that  which  satisfieth  not 
(Isa.  Iv.  2)  ;  who  are  wearied  in  seeking  hap- 
piness where  it  is  not  to  be  found,  and  in  dig- 
ging pits,  and  hewing  out  cisterns  for  your- 
selves, which  can  hold  no  water  (Jer.  ii.  13), 
and  have  hitherto  been  regardless  of  the  foun- 
tain of  living  waters,  which  is  always  near 
you.  While  you  are  pursuing  the  wealth  or 
honours  of  this  world,  or  wasting  your  time 
and  strength  in  the  indulgence  of  sensual  ap- 
petites, and  look  no  higher,  are  you  indeed 
happy  and  satisfied  ?  Do  you  find  the  paths  in 
which  you  are  led,  or  rather  hurried  and  driven 
on,  to  be  the  paths  of  pleasantness  and  peace  ? 
Prov.  iii.  7.  With  what  face  can  you  charge 
the  professors  of  religion  with  hypocrisy,  if 
you  pretend  to  satisfaction  in  these  ways  ? 
We  have  trodden  them  far  enough  ourselves, 
to  be  assured  that  there  are  feelings  in  your 
heart  which  contradict  your  assertion.  You 
know  that  you  are  not  happy,  and  we  know 
it  likewise.  Are  you  quite  strangers  to  a 
secret  wish  that  you  had  never  been  born  ? 
or  that  you  could  change  condition  with 
some  of  the  brute  creation?  Are  you  not 
heavy  laden,  burdened  with  guilt,  and  fears, 
and  forebodings,  harassed  with  crosses,  dis- 
appointments, and  mortifications  ?  Are  you 
not  often,  at  least  sometimes,  like  children  in 
the  dark,  afraid  of  being  alone,  unable  to  sup- 
port the  reflections  which  are  forced  upon  you 
in  a  solitary  hour,  when  you  have  nothing  to 
amuse  you  ?  And  while  you  seem  so  alert  and 
upon  the  wing  after  every  kind  of  dissipation 
within  your  reach,  is  not  a  chief  motive  that 
impels  you,  a  desire,  if  possible,  of  hiding  your- 
selves from  yourselves,  and  of  calling  off  your 
attention  from  those  thoughts  which,  like  vul- 
tures, are  ready  to  seize  you,  and  prey  upon 
you,  the  moment  they  find  you  unemployed  ? 
And  how  often  do  your  poor  expedients  fail 
you,  especially  in  a  time  of  trouble,  or  on  a 
sick-bed  ?  What  comfort  does  the  world  af- 
ford you  then  ?  What  relief  do  you  then  de- 
rive from  the  companions  of  your  vain  and 
gay  hours  ?  Most  probably,  at  such  a  sea- 
son, they  stand  aloof  from  you  ;  the  house  of 
mourning,  or  the  chamber  of  sickness,  is  no 
less  unpleasing  to  them  than  to  yourself.  They 
do  not  chuse  the  pain  of  being  reminded,  by 
a  sight  of  your  distress,  how  soon  the  case 
may  be  their  own       Or,  if  they  visit  you,    you 


«!)■* 


REST   FOR  THE   WEARY. 


SEK.  xtv 


find  them  miserable  comforters.  But  I  have  i  were  frequently  near  him,  he  complained,  "  Y 
to  speak  to  you  of  one  who  is  able  to  comfort 
you  in  all  seasons,  and  under  all  circumstances, 
whose  favour  is  better  than  life.  And  will 
you  still  refuse  to  hear  his  voice  ?  What  hard 
tiling  does  the  Lord  require  of  you  ?  Only  to 
come  to  him  for  that  peace  and  rest  to  which 
you  have  hitherto  been  strangers.  But  though 
you  are  invited,  I  know  that  of  yourselves  you 
will  not  come ;  you  will  not,  and  therefore 
you  cannot.  Be  assured,  however,  the  invi- 
tation does  not  mock  you,  and,  if  you  finally 
refuse  it,  the  fault  will  lie  at  your  own  doors. 
But  may  I  not  hope  you  will  refuse  no  long- 
er ?  The  preaching  of  the  gospel  is  his  ap- 
pointment, and  has  a  great  effect,  when  ac- 
companied with  the  energy  of  his  Holy  Spirit, 
to  make  a  willing  people  in  the  day  of  his 
power. 

There  are  others,  however,  to  whom  this 
invitation  speaks   more  directly.       The  con- 
vinced sinner  is  heavy  laden  with  the  guilt  of 
sin,  and  wearied  with  ineffectual  strivings  a- 
gainst  it.      He  is  weary  of  the  yoke  and  bur- 
den of  the  law,  when  he  can  neither  answer 
its   commands  with  cheerful    and  acceptable 
obedience,  nor  see  any  way  of  escaping  the 
penalty  which  is  due   to  transgressors.      He 
sighs  earnestly  and  anxiously  for  pardon  and 
liberty.      If  he  has  an  interval  of  comparative 
peace  and  hope,  it  is  more  derived  from  some 
occasional  fervour  and  liveliness  in  the  frame 
of  his  spirit,  than  from  the  exercise  of  faith  ; 
and  therefore,  as  that  fervour  abates  (and  it 
will  not  always  remain  at  the  same  height), 
his  fears  return.      If  in  such  a  favoured  mo- 
ment he  feels  little  solicitation  or  trouble  from 
the  evil  propensities  of  his  heart,  he  is  willing 
to  hope  they  are  subdued,  and  that  they  will 
trouble   him    no   more ;    but  his    triumph   is 
short,  the  next  return   of  temptation  revives 
all  his  difficulties,  and  he  is  again   brought 
into  bondage.      For  nothing  but  the  know- 
ledge of  the  Saviour,  and  the  supplies  of  his 
Spirit,  can  give  stable  peace  to  the  mind,  or 
victory  over  sin.      A  repetition  of  these  dis- 
appointments and  changes  fixes  a  heavy  bur- 
den and  distress  upon  the  mind.     But  here  is 
help  provided    exactly   suitable  to  the   case. 
Comply  with  this  invitation,  come  to  him  and 
he  will  surely  give  you  rest. 

But  what  is  it  to  come  to  Christ  ?  It  is  to 
believe  in  him,  to  apply  to  him,  to  make  his 
invitation  and  promise  our  ground  and  war . 
rant  for  putting  our  trust  in  him.      On   an- 


will  not  come  unto  me,  that  ye  may  have  life," 
John  v.  40.      But  they  who  were  distressed, 
and  came  to  him  for  relief,  were  not  disap- 
pointed.     To  come  to  him,  therefore,  implies 
a  knowledge  of  his  power  and  an  application 
for  his  help.      To  us  he  is  not  visible,  but  he 
is  always  near  us ;  and  as  he  appointed  his 
disciples  to  meet  him  in   Galilee  (Matthew, 
xxviii.    16)   previous  to  his  ascension,  so  he 
has  promised  to  be  found  of  those  who  seek 
him,  and  wait  for  him,  in  certain  means  of 
his  own  institution.       He   is    seated  upon  a 
throne  of  grace  ;  he  is  to  be   sought  in   his 
word,  and  where  his  people  assemble  in  his 
name,  for  he  has  said,  There  will  I  be  in  the 
midst  of  them,  Matth.  xviii.  20.    They  there- 
fore who   read  his  word,   frequent  his  ordi- 
nances, and  pray  unto  him,  with  a  desire  that 
they  may  know  him,  and  be  remembered  with 
the  favour  which  he  beareth  to  his  own  peo- 
ple (Psal.  cvi.  4),  answer  the  design  of  my 
text.       They  come    to    him,  and    he   assures 
them,  that  whoever  they  are,   he  will  in  no- 
wise  cast  them   out.      If  they  thus  come  to 
him,  they  will  of  course  come  out  from  the 
world   and  be  separate,   2    Cor.   vi.    17.      If 
they  apply  to  him   for   refuge,    they  will  re- 
nounce all  other  refuge  and  dependence,   and 
trust  in  him  alone,  according  to  the  words  of 
the  prophet,  "  Ashur  shall  not  save  us,   we 
will  not  ride  upon  horses,  neither  will  we  say 
any  more  to  the  works  of  our  hands,  Ye  are 
our  gods,  for  in  thee  the  fatherless  (the  help- 
less and  comfortless)  findeth  mercy,"   Hosea 
xiv.  3. 

II.  The  promise  is,  "  I  will  give  you  rest." 
The  word  signifies  both  rest  and  refreshment. 
He  gives  a  relief  and  cessation  from  formei 
labour  and  bondage,  and  superadds  a  peace, 
a  joy,  a  comfort  which  revives  the  weary  spi- 
rit, and  proves  itself  to  be  that  very  satisfac- 
tion which  the  soul  had  been  ignorantly  and 
in  vain  seeking  amongst  the  creatures  and  the 
objects  of  sense. 

This  rest  includes  a  freedom  from  the  fore- 
bodings and  distressing  accusations  of  a  guilty 
conscience  ;  from  the  long  and  fruitless  strug- 
gle between  the  will  and  the  judgment;  from 
the  condemning  power  of  the  law  ;  from  the 
tyranny  of  irregular  and  inconsistent  appe- 
tites ;  and  from  the  dominion  of  pride  and 
self,  which  make  as  unhappy  in  ourselves, 
and  hated  and  despised  by  others  :  A  freedom 
likewise  from  the  cares  and  anxieties  which, 


other  occasion,  he  said,   "  He  that  cometh  to   in   such   an  uncertain  world  as  this,  disquiet 
me  shall  never  hunger,  and  he  that  believeth   the  minds  of  those  who  have  no  solid  scriptu- 


in  me  shall  never  thirst,"  John  vi.  35.  The 
expressions  are  of  the  same  import.  When 
he  was  upon  earth,  many  who  came  to  him, 
and  even  followed  him  for  a  season,  received 
no  saving  benefit  from  him.  Some  came  to 
him  from  motives  of  malice  and  ill-will,  to 
ensnare  or  insult  him.  Some  followed  him 
for   loaves  and   fishes;    and    of   others,   who 


ral  dependence  upon  God,  and  especially  a 
freedom  from  the  dread  of  death,  and  of  the 
things  which  are  beyond  it.  In  these  and 
other  respects,  the  believer  in  Jesus  enters 
into  a  present  rest.  He  is  under  the  guid- 
ance of  infinite  wisdom  and  the  protection  of 
almighty  power;  he  is  permitted  to  cast  all 
his  cares  upon  the  Lord  (1  Bet.  v.  7),  and  is 


SER.   XV. 


MESSIAH  S  EASY  YOKE. 


695 


assured  that  tie  Lord  careth  for  him.  So  far 
as  he  possesses  by  faith  the  spirit  and  liberty 
of  his  high  calling,  he  is  in  perfect  peace. 
The  prophet  Jeremiah  has  given  a  beautiful 
description  and  illustration  of  this  rest  of  a 
believer  (Jer.  xvii.  5 — 8)  ;  which  is  rendered 
more  striking  by  being  contrasted  with  the 
miserable  state  of  those  who  live  without  God 
in  the  world.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Cursed 
is  the  man  that  trusteth  in  man,  and  maketh 
flesh  his  arm,  and  whose  heart  departeth  from 
the  Lord.  For  he  shall  be  like  the  heath  in 
the  desert,  and  shall  not  see  when  good  Com- 
eth, but  shall  inhabit  the  parched  places  of  the 
wilderness,  in  a  salt  land  not  inhabited.  But 
blessed  is  the  man  *hat  trusteth  in  the  Lord, 
and  whose  hope  the  Lord  is  ;  for  he  shall  be 
as  a  tree  planted  by  the  waters,  and  that 
spreadeth  out  her  roots  by  the  river,  and  shall 
not  see  when  the  heat  cometh  ;  but  her  leaf 
shall  be  green,  and  shall  not  be  careful  in  the 
year  of  drought,  neither  shall  cease  from  yield- 
ing fruit." 

But  besides  rest  there  is  refreshment.  There 
are  pleasures  and  consolations  in  that  inter- 
course and  communion  with  God  to  which 
we  are  invited  by  the  gospel,  which,  both  in 
kind  and  degree,  are  unspeakably  superior  to 
all  that  the  world  can  bestow,  and  such  as  the 
world  cannot  deprive  us  of;  for  they  have  no 
necessary  dependence  upon  outward  situation 
or  circumstances;  they  are  compatible  with  po- 
verty, sickness,  and  sufferings.  They  are  of- 
ten most  sensibly  sweet  and  lively  when  the 
streams  of  creature-comfort  are  at  the  lowest 
ebb.  Many  have  been  able  to  say  with  the 
apostle,  "  As  the  sufferings  of  Christ  (those 
which  we  endure  for  his  sake,  or  submit  to 
from  his  hand)  abound  in  us,  so  our  con- 
solation in  Christ  also  aboundeth,"  1  Cor.  i.  5. 
The  all-sufficient  God  can  increase  these  com- 
munications of  comfort  from  himself  to  a  de- 
gree beyond  our  ordinary  conceptions,  so  as 
not  only  to  support  his  people  under  the  most 
exquisite  pains,  but  even  to  suspend  and  over- 
power all  sense  of  pain,  when  the  torment 
would  otherwise  be  extreme.  And  he  has 
sometimes  been  pleased  to  honour  the  fidelity 
of  his  servants,  and  to  manifest  his  own  faith- 
fulness to  them  by  such  an  interposition.  One 
well -attested  instance  our  own  martyrology 
affords,  that  of  Mr.  Bainham,  who  suffered  in 
the  reign  of  Queen  Mary.  When  he  was  in 
the  fire,  he  addressed  himself  to  his  persecu- 
tors to  this  effect :  "  You  call  for  miracles  in 
proof  of  our  doctrine,  now  behold  one  ;  I  feel 
no  more  pain  from  these  flames  than  if  I  was 
laid  upon  a  bed  of  roses."  But  in  ordinary 
eases,  and  in  all  cases,  they  who  taste  how 
good  the  Lord  is  to  them  that  seek  him,  how 
he  cheers  them  with  the  light  of  his  counte- 
nance, and  what  supports  he  affords  them  in 
the  hour  of  need,  can  without  regret  part  with 
the  poor  perishing  pleasures  of  sin,  and  en- 
counter all  the  difficulties  they  meet  with  in 


the  path  of  duty.  Whatever  their  profession 
of  his  name,  and  their  attachment  to  his  cause 
may  have  cost  them,  they  will  acknowledge 
that  it  has  made  them  ample  amends. 

Come,  therefore,  unto  him,  venture  upon 
his  gracious  word,  and  you  shall  find  rest  for 
your  souls.  Can  the  world  outbid  this  gra- 
cious offer  ?  Can  the  world  promise  to  give 
you  rest  when  you  are  burdened  with  trouble  ? 
when  your  cisterns  fail,  and  your  gourds  wi- 
ther ?  or  when  you  are  terrified  with  the  ap- 
proach of  death,  when  your  pulse  intermits, 
when  you  are  about  to  take  a  final  farewell  of 
all  you  ever  saw  with  your  eyes,  and  an  awful, 
unknown,  untried,  unchangeable  eternity  is 
opening  upon  your  view  ?  Such  a  moment 
most  certainly  awaits  you  ;  and  when  it  ar- 
rives, if  you  die  in  your  senses,  and  are  not 
judicially  given  up  to  hardness  and  blindness 
of  heart,  you  will  assuredly  tremble,  if  you 
never  trembled  before.  Oh  !  be  persuaded  ! 
May  the  Lord  himself  persuade  you  to  be 
timely  wise,  to  seek  him  now  while  he  may 
be  found,  to  call  upon  him  while  he  is  yet 
near,  lest  that  dreadful  threatening  should  be 
your  portion  :  "  Because  I  have  called,  and 
ye  refused,  I  have  stretched  out  my  hand  and 
no  man  regarded  ;  I  also  will  laugh  at  your 
calamity,  I  will  mock  when  your  fear  cometh," 
Prov.  i.  24,  26. 


SERMON  XV. 

Messiah's  easy  yoke. 

Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me,  for 
I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart  ,•  and  ye  shall 
find  rest  to  your  souls.  For  my  yoke  is  easy, 
and  my  burden  is  light.      Matth  xi.  29.  50. 

Though  the  influence  of  education  and  ex- 
ample may  dispose  us  to  acknowledge  the 
gospel  to  be  a  revelation  from  God,  it  can  only 
be  rightly  understood,  or  duly  prized,  by  those 
persons  who  feel  themselves  in  the  circum- 
stances of  distress  which  it  is  designed  to  re- 
lieve. No  Israelite  would  think  of  fleeing  to 
a  city  of  refuge,  till,  by  having  unwittingly 
slain  a  man,  he  was  exposed  to  the  resentmen* 
of  the  next  of  kin,  the  legal  avenger  of  blood  • 
but  then,  a  sense  of  his  danger  would  induce 
him  readily  to  avail  himself  of  the  appointed 
method  of  safety.  The  skill  of  a  physician 
may  be  acknowledged,  in  general  terms,  by 
many ;  but  he  is  applied  to  only  by  the  sick, 
Matt.  ix.  12.  Thus  our  Saviour's  gracious 
invitation  to  come  to  him  for  rest,  will  be 
little  regarded,  till  we  really  feel  ourselves 
weary  and  heavy  laden.  This  is  a  principal 
reason  why  the  gospel  is  heard  with  so  much 
indifference.  For  though  sin  be  a  grievous 
illness,  and  a  hard  bondage,  yet  one  effect  of 
it    is,    a    strange    stupidity    and    infatuation, 


696 


MESSIAH'S  EASY    YOKE. 


SER.  XV. 


which  renders  us  (like  a  person  in  a  delirium) 
insensible  of  our  true  state.  It  is  a  happy 
time  when  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  his  convincing 
power,  removes  that  stupor,  which,  while  it 
prevents  us  from  fully  perceiving  our  misery, 
renders  us  likewise  indifferent  to  the  only 
mean  of  deliverance.  Such  a  conviction  of 
the  guilt  and  desert  of  sin,  is  the  first  hopeful 
symptom  in  a  sinner's  case  ;  but  it  is  neces- 
sarily painful  and  distressing.  It  is  not  plea- 
sant to  be  weary  and  heavy-laden  ;  but  it 
awakens  our  attention  to  him  who  says,  Come 
unto  me,  and  I  will  give  you  rest,  and  makes 
us  willing  to  take  his  yoke  upon  us. 

Oxen  are  yoked  to  labour.  From  hence 
the  yoke  is  a  figurative  expression  to  denote 
servitude.  Our  Lord  seems  to  use  it  here, 
both  to  intimate  our  natural  prejudices  against 
his  service,  and  to  obviate  them.  Though  he 
submitted  to  sufferings,  reproach,  and  death 
for  our  sakes.;  though  he  invites  us,  not  be- 
cause he  has  need  of  us,  but  because  we  have 
need  of  him,  and  cannot  be  happy  without 
him  ;  yet  our  ungrateful  hearts  think  unkindly 
of  him.  We  conceive  of  him  as  a  hard  mas- 
ter ;  and  suppose,  that  if  we  engage  ourselves 
to  him,  we  must  bid  farewell  to  pleasure,  and 
live  under  a  continual  restraint.  His  rule  is 
deemed  too  strict,  his  laws  too  severe ;  and 
we  imagine,  that  we  could  be  more  happy 
Upon  our  own  plans,  than  by  acceding  to  his. 
Such  unjust,  unfriendly,  and  dishonourable 
thoughts  of  him,  whose  heart  is  full  of  tender- 
ness, whose  bowels  melt  with  love,  are  strong 
proofs  of  our  baseness,  blindness,  and  depravi- 
ty ;  yet  still  be  continues  his  invitation, 
"  Come  unto  me." — As  if  he  had  said,  "  Be 
not  afraid  of  me.  Only  make  the  experiment, 
and  you  shall  find,  that  what  you  have  ac- 
counted my  yoke  is  true  liberty ;  and  that  in 
my  service,  which  you  have  avoided  as  bur- 
densome, there  is  no  burden  at  all ;  for  my 
ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  my 
paths  are  peace."  I  have  a  good  hope,  that 
many  of  my  hearers  can  testify,  from  their 
own  happy  experience,  that  (according  to  the 
beautiful  expression  in  our  liturgy)  his  ser- 
vice is  perfect  freedom. 

If  we  are  really  Christians,  Jesus  is  our 
Master,  our  Lord,  and  we  are  his  servants. 
It  is  in  vain  to  call  him  Lord,  Lord  (Luke 
vi.  46),  unless  we  keep  his  commandments. 
They  who  know  him  will  love  him  ;  and  they 
who  love  him  will  desire  to  please  him,  not 
by  a  course  of-  service  of  their  own  devising, 
but  by  accepting  his  revealed  will  as  the  stand- 
ard and  rule,  to  every  part  of  which  they  en- 
deavour to  conform  in  their  tempers  and  in 
their  conduct.  He  is  likewise  our  Master  in 
another  sense,  that  is,  he  is  our  great  Teacher; 
if  we  submit  to  him  as  such,  we  are  his  dis- 
ciples or  scholars.  We  cannot  serve  him  ac- 
ceptably, unless  we  are  taught  by  him.  The 
philosophers  of  old  had  their  disciples,  who 
imbibed  their  sentiments,  and   were   therefore 


called  after  their  names,  as  the  Pythagoreans 
and  Platonists,  from  Pythagoras  and  Plato. 
The  general  name  of  Christians,  which  was 
first  assumed  by  the  believers  at  Antioch 
(possibly  by  divine  direction)  intimates  that 
they  are  the  professed  disciples  of  Christ,  Acts 
xi.  26.  If  we  wish  to  be  truly  wise,  to  be 
wise  unto  salvation,  we  must  apply  to  him. 
For  in  this  sense,  the  disciple  or  scholar  can- 
not be  above  his  Master,  Luke  vi.  40.  We 
can  learn  of  men  no  more  than  they  can  teach 
us.  But  he  says,  "  Learn  of  me  ;"  and  he 
cautions  us  against  calling  any  one  Master 
upon  earth.  He  does,  indeed,  instruct  his 
people  by  ministers  and  instruments ;  but  un- 
less he  is  pleased  to  superadd  his  influence, 
what  we  seem  to  learn  from  them  only,  will 
profit  us  but  little.  Nor  are  the  best  of  them 
so  thoroughly  furnished,  nor  so  free  from  mis- 
take, as  to  deserve  our  implicit  confidence. 
But  they  whom  he  condescends  to  teach,  shall 
learn,  what  no  instruction,  merely  human,  can 
impart.  Let  us  consider  the  peculiar,  the  un- 
speakable ad\  antages  of  being  his  scholars. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  this  great  Teacher  can 
give  the  capacity  requisite  to  the  reception  of 
his  sublime  instructions.  There  is  no  pro- 
spect of  excelling  in  human  arts  and  sciences, 
without,  a  previous  natural  ability,  suited  to 
the  subject.  For  instance,  if  a  person  has  not 
an  ear  and  tas;te  for  music,  he  will  make  but 
small  proficiency  under  the  best  masters.  It 
will  be  the  same  with  respect  to  the  mathema- 
tics, or  any  branch  of  science.  A  skilful 
master  may  improve  and  inform  the  scholar, 
if  he  be  rightly  disposed  to  learn,  but  he  can- 
not communicate  the  disposition.  But  Jesus 
can  open  and  enliven  the  dullest  mind ;  he 
teaches  the  blind  to  see,  and  the  deaf  to  hear. 
By  nature  we  are  untractable,  and  incapable 
of  relishing  divine  truth,  however  advanta- 
geously proposed  to  us  by  men  like  ourselves. 
But  happy  are  his  scholars !  he  enables  them 
to  surmount  all  difficulties.  He  takes  away 
the  heart  of  stone,  subdues  the  most  obstinate 
prejudices,  enlightens  the  dark  understanding, 
and  inspires  a  genius  and  a  taste  for  the  sub- 
lime and  interesting  lessons  he  proposes  to 
them.  In  this  respect,  as  in  every  other,  there 
is  none  who  teacheth  like  him,  Job  xxxvi.  26. 

2.  He  teacheth  the  most  important  things. 
The  subjects  of  human  science  are  compara- 
tively trivial  and  insignificant.  We  may  be 
safely  ignorant  of  them  all.  And  we  may 
acquire  the  knowledge  of  them  all,  without 
being  wiser  or  better,  with  respect  to  the  con- 
cernments of  our  true  happiness.  Experience 
and  observation  abundantly  confirm  the  re- 
mark of  Solomon,  That  he  who  iijc.reaseth 
knowledge  increaseth  sorrow.  The  eye  is  not 
satisfied  with  seeing,  nor  the  ear  with  hearing, 
Eccles.  i.  8,  18.  Unless  the  heartjje  season- 
ed and  sanctified  by  grace,  the  sum-total  ol 
all  other  acquisitions  is  but  vanity  .and  vexa- 
tion of  spirit,  Eccles.   ii.  17.      Human  learn- 


*F.R.  XV. 


MESSIAH  S  EASY  YOKE. 


G97 


ing  will  neither  support  the  mind  under  trou- 
ble, nor  weaken  its  attachment  to  worldly 
things,  nor  controul  its  impetuous  passions, 
nor  overcome  the  fear  of  death.  The  confes- 
sion of  the  learned  Grotius,  towards  the 
close  of  a  life  spent  in  literary  pursuits,  is 
much  more  generally  known  than  properly 
attended  to.  He  had  deservedly  a  great  name 
and  reputation  as  a  scholar;  but  his  own  re- 
flection upon  the  result  of  his  labours  express- 
es what  he  learnt,  not  from  his  books  and  or- 
dinary course  of  studies,  but  from  the  Teacher 
I  am  commending  to  you.  He  lived  to  leave 
this  testimony  for  the  admonition  of  the  learn- 
ed, or  to  this  effect :  Ah,  vitam  prorsus perdidi 
nihil  agendo  laboriosc  !  "  Alas  !  I  have  wasted 
my  whole  life  in  taking  much  pains  to  no 
purpose."  But  Jesus  makes  his  scholars  wise 
unto  eternal  life,  and  reveals  that  knowledge 
to  babes,  to  persons  of  weak  and  confined  abi- 
lities, of  which  the  wisdom  of  the  world  can 
form  no  idea. 

3.  Other  teachers,  as  I  have  already  hinted, 
can  only  inform  the  head  ;  but  his  instructions 
influence  the  heart.  Moral  philosophers,  as 
they  are  called,  abound  in  fine  words  and 
plausible  speeches,  concerning  the  beauty  of 
virtue,  the  fitness  of  things,  temperance,  be- 
nevolence, and  equity ;  and  their  scholars 
learn  toj^lk  after  them.  But  their  fine  and 
admired  sentiments  are  mere  empiy  notions, 
-lestitute  of  life  and  efficacy,  and  frequently 
,eave  them  as  much  under  the  tyranny  of 
pride,  passion,  sensuality,  envy,  and  malice, 
as  any  of  the  vulgar  whom  they  despise  for 
their  ignorance.  It  is  well  known,  to  the  dis- 
grace of  the  morality  which  the  world  ap- 
plauds, that  some  of  their  most  admired  sen- 
timental writers  and  teachers  have  deserved  to 
be  numbered  among  the  most  abandoned  and 
despicable  of  mankind.  They  have  been  slaves 
to  the  basest  and  most  degrading  appetites, 
and  the  tenor  of  their  lives  has  been  a  marked 
contradiction  to  their  fine-spun  theories.  But 
Jesus  Christ  effectually  teaches  his  disciples  to 
forsake  and  abhor  whatever  is  contrary  to  rec- 
titude or  purity  ;  and  inspires  them  with  Uue, 
power,  and  a  sound  mind.  And  if  they  do 
not  talk  of  great  things,  they  are  enabled  to 
perform  them.  Their  lives  are  exemplary  and 
useful,  their  deaths  comfortable,  and  their 
memory  is  precious. 

4.  The  disciples  of  Jesus  are,  or  may  be, 
always  learning.  His  providence  and  wisdom 
have  so  disposed  things,  in  subserviency  to  the 
purposes  of  his  grace,  that  the  whole  world 
around  them  is  as  a  great  school,  and  the 
events  of  every  day,  with  which  they  are  con- 
nected, have  a  tendency  and  suitableness,  if 
rightly  improved,  to  promote  their  instruction. 
Heavenly  lessons  are  taught  and  illustrated  by 
earthly  objects;  nor  are  we  capable  of  under- 
standing them  at  present,  unless  the  mode  of 
instruction  be  thus  accommodated  to  our  situ- 


12)  points  out  to  us  a  wonderful  and  beauti- 
ful analogy  between  the  outward  visible  world 
of  nature,  and  that  spiritual  state  which  is 
called  the  kingdom  of  God ;  the  former  is 
like  a  book  written  in  cypher,  to  which  the 
scripture  is  the  key,  which  when  we  obtain, 
we  have  the  other  opened  to  us.  Thus,  where- 
ever  they  look,  some  object  presents  itself, 
which  is  adapted,  either  to  lead  their  thoughts 
directly  to  Jesus,  or  to  explain  or  confirm 
some  passage  in  his  word.  So  likewise,  the 
incidents  of  human  life;  the  characters  we 
know,  the  conversation  we  hear,  the  vicissi- 
tudes which  take  place  in  families,  cities,  and 
nations,  in  a  word,  the  occurrences  which  fur- 
nish the  history  of  every  day,  afford  a  perpe- 
tual commentary  on  what  the  scriptures  teach 
concerning  the  heart  of  man  and  the  state  or 
the  world,  as  subject  to  vanity,  and  lying  in 
wickedness ;  and  thereby  the  great  truths 
which  it  behoves  us  to  understand  and  remem- 
ber, are  more  repeatedly  and  forcibly  exhibited 
before  our  eyes,  and  brought  home  to  our  bo- 
soms. It  is  the  peculiar  advantage  of  the  dis- 
ciples of  Christ,  that  their  lessons  are  always 
before  them,  and  their  Master  always  with 
them. 

5.  Men  who  are  otherwise  competently 
qualified  for  teaching  in  the  branches  of 
science  they  profess,  often  discourage  and  in- 
timidate their  scholars,  by  the  impatience,  aus- 
terity, and  distance  of  their  manner.  They 
fail  in  that  condescension  and  gentleness 
which  are  necessary  to  engage  the  attention 
and  affection  of  the  timid  and  the  volatile,  or 
gradually  to  soften  and  to  shame  the  perverse. 
Even  Moses,  though  eminent  for  his  forbear- 
ance towards  the  obstinate  people  committed 
to  his  care,  and  though  he  loved  them,  and 
longed  for  their  welfare,  was,  at  times,  almost 
wearied  by  them,  Numb.  xi.  II,  12.  But 
Jesus,  who  knows  before-hand  the  weakness, 
the  dulness,  and  the  refractoriness  of  those 
whom  he  deigns  to  teach,  to  prevent  their 
fears  is  pleased  to  say,  "  Learn  of  me,  for  I 
am  meek  and  lowly."  With  what  meekness 
did  he  converse  among  his  disciples,  while  he 
was  with  them  upon  earth  ?  He  allowed  them 
at  all  times  a  gracious  freedom  of  access.  He 
bore  with  their  mistakes,  reproved  and  cor- 
rected them  with  the  greatest  mildness,  and 
taught  them  as  they  were  able  to  bear,  with  a 
kind  accommodation  to  their  prejudices  ;  lead- 
ing them  on  step  by  step,  and  waiting  for  the 
proper  season  of  unfolding  to  them  those  more 
difficult  points,  which,  for  a  time,  appeared  to 
them  to  be  hard  sayings.  And  though  he 
be  now  exalted  upon  his  glorious  throne  and 
clothed  with  majesty,  still  his  heart  is  made 
of  tenderness,  and  his  compassions  still  a- 
bound.  We  are  still  directed  to  think  of 
him,  not  as  one  who  cannot  be  touched  with 
a  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  but  as  exercising 
the  same  patience  and  sympathy  towards  his 


ation  and  weakness.      The  scripture  (John  iii.  j  disciples  now,  which  so  signally  marked  hia 


698 


MESSIAHS  EASY    YOKE. 


SF.R.  XV 


character  during  liis  state  of  humiliation.  The 
compliment  of  the  orator  to  a  Roman  emper- 
or, though  excessive  and  absurd  when  address- 
ed to  a  sinful  worm,  that  they  who  durst 
speak  to  him  were  ignorant  of  his  greatness, 
and  they  who  durst  not  were  equally  ignorant 
of  his  goodness,  is  a  just  and  literal  truth,  if 
applied  to  our  meek  and  gracious  Saviour. 
If  we  duly  consider  his  greatness  alone,  it 
seems  almost  presumption  in  such  creatures  as 
we  are,  to  dare  to  take  his  holy  name  upon 
our  polluted  lips  ;  but  then,  if  we  have  a  pro- 
portionable sense  of  his  unbounded  goodness 
and  grace,  every  difficulty  is  overruled,  and 
we  feel  a  liberty  of  drawing  near  to  him, 
though  with  reverence,  yet  with  the  confidence 
of  children  when  they  speak  to  an  affectionate 
parent. 

A  person  may  be  meek,   though  in  an  ele- 
vated situation  of  life ;  but  Jesus  was  like- 
wise lowly.      There  was  nothing  in  his  exter- 
nal appearance  to  intimidate  the  poor  and  the 
miserable  from  coming  to  him.      He  was  low- 
ly or  humble.      Custom,  which  fixes  the  force 
and  acceptation  of  words,  will  not  readily  al- 
low us  to  speak  of  humility  as  applicable  to 
the  great  God.      Yet  it  is  said,  He  humbleth 
himself  to  behold  the  things  that  are  in  heaven 
and   in   earth,   Psal.   cxiii.    6.      Humility,   in 
strictness  of  speech,  is  an  attribute  of  magna- 
nimity ;  an  indifference  to  the  little  distinc- 
tions by  which  weak  and  vulgar  minds  are  af- 
fected.     In   the  view   of  the   high  and  holy 
One  who  inhabiteth  eternity  (Is.  lvii.  15),  all 
distinctions  that  can  obtain  among  creatures 
vanish  ;  and  he  humbles  himself  no  less  to 
notice  the  worship  of  an  angel,   than   the  fall 
of  a  sparrow  to  the  ground.      But  we  more 
usually  express  this  idea  by  the  term  condes- 
cension.     Such    was    the    mind   that  was   in 
Christ,  Phil.  ii.  5.      It  belonged  to  his  digni- 
ty, as  Lord  of  all,  to  look  with  an  equal  eye 
upon  all  his  creatures.      None  could  recom- 
mend themselves  to  him  by  their  rank,  wealth, 
or   abilities,    the  gifts    of   his    own    bounty ; 
none  were  excluded  from  his  regard,  by  the 
want  of  those  things  which  are  in  estimation 
among  men.      And  to  stain  the  pride  of  hu- 
man glory,  he  was  pleased  to  assume  an  hum- 
ble state.    Though  he  was  rich,  he  made  him- 
self poor   (2   Cor.  viii.    9),   for   the   sake   of 
those  whom  he  came  into  the  world  to  save. 
In  this  respect  he  teaches  us  by  his  example. 
He   took   upon  him  the   form   of   a   servant 
(Phil.  ii.  7),  a  poor  and  obscure  man,  to  abase 
our  pride,  to  cure  us  of  selfishness,  and  to  re- 
concile us  to  the  cross. 

The  happy  effect  of  his  instructions  upon 
those  who  receive  them,  is,  rest  to  their  souls. 
This  has  been  spoken  to  before  ;  but  as  it  is 
repeated  in  the  text,  I  shall  not  entirely  pass 
it  over  here.  He  gives  rest  to  our  souls, — 
by  restoring  us  to  our  proper  state  of  depend- 
ence upon  God  ;  a  state  of  reconciliation  and 
peace,  and  deliverance  from  guilt  and  fear ;  a 


state  of  subjection  ;  fcTr  till  our  wills  arc  duly 
subjected  to  the  will  of  God,  we  can  have  no 
rest — by  shewing  us  the  vanity  of  the  world, 
and  thereby  putting  an  end  to  our  wearisome 
desires  and  pursuits  after  things  uncertain, 
frequently  unattainable,  always  unsatisfying — 
by  a  communication  of  sublimer  pleasures  and 
hopes  than  the  present  state  of  things  can  pos- 
sibly afford — and  lastly,  by  furnishing  us  with 
those  aids,  motives,  and  encouragements, 
which  make  our  duty  desirable,  practicable, 
and  pleasant. 

How  truly  then  may  it  be  said,  that  his 
yoke  4s  easy,  and  his  burden  light !  such  a 
burden  as  wings  are  to  a  bird,  raising  the 
soul  above  the  low  and  grovelling  attachments 
to  which  it  was  once  confined.  They  only 
can  rightly  judge  of  the  value  of  this  rest, 
who  are  capable  of  contrasting  it  with  the 
distractions  and  miseries,  the  remorse  and 
forebodings,  of  those  who  live  without  God 
in  the  world. 

But  we  are  all,  by  profession,  his  scholars. 
Ought  we  not  seriously  to  enquire,  what  we 
have  actually  learned  from  him  ?  Surely  the 
proud,  the  haughty,  the  voluptuous,  and  the 
worldly,  though  they  have  heard  of  his  name, 
and  may  have  attended  on  his  institutions, 
have  not  hitherto  sat  at  his  feet,  or  drank  of 
his  Spirit.  It  requires  no  long  train  of  exa- 
mination to  determine,  whether  you  have  en- 
tered into  his  rest,  or  not ;  or,  if  you  have  not 
yet  attained  it,  whether  you  are  seeking  it  in 
the  ways  of  his  appointment.  It  is  a  rest  for 
the  soul,  it  is  a  spiritual  blessing,  and  there- 
fore does  not  necessarily  depend  upon  exter- 
nal circumstances.  Without  this  rest,  you 
must  be  restless  and  comfortless  in  a  palace. 
If  you  have  it,  you  may  be,  at  least  compara- 
tively, happy  in  a  dungeon.  To-day,  if  not 
before  to-day,  while  it  is  called  to-day,  hear 
his  voice ;  and  while  he  says  to  you  by  his 
word,  "  Come  unto  me,  and  learn  of  me," 
let  your  hearts  answer.  "  Behold,  we  come 
unto  thee,  for  thou  art  the  Lord  our  God," 
Jer.  iii.  22. 


SERMON  XVI. 


THE  LAMB  OF  GOD,  THE  GREAT  ATONEMENT. 


Behold  the   Lamb  of  God,   which  taketh 
the  sin  of  the  world  I     John  i.  29. 


aivay 


Great  and  marvellous  are  the  works  of  the 
Lord  God  Almighty  !  We  live  in  the  midst  of 
them,  and  the  little  impression  they  make 
upon  us  sufficiently  proves  our  depravity.  He 
is  great  in  the  very  smallest ;  and  there  is  not 
a  plant,  flower,  or  insect,  but  bears  the  signa- 
ture of  infinite  wisdom  and  power.  How 
sensibly  then  should  we  be  affected  by  the 
consideration   of  the   whole,    if  sin   had   not 


SER.  XVI. 

blinded  our  understandings,  and  hardened  our 
hearts  !  In  the  beginning,  when  all  was  dark, 
unformed,  and  waste,  his  powerful  word  pro- 
duced light,  life,  beauty,  and  order.  He 
commanded  the  sun  to  shine,  and  the  planets 
to  roll.  The  immensity  of  creation  is  far  be- 
yond the  reach  of  our  conceptions.  The  in- 
numerable stars,  the  worlds,  which,  however 
large  in  themselves,  are,  from  their  remote- 
ness, but  barely  visible,  to  us  are  of  little  more 
immediate  and  known  use,  than  to  enlarge 
our  idea  of  the  greatness  of  their  Author. 
Small,  indeed,  is  the  knowledge  we  have  of 
our  own  system ;  but  we  know  enough  to 
render  our  indifference  inexcusable.  The 
glory  of  the  sun  must  strike  every  eye ;  and 
in  this  enlightened  age,  there  are  tew  persons 
but  have  some  ideaa  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
planets,  and  the  rapidity  and  regularity  of 
their  motions.  Farther,  the  rich  variety  which 
adorns  this  lower  creation,  the  dependence 
and  relation  of  the>  several  parts  and  their  ge- 
neral subserviency  to  the  accommodation  of 
man,  the  principal  inhabitant,  together  with 
the  preservation  of  individuals,  and  the  conti- 
nuance of  every  species  of  animals,  are  sub- 
jects not  above  the  reach  of  common  capa- 
cities, and  which  afford  almost  endless  and 
infinite  scope  for  reflection  and  admiration. 
But  the  bulk  of  mankind  regard  them  not. 
The  vicissitudes  of  day  and  night,  and  of  the 
revolving  seasons,  are  to  them  matters  of 
course,  as  if  they  followed  each  other  without 
either  cause  or  design.  And  though  the  phi- 
losophers, who  professedly  attach  themselves 
to  the  study  of  the  works  of  nature,  are  over- 
whelmed by  the  traces  of  a  wisdom  and  ar- 
rangement which  they  are  unable  to  compre- 
hend ;  yet  few  of  them  are  led  to  reverential 
thoughts  of  God,  by  their  boasted  knowledge 
of  his  creatures.  Thus  men  live  without  God 
in  the  world,  though  they  live,  and  move,  and 
have  their  being  in  him,  and  are  incessantly 
surrounded  by  the  most  striking  proofs  of  his 
presence  and  energy.  Perhaps  an  earthquake, 
or  a  hurricane,  by  awakening  their  fears,  may 
force  upon  their  minds  a  conviction  of  his 
power  over  them  and  excite  an  occasional  mo- 
mentary application  to  him ;  but  when  they 
think  the  danger  over,  they  relapse  into  their 
former  stupidity. 

What  can  engage  the  attention,  or  soften 
the  obduracy  of  such  creatures  ?  Behold  one 
wonder  more,  greater  than  all  the  former ; 
the  last,  the  highest  effect  of  divine  good- 
ness !  God  has  so  loved  rebellious,  ungrateful 
sinners,  as  to  appoint  them  a  Saviour  in  the 
person  of  his  only  Son.  The  prophets  fore- 
saw his  manifestation  in  the  flesh,  and  fore- 
told the  happy  consequences — that  his  presence 
would  change  the  wilderness  into  a  fruitful 
field,  that  he  was  coming  to  give  sight  to  the 
blind,  and  life  to  the  dead ;  to  set  the  captive 
at  liberty ;  to  unloose  the  heavy  burden ;  and 
to  bless  the  weary  with  rest.    But  this  change 


THE  LAMB   OF   GOD,    &C. 


G99 


was  not  to  be  wrought  merely  by  a  word  of 
power,  as  when  he  said,  "  Let  there  be  light* 
and  there  was  light,"  Gen.  i.  3.  It  was  great 
to  speak  the  world  from  nothing ;  but  far 
greater,  to  redeem  sinners  from  misery.  The 
salvation,  of  which  he  is  the  Author,  though 
free  to  us,  must  cost  him  dear.  Before  the 
mercy  of  God  can  be  actually  dispensed  to 
such  offenders,  the  rights  of  his  justice,  the 
demands  of  his  law,  and  the  honour  of  his 
government  must  be  provided  for.  The  early 
institution  and  long  continued  use  of  sacri- 
fices, had  clearly  pointed  out  the  necessity  of 
an  atonement ;  but  the  real  and  proper  atone- 
ment could  only  be  made  by  Messiah.  The 
blood  of  slaughtered  animals  could  not  take 
away  sin,  nor  display  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  pardoning  it.  This  was  the  appointed 
covenanted  work  of  Messiah,  and  he  alone 
could  perform  it.  With  this  view  he  had  said, 
"  Lo,  I  come,"  Psal.  xl.  7.  And  it  was  in  this 
view,  when  John  saw  him,  that  he  pointed 
him  out  to  his  disciples,  saying,  "  Behold  the 
Lamb  of  God  '" 

Three  points  offer  to  our  consideration  : 

I.  The  title  here  given  to  Messiah, — The 
Lamb  of  God. 

II.  The  efficacy  of  his  sacrifice, — He  taketh 
away  sin. 

III.  The  extent  of  it, — The  sin  of  the 
world. 

I.  He  is  the  Lamb  of  God. — The  paschal 
lamb,  and  the  lambs  which  were  daily  offered, 
morning  and  evening,  according  to  the  law  of 
Moses,  were  of  God's  appointment ;  but  this 
Lamb  was  likewise  of  his  providing.  The 
others  were  but  types.  Though  many,  they 
were  all  insufficient  (Heb.  x.  10)  to  cleanse 
the  consciences  of  the  offerers  from  guilt;  and 
they  were  all  superseded,  when  Messiah,  by 
the  one  offering  of  himself,  once  for  all,  made 
an  end  of  sin,  and  brought  in  an  everlasting 
righteousness,  in  favour  of  all  who  believe  in 
his  name. 

This  title,  therefore,  the  Lamb  of  God,  re- 
fers to  his  voluntary  substitution  for  sinners, 
that  by  his  sufferings  and  death  they  who  de- 
served to  die  might  obtain  eternal  life 
through  him,  and  for  his  sake.  Mankind 
were  universally  chargeable  with  transgression 
of  the  law  of  God,  and  were  in  a  state  of  alie- 
nation from  him.  A  penalty  in  case  of  dis- 
obedience was  annexed  to  the  law  they  had 
broken ;  to  which  they,  as  offenders,  were 
therefore  obnoxious.  Though  it  would  be 
presumptuous  in  such  worms  as  we  are,  to 
determine,  upon  principles  of  our  nvn,  whe- 
ther  the  sovereign  Judge  of  the  universe  could, 
consistently  with  his  own  glory,  remit  this 
penalty  without  satisfaction,  or  not ;  yet,  since 
he  has  favoured  us  with  a  revelation  of  his 
will  upon  the  point,  we  may  speak  more  con- 
fidently, and  affirm,  that  it  was  not  consistent 
with  his  truth  and  holiness,  and  the  honour 
of  his  moral  government,  to  do  it,  because 


700 


THE  LAMB  OF  GOD, 


this  is  his  own  declaration.  We  may  now  be 
assured,  that  the  forgiveness  of  one  sinner, 
and,  indeed,  of  one  sin,  by  an  act  of  mere 
mercy,  and  without  any  interposing  conside- 
ration, was  incompatible  with  the  inflexibility 
of  the  law,  and  the  truth  and  justice  of  the 
Lawgiver.  But  mercy  designed  the  forgive- 
ness of  innumerable  sinners,  each  of  them 
chargeable  with  innumerable  sins ;  and  the 
declaration,  that  God  is  thus  merciful,  was  to 
be  recorded,  and  publicly  known  through  a 
long  succession  of  ages,  and  to  extend  to  sins 
not  yet  committed.  An  act  of  grace  so  ge- 
neral and  unreserved,  might  lead  men  (not  to 
speak  of  superior  intelligences)  to  disparaging 
thoughts  of  the  holiness  of  God,  and  might 
even  encourage  them  to  sin  with  hope  of  im- 
punity, if  not  connected  with  some  provision, 
which  might  shew  that  the  exercise  of  his 
mercy  was  in  full  harmony  with  the  honour 
of  all  his  perfections.  How  God  could  be 
just,  and  yet  justify  those  (Rom.  iii.  26) 
whom  his  own  righteous  constitution  con- 
demned, was  a  difficulty  too  great  for  finite 
understandings  to  solve.  But,  herein  is  God 
glorious.  His  wisdom  propounded,  and  his 
love  afforded,  the  adequate,  the  only  possible 
expedient.  He  revealed  to  our  first  parents 
his  purpose,  which  in  the  fulness  of  time  he 
accomplished,  of  sending  forth  his  Son,  made 
of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  to  redeem 
sinners  from  the  curse  of  the  law  (Gal.  iv.  4), 
by  sustaining  it  for  them.  Considering  the 
dignity  of  his  person  and  the  perfection  of  his 
obedience,  his  sufferings  and  death  for  sins 
not  his  own,  displayed  the  heinousness  of  sin, 
and  the  severe  displeasure  of  God  against  it, 
in  a  much  stronger  light  than  the  execution 
of  the  sentence  upon  the  offenders  could  pos- 
sibly do.  It  displays  likewise  the  justice  of 
this  sentence,  since  neither  the  dignity  nor 
the  holiness  of  the  surety  could  exempt  him 
from  suffering;  and  that,  though  he  was  the 
beloved  of  God,  he  was  not  spared.  This  is 
what  I  understand  by  atonement  and  satisfac- 
tion for  sin. 

II.  The  efficacy  of  this  atonement  is  com- 
plete.  The  Lamb  of  God,  thus  slain,  taketh 
away  sin,  both  with  respect  to  its  guilt  and  its 
defilement.  The  Israelites,  by  looking  to  the 
brazen  serpent  (Numb.  xxi.  9),  were  saved 
from  death,  and  healed  of  their  wounds.  The 
Lamb  of  God  is  an  object,  proposed,  not  to 
our  bodily  sight,  but  to  the  eye  of  the  mind, 
which  indeed  in  fallen  man  is  naturally  blind; 
but  the  gospel -message,  enlivened  by  the 
powerful  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  ap- 
pointed to  open  it.  He  who  thus  seeth  the 
Son,  and  believed)  on  him  (John  vi.  40),  is  de- 
livered from  guilt  and  condemnation,  is  jus- 
tified from  all  sin.  He  is  warranted  to  plead 
the  sufferings  of  the  Lamb  of  God  in  bar  of 
his  own  ;  the  whole  of  the  Saviour's  obedience 
unto  death,  as  the  ground  and  title  of  his  ac- 
ceptance unto  life.      Guilt  or  obnoxiousness 


SER.   XVI. 

to  punishment  being  removed,  the  soul  has  an 
open  way  of  access  to  God,  and  is  prepared  to 
receive  blessings  from  him.  For  as  the  sun, 
the  fountain  of  light,  fills  the  eye  that  was 
before  blind,  the  instant  it  receives  sight  ;  so 
God,  who  is  the  fountain  of  goodness,  en- 
lightens all  his  intelligent  creatures  according 
to  their  capacity,  unless  they  are  by  sin  blind- 
ed, and  rendered  incapable  of  communion 
with  him.  The  Saviour  is  now  received  and 
enthroned  in  the  heart,  and  from  his  fulness 
the  life  of  grace  is-  derived  and  maintained. 
Thus  not  only  the  guilt,  but  the  love  of  sin, 
and  its  dominion,  are  taken  away,  subdued  by 
grace,  and  cordially  renounced  by  the  believ- 
ing pardoned  sinner.  The  blood,  which  frees 
him  from  distress,  preserves  a  remembrance 
of  the  great  danger  and  misery  from  which 
he  has  been  delivered  warm  upon  his  heart, 
inspires  him  with  gratitude  to  his  Deliverer, 
and  furnishes  him  with  an  abiding  and  con- 
straining motive  for  cheerful  and  universal 
obedience. 

III.  The  designed  extent  of  this  gratuitous 
removal  of  sin,  by  the  oblation  of  the  Lamb 
of  God,  is  expressed  in  a  large  and  indefinite 
manner  :  He  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 
Many  of  my  hearers  need  not  to  be  told,  what 
fierce  and  voluminous  disputes  have  been  main- 
tained concerning  the  extent  of  the  death  of 
Christ.  I  am  afraid  the  advantages  of  such 
controversies  have  not  been  answerable  to  the 
zeal  of  the  disputants.  For  myself,  I  wish  to 
be  known  by  no  name  but  that  of  a  christian, 
and  implicitly  to  adopt  no  system  but  the 
Bible.  I  usually  endeavour  to  preach  to  the 
heart  and  the  conscience,  and  to  wave,  as 
much  as  I  can,  all  controversial  points.  But 
as  the  subject  now  lies  directly  before  me,  I 
shall  embrace  the  occasion,  and  simply  and 
honestly  open  to  you  the  sentiments  of  my 
heart  concerning  it. 

If  because  the  death  of  Christ  is  here  said 
to  take  away  the  sin  of  the  world,  or  (as  this 
evangelist  expresses  it  in  another  place),  the- 
whole  world  (1  John  ii.  2),  it  be  inferred, 
that  he  actually  designed  and  intended  the 
salvation  of  all  men,  such  an  inference  would 
be  contradicted  by  fact.  For  it  is  certain  that 
all  men  will  not  be  saved,  Matth.  vii.  13,  14. 
It  is  to  be  feared,  that  the  greater  part  of  those 
to  whom  the  word  of  his  salvation  is  sent 
perish  in  their  sins.  If  therefore  he  cannot 
be  disappointed  of  his  purpose,  since  many  do 
perish,  it  could  not  be  his  fixed  design  that 
all  men  should  be  finally  and  absolutely 
saved. 

The  exceeding  great  number,  once  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins,  who  shall  be  found  on  his 
right  hand  at  the  great  day  of  his  appearance, 
are  frequently  spoken  of  in  appropriate  and 
peculiar  language.  They  are  stiled  his  sheep 
(John  x.  11,  16),  for  whom  he  laid  down  his 
life;  his  elect  (Mark  xiii.  27),  his  own  (John 
xiii.   l)  ;  those  to  whom  it  is  given  to  believe 


THE  GREAT  ATONEMENT. 


SEK.  XVI. 

in  his  name  (Phil.  i.  29),  and  concerning 
whom  it  was  the  Father's  good  pleasure  to 
predestinate  them  to  the  adoption  of  children, 
Eph.  v.  5.  By  nature  they  are  children  of 
wrath,  even  as  others  (Eph.  ii.  3),  and  no 
more  disposed  in  themselves  to  receive  the 
truth  than  those  who  obstinately  and  finally 
reject  it.  Whenever  they  become  willing, 
they  are  made  so  in  a  day  of  divine  power 
(Psal.  ex.  3),  and  wherein  they  differ,  it  is 
grace  that  makes  them  to  differ,  1  Cor.  iv.  7. 
Passages  in  the  scripture  to  this  purpose  are 
innumerable;  and  though  much  ingenuity 
has  been  employed  to  soften  them,  and  to 
make  them  speak  the  language  of  an  hypo- 
thesis, they  are  so  plain  in  themselves  that  he 
who  runs  may  read.  It  is  not  the  language 
of  conjecture,  but  of  inspiration,  that  they 
whom  the  Lord  God  did  foreknow  he  also  did 
predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of 
his  Son,  Rom.  viii.  29.  And  though  some 
serious  persons  perplex  themselves  with  need- 
less and  painful  reasonings,  with  respect  to 
the  sovereignty  of  God  in  his  conduct  towards 
mankind,  they  all,  if  truly  spiritual  and  en- 
lightened, stand  upon  this  very  ground,  in 
their  own  experience.  Many,  who  seem  to 
differ  from  us  in  the  way  of  argumentation, 
perfectly  accord  with  us,  when  they  simply 
speak  of  what  God  has  done  for  their  souls. 
They  know  and  acknowledge  z.i  readily  as  we, 
that  they  were  first  found  of  him  when  they 
sought  him  not;  and  that  otherwise  they 
neither  should  nor  could  have  sought  him  at 
all  ;  nor  can  they  give  any  better  reason  than 
this  why  they  are  saved  out  of  the  world, 
That  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  make  them  his 
people,  1  Sam.  xii.  22. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  I  cannot  think  the 
sense  of  t'he  expression  is  sufficiently  explain- 
ed, by  saying,  That  the  world,  and  the  whole 
world  is  spoken  of,  to  teach  us  that  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  Lamb  of  God  was  not  confined, 
like  the  Levitical  offerings,  to  the  nation  of 
Israel  only  ;  but  that  it  is  available  for  the 
sins  of  a  determinate  number  of  persons,  called 
the  Elect,  who  are  scattered  among  many 
nations,  and  found  under  a  great  variety  of 
states  and  circumstances  inhuman  life.  This 
is  undoubtedly  the  truth,  solar  as  it  goes; 
but  not,  I  apprehend,  fully  agreeable  to  the 
scriptural  manner  of  representation.  That 
there  is  an  election  of  grace,  we  are  plainly 
taught ;  yet  it  is  not  said,  that  Jesus  Christ 
came  into  the  world  to  save  the  elect,  but 
that  he  came  to  save  sinners,  to  seek  and  to 
save  them  that  are  lost,  1  Tim.  i.  15  ;  Luke 
xix.  10.  Upon  this  ground,  I  conceive  that 
ministers  have  a  warrant  to  preacli  the  gospel 
to  every  human  creature,  and  to  address  the 
conscience  of  every  man  in  the  sight  of  God; 
and  that  every  person  who  hears  this  gospel 
has  thereby  a  warrant,  an  encouragement,  yea, 
a  command,  to  apply  to  Jesus  Christ  for  sal- 
vation.     And   that  they  who  refuse,  thereby 


701 


exclude  themselves,  and  perish,  not  because 
they  never  had,  nor  possibly  could  have  any 
interest  in  his  atonement,  but  simply  because 
they  will  not  come  unto  him  that  they  may 
have  life.  I  know  something  of  the  cavils 
and  curious  reasonings  which  obtain  upon 
this  subject,  and  I  know  I  may  be  pressed 
with  difficulties,  which  I  cannot  resolve  to  the 
full  satisfaction  of  enquiring  and  speculative 
spirits.  I  am  not  disheartened  by  meeting 
with  some  things  beyond  the  grasp  of  my 
scanty  powers,  in  a  book  which  I  believe  to 
be  inspired  by  him,  whose  ways  and  thoughts 
are  higher  than  ours,  as  the  heavens  are 
higher  than  the  earth,  Isa.  Iv.  8.  9.  But  I  be- 
lieve, that  vain  reasonings,  self-will,  an  attach- 
ment to  names  and  parties,  and  a  disposition 
to  draw  our  sentiments  from  human  systems, 
rather  than  to  form  them  by  a  close  and  hum- 
ble study  of  the  Bible,  with  prayer  for  divine 
teaching,  are  the  chief  sources  of  our  perplex- 
ities and  disputes. 

The  extent  of  the  atonement  is  frequently 
represented,  as  if  a  calculation  had  been  made, 
how  much  suffering  was  necessary  for  the 
surety  to  endure,  in  order  exactly  to  expiate 
the  aggregate  number  of  all  the  sins  of  all  the 
elect ;  that  so  much  he  suffered  precisely,  and 
no  more ;  and  that  when  this  requisition 
was  completely  answered,  he  said,  It  is  finished, 
bowed  his  head,  and  gave  up  the  ghost,  John 
xix.  30.  But  this  nicety  of  computation 
does  not  seem  analogous  to  that  unbounded 
magnificence  and  grandeur  which  overwhelm 
the  attentive  mind  in  the  contemplation  of 
the  divine  conduct  in  the  natural  world. 
When  God  waters  the  earth,  he  waters  it 
abundantly,  Psal.  Ixv.  10.  He  does  not  re- 
strain the  rain  to  cultivated  or  improvable 
spots,  but  with  a  profusion  of  bounty  worthy 
of  himself  his  clouds  pour  down  water  with 
equal  abundance  upon  the  barren  mountain, 
the  lonely  desert,  and  the  pathless  ocean. 
Why  may  we  not  say  with  the  scriptures,  that 
Christ  died  to  declare  the  righteousness  of 
God  (Rom.  iii.  25,  26),  to  manifest  that  he 
is  just  in  justifying  the  ungodly  who  believe 
in  Jesus?  And  for  any  thing  we  know  to 
the  contrary,  the  very  same  display  of  the 
evil  and  demerit  of  sin,  by  the  Redeemer's 
agonies  and  death,  might  have  been  equally 
necessary,  though  the  number  of  the  elect 
were  much  smaller  than  it  will  appear  to  be 
when  they  shall  all  meet  before  the  throne  of 
glory.  If  God  had  formed  this  earth  for  the 
residence  of  one  man  only ;  had  it  been  his 
pleasure  to  afford  him  the  same  kind  and  de- 
gree of  light  which  we  enjoy,  the  same  glori- 
ous  sun,  which  is  now  sufficient  to  enlighten 
and  comfort  the  millions  of  mankind,  would 
have  been  necessary  for  the  accommodation 
of  that  one  person.  So,  perhaps,  had  it  been 
his  pleasure  to  save  but  one  sinner,  in  a  way 
that  should  give  the  highest  possible  discovery 
of  his   justice  and   of  his  mercy,   this  could 


702 


have  been  done  by  no  other  method  than  tliat 
which  he  has  chosen  for  the  salvation  of  the 
innumerable  multitudes  who  will  in  the  great 
day  unite  in  the  song  of  praise  to  the  Lamb 
who  loved  them,  and  washed  them  from  their 
sins  in  his  own  blood.  As  the  sun  has  a  suf- 
ficiency of  light  for  eyes  (if  there  were  so 
many  capable  of  beholding  it)  equal  in  num- 
ber to  the  leaves  upon  the  trees,  and  the  blades 
of  grass  that  grow  upon  the  earth  ;  so  in  Jesus, 
the  Sun  of  righteousness,  there  is  plenteous 
redemption,  he  is  rich  in  mercy  to  all  that  call 
upon  him  (Psal.  cxxx.  7  ;  Rom.  x.  12)  ;  and 
he  invites  sinners,  without  exception,  to  whom 
the  word  of  his  salvation  is  sent,  even  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  to  look  unto  him,  that  they 
may  be  saved,  Isa.  xiv.  22. 

Under  the  gospel-dispensation,  and  by  it, 
God  commands  all  men,  everywhere,  to  repent, 
Acts  xvii.  30.    All  men,  therefore,  everywhere, 
are  encouraged  to  hope  for  forgiveness,  accor- 
ding to  the  constitution  prescribed  by  the  gos- 
pel ;  otherwise  repentance  would  be  both  im- 
practicable and  unavailing.    And  therefore  the 
command  to  repent  implies  a  warrant  to  believe 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  as  taking  away  the  sin  of 
the  world.    Let  it  not  be  said,  that  to  call  upon 
men  to  believe,  which  is  an  act  beyond  their  na- 
tural power,  is  to  mock  them.      There  are  pre- 
scribed means  for  the  obtaining  of  faith,  which 
it  is  not  beyond  their  natural  power  to  comply 
with,  if  they  are  not  wilfully  obstinate.      We 
have  the  word  of  God  for  our  authority.     God 
cannot  be  mocked  (Gal.  vi.    7),  neither  doth' 
he  mock  his   creatures,      Our  Lord  did  not 
mock  the  young  ruler,  when  he  told  him  that 
if  he  would  sell  his  possessions  upon  earth, 
and   follow  him,   he  should  have  treasure  in 
heaven,   Luke  xviii.  22.      Had  this  ruler  no 
power  to  sell  his  possessions  ?      I   doubt  not 
but  that  he  himself  thought  he  had  power  to 
sell  them  if  he  pleased.      But  while  he  loved 
his  money  better  than  he  loved   Christ,  and 
preferred  earthly  treasures  to  heavenly,  he  had 
no  will  to  part  with  them.      And  a  want  of 
will  in  a  moral  agent  is  a  want  of  power  in  the 
strongest  sense.      Let  none  presume  to  offer 
such  excuses  to  their  Maker  as  they  would 
not  accept  in  their  own  concerns.      If  you  say 
of  a  man,   he  is  such  a  liar  that  he  cannot 
speak  a   word  of  truth  ;   so  profane  that  he 
cannot  speak  without  an  oath  ;  so  dishonest 
that  he  cannot  omit  one  opportunity  of  cheat- 
ing or  stealing ;  do  you  speak  of  this  disabi- 
lity to  good,  as  an  extenuation,  and  because  you 
think  it  renders  him  free  from  blame  ?     Surely 
you  think  the  more  he  is  disinclined  to  good, 
and  habituated  to  evil,  the  worse  he  is.      A 
man  that  can  speak  lies  and  perjury,  that  can 
deceive  and  rob,  but  is  such  an  enemy  to  truth 
and  goodness  that  he  can  do  nothing  that  is 
kind  or  upright,   must  be  a  shocking  charac- 
ter   indeed  !    Judge    not   more   favourably   of 
yourself  if  you  can  love  the  world  and  sensual 
pleasure,   but  cannot  love   God;   if  you  can 


THE  LAMB  OF  GOD,  &C.  SER.  XVI. 

fear  a  worm  like  yourself,  but  live  without  the 
fear  of  God;  if  you  can  boldly  trample  upon 
his  laws,  but  will  not,  and  therefore  cannot 
humble  yourself  before  him,  and  seek  his 
mercy,  in  the  way  of  his  appointment. 

We  cannot  ascribe  too  much  to  the  grace 
of  God  ;  but  we  should  be  careful,  that  under  a 
semblance  of  exalting  his  grace,  we  do  not 
furnish  the  slothful  and  unfaithful  (Matth. 
xxv.  16)  with  excuses  for  their  wilfulness 
and  wickedness.  God  is  gracious;  but  let 
man  be  justly  responsible  for  his  own  evil, 
and  not  presume  to  state  his  case  so,  as  would, 
by  just  consequence,  represent  the  holy  God 
as  being  the  cause  of  the  sin,  which  he  hates 
and  forbids. 

The  whole  may  be  summed  up  in  two 
points,  which  I  commend  to  your  serious  at- 
tention ;  which  it  must  be  the  business  of  my 
life  to  enforce ;  and  which,  I  trust,  I  shall 
not  repent  of  having  enforced,  either  at  the 
hour  of  death,  or  in  the  day  of  judgment, 
when  I  must  give  an  account  of  my  preach- 
ing, and  you  of  what  you  have  heard  in  this 
place  : 

1.  That  salvation  is,  indeed,  wholly  of  grace 
The  gift  of  a  Saviour,  the  first  dawn  of  light 
into  the  heart,  all  the  supports  and  supplies 
needful  for  carrying  on   the  work   from  the 
foundation  to  the  top-stone,  all  is  of  free  grace. 

2.  That  now  the  Lamb  of  God  is  preached 
to  you,  as  taking  away  the  sin  of  the  world,  ii 
you  reject  him  (which  may  the  Lord  forbid!), 
I  say,  if  you  reject  him.  your  blood  will  be  up- 
on your  own  head.  You  are  warned,  you  are 
invited.  Dare  not  to  say,  Why  doth  he  yet 
find  fault,  for  who  hath  resisted  his  will  ? 
Rom.  ix.  19.  If  he  will  save  me,  I  shall  be 
saved  ;  if  not,  what  can  I  do  ?  God  is  merci- 
ful, but  he  is  also  holy  and  just;  he  is  al- 
mighty, but  his  infinite  power  is  combined 
with  wisdom,  and  regulated  by  the  great  de. 
signs  of  his  government.  He  can  do  innu- 
merable things  which  he  will  not  do.  What 
he  will  do  (so  far  as  we  are  concerned)  his 
word  informs  us,  and  not  one  jot  or  tittle 
thereof  shall  fail,  Matth.  v.  18. 


SERMON  XVII. 

MESSIAH  DESPISED  AND  REJECTED  OF  MEN. 

He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men.  a  man  of 
sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief-  Isaiah, 
II I i    3. 

The  heathen  moralists,  ignorant  of  the  cha- 
racter and  perfections  of  God,  the  true  digni- 
ty and  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  the  root 
and  extent  of  human  depravity,  had  no  better 
foundation  for  what  they  called  virtue  than 
pride;  no  higher  aim  in  their  regulations, 
than  the  interests  of  society  and  the  conduct 


MESSIAH  DESPISED, 


SER.  XVII 

of  civil  life.  They  expressed,  indeed,  occa- 
sionally, some  sentiments  of  a  superior  kind; 
but  these,  however  just  and  valuable  upon  the 
principles  of  revelation,  were  delusive  and  im- 
practicable upon  their  own.  And  Brutus, 
one  of  the  most  admired  characters  of  anti- 
quity, confessed,  just  before  he  put  an  end  to 
his  own  life,  that  having  long  been  enamour- 
ed of  virtue  as  a  real  good,  he  found  it,  at 
last,  to  be  but  an  empty  name.  But  though 
they  had  so  little  satisfaction,  or  success,  in 
the  pursuit  of  virtue,  they  were  so  pleased  with 
the  idea  they  formed  of  it,  as  generally  to  sup- 
pose, that  if  virtue  should  become  visible,  it 
would  necessarily  engage  the  esteem  and  ad- 
miration of  mankind. 

There  was,  however,  one  remarkable  excep- 
tion to  this  opinion.  The  wisdom  of  Socra- 
tes seems  to  have  been,  in  many  respects,  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  the  bulk  of  their  philoso- 
phers. Socrates  having  expressed  his  idea  of 
a  perfect  character,  a  truly  virtuous  man,  ven- 
tured to  predict  the  reception  such  a  person, 
if  such  a  one  could  ever  be  found,  would 
meet  with  from  the  world.  And  he  thought, 
that  his  practice  would  be  so  dissimilar  to  that 
of  other  men,  his  testimony  against  their  wick- 
edness so  strong,  and  his  endeavours  to  reform 
them  so  importunate  and  unwelcome,  that  in- 
stead  of  being  universally  admired,  he  would 
be  disliked  and  hated;  that  mankind  were  too 
degenerate  and  too  obstinate,  to  bear  either 
the  example  or  the  reproof  of  such  a  person, 
and  would  most  probably  revile  and  persecute 
him,  and  put  him  to  death  as  an  enemy  to 
their  peace. 

In  this  instance,  the  judgment  of  Socrates 
accords  with  the  language  of  the  Old,  and 
with  the  history  of  the  New  Testament. 
Messiah  was  this  perfect  character.  As  such 
Isaiah  describes  him.  He  likewise  foresaw 
how  he  would  be  treated,  and  foretold  that  he 
would  be  numbered  with  transgressors,  despi- 
sed and  rejected,  by  the  very  people  who  were 
eye-witnesses  of  his  upright  and  benevolent 
conduct.  And  thus,  in  fact,  it  proved.  When 
Jesus  was  upon  earth,  true  virtue  and  good- 
ness were  visibly  displayed,  and  thereby  the 
wickedness  of  man  became  signally  conspicu- 
ous For  they  among  whom  he  was  conver- 
sant, preferred  a  robber  and  a  murderer  to 
him,  John,  xviii.  40.  They  preserved  Barab- 
bas,  who  had  been  justly  doomed  to  die  for 
enormous  crimes,  and  they  nailed  Jesus,  in  his 
stead,  to  the  cross. 

When  Messiah  appeared,  the  Jews  profess- 
ed to  blame  the  wickedness  of  their  fore- 
fathers, who  had  opposed  and  slain  the  pro- 
phets. If  they  regretted  the  ill-treatment 
the  servants  of  God  had  formerly  received, 
might  it  not  be  hoped  that  they  would  reve- 
rence his  Son?  (Matt.  xxi.  47.)  concerning 
whom,  under  his  character  of  Messiah,  their 
expectations    were   raised    by   the   scriptures, 


&C. 


703 


read  in  their   synagogues  every 


which   were 
sabbath-day. 

But  he  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men. 
Angels  sung  praises  at  his  birth,  but  men  de- 
spised him.  He  took  not  upon  him  the  na- 
ture of  angels,  but  of  man  ;  yet  men  rejected 
him.  Sinful,  helpless  men  rejected  and  de- 
spised the  only  Saviour.  He  came  to  his  own, 
but  his  own  received  him  not.  How  lament- 
able and  fatal  was  their  obstinacy  !  Pretended 
Messiahs  were  eagerly  regarded  and  followed 
by  them  (John  v.  43.),  but  the  true  Messiah 
was  despised  and  rejected  of  men  ! 

Let  us  consider  the  clauses  of  the  text  se- 
parately, in  the  order  in  which  we  read  them. 

I.  He  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men. — 
It  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  imagine  that 
the  Jews  were  the  only  people  capable  of  this 
ingratitude  and  obstinacy.  If  any  person  here 
thinks,  surely  I  would  not  have  despised  him, 
had  I  seen  his  wonderful  works,  and  heard 
him  speak  as  never  man  spake :  possibly  that 
thought  may  prove  you  to  be  of  the  very  same 
spirit  with  those  who,  while  they  thirsted  for 
his  blood,  ignorantly  presumed,  that  if  they 
had  lived  in  the  days  of  their  forefathers,  they 
would  not  have  joined  with  them  in  persecut- 
ing the  prophets,  Matth.  xxiii.  31.  The  pre- 
judices which  operated  so  strongly  against  our 
Lord's  mission  and  ministry,  were  not  pecu- 
liar to  the  people  of  one  age  or  country,  but 
such  as  are  deeply  rooted  in  the  nature  of 
fallen  man.  The  same  principles  which  in- 
fluenced the  Jews  to  oppose  and  despise  hi? 
person,  still  influence  multitudes  to  slight  and 
oppose  the  doctrine  which  he  taught,  and 
which  he  commanded  his  disciples  to  preach 
and  perpetuate  to  the  end  of  the  world.  In 
proof  of  this,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  assign 
some  of  the  principal  causes  of  the  contempt 
and  hatred  which  he  met  with  from  the  men 
of  that  generation. 

1.  They  despised  him  for  what  they  ac- 
counted the  meanness  of  his  appearance. 
Though  rich  in  himself,  he  became  poor  foi 
our  sakes,  and  his  poverty  made  him  con- 
temptible in  their  eyes.  They  expected  Mes- 
siah would  appear  with  external  pomp  and 
power.  But  when  they  saw  him,  they  scorn- 
ed him,  saying,  "  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's 
son?"  Matth.  xiii.  55.  He  who  had  not  mo- 
ney to  pay  the  tribute  demanded  of  him  (Matth. 
xvii.  27.),  nor  a  house  wherein  to  lay  his 
head,  was  of  small  esteem  with  those  who  were 
covetous,  proud  of  worldly  distinctions,  and 
fond  of  the  praise  and  admiration  of  men. 

2.  Their  contempt  was  heightened,  when 
this  poor  man  publicly  asserted  his  proper  cha- 
racter and  claim,  demanded  their  attention  and 
homage,  and  styled  himself  in  a  peculiar  sense 
the  Son  of  God,  the  resurrection  and  the  life, 
John  v.  18;  xi.  25.  For  this  seeming  inconsist- 
ence between  the  appearance  he  made  and  the 
honours  he  assumed,  they  treated  him  as  a  de 


704  MESSIAH   DESPISED 

and   n   madman,   John  x.    2C\      Their 

strongly  expressed  their  sentiments 

of  him,   when   they  asked   him   with   disdain, 


SEK.  XVII. 


moniac 
language 


"  Art  thou  greater  than  our  father  Abraham  ? 
Whom  makest  thou  thyself?"  John  viii.  53. 

3.  They  objected  to  him  the  low  state  and 
former  characters  of  his  followers.  Some  of 
them  were  of  low  rank  in  life.  The  most  of 
those  who  constantly  attended  him  were  poor 
fishermen.  Others  had  been  of  bad  repute, 
publicans,  and  open  sinners.  For  this  they 
reproached  him,  and  thought  they  were  fully 
justified  in  their  contempt,  while  they  could 
sav,  "  Have  any  of  the  rulers  or  Pharisees  be- 
lieved on  him  ?"    John  vii.  48. 

4.  They  were  farther  exasperated  against 
him,  by  the  authority  and  severity  with  which 
he  taught.  It  is  true,  he  was  gentle  and  meek 
to  all  who  felt  their  need  of  his  help,  or  sin- 
cerely desired  his  instruction.  He  received 
them  without  exception,  and  treated  them  with 
the  greatest  tenderness.  But  he  vindicated 
the  honour  of  the  law  of  God,  from  the  cor- 
rupt doctrine  and  tradition  of  their  professed 
teachers.  He  exposed  and  unmasked  the  hy- 
pocrisy of  their  most  admired  characters,  and 
compared  the  men  who  were  in  the  highest 
reputation  for  wisdom  and  sanctity,  to  whited 
sepulchres,  warning  the  people  against  them 
as  blind  guides  and  deceivers. 

5.  These  blind  guides  strengthened  the  pre- 
judices of  their  blind  followers  against  him, 
by  misrepresentation.  They  attempted  to  a- 
vail  themselves  of  the  scripture,  when  they 
thought  it  would  answer  their  purpose.  They 
eagerly  made  the  most  of  a  prevailing  mistake, 
that  Jesus  was  born  in  Galilee,  because  he 
was  brought  up  in  Nazareth  from  his  infancy. 
This  they  urged  as  a  proof  that  he  could  not 
be  Messiah,  who  the  prophets  had  declared 
was  to  be  born  at  Bethlehem  in  Judea.  When 
he  healed  diseases  on  the  sabbath-day,  they 
represented  the  effects  of  his  compassion  as  a 
breach  of  that  strict  observance  of  the  Sabbath 
which  was  enjoined  by  the  law  of  Moses,  and 
that  therefore  he  could  not  be  of  God,  John 
ix.  1 6.  And  when  they  were  not  able  to  deny 
the  reality  of  his  wonderful  works,  they  as- 
cribed them  to  the  ageney  of  Satan,  Matth. 
xii.  24.  We,  at  this  distance  of  time,  can 
easily  perceive  the  folly  and  madness  of  their 
attempts.  But  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  were 
the  public  authorized  doctors  and  teachers  of 
the  people,  and  were  supported  by  the  eccle- 
siastical and  civil  power;  or,  as  we  should  now 
express  it,  by  church  and  state.  The  people 
were  not  apt  to  suspect  their  leaders,  whom 
they  thought  wiser  and  better  than  themselves  ; 
or,  if  sometimes  they  hesitated,  were  impress- 
ed by  the  majesty  of  his  words,  cr  the  evidence 
of  his  miraculous  works,  and  constrained  to  say, 
"  Is  not  this  the  son  of  David  ?"  (Mat.  xii.  23) 
they  were  soon  intimidated  and  silenced  by  ca- 
nons and  laws  ;  for  it  was  carefully  enacted,  in 
order  to  keep  them  in  subjection,  that  whoever 


acknowledged  him  should  be  put  out  of  the 
synagogues  (John  ix.  22  ;  xii.  48)  ;  that  is, 
accoiding  to  our  modern  language,  excommu- 
nicated. This  among  the  Jews,  as  it  has  often 
since  been  among  Christians,  was  a  punish- 
ment which  drew  after  it  terrible  consequen- 
ces. A  man  must  be  in  good  earnest,  or  ra- 
ther taught  and  supported  by  the  grace  of 
God,  who  could  resist  such  arguments  as  these. 
These  things  are  easily  applicable  to  the 
church-history  of  succeeding  times.  The  gos- 
pel of  Christ  has  often  been,  and  is  to  this  day, 
rejected  and  despised  upon  similar  grounds. 
Its  simplicity  and  plainness,  and  the  manner 
of  its  proposal,  adapted  to  the  use  and  capa- 
city of  the  vulgar,  offend  those  who  are  wise 
in  their  own  conceit,  and  proud  of  their  under- 
standing and  taste.  At  the  same  time  they 
are  equally  disgusted  by  the  sublimity  of  its 
doctrines,  which  will  not  submit  to  the  test  of 
their  vain  reasonings,  and  can  only  be  receiv- 
ed by  humble  faith.  The  faithfulness  and 
freedom  which  its  ministers  are  enjoined  to 
use,  give  great  offence  likewise.  And  because 
they  cannot  comply  with  the  humours  of  those 
who  wish  them  to  prophesy  smooth  things  and 
deceits,  they  are  accounted  censorious,  un- 
charitable, and  disturbers  of  the  public  peace. 
Again,  the  dislike  and  opposition  it  frequent- 
ly meets  with  from  persons  of  great  titles  and 
high  stations,  deter  multitudes  from  pursuing 
those  inquiries,  which  some  conviction  of  the 
truth  would  prompt  them  to,  were  they  no'1 
discouraged  by  the  fear  of  consequences 
How  often  has  a  dread  of  the  displeasure  o 
doctors,  bishops,  universities,  councils,  and 
popes,  or  an  ignorant,  slavish  deference  to 
their  judgment  or  decisions,  prevented  people 
from  following  that  light  which  had  begun  to 
force  itself  upon  their  consciences?  How  few 
among  those  of  reputation  for  wisdom  and 
learning,  how  few  of  the  great  and  opulent, 
have  encouraged  or  espoused  the  doctrine  of 
the  cross  ?  It  is,  therefore,  more  properly  a 
subject  for  lamentation  than  for  wonder,  that 
this  way  is  despised,  and  almost  everywhere 
spoken  against,  Acts  xxviii.  22.  Farther,  as 
the  bulk  of  those  who  embrace  it  are  of  low 
condition,  so  many  of  them  are  as  free  to  con- 
fess to  the  praise  of  the  grace  of  God,  as 
others  can  be  to  urge  it  to  their  reproach,  that 
till  they  knew  and  received  this  despised  gos- 
pel, their  characters  and  practices  were  vile. 
Lastly,  what  unhappy  subtilty  has  been  em- 
ployed, in  a  way  of  reason  and  argument, 
with  an  appeal  to  detached  and  perverted  pas- 
sages of  scripture,  to  misrepresent  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  folly,  hypocrisy,  or  en- 
thusiasm, and  even  to  charge  the  gospel  itself 
with  giving  encouragement  to  a  licentious 
conduct !  In  short,  the  spirit  of  the  world, 
the  arts  and  influence  of  designing  men,  are 
so  powerful,  that  what  our  Lord  said  in  Judea 
holds  equally  true  in  Christendom,  "  Blessed 
is  he  who  is  not  offended  in  me  !"  Matth.  xi.  6". 


SER.  XVII. 

I  have  reserved  to  a  distinct  paragrapli  the 
mention  of  one  cause  why  the  gospel  is  fre- 
quently despised  and  reproached.  Because, 
though  it  be  no  less  unjust  and  unreason- 
able than  those  which  I  have  recited,  it  is 
more  immediately  incumbent  upon  all  who 
name  the  name  of  Christ,  to  prevent  it  as 
much  as  possible ;  I  mean,  the  scandal  which 
arises  from  the  miscarriages  of  those  who  pro- 
fess it.  Offences  of  this  kind  must  come,  but 
woe  to  them  by  whom  they  come,  Matth.  xviii. 
7.  There  were  pretended  Christians,  even  in 
the  apostles  times,  who  were  enemies  to  the 
cross  of  Christ  (Phil.  iii.  18),  and  by  their 
evil  conduct,  caused  the  ways  of  truth  to  be 
evil  spoken  of;  and  therefore,  we  cannot  be 
surprised  that  there  are  such  persons  now. 
But  you  that  love  the  Lord,  hate  evil,  Psal. 
xcvii.  10.  There  are  many  who  watch  for 
your  halting,  and  are  ready  to  say,  There  ! 
there  so  we  would  have  it.  It  would  be  in 
vain  for  ministers  to  declare  that  the  doctrines 
of  grace  are  doctrines  according  to  godliness, 
unless  our  testimony  is  supported  by  the  tem- 
pers and  conduct  of  our  people  :  the  world  will 
probably  judge,  rather  by  what  they  see  in 
you,  than  by  what  they  hear  from  us.  Nor 
will  it  suffice  that  they  cannot  say  you  are  an 
adulterer,  a  drunkard,  a  miser,  or  a  cheat. 
If  you  espouse  our  doctrine,  they  will  expect 
you  to  be  humble,  meek,  patient,  and  benevo- 
lent ;  to  find  integrity  in  all  your  dealings, 
and  a  punctual  discharge  of  your  duty  in  every 
branch  of  relative  life.  What  must  the  world 
think  of  our  principles,  if  they  who  avow  them 
are  fretful,  envious,  censorious,  discontented, 
slothful,  or  unfaithful  ;  or  if  they  are  niggard- 
ly and  hard-hearted,  or  voluptuous  and  dis- 
solute, or  implacable  and  revengeful  !  they 
who  thus  lay  stumbling-blocks  before  the  blind, 
and  confirm  the  prejudices  of  the  ignorant, 
will  have  much  to  answer  for. 

II.  It  is  further  said,  he  was  a  man  of  sor- 
rows, and  acquainted  with  grief. — He  was 
surrounded  with  sorrows  on  every  side,  and 
grief  was  his  intimate,  inseparable  companion. 
Surely  this  consideration,  if  any,  will  animate 
us  to  endure  the  cross,  and  to  despise  the 
shame  we  may  be  exposed  to  for  his  sake. 
The  illustration  of  this  subject  will  offer  more 
fully  in  the  sequel.  It  shall  suffice,  at  pre- 
sent, to  assign  three  causes  for  his  continual 
sorrows. 

1 .  The  outward  course  of  life,  to  which  he 
submitted,  for  the  sake  of  sinners,  exposed 
him  to  want,  weariness,  contempt,  and  opposi- 
tion. And  though  his  resignation  and  pa- 
tience were  perfect,  yet  he  was  truly  a  man, 
and  partaker  of  our  nature,  with  all  its  affec- 
tions and  sensibilities  which  do  not  imply  sin. 
His  feelings,  therefore,  were  human,  similar 
to  our  own  in  similar  circumstances,  and  they 
were  often  painfully  exercised.  Once  and 
again  we  read  that  he  was  hungry  and  had 
no  food;   he  was  thirsty  (Matth.  iv.  9;  xxi. 


AND  REJECTED  OF  MENr. 


705 


18;  John  iv.  2),  and  was  nearly  refused  a 
little  water  to  drink,  when  wearied  with  his 
journeying  in  the  heat  of  the  day.  His  cha- 
racter was  aspersed,  his  person  despised,  his 
words  insidiously  wrested,  and  his  actions  mis- 
represented. He  was  misunderstood  even  by 
his  friends,  betrayed  by  one  disciple,  denied 
by  another,  and  forsaken  by  the  rest,  John  vii. 
5.  It  is  hardly  possible  for  his  followers  to 
meet  with  any  outward  trial,  which  may  not 
remind  them  of  some  part  of  the  history  of 
their  Lord  and  Master,  who  left  them  an  ex- 
ample of  suffering,  that  they  should  cheerfully 
follow  his  steps,  1  Pet.  ii.  21. 

2.  His  perfect  knowledge  and  foresight  of 
those  sufferings  which  we  emphatically  call 
his  Passion.  How  often  does  he  speak  of 
them,  and  describe  the  circumstances  as  if 
they  were  actually  present?  Futurity,  is,  in 
mercy,  concealed  from  us.  It  would  often 
bereave  us  of  all  present  comfort,  if  we  knew 
what  the  next  year,  or.  perhaps,  what  the  next 
day  would  bring  forth.  If  some  of  you  could 
have  foreseen,  many  years  ago,  what  you  have 
since  been  brought  through,  you  would  pro- 
bably have  sunk  under  the  apprehension  ;  or 
the  stoutest  of  us  might  sink  now,  if  we  were 
certainly  to  know  what  may  be  yet  before  us. 
But  Jesus,  long  before  he  made  atonement  for 
our  sins,  had  counted  the  cost.  And  though 
his  love  determined  him  to  save  us,  the  pro- 
spect, which  was  continually  present  to  his 
view,  of  the  approaching  unutterable  agonies 
of  his  soul,  of  all  that  he  must  endure  from 
God,  from  the  powers  of  darkness,  and  from 
wicked  men,  when  he  should  be  made  a  curse 
for  us,  to  redeem  us  from  the  curse  of  the 
law  (Gal.  iii.  13.);  I  say,  this  tremendous 
prospect  was,  doubtless,  a  perpetual  source  of 
sorrow. 

3.  The  frame  of  his  spirit.  Whoever  has 
a  measure  of  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ, 
must  be  proportionally  burdened  and  grieved, 
like  righteous  Lot  in  Sodom  (2  Pet.  ii.  8), 
with  the  wickedness  around  him,  if  he  lives  in 
society.  Who  that  has  any  regard  for  the 
honour  of  God,  or  the  souls  of  men,  can  hear 
and  see  what  passes  every  hour;  how  the  au- 
thority of  God  is  affronted,  his  goodness  abus 
ed,  and  his  mercy  despised,  without  emotions 
of  grief  and  compassion  ?  If  we  are  spiri- 
tually-minded, we  must  be  thus  affected;  and 
we  should  be  more  so,  if  we  were  more  spiri- 
tual. But  the  holiness  of  Messiah,  and,  con- 
sequently, his  hatred  of  sin,  was  absolutely 
perfect.  His  view  of  the  guilt  and  misery  of 
sinners,  was  likewise  comprehensive  and  clear. 
How  must  he  be  therefore  grieved  by  the 
wickedness  and  insensibility  of  those  with 
whom  he  daily  conversed !  especially  as  he 
not  only  observed  the  outward  conduct  of  men, 
but  had  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  evil 
heart,  which  is  hidden  from  ue.  In  this  sense 
his  sufferings  and  sorrows  began  with  his  early 
years,  and  continued  throughout  the  whole  of 

3  F 


VOLUNTARY  SUFFERING. 


706 

his  life.  He  undoubtedly  could  say,  with  an 
emphasis  peculiar  to  himself,  "  I  beheld  the 
transgressors,  and  was  grieved ;  rivers  of  wa- 
ters run  down  my  eyes,  because  men  keep  not 
thy  law."   Psal.  cxix.  156,  158. 

We  call  ourselves  the  followers  and  servants 
of  him,  who  was  despised  of  men,  and  encom- 
passed with  sorrows.  And  shall  we  then  seek 
great  things  for  ourselves  (Jer.  xlv.  5),  as  if 
we  belonged  to  the  present  world,  and  ex- 
pected no  portion  beyond  it?  Or  shall  we  be 
tremblingly  alive  to  the  opinion  of  our  fellow- 
creatures,  and  think  it  a  great  hardship,  if  it 
be  our  lot  to  suffer  shame  for  his  sake,  who 
endured  the  cross,  and  despised  the  shame  for 
us  ?  Rather  may  we  account  such  disgrace 
our  glory,  and  every  loss  and  suffering,  that 
we  may  endure  for  him,  a  gain;  while  on  the 
other  hand  we  learn,  with  the  apostle  Paul,  to 
esteem  every  gain  and  honour  this  world  can 
afford,  to  be  but  loss  and  dung  in  comparison 
of  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord,  Phil.  iii.  8. 


SERMON  XVIII. 

VOLUNTARY  SUFFERING. 

I  save  my  back  to  the  smiters,  and  my  cheeks 
to  them  that  plucked  off  the  hair  ;  I  hid  not 
my  face  from  shame  and  spitting.  Isaiah, 
1.  6. 

That  which  often  passes  amongst  men  for  re- 
solution, and  the  proof  of  a  noble,  courageous 
spirit,  is,  in  reality,  the  effect  and  mark  of  a 
weak  and  little  mind.  At  least,  it  is  chiefly 
owing  to  the  presence  of  certain  circumstan- 
ces, which  have  a  greater  influence  upon  the 
conduct  than  any  inherent  principle.  Thus, 
many  persons  who  appear  to  set  death  and 
danger  at  defiance  in  the  hour  of  battle,  while 
they  are  animated  by  the  examples  of  those 
around  them,  and  instigated  by  a  fear  of  the 
punishment  or  shame  they  would  incur  if  they 
deserted  their  post ;  upon  a  change  of  situa- 
tion, as,  for  instance,  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  dis- 
cover no  traces  of  the  heroism  for  which  they 
were  before  applauded,  but  tremble  at  the 
leisurely  approach  of  death,  though  they  were 
thought  to  despise  it  under  a  different  form. 
It  was  not  true  fortitude,  it  was  rather  a  con- 
temptible pusillanimity,  that  determined  the 
celebrated  Cato  to  destroy  himself.  He  was 
afraid  of  C?esar ;  his  dread  of  him,  after  his 
victories,  was  so  great,  that  he  durst  not  look 
him  in  the  face ;  and  therefore  lie  killed  him- 
self to  avoid  him.  To  the  same  meanness  of 
sentiment  we  may  confidently  ascribe  the  pre- 
tended gallantry  of  modern  duellists.  They 
fight,  not  because  they  are  not  afraid  of  death, 
but  because  they  are  impelled  by  another  fear, 
which   makes   a    greater   impression   upoD   a 


SF.R.  XVIII. 

feeble,  irresolute  mind.  They  live  upon  the 
opinion  of  their  fellow-creatures,  and  feel 
themselves  too  weak  to  bear  the  contempt  they 
should  meet  with  from  the  circle  of  their  ac- 
quaintance, if  they  should  decline  acting  upon 
the  false  principles  of  honour  which  pride  and 
folly  have  established.  They  have  not  reso- 
lution sufficient  to  act  the  part  which  consci- 
ence and  reason  would  dictate,  and  therefore 
hazard  life,  and  every  thing  that  is  dear  to 
them  as  men,  rather  than  dare  to  withstand 
the  prevalence  of  an  absurd  and  brutal  cus- 
tom. 

A  patient  enduring  of  affliction,  and  espe- 
cially  of  disgrace  and  contempt,  to  which  the 
characters  the  world  most  admire  are  confes- 
sedly unequal,  is  a  much  surer  proof  of  true 
fortitude,  than  any  of  those  actions  which  the 
love  of  praise,  the  fear  of  man,  or  even  a  mer- 
cenary attachment  to   lucre,    are  capable    of 
producing.      True  magnanimity  is  evidenced 
by  the  real  importance  of  the  end  it  proposes, 
and  by  the  steadiness  with  which  it  pursues 
the  proper  means  of  attaining  that  end  ;  un- 
disturbed and  unwearied  by  difficulty,   dan- 
ger, or  pain,  and  equally  indifferent   to  the 
censure  or  scorn  of  incompetent  judges.    This 
greatness  of  mind  is  essential  and  peculiar  to 
the  character  of  the  christian,  I  mean  the  chris 
tian  who  deserves  the  name.      His  ends  are 
great  and  sublime,  to  glorify  God,  to  obtain 
nearer  communion  with  him,  and  to  advance 
in   conformity  to  his   holy   will.      To   attain 
these  ends,  he  employs  the  means  prescribed 
by   the   Lord,    he    waits    at   Wisdom's    gates 
(Prov.  viii.  34),  and  walks  in  the  paths  of  de- 
pendence and  obedience.      He  therefore  can- 
not conform  to  the  prevailing  maxims  and  pur- 
suits of  the  many,  and  is  liable  to  be  hated 
and  scorned  for  his  singularity.      But  he  nei- 
ther courts  the  smiles  of  men,  nor  shrinks  at 
the  thought  of  their  displeasure.      He  loves 
his  fellow-creatures,  and  is  ready  to  do  them 
every  kind  office  in  his  power;  but  he  cannot 
fear  them,  because  he  fears  the  Lord  God. 

But  this  life  the  christian  lives  by  faith  in 
the  Son  of  God,  Gal.  ii.  20.  Jesus  is  the 
source  of  his  wisdom  and  strength.  He  like- 
wise is  his  exemplar.  He  is  crucified  to  the 
world  by  the  cross  of  Christ;  and  a  principal 
reason  of  his  indifference  to  the  opinion  of  the 
world,  is  the  consideration  of  the  manner  in 
which  his  Lord  was  treated  by  it.  He  is  the 
fo. lower  of  him  who  said,  "  I  gave  my  back 
to  the  smiters,  and  my  cheeks  to  them  that 
plucked  off  the  hair  :  I  hid  not  my  face  from 
shame  and  spitting." 

We  may  observe,  from  the  words,  that  the 
humiliation  of  Messiah  was  voluntary,  and 
that  it  was  extreme. 

•  I.  With  respect  to  his  engagement,  as  the 
Mediator  between  God  and  sinners,  a  great 
work  was  given  him  to  do,  and  he  became 
responsible ;  and  therefore,  in  this  sense, 
bound,  and  under  obligation.    But  his  comji li- 


SER.  XVIII. 


VOLUNTARY  SUFFERING. 


707 


ance  was  likewise  voluntary;  for  he  gave  him- 
self up  freely  to  sutler,  the  just  for  the  unjust. 
Could  he  have  relinquished  our  cause,  and  left 
us  to  the  deserved  consequence  of  our  sins,  in 
the  trying  hour  when  his  enemies  seized  upon 
him,  legions  of  angels  (Matth.  xxvi.  53),  had 
they  been  wanted,  would  have  appeared  for 
his  rescue.  Rut  if  he  was  determined  to  save 
others,  then  his  own  sufferings  were  unavoid- 
able. Men,  in  the  prosecution  of  their  de- 
signs, often  meet  with  unexpected  difficulties 
in  their  way,  which,  though  they  encounter 
with  some  cheerfulness,  in  hope  of  surmount- 
ing them,  and  carrying  their  point  at  last,  are 
considered  as  impediments  ;  but  the  sufferings 
of  Messiah  were  essentially  necessary  to  the 
accomplishment  of  his  great  designs,  precisely 
determined,  and  present  to  his  view  before- 
hand, so  that  (as  I  lately  observed)  there  was 
not  a  single  circumstance  that  happened  to 
him  unawares.  He  knew  that  no  blood  but 
his  own  could  make  atonement  for  sin,  that 
nothing  less  than  his  humiliation  could  expiate 
our  pride;  that  if  he  did  not  thus  suffer,  sin- 
ners must  inevitably  perish  ;  and  therefore 
(such  was  his  love  !)  he  cheerfully  and  volun- 
tarily gave  his  back  to  the  smiters,  and  his 
cheeks  to  them  that  plucked  off  the  hair.  Two 
designs  of  vast  importance  filled  his  mind  ; 
the  completion  of  them  was  that  joy  set  before 
him,  for  the  sake  of  which  he  made  himself 
of  no  reputation,  endured  the  cross,  and  de- 
spised the  shame.  These  were,  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  salvation  of  sinners. 

1.  The  highest  end  of  his  mediation  was  to 
display  the  glory  of  the  divine  character  in  the 
strongest  light,  to  afford  to  all  intelligent  crea- 
tures (Eph.  iii.  10),  the  brightest  manifesta- 
tion they  are  capable  of  receiving,  of  the  ma- 
nifold wisdom  of  God,  his  holiness,  justice, 
truth,  and  love,  the  stability  and  excellence  of 
his  moral  government,  all  mutually  illustrat- 
ing each  other,  as  combined  and  shining  forth 
in  his  person,  and  in  his  mediatorial  work. 
Much  of  the  glory  of  God  may  be  seen,  by  an 
enlightened  eye,  in  creation,  much  in  his  pro- 
vidential rule  and  care  over  his  creatures  ;  but 
the  brightness  of  his  glory  (John  i.  18),  the 
express  and  full  discovery  of  his  perfections, 
can  only  be  known  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
revelation  which  God  has  given  of  himself  to 
the  world  by  him.  And,  accordingly,  we  are 
assured,  that  the  angels,  whose  knowledge  of 
the  natural  world  is  doubtless  vastly  superior 
to  ours,  desire  to  look  into  these  things;  and 
that  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God  is  supere- 
minently made  known  to  principalities  and 
powers,  in  heaven,  by  the  dispensation  of  his 
srace  to  the  church  redeemed  from  the  earth. 

2.  Subordinate  to  this  great  design,  closely 
connected  with  it,  and  the  principal  effect  for 
Which  it  will  be  admired  and  magnified  to 
eternity,  is  the  complete  and  everlasting  sal- 
vation of  that  multitude  of  miserable  sinners, 
who,  according  to  the  purpose  of  God,  and  by 


the  working  of  his  mighty  power,  shall  believe 
in  this  Saviour  ;  and  who,  renouncing  every 
other  hope,  shall  put  their  trust  in  him,  upon 
the  warrant  of  the  promise  and  command  of 
God,  and  yield  themselves  to  be  his  will- 
ing and  devoted  people.  Many  are  their  tri- 
bulations in  the  present  life,  but  they  shall  be 
delivered  out  of  them  all ;  they  shall  over- 
come, they  shall  be  more  than  conquerors,  by 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  the  word  of  his 
testimony  (Rev.  xii.  11)  ;  and  then  they  shall 
shine,  like  the  sun,  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
The  consummation  of  their  happiness,  is  a 
branch  of  the  joy  which  was  set  before  him. 
For  their  sakes,  that  they  might  be  happy,  that 
he  may  be  admired  in  them,  and  by  them,  to 
the  glory  of  God,  who  is  all  in  all,  he  volun- 
tarily substituted  himself  to  sufferings  and 
death.  He  endured  the  cross,  and  he  despis- 
ed the  shame.  He  gave  his  back  to  the 
smiters,  his  cheeks  to  them  that  plucked  off 
the  hair,  he  hid  not  his  face  from  shame  and 
spitting. 

II.  But  are  we  reading  a  prophecy,  or  the 
history  of  his  extreme  humiliation  ?  It  is  a 
prophecy ;  how  literally  and  exactly  it  was 
fulfilled,  we  learn  from  his  history  by  the 
evangelists.  With  what  cruelty,  with  what 
contempt  was  he  treated,  first  by  the  servants 
in  the  hall  of  the  High  Priest,  afterwards  by 
the  Roman  soldiers !  Let  us  consider  him, 
who  endured  the  contradiction  of  sinners  a- 
gainst  himself,  Heb.  xii.  3.  These  words  of 
the  apostle  suggest  some  preliminary  observa- 
tions, to  prepare  our  minds  for  receiving  a 
due  impression  from  the  several  particulars 
here  mentioned. 

When  the  apostle  would  dispose  believers  by 
an  argument  or  motive  (which,  if  we  fully  un- 
derstood it,  would  render  all  other  arguments 
unnecessary)  to  endure  sufferings  and  crosses 
patiently,  he  says  "  Consider  him" — he  uses 
a  word  which  is  properly  a  mathematical  term, 
denoting  the  ratio  or  proportion,  between  dif- 
ferent numbers  or  figures  ;  q.  d.  "  Compare 
yourselves  with  him,  and  his  sufferings  with 
your  own.  Consider  who  he  is,  no  less  than 
what  he  endured." 

In  the  apprehensions  of  men,  insults  are  ag- 
gravated in  proportion  to  the  disparity  be- 
tween the  person  who  receives,  and  who  offers 
them.  A  blow  from  an  equal  is  an  offence, 
but  would  be  still  more  deeply  resented  from 
an  inferior.  But  if  a  subject,  a  servant,  a 
slave,  should  presume  to  strike  a  king,  it 
would  justly  be  deemed  an  enormous  crime. 
But  Jesus,  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of 
lords,  whom  all  the  angels  of  God  worship, 
made  himself  so  entirely  of  no  reputation,  that 
the  basest  of  the  people,  the  servants,  the  com  - 
mon  soldiers,  were  not  afraid  to  make  him  the 
object  of  their  derision,  and  to  express  their 
hatred  in  the  most  sarcastic  and  contemptuous 
manner.  It  is  said,  that  he  endured  the  con- 
tradiction  of  sinners.      So,  perhaps,   do  wt>  • 


708 


VOLUNTARY  SUFFERING. 


SER.  XVIII. 


but  we  are  sinners  likewise,  and  deserve  much 
more  than  we  sutler,  if  not  immediately  from 
the  instruments   of  our   grief,    yet   from  the 
Lord,  who  has  a  right  to  employ  what  instru- 
ments he  pleases   to  afflict  us  for  our  sins. 
'Phis  thought  quieted  the  spirit  of  David,  when 
his  own  son  rose  up  against  his  life,  and  his 
own  servant  cursed  him  to  his  face,   2  Sam. 
Tvi.  11.      But  Jesus  was  holy,  harmless,  and 
undefiled,  he  had  done   nothing  amiss;    yet 
the  usage  he  met  with  was  such  as  has  seldom 
been  ottered  to  the  vilest  malefactor.      Their 
cruel  and  scornful  contradiction  was  likewise 
expressly  and  directly  against  himself;   where- 
as his  people  only  suffer  from  unreasonable 
and  wicked  men,  for  his  sake,  and  for  their 
professed  attachment   to   him.      In  the   most 
violent  persecutions,  they  who  could  be  pre- 
vailed on  to  renounce  his  name  and  his  cause 
usually   escaped   punishment,   and   were   fre- 
quently favoured  and  rewarded.      And  this  is 
still  the  ground  of  the  worlds  displeasure; 
fierce  and  bitter  as  their  opposition  may  seem, 
the  way  to  reconciliation  is  always  open  ;  they 
are  not  angry  with  us  farther  than  we  avow  a 
dependence  upon  him,  and  shew  ourselves  de- 
termined to  obey  him  rather  than  men.      If 
we  could  forsake  him,  their  resentment  would 
be  disarmed,  for  they  mean  no  more  than  to 
intimidate  us  from  his  service.      I  do  not  think 
that  they  who  make  peace  with  the  world  up- 
on these  terms,  are  esteemed  by  them  for  their 
compliance,  but  they  are  seldom  disturbed  any 
longer.      It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  if  we  suf- 
fer as  christians,  it  is  for  his  sake.      He  like- 
wise suffered  for  our  sakes ;    but  how  wide 
is  the  difference  between  him  and  us  ?    We, 
when   the   trial    is  sharp,    are    in    danger  of 
flinching  from  the  cause  of  our  best  Friend 
and  benefactor,  to  whom  our  obligations  are  so 
innumerable,   and   so   immense ;    whereas  he 
gave  himself  up  to  endure  such  things  for  us, 
when  we  were  strangers  and  enemies  !    He  was 
not  only  treated  with  cruelty,  but  with  every 
mark   of  the  utmost   detestation   and    scorn, 
which  wanton 
rity  could  suggest 

1.  They  began  to  spit  upon  him  in  the  High 
Priest's  hall.  The  Roman  soldiers  likewise 
did  spit  upon  him,  when  they  had  contemp- 
tuously arrayed  him  in  a  scarlet  robe,  and 
bowed  the  knee  before  him,  in  mockery  of  his 
title  of  King.  Great  as  an  insult  of  this  kind 
would  be  deemed  amongst  us,  it  was  consider- 
ed as  still  greater,  according  to  the  customs 
prevalent  in  eastern  countries.  There,  to 
spit,  even  in  the  presence  of  a  person,  though 
it  were  only  upon  the  ground,  conveyed  the 
idea  of  disdain  and  abhorrence.  But  the  low- 
est of  the  people  spit  in  the  face  of  the  Son  of 
God.  No  comparison  can  fully  illustrate  this 
indignity.  There  is  some  proportion  between 
the  greatest  earthly  monarch  and  the  most  ab- 
ject slave.  They  did  not  spit  upon  Alexander, 
or  Caesar,  but  upon  the  Lord  of  glory 


unfeeling,  unrestrained  barba- 


2.  They  buffeted  and  beat  him  on  the  face, 
and  when  he  meekly  offered  his  cheek  to  theit 
blows,  they  plucked  off  the  hair.  The  beard 
was  in  those  times  accounted  honourable  :  and 
when  David's  servants  were  shaved  by  the 
command  of  Hanun  (2  Sam.  x.  5),  they  were 
ashamed  to  be  seen.  But  Jesus  was  not  sha- 
ven. With  savage  violence  they  tore  off  the 
hair  of  his  beard;  while  he,  like  a  sheep  be" 
fore  the  shearers,  was  dumb,  and  quietly  yield- 
ed himself  to  their  outrages. 

3.  Flis  back  they  tore  with  scourges,  as 
was  foretold  by  the  psalmist :  "  The  plowers 
plowed  upon  my  back,  they  made  long  their 
furrows,"  Psal.  cxxix.  3.  The  Jewish  council 
condemned  him  to  death  for  blasphemy,  be- 
cause he  said  he  was  the  son  of  God.  Stoning 
was  the  punishment  prescribed  by  the  law  of 
Moses,  in  such  cases,  Lev.  xiv.  16.  But  this 
death  was  not  sufficiently  lingering  and  tor- 
menting to  gratify  their  malice.  To  glut  their 
insatiable  cruelty,  they  were  therefore  will- 
ing to  own  their  subjection  to  the  Roman 
power  to  be  so  absolute,  that  it  was  not  law- 
ful for  them  to  put  any  one  to  death  (John 
xvii.  31),  according  to  their  own  judicial  law  ; 
and  thus  wilfully,  though  unwittingly,  they 
fulfilled  the  prophecies.  They  preferred  the 
punishment  which  the  Romans  appropriated 
to  slaves  who  were  guilty  of  flagitious  crimes, 
and  therefore  insisted  that  he  should  be  cruci- 
fied. According  to  the  Roman  custom,  those 
who  were  crucified  were  previously  scourged. 
Thus,  when  they  had  mocked  him,  and  made 
him  their  sport,  by  putting  a  crown  of  thorns 
on  his  head,  and  a  reed  in  his  hand  for  a  scep- 
tre, in  derision  of  his  kingly  office,  he  was 
stripped  and  scourged.  It  was  not  unfrequent 
for  the  sufferers  to  expire  under  the  severity 
and  torture  of  scourging.  And  we  may  be 
certain  that  Jesus  experienced  no  lenity  from 
their  merciless  hands.  The  plowers  plowed 
his  back.  But  more  and  greater  tortures  were 
before  him.  He  was  engaged  to  make  a  full 
atonement  for  sin  by  his  sufferings;  and  as 
he  had  power  over  his  own  life,  he  would  not 
dismiss  his  spirit,  till  he  could  say,  "  It  is  fin- 
ished." 

And  now,  to  use  the  words  of  Pilate,  "  Be- 
hold the  man!"  John  xix.  5.  Oh!  for  a 
realizing  impression  of  this  his  extreme  humi- 
liation and  suffering,  that  we  may  be  duly  af- 
fected with  a  sense  of  his  love  to  sinners,  and 
of  the  evil  of  our  sins,  which  rendered  it  ne- 
cessary that  the  surety  should  thus  suffer  ! 
Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  mocked,  blind- 
folded, spit  upon,  and  scourged  !  Let  us  add 
to  all  this  the  consideration  of  his  praying  for 
his  tormentors  (Luke  xxiii.  34),  and  we  have 
an  example  of  perfect  magnanimity. 

Shall  we  then  refuse  to  suffer  shame  for  his 
sake,  and  be  intimidated  by  the  frowns  or 
contempt  of  men,  from  avowing  our  attach- 
ment to  him  !  Ah  !  Lord,  we  are,  indeed, 
capable  of  this  baseness  and  ingratitude.    But 


SER.  XIX. 

if  thou  art  pleased  to  strengthen  us  with  the 
power  of  thy  Spirit,  we  will  account  such  dis- 
grace our  glory.  Then  we  will  not  hang 
down  our  heads  and  despond,  but  will  rather 
rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad,  if  the  world 
revile  us,  and  persecute  us,  and  speak  all 
manner  of  evil  against  us,  provided  it  be 
falsely  (Matth.  v.  11),  and  provided  it  be  for 
thy  sake  ! 

Shall  we  continue  in  sin  (Rom.  vi.  1.)  after 
we  know  what  it  cost  him  to  expiate  our  sins  ? 
God  forbid  !  When  Mark  Antony  addressed 
the  citizens  of  Rome,  to  animate  them  to  re- 
venge the  death  of  Caesar,  he  enlarged  upon 
Caesar's  character,  his  great  actions,  his  love 
to  the  Roman  people,  and  the  evidence  he 
had  given  of  it,  in  the  donations  and  bequests 
he  had  appointed  them  by  his  will,  the  parti- 
culars of  which  he  specified.  When  he  had 
thus  engaged  their  admiration  and  gratitude, 
and  they  discovered  emotions  of  regret  and 
sensibility,  that  Caesar,  the  greatest  character 
in  Rome,  who  had  fought  and  triumphed  for 
them,  and  had  remembered  them  in  his  will, 
should  be  slain,  Antony  threw  aside  a  cloth, 
and  shewed  them  his  dead  body  covered  with 
wounds  and  blood.  This  sight  rendered  it 
needless  to  say  more.  The  whole  assembly 
united  as  one  man,  to  search  out,  and  to  de- 
stroy his  murderers.  The  application  is  obvi- 
ous.—May  our  hearts,  from  this  hour,  be  fill- 
ed with  a  determined,  invariable  resentment 
against  sin,  the  procuring  cause  of  the  humi- 
liation and  death  of  our  best  Friend  and  bene- 
factor ! 


SERMON  XIX. 

MESSIAH  SUFFERING  AND  WOUNDED  FOR  US. 

Surely  he  hath  borne  our  grief  and  carried  cur 
sorrows. — He  was  wounded  for  our  trans- 
gressions, he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities  ; 
the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him, 
and  with  his  stripes  ive  are  healed.  Isaiah, 
liii.  4,  5. 

When  our  Lord  was  transfigured,  Moses 
and  Elijah  appeared  in  glory  and  conversed 
with  him.  Had  we  been  informed  of  the  inter- 
view only,  we  should  probably  have  desired  to 
know  the  subject  of  their  conversation,  as  we 
might  reasonably  suppose  it  turned  upon  very 
interesting  and  important  topics.  The  scrip- 
ture makes  little  provision  for  the  indulgence 
of  our  curiosity,  but  omits  nothing  that  is  ne- 
cessary for  our  instruction  ;  and  we  learn  thus 
much  from  it,  that  they  discoursed,  not  upon 
the  trifling  things  which  the  world  accounts 
great,  such  as  the  rise  and  fall  of  empires ; 
but  they  spake  of  the  sufferings  of  Jesus,  and 
of  the  decease  which  he  should  accomplish  at 
Jerusalem,  Luke  ix.  31       They  spake  of  his 


MESSIAH  SUFFERING,  &C. 


709 


Exodus  (as  the  Greek  word  is),  his  departure 
out  of  this  life,  the  issue  and  completion  of  his 
engagement  for  sinners ;  that  is,  his  crucifixion 
and  death.  This  is  the  grand  theme  of  hea- 
ven and  heaven-born  souls.  We  lately  con- 
sidered the  cruel  insults  Messiah  submitted 
to,  from  the  servants  in  the  High  Priest's  hall, 
and  from  the  Roman  soldiers.  The  passage  I 
have  now  read  leads  our  meditations  to  the 
foot  of  the  cross.  May  the  Holy  Spirit  re  il- 
ize  the  scene  to  our  hearts  !  The  cross  of 
Christ  displays  the  divine  perfections  with  pe- 
culiar glory.  Here  the  name  of  God  is  re- 
vealed, as  a  just  God  and  a  Saviour.  Htre 
the  believer  contemplates  in  one  view,  the  un- 
speakable evil  of  sin,  and  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  mercy.  This  gives  him  the  most  af- 
fecting sense  of  the  misery  which  he  has  de- 
served, while  at  the  same  time  he  receives  the 
fullest  assurance  that  there  is  forgiveness  with 
God,  and  discovers  a  sure  foundation  whereon 
he  may  build  his  hope  of  eternal  life,  without 
fear  of  disappointment.  From  the  moment 
the  apostle  Paul  was  enlightened  to  under- 
stand this  mystery  of  redeeming  love,  he  ac- 
counted his  former  gain  but  loss;  his  former 
supposed  wisdom  no  better  than  folly ;  and 
became  determined  to  know  nothing  (1  Cor. 
ii.  2;  Gal.  vi.  14),  to  depend  upon  nothing 
to  glory  in  nothing,  but  Jesus  Christ,  and  him 
crucified. 

A  representation  of  the  Redeemer's  suffer- 
ings, capable  of  exciting  tears  and  moving  the 
passions,  may  be  made  by  the  powers  of  ora- 
tory ;  and  similar  emotions  have  often  beeu 
produced  by  a  romance  or  a  tragedy,  though 
the  subject  is  known  beforehand  to  be  entirely 
a  fiction.  But  light  in  the  understanding  is 
necessary  to  convince  and  influence  the  heart. 
Unless  the  mind  be  deeply  penetrated  with 
the  causes  which  rendered  Messiah's  death 
necessary,  the  most  pathetic  description  of  the 
fact  will  leave  the  will  and  affections  unchang 
ed.  I  hope  many  of  my  auditory  can  assign 
these  causes.  You  have  felt  yourselves  per. 
sonally  concerned  in  an  event  which  took  place 
long  before  your  birth ;  and  if  you  are  asked, 
Why  was  Jesus  mocked,  buffeted,  and  spit 
upon  ?  and  why  were  his  enemies  permitted 
to  nail  him  to  the  cross?  You  can  answer, 
"  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried 
our  sorrows," — and  you  can  likewise  say, 
"  By  his  stripes  we  are  healed." 

The  words  lead  us  to  consider  the  cause  and 
the  effect. 

I.  The  cause  of  the  Redeemers  sufferings, 
implied  in  the  word  our.  He  bore  the  griefs 
and  sorrows  which  were  our  desert.  Such  is 
the  language,  the  confession,  the  grateful  ac- 
knowledgment of  all  who  believe  in  his  name. 
They  who  are  delivered  by  grace  from  the 
spirit  and  power  of  this  evil  world,  and  who 
live  by  his  death,  and  likewise  they  who  see 
they  must  perish  unless  saved  by  him,  are  au- 
thorized to  consider  him  as  mindful  of  them. 


7  in 


MESSIAH  SUFFERING 


and  making  provision  for  them  in  the  day  of 
his  trouble.  They  who  were  actually  healed 
by  looking  at  the  brazen  serpent,  according  to 
God's  appointment,  had  a  sufficient  proof  in 
themselves,  that  it  was  erected  and  placed  in 
view  of  the  camp  (Nun;,  xxi.  9.)  on  their 
account.  He  bore  our  griefs. —  It  does  not 
follow  that  sinners  must  have  been  crucified, 
if  the  Saviour  had  not  been  crucified  on  their 
behalf.  But  as  this  was  a  painful  and  terrible 
punishment,  it  may  teach  us,  that  without  his 
interposition  we  were  justly  liable  to  extremity 
of  misery  in  the  present  life.  That  we  who 
have  offended  God  should  enjoy  health,  peace, 
or  satisfaction  for  a  single  hour ;  that  we  do 
not  draw  every  breath  in  the  most  excruciat- 
ing pain ;  that  we  derive  any  comfort  from 
creatures  ;  that  we  are  not  a  burden  and  a 
terror  to  ourselves,  and  mutually  to  each  other  ; 
that  our  state  while  upon  earth,  is  in  any  re- 
spect, better  than  an  image  of  hell, — must 
wholly  be  ascribed  to  him.  A  sinner,  as  such, 
is  under  the  curse  of  the  law ;  and  this  curse 
includes  every  species  of  misery  that  can  affect 
us,  either  in  mind,  body,  or  estate.  But  he 
was  appointed  from  the  beginning,  to  sustain 
and  exhaust  the  curse  for  us.  And  therefore 
the  earth  though  so  long  inhabited  by  wretches 
in  a  state  of  bold  rebellion  against  their  Maker, 
is  filled  with  the  fruits  and  evidences  of  his 
long-suffering  patience  and  mercy.  There- 
fore he  still  affords  us  rain  and  fruitful  sea- 
sons (Acts  xiv.  17),  indulges  us  with  a  variety 
of  temporal  blessings,  and  gives  us  power  to 
take  comfort  in  them.  This  consideration 
greatly  enhances  the  value  of  temporal  good 
things  to  his  people.  They  receive  them  as 
from  his  hand,  as  tokens  of  his  love  and 
pledges  of  his  favour,  sanctified  to  their  use 
by  his  blood  and  promise.  Cheered  by  such 
thoughts  as  these,  his  poor  people  often  enjoy 
their  plain  fare  with  a  pleasure,  of  which  the 
ixpensive  and  dissipated  sensualist  has  no 
conception.  And  how  does  it  add  to  the  re- 
lish of  all  earthly  comforts,  to  think,  while  we 
are  using  them,  that 

There's  not  a  gift  his  hand  bestows. 
But  cost  his  heart  a  groan ! 

So,  likewise,  the  remembrance  of  what  he  bore 
for  them  alleviates  the  pressure  of  all  their 
sufferings,  and  affords  them  a  ground  whereon 
they  may  rejoice,  yea  glory,  in  tribulation 
also,  Rom.  v.  3. 

But  his  crucifixion,  and  the  whole  of  his 
sufferings  from  wicked  men,  cannot  give  us  a 
just  idea  of  what  he  endured  for  us.  Griev- 
ous as  they  were,  considered  in  themselves, 
they  were  light,  if  compared  with  the  agonies 
of  his  soul.  These  extorted  the  blood  from 
his  body  (Luke  xxiii.  44.)  before  the  hand  of 
man  touched  him.  And  when  he  uttered  his 
most  dolorous  cry  upon  the  cross,  it  was  not 
for  the  anguish  of  his  bodily  wounds,  but  his 
soul  felt  for  a  season  a  separation  from  the 


SF.R.  XTT. 

presence  and  comforts  of  God.  Therefore  he 
said,  "  Why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?"  Matth. 
xxvii.  46.  It  is  true  his  holy  nature  was  not 
capable  of  some  part  of  the  impenitent  sinner's 
portion.  Remorse  of  conscience,  the  stings 
of  the  never-dying  worm,  and  the  horrors  and 
rage  of  despair,  could  not  touch  him,  who 
had  no  personal  sin,  and  whose  love  and  faith 
were  always  perfect :  But  a  sword  pierced  his 
soul :  and  it  pleased  the  Father  not  only  to 
permit  him  to  be  bruised  by  the  cruelty  of  his 
enemies,  but  to  bruise  him  himself,  Is.  liii. 
10. 

The  ground  of  all  this  was  laid  in  his  vol- 
untary substitution  of  himself  from  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  to  obey  and  suffer  in 
behalf  of  his  people.  This  point  will  offer 
more  directly  from  the  passage  we  are  next  to 
consider.  At  present  let  us  briefly  notice  the 
expressions  before  us. 

1.  He  was  wounded. — This  word  which 
signifies  pierced  or  stabbed,  refers  to  his  cruci- 
fixion. This  punishment  being  unknown  to 
the  Jews,  till  they  were  brought  under  the 
Roman  power,  they  had,  therefore,  no  express 
name  for,  in  their  language.  Yet  it  is  plain- 
ly described  by  the  psalmist,  who,  speaking, 
by  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  in  the  person  of 
Messiah,  says,  "They  pierced  my  hands  and  my 
feet,"  Psal.  xxii.  16.  And  it  was  typified  un- 
der the  law  of  Moses  (Deut.  xxi.  23;  Gal.  iii. 
13  ;  1  Cor.  v.  7;  John  iii.  14),  by  the  curse 
annexed  to  hanging  upon  a  tree,  which  was  the 
nearest  death  to  this  ;  by  the  paschal  lamb, 
which  was  roasted;  and  by  the  brazen  ser- 
pent. It  was  a  fit  death  for  a  sinner,  pain- 
ful and  ignominious.  How  circumstantial 
were  the  prophecies,  how  apposite  the  types, 
how  exactly  was  all  fulfilled,  and  how  won- 
derful was  it  that  the  Jews  should  be  led  to 
depart  from  their  own  customs  and  purposes, 
in  order  to  their  accomplishment,  though  they 
intended  nothing  less !  But  it  was  the  deter- 
mined counsel  and  appointment  of  God  (Acts. 
ii.  23),  who  over-rules  all  the  designs  of  men, 
and  all  that  to  us  appears  contingent,  to  the 
purposes  of  his  own  will  and  glory. 

2.  He  was  bruised. — If  we  distinguish 
wounded  from  bruised,  the  latter  may  be  re- 
ferred to  the  sorrows  of  his  soul,  for  it  is  ex- 
pressly said,  "  It  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise 
him  :"  that  distress  broke  his  heart,  filled  him 
with  dismay,  caused  him  to  be  sore  amazed 
and  very  heavy,  and  to  say  to  his  disciples, 
"  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto 
death,"  Matth.  xxvi.  38.  No  words  can  be 
more  selected  and  emphatieal,  than  those 
which  the  evangelists  use  in  describing  his 
consternation  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane. 
How  can  this  his  dejection  and  terror  be  ac- 
counted for  by  those  who  deny  that  his  suffer- 
ings and  death  were  a  proper  atonement  of 
sin ;  and  who  suppose,  that  when  he  had 
given  to  men  a  perfect  rule  of  life,  and  com- 
mended it  to  them  by  his  own  example,  ho 


S.KR.  XIX.  AND  WOUNDED 

died,  merely  to  confirm  the  truth  of  his  doc- 
trine, and  to  encourage  his  followers  to  faith- 
fulness under  sufferings  !  Many  of  his  follow- 
ers, who  were  thus  witnesses  for  the  truth,  and 
patterns  of  faithfulness  to  us,  have  met  death 
in  its  most  terrible  forms  with  composure,  yea, 
with  pleasure,  yea,  with  transports  of  joy. 
But  is  the  disciple  above  his  Lord  ?  If  chris- 
tians have  triumphed  in  such  circumstances, 
why  did  Christ  tremble  ?  Not  surely  because 
their  courage  and  constancy  were  greater  than 
his.  The  causes  were  entirely  different. 
The  martyrs  were  given  up  to  them  who 
only  could  kill  the  body  ;  but  Jesus  suffered 
immediately  from  the  hand  of  God.  One 
stroke  of  his  mighty  hand  can  bruise  the  spi- 
rit of  man  more  sensibly  than  the  united 
power  of  all  creatures.  Jesus  died.  They 
that  believe  in  him,  are  said  to  sleep  in  him, 
1  Thess.  iv.  14.  To  them  death  comes  dis- 
armed of  its  sting,  wearing  a  friendly  aspect, 
and  bringing  a  welcome  message  of  dismis- 
sion from  every  evil.  But  the  death  of  Jesus 
was  death  indeed,  death  in  all  its  horrors,  the 
death  which  sinners  had  deserved  to  suffer  as 
transgressors  of  the  law. 

3.  The  chastisement  or  the  punishment  of 
our  peace  was  upon  him,  that  chastisement  or 
punishment  on  the  account  of  which  sinners 
obtain  peace  with  God. — It  properly  signifies 
here,  a  punishment  for  instruction  or  example. 
Punishments  are  inflicted,  either  for  the  cor- 
rection of  an  offender,  or  for  the  prevention 
of  evil,  or  for  example  to  others.  The  two 
former  reasons  could  not  apply  to  our  Lord. 
He  had  committed  no  evil,  he  was  perfect 
before,  and  in  suffering.  But  standing  in  the 
place  of  sinners,  and  engaged  to  expiate  their 
offences,  he  was  made  a  public  example  of 
the  misery  and  distress  which  sin  demerited 
Thus  justice  was  vindicated  in  the  exercise  of 
mercy,  and  sinners  believing  in  his  name  are 
exempted  from  punishment,  for  his  sake,  in  a 
way  which  affords  not  the  least  encourage- 
ment or  extenuation  to  sin.  And  thus  our 
peace  is  procured. 

II.  The  effect  of  his  sufferings  for  sins  not 
his  own.  He  bore  our  griefs,  and  carried  our 
sorrows  ;  he  was  wounded  and  bruised  for  us, 
the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him, 
that  by  his  stripes  we  may  be  healed.  The 
Hebrew  word  here,  and  the  Greek  word 
which  the  apostle  Peter  uses  in  his  quotation 
of  this  passage  ( 1  Pet.  iii.  24),  which  we  ren- 
der stripes,  is  properly  the  mark  which  stripes 
or  wounds  leave  upon  the  body,  or  as  we  say, 
scars.  The  scars  in  his  hands,  feet,  and  side, 
and  perhaps  other  marks  of  his  many  wounds, 
remained  after  his  resurrection.  And  John 
saw  him  in  vision,  before  the  throne,  as  a  lamb 
that  had  been    slain.      All   these  expressions 


FOR  US.  711 

eye  of  faidi  are  ever  present.  How  admirable 
is  this  expedient,  that  the  wounds  of  one,  yea, 
of  millions,  should  be  healed,  by  beholding 
the  wounds  of  another  !  Yet  this  is  the  lan- 
guage of  the  gospel,  Look  and  live.  "  Look 
unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved."  Three  great 
wounds  are  ours,  guilt,  sin,  and  sorrow  ;  but 
by  contemplating  his  weals  or  scars  with  an 


enlightened  eye,  and  by  rightly  understand- 
ing who  was  thus  wounded,  and  why,  all  these 
wounds  are  healed. 

You  who  live  by  this  medicine  speak  well 
of  it.  Tell  to  others,  as  you  have  an  oppor- 
tunity, what  a  Saviour  you  have  found.  It 
is  usual  for  those  who  have  been  relieved,  in 
dangerous  and  complicated  diseases,  by  a  skil- 
ful physician,  to  commend  him  to  others  who 
are  labouring  under  the  like  maladies.  We 
often  see  public  acknowledgements  to  this 
purpose.  If  all  the  persons  who  have  felt  the 
efficacy  of  a  dying  Saviour's  wounds  appre- 
hended by  faith,  were  to  publish  their  cases, 
how  greatly  would  his  power  and  grace  be 
displayed  !  They  are  all  upon  record,  and  will 
all  be  known  in  the  great  day  of  his  appear- 
ing. Some  of  them  are  occasionally  pub- 
lished, and  may  be  read  in  our  own  tongue. 
And  though  they  are  not  all  related  with 
equal  judgment,  nor  attended  with  circum 
stances  equally  striking,  yet  there  is  a  suffi- 
ciency, in  this  way,  to  leave  the  world  with- 
out excuse.  Not  to  mention  modern  accounts 
of  this  kind  (though  many  might  be  mention- 
ed which  are  indisputably  true,  and  superior 
to  the  cavils  of  gainsayers),  the  Confessions 
of  Augustin  may  be  appealed  to,  as  a  proof 
that  the  gospel  is  not  a  system  of  notions  only, 
but  has  a  mighty  power  to  enlighten  the  be- 
wildered mind,  to  subdue  the  obstinate  will, 
to  weaken  the  force  of  long  confirmed  habits 
of  evil,  to  relieve  from  distressing  fears,  and 
to  effect  a  real,  universal,  permanent,  and  be- 
neficial change  of  sentiment  and  conduct, 
such  as  no  similar  instance  can  be  found,  in 
the  history  of  mankind,  to  have  been  produced 
by  any  other  principles.  But  if  you  are  a 
true  christian,  in  the  circle  of  your  connec- 
tions you  will  sometimes  have  a  fair  opportu- 
nity of  giving  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in 
you.  Pray  for  grace  and  wisdom  to  improve 
such  seasons;  and  if  you  speak  the  truth  in  sim- 
plicity and  love,  you  know  not  but  the  Lord 
may  give  his  blessing  to  your  testimony,  and 
honour  you  as  an  instrument  of  good.  And 
to  convert  one  sinner  from  the  error  of  his 
way,  is  an  event  of  greater  importance,  than 
the  deliverance  of  a  whole  kingdom  from 
temporal  evil. 

Yet  remember,  if  you  espouse  this  cause,  a 
certain  consistency  of  character  will  be  ex- 
pected  from    you,    without    which    you   had 


and  representations,  I  apprehend,  are  designed   better  be  silent,  than  speak  in  its  defence,  or 


to  intimate  to  us,  that  though  the  death  of 
Messiah  is  an  event  long  since  past,  yet  the 
effects  and  benefits  are  ever  new,  and  to  the 


profess  yourself  a  sharer  in  the  privileges  of 
the  gospel.  There  are  too  many  persons  who 
treat  th»  great  truths  we  profess  as  mere  opi- 


712 


SIN  CHARGED   UPON  THE  SURETY. 


SKK.  XX. 


nions,  points  of  speculation,  which  form  the 
shibboleth  of  a  party  :  there  are  others,  who 
think  an  attachment  to  them  the  sure  sign  of 
an  enthusiastic  deluded  imagination :  and 
there  are  others,  again,  who  misrepresent  them 
as  unfavourable  to  morality,  and  affording  a 
cloak  and  an  encouragement  to  licentiousness. 
Beware,  lest,  by  an  improper  conduct,  you 
lay  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way  of  the  blind, 
strengthen  the  prejudices  of  the  ignorant,  and 
give  weight  to  the  calumnies  of  the  malicious. 
The  people  of  the  world  are  quick-sighted  to 
the  faults  of  religious  professors  ;  and  though 
they  affect  to  despise  their  principles,  they  are 
tolerable  judges  what  that  conversation  is 
which  only  these  principles  can  produce,  and 
always  expect  it  from  those  who  avow  them. 
They  will  make  allowances  for  others,  and 
admit  human  infirmity  as  a  plea  for  their 
faults,  but  they  will  not  extend  their  candour 
to  you.  If  you.r  xeal  for  the  truth,  and  your 
regular  attendance  upon  the  ministers  who 
preach  it,  are  not  accompanied  with  a  spirit  of 
humility,  integrity,  and  benevolence;  if  you 
are  passionate,  peevish,  discontented,  censo- 
rious, or  proud  ;  if  they  observe  that  you  are 
greedy  of  gain,  penurious,  close-fisted,  or 
hard-hearted ;  or  even  if  you  comply  with 
their  customs  and  spirit,  mingle  with  them  in 
their  amusements,  and  do  not  maintain  a 
noble  singularity  by  avoiding  every  appear- 
ance of  evil ;  they  will  not  only  despise  you  in 
their  hearts,  but  they  will  take  the  occasion  of 
despising  and  speaking  evil  of  the  truth  itself 
on  your  account.  But  if  you  are  all  of  a 
piece,  and  are  truly  solicitous  to  adorn  your 
profession,  by  walking  agreeably  to  the  rules 
of  the  gospel,  and  filling  up  your  relations  in 
life  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  good  of  your 
fellovV-creatures  ;  by  thus  well-doing,  you  will 
put  to  silence  the  ignorance  of  foolish  men 
(1  Pet.  ii.  15),  and  in  a  great  measure  stop 
their  mouths,  if  you  cannot  change  their  hearts. 
And  though  they  may  affect  to  rail  at  you,  or 
to  ridicule  you,  they  will  be  constrained  to 
feel  a  secret  reverence  for  you  in  their  con- 
sciences. 

But  are  there  any  hearts  of  stone  among,t 
us,  who  are  still  unaffected  by  the  love  and 
sufferings  of  the  Son  of  God ;  who  are  still 
crucifying  him  afresh,  and  living  in  sin, 
though  they  hear  and  know  what  it  cost  him 
to  make  an  atonement  for  sin  ?  Yet  now  hear 
— now  look — Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  !  The 
Lord  in  mercy  open  the  eyes  of  your  mind. 
I  address  you  once  more.  I  once  more  con- 
jure you,  by  his  agony  and  bloody  sweat,  by 
his  passion,  cross  and  death,  to  seek  to  him 
that  your  souls  may  live.  Can  you  be  proof 
against  these  arguments  ?  Nay,  then,  should 
you  live  and  die  thus  obstinate,  you  must 
perish  indeed  ! 


SERMON   XX. 

SIN  CHARGED  UPON  THE  SURETY. 

All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray ;  we  have 
turned  every  one  to  his  own  ivay,  and  the 
Lord  hath  laid  upon  him  the  iniquity  of  us 
all.     Isaiah,  liii.  6. 

Comparisons,  in  the  scripture,  are  frequently 
to  be  understood  with  great  limitation  :  per- 
haps, out  of  many  circumstances,  one  only  is 
justly  applicable  to  the  case.  Thus,  when  our 
Lord  says,  "  Behold  I  come  as  a  thief"  (Rev. 
xvi.  15) — common  sense  will  fix  the  resem- 
blance to  a  single  point,  that  he  will  come  sud- 
denly, and  unexpected.  So  when  wandering 
sinners  are  compared  to  wandering  sheep,  we 
have  a  striking  image  of  the  danger  of  their 
state,  and  of  their  inability  to  recover  them- 
selves. Sheep  wandering  without  a  shepherd, 
are  exposed,  a  defenceless  and  easy  prey,  to 
wild  beasts  and  enemies,  and  liable  to  perish 
for  want  of  pasture;  for  they  are  not  able 
either  to  provide  for  themselves,  or  to  find  the 
way  back  to  the  place  from  whence  they  stray- 
ed. Whatever  they  suffer,  they  continue  to 
wander,  and  if  not  sought  out,  will  be  lost. 
Thus  far  the  allusion  holds.  But  sheep  in 
such  a  situation  are  not  the  subjects  of  blame. 
They  would  be  highly  blameable,  if  we  could 
suppose  them  rational  creatures ;  if  they  had 
been  under  the  eye  of  a  careful  and  provident 
shepherd,  had  been  capable  of  knowing  him, 
had  wilfully  and  obstinately  renounced  his 
protection  and  guidance,  and  voluntarily 
chosen  to  plunge  themselves  into  danger, 
rather  than  to  remain  with  him  any  longer. 
Thus  it  is  with  man.  His  wandering  is  re- 
bellious. God  made  him  upright,  but  he  has 
sought  out  to  himself  many  inventions,  Eccl. 
vii.  29.  God  has  appointed  for  mankind  a 
safe  and  pleasant  path,  by  walking  in  which, 
they  shall  find  rest  to  their  souls;  but  they 
say,  We  will  not  walk  therein,  Jer.  vi.  16. 
They  were  capable  of  knowing  the  conse- 
quences of  going  astray,  were  repeatedly  warn . 
ed  of  them,  were  fenced  in  by  wise  and  good 
laws,  which  they  presumptuously  broke 
through.  And  when  they  had  wandered  from 
him,  they  were  again  and  again  invited  to  re- 
turn to  him,  but  they  refused.  They  mocked 
his  messages  and  his  messengers,  and  preferred 
the  misery  they  had  brought  upon  themselves, 
to  the  happiness  of  being  under  his  direction 
and  care.  Surely  he  emphatically  deserves  the 
name  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  who  freely  laid 
down  his  life  to  restore  sheep  of  this  charac- 
ter ! 

My  text  therefore  expresses  the  sentiment 
of  those,  and  of  those  only,  who  are  acquaint- 
ed with  the  misery  of  our  fallen  state,  feel 
their  own  concern  in  it,   and  approve  of  the 


SEJl.  XX. 


SIN  CHARGED 


method  which  God  has  provided  for  their  de 
liverance  and  recovery.  It  contains  a  con 
fession  of  their  own  guilt,  and  an  acknow 
ledgment  of  his  mercy. 

I.  A  confession  of  guilt  and  wretched- 
ness.— Sin  has  deprived  us  both  of  the  knowl- 
edge and  presence  of  God.  In  consequence 
of  this,  we  wander,  every  one  to  his  own  way. 
All  are  under  the  power  of  sin,  and  all  equally 
strangers  to  the  paths  of  peace  and  safety. 
The  paths  which  sinners  chuse  for  themselves 
are  diverse  from  each  other,  as  inclination  or 
circumstances  vary ;  but  however  different  in 
appearance,  if  persisted  in,  they  terminate  at 
last  in  the  same  point.  They  all  lead  to  de- 
struction.     We  may  observe  on  this  head, 

1.  It  is  a  sufficient  proof  of  our  depravity, 
that  we  prefer  our  own  ways  to  the  Lord's  ; 
nor  can  lie  inflict  a  heavier  judgment  upon  us 
in  this  life,  than  to  give  us  up  entirely  to  the 
way  of  our  own  hearts.  He  made  us  to  be 
happy ;  but  as  he  made  us  for  himself,  and 
gave  us  a  capacity,  and  a  vastness  of  desire, 
which  only  he  himself  can  satisfy  the  very  con- 
stitution and  frame  of  our  nature,  render  hap- 
piness impossible  to  us,  unless  in  a  way  of 
dependence  upon  him,  and  obedience  to  his 
laws.  The  lamb  that  grazes  in  the  meadow, 
and  the  fish  that  swims  in  the  stream,  are  each 
in  their  proper  element.  If  you  suppose 
them  to  change  places,  they  must  both  perish. 
But  the  brute  creation  have  no  propensity  to 
such  changes  as  would  destroy  them.  The 
instincts  implanted  in  them  by  their  great 
Creator  are  conducive  to  their  welfare  ;  and 
to  these  instincts  they  are  uniformly  faithful. 
If  you  can  conceive  of  beasts  impatient  to 
leave  the  shore,  and  improve  their  situation  by 
rushing  into  the  ocean  ;  and  the  fishes  equally- 
earnest  to  forsake  the  waters  in  quest  of  new 
and  greater  advantages  upon  the  dry  land  ;  it 
may  illustrate  the  folly  of  fallen  man,  who, 
turned  aside  by  a  deceived  heart,  refuses  life, 
and  seeks  death  in  the  error  of  his  ways.  For 
the  will  of  God  (if  I  may  so  speak)  is  our 
proper  element ;  and  if  we  depart  from  it,  our 
sin  unavoidably  involves  our  punishment.  We 
naturally  indulge  hard  thoughts  of  God,  and 
think  the  rule  he  has  enjoined  us  too  strict 
and  severe,  intended  to  restrain  us  from  real 
good,  and  propose  to  ourselves  some  unknown 
advantages  by  transgressing  it.  Thus  Satan 
persuaded  Eve,  and  we  derive  from  her:  and 
though  we  know  that  she  only  gained  misery 
by  the  experiment,  we  rashly  repeat  it  for  our- 
selves. The  scripture  assures  us  that  the 
ways  of  God  are  pleasant,  but  we  will  not  be 
persuaded.  Experience  proves  that  the  way 
of  transgressors  is  hard,  but  we  resist  the  con- 
viction, and  hurry  on  in  a  round  of  continual 
disappointment.  Are  the  proud,  the  covetous, 
the  voluptuous,  or  the  ambitious,  happy  ?  I 
appeal  to  conscience. 

2.  There  is    only    one   right    way,    but    a 
thousand  ways  of  being  wrong.  I''   yen 


UPON  THE  SURETY.  713 

I  are  not  following  him,  who  has  said,  "  I  am 
I  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life"  (John  xiv.  t>), 
I  you  are  wandering,  you  are  far  from  God  ; 
I  for  none  can  come  to  the  Father  but  by  him  : 
and  far  from  peace,  for  there  can  be  no  true 
peace  in  the  mind  unless  he  bestows  and  main- 
tains it.  The  profane  and  the  self-righteous, 
the  open  sinner  and  the  hypocrite,  the  lover  of 
pleasure  and  the  lover  of  gold,  the  formal  Pa- 
pist and  the  formal  Protestant,  though  they 
seem  to  travel  different  roads,  though  they 
pity  or  censure  each  other,  will  meet  at  last 
(unless  the  grace  of  God  prevent)  in  the  same 
state  of  final  and  hopeless  misery.  It  is  griev- 
ous to  a  spiritual  and  benevolent  mind,  to  see 
those  who  are  all  wrong  disputing  among 
themselves  which  of  them  is  right.  Each  one 
is  ready  to  think  himself  wise,  if  the  folly  in 
which  he  allows  himself  be  not  precisely  of 
the  same  kind  with  that  which  he  condemns 
in  his  neighbour.  But  the  scripture  is  the  in. 
variable  rule,  to  which  it  is  your  duty  and  in- 
terest to  be  conformed  now  ;  for  it  is  given  by 
the  inspiration  and  authority  of  God,  and  is 
the  standard  by  which  you  must  be  judged  at 
last.  Whatever  character  you  bear  amongst 
men,  if  you  have  not  faith  and  holiness,  you 
certainly  are  not  in  the  way  of  life.  For  it  is 
written,  "  He  that  believeth  not,  shall  be 
damned"  (Mark  xvi.  1G);  and  again,  it  is 
written,  "  Without  holiness,  no  man  shall  see 
the  Lord,"  Heb.  xii.  14. 

3.  As  wandering  sheep  are  liable  to  in- 
numerable dangers  which  they  can  neither 
foresee  nor  prevent,  such  is  our  condition,  un- 
til, by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  are 
stopped,  and  turned,  and  brought  into  the  fold 
of  the  good  Shepherd.  Oh  !  the  misery  of 
man  while  living  without  God  in  the  world  I 
He  is  exposed  every  hour  to  the  stroke  of 
death,  which  would  at  once  separate  him  from 
all  that  he  loves,  and  plunge  him  into  the  pit, 
from  whence  there  is  no  redemption.  And  at 
present  lie  is  perpetually  harassed  with  cares 
and  fears,  with  wants  and  woes,  without  guid- 
ance or  refuge  ;  and  yet  so  blinded  as  to  think 
himself  safe,  and  that  his  crooked  wandering 
ways  will  lead  him  to  happiness  ! 

II.  An  acknowledgment  of  mercy. — Where 
sin  abounded,  grace  has  much  more  abound- 
ed. Man  sinned,  and  Messiah  suffered.  The 
Lord  hath  laid,  or  caused  to  meet  upon  him, 
the  iniquity  of  us  all,  that  is,  the  punishment 
due  to  them.  The  evils  we  had  deserved  were 
in  pursuit  of  us,  but  Jesus  interposed,  and 
they  all  seized  upon  him,  and  he  endured 
them,  that  we  might  be  spared.  Do  we  ask 
upon  what  grounds  ?  It  was  on  the  ground 
of  his  voluntary  substitution  for  sinners,  as 
their  covenant  head  and  representative. 

So   much    correspondent    to   this    appoint- 
ment obtains  amongst  men,  as  may  shew  that 
the  idea  accords  with  our  notion  of  justice. 
If  a  man  be  unable  to  pay  a  debt,  and  the 
J  creditor   should    exact    the   payment   from    a 


714 


SIN  CHARGED  UPON  THE  SURETY. 


SEIl.   XX. 


third  person  who  was  no  way  concerned,  it 
would,  with  reason,  be  deemed  a  very  op- 
pressive action.  But  if  it  be  known  that  this 
person  became  freely  bound  and  responsible 
for  the  debtor,  he  is  allowed  to  be  justly  li- 
able. But  in  the  present  case  I  make  no  ap- 
peal to  human  customs.  It  is  a  divine  ap- 
pointment, and  therefore  is  and  must  be  right. 
It  was  a  great  design,  the  triumph  of  infinite 
wisdom,  the  highest  effect  of  the  love  cf  God. 
It  is  revealed,  not  to  be  submitted  to  our  dis- 
cussion, or  that  we  may  sit  in  judgment  upon 
the  propriety  of  the  measure,  but  it  demands 
our  highest  admiration  and  praise,  and,  like 
the  sun,  brings  with  it  that  light  by  which  the 
whole  system  of  our  knowledge  is  illumin- 
ated. For  till  we  know  this  great  truth,  and 
are  able  to  see  its  influence  upon  every  thing 
we  are  related  to,  whatever  attainments  we 
may  boast,  we  are  in  fact  encompassed  with 
thick  darkness,  with  darkness  which  may  be 
felt.  For  the  accomplishment  of  this  design, 
the  Son  of  God  was  so  manifested  in  the  na- 
ture of  man,  that  he,  and  they  who  believe  in 
him,  participate  in  a  real,  though  mystical  u- 
nion,  and  are  considered  as  one :  he  their  living 
head,  they  his  body,  consisting  of  many  mem- 
bers; each  of  them  represented  by  him,  accept- 
ed in  him,  and  deriving  from  his  fulness  their 
life,  their  light,  their  strength,  and  their  joy. 

1.  He  was  thus  appointed  and  constituted 
before  the  world  began,  according  to  the  holy 
counsel  and  covenant  settled  from  everlasting 
(Prov.  viii.  31  ;  Tit.  i.  2)  for  the  redemption 
of  sinners.  For  the  fall  of  man,  which  ren- 
dered his  interposition  necessary,  was  not  an 
unexpected  contingency,  but  was  foreseen  and 
provided  for  before  man  was  created  upon  the 
earth,  yea  before  the  foundations  of  the  earth 
were  laid. 

2.  After  man  had  sinned,  this  glorious 
Head  and  Surety  made  known  the  certainty 
and  benefit  of  his  mediation,  and  engagement 
on  the  behalf  of  sinners,  according  to  the  good 
pleasure  of  his  wisdom,  and  as  the  case  re- 
quired ;  otherwise,  upon  the  entrance  of  sin, 
the  full  execution  of  the  sentence  of  the  law 
denounced  against  the  offenders,  might  per- 
haps have  immediately  followed :  but  he  re- 
vealed himself.  He  shewed  mercy  to  Adam, 
covenanted  with  Noah,  walked  with  Abraham, 
conversed  with  Moses,  dwelt  with  his  church 
in  the  wilderness,  and  was  known  by  the  name 
of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  Isa.  liv.  5.  Da- 
vid ascribes  (Psal.  xxiii.  1.)  to  the  Shepherd 
of  Israel  the  name  of  Jehovah,  and  Isaiah  de- 
clares that  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  the  Husband 
of  the  church.  These  characters  of  Shep- 
herd, and  Bridegroom,  and  Husband,  are 
appropriated  to  Messiah  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. He  therefore  is  Jehovah,  the  Lord  of 
Hosts,  whom  Abraham,  David,  and  Isaiah 
worshipped,  or  his  appearance  upon  earth 
would  be  evidently  to  the  disadvantage  of 
those  who  believe   in   him.      If  he  were  not 


God,  he  would  be  a  creature,  for  there  is  no 
medium,  and  consequently  our  Shepherd  would 
be  infinitely  inferior  to  that  Almighty  Shep- 
herd who  was  the  refuge,  the  trust,  and  the 
salvation  of  his  people,  before  Messiah  wras 
manifested  in  the  flesh. 

3.  In  the  fulness  of  time  he  veiled  his 
glory.  He  who  was  in  the  form  of  God,  and 
thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God, 
took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was 
made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  Phil, 
ii.  6,  7  ;  Gal.  iv.  4.  Then  the  union  between 
him  and  the  people  whom  he  came  into  the 
world  to  save  was  completed ;  because  the 
children  were  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood, 
he  likewise  took  part  of  the  same,  Heb.  ii.  14. 
The  Word,  who  in  the  beginning  was  God, 
and  was  with  God,  was  made  flesh,  John  i.  1. 
And  in  our  nature,  though  he  knew  no  sin, 
he  was  treated  as  a  sinner  for  us,  to  declare 
the  righteousness  of  God,  in  his  forbearance 
and  goodness  to  all  who  had  been  saved  in 
former  ages,  and  in  the  forgiveness  and  sal- 
vation of  all  who  should  trust  in  him  to  the 
end  of  time.  He  suffered  once,  once  for  all 
the  just  for  the  unjust,  to  bring  us  to  God. 
And  now  God  is  revealed,  not  only  as  merci- 
ful, but  as  just,  in  justifying  him  which  be- 
lieveth  in  Jesus.  God  is  well  pleased  in  him, 
and  for  his  sake,  with  all  who  accept  him. 
Their  sins  are  expiated  by  his  sufferings  ( Rom. 
iv.  6;  Jer.  xxiii.  6);  and  his  perfect  right- 
eousness, the  whole  of  his  obedience  unto 
death,  is  the  consideration  or  ground  on  which 
they  are  accounted  righteous. 

By  virtue  of  this  union  likewise  he  is  their 
life.  They  receive  out  of  his  fulness,  as  the 
branches  (John  xv.  1)  derive  their  life  and 
fruitfulness  from  the  tree  whereon  they  grow  ; 
therefore  the  apostle  said,  "  I  live,  yet  not  I, 
but  Christ  liveth  in  me,"  Gal.  ii.  20.  This 
is  the  great  mystery  of  Christianity,  which 
words  alone  cannot  explain :  it  is  a  divine 
appointment,  hidden  from  those  who  are  wise 
and  prudent  in  their  own  sight,  but  revealed 
to  all  who,  with  the  simplicity  of  children, 
are  desirous  of  being  taught  of  God,  and  wait 
patiently  upon  him,  in  the  use  of  his  pre- 
scribed means,  for  the  light  and  influence  of 
his  Holy  Spirit. 

From  this  subject,  the  substitution  of  Mes- 
siah for  sinners,  we  may  learn, 

1.  How  to  estimate  the  evil  of  sin.  That 
sin  is  a  great  evil  is  evident  by  its  effects.  It 
deprived  Adam  of  the  life  and  presence  of 
God,  and  brought  death  and  all  natural  evil 
into  the  world.  It  caused  the  destruction  of 
the  old  world  by  water.  It  is  the  source  of 
all  the  misery  with  which  the  earth  is  now  fill- 
ed ;  it  will  kindle  the  last  great  conflagration, 
yea  it  has  already  kindled  that  fire  which  shall 
never  be  quenched.  But  in  no  view  does  the 
sinfulness  of  sin  appear  so  striking  as  in  this 
wonderful  effect — the  suffering  and  death  of 
Messiah  :    That  notwithstanding  the   dignity 


MESSIAH  DERIDI  D  UPON  THE  CROSS. 


SER.  XXI. 

uf  his  person,  and  the  perfection  of  his  obe- 
dience to  the  law,  and  that  though  he  prayed 
in  his  agonies,  that  if  it  were  possible  the  cup 
might  pass  from  him  (Luke  xxiii.  42)  ;  yet, 
if  sinners  were  to  be  saved,  it  was  indispen- 
sibly  necessary  that  he  should  drink  it.  This 
shews  the  evil  of  sin  in  the  strongest  light ; 
and  in  this  light  it  is  viewed  by  all  who  de- 
rive life  from  his  death,  and  healing  from  his 
wounds.  We  may  be  afraid  of  the  conse- 
quence of  sin  from  other  considerations,  but 
it  is  only  by  looking  to  him  who  was  pierced 
(Zech.  xii.  10.)  for  our  transgressions,  that 
we  can  learn  to  hate  it. 

2.  The  complete  justification  of  those  who 
oelieve  in  him.  They  are  delivered  from  all 
condemnation,  Rom  viii.  1.  Every  charge 
against  them  is  over-ruled  by  this  plea,  that 
Christ  has  died,  and  is  risen  on  their  behalf, 
and  ever  livetVi  to  make  intercession  for  them. 
And  though  they  are  still  in  a  state  of  disci- 
pline, for  the  mortification  of  sin  yet  remain- 
ing in  them,  and  though,  for  the  trial,  exercise, 
and  growth  of  their  faith,  it  is  still  needful 
that  they  pass  through  many  tribulations  ;  yet 
none  of  these  are  strictly  and  properly  penal. 
They  are  not  the  tokens  of  God's  displeasure, 
but  fatherly  chastisements  and  tokens  of  his 
love,  designed  to  promote  the  work  of  grace 
in  their  hearts,  and  to  make  them  partakers  of 
his  holiness,  Heb.  xii.  6 — 11.  Though  ne- 
cessary at  present,  they  will  not  be  necessary 
long,  and  therefore  the  hour  is  at  hand  when 
all  tears  shall  be  wiped  away  from  their  eyes, 
and  they  shall  weep  no  more.  His  true  ser- 
vants, in  the  midst  of  the  storms  by  which 
they  are  tossed  on  the  tempestuous  sea  of  this 
life,  are  no  less  safe,  and,  notwithstanding 
their  imperfections,  are  no  less  beloved,  than 
those  who  have  already  escaped  out  of  the 
reach  of  every  evil,  and  are  now  before  the 
throne. 

S.  The  reason  why  believers  are  not  weari . 
ed,  nor  overpowered,  by  all  the  difficulties  of 
their  service,  nor  by  all  the  arts  and  efforts  of 
their  enemies.  They  are  one  with  Christ.  He 
who  has  all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth  is  en- 
gaged for  their  support.  When  they  faint,  he 
revives  them  ;  when  they  are  wounded,  he  heals 
them  ;  when  their  foot  slippeth,  he  upholdeth 
them.  He  has  said,  "  because  I  live,  ye  shall 
live  also."  Therefore,  who  can  prevail  against 
them,  when  their  life  is  hidden  with  Christ  in 
God  ?  And  farther,  the  knowledge  of  their 
Saviour's  love,  and  of  the  holy,  awful,  yet  ami- 
able and  endearing  character  of  God  displayed 
in  his  mediation,  is  the  source  of  their  love, 
gratitude,  and  cheerful  obedience.  It  is  this 
makes  hard  things  easy,  and  bitter  things  sweet. 
The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  them,  2  Cor.  v. 
14.  They  look  to  him  and  are  enlightened. 
And  when  they  considerwho  heis,  in  what  way, 
and  at  what  a  price  he  redeemed  them,  and  what 
he  has  prepared  for  them  ;  when  they  attend  to 
his  gracious  word,  "  Fear  none  of  those  things 


715 


which  thou  shalt  suffer  :  be  thou  faithful  unto 
death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life" 
Rev.  ii.  10.); — they  out  of  weakness,  are 
made  strong;  they  are  inspired  with  fresh 
courage  ;  they  take  up  their  cross  with  cheer- 
fulness, and  can  adopt  the  language  of  the 
apostle,  "  None  of  these  things  move  me,  nei- 
ther count  I  my  life  dear,  so  that  I  may  finish 
my  course  with  joy,"   Acts  xx.  24. 


SERMON  XXI. 

MESSIAH  DERIDED  UPON  THE  CROSS. 

All  they  that  see  me,  laugh  me  to  scorn ;  they 
shool  out  the  Up,  they  shake  the  head,  saying 
He  trusted  in  the  Lord,  that  he  would  deliver 
him  :  let  him  deliver  him,  seeing  he  delighted 
in  him.      Psalm  xxii.  7,  8. 

Fallen  man,  though  alienated  from  the  life 
of  God,  and  degraded,  with  respect  to  many 
of  his  propensities  and  pursuits,  to  a  level  with 
the  beasts  that  perish,  is  not  wholly  destitute 
of  kind  and  compassionate  feelings  towards 
his  fellow-creatures.      While  self-interest  does 
not  interfere,  and  the  bitter  passions  of  envy, 
hatred,  malice,  and  revenge,  are  not  roused 
into  exercise,  he  has  a  degree  of  instinctive 
sympathy  with  them  in  their  sufferings,  and  a 
disposition  to  assist  them,  if  he  can  do  it  with- 
out much  detriment  to  himself.      The  source 
of  these  social  feelings  we  express  by  the  term 
humanity  ;  which  seems  to  imply  a  conscious- 
ness that  they  properly  belong  to  our  nature, 
and  that  we  ought,  at  least,  to  be  always,  and 
universally  affected  in  this  manner,  when  oc- 
casions offer.      But  while  the  heart  is  under 
the  government  of  self,  our  humanity  is  very 
partial  and  limited  ;  and  it  is  to  be  ascribed 
to  the  goodness  of  God,  rather  than  to  any 
real  goodness  in  man,  that  it  is  not  wholly  ex- 
tinguished.     Were  this  the  case,  and  were  the 
native  evils  of  the  heart  left  to  exert  them- 
selves in  their  full  strength  and  without  con- 
troul,  earth  would  be  the  very  image  of  hell, 
and  there  could  be  no  such  thing  as  society. 
But  to  prevent  things  from  running  into  ut- 
ter  confusion,    God   mercifully   preserves  in 
mankind  some  social  dispositions.      They  are, 
however,  so  weak  in  themselves,  so  powerfully 
counteracted  by  the  stronger  principles  of  our 
depravity,  and  so  frequently  suppressed  by  ob- 
stinate habits  of  wickedness,  that  in  the  pre- 
sent state  of  things,  we  may  almost  as  justly 
define  man  (whatever  impropriety  there  may 
seem  in  the  expression),  by  saying,  "  He  is 
an  inhuman  creature,"  as  by  ascribing  to  him 
the  benevolent  properties  of  humanity. 

The  rage,  cruelty,  and  savage  insensibility, 
with  which  sin  and  Satan  have  poisoned  our 
nature,  never  appear  in  so  strong  a  light,  as 
when  they  assume  a  religious  form ;  when  ig- 
norance,  bigotry,  and  blind  zeal,  oppose  the 


716 


MESSIAH  DERIDED  UPON  THE  CROSS. 


SER.  XXI. 


will  and  grace  of  God,  under  a  pretence  of 
doing  him  service.      By  this  infatuation,  every 
hateful  passion  is  sanctified,  and  every  feel- 
ing of  humanity  stifled.      Thus,  though  the 
sufferings  of  the  most  atrocious  malefactors 
usually  excite  pity  in  the  spectators,  and  often 
draw  tears  from  their  eyes,  yet  the  agonies  of 
God's  persecuted    servants,    under  the   most 
exquisite  tortures  which  malice  could  invent, 
have  frequently  raised  no  other  emotions  than 
those  of  derision  and  scorn.      My  text  leads 
us  to  consider  the   highest  instance  of   this 
kind.    The  twenty-second  psalm  undoubtedly 
refers  to  Messiah.      It  begins  with  the  very 
words  which  he  uttered  upon  the  cross  ;  nor 
could  David  speak  of  himself,   when  he  said, 
"  They  pierced  my  hands  and  my  feet."     He 
was  God's  servant  in  the  most  eminent  sense; 
and  the  service  he  performed,  was  an  uninter- 
rupted course  of  benevolence  to  the  souls  and 
bodies  of  men.      He  spent  his  life  in  going 
about  doing   good  (Acts  i.    38);    nor  could 
his  enemies  fix  a  single  stain  upon  his  con- 
duct.     Yet  they  thirsted  for  his  blood  ;  and, 
because  he  came  into  the  world  to  save  sin- 
ners,  they  accomplished  their  cruel  designs. 
We  have  already  seen  how  he  was  treated  by 
the  servants  and  by  the  soldiers,   when   con- 
demned by  the  Jewish  council,    and  by  the 
Roman   governor.      This   prophecy  was  ful- 
filled when  he  hung  upon  the  cross.      There 
have  been  persons  in  our  own   days,   whose 
crimes  have  excited  such  detestation,  that  the 
populace  would  probably  have  torn  them  in 
pieces,  before,   and  even  after  their  trial,   if 
they   could  have  had   them   in  their  power. 
Yet  when  these  very  obnoxious  persons  have 
been  executed  according  to  their  sentence,  if, 
perhaps,    there    was    not  one   spectator    who 
wished  them  to  escape,  yet  neither  was  one 
found  so  lost  to  sensibility,  as  to  insult  them 
in  their   dying  moments.      But  when   Jesus 
suffers,  all  that  see  him,  laugh  him  to  scorn ; 
they  shoot  out  the  lip,  they  shake  the  head  ; 
they  insult  his  character,  and  his  hope.      The 
evangelists  furnish  us  with  an  affecting  com- 
ment upon  this  passage.      They  inform  us  by 
whom  he  was  thus  scorned  and  derided  ;  they 
mention  some  circumstances,  which  strongly 
mark   the   peculiar    and    excessive    contempt 
with  which  he  was  treated  ;  and  they  take  no- 
tice of  the  especial  scope  and  object  of  their 
insults,  namely,  the  gracious  purpose  he  had 
often    expressed    towards    sinners,    and    the 
strong  confidence  he  had  avowed  in  God  his 
Father. 

I.  The  persons  who  scorned  and  derided 
him  were  various,  and  of  different  characters. 
I.  The  chief  priests,  elders,  and  rulers  of 
the  people.  When  these,  who  were  held  in 
ignorant  admiration  by  the  multitude,  set  the 
example,  we  do  not  wonder  that  it  was  gene- 
rally followed.  They  had  been  his  most  a- 
vowed  and  determined  enemies,  they  had  long 
conspired  to  take  away  his  life,    and   in   the 


appointed  hour  their  plots  were  permitted  to 
succeed.  They  now  rejoiced  in  their  success. 
By  their  office  as  teachers  and  expounders  of 
the  law,  they  ought  to  have  pointed  him  out 
to  the  people  as  the  object  of  their  reverence 
and  hope;  but  having  rejected  him  themselves, 
they  employed  all  their  authority  and  influ- 
ence to  make  him  the  object  of  general  con- 
tempt. And  lest  the  extremity  of  his  tor- 
ments should  awaken  sentiments  of  commise- 
ration in  the  multitude,  they  were  the  first, 
and  the  loudest,  in  reviling  him,  as  he  hung 
upon  the  cross. 

2.  The  populace  derided  him.  They  had 
been  instigated  by  the  priests  to  demand  his 
death  of  Pilate,  when  he  was  desirous  of  dis- 
missing him,  and  rather  to  insist  that  Barab- 
bas  should  be  spared,  Matth.  xxvii.  20.  The 
populace,  though  no  less  ignorant,  were'less 
malicious  than  their  leaders.  At  different 
times,  when  they  heard  his  public  discourses, 
and  saw  his  wonderful  works,  they  had  beer 
staggered,  and  constrained  to  say,  "  Is  not  this 
the  Son  of  David  ?"  and  not  many  days  be- 
fore, the  popular  cry  had  been  strongly  in  his 
favour  (Matth.  xxi.  10,  11);  though  quickly 
after,  it  was,  "  Crucify  him,  crucify  him," 
Luke  xxiii.  21.  As  the  sea,  though  some- 
times smooth,  is  always  disposed  to  obey  the 
impulse  of  the  wind,  so  the  common  people, 
though  easily  roused  to  oppose  the  truth, 
would  perhaps  be  quiet,  if  they  were  Left  to 
themselves ;  but  there  are  seldom  wanting 
artful  and  designing  men,  who,  by  a  pretend- 
ed regard  for  religion,  and  by  misrepresenta- 
tions, work  upon  their  passions  and  prejudices, 
and  stir  them  up  to  a  compliance  with  their 
purposes.  The  priests  by  degrees  wrought 
the  populace  up.  first  to  reject  Messiah,  and 
then  to  join  their  leaders  in  mocking  and  de- 
riding him. 

3.  The  Roman  soldiers,  who  had  contemp- 
tuously clothed  him  with  a  scarlet  robe,  and 
bowed  the  knee  before  him  in  derision,  con- 
tinued to  mock  him  when  hanging  upon  the 
cross.  The  Romans,  to  whom  many  monar- 
chies were  become  subject  and  tributary,  af- 
fected to  despise  the  name  of  king  ;  and  they 
held  the  Jewish  nation  in  peculiar  contempt. 
The  title,  therefore,  of  king  of  the  Jews,  af- 
fixed to  his  cross,  afforded  them  a  subject  for 
the  keenest  sarcasm. 

4.  Yea,  such  is  the  hardness  of  the  human 
heart,  that  one  of  the  malefactors  (Luke  xxiii. 
39),  who  was  crucified  by  his  side,  unaffected 
with  his  own  guilt,  and  insensible  of  the  just 
judgment  of  God,  and  of  the  account  he  was 
soon  to  render  at  his  awful  tribunal,  seemed 
to  seek  some  relief  in  the  midst  of  his  agonies, 
by  joining  with  the  priests  and  people,  in  rail- 
ing on  the  innocent  Jesus,  who  was  suffering 
before  his  eyes.  Thus  he  was  the  object  of 
universal  derision.  They  who  were  at  the 
greatest  distance  in  character  and  sentiment, 
who  differed  from,  despised,  and  hated  each 


MESSIAH  DERIDED   UPON  THE  CROSS. 


SER.  XXI. 

other,  on  other  accounts,  united  as  one  man, 
in  expressing  every  possible  mark  of  hatred 
and  scorn  against  him,  who  had  done  nothing 
amiss. 

II.  They  shewed  their  scorn  in  the  most 
pointed  and  cruel  manner.  Not  only  they 
who  had  clamoured  for  his  death  derided  him, 
but  others  who  were  only  passing  by  upon 
their  ordinary  occasions,  could  not  pass  on  till 
they  had  stopped  a  while  to  insult  him,  wagg- 
ng  their  heads,  and  reminding  him  of  what 
ne  had  formerly  said,  and  charging  him  with 
the  supposed  folly  and  arrogance  of  his  claims. 
They  jested  upon  his  wants  ;  when  he  said, 
"  I  thirst,"  they  gave  him  vinegar  to  drink, 
mingled  with  gall.  They  jested  upon  his 
words;  when  he  uttered  his  dolorous  com- 
plaint, "  Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabachthani,  My  God, 
my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  some 
of  them,  with  a  malicious  turn  (which  possi- 
bly was  applauded  for  wit  by  others),  from 
the  sound  of  the  beginning  of  the  sentence, 
took  occasion  to  suggest,  that  by  saying,  Eli, 
Eli,  he  called  for  Elias  the  prophet  to  come 
to  his  assistance.  Alas !  of  what  dreadful 
malignity  and  obduracy  is  the  heart  of  man 
capable  ?  How  may  we  conceive  the  heavenly 
hosts  to  have  been  affected  with  this  scene, 
when  they  beheld  their  Lord  the  object  of 
their  worship  and  supreme  love,  thus  treated 
by  sinners  ?  But  it  behoved  him  thus  to  suf- 
fer (Luke  xxiv.  26),  for  he  had  undertaken 
to  expiate  the  sins  of  many  of  his  murderers, 
and  to  offer  such  satisfaction  to  the  justice 
and  law  of  God,  as  might  render  it  consistent 
with  his  holiness  and  truth,  to  pardon  the 
vilest  offenders,  who  should  trust  in  his  name, 
in  all  future  ages.  Therefore  there  was  no 
voice,  arrest,  or  interposition  from  the  heaven- 
.  ly  world — thus  he  must  be  tormented,  thus 
he  must  be  scorned,  and  suspended  as  a  spec- 
tacle to  angels  and  to  men,  till  he  had  paid 
the  full  price  of  redemption,  and  could  say, 
"  It  is  finished."  Then,  and  not  till  then,  he 
bowed  his  head,  and  breathed  out  his  spirit 
into  his  Father's  hands.  There  were,  how- 
ever, attestations  to  his  dignity,  in  this  his 
lowest  state.  He  shewed,  by  his  gracious 
answer  to  the  penitent  malefactor,  that  he  had 
still  authority  upon  earth  to  forgive  sin,  and 
to  save  to  the  uttermost;  and  the  sun  with- 
drew  his  light,  and  the  rocks  rent,  though 
daring  sinners  derided  and  mocked. 

III.  The  bulk  of  the  people  bore  their  part 
in  this  tragedy  through  precipitation  and  ig- 
norance. In  his  prayer  for  their  forgiveness 
(a  prayer  which  was  signally  answered  after 
his  ascension)  he  mentioned  the  only  extenu- 
ation their  wickedness  could  possibly  admit, 
They  knew  not  what  they  did.  It  was  other- 
wise with  those  who  were  principally  concern- 
ed in  procuring  his  death.  Long  before, 
when  they  could  not  deny  the  reality  of  his 
miracles,  they  ascribed  them  to  the  agency  of 


717 


Beelzebub.  By  this  malicious,  wilful  oppo- 
sition to  the  strongest  evidence  of  fact,  against 
the  conviction  of  their  own  minds,  and  by 
their  violent,  determined  rejection  of  his 
mission,  they  committed  the  unpardonable 
sin.  They  spoke  and  sinned  against  the 
Holy  Spirit.  This  sin  no  one  can  have  com- 
mitted, while  he  is  fearful  lest  he  has  com- 
mitted it. ;  for  it  essentially  consists  in  a  de- 
liberate and  wilful  refusal  of  the  only  means 
of  salvation.  It  is  the  sign  of  final  absolute 
impenitence.  They  who  had  thus  ascribed 
his  miracles  to  Beelzebub,  expressed  the  same 
height  of  enlightened  malice  against  him  in 
his  dying  agonies,  and  there  was  a  poignancy 
in  their  insults,  of  which  the  ignorant  multi- 
tude were  not  capable. 

1.  They  reproached  his  great  design,  for 
which  he  came  into  the  world,  "  He  saved 
others,  himself  he  cannot  save,"  Matt,  xxvii. 
42.  How  different  is  the  force  of  the  same 
words,  according  to  the  intention  of  the  speak- 
er !  When  they  said  "  His  blood  be  upon  us, 
and  upon  our  children"  (ver.  25),  they  spoke 
the  very  language  of  the  hearts  of  those  who 
love  him,  and  who  derive  all  their  hopes  and 
all  their  happiness  from  the  application  of  his 
blood  to  their  consciences.  But,  to  them- 
selves, it  proved  the  moat  dreadful  impreca- 
tion. So,  it  will  be  the  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  people  in  time,  and  to  eternity, 
that  when  he  was  resolved  to  save  them,  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  were  so  great,  that  nei- 
ther his  prayers,  nor  his  tears,  nor  his  un- 
spotted innocence,  could  prevail  to  save  him- 
self. But,  for  this  his  love  to  sinners,  his 
enemies  reviled  him.  Nor  would  they  have 
offered  to  believe  if  he  would  come  down 
from  the  cross,  had  they  supposed  there  was 
the  least  probability  of  such  an  event,  for 
they  had  often  rejected  evidence  equal  to  what 
they  now  demanded. 

2.  They  reproached  him  for  his  trust  and 
confidence  in  God.  He  had  said  that  God 
was  (iSi/rn)  his  own  Father  (John  v.  18)  ;  and 
they  understood  him  to  use  the  expression  in 
so  high  a  sense,  as  thereby  to  make  himself 
equal  with  God.  Had  they  misunderstood 
him,  had  he  not  really  intended  what  they 
laid  to  his  charge,  surely  he  would  have  ex- 
plained himself.  This  was  the  very  ground 
of  their  proceeding  against  him  before  the 
council,  and  the  formal  reason  of  the  sen- 
tence of  death  they  pronounced  against  him. 
How  often  did  he  appeal  to  the  testimony  of 
the  scriptures,  and  of  John,  whom  they  durst 
not  but  acknowledge  to  have  been  a  prophet, 
and  to  his  own  mighty  works,  in  support  of 
his  claim  ?  But  having  fastened  him  upon 
the  cross,  they  triumphed,  and  unwittingly 
expressed  their  exultation,  in  the  very  words 
which  David  had  foretold  should  be  used  to 
Messiah.  So  exactly  were  the  scriptures  ful- 
filled, by  those  who  used  their  utmost  endea- 


718  MESSIAH   UNPITJED, 

vours  to  evade  them,  and  to  prevent  their  ac- 
complishment. 

But  what  is  all  this  to  us  ?  It  is  very  much 
to  us.  Christ  could  suffer  but  once,  yet  we 
read  of  those  who  crucify  him  afresh.  His 
gospel  represents  his  personal  ministry,  de- 
clares his  character,  reveals  his  love,  pro- 
duces the  same  effects  in  those  who  receive  it, 
and  they  who  oppose  it  are  considered  as  op- 
posing him,  and  are  influenced  by  the  same 
spirit  which  instigated  the  unbelieving  Jews. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  many  reject  and  scorn 


SEH      XXII. 


SERMON   XXII. 

MESSIAH  UNPITIED,  AND  WITHOUT  COMFORTER. 

Reproach  [rebuke]  hath  broken  my  heart,  and 
I  am  full   of  heaviness  ;   and   I  looked  Jot 
some  to  take  pity,  but  there  was  none,  and 
for  comforters,  but  I  found  none. 

Psalm,  lxix.  20. 


it,  as  the  multitude  did  of  old,  through  igno- 
rance,  and  that  the  intercession  of  him  who 
prayed  for  those  that  knew  not  what  they  did, 
will  prevail  for  their  conversion.      Whenever 
their  eyes  are  opened,  they  will  be  pricked  to 
the  heart  (Acts  ii.  37),  and  will  then  gladly 
inquire    of   those    whom    they   now    despise, 
What  they  must  do  to  be  saved  ?     But  it  is 
to  be  feared,  there  are  in  christian  countries 
many  persons  who    too   nearly  resemble  the 
spirit  and  conduct  of  the  Jewish  rulers,  whose 
opposition  proceeds  from  rooted  enmity  to  the 
truth,  persisted  in  against  light  that  has  some- 
times   forced    upon    their    minds,    and   who, 
though    convinced,    will    not   be    persuaded. 
They  who  despise,  calumniate,  and  scorn  the 
believers  of  the  gospel,   would  certainly  offer 
the  like  treatment  to  the  Author  of  it,   if  he 
was  within  their  reach.      They  are  ill-treated 
for  his  sake,  and  he  considers  it  as  an  affront 
to  himself.      Thus  he  said  to  Saul  of  Tarsus, 
when   breathing  out  threatenings  against  his 
disciples,  "  Why  persecutest  thou  me  ?"   They 
who  reject  his  ministers,  reject  him,   Luke  x. 
16.       They  who  speak  disdainfully  of  his  dy- 
ing himself  to  save  others  ;  they  who  reproach 
or  ridicule  the  humble  confidence  of  his  peo- 
ple ;  who  censure  and  revile  their  hopes  and 
comforts  derived  from  his  good  word,  as  en- 
thusiasm or  hypocrisy  ;  who  have  no  compas- 
sion  for   their   distresses,   but   rather   wound 
them  as  with  a  sword  in  their  bones,  saying 
unto  them,   Where  is  now  your  God  ?   (Psal. 
ex  v.  2.)  are  certainly  treading,  if  not  altoge- 
ther with  equal  vehemence,  in  the  footsteps  of 
the  Jewish  rulers. — May  the  Lord  in  mercy 
shew  them  the  danger  of  their  path,  and  give 
them  a  timely  apprehension  of  the  destruction 
to   which   it  leads  !    That   they  may  humble 
themselves   to  his  will,   implore   his   pardon, 
espouse   his  cause,  and  experience  the  com- 
forts and  privileges  of  that  gospel  which  they 
have    hitherto  reviled  and  scorned. 


The  greatness  of  suffering  cannot  be  certainly 
estimated  by  the  single  consideration  of  the 
immediate  apparent  cause ;  the  impression  it 
actually  makes  upon  the  mind  of  the  sufferer 
must  likewise  be  taken  into  the  account.    That 
which  is  a  heavy  trial  to  one  person,  may  to 
another  be  much  lighter,  and  perhaps  no  trial 
at  all ;  and  a  state  of  outward  prosperity,  in 
which  the  eye  of  a  bystander  can  see  nothing 
wanting  to  happiness,  may  be,  and   I  doubt 
not  often  is,   a  state  of  torment  to  the  pos- 
sessor.     On   the  other  hand,   we   know  that 
the  consolations  with  which  it  has  sometimes 
pleased  God  to  cheer  his  suffering  servants, 
have  enabled  them  to  rejoice  in  the  greatest 
extremities.      They  have  triumphed  upon  the 
rack,  and  while  their  flesh  was  consuming  by 
the  fire.      The  Lord  has  had  many  followers, 
who,  for  his  sake,  have  endured  scourgings, 
and   tortures,    and  terrible   deaths,   not  only 
without  reluctance  or  dismay,  but  without  a 
groan.    But  he  himself  was  terrified,  amazed, 
and  filled  with  anguish,  when  he  suffered  for 
us.       Shall   we   say,   The   disciples,   in    such 
cases,  have  been    superior    to   their   Master, 
when   yet  they  acknowledged   that  they  de- 
rived all   their  strength  and  resolution   from 
him  ?       This   difference  cannot    be  well   ac- 
counted for  by  those  who  deny  that  his  suf- 
ferings were  a  proper  atonement  for  sin,  and 
who  can  see   no  other  reason  for  his  death, 
than  that  by  dying  he  was  to  seal  the  truth  of 
his  doctrine,  and  to  propose  himself  to  us  as 
an  example  of  constancy  and  patience.      But 
the  great  aggravation  of  Messiah's  sufferings 
was  the  suspension  of  those  divine  supports 
which  enable  his  people  to  endure  the  sever- 
est afflictions  to  which  he  calls  them.    Perhaps 
some  persons  who   acknowledge    our  Lord's 
true  character,  may,  upon  that  ground,   think 
his  agonies  less  insupportable,  since  he  was 
not  a  mere  man,  but  God  in  the  human  na- 
ture.     It  was  indeed  the  dignity  of  his  per- 
son  that   gave   influence   and   efficacy  to   all 
that  he   did  and  suffered  for  sinners.      It  is 
likewise  true  that  the  weight  laid  upon  him 
was  more  than  any  mere  creature  could  sus- 
tain.     I  would  speak  with  reverence  and  re- 
serve upon  a  point  which  is  too  high  for  our 
weak    minds    fully   to    comprehend ;    but    in 
whatever  way  the  nature  of  man,   which  he 
assumed,    was  upheld    by  his   eternal    power 
and  Godhead,  we  may  venture  to  affirm  thai 


SEK.    XXII. 


AND  WITHOUT  COMFORTER. 


719 


he  derived  no  sensible  comfort  from  it.  For 
we  have  his  own  testimony,  that  in  this  sense 
God  had  forsaken  him.  The  divine  nature 
could  neither  bleed  nor  suffer.  He  was  truly 
and  properly  a  man ;  and  as  a  man  he  suf- 
fered, and  he  suffered  alone.  Many  of  his 
servants  have  rejoiced  while  they  were  tor- 
mented, because  God  overbalanced  all  they 
felt  with  the  light  of  his  countenance ;  but 
the  Saviour  himself,  deprived  of  this  light, 
experienced,  to  the  uttermost,  all  that  sin  de- 
served, that  was  not  inconsistent  with  the  per- 
fection of  his  character.  My  text  expresses, 
so  far  as  human  words  and  ideas  can  reach, 
his  exquisite  distress,  when  he  bore  our  sins 
in  his  own  body,  upon  the  tree.  Reproach 
broke  his  heart,  and  when  he  looked  for  pity 
and  comfort,  he  found  none. 

I.  Reproach  hath  broken  my  heart. — We 
must  not  confine  our  thoughts  here  to  the  re- 
proach of  his  enemies.  The  passage  in  the 
Messiah  expresses  it  agreeably  to  the  version 
of  the  Psalms  used  in  our  liturgy,  Thy  rebuke. 
Though  he  knew  no  sin,  he  was  made  sin  for 
us.  He  was  accounted  and  treated  as  a  sin- 
ner. Now  a  sinner  is  deservedly  the  greatest 
object  of  contempt  in  the  universe,  and  in- 
deed the  only  object  of  deserved  contempt. 
Thus  he  incurred  the  reproach  of  the  law  and 
justice  of  God.  The  Holy  Father,  viewing 
the  Son  of  his  love  in  this  light,  as  charged 
with  the  sins  of  his  people,  forsook  him. 
God  infinitely  hates  sin,  and  will  have  no  fel- 
lowship with  it ;  and  of  this  he  gave  the  most 
awful  proof,  by  forsaking  his  beloved  Son, 
when  he  took  upon  him  to  answer  for  the  sins 
of  men.  Then  the  sword  of  the  Almighty 
awoke  against  him,  and  he  spared  him  not, 
Zech.  xiii.  7. 

This  rebuke  broke  his  heart.  Let  broken- 
hearted sinners  look  by  faith  upon  a  broken- 
hearted Saviour.  The  phrase  denotes  woe 
and  dejection  inconceivable,  with  a  failure  of 
all  resource.  Any  thing  may  be  borne  while 
the  spirit,  the  heart  remains  firm,  but  if  the 
heart  itself  be  broken,  who  can  endure.  "  A 
wounded  spirit  who  can  bear?"  Proverbs, 
xviii.  14. 

It  is  not  therefore,  surprising,  that  he  says, 
"  I  am  full  of  heaviness."      In  the  evangelists 
read,  that  "  he  began  to  be  sore  amazed 

Mark 
My 
soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death." 
The  most  emphatical  words  are  used  to  de- 
scribe his  sensation  of  the  bitter  conflict  of 
his  soul  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  when 
as  yet  the  hand  of  man  had  not  touched  him. 
He  began  (Ix&afAGiKr&xi)  to  be  amazed  or  asto- 
nished. It  properly  signifies,  to  be  struck 
with  terror  and  surprise  by  some  supernatural 
power,  such  as  Belshazzar  felt  when  he  sud- 
denly saw  the  handwriting  against  him  upon 
the  wall  (Dan.  v.  6)  ;  and  {ahti[/.ovity)  to  be 
'cry  heavy,  sated  with  grief,  full,  so  as  to  be 


we 

and  very  heavy"  (Mat.   xxvi.  37,   38; 

xiv.  33) ;  and  he  said  to  his  disciples, 


incapable  of  more.  Some  critics  explain  the 
word,  as  importing  such  an  oppression  of  mind 
as  quite  unfits  a  person  for  converse  or  so- 
ciety. [Compare  Job  xxx.  29.]  He  said 
"  My  soul  is  (trsjiXvxo;)  exceeding  sorrowful," 
— surrounded,  encompassed  with  sorrows.  It 
is  added,  he  was  in  {ocyuna)  an  agony  (Luke 
xxii.  44), — a  consternation  of  mind,  such  as 
arises  from  the  prospect  of  some  impending, 
unavoidable  evil,  like  the  suspense  of  marin- 
ers upon  the  point  of  shipwreck,  who  tremble 
equally  at  the  view  of  the  raging  waves  be- 
hind them,  and  the  rocky  shore  before  their 
eyes,  on  which  they  expect  in  a  few  moments 
to  be  dashed.  The  evils  he  was  to  bear  and 
to  expiate  were  now  collecting  to  a  point,  and 
formed  a  dark  tremendous  storm,  just  ready 
to  break  upon  his  devoted  head,  and  the  pro- 
spect filled  his  soul  with  unutterable  horror, 
so  that  his  sweat  was,  as  it  were,  great  drops 
of  blood  falling  down  to  the  ground.  Many 
have  sweat  under  extremity  of  pain  or  terror, 
but  his  agonies,  and  the  effect  of  them,  were 
peculiar  to  himself:    His  sweat  was  blood. 

This  is  not  a  subject  for  declamation.      It 
rather  becomes  us  to  adore  in  humble  silence 
the  manifestation  of  the  goodness  and  severity 
of  God   (Rom.   xi.    22)   in    the   Redeemer's 
sufferings,  than  to  indulge  conjecture  and  the 
flights  of  imagination.      What  is  expressly  re- 
vealed we  may  assert,  contemplate,  and  ad- 
mire.   His  soul  was  made  an  offering  for  sin, 
Isa.  liii.  10.      We  know  but  little  of  the  ex- 
treme malignity  of  sin,  because  we  have  but 
faint  views  of  the  majesty,  holiness,  and  good- 
ness of  God,  against  whom  it  is  committed. 
Yet  a  single  sin,  if  clothed  with  all  its  aggra- 
vations, and  the  guilt  of  it  brought  home  with 
power  to  the  heart,  is  sufficient  to  make  the 
sinner  a  terror  to  himself.      Adam  had  sinned 
but  once  when  he  lost  all  comfort  and  confi- 
dence in   God,   and  sought  to   hide  himself. 
We   have   but  slight  thoughts  of  the  extent 
of  sin.      Not  only  positive  disobedience,   but 
want  of  conformity  to  the  law  of  God,  is  sin- 
ful.     Every  rising  thought  which   does   not 
comport  with  that  reverence,  dependence,  and 
love  which  is  due  to  God  from  creatures  con- 
stituted, furnished,  and  indebted  as  we  are, 
is  sinful.      The  sins  of  one  person  in  thought, 
word,  and  deed,  sins  of  omission  and  com- 
mission, are  innumerable.    What  then  is  con- 
tained in  the  collective  idea,  in  what  the  scrip- 
ture calls  the  sin  of  the  world  ?     What  then 
must  be  the  atonement,  the  consideration  on 
the  account  of  which  the  great  God  is  no  less 
righteous  than  merciful,  in  forgiving  the  sins, 
which  hi-s  inviolable  truth,  and  the  honour  of 
his  government,  engage  him  to  punish.     And 
they  are  punished,  though   forgiven.      They 
were  charged  upon  Jesus  ;  they  exposed  him 
to  a  rebuke  which  broke  his   heart.       They 
filled  him  with  heaviness.      When,  therefore, 
we  are  assured  that  the  justice  of  God  is  sa- 
tisfied, with  respect  to  every  sinner  of  the  race 


720 

of  mankind,  who,  in  obedience  to  the  divine 
command,  makes  the  sufferings  of  the  Saviour 
his  plea  far  pardon,  and  trusts  in  him  for  sal- 
vation, and  that  upon  this  one  ground  they 
are  freed  from  all  condemnation,  and  accepted 
as  children;  when  we  are  tolu  that  the  glory 
of  the  divine  perfections  is  displayed  in  the 
highest,  by  this  method  of  saving  millions 
who  deserved  to  perish,  we  safely  infer  the 
greatness  of  the  cause  from  the  greatness  of 
the  effect.  The  sufferings  of  Christ,  which 
free  a  multitude  of  sinners  from  the  guilt  of 
innumerable  sins,  must  have  been  inconceiv- 
ably great  indeed  ! 

IT.  Under  this  accumulated  distress,  though 
his  will  was  perfectly  submissive  to  the  will 
of  God,  and  his  determination  fixed  to  en- 
dure all  that  the  case  required ;  yet  as  he  was 
truly  a  man,  he  felt  like  a  man.  His  forti- 
tude was  very  different  from  a  stoical  hard- 
ness of  spirit.  All  the  affections  of  pure  hu- 
manity, whatever  does  not  imply  sin,  such  as 
impatience  under  suffering,  and  an  undue, 
premature  desire  of  deliverance,  operated  in 
him,  as  they  might  do  in  one  of  us.  It  was 
no  impeachment  of  I. is  innocence,  or  of  his 
willingness,  that  he  wished,  if  it  were  possible, 
for  some  relief  or  alleviation  of  his  misery. 
He  looked,  as  we  do  when  we  are  in  heavi- 
ness, for  some  to  have  pity  on  him,  and  to 
comfort  him,  but  there  was  none.  Though 
the  pity  of  our  friends  is  often  ineffectual, 
and  can  afford  us  no  real  assistance,  yet  it 
sives  a  little  relief  to  have  those  about  us  to 
whom  we  can  open  our  minds,  who  will  sym- 
pathize with  us,  and  compassionately  attend 
to  our  complaints,  if  they  can  do  no  more. 
And  to  be  neglected  and  forsaken  in  extre- 
mity, especially  by  those  who  have  professed 
great  friendship,  or  are  under  great  obliga- 
tions to  us,  will  be  felt  as  an  aggravation  of 
the  most  distressing  case  that  can  be  ima- 
gined. But  thus  it  was  with  Messiah.  He 
had  to  complain,  not  only  of  the  cruelty  of 
his  enemies,  but  of  the  insensibility  and  in- 
constancy of  those  who  had  professed  the  most 
cordial  attachment  to  him.  The  impression 
thus  made  upon  him  as  a  man  was  such,  that 
it  is  distinctly  specified  in  the  prophetical 
enumeration  of  the  ingredients  which  com- 
posed the  bitter  cup  of  his  sufferings. 

He  was  not  only  apprehended  by  cruel  men, 
but  betrayed  into  their  hands  by  one  whom  he 
had  admitted  into  the  number  of  his  select 
apostles,  who  had  been  employed  in  his  ser- 
vice, favoured  with  access  to  him  in  his  more 
retired  hours,  and  was  present,  with  the  rest, 
when  he  kept  his  last  passover,  and  took  his 
solemn  and  affectionate  leave  of  them  before 
he  entered  upon  his  passion.  It  was  not  an 
avowed  enemy,  but  one  of  the  twelve  who  dip- 
ped with  him  in  the  dish,  that  was  guilty  of 
this  enormous  ingratitude  and  treachery.  How 
keen  are  our  resentments,  if  those  to  whom 
we  have  shewn  great  kindness  are  discovered 


MESSIAH  UNPITIED,    &C 


SEK.  XX I  r. 

to  have  studied  our  ruin  while  they  wore  the 
mask  of  friendship  ?  Though  Messiah  was  in- 
capable of  any  sinful  perturbation  of  mind,  he 
was  very  capable  of  being  painfully  affected 
by  the  conduct  of  Judas  :  he  had  reason  to 
look  for  pity  from  him,  but  he  found  none. 

When  he  entered  the  garden  of  Gethsemanc, 
he  commanded,  may  I  not  say,  he  intreated, 
his  disciples  to  tarry  there  and  watch  with  him. 
And  to  engage  their  utmost  attention,  he  spoke 
plainly  to  them  of  his  distress,  saying,  "  My 
soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful  even  unto  death." 
Yet  when  he  returned  unto  them,  the  first, 
the  second,  yea,  the  third  time,  he  found  them 
sleeping.  How  tender,  yet  how  forcible  was 
his  expostulation  !  "  Could  ye  not  watch  one 
hour?"  Matth.  xxvii.  40.  What!  could  they 
know  that  their  Lord  was  in  an  agony,  wrest- 
ling with  strong  cries  and  tears,  and  yet  sleep  ! 
as  regardless  of  his  sorrows  as  of  their  owr. 
approaching  danger  !  Were  our  dearest  friends 
to  shew  themselves  equally  insensible  when  we 
were  in  extreme  anguish,  would  not  their  in- 
difference wound  our  spirits  ?  He  also  was  a 
man;  and  we  may  conceive  it  some  addition 
to  his  grief,  that  when  he  looked  to  them  for 
pity  and  comfort,  he  found  none. 

When  he  was  apprehended,  notwithstanding 
their  former  protestation  of  zeal  and  love, 
they  all  forsook  him  and  fled,  Matt.  xxvi.  .56. 
They  sought  their  own  safety,  and  left  him  in 
the  hands  of  his  enemies.  The  apostle  Paul 
was  thus  deserted,  and  his  expressions  inti 
mate  that  he  felt  it.  "  At  my  first  answer, 
no  man  stood  by  me,  all  men  forsook  me,' 
2  Tim.  iv.  16.  He  had  imbibed  likewise  the 
spirit  of  his  master,  and  prayed  that  it  might 
not  be  laid  to  their  charge.  And  though  the 
Lord  Jesus  pitied  and  excused  the  weakness 
of  his  disciples,  and  permitted  them  to  take 
care  of  themselves,  it  was  in  them  an  instance 
how  little  he  could  depend  upon  those  who 
were  under  the  strongest  obligations  to  him. 

But  Peter  followed  his  Lord  to  the  hall  of 
the  High  Priest,  and  there  saw  him,  with  his 
own  eyes,  insulted,  arraigned,  and  unjustly 
condemned.  Might  he  not  expect  that  Peter, 
the  most  active  and  earnest  of  all  his  follow- 
ers, would  have  pitied  him,  at  least  at  such  a 
time.  Alas  !  instead  of  pitying  him,  Peter 
denied  him;  he  denied,  with  oaths  and  im- 
precations, that  he  had  any  knowledge  of  him, 
whom  he  had  seen  transfigured  upon  the 
mount,  and  agonizing  in  the  garden.  We 
read,  that  the  Lord  turned  and  looked  upon 
Peter,  Luke  xxiv.  61.  Who  can  conceive 
the  energy  of  that  look  ?  It  was  full  of  mean- 
ing, and  Peter  well  understood  it.  Surely, 
thoush  a  look  of  tenderness  and  compassion, 
it  conveyed  the  expostulation  of  an  injured 
benefactor,  no  less  forcibly,  than  if  all  who 
were  present  had  heard  him  say,  "  Peter,  is 
this  the  pity  1  am  to  expect  from  thee  ?" 

When  he  was  nailed  to  the  cross,  he  was 
surrounded  only  by  enemies.      These,  as  we 


SliR.  XXIII. 


NO   SORROW    LIKE  MESSIAH  S   SORROW. 


721 


have  seen,  far  from  pitying,  or  attempting  to 
comfort  him,  derided  and  mocked  him.  How 
have  some  of  us  felt  for  our  friends  in  their 
dying  hours,  though  we  have  seen  every  pos- 
sible attention  paid  to  them,  and  every  thing 
provided  and  done  for  them  that  could  admi- 
nister to  their  relief  and  comfort !  But  they 
who  have  the  faith  which  realizes  unseen 
things,  have  beheld  their  best  Friend  expiring 
in  tortures,  and  insulted  by  his  murderers  in 
his  last  moments. 

But  had  all  his  disciples  been  near  him, 
and  had  all  his  enemies  been  his  friends,  still, 
in  his  situation,  he  would  have  been  alone. 
The  loss  of  the  light  of  God's  countenance 
will,  to  the  soul  that  has  enjoyed  it,  create  a 
universal  solitude,  and  render  every  earthly 
good  tasteless,  in  proportion  as  that  soul  is 
united  to  him  in  love;  and  still  more,  if  there 
be  superadded  a  sense  of  his  displeasure. 
They  who  have  never  tasted  that  the  Lord  is 
good,  not  having  known  the  difference,  can 
have  no  conception  of  this  subject.  Their 
minds  are  at  present  occupied  with  earthly 
things;  and  while  they  are  thus  engaged  with 
trifles,  they  cannot  believe,  though  they  are 
repeatedly  told  it,  that  to  an  immortal  spirit, 
a  separation  from  the  favour  of  God  involves 
in  it  the  very  essence  of  misery.  But  should 
death  surprise  them  in  their  sins,  tear  them 
from  all  that  they  have  seen  and  loved,  and 
plunge  them  into  an  unknown,  unchangeable 
world,  then  (alas  !  too  late  !)  they  will  be  sen- 
sible of  their  immense,  irreparable  loss,  in  be- 
ing cut  off  from  the  fountain  of  life  and  com- 
fort. A  suspension  of  this  divine  presence, 
with  an  awful  sense  and  feeling  of  what  those 
for  whom  he  made  himself  responsible  deserv- 
ed, was  the  most  dreadful  part  of  the  Re- 
deemer's sufferings.  He  was  perfectly  united 
to  the  will  and  love  of  his  heavenly  Father, 
and,  by  the  perfect  holiness  of  his  nature,  in- 
capable of  tasting  satisfaction  in  any  thing 
else,  if  his  presence  were  withdrawn.  But 
when  he  endured  the  curse  of  the  law  for  us, 
he  looked  to  God  for  pity  and  comfort,  but 
he  found  none. 

In  this  glass  we  are  to  contemplate  the  de- 
merit of  sin  But  there  are  some  sufferings 
due  to  the  impenitent  sinner,  of  which  Mes- 
siah was  not  capable.  I  mean  the  conscious- 
ness of  personal  guilt,  the  gnawings  of  are 
morseful  conscience,  and  the  rage  of  despair. 
If  we  add  the  idea  of  eternity  to  the  whole, 
we  may  form  some  faint  judgment  of  what 
they  are  delivered  from  who  believe  in  him, 
and  what  misery  awaits  those  who  presume  to 
reject  him.  Awful  thought  !  to  reject  the 
only  Saviour.  If  they  refuse  his  mediation, 
they  must  answer  in  their  own  persons.  Then 
they  will  find  no  pity,  no  comforter !  For 
who,  or  what,  can  comfort,  when  the  Lord 
God  Omnipotent  arises  to  punish?  What  will 
your  pleasures,  your  wealth,  or  friends,  do  for 
you,  when  the  hand  of  the  Lord  shall  touch 


you  to  the  quick  ?  What  smile  can  you  ex- 
pect will  support  you  against  the  terror  of  his 
frown  ? 

Should  any  of  you  hear  the  Messiah  per- 
formed again,  then  and  there,  if  not  before, 
may  God  impress  upon  your  heart  the  sense 
of  this  passage.  Then  you  will  understand, 
that  the  sufferings  of  the  Son  of  God  are  by 
no  means  a  proper  subject  for  the  amusement 
of  a  vacant  hour. 


SERMON   XXIII. 

NO  SORROW  LIKE  MESSIAH'S  SORROW. 

Is  it  nothing  to  you,  all  ye  that  pass  by  ?  Be- 
hold, and  see,  if  there  he  any  sorrow  like  unto 
my  sorrow  f    Lamentations,  i.  12. 

Although  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testa. 
ment,  the  law  of  Moses,  the  psalms,  and  the 
prophecies  (Luke  xxiv.  44),  bear  a  harmoni- 
ous testimony  to  Messiah,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  suppose,  that  every  single  passage  has  an 
immediate  and  direct  relation  to  him.  A 
method  of  exposition  has  frequently  obtained, 
of  a  fanciful  and  allegorical  cast,  under  the 
pretext  of  spiritualizing  the  word  of  God. 
Ingenious  men,  and  sometimes  men  not  very 
ingenious,  have  endeavoured  to  discover  types 
and  mysteries  in  the  plainest  historical  parts, 
where  we  have  no  sufficient  evidence  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  intended  to  teach  them.  And 
upon  very  slight  grounds  a  proof  has  been  at- 
tempted of  the  great  doctrines  of  the  gospel, 
which  may  be  proved,  much  more  safely  and 
solidly,  from  the  passages  of  scripture  in  which 
they  are  plainly  and  expressly  revealed.  But 
by  taking  this  course,  instead  of  throwing  real 
light  upon  the  places  they  have  in  this  man- 
ner attempted  to  explain,  they  have  perplexed 
their  hearers  and  readers,  and  led  them  to 
question,  whether  there  be  any  fixed  and  de- 
terminate sense  of  scripture  that  may  be  fully 
depended  upon.  It  is  true,  when  we  have  the 
authority  of  an  inspired  expositor  to  lead  us, 
we  may  follow  him  without  fear ;  but  this 
will  not  warrant  us  to  strike  out  a  path  for 
ourselves,  and  trust  to  our  conjectures,  where 
we  have  not  such  an  infallible  guide.  The 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is  a  key  to  explain  to 
us  many  passages  in  a  higher  sense  than  per- 
haps we  should  have  otherwise  understood 
them.  But  it  is  best  for  us  to  keep  within 
safe  bounds,  and  to  propose  our  own  senti- 
ments, when  not  supported  by  New  Testa- 
ment authority,  with  great  modesty,  lest  we 
should  incur  the  censure  of  being  wise  above 
what  is  written.  I  may,  without  scruple,  af- 
firm, that  the  history  of  Sarah  and  Hagar  is 
an  allegory  referring  to  the  two  covenants, 
because  the  apostle  Paul  (Gal.  iv.  24)  has 
affirmed  it  before  me ;  but  if  I  attempted  to 

3  G 


NO  SORROW  LIKE   MESSIAH  S  SORROW. 


spiritualize  the  history  of  Leah  and  Rachel 
likewise,  you  would  not  be  bound  to  believe 
me  without  proof.  I  may  preach  the  gospel 
of  Christ  from  a  text  which  mentions  the 
manna  or  the  brazen  serpent  (John  iii.  14; 
vi.  31,35),  because  our  Lord  has  expound- 
ed these  things  as  typical  of  himself:  but  I 
must  not  be  confident  that  every  resemblance 
which  I  think  I  can  trace  is  the  true  sense 
of  the  place  ;  because  I  may  imagine  many 
resemblances  and  types  which  the  scripture 
does  not  authorize. 

There  is,  however,  a  useful  way  of  preach- 
ing, by  accommodation,  that  is,  when  the  lite- 
ral sense  is  first  clearly  stated,  to  apply  the 
passage,  not  directly  to  prove  a  doctrine  as  if 
really  contained  in  it,  but  only  to  illustrate 
the  doctrine  expressly  taught  in  other  parts  of 
the  scripture.  Thus,  for  instance,  if  the  ques- 
tion of  Jonadab  to  Amnon  (2  Sam.  xiii.  4) 
were  chosen  for  the  subject  of  a  discourse, 
"  Why  art  thou,  being  a  king's  son,  lean  from 
day  to  day  ?"  the  history  of  the  context  di- 
rectly proves  the  malignity  of  sinful  inordi- 
nate desire,  and  the  misery  of  those  who  are 
under  its  dominion  ;  that  it  poisons  every  si- 
tuation in  life,  and  renders  the  sinner  inca- 
pable of  satisfaction,  though  he  were  a  king's 
son.  The  form  of  the  question  might  then 
lead  to  observe,  Thar;  believers  are  king's 
sons,  to  show  what  are  the  great  privileges  of 
their  adoption  ;  and  to  enquire  how  it  comes 
to  pass,  that  many  persons  so  highly  privileged 
are  lean,  that  is  uncomfortable,  weak  and 
languishing  in  their  profession  ?  These  points 
might  not  improperly  be  introduced  by  way 
of  accommodation,  though  they  are  not  di- 
rectly deducible  from  the  literal  sense  of  the 
question. 

The  text  I  have  just  read  to  you  has  led 
me  into  this  digression.  I  find  it  in  the  series 
of  the  passages  in  the  Messiah  ;  but  I  am  not 
sure,  that  in  the  literal  sense  it  immediately 
refers  to  him.  It  is  a  pathetic  exclamation, 
by  which  the  prophet  Jeremiah  expresses  his 
grief,  or  rather  the  grief  of  Jerusalem,  when 
the  sins  of  the  people  had  given  success  to  the 
Chaldean  army,  and  the  temple  and  the  city 
were  destroyed.  Jerusalem  is  poetically  con- 
sidered as  a  woman,  lately  reigning  a  queen 
among  the  nations,  but  now  a  captive,  dis- 
honoured, spoiled,  and  sitting  upon  the 
ground.  She  intreats  the  commiseration  of 
those  who  pass  by,  and  asks,  if  there  be  any 
sorrow  like  unto  her  sorrow  ?  Such  a  question 
has  often  been  in  the  heart  and  in  the  mouth 
of  the  afflicted,  especially  in  an  hour  of  impa- 
tience. We  are  all,  in  our  turns,  disposed  to 
think  our  own  trials  peculiarly  heavy,  and  our 
own  cases  singular.  But  to  them  who  ask 
this  question,  we  may  answer,  Yes — there  has 
been  a  sorrow  greater  than  yours,  greater 
than  the  sorrow  of  Jeremiah,  or  of  Jerusalem. 
They  who  have  heard  of  the  sorrows  of  Jesus, 
will  surely,  upon  the  hearing  of  this  question, 


SEI(.   XXIII 

be  reminded  of  him,  whether  it  was  the  inten- 
tion of  the  prophet  to  personate  him  or  not. 
If  we  conceive  of  him  hanging  upon  the 
cross,  and  speaking  in  this  language  to  us, 
"Was  ever  any  sorrow  like  my  sorrow?" 
must  not  we  reply  with  admiration  and  gra- 
titude, "  No,  Lord,  never  was  love,  never  was 
grief,  like  thine." 

The  expostulation  and  the  question  are 
equally  applicable  to  the  sufferings  of  Mes- 
siah. The  former  indeed  is  not  inserted  in 
the  Oratorio,  but  I  am  not  willing  to  leave  it 
out.  The  highest  wonder  ever  exhibited  to 
the  world,  to  angels,  and  men,  is  the  Son  ot 
God  suffering  and  dying  for  sinners.  Next 
to  this,  hardly  any  thing  is  more  astonishing 
to  an  enlightened  mind — than  the  gross  and 
stupid  insensibility  with  which  the  sufferings 
of  the  Saviour  are  treated,  and  the  indiffe- 
rence with  which  this  wonderful  event  is  re- 
garded by  creatures  who  are  so  nearly  con- 
cerned in  it.  If  they  believe  in  him,  they 
will  be  healed  by  his  wounds,  and  live  by  his 
death.  If  they  finally  reject  him,  they  must 
perish  ;  and  their  guilt  and  misery  will  be 
greatly  aggravated  by  what  they  have  heard 
of  him  !  But  sin  has  so  blinded  our  under- 
standings and  hardened  our  hearts,  that  we 
have  naturally  no  feeling  either  for  him  or  for 
ourselves. 

I.  Is  the  expostulation  suited  to  any  per- 
son here  ?  Can  I,  with  propriety,  say  to  some 
who  are  now  present,  Has  this  subject  been 
hitherto  nothing  to  you  ?  Then,  surely,  you 
have  not  heard  of  it  before ;  and,  therefore, 
now  you  do  hear  of  it,  you  will,  you  must  be 
affected.  If  you  were  to  read  in  the  common 
newspapers,  that  a  benevolent  and  excellent 
person  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  murderers, 
who  had  put  him  to  death  in  the  most  cruel 
manner,  would  it  not  be  something  to  you  ? 
Could  you  avoid  impressions  of  surprise,  in- 
dignation, and  grief?  Surely,  if  this  transac- 
tion were  news  to  you,  it  would  engross  your 
thoughts.  But  alas  !  you  have  rather  heard 
of  it  too  often,  till  it  has  become  to  you  as  a 
worn-out  tale.  I  am  willing  to  take  it  for 
granted  that  you  allow  the  fact.  You  believe 
that  Jesus  Christ  suffered  under  Pontius 
Pilate,  was  condemned  by  the  Jews,  aiid  cru- 
cified by  the  Romans.  And  is  it  possible  this 
should  be  nothing  to  you  ?  Is  it  too  insigni- 
ficant to  engage  or  deserve  your  attention  ? 
And  yet,  perhaps,  you  have  wept  at  a  repre- 
sentation or  a  narrative  which  you  knew  was 
wholly  founded  in  fiction.  How  strange! 
What!  the  sorrows  of  Jesus  nothing  to  you  ! 
when  you  admit  that  he  suffered  for  sinners, 
and  will  probably  admit  that  you  are  a  sin- 
ner. No  longer  then  boast  of  your  sensibi- 
lity !  your  heart  must  be  a  heart  of  stone. 
Yet  thus  it  is  with  too  many  ;  your  tempers, 
your  conduct,  give  evidence  that  hitherto  the 
death  of  Jesus  has  been  nothing  to  you.  You 
would  not  have  acted  otherwise,  at  least  you 


&F.K.   XXIII. 


NO   SORROW   LIKE   MESSIAH  S  SORROW. 


723 


would  not  have  acted  worse,  if  you  had  never 
heard  of  his  name.  Were  his  sufferings  any 
thing  to  you,  is  it  possible,  that  you  would 
live  in  the  practice  of  those  sins,  for  which  no 
atonement  could  srfTice  but  his  blood  ?  Were 
you  duly  affected  by  the  thought  of  his  cru- 
cifixion, is  it  possible  that  you  could  crucify 
him  afresh,  and  put  him  to  open  shame,  by 
bearing  the  name  of  a  christian,  and  yet  liv- 
ing in  a  course  unsuitable  to  the  spirit  and 
precepts  of  his  gospel  ?  But  if  you  are  in- 
different to  his  grief,  is  it  nothing  to  you  on 
your  own  account  ?  What !  is  it  nothing  to 
you  whether  you  are  saved  Or  perish  ;  whether 
you  are  found  at  his  right,  or  his  left  hand, 
in  the  great  day  of  his  appearance  ;  or  whe- 
ther he  shall  then  say  to  you,  "  Come,  ye 
blessed,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for 
you ;"  or,  "  Depart,  ye  cursed,  into  everlast- 
ing fire?  Matth.  xxvi.  34.  41.  There  is  no 
medium,  no  alternative.  If  you  refuse  this, 
there  remaineth  no  other  sacrifice  for  sin. 
This  lamentable  indifference  to  the  Redeem- 
er's sorrows,  is  a  full  proof  of  the  baseness 
and  wickedness  of  the  human  heart ;  and  it  is 
felt  as  such,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  convinces 
of  sin.  Natural  conscience  may  excite  a 
painful  conviction  of  the  sinfulness  of  many 
actions.  But  this  stupid  unbelief  of  the  heart 
is,  if  I  may  so  speak,  the  sin  of  sins,  it  is  the 
root  and  source  of  every  evil,  and  yet  so  con- 
genial to  our  very  frame  as  we  are  depraved 
creatures,  that  God  alone  can  make  the  sin- 
ner feel  it  (John  xvi.  9)  ;  and  when  he  does 
feel  it,  the  sense  of  it  wounds  and  grieves  him 
more  than  all  his  other  sins. 

II.  Writh  respect  to  the  question,  if  we 
rightly  understand  what  has  been  observed 
from  the  scripture-history,  in  the  six  preced- 
ing sermons,  concerning  the  particulars  of  his 
passion  ;  we  may  answer  without  hesitation, 
Never  was  suffering,  or  sorrow,  like  that  which 
Messiah  endured  in  the  day  of  the  Lord's 
fierce  anger.  It  is  possible  that  history,  which 
is  little  more  than  a  detail  of  the  cruelty  and 
wickedness  of  mankind,  may  furnish  us  with 
instances  of  many  persons  who  have  suffered 
excruciating  torments,  and  have  even  been 
mocked  and  insulted  in  their  agonies :    But, 

1.  Was  there  ever  a  character  of  his  dig- 
nity and  excellence  treated  in  such  a  man- 
ner ?  Job  considered  his  former  state  as  a 
great  aggravation  of  his  sufferings.  He  en- 
larges upon  the  respect  which  had  been  shown 
him  in  his  prosperity.  "  When  I  went  out  to 
the  gate,  through  the  city,  the  young  men 
saw  me  and  hid  themselves,  the  aged  arose 
and  stood  up.  When  the  ear  heard  me,  then 
it  blessed  me ;  and  when  the  eye  saw  me,  it 
gave  witness  to  me,"  Job  xxix.  8,  11.  But 
afterwards,  speaking  of  fools,  of  base  men,  of 
the  vilest  of  the  earth,  he  adds,  "  Now  am  I 
their  song,  yea,  their  by-word.  They  abhor 
me,  and  spare  not  to  spit  in  my  face.      They 


they  come  upon  me  as  a  wide  breaking  in  of 
waters,"  chap.  xxx.  8 — 14.  But  Jesus  was  the 
Lord  of  glory.  He  whom  all  the  angels  of 
God  worshipped,  was  buffeted  and  spit  upon 
by  the  lowest  rabble.  If  a  great  king  was  de- 
graded from  his  throne,  and  exposed  to  the  de- 
rision of  slaves,  this  would  be  a  small  thing 
compared  with  the  humiliation  of  him,  who, 
in  his  own  right,  was  King  of  kings,  and 
Lord  of  lords. 

2.  Was  there  ever  so  innocent  a  sufferer? 
When  Aaron  lost  his  two  sons,  he  held  his 
peace,  Lev.  x.  3.  A  little  before  he  had  been 
guilty  of  making  the  golden  calf.  The  re- 
membrance of  this  offence  composed  his  mind 
under  his  great  trial.  He  saw  that  he  de- 
served a  still  heavier  punishment,  and  was  si- 
lent. In  like  manner,  David,  when  his  re- 
bellious son  Absalom  conspired  against  his 
life,  was  patient ;  he  remembered  the  adul- 
tery and  murder  he  had  committed ;  and, 
though  he  mourned  under  his  afflictions,  he 
durst  not  complain,  2  Sam.  xvi.  11.  The 
malefactor  upon  the  cross  submitted  to  his 
sentence,  because  he  was  a  malefactor,  saying, 
"  And  we  indeed  justly,"  Luke  xxiv.  41.  It 
is  thus  with  all  who  know  themselves.  Under 
their  severest  afflictions,  they  admit  the  pro- 
priety of  the  prophet's  question,  "  Why  should 
a  living  man  complain  ?"  Lam.  iii.  39.  And 
they  acknowledge,  that  it  is  of  the  Lord's 
great  mercy  they  are  not  utterly  consumed. 
But  Jesus  was  holy,  harmless,  and  undefiled; 
he  had  fulfilled  the  whole  law,  and  had  done 
nothing  amiss  ;  yet  he  yielded  himself  as  a 
lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before 
her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his 
mouth,  Is.  liii.  7. 

3.  Did  ever  any  other  sufferer  experience 
in  an  equal  degree  the  day  of  God's  fierce 
anger  ?  In  the  greatest  of  our  sufferings,  in 
those  which  bear  the  strongest  marks  of  the 
Lord's  displeasure,  there  is  always  some  mi- 
tigation, some  mixture  of  mercy.  At  the 
worst,  we  have  still  reason  to  acknowledge, 
that  he  hath  not  dealt  with  us  after  our  sins, 
nor  according  to  the  full  desert  of  our  iniqui- 
ties, Psal.  ciii.  10.  If  we  are  in  pain,  we  do 
not  feel  every  kind  of  pain  at  once,  yet  we 
can  give  no  sufficient  reason  why  we  should 
not.  If  we  are  exercised  with  poverty  and 
losses,  yet  something  wortli  the  keeping,  and 
more  than  we  can  justly  claim,  is  still  left  to 
us,  at  least  our  lives  are  spared,  though  for- 
feited by  sin.  If  we  are  in  distress  of  soul, 
tossed  with  tempest  and  not  comforted,  we  are 
not  quite  out  of  the  reach  of  hope.  Even  if 
sickness,  pain,  loss,  and  despair,  should  all 
overtake  us  in  the  same  moment,  all  is  still 
less  than  we  deserve.  Our  proper  desert  is 
hell,  an  exclusion  from  God,  and  confinement 
with  Satan  and  his  angels,  where  the  worm 
dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched.  Every 
thing  short  of  this  is  a  mercy.      But  Jesus, 


mar  my  path,   they  set  forward  my  calamity,    though    he  I  ad   no  sin    of  his  own,   bore  th« 


724 


MESSIAH  S   INNOCENCE  VINDICATED. 


sins  of  many.  His  sufferings  were  indeed 
temporary,  limited  in  their  duration,  but  other- 
wise extreme.  Witness  the  effects,  his  hea- 
viness  unto  death,  his  consternation,  his  bloody 
sweat,  his  eclipse  upon  the  cross,  when  de- 
prived of  that  presence,  which  was  his  only, 
and  his  exceeding  joy.  On  these  accounts, 
no  sorrow  was  like  unto  his  sorrow  ! 

The  unknown  sorrows  of  the  Redeemer  are 
a  continual  source  of  support  and  consolation 
to  his  believing  people.  In  his  sufferings 
they  contemplate  his  atonement,  his  love,  and 
his  example,  and  they  are  animated  by  the 
bright  and  glorious  issue.  For  he  passed 
from  death  to  life,  from  suffering  to  glory. 

(1.)  His  atonement,  apprehended  by  faith, 
delivers  them  from  guilt  and  condemnation, 
gives  them  peace  with  God,  and  access  to 
him  with  liberty  as  children,  Rom.  v.  1,  2. 
Being  thus  delivered  from  their  heavy  bur- 
den, and  from  the  power  of  Satan,  and  hav- 
ing a  way  open  for  receiving  supplies  of 
strength,  according  to  their  day,  they  are 
prepared  to  take  up  their  cross,  and  to  follow 
him. 

(2.)  His  love,  in  submitting  to  such  sor- 
rows for  their  sakes,  attaches  their  hearts  to 
him.  Great  is  the  power  of  love  !  It  makes 
hard  things  easy,  and  bitter  sweet.  Some  of 
us  can  tell,  or  rather  we  cannot  easily  tell 
how  much  we  would  cheerfully  do,  or  bear, 
or  forbear,  for  the  sake  of  the  person  whom 
we  dearly  love.  But  this  noblest  principle  of 
the  soul  never  can  exert  itself  with  its  full 
strength,  till  it  is  supremely  fixed  upon  its 
proper  object.  The  love  of  Christ  has  a  con- 
straining force  indeed!  2  Cor.  v.  14.  It  is 
stronger  than  death.  It  overcomes  the  world. 
And  we  thus  love  him  because  he  first  loved 
us ;  because  he  loved  us  and  gave  himself  for 
us,  1  John  iv.  19;   Gal.  ii.  20. 

(3.)  His  example.  The  thought  that  he 
suffered  for  them,  arms  them  with  the  like 
mind.  They  look  to  him  and  are  enlighten- 
ed. By  his  cross  they  are  crucified  to  the 
world,  and  the  world  to  them.  They  no 
longer  court  its  favour,  nor  are  afraid  of  its 
frown.  They  know  what  they  must  expect, 
if  they  will  be  his  servants,  by  the  treatment 
he  met  with ;  and  they  are  content.  He  who 
endured  the  contradiction  of  sinners  against 
himself  for  them,  is  worthy  that  they  should 
suffer  likewise  for  him.  It  is  their  desire, 
neither  to  provoke  the  opposition  of  men  nor 
to  dread  it.  They  commit  themselves  to  him, 
and  are  sure  that  he  will  not  expose  them  to 
such  sufferings  as  he  endured  for  them.  So, 
likewise,  under  all  the  trials  and  afflictions 
which  they  endure  more  immediately  from 
the  hand  of  the  Lord,  a  lively  thought  of  his 
sorrows  reconciles  them  to  their  own.  Thus 
by  his  stripes  they  are  healed,  and  are  com- 
forted by  having  fellowship  with  him  in  his 
Bufferings. 

(4.;    Lastly,    if  more  were   necessary  (and, 


SEK.   XXI V 

sometimes,  through  remaining  infirmity  and 
surrounding  temptation,  every  consideration 
is  no  more  than  necessary),  they  know  that 
their  Lord  passed  through  sufferings  to  glory. 
And  they  know  (for  they  have  his  own  gra- 
cious promise)  that  if  they  suffer  with  him, 
they  shall  also  reign  with  him,  John  xii.  26  ; 
Rom.  viii.  18.  They  are  sure  that  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  present  life  are  not  worthy  to 
be  compared  with  the  joy  which  will  then  be 
revealed  ;  and  that  when  Christ,  who  is  their 
life,  shall  appear,  they  also  shall  appear  with 
him  in  glory  (Col.  iii.  4)  ;  and  therefore  they 
are  comforted  in  all  their  tribulation,  and  can 
say,  "  None  of  these  things  move  me,  nei- 
ther count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so 
that  I  may  finish  my  course  with  joy,"  Acts 
xx.  2.4. 


SERMON  XXIV. 

Messiah's  innocence  vindicated. 

He  was  taken  from  prison  and  from  judgment  ; 
and  who  shat't  declare  his  generation  ?  For 
he  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living  .- 
for  the  transgression  of  my  people  was  he 
stricken.     Isaiah,  liii  8 

Let  not  plain  christians  be  stumbled,  because 
there  are  difficulties  in  the  prophetical  parts 
of  the  scripture,  and  because  translators  and 
expositors  sometimes  explain  them  with  some 
difference  as  to  the  sense.  Whatever  directly 
relates  to  our  faith,  practice,  and  comfort, 
may  be  plainly  collected  from  innumerable 
passages,  in  which  all  the  versions,  and  all 
sober  expositors,  are  agreed.  That  there  are 
some  differences,  will  not  appear  strange,  if 
we  consider  the  antiquity  of  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, and  that  the  Old  Testament  is  trie  only 
book  extant  that  was  written  during  the  time 
that  it  was  the  common  language  of  the  peo- 
ple. For  this  reason  we  meet  with  many 
words  which  occur  but  once ;  and  others, 
which  do  not  occur  frequently,  are  evidently 
used  in  more  than  one  sense.  If  we  suppose 
that  a  time  should  come  when  the  English 
language  should  be  no  longer  spoken,  and  no 
more  than  a  single  volume  in  it  be  preserved, 
we  may  well  conceive  that  posterity  might 
differ  as  to  the  sense  of  many  expressions, 
notwithstanding  the  assistances  they  might 
obtain  by  comparing  the  English  with  the 
French,  Dutch,  and  other  languages,  which 
were  in  use  at  the  same  period.  Such  as- 
sistance we  derive  from  the  Chaldee,  Syriac, 
Greek,  and  other  ancient  versions  of  the  Old 
Testament,  sufficient  to  confirm  us  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  whole,  and  to  throw  light  upon 
many  passages  otherwise  r'ark  and  dubious  ; 
and  yet  there  will  remain  a  number  of  places, 
the    sense   of  which  the  best  critics   have  not 


SEH.   XXIV. 


MESSIAH  S   INNOCENCE  VINDICATED. 


been  able  to  fix  with  certainty.  Farther,  the 
prophecies  are  usually  expressed  in  the  style 
of  poetry,  which,  in  all  languages,  is  remote 
from  the  common  forms  of  speaking.  The 
grand  evidence,  to  a  humble  mind,  that  the 
holy  scripture  was  originally  given  by  inspi- 
ration of  God,  and  that  the  version  of  it 
which  by  his  good  providence  we  are  favour- 
ed with  is  authentic,  is  the  effect  it  has  upon 
the  heart  and  conscience  when  enlightened 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  without  this  inter- 
nal, experimental  evidence,  the  learned  are 
no  less  at  a  loss  than  the  vulgar. 

An  acquaintance  with  the  Hebrew  will 
perhaps  suggest  a  meaning  in  this  verse  (the 
latter  part  only  of  which  is  taken  into  the 
Messiah)  which  may  not  readily  occur  to  an 
English  reader.  But  the  purport  of  it  is 
plainly  expressed  in  many  other  passages. 
The  text  is  not  merely  a  repetition  of  what 
was  spoken  before  concerning  the  Redeemer's 
sufferings  ;  rather  the  declaration  of  what  was 
to  follow  them  begins  here.  It  is  the  open- 
ing of  a  bright  and  glorious  subject.  He  was 
taken,  he  was  taken  up,  like  Enoch  and  Eli- 
jah, from  prison,  and  from  judgment,  and  who 
can  declare  his  generation?  or  (as  the  word 
properly  signifies)  his  age?  Who  can  declare 
his  state,  the  establishment  and  duration  of 
his  dignity,  influence,  and  government  ?  For 
though  he  was  cut  off,  made  an  excision  and 
a  curse,  from  amongst  men,  it  was  not  upon 
bis  own  account,  but  for  the  transgression  of 
my  people,  that  he  was  smitten. 

God  was  manifested  in  the  flesh  ( 1  Tim. 
iii.  16),  and  in  the  flesh  he  suffered  as  a  ma- 
lefactor. Undoubtedly  the  divine  nature  is  yj_ 
capable  of  suffering  ;  but  the  human  nature, 
which  did  suffer,  was  assumed  by  him  who  is 
over  all,  God,  blessed  for  ever,  Rom.  ix.  5. 
But  he  was  justified  in  the.  Spirit,- -and  suffi- 
cient care  was  taken,  that  in  his  lowest  humi- 
liation, though  he  was  condemned  and  re- 
viled, his  character  should  be  vindicated.  I 
shall  therefore  consider  at  present  the  testi- 
monies given  to  his  innocence.  Though  he 
was  cut  off  from  the  land  of  the  living,  it 
was  only  as  a  substitute  for  others.  He  was 
stricken  for  the  transgressions  of  his  people. 

1.  The  first  attention,  and  which  of  itself 
is  fully  sufficient  to  establish  this  point,  is 
that  of  Judas.  He  was  one  of  the  twelve 
apostles  who  attended  our  Lord's  person,  and 
who  were  admitted  to  a  nearer  and  more  fre- 
quent intercourse  with  hiin  than  the  rest  of 
his  disciples.  Though  our  Lord  knew  that 
his  heart  was  corrupt,  and  that  he  would  prove 
a  traitor,  he  does  not  appear  to  have  treated 
him  with  peculiar  reserve,  ot  to  have  kept 
him  more  at  a  distance  than  the  other  apos- 
tles ;  for  when  he  told  them,  "  One  of  you 
shall  betray  me,"  they  had  no  particular  sus- 
picion of  Judas.  He  therefore  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  more  retired  hours  of  his 
Master's  life.      He  had  been  often  with  him 


in  Gethsemane  before  he  went  thither  to  be- 
tray him  to  his  enemies.  When  he  had  acted 
this  treacherous  part,  if  he,  who  had  been  fre- 
quently present  when  Jesus  conversed  most 
freely  in  private  with  his  select  followers,  had 
known  any  thing  amiss  in  his  conduct,  we 
may  be  sure  he  would  gladly  have  disclosed 
it,  for  his  own  justification.  Christian  socie- 
ties have  usually  been  reviled  and  slandered 
by  those  who  have  apostatized  from  them  ; 
their  mistakes,  if  they  were  justly  chargeable 
with  any,  have  been  eagerly  published  and 
aggravated,  and  many  things  often  laid  to 
their  charge  which  they  knew  not.  But  Ju- 
das, on  the  contrary,  was  compelled  by  his 
conscience,  to  return  his  ill  gotten  gain  to 
the  chief  priests  and  elders,  and  to  confess, 
"  I  have  sinned,  in  that  I  have  betrayed  the 
innocent  blood,"  Matt,  xxvii.  4.  Consider- 
ing the  time  of  making  this  declaration,  when 
he  saw  that  he  was  already  condemned,  and 
the  persons  to  whom  he  made  it,  even  to 
those  who  had  condemned  him,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  he  was  an  unsuspected  and  com- 
petent witness  to  his  innocence.  And  the  an- 
swer of  the  chief  priests  implied,  that,  though 
their  malice  could  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
less  than  the  death  of  this  innocent  person, 
they  were  unable  to  contradict  the  traitor's 
testimony. 

2.  Though  Pilate  likewise  condemned  Mes- 
siah to  death,  to  gratify  the  importunity  of 
the  Jews,  he  repeatedly  declared  his  firm  per- 
suasion of  his  innocence  j  and  he  did  it  with 
great  solemnity.  "  He  took  water  and  wash- 
ed his  hands  (publicly)  before  the  multitude, 
saying,  1  am  innocent  of  the  blood  of  this  just 
person,"  Matt,  xxvii.  24.  He  laboured  for 
his  release,  though  the  fear  of  man  prevailed 
upon  him  at  last,  as  it  has  upon  many,  to  act 
in  defiance  of  the  light  and  conviction  of  his 
conscience.  And  from  him  we  learn,  that 
Herod  (Luke  xxiii.  15),  notwithstanding  lie 
mocked  him  and  set  him  at  nought,  consider- 
ed the  accusations  of  his  enemies  to  be  entirely 
groundless.  And  farther,  when  the  Jews  pro- 
posed such  an  alteration  of  the  title  affixed  to 
his  cross,  as  might  imply,  that  the  claims  our 
Lord  had  made  were  unjust  and  criminal,  Pi- 
late utterly  refused  to  comply  with  their  demand. 

3.  The  thief  upon  the  cross,  with  his  dying 
breath  said,  "  This  man  hath  done  nothing 
amiss."  If  his  competency  as  a  witness  should 
be  disputed,  because  it  is  probable  he  had 
known  but  little  of  him,  I  admit  the  objection. 
Be  it  so,  that  this  malefactor  had  little  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  our  Lord.  Then  his  opi- 
nion of  his  innocence  must  have  been  found- 
ed upon  public  report ;  and,  therefore,  it  seems, 
he  spoke  not  for  himself  only  ;  but  his  words 
may  be  taken  as  a  proof,  that  the  people  at 
large,  though  they  suffered  themselves  to  be 
influenced  by  the  chief  priests,  to  demand  his 
death,  and  to  prefer  Barabbas,  a  robber  and  a 

I  murderer,  to  him, -were   generally   conscious 


7-26  MESSIAH  S  INNOCEN 

that  lie  had  done  nothing  amiss.  Many  of 
those  who  now  said,  "  Crucify  him,  Crucify 
him,"  had,  not  long  before,  welcomed  him  with 
acclamations  of  praise,  saying,  "  Hosannah  to 
the  son  of  David."  This  inconsistence  and 
inconstancy  is  not  altogether  surprising  to 
those  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the  weak- 
ness and  wickedness  of  human  nature  in  its 
present  state ;  and  who  consider  the  effects 
which  the  misrepresentations  and  artifice  of 
persons  of  great  name,  and  in  high  office,  have 
often  produced  in  the  minds  of  the  ignorant 
and  superstitious.  Thus  at  Lystra,  through 
the  persuasion  of  the  Jews,  the  apostle  Paul 
was  stoned  and  left  for  dead  (Acts  xiv.  12, 
19),  by  the  very  people,  who,  a  little  before, 
could  with  difficulty  be  restrained  from  pay- 
ing him  divine  honours. 

4.  Though  the  salvation  of  men,  and  the 
honour  of  the  law  of  God  required,  that  when 
Messiah  undertook  to  make  an  atonement  for 
our  sins,  he  should  be  thus  given  up  to  the 
rage  and  cruelty  of  his  enemies,  suffer  all  the 
infamy  due  to  the  worst  and  vilest  transgres- 
sors, and  be  deserted  by  God  and  man  ;  yet 
his  heavenly  Father  bore  a  signal  and  solemn 
testimony  to  his  character.  The  frame  of 
nature  sympathized  vt ith  her  suffering  Lord. 
The  heavens  were  clothed  with  sackcloth  ;  the 
sun  withd>ew  his  shining;  the  sanctuary  was 
laid  open,  by  the  rending  of  the  vail  of  the 
temple  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  ;  the  earth 
trembled  greatly ;  the  rocks  were  rent  ;  the 
graves  opened,  and  the  dead  arose.  These 
events,  in  connection  with  what  had  passed 
before,  extorted  an  acknowledgment  of  his  in- 
nocence from  the  Roman  centurion  who  was 
appointed  to  attend  his  execution. 

Thus,  it  appears,  that  Judas,  who  betrayed 
him;  the  Jewish  council,  which  could  not 
find  sufficient  ground,  even  though  they  em- 
ployed false  and  suborned  witnesses  to  pass 
sentence  upon  him  ;  Herod,  who  derided  him  ; 
Pilate,  who  condemned  him  ;  the  malefactor 
who  suffered  with  hiin  ;  and  the  commander 
of  the  soldiers  who  crucified  him,  all  combin- 
ed in  a  declaration  of  his  innocence  :  God 
himself  confirming  their  word,  by  signs  and 
wonders  in  heaven  and  upon  earth. 

It  may  seem  quite  unnecessary  to  prove  the 
innocency  of  him,  who,  in  his  human  nature, 
was  absolutely  perfect,  and  in  whom  the  pre- 
sence and  fulness  of  God  dwelt;  and  it  is  in- 
deed unnecessary  to  those  who  believe  in  his 
name.  It  is,  however,  a  pleasing  contempla- 
tion to  them,  and  has  an  important  influence 
upon  their  faith  and  hope.  In  this  they  tri- 
umph, that  he  who  knew  no  sin  himself,  was 
made  sin,  was  treated  as  a  sinner  for  them, 
that  they  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  him.  The  High  Priest  of  our  pro- 
fession needed  not,  as  those  who  typified  his 
office  of  old,  to  offer  up  sacrifice,  first  for  his 
own  sins,  and  then  for  the  sins  of  the  people; 
•or  lie  was  perfectly  holy,  harmless,  and  unde- 


CE  VINDICATED.  SER    XXIV. 

filed.  And  had  he  not  been  a  lamb  without 
spot  or  blemish,  he  could  not  have  been  ac- 
cepted on  our  behalf.  It  was  the  perfection 
of  his  voluntary  obedience  to  the  law  of  our 
nature,  under  which  he  submitted  to  be  made, 
which,  conjoined  with  the  excellency  of  his 
character  as  the  Son  of  God,  made  him  meet, 
able,  and  worthy,  to  expiate  our  transgressions. 
By  the  one  offering  of  himself,  once  offered, 
he  has  made  an  end  of  sin,  brought  in  an  ever-  . 
lasting  righteousness,  and  having  appeared 
with  his  own  blood  within  the  vail,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  God  for  us,  and  ever  living  to  make 
intercession  for  all  who  come  unto  God  by 
him,  he  is  proposed  in  the  gospel  as  the  author 
of  eternal  salvation  to  all  who  obey  him.  In 
him,  all  the  seed  of  Israel  shall  be  justified, 
and  shall  glory,  Is.  xli.  17,  25.  In  him  the 
true  Israel,  the  partakers  of  the  faith  of  Abra- 
ham, shall  be  saved,  saved  to  the  uttermost, 
saved  with  an  everlasting  salvation  ;  they  shall 
not  be  ashamed,  nor  confounded,  world  with- 
out end. 

But  who  that  knows  these  tilings  can  suffi- 
ciently commiserate  the  fatal  effects  of  that 
unbelief  which  blinds  and  hardens  the  hearts 
of  multitudes  !  especially  that  more  learned 
and  informed,  and  therefore  more  inexcusable 
unbelief,  which  characterizes  the  modern  pa- 
trons of  scepticism.  They  read  and  admire 
ancient  history.  There  is  no  old  story  so  fri- 
volous or  improbable,  but  it  is  sufficient  to  en- 
gage their  attention,  and  to  exercise  their  acu- 
men, if  it  be  found  in  Herodotus  or  Livy. 
They  spare  no  pains,  they  perplex  themselves, 
and  weary  their  readers  with  their  attempts  to 
decypher  an  ancient  inscription,  or  to  fix  the 
date,  or  reconcile  the  circumstances  of  a  sup- 
posed event,  which,  after  all,  perhaps  never 
had  place  but  in  the  imagination  of  the  writer. 
Their  implicit  deference  to  such  uncertain 
authorities  as  these,  often  verges  upon  the 
border  of  extreme  credulity.  The  Bible  is 
an  ancient  history  likewise  ;  and  if  it  was  only 
received  vipon  the  footing  of  the  rest,  as  mere- 
ly a  human  composition,  the  facts  which  it 
relates,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  are  re- 
lated, the  admirable  simplicity  of  narration  in 
some  parts,  the  unrivalled  sublimity  of  de- 
scription in  others  ;  the  justness  and  discri- 
mination of  characters  ;  the  views  it  unfolds 
of  the  workings  of  the  human  heart,  and  the 
springs  of  action,  so  exactly  conformable  to 
experience  and  observation,  might  surely  re- 
commend it  to  their  notice.  And  possibly,  if 
it  did  claim  no  higher  authority  than  a  human 
composition,  men  whe  have  any  just  preten- 
sions to  taste,  would  admire  it  no  less  than 
they  now  undervalue  it.  But  because  it  does 
not  flatter  their  pride,  nor  give  indulgence  to 
their  corrupt  propensities,  they  are  afraid  to 
study  it,  lest  the  internal  marks  of  its  divine 
original  should  force  unwelcome  convictions 
upon  their  minds.  Therefore  they  remain 
willingly    ignorant    of    its     contents,    or    tlm 


SEtt.  x.w.  MESSIAH  RISING 

knowledge  they  discover  of  it  is  so  very  super-  [ 
ficial,  that  a  well  instructed  child  of  ten  years 
of  age  may  smile  at  the  mistakes  of  critics  and 
philosophers.  That  such  a  book  is  extant,  is 
undeniable.  How  can  they  account  for  its 
production  ?  A  view  of  what  they  actually 
have  done,  will  warrant  us  to  assert,  that  the 
wisest  men  of  antiquity,  neither  would  have 
written  such  a  book  if  they  could,  nor  were 
they  able,  had  they  been  ever  so  willing.  And 
yet  we  have  as  good  evidence,  that  the  New 
Testament  was  written  by  plain  and  unlearn- 
ed men,  as  we  have  for  any  fact  recorded  in 
history.  How  coul:1.  such  men  invent  such  a 
book  ?  and  how  should  they  without  seeming 
directly  to  design  it,  but  incidently  as  it  were, 
represent,  that  persor.s  of  such  various  charac- 
ters, who  concurred  in  putting  Jesus  to  death, 
should  all  equally  concur  in  establishing  the 
testimony  of  his  innocence. 

True  christians,  when  they  suffer  unjustly, 
may  learn,  from  the  example  of  their  Lord,  to 
suffer  patiently.      The  apostle  presses  this  ar- 
gument upon  servants  (1   Pet.   ii.    18,  SO)  — 
who  in  those  days  were  chiefly  bond   servants, 
or  slaves.      He,  therefore,  evidently  supposes, 
that  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel  was  suffi- 
cient to  qualify  people  in  the  lowest  situations 
of  human  life,  with  a  fortitude  and  magnani- 
mity   of  spirit    of    which    philosophy    could 
scarcely  reach  the  conception.      In  effect,  to 
be  much  taken  up  with  the  interests  of  self, 
to  live  upon  the  breath  of  others,  to  be  full  of 
resentment  for  every  injury,  and  watchful  to 
retaliate   it;     these    are    the    properties    and 
tokens  of  a  little  and  narrow  mind.      It  re- 
quires no  energy,   no  sacrifice,  no  resolution, 
to  acquire  such  a  disposition  ;   for  it  is  natural 
to  us,  and  powerful  and  habitual  in  the  weak- 
est and  least  respectable  characters.      But  to 
act  uniformly  as  the  servants  of  God,  satisfied 
with  his  approbation,   under  the  regulation  of 
his  will,   and   for  his  sake  cheerfully   to   bear 
whatever   hardships   a  compliance  with   duty 
may  expose  us  to,    enduring  grief,  suffering 
wrongfully,  and  acting  in  the  spirit  of  bene- 
volence and  meekness,  not  only  to  the  good, 
but  also  to  the  froward  ;   this  indicates  a  true 
nobleness  of  soul.      And  to  this  we  are  called 
by  our  profession  :   for  thus   Christ  suffered. 
He  did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his 
mouth  ;  yet  he  was  reviled,  but  he  reviled  not 
again.      He   suffered,   though   innocent  ;  but 
he  threatened  not.    He  was  crucified  by  wick- 
ed men  :   but  he  prayed  for  them  while  they 
were  nailing  him   to  the  cross.      This  was  an 
eminent  branch  of  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ ; 
and  it  ought  to  be  a  distinguishing  feature  in 
the  character  of  his  people.      For,  is  the  dis- 
ciple above  his  Lord  ?   or  should  the  conduct 


FROM   THE    DEAD. 


727 


even  as  he  walked,  1  John  ii.  6.  But  they, 
who,  calling  themselves  Christians,  are  full  of 
the  spirit  of  self-justification,  contention,  and 
complaint,  while  they  profess  to  believe  in 
him,  deny  him  by  their  works.  The  apostles 
Peter  and  John,  deeply  affected  by  their  obli- 
gations to  him,  and  by  the  exquisite  pattern 
of  meekness  and  tenderness  which  he  had  set 
before  them,  departed  from  the  presence  of 
the  council,  not  swelling  with  anger,  nor 
hanging  down  their  heads  with  grief,  but  re- 
joicing that  they  were  counted  worthy  to  suf- 
fer shame  for  his  sake,  Acts  v.  41.  And  he 
deserves  no  less  from  us  than  he  did  from 
them.  It  was  for  us,  no  less  than  for  them, 
that  he  endured  reproach,  and  was  content  to 
die  as  a  malefactor,  though  he  was  innocent. 


SERMON  XXV. 


MESSIAH  RISING  FROM  THE  DEAD. 

For  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell ;  neither 
wilt  thou  suffer  thy  Holy  One  to  see  corrup- 
tion.    Psalm  xvL  10. 

That  the  gospel  is  a  divine  revelation,  may 
be  summarily  proved  from  the  character  of  its 
Author.  If  an  infidel  was  so  far  divested  of 
prejudice  and  prepossession,  as  to  read  the 
history  of  Jesus  Christ  recorded  by  the  evan- 
gelists,  with  attention,  and  in  order  to  form 
his  judgment  of  it,  simply  and  candidly,  as 
evidence  should  appear,  I  think  he  must  ob- 
serve many  particulars  in  his  spirit  and  con- 
duct, so  very  different  from  the  prevailing  sen- 
timents of  mankind,  as  to  convince  him,  that 
man,  in  his  present  state,  could  not  possibly 
have  conceived  the  idea  of  such  a  character. 
Poets  and  historians  have  often  employed 
their  powers  in  delineating  what  appeared  to 
them  the  great  and  the  excellent  in  human 
conduct.  But  how  different  are  the  pictures 
of  their  admired  heroes,  sages,  and  legislators, 
from  the  portrait  of  the  Saviour,  as  it  is  drawn 
with  the  utmost  simplicity  by  plain  unlettered 
men,  who,  without  art  or  affectation,  only  de- 
scribe what  they  profess  to  have  seen  and 
heard.  I  fix  at  present  upon  a  single  consi- 
deration, which  perhaps  cannot  be  expressed 
more  properly  or  forcibly,  than  in  the  words 
of  an  ingenious  writer*  now  living.  "  He  is 
the  only  founder  of  a  religion,  in  the  history 
of  mankind,  which  is  totally  unconnected  with 
all  human  policy  and  government,  and  there- 
fore totally  unconducive  to  any  worldly  pur- 
pose whatever.    All  others,  Mahomet,  Numa, 


of  the  disciple  contradict  that  of  his  Lord  ?  Un-  j  and  .even  Moses  himself,  blended  their  religi- 


doubtedly,  so  far  as  we  are  partakers  in  the  doc. 
trine  of  his  sufferings,  and  have  real  fellowship 
with  him  in  his  death,  we  shall  resemble  him. 
If  we  say  we  abide  in  him,  we  ought  to  walk, 


ous  institutions  with  their  civil,  and  by  them 
obtained  dominion   over  their  respective  peo- 

*  Jenvn'o  Internal  Evidence  of  the  Christian  Relieion. 
i)   "3,  34.  Edit.  3.  b 


SEIi.   XXV. 

mortal,  though  subject  to  death  for  us.  In 
this  nature  the  son  of  God  was  charged  with 
sins  not  his  own;  he  became  willingly  respon- 
sible for  many,  Matth.  xx.  28.  Whatever 
was  necessary  on  the  behalf  of  sinners,  to  ren- 


MESSIAH  RISING  FROM   THE  DEAD. 

pie.  But  Christ  neither  aimed  at,  nor  would 
accept  of  any  such  power.  He  rejected  (John 
sviii.  36),  every  object  which  all  other  men 
pursue,  and  made  choice  of  those  which  others 
fly  from  and  are  afraid  of.  He  refused  power, 
riches,  honours,  and  pleasure ;  and  courted  der  their  forgiveness  consistent  with  the  hon- 
poverty,  ignominy,  tortures,  and  death.  Many  our  of  the  law,  justice,  truth,  and  government 
have  been  the  enthusiasts  and  impostors,  who  of  God,  was  exacted  of  him,  and  he  performed, 
have  endeavoured  to  impose  on  the  world  pre-  ]  and  paid  to  the  utmost.  He  made  a  full  a- 
tended  revelations ;  and  some  of  them,  from  ;  tonement  for  sin  ;  and  though  he  had  power 
pride,  obstinacy,  or  principle,  have  gone  so  far  over  his  life,  he  hung  hour  after  hour  in  a- 
as  to  lay  down  their  lives  rather  than  retract :  |  gonies  upon  the  cross,  till  he  said,  "  It  is  fi- 
but  I  dtfv  history  to  shew  one,  who  ever  made  '  Dished."  Then  he  resigned  his  spirit  into  the 
his   own   sufferings  and  death  'John  xii.  24,   hands  of  his  heavenly  Father.      He  was  after- 


32,  33. )  a  necessary  part  of  his  original  plan, 
and  essential  to  his  mission.      This  Christ  ac- 
tually   did ;    he    foresaw,    foretold,    declared 
their  necessity,  and  voluntarily  endured  them. 
The  death  of  our  Lord  was  indeed  essential 


wards  buried.  But  having  finished  his  whole 
undertaking,  destroyed  death,  and  him  that 
had  the  power  of  it,  and  opened  the  way  to 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  in  favour  of  all  who 
should  believe  in  him,  it  was  not  possible  that 


to  his  plan  ;  as  such,  it  was  constantly  in  his ;  he  should  be  detained  in  the  grave,   Acts  ii 


view,  and  he  often  spoke  of  it.  Probably  it 
was  the  w  hole  of  his  enemies  plan  ;  and  when 
they  saw  him  dead,  buried,  and  ti:e  sepulchre 
sealed,  they  triumphed  in  their  success,  and 
expected  to  hear  of  him  no  more.  But  the 
scriptures,  which  were  read  in  their  synagogues 
every  sabbath-day,  foretold  his  resurrection 
from  the  dead.  The  text  before  us,  if  there 
were  no  other,  is  a  sufficient  proof  of  this,  to 
those  who  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the 
New  Testament,  since  it  is  expressly  applied 
to  him  by  the  apostles  Peter  and  Paul. 

The  word  in  the  Hebrew  text  rendered,  in 
our  version,  soul,  is  used  in  different  senses. 
According  to  the  connection  in  which  it  stands, 
it  signifies  breath,  life,  soul,  or  spirit,  and 
sometimes  the  dead  body.  The  correspond- 
ing Greek  word,  where  the  apostle  quotes 
this  verse  (Acts  ii.  27),  has  likewise  various 
significations.  And  the  original  words  an- 
swering to  hell,  signify  both  the  invisible 
world,  or  the  state  of  the  dead,  and  sometimes 
the  grave.  Notwithstanding  this  seeming  di- 
versity, we  are  at  no  loss  here  for  the  precise 
sense.  Scripture  is  the  best  interpreter  of  it- 
self. It  is  evidently  the  apostle's  design  to 
prove  that  the  psalmist  foresaw,  and  foretold, 
the  resurrection  of  that  body  which  was  taken 
down  dead  from  the  cross,  and  laid  in  Joseph's 
tomb.  With  this  body  our  Lord  arose  on 
the  third  day,  according  to  the  scriptures. 

Though  Messiah  was,  for  our  sakes,  treated 
as  a  malefactor,  all  who  were  immediately  con- 
cerned in  his  death  were  constrained  (as  we 
have  seen)  to  declare  his  innocence.  But  he 
was  worthy  of   a   more   solemn   and    autho- 


24.  He  had  power  likewise  to  resume  the 
life  he  had  laid  down  for  his  sheep ;  and  he 
arose  the  third  day,  to  exercise  all  power  and 
authority  in  heaven  and  in  earth. 

His  resurrection  therefore  is  the  grand 
principal  fact  upon  which  the  truth  and  im- 
portance of  Christianity  rests.  For  though 
Christ  died,  if  he  had  not  risen  again,  your 
faith  and  our  preaching  would  be  in  vain. 
We  should  be  yet  in  our  sins,  1  Cor.  sv,  17. 
And  though  it  was  not  necessary  that  his  re- 
surrection should  have  been  so  publicly  known, 
at  the  time,  as  his  crucifixion,  the  evidence 
for  it  is  strong  and  decisive.  No  one  point 
of  ancient  history  is  capable  of  such  clear  ac- 
cumulated proof.  The  apostles  frequently 
saw  him,  conversed  with  him,  ate  and  drank 
with  him,  and  were  assured  that  it  was  he  by 
many  infallible  proofs.  They  could  not  be 
deceived  themselves,  nor  could  they  have  any 
temptation  to  deceive  others.  They  declared 
his  resurrection  to  the  very  people  who  put 
him  to  death ;  and  they  confirmed  it  by  many 
indisputable  miracles,  which  they  performed 
in  his  naine.  They  persevered  in  this  testi- 
mony, in  defiance  of  the  malice  of  the  Jews 
and  the  scorn  of  the  Heathens.  And  by  this 
doctrine  of  a  crucified  risen  Saviour,  though 
unsupported  by  the  patronage  of  human  pow- 
er, yea,  though  opptsed  by  it  in  every  place, 
they  effected  that  change  in  the  moral  world, 
wherever  they  went,  which  the  philosophers 
had  not  been  able  to  prodnce,  by  all  their  in- 
structions, in  a  single  instance  ;  turning  men, 
whom  they  found  under  the  strongest  preju- 
dices of  education  and  habit,    from  darkness 


ritative  justification.      Accordingly,  "  He  was  to  light,  and  from  the  worship  of  dumb  idols, 

declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  with  power,  by  to  serve  the  living  and  the  true  God,   1  Thes. 

his  resurrection  from   the  dead,"    Rom.    i.  4.  i.  9. 

The  apostle  expounds  "thine  Holy  One"  i       But  there  are  proofs  of  this  point  which  de- 

by  the  word  Jlesh,    Acts  ii.  29.      The   human  pend   not   upon  arguments   or  history,   which 

nature,    the   body  formed  by  the    immediate  require  neither  learning,  genius,  nor  study  to 

power  of  God,  and  born  of  a  virgin,  was  holy,  comprehend  ;  but  are  equally  adapted  to  per 

— It  was  a   ''holy  thing"  (Luke  i.  35);  per-  sons  of  all  capacities,  and  in  all  circumstances, 

fret    and    pure,    and    \\  erefore    naturally    not  These  are  the  effects  which  this  doctrine  pro- 


SLR..    XXV. 


MESSIAH  RISING   FROM   THE  DEAD. 


729 


duces  on  the  hearts  of  those  who  truly  receive 
it  upon  the  authority  of  scripture,  under  the 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose  office  it  is 
to  open  the  eyes  of  the  mind,  to  take  of  the 
things  of  Jesus  (what  the  scripture  reveals  of 
his  person,  offices,  and  glory),  and  to  present 
them,  with  infallible  light  and  evidence,  to 
those  who  humbly  yield  themselves  to  his 
teaching.  These  are  made  partakers  of  the 
power  of  his  resurrection,  Phil.  iii.  10.  It 
delivers  them  from  guilt  and  fear,  animates 
them  with  confidence  towards  God,  weans 
them  from  the  love  and  spirit  of  this  evil 
world,  inspires  them  with  great  and  glorious 
hopes,  and  delivers  them  from  the  fear  of 
death.  They  are  risen  with  Christ,  by  faith, 
and  seek  the  things  which  are  above  (Col.  iii. 
1),  where  they  know  their  Lord  and  Saviour 
is  seated  in  glory. 

I  do  but  touch  upon  these  particulars  at 
present,  because  the  subject  will  come  under 
our  consideration  again,  from  a  subsequent 
passage  in  the  Oratorio.  Yet  I  would  not 
wholly  omit  leading  your  reflections  to  them, 
though  what  I  briefly  offer  now,  may  make 
what  I  shall  then  offer  (if  my  life  is  prolonged 
to  proceed  so  far)  appear  under  the  disadvan- 
tage of  a  repetition  of  the  same  thoughts.  In- 
deed, I  know  not  how  to  place  the  proof  of 
this  capital  doctrine  in  a  light  entirely  new. 
The  most  satisfactory  proofs  are  the  most  ob- 
vious ;  and  it  would  be  folly  to  substitute 
weaker  in  their  place  for  the  sake  of  novelty. 
But  if  I  should  live  to  resume  the  subject, 
some  of  you  who  are  now  present  may  not 
live  to  hear  me.  So  far  as  concerns  the  fact, 
I  may  hope  that  the  most,  or  all  of  you,  are 
believers,  and  that  you  are  already  persuaded 
in  your  minds  that  the  Lord  is  risen  indeed  ! 
Luke  xxiv.  S4.  I  am  not  preaching  to  Jews 
or  Mahometans,  but  to  professed  christians. 
But  permit  me  to  ask,  What  influence  this 
truth  has  upon  your  hopes,  your  tempers  and 
your  conduct  ?  The  powers  of  darkness  know 
that  Christ  is  risen.  They  believe,  they  feel, 
they  tremble.  I  hope  none  of  you  will  be 
content  with  such  a  faith  as  may  be  found  in 
the  fallen  angels.  As  surely  as  he  is  risen, 
he  will  at  length  return  to  judge  the  world. 
"  Behold  he  cometh  in  the  clouds,  and  every 
eye  shall  see  him  !"  They  who  are  prepared 
to  meet  him,  who  are  waiting  for  him,  and 
who  long  for  his  appearance,  have  reason  to 
rejoice  that  he  once  died,  and  rose  again. 

Many  are  the  advantages  which  true  chris- 
tians derive  from  a  spiritual  and  enlightened 
knowledge  of  this  doctrine.  I  will  mention 
a  few. 

1.  As  Messiah  was  delivered,  that  is  deliv- 
ered up,  as  a  hostage  to  the  demands  of  jus- 
tice for  our  offences  ;  so  they  know  that  he 
was  raised  again  for  our  justification,  Rom.  v. 
25.  By  virtue  of  that  union  which  subsists 
between  Messiah,  as  the  head  of  his  body  the 
church,   and  all  his   members;  that  is,  all  in 


the  successive  ages  of  the  world,  who  believe 
in  him  by  a  faith  of  divine  operation  ;  he  is 
their  legal  representative ;  he  and  they  are 
considered  as  one.  His  sufferings,  his  whole 
humiliation  and  obedience  unto  death,  is  so 
imputed  to  them,  that  they  thereby  are  ex- 
empted from  condemnation  ;  and  though  not 
from  all  sufferings,  yet  from  all  that  is  pro- 
perly penal,  or  strictly  a  punishment.  What 
they  suffer  is  only  in  a  way  of  discipline  or 
chastisement ;  and  to  them  a  token,  not  of 
wrath,  but  of  love.  On  the  other  hand,  as 
he  by  his  resurrection  was  vindicated,  justifi- 
ed from  the  reproaches  of  his  enemies,  declar- 
ed to  be  the  Son  of  God,  with  power,  and 
raised  to  glory  ;  they  have  fellowship  with  him 
herein.  God  exalted  him  to  glory,  and  gave 
him  a  name  above  every  name,  that  their  faith 
and  hope  might  be  in  God,  1  Pet.  i.  21.  They 
are  not  only  pardoned,  but  accepted  in  the  Be- 
loved. And  after  this  state  of  discipline  is 
ended,  they  shall  be  treated  as  if  they  had  ne- 
ver sinned.  For  if  their  sins  are  sought  for 
in  that  day,  they  shall  not  be  found.  If  any 
charge  should  be  brought  against  them,  it 
shall  be  over-ruled — by  this  comprehensive 
unanswerable  plea — Christ  that  died,  yea,  ra- 
ther that  is  risen  again,  appears  in  the  presence 
of  God,  acknowledges  them  as  his  own,  and 
makes  intercession  for  them,  Rom.  viii.  33, 
34.  Among  men,  a  criminal  may  obtain  a  par- 
don, may  escape  the  sentence  he  has  deserved, 
and  yet  he  left  in  a  destitute  and  miserable 
condition.  But  justification  is  God's  man- 
ner of  pardoning  sinners,  according  to  the 
sovereignty  and  riches  of  his  grace,  in  the  Son 
of  his  love.  Those  whom  he  pardons,  he  also 
justifies;  and  whom  he  justifies,  he  also  glori- 
fies. And  even  now  in  this  life,  though  it  doth 
not  yet  appear  what  they  shall  be,  though  their 
present  privileges  are  far  short  of  what  they  hope 
for,  and  though  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
nor  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  con- 
ceive what  God  hath  prepared  for  them  (1 
Cor.  ii.  9),  yet  even  now  are  they  the  children 
of  God,  1  John  iii.  2.  And  in  the  midst  of 
their  trials  and  infirmities,  though  conscious 
of  much  defect,  and  many  defilements,  in  their 
best  hours  and  services  ;  and  though  they  have 
not  forgotten  their  iniquities  and  provocations, 
when  they  lived  without  God  in  the  world  ; 
yet,  according  to  the  measure  of  their  faith, 
exercised  upon  their  Saviour,  who  was  raised 
for  their  justification,  they  can  rejoice  in  the 
knowledge  of  their  acceptance,  and  rely  upon 
him  for  their  perseverance  ;  and  they  dare  ap- 
proach the  great,  holy,  and  heart-searching 
God,  as  to  a  Father,  and  pour  out  their  hearts 
before  him,  with  greater  freedom  than  they 
can  use  to  their  dearest  earthly  friends.  And 
while  they  feel  and  confess  themselves  unwor- 
thy of  the  smallest  of  his  mercies,  they  are  not 
afraid  to  ask  for  the  greatest  blessings  his 
bounty  can  bestow,  even  to  be  set  as  a  seal 
upon  his  heart,  and  upon  his  arm,  to  be  filled 


MESSIAH  RISING   FROM   THE  DEAD. 


with   all   his  communicable    fulness,    and   to 
claim  him  as  their  everlasting  portion. 

2.  The  resurrection  of  Christ  from  the  dead 
is  a  pledge  and  specimen  of  that  aimighty 
power  which  is  engaged  on  their  behalf,  to 
overcome  all  the  obstacles,  difficulties,  and 
enemies  they  are  liable  to  meet  with  in  their 
pilgrimage,  which  threaten  to  disappoint  their 
hopes,  and  to  prevent  them  from  obtaining 
their  heavenly  inheritance.  The  first  com- 
munication of  a  principle  of  faith  and  spiri- 
tual life  to  their  hearts,  whereby  they  are  de- 
livered from  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  from 
the  spirit  and  love  of  the  world,  is  attributed 
to  the  exceeding  greatness  of  that  mighty 
power  (Eph.  i.  19 — 21)  which  raised  the  dead 
body  of  the  Lord  from  the  grave,  and  set  him 
at  his  own  right  hand,  far  above  all  principa- 
lity and  might,  and  every  name  that  is  named. 
And  often  the  church,  collectively,  in  its  mi- 
litant state,  and  the  individuals  which  com- 
pose it,  in  their  personal  concerns,  have  been 
brought,  to  outward  appearance,  exceeding 
low.  Their  enemies  have  seemed  upon  the 
point  of  triumphing,  and  saying,  Down  with 
them,  even  to  the  ground.  Such  was  the 
boast  of  the  Jewish  rulers,  when  they  had 
slain  the  Shepherd  and  dispersed  his  flock. 
But  it  was  a  short-lived  boast.  He  arose,  he 
ascended,  he  took  possession  of  his  kingdom 
for  himself  and  for  them.  He  poured  out 
his  Holy  Spirit  upon  them,  and  they  went 
forth  preaching  his  word,  which  spread  like 
the  light  of  advancing  day,  from  Judea  to 
Samaria,  and  to  the  distant  parts  of  the  earth. 
The  united  force  of  the  powers  of  hell  and 
earth  endeavoured  to  suppress  it,  but  in  vain. 
Many  nations  and  kingdoms  laboured  to  ex- 
tirpate the  very  name  of  Christianity  from  a- 
mong  men,  but  they  successively  perished  in 
the  attempt;  and  the  cause  against  which 
they  raged  is  still  preserved.  It  is  founded 
upon  a  rock,  and  the  gates  of  hell  cannot 
prevail  against  it,  Matth.  xvi.  1  8.  Nor  can 
any  weapon  prosper  that  is  formed  against 
the  weakest  and  meanest  of  those  who  sin- 
cerely espouse  this  cause.  He,  to  whom  they 
have  devoted  and  entrusted  themselves,  has 
promised  that  none  shall  pluck  them  out  of 
his  hands,  John  x.  28.  And  while  he  re- 
mains faithful  to  his  word,  and  able  to  fulfil 
it,  they  shall  be  safe.  Yet  they  are  often 
pressed  above  measure,  beyond  strength,  in- 
somuch that  they  perhaps  despair  even  of  life. 
But  when  they  are  at  the  lowest,  the  Lord  is 
their  helper;  and  they  are  taught  by  the  exi- 
gencies they  pass  through,  to  trust,  not  in 
themselves,  but  in  God  who  raiseth  the  dead, 
2  Cor.  i.  9.  It  is,  indeed,  the  Lord's  usual 
method  of  training  up  his  people  to  an  habi- 
tual dependence  upon  himself.  When  he  has 
raised  their  expectations  by  his  promises,  he 
permits  as  it  were,  a  temporary  death  to  over- 
cloud their  prospect;  and  that  which  he  has 
said  lie  will  surely  do  for  them,  appears  for  a  J 


SEA.  XX  V. 

season,  to  the  judgment  of  sense,  impracti- 
cable and  hopeless.  We  might  illustrate  tin's 
point  at  large  from  the  history  of  Abraham, 
of  Israel  in  Egypt,  of  David,  and  of  the  re- 
building of  the  second  temple  ;  a.id  I  doubt 
not  but  it  might  be  illustrated  from  the  his- 
tory of  many  in  this  assembly.  If  you  have 
been  walking  with  God  for  any  considerable 
time,  you  have  met  with  turns  and  changes 
which  have  almost  put  you  to  a  stand.  You 
have  been,  and  perhaps  now  are,  in  such  cir- 
cumstances, that  you  feel  you  have  no  re- 
source in  yourself,  and  you  are  sure  that  the 
help  of  man  cannot  relieve  you  ;  but  while 
your  help  is  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  who 
made  heaven  and  earth  (Psal.  cxxiv.  8),  and 
while  you  are  warranted  to  trust  in  him,  who 
raiseth  the  dead,  you  have  no  just  reason  to 
despond.  It  was  a  dark  season  with  the  dis- 
ciples, when  their  Lord,  whom  they  loved, 
and  in  whom  they  trusted,  that  it  had  been  he 
who  should  have  redeemed  Israel  (Luke  xxiv. 
20,  21),  was  condemned,  and  put  to  death. 
But  the  appointed  third  day  relieved  their 
fears,  and  turned  their  mourning  into  joy. 

3.  His  resurrection  is  the  pledge  and  pat- 
tern of  ours.  As  certainly  as  Christ,  the  first- 
fruits  is  risen,  so  certainly  shall  they  that  are 
Christ's  arise  at  his  coming.  And  each  of 
his  people  shall  arise  aliusque  ct  idem.*  Their 
bodies,  though  properly  their  own,  shall  be 
changed,  and  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious 
body,  Phil.  iii.  21.  This  corruptible  must 
put  on  incorruption  ;  and  the  body,  which  is 
sown  in  dishonour  and  weakness,  be  raised  in 
power  and  glory.  Flesh  and  blood,  in  its 
present  state,  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God.  The  body,  in  this  life,  is  a  clog  and 
a  burden  to  those  who  place  their  chief  hap- 
piness in  the  service  of  God,  and  in  commu- 
nion with  him.  It  is  a  vile  body,  defiled  by 
sin,  and  it  defiles  their  best  desires  and  no- 
blest efforts.  Even  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  by  which  they  live,  though  perfectly 
pure  in  itself,  is  debased,  when  communi- 
cated to  them,  and  exercised  under  the  dis- 
advantages of  a  sinful  nature,  as  the  best 
wine  will  receive  a  taint  if  poured  into  a  foul 
vessel.  The  body,  in  another  view,  is  a  pri- 
son, in  which  the  soul,  confined  and  pent  up, 
is  limited  in  its  operations,  and  impeded  in 
its  perceptions  of  divine  things.  Though  we 
are  probably  surrounded  by  the  glorious  rea- 
lities of  the  spiritual  world,  only  short  and 
transient  glances  of  them  are  discoverable  by 
us;  we  see  but  by  reflection,  and  darkly 
(1  Cor.  xiii.  12)  ;  we  know  but  in  part,  and 
should  know  nothing  of  them,  but  for  the 
good  report  of  the  word  of  God.  Farther, 
the  body,  as  it  is  the  seat  of  innumerable  in- 
firmities, and  the  medium  which  connects  us 
with  the  calamities  incident  to  this  mortal 
state,  is  often  a  great  hindrance  to  our  most 

*    Another  and  yet  the  soma 


SKIt.  XXVI. 


THE  ASCENSION   Ol' 


desirable  enjoyments.  Pain  and  sickness  call 
off'  the  attention,  and  indispose  our  faculties, 
when  we  wish  to  be  most  engaged  in  prayer, 
detain  us  from  the  ordinances,  or  prevent  the 
pleasure  we  hope  for  in  waiting  upon  the 
Lord  in  them.  But  our  new,  spiritual,  and 
glorified  bodies  will  be  free  from  all  defile- 
ment or  defect.  They  will  be  completely 
qualified  to  answer  the  best  wishes,  and  most 
enlarged  activity  of  the  soul.  Then,  but  not 
till  then,  we  hope  to  be  all  eye,  all  ear,  al- 
ways upon  the  wing  in  his  service,  and  per- 
fectly conformed  to  his  image,  in  light,  holi- 
ness, and  love ;  for  then  we  shall  see  him  as 
he  is,  without  any  interposing  veil  or  cloud, 
1  John  iii.  2. 


SERMON  XXVI. 

THE  ASCENSION  OF  MESSIAH  TO  GLORY 

Lift  up  your  heads,  0  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lift 
up,  ye  everlasting  doors,  and  the  King  of 
glory  shall  come  in  Who  is  this  King  of 
glory  ?  The  Lord  strong  and  mighty,  the 
Lord  mighty  in  battle.  Lift  up  your  heads, 
0  ye  gates,  even  lift  up,  ye  everlasting  doors, 
and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in.  Who  is 
this  King  of  glory  ?  The  Lord  of  Hosts,  he 
is  the  King  of  glory.      Psalm  xxiv.  7 — 10. 

The  institutions  of  the  Levitical  law  were  a 
shadow  or  sketch  of  good  things  to  come. 
They  exhibited  a  faint  and  general  outline  of 
the  mediation  and  glory  of  Messiah.  They 
may  be  compared  to  the  delicate  engravings 
on  a  seal,  the  beauty  and  proportions  of  which 
aannot  be  plainly  discerned  without  the  assist- 
ance of  a  glass.  The  gospel  answers  to  such 
a  glass.  Beheld  through  this  medium,  the 
miniature  delineations  of  the  law,  which  to 
the  eye  of  unassisted,  unhumbled  reason,  ap- 
pear confused  and  insignificant,  display  a  pre- 
cision of  arrangement  in  the  parts,  and  an  im- 
portance of  design  in  the  whole,  worthy  of  the 
wisdom  of  their  ^reat  Author. 

From  the  similarity  of  the  subject  of  this 
psalm  and  the  sixty-eighth,  it  is  at  least  pro- 
bable that  they  were  both  composed  upon  the 
same  occasion,  the  removal  of  the  ark  of  the 
Lord  from  its  last  stationary  residence  to  its 
fixed  abode  in  Zion,  when  the  king,  the  priests, 
the  singers,  and  the  harpers,  all  assisted  in  the 
procession,  attended  by  a  great  concourse  of 
the  people.  The  language  of  the  latter  part 
of  the  psalm  is  evidently  alternate.  And  we 
may  conceive,  that  when  the  ark  approached 
the  tabernacle,  the  priests  and  Levites  who 
accompanied  it,  demanded  admittance  for  it  in 
these  words,  "  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates," 
&c.  and  were  answered  by  those  who  were  wait- 
ing within  to  receive  it,  "  Who  is  the  King 
of  glory  ?"    To  which  question  the  proper  re- 


MESSIAI1   TO  GLORY.  731 

ply  is  made,   "  The  Lord  of  Hosts,  he  is  the 
King  of  glory." 

This,  if  taken  according  to  the  letter  of  the 
history,  was  a  grand  and  solemn  transaction. 
But  it  was  at  the  same  time  a  type  of  an  event 
unspeakably  more  glorious.  They  who  know 
that  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  tes- 
tify of  Christ,  that  it  is  he  of  whom  Moses  in 
the  Law,  D.ivid  in  the  Psalms,  and  all  the 
succeeding  prophets,  did  write,  will,  I  think, 
agree  in  considering  this  passage  as  referring 
to  his  ascension,  in  the  nature  in  which  he 
suffered,  into  the  true  holy  place  in  the  hea- 
vens, as  the  representative  and  high-priest  of 
his  people;  when,  after  having  by  his  own 
self  purged  our  sins,  he  sat  down  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high.  Then  having 
spoiled  principalities  and  powers,  he  triumph- 
ed over  them  openly,  though  not  in  the  view 
of  mortal  eyes.  He  lifted  up  his  hands,  and 
blessed  his  apostles,  and  while  in  this  attitude 
he  was  parted  from  them,  Luke  xxiv.  51. 
He  ascended  gently  and  gradually,  and  they, 
admiring  and  adoring,  beheld  him  with  fixed 
attention,  till  a  cloud  concealed  him  from  their 
sight,  Acts  i.  9.  The  pomp  and  triumph  of 
his  ascension  were  displayed  in  the  invisible 
world.  But  this  description,  accommodated 
to  our  apprehensions,  is  given  to  assist  the 
faith  of  his  people,  that  their  hearts  may  be 
comforted,  their  meditations  enlarged,  and 
that  in  the  exercise  of  grateful  love,  they  may 
follow  him  in  their  thoughts,  ascend  with  him 
into  the  heavenly  places,  and  rejoice  in  his 
glory. 

We  conceive  of  him,  therefore,  from  this 
sublime  passage,  as  ascending  to  his  Father 
and  our  Father,  to  his  God  and  our  God,  ac- 
companied with  a  train  of  worshipping  angels, 
who  demand  admittance  for  Messiah,  the  Sa- 
viour and  friend  of  sinners,  as  the  King  of 
glory.  The  question  is  asked,  Who  is  he  that 
claims  this  honour  ?  An  answer  is  given,  as- 
serting his  character,  his  victories,  and  the  jus- 
tice of  his  claims — "  The  Lord  of  Hosts,  the 
Lord  strong  in  batile,  he  is  the  King  of  glo- 
ry." 

The  principal  points  which  offer  to  our  con- 
sideration are, 

I.  His  tit  e, — The  Lord  of  hosts. 

II.  His  victories,  implied  in  the  expression, 
— The  Lord  strong  and  mighty  in  battle. 

III.  His  mediatorial  title, — The  King  of 
glory. 

IV.  His  authoritative  entrance  into  the 
holy  place. 

I.  Messiah,  who  humbled  himself  to  tlit 
death  of  the  cross,  is  the  Lord  of  hosts.  He 
is  so,  if  the  scripture  be  true ;  I  attempt  no 
other  proof.  This  is  a  point  not  referred  to 
the  discussion  of  our  fallen  reason,  but  pro- 
posed by  the  authority  of  God  in  his  word, 
as  the  foundation  of  our  faith  and  hope.  He 
is  the  husband  of  the  church,  and  the  husband 
of  the  church  is  the  Lord  of  hosts,  Isa.  liv.  5. 


732 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  MESSIAH  TO   GLORY. 


Jkfc.lt     \X\'i 


It  was  the  Lord  of  hosts,  whom  Isaiah  saw, 
seated  upon  a  throne,  high  and  lifted  up,  and 
Lis  train  filling  the  temple,  Isa.  vi.  1.  The 
vision  filled  him  with  astonishment,  and  he 
cried  out,  "  Woe  is  me,  I  am  undone;— for 
mine  eyes  have  seen  the  King,  the  Lord  of 
hosts."  But  the  apostle  John  assures  us, 
that  when  Isaiah  said  these  things,  he  saw  his 
glory,  and  spake  of  him,  John  xii.  41.  This 
is  the  title  of  God  in  the  Old  Testament ;  or, 
as  some  chuse  to  speak,  of  the  Supreme  Being. 
And  it  is  ascribed  to  Messiah  in  many  places. 
Therefore,  if  he  were  not  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
the  scripture  would  be  chargeable  with  autho- 
rizing, yea  with  enjoining  idolatry.  But  he 
is  the  true  God,  and  eternal  life  (1  John  v. 
20)  ;  and  they  who  give  him  the  honour  due 
to  his  name,  have  every  thing  to  hope  and  no- 
thing to  fear. 

II.  He  is  the  Lord  strong  and  mighty  in 
battle.  It  was  in  his  human  nature  he  en- 
gaged in  battle  with  his  enemies  and  ours. 
But  the  battle  was  the  Lord's.  Therefore, 
though  he  trod  the  wine-press  alone,  and  of 
the  people  there  was  none  with  him  (Isaiah 
Ixiii.  3),  his  own  arm  brought  him  salvation. 
He  is  conqueror  of  sin,  Satan,  and  death.  We 
were  under  the  power  of  these  ;  therefore,  for 
our  sakes,  he  engaged  in  conflict  with  their 
united  force.  He  fought,  he  bled,  he  died  ; 
but  in  dying,  he  conquered.  The  strength  of 
sin  is  the  law  ;  this  strength,  he  subdued,  by 
obeying  the  precepts  of  the  law,  and  sustain- 
ing the  penalty  due  to  our  transgressions.  He 
destroyed  death,  and  disarmed  it  of  its  sting. 
He  destroyed  him  that  hath  the  power  of 
death,  Satan.  He  shook,  he  overturned  the 
foundations  of  his  kingdom,  broke  open  his 
prison-doors,  released  his  prisoners,  delivered 
the  prey  out  of  the  hand  of  the  mighty,  and 
having  spoiled  principalities  and  powers,  he 
made  a  show  of  them  openly,  triumphing  over 
them  in  it,  that  is,  in  his  cross,  Col.  ii.  15. 
The  apostle  alludes  to  the  manner  of  a 
Roman  triumph,  in  which  the  conqueror  was 
drawn  in  a  chariot  of  state,  attended  by  his 
officers  and  soldiers  ;  the  principal  prisoners 
followed  in  chains,  and  all  the  treasures  and 
trophies  gained  from  the  vanquished  enemy 
were  displayed  to  adorn  the  procession.  Thus 
Messiah  subdued  the  strength  and  policy  of 
the  powers  of  darkness,  in  the  hour  of  his 
lowest  humiliation,  when  he  hung  and  ex- 
pired upon  the  cross,  and  triumphed  over 
them,  gloriously  leading  captivity  captive, 
when  he  ascended  on  high,  Psal.  lxviii.  18. 
Satan,  though  still  an  enemy  to  his  church 
and  cause,  is  despoiled  of  his  dominion  ;  his 
power  is  only  permissive,  and  in  his  fiercest  as- 
saults he  is  limited  by  bounds  which  he  cannot 
pa>s,  by  a  chain  which  he  cannot  break;  and 
all  his  attempts  are  controuled  and  over-ruled, 
to  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  which  he  would 
suppress,  and  to  the  good  of  the  persons  whom 


he  would  worry  and  destroy.  They  are  made 
acquainted  with  his  devices,  funished  with 
armour  sufficient  to  repel  him,  and  they  fight 
under  encouragement  of  a  sure  promise,  that 
the  God  of  peace  will  shortly  and  finally  bruise 
Satan  under  their  feet.  As  Messiah,  their 
King,  has  conquered  for  them,  so  they,  in 
due  time,  shall  be  made  more  than  conquer- 
ors, by  faith  in  his  blood,  and  in  the  word  of 
his  testimony. 

III.  The  title  of  King  of  glory,  I  under- 
stand as  peculiarly  applicable  to  him  in  the 
character  of  Mediator.  The  glory  of  his  di- 
vine nature  is  essential  to  him.  But  in  con- 
sequence of  his  obedience  unto  death,  he  ob- 
tained, in  the  human  nature,  a  name  that  is 
above  every  name,  Phil.  ii.  9.  He  suffered 
as  a  man,  yea,  as  a  malefactor ;  there  was  no 
appearance  of  glory  in  that  form  of  a  servant 
which  he  assumed  for  our  sakes.  Though 
without  sin,  he  was  made  in  the  likeness  of 
sinful  flesh,  subject  to  poverty,  disgrace,  and 
death  ;  but  the  same  man  who  was  crucified, 
dead,  and  buried,  received  glory  and  autho- 
rity at  his  resurrection,  and  was  highly  exalted 
to  the  administration  of  all  dominion  and  go- 
vernment. Perhaps  the  word  glory  is  not 
easily  defined.  We  conceive  it  as  expressing 
brightness  and  splendour.  The  glory  of  Solo- 
mon was  the  combined  effect  of  his  wisdom, 
power,  and  riches  ;  which  distinguished  him 
in  his  character,  conduct,  and  appearance,  from 
other  men.  The  glory  of  the  su  n  is  his  effulgence 
and  influence.  The  word  glory,  when  applied 
to  the  blessed  God,  seems  to  denote  that  ma- 
nifestation of  himself,  by  which  his  intelligent 
creatures  are  capable  of  knowing  him ;  for  in 
himself  he  is  infinite,  inaccessible,  and  incom- 
prehensible, and  dwelleth  in  that  light  which 
no  man,  which  no  creature,  can  approach  unto, 
1  Tim.  vi.  16.  Of  this  manifestation  there 
are  various  degrees.  His  glory  shines  in  the 
creation.  Not  only  do  the  heavens  declare  it 
by  their  immensity  (Ps.  xix.  1),  and  furnish 
us  with  an  idea  of  his  unspeakable  greatness, 
who  has  sent  forth  ten  thousand  worlds,  to 
tell  us  that  he  resides  above  them  all ;  but  the 
|  smallest  of  his  works,  the  grass  and  flowers  of 
!  the  field,  and  the  insects  which  creep  upon  the 
ground  (Ps.  civ.  24,  25),  bear  an  impression 
of  his  wisdom  and  goodness,  an  inimitable  cri- 
terion of  his  wonder-working  hand,  which  so 
far  displays  his  glory.  To  an  attentive  and 
discerning  mind,  his  glory  shines  in  his  pro- 
vidence ;  in  his  preserving  the  world  which 
he  has  made  ;  in  supplying  the  various  wants 
of  his  creatures,  and  particularly  in  his  moral 
government  of  mankind.  Here,  besides  his 
wisdom,  power,  and  general  goodness,  we  dis. 
cover  some  traces  of  his  character  as  the  right- 
eous Judge  of  the  earth.  But  to  our  limited 
capacities  and  views  this  glory  is  obscured  by 
many  difficulties.  Though  righteousness  and 
judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne,  yel 


THE  ASCENSION   OF  MESSIAH   TO   GLORY. 


SEU.  XXVI. 

clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  him, 
Ps.  xcvii.  2.  By  his  holy  word,  his  revealed 
will,  we  are  favoured  with  a  still  brighter  dis- 
play of  his  glory,  in  the  perfections  of  holi- 
ness, justice,  truth,  and  mercy,  which  fallen 
man  is  unable  clearly  to  discover  in  his  works 
of  creation  and  providence.  But  chiefly  his 
Son  is  the  brightness  of  his  glory,  and  the  ex- 
press image  of  his  person,  Heb.  i  3.  No  one 
hath  seen  God  at  any  time,  but  the  only-begot- 
ten Son,  who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father 
(John  i.  18),  intimately  acquainted  with  his 
counsels,  he  hath  declared  him.  This  was 
the  great  design  of  his  advent,  to  make  God 
known  to  man  :  for  as  it  is  life  eternal  to  know 
the  only  true  God  ;  so  he  is  only  to  be  known 
in  and  by  Jesus  Christ,  whom  he  hath  sent 
(John  xvii.  3),  and  who  is  the  way  and  the 
door,  and  there  is  no  entrance  to  the  know- 
ledge of  God  but  by  him.  In  the  person  and 
work  of  Messiah,  the  light  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  glory  of  God,  tlie  brightness  and  har- 
mony of  all  his  attributes,  is  transcendently 
revealed.  In  this  sense,  he  is  the  Lord,  the 
King  of  glory.  When  we  are  enlightened  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  to  conceive  of  him  according 
to  the  testimony  given  of  him  in  the  scripture, 
we  see  the  glory  of  God.  Other  discoveries 
of  it  are  but  scattered  rays  and  emanations  of 
light;  but  in  Jesus  the  glory  of  God  resides 
in  its  source  and  fulness,  as  light  in  the  sun. 
He  is  therefore  the  King  of  glory. 

IV.  As  the  acknowledged  King  of  glory, 
in  the  nature  of  man,  he  ascended ;  the  ever- 
lasting gates  unfolded  wide,  and  he  entered 
into  the  holy  place,  not  made  with  hands, 
there  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God  for  his 
people  -. 

1.  As  their  representative.  The  glory  is 
properly  his  own,  the  benefit  redounds  to  his 
people.  Sin  had  excluded  them  from  the  king- 
dom ;  but  he  claimed  and  took  possession  in 
their  name,  Heb.  vi.  20.  Hence  he  is  styled 
their  forerunner,  because  by  virtue  of  their  re- 
lation to  him,  and  their  interest  in  him,  they 
shall  surely  follow  him.  This  is  the  encou- 
ragement of  believers.  He  is  the  head  of  his 
body  the  church  ■  and  though  the  church, 
while  in  this  world,  is  in  a  suffering  perilous 
state  ;  yet  as  the  body  of  a  man  is  not  in  dan- 
ger of  drowning  while  bis  head  is  out  of  the 
water,  so  our  forerunner  and  head  being  in 
heaven  on  their  behalf,  he  will  assuredly  draw 
all  his  living  members  to  himself.  He  has 
said,  "  Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also,"  John 
xiv.  19,  And  he  has  stipulated  for  them,  that 
they  shall,  each  in  his  appointed  time,  be  with 
him  where  he  is,  to  behold  his  glory,  John 
xvii.  24. 

2.  As  their   High-priest   and    Intercessor. 
He  presents  their  persons   and  their  prayers 
acceptable  to  God.      He  bears  the  iniquity  of : 
their  holy  things.      With  this  encouragement,  I 
weak  and  unworthy  as  they  are  in  themselves, 
and    though   their  best  services   are  polluted, 


733 


they  find  a  liberty  of  access;  and  because  he 
ever  liveth,  thus  to  make  intercession  for  all 
who  come  unto  God  by  him  (Heb.  vii.  25), 
they  know  that  he  is  able  to  save  them  to  the 
uttermost. 

3.  Though  the  heavens  must  receive  and 
contain  his  holy  human  nature  till  the  resti- 
tution of  all  things,  he  is  not  unmindful  of 
them  in  their  present  circumstances.  He  is 
seated  upon  the  throne  of  universal  dominion, 
and  he  exercises  his  authority  and  rule  with 
an  especial  view  to  their  welfare.  While  he 
pleads  for  them  on  high,  by  the  power  of  his 
Spirit,  he  is  present  with  them  below.  He 
comforts  their  hearts,  enlivens  their  assemblies, 
and  manages  their  concerns.  He  is  their  Shep- 
herd, who  gives  them  food,  controuls  their 
enemies,  revives  their  fainting  spirits,  and  re- 
stores their  wanderings,  Psal.  xxiii.  His  ear 
is  open  to  their  prayers,  his  eye  is  upon  them 
in  every  situation,  and  his  arm  stretched  forth 
for  their  relief.  Therefore,  though  persecut- 
ed, they  are  not  forsaken  ;  though  cast  down, 
they  are  not  destroyed.  And  he  has  promised 
that  he  will  not  leave  them,  until  he  has 
done  all  that  for  them  which  his  word  has 
taught  them  to  hope  for  ;  until  he  has  made 
them  victorious  over  all  their  enemies,  and  put 
the  conqueror's  song  in  their  mouths,  and  a 
crown  of  life  upon  their  heads. 

This  High  and  Holy  One,  this  King  of  glo- 
ry, who  is  seated  on  the  throne  of  heaven, 
dwelleth  also  in  the  humble  and  lowly  spirit. 
He  thus  solemnly  claims  the  throne  of  the 
heart  of  each  of  his  people,  which  in  a  state 
of  nature  is  usurped  by  self  and  Satan  ;  and 
he  is  thus  willingly  acknowledged  and  ad- 
mitted in  the  day  of  his  power.  Behold  !  he 
stands  at  the  door,  and  knocks  (Rev.  iii. 
20) ;  and  because  he  is  as  yet  unknown,  he 
is  for  a  while  rejected.  The  bolts  and  bars  of 
prejudice  and  unbelief  withstand  his  entrance. 
But  when  he  comes  on  a  purpose  of 
grace,  he  will  take  no  denial.  For  a  season 
he  waits  to  be  gracious.  But  he  has  an  ap- 
pointed hour,  when  he  reveals  his  great 
name,  and  makes  the  soul  sensible  who  he  is  ! 
Then  the  gates  cf  brass  and  bars  of  iro:i  are 
broken  before  him.  His  greatness  and  his 
goodness,  what  he  is  in  himself,  and  what  he 
has  done  and  suffered  for  sinners,  are  motives 
which  cannot  be  resisted  when  they  are  truly 
understood.  Satan,  who,  as  the  strong  one 
armed,  Ions  laboured  to  hinder  him  from  his 
rightful  possession,  is  himself  dispossessed. 
The  soul  laments  its  former  obstinacy,  throws 
down  its  i-.rms,  throws  wide  open  its  doors, 
and  bids  the  King  of  glory  welcome.  Then 
old  things  pass  away,  and  all  things  become 
new.  Such  was  the  change  the  poor  man  ex- 
perienced, out  of  whom  Jesus  cast  a  legion  of 
evil  spirits.  At  first,  if  he  could,  he  would 
have  prevented  his  kind  purpose;  he  was 
afraid  of  his  deliverer,  and  said,  "  I  beseech 
thee   torment   me   not."    Mark  v.    7.      How 


734 


MESSIAH   THE  SON   OF  GOD. 


wretched  was  liis  state  then,  miserable  in  him- 
self, and  a  terror  to  others  !  But  what  a  won- 
derful and  happy  alteration,  when  he  sat  quiet- 
ly at  his  Saviour's  feet,  clothed  and  in  his  right 
mind  ! 

I  close  the  subject  with  the  apostle's  infer- 
ence, "  Seeing  then  that  we  have  so  great  a 
high-priest,  who  is  passed  into  the  heavens, 
Jesus  the  Son  of  God,  let  us  hold  fast  our  pro- 
fession." Heb.  iv.  14.  Let  not  those  who 
know  him  be  ashamed  of  their  attachment  to 
him.  You  will  not  repent  in  a  dying  hour, 
that  you  once  thought  too  highly  of  him,  or 
expected  too  much  from  him,  or  devoted  your- 
selves with  too  much  earnestness  to  his  service. 
Nor  yield  to  unbelief  and  fear.  Though  your 
enemies  are  many  and  mighty,  and  your  trials 
great,  greater  is  he  that  is  with  you.  If  the 
Lord,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  Lord  strong  and 
mighty  in  battle,  be  for  you,  who  can  be  against 
you,  so  as  effectually  to  harm  you?  Continue 
instant  in  prayer,  persevere  in  well-doing. 
Our  ascended  Lord  will  one  day  return  ;  and 
then  they  who  have  loved  and  served,  and 
trusted  him  here,  shall  appear  with  him  in 
glory,  Col.  iii.  4. 

Others,  if  they  can,  must  prepare  to  meet 
him.  But  alas!  how  shall  they  stand  before 
him  ?  Or  whither  shall  they  flee  from  him 
whose  presence  filleth  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  ?  Jer.  xxiii.  24.  Have  they  an  arm  like 
God  ?  or  can  they  thunder  with  a  voice  like 
his  ?  As  yet  he  is  proclaimed  by  the  gospel,  a 
Saviour,  seated  upon  a  throne  of  grace,  stretch- 
ing forth  the  golden  sceptre  of  his  love,  and 
inviting  sinners  to  be  reconciled.  Now  is  the 
accepted  time.  Hereafter  he  will  be  seen  up- 
on a  throne  of  judgment,  to  take  vengeance 
of  his  enemies. 


SERMON  XXVII. 

MESSIAH  THE  SON  OF  GOD. 

For  unto  which  of  the  angels  said  he  at  any 
lime,  Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  be- 
gotten thee?  Hebrews,  i  5. 

Though  every  part  of  a  revelation  from  God 
must  of  course  be  equally  true,  there  may  be 
a  considerable  difference  even  among  truths 
proposed  by  the  same  authority,  with  respect 
to  their  immediate  importance.  There  are 
fundamental  truths,  the  knowledge  of  which 
is  essentially  necessary  to  our  peace  and  holi~ 
ness :  and  there  are  others  of  a  secondary 
nature,  which,  though  very  useful  in  their 
proper  connection,  and  though  the  right  ap- 
prehension of  them  is  greatly  conducive  to  the 
comfort  and  establishment  of  a  believer,  are 
!iot  so  necessary,  but  that  he  may  be  a  true 
believer   before   he  clearly   understands  theni. 


SER.  XXVII. 

Thus  our  Lord  pronounced  Peter  blessed 
(Matt.  xvi.  17),  for  his  acknowledgment  of  a 
truth,  which  had  been  revealed  to  him,  not  by 
flesh  and  blood,  but  from  above,  though  he 
was  at  that  time  very  deficient  in  doctrinal 
knowledge.  It  is  not  easy  to  draw  the  line 
here,  and  precisely  to  distinguish  between  fun- 
damental and  secondary  truths  ;  yet  some  at- 
tention to  this  distinction  is  expedient  ;  and 
the  want  of  such  attention  has  greatly  contri- 
buted to  foment  and  embitter  controversies  in 
the  Church  of  Christ ;  while  fallible  men, 
from  a  mistaken  zeal  for  the  faith  once  deliv- 
ered to  the  saints,  have  laboured  to  enforce 
all  their  religious  sentiments  with  an  equal  and 
indiscriminate  vehemence.  It  is  evident,  that 
the  truths  essential  to  the  very  being  of  a 
Christian  must  be  known  and  experienced  by 
all,  of  every  nation,  people,  and  language, 
who  are  taught  of  God  (Is.  liv.  13)  ;  for  they, 
and  they  only,  are  Christians  indeed,  who  are 
thus  taught.  And  therefore  it  seems  to  fol- 
low, that  no  doctrine,  however  true  in  itself, 
which  humble  and  spiritual  persons,  who  study 
the  scriptures  with  prayer,  and  really  depend 
upon  divine  teaching,  are  not  agreed  in,  can 
be  strictly  fundamental.  And  perhaps  the 
chief  part  of  the  apparent  diversity  of  their 
sentiments  does  not  so  often  respect  the  truth 
itself,  as  the  different  acceptation  they  put 
upon  the  words  and  phrases  by  which  they  en- 
deavour to  express  their  meaning  to  each 
other. 

However,  if  diere  be  any  doctrine  funda- 
mental, and  necessary  to  be  rightly  under- 
stood, what  the  scriptures  teach  concerning 
the  person  of  Messiah  the  Redeemer,  must  be 
eminently  so.  Mistakes  upon  this  point  must 
necessarily  be  dangerous.  It  cannot  be  a 
question  of  mere  speculation,  whether  the  Sa. 
viour  be  God  or  a  creature;  he  must  eithei 
be  the  one  or  the  other  ;  and  the  whole  frame 
of  our  religion  is  unavoidably  dependent  upon 
the  judgment  we  form  of  him.  If  he  be  a 
man  only,  or  if  he  be  an  angel,  though  of  the 
highest  order,  and  possessed  of  excellencies 
peculiar  to  himself;  still,  upon  the  supposi- 
tion that  he  is  but  a  creature,  he  must  be  in- 
finitely inferior  to  his  Maker,  in  comparison 
of  whose  immensity  the  difference  between  an 
angel  and  a  worm  is  annihilated.  Then  all 
they  who  pay  divine  worship  to  Jesus,  who 
love  him  above  all,  trust  him  with  all  their 
concerns  for  time  and  eternity,  and  address 
him  in  the  language  of  Thomas,  "  My  Lord, 
and  my  God"  (John  xx.  28),  are  involved  in 
the  gross  and  heinous  crime  of  idolatry,  by  as- 
cribing to  him  that  glory  which  the  great  God 
has  declared  he  will  not  give  to  another,  Is. 
xlii.  8.  On  the  contrary,  if  he  be  God  over 
all  blessed  for  ever,  Jehovah,  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  then  they  who  refuse  him  the  honour 
due  unto  his  name,  worship  they  know  not 
what,  John  iv.  22.  For  there  is  but  one  God; 
and,    according  to   this   plan,   they  who  know 


SMI.  XXV11. 

liim  not  in  Christ,  know  him  not  at  all,  but 
are  without  God  in  the  world,  Ephes.  ii.  12. 
The  judgment  we  form  of  the  Saviour  de- 
monstrates likewise  how  far  we  know  our- 
selves. For  it  may  be  fairly  presumed,  that 
they  who  think  a  creature  capable  of  making 
atonement  for  their  sins,  or  of  sustaining  the 
office  of  Shepherd  and  bishop  of  their  souls, 
have  too  slight  thoughts,  both  of  the  evil  of 
sin,  and  of  the  weakness  and  wickedness  of 
the  human  heart. 

We  ascribe  it  therefore  to  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  God,  that  a  doctrine  so  import- 
ant ;  the  very  pillar  and  ground  of  truth,  is 
not  asserted  once  or  in  a  few  places  of  scrip- 
ture only.  It  does  not  depend  upon  texts 
which  require  a  nice  skill  in  criticism,  or  a 
collation  of  ancient  manuscripts,  to  settle 
their  sense ;  but,  like  the  blood  in  the  animal 
economy,  it  pervades  and  enlivens  the  whole 
system  of  revelation.  The  books  of  Moses, 
the  Psalms,  and  the  Prophets,  all  testify  of 
Him,  who  was  styled  the  Son  of  God  in  so 
peculiar  a  sense,  that  the  apostle,  in  this  pas- 
sage, considers  it  as  a  sufficient  proof  that  he 
is  by  nature  superior  to  all  creatures.  The 
form  of  the  question  implies  the  strongest  as- 
sertion of  this  superiority  ;  as  if  he  had  said, 
Conceive  of  the  highest  and  most  exalted  of  the 
angels,  it  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that 
God  would  say  to  him,  "  Thou  art  my  Son, 
this  day  have  I  begotten  thee." 

The  verse  contains  three  terms  which  re- 
quire explanation,  My  Son — Begotten — This 
day.  But  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ? 
If  I  attempt  to  explain  them,  I  wish  to  speak 
with  a  caution  and  modesty  becoming  the 
sense  I  ought  to  haVe  of  my  own  weakness, 
and  to  keep  upon  safe  ground;  lest,  instead 
of  elucidating  so  sublime  a  subject,  I  should 
darken  counsel  by  words  without  knowledge. 
And  I  know  of  no  safe  ground  to  go  upon  in 
these  inquiries,  but  the  sure  testimony  of 
scripture.  It  would  be  to  the  last  degree  im- 
proper to  indulge  nights  of  imagination,  or  a 
spirit  of  curiosity  or  conjecture  upon  this  oc- 
casion. These  are  the  deep  things  of  God, 
in  which,  if  we  have  not  the  guidance  of  his 
word  and  Spirit,  we  shall  certainly  bewilder 
ourselves.  Nor  would  I  speak  in  a  positive 
dogmatizing  strain  ;  at  the  same  time  I  trust 
the  scripture  will  afford  light  sufficient  to  pre- 
serve us  from  a  cold  and  comfortless  uncer- 
tainty. 

The  gracious  design  of  God  in  affording  us 
his  holy  scripture,  is  to  make  us  wise  unto 
salvation,  2  Tim.  iii.  15.  His  manner  of 
teaching  is  therefore  accommodated  to  our 
circumstances.  He  instructs  us  in  heavenly 
things  by  earthly.  And  to  engage  our  confi- 
dence, to  excite  our  gratitude,  to  animate  us 
to  our  duty  by  the  most  affecting  motives ; 
and  that  the  reverence  we  owe  to  his  great 
and  glorious  Majesty,  as  our  Creator  and  Le- 
gislator,   mav    be    combined    with    love    and 


MESSIAH   THE  SOX  OF  GOD. 


735 


cheerful  dependence,  he  is  pleased  to  reveal 
himself  by  those  names  which  express  the 
nearest  relation  and  endearment  amongst  our- 
selves. Thus  he  condescends  to  style  himself 
the  Father,  the  Husband,  and  the  Friend  of 
his  people.  But  though  in  this  way  we  are 
assisted  in  forming  our  conceptions  of  his 
love,  compassion,  and  faith  fulness,  it  is  ob- 
vious that  these  names,  when  applied  to  him, 
must  be  understood  in  a  sense  agreeable  to 
the  perfections  of  his  nature,  and  in  many  re- 
spects different  from  the  meaning  they  bear 
amongst  men.  And  thus,  when  we  are  in- 
formed that  God  has  a  Son,  an  only  Son,  an 
only  begotten  Son,  it  is  our  part  to  receive  his 
testimony,  to  admire  and  adore  ;  and  for  an 
explanation  adapted  to  our  profit  and  com- 
fort, we  are  to  consult,  not  our  own  precon- 
ceived ideas,  but  the  further  declarations  of 
his  word,  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spi- 
ritual, attending  with  the  simpl  city  of  chil- 
dren to  his  instructions,  and  avoiding,  as  much 
as  possible,  those  vain  reasonings,  upon  points 
above  our  comprehension,  which,  though  flat- 
tering to  the  pride  of  our  hearts,  are  sure  to 
indispose  us  for  the  reception  of  divine  truth. 
A  distinction  in  the  divine  nature,  inconceiv- 
able by  us,  but  plainly  revealed  in  terms,  must 
be  admitted,  upon  the  testimony  and  authori- 
ty of  him,  who  alone  can  instruct  us  in  what 
we  are  concerned  to  know  of  his  adorable  es- 
sence. "  There  are  three  that  bear  record  in 
heaven,  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  these  three  are  one,"  1  John  v.  7. 
To  each  of  these  three  the  perfections  of  Deity 
are  attributed  and  ascribed  in  various  parts  of 
scripture.  Each  of  them  therefore  is  God  ; 
and  yet  we  are  sure,  both  from  scripture  and 
reason,  there  is,  there  can  be  but  one  God. 
Thus  far  we  can  go  safely ;  and  that  we  can 
go  no  farther,  that  our  thoughts  are  lost  and 
overwhelmed,  if  we  attempt  to  represent  to 
ourselves  how  or  in  what  manner  three  are 
one,  and  one  are  three,  may  be  easily  account- 
ed for,  if  any  just  reason  can  be  given,  why  a 
worm  cannot  comprehend  infinity.  Let  us 
first,  if  we  can,  account  for  the  nature,  essence, 
and  properties  of  the  things  with  which,  as  to 
their  effects,  we  are  familiarly  acquainted. 
Let  us  explain  the  growth  of  a  blade  of  grass, 
or  the  virtues  of  the  loadstone.  Till  we  are 
able  to  do  this,  it  becomes  us  to  lay  our  hands 
upon  our  mouths,  and  our  mouths  in  the  dust. 
Far  from  attempting  to  explain  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity  to  my  hearers,  I  rather  wish  to 
leave  an  impression  upon  your  minds,  that  it 
is  to  us  (and  perhaps  to  the  highest  created 
intelligences)  incomprehensible.  But  if  it  be 
contained  in  the  scripture  (which  I  must 
leave  to  your  own  consciences  to  determine  in 
the  sight  of  God),  it  is  thereby  sufficiently 
proved,  and  humble  faith  requires  no  other 
proof. 

Allow  me  to  confirm  my  own  sentiments, 
by    an    observation    of   a    celebrated     French 


736 


MESSIAH   THE  SON   OF  GOD. 


.skk.  xxv  n 


writer*  to  the  following  purport: — "  The 
whole  difference,  with  respect  to  this  subject, 
between  the  common  people  and  the  learned 
doctors,  is — that  while  they  are  both  equally 
ignorant,  the  ignorance  of  the  people  is  mo- 
dest and  ingenuous,  and  they  do  not  blush  for 
being  unable  to  see  what  God  has  thought  fit 
to  conceal.      Whereas  the  ignorance  of  their 


salvation,  it  would  have  been  a  great  and  un- 
deserved mercy  to  have  vouchsafed  the  gift ; 
but  I  think  it  would  not  have  required  such 
very  strong  language  as  the  scripture  uses  in 
describing  the  gift  of  the  Son  of  God.  The 
God-man,  the  whole  person  of  Christ,  was 
sent,  came  forth  from  the  Father.  The  man- 
hood was  the  offering ;  but  the  Word  of  God, 


teachers  is  proud  and  affected  :  they  have  re-  possessed  of  the  perfections  of  Deity,  was  the 
course  to  scholastic  distinctions,  and  abstract  [  altar  necessary  to  sanctify  the  gift,  and  to  give 
reasonings,  that  they  may  not  be  thought  upon   a  value  and  efficacy  to  the  atonement. 


a  level  with  the  vulgar.' 

The  form  of  baptism  prescribed  by  our  Lord 
for  the  use  of  his  church,  is  thus  expressed, 


The  term  begotten,  expresses  with  us  the 
ground  of  relation  between  father  and  son, 
and  upon  which  an  only  son  is  the  heir  of  a  fa 


"  Baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  !  ther.  I  feel  and  confess  myself  at  a  loss  here 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  j  I  might  take  up  your  time,  and  perhaps  con- 
Matth.  xxviii.  19.  It  is  evident,  by  compar-  .  ceal  my  own  ignorance,  by  borrowing  from 
ing  this  sentence  with  that  which  I  before  re-  ;  the  writings  of  wiser  and  better  men  than  my- 
cited  from  the  E'pistle  of  John,  that  the  Word  self,  a  detail  of  what  have  been  generally  re- 
and  the  Son  are  synonymous  terms,  expres-  puted  the  more  prevailing  orthodox  sentiments 
sive  of  the,  same  character.  They  are  both  the  on  this  subject.  But  1  dare  not  go  beyond 
titles  of  Messiah.  Of  him  John  spoke,  when  (  my  own  ideas.  I  shall  not,  therefore,  attempt 
he  said,  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  to  explain  the  phrase,  eternal  generation,  be- 
dwelt  among  us  ;"  and  of  him  God  the  Father  !  cause  I  must  acknowledge  that  I  do  not  clear- 
said,  "  Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  be- '  ly  understand  it  myself.  Long  before  time 
gotten  thee."  Had  God  spoken  thus  to  an  '  began,  the  purpose  of  constituting  the  Media- 
angel,  it  would  have  been  in  effect  saying,  tor  between  God  and  sinners  was  established 
Thou  art  the  Word,  which  in  the  beginning  in  the  divine  counsels.  With  reference  to  this, 
was  with  God,  and  was  God,  by  whom  al!  things  he  himself  speaks,  in  the  character  of  the  Wis- 
were  made.  But  to  which  of  all  the  angels  dom  of  God  :  "  The  Lord  possessed  me  in 
would  the  great  God  use  language  like  this?  the  beginning  of  his  way,  before  his  works  of 
Our  Lord,  in  his  conference  with  Nicode-  old.  I  was  set  up  from  everlasting,  from  the 
mus,  was  pleased  to  say,  "  God  so  loved  the  beginning,  or  ever  the  earth  was.  Then  I 
world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,"  !  was  by  him,  as  one  brought  up  with  him,  re 
&c.  John  iii.  16.  It  was  undoubtedly  his  joicing  always  before  him;  rejoicing  in  the 
design,  by  this  expression,  to  give  to  Nicode- !  habitable  parts  of  the  earth,  and  my  delights 
mus,  and  to  us,  the  highest  idea  possible  of  were  with  the  sons  of  men,"  Prov.  viii.  22, 
the  love  of  God  to  sinners.  He  so  loved  the  SI.  If  the  Word  of  God  had  not  engaged,  ac- 
world,  beyond  description  or  comparison,  that  cording  to  an  everlasting  and  sure  covenant, 
he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son.  Surely  then  to  assume  our  nature,  and  to  accomplish  our 
the  gift  spoken  of  must  not  be  limited  to  sig- j  salvation,  before  the  earth  was  formed,  he 
nify  the  human  nature  only.  This  was  not  Would  not  have  appeared  afterwards;  for  we 
all  that  he  gave.  The  human  nature  was  the  cannot  with  reason  conceive  of  any  new  de- 
medium  of  the  acts  and  sufferings  of  Messiah  :  'terminations  arising  in  the  mind  of  the  infi- 
but  he  who  assumed  it  was  the  Word,  who  !  nite  God,  to  whom  what  we  call  the  past  and 
was  before  all,  and  by  whom  all  things  were  the  future  are  equally  present.  In  this  sense 
made.  It  is  true  the  human  nature  was  given,  (if  the  expression  be  proper  to  convey  such  a 
supernaturally  formed  by  divine  power,  and  sense),  I  can  conceive  that  he  was  the  begot- 
born  of  a  virgin.  But  he  who  was  in  the  be-  ten  Son  of  God  from  eternity ;  that  is,  set  up 
ginning  God  with  God,  was  given  to  appear,  '  and  appointed  from  eternity  for  the  office,  na- 
obey,  and  suffer,  in  the  nature  of  man  for  us,  ture,  and  work,  by  which,  in  the  fulness  of 
and  for  our  salvation.  And  to  him  are  as-  time,  he  was  manifested  to  men.  But  if  the 
cribed  the  perfections  and  attributes  of  Deity  ;  terms,  begotten,  or  eternal  generation,  be  used 
for  which  the  highest  angels  are  no  more  ca-   to  denote  the  manner  of  his  eternal  existence 

in  Deity,  I  must  be  silent.  I  believe  him  to 
be  the  eternal  Son  ;  I  believe  him  to  be  the 
eternal  God  ;  and  I  wish  not  to  exercise  my 
thoughts  and  inquiries  more  than  is  needfui, 
in  things  which  are  too  high  for  me. 

The  scripture,  in  different  places,  evident- 
ly applies  the  purport  of  this  phrase,  "  I  have 
begotten  thee,''  to  transactions  which  took  place 
in  time,  This  day,  and  particularly  to  two 
principal  events. 

1.     His    incarnation. —  Thus    the    angel    to 


pable  than  the  worms  which  creep  upon  the 
earth. 

I  cannot,  therefore,  suppose,  that  the  title 
of  Son  of  God  is  merely  a  title  of  office,  or  be- 
longing only  to  the  nature  which  he  assumed; 
but  that  Messiah  is  the  Son  of  God,  as  he  is 
God  and  man  in  one  person.  If  the  forming 
a  perfect  and  spotless  man,  like  Adam  when 
he  was  first  created,  could  have  affected  our 

*   Abbadie. 


SF.R.  XXVIII. 


MESSIAH  WORSHIPPED   BY  ANGELS. 


737 


ilary.  u  The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon 
ithee,  and  the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  over- 
shadow thee;  therefore  also  that  holy  thing 
which  shill  be  born  of  thee,  shall  be  called  the 
Son  of  God,"  Luke,  i.  35.  So  the  apostle, 
"  In  the  fulness  of  time  God  sent  forth  his  Son 
made  of  a  woman,"  Gal.  iv.  4.  And  in  the 
passage  we  are  next  to  consider,  "  When  he 
bringeth  his  first  begotten  into  the  world,  he 
saith,  And  let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship 
him."  * 

2.  His  resurrection. — To  this  purpose  our 
text  is  quoted  from  the  second  Psalm.  "  The 
promise  which  was  made  unto  the  fathers, 
God  hath  fulfilled  the  same  to  the  children, 
in  that  he  hath  raised  up  Jesus  again  ;  as  it  is 
also  written  in  the  second  Psalm,  Thou  art 
my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee,"  Acts 
xiii.  32,  33.  And  in  another  place  he  teaches 
us,  that  he  who  was  of  the  seed  of  David,  ac- 
cording to  the  flesh,  was  declared  to  be  the  Son 
of  God  with  power,  according  to  the  Spirit  of 
holiness,  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead, 
Rom.  i.  4. 

After  all,  I  would  remind  you,  that  the 
best  knowledge  of  the  doctrine  of  the  person 
of  Christ,  that  which  affords  life  and  comfort 
to  the  soul,  is  to  be  obtained,  not  so  much  by 
inquiry  and  study  on  our  part,  as  by  a  graci- 
ous manifestation  on  his  part.  Prayer,  atten- 
tion to  the  great  Teacher,  a  humble  perusal 
of  the  scripture,  and  a  course  of  simple  obedi- 
ence to  his  known  will,  are  the  methods  which 
he  has  prescribed  for  our  growth  in  grace,  and 
in  the  knowledge  of  himself.  Thus  even  babes 
are  made  wise  ;  while  they  who  are  wise  and 
prudent  in  their  own  sight,  the  more  they  en- 
deavour to  investigate  and  ascertain  the  sense 
of  scripture,  are  frequently  involved  more  and 
more  in  perplexity.  He  has  given  a  promise 
and  direction,  for  the  encouragement  of  those 
who  sincerely  seek  him.  "  He  that  hath  my 
commandments  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that 
loveth  me  ;  and  he  that  loveth  me  shall  be 
loved  of  my  Father,  and  I  will  love  him,  and 
will  manifest  myself  unto  him."  John  xiv. 
21. 

This  is  he  with  whom  we  have  to  do.  In 
and  by  this  Son  of  his  love,  we  have  access  by 
faith  unto  God.  Unworthy  and  helpless  in 
ourselves,  from  hence  we  derive  our  plea ; 
here  we  find  a  refuge  ;  and  on  this  we  rest,  and 
build  our  hope,  that  God  hath  given  us  eter- 
nal life,  and  this  life  is  in  his  Son  ;  who  is  so 
much  better  than  the  angels,  as  he  hath  by  in- 
heritance obtained  a  more  excellent  name  than 
they,  Heb.  i.  4. 


SERMON  XXVIII. 

MESSIAH  WORSHIPPED  BY  ANGELS. 

Let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  kirn. 

Hebrews,  i    6. 

Many  of  the  Lord's  true  servants  have  been 
in  a  situation  so  nearly  similar  to  that  of  Eli  ■ 
jah  (1  Kings  xix.  10),  that  like  him  they  have 
been  tempted  to  think  they  were  left  to  serve 
him  alone.  But  God  had  then  a  faithful 
people,  and  he  has  so  in  every  age.  The 
preaching  of  the  gospel  may  be  compared  to 
a  standard  erected,  to  which  they  repair,  and 
thereby  become  known  to  each  other,  and 
more  exposed  to  the  notice  and  observation  of 
the  world.  But  we  hope  there  are  always 
many,  who  are  enlightened  by  his  word  and 
Holy  Spirit,  and  training  up  in  the  life  of 
faith  and  holiness,  known  and  dear  to  God, 
though  they  have  little  advantage  from  public 
ordinances,  and  perhaps  no  opportunity  of 
conversing  with  those  who  are  Hke-minded 
with  themselves.  But  even  though  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  visibly  profess  the  gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God  were  much  smaller  than  it 
is,  we  need  not  be  disheartened.  If  our  sight 
could  pierce  into  the  invisible  world,  we  should 
be  satisfied  that  there  are  more  with  us  than 
against  us,  2  Kings  vi.  16.  And  such  a  pow- 
er is  attributed  to  faith.  It  is  the  evidence  of 
things  not  seen  (Heb.  xi.  l),  because  it  re- 
ceives the  testimony  of  scripture,  and  rests  up- 
on it,  as  a  certainty,  and  a  demonstration  ;  re 
quiring  no  other  proof,  either  of  doctrines  o* 
facts,  than  that  they  are  contained  in  the  sure 
word  of  God.  True  christians  therefore  are 
comforted  by  the  assurance  they  have  that 
their  Saviour,  the  Lord  of  their  hearts,  is  not 
so  neglected  and  despised,  nor  his  character  so 
misunderstood  and  misrepresented  in  yonder 
land  of  light,  as  in  this  dark  and  degenerate 
world.  Though  too  many  here,  like  Festus, 
treat  it  as  a  matter  of  great  indifference,  whe- 
ther Jesus  be  dead  or  alive  (Acts  xxv.  19); 
and  ask  them  with  a  taunt,  What  is  your  Be- 
loved more  than  another  beloved?  they  are 
not  ashamed,  for  they  know  whom  they  have 
believed  ;  and  if  men  will  not  join  with  them 
in  admiring  and  praising  him,  they  are  sure 
that  they  have  the  concurrence  of  far  superior 
beings.  By  faith  they  behold  him  seated  up- 
on a  throne  of  glory,  adored  by  all  holy  and 
happy  intelligent  creatures,  whether  angels, 
principalities,  powers,  or  dominions.  And 
when  he  was  upon  earth,  in  a  state  of  humili- 
ation, though  despised  and  rejected  of  men, 
he  was  seen  and  acknowledged  by  angels. 
Their  warrant  asd  ours  is  the  same.  He  is 
proposed  to  us  as  the  object  of  our  supreme 
love  and  dependence  ;  and  as  we  are  enjoined 
to  kiss  the   Son  and  to  pay  him  homage,  s* 

3  H 


738 


MESSIAH   WORSHIPPED   BY  ANGELS. 


when  Goci  brought  him  into  the  world,  he  said, 
"Let  all  the  angels    of  God  worship  him." 

Though  the  bringing  Messiah,  the  first  or 
only  begotten,  into  the  world,  may,  as  I  have 
observed  already,  be  applied  to  his  incarnation, 
or  to  his  resurrection,  I  apprehend  it  rather 
designs  the  whole  of  his  exhibition  in  the  flesh. 
At  his  ascension,  having  finished  the  work  ap- 
pointed for  him  to  do,  he  was  solemnly  invest- 
ed with  authority  and  glory,  and  sat  down  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high.  But 
in  his  lowest,  no  less  than  in  his  exalted  state, 
the  dignity  of  his  divine  person  is  the  same, 
yesterday,  to  day,  and  for  ever.  He  was  al- 
ways the  proper  object  of  worship.  It  was 
agreeable  to  right,  and  to  the  nature  of  things, 
and  a  command  worthy  of  God,  that  all  the 
angels  of  God  should  worship  him. 

The  holy  angels  that  excel  in  strength  (Ps. 
ciii.  20),  always  do  his  commandments,  hear- 
kening to  the  voice  of  his  word.      We  might 
be  certain,  therefore,  that  this  highest  and  most 
comprehensive  command  a  creature  is  capable 
of  receiving  from  his  Creator,  is  fulfilled  by 
them,  even  if  we  had  no  express  information 
of  the  fact.      But  we  have  repeated  assurances 
to  this  purpose.      Thus  Isaiah,  when  he  saw 
his  glory  and  spake  of  him,  "  saw  the  seraphim 
standing  ;  each  one  had  six  wings  ;  with  twain 
he  covered  his  face,  and  with  twain  he  cover- 
ed his  feet,  and  with  twain  he  did  fly.      And 
one  cried  unto  another,  saying,   Holy,  holy, 
holy,  is  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  whole  earth  is 
full  of  his  glory,"   Is.  vi.      I  see  not  how  the 
force  of  the  argument  arising  from  this  pas- 
sage, to  prove  that  Messiah  is  the  proper  ob- 
ject of  the  most  solemn  adoration  which  crea- 
tures  can  offer   to   the    Most   High,   can   be 
evaded  ;   unless  any  were  hardy  enough  to  as- 
sert, either  that  the  prophet  was  himself  im- 
posed upon,  or  has  imposed  upon  us,  by  a 
false   vision ;  or   else  that    the  apostle   John 
(chap.  xii.  41)  was  mistaken  when  he  applied 
this  representation  to  Jesus  Christ.      But  the 
apostle  likewise  had  a  vision  to  the  same  ef- 
fect, in  which,  while  his  people  redeemed  from 
the  earth  by  his  blood  cast  their  crowns  at  his 
feet,  the  angels  were  also  represented  as  join- 
ing in  the  chorus  of  their  praises,  saying  with 
a  loud  voice,  "  Worthy  is  the  lamb  that  was 
slain,  to  receive  power,    and  riches,  and  wis- 
dom, and  strength,   and  honour,  and  glory, 
and  blessing,''  Rev.  v.  12.      In  brief,  he  is  the 
Lord   of  angels.      The  heavenly  host  waited 
upon  him,  and  sung  his  praises  at  his  birth. 
Angels  ministered  unto  him  in  the  wilderness, 
Luke  ii.  13,    14.      And  they  are  so  entirely 
his  servants,  that,  at  his  command,  they  are 
sent   forth   to  minister   unto,   and   to  attend 
upon  his  believing  people.      Are  they  not  all 
ministering  (Xurovg yixa,  worshipping)  spirits, 
adoring  the    divine  Majesty,    yet  sent    forth 
to  minister  [tls  $iaxoviav,    for  service)  to  the 
heirs  of  salvation  ?   Heb.  i.   14      He  is  like- 
wise  the  head  of  angels,  though  they  are  not 


SEK.  XX  VI II. 

in  the  same  near  relation  to  hiin  as  the  sinneis 
whom  he  has  redeemed  with  his  blood  ;  for 
lie  took  not  on  him  their  nature.  There  was 
no  redemption  appointed  for  the  angels  who 
kept  not  their  first  habitation.  But  the  con- 
firmation  of  those  who  continue  in  holiness 
and  happiness,  is  in  and  through  him,  "  For 
all  things  both  which  are  in  heaven,  and  which 
are  on  earth,  are  gathered  together  in  one 
(a.\ia.x.i<f)a,\«.iucxe(!a.i,  reduced  under  one  head 
into  one  body)  in  him,"  Ephes.  i.  10.  And 
they  are  therefore  styled,  in  contradistinction 
from  the  others,  the  Elect  angels,  1  Tim.  v. 
21.  He  is  their  life,  and  strength,  and  joy, 
as  he  is  ours,  though  they  cannot  sing  the 
whole  song  of  his  people.  It  is  appropriate 
to  the  saved  from  amongst  men  to  say,  This 
God  shines  glorious  in  our  nature  !  he  loved 
us,  and  gave  himself  for  us  ! 

Here,  then,  as  I  have  intimated,  is  a  pat- 
tern and  encouragement  for  us.  The  angels, 
the  whole  host  of  heaven,  worship  him.  He 
is  Lord  of  all.  We  in  this  distant  world 
have  heard  the  report  of  his  glory,  have  felt 
our  need  of  such  a  Saviour,  and  are,  in  some 
degree,  witnesses  and  proofs  of  his  ability  and 
willingness  to  save.  He  lived,  he  died,  he 
rose,  he  reigns  for  us.  Therefore,  humbly 
depending  upon  his  promised  grace,  without 
which  we  can  do  nothing,  we  are  resolved, 
that  whatever  others  do,  we  must,  we  will 
worship  him,  with  the  utmost  power  of  our 
souls.  It  is  our  determination  and  our  choice, 
not  only  to  praise  and  honour  him  with  our  lips, 
but  to  devote  ourselves  to  his  service,  to  yield 
ourselves  to  his  disposal,  to  entrust  our  all  to 
his  care,  and  to  place  our  whole  happiness  in 
his  favour.  I  hope,  in  speaking  thus,  I  speak 
the  language  of  many  of  your  hearts. 

Some  reflections  easily  offer  from  this  sub- 
ject, with  which  I  shall  close  it. 

1.  They  who  love  him,  may  rejoice  in  the 
thoughts  of  his  glory.  They  have  deeply 
sympathized  with  him,  when  reading  the  his- 
tory of  his  humiliation  and  passion.  It  has 
not  been  a  light  concern  to  them  that  he  en- 
dured agonies,  that,  he  was  rejected,  reviled, 
scourged,  and  slain.  He  who  suffered  these 
things  was  their  best  friend,  their  beloved 
Lord,  and  he  suffered  for  their  sakes.  In  the 
glass  of  his  word  and  by  the  light  of  his  Holy 
Spirit,  he  has  been  set  forth  as  crucified  be- 
fore their  eyes,  and  they  have  been  crucified 
with  him,  and  have  had  fellowship  with  him 
in  his  death.  From  hence  they  derive  their 
indignation  against  sin,  and  their  indifference 
to  the  world  which  treated  him  thus.  But 
now  he  is  no  more  a  man  of  sorrows ;  his 
head,  which  was  once  crowned  with  thorns,  is 
now  crowned  with  glory  ;  his  face,  which  was 
defiled  with  spittle,  shines  like  the  sun ;  his 
hands,  which  were  manacled,  wield  the  scep- 
tre of  universal  government;  and,  instead  of 
being  surrounded  by  insulting  men,  he  is 
now  encircled  by  adoring  angels.      Therefore 


SER.  xxvur. 


MESSIAH  WORSHIPPED  BY  ANGELS 


r39 


they  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable,  expecting 
soon  to  see  him  as  lie  is,  and  to  be  with  him 
for  ever,  according  to  the  gracious  promises 
he  has  made  them,  and  the  tenor  of  his  pre- 
vailing intercession  for  them. 

2.  What  an  honour  does  his  exaltation  and 
glory  reflect  upon  his  faithful  followers  ?  The 
world  that  rejected  him  pays  little  regard  to 
them  ;  they  are  slighted,  or  scorned,  or  pi- 
tied, and,  in  proportion  as  they  manifest  his 
spirit,  experience  a  degree  of  the  treatment 
which  he  met  with  ;  they  are  accounted  vi- 
sionaries and  hypocrites,  many  of  them  are 
great  sufferers,  and  few  of  them,  compara- 
tively, are  distinguished  among  men  by  abi- 
lities, influence,  or  wealth  ;  they  are  pilgrims 
and  strangers  upon  earth ;  yet  this  God  is 
their  God.  He  who  is  worshipped  by  angels 
is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren,  Heb.  ii. 
11.  They  are  nearly  related  to  him  who  sit- 
teth  upon  the  throne;  and  he  is  pleased  to 
account  them  his  portion  and  his  jewels.  It 
doth  not  yet  appear  what  they  shall  be  ;  but 
the  day  is  coming  when  their  mourning  shall 
be  ended,  their  characters  vindicated,  and  they 
shall  shine  like  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of 
their  Lord.  They  shall  stand  before  him  with 
confidence,  and  not  be  ashamed  when  he  ap- 
pears. Then  shall  the  difference  between  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked  be  clearly  discerned. 
In  that  day  the  righteous  shall  say,  "  Lo,  this 
is  our  God,  we  have  waited  for  him,  and  he 
will  save  us:  this  is  the  Lord,  we  have  waited 
for  him,  we  will  be  glad  and  rejoice  in  his  sal- 
vation" (Ioa.  xxv.  9)  :  while  the  others,  how- 
ever once  admired  or  feared  by  mortals,  the 
kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  great  men,  and 
the  rich" men,  and  the  chief  captains,  and  the 
mighty  men,  no  less  than  those  of  inferior 
rank,  shall  tremble,  shall  wish  in  vain  to  con- 
ceal themselves,  and  shall  say  to  the  moun- 
tains and  rocks,  "  Fall  on  us,  and  hide  us 
from  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  for  the  great  day  of  his  wrath  is 
come,"  Rev.  xvi.  15,  16.  In  that  hour,  the 
striking  description  in  the  book  of  Wisdom 
(which,  though  apocryphal,  is  in  this  passage 
quite  consonant  with  the  .declarations  of  au- 
thentic scripture)  will  assuredly  be  realized. 
"  Then  shall  the  righteous  man  stand  in  great 
boldness  before  the  face  of  such  as  have  af- 
flicted him,  and  made  no  account  of  his  la- 
bours. When  they  see  it,  they  shall  be  trou- 
bled with  terrible  fear,  and  shall  be  amazed 
at  the  strangeness  of  his  salvation,  so  far  be- 
yond all  that  they  looked  for ;  and  they  re- 
penting, and  groaning  for  anguish  of  spirit, 
shall  say  within  themselves,  This  was  he  whom 
we  had  sometimes  in  derision,  and  a  proverb 
of  reproach.  We  fools  counted  his  life  mad- 
ness, and  his  end  to  be  without  honour.  How 
is  he  numbered  among  the  children  of  God, 
and  Lis  lot  is  among  the  saints!"  Wisd.  v. 
1—5. 

3.    We  may  well  admire  the  condescension 


of  this  great  King,  who  humbleth  himself 
even  to  notice  the  worship  of  heaven,  that  he 
should  look  upon  the  worship  of  sinful  men 
with  acceptance,  and  permit  such  worms  as  we 
are  to  take  his  holy  name  upon  our  polluted 
lips.  If  we  know  ourselves,  we  must  be  con. 
scions  of  such  defects  and  defilement  attend- 
ing our  best  services,  as  are  sufficient  to  affect 
us  with  shame  and  humiliation.  What  wan 
derings  of  imagination,  what  risings  of  evil 
thoughts,  what  unavoidable  though  unallowed 
workings  of  self-complacence,  mingle  with 
our  prayers  and  praises,  and  disturb  us  in 
our  secret  retirements,  in  the  public  assem- 
bly, and  even  at  the  table  of  the  Lord  !  I 
hope  we  know  enough  of  this,  to  be  sensible 
that  we  need  forgiveness,  not  only  for  our  po- 
sitive transgressions  of  his  will,  but  for  our 
sincerest,  warmest,  and  most  enlarged  attempts 
to  render  him  the  glory  due  to  his  name  !  Yet 
we  are  incompetent  and  partial  judges  of  our- 
selves ;  we  know  but  little  of  the  evil  of  our 
own  hearts,  and  have  but  a  slight  sense  of  the 
malignity  of  that  evil  which  is  within  our  ob- 
servation. But  the  Lord  searches  the  heart 
and  the  reins  ;  to  him  all  things  are  naked, 
without  covering,  open,  without  concealment, 
Heb.  iv.  13.  He  understandeth  our  thoughts 
afar  of,  and  beholdeth  us  exactly  as  we  are. 
Our  dislike  of  sin  is  proportionable  to  our  at- 
tainments in  holiness,  which  are  exceedingly 
short  of  the  standard.  But  he  is  infinitely 
holy,  and  therefore  evil  is  unspeakably  hateful 
to  him.  How  vile  and  abominable  therefore 
must  our  sins  appear  in  his  view  !  Indeed, 
if  he  were  strict  to  mark  what  is  amiss,  we 
could  not  stand  a  moment  before  him,  ner 
would  it  be  agreeable  to  his  majesty  and  pu- 
rity to  accept  any  services  or  prayers  at  our 
hands,  if  we  presumed  to  offer  them  in  our 
own  name.  But  now  there  is  an  atonement 
provided,  and  a  way  of  access  to  a  throne  of 
grace,  sprinkled  with  the  blood  which  speak- 
eth  better  things  than  the  blood  of  Abel.  Now 
that  we  have  an  Advocate,  Intercessor,  and 
High- Priest  to  bear  the  iniquity  of  our  holy 
things,  we  are  accepted  in  the  Beloved.  Now 
the  great  and  holy  God  vouchsafes  to  admit 
such  sinners  into  communion  with  himself. 
He  invites  us  to  draw  near  with  boldness  ; 
and  because  of  ourselves  we  know  not  how  to 
pray  as  we  ought  (Rom.  viii.  26),  he  favours 
us  with  the  influence  of  his  Holy  Spirit.  It 
is  a  great  instance  of  the  power  of  faith,  that, 
remembering  what  we  have  been,  and  feeling 
what  we  are,  and  having  some  right  apprehen- 
sion of  him  with  whom  we  have  to  do,  we  are 
enabled  to  approach  him  with  confidence,  and 
to  open  our  hearts  to  him  with  greater  liberty 
than  we  can  use  to  our  dearest  earthly  friends. 
His  people  know  by  many  infallible  proofs, 
that  his  presence  is  with  them  in  their  secret 
retirements,  and  in  their  public  assemblies,  ac- 
cording to  his  promise.  He  hears  and  an- 
swers their  prayers,   he  revives  their  spirits, 


no 


MESSIAH   WORSHIPPED   15 Y   ANGELS. 


SEIt.   XXVIU 


lie  renews  their  strength  ;  he  gives  them  rea- 
son to  say,  that  a  day  in  his  courts  is  better 
than  a  thousand  of  the  world's  days.  Such 
are  their  expectations,  and  such,  in  the  exer- 
cise of  faith,  is  their  experience.  They  wor- 
ship him  whom  the  angels  worship  ;  and  they 
know,  that,  unworthy  and  defective  as  they 
are,  their  worship  is  no  less  acceptable  to  him, 
than  that  of  the  angels  in  glory,  by  virtue  of 
their  relation  to  him,  who  is  Lord  both  of  an- 
gels and  men. 

4.  Hence  we  may  infer  the  necessity  of 
that  change  of  heart,  which  the  scripture  ex- 
presses by  a  new  birth,  a  new  life,  a  new  crea- 
tion, and  other  representations,  which  denote 
it  can  be  effected  only  by  divine  power.  Till 
we  are  the  subjects  of  this  operation,  we  are 
incapable  of  enjoying,  or  even  of  seeing  the 
kingdom  of  God,  John  iii.  3.  Though  to 
outward  appearance  the  congregation  before 
me  seem  all  to  be  serious  and  attentive,  as  if 
engaged  in  the  same  design,  and  animated 
with  the  same  desire  and  hope,  he  to  whom 
our  hearts  are  known,  doubtless  observes  a 
great  difference.  Some  of  you,  through  cus- 
tom, or  a  regard  to  your  connections,  brings 
jou  hither,  yet  must  be  sensible  that  this  is 
not  your  chosen  ground,  and  that  these  are 
not  the  subjects  which  give  you  pleasure.  We 
preach  Christ  Jesus  and  him  crucified — 
Christ  Jesus  the  Lord.  The  Lord  sees, 
though  I  cannot,  the  indisposition  of  your 
hearts  towards  him.  You  are  soon  weary  and 
uneasy  ;  and  you  wish  to  throw  the  blame  of 
your  uneasiness  upon  the  preacher.  You  re- 
gard his  method,  his  manner,  his  expressions, 
with  no  friendly  intention,  in  hopes  of  notic- 
ing something  that  may  seem  to  justify  your 
dislike  ;  and  a  sermon,  not  very  long  in  itself, 
is  to  you  very  tedious.  We  wish  well  to  your 
souls,  we  study  to  find  out  acceptable  words  ; 
for  though  we  dare  not  trifle  with  or  flatter 
you,  we  are  unwilling  to  give  you  just  offence. 
But  if  you  will  be  faithful  to  yourselves,  you 
may  perceive  that  it  is  not  so  much  the  length 
or  the  manner,  as  the  subject  of  our  sermons 
that  disgusts  you.  You  would,  perhaps,  hear 
with  more  attention  and  patience,  did  we 
speak  less  of  him  whom  the  angels  worship. 
There  are  assemblies  more  suited  to  your 
taste,  and  tliere  are  public  speakers  to  whom 
you  can  probably  afford  a  willing  ear,  for  a 
much  longer  time  than  we  detain  you  ;  be- 
cause there  you  are  at  home.  You  are  of  the 
world,  and  you  love  the  world.  The  amuse- 
ments, the  business,  the  converse,  and  the  cus- 
toms of  the  world,  suit  your  inclination.  But 
here  you  are  not,  if  1  may  so  speak,  in  your 
proper  element :  and  yet  it  may  be,  there  are 
persons  in  the  same  seat  with  you,  who  think 
themselves  happy  to  hear  what  you  hear  with 
indifference  or  disgust.  If  you  knew  your 
state  as  a  sinner,  your  need  of  a  Saviour,  and 
the  excellency  and  glory  of  the  Saviour  whom 
we    preach   to  you,    you  likewise    would    be 


pleased  ;  and  a  preacher  of  very  moderate 
powers  would  fix  your  attention,  and  gain 
your  esteem,  if  he  preached  this  gospel.  But 
what  ideas  do  you  form  of  a  future  state  ? 
Surely  you  cannot  suppose,  that  in  the  eternal 
world  you  will  meet  with  any  of  the  poor  ex- 
pedients you  have  recourse  to  now,  for  filling 
up  your  time,  which  otherwise  would  hang 
heavv  upen  your  hands.  To  attempt  a  detail 
of  the  round  of  vanities  which  constitute  a 
worldly  life,  would  be  unsuitable  to  the  dig- 
nity of  the  pulpit.  Let  it  suffice,  that  death 
will  remove  you  from  them  all.  If  they  are 
now  necessary  to  what  you  account  your  hap- 
piness, must  you  not  of  course  be  miserable 
without  them  ?  If  you  believe  you  shall  exist 
hereafter,  do  you  not  desire  heaven  ?  But  such 
a  heaven  as  the  word  of  God  describes  could 
not  afford  you  happiness,  unless  your  mind  be 
previously  changed  and  disposed  to  lelish  it. 
Neither  the  employment  nor  the  company  of 
heaven  would  be  pleasing  to  you.  It  is  a 
state  where  all  the  inhabitants  unite  in  admir- 
ing and  adoring  him  who  died  upon  the  cross. 
If  this  subject  is  displeasing  to  you  here,  it 
would  be  much  more  so  there.  Heaven  itself 
would  be  a  hell  to  an  unhumbled,  an  unholy 
soul.  Consider  this  seriously,  while  there  is 
time  to  seek  his  face ;  and  tremble  at  the 
thoughts  of  being  cut  off  by  death  in  your 
present  state,  insensible  as  you  are  of  who  he 
is,  and  what  he  has  done  for  sinners.  May 
he  enlighten  your  understanding,  and  enable 
you  to  see  the  things  pertaining  to  your  true 
peace,  before  they  are  for  ever  hidden  from 
your  eyes  ! 


SERMON  XXIX. 

GIFTS  RECEIVED  FOR  THE  REBELLIOUS. 

Thou  hast  ascended  on  high,  thou  hasl  led  cap- 
tivity captive  .  thou  hast  received  gifts  for 
men  ;  yea.  for  the  rebellious  also,  that  the  Lord 
God  might  dwell  among  them  Psal.  lxviii. 
18. 

When  Joseph  exchanged  a  prison  for  the 
chief  honour  and  government  of  Egypt  (Gen. 
xlv.  4,  5),  the  advantage  of  his  exaltation  was 
felt  by  those  who  little  deserved  it.  His 
brethren  hated,  and  had  conspired  to  kill  him. 
And  though  he  was  preserved  from  death, 
they  were  permitted  to  sell  him  for  a  bond- 
servant. He  owed  his  servitude,  imprison- 
ment, and  sufferings  to  them  ;  and  they  were 
afterwards  indebted  to  him  for  their  lives,  sub- 
sistence, honour,  and  comfort ;  God  in  a  won- 
derful manner  over-ruling  their  evil  conduct 
for  future  good  to  themselves.  Thus  Jesus 
was  despised,  rejected,  and  sold  ;  and  he  was 
actually  slain.  But  he  arose  and  ascended 
The  man  of  sorrows  took  possession   of  tha 


GIFTS  RECEIVED  FOR  THE    REBELLIOUS. 


SER.  XXIX. 

throne  of  glory  ;  and  not  for  himself  only. 
His  honour  is  the  source  of  happiness  to  those 
who  were  once  his  enemies,  and  rebellious 
against  him.  For  the  sake  of  such  he  lived 
and  died.  For  their  sakes  he  lives  and  reigns. 
He  fought,  conquered,  and  triumphed  over 
their  enemies.  As  their  representative,  he 
received  gifts  to  bestow  upon  them :  such 
gifts  as  their  necessities  required,  derived  from 
the  relation  he  was  pleased  to  stand  in  to 
them,  and  from  the  value  and  dignity  of  his 
engagements  on  their  behalf:  such  gifts  as  he 
alone  could  communicate,  and  which  alone 
could  restore  them  to  the  favour  of  God,  and 
revive  his  image  in  their  hearts  ;  so  as  to 
make  it  suitable  to  his  holiness  and  truth,  for 
the  Lord  God  to  return  to  his  polluted 
temples,  and  to  dwell  in  them  and  among 
them. 

I  observed  in  a  former  discourse,  that  this 
psalm  and  the  twenty-fourth  were  probably 
composed  and  first  published  on  the  memor- 
able occasion,  when  David,  having  obtained 
the  victory  over  his  numerous  enemies,  and 
settled  his  kingdom  in  peace,  removed  the  ark, 
which  till  then  had  no  fixed  residence,  into 
Zion.  The  apostle's  application  of  this  pas- 
sage (Eph.  iv.  8),  authorizes  us  to  consider 
that  transaction  as  typical  of  our  Lord's  as- 
cension. Jesus  is  the  true  ark.  The  holy 
law  of  God  was  in  his  heart ;  his  obedience 
unto  death  was  fully  commensurate  to  the  de- 
mands of  the  law  (Rom.  iii.  25);  as  the 
mercy-seat,  or  propitiation,  which  covered  the 
ark,  was  exactly  equal  to  its  dimensions.  He 
who  had  thus  obeyed  on  earth,  ascended  on 
high,  the  everlasting  gates  unfolded,  and  he 
entered  into  the  holy  place  not  made  with 
hands,  there  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God 
for  us,  Heb.  ix.  24.  In  this  state  he  is  high- 
ly exalted  upon  the  throne  of  glory,  and  ad- 
ministers all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth. 
From  hence  is  the  honour,  safety,  and  happi- 
ness of  those  who  believe  in  him.  They  have 
nothing  to  plead  for  themselves.  But  un- 
worthy as  they  are,  he  is  not  ashamed  to  own 
them  ;  and  he  assures  them,  that  all  he  did, 
and  that  all  he  has  received,  so  far  as  they  are 
capable  of  sharing  in  it,  is  for  them.  The 
clauses,  as  they  lie  in  the  text,  suggest  a  con- 
venient method  for  our  meditations,  and  will 
lead  me  briefly  to  consider  four  points ; 

His  ascension — his  victories — the  gifts  he  re- 
ceived for  men — and  the  great  end  for  which 
he  bestows  them. 

I.  His  ascension — "Thou  hast  ascended  on 
high." — God  formed  man  originally  for  him. 
self,  and  gave  him  an  answerable  capacity,  so 
that  no  inferior  good  can  satisfy  and  fill  his 
mind.  Man  was  likewise,  by  the  constitution 
and  will  of  his  Maker,  immortal,  provided  he 
pel  severed  in  obedience.  But  sin  degrad- 
ed and  ruined  him,  shut  the  gates  of  paradise 
and  the  gates  of  heaven  against  him.  Man 
destroyed  himself;  but  wisdom  and  mercy  in- 


741 


terposed  for  his  recovery.  A  promise  was 
given  of  the  seed  of  the  woman,  who  should 
bruise  the  serpent's  head,  defeat  his  policy, 
destroy  his  power,  and  repair  the  mischiefs  he 
had  introduced  by  sin.  Messiah  fulfilled  this 
promise.  And  when  he  had  finished  all  that 
was  appointed  for  him  on  earth,  as  the  second 
Adam,  the  head  and  representative  of  his  peo- 
ple, he  ascended  on  high,  and  opened  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  to  all  believers.  As  an  illus- 
trious proof  to  the  universe,  that  God  is  re- 
conciled ;  that  there  is  forgiveness  with  him 
for  sinners  who  implore  his  mercy  ;  one  in 
our  nature,  and  on  our  behalf,  has  taken  pos- 
session of  the  kingdom.  The  series  of  texts 
in  this  part  of  the  Oratorio  recals  this  subject 
frequently  to  our  thoughts  ;  nor  can  we  think 
of  it  too  often.  It  is  the  foundation  of  our 
hopes,  the  source  of  our  sublimest  joys,  and 
the  sufficient,  the  only  sufficient  answer  to  all 
the  suggestions  by  which  guilt,  fear,  unbelief, 
and  Satan,  fight  against  our  peace.  Surround- 
ed as  we  are  with  enemies  and  difficulties,  we 
plead  against  every  accusation  and  threaten- 
ing, that  our  Head  is  in  heaven  ;  we  have  an 
advocate  with  the  Father,  a  High-Priest  upon 
the  throne,  who,  because  he  evt;r  liveth  to 
make  intercession,  is  able  to  save  to  the  utter- 
most.  This  is  all  our  plea,  nor  do  we  desire 
any  other.  His  ascension  on  high,  is  a  sure 
pledge  that  his  servants  shall  follow  him, 
John  xii.  2(3.  And  even  at  present,  by  faith 
they  ascend  and  are  seated  with  him  in  the 
heavenly  places,  Eph.  ii.  6.  They  behold  in- 
visibles with  the  eye  of  their  mind  ;  they  re- 
alize the  glorious  scene,  from  which  they  are 
separated  by  the  veil  of  flesh  and  blood.  They 
know  that,  even  now,  day  and  night,  day 
without  night,  myriads  of  golden  harps  and 
happy  voices  resound  his  praise.  The  Babe 
of  Bethlehem,  the  Man  who  once  hung  dead 
and  forsaken  upon  the  cross,  is  now  the  Lord 
of  glory.  In  the  thought  of  his  glory  they 
greatly  rejoice,  because  they  love  him,  and  be- 
cause they  expect  shortly  to  be  with  him. 

II.  His  victories — "  Thou  hast  led  capti- 
vity captive."  The  expression  is  emphatical. 
He  has  conquered  and  triumphed  over  all  the 
powers  which  held  us  in  captivity,  so  that  cap- 
tivity itself  is  taken  captive.  The  spirit  and 
force  of  it  is  destroyed  ;  and  his  people,  when 
released  by  him,  and  walking  in  his  ways, 
have  no  more  to  apprehend  from  those  whose 
captives  they  were,  than  a  conqueror  has  to 
fear  from  a  prisoner  in  chains.  The  energy 
of  the  phrase  is  not  unlike  that  of  the  apostle, 
which  we  are  hereafter  to  consider,  "  death  is 
swallowed  up  in  victory."  Man  by  nature  is 
a  captive,  in  a  state  of  confinement  and  bond- 
age, from  which  he  cannot  escape  by  any  ad- 
dress or  effort  of  his  own. 

He  is  a  captive  to  sin  :  a  sinful  state  is  a 
state  of  bondage  ;  and  this,  notwithstanding 
the  sinner  is  a  willing  captive,  speaks  swell-, 
ing  words  of  vanity,  and  boasts  of    liberty 


715 


GIFTS  RECEIVED  FOR  THE  REBEL!, IOUS. 


SER.    XXIX. 


while  he  is  the  servant,  the  slave  of  corrup- 
tion. He  is  not  always,  and  in  every  sense, 
a  willing  captive.  Conscience  sometimes  re- 
monstrates, fills  him  with  fears  and  forebod- 
ings, which  make  him  struggle  to  be  free. 
And  there  are  many  sins,  which,  besides  being 
offences  against  the  law  of  God,  are  directly 
contrary  to  the  sinner's  present  interest  and 
welfare  ;  and  would  be  so  upon  his  own  plan, 
and  if  he  was  wholly  his  own  master,  and  had 
no  account  to  render  of  his  conduct.  Per- 
sons enslaved  to  habits  of  lewdness  or  drunk- 
enness, need  not  be  told  from  the  pulpit,  that 
the  courses  they  pursue  are  injurious  to  their 
health,  their  business,  or  substance,  their  repu- 
tation, and  their  peace.  They  know  it  and  feel 
it,  without  a  monitor.  There  are  seasons,  when 
the  ill  consequences  they  bring  upon  them- 
selves, make  them  sick  of  the  drudgery,  and  ex- 
cite some  efforts  towards  a  reform.  But  in  vain. 
The  next  return  of  temptation  bears  down  all 
their  resolutions  like  a  torrent,  and,  after  ev- 
ery attempt  to  amend,  they  usually  become 
worse  than  before.  For  none  can  escape,  un- 
less the  Son  makes  them  free.  His  grace  can 
overcome  the  most  obstinate  habits  of  licen- 
tiousness, and  implant  the  contrary  habits  of 
purity  and  temperance.  But  they  who  are 
not  delivered  by  him  must  die  in  their  chains. 
III.  The  gifts  he  received  for  men — "  Thou 
hast  received  gifts,  even  for  the  rebellious." 
To  bestow  gifts  upon  the  miserable  is  bounty ; 
but  to  bestow  them  upon  rebels,  is  grace. 
The  greatness  of  the  gifts  contrasted  with  the 
characters  of  those  who  receive  them,  displays 
the  exceeding  riches  of  the  Redeemer's  grace. 
He  came  to  save,  not  the  unhappy  only,  but 
the  ungodly.  He  gives  pardon,  peace,  and 
eternal  life,  to  his  enemies;  whose  minds  are 
so  entirely  alienated  from  him,  that  until  he 
makes  them  willing  in  the  day  of  his  power, 
their  minds  are  determined  against  accepting 
any  favour  from  him.  They  live  long  in  con- 
tempt of  the  law  and  authority  of  God  ;  and 
though  justly  obnoxious  to  his  displeasure, 
while  left  to  themselves,  they  despise  and  re- 
ject the  proposals  of  his  mercy.  If  they  some- 
times acknowledge  themselves  to  be  sinners, 
they  still  presume  that  they  are  able  to  pro- 
cure his  favour  by  their  own  performances. 
They  strangely  imagine  they  have  a  sufficient 
ground  of  hope,  so  long  as  it  appears  to  them- 
selves that  they  are  not  altogether  so  bad  as 
others.  And  when,  by  the  gospel,  the  Lord 
treats  them  as  sinners  already  justly  condemn- 
ed by  the  tenor  of  his  holy  laws,  and  informs 
them  of  the  exigency  of  their  case ;  that  no- 
thing less  than  the  resources  of  his  infinite 
wisdom,  and  the  most  expensive  exertion  of 
nis  unspeakable  love,  can  possibly  save  them 
from  destruction ;  the  pride  of  their  hearts 
rises  against  his  declarations.  His  wisdom, 
in  their  view,  is  folly  ;  and  his  love  provokes 
their  enmity  and  scorn.  He  says  of  Messiah, 
"  This  is  my  beloved  Son    in  whom  I  am  well 


pleased,  hear  ye  him  ;"  but  the  language  of 
their  heart  is,  "  We  will  not  have  him  to  reign 
over  us,"  Luke  xix.  14.  They  revile  and 
oppose  the  messengers  of  his  grace,  account 
them  enemies,  charge  them  as  troublers  of 
their  peace,  and  as  those  who  turn  the  world 
upside  down :  and,  when  not  restrained  by 
the  providence  of  God,  inflict  upon  them,  be- 
sides, reproaches,  stripes,  imprisonment,  tor- 
tures, and  death.  If  their  dearest  friends,  and 
those  who  are  connected  with  them  by  the 
nearest  ties  of  relation,  submit  to  the  testimo- 
ny of  God,  and  yield  themselves  to  the  appoint- 
ed Saviour,  they  are  treated  as  apostates  from 
the  general  opinion.  This  defection  from  the 
common  cause,  is  often  sufficient  to  cancel 
the  strongest  obligations,  to  dissolve  the  clos- 
est intimacy,  to  raise  a  person  foes  in  his  own 
household,  and  to  excite  envy,  hatred  and  ma- 
lice, in  those  who  once  professed  esteem  and 
love.  Can  the  spirit  of  rebellion  rise  higher, 
than  when  they  who  have  insulted  the  autho- 
rity, defied  the  power,  and  resisted  the  govern- 
ment and  will  of  the  great  God,  proceed  at 
length  to  trample  upon  his  tenders  of  recon- 
ciliation, and  to  affront  him  in  that  concern 
which  of  all  others  is  dearest  to  him,  the  glory 
of  his  grace  in  the  person  of  his  Son  ?  Yet 
this  is  no  exaggerated  representation.  Such 
is  the  disposition  of  the  heart  of  man  towards 
God  ;  such  were  some  of  us ;  and  such,  I 
fear,  some  of  us  are  to  this  hour.  I  do  not 
say,  that  this  enmity  of  the  carnal  mind  acts, 
in  every  person  who  is  not  subject  to  the 
grace  of  God,  with  equal  rage  and  violence. 
In  a  land  of  light,  liberty,  and  civilization, 
like  ours,  a  variety  of  circumstances  may  con- 
cur to  set  bounds  to  its  exercise;  education,  a 
natural  gentleness  of  temper,  and  even  inte- 
rest, may  keep  it  within  limits  of  decorum, 
especially  towards  some  individuals ;  but  I 
affirm,  or  rather  the  scriptures  declare,  that 
enmity  against  God,  a  disaffection  to  his  gos- 
pel, no  less  than  to  his  law,  and  a  dislike  to 
those  who  profess  and  obey  the  truth,  are 
principles  deeply  rooted  in  our  nature,  as 
fallen  ;  and,  however  they  may  seem  dormant 
in  some  persons  for  a  season,  would  operate 
vigorously,  if  circumstances  were  so  to  altet 
as  to  afford  a  fair  occasion.  For,  as  of  old, 
he  that  was  born  after  the  flesh  persecuted 
him  that  was  born  after  the  Spirit  (Gal.  iv. 
29),  even  so  it  is  now.  And  it  is  still  as  true 
as  in  the  apostle's  days,  that  all  who  will  live 
godly  in  Christ  Jesus  (2  Tim.  iii.  12),  shall, 
in  one  degree  or  form  or  other,  suffer  perse- 
cution from  those  who  will  not. 

Thus  men  are  characterized  in  the  word  of 
God  :  Rebels  and  enemies,  having  a  neck  of 
iron,  to  denote  their  obstinacy  ;  a  brow  of  brass 
(Isa.  xlviii.  4),  to  express  their  insolence  and 
presumption;  and  a  heart  of  stone  (Ezekiel, 
xxxvi.  26),  insensible  to  the  softest  methods  of 
persuasion,  incapable  of  receiving  tender,  kind, 
and    generous    impressions,    though    thr>y  ar» 


SER.  XXIX. 


GIFTS  RECEIVED   FOR  THE  REBELLIOUS. 


743 


wooed  and  besought  by  the  consideration  of 
the  mercies  of  God,  of  the  dying  agonies  of 
Messiah,  unless  that  mighty  power  be  dis- 
played in  their  favour,  which  brought  forth 
streams  of  water  from  the  rock  in  the  wilder- 
ness. 

Messiah  died,  arose,  and  ascended  on  high, 
that  he  might  receive  gifts  for  rebels  of  this 
spirit  and  disposition.  The  one  grand  gift  I 
shall  specify,  is,  indeed,  comprehensive  of 
every  other  good, — the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spi- 
rit. He  said  to  his  sorrowing  disciples,  "  It 
is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away ;  for  if  I 
go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  un- 
to you  ;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  him  unto 
you,"  John  xvi.  7.  Soon  after  his  ascen- 
sion, this  promise  was  fulfilled.  The  disciples 
were  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit  (Acts  ii.  4, 
37),  and  the  people  who  had  slain  the  Lord 
were  pricked  to  the  heart,  repented  of  their 
sin,  received  faith  in  him  whom  they  had 
pierced,  and  experienced  joy  and  peace  in  be- 
lieving. 

That  the  gospel  is  preached  upon  earth  by 
a  succession  of  ministers  called  and  furnished 
for  that  service,  and  that  the  gospel  when 
preached  is  not  rejected  by  all,  as  it  is  by 
many,  is  wholly  to  be  ascribed  to  the  agency 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose  office  and  covenant- 
engagement  it  is,  to  convince  the  world  of  sin, 
of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment  (John  xvi. 
9,  11),  and  to  glorify  Messiah.  He  opens  the 
eyes  of  the  understanding,  subdues  the  stub- 
born will,  softens,  or  rather  removes  the  heart 
of  stone,  and  gives  a  feeling  tender  heart,  a 
heart  of  flesh.  Then  the  rebels  relent  and  sue 
for  mercy  ;  then  they  obtain  faith,  repentance, 
remission,  a  full  and  free  salvation,  and  all 
the  gifts  which  Messiah  has  received  for 
them. 

IV.  His  ultimate  design  in  favour  of  re- 
bellious men,  the  great  final  cause  of  his  me- 
diation, and  particularly  of  his  bestowing  on 
them  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is,  "  that  the 
Lord  God  may  dwell  among  them."  Man 
was  created  in  the  image  of  God,  who  formed 
him  for  himself.  But  he  sinned  and  was  for- 
saken. God  withdrew  his  light  and  love  from 
him,  and  man  sunk  into  darkness  and  misery. 
Sin  and  Satan  took  possession  of  the  heart, 
which  was  originally  designed  to  be  the  tem- 
ple of  the  living  God.  But  the  Lord  had  a 
merciful  purpose,  to  return  in  a  way  worthy 
of  his  perfections.  Without  him,  the  souls  of 
men,  and  the  whole  human  race,  as  to  their 
proper  happiness,  are  like  what  the  earth 
would  be  without  the  sun,  dark,  cold,  fruit- 
less, and  comfortless.  But  the  knowledge  of 
Messiah,  like  the  sun,  enlightens  the  world 
and  the  heart. 

When  in  the  day  of  his  power,  by  the  re- 
velation of  his  light  and  love,  he  destroys  the 
dominion  of  sin,  and  dispossesses  Satan,  he 
reclaims  his  own,  and  takes  possession  for 
himself.      The  heart,  sprinkled  with  the  blood 


of  Jesus,  and  anointed  with  the  holy  unction, 
becomes  a  consecrated  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  This  persuasion,  though  now  by  ma- 
ny, who  have  not  renounced  the  name  of 
christian,  deemed  the  essence  of  enthusiasm, 
was  once  thought  essential  to  Christianity  ;  so 
that  the  apostle  speaks  of  it  as  an  obvious  in- 
controvertible fact,  with  which  no  true  chris- 
tian could  be  unacquainted.  "  Know  ye  not 
that  your  body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost?"  2  Cor.  vi.  19.  Again,  he  speaks  of 
Christ  dwelling  in  the  heart,  Eph.  iii.  17. 
"  Christ  in  you  the  hope  of  glory,"  Colos. 
i.  27.  And  in  another  place,  "  Ye  are  the 
temple  of  the  living  God,  as  God  hath  said, 
I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk  in  them"  (2 
Cor.  vi.  16),  agreeably  to  his  promise  by  the 
prophets.  He  liveth  in  them,  as  the  principle 
of  their  life,  wisdom,  and  power ;  therefore 
the  apostle  says,  "  I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me,"  Gal.  ii.  20.  There  is  a  mutual 
indwelling  between  the  Lord  and  his  people  ; 
they  in  him  as  the  branch  in  the  vine,  and  he 
in  them  as  the  sap  in  the  branch  ;  he  in  them 
as  in  his  temples,  they  in  him  as  in  their  strong 
tower  of  defence.  And  from  hence  we  infer 
the  duration  of  their  life  of  grace,  that  it  shall 
continue  and  spring  up  into  everlasting  life, 
since  it  is  properly  not  their  own  but  his,  and 
since  he  has  said,  "  Because  I  live,  ye  shall 
live  also." 

He  dwells  likewise  among  his  people  in 
their  collective  capacity.  His  whole  church, 
comprising  all  the  members  of  his  mystical 
body,  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apos- 
tles and  prophets,  form  a  building  fitly  framed 
together,  a  palace,  a  holy  temple  for  the  Lord, 
the  great  King.  He  dwelleth  likewise  in  e- 
very  particular  society  who  walk  by  his  rule, 
and  adorn  the  profession  of  his  truth  by  a  con- 
versation becoming  the  gospel.  He  is  a  wall 
of  fire  round  about  them,  and  a  glory  in  the 
midst  of  them,  Zech.  ii.  5, 10.  When  they  meet 
together  in  his  name,  he  is  there.  He  walks 
in  the  midst  of  the  golden  candlesticks.  It  is 
his  presence  that  gives  life  and  efficacy  to  all 
his  ordinances,  and  communicates  a  power  tc 
his  word,  by  which  the  minds  of  his  worship- 
ping people  are  enlightened,  strengthened, 
healed,  and  comforted.  Here  he  manifests 
himself  to  them,  as  he  does  not  unto  the  world, 
and  they  can  adopt  the  words  of  the  psalmist. 
"  A  day  in  thy  courts  is  better  than  a  thou- 
sand." To  his  presence  they  owe  their  peace 
and  increase,  their  union  and  protection.  And 
if  he  withdraws,  Ichabod  may  be  written  upon 
their  solemn  assemblies  (1  Sam.  iv.  21);  foi 
even  his  own  appointments  can  afford  them 
neither  profit  nor  pleasure,  unless  they  are 
animated  by  his  glory.  Their  graces  lan- 
guish, their  harmony  is  interrupted,  strifes 
and  dissensions  take  place,  evil  roots  of  bit- 
terness spring  up  to  trouble  and  defile  them 
(Hebrews,  xii.  15);  men  arise  from  among 
themselves,    speakiny    perverse    things,     and 


THE  PUBLICATION   OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


7+4 

fierce  wolves  break  in,  not  sparing  the  flock 
(Acts  xx.  29,  SO),  if  the  good  Shepherd 
suspends  his  influence  and  presence. 

I  trust  he  dwells  and  walks  in  the  midst  of 
us.  He  is  here  as  an  observer,  and  as  a  graci- 
ous benefactor.  He  sees  who  draw  near  him 
with  their  lips,  while  their  hearts  are  far  from 
him  ;  and  he  likewise  takes  notice  of  them 
that  fear  and  love  him,  and  who  esteem  the 
light  of  his  countenance  to  be  better  than  life. 
The  high  and  lofty  One  who  inhabiteth  eter- 
nity, who  dwelleth  in  the  high  and  holy  place, 
dwelleth  likewise  with  those  that  are  of  a  con- 
trite and  humble  spirit,  to  revive  and  bless 
them,  Isa.  lvii.  15. 


SERMON  XXX. 

THE  PUBLICATION  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

The  Lord  gave  the  vwrd,  great  was  the  coin  ■ 
jtany  of  those  that  published  it  (or  of  the 
preachers).     Psalm  lxviii.  11. 

Perhaps  no  one  psalm  has  given  greater  ex- 
ercise to  the  skill  and  the  patience  of  com- 
mentators and  critics  than  the  sixty-eighth. 
I  suppose  the  difficulties  do  not  properly  be- 
long to  the  psalm,  but  arise  from  our  igno- 
rance of  various  circumstances  to  which  the 
psalmist  alludes,  which  probably  were  at  that 
time  generally  known  and  understood.  The 
first  verse  is  the  same  with  the  stated  form  of 
benediction  which  was  used  whenever  the  ark 
of  the  Lord  set  forward  while  Israel  sojourned 
in  the  wilderness  (Numb.  x.  35)  ;  which  con- 
firms the  prevailing  opinion,  that  the  psalm 
was  primarily  designed  as  an  act  of  thanks- 
giving, to  accompany  the  removal  of  the  ark 
to  Zion,  by  David.  The  seventh  and  eighth 
verses  are  repeated,  with  little  variation,  from 
the  song  of  Deborah,  Judges  v.  4,  5.  The 
leading  scope  of  the  whole  appears  to  be,  first, 
a  recapitulation  of  God's  gracious  dealing 
with  Israel,  and  of  the  great  things  he  had 
done  for  them,  from  the  time  he  delivered 
them  from  their  bondage  in  Egypt,  and  then 
a  transition,  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  to  the 
far  greater  things  he  would  do  for  his  people, 
under  and  by  the  gospel  dispensation,  in  con- 
sequence of  Messiah's  exaltation  to  receive 
gifts  for  rebellious  men.  This  verse,  though 
the  particular  occasion  is  not  specified,  pro- 
bably refers  to  some  season  of  deliverance  or 
victory,  when  the  women,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  nation,  assembled  to  praise  the 
Lord,  with  timbrels,  songs,  and  dances,  FOxod. 
xv.  The  songs  and  responses  of  Miriam  and 
her  companions,  and  of  the  women  who  wel- 
r-omed  Saul  and  David  after  the  defeat  of  the 
Philistine  (1  Sam.  xviii.  6,  7),  I  have  for- 
merly mentioned  as  instances.  The  word 
which    is    rendered    Those    who    published    or 


sEn.  xxx. 

preached,  being  expressed  with  &  feminine  ter 
initiation,  leads  the  mind  to  this  sense.  But 
we  are  not  necessarily  confined  to  it;  for  the 
word  rendered  preacher  in  the  book  of  Eccle- 
siastes,  is  likewise  in  the  feminine  form,  though 
we  are  sure  the  person  intended  by  it  was  Sa- 
lomon. 

However,  this  passage  is  properly  intro- 
duced in  the  Messiah,  and  in  its  proper  place, 
immediately  after  the  view  given  of  our  Sa- 
viour's triumphant  ascension,  as  it  leads  us  to 
consider  the  first  visible  effect  of  that  great 
event ;  for  soon  afterwards,  when  the  day  of 
Pentecost  was  fully  come,  the  Lord  gave  the 
word,  Acts  ii.  1 — 4.  The  Holy  Spirit,  the 
precious  gift,  which  Jesus  had  received  for 
rebellious  men,  descended  with  visible  em- 
blems, and  a  powerful  energy,  and  inspired 
and  qualified  his  disciples  for  the  great  work 
of  establishing  and  spreading  his  spiritual 
kingdom.  From  that  hour,  great  was  the 
number  of  the  preachers,  and  great  was  the 
success  and  efficacy  of  their  mission.  So  that 
in  a  few  years  the  gospel  spread  like  the  light, 
from  Jerusalem,  through  all  Judea  and  Sa- 
maria, and  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth. 
And  he  who  said,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  al- 
ways, even  to  the  end  of  the  world"  (Matt, 
xxviii.  20),  has,  by  the  same  Spirit,  perpe- 
tuated his  word,  and  a  succession  of  preach- 
ers, to  our  time,  and  has  promised  to  perpe- 
tuate and  work  by  the  same  means,  till  time 
shall  be  no  more. 

My  text,  therefore,  if  not  a  direct  prophecy 
of  the  publication  of  the  gospel,  is  at  least  a 
fit  motto  to  a  discourse  on  this  very  important 
subject.  We  may  consider  it  in  two  senses, 
which,  though  something  different,  are  equally 
agreeable  to  the  words  before  us,  and  to  the 
general  tenor  of  the  scripture. 

I.  That  the  message  is  the  Lord's. — He 
gave  the  word,  and  prescribed  to  his  servants 
the  subject  matter  of  their  preaching. 

II.  That  the  messengers  employed  are  call- 
ed and  sent  forth  by  him. — The  Lord  gave 
the  word  or  command ;  in  consequence  of 
which  word,  the  number  of  preachers  was 
great,  as  when  in  the  beginning  he  said,  "  Let 
there  be  light,  and  there  was  light." 

I.  The  Lord  gave  the  word  which  the  mul- 
titude of  preachers  went  forth  to  publish.  His 
merciful  design  was  great, — to  deliver  sinners 
from  bondage,  misery  and  death :  and  to  bless 
them  with  liberty,  life,  and  peace.  But  they 
are  by  nature  rebellious  and  obstinate,  and 
must  be  made  willing.  He  only  can  subdw* 
their  prejudices,  and  soften  their  spirits  ;  and 
he  has  promised  to  display  his  power  in  their 
favour  by  a  certain  mean  of  his  own  appoint- 
ment, and  we  cannot  expect  that  he  will  do  it 
in  any  other  way.  This  mean  is  the  gospel, 
which  for  its  admirable  suitableness  and  effi- 
cacy, is  commended  to  us  as  his  wisdom  and 
his  power,  1  Cor.  i.  23,  24.  He  has  given  it 
for  this   purpose,    and   his  blessing  makt'3  it 


SEP..  XXX. 


THE  PUBLICATION  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


715 


successful.  He  has  said  concerning  it,  "  As 
the  rain  cometh  clown  and  the  snow  from  hea- 
ven, and  watereth  the  earth,  and  maketh  it 
bring  forth  and  bud,  that  it  may  give  seed  to 
the  sower,  and  bread  to  the  eater  ;  so  shall  my 
word  be,  that  goeth  forth  out  of  my  mouth  ; 
it  shall  not  return  unto  me  void,  but  it  shall 
accomplish  that  which  I  please  ;  it  shall  pros- 
per in  the  thing  whereto  I  sent  it,"  Is.  lv,  10, 
11.  It  has  been  confirmed  by  the  experience 
of  ages,  that  no  mean  but  this  can  produce 
the  desirable  effect.  It  is  confirmed  by  ob- 
servation in  the  present  day.  If  the  wisdom 
of  man,  if  learning,  if  oratory,  if  animated 
descriptions  of  the  beauty  of  virtue,  and  pa- 
thetic persuasions  to  the  practice  of  it,  could 
reform,  we  should  be  a  reformed  people.  But 
alas  !  this  is  only  to  oppose  a  mound  of  sand 
to  the  violence  of  a  flood.  Notwithstanding 
many  ingenious  sermons  and  treatises  upon 
this  plan  are  admired  and  praised,  wickedness 
prevails  and  triumphs.  They  have  little  in- 
fluence upon  the  conduct  of  civil  life;  and  I 
may  boldly  say,  no  influence  to  inspire  the 
heart  with  the  love  and  peace  of  God,  and  to 
bring  it  into  a  habit  of  subjection  to  his  will 
and  command.  Nothing  will  do  this  but  the 
gospel,  the  wTord  which  the  Lord  has  given. 
This  alone  shews  the  evil  of  sin  in  its  true 
light,  affords  a  solid  ground  for  the  hope  of 
mercy,  and  furnishes  those  motives  which 
alone  are  sufficient  to  break  the  force  of  the 
temptations  and  difficulties  with  which  we 
have  to  conflict.  When  this  word  is  simply 
Knd  cordially  received,  an  immediate  and  won- 
derful change  takes  place.  The  sinner  aban- 
dons his  false  hopes  and  vain  pursuits,  is  freed 
from  his  former  slavery  to  the  love  of  the 
world  and  the  fear  of  man,  and  becomes  the 
willing  servant  of  him  who  redeemed  him  with 
his  own  "blood. 

But  we  are  sometimes  asked,  what  we  un- 
derstand by  the  gospel  ?  The  use  of  the  term 
in  a  restrained  sense,  so  as  to  imply  there  are 
Out  few  comparatively  who  preach  it,  is  deem- 
ed invidious  ond  assuming;  and  it  is  suppos- 
ed by  many,  thai  a  sermon,  if  delivered  from 
a  pulpit,  and  if  the  text  be  taken  from  the 
Bible,  must  of  coarse  be  the  gospel.  It  is 
undeniable,  howevej,  that  there  are  a  variety 
of  different  and  opposite  sentiments  delivered 
from  pulpits  ;  and  surely  the  gospel  cannot  be 
opposite,  contrary,  yen  contradictory  to  itself! 
It  is  a  mournful  consideration,  that  multi- 
tudes of  people  are  not  qualified  to  judge  of 
this  point.  Not  properly  for  want  of  ability, 
for  many  of  them  are  perpons  of  good  sense 
and  discernment,  and  can  judge  and  talk  well 
upon  other  subjects  ;  but  foi  want  of  atten- 
tion. Their  application  is  engrossed  by  the 
demands  of  business  or  pleasure,  and  they 
have  neither  leisure  nor  taste  for  a  careful  per- 
usal of  the  scriptures,  nor  for  the  examina- 
tion of  religious  sentiments.  If  the  language 
und  elocution  of  the  preacher  be  good,  and  if 


there  be  no  close  and  painful  address  to  the 
conscience,  they  are  satisfied.  The  apostle 
Paul  undoubtedly  preached  the  gospel ;  and 
he  tells  us  himself  that  he  preached  Christ 
crucified  ;  he  preached  Christ,  as  appointed  of 
God,  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification 
and  redemption,  1  Cor.  i.  30.  He  preached 
the  cross  of  Christ  (Gal.  vi.  14),  he  gloried 
in  it,  and  he  determined  to  glory  in  nothing 
else.  The  gospel  treats  all  mankind  as  al- 
ready in  a  state  of  condemnation  ;  it  declares 
their  utter  inability  to  save  or  help  themselves; 
and  it  gives  assurance  of  pardon  and  salvation 
to  all  who  believe  in  the  Son  of  God.  That 
they  may  be  encouraged  and  enabled  to  be- 
lieve, it  describes  the  dignity  of  his  person, 
the  necessity  and  greatness  of  his  sufferings, 
the  completeness  of  his  atonement,  the  preval- 
ence of  his  intercession — his  love,  authority, 
power,  and  faithfulness.  These  truths  reveal- 
ed and  applied  to  a  guilty  conscience,  by  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  produce  faith.  The 
sinner  perceives  the  sufficiency  and  excellency 
of  such  a  Saviour,  commits  himself  to  his 
compassion  and  care,  and  renounces  every 
other  hope  and  service.  He  looks  to  the  Sa- 
viour by  the  eye  of  his  mind,  with  desire  and 
admiration,  and  derives  life  from  his  death, 
healing  from  his  wounds,  as  the  Israelites, 
when  wounded,  were  healed  by  looking  upon 
the  brazen  serpent.  And  not  only  is  the  con- 
science relieved  by  this  knowledge  of  Christ 
crucified— the  understanding  is  likewise  en- 
lightened, the  judgment  is  formed,  the  affec- 
tions regulated  and  directed  by  it.  Then  old 
things  pass  away,  all  becomes  new.  The  love 
of  sin  departs,  and  the  future  life  is  devoted 
to  him,  who  therefore  died  and  revived,  that 
he  might  be  Lord  both  of  the  dead  and  the 
living,  Rom.  xiv.  9. 

There  is  likewise  a  certain  energy  or  power 
which  accompanies  the  gospel  when  it  is  truly 
preached,  which  sufficiently  characterizes  and 
distinguishes  it  from  all  other  religious  schemes 
and  systems.  Our  Lord,  during  his  personal 
ministry,  frequently  gave  proofs  that  he  knew 
the  heart  of  man.  When  Zaccheus  thought 
himself  unknown  and  unseen,  he  called  him 
by  his  name,  Luke  xix.  5.  He  reminded  Na- 
thanael  of  what  had  passed  in  secret  under  the 
fig-tree  (John  i.  48)  :  and  by  a  few  words, 
brought  to  the  remembrance  of  the  woman  of 
Samaria  all  that  she  had  done  in  her  life,  John 
iv.  29.  A  similar  effect  accompanies  the 
preaching  of  his  gospel  to  this  day.  The  gos- 
pel is  preached,  when  they  who  are  present 
find  the  secrets  of  their  hearts  are  made  mani- 
fest ;  when  the  preacher,  who  perhaps  never 
saw  them  before,  reminds  them  of  what  they 
have  done,  or  said,  or  thought,  possibly  ol 
things  transacted  long  ago,  and  almost  for- 
gotten by  themselves  ;  and  likewise  describes 
the  very  feelings  of  their  hearts  while  he  is 
speaking  to  them.  It  is  usually  in  this  way 
that  conviction  of  sin  first  takes  place  ;  and 


746 


THE  PUBLICATION   OF  THE   GOSPEL. 


SER.  XXX 


in  this  way,  that  a  convinced  burdened  sinner 
meets  with  seasonable  support  and  direction, 
so  exactly  suited  to  his  case,  that  he  almost 
thinks  the  preacher  is  speaking  to  none  but 
himself.  No  preachers  but  those  who  speak 
in  conformity  to  the  word  which  the  Lord 
gave,  have  this  power  over  the  heart  and  con- 
science. 

II.  It  is  owing  to  the  word,  the  appoint- 
ment, and  power  of  God,  that  any  persons  are 
induced  or  enabled  to  preach  this  gospel.  Men 
may,  indeed,  assume  the  office  of  a  preacher 
upon  other  grounds ;  there  are  too  many  who 
do.  But  though  they  speak  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  and  as  his  ministers,  if  he  has  not 
sent  them,  they  cannot  declare  his  message  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  make  full  proof  of  their 
ministry,  2  Tim.  iv.  5.  They  may  profit 
themselves,  according  to  their  low  views,  and 
may  obtain  such  honours  and  emoluments  as 
the  world  can  give ;  but  they  have  not  the 
honour  which  cometh  from  God  only.  They 
are  not  wise  to  win  souls,  Prov.  xi.  30.  They 
have  no  testimony  in  the  consciences  of  their 
hearers.  They  may  deliver  truths  occasion- 
ally, which  are  valuable  and  useful  in  their 
proper  places  ;  but  for  want  of  knowing  how 
to  connect  them  with  what  the  apostle  styles, 
The  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  (Eph.  iv.  21), 
they  are  unable  either  to  break  the  hard  heart, 
or  to  heal  the  wounded  spirit.  .  The  thought- 
less are  not  alarmed,  nor  the  ignorant  instruc- 
ted.     The  wicked  go  on  in  their  evil  ways  — 

The  hungry  sheep  look  up  but  are  not  fed. 

Nay,  we  see,  in  fact,  though  a  fe%v  persons 
may  still  be  found,  who  place  their  religion  in 
a  dull,  unmeaning  attendance  upon  the  form 
of  public  worship,  upon  any  form  in  which  it 
was  their  lot  to  be  educated;  yet,  in  many 
places,  the  bulk  of  the  people,  by  their  con- 
tempt of  the  Lord's  day,  and  by  their  custom- 
ary manner  of  absenting  themselves  from  their 
appointed  teachers,  give  sufficient  proof  that 
they  have  neither  found,  nor  expect  to  find, 
so  much  benefit  or  pleasure,  as  to  make  them 
think  it  worth  their  while  to  attend  them. 

It  will  appear  to  competent  judges,  that 
faithful  preachers  are  called  and  prepared  for 
their  office  by  the  Lord,  the  head  of  the 
church,  and  not  by  human  institutions,  from 
the  following  considerations  : 

1 .  That  the  gospel  cannot  be  rightly  under- 
stood but  by  divine  teaching.  The  natural 
man,  however  distinguished  by  abilities  or  li- 
terature, cannot  receive  the  things  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  (1  Cor.  ii.  14);  nay,  he  cannot  even 
discern  them.  He  may,  indeed,  know  some- 
thing of  the  gospel  system,  considered  as  a 
matter  of  science  ;  he  may  know  how  to  de- 
fend the  outworks  of  Christianity,  and  be 
master  of  the  external  evidences  for  its  truth  ; 
and  he  may  espouse  orthodox  opinions,  and 
be  a  successful  champion  in  the  field  of  con- 
troversy.      But   the  inward   power   and    life, 


that  which  constitutes  the  essential  difference 
of  true  religion,  is  no  less  remote  fiom  his 
apprehension,  than  the  idea  of  light  is  from  a 
person  born  blind.  This  he  can  only  learn  \>v 
experience.  The  first  lesson  received  and  learnt 
by  those  vtho  are  taught  of  God,  is  a  con- 
viction of  guilt,  ignorance,  and  misery — and 
then  they  begin  to  learn  the  importance,  neces- 
sity, and  design  of  the  gospel.  The  man  who 
is  thus  instructed,  if  the  Lord  be  pleased  to 
call  him  to  the  office  of  teaching  others,  will 
in  due  time  proceed  to  deliver  to  the  people 
what  he  has  himself  learnt;  not  with  hesita- 
tion, uncertainty,  or  indifference,  not  what  he 
has  acquired  by  hearsay  or  from  books,  but 
he  has  the  witness  in  himself,  1  John  v.  10. 
His  heart  teacheth  his  mouth,  Prov.  xvi.  23. 
He  believes,  therefore  he  speaks.  He  simply 
and  freely  declares  that  which  he  himself  has 
known,  and  seen,  and  tasted  of  the  word  of 
life.  And  speaking  from  the  fulness  of  his 
heart,  with  an  earnestness  inspired  by  the 
greatness  and  importance  of  his  subject,  he 
speaks  to  the  heart  and  feelings  of  his  hearers, 
and  impresses  a  manifestation  of  the  truth 
upon  their  minds. 

2.  That  the  desire  of  preaching  this  gospel, 
when  known,  if  it  be  a  right  desire,  must  like- 
wise be  given.  If  a  man  should  attempt  the 
service,  without  counting  the  cost,  or  consider- 
ing the  consequences,  he  will  most  probably 
be  disgusted  and  wearied.  And  if  he  serious- 
ly and  properly  considers  before-hand  what  he 
is  about  to  engage  in,  and  has  a  due  sense  of 
his  own  weakness,  he  will  tremble  at  the 
prospect,  and  direct  his  thoughts  to  some 
other  employment,  unless  his  call  and  sup- 
port be  from  on  high.  What  courage,  wisdom, 
meekness,  and  zeal,  appear  requisite,  in  the 
view  of  such  an  inquirer,  to  qualify  a  man 
for  preaching,  and  continuing  to  preach,  a 
doctrine  so  unpleasing  to  the  world,  as  the 
doctrine  of  the  cross  has  in  all  ages  proved  ! 
What  opposition,  and  snares,  and  difficulties, 
what  fightings  from  without,  what  fears  with- 
in, may  be  expected  !  Surely  he  will  be  ready 
to  shrink  back,  and  to  say,  Who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things  ?  But  the  Lord  by  the  con- 
straining sense  of  his  love,  and  by  giving  a 
deep  impression  of  the  worth  of  souls,  and  by 
exciting  in  the  mind  a  dependence  upon  his 
all-sufficiency,  can  and  does  encourage  those 
whom  he  calls  and  chuses,  to  serve  him  in  the 
gospel.  In  themselves  they  are  quite  unequal 
to  what  is  before  them,  but  they  obey  his 
voice  ;  they  trust  in  his  promises  for  guidance 
and  protection,  and  are  not  disappointed.  We 
are  therefore  directed  to  pray,  that  the  Lord 
of  the  harvest  would  send,  or  rather  (accord- 
ing to  the  force  of  the  Greek  word)  thrust 
forth  labourers  into  his  harvest,    Matt.  ix.  38. 

3.  That  oidy  he  who  sends  forth  his  minis- 
ters can  enable  them  to  persevere.  It  is  a 
service  of  continual  exertion  and  expense,  and 
requires  a  continual  supply.      The   opposition 


THE  GOSPEL-MESSAGF,   GLAD  TIDINGS. 


ays, 


SEtl.   XXXI. 

of  t.ie  world,  and  the  power  of  temptation, 
acting  upon  the  weakness  and  depravity  of  the 
heart,  would  quickly  prevail  against  the  best 
ministers,  if  they  were  left  to  carry  on  the 
warfare  at  their  own  charges.  They  are  at 
times,  yea  frequently,  in  situations  and  cir- 
cumstances which  teach  them  feelingly  the 
meaning  of  the  apostle's  words,  "  We  were 
pressed  out  of  measure,  above  strength,  inso- 
much that  we  despaired  even,  of  life,"  2  Cor.  i. 
8.  Besides  the  trials  incidental  to  the  chris- 
tian profession,  which  they  are  exposed  to  in 
common  with  others,  they  have  many  which 
are  peculiar  to  their  calling  as  preachers  of 
the  gospel.  Their  chief  pre-eminence  over 
christians  in  private  life  is  a  painful  one;  they 
have  the  honour  of  bearing  a  double  share  of 
the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day,  and  of  stand- 
ing in  the  foremost  ranks  of  the  battle,  to  pro- 
voke and  receive  the  fiercest  assaults  of  the 
enemy.  Their  only  resource  and  hope  is  in 
the  faithfulness  and  compassion  of  their  Lord, 
under  whose  banner  and  eye  they  fight,  and 
who  has  said,  "  Lo  !  I  am  with  you  alwa 
even  to  the  end  of  the  world." 

4.  That  the  Lord  only  can  give  success  to 
their  endeavours.  Paul  may  plant,  and  Apol- 
los  may  water,  but  there  is  no  increase  unless 
he  affords  a  blessing,  1  Cor.  iii.  6.  It  is  at 
least  a  presumptive  proof,  that  he  has  called 
a  man  to  preach,  if  he  owns  his  labours,  since 
he  has  not  promised  to  own  any  but  those 
whom  he  sends. 

We  must  however  allow,  and  observe,  that 
.o  preach  salvation  to  others,  and  even  to  be 
instrumental  in  saving  souls,  will  not  abso- 
lutely prove  that  the  preacher  is  in  a  state  of 
salvation  himself;  we  hope  it  is  generally  so; 
but  there  are  exceptions  and  instances,  which 
should  awaken  our  circumspection,  and  keep 
us  constantly  looking  to  the  Lord  in  a  spirit 
of  humility  and  dependence.  There  was  a 
Judas  among  the  apostles  ;  and  we  are  assur- 
ed that  at  the  last  day,  some,  yea  many,  will 
plead  having  done  great  things  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  whom  he  will  notwithstanding  disown, 
as  workers  of  iniquity,  Matth.  vii.  22,  23. 
Even  the  apostle  Paul  was  impressed  by  this 
thought,  and  he  has  recorded  the  improve- 
ment he  made  of  it  for  our  instruction  :  "  I 
keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  sub- 
jection, lest  that  by  any  means,  after  I  have 
preached  to  others,  I  myself  should  be  a  cast- 
away, 1  Cor.  ix.  27. 


747 


SERMON  XXXI. 

THE  GOSPEL-MESSAGE,   GLAD  TIDINGS. 

(As  it  is  written),  Hoiu  beautiful  are  the  feet  if 
them  that  preach  the  gospel  of  jieace,  and 
bring  glad  tidings  of  good  things  !  Romans, 
x    15. 

The  account  which  the  apostle  Paul  gives  of 
his  first  reception  among  the  Galatians  (Gal. 
iv.  15),  exemplifies  the  truth  of  this  passage. 
He  found  them  in  a  state  of  ignorance  and 
misery ;  alienated  from  God,  and  enslaved  to 
the  blind  and  comfortless  superstitions  of  ido- 
latry.     His  preaching,  accompanied  with  the 
power  of  the   Holy  Spirit,  had  a  great  and 
marvellous  effect.      His  principal  subject  was 
the  death  of  Jesus,  who  had  lately  suffered  as 
a  malefactor  at  Jerusalem.    Though  the  trans- 
action was  past,  and  the  scene  at  a  considera- 
ble distance,  yet  by  the  manner  of  his  repre- 
sentation, the  fact  was  realized  to  their  minds  ; 
and  they  could  have  been  no  more  affected, 
had  they  been  actually  upon   the  spot  at  the 
time.      Jesus  Christ  was  exhibited  to  them  as 
crucified  before  their  eyes,  Gal.  iii.»  1.      By 
the  same  divine  energy  they  were  instructed 
in  the  knowledge  of  his  character,  who  he  was, 
and  why  he  suffered  ;  and  likewise  understood 
their  own  need  of  such  a  Saviour.     Thus  they 
hearkened  to  him,  not  with  the  indifference  of 
the  Athenians,  but  with  application  of  all  that 
he  said  to  themselves.      They  heard,  they  be- 
lieved,   and   they   rejoiced.      The   apostle  re- 
minds them,  that  they  had  not  received  a  cold 
speculative  doctrine,  but  such  a  one  as  impart- 
ed a  blessedness  to  them.    This,  indeed,  many 
of  them  afterwards  lost,  when  they  were  un- 
happily seduced  by  false  teachers.      But  for 
a  time  the  knowledge  of  a  Saviour  so  exactly 
suited  to  their  circumstances  made  them  hap- 
py ;  and  while  they  were  so,   they  felt  very 
strong  emotions  of  gratitude  and  esteem  fof 
the  messenger  who  brought  them  these  glad 
tidings,   though   he  was   by  many  accounted 
and  treated  as  the  off-scouring  and  filth  of  all 
things,  the  Galatians  received  him  as  an  angel 
of  God,  and  attended  to  him,  as  if  the  Lord, 
who  sent  him,  had  spoken  to  them  in  person. 
And  although  he  had  till  then  been  an  entire 
stranger  to  them,   his  message  opened  a   way 
to  their  hearts,  and  they  gave  him  every  testi- 
mony of  the  most  cordial   friendship  ;    inso- 
much that,   had  it  been  possible,   they  would 
have   plucked  out  their  own  eyes,   and  have 
given  them  to  him. 

Thus,  likewise,  when  Philip  preached  the 
gospel  in  Samaria,  the  consequence  was  grea 
joy  in  that  city,  Acts  viii.  8.  But  when  the 
gospel  is  thus  gladly  received,  there  must  be 
a  suitable  disposition  of  mind.  It  is  sent  to 
the  poor.      It  is  designed  to  heal  the  broken 


748 


THE   COSrEL-MESSAGE,   GLAD  TIDINGS. 


hearted,  to  deliver  the  captives,  and  to  give 
sight  to  the  blind,  Luke  iv.  18.  And  there- 
fore they  who  are  veil  satisfied  with  them- 
selves, who  say,  We  see,  and  who  boast  of  their 
freedom,  cannot  possibly  judge  either  of  the 
truth  or  of  the  importance  of  the  gospel  doc- 
trine. As  the  Lord  waters  the  earth  with  a 
profusion  worthy  of  his  magnificence  and 
bounty,  and  does  not  confine  his  rain  to  cul- 
tivated soils  ;  so  the  good  seed  of  his  word 

often  falls  upon  the  highway,  upon  the  rocks,  j  no  longer  conceive  of  him  as  an  avenging  judge 
and  among  thorns  (Luke  viii.    13 — 15),-  but  \  or  a  hard  master.      They  no  longer  dispute 


sFJt.  XXXf 

passeth  understanding.  It  brings  a  blessed 
assurance,  that  Messiah  has  made  peace  by 
the  blood  of  his  cross.  They  who  believe  this 
good  report,  derive  from  it  peace  of  consci- 
ence ;  and  are  enabled  to  say,  Though  thou 
wert  justly  angry,  thine  anger  is  turned  away, 
Isa.  xii.  1.  It  dispels  their  fears  and  fore- 
bodings, and  inspires  them  with  liberty  to 
come  to  God  as  children  ;  consequently,  on 
their  parts,  alienation  and  enmity  cease.    They 


it  is  only  productive  upon  the  good  ground  of 
an  honest  and  good  heart.  Not  that  any  hu- 
man heart  is  truly  good  by  nature,  but  some 
are  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  truth. 
And  this  preparation  is  the  first  effect  of  the 
word,  when  it  brings  forth  fruit  unto  life  eter- 
nal. It  undeceives  those  who  were  for  a  time 
deiuded  with  vain  hopes,  and  convinces  them 
that  they  are  poor,  and  blind,  and  wretched, 
and  helpless.  Then  they  gladly  accept  the 
gospel  of  peace,  and  the  message  is  to  them  as 
life  from  the  dead. 


his  authority,  nor  repine  at  his  appointments. 
They  become  a  willing  people.  They  yield 
themselves  to  him.  They  cultivate  peace  in 
all  their  connections.  The  forgiveness  and 
bounty  they  have  received,  teaches  them  like- 
wise to  forgive,  and  be  kind  as  they  have  op- 
portunity. They  possess  such  good  things  as 
the  world  can  neither  give  nor  take  away : 
Communion  with  God,  giace,  wisdom,  and 
power.  They  serve  him  with  their  all,  and 
are  supported  by  his  good  Spirit  in  every  try- 
ing circumstance  ;  and  they  have  a  good  hope, 


The  passage   in  the  prophet   Isaiah,   from   which  enables  them  to  rejoice  in  tribulation, 


which  my  text  is  quoted,  is  very  animated  and 
descriptive.     "How  beautiful  upon  the  moun- 


and  to  smile  in  death. 

If  the  wickedness  and  obstinacy  of  man- 


tains  are  the  feet  of  him  that  bringeth  good  kind  were  not  so  strongly  described  and  exem- 
tidings  r"  Isa.  lii.  7.  Imagine  a  distressed j  plified  in  the  Bible,  and  if  we  could  forget 
people,  at  the  will  and  disposal  of  a  conqueror,  j  that  this  obstinate  perverseness  was  once  our 
who  was  justly  offended  with  them,  and  under  own  character,  we  should  find  it  difficult  tc 
an  anxious  trembling  uncertainty  how  he  conceive,  after  we  understand  the  nature  and 
would  treat  them  :    If  an  authorized  messen-  design  of  the  gospel,    upon  what  grounds  a 


ger  should  inform  them,  that,  instead  of  the 
punishment  they  deserved,  the  king  vouch- 
safed them  a  free  pardon,  was  ready  to  receive 
them  with  favour,  and  to  bestow  honours  and 
possessions  upon  all  who  applied  to  him,  with- 
out excepting  the  most  guilty,  even  the  ring- 
leaders in  rebellion  :  how  welcome  would  this 
messenger  be  to  them  !  This,  indeed,  is  be- 
yond the  manner  of  men.  No  earthly  mon- 
arch has  either  magnanimity  to  make,  or  pow- 
er to  make  good,  so  gracious  and  unlimited  a 
proclamation  to  a  whole  nation  of  rebels.  But 
this  is  the  manner  of  the  great  God.  Such  an 
act  of  grace  is  the  gospel.  An  act  of  grace  to 
sinners,  yet  founded  in  righteousness,  and  dis- 
playing the  glory  of  his  justice  equally  with 
the  riches  of  mercy.  For  it  is  founded  on  the 
mediation  of  the  Son  of  his  love,  and  procur- 
ed by  his  blood.  The  messengers  of  this  grace 
are  thus  welcomed  and  honoured  by  those  who 
believe  their  report,  and  are  esteemed  very 
highly  in  love  for  their  work's  sake,  1  Thess. 
v     13.      We  may  observe, 

I.  The  message  of  the  gospel  is  glad  tidings 
of  peace  and  good  things. 

'I.  The  messengers,  or  preachers,  find  am- 
pit  reward  in  their  success  and  acceptance. 

I.  According  to  the  Hebrew  idiom  (which 
frequently  obtains  in  the  New  Testament),  all 
j.;o<d  things  are  comprised  in  the  term  peace. 
They  are  eminently  comprised  in  the  peace  of 
the  gospel  ;   for  it  is  the   peace  of  God  which 


scheme  so  wisely  and  completely  adapted  to 
relieve  men  from  misery,  to  promote  their 
present  comfort,  and  to  secure  their  future 
happiness,  should,  instead  of  being  received 
with  thankfulness,  generally  excite  contempt 
and  opposition.  Can  the  world  afford  a  peace 
which  shall  abide  and  cheer  the  heart  under 
all  the  changing  circumstances  incident  to  us 
in  this  mortal  state  ?  Can  it  propose  any  good, 
any  honours,  profit,  or  pleasures,  worthy  of 
being  compared  with  the  honour  which  cometh 
from  God  only,  the  light  of  his  countenance, 
and  the  riches  of  glory  ?  Can  the  influence  of 
the  world  preserve  us  from  trouble,  or  sup- 
port us  under  it,  or  deliver  us  out  of  it  ?  Has 
it  any  charms  capable  of  soothing  the  anguish 
of  a  wounded  conscience  ?  Can  it  obviate  the 
stroke,  or  overcome  the  fear  of  death  ?  Or 
can  it  inspire  the  soul  with  confidence  and 
joy,  in  the  contemplation  of  that  approaching 
day,  when  we  must  all  appear  before  the  tri- 
bunal of  the  supreme  Judge  ?  That  the  world, 
if  we  possessed  the  whole  of  it,  cannot  ds 
these  things  for  us,  is  acknowledged  by  many, 
and  felt  by  all.  The  gospel  proposes  a  cor- 
dial for  every  care,  a  balm  for  every  wound  ; 
and  none  who  make  the  experiment  of  its  effi- 
cacy are  disappointed.  In  other  cases,  they 
who  have  received  great  obligations  may  speak 
highly  of  their  benefactor  ;  and  they  who  be- 
vond  hope,  have  been  recovered  from  a  dan- 
gerous malady,   may  commend   the  skill   and 


THE  GOSPEL-MESSAGE,     GLAD   TIDINGS. 


KliR.  XXXI- 

care  of  their  physician,  to  those  who  are  la- 
bouring under  the  same  disease,  without  giv- 
ing offence.  But  if  they  who  have  obtained 
life  and  peace  by  believing  in  Jesus,  proclaim 
his  goodness,  and  point  him  out  to  their  fel- 
low-sinners as  the  only  Physician  and  Saviour 
of  souls,  their  testimony  is  charged  with 
folly,  and  their  endeavours  rejected  with 
scorn,  as  officious  and  impertinent.  Men, 
while  left  to  themselves,  will  not  come  to  him 
that  they  may  have  life.  The  God  of  this 
world  so  works  upon  their  prejudices,  pride, 
and  passions,  that  though  the  light  of  truth 
shines  around  them  like  the  light  of  the  sun, 
the  eyes  of  their  mind  are  blinded,  and  they 
are  pleased  with  their  darkness,  and  unwilling 
to  see,  2  Cor.  iv.  4.  Hence  of  the  few,  com- 
paratively, who  are  favoured  with  a  clear  and 
faithful  dispensation  of  the  gospel,  the  greater 
part,  it  is  to  be  feared,  reject  the  counsel  of 
God  against  themselves;  and  his  ministers  in 
all  ages,  have  had  cause  to  adopt  the  prophet's 
complaint,  "  Lord,  who  hath  believed  our  re. 
port?''  Is.  liii.  1.  It  would  be  thus  univer- 
sally, if  the  Lord,  who  gave  the  word,  and 
who  sends  forth  the  preachers,  had  not  en- 
gaged his  promise,  that  they  shall  not  labour 
wholly  in  vain,  nor  spend  their  strength  for 
nought.  He  prepares  a  people  to  serve  him, 
and  to  show  forth  his  praise.  And  while 
some  mock,  others  refuse  to  hear  (Acts  xvii. 
32),  and  others,  with  an  indolent  indifference, 
are  content  to  hear  again  and  again,  there  are 
others  whose  hearts  are  opened  to  receive,  the 
truth  in  the  love  of  it.  They  hear  and  believe 
to  everlasting  life. 

II.  The  instruments  of  this  happy  change 
find  their  reward  in  their  work.  It  being 
owned  to  the  salvation  of  a  few,  they  are  com- 
pensated for  all  the  opposition  they  meet  with 
from  the  many;  and  this  on  a  twofold  ac- 
count : 

First,  and  principally,  for  the  love  they  bear 
to  their  Lord,  and  to  souls  for  his  sake. 

To  see  his  name  made  precious  to  the  hearts 
of  sinners  ;  to  see  those  who  were  blind  ad- 
miring his  excellency  ;  to  see  those  who  were 
so  far  off"  from  God  brought  so  nigli ;  to  see 
those  who  were  wretched  rejoicing  in  his  good- 
ness ;  to  hear  those  whose  lips  were  filled  with 
folly,  falsehood,  or  blasphemy,  proclaiming  his 
praise;  such  salutary  effects  of  their  ministry 
till  them  likewise  with  praise  and  joy:  and 
when  their  hearers  express  the  power  and  spi- 
rit of  the  gospel  in  their  tempers  and  conduct, 
they  can  say,  "  Now  we  live,  if  you  stand  fast 
in  the  Lord,"    1  Thess.  iii.  8. 

A  secondary  satisfaction,  which  of  itself  is 
sufficient  to  make  them  full  amends  for  all  the 
scorn  of  an  unkind  world,  is  the  share  they 
have  in  the  affections  of  the  people  who  are 
thus  benefite.'  b"  their  ministry.  This  is  the 
popularity  which  aione  is  desirable.  It  would 
be  a  small  thing  to  be  able  merely  to  hold  a 
multitude  by  the  ears  •  but  to  be  approved  and 


"19 


loved  by  those  to  whom  the  Lord  has  made 
them  useful,  is  a  high  honour,  and  a  source  of 
sublime  pleasure.  When  Peter  and  John 
(Acts  iii.  11)  had  healed  the  lame  man,  I 
doubt  not  but  ili-cf  vere  more  affected  by  the 
simple  honest  testimony  of  his  gratitude,  than 
by  the  unmeaning  wonder  of  all  the  surround- 
ing multitude.  If  a  true  servant  of  the  Lord, 
by  any  advantage  of  abilities  or  elocution, 
should  attach  a  large  congregation  to  a  per- 
sonal regard  for  himself,  should  be  admired 
and  beloved  by  them,  and  yet  discover  no  at- 
tachment in  them  to  the  Saviour  whom  ha 
preaches,  their  partiality  to  him  would  give 
him  but  little  pleasure.  He  would  be  more 
ready  to  weep  over  them,  than  to  rejoice  in 
the  preference  they  gave  him.  For  he  seeks 
not  their  applause,  but  their  edirication  ;  and 
he  aims  not  to  promote  his  own  glory,  but  the 
glory  of  him  who  sent  him,  John  vi.  18.  He 
is  indeed,  glad  to  see  them  attending  upon 
the  means  which  God  has  promised  to  bless. 
But  the  faithfulness  and  closeness  of  his  ad- 
dresses to  their  consciences,  by  which  many 
are  sooner  or  later  disgusted  and  driven  away, 
is  a  proof  that  he  does  not  want  them  merely 
to  make  up  a  number  about  him.  They  who 
make  the  office  of  a  preacher  an  occasion 
whereby  to  promote  their  own  interest  or  re- 
putation, may,  perhaps,  obtain  the  reward  they 
seek  ;  but  it  is  such  a  reward  as  can  only  sa- 
tisfy a  weak  and  mercenary  mind  ;  and  from 
him,  whose  name  they  prostitut  ,  they  car. 
only  expect  the  reward  assigned  to  hypocrites 
and  unbelievers. 

But  true  christians  will,  and  do,  set  a  high 
value  upon  the  ministers  who,  with  simplicity 
and  godly  sincerity,  preach  the  gospel  of 
peace,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  evidence  that 
they  are  influenced  by  a  regard  to  the  glory  of 
God,  and  to  the  good  of  souls ;  and  they  give 
proof  of  their  affection  in  more  ways  than  by 
speaking  well  of  them. 

1.  By  the  satisfaction  with  which  they  ac- 
cept a  faithful  ministry,  as  a  balance  to  the 
trials  they  meet  with  in  common  life.  There 
are  many  poor  and  many  afflicted  people, 
who  have  little  comfort  in  the  things  of  this 
life,  and  in  their  own  houses.  Some  are 
pinched  by  penury,  and  some  who  live  in  opu- 
lence, yet  dwell,  as  the  psalmist  expresses  i ; 
(Psal.  lvii.  4),  in  the  fire  and  among  lions. 
They  suffer  not  less  than  the  others,  though  in 
a  different  way,  from  the  unkindness  and  op. 
position  of  their  nearest  connections.  But  in 
the  house  of  God,  they  are  satisfied  and  com- 
forted. And,  according  to  the  words  of  the 
prophet,  though  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  give 
them  the  bread  of  adversity,  and  the  water  o/ 
affliction  (Is.  xxx.  20),  yet  sinct^their  teachers 
are  not  removed  into  corners,  but  they  have 
free  access  to  the  preaching  of  his  word,  and 
can  attend  upon  a  minister  who  careth  for 
their  souls,  and  meets  them,  when  they  are 
weary,  with  a  word  in  season,  they  benr  their 


750 


THE  GOSPEL-MESSAGE,   GLAD   TIDINGS. 


appointed  cross  with  cheerfulness.  Though 
they  have  much  bitterness  of  heart  at  home, 
known  only  to  themselves,  they  have  a  plea- 
sure which  a  stranger  intermeddleth  not  with, 
when  they  go  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord. 
But  if  the  instrument,  who  is  the  messenger 
of  God  to  them  for  good,  be  removed,  and 
they  are  deprived  of  these  opportunities,  the 
regard  they  bore  him  is  manifested  by  their 
sorrow  for  losing  him  ;  which  often  affects  them 
more  sensibly  than  all  their  other  griefs. 

2.  By  taking  kindly  and  in  good  part  his 
most  searching  discourses  in  public,  or  even 
liis  reproofs  and  admonitions  in  private,  if 
needful.  For  they  know  that  he  watches  over 
their  souls,  as  one  who  must  give  an  account, 
Heb.  xiii.  17.  And  because  they  love  him, 
they  do  all  in  their  power  to  make  the  service 
a  pleasure  and  not  a  grief  to  him.  They  do 
not  wish  him  to  speak  smooth  things  to  them, 
or  to  entertain  them  with  the  discussion  of 
points  in  which  they  have  little  concern,  but 
to  hear  that  which  is  suitable  to  their  own  case 
and  circumstances.  And  if  the  preacher  dis- 
covers to  them,  that  through  inadvertence, 
they  have  allowed  themselves  in  any  wrong 
practice,  or  have  lived  in  the  omission  of  any 
duty,  instead  of  being  offended  with  his  plain 
dealing,  they  love  him  the  better  for  it. 

3.  By  their  tenderness  and  sympathy  with 
him  in  all  his  exercises;  and  by  their  care,  ac- 
cording to  their  ability,  to  make  his  situation 
comfortable,  and  to  avoid  every  thing  that 
might  give  him  just  occasion  for  complaint  or 
grief.  The  trials  of  a  faithful  minister  are 
neither  few  not  small.  His  work  is  great ; 
lie  is  sure  to  meet  with  enemies  and  discou- 
ragements. He  travails  in  birth  for  souls 
(Gal.  iv.  19);  he  is  pained  by  the  opposition 
of  the  wicked,  the  inconstancy  of  the  wavering, 
and  the  inconsistency  of  many  who  make  pro- 
fession of  the  truth.  He  feels  many  anxi- 
eties for  those  who  are  enquiring  the  way  to 
the  kingdom,  lest  they  should  be  turned  aside 
and  hindered  ;  and  too  often  the  hopes  he  had 
indulged,  of  some  who  discovered  a  concern 
for  religion,  are  disappointed.  His  inward 
conflicts  are  many.  He  often  walks  in  much 
weakness,  fear,  and  trembling,  1  Cor.  ii.  3. 
Wien  he  considers  what  he  is,  what  he  ought 
to  be,  and  what  he  has  to  do,  he  is  often 
distressed,  afraid,  and  ashamed,  and  unable  to 
speak.  His  path  is  spread  with  snares,  his 
heart  wounded  with  temptations.  But  his 
judicious  hearers  have  some  knowledge  of 
what  he  endures  for  their  sakes  and  in  their 
service;  they  love  him,  pity  him,  and  pray  for 
him,  and  their  kind  attention  comforts  him 
tinder  all  his  tribulations. 

Sometimes,  their  regard  is  rather  improper- 
ly expressed ;  as  when  they  not  only  value  his 
ministry,  but  hold  him  so  highly  a  favourite, 
that  they  can  hardly  hear  another.  \  prefer- 
ence is  certainly  due  to  the  person  who  is 
made  especially  useful ;  but  no  faithful  preach- 


.SKI'..  XXXI 

er  should  be  slighted.  Though  gifts  amiabi- 
lities are  not  equal  in  all,  yet  they  are  all  th" 
Lord's  messengers,  and  entitled  to  regard. 

Again,  it  is  an  improper  regard,  if  they 
yield  themselves  implicitly  to  him,  to  be  go- 
verned by  his  will.  So  far  as  we  speak  agree- 
ably to  the  scripture,  which  is  the  rule  and 
standard  of  faith  and  practice  both  to  you 
and  to  us,  we  are  authorized  to  require  your 
attention  and  obedience;  but  you  are  not 
bound  to  receive  what  we  propose  merely 
upcr/i  our  own  authority.  There  are  those  who 
account  ignorance  the  mother  of  devotion,  and 
expect  an  implicit  compliance  with  their  in 
junctions,  by  virtue  of  their  office  and  per- 
sonal influence.  But  a  true  minister  will  ac- 
count it  his  honour  and  pleasure  to  preach  to 
an  enlightened  people  who  love  and  study  the 
Bible,  and,  like  the  Bereans,  search  the  scrip- 
tures (Acts  xvii.  11),  to  see  if  things  are  so 
as  represented.  We  have  no  dominion  over 
your  faith,  but  wish  to  be  helpers  of  your  joy, 
2  Cor.  i.  24.  Nor  do  we  pretend  to  dominion 
over  your  purses,  though  we  are  to  remind 
you  of  the  apostle's  charge,  "  To  do  good, 
and  to  communicate,  forget  not,"  Hebrews, 
xiii.  16. 

How  much  are  they  to  be  pitied,  who  ac- 
count that  word  of  grace  a  burden,  which  to 
those  who  receive  it  with  thankfulness,  proves 
the  balm  and  cordial  of  life  !  Take  heed  how 
you  hear.  If  the  gospel  is  not  made  to  you 
a  savour  of  life,  it  will  be  a  savour  of  death. 
It  will  aggravate  your  guilt  and  condemna- 
tion, and  leave  you  utterly  hopeless  and  in- 
excusable. If  you  continue  impenitent  and 
obstinate,  the  hour  is  coming  when  you  wil} 
wish  you  had  never  heard  of  the  name  of  Je- 
sus. It  had  been  better  for  you  never  to  have 
been  born,  or  to  have  lived  and  died  among 
the  savage  Indians,  or  to  have  been  an  idiot 
or  a  lunatic  to  the  end  of  your  days,  than  to 
have  lived  where  the  doctrine  of  salvation 
was  published  in  your  hearing,  if  you  finally 
reject  the  counsel  of  God  against  yourselves  ! 


SERMON  XXXIT. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


Their  sound  went  into  all  the  earth, 

their  words  unto  the  ends  of  the  world. 
mans,  x.  18. 


and 
Ro- 


The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  Psal. 
xix.  1.  The  grandeur  of  the  arch  over  our 
heads,  the  number  and  lustre  of  the  stars,  the 
beauty  of  the  light,  the  splendour  of  the  sun, 
the  regular  succession  of  day  and  night,  and 
of  the  seasons  of  the  year,  are  such  proofs  of 
infinite  wisdom  and  power,  that  the  scripture 
attributes  to  them  a  voice,  a  universal  lan- 
guage, intelligible  to  all  mankind,  accomnio. 


SER.  XXXII. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


751 


dated  to  every  capacity.  There  is  no  speech 
nor  language,  where  their  voice  is  not  heard. 
The  combined  effect  of  the  visible  works  of 
the  great  Architect,  presses  a  declaration  upon 
the  ear  of  reason — "  The  hand  that  made  us 
is  divine."  We  must,  however,  understand 
it  of  the  ear  of  right  reason.  The  loudest 
voice  is  unnoticed  by  the  deaf.  Thus  it 
ought  to  be,  and  thus  it  would  be,  if  man 
were  indeed  a  rational  creature,  as  he  proud- 
ly boasts  himself.  That  the  fact  in  general 
is  otherwise  ;  that  the  bulk  of  mankind  are 
no  more  affected  by  the  works  of  God  than 
the  beasts  of  the  field ;  that  the  philosophers 
who  profess  to  study  them,  so  faintly  discern, 
so  frequently  deny  the  great  First  Cause  of  all, 
is  a  proof  that  sin  has  darkened  and  depraved 
the  noblest  powers  of  the  soul,  and  degraded 
man  into  the  state  of  an  inattentive  idiot. 
However,  the  evidence,  if  it  does  not  excite 
his  admiration  and  praise,  is  abundantly  suf- 
ficient to  convict  him  of  stupidity  and  ingra- 
titude, and  to  leave  him  without  excuse,  Rom. 
i.  20. 

This  passage,  taken  from  that  sublime  ode 
of  David,  the  nineteenth  psalm,  is  applied  by 
the  apostle  to  illustrate  the  character  and  the 
progress  of  the  still  more  wonderful  display 
of  the  divine  perfections,  which  God  has  made 
known  by  the  glorious  gospel.  A  variety  of 
truths  shine  (like  stars  in  the  firmament)  in 
the  system  of  revelation.  But  principally  Je- 
sus, the  Sun  of  truth  and  righteousness,  the 
source  of  spiritual  light  and  life,  answers  to 
the  description  there  given  of  the  material 
sun.  "  His  going  forth  is  from  the  end  of 
heaven,  and  his  circuit  unto  the  ends  of  it, 
and  there  is  nothing  hid  from  his  heat,"  Psal. 
xix.  6. 

But  the  fulfilment  of  the  promises  respect- 
ing Messiah's  kingdom  is  progressive.  So 
far  as  this  prophecy  has  been  accomplished, 
the  arm  of  the  Lord  has  been  revealed.  It 
is  his  doing  and  may  justly  be  marvellous  in 
our  eyes.  The  truth  of  the  prophecy  will  be 
proved  by  its  final  completion,  which,  though 
not  likely  to  take  place  in  our  time,  we  may 
be  assured  that  it  cannot  fail,  for  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  it.  And  besides,  we  have  a  suf- 
ficient pledge  and  security  for  the  whole,  in 
what  he  has  already  done.  It  was  not  neces- 
sary for  the  fulfilling  of  this  prophecy,  nor 
consistent  with  the  tenor  of  many  other  pro- 
phecies, that  the  spread  of  the  gospel  should 
be  instantaneous  and  universal  on  its  first  pub- 
lication. Messiah  is  to  rule  in  the  midst  of 
his  enemies  till  the  appointed  season,  when 
all  enemies  shall  be  subdued  under  his  feet. 
The  gospel,  the  rod  of  his  power,  is  so  ad- 
mirably adapted  to  the  necessities  of  mankind, 
that  the  obstructions  it  has  met  with  must  be 
ascribed  to  their  wickedness  and  obstinacy. 
Not  that  they  could  resist  the  will  of  God. 
Had  he  intended  to  give  it  universal  success 
from   the   beginning,    the  event   would   have 


been  answerable.  But  it  was  his  pleasure  ta 
conduct  die  dispensation  of  it,  so  as,  on  the 
one  hand,  to  display  his  sovereignty,  wisdom, 
and  power,  and  on  the  other,  to  afford  a  full 
proof  of  the  depravity  and  alienation  of  the 
heart  of  man.  This  point  is  so  much  misun- 
derstood and  misrepresented,  that  though  it 
is  attended  with  great  difficulties,  especially  if 
we  give  way  to  vain  reasonings  upon  it,  I 
shall  venture,  in  the  present  discourse,  to  of- 
fer a  few  thoughts  towards  clearing  the  sub- 
ject, and  vindicating  (if  the  very  attempt  be 
not  presumptuous)  the  ways  of  God  to  man. 

When  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  after  a 
long  night  of  darkness,  arose  upon  the  world, 
there  appeared  a  strong  probability  that  the 
prophecies  concerning  the  extent  of  Ms  vital 
influence,  from  east  to  west,  from  pole  to  pole, 
would  soon  be  completely  realized.  In  a  very 
short  space  he  was  known  and  adored  by  mul- 
titudes, through  the  greatest  part  of  the  Ro- 
man empire,  and  beyond  its  limits.  But, 
perhaps,  for  about  seventeen  hundred  years 
since  that  period,  the  boundaries  of  his  king- 
dom, though  they  have  been  altered,  have  not 
been  much  enlarged.  If  he  has  since  in  some 
measure  enlightened  the  more  western  parts 
of  the  globe,  the  eastern  regions,  which  once 
rejoiced  in  his  light,  are  now  overwhelmed 
with  gross  Mahommedan  darkness.  And  it 
we  were  capable  of  investigating  the  state  of 
the  world  at  this  day,  we  should  probably  find, 
that  five  out  of  six  of  the  human  race  now 
living,  never  so  much  as  heard  of  the  name  of 
Jesus  as  a  Saviour.  There  is  reason  to  fear 
likewise,  that  in  the  nations  who  professedly 
call  him  Lord,  and  are  not  unwilling  to  be 
themselves  called  Christians,  a  greater  pro- 
portion than  five  out  of  six,  are  no  less  stran- 
gers to  his  power  and  grace,  than  the  Mahom- 
medans  who  reject  him,  or  the  Heathens  who 
never  heard  of  him. 

There  is  not  perhaps  a  darker  chapter  in  the 
book  of  divine  providence,  nor  a  meditation 
which  calls  for  a  more  absolute  subjection  and 
submission  to  the  holy  will  and  unsearchable 
wisdom  of  God,  than  this.  The  first  spread 
of  the  gospel  proved  it  to  be  a  divine  expe. 
dient,  fully  capable  of  producing  all  the  great 
purposes  which  the  prophets  had  foretold,  and 
which  the  state  of  the  world  required.  It  re- 
conciled men  to  God,  to  themselves,  and  to 
each  other.  It  subdued  their  passions,  regu- 
!  lated  their  affections,  freed  them  from  the 
guilt  and  bondage  of  sin,  from  the  love  of  the 
world,  and  from  the  fear  of  death.  Wherever 
the  doctrine  of  the  cross  was  preached,  it  pro- 
duced that  salutary  change  of  conduct  which 
philosophy  had  long  attempted  in  vain  ;  and 
raised  men  to  that  life  of  communion  with 
God,  of  which  philosophers  had  no  conception. 
Such  was  the  bright  morning  of  the  gospel- 
<I»y.  But  in  time,  yea,  in  a  little  time,  dark 
clouds  obscured  its  light ;  its  progress  was 
J  impeded,  and  in  a  manner  stopped.      On  one 


752 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


SEK.  XXXU 


hand,  the  profession  and  name  of  the  gospel 
gave  occasion  to  mischiefs  and  abominations 
which  had  been  unknown  among  the  Hea- 
thens ;  so  that  the  part  of  the  world  which  re- 
ceived the  name  of  Christendom,  was  little 
distinguished  from  the  rest,  in  a  religious 
view,  but  by  a  fierce  and  rancorous  supersti- 
tion, which  tyrannized  over  the  consciences,  li- 
berties, and  the  lives  of  men.  On  the  other 
hand,  as  I  have  observed,  the  very  name  of 
Christianity  was  restrained  to  a  small  portion 
of  the  earth  ;  many  nations  have  not  heard  of 
it  to  this  day  ;  and  many  who  once  professed 
it  have  renounced  it  long  ago. 

Thus  the  fact  stands.  We  cannot  deny  it. 
But  how  shall  we  account  for  it  ?  Infidels  and 
petty  reasoners  think  they  here  find  an  invin- 
cible objection  against  the  truth.  They  say, 
"  If  the  gospel  you  speak  of  be  so  salutary 
and  necessary,  if  it  be  indeed  the  greatest  ef- 
fect of  the  divine  goodness,  why  has  not  God, 
who  is  the  common  Father  of  mankind,  af- 
forded it  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  ?  and 
why  is  it  restrained  to  so  few  ?"  But  I  think 
we  may  retort  the  question,  and  let  them  who 
propose  it  give  such  an  answer  (if  they  can) 
as  shall  not  amount  to  a  confession  of  the  ob- 
stinacy and  ungrateful  folly  of  mankind. 
When  the  world  saw  the  happy  tendency  and 
effects  of  this  gospel  in  the  age  of  the  apostles, 
why  did  they  not  universally  receive  it  ?  We 
know  that  when  the  use  of  the  mariner's  com- 
pass, the  art  of  printing,  and  many  other  in- 
ventions that  might  be  named,  were  discover- 
ed in  one  country,  they  were  presently  adopt- 
ed by  the  surrounding  civilized  nations.  Even 
the  recent  attempts  to  venture  through  the  air 
with  a  balloon,  hazardous  as  they  certainly 
are,  and  insignificant  with  respect  to  real  use- 
fulness, are  likely  in  a  little  time  not  on'y  to 
engage  the  notice,  but  to  excite  the  imitation 
of  Europe.  Why  then  was  the  gospel,  the 
most  beneficial  and  important  discovery  the 
world  has  been  favoured  with,  the  only  one 
that  has  been  treated  with  general  contempt  ? 
Certainly  our  Lord  has  assigned  the  true  rea- 
son, "  Light  is  come  into  the  world,  but  men 
love  darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their 
deeds  are  evil,"  John  iii.  19.  They  hate  the 
light,  they  will  not  come  to  it,  nor  will  they 
permit  it  to  come  to  them  if  they  can  possibly 
prevent  it.  This  glorious  gospel  of  the  bles- 
sed God  has  been  and  still  is  shunned  and 
dreaded,  and  every  human  precaution  and  ex- 
ertion has  been  employed  to  withstand  and 
suppress  it,  as  though,  like  the  pestilence,  it 
was  baneful  to  the  welfare  of  society.  May 
we  not  say,  speaking  after  the  manner  of  men, 
that  the  Lord  has  done  enough  to  confirm  his 
own  express  and  solemn  declaration,  that  he 
ha'i  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked, 
but  that  the  wicked  may  turn  from  his  way 
and  live  !  Ezek.  xxxiii.  11.  He  has  raised  up 
a  succession  of  faithful  servants,  from  age  to 
age,  to  publish  these  glad  tidings.      The  re- 


ception they  have  met  with,  not  only  from  the 
Heathens,  but  from  nominal  christians,  is  well 
known  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  ec- 
clesiastical history,  which  contains  little  more 
than  a  detail  of  the  arts  and  cruellies  by  which 
the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  powers  of  almost 
every  kingdom,  where  the  gospel  has  been 
known,  have  endeavoured  to  suppress  it. 

The  nation  of  Great  Britain,  in  particular, 
has  but  little  right  to  ask,  Why  the  gospel  of 
Christ  has  been  spread  no  farther  among  the 
Heathen  ?  The  providence  of  God  has  fa- 
voured us  with  peculiar  advantages  for  this 
service.  Our  arms  and  commerce  have  open- 
ed us  a  way  to  the  most  distant  parts  of  the 
globe  ;  and  of  late  years,  the  enterprising  spi- 
rit of  our  navigators  has  added  almost  a  new 
world  to  the  discoveries  of  former  times.  How 
far  have  our  plans  been  formed  with  a  subser- 
viency to  the  great  design  of  evangelizing  the 
Heathen?  How  much  have  we  done  to  pro- 
mote it  in  Asia,  where  our  influence  and  op- 
portunities have  been  the  greatest  ?  What 
impression  of  the  name  and  spirit  of  Christia- 
nity has  our  conduct  given  to  the  inhabitants 
of  India  ?  But  I  forbear — Facts  are  too  well 
known  to  need  recital ;  too  glaring  to  need  a 
comment.  It  is  true,  we  have  an  incorporat- 
ed society  for  propagating  the  gospel  in  fo- 
reign parts,  and  we  hear  of  missionaries  ;  but 
of  the  good  effects  of  their  missions,  as  at  pre 
sent  conducted  we  neither  hear,  nor  expect  to 
hear.  While  America  was  ours,  the  efforts  ot 
a  few  individuals  from  the  northern  provinces 
in  the  last  and  present  century,  were  not  with 
out  success.  But  I  fear  this  is  all  the  ho 
nour  we  can  claim.  Some  good  has  been 
done  by  the  Danish  mission  to  Tranquebar , 
but  I  believe  our  influence  in  it  has  been  ra 
ther  nominal  than  effective.  The  extent  and 
effects  of  the  labours  of  the  Unifas  Fratrum  *, 
compared  with  their  circumstances  and  re- 
sources, must  not  be  omitted  on  this  occasion. 
They  doubtless  excite  admiration,  and  thank- 
fulness to  God,  in  every  serious  mind  ac- 
quainted with  the  subject.  But  excepting  in 
these  instances,  I  believe  the  Heathens  have 
derived  but  little  knowledge  of  the  gospel  from 
their  connections  with  Christendom  for  som« 
ages  past.  An-d  I  think  none  of  the  commer- 
cial nations  in  Europe  have  had  the  propaga- 
tion of  Christianity  less  at  heart  than  the 
English.  What  obligations  the  natives  of 
Africa  are  under  to  us,  for  instruction  or  ex- 
ample, may  be  estimated,  in  part,  by  a  curso- 
ry survey  of  the  state  of  our  West-India  Is- 
lands ! 

That  the  gospel  is  so  little  known  in  the 
world,  and  so  little  received  where  it  is  known, 
cannot  be  so  properly  ascribed  to  the  will  of 
God,  as  to  the  wickedness  and  wilfulness  of 
men.  Undoubtedly  he  to  whom  all  things 
are  possible,  who  has  absolute  power  over  die 

*  More  generally  known  amongst  us  by  the  name  of  the 
Brethren,  or  Moravians. 


SER.  xxxir 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


753 


hearts  of  hi*  creatures,  could  make  a  way  for 
the  universal  reception  of  it.  And  we  trust 
that  in  his  own  time  he  will  do  so.  But  pow- 
er is  not  his  only  attribute.  It  would  be  rash 
and  absurd  to  suppose  that  the  great  God  will 
do  every  thing  that  he  can  do.  We  are  sure 
that  he  will  do  what  is  worthy  of  himself; 
but  of  this  his  own  infinite  wisdom  is  the  only 
competent  judge.  What  is  becoming  of  his 
perfections  and  holy  government,  we  can  know 
no  farther  than  he  is  pleased  to  inform  us. 
But  it  certainly  becomes  us  to  lay  our  hands 
upon  our  mouths,  and  our  mouths  in  the  dust, 
when  we  contemplate  his  conduct;  or,  if  we 
do  speak,  to  adopt  the  apostle's  language, 
"  Oh  the  depths  of  the  riches,  both  of  the  wis- 
dom and  knowledge  of  God  !  How  unsearch- 
able are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past 
finding  out !  For  of  him,  and  through  him, 
and  to  him  are  all  things.  To  whom  be  glo- 
ry for  ever,"  Rom.  xi.  36. 

However,  my  text  is  fulfilling,  and  shall  be 
fulfilled.  This  joyful  sound  has  already  been 
spread  far  abroad,  in  defiance  of  all  attempts 
to  restrain  it.  Multitudes  from  age  to  age 
have  heard  it,  and  found  it  to  be  the  power  of 
God  unto  salvation.  And  it  would  be  easy 
to  prove,  if  it  belonged  to  my  subject,  that 
the  superior  advantages  of  civilization  which 
Christendom  enjoys  are  remotely  owing  to 
the  knowledge  of  revelation.  To  this  must 
be  chiefly  ascribed  the  different  state  of  this 
island  from  what  it  was  when  visited  by  Ju- 
lius Caesar.  Yea,  our  modern  philosophers 
would  make  but  a  poor  figure,  were  they  de- 
spoiled of  all  the  plumes  they  have  borrowed 
from  the  book  they  affect  to  despise.  Farther, 
the  purpose  of  God  to  save  sinners  by  faith  in 
his  beloved  Son,  is  the  primary  ground  of  that 
patience  and  long-suffering  which  he  still  ex- 
ercises towards  such  a  world  as  this.  And 
some  imperfect  traces  of  this  design  trans- 
mitted by  tradition,  are  probably  to  be  found 
though  wofully  disfigured  among  every  na- 
tion and  people  under  heaven  which  have  at 
least  preserved,  in  a  degree,  the  notices  of 
right  and  wrong,  and  some  faint  warnings  of 
conscience,  in  the  most  savage  state  of  human 
nature.  But,  were  it  not  for  reasons  con- 
nected with  the  designs  of  his  mercy,  we  can 
scarcely  conceive  that  the  holy  God  would 
have  perpetuated  the  race  of  mankind  in  a 
state  of  rebellion  and  enmity  against  his  go- 
vernment. Or  if  he  had  permitted  them  to 
multiply,  and  left  them  wholly  and  absolutely 
to  themselves,  without  interposing  some  re- 
straints upon  their  depravity,  I  believe  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth  would  have  been  no  bet- 
ter than  incarnate  fiends. 

The  prophecies,  both  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  encourage  us  to  hope  for  a  time, 
when  the  light  of  gospel-truth  will  break  forth 
with  meridian  brightness,  the  glory  of  the 
I,ord  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  his 
salvation.      As  a  pledge  of  this,  and   of  the 


truth  of  the  whole  scripture,  we  have  what 
may  be  called  a  standing  miracle  continually 
before  our  eyes ;  I  mean  the  state  of  the  Jews, 
who,  though  dispersed  far  and  wide  among 
many  nations,  are  everywhere  preserved  a  dis- 
tinct and  separate  people.  The  history  of  the 
world  affords  no  other  instance  of  the  like  kind. 
The  great  monarchies,  by  which  they  were 
successively  conquered  and  scattered,  have  suc- 
cessively perished.  Only  the  names  of  them 
remain.  But  the  people  whom  they  despised, 
and  endeavoured  to  exterminate,  subsist  to 
this  day ;  and  though  sifted  like  corn  over  the 
earth,  and  apparently  forsaken  of  God,  are 
still  preserved  by  his  wonderful  providence, 
unaffected  by  the  changes  and  customs  around 
them  ;  still  tenacious  of  the  law  of  Moses, 
though  the  observance  of  it  is  rendered  im- 
practicable. Many  days,  many  ages  they 
have  lived,  as  the  prophets  foretold  they  should, 
without  a  temple,  without  sacrifice  or  priest, 
Hos.  iii.  4,  5.  As  yet,  many  heathen  nations 
are  permitted  to  walk  in  their  own  ways.  But 
at  length  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  shall  come 
in,  and  all  Israel  shall  be  saved,  Roin.  xi.  25, 
26.  The  revolutions  and  commotions  in  king- 
doms and  nations,  which  astonish  and  perplex 
politicians,  are  all  bringing  forward  this  great 
event.  The  plan  of  the  human  drama,  to  us, 
who  only  see  a  single  scene,  is  dark  and  in- 
tricate ;  but  the  catastrophe  is  approaching  ; 
and  in  the  close  of  the  whole,  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  God  will  be  admired  and  adored, 
and  all  holy  and  happy  intelligences  will  ac- 
knowledge with  transport,  He  has  done  all 
things  well. 

But  the  point  I  am  chiefly  to  press  upon 
my  hearers,  is,  that  this  word  of  salvation  is 
sent  to  you,  Acts  xiii.  26.  How  the  great 
Judge  will  deal  with  the  Heathens,  who  were 
never  favoured  with  it,  he  has  not  seen  fit  dis- 
tinctly to  inform  us.  But  thus  far  lie  has  as- 
sured us,  that  it  will  be  more  tolerable  for 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  yea  for  Sodom  and  Gomor- 
rah, than  for  those  who  have  the  privilege  of 
knowing  the  gospel,  if  they  reject  it,  Mattli. 
xi.  20 — 24.  To  them  much  is  given,  and  of 
them  much  will  be  required.  Do  not  think 
ministers  assuming  if  they  magnify  their  office. 
We  have  no  reason  to  think  highly  of  our- 
selves. Nor  would  you  be  blameable  for  dis- 
regarding us  if  we  spoke  in  our  own  names. 
But  if  we  preach  the  truth  of  the  gospel  in 
simplicity  and  sincerity,  then  we  speak  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  and  demand  your  attention. 
Do  you  ask  for  our  authority  and  commission  .' 
Ask  your  own  consciences.  If,  like  Felix, 
when  you  mean  only  to  indulge  your  curio- 
sity by  hearing  us,  you  are  constrained  to 
tremble  (Acts  xxiv.  25)  ;  if  we  force  upon 
your  mind  the  remembrance  of  what  you  have 
said  or  done  ;  if  our  message  makes  you  un- 
easy and  dissatisfied  with  yourselves;  if  you 
cannot  avoid  feeling  at  some  times  the  truth 
of  our  principles,    and   the  necessity   of  the 


an( 
3 


I 


"?5* 


OPPOSITION  TO  MESSIAH  UNREASONABLE.     SER.  XXXIlf 


change  we  would  press  upon  you ;  if,  though 
vou  have  been  repeatedly  displeased  and  of- 
fended with  what  you  hear,  and,  perhaps,  have 
gone  away  purposing  or  threatening  that  you 
would  hear  it  no  more,  you  still  appear  amongst 
us — then  you  have  a  sufficient  proof,  that  the 
ministers  are  sent  and  authorized  to  speak  to 
vou,  and  we  take  your  consciences  to  witness 
that  we  preach  the  truth. 


SERMON  XXXIII. 

OPPOSITION  TO  MESSIAH  UNREASONABLE. 

Why  do  the  Heathen  rage,  and  the  people  ima- 
gine a  vain  thing  ?  The  kings  of  the  earth 
set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  to- 
gether, against  the  Lord,  and  against  his 
Anointed  i  saying,  Let  us  break  their  bands 
asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us. 
Psalm  ii.  1 — 3. 


It  is  generally  admitted,  that  the  institutes  of 
Christianity,  as  contained  in  the   New  Testa- 
ment, do  at  least  exhibit   a  beautiful  and  sa- 
lutary system  of  morals;  and  that   a    sincere 
compliance  with  the  precepts  of  our  Lord  and 
his  apostles  would    have   a   good   effect  upon 
society.      Few  infidels  have  ventured   to  con- 
tradict the  common  sense  of  mankind  so  far 
as  to  deny  this.      Nor  can   it   be  denied,  that 
the  author  of  this  institution,   if  we  judge  by 
the  history  and  character  given  of  him  by  the 
evangelists,  exemplified,   in  the  highest  per- 
fection,   by    his  own   conduct,    the    precepts 
which  he  enjoined  to  his  followers.      While  he 
lived  as  a  man  amongst  men,  the  tenor  of  his 
behaviour  was  such  as  became  the   friend   of 
mankind.      Though   he   submitted   to   a  low 
estate,  and  often  suffered  hunger,   thirst,  and 
weariness,  we  do  not  read  of  his  having  wrought 
a  single  miracle  merely  for  his   own   relief. 
But  the  wants  and   calamities  of  others  con- 
tinually excited  his   compassion  and   engaged 
his  assistance.      He  gave  sight  to  the  blind, 
health  to  the  sick,  and  sometimes  wiped  away 
the  tears  of  mourners,  by  restoring  their  dead 
to  life.     He  endured  hunger  himself,  but  once 
-nd  again  provided  food  for  multitudes,  lest 
they,  having  nothing  to  eat,  should  have  faint- 
ed by  the  way.    Nor  did  he  confine  his  acts  of 
benevolence  to  his  followers,  but  was  easy  of 
access,   and  granted  the  request  of  all  indis- 
criminately who  applied  to  him.      He   went 
about  doing  good   (Acts  x.    38),   and  often 
put  himself  in  the  way  of  those  who  would 
not  otherwise  have  known  him.    And  though 
he  was  opposed,  calumniated,  and  laughed  to 
scorn,  he  continued  unwearied  and  determined 
in  the  same  cause,  bestowing  benefits  on  all 
around  him,  as  occasions  offered,   and  return- 
ing good  for  evil.      May  we   not  with  reason 
ask,  Why  then  did  Jews  and  Heathens,  priests 


and  people,  scribes  and  Sadducees,  rage  so 
furiously  against  him,  who  did  nothing  amiss, 
who  did  all  things  well  ?  Why  did  persons  of 
the  most  opposite  interests,  parties,  and  senti- 
ments, who  could  agree  in  nothing  else,  so 
cordially  agree  in  opposing  Messiah  ? 

The  gospel  breathes  the  spirit  of  its  great 
Author,   and   has  a  direct  tendency  to  make 
men  happy  and  useful.     Wherever  it  was  pub- 
lished, in    the  first  age,  among  the  Heathens, 
many  of   them  turned   from    the  worship   of 
dumb  idols  to  serve  the  living  and  true  God. 
It  taught  and  enabled  them  to  renounce  un- 
godliness and  wordly  lusts,  and  to  live  soberly, 
righteously,  and  godly  (Titus  ii.  12)  ;  and  it 
still  produces   the  same  effects.      The  world 
now  bears  the  name  of  Christian  ;  but  under 
this  new  and  honourable  name  it  retains  the 
same  spirit  as  formerly.    Many  who  are  called 
Christians,  are  no  less  under  the  power  of  evi. 
tempers  and  evil  habits,  than  the  Heathens  to 
whom  the  apostles  preached.      But  where  the 
gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  reaches  the  heart, 
a   real  and   observable   change   is    produced. 
The   profane  person  learns  to   fear  an  oath, 
the  libertine  is  reclaimed,  the  drunkard    be 
comes  sober,  and  the  miser  kind.      Wherevei 
the  truth  of  the  gospel  is  known  and  received, 
instances  may  be  found  of  persons  who  were 
a  terror  and  a  burden  to  their  families,  being 
delivered  from  the  stings  of  a  guilty  conscience, 
from   the   dominion    of   headstrong  passions, 
from  the  slavery  of  habitual  wickedness,  and 
made  peaceful,  useful,  and  exemplary  mem- 
bers of  society,  by  what  the  apostle  calls  the 
preaching  of  the  cross.      And  we  challenge 
history  to  shew  that  an  abiding,  consistent  re- 
formation was  ever  effected  by  any  other  doc 
trine,  in  a  single  province,  or  city,  or  village, 
or  even  in  a  single  family. 

What  then  shall  we  say  of  that  zeal  which 
kindled  the  fire  of  persecution  against  our 
Lord  and  his  apostles,  and  his  followers, 
through  a  succession  of  ages  ?  What  is  the 
common  principle,  the  bond  of  union,  which 
at  this  day  connects  people  who  differ  so 
widely  in  other  respects,  and  points  their  dis- 
pleasure from  all  sides  against  this  one  object  ? 
In  a  former  discourse,*  I  briefly  mentioned 
the  principal  grounds  of  that  dislike  which 
the  Jews  manifested  to  Messiah's  personal 
ministry,  and  I  observed,  that  they  are  deep- 
ly rooted  in  the  nature  of  fallen  man,  and 
therefore  not  peculiar  to  any  one  age  or  na- 
tion. The  gospel  always  did,  and  always 
will  produce  the  same  happy  change  in  those 
who  receive  it,  and  provoke  the  same  oppo- 
sition and  resentment  in  those  who  do  not. 
The  actings  will  be  different  as  circumstances 
vary,  but  the  principle  is  universally  the  same. 
In  this  island,  which  the  good  providence  of 
God  has  distinguished  by  ninny  signal  and  pe- 
culiar favours,   the  spirit  of  our  constitution 


Sermon  xvii. 


OPPOSITION   TO   MESSIAH    UNREASONABLE 


SF.It.   XXXIII. 

and  government  is  friendly  to  liberty  of  con- 
science and  the  rights  of  private  judgment ; 
so  that  our  religious  profession  does  not  ex- 
pose us  to  the  penalties  of  fire  and  sword, 
stripes  or  tortures,  imprisonment  or  banish- 
ment. Such  trials  have  been  the  lot  of  our 
forefathers,  when  the  servants  of  God,  under 
the  names  of  Gospellers  or  Puritans,  were 
treated  as  heretics  of  the  worst  sort.  We  are 
bound  to  acknowledge  with  thankfulness  the 
blessings  of  religious  and  civil  liberty  which 
we  enjoy.  But  the  world  at  large  around  us 
is  not  more  favourably  disposed  to  the  grace 
and  rule  of  Messiah's  kingdom,  than  it  was 
in  the  days  of  Heathen  and  Popish  darkness. 
The  tongue  at  least  is  unrestrained,  and  out 
of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  will 
speak.  The  gospel  offends  the  pride  of  men, 
by  considering  them  all  on  a  level,  as  sinners 
jn  the  sight  of  God  ;  and  by  proposing  only 
one  method  of  salvation,  without  admitting 
any  difference  of  plea  or  character.  It  of- 
fends them  likewise  by  its  strictness.  Like 
Herod,  they  might  perhaps  consent  to  do 
many  things  (Mark  vi.  20),  if  they  were  left 
at  liberty  to  please  themselves  in  others,  in 
which,  though  expressly  contrary  to  the  will 
of  God,  they  will  not  submit  to  be  controlled  ; 
and  therefore  they  are  much  displeased  with 
the  gospel,  which,  by  affording  no  allowance 
or  connivance  to  the  least  known  sin,  but  pre- 
scribing a  rule  of  universal  holiness,  crosses 
their  inclinations  and  favourite  interests. 
When  Paul  preached  at  Ephesus,  Deme- 
trius and  his  companions  perceived  that  their 
craft  was  in  danger.  This  was  the  real  cause 
of  their  anger,  but  they  were  ashamed  to  avow 
it ;  and  therefore  their  ostensible  reason  for 
opposing  him  was  of  a  religious  kind  (Acts 
xix.  28),  and  they  professed  a  great  concern 
for  the  honour  of  Diana.  Few  perhaps  would 
have  given  themselves  much  trouble  to  pro- 
mote or  preserve  the  gain  of  the  craftsmen ; 
but  a  pretended  regard  for  the  worship  which 
had  been  long  established,  was  a  popular  to- 
pic, which  wrought  powerfully  upon  the  su- 
perstition of  the  ignorant  multitude,  and  thou- 
sands were  presently  induced  to  join  with 
them  in  the  cry,  "  Great  is  Diana  of  the 
Ephesians." 

The  like  arts  are  still  practised  with  the 
like  success.  The  same  secret  motives  are 
disguised  by  the  same  plausible  pretences. 
The  deceitfulness  and  wickedness  of  the  heart 
appears  in  no  one  instance  more  plainly  than 
in  the  cavils  which  are  repeated  and  multiplied 
against  the  grace  of  the  gospel.  When  we 
preach  a  free  salvation  by  faith  in  Jesus,  and 
propose  his  obedience  unto  death  as  the  sure 
and  only  ground  of  acceptance  with  God; 
when  we  say,  in  the  wordb  of  the  apostle,  to 
the  vilest  of  sinners  who  feel  the  burden,  and 
fear  the  consequences  of  their  sins,  "  Believe 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be 
saved"   (Acts  xvi.   31),    an  alarm   is   raised, 


755 


and  a  concern  pretended  for  the  interests  of 
morality.  The  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith 
only,  is  charged  with  opening  a  door,  a  flood- 
gate for  licentiousness,  and  it  is  supposed, 
that  if  this  doctrine  be  true,  people  may  live 
as  they  please,  and  still  comfort  themselves 
with  the  expectation  of  heaven  at  last.  Con- 
sidering our  natural  propensity  to  trust  in 
ourselves  that  we  are  righteous,  I  do  not  won- 
der that  persons  who  are  comparatively  sober 
and  decent  should  speak  thus,  while  they  are 
ignorant  of  the  strictness  of  the  holy  law  of 
God,  and  of  the  depravity  of  their  own  hearts. 
But  I  sometimes  wonder  that  they  are  not  a 
little  disconcerted  by  the  characters  of  many 
(so  different  from  what  they  suppose  their 
own  to  be)  who  join  with  them  in  the  objec- 
tions they  make.  For  in  this  point,  with  the 
sober  and  decent,  the  licentious  and  profligate 
readily  concur ;  and  whoremongers,  adul- 
terers, drunkards,  and  profane  swearers,  al- 
most equal  them  in  gravely  expressing  their 
apprehensions  that  the  doctrine  of  salvation 
by  grace  will  prove  very  unfavourable  to  the 
practice  of  good  works.  How  very  remark- 
able is  this,  that  the  virtuous  and  the  vile,  the 
most  respectable  and  the  most  infamous  peo- 
ple, should  so  frequently  agree  in  sentiment, 
and  unite  in  opposing  the  gospel,  professedly 
from  the  same  motive.  But  thus  it  was  at 
the  commencement  of  Messiah's  kingdom  : 
kings,  rulers,  priests,  and  people,  all  con- 
spired and  raged  against  him.  Herod  and 
Pilate,  the  Jewish  elders  and  the  Roman  sol- 
diers, the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees  thus 
differed,  and  thus  agreed.  They  hated  each 
other  till  he  appeared  ;  but  their  greater  com- 
mon hatred  to  him  made  them  act  in  concert, 
and  they  suspended  their  mutual  animosity, 
that  they  might  combine  to  destroy  him. 

I  may  seem  to  have  digressed  from  the  im- 
mediate scope  of  my  text,  but  I  judge  it  pro- 
per to  bring  the  subject  home  to  ourselves. 
If  I  confined  myself  to  prove  that  the  enemies 
of  our  Lord,  when  he  was  upon  earth,  were 
very  unreasonable  and  unjust  in  treating  him 
as  they  did,  I  should  have  an  easy  task,  and  I 
suppose,  the  ready  assent  of  all  my  hearers. 
But  there  may  be  persons  present,  who,  though 
they  little  suspect  themselves,  are  equally  mis- 
led by  prejudices ;  and  under  a  semblance  of 
zeal  for  a  form  of  godliness,  oppose  the  truth 
and  power  of  it,  upon  the  same  principles  and 
in  the  same  spirit  as  the  Jews  and  Heathens 
did  of  old.  The  Jews  who  condemned  Mes- 
siah to  death,  blamed  their  forefathers  for  per- 
secuting the  prophets  who  foretold  his  appear- 
ance (Matth.  xxiii.  SO,  31);  but  their  own 
conduct  towards  him  was  a  proof,  that  had 
they  lived  in  the  days  of  the  prophets,  they 
would  have  acted  as  their  fathers  had  done. 
So  the  resentment  that  many,  who  bear  the 
Christian  name  in  this  day,  discover  against 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  against  the 
people  who  profess  them,  is  a  proof  that  tUuy 


756 


OPPOSITION  TO   MESSIAH   UNREASONABLE.        SER.  xxxlll 


would  have  concurred  with  those  who  cruci- 
fied the  Lord  of  glory,  had  they  lived  in  Je- 
rusalem at  that  time. 

In  this  prophecy,  David,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Holy  Spirit,  speaks  of  the  future 
as  actually  present.  He  saw  the  resistance 
that  would  be  made  to  the  person  and  king- 
dom of  Messiah  by  the  powers  of  the  world  ; 
that  they  would  employ  their  force  and  policy 
to  withstand  and  suppress  the  decree  and  ap- 
pointment of  God.  The  question,  Why?  im- 
plies that  their  opposition  would  be  both 
groundless  and  ineffectual. 

1.  It  was  entirely  groundless  and  unreason- 
able.  Messiah  was  indeed  a  King,  and  he 
came  to  set  up  a  kingdom  that  should  endure 
for  ever.  But  his  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world;  and,  if  rightly  understood,  would  give 
no  umbrage  to  human  governments.  It  does 
not  interfere  with  the  rights  of  princes.  His 
subjects  are  indeed  primarily  bound  by  the 
laws  of  their  immediate  King,  and  they  must 
obey  God  rather  than  man  (Acts.  v.  29),  if 
man  will  presume  to  enjoin  such  laws  as  con- 
tradict his  known  will.  But  with  this  excep- 
tion, it  is  a  part  of  the  duty  they  owe  to  their 
Lord,  to  obey  those  whom  he  has  placed,  by 
his  providence  in  authority  over  them.  The 
kingdom  of  Messiah  has  little  to  do  with  what 
we  call  politics.  His  people  are  taught  to 
render  to  Cassar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's 
(Matth.  xxii.  21),  and  to  yield  a  peaceful  sub- 
jection to  the  powers  that  be,  under  whatever 
form  of  government  their  lot  may  be  cast. 
They  are  strangers  and  pilgrims  upon  earth 
(1  Pet.  ii.  11),  their  citizenship,  treasures,  and 
conversation,  are  in  heaven  ;  and  they  have 
no  more  direct  concern  wi  h  the  intrigues  and 
parties  of  politicians,  than  a  traveller  has  in 
the  feuds  and  disturbances  which  may  happen 
in  a  foreign  country  through  which  he  is  pas- 
sing. They  are  to  obey  God,  they  are  to 
obey  kings  and  governors  in  subordination  to 
God  ;  they  are  to  render  to  all  their  dues ;  tri- 
bute to  whom  tribute,  custom  to  whom  cus- 
tom, honour  to  whom  honour,  Rom.  xiii.  1 — 7. 
But  where  they  cannot  comply  with  the  laws 
of  government  without  breaking  the  laws  of 
God,  then  they  are  not  to  obey,  but  to  suffer 
patiently,  committing  their  cause  to  him  whom 
viey  serve ;  well  knowing  that  he  is  able  to 
protect  or  relieve  them,  so  far  as  his  wisdom 
judges  it  fit,  and  to  make  them  abundant  a- 
mends  for  all  they  can  suffer  for  his  sake.  I 
am  not  a  direct  advocate  for  the  doctrines  of 
passive  obedience  and  non-resistance  in  the 
largest  sense.  I  set  a  great  value  upon  the 
blessings  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  I  reve- 
rence the  constitutional  rights  of  nations,  par- 
ticularly of  our  own.  But  they  are  all  de- 
peudant  upon  the  will  of  our  Lord  ;  and  I 
k  now  not  by  what  means  they  can  be  preserv- 
ed to  a  people,  when  their  sins  have  made 
them  ripe  for  judgment.  But  let  the  dead 
bury  their  dead,   Matth.  viii.  22.      God  will 


never  want  instruments,  when  it  is  his  plea- 
sure to  relieve  the  oppressed,  or  to  abase  the 
proud.  For  these  purposes,  he  over-rules  the 
councils  and  affairs  of  men,  pours  contempt 
upon  the  designs  of  princes,  and  takes  the 
wise  in  their  own  craftiness.  The  subjects  of 
his  spiritual  kingdom  have  only  to  commit 
their  cause  to  him,  to  wait  upon  him,  to  ob- 
serve and  to  admire  his  management.  Theii 
best  interest  is  always  safe.  And  even  the 
troubles  they  meet  with,  are  appointed  foi 
their  good.  But  if  they  so  far  conform  to 
the  world,  trs  to  take  an  active  and  decided 
part  in  the  disputes  and  contentions  around 
them,  they  usually  dishonour  their  christian 
character,  and  obstruct  their  own  peace  and 
comfort.  There  may  be  possibly  some  excep- 
tions. God  may  sometimes  place  a  servant  of 
his,  by  the  leading  of  his  providence,  in  a  post 
of  high  political  importance,  as  he  did  Joseph 
and  Daniel,  but  I  believe  such  instances  are 
few  ;  and  if  any  venture  of  their  own  accord 
beyond  the  proper  line  of  their  calling  as 
christians,  the  event  is  usually  grief  and  loss 
to  them.  They  are  described  in  his  word,  a9 
those  who  are  quiet  in  the  land  (Psal.  xxxv 
20),  and  such  should  be  their  deportment. 

We  are  sure  it  was  thus,  in  the  first  and 
golden  days  of  Christianity.  The  Roman  go- 
vernment was  then  absolute,  arbitrary,  and 
oppressive.  Tiberius,  Caligula,  Nero,  and 
others  who  presided  over  it,  and  bore  the  name 
of  Roman  emperors,  were  beyond  measure 
vile  and  abominable :  one  of  them  was,  by  a 
decree  of  the  Roman  senate,  sentenced  to 
death  as  a  public  enemy  to  mankind,  but  the 
Christians  neither  disputed  their  right,  nor 
disobeyed  their  authority.  Kings  and  rulers, 
therefore,  have  nothing  to  fear  from  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ.  The  maxims  of  sound  policy 
would  engage  all  their  influence  in  facilitating 
its  progress,  for  true  christians  will  assuredly 
be  good  subjects.  Impatience  of  subordina- 
tion, contempt  of  lawful  authority,  tumults, 
riots,  and  conspiracies,  are  evils  which  would 
have  no  place  if  the  gospel  was  generally  re- 
ceived. But  princes  have  been  usually  ex  - 
posed  to  the  flattery  of  designing  men,  who, 
by  their  arts  and  misrepresentations,  have  se- 
duced them  to  act  contrary  to  their  true  in- 
terests. Their  mistaken  efforts  to  suppress 
that  cause,  which,  if  maintained,  would  have 
been  the  best  security  of  their  thrones,  have 
often  stained  the  annals  of  their  reign  with 
innocent  blood,  and  filled  their  dominions 
with  misery.  History  furnishes  many  in- 
stances of  kings,  who  might  otherwise  have 
lived  beloved  and  died  lamented,  that  have  in- 
volved themselves  and  their  families  in  the  ca- 
lamities with  which  they  unjustly  punished 
those  who  deserved  their  protection.      For, 

2.  Opposition  to  Messiah  and  his  kingdom 
is  no  less  vain  and  ineffectual,  than  unreason- 
able and  groundless.  Nor  is  it  vain  only,  but 
ruinous  to  those  who  engage  in  it.      Whi*  did 


SEfl     XXXIV. 


OPPOSITION  TO  MESSIAH   IN   VAIN. 


757 


the  Jl-ws  build  when  they  rejected  the  founda- 
tion-stone which  God  had  laid  in  Zion  ?  They 
acted,  as  they  thought,  with  precaution  and 
foresight.  They  said,  "  If  we  let  him  thus 
alone,  all  men  will  believe  on  him ;  and  the 
Romans  shall  come  and  take  away  both  our 
place  and  our  nation,"  Tohn  xi.  48.  Foolish 
politicians !  Did  they  preserve  their  city  by 
crucifying  the  Son  of  God  ?  The  very  evil  they 
feared  came  upon  them.  Or  rather,  being 
abandoned  of  God  to  their  own  councils,  they 
brought  it  upon  themselves.  In  a  few  years 
the  Romans,  with  whom  they  appeared  so  de- 
sirous to  keep  upon  good  terms,  destroyed 
their  city  with  an  unheard-of  destruction,  and 
exterminated  them  from  the  land.  This  was 
an  emblem  of  the  inevitable,  total,  irreparable 
ruin,  which  awaits  all  those  who  persist  in  re- 
jecting the  rule  of  Messiah.  The  nation,  the 
individual,  that  will  not  serve  him,  must  sure- 
ly perish. 

Ah  !  if  sinners  did  but  know  what  the 
bonds  and  cords  are,  which  they  are  so  deter- 
mined to  break  ;  if  they  knew  that  his  service 
is  perfect  freedom  ;  if  they  were  aware  what 
more  dreadful  bonds  and  chains  they  are  ri- 
vetting  upon  themselves,  by  refusing  his  easy 
yoke,  they  would  throw  down  their  arms  and 
submit.  They  think,  if  they  yield  to  the  gos- 
pel, they  must  bid  adieu  to  pleasure.  But 
what  will  become  of  their  pleasure,  when,  the 
day  of  his  forbearance  being  expired,  he  will 
speak  to  them  in  his  wrath,  and  fill  them  with 
hopeless  horror  and  dismay  ? 

Bless  the  Lord,  ye  favoured  few,  whose 
eyes  are  opened,  whose  hearts  are  softened, 
and  who  are  become  the  willing  people  of  this 
Saviour.  Yet  a  little  while,  and  he  will  ap- 
pear again,  and  then  you  also  shall  appear 
with  him  in  glory  ! 


SERMON  XXXIV. 

OPPOSITION  TO  MESSIAH  IN  VAIN. 

He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh ;  the 
Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision.  Psalm 
ii.  4. 

The  extent  and  efficacy  of  the  depravity  of 
mankind,  cannot  be  fully  estimated  by  the 
conduct  of  Heathens  destitute  of  divine  reve- 
lation. We  may  say  of  the  gospel,  in  one 
sense,  what  the  apostle  says  of  the  law,  "  It 
entered  that  sin  might  abound,"  Rom.  v.  20. 
It  afforded  occasion  for  displaying  the  aliena- 
tion of  the  heart  of  man  from  the  blessed  God 
in  the  strongest  light.  The  sensuality,  op- 
pression, and  idolatry  which  have  prevailed  in 
all  ages,  sufficiently  prove  the  wickedness  of 
men  to  be  very  great.  But  the  opposition 
which  they  who  have  rebelled  against  the  go- 


vernment of  their  Creator,  make  to  the  propo- 
sals of  his  grace,  is  a  proof  still  more  striking. 
If  sin  has  so  hardened  their  hearts,  and  blind- 
ed their  eyes,  that  of  themselves  they  neither 
can  nor  will  implore  his  mercy  ;  yet  it  might 
be  thought  that  if  the  great  God,  whom  they 
have  so  heinously  offended,  should  be  pleased, 
of  his  own  goodness,  to  make  the  first  over  • 
tures  of  reconciliation,  and  to  invite  them  to 
receive  pardon,  they  would  gladly  attend  to 
his  gracious  declaration  ;  especially  when  they 
are  informed,  that  to  preserve  them  from  per- 
ishing, he  gave  up  his  only  Son  to  sufferings 
and  death.  But  when  they  not  only  defy  his 
power,  but  insult  his  goodness  ;  when  they  re- 
ject and  blaspheme  the  Saviour  whom  he  com. 
mends  to  thein ;  when  they  are  but  the  more 
exasperated  by  his  tenders  of  mercy ;  when 
they  scorn  his  message,  and  persecute  his  mes- 
sengers by  whom  he  intreats  them  to  be  recon- 
ciled ;  this  mad  and  ungrateful  carriage  shews 
such  a  rooted  enmity  against  God  in  fallen 
men,  as  even  the  fallen  angels  are  not  capable 
of  discovering.  For  Messiah  took  not  on  him 
the  nature  of  angels,  nor  did  he  make  propos- 
als of  mercy  to  them.  But  he  did  take  upon 
him  our  nature.  He  visited  us  in  person,  for 
us  he  lived  a  sufferer,  and  died  that  we  might 
live.  The  prophets  foresaw  and  foretold  the 
reception  he  would  meet  with,  and  their  pre- 
dictions were  fulfilled.  The  Jews  who  pro- 
fessed to  expect  him,  and  the  Heathens  who 
had  not  heard  of  him,  united  their  utmost  ef- 
forts to  withstand  and  defeat  the  purposes  of 
his  unexampled  love.  What  must  the  holy 
angels  think  of  the  baseness,  presumption, 
and  obstinacy  of  such  creatures  ! 

But  rebellion  against  God  is  not  only  wick- 
edness, but  folly  and  infatuation  in  the  ex- 
treme. "  Who  ever  hardened  himself  against 
the  Lord  and  prospered  ?"  Job,  x.  4.  He 
whom  they  opposed,  and  against  whom  they 
thought  they  had  prevailed  when  they  saw  him 
dead  upon  the  cross,  soon  resumed  his  glory 
and  his  throne.  The  text  therefore  principal- 
ly respects  the  opposition  made  to  his  gospel 
a.id  to  his  kingdom  after  his  ascension,  which 
is  still  carrying  on,  but  which  always  was,  and 
always  will  be  in  vain.  The  words  I  have 
read  offer  two  points  for  the  consolation  of 
those  who  love  him,  and  for  the  timely  consi- 
deration of  those  who  have  hitherto  disregard- 
ed him. 

I.  That  he  sitteth  in  the  heavens. 

II.  The  notice  he  taketh  of  his  enemies  ;  he 
smiles  at  their  rage,  and  treats  both  their  pow- 
er and  their  policy  with  contempt. 

I.  He  whom  God  has  anointed  (therefore 
called  Messiah),  he  against  whom  kings  and 
rulers,  nations  and  the  people  rage,  sitteth  in 
the  heavens.  He  has  finished  his  great  work, 
and  entered  into  his  rest ;  having  by  himself 
purged  our  sins,  he  is  immoveably  seated  on 
his  throne,  at  the  right  hand  of  the  majesty  on 
high,  Heb.  i.  3.      He  is  the  Head,  King,  and 


758  OPPOSITION  TO  MESSIAH 

Lord  of  principalities,  dominions,  and  powers,  Lord"s 
possessed  of  all  authority,  unchangeably  fixed  is  yours 
over  all,  God  blessed  for  evermore,  Rom.  ix. 
5.  In  this  character  he  is  the  Representative, 
High-Priest,  Advocate,  and  Shepherd  of  all 
who  put  their  trust  in  him.  He  is  ever  mind- 
ful of  them.  While  he  is  preparing  a  place 
for  them  near  himself,  by  the  power  of  his 
Spirit,  he  maintains  an  intercourse  with  them, 
and  manifests  himself  to  them  as  he  does  not 
to  the  world.  By  his  providence,  which  rul- 
eth  over  all,  he  manages  their  concerns  upon 
earth,  supplies  their  wants,  and  gives  them 
present  and  effectual  help  and  support  in  their 
time  of  trouble.  To  him  their  eyes  and  hearts 
are  directed,  they  look  to  him  and  are  enlight- 
ened (Psal.  xxxiv.  5),  strengthened,  and  com- 
forted. And  under  his  protection  they  are 
safe.  He  having  taken  charge  of  them,  and 
engaged  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost,  no 
weapon  formed  against  them  can  prosper. 
Now  they  may  draw  nigh  to  God  with  bold- 
ness, for  they  have  one  who  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  them.  Now  they  may 
lay  aside  all  anxious,  uneasy  cares,  for  they 
have  a  mighty  Friend  who  careth  for  them. 
Now  they  may  say,  each  one  for  himself,  "  I 
will  trust  and  not  be  afraid,  for  the  Lord  Je- 
hovah is  my  strength,  and  my  song,  and  my 
salvation,"  Is.  xii.  2.  Whether  you  have  in- 
deed fled  to  him  for  refuge  as  the  hope  set  be- 
fore you,  committed  your  soul  to  him,  and  ac- 
cepted him  in  all  his  offices,  as  your  Prophet, 
Priest,  and  King,  is  a  point  of  experience ;  if 
you  have,  he  knows  it,  for  he  enabled  you  to 
do  it ;  and  he  will  not  disappoint  the  hope 
and  expectation  which  he  himself  has  wrought 
in  you.  If  you  have,  methinks  you  must 
know  it  likewise.  Have  you  not  done  it  more 
than  once  ?  Do  you  not  daily  repeat  this  sur- 
render of  yourself  to  him  ?  It  is  certainly 
possible  to  assent  to  the  truths  of  the  gospel, 
considered  merely  as  doctrines  or  propositions, 
yea  to  plead  and  dispute  for  them  with  much 
seeming  earnestness,  and  yet  to  be  entirely  a 
stranger  to  their  power.  But  I  trust  that  they 
to  whom  I  now  speak  will  understand  me 
Our  Lord  reminded  Nathanael  of  what  had 
passed  under  the  fig-tree  (John  i.  48),  when 
lie  thought  himself  alone.  Do  not  I  remind 
you  of  seasons,  when  no  eye  but  the  eye  of 
Him  who  seeth  in  secret  was  upon  you  ?  Did 
not  you  then  and  there,  once  and  again,  ac- 
cept him  as  your  Saviour,  upon  the  warrant 
of  his  own  word,  devote  yourselves  to  his  ser- 
vice, resign  yourselves  to  his  disposal,  and  en- 
trust yourselves  to  his  care?  Then  fear  not. 
He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  is  on  your  side. 
If  the  premises  be  well  grounded,  the  infer- 
ence is  sure.  And  though  many  may  rise  up 
against  you,  they  shall  not  prevail ;  for  he  will 
teach  your  hands  to  war,  and  your  fingers  to 
fight,  will  cover  your  head  in  the  day  of  bat- 
tle, and  in  the  end  make  you  more  than  con- 
querors.     For  the  battle  is  not  yours,  but  the 


IN   VAIN. 


SEIl.  XXXIV. 


Your  enemies  are  his,  and  his  cause 
They   who   associate    against  him 
shall  be  dashed  in  pieces,  as  the  billows  break 
and  die  upon  a  rocky  shore. 

II.  The  feebleness  and  insignificance  of 
their  rage  against  Messiah,  is  intimated  by  the 
manner  in  which  he  notices  their  proceedings  ; 
he  holds  them  in  derision,  he  laughs  them  to 
scorn.  He  has  them  perfectly  under  his  con- 
troul,  holds  them  in  a  chain  when  they  think 
themselves  most  at  liberty,  appoints  the  bounds 
beyond  which  they  cannot  pass,  and  can  in  a 
moment  check  them,  and  make  them  feel  his 
hook  and  bridle,  when  in  the  height  of  their 
career. 

It  is  the  Lord's  pleasure  not  only  to  favour 
and  to  support  his  people,  but  to  do  it  in  such 
a  way  that  it  may  appear  to  be  wholly  his  own 
work,  and  that  the  praise  belongs  to  him  alone. 
And  therefore  he  permits  their  enemies  for  a 
season  to  try  if  they  can  prevent  his  designs. 
For  a  season,  things  take  such  a  course  that 
their  attempts  seem  to  prosper ;  they  threaten, 
they  boast,  and  confidently  expect  to  carry 
their  point.  But  the  contest  always  issues  in 
their  shame  and  confusion.  He  not  only  dis- 
concerts their  schemes,  but  makes  them  instru- 
mental to  the  promoting  of  his  own  designs. 
Thus  when  he  sent  Moses  to  deliver  Israel 
from  Egypt,  Pharaoh,  instead  of  complying 
with  his  command,  increased  their  burdens, 
added  to  the  rigour  of  their  bondage,  and, 
though  rebuked  by  a  succession  of  severe 
judgments,  he  hardened  himself  the  more,  and 
was  determined  to  detain  them  if  he  could. 
But  he  could  not  detain  them  a  day  or  an 
hour  beyond  the  appointed  time  which  God 
had  long  before  made  known  to  Abraham, 
Exod.  xii.  41,  42.  Then  they  were  deliver- 
ed, and  Pharaoh  and  his  host  overthrown  in 
the  Red  Sea.  Hereby  the  name  of  the  God 
of  Israel  was  more  known,  noticed  and  mag- 
nified, than  it  would  have  been,  if  Pharaoh 
had  dismissed  the  people  without  reluctance 
or  delay. 

In  like  manner,  when  Messiah  left  the  earth, 
his  followers  were  considered  as  sheep  without 
a  shepherd.  The  world  conspired  to  suppress 
his  cause,  and  to  root  out  the  remembrance  of 
his  people.  Bui  the  methods  they  employed 
counteracted  their  own  designs.  They  who 
were  dispersed  by  the  persecution  that  follow- 
ed the  death  of  Stephen,  preached  the  word 
wherever  they  went,  the  gospel  spread  from 
place  to  place,  and  the  number  of  disciples  daily 
increased.  So  that  the  Jewish  rulers  soon  found 
themselves  unequal  to  the  task,  and  foreboded 
their  own  disappointment,  doubting  whereunto 
these  things  would  grow,  Acts  v.  24.  In  some 
cases  the  Lord  signally  interposed,  and  shew- 
ed how  entirely  the  lives  and  the  hearts  of  his 
adversaries  were  in  his  hands.  The  haughty 
Herod  was  suddenly  smitten  by  an  invisible 
hand,  with  a  loathsome  and  mortal  disease, 
Acts  xii.  23.      He  fell,  devoured  by  worms ; 


OPPOSITION  TO  MESSIAH  IN  VAIN. 


SER.  XXXIV. 

but  the  success  of  the  gospel,  which  he  had 
presumed  to  withstand,  greatly  increased  and 
spread.  The  furious  zeal  of  Saul  of  Tarsus 
(Acts  ix),  against  the  truth,  was  silenced  in  a 
different  manner.  Jesus,  whom  he  ignorantly 
persecuted,  appeared  to  him  in  the  way  to 
Damascus,  when  he  was  breathing  out  threa- 
tenings  and  slaughter  against  the  disciples, 
disarmed  his  rage,  made  him  a  monument  of 
his  mercy,  and  an  earnest  and  successful 
preacher  of  the  faith  which  he  had  laboured 
to  destroy. 

From  the  Jews,  the  business  was  transfer- 
red to  the  Heathens,  whose  opposition  was  no 
less  unavailing.  Though  they  sometimes  af- 
fected to  boast  that  they  had  suppressed  the 
Christian  name,  the  gospel  was  propagated  in 
defiance  of  their  attempts  to  prevent  it.  The 
worst  and  the  best  of  the  Roman  emperors 
were  alike  industrious,  and  alike  unsuccess- 
ful, in  their  endeavours  to  stifle  the  work  of 
God.  At  length,  in  the  reign  of  Constan- 
tine,  the  Christian  religion  obtained  the  sanc- 
tion and  protection  of  imperial  authority. 

But  it  soon  appeared  that  the  religion  of 
the  New  Testament  gained  little  advantage  by 
this  revolution.  Though  the  worship  of  hea- 
then idols  gradually  declined,  and  sunk  into 
disrepute,  the  bulk  of  the  people  of  all  ranks 
were  only  changed  in  name.  The  world  still 
lay  in  wickedness  (1  John  v.  19),  and  true 
Christianity  was  still  exposed  to  persecution. 
"When  the  name  of  Christian  ceased  to  be  in- 
vidious and  despicable,  new  names  were  soon 
invented  to  stigmatize  the  real  servants  of 
God ;  and  ecclesiastical  power  gradually  in- 
creased, till  the  mystery  of  iniquity  reigned 
for  ages  in  the  temple  of  God.  The  persecu- 
tions of  Popery  equalled  and  exceeded  those 
of  Paganism.  And  they  who  aspired  to  be 
Christians  indeed,  were  constrained,  like  the 
worthies  of  old,  to  wander  on  mountains  and 
in  deserts,  to  hide  themselTes  in  dens  and 
caves  of  the  earth,  Heb.  xi.  38.  Yet,  under 
all  disadvantages,  there  was  still  a  remnant, 
according  to  the  election  of  grace,  who  could 
not  be  compelled  to  wear  the  mark  of  the  beast. 
And  while  persecutors,  who  could  only  kill 
the  body,  seemed  to  weaken  the  church  mili- 
tant, they  increased  the  number  and  the  songs 
of  the  church  triumphant. 

To  appearance  the  church  of  Christ  was 
often  brought  low.  It  was  very  low  at  the 
time  of  the  Reformation.  But  then  it  sud- 
denly was  revived,  and  broke  forth  like  the 
sun  from  behind  a  dark  cloud  ;  and  the  light 
of  the  gospel  was  diffused  far  and  wide,  al- 
most as  at  the  beginning,  in  the  apostles  days. 
But  Protestants  were  quickly  actuated  by  the 
same  spirit  as  their  Popish  and  Pagan  prede- 
cessors had  been.     The  form  of  Christianity 


759 


one  way  or  other,  suffer  persecution,    1  Tim. 
iii.  12. 

Of  late  years  the  sanguinary  spirit,  which, 
under  pretence  of  doing  God  service,  destroy- 
ed his  people  by  fire  and  tortures,  is  much 
subsided.  We  live  in  a  time  when  great  pre- 
tences are  made  to  candour  and  moderation. 
We  have  reason  to  be  thankful  for  our  religi- 
ous liberty,  to  the  good  providence  of  God. 
But  so  far  as  men  are  concerned,  we  are  not 
indebted  for  it,  to  a  just  sense  and  acknow- 
ledgment of  the  right  of  private  judgment, 
but  to  the  prevalence  of  sceptical  indifference 
and  infidelity.  The  religion  of  the  gospel 
was,  perhaps,  never  more  despised  and  hated 
than  at  present.  We  seem  to  be  returning 
apace  to  the  state  of  the  primitive  ages,  when 
there  were  but  two  sorts  of  persons,  Christians 
and  infidels.  But  notwithstanding  all  the 
arts  and  assaults  of  men,  whether  open  ene- 
mies or  pretended  friends  the  Bible  is  still  ex- 
tant, the  gospel  is  still  preached,  yea,  is  still 
spreading.  The  Lord  has  always  had  a  peo- 
ple, though  they  have  been  often  hidden  from 
the  general  notice  and  observation  of  men. 
He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  laughs  his  op- 
posers  to  scorn,  and  maintains  his  own  cause 
in  defiance  of  them  all. 

Surely  if  this  work  was  not  of  God,  the  un- 
ited efforts  of  kings,  councils,  popes,  philoso- 
phers, the  great,  the  wise,  the  decent,  and  the 
profligate,  must  have  overthrown  it  long  ago. 
If  a  miracle  be  demanded  in  proof  of  Christi- 
anity, behold  one  !  Though  the  world  has  been 
raging  and  plotting  against  it,  from  its  first 
appearance ;  though  it  has  been  fiercely  as- 
saulted by  those  without,  and  shamefully  be- 
trayed by  many  within,  it  still  subsists,  it  still 
flourishes.  And  subsist  it  shall,  for  it  is  main- 
tained by  him,  who  has  the  hearts  of  all  men 
in  his  hands,  and  can  controul  or  change 
them  as  he  pleases.  He  can,  and  he  will, 
support  and  strengthen  his  people  under  all 
their  sufferings.  He  can  disappoint  his  ad- 
versaries by  unexpected  events,  divide  them 
among  themselves,  and  so  manage  them  by  his 
providence,  as  to  make  them  protect  and  pro- 
mote the  very  cause  which  they  hate.  And 
whenever  he  pleases,  he  can,  as  it  were,  from 
the  stones  (Matth.  iii.  9),  raise  up  instru- 
ments to  carry  on  his  work,  and  to  shew  forth 
his  praise.      Therefore, 

1.  Let  not  his  people  tremble  for  the  ark. 
Our  eyes  indeed  should  affect  our  hearts.  It 
becomes  us  to  be  jealous  for  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  to  be  concerned  for  the  contempt  and 
dishonour  that  is  cast  upon  his  government 
and  grace,  to  be  grieved  for  the  abounding  a- 
bominations  of  the  day,  and  to  pity  and  pray 
for  obstinate  sinners  who  know  not  what  they 
do.  But  we  need  not  fear  the  failure  of  his 
was  professed  and  protected,  and  the  power  of  j  promise.  His  truth  and  honour  are  engaged 
it  denied  and  opposed.  And  to  this  day  it ;  for  the  success  of  his  gospel,  and  they  must 
remains  a  truth  verified  by  experience,  that  all  j  stand  or  fall  together.  It  is  a  cause  dearer  to 
who  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus,  must,  in  J  him  than  it  can  be  t>  us.      The  manifestation 


V6'0 


OPPOSITION  TO  MESSIAH  RUINOUS. 


S£R.  XXXV. 


of  his  glory  iu  the  salvation  of  sinners,  by  the 
doctrine  of  the  cross,  is  the  one  great  concern, 
for  which  the  succession  of  day  and  night,  and 
of  the  seasons  of  the  year,  is  continued,  and 
the  visible  frame  of  nature  is  preserved.  He 
will  work,  and  none  shall  let  it.  The  king- 
doms of  the  earth  shall  become  the  kingdoms 
of  the  Lord  and  of  his  Christ.  The  fulness 
of  the  Gentiles  shall  come  in,  and  the  dispers- 
ed of  Israel  shall  return  to  the  Lord  their  God, 
and  be  saved.  These  great  events,  to  those 
who  judge  by  an  eye  of  sense,  and  according 
to  the  present  state  of  things,  may  appear 
improbable  or  impossible.  But  the  Lord  of 
hosts  hath  purposed,  and  who  shall  disan- 
nul it  ?  His  hand  is  stretched  out,  and  who 
shall  turn  it  back  ?  Is.  xiv.  27. 

2.  Think  it  neither  strange  nor  hard,  if  any 
of  you  are  called  to  suffer  for  the  sake  of  the 
truth.  Think  it  not  strange;  for  thus  it  has 
been  from  the  beginning.  Think  it  not  hard; 
for  our  sufferings  are  small,  if  compared  with 
the  lot  of  many  who  have  lived  before  us.  We 
are  not  called  to  resist  unto  blood.  Many 
prophets  and  righteous  men  have  desired  to 
see  such  days  of  liberty  as  we  are  favoured 
with,  but  have  not  seen  them. 

3.  Consider  seriously,  Who  is  on  the  Lord's 
side  ?  His  is  the  strongest  side,  and  must 
prevail.  If  you  have  yielded  yourselves  to 
him,  and  taken  upon  you  his  yoke,  your  best 
interests  are  safe,  your  final  happiness  is  se- 
cured.     Nothing  can  separate  you   from  his 


mong  bees,  by  a  judicious  selection  of  epithets 
and  figures,  excites  in  the  minds  of  his  readers 
the  idea  of  two  mighty  armies  contending  for 
empire.  But  the  works  and  ways  of  God  are 
too  great  in  themselves  to  admit  of  any  height. 
ening  representation.  We  conceive  more 
forcibly  of  small  things  by  illustrations  bor- 
rowed from  those  which  are  greater  ;  but  the 
scripture  frequently  illustrates  great  things, 
by  contrasting  them  with  those  which  in  our 
estimation  are  trivial  and  feeble.  One  in- 
stance, out  of  many  which  might  be  mention, 
ed,  is  that  truly  sublime  passage  of  the  pro- 
phet :  "  And  ail  the  host  of  heaven  shall  be 
dissolved,  and  the  heavens  shall  be  rolled  to- 
gether as  a  scroll ;  and  all  their  host  shall  fall 
down  as  the  leaf  falleth  off  from  the  vine,  and 
as  a  falling  fig  from  the  fig-tree,"  Isa.  xxxiv.  4. 
The  apostle,  when  favoured  with  a  heavenly 
vision,  introduces  the  same  thought,  almost  in 
the  same  words  :  "  And  the  stars  of  heaven 
fell  unto  the  earth,  even  as  a  fig-tree  casteth 
her  untimely  figs,  when  she  is  shaken  of  a 
mighty  wind :  and  the  heavens  departed  as  a 
scroll  when  it  is  rolled  together,"  Rev.  vi.  13, 
14.  Such  forms  of  expression  are  becoming 
the  Majesty  of  the  great  God,  before  whom 
the  difference  between  the  great  and  the  small 
in  our  judgment  is  annihilated.  In  his  view, 
the  earth,  with  all  its  inhabitants,  are  but  as  a 
drop  which  falls  unnoticed  from  the  bucket, 
or  as  the  dust  which  cleaves  to  the  balance, 
(Is.  xl.  15),  without  affecting  its  equilibrium. 


love.  You  shall  be  kept  by  his  power  through  At  the  same  time,  the  simplicity  of  these  it- 
faith,  and  no  weapon  formed  against  you  shall  lustrations,  so  well  suited  to  confound  the 
prosper.  But  if  you  are  against  him,  tremble,  I  pride  of  the  wise,  is  striking  and  obvious  to 
for  the  day  of  his  wrath  will  come;  "  it  will  the  lowest  capacities.  If  Homer  or  Virgil 
burn  like  an  oven,  and  all  the  proud,  and  all !  had  been  to  describe  the  exertion  and  effect  of 
that  do  wickedly,  shall  be  as  stubble,  and  the  the  power  of  God,  in  subduing  and  punishing 


day  that  cometh  shall  burn  them  up,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  and  shall  leave  them  neither 
root  nor  branch,"  Mai.  iv.  1.  Turn  there- 
fore in  time  from  your  evil  ways,  submit 
yourselves  unto  him,  and  implore  his  mercy 
while  he  waiteth  to  be  gracious,  that  iniquity 
may  not  be  your  ruin. 


SERMON  XXXV 
i 

OPPOSITION  TO  MESSIAH  RUINOUS. 

Thou  shalt  break  them  wilh  a  rod  of  iron,  thou 
shall  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  ves- 
sel.    1  salm  ii.  9. 

Therk  is  a  species  of  the  sublime  in  writing, 
which  seems  peculiar  to  the  scripture,  and  of 
which,  properly,  no  subjects  but  those  of  di- 
vine revelation  are  capable.  With  us  things 
inconsiderable  in  themselves  are  elevated  by 
splendid  images,  which  give  them  an  apparent 
importance  beyond  what  they  can  justly  claim. 
Thus   the  poet,    when   describing  a  battle  a- 


his  enemies,  they  would  probably  have  labour- 
ed for  a  simile  sufficiently  grand.  But  I 
much  question  if  they  would  have  thought  of 
the  image  in  my  text,  though  none  can  be 
more  expressive  of  utter  irreparable  ruin,  or 
of  the  ease  with  which  it  is  accomplished  : 
He  shall  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's 
vessel. 

Z  The  series  of  the  passages  we  have  lately 
/considered  is  very  regyjar  and  beautiful.  Mes- 
siah ascended  on  high,  and  received  gifts  for 
men.  The  first  and  immediate  consequence 
of  his  exaltation  in  our  nature,  is  the  publica- 
tion of  the  gospel.  Then  follows  the  happy 
and  beneficial  influence  of  the  gospel  on  those 
who  thankfully  receive  it.  How  beautiful 
are  the  feet  of  them  that  preach  these  giad 
tidings  !  The  next  passage  secures  and  de- 
scribes its  extensive  progress — the  sound  went 
forth  into  all  the  earih.  The  opposition  a- 
wakened  by  it  is  then  described,  First,  as  un- 
reasonable— Why  do  the  Heathen  rage  ? 
Secondly,  as  ineffectual — the  Lord  laughs  at 
his  opposers ;  he  sits  upon  his  immoveable 
throne,  and  derides  their  attempts.  Thirdly 
the  final  issue  of  their  mad  resistance,  their 


StK.  XXXV. 


OPPOSITION  TO  MESSIAH  RUINOUS. 


7G1 


confusion  and  ruin,  is  the  subject  of  the  verse 
I  have  read,  which  prepares_for  the  close  of 
the  secondUpart  of  the  Oratorio.  His  enemies 
shall  perish,  his  kingdom  shall  be  established 
and  consummated.  And  then  all  holy  intel- 
ligent beings  shall  join  in  a  song  of  triumph, 
"  Hallelujah,  for  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent 
reigneth. " 

The  two  expressions,  of  breaking  with  a 
rod  of  iron,  and  dashing  in  pieces,  suggest 
nearly  the  same  idea :  But  as  elsewhere  he  is 
said  to  rule  his  enemies  with  a  rod  of  iron 
(Rev.  xix.  15),  I  shall  avail  myself  of  this  va- 
riation, in  order  to  give  you  a  more  complete 
view  of  the  dreadful  state  of  those  who  oppose 
Messiah  and  his  kingdom.  He  rules  them  at 
present  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  hereafter  he 
will  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  ves- 
sel.     Let  us  therefore  consider 

I.  How  the  Lord  Messiah  rules  over  im- 
penitent and  obstinate  sinners  in  the  present 
life.  They  attempt  (in  vain)  to  withdraw 
from  his  subjection ;  they  oppose  his  holy 
will ;  they  refuse  to  submit  to  his  golden  scep- 
tre :  He  will  therefore  rule  them  with  a  rod 
of  iron.  For  though  they  boast  of  their  li- 
berty, and  presume  to  say,  Who  is  Lord  over 
us?  (Psal.  xii.  4)  yet  in  the  thing  wherein 
they  speak  proudly,  he  is  above  them  (Exod. 
xviii.  11):  They  cannot  hide  themselves  from 
his  notice,  nor  avoid  the  intimations  of  his 
displeasure. 

1.  One  branch  of  his  iron  rule  over  them, 
consists  in  that  certain  and  inseparable  con- 
nection which  he  has  established  between  sin 
and  misery.  The  fruit  of  righteousness  is 
peace,  James  iii.  18.  They  who  live  in  the 
fear  of  the  Lord,  and  yield  a  willing  obedi- 
ence to  his  word,  not  only  possess  peace  of 
conscience,  and  a  hope  which  can  look  with 
comfort  beyond  the  grave,  but  are  thereby 
preserved  from  innumerable  evils,  into  which 
they  who  attempt  to  cast  off  his  yoke  una- 
voidably plunge  themselves.  On  the  contrary, 
the  way  of  transgressors  is  hard,  Prov.  xiii. 
15.  It  is  hard  in  itself,  if  we  set  aside  for  a 
moment  the  consideration  of  the  dreadful  end 
to  which  it  leads.  Could  you  see  what  passes 
within  the  breast  of  a  man  who  disdains  to  be 
governed  by  the  rule  of  God  s  word,  you 
would  see  his  heart  torn  to  pieces  by  the  cla- 
morous, insatiable  demands  of  the  various, 
violent,  inconsistent  appetites  and  passions, 
which,  like  so  many  wild  beasts,  are  continual- 
ly preying  upon  him.  Not  one  of  them  can  be 
fully  gratified,  much  less  all,  for  many  of  them 
are  diametrically  opposite  to  each  other.  The 
boilings  of  anger,  the  gnawings  of  envy,  the 
thirst  of  covetousness,  the  anxieties  attendant 
on  pride  and  ambition,  must  make  the  mind 
that  is  subject  to  them  miserable.  There  is 
no  peace  to  the  wicked  ;  there  can  be  none. 
Farther,  their  evil  tempers  and  irregular  de- 
sires produce  outward  and  visible  effects,  which 
publicly  and  manifestly  prove,  that  thesoiv'ee 


of  sin  is  a  hard  drudgery,  and  that  whatever 
pleasure  it  may  seem  to  promise,  its  pay  is  mi- 
sery and  pain.  "  Who  hath  woe,  contentions, 
and  wounds  without  cause  ?"  (Proverbs,  xxiii. 
29.)  The  drunkard.  Lewdness  and  drunk- 
enness are  high  roads,  if  I  may  so  speak,  lead- 
ing to  infamy,  disease,  penury,  and  death. 
Such  persons  do  not  live  out  half  the  days 
which  their  constitutions  might  have  afforded, 
if  they  had  not  sold  themselves  to  do  wicked- 
ly. Again,  look  into  their  houses.  Where 
the  Lord  does  not  dwell,  peace  will  not  inha- 
bit. How  frequently  may  we  observe,  in  their 
family-connections,  discord  and  enmity  be- 
tween man  and  wife,  unkind  parents,  disobe- 
dient children,  tyrannical  masters,  and  trea- 
cherous servants  ?  Thus  they  live,  hateful  in 
themselves,  and  hating  one  another,  Tit.  iii.  2. 
If  they  have  what  the  world  accounts  pros- 
perity, their  hard  master  Satan,  so  works  upon 
their  evil  dispositions,  that  they  can  derive  no 
real  comfort  from  it.  Every  day,  almost 
every  hour,  puts  some  new  bitterness  into 
their  cup.  And  in  trouble  they  have  no  re- 
source: having  no  access  to  God,  no  promise 
to  support  them,  no  relief  from  him  against 
their  anxieties  and  fears,  they  either  sink  down 
in  sullen,  comfortless  despondency,  or  in  a 
spirit  of  wild  rebellion,  blaspheme  him  be- 
cause of  their  plagues,  Rev.  xvi.  21.  In  so- 
ciety they  are  dreaded  and  avoided  by  the 
sober  and  serious,  and  can  only  associate  with 
such  as  themselves.  There  indeed,  they  will 
pretend  to  be  happy  ;  they  carouse,  and  make 
a  noise,  and  assist  each  other  to  banish  reflec- 
tion ;  yet  frequently  the  drink,  or  the  devil, 
breaks  their  intimacies,  and  stirs  them  up  to 
quarrels,  broils,  and  mischief.  Such  is  a  life 
of  sin.  The  Lord  rules  them  with  a  rod  of 
iron.  They  renounce  his  fear,  and  he  refuses 
them  his  blessing.  Nothing  more  is  neces- 
sary to  render  them  miserable  than  to  leave 
them  to  themselves. 

2.  He  rules  them  with  a  rod  of  iron,  by 
his  power  over  conscience.  They  may  boast 
and  laugh,  but  we  know  the  gall  and  bitter- 
ness of  their  state ;  for  we,  likewise,  were  in 
it,  until  the  Lord  delivered  us.  Let  them  say 
what  they  will,  we  are  sure  that  there  are  sea- 
sons, when,  like  him  whom  they  serve,  they 
believe  and  tremble,  James  ii.  19.  They  can- 
not always  be  in  company,  they  cannot  al- 
ways be  intoxicated  ;  though  this  is  the  very 
reason  why  many  intoxicate  themselves  so 
often,  because  they  cannot  bear  their  own 
thoughts  when  sober.  They  are  then  a  bur- 
den and  a  terror  to  themselves.  They  feel 
the  iron  rod.  How  awful  are  the  thoughts 
which  sometimes  awaken  them,  or  keep  them 
awake,  in  the  silent  hours  of  the  night!  What 
terrors  seize  them  in  sickness,  or  when  they 
are  compelled  to  think  of  death  !  What  a 
death-warrant  do  they  often  receive  in  their 
souls,  under  the  preaching  of  that  word  of 
God  which  fills  his  people  with  joy  and  peace  ' 


762 


orrosiTioN  to  messiaii  ruinous. 


SF.R.   XXXV 


Many  will  not  hear  it.  But  why  not  ?  They 
will  not,  because  they  dare  not.  I  am  per- 
suaded there  are  more  than  a  few  of  the  brave 
spirits  of  the  present  day,  who  would  willingly 
change  conditions  with  a  dog,  and  be  glad  to 
part  with  their  reason,  if  they  could  at  the 
same  time  ffet  rid  of  the  horrors  which  hunt 
their  consciences.  Is  there  one  such  person 
here  ?  Let  me  entreat  you  to  stop  and  con- 
sider, before  it  be  too  late.  There  is  yet  for- 
giveness with  God.  Your  case,  though  dan- 
gerous is  not  desperate,  if  you  do  not  make  it 
so  yourself.  I  would  direct  your  thoughts  to 
Jesus.  Look  to  him,  and  implore  his  mercy. 
His  blood  can  cleanse  from  all  sin.  He  is 
able  to  save  to  the  uttermost. 

It  is  possible  some  may  affect  to  contradict 
the  representation  I  have  made,  and  be  ready 
to  say,  "  I  find  nothing  of  all  this.  I  take  a 
pleasure  in  my  way.  I  have  a  healthy  body, 
money  at  my  command,  and  I  can  sleep  sound- 
ly. I  feel  none  of  the  qualms  of  conscience 
you  speak  of;  and  though  the  saints  and  good 
folks  care  as  little  for  me  as  I  do  for  them, 
yet  I  am  very  well  and  happy  with  such  ac- 
quaintance as  I  like  best.  As  to  an  hereafter, 
I  do  not  think  of  it ;  but  I  am  determined  to 
live  now."  In  answer  to  sentiments  of  this 
kind,  which  I  am  afraid  are  too  common,  I 
observe, 

3.  That  the  amazing  hardness  and  blind- 
ness of  heart  to  which  some  sinners  are  given 
up,  is  another,  and  the  most  terrible  effect  of 
that  iron  rod  with  which  the  Lord  rules  his 
enemies.  Pharoah  could  say  as  positively  as 
you,  "  Who  is  the  Lord,  that  I  should  obey 
him  ?"  Exod.  v.  2.  But  because,  being  of- 
ten rebuked,  he  persisted  in  his  obstinacy, 
the  contest  terminated  in  his  destruction.  If 
you  are  obstinate  like  him  now,  I  believe  you 
were  not  always  so.  You  must  have  laboured 
hard,  you  must  have  resisted  the  light  of  truth, 
and  have  stifled  many  a  conviction,  before 
you  could  arrive  to  this  pitch  of  obduracy. 
You  have  fought  against  the  Holy  Spirit; 
and  woe  unto  you,  if  he  be  gone,  gone  for 
ever,  and  will  strive  with  you  no  more.  To 
be  thus  given  up  of  God  to  a  reprobate  mind, 
is  the  heaviest  judgment  that  a  sinner  can  be 
visited  with  on  this  side  of  hell.  J  am  at  a 
loss  what  to  say  to  a  person  thus  disposed,  and 
I  hope  there  are  none  such  present.  But  I 
would  warn  those,  who,  though  they  have  sin- 
ned with  a  high  hand,  are  not  yet  altogother 
past  feeling,  lest  you  fall  into  such  a  state  of 
confirmed  disobedience  and  unbelief.  Take 
heed  lest  y.ou  be  hardened  through  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  sin,  Heb.  iii.  13.  If  under  the 
light  of  the  gospel  you  can  go  on  in  a  course 
of  wilful,  wanton,  deliberate  wickedness,  you 
are  upon  the  very  edge  of  the  unpardonable 
sin,  of  that  state  from  which  it  is  impossible 
to  renew  you  to  repentance.  If  the  Bible  be, 
as  you  vainly  wish  it  may  prove,  a  cunningly- 
devised  fable,  you  may  trample  upon  it  with 


impunity,  and  laugh  on  securely  to  the  end 
of  life.  But  if  it  be  true,  remember  you  have 
been  this  day  warned  of  the  consequences  oi 
despising  it.  If  you  will  perish,  I  am  clear 
of  your  blood. 

II.  I  proceed  to  consider  the  final  issue  of 
this  unequal  contest  between  the  worms  of 
the  earth  and  their  Maker.  He  will  dash 
them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel.  Such  a 
vessel  may  be  curiously  wrought,  and  appear 
beautiful  to  the  eye,  but  it  is  frail,  easily 
broken,  and,  when  once  broken  to  pieces,  it 
is  irreparable.  It  is  therefore  a  fit  emblem  of 
mortal  man  in  his  best  estate.  We  are  feai 
fully  and  wonderfully  made,  Psal.  cxxxix.  14. 
The  texture  of  the  human  frame  is  admirable. 
The  natural  capacities  of  the  mind  of  man, 
the  powers  of  his  understanding,  will,  and  af- 
fections, the  rapidity  of  imagination,  the  com- 
prehension of  memory,  especially  in  some  in- 
stances, are  so  many  proofs,  that  considered  as 
a  creature  of  God,  he  is  a  noble  creature  ;  and 
though  he  is  debased  and  degraded  by  sin, 
there  are  traces  of  his  original  excellence  re- 
maining, sufficient  to  denominate  him  in  the 
words  of  the  poet,  "  majestic  though  in  ruins." 
But  if  you  suppose  him  rich,  powerful,  wise, 
in  the  common  sense  of  the  words,  he  is  brit- 
tle as  a  potter's  vessel,  and  while  possessed  of 
every  possible  advantage,  he  is  but  like  the 
grass  or  the  flower  of  the  field,  which,  in  its 
most  flourishing  state,  falls  in  a  moment  at  the 
stroke  of  the  scythe,  and  withers,  and  dies. 
A  fever,  a  fall,  a  tile,  a  grain  of  sand,  or 
the  air  that  finds  its  way  through  a  crevice, 
may  be  an  overmatch  for  the  strongest  man, 
and  bring  him  down  hastily  to  the  grave.  By 
a  small  change  in  the  brain,  or  some  part  of 
the  nervous  system,  he  who  now  prides  him- 
self in  his  intellectual  abilities  may  soon  be- 
come a  lunatic  or  an  idiot.  Disease  may 
quickly  render  the  beauty  loathsome,  and  the 
robust  weak  as  infancy.  There  are  earthen 
or  china  vessels,  which  might  possibly  endure 
for  many  ages,  if  carefully  preserved  from 
violence.  But  the  seeds  of  decay  and  death 
are  sown  in  our  very  frame.  We  are  crushed 
before  the  moth,  and  moulder  away  untouched 
under  the  weight  of  time.  How  surely  and 
inevitably,  then,  must  they  whom  the  Lord 
strikes  with  his  iron  rod,  be  shattered  with  the 
blow  ! 

Communities  and  collective  bodies  of  men, 
are  in  his  hand,  no  less  frail  than  individuals. 
The  first-born  throughout  Egypt,  and  the  vast 
army  of  Sennacherib,  perished  in  a  night. 
The  Romans  were  the  iron  rod  in  his  hand, 
wherewith  he  dashed  the  Jewish  nation  to 
pieces.  Their  fragments  are  scattered  far  and 
wide  to  this  day,  and  who  can  gather  them 
up  ?  The  Roman  empire  was  likewise  dashed 
to  pieces  in  its  turn  ;  and  such  has  been  the 
end  successively  of  many  powers,  and  of  many 
persons  who  have  presumed  to  oppose  his  de- 
signs.     For  a  while  they  were  permitted  to 


SER.  XXXVI. 


THE  LORD   REIGNETH. 


763 


rage,  and  plot,  and  strive  ;  but  at  length  they 
stumbled  and  fell,  and  their  memory  is  perish- 
ed. 

But  it  is  proper  to  bring  the  consideration 
nearer  home.  I  have  been  informed,  that  the 
music  to  which  this  passage  is  set,  is  so  well 
adapted  to  the  idea  that  it  expresses,  as  in  a 
manner  to  startle  those  who  hear  it.  They 
who  live  in  sinful  habits,  regardless  of  the 
gospel,  would  be  startled,  indeed,  if  they  were 
duly  sensible  how  directly  the  words  apply  to 
their  own  situation,  and  that  the  psalmist  de- 
scribes the  manner  in  which  God  will  treat 
them,  if  they  continue  impenitent.  If  we 
could  see  all  that  passes  upon  dying  beds,  we 
should  often  see  the  false  peace  and  vain  hopes 
of  sinners  dashed  to  pieces  when  eternity  is 
opening  upon  their  view.  We  shall  certainly 
see  the  solemnity  of  the  great  day  :  "  For  we 
must  all  appear"  not  only  as  spectators,  but 
as  parties  nearly  interested  in  the  proceedings, 
"  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ."  "  Be- 
nold,  he  cometh  in  the  clouds,  and  every  eye 
shall  see  him,  and  they  also  who  pierced  him!" 
He  will  descend  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice 
of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God, 
and  before  him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations. 
Where  then  shall  the  sinner  and  the  ungodly 
appear  ?  What  will  then  become  of  those  who 
despise,  and  those  who  abuse  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God  ?  The  libertine,  the  infidel,  the 
apostate,  the  hypocrite,  the  profane  scoffer, 
and  the  false  professor,  how  will  they  stand, 
or  whither  will  they  flee,  when  the  great  Judge 
shall  sit  upon  his  awful  throne,  and  the  books 
shall  be  opened,  and  every  secret  thing  shall 
be  disclosed  !  Alr.s  for  them  that  are  full,  and 
that  laugh  now,  for  then  they  shall  pine  and 
mourn,  Luke  vi.  25.  Then  their  cavils  will 
be  silenced,  their  guilt,  with  all  its  aggrava- 
tions, be  charged  home  upon  them,  and  no 
plea,  no  advocate  be  found.  Can  their  hearts 
endure,  or  their  hands  be  strong,  when  he 
shall  speak  to  them  in  his  wrath,  and  say, 
"  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlast- 
ing fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  an- 
gels?" 

But  let  them  who  love  his  name  rejoice. 
You  have  fled  for  refuge  to  the  hope  set  be- 
fore you.  To  you  his  appearance  will  be  de- 
lightful, and  his  voice  welcome.  You  shall 
not  be  ashamed.  This  awful  God  is  yours. 
He  will  then  own  and  accept  you  before  as- 
sembled worlds,  and  will  say,  "  Come,  ye 
blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom 
prepared  for  you."  Then  the  days  of  your 
mourning  shall  be  ended,  and  your  sun  shall 
go  down  no  more,  Matt.  xxv.  34.    Is.  lx.  20. 


SERMON  XXXVI. 


THE  LORD  REIGNETH. 


Hallelujah,  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reign- 
eth  !   Rev.  xix.  6 

The  book  of  the  Revelation,  being  chiefly 
prophetical,  will  not  perhaps  be  fully  under- 
stood, till  the  final  accomplishment  of  the 
events  shall  draw  near,  and  throw  a  stronger 
light  upon  the  whole  series.  But  while  the 
learned  commentators  have  been  hitherto  di- 
vided and  perplexed  in  their  attempts  to  illus- 
trate many  parts  of  it,  there  are  other  parts 
well  adapted  for  the  instruction  and  refresh- 
ment of  plain  christians  ;  particularly  those 
passages  in  which  the  scenery  and  images 
seemed  designed  to  give  us  some  representa- 
tion of  the  happiness  and  worship  of  the  hea- 
venly state.  Thus  a  plain  unlettered  believer, 
when  reading  with  attention  the  fourtli  and 
fifth  chapters,  though  he  cannot  give  a  reason 
why  the  elders  are  four-and-twenty,  the  living 
creatures  four,  and  the  number  of  their  wings 
neither  more  nor  less  than  six  ;  yet,  from  the 
whole  description  of  the  Lamb  upon  the 
throne,  the  songs  of  the  redeemed,  and  the 
chorus  of  the  angels,  he  receives  such  an  im- 
pression of  glory,  as  awakens  his  gratitude, 
desire,  and  joy,  and  excites  him  likewise  to 
take  up  the  same  song  of  praise,  to  him  who 
has  loved  him,  and  washed  him  from  his  sins 
in  his  own  blood.  He  is  content  to  leave  the 
discussion  of  hard  questions  to  learned  men, 
while  he  feeds  by  faith  upon  those  simple 
truths  which  can  only  be  relished  by  a  spirit- 
ual taste ;  and  which,  where  there  is  such  a 
taste,  make  their  way  to  the  heart,  without  the 
assistance  of  critical  disquisition. 

The  subject  of  the  preceding  chapter,  is  the 
destruction  of  mystical  Babylon,  the  head  of 
the  opposition  against  the  kingdom  of  the 
Lord  Christ.  But  Babylon  sinks  like  a  mill, 
stone  in  the  mighty  ocean,  and  is  no  more 
found.  So  must  all  his  enemies  perish.  The 
catastrophe  of  Babylon,  like  that  of  Pharaoh 
at  the  Red  Sea,  is  beheld  by  the  saints  and 
servants  of  the  Lord  with  admiration,  and  fur- 
nishes them  with  a  theme  for  a  song  of  triumph 
to  his  praise.  This  may  be  properly  styied 
sacred  music  indeed.  It  is  commanded,  in- 
spired, and  regulated,  by  the  Lord  himself. 
The  performers  are  all  interested  in  the  sub- 
ject, they  who  fear  God,  and  are  devoted  to 
his  service  and  glory.  And  though  persons 
of  this  character  are  comparatively  few  upon 
earth,  hidden,  and  in  a  manner  lost,  among 
the  crowd  of  mankind,  they  will  be,  when 
brought  together  at  last,  a  very  large  com- 
pany. Their  united  voices  are  here  compared 
to  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  of  mighty 
thunders,   and  this   is  the   solemn   close,  the 


7G4 


THE  LOUD  REIGNETH. 


ser.  xxxvi. 


chorus   of  their  song,    "  Hallelujah,  for  the 
Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth." 

The  impression  which  the  performance  of 
this  passage  in  the  Oratorio  usually  makes 
upon  the  audience  is  well  known.  But  how- 
ever great  the  power  of  music  may  be,  should 
we  even  allow  the  flights  of  poetry  to  be  truth, 
that  it  can  soften  rocks,  and  bend  the  knotty 
oak,  one  thing  we  are  sure  it  cannot  do  ;  it 
cannot  soften  and  change  the  hard  heart,  it 
cannot  bend  the  obdurate  will  of  man.  If 
all  the  people  who  successively  hear  the  Mes- 
siah, who  are  struck  and  astonished,  for  the 
moment,  by  this  chorus  in  particular,  were  to 
bring  away  with  them  an  abiding  sense  of  the 
importance  of  the  sentiment  it  contains,  the 
nation  would  soon  wear  a  new  face.  But  do 
the  professed  lovers  of  sacred  music,  in  this 
enlightened  age,  generally  live,  as  if  they 
really  believed  that  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth  ?  Rather  do  not  the  greater  part  of 
them  live,  as  they  might  do  if  they  were  sure 
of  the  contrary  ?  as  if  they  were  satisfied  to  a 
demonstration,  that  either  there  is  no  God,  or 
that  his  providence  is  not  concerned  in  human 
affairs?  I  appeal  to  conscience;  I  appeal  to 
fact. 

I  apprehend  that  this  passage,  taken  in  the 
strictest  sense,  refers  to  a  period  not  yet  ar- 
rived. Babylon  is  not  yet  fallen.  The  ser- 
vants of  God  in  the  present  day,  will  most 
probably  fulfil  their  appointed  time  upon  earth, 
like  those  who  have  lived  before  them,  in  a 
state  of  conflict.  They  must  endure  the  cross, 
and  sustain  opposition  for  his  sake.  The 
people  who  shall  live  when  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord 
and  his  Christ,  when  the  nations  shall  learn 
war  no  more,  are  yet  unborn.  But  even  now 
we  may  rejoice  that  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth,  and  that  Jesus  is  King  of  kings,  and 
Lord  of  lords.  1  must  consider  my  text  as 
referring  to  him.  Many  of  the  Heathens  be- 
lieved that  God  reigned.  The  christian  doc- 
trine is,  that  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  exer- 
ciseth  his  dominion  and  government  in  the 
person  of  Christ.  "  The  Father  loveth  the 
Son,  and  hath  committed  all  things  into  his 
hands,"  John  iii.  35.  And  thus  our  Lord, 
after  his  resurrection,  assured  his  disciples, 
"  All  power  is  committed  unto  me  in  heaven 
and  inearth,"  Matth.  xxviii.  18.  He  has  al- 
ready taken  to  himself  his  great  power  and 
reigneth.  His  light  of  reigning  over  all  is 
essential  to  his  divine  nature ;  but  the  admi- 
nistration of  government  in  the  nature  of  man, 
is  the  effect  and  reward  of  his  obedience  unto 
death.  But  in  the  union  of  both  natures,  he 
is  one  person,  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord.  All 
the  riches  and  fulness  of  the  Godhead,  all  the 
peculiar  honours  of  the  Mediator,  centre  in 
him.  They  may  be  distinguished,  but  they 
are  inseparable. 

Happy  are  they  who  can,  upon  solid  and 
scriptural  grounds,  exult  in  the  thought  that  J  contrary,  he  breaks  the  heads  of  these  levia- 


the  Lord  reigneth,  and  can  make  his  govern- 
ment the  subject  of  their  hallelujahs  and 
praises  !  Happy  they,  who  see,  acknowledge, 
and  admire,  his  management  in  the  kingdom 
of  providence,  and  are  the  willing  subjects  of 
his  kingdom  of  grace.  Let  us  take  a  brie* 
survey  of  his  reigning  glory  in  these  king 
doms. 

I.  Great  and  marvellous  is  this  Lord  God 
omnipotent  in  his  kingdom  of  universal  pro- 
vidence !  His  mighty  arm  sustains  the  vast 
fabric  of  the  universe.  He  upholds  the  stars  in 
their  courses.  If  we  attentively  consider  their 
multitude,  their  magnitudes,  their  distances 
from  us  and  from  each  other,  and  the  amazing 
swiftness,  variety,  and  regularity  of  their  mo- 
tions, our  minds  are  overwhelmed,  our  thoughts 
confounded,  by  the  vastness  and  the  wonders 
of  the  scene.  But  he  spoke  them  into  being, 
and  they  are  preserved  in  their  stations  and 
revolutions  by  his  power  and  agency.  If  we  fix 
our  thoughts  upon  the  earth,  though  in  compa- 
rison of  the  immensity  of  his  creation  it  is  but  as 
a  point  or  a  grain  of  sand,  it  is  the  object  of 
his  incessant  care.  All  its  various  inhabit  • 
ants  derive  their  existence  and  their  support 
from  him.  He  provides  for  the  young  ravens 
when  unable  to  fly,  and  for  the  young  lions  that 
traverse  the  woods.  The  instinct  of  animals, 
whereby  they  are  unerringly  instructed  in  what- 
ever concerns  the  welfare  and  preservation  of 
their  species,  so  vastly  exceeding  the  boasted 
wisdom  of  man,  that  he  can  neither  imitate  nor 
comprehend  it,  is  communicated  by  him.  He 
teaches  the  birds  to  build  their  nests,  the  spi- 
der to  weave  his  web,  and  instructs  the  com- 
munities of  bees,  and  insignificant  emmets,  to 
form  their  admirable  policies  and  government 
among  themselves.  If  we  speak  of  intelligent 
beings,  he  does  what  he  pleases  in  the  armies 
of  heaveiij  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth.  He  directs  and  over-rules  the  counsels 
and  purposes  of  men,  so  that  though  they  act 
freely,  the  event  of  all  their  different  interfer- 
ing schemes,  is  only  the  accomplishment  of 
his  purposes.  When  they  are  employed  as 
his  instruments,  from  small  beginnings,  and 
in  defiance  of  difficulties  apparently  insupera- 
ble, they  succeed  beyond  their  own  expecta- 
tions. When  unhappily  engaged  against  his 
designs,  in  vain  they  rage  and  plot.  He  takes 
the  wise  in  their  own  craftiness,  pours  con- 
tempt upon  their  power  and  policy,  and  all 
their  great  preparations  melt  like  a  mist,  or 
like  snow  before  the  sun,  and  leave  no  trace  be- 
hind. Still  more  wonderful,  to  the  eye  of  faith, 
is  his  controul  over  Satan  and  the  powers  of 
darkness.  Whatever,  for  wise  reasons,  though 
unknown  to  us,  he  may  permit  them  to  do, 
they  cannot  with  all  their  subtlety  or  strength, 
detain  one  soul  in  their  bondage  longer  than 
till  his  appointed  time  of  release  ;  nor  recov- 
er one  soul  back  to  their  dominion,  of  which 
he  is  pleased  to  undertake  the  care.      On  the 


SER.  XXXVI. 


thans  in  pieces,  turns  their  counsels  against 
themselves,  and  makes  them  instrumental  in 
purifying  his  people,  and  extending  his  church, 
by  the  means  they  employ  for  the  destruction 
of  both.  Thus  they  who  dwell  under  his 
shadow  are  safe;  for  all  things  are  in  his 
power,  and  he  always  careth  for  them,  and 
keepeth  them,  as  the  pupil  of  his  eye ;  and 
therefore,  though  they  are  exercised  with  trials, 
and  suffer  many  things  for  their  good,  his  eye 
being  always  upon  them,  and  his  ear  open  to 
their  prayer,  they  are  supported,  supplied,  re- 
lieved, delivered,  and  at  last  made  more  than 
conquerors. 

II.  He  has  a  peculiar  kingdom,  which  he 
has  established  distinct  from  the  kingdoms  of 
this  world,  though  diffused  and  extended  a- 
mong  them,  and  which,  in  due  time,  like 
leaven,  will  pervade  and  assimilate  them  all  to 
himself.  This  is  the  kingdom  of  the  gospel, 
his  church.  It  is  founded  upon  a  rock,  and 
though  the  gates  of  hell  continually  war  a- 
gainst  it,  they  cannot  prevail.  For  he  is  a 
wall  of  fire  round  about  it,  and  the  glory  in  the 
midst  of  it,  Zech.  ii.  5. 

Here  he  reigns  upon  a  throne  of  grace.  He 
possesses  and  exercises  unlimited  authority  as 
a  sovereign,  to  save  whom  he  pleases,  to  par- 
don all  manner  of  sins  and  offences,  and  to 
admit  rebels  and  enemies  when  they  submit 
themselves  and  bow  to  his  golden  sceptre,  in- 
to the  number  of  his  children  and  his  friends. 
Seldom  do  the  kings  of  the  earth  publish  an 
act  of  grace  in  favour  of  those  who  have  been 
guilty  of  rebellion,  without  clogging  it  with 
exceptions.  Either  they  feel  a  resentment  a- 
gainst  some  of  the  delinquents,  which  they 
have  not  magnanimity  sufficient  to  conquer, 
or  they  dare  not  trust  them.  But  his  mercy 
is  infinite;  and  he  knows  how  to  change  their 
hearts  when  he  pardons  their  sins. 

Perhaps  it  may  not  be  a  digression  wholly 
unuseful  and  impertinent,  if  1  take  this  oc- 
casion to  point  out  the  several  senses  in  which 
the  word  Church  may  be  understood,  agreea- 
ble to  the  scripture. 

1.  It  denotes  in  the  aggregate,  the  mystical 
church,  the  whole  body  of  that  spiritual  king- 
dom, of  which  the  Redeemer  is  the  living  and 
life-giving  head,  Col.  i.  18.  A  succession  of 
these  has  appeared  upon  earth  in  every  age, 
from  the  days  of  righteous  Abel,  whom  Cain 
slew  ;  and  we  have  reason  to  believe,  that  the 
far  greater  part  of  them  are  yet  unborn.  They 
will  all  be  assembled  together  before  the 
throne,  in  the  great  day  of  his  final  appear- 
ance, and  inherit  the  kingdom  of  glory  pre- 
pared for  them.  This  is  the  church  which 
God  hath  bought  with  his  own  blood,  Acts  xx. 
28.  Happy  are  they  who  belong  to  this  so- 
ciety of  the  redeemed,  whose  names  are  writ- 
ten in  heaven. 

2.  The  visible  church  contains  all  those  who 
bear  and  acknowledge  the  name  of  Christians, 
and  who  admit  and  enjoy  the  gospel-revela- 


THE  LORD  REIGNETH. 

tion.      The   church, 


765 


in  this  sense,  includes 
many  nations.  But  it  is  a  small  thing  to  be- 
long only  to  the  visible  church,  for  it  is  com- 
pared to  a  corn-floor  (Matth.  iii.  12),  on 
which  chaff  is  mingled  with  the  wheat;  to  a 
field  in  which  tares  grow  promiscuously  with 
the  good  seed ;  to  a  fisher's  net  inclosing  a 
great  multitude  of  fishes  both  good  and  b  :d, 
Matth.  xiii.  '-'4,  47.  But  a  time  of  discrimi- 
nation will  come.  The  chart'  and  the  tares, 
and  whatever  is  evil,  will  be  consumed.  Alas  ! 
what  will  it  avail  at  last  to  say,  "  Lord,  we 
have  eaten  and  drank  in  thy  presence,"  at  thy 
table  with  thy  true  disciples,  "  and  thou  hast 
taught  in  our  streets"  (Luke  xiii.  26,  27), 
and  we  have  heard  in  our  own  language  of 
thy  wonderful  works,  it  you  can  say  no  more? 
My  heart  is  pained  with  the  apprehension,  lest 
some  of  you  who  have  joined  in  the  same  pub- 
lic worship  with  true  believers,  have  sat  in  the 
same  seat,  and  lived  in  the  same  families, 
should  at  last  see  them,  with  whom  you  have 
been  very  nearly  connected  in  this  world,  re- 
ceived into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  you 
yourselves  be  shut  out. 

3.  The  catholic  church  in  any  one  period,  is 
that  part  of  the  visible  church  which  is  united 
to  the  Lord  by  a  living  faith.  It  comprises  all 
who  agree  in  the  profession  of  the  fundamen- 
tal truths  of  the  gospel,  and  whose  conversa- 
tion is  regulated  by  its  precepts,  or  in  the 
apostle's  words,  "  All  who  love  the  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ  in  sincerity,"  Eph.  vi.  24.  This 
catholic  church,  through  the  policy  of  Satan, 
and  the  deceitfulness  of  the  heart,  is  too  much 
dividod  against  itself.  Prejudice,  bigotry,  and 
remaining  ignorance,  greatly  prevent  that  de- 
sirable union  amongst  true  christians,  which 
would  promote  their  peace,  comfort,  and  in- 
crease, and  would  contribute  more  than  a 
thousand  arguments  to  put  their  adversaries 
to  shame  and  to  silence.  That  shameful  con- 
tention for  denominations,  parties,  and  favour- 
ite preachers,  for  which  the  apostle  reproved 
the  Corinthians  (1  Cor.  iii.  4),  is  still  greatly 
to  be  lamented.  But  though  they  are  too 
backward  in  acknowledging  and  assisting  each 
other,  the  Lord  is  merciful  to  their  weakness, 
and  bears  with  them  all.  And  as  they  grow 
in  grace,  and  drink  more  into  his  Spirit,  their 
hearts  are  enlarged,  and  they  approach  nearer 
to  his  pattern  of  long-suffering,  patience,  and 
tenderness. 

4.  The  word  church  is  applied  to  particular 
societies  of  christians,  who  are  connected  by  a 
participation  in  the  same  ordinances  of  the 
gospel,  and  who  maintain  a  scriptural  separa. 
tion  from  the  sinful  spirit  and  customs  of  the 
world.  And  though  there  may  be  pretenders 
among  them,  as  there  were  among  the  aposto- 
lic churches,  they  are  denominated  by  the  bet- 
ter part.  They  belong  to  the  catholic  church 
by  their  profession  of  the  truth,  of  course  they 
are  a  part  of  the  visible  church  ;  and  those  of 
them  who  are  in   deed  and  truth   what  they 


-7G6 


profess  to  be,  are  living  members  of  the  mys- 
tical church,  to  which  all  the  promises  are 
made.  By  whatever  name  they  are  known  or 
distinguished  among  men,  they  are  branches 
of  the  true  vine,  they  have  their  fruit  unto 
holiness,  and  their  end,  everlasting  life.  But 
to  return, 

In  this  his  church,  or  spiritual  kingdom,  he 
rules  by  wise  and  gracious  laws  and  ordinan- 
ces. He  releases  his  subjects  from  all  autho- 
rity, in  point  of  conscience,  but  his  own,  and 
enjoins  them  to  call  no  one  master  but  him- 
self, Matth.  xxiii.  8 — 10.  If  they  stand  fast 
in  the  liberty  wherewith  he  has  made  them 
free  (Gal.  v.  1),  they  will  not  give  themselves 
up  implicitly  to  the  dictates  of  any  man,  nor 
follow  him  farther  than  he  follows  their  Lord. 
And  consequently,  if  they  are  influenced  by 
his  royal  law  of  doing  to  others  as  they  would 
that  others  should  do  unto  them,  they  will  not 
attempt  to  exert  an  undue  authority,  or  wish 
to  be  called  masters  themselves,  so  as  to  as- 
sume a  dogmatical  carriage,  or  to  expect  a 
universal  and  absolute  submission.  But  it 
must  be  owned  that  in  our  present  state  of  in- 
firmity, this  privilege  is  not  sufficiently  priz- 
ed, nor  this  command  duly  complied  with, 
there  being  scarcely  a  man  who  does  not  either 
arrogate  too  much  to  himself,  or  allow  too 
much  to  others.  A  fault  in  the  one  or  the 
other  of  these  respects,  may  be  assigned  as  a 
principal  cause  of  most  of  the  evils  which  de- 
form the  appearance,  or  injure  the  peace  of 
the  church.  But  the  design  of  his  gospel  is 
to  set  his  people  at  liberty  from  the  yoke  of 
men,  from  the  fetters  of  custom  and  tradition, 
of  superstition  and  will-worship  ;  that  they 
may  enjoy  in  his  service,  a  state  of  perfect 
freedom. 

For  it  is  the  principal  glory  of  his  kingdom, 
that  he  reigns  in  the  hearts  of  his  people. 
There  he  writes  his  precepts,  impresses  his 
image,  and  erects  his  throne  ;  ruling  them,  not 
merely  by  an  outward  law,  but  by  an  inward 
secret  influence,  breathing  his  own  life  and 
Spirit  into  them,  so  that  their  obedience  be- 
comes, as  it  were,  natural,  pleasurable,  and  its 
own  reward.  By  the  discoveries  he  affords 
them  of  his  love,  he  wins  their  affections,  cap- 
tivates their  wills,  and  enlightens  their  under- 
standings. They  derive  from  him  the  spirit 
of  power,  of  love,  and  of  a  sound  mind 
(2  Tim.  i.  7),  and  run  with  alacrity  in  the  way 
of  his  commandments. 

It  is  impossible  therefore  to  make  this  song 
our  own,  and  cordially  to  rejoice  that  the 
Lord  God  omnipotent  ruigneth,  unless  we  are 
the  willing  subjects  of  his  government;  unless 
ve  are  really  pleased  with  his  appointed  way 
of  salvation,  approve  of  his  precepts,  and, 
from  a  view  of  his  wisdom  and  goodness,  can 
cheerfully  submit  and  resign  ourselves  to  the 
disposal  of  his  providence.  In  all  these  re- 
spects we  are  by  nature  at  variance  with  him. 
We  are  too  proud  to  be  indebted  to  his  grace, 


THE  LORD   UEIGNETH.  SER.  XXXVI. 

too  wise  in  our  own  conceits  to  desire  his  in. 
struction,  too  obstinately  attached  to  the  love 
and  practice  of  sin,  to  be  capable  of  relishing 
the  beauty  and  spirituality  of  his  command- 
ments. And  our  love  of  the  world,  and  the 
things  of  it,  is  too  strong  and  grasping,  to 
permit  us  to  be  satisfied  with  the  lot,  and  with 
the  dispensations  he  appoints  for  us.  We 
wish,  if  possible,  and  as  far  as  possible  we  at- 
tempt, to  be  our  own  carvers.  We  are  un- 
thankful when  he  bestows,  impatient  if  he 
withholds,  and  if  he  sees  fit  to  resume  the  gifts 
of  which  we  are  unworthy,  we  repine  and  re- 
bel against  his  will.  This  enmity  must  be 
subdued,  before  we  can  be  pleased  with  his 
government.  In  other  words,  we  must  be 
changed,  we  must  be  made  new  creatures. 
To  produce  this  change,  this  new  creation, 
the  gospel  is  the  only  expedient ;  and  when 
revealed  and  applied  to  the  heart  by  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  miracle  is  wrought. 
The  sinner  who  is  first  convinced  of  his  guilt 
and  misery,  and  then  reconciled  to  God  by 
faith  in  the  great  atonement,  willingly  yields 
to  his  administration.  He  owns  and  feels  the 
propriety  of  his  proceedings,  is  ready  to  ac- 
knowledge, in  his  sharpest  afflictions,  that  the 
Lord  is  gracious,  and  has  not  dealt  with  hira 
according  to  the  desert  of  his  iniquities.  He 
considers  himself  as  no  longer  his  own,  but 
bought  with  a  price,  and  brought  under  the 
strongest  obligations,  to  live  no  longer  to  him- 
self, but  to  him  who  loved  him,  and  gave  him- 
self for  him.  And  what  was  before  his  dread 
and  dislike,  becomes  now  the  joy  of  his  heart, 
the  thought,  that  the  Lord  reigneth,  and  that 
all  his  concerns  are  in  the  hands  of  him  who 
doeth  all  things  well. 

Are  there  any  among  us,  who  say  in  their 
hearts,  We  will  not  have  this  Saviour  to  rule 
over  us  ?  The  thought  is  no  less  vain  than 
wicked.  He  must,  he  will  reign,  till  he  has 
subdued  all  enemies  under  his  feet.  You 
must  either  bend  or  break  before  him. 


SERMON  XXXVII. 


THE    EXTENT    OF 


MESSIAH  S 
DOM. 


SPIRITUAL    KING- 


The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the 
kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ,  and 
he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever.  Rev.  xi. 
15. 

The  kingdom  of  our  Lord  in  the  heart,  and 
in  the  world,  is  frequently  compared  to  a  build, 
ing  or  house,  of  which  he  himself  is  both  the 
foundation  and  the  architect,  Isa.  xxviii.  16; 
liv.  1  1,  12.  A  building  advances  by  degrees 
(1  Corinth,  iii.  9.  Ephes.  ;i.  20 — 22),  and 
while  it  is  in  an  unfinished  state,  a  stranger 
cannot,    by    viewing   its   present    appearance, 


THE  EXTENT,  &C. 


SEK.  XXXVII. 

form    an    accurate  judgment  of   the    design, 
and  what  the  whole  will  be  when  completed. 
For  a  time,  the  walls  are  of  unequal  height, 
it  is  disfigured  by  rubbish,  which  at  the  pro- 
per season  will  be  taken  away ;  and  by  scaf- 
folding,   which,    though   useful    for    carrying 
on  the  building,  does  not  properly  belong  to 
it,  but  will  likewise  be  removed  when  the  pre- 
sent temporary  service  is  answered.      But  the 
architect  himself  proceeds  according  to  a  de- 
terminate plan,  and  his  idea  of  the  whole  work 
is  perfect  from  the  beginning.      It  is  thus  the 
Lord  views  his  people  in  the  present  life.    He 
has  begun  a  good  work  in  them,  but  as  yet 
every  part  of  it  is  imperfect  and  unfinished  ; 
and  there  are  not  only  defects  to  be  supplied, 
but  deformities  and  incumbrances  that  must 
be  removed.      Many  of  the  dispensations  and 
exercises  which  contribute  to  form  their  reli- 
gious character,    do  not   properly   belong  to 
that  work  which  is  to  abide,  though  they  have 
a   subserviency    to    promote    it.      When   that 
which  is  perfect  is  come,  the  rest  shall  be  done 
away. 


767 

spreading  and  establishment  of  the  church  and 
kingdom  of  our  Lord.  His  plan  is  unalter 
ably  fixed.  He  has  said  it,  and  it  shall  be 
done.  Things  will  not  always  remain  in  their 
present  disordered  state  ;  and  though  this  de- 
sirable period  may  be  yet  at  a  distance,  and 
appearances  very  dark  and  unpromising,  the 
word  of  the  Lord  shall  prevail  over  all  dis- 
couragements and  opposition. 

Prophecies  which  are  not  yet  fulfilled  will 
necessarily  be  obscure.  Many  learned  men 
have  laboured  to  explain  the  prophecies  in  this 
book,  to  ascertain  the  facts  which  are  foretold, 
and  to  fix  the  dates  when  they  may  be  expect- 
ed to  take  place.  But  they  are  so  divided  in 
their  judgments,  and  with  regard  to  several  of 
the  most  eminent  who  thus  differ,  the  support 
their  opinions  derive  from  the  character  and 
abilities  of  the  proposers  is  so  nearly  equal,  that 
those  who  consult  them  are  more  likely  to  be 
embarrassed  than  satisfied.  For  myself,  I 
think  it  becomes  me  to  confess  my  ignorance, 
and  my  inability,  either  to  reconcile  the  con. 
jectures  of  others,  or  to  determine  which  is  the 
more  probable,  or  to  propose  better  of  my 
own.  I  do  not,  therefore,  undertake  to  give 
the  precise  sense  of  this  passage,  as  it  stands 
connected  with  the  rest  of  the  chapter.  Nor 
should  I,  perhaps,  have  attempted  to  preach 
from  it,  but  upon  this  occasion.  It  is  intro- 
duced, with  great  propriety,  in  the  Messiah, 
as  a  close  to  the  second  part,  which  begins 
with  a  view  of  the  Lamb  of  God  taking  away 
the  sins  of  the  world,  by  the  power  of  his 
priestly  office ;  and  concludes  with  an  ac- 
count of  his  glorious  success  as  the  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords. 

My  business  is  only  to  lead  you  to  some 
pleasing  and  profitable  reflections  upon  this 
subject,  now  it  comes  in  my  way.  There  are 
many  prophecies  in  the  Old  Testament,  that 
speak  in  magnificent  strains  of  a  kingdom, 
which  God  would,  in  his  appointed  time  es- 
tablish upon  the  earth  ;  the  sense  of  which 
is  greatly  weakened  and  narrowed,  if  restrain- 
ed, as  some  commentators  would  restrain  it, 
to  the  restoration  of  Israel  to  their  own  land, 
from  their  captivity  in  Babylon.  Yet  it  mast 
be  allowed,  that  the  highly  figurative  lan- 
guage in  which  many  of  these  prophecies  arr 
expressed,  a  great  part  of  which  cannot  be 
understood  literally,  renders  the  interpretation 
difficult. 

What  we  read  in  the  twentieth  chapter  of 
this  book,  of  a  period  in  which  the  saints  shall 
reign  with  Christ  during  a  thousand  years,  has 
given  occasion  to  almost  a  thousand  conjec- 
tures, concerning  a  millennian  state.  Some 
persons  suppose,  that  the  present  frame  of  na  ■ 
ture  shall  be  dissolved  and  changed,  and  ex- 
pect a  proper  resurrection  of  the  dead  ;  after 
which,  the  Lord  will  personally  reign  with  his 
people  upon  the  earth,  when  purified  by  fire, 
and  restored  to  its  primitive   perfection  and 


And  thus,  although  the  growth  and  extent 
of  his  kingdom  is  the  great  scope  and  object  of 
his  providence,  to  which  all  the  revolutions 
that  take  place  in  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
shall  be  finally  subservient ;  yet  the  steps  by 
which  he  is  carrying  forward  bis  design,  are, 
for  the  most  part,  remote  from  the  common 
apprehensions  of  mankind,  and  therefore  sel- 
dom engage  their  attention.  His  kingdom, 
founded  upon  the  Rock  of  ages,  is  building, 
advancing,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  be 
able  to  withstand  its  progress.  Only  detach- 
ed and  inconsiderable  parts  of  the  plan  are  as 
yet  visible,  and  the  beauties  are  everywhere 
obscured  by  attendant  blemishes;  but  his 
counsel  shall  stand,  and  he  will  do  all  his 
pleasure.  Princes  and  statesmen  seldom  think 
of  him,  are  seldom  aware,  that  in  prosecuting 
their  own  schemes,  they  are  eventually  fulfill- 
ing his  purposes,  and  preparing  the  way  to 
promote  the  cause  which  they  despise,  and 
often  endeavour  to  suppress.  But  thus  it  is. 
Sometimes  he  employs  them,  more  directly,  as 
his  instruments  ;  and  when  they  are  thus  en- 
gaged in  his  work,  their  success  is  secured. 
So  Cyrus,  whom  Isaiah  mentioned  by  name 
(Is.  xlv.  1 — 5),  long  before  his  birth,  as  the 
appointed  deliverer  of  Israel  from  their  cap- 
tivity, prospered  in  his  enterprises,  being  guid- 
ed and  girded  by  him  whom  he  knew  not,  and 
established  his  own  power  upon  the  ruins  of 
the  Assyrian  monarchy.  The  Roman  empire 
likewise  increased  and  prospered  from  small 
beginnings,  that  a  way  might  be  opened,  in 
the  proper  season,  for  the  destruction  of  the 
Jewish  economy,  and  for  facilitating  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel.  And  posterity  will 
see,  that  the  principal  events  of  the  present 
age,  in  Asia  and  America,  have  all  a  tendency 
to  bring  forward  the  accomplishment  of  my 
text ;  and  are  leading  to  one  grand  point,  the  J  beauty.      If  so,  earth  will  be  heaveu  ;  for  the 


7G8 


THE  EXTENT  OF  MESSIAH  S 


state  of  happiness  believers  are  taught  to  hope 
for,  depends  not  upon  local  circumstances,  but 
chiefly  consists  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  unveil- 
ed immediate  presence,  and  in  beholding  his 
glory.  Others  seem  to  conceive  of  the  mil- 
lennium, nearly  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
Jews  formed  their  expectations  of  Messiah's 
kingdom.  They  think  that  temporal  honours, 
dominion,  prosperity,  and  wealth,  will  then  be 
the  portion  of  believers;  the  very  portion 
which  they  are  now  called  upon  to  renounce 
and  despise.  But,  as  I  have  hinted,  large  al- 
lowances must  be  made  for  the  metaphorical 
language  of  prophecy.  We  read,  that  the 
streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem  are  paved  with 
gold,  and  that  the  twelve  gates  are  twelve 
pearls  (Rev.  xxi.  15,  21);  but  no  person  of 
sound  judgment  can  suppose,  that  this  de- 
scription is  to  be  understood  strictly,  accord- 
ing to  the  letter.  The  personal  presence  of 
Messiah  with  his  people  is  not  necessary  to 
such  degrees  of  happiness,  as  are  compatible 
with  the  present  state  of  mortality  and  imper- 
fection. It  is  sufficient,  if  he  vouchsafes  to 
dwell  with  them  by  his  Spirit.  Much  less  are 
temporal  dominion  and  wealth  necessary  to 
the  prosperity  and  honour  of  his  spiritual 
kingdom.  But  what  then  are  we  encouraged 
to  expect,  beyond  what  has  been  hitherto 
known,  with  regard  to  this  point?  Let  us 
consult  the  scriptures,  which  alone  can  guide 
and  determine  owr  inquiry.  I  will  select 
some  express  passages,  a  few  out  of  many 
which  might  be  adduced,  but  sufficient,  I  hope, 
by  the  rules  of  sober  interpretation,  to  lead  us 
to  a  satisfactory  answer. 

The  glory  and  happiness  of  Messiah's  king- 
dom, is  described  by  the  prophets  in  terms 
which  cannot  be  justly  applied  to  any  period 
of  the  church  already  past.  They  sometimes 
represent  it  by  a  variety  of  beautiful  pastoral 
images,  and  sometimes  in  plainer  language. 
Thus  Isaiah  :  "  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in 
the  last  days,  that  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's 
house  shall  be  established  on  the  top  of  the 
mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the 
hills;  and  all  nations  shall  How  unto  it.  And 
many  people  shall  go  and  say,  Come  ye,  and 
et  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord  to 
Jie  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob,  and  he  will 
teach  us  of  his  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  his 
paths  ;  for  out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the  law, 
and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem.  And 
he  shall  judge  among  the  nations,  and  shall 
rebuke  many  people  ;  and  they  shall  beat  their 
swords  into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears  in 
to  pruning  hooks:  Nation  shall  not  lift  up 
sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn 
war  any  more,"  Isa.  ii.  2 — 4.  Again,  "  The 
•wolf  also  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the 
leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid  ;  and  the 
calf,  and  the  young  lion,  and  the  fading  to- 
gether, and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them. 
And  the  cow  and  the  hear  shall  feed,  their 
young  ones  shall  he  down   together  ;   and  the 


SER.  XXXVII 

lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox.  And  the 
sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the 
asp,  and  the  weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand 
in  the  cockatrice  den.  They  shall  not  hurt 
nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain  ;  for  the 
earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea,"  Isaiah,  xi. 
6 — 9.  I  might  likewise  transcribe  the  whole 
of  the  sixtieth  chapter,  but  shall  only  offer 
you  the  latter  part  of  it.  "  Violence  shall  no 
more  be  heard  in  thy  land,  wasting  nor  de- 
struction within  thy  borders  ;  but  thou  shall 
call  thy  walls  Salvation  and  thy  gates  Praise 
The  sun  shall  be  no  more  thy  light  by  day, 
neither  for  brightness  shall  the  moon  give 
light  unto  thee:  but  the  Lord  shall  be  unto 
thee  an  everlasting  light,  and  thy  God  thy 
glory.  Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down,  nei- 
ther shall  thy  moon  withdraw  itself;  for  the 
Lord  shall  be  thine  everlasting  light,  and  the 
days  of  thy  mourning  shall  be  ended.  Thy 
people  also  shall  be  all  righteous,  they  shall 
inherit  the  land  for  ever,  the  branch  of  my 
planting,  the  work  of  my  hands,  that  I  may 
be  glorified.  A  little  one  shall  become  a 
thousand,  and  a  small  one  a  strong  nation  : 
I  the  Lord  will  hasten  it  in  his  time,"  Isaiah, 
Ix.  18 — 22.  To  the  same  purpose  the  pro- 
phet Ezekiel  :  "  And  I  will  set  up  one  shep- 
herd over  them,  and  he  shall  feed  them,  even 
my  servant  David  ;  he  shall  feed  them,  and 
he  shall  be  their  shepherd.  And  I  the  Lord 
will  be  their  God,  and  my  servant  David  a 
prince  among  thern  ;  I  the  Lord  have  spoken 
it.  And  I  will  make  with  them  a  covenant 
of  peace,  and  will  cause  the  evil  beasts  to 
cease  out  of  the  land;  and  they  shall  dwell 
safely  in  the  wilderness,  and  sleep  in  the 
woods.  And  I  will  make  them  and  the 
places  round  about  my  hill  a  blessing,"  Eze- 
kiel, xxxiv.  23 — 26.  And  again,  "  Then 
will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  you 
shall  be  clean;  from  all  your  filthiness  and 
from  all  your  idols  will  I  cleanse  you.  A 
new  heart  also  will  1  give  you,  and  a  new  spi- 
rit will  I  put  within  you,  and  I  will  take 
away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and  I 
will  give  you  a  heart  of  flesh.  And  I  will 
put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you  to 
walk  in  my  statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  my 
judgments,  and  do  them.  And  the  deso- 
late land  shall  be  tilled,  whereas  it  lay  deso- 
late in  the  sight  of  all  that  passed  by.  And 
they  shall  say,  This  land  that  was  desolate  is 
become  like  the  garden  of  Eden  ;  and  the 
waste,  and  desolate,  and  ruined  cities,  are 
become  fenced  and  inhabited,"  Ezek.  xxxvi. 
25 — 27,  34,  35.  The  prophet  Zechariah 
speaks  to  the  same  effect  .  "  Sing  and  re- 
joice, O  daughter  of  Zion  ;  for  lo,  I  come, 
and  I  will  dwell  in  the  midst  of  thee,  saith 
the  Lord.  And  many  nations  shall  be  joined 
to  the  Lord  in  that  day,  and  shall  be  my  peo- 
ple ;  and  I  will  dwell  in  the.  midst  of  thee; 
and   thou  shalt   know   that  the  Lord   of  hosts 


SEK.  XXX\  II. 


SPIRITUA L   KINGDOM. 


7G9 


hath  sent  me  unto  thee.  And  the  Lord  shall 
be  king  over  all  the  earth  ;  in  that  day  shall 
there  be  one  Lord,  and  his  name  one,"  Zecli. 
ii.  10,  11  ;  xiv.  9. 

Though  the  promises  and  prophecies  of 
this  import  are  addressed  to  the  church  un- 
der the  names  of  Israel,  Jacob,  Zion  or  Je- 
rusalem, we  are  certain  they  were  not  ful- 
filled to  the  nation  of  Israel  while  their  civil 
government  subsisted.  Their  national  pros- 
perity and  glory  were  greatly  diminished  be- 
fore any  of  these  prophecies  were  revealed. 
They  were  an  inconstant  and  a  suffering  peo- 
ple, during  the  reigns  of  the  kings  of  Judah 
and  Israel,  till  at  length  their  city  and  tem- 
ple were  destroyed  by  the  Chaldeans.  And 
though  they  returned  from  their  captivity, 
and  their  city  and  temple  were  rebuilt,  they 
continued  tributary  and  dependent,  and  were 
successively  subject  to  the  Persian,  Macedo- 
nian, and  Roman  power.  Their  obstinate  re- 
jection and  crucifixion  of  Messiah,  filled  up 
the  measure  of  their  iniquities,  and  brought 
wrath  upon  them  to  the  uttermost.  They 
were  soon  afterwards  exterminated  from  their 
land,  their  constitution,  both  of  church  and 
state,  utterly  subverted  ;  and  they  remain,  to 
this  day,  in  a  dispersed  state,  which  renders 
their  observance  of  the  law  impracticable. 

It  seems  equally  plain,  that  these  prophe- 
cies have  not  yet  been  fulfilled  to  the  christian 
church.  The  greater  part  of  the  earth,  to  this 
day,  is  unacquainted  with  the  name  of  Jesus. 
And  the  general  face  of  Christendom,  whether 
in  Popish  or  in  Protestant  countries,  exhibits 
little  more  of  the  spirit  and  character  of  the 
gospel,  than  is  to  be  found  among  the  Hea- 
thens. If  Christianity  be  compatible  with 
pride  or  baseness,  with  avarice  or  profusion, 
with  malice  and  envy,  with  scepticism  in  prin- 
ciple and  licentiousness  of  conduct,  then  chris- 
tians abound  .  but  if  humility,  integrity,  bene- 
volence, and  a  spiritual  mind,  are  essential  to 
a  christian  ;  if  we  judge  by  the  criterion  which 
our  Lord  himself  appointed,  and  account  only 
those  his  disciples  who  live  in  the  exercise  of 
mutual  love,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  they  are 
but  few,  even  in  the  places  which  are  most 
favoured  with  the  light  of  the  gospel.  But 
can  the  scriptures  be  broken  ?  Can  the  pro- 
mises of  the  Lord  fail  ?  By  no  means.  Hea- 
ven and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  not  one  jot 
or  tittle  of  his  word  shall  fail  of  accomplish- 
ment. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  every  in- 
dividual of  mankind  shall  be  savingly  con- 
verted to  the  Lord  in  this  future  day  of  his  ' 
power;  but  I  apprehend  the  current  language 
of  the  prophecies  warrants  us  to  hope,  that 
the  prayers  and  desires  of  the  church  shall,  in 
some  future  period,  be  signally  answered,  in 
the  following  respects. 

1.  That  the  gospel  shall  visit  the  nations 
which  are  at  present  involved  in  darkness. 
The  Heathen  are  given  to  Messiah  for  his  in- 


heritance, and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  his  possession.  At  present  (a*  I  have 
formerly  observed,  Ser.  xxxii.)  if  the  whole 
of  Christendom  were  inhabited  by  real  Chris- 
tians, they  would  bear  but  a  small  proportion 
to  the  rest  of  mankind.  Large  countries  in 
Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  where  the  gospel 
was  once  known,  have  been  for  many  ages 
involved  in  Mahommedan  darkness.  The 
scattered  remnants  of  the  Greek  church  in 
Turkey  are  so  miserably  depraved  and  igno- 
rant, that  they  scarcely  deserve  to  be  mention- 
ed as  an  exception.  The  rest  of  Asia  knows 
little  of  Christianity,  unless  they  have  learnt  it 
in  the  eastern  pars  from  the  cruelty  and  ty- 
ranny of  men  who  bear  the  name  of  christians. 
The  like  may  be  said  of  America,  excepting 
the  northern  provinces  of  our  late  dominion 
there.  For  the  zeal  of  the  Spaniards  and 
Portuguese  has  produced  few  other  effects 
than  rapine,  slavery,  and  deluges  of  human 
blood.  The  interior  parts,  botli  of  Africa  and 
America,  are  unknown.  The  countries  and 
islands  lately  discovered  in  the  southern  he- 
misphere, are  left,  as  they  were  found,  in 
gross  ignorance.  The  exertions  of  our  navi- 
gators to  supply  them  with  sheep  and  cows, 
and  useful  implements,  from  Europe,  were 
humane  and  laudable.  But  it  does  not  ap- 
pear that  the  least  attempt  was  made  to  im- 
part to  them  the  knowledge  of  our  holy  reli- 
gion. The  only  missionary  they  have  from 
us  (if  he  be  yet  living),  is  the  much-spoken-of 
Oiniah.  This  man  was  brought  to  England, 
almost  from  the  Antipodes ;  he  spent  some 
time  amongst  us,  and  was  then  sent  back  to 
tell  his  countrymen  what  he  had  seen  and 
heard.  But  if  he  gave  a  faithful  account  of 
our  customs,  morals,  and  religion,  so  far  as 
they  fell  within  the  circle  of  his  own  observa- 
tions, the  relation  would  certainly  be  little  tc 
our  honour,  and  I  am  afraid  much  to  their 
hurt.  In  brief,  a  large  part  of  Europe,  al- 
most the  whole  of  the  other  three  continents, 
with  the  islands  in  the  Eastern  and  Southern 
Oceans,  are  destitute  of  the  true  gospel.  But 
there  is  a  time  approaching,  called  the  ful- 
ness of  the  Gentiles,  when  the  Redeemer's 
glory  shall  dawn  and  shine  upon  all  nations. 
And  though  we  cannot  see  when  or  how  this 
happy  change  shall  be  affected,  yet,  in  the 
Lord's  hour,  mountains  shall  sink  into  plains. 
Nor  is  it  more  improbable  to  us  now,  than  it 
would  have  seemed  to  an  inhabitant  of  Rome 
in  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar,  that  the  island  of 
Great  Britain  should  one  day  be  distinguished 
by  all  those  privileges  which  the  Providence 
of  God  has  since  bestowed  upon  it. 

2.  That  this  gospel  shall  prevail,  not  in 
word  only,  but  in  power.  Even  where  the 
name  of  Christ  is  professed,  but  little  of  the 
power  of  it  is  at  present  known.  The  super- 
stition and  false  worship  generally  prevalent 
within  the  pale  of  the  Roman  and  Greek 
churches,  may  be  mentioned  without  ofl'enev 
3  K 


770 


tiif:  extent,  &c. 


SEK.  XXXVII. 


10  l'rotestants.  But  the  bulk  of  the  Protest- 
ant countries  are  equally  overspread  with 
scepticism  and  wickedness.  Few  comparative- 
ly, among  Protestants,  arc  friendly  to  that  gos- 
pel which  the  apostles  preached;  and  much 
fewer  are  they  who  are  influenced  by  it.  Per- 
haps no  nation  is  favoured  with  greater  advan- 
tages for  knowing  the  truth  than  our  nation, 
nor  any  city  more  favoured  than  this  city.  I 
doubt  not  but  there  are  persons  now  living, 
who  would  have  been  thought  eminent  chris- 
tians, if  they  had  lived  in  the  first  and  happi- 
est age  of  the  church  ;  and  I  trust  their  num- 
ber is  greater  than  we  are  aware  of.  The 
Lord  has  a  hidden  people,  little  known  to  the 
world  or  to  each  other.  But  if  we  judge  by 
the  standard  of  truth,  we  must  acknowledge 
that  the  power  of  religious  profession  is  very 
low.  How  little  does  it  appear  in  the  lives, 
tempers,  and  pursuits  of  the  most  who  hear 
the  gospel  ?  but  the  time  will  come  when 
christians  shall  again  be  known  by  their  inte- 
grity, spiritual-mindedness,  and  benevolence, 
and  by  all  the  fruits  of  righteousness,  which 
are,  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  glory  and  praise 
of  God.  The  fall  of  mystical  Babylon,  and 
of  Antichrist,  in  its  various  forms,  and  the 
calling  of  the  Jews,  are  events  which  are  po- 
sitively foretold,  and  which,  when  they  come 
to  pass,  will  have  great  effects.  Zion  as  yet, 
is  only  building,  but  it  shall  be  built. 

3.  That  the  animosities  and  disputes  which 
prevail  among  christians  shall  cease.  The 
observation  of  a  late  ingenious  writer,  which, 
it  is  to  be  feared,  he  was  confirmed  in  by  his 
own  experience,  is  too  much  founded  in 
truth  : — "  We  have  just  religion  enough  to 
make  us  hate  one  another."  The  spirit  of 
party,  prejudice,  bigotry,  and  interest,  a  zeal 
for  systems,  forms,  modes,  and  denominations, 
furnish  men  with  plausible  pretences  for  in- 
dulging their  unsanctified  passions,  and  de- 
ceive them  into  an  opinion,  that  while  they 
are  gratifying  their  pride  and  self-will,  they 
are  only  labouring  to  promote  the  cause  of 
God  and  truth.  Hence  often  the  feuds  which 
obtain  among  religious  people  are  pursued 
with  greater  violence,  and  to  greater  lengths, 
and  are  productive  of  more  mischievous  con- 
sequences, than  the  quarrels  of  drunkards. 
The  lovers  of  peace,  who  refuse  to  take  a  part 
in  these  contentions,  but  rather  weep  over 
them  in  secret,  are  censured  and  despised  as 
neutrals  and  cowards,  by  the  angry  comba- 
tants on  all  sides,  while  the  world  despises 
and  laughs  at  them  all.  It  was  not  so  in  the 
beginning,  nor  will  it  be  so  always.  The 
hour  is  coming,  when  believers  shall  be  united 
in  love,  shall  agree  in  all  that  is  essential  to  a 
life  of  faith  and  holiness,  and  shall  live  in  the 
exercise  of  forbearance  and  tenderness  towards 
each  other,  if,  in  some  points  of  smaller  im- 
portance, they  cannot  think  exactly  alike ; 
which  possibly  may  be  the  case  in  the  best 
times,  in  the  present  imperfect  state  of  human 


nature.      Ephraim  shall    then   no  more  envy 
Judah,  nor  Judali  vex  Ephraim,  Is.  xi.  13. 

4.  That  it  will  be  a  time  of  general  peace. 
At  present,  the  kingdoms,  which,  by  tfaeil 
profession,  should  be  subjects  of  the  Prince  ot 
Peace,  are  perpetually  disturbing,  invading, 
and  destroying  each  other.  They  live  in  ha- 
bits of  mutual  fear  and  jealousy,  and  main- 
tain great  armies  on  all  sides;  that  each  na- 
tion may  be  prepared,  if  occasion  offers,  to 
strike  the  first  blow.  War  is  followed  as  a 
trade,  and  cultivated  as  a  science ;  and  they 
who,  with  the  greatest  diligence  and  success, 
spread  devastation  and  ruin  far  and  wide,  and 
deluge  the  earth  with  human  blood,  acquire 
the  title  of  heroes  and  conquerors.  Can  there 
be  a  stronger  confirmation  of  what  we  read  in 
scripture  concerning  the  depravity  of  man  ? 
Can  we  conceive  an  employment  more  suited 
to  gratify  the  malignity  of  Satan  and  the  pow- 
ers of  darkness,  if  they  were  permitted  to  ap- 
pear and  act  amongst  us  in  human  shapes  I 
Could  such  enormities  possibly  obtain,  if  the 
mild  and  merciful  spirit  of  the  gospel  general- 
ly prevailed  ?  but  it  shall  prevail  at  last,  and 
then  the  nations  shall  learn  war  no  more,  Is. 
ii.  4. 

How  transporting  the  thought '  that  a  time 
shall  yet  arrive,  when  the  love  of  God  and 
man,  of  truth  and  righteousness,  shall  obtain 
through  the  earth.  The  evils  (and  these  are 
the  greatest  evils  of  human  life)  which  men 
bring  upon  themselves,  and  upon  each  other, 
by  their  wickedness,  shall  cease  ;  and  we  may 
believe  that  the  evils  in  the  natural  world  will 
be  greatly  abated.  Sin  will  no  longer  call 
down  the  tokens  of  God's  displeasure,  by  such 
public  calamities  as  hurricanes,  earthquakes, 
pestilence  and  famine.  And  if  some  natural 
evils,  as  pain  and  sickness,  should  remain, 
submission  to  the  will  of  God,  and  the  com- 
passion and  tenderness  of  men  towards  the  af- 
flicted, will  render  them  tolerable. 

If  this  prospect  be  desirable  to  us,  surely  it 
will  be  the  object  of  our  prayers.  The  Lord 
will  do  great  things,  but  he  will  be  inquired 
of  by  his  people  for  the  performance. 

But  to  many  persons  the  extension  of  do- 
minion and  commerce  appears  much  more  de- 
sirable. The  glory  and  extent  of  the  British 
government  has  been  eagerly  pursued,  and  the 
late  diminution  of  our  national  grandeur  and 
influence  has  been  much  laid  to  heart;  while 
the  glory  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  and  the 
conversion  of  the  Heathens,  are  considered  by 
the  politicians  and  merchants  of  the  earth,  as 
trivial  concerns,  unworthy  of  their  notice,  or 
rather  as  obstacles  to  the  views  of  ambition 
and  avarice.  But  it  is  said  of  Messiah,  and 
of  his  church,  The  nation  and  kingdom  that 
will  not  serve  thee  shall  perish,  Is.  lx.  12. 
The  word  of  God  may  be  slighted,  but  it  can- 
not be  annulled  ;  and  it  is  more  a  subject  for 
lamentation  than  wonder,  that  our  nationa. 
prosperity  should  decline,  v  hen  we  ar«  indif 


KER.  XXXVIII.      KING  OF  KINGS,    AND   LORD   OF  LORDS. 


771 


ferent,  yea,  adverse  to  that  cause  which  the 
great  Governor  of  the  world  has  engaged  to 
promote  and  establish. 


SERMON  XXXVIII. 


KING  OF  KINGS,  AND  LORD  OF  LORDS. 

'  And  he  hath  on  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh, 
a  name  written],  Kino  of  £~iiros.  axd 
Lord  of  Lords.      Rev.  xix.  16. 


The  description  of  the  administration  and 
glory  of  th*  Redeemer's  kingdom,  in  defiance 
of  all  opposition,  concludes  the  second  part  of 
the  Messiah.  Three  different  passages  from 
this  book  are  selected  to  form  a  grand  chorus, 
of  which  his  tide  in  this  verse  is  the  close;  a 
title  which  has  been  sometimes  vainly  usurped 
by  proud  worms  of  the  earth.  Eastern  mo- 
narchs,  in  particular,  have  affected  to  style 
themselves  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords. 
In  the  scriptural  language,  men,  whether  high 
or  low,  rich  or  poor,  one  with  another,  are 
compared  to  worms  and  potsherds  of  the  earth  ; 
but  they  are  by  nature  so  strongly  affected  by 
pride,  that  they  cannot  invent  titles  of  honour 
answerable  to  the  idea  they  have  of  their  own 
importance,  without  intrenching  upon  the  di- 
vine prerogative.  Thus  sovereignty,  majesty, 
holiness,  and  grace,  and  other  attributes  which 
properly  belong  to  God  alone,  are  parcelled 
out  among  the  great.  But  let  the  great  and 
the  mighty  know  that  wherein  they  speak 
proudly,  Messiah  is  above  them.  The  whole 
verse  (of  which  the  latter  clause  only  is  in  the 
Oratorio)  offers  two  points  to  our  medita- 
tions. 

I.  How  he  is  represented  as  wearing  his 
title.  It  is  written,  or  inscribed,  upon  his 
vesture  dipped  in  blood,  and  upon  his  thigh  ; 
either  upon  that  part  of  his  vesture  which 
covers  his  thigh,  or  upon  the  upper  part  of 
his  vesture,  and  upon  his  thigh  likewise. 

II.  The  title  itself, — King  of  kings,  and 
Lord  of  lords.  Whatever  power  the  kings 
and  lords  among  mankind  possess,  is  derived 
from  him,  and  absolutely  subject  to  his  con- 
troul. 

I.  The  manner  in  which  he  wears  his  name 
or  title.  It  is  written  upon  his  vesture,  and 
upon  his  thigh. 

1.  This  name  being  written  upon  his  ves- 
ture, denotes  the  manifestation  and  the  ground 
of  his  authority.  It  is  written  upon  his  out- 
ward garment,  to  be  read,  known,  and  ac- 
knowledged by  all  beholders.  And  it  is  up- 
on his  bloody  garment,  upon  the  vesture 
stained  with  his  own  blood,  and  the  blood  of 
his  enemies ;  which  intimates  to  us,  that  his 
government  is  founded  upon  the  success  of 
his  great  undertaking.  In  the  passage  from 
whence  this  verse  is  selected,  there  are  three 


names  attributed  to  Messiah.  He  has  a  name 
which  no  one  knows  but  himself  (ver.  12), 
agreeable  to  what  he  declared  when  upon  earth  ; 
"  No  man  (oulut ,  no  one,  neither  man  nor  angel) 
knoweth  the  Son,  but  the  Father;"  this  refers 
to  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead.  A  second 
name,  The  Word  of  God  (ver.  13),  denotes 
the  mystery  of  the  divine  personality.  The 
name  in  my  text  imports  his  glory,  as  the  Me- 
diator between  God  and  man,  in  our  nature, 
which,  when,  he  resumed  it  from  the  grave, 
became  the  seat  of  all  power  and  authority  ; 
which  power  we  are  now  taught  to  consider, 
not  merely  as  the  power  of  God,  to  whom  it 
essentially  belongs,  but  as  the  power  of  God 
exercised  in  and  by  that  Man  who  died  upon 
the  cross  for  our  sins.  In  consequence  of  his 
obedience  unto  death,  he  received  a  name 
which  is  above  every  name,  Phil.  ii.  9.  This 
inscription  his  own  people  read  by  the  eye  of 
faith  in  the  present  life,  and  it  inspires  them 
with  confidence  and  joy,  under  the  many 
tribulations  they  pass  through  in  the  course  of 
their  profession.  Hereafter  it  shall  be  openly 
known,  and  read  by  all  men.  Every  eye 
shall  see  it,  and  every  heart  must  either  bow  or 
break  before  him. 

'2.  It  is  written  upon  his  thigh.  The  thigh 
is  the  emblem  of  power,  and  is  the  part  of  the 
body  on  which  the  sword  is  girded,  Ps.  xlv.  3. 
By  this  emblem  we  are  taught,  that  he  will 
assuredly  maintain  and  exercise  the  right 
which  he  has  acquired.  As  he  has  a  just 
claim  to  the  title,  he  will  act  accordingly. 
Many  titles  among  men  are  merely  titular. 
So  the  King  of  Great  Britain  is  styled  like- 
wise King  of  France,  though  he  has  neither 
authority  nor  possession  in  that  kingdom.  But 
this  name  which  Messiah  bears  is  full  of  life, 
truth,  and  influence.  He  is  styled  King  of 
kings,  and  Lord  of  lords,  because  he  really  is 
so  ;  because  he  actually  rules  and  reigns  over 
them,  and  does  according  to  his  own  pleasure 
in  the  armies  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  earth,  with  an  absolute  and  un- 
controulable  sway,  so  that  none  can  stay  his 
hand,  or  say  unto  him,  What  doest  thou  ? 
Dan.  iv.  35. 

II.  The  title  itself  is  King  of  kings,  and 
Lord  of  lords.  He  is  the  Prince  of  the  kings 
of  the  earth,  Rev.  i.  5.  Too  many  of  them 
imagine  a  vain  thing.  They  take  counsel  to- 
gether, and  set  themselves  against  him  (Pa., 
ii.  4),  saying,  Let  us  break  his  bands  asunder. 
But  he  sitteth  in  the  heavens,  and  has  them 
in  derision.  He  has  his  hook  in  their  nose, 
and  his  bridle  in  their  lips,  and  the  result  of 
all  their  contrivances  is  neither  more  nor  less 
than  the  accomplishment  of  his  will. 

1.  The  rage  they  discover,  and  the  resist- 
ance they  make,  cannot  weaken  this  truth, 
but  rather  render  it  more  evident.  If  it  be 
asked,  Why  does  he  permit  them  to  resist? 
we  may  give  an  answer  in  point  from  the  case 
of   Pharaoh.      He   resisted  and  he  perished. 


772  KING   OF  KINGS,   AN 

He  was  often  warned  and  rebuked,  but  he 
still  hardened  his  neck,  and  continued  stub- 
born under  repeated  judgments,  till  at  length 
he  was  destroyed  without  remedy.  Thud  the 
God  of  Israel  was  more  magnified,  and  the 
people  of  Israel  were  more  honoured,  in  the 
view  of  the  surrounding  nations,  when  they 
were  brought  from  Egypt  with  a  high  hand 
and  with  a  stretched-out  arm,  and  when  Pha- 
raoh and  his  armies  were  overthrown  in  the 
Red  Sea,  than  the  nature  of  the  case  would 
have  admitted,  if  Pharaoh  had  made  no  op- 
position to  their  departure.  Yet  the  obstina- 
cy of  Pharaoh  was  properly  his  own.  It  is 
true,  we  are  assured  that  God  hardened  his 
heart  ;  but  we  are  not  thereby  warranted  to 
suppose  that  God  is  the  author  of  the  sin, 
which  he  hates  and  forbids.  It  is  written  a- 
gain,  that  God  cannot  be  tempted  with  evil, 
neither  tempteth  he  any  man  (James  i.  13), 
and  the  scripture  is  to  be  interpreted  consist- 
ently with  itself.  It  would  be  absurd  to  as- 
cribe darkness  or  ice  to  the  agency  of  the  sun, 
though  both  inevitably  follow,  if  the  light  and 
heat  of  the  sun  be  withdrawn  to  a  certhin  de- 
gree. A  degree  of  heat  is  necessary  to  keep 
water  in  that  state  of  fluidity  which  we  com- 
monly suppose  essential  to  its  nature  ;  but  it 
is  rather  essential  to  the  nature  of  water  to 
harden  into  ice,  if  it  be  deprived  of  the  heat 
which  is  necessary  to  preserve  it  in  a  fluid 
state;  and  the  hardest  metals  will  melt  and 
flow  like  water,  if  heat  be  proportionably  in- 
creased. Thus  it  is  with  the  heart  of  fallen 
man.  In  whatever  degree  it  is  soft  and  im- 
pressive, capable  of  feeling  and  tenderness, 
we  must  attribute  it  to  the  secret  influence  of 
the  Father  and  Fountain  of  light;  and  if  he 
is  pleased  to  withdraw  his  influence,  nothing 
more  is  needful  to  its  complete  induration. 

2.  The  kings  of  the  earth  are  continually  dis- 
turbing the  world  with  their  schemes  of  ambi- 
tion. They  expect  to  carry  every  thing  before 
them,  and  have  seldom  any  higher  end  in  view 
than  the  gratification  of  their  own  passions. 
But  in  all  they  do  they  are  but  servants  of  this 
great  King  and  Lord,  and  fulfil  his  purposes, 
as  the  instruments  he  employs  to  inflict  pre- 
scribed punishment  upon  transgressors  against 
him,  or  to  open  a  way  for  the  spread  of  his 
gospel.  Thus,  under  the  Old-Testament  dis- 
pensation (for  he  was  King  from  everlasting), 
the  successes  of  Sennacherib  and  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, and  the  exaltation  of  Cyrus,  were  en- 
tirely owing  to  their  being  employed  by  him, 
as  an  axe  or  a  saw  in  the  hand  of  the  work- 
man, Isa.  x.  15.  And  they  acted  under  a  li- 
mited commission,  beyond  which  they  could 
not  go.  They  had  one  thing  in  view,  He 
had  another ;  and  when  his  design  was  ac- 
complished we  hear  of  them  no  more.  Time 
would  not  suffice,  were  I  to  adduce  the  many 
striking  instances  of  the  like  kind  which  offer 
to  observation  from  the  perusal  of  modern  his- 
tory.     It  is  well  known,   with   respect  to  that 


O   LOUD  OF  LORDS.      SER.  XXXVIII 

great  event,  the  Reformation  from  Popery  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  especially  in  our 
own  land,  that  many  of  the  principal  persons 
who  contributed  to  its  establishment  hated  it 
in  their  hearts.  But  their  ambition,  appetites, 
and  worldly  policy  engaged  them  in  such 
measures,  as  the  King  of  kings  over-ruled  to 
produce  consequences  which  they  neither  in- 
tended nor  could  foresee,  and  which,  when 
they  did  apprehend,  they  would  have  pre- 
vented if  they  could,  but  it  was  too  late.  Fu- 
ture writers,  I  doubt  not,  will  make  the  like 
reflection  upon  the  American  war,  in  the  ori- 
gin and  progress  of  which  there  was  such  an 
evident  disproportion  between  the  apparent 
causes  and  the  effects  produced  by  them,  be- 
tween the  first  designs  and  expectations  of 
the  principal  actors  on  both  sides  and  tie  fi- 
nal event,  that  I  think  they  who  do  not  per- 
ceive a  superintending  Providence  conducting 
the  whole  affair,  as  a  preparation  to  still  great- 
er and  more  important  revolutions,  must  be 
quite  at  a  loss  to  account  for  what  has  already 
happened,  upon  any  principles  of  human  po- 
licy or  foresight. 

3.  That  he  is  King  of  kings,  and  Governor 
among  the  nations,  is  farther  evident  from  the 
preservation  of  his  people,  for  the  world  is 
against  them,  and  they  have  no  protector  but 
him.  The  wrath  of  man,  like  the  waves  of 
the  sea,  has  bounds  prescribed  to  it  which  it 
cannot  pass.  So  far  as  he  is  pleased  to  over- 
rule it  to  his  own  praise,  he  will  permit  it  to 
operate,  but  the  remainder,  that  is  not  subser- 
vient to  the  accomplishment  of  his  purpose, 
he  will  restrain  Psal.  Ixxvi.  10.  But  he 
works  so  secretly,  though  powerfully,  by  the 
agency  of  second  causes,  that  only  they  who 
are  enlightened  by  his  word  and  Spirit  can 
perceive  his  interference.  He  permitted  Ahi- 
thophel  to  give  that  counsel  to  Absalom,  which 
(hough  wicked,  was,  in  the  political  sense  of 
the  word,  prudent ;  that  is,  it  was  the  pro- 
bable method  of  putting  David  into  the  power 
of  his  rebellious  son.  David  had  prayed  that 
the  Lord  would  turn  Ahithophers  counsel  into 
foolishness,  2  Sam.  xv.  31.  Had  the  Lord 
instantly  deprived  Ahithophel  of  his  reason, 
this  prayer  would  have  been  more  visibly,  but 
not  more  effectually  answered,  than  by  the 
counter-advice  of  Hushai,  which  though  rash 
and  extravagant,  being  suited  to  gratify  the 
vanity  and  folly  of  Absalom  (2  Sam.  xvii.  14), 
rendered  the  other  abortive.  Sometimes  the 
enemies  of  his  church  divide  and  wrangle  a- 
mong  themselves,  and  then  one  party,  to  mor- 
tify and  oppose  the  other,  will  protect  those 
whom  otherwise  they  wish  to  destroy.  Thus 
Paul  escaped  from  the  malice  of  the  Jewish 
council,  by  the  sudden  disagreement  which 
arose  between  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees, 
(Acts  xxiii.  7),  though  they  came  together  e- 
qaally  determined  to  destroy  him.  At  other 
times,  kings  and  statesmen  act  so  inconsist- 
ently with  their  professed  aims,  and  take,  stens 


SER.  XXXVIII.       KING  OF  KINGS,   AND   LORD  OF   LORDS. 


773 


so  directly  calculated  to  prevent  what  they  wish 
to  obtain,  or  to  bring  upon  themselves  what  they 
mean  to  avoid,  that  we  can  only  say  they  are 
infatuated.  A  very  small  compliance  seemed 
likely  to  have  secured  the  affection  of  the 
twelve  tribes  to  Rehoboam.  We  are  ready  to 
wonder  that  he  could  not  be  prevailed  on  to 
speak  mildly  to  the  people  for  one  day,  with 
a  view  of  engaging  them  to  be  his  servants 
for  ever.  But  when  we  read  that  the  cause 
was  from  the  Lord  (1  Kings  xii.  15),  and 
that,  in  this  way,  his  purpose  of  separating 
the  kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Judah  was  ef- 
fected, the  wonder  ceases.  Very  observable, 
likewise,  was  the  coincidence  of  circumstan- 
ces which  preserved  the  Jews  in  Persia  from 
the  destructive  designs  of  their  adversary  Ha- 
inan. If  the  king  had  slept  that  night,  as 
usual,  or  if  his  attendants  had  read  to  him  in 
any  book  but  the  Chronicle  of  the  empire,  or 
ia  any  part  of  that  Chronicle  but  the  very 
passage  in  which  the  service  of  Mordecai  had 
been  recorded,  humanly  speaking,  Hainan 
would  have  carried  his  point,  Esther  vi.  1. 
In  this  manner,  by  a  concurrence  of  circum- 
stances, each  of  them,  if  considered  singly, 
apparently  trivial,  and  all  of  them  contingent 
with  respect  to  any  human  foresight  or  pre- 
vention, the  Lord  often  pours  contempt  upon 
the  wise  and  the  mighty,  and  defeats  their 
deepest  laid  and  best-concerted  schemes,  in 
the  moment  when  they  promise  themselves 
success. 

Many  salutary  and  comfortable  inferences 
may  be  drawn  from  the  consideration  of  this 
subject.  Some  of  them  I  may  perhaps  have 
formerly  mentioned,  but  they  will  well  bear  a 
repetition.  We  have  need  to  be  reminded  of 
what  we  alread}'  know. 

1.  It  should  inspire  us  with  confidence.  If 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  Lord  of  lords,  be  for 
us,  what  weapon  or  counsel  can  prosper  a- 
gainst  us  ?  However  dark  and  threatening 
appearances  may  be,  we  need  not  tremble  for 
the  ark  of  God.  The  concernments  of  his 
church  are  in  safe  hands.  The  cause  so  dear 
to  us,  is  still  more  dear  to  him.  He  has 
i^ower  to  support  it  when  it  is  opposed,  and 
grace  to  revive  it  when  it  is  drooping.  It 
has  often  been  brought  low,  but  never  has 
been,  never  shall  be  forsaken.  When  he  will 
work,  none  can  hinder.  Nor  need  you  fear  for 
yourselves,  if  you  have  committed  yourselves 
and  your  all  to  him.  The  very  hairs  of  your 
head  are  numbered,  Matth.  x.  30.  There  is  a 
hedge  of  protection  around  you  (Job  i.  10), 
which  none  can  break  through  without  his 
permission ;  nor  will  he  permit  you  to  be 
touched,  except  when  he  designs  to  make  a 
temporary  and  seeming  evil  conducive  to  your 
real  and  permanent  advantage. 

2.  It  should  affect  us  with  an  admiring  and 
thankful  sense  of  his  condescension.  "  Lord, 
what  is  man,  that  thou  shouldest  be  so  mind- 
ful of  him  ?"      He  humbles  himself  to  behold 


the  things  that  are  in  heaven,  Psal.  cxiii.  6. 
But  he  stoops  still  lower.  He  affords  his  at- 
tention and  favour  to  sinful  men.  His  eye  is 
always  upon  his  people,  his  ear  open  to  their 
prayers.  Not  a  sigh  or  falling  tear  escapes 
his  notice.  He  pities  them  as  a  father  pities 
his  children ;  he  proportions  their  trials  to 
their  strength,  or  their  strength  to  their  trials, 
and  so  adjusts  his  dispensations  to  their  state, 
that  they  never  suffer  unnecessarily,  nor  in 
vain. 

3.  How  great  is  the  dignity  and  privilege 
of  true  believers  !  Is  the  man  congratulated 
or  envied  whom  the  king  delighteth  to  honour  ? 
Believers  are  more  frequently  despised  than 
envied  in  this  world.  But  they  may  congratu- 
late one  another.  The  King  of  kings  is  their 
friend.  They  have  honours  and  pleasures 
which  the  world  knows  nothing  of.  Their  titles 
are  high,  they  are  the  sons  and  the  daughters 
of  the  Lord  Almighty,  2  Cor.  v.  18.  Their 
possessions  are  great,  for  all  things  are  theirs, 
1  Cor.  iii.  21.  They  are  assured  of  what  is 
best  for  them  in  this  life,  and  of  life  eternal 
hereafter.  They  are  now  nearly  related  to 
the  King  of  kings,  and  shall  ere  long  be  ac- 
knowledged and  owned  by  him  before  assem- 
bled worlds.  They  who  now  account  the 
proud  happy,  will  be  astonished  and  con- 
founded when  they  shall  see  the  righteous, 
whom  they  once  undervalued,  shine  forth  like 
the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

4.  We  may  lastly  infer  the  extreme  folly 
and  danger  of  those  who  persist  in  their  re- 
bellion and  opposition  against  this  King  of 
kings,  and  Lord  of  lords.  Though  he  exer- 
cises much  patience  and  long-suffering  to  • 
wards  them  for  a  season,  the  hour  is  approach- 
ing when  his  wrath  will  burn  like  fire.  It  is 
written,  and  must  be  fulfilled,  "  the  wicked 
shall  be  turned  into  hell,  and  all  the  nations 
that  forget  God,"  Psal.  ix.  17.  Oil  the  so- 
lemnities of  that  great  day,  when  the  frame 
of  nature  shall  be  dissolved,  when  the  Judge 
shall  appear,  the  books  be  opened,  and  all 
mankind  shall  be  summoned  to  his  tribunal  ! 
Will  not  you  tremble  and  bow  before  him,  ye 
careless  ones,  while  he  is  seated  upon  a  throne 
of  grace,  and  while  the  door  of  grace  stands 
open  ?  Once  more  I  call,  I  warn,  I  charge 
you,  to  repent  and  believe  the  gospel.  If  to- 
day you  will  hear  his  voice  it  is'  not  yet  too 
late.  But  who  can  answer  for  to-morrow  ? 
Perhaps  this  night  your  soul  may  be  required 
of  you,  Luke  xii.  20.  Are  you  prepared  for 
the  summons  ?  If  not,  seize  the  present  op- 
portunity. Attend  to  the  one  thing  needful. 
Seek  his  face,  that  your  soul  may  live.  If 
not,  remember  that  you  are  warned;  your 
blood  will  be  upon  your  own  head.  We  have 
delivered  our  message,  and  if  you  finally  re- 
ject it  you  must  answer  for  yourselves  to  him 
whose  message  it  is. 


m 


job  s  FAITH 


SERMON  XXXIX. 

job's  faith  and  expectation. 

I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he 
shall  stand  in  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth. 
And  though  after  my  skin,  worms  destroy 
this  body,  yet  in  my  Jlesh  shall  I  see  God. 
Job,  xjx  25,  26. 

Christianity,  that  is,  the  religion  of  which 
Messiah  is  the  author  and  object,  the  founda- 
tion, life,  and  glory,  though  not  altogether  as 
old  as  the  creation,  is  nearly  so.      It  is  coeval 
with  the  first  promise  and  intimation  of  mercy 
given  to  fallen  man.      When  Adam  by  trans- 
gression had  violated  the  order  and  law  of  his 
creation,  his  religion,  that  is,  the  right  dispo- 
sition of  his  heart  towards  God,  was  at  an  end. 
Sin  deprived  him  at  once  of  faith  and  hope, 
of  love  and  joy.      He  no  longer  desired,  he  no 
longer  could  bear  the  presence  of  his  offended 
Maker.      He  vainly  sought  to  avoid  it ;  and 
when  compelled  to  answer,  though  he  could 
not  deny  his  guilt,  instead  of  making  an  inge- 
nuous  confession,    he    attempted    to    fix    the 
blame  upon  the  woman,  or  rather  indeed  upon 
the  Lord  himself,  who  had  provided  her  for 
him.      But  mercy,  undeserved  and  undesired, 
relieved  him  from  a  state  in  which  he  was  al- 
ready  become    obdurate    and    desperate.      A 
promise  was  given  him  of  the  seed  of  the  wo- 
man (Gen.  iii.  15),  which  virtually  contained, 
as  the  seed  contains  the  future  plant,  the  sub- 
stance  of  all  the  subsequent  promises  which 
were  fulfilled  by  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of 
God,    and  by  all  that  he  did,   or  suffered,  or 
obtained  for  sinners,   in  the  character  of  Me- 
diator.    For  a  sinner  can  have  no  comfortable 
intercourse  with  the  holy  God,  but  through  a 
Mediator.      Therefore  the  apostle  observes  of 
the  patriarchs  and  servants  of  God,  under  the 
Old  Testament,   "  These  all   died  in   faith," 
Heb.    xi.    13.      We  can    say  nothing  higher 
than  this,  of  the  apostles  and  martyrs,  under 
the  New  Testament.      They  died,   not  trust- 
ing  in   themselves  that  they  were  righteous, 
not  rejoicing  in  the  works  of  their  own  hands  ; 
but  they  died,  like  the  thief  upon  the  cross,  in 
faith,    resting  all   their  hope  upon  him,  who, 
by  his  obedience  unto  death,  is  the  end  of  the 
law  for  righteousness  unto  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth,  Rom.  x.  4.      We  have  greater  advant- 
ages, in  point  of  light  and  liberty,  than  those 
of  old.      The  prophecies  concerning  Messiah, 
which,  at  the  time  of  delivery,   were  obscure, 
are  to  us  infallibly  interpreted  by  their  accom- 
plishment.     And    we    know    that    the   great 
atonement,  typically  pointed  out  by  their  sa- 
crifices,   has    been    actually    made  ;    that    the 
Lamb  of  God  has,  by  the  one  offering  of  him- 
self, put  away  sin.      But  as  to  the  ground  and 
substance,  their  faith  and  hope  were  the  same 


AND  EXPECTATION.  SER.  xxxix 

with  ours.  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  the  day 
of  Christ  (John  viii.  56) ;  and  aged  Jacob, 
soon  after  he  had  said,  "  I  have  waited  for 
thy  salvation,  O  Lord,"  died  with  the  same 
composure  and  willingness  as  Simeon  did,  who 
saw  it  with  his  own  eyes.  Job,  who  was  per- 
haps contemporary  with  Jacob,  who  at  least  is, 
with  great  probability,  thought  to  have  lived 
before  Moses,  gives  us  in  this  passage  a  strong 
and  clear  testimony  of  his  faith.  And  it  forms 
a  beautiful  and  well  chosen  introduction  to 
the  third  part  of  the  Messiah,  the  principal 
subject  of  which  is,  the  present  privileges  and 
future  prospects  of  those  who  believe  in  the 
Saviour's  name. 

The    learned    are    far  from  being  agreed, 
either  in  the  translation,  or  in  the  explanation, 
of  this  text.    The  words  worms  and  body  being 
printed  in  Italics  in  our  version,   will  apprize 
the  attentive  English  reader,  that  there  are  no 
words  answerable  to  them  in  the  Hebrew.     If 
you  omit  these  words,  something  will  be  evi- 
dently  wanting   to  make   a    complete    sense. 
This  want  different  writers  have  supplied,  ac- 
cording to  their  different  judgments,  and  from 
hence  chiefly  has  arisen  the  variety  of  versions 
and   interpretations.      But  it  would   be  very 
improper  for  me,  in  this  place,  to  take  up  your 
time,  and  to  draw  off  your  attention  from  the 
great  concerns  which  should  fill   our   minds 
when  we  meet  in  the  house  of  God,  by  giving 
you   a  detail  of  controversies  and  criticisms, 
which  after  all  are  much  more  uncertain  than 
important.       We   need  not  dispute,    whether 
Job,  in  this  passage,  professes  his  assurance  of 
the  incarnation  of  Messiah,  or  of  his  resurrec- 
tion, or  of  his  final  appearance  to  judge  the 
world ;  or  whether  he  is  only  declaring   his 
own  personal  faith  and  hope  in  him.      These 
several  senses  are  not  so  discordant,  that  if  we 
determine  for  one,  we  must  exclude  the  rest. 
I  shall  content  myself  with  the  words  as  I  find 
them.      And  I  hope,  that  if  we  should  miss 
some  of  the  precise  ideas  which   Job  might 
have  when  he  spoke,  we  shall  not  greatly  mis- 
take his  general  meaning,  nor  wander  far  wide 
from  the  scope  of  the  text. 
Four  things  are  observable : 

I.  The  title  of  Redeemer. 

II.  The  appropriating  word  My, 

III.  His  standing  upon  the  earth. 

IV.  Job's  expectation  of  seeing  him  in  his 
fesh. 

I.  The  title.  There  is  no  name  of  Mes- 
siah more  significant,  comprehensive,  or  en- 
dearing, than  the  name  Redeemer.  The  name 
of  Saviour  expresses  what  he  does  for  sinners. 
He  saves  them  from  guilt  and  wrath,  from 
sin,  from  the  present  evil  world,  from  the 
powers  of  darkness,  and  from  all  their  ene- 
mies. He  saves  them  with  an  everlasting  sal- 
vation. But  the  word  Redeemer,  intimates 
likewise  the  manner  in  which  he  saves  them. 
For  it  is  not  merely  by  the  word  of  his  power, 
as  he  saved  his  disciples   when    in   jeopardy 


6KR.   XXXIX. 

upon  the  lake,  by  saying  to  the  winds  and  the 
seas,  "  Peace,  be  still  :  and  there  was  a  great 
calm"  (Mark  iv.  39);  but  by  price,  by  pay- 
ing a  ransom  for  them,  and  pouring  out  the 
blood  of  his  heart,  as  an  atonement  for  their 
sins.  The  Hebrew  word  for  Redeemer, 
Gael,  primarily  signifies,  a  near  kinsman,  or 
the  next  of  kin ;  he  with  whom  the  right 
of  redemption  lay  (Numbers  xxxv.  19,  21. 
Ruth  iv.  1 — 3),  and  who,  by  virtue  of  his 
nearness  of  relation,  was  the  legal  avenger 
of  blood.  Thus  Messiah  took  upon  him 
our  nature,  and  by  assuming  our  flesh  and 
blood,  became  nearly  related  to  us,  that  he 
might  redeem  our  forfeited  inheritance,  re- 
store us  to  liberty,  and  avenge  our  cause 
against  Satan,  the  enemy  and  murderer  of  our 
souls.  But  thus  he  made  himself  also  respon- 
sible for  us,  to  pay  our  debts,  and  to  answer 
the  demands  of  the  justice  and  law  of  God  on 
our  behalf.  He  fulfilled  his  engagement. 
He  suffered,  and  he  died  on  this  account. 
But  our  Redeemer,  who  was  once  dead,  is 
now  alive,  and  liveth  for  evermore,  and  has 
the  keys  of  death,  and  of  hades,  Rev.  i.  18. 
This  is  he  of  whom  Job  saith,  I  know  that  he 
liveth  (was  then  living),  though  he  was  not 
to  stand  upon  the  earth,  until  the  latter  day. 
He  is  the  living  One,  having  life  in  himself, 
the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever,  Heb. 
xiii.  8.  Such  was  his  own  language  to  the 
Jews,  "  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am,"  John 
viii.  58.  Therefore  the  Redeemer  is  mighty, 
and  his  redemption  is  sure.  He  is  able  to 
save  to  the  uttermost.  His  power  is  unlimit- 
ed, and  his  official  authority,  as  Mediator,  is 
founded  in  a  covenant,  ratified  by  his  own 
blood,  and  by  the  oath  of  the  unchangeable 
God,  Ps.  ex.  4. 

II.  But  Job  uses  the  language  of  appro- 
priation. He  says,  My  Redeemer.  And  all 
that  we  know,  or  hear,  or  speak  of  him,  will 
avail  us  but  little,  unless  we  are  really  and 
personally  interested  in  him  as  our  Redeemer. 
A  cold  speculative  knowledge  of  the  gospel, 
such  as  a  lawyer  has  of  a  wili  or  a  deed,  which 
he  reads  with  no  farther  design  than  to  under- 
stand the  tenor  and  import  of  the  writing,  will 
neither  save  nor  comfort  the  soul.  The  be- 
liever reads  it,  as  the  will  is  read  by  the  heir, 
who  finds  his  own  name  in  it,  and  is  warrant- 
ed by  it  to  call  the  estate  and  all  the  particul- 
ars specified  his  own.  He  appropriates  the 
privileges  to  himself,  and  says,  the  promises 
are  mine ;  the  pardon,  the  peace,  the  heaven, 
of  which  I  read,  are  all  mine.  This  is  the 
will  and  testament  of  the  Redeemer,  of  my 
Redeemer.  The  great  Testator  remembered 
me  in  his  will,  which  is  confirmed,  and  rend- 
ered valid  by  his  death  (Heb.  ix.  16),  and 
therefore  I  humbly  claim,  and  assuredly  ex- 
pect, the  benefit  of  all  that  he  has  bequeathed. 
But  how  shall  we  obtain  this  comfortable  per- 
suasion, and  preserve  it  against  all  the  cavils 
of  our  enemies,    who  will   endeavour  to  liti- 


JOB  S   FAITH    AND  EXPECTATION. 


gate  our  right  ?  I  seem  to  have  before  me  a 
proper  occasion  of  discussing  a  point,  very 
important,  and  by  too  many  misunderstood  ; 
I  mean,  the  nature  of  that  assurance  of  hope, 
which  the  scripture  speaks  of  as  attainable, 
which  has  been  happily  experienced  by  many 
believers,  and  which  all  are  exhorted  and  en- 
couraged to  seek  after,  in  the  methods  of  God's 
appointment.  But  my  plan  will  only  permit 
me  to  offer  a  few  brief  hints  upon  the  sub- 
ject. 

1.  Many  respectable  writers  and  preachers 
have  considered  this  assurance  as  essential  to 
true  faith.  But  we  have  the  scripture  in  our 
hands,  and  are  not  bound  to  abide  by  the  de- 
cisions of  any  man,  farther  than  as  they  agree 
with  this  standard.  The  most  eminent  pro- 
perties, or  effects  ascribed  to  faith,  are,  that  it 
works  by  love  (Gal.  v.  6),  purifies  the  heart 
(Acts  xv.  9),  and  overcomes  the  world,  1  John 
v.  4.  I  think  it  cannot  easily  be  denied,  by 
those  who  are  competent  judges  in  the  case, 
that  there  are  persons  to  be  found,  who  give 
these  evidences  that  they  are  believers,  and 
yet  are  far  from  the  possession  of  an  abiding 
assurance.  They  hope  they  love  the  Lord, 
but  there  is  such  a  disproportion  between  the 
sensible  exercise  of  their  love,  and  the  convic- 
tion they  have  of  their  obligations  to  him,  that 
they  are  often  afraid  they  do  not  love  him  su- 
premely ;  and  if  not,  they  know  that  in  the 
scriptural  sense  they  do  not  love  him  at  all. 
They  can  say  from  their  hearts  that  they  de- 
sire to  love  him,  but  they  dare  not  go  farther. 
But  there  is  a  weak  and  a  strong  faith  ;  they 
differ  not  in  kind,  but  only  in  degree.  Faith 
is  compared  to  a  grain  of  mustard-seed  (Matt, 
xvii.  20),  which,  under  the  cultivation  of  the 
heavenly  Husbandman,  who  first  sows  the 
seed  in  the  heart,  grows  up  to  assurance.  But 
in  its  infant  and  weak  state  it  is  true  and  ac- 
ceptable faith.  Far  from  breaking  the  bruis- 
ed reed  (Is.  xlii.  3),  he  will  strengthen  it. 
He  will  not  quench  the  smoaking  flax,  but 
will  in  due  time  fan  it  into  a  flame. 

2.  I  will  go  a  step  farther.  Were  I  to  de- 
fine the  assurance  we  are  speaking  of,  I  should 
perhaps  say,  it  is,  in  our  present  state,  the 
combined  effect  of  faith  and  ignorance.  That 
assurance  which  does  not  spring  from  true 
faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  wrought  by  the  oper- 
ation of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  no  better  than  pre- 
sumption. But  I  believe  what  we  call  assur- 
ance, even  when  it  is  right,  is  not  entire*/ 
owing  to  the  strength  of  our  faith,  but  in  a 
great  measure  to  our  having  such  faint  and 
slight  views  of  some  truths,  which,  if  we 
had  a  more  powerful  impression  of  them, 
unless  our  faith  was  likewise  proportionably 
strengthened  at  the  same  time,  might  possi- 
bly make  the  strongest  assurance  totter  and 
tremble.  I  will  explain  myself.  Admitting 
that  I  had  a  right  to  tell  you,  that  I  am  so  tar 
assured  of  my  interest  in  the  gospel-salvation, 
as  to  have  no  perplexing  doubt  either  of  my 


77G 


JOBS  FAITH   AND  EXPECTATION. 


acceptance  or  of  my  perseverance,  you  would 
much  over-rate  me,  if  you  should  suppose  this 
was  a  proof  that  my  faith  is  very  strong. 
Alas  !  I  have  but  a  very  slight  perception  of 
the  evil  of  sin,  of  the  deceitful ness  of  my  own 
heart,  of  the  force  and  subtlety  of  my  spiritual 
enemies,  of  the  strictness  and  spirituality  of 
the  holy  law,  or  of  the  awful  majesty  and  ho- 
liness of  the  great  ( i  od  with  whom  I  have  to 
do.  If,  in  the  moment  while  I  am  speaking 
to  you,  he  should  be  pleased  to  impress  these 
solemn  realities  upon  my  mind,  with  a  con- 
viction and  evidence  tenfold  greater  than  I 
have  ever  known  hitherto  (which  I  conceive 
would  still  be  vastly  short  of  the  truth),  un- 
less my  faith  was  also  strengthened  by  a  ten- 
fold clearer  and  more  powerful  discovery  of 
the  grace  and  glory  of  the  Saviour,  you  would 
probably  see  my  countenance  change  and  my 
speech  faulter.  The  Lord,  in  compassion  to 
our  weakness,  shews  us  these  things  by  little 
and  little,  as  we  are  able  to  bearti:em  ;  and  if, 
as  we  advance  in  the  knowledge  of  ourselves 
and  of  our  dangers,  our  knowledge  of  the  un- 
searchable riches  of  Christ  advances  equally, 
we  may  rejoice  in  hope,  we  may  even  possess 
an  assured  hope.  But  let  not  him  who  hath 
put  on  his  harness,  boast  as  though  he  had 
put  it  off,  1  Kings  xx.  1 1.  We  are  yet  in  an 
enemy's  land,  and  know  not  what  changes  we 
may  meet  with,  before  our  warfare  is  finished. 

3.  How  far  our  assurance  is  solid,  may  be 
estimated  by  the  effects.  It  will  surely  make 
us  humble,  spiritual,  peaceful,  and  patient.  I 
pity  those  who  talk  confidently  of  their  hope, 
as  if  they  were  out  of  the  reach  of  doubts  and  i 
fears,  while  their  tempers  are  unsanctified,  and 
their  hearts  are  visibly  attached  to  the  love  of 
the  present  world.  I  fear  they  know  but 
little  of  what  they  say.  I  am  better  pleased 
when  persons  of  this  character  complain  of 
loubts  and  darkness.  It  proves  at  least  that 
they  are  not  destitute  of  feeling,  nor,  as  yet, 
lulled  into  a  spirit  of  careless  security.  And 
there  are  professors,  whom,  instead  of  endeav- 
ouring to  comfort  in  their  present  state,  I 
would  rather  wish  to  make  still  more  suspici- 
ous of  themselves  than  they  are;  till  they  are 
convinced  of  the  impossibility  of  enjoying  true 
peace,  while  their  hearts  are  divided  between 
God  and  the  world.  For  though  sanctifica- 
tion  is  not  the  ground  of  a  good  hope,  it  is 
the  certain  concomitant  of  it.  If  it  be  true, 
that  without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord  (Heb.  xii.  14),  it  must  likewise  be  true, 
that  without  holiness  no  man  can  have  a  scrip . 
tural  and  well-founded  hope  of  seeing  him. 

4.  But  to  give  a  direct  answer  to  the  inqui- 
ry, How  shall  I  know  that  he  is  my  Redeem- 
er ?  I  may  use  the  prophet's  words,  "  Then 
shall  ye  know,  if  you  follow  on  to  know  the 
Lord,"  Hos.  vi.  3.  Our  names  are  not  actu- 
ally inserted  in  the  Bible,  but  our  characters 
are  described  there.  He  is  the  Redeemer  of 
all  who  put  their  trust  in  him.       You  will   not 


ser.  xxxrx 

trust  in  him,  unless  you  feel  your  need  of 
him  ;  you  cannot,  unless  you  know  him,  as  he 
is  revealed  in  the  word;  you  do  not  unless 
you  love  him,  and  are  devoted  to  his  cause 
and  service.  If  you  know  yourself  to  be  a 
sinner  deserving  to  perish,  if  you  see  that  there 
is  no  help  or  hope  for  you  but  in  Jesus,  and 
venture  yourself  upon  his  gracious  invitation, 
believing  that  he  is  able  to  save  to  the  utter, 
most ;  and  if  you  really  include  holiness  and 
a  deliverance  from  sin,  in  the  idea  of  the  sal- 
vation which  you  long  for,  then  he  is  your 
Redeemer.  If,  among  us,  an  act  of  grace 
was  published,  inviting  all  criminals  to  sur- 
render themselves,  with  a  promise  of  mercy  to 
those  who  did  ;  though  no  one  was  mentioned 
by  name  in  the  act,  yet  every  one  who  com- 
plied with  it,  and  pleaded  it,  would  be  entitl- 
ed to  the  benefit.  Such  an  act  of  grace  is  the 
gospel.  The  Lord  says,  "  This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  hear  him,"  Matth.  iii.  17.  If  you  ap- 
prove him,  he  is  yours.  If  you  are  still  per- 
plexed with  doubts,  they  are  owing  to  the  weak- 
ness of  your  faith.  But  there  are  means  ap- 
pointed for  the  growth  of  faith.  Wait  patiently 
upon  the  Lord  in  the  use  of  those  means,  and 
you  shall  find  he  has  not  bid  you  seek  his  face 
in  vain.  Have  no  fellowship  with  the  unfruit- 
ful works  of  darkness.  Live  not  in  the  o- 
mission  of  known  duty.  Do  not  perplex 
yourself  with  vain  reasonings,  but  believe  and 
obey,  and  the  Lord  shall  be  with  you.  There 
are  some  peculiar  cases.  Allowances  must  be 
made  for  the  effects  of  constitution  and  tem- 
perament. Some  sincere  persons  are  beset 
and  followed,  through  life,  with  distressing 
temptations.  But  in  general,  simplicity  and 
obedience  lead  to  assurance.  And  they  who 
hearken  to  the  Lord,  and  walk  in  the  way  of 
his  commandments,  go  on  from  strength  to 
strength  (Isa.  xlviii.  18);  their  peace  and 
hope  increase,  like  a  river,  which  from  small 
beginnings,  runs  broader  and  deeper,  till  it 
falls  into  the  ocean.  But  to  return  to  Job — 
III.  Another  article  of  his  creed  concern- 
ing the  Redeemer,  is,  He  shall  stand  in  the 
latter  day  upon  the  earth.  The  latter  or  last 
days,  in  the  prophetical  style,  usually  denote 
the  Messiah's  day,  the  times  of  the  gospel. 
To  this  time  Job  looked  forward.  He  be- 
held the  promises  afar  off.  Thus  Messiah 
was  the  consolation  of  his  people  of  old,  as  he 
who  was  to  come.  And  it  should  be  our  con 
solation,  to  know  that  he  is  come.  His  stand- 
ing upon  the  earth  may  include  the  whole  of 
his  appearance  in  the  flesh  ;  his  life,  passion, 
and  resurrection.  The  manner  of  expression 
intimates  something  important  and  wonderful. 
Had  Job,  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  spoken  of 
any  individual  of  Adam's  race,  of  Isaiah,  or 
Paul,  there  would  have  been  nothing  extraor- 
dinary predicted  by  saying  he  shall  stand  up- 
on the  earth,  for  all  men  do  so  in  their  suc- 
cessive generations.  But  that  the  Redeemer, 
the  Lord  of  glory,  the   Maker  of  all  things 


JOB  S  FAITH  AND  EXPECTATION. 


777 


should  condescend  to  visit  his  creatures,  to '  present  life,  which  cheer  them  under  their 
dwell  with  men  for  a  season,  to  stand  and  trials,  and  raise  them  above  the  grovelling 
walk  upon  the  earth  with  them,  clothed  in  a  pursuits  of  those  who  have  their  portion  only- 
body  like  their  own,  is  an  event  which  never ;  in  this  world.  But  their  chief  possession  is 
could  have  been  expected,  if  it  had  not  been  |  in   hope.      They  look  forward   to  a  brighter 


revealed  from  heaven.  It  was  the  object  of 
Job's  faith,  and  well  deserving  the  solemn 
preface  with  which  he  introduces  his  firm  per- 
suasion of  it,  "  Oh  !  that  my  words  were  gra- 
ven with  an  iron  pen  in  the  rock  for  ever  !" 
When  Solomon  had  finished  the  temple  of  the 
Lord  of  Hosts,  instead  of  admiring  the  mag- 
nificence of  the  building,  he  was  struck  with 
the  condescension  of  the  Lord,  who  would 
vouchsafe  to  notice  it,  and  honour  it  with  a 
symbol  of  his  presence,  "  Will  God  indeed 
dwell  with  men  upon  the  earth  ?  Behold  the 
heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain  him,  how 
much  less  this  house  which  I  have  built!" 
1  Kings  viii.  27.  But  what  was  the  visible 
glory  which  appeared  in  that  temple,  if  com. 
pared  with  the  glory  of  the  only  begotten  Son 
of  God,  when  he  tabernacled  in  our  flesh  ! 
The  human  nature  of  Christ  is  that  true 
temple,  not  made  with  hands,  in  which  God 
is  manifested  upon  a  throne  of  grace,  that 
sinners  may  approach  him  without  dismay, 
and  receive,  out  of  his  fulness,  grace  for  grace. 
To  him  all  the  prophets  gave  witness,  on  him 
the  desire  and  hope  of  his  people,  in  all  ages, 
have  been  fixed.  He  was  to  stand  upon  the 
earth,  as  Mediator  between  God  and  man. 
And  in  the  same  office,  now  he  is  upon  the 
throne  of  glory,  he  is,  and  will  be,  admired, 
adored,  and  trusted  in,  by  all  his  believing 
people,  to  the  end  of  time. 

IV.  From  the  Redeemer's  appearance  upon 
earth,  Job  infers  the  restoration  and  resurrec- 
tion of  his  own  body.  His  trials  had  been 
great — bereaved  of  his  children  and  substance, 
afflicted  with  grievous  boils,  harassed  with 
temptations,  reproached  by  his  friends :  out  of 
all  these  troubles  the  Lord  his  Redeemer  de- 
livered him,  and  his  latter  days  were  more 
prosperous  than  his  beginning.  But  he  knew 
that  he  must  go  the  way  of  all  the  earth,  that 
his  body  must  lie  in  the  grave,  and  return  to 
dust.  But  he  expected  a  future  time  after 
his  dissolution,  when  in  the  flesh,  for  himself, 
and  with  his  own  eyes,  he  should  see  God. 
The  expressions  are  strong  and  repeated.  He 
does  not  speak  the  language  of  hesitation  and 
doubt,  but  of  confidence  and  certainty.  It 
likewise  appears  that  he  placed  his  ultimate 
happiness  in  seeing  God.  His  words  are  not 
very  different  from  those  of  the  apostle,  "When 
he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we 
shall  see  him  as  he  is,"  1  John  iii.  2.  To  be  • 
hold  the  glory  of  God,  as  our  Redeemer,  to 
be  in  a  state  of  favour  and  communion  with 
him,  and,  according  to  the  utmost  capacity  of 
our  nature,  to  be  conformed  to  him  in  holi- 
ness and  love,  is  that  felicity  which  God  has 
promised,  and  to  which  all  Lis  servants  as- 
pire.     Some  foretastes  of  it  they  enjoy  in  the 


period,  when  they  shall  awaken  from  the  sleep 
of  death,  to  behold  his  face  in  righteousness, 
Ps.  xvii.  15.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  they 
shall  be  completely  satisfied.  The  expecta- 
tion of  Job,  therefore,  affords  a  sufficient 
proof  that  the  doctrines  of  an  immortal  state, 
and  of  a  resurrection  unto  life,  were  included 
in  the  revelations  which  God  afforded  to  his 
people  in  the  earliest  times,  and,  consequently, 
that  the  religion  of  the  Old  Testament  and  of 
the  New  is  substantially  the  same. 

The  great  inquiry  this  subject  should  im- 
press upon  us,  is,  are  we  thus  minded  ?  What 
think  you,  my  dear  friends,  of  Christ  ?  Have 
you  accepted  him  as  your  Redeemer ;  and 
have  you  a  good  hope  that  you  shall  see  him 
to  your  comfort,  when  he  shall  return  to  judge 
the  world?  If  so,  tou  may  rejoice.  Changes 
you  must  expect.  You  must  die,  and  your 
flesh  must  be  food  for  worms.  But  he  has 
promised  to  "  change  our  vile  bodies,  that  they 
may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body, 
according  to  the  mighty  power  whereby  he  is 
able  to  subdue  all  things  unto  himself,  Phil, 
iii.  21. 


SERMON   XL. 

THE  LOBD  IS  RISEN  INDEED. 

But  now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead,  and  be- 
come the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept  — 
1  Cor.  xv    20. 

As,  in  the  animal  economy,  the  action  of  the 
heart  and  of  the  lungs,  though  very  different, 
are  equally  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of 
life,  and  we  cannot  say  that  either  of  them  is 
more  essentially  requisite  than  the  other ;  so 
in  the  system  of  divine  revelation,  there  are 
some  truths,  the  knowledge  and  belief  of  which 
singly  considered,  are  fundamentals  with  re- 
spect to  the  salvation  of  a  sinner.  And 
though  they  are  distinct  in  themselves,  we 
cannot  determine  which  of  them  is  of  most 
importance  to  us;  for  unless  we  know,  ap- 
prove, and  receive  them  all,  we  can  have  no 
experience  of  a  life  of  faith  in  the  Son  of  God., 
Such,  for  instance,  is  the  scriptural  doctrine 
concerning  the  depravity  of  human  nature. 
This  is  a  first  principle  ;  for  unless  we  under- 
stand what  our  state  is  in  the  sight  of  God,  the 
enormity  of  our  transgressions,  and  our  inca- 
pacity for  true  happiness,  until  our  hearts  are 
changed  by  the  pow-er  of  his  grace,  we  cannot 
rightly  understand  a  single  chapter  in  the  Bi- 
ble. Such,  likewise,  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
atonement.      For,  if  we  could  know  how  to- 


778  THE 

ally  we  are  lost,  without  knowing  the  gracious 
method  which  God  has  appointed  for  our  re- 
covery, we  must  unavoidably  sink  into  de- 
spair. Again,  if  we  were  sensible  of  our  state 
as  sinners,  and  even  if  we  trusted  in  Christ 
for  salvation,  yet  the  apostle  observes  in  this 
chapter,  that  unless  he  be  indeed  risen  from 
the  dead,  our  faith  in  him  would  be  in  vain, 
and  we  should  still  be  in  our  sins.  The  re- 
surrection of  Christ,  therefore,  is  a  doctrine 
absolutely  essential  to  our  hope  and  comfort ; 
and  it  is  likewise  a  sure  pledge,  that  they  who 
believe  in  him  shall  be  raised  from  the  dead 
•dso,  by  virtue  of  their  union  with  him,  and 
according  to  his  pattern.  For  "  now  is  Christ 
risen  from  the  dead,  and  is  become  the  first- 
fruits  of  them  that  slept."  Let  us  at  present 
consider  his  resurrection. — The  sure  conse- 
quence of  it,  that  his  people  shall  be  raised 
from  the  dead,  will  offer  to  our  meditations 
from  the  following  verses. 

The  resurrection  of  Christ,  being,  as  a  fact, 
the  great  pillar  upon  which  the  weight  and 
importance  of  Christianity  rest,  it  has  pleased 
the  Lord  to  put  the  indubitable  proof  of  it 
within  our  power.  There  is  no  one  point  of 
ancient  uninspired  history  so  certainly  and  un- 
questionably authenticated.  It  may  seem  un- 
necessary to  prove  it,  and  to  many  of  you  it 
is  entirely  so.  Yet  I  think  it  proper  to  lake 
some  notice  of  it;  not  so  much  on  account  of 
the  weak  and  trifling  cavils  of  infidels,  as  for 
the  sake  of  persons  who  may  be  assaulted  with 
temptations.  For  many  plain  people,  who  are 
not  much  acquainted  with  the  subtilties  of 
sceptics,  are  sometimes  pestered  with  difficul- 
ties and  objections  in  their  own  minds,  per- 
haps more  shrewd  and  powerful  than  such  as 
are  commonly  found  in  books,  or  retailed  in 
coffee-houses.  For  unbelief  is  deeply  rooted 
in  every  heart;  and  Satan,  our  great  enemy, 
can,  and  if  permitted,  will,  work  powerfully 
upon  this  evil  disposition.  He  endeavours  to 
beat  us  off  from  the  belief  of  every  truth  of 
scripture,  and  of  this  among  the  rest.  And 
many  persons  who  have  been  so  well  convinced 
that  our  Lord  rose  from  the  dead,  as  to  ven- 
ture their  souls  and  their  all  upon  it,  have 
found  themselves  at  a  loss  how  to  answer 
the  enemy  in  an  hour  of  sharp  and  pressing 
temptation. 

Let  us  suppose,  then,  that  we  had  lately  re- 
ceived the  news  of  some  extraordinary  and  al- 
most incredible  event,  and  let  us  consider  what 
evidence  we  should  require  to  satisfy  us  that 
the  report  was  true,  and  apply  the  same  kind 
of  reasoning  to  the  point  in  hand.  That  there 
was,  a  great  while  ago,  a  person  named  Jesus, 
who  gathered  disciples,  and  died  upon  a  cross, 
is  universally  acknowledged.  Both  Jews  and 
Heathens,  who  lived  at  the  time,  and  after- 
wards, not  only  admitted  it,  but  urged  it  as  a 
reproach  against  his  followers.  Many  testi- 
monies of  this  kind  are  still  extant. 

The  turning  point  between  his  enemies  and 


LORD  IS  RISEN   INDEED. 


SER.   XL 


his  friends,  is  his  resurrection.  This  has  been 
denied.  We  acknowledge  that  he  did  not  ap- 
pear publicly  after  he  arose,  as  he  did  before 
his  death,  but  only  to  a  competent  number  ot 
his  followers,  to  whom  he  shewed  himself,  and 
satisfied  them,  by  many  infallible  proofs,  that 
he  was  alive,  and  that  he  was  the  same  person 
whom  they  had  seen  crucified.  They  reported 
what  they  saw,  and  we  believe  their  report. 
We  are  therefore  to  inquire,  Who  they  were  ? 
and  on  what  grounds  we  receive  and  rely  upon 
their  testimony  ? 

If  they  were  mistaken  themselves,  or  if  they 
were  engaged  and  agreed  in  a  crafty  design  of 
imposing  upon  mankind,  we,  who  depend  up- 
on their  relation,  may  be  involved  in  their  mis- 
take, or  deceived  by  their  artifice.  But  if 
neither  of  these  suppositions  can  possibly  be 
true,  if  they  were  competent  and  impartial 
witnesses;  then  we  are  not  only  justified  in 
giving  credit  to  their  testimony,  but  it  must 
be  unreasonable,  and  (in  a  case  of  this  import- 
ance) presumptuous,  and  dangerous  to  reject 
it. 

I.  That  they  were  competent  judges  of 
what  they  asserted,  is  evident, 

1.  From  their  numbers. — The  eye-witnesses 
of  this  fact  were  many.  "  He  was  seen  of 
Cephas,  then  of  the  twelve ;  after  that  he  was 
seen  of  five  hundred  brethren  at  once :  after 
that  he  was  seen  of  James,  then  of  all  the 
apostles ;  and  last  of  all,  he  was  seen  of  me 
also,"  1  Cor.  xv.  5 — 8.  Thus  Paul  wrote 
when  multitudes  who  lived  at  the  time  were 
still  living,  and  would  readily  have  contradict- 
ed him,  if  he  had  declared  an  untruth.  Five 
hundred  concurring  witnesses  are  sufficient  to 
establish  the  credit  of  a  fact,  which  they  all 
saw  with  their  own  eyes,  if  their  word  may  be 
depended  upon.  We  can  be  certain  of  things 
which  we  never  saw  no  otherwise  than  by  the 
testimony  of  others.  And  certainty  may  be 
attained  in  this  way.  For  though  some  per- 
sons would  appropriate  the  word  demonstra- 
tion to  mathematical  evidence,  yet  moral  evi- 
dence may  be  in  many  cases  equally  conclu- 
sive, and  compel  assent  with  equal  force.  I 
am  so  fully  satisfied  by  the  report  of  others, 
that  there  are  such  cities  as  Paris  or  Rome, 
though  I  never  saw  them,  that  I  am  no  more 
able  seriously  to  question  their  existence,  than 
I  am  to  doubt  the  truth  of  a  proposition  in 
Euclid  whicli  I  have  seen  demonstrated. 

2.  From  the  nature  of  the  fact,  in  which  it 
was  not  possible  that  so  many  persons  could 
be  mistaken  or  deceived.  Some  of  them  saw 
him,  not  once  only,  but  frequently.  His  ap. 
pearance  to  others  was  attended  with  peculiar 
striking  circumstances  and  effects.  His  disci- 
ples seem  not  to  have  expected  his  resurrec- 
tion, though  he  had  often  foretold  it  previous 
to  his  sufferings.  Nor  did  they  hastily  credit 
the  women  who  first  saw  him  in  their  way 
from  the  sepulchre.  Thomas  refused  to  be- 
lieve the  report  of  all   Ills  brethren,  to  whom 


THE    LORD   IS   RISEN   INDEED. 


Sh.K.    XL. 

our  Lord  had  shewn  himself.  He  would  see 
for  himself;  he  required  more  than  ocular 
proof,  for  he  said,  "  Except  I  put  my  finger 
into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand 
into  his  side,  I  will  not  believe,"  John  xx.  25. 
It  is  no  wonder,  that  when  these  proofs  were 
offered  him,  he  fully  yielded  to  conviction, 
and  with  gratitude  and  joy  addressed  his  risen 
Saviour  in  the  language  of  adoration  and  love, 
"  My  Lord,  and  my  God  !"  But  his  former 
conduct  shewed  that  he  was  not  credulous,  nor 
disposed  to  receive  the  report  as  a  truth,  how- 
ever desirable,  without  sufficient  evidence. 

II.  As  they  were  competent  judges,  so  they 
were  upright  and  faithful  witnesses.  There 
is  no  more  room  to  suspect  that  they  had  a 
design  to  deceive  others,  than  that  they  were 
mistaken  or  deceived  themselves.      For, 

1.  If  we  judge  of  them  by  their  writings, 
we  must  at  least  allow  them  to  have  been  well- 
meaning  men.  They  profess  to  aim  at  pro- 
moting the  knowledge  and  honour  of  the  true 
God,  and  thereby  to  promote  the  morality  and 
happiness  of  mankind.  Their  conduct  was 
uniformly  consistent  with  their  profession,  and 
their  doctrines  and  precepts  were  evidently 
suited  to  answer  their  design.  The  penmen 
of  the  New  Testament  were  confessedly  men 
in  private  life,  most  of  them  destitute  of  liter- 
ature, and  engaged  in  low  occupations,  till 
they  became  the  disciples  of  Jesus.  Is  it 
probable  that  men,  who  speak  so  honourably 
of  God,  who  inculcate  upon  their  fellow-crea- 
tures such  an  entire  devotedness  to  his  will 
and  service,  should  be  impostors  themselves? 
Is  it  at  all  credible,  that  a  few  men,  in  an  ob- 
scure situation,  should  form  a  consistent  and 
well  concerted  plan,  sufficient  to  withstand 
and  overcome  the  prejudices,  habits,  and  cus- 
toms, both  of  Jews  and  Heathens  ;  to  insti- 
tute a  new  religion,  and,  without  the  assist- 
ance of  interest  or  arms,  to  spread  it  rapidly 
and  successfully  in  a  few  years  throughout  the 
greatest  part  of  the  Roman  empire  ?  Or  is  it 
possible  that  such  men  could,  at  their  first  ef- 
fort, exhibit  a  scheme  of  theology  and  morali- 
ty, so  vastly  superior  to  the  united  endeavours 
of  the  philosophers  of  all  ages  ?  A  learned 
man  in  France  attempted  to  prove  (for  what 
will  not  learned  men  attempt?)  that  most  of 
the  Latin  poems  which  are  attributed  to  those 
whom  we  call  the  classic  writers,  and  particu- 
larly the  iEneid  of  Virgil,  were  not  the  pro- 
duction of  the  authors  whose  names  they  bear, 
but  gross  forgeries,  fabricated  by  monks  in  the 
dark  ages  of  ignorance,  and  successfully  ob- 
truded upon  the  world  as  genuine,  till  he 
arose  to  detect  the  imposture.  He  gained 
but  few  proselytes  to  his  absurd  paradox. 
Yet,  to  suppose  that  men  who  could  only  ex- 
press their  own  dull  sentiments  in  barbarous 
Latin,  were  capable  of  writing  with  the  fire 
and  elegance  of  Virgil,  when  they  undertook 
to  impose  upon  the  world;  or  to  affirm  that 
the    Princip'm  of   Sir   Isaac   Newton    was    in 


/  /: 


reality  written  by  an  ignorant  plowman,  and 
only  sent  abroad  under  the  sanction  of  a  cele- 
brated name,  cannot  be  more  repugnant  tc 
true  taste,  sound  judgment,  and  common 
sense,  than  to  imagine,  that  the  Evangelists 
and  Apostles  were,  from  their  own  resourcer., 
capable  of  writing  such  a  book  as  the  New 
Testament ;  the  whole  of  which  must  stand 
or  fall  with  the  doctrine  of  our  Lord's  resur- 
rection. 

2.  But  farther,  they  could  not  possibly  pro- 
pose any  advantage  to  themselves  in  their  en- 
deavours to  propagate  the  christian  religion,  if 
they  had  not  been  assured  that  the  crucified 
Jesus,  whom  they  preached,  was  risen  from 
the  dead,  and  had  taken  possession  of  his 
kingdom.  Knowing  whom  they  had  believ. 
ed,  filled  with  a  constraining  sense  of  his  love, 
and  depending  upon  his  promise  and  power 
to  support  them  in  the  service  to  which  he  had 
called  them,  they  were  neither  ashamed  nor 
afraid  to  proclaim  his  gospel,  and  to  invite  and 
enjoin  sinners  everywhere  to  put  their  trust 
in  him  ;  otherwise  they  had  nothing  to  expect 
but  such  treatment  as  they  actually  met  with, 
for  professing  their  belief  of  his  resurrection, 
and  especially  for  the  pains  they  took  to  pub- 
lish it,  first  among  the  people  who  had  put 
him  to  death,  and  afterwards  among  the  Hea- 
thens. It  required  no  great  sagacity  to  fore- 
see that  this  doctrine  would  be  an  offence  to 
the  Jews,  and  foolishness  to  the  Greeks,  1  Cor. 
i.  23.  They  were  in  fact  despised,  hated,  op- 
posed, and  persecuted,  wherever  they  went ; 
and  those  who  espoused  their  cause  were  im 
mediately  exposed  to  a  participation  in  their 
sufferings.  Nor  was  there  the  least  probabili- 
ty that  the  event  could  be  otherwise.  Im- 
postures there  have  been  many  ;  but  we  can- 
not conceive  that  any  set  of  men  would  deli- 
berately, and  by  consent,  contrive  an  impos- 
ture, which,  in  the  nature  of  the  thing,  could 
procure  nothing  to  them,  or  to  their  followers, 
but  contempt,  stripes,  imprisonment,  and 
death. 

3.  Even  if  we  could  for  a  moment  suppose 
them  capable  of  so  wild  and  wicked  an  under- 
taking, as,  under  pretence  of  the  service  of 
God,  to  provoke  and  dare  the  hatred  of  man- 
kind, by  asserting  and  propagating  an  offen- 
sive falsehood,  it  would  be  impossible  upon 
that  ground  to  account  for  the  success  which 
they  met  with.  If  this  counsel  and  cause  had 
not  been  of  God,  it  must  have  come  to  nought, 
Acts  v.  38.  But  by  preaching  Jesus  and  his 
resurrection,  in  defiance  of  all  the  arts  and 
rage  of  their  enemies,  they  mightily  prevailed 
over  the  established  customs  and  inveterate 
prejudices  of  mankind,  and  brought  multi- 
tudes into  the  belief  of  their  doctrine  against 
all  disadvantages.  The  Lord  confirmed  their 
word  with  signs  following.  The  miracles 
which  were  wrought  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
were  numerous,  notorious,  and  undeniable  ; 
and  the  moral  effects  of  their  preaching,  though 


7H0 


too  frequent  and  universal  to  he  styled  mira- 
culous, were  such  as  can  only  be  with  reason 
ascribed  to  a  divine  power.  The  pillars  of 
Paganism,  the  superstitions  of  idol  worship, 
though  in  every  country  connected  and  incor- 
porated with  the  frame  of  civil  government, 
and  guarded  for  ages,  not  more  by  popular 
veneration  than  for  reasons  of  state,  were  very 
soon  shaken,  and  in  no  great  space  of  time 
subverted.  Within  about  two  hundred  years 
after  Tacitus  had  described  the  Christians  as 
the  objects  of  universal  contempt  and  hatred, 
Christianity  became  the  established  religion  of 
the  empire.  And  in  a  letter  of  Pliny  to  Tra- 
jan on  the  subject,  we  have  indisputable  evi- 
dence, that  even  in  the  time  of  Tacitus,  hated, 
vilified,  and  persecuted,  as  the  Christians  were, 
their  religion  so  greatly  prevailed,  that  in 
many  places  the  idol  temples  were  almost  de- 
serted. 

4.  But  the  proof  of  the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  which  is  the  most  important  and  satis- 
factory of  any,  does  not  depend  upon  argu- 
ments and  historical  evidence,  with  which  mul- 
titudes of  true  christians  are  unacquainted, 
but  is,  in  its  own  nature,  equally  convincing 
in  all  ages,  and  equally  level  to  all  capacities. 
They  who  have  found  the  gospel  to  be  the 
power  of  God  to  the  salvation  of  their  souls, 
have  the  witness  in  themselves  ;  and  are  very 
sure  that  the  doctrine,  which  enlightened  their 
understandings,  awakened  their  conscience, 
.lelivered  them  from  the  guilt  and  dominion  of 
sin,  brought  them  into  a  state  of  peace  and 
communion  with  God,  and  inspired  them  with 
a  bright  andglorious  hope  of  eternal  life,  must 
be  true.  They  know  that  the  Lord  is  risen  in- 
deed, because  they  are  made  partakers  of  the 
power  of  his  resurrection,  and  have  experienced 
a  change  in  themselves,  which  could  only  be 
wrought  by  the  influence  of  that  Holy  Spirit 
which  Jesus  is  exalted  to  bestow.  And  many 
believers,  though  not  qualified  to  dispute  with 
philosophers  and  sceptics  upon  their  own 
learned  ground,  can  put  them  to  shame  and 
to  silence,  by  the  integrity  and  purity  of  their 
conduct,  by  their  patience  and  cheerfulness 
under  afflictions  ;  and  would  especially  silence 
them,  if  they  were  eye-witnesses  of  the  com- 
posure and  elevation  of  spirit  with  which  true 
believers  in  a  risen  Saviour  welcome  the  ap- 
proach of  death. 

This  is  the  evidence  which  I  would  princi- 
pally recommend  to  my  hearers  to  seek  after. 
If  the  resurrection  of  Christ  be  a  truth  and  a 
fact,  much  depends  upon  the  right  belief  of  it. 
I  say  a  right  belief;  for  though  I  have  offer- 
ed you  a  brief  view  of  the  external  evidence 
in  proof  of  this  point,  I  am  aware  that  I  arn 
not  preaching  to  Jews  or  Mahommedans.  If 
I  should  ask  you,  Believest  thou  the  resurrec- 
tion ?  Might  I  not  answer  myself,  as  the  a- 
postle  did  on  another  occasion,  "  I  know  that 
thou  believest  ?"  Acts  xxvi.  27.  But  so 
powerful  is  the  effect  of  our  depra   ':ty,  that  it 


THE  LOUD   IS  RISEN   INDEED.  SRR.  XL. 

is  possible,  yea  very  common,  for  people  most 
certainly  to  believe  the  truth  of  a  proposition, 
so  as  not  to  be  able  to  entertain  a  doubt  of  it, 
and  yet  to  act  as  if  they  could  demonstrate  it 
to  be  false.  Let  me  ask  you,  for  instance 
Do  you  believe  that  you  shall  die?  I  know 
that  you  believe  it.  But  do  you  indeed  live, 
as  if  you  were  really  assured  of  the  certainty 
of  death,  and  (which  is  equally  undeniable) 
the  uncertainty  of  life?  So  in  the  present  case 
— If  Christ  be  risen  from  the  dead,  according 
to  the  scriptures,  then  all  that  the  scripture 
declares  of  the  necessity  and  design  of  his  suf- 
ferings, of  his  present  glory,  and  of  his  future 
advent,  must  be  true  likewise.  What  a  train 
of  weighty  consequences  depend  upon  his  re- 
surrection !  If  he  rose  from  the  dead,  then  he 
is  the  Lord  of  the  dead  and  of  the  living — 
then  he  has  the  keys  of  death  and  hades — 
then  he  will  return  to  judge  the  world,  and 
you  must  see  him  for  yourself,  and  appear  at 
his  tribunal — then,  it  is  he  with  whom  vou 
have  to  do — and  then,  finally,  unless  you 
really  love,  trust,  and  serve  him,  unless  he  is 
the  beloved  and  the  Lord  of  your  heart,  your 
present  state  is  awfully  dangerous  and  miser- 
able. 

But  let  those  who  love  his  name  be  joyful 
in  him  :  your  Lord  who  was  dead,  is  alive,  and 
because  he  liveth,  you  shall  live  also.  If  ye 
be  risen  with  him,  seek  the  things  whith  are 
above,  where  he  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of 
God.  And,  when  he,  who  is  our  life,  shall 
appear,  then  shall  ye  also  appear  with  him  in 


SERMON  XLI. 

DKATH  BY   ADAM,  LIFE  BY  CHRIST. 

For  since  by  man  came  death,  by  man  c<nne 
also  t/ie  resurrection  of  the  dead.  For  as  in 
Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be 
made  alive,     1  Cor.  xv.  21,  22 

From  Mr.  Handel's  acknowledged  abilities  as 
a  composer,  and  particularly  from  what  I  have 
heard  of  his  great  taste  and  success  in  adapt- 
ing the  style  of  his  music  to  the  subject,  I 
judge  that  this  passage  afforded  him  a  fair  oc- 
casion of  displaying  his  genius  and  powers. 
Two  ideas,  vastly  important  in  themselves, 
are  here  represented  in  the  strongest  light, 
by  being  placed  in  contrast  to  each  other. 
Surely  the  most  solemn,  the  most  pathetic 
strains  must  be  employed,  if  they  accord  with 
the  awful  words,  "  By  man  came  death," — 
"  In  Adam  all  die."  Nor  can  even  the  high- 
est efforts  of  the  heavenly  harpers,  more  than 
answer  to  the  joy,  the  triumph,  and  the  praise 
which  the  other  part  of  my  text  would  excite 
in  our  hearts,  if  we  are  interested  in  it,  pro- 
vided we  were  capable  of  comprehending  the 


SBK,  XLI.  DEATH  BY   aDAM, 

full  force  and  meaning  of  the  expressions, 
"  By  man  came  also  the  resurrection," — "  In 
Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 

By  one  man  came  death.  "  By  one  man 
sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin," 
Rom.  v.  12.  Sin  opened  the  door  to  death. 
The  creation,  at  the  beginning,  was  full  of 
order  and  beauty.  "  God  saw  every  thing 
that  he  had  made,  and  behold  it  was  very 
good,"  Gen.  i.  31.  Adam,  happy  in  the  i- 
mage  and  favour  of  his  maker,  breathed  the 
air  of  immortality  in  paradise.  While  moral 
evil  was  unknown,  natural  evils,  such  as  sick- 
ness, pain,  and  death  had  no  place.  How 
different  has  the  state  of  things  been  since ! 
Would  you  account  for  the  change  ?  Charge 
it  upon  man.  He  sinned  against  his  Creator, 
Lawgiver,  and  Benefactor,  and  thus,  by  him, 
came  death.  The  fact  is  sure,  and  therefore 
our  reasonings  upon  it,  in  order  to  account 
for  it,  farther  than  we  are  enlightened  and 
taught  by  scripture,  are  unnecessary  and  vain. 
God  is  infinitely  wise,  and  therefore  this  change 
was  foreseen  by  him.  He  doubtless  could 
have  prevented  it,  for  to  omnipotence  every 
thing  that  does  not  imply  a  contradiction  is 
possible,  is  easy.  But  he  permitted  it,  and 
therefore  it  must  have  been  agreeable  to  his 
wisdom,  holiness,  and  goodness  to  permit  it. 
He  can  over-rule  it  to  the  purposes  of  his 
own  glory,  and  to  ends  worthy  of  himself, 
and  he  has  assured  us  that  he  will  do  so. 
Thus  far  I  can  go,  nor  do  I  wish  to  go  far- 
ther. And  to  endeavour  to  vindicate  the  ways 
of  God  to  man,  to  fallen  man,  upon  the  grounds 
of  what  he  proudly  calls  his  reason,  would  be 
an  impracticable,  and,  in  my  view,  a  presump- 
tuous attempt.  In  proportion  as  his  grace  en- 
lightens our  minds,  convinces  us  of  our  igno- 
rance, and  humbles  our  pride,  we  shall  be  sa- 
tisfied, that  in  whatever  he  appoints  or  per- 
mits, he  acts  in  a  manner  becoming  his  own 
perfections.  Nor  can  we  be  satisfied  in  any 
other  way.  We  see,  we  feel  that  evil  is  in 
the  world.  Death  reigns.  It  has  pleased 
God  to  afford  us  a  revelation,  to  visit  us  with 
the  light  of  his  gospel.  If,  instead  of  rea- 
soning, we  believe  and  obey,  a  way  is  set  be- 
fore us,  by  which  we  may  finally  overcome 
every  evil,  and  obtain  a  happiness  and  honour, 
superior  to  what  belonged  to  man  in  his  origi- 
nal state.  They  who  refuse  his  gospel  must 
be  left  to  their  cavils  and  perplexities,  until  the 
day  in  which  the  great  Judge  and  Governor 
of  all  shall  arise  to  plead  his  own  cause,  and 
to  vindicate  his  proceedings  from  their  arro- 
gant exceptions.  Then  every  mouth  will  be 
stopped,  Job  xxxv.  5.  Let  us  look  to  the 
heavens,  which  are  higher  than  we,  and  attend 
to  what  we  may  learn  from  sure  principles, 
that  the  earth  with  all  its  inhabitants,  is  but 
as  dust  upon  the  balance,  if  compared  with 
the  immensity  of  God's  creation.  Unless  we 
could  know  the  whole,  and  the  relation  which 
this  very  small  part  bears   to  the   rest  of  his 


LIFE  BY   CHRIST. 


781 


government,  we  must  be  utterly  incompetent 
to  judge  how  it  becomes  the  great  God  to  act. 
We  are  infected  with  the  sin,  and  we  are  sub- 
ject to  the  death,  with  all  its  concomitant  evils, 
which  came  into  the  world  by  the  first  man. 
But  we  are  likewise  invited  to  a  participation 
of  all  the  blessings  which  the  second  Man  has 
procured,  by  his  atonement  for  sin,  and  by 
his  victory  over  death.  "  For  as  by  man 
came  death,  so  by  man  came  also  the  resur- 
rection from  the  dead." 

Let  us  take  a  survey,  first  of  the  malady, 
and  then  of  the  remedy. 

1.  The  malady,  the  effect  and  wages  of  sin, 
is  death.  Many  ideas  are  included  in  this 
word,  taken  in  the  scriptural  sense. 

1.  The  sentence  annexed  to  the  transgres- 
sion  of  that  commandment  which  was  given  as 
an  especial  test  of  Adam's  obedience,  and 
which  affects  all  his  posterity,  is  thus  ex- 
pressed, "  In  the  day  that  thou  eatest — thou 
shalt  surely  die,"  Gen.  ii.  17.  But  man  was 
not,  ordinarily,  to  die  by  a  stroke  of  apoplexy, 
or  by  a  flash  of  lightning.  The  sentence  in- 
cludes all  the  natural  evils,  all  the  variety  of 
woe  which  sin  has  brought  into  the  world. 
The  rebellious  tempers  and  appetites  which  so 
often  cut  short  the  life  of  man,  together  with 
the  sufferings  and  troubles,  which,  sooner  or 
later,  bring  him  down  with  sorrow  to  the  grave, 
being  the  consequences  of  sin,  may  be  properly 
considered  as  belonging  to  that  death  in  which 
they  terminate.  Even  the  earth  and  the  ele- 
ments partook  in  the  effects  of  man's  disobe- 
dience. Thorns  and  thistles  were  not  the  pro- 
duce of  the  ground  till  after  he  had  sinned, 
Gen.  iii.  18.  Nor  can  I  suppose  that  hur- 
ricanes, floods,  and  earthquakes  were  known 
in  a  state  of  innocence.  But  had  the  whole 
earth  been  a  paradise,  man  having  sinned 
must  have  been  miserable.  It  is  not  in  si- 
tuation to  make  that  heart  happy,  which  is 
the  seat  of  inordinate  passions,  rage,  envy, 
malice,  lust,  and  avarice.  And  were  the  earth 
a  paradise  now,  it  would  be  stained  with  blood, 
and  filled  with  violence,  cruelty,  and  misery, 
while  it  is  inhabited  by  sinners.  Many  per- 
sons at  present,  who  dwell  in  stately  houses, 
and  have  every  thing  around  them  that  is 
suited  to  gratify  and  please  their  senses,  know 
by  painful  experience,  how  little  happiness 
these  external  advantages  afford,  while  their 
minds  are  tortured  with  disappointments  and 
anxiety.  Thus  the  outward  afflictions  which 
everywhere  surround  and  assail  the  sinner,  and 
the  malignant  passions,  which,  like  vultures, 
continually  gnaw  his  heart,  all  combine  to 
accelerate  the  execution  of  the  sentence  of 
death. 

2.  Death,  in  a  very  important  sense,  en- 
tered immediately  with  sin.  Besides  the  ra- 
tional life  which  still  distinguishes  man  from 
the  brute  creation,  he  originally  possessed  a 
spiritual  and  divine  life,  for  he  was  created  in 
the  image  of  God.   in  righteousness  and  true 


785 


DEATH   BY   ADAM,    LIFE  BY   CHRIST. 


SEK.  XLI. 


holiness.       He    was    capable    of   communion 
with  God,   of  rejoicing  in  his  favour,  and  of 
proposing  his  will   and  glory  as  the  great  end 
of  his  actions.      In  a  word,   the  presence  and 
life  of  God  dwelt  in  him  as  in  a  temple.      As 
the  soul  is  the  life  of  the  body,  which  becomes 
a  carcase,  a  prey  to  worms  and  putrefaction, 
when  the  soul  has  forsaken  it,  so  God  is  the 
life  of  the  soul.      Sin  defaced  his  temple,  and 
he  forsook  it.      In  this  sense,  when  Adam  had 
transgressed  the  law,  he  died  instantly,  in  that 
very  day,  in  that  very  moment.      He  lost  his 
spiritual  life,  he  lost  all  desire  for  communion 
with  God,  he  no  longer  retained  any  love  for 
his  benefactor.      He  dreaded  his  presence,  he 
sought  to  hide  himself  from  him,  and  when 
obliged  to  appear  and  answer,  stood  self  con- 
demned before  him,  till  revived  and  restored 
by  the  promise  of  grace.      And  thus  his  pos- 
terity derive  from  him  what  may  be  called  a 
living  death.      They  are  dead  while  they  live, 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  (Eph.  ii.  l),  till 
they  are  again  quickened  by  his   Holy  Spirit. 
This  is  not  a  subject  of  common-place  decla- 
mation ;  it   is   to  be  proved  by  the   tenor  of 
scripture,  the  nature  of  redemption,  and  the 
very  reason  of  things.      Unless  we  allow  that 
man   in    his  present  state   is  thus  fallen,  de- 
praved, and  dead,  we  must  be  reduced  to  the 
absurdity  of  supposing  that  God   made  him 
such  a  creature  as  he  now  is ;  that  when  he 
formed  him  for  himself,  and  endued  him  with 
a  capacity  and  desires  which  nothing  short  of 
his  own  infinite  goodness  can  satisfy,  he  should 
at  the  same  time  create  him  with  a  disposition 
to  hate  his  Maker,  to  seek  his  satisfaction  in 
sensuality  upon  a  level  with   the  brutes,  and 
to  confine  his  views  and  pursuits  within  the 
limits  of  this  precarious  life,  while  he  feels,  in 
defiance   of  himself,   an  instinctive  thirst  for 
immortality.       Man  considered  in   this   view 
would  be  a  solecism  in  the  creation  ;  and  they 
who  do  not  acquiesce  in  the  cause  which  the 
scripture  assigns  for  the  inconsistencies  and 
contradictions  which  are  found  in  his  charac- 
ter   will  never  be   able   to  assign   any  other 
cause,   which  will  bear  the  trial  of  sober  and 
rational  examination.      What  the  poet  says  of 
Beelzebub,   "  majestic  though  in  ruins,"  may 
be  truly  affirmed  of  man.      His  faculties  and 
powers   are  proofs  of  his  original   greatness; 
his  awful  misapplication  of  them  equally  prove 
that  he  is  a  fallen  and  ruined  creature.      He 
has   lost  his  true  life,  be  is  dead  in  sin  ;  and 
unless  renewed   and  revived  by  the  grace  of 
God,  can  only,  in  a  future  state,  be  fit  for  the 
company  of  the  fallen  angels. 

3.  Death,  as  the  wages  of  sin,  extends  still 
farther.  There  is  the  second  death,  the  final 
and  eternal  misery  of  soul  and  body  in  hell. 
This  we  know  is  the  dreadful  lot  of  the  impe- 
nitent. We  need  no  other  proof  that  this  was 
included  in  the  sentence;  for  certainly,  the 
righteous  Judge  would  not  inflict  a  greater 
punislwicnt  than  he  had  denounced.     Indeed, 


it  follows  of  course  in  the  very  nature  of  things, 
if  we  admit  the  soul  to  be  immortal,  a  resurrec- 
tion both  of  the  just  and  the  unjust,  and  that 
there  remains  no  other  sacrifice  for  sin,  in  fa- 
vour of  those  who  reject  the  gospel.  For  to  be 
disowned  of  God  in  the  great  day,  to  be  sepa- 
rated from  his  favourable  presence,  and  con- 
scious of  his  endless  displeasure  ;  to  be  aban- 
doned to  the  unrestrained  rage  of  sinful  dis- 
positions and  hopeless  despair  ;  to  be  inces- 
santly tormented  by  the  stings  of  a  remorseful 
conscience,  must  be,  upon  the  principles  of 
scripture,  the  unavoidable  consequences  of 
being  cut  off  by  death,  in  an  unhumbled,  un- 
pardoned, unsanctified  state. 

II.  But,  blessed  be  God,  the  gospel  reveals 
a  relief  and  remedy  fully  adapted  to  the  com- 
plicated misery  in  which  sin  has  involved  us. 
"  As  by  man  came  death,  by  man  came  also 
the  resurrection  from  the  dead."  Messiah  has 
made  an  end  of  sin,  and  destroyed  the  power 
of  death.  They  who  believe  in  him,  though 
they  were  dead  shall  live.  John  xi.  25.  For 
he  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  the  life 
of  the  living. 

1 .  He  raises  the  soul  from  the  death  of  sin 
unto  a  life  of  righteousness.  By  his  blood  I.e 
procures  a  right  and  liberty,  and  by  his  Spirit 
he  communicates  a  power,  that  those  who  were 
afar  off,  may  draw  nigh  to  God.  Thus,  even 
at  present,  believers  are  said  to  be  risen  with 
him,  Col.  iii.  1.  Their  spiritual  life  is  re- 
newed, and  their  happiness  is  already  com 
menced,  though  it  be  as  yet  subject  to  abate- 
ments. 

(1.)  Though  when  they  are  made  partakers 
of  his  grace,  and  thereby  delivered  from  the 
condemning  power  of  the  law,  sin  has  no 
longer  dominion  over  them,  as  formerly  ;  yet 
it  still  wars  and  strives  within  them,  and  their 
life  is  a  state  of  continual  warfare.  They  now 
approve  the  law  of  God,  as  holy,  just,  and  good, 
and  delight  in  it  after  the  inward  man  (Rom. 
vii.  12 — 19),  yet  they  are  renewed  but  in  part. 
They  feel  a  law  in  their  members  warring  a- 
gainst  the  law  of  their  minds.  They  cannot 
do  the  things  that  they  would,  nor  as  they 
would  ;  for  when  they  would  do  good,  evil  is 
present  with  them.  They  are  conscious  of  a 
defect  and  a  defilement  attending  their  best 
services.  Their  attainments  are  unspeakably 
short  of  the  desires  which  love  to  the  Re- 
deemer has  raised  in  their  hearts.  They  are 
ashamed,  and  sometimes  almost  discouraged. 
They  adopt  the  apostle's  language,  "  Oh, 
wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me 
from  the  body  of  this  death  ?  But  with  him 
they  can  likewise  say,  "  I  thank  God  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  They  know  he  is 
on  their  side,  and  expect  that  he  will  at  last 
make  them  more  than  conquerors :  yet  while 
the  conflict  lasts,  they  have  much  to  suffer, 
and  much  to  lament. 

(2.)  They  are  subject,  like  other  people,  to 
the  various  calamities  and  distresses  incident 


SER.  XJ,I.  DEATH   BY  ADAM, 

to  this  state  of  mortality  ;  and  they  have,  more 
or  less,  troubles  peculiar  to  themselves,  arising 
from  the  nature  of  their  profession  and  con- 
duct (if  they  are  faithful  to  their  Lord)  while 
they  live  in  a  world  that  lieth  in  wickedness. 
But  tlie  curse  and  sting  is  taken  out  of  their 
afflictions,  and  they  are  so  moderated  and 
sanctified  by  the  wisdom  and  grace  of  him 
whom  they  serve,  that  in  the  event  they  work 
for  their  good.  But  though  they  yield  the 
peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  (Heb.  xii. 
11)  in  themselves,  and  at  the  time,  they  are 
not  joyous,  but  grievous. 

(3.)  They  are  still  subject  to  the  stroke  of 
death,  the  separation  of  soul  and  body. 
But  this  death  has  lost  its  sting  as  to  them. 
And  therefore  they  are  said  not  to  die,  but  to 
sleep  in  Jesus.  Death  is  not  their  enemy, 
but  their  friend.  To  them,  instead  of  being 
an  evil,  it  proves  a  deliverance  from  all  evil, 
and  an  entrance  into  everlasting  life. 

2.  That  new  life  to  which  they  are  raised  is 
surely  connected  with  life  eternal;   the  life  of 
grace,    with   the  life   of   glory.      For    Christ 
liveth  in  them,  and  being  united  to  him  by 
faith,  they  shall  live  while  he  liveth.      They 
only  shut  their  eyes  upon  the  pains  and  sor- 
rows of  this  world,  to  open  them  immediately 
in  his  presence,  and  so  they  shall  be  for  ever 
with  the  Lord.      How  wonderful  and  happy 
is  the  transition  !    From  disease  and  anguish, 
from  weeping  friends,  and  often  from  a  state 
of  indigence  and  obscurity,  in  which  they  have 
no  friends  to  compassionate  them,  they  remove 
to  a  state  of  glory,  honour  and  immortality, 
to  a  mansion  in  the  realms  of  light,  to  a  seat 
near  the  throne  of  God.      In  the  language  of 
mortals,  this  ineffable  honour  and  happiness 
is  shadowed  out  to  us,  by  the  emblems  of  a 
white  robe,  a  golden  harp,  a  palm-branch  (the 
token  of  victory),  and  a  crown,  not  of  oak  or 
laurel,  of  gold  or  diamonds,  but  a  crown  of 
life.      Such  honour  have  all  the  saints.    How- 
ever afflicted  or  neglected,  despised  or  oppress- 
ed,  while   upon   earth,  soon  as  their  willing 
spirits  take  their  flight  from  hence,  they  shine 
like  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father. 
Thus  Lazarus  lay  for  a  time,  diseased,  neces- 
sitous, and  slighted,  at  the  rich  man's  gate. 
Yet  he  was  not  without  attendants.      A  guard 
of  angels  waited  around  him,  and  when  he 
died  conveyed  his  spirit  into  Abraham's  bosom, 
Luke  xvi.  22.     The  Jews  thought  very  highly 
of  Abraham,  the  father  of  their  nation,  the  fa- 
ther   of   the    faithful.      Our    Lord    therefore 
teaches   us    by   this  representation,    that    the 
beggar    Lazarus    was    not    only  happy   after 
death,  but  highly  exalted  by  him   who  seeth 
not  as  man  seeth  ;  for  he  was  placed  in  Abra- 
ham's bosom,   a  situation  which,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  Jews,  was  a  mark  of  pecu 
liar  favour,  intimacy,  and  distinction.      Thus 
the  beloved  disciple  was  seated  in  the  bosom 
of  our  Lord,  when  he  celebrated  his  last  pass- 
over  with  his  disciples,  John  xiii.  22 — 25. 


LIFE  BY   CHRIST. 


783 


3.  Their  dead  bodies  shall  be  raised  at  the 
great  day,  not  in  their  former  state  of  weak, 
ness  and  corruption,  but  that  which  was  sown 
in  weakness  shall  be  raised  in  power,  and  the 
mortal  shall  put  on  immortality.  He  shall 
change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned 
according  to  the  likeness  of  his  own  glorious 
body.  So  that  his  own  resurrection  is  both 
the  pledge  and  the  pattern  of  theirs.  I  have 
only  farther  to  observe  upon  this  subject  at 
present,  that  as  Adam  is  the  root  and  head  of  all 
mankind,  from  whence  they  all  derive  a  sinful 
and  mortal  nature ;  so  Jesus,  the  second  A- 
dam,  is  the  root  of  a  people  who  are  united  to 
him,  planted  and  engrafted  in  him  by  faith. 
To  these  the  resurrection,  considered  as  a 
blessing,  is  to  be  restrained.  There  will  be  a 
resurrection  of  the  wicked  likewise  (John  v. 
29),  but  to  condemnation,  shame  and  ever- 
lasting contempt,  Dan.  xii.  2.  But  the  con- 
nection is  close  and  indissoluble  between 
Christ  the  first-fruits,  and  them  that  are 
Christ's  at  his  coming. 

May  we  be  happily  prepared  for  this  great 
event,  that  when  he  shall  appear  we  may  have 
confidence  in  him,  and  not  be  ashamed  before 
him,  1  John  ii.  28.  Happy  they  who  shall 
then  be  able  to  welcome  him  in  the  language 
of  the  prophet,  "  Lo,  this  is  our  God,  we  have 
waited  for  him,  and  he  will  save  us  ;  this  is 
the  Lord,  we  have  waited  for  him,  we  will  be 
glad,  and  rejoice  in  his  salvation,  Isa.  xxv.  9. 
But  how  awful  the  contrast  of  those  (many 
of  them  once  the  great,  mighty,  and  honour- 
able of  the  earth)  who  shall  behold  him  with 
horror,  and  in  the  anguish  of  their  souls  shall 
call  (in  vain)  to  the  rocks  and  mountains  to 
fall  on  them  and  hide  them  from  his  presence, 
saying,  "  The  great  day  of  his  wrath  is  come, 
and  who  shall  be  able  to  stand?"  Rev.  vi.  16, 
17. 


SERMON  XLII 

THE  GENERAL  RESURRECTION, 

Behold,  I  shew  you  a  mystery.  We  shall  not 
all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed.  In  a 
moment  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the 
last  trump,  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and 
the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible,  and  we 
shall  be  changed.  For  this  corruptible  must 
put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must 
put  on  immortality.      1  Cor.  xv.  51,  52. 

An  object  in  itself  great,  and  which  we  know 
to  be  so,  will  appear  small  to  us  if  we  view  it 
from  a  distance.  The  stars,  for  example,  in 
our  view,  are  but  as  little  specks  or  points  of 
light ;  and  the  tip  of  a  finger,  if  held  very  near 
to  the  eye,  is  sufficient  to  hide  from  us  the 
whole  body  of  the  sun.  Distance  of  time  has 
an  effect  upon  us,  in  its  kind,  similar  to  dis- 


781 


THE  GENERAL  RESURRECTION.  SER.  xU 


tance  of  space.      It  diminishes  in   our  mind 
the  idea  of  what  we  are  assured  is,  in  its  own 
nature,  of  great  magnitude  and  importance. 
If  any  of  us  were  informed  that  we  should 
certainly  die   before   thL  day  closes,    what  a 
sudden  and  powerful  change  would  take  place 
in  our  thoughts  ?      That  we  all  must  die,  is  a 
truth,  of  which  we  are  no  less  certain,  than 
that  we   are   now    alive.      But   because   it  is 
possible  that   we  may  not  die  to-day,  or  to- 
morrow, or  this  year,  or  for  several  years  to 
come,  we  are  often  little  more  affected  by  the 
thoughts  of  death,  than  if  we  expected  to  live 
here  for  ever.      In  like  manner,  if  you  receive 
the    scripture  as  a  divine  revelation,   I   need 
offer  you  no  other  proof,  that  there  is  a  day, 
a  great  day,  approaching,   which  will  put  an 
end  to  the  present  state  of  things,  and  intro- 
duce a  state  unchangeable  and  eternal.    Then 
the  Lord  will  descend  with  a  shout,  with  the 
voice  of  an  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of 
God.      The   earth   and  all  its  works  will  be 
burnt  up.      The  great  Judge  will  appear,  the 
tribunal  be  fixed,  the  books  opened,  and  all 
the  human  race  must  give  an  account  of  them- 
selves to  God,  and,  according  to  his  righteous 
award,  be  happy  or  miserable  in  a  degree  be- 
yond expression  or  conception,  and  that  for 
ever. 

If  we  were  infallibly  assured,  that  this  tre- 
mendous scene  would  open  upon  us  to-mor- 
row ;  or  if,  while  I  am  speaking,  we  should  be 
startled  with  the  signs  of  our  Lord's  coming 
in  the  air,  what  confusion  and  alarm  would 
o\crspread  the  congregation?  Yet,  if  the 
scripture  be  true,  the  hour  is  approaching, 
when  we  must  all  be  spectators  of  this  solemn 
event,  and  parties  nearly  interested  in  it.  But 
because  it  is  at  a  distance,  we  can  hear  of  it, 
speak  of  it,  and  profess  to  expect  it,  with  a 
coolness  almost  equal  to  indifference.  May 
the  Lord  give  us  that  faith  which  is  the  evi- 
dence of  things  not  seen,  that  while  I  aim  to 
lead  your  meditations  to  the  subject  of  my 
text,  we  may  be  duly  impressed  by  it:  and 
that  we  may  carry  from  hence  such  a  consi- 
deration of  our  latter  end,  as  may  incline  our 
hearts  to  that  which  is  our  true  wisdom  ! 

Many  curious  inquiries  and  speculations 
might  be  started  from  this  passage,  but  which, 
because  I  judge  them  to  be  more  curious  than 
useful,  it  is  my  intention  to  wave.  I  shall 
confine  myself  to  what  is  plainly  expressed, 
because  I  wish  rather  to  profit  than  to  amuse 
my  hearers.  *  The  principal  subject  before  us 
is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  in  the  most 
pleasing  view  of  it ;  for  my  text  speaks  only 
of  those  who  shall  change  the  mortal  and  cor- 
ruptible, for  incorruption  and  immortality. 

I.  The  introduction, — "  Behold  I  show 
you  a  mystery." 

II.  What  we  are  taught  to  expect, — "  We 
shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  chang- 
ed." 


III.  The  suddenness  of  the  event, — "  In  a 
moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye." 

IV.  The  grand  preceding  signal, — "  The 
trumpet  shall  sound. M 

I.    The  apostle  apprizes  the  Corinthians  that 
he  is  about  to  shew  them  a  mystery.      As  the 
word  mystery  has  been  treated  with  no  small 
contempt,  I  shall  embrace  this  occasion  of  of- 
fering you  a  short  explanation  of  it,  as  it  is 
used  in   the  scriptures.      We  are  allowed  to 
say,   that  there  are  mysteries  in  nature,  and 
perhaps  we  may  be  allowed  to  speak  of  mys- 
teries  in  providence  ;  but  though  an  apostle 
assures  us,  that  great  is  the  mystery  of  godli- 
ness   (1    Tim.    iii.    16),    many    persons    will 
scarcely  bear  the  application  of  the  word  to 
religion.      And,  a  late  ingenious  writer,  who 
has  many  admirers  in  the  present  day,  has  ven- 
tured to  affirm  in  print,  that  where  mystery 
begins,  religion  ends.    If  the  frequency  of  the 
case  did  not,  in  some  degree,  abate  our  won- 
der, this  might  seem  almost  a  mystery,   that 
any  persons  who  profess  to  believe  the  scrip- 
ture, should  so   openly  and   flatly  contradict 
what  the  scripture  expressly  and  repeatedly 
declares  :    Or  that  while,  as  men  of  reason  and 
philosophy,  they  are  forced  to  acknowledge  a 
mystery  in  every  part  of  creation,  and  must 
confess  it  beyond  their  ability  to  explain  the 
growth  of  a  blade  of  grass ;  they  should  in  op- 
position to  all  the  rules  of  analogy,  conclude, 
that  the  gospel,  the  most  important  concern  of 
man,  and  which  is  commended  to  us  as  the 
most  eminent  display  of  the  wisdom  and  pow- 
er of  God,  is  the  only  subject  so  level  to  our 
apprehensions,  as  to  be  obvious,  at  first  sight, 
to  the  most  careless  and  superficial  observers. 
That   great   numbers  of  people  are  very  far 
from  being  accurate  and  diligent  in  their  reli- 
gious inquiries,  is  too  evident  to  be   denied. 
How  often  do  we  meet  with  persons  of  sense 
who  talk  with  propriety  on  philosophical,  po- 
litical, or  commeixial  subjects,  and  yet,  when 
they  speak  of  religion,  discover  such  gross  ig- 
norance, as  would  be  shameful  in  a  child  of 
ten  years  old,  and  amounts  to  a  full  proof  that 
they  have  not  thought  it  worth  their  while  to 
acquire  even   a   slight  knowledge  of  its  first 
principles.      Can  we  even  conceive  the  possi- 
bility of  a  divine  revelation  that  should  have 
nothing  in  it  mysterious  to  persons   of  this 
character  ? 

A  mystery,  according  to  the  notation  of  the 
Greek  word,  signifies  a  secret.  And  all  the 
peculiar  truths  of  the  gospel  may  justly  he 
styled  mysteries  or  secrets,  for  two  reasons. 

1.  Because  the  discovery  of  them  is  beyond 
the  reach  of  fallen  man,  and  they  neither 
would  nor  could  have  been  known  without  a 
revelation  from  God.  This  is  eminently  true 
of  the  resurrection.  The  light  of  nature, 
which  we  often  hear  so  highly  commended, 
may  afford  some  faint  glimmerings  of  a  future 
state,  but  gives  no  intimation   of  a  resurrec 


SER.  XI.1I. 


THE  GENERAL  RESURRECTION. 


f'85 


tion.  The  men  of  wisdom  at  Athens,  the 
Stoic  and  Epicurean  philosophers,  who  differ- 
ed widely  in  most  parts  of  their  respective 
schemes,  united  in  deriding  this  sentiment, 
and  contemptuously  styled  the  apostle  Paul  a 
babler  (Acts  xvii.  18)  for  preaching  it.  But 
this  secret  is  to  us  made  known.  And  we  are 
assured,  not  only  that  the  Lord  will  receive  to 
himself  the  departing  spirits  of  his  people, 
but  that  he  will  give  commandment  concern- 
ing their  dust,  and,  in  due  time,  raise  their 
vile  bodies  to  a  conformity  with  his  own  glo- 
rious body. 

2.  Because,  though  they  are  revealed  ex- 
pressly in  the  scripture,  such  is  the  grossness 
of  our  conceptions,  and  the  strength  of  our 
prejudices,  that  the  truths  of  revelation  are 
still  unintelligible  to  us,  without  a  farther  re- 
velation of  their  true  sense  to  the  mind,  by 
the  influence  of  his  Holy  Spirit.  Otherwise, 
how  can  the  secret  of  the  Lord  be  restrained 
to  those  who  fear  him  (Psal.  xxv.  14),  when 
the  book  which  contains  it  is  open  to  all,  and 
the  literal  and  grammatical  meaning  of  the 
words  is  in  the  possession  of  many  who  fear 
him  not? 

Books  in  the  arts  and  sciences  may  be  said 
to  be  full  of  mysteries  to  those  who  hare  not 
a  suitable  capacity  and  taste  for  them  ;   or  who 


some  other  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  But  such 
a  belief  as  may  affect,  cheer,  and  animate  the 
heart  must  be  given  us  from  above,  for  we 
cannot  reason  ourselves  into  it.  Nay,  this  di- 
vine teaching  is  necessary  to  secure  the  mind 
from  the  vain  reasonings,  perplexities,  and 
imaginations,  which  will  bewilder  our  thoughts 
upon  the  subject,  unless  we  learn  to  yield  in 
simplicity  of  faith,  to  what  the  scripture  has 
plainly  revealed,  and  can  be  content  to  know 
no  farther  before  the  proper  time. 

II.  What  we  are  here  taught  to  expect  is 
thus  expressed — "  We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but 
we  shall  all  be  changed."  We  are  not  to  sup- 
pose that  the  whole  human  race  will  die,  and 
fail  from  the  earth,  before  the  resurrection. 
Some  will  be  living  at  the  time,  and  among 
them  some  of  the  Lord's  people.  Of  the  liv- 
ing, it  cannot  properly  be  said  that  they  will 
be  raised  from  the  dead  :  but  they  will  expe- 
rience a  change,  which  will  put  them  exactly 
in  the  same  state  with  the  others.  Their  mor- 
tality shall  be  swallowed  up  in  life.  Thus  we 
conceive  it  to  have  been  with  Enoch  and  Eli- 
jah. They  did  not  die  like  other  men ;  but 
their  mortal  natures  were  frail  and  sinful,  like 
ours,  and  incapable  of  sustaining  the  glories 
of  heaven  without  a  preparation.  Flesh  and 
blood  in  its  present  state  cannot  inherit  the 
do  not  apply  themselves  to  study  them  with  ]  kingdom  of  God,   neither  can  corruption   in- 


dulgence, and  patiently  submit  to  learn  gra- 
dually one  thing  after  another.  If  you  put  a 
treatise  on  mathematics,  or  a  system  of  music, 
into  the  hands  of  a  plowman  or  labourer,  you 
will  not  be  surprised  to  find  that  he  cannot 
understand  a  single  page.  Shall  the  works 
of  a  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  or  of  a  Handel,  be 
thus  inexplicable  to  one  person,  while  another 
peruses  them  with  admiration  and  delight  ? 
Shall  these  require  a  certain  turn  of  mind,  and 
a  close  attention  ?  and  can  it  be  reasonably 
supposed,  that  the  Bible  is  the  only  book  that 
requires  no  peculiar  disposition,  or  degree  of 
application,  to  be  understood,  though  it  is  de- 
signed to  make  us  acquainted  with  the  deep 
things  of  God  ?  1  Cor.  ii.  10.  In  one  re- 
spect, indeed,  there  is  an  encouraging  differ- 
ence. Divine  truths  lie  thus  far  equally  open 
to  all,  that  though  none  can  learn  them  unless 
they  are  taught  of  God,  yet  all  who  are  sen- 
sible of  their  own  weakness  may  expect  his 
teaching,  if  they  humbly  seek  it  by  prayer. 
Many  people  are,  perhaps,  incapable  of  being 


herit  incorruption  ;  but  the  dead  shall  arise, 
and  the  living  shall  be  changed.  Here  is  a 
wide  field  for  speculation,  but  I  mean  not  to 
enter  it.  Curiosity  would  be  glad  to  know 
how  our  bodies,  when  changed,  shall  still  be 
the  same.  Let  Us  first  determine  how  that 
body,  which  was  once  an  infant,  is  the  very 
same  when  it  becomes  a  full  grown  man,  or  a 
man  in  extreme  old  age.  Let  us  explain  the 
transmutation  of  a  caterpillar  or  silk-worm, 
which  from  a  reptile  becomes  a  butterfly. 
What  a  wonderful  change  is  this  both  in  ap- 
pearance and  in  powers  ?  Who  would  suppose 
it  to  be  the  same  creature  ?  Yet  who  can  de- 
ny it?  It  is  safest  and  most  comfortable  for 
us,  to  refer  to  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God 
the  accomplishment  of  his  own  word. 

III.  These  great  events  will  take  place  un- 
expectedly and  suddenly — "  In  a  moment, 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye."  We  have  rea- 
son to  believe,  that  a  part  at  least  of  mankind 
will  be  employed  as  they  are  now,  and  as  they 
were  in  the  days  of  Noah  and  Lot  (Luke  xvii. 


mathematicians.      They  have  not  a  genius  for '  26 — 30),  eating  and    drinking,    buying  and 


the  science.  But  there  is  none  who  teacheth 
like  God.  He  can  give  not  only  light,  but 
sight ;  not  only  lessons,  but  the  capacity  ne- 
cessary for  their  reception.  And  while  his 
mysteries  are  hidden  from  the  wise  and  pru- 
dent, who  are  too  proud  to  wait  upon  him  for 
instruction,  he  reveals  them  unto  babes. 

It  may  perhaps  be  thought,  that  a  belief  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  does  not  re- 
quire the  same  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
that  is  necessary   to  the   right  knowledge  of; 


selling,  building,  and  planting;  having  noth- 
ing less  in  their  thoughts  than  the  calamity 
and  destruction  which  shall  overwhelm  them 
without  warning.  For  while  they  are  pro- 
mising themselves  peace,  the  day  of  the  Lord 
shall  come  upon  them  like  a  thief  in  the  night, 
unlooked  for,  and,  like  the  pangs  of  a  labour- 
ing woman,  unavoidable.  "  In  that  day  the 
lofty  looks  of  man  shall  be  humbled,  and  the 
haughtiness  of  man  shall  be  bowed  down,  and 
the  Lord  alone  shall  be  exalted,"  Is.  ii.  6. 
3L 


786 


THE  GENERAL   RESURRECTION. 


SEK.  xur. 


So  large  a  part  of  divine  prophecy  remains  yet 
to  be  fulfilled,  that  I  apprehend  it  is  not  pro- 
bable that  any  of  us  shall  be  alive  when  this 
great  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord  shall  be  re- 
vealed. But  are  not  some  of  us  exposed  to  a 
similar  dreadful  surprise  !  If  you  die  in  your 
sins,  the  consequences  will  be  no  less  deplor- 
able to  you,  than  if  you  saw  the  whole  frame 
of  nature  perishing  with  you.  Alas,  what 
will  you  do,  whither  will  you  flee  for  help,  or 
where  will  you  leave  your  glory,  if,  while  you 
are  engrossed  by  the  cares  or  pleasures  of  this 
world,  death  should  arrest  you,  and  summon 
you  to  judgment  ?  The  rich  man  in  the  gos- 
pel is  not  charged  with  any  crimes  of  peculiar 
enormity.  It  is  not  said  that  he  ground  the 
faces  of  the  poor,  or  that  he,  by  fraud  or  op- 
pression, kept  back  the  hire  of  the  labourers 
who  had  reaped  his  harvest  j  he  only  rejoiced 
in  his  wealth,  and  in  having  much  goods  laid 
up  for  many  years,  and  that  therefore  he  might 
securely  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry.  But  God 
said  unto  him,  "  Thou  fool,  this  night  shall 
thy  soul  be  required  of  thee,"  Luke  xii.  20. 
Awful  disappointment  !  Thus  will  it  be,  soon- 
er or  later,  with  all  whose  hearts  and  portions 
are  in  this  world,  but  are  not  rich  towards 
God  !  Consider  this,  you  that  are  like  minded 
with  him.  Tremble  at  the  thought  of  being 
found  in  the  number  of  those  who  have  all 
their  consolation  here,  and  who,  when  they 
die,  must  leave  their  all  behind  them.  Now 
is  the  acceptable  time,  the  day  of  salvation. 
Now,  if  you  will  seek  the  Lord,  he  will  be 
found  of  you.  Now,  if  you  pray  for  grace 
and  faith,  he  will  answer  you.  But  when 
once  the  Master  of  the  house  shall  arise,  and 
with  his  own  sovereign  authoritative  hand  shall 
shut  the  door  of  his  mercy,  it  will  then  be  in 
vain,  and  too  late,  to  say,  "  Lord,  Lord,  open 
unto  us,"  Luke  xiii.  25. 

IV.  The  great  scene  will  be  introduced  by 
a  signal — "  At  the  last  trump  ;  for  the  trum . 
pet  shall  sound."  Thus  the  approach  of  a 
king  or  a  judge  is  usually  announced  ;  and 
the  scripture  frequently  borrows  images  from 
our  little  affairs  and  customs,  and,  in  condes- 
cension to  our  weakness,  illustrates  things  in 
themselves  too  great  for  our  conceptions,  by 
comparing  them  with  those  which  are  more  fa- 
miliar to  us. 

It  will  indeed  be  comparing  great  things 
with  small,  if  I  attempt  to  illustrate  this  sub- 
lime idea  by  local  customs  which  obtain  in 
this  kingdom.  At  a  time  of  assize,  when  the 
judges,  to  whom  the  administration  and  guar- 
dianship of  our  laws  are  entrusted,  are  mak- 
ing their  entrance,  expectation  is  awake,  and 
a  kind  of  reverence  and  awe  is  felt,  even  by 
those  who  are  not  immediately  concerned  in 
their  inquest.  The  dignity  of  their  office,  the 
purpose  for  which  they  come,  the  concourse  of 
people,  the  order  of  the  procession,  and  the 
sound  of  the  trumpet,  all  concur  in  raising  an 
emotion  in  the  hearts  of  the  spectators.    Hap- 


py are  they  then  upon  whom  the  inflexible 
law  has  no  demand  !  But  who  can  describe 
the  terror  with  which  the  sound  of  the  trum- 
pet is  heard  by  the  unhappy  criminal ;  and  the 
throbbings  of  his  heart,  if  he  be  already  con- 
victed in  his  own  conscience,  and  knows  or 
fears  that  there  is  sufficient  evidence  at  hand 
to  fix  the  fact  upon  him,  and  to  prove  his 
guilt?  For  soon  the  judge  will  take  his  seat, 
the  books  will  be  opened,  the  cause  tried,  and 
the  criminal  sentenced.  Many  circumstances 
of  this  kind  are  alluded  to  in  the  scripture,  to 
assist  us  in  forming  some  conception  of  what 
will  take  place,  when  all  the  race  of  Adam, 
small  and  great,  shall  stand  before  the  sover- 
eign Judge,  the  one  Lawgiver,  who  is  able 
to  save  and  to  destroy.  But  the  concourse, 
the  solemnity,  the  scrutiny,  the  event,  in  the 
most  weighty  causes  that  can  come  before  a 
human  judicature,  are  mere  shadows,  and  tri- 
vial as  the  sports  of  children,  if  compared  with 
the  business  of  this  tremendous  tribunal. 
"  The  Lord  himself  will  descend  witli  the 
voice  of  the  archangel,  and  the  trump  of  God." 
What  a  trumpet  will  that  be,  whose  sound 
shall  dissolve  the  frame  of  nature,  and  awaken 
the  dead  ?  When  the  Lord  is  seated  upon  his 
great  white  throne  (Rev.  xx.  11),  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  shall  flee  from  his  presence  ;  but 
the  whole  race  of  mankind  shall  be  assembled 
before  him,  each  one  to  give  an  account  of 
himself,  to  him,  from  whose  penetrating  know- 
ledge no  secret  can  be  hidden,  and  from  whose 
unerring  inflexible  sentence  there  can  be  no 
appeal.  "  Where  then  shall  the  wicked  and 
the  ungodly  appear  ?" 

But  it  will  be  a  joyful  day  to  believers  : 
they  shall  be  separated  as  the  wheat  from  the 
tares,  and  arranged  at  his  right  hand.  When 
the  Lord  shall  come,  attended  by  his  holy 
angels,  his  redeemed  people  will  reassume 
their  bodies,  refined  and  freed  from  all  that 
was  corruptible  ;  and  those  of  them  who  shall 
be  then  living  will  be  changed,  and  caught  up 
to  meet  him  in  the  air.  He  will  then  own 
them,  approve  and  crown  them,  before  assem- 
bled worlds.  Every  charge  that  can  be  brought 
against  them  will  be  over-ruled,  and  their  plea, 
that  they  trusted  in  him  for  salvation,  be  ad- 
mitted and  ratified.  They  will  be  accepted 
and  justified.  They  will  shine  like  the  sun  in 
his  full  train,  and  attend,  as  assessors  with 
him,  when  he  shall  pass  final  judgment  upon 
his  and  their  enemies.  Then  he  will  be  ad- 
mired in  and  by  them  that  believe.  Their 
tears  will  be  for  ever  wiped  away,  when  he 
shall  say  to  them,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  Matth. 
xxv.  34. 

Beloved,  if  these  things  are  so,  what  man- 
ner of  persons  ought  we  to  be  in  all  holy  con- 
versation and  godliness?  2  Pet.  iii.  11. 
!•  hould  we  not  give  all  diligence  to  make  our 
calling   and    election  sure,    that   we  may   be 


DEATH  SWALLOWED   UP  IN  VICTORY. 


5ER.  XL  HI. 

found  of  him  in  peace  ?  He  who  will  then  be 
seated  upon. the  throne  of  judgment,  is  to  us 
made  known  as  seated  upon  a  throne  of  grace. 
It  is  time,  it  is  high  time,  and  blessed  be  God 
it  is  not  yet  too  late,  to  seek  his  mercy.  Still 
the  gospel  invites  us  to  hear  his  voice,  and  to 
humble  ourselves  before  him.  Once  more 
you  are  invited,  some  of  you  perhaps  for  the 
last  time :  how  know  you  but  sickness  or 
death  maybe  at  the  very  door?  Consider,  Are 
you  prepared  ?  Examine  the  foundation  of 
your  hope, — and  do  it  quickly,  impartially,  and 
earnestly,  lest  you  should  be  cut  oft'  in  an  hour 
when  you  are  not  aware,  and  perish  with  a 
lie  in  your  right  hand. 


787 


SERMON  XLIII. 


DEATH  SWALLOWED  UP  IN  VICTORY. 

Then  shall  be  brought  to  ]>nas  the  saying  that  is 
written,  Death  is  swalloived  up  in  victory. 
1  Cor  xv.  54. 

Death,  simply  considered,  is  no  more  than  a 
private  idea,  signifying  a  cessation  of  life,  or 
that  what  was  once  living  lives  no  longer. 
But  it  has  been  the  general,  perhaps  the  uni- 
versal custom  of  mankind  to  personify  it. 
Imagination  gives  death  a  formidable  appear- 
ance, arms  it  with  a  dart,  sting,  or  scythe, 
and  represents  it  as  an  active,  inexorable,  and 
invincible  reality.  In  this  view  Death  is  a 
great  devourer ;  with  his  iron  tongue  he  calls 
for  thousands  at  a  meal.  He  has  already 
swallowed  up  all  the  preceding  generations  of 
men  ;  all  who  are  now  living  are  marked  as 
his  inevitable  prey  ;  he  is  still  unsatisfied,  and 
will  go  on  devouring  till  the  Lord  shall  come. 
Then  this  destroyer  shall  be  destroyed ;  he 
shall  swallow  no  more,  but  be  swallowed  up 
himself  in  victory.  Thus  the  scripture  ac- 
commodates itself  to  the  language  and  appre- 
hensions of  mortals.  Farther,  the  metaphori- 
cal usage  of  the  word  stvallow  still  enlarges 
and  aggrandizes  the  idea.  Thus  the  earth  is 
said  to  have  opened  her  mouth  and  swallowed 
up  Korah  and  his  accomplices.  Numb.  xvi. 
32.  And  thus  a  pebble,  a  mill-stone,  or  a 
mountain,  if  cast  into  the  ocean,  would  be 
swallowed  up,  irrecoverably  lost  and  gone,  as 
though  they  had  never  been,  Rev.  xviii.  21. 
Such  shall  be  the  triumphant  victory  of  Mes- 
siah in  the  great  day  of  the  consummation  of 
all  things.  Death  in  its  cause  and  in  its  ef- 
fects, shall  be  utteriy  destroyed.  Man  was 
created  upright,  and  lived  in  a  paradise,  till, 
by  sin,  he  brought  death  into  the  world.  From 
that  time  death  has  reigned  by  sin,  and  evils 
abound.  But  Messiah  came  to  make  an  end 
of  sin,  to  destroy  death,  and  him  that  hath  the 
power  of  it,  to  repair  every  disorder,   and  to 


remove  every  misery  ;  and  lie  will  so  fully,  so 
gloriously  accomplish  his  great  undertaking 
in  the  final  issue,  that  every  thing  contrary  to 
holiness  and  happiness  shall  be  swallowed  up 
and  buried  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  return, 
as  a  stone  that  is  sunk  in  the  depths  of  the  sea. 
Thus  where  sin  hath  abounded  grace  will  much 
more  abound. 

This  victory,  however,  being  the  Redeem- 
er's work  and  the  fruit  of  his  mediation,  the 
scripture  teaches  us  to  restrain  the  benefits  of 
it  to  the  subjects  of  his  church  and  kingdom. 
In  Adam  all  die.  A  depraved  nature,  guilt, 
sorrow,  and  death,  extend  to  all  his  posterity. 
The  All,  who  in  Christ  shall  be  made  alive, 
are  those  who,  by  faith  in  him,  are  delivered 
from  the  sting  of  death,  which  is  sin,  and  are 
made  partakers  of  a  new  nature.  There  is 
a  second  death,  which,  though  it  shall  not 
hurt  the  believers  in  Jesus  (Rev.  ii.  ll),  will 
finally  swallow  up  the  impenitent  and  ungodly. 
We  live  in  an  age  when  there  is,  if  I  may  so 
speak,  a  resurrection  of  many  old  and  exploded 
errors,  which  though  they  have  been  often  re- 
futed and  forgotten,  are  admired  and  embraced 
by  some  persons  as  new  and  wonderful  disco- 
veries. Of  this  stamp,  is  the  conceit  of  a  uni- 
versal restitution  to  a  state  of  happiness  of  all 
intelligent  creatures,  whether  angels  or  men, 
who  have  rebelled  against  the  will  and  govern- 
ment of  God.  This  sentiment  contradicts  the 
current  doctrine  of  scripture,  which  asserts  the 
everlasting  misery  of  the  finally  impenitent, 
in  as  strong  terms,  in  the  very  same  terms,  as 
the  eternal  happiness  of  the  righteous,  and 
sometimes  in  the  very  same  verse,  Mat.  xxv.  46. 
Nor  can  it  possibly  be  true,  if  our  Lord  spake 
the  truth  concerning  Judas,  when  he  said, 
"  It  had  been  good  for  that  man  if  he  had 
never  been  born,"  Matth.  xxvi.  24.  If  I 
could  consider  this  notion  as  harmless  though 
useless,  and  np  worse  than  many  mistakes 
which  men  of  upright  minds  have  made, 
through  inattention  and  weakness  of  judg- 
ment, I  should  not  have  mentioned  it.  But 
I  judge  it  to  be  little  less  pernicious  and  poi- 
sonous, than  false.  It  directly  tends  to  abate 
that  sense  of  the  evil  of  sin,  of  the  inflexible 
justice  of  God,  and  the  truth  of  his  threaten- 
ings,  which  is  but  too  weak  in  the  best  ot 
men.  Let  us  abide  by  the  plain  declarations 
of  his  word,  which  assures  us,  that  there  re- 
maineth  no  other  sacrifice  for  sin  (Heb.  x. 
26,  27),  no  future  relief  against  it,  for  those 
who  now  refuse  the  gospel ;  and  that  they  who 
cordially  receive  it  shall  be  saved  with  an  ever- 
lasting salvation,  and  shall  one  day  sing, 
"  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory.'* 

I  would  farther  observe,  that  many  prophe- 
cies have  a  gradual  and  increasing  accomplish- 
ment, and  may  be  applied  to  several  periods; 
though  their  full  completion  will  only  be  at 
the  resurrection  and  last  judgment.  This  pas- 
sage, as  it  stands  in  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah 
(chap.  xxv.  8),  from  whence  the  apostle  quotes 


788 


DEATH   SWALLOWED   UP  IN  VICTORY. 


SER.  XLIII 


it,  appears  to  have  a  reference  to  the  compa- 
ratively brighter  light  and  glory  of  the  gospel- 
state  beyond  what  was  enjoyed  by  the  church 
under  the  Levitical  dispensation ;  and  espe- 
cially to  the  privileges  of  tl  ose  happy  days, 
when  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles,  and  the 
remnant  of  Israel  shall  be  brought  in,  and  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the  king- 
doms of  the  Lord  and  of  his  Christ.  I  viould 
not  exclude  these  subordinate  senses  ;  I  have 
already  considered  them.  But  my  text  calls 
our  attention  to  the  end  of  all  things.  Then, 
in  the  most  emphatical  sense,  Death  will  be 
swallowed  up  of  victory. 

Let  us  endeavour  to  realize  the  great  scene 
before  us,  to  contemplate  the  redeemed  of  the 
Lord  when  they  shall  return  with  him  to  ani- 
mate their  glorious  bodies.  Let  us  ask  the 
question  which  the  elder  proposed  to  John, 
"  Who  are  these  clothed  with  white  robes,  and 
whence  came  they  ?"  Rev.  vii.  13.  They  came 
out  of  great  tribulation,  they  were  once  under 
the  power  of  death,  but  now  death,  as  to  them, 
is  swallowed  up  in  victory.  In  every  sense 
in  which  death  ruled  over  them  they  are  now 
completely  delivered. 

I.  They  were  once  dead  in  law.  They  had 
revolted  from  their  Maker.  They  had  vio- 
lated the  holy  order  of  his  government,  and 
stood  exposed  to  his  righteous  displeasure,  and 
to  the  heavy  penalty  annexed  to  the  trans- 
gression of  his  commandments.  But  mercy 
interposed.  God  so  loved  them,  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son  to  make  an  atonement 
for  their  sins,  and  to  be  their  wisdom,  right- 
eousness, sanctification,  and  redemption,  1 
Cor.  i.  SO.  They  received  grace  to  believe  in 
this  Saviour,  and  now  they  are  delivered  from 
condemnation.  They  are  accepted  in  the  Be- 
loved. They  are  considered  as  one  with  him, 
and  interested  in  all  that  he  did,  and  in  all 
that  he  suffered.  Now  they  are  the  children 
of  God,  and  heirs  of  his  kingdom.  Though 
they  were  afar  off,  they  are  brought  nigh,  and 
admitted  to  a  nearer  relation  than  the  holy 
angels,  to  him  who  sitteth  upon  the  throne. 
For  he  took  upon  him,  and  still  he  pleased  to 
wear,  not  the  nature  of  angels,  but  the  human 
natine.  Their  former  guilt  is  cancelled,  blot- 
ted out,  and  swallowed  up.  All  their  sins  are 
covered.  Sunk  in  his  precious  blood  as  in  a 
deep  sea,  so  that  even  if  sought  for,  they  can 
no  more  be  found.  That  they  have  sinned, 
will  always  be  a  truth  ;  and  probably  they  will 
never  lose  a  consciousness  of  what  they  were 
by  nature  and  practice  while  in  this  world. 
But  this,  so  far  from  abating  their  joy,  will 
heighten  their  gratitude  and  praise  to  him  who 
loved  them,  and  washed  them  from  their  sins 
in  his  own  blood,  Rev.  i.  5.  Their  happiness 
principally  consists  in  a  perception  of  his  love 
to  them,  and  in  their  returns  of  grateful  love 
to  him.  And  they  love  him  much,  because  for 
his  sake,  much  has  been  forgiven  them,  Luke 
*ii.  47. 


II.  Once  they  were  dead  in  sin.  They 
were  destitute  of  the  knowledge,  and  love  of 
God.  They  were  foolish,  deceived,  and  dis- 
obedient, enslaved  to  divers  lusts  (Titus  iii. 
3),  to  inordinate,  sensual,  unsatisfying  plea- 
sures. They  lived  in  malice  and  envy;  they 
were  hateful,  and  they  hated  one  another.  In 
a  word,  they  were  dead  while  they  lived,  1 
Tim.  v.  6.  But  by  the  power  of  grace  they 
were  awakened  and  raised  from  this  diath, 
and  made  partakers  of  a  new,  a  spiritual,  and 
divine  life.  Yet  the  principle  of  sin  and  death 
still  remained  in  them,  and  their  life  upon 
earth,  though  a  life  of  faith  in  the  Son  of 
God,  was  a  state  of  continual  warfare.  They 
had  many  a  conflict,  and  were  often  greatly 
distressed.  They  sowed  in  tears,  to  the  end 
or*  their  pilgrimage,  but  now  they  reap  in  joy, 
Psal.  exxvi.  5.  This  death  is  also  swallow- 
ed up  in  victory.  They  are  now  entirely  and 
for  ever  freed  from  every  clog,  defect,  and  de- 
filement. By  beholding  their  Lord  as  he  is, 
in  all  his  glory  and  love,  without  any  inter- 
posing veil  or  cloud,  they  are  made  like  him, 
and  to  the  utmost  measure  of  their  capacity 
conformed  to  his  image.  Now  they  are  ab- 
solutely spotless  and  impechable  ;  for  though 
mutability  seems  no  less  essential  to  a  creature 
than  dependence,  yet  they  cannot  change,  be- 
cause their  Lord  is  unchangeable,  for  their 
life  is  hidden  with  Christ  in  God,  Col.  iii.  3. 
They  cannot  fall  from  their  holiness  or  happi- 
ness, because  he  has  engaged  to  uphold  and 
maintain  them  by  his  almighty  power. 

III.  One  branch  of  the  death  due  to  sin  is 
the  tyranny  and  power  of  Satan.  For  a  time 
he  ruled  in  their  hearts,  as  in  his  own  strong- 
hold;  and  while  they  were  blinded  by  his  in- 
fluence they  were  little  affected  with  their 
bondage.  Hard  as  his  service  was,  they  did 
not  often  complain  of  it.  They  were  led  by 
him  according  to  his  will  for  the  most  part 
without  resistance,  or,  if  they  attempted  to  re- 
sist, they  found  it  was  in  vain.  But  in  his 
own  hour  their  Lord,  who  had  bought  them, 
dispossessed  their  strong  enemy,  and  claimed 
their  hearts  for  himself.  Yet  after  they  were 
thus  set  free  from  his  ruling  power,  this  ad- 
versary was  always  plotting  and  fighting  a- 
gainst  them.  How  much  have  some  of  them 
suffered  from  his  subtle  wiles  and  his  fiery 
darts  !  from  his  rage  as  a  roaring  lion,  from 
his  cunning  as  a  serpent  lying  in  their  path, 
and  from  his  attempts  to  deceive  them  under 
the  semblance  of  an  angel  of  light  !  2  Cor.  xi. 
14.  But  now  they  are  placed  out  of  his  reach 
Death  and  Satan  are  swallowed  up.  The  vic- 
tory is  complete.  The  wicked  one  shall  never 
have  access  to  touch  or  disturb  them  any  more. 
Now  he  is  shut  up  in  his  own  place,  and  the 
door  sealed,  no  more  to  open.  While  he  was 
permitted  to  vex  and  worry  them,  he  acted 
under  a  limited  commission  which  he  could 
not  exceed  ;  all  was  directed  and  over-ruled 
by  the  wisdom  and  love  of  their  Loi  1  for  their 


SEK.  XL  in. 


DEATH  SWALLOWED   UP  IN  VICTORY. 


"S9 


advantage.  Such  exercises  were  necessary, 
then,  to  discover  to  them  more  of  the  weak- 
ness and  vileness  of  their  own  hearts,  to  make 
them  more  sensible  of  their  dependence  upon 
their  Saviour,  and  to  afford  them  affecting 
proofs  of  his  power  and  care  engaged  in  their 
behalf.  But  they  are  necessary  no  longer. 
Their  warfare  is  finished.  They  are  now 
where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and 
where  the  weary  are  at  rest,  Job  iii.  17. 

IV.  While  they  were  in  the  world,  they  had 
a  share,  many  of  them  a  very  large  share,  of 
the  woes  and  sufferings  incident  to  this  mor- 
tal state  :  which,  as  they  are  the  fruits  and  ef- 
fects of  sin,  and  greatly  contribute  to  shorten 
the  life  of  man,  and  hasten  his  return  to  dust, 
aie,  as  I  formerly  observed,  properly  included 
in  the  comprehensive  meaning  of  the  original 
sentence,  death.  They  belong  to  its  train, 
and  are  harbingers  of  its  approach.  None  of 
the  race  of  Adam  are  exempted  from  these  ; 
but  especially  the  servants  of  God  have  no 
exemption.  Their  gracious  Lord,  who  frees 
them  from  condemnation,  and  gives  them 
peace  in  himself,  assures  them  that  in  this 
world  they  shall  have  tribulation,  John  svi. 
S3.  This  is  so  inseparable  from  their  calling, 
that  it  is  mentioned  as  one  special  mark  of 
their  adoption  and  sonship,  Heb.  xii.  6—8. 
If  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  sometimes 
continues  for  a  season  without  interruption, 
their  day  is  coming  (Ps.  xxxvii.  13);  but  the 
righteous  may  expect  chastisement  and  disci- 
pline daily.  Thus  their  graces  are  refined, 
strengthened,  and  displayed,  to  the  praise  of 
their  heavenly  Father.  There  is  no  promise 
in  the  Bible  that  secures  the  most  eminent 
and  exemplary  believer  from  participating  in 
the  heaviest  calamities  in  common  with  oth- 
ers, and  they  have  many  trials  peculiar  to 
themselves.  Thus,  while  upon  earth,  they 
endure  hardship  for  his  sake.  Because  he 
chose  them  out  of  the  world,  and  they  would 
no  longer  comply  with  its  sinful  maxims  and 
customs,  the  world  hated  them,  John  xv.  19. 
Many  of  them  were  the  mark  of  public  scorn 
and  malice,  accounted  the  cffscouring  of  all 
things ;  they  were  driven  to  deserts,  and 
mountains,  and  caves ;  they  suffered  stripes, 
imprisonment,  and  death.  Others  had  trials 
of  pains,  sickness,  and  poverty,  of  sharp 
bereaving  dispensations.  Their  gourds  with- 
ered, and  the  desire  of  their  eyes  was  taken 
away  with  a  stroke.  They  had  fightings  with- 
out, and  fears  within.  So  that  if  their  pres 
sures  and  troubles  were  considered,  without  tak- 
ing into  the  account  their  inward  supports  and 
the  consolation  they  derived  from  their  hopes 
beyond  the  grave,  they  might  be  deemed  of 
all  men  the  most  miserable,  1  Cor.  xv.  1 9. 
Bufcthey  were  supported  under  these  exercises, 
brought  safely  through  them,  and  now  their 
sorrows  are  swallowed  up  in  victory.  Now 
the  days  of  their  mourning  are  ended,  Is.  lx. 
17.      They  now  confess,  that  their  longest  af- 


flictions were  momentary,  and  their  heaviest 
burdens  were  light,  in  comparison  of  that  far 
more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory 
(2  Cor.  iv.  17)  which  they  have  entered  up- 
on. Sorrow  and  sighing  have  taken  their 
everlasting  flight,  and  joy  and  gladness  have 
come  forth  to  meet  them,  and  to  dwell  with 
them  for  ever,  Is.  li.  11. 

V.  In  their  collective  capacity,  the  seeds  of 
sin  often  produced  bitter  fruits.  Through 
remaining  ignorance  and  prejudice,  they  often 
mistook  and  misunderstood  one  another.  They 
lost  much  good  which  they  might  otherwise 
have  enjoyed,  and  brought  upon  themselves 
many  evils.  Through  their  intemperate  heats 
and  unsanctified '  zeal,  which  divided  them 
into  little  parties  and  separate  interests,  the 
children  of  the  same  family,  the  members  of 
the  same  body,  were  too  often  at  variance,  or 
at  least  cold  and  distant  in  their  regards  to 
each  other.  Yea,  Satan  could  foment  discord 
and  jealousies  among  those  who  lived  in  the 
same  house,  or  met  at  the  same  table  of  the 
Lord.  But  now  grace  has  triumphed  over 
every  evil  j  sin  and  death  are  swallowed  up 
in  victory.  Now  all  is  harmony  love,  and 
joy.  They  have  one  heart  and  one  song, 
which  will  never  more  be  blemished  by  the 
harshness  of  a  single  discordant  note. 

May  this  prospect  animate  our  hopes,  and 
awaken,  in  those  who  have  hitherto  been  afat 
off,  a  desire  of  sharing  in  the  happiness  of  the 
redeemed  !  Awful  will  be  the  contrast  to  those 
who  have  had  their  portion  in  this  world  !  Is 
it  needful  to  address  any  in  this  auditory,  in 
the  language  which  our  Lord  used  to  his  im 
penitent  hearers  ?  "  Wo  unto  you  that  are 
rich  ;  for  you  have  received  your  consolation. 
Wo  unto  you  that  are  full ;  for  ye  shall  hun 
ger.  Wo  unto  you  that  laugh  now ;  for  ye 
shall  mourn  and  weep  !"  Luke  vi.  24,  25. 
When  the  rich  man,  who  had  lived  in  honour 
and  affluence  here,  was  torn  from  all  that  he 
loved,  and  lifted  up  his  eyes  in  torment,  the 
remembrance  of  his  former  state,  that  he  once 
had  his  good  things  (Luke  xvi.  25),  but  that 
they  were  gone,  for  ever  gone,  could  only  be 
a  keen  aggravation  of  his  misery.  Dreadful 
will  be  the  condition  of  all  who  die  in  their 
sins  ;  but  the  case  of  those  who  are  now  fre- 
quently envied  by  the  ignorant,  in  the  view  of 
a  mind  enlightened  by  the  truth,  must  appear 
doubly  and  peculiarly  pitiable.  They  have 
the  most  to  lose,  they  have  the  most  to  ac- 
count for.  Alas,  how  terrible,  how  sudden 
the  change  !  From  a  state  of  honour  and  in- 
fluence amongst  men,  to  fall  in  a  moment  un- 
der the  contempt  and  displeasure  of  the  holy 
God — to  pass,  from  a  crowd  of  dependents 
and  flatterers,  to  the  company  of  Satan  and  his 
angels ;  from  grandeur  and  opulence,  to  a 
state  of  utter  darkness  and  horror,  where  the 
worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  cannot  be  quencli- 
ed,  Mark.  ix.  44,  46,  48.  These  are  sensible 
images,   it  is  true  j  the  things  of  the  unseen 


790  TRIUMFH  OVER  DEATH 

world  cannot  be  described  to  us  as  they  are 
in  themselves ;  but  we  may  be  certain  that 
the  description  falls  unspeakably  short  of  the 
reality.  The  malicious  insults  of  the  powers 
of  darkness,  the  mutual  recriminations  of  those 
who,  having  been  connected  in  sin  here,  will 
be  some  way  connected  in  misery  hereafter 
(Matth.  xiii.  30), — remorse,  rage,  despair,  a 
total  and  final  exclusion  from  God  the  foun- 
tain of  happiness,  with  an  abiding  sense  of 
liis  indignation  :  —  this  complicated  misery  can- 
not be  expressed  in  the  language  of  mortals 
—like  the  joy  of  the  blessed,  it  is  more  than 
eye  hath  seen,  or  ear  hath  heard,  or  can  pos- 
sibly enter  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive, 
1  Cor.  ii.  9.  Add  the  ideas  of  unchangeable 
and  eternal  to  the  rest,  that  it  will  be  a  misery 
admitting  of  no  intermission,  abatement,  or 
end  ;  and  then  seriously  consider,  what  can  it 
profit  a  man  should  he  gain  the  whole  world, 
if  at  last  he  should  thus  lose  his  soul  ?  Matth. 
xvi.  26.  No  longer  make  a  mock  at  sin  :  it 
is  not  a  small  evil  ;  it  is  a  great  evil  in  itself, 
and,  unless  pardoned  and  forsaken,  will  be 
productive  of  tremendous  consequences.  No 
longer  make  light  of  the  gospel :  it  points  out 
to  you  the  only  possible  method  of  escaping 
the  damnation  of  hell.  To  refuse  it,  is  to 
rush  upon  remediless  destruction.  No  longer 
trust  in  uncertain  riches  :  if  you  possess  them, 
I  need  not  tell  you  they  do  not  make  you 
happy  at  present,  much  less  will  they  comfort 
you  in  the  hour  of  death,  or  profit  you  in  the 
day  of  wrath,  Prov.  xi.  4.  Waste  not  your 
time  and  talents  (which  must  be  accounted 
for)  in  the  pursuit  of  sensual  pleasure;  in  the 
end  it  will  bite  like  a  serpent.  For  all  these 
things  God  will  assuredly  bring  you  into 
judgment,  u«less  in  this  day  of  grace  you 
humble  yourselves  to  implore  that  mercy 
which  is  still  proposed  to  you,  if  you  will  seek 
it  sincerely  and  with  your  whole  heart ;  and 
which  I  once  more  entreat,  charge,  and  adjure 
you  to  seek,  by  the  great  name  of  Messiah, 
the  Saviour,  by  his  agonies  and  bloody  sweat, 
by  his  cross  and  passion,  by  his  precious  death, 
and  by  the  consideration  of  his  future  glori- 
ous appearance,  to  subdue  all  things  to  him- 
self. 


AND   THE   GRAVE. 


SERMON  XLIV. 

TRIUMPH  OVER  DEATH  AND  THE  GRAVE. 

0  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  0  grave,  where  is 
thy  victory  ?  The  sting  of  death  is  sin  ;  and 
the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law.  Bui  thanks  be 
to  God,  which  g/'veth  us  the  victory,  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.    1  Cor    xv.  55 — 57. 


THE  christian 
propriety,    be 


soldier  may, 
said    to   war 


with  the  greatest 
a   good    warfare, 


SER.  XLIV 

1  Tim.  i.  18.  He  is  engaged  in  a  good  cause; 
he  fights  under  the  eye  of  the  Captain  of  his 
salvation.  Though  he  be  weak  in  himself, 
and  though  his  enemies  are  many  and  mighty, 
he  may  do  that  which  in  other  soldiers  would 
be  presumption,  and  has  often  been  the  cause 
of  a  defeat ;  he  may  triumph  while  he  is  in 
the  heat  of  battle,  and  assure  himself  of  vic- 
tory before  the  conflict  is  actually  decided ; 
for  the  Lord,  his  great  Commander,  fights  for 
him,  goes  before  him,  and  treads  his  enemies 
under  his  feet.  Such  a  persuasion,  when  so- 
lidly grounded  upon  the  promises  and  engage- 
ment of  a  faithful  unchangeable  God,  is  suffi- 
cient, it  should  seem,  to  make  a  coward  bold. 
True  christians  are  not  cowards  ;  yet,  when 
they  compare  themselves  with  their  adversa- 
ries, they  see  much  reason  for  fear  and  sus- 
picion on  their  own  parts ;  but  when  they 
look  to  their  Saviour,  they  are  enlightened, 
strengthened,  and  comforted.  They  consider 
who  he  is,  what  he  has  done ;  that  the  battle 
is  not  so  much  theirs  as  his ;  that  he  is  their 
strength  and  their  shield,  and  that  his  honour 
is  concerned  in  the  event  of  the  war.  Thus 
out  of  weakness  they  are  made  strong  ;  and 
however  pressed  and  opposed,  they  can  say, 
"  Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than 
conquerors,  through  him  that  loved  us!" 
Rom.  viii.  37.  The  whole  power  of  the  op- 
position against  them  is  summed  up  in  the 
words  Sin  and  Death  :  but  these  enemies  are 
already  weakened  and  disarmed.  It  is  sin 
that  furnished  death  with  his  sting ;  a  sting 
sharpened  and  strengthened  by  the  law.  But 
Jesus,  by  his  obedience  unto  death,  has  made 
an  end  of  sin,  and  has  so  fulfilled  and  satisfied 
the  law  on  their  behalf,  that  death  is  deprived 
of  its  sting,  and  can  no  longer  hurt  them. 
They  may  therefore  meet  it  with  confidence, 
and  say,  "  Thanks  be  to  God  who  giveth  us  the 
victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

We  have  here  two  unspeakably  different 
views  to  take  of  the  same  subject, —  Death 
armed  with  its  formidable  sting  ;  and  Death 
rendered  harmless,  and  its  aspect  softened,  by 
the  removal  of  the  sting. 

I.  The  first  is  a  very  awful  subject :  I  en- 
treat your  attention.  I  am  not  now  about  to 
speak  upon  a  point  of  speculation.  It  is  a 
personal,  a  home  concern  to  us  all  For  we 
must  all  die.  But  should  any  of  you  feel  not 
only  the  stroke,  but  the  sting  of  death  when 
you  leave  this  world,  it  were  better  for  you 
that  you  had  never  been  born. 

The  love  of  life,  and  consequently  a  reluc- 
tance to  that  dissolution  of  the  intimate  union 
between  soul  and  body,  which  we  call  death, 
seems  natural  to  man.  But,  if  there  was  no 
hereafter,  no  state  of  judgment  and  retribu- 
tion to  be  expected ;  if  there  was  no  consci- 
ousness of  guilt,  no  foreboding  of  conse- 
quences upon  the  mind  ;  if  we  only  consider- 
ed death  as  inevitable,  and  had  no  apprehen- 
sions beyond  it ;  death  would  be  divested  of 


SER.  XLIV. 


TRIUMPH  OVER  DEATH  AND  THE  GRAVE. 


791 


its  principal  terrors.      We  see  that  when  con-    It  derives  a  strength,   an  efficacy,  and  a  con 


science  is  stupified,  or  when  the  mind  is 
poisoned  with  infidelity,  many  people,  not- 
withstanding the  natural  love  of  life,  are  so 
disgusted  with  its  disappointments,  that  a  fit 
of  impatience,  or  the  dread  of  contempt,  often 


tinuance  from  the  law. 

This  law,  which  gives  strength  to  sin  and 
sharpens  the  sting  of  death,  is  the  law  of  our 
creation,  as  connected  with  the  penalty  which 
God  has  annexed  to  the  breach  of  it.      Our 


prevails  on  them  to  rush  upon  death  by  an  act  relation  to  God,  as  we  are  his  creatures,  re* 
of  their  own  will ;  or  to  hazard  it  in  a  duel, !  quires  us,  according  to  the  very  nature  of 
rather  than  be  suspected  of  wanting  what  they  I  things,  supremely  to  love,  serve,  trust,  and 
account  spirit.  But  death  has  a  sting,  though  obey  him,  who  made  us,  and  in  whom  we 
they  perceive  it  not  till  they  feel  it,  tili  they   live,   and  breathe,  and  have  our  being,  Acts 


are  stung  by  it  past  recovery. 


xvii.  28.      And  our  revolting  from  him,  and 


But   usually,    and  where   the  heart  is  not  i  living  to  ourselves  in  opposition  to  his  will,  is 
quite  hardened,  men  are  unwilling  and  afraid !  such  an  affront  to  his  wisdom,  power,  autho 


to  die.  They  have  some  apprehension  of  the 
sting.  Death  can  sting  at  a  distance.  How 
often  and  how  greatly  does  the  fear  of  death 
poison  and  embitter  all  the  comforts  of  life, 


rity,  and  goodness,  as  must  necessarily  involve 
misery  in  the  very  idea  of  it,  if  his  perfections, 
the  capacity  of  our  souls,  and  our  absolute  de- 
pendence  upon   him,   be   attended   to.      And 


even  in  the  time  of  health  !  Perhaps  some  of  they  must  be  attended  to  sooner  or  later, 
you  well  know  this  to  be  true.  But  in  health  •  Though  he  keep  long  silence,  and  the  sinner 
people  can  in  some  measure  run  away  from  |  presumes  upon  his  patience,  and  thinks  him 


themselves,  if  I  may  so  speak.  They  fly  to 
business,  company,  and  amusements,  to  hide 
themselves  from  their  own  reflections.  Their 
fears  are  transient,  occasional  and  partial  ; 
they  would  tremble  indeed,  if  they  knew  all ; 
or  if  they  were  stedfastly  and  deliberately  to 
contemplate  what  they  do  know.  How  sin  is 
the  sting  of  death,  is  best  discovered  when 
conscience  is  alarmed  in  a  time  of  sickness  ; 
when  the  things  of  the  world  can  no  longer 
amuse,  and  death  is  approaching  with  hasty 
strides.  These  scenes  are  mostly  kept  secret; 
and  very  often  they  are  not  understood  by 
those  who  are  spectators  of  them.  Perhaps 
the  unhappy  terrified  sinner  is  considered  as 
delirious,  because  the  sting  of  death  in  his 
conscience  extorts  from  him  such  confessions 
and  complaints  as  he  never  made  before. 
What  was  once  slighted  as  a  fable,  is  now 
seen  and  felt  as  a  reality.  Such  cases,  I  am 
afraid,  are  more  frequent  than  we  are  in  ge- 
neral aware  of.  But  they  are  suppressed,  as- 
cribed to  the  violence  of  the  fever,  and  for- 
gotten as  soon  as  possible.  Yet  they  do 
sometimes  transpire.  I  believe  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  the  truth  of  what  we  have 
heard,  of  one,  who  in  the  horrors  of  despair 
vainly  offered  his  physicians  many  thousand 
pounds,  to  prolong  his  life  but  a  single  day. 
The  relation  is  in  print,  of  another,  who  point- 
ing to  the  fire  in  his  chamber,  said,  If  he  were 
only  to  lie  twenty  thousand  years  in  such  a 
fire,  he  should  esteem  it  a  mercy  compared 
with  what  he  felt,  and  with  what  he  saw  await- 
ing him.  It  is  not  always  thus.  Many  per- 
sons die  insensible  as  they  lived,  and  can  per- 
haps, trifle  and  jest  in  their  last  moments. 
But  the  scripture  assures  us,  that  when  they 
who  die  in  their  sins  breathe  their  last  in  this 
world,  they  open  their  eyes  in  the  other  world 
in  torments.  For  the  sting  of  death,  the  desert 
of  sin,  unless  timely  removed  by  faith  in 
Jesus,  will  fill  the  soul  with  anguish  for  ever. 


such  a  one  as  himself,  he  will  at  length  re- 
prove him  (Ps-  1.  21),  and  set  his  sins  in  or- 
der before  him,  in  contrast  with  the  demands 
of  his  law.  The  nature,  authority,  extent, 
and  sanction  of  this  law,  all  combine  to  give 
efficacy  to  the  sting  of  death. 

1.  The  law,  to  which  our  tempers  and  con- 
duct ought  to  be  conformed,  is  not  an  arbi- 
trary appointment ;  but  necessarily  results 
from  our  state  as  creatures,  and  the  capacities 
and  powers  we  have  received  from  our  Crea- 
tor. It  is  therefore  holy,  wise,  and  good  ;  in- 
dispensable, and  unchangeable.  To  love  God 
with  all  our  heart  and  strength,  to  depend 
upon  him,  to  conform  to  every  intimation  of 
his  will,  was  the  duty  of  man  from  the  first 
moment  of  his  existence;  was  the  law  of  his 
nature,  written  originally  in  his  heart.  The 
republication  of  it,  as  it  stands  in  the  Bible, 
by  precepts  and  prohibitions,  would  not  have 
been  necessary  had  he  continued  in  that  state 
of  rectitude  in  which  he  was  created.  It  be- 
came necessary  after  his  fall,  to  restrain  him 
from  evil  and  to  convince  him  of  sin  ;  but  could 
not  properly  increase  his  primitive  obligation 
to  obedience. 

2.  We  are  bound  to  the  observance  of  this 
law  by  the  highest  authority.  It  is  the  law  of 
God  our  maker,  preserver,  and  benefactor, 
who  has  every  conceivable  right  to  govern  us. 
His  eye  is  always  upon  us,  and  we  are  sur- 
rounded by  his  power,  so  that  we  can  neither 
avoid  his  notice  nor  escape  his  hand.  Men 
are  usually  tenacious  of  their  authority  ;  they 
seldom  allow  their  dependants  to  dispute  or 
disobey  their  commands  with  impunity.  It 
is  expected  that  a  son  should  honour  his  father, 
and  a  servant  his  master,  Mai.  i.  6.  And 
when  men  have  power  to  execute  the  dictates 
of  their  pride,  they  frequently  punish  disobe- 
dience with  death.  But  how  will  these  haugh- 
ty worms,  who  trample  upon  their  fellow- 
worms,   and   think  they   have  a   right  to  the 


792 


TRIUMPH   OVER  DEATH   AND  THE  GRAVE. 


SLR.  XL IV. 


most  implicit  obedience  from  their  infeiiors; 
now  will  they  tremble  when  they  shall  appear 
before  God,  who  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  to 
answer  for  their  contempt  of  the  authority  of 
the  Sovereign  Lawgiver,  who,  alone,  is  able 
to  save  or  to  destroy  ?  That  we  ought  to  obey 
God  rather  than  man  (Acts  v.  29),  will,  per- 
naps,  be  allowed  as  a  speculative  truth  ;  but 
whoever  will  uniformly  make  it  the  rule  of  his 
practice,  must  expect  upon  many  occasions  to 
be  deemed  a  fool  or  a  madman  by  the  world 
around  him.  But  sovereignty,  majesty,  au- 
thority, and  power  belong  to  God.  He  is  the 
Governor  of  the  universe,  and  his  throne  is  es- 
tablished in  righteousness.  He  is  long-suffer- 
ing, and  waits  to  be  gracious,  but  he  will  not 
forego  his  right.  Sin  is  the  sting  of  death  in- 
deed, when  the  authority  of  him  against  whom 
it  was  committed  is  perceived  by  the  consci- 
ence. 

3.  The  extent  of  the  law  adds  to  the  strength 
by  which  sin  acts  as  the  sting  of  death.  Hu- 
man laws  can  only  take  cognisance  of  words 
and  actions.  But  the  law  of  God  reaches  to 
the  thoughts  and  inward  recesses  of  the  heart. 
It  condemns  what  is  most  specious  and  most 
approved  amongst  men,  if  not  proceeding 
from  a  right  intention,  and  directed  to  the 
right  end,  which  can  be  no  other  than  the 
will  and  glory  of  him  who  made  us.  It  con- 
demns the  sinner  not  only  for  the  evil  which 
he  has  actually  committed,  but  for  every  sin- 
ful purpose  formed  in  his  heart,  and  which 
was  only  rendered  abortive  for  want  of  oppor- 
tunity, Matth.  v.  28.  It  likewise  takes  exact 
notice  of  every  aggravation  of  sin,  arising 
from  circumstances,  from  the  abuse  of  supe- 
rior light  and  advantages,  and  from  the  long 
train  of  consequences,  increasing  in  propor- 
tion to  the  influence  which  the  rank,  wealth, 
or  extensive  connections  of  the  offender  give 
to  his  example. 

4.  The  sanction  of  the  law,  which  thus 
strengthens  the  malignity  of  sin,  is  the  very 
point,  if  I  may  so  express  myself,  of  the  sting 
of  death.  This  is  the  displeasure  of  the  Al- 
mighty. His  holy,  inflexible  love  of  order 
will  exclude  those  who  violate  it  from  his  fa- 
vour. They  must  be  miserable,  unless  they 
are  reconciled  and  renewed  by  the  grace  of 
the  gospel.  They  must  be  separated  from 
him,  and  they  cannot  be  happy  without  him. 
They  are  not  so  even  in  this  world,  which 
they  love.  How  miserable  then  must  they  be, 
when,  torn  from  all  their  attachments,  plea- 
sures, and  possessions,  having  no  longer  any 
thing  to  divert  them  from  a  fixed  attention  to 
their  true  state,  they  shall  be  made  keenly 
sensible  of  what  is  implied  in  that  sentence, 
"  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting 
fire."  We  cannot  now  conceive  what  it  will 
be  to  lose  the  only  good  which  can  satisfy  a 
'.oid  .   to  be  shut  out  from  God,  whose  favour 


nor  hope  can  enter.  The  images  of  fire  un- 
quenchable and  a  never-dying  worm,  are  but 
faint  emblems  of  that  despair  and  remorse  which 
will  sting  the  sinful  soul  in  a  future  state. 
This  is  the  second  death  :  this  is  eternal  death  ; 
for  the  wicked,  and  all  they  who  forget  Gud, 
when  thrust  into  hell,  will  for  ever  desire  to 
die,  and  death  will  for  ever  flee  from  them, 
Rev.  ix.  6. 

II.  Let  us  turn  our  thoughts  to  a  more 
pleasing  theme,  and  attempt  to  take  a  view  of 
death  as  softened  into  a  privilege  by  him  who 
has  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light. 
Jesus  died.  His  death  was  penal  ;  he  died 
for  sin,  though  not  for  his  own,  and  therefore 
suffered  the  penalty  due  to  sin,  the  curse  of 
the  broken  law.  The  torment  and  shame  of 
his  crucifixion  were  preceded  and  accompan- 
ied by  unknown  agonies  and  conflicts,  which 
caused  him  to  sweat  blood,  and  to  utter  strong 
cries  and  groans.  Death  stung  him  to  the 
heart  ;  but  (as  it  is  said  of  the  enraged  bee) 
he  lost  his  sting.  The  law  having  been  ho- 
noured, and  sin  expiated,  by  the  obedience 
and  sufferings  of  the  Son  of  God  for  us,  and 
in  our  nature,  death  has  no  longer  power  to 
sting  those  who  believe  in  him.  They  do  not 
properly  die,  they  fall  asleep  in  Jesus,  Acts 
vii.  60;  I  Thessalonians  iv.  15.  To  them 
this  last  enemy  acts  a  friendly  part.  He  is 
sent  to  put  an  end  to  all  their  sorrows,  and 
to  introduce  them  into  a  state  of  endless  life 
and  joy. 

1.  Dying  believers  can  sing  this  song  be- 
fore their  departure  out  of  the  world.  We 
expect  it,  when  we  are  called  to  attend  them 
in  their  last  hours  ;  and  if  their  illness  leaves 
them  in  possession  of  their  faculties  and 
speech,  we  are  seldom  disappointed.  Yet  1 
believe  a  full  knowledge  of  this  subject  can- 
not be  collected  from  what  we  observe  ol 
others,  or  hear  from  them,  when  they  are  neai 
death.  We  must  be  in  similar  circumstances 
ourselves,  before  we  can  see  as  they  see,  or 
possess  the  ideas  which  they  endeavour  to  de. 
scribe,  and  which  seem  too  great  for  the  Ian. 
"uage  of  mortals  to  convev. 

We  know,  by  the  evidence  of  undeniable 
testimony,  that  many  faithful  servants  of  God, 
when  called  to  suffer  for  his  sake,  have  not 
only  been  supported,  but  comforted,  and  en- 
abled to  rejoice,  under  the  severest  tortures, 
and  even  in  the  midst  of  the  flames.  We  sup- 
pose, I  think  with  reason,  that  such  commu- 
nications of  light  and  power  as  raise  a  person, 
in  such  situations,  above  the  ordinary  feelings 
of  humanity,  must,  either  in  kind  or  degree, 
be  superior  to  what  is  usually  enjoyed  by 
christians  in  the  smoother  walks  of  prosperity 
and  outward  peace.  God,  who  is  all-suffi- 
cient, and  always  near,  has  promised  to  give 
his  people  strength  according  to  their  day,  and 
in  the  time  of  trouble  they  are  not  disappoint- 


is  life,  and  in  whose  presence  there  is  fulness    ed.      A  measure  of  the  like  extraordinary  dis 
of  joy,  and  to  be  shut  up  where  neither  peace,  coveries  and  supports  is  often  vouchsafed  to 


SER.  XLIV.       TRIUMPH   OVER  DEATH  AND  THE  GRAVE. 


793 


dying  believers,  and  thus  the  gloom  which 
might  otherwise  hang  over  their  dying  hours, 
is  dispelled;  and  while  they  contemplate  the 
approach  of  death,  a  new  world  opens  upon 
them.  Even  while  they  are  yet  upon  earth, 
they*tand  upon  the  threshold  of  heaven.  It 
seems,  in  many  cases,  as  if  die  weakness  of 
the  bodily  frame  gave  occasion  to  the  awaken- 
ing of  some  faculty,  till  then  dormant  in  the 
soid,  by  which  invisibles  are  not  only  believ- 
ed, but  seen,  and  unutterables  are  heard  and 
understood. 

The  soul's  dirk  cottage,  tattered  and  decayed, 
Lets  in  new  light  through  chinks. 

Instances  are  frequent  of  those  who  are 
thus  blessed  when  they  die  in  the  Lord  ;  and 
it  does  not  appear  that  old  age,  or  great  know- 
ledge, or  long  experience,  gives  any  consider- 
able advantage  in  a  dying  hour ;  for  when  the 
heart  is  truly  humbled  for  sin,  and  the  hope 
solidly  fixed  upon  the  Saviour,  persons  of  weak 
capacities  and  small  attainments,  yea,  novices, 
and  children,  are  enabled  to  meet  death  with 
equal  fortitude  and  triumph.  And  often  the 
present  comforts  they  feel,  and  their  lively  ex- 
pectations of  approaching  glory,  inspire  them 
with  a  dignity  of  sentiment  and  expression  far 
beyond  what  could  be  expected  from  them  ; 
and  perhaps  their  deportment  upon  the  whole 
is  no  less  animating  and  encouraging,  than 
that  of  the  most  established  and  best  informed 
believers.  Thus,  out  of  the  mouths  of  babes 
and  sucklings  the  Lord  ordains  strength,  and 
perfects  his  praise,  Ps.  viii.  2.  In  a  few  hours, 
under  the  influence  of  his  immediate  teaching, 
they  often  learn  more  of  the  certainty  and  im- 
portance of  divine  things  than  can  be  derived 
from  the  ordinary  methods  of  instruction  in 
the  course  of  many  years.  In  the  midst  of 
agonies  and  outward  distress,  we  hear  them 
with  admiration  declare  that  they  are  truly 
happy,  and  that  they  never  knew  pleasure  in 
their  happiest  days  of  health  equal  to  what 
they  enjoy  when  flesh  and  heart  are  fainting. 
For  death  has  lost  its  sting  as  to  them,  and 
while  they  are  able  to  speak,  they  continue  as- 
cribing praise  to  him,  who  has  given  them  the 
victory,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  E- 
very  word  in  this  doxology  is  emphatical. 

1st.  Thanks  be  to  God. — This  blessedness 
is  all  his  work.    The  means  are  of  his  gracious 

CD 

appointment.  The  application  is  by  his  gra- 
cious power.  He  gave  his  Son  for  them,  he 
sent  his  gospel  to  them.  It  was  the  agency 
of  his  Spirit  that  made  them  a  willing  people. 
The  word  of  promise,  which  is  the  ground  of 
their  hope,  was  of  his  gratuitous  providing, 
and  it  was  he  who  constrained  and  enabled 
them  to  trust  in  it,  Ps.  cxix.  49. 

2d.  Who  giveth  us  the  victory. — This  is 
victory  indeed  ;  for  it  is  over  the  last  enemy  ; 
and  after  the  last  enemy  is  vanquished,  there 
can  be  no  more  conflicts.  In  this  sense,  be- 
lievers are  more  thai)   conquerors.      In  other, 


wars,  they  who  have  conquered  once  and  a- 
gain,  may  have  been  finally  defeated,  or  they 
may  have  died  (like  our  long-lamented  gene- 
ral Wolfe)  upon  the  field  of  battle,  and  have 
left  the  fruits  of  their  victory  to  be  enjoyed  by 
others.  But  the  christian  soldier,  though  he 
may  occasionally  be  a  loser  in  a  skirmish,  he 
is  sure  to  conquer  in  the  last  great  deciding 
battle  ;  and  when  to  an  eye  of  sense,  he  seems 
to  fall,  he  is  instantly  translated  to  receive  the 
plaudit  of  his  Commander,  and  the  crown  of 
lifB  which  he  has  prepared  for  them  that  love 
him. 

3d,  This  victory  is  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. — They  gained  it  not  by  their  own 
sword,  neither  was  it  their  own  arm  that  sav- 
ed them,  Ps.  xliv.  3.  He  died  to  deliver 
them,  who  would  otherwise,  through  fear  of 
death,  have  been  always  subject  to  bondage. 
And  it  is  he  who  teaches  their  hands  to  war, 
and  their  fingers  to  fight,  and  covers  their 
heads  in  the  day  of  battle.  Therefore  they 
gladly  say,  "  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto 
us,  but  unto  thy  name,  be  the  glory  and  the 
praise,"  Ps.  cxv.  1.  And  this  consideration 
enhances  their  pleasure  ;  for  because  they  love 
him  above  all,  they  rejoice  not  only  in  the  vic- 
tory they  obtain,  but  in  the  thought  that  they 
are  indebted  to  him  for  it.  For  were  it  pos- 
sible there  could  be  several  methods  of  salva- 
tion, and  they  were  left  to  their  own  choice, 
they  would,  most  gladly  and  deliberately, 
chuse  that  method  which  should  bring  them 
under  the  greatest  obligations  to  him. 

2.  This  triumphant  song  will  be  sung  to  the 
highest  advantage,  when  the  whole  body  of  the 
redeemed  shall  be  collected  together  to  sing  it 
with  one  heart  and  voice  at  the  great  resurrec- 
tion-day. Lot  was  undoubtedly  thankful, 
when  he  was  snatched  from  the  impending  de- 
struction of  Sodom.  Yet  his  lingering  (Gen. 
xix.  16)  shewed,  that  he  had  but  an  imperfect 
sense  of  the  greatness  of  the  mercy  afforded 
him.  His  feelings  were  probably  stronger 
afterwards,  when  he  stood  in  safety  upon  the 
mountain,  and  actually  saw  the  smoke  rising, 
like  the  smoke  of  a  furnace,  from  the  place 
where  he  had  lately  dwelt.  At  present  we 
have  but  very  faint  ideas  of  the  misery  from 
vi  hich  we  are  delivered,  of  the  happiness  re- 
served in  heaven  for  us ;  or  of  the  sufferings 
of  the  Redeemer  ;  but  if  we  attain  to  the  hea- 
venly Zion,  and  see  from  thence  the  smoke  ot 
that  bottomless  pit,  which  might  justly  have 
been  our  everlasting  abode,  we  shall  then  more 
fully  understand  what  we  are  delivered  from, 
the  means  of  our  deliverance,  and  the  riches 
of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.  And 
then  we  shall  sing  in  more  exalted  strains  than 
we  can  at  present  even  conceive  of,  "  Thanks 
be  to  God,  who  hath  given  us  the  victory 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  ' 


791 


DIVINE  SUPPORT  AND  PROTECTION. 


SERMON  XLV. 

DIVINE  SUTPORT  AND  PROTECTION. 

{What  shall  we  say  then  to  these  things?)  If 
God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ? 
Rom.  viii   31. 

The  passions  of  joy  or  grief,  of  admiration 
or  gratitude,  are  moderate,  when   we  are  able 
to  find  words  which  fully  describe  their  emo- 
tions.     When  they  rise  very  high,  language  is 
too  faint  to  express  them  ;  and  the  person  is 
either  lost  in  silence,  or  feels  something  which, 
after  his  most  laboured  efforts,  is  too  big  for 
utterance.      We  may  often  observe  the  apostle 
Paul  under  this  difficulty,  when  attempting  to 
excite  in  others  such  sensations  as  filled  his 
own  heart,  while  contemplating  the  glories  and 
blessings  of  the  gospel.      Little  verbal  critics, 
who  are  not  animated  by  his  fervour,  are  in- 
capable of  entering  into  the  spirit  of  his  writ- 
ings.     They    coldly    examine    them    by    the 
strictness    of   grammatical    rules,    and    think 
themselves  warranted  to  charge  him  with  sole- 
cisms,  and   improprieties  of  speech.      For  it 
must,  be  allowed,  that  he  sometimes  departs 
from  the  usual  forms  of  expression  ;  invents 
new  words,  or  at  least  compounds  words  for 
his  own  use,  and  heaps  one  hyperbole  upon 
another.      But  there  is  a  beautiful  energy  In 
his  manner  far  superior  to  the  frigid  exactness 
of  grammarians,  though  the  taste  of  a  mere 
grammarian  is  unable  to  admire  or  relish  it. 
When   he  is  stating  the   advantage  of  being 
with  Christ,  as  beyond  any  thing  that  can  be 
enjoyed  in  the  present  life,  he  is  not  content  with 
saying,  as  his  expression  is  rendered  in  our  ver- 
sion, "  It  is  far  better,"  Phil.  i.   23.      In  the 
Greek,  another  word  of  comparison  is  added, 
which,  if  our  language  would  bear  the  literal 
translation,  would  be,  "  Far  more  better,"  or 
"Much  more  better."      And  when  he  would 
describe  the  low  opinion  he  had  of  himself, 
great  as  his  attainments  were  in  our  view,  he 
thinks  it  not  sufficient  to  style  himself  "  The 
least  of  all  saints,"   but  "  less  than  the  least," 
Eph.  iii.  8.      Such  phrases  do  not  imply  that 
he  was  ignorant  of  the  rules  of  good  writing, 
but  they  strongly  intimate   the  fulness  of  his 
heart.      In  the  course  of  the  chapter  before  us, 
having  taken  a  rapid  survey  of  the   work  of 
grace,  carried   on  by  successive  steps  in   the 
hearts  of  believers,  till  at  length  consummated 
in  g'ory,  in  this  verse,  instead  of  studying  for 
words  answerable  to  his  views,    he  seems  to 
come  to  a  full  stop,  as  sensible  that  the  strong- 
est expressions  he  could  use  would  be  too  faint. 
He  makes  an  abrupt  transition   from  describ- 
ing to  admiring.      He  has  said  much,  but  not 
enough  ;  and  therefore  sums  up  all  with,  "What 
shall  we  say  to   these  things  ?"      Surely  they 
who  can  read,  with  the  utmost  coolness  and 
indifference,  what  he  could  not  write  without 


SEP..  XLV 

rapture  and  astonishment,  do  not  take  his 
words  in  his  sense.  If  the  apostle's  phraseo- 
logy is  now  become  obsolete,  and  sounds  un- 
couth in  the  ears  of  too  many  who  would  be 
thought  christians,  is  there  not  too  much  rea- 
son to  fear  that  they  are  christians  only  in 
name  ? 

Though  this  short  lively  question  is  omitted 
in  the  musical  composition,  I  am  not  willing 
to  leave  it  out.  It  stands  well,  as  a  sequel  to 
what  we  have  lately  considered.  The  sting  of 
death  is  taken  away.  Death  itself  is  swallow- 
ed up  in  victory.  Sinners,  who  were  once 
burdened  with  guilt  and  exposed  to  condem- 
nation, obtain  a  right  to  sing,  "  Thanks  be  to 
God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory,  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ" — "  What  shall  we  say  to 
these  things  ?'' 

It  stands  well  likewise,  as  introducing  the 
following  question, — "  If  God  be  for  us ;"  if  his 
promises,  his  power,  his  wisdom,  and  his  love, 
be  all  engaged  on  our  behalf,  "  who  can  be 
against  us?"  What  shall  we,  or  can  we,  or 
need  we  say  more  than  this  ?  what  cause  can 
we  have  for  fear,  or  our  enemies  for  triumph, 
if  God  be  for  us  ? 

We  may  consider, 

I.  What  is  implied  in  the  supposition. 

II.  The  meaning  of  the  inference. 

I.  The  form  of  the  question  is  hypothetical. 
If  the  assumption  be  right,  that  God  is  for  us; 
the  conclusion,  that  none  can  be  effectually 
against  us,  is  infallibly  sure.  Many  serious 
persons  will  allow,  that  if  God  be  indeed  for 
them,  all  must,  and  will  be  well  in  the  end. 
But  they  hesitate  at  the  if,  and  are  ready  to 
ask,   How  shall  I  know  that  God  is  for  me  .' 

1  would  offer  you  a  few  considerations  towards 
the  determining  of  this  point,  in  the  first 
place. 

Sin  has  made  an  awful  breach  and  separa- 
tion between  God  and  mankind.  They  are 
alienated  in  their  minds  from  him,  and  he  is 
justly  displeased  with  them.  The  intercourse 
and  communion  with  God,  which  constitute 
the  honour  and  happiness  of  the  human  na- 
ture, were  no  longer  either  afforded  or  desired 
when  man  rebelled  against  his  Maker,  except 
to  the  few  who  understood  and  embraced  his 
gracious  purpose  of  reconciliation,  the  first  in- 
timation of  which  was  revealed  in  the  promise 
of  the  seed  of  the  woman,  who  should  bruise 
the  serpent's  head,  Gen.  iii.  13.  The  clear 
and  full  discovery  of  this  reconciliation  is 
made  known  to  us  by  the  gospel.  "  God  was 
in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself," 

2  Cor.  v.  1 9,  God  is  already  reconciled  in 
his  sense,  that  having  provided  and  accepted  a 
satisfaction  to  his  law  and  justice,  he  can  now, 
in  a  way  worthy  of  himself,  receive  and  par- 
don the  returning  sinner.  And  he  accompa- 
nies the  word  of  his  grace  with  the  power  of 
his  Holy  Spirit,  to  make  sinners  willing  to  be 
reconciled  to  him.  If  we  be  for  God,  lie  i* 
assuredly  for  us.      If  we   seek    him,   hs>   ha* 


SEU.  XLV. 


DIVINE  SUPPORT  AND  PROTECTION. 


795 


been  beforehand  with  us :  for,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, he  is  always  found  of  those  who  seek 
him  not,  Is.  lxv.  1.  If  we  love  him,  it  is  be- 
cause he  first  loved  us.  True  believers  walk 
with  God.  But  two  cannot  walk  together, 
with  confidence  and  comfort,  unless  they  be 
agreed,  Amos  iii.  3.  This  agreement  is  chief- 
ly with  respect  to  three  particulars  proposed 
by  the  Lord  God  in  his  word,  and  to  which 
the  believing  sinner  cheerfully  and  thankfully 
accedes. 

1.  In  the  ground  of  the  agreement;  this  is 
Messiah,  the  Mediator  between  God  and  man. 
When  he  entered  upon  his  office,  a  voice  from 
heaven  commended  him  to  sinners,  "  This  is 
my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased," 
Matth.  iii.  17.  And  they  who  are  enlightened 
to  behold  the  glory  of  God  in  his  person  and 
engagement,  accept  him  as  the  beloved  Saviour 
in  whom  and  with  whom  they  are  well  pleased. 
Without  this  acceptance  of  the  Mediator  there 
can  be  no  agreement.  Jesus  is  the  only  door, 
the  only  way  of  a  sinner's  access  to  the  know- 
ledge and  favour  of  God.  This  is  (he  pre- 
vious and  sure  foundation  which  he  has  laid 
in  Zion  (1  Pet.  ii.  6);  and  to  presume  to 
build  our  hope  upon  any  other,  is  to  build  upon 
a  quicksand.  In  this  point  reason,  in  its  pre- 
sent distempered  state,  would  lead  us,  if  fol- 
lowed, directly  contrary  to  the  simplicity  of 
faith.  Reason  suggests,  that  if  we  have  acted 
wrong  we  must  repent  and  amend,  and  what 
tan  we  do  more  ?  But  the  law  against  which 
we  have  sinned  makes  no  provision  for  re- 
pentance. Nor  is  such  a  repentance  as  in- 
cludes a  change  of  heart  (and  nothing  short  of 
this  deserves  the  name)  in  our  own  power.  Re- 
pentance unto  life  (Acts  xi.  18)  is  the  gift  of 
God  ;  and  Jesus,  who  is  exalted  to  be  a  prince 
and  a  Saviour  (Acts  v.  31),  bestows  it  upon 
those  who  acknowledge  him,  and  implore  it  of 
him.  But  God  will  only  treat  with  us  as 
those  who  are  condemned  already,  who  have 
nothing  but  sin,  and  deserve  nothing  but  mi- 
sery. When  we  feel  this  to  be  our  proper 
state,  we  are  referred  to  Jesus,  in  whom  God 
is  well  pleased,  and  for  whose  sake  sins  are 
pardoned,  and  sinners  accepted  and  justified, 
without  condition  and  without  exception.  And 
then  likewise  we  begin  to  see  the  necessity, 
propriety,  and  sufficiency  of  this  appointment. 
Herein  all  who  are  taught  of  God  are  of  one 
mind.  However  they  may  differ  in  some  re- 
spects, they  agree  in  cordially  receiving  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord  (Col.  ii.  6),  as  he  is  made  of 
God  for  us  wisdom,  righteousness,  and  sal- 
vation. 

2.  They  agree  with  God  in  the  great  de- 
sign of  the  gospel,  which  is  to  purify  unto 
himself  a  peculiar  people,  who,  being  deli- 
vered from  their  fears  and  their  enemies,  shall 
serve  him  with  an  unreserved  and  persevering 
obedience,  Luke  i.  74,  75.  A  deliverance 
from  the  power  of  sin  and  Satan,  a  devoted- 
ness  to  God,    and  a  conformity  to  the  mind 


and  pattern  of  his  dear  Son,  are  included  by 
every  true  believer  in  the  idea  of  salvation. 
He  knows  that  he  can  be  happy  in  no  other 
way.  This  is  a  turning  point.  There  are 
convictions  of  sin  excited  by  a  dread  of  pu- 
nishment, which,  though  distressing  to  the 
conscience,  leave  the  heart  and  affections  un- 
changed. They  who  are  thus  impressed,  if 
no  farther,  would  be  satisfied  with  an  assur- 
ance of  pardon.  But  the  grace  of  God  which 
bringeth  salvation  (Tit.  ii.  11,  12),  teaches  us 
to  renounce,  to  abhor  all  ungodliness  in  the 
present  world  ;  to  give  ourselves  unto  him  who 
gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us 
from  all  iniquity  ;  and  to  walk  worthy  of  God, 
who  calls  us  to  his  kingdom  and  glory,  1  Thess. 
ii.  12.  This  is  the  will  of  God,  even  our 
sanctification.  And  this  is  the  desire  of  his 
people,  that  they  may  be  sanctified  wholly; 
that  their  whole  persons,  spirit,  soul,  and  body, 
may  be  preserved  blameless  ;  that  they  may  be 
filled  with  the  fruits  of  righteousness,  which 
are  by  Jesus  Christ ;  that  they  may  walk  as 
the  sons  of  God  without  rebuke,  and  -shine  as 
lights  in  the  world,  Phil.  ii.  15.  Though 
their  attainments  are  imperfect,  in  their  judg- 
ment and  desires,  they  are  fully  agreed  with 
God  as  to  their  aim  and  design. 

3.  They  are  agreed  with  him  likewise  as  to 
the  ultimate  great  end,  the  final  cause  of  their 
redemption,  which  is  the  praise  of  the  glory  of 
his  grace,  Eph.  i.  6.  That  the  loftiness,  high 
looks,  and  proud  pretences  of  men  may  be  a- 
based,  and  the  Lord  alone  may  be  exalted,  and 
that  he  who  glorieth  may  glory  only  in  the 
Lord,  1  Corinthians,  i.  81.  Salvation  is  of 
the  Lord  in  every  sense  ;  the  plan,  the  price, 
the  power,  the  application,  the  consumma- 
tion. He  is  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega, 
the  author  and  the  object  of  it.  The  praise 
therefore  is  wholly  due  to  him,  and  he  claims 
it.  To  this  claim  his  people  fully  consent. 
It  is  the  desire  of  their  souls,  that  his  name, 
which  alone  is  excellent,  may  alone  he  ex- 
tolled ;  and  with  one  heart  and  voice  they  say, 
Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  unto 
thee  be  all  the  glory  and  all  the  praise,  Psal. 
cxv.  1. 

If  we  truly  understand  and  approve  these 
things,  then  we  are  certainly  engaged  for  God, 
and  of  course  he  is  for  us.  For  he  alone  could 
either  enable  us  to  see  them  in  their  true  light, 
or  incline  our  hearts  to  embrace  them.  Who 
then  can  be  against  us  ? 

II.  We  are  not  to  understand  the  question, 
"  Who  can  be  against  us?"  as  designed  to  en- 
courage us  to  expect  that  they  who  have  the 
Lord  on  their  side  will  meet  with  no  opposi- 
tion, but  that  all  opposition  against  them  will 
be  in  vain. 

1.  They  whom  God  is  for,  will  on  that  very 
account  have  many  opposers. 

(1.)  The  men  of  the  world. — This  our  Lord 
expressly  teaches  us  to  expect.  "  If  ye  were 
of  the  world,   the  world  would  love  its  own. 


79b 


DIVINE  SUPPORT  AND  PROTECTION. 


But  because  you  are  not  of  the  world,  but  I 
have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the 
world  hateth  you,"  John  xv.  19.  And  his 
apostle,  "Marvel  not,  inv  brethren,  if  the  world 
hate  you,"  1  John  iii.  14.  Till  we  declare  for 
him,  the  world  will  bear  with  us,  but  no  long- 
er, as  the  Gibeonites  were  in  a  state  of  honour 
and  friendship  with  the  neighbouring  cities  till 
they  submitted  to  Joshua  (Josh.  x.  1 — 4)  ; 
but  when  they  obtained  peace  from  him,  they 
were  immediately  involved  in  war  with  their 
former  friends.  While  Saul  persecuted  the 
church,  the  world  smiled  upon  him,  and  he 
seemed  to  be,  as  we  say,  in  the  way  of  prefer- 
ment. Rut  when  he  yielded  himself  to  the 
service  of  Christ,  and  his  defection  from  the 
common  cause  became  generally  known,  bonds 
and  afflictions  awaited  him  in  every  place;  and 
they  who  before  had  employed  and  caressed 
him  sought  his  life.  I  do  not  mean  to  sound 
a  trumpet  of  defiance.  I  believe  that  young 
converts,  by  their  warm  but  injudicious  zea 
often,  more  than  is  necessary,  provoke  the  spi- 
rit of  the  world,  and  thereby  increase  their  own 
difficulties.  The  gospel,  when  rightly  under- 
stood, inspires  a  spirit  of  benevolence,  and  di- 
rects to  a  conduct  which  is  suited  to  conciliate 
good-will  and  esteem.  And  when  the  apos- 
tle exhorts  us,  If  it  be  possible,  and  as  much 
as  in  us  lies,  to  live  peaceably  with  all  men 
(Rom.  xii.  18),  he  gives  us  hope  that  much 
may  be  done  to  soften  prejudices,  to  put  to  si- 
lence the  ignorance  of  foolish  men,  and  to 
make  them  at  least  ashamed,  by  a  patient  per- 
severance in  well-doing.  A  consistent  chris- 
tian, whose  integrity,  humility,  and  philan- 
thropy mark  his  character  and  adorn  his  pro- 
fession, will  in  time  command  respect;  but 
his  attachment  to  unfashionable  truths,  and 
his  separation  from  the  maxims  and  pursuits 
of  the  many,  will  render  him,  in  their  eyes, 
singular  and  precise,  weak  and  enthusiastic. 
If  they  say,  "  He  is  a  good  sort  of  man,  but 
has  some  strange  peculiarities,"  it  is  the  most 
favourable  judgment  he  can  hope  for;  and 
from  some  persons,  and  at  some  times,  he 
will  meet  with  tokens  of  a  settled  dislike.  For 
though  a  religious  character  may  be  formed, 
which  even  the  world  will  approve,  yet  all 
who  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  must  suf- 
fer persecution,  2  Tim.  iii.  12.  They  walk 
in  the  midst  of  observers,  who  watch  for  their 
halting,  who  lay  snares  for  their  feet,  and  will 
endeavour  to  bribe  or  intimidate  them  to  for- 
sake the  path  of  duty.  It  is  difficult  to  stem 
the  torrent,  or  to  avoid  the  infection  of  the 
world,  and  to  live  superior  to  the  fear  of  man, 
as  becomes  us,  if  we  know  whose  we  are,  and 
whom  we  serve.  Rut  though  difficult,  it  is 
practicable  and  attainable,  and  actually  at- 
tained by  believers ;  for  this  is  the  victory  that 
overcometh  the  world,  even  our  faith,  1  John 
v.  4. 

(2.)   The  powers  of  darkness. —Satan  will 
not    ordinarily  trouble  while    he  bears    rule. 


SER.  XLV. 

lie  is  indeed  an  enemy  to  his  own  servants, 
and  seeks  their  destruction,  both  sold  and  bo- 
dy, by  pushing  them  on  in  sin,  which  if  per- 
sisted in  will  prove  their  ruin  ;  but  while  they 
make  no  resistance,  he  gives  them  no  dis- 
turbance. It  is  otherwise  with  those  whom 
the  Lord  has  freed  from  his  bondage.  He 
will  pursue  them  like  a  lion  seeking  his  prey 
(1  Pet.  v.  8),  and  lie  in  wait  for  them  like  a 
serpent  in  the  path.  This  is  one  cause  of  the 
world's  hatred ;  for  the  scripture  styles  him 
the  god  of  this  world  (2  Cor.  iv.  4),  and  he 
sets  all  that  he  can  influence,  tongues,  and 
pens,  and  swords,  against  those  who  are  on 
the  Lord's  side.  Therefore  the  people  of  God 
may  be  known  by  two  marks.  Satan  by  him- 
self and  by  his  instruments  fights  against 
them,  and  they  also  fight  against  him.  The 
former  without  the  latter  is  not  conclusive. 
A  mere  outward  profession  of  religion  may- 
excite  opposition,  and  mere  pretenders  may 
take  pleasure  in  it  for  a  time,  if  it  does  not 
come  too  close.  It  may  feed  their  vanity,  and 
give  them  a  sort  of  consequence,  by  having 
sufferings  to  talk  of.  Rut  I  would  entreat 
my  hearers  seriously  to  examine,  Is  your  heart 
really  set  against  sin,  which  is  the  strength  of 
Satan's  kingdom  ?  Are  you  against  his  will 
and  interest  in  the  world  ?  Have  you  re- 
nounced his  service  ?  If  so,  fear  not.  God 
is  for  you,  and  none  can  harm  you..      For, 

2.  No  opposition  can  prevail  against  us,  if 
God  be  for  us.  It  is  impossible  to  deny,  or 
even  to  doubt  this  truth,  upon  the  principles 
of  reason;  for  who,  or  what,  can  injure  those 
who  are  under  the  protection  of  Omnipo- 
tence ?  And  yet  it  is  not  always  easy  to 
maintain  the  persuasion  of  it  in  the  mind,  and 
to  abide  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  when,  to  an 
eye  of  sense,  all  things  seem  against  us.  Rut 
though  we  believe  not,  he  continueth  faithful, 
and  will  not  forsake  those  whom  he  once  en- 
ables to  put  their  trust  in  him.  Job  was  a 
faithful  and  approved  servant  of  God,  yet  for 
a  season  his  trials  were  great,  and  his  confi- 
dence was  sometimes  shaken.  Rut  he  was 
supported,  and  at  length  delivered.  Ther°  are 
many  instances  recorded  in  scripture  to  con- 
firm our  faith,  and  to  teach  us,  that  God  ma- 
nifests himself  to  be  for  his  people,  and  in  dif- 
ferent ways  renders  them  superior  to  all  their 
difficulties  and  enemies. 

At  one  time  he  prevents  the  threatened  dan- 
ger. They  only  see  it  or  expect  it,  for  he  is 
better  to  them  than  their  apprehensions  and 
fears.  Thus,  when  Sennacherib  was  furious 
against  Jerusalem,  and  supposed  he  could 
easily  prevail,  he  was  not  suffered  to  come 
near  it,  Isa.  xxxvii.  29,  33.  When  he  thought 
to  destroy  it,  he  felt  a  hook  and  a  bridle  which 
he  could  not  resist,  and  was  compelled  to  re- 
tire disappointed  and  ashamed. 

At  another  time  the  enemies  go  a  step  far- 
ther. His  people  are  brought  into  trouble, 
but   God  is  with  them,  and  they  escape  uu- 


SER.  XLVI.  ACCUSERS  CHALLENGED. 

hurt.  So  Daniel,  though  he  was  cast  into  the 
den  of  lions  (Dan.  vi.  23),  received  no  more 
harm  from  them  than  if  he  had  heen  among 
a  flock  of  sheep.  He  permitted  three  of  his 
servants  to  be  thrown  into  a  furnace  of  fire, 
but  he  restrained  the  violence  of  the  flames, 
so  that  not  even  a  hair  of  their  heads  was 
singed,  Dan.  hi.  27. 

The  most  that  opposers  can  do  is  to  kill  the 
body,  Luke  xii.  4.  If  God  permits  his  peo- 
ple to  be  thus  treated,  still  they  are  not  for- 
saken. Their  death  is  precious  in  his  sight, 
Psal.  cxvi.  15.  They  who  die  in  the  Lord  are 
blessed.  They  are  highly  honoured  who  are 
called  and  enabled  to  die  for  him.  If  he  is 
pleased  to  comfort  them  with  his  presence, 
and  then  to  take  them  home  to  himself,  they 
can  desire  no  more.  Stephen,  though  appa- 
rently given  up  to  the  power  of  his  adver- 
saries, and  cruelly  stoned  to  death,  was  no 
less  happy  than  those  who  die  in  composure 
upon  their  beds,  with  their  friends  around 
them.  Nor  was  he  less  composed ;  for  the 
heavens  were  opened  to  him,  and  he  saw  his 
Saviour  in  glory,  approving  his  fidelity,  and 
ready  to  receive  his  spirit,  Acts  vii.  56 — 60. 

In  brief,  whatever  men  or  devils  may  at- 
tempt against  us,  there  are  three  things  which, 
if  we  are  true  believers,  they  cannot  do.  They 
may  be  helpful  to  wean  us  from  the  world  ; 
they  may  add  earnestness  to  our  prayers  ;  they 
may  press  us  to  greater  watchfulness  and  de- 
pendence; they  may  afford  fair  occasions  of  e- 
videncing  our  sincerity,  the  goodness  of  our 
cause,  and  the  power  of  that  God  who  is  for 
js.  —  Such  are  the  benefits  that  the  Lord  teach- 
es his  people  to  derive  from  their  sufferings, 
for  he  will  not  let  them  suffer  or  be  oppressed 
in  vain.  Cut  no  enemy  can  deprive  us  of  the 
love  with  which  God  favours  us,  or  the  grace 
which  he  has  given  us,  or  the  glory  which  he 
has  prepared  for  us.  Now  what  shall  we  say 
to  these  things0 

Alas  !  there  are  too  many  who  say,  at  least 
in  their  hearts  (for  their  conduct  bewrays  their 
secret  thoughts),  we  care  but  little  about  them. 
If  they  were  to  speak  out,  they  might  adopt 
the  language  of  the  rebellious  Jews  to  the  pro- 
phet, "  As  to  the  words  which  thou  hast  spoken 
to  us  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  we  will  not 
hearken  unto  thee.  But  we  will  certainly  do 
whatsoever  thing  goeth  forth  out  of  our  own 
mouth,"  Jer.  xliv.  16,  17.  And  there  are  o- 
thers  who  plainly  say,  Let  us  then  continue  in 
sin  that  grace  may  abound.  They  do  not  so 
expressly  reject  the  gospel  as  to  take  encourage- 
ment from  it  to  go  on  in  their  wickedness. 
The  case  of  the  former  is  very  dangerous,  that 
of  the  latter  is  still  worse.  But  grace,  though 
long  slighted,  though  often  abused,  is  once 
more  proclaimed  in  your  hearing.  The  Lord 
forbid  that  you  should  perish  with  the  sound 
of  salvation  in  your  ears. 

At  present,  and  while  you  persist  in  your 
impenitence  and  unbelief,   I  may  reverse  thejtion  instead  of  a  period,  the  apostle's  trium 


797 

words  of  my  text.  O  consider,  I  beseech  you 
before  it  be  too  late,  if  Gnd  be  against  you, 
who  can  be  for  you  ?  Will  your  companions 
comfort  you  in  a  dying  hour  ?  Will  your 
riches  profit  you  in  the  day  of  wrath  ?  Will 
the  recollection  of  your  sinful  pleasures  wive 
you  confidence  to  stand  before  this  great  and 
glorious  Lord  God,  when  you  shall  be  sum- 
moned to  appear  at  his  tribunal  ?  May  you  be 
timely  wise,  and  flee  for  refuge  to  the  hope  set 
before  you  ! 


SERMON  XLVI. 

ACCUSERS  CHALLENGED. 

Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  the  charge  of  God  s 
elect  ?  It  is  Gad  that  justifieth.  Rom.  viii. 
55. 

Though  the  collating  of  manuscripts  and  va- 
rious readings,  has  undoubtedly  been  of  ust 
in  rectifying  some  mistakes  which,  through 
the  inadvertency  of  transcribers,  had  crept  in- 
to different  copies  of  the  New  Testament;  yet 
such  supposed  corrections  of  the  text  ought  to 
be  admitted  with  caution,  and  not  unless  sup- 
ported by  strong  reasons  and  good  authorities. 
The  whole  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of 
God  ;  and  they  who  thankfully  receive  it  as 
his  book,  will  not  trifle  with  it  by  substituting 
bold  conjectural  alterations,  which,  though 
they  may  deem  to  be  amendments,  may  pos- 
sibly disguise  or  alter  the  genuine  sense  of  the 
passage.  Some  fancied  emendations  might  be 
pointed  out,  suggested  by  very  learned  men, 
which  do  not  seem  to  afford  so  strong  a  proof 
of  the  sound  judgment  of  the  proposers,  as  of 
their  vanity  and  rashness.  Let  the  learned  be 
as  ingenious  as  they  please  in  correcting  and 
amending  the  text  of  Horace  or  Virgil,  for  it 
is  of  little  importance  to  us  whether  their  cri- 
ticisms be  well  founded  or  not,  but  let  them 
treat  the  pages  of  divine  revelation  with  reve- 
rence. 

But  the  pointing  of  the  New  Testament, 
though  it  has  a  considerable  influence  upon 
the  sense,  is  of  inferior  authority.  It  is  a  hu- 
man invention,  very  helpful,  and  for  the  most 
part,  I  suppose,  well  executed.  But  in  some 
places  it  may  admit  of  real  amendment.  The 
most  ancient  manuscripts  are  without  points, 
and  some  of  them  are  even  without  a  distinc- 
tion of  the  words.  With  the  pointing,  there- 
fore, we  may  take  more  liberty  than  with  the 
text;  though  even  this  liberty  should  be  used 
soberly.  A  change  in  the  pointing  of  this 
verse  and  the  following,  will  not  alter  the  re- 
ceived sense,  but,  as  some  critics  judge,  will 
make  it  more  striking  and  emphatical.  If 
two  clauses  should  be  read  with  an  interio^a- 


798 


ACCUSERS  CHALLENGED. 

the  fol- 


phant  challenge  may  be  expressed  in 
lowing  brief  paraphrase. 

Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  the  charge  of 
God's  elect  ?  Shall  God  himself  ?  So  far  from 
it,  it  is  he  who  justifieth.  Who  is  he  that  con- 
deimulh  ?  Shall  Christ  ?  Nay,  he  loves  them, 
and  accepts  them.  Shall  he  who  died  for  them., 
yea,  rather  who  is  risen  again,  who  is  even  at 
the  right  hand  of  God,  on  their  behalf,  who  also 
tnaketh  intercession  for  them  ?  There  is  not 
the  least  ground  to  fear,  that  he  who  has  pro- 
mised to  justify  them  will  lay  any  thing  to 
their  charge  ;  or  that  he  will  condemn  them, 
who  died  to  deliver  them  from  condemnation, 
nor  can  any  charge  of  their  enemies  prevail  to 
the  condemnation  of  those  whom  God  is 
pleased  to  justify,  and  for  whom  Christ  died, 
and  now  intercedes  before  the  throne. 

The  death,  the  resurrection,  and  ascension 
of  Messiah,  we  have  already  considered.  I 
shall  speak  only  to  two  points  from  this  verse. 

I.  The  title  here  given  to  believers, —  God's 
elect. 

II.  Their  great  privilege,  they  are  justifi- 
ed,—  It  is  God  who  justifieth  them. 

I.  The  persons  who  will  be  finally  justified 
by  God  are  here  styled  his  elect.  Very  near 
*nd  strong  is  the  connection  between  peace 
and  truth.  Yet  a  mistaken  zeal  for  truth  has 
produced  many  controversies,  which  have  hurt 
the  peace  of  the  people  of  God  among  them- 
selves ;  and  at  the  same  time  have  exposed 
them  to  the  scorn  and  derision  of  the  world. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  pretended  or  improper 
regard  for  peace  has  often  been  prejudicial  to 
the  truth.  But  that  peace  which  is  procured 
at  the  expense  of  truth,  is  too  dearly  purchas- 
ed. Every  branch  of  doctrine,  belonging  to 
the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  is  not 
equally  plain  to  every  believer.  Some  of  these 
doctrines  the  apostle  compares  to  milk,  the 
proper  and  necessary  food  for  babes  (Heb.  v. 
13,  14);  others  to  strong  meat,  adapted  to  a 
more  advanced  state  in  the  spiritual  life,  when 
experience  is  more  enlarged,  and  the  judg- 
ment more  established.  The  Lord,  the  great 
teacher,  leads  his  children  on  gradually,  from 
the  plainer  to  the  more  difficult  truths,  as  they 
are  able  to  bear  them.  But  human  teachers 
are  often  too  hasty :  they  do  not  attend  suffi- 
ciently to  the  weakness  of  young  converts,  but 
expect  them  to  learn  and  receive  every  thing 
at  once  ;  they  are  not  even  content  with  offer- 
ing strong  meat  prematurely  to  babes,  but  force 
upon  them  the  bones  of  subtilties,  distinctions, 
and  disputations.  But  though  a  judicious 
minister  will  endeavour  to  accommodate  him- 
self to  the  state  of  his  hearers,  no  gospel-truth 
is  to  be  tamely  and  voluntarily  suppressed 
from  a  fear  of  displeasing  men.  In  fact, 
however,  the  controversies  which  have  obtain- 
ed among  real  christians,  have  not  so  much 
affected  the  truth  as  it  lies  in  scripture,  as  the 
different  explanations,  which  fallible  men  of 
e.arm  passions,  and  too  full  of  their  own  sense, 


SEK.  XL  VI. 

have  given  of  it.  They  who  professedly  hold 
and  avow  the  doctrine  of  an  election  of  grace, 
are  now  called  Calviuisls  ,■  and  the  name  is 
used  by  some  persons  as  a  term  of  reproach. 
They  would  insinuate  that  Calvin  invented  the 
doctrine  ;  or  at  least,  that  he  borrowed  it  from 
Austin,  who,  according  to  them,  was  the  first 
of  the  Fathers  that  held  it.  It  is  enough  for 
me  that  I  find  it  in  the  New  Testament.  But 
many  things  advanced  upon  the  subject  by 
later  writers,  I  confess,  I  do  not  find  there 
If  any  persons  advance  harsh  assertions  not 
warranted  by  the  word  of  God,  I  am  not 
bound  to  defend  them.  But  as  the  doctrine 
itself  is  plainly  taught,  both  by  our  Lord  and 
his  apostles,  and  is  of  great  importance,  when 
rightly  understood,  to  promote  the  humilia- 
tion, gratitude,  and  comfort  of  believers,  I 
think  it  my  duty  to  state  it  as  plainly  as  I 
can.  I  shall  offer  my  view  of  it,  in  a  series 
of  propositions  so  evidently  founded  (as  I  con- 
ceive) on  acknowledged  principles  of  scrip- 
ture, that  they  cannot  be  easily  controverted 
by  any  persons  who  have  a  real  reverence'  for 
the  word  of  God,  and  any  due  acquaintance 
with  their  own  hearts. 

1.  All  mankind  are  sinners  (Rom.  Hi.  23J 
by  nature  and  practice.  Their  lives  are  stain- 
ed with  transgressions,  their  hearts  are  deprav- 
ed, their  minds  blinded,  and  alienated  from 
God.  £o  that  they  are  not  sensible  either  of 
their  guilt  or  their  misery  ;  nor  so  much  as 
desirous  of  returning  to  God,  till  he  prevents 
them  with  his  mercy,  and  begins  to  draw  their 
hearts  towards  himself.  Were  I  to  prove 
this  at  large,  I  might  transcribe  one  half  ot 
the  Bible.  Nay,  it  is  fully  proved  by  expe- 
rience and  observation.  The  Heathens  felt  and 
confessed  it.  My  present  subject  does  not  re- 
quire me  to  account  for  it,  or  to  reason  upon 
it.      That  it  is  so,  I  appeal  to  fact. 

2.  The  inestimable  gift  of  a  Saviour,  to  a- 
tone  for  sin  and  to  mediate  between  God  and 
man  (John  iii.  16);  that  there  might  be  a 
way  opened  for  the  communication  of  mercy 
to  sinners,  without  prejudice  to  the  honour  of 
the  perfections  and  government  of  God — 
this  gift  was  the  effect  of  his  own  rich  grace 
and  love  (Rom.  v.  6,  8),  no  less  unthought 
of,  and  undesired,  than  undeserved  by  fallen 
man. 

3.  Wherever  this  love  of  God  to  man  is 
made  known  by  the  gospel,  there  is  encour- 
agement, and  a  command  given  to  all  men 
everywhere  to  repent,  Acts  xvii.  30,  31.  The 
manifestation  of  the  eternal  Word  in  the  hu- 
man nature,  and  his  death  upon  the  cross,  are 
spoken  of  as  the  highest  display  of  the  wisdom 
and  goodness  of  God.  Designed  to  give  us, 
in  one  and  the  same  transaction,  the  most  af- 
fecting sense  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  the  strong- 
est assurance  imaginable,  that  there  is  forgive- 
ness with  God,  Rom.  iii.  24,  25. 

4.  Men,  while  blinded  by  pride  and  preju- 
dice, enslaved  to  sinful  passions,  and  under 


passions, 


SEU,  XL VI. 

the  influence  of  this  present  evil  world,  neither 
can  nor  will  receive  the  truth  in  the  love  of 
it,  2  Cor.  iv.  4;  John  v.  40;  vi.  44.  They 
are  prepossessed  and  pre-engaged.  This,  at 
least,  is  evidently  the  case  with  many  people 
in  this  favoured  nation,  who,  when  the  gospel 
is  proposed  to  them  in  the  most  unexception- 
able manner,  not  only  disregard,  but  treat  it 
with  a  pointed  contempt  and  indignation, 
Luke  iv.  28,  29;  Acts  xvii.  18.  Such  was 
its  reception  at  the  beginning,  and  we  are  not 
to  wonder,  therefore,  that  it  is  so  at  this  day. 

5.  As  all  mankind  spring  from  one  stock, 
there  are  not  two  different  sorts  of  men  by  na- 
ture ;  consequently  they  who  receive  the  gos- 
pel are  no  better  in  themselves  (Eph.  ii.  3), 
than  they  are  who  reject  it.  The  apostle  writ- 
ing to  the  believers  at  Corinth,  having  enume- 
rated a  catalogue,  in  which  he  comprises  some 
of  the  most  flagitious  and  infamous  charac- 
ters (1  Cor.  vi.  9 — 11),  and  allowed  to  be  so 
by  the  common  consent  of  mankind,  adds, 
"  such  were  some  of  you."  Surely  it  cannot 
be  said,  that  they  who  had  degraded  them- 
selves below  the  brutes,  by  their  abominable 
practices,  were  better  disposed  than  others  to 
receive  that  gospel,  which  is  not  more  distin- 
guished by  the  sublimity  of  its  doctrine,  than 
by  the  purity  and  holiness  of  conversation 
which  it  enjoins  ! 

6.  It  seems,  therefore,  at  least  highly  pro- 
bable, that  all  men  universally,  if  left  to  them- 
selves, would  act  as  the  majority  do  to  whom 
the  word  of  salvation  is  sent ;  that  is,  they 
would  reject  and  despise  it.  And  it  is  unde- 
niable, that  some,  who  in  the  day  of  God's 
power  have  cordially  received  the  gospel,  did 
for  a  season  oppose  it  with  no  less  pertinacity 
than  any  of  those  who  have  continued  to  hate 
and  resist  it  to  the  end  of  life.  Saul  of  Tar- 
sus was  an  eminent  instance,  Acts  ix.  1.  He 
did  not  merely  slight  the  doctrine  of  a  cruci- 
fied Saviour  ;  but,  according  to  his  mistaken 
views,  thought  himself  bound  in  conscience  to 
suppress  those  who  embraced  it.  He  breathed 
out  threatening,  and  slaughter,  and,  as  he  ex- 
presses it  himself  was  exceedingly  mad  against 
them  (Acts  xxvi.  11),  and  made  havoc  of 
them.  His  mind  was  filled  with  this  bitter 
and  insatiable  rage,  at  the  moment  when  the 
Lord  Jesus  appeared  to  him  in  his  way  to  Da- 
mascus. Is  it  possible  that  a  man  thus  dis- 
posed should  suddenly  become  a  preacher  of 
the  faith  which  he  had  long  laboured  to  des- 
troy, if  his  heart  and  views  had  not  been 
changed  by  a  supernatural  agency  ?  Or  that 
the  like  prejudices  in  other  persons  can  be  re- 
moved in  any  other  manner  ? 

7.  If  all  men  had  heard  the  gospel  in  vain, 
then  Christ  would  have  died  in  vain.  But 
this  is  prevented  by  the  covenanted  office  and 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (John  xvi.  8), 
who  accompanies  the  word  with  his  energy 
and  makes  it  the  power  of  God  to  the  salva- 
tion of  those  who  believe.      He  prepares  the 


ACCUSERS  CHALLENGED. 


799 


minds  of  sinners,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  Ly- 
dia  (Acts  xvi.  14),  opens  their  hearts  to  un- 
derstand and  receive  the  truth,  in  the  love 
of  it. 

8.  But  who  will  presume  to  say,  that  when 
God  was  pleased  to  make  a  proposal  of  mercy 
to  a  race  of  rebels,  he  was  likewise  bound  to 
overcome  the  obstinacy  of  men  in  every  case, 
and  to  compel  them  to  accept  it  by  an  act  of 
his  invincible  power.  If  he  does  thus  inter- 
pose in  favour  of  some,  it  is  an  act  of  free 
mercy  to  which  they  have  no  claim.  For  if 
we  had  a  claim,  the  benefit  would  be  an  act  of 
justice,  rather  than  of  mercy.  May  not  the 
great  Sovereign  of  the  world  do  what  he  will 
with  his  own  ?  Matth.  xx.  15.  And  nothing 
is  more  peculiarly  and  eminently  his  own  than 
his  mercy.  Yes,  we  are  assured,  that  he  will 
have  mercy  on  whom  he  will  have  mercy 
(Rom.  ix.  18);  and  whom  he  will,  he  may 
justly  leave  to  be  hardened  in  their  impeni- 
tence and  unbelief.  We  have  all  deserved  to 
be  so  left ;  but  he,  as  the  potter  over  the  clay, 
has  power  and  right  to  make  a  difference, 
as  it  seemeth  good  in  his  sight.  And  who 
will  say  unto  him,  What  doest  thou  ?  Job 
ix.  12. 

9.  When  sinners  are  effectually  called  by 
the  gospel,  then  they  are  visibly  chosen  out  of 
the  world  (John  xv.  19),  in  the  spirit  and 
tempers  of  which  they  before  lived,  disobe- 
dient and  deceived,  even  as  others.  Old 
things  pass  away,  and  all  things  become  new, 
2  Cor.  v.  17.  Their  hopes  and  fears,  their 
companions  and  pleasures,  their  pursuits  and 
aims,  are  all  changed.  The  change  in  these 
respects  is  so  evident,  that  they  are  soon  notic- 
ed and  marked,  pitied  or  derided,  by  those 
from  whom  they  are  now  separated.  And  1 
think  they  who  really  experience  this  change 
will  willingly  ascribe  it  to  the  grace  of  God. 

10.  But  if  they  are  thus  chosen  in  time,  it 
follows  of  course  that  they  were  chosen  from 
everlasting.  Both  these  expressions,  when 
applied  to  this  subject,  amount  to  the  same 
thing ;  and  the  seeming  difference  between 
them  is  chiefly  owing  to  our  weakness  and  ig- 
norance. To  the  infinite  and  eternal  God  our 
little  distinctions  of  past,  present,  and  future, 
are  nothing.  We  think  unworthily  of  the  un- 
changeable Jehovah,  and  liken  him  too  much 
to  ourselves,  if  we  suppose  that  he  can  form  ti 
new  purpose.  If  it  be  his  pleasure  to  convert 
a  sinner  to-day,  he  had  the  same  gracious  de- 
sign in  favour  of  that  sinner  yesterday,  at  the 
day  of  his  birth,  a  thousand  years  before  lie 
was  born,  and  a  thousand  ages  (to  speak  ac- 
cording to  our  poor  conceptions)  before  the 
world  began.  For  that  mode  of  duration 
which  we  call  time,  has  no  respect  to  him  who 
inhabiteth  eternity,  Is.  lvii.   1 5. 

With  regard  to  those  who  reject  the  declar- 
ation of  the  mercy  of  God,  who  though  called 
and  invited  by  the  gospel,  and  often  touched 
by  the  power  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  will  not  come 


bOO 


ACCUSERS  CHALLENGED. 


SER.  XI, VI. 


to  the  Saviour  for  life,  but  persist  in  their  de- 
termination to  go  on  in  their  sins,  their  ruin 
is  not  only  unavoidaole,  but  just  in  the  high- 
est degree.  And  though,  like  the  wicked  ser- 
vant in  the  parable  (Matth.  xxv.  24),  they 
cavil  against  the  Lord,  their  mouths  will  be 
stopped  (Rom.  iii.  19),  when  he  shall  at  length 
appear  to  plead  with  them  face  to  face.  Then 
their  cobweb  excuses  will  fail  them,  and  the 
proper  ground  of  their  condemnation  will  be, 
that  when  he  sent  them  light,  they  turned 
from  it,  and  chose  darkness  rather  than  light, 
because  their  deeds  were  evil,  John  iii.  1 9. 

II.  The  great  privilege  of  the  elect,  com- 
prehensive of  every  blessing  is,  that  they  are 
justified,  finally  and  authoritatively  justified 
from  all  that  can  possibly  be  laid  to  their 
charge  ;  for  it  is  God  himself  who  justifieth 
them. 

The  justification  of  a  sinner  before  God,  by 
faith  in  the  obedience  and  atonement  of  Christ, 
is  considered  by  many  persons,  in  these  days 
of  refinement,  in  no  better  light  than  as  a 
branch  of  scholastic  theology,  .which  is  now 
exploded  as  uncouth  and  obsolete.  At  the 
Reformation,  it  was  the  turning  point  between 
the  Protestants  and  Papists.  Luther  deemed 
it  the  criterion  of  a  flourishing  or  a  falling 
church  ;  that  is,  he  judged  the  church  would 
always  be  in  a  thriving  or  a  declining  state,  in 
proportion  as  the  importance  of  this  doctrine 
was  attended  to.  How  important  it  appeared 
to  our  English  reformers,  many  of  whom 
sealed  their  testimony  to  it  with  their  blood, 
may  be  known  by  the  writings  of  Cranmer, 
Latimer,  Philpot,  and  others  ;  and  by  the  Ar- 
ticles of  the  Church  of  England,  which  are 
still  of  so  much  authority  by  law,  that  no  per- 
son can  be  admitted  into  Holy  Orders  amongst 
us,  till  he  has  declared  and  subscribed  his  as- 
sent to  them.  But  I  hope  never  to  preach  a 
doctrine  to  my  hearers  which  needs  the  names 
and  authority  of  men,  however  respectable, 
for  its  support.  Search  the  scriptures  (John 
v.  39),  and  judge  by  them  of  the  importance 
of  this  doctrine.  Judge  of  it  by  the  text  now 
before  us.  The  apostle  speaks  of  it  as  suffi- 
cient to  silence  every  charge,  to  free  from  all 
condemnation,  and  inseparably  connected  with 
eternal  life;  for  those  whom  God  justifies  he 
will  also  glorify,  Rom.  viii.  SO.  Though 
volumes  have  been  written  upon  the  subject, 
I  think  it  may  be  explained  in  few  words. 
Every  one  must  give  an  account  of  himself  to 
God  ;  and  the  judgment  will  proceed  accord- 
ing to  the  tenor  of  his  holy  word.  By  the 
law  no  flesh  can  be  justified,  for  all  have  sin- 
ned (Rom.  iii.  19,  20)  :  but  they  who  believe 
the  gospel  will  be  justified  from  all  things 
(Acts  xiii.  39),  for  which  the  law  would  other- 
wise condemn  them  ;  and  as  they  who  believe 
not  are  condemned  already  (John  iii.  18),  so 
believers  are  already  justified  by  faith,  and 
have  peace  with  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  (Rom.  v.  1),  in  the  present  life.    They 


plead  guilty  to  the  charge  of  the  law  ;  but 
they  can  likewise  plead,  that  they  renounce  all 
hope  and  righteousness  in  themselves,  and 
upon  the  warrant  of  the  word  of  promise,  put 
their  whole  trust  in  Jesus,  as  the  end  of  the 
law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth  (Rom.  x.  4)  :  and  this  plea  is  accept- 
ed. "  To  him  that  worketh  not,  but  believ- 
eth  on  him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  his 
faith  is  counted  for  righteousness"  (Rom.  iv. 
5),  and  his  sins  are  no  more  remembered  a- 
gainst  him,  Heb.  viii,  12. 

This  justification,  in  its  own  nature,  is  au- 
thoritative, complete,  and  final.  It  is  an  act 
of  God's  mercy,  which,  because  founded  upon 
the  mediation  of  Jesus,  may,  with  no  less 
truth,  be  styled  an  act  of  his  justice,  whereby 
the  believing  sinner  is  delivered  from  the  curse 
of  the  law.  from  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin, 
and  is  translated  into  the  kingdom  of  his  dear 
Son,  Col.  i.  13.  It  includes  the  pardon  of 
all  sin,  and  admission  to  the  state  of  a  child  ot 
God.  It  is  a  passing  from  death  unto  life, 
John  v,  24.  By  faith  of  the  operation  of  God, 
the  sinner,  once  afar  off,  is  brought  nigh,  is 
accepted  in  the  Beloved,  and  becomes  one 
with  him,  as  the  branch  is  united  to  the  vine, 
and  the  members  with  the  head,  John  xv.  15. 
The  sanctification  of  a  believer  is  imperfec. 
and  gradual ;  but  his  justification,  in  this 
sense,  from  the  moment  when  he  begins  to 
live  a  life  of  faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  is  per- 
fect, and  incapable  of  increase.  The  prin- 
ciple of  life  in  a  new-born  infant,  and  the  pri- 
vileges dependent  upon  his  birth  (if  he  be  the 
heir  of  a  great  family),  are  the  same  from  the 
first  hour,  as  at  any  future  time.  He  is 
stronger  as  he  grows  up  to  the  stature  of  a 
man,  but  is  not  more  alive  ;  he  grows  up  like- 
wise more  into  the  knowledge  and  enjoymen? 
of  his  privileges,  but  his  right  to  them  admits 
of  no  augmentation ;  for  he  derives  it,  not 
from  his  years,  or  his  stature,  or  his  powers, 
but  from  the  relation  in  which  he  stands  as  a 
child  to  his  father.  Thus  it  is  with  those  who 
are  born  from  above  ;  they  are  immediately 
the  children  and  heirs  of  God,  though  for  a 
time,  like  minors  while  under  age,  they  may 
seem  to  differ  but  little  from  servants  (Gal. 
iv.  1,  2);  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what 
they  shall  be. 

But  though  justification  in  the  sight  of  God 
be  connected  with  the  reality  of  faith,  the  com- 
fortable perception  of  it  in  our  own  conscien- 
ces is  proportionable  to  the  degree  of  faith. 
In  young  converts,  therefore,  it  is  usuallj 
weak.  They  are  well  satisfied  that  Jesus  is 
the  only  Saviour,  and  they  have  no  doubt  of  his 
ability  and  sufficiency  in  that  character,  in  fa- 
vour of  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him  ;  but 
they  are  suspicious  and  jealous  of  themselves  ; 
they  are  apprehensive  of  something  singular 
in  their  own  case,  which  may  justly  exclude 
them  from  his  mercy,  or  they  fear  that  they 
do  not  believe  aright.      But  the   weakest  be- 


SER.   XI  VII. 


liever  is  a  child  of  God  ;  and  true  faith, 
though  at  first  like  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  is 
interested  in  all  the  promises  of  the  gospel. 
If  it  be  true,  it  will  grow  (Mark  iv.  26),  it 
will  attain  to  a  more  simple  dependence  upon 
its  great  object,  and  will  work  its  way,  through 
a  thousand  doubts  and  fears  (which,  for  a  sea- 
son, are  not  without  their  use),  till  at  length 
the  weak  christian  becomes  strong  in  faith, 
strong  in  the  Lord,  and  is  enabled  to  say,  "  I 
know  whom  I  have  believed,"  2  Tim.  i.  12. 
Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  my  charge  ?  Who 
shall  condemn  ?  It  is  God  who  justifieth.  It 
is  Christ  who  died  for  me  and  rose  again. 

But  especially  at  the  great  day,  the  Lord 
the  Judge  shall  ratify  their  justification  pub- 
licly before  assembled  worlds.  Then  every 
tongue  that  riseth  in  judgment  against  them 
(Is.  liv.  17),  shall  be  put  to  silence.  Then 
Satan  will  be  utterly  confounded,  and  many 
who  despised  them  on  earth  will  be  astonish- 
ed, and  say — "  These  are  they  whose  lives  we 
accounted  madness,  and  their  end  to  be  with- 
out honour.  How  are  they  numbered  among 
the  children  of  God !"  Wisdom,  v.  4,  5. 

The  right  knowledge  of  this  doctrine  is  a 
source  of  abiding  joy  ;  it  likewise  animates 
love,  zeal,  gratitude,  and  all  the  noblest 
powers  of  the  soul,  and  produces  a  habit  of 
cheerful  and  successful  obedience  to  the  whole 
will  of  God.  But  it  may  be,  and  too  often 
is,  misunderstood  and  abused.  If  you  re- 
ceive it  by  divine  teaching,  it  will  fill  you  with 
those  fruits  of  righteousness  which  are  by  Je- 
sus Christ  to  the  glory  and  praise  of  God, 
Phil.  i.  11.  But  if  you  learn  it  only  from 
men  and  books,  if  you  are  content  with  the 
notion  of  it  in  your  head,  instead  of  tlie  power- 
ful experience  of  it  in  your  heart,  it  will  have 
a  contrary  effect.  Such  a  lifeless  form,  even 
of  the  truth  itself,  will  probably  make  you 
heady  and  high-minded,  censorious  of  others, 
trifling  in  your  spirit,  and  unsettled  in  your 
conduct.  Oh  !  be  afraid  of  resembling  the 
foolish  virgins  (Matth.  xxv.  1 — 12),  of  hav- 
ing die  lamp  of  your  profession  expire  in 
darkness  for  want  of  the  oil  of  grace ;  lest, 
when  the  bridegroom  cometh,  you  should  find 
the  door  shut  against  you. 


SERMON  XLVII. 

THE  INTERCESSION  OF  CHRIST. 

Who  is  he  that  condemnetli  ?  It  is  Christ  that 
died,  yea  rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who  is 
even  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  ivho  also  mak- 
eth  intercession  for  us.     Romans,  vi.i.  34. 

The  redemption  of  the  soul  is  precious.  Fools 
make  a  mock  of  sin,  Frov.  xvi.  9.  But  they 
will  not  think  lightly  of  it  who  duly  consider 
the  majesty,  authority,  and  goodness  of  him 


THE  INTERCESSION   OF  CHRIST.  801 

against  whom   it   is   committed  :    and  who  are 


taught  by  what  God  actually  has  done,  what 
sin  rendered  necessary  to  be  done,  before  a 
sinner  could  have  a  well-grounded  hope  of 
forgiveness.  For  wisdom  does  nothing  in 
vain.  The  death  of  the  Son  of  God  would 
have  been  in  vain  (Gal.  ii.  21  j,  if  the  great 
design  in  favour  of  sinful  men  could  have 
been  effected  by  inferior  means.  But  as  he, 
in  the  office  of  Mediator,  was  the  hope  ot 
mankind  from  the  beginning;  so  the  great 
work  he  has  accomplished,  and  the  characters 
he  sustains,  when  made  known  to  the  con- 
science, are,  in  fact,  sufficient  to  relieve  in 
every  case,  to  answer  every  charge,  and  to  sa- 
tisfy the  believer  in  Jesus  that  there  is  now  no 
condemnation  to  fear.  There  are  many  (as 
we  have  observed)  ready  to  accuse,  but  it  is 
in  vain  ;  the  charge  may  be  true,  but  it  is 
overruled.  Who  shall  dare  to  condemn,  if 
things  be  as  the  apostle  states  them  in  this 
passage  ?  Whoever  would  impeach  the  hope 
of  a  true  believer,  must  prove  (if  he  can),  that 
Christ  did  not  die;  or  that  he  did  not  rise 
from  the  dead  ;  or  that  he  was  not  admitted 
into  the  presence  of  God  on  our  behalf;  or 
that  he  is  unmindful  of  his  promise,  to  make 
intercession  for  all  who  come  unto  God  by 
him.  For  if  these  points  are  indubitable  and 
sure,  it  is  impossible  that  the  soul  which  has 
trusted  in  Jesus,  and  put  its  cause  into  his 
hands,  can  miscarry. 

The  death  and  resurrection  of  our  Lord, 
his  appearance  in  our  nature,  clothed  with 
glory,  seated  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty 
on  high,  as  the  High -Priest  of  our  profession, 
can  scarcely  be  considered  too  often.  These 
old  truths  are  always  new  to  those  who  love 
him,  and  are  the  food  by  which  their  souls 
live.  Yet  I  shall  not  at  present  repeat  what 
I  have  offered  upon  them  from  former  pas- 
sages, but  shall  chiefly  confine  myself  to  the 
subject  of  his  intercession,  which  has  not,  un- 
til now,  expressly  occurred  to  our  medita- 
tions. 

The  word  the  apostle  uses  here,  and  in 
Heb.  vii.  25, — "  Seeing  he  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession,"  occurs  likewise  in  Acts 
xxv.  24,  where  Festus  speaks  of  the  process 
managed  by  the  Jews  against  Paul;  and  al. 
so  in  Rom.  xi.  2,  of  Elijah's  making  inter- 
cession to  God  against  Israel.  From  these 
passages  compared  together,  we  may  observe 
that  the  word  is  to  be  taken  in  a  large  sense. 
He  pleads  our  cause,  he  manages  our  con- 
cerns, he  answers  our  enemies.  Who  then 
shall  condemn  those  for  whom  the  Lord  Jesus 
thus  employs  his  power  and  his  love  ?  He  is 
our  advocate  (1  John  ii.  1 ),  he  takes  upon  him 
our  whole  concern.  He  pleads  as  a  Priest, 
and  manages  as  a  King,  for  those  who  come 
unto  God  by  him. 

I.  He  pleads  as  a  Priest. — His  office  of  in- 
tercession has  a  plain  reference  to  his  great 
instituted  type,   the  high  priest  under  the  Lc- 
3M 


802 

vitical  dispensation  ;  who,  according  to  the 
appointment  of  God,  entered  within  the  vail, 
to  present  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice  before  the 
mercy-seat,  Lev.  xvi.  We  have  a  clear  and 
infallible  explanation  of  the  design  of  this  in- 
stitution. "  Now  when  these  things  were  thus 
ordained,  the  priests  went  always  into  the 
first  tabernacle,  accomplishing  the  service  of 
God.      But   into    the   second   went  the    high 


THE   INTERCESSION   OF  CHRIST.  SER.  XLVM 

to  him,  and  think  you  hear  hiin  in  effect  say- 
ing, "  Father,  there  is  another  sinner  who  has 
heard  of  my  name,  and  desires  to  trust  in  me. 
Father,  I  will,  that  he  also  may  be  delivered 
from  going  down  into  the  pit,  and  interested 
in  the  ransom  which  I  have  provided." 

2.  When  we  are  deeply  conscious  of  our  de- 
fects in  duty.      If  we  compare  our  best  per- 
formances with  the  demands  of  the  law,  the 
priest    alone    once    every   year,    not    without  majesty  of  God,  and  the  unspeakable  obliga 


blood,  which  he  offered  for  himself  and   for 


tions  we  are  under  ;  if  we  consider  our  innu- 


the  errors  of  the  people.  The  Holy  Ghost  merable  sins  of  omission,  and  that  the  little 
this  signifying,  that  the  way  into  the  holiest  of  we  can  do  is  polluted  and  defiled  by  the  mix- 
all  was  not  yet  made  manifest,  while  as  the  first ,.  ture  of  evil  thoughts,  and  the  working  of  sel- 


tabernacle  was  yet  standing.  Which  was  a 
figure  for  the  time  then  present,  in  which 
were  offered  both  gifts  and  sacrifices,  that 
could  not  make  him  that  did  the  service  per- 
fect, as  pertaining  to  the  conscience ;  which 
stood  only  in  meats  and  drinks,  and  divers 
washings,  and  carnal  ordinances,  imposed  on 
them  until  the  time  of  reformation.  But 
Christ  being  come  an  High  Priest  of  good 
things  to  come,  by  a  greater  and  more  perfect 


fish  principles,  aims,  and  motives,  which 
though  we  disapprove,  we  are  unable  to  sup- 
press, we  have  great  reason  to  confess,  "  To 
us  belong  shame  and  confusion  of  face,"  Dan. 
ix.  7.  But  we  are  relieved  by  the  thought, 
that  Jesus,  the  High  Priest,  bears  the  iniquity 
of  our  holy  things,  perfumes  our  prayers  with 
the  incense  of  his  mediation,  and  washes  our 
tears  in  his  own  blood.  This  inspires  a  con- 
fidence, that  though  we  are  unworthy  of  the 


tabernacle,  not  made  with  hands,  that  is  to  say,  i  least  of  his  mercies,  we  may  humbly  hope  for 


not  of  this  building  ;  neither  by  the  blood  of 
goats  and  calves,  but  by  his  own  blood,  he 
entered  in  once  into  the  holy  place,  having  ob- 
tained eternal  redemption  for  us,"  Heb.  ix. 
6 — 12.  Thus  Jesus  is  passed  into  the  heavens, 
entered  into  the  holy  of  holies  with  his  own 
blood.  His  presence  there,  in  our  nature, 
with  the  marks  of  his  sufferings  for  us,  as  the 
Lamb  that  has  been  slain,  is  an  unceasing 
virtual  intercession  on  our  behalf.  I  meddle 
not  with  curious  questions  on  this  subject,  as 
to  the  manner  in  which  his  intercession  is 
carried  on  :  It  is  sufficient  to  know  that  he  is 
there  and  there  for  us,  as  our  representative. 
This  consideration  is  of  continual  use,  to  ani- 
mate and  encourage  sinners  in  their  approach 
to  God.  There  are  three  cases  particularly, 
in  which  the  heart  that  knows  its  own  bitter- 
ness must  sink,  were  it  not  for  the  relieving 
thought,  that  there  is  an  advocate  with  the 
Father,  a  High  Priest,  who,  by  his  interces- 
sion, is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost. 

1.  When  the  mind  is  burdened  with  guilt. 
Great  is  the  distress  of  an  awakened  con- 
science. The  sinner  now  is  sensible  of  wants 
which  God  alone  can  supply,  and  of  miseries 
from  which  he  cannot  be  extricated  but  by  an 
almighty  arm.  But  when  he  thinks  of  the 
majesty  and  holiness  of  God,  he  is  troubled 
and  adopts  the  language  of  the  prophet,  "Wo 
is  me,  I  am  undone!"  Isa.  vi.  5.  He  dares 
not  draw  near  to  God,  nor  does  he  dare  to 
keep  any  longer  at  a  distance  from  him.  But 
when  such  a  one  is  enabled  to  look  to  Jesus 
as  the  intercessor,  what  light  and  comfort  does 
he  receive  ?  For  the  gospel  speaks  inviting 
language.  Let  not  the  weary  and  heavy-laden 
sinner  fear  to  approach.  Your  peace  is  already 
made  in  the  court  above,  and  your  advocate  is 
waiting  to  introduce  you.      Lift  up  your  heart 


a  share  in  the  greatest  blessings  he  bestows, 
because  we  are  heard  and  accepted,  not  on  the 
account  of  our  own  prayers  and  services,  but 
in  the  beloved  Son  of  God,  who  maketh  inter- 
cession for  us.  Thus  the  wisdom  and  love  of 
God  have  provided  a  wonderful  expedient, 
which,  so  far  as  it  is  rightly  understood,  and 
cordially  embraced,  while  it  lays  the  sinner 
low  as  the  dust  in  point  of  humiliation  and 
self-abasement,  fills  him  at  the  same  time  with 
a  hope  full  of  glory,  which,  with  respect  to  its 
foundation,  cannot  be  shaken  ;  and  with  re- 
spect to  its  object,  can  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
less  than  all  the  fulness  of  God.  There  are 
favoured  seasons  in  which  the  believer,  having 
a  lively  impression  of  the  authority  and  love 
of  the  Intercessor  can  address  the  great  Jeho- 
vah as  his  Father,  with  no  less  confidence  than 
if  he  was  holy  and  spotless  as  the  angels  be- 
fore the  throne,  at  the  very  moment  that  he 
has  abundant  cause  to  say,  "  Behold  I  am 
vile  !  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and 
ashes  !"  Job  xl.  4;  xlii.  6. 

3.  This  powerful  and  prevalent  intercession 
abundantly  compensates  for  the  poverty  and 
narrowness  of  our  prayers.  Experience  con- 
firms what  the  scripture  declares  of  our  insuf- 
ficiency to  order  our  own  cause  before  the 
Lord,  to  specify  our  various  wants,  and  to  fill 
our  mouths  with  such  arguments,  as  may  en- 
gage the  attention,  and  enliven  the  affections 
of  our  hearts.  "  We  know  not  how  to  pray  as 
we  ought,"  Rom.  viii.  26.  And  though  the 
Holy  Spirit  teaches  believers  to  form  peti- 
tions, which,  in  the  main,  are  agreeable  to  the 
will  of  God,  yet  we  often  mistake  and  ask  a- 
miss ;  we  often  forget  what  we  ought  to  ask, 
and  we  are  too  often  cold,  negligent,  weary, 
distracted,  and  formal  in  prayer.  How  prone 
are  we  to  enter  by  prayer  into  the  Lord's  pre 


t»ER.   XLVII. 


THE  IN1ERCESSI0N  OF  CHRIST. 


803 


sence,  as  the  thoughtless  horse  rushes  into  the 
battle  !  (Jer.  viii.  6.)  to  speak  to  God  as  if  we 
were  only  speaking  into  the  air,  and  to  have 
our  thoughts  dissipated  and  wandering  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  while  his  holy  name  is  up- 
on our  polluted  lips  !  It  is  well  for  us,  that 
God  is  both  able  and  gracious  to  do  more 
than  we  can  ask  or  think  ;  but  that  he  actu- 
ally does  so,  for  such  unworthy  creatures,  is 
owing  to  our  Intercessor.  He  knows  all  our 
wants,  and  pleads  and  provides  accordingly. 
He  is  not  negligent,  though  we  too  frequently 
are.  He  prayed  for  Peter's  safety  (Luke 
xxii.  31,  32),  before  Peter  himself  was  aware 
of  his  danger.  Have  we  not  sometimes  been 
as  it  were  surprised  and  shamed  by  the  Lord's 
goodness,  when  he  has  condescended  to  be- 
stow special  and  needful  mercies  upon  us,  be- 
fore we  thought  of  asking  for  them  ?  These  are 
affecting  proofs  of  our  Intercessor's  attention 
and  care,  and  that  he  is  always  mindful  of  us. 
But, 

II.  Jesus  the  High  Priest  is  upon  a  throne. 
— He  is  a  King,  King  of  saints,  and  King  of 
nations.  He  is  not  only  a  righteous  advocate, 
but  he  possesses  all  authority  and  power.  And 
it  belongs  to  his  office  as  King,  effectually  to 
manage  for  those  in  whose  behalf  he  inter- 
cedes. I  have  already  observed  that  the  ori- 
ginal word  includes  this  sense. 

1  He  is  the  source  and  fountain  of  their 
supplies.  All  their  springs  are  in  him.  The 
fulness  of  wisdom,  grace,  and  consolation,  out 
of  which  they  are  invited  to  receive,  resides  in 
him.  And  therefore  he  says,  "  If  ye  ask  any 
thing  in  my  name,  I  will  do  it,"  John  xiv.  14. 
Not  merely,  I  will  present  your  petitions,  but 
I  will  fulfill  them  myself.  For  all  things  are 
committed  into  his  hands,  and  it  is  he  with 
whom  we  have  to  do,  Heb.  iv.  13.  He  there- 
fore enjoins  us,  if  we  believe  or  trust  in  God, 
to  believe  also  in  him,  John  xiv.  1.  His  in- 
vitations, "  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come 
unto  me  and  drink"  (John  vii.  37)  ; — "  Who- 
soever will,  let  him  take  of  the  water  of  life 
freely"  (Rev.  xxii.  17);  equally  express  his 
sovereignty  and  his  munificence.  On  him  the 
eyes  of  all  who  know  him  wait  from  age  to 
age,  and  are  not  disappointed.  He  opens  his 
hand,  and  satisfies  them  with  good,  Psal.  cxlv. 
17.  Nor  is  the  store  of  his  bounty  diminished 
by  all  that  he  has  distributed,  for  it  is  unsearch- 
able and  inexhaustible,  like  the  light  of  the 
sun,  which  gladdens  the  eyes  of  millions  at 
once,  has  done  so  from  the  beginning,  and 
will  continue  to  do  so  to  the  end  of  time. 

2.  He  appoints  and  adjusts  their  various 
dispensations,  with  an  unerring  suitableness  to 
their  several  states,  capacities,  and  circum- 
stances. If  a  skilful  gardener  had  the  com- 
mand of  the  weather,  he  would  not  treat  all 
his  plants,  nor  the  same  plant  at  all  times,  ex- 
actly alike.  Continual  rain,  or  continual  sun- 
shine, would  be  equally  unfavourable  to  their 
growth  and  fruitfulness.      In  his  kingdom  of 


providence,  he  so  proportions  the  rain  and  the 
sunshine  to  each  other,  that  the  corn  is  usually 
brought  forward  from  the  seed  to  the  blade, 
the  ear,  and  the  full  ripe  ear.  And  I  believe 
it  would  be  always  so,  were  it  not  for  the  pre- 
valence of  sin,  which  sometimes  makes  the 
heavens  over  our  head  brass,  the  earth  under 
our  feet  iron  (Deut.  xxviii.  23),  and  turns  a 
fruitful  land  into  barrenness.  So,  in  his  king- 
dom of  grace,  he  trains  his  people  up  by  va- 
rious exercises.  He  delights  in  their  prospe- 
rity, and  does  not  willingly  grieve  them.  But 
afflictions  in  their  present  state  are  necessary, 
and  His  blessing  makes  them  salutary.  But 
this  is  their  great  privilege,  that  their  com- 
forts and  their  crosses  are  equally  from  his 
hand,  are  equally  tokens  of  his  love,  and  alike 
directed  to  work  together  for  their  good.  He 
appoints  the  bounds  of  their  habitations,  num- 
bers the  hairs  of  their  heads,  and  is  their  guide 
and  guard,  their  sun  and  shield,  even  unto 
death.  Here  they  meet  with  many  changes, 
but  none  that  are  unnoticed  by  him,  none  that 
can  separate  them  from  his  love,  and  they  all 
concur  in  leading  them  on  to  a  state  of  un- 
changeable and  endless  joy,  2  Cor.  iv.  17. 

3.  He  is  the  Captain  of  their  salvation,  Heb. 
ii.  10.  They  are  his  soldiers,  and  fight  under 
his  eye  ;  yet  the  battle  is  not  theirs  but  his. 
Israel  of  old  were  to  muster  their  forces,  to 
range  themselves  for  the  fight,  to  use  every 
precaution  and  endeavour,  as  though  success 
depended  entirely  upon  themselves.  Yet  they 
obtained  not  the  victory  by  their  own  sword, 
but  it  was  the  Lord  who  fought  for  them,  and 
trod  down  their  enemies  before  them ;  and  they 
had  little  more  to  do  than  to  pursue  the  van- 
quished,  and  to  divide  the  spoil.  And  thus  it 
is  in  the  warfare  which  true  christians  main- 
tain, net  against  flesh  and  blood  only,  bu 
against  principalities  and  powers  (Eph.  vi. 
12),  against  the  spirit  of  the  world,  and  a- 
gainst  Satan  and  his  legions.  They  fight  in 
his  cause,  but  he  upholds  them  and  conquers 
for  them.  Their  enemies  are  too  many  and 
too  mighty  for  them  to  grapple  with  in  their 
own  strength ;  but  he  rebukes  them,  and  pleads 
the  cause  of  his  people.  His  gracious  inter- 
position in  their  favour  is  beautifully  set  forth, 
together  with  its  effects,  in  the  vision  which 
the  prophet  saw,  when  he  was  sent  to  encou- 
rage the  rulers  and  people  of  the  Jews  against 
the  difficulties  they  met  with  when  rebuilding 
the  temple.  He  saw  Joshua  the  high  priest, 
who,  in  that  character,  represented  the  col- 
lective body  of  the  people,  standing  before  the 
Lord,  clothed  in  filthy  garments,  and  Satan 
standing  at  his  right  hand  to  resist  him,  Zech. 
iii.  1 — 4.  Such  is  our  attire  as  sinners,  all 
our  righteousnesses  are  as  filthy  rags ;  and 
such  are  the  attempts  of  our  enemy,  to  deter 
us  from  approaching  to  him  who  alone  can 
relieve  us,  or  to  distress  us  when  we  appear 
before  him.  But  when  Joshua  could  not 
sneak   for   himself,    the  Lord  spake  for  him 


804 


THE  1NTU1CESSI.ON  OF  CHRIST. 


claimed  him  for  his  own,  as  a  brand  plucked 
out  of  the  fire,  silenced  his  adversary,  clothed 
him  with  change  of  raiment,  and  set  a  fair 
mitre  upon  his  head.  Thus  David  acknow- 
ledged the  Lord's  goodness  in  providing  him 
a  table  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies  (Psal. 
xxiii.  5),  who  saw  with  envy  his  privileges, 
but  were  not  able  to  prevent  his  enjoyment  of 
them.  Many  a  time  the  Lord  thus  comforts 
and  feeds  his  people,  while  waiting  on  him  in 
secret,  or  attending  his  public  ordinances; 
and  were  our  eyes  opened,  like  the  eyes  of 
Elisha's  servant,  to  behold  what  is  very  near, 
though  unseen,  we  should  feel  the  force  of  the 
psalmist's  observation.  The  powers  of  dark- 
ness surround  us,  their  malice  against  us  is 
heightened  by  the  favour  of  our  good  Shep- 
herd toward  us  ;  they  rage,  but  in  vain  ;  for 
though  they  could  presently  deprive  us  of 
peace,  and  fill  us  with  anguish,  if  we  were  left 
exposed  to  their  assaults,  they  are  under  a  re- 
straint, and  can  do  nothing  without  his  per- 
mission. When  he  is  pleased  to  give  quiet- 
ness, who  then  can  make  trouble  ?  Job  xxxiv. 
29.  He  preserves  and  provides  for  his  sheep 
in  the  midst  of  wolves. 

We  may  close  this  part  of  our  subject  with 
two  or  three  reflections,  which,  though  as  to 
the  substance  of  them  I  may  have  offered  you 
before,  are  always  seasonable  and  suitable, 
when  we  are  speaking  of  the  power  and  grace 
of  Messiah. 

1.  How  precious  is  this  Saviour!  How 
justly  is  he  entitled  to  the  chief  place  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  know  him  !  In  the  work 
of  salvation,  from  the  first  step  to  the  last,  he 
is  all  in  all.  If  he  had  not  died  and  risen 
again,  we  must  have  died  for  ever.  If  he  had 
not  ascended  into  heaven,  there  to  appear  in 
the  presence  of  God  for  us,  we  must  have 
been  thrust  down  into  the  lowest  hell.  If  he 
did  not  plead  for  us,  we  would  not,  we  durst 
not  offer  a  word  in  our  own  behalf.  If  he 
was  not  on  our  part,  engaged  to  keep  us  night 
and  day,  our  enemies  would  soon  be  too  hard 
for  us.  May  we  therefore  give  him  the  glory 
due  to  his  name,  and  cleave  to  him,  and  trust 
in  him  alone. 

2.  How  safe  are  the  people  of  whom  he 
undertakes  the  care!  While  his  eye  is  upon 
them,  his  ear  open  to  their  prayer,  and  his 
arm  of  power  stretched  out  for  their  protec- 
tion ;  while  he  remembers  that  word  of  pro- 
mise upon  which  he  himself  has  caused  them 
to  hope ;  while  he  retains  that  faithfulness 
which  encouraged  them  to  commit  their  souls 
to  him,  it  is  impossible  that  any  weapon  or 
stratagem  formed  against  them  can  prevail. 
There  are  many,  it  is  true,  who  will  rise  up 
against  them;  but  God  is  for  them,  and  with 
them,  a  very  present  help  in  trouble,  Ps.  xlvi. 
] .  They  are  full  of  wants  and  fears,  and  in 
themselves  liable  to  many  charges;  but  since 
Jesus  is  their  head,  their  security,  their  inter- 
cessor,  no    needful   gx>d    shall   be  with-held 


SER.   XLVI  I. 

from  them,  no  charge  admitted  against  them, 
none  shall  condemn  them,  for  it  is  God  him- 
self who  justifies  the  believer  in  Jesus. 

3.  If  these  tilings  be  so,  how  much  are  they 
to  be  pitied,  who  hear  of  them  without  being 
affected  or  influenced  by  them  ?  Will  you  al- 
ways be  content  with  hearing?  "  Oil,  taste 
and  see  that  the  Loidisgood  !"  Ps.  xxxiv.  8. 
Should  you  at  last  be  separated  from  those 
with  whom  you  now  join  in  public  worship  ; 
should  you  see  them  admitted  into  the  king- 
dom of  God,  and  you  yourselves  be  thrust 
out;  your  present  advantages  would  then 
prove  an  aggravation  of  your  guilt  and  misery. 
As  yet,  there  is  room.  Strive  to  enter  while 
the  gate  of  mercy  remains  open.  Think  of 
the  solemnities  of  that  great  day.  Many  \\  ill 
then  be  condemned,  though  they  who  believe 
in  the  Son  of  God  will  be  justified.  Consider 
who  will  condemn  them,  God  himself,  Ps  1.  6. 
From  his  inquisition  there  can  be  no  re- 
treat ;  from  his  sentence  there  can  be  no  ap- 
peal. And  consider  what  the  condemnation 
will  be :  a  final  exclusion  from  his  favour;  a 
never-ceasing  sense  of  his  awful  displeasure  ; 
a  state  of  eternal  horror  and  despair,  without 
mitigation,  without  the  smallest  ray  of  hope  ! 
Can  you  deliberately  give  up  all  claim  to  hap- 
piness, and  determine  to  rush  -upon  the  thick 
bosses  of  God's  buckler  (Job  xv.  26),  to  defy 
his  power,  and  to  dare  his  threatenings,  rather 
than  forego  the  transitory  and  delusive  plea- 
sures of  sin  ?  And  can  you  do  this  witli  the 
gospel  sounding  in  your  ears  ?  May  the  Lord 
prevent  it !  However,  observe  you  are  once 
more  warned,  once  more  invited.  If  now  at 
last,  after  so  many  delays,  so  much  perverse- 
ness  on  your  part,  you  will  honestly  and  ear- 
nestly seek  him,  he  will  be  found  of  you. 
But  if  you  persist  in  your  obstinacy,  your 
condemnation  will  be  inevitable  and  sure. 


SERMON  XL VII I. 

THE  SONG  OF  THE  REDEEMED. 

—  Thou — hast  redeemed  us  to  God,  by  thy 
blood  (out  nf  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and 
people  and  nation).   Rev.  v.  9. 

The  extent,  variety,  and  order  of  the  creation, 
proclaim  the  glory  of  God.  He  is  likewise 
maiimus  in  minimis.  The  smallest  of  his 
works  that  we  are  capable  of  examining,  such 
for  instance  as  the  eye  or  the  wing  of  a  little 
insect,  the  creature  of  a  day,  are  stamped  with 
an  inimitable  impression  of  his  wisdom  and 
power.  Thus  in  his  written  word  there  is  a 
greatness,  considering  it  as  a  whole,  and  a 
beauty  and  accuracy  in  the  smaller  parts,  ana- 
logous to  what  we  observe  in  the  visible  crea- 
tion,  and  answerable  to  what  an  enlightened 
and  humble  mind  may  expect  in  a  book  which 


SEIt.  XLVIII.  THE  SONG   OF  1 

bears  the  character  of  a  divine  revelation.  A 
single  verse,  a  single  clause,  when  viewed  (if 
I  may  so  speak)  in  the  microscope  of  close 
meditation,  is  often  found  to  contain  a  fulness, 
a  world  of  wonders.  And  though  a  connec- 
ted and  comprehensive  acquaintance  with  the 
whole  scripture  be  desirable  and  useful,  and 
is  no  less  the  privilege  than  the  duty  of  those 
who  have  capacity  and  time  at  their  own  dis- 
posal to  acquire  it ;  yet  there  is  a  gracious  ac- 
commodation to  the  weakness  of  some  per- 
sons, and  th;>  circumstances  of  others.  So 
that  in  many  parts  of  scripture,  whatever  is 
immediately  necessary  to  confirm  our  faith,  to 
animate  or  regulate  our  practice,  is  condensed 
into  a  small  compass,  and  comprised  in  a  few 
verses  ;  yea,  sometimes  a  single  sentence,  when 
unfolded  and  examined,  will  be  found  to  con- 
tain ail  the  great  principles  of  duty  and  com- 
fort. Such  is  the  sentence  which  I  have  now 
read  to  you.  In  the  Messiah  it  is  inserted  in 
the  grand  chorus  taken  from  the  12th  and 
13th  verses  of  this  chapter.  And  as  it  may 
lead  us  to  a  compendious  recapitulation  of  the 
whole  subject,  and  by  the  Lord's  blessing, 
may  prepare  us  to  join  in  the  following  as- 
cription of  praise  to  him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  to  the  Lamb ;  I  propose  to  con- 
sider it  in  its  proper  connection,  as  a  part  of 
the  leading  song  of  the  redeemed  before  the 
throne,  in  which  the  angels  cannot  share, 
though  from  their  love  to  redeemed  sinners, 
and  from  their  views  of  the  manifold  wisdom 
and  glory  of  God  in  visiting  such  sinners  with 
such  a  salvation,  they  cheerfully  take  a  part 
in  the  general  chorus. 

The  redemption  spoken  of,  is  suited  to  the 
various  cases  of  sinners  of  every  nation,  people, 
and  language.  And  many  sinners  of  divers 
descriptions,  and  from  distant  situations,  scat- 
tered abroad  into  all  lands,  through  a  long 
succession  of  ages,  will,  by  the  efficacy  of  this 
redemption,  be  gathered  together  into  one, 
John  xi.  52.  They  will  constitute  one  fami- 
ly, united  in  one  great  Head,  Eph.  iii.  14,  15. 
When  they  shall  fully  attain  the  end  of  their 
hope,  and  encircle  the  throne,  day  without 
night,  rejoicing,  their  remembrance  of  what 
they  once  were,  their  sense  of  the  happiness 
they  are  raised  to,  and  of  the  great  considera- 
tion to  which  they  owe  their  deliverance  and 
their  exaltation,  will  excite  a  perpetual  joyful 
acknowledgment  to  this  purport.  They  were 
once  lost,  but  could  contribute  nothing  to 
their  own  recovery.  Therefore  they  ascribe 
all  the  glory  to  their  Saviour.  They  strike 
their  golden  harps,  and  sing  in  strains,  loud  as 
from  numbers  without  number,  sweet  as  from 
blest  voices,  "  Thou  art  worthy — for  thou 
wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by 
thy  blood,  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  and  nation." 

But  though  this  song,  and  this  joy,  will 
only  be  consummated  in  heaven,  the  com- 
mencement takes  place  upon  earth.      Believ- 


IIE   REDEEMED. 


805 


ers,  during  their  present  state  of  warfare,  are 
taught  to  sing  it;  in  feebler  strains  indeed, 
but  the  subject  of  their  joy,  and  the  object  of 
their  praise,  are  the  same  which  inspire  the 
harps  and  songs  in  the  world  of  light.  May  I 
not  say,  that  this  life  is  the  time  of  their  rehears- 
al ?  They  are  now  learning  their  song,  and 
advancing  in  meetness  to  join  in  the  chorus 
on  high,  which,  as  death  successively  removes 
them,  is  continually  increasing  by  the  acces- 
sion of  fresh  voices.  All  that  they  know,  or 
desire  to  know,  all  that  they  possess  or  hope 
for,  is  included  in  this  ascription. 

I  take  the  last  clause  of  the  verse  into  the 
subject.  The  words  suggest  three  principal 
points  to  our  consideration  : 

I.  The  benefit, — Redemption  to  God. 

II.  The  redemption  price, — By  thy  blood. 

III.  The  extent  of  the  benefit, — To  a  peo- 
ple out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  na- 
tion. 

I.  Thou  hast  redeemed  us  to  God. — Re- 
demption or  ransom  is  applicable  to  a  state  of 
imprisonment  for  debt,  and  to  a  state  of  bond- 
age or  slavery.  From  these  ideas  taken  to- 
gether, we  may  form  some  estimate  of  the  mi- 
sery of  our  fallen  state  ;  a  theme,  which,  if  I 
cannot  insist  upon  at  large  in  every  discourse, 
I  would  never  wholly  omit.  For  we  can 
neither  understand  the  grace,  nor  enjoy  the 
comfort  of  the  gospel,  but  in  proportion  as  we 
hare  a  heart-felt  and  abiding  conviction  of  our 
wretched  condition  as  sinners  without  it. 
They  who  think  themselves  whole  know  not 
their  need  of  a  physician  (Matth.  ix.  12),  but 
to  die  sick  he  is  welcome. 

If  a  man,  shut  up  in  prison  for  a  heavy 
debt,  which  he  is  utterly  incapable  of  discharg- 
ing, should  obtain  his  liberty,  in  consideration 
of  payment  made  for  him  by  another,  he  might 
be  properly  said  to  be  redeemed  from  im- 
prisonment. This  supposition  will  apply  to 
our  subject.  The  law  and  justice  of  God 
have  demands  upon  us  which  we  cannot  an- 
swer. We  are  therefore  shut  up,  under  the 
law,  in  unbelief,  helpless,  and  hopeless,  till  we 
know  and  can  plead  the  engagement  of  a  sure- 
ty for  us.  For  a  time,  like  Peter,  we  are 
sleeping  in  our  prison  (Acts  xii.  6 — 10),  re- 
gardless of  danger.  The  first  sensible  effect 
of  the  grace  of  God,  is  to  awaken  us  from 
this  insensibility.  Then  we  begin  to  feel  the 
horrors  of  our  dungeon,  and  the  strength  o. 
our  chains,  and  to  tremble  under  the  appre- 
hension of  an  impending  doom.  But  grace 
proceeds  to  reveal  the  Saviour  and  friend  of 
sinners,  and  to  encourage  our  application  to 
him.  In  a  good  hour  the  chains  fall  off,  the 
bars  of  iron  and  brass  are  broken  asunder,  and 
the  prison-doors  fly  open.  The  prisoner  un- 
derstands that  all  his  great  debt  is  forgiven, 
blesses  his  deliverer,  obtains  his  liberty,  and 
departs  in  peace. 

We  are  likewise  in  bondage  the  servants, 
the  slaves  of  a  harder  tack-ma  ter  than  Pha 


son 


THIS  SONG    OF  TUB    REDEEMED. 


SER.  XT.VIII. 


rt,.ih  was  to  Israel.  Satan,  though  not  by 
right,  yet  by  a  righteous  permission,  tyranniz- 
es over  us,  till  Jesus  makes  us  free,  John  viii. 
34,  36.  The  way  of  transgressors  is  hard, 
Prov.  xiii.  15-  Though  the  solicitations  and 
commands  of  that  enemy  who  worketh  in  the 
children  of  disobedience  (Eph.  ii.  2),  are  in 
some  respects  suited  to  our  depraved  inclina- 
tions, yet  the  consequences  are  grievous.  A 
burdened  conscience,  a  wasted  constitution,  a 
ruined  fortune  and  character,  swiftly  and 
closely  follow  the  habits  of  intemperance  and 
lewdness  ;  and  they  who  seem  to  walk  in  a 
smoother  path,  are  deceived,  mortified,  and 
disappointed  daily.  If  persons  who  live  open- 
ly and  habitually  in  a  course  that  is  contrary 
to  the  rule  of  God's  word,  speak  swelling 
words  of  vanity  (2  Pet.  ii.  18,  19),  and  boast 
of  their  liberty,  believe  them  not.  We  are 
sure  they  carry  that  in  their  bosom  which 
hourly  contradicts  their  assertions.  Yea,  some- 
times their  slavery  is  so  galling,  that  they  at- 
tempt to  escape,  but  in  vain.  They  are  soon 
retaken,  and  their  bonds  made  stronger.  The 
issue  of  their  short-lived  reformations,  which 
they  defer  as  long  as  possible,  and  at  last  set 
about  with  reluctance,  usually  is,  that  their 
latter  end  proves  worse  than  their  beginning. 
At  most,  they  only  exchange  one  sinful  habit 
for  another,  sensuality  for  avarice,  or  prodiga- 
lity for  pride.  The  strong  one  armed  will 
maintain  his  dominion,  till  the  stronger  than 
he  interposes  and  says,  Loose  him,  and  let  him 
go,  for  I  have  found  a  ransom.  Then,  by 
virtue  of  the  redemption-price,  the  prey  is 
taken  from  the  mighty,  and  the  captive  is  de- 
livered, Is.  xlix.  24,  25.  Then  the  enslaved 
sinner,  like  the  man,  out  of  whom  the  legion 
was  cast,  sits  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  in  peace, 
and  in  his  right  mind,  Mark  v.  15.  He  be- 
comes the  Lord's  freed-man. 

For  he  is  not  only  delivered  from  guilt  and 
thrall,  he  is  redeemed  to  God.  He  is  now 
restored  to  his  original  state,  as  an  obedient 
and  dependent  creature,  devoted  to  his  Crea- 
tor, conformed  to  his  will  and  image,  and  ad- 
mitted to  communion  with  him  in  love.  These 
are  blessings  which  alone  can  satisfy  the  soul, 
and  without  which  it  is  impossible  for  man  to 
be  happy.  While  he  is  ignorant  of  his  proper 
good,  and  seeks  it  in  creatures,  he  is  and  must 
be  wretched.  Madness  is  in  his  heart,  a  de- 
ceived, disordered  imagination  turns  him  aside, 
and  he  feeds  upon  ashes,  and  upon  the  wind, 
Is.  xlv.  20.  But  by  grace  he  is  renewed  to 
a  sound  judgment,  his  mind  receives  a  right 
direction,  and  he  is  turned  from  darkness  to 
light,  from  the  power  of  Satan  to  God,  Acts 
xvi.  18. 

II.  What  unspeakably,  and  beyond  concep- 
tion enhances  the  value  of  this  deliverance,  is 
the  consideration  of  the  means  by  which  it  is 
effected.  For  it  is  not  merely  a  deliverance, 
but  a  redemption.  It  is  not  an  act  of  mere 
mercy,  but  of  mercy  harmonizing  with  justice. 


It  is  not  an  act  of  power  only,  but  of  unex- 
ampled and  expensive  love. — "  Thor  hast  re- 
deemed us  by  thy  blood  !" 

The  sentence  denounced  by  the  law  against 
transgressors,  was  death.  And  therefore  when 
Messiah  became  our  surety,  to  satisfy  the  law 
for  us,  he  must  die.  The  expression  of  his 
blood,  is  often  used  figuratively  for  his  death, 
perhaps  to  remind  us  how  he  died.  His  was 
a  bloody  death.  When  he  was  in  his  agony 
in  Gethsemane,  his  sweat  was  as  great  drops 
of  blood,  falling  down  to  the  ground,  Luke 
xxii.  44.  His  blood  flowed  when  he  gave 
his  back  to  the  smiters,  under  the  painful 
strokes  of  the  scourging  he  endured  previous 
to  his  crucifixion.  It  flowed  from  his  head, 
when  the  soldiers,  having  mocked  his  charac- 
ter of  King  by  crowning  him  with  thorns,  by 
their  rude  blows  forced  the  thorns  into  his 
temples.  His  blood  streamed  from  the 
wounds  made  by  the  spikes,  which  pierced 
his  hands  and  his  feet,  when  they  fastened  him 
to  the  cross.  When  he  hung  upon  the  cross, 
his  body  was  full  of  wounds,  and  covered  with 
blood.  And,  after  his  death,  another  large 
wound  was  made  in  his  side,  from  which 
issued  blood  and  water.  Such  was  the  re- 
demption-price he  paid  for  sinners,  his  blood, 
the  blood  of  his  heart.  Without  shedding  of 
blood  there  could  be  no  remission.  Nor  could 
any  blood  answer  the  great  design,  but  his. 
Not  any,  not  all  the  bloody  sacrifices  appoint- 
ed by  the  law  of  Moses  could  take  away  sin, 
as  it  respects  the  conscience,  nor  afford  a  plea, 
with  which  a  sinner  could  venture  to  come  be- 
fore the  most  high  God,  Micah  vi.  6.  But  the 
blood  of  Messiah,  in  whom  were  united  the 
perfections  of  the  divine  nature  and  the  real 
properties  of  humanity,  and  which  the  apostle 
therefore  styles  the  blood  of  God  (Acts  xx. 
28),  this  precious  blood  cleanses  from  all  sin. 
It  is  exhibited  as  a  propitiation  of  perpetual 
efficacy,  by  which  God  declares  his  righteous- 
ness, no  less  than  his  mercy,  in  forgiving  in- 
iquities (Rom.  iii.  25,  26),  and  shews  him- 
self just  to  the  demands  of  his  holiness,  and 
the  honour  of  his  government,  when  he  ac- 
cepts and  justifies  the  sinner  who  believes  in 
Jesus. 

If  these  things  were  understood  and  attend- 
ed to,  would  it  be  thought  wonderful  that  this 
Saviour  is  very  precious  to  those  who  believe 
in  him,  and  who  obtain  redemption  by  his 
blood?  How  can  it  possibly  be  otherwise? 
Grace  like  this,  when  known,  must  captivate 
and  fix  the  heart !  Not  only  to  save,  but  to 
die,  and  to  die  for  his  enemies  !  Such  costly 
love,  productive  of  such  glorious  conse 
quences,  and  to  such  unworthy  creatures  ! 
Surely  the  apostle's  mind  was  filled  and  fired 
with  these  considerations,  when  authenticating 
an  epistle  with  his  own  hand,  he  subjoined 
this  emphatical  close,  "  If  any  man  love  not 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  Anathema 
Maranatha  !"  1  Cor.  xvi.  22.      Do  you  think. 


SER.  XLVIII. 


THE  SONG   OF  THE  REDEEMED. 


807 


my  brethren,  that  the  apostle  took  pleasure  in 
denouncing  so  severe  a  sentence  against  all 
those  who  did  not  see  (as  we  say)  with 
his  eyes  ?  Had  he  so  little  affection  for  sin- 
ners, that  he  could  thus  consign  them  to  de- 
struction by  multitudes,  for  differing  from 
him  in  what  some  persons  only  deem  an  opi- 
nion ?  Rather  consider  him,  not  as  breathing 
out  his  own  wishes,  but  as  speaking  in  the 
name  and  on  the  behalf  of  God.  He  knew 
it  must  be,  and  he  declared  it  would  be  so. 
It  was  no  pleasure  to  him  to  see  them  deter- 
mined to  perish.  On  the  contrary,  he  had 
great  grief  and  sorrow  of  heart  for  them,  even 
for  the  Jews,  who  had  treated  him  with  the 
greatest  cruelty.  Even  for  their  sakes,  he 
could  have  been  content  to  be  made  an  ana- 
thema himself  (Rom.  ix.  3),  that  they  might 
be  saved.  But  upon  the  whole,  he  acqui- 
esced in  the  will  of  God,  and  acknowledged 
it  to  be  just,  right,  and  equal,  that  if  any  man 
would  not  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  after 
all  that  he  had  done  and  suffered  for  sinners, 
he  should  be  accursed.  By  this  comparison 
of  the  apostle's  severe  language  with  his  com- 
passionate temper,  I  am  led  to  digress  a  little 
farther.  It  suggests  an  apology  for  ministers 
of  the  gospel  in  general.  When  we  declare 
the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  when  we  assure  you 
that  there  is  but  one  solid  foundation  for 
hope,  and  that,  unless  you  love  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  you  must  perish,  some  of  our  hearers 
account  us  bigotted,  uncharitable,  and  bitter. 
But  if  you  could  see  what  passes  in  secret, 
how  faithful  ministers  mourn  over  those  who 
reject  their  message,  how  their  disobedience 
cuts  them  to  the  heart,  and  abates  the  com- 
fort they  would  otherwise  find  in  your  ser- 
vice; if  you  could  believe  us  when  we  say  (I 
trust  truly)  that  we  are  ready  to  impart  unto 
you,  not  the  gospel  of  God  only,  but  our  own 
souls  also,  because  you  are  dear  to  us  ( 1  Thes. 
ii.  8),  and  we  long  for  your  salvation ;  then 
you  would  think  more  favourably  of  us.  But 
after  all  we  cannot,  we  dare  not,  soften  our 
message  to  please  men.  What  we  find  in 
the  word  of  God,  we  must  declare.  It  would 
be  at  the  peril  of  our  souls,  to  speak  smooth 
things,  to  prophesy  deceits  (Is.  xxx.  10)  to 
you  ;  and,  so  far  as  we  preach  the  truth,  it 
will  be  at  the  peril  of  your  souls,  if  we  are 
disregarded. 

III.  The  benefits  of  this  redemption  extend 
to  a  numerous  people,  who  are  said  to  be  re- 
deemed out  of  every  kindred,  tongue,  and  na- 
tion. I  have,  upon  a  former  occasion,*  of- 
fered you  my  sentiments  concerning  the  ex- 
tent of  the  virtue  of  that  blood  which  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world.  But  the  clause 
now  before  us  invites  me  to  make  a  few  addi- 
tional observations  upon  a  subject  which,  I 
conceive,  it  much  concerns  us  rightly  to  un- 
derstand. 

The  redeemed  of  the  Lord  are  those  who 

*   Sermon  xvi. 


actually  experience  the  power  of  his  redemp- 
tion, who  are  delivered  from  the  dominion  of 
sin  and  Satan,  and  brought  into  a  state  of  li- 
berty, peace,  and  holiness.      That  the  people 
of  every  kindred,  nation,  and  tongue,  are  not 
redeemed  in  this  sense  universally,  is  as  cer- 
tain as  evidence  of  facts,  and  express  declara- 
tions of  scripture,  can  make  it.      "  Without 
holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord."      Multi- 
tudes, thus  disqualified,  will  be  found  trem- 
bling, on  the  left  hand  of  the  Judge,   at  the 
great  day.      But  a  remnant  will  be  saved,  ac- 
cording to  the  election  of  grace.    For  they  who 
differ,  who  are  redeemed  to  the  service  of  God, 
while  others  live  and  die  in  the  love  and  ser- 
vice of  sin,   do  not  make  themselves  to  differ, 
1  Cor.  iv.  7.    It  becomes  the  potsherds  of  the 
earth  to  ascribe  to  their  Maker  the  glory  of 
his  sovereignty,  and  to  acknowledge,  that,  if 
they  have  a  good  hope,  it  is  because  it  pleased 
the  Lord  to  make  them  his  people  who  were 
once  not  his  people,   Hos.  ii.  23.      Yet  a  way 
of  conceiving  of  the  doctrines  of  the  divine  so- 
vereignty, and  of  a  personal  election  unto  life, 
has  often  obtained,  which  seems  to  have  a  ten- 
dency to  render  the  mind  narrow,  selfish,  and 
partial,   and   to  straiten   the   exercise   of  that 
philanthropy  which  the  genius  and  spirit  of 
the  gospel  powerfully  inculcate.      The  best  of 
us,  perhaps,  are  more  prone  than  we  are  aware 
of  to  assimilate   the  great  God  to  ourselves, 
and  to  frame  our  ideas  of  him  too  much  ac- 
cording  to    our  own  image.       So  that  often 
much  of  a  man's  natural  disposition  may  be 
observed  in  the  views  he  forms  of  the  divine 
perfections    and   conduct ;    as,   on    the    other 
hand,  his  conceptions  of  the  character  of  God 
strengthen  and  confirm  him  in  his  own  tem- 
pers and  habits.      There  are  persons,  who  be- 
ing persuaded  in  their  own   minds  (we  would 
hope  upon  sure  grounds)  that  they  themselves 
are  of  the  elect,  appear  to  be  little  concerned 
what  may  become  of  others.      Their  notions 
of  God's  sovereignty,  and  his  right  to  do  what 
he  will  with  his  own,  though  often  insufficient 
to   preserve   them  from   repining   and    impa- 
tience under  the   common   events   of  human 
life,   raise  them  above  all  doubts  and  difficul- 
ties on  a  subject  which  the  apostle  speaks   of 
as  unsearchable  and  untraceable  ;  where  he  ac- 
knowledges depths  which  he  was  unable  to  fa- 
thom (Rom.  xi.  33),  all  appears  to  them  quite 
plain  and  easy  ;  where  he  admires  and  adores, 
they  arrogantly  dispute,  and  determine  e.T  ca- 
thedra, and  harshly  censure  all  wiio  are  not  so 
eagle-sighted  as  themselves.      Methinks  they 
who  know  the  worth  of  a  soul,  from  its  vast 
capacity  for  happiness  and  misery,  and  its  im- 
mortal duration,   cannot  justly  be  blamed  for 
allowing  no  limits  to  their  benevolent  wishes 
for  the  salvation  of  mankind,  but  the  will  of 
God,  as  it  is  plainly  made  known  to  us  in  his 
word.      To  this  we  are  to  submit,    not  as  of 
necessity  only,  but  cheerfully,  assured  that  his 
will  is  wise,  holy,  and  good  ;  that  the  Judge  of 
all  the  world  will  do  right;  and  to  wait  for  the 


60S 


THE   SONG    OF  THE    REDEEMED 


day  when  he  will  condescend  to  clear  up  every 
difficulty,  and  give  us  that  satisfaction  which, 
in  our  present  state  of  ignorance  and  weakness, 
we  are  incapable  of  receiving.  Shall  mortal 
man  he  more  just,  or  can  he  be  more  merciful, 
than  God  ?  It  is  a  false  compassion,  founded 
in  a  blameable  disregard  of  what  is  due  to  the 
glory  of  his  great  name,  that  prompts  us  to  form 
a  wish  that  his  unerringly  wise  appointments 
could  be  otherwise  than  they  are.  Yet  it  is  a 
comfort  to  think  that  his  mercy,  in  which  he 
delights,  in  which  he  is  peculiarly  said  to  be 
rich,  and  which  is  higher  than  the  heavens, 
will,  in  its  exercise,  far  exceed  the  bounds 
which  some  fallible  mortals  would  perempto- 
rily assign  to  it.  We  must  not  indulge  con- 
jecture and  hypothesis  farther  than  the  scrip- 
ture will  warrant;  but  while  we  humbly  de- 
pend upon  this  infallible  light,  we  need  not  he 
afraid  to  follow  it,  though  it  should,  in  some 
particulars,  lead  us  a  little  beyond  the  out- 
lines of  some  long  received,  and  in  the  main 
very  valuable  human  systems  of  divinity. 

I  have  repeatedly  expressed  my  belief,  that 
many  prophecies  respecting  the  spread  and 
glory  of  the  kingdom  of  Messiah  upon  earth 
have  not  yet  received  their  full  accomplish- 
ment, and  that  a  time  is  coming  when  many 
(perhaps  the  greater  part  of  mankind)  of  all 
nations,  and  people,  and  languages,  shall  know 
the  joyful  sound  of  the  gospel,  and  walk  in 
the  light  of  the  Redeemer's  countenance.  At 
present,  I  would  confine  myself  to  consider 
what  ground  the  scripture  affords  us  to  hope 
that  there  are  many  of  every  nation,  people, 
and  tongue,  even  now,  singing  this  song  be- 
fore his  throne. 

The  revelations  vouchsafed  to  the  beloved 
disciple  in  Patinos  exhibit  a  succession  of  great 
events,  extending  (I  suppose)  from  the  apos- 
tles days  to  the  end  of  time.  But  while  only 
the  learned  can  so  much  as  attempt  to  ascer- 
tain from  history  the  dates  and  facts  to  which 
the  prophecies  already  fulfilled  refer,  or  to  of- 
fer probable  conjectures  concerning  the  events 
as  yet  future  (in  which  the  most  judicious 
commentators  are  far  from  being  agreed), 
there  are  passages  interspersed  which  seem 
designed  to  administer  consolation  to  plain 
believers,  by  representations  suited  to  raise 
their  thoughts  to  the  state  of  the  church  tri- 
umphant Though  they  are  unable  to  explain 
the  particulars  of  what  they  read,  there  is  a 
glory  resulting  from  the  whole,  which  ani- 
mates their  hope  and  awakens  their  joy.  Of 
tliis  kind  I  think  is  that  vision  (Rev.  vii.  9,  ad 
Hnem),  in  which  the  apostle  saw  the  servants 
of  God,  who  were  sealed  in  their  foreheads, 
in  number  a  hundred  and  forty-four  thou- 
sand ;  and  besides  these  a  great  multitude 
which  no  man  could  number,  of  all  nations, 
and  kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues,  stood 
before  the  throne,  and  before  the  Lamb,  cloth- 
ed with  white  robes,  and  palms  in  their  hands, 
and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,   "  Salva- 


SER.   XI.VIIT. 

tion  to  our  God,  which  sittcth  upon  the  throne, 
and  to  the  Lamb,"  &c.  I  confess  myself  un- 
able to  expound  this  sublime  passage,  and  (o 
give  the  full  or  even  the  principal  sense  of  it 
with  certainty.  But  that  it  has  some  refer- 
ence to  what  is  now  passing  within  the  vail, 
which  hides  the  unseen  world  from  our  view, 
I  cannot  doubt.  I  propose  my  thoughts  upon 
it  with  caution  and  diffidence.  I  dare  not 
speak  with  that  certainty  which  I  feel  myself 
warranted  to  use,  when  I  set  before  you  from 
scripture  the  great  truths  which  are  essential 
to  a  life  of  faith  in  the  Son  of  God  ;  yet  I 
hope  to  advance  nothing  that  is  contrary  to 
scripture,  or  to  any  deductions  fairly  and  just- 
ly drawn  from  it. 

Having  premised  this  acknowledgment  of 
my  incompetence  to  decide  positively,  I  ven  . 
ture  to  say,  that  by  the  hundred  and  forty-four 
thousand  sealed  in  their  foreheads  (a  definite 
for  an  indefinite  number,  which  is  frequent  in 
scripture-language),  I  understand  those,  who, 
living  to  mature  age,  and  where  the  gospel  is 
afforded,  are  enabled  to  make  a  public  and 
visible  profession  of  religion,  and  are  marked 
as  it  were  in  their  foreheads,  and  know  to 
whom  they  belong,  by  their  open  and  habitual 
separation  from  the  spirit  and  customs  of  the 
world  which  lieth  in  wickedness.  And  the 
exceeding  great  multitude,  contradistinguished 
from  these,  I  conceive  to  be  those  who  are 
elsewhere  styled  the  Lord's  hidden  ones  :  and 
that  these  are  a  great  multitude  indeed,  gath- 
ered by  him,  who  knows  them  that  are  his, 
out  of  ali  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people, 
and  tongues.  I  may  distribute  them  into  the 
following  classes. 

1.  Infants. — I  think  it  at  least  highly  pro- 
bable, that  when  our  Lord  says,  "  Suffer  little 
children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them 
not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven" 
(Math.  xix.  14),  he  does  not  only  intimate 
the  necessity  of  our  becoming  like  little  chil- 
dren in  simplicity,  as  a  qualification  without 
which  (as  he  expressly  declares  in  other  places) 
we  cannot  enter  into  his  kingdom,  but  informs 
us  of  a  fact,  that  the  number  of  infants,  who  are 
effectually  redeemed  to  God  by  his  blood,  so 
greatly  exceeds  the  aggregate  number  of  adult 
believers,  that,  comparatively  speaking,  his 
kingdom  may  be  said  to  consist  of  little  children. 
The  apostle  speaks  of  them  as  not  having  "  sin- 
ned after  the  similitude  of  Adam's  transgres- 
sion" (Rom.  v.  14),  that  is,  with  the  consent  of 
their  understanding  and  will.  And  when  he 
says,  "  We  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment, 
seat  of  Christ,"  he  adds,  "  that  every  man  may 
give  an  account  of  what  he  has  done  in  the 
body,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad,"  2  Cor.  v. 
10.  But  children  who  die  in  their  infancy 
have  not  done  any  thing  in  the  body,  either 
good  or  bad.  It  is  true,  they  are  by  nature 
evil,  and  must,  if  saved,  be  the  subjects  of  a 
supernatural  change.  And  though  we  cannot 
conceive  how   this   change   is   Co   be    wrought,. 


SEK.   XL  VII  I. 


THE  SONG   OF  THE   REDEEMED. 


809 


yet  I  suppose  few  are  so  rash  as  to  imagine  it 
impossible  that  any  infants  can  be  saved.  The 
same  power  that  produces  this  change  in  some, 
can  produce  it  in  all ;  and  therefore  I  am  wil- 
ling to  believe,  till  the  scripture  forbids  me, 
that  infants,  of  all  nations  and  kindreds,  with- 
out exception,  who  die  before  they  are  capable 
of  sinning  after  the  similitude  of  Adam's  trans- 
gression, who  have  done  nothing  in  the  body 
of  which  they  can  give  an  account,  are  includ- 
ed in  the  election  of  grace.  They  are  born 
for  a  better  world  than  this ;  they  just  enter 
this  state  of  tribulation  ;  they  quickly  pass 
through  it ;  their  robes  are  washed  white  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  they  are  admit- 
ted, for  his  sake,  before  the  throne.  Should 
I  be  asked  to  draw  the  line,  to  assign  the  age 
at  which  children  begin  to  be  accountable  for 
actual  sin,  it  would  give  me  no  pain  to  con- 
fess my  ignorance. — The  Lord  knoweth. 

2.  A  people  hidden  among  the  most  de- 
generate communities,  civil  or  ecclesiastical, 
that  bear  the  name  of  Christian ;  where  igno- 
rance and  superstition,  or  errors,  which,  though 
more  refined,  are  no  less  contrary  to  the  gos- 
pel, have  a  prevailing  dominion  and  influence. 
What  can  be  more  deplorable,  in  the  view  of 
an  enlightened  and  benevolent  mind,  than  the 
general  state  of  the  Roman  and  Greek 
churches  !  where  the  traditions,  inventions, 
and  doctrines  of  men,  a  train  of  pompous  and 
burdensome  ceremonies,  a  dependence  upon 
masses,  penance,  and  pilgrimages,  upon  le- 
gends and  fictitious  saints,  form  the  principal 
features  of  the  public  religion.  Many  nations 
are  involved  in  this  gross  darkness,  but  they 
are  not  wholly  destitute  of  the  scripture ; 
some  portions  of  it  are  interwoven  with  their 
authorized  forms  of  worship ;  and  we  cannot 
with  reason  doubt  but  a  succession  of  indivi- 
duals among  them  have  been  acquainted  with 
the  life  and  power  of  true  godliness,  notwith- 
standing the  disadvantages  and  prejudices  of 
their  education.  There  are  likewise  amongst 
Protestants  schemes  of  doctrine,  supported  by 
learning  and  by  numbers,  which  are  not  more 
conformable  to  the  standard  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament than  the  grossest  errors  of  Popery ; 
and  yet  here  and  there  persons  may  be  met 
with,  who,  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
enabling  them  to  understand  the  scriptures, 
are  made  wiser  than  their  teachers ;  and  who, 
though  still  fettered  by  some  mistakes  and 
prejudices,  give  evidence  in  the  main,  that 
their  hopes  are  fixed  upon  the  only  atone- 
ment, that  they  are  redeemed  to  God,  and 
are  partakers  of  that  faith  which  worketh  by 
love,  purifies  the  heart,  and  overcometh  the 
world. 

3.  I  will  go  one  step  farther.  The  infer- 
ences that  have  been  made  by  some  persons 
from  the  apostle  Peter's  words,  that  "  God  is 
no  respecter  of  persons,  but  in  every  nation, 
he  that  feareth  him,  and  worketh  righteous 


ness,  is  accepted  with  him"  (Acts  x.  34,  35), 
are,  undoubtedly,  rash  and  unscriptural.  They 
would  conclude  from  thence,  that  it  is  of  little 
importance  what  people  believe,  provided  they 
are  sincere  in  their  way  ;  that  the  idolatrous 
Heathens,  even  the  most  savage  of  them, 
whose  devotion  is  cruelty,  who  pollute  their 
worship  with  human  blood,  and  live  in  the 
practice  of  vices  disgraceful  to  humanity,  are 
in  a  very  safe  state,  because  they  act,  as  it  is 
supposed,  according  to  their  light.  "  But  if 
the  light  which  is  in  them  be  darkness,  how 
great  is  that  darkness!"  Such  a  lax  candour 
as  this  tends  to  make  the  gospel  unnecessary ; 
if  they  who  have  it  not  are  therefore  excusable, 
though  they  neither  love  nor  fear  God,  and 
live  in  open  violation  of  the  law  of  their  na- 
ture. The  declaration,  that  "  Without  holi- 
ness no  man  shall  see  the  Lord"  (Heb.  xii. 
14),  holds  universally,  and  without  a  single 
exception.  But  if  we  suppose  a  Heathen, 
destitute  of  the  means  of  grace,  by  which  con- 
version is  usually  wrought,  to  be  brought  to  a 
sense  of  his  misery,  of  the  emptiness  and  va- 
nity of  worldly  things,  to  a  conviction  that  he 
cannot  be  happy  without  the  favour  of  the 
great  Lord  of  the  world,  to  a  feeling  of  guilt, 
and  a  desire  of  mercy ;  and  that  though  he 
has  no  explicit  knowledge  of  a  Saviour,  he  di- 
rects the  cry  of  his  heart  to  the  unknown  Su- 
preme to  this  purport,  "  Ens  enthim,  miserere 
mei,  Father  and  source  of  beings,  have  mercy 
upon  me  !" — who  will  prove  that  such  views 
and  desires  can  arise  in  the  heart  of  a  sinner, 
without  the  energy  of  that  Spirit  which  Jesus 
is  exalted  to  bestow  ?  Who  will  take  upon  him 
to  say,  that  1; is  blood  has  not  sufficient  effica- 
cy to  redeem  to  God  a  sinner  who  is  thus  dis- 
posed, though  he  has  never  heard  of  his  name? 
Or  who  has  a  warrant  to  affirm,  that  the  sup- 
position I  have  made  is,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
impossible  to  be  realized  ?  But  I  stop — I  do 
not  often  amuse  you  with  conjecture.  And 
though  for  want  of  express  warrant  from  scrip- 
ture, I  dare  not  give  the  sentiments  I  have 
now  offered  a  stronger  name  than  probable,  oi 
conjectural,  I  hope  I  do  not  propose  them  for 
your  amusement.  They  will  prove  to  your 
advantage  and  my  own,  if  they  are  helpful  to 
guard  us  against  a  narrow,  harsh,  and  dogma- 
tical spirit;  and  if,  without  abating  our  re- 
verend submission  to  the  revealed  will  of  God, 
they  have  a  tendency  to  confirm  our  views  of 
his  goodness,  and  the  power  and  compassions 
of  the  great  Redeemer. 


810 


Tin;  chorus  of  angels. 


SER.   XI. IX 


SERMON  XLIX. 

THE  CHORUS  OF  ANGELS. 

Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  ivas  sla/'n,  to  receive 
power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength, 
and  honour,  and  glory,  and  blessing  !  Rev. 
v.   12. 

It  was  a  good  report  which  the  queen  of  She- 
ba  heard,  in  her  own  land,  of  the  wisdom  and 
glory  of  Solomon.  It  lessened  her  attach- 
ment to  home,  and  prompted  her  to  undertake 
a  long  journey  to  visit  this  greater  king,  of 
whom  she  had  heard  so  much.  She  went, 
and  she  was  not  disappointed.  Great  as  the 
expectations  were  which  she  had  formed  from 
the  relation  made  her  by  others,  they  fell  short 
of  what  she  saw  and  heard  herself,  when  she 
was  admitted  into  his  presence.  Good,  like- 
wise, is  the  report  of  the  gospel.  It  has  a 
powerful  effect  upon  those  who  receive  it  by 
faith.  It  is  abundantly  sufficient  to  convince 
them  of  the  comparative  insignificance  of  all 
that  they  most  admired  and  esteemed  in  this 
world.  From  that  hour  they  become  strangers 
and  pilgrims  upon  earth.  They  set  out,  in 
the  way  which  God  has  prescribed,  in  hopes 
of  seeing  him  who  is  greater  than  Solomon  ; 
and  the  report  they  have  heard  of  him  is  their 
subject,  their  song,  and  their  joy,  while  they 
are  on  their  journey,  and  their  great  support, 
under  the  difficulties  they  meet  with  on  the 
road.  What  then  will  it  be  to  see  him  as  he 
is?  As  yet,  the  one  half  is  not  told  them.  Or 
at  least  they  are  not  yet  capable  of  conceiving 
the  half,  or  the  thousandth  part,  of  what  they 
read  in  the  scripture,  concerning  his  wisdom, 
his  glory,  and  his  grace.  We  weaken,  rather 
than  enlarge,  the  sense  of  such  a  passage  as 
this,  by  our  feeble  comments.  We  must  die 
before  we  can  understand  it.  To  the  bulk  of 
mankind,  "  Wait  the  great  teacher  death,"  is 
cold,  is  dangerous  advice.  If  they  are  not 
taught  by  the  gospel  while  they  live,  the  teach- 
ing of  death  will  be  too  late.  Dreadful  will 
be  the  condition  of  those  who  cannot  be  con- 
vinced of  their  mistakes,  till  repentance  and 
amendment  will  be  impracticable.  But  death 
will  be  a  great  teacher,  indeed,  to  a  believer  ; 
he  will  then  know  more  by  a  glance,  and  in  a 
moment,  of  the  happiness  he  is  now  expect- 
ing, than  by  all  he  could  collect  from  the  in- 
quiry and  experience  of  a  long  course  of  years, 
in  this  world. 
g  The  scenery  of  this  chapter,  if  attentively 
considered,  is  sufficient  to  snatch  our  thoughts 
from  the  little  concernments  of  time,  and  to 
give  ns  some  anticipation  of  the  employments 
and  enjoyments  of  heaven.  Come,  all  ye  that 
arc  wearied  and  burdened  with  afflictions  and 
temptations,  look  up,  and  for  a  while,  at  least, 
forget  jour  sorrows  !   The  Lamb  is  upon  his 


I  throne,  surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  his  re- 
deemed people,  who  once  were  afflicted  and 
burdened  like  yourselves ;  but  now  all  teais 
are  wiped  from  their  eyes.  They  have  a  song 
peculiarly  their  own,  and  are  represented  as 
taking  the  first  and  leading  part  in  worship 
and  praise.  The  angels  cannot  sing  their 
song,  they  were  not  redeemed  to  God  by  his 
blood  ;  but  they  are  interested  in  the  subject. 
Their  highest  views  of  the  manifold  wisdom 
of  God  are  derived  from  the  wonders  of  re- 
demption. Therefore  they  join  in  the  chorus, 
"  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  to  re- 
ceive power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and 
strength,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and  bless- 
ing." If  you  have  a  humble  hope  of  bearing 
a  part  in  this  immortal  song,  will  you  hang 
down  your  heads  like  a  bulrush,  because  you 
have  the  honour  of  following  your  Lord 
through  many  tribulations  to  his  kingdom  ? 

The  number  of  the  angels  is  expressed  in- 
definitely, ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand, 
and  thousands  of  thousands  ;  myriads,  and 
millions;  to  intimate  to  us,  that,  with  respect 
to  our  capacities  and  conceptions,  they  are 
innumerable.  Their  number  is  known  to  him 
who  telleth  the  number  of  the  stars  and  calleth 
them  all  by  their  names  (Ps.  cxlvii.  4),  and  to 
him  only.  The  scripture  intimates  a  diver- 
sity of  ranks  and  orders  among  them,  Thrones, 
dominions,  principalities,  and  powers ;  but  as 
to  particulars,  there  is  little  said  that  might 
gratify  our  curiosity.  It  is  enough  for  us  to 
know,  that  the  highest  of  them,  and  that  all 
of  them,  worship  him  who  is  clothed  in  our 
nature.  My  text  expressly  informs  us,  that 
the  object  of  their  worship  is  the  Lamb  that 
was  slain.  Not  that  the  humanity  of  Christ, 
which  is  but  a  creature,  is  simply  and  formally, 
the  object  of  their  worship  ;  but  they  worship 
him  who  has  assumed  the  human  nature  into 
personal  union  with  himself;  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh,  God  in  Christ.  Though  the  world 
censure  or  despise  us  for  honouring  the  Son 
as  we  honour  the  Father  (John  v.  23),  we 
have  here  a  good  precedent,  as  we  have  in 
many  places  of  scripture,  the  warrant  of  an 
express  command.  Whether  men  are  pleased 
or  not,  we  will,  we  must,  worship  the  Lamb 
that  was  slain.  To  animate  our  devotion,  let 
us  thankfully  consider,  Why  he  was  slain,  and 
How  he  was  slain. 

I.  Why  he  was  slain. — The  redeemed  say, 
For  us.  "  He  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from 
our  sins  in  his  own  blood,"  Rev.  i.  5.  They 
were  sinners  and  enemies ;  they  were  slaves  to 
sin  and  Satan  ;  yet  he  loved  them,  and  died 
to  redeem  them.  It  is  by  virtue  of  his  blood 
and  death  that  they  are  now  before  the  throne. 
Nothing  less  than  his  death  could  have  made 
them  duly  sensible  of  their  misery,  nothing 
less  could  have  relieved  them  from  it.  He 
was  lifted  up  upon  the  cross,  that,  by  the  pow- 
erful magnetism  of  his  dying  love,  he  might, 
in  the  hour  of  his  grace,  draw  their  hearts  to 


SFR.   XMX. 


THE   CHORUS   OF  ANGELS. 


811 


nimself,  John  xii.  32.  This  was  the  design, 
this  was  the  effect  of  his  sufferings.  A  cruci- 
fied Saviour,  though  a  stumbling-block  to  the 
self-righteous,  and  foolishness  to  vain  reasoners, 
was  to  them  the  power  and  the  wisdom  of  God 
for  salvation.  They  looked  unto  him,  and 
were  enlightened ;  they  trusted  in  him,  and 
were  not  ashamed.  By  faith  in  his  name, 
they  obtained  peace  with  God,  they  renounced 
the  ways  of  sin,  they  warred  the  good  warfare, 
they  overcame  the  world,  and  were  at  length 
made  more  than  conquerors.  For  his  sake 
they  endured  the  cross,  and  despised  the 
shame.  They  met  with  bad  treatment  from 
the  world,  but  it  was  from  the  world  that  cru- 
cified him.  While  they  were  here  their  cha- 
racters were  obscured  by  their  own  imperfec- 
tions, and  by  the  misrepresentations  and  re- 
proaches of  their  enemies.  But  now  their  re- 
proach is  removed,  and  they  shine,  each  one 
like  the  sun,  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father, 
Matth.  xiii.  43.  What  an  immense  constel- 
lation of  suns  !  This  their  full  salvation  was 
the  joy  set  before  him,  for  the  sake  of  which 
he  became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death 
of  the  cross.  And  now  they  see  hirn  as  he  is, 
they  ascribe  all  their  victories  and  honours  to 
him,  and  unite  in  one  song  of  endless  praise 
to  the  Lamb  that  was  slain. 

II.  Their  praises  are  heightened,  when  they 
consider,  How  he  was  slain.  He  did  not  die 
a  natural  death.  He  was  slain.  Nor  did  he 
fall  like  a  hero,  by  an  honourable  wound  in 
the  field  of  battle.  The  impression  which  the 
death  of  the  late  General  Wolfe  made  upon 
the  public,  is  not  yet  quite  forgotten.  He 
conquered  for  us,  but  it  cost  him  his  life.  But 
he  died  honourably,  and  was  lamented  by  his 
country.  Not  so  the  Lamb  of  God.  He 
died  the  death  of  a  slave,  of  a  malefactor. 
Cruelty,  malice,  and  contempt,  combined  to 
give  his  sufferings  every  possible  aggravation. 
And  after  he  was  slain,  very  few  laid  it  to 
heart.  The  world  went  on  as  it  did  before, 
as  though  nothing  extraordinary  had  happen- 
ed. But  on  this  dark  ground  the  perfections 
of  God  were  displayed  in  their  fullest  lustre; 
and  they  are  the  perfections  of  the  great  Re- 
deemer, and  therefore  distinctly  ascribed  to 
him  by  the  angels  in  the  words  which  follow — 
"  Power,  and  wisdom,  and  riches,  and  strength, 
and  honour,  and  glory,  and  blessing." 

Though  each  of  these  words  have  a  distinct 
sense,  a  nicety  in  defining  them,  and  stating 
their  precise  meaning  is  of  less  importance 
than  to  feel  the  combined  efficacy  of  them  all, 
to  impress  our  hearts  with  sentiments  of  reve- 
rence, confidence  and  love.  The  fulness  of 
expression  may  teach  us,  that  every  kind  of 
excellence  is  the  indubitable  right  and  posses- 
sion of  the  Lamb  that  was  slain.  He  is  wor- 
thy to  have  them  all  attributed  to  him  in  the 
most  absolute  sense,  and  consequently  worthy 
of  our  adoration,  dependence,  and  praise. 

I     Power. — It  is  spoken  once,  yea  twice  we 


have  heard  the  same,  that  power  belono-eth 
unto  God,  Ps.  lxii.  11.  It  belongeth  to  him 
eminently  and  exclusively.  All  the  power  of 
creatures  is  derived  from  him.  Such  is  the 
power  of  the  Lamb.  He  styles  himself  « 
navT«»£a<r&>£,  the  Omnipotent,  the  Upholder 
and  Possessor  of  all  things,  Rev.  i.  8,  11.  He 
exerciseth  this  power  in  the  human  nature, 
Matth.  xxviii.  18.  He  doeth  what  he  pleas- 
eth  in  the  armies  of  heaven,  and  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth  (Dan.  iv.  35);  and 
none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say  unto  him,  What 
doest  thou  ?  He  has,  therefore,  all  sufficiency, 
and  uncontroulable  authority,  for  the  dis- 
charge of  his  office,  as  the  Mediator  and  head 
of  his  church.  The  divine  perfections,  being 
infinite,  are  not  distinct  in  themselves,  though 
the  scripture,  in  condescension  to  our  weak- 
ness, authorizes  us  to  speak  of  them  as  dis- 
tinguishable. God  is  one.  And  the  power 
which  can  preserve  and  govern  the  world,  in- 
volves in  the  idea  of  it  every  other  excellence, 
which  are  separately  mentioned  in  this  pas- 
sage. 

2.  Wisdom. — He  is  the  only  wise  God,  and 
our  Saviour,  Jude  25.  His  knowledge  is  per- 
fect, his  plan  is  perfect.  In  himself  he  is  essen- 
tially the  wisdom  of  God  (Prov.  vrii.  22),  and 
he  is  our  wisdom,  1  Cor.  i.  30.  It  is  life  eternal 
to  know  the  only  true  God  (John  xvii.  3),  and 
therefore  it  is  life  eternal  to  know  Jesus 
Christ  whom  he  hath  sent.  For  he  is  the  on- 
ly way,  and  the  only  door  to  this  knowledge; 
no  one  can  come  unto  God,  or  attain  to  any 
just  conceptions  of  him,  but  in  and  by  the  Son 
of  his  love,  who  so  perfectly  represents  God 
to  us,  is  so  completely  the  brightness  of  his 
glory,  and  the  express  image  cf  his  person, 
that  whoso  hath  seen  him,  hath  seen  the  Fa- 
ther, John  xiv.  9.  By  him  is  opened  to  us 
the  unsearchable  wisdom  of  the  divine  coun- 
sels, particularly  in  the  great  work  of  redemp 
tion.  "  No  one  hath  seen  God  at  any  time  ; 
the  only  begotten  Son,  who  is  in  the  bosom  of 
the  Father,  he  hath  revealed  him,"  John  i. 
18;  John  xv.  15.  It  is  by  wisdom  commu- 
nicated from  him,  that  his  people  are  made 
wise  unto  salvation.  Though  there  are  few 
scholars  and  philosophers  among  them,  and 
many  of  them  are  despised  for  their  ignorance 
and  weakness,  yet  in  truth  they  have  all  a 
good  understanding,  for  they  know  the  Lord 
and  his  will  ;  they  know  wherein  their  proper 
happiness  consists,  and  how  it  is  to  be  obtain- 
ed. They  are  instructed  how  to  walk  and  to 
please  God,  how  to  bear  afflictions  with  pa- 
tience, and  to  meet  death  with  composure. 
This  wisdom  is  far  superior  to  that  of  the 
schools.  But  he  bestows  and  maintains  it. 
The  eyes  of  their  mind  are  opened,  and  they 
see  by  his  light;  but  they  have  no  light  of 
their  own,  or  in  themselves.  They  wait  upon 
him  for  direction  in  every  difficulty,  for  the 
solution  of  every  hard  question  which  per- 
plexes their  spirits  ;  and  he  makes  the  crooked 


812 


THE   CHORUS  OF  ANGELS. 


SKR.    XL IX. 


straight,  teaches  them  to  avoid  the  snares  that  i 
are  laid  for  them,  or  extricates  them  when  en-  | 
tangled.      Therefore  in  time,  and  to  eternity, 
they  will  admire  and  adore  his  wisdom. 

3.  Riches. — All  the  stores  of  mercy,  grace, 
and  comfort,  are  in  him,  as  light  in  the  sun, 
or  water  in  the  ocean.      The  apostle,  speak- 
ing of  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ  (Eph.  ,. 
iii.  8),  gives  us  the  idea  of  a  mine,  the  height,1 
length,  depth,  and  breadth  of  which  cannot  be1 
investigated,  nor  the  immense  wealth  it  con- 
tains exhausted.      Of  this  fulness  the  poor  are 
invited  to  receive  freely,  and  multitudes  from 
age  to  age  have  been  enriched,  and  the  treasure  | 
is  still   undiminished.      None   are  sent  away 
empty  ;  and  when  all  have  been  supplied,   it 
will  be  full  as  at  first. 

4.  Strength. — That  energy  and  efficacy  of 
Ids  power,  by  which  he  accomplishes  his  holy 
purposes.  Who  can  conceive  of  this  ?  How 
just  is  the  psalmist's  reasoning,  "  He  that 
formed  the  eye,  shall  not  he  see  ?  He  that 
planted  the  ear,  shall  not  he  hear?"  Ps.  xciv. 
9.  So  we  may  say,  How  strong  is  he  from 
whom  all  created  strength  is  derived,  and  be- 
fore whom  the  strength  of  all  creatures,  if  col- 
lected into  one  effort,  would  be  as  chaff  be- 
fore the  whirlwind  !  The  Lord  of  all  power 
and  might  speaks,  and  it  is  done ;  he  com- 
mandeth,  and  it  standeth  fast.  Though  the 
waves  of  the  stormy  sea  toss  themselves,  they 
cannot  prevail  (Ps.  xciii.  3,  4);  he  checks 
them  in  the  height  of  their  rage,  setting 
bounds  to  their  violence  which  they  cannot 
pass,  saying,  "  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come  and 
no  farther,  and  here  shall  thy  proud  billows 
be  stayed,"  Job  xxxviii.  10,  11.  With  equal 
sovereignty,  certainty,  and  ease,  he  rules  over 
moral  agents.  He  formed  the  heart  of  man, 
and  he  can  fill  it  with  terror  or  with  comfort 
in  a  moment,  in  any  assignable  circumstances. 
He  can  make  it  happy  in  a  dungeon  (Acts 
xvi.  25),  or  impress  it  with  dismay  and  de- 
spair upon  a  throne,  Dan.  v.  5,  6.  All  hearts 
are  thus  incessantly  under  his  influence.  And 
the  hedge  of  his  promise  and  protection  sur.. 
rounds  those  who  trust  in  him,  as  with  moun- 
tains, and  walls  of  brass  and  fire,  impenetrable 
to  the  assaults  of  the  powers  of  darkness,  un- 
less so  far  as  he,  for  wise  and  holy  ends,  is 
pleased  to  give  permission.  With  the  arm  of 
his  strength  he  upholdeth  them  that  are  fall- 
ing, and  raiseth  up  them  that  are  bowed  down 
(Ps.  cxlv.  14),  and  is,  in  one  and  the  same  in- 
stant, a  present  and  immediate  help  in  trouble 
to  all  who  call  upon  him,  Ps.  xlvi.  1.  There- 
fore they  that  abide  under  his  shadow  are 
safe ;  they  pass  unhurt  through  floods  and 
flames,  because  their  Redeemer  is  strong. 
And  when,  in  defiance  of  all  their  enemies,  he 
has  brought  them  together  in  his  heavenly 
kingdom,  they  will,  with  one  consent,  ascribe 
unto  the  Lord  glory  and  strength. 

5.  Honour. — He  is  the  fountain  of  it.  All 
the  honour  of  his  creatures,  and  of  his  people, 


is  from  him  ;  as  the  sun  beautifies  and  gilds 
the  objects  lie  shines  upon,  which,  without 
him,  are  opaque  and  obscure.  Because  his 
people  are  precious  in  his  sight,  they  are  hon- 
ourable. He  clothes  them  with  the  garments 
of  salvation,  covers  them  with  a  robe  of  right- 
eousness as  a  bridegroom  decketh  himself 
with  ornaments,  and  as  a  bride  adorneth  herself 
with  jewels,  Is.  lxi.  10.  But  who  can  speak 
of  his  own  inherent  honour,  as  God-man  and 
Mediator !  We  must  wait  till  we  see  him, 
without  a  cloud  or  vail,  receiving  the  homage 
and  adoration  of  angels  and  men.  For  as 
yet  the  one  half  cannot  be  told  us.  Then, 
however,  it  will  be  universally  known,  that  he 
who  possesses  the  fulness  of  wisdom  and 
power,  riches  and  strength  is  worthy  to  re- 
ceive all  honour.  Ah  !  how  different  will  he 
then  appear,  from  that  humble  form  he  once 
assumed,  when,  for  our  sakes,  he  was  a  man 
of  sorrows,  despised,  rejected,  and  nailed  to 
the  ignominious  cross  ! 

6.  Glory. — The  manifestation  of  God,  that 
by  which  he  is  known  and  magnified,  in  the 
view  of  finite  intelligences :  the  result,  the 
combined  effulgence  of  his  holiness,  grace, 
wisdom,  truth,  and  love :  this  is  his  glory, 
and  this  glory  is  revealed  and  displayed  in 
Christ.  He  is  glorious  in  his  works  of  crea- 
tion and  providence,  but  these  do  not  fully  ex- 
hibit his  character.  But  in  the  Lamb  upon 
the  throne  his  glory  shines,  full-orbed.  And 
all  in  heaven,  and  all  in  earth,  who  behold  it, 
take  up  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb, 
"  Who  is  like  unto  thee,  O  Lord  ?  Who  is 
like  unto  thee,  glorious  in  holiness,  fearful  in 
praises,  doing  wonders  ! — Great  and  mar- 
vellous are  thy  works,  Lord  God  Almighty  ! 
just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou  King  of 
saints  !"  Exod.  xv.  11  ;   Rev.  xv.  3. 

7.  Blessing. — He  is  the  author  of  all  bless- 
ings, of  all  the  happiness  and  good  which  his 
people  receive,  and  he  is  the  deserved  object 
of  their  universal  praise.  The  different  senses 
in  which  we  use  the  word  blessing,  taken  to- 
gether, may  express  that  intercourse  or  com- 
munion which  is  between  the  head  and  the 
mystical  members  of  his  body.  He  blesses 
them  effectually  with  the  light  of  his  counte- 
nance, with  liberty,  grace,  and  peace.  He 
blesses  them  daily.  His  mercies  are  renewed 
to  them  every  morning.  He  will  bless  them 
eternally.  Blessed  are  the  people  who  have 
this  Lord  for  their  God.  They  can  make 
him  no  suitable  returns,  yet  in  their  way  they 
bless  him.  They  admire,  adore,  and  praise 
him.  They  call  upon  all  the  powers  of  then 
souls  to  bless  him.  They  proclaim  his  good 
ness,  and  that  he  is  worthy  to  receive  the  as- 
cription of  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom, 
and  strength,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and 
blessing.  In  proportion  to  their  attainments 
in  this  delightful  exercise  of  worship,  love, 
and  gratitude,  they  enjoy  a  heaven  upon  earth ; 
and  to  stand  before  him  continually,  to  behold 


SEK.  XLIX. 


THE  CHORUS  OF  ANGELS. 


813 


his  glory,  to  live  under  the  unclouded  beams 
of  his  favour,  and  to  be  able  to  bless  and 
praise  him  as  they  ought,  without  weariness, 
abatement,  interruption,  or  end,  is  what  they 
mean  when  they  speak  of  the  heaven  they 
hope  for  hereafter.  Such  is  the  blessedness 
of  those  who  have  already  died  in  the  Lord. 
They  see  his  face,  they  drink  of  the  rivers  of 
pleasure  which  are  at  his  right  hand,  they 
cast  down  their  crowns  before  him,  and  say, 
thou  art  worthy  — Let  us  not  be  slothful 
(Heb.  vi.  12),  but  followers  of  them  who, 
through  faith  and  patience,  have  finished  their 
course,  and  are  entered  into  the  joy  of  their 
Lord. 

Of  all  this  glory  and  honour  the  scripture 
declares  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to  be  worthy. 
Wisdom,  riches,  and  strength,  are  his.  His 
power  is  infinite,  his  authority  supreme.  He 
is  the  author  and  giver  of  all  good.  He  has 
life  in  himself,  and  he  is  the  life  of  all  that 
live  ;  the  Lord  and  Head  of  the  church  and 
af  the  universe.  Can  language  express,  or 
can  heart  conceive,  a  higher  ascription  and  ac- 
knowledgment than  this  ?  Can  all  this  be  due 
to  a  creature  ?  to  one  of  a  derived  and  de- 
pendent character  ?  Then  surely  the  scripture 
would  have  a  direct  tendency  to  promote  ido- 
latry. Far  be  the  thought  from  us !  The 
scripture  teaches  us  the  knowledge  of  the  true 
God,  and  the  worship  due  to  him.  There- 
fore Messiah,  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  is  the 
true  God,  the  proper  and  immediate  object  of 
the  worship  of  angels  and  of  men. 

Let  us  therefore  take  up  a  lamentation  for 
those  who  slight  the  glorious  Redeemer,  and 
refuse  him  the  honour  due  to  his  name.  Their 
mistake  should  excite,  not  our  anger  or  scorn, 
but  our  pity  and  prayers.  Are  there  any  such 
amongst  us  ?  Alas,  my  fellow-sinners,  yeu 
know  not  what  you  do  !  Alas  !  you  know  him 
not,  nor  do  you  know  yourselves.  I  am  well 
aware  that  a  thousand  arguments  of  mine  will 
not  persuade  you  ;  but  I  can  simply  tell  you 
what  would  soon  make  you  at  least  desirous 
of  adopting  our  sentiments  upon  this  subject. 
If  he  who  has  that  power  over  the  heart  which 
I  have  been  speaking  of,  was  pleased  to  give 
you  this  moment  a  sense  of  the  holiness  and 
authority  of  God,  and  of  your  conduct  towards 
him  as  his  creatures,  your  stongest  objections 
to  the  high  honours  we  attribute  to  the  Sa- 
viour would  this  moment  fall  to  the  ground, 
and  you  would  be  immediately  convinced, 
that  either  Jesus  Christ  is  the  true  God  and 
eternal  life,  or  that  you  must  perish.  You 
would  no  longer  expect  mercy,  but  in  a  way 
perfectly  consonant  with  the  righteousness  and 
truth  of  God,  declared  in  his  word,  and  with 
the  honour  and  purity  of  his  moral  govern- 
ment. This  would  lead  you  to  perceive  the 
necessity  of  an  atonement,  and  the  insufficiency 
of  any  atonement  but  that  which  the  Lamb  of 
God  has  made  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself  (Heb. 
ix.  26),  and  that  the  efficacy  even  of  his  me- 


diation depends  upon  his  divine  character. 
The  scriptural  doctrines  of  the  depravity  of 
man,  the  malignity  of  sin,  the  eternal  power 
and  Godhead  of  the  Saviour,  the  necessity  and 
efficacy  of  his  mediation,  and  the  inevitable, 
extreme,  and  endless  misery  of  those  who  fi- 
nally reject  him,  are  so  closely  connected,  that 
if  the  first  be  rightly  understood,  it  will  open 
the  mind  to  the  reception  of  the  rest.  But 
till  the  first  be  known  and  felt,  the  import- 
ance and  certainty  of  the  others  will  be  sus- 
pected, if  not  openly  denied. 

Though  the.  doctrines  I  have  enumerated 
are,  in  these  sceptical  days,  too  generally  dis- 
puted and  contracfieted,  I  am  fully  confident 
that  it  is  impossible  to  demonstrate  them  to 
be  false.  Upon  the  lowest  supposition,  there- 
fore, they  possibly  may  be  true ;  and  the 
consequences  depending  upon  them,  if  they 
should  be  found  true  at  last,  are  so  vastly  mo- 
mentous, that  even  the  peradventure,  the  pos- 
sibility of  their  truth,  renders  them  deserving 
of  your  most  serious  consideration.  Trifle 
with  yourselves  no  longer.  If  they  be  truths, 
they  are  the  truths  of  God.  Upon  the  same 
authority  stands  the  truth  of  that  gracious  pro- 
mise, that  he  will  give  his  Holy  Spirit  to  them 
that  ask  him.  Let  me  entreat  you  to  make 
the  experiment.  This  is  the  proper  point  to 
begin  with.  Instead  o£  incjuiging  reasonings 
and  speculations,  humble  yourselves  before  the 
Lord,  and  pray  for  the  light  and  influence 
which  he  has  said  he  will  afford  to  them  who 
are  willing  to  be  taught.  Read-  the  scripture 
with  deliberation,  and  do  not  labour  to  fortify 
yourselves  against  conviction.  Break  off  from 
those  practices,  which  your  own  consciences 
admonish  you  cannot  be  pleasing  to  him  who 
is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  iniquity.  Then 
shall  you  know  if  you  will  sincerely  follow  on 
to  know  the  Lord,  Hos.  vi.  3.  But  if  not, 
if  you  will,  in  a  spirit  of  levity,  presume  to 
decide  upon  points  which  you  will  not  allow 
yourselves  seriously  to  examine,  should  you  at 
last  perish  in  your  obstinacy  and  unbelief, 
your  ruin  will  be  of  yourselves.  You  have 
been  faithfully  warned,  and  we  shall  be  cleai 
of  your  blood. 


SERMON  L. 

THE  UNIVERSAL  CHORUS. 

{And  every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on 
the  earth,  and.  under  Ike  earth,  and  such  as 
are  in  the  sea,  and  all  thai  are  in  them, 
heard  I,  saying).  Blessing,  and  honour,  and 
glory,  a?id  power,  he  unto  him  that  sitleth 
upon  the  throne,  and  imto  the  Lamb,  for  ever 
and  ever  !      Rev.  v.  15. 

Men  have  generally  agreed  to  dignify  theii 
presumptuous  and  arrogant  disquisitions  on 
the  works  and  ways  of  God  with  the  name  of 


814 


THE  UNIVERSAL  CHORUS. 


SER.   L. 


wisdom,  though  the  principles  upon  which 
they  proceed,  and  the  conclusions  which  they 
draw  from  them,  are  for  the  most  part  evident 
proofs  of  their  depravity  and  folly.  Instead 
of  admiring  the  effects  of  his  wisdom  and 
power  in  the  creation,  they  have  rashly  en- 
deavoured to  investigate  the  manner  of  its 
production.       A    variety  of  hypotheses   have 


sinners  affords  the  brightest  display  of  his  wis- 
dom and  love. 

The  redeemed  are  represented  as  taking  the 
first  part  in  this  sublime  song,  verses  8 — 10. 
The  angels  join  in  the  chorus,  verses  11,  12, 
which  now  becomes  universal.  All  the  an- 
gels, all  the  saints  upon  the  earth,  in  the  state 
of  the  dead,  or  hades,  whether  their  bodies  are 


been  invented  to  account  for  the  formation  of  buried  under  the  earth,  or  in  the  sea,  with  one 
the  world,  and  to  state  the  laws  by  which  the  ,  heart,   aim,   and  voice,  unite  in  worship  and 


frame  of  nature  is  governed  ;  and  these  dif- 
ferent and  inconsistent  accounts  have  been  de- 
fended with  a  magisterial  tone*  of  certainty, 
and  an  air  of  demonstration,  by  their  respec- 
tive authors,  as  though  they  had  been  bystand- 
ers and  spectators  when  God  spoke  all  things 
into  being,  and  produced  order  out  of  confu- 
sion by  the  word  of  his  power.  They  have, 
however,  been  much  more  successful  in  shew- 
ing the  absurdity  of  the  schemes  proposed  by 


praise.  In  the  preceding  verse,  Blessing,  and 
honour,  and  glory,  and  power,  are  ascribed 
unto  the  Lamb  ;  but  here  the  ascription  is 
unto  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and 
unto  the  Lamb.  I  shall  not  add  to  what  I 
have  already  observed  to  you  from  the  words 
of  the  doxology.  A  few  remarks,  which  offer 
from  this  verse  taken  in  connection  with  the 
former,  will  bring  me  to  a  conclusion  of  the 
whole   subject.      And  oh  !   for   a  coal  of  fire 


others,  than  in  reconciling  their  own  to  the   from  the  heavenly  altar  to   warm   your  hearts 


sober  dictates  of  plain  common  sense, 

But  if,  by  indulging  their  speculations  on  the 
creation  of  the  world,  the  causes  of  the  deluge, 
and  similar  subjects,  their  employment  has 
been  no  better  than  weaving  spiders  webs,  the 
result  of  their  reasoning  on  morals  has  been 
much  worse.  Here  they  have  with  much  in- 
dustry hatched  cockatrice-eggs  (Is.  lix.  5) ; 
and  their  labours  have  been  not  only  fallaci- 
ous, but  mischievous.  Their  metaphysical  re- 
searches, while  they  refuse  the  guidance  of  re- 
velation, if  pursued  to  their  just  consequences, 
will  always  lead  into  the  labyrinths  of  scep- 
ticism, weaken  the  sense  of  moral  obligation, 


and  mine,  that  our  love,  joy,  and  gratitude 
may  be  awakened  into  lively  exercise,  and 
that  the  close  of  our  meditations  on  the  Mes- 
siah may  leave  us  deeply  impressed  with  de- 
sires and  well-grounded  hopes  of  meeting  ere 
long  before  the  throne,  to  join  with  the  angels 
and  the  redeemed  in  singing  the  praise  of  God 
and  the  Lamb  ! 

I.  The  Lord  Jesus  is  not  only  the  Head  of 
the  church  redeemed  from  among  men,  but 
of  the  whole  intelligent  creation  that  is  in 
willing  subjection  to  God.  It  belonged  to 
his  great  design  to  gather  together  in  one 
(to  reduce  under  one  head,  as  the  Greek  ex- 


rob  the  mind  of  the  most  powerful  motives  of ,  pression  is),  even  in  himself,  all  things  tha. 
right  conduct,  and  of  the  only  consolations '  are  in  heaven  and  upon  earth,  Eph.  i.  10.  He 
which  can  afford  it  solid  support  in  an  hour  of,  is  the  Lord  and  the  life  both  of  angels  and  of 


trouhle.  One  insuperable  difficulty  which 
they  will  undertake  to  solve,  though  it  does 
not  properly  lie  in  their  way,  is  concerning 
the  origin  of  evil.  That  evil  is  in  the  world, 
is  felt  and  confessed  universally.  The  gospel 
points  out  an  effectual  method  of  deliverance 
from  it ;  but  alas,  the  simple  and  infallible  re- 
medy is  neglected,  and  men  weary  themselves 
with  vain  inquiries, 

And  find  no  end,  in  wandering  mazes  lost 

The  more  they  reason,  the  more  they  involve 
themselves  in  uncertainty  and  error,  till  at 
last  they  make  lies  their  refuge,  and  adopt, 
with  implicit  credulity,  as  so  many  undoubted 
axioms,  opinions,  which  are  equally  dishon- 
ourable to  God,  and  contradictory  to  truth 
and  experience,  2  Thess.  ii.  11.  Thus  much 
is  certain,  that  by  the  occasion  of  evil,  the 
character  of  God  is  manifested  with  superior 
glory  to  the  view  of  angels  and  men,  who  are 
in  a  state  of  holiness  and  allegiance,  and  a 
higher  accent  is  thereby  given  to  their  praises  ; 
for  now  his  justice  and  his  mercy,  which  could 
not  have  been  otherwise  known,  are  revealed 


men.  Mutability  and  dependence  are  essen- 
tial to  the  state  of  creatures,  however  exalted  ; 
and  the  angels  in  glory  owe  their  preservation 
and  confirmation  in  holiness  and  happiness  to 
him.  Hence  they  are  styled  the  elect  angels 
(1  Tim.  v.  21),  in  distinction  from  those  who 
left  their  first  habitation,  and  sunk  into  sin 
and  misery.  Angels  therefore  constitute  a 
branch  of  that  great  family  which  is  named  of 
him  in  heaven  and  earth.  And  having  made 
peace  by  the  blood  of  his  cross,  he  has  effected 
a  reconciliation,  not  only  between  God  and 
sinners,  but  also  between  angels  and  men. 
How  those  inhabitants  of  light  are  disposed 
to  sinful  men,  considered  as  sinful,  we  may 
learn  from  many  passages  of  scripture.  They 
are  devoted  to  God,  filled  with  zeal  for  his 
honour,  and  wait  hut  for  his  command  to  ex- 
ecute vengence  upon  his  enemies.  When 
Herod,  infatuated  by  his  pride,  and  by  the 
flattery  of  the  multitude,  received  their  idola- 
trous compliment  with  complacence,  an  angel 
of  the  Lord  smote  him,  because  he  gave  not 
God  the  glory,  Acts  xii.  23.  The  pestilence 
which  destroyed  the  people  towards  the  end 
of  David's  reign,  was  under  the  direction  of 
in  the  strongest  light ;   and  the  redemption  of  J  an  angel   (2  Sam.   xxiv.  16,  17),  and   David 


Stilt.  L. 


THE  UNIVERSAL  CHORUS. 


Sib 


saw  him  with  his  arm  stretched  out  against 
Jerusalem.  And  in  this  prophecy  angels  are 
spoken  of  as  employed  in  pouring  forth  the 
vials  of  wrath  upon  the  earth.  And  still  they 
are  ready,  we  may  believe,  to  avenge  their 
Maker's  cause  upon  the  wicked  when  they  are 
commissioned.  And  if  the  history  of  modern 
times  was  written  by  an  inspired  pen  and 
events,  as  in  the  scriptures,  were  assigned  to 
their  proper  causes,  perhaps  the  death  of  many 
a  haughty  worm  would  be  recorded  in  words 
to  this  effect — "  And  an  angel  of  the  Lord 
smote  him,  because  he  gave  not  God  the 
glory."  But,  viewing  sinners  as  the  subjects 
of  redemption,  the  angels  copy  from  their 
Lord.  They  regard  them  with  benevolence, 
and  rejoice  over  every  one  that  repenteth,  Heb. 
i.  14.  They  willingly  attend  on  them,  and 
assist  them,  in  ways  beyond  our  conception. 
They  esteem  believers  in  Jesus  as  their  fellow- 
servants,  Rev.  xx ii.  9.  We  have  reason  to 
think,  that  they  are  present  in  our  worship- 
ping assemblies ;  and  perhaps,  always  so  pre- 
sent, that  they  could  discover  themselves  to  us 
in  a  moment,  were  it  consistent  with  the  rules 
of  the  divine  government  established  in  this 
lower  world,  suited  to  the  state  of  those  who 
are  to  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight.  Thus  far 
however  differing  in  other  respects,  the  angels 
and  the  redeemed  are  united  and  related  in 
one  common  head,  and  have  fellowship  in 
worship  and  service.  When  sinners  are  en- 
abled by  grace  to  renounce  this  world,  they 
are  admitted  to  an  honourable  alliance  with  a 
better. 

II.  From  hence  we  may  form  some  judg- 
ment of  the  true  nature  and  high  honour  of 
that  spiritual  worship,  which  is  the  privilege 
and  glory  of  the  church  of  God  under  the 
gospel-dispensation.  When  we  meet  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  as  his  people,  and  with  a  due 
observance  of  his  institutions,  we  come  to  the 
innumerable  company  of  angels,  and  to  the 
general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first  born 
(Heb.  xii.  22,  23),  the  first  born  ones  (for  the 
expression  is  plural).  We  draw  nigh  by  faith, 
to  the  very  gate  of  heaven,  to  the  holiest  of 
all.  Men  unacquainted  with  spirituality,  are 
soon  weary  even  of  the  form  of  worship,  un- 
ess  their  minds  are  amused  by  a  splendid  ce- 
remonial. The  first  rise  and  subsequent  in- 
crease of  that  pomp  and  pageantry,  which  in 
some  countries  has  quite  obscured  the  simpli- 
city and  beauty  of  gospel-worship,  is  to  be  as- 
cribed to  this  indisposition  of  the  human  mind. 
Our  thoughts  while  we  are  in  a  natural  state, 
are  too  weak  and  wavering,  and  too  gross  to 
be  pleased  with  a  worship,  in  which  there  is 
nothing  suited  to  affect  the  imagination  by 
sensible  objects.  And  therefore,  when  men 
think  themselves  wise,  and  profess  lo  despise 
the  pageantry  which  captivates  the  vulgar, 
their  wisdom  affords  them  no  real  advantage, 
if  they  have  nothing  better  to  substitute  in  the 
room  of  what  they  reject  as  insignificant.    The 


very  appearance  of  devotion  will  languish, 
they  will  grow  remiss,  and  neglect  the  sabbath 
and  public  assemblies,  for  want  of  something 
to  keep  up  their  attention.  We  have  abun- 
dant proof  of  this  in  our  own  land,  and  at 
this  time.  Protestants  pride  themselves  in 
not  being  Papists,  but,  when  the  Protestant 
religion  is  understood  to  mean  no  more  than 
a  renunciation  of  the  superstitious  ceremonies 
of  the  church  of  Rome,  it  is,  with  respect  to 
individuals,  little,  if  at  all,  better  than  Popery 
itself.  Among  us  enlightened  Protestants,  no 
expedient  but  preaching  the  gospel  of  Christ 
will  be  found  sufficient  to  retain  people  in  a 
stated  observance  of  the  Lord's  day.  But 
true  believers,  who  understand  and  love  the 
gospel,  do  indeed  draw  nigh  to  God ;  and 
they  account  a  day  in  his  courts  better  than  a 
thousand  (Ps.  lxxxiv.  10),  because  they  can 
take  a  part  in  the  songs  of  heaven,  and  in 
spirit  and  in  truth,  worship  him  that  sitteth 
upon  the  throne,  and  the  Lamb  who  redeem- 
ed them  to  God  by  his  blood.  They  know 
by  happy  experience,  that  his  promise,  to  be 
in  the  midst  of  those  who  assemble  in  his 
name,  is  truth.  Their  worship  is  not  a  mere 
bodily  service,  a  lifeless  form,  a  round  of  ob- 
servances, which  neither  warm  the  heart,  nor 
influence  the  conduct ;  but  they  are  instructed, 
comforted,  and  strengthened,  by  waiting  upon 
God.  Their  spiritual  senses  are  exercised ; 
they  behold  his  glory  in  the  glass  of  the  gos- 
pel, they  hear  his  voice,  they  feel  an  impres- 
sion of  his  power  and  presence,  they  taste  his 
goodness,  and  the  virtue  of  that  name,  which 
is  as  ointment  poured  forth,  perfumes  their 
tempers  and  conversation. 

III.  Though  the  Lamb  is  worthy  of  all 
blessing,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and  power; 
there  is  a  distinct  ascription  of  praise  to  Him 
that  sitteth  upon  the  throne. 

The  scripture,  which  alone  can  teach  us  to 
form  right  conceptions  of  God,  and  to  worship 
him  acceptably,  guides  us  in  a  medium,  be- 
tween opposite  errors  and  mistakes.  Too 
many  persons,  ignorant  of  their  own  state  as 
sinners,  and  of  the  awful  majesty  and  holiness 
of  the  Most  High,  presume  to  think  of  him, 
to  speak  of  him,  and  in  their  way,  to  speak  to 
him,  without  being  aware  of  the  necessity  of  a 
Mediator.  But  they  who  are  without  Christ, 
who  is  the  only  door  and  way  to  the  Father 
are  without  God,  atheists  in  the  world,  Eph. 
ii.  12.  There  is  a  mistake  likewise  on  the 
other  hand,  when,  though  the  Deity  of  the 
Saviour  be  acknowledged,  yet  what  we  are 
taught  of  the  ineffable  distinction  in  the  God- 
head, is  not  duly  attended  to.  It  is  written-, 
"  In  the  beginning, — the  Word  was  God, 
John  i.  1.  It  is  likewise  written,  "  The  Word 
was  with  God."  This  latter  expression  un- 
doubtedly has  a  meaning,  which  though  per- 
fectly consistent,  is  not  coincident  with  the 
former.  The  truth  contained  in  it  is  propos- 
ed, not  to  our  curiosity  as  a  subject  of  specu 


SlG  THE  UNIVElt 

latiuu,  but  to  our  faith.  I  do  not  attempt  to 
explain  it.  But,  what  God  expressly  declares, 
we  are  bound,  upon  the  principles  of  right 
reason,  to  believe.  For  he  is  Truth,  and  can- 
not deceive  us.  "  There  are  three  that  bear 
record  in  heaven,  the  Father,  the  Word,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  1  John  v.  7.  These  three 
are  frequently  spoken  of  in  the  scripture — to 
each  of  them  a  distinct  part  in  the  economy  of 
salvation  is  ascribed  ;  to  each  of  them  the  per- 
fections and  honours  of  Deity  are  attributed. 
Yet  there  are  not  three  Gods,  but  one.  Con- 
sequently  these  three  are  one  God.  This 
doctrine  maybe  above  our  comprehension,  but 
cannot  be  contrary  to  our  reason,  if  it  be  con- 
tained in  a  revelation  from  God.  If  it  be 
simply  received  upon  the  authority  of  the  re- 
vealer,  it  approves  itself  to  be  true,  for  it  is 
found  to  be  a  key  to  the  whole  scripture, 
which  renders  the  general  sense  and  scope 
everywhere  consistent  and  plain.  They  who 
proudly  reject  it,  and  yet  admit  the  Bible  to 
be  a  divine  revelation,  are  involved  in  difficul- 
ties from  which  all  their  sagacity  and  learning 
cannot  free  them.  In  vain  they  labour  by 
singular  interpretations,  by  the  minutiae  of 
criticism,  and  by  an  appeal  to  various  readings 
and  aucient  versions,  which,  in  a  few  passages, 
differ  from  the  copies  more  generally  received 
— in  vain  they  endeavour  by  these  refinements, 
to  relieve  themselves,  when  pressed  by  the  ob- 
vious and  natural  sense  of  a  thousand  texts, 
which  confirm  the  faith  and  hope  of  plain 
christians.  The  gospel  is  designed  for  the 
poor.  But  the  poor  and  unlearned  would  be 
at  a  great  disadvantage,  if  the  scripture  could 
not  be  rightly  understood  without  the  assistance 
of  such  learning  and  such  criticism  as  we  often 
see  pressed  into  the  service.  But  the  Holy 
Spirit  graciously  leads  those  who  pray  for  his 
teaching,  into  such  views  of  this  high  subject 
as  are  sufficient  to  comfort  their  hearts,  and  to 
animate  their  obedience.  The  faith  of  ihose 
who  are  taught  of  God,  is  exercised  in  their 
approaches  to  him,  under  two  different  modi- 
fications. Both  are  scriptural,  and  therefore 
both  are  safe,  and  witnessed  to  by  his  gracious 
acceptance  and  blessing. 

1.  They  come  to  God  by  Christ.  They 
have  access  through  him,  Eph.  ii.  18.  Un- 
worthy to  speak  for  themselves,  they  bow  their 
knees  in  his  name,  Phil.  ii.  10.  Christians 
are  sufficiently  distinguished  and  described  by 
saying,  They  come  to  God  by  him,  Heb.  vii. 
25.  They  come  to  God,  they  cannot  live 
without  him  in  the  world,  as  they  once  did. 
They  are  now  conscious  of  wants  and  desires, 
which  only  God  can  satisfy  ;  but  they  are  con- 
scious likewise  that  they  are  sinners,  and  there- 
fore they  durst  not  approach  him,  if  they  had 
not  the  invitation  of  his  promise,  and  an  as- 
surance of  an  Advocate  with  the  Father,  1  John 
ii.  2. 

2.  They  come  to  God  in   Christ.      He  is 


SAL   CHORUS. 


SEIl.   L 


the  great  Temple,  in  who  n  all  fulness  dwells 
(Col.  i.  19;  ii.  9):  and  they  are  not  afraid 
of  idolatry,  when  they  worship  and  honour 
the  Son  even  as  the  Father.  This  distinct 
application  to  God,  in  the  pel  son  of  the  Son 
of  his  love,  perhaps  becomes  more  frequent 
and  familiar  as  they  advance  in  the  knowledge 
of  their  Lord  and  Saviour,  2  Peter  iii.  ]  8. 
They  who  seek  to  him  for  deliverance  from 
sin  and  misery,  at  first,  I  believe,  chiefly  consi- 
der him  as  the  Advocate  and  High  Priest, 
who,  by  the  virtue  of  his  atonement,  and  the 
prevalence  of  his  intercession,  is  able  to  save 
to  the  uttermost.  But  when  the  apostle  dis- 
tributes Christians,  according  to  their  growth 
in  grace,  into  the  state  of  babes,  young  men, 
and  fathers  ( 1  John  ii.  4),  he  speaks  of  a  more 
distinct  and  appropriate  knowledge  of  him 
who  is  from  the  beginning,  as  the  peculiar  pri- 
vilege and  distinguishing  attainment  of  the  fa- 
thers. He  speaks  of  him  who  is  from  the  be- 
ginning so  often,  that  we  can  be  at  no  loss  to 
determine  whom  he  intends  by  the  expression. 
He  applies  it  to  him  who  was  in  the  beginning 
with  God  (John  i.  l),  and  whom  he  and  the 
other  apostles  had  heard,  had  seen  with  their 
eyes,  and  touched  with  their  hands,  1  John  i 
1—3.  An  eminent  divine  *  points  out  some 
special  seasons  in  the  Christian  life,  in  which 
he  thinks  the  peculiar  pressures  of  the  soul 
may  obtain  the  most  sensible  and  immediate 
relief,  by  direct  application  to  the  Saviour. 
But  there  are  some  believers  who  find  them- 
selves almost  continually  in  one  or  other  of 
the  situations  which  he  marks  as  occasional. 
However  this  may  be,  I  am  ready  to  take  it 
for  granted,  that  they  who  really  and  cordially 
believe  the  Deity  of  Christ,  do  at  least  at  some 
seasons,  and  upon  some  occasions,  expressly 
direct  their  prayers  to  him.  If  precedents  be 
required  to  warrant  this  practice,  the  New 
Testament  will  furnish  them  in  abundance. 
I  shall  select  but  a  few.  The  apostle  Paul 
bowed  his  knees  to  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus ;  but  he  often  prayed  to  the  Lord 
Jesus.  He  prayed  to  him  in  the  temple  (Acts 
xxii.  17 — 21),  and  when  be  obtained  that  an- 
swer, "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee,"  2  Cor. 
xii.  9.  To  him  the  prayer  of  the  apostles  and 
disciples  was  addressed  previous  to  the  lot, 
which  was  to  determine  a  successor  to  Judas, 
Acts  i.  24.  And  to  him  Stephen  committed 
his  departing  spirit  (Acts  vii.  59),  an  act  of 
trust  and  worship  of  the  highest  kind,  and  at 
the  most  solemn  season.  In  short,  it  is  a 
strange  inconsistence,  if  any,  who  acknow- 
ledge his  Deity,  question  the  propriety  of 
praying  to  him.  What  is  it,  more  or  less, 
than  to  question  the  propriety  of  praying  to 
God? 

IV.    This  solemn  worship  and  praise  is  re- 
ferred ultimately  to  him  who  sitteth  upon  the 

*  Dr  Owen,  in  bis  Christulogla. 


SER.  r,. 


THE  UNIVERSAL  CHORUS. 


throne — to  the  great  and  glorious  God,  thus 
known  and  manifested  in,  and  by,  and  with 
the  Lamb  that  was  slain. 

The  mediatorial  kingdom  of  Christ  will  have 
a  period.  He  will  reign  as  Mediator,  till  he 
has  subdued  all  enemies  under  his  feet,  and 
perfected  his  whole  work.  Then  his  kingdom 
in  this  sense  will  cease ;  he  will  deliver  it  up 
to  the  Father,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all, 
1  Cor.  xv.  28.  This  passage  is  difficult,  that 
is,  the  subject  is  too  great  for  our  faculties  in 
their  present  state  of  imperfection  fully  to 
comprehend  ;  for  the  difficulties  we  meet  with 
in  scripture  are  more  properly  to  be  ascribed 
to  our  ignorance.  The  Son,  as  man,  is  even 
now  subject  to  the  Father ;  and  God  is  un- 
doubtedly all  in  all,  at  present,  and  from  ever- 
lasting to  everlasting.  But  his  kingdom  here 
is  to  be  taken  figuratively  for  the  subjects  of 
his  kingdom,  his  people,  whom  he  received  as 
a  trust  and  a  treasure.  These  he  will  deliver 
up,  and  the  form  of  his  administration  and 
government  over  them  will  be  changed.  They 
will  then  have  no  more  sins  to  confess ;  there 
will  be  no  more  dangers  requiring  the  care 
and  tenderness  of  a  Shepherd,  no  enemies  to 
be  controlled,  and  the  ordinances  and  means 
of  grace,  accommodated  to  their  wants  and 
weakness,  while  in  this  world,  will  be  no  long- 
er necessary.  But  Messiah,  the  Lamb  that 
was  slain,  will  ever  be  the  head  and  Lord  of 
the  creation,  the  medium  of  communication  of 
the  light  and  love  of  God  to  his  people,  and 
God  in  him,  the  object  of  their  eternal  ado- 
ration and  praise. 

Then  the  grand,  ultimate,  final  cause  of  all 
the  manifestations  of  God  will  be  completely 
obtained.  The  glory  of  the  great  Creator  and 
Lawgiver,  the  splendour  of  all  his  perfections, 
will  for  ever  shine,  without  a  vail  or  cloud, 
and  with  a  brightness  which  could  not  have 
been  known  by  creatures,  had  not  the  entrance 
of  evil  given  occasion  for  a  display  of  his  wis- 
dom and  love,  in  over-ruling  it  to  the  praise 
of  his  glorious  grace. 

Thus,  according  to  the  measure  of  my  abi- 
lity and  experience,  I  have  endeavoured  to 
point  out  to  you  the  meaning  and  importance 
of  the  well-chosen  series  of  scriptural  passages 
which  are  set  to  music  in  the  Oratorio  of  the 
Messish.  Great  is  the  Lord  Messiah,  and 
greatly  to  be  praised  !  I  have  attempted  to 
set  before  you  a  sketch  of  what  the  scrip- 
ture teaches  us  concerning  his  person,  under- 
takings, and  success, — the  misery  of  those 
whom  he  came  to  save,  the  happiness  to  which 
he  raises  them,  and  the  wonderful  plan  and 
progress  of  redeeming  love.  But  who  is  suf- 
ficient for  these  things  ?  Alas  !  how  small  a 
portion  of  his  ways  are  we  able  to  trace  !  But 
I  would  be  thankful,  that  the  desire  of  at- 
tempting this  great  subject  was  put  into  my 
heart,  and  that  having  obtained  help  of  God, 
I  have  been  preserved  and  enabled  to  finish 


my  design.  Imperfect  as  my  execution  of  it 
has  been,  I  cannot  doubt  that  the  various  to- 
pics I  have  been  led  to  insist  on  are  the  great 
truths  of  God.  For  what  is  properly  my 
own,  the  defects  and  weaknesses  which  mix 
with  my  best  services,  I  entreat  his  forgiveness, 
and  request  your  candour.  But  I  do  not  he- 
sitate to  say,  that  the  substance  of  what  I  have 
advanced  deserves  and  demands  your  most  se- 
rious attention. 

It  is  probable,  that  those  of  my  hearers  who 
admire  this  Oratorio,  and  are  often  present 
when  it  is  performed,  may  think  me  harsh  and 
singular  in  my  opinion,  that  of  all  our  musi- 
cal compositions  this  is  the  most  improper  for 
a  public  entertainment.  But  while  it  con 
tinues  to  be  equally  acceptable,  whether  per- 
formed in  a  church  or  in  the  theatre,  and 
while  the  greater  part  of  the  performers  and 
of  the  audience  are  the  same  at  both  places,  I 
can  rate  it  no  higher  than  as  one  of  the  many 
fashionable  amusements  which  mark  the  cha- 
racter of  this  age  of  dissipation.  Though  the 
subject  be  serious  and  solemn  in  the  highest 
sense,  yea,  for  that  very  reason,  and  though 
the  music  is,  in  a  striking  manner,  adapted  to 
the  subject,  yet,  if  the  far  greater  part  of  the 
people  who  frequent  the  Oratorio,  are  evi- 
dently unaffected  by  the  Redeemer's  love,  and 
uninfluenced  by  his  commands,  I  am  afraid  it 
is  no  better  than  a  profanation  of  the  name 
and  truths  of  God,  a  crucifying  the  Son  of 
God  afresh.  You  must  judge  for  yourselves. 
If  you  think  differently  from  me,  you  will  act 
accordingly. — Yet  permit  me  to  hope  and  to 
pray,  that  the  next  time  you  hear  the  Messiah, 
God  may  bring  something  that  you  have  heard 
in  the  course  of  these  sermons,  nearly  con- 
nected with  the  peace  and  welfare  of  your 
souls,  effectually  to  your  remembrance. 

1  would  humbly  hope,  that  some  persons, 
who  were  strangers  to  the  power  and  grace  of 
Messiah,  when  I  entered  upon  this  service, 
are  now  desirous  of  seeking  him  with  their 
whole  hearts.  Yes,  I  trust  I  have  not  la- 
boured wholly  in  vain.  The  gospel  is  the  rod 
of  his  strength  (Psal.  ex.  2),  which,  when  ac- 
companied by  the  power  of  his  Spirit,  pro- 
duces greater  effects  than  the  wonder-work- 
ing rod  of  Moses.  It  causes  the  blind  to  see,  . 
the  deaf  to  hear,  and  the  dead  to  live.  A 
faithful  minister  will  account  a  single  instance 
of  success  a  rich  recompence  for  the  labour  of 
a  life.  May  this  joy  be  mine  !  May  the  Lord 
encourage  you  to  go  on  seeking  him  !  Then 
he  will  surely  be  found  of  you.  An  open 
door  is  set  before  you  (Rev.  iii.  8),  and  if  you 
are  truly  willing  to  enter,  none  shall  be  able 
to  shut  it. 

But  may  I  not  fear,  that  I  am  still  speak- 
ing to  others,  who,  to  this  hour,  have  no  cor- 
dial admiring  thoughts  of  the  great  Saviour  ? 
Alas  !  should  you  die  in  your  present  frame 
of  mind  !  let  me,  once  more,  entreat  you  to 
consider  what  your  situation  and  employment 
3N 


818 


will  be,  when  all  his  redeemed  people,  and  all 
ois  holy  angels,  shall  join  in  worshipping  and 
praising  him,  in  the  great  day  of  his  appear- 
ance. 

Unless  you  repent,  lay  down  your  arms, 
and  submit  to  his  golden  sceptre,  your  doom 
is  already  pronounced.  Awful  are  the  words 
of  the  Lord,  by  the  prophet,  and  very  appli- 
cable to  your  case,  if  (which  may  his  mercy 
prevent!)  you  should  die  in  your  sins.  "There- 
fore, thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  behold  my  ser- 
vants shall  eat,  but  ye  shall  be  hungry :  be- 
hold, my  servants  shall  drink,  but  ye  shall  be 
thirsty  :  behold  my  servants  shall  rejoice,  but 


THE  UNIVERSAL  CHORUS. 

ye   shall  be    ashamed 


SER.  L. 


behold,  my  servants 
shall  sing  for  joy  of  heart,  but  ye  shall  cry  for 
sorrow  of  heart,  and  shall  howl  for  vexation 
of  spirit,"  Isa.  lxv.  13,  14.  If  the  scribes  and 
Pharisees  were  filled  with  envy  and  grief  when 
the  children  in  the  temple  sung  Hosanna  to 
the  Son  of  David  (Matth.  xxi.  15),  what  must 
be  their  anguish  and  remorse,  their  rage  and 
despair,  when  the  whole  creation  shall  join  in 
his  praise  ?  If  your  thoughts  of  him  now  are 
like  theirs,  tremble  at  your  danger ;  for  un- 
less you  repent,  your  lot  must  be  with  them 
hereafter. 


OCCASIONAL  SERMONS. 


OCCASIONAL   SERMONS. 


THE  SUBJECT  AND  TEMPER  OF  THE  GOSPEL-MINISTRY, 

A 

SERMON 

PREACHED  IN  THE 

PARISH  CHURCH  OF  ST.  MARY  WOOLNOTH, 

ON  SUNDAY,  DECEMBER,    19,    1779. 

WHEN  THE  AUTHOR  ENTERED  ON  HIS  FIRST  PUBLIC  SERVICE  IN  THAT  CHURCH. 


-Speaking  the  truth  in  love. — Ephesians,  rv.  15. 


The  words  in  the  original  have  a  more  com- 
prehensive sense  than  in  our  version,  AXtittim- 
t£s  iv  ayavry.  They  extend  no  less  to  conduct 
than  to  speech,  and  comprise,  in  one  short 
sentence,  that  combination  of  integrity  and  be- 
nevolence, which  constitute  the  character  of 
a  true  christian.  But,  as  our  morning  service 
has  been  already  much  prolonged,  I  mean 
not  to  enlarge  at  present  upon  this  important 
subject.  I  propose  my  text  rather  as  a  kind 
of  motto,  to  introduce  a  brief  account  of  the 
feelings,  desires,  and  purposes  of  my  heart,  on 
this  my  first  appearance  before  you.  The  in- 
habitants of  these  parishes,  to  whom  I  more 
immediately  address  myself,  have  a  right  to  be 
informed,  now  the  providence  of  God  has 
placed  me  in  this  city,  and  in  this  church,  of 
the  views  with  which  I  have  undertaken  the 
important  trust  lately  committed  to  me,  and 
of  the  manner  and  spirit  in  which  it  is  my 
desire  to  discharge  it.  If  these  inquiries  be 
upon  any  of  your  minds,  accept  my  answer  in 
the  words  I  have  read  :  J  came,  and,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  I  hope  to  abide  amongst  you, 
"  speaking  the  truth  in  love." 

I  should  be  utterly  unworthy  your  atten- 
tion, I  should  deserve  your  contempt  and  de- 
testation, if,  under  the  solemn  character  of  a 
minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  with  a  professed 
regard  for  his  service  and  the  good  of  souls,  I 


should  presume  to  speak  any  thing  amongst 
you,  but  what  I  verily  believe  in  my  con- 
science to  be  the  truth.  The  apostles  were  am- 
bassadors for  Christ  (2  Cor.  v.  24),  and  we, 
however  inferior  in  other  respects,  are  so  far 
concerned  in  this  part  of  their  character,  as  to 
be  equally  bound  to  conform  to  the  instruc- 
tions of  our  Lord  and  Master.  The  Bible  is 
the  grand  repository  of  the  truths  which  it 
will  be  the  business  and  the  pleasure  of  my 
life  to  set  before  you.  It  is  the  complete 
system  of  divine  truth,  to  which  nothing  can 
be  added,  and  from  which  nothing  can  be 
taken  (Rev.  xxii.  18,  19),  with  impunity. 
Every  attempt  to  disguise,  or  soften  any 
branch  of  this  truth,  in  order  to  accommodate 
it  to  the  prevailing  taste  around  us,  either  to 
avoid  the  displeasure,  or  to  court  the  favour 
of  our  fellow-mortals,  must  be  an  affront  to 
the  majesty  of  God,  and  an  act  of  treachery 
to  men.  My  conscience  bears  me  witness, 
that  I  mean  to  speak  the  truth  among  you 
May  the  grace  of  God  enable  me  always  to 
do  it.  The  principal  branches  of  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus,  according  to  St  Paul's  expres- 
sion, are  summarily  contained  in  the  Articles, 
which  I  have  just  now  read  and  given  my 
solemn  assent  to  in  your  hearing.  These  I 
acknowledge  and  adopt  as  a  standard  of  sound 
doctrine,  not  merely  because  they  are  the  Ar- 


822 


THE  SUBJECT  AND  TEMPER 


tides  of  our  Church,  but  because,  upon  ma- 
ture and  repeated  examination,  I  am  persuad- 
ed they  are  agreeable  to  the  scriptures.  I  am 
to  enlarge  on  the  declarations  of  the  scripture 
and  of  the  Articles  concerning  the  depravity 
of  fallen  man,  the  evil  of  sin,  the  method  of 
salvation  by  grace  through  faith  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  I  am  to  bear  testimony  to  the 
dignity  and  excellency  of  the  Redeemer's  per- 
son and  characters,  the  suitableness  of  his 
offices,  the  efficacy  of  his  blood,  and  obedience 
to  death  on  the  behalf  of  sinners,  and  his  glory 
as  Head  of  the  Church,  and  Lord  of  heaven 
and  earth.  I  am  to  set  before  you  the  char- 
acters, obligations,  and  privileges  of  those  who 
believe  in  his  name ;  and  to  prove  that  the 
doctrines  of  the  grace  of  God  are  doctrines 
according  to  godliness,  which,  though  they 
may  be  abused  by  men  of  corrupt  minds,  have 
in  themselves,  when  rightly  understood,  a  di- 
rect and  powerful  tendency  to  enforce  univer- 
sal obedience  to  the  commands  of  God,  and 
to  promote  the  peace  and  welfare  of  civil  so- 
ciety. I  am  likewise  to  warn  all  who  hear 
me,  of  the  sin  and  danger  of  rejecting  the 
great  salvation  revealed  by  the  gospel.  These 
will  be  the  subjects  of  my  ministry  ;  and,  if 
what  I  shall  offer  upon  these  heads  be  agree- 
able, not  only  to  the  Articles  which  I  have 
subscribed,  but  to  the  scriptures,  which  we  all 
profess  to  believe,  it  must  of  course  be  ad- 
mitted that  I  shall  speak  the  truth. 

But  the  cause  of  truth  itself  may  be  dis- 
credited by  improper  management ;  and  there- 
fore the  scripture,  which  furnishes  us  with 
subject-matter  for  our  ministry,  and  teaches 
us  what  we  are  to  say,  is  equally  explicit  as 
to  the  temper  and  spirit  in  which  we  are  to 
speak.  Though  I  had  the  knowledge  of  all 
mysteries  (1  Cor.  xiii.  1),  and  the  tongue  of 
an  angel  to  declare  them,  I  could  hope  for 
little  acceptance  or  usefulness,  unless  I  was 
to  speak  in  love.  The  gospel  is  a  declaration 
of  the  astonishing  love  of  God  to  mankind  ; 
it  exhibits  the  perfect  exemplar  of  love  in  the 
character  of  him,  who,  when  upon  earth  in 
the  form  of  a  servant,  went  about  doing  good 
(Acts  x.  38),  and  exerted  the  most  unbound- 
ed benevolence  to  all  around  him.  The  ser- 
vant of  the  Lord,  of  that  meek  and  merciful 
Saviour,  who  wept  over  his  avowed  enemies, 
and  prayed  for  his  actual  murderers  while 
nailing  him  to  the  cross,  learns  at  his  Saviour's 
feet  to  bear  a  cordial  love  to  all  mankind.  Man, 
considered  as  the  creature  of  God,  is  the 
noblest  and  most  important  of  his  works  in 
the  visible  creation,  formed  by  him  who  ori- 
ginally made  him  for  himself,  with  such  a 
vastness  of  desire,  such  a  capacity  for  happi- 
ness, as  nothing  less  than  an  infinite  good  can 
satisfy ;  formed  to  exist  in  an  eternal  un- 
changeable state.  And  even  fallen  man, 
though  depraved  and  perverted,  guilty,  and, 
in  his  present  state,  obnoxious  to  eternal  mi- 
sery, is  yet  capable  of  being  restored  to  the  fa- 


vour of  God,  and  renewed  into  his  image,  of 
serving  him  here,  and  being  happy  with  him 
for  ever.  Whoever  therefore  has  tasted  of  the 
love  of  Christ,  and  has  known  by  his  own  ex- 
perience the  need  and  the  worth  of  redemp- 
tion, is  enabled,  yea  he  is  constrained  to  love 
his  fellow-creatures.  He  loves  them  at  first 
sight :  and,  if  the  providence  of  God  commits 
a  dispensation  of  the  gospel  and  a  care  of 
souls  to  him,  he  will  feel  the  warmest  emo- 
tions of  friendship  and  tenderness,  while  he 
beseeches  them  by  the  tender  mercies  of  God 
(Rom.  xii.  l),  and  even  while  he  warns  them 
by  his  terrors,  2  Cor.  v.  11.  Surely  I  durst 
not  address  you  from  this  place,  if  I  could 
not  with  sincerity,  at  least,  if  not  with  equal 
warmth,  adopt  the  apostle's  words,  and  say, 
"  Being  affectionately  desirous  of  you,  we  are 
willing  to  impart  unto  you,  not  the  gospel  of 
God  only,  but  our  own  souls  also  (were  it 
possible),  because  ye  were  dear  unto  us,* 
1  Thess.  ii.  8. 

This  love  which  my  heart  bears,  I  offer  as  a 
plea  for  that  earnestness  and  importunity 
which  I  must  use.  I  came  not  to  amuse  you 
with  subjects  of  opinion  or  uncertainty,  or 
even  with  truths  of  a  cold,  speculative,  unin- 
teresting nature,  which  you  might  receive 
without  benefit,  or  reject  without  detriment ; 
but  to  speak  the  truths  of  God,  truths  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  welfare  of  your  souls 
in  time  and  in  eternity.  If  I  love  you,  there- 
fore, I  cannot  be  content  with  delivering  my 
message ;  my  spirit  must,  and  will  be  deeply 
engaged  for  its  success.  I  cannot  be  content 
with  the  emoluments  annexed  to  my  office — 
I  seek  not  yours,  but  you  (2  Cor.  xii.  14)  ; 
that  you  may  know  the  love  of  Christ,  which 
passeth  knowledge  (Ephes.  iii.  19);  that  you 
may  be  delivered  from  the  power  of  this  evil 
world  (Gal.  i.  4),  and  that  I  and  you  may  at 
length  stand  accepted  before  the  throne  of 
God ;  in  a  word,  that  by  a  blessing  from  on 
high,  accompanying  my  poor  labours,  I  may 
both  save  myself,  and  them  that  hear  me, 
1  Tim.  iv.  16.  These  are  the  aims  and  ends 
which  I  hope  always  to  have  in  view,  and 
therefore  love  will  prompt  me  to  be  faithful 
and  earnest. 

Too  often  the  due  reception  of  the  truth  is 
greatly  impeded  by  the  cares,  the  businesses, 
or  the  amusements  of  the  world.  We  find 
many  of  our  hearers,  alas  !  too  happy,  or  too 
much  engrossed,  to  afford  us  that  attention  we 
have  a  right  to  claim,  considering  the  weight 
of  our  message,  and  the  authority  under  which 
we  speak.  But  God,  in  mercy  to  the  souls  of 
men,  frequently  suits  the  appointments  of  his 
providence,  in  subserviency  to  the  purposes 
of  his  grace.  He  prepares  for  them  what 
they  do  not  desire  for  themselves,  seasons  for 
leisure,  retirement,  and  reflection.  This  is 
one  gracious  design  of  the  various  afflictions 
of  human  life.  When  he  visits  with  sickness 
or  pain,   crosses  and  disappointments — when 


OF  THE  GOSPEL  MINISTRY. 


823 


our  cisterns  are  broken,  and  our  gourds  wither 
— when  the  desire  of  our  eyes  is  taken  away 
with  a  stroke  (Ezek.  xxiv.  16),  or  we  meet  with 
a  thorn  or  sting,  where  our  fond  hearts  were  ex- 
pecting only  pleasure — then  perhaps  the  truths 
which  were  heard  with  too  much  indifference 
in  the  hour  of  prosperity,  may  be  more  re- 
garded. My  love  will  prompt  me  to  be  al- 
ways near  you,  waiting  for  such  seasons,  and 
ready  upon  the  first  intimation  (for  I  mean 
not  to  intrude  myself),  to  offer  my  sympathy, 
my  prayers,  my  best  advice.  Though  I  shall 
have  but  little  time  for  visits  of  mere  ceremo- 
ny ;  to  visit  you  as  a  minister,  and  to  assist 
you  to  the  utmost  of  my  power  in  making  a 
right  improvement  of  the  providences  of  God, 
is  a  service  which  I  shall  always  owe  you 
from  a  principle  of  duty,  and  which  I  hope 
always  to  be  glad  to  render  from  a  principle  of 
love. 

If  the  grace  of  God,  without  which  I  can 
do  nothing,  should  thus  enable  me  to  speak 
the  truth  in  love,  may  I  not  hope  for  your  fa- 
vourable attention  ?  Would  it  not  imply  an 
unjust  reflection  upon  your  candour,  to  sup- 
pose that  any  of  you  will  be  angry  with  one 
who  only  wishes  to  speak  the  truth  in  love  ? 
Certainly  I  can  as  yet  have  no  particular  rea- 
son to  expect  an  unkind  return  from  any  in- 
dividual among  you,  because  I  am  a  stranger 
to  you  all.  But  the  scripture  teaches,  what 
experience  and  observation  abundantly  con- 
firm, that  the  doctrines  of  divine  truth  are  so 
onysterious  in  themselves,  and  so  opposite  and 
nortifying  to  the  opinion  mortals  are  prone  to 
entertain  of  their  own  wisdom  and  goodness, 
that  persons  of  very  amiable  characters  in  com- 
mon life,  are  too  often  amongst  the  warmest 
opposers  of  the  ministers  who  dare  faithfully 
and  plainly  persevere  in  speaking  the  truth. 
Should  I  have  this  trial  to  meet  with  from  any 
of  you,  still  I  hope  to  speak  the  truth  in  love, 
and  to  remember  that  I  am  a  follower  of  him 


who  only  returned  kindness  for  hard  usage. 
I  hope  to  consider,  that  if  any  oppose,  it  is  be- 
cause they  know  not  what  they  do ;  and  to 
bear  in  mind,  that  I  myself  was  once  a  scorn- 
er  and  despiser  of  the  gospel  which  I  now 
preach  ;  that  I  stand  here  as  a  pattern  of  the 
long-suffering  of  God  ;  and  that  having  ob- 
tained mercy  myself,  I  have  encouragement, 
from  my  own  case,  to  hope  that  the  strongest 
prejudices  may  be  softened  by  the  power  of 
his  grace. 

Let  me  close  with  one  observation.  The 
transactions  of  this  day,  and  the  consequence 
of  it  will  not  be  soon  forgotten.  They  will 
be  registered  in  the  annals  of  eternity.  As 
surely  as  we  are  now  met  together,  so  surely 
we  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat 
of  Christ,  2  Cor.  v.  10.  Then  I  must  give 
an  account  of  my  ministry,  and  you  of  the 
manner  in  which  you  received  it.  If  I  speak 
the  truth — it  is  at  the  peril  of  my  hearers  to 
treat  it  with  contempt,  or  even  with  neglect. 
But  I  would  hope  better  things,  even  that  the 
Lord,  the  Holy  Spirit,  will  prepare  our  hearts 
to  receive  with  meekness  that  engrafted  word, 
which  is  able  to  save  our  souls,  James  i.  1 1. 

I  only  add  my  earnest  request  for  a  fre- 
quent and  fervent  remembrance  in  your  pray- 
ers, that  the  Father  of  mercies,  the  God  of  all 
wisdom,  may  so  influence  my  spirit,  that  no 
part  of  my  conduct  may  be  unsuitable  to  what 
I  have  at  this  time  professed.  That  speaking 
the  truth  in  love,  and  commending  it  by  a 
conversation  becoming  the  gospel  (Phil.  i.  17), 
my  labours  and  my  life  may  be  acceptable  and 
serviceable  among  you.  I  trust  that  I,  on  my 
part,  shall  not  cease  to  pray,  that  his  blessing 
may  rest  upon  you,  upon  your  persons,  your 
families,  and  upon  all  your  concerns,  and 
more  especially  for  the  welfare  and  comfort 
of  your  souls — that  he  may  guiae  you  by  his 
counsel  through  this  life,  and  afterwards  re 
ceive  you  to  his  glory,  Psalm  lxxiii.  24. 


THE  GUILT  AND  DANGER  OF  SUCH  A  NATION  AS  THIS, 


SERMON 

PREACHED  IN  THE 

PARISH  CHURCH  OF  ST.  MARY  WOOLNOTH, 

ON    WEDNESDAY,     FEBRUARY    21,     1781. 
THE   DAY  APPOINTED  FOR 


GENERAL  FAST. 


Shall  I  not  visit  for  these  things,  saith  the  Lord  ?  And  shall  not  my  soul  be  avenged  on  such  a 

nation  as  this  ?     Jeremiah,   v.    29. 


Three  times  (Jer.  v.  9  ;  ix.  9),  the  Lord  God 
repeats  by  his  prophet  this  alarming  ques- 
tion. Their  ingratitude  and  obstinacy  were 
so  notorious,  their  sins  so  enormous  and  ag- 
gravated, the  sentence  denounced  against  them, 
however  severe,  was  so  undeniably  just,  that 
partial  as  they  were  to  themselves,  God  is 
pleased  to  appeal  to  their  own  consciences, 
and  to  make  them  judges  in  their  own  cause ; 
inviting  or  rather  challenging  them  to  offer  any 
plea,  why  his  forbearance  and  patience,  which 
they  had  so  long  despised,  should  be  still  af- 
forded them. 

But  the  form  of  the  question  will  not  per- 
mit us  to  confine  the  application  to  Israel  or 
Judah.  The  words  are  not,  "  On  this  nation" 
particularly,  but  "  On  such  a  nation  as  this." 
The  Lord,  the  Governor  of  the  earth,  has  pro- 
vided in  the  history  of  one  nation,  a  lesson  of 
.nstruction  and  warning  to  every  nation  under 
the  sun  ;  and  the  nearer  the  state  and  spirit 
of  any  people  resemble  the  state  and  character 
of  Judah,  when  Jeremiah  prophesied  among 
them,  the  more  reason  they  have  to  tremble 
under  the  apprehension  of  the  same  or  similar 
judgments. 

God  brought  Israel  out  of  Egypt  with  an 
outstretched  arm,  divided  the  Red  Sea  before 
them,  led  them  into  the  wilderness  by  a  cloud 
and  pillar  of  fire,  fed  them  iyitb  manna,  and 
gave  them  water  from  the  rock.  He  planted 
them  ill  a  good   land,  and  though  they  often 


sinned  and  were  often  punished,  they  were 
distinguished  by  many  tokens  of  his  presence 
and  effects  of  his  goodness,  above  any  othei 
nation.  In  the  time  of  Solomon  they  posses- 
sed the  height  of  human  prosperity,  but  they 
soon  rebelled  and  involved  themselves  in  in- 
creasing troubles.  And,  though  the  efforts 
and  examples  of  Hezekiah  and  Josiah  produc- 
ed a  temporary  reformation,  and  procured  a 
temporary  respite,  they  went  on,  upon  the 
whole,  from  bad  to  worse,  till  the  measure  of 
their  iniquity  being  filled  up,  and  the  season 
of  God's  long-suffering  at  an  end,  he  directed 
the  march  of  Nebuchadnezzar  against  them, 
who,  because  he  was  the  appointed  instrument 
of  divine  vengeance,  could  not  fail  of  success. 
The  temple  and  city  of  Jerusalem  were  burnt, 
the  land  desolated,  the  greater  part  of  the  in- 
habitants destroyed,  and  the  survivors  led  cap 
tives  into  a  far  distant  land. 

We  likewise  are  a  highly  favoured  people, 
and  have  long  enjoyed  privileges  which  excite 
the  admiration  and  envy  of  surrounding  na- 
tions ;  and  we  are  a  sinful,  ungrateful  people : 
so  that  when  we  compare  the  blessings  and 
mercies  we  have  received  from  the  Lord,  with 
our  conduct  towards  him,  it  is  to  be  feared  we 
are  no  less  concerned  with  the  question  in  my 
text  than  Israel  was  of  old.  This  is  the  point 
I  propose  to  illustrate,  as  suitable  to  the  de- 
sign for  which  we  are  at  this  time  professedly 
assembled. 


THE  GUILT  AND  DANGER,  &C. 


Though  the  occasion  will  require  me  to  take 
sonie  notice  of  our  public  affairs,  I  mean  not 
to  amuse  you  with  what  is  usually  called  a 
political  discourse.  The  Bible  is  my  system 
of  politics.  There  I  read,  that  the  Lord 
reigns  (  Psal,  xcvii.  1 )  ;  that  he  doeth  what  he 
pleaseth  in  the  armies  of  heaven,  and  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  (Dan.  iv.  35); 
that  no  wisdom,  understanding,  counsel,  or 
power,  can  prevail  without  his  blessing  (Prov. 
xi.  SO)  ;  that  as  righteousness  exalteth  a  na- 
tion, so  sin  is  the  reproach,  and  will  even  to- 
tally be  the  ruin  of  any  people,  Prov.  xiv.  34. 
From  these  and  other  maxims  of  a  like  import, 
I  am  learning  to  be  still,  and  to  know  that  he 
is  God.  My  part,  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel 
of  peace,  is  not  to  inflame,  but,  if  possible,  to 
soothe  and  sweeten  the  spirits  of  my  hearers ; 
to  withdraw  their  attention  from  the  instru- 
mental and  apparent  causes  of  the  calamities 
we  feel  or  fear,  and  to  fix  it  upon  sin,  as  the 
original  and  proper  cause  of  every  other  evil. 
As  a  peaceful  and  a  loyal  subject,  I  profess 
and  inculcate  obedience  to  the  laws  of  my 
country,  to  which  I  conceive  myself  bound  by 
the  authority  of  God's  command,  and  by  gra- 
titude for  the  civil  and  religious  liberty  I  pos- 
sess. For  the  rest,  political  disquisitions,  ex- 
cept immediately  connected  with  scriptural 
principles,  appear  to  me  improper  for  the  pul- 
pit at  all  times,  and  more  especially  unseason- 
able and  indecent  on  a  day  of  public  humilia- 
tion. I  hope  we  are  now  met,  not  to  accuse 
others,  but  to  confess  our  own  sins — not  to 
justify  ourselves,  but  to  plead  for  mercy. 

May  it  please  God,  therefore,  by  the  influ- 
ence of  his  Holy  Spirit,  to  impress  the  con- 
sciences of  all  present,  and  to  make  us  atten- 
tive to  our  own  immediate  concerns,  while  I 
endeavour, 

I.  Briefly  to  delineate  the  state  of  the  na- 
tion ;   or  to  shew  you  what  a  nation  this  is. 

II.  To  consider  in  what  manner  the  right- 
eous Judge  and  Governor  of  the  earth  might 
justly  avenge  himself  of  such  a  nation  as  this. 

III.  To  enquire,  whether  there  be  any 
hope  that  such  a  nation  as  this,  can  yet  escape 
the  impending  ruin  with  which  it  is  threaten- 
ed ?  and  if  there  be,  in  what  way  this  mercy 
is  to  be  sought  and  expected  ? 

I.  In  order  to  estimate  the  state  of  the  na- 
tion, we  must  attend  to  two  views,  which, 
when  contrasted,  illustrate  each  other,  and  in 
their  combination  constitute  our  national  cha- 
racter, and  discriminate  it,  not  only  from  that 
of  every  nation  around  us,  but  from  all  the 
Kingdoms  recorded  in  the  history  of  past  ages, 
—1  mean  our  national  privileges,  and  our  na- 
tional sins. 

With  regard  to  the  first  head, — the  peculiar 
privileges  which,  by  the  favour  of  Divine  Pro- 
vidence, we  have  enjoyed  as  a  people,  I  must 
be  brief.  A  full  detail  of  them  would  require 
a  volume.      Though  the  island  of  Great  Bri- 


825 

the  globe,  it  makes  a  splendid  appearance  in 
the  history   of  mankind,  and  has  for  a  lone 
space  of  time  been  signally  under  the  protec- 
tion of  God,  and   the  seat   of  peace,  liberty, 
and  truth.      When  Christendom  had  groaned 
for  ages  under  the  night  of  Papal  superstition, 
the  first  light  of  Reformation  dawned  amongst 
us  by  the  preaching  and  writings  of  Wickliff. 
From  that  time  we  have  possessed  the  know- 
ledge of  the  gospel,  and  God  has  had  a  suc- 
cession of  witnesses  in  our  land ;  they  have 
been  at  different  periods  exposed  to  suffering, 
and  many  of  them  were  called  to  seal   their 
testimony  with  their   blood,   but    they  could 
neither    be    intimidated    nor    extirpated.      In 
Luther's    time,   when  the   pillars    of  Popery 
were  more  publicly  and  generally  shaken,  we 
were  among  the  first  who  were  animated  and 
enabled  to  shake  off  the  yoke  of  Rome  j  and 
God  has  often  since  remarkably  interposed  to 
preserve  us  from  being  brought  into  that  bon- 
dage a  second  time.      The  spirit  of  persecu- 
tion, under  various  forms,  has  again  and  again 
attempted  to  resume  its  power,  but  has  been 
as  often  restrained  and  defeated.      Civil  com- 
motions likewise  stand  upon  record  in  our  an- 
nals, and  our  forefathers  have  felt  miseries  ot 
which  we  can  form  but  a  very  imperfect  idea. 
But  they  suffered  and  struggled  for  us.      The 
event  of  every  contest  and  revolution  contri- 
buted gradually  to  establish  that  happy  basis 
of  government  which  we  call  The  British  Con- 
stitution;   and  together  with  these   advances 
in  favour  of  liberty,  an  increase  of  commerce, 
wealth,  and  dominion,  has  been  afforded  us. 
From  that  distinguished  sera,  the  Revolution, 
and  more  especially  since  the  accession  of  the 
present  Royal  Family,  we  have  enjoyed  such 
an  uninterrupted  series  of  peace  and  prosperi- 
ty, as  cannot  be  paralleled  in  the  history  of  anv 
nation  we  have  heard  of,   not  excepting  even 
that  of  Israel.      I  call  our  peace  uninterrupt- 
ed ;  for  the  efforts  of  rebellion  in  the  reigns 
of  our  two  last  kings,  were  so  speedily  crush- 
ed, and  were  productive  of  so  few  calamities, 
except  to  the   unhappy  aggressors,  that  they 
are  chiefly  to  be  noticed   as    instances  of  the 
goodness  of  the  Lord,  who,   notwithstanding 
we  were  then  a  sinful  people,  was  pleased  to 
fight   our  battles,    and   put    our    enemies    to 
shame.      I  call  it   uninterrupted,  for  though 
we  have  been  engaged  as  principals  in  several 
foreign  wars,  and  the  storm  fell  with  dreadful 
weight  upon  other  countries,  we  at  home  knew 
little  of  the  war,  but  from  the  public  prints, 
which  usually,  after  the  first  or  second  year 
were  filled  with  accounts  of  the  successes  and 
victories  which  the  Lord  of  hosts  (alas,  by  how 
few  was  he  acknowledged  !)  gave  to  our  fleets 
and    armies. — When  the    last    war  terminat- 
ed, we  were  at  the  height  of  national  honour  and 
power.      Our  arms  were  victorious,  and  our 
flags  triumphant  wherever  our  operations  had 
been  directed  in  the  most  distant  and  opposite 


tain  exhibits  but  a  small  spot  upon  a  map  of  , parts  of  the  globe.     What  an  accession  of  em- 


8-20  THE  GUILT  AND  DANGER 

pire  and  riches  did  we  then  acquire,  while  we 
were  sitting  (if  I  may  so  speak)  under  our 
vines  and  fig-trees  undisturbed ;  and  while  a 
considerable  part  of  Germany,  rather  involv- 
ed, than  properly  interested  in  our  disputes, 
was  almost  desolated  by  fire  and  sword !  And 
notwithstanding  our  increasing  provocations, 
every  succeeding  year  has  afforded  signal 
proofs,  that  though  the  Lord  is  displeased 
with  us,  he  has  not  yet  forsaken  us.  If  in 
some  instances  he  has  justly  disappointed  our 
expectations,  he  has  in  others  appeared  no  less 
remarkably  in  our  favour,  defeating  the  de- 
signs of  our  enemies,  protecting  our  com- 
merce, and  affording  us  in  general  more  plen- 
tiful harvests  at  home,  since  the  war  has  ren- 
dered supplies  from  abroad  more  precarious 
and  difficult.  Add  to  our  internal  peace, 
wealth  and  plenty,  the  inviolable  immunity 
both  of  persons  and  property,  in  which  we  are 
preserved  by  the  spirit  and  administration  of 
our  laws  ;  and  that  unrestrained  liberty  which 
people  of  all  sentiments  and  denominations 
possess  and  exercise,  of  worshipping  God  in 
the  way  they  think  most  agreeable  to  his  will. 
Must  not  a  due  consideration  of  these  things 
constrain  us  to  say,  He  hath  not  dealt  so  with 
any  nation  ? 

What  could  the  Lord  have  done  more  for 
his  vineyard  ?  Is.  v.  4.  How  could  he  have  laid 
a  people  under  stronger  obligations  to  his  ser- 
vice? What  returns  might  he  not  expect  from 
such  a  nation  as  this  ?  But  alas  !  we  have  re- 
quited him  evil  for  good  !  Such  a  nation  as  this 
is  very  imperfectly  described  by  an  enumeration 
of  privileges.  I  have  a  more  painful  task  now 
to  attend  to;  I  should  enumerate  (were  it 
possible)  our  national  sins.  It  is  but  a  sketch 
I  can  offer  upon  this  immense  and  awful  sub- 
ject. But  enough  is  obvious,  and  at  hand,  to 
make  us  tremble,  if  we  regard  the  scripture, 
and  do  in  our  hearts  believe  that  there  is  a 
God  that  governs  the  earth  (Psal.  lviii.  11), 
I  wish  you  to  keep  in  mind,  as  I  proceed,  the 
slight  view  I  have  given  of  the  favours  God 
has  bestowed  upon  us.  The  recollection  of 
his  mercies  is  necessary  to  give  a  proper  sense 
of  the  colouring  and  aggravation  of  our  sins. 
It  is  often  pleaded,  that,  sinful  as  we  are,  we 
are  not  more  depraved  in  morals  and  practice 
than  the  inhabitants  of  France  or  Italy,  or  the 
other  nations  of  Europe.  I  much  question 
the  truth  of  this  plea.  I  am  afraid  that,  in 
some  instances  at  least,  we  are  more  corrupt 
and  profligate  than  any  nation  now  existing. 
But  admitting  that  France  or  Italy  equal,  or 
even  exceed  us  in  open  and  positive  wicked- 
ness, if  they  fall  short  of  us  in  advantages  for 
knowing  the  will  of  God,  if  they  are  not  equal- 
ly enriched  by  the  bounties  of  his  providence, 
if  he  has  not  so  signally  appeared  on  their  be- 
half as  he  has  on  ours,  their  sins,  however 
enormous  or  numerous,  are  not  attended  with 
equal  aggravations;  we  must  fix  upon  a  na- 
tion (if  such  could  be  found)   that  is  upon   a 


par  with  us  in  the  blessings  of  gospel-light,  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  before  we  can  pro- 
perly form  a  comparison-,  or  have  any  just  rea- 
son for  supposing  that  our  sins  are  not  greater 
than  theirs. 

The  magnitude  of  our  national  debt  is  a 
frequent  topic  of  conversation.  We  have  in- 
deed but  an  indistinct  idea  of  a  number  not 
very  far  short  of  two  hundred  millions,  yet  we 
can  form  some  conception  of  it.  But  our  na- 
tional debt  of  sin  is  beyond  all  the  rules  and 
powers  of  arithmetical  computation.  The  ho- 
liness, authority,  and  goodness  of  God  (which 
are  infinite)  afford  the  only  proper  measures 
by  which  to  judge  of  the  horrid  evil  of  the  sins 
committed  against  him. 

The  sin  of  a  nation  is  properly  the  aggre- 
gate or  sum-total  of  all  the  sins  committed  by 
every  individual  residing  in  that  nation.  But 
those  may  be  emphatically  called  national  sins 
which,  by  their  notoriety,  frequency,  or  cir. 
cumstances,  contribute  to  mark  the  character 
or  spirit  of  one  nation,  as  distinct  from  an- 
other. It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  species  of 
sins  amongst  us  have  not  yet  become  national. 
They  are  rather  exotics,  not  perfectly  fami- 
liarized to  the  soil,  or  prevalent  in  every  part 
of  the  land.  I  shall  confine  myself  to  a  few 
of  the  particulars  which  are  more  directly  cha- 
racteristic of  this  nation,  and  at  this  time. 

1.  The  maxims  and  usage  generally  preva- 
lent among  a  people,  if  contrary  to  the  rule  of 
God's  word,  are  national  sins.  If  customary, 
they  are  national ;  if  inconsistent,  with  the 
precepts  of  scripture,  they  must  be  sinful.  A 
woe  is  denounced  (Isa.  v.  20)  against  those 
who  call  evil  good,  and  good  evil  ;  but  this 
dreadful  abuse  of  language,  sentiment,  and 
conduct,  can  only  be  avoided  by  making  the 
inspired  writings  the  standard  of  our  judg- 
ment. In  a  land  that  bears  the  name  of  Chris- 
tian, adultery  is  deemed  gallantry  ;  murder,  in 
some  cases,  is  a  point  of  honour ;  avarice  is 
prudence ;  profuseness  wears  the  mask  of  ge- 
nerosity ;  and  dissipation  is  considered  as  inno- 
cent amusement.  On  the  other  hand,  meek- 
ness is  accounted  meanness  of  spirit,  and  grace 
is  branded  with  the  opprobrious  names  of  me- 
lancholy and  enthusiasm.  Habituated  from 
our  infancy  to  the  effects  of  these  preposses- 
sions, and  more  or  less  under  their  influence, 
very  few  of  us  are  duly  sensible  how  utterly 
repugnant  the  spirit  and  temper  of  the  world 
around  us  is  to  the  genius  and  spirit  of  the 
Christianity  we  profess.  It  would,  I  think, 
appear  in  a  much  more  striking  light  to  an 
intelligent  and  unbiassed  observer,  who  upon 
hearing  that  Great  Britain  was  favoured  witli 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  religion,  should  vi- 
sit us  from  some  very  remote  country  with  a 
view  of  sharing  in  our  advantage.  If  I  could 
make  the  tour  of  the  kingdom  with  such  a 
stranger,  and  shew  him  what  is  transacting  in 
the  busy  and  in  the  gay  world,  in  city,  court, 
and  country  ;  if  I   could  describe  to  him  the 


persons  he  would  see  at  our  theatres  and  pub- 
lic places,  at  Newmarket,  at  contested  elec- 
tions, and  explain  the  motives  and  aims  which 
bring  them  together ;  if  I  could  introduce 
bim  into  the  families  of  the  great,  the  reputed 
wise,  and  the  wealthy, — from  these  data,  to- 
gether with  the  ignorance  and  licentiousness 
of  the  populace,  which  must  unavoidably  en- 
gage his  notice  wherever  he  went,  I  apprehend 
he  would  not  be  long  at  a  loss  to  form  a  to- 
lerable judgtnent  of  our  national  character. 
And  if  after  this  survey,  he  were  attentively 
to  read  the  New  Testament,  I  think  he  must 
allow,  that,  admitting  it  was  a  revelation  from 
God,  our  national  character  was  neither  more 
nor  less  than  the  union  and  combination  of 
our  national  sins.  He  could  not  but  per- 
ceive, that  infidelity,  pride,  sensuality,  greedi- 
ness of  gain,  strangely  coupled  with  thought- 
less profusion,  contempt  of  God,  and  a  daring 
opposition  to  his  will,  constitute  the  leading 
features  of  our  portrait  as  a  nation. 

2.  If  there  be  sins,  which,  though  not  ex- 
pressly enjoined,  are  authorized,  and  to  peo- 
ple who  regard  man  more  than  God,  rendered 
in  a  manner  necessary  by  the  sanction  of  the  le. 
gislature,  these,  and  especially  in  a  free  coun- 
try, may  be  deemed  national  sins.  Here  I 
feel  myself  embarrassed.  As  a  private  mem- 
*^er  of  society,  full  of  respect  and  reverence 
for  the  authority  to  which,  by  the  providence 
and  will  of  God,  I  owe  a  willing  and  thank- 
ful subjection,  I  could  wish  to  be  entirely  si- 
lent. But  I  likewise  bear  another  character. 
As  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  I  stand  here  be- 
fore a  higher  Master.  In  his  service  I  am 
commanded  to  be  bold  and  faithful,  and  I 
dare  not  in  conscience,  especially  at  such  a 
time  and  on  such  an  occasion  as  this,  wholly 
suppress  my  sentiments.  But  I  wish  to  speak 
with  all  the  tenderness  and  delicacy  the  sub- 
ject will  admit. 

In  this  land  of  liberty,  the  measures  of  go- 
vernment and  of  parliament  are  canvassed  with 
great  freedom,  often  indeed  with  a  very  offen- 
sive intemperance  and  indecency.  It  is,  how- 
ever, one  important  privilege  of  our  happy 
constitution,  that  British  subjects  have  a  right 
of  presenting  respectful  petitions  either  to  the 
throne  or  to  the  senate,  when  such  measures 
are  in  contemplation  as  are  apprehended  may 
prove  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  na- 
tion or  of  individuals  :  a  right  which,  upon 
the  ground  of  real  or  pretended  grievances, 
has  been  abundantly  exercised  of  late  years. 
But  it  is  long  since  the  honour  of  God  and 
the  interests  of  true  religion  have  been  the  ob- 
jects of  an  address  or  petition  from  any  cor- 
porate body  in  the  kingdom.  This  indiffer- 
ence of  all  parties  to  the  cause  of  God,  when 
all  are  so  attentive  and  feeling  in  cases  where 
they  think  their  own  temporal  concerns  af- 
fected, warrants  one  to  consider  the  acts  of  the 
legislature,  while  no  alteration  is  desired  by 
those  on  whom  thev  are  binding,  as  the  acts  of 


OF  SUCH  A  NATION  AS  THIS.  827 

the  whole  nation.      Even  the  edicts  of  an  ar- 


bitrary  prince,  whose  will  supplies  the  place  of 
law,  might  involve  a  nation  in  guilt,  if  he 
enjoined  what  was  contrary  to  the  commands 
of  God,  and  they  through  fear  obeyed  him. 
Much  more  then  may  laws,  made  by  the  re- 
presentatives of  a  free  people,  be  considered  as 
acts  of  the  cummunity,  if  they  excite  no  con- 
stitutional endeavour  for  relief. 

I  am  far  from  supposing  that  any  of  our 
laws  now  in  force  were  formed  with  an  inten- 
tion of  promoting  sin.  But  some  of  them, 
through  the  prevailing  depravation  of  morals 
amongst  us,  do  it  eventually.  For  instance, 
the  Test  and  Corporation  acts,  which  require 
every  person  who  has  a  post  under  govern- 
ment, or  a  commission  in  the  army  or  navy, 
to  qualify  himself  for  his  office  by  receiving 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper,  would  oc- 
casion no  sin,  if  men  were  generally  influenced 
by  the  fear  of  God,  or  even  by  a  principle  of 
integrity.  They  would  then  rather  decline 
places  of  honour  or  profit,  than  accept  them 
upon  such  terms,  if  they  were  conscious  that 
their  sentiments  or  conduct  were  repugnant  to 
the  design  of  that  institution.  But  as  the  case 
stands  at  present,  while  gain  is  preferred  to 
godliness,  and  the  love  of  distinction  or  lucre 
is  stronger  than  the  dictates  of  conscience,  we 
frequently  see  professed  infidels  and  notorious 
libertines  approach  the  Lord's  table  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  and  prostituting  the  most  so- 
lemn ordinance  of  Christianity  to  their  ambi- 
tion or  interest.  The  great  number  and  va- 
riety of  appointments  civil  and  military,  which 
cannot  be  legally  possessed  without  this  qua- 
lification, render  the  enormity  almost  as  com- 
mon as  it  is  heinous.  If  the  Lord  be  a  God 
of  knowledge,  he  cannot  be  deceived.  If  he 
be  a  God  of  truth  and  holiness,  he  will  not  he 
mocked.  I  am  afraid  we  have  been  long 
guilty  of  a  contemptuous  profanation  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ. 

The  multiplicity  of  oaths,  which  are  inter- 
woven into  almost  every  branch  of  puhlic 
business,  involves  thousands  in  the  habitual 
guilt  of  perjury,  which  perhaps  may  eminent- 
ly be  styled  our  national  sin.  Many  of  them 
it  is  true,  do  not  necessarily  lead  to  sin,  be- 
cause honest  and  conscientious  men  may,  and 
do  strictly  observe  them  ;  but  it  is  to  be  feared, 
the  greater  number  deliberately  and  customa- 
rily violate  these  solemn  obligations,  and  take 
them  as  often  as  imposed  without  hesitation, 
and  without  any  design  of  complying  with 
them.  Not  a  few  of  these  oaths  are  either  so 
worded  or  so  circumstanced,  that  it  is  morally 
impossible  to  fulfil  them  ;  and  if  a  person  was 
even  to  attempt  it,  he  would  be  thought  a 
busy-body  or  a  fool.  Yet  they  must  be  ten- 
dered, and  must  be  taken  as  a  matter  of  form, 
when  nothing  more  is  expected  or  purposed  on 
either  side.  The  number  of  church-wardens 
and  constables  who  are  yearly  sworn,  is  very 
great ;  and  as  these  offices  are  chiefly  held  by 


828 


THE  GUILT  AND  DANGER 


rotation,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  they 
take  in  a  considerable  part  of  the  middling 
people  in  the  kingdom.  How  many  or  how 
few  of  them  act  up  to  the  letter  and  the  spi- 
rit of  the  oaths  they  have  taken,  will  be  known 
in  the  day  when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  shall 
be  revealed.  But  it  is  now  evident,  that,  while 
some,  like  sheep,  tread  without  thought  in 
the  path  of  custom,  content  to  forswear  them- 
selves because  others  have  done  so  before 
them ;  and  while  some  are  hardy  enough  to 
trifle  with  God  and  man  for  profit,  the  laws 
which  enjoin  and  multiply  oaths  do  thereby 
furnish  and  multiply  temptations  to  the  sin  of 
perjury.  To  this  source  we  may  ascribe  much 
of  that  profligacy  and  contempt  of  religion, 
which  we  now  are  called  to  mourn  over.  The 
frequency  of  oaths,  the  irreverent  manner  in 
which  they  are  administered,  and  the  impuni- 
ty with  which  they  are  broken,  have  greatly 
contributed  to  weaken  the  sense  of  every  mo- 
ral obligation,  and  to  spread  a  dissolute  and 
daring  spirit  through  the  land. 

Where  the  laws  have  expressly  interposed  to 
enforce  the  commands  of  God,  if  they  are 
suffered  by  general  consent  to  lie  dormant, 
and  are  not  carried  into  execution,  the  enor- 
mities which  flow  from  such  connivance,  come 
under  the  denomination  of  national  sins.  The 
profanation  of  the  Lord's  day,  drunkenness, 
profane  swearing,  are  contrary,  not  only  to  the 
precepts  of  scripture,  but  to  the  laws  of  the  land; 
and  yet  they  could  hardly  be  more  prevalent 
though  there  were  no  statutes  in  force  against 
them.  As  these  evils  are  not  apparently  detri- 
mental to  the  revenue  or  to  commerce,  they  are 
seldom  taken  notice  of,  except  when  connected 
with  some  act  of  trespass  or  injury  to  indivi- 
duals. Very  few  magistrates  are  concerned 
to  enforce  the  observation  of  these  laws  ;  and 
if  private  persons  sometimes  attempt  it  by  in- 
formation, they  meet  but  little  success,  they 
obtain  but  little  thanks.  The  arts  of  pleading, 
the  minutiae  and  niceties  of  forms  are  em- 
ployed to  entangle  and  discourage  them,  and 
to  screen  offenders.  Their  endeavours  are 
usually  treated  as  officious  and  impertinent, 
and  they  are  stigmatized  with  the  invidious 
name  of  informers.  In  their  own  cause  they 
are  allowed  to  be  active ;  but  a  man  must 
have  a  good  share  of  resolution,  or  rather  of 
divine  grace,  who  can  withstand  the  reproach 
and  scorn  he  will  bring  upon  himself,  if  he 
dare  to  be  active  in  the  cause  of  God. 

My  subject,  alas  !  is  almost  boundless ! 
But  our  time  prescribes  limits  to  my  discourse. 
I  must,  however,  hint  my  apprehension,  that 
acts  of  oppression  and  violence,  in  some  parts 
(at  least)  of  our  widely-extended  settlements, 
have  contributed  to  enhance  and  aggravate 
our  national  sin.  If  the  welfare  and  the  lives 
of  thousands  have  been  sacrificed  to  the  inte- 
rest of  the  few  ;  if  the  ravages  of  cruelty  and 
avarice,  though  notorious  and  undeniable, 
have  met  with  no  public  censure  or  punish- 


ment, may  we  not  expect  that  God  himself 
will  avenge  the  oppressed,  and  plead  their 
cause,  not  only  against  their  actual  oppres- 
sors, but  against  the  community  that  refused 
to  hear  their  cries  and  redress  their  wrongs  ? 

I  am  pained  likewise  to  observe  how  little 
the  calamities  of  war  and  the  shedding  of 
blood  are  laid  to  heart.  War,  when  most  ne- 
cessary and  unavoidable,  is  a  dreadful  evil  ; 
one  of  the  most  severe  scourges  with  -which 
the  great  God  visits  a  sinful  world.  But,  be- 
cause we,  through  his  mercy,  know  no  more 
of  it  at  home  than  by  what  we  hear  of  the 
sufferings  of  others  ;  to  their  sufferings,  if  we 
aecount  them  enemies,  the  hearts  of  many  are 
unfeeling  as  a  stone.  They  contemplate  with 
composure  and  apparent  satisfaction,  not  only 
the  horrors  of  a  field  of  battle,  but  the  devas- 
tations, flames,  rapes,  and  murders,  which  too 
often  mark  the  progress  of  conquest,  or  tht 
retreat,  of  disappointed  rage.  May  the  Lord 
God  keep  such  miseries  far  from  us  !  May  we 
never  have  to  say,  As  we  have  heard,  so  we 
have  seen.  But  there  is  a  temper  and  spiri* 
too  prevalent  among  us,  which  calls  for  humi- 
liation :  A  thirst  of  revenge,  an  eagerness  for 
war,  as  affording  opportunity  for  pillage  and 
plunder,  and  an  indifference  to  the  distresses 
of  our  fellow-creatures,  more  answerable  to 
the  idea  we  form  of  the  savages  in  America, 
than  to  that  of  a  civilized  and  christian  people. 

If  we  consider  the  nat;on  with  a  more  par- 
ticular respect  to  the  profession  of  religion 
amongst  us,  the  prospect  is  equally  dark 
Though  the  Articles  and  Liturgy,  which  are 
still  retained  as  a  public  standard,  express  the 
doctrines  and  spirit  of  the  Reformation,  the 
truths  upon  which  they  are  founded  are  sunk 
into  disrepute.  They  are  heard  from  few  pul. 
pits,  they  are  to  be  met  with  in  few  books  of 
modern  divinity.  The  ministers  who  have 
courage  to  preach  agreeably  to  their  required 
subscriptions  arc  discountenanced  and  slight- 
ed, if  not  openly  opposed.  In  a  word,  the 
gospel  of  Christ,  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  is 
little  known  amongst  us,  and  where  it  is  pub- 
lished, is  rejected  by  a  great  majority  of  every 
rank.  Yet,  by  the  mercy  of  God,  it  has  been 
considerably  revived  and  spread  amongst  us 
of  late  years,  and  (I  hope)  is  still  spreading. 
There  is  a  remnant  amongst  us  who  sigh  and 
mourn  for  the  abominations  of  the  times,  and 
have  a  humble  and  awful  sense  of  the  judg- 
ments of  God  declared  against  sin.  They  see 
black  clouds  gathering  apace  around  us,  and 
their  hearts  tremble  at  the  apprehension  of 
what  he  may  justly  inflict  upon  such  a  nation 
as  this.  But  even  among  the  people  of  dif- 
ferent denominations  who  profess  the  truth, 
there  is  much  to  be  lamented.  Alas  !  what 
sinful  conformity  to  the  world  !  what  cold- 
ness and  indifference  where  we  ought  to  be 
warm,  and  what  unchristian  heat  and  fierce- 
ness in  enforcing  or  exploding  lesser  differen- 
ces in  sentiment  or  in    modes    of   worship , 


OF  SUCH  A  NATION  AS  THIS. 


829 


May  we  not  fear,  lest,  for  the  abatement  of 
christian  love,  the  violence  of  party  spirit,  and 
the  abuse  of  religious  liberty,  the  Lord  should 
visit  his  professing  people  with  a  rod,  even 
though  he  were  still  to  exercise  patience  to- 
wards the  nation  at  large  ? 

Let  us  then,  having  premised  this  brief,  but 
awful  delineation  of  our  present  state,  proceed 
to  consider, 

II.  What  we  have  just  reason  to  expect,  if 
the  Lord  should  speak  to  us  in  his  displea- 
sure, and  avenge  himself  of  such  a  nation  as 
this  !  Two  obvious  topics  offer  themselves  to 
assist  our  inquiries. 

1.  What  we  learn  from  scripture,  and  from 
general  history,  of  God's  usual  methods  in 
the  government  of  the  world.  He  avenged 
himself  on  the  old  world,  by  a  deluge  ;  on 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  by  fire  from  heaven. 
Where  are  now  the  mighty  empires  which 
once  extended  over  a  great  part  of  the  earth  ? 
The  Assyrian,  Persian,  Macedonian,  and  Ro- 
man governments,  arose  and  perished  in  suc- 
cession. What  were  Cyrus,  Alexander,  and 
other  conquerors,  whose  victories  decided  the 
fate  of  nations,  but  instruments  of  divine 
vengeance  ?  The  sins  of  the  people  against 
whom  they  went,  and  a  secret  commission 
from  the  Lord  of  hosts,  directed  their  march 
and  ensured  their  success.  He  has  appointed 
a  day  when  he  will  judge  the  world  in  right- 
eousness, but  the  award  of  that  final  tribunal 
will  be  persona],  to  each  one  according  to  his 
works.  Communities,  as  such,  in  their  col- 
lective capacity,  are  visited  and  judged  in  the 
present  life.  And  in  this  respect,  the  scrip- 
ture considers  nations  as  individuals  :  each 
having  an  infancy,  growth,  maturity,  and  de- 
clension. Every  succeeding  generation  ac- 
cumulates the  stock  of  national  sin,  and  there 
is  a  measure  of  iniquity  which  determines  the 
period  of  kingdoms.  Till  this  measure  is 
filled  up,  the  patience  of  God  waits  for  them, 
but  then  patience  gives  way  to  vengeance. 

Such  has  been  his  uniform  procedure  from 
the  earliest  times,  of  which  either  sacred  or 
profane  history  affords  us  any  information  : 
and  undoubtedly  a  day  will  come  when  the 
prosperity  of  this  nation  will  cease.  May  it 
be  at  a  yet  very  distant  period  !  But  there  are 
alarming  symptoms  of  decay  already  visible 
upon  us.  When  God  is  exceedingly  displeas- 
ed with  a  people,  it  is  not  necessary,  in  order 
to  their  punishment,  that  he  should  bury  them 
alive  by  an*  earthquake,  or  destroy  them  by 
lightning.  If  he  only  leave  them  to  them- 
selves, withdraw  his  blessing  from  their  coun- 
sels, and  his  restraint  from  their  passions,  their 
ruin  follows  of  course ;  according  to  the  ne- 
cessary order  and  connection  of  causes  and 
effects.  The  destruction  of  Jerusalem  affords 
a  striking  proof  and  illustration  of  this  re- 
mark. Our  Saviour  foretold,  that  the  cala- 
mities of  that  siege  would  be  greater  and  more 
aggravated   than  had  ever  been  known  from 


the  creation  ;  and  infidels  must  confess,  that 
the  relation  of  Josephus,  who  was  an  eye- 
witness of  that  catastrophe,  exhibits  such 
scenes  of  distress  as  cannot  be  paralleled  in 
any  other  history.  Yet  the  Roman  armies, 
which  were  led  on  by  an  invisible  hand  to 
accomplish  the  prediction,  were  not  headed  by 
a  Nero,  or  a  Caligula,  whose  savage  disposi- 
tion and  thirst  of  blood  might  have  prompted 
them  to  unrelenting  slaughter ;  but  by  Titus, 
who,  for  his  singular  moderation  and  clemen- 
cy, obtained  the  title  of  Delicice  humani gene- 
ris, the  friend  and  delight  of  mankind.  He 
desired  not  their  destruction,  he  entreated 
them  to  have  pity  on  themselves  ;  but  in  vain: 
they  were  judicially  infatuated,  and  devoted 
to  ruin.  If  God  gives  up  a  people  to  the  way 
of  their  own  hearts,  they  will,  they  must  perish. 
When  ageneral  corruption  of  morals  takes  place, 
when  private  interest  extinguishes  all  sense  of 
public  virtue,  when  a  profligate  and  venal  spi- 
rit has  infected  every  rank  and  order  of  the 
state,  when  presumptuous  security  and  dissi- 
pation increase  in  proportion  as  danger  ap- 
proaches ;  when,  after  repeated  disappoint- 
ments, contempt  of  God  and  vain  confidence 
in  imagined  resources  of  their  own  grow 
bolder  and  stronger, — then  there  is  reason  to 
fear,  that  the  sentence  is  already  gone  forth, 
and  that  the  execution  of  it  is  at  hand. 

2.  The  progress  of  our  public  affairs  foi 
some  years  past,  too  evidently  confirms  these 
general  principles,  brings  the  application  home 
to  ourselves,  and  loudly  warns  us  what  we  are 
yet  to  expect,  if  we  persist  in  hardening  our- 
selves against  the  Lord.  How  rapid  the 
change  we  have  seen !  From  what  small  be- 
ginnings to  what  extensive  consequences  !  The 
cloud  which  now  overspreads  the  heavens  with 
blackness,  was  not  long  since  no  larger  than  a 
man's  hand.  I  suppose  none  who  were  active- 
ly concerned  in  our  public  commotions  dur- 
ing their  early  r.tage,  had  the  least  apprehen- 
sion that  things  would  have  proceeded  to  such 
calamitous  and  diffusive  extremities.  But  sin 
abounded,  and  the  Lord  was  displeased.  Thus 
we  may  easily  account  for  every  mistake  and 
miscarriage ;  for  the  first  rise,  and  the  long 
continuance  of  the  war.  The  connection  be- 
tween us  and  the  Americans  was  too  nearly 
founded  in  relation,  too  closely  cemented  by  mu- 
tual interest,  to  be  so  suddenly  broken,  if  their 
sins  and  ours  had  not  concurred  in  operation  to 
bring  distress  both  upon  them  and  us.  After 
a  great  expense  of  treasure  and  blood,  instead 
of  the  re-union  we  hoped  for,  we  have  been 
successively  involved  in  war  with  France, 
Spain,  and  Holland.  And  it  is  possible  that 
every  power  in  Europe,  either  is,  or  soon  will 
be,  openly  or  secretly  against  us.  Nor  can  I 
omit,  upon  this  occasion,  the  unprecedented 
violence  of  the  late  dreadful  hurricanes  in  the 
West  Indies.  Though  infidels  and  petty  rea- 
soners  will  doubtless  labour  to  persuade  them- 
selves that  they  proceeded  merely  from  natu- 


830 


THE  GUILT  AND  DANGER 


ral  causes,  christians,  I  trust,  will  acknow- 
ledge the  voice  of  God  speaking,  and  speak- 
ing to  us  out  of  the  whirlwind.  It  is  true,  he 
spoke  by  them  to  our  enemies  likewise,  for 
they  likewise  are  sinners.  May  both  they 
and  we  be  humbled  before  him,  and  learn, 
that  as  sin  instigates  and  arms  us  to  destroy 
each  other,  so  when  he  is  pleased  to  take  the 
work  into  his  own  hands,  he  can  strike  such  a 
blow,  as  shall  for  the  time  suspend  our  feeble 
hostilities,  and  by  involving  us  in  a  common 
calamity,  make  us,  notwithstanding  our  en- 
mity, the  objects  of  mutual  commiseration. 
"  The  Lord's  hand  is  lifted  up,"  Isa.  xxvi. 
11.  This  part  of  an  ancient  prophecy  is 
fulfilled  in  our  view  :  the  next  clause,  "  They 
will  not  see,"  is,  alas !  fulfilled  likewise, 
by  the  amazing  insensibility  and  infatuation 
which  still  prevails  among  us.  It  follows, 
"  But  they  shall  se'e."  What  still  greater 
evils  may  overtake  us,  before  this  clause 
also  is  accomplished  to  the  glory  of  God, 
and  our  due  humiliation,  who  can  say  ? 
Alas  !  who  that  loves  his  country,  but  must 
tremble  at  the  prospects  of  the  judgments  yet 
impending  over  us,  if  he  should  still  proceed 
to  plead  his  own  cause,  till  he  is  fully  aven- 
ged on  such  a  nation  as  this ! To  relieve 

my  thoughts,  I  gladly  hasten  to  enquire, 

III.  Whether  there  be  any  hope  that  such 
a  nation  as  this  may  yet  escape  deserved  ruin  ; 
and  if  there  be,  in  what  way  this  mercy  is  to 
be  sought,  and  expected?  I  confess  I  have 
little  hopes  of  it,  but  upon  one  or  other  of 
the  following  suppositions. 

1.  If  the  Lord  be  graciously  pleased  to  suc- 
ceed the  professed  design  of  this  day's  service, 
and  to  put  forth  that  power  which  accompanied 
his  message  by  Jonah  to  Nineveh,  so  that  a 
general  spirit  of  repentance  and  humiliation 
may  spread  throughout  the  land — If  he  bow 
the  hearts  of  both  rulers  and  people,  to  con- 
fess and  forsake  those  sins  which  haw  awaken- 
ed his  displeasure — If  the  laws  which  concern 
his  honour,  will,  and  worship,  be  speedily  and 
impartially  enforced ;  and  profaneness  and 
immorality  discountenanced  and  suppressed — 
If,  instead  of  trusting  in  fleets  and  armies,  we 
acknowledge  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  look  up 
to  him  for  a  blessing — If  men  fearing  God 
and  hating  covetousness  (Exodus  xviii.  21), 
are  raised  up  to  assist  in  our  councils,  and  to 
stand  forth  in  their  country's  cause  ;  men  who 
will  rely  on  his  guidance  and  protection,  and 
disdain  the  little  arts  and  intrigues  on  which 
alone  short-sighted  politicians  depend  for  the 
success  of  their  measures  :  Should  I  live  to 
see  such  a  happy  internal  change,  I  should 
hope,  that  notwithstanding  our  great  provo- 
cations, the  Lord,  whose  mercies  are  infinite, 
would  be  yet  entreated  for  us  ;  that  he  would 
turn  from  the  fierceness  of  his  anger,  main- 
tain our  tranquillity  at  home,  and,  by  his  wis- 
dom and  his  influence  over  the  hearts  of  men, 


put  an  honourable  and  satisfactory  end  to  the 
unhappy  war  in  which  we  are  engaged. 

2.    However   the  bulk  of  the   nation    may 
determine,  if  the  remnant  who  know  his  name, 
and  have  tasted  of  his  love,  should  be  deeply 
impressed  with  a  concern  for  his  glory,  and 
forsaking  their   little   animosities   and   party- 
interests,  should   unite   in  application  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  and  be  found  in  those  duties 
and   practices  which   their   profession   of  the 
gospel,  and  the  state  of  things  around  them 
require,  there  is  yet  hope.      For   the  prayers 
of    God's  people    have    a   powerful    efficacy. 
The  holy  and  benevolent  importunity  of  A- 
braham  would  have  prevailed  in  favour  even 
of  Sodom,  if  ten  righteous  persons  had  been 
found  in  it,  Gen.  xviii.      When  Sennacherib 
invaded    Judea,     had    over-run    the    greatest 
part  of  the  country,   and  thought  Jerusalem 
would  be  an  easy  conquest,  Hezekiah,  though 
he  took  such  precautions  as   prudence   sug- 
gested,   did    not    defeat  him    by  arms    (Isa. 
xxxvii.),   but  by  prayer.      In  the  prayers  of 
true  believers   is    our    best  visible    resource. 
These  are  the  chariots  and  horsemen  of  Is- 
rael.     United  prayer,    humiliation   of   heart, 
a  mourning  for  sin  in  secret,  and  a  faithful 
testimony  against  it  in  public,  will  more  es- 
sentially contribute  to  the  safety  and  welfare 
of  the  nation,  than  all  our  military  prepara- 
tions without  them.      We  boast  of  our  navy, 
and  it  has  often  proved  by  the  blessing  of  God 
our  bulwark,  but  how  easily  can  he  who  walk- 
eth  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind,  dash  the  best 
appointed  fleet  to  pieces  against  the  rocks,  or 
sink  it  like  lead  in  the  mighty  waters  !     We 
boast   of  our  troops;    but  he  can   easily  cut 
them  off  with  sickness,  give  them  up  to  a  spi- 
rit of  discord,  or  impress  them  with  a  sudden 
terror,  so  that  the  stoutest  heart  shall  tremble, 
and  the  mighty  warriors  turn  pale  and  drop 
their   weapons  !      A  thousand  unforeseen   e- 
vents  and  contingencies  are  always  at  his  dis- 
posal,  to  blast  and  disappoint  the  best  con- 
certed enterprises ;   for  that    the  race   is   not 
necessarily  sure  to  the  swift,   nor  the  battle 
to   the    strong,  is  not   only  asserted    in  the 
scripture,    but  confirmed   by   the  experience 
and    observation   of   all  ages,    Psalm  xxxiii. 
16,    17;   Ecclesiastes   ix.    11.      But  his  peo- 
ple are  precious  in  his  sight,  and  their  pray- 
ers he  will  hear.     Unknown  and  unnoticed  as 
they  are  in  the  world,  he  highly  values  them. 
He  has  redeemed  them  by  his  blood.    He  in- 
habits them  by  his  Spirit.      He  has  prepared 
heaven  for  them,  and  the  earth  itself  is  conti- 
nued for  their  sakes,  and  shall  be  destroyed 
when  they  are  all  removed  from  it.      They  are 
the  light,  the  salt,  the  strength,  and  the  safety 
of  the  nations  among  which  they  are  dispersed, 
Matth.  v.  13,  14.      Except  the  Lord  of  hosts 
had  left  a  small  remnant  of  these  among  us, 
we  should  long  ago  have  been  as  Sodom,  ana 
made  like  unto  Gomorrah,   Isa.  i.  9.      To  bib 


OF  SUCH  A  NATION  AS  THIS. 


831 


attention  to  their  prajers  and  concerns,  I 
doubt  not  the  preservation  of  this  city  at  the 
time  of  the  late  horrible  riots  may  be  ascribed. 
I  wish  I  could  now  recal  to  your  minds  the 
emotions  which  some  of  you  then  felt,  when 
your  countenances  bore  a  strong  impression 
of  your  inward  anxiety.  Those  terrors  came 
upon  you  unexpectedly,  and  though  they  are 
forgotten  by  too  many,  scenes  equally  dis- 
tressing may  present  themselves  before  you 
are  aware.  O  may  he  in  mercy  animate  this 
remnant,  now  to  stand  in  the  breach  as  one 
man,  and  to  wrestle  for  a  sinful  land !  Then 
we  may  at  least  arise  to  the  hope  of  the  Ni- 
nevites,  Who  can  tell  but  the  Lord  may  turn 
from  his  fierce  anger,  that  we  perish  not  ? 
Jonah,  iii.  9. 

Let  me  now  close  with  an  address, 

1.  To  such  of  you  in  this  assembly  as  fear 
the  Lord.  A  part  of  you  are  poor  and  af- 
flicted people,  and  by  your  obscure  situation 
in  life,  are  precluded  from  a  very  distinct 
knowledge  of  the  causes,  the  present  effects, 
and  possible  consequences  of  the  war.  You 
live  in  a  happy  ignorance  of  what  passes  in  the 
world,  and  take  no  part  in  the  disputes  which, 
in  many  places,  ensnare  and  embitter  the  spi- 
rits even  of  professors  of  the  gospel.  Your 
principles  inspire  you  with  sentiments  of  duty 
to  government,  with  the  love  of  peace,  and 
with  a  just  sense  of  the  value  of  your  privi- 
leges, civil  and  religious.  But  though  you 
are  poor,  and  can  serve  your  country  in  no 
other  way,  you  may  serve  it  effectually  by 
your  prayers.  You  have  access  to  the  throne 
of  grace.  Intercede  therefore  for  a  land  that 
lieth  in  wickedness,  be  concerned  for  the  ho- 
nour of  his  name,  for  the  blindness  and  mi- 
sery around  you.  It  may  be  the  Lord  will  be 
entreated  of  you,  and  for  your  sakes,  and  fcr 
the  sake  of  such  as  you,  command  the  destroy- 
ing angel  to  stay  his  hand. 

Those  of  you  who  have  better  opportunity  of 
knowing  the  state  of  our  public  affairs,  have  like- 
wise a  more  extensive  sphere  of  service.  You 
will,  I  hope,  improve  your  influence  in  your 
families  and  connections,  and  by  your  advice 
and  example,  endeavour  to  awaken  all  with 
whom  you  converse  to  join  in  promoting  the 
design  of  this  day's  service.  I  call  upon  all 
who  have  ears  to  hear,  and  eyes  to  see  the 
voice  and  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  the  rich  and 
the  poor,  the  young  and  the  aged,  to  be  faith- 
ful, circumspect,  and  zealous  in  your  several 
stations. 

Should  wrath  be  decreed,  and  there  be  no 
remedy,  at  least  you  shall  prevail  for  your- 
selves. You  shall  know  that  the  Lord  whom 
you  serve  is  a  strong-hold  in  the  day  of  trou- 
ble, and  is  mindful  of  them  who  put  their 
trust  in  him.  You  can  hardly  be  too  much 
alarmed  for  the  nation,  but  for  yourselves  you 
have  no  just  cause  of  fear.  We  are  commis- 
sioned to  say  to  the  righteous,  It  shall  be 
well  w'»h  him,   Isa   iii.  10.      The  Saviour,  to 


whom  you  have  fled  for  refuge  has  all  power 
in  heaven  and  earth.  He  will  keep  you  as 
the  apple  of  his  eye,  and  hide  you  under  the 
shadow  of  his  wings.  He  can  screen  you 
from  evil,  though  thousands  and  ten  thou- 
sands should  suffer  and  fall  around  you.  Or 
if  he  appoints  you  a  share  in  suffering,  he  will 
be  with  you  to  support  and  comfort  you,  and 
to  sanctify  all  your  troubles.  His  word  to  you 
is,  When  you  hear  of  wars  and  rumours  of  wars, 
see  that  ye  be  not  troubled,  Matthew  xxiv.  6. 
Fear  not  them  who,  at  the  most,  can  but  kill 
the  body.  The  light  of  his  countenance  is  suf- 
ficient to  cheer  you  in  the  darkest  hour,  and 
your  best  interest,  your  everlasting  inheritance 
is  safe  beyond  the  reach  of  enemies,  in  a  king- 
dom (how  unlike  the  kingoms  of  the  earth  !) 
which  cannot  be  shaken,  Hebrews  xii.  28. 
Your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God ;  and  when 
Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall  appear,  then 
shall  you  also  appear  with  him  in  glory,  Col. 
iii.  3,  4.  Thither  neither  sin  nor  sorrow  shall 
be  able  to  follow  you.  Then  your  sun  shall 
go  down  no  more,  and  the  days  of  your  mourn- 
ing shall  be  ended.  In  patience  therefore  pos- 
sess your  souls.  Be  not  moved  by  appear 
ances,  but  remember  all  your  concerns  are  in 
the  hands  of  him  who  loved  you,  and  gave 
himself  for  you.  Let  those  who  know  him 
not  tremble  when  he  ariseth  to  judgment,  and 
to  shake  terribly  the  earth ;  but  do  you  sanc- 
tify the  Lord  God  in  your  hearts,  make  him 
your  fear  and  your  dread,  and  he  shall  be  tc 
you  for  a  sanctuary  (Isaiah,  viii.  13,  14); 
and  in  a  little  time  he  will  come  to  receive 
you  to  himself,  and  to  wipe  all  tears  from 
your  eyes. 

2.  But  what  can  I  say  to  the  rest  of  the 
congregation  :  Though  we  are  all  met  in  the 
same  place,  and  outwardly  engaged  in  the 
same  service,  so  that,  to  the  eye  of  man,  we 
may  appear  as  one  people,  animated  with  one 
and  the  same  desires,  the  eye  of  the  Searchct 
of  hearts  sees  and  notices  a  real  and  important 
distinction  amongst  us.  He  draws  with  in- 
fallible certainty  the  line  of  separation.  He 
knows  who  are  truly  on  his  side,  whose  hearts 
are  tender  (2  Chron.  xxxiv.  27),  who  are 
afraid  of  his  judgments,  and  are  mourning 
for  their  own  sins,  and  the  sins  of  the  nation : 
and  he  knows  and  sees  that  too  many  here  have 
neither  his  fear  nor  his  love  abiding  in  them. 
You  may  comply  with  an  outward  form,  and 
abstain  from  a  meal,  but  you  neither  abstain 
from  sin,  nor  desire  to  do  so.  To-day  you 
look  serious,  and  by  your  presence  spem  to 
assent  to  the  confessions  which  have  been 
made,  and  the  prayers  which  have  been  offered 
in  your  hearing.  To-morrow,  I  fear,  will 
shew  that  all  your  semblance  of  seriousness 
was  but  hypocrisy  :  and  that,  though  you  drew 
nigh  to  God  with  your  lips  (Mark  viii.  6), 
your  hearts  were  far  from  him.  But  be  not 
deceived,  God  will  not  be  mocked.  You  have 
contributed   largely  to  swell   the  measure  of 


THE  GUILT  AND  DANGER,  &C. 


832 

our  national  sin ;  herein  you  have  been  hearty 
and  persevering.  Do  not  think  that  the  lip- 
service  of  a  single  day  will  make  any  altera- 
tion either  in  your  state  or  in  your  guilt.  Ra- 
ther that  pretended  humiliation,  by  which  you 
act  towards  God  as  if  you  thought  ha  was  al- 
together such  a  one  as  yourselves  (Ps.  1.  21), 
is  an  aggravation  of  your  wickedness,  and  no 
better  than  affronting  him  to  his  face.  Yet  I 
am  glad  of  an  opportunity  of  speaking  to  you. 
Oh,  that  I  could  prevail  on  you  to  seek  him 
in  earnest,  while  he  is  to  be  found  !  You  can- 
not serve,  or  love,  or  trust  him,  unless  you  be 
born  again.  But  Jesus  is  exalted  to  produce 
this  change  in  the  heart  of  a  sinner,  by  the 
power  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  and  to  give  faith, 
repentance,  and  remission  of  sins.  Could  I 
convince  you  of  this,  the  rest  would  be  easy. 
Then,  feeling  your  wants  and  misery,  you 
would  ask  mercy  of  him,  and  asking  you 
would  surely  receive  :  for  he  has  said,  Him 
that  cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in  nowise  cast 
out,  John  vi.  37.      O  Lord,  do  thou  convince 


eyes,  unstop  the  deaf  ears,  and  turn  the  stony 
heart  into  flesh. 

Till  this  be  done  you  are  neither  fit  to  live, 
nor  fit  to  die.  "What  will  you  do  in  a  day 
of  public  calamity,  should  you  live  to  see  it, 
if  you  should  be  despoiled  of  your  earthly 
comforts,  and  have  no  share  in  the  consolation 
of  the  gospel  ?  But  should  the  Lord  answer 
prayer  and  prolong  our  national  prosperity, 
still  you  must  be  ruined  unless  you  are  saved 
by  grace.  For  what  will  you  do  in  the  hour 
of  death  ?  This  is  inevitable,  and  may,  for 
ought  you  know,  be  very  near.  If  I  could 
assure  you  of  peace  and  wealth  for  the  term 
of  a  long  life,  still  without  the  peace  of 
God,  and  an  interest  in  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ,  you  must  be  miserable  at  the 
last,  and  lie  down  in  sorrow. 

But  O  that  we  may  rather  with  one  consent 
search  and  try  our  ways,  and  turn  to  the  Lord 
from  whom  we  have  so  greatly  revolted.  To  us, 
indeed,  belong  shame  and  confusion  of  face,  but 
to  the  Lord  our  God  belong  mercies  and  for- 
them  by  thine  own  power  !   Open   the  blina  j  giveness,  though  we  have  rebelled  against  him. 


SERMON 


PREACHED  IN  THE 


PARISH  CHURCH  OF  ST.  PAUL'S,  DEPTFORD, 

ON   SUNDAY,   MAY  7,    1786. 


ON  THE  LAMENTED  OCCASION  OF  THE  DEATH  OF 


RICHARD  CONYERS,  L..L.D. 


LATE  RECTOR  OF  THAT  PARISH. 


So,  being  affectionately  desirous  of  you,  we  were  willing  to  have  imparled  unto  you,  not  the 
pel  of  God  only,  but  also  our  own  soulst  because  ye  were  dear  unto  us.      1  Thess  ii.  8. 


■OS- 


An  active  undaunted  zeal  in  the  service  of 
God,  and  a  peculiar  tenderness  of  affection 
.towards  his  people,  were  happily  and  eminent- 
ly combined  in  the  character  of  St.  Paul. 
The  latter  appears  in  none  of  his  writings  to 
greater  advantage  than  in  this  Epistle,  and 
particularly  in  this  chapter.  He  had  been 
made  very  useful  to  the  Thessalonians,  and 
was  greatly  beloved  by  them.  Many  of  them 
had  received  the  gospel  whicli  he  preached, 
not  in  word  only,  but  in  power ;  and  were 
effectually  turned,  by  grace,  from  dead  idols, 
to  serve  the  living  and  the  true  God,  1  Thess.  i. 
5 — 9.  They  likewise  were  very  dear  to  him  ; 
and  being  now  at  a  distance  from  them,  he 
writes  to  confirm  their  faith  and  hope,  to  ani- 
mate and  direct  their  conduct.  And  he  takes 
many  occasions  of  reminding  them,  of  the  pe- 
culiar regard  he  had  borne  them  from  the  first, 
and  how  near  they  still  were  to  his  heart;  that 
bis  love  for  them,  which  had  sweetened  all  his 
labours  and  sufferings  when  he  was  among 
them,  made  him  still  solicitous  for  their  wel- 
fare, and  enabled  him  to  rejoice  on  their  ac- 
count, while  he  was  suffering  bonds  and  im- 
prisonment at  Rome. 

The  Terse  I  have  read  is  one  passage,  out 
of  many  in  the  New  Testament,  where  our 
translation  does  not  fully  come  up  to  the  spi- 
rit and  beauty  of  the  original.  Not  that  it  is 
unfaithful  or  faulty;  it  is  chiefly  owing  to 
tie   difference   of  the    languages.      I    believe 


we  have  no  single  word  in  the  English  tongue, 
to  express  the  energy  of  the  Greek  term  'ftup- 
oftniu,  which  he  uses  in  the  beginning  of  the 
verse  ;  and  therefore  our  translators  have  em- 
ployed two,  "  Being  affectionately  desirous  of 
you."  It  denotes  a  desire  connected  with  the 
finest  and  most  tender  feelings  of  the  heart ; 
not  like  the  degrading  selfish  desire  of  the 
miser  for  gold  ;  but  such  an  emotion  (accord- 
ing to  his  own  beautiful  illustration  in  the  pre- 
ceding verse)  as  that  with  which  the  nurse, 
the  mother  while  a  nurse,  contemplates  her  own 
child.  Being  thus  disposed  towards  you,  "  we 
were  willing" — but  the  Greek  ivhoxHfu*  is 
more  emphatical.  We  esteemed  it  our  plea- 
sure, our  joy,  the  very  height  of  our  wishes, 
•'  to  impart  unto  you  the  gospel  of  God,"  to 
put  you  into  our  own  place,  to  communicate 
to  you,  by  the  gospel,  all  that  comfort  and 
strength,  and  joyful  hope,  which  we  have  re- 
ceived from  it  ourselves.  Yea,  further,  to 
have  imparted  to  you  our  own  souls  also ; 
that  is,  to  devote  our  whole  strength,  time, 
and  study,  to  this  very  end,  to  spend  and  be 
spent  for  you,  and  to  be  ready  to  seal  our  tes- 
timony with  our  blood,  if  this  were  needful  to 
your  establishment,  "  because  ye  are  dear" 
(ayarryroi),  exceedingly  dear  unto  us.  The 
same  word  is  used  (for  the  language  of  mor- 
tals  will  not  afford  a  stronger),  Matth.  iii.  17. 
"  This  is  my  beloved  Son," 

When  I  thought  of  preaching  to  you  thi« 
3  G 


834 


ON  THE  DEATH  OF  Oil.  CON  YENS. 


day,  and  of  mingling  my  tears  with  yours,  tlic 
occasion  suggested  the  choice  I  have  made  of 
a  text ;  and  the  countenances  of  many  of  you 
convince  me  that  I  have  not  made  an  impro- 
per choice.  Another  congregation  might  have 
been  led,  from  what  I  have  already  said,  to 
sympathize  with  the  Thessalonians,  in  what 
they  must  have  felt  when  they  were  deprived 
of  such  a  minister  and  friend  ;  but  your  minds 
are  engaged  by  a  sense  of  your  own  loss  You 
have  reason.  You  acknowledge  and  feel, 
that  if  I  wished  (as  I  certainly  did)  to  select 
a  text  which  might,  while  you  heard  it,  strong- 
ly impress  your  minds  with  the  idea  of  my 
dear  friend,  your  late  pastor,  and  recal  to  your 
remembrance,  his  principles,  actions,  motives, 
and  aims,  how  he  spoke,  and  how  he  lived  a- 
mong  you,  I  could  hardly  have  found  a  pas- 
sage in  the  whole  scripture  more  directly  suit- 
ed to  my  purpose.  I  believe  no  minister  in 
the  present  age,  nor  perhaps  in  any  past 
age,  since  the  apostle's  days,  could  have  a 
better  warrant  than  Dr.  Conyers,  to  adopt 
these  words  of  St.  Paul  as  expressive  of  his 
own  spirit  and  character.  He  had  a  very 
tender  affection  for  you  :  it  was  his  earnest 
desire,  and  his  great  delight,  to  impart  unto 
you  the  gospel  of  God,  because  you  were  dear 
to  him  :  and  it  may  be  said  of  him  with  pecu- 
liar propriety,  that  in  this  service  of  love,  he 
imparted  to  you  his  own  soul,  or  life  also. 
You  have  not  forgotten,  surely  you  never 
can  forget,  the  very  solemn  and  affecting  who  are  convinced  and  enlightened  by  the 
manner    in    which    his    ministry   among  you   Holy  Spirit,   having  a  clearer  knowledge  of 


awaited  him  in  every  place,  to  promote  the 
happiness  of  mankind,  made  him  appear  to 
many  who  were  unacquainted  with  the  mo- 
tives of  his  conduct,  as  though  he  were  beside 
himself.  The  apology  he  offered  was,  the  love 
of  Christ  constraineth  us,  2  Cor.  v.  14.  Till 
he  knew  the  Lord,  he  acted  very  differently. 
While  he  was  under  the  power  of  prejudice 
and  ignorance,  he  verily  thought  that  he  ought 
to  do  many  things  against  the  name  of  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  (Acts  ix.  1  ;  xxvi.  9),  and  therefore 
breathed  out  thveatenings  and  slaughter  against 
his  people.  But  Jesus  whom  he  persecuted  ap- 
peared to  him  in  his  way  to  Damascus,  con- 
vinced him  of  his  sin,  vouchsafed  him  pardon, 
and  commissioned  him  to  preach  the  faith 
which  he  had  laboured  to  destroy,  Gal.  i.  23. 
From  that  time  he  esteemed  himself  a  chief 
sinner  (1  Tim.  i.  15,  16),  and  because  much  had 
been  forgiven  him,  he  loved  much.  He  de- 
voted his  whole  future  life  to  proclaim  the 
glory  and  grace  of  his  Saviour,  and  to  propose 
himself  as  a  pattern  of  his  long-suffering  and 
mercy  to  all  around  him,  that  they  likewise 
might  believe  and  be  saved.  He  was  con- 
scious of  his  Saviour's  just  right  to  reign  in 
every  heart.  And  they  who,  by  receiving  the 
gospel  which  he  preached,  entered  into  his 
views,  and  loved  the  Lord  whom  he  loved,  in- 
stantly became  dear  to  him  for  his  Lord's 
sake,  whether  they  were  Jews  or  Gentiles,  rich 
or  poor,  bond  or  free.      It  is  probable,  that  all 


closed.  Whether,  while  he  was  treating  the 
apostle's  farewell  discourse  to  the  elders  of 
the  church  of  Ephesus  (Acts  xx.  18 — 35), 
which  occurred  in  the  second  lesson  for  the 
day,  he  had  a  presage  that  you  would  see  his 
face  no  more,  we  know  not.  Had  he  been 
certain  of  it,  he  could  not  have  taken  your 
consciences  more  earnestly  to  witness,  that  he 
was  clear  of  your  blood,  and  that  he  had  not 
shunned  to  declare  unto  you  the  whole  coun- 
sel of  God.  However,  the  event  proved, 
that  you  then  saw  and  heard  him  for  the  last 
time.  His  strength  and  life  were  prolonged 
to  finish  his  discourse,  and  to  pronounce  over 
you  his  parting  blessing,  which  he  had  scarcely 
finished,  before  he  was  called  home  to  his 
Master's  joy.  "  Blessed  is  that  servant,  whom 
his  Lord,  when  he  cometh,  shall  find  so  do- 
ing," Luke  xii.  43. 

In  considering  the  grounds  of  the  apostle's 
love  to  the  Thessalonians,  and  the  proofs 
which  he  gave  of  it,  the  subject  will  frequently 
lead  me  to  bear  a  testimony  to  the  grace  of 
God,  vouchsafed  to  your  late  minister,  of 
w  horn  we  may  truly  say,  he  was  a  follower  of 
St  Paul,  as  Paid  also  was  of  Christ,  1  Cor.  xi.  1. 

I.  The  first  ground,  the  original  cause  of 
the  apostle's  love  to  the  brethren,  was  the  love 
of  Christ  His  unwearied  endeavours,  in  the 
midst:   of  the    hardships   and    dangers    which 


the  nature,  number,  and  aggravation  of  their 
own  sins,  than  they  can  possibly  have  of  those 
of  any  other  person,  account  themselves  among 
the  chief  of  sinners,  though  many  of  them 
may  have  been  preserved  from  gross  enormi- 
ties. I  never  heard  that  your  minister  was 
influenced,  like  Saul  of  Tarsus,  by  a  bitter 
persecuting  spirit ;  and  I  believe  his  behaviour 
was  moral  and  exemplary  from  his  youth. 
When  he  entered  upon  his  ministry  at  his  be- 
loved Helmsley,  in  Yorkshire,  he  found  the 
place  ignorant  and  dissolute  to  a  proverb.  At 
this  early  period  of  life,  he  feared  God,  and  he 
hated  wickedness.  With  much  zeal  and  dili- 
gence he  attempted  the  reformation  of  his  pa- 
rish, which  was  of  great  extent,  and  divided 
into  several  hamlets.  He  preached  frequently 
in  them  all.  Fie  encouraged  his  parishioners 
to  come  to  his  house.  Fie  distributed  them 
into  little  companies,  that  he  might  instruct 
them  with  more  convenience :  he  met  them 
in  rotation  by  appointment.  In  this  man- 
ner, long  before  he  fully  understood  that 
gospel  of  God  which  of  late  years  he  so 
successfully  imparted  to  you,  I  have  been  as- 
sured that  he  often  preached  or  exhorted  pub. 
licly,  or  more  privately,  twenty  times  in  a 
week.  These  labours  were  not  in  vain :  a 
great,  visible,  and  almost  universal  reformation 
took  place.       About  the   time  I   am   speaking 


ON  THE  DEATH  OF  DR.   CONYERS. 


ft!  5 


of,  a  clergyman  in  his  neighbourhood  made 
very  honourable  mention  of  Dr.  Conyers,  in  a 
letter  to  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian 
Knowledge  (which  I  have  seen  in  print),  as 
perhaps  the  most  exemplary,  indefatigable,  and 
successful  parochial  minister  in  the  kingdom ; 
yet  in  the  midst  of  applause  and  apparent  suc- 
cess, he  was  far  from  being  satisfied  with  him- 
self. He  did  what  he  could  .  he  did  more 
than  most  others;  but  he  felt  there  was  some- 
thing still  wanting,  though  for  a  time  he  knew 
not  what ;  but  he  was  desirous  to  know  :  he 
studied  the  scriptures,  and  he  prayed  to  the 
Father  of  lights.  They  who  thus  seek  shall 
surely  find.  Important  consequences  often 
follow  from  a  sudden  involuntary  turn  of 
thought.  One  day  an  expression  of  St  Paul's, 
"  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ"  (Ephes. 
iii.  8),  engaged  his  attention.  He  had  often 
read  the  passage,  but  never  noticed  the  word 
■unsearchable  before.  The  gospel,  in  his  view 
of  it,  bad  appeared  plain,  and  within  his  com- 
prehension ;  but  the  apostle  spoke  of  it  as 
containing  something  that  was  unsearchable. 
A  conclusion  therefore  forced  itself  upon  him, 
that  the  idea  he  had  hitherto  affixed  to  the 
word  gosjud,  could  not  be  the  same  with  that 
of  the  apostle.  From  this  beginning  he  was 
soon  led  to  perceive,  that  his  whole  scheme 
was  essentially  defective,  that  his  people,  how- 
ever outwardly  reformed,  were  not  converted. 
— He  now  felt  himself  a  sinner,  and  felt  his 
need  of  faith  in  a  Saviour,  in  a  manner  he  had 
never  done  before.  Thus  he  was  brought 
with  the  apostle,  to  account  his  former  gain 
but  loss  :  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ 
opened  to  his  mind,  he  received  power  to  be- 
lieve, his  perplexities  were  removed,  and  he 
rejoiced  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glo- 
ry. He  presently  told  his  people,  with  that 
amiable  simplicity  which  so  strongly  marked 
his  character,  that  though  he  had  endeavoured 
to  shew  them  the  way  of  salvation,  he  had 
misled  them  ;  that  what  both  he  and  they  had 
been  building  was  not  upon  the  right  founda- 
tion. He  from  that  time  preached  Jesus 
Christ,  and  him  crucified  (1  Cor.  ii.  2.  i.  30), 
as  the  only  ground  of  hope  for  sinners,  and 
the  only  source  from  whence  they  could  derive 
wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption. The  Lord  so  blessed  his  word, 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  people  who  were 
most  attached  to  him  soon  adopted  his  views, 
and  ma:iy  more  were  successively  added  to 
them.  This  change  in  his  sentiments  and 
manner  of  preaching,  though  it  added  efficacy 
to  his  moral  instructions,  and  endeared  him 
to  his  people  at  home,  lost  him  much  of  that 
high  estimation  in  which  he  had  been  held 
abroad.  But  he  knew  the  gospel  of  God  too 
well  to  be  ashamed  of  it :  whatever  disgrace 
he  suffered  in  such  a  cause,  he  could  bear  with 
patience.  He  loved  his  people  and  was  be- 
loved by  them ;  and  their  advance  in  comfort 
JUid  holiness  made  him  ample  compensation 


for  the  unkindness  of  those  who  knew  not 
what  they  did.  And  thus,  when  the  provi- 
dence of  God  removed  him  hither,  the  con- 
straining love  of  Christ,  which  had  long  been 
the  great  principle  of  his  conduct,  disposed 
him  to  love  you  before  he  saw  you ;  and  he 
came  among  you  with  an  earnest  desire  to  im- 
part unto  you  the  gospel  of  God,  and  his  own 
soul  also,  because  from  the  moment  that  he 
accepted  the  charge  over  you,  he  was  affec- 
tionately desirous  of  you. 

The  regard  of  the  apostle  to  the  Thessalo- 
nians  was  undoubtedly  heightened  in  proportion 
as  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  give  him  seals  to  his 
ministry  among  them.  And  the  like  cause  had 
the  like  effect  here.  The  mutual  affection 
that  subsists  between  a  faithful  minister  and 
those  to  whom  the  Lord  makes  him  useful,  is 
of  a  peculiar  kind,  and  not  easily  described 
I  trust  he  looked  upon  many  of  you  with  joy 
as  his  crown  and  glory  in  the  day  of  Chris; 
(1  Thess.  ii.  19);  and  you,  I  doubt  not, 
looked  on  him  with  respect  and  gratitude,  as 
the  instrument  of  God  in  saving  your  souls, 
in  calling  you  out  of  darkness  into  marvellous 
light.  What  were  some  of  you  doing,  and 
whither  were  you  going,  when  God  sent  you, 
by  him,  the  word  of  salvation  ?  And  what  a 
happy  change  have  you  since  experienced? 
You  were  then  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins, 
without  Christ,  and  therefore  without  hope, 
and  without  God  in  the  world,  Ephes.  ii.  1, 
12,  13.  But  now  you,  who  were  some  time 
afar  off,  are  made  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ. 
Now  being  freed  from  the  slavery  of  sin,  you 
have  your  fruit  unto  holiness,  and  the  end 
everlasting  life,  Rom.  vi.  22.  You  have  now 
access  to  God,  communion  with  him,  an  in- 
terest in  his  promises,  and  a  good  hope  through 
grace  that  though  your  minister  be  taken  from 
you,  he  who  by  him  began  a  good  work  in 
you,  will  perform  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus 
Christ,  Phil,  i,  6.  Let  this  thought  mode- 
rate your  grief.  You  will  see  the  face  of  your 
minister  no  more  here;  but  you  will  mett 
him  again,  ere  long  before  the  throne  of  God 
and  the  Lamb.  Then  all  tears  will  be  for 
ever  wiped  away. 

Again,  during  the  apostle's  continuance  with 
the  Thessalonians,  he  and  they  had  enjoyed 
precious  seasons  of  worship  together,  and  of 
mutual  communion  with  God,  in  the  ord:- 
nances  of  his  appointment.  Wherever  two  or 
three  are  met  in  the  Lord's  name  (Matth.  xviii, 
20),  he  is  mindful  of  his  promise,  and  does 
manifest  himself  unto  them  as  he  does  not  un- 
to the  world  (John  xiv.  22);  and  these  tastes  of 
his  loving-kindness  wonderfully  soften,  spiri- 
tualize, and  enlarge  their  affections,  and  knit 
them  closer  and  closer  together  in  love.  And 
though  that  power  and  unction  from  on  high, 
which  makes  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel 
truly  delightful,  and  an  hour  so  employed 
preferable  to  a  thousand  of  the  world's  hours 
(Psal.  lxxxiv.   10),  does  not  altogether  depend 


836 


ON 


upon  the  gifts,  or  even  upon  the  grace  of  the 
minister,  yet  it  is  doubtless  a  singular  and  high 
privilege,  to  be  under  the  care  of  a  wise  and 
tender  shepherd,  of  one  who  in  the  school  of 
experience  has  acquired  the  tongue  of  the 
learned  (Isa.  1.  4),  who  knows  how  to  adapt 
himself  to  the  occasions  of  the  people,  to  give 
every  one  their  proper  portion,  to  obviate  their 
doubts,  relieve  their  fears,  point  out  their  dan- 
gers, and  to  speak  a  word  in  season  to  them 
that  are  weary.  Be  thankful  that  you  were 
long  favoured  with  such  an  able  minister  of 
the  New  Testament.  As  a  public  preacher,  he 
may  perhaps  have  left  some  equals  behind  him. 
But  lie  had  at  Deptford,  as  formerly  at  Helms- 
ley,  stated  seasons,  when  he  expounded  the 
scriptures  to  a  smaller  auditory  in  his  house, 
or  within  his  own  premises.  He  supposed 
that  on  these  occasions  few  persons  were  pre- 
sent but  those  who  either  possessed  the  peace 
of  the  gospel,  or  were  sincerely  seeking  it. 
The  simplicity  and  meekness  of  wisdom  with 
which,  as  a  father  among  his  children,  he  ex- 
horted, comforted,  and  instructed  these  his 
more  select  hearers,  seemed  peculiar  to  him- 
self. In  this  branch  of  his  ministerial  office 
I  always  thought  him  unequalled  and  inimi- 
table. How  often  have  many  of  you  had  rea- 
son to  say,  at  such  seasons,  "  Did  not  our 
hearts  burn  within  us,  while  he  talked  with 
us,  and  while  he  opened  to  us  the  scriptures  ?" 
Luke  xxiv.  32.  And  the  great  attention  with 
which  he  was  heard,  and  the  proofs  he  saw 
that  his  labours  were  not  in  vain,  rendered  him 
still  more  affectionately  desirous  towards  you. 
For,  lastly,  as  one  great  reason  why  the  a- 
postle  loved  the  Thessalonians  was,  that  they 
were  not  only  hearers,  but  doers  of  the  word, 
and  he  could  speak  of  them  with  pleasure, 
and  propose  them  to  others  as  examples  of 
the  efficacy  and  tendency  of  the  gospel  which 
he  preached  (1  Thess.  i.  8,  9)  ;  so  I  trust,  yea 
I  know,  that  some  of  you  were  exceedingly 
dear  to  your  late  minister  on  this  account  also. 
He  could  say  of  you  and  to  you,  "  Now  we 
live,  if  ye  stand  fast  in  the  Lord,"  1  Thess. 
iii.  8.  He  had  no  greater  joy  than  to  see  his 
children  walk  in  the  truth  (3  John  4),  and  de- 
monstrate by  their  conduct,  that  the  gospel 
which  they  professed  was  a  doctrine  according 
to  godliness.  Those  of  you  who  gave  him  this 
pleasure,  may,  now  he  is  gone,  praise  God  for 
the  grace  which  enabled  you  to  administer  to 
the  comfort  of  one  who  so  tenderly  watched 
over  your  souls.  He  was  proportionably  af- 
fected with  pungent  grief,  when  any  whom  he 
loved  acted  unsuitably  to  their  profession, 
though  they,  perhaps,  seldom  knew  what  their 
unfaithfulness  cost  him.  In  his  preaching  he 
bore  a  strenuous  and  faithful  testimony  a- 
gainst  every  evil,  not  only  against  gross  sins, 
but  against  every  deviation,  whether  in  tem- 
per or  practice,  from  the  spirit  and  rule  of  the 
gospel.      But  there  was  something  in  his  na  • 


fLIE  DEATH  OF  DR.   CONYEIIS. 

tural  disposition  which  made  it  difficult  for 
him  to  expostulate  plainly  and  strongly  in  pri- 
vate.—  In  private,  he  could  not  easily  reprove. 
But  he  could  mourn,  he  could  wear  out  the 
day  without  pleasure,  and  the  night  without 
rest,  in  bemoaning  those  who  had  neither  com. 
passion  for  him  nor  for  themselves.  I  can  af- 
firm this  of  him,  from  instances  which  have 
come  to  my  own  knowledge.  Perhaps  some 
person  present  may  think,  Surely  the  preacher 
has  heard  of  me,  and  means  to  point  me  out 
to  the  notice  of  the  congregation.  No  ;  it  is 
your  own  conscience  points  you  out,  I  know 
you  not.  But  is  it  so,  indeed,  that  you  broke 
your  minister's  rest,  and  added  to  his  troubles 
by  your  miscarriages  ?  You  do  well  to  weep  : 
may  God  give  you  repentance  not  to  be  re- 
pented of!  2  Cor.  vii.  10.  Will  not  his  la- 
mented and  sudden  death  recal  to  your  re- 
membrance how  earnestly  he  warned  you,  and 
pleaded  with  you,  while  he  was  living,  and 
rouse  you  from  that  dangerous  security  into 
which  you  have  been  seduced  by  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  sin  ? 

II.  I  have,  in  a  great  measure,  anticipated 
what  I  purposed  to  mention  under  a  second 
head— the  proofs  which  he  gave,  that  the  af- 
fection he  professed  for  his  people  was  cordial 
and  sincere.  But  the  subject  is  not  exhaust- 
ed :  St.  Paul  evidenced  his  love  to  the  Thes- 
salonians by  imparting  to  them  the  gospel  of 
God,  and  by  his  unwearied  zeal  and  diligence 
in  their  service,  in  defiance  of  the  difficulties 
and  obstacles  which  always  attended  his  la- 
bours. By  the  strong  expression,  that  he  was 
ready  to  impart  unto  them  his  own  soul  also, 
he  intimates  both  the  energy  of  his  address, 
and  his  fixed  determination  to  venture  every 
consequence  in  their  bervice. 

In  another  place,  the  apostle,  speaking  of 
the  doctrine  which  he  preached,  says,  "  accor- 
ding to  my  gospel,"  Horn.  ii.  16.  It  was  not 
a  point  of  speculation  with  him  ;  he  possessed 
it.  He  had  experienced  the  power  of  it ;  it 
was  the  spring  of  his  conduct,  the  source  of 
his  comfort,  and  was  therefore  properly  his 
own.  Here  he  styles  it  the  "  gospel  of  God," 
perhaps  to  distinguish  it  from  a  pretended 
gospel,  such  as  the  Galatians  received  from 
false  teachers,  which  he  calls  "  another  gospel" 
(Gal.  i.  6,  7),  and  which  was  indeed  not  the 
gospel.  The  true  gospel  is  of  God.  It  is 
the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God,  1  Tim. 
i.  II.  From  whence  we  infer  its  certainty, 
authority,  and  importance.  It  is  worthy  of 
all  acceptation  :  it  is  able  to  make  us  wise 
unto  salvation,  if  cordially  embraced  (2  Tim. 
iii.  15)  ;  and  to  neglect  it,  is  to  refuse  life,  to 
choose  death,  to  resolve  to  be  miserable,  and 
to  affront  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God. 
When  Paul  preached  this  gospel  at  Thessa- 
lonica,  it  awakened  the  spirit  of  envy,  oppo- 
sition, and  clamour,  in  many  who  believed 
not ;  but  they  who  received  it,  experienced  it 


ON  THE  DEATH   Oi>   DR.   CONYERS. 


837 


to  be  the  power  of  God,   to  the  salvation  of,  even  what  you  have  only  thought,  and  which, 


their  souls 

This  gospel  your  late  minister  preached  a- 
mong  you,  and,  I  trust,  effectually  imparted 
to  many  of  you,  as  an  instrument  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  He  owed  all  his  success,  and  you  de- 
rive all  the  light  and  comfort  you  obtained  un- 
der his  instruction,  to  the  doctrine  which  he  de- 
livered. It  cannot  with  reason  be  expected, 
that  God  will  afford  the  seal  of  his  blessing  to 
any  scheme  of  doctrine  but  his  own  truth.  A 
preacher  may  be  of  a  good  character  in  civil 
life,  and  diligent  in  his  office,  and  lie  may  have 
some  success  in  suppressing  outward  wicked- 
ness, though  he  does  not  preach  the  gospel  of 
God,  but  he  will  not  reach  the  heart  of  his 
people,  wean  them  from  their  secret  sins,  and 
win  them  to  the  love  and  practice  of  universal 
holiness,  unless  he  preaches  St.  Paul's  gos- 
pel. I  hope  this  congregation  has  been  better 
taught,  than  to  receive  every  thing  indiscri- 
minately for  truth  because  it  is  spoken  from  a 
pulpit.  You  have  the  scriptures  in  your  hands, 
and  by  this  standard  you  are  warranted,  yea, 
commanded,  to  try  the  spirits  (1  John  iv.  1), 
because  many  false  prophets  and  pretended 
teachers  are  abroad  in  the  world  .  however,  I 
will  take  the  liberty  to  remind  you  of  some 
plain  and  sure  marks  by  which  you  will  be 
able  to  distinguish  a  faithful  minister  of  the 
true  gospel. 

He  will  preach  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  and 
propose  him  as  the  only  foundation  of  a  sin- 
ner's hope,  the  only  object  of  faith,  the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  life.  He  will  endeavour  to 
convince  you  of  your  need  of  mercy,  and  then 
direct  your  thoughts  to  the  atonement  which 
Christ  made  for  sin,  by  his  bloody  death  upon 
the  cross.  He  will  give  you  no  encourage- 
ment to  think  you  can  do  any  thing  well 
pleasing  to  God  till  you  yourselves  are  first 
made  acceptable  in  the  beloved  ;  nor  until  his 
love  is  the  motive  of  your  obedience,  and  your 
dependence  is  fixed  upon  the  promised  com- 
munications of  strength  and  grace  from  his 
fulness. 

By  a  manifestation  of  the  truth,  he  will 
commend  himself  to  your  consciences  in  the 
sight  of  God,  2  Cor.  iv.  2.  He  will  not  a- 
muse  you  with  the  discussion  of  some  curious 
point,  in  which  you  have  little  immediate  in- 
terest, or  some  cold  general  common-place 
subject.  Many  sermons,  ingenious  in  their 
kind,  may  be  compared  to  a  letter  put  into  the 
post-office  without  a  direction.  It  is  address- 
ed to  no  body,  it  is  owned  by-  no  body  j  and 
if  a  hundred  people  were  to  read  it,  not  one  of 
them  would  think  himself  concerned  in  the 
contents.  But  the  word  of  the  gospel,  when 
faithfully  dispensed,  searches  the  heart  (Heb. 
iv.  12),  and  tries  the  reins.  You  will  wonder 
that  the  preacher,  who  perhaps  is  a  stranger 
to   you,   can   so  exactly  suit  himself  to   your 


possibly,  you  had  forgotten.  So  that  if  you 
are  going  on  in  your  sins,  or  are  vailed  under 
a  cloak  of  hypocrisy,  you  will  be  ready  to 
start,  and  think  he  is  about  to  expose  you 
publicly.  Or  if  you  are  a  mourner  in  Zion, 
distressed  with  fear  and  temptation,  beset  with 
trouble,  and  know  not  which  way  to  turn, 
that  tongue  of  the  learned,  which  he  has  ac- 
quired in  the  school  of  experience,  will  fre- 
quently lead  him,  while  speaking  from  his  own 
feelings,  to  meet  you  with  a  word  in  season, 
so  exactly  suited  to  your  case,  that  if  you  had 
told  him  the  state  of  your  mind,  and  every 
particular  of  your  situation  beforehand,  he 
could  not  have  described  them  better.  Such 
is  the  correspondence  between  the  word  of 
God  and  the  heart  of  man  ;  and  such  is  the 
similarity  of  the  workings  of  the  human  heart 
in  similar  circumstances,  that  the  preacher 
who  is  enlightened  by  the  scripture,  and  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  while  he  does  little  more  than 
relate  the  exercises  of  his  own  mind,  appears 
to  many  of  his  hearers  to  express  their  hopes 
and  fears,  their  joys  and  sorrows,  better  than 
they  could  have  expressed  them  to  him.  Thus 
it  is  that  the  secrets  of  the  heart  are  made  ma- 
nifest (1  Cor.  xiv.  25),  by  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel.  All  other  preaching,  compared  witli 
this,  is  lifeless,  distant,  and  unaffecting,  little 
more  than  declamation  ;  but  the  words  of  a 
scribe  (Matth.  xiii.  52),  well  instructed  in  the 
mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  come  home 
to  our  own  business  and  bosoms,  and  con- 
strain many  to  say,  with  the  woman  of  Sama- 
ria, "  Come  and  see  a  man  which  told  me  all 
things  that  ever  I  did,"  John  iv.  29. 

A  true  servant  of  God  in  the  gospel  may 
likewise  be  known,  at  least  in  the  place  where 
he  resides,  or  statedly  labours,  by  a  certain 
mixed  kind  of  character,  which  he  will  receive 
from  public  report.  The  general  tenor  of  his 
conduct  will  be  such,  that  the  feeble  attempts 
of  slander  to  vilify  him,  will  be  gradually  sup- 
pressed, and  they  who  would  speak  evil  of 
him,  be  put  to  shame  and  to  silence,  by  his 
good  conversation  in  Christ,  1  Pet.  iii.  16. 
But  though  his  behaviour  be  unimpeachable 
and  exemplary,  his  principles  will  be  misun- 
derstood and  misrepresented  ;  and  by  differ- 
ent persons  (sometimes  by  the  same  persons), 
very  different  and  inconsistent  things  will  be 
laid  to  his  charge.  He  will  often  be  deemed 
rigid,  precise,  uncharitable,  enjoining  a  strict, 
ness  in  life  and  manners  to  the  extreme ;  so 
that,  to  adopt  his  views,  and  to  follow  his 
rules,  a  person  must  bid  farewell  to  comfort, 
and  almost  renounce  society  ;  while  in  the 
same  day,  and  almost  in  the  same  breath,  he 
will  be  represented  as  preaching  doctrines 
which,  if  generally  received,  would  be  unfav. 
ourable  to  good  morals,  and  promote  licen- 
tiousness.     For   the  natural  heart  has  a  dis- 


ease.     He  will  sometimes   bring  to  your  re- j  like  equally  to  the  grace  and  to  the  holiness 
meuibrance   what  you  have  done  or  said,  or  of  the  gospel.      Salvation  by  faith  in  the  blooJ 


838 


ON   THE  DEATH  OF  DR.   CONYEItS. 


of  Jesus  is  thought  too  easy,  and  affording 
too  much  encouragement  to  the  unworthy  ; 
and  the  simple  grateful  obedience  which  cha- 
racterizes those  who  seek  salvation  in  this  way, 
and  in  no  other,  is  thought  too  strict  and  scru- 
pulous, and  carrying  of  things  a  great  deal  too 
far.  They  who  are  of  the  world,  who  speak  to 
the  world,  and  whom  the  world  is  willing  to 
hear,  give  no  offence,  and  therefore  no  clamour 
is  excited  against  them  ;  hut  a  faithful  minister 
will  not  be  exposed  to  the  woe  (Luke  vi.  26), 
denounced  against  those  of  whom  all  men  speak 
favourably.  His  infirmities  and  mistakes  (for 
he  is  not  perfect)  will  be  eagerly  noticed  and 
exaggerated ;  and  if  no  just  fault  can  be 
found,  he  must  at  least  expect  to  be  spoken  of 
as  an  enthusiast,  or  branded  by  some  name  to 
which  ignorance  and  prejudice  have  affixed  a 
contumelious  sense. 

Such  a  one  was  your  late  minister.  Like 
the  apostle,  he  laboured  to  impart  to  his  hear- 
ers the  gospel  of  God  :  like  him,  he  was  un- 
moved by  the  opposition  of  those  who  knew 
not  what  they  did,  and  ready  to  endure  all 
things  for  the  elect's  sake,  that  they  might  be 
saved,  2  Tim.  ii.  10.  He  loved  you,  and  was 
willing  to  impart  to  you  his  own  soul  also. 
His  spirit  was  willing ;  he  did  much,  and 
wished  he  could  have  done  more. 

It  was  indeed  a  surprise  to  many  who  were 
not  intimately  acquainted  with  him,  that  he 
did  no  more.  And  it  may  be  thought  by 
some  persons,  that  as,  by  his  countenance,  he 
seemed  to  enjoy  a  tolerable  share  of  health, 
his  public  services  were  hardly  answerable  to 
the  zeal  of  a  man  who  was  ready  to  pour  out 
his  very  life  for  the  good  of  eouIs.  He  preach- 
ed but  once  a-week  in  his  parish  church  ;  and 
no  arguments,  persuasions,  or  entreaties,  could 
prevail  on  him  to  enter  any  pulpit  but  his 
own.  Even  when  he  has  been  expressly  no- 
minated by  his  diocesan  to  preach  in  another 
church,  he  has  declined  the  service,  and  disap- 
pointed crowded  auditories  who  wished  to 
hear  him.  The  benefits  of  his  singular  abili- 
ties were  therefore  confined  to  his  own  con- 
gregations. And  it  was  with  the  greatest  dif- 
ficulty, and  but  seldom,  that  his  most  intimate 
lriends  could  engage  him  to  lead  in  family- 
worship,  where  he  has  been  occasionally  pre- 
sent. I  have  frequently  mentioned  to  him 
my  concern  that  the  sphere  of  his  usefulness 
should  be  so  much  limited  ;  and  he  lamented 
it  himself,  but  his  hindrance  was  constitutional 
and  invincible.  He  had  a  continued  hurry 
and  flutter  upon  his  spirits,  the  effects  of  which 
were  unaccountable  to  those  who  knew  not 
the  cause.  Taken  in  different  views,  he  might 
be  considered  as  very  happy  or  very  uncom- 
fortable at  the  same  instant.  In  the  most  im- 
portant sense,  he  was  a  happy  man.  He  had 
peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  enjoyed  much  of  the  light  of  his  coun- 
tenance, and  had  no  perplexing  doubts  re- 
specting eithei  his  acceptance  in  the  Beloved, 


or  his  perseverance  in  grace.  Yet,  through 
the  agitation  of  his  spirits,  he  spent  his  days, 
and  almost  every  hour,  in  trepidation  and  a- 
larm.  The  &lig  test  incidents  were  sufficient 
to  fill  him  with  fears,  which,  though  he  knew 
to  be  groundless,  he  could  not  overcome.  lint 
upon  no  occasions  did  he  suffer  more  from 
these  painful  feelings,  than  when  he  had  pub- 
lic preaching  in  prospect.  When  he  met  his 
people  at  home,  he  usually  found  pleasure  and 
liberty,  unless  he  observed  some  new  faces. 
But  the  sight  of  a  stranger,  especially  if  he 
knew  or  suspected  him  to  be  a  minister,  would 
sometimes  distress  him  greatly,  and  almost 
disable  him  from  speaking.  It  may  seem 
very  extraordinary,  that  a  man  of  the  first  abi- , 
lities  as  a  preacher,  highly  respected,  and 
honoured  with  eminent  usefulness,  should  be 
intimidated  by  the  presence  of  those  who  were 
much  his  inferiors.  But  such  was  his  burden, 
which  neither  reflection  nor  resolution  could 
remove.  What  he  often  suffered  before  he 
ascended  this  pulpit,  and  when  he  looked 
round  upon  a  large  congregation,  and  knew 
not  how  many  such  persons  as  he  was  a- 
fraid  of  might  be  among  them,  gave  hirn  a 
right  to  say,  in  a  singular  sense,  that  in  im- 
parting the  gospel  of  God  to  you,  he  imparted 
his  own  soul  also.  Perhaps  there  have  been 
martyrs,  who  approached  the  rack  or  the  stake 
with  less  distressing  sensations,  than  he  has 
frequently  felt  when  about  to  enter  upon  his 
otherwise  delightful  work.  Yet,  because  you 
were  the  people  of  his  immediate  charge,  and 
dear  to  him,  he  seldom  declined  your  service 
on  the  forenoon  of  the  Lord's  day,  if  he  was 
well.  But  this,  I  believe,  was  the  reason, 
that  at  other  times,  instead  of  preaching  in 
the  church,  he  confined  himself  to  a  place 
where  few,  comparatively,  could  attend  him. 
I  do  not  know,  that  while  he  lived  at  Dept- 
ford,  he  ever  preached  publicly  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood, excepting  once,  when  he  accepted 
an  appointment,  to  preach  at  the  archdeacon's 
Visitation  at  Dartford.  But  he  kept  his  in- 
tention a  secret  in  his  own  breast ;  and  did 
not  mention  it  to  his  nearest  friends  ;  lest  a 
multitude  should  be  drawn  to  hear  him.  And 
he  told  me  himself,  that  from  the  hour  he 
stood  engaged,  which  was  several  weeks  before 
the  time,  he  could  scarcely  think  of  any  thing 
else ;  and  that  when  the  day  arrived,  his 
spirits  were  so  greatly  agitated,  that  for  some 
minutes  after  he  was  in  the  pulpit,  he  was  de- 
prived of  his  eye-sight.  But  the  Lord  whom 
he  served,  supported  him  ;  and  he  was,  upon 
the  whole,  carried  comfortably  through  the 
service. 

If  we  speak  of  death  as  the  moment  of  se- 
paration between  soul  and  body,  he  was  not 
afraid  of  it;  for  he  knew  whom  he  believed  ; 
and  that  to  depart  and  be  with  his  Lord,  was 
(*o\\u>  ftaWov  x£M7<ri)  unspeakably  preferable 
to  any  thing  that  could  be  enjoyed  in  the  pre- 
sent life,  Phil.  i.  23.      But  though  not  afraid 


ON   THE   DEATH    OF   DR.    CONYERS. 


839 


of  death,  he  was  often  afraid  of  dying.  His 
apprehensions  of  the  possihle  forerunners  and 
concomitants  of  a  dying  hour,  frequently  made 
a  painful  impression  upon  his  spirits.  Upon 
this  account,  they  who  loved  him,  have  reason 
to  be  reconciled  to  the  suddenness  of  his  re- 
moval. His  was  an  honourable  dismission 
indeed  !  The  messenger  that  called  him  home, 
found  him  actually  and  actively  employed  in 
his  Master's  service,  with  his  loins  girded  up, 
and  his  lamp  burning,  Luke  xii.  35.  It  was 
likewise  a  gracious  condescension  to  his  infir- 
mity, and  saved  him  from  an  experience  of 
any  of  those  conflicts,  which  he  could  seldom 
think  of  without  anxiety  and  a  degree  of  an- 
guish. 

Upon  the  whole,  I  may  say  of  Dr.  Conyers, 
without  just  fear  of  contradiction,  he  was  a 
burning  and  a  shining  light,  John  v.  35. 
Many  of  you  rejoiced  in  his  light;  and  now, 
the  man  who  cared  for  your  souls,  who  was  the 
minister  of  God  to  you  for  good,  is  taken  from 
you,  your  sorrow  is  proportionable.  Yet,  if 
you  truly  entered  into  his  views,  you  are  not 
destitute.  The  Saviour  whom  he  preached, 
and  in  whom  ye  have  believed,  is  still  with 
you.  The  stream  at  which  you  have  often 
drank,  and  found  refreshment,  is  dried  up  ; 
but  the  fountain  of  living  waters,  from  whence 
it  was  derived,  is  always  full,  and  always  flow- 
ing. Whoever  dies,  Jesus  lives;  the  residue 
of  the  Spirit  is  with  him,  and  he  is  at  no  loss 
for  means  to  communicate  his  blessings  to 
those  who  wait  upon  him  :  yea,  under  his 
management,  even  losses  prove  gains,  and  ap- 
parent hindrances  work  to  the  help  and  fur 
therance  of  faith.  Be  thankful  that  you  were 
so  long  favoured  with  such  a  minister ;  and  re- 
joice that  though  you  can  see  him  no  more  in 
this  world,  you  shall  meet  him  again  in  the 


world  of  light.  In  the  meantime  (need  I  say) 
respect  and  honour  his  memory ;  and  the 
most  effectual  manner  by  which  you  can  shew 
your  regard  to  him,  will  be,  by  walking  as  he 
walked,  and  maintaining  a  conversation  be- 
coming the  gospel  (Phil.  i.  27),  which  he  so 
affectionately  and  faithfully  imparted  to  you. 

But  there  are,  I  fear,  amongst  you,  those 
who  acounted  the  joyful  sound  of  the  gospel, 
which  he  proclaimed,  a  burden,  have  been 
wearied  by  his  earnest  endeavours  to  pluck 
you  as  brands  from  the  burning,  and  have 
often  wished  to  be  freed  from  his  importunity. 
Now  you  have  your  wishes.  Your  faithful 
monitor  is  removed.  He  will  alarm  your 
consciences,  he  will  offend  your  pride  no 
more.  But  if,  after  slighting  his  labours  of  love 
while  he  lived,  you  remain  likewise  unaffected 
by  his  death,  you  are  much  more  to  be  pitied 
than  those  who  lament  his  removal.  Alas  ' 
when  numbers  in  different  and  distant  places, 
who  never  saw  you,  are  concerned  for  you, 
will  you  not  yet  be  concerned  for  yourselves  ? 
Tremble,  lest  you  should  have  cause  to  say, 
"  the  harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended, 
but  we  are  not  saved  !"  Jer.  viii.  20.  You 
have  had  your  opportunity,  a  day  of  grace,  in 
which  the  things  pertaining  to  your  peace 
have  been  set  before  you.  The  Lord  forbid 
that  the  following  words  should  be  applicable 
to  you  :  "  but  now  they  are  hidden  from  your 
eyes !"  Luke  xix.  42.  The  Saviour,  whom 
vou  have  too  long  slighted,  is  now  once  more 
preached  to  you.  He  is  still  upon  a  throne 
of  grace,  able  and  willing  to  save  to  the  utter- 
most all  who  come  unto  God  by  him.  But 
hereafter  he  will  appear  on  a  throne  of  judg- 
ment, taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know 
not  God,  and  obey  not  his  gospel,  2  Thess, 
i.  8 


THE  BEST  WISDOM; 

A 

SERMON 

PREACHED  IN  THE 

PARISH  CHURCH  OF  ST  MARY  WOOLNOTH, 

ON  WEDNESDAY,  NOVEMBER  21,    1787, 

THE  DAY  OF  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF  THE  SOCIETY  FOB  PROMOTING  RELIGIOUS  KNOWLEDGE 

AMONG  THE  POOR. 


■He  that  winneth  souls  is  wise.    Provxrbs,  xi.  50 


Only  he,  who  redeemed  the  soul  by  his  blood, 
is  able  effectually  to  win  it  to  himself.  The 
work  is  his,  and  they  who  know  him  will  ren- 
der the  praise  to  him  alone.  But  in  this  re- 
spect, as  in  many  others,  there  is  an  analogy 
between  the  natural  and  the  moral  world.  In 
both,  he  displays  his  power  and  executes  his 
purposes  by  an  instituted  course  of  means  and 
instruments.  In  both,  he  often  so  conceals 
his  operations  under  the  vail  of  second  causes, 
that  to  a  common  and  inattentive  eye,  he 
seems  to  do  nothing,  when  in  reality  he  does 
all.  The  manna  with  which  he  fed  Israel  in 
the  wilderness,  though  more  immediately  and 
visibly,  was  not  more  certainly  the  effect  and 
proof  of  his  providence  and  goodness,  than 
the  bread  by  which  we  live.  It  is  he  who 
giveth  the  earth  virtue  to  produce  corn  (Psalm 
civ.  14);  the  discretion  of  the  husbandman 
who  prepareth  the  ground  and  soweth  the 
seed  is  from  him  (Is.  xxviii.  24 — 29):  and 
the  influence  of  the  sun  and  the  rain,  so  ne- 
cessary to  ripen  the  grain,  and  to  clothe  the 
fields  with  plenty  in  the  season  of  harvest 
(Matth.  v.  43),  is  the  influence  of  him  who 
worketh  all  in  all.  In  this  process,  the  bles- 
sing which  secures  the  desired  event,  is  wholly 
from  the  Lord,  though  the  labour  of  man  and 

3  use  of  means  are  indispensable,  because  his 

^ointment  has  made  them  so. 

Thus  in  the  great  concern  of  winning  souls, 

>ugh  God  whose  thoughts  and  ways  are  as 

above  ours,  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than 

earth,  may,  sometimes,  as  in  the  instance 

the  apostle  Paul    (Acts  ix.  6),  affect  and 

tin1  heart  by  an  immediate  and   instanta- 


neous exertion  of  his  power ;  yet  this  is  not 
his  ordinary  method.  Though  fallen,  we  are 
still  rational  creatures,  and  he  is  pleased  to 
treat  us  as  such.  He  proposes  considera- 
tions and  motives  in  his  holy  word,  which 
though  ineffectual,  considered  merely  as 
means,  and  without  the  concurrence  of  his 
agency,  yet  have,  in  their  own  nature,  a  moral 
tendency  and  suitableness  to  awaken  our  at- 
tention, and  to  convince  us  of  our  sin  and  mi- 
sery, and  to  recal  us  to  our  original  state  of 
dependence  upon  his  goodness,  and  obedience 
to  his  will.  For  the  proof  of  this,  I  may  ap- 
peal to  the  consciences  of  many  persons :  the 
force  of  truth  has  compelled  them  to  tremble, 
like  Felix,  and  perhaps,  like  Herod,  to  do 
many  things ;  and  though  their  depravity  has 
been  too  obstinate  to  yield  to  conviction,  they 
have  understood  and  felt  enough,  to  leave 
them  without  excuse. 

The  Lord  God  usually  employs  those  whom 
he  has  already  won  and  subdued  by  his  grace, 
as  instruments  of  winning  others;  and  there 
are  none  of  his  people,  however  weak  their 
capacities,  or  however  low  their  situations  in 
life,  but  may  hope  for  a  share  in  this  honour, 
if  they  are  faithful  to  the  light  he  has  given 
them,  and  live  according  to  the  rule  of  his 
word. — But  he  has  instituted  the  office  of  the 
gospel-ministry  with  a  more  especial  view  to 
this  important  service. 

The  proposition  in  the  text  is  simple  and 
plain  ;  and  the  principal  division  of  my  sub- 
ject is  suggested  by  the  appearance  of  our 
present  assembly.  I  never  had  an  opportuni- 
ty  before   of  preaching   to   so   many   of  mv 


THE  BEST  WISDOM. 


841 


brethren  in  the  ministry,  and  perhaps  I  never  ' 
may  again.  And  at  my  time  of  life,  it  be- 
comes me,  whenever  I  stand  in  the  pulpit,  to 
consider  seriously,  that  it  is,  at  least,  possible, 
it  may  be  the  last  time,  and  that  you,  to  whom 
I  am  now  about  to  speak,  may  see  my  face  no 
more.  Were  I  even  sure  of  this,  how  could 
I  more  properly  close  my  public  services,  than 
by  aiming  with  my  latest  breath,  to  impress 
upon  you,  my  friends  and  brethren,  this 
weighty  aphorism,  "  He  that  winneth  souls  is 
wise?"  May  it  be  written  upon  my  own 
heart  while  I  live  !  may  it  be  written  upon 
all  our  hearts !  Let  the  scholar,  the  philoso- 
pher, the  politician,  settle  their  several  claims 
to  wisdom  among  themselves ;  but  may  this 
wisdom  be  ours.  The  man  that  winneth  souls 
is  truly  and  emphatically  wise. 

I  shall,  in  the  first  place,  point  out  the  prin- 
cipal acknowledged  characteristics  of  wisdom, 
and  shew,  that  they  are  all  exemplified  in  the 
spirit  and  conduct  of  the  minister  who  is  duly 
qualified  for  the  service  of  winning  souls.  I 
do  not  say  that  all  faithful  ministers  are  influ- 
enced by  this  wisdom  in  the  same  degree  ;  but 
unless  it  has  an  habitual  and  prevailing  influ- 
ence on  the  plans  and  practice  of  a  public 
teacher,  we  need  not  wonder  if  he  be  neither 
faithful  nor  useful.  My  chief  design  is  to 
elucidate  and  confirm  this  first  point ;  but  to- 
wards the  close  of  my  discourse,  I  shall,  se- 
condly, address  myself  to  private  christians, 
and  remind  you  of  your  common  interest  with 
us  in  this  concern,  and  the  advantages  and 
opportunities  you  have  of  shewing  yourselves 
wise,  by  contributing  your  endeavours  to  pro-- 
mote  the  great  design  of  winning  souls. 

I.  The  ministi  r  who  winneth  souls  is  wise. 

1.  Wisdom  is  discovered  in  the  choice  of  a 
fit  and  valuable  end.  If  a  man  has  great  ta- 
lents and  abilities,  we  do  not  account  him 
wise,  unless  he  employs  them  properly;  a  life 
whiled  away  in  low  and  trivial  pursuits,  im- 
plies a  want  of  wisdom.  But  he  who  aims  at 
winning  souls,  proposes  an  end  which  well 
deserves  his  application,  and  will,  so  far  as  he 
succeeds,  richly  compensate  him  for  all  that 
he  can  do  or  suffer  in  so  good  a  cause.  The 
grand  object  of  his  life,  in  subordination  to 
the  will  and  glory  of  God,  is  the  recovery  of 
souls.  We  often  use  the  word  win,  in  a  sense 
which  the  Hebrew  term  suggests  ;  as  to  win 
a  battle  or  a  fortress.  The  soul,  in  its  fallen 
state,  separated  and  alienated  from  God,  is,  by 
his  righteous  permission,  under  the  power  of 
Satan,  who  rules  in  it  as  a  strong  one  armed 
in  his  own  house  or  castle,  Luke  xi.  21  ;  Eph. 
ii.  2.  Were  the  effects  of  this  bondage  con- 
fined to  the  present  life  an  attempt  to  free  the 
soul  from  that  misery,  mischief,  and  madness, 
with  which  the  world  is  filled,  would  be  hon- 
oui  able  and  important.  But  God,  who  formed 
the  soul  originally  for  himself,  has  given  it 
such  a  vast  capacity,  that  nothing  short  of 
himself  can  satisfy  its  desires;   and  it  is  like- 


wise, by  his  constitution,  immortal.  This  ca- 
pacity of  being  exquisitely  happy  or  miserable, 
and  that  for  ever,  renders  the  soul  so  valuable 
in  the  judgment  of  its  Creator,  that  he  gave 
the  Son  of  his  love  to  redeem  it  from  sin  and 
misery,  by  his  obedience  unto  death,  even  the 
death  of  the  cross.  By  this  adorable  method 
of  adjusting  the  demands  of  his  justice  and 
the  honour  of  his  government,  to  the  purposes 
of  his  mercy,  his  wisdom  and  glory  are  more 
eminently  discovered  to  his  intelligent  crea- 
tures, than  by  all  his  other  works.  If  the 
only  wise  God  commends  to  us  his  gracious 
design  of  recovering  souls  from  the  dominion 
of  Satan,  and  of  winning  them  to  himself,  as 
the  highest  instance  of  his  wisdom  and  good- 
ness :  then,  certainly,  he  who  proposes  it  as 
the  great  end  of  his  life,  that  by  serving  God 
in  the  ministry,  he  may  be  an  instrument  o 
winning  souls,  is  truly  wise,  so  far  as  con 
cerns  his  leading  aim  and  object. 

2.  Wisdom  directs  us  likewise  to  a  conside- 
ration and  choice  of  means  proper  to  the  at- 
tainment of  a  proposed  end.  To  attempt 
what  is  impracticable,  however  desirable  it 
might  be  thought,  upon  a  supposition  that  it 
could  be  accomplished,  is  a  mark,  not  of  wis- 
dom, but  of  folly.  A  man,  without  being 
chargeable  with  rashness,  may  undertake  to 
move  a  stone  of  several  tons  weight,  and  even 
to  raise  it,  if  needful,  to  the  top  of  a  tower  , 
or  to  force  open  the  strongest  gate  of  a  castle; 
but  then  the  application  of  mechanical  powers 
would  be  necessary.  If  he  were  unacquainted 
with  these,  or  disdained  to  employ  them  ;  if, 
without  estimating  or  considering  the  resist- 
ance to  be  overcome,  and  relying  solely  on 
his  personal  strength,  he  should  attempt  to 
move  the  enormous  stone  with  his  hands,  or 
to  burst  the  gates  of  brass  and  bars  of  iron 
asunder  with  his  feet,  his  utmost  efforts  must 
issue  in  weariness  and  disappointment,  and  no 
one  would  think  him  wise.  The  experience 
of  ages  has  demonstrated  all  endeavours  to  win 
souls,  to  free  them  from  prejudice,  to  reclaim 
them  from  the  love  and  practice  of  sin,  by  the 
mere  force  of  human  arguments  and  moral 
suasion,  to  be  equally  chimerical  and  unsuc- 
cessful. The  heathen  moralists  laboured 
much  in  this  way,  but  they  laboured  in  vain. 
Some  of  them  felt  and  acknowledged  that 
human  nature  was  depraved  ;  but  not  know- 
ing the  root,  nor  the  extent,  nor  the  proper  re- 
medy of  the  disorders  they  wished  to  cure, 
their  best  sentiments,  however  specious  in 
theory,  made  little  more  impression  upon  the 
hearts  of  their  admirers,  or  even  upon  their 
own,  than  the  falling  snow  makes  upon  a 
rock.  If  the  ancient  sages  could  do  but 
little,  the  modern  philosophers,  as  they  chuse 
to  be  called,  have  done,  if  possible,  still  less. 
What  a  poet  observed  of  the  former,  is,  at 
least  equally,  applicable  to  the  latter:  Virtus 
laudiitur  et  alget.  Virtue  is  defined,  described, 
recommended,    and   praised,   but   wickedness 


84.2  THE  BEST 

and  folly  rapidly  increase  under  their  instruc- 
tions ;  and  while  in  their  pompous  declama- 
tions they  propose  liberty  to  others  ( 1  Pet.  ii. 
19),  they  are  themselves  the  servants,  the 
slaves  of  corruption.  The  gospel  of  Christ, 
the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God  (1  Tim. 
i.  11),  is  the  only  effectual  mean  for  reform- 
ing mankind.  To  the  man  who  possesses, 
and  knows  the  use  of  this  grand,  this  wonder- 
ful machine,  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  compari- 
son, what  is  otherwise  impracticable  becomes 
easy.  The  gospel  removes  difficulties  insupera- 
ble to  human  power.  It  causes  the  blind  to  see, 
the  deaf  to  hear  (Isa.  xxxv.  8;  Matth.  xi.  5)  ; 
it  softens  the  heart  of  stone,  and  raises  the  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sin  to  a  life  of  righteousness. 
No  force,  but  that  of  the  gospel,  is  sufficient 
to  remove  the  mountainous  load  of  guilt  from 
an  awakened  conscience,  to  calm  the  violence 
of  tumultuous  passions,  to  raise  an  earthly 
soul  from  grovelling  in  the  mire  of  sensuality 
or  avarice,  to  a  spiritual  and  divine  life,  a  life 
of  communion  with  God.  No  system  but 
the  gospel  can  communicate  motives,  encour- 
agements, and  prospects,  sufficient  to  with- 
stand and  counteract  all  the  snares  and  tempta- 
tions with  which  the  spirit  of  this  world,  by 
its  frowns  or  its  smiles,  will  endeavour,  either 
to  intimidate  or  to  bribe  us  from  the  path  of 
duty.  But  the  gospel,  rightly  understood 
and  cordially  embraced,  will  inspire  the  sloth- 
ful with  energy,  and  the  fearful  with  courage. 
It  will  make  the  miser  generous,  melt  the 
churl  into  kindness,  tame  the  raging  tiger  in 
the  breast,  and  in  a  word,  expand  the  narrow 
selfish  heart,  and  fill  it  with  a  spirit  of  love  to 
God,  cheerful  unreserved  obedience  to  his  will 
and  benevolence  to  mankind. 

I  shall  not  trespass  upon  your  time,  by  de- 
lineating at  large  my  idea  of  the  gospel.  Yet 
it  may  be  proper  to  mention  three  points, 
which,  in  my  judgment,  are  essential  to  it. 

The  first  respects  the  character  of  Jesus  the 
Saviour  :  That  he  is  very  God,  and  very  man, 
God  manifest  in  the  flesh  :  that  in  the  begin- 
ning was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God :  that  this  di- 
vine Word  assumed  our  nature  into  a  personal 
union  with  himself,  lived  and  died  in  behalf 
of  sinners,  and  now  reigns  upon  the  throne  of 
glory,  over  all,  God  blessed  for  ever  (1  Tim. 
iii.  16;  John  i.  1,  14)  :  that  he  is  the  pro- 
per object  of  our  worship,  supreme  love,  trust, 
and  adoration  :  that  it  is  he  on  whom  the  eyes 
and  expectation  of  sinners,  sensible  of  their 
wants  and  miseries,  are  fixed,  and  out  of 
whose  fulness  they  all  receive  life,  strength, 
comfort,  and  grace,  to  help  in  time  of  need, 
Ps.  xxxiv.  5;  John  i.  16.  This  doctrine  is 
the  pillar  and  ground  of  truth,  1  Tim.  iii.  15. 
They  who  have  a  right  sense  of  the  guilt  and 
power  of  sin,  of  the  holiness  and  majesty  of 
God,  and  of  the  hosts  of  enemies  combined 
against  their  peace,  must  sink  into  despair, 
unless  supported  by  the  knowledge  of  an  Al- 


WISDOM. 

mighty  Omnipresent  Saviour,  who  is  always 
near,  a  very  present  help  in  trouble,  and  who 
can  discern  the  thoughts  of  the  heart  (Rev.  ii. 
23)  ;  for  often  their  most  trying  and  danger- 
ous exigencies  are  beyond  the  reach  of  a 
creature's  eye.  Whatever  they  thought  of 
him  before,  when  they  know  themselves,  they 
cannot  entrust  their  souls  to  the  power,  or 
care,  or  compassion  of  a  creature ;  and  there- 
fore rejoice  that  they  are  warranted  and  en- 
couragud  to  commend  themselves  to  him,  as 
to  a  faithful  creator,  1   Pet.  iv.   19. 

The  second  grand  peculiarity  of  the  gospel 
is  the  doctrine  of  an  atonement :  That  Christ 
in  his  state  of  humiliation,  by  his  obedience 
unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross,  made 
a  full,  proper,  and  perfect  satisfaction  for  sin 
(Phil.  ii.  8);  that  is,  his  sufferings  unto  death, 
the  torments  which  he  endured  in  his  body, 
and  the  agonies  of  his  soul,  inconceivable  to 
us  but  by  their  effects  (his  bloody  sweat  in 
the  garden,  and  his  astonishing  complaint 
upon  the  cross,  that  God  had  forsaken  hiin), 
exhibited  a  striking  and  solemn  proof  to  the 
world,  to  the  universe,  no  less  to  angels  than 
to  men,  that  God,  in  affording  mercy  to  sin. 
ners,  still  shews  his  inflexible  displeasure  a- 
gainst  sin,  and  makes  no  relaxation  in  the 
awful  demands  of  his  holiness,  justice,  and 
truth.  A  substitution  capable  of  manifesting 
the  justice  of  God  in  the  highpst  exercise  of 
his  mercy,  that  he  might  appear  just  in  justi- 
fying the  ungodly  (Rom.  iv.  5),  was  of  such 
vast  importance  to  the  honour  of  God's  char- 
acter and  government,  that  if  it  could  have 
been  effected  by  any  inferior  means,  Christ 
died  in  vain,  Galat.  ii.  21.  The  interposition 
of  a  mere  creature,  even  if  voluntary,  (but 
what  creature  would  dare  to  draw  upon  him- 
self the  displeasure  of  God  due  to  the  sins  of 
men?)  could  not  have  displayed  the  full-orbed 
glory  of  all  the  divine  perfections,  as  it  now 
shines  forth  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  2 
Cor.  iv.  6.  None  in  heaven  or  in  earth  were 
able  or  worthy  to  interpose.  Therefore  the 
Son  said,  "  Lo  I  come  !"  He  himself,  his 
ownself,  bore  our  sins  in  his  own  body  upon 
the  tree  (1  Pet.  ii.  24)  :  he  who  knew  no  sin, 
was  made  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  be  made 
the  righteousness  of  God  in  him,  2  Cor.  v. 
21. 

There  is  a  third  point,  which  is  peculiar  to 
the  religion  of  the  Bible,  and  which  discrimi- 
nates it  from  all  religious  systems  of  human 
institution.  There  are  few  of  these  but  con- 
tain some  important  truths.  In  general,  they 
inculcate  a  degree  of  attention  to  the  practice 
of  social  virtues.  But  no  other  system  ever 
proposed  to  all  persons,  and  as  a  general  truth, 
the  necessity  and  certainty  of  supernatural  in- 
fluence and  agency ;  an  agency  which,  from 
the  greatness  of  its  effect,  and  the  universality 
of  its  proposal  (being  promised  to  all  without 
exception  who  desire  it),  must  be  divine.  The 
bodies  of  believers  are  the  temples  of  the  Holv 


THE  BEST  WISDOM. 

Ghost  (1  Cor.  vi.  19),  that  God  dwelleth  in 
them  by  his  Spirit,  that  they  have  received  the 
Spirit  of  God,  that  they  are  led  by  the  Spirit, 
walk  in  the  Spirit,  and  have  communion  with 
the  Holy  Spirit  (Rom.  viii.  4;  Galat.  v.  18, 
25  ;  1  Cor.  xiii.  14)  ;  these  truths  are  either 
expressed  or  strongly  implied  in  almost  every 
page  of  the  New  Testament. 

The  gospel  then  is  a  message  from  God. 
It  stains  the  pride  of  human  glory,  and  with- 
out regarding  the  petty  distinctions  which 
obtain  amongst  men  with  respect  to  character 
or  rank,  it  treats  them  all  as  sinners  in  the 
sight  of  God,  and  under  the  power  of  depra- 
vity strengthened  by  habit.  As  such,  it  points 
them  to  a  Saviour;  it  invites  and  enjoins 
them  to  apply  to  him,  to  submit  to  him,  and 
to  put  their  whole  trust  in  him  ;  to  renounce 
all  pleas  of  their  own,  and  to  plead  his  name 
and  his  atonement  for  their  pardon  and  ac- 
ceptance; and  promises  to  all  who  thus  plead, 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  will  visit  them, 
dwell  in  them,  and  abide  with  them,  to  en- 
able them  by  his  gracious  influence,  both  to 
will  and  to  do  according  to  his  good  pleasure. 

I  omit  other  particulars,  nor  shall  I  at  pre- 
sent attempt  to  prove  these,  farther  than  by 
an  appeal  to  observation  and  experience.  I 
trust,  my  brethren,  we  all  desire  to  win  souls. 
It  is  a  good  desire,  it  is  a  noble,  a  glorious 
ambition.  I  hope  we  are  likewise  apprised  of 
.he  nature  of  the  undertaking,  and  are  too  wise 
,o  attempt  it,  or  to  expect  success,  by  any  power 
or  exertion  of  our  own,  unless  we  faithfully 
and  humbly  make  use  of  the  instrument  which 
God  has  appointed  for  the  purpose.  This  in- 
strument is  the  gospel-message,  the  principal 
parts  of  which  I  have  stated  to  you.  This  is 
the  rod  of  God's  strength,  which,  like  the  won- 
der-working rod  of  Moses,  when  held  up  in 
his  name,  though  wielded  by  a  feeble  arm, 
can  perform  miracles.  And  I  will  venture  to 
affirm,  without  hesitation,  and  without  excep- 
tion, that  no  man,  whatever  his  abilities  and 
qualifications  may  be  in  other  respects,  though 
he  had  the  zeal  of  a  martyr  and  the  powers  of 
an  angel,  will  be  able  to  force  the  strong-holds 
of  Satan,  to  cast  down  the  lofty  imaginations 
of  men,  and  win  souls  to  holiness  and  happi- 
ness, without  it.  But  if  he  be  called  and 
taught  of  God  to  preach  this  gospel,  he  will 
do  great  things  ;  he  will  be  honoured  and  suc- 
cessful: he  will  win  souls;  he  will  be  num. 
bered  among  the  wise. 

Let  us  appeal  to  facts.  The  apostle  Paul 
was  eminently  successful  in  winning  souls. 
He  planted  churches  in  many  different  and 
distant  parts  of  the  Roman  empire.  Where- 
ever  he  went,  power  from  on  high  accompa- 
nied his  word,  and  made  it  effectual,  accord- 
ing to  the  commission  he  had  received  from 
the  Lord,  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  blinded 
Heathens,  to  turn  them  from  darkness  to  light, 
and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God,  Acts 
xxvi.  18.      Can  we  propose  a  better  example 


843 

for  our  imitation  ?  Would  we  know  the  subject- 
matter  of  that  preaching  which  produced  such 
extensive  and  salutary  effects  ?  He  gives  us 
full  information.  He  preached  Christ  cruci- 
fied ;  Christ  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God 
(1  Cor.  i.  23,  24)  ;  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ  (Ephes.  iii.  8)  ;  Christ  the  Man  who 
shall  judge  the  quick  and  dead  (Acts  xvii.  31 ; 
xxvi.  28)  ;  Christ  as  God,  who  purchased  the 
church  with  his  own  blood.  As  a  wise  mas- 
ter-builder, he  laid  this  foundation,  and  de- 
clared, that  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay, 
1  Cor.  iii.  10,  11.  He  preached  the  atone- 
ment, that  Christ  made  peace  by  the  blood  of 
his  cross,  died  for  us  while  sinners,  and  that 
we  are  justified  by  his  blood,  Col.  i.  20.  He 
preached  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  ab- 
solutely necessary  and  powerfully  efficacious, 
and  ascribes  that  operation  by  which  Christ  in 
his  true  character  is  revealed  to  the  heart,  to 
the  same  power  which  commanded  light  to 
shine  out  of  darkness,  in  the  beginning,  2  Cor. 
iv.  6.  These  truths  were  the  weapons  of  his 
warfare,  2  Cor.  x.  4.  He  went  forth  con- 
quering and  to  conquer,  not  by  the  enticing 
words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  the  spirit  of 
demonstration  and  power, 

I  need  not  tell  this  auditory  what  were  the 
doctrines  which  shook  the  pillars  and  founda- 
tions of  Popery  at  the  Reformation,  and  dif- 
fused a  knowledge  and  practice  becoming  the 
profession  of  Christianity,  among  many  na- 
tions which  had  been  long  involved  in  the 
darkness  of  ignorance,  superstition,  and  wick- 
edness. In  our  own  land,  it  was  not  very  long 
before  the  principles  of  the  Reformation  were 
severely  discountenanced.  Particularly  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  II,,  they  were  opposed  by 
methods  which  the  good  providence  of  God  at 
length  effectually  restrained,  by  favouring  us 
with  a  succession  of  Princes  of  the  House  of 
Hanover.  If  the  lives  and  conduct  of  those 
who  endured  fines,  stripes,  imprisonment,  and 
death  for  conscience  sake,  be  compared  with 
the  spirit  and  temper  of  those  who  inflicted  or 
approved  them,  I  think  a  candid  and  attentive 
inquirer  will  be  at  no  loss  to  determine  on 
which  side  the  advantage  lay,  in  point  of  real 
religion  and  sound  morality. 

The  spirit  of  our  present  excellent  constitu- 
tion and  government  allows  us  a  degree  of  re- 
ligious liberty  unknown  to  our  forefathers,  for 
which  we  cannot  be  sufficiently  thankful ;  and 
the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  and  of  the 
apostles  are  still  preached.  Nor  have  we  rea- 
son to  fear  that  sanguinary  laws,  and  the  iron 
hand  of  arbitrary  power,  will  be  employed  to 
silence  us.  Yet  the  doctrines  themselves  are 
far  from  being  generally  acceptable.  The 
spirit  of  opposition  is  awake,  and  active  as 
formerly,  though  the  method  of  its  attack  is 
varied.  But  great  is  the  truth,  and  will  pre- 
vail. It  has  triumphed  over  violence  and 
rage  ;  it  is  equally  superior  to  the  arts  of  sub 
tlety  and  refinement.      We  are  not  afraid  to 


844  THE  BEST 

repeat  the  apostle's  challenge  :  "  Who  is  lie 
that  overcometh  the  world,  but  he  that  believ- 
eth  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God  ?"  1  John 
v.  5.  Which  is  the  scheme  of  religion  in  the 
present  day,  which  produces  the  most  consci- 
entious reverence  to  the  holy  name  of  the  Lord 
our  God,  the  most  habitual  and  devout  ob- 
servance of  his  holy  day,  and  of  family-wor- 
ship? What  kind  of  preaching  evidences  itself 
to  be  a  doctrine  according  to  godliness,  by  the 
most  numerous  and  notorious  instances  of  per- 
sons reclaimed  by  it  from  habits  of  gross  li- 
centiousness, and  effectually  taught  to  fear  the 
Lord  and  depart  from  evil  ?  What  are  those 
principles,  which,  by  experience,  are  found 
most  suitable  and  most  powerful  to  support 
the  soul  under  the  pressure  of  great  afflictions, 
or  upon  the  near  approach  of  death?  I  know 
there  are  people  under  afflictions,  who,  like 
Pharaoh,  harden  themselves  yet  mor-e ;  who 
value  themselves  upon  a  proud  stoical  resolu- 
tion, and  deem  it  a  weakness  to  complain. 
But  christian  fortitude  is  a  very  different  thing. 
It  is  the  temper  of  a  humble  pardoned  sinner, 
who  has  entrusted  himself  and  his  all  to  the 
Saviour,  and,  believing  that  he  condescends  to 
direct  all  his  concerns,  submits  to  his  appoint- 
ments, not  by  constraint,  but  willingly,  sen- 
sible that  the  wisdom  and  love  of  him  in 
whom  he  confides  will  chuse  better  for  him 
than  he  could  possibly  chuse  for  himself.  I 
know,  or  have  read,  that  the  American  Indi- 
ans, when  put  to  death  by  their  enemies,  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  excruciating  tortures  that 
cruelty  can  invent,  will  sing  their  war-songs, 
and  insult  their  tormentors,  without  uttering 
a  groan  or  shedding  a  tear  ;  and  I  have  like- 
wise read  of  philosophers,  who,  to  confirm 
their  admirers  in  a  persuasion  that  infidelity 
had  freed  them  from  all  fear  of  death  or  its 
consequences,  have  jested  in  their  dying  hours. 
What  a  contrast  to  these  is  the  relation  we 
have  of  the  death  of  Stephen,  who,  with  the 
utmost  composure,  committed  his  departing 
spirit  into  the  hands  of  his  Saviour,  whom  he 
saw  ready  to  receive  him,  and  employed  his 
latest  breath  in  prayer  for  his  murderers ! 
Acts  vii.  55 — 60.  When  a  believer  in  Jesus 
is  about  to  die,  he  does  not  express  the  fiend- 
like phrenzy  of  a  savage,  or  the  ill-timed  le- 
vity of  a  buffoon  ;  he  is  serious  and  recollect- 
ed. Conscious  of  his  unworthiness,  but  know- 
ing whom  he  has  believed,  he  rejoices  with  a 
joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  1  Pet.  i.  8. 
There  is  often  a  dignity  and  energy  in  the  lan- 
guage of  plain  people  in  dying  circumstances, 
far  superior  to  what  might  be  expected  from 
their  former  habits  of  life :  they  seem  to  have 
new  ideas  and  new  faculties  ;  heaven  opened 
to  them,  and  opened  in  them,  while  yet  in  the 
body.  Ignorant  and  profane  persons,  who  are 
sometimes  spectators  of  such  scenes,  have  been 
astonished  at  effects  which,  though  they  could 
not  account  for,  have  for  the  moment  secretly 
extorted    from    them    the    wish    of    Balaam, 


WISDOM. 

"  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and 
let  my  last  end  be  like  his,"  Numb,  xxiii. 
10.  By  these  effects  on  the  lives  and  deaths 
of  those  who  cordially  receive  it,  the  gospel 
which  we  preach,  the  doctrine  of  the  cross, 
approves  itself  to  be  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation,  the  sure  and  only  mean  of  winning 
souls  to  his  favour  and  image. 

If  I  have  taken  up  too  much  of  your  time 
with  this  second  particular,  let  the  importance 
of  it,  and  the  state  of  religion  amongst  us, 
plead  my  excuse.  Thus  far  we  have  advanc- 
ed—  If  it  be  wisdom  to  aim  at  a  great  design, 
and  to  adopt  the  most  fit  and  proper  means  for 
the  accomplishment,  the  man  my  text  speaks 
of  is  wise.  His  end  is  great,  to  win  souls. 
The  mean  he  employs  is  the  gospel,  which 
God  has  revealed  and  instituted  for  this  very 
purpose,  and  with  which  his  power  and  bles- 
sing are  surely  connected  by  promise. 

3.  Yet  the  knowledge  of  a  worthy  end,  and 
of  the  means  by  which  it  may  be  attained,  is 
not  sufficient  to  denominate  a  man  wise.  If 
he  be  truly  wise,  and  his  object  of  great  im- 
portance, he  will  not  suffer  himself  to  be  easi- 
ly diverted  from  it,  but  will  rather  hold  and 
manage  every  inferior  concernment  in  a  due 
subservience  and  subordination  to  his  main 
point.  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  when  a  child,  might 
possibly  have  amused  himself,  as  many  other 
children  have  done,  by  blowing  up  bubbles  in 
soapy  water  with  a  pipe.  But  it  was  not  a 
childish  amusement  in  the  hands  of  this  su- 
blime genius,  when  he  applied  it,  among  other 
experiments,  to  discover  and  establish  that 
theory  of  light  and  colours,  by  which,  in  his 
admirable  System  of  Optics,  he  enlightened 
the  world.  But  if  we  speak  strictly,  the  most 
important  employments  and  discoveries  of 
which  mankind  are  capable,  if  directed  no 
higher  than  to  the  concerns  of  the  present  life, 
are  trhial  and  worthless  as  the  sports  of  chil- 
dren, or  the  wretched  amusements  of  lunatics, 
to  an  immortal,  who  is  soon,  very  soon,  to 
pass  unto  the  unseen  world,  to  appear  before 
the  judgment-seat  of  God,  and  to  be  fixed, 
according  to  his  righteous  award,  in  a  state  of 
endless  happiness  or  misery.  The  desire  of 
pleasing  God,  and  of  doing  all  to  his  glory, 
which  should  be  the  ultimate  end  of  a  rational 
creature,  and  will  be,  if  he  feels  his  depend 
ence  and  his  obligations,  this,  like  the  fabled 
philosopher's  stone,  turns  every  thing  into 
gold,  sanctifies  the  most  common  actions  of 
life  which  belong  to  the  situation  in  which 
Divine  Providence  has  placed  us,  and  gives 
them  a  sublimity  and  dignity.  Consecrated 
by  this  intention,  they  become  acts  of  devotion. 
They  have  a  very  low  idea  of  religion  who 
confine  it  to  what  we  usually  mean  by  devo- 
tional exercises.  The  truly  religious  man  does 
indeed  bow  his  knees  in  secret  before  the  Most 
High  God,  he  carefully  consults  his  holy  word, 
he  waits  upon  him  in  his  public  ordinances. 
In  these  ways  he  derives  fresh   supplies   from 


THE  BEST 

iiie  fountain  of  wisdom  and  grace,  and  his 
strength  is  renewed.  But  he  does  not  leave 
his  religion  in  the  closet  or  the  church ;  it 
abideth  in  him,  is  the  governing  spring  of  his 
whole  conduct,  and  according  to  the  degree 
of  his  attainment  in  faith  and  love,  and  allow- 
ing for  the  unavoidable  abstractions  inciden- 
tal to  our  frames  (which  are  too  weak  and  li- 
mited to  be  able  to  fix  our  attention  closely 
upon  many  things  at  once),  whether  he  be 
upon  the  throne  or  the  bench,  upon  the  parade 
or  the  exchange  ;  whether  he  be  called  to  serve 
God  in  a  public  capacity,  or  in  private  life, 
whether  he  be  in  a  state  of  affluence,  or  earns 
his  honest  bread  by  sweeping  the  streets — in 
every  station  and  situation,  he  is  a  servant  of 
God,  from  morning  to  night ;  and  these  very 
different  services  are  all  equally  acceptable  to 
him,  who  seeth  not  as  man  seeth,  and  estimates 
them,  not  by  their  comparative  importance  in 
our  view,  but  according  to  the  principle  of 
love  by  which  they  are  performed,  and  the 
sublime  end  to  which  they  are  directed. 

But  we,  my  brethren,  who  are  ministers  of 
the  gospel,  have  this  great  advantage  (if  in- 
deed we  improve  it),  that  our  particular  call- 
ing as  members  of  society,  coincides  with  our 
general  calling  as  christians.  The  person  who 
serves  God  in  a  secular  calling,  may,  as  I 
have  observed,  be  equally  acceptable  to'  God, 
because  equally  devoted  to  his  will ;  but  his 
advantages  and  opportunities  for  winning  souls 
are  not  equal  to  ours.  It  is  our  professed  and 
appropriate  business;  and  we  are  freed  from  the 
incumbrances  of  worldly  business,  that  we  may 
give  our  whole  attention  to  this  very  thing, 
Acts  vi.  4  ;  1  Tim.  iv.  15,  16.  If  we  are  wise, 
we  shall  watch  and  pray  against  being  imped- 
ed by  any  studies  and  pursuits  which  have  not 
an  evident  tendency  to  promote  our  success  in 
winning  souls.  You  have  probably  heard 
what  is  related  of  the  address  of  whale-fishers, 
when  the  whale,  irritated  by  the  wounds  he 
has  received,  attacks  their  boats.  It  is  said 
they  have  a  tub  in  readiness  to  throw  into  the 
sea,  and  that  while  the  whale  furiously  en- 
counters the  tub,  the  boat  has  time  to  escape. 
Whether  this  be  fact  or  not,  methinks  it  may 
suggest  a  useful  lesson  to  us  :  Many  things, 
not  criminal  in  themselves,  will  prove  so  to 
us,  if  we  suffer  them,  by  engrossing  too  much 
of  our  time  and  thoughts,  to  divert  us  from 
our  principal  object.  It  may  not  be  wrong, 
it  may  be  commendable,  for  a  minister  to  pos- 
sess some  general  knowledge  of  philosophy, 
history,  criticism,  and  other  brandies  of  litera- 
ture, or  of  the  controversies  which  have  dis- 
turbed the  peace  of  the  Church.  But  peri- 
mus  in  licilis.  An  over-attachment  to  these 
studies,  though  less  scandalous,  may  prove 
little  less  hurtful  to  our  ministry  than  the 
love  of  pleasure,  or  the  love  of  money.  He 
who  is  duly  sensible  of  the  importance  and 
difficulty  of  winning  souls,  will  find  but  little 
leisure  for  sorting    shells    or    butterflies,    for 


WTSDUJU 


H45 


studying  grammatical  niceties,  for  puring 
over  manuscripts  scarcely  legible,  for  decy- 
phering  ancient  inscriptions,  or  entangling 
himself  in  the  dry  uninteresting  thickets  of 
controversy.  He  will  be  careful  lest  avoca- 
tions of  this  kind  should  prove  like  the  tubs 
I  have  mentioned,  amusements  to  divert  his 
attention  from  the  state  of  souls  around  him, 
who  are  in  danger  of  perishing  in  ignorance 
and  sin.  We  are  set  as  watchmen  to  sound 
the  alarm,  to  warn  the  wicked  of  their  evil 
ways,  to  direct  inquirers  into  the  paths  of 
peace,  to  point  out  the  snares  and  temptations 
to  which  they  are  exposed,  to  exhort  and 
charge  those  who  profess  the  truth,  that  they 
walk  worthy  of  God  who  has  called  them  to 
his  kingdom  and  glory ;  in  a  word,  to  use 
our  best  endeavours  publicly,  and  from  house 
to  house  (Acts  xx.  10;  2  Tim.  iv.  2),  in 
season  and  out  of  season,  to  build  up  our 
hearers  in  their  most  holy  faith.  We  are  to 
give  an  account  of  the  talents,  opportunities, 
and  souls  entrusted  to  us,  and  we  should 
tremble  at  the  thought  of  bemg  +ien  obliged 
to  confess,  "  while  thy  servant  was  busy  here 
and  there,  the  man  was  gone,"  1  Kings  xx.  40. 
If  such  an  eminent  servant  of  God  as  arch- 
bishop Usher,  though  possessed  of  the  faith 
and  hope  of  the  gospel,  found  cause,  when  re- 
viewing his  past  life  on  his  dying  bed,  to  cry 
out  repeatedly  and  earnestly,  "  Lord,  forgive 
my  sins  of  omission  !"  how  jealous  ought  we 
to  be  of  ourselves  !  It  behoves  us  to  use  the 
language  of  Nehemiah,  to  many  proposals  and 
pursuits  which  our  inclinations  may  plead  for, 
"  I  am  doing  a  great  work,  so  that  I  cannot 
come  down.  Why  should  the  work  cease, 
while  I  leave  it  and  come  down  to  you?" 
Neh.  vi.  3.  Seldom  is  any  man  remarkably 
successful  and  eminent  in  arts  or  sciences,  in 
the  acquisition  of  wealth  or  power,  who  does 
not  resolutely  deny  himself  in  other  respects, 
and  make  every  secondary  point  give  place, 
so  far  as  it  stands  in  competition  with  his 
leading  and  favourite  object.  Such  a  deter- 
mined resolution,  to  follow  the  avowed  design 
of  our  calling  as  the  one  thing,  in  comparison 
with  which  every  thing  else  is  to  be  under- 
valued and  neglected,  if  likely  to  hinder  us, 
is  essential  to  that  wisdom  which  alone  can 
qualify  us  for  winning  souls. 

4.  This  wisdom  implies  fortitude  also.  If 
we  engage  in  this  work  without  counting  the 
cost,  and  without  being  apprised  of  the  diffi- 
culties and  snares  to  which  it  may  expose  us; 
or  if  we  cannot,  in  some  measure,  say  with 
the  apostle,  None  of  these  things  move  me 
(Acts  xx.  23),  we  shall  probably  be  soon  dis- 
couraged. What  should  we  think  of  a  states- 
man, who,  having  formed  a  wise  and  noble 
plan  for  the  benefit  of  a  kingdom,  and  having 
the  means  necessary  to  accomplish  it  within 
his  power,  should  be  deterred  from  carrying- 
it  into  execution,  though  it  was  approved  by 
all  competent  judges,  merely  because  he  could 


816 


THE   BEST   WISDOM. 


not  bear  to  be  misunderstood,  or  misrepresent- 
ed, by  the  very  lowest  of  the  people,  or  by  the 
children  who  play  in  the  street?  His  want  of 
spirit,  upon  such  a  supposition,  would  doubt- 
less be  esteemed  a  want  of  wisdom.  But  this 
is  a  faint  representation  of  our  folly,  if,  be- 
lieving ourselves  to  be  the  servants  of  God, 
being  convinced,  as  we  say,  of  the  worth  and 
danger  of  souls,  and  knowing  that  the  gospel 
of  God,  committed  to  our  trust  (1  Thess.  ii. 
4),  is  the  only  possible  mean  of  their  recovery  ; 
a  regard  to  the  fear  or  favour  of  men  should 
prevail  on  us  to  suppress  or  soften  our  mes- 
sage, and  to  accommodate  ourselves  to  their 
taste,  instead  of  conforming  to  our  instruc- 
tions, lest  we  should  displease  them.  Would 
an  earthly  king  bear  with  an  ambassador  who 
was  guilty  of  such  timid  treachery  ?  We  can- 
not, my  brethren,  think  too  humbly  of  our- 
selves,  but  we  may  magnify  our  office,  and  we 
ought.  In  this  sense  at  least,  we  are  ambas- 
sadors for  Christ  (2  Cor.  v.  20),  that  the  mes- 
sage we  are  to  deliver,  is  not  ours,  but  his  by 
whom  we  are  sent.  We  are  not  answerable 
for  the  success,  but  we  are  under  the  strong- 
est obligation  to  be  faithful.  And  he  whose  we 
are,  and  whom  we  serve,  is  well  able  to  support 
us.  Let  us  not  fear  the  reproach  of  men, 
nor  be  afraid  of  their  revilings,  Isa.  Ii.  7.  In 
the  sight  of  our  Lord  God,  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth  collected  are  less  than  nothing,  and 
vanity  inconsiderable  as  the  drop  which  falls 
unperceived  from  the  bucket,  or  the  dust  (Isa. 
xl.  15)  which  cleaves  to  the  scales  without  af- 
fecting the  balance.  The  apostles  were  wise  to 
win  souls.  They  tried  the  spirit  of  the  world 
before  us,  and  were  despised  and  insulted 
by  it.  They  were  accounted  the  offscounng 
and  filth  of  all  things,  and  suffered  much 
shame  for  their  Lord's  sake  (1  Cor.  iv.  18; 
Acts  v.  41);  but  they  esteemed  shame,  in  such 
a  cause,  their  highest  honour.  Jesus  endured 
the  cross,  and  despised  the  shame  for  them  and 
for  us.  He  was  buffeted,  spit  on,  treated  as 
a  madman,  a  demoniac,  and  laughed  to  scorn. 
Let  us  go  forth  bearing  his  reproach,  in  meek- 
ness of  wisdom  ;  instructing  those  who  oppose, 
not  rendering  railing  for  railing,  but  pitying 
and  praying  for  them  :  but  let  us  be  firm  and 
unmoved,  and  not  hesitate  to  speak  the  truth 
in  love,  whether  they  will  hear,  or  whether 
they  will  forbear.  We  shall  not  speak  wholly 
in  vain  ;  and  to  be  instrumental  in  saving  one 
soul  from  death,  is  an  honour  sufficient  to 
compensate  for  all  the  slights  and  contempt 
we  can  meet  with  from  an  unkind  world.  It 
is,  indeed,  our  duty  to  study  to  find  out  ac- 
ceptable words,  to  endeavour  to  please  men 
for  their  edification,  and  to  be  careful  not  to 
add  to  the  unavoidable  offence  of  the  gospel, 
by  debasing  our  zeal  with  the  unhallowed  fire 
of  an  angry  spirit:  but  we  degrade  our  cha- 
racter, if  we  appear  too  solicitous  to  conciliate 
the  good  opinion  of  men,  or  to  depend  upon 
their   favour.      The   Lord,    who   employs    us, 


will  take  care  of  us;  and  to  live  in  a  spirit  of 
unreserved  dependence  upon  him,  will  raise 
us  to  a  noble  independence  with  respect  to 
creatures.  All  hearts  are  in  his  hands.  He 
will  protect  our  persons  and  characters,  supply 
our  wants,  controul  our  enemies,  and  raise  us 
friends,  so  far  as  he  sees  it  needful,  without 
any  solicitude  on  our  parts,  if  we  can  but  put 
our  trust  in  him.  Such  are  the  principles  of 
Christian  fortitude.  He  who  is  wise  to  win 
souls,  loves  his  fellow-creatures,  but  he  cannot 
fear  them,  because  he  fears  the  Lord.  He 
will  neither  provoke  nor  dread  their  frowns, 
nor  will  he  meanly  court  their  smiles.  He 
knows  that  if  they  receive  his  message, 
they  will  love  him  for  the  truth's  sake,  and  he 
neither  expects  nor  desires  their  favour  upon 
other  terms.  By  the  cross  of  Christ  he  is 
crucified  to  the  world  (Gal.  iv.  14),  and  the 
world  to  him.  He  has  chosen  his  side.  He 
will  serve  the  Lord  (Joshua  xxiv.  25),  and  he 
will  use  his  utmost  influence  to  prevail  on 
others  to  serve  him  likewise  ;  so  far  as  he  suc- 
ceeds, he  feels  a  joy  superior  to  the  joy  of  har- 
vest, or  of  those  who  divide  the  spoil,  Isa.  ix. 
3.  When  he  cannot  succeed,  he  is  grieved, 
but  not  disconcerted  ;  and,  for  the  most  part 
his  calm  but  stedfast  perseverance  in  well-do- 
ing, will  gradually  establish  his  character,  stop 
the  mouth  of  calumny,  and  extort  a  reverence 
to  his  person,  even  from  those  who  cannot 
bear  his  doctrine. 

5.  I  shall  mention  but  one  particular  more, 
which,  though  experience  shews  to  be  not  so 
absolutely  necessary  as  those  which  I  have  al- 
ready specified,  because,  in  fact,  it  has  been 
too  little  regarded  by  many  who  have  been 
wise  to  win  souls,  yet  is  certainly  a  branch 
of  that  wisdom,  which,  as  ministers,  we  ought 
incessantly  to  ask  of  God — I  mean  a  due  at- 
tention to  the  importance  of  union  among 
those  who  are  engaged  in  the  same  cause.  A 
great  stress  has  indeed  been  often  laid  upon 
uniformity  of  sentiment  and  modes  of  wor- 
ship ;  but  this,  in  the  present  state  of  human 
nature,  can  no  more  be  effected  either  by  force 
or  persuasion,  than  men  can  be  forced  or  per- 
suaded to  a  uniformity  of  stature  or  complex- 
ion ;  and  if  it  were  practicable,  it  might  prove 
of  little  value.  The  form  of  religion  may  be 
strenuously  contended  for  by  those  who  are 
strangers  to  the  power  of  it ;  but  the  best 
form  we  can  conceive,  if  destitute  of  power,  is 
lifeless,  like  the  body  without  the  soul.  The 
true  unity  of  spirit  is  derived  from  the  things 
in  which  those  who  are  taught  and  born  of 
God  agree,  and  should  not  be  affected  by 
those  in  which  they  differ.  The  church  ot 
Christ,  collectively  considered,  is  an  army ; 
they  serve  under  one  Prince,  have  one  com- 
mon interest,  and  are  opposed  by  the  same 
enemies.  This  army  is  kept  up,  and  the  places 
of  those  who  are  daily  removed  to  the  church 
triumphant,  supplied  entirely  by  those  who  are 
rescued   and   won   from  the  power  of  the  ene- 


THE  BEST   WISDOM. 


847 


my,   which  is  chiefly  effected  by  the  gospel-   our  own  narrow,  selfish,  party  prejud 


ministry.  This  consideration  should  remind 
ministers,  that  it  is  highly  improper  (I  might 
use  a  stronger  expression)  to  waste  much  of 
their  time  and  talents,  which  ought  to  be  em- 
ployed against,  the  common  foe,  in  opposing 
those,  who,  though  they  cannot  exactly  afree 
with  them  in  every  smaller  point,  are  perfect- 
ly agreed,  and  ready  to  concur  with  them,  in 
promoting  their  principal  design.  A  wise 
statesman,  who  has  a  point  much  at  heart 
which  he  cannot  carry  without  assistance,  will 
gladly  accept  of  help  from  persons  of  all  par- 
ties on  whom  he  can  prevail  to  join  with  him, 
and  will  not,  at  such  a  crisis,  preclude  himself 
from  this  advantage,  by  an  unseasonable  dis- 
cussion of  more  minute  concerns,  in  which  he 
knows  they  must,  and  will  be  against  him. 
When  I  see  ministers  of  acknowledged  piety, 
and  respectable  abilities,  very  busy  in  defend- 
ing or  confuting  the  smaller  differences,  which 
already  too  much  separate  those  who  ought  to 
be  of  one  heart  and  one  mind,  though,  while 
they  are  all  fallible,  they  cannot  be  exactly  of 
one  judgment;  though  I  give  them  credit  for 
their  good  intention,  I  cannot  but  lament  the 
misapplication  of  their  zeal,  which,  if  directed 
into  another  channel,  would  probably  make 
them  much  more  successful  in  winning  souls. 
Let  us  sound  an  alarm  in  the  enemy's  camp, 
but  not  in  our  own  !  1  have  somewhere  met 
with  a  passage  of  ancient  history,  the  sub- 
stance of  which,  though  my  recollection  of  it 
is  but  imperfect,  I  will  relate,  because  I  think 
it  very  applicable  to  this  part  of  my  subject. 
It  is  an  account  of  two  large  bodies  of  forces 
which  fell  in  with  each  other  in  a  dark  night. 
A  battle  immediately  ensued.  The  attack 
and  resistance  were  supported  with  equal  spi- 
rit. The  contest  was  fierce  and  bloody.  Great 
was  the  slaughter  on  both  sides,  and  on  both 
sides  they  were  on  the  point  of  claiming  the 
victory  ;  when  the  day  broke,  and  as  the  light 
advanced,  they  soon  perceived  to  their  aston- 
ishment and  grief,  that  owing  to  the  darkness 
of  the  night,  they  had  been  fighting,  not  with 
enemies,  as  they  had  supposed,  but  with  friends 
and  allies  ;  they  had  been  doing  their  enemies 
work,  and  weakening  the  cause  they  wished  to 
support.  The  expectation  of  each  party  to 
conquer  the  other,  was  founded  upon  the  los- 
ses the  opponent  had  sustained  ;  and  this  was 
what  proportionably  aggravated  their  lamenta- 
tion and  distress,  when  they  had  sufficient 
light  to  shew  them  the  mischief  they  had  done. 
Ah  !  my  friends,  if  shame  he  compatible  with 
the  heavenly  state,  as  perhaps  in  a  sense  it 
may  (for  believers,  when  most  happy  here, 
are  most  sensibly  ashamed  of  themselves), 
shall  we  not,  even  then,  be  ashamed  to  think 
how  often,  in  this  dark  world,  we  mistook  our 
friends  for  foes,  and  that,  while  we  thought 
we  were  fighting  for  the  cause  of  God  and 
truth,  we  were  wounding  and  worrying  the 


der  the  semblance  of  zeal  for  his  glon 

II.  I  hope  what  I  have  hitherto  offered, 
though  more  directly  addressed  to  ministers, 
may  not  be  altogether  uninteresting  or  unuse- 
ful  to  the  rest  of  my  auditory  ;  but  you  who 
are  not  in  the  ministry,  if  you  have  tasted  that 
the  Lord  is  gracious,  have  a  desire,  in  com- 
mon with  us,  to  win  souls.  And  there  is  not 
only  ample  room  and  scope  for  your  endeav- 
ours, in  concert  with  ours,  but  without  con- 
currence on  your  parts,  we  can  expect  but 
little  success.  You,  likewise,  if  animated  by 
the  wisdom  which  is  from  above,  even  those 
of  you  who  are  in  the  most  confined  situa- 
tions, may  be  greatly  instrumental  in  winning 
souls. 

1.  By  your  example. — If  you  walk  agree- 
ably to  your  profession,  blameless  and  harm- 
less as  the  children  of  God,  shining  as  lights 
in  the  world,  Phil.  ii.  15.  When  we  preach 
a  free  salvation  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  they, 
who  know  no  better,  misrepresent  our  doc- 
trine, as  being  unfavourable  to  the  practice  of 
morality,  supposing  that  by  the  stress  we  lay 
upon  faith  in  his  atonement,  as  the  only  solid 
ground  of  hope  for  acceptance  with  God,  we 
encourage  men  to  expect  to  be  saved  at  last, 
whether  they  obey  his  commandments  or  not. 
We  endearour  to  convince  them  of  their  mis- 
take, and  to  prove,  that  as  without  faith  it  is 
impossible  to  please  God  (Heb.  xi.  6),  so  it 
is  no  less  impossible  for  any  person  to  possess 
true  faith,  without  earnestly  endeavouring  to 
please  and  obey  him  in  all  things,  from  prin- 
ciples of  love  and  gratitude.  The  proof  of 
this  is  easy  to  those  who  understand  the  scrip- 
tures, and  acknowledge  their  divine  authority. 
But  many,  yea,  most  people,  are  more  likely 
to  be  convinced  by  what  they  observe  of  you, 
than  by  what  they  hear  from  us.  We  assure 
them  that  our  gospel  teaches  those  who  receive 
it,  to  renounce  all  ungodliness  and  worldly 
lusts,  to  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly 
(Tit.  ii.  12);  to  be  temperate  in  prosperity, 
patient  under  affliction  ;  to  fill  up  their  several 
relations  in  life  with  integrity  and  diligence; 
to  be  cheerfully  submissive  to  the  will  of  God 
under  all  changes  ;  to  be  meek,  gentle,  and 
benevolent,  forbearing  and  forgiving ;  in  a 
word,  to  do,  in  all  cases,  to  others,  as  we 
would  they  should  do  unto  us,  Matth.  vii.  12. 
Happy  for  us,  if  when  we  look  round  upon 
our  hearers,  we  can  with  confidence  say,  "  Ye 
are  our  epistles,  known  and  read  of  all  men," 
2  Cor.  iii.  2.  If  any  ask  us  concerning  the 
tendency  of  our  doctrines,  shall  we  send  them 
to  you,  that  they  may  notice,  not  only  your 
serious  and  constant  attendance  upon  public 
worship,  but  the  good  order  of  your  families, 
your  behaviour  as  husbands  or  wives,  parents 
or  children,  masters  or  servants,  your  punctu- 
ality in  business,  and  to  all  your  engagements 
and  promises,  and  the  tenderness  you  discovei 


people  whom  he  loved,  and  perhaps  indulging,  to  the  characters  and  concerns  of  your  neigh 


818 


THE  BEST   WISDOM. 


hours  ?  Shall  we  send  them  to  you,  when  you 
are  in  trouble,  when  you  are  visited  with  s'ck- 
ncss  and  strong  pain,  or  when  the  desire  of 
your  eyes  is  taken  away  with  a  stroke  (Ezek. 
xxiv.  16',  that  they  may  see  with  their  own 
eyes  and  be  satisfied  that  you  have  neither  fol- 
lowed cunningly  devised  fables,  nor  contented 
yourselves  with  mere  lifeless  notions  of  the 
truth  ;  but  that  your  religion  is  real  and  pow- 
erful, and  not  only  inspires  you  with  a  good 
hope  respecting  a  future  state,  but  is  the 
source  of  your  comfort,  and  the  spring  of 
your  conduct  in  the  present  life  ?  may  we 
venture,  my  friends,  to  make  this  appeal  ? 
then  undoubtedly  you  are  wise  to  win  souls. 
A  profession  like  yours  cannot  be  without  an 
influence  within  your  own  circle.  Do  any 
persons,  who  know  your  whole  deportment, 
affect  to  scorn  or  pity  you  ?  if  they  treat  you 
as  hypocrites,  they  are  hypocrites  themselves, 
they  are  contradicted  by  their  own  conscien- 
ces. I  will  not  say  they  love  you,  but  be  as- 
sured they  secretly  reverence  you.  It  is  only 
the  trifling  half-professor,  who  hears  the  gos- 
pel and  talks  about  it,  but  dishonours  it  by 
his  practice,  whom  the  world  really  despise. 
And  who  can  blame  them  for  despising  such 
characters  ?  But,  alas  for  those  who,  by  thus 
causing  the  ways  of  truth  to  be  evil  spoken 
of,  lay  stumbling-blocks  before  the  blind,  Lev. 
xix.  14. 

The  effects  of  a  consistent  conversation  be- 
coming the  gospel  in  those  who  profess  it, 
were  remarkably  exemplified  in  the  first  Chris- 
tian church  at  Jerusalem.  They  were  appa- 
rently like  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  sheep  in 
the  midst  of  wolves.  They  were  surrounded 
by  the  very  people  who  had  lately  murdered 
their  Lord.  But  the  holiness,  love,  joy, 
peace,  union  and  simplicity,  which  animated 
their  conduct,  impressed  an  awe  upon  the  be- 
holders, so  that  no  poor  pretender  durst  pre- 
sume to  join  them  (Acts  v.  13)  ;  and  though 
divested  of  all  outward  advantages  and  sup- 
port, the  people  were  constrained  to  magnify 
them.  Were  this  spirit  more  general  amongst 
us,  I  believe  it  would  be  more  effectual  to 
stop  the  mouths  of  gainsayers,  and  to  silence 
the  cavils  of  infidels,  than  all  our  books  and 
sermons.  And  the  twelve  apostles,  were  they 
now  living  amongst  us,  would  probably  preach 
to  little  purpose,  unless  a  measure  of  this  spi- 
rit were  discoverable  in  their  professed  ad- 
mirers. 

2.  By  your  prayers. — You  are  not  called  to 
preach  the  gospel,  but  in  this  way,  you  may 
greatly  assist  those  who  are.  Brethren,  pray 
for  us.  Our  work  is  great ;  the  difficulties 
we  have  to  surmount,  the  snares  and  tempta- 
tions which  surround  us,  and  our  infirmities, 
are  many.  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things? 
The  apostle  Paul,  distinguished  as  he  was  by 
the  eminence  of  his  grace,  experience,  and 
services,  set  a  high  value  upon  the  prayers  of 
God's  people.     Hear  how  he  pleads  with  them, 


with  an  earnestness,  like  that  of  a  needy  beg- 
gar requesting  alms:  "  I  beseech  you,  brethren, 
for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  and  for  the 
love  of  the  Spirit,  that  you  strive  together  in 
your  prayers  to  God  for  me,"  Rom.  xv.  30. 
And  pray,  "  That  the  word  of  the  Lord  may 
have  free  course,  may  run  and  be  glorified," 
2  Thess.  iii.  1.  The  Lord  has  promised  te 
do  great  things  for  his  people,  but  he  lias  said, 
that  he  will  be  inquired  of  by  them,  to  do  it 
for  them,  Ezek.  xxxvi.  37.  Prize,  and  im- 
prove, your  great  privilege  of  access  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  by  which  every  believer  in 
Jesus,  like  Israel  of  old,  has  power  with  God 
and  with  man.  In  answer  to  effectual  fervent 
prayer,  the  army  of  Sennacherib  was  destroyed 
in  a  night  (Is.  xxxvii.  21,  36),  and  Peter  was 
delivered  from  a  strong  prison,  and  from  the 
malice  of  Herod,  Acts  xii.  5,  12.  The  efficacy 
of  prayer  is  still  the  same.  If  the  Lord  were 
pleased  to  pour  out  a  spirit  of  prayer  and  sup- 
plication upon  his  people,  we  should  find  our 
public  ordinances  more  lively  and  more  fruit- 
ful. We  should  then  hope  to  be  more  success- 
ful in  winning  souls,  and  you  might  justly 
claim  a  principal  share  in  the  comfort  and 
honour  of  seeing  that  good  work  prosper,  to 
the  success  of  which,  your  prayers  would 
largely  contribute.  Next  to  the  immediate 
assistance  and  consolations  of  the  Holy  Spi- 
rit, nothing  encourages  a  faithful  minister  so 
much,  as  when  he  thinks  he  can  perceive  that, 
while  he  is  speaking,  his  hearers  are  drawing 
down  a  blessing  upon  his  words,  by  their 
prayers  :  it  adds  wings  to  his  zeal,  gives  him 
a  double  impression  upon  his  own  heart,  ot 
the  weight  and  importance  of  the  truths  he 
delivers  ;  and  enables  him  to  dispense  them 
with  a  double  impression,  of  demonstration  and 
power,  upon  the  hearts  of  others. 

3.  By  affording  your  countenance  and  as- 
sistance, according  to  the  ability  the  Lord  has 
given  you,  to  promote  every  prudent  and  well- 
directed  scheme  which  is  set  on  foot  for  the 
more  effectual  spreading  of  that  knowledge 
which  is  necessary  in  order  to  win  souls,  from 
the  dominion  of  sin,  to  the  service  of  God. 
Among  these  there  are  few,  if  any,  which  I 
can  more  warrantably  commend  to  your  at- 
tention, than  the  laudable  and  benevolent  ob- 
ject of  the  Society  for  promoting  Religious 
Knowledge  among  the  Poor, — an  institution, 
which  it  has  pleased  God  signally  to  prosper, 
botli  by  the  large  increase  of  their  fund  from 
year  to  year,  and  the  many  instances  of  the 
known  happy  effects  which  have  followed  the 
perusal  of  the  books  they  have  distributed. 
Many  more  instances,  as  yet  unknown  to  us, 
we  trust  will  be  manifested  in  the  great  day, 
when  the  Lord  shall  appear  in  glory.  Though 
the  beginning  of  this  Society  was  small,  they 
have  since  the  year  1750,  when  it  was  first 
formed,  distributed  more  than  four  hundred 
thousand  books,  upwards  of  one  hundred  and 
five  thousand  of  which  were  Bibles  and  New 


THE  BEST  WISDOM. 


819 


Testaments ;  the  rest  were  small  and  plain 
books,  well  adapted  to  the  capacities  and  cir- 
cumstances of  those  who  have,  mostly,  but  a 
confined  education,  and  who  have  not  much 
time  for  reading.  The  number  of  books  be- 
stowed annually  has  been  on  the  increase  from 
year  to  year.  In  the  course  of  the  last  year, 
according  to  the  printed  account,  the  number 
of  all  the  different  books  was  fifteen  thousand 
five  hundred  and  eighty.  How  much  these 
donations  may  have  multiplied  the  means  of 
religious  knowledge  among  people  otherwise 
destitute,  in  these  kingdoms,  in  our  Planta- 
tions, and  in  America,  who  can  say,  who  can 
even  conjecture  ?  And  we  hope,  by  the  be- 
nefactions of  this  year,  the  Society  will  be 
able  to  do  more  the  following  year  than  in 
any  former. 

People  who  are  in  danger  of  perishing  for 
lack  of  knowledge,  are  still  very  numerous. 
The  much  which  has  been  done,  is  little  com- 
pared with  what  the  Society  might  yet  do, 
were  their  resources  equal  to  their  wishes.  I 
trust  my  request,  that  you  will  strengthen 
their  hands  at  this  time,  will  not  be  in  vain  j 
and  that  the  brief  account  I  have  given  you 
of  their  design  and  progress,  will  render  far- 
ther solicitation  needless.  To  bespeak  the 
benevolence  of  my  stated  congregation,  when 
a  collection  is  proposed,  I  seldom  do  more 
than  inform  them  of  the  occasion,  and  that  it 
has  my  good  wishes.  After  the  repeated 
proofs  I  have  had  of  their  generosity,  I  need 
do  no  more.  Nor  will  I  suppose  that  it  is 
necessary  to  use  any  farther  arguments  to  pre- 
vail with  you. 

There  may  be  some  persons  present,  who 
will  kindly  assist  us  in  procuring  the  means  of 
religious  knowledge  for  others,  who  are,  hi- 
therto, unacquainted  with  the  power  and  the 
comforts  of  religion  themselves.  May  the 
good  Lord  now  awaken  their  desires  to  obtain 
the  one  thing  needful,  the  pearl  of  great  price  ! 
That  knowledge  which  is  necessary  for  the 
poor  is  equally  so  for  you,  whatever  your  si- 
tuation in  life  may  be.  Will  you  pity  others, 
and  not  feel  a  concern  for  your  own  case  ? 
You  may  deserve  thanks  from  us  for  your 
ready  assistance  in  this  good  work,  and  yet 
your  heart  may  be  in  a  state  of  alienation  from 
God ;  you  may  have  amiable  qualifications, 
which  entitle  you  to  the  esteem  of  your  fel- 
low-creatures,  as  you  are  members  of  society, 
and  be  at  the  same  time  destitute  of  the  faith 
an  1  !*ope  of  the  gospel.      Permit  me,  before 


we  part,  to  offer  one  consideration  to  your  se- 
rious thoughts.  We  read  that  eight  persons 
only  were  saved  in  the  ark  ( 1  Pet.  iii.  20), 
and  only  four  of  these,  Noah  and  his  three 
sons,  were  men.  Considering  the  large  dimen- 
sions of  the  ark,  I  think  we  may  take  it  for 
granted,  that  Noah  and  his  sons  did  not  build 
it  without  assistance;  and  there  were  no  men 
to  assist  them  in  escaping  from  the  flood,  but 
such  as  afterwards  perished  in  it.  What  an 
awful  case  !  To  afford  their  help  to  build  an 
ark  for  the  preservation  of  others,  and  then  to 
remain  out  of  the  ark  themselves,  until  the 
flood  came  and  swept  them  all  away.  There 
is  a  day  of  wrath  approaching.  It  will  burn 
like  an  oven  ;  it  will  ravage  like  a  flood.  The 
gospel  points  out  a  refuge.  The  believer  in 
Jesus  Christ,  like  Noah  in  the  ark,  is  in  per- 
fect safety ;  he  is  already  delivered  from  con- 
demnation, and  shall  stand  before  the  Lord  in 
humble  confidence,  when  he  shall  come  to  judge 
the  world.  Your  concurrence  in  this  charita- 
ble design  of  distributing  Bibles  among  the 
poor,  that  they  may  be  timely  warned  to  flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come  is  commendable:  — 
thus  you  assist  in  preparing  an  ark  for  them  ; 
the  very  book  or  books  which  your  money  will 
purchase,  may  be  blessed  to  the  saving  of  souls, 
and  consequently  you  may  be  the  instrument. 
Can  you  bear  the  thought  of  being  instru 
mental  to  the  salvation  of  others,  and  to  lose 
your  own  soul,  and  be  yourself  a  cast-away  at 
last,  after  all  the  means  and  opportunities  you 
have  been  favoured  with,  after  all  the  warn- 
ings and  calls  you  have  had,  after  all  the  good 
you  may  have  done  as  a  member  of  society  ? 
Alas  !  is  it  possible  that  you  can  believe  there  is 
a  flood  coming,  and  that  an  ark  is  prepared,  and 
not  flee,  instantly  flee,  for  refuge,  to  the  hope 
set  before  you  ?  O  may  the  Lord  make  you 
truly  wise,  and  effectually  win  your  soul  to 
himself ! 

Brethren,  the  wisdom  spoken  of  in  my  text, 
is  very  different  from  the  wisdom  of  this  world, 
which  knows  not  God.  But  the  scripture  can- 
not be  broken  ;  let  us  therefore  abide  by  the 
sure  decision  of  that  word  which  cannot  de- 
ceive or  disappoint  us.  They  are  truly  wise, 
who  are  wise  to  win  souls  ;  and  though  they 
may  be  now  obscured  by  misrepresentations 
and  reproaches,  they  sh;ill  shine,  ere  long,  as 
the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that 
turn  many  to  righteousness,  as  the  stars  for 
ever  and  ever,  Dan.  xii.  13. 


3  P 


THE  GREAT  ADVENT; 


SERMON 


PREACHED  IN  THE 


PARISH  CHURCH  OF  ST  MARY  WOOLNOTH, 

ON  THURSDAY,    APRIL  23,    1789, 


THE  DAY  OF  GENERAL  THANKSGIVING  FOR  THE  KING  S  HAPFY  RECOVERY. 


Fur  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel, 
and  with  the  trump  of  God  :  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first  :  then  toe  which  are  alive 
and  remain,  shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air  .• 
and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord.      1  Thess.  iv    16,  17. 


Our  beloved  King  is  now  on  his  way,  amidst 
the  acclamations  of  an  affectionate  people^  to 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral:  there  he  will,  this  day, 
make  his  public  acknowledgment  to  God,  who 
heard  his  prayer  in  the  time  of  his  trouble. 
It  will  be  a  joyful  sight  to  thousands  ;  and, 
perhaps,  there  is  not  a  person  in  this  assem- 
bly who  has  not  felt  a  desire  to  be  one  of  the 
spectators.  But  I  am  glad  to  meet  you  here. 
Many  of  you,  I  doubt  not,  earnestly  and  re- 
peatedly prayed  for  the  recovery  of  our  gra- 
cious Sovereign  ;  and  you  judge,  with  me, 
that  the  most  proper  expression  of  our  grati- 
tude and  joy,  is  to  unite  in  rendering  praise  to 
God  upon  the  very  spot  where  we  have  often 
presented  our  united  prayers.  And  I  infer, 
from  the  largeness  of  the  congregation,  that 
few  who  statedly  worship  with  us  are  now  ab- 
sent, those  excepted,  who,  residing  in  or  near 
the  line  of  procession,  could  not  attend  with 
propriety,  nor  perhaps  with  safety. 

If  he  in  whose  name  we  are  met  shall  he 
pleased  (as  his  word  encourages  us  to  hope) 
to  favour  us  with  the  influence  of  his  Holy 
Spirit,  and  to  enable  us,  in  the  exercise  of  that 
faith  which  gives  subsistence  and  evidence  to 
things  as  yet  future  and  unseen,  to  realize  the 
subject  of  my  text  to  our  minds,  we  shall  have 
no  reason  to  regret  our  coming  together  upon 
this  occasion. 

The  immediate  design  of  the  apostle,  in  these 
words,   is   to   comfort  believers   under   a  trial, 


which  some  of  you,  perhaps,  feel  at  this 
hour,  and  to  which  any  of  us  may  be  called 
sooner  than  we  are  aware,  the  removal  of  our 
christian  friends  or  relatives,  with  whom  we 
have  often  taken  sweet  counsel,  to  a  better 
world.  Such  a  stroke,  whenever  it  takes  place, 
will  awaken  painful  sensations,  which  he  who 
knows  our  frame  does  not  condemn.  The  ten- 
dency of  the  gospel  is  to  moderate  and  re- 
gulate, but  not  to  stifle  or  eradicate  the  feel- 
ings of  humanity.  We  may  sorrow,  but  pro- 
vision is  made  that  we  should  not  sorrow  like 
those  who  have  no  hope  ;  "  Blessed  are  the 
dead  who  die  in  the  Lord,"  Rev.  xiv.  13.  It 
is  but  a  temporary  separation  ;  we  shall  see 
them  again  to  unspeakable  advantage.  "  For 
if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again, 
even  so  they  also  that  sleep  in  Jesus  shall  God 
bring  with  him."  The  change  of  expression 
here  is  observable,  Jesus  died.  Death,  to  him, 
was  death  indeed,  death  in  all  its  horrors ; 
but  he  died  for  his  people,  to  disarm  death  of 
its  sting,  to  throw  a  light  upon  the  dark  pas- 
sage to  the  grave,  and  to  open  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  to  all  believers.  For  now  they  that 
believe  in  him  shall  never  die,  John  xi.  26". 
He  so  dispels  their  fears,  and  enlivens  their 
hopes,  that  to  them  death  is  no  more  than  a 
sleep  ;  they  sleep  in  Jesus  and  are  blessed 
And  when  he  who  is  their  life  shall  appear, 
as  he  certainly  will,  and  every  eye  shall  see 
him,  they  also  shall  appear  with  him  in  glory 


rilK  GREAT  ADVENT 

Col.  iii.  4.  "  Foi  the  Lord  himself  shall  de- 
scend  from  heaven,  with  the  voice  of  the  arch- 
angel and  the  trump  of  God  :  and  the  dead 
in  Christ  shall  rise  first." 

But  I  think  I  am  warranted  to  consider  the 
text  in  a  more  general  view,  and  to  accommo- 
date it  to  the  happy  event  which  demands  our 
especial  thankfulness  and  praise  on  this  day. 
Let  our  thoughts  rise  from  the  King's  splen- 
did, though  solemn  procession  to  St.  Paul's, 
to  contemplate  that  great  advent  of  the  King 
of  kings,  the  idea  of  which  filled  and  fired  the 
apostle's  thoughts,  Rev.  i.  7.  Behold  !  he 
cometh  in  the  clouds  !  He  cometh  in  his  own 
glory,  in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  with  all  his 
angels,  and  with  all  his  saints!  Matth.  xxv. 
31  ;    1  Thess.  iii.  12. 

If  I  attempt  to  illustrate  the  procession  (so 
to  speak)  of  that  great  day,  for  which  all  other 
days  were  made,  by  the  most  striking  circum- 
stances of  the  present  day,  it  will,  indeed,  be 
comparing  great  things  with  small.  In  some 
respects  comparison  will  utterly  fail,  and  I 
must  have  recourse  to  contrast.  For  what 
proportion  can  there  be  between  finite  and  in- 
finite, between  the  most  important  concerns 
of  time,  and  those  of  eternity  ? 

Let  us,  however,  aim  to  fix  our  feeble  con- 
ceptions upon  the  Personage  whose  approach 
is  here  announced  ;  upon  the  manner  of  his 
coming ;  upon  his  train  of  attendants,  and 
upon  the  final  event  of  his  appearance,  with 
which  the  scene  will  close. 

The  Lord  himself  shall  descend — At  an- 
other time,  if  both  houses  of  parliament,  the 
judges,  the  foreign  ministers,  the  principal  part 
of  the  nobility,  and  persons  of  distinction  in 
the  nation,  were  to  assemble  in  St.  Paul's, 
their  presence  would  form  a  grand  and  affect- 
ing spectacle.  But  upon  this  occasion,  though 
they  should  be  all  there,  if  the  King  was  not 
seen  among  them,  it  is  probable  they  would  be 
all  in  a  manner  overlooked,  and  disappoint- 
ment and  anxiety  would  mark  the  counte- 
nance of  every  beholder.  But  it  is  more  than 
probable,  it  is  absolutely  certain,  that  if  all  the 
glories  of  the  invisible  world  were  to  open  upon 
the  view  of  those  who  feel  their  obligations  to 
the  great  Redeemer,  they  could  not  be  com- 
pletely happy,  unless  they  were  permitted  to 
behold  his  glory.  He  has  stipulated  on  their 
behalf,  "  Father,  I  will  that  they  whom  thou 
hast  given  me,  should  be  with  me  where  I  am" 
(John  xvii.  24)  ;  and  by  his  grace,  he  quali- 
fies them  for  their  high  privilege,  so  that  even 
now  they  can  say,  "  Whom  have  I  in  heaven 
but  thee  ?  and  there  is  none  on  earth  that  I 
desire  besides  thee,"  Psalm  lxxiii.  25.  Jesus 
is  the  light,  the  life,  the  sun  of  the  soul  that 
knows  him,  according  to  the  revelation  given 
in  the  scriptures  of  his  person,  offices,  and 
grace.  And,  as  the  most  magnificent  palace 
would  be  but  a  dungeon,  if  it  had  no  aper- 
tures to  admit  the  light,  so  the  whole  creation 
would  be  dark  and  dreary  to  his  people,   were 


b5J 

it  possible  that  they  could  be  excluded  from 
his  presence. 

In  this  life,  they  can  know  but  little  of  the 
particulars  of  that  happiness  which  God  has 
prepared  for  them  that  love  him  ;  but  in  ge- 
neral they  know,  and  this  suffices  them,  that 
they  shall  see  him  as  he  is  (1  John  iii.  2),  and 
shall  be  like  him,  and  with  him.  They  love 
him  unseen  ;  and,  while  he  is  yet  absent  from 
them,  the  expectation,  founded  upon  his  own 
gracious  promise,  that  he  will  shortly  descend 
himself,  to  receive  them,  and  to  avow  them 
for  his  own,  before  the  assembled  world,  is 
the  food  and  joy  of  their  hearts,  which  soothes 
their  sorrows,  and  animates  them  under  every 
difficulty  they  are  exposed  to,  at  present,  for 
his  sake. 

Oh  !  the  solemnity,  the  terrors,  and  the 
glories  of  that  approaching  day  !  Then,  they 
who  have  slighted  his  mercy,  and  abused  his 
patience  and  forbearance,  will  tremble.  Then, 
many  whom  the  world  has  admired  or  envied ; 
many  of  "  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the 
great  men,  and  the  chief  captains  and  the 
mighty  men,  shall  call  (alas  !  in  vain)  to  the 
rocks  and  mountains  to  fall  on  them,  and 
hide  them  from  his  presence,"  Rev.  vi.  15, 
16.  But  they  who  love  him,  and  long  for 
his  appearance,  will  say,  "  Lo !  this  is  our  God 
we  have  waited  for  him ;  we  will  be  glad  and 
rejoice  in  his  salvation,"  Isa.  xxv-.  9.  May 
we,  my  brethren,  have  grace  "  to  use  all  dili- 
gence, that  we  may  be  found  of  him,  in  peace, 
without  spot,  and  blameless,"   2  Pet.  iii.  14. 

Should  we  be  asked,  Why  does  every  face 
express  an  air  of  satisfaction  to-day  ?  Why- 
is  the  feeling  of  our  own  personal  trials  in  a 
degree  suspended  ?  Why  does  the  public  ap- 
pearance of  the  King  diffuse  so  general  a  joy 
among  his  loyal  subjects  ?  We  can  give  a 
ready  answer ;  We  love  our  King.  Few  of 
us,  indeed,  are  personally  known  to  him.  The 
blessing  of  being  under  a  good  King,  can 
only  be  known  to  the  bulk  of  a  nation,  by  the 
influence  of  his  administration  upon  the  pub- 
lic welfare.  This  influence  we  have  felt. 
It  is  true,  we  were  too  little  sensible  of  it,  too 
little  thankful  for  it,  until  an  alarming  dis- 
pensation awakened  our  fears,  lest  we  should 
lose  the  privileges  we  had  not  sufficiently 
prized ;  but  then  each  man  would  remind 
himself,  how  higldy  favoured  we  had  been,  as 
a  people,  for  many  years,  under  his  govern- 
ment; then,  we  understood  our  great  obliga. 
tions  to  the  King,  as  the  minister  of  God  to 
us  for  good.  We  were  sitting  peaceably  un- 
der our  own  vines  and  fig-trees,  highly  distin- 
guished among  the  nations,  by  our  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  our  prosperity  at  home,  and 
our  reputation  abroad.  The  news  of  the 
King's  illness,  therefore,  not  only  awakened 
our  apprehensions,  but  revived  our  gratitude ; 
and  from  the  same  principle,  we  now  rejoice 
in  his  recovery. 

Again,   because  we  loved  ii'in,  we  sympa- 


652 


THE   GUEA 


thized  with  him.  We  were  afflicted  by  bis 
affliction.  We  not  only  considered  him  as  a 
King,  but  we  felt  for  him  as  a  man,  a  hus- 
band, and  a  father.  Such  an  instance  of  the  de- 
pendent, precarious  state  of  human  life;  such 
a  proof,  that  no  rank  or  situation  is  exempted 
from  a  share  in  the  calamities  which  sin  has 
brought  into  the  world,  impressed  us  with 
compassion,  blended  with  awe.  And  notour 
compassion  only,  but  our  prayers  were  en . 
gaged  for  the  King,  the  Queen,  and  Royal 
Family.  I  am  persuaded  many  persons  could 
scarcely  have  prayed  more  earnestly  had  it 
jeen  their  own  private  and  domestic  concern. 
Our  prayers  have  been  heard,  and  signally 
answered,  therefore  we  rejoice  and  give  thanks 
to-day.  We  wish  not  to  detract  from  the  skill 
of  physicians,  they  have  been  employed,  and 
owned  as  instruments  of  the  merciful  will  of 
God  ;  but  we  ascribe  the  praise  for  a  recovery, 
so  little  hoped  for,  and  so  critically  seasonable, 
to  him  who  raiseth  the  dead,  who  speaks  and 
it  is  done. 

And  we  rejoice  in  expectation.  Indeed  in 
this  view  we  may,  and  should,  "  rejoice  with 
trembling,"  Ps.  ii.  11.  How  much  may  de- 
pend upon  this  single,  this  precious  life,  we 
know  not;  neither  do  we  know  what  miaht 
have  been  the  consequences,  if  the  rumour,  at 
which  we  once  shuddered,  and  which,  for 
some  hours,  was  generally  believed,  that  God 
had  taken  him  from  us,  had  proved  true. 

Let  us  praise  God,  who  has  preserved  us 
from  knowing  them.  But  the  manner  in 
which  we  have  been  relieved  encourages  us 
both  to  pray  and  to  hope,  that  our  King  is  an 
object  of  God's  especial  care,  and  that  he  will 
live  (long  may  he  live  !)  to  communicate  still 
greater  benefits  to  the  nation,  as  the  patron 
of  true  religion,  the  guardian  of  our  constitu- 
tion, and  an  exemplar  of  piety  and  virtue  to 
his  subjects :  That  God  may  give  him  to 
reign  in  the  hearts  of  an  enlightened,  free, 
and  affectionate  people,  and  not  to  permit  any 
device  or  weapon  formed  against  him,  to 
prosper. 

For  similar  reasons,  but  vastly  superior  in 
importance,  even  as  the  heavens  are  higher 
than  the  earth,  we  rejoice  in  the  assurance  and 
prospect,  that  the  Lord  himself  will  descend. 
He  is  the  good  Shepherd,  who  laid  down  his 
life  for  the  sheep  (John  x.  11)  ;  and,  there- 
fore, they  who  know  his  name,  and  trust  in 
him  for  salvation,  are  bound  to  him  by  the 
strongest  ties  of  attachment  and  gratitude. 
They  admire  his  condescension  and  his  love. 
To  his  mediation  and  care  they  are  indebted 
for  their  life  and  hopes.  They  remember 
what  they  were  doing,  and  how  carelessly  they 
were  sporting  in  the  path  that  leadeth  to  de- 
struction, when  he  first  stopped  them,  turned 
them,  and  led  them  into  his  fold.  He  is, 
even  now,  their  sun  and  shield,  their  wisdom 
and  strength  ;  on  him  they  cast  their  cares 
from  him   they  receive   their  supplies  •■    there- 


r   ADVENT. 

fore  they  love  hiin,  though  unseen  (2  Pet.  i. 
8)  ;  and  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  his  appearance. 

They  know  that  he  .vho  will  descend  to  re- 
ceive them,  was  once  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  a 
companion  of  grief.  And  though  this  too 
little  affected  them  in  the  time  of  their  igno- 
rance, it  has  been  otherwise  since  they  have 
derived  life  from  his  death,  and  healing  from 
his  wounds.  They  have  sympathized  with 
him  in  the  agonies  which  he  endured  in  Geth- 
semane,  and  upon  Mount  Golgotha.  They 
remember  that  his  face  was  defiled  with  spit- 
ting, his  head  crowned  with  thorns,  his  back 
torn  by  scourges,  his  hands  and  feet  pierced 
with  spikes;  that  he  made  his  soul  an  offering 
for  their  sins,  and  was  crucified  for  their  sakes. 
Thus  he  loved  them,  and  gave  himself  for 
them,  Gal.  ii.  10.  Thus  he  delivered  them 
from  approaching  wrath ;  and  this  love  has 
won  their  hearts.  And  they  are  waiting  for 
his  return  from  heaven  (1  Thess.  i.  8);  that 
when  they  shall  see  him  as  he  is,  with  all  his 
angels,  and  with  all  his  saints,  they  may  join 
in  nobler  strains  than  they  can  at  present 
reach,  in  songs  of  praise  to  him  who  redeemed 
them  to  God  by  his  own  blood. 

But  though  they  have  much  to  praise  him 
for  in  this  life,  they  have  much  more  to  ex- 
pect when  he  shall  descend.  Their  privileges 
are  great  while  here.  They  are  already  deli- 
vered from  guilt  and  condemnation,  they  have 
access  by  him  to  a  throne  of  grace,  they  have 
fellowship  with  him  by  faith,  and  joys  which 
a  stranger  intermeddles  not  with — but  it  does 
not  yet  appear  what  they  shall  be,  1  John  iii. 
2.  They  are  still  in  a  state  of  warfare  and 
trial ;  they  are  exposed  to  many  troubles,  to 
reproach,  opposition,  and  temptation ;  they 
are  still  straitened  and  hindered,  in  their  best 
attempts  and  desires,  by  an  indwelling  princi- 
ple of  evil.  They  are  sowing  in  tears  (Ps. 
exxvi.  5),  but  when  their  Lord  shall  descend, 
they  expect  to  reap  with  joy.  He  is  coming 
to  wipe  away  all  their  tears,  and  then  they  are 
assured  they  shall  weep  no  more.  The  days 
of  their  mourning  shall  cease  for  ever.  He 
has  prepared  for  them  a  kingdom,  "  incor- 
ruptible, undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away," 
1  Pet.  i.  4.  In  that  kingdom  they  shall  shine 
forth,  each  like  the  sun  in  the  firmament 
(Matth.  xiii.  43),  an  immense  constellation  of 
suns  ! 

The  manner  in  which  the  Lord  will  descend 
can  be  but  faintly  illustrated  by  any  circum- 
stances borrowed  from  the  pomp  of  this  day. 
When  the  King  enters  St  Paul's,  his  arrival 
will  be  announced,  by  the  voice  of  the  multi- 
tude, the  discharge  of  cannon,  and  the  deep- 
mouthed  organ.  But  what  are  these,  when 
compared  with  the  voice  of  the  Archangel,  the 
shout  of  all  who  love  his  appearance,  and  that 
trump  of  God,  which  will  shake  the  creation, 
and  raise  the  dead  ?  Perhaps  by  the  word 
Archangel,  in  this  connection,  we  may  under- 
stand   the  Lord  of  angels,  the  King  himself. 


THE  GREAT  ADVENT. 

11  He  shall  call  to  the  heaven  from  above,  and 
to  the  earth,  that  he  may  judge  his  people," 
Ps.  1.  4.  The  hour  cometh,  when  the  dead 
shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,"  John 
v.  25.  The  shout  seems  a  military  term.  By 
a  shout  soldiers  encourage  each  other  in  the 
onset  to  battle ;  and  there  is  a  triumphant 
shout  of  victory  when  the  enemy  is  utterly 
defeated.  Such  will  be  the  shout  when  the 
Lord  shall  descend — His  soldiers,  who  fight- 
ing in  his  cause,  have  often  endured  hardship, 
and  have  sometimes  lost  a  skirmish,  shall  on 
the  great  day  of  decision,  in  the  final  event  of 
the  war,  stand   forth  more   than  conquerors, 


853 


through  him  that  loved  them,  Rom.  viii.  37 
Their  shout  shall  proclaim  his  praise  :  For 
they  got  not  the  victory  by  their  own  sword, 
neither  did  their  own  arm  save  them,  Ps.  xliv. 
3.  The  Lord  leads  them  on,  teaches  them  to 
fight,  clothes  them  with  complete  armour,  and 
supplies  them  with  strength  :  He  himself  sub- 
dues their  foes — and  when  he  shall  descend 
with  glory,  he  will  terminate  the  contest.  His 
people  will  then  utter  a  universal  shout,  and 
shall  hear  the  noise  of  war  no  more. 

When  the  Lord  descended  upon  Mount  Si- 
nai, the  trumpet  of  God  was  heard  exceeding 
loud  (Exod.  xix.  16 — 19);  it  waxed  louder 
and  louder,  the  people  trembled,  and  Moses 
spoke.  The  apostle  records  his  words.  Even 
Moses,  the  favoured  servant  of  God,  said,  "  I 
exceedingly  fear  and  quake,  Heb.  xii.  21.  But 
the  sound  of  the  last  trump,  when  the  Lord 
shall  descend  again,  will  be  much  louder,  and 
the  effects  much  more  important  and  exten- 
sive..  It  will  be  heard,  not  only  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  one  mountain,  but  from  east  to 
west,  from  pole  to  pole ;  not  only  by  the  liv- 
ing, but  by  the  dead  ;  by  all  who  ever  lived. 

Then,  at  his  great  command,  they  that 
dwell  in  tiie  dust  shail  awake,  Is.  xxvi.  19. 
The  earth  and  the  sea  shall  deliver  up  their 
dead.  There  will  be  a  resurrection  both  of 
the  just  and  the  unjust.  Some  shall  arise 
"  to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to  shame  and 
everlasting  contempt,"  Dan.  xii.    2. 

The  joy,  this  day,  for  the  recovery  and  ap- 
pearance of  our  King,  is  general,  I  hope  uni- 
versal. I  hope  there  are  few  persons  in  the 
kingdom  who  do  not  cordially  share  in  it. 
However,  if  contrary  sensations  do  exist,  they 
are  suppressed  and  concealed.  But  the  Great 
King  has  borne  with  many  avowed  enemies, 
and  witii  many  traitors  disguised  under  the 
profession  of  his  name  from  age  to  age.  He 
will  not  bear  with  them  always.  He  knows 
them  all,  and  not  one  of  them  can  escape  his 
notice.  To  them  the  language  of  the  trump 
will  be,  Arise,  and  come  to  judgment !  My 
heart  is  pained  to  think,  that  possibly,  some  of 
this  description  may  be  now  present  in  our  as- 
sembly. Yet  I  am  glad  you  are  here,  that  I 
may  warn  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come. 
What  a  dreadful  day  will  it  be,  when  you,  if 
unhumbled,  unpardoned,  unsanctified,  as  vou 


now  are,  shall  be  compelled  to  stand  before 
his  tribunal  !  For  we  are  assured,  that  when  he 
returns  to  bless  his  willing  people,  he  will 
summon  his  enemies,  who  would  not  that  he 
should  reign  over  them,  Luke  xix.  27.  He 
will  place  them  at  his  left  hand,  and  denounce 
that  awful  sentence  upon  them,  "  Depart,  ye 
cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,"  Matth.  xxv.  41. 
As  yet  he  is  upon  a  mercy-seat.  Oh  !  seek 
him,  while  he  may  be  found  ;  call  upon  him 
while  he  is  near !  Isa.  lv.  6.  There  is  for- 
giveness with  him.  Humble  yourselves  be- 
fore him,  and  entreat  for  mercy.  Entreat  him 
to  shew  you  who  he  is,  and  what  he  has  done 
for  sinners ;  that  you  may  believe  and  be  sav- 
ed. Otherwise  you  must  stand  before  his 
judgment-seat.  Then  his  wrath  will  burn 
like  fire. 

But  it  is  of  the  dead  in  Christ,  I  am  chiefly 
to  speak.  These  shall  rise  first,  and  together 
with  those  his  servants  who  shall  be  living  at 
his  coming,  shall  be  caught  up  to  meet  him  in 
the  air.  There  are  expressions  in  scripture 
which  intimate,  that  the  servants  of  the  Lord 
Christ,  shall  have  the  honour  of  being,  in 
some  manner  beyond  our  feeble  apprehension, 
assessors  with  their  Lord  in  the  day  of  judg 
ment,  Luke  xxii.  30 ;  1  Cor.  vi.  3.  They 
will  witness  and  approve  his  proceedings.  In 
this  state  of  infirmity,  it  becomes  them,  and  is 
their  duty,  to  pity  and  pray  for  the  wicked  ; 
and  to  use  all  their  influence  to  persuade  them 
to  pity  themselves,  to  forsake  their  evil  ways, 
that  they  may  live.  But  in  the  great  and 
terrible  day,  when  the  wicked  shall  be  turned 
into  bell,  the  righteous  will  be  so  perfectly  im- 
pressed with  the  justice  and  holiness  of  the 
sentence  of  condemnation,  that  they  will  not 
hesitate  to  say,  "  Amen — So  let  all  thine  ene- 
mies perish,  O  Lord!"  Judges  v.  31. 

Bu-t  the  apostle,  using  the  language  of  pro- 
phecy, which  speaks  of  the  future  as  though 
it  were  actually  present,  says  farther,  "  Then 
we  that  are  alive,  and  remain,  shall  be  caught 
up  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air."  Not,  as  I 
apprehend,  that  he  expected  to  be  living  when 
the  Lord  shall  descend  ;  by  the  word  we,  he 
expresses  bis  joint  relation  with  the  many 
members,  which  constitute  the  one  body,  of 
which  the  Lord  Christ  is  the  head.  Of  these, 
there  will  be  some  living  when  he  shall  ap- 
pear. And  of  these  he  says  elsewhere,  "  We 
shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  chang- 
ed ;  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye, 
at  the  last  trump,"  1  Cor.  xv.  52. — They  will 
not  suffer  that  separation  of  soul  and  body 
which  we  call  death.  But  as  mortal  flesh  and 
blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God,  he 
will  change  their  vile  bodies,  according  to  the 
pattern  of  his  glorious  body  (Phil.  iii.  21), 
and  they,  like  Enoch  and  Elijah  of  old,  shall 
ascend,  together  with  those  who  are  raised 
from  the  dead,  to  meet  him  in  the  air. 

These  will  constitute  his  train.  The  re- 
deemed from  the  earth  ;  they  who  lived  and 


854 


THE  GREAT  ADVENT. 


died  in  the  faith  of  his  name,  through  a  course 
of  successive  generations  ;  and  they  who  shall 
be  Alive  at  his  coining,  shall  be  all  collected 
together,  and  prepared  to  welcome  him. 

Of  the  numbers  who  will  rejoice  to  seethe 
King  to  day,  many,  though  loyal  subjects, 
will  only  behold  him  at  a  distance  ;  and  the 
far  greater  part  of  his  people  will  not  behold 
him  at  all.  Few  but  the  nobility  and  princi- 
pal persons  can  gain  admission  into  the  church  ; 
though  the  crowds  in  the  street  will  partici- 
pate in  the  general  satisfaction.  Could  we 
suppose,  that  instead  of  the  common  people, 
the  streets  were  filled,  and  the  windows  lined 
by  the  great,  that  all  the  sovereigns,  poten- 
tates, and  illustrious  personages  in  Europe, 
were  assembled  to  be  spectators  of  the  joyful 
event  which  now  calls  for  our  thanksgivings  ; 
splendid  as  the  concourse  might  appear  in  the 
eyes  of  men,  they  would  be  unspeakably  in- 
ferior, in  rank  and  dignity,  to  those  who  shall 
meet  the  Lord.  Not  one  of  his  people  will 
be  absent ;  and  however  poor  and  unnoticed 
many  of  them  once  were,  they  will  then,  every 
one,  be  greater  than  the  kings  of  the  earth. 
They  will  all  claim  the  title,  and  the  claim 
will  be  allowed,  of  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
Lord  Almighty,  2  Cor.  vi.  18.  They  will 
all  possess  that  honour  which  cometh  of  God 
only,  John  v.  44.  The  glorious  company  of 
apostles,  the  goodly  fellowship  of  prophets,  the 
noble  army  of  martyrs,  will  march  in  the  pro- 
cession ;  and  besides  these,  an  exceeding  great 
multitude  which  no  man  can  number,  whose 
exaltation  and  happiness  are  but  imperfectly 
represented  to  us  by  images  borrowed  from 
the  things  which  are  deemed  most  valuable 
and  honourable  amongst  men.  They  are  said 
(Rev.  iv.  10;  vii.  9.),  to  be  clothed  with 
white  robes,  to  have  crowns  upon  their  heads, 
to  be  furnished  with  harps,  and  to  bear  palms 
(the  emblem  of  victory)  in  their  hands. 

"  Fear  not.  little  flock,  it  is  your  Father's 
good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom," 
Luke  xii.  32.  May  grace  preserve  you  from 
being  ashamed  of  your  Lord  now,  and  you 
will  not  be  ashamed  of  him,  nor  will  he  be 
ashamed  of  you,  when  he  shall  come  to  judge 
the  world,  Matth.  x.  32;    Mark  viii.  38. 

When  all  mankind  shall  be  ranged  before 
this  great  Judge,  he  will  own  and  vindicate 
his  people  in  the  presense  of  assembled  worlds, 
and  pass  an  irrevocable  sentence  of  exclusion 
and  condemnation  upon  his  enemies;  and 
then,  he  will  say  to  those  on  his  right  hand, 
"  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the 
kingdom  prepared  for  you"  (Matth.  xxv.  34), 
then,  he  will  present  them  before  the  presence 
of  his  glory,  with  exceeding  joy  (Jude  24)  ; 
then  time  shall  be  no  more  (Rev.  x.  6)  ;  they 
will  no  longer  measure  their  existence  by  the 
••evolutions  of  the  sun  and  the  moon  ;  they 
will  enter  upon  an  eternal  state.  With  this 
event  the  apostle  closes  the  description  in  my 
text.      Here  he  stops  ;   the  rest  is  too  great  lor 


language  to  express,  or  thought  to  conceive. 
He  can  only  say,  "  and  so  we  shall  for  ever 
be  with  the  Lord."  Who  can  expound  this 
sentence?  We  must  leave  this  world,  and  be 
admitted  into  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in 
light,  before  we  can  fully  understand  the  im- 
port of  these  few  words. 

We  shall  be  with  the  Lord. — There  is  no 
doubt,  that  if  the  power  of  our  King  was  equal 
to  the  benevolence  of  his  heart,  he  would  will- 
ingly make  all  who  shall  see  him  to-day,  yea, 
all  his  subjects,  in  every  part  of  his  dominions, 
completely  happy.  But  can  he  take  them  all 
with  him  to  court  ?  Can  he  treat  them  all  as 
his  own  children?  Can  he  invest  them  all  with 
dignities  and  possessions  equal  to  the  largest 
desires  of  their  hearts  ?  Could  we,  for  a  mo- 
ment, conceive  it  possible  for  an  earthly  king 
to  do  thus,  still  it  would  afford  but  a  very 
faint  illustration  of  our  subject.  The  highest 
effects  of  his  favour  would  be  precarious  and 
transient,  confined  to  the  term  of  a  short  life, 
and  in  their  nature,  incapable  of  answering 
the  instinctive  appetite  of  the  soul  of  man, 
formed  for  immortality;  and  endued  with  a 
capacity  for  good,  which  nothing  less  than  be- 
ing with  the  Lord  can  satisfy. 

When  Peter  saw  his  Saviour  transfigured 
upon  the  mount,  a  glance  of  his  glory  instant- 
ly fixed  and  filled  his  mind.  He  forgot  all 
inferior  attachments,  and  said.  "  It  is  good  to 
be  here,"  Matth.  xvii.  4.  He  would  have 
been  glad  to  build  tabernacles  upon  the  mount, 
and  to  return  to  the  world  no  more.  He 
knew  not  indeed  what  he  said ;  there  was 
much  for  him  yet  to  do  and  to  suffer  for  his 
Master :  but  he  well  knew  why  he  said  it  ; 
and  all  who  are  partakers  of  the  grace  of  God 
are  like  minded  with  Peter.  And  though  at 
present  they  walk  by  faith,  and  not  by  sight 
(2  Cor.  v.  7),  they  are  sometimes  favoured 
with  seasons  of  refreshment,  with  golden  hours, 
when  according  to  his  gracious  promise,  he 
manifests  himself  unto  them,  as  he  does  not 
unto  the  world  (John  xiv.  22),  and  causes  his 
goodness  to  pass  before  them  ;  then,  for  the 
time,  they  are  raised  above  both  the  cares  and 
the  comforts  of  this  world,  and  could  be  glad 
to  remain  with  him.  But,  like  Peter,  they 
must  return  to  fill  up  the  duties  of  their  situ- 
ation in  life,  till  his  appointed  hour  of  dismis- 
sion. However,  these  foretastes  convince 
them,  that  they  cannot  be  properly  happy  till 
they  are  with  him  in  his  kingdom,  where  noth- 
ing will  conceal  him  for  a  moment  from  their 
view. 

Their  nearest  approaches  to  him  now,  are 
likewise  subject  to  abatements.  Something 
from  within  or  from  without  still  occur  to  inter- 
rupt, and  too  often  to  suspend  their  joys.  Their 
communion  with  him  is  indistinct,  through 
the  medium  of  ordinances,  and  a  veil  of  flesh 
and  blood.  This  veil  hinders  them,  not  only 
as  it  is  polluted,  but  as  it  is  weak,  and  subjec-t 
to  many  infirmities.      We  cannot  sae  him,  as 


THE  GREA 
yet,  and  live,  Exod.  xxxiii.  20.  If  he  did  not 
accommodate  the  discoveries  of  himself  to  the 
frailty  of  our  nature,  we  should  be  overpower- 
ed. The  beloved  disciple  had  often  convers- 
ed familiarly  with  his  Lord,  and  reclined  on 
his  bosom,  during  his  state  of  humiliation  . 
but  when  he  appeared  in  the  isle  of  Patmos, 
though  his  majesty  was  attempered  with  mild- 
ness and  love,  and  his  design  was  to  honour 
and  comfort  him,  he  says,  "  When  I  saw  him, 
I  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead,"  Rev.  i.  17. 

Further,  pain,  indisposition,  and  trouble, 
often  distract  their  attention,  or  detain  them 
from  the  opportunities  in  which  he  has  pro- 
mised to  meet  his  people.  They  are  glad  when 
it  is  said  unto  them,  "  Let  us  go  up  to  the 
house  of  the  Lord"  (Ps.  cxxii.  1);  but  they 
are  frequently  shut  up,  and  cannot  come  forth 
(Ps.  lxxxviii.  8);  and  though  he  supports  them 
under  all  their  afflictions,  yet  it  is  no  small 
trial  to  be  confined  from  his  ordinances.  But 
when  they  shall  meet  their  Lord  in  the  air, 
they  will  be  freed  from  every  defect,  defile- 
ment, and  impediment.  They  will  see  him  as 
he  is,  without  any  interposing  veil  or  cloud. 
They  will  be  out  of  the  reach  of  sin,  tempta- 
tion, pain,  and  grief.  They  are  blessed  now, 
though  often  called  to  mourn,  because  they 
will  then  be  comforted,  Matth.  v.  8. 

Again,  we  shall  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord. 
—  O  that  word  for  ever  !  even  to  be  with  the 
Lord,  and  to  possess  a  happiness  commensur- 
ate to  the  utmost  grasp  of  our  capacity  ;  if  it 
were  only  for  a  month,  or  a  year,  or  an  age, 
or  a  thousand  ages — the  thought  that  this  hap- 
piness must  at  length  have  an  end,  however 
distant  the  termination  might  be,  would  cast 
a  damp  upon  the  whole  enjoyment.  But  to 
know  that  the  happiness  is  eternal,  that  they 
who  are  once  with  the  Lord  shall  be  with  him 
for  ever ;  this  is,  if  I  may  so  speak,  the  Hea- 
ven of  Heaven  itself.  Such  honour  awaits  all 
the  saints  :  for  thus  hath  the  Amen,  the  faith- 
ful and  true  Witness,  already  declared  :  "  Him 
that  overcometh,  will  I  make  a  pillar  in  the 
house  of  my  God,  and  he  shall  go  no  more 
out,"  Rev.  iii.  12.  "Thy  sun  shall  no  more 
go  down,  neither  shall  thy  moon  withdraw  it- 
felf :    for  the   Lord  shall  be  thine  everlasting 

o 

light,  and  the  days  of  thy  mourning  shall  be 
ended,"  Isa.  lx.  20. 

I  hope  I  have  not  digressed  from  the  design 
of  this  day,  by  attempting  to  lead  your  thoughts 
to  the  day  of  the  Lord.  I  have  availed  my- 
self of  every  occasion,  which  my  views  of  the 
text  have  suggested,  to  impress  upon  your 
hearts  and  my  own,  a  sense  of  the  very  great 
mercy  which  God,  in  answer  to  prayer,  has 
bestowed  upon  us,  by  restoring  health  to  the 
King,  and  enabling  him  to  pay  his  public  ac- 
knowledgment to  the  Most  High,  and  to  re- 
visit his  affectionate  people.      But  never  are 


r   ADVENT. 


8.3.) 


our  temporal  mercies  so  sweet,  so  valuable, 
nor  so  likely  to  be  permanent,  as  when  they 
are  thankfully  contemplated  in  immediate  con- 
nection with  the  hand  of  him  by  whom  kino-s 
reign,  and  who  doth  what  pleaseth  him,  in  the 
armies  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth,  Dan.  iv.  25.  Nay,  to  us,  who 
are  soon  to  pass  into  an  eternal  state,  the  most 
important  concerns  of  nations  and  kingdoms 
are  in  reality  trivial  as  the  sports  of  children 
unless  we  can  acknowledge,  trace,  approve, 
and  admire,  the  great  and  ultimate  designs  of 
God,  to  which  all  the  revolutions  that  take 
place  in  human  affairs  are  subordinate  and 
subservient.  His  wise  and  holy  providence 
ruleth  over  all  ;  and  every  movement  has 
either  a  more  remote  or  a  more  direct  tenden- 
cy to  bring  forward  the  glories  of  that  day, 
when  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  to  re- 
ceive his  own  people,  and  to  execute  venge- 
ance upon  his  adversaries. 

Knowing  to  whom  I  am  preaching,  I  have 
not  thought  it  necessary  to  offer  proof,  that 
the  God  who  has  restored  health  to  the  King, 
and  happiness  to  the  kingdom,  is  he  to  whom 
my  text  refers  :  he  of  whom  we  say,  in  our 
public  Liturgy,  "  We  believe  that  thou  shah 
come  to  be  our  judge."  It  is  the  Lord  Jesu? 
Christ,  the  eternal  Word,  the  Son  of  God,  the 
Saviour  of  sinners.  We  rest  in  his  own  de- 
claration, unmoved  by  all  the  cavils  of  those 
who,  alas  !  know  him  not,  that  all  things  are 
delivered  unto  him,  all  power  committed  to 
him,  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  Matth.  xi.  27 ; 
xxviii.  18.  How  else  could  we  trust  to  him 
for  the  expiation  of  our  sins,  and  tht  jalvation 
of  our  souls  ;  guilty  and  helpless  as  we  are  in 
ourselves,  and  conscious  of  the  snares,  diffi- 
culties, dangers,  and  enemies  to  which  we  are 
exposed  ?  The  Lord  reigneth,  Ps.  xcix.  1. 
He  is  King  of  saints,  King  of  the  nations, 
King  and  Lord  of  the  universe.  The  govern- 
ment is  upon  his  shoulders,  Isa.  ix.  6.  This 
God  is  the  God  we  adore,  and  we  now  aim  to 
imitate  the  songs  of  those  with  whom  we  short- 
ly hope  to  join  ;  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that 
was  slain,  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and 
wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honour,  and  glory, 
and  blessing,"  Rev.  v.  12. 

While  I  exhort  you  to  rejoice,  and  join  with 
you  in  rejoicing,  for  the  late  instance  of  his 
goodness  to  the  King,  to  the  nation,  and  to 
ourselves,  I  feel  the  highest  pleasure  in  the 
thought,  that  I  see  many  around  me,  (O 
that  I  could  hope  the  same  of  you  all!)  to 
whom  I  may  warrantably  say,  rejoice  on  these 
accounts,  but  rather,  especially,  and  above  all, 
"  Rejoice  that  your  names  are  written  in  hea- 
ven" (Luke  x.  20),  and  that  the  Lord  whom 
you  love,  who  now  guides  you  by  his  counsel, 
will  shortly  descend  to  receive  you  to  his  glory, 
Ps.  lxxiii.  24. 


A   HYMN  OF  THANKSGIVING  FOR  THE  KING'S  HAPPY 

RECOVERY. 


Man  can  seldom  prize  the  blessings 

Which  our  gracious  God  bestows, 

In  the  moment  of  possessing, 

Or  return  the  praise  he  owes  : 

But  with  other  eyes,  he  views  them, 

In  affliction's  threat'ning  days  ; 

When  he  fears,  lest  he  should  lose  them, 

Then  he  trembles,  weeps  and  prays. 

II. 
Comets,  or  eclipses  wake  him, 
For  a  moment  fix  his  eye, 
Huricanes,  or  earthquakes  shake  him, 
And  extort  an  anxious  cry; 
While  the  sun,  with  gentle  motion, 
Spreading  blessings  through  the  year, 
Causes  no  devout  emotion, 
Neither  gratitude  nor  fear. 

III. 
God  in  mercy  to  this  nation, 
Has  afforded  us  a  King, 
Whose  benign  administration, 
Cheer'd  us  like  the  sun  in  spring. 


Truth  and  liberty  were  nourished, 
By  his  mild  auspicious  rays  : 
Thus  in  peace,  the  kingdom  flourish'd  *, 
But  our  hearts  forgot  to  praise. 

IV. 
When  a  dark  eclipse  succeeded, 
Fear  a  thousand  ills  surmis'd  ; 
Then  we  felt  how  much  we  needed 
What  we  had  too  little  priz'd  : 
Then  we  prayed,  and  since  have  proved 
Fervent  prayer  is  not  in  vain  : 
Prayer  the  dark  eclipse  removed, 
And  our  sun  shines  bright  again. 

V. 
Lord  !  to  thee,  the  great  Physician, 
We  our  hearts  and  voices  raise ! 
Thou  didst  answer  our  petition, 
Now  accept  our  humble  praise  ! 
Bless  our  King,  Almighty  Saviour  ! 
May  he  long  the  sceptre  wield, 
For  our  good  and  with  thy  favour, 
Thou  his  Wisdom,  Strength,  and  Shield 


THE  IMMINENT  DANGER  AND  ONLY  SURE  RESOURCE 

OF  THIS  NATION; 


SERMON 

HtEACHED  IN  1  HE 

PARISH  CHURCH  OF  ST.  MARY  WOOLNOTH, 

ON    FRIDAY,    FEBRUARY    28,     1794. 

THE  DAY  APPOINTED  FOR 
A 

GENERAL  FAST. 


Who  can  tell  if  God  will  turn  and  repent,  and  turn  away  from   his  fierce  anger,  that  we  pert  sh 

not  ?   Jonah  iii.  9 


How  great  is  the  power  of  God  over  the 
hearts  of  men  !  Nineveh  was  the  capital  of  a 
powerful  empire.  The  inhabitants  were  hea- 
thens. The  manj'  prophets  who,  during  a 
long  series  of  years,  had  spoken  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  to  his  professed  people  of  Judah 
and  Israel,  had  spoken  almost  in  vain.  The 
messengers  were  often  mocked,  and  their  mes- 
sage despised.  The  inhabitants  of  Nineveh, 
it  is  probable,  had  never  seen  a  true  prophet 
till  Jonah  was  sent  to  them.  If  they  had  rea- 
soned on  his  prediction,  they  might  have 
thought  it  very  improbable,  that  a  great  city, 
the  head  of  a  great  kingdom,  and  in  a  time  of 
peace,  could  be  in  danger  of  an  overthrow 
within  forty  days.  But  it  is  said,  in  verse  5, 
"  they  belived  God."  The  awful  denuncia- 
tion made  a  general,  a  universal  impression. 
The  king  arose  from  his  throne,  laid  aside  his 
robes,  covered  himself  with  sackcloth,  and  sat 
in  ashes.  A  sudden  cessation,  of  business 
and  of  pleasure,  took  place ;  he  proclaimed  a 
strict  fast,  the  rigour  of  which  was  extended 
even  to  the  cattle.  His  subjects  readily  com- 
plied, and  unanimously  concurred  in  crying 
for  mercy,  though  they  had  no  encourage- 
ment but  a  peradventure  :  "  Who  can  tell  if 
God  will  turn  and  repent,  and  turn  away 
from  his  fierce  anger,  that  we  perish  not?" 

It  appears  from  this,  and  other  passages  of 
scripture,  that  the  most  express  declarations  of 
God's  displeasure  against  sinners,  still  afford 


ground  and  room  for  repentance.      Thus  in 
the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel  (chap,  xxxiii.  14,  15), 
"  When  I  say  unto  the   wicked,    Thou   sbalt 
surely  die ;  if  he  turn   from   his  sin,  and  do 
that  which  is  lawful  and  right,  he  shall  surely 
live,  he  shall  not  die;"  and  again,  in  the  pro- 
phecy of  Jeremiah  (chap,   xviii.    7,  8),    "  At 
what  instant   I   shall  speak  concerning  a  na- 
tion, and  concerning  a  kingdom  to  destroy  it ; 
if  that  nation  against  whom  I  have  pronounc- 
ed, turn  from  their  evil,  I  will  repent  of  the 
evil  that  I  thought  to  do  unto  them."      The 
Lord  God  speaks  to  us  by  his  word,  in  plain 
and  popular  language.      He   condescends  to 
our  feeble   apprehensions.      God    cannot  re- 
pent, he  is  of  one  mind,   who  can  turn  him  ? 
Numb,  xxiii.  19;    Job  xxiii.   13.      Yet  when 
afflictive    providences    lead  men    to    a    sense 
of  their  sins,  to   an  acknowledgment  of  their 
demerits,    and    excite    a    spirit    of    humilia- 
tion,  repentance,  and  prayer,  he  often  merci- 
fully   changes   his    dispensations,   and    averts 
from  them  the  impending  evil.      Such  was  the 
effect  of  Jonah's  message  to  the   Ninevites. 
The  people  humbled  themselves,  and  repented 
of  their  wickedness  ;  and  God  suspended  the 
execution  of  the  sentence  which  he  had  pro- 
nounced against  them. 

My  brethren,  may  we  not  fear,  that  the  men 
of  Nineveh  will  rise  up  in  judgment  against 
us  (Matth.  xii.  41),  and  condemn  us,  if  we 
do  not  imitate  their  example,  and  humble  ou, 


858 

selves  before  God  ?  They  repented  at  the 
preaching  of  Jonah,  and  immediately,  on  their 
first  hearing  him  :  and  they  sought  for  mercy 
upon  a  peradventure,  when  they  could  say  no 
more,  than  Who  can  tell,  whether  there  may 
be  the  least  room  to  hope  for  it,  after  what  the 
prophet  has  so  solemnly  declared  ? 

God  does  not  speak  to  us  by  the  audible 
voice  of  an  inspired  prophet,  nor  is  it  necessa- 
ry. We  know,  or  may  know  from  his  writ- 
ten word,  that  it  shall  be  well  with  the  right- 
eous, and  ill  with  the  wicked,  Is.  iii.  10,  11. 
The  appearance  of  an  angei  from  heaven  could 
add  nothing  to  the  certainty  of  the  declara- 
tions he  has  already  put  into  our  hands.  He 
has  likewise  raised  up,  and  perpetuated  a  suc- 
cession of  his  ministers,  to  enforce  the  warn- 
ings he  has  given  us  in  the  scripture ;  to  re- 
mind us  of  our  sins,  and  the  sure  and  dread- 
ful consequences,  if  we  persist  in  them.  Nor 
are  we  left  at  an  uncertainty  as  to  the  event, 
if  we  humbly  confess  them,  and  implore  for- 
giveness, in  the  way  which  he  has  prescribed. 
The  gospel,  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed 
God,  is  preached  unto  us.  Jesus  Christ  as 
crucified  is  set  forth  amongst  us,  Gal.  iii.  1. 
His  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin  (1  John  i. 
7)  ;  and  they  who  believe  in  him  are  freed 
from  condemnation,  and  completely  justi- 
fied, Rom.  viii.  1  ;   Acts  xiii.  39.      They  have 


J  UK   IMMINENT  DANGER 


part  of  the  continent,  the  distant  report  of 
which  is  sufficient  to  make  our  ears  tingle,  are 
all  to  be  ascribed  to  this  cause.  God  is  not 
acknowledged,  yea,  in  some  places,  he  has 
been  formally  disowned  and  renounced. 
Therefore  men  are  left  to  themselves,  their 
furious  passions  are  unchained,  and  they  are 
given  up,  without  restraint,  to  the  way  of  their 
own  hearts.  A  more  dreadful  judgment  than 
this  cannot  be  inflicted  on  this  side  of  hell. 

And  though  we  are  still  favoured  with  peace 
at  home,  the  dreadful  storm  is  at  no  OTeat  dis- 
tance  ;  it  seems  moving  our  way,  and  we  have 
reason  to  fear  it  may  burst  upon  us.  But  I 
would  be  thankful  for  the  appointment  of  this 
day  ;  for  I  should  think  the  prospect  dark  in- 
deed, if  I  did  not  rely  on  the  Lord's  gracious 
attention  to  the  united  prayers  of  those  who 
fear  and  trust  him,  and  who  know  it  is  equally 
easy  to  him  either  to  save  or  to  destroy,  by 
many  or  by  few,  1  Sam.  xiv.  6.  Our  fleets 
and  armies  may  be  well  appointed  and  well 
commanded  ;  but  without  his  blessing  upon 
our  councils  and  enterprises,  they  will  be  un- 
able to  defend  us.  He  can  take  wisdom  from 
the  wise  and  courage  from  the  bold,  in  the 
moment  when  they  are  most  needful.  He  can 
disable  our  forces  by  sickness  or  dissension. 
And  by  his  mighty  wind,  he  can  dash  our 
ships  to  pieces  against  the  rocks,  against  each 


also  free  access  to  a  throne  of  grace,  and  like  other,  or  sink  them  as  lead  in  the  mighty  wa- 
Israel  they  have  power  by  prayer  to  prevail  I  ters.  Who  is  he  that  saith  and  it  cometh  to 
with  God  and  with  man,  Gen.  xxxii.  28.  I  pass,  if  the  Lord  commandeth  not  ?  Lam. 
And  shall  it  be  said  of  any  of  us,  that  the 
Lord  gave  us  space  to  repent,  and  invited  us 
to  repentance,  and  we  repented  not?  Rev.  ii. 
21.    May  his  mercy  forbid  it ! 

He  now  speaks  to  us  by  his  providence. 
His  judgments  are  abroad  in  the  earth  ;  and 
it  behoves  us  to  learn  righteousness.  His 
hand  is  lifted  up,  and  if  any  are  so  careless,  or 
obstinate,  that  they  will  not  see,  yet  sooner  or 
later,  they  must,  they  shall  see,  Isa.  xxvi.  9,  1 1 . 
The  great  God  has  a  controversy  with  the 
potsherds  of  the  earth.  The  point  to  be  de- 
cided between  him,  and  many  abroad,  and,  I 
fear,  too  many  at  home  is,  whether  he  be  the 
governor  of  the  earth  or  not?  His  own  peo- 
ple, to  whom  his  name  and  glory  are  dear, 
will  hold  all  inferior  concernments  in  subordi- 
nation to  this.  If  there  be  no  other  alterna- 
tive, misery  and  havoc  must  spread,  men  must 
perish  by  millions,  yea,  the  frame  of  nature 
must  be  dissolved,  rather  than  God  be  disho- 
noured and  defied  with  impunity.  But  he 
will  surely  plead  and  gain  his  own  cause ;  and 
either  in  a  way  of  judgment  or  of  mercy  all 
men  shall  know,  that  he  is  the  Lord.  I  be- 
lieve there  is  no  expression  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment so  frequently  repeated  as  this,  Ye,  or 
They  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord.  "  Hath 
he  said  it,  and  shall  he  not  make  it  good  ?" 
Ezekiel  passim. 

The  rivers  of  human  blood,  and  all  the  ca- 
lamities and  horror  which   overspread   a  great 


pass,  if  the   Lord   commandeth   not  ? 
iii.  37. 

Our  Lord  and  Saviour,  when  speaking  of 
the  eighteen  upon  whom  the  tower  of  Siloam 
fell  and  slew  them,  said  to  the  Jews,  "  Think 
ye  that  these  men  were  sinners,  above  all  that 
dwelt  in  Jerusalem,  because  they  suffered  such 
things?  I  tell  you,  Nay  :  but  except  you  re- 
pent, ye  shall  all  likewise  perish,"  Luke  xiii.  4. 
May  the  application  of  these  words  sink  deeply 
into  our  hearts  !  It  will  not  become  us  to  say, 
either  to  God  or  man,  that  we  have  indeed 
sinned,  but  there  are  greater  sinners  than  our- 
selves. It  is  true  the  French  Convention, 
and  many  others  who  are  infatuated  by  the 
same  spirit,  have  exceeded  the  ordinary  stand- 
ard of  human  impiety  and  cruelty.  But  I 
hope  there  are  multitudes  in  that  nation,  who 
though  they  are  overawed  by  the  oppressors, 
and  dare  not  speak  their  sentiments,  yet  are 
mourning  in  secrecy  and  silence  for  the  abo- 
minations which  they  cannot  prevent.  But 
the  French  have  not  sinned  against  such  ad- 
vantages as  we  possess.  They  were  long  the 
slaves  of  arbitrary  power,  and  the  dupes  of 
superstition,  and  of  late  they  have  been  the 
dupes  of  madmen,  assuming  the  name  of  phi- 
losophers. We  on  the  contrary,  were  born 
and  educated  in  a  land  distinguished  from  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  by  the  eminent  degree 
in  which  we  enjoy  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
and  the  light  of  gospel  truth.  These  privi- 
leges exceedingly  aggravate  our  sins  ;  and  no 


AND   ONLY  SURE   RESOURCE   OF   THIS   NATION. 


bo  9 


just  comparison,  in  this  respect,  can  be  formed 
between  us  and  other  nations,  until  we  can 
find  a  people  who  have  been  equally  favoured, 
and  for  an  equal  space  of  time,  by  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  and  have  likewise  equalled  us 
in  disobedience  and  ingratitude. 

The  most  dreadful  enormities  committed  in 
France,  are  no  more  than  specimens  of  what 
human  depravity  is  capable,  when  circum- 
stances admit  of  its  full  exertion,  and  when 
the  usual  boundaries  and  restrictions  necessary 
to  the  peace  and  welfare  of  civil  society  are 
judicially  removed.  The  influence  of  daring 
infidelity  and  profligate  example,  aided  by  the 
peculiar  state  of  their  public  affairs,  have  bro- 
ken, in  many  instances,  the  strongest  ties  of 
social  and  relative  life,  and  extinguished  the 
common  feelings  of  humanity. 

Yet  the  unhappy  French,  though  our  inve- 
terate enemies,  are  not  the  proper  objects  of 
our  hatred  or  our  scorn,  but  rather  of  our  pity. 
They  know  not  what  they  do.  Let  us  pray  for 
them.  Who  can  tell  but  God,  to  whom  all 
things  are  possible,  and  whose  mercies  are  high- 
er than  the  heavens,  may  give  them  also  repent- 
ance ?  And  let  us  pray  for  ourselves,  that  we 
may  be  instructed  and  warned  by  their  history  ; 
for  by  nature,  we  are  no  better  than  they. 

I.  But  it  is  time  to  attend  more  immedi- 
ately to  our  own  concerns.  The  professed 
purpose  of  our  meeting  to-day,  is  to  humble 
ourselves  before  Almighty  God,  and  to  send 
up  our  prayers  and  supplications  to  the  Divine 
Majesty,  for  obtaining  pardon  of  our  sins,  and 
for  averting  those  heavy  judgments  which  our 
manifold  provocations  have  most  justly  de- 
served, and  imploring  his  blessing  and  assist- 
ance on  the  arms  of  his  Majesty  by  sea  and 
land,  and  for  restoring  and  perpetuating  peace, 
safety,  and  prosperity  to  himself  and  to  his 
kingdoms. '  I  hope  these  expressions  accord 
with  the  language  and  desire  of  our  hearts. 

And  now — O  for  a  glance  of  what  Isaiah 
saw,  and  has  described,  in  chap,  vi  !  O  that 
we,  by  the  power  of  that  faith  which  is  the 
evidence  of  things  unseen,  could  behold  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  filling  this  house;  that  we 
could  realize  the  presence,  and  the  attitude  of 
their  attendant  angels  !  They  cover  their  faces 
and  their  feet  with  their  wings,  as  ove-rpowered 
by  the  beams  of  his  majesty,  and  conscious,  if 
not  of  defilement  like  us,  yet  of  unavoidable 
inability  as  creatures,  to  render  him  the  whole 
of  that  praise  and  homage  which  are  justly  due 
to  him.  O  that  by  faith,  we  could  enter  into 
the  spirit  of  their  ascription,  Holy,  holy,  holy 
is  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  the  whole  earth  is  filled 
with  his  glory !  If  we  were  all  thus  affected, 
as  the  prophet  was,  surely  each  one  for  him- 
self would  adopt  the  prophet's  language.  Or 
if  a  comfortable  hope  in  the  gospel  prevented 
us  from  crying  out,  Wo  is  me  I  am  undone ! 
— we  should  at  least  say  (the  Hebrew  word 

*    Title-pape  of  the  appointed  form  of  prayer. 


might  be  so  rendered),  I  am  silenced,  I  am 
struck  dumb  !  I  am  overwhelmed  with  confu- 
sion and  shame;  for  I  am  a  man  of  unclean 
lips  myself,  and  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a  peo- 
ple of  unclean  lips,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen 
the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts. 

If  we  have  a  degree  of  this  impression,  we 
shall  not  be  at  leisure  to  perplex  ourselves 
concerning  men  or  measures,  the  second  causes, 
or  immediate  instruments  of  our  calamities. 
The  evil  of  sin  contrasted  with  the  holiness 
and  glory  of  God,  will  engross  our  thoughts. 
And  we  shall  ascribe  all  the  troubles  we  either 
feel  or  fear  to  our  own  sins,  and  the  sins  of 
those  among  whom  we  dwell. 

1.  Let  us  first  look  at  home.  I  am  a  man 
of  unclean  lips.  I  am  a  sinner.  This  con  • 
fession  suits  us  all,  and  is  readily  made  by  all 
who  know  themselves.  A  person  approach 
ing  London  from  the  neighbouring  hills, 
usually  sees  it  obscured  by  a  cloud  of  smoke. 
This  cloud  is  the  aggregate  of  the  smoke, 
to  which  every  house  furnishes  its  respective 
quota.  It  is  no  unfit  emblem  of  the  sin  and 
the  misery  which  abound  in  this  great  metro- 
polis. The  Lord  said  of  the  Amorites,  at  a 
certain  period,  There  iniquity  is  not  yet  full : 
(Gen.  xv.  16),  I  hope  the  measure  of  our 
iniquity  is  not  yet  full;  but  it  is  filling  every 
day,  and  we  are  all  daily  contrihuting  to  fill 
it.  True  believers,  though  by  grace  delivered 
from  the  reigning  power  of  sin  (Rom.  vi.  14), 
are  still  sinners.  In  many  things  we  offend 
all,  in  thought,  word,  and  deed.  We  are  now 
called  upon  to  humble  ourselves  before  God, 
for  the  sins  of  our  ignorance,  and  for  the  more 
aggravated  sins  we  have  committed  against 
light,  and  experience — for  those  personal  sins, 
the  record  of  which  is  only  known  to  God  and 
our  own  consciences — for  the  defects  and  de- 
filements of  our  best  services — for  our  great 
and  manifold  failures  in  the  discharge  of  our 
relative  duties,  as  parents,  children,  husbands, 
wives,  masters,  or  servants,  and  as  members 
of  the  community.  Our  dulness  in  the  ways 
of  God,  our  alertness  in  the  pursuit  of  our 
own  will  and  way  ;  our  indifference  to  what 
concerns  his  glory,  compared  with  the  quick- 
ness of  our  apprehensions  when  our  own  tem- 
poral interests  are  affected, — are  so  many 
proofs  of  our  ingratitude  and  depravity.  The 
sins  of  the  Lord's  own  people  are  so  many, 
and  so  heightened  by  the  consideration  of  his 
known  goodness,  that  if  he  was  to  enter  into 
judgment  with  them  only,  they  could  offer  no 
other  plea  than  that  which  he  has  mercifully 
provided  for  them ;  "  If,  thou,  Lord,  shouldst 
mark  iniquity,  O  Lord,  who  could  stand  ? 
but  there  is  forgiveness  with  thee,  that  thou 
mayst  be  feared,"  Ps.  cxxx.  3,  4. 

2.  It  is  easy  to  declaim  against  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  times.  But  only  they  who  are 
duly  affected  with  the  multitude  and  mag- 
nitude  of  their   own  sins,   can  be  competent 

I  judges  of  what   the  prophet  meant,  or  felt 


8G0 


THE  IMMINENT  DANGER 


when  he  said,  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a  people 
of  unclean  lips.  We  ought  to  be  no  less  con- 
cerned (though  in  a  different  manner)  for  the 
sins  of  those  among  whom  we  dwell,  than  for 
our  own.  We  shall  be  so,  if  with  the  eyes  of 
our  mind,  we  behold  the  King,  the  Lord  of 
hosts ;  because  his  glory,  which  should  be  the 
dearest  object  to  our  hearts,  is  dishonoured  by 
them. 

I  think  this  nation  may  be  considered  as  the 
Israel  of  the  New  Testament,  both  with  re- 
spect of  his  goodness  to  us,  and  our  perverse 
returns  to  him. — He  has  been  pleased  to  se- 
lect us,  as  a  peculiar  people,  and  to  shew 
amongst  us,  such  instances  of  his  protection, 
his  favour,  his  grace,  and  his  patience,  as  can- 
not be  paralleled  in  the  annals  of  any  other 
nation. 

We  have  no  certain  account  when  the  name 
of  Jesus  the  Saviour  was  first  known  in  this 
island  ;  it  was  probably  at  an  early  period  of 
the  Christian  sera.  But  we  do  know,  that 
after  the  long  dark  night  of  superstition  and 
ignorance  which  covered  Christendom  for 
many  ages,  the  dawn  of  returning  gospel- 
light  was  first  seen  amongst  us.  From  the 
time  of  Wickliff,  the  morning  star  of  the  Re- 
formation, the  true  gospel  has  been  known, 
preached,  received,  and  perpetuated  to  this 
day.  There  have  been  times  when  they  who 
loved  this  gospel  have  suffered  for  it.  They 
were  preserved  faithful,  in  defiance  of  stripes, 
fines,  imprisonment,  and  death  itself.  But 
those  times  are  past.  We  enjoy  not  only  light, 
but  liberty,  and  the  rights  of  conscience  and 
private  judgment,  in  a  degree  till  of  late  un- 
known. 

We  have  likewise  been  long  favoured  with 
peace,  though  often  principals  in  wars,  which 
have  been  very  calamitous,  both  to  our  ene- 
mies, and  to  the  nations  which  have  taken 
part  in  our  affairs.  Our  intestine  broils  at 
different  times  have  contributed  to  form  and 
establish  our  present  happy  constitution.  We 
breathe  the  air  of  civil  liberty.  Our  insular 
situation,  and  naval  force,  by  the  blessing  of 
God,  have  preserved  us  from  foreign  invasions; 
and  when  such  have  been  attempted,  the 
winds  and  seas  have  often  fought  our  battles. 
Our  wide -spreading  and  flourishing  com- 
merce, has  raised  us  to  a  pitch  of  opulence, 
which  excites  the  admiration  and  envy  of 
other  nations. — Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
appear  but  as  small  spots  upon  a  globe  or 
map  ;  but  our  interests  and  influence  extend, 
in  every  direction,  to  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth. 

Will  not  the  Lord's  words  to  Israel  apply 
with  equal  propriety  to  us  ?  What  could  have 
been  done  to  my  vineyard,  that  I  have  not 
done  ?  Wherefore,  when  I  looked  for  grapes, 
brought  it  forth  wild  grapes  ?    Isa.  v.  4. 

How  is  the  blessed  gospel  improved  among 
ns  ?  This  would  be  a  heavy  day  to  me,  if  I 
did  not  believe,  and  know,  that  there  are  those 


among  our  various  denominations,  who  prize 
and  adorn  it.  If  these  could  be  all  assembled 
in  one  place,  I  hope  they  would  be  found  a 
very  considerable  number :  and  for  tlieir 
sakes,  and  in  answer  to  their  prayers,  I  hum- 
bly trust  that  mercy  will  still  be  afforded  to 
us.  But  compared  with  the  multitudes  who 
reject,  despise,  or  dishonour  it,  I  fear  they 
are  very  few.  Too  many  hate  it  with  a  bit- 
ter hatred,  and  exert  all  their  influence  to  op- 
pose and  suppress  it.  The  great  doctrines  of 
the  Reformation  are  treated  with  contempt ; 
and  both  they  who  preach,  and  they  who  es- 
pouse them,  are  considered  as  visionaries  or 
hypocrites,  knaves  or  fools.  The  gospel  of 
God  is  shunned  as  a  pestilence,  or  complained 
of  as  a  burden,  almost  wherever  it  is  known. 

Wisdom  is  indeed  justified  of  all  her  chil- 
dren, Luke  vii.  35.  The  gospel  is  the  pow- 
er of  God  to  the  salvation  of  them  that  be- 
lieve, Rom.  i.  16.  It  recalls  them  from  er- 
ror, from  wickedness,  and  from  misery,  guides 
their  feet  into  the  ways  of  peace,  and  teaches 
them  to  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in 
the  world,  Titus  ii.  12.  But  in  the  number 
of  those  who  profess  to  receive  it,  there  are 
too  many  who  confirm  and  .  increase  the  pre- 
judices of  those  who  speak  against  what  they 
know  not. — Alas  !  what  extravagant  opinions, 
what  fierce  dissensions,  what  loose  conversa- 
tions, what  open  offences,  may  be  found  a- 
mongst  many  who  would  be  thought  profes- 
sors of  that  gospel  which  only  breathes  the 
spirit  of  holiness,  love,  and  peace  ! 

What  then  must  be  the  state  of  those  who 
avowedly  live  without  God  in  the  world  ?  I 
need  not  enlarge  upon  this  painful  subject, 
which  forces  itself  upon  the  mind,  if  we  only 
walk  the  streets,  or  look  into  the  newspapers. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  inform  my  hearers  that 
infidelity,  licentiousness,  perjury,  profaneness, 
the  neglect  and  contempt  of  God's  sabbaths 
and  worship  abound.  The  laws  of  God,  and 
the  laws  of  the  land,  so  far  as  their  object  is 
to  enforce  the  observance  of  his  commands, 
are  openly  and  customarily  violated  in  every 
rank  of  life.  In  a  day  when  the  Lord  of 
hosts  calls  to  weeping  and  mourning,  thought- 
less security,  dissipation  and  riot,  are  the 
characteristics  of  our  national  spirit,  Is.  xxii. 
12,  13.  The  loss  of  public  spirit,  and  that 
impatience  of  subordination,  so  generally  ob- 
servable, so  widely  diffused,  which  are  the 
consequences  of  our  sins  against  God,  are,  in 
themselves,  moral  causes  sufficient  to  ruin  the 
nation,  unless  his  mercy  interposes  in  our  be 
half. 

I  should  be  inexcusable,  considering  the 
share  I  have  formerly  had  in  that  unhappy  bu- 
siness, if,  upon  this  occasion,  I  should  omit  to 
mention  the  African  slave-trade.  I  do  not 
rank  this  amongst  our  national  sins  ;  because 
I  hope  and  believe,  a  very  great  majority  of 
the  nation,  earnestly  long  for  its  suppression. 
Cut,  hitherto,   petty  and  partial  interests  pi» 


AND  ONLY  SURE  RESOURCE  OF  THIS  NATION. 


8G I 


vail  against  the  voice  of  justice,  humanity,  and 
truth.  This  enormity,  however,  is  not  suffi- 
ciently laid  to  heart.  If  you  are  justly  shock- 
ed by  what  you  hear  of  the  cruelties  practised 
in  France,  you  would  perhaps  be  shocked 
much  more,  if  you  could  fully  conceive  of  the 
evils  and  miseries  inseparable  from  this  traffic, 
which  I  apprehend,  not  from  hearsay,  but 
from  my  own  observation,  are  equal  in  atroci- 
ty, and  perhaps  superior  in  number,  in  the 
course  of  a  single  year,  to  any  or  all  the  worst 
actions  which  have  been  known  in  France 
since  the  commencement  of  their  revolution. 
There  is  a  cry  of  blood  against  us;  a  cry  ac- 
cumulated by  the  accession  of  fresh  victims, 
of  thousands,  of  scores  of  thousands,  I  had  al- 
most said  of  hundreds  of  thousands,  from  year 
to  year. 

It  is  but  a  brief  and  faint  outline  I  have  at- 
tempted to  give  of  the  present  state  of  this  na- 
tion, in  the  sight  of  Almighty  God,  and  of  the 
sins  for  which  we  are  this  day  assembled  to 
humble  ourselves  before  him. 

II.  Have  we  not  therefore  cause  to  say, 
with  the  Ninevites,  Who  can  tell  ? — Is  it  not 
a  peradventure  ?  Is  there  more  than  a  possi- 
bility, that  we  may  yet  obtain  mercy  ? 

If  our  sins  are  no  less  numerous,  no  less  of 
a  scarlet  dye,  than  those  of  other  nations,  and 
exceedingly  aggravated  beyond  theirs,  by  be- 
ing committed  against  clearer  light,  and  the 
distinguished  advantages  we  have  long  enjoy- 
ed :  if  we  have  not  only  transgressed  the  laws 
of  God  in  common  with  others,  but  daringly 
trampled  upon  the  gracious  tenders  of  his  for- 
giveness, which  he  has  long  continued  to  pro- 
pose to  us,  with  a  frequency  and  energy  al- 
most peculiar  to  ourselves  :  if  all  the  day  long 
he  has  stretched  out  his  hands  to  a  disobedi- 
ent aad  gainsaying  people  (Rom.  x.  21),  and, 
hitherto,  almost  in  vain :  if  neither  the  to- 
kens of  his  displeasure,  nor  the  declarations  of 
his  love,  have  made  a  suitable  impression  upon 
our  minds, —  who  can  tell  if  he  will  yet  be  en- 
treated ?  May  we  not  fear,  lest  he  should  say, 
My  Spirit  shall  strive  with  them  no  more  : 
They  are  joined  to  their  idols,  let  them  alone: 
Hosea,  iv.  17.  When  you  spread  forth  your 
hands,  I  will  hide  my  face  from  you  ;  when 
you  make  many  prayers,  I  will  not  hear  ? 
Isa.  i.  15. 

Where  are  now  the  mighty  empires,  which 
were  once  thought  rooted  and  established  as 
the  everlasting  mountains  ?  They  have  disap- 
peared like  the  mists  upon  the  mountain-tops. 
Nothing  of  them  remains  but  their  names. 
They  perished,  and  their  memorials  have  al- 
most perished  with  them,  Ps.  ix.  6.  The  pa- 
tience of  God  bore  with  them  for  a  time,  and 
until  the  purposes  for  which  he  raised  them 
up  were  answered  ;  but  when  the  measure  of 
their  iniquity  was  full,  they  passed  away,  and 
were  dispersed,  like  foam  upon  the  waters. 
What  security  hare  we  from  such  a  catas- 
trophe ?    Or  what   could    we  answer,  if  God 


should  put  that  question  to  us,  «  Shall  not  I 
visit  for  these  things  ?  Shall  not  my  soul  be 
avenged  on  such  a  nation  as  this  ?"  Jer.  v.  9. 
Where  are  now  the  churches  which  once 
flourished  in  Greece,  and  in  the  Lesser  Asia? 
When  the  apostle  Paul  wrote  to  the  former, 
and  when  our  Lord  indited  his  epistles  to  the 
latter,  most  of  them  were  in  a  prosperous 
state.  If  there  ever  was  a  time  when  the 
commendations  given  to  them  were  applicable 
to  professors  of  the  gospel  in  our  land,  I  fear 
we  can  hardly  claim  them  at  present.  Can  it 
be  justly  said  of  us,  that  our  faith  and  love 
are  everywhere  spoken  of,  and  that  we  are 
examples  to  all  that  believe  ?  That  our  works, 
and  service,  and  faith,  and  patience,  are  known, 
and  the  last  to  be  more  than  the  first  ?  Rom. 
i.  8;  1  Thess.  i.  7;  Rev.  ii.  19.  Or  rather, 
may  it  not  be  said  of  too  many,  that  while 
they  profess  to  believe  in  God,  in  works  they 
deny  him  ?  Titus  i.  16. — That  they  are  nei- 
ther hot  nor  cold — That  they  have  a  name  to 
live,  and  are  dead — That  they  have  at  least 
forgotten  their  first  love?  Rev.  iii.  I,  15;  ii. 
4.  When  these  defects  and  declensions  be- 
gan to  prevail  in  the  first  churches,  the  Lord 
admonished  and  warned  them  ;  but  instead  of 
watching  and  repenting,  they  gradually  became 
more  and  more  remiss.  At  length  their  glory 
departed,  and  their  candlesticks  were  removed 
out  of  their  places.  Many  regions  which  once 
rejoiced  in  the  light  of  the  gospel,  have  been 
long  overspread  with  Mahomedan  darkness; 
and  the  inhabitants  are  wretched,  ignorant 
slaves. 

Let  us  not  trust  in  outward  privileges,  nor 
rest  in  a  form  of  godliness  destitute  of  the 
power.  It  will  be  in  vain  to  say,  The  temple 
of  the  Lord,  the  temple  of  the  Lord  are  we 
(Jer.  vii.  4),  if  the  Lord  of  the  temple  should 
depart  from  us.  When  the  Israelites  were  a- 
fraid  of  the  Philistines,  they  carried  the  ark 
of  the  Lord  with  them  to  battle.  But  God 
disappointed  their  vain  confidence.  He  de- 
livered the  ark  of  his  glory  into  the  hands  of 
their  enemies  ( 1  Sam.  iv.  5,  11);  to  teach 
them,  and  to  teach  us,  that  formal  hypocriti- 
cal worshippers  have  no  good  ground  to  hope 
for  his  protection. 

Alas!  then,  who  can  tell? — Appearances 
are  very  dark  at  present.  Besides  what  we 
may  expect  or  fear  from  the  rage  and  madness 
of  our  foreign  enemies,  we  have  much  to  ap- 
prehend at  home.  A  spirit  of  discord  has 
gone  forth.  Jeshurun  has  waxed  fat,  and 
kicked,  Deut.  xxxiii.  15.  Many  Britons  seem 
weary  of  liberty,  peace,  and  order.  Our  hap- 
py constitution,  our  mild  government,  our 
many  privileges,  admired  by  other  nations, 
are  despised  and  depreciated  amongst  our- 
selves :  and  that  not  only  by  the  thoughtless 
and  licentious,  by  those  who,  having  little  to 
lose,  may  promise  themselves  a  possibility  of 
gain,  in  a  time  of  disturbance  and  confusion  • 
but  they  are  abetted  and  instigated  by  persons 


m-2 


THE   IMMINENT    DANGER 


of  sense,  character,  and  even  of  religion.  I 
should  be  quite  at  a  loss  to  account  for  this, 
if  I  did  not  consider  it  as  a  token  of  the  Lord's 
displeasure.  When  he  withdraws  his  bless- 
sing,  no  union  can  long  subsist. 

"  Because  thou  servedst  not  the  Lord  thy 
God,  with  joyfulness,  and  with  gladness  of 
heart,  for  the  abundance  of  all  things;  there- 
fore shalt  thou  serve  thine  enemies,  whom  the 
Lord  shall  send  against  thee,  in  hunger,  and 
in  thirst,  and  in  nakedness,  and  in  the  want 
of  all  things,"  Deut.  xxviii.  47,  48.  These 
words  of  Moses  to  rebellious  Israel  emphati- 
cally describe  the  former  and  the  present  state 
of  many  of  the  PYench  nation,  who  have  been 
despoiled,  insulted,  and  glad  if  they  could  es 
cape  (great  numbers  could  not  so  escape)  with 
the  loss  of  their  all,  and  at  the  peril  of  their 
lives,  to  a  more  hospitable  shore.  May  their 
sufferings  remind  us  of  our  deserts  !  Who  can 
tell  if  the  Lord  may  yet  be  merciful  unto  us, 
and  exempt  us  from  similar  calamities ! 

III.  But  though  we  have  much  cause  to 
mourn  for  our  sins,  and  humbly  to  deprecate 
deserved  judgments,  let  us  not  despond.  The 
Lord  our  God  is  a  merciful  God  !  Who  can 
tell  but  he  may  repent,  and  turn  from  the 
fierceness  of  his  anger,  that  we  perish  not?  If 
the  professed  business  of  this  day  be  not  con- 
fined to  a  day,  but  if,  by  his  blessing  it  may 
produce  repentance  not  to  be  repented  of,  then 
I  am  warranted  to  tell  you,  from  his  word, 
that  there  is  yet  hope.  You  that  tremble  for 
the  ark,  for  the  cause  of  God,  whose  eyes  af- 
fect your  hearts,  who  grieve  for  sin,  and  for 
the  miseries  which  sin  has  multiplied  upon  the 
earth,  take  courage.  Let  the  hearts  of  the 
wicked  shake,  like  the  leaves  of  the  trees  when 
agitated  by  a  storm  (Isa.  vii.  2);  but  be  not 
you  like  them.  The  Lord  God  is  your  refuge 
and  strength,  your  resting  place,  and  your 
hiding  place;  under  the  shadow  of  his  wings 
you  shall  be  safe,  Ps.  xlvi.  1  ;  xc.  I  ;  cxix. 
il4. 

1.  He  who  loved  you,  and  died  for  your 
sins,  is  the  Lord  of  glory.  All  power  in  hea- 
ven and  in  earth  is  committed  unto  him, 
Matth.  xxviii.  18.  The  Lord  reigneth,  let 
the  earth  be  never  so  unquiet,  Ps.  xcix.  1. 
All  creatures  are  instruments  of  his  will. 
The  wrath  of  man,  so  far  as  it  is  permitted  to 
act,  shall  praise  him,  shall  be  made  subservi- 
ent to  the  accomplishment  of  his  great  de- 
signs; and  the  remainder  of  that  wrath,  all 
their  projected  violence,  which  does  not  coin- 
cide with  his  wise  and  comprehensive  plan,  he 
will  restrain,  Ps.  lxxvi.  10.  In  vain  they 
rage,  and  fret,  and  threaten.  They  act  under 
a  secret  commission,  and  can  do  no  more  than 
lie  permits  them.  If  they  attempt  it,  he  has  a 
hook  and  a  bridle  in  their  mouths,  2  Kings 
xix.  28.  When  the  enemies  would  come  in 
like  a  flood,  he  can  lift  up  a  standard  against 
them,  Is.  lix.  19.  As  lie  has  set  bounds  and 
burs  to  the  tempestuous  sea,  bevond   which  it 


cannot  pass,  saying,  Hitherto  shalt  thou  conic 
and  no  farther,  and  here  shall  thy  proud  wave" 
be  stayed  (Job  xxxviii.  10,  11);  so,  with  equal 
ease,  he  can  still  the  madness  of  the  people, 
Ps.  Ixv.  7. 

You  do  well  to  mourn  for  the  sins  and  mi- 
series of  those  who  know  him  not.  But  if 
you  make  him  your  fear  and  your  dread,  be 
will  be  a  sanctuary  to  you,  and  keep  your 
hearts  in  peace,  though  the  eartli  be  removed, 
and  the  mountains  cast  into  the  midst  of  the 
sea,  Is.  viii.    13,  14.    Ps.  xlvi.  2. 

2.  Your  part  and  mine,  is  to  watch  and 
pray. —  Let  us  pray  for  ourselves,  that  we  may 
be  found  waiting,  with  our  loins  girded  up, 
and  our  lamps  burning  (Mark  xiii.  35;  xiv. 
38),  that  we  may  be  prepared  to  meet  his  will 
in  every  event.  Let  us  pray  for  the  peace  of 
Jerusalem,  for  his  church,  which  is  dear  to 
him,  as  the  pupil  of  his  eye,  for  the  spread  of 
his  gospel,  and  the  extension  of  his  kingdom, 
till  his  great  name  be  known  and  adored  from 
the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun,  and  the 
whole  earth  shall  be  filled  with  his  glory,  Mai. 
i.  11.  Many  splendid  prophecies  are  yet  un- 
fulfilled :  and  he  is  now  bringing  forward  their 
accomplishment.  Light  would  undoubtedly 
arise  out  of  this  darkness.  Let  us  earnestly 
pray  for  a  blessing  from  on  high,  upon  our 
beloved  King  and  his  family,  upon  the  coun- 
sels of  government  and  parliament,  and  upon 
all  subordinate  authority  in  church  and  state 
— that  we  may  lead  quiet  and  peaceable  lives 
in  all  godliness  and  honesty,  that  religion  and 
good  order  may  be  established,  and  iniquity 
be  put  to  shame  and  silence.  Thus  we  may 
hope  to  be  secured,  by  the  sure,  though  secret 
mark  of  divine  protection,  Ezek.  ix.  4.  The 
Lord  will  be  our  shield,  though  many  should 
suffer  or  fall  around  us.  The  very  hairs  of 
our  heads  are  numbered,  Matth.  x.  30.  Or 
if,  for  the  manifestation  of  our  faith,  and  the 
power  of  his  grace,  he  should  permit  us  to 
share  in  common  calamities,  we  may  rely  upon 
him  to  afford  us  strength  according  to  our 
day,  Deut.  xxxiii.  25.  He  is  always  near  to 
his  people,  a  very  present  help  in  the  time  of 
trouble  ;  and  he  can  make  the  season  of  their 
greatest  tribulations,  the  season  of  their  sweet- 
est consolations,   2  Cor.  i.  5. 

3.  And  let  us  pray  in  faith.  Let  us  remem- 
ber what  great  things  the  Lord  has  done  in  an- 
swer to  prayer.  When  sin  had  given  Senna- 
cherib rapid  success  in  his  invasion  of  Ju- 
dah,  he  did  not  know  that  he  was  no  more 
than  an  axe  or  a  saw  in  the  hand  of  God,  Isa. 
x:  15;  xxxvii.  14 — 36.  He  ascribed  his  vic- 
tories to  his  own  prowess,  and  thought  him- 
self equally  sure  of  Jerusalem.  But  Heze- 
kiah  defeated  him  upon  his  knees.  He  spread 
his  blasphemous  letter  before  the  Lord  in  the 
temple,  and  prayed,  and  the  Assyrian  army 
melted  away  like  snow.  When  Peter  was  shut 
up,  and  chained  in  prison,  the  chains  fell  from 
his  hands,    the   locks  and  bolts  gave. way,   and 


AND   ONLY  SURE   RESOURCE   OF  THIS   NATION. 


>63 


the  iron  gate  opened,  while  the  church  was 
united  in  earnest  prayer  for  his  deliverance, 
Acts  xii.  5 — 13. 

And  as  we  have  heard,  so  have  we  seen. 
God  has  signally  answered  the  prayers  of  his 
people,  in  our  own  time.  Much  prayer,  both 
public  and  private,  was  offered  for  our  beloved 
King,  during  his  late  illness  ;  and  how  won- 
derful, how  sudden,  how  seasonable  was  his 
recovery  !  Surely  this  was  the  finger  of  God  ! 
When  he  thus  removed  our  apprehensions,  we 
were  like  them  that  dream,  Psalm  cxxvi.  1. 

I  believe  prayer  was  no  less  efficacious,  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  year  1792.  I  know 
many  people  treated  the  idea  of  danger  at  that 
time  as  cliimerical,  because  the  Lord  was 
pleased  to  avert  it.  But  I  hope  we  have  not 
quite  forgotten  the  language  we  heard,  and 
the  person?  we  daily  met  with  in  the  street, 
the  many  daring  cabals  which  were  held  in 
this  city,  and  the  threatenings  which  were 
written  in  large  characters  upon  the  walls  of 
our  houses,  at  almost  every  corner.  But  the 
hearts  of  men  were  turned  like  the  tide  in  the 
critical  moment.  Then  I  think  the  interpo- 
sition of  the  Lord  was  evident !  Then  we  had 
a  repeated  proof  that  he  hears  and  answers 
prayer  ! 

The  present  likewise  is  a  very  important 
crisis.  All  that  is  dear  to  us  as  men,  as  Bri- 
tons, as  Christians,  is  threatened.  Our  ene- 
mies are  inveterate  and  enraged.  Our  sins 
testify  against  us.  But  if  we  humble  our- 
selves before  God,  forsake  our  sins,  and  unite 
in  supplications  for  mercy,  who  can  tell  but 
he  may  be  entreated  to  give  us  that  help  which 
it  would  be  in  vain  to  expect  from  man  ?  yea, 
we  have  encouragement  to  hope  that  he  will 
be  for  us  (Rom.  viii.  31),  and  then  none  can 
prevail  against  us.  But  without  his  blessing 
our  most  powerful  efforts,  and  best  concerted 
undertakings  cannot  succeed. 

You,  who  have  access  to  the  throne  of  grace, 
whose  hearts  are  concerned  for  the  glory  of 
God,  and  who  lament  not  only  the  temporal 
calamities  attendant  upon  war,  but  the  many 
thousands  of  souls  who  are  yearly  precipitated 
by  it  into  an  eternal,   unchangeable  state, — 


you,  I  trust,  will  shew  yourselves  true  friends 
to  your  country,  by  bearing  your  testimony, 
and  exerting  your  influence  against  sin,  the 
procuring  cause  of  all  our  sorrows,  and,  by 
standing  in  the  breach,  and  pleading  with  God 
for  mercy,  in  behalf  df  yourselves,  and  of  the 
nation.  If  ten  persons,  thus  disposed,  had 
been  found  even  in  Sodom,  it  would  have  e- 
scaped  destruction,  Gen.  xviii.  32. 

IV.  There  may  be  some  persons  in  this  as- 
sembly, who  are  little  concerned  for  their  own 
sins,  and  are  of  course  incapable  of  taking  a 
proper  part  in  the  service  of  the  day.  Yet  I 
am  glad  that  you  are  here  ;  I  pity  you,  I  warn 
you.  If  you  should  live  to  see  a  time  of  pub- 
lic distress,  what  will  you  do?  To  whom  will 
you  look,  or  whither  will  you  flee  for  help  ? 
All  that  is  dear  to  you  may  be  torn  from  you, 
or  you  from  it. — Or,  if  it  please  God  to  pro- 
long our  tranquillity,  ycu  are  liable  to  many 
heavy  calamities  in  private  life.  And  if  you 
should  be  exempted  from  these,  death  is  ine- 
vitable, and  may  be  near.  My  heart  wishes 
you  the  possession  of  those  principles  which 
would  support  you  in  all  the  changes  of  life, 
and  make  your  dying  pillow  comfortable.  Are 
you  unwilling  to  be  happy  ?  or  can  you  be 
happy  too  soon  ?  Many  persons  are  now  look- 
ing upon  you,  who  once  were  as  you  are  now. 
And  I  doubt  not,  they  are  praying  that  you 
may  be  as  they  now  are.  Try  to  pray  for 
yourself;  our  God  is  assuredly  in  the  midst 
of  us.  His  gracious  ear  is  attentive  to  every 
supplicant.  Seek  him  while  he  is  to  be  found. 
Jesus  died  for  sinners,  and  he  has  said,  Him 
that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  nowise  cast  out, 
John  vi.  37.  He  is  likewise  the  author  of 
that  faith,  by  which  alone  you  can  come  right- 
ly to  him.  If  you  ask  it  of  him,  he  will  give 
it  you  ;  if  you  seek  it  in  the  means  of  his 
appointment,  you  shall  assuredly  find,  Matth. 
vii.  7.  If  you  refuse  this,  there  remaineth  no 
other  sacrifice  for  sin,  Heb.  x.  22,  27.  If  you 
are  not  saved  by  faith  in  his  blood,  you  are 
lost  for  ever.  O  kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  be  an- 
gry, and  you  perish  from  the  way,  if  his  wrath 
be  kindled,  yea  but  a  little.  Blessed  are  all 
they  that  put  their  trust  in  him,  Psal.  ii.  12. 


MOTIVES  TO  HUMILIATION  AND  PRAISE; 

A 

SERMON 

PREACHED  IN  THE 

PARISH  CHURCH  OF  ST.  MARY,  WOOLNOTH, 

ON  TUESDAY,   DECEMBER    19,    1797. 
THE  DAY  OF  GENERAL  THANKSGIVING  TO  ALMIGHTY  GOD  FOR  OUR  LATE  NAVAL  VICTORIES. 


How  shall  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim  ?  How  shall  I  deliver  thee,  Israel?  How  shall  I  make  thet 
as  Admah  ?  How  shall  I  set  thee  as  Zeboim  ?  My  heart  is  turned  within  me,  my  repentings 
are  kindled  together.  I  will  not  execute  the  fierceness  of  mine  anger,  I  will  not  return  to  de- 
stroy Ephraim  ;  for  I  am  God,  and  not  man,  the  Holy  One  in  the  midst  of  thee. 

Hosea,  xj.  8,  9. 


The  most  High  God,  in  the  revelation  of  his 
will  to  men,  adapts  his  language  to  the  weak- 
ness of  our  conceptions.  Heavenly  truths 
are  represented  by  images  taken  from  earthly 
things,  John,  iii..  12.  The  metaphors  of  eyes 
and  hands  are  used  in  the  scriptures  to  raise 
our  thoughts  to  some  due  apprehension  of  his 
infinite  knowledge,  his  omnipresence,  and  his 
almighty  power,  1  Pet.  iii.  12;  Ps.  Ixxxix.  13. 
He  is  likewise  spoken  of,  as  deliberating,  re- 
penting, rejoicing,  and  grieving ;  yet  we  are 
sure  that  passions  like  those  of  which  we  are 
conscious  in  ourselves,  cannot  in  strict  proprie- 
ty be  ascribed  to  the  holy  and  blessed  God. 
No  attentive  and  serious  mind  can  be  misled  by 
this  figurative  analogy.  We  learn  from  the 
same  scriptures  of  truth,  that  God  is  sove- 
reign ;  that  with  him  there  is  no  variableness, 
nor  shadow  of  turning,  (James  i.  17),  that 
his  counsel  shall  stand,  and  he  will  do  all  his 
pleasure  (Is.  xlvi.  10)  ;  and  that  all  his  works 
are  perfectly  known  to  him,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world,  Acts  xv.  1 8.  The  more  fa- 
miliar modes  of  expression  are  designed  to 
teach  us,  not  what  be  is  in  himself,  but  how 
it  becomes  us  sinful  creatures  to  be  affected 
towards  him. 

Thus,  though  die  purpose  of  God  concern- 
ing Israel  was  fixed  and  unalterable,  yet,  to 
impress  us  with  a  sense  of  his  inflexible  dis- 
pleasure against  sin,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
leave  open  the  door  of  hope  and  encourage- 


ment for  penitent  sinners,  we  read  of  a  debate, 
as  it  were,  between  his  justice  and  his  mercy. 
Justice  demanded  that  Israel  should  be  given 
up,  delivered  up  to  vengeance,  to  such  a  de- 
struction as  that  by  which  God  overthrew  the 
cities  in  the  plain  of  Jericho,  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrah, Admah  and  Zeboim,  Deut.  xxix.  23. 
But  Mercy  interposed,  pleaded  for  a  respite, 
and  prevailed.  O  Ephraim,  O  Israel,  justice, 
calls  aloud  for  vengeance,  but  how  shall  I, 
how  can  I  give  thee  up  ?  No,  I  cannot,  I 
will  not,  my  heart  is  turned  within  me,  my 
repentings  are'kindled. 

Two  reasons  are  assigned,  in  his  pathetic  ex- 
postulation, why  he  would  still  exercise  long- 
suffering  towards  those  who  so  justly  deserved 
to  perish  :  1 .  I  am  God,  and  not  man.  The  pa- 
tience of  man,  or  of  any  mere  creature,  would 
have  been  overcome  long  ago  by  the  perverse- 
ness  of  Israel ;  but  he  who  made  them,  and 
he  only,  was  able  to  bear  with  them  still. 
2.  I  am  the  Holy  One  in  the  midst  of  thee. 
In  that  dark  and  degenerate  day,  when  the 
bulk  of  the  nation  was  in  a  state  of  revolt  and 
rebellion,  there  were  a  hidden  remnant  who 
feared  and  worshipped  the  Lord,  and  who 
mourned  for  the  abominations  which  they 
could  not  prevent,  Ezek.  ix.  4,  6.  Of  these 
the  Lord  was  mindful,  and  for  the  sake  of 
these,  deserved  judgments  were  suspended 
from  falling  upon  the  rest. 

The  people  of  Israel  were  for  a  time  in   a 


MOTIVES  TO  HUMILIATION  AND 

state  of  hard  bondage,  and  were  severely  op- 
pressed in  Egypt.  The  Lord  brought  them 
out  from  thence  with  a  mighty  hand,  and  a 
stretched  out  arm.  He  afterwards  drowned 
Pharaoh  and  his  host  in  the  Red  Sea ;  but  he 
led  Israel  safely  through  the  deep  as  upon  dry 
land.  In  the  barren  wilderness  he  fed  them 
with  manna,  and  brought  them  water  out  of 
the  rock.  In  the  pathless  wilderness  he  guided 
them,  by  a  cloud  in  the  day,  and  by  a  tire  in 
the  night.  He  fought  their  battles,  subdued 
their  enemies,  and  put  them  in  possession  of 
the  land  he  had  promised  to  their  forefathers. 
They  were  a  people  whom  the  Most  High  se- 
lected for  himself,  as  his  peculiar  treasure, 
Ps.  cxxxv.  4.  He  was  their  God  and  their 
King.  They  were  the  only  people  who  were 
at  that  time  favoured  with  the  knowledge  of 
the  true  God,  and  how  to  worship  him  accep- 
tably. He  gave  them  his  laws  and  ordinances. 
He  resided  among  them,  and  honoured  them 
with  a  visible  token  of  his  presence  in  the  ta- 
bernacle, and  afterwards  in  the  temple.  They 
were  likewise  under  an  especial  care  of  his 
providence.  The  fruitfulness  of  their  land 
did  not  depend  upon  the  climate,  but  the 
early  and  the  latter  rain  returned  regularly  at 
the  stated  seasons,  by  his  appointment ;  and 
when,  in  obedience  to  his  commands,  all  their 
males  from  the  most  distant  parts  went  up 
three  times  in  a  year  to  Jerusalem,  and  left 
their  borders  destitute  of  human  defence,  God 
so  impressed  the  surrounding  nations  with 
awe,  that,  though  hostile  in  their  dispositions, 
they  never  availed  themselves  of  that  seem- 
ingly favourable  opportunity  for  invading 
them,  Exod.  xxxiv.  24.  Under  the  reign  of 
Solomon,  they  enjoyed  peace,  plenty,  prospe- 
rity, and  wealth,  in  a  degree  till  then  un- 
known among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

What  returns  did  Israel  make  to  the  Lord 
for  all  these  benefits  ?  The  history  of  their 
conduct  is  little  more  than  the  recital  of  a 
long  series  of  ungrateful  murmurings,  disobe- 
dience, and  rebellion.  They  insisted  his  will, 
broke  his  commandments,  mingled  with  the 
heathen,  and  learned  their  ways.  They  re- 
peatedly forsook  the  Lord  God  of  their  fa- 
thers, worshipped  dumb  idols,  and  practised 
all  the  abominations  of  the  nations  which  the 
Lord  had  cast  out  before  them.  Their  sins 
often  brought  calamities  upon  them.  The 
Lord  gave  them  up  unto  the  hands  of  their 
enemies ;  they  suffered  by  the  svvord,  by  pes- 
tilence and  by  famine.  When  he  slew  them, 
then  they  sought  him  ;  and  when  they  sought 
him,  he  was  entreated  of  them,  Ps.  lxxviii. 
34.  He  delivered  them  out  of  their  afflic- 
tions ;  but  they  soon  forgot  his  goodness,  and 
returned  to  their  evil  ways.  He  sent  many 
of  his  servants  in  succession,  to  admonish  and 
warn  them  ;  but  they  despised  his  words,  they 
mocked  his  messengers,  and  misused  his  pro- 
phets, 2  Chron.  xxxvi.   16. 

Can  we  wonder,  if  justice  demanded  the  ut- , 


PRAISE. 


8G5 


ter  extirpation  and  ruin  of  a  people  so  highly 
favoured,  so  well  instructed,  so  often  chas- 
tised and  delivered,  and  yet  so  incorrigibly 
ungrateful,  daring  and  obstinate !  Is  it  not 
rather  wonderful  to  hear  the  Lord  expressing 
a  reluctance  to  execute  the  sentence  so  justly 
deserved,  and  saying  of  such  a  people,  How 
shall  I  give  thee  up  ? 

But  can  we  read  the  history  of  Israel,  with- 
out remarking  how  strongly  it  resembles  our 
own  ?  Have  we  not  been  equally  distinguish- 
ed from  the  nations  around  us,  by  spiritual 
and  temporal  blessings,  and  by  our  gross  mis- 
improvement  of  them?  We  are  assembled  this 
day  to  join  in  public  thanksgivings  for  public 
mercies,  but  we  have  great  cause  for  public 
humiliation  likewise.  We  have  much  reason 
to  rejoice  in  the  goodness  of  the  Lord ;  but 
we  have  reason  to  temper  our  joy  with  trem- 
bling (Ps.  ii.  11),  when  we  compare  the  state 
of  things  around  us,  with  that  of  Ephraim 
and  Judah  in  the  days  of  the  prophet  Hosea. 

While  too  many  persons  lose  their  time  and 
temper  in  political  and  party  disputes,  and  re- 
fer all  the  calamities  we  either  feel  or  fear  to 
instruments  and  second  causes,  let  us  acknow- 
ledge that  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth  ! 
Rev.  xi-x.  6.  Let  us  consider  sin  as  the  pro- 
curing cause  of  all  our  troubles.  Let  us  re- 
cognize his  hand  in  them,  and  confess  that,  in 
all  the  distress  he  has  brought  upon  us,  he 
has  not  dealt  with  us  as  our  iniquities  de- 
serve. May  our  hearts  be  suitably  affected, 
while  I  attempt  a  brief  sketch  of  the  abound- 
ing evils  and  abominations  prevalent  amongst 
us,  which  might  justly  provoke  the  Lord  to 
sweep  this  land,  so  long  the  land  of  peace  and 
liberty,  with  the  besom  of  destruction  !  and 
then  we  shall  be  prepared  to  praise  him  for 
those  merciful  and  signal  interpositions  of  his 
providence,  which  afford  us  some  ground  to 
hope,  that,  notwithstanding  all  our  provoca- 
tions, he  will   not  yet  give  us  up. 

I.  Offences  of  the  same  kind  may  be  height- 
ened and  aggravated  by  circumstances.  Thus 
an  insult  offered  to  a  benefactor,  a  parent,  or 
a  king,  is  deemed  more  grievous  than  if  the 
person  offended  was  in  all  respects  an  equal. 
In  this  sense,  I  fear  the  sins  of  Great  Britain 
are  of  a  deeper  dye  than  those  of  any  nation 
in  Europe;  because  they  are  committed  a- 
gainst  greater  advantages  and  privileges  than 
any  other  people  have  enjoyed.  May  not  the 
Lord  appeal  to  ourselves,  as  to  Israel  of  old, 
What  could  have  been  done  more  to  my  vine- 
yard, that  I  have  not  done  ?  Is.  v.  4.  After 
the  black  night  of  Popish  darkness,  in  which 
Christendom  had  been  for  ages  involved, 
Wickliff,  the  morning-star  and  harbinger  of 
the  Reformation,  arose  in  our  borders.  From 
his  time,  we  have  been  favoured  with  a  suc- 
cession of  preachers  of  the  gospel,  and  of  wit- 
nesses to  its  truth  and  power.  Not  a  few  of 
these  sealed  U.t  ir  profession  with  their  blood  ; 
and  a  much  greater  number  suffered  in  the 
3  Q 


060 


MOTIVES  TO  HUMILIATION   AND  PRAISE. 


same  cause,  by  fines,  stripes,  banishment,  and 
imprisonment.  But  since  the  Revolution,  and 
especially  since  the  accession  of  King  George 
I.  to  the  throne,  the  spirit  of  persecution  has 
been  greatly  repressed  and  chained  up.  We 
are  not  now  called  to  resist  unto  blood.  Nor 
is  there  any  Protestant  country  where  religi- 
ous liberty  is  so  universally  enjoyed,  and  with 
so  little  restraint,  as  in  the  dominions  of  Great 
Britain. 

O  fortunati  nimium,  sua  si  bona  norint ! 

Our  constitution,  the  basis  and  bulwark  of 
our  civil  liberty,  is  the  admiration  or  envy  of 
our  surrounding  neighbours.  It  cost  our  fore- 
fathers many  struggles  to  bring  forward  and 
establish  this  national  blessing ;  but  we  have 
enjoyed  it  so  long,  and  so  quietly  that  we 
seem  almost  to  forget  its  value,  how  it  was  ob  • 
tained,  or  how  only  it  can  be  preserved  ?  Wo  be 
to  us,  if  God  should  succeed  the  desires  and  en- 
deavours of  those  who  are  disposed  to  exchange 
it  for  licentiousness  !  Add  to  this  our  public 
prosperity. — While  we  have  beer,  principals  in 
many  wars,  which  have  spread  devastation  and 
misery  far  and  wide  abroad,  we  have  had  un- 
interrupted peace  at  home  ;  and  know  so  little 
of  the  calamities  of  war,  that  were  it  not  for 
the  increase  of  taxes,  it  is  probable  we  should 
not  be  soon  weary  of  hearing  of  battles,  and 
the  slaughter  of  thousands,  provided  victory 
declared  on  our  side.  Our  arms  and  our 
commerce  have,  almost  like  the  ocean,  encom- 
passed the  habitable  globe,  and  we  are  become 
the  grand  mart  and  emporium  of  the  earth. 

But  what  have  been  our  returns  to  the 
Lord  for  all  his  goodness  !  May  he  not  say  of 
us,  as  of  Israel,  I  have  nourished  and  brought 
up  children,  and  they  have  rebelled  against 
me  '  Is.  i.  2.  I  attempt  not  to  explain  the 
unfulfilled  prophecies  in  the  Apocalypse,  but 
the  first,  second,  and  third  chapters  of  the 
prophecy  of  Isaiah  are  so  obviously  applicable 
to  the  present  state  of  these  kingdoms,  that 
we  need  look  no  further  to  perceive  both  our 
sin  and  our  danger.  May  the  Lord  soften 
our  hearts  for  our  own  sins,  the  sins  of  pro- 
fessors of  the  gospel,  and  those  national  sins 
which  strongly  mark  our  character  as  a  people ! 

1.  The  true  Christian  sees  much  cause  of  hu- 
miliation in  himself.  Though  he  cannot  but 
take  sorrowful  notice  of  what  passes  around 
him,  he  is  more  ready  to  scrutinize  and  blame 
his  own  misconduct,  than  that  of  other  men. 
He  confesses  that  his  best  is  defective  and 
defiled.  Though  he  exercises  himself  to  main- 
tain a  conscience  void  of  offence,  and  dares 
appeal  to  the  Lord  for  the  sincerity  of  his 
aims,  he  owns  that  in  every  thing  he  comes 
short.  His  obligations  to  the  Redeemer  are 
immense,  and  his  sensations  of  gratitude,  and 
exertions  in  service,  are  vastly  disproportion- 
ate to  them  :  Yet  having  accepted  the  atone- 
ment, and  resting  his  hope  of  salvation  upon 
Jesus,  though   his  imperfections  humble  Imd, 


they  do  not  discourage  him.  But  he  ac- 
knowledges, that  if  justice  were  strict  to  mark 
what  is  amiss,  his  own  sins  are  so  many  and 
so  great,  that  he  could  have  no  right  to  com- 
plain, though  he  had  a  large  share  of  the 
heaviest  calamities  incident  to  this  mortal 
life.  They  who  are  thus  minded  are  the 
chariots  and  horsemen  of  the  land  in  which 
they  live.  They  sigh  and  mourn  for  their 
own  sins,  and  the  evils  which  they  cannot 
prevent.  They  have  little  thanks  from  the 
blind,  careless,  ungodly  many  around  them. 
They  are  rather  scorned  and  despised  for 
their  singularity,  and  unfashionable  precise- 
ness ;  but  if  this  nation  be  spared  from  de- 
struction, it  will  be  for  their  sakes,  and  for 
the  attention  with  which  God  regards  their 
prayers.  If  we  had  no  such  persons  amongst 
us,  our  fleets  and  armies  would  prove  but  a 
poor  and  precarious  defence.  But  I  trust 
their  number  is  not  small.  They  are  dispers- 
ed up  and  down  throughout  the  kingdom, 
and  are  the  salt  of  the  earth,  which  preserves 
us  from  total  putrefaction. 

2.  By  professors,  we  mean,  those  who  as- 
sent to  the  leading  doctrines  of  the  gospel, 
and  usually  attend  where  it  is  preached.  I 
know  this  distinction  is  deemed  invidious. 
We  are  sometimes  asked — Why  do  you  ap- 
propriate the  term  gospel  to  yourselves  ?  Ho 
not  all  ministers  preach  the  gospel  ?  Most 
certainly  not.  The  doctrines  from  many  pul- 
pits are  contrary,  yea  contradictory.  They 
cannot  be  all  right.  Yea  the  doctrines  from 
too  many  pulpits  in  our  established  church 
contradict  the  Articles  and  the  Liturgy,  which 
the  preachers  have  solemnly  subscribed.  The 
Articles  and  Liturgy  bear  express  testimony 
to  the  universal  and  total  depravity  of  human 
nature,  the  Deity  and  atonement  of  the  Sa- 
viour, the  necessity  of  regeneration,  a  new 
birth,  and  a  new  life  of  sanctification,  and  of 
the  abiding  influences  of  the  Holy  Spiiit  of 
God,  to  awaken  sinners,  to  produce  faith,  and 
to  instruct,  comfort,  and  establish  those  who 
believe.  These  points  are  essential  to  the 
scheme  of  the  gospel,  as  it  is  set  before  us  by 
the  evangelists  and  apostles.  They  who  es- 
pouse them  are  called  professors — a  title  which 
includes  all  those  whom  I  have  already  men- 
tioned, but  is  extended  to  many  more,  or  at 
least  is  assumed  by  them.  Happy  indeed 
would  it  be,  if  all  who  seem  to  agree  in  prin- 
ciples, were  united  in  love  among  themselves, 
and  exhibited  in  the  sight  of  men,  in  their  tem- 
pers, practice,  and  pursuits,  a  conversation  be- 
coming the  gospel  they  profess.  But  in  the 
days  of  the  apostles  there  were  those  who, 
while  they  professed  to  believe  in  God,  denied 
him  by  their  works,  who  were  enemies  to  the 
cross  of  Christ,  and  caused  the  good  way  to 
be  evil  spoken  of,  Phil.  iii.  13;  Titus  i.  16. 
We  lament,  more  than  wonder,  that  it  should 
be  so  now:  for  human  nature  is  the  same  in 
all  ages  ;   and  even  among  those  of  whom  we 


MOTIVES  TO  HUMILIATION   AND   PRAISE. 


867 


hope  better — contentions,  divisions,  the  heat 
of  party-zeal,  the  coldness  of  brotherly  love, 
and  a  blameable  conformity  to  the  spirit  and 
customs  of  the  world,  are  but  too  visible. 
The  sins  of  professors  alone,  if  duly  consider- 
ed, might  make  us  apprehensive  that  judg- 
ment is  even  at  the  doors. 

3.  There  are  likewise  sins  so  generally  pre- 
valent, so  familiar  and  habitual  in  every  rank 
of  life,  that  they  may  properly  be  called  na- 
tional ;  because,  either  by  their  nature  or  their 
frequency,  they  mark  and  distinguish  our  pub- 
lic morals.  To  enumerate  these,  would  be  a 
painful  and  arduous  task  :  but  my  subject  re- 
quires me  to  notice  some  of  the  most  promi- 
nent and  notorious. 

(1.)  Infidelity. — Though   the  sophistry  and 
machinations  of  the  philosophers  in   France, 
and  of  those  who  style  themselves  the  Illumi- 
nati  in  Germany,  have  more  or  less  infected 
the  whole  of  Christendom  with  their  sceptical 
and   dangerous   sentiments,   so  that  we  hold 
them   in   common   with  many  other    nations, 
and   though    we   have   not  like  the   unhappy 
French,  openly  and  avowedly  renounced  the 
government  of  God  ;   yet  I  fear  that  the  worst 
kind  of  infidelity  (which  is  still  rapidly  spread- 
ing through  the  land)  is  already  become  one 
of  our  national  sins.      Formerly,  most  of  our 
freethinkers  assumed  the  more  modest  name 
of  deists  ;  and  though  they  rejected  the  scrip- 
tures,   they  professed   a  regard  to  what  they 
called   natural  religion ;  they  wrote  likewise 
chiefly  for  men  like  themselves  of  a  specula- 
tive and  inquisitive  turn,   and  did   not  appear 
much    concerned    to    proselyte    the    common 
people  :   they  seemed  to  allow  that  the  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity,  though  not  necessary  to 
persons  of  their  sagacity,  might  be  useful  to 
preserve  the  peace  and  order  of  society,  and 
to   keep   the   vulgar    within   some  bounds  of 
good  government  and  subordination.      I  have 
myself  known  those  who,  upon  this  ground, 
regularly,  or  at  least  frequently,  attended  pu- 
blic worship  ;   not  that  they  desired  or  expect- 
ed any  benefit  from  it,  but  to  set  a  good  ex- 
ample to  their  wives,  children,  and  servants, 
whom  they  thought  either  not  competent  to 
understand  their  more  sublime  discoveries,  or 
not  fit   to  be    entrusted    with   them.      These 
champions  likewise  went  forth  singly  to  the 
combat;  but  now  there  is  a  strong  compacted 
confederacy  against  all   religion,    both    name 
and  thing.      Neither   the   mortal   nor  the  im- 
mortal deists  are  much  thought  of  at  present. 
Philosophers  have  pushed  their  inquiries  far 
beyond   the  narrow  views  of  the  deists,   and 
proclaim    themselves    to    be    atheists.      They 
tell  us,  that  either  there  is  no  God,  or  that  he 
does   not  take   cognizance  of  human  affairs. 
To  relieve  the  consciences  of  men  from  those 
foreboding  fears  of  a  future  judgment  which 
are  not  easily  separable  from  guilt,  they  bold- 
ly affirm  deatli  to  be  an  eternal  sleep.     Though 
these  and   similar  dreadful   tenets,    have  not 


obtained  the  publicity  and  authority  with  us 
which  they  have  in  France,  they  have  spread 
like  a  contagion  through  the  kingdom.  Mul- 
titudes in  every  degree  of  life,  from  the  noble 
to  the  peasant  have  adopted  them. 

Not  that  I  ascribe  the  progress  of  infidelity 
chiefly  to  Thomas  Paine,  or  to  writers  of  a 
superior  class  in  the  same  line  ;  but  they  have 
brought  it  more  into  view.  Long  before  the 
modern  philosophers  were  born,  the  fool  had 
said  in  his  heart,  there  is  no  God,  Ps.  xiv.  1. 
Infidelity  is  congenial  to  human  nature.  In- 
fidel writings,  like  the  touch  of  Muriel's 
spear,  have  disclosed  what  for  a  time,  was 
hidden  or  disguised  :  The  spirits  of  many  were 
prepared.  They  were  infidels  before,  though 
for  want  of  attention  they  scarcely  knew  it, 
or  for  want  of  boldness  were  afraid  to  own  it. 
The  effects  are  evident.  With  many  people 
of  fashion,  infidelity  is  fashionable.  Their 
dependents  and  servants  imbibe  their  senti- 
ments, and,  so  far  as  their  ability  reaches, 
imitate  their  practice.  Every  class  of  society 
downwards,  tradesmen,  porters,  labourers, 
and  hostlers,  are  no  less  pleased  with  thinking 
and  acting  without  controul,  than  their  supe- 
riors. Thus  the  bonds  of  society  are  weaken- 
ed ;  vice,  idleness,  impatience,  murmuring, 
and  insubordination  are  seen,  wherever  we 
turn  our  eyes.  When  will  these  things  end? 
When  men  agree  to  cast  off  the  fear  of  God, 
they  will  seldom  long  accord  in  any  thing 
else.  Man  in  his  natural  state  is  a  wild  crea- 
ture ;  but  while  his  conscience  is  not  quite 
hardened,  while  he  acknowledges  a  God,  and 
expects  a  future  state  and  a  day  of  judgment, 
though  he  commits  many  evils,  he  is  restrain- 
ed from  committing  many  more,  and  greater, 
to  which  his  corrupt  propensities  would  other- 
wise incline  him,  and  from  which  he  would 
not  be  deterred  by  mere  human  laws  and  pen- 
alties. Such  a  sinner  may  be  compared  to  a 
lion  in  the  Tower  :  but  an  infidel  is  a  lion  in 
the  street. 

(2.)  The  great  neglect  of  the  obligations  of 
religion,  amongst  those  who  have  not  expli- 
citly cast  oft'  all  regard  to  it,  is  a  national  sin. 
If  a  stranger  from  some  remote  part  of  the 
world,  who  understood  our  language,  was  to 
see  and  hear  all  that  passes  at  a  contested  el- 
ection, at  our  cockpits,  gaming  houses,  race- 
grounds,  boxing-matches,  and  many  other 
promiscuous  assemblies,  what  judgment  could 
he  form  of  our  religion  ?  Or  could  he  readi- 
ly believe  that  we  had  any?  And  yet  we 
could  not  tell  him  that  they  were  all  infidels. 
Many  who  live  in  the  habitual  neglect  or 
breach  of  the  precepts  of  scripture,  would  still 
be  thought  christians,  though  they  have  little, 
but  the  avowal  of  the  name,  to  distinguish 
them  from  the  most  determined  infidels.  And 
it  is  to  be  feared,  that  such  christians  consti- 
tute a  very  great  majority  of  the  people  of 
England. 

(0.)  The  contempt  of  the  gospel  of  Christ 


S68 


MOTIVES  TO    HUMILIATION  AND   TUAISE. 


will,  1  fear,  be  found  a  national  sin,  with  tlie 
exception  of  the  comparatively  few  who  cor- 
dially embrace  it.  I  have  already  explained 
in  what  sense  I  understand  the  word  Gospel. 
When  the  doctrines  of  our  established  church, 
which  in  the  main  are  conformable  to  the  con- 
fessions and  standards  of  all  the  protestant 
churches  in  Europe,  are  faithfully  preached, 
and  especially  when  first  introduced  into  a 
parish,  they  usually  cause  a  general  alarm, 
they  excite  a  general  opposition.  The  gospel 
is  shunned  and  dreaded  like  a  pestilence,  and 
the  strongest  exertions  are  made  to  prevent 
ts  entrance,  or  to  expel  it,  if  possible.  The 
ministers  who  preach  it  faithfully  are  stigma- 
tized and  misrepresented.  We  learn  from 
Suetonius,  Tacitus,  and  Pliny,  that  the  name 
Christian  was  once  so  extremely  odious,  that 
whoever  dared  to  own  it  was  suspected  as  ca- 
pable or  guilty  of  the  worst  crimes,  though 
no  proof  could  be  brought  of  his  having  com- 
mitted any.  The  word  Methodist  has  a  de- 
gree of  the  like  effect  in  our  day.  It  is  not 
now,  as  when  first  imposed,  the  name  of  a 
particular  sect  or  body  of  people,  but  is  ap- 
plied to  all  who  preach  and  approve  the  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel,  if  they  are  not  Dissenters. 
And  it  operates  with  a  kind  of  magical  force; 
the  very  sound  of  the  word  is  sufficient  to 
fill  the  minds  of  many  people  with  prejudices 
against  the  truth.  Neither  learning,  piety, 
an  exemplary  conduct,  nor  a  regular  compli- 
ance with  the  rules  of  the  rubric,  can  always, 
or  often,  secure  a  minister  from  contempt,  if 
the  giddy  world  think  proper  to  call  him  a 
Methodist.  The  people  prefer  those  who 
will  prophesy  smooth  things  (Is.  xxx.  10); 
and  in  most  places  they  have  their  wish. 
Candour  itself  cannot  deny,  that  there  are  in 
many  parishes  of  this  kingdom  official  shep- 
herds, who  have  neither  will  nor  skill  to  teach 
or  watch  over  their  flocks;  and  multitudes  of 
people  who  for  want  of  proper  instruction, 
have  little  more  knowledge  of  Christianity 
than  the  Indians  in  America.  Some  of  us 
have  reason  to  be  thankful  to  God  and  to  our 
superiors  in  church  and  state,  that  we  are  not 
discountenanced  or  molested  in  the  exercise 
of  our  ministry.  But  our  path  is  not  the  or- 
dinary road  to  approbation  or  preferment. 
There  are  not  many  evangelical  clergymen 
who  have  benefices,  and  these  have  been 
chiefly  bestowed  by  private  patronage.  * 

(1.)  Because  of  swearing,  the  land  mourn- 
eth,  Jer.  xxiii.  10.  This  generally  prevail- 
ing enormity  has  two  branches — First,  Cus- 
tomary profane  swearing,  blasphemy,  and  exe- 
cration, in  common  discourse.  We  can  sel- 
dom walk  the  length  of  a  street,  without  hav- 

*  Upon  the  death  of  the  late  Mr  Romaine,  Rector 
of  St.  Andrew,  Wardrobe,  and  St.  Ann's,  Blaekfriavs,  the 
inhabitants  united  in  a  petition  to  the  Lord  Chancellor, 
in  favour  of  his  Curate  whom  they  wished  to  succeed  him 
in  the  living  :  and  the  Lord  Chancellor  was  pleased  to 
errant  their  request.  I  mention  this  exception  with 
plea-surc  ;  because  I  think  it  is  much  to  the  honour  both 
of  his  Lordship,  and  of  the  parishioners. 


ing  our  ears  pained,  and  our  hearts  wounded, 
by  the  bitter  imprecations  which  thoughtless 
creatures  utter  against  themselves,  or  each  o- 
ther.  It  might  be  expected  that  this  horrid 
wickedness  would  be  confined  to  the  lowest 
and  most  abandoned  of  the  common  people. 
But  it  is  far  otherwise.  Gentlemen  and  noble- 
men make  a  point  of  distinguishing  themselves 
from  the  vulgar  by  their  houses,  their  dress, 
their  tables,  and  their  equipage;  but  many 
of  them  in  their  language  take  a  strange  plea- 
sure in  degrading  themselves  to  a  level  with 
the  vilest  of  the  species ;  so  that,  were  it  not 
for  their  exterior,  we  might  be  led  to  think 
that  they  had  spent  their  whole  lives  among 
stable- grooms  and  postilions;  and  thus  by 
their  own  proficiency  and  example  they  har- 
den and  confirm  in  their  wickedness  those 
whom  they  imitate. 

The  insult  offered  to  the  majesty  and  holi- 
ness of  God  by  common  swearing,  contributes 
greatly  to  take  off  a  sense  of  the  heinous  sin 
of  perjury,  or  false  swearing;  an  appeal  to 
the  God  of  truth  in  confirmation  of  a  lie. 
This  is  the  other  branch  of  that  swearing  for 
which  the  land  ought  to  mourn,  and  sooner 
or  later,  must  mourn.  Perjury  is  emphati- 
cally one  of  our  national  sins.  "  The  mul- 
tiplicity of  oaths,  which  are  interwoven  into 
almost  every  branch  of  public  business,  in- 
volves thousands  in  the  habitual  guilt  of  per- 
jury. Many  of  them,  it  is  true,  do  not  neces- 
sarily lead  to  sin,  because  honest  and  consci- 
entious men  may  and  do  strictly  observe  them  ; 
but  it  is  to  be  feared,  a  greater  number  deli- 
berately and  customarily  violate  these  solemn 
obligations,  and  take  them  as  often  as  im- 
posed, without  hesitation,  and  without  any 
desire  of  complying  with  them.  Not  a  fi^w 
of  these  oaths  are  either  so  worded  or  so  cir- 
cumstanced, that  it  is  morally  impossible  to 
fulfil  them  ;  and  if  a  person  was  even  to  at- 
tempt it,  he  would  be  thought  a  busy-body  or 
a  fool ;  yet  they  must  be  tendered,  and  must 
be  taken  as  a  matter  of  form,  when  nothing 
more  is  expected  or  purposed  on  either  side. 
The  number  of  church-wardens  and  constables 
who  are  annually  sworn  is  very  great,  and  as 
these  offices  are  chiefly  held  by  rotation,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years  they  take  in  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  middling  people  in  the 
kingdom.  How  many  or  how  few  of  them 
act  up  to  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  the  oaths 
they  have  taken,  will  ba  known  in  the  day 
when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  shall  be  re- 
vealed. But  it  is  now  evident,  that  while 
many,  like  sheep,  tread  without  thought  in 
the  path  of  custom,  content  to  forswear  them- 
selves because  others  have  done  so  before 
them ;  and  some  are  hardy  enough  to  trifle 
with  God  and  man  for  profit:  the  laws  which 
enjoin  and  multiply  oaths,  do  thereby  furnish 
and  multiply  temptations  to  the  sin  of  per- 
jury. The  frequency  of  oaths,  the  irreverent 
manner  in  which   they  arc  often  administered, 


MOTIVES  TO   HUMILIATION   AND  PRAISE. 


869 


and  the  impunity  with  which  they  are  broken, 
have  greatly  contributed  to  weaken  the  sense 
of  every  moral  obligation,  and  to  spread  a 
dissolute  and  daring  spirit  throughout  the 
land."* 

(5.)  Oppression  is  a  national  sin,  if  the 
grievance  be  publicly  known,  and  no  consti- 
tutional measures  adopted  for  prevention  or 
relief.  Charges  of  this  nature  have  been 
brought  against  the  exercise  of  our  power, 
both  in  the  east  and  in  the  west.  I  pretend 
not  to  say  how  far  they  are  founded  in  truth, 
or  exaggerated.  I  confine  myself  to  a  single 
instance,  of  which  my  own  experience  war- 
rants me  to  speak.  I  have  more  than  once 
confessed  with  shame  in  this  pulpit,  the  con- 
cern I  had  too  long  in  the  African  slave- 
trade.  This  trade,  marked  as  it  is  with  the 
epithet  infamous  by  a  vote  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  is  still  carried  on,  and  under  the 
sanction  of  the  legislature.  Though  the  re- 
peated attempts  to  procure  the  abolition  of 
this  trade  have  not  succeeded,  they  have  doubt 
less  contributed  to  meliorate  the  condition  of 
the  blacks  who  are  in  a  state  of  slavery  in  our 
West-India  islands.  The  mode  of  their  trans 
portation  thither  from  the  African  coast  seems 
to  be  less  tormenting  and  fatal  than  formerly. 
How  far  this  trade  may  have  been  affected  by 
the  present  war  I  know  not.  When  I  was 
engaged  in  it,  we  generally  supposed,  for  an 
accurate  calculation  was  not  practicable,  that 
there  were  not  less  than  a  hundred  thousand 
persons,  men,  women,  and  children,  brought 
off  the  coast,  by  the  European  vessels  of  all 
nations,  and  that  an  equal  number  lost  their 
lives  annually,  by  the  wars  and  other  calami- 
ties occasioned  by  the  traffic,  either  on  shore, 
without  reaching  the  ship,  or  on  shipboard  be- 
fore they  reached  the  places  of  sale.  It  was 
also  supposed  that  more  than  one  half,  per- 
haps three  fifths  of  the  trade  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  English.  If  the  trade  is  at  present  car- 
ried on  to  the  same  extent,  and  nearly  in  the 
same  manner,  while  we  are  delaying  from  year 
to  year  to  put  a  stop  to  our  part  of  it,  the 
blood  of  many  thousands  of  our  helpless, 
much-injured  fellow-creatures,  is  crying  a- 
gainst  us.  The  pitiable  state  of  the  survivors 
who  are  torn  from  their  nearest  relatives,  con- 
nections, and  their  native  land,  must  be  taken 
into  the  account. — Enough  of  this  horrid 
scene.  I  fear  the  African  trade  is  a  national 
sin,  for  the  enormities  which  accompany  it  are 
now  generally  known  ;  and  though  perhaps 
the  greater  part  of  the  nation  would  be 
pleased  if  it  were  suppressed,  yet  as  it  does 
not  immediately  affect  their  own  interest,  they 
are  passive.  The  shop-tax,  a  few  years  since, 
touched  them  in  a  more  sensible  and  tender 
part,  and  therefore  petitions  and  remonstran- 
ces were  presented  and  repeated,  till  the  tax 
was  repealed.      Can  we  wonder  that  the  cala- 

*  See  Sermon  on  The  q;uilt  and  danger  of  such  a  na- 
tion as  this,  p.  827. 


mities  of  the  present  war  begin  to  be  felt  at 
home,  when  we  ourselves  wilfully  and  deli- 
berately inflict  much  greater  calamities  upon 
the  native  Africans,  who  never  offended  us? 
That  is  an  awful  word,  "  Woe  unto  thee  that 
spoilest,  and  thou  wast  not  spoiled ;  when 
thou  slialt  cease  to  spoil,  thou  shalt  be  spoil- 
ed," Isa.  xxxiii.  1. 

(6.)  A  proud  boasting  spirit,  and  a  vain 
confidence  in  our  strength  and  resources,  is 
a  prominent  part  of  our  national  character. 
Though  infidelity,  irreligion,  contempt  both 
of  the  law  and  gospel  of  God,  profaneness, 
perjury,  and  oppression,  expose  us  to  his  ven 
geance, — though  the  judgments  of  God  are 
abroad  in  the  earth,  and  have  fallen  heavily 
on  a  great  part  of  Europe, — and  though  his 
hand  is  evidently  lifted  up  against  us,  yet  few 
will  see  and  acknowledge  it,  Isa.  xxvi.  11. 
Instead  of  such  a  general  spirit  of  numiliation 
as  was  awakened  in  Nineveh  by  the  preaching 
of  Jonah,  so  well  becoming  our  sins  and  our 
situation,  we  still  boast  in  our  fleets  and  ar- 
mies. Especially  the  Wooden  Walls  of  Old 
England  are  spoken  of  as  impregnable,  and 
we  still  suppose  ourselves  to  be  sovereign 
lords  of  the  sea.  Some  late  providential  dis- 
pensations were  well  suited  to  shew  us,  not 
only  the  sin  but  the  folly  of  this  spirit;  but 
the  impression,  if  any,  was  transient;  it  soon 
wore  off.  The  praise  justly  due  to  our  ad- 
mirals, officers,  and  seamen,  was  readily  of- 
fered ;  but  unless  the  King  had  called  us,  as 
on  this  day,  to  unite  with  him  in  ascribing 
our  success  to  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  who  alone 
giveth  the  victory,  even  the  verbal  offering  of 
praise  to  God  would  have  been  confined  to  a 
few.  And  still  we  boast.  This  arrogant  spi- 
rit, and  especially  at  such  a  time  as  this,  is  no 
small  aggravation  of  all  Our  other  sins. 

I  could  proceed  to  further  particulars,  but 
my  spirits  are  depressed,  and  I  hope  the  hearts 
of  my  hearers  are  duly  affected  by  what  I  have 
already  said.  Is  there  any  relief?  Have  we 
any  ground  to  hope  that  the  Lord  will  yet  say 
of  such  a  nation  as  this,  "  How  shall  I  give 
thee  up?"  I  turn  with  pleasure  to  this  more 
comfortable  branch  of  my  subject. 

II.  Yes,  though  we  have  many  causes  for 
trembling,  we  are  not  without  causes  for  a 
humble  joy,  and  thankfulness. 

1.  I  hope  the  occasion  of  our  present  as- 
sembling is  a  token  for  good.  We  are  met 
in  consequence  of  a  royal  proclamation,  to 
join  in  spirit  with  our  King,  who,  perhaps 
while  I  am  speaking,  may  be  entering  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral,  attended  by  the  royal  fa- 
mily, both  houses  of  parliament,  and  many  of 
the  nobility  and  principal  persons  of  the  court. 
He  goes  to  make  the  most  public  and  solemn 
acknowledgment  of  his  dependence  on  the  pro- 
vidence and  power  of  Almighty  God,  and  to 
ascribe  to  him  to  whom  it  most  justly  belongs, 
praise  and  thanksgiving  for  the  many  interpo- 
sitions he  has  favoured  us  with  as  a  people,  IP 


S70 


MOTIVES  TO   HUMILIATION   AND  PRAISE. 


this  season  of  danger  and  distress ;  particu- 
larly, tor  the  three  signal,  critical,  and  deci- 
sive victories  which  he  gave  us  in  succession, 
over  the  French,  Spanish,  and  Dutch  fleets. 
We  remember  with  what  universal  joy  the 
King's  former  appearance  at  St.  Paul's,  after 
his  recovery  from  his  illness,  was  entertained 
by  his  loyal  subjects ;  and  though  the  intro- 
duction of  French  principles  and  French  po- 
litics, since  that  period,  has  not  been  without 
mischievous  effects,  we  trust  that  the  joy  upon 
this  occasion  will  at  least  be  general.  * 

Though  I  cannot  suppose  that  every  person 
in  the  procession,  or  among  the  many  thou- 
sands spectators,  felt  the  same  sentiments  of 
gratitude  to  God,  which  induced  the  King  to 
appoint  a  day  of  thanksgiving — yet  I  consider 
it  as  a  public  and  national  act ;  and  in  this 
view,  contrasted  with  the  atheistical  rage  and 
blasphemies  of  the  French  Directory  and  coun- 
cils, who  insult  and  defy,  not  these  kingdoms 
only,  but  the  God  whom  we  worship,  I  in- 
dulge a  hope,  that,  unworthy  as  we  are  of  his 
mercy,  the  Lord  will  put  a  hook  and  a  bridle 
in  the  mouths  of  these  modern  Rabshakehs, 
and  will  not  give  us  up  as  a  prey  to  their  mer- 
ci'ess  rapacity  and  revenge. 

S.  When  the  French  formed  the  design  of 
invading  Ireland,  they  thought  themselves  sure 
of  success.  They  probably  would  have  found 
encouragement  in  one  part  of  that  kingdom, 
if  they  could  have  reached  it ;  and  therefore 
they  spoke  like  Pharaoh,  who  said,  I  will  pur- 
sue, I  will  overtake,  I  will  divide  the  spoil, — 
and  they  were  disconcerted  almost  in  the  same 
manner.  The  Lord  blew  with  his  wind,  and 
scattered  them.  Some  of  their  stoutest  ships, 
and  many  of  their  men,  sunk  as  lead  in  the 
mighty  waters,  Exod.  xv.  9,  10.  And  the 
Lord  God  did  it  himself.  We  had  a  strong 
fleet  to  watch  and  oppose  them.  But  they  were 
not  permitted  to  come  near,  or  even  to  see 
one  of  their  ships.  Nor  had  our  boasted  na- 
val force  the  opportunity  of  firing  a  single 
gun  in  our  defence. 

3.  The  suppression  of  the  mutiny,  which 
like  an  infectious  disorder  pervaded  all  our 
fleets,  was  so  sudden,  so  unexpected,  and  at 
the  time  when  it  was  risen  to  such  an  alarm- 
ing height  that  all  resistance  seemed  vain,  that 
it  can  only  be  ascribed  to  the  mercy  and  pow- 
er of  God.  Then,  if  ever,  was  the  time, 
when  the  proud  and  the  boasters  trembled. — 
And  while  we  were  thus  exposed  and  defence- 
less in  every  quarter,  the  providence  of  God 
laid  an  embargo  upon  the  fleets  of  our  ene- 
mies, so  that  they  could  not  attempt  any  thing 
against  us.      It  is  further  to  be  observed,  that 

*  I  was  not  mistaken  in  my  expectation.  The  order 
and  regularity  with  which  the  procession  was  conducted, 
the  peaceful  behaviour  of  the  immense  multitude  of 
spectators,  the  serenity  and  mildness  of  the  weather,  so 
unusual  with  us  in  the  depth  of  winter,  the  almost  total 
exemption  from  what  are  commonly  called  accidents, 
and  the  quietness  with  which  the  evening  closed,  I  con- 
sider collectively,  as  warranting  a  hope  that  the  Lord  was 
pleased  to  smile  upon  the  day,  and  upon  the  design. 


the  mutiny  at  the  Nore,  which  was  the  most 
formidable,  as  the  ships  had  the  full  command 
of  the  river,  so  that  nothing  could  pass  or  re- 
pass to  or  from  London  ;  this  threatening  dis- 
aster, which  painted  terror  and  dismay  in  the 
countenance  of  almost  every  person  we  met 
in  the  streets,  in  the  event  led  to  that  re-esta- 
blishment of  our  marine  discipline,  without 
which  the  strength  of  our  invincible  navy 
would  have  been  but  like  a  rope  of  sand. 
Well  may  we  say,  What  has  God  wrought  ! 

4.  In  the  close  of  the  year  1795,  we  felt  a 
scarcity,  and  feared  a  famine.  Opportunity 
was  presented  and  greedily  seized  by  monopo- 
lizers to  raise  the  corn  to  such  an  enormous 
price,  that  had  it  not  been  for  great  and  libe- 
ral exertions,  the  poor  in  many  places,  per- 
haps in  every  place,  must  have  been  absolute- 
ly destitute  of  bread.  What  must  the  conse- 
quences have  been  if  God  had  visited  us  with 
a  scanty  or  a  wet  harvest  the  following  year  ? 
For  our  resource  from  foreign  supplies  was 
cut  off  in  many  parts,  and  rendered  very  pre- 
carious in  the  rest  by  the  war.  But  he  is  a 
hearer  of  prayer.  In  1  796,  the  earth  brought 
forth  by  handfuls,  Gen.  xli.  47.  Such  an  a- 
bundant  harvest,  and  such  a  remarkable  fine 
season  for  gathering  in  the  precious  fruits  of 
the  earth,  have  been  seldom  known. 

5.  Our  sins  have  involved  us  in  a  calami- 
tous war ;  and  though  our  sufferings  are  not 
to  be  compared  with  those  of  the  countries  on 
the  continent  where  the  war  has  raged,  it  has 
brought  upon  us  much  real  distress.  Many 
widows  and  orphans  are  bemoaning  the  effects. 
The  decline  of  some  manufactures,  the  in- 
creased taxes,  the  advanced  price  of  most  of 
the  necessaries  of  life,  are  severely  felt  by  the 
industrious  poor,  and  by  many  families  in  the 
middling  and  lower  classes  of  society.  It  is 
well  known  that  there  is  a  number  of  persons 
who  unhappily  employ  their  abilities  and  in- 
fluence, to  aggravate  the  sense  of  these  diffi- 
culties, to  inflame  the  minds  of  the  sufferers, 
to  work  upon  their  passions,  to  alienate  them 
from  the  government,  and  to  make  them  long, 
if  possible,  for  such  liberty  and  equality  as  has 
already  reduced  France  to  the  most  pitiable 
state  of  anarchy  and  misery.  That  such  at- 
tempts have  not  succeeded,  that  we  are  still 
preserved,  not  only  from  foreign  invasion  but 
from  internal  commotions,  I  ascribe  to  the 
power  of  the  great  God  over  the  hearts  of  the 
children  of  men  ;  and  I  consider  it  as  a  far- 
ther ground  of  hope  that  he  will  not  give  us 
up. 

III.  Why  would  he  not  give  up  degenerate 
Israel,  when  strict  justice  demanded  their  de- 
struction ?  Two  reasons  are  assigned  in  my 
text  for  his  forbearance,  which  are  well  suited 
to  encourage  the  prayers  and  hopes  of  those 
amongst  ourselves  who  love  and  fear  him. 

1.  I  am  God,  and  not  man. — If  we  had 
offended  men,  or  angels,  as  we  have  offendeJ 
our  Creator  and  Redeemer,  and  they  had  per- 


MOTIVES  TO  HUM1LI 

mission  and  power  to  punish  us,  our  case 
would  be  utterly  desperate.  Only  he  who 
made  us,  is  able  to  bear  with  us.  All  the  at- 
tributes (as  we  speak)  of  the  infinite  God, 
must  of  course  be  equally  infinite.  As  is  his 
majesty,  so  is  his  mercy,  Ecclesiasticus  ii.  18. 
What  is  the  puny  power  of  man,  compared 
with  that  almighty  power  which  formed  and 
upholds  the  immense  universe  ?  The  dispro- 
portion is  greater  than  that  between  a  single 
drop  of  water  and  the  boundless  ocean.  Thus 
his  thoughts  are  higher  than  ours,  as  the  hea- 
vens are  higher  than  the  earth.  Who  can  set 
bounds  to  the  exercise  of  his  patience  ?  When 
sentence  was  denounced  against  Nineveh, 
they  humbled  themselves  before  him,  and  he 
suspended  the  execution.  There  is  at  least  a 
peradventure  in  our  favour,  "  Who  can  tell  if 
God  will  turn  away  from  his  fierce  anger, 
that  we  perish  not?"  He  has  said,  "At 
what  time  I  shall  speak  concerning  a  nation, 
or  a  kingdom,  to  pluck  up,  to  pull  down,  or 
to  destroy ;  if  that  nation  turn  from  their 
evil,  I  will  repent  of  the  evil  that  I  thought 
to  do  unto  them,"  Jer.  xviii.  7,  8.  We  do 
not  suppose  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  Nine- 
veh were  savingly  converted  ;  but  they  hum- 
bled themselves  with  one  consent,  they  cried 
for  mercy,  and  they  were  spared.  We  do  not 
expect  a  national  conversion,  and  I  fear  we 
have  little  prospect  of  a  national  humiliation. 
But, 

2.  I  am  the  Holy  One  in  the  midst  of  thee.— — 
Next  to  the  consideration  of  his  infinite  mer- 
cy, this  is  our  strongest  ground  for  consola- 
tion. The  Holy  One  is  still  in  the  midst  of 
us  ?  Degenerate  and  wicked  as  we  are,  God 
has  a  people,  a  remnant  amongst  us.  I  have 
spoken  of  these  already.  Their  number  is 
small  if  compared  with  the  bulk  of  the  nation ; 
but  if  they  could  be  collected  together,  they 
would  form  a  considerable  body  (I  trust  it  is 
an  increasing  body),  who,  though  distinguish- 
ed by  different  names,  and  dispersed  far  and 
wide  into  different  parts  of  the  land,  are  unit- 
ed,  by  a  faith  of  divine  operation,  to  one  head, 
and  in  one  common  interest  and  design. — 
They  belong  to  that  kingdom  which  is  not  of 
this  world,  and  which  (unlike  all  other  king- 
doms) cannot  be  shaken.  But  their  princi- 
ples lead  them  to  seek  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munities in  which  they  live.  These  are,  un- 
der God,  decus  et  tutamen,  the  glory  and  the 
defence  of  Great  Britain.  They  are  lights 
shining  in  a  dark  place.  They  are  believers, 
and  their  faith  worketh  by  love.  But  as  they 
follow  the  example  of  their  Lord  and  Master, 
the  world  knows  not  them,  because  it  knows 
not  him.  Here  and  there,  individuals,  by 
an  unblameable  consistent  conduct,  in  a  course 
of  years,  if  they  cannot  change  the  hearts  of 
gainsayers,  are  enabled  to  stop  their  mouths, 
and  put  their  ignorance  to  silence  by  well-do- 
ing, 1  Pet.  ii.  15.  But  many  persons  de- 
spise them  in  the  gross,  and   affect  to  deem 


ATION  AND  PRAISE.  871 

them  (perhaps  in  defiance  to  the  checks  of 
their  own  consciences),  either  hypocrites  or  vi- 
sionaries, credulous  fools,  or  designing  knaves. 
But  their  record  is  on  high.  They  have  access 
to  God,  and  communion  with  him,  by  the  Son 
of  his  love.  They  have  the  spirit  of  prav- 
er,  and  their  prayers  are  heard.  The  ship 
in  which  Paul  sailed  to  Italy,  was  preserv 
ed  from  sinking,  though  apparently  in  the  ut- 
most danger,  because  the  apostle  was  on  board 
her.  Not  only  was  this  servant  of  God  as  safe 
in  a  storm  at  sea  as  if  he  had  been  on  shore, 
but  for  his  sake  the  Lord  preserved  the  live* 
of  all  who  were  in  the  vesseL  The  state- 
ship  of  this  nation  is  now  in  jeopardy,  she  is 
brought  into  deep  waters,  tossed  with  tem- 
pests, and  her  rowers  (Ezek.  xxvii.  26)  are 
almost  at  their  wits  end  ;  but  there  is  a  preci- 
ous deposition  on  board.  A  people  dear  to 
the  Lord  are  embarked  in  the  same  bottom 
with  the  rest,  and  we  hope  their  prayers  will 
prevail  for  the  safety  of  the  whole.  The 
French,  who  know  little  of  Christianity  but 
as  they  have  seen  it  through  the  corrupt  me- 
dium of  popery,  having  triumphed  over  and 
melted  down  the  golden  and  silver  images  of 
their  tutelary  saints,  promise  themselves  an 
easy  victory  over  us.  They  know  not  that 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel  is  in  the  midst  of  us, 
and  that  there  are  a  people  here  who  are  un- 
der his  special  protection.  They  know  not 
that,  like  Sennacherib,  their  success  is  wholly 
owing  to  their  being  instruments  of  his  will, 
like  saws  or  hammers  in  the  hand  of  the  work- 
man ;  and  that  when  they  have  accomplished 
his  purpose,  he  can  and  he  will  say  to  them, 
Hitherto  thou  shalt  come,  and  no  farther. 
They  have  succeeded  beyond  their  own  expec- 
tations, far  and  wide  upon  the  continent :  but 
a-11  their  attempts  and  designs  against  our  fa- 
voured land  have  hitherto  been  rendered  abor- 
tive.     We  hope  they  will  prove  so. 

At  all  events,  it  shall  be  well  with  the  right- 
eous, Is.  iii.  12.  Rejoice,  believers,  in  the 
Lord.  You  may  be  assured  upon  the  war. 
rant  of  his  faithful  promise,  either  that  he 
will  preserve  you  from  the  evils  which  our 
sins  give  us  such  cause  to  apprehend  ;  or  if  he 
should  appoint  you  to  share  in  a  common  ca- 
lamity, he  will  make  your  strength  equal  to 
your  day,  and  will  prepare  your  shoes  of  iron 
and  brass  (Deut.  xxxiii.  26),  when  any  part 
of  the  road,  on  which  you  travel  through  this 
wilderness  towards  your  heavenly  home,  shall 
prove  very  difficult  and  rugged.  Pray  for 
grace  to  sit  loose  to  the  world,  and  you  will 
have  nothing  to  fear.  The  first  christians  re- 
joiced in  the  spoiling  of  their  goods  ;  and  so 
shall  you,  if  the  Lord  calls  you  to  the  trial. 
You  have  the  same  Saviour  to  support  you, 
and  you  likewise  have  treasures  (Heb.  x.  34), 
far  better  and  more  enduring,  out  of  the  reach 
of  violence.  The  Lord  teaches  us  to  consi- 
der even  the  loss  of  life  as  comparatively  of 
small   importance,   when  he  says,    Fear  not 


872 


MOTIVES  TO   HUMILIATION   AND  PRAISE. 


them  that  can  kill  the  body,  but  can  do  no 
more.  They  cannot  do  that  without  his  per- 
mission. The  very  hairs  of  your  head  are 
numbered,  Luke  xii.  4;  Matth.  x.  39.  And 
most  of  those  who  have  suffered  death  for  him 
who  died  upon  the  cross  for  them,  have 
thought  the  honour  of  dying  in  his  cause  more 
to  be  valued  than  a  thousand  lives. 

My  feelings  are  painful  for  you  who  live 
without  God  in  the  world.  I  do  not  wonder 
if  your  hearts  tremble  like  the  leaves  of  a  tree 
when  agitated  by  a  mighty  wind,  Is.  vii.  2. 
You  know  not  what  may  come  upon  you,  but 
you  forebode  the  worst — And  should  it  prove 
so,  you  have  no  resource,  no  hiding  place,  no 
Almighty  Friend  to  whom  you  may  with  con- 
fidence apply  for  help  in  time  of  trouble. 
Death,  at  least,  is  inevitable  ;  and  will  you 
dare  to  die  (yet  die  you  must)  if  your  hearts 
be  unhumbled,  and  your  sins  unpardoned  ? 
We  preach  to  you  a  gracious,  powerful  Sa- 
viour, who  invites  you  to  seek  him,  and  has 
said,  "  Him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no- 
wise cast  out."      Seek  him  then  to-day  whilst 


it  is  called  to-day.  Now  is  the  accepted  time, 
now  is  the  day  of  salvation.  To-morrow  is 
not  your  own. 

But  let  believers  rejoice  and  be  glad.  The 
Lord  reigns,  your  Lord  reigns,  Ps.  xcvii.  ]. 
He  who  loved  you,  and  gave  himself  for  you, 
possesses  and  exercises  all  power  in  heaven 
and  earth,  Matth.  xxviii.  18.  Though  clouds 
and  darkness  are  about  his  throne,  and  his 
paths  are  untraceable  by  us,  we  are  sure  that 
he  is  carrying  on  his  great  designs,  for  the 
glory  of  his  great  name,  and  for  the  exten- 
sion and  establishment  of  his  church  in  a 
way  worthy  of  himself — worthy  of  infinite 
wisdom  and  goodness.  Make  his  name  your 
strong  tower  (Prov.  xviii.  10)  of  refuge. 
Hold  out  faith  and  patience.  Yet  a  little 
while,  and  we  hope  to  meet,  "  where  the  wick- 
ed cease  from  troubling,  and  where  the  weary 
are  at  rest,"  Job  iii.  17.  And  to  hear  those 
welcome  words,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  Matth. 
kkv.  SA, 


APOLOGIA, 


OH 

FOUR  LETTERS 

TO 

A  MINISTER  OF  AN  INDEPENDENT  CHURCH 

BY 

A   MINISTER  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND. 

Quid  me  alta  silentia  cogis 


Rumpere  ? Virg. 

Let  us  therefore  follow  after  the  things  which  make  for  peace,  and  things  wherewith  one  may 
edify  another.  For  in  Jesus  Christ,  neither  circumcision  availeth  any  thing,  nor  uncir- 
eumcision,  but  faith  which  worketh  by  love.  Rom.  xiv.  ]  Q.      Gal.  v.  6. 


APOLOGIA, 


&c. 


LETTER  I. 


My  Dear  Friend  and  Brother, 
You  have  more  than  once  gently  called  upon 
me  for  the  reasons  which  induced  me  to  exer- 
cise my  ministry  as  a  Clergyman  of  the 
Church  of  England,  rather  than  among  the 
Dissenters,  where  my  first  religious  connec- 
tions were  formed,  and  with  many  of  whom  I 
still  maintain  a  cordial  friendship.  Hitherto 
I  have  usually  waved  the  subject,  and  con- 
tented myself  with  assuring  you  in  general 
terms,  that  as  the  preference  I  gave  to  the  Es- 
tablishment was  the  result  of  serious,  and,  I 
trust,  impartial  inquiry;  so  I  had  never  seen 
reason  to  repent  of  it,  no  not  for  a  minute, 
since  the  day  of  my  ordination.  I  now  pur- 
pose to  give  you  a  more  particular  answer. 
And  as  you  are  not  the  only  person  who  has 
expressed  a  friendly  surprise  at  my  choice,  I 
shall  communicate  my  reasons  from  the  press, 
that  all  my  friends  who  have  been  at  a  loss  to 
account  for  my  conduct,  may  have  such  satis- 
faction as  it  is  in  my  power  to  give  them.  I 
shall,  however,  keep  you  particularly  in  my 
eye  while  I  write,  that  a  just  sense  of  the  can- 
dour and  affection  with  which  you  have  al- 
ways treated  me,  may  regulate  my  pen,  and 
preserve  me  (if  possible)  from  that  harsh  and 
angry  spirit,  into  which  writers  upon  contro- 
versial points  are  too  often  betrayed. 

I  confess,  that  as  in  this  business  my  con- 
science is  clear  in  the  sight  of  him  to  whom 
alone  I  am  properly  accountable ;  I  could 
wish  still  to  continue  silent,  and  submit  to  be 
a  little  misunderstood  by  some  persons  whose 
good  opinion  I  prize,  rather  than  trouble  the 
public  with  what  more  immediately  relates  to 
myself.  But  something  upon  this  subject 
seems  expedient  in  the  present  day ;  not  so 
much  by  way  of  apology  for  one  or  a  few  in- 
dividuals, as  with  a  view  of  obviating  preju- 
dices, and  preventing,  cr  at  least  abating,  the 
unhappy  effects  of  a  party-spirit. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  Non-ooiiformists 
groaned  under  the  iron  rod  of  oppression,  and 
were  exposed  to  fines,  penalties,  and  imprison- 
ment, as  well  as  to  cruel  mockings,  and  the 
lawless  rage  of  a  rabble,  for  worshipping  God 
according  to   the  light  of  their   consciences. 


Yet  I  apprehend  their  non-conformity  was 
rather  the  occasional  and  ostensible,  than  the 
real  cause  of  the  hard  treatment  they  met 
with.  The  greater  part  of  the  Non-conformist 
ministers  of  that  day  were  the  light  and  glory 
of  the  land. — They  were  men  full  of  faith 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  penetrated  with  a 
deep  sense  of  the  Redeemer's  glory  and  love, 
and  of  the  worth  of  souls.  Their  ministra- 
tions were  accompanied  with  unction  and  pow- 
er, and  they  were  instrumental  in  turning  many 
sinners  from  the  evil  of  their  ways.  It  is  no 
wonder  that  the  world  hated  such  men  ;  that 
snares  were  spread  for  their  feet,  their  liberty 
abridged,  and  that  many  said,  Away  with 
thern,  they  are  not  worthy  to  live  !  It  is  pro- 
bable that  if  these  servants  of  the  Most  High 
could  have  enjoyed  that  freedom  for  their  per- 
sons and  assemblies,  which,  in  answer  to  their 
prayers,  is  now  possessed  by  those  who  bear 
the  same  name,  they  would  have  been  well 
satisfied  that  the  Established  Church  should 
have  remained  in  peaceful  possession  of  its 
own  order  and  ritual.  And  several  among 
them,  not  the  lowest  in  repute  for  wisdom  and 
piety,  continued  long  to  worslrip  occasionally 
in  the  Parish  Churches,  after  they  had  been 
ejected  from  them  as  preachers.  But  things 
were  studiously  carried  against  them  with  a 
hiah  hand.  The  exaction  of  re-ordination, 
and  the  little  time  allowed  for  subscribing  the 
book  of  Common  Prayer,  which  many  of  the 
ministers  had  not  been  able  to  procure  when 
the  law  called  for  their  assent  to  it,  were  two 
circumstances  which  greatly  contributed  to 
swell  the  Bartholomew-list.  It  was  well  known 
to  some  of  the  leaders  in  that  unhappy  busi- 
ness, that  there  were  among  the  Non-conform- 
ists wise  and  moderate  men,  who  were  not 
disposed  to  quit  their  parochial  cures,  unless 
they  were  constrained  by  the  harshest  and  most 
violent  measures;  such  therefore  were  the 
measures  they  adopted. 

It  is  our  mercy  to  live  in  more  quiet  times. 
We  are  on  all  sides  freed  from  restraints  in 
religious  concerns;  and  every  person  is  at  li- 
berty to  profess,  preach,  worship,  or  print  as 
he  thinks  proper.     But  it  is  still  to  be  lament 


878  APOLOGIA. 

ed,  that  they  who  ure  united  upon  the  same 
foundations,  and  agree  in  the  same  important 
leading  principles,  should  lay  so  much  stress 
upon  their  circumstantial  differences  in  senti- 
ment, as  to  prevent  the  exercise  of  mutual  love 
and  forbearance,  and  that,  instead  of  labour- 
ing in  concert  within  their  respective  depart- 
ments to  promote  the  common  cause,  they 
should  be  at  leisure  to  vex  and  worry  each 
other  with  needless  disputation  and  unchari- 
table censure.  I  hope,  amongst  us,  the  High- 
Church  principles  which  formerly  produced 
unjustifiable  and  oppressive  effects,  are  now 
generally  exploded.  But  may  we  not  lay  a 
claim  in  our  turn,  to  that  moderation,  candour, 
and  tenderness,  from  our  dissenting  brethren, 
which  we  cheerfully  exercise  towards  them? 
But  as  we  (I  think)  are  no  longer  the  aggres- 
sors, so  they  seem  no  longer  content  to  stand 
upon  the  defensive.  We  wish  to  join  them 
with  heart  and  hand  in  supporting  and  spread- 
ing the  great  truths  of  the  gospel ;  and  such 
as  you,  my  friend,  approve  our  aims,  and  re- 
joice with  us,  if  God  is  pleased  to  give  us  suc- 
cess. But  there  are  those  among  you,  whose 
persons  and  general  conduct  we  respect,  from 
whom  we  do  notfind  equal  returns  of  good-will, 
because  we  cannot  join  with  them  in  the  sup- 
port of  a  palladium  which  bears  the  name  of 
the  Dissenting  Interest.  I  know  not  whether 
this  phrase  was  in  use  a  hundred  years  ago  ; 
but  were  I  to  meet  with  it  as  referring  to  that 
period,  I  should  understand  by  it  little  more 
or  less  than  the  interest  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom.  At  present,  when  I  consider  the 
various  names,  views,  and  sentiments,  which 
obtain  among  those  who  form  this  aggregate, 
styled  the  Dissenting  Interest,  I  am  at  a  loss 
what  sense  to  put  upon  the  term.  May  I  not 
say  without  offence,  that  it  is,  at  least,  a  very 
heterogeneous  body  ?  May  I  not  hope,  with- 
out presumption,  that  though  you  and  I  are 
not  agreed  on  the  subject  of  Church  Govern- 
ment, yet  I  am  related  to   you   by  a  much 


LET.  I. 


nearer  and  stronger  tie  than  that  which  binds 
you  to  the  Dissenting  Interest?  I  confess  that 
so  far  as  it  is  the  interest  of  those  who  depre- 
cate the  person  and  blood  of  the  Saviour,  and 
deny  the  agency  and  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  or  the  total  depravity  of  fallen  man,  so 
far  I  cannot  (in  a  religious  view)  be  a  friend 
to  it.  On  the  other  hand,  so  far  as  it  regards 
those  who  love,  avow,  and  preach  the  doctrines, 
experience,  and  practice,  which  both  you  and 
I  include  in  our  idea  of  the  Gospel,  so  far  I 
can  truly  say,  though  not  a  Dissenter  myself, 
the  Dissenting  Interest  is  dear  to  my  heart, 
and  has  a  share  in  my  daily  prayers.  And  in 
this  I  am  persuaded  I  speak  the  sentiments  of 
many  both  ministers  and  laymen,  in  the  Esta- 
blishment. We  are  sorry,  therefore  (at  least 
I  am  sorry),  though  not  angry,  when  books 
are  written,  or  declarations*    (perhaps  in   the 

*  Some  of  tlio  e  letters  were  written  in  the  voar  1777. 


most  solemn  occasions  of  worship)  unreason- 
ably made,  which  seem  not  so  much  designed 
to  confirm  Dissenters  in  their  own  principles, 
as  to  place  those  who  cannot  accede  to  them 
in  an  unfavourable  light;  the  ministers  espe- 
cially, who,  according  to  some  representations, 
must  be  supposed  to  be  almost  destitute  of 
common  sense,  or  else  of  common  honesty. 

When  I  write  a  letter,  especially  to  a  friend, 
I  think  myself  released  from  that  attention  to 
method  which  I  might  observe  if  I  were  com- 
posing a  treatise.  As  my  heart  dictates,  my 
pen  moves.  I  therefore  hope  you  will  bear 
with  me  if  I  do  not  come  directly  to  what  I 
proposed ;  which  was,  to  give  you  some  account 
of  the  motives  of  my  own  conduct.  It  may  not 
be  improper  to  premise  a  few  preliminary  ob- 
servations. I  shall  not  weary  you  by  attempt- 
ing to  justify  every  thing  that  obtains  in  our 
way,  nor  call  your  attention  to  all  the  minutia? 
which  might  furnish  subject  for  debate  to 
those  who  know  not  how  to  employ  their  time 
better.  It  would  be  mere  trifling  to  dispute 
for  or  against  a  surplice  or  a  band,  a  gown  or 
a  cloak,  or  to  inquire  whether  it  be  the  size, 
or  the  shape,  which  renders  some  of  these  ha- 
biliments more  or  less  suitable  for  a  minister, 
than  the  others.  But  perhaps  a  few  stric- 
tures upon  establishments  and  liturgies  may 
not  be  wholly  impertinent  to  my  design. 

That  national  religious  establishments  un- 
der the  New  Testament  dispensation  are  nei- 
ther of  express  divine  appointment,  nor  form- 
ed in  all  points  upon  a  scriptural  plan,  I  rea- 
dily admit.  Whether  upon  this  account  they 
cannot  be  submitted  to  without  violating  the 
obedience  we  owe  to  the  Lord  Jesus  as  head 
and  lawgiver  of  his  church,  I  shall  consider 
hereafter.  At  present  permit  me  only  to  hope 
(for  my  own  sake),  that  such  submission  is 
not  absolutely  sinful  ;  and  in  that  view  to  of- 
fer a  word  in  favour  of  their  expedience.  1 
plead  not  for  this  or  that  establishment,  or  the 
administration  of  one  preferably  to  another  ; 
but  chiefly  for  that  circumstance  which  I  sup- 
pose is  common  to  them  all  :  I  mean,  the  par- 
celing out  a  country,  the  government  of  which 
is  professedly  Christian,  and  certain  districts, 
analogous  to  what  we  call  parishes,  and  fix- 
ing  in  each  of  those  districts,  a  person  with  a 
ministerial  character,  who  by  his  office  is  en- 
gaged to  promote  the  good  of  souls  within  the 
limits  of  his  own  boundary.  I  think  the 
number  of  parishes  in  England  and  Wales  is 
computed  to  be  not  much  fewer  than  ten 
thousand.  The  number  of  dissenting  churches 
and  congregations  in  England  and  Wales  (if 
those  whom  I  have  consulted  as  the  most 
competent  judges  are  not  mistaken),  will  not 
be  found  greatly  to  exceed  one  thousand.  In 
how  many,  or  in  how  few  of  these  the  old  Pu- 
ritan Gospel  (if  I  may  so  call  it)  is  preached 
or  prized,  I  deem  you  a  better  judge  than  my- 
self.     It  is  certain,  that  the  number  of  Dis- 


senting   ministers 


who 


very 


LET.  I. 


APOLOGIA. 


879 


should  be  publicly  known  that  they  differ 
widely  from  the  sentiments  of  their  fore- 
fathers, is  not  small.  However,  we  will  take 
them  all  into  the  estimate.  Novr,  let  us  for 
a  moment  suppose  the  establishment  with  all 
its  provisions  removed  and  annihilated.  In 
this  case,  some  of  the  Dissenting  ministers 
might  indeed  change  their  situations,  and  fix 
in  places  where  they  might  hope  for  more  ex- 
tensive influence ;  but  as  none  of  them  could 
be  in  two  places  at  once,  about  nine-tenths  of 
the  kingdom  would  be  deprived,  at  a  stroke, 
of  the  very  form  of  public  religion,  and  re- 
duced in  a  short  time  (for  any  relief  the  Dissent- 
ing interest  could  afford)  to  a  state  little  better 
than  heathenism.  That  there  is  any  regard  paid 
to  the  Lord's  day  through  the  greater  part  of 
the  land,  that  the  holy  scriptures  are  publicly 
read  to  thousands  who  probably  would  other- 
wise know  no  more  of  the  Bible  than  they  do 
of  the  Koran,  are  good  effects  of  the  national 
establishment,  which  I  think  can  hardly  be 
denied,  even  by  those  who  are  most  displeas- 
ed with  it.  For  this  reason,  if  I  could  not 
conform  to  the  establishment  myself,  I  think 
I  should  speak  respectfully  of  it,  and  bless 
God  for  it.  Some  established  form  of  religi- 
ous profession,  with  a  full  and  free  toleration 
for  all  who  think  they  can  serve  God  more 
acceptably  upon  a  different  plan,  appears  to 
me  the  most  desirable  and  promising  consti- 
tution, for  preserving  the  rights  of  conscience, 
and  for  promoting  the  welfare  of  souls.  I  be- 
lieve, therefore,  that  the  church  of  England, 
as  by  law  established  (for  it  claims  no  higher 
title),  though  it  be  not  a  perfect  institution, 
and  notwithstanding  its  real  or  supposed  de- 
fects, and  the  faults  of  individuals  within  its 
community,  has  been  upon  the  whole,  and  will 
be,  a  blessing  to  the  nation  ;  and  that  its  pre- 
servation is  an  effect  of  the  wise  and  gracious 
providence  of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church 
universal. 

From  the  expediency  of  parochial  order,  I 
would  farther  deduce  the  expediency  of  a  rub- 
ric and  liturgy.  For  I  cannot  conceive  an 
established  church,  without  including,  in  my 
idea,  some  determinate  rule  or  line  respecting 
doctrine  and  worship,  by  which  it  is  discrimi- 
nated from  other  churches  which  are  not  so 
established.  As  to  our  liturgy,  I  am  far  from 
thinking  it  incapable  of  amendment ;  though, 
when  I  consider  the  temper  and  spirit  of  the 
present  times,  I  dare  not  wish  that  the  im- 
provement of  it  should  be  attempted,  lest  the 
intended  remedy  might  prove  worse  than  the 
disease.  As  I  am  not  called  to  defend  it,  I 
shall  only  say,  what  I  believe  will  be  allowed 
by  many  candid  persons  on  your  side,  that  the 
general  strain  of  it  is  scriptural,  evangelical, 
and  experimental.  It  recognizes  with  preci- 
sion the  one  great  object  of  worship,  in  his 
personal  distinctions,  and  glorious  attributes  : 
the  honours  and  offices  of  the  Redeemer,  the 
power  and  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  evil 


of  sin,  the  depravity  of  man,  and  all  the  dis 
tinguishing   doctrines   of  the   gospel.      As  to 
the  composition,    I    question  if  any  thing  in 
the    English    language    (our   version    of    the 
Bible  excepted),  is  worthy  of  being  compared 
with    it,   for  simplicity,    perspicuity,    energy, 
and    comprehensive    fulness    of    expression. 
But  I  suppose  the  objection  does  not  lie  so 
much  against  our  liturgy  in  particular,  as  in 
general  against  the   use  of  liturgies   of   any 
kind.      And  for  aught  I  know,  if  the  compil- 
ers of  our  liturgy  could  have  expected,  that 
all  the  parishes  in  the  kingdom,  and  from  age 
to  age,  would  be  supplied  with  ministers  com- 
petently acquainted  with  the  mysteries  of  the 
gospel,   and   possessed   of  the  spirit  of  grace 
and  supplication,   they  might  have  left  them 
under  less  restraint  in  conducting  public  wor- 
ship.     I  believe  many  of  the  Dissenters  take 
it  for  granted,  that  a  considerable  part  of  our 
clergy  are  not  only  unable  to  pray  in  public 
to  the  edification  of  their  hearers  without  a 
form,  but  are  unfit  for  the  ministerial  office 
in  every  view.      Should  this  be  true,  it  is  a 
truth  which  I  hope  would  excite  lamentation 
rather  than  ridicule  or  invective,  in  all  who 
profess  a  regard  to  the  glory  of  God,  or  love 
to  the  souls  of  men.      But  upon  this  suppo- 
sition I  should  think  an  evangelical  liturgy  a 
great  blessing  ;  as  it  must  secure  the  people, 
(that  is  the  bulk  of  the  nation)  from  being 
exposed   to  the  same  uncertainty  and  disap- 
pointment from  the  reading-desk,  as  they  are 
liable  to  from  the  pulpit.      For  they  who  can- 
not, or  do  not  preach  the  gospel,  are  not  like 
to  pray  agreeably  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel, 
if  that  part  of  the  public  service  was  likewise 
left  to  their  own  management.      Or  shall  we 
say,  it  is  an  advantage  to  some  dissenting  con- 
gregations, that  their  ministers,  not  being  con- 
fined to  a  form  of  sound  words,  there  is  little 
more  of  Christ  or  of  grace  to   be  found  in 
their  prayers  than  in  their  sermons  ?  Is  it  not 
too  hastily  taken  for  granted  by  many,  that 
God  cannot  be   worshipped   in  spirit  and  in 
truth  by  those  who  use  a  form  of  prayer  ?   or 
that  he  will  not  afford  them  who  so  approach 
him  any  testimony  of  his  acceptance  ?  If  the 
words  of  a  form  suit  and  express  the  desires 
and  feelings  of  my  mind,   the  prayer  is  as 
much  my  own,  as  if  I  had  conceived  it  upon 
the  spot.      On  the  other  hand,  if  I  have  the 
greatest  readiness  and  fluency  in  diversifying 
expressions,  so  that  my  prayer  should  always 
appear  unstudied  and  new,  yet  if  my  spirit,  or 
the  spirits  of  those  who  join  with  me,  be  not 
engaged  in  it,  though  I  may  admire  my  own 
performance,   and  be  applauded  by  others,   it 
is  no  better  than  a  mere  lifeless  form,  in  the 
sight  of  him  who  searcheth  the  heart.      Not 
to  say,  that  many  who  profess  to  pray  extem- 
pore,  that  is,   without   either  a  printed  or  a 
written  form,  go  so  much  in  a  beaten  path, 
that  they  who  hear  them,   frequently  can   tell 
with  tolerable  certainty,  how  they  will  begin, 


K80 

when  they  are  about  the  middle,  and  when 
they  are  drawing  towards  the  close  of  their 
prayer. 

It  is  said,  that  a  prescribed  form  precludes 
the  exercise  of  a  gift  in  prayer,  which  is  true; 
but  then,  as  I  hinted  before,  it  in  some  good 
measure  supplies  the  want  of  such  a  gift ;  and 
blessed  be  the  Lord,  there  are  many  living 
witnesses  who  can  declare  to  his  praise,  that  a 
form  does  not  restrain,  much  less  preclude  the 
exercise  of  grace.  They  know  and  are  sure 
that  their  Lord  and  master  owns  and  comforts 
them  in  what  their  brethren  hastily  condemn 
them  for.  It  is  well  for  us  that  he  seeth  not 
as  man  seeth,  and  is  no  more  a  respecter  of 
parties  than  of  persons. 

It  cannot  be  denied,  that  the  Lord  himself 
appointed  forms  of  prayer  and  praise  to  be 
used  in  the  Old  Testament  church.  When 
the  ark  set  forward,  and  when  it  rested,  Moses 
addressed  the  Lord,  not  according  to  the  va- 
ried emotions  of  his  own  spirit,  but  statedly 
in  the  same  determinate  expressions,  Numb. 
x.  35,  36.  So  likewise  in  the  solemn  bene- 
diction which  the  high  priest  was  to  pro- 
nounce upon  the  people,  Numb.  vi.  2S,  27. 
Again,  at  the  presenting  of  the  first  fruits, 
though  the  heart  of  the  offerer  might  be  filled 
with  gratitude,  he  was  not  to  express  it  in  his 
own  way,  but  the  Lord  himself  prescribed  the 
form  of  his  acknowledgement,  confession,  and 
prayer,  Deut.  xxvi.  12 — 15.  But  it  may  be 
said,  these  were  enjoined  under  the  Levitical 
institution,  which  is  now  abrogated,  and  that 
we  live  under  a  dispensation  of  greater  light 
and  liberty.  I  wish  however,  with  all  our 
light  and  liberty,  we  could  more  fully  come 
up  to  the  spirit  of  some  of  the  devotional  parts 
of  the  Old  Testament,  which  were  recorded 
for  our  instruction,  and  most  certainly  are  not 
abrogated.  The  book  of  Psalms  especially, 
contains  a  rich  variety  of  patterns  for  prayer, 
if  we  may  not  call  them  forms,  adapted  to  all 
the  various  exercises  of  the  life  of  faith.  And 
if,  when  1  read  or  repeat  such  Psalms  as  the 
63d,  84th,  or  86th,  I  could  feel,  in  the  man- 
ner I  wish,  the  force  of  every  expression,  I 
should  think  I  prayed  to  good  purpose,  though 
I  were  not  to  intermingle  a  single  word  of  my 
own.  So  likewise  with  respect  to  that  sum- 
mary which  our  Lord  condescended  to  teach 
his  disciples  ;  though  I  believe  it  had  a  pecu- 
liar reference  to  the  state  in  which  they  were 
before  his  passion,  and  while  he  was  still  with 
them  ;  yet  agreeable  to  the  fulness  of  his  wis- 
dom, it  is  so  comprehensive,  that  I  apprehend 
every  part  of  a  believer's  intercourse  with  God 
in  prayer,  may  be  reduced,  without  forcing, 
to  one  or  the  other  of  the  heads  of  this  prayer. 
And  I  should  esteem  it  a  golden  hour  indeed, 
one  of  the  happiest  seasons  I  ever  enjoyed  in 
prayer,  if  I  could  repeat  it  with  a  just  impres- 
sion of  the  meaning  of  every  clause.  But 
alas  !  such  are  the  effects  of  our  unhappy  dif- 
ferences, or  rather  of  a  wrongnoss  of  spirit  in 


APOLOGIA.  LET.  i. 

maintaining  them,  and  so  prone  are  we  to 
think  we  cannot  be  too  unlike  those  whom  we 
are  not  pleased  with,  that  even  the  words 
which  our  Lord  himself  has  taught  us,  are  de- 
preciated and  disused  by  many,  I  fear,  upon 
no  bettei  ground  than  because  they  are  retain- 
ed in  the  usage  of  the  Church  of  England. 
Though,  besides  giving  us  a  pattern  to  pray 
after  that  manner,  he  has  at  least  permitted  us 
to  use  it  as  a  form,  directing  us,  when  we  pray 
to  say,  "  Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven, 
&c.  If  scriptural  warrant  be  required,  I 
think  we  have  one  more  clear  and  express  for 
the  use  of  this  prayer,  than  can  be  found  for 
some  things  upon  which  no  small  stress  is  laid 
by  our  Dissenting  brethren. 

Some  persons  might  possibly  allege,  that  if 
the  use  of  scriptural  forms  of  prayer  were  ad- 
mitted, it  would  plead  nothing  in  favour  of 
such  forms  as  are  of  human  composition.  But 
as  I  believe  the  more  judicious  part  of  the 
Dissenters  would  not  make  this  distinction,  a 
few  words  may  suffice  for  an  answer.  Most 
of  us,  when  we  preach,  profess  to  preach  the 
word  of  God,  and  I  think  we  are  sufficiently 
authorized  to  use  the  expression,  so  far  as  our 
sermons  are  explanatory  of  scriptural  truths, 
and  agreeable  to  them.  For  though  the  sys- 
tem of  truth  contained  in  the  holy  scriptures 
has  a  peculiar  authority,  as  the  fountain  from 
whence  we  are  to  derive  our  public  discourses, 
and  the  standard  by  which  they  are  to  be  tried  ; 
yet  truth,  as  to  its  nature,  does  not  admit  of 
degrees,  but  all  propositions,  if  they  be  true, 
must  be  equally  true,  and  every  conclusion 
which  is  rightly  inferred  from  scriptural  pre- 
mises, must  be,  in  whatever  words  it  is  ex- 
pressed (if  they  are  precise  and  clear),  as  true 
as  the  premises  from  which  it  is  drawn.  If  I 
give  a  just  definition  or  explication  of  a  doc- 
trine of  the  Bible  in  my  own  words,  the  truth 
or  importance  of  that  doctrine  is  not  affected 
or  weakened  by  the  vehicle  in  which  I  convey 
it ;  nor  would  Q.  hearer  have  a  right  to  with- 
hold his  attention  or  assent,  from  a  pretence, 
that  though  the  proposition  itself  was  true,  he 
was  not  concerned  in  it,  because  I  had  not  ex- 
pressed it  in  scriptural  phrases.  It  is  only 
upon  this  ground  that  the  propriety  and  au- 
thority of  preaching  can  be  maintained;  and 
the  like  reasoning  may  be  applied  to  prayer. 
A  prayer  is  scriptural,  if  conformable  to  the 
promises,  patterns,  and  truths  of  scripture, 
though  it  should  not  contain  one  phrase  taken 
totidem  verbis  from  the  Bible. 

May  I  not  here  appeal  to  the  practice  of  the 
Dissenters  themselves  ?  I  suppose  Dr.  Watts' 
Hymns,  and  his  imitation  of  David's  Psalms, 
especially  the  latter,  are  used,  by  a  large  ma- 
jority of  Dissenting  congregations,  in  their 
I  public  worship.  Many  of  these  pieces  are  de  • 
i  votional,  that  is,  they  are  in  the  strain  of  prayer, 
or  praise.  They  are  therefore  forms  of  prayer 
or  praise ;  and  when  the  first  line  is  given 
out,  it  is  probable  that  several  persons  in  the 


LET.  II. 

assembly  know  beforehand  every  word  they 
are  to  sing.  In  some  congregations  the  psalm 
or  hymn  is  delivered  line  by  line,  and  in  most, 
the  bulk  of  the  people  are  provided  with  books. 
Now  it  appears  to  me,  that  when  a  worshipper 
who  attends  to  what  is  going  forward,  and  is 
not  content  with  a  mere  lip-service,  joins  in 
singing  verses,  which  express  the  desires  and 
petitions  of  his  heart  to  the  Lord,  he  prays  ; 
and  if  he  uses  verses  with  which  he  was  be- 
fore acquainted,  he  prays  by  a  form ;  he  does 
the  very  thing  for  which  we  are  condemned ; 
unless  it  can  be  proved  that  the  fault  and  evil 
which  is  essential  to  a  form  in  prose,  is  en- 
tirely removed  if  the  substance  of  the  obnoxi- 
ous form  be  expressed  in  metre  or  rhyme. 

Crito  freely  will  rehearse 
Forms  of  prayer  and  praise  in  verse  : 
Why  should  Crito  then  suppose 
Forms  are  sinful  when  in  prose  ? 
Must  my  form  be  deemed  a  crime 
Merely  for  the  want  of  rhyme  ? 

I  have  heard  of  a  minister  who  used  to 
CDinpose  hymns  in  the  pulpit.  It  was  his  cus- 
tom to  give  out  one  line,  and  by  the  time  the 
congregation  had  sung  the  first,  he  had  a  se- 
cond ready  for  them,  and  so  on,  so  long  as  he 
thought  proper  to  sing.  These  were  not  forms, 
they  were  composed  pro  re  nata.  Before  he 
had  finished  a  second  stanza,  the  former  (as  to 
the  verse  and  cadence)  was  in  a  manner  for- 
gotten ;  and  the  same  hymn  was  never  heard 
twice.  I  know  not  what  these  unpremeditated 
pieces  were  in  point  of  composition  ;  but  were 
I  persuaded  of  the  unlawfulness  of  forms  of 
prayer,  and,  at  the  same  time,  approved  of 
the  practice  of  singing  in  public  worship ;  I 
should  extremely  covet  the  talent  of  extem- 
pore hymn-making,  as  one  of  the  most  neces- 
sary gifts  a  minister  could  possess  in  order  to 
maintain  a  consistency  in  his  whole  service. 

I  here  close  what  I  intended  by  way  of  in  ■ 
traduction.  In  my  subsequent  letters,  I  pur- 
pose to  acquaint  you  more  directly  with  the 
reasons  which  determined  my  own  choice,  and 
which  still  satisfy  me,  that  in  receiving  Epis- 
copal ordination,  and  exercising  my  ministry 
in  the  established  church,  I  have  not  acted 
wrong.  At  present,  I  shall  relieve  your  at- 
tention, by  subscribing  myself 

Your  affectionate  Friend  and  Brother. 


LETTER  II. 


i>1Y  DEAR  FRIEND  AND  BROTHER, 

As  such  I  address  you  ;  as  such,  notwithstand- 
ing our  different  views  of  church-government, 
you  acknowledge  me.  You  have  confirmed 
your  love  to  me  by  many  repeated  proofs  , 
and  it  is  the  desire  of  my  heart  that  nothing 
may  take  place  on  either  side  to  weaken  the 
exercise  of  that  friendship,  which  having  the 
faith  and  hope  of  the  gospel  for  its  basis,  is 
calculated  to  subsist  and  flourish  iu  a  better 


APOLOGIA.  881 

world.  With  this  thought  upon  my  mind,  it 
is  impossible  that  I  should  write  a  single  line 
with  an  intention  of  grieving  or  offending 
you  ;  and  I  am  persuaded,  the  same  conside- 
ration on  your  part  will  dispose  you  to  a  can- 
did perusal  of  what  I  offer.  I  had  rather  be 
silent  than  plead  even  for  truth  in  an  an«rv 
contentious  spirit.  For  every  year  of  my  life 
strengthens  my  conviction  of  the  importance 
of  that  divine  aphorism,  "  The  wrath  of  man 
worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God." 

How  far  what  I  have  suggested  in  favour 
of  establishments  and  liturgies  may  appear 
conclusive  to  you,  I  know  not.  I  depend 
much  upon  your  candour ;  but  I  make  al- 
lowances for  the  unavoidable  influence  of  edu- 
cation, connection,  and  habit,  both  in  you  and 
in  myself.  We  generally  ascribe  the  dissent 
of  those  who  differ  from  us,  in  part  at  least, 
to  prejudices  of  this  kind;  but  as  it  is  very 
natural  to  think  favourably  of  ourselves,  we 
almost  take  it  for  granted  that  we  have  either 
escaped  or  outgrown  every  bias.  Though 
some  of  the  principles  we  maintain  have  been 
instilled  into  us  from  our  childhood,  and  we 
have  been  confirmed  in  what  we  say  is  right, 
by  the  instruction,  advice,  and  example  o 
friends,  exactly  as  others  have  been  confirmed 
in  what  we  call  wrong  ;  yet  that  positiveness 
which  in  them  is  the  effect  of  ignorant  preju- 
dice is  in  us  a  very  different  thing  ;  a  just  at- 
tachment to  truth,  and  the  result  of  impartial 
examination  and  full  conviction.  For  my 
own  part,  I  dare  not  say  that  I  am  free  from 
all  bias  and  prepossession,  but  I  desire  anu 
endeavour  to  guard  against  their  influence. 

But  though  I  have  ventured  to  defena  the 
propriety  of  a  national  establishment,  and  up- 
on that  ground,  the  expediency  of  a  liturgy, 
I  need  not  tell  you  that  I  had  no  hand  in 
forming  either  the  one  or  the  other.  By  the 
allotment  of  Divine  Providence,  I  was  born 
jn  a  nation  where  these  things  had  taken  place 
long  before  I  came  into  the  world.  There- 
fore, when  the  Lord  gave  me  a  desire  to 
preach  his  gospel,  and  it  became  necessary  to 
determine  under  what  character  I  should  ex- 
ercise my  ministry;  the  question  before  me 
was  not,  What  form  of  church-government  I 
might  propose  as  the  most  scriptural,  if  all 
parties  amongst  us  were  willing  to  refer  them 
selves  to  my  decision  ?  But  my  inquiry  was 
rather  directed  to  this  point,  What  would  be 
my  path  of  duty,  rebus  sic  stantibus,  living,  as 
I  did,  in  the  island  of  Great  Britain,  and  in 
that  part  of  it  named  England  ?  At  first,  in- 
deed, I  saw  but  little  room  for  deliberation. 
For,  about  six  years  after  I  was  awakened  to 
some  concern  for  my  soul,  my  situation  in  life 
had  secluded  me  equally  from  every  religious 
party.  During  this  period,  in  which  I  walk 
ed  alone,  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  shew  me  the 
way  to  the  throne  of  grace,  and  to  lead  me  to 
study  and  prize  his  holy  word.      By  his  bless- 


ing,  I   made  some  advances   in   knowledge, 
3  R 


882 


APOLOGIA. 


LET.  II 


though  slowly,  under  such  discouragements 
and  disadvantages,  as  they,  who  from  the  be- 
ginning of  their  inquiries,  are  favoured  with 
public  ordinances,  and  the  help  of  Christian 
conference,  can  have  no  proper  conception  of. 
At  length  I  became  acquainted  with  some  of 
his  people,  and  had  frequent  opportunities  of 
hearing  the  gospel.  My  first  connections  of 
this  sort  were  chiefly  with  Dissenters,  and 
brought  me,  as  it  were,  into  a  new  world. 
For,  till  then,  I  had  hardly  an  idea  of  the 
different  names  and  modes  by  which  profes- 
sing Christians  were  distinguished  and  subdi- 
vided, nor  of  the  animosity  with  which  their 
various  disputes  were  carried  on.  But  as  I 
received  benefit  and  pleasure  from  my  inter- 
course with  my  new  friends,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  while  my  heart  was  warm,  and  my  expe- 
rience and  judgment  unformed,  I  should  enter 
with  readiness  into  all  their  views.  Thus,  to- 
gether  with  the  real  advantages  I  obtained  a- 
mong  them,  I  imbibed  at  the  same  time  a 
strong  prejudice  against  the  established  church, 
and  hastily  concluded,  that  though  I  might 
occasionally  communicate  with  it  as  a  private 
person,  it  would  be  impossible  to  officiate  in  it 
as  a  minister  without  violating  my  conscience. 
Accordingly,  my  first  overtures  were  to  the 
Dissenters  ;  and  had  not  the  Providence  of 
God  remarkably  interposed  to  prevent  it,  I 
should  probably  have  been  a  brother  with  you 
in  every  sense.  But  my  designs  were  over- 
ruled. A  variety  of  doors  by  which  I  sought 
entrance  (for  I  did  not  give  up  upon  the  first 
disappointment)  were  successively  shut  against 
me.  These  repeated  delays  afforded  me  more 
time  to  think  and  judge  for  myself;  and  the 
more  I  considered  the  point,  the  more  my 
scruples  against  conformity  gave  way.  Rea- 
sons increased  upon  me,  which  not  only  satis- 
fied me  that  I  might  conform  without  sin, 
but  that  the  preference  (as  to  my  own  con- 
cern) was  plainly  on  that  side.  Accordingly, 
in  the  Lord's  due  time,  after  several  years 
waiting  to  know  his  will,  I  sought  and  obtain- 
ed Episcopal  ordination.  And  I  seriously 
assure  you,  that  though  I  took  this  step  with 
a  firm  persuasion  that  it  was  right,  I  did  not 
at  that  time  see  so  many  reasons  to  justify  my 
choice,  nor  perhaps  any  one  reason  in  so 
strong  a  light,  as  I  have  since.  Far  from 
having  regretted  this  interesting  part  of  my 
conduct  for  a  single  hour,  I  have  been  more 
satisfied  with  it  from  year  to  year.  You  will 
please,  therefore,  to  accept  what  I  am  about 
to  offer,  not  merely  as  an  account  of  the  mo- 
tives which  influenced  me  twenty  years  ago, 
but  rather  as  the  considerations  which  at  this 
minute  call  upon  me  to  be  heartily  thankful  to 
the  Lord,  for  leading  me  by  a  way  which  I 
knew  not,  to  labour  in  that  part  of  his  vine- 
yard, which  experience  has  proved  to  be  most 
suitable  for  maintaining  my  personal  peace 
and  comfort,  and  (I  verily  believe  likewise) 
for  promoting  my  usefulness  as  a  minister. 


Some  of  our  Dissenting  brethren,  who  I 
hope  are  willing  to  think  as  well  of  the  awa- 
kened clergy  as  they  can,  kindly  allow  us  to 
be  well-meaning  people  ;  they  believe  we  de- 
sire to  be  useful,  and  think  it  not  impossible 
but  that  in  some  instances  we  may  be  so  :  but 
they  pity  us  either  for  not  having  more  light 
or  for  not  having  courage  to  follow  that  light, 
which  they  suppose  must  force  itself  upon  us, 
if  we  did  not  wilfully  shut  it  out.  From 
what  they  hear  of  us  they  are  staggered. 
They  are  loth  to  deny  that  the  Lord  is  with 
us  at  all :  but  then,  if  the  Lord  be  with  us  in- 
deed, why  are  we  thus?  It  is  almost  unac- 
countable to  them  upon  this  supposition  how 
we  can  remain  where  we  are.  They  are  ex- 
pecting from  day  to  day,  that  if  we  are  en- 
lightened, as  we  profess,  and  honest  men,  as 
they  wish  to  find  us,  we  shall  surely  come 
out  from  Babylon,  renounce  our  slavery  and 
will-worship,  and  openly  attach  ourselves  to 
the  Dissenting  Interest.  Could  we  do  this, 
and  persuade  our  people  to  follow  us,  they 
would  probably  no  longer  doubt  whether  the 
Lord  had  wrought  by  our  ministry,  or  not. 

I  could  wish  you  not  to  think  of  me  while 
you  read  the  paragraph  I  am  now  beginning. 
You  know  many  of  our  ministers,  and  you 
know  that  there  are  amongst  them  men  of 
sound  sense,  solid  judgment,  and  extensive 
reading :  Men  whom  the  Lord  has  been 
pleased  to  favour  with  an  eminency  in  gifts 
and  spiritual  knowledge  ;  in  a  word,  able  mi- 
nisters of  the  New  Testament  :  Men,  who 
though  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  they  lie  low 
in  the  dust,  conscious  of  inherent  defilement, 
and  that  their  best  services  need  forgiveness ; 
yet  with  regard  to  their  fellow-creatures,  can 
in  the  integrity  of  their  hearts  appeal  to  all 
around  them,  that  their  conversation  is  not 
unbecoming  the  gospel  which  they  preach. 
Some  of  these  men,  at  least,  have  carefully 
studied  the  subject  matter  of  debate  between 
us  and  the  Dissenters,  have  read  the  books, 
and  consider  the  arguments,  which  are  sup- 
posed sufficient  to  convert  and  reform  us  j  but 
after  all  their  endeavours  to  obtain  informa- 
tion, though  they  agree  with  the  evangelical 
Dissenters  in  their  views  of  the  gospel  (which 
yet  they  received  not  from  them,  but  from  the 
holy  scriptures)  they  are  still  constrained  to 
differ  on  the  question  of  church  form  and  or- 
der. Now  why  should  this  be  imputed  to 
their  ignorance  and  blindness  ?  Does  it  re- 
quire a  sharper  eye  to  perceive  the  precise  de- 
lineation of  a  gospel-church  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, if  it  be  really  there,  than  to  appre- 
hend and  embrace  what  the  scripture  teaches 
concerning  the  person  and  characters  of  the 
Redeemer,  the  way  of  a  sinner's  acceptance, 
or  the  nature  of  the  life  of  faith  ?  These 
things,  we  are  assured  by  the  apostle,  the  na- 
tural man,  however  qualified,  cannot  discern. 
Surely  the  external  form  of  a  gospel-church 
[  cannot  be  equally  mysterious  with  these  doc- 


I.Ei.  II 


APOLOGIA. 


883 


trines ;  especially  as  it  is  professedly  seen 
with  the  glance  of  an  eye,  by  some  persons 
who  declare  themselves  enemies  to  mysteries 
of  any  kind.  Or  why  should  their  not  acced- 
ing to  you  be  imputed  to  interested  motives  ? 
There  are  with  us  men  whose  integrity  and 
ingenuousness  are  in  every  other  respect  un- 
impeachable ;  and  it  is  hard,  that  without  suf- 
ficient evidence,  they  should  be  charged  with 
prevarication  in  a  business  which  concerns  the 
honour  of  their  Saviour,  and  the  uprightness 
of  their  consciences  in  his  srj,ht.  Besides, 
what  can  be  the  powerful  motives  for  such 
hypocrisy  ?  Do  they  by  remaining  in  the  es- 
tablishment avoid  the  offence  of  the  cross,  and 
find  a  shelter  from  that  opprobrium  and  op- 
position which  must  be  their  lot  if  they  had 
the  fortitude  to  unite  with  the  Dissenters  ? 
Here  at  least,  however,  we  may  be  mistaken. 
1  apprehend  the  Lord  has  assigned  to  us  the 
post  of  honour ;  and  that  in  the  treatment  we 
meet  with  from  an  unbelieving  world,  our  lot 
rather  resembles  that  of  the  Dissenters  of  the 
last  century  than  of  the  present.  It  is  true, 
we  are  no  more  exposed  to  fines  and  imprison- 
ment than  you  are  ;  but  if  it  be  an  honour  to 
suffer  shame  for  his  name's  sake,  I  think  we 
have  the  pre-eminence.  As  to  money-mat- 
ters, I  could  name  several  of  our  clergy  who 
are  not  so  plentifully  provided  for  in  the  esta- 
blishment, but  that  if  they  were  to  leave  us, 
and  to  go  over  to  your  side,  it  is  very  probable 
the  manner  in  which  converts  of  such  charac- 
ters and  abilities  would  be  received  amongst 
you,  might  prove  considerably  to  their  emolu- 
ment. Nor  can  it  upon  better  grounds  be 
ascribed  to  obstinate  prejudice  and  incurable 
bigotry,  that  your  arguments  do  not  prevail. 
For  it  is  well  known,  that  many  of  our  minis- 
ters shew  a  cordial  and  liberal  spirit  to  the 
Dissenters,  receive  them  gladly  into  their 
houses,  attend  occasionally  upon  their  preach- 
ing, recommend  and  encourage  applications 
for  the  support  of  their  ministers,  or  places 
of  worship,  and  are  ready  to  concur  with  them 
in  every  plan  for  usefulness.  And  I  believe 
this  disposition  would  be  more  general,  had 
not  experience  shewn  that  the  candour  of  some 
clergymen  in  these  respects,  has  been  too  often 
improperly  requited  by  ungenerous  attempts 
to  prejudice  and  perplex  our  people,  and  to 
weaken  our  hands. 

Yet  one  or  another,  or  all  these  charges 
must  be  insinuated  against  us,  rather  than  fal- 
lible men  will  suppose  themselves  any  thing 
less  than  infallible,  even  in  points  of  a  cir- 
cumstantial nature  ;  and  though  others  whom 
they  have  no  reason  to  think  inferior  to  them- 
selves either  in  judgment  or  integrity,  are 
compelled  to  differ  from  them. 


e? 


If  not  so  frequent,  would  not  this  be  Strang* 
That  'tis  so  frequent— this  is  stranger  still ! 

Be  assured,  dear  Sir,  that  in  thus  apologiz- 
ing for  my  brethren,  I  write  not  only  without 


their  desire,  but  without  their  knowledge.  I 
think  I  have  now  finished  all  my  preambles, 
and  I  proceed  immediately  to  acquaint  you 
with  my  reasons  for  conforming  to  the  Esta- 
blished Church,  and  continuing  in  it. 

My  first,  and  principal  reason  is,  The  re- 
gard I  owe  to  the  honour  a?id  authority  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  Head  and  Laiugiver  (if  his 
Church.  I  do  not  mean  that  this  considera- 
tion obliges  me  absolutely  to  prefer  the  form 
of  the  church  of  England  to  any  other  form, 
but  only  that  it  will  not  permit  me  to  join 
with  those  who  make  dissenting  from  it  ne- 
cessary in  point  of  conscience. 

I  cannot  suppose  that  any  true  christian  in 
our  land  of  light  and  liberty,  will  hesitate  a  mo- 
ment to  acknowledge  that  Christ  is  the  one  in- 
fallible, authoritative  legislator  and  governor  of 
his  church  ;  that  he  is  the  Lord,  and  the  only 
Lord  of  conscience,  and  that  nothing  inconsist- 
ent with  his  revealed  will  should  be  practised, 
nothing  that  he  has  enjoined  be  omitted,  by  those 
who  profess  allegiance  to  him.  But  however 
generally  acknowledged  these  principles  are,  I 
believe  the  misconstruction  and  misapplication 
of  them  have  contributed  more  to  divide  the 
people  of  Gcd,  and  to  alienate  their  affections 
from  each  other,  than  any  other  cause  that 
can  be  assigned.  It  seems  reasonable  to  ex- 
pect that  they  whose  hopes  are  built  upon  the 
same  foundation,  who  are  led  by  the  same 
spirit,  who  are  opposed  by  the  same  enemies, 
and  interested  in  the  same  promises,  would 
look  upon  each  other  with  mutual  compla- 
cence, would  love  as  brethren,  would  bear 
each  other's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  their  Mas- 
ter's law,  and  copy  his  example.  But  alas  • 
a  mistaken  zeal  for  his  honour  fills  them  on 
all  sides  with  animosity  against  their  fellow 
disciples,  splits  them  into  a  thousand  parties, 
gives  rise  to  fierce  and  endless  contentions, 
and  makes  them  so  earnest  for  and  against 
their  respective  peculiarities,  that  the  love, 
which  is  the  discriminating  characteristic  of 
his  religion,  is  scarcely  to  be  found  amongst 
them  in  such  a  degree  of  exercise,  as  to  satisfy 
even  candid  observers  whether  they  bear  his 
mark  or  not. 

The  visible  church  of  Christ  comprises  all 
who  call  themselves  by  his  name,  and  who 
profess  to  receive  his  gospel  as  a  divine  reve- 
lation. It  is  a  floor  on  which  the  grain  and 
the  chaff  are  promiscuously  mingled  ;  a  field  in 
which  the  wheat  and  the  tares  grow  together ; 
a  net  inclosing  a  multitude  of  fishes  both  good 
and  bad.  But  the  visible  church  of  Christ 
taken  in  this  large  extent,  is  not  the  proper 
subject  of  his  government,  as  he  is  the  King 
of  saints.  For  his  kingdom  is  a  spiritual 
kingdom,  which  none  can  understand,  and 
his  rule  is  a  spiritual  rule,  which  none  can  re- 
ceive or  obey,  until  born  from  above,  and 
made  new  creatures  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  If  these  regenerated  persons,  who  it 
is  to  be  feared,  are  seldom  the  largest  num- 


SSI  APOLOGIA. 

ber  in  any  denomination,  be  considered  as  de- 
tached from  the  visible  church,  the  remainder 
is  a  mere  caput  morluum,  differenced  from 
the  world,  which  lies  in  wickedness,  in  noth- 
ing but  a  name,  and  in  the  privilege  of  hav- 
ing the  oracles  of  God  committed  to  it.  But 
nominal  christians,  though  they  have,  01  may 
have  in  their  hands  the  scriptures,  which  are 
able  to  make  sinners  wise  unto  salvation,  are 
no  less  distant  and  alienated  from  the  life  of 
God  (until  he  is  pleased  to  reveal  his  power 
in  their  hearts)  than  Mahomedans  or  Heath- 
ens. And  with  respect  to  these,  the  honour 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  but  little  concern- 
ed  with  the  different  ways  in  which  they  may 
think  proper  to  constitute  themselves  into  na- 
tional or  particular  churches,  and  please  them- 
selves with  a  lifeless  form  of  worship,  while 
their  hearts  are  in  a  state  of  enmity  to  his 
grace.  Admitting  that  a  plan  of  a  gospel- 
church  was  described  with  the  same  precision 
in  the  New  Testament,  as  the  institutions  of 
the  Levitical  worship  in  the  Old,  and  punctu- 
ally complied  with  to  the  minutest  circum- 
stance, though  the  worshippers  might  applaud 
and  admire  their  own  exactness,  and  censure 
and  despise  all  who  differed  a  hair's  breadth 
from  them,  yet  if  they  did  not  serve  God  in 
spirit  and  in  truth,  their  boasted  church-order 
would  avail  them  nothing.  All  that  related 
to  the  worship  of  God  under  the  law,  was 
confessedly  of  divine  appointment ;  and  the 
people  in  the  time  of  the  prophets  were  not  so 
much  charged  with  neglecting  the  prescribed 
forms,  as  with  resting  in  them.  When  this 
evil  became  general,  and  they  thought  to  com- 
pensate for  their  want  of  spirituality,  by  their 
feasts,  fasts,  and  sacrifices,  the  Lord  expres- 
ses himself  as  displeased  with  his  own  insti- 
tutions, Isa.  i.  11 — 15.  lxvi.  3,  4.  Jer.  vii. 
8 — 14,  22,  23.  They  could  plead  his  pre- 
scription for  their  observances ;  but  in  vain 
they  trusted  to  the  temple,  and  said,  "  The 
temple  of  the  Lord,  the  temple  of  the  Lord 
are  we,"  when  the  Lord  of  the  temple  was 
departed  from  them.  And  certainly  he  will 
be  no  more  pleased  with  a  form  without  the 
heart  now,  than  he  was  then, 

I  must  therefore  confine  my  inquiry  to  the 
church  of  Christ  in  a  more  limited  and  proper 
sense,  as  expressive  of  his  mystical  body,  com- 
posed of  all  who  by  faith  are  united  to  him  as 
their  foundation  and  root,  of  all  to  whom  he 
is  the  head  of  vital  influence,  who  have  fel- 
lowship with  him  in  his  death,  and  are  par- 
takers of  the  power  of  his  resurrection.  These 
are  infallibly  known  only  to  himself.  They 
are  scattered  far  and  wide,  separated  from 
each  other  by  seas  and  mountains ;  they  are 
a  people  of  many  nations  and  languages.  But 
wherever  their  lot  is  cast,  they  hear  his  voice, 
are  under  his  gracious  eye,  and  the  life  which 
they  live  in  the  flesh  is  by  faith  in  his  name. 
They  have  not  all  equal  degrees  of  light  or 
measures  of  grace,  nor  are  they  all  favoured 


LET.  II. 

with  equal  advantages  for  knowing  or  enjoy- 
ing the  full  extent  of  the  liberty  of  the  gospel. 
But  they  are  all  accepted  in  the  Beloved,  and 
approved  of  God.  They  are  spiritual  wor- 
shippers, joint  partakers  of  grace,  and  will 
hereafter  appear  together  at  their  Saviour's 
right  hand  in  glory. 

At  present  they  are  in  an  imperfect  state. 
Though  created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus,  they 
are  not  freed  from  a  principle  of  indwelling 
sin.  Their  knowledge  is  clouded  by  much 
remaining  ignorance,  and  their  zeal,  though 
right  in  its  aim,  is  often  warped  and  misguid- 
ed by  the  corrupt  influence  of  self.  For  they 
still  have  many  corruptions,  and  they  live  in 
a  world  which  furnishes  frequent  occasions  of 
exciting  them ;  and  Satan,  their  subtle  and 
powerful  enemy,  is  always  upon  his  watch  to 
mislead  and  ensnare  them.  They  are  born, 
educated,  and  called  under  a  great  variety  of 
circumstances.  Habits  of  life,  local  customs, 
early  connections,  and  even  bodily  constitu- 
tion, have  more  or  less  influence  in  forming 
their  characters,  and  in  giving  a  tincture  and 
turn  to  their  manner  of  thinking.  So  that 
though,  in  whatever  is  essential  to  their  peace 
and  holiness,  they  are  all  led  by  the  same 
Spirit,  and  mind  the  same  things  ;  in  others 
of  a  secondary  nature,  their  sentiments  may, 
and  often  do  differ,  as  much  as  the  features 
of  their  faces.  A  uniformity  of  judgment 
among  them  is  not  to  be  expected  while  the 
wisest  are  defective  in  knowledge,  the  best  are 
defiled  with  sin,  and  while  the  weaknesses  of 
human  nature  which  are  common  to  them  all, 
are  so  differently  affected  by  a  thousand  im- 
pressions which  are  from  their  various  situa- 
tions. They  might  however,  maintain  a  uni- 
ty of  spirit,  and  live  in  the  exercise  of  mutual 
love  ;  were  it  not  that  every  party,  and  almost 
every  individual,  unhappily  conceives  that 
they  are  bound  in  conscience  to  prescribe  their 
own  line  of  conduct  as  a  standard  to  which 
all  their  brethren  ought  to  conform.  They 
are  comparatively  but  few  who  consider  this 
requisition  to  be  as  unnecessary,  unreason- 
able, and  impracticable,  as  it  would  be  to 
insist,  or  expect  that  every  man's  shoes  should 
be  exactly  of  one  size. 

Thus,  though  all  agree  in  asserting  the  au- 
thority and  right  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  King 
and  Head  of  his  Church,  the  various  appre- 
hensions they  frame  of  the  rule  to  which  he 
requires  them  to  conform,  and  their  pertina- 
cious attachment  to  their  own  expositions  of 
it,  separate  them  almost  as  much  from  each 
other,  as  if  they  were  not  united  to  him  by  a 
principle  of  living  faith.  Their  little  differ- 
ences form  them  into  so  many  separate  inte- 
rests ;  and  the  heat  with  which  they  defend 
their  own  plans,  and  oppose  all  who  cannot 
agree  with  them  in  a  tittle,  makes  them  for- 
get that  they  are  children  in  the  same  family, 
and  servants  of  the  same  master.  And  while 
they  vex  and  worry  each  other  with  disputa 


LF.T.  III.  APOLOGIA. 

tions  and  censures,  the  world  wonders  and 
laughs  at  them  all.  The  spirit  of  love  is  re- 
strained, offences  are  multiplied,  and  Satan  is 
gratified  by  beholding  the  extensive  effects  of 
his  pernicious  and  long  practised  maxim,  Di- 
vide et  impera. 

I  am  far  from  supposing  that  all  the  vari- 
ous modes  of  church-government  under  which 
spiritual  worshippers  are  cast,  are  equally  a- 
greeable  to  the  spirit  and  genius  of  the  gospel, 
or  equally  suited  to  the  purposes  of  edifica- 
tion. Perhaps  there  is  no  considerable  body 
of  people  who  profess  themselves  Christians, 
however  erroneous  in  their  plans  of  doctrine 
or  worship,  among  whom  the  Saviour  has  not 
some  hidden  ones,  known  to  himself,  though 
lost  to  human  observation  in  the  crowd  of  pre- 
tenders which  surround  them.  The  power  of 
nis  grace  can  break  through  all  disadvantages, 
and  make  a  few  individuals  wiser  than  their 
teachers,  by  revealing  his  truth  to  their  heart, 
sooner  or  later,  so  far  as  is  necessary  to  sal- 
vation. But  it  must  be  owned,  that  some 
communities  which  bear  the  name  of  Christian 
have  departed  so  very  far  from  the  simplicity 
of  the  gospel,  that  if  we  reason  a  priori,  we 
are  ready  to  conclude  it  as  almost  impossible 
for  a  converted  person  to  continue  a  single 
day  in  such  a  communion.  But  hypotheses 
cannot  be  maintained  against  plain  facts. 
Thus  the  Church  of  Rome,  not  merely  by  a- 
dopting  an  unmeaning  burdensome  train  of 
ceremonies,  but  by  her  doctrines  of  Papal  in- 
fallibility, invocation  of  saints  and  angels, 
purgatory,  absolution,  the  mass,  and  others  of 
the  like  stamp,  is  become  so  exceedingly  adul- 
terated, that  possibly  some  persons  who  may 
read  these  letters,  will  form  an  unfavourable 
opinion  of  me,  for  declaring  that  I  have  not 
the  least  doubl  but  the  Lord  Jesus  has  had, 
from  age  to  age,  a  succession  of  chosen  and 
faithful  witnesses  within  the  pale  of  that  cor- 
rupt church.  Yet  I  should  hope  that  they, 
who,  having  themselves  tasted  that  the  Lord  is 
gracious,  know  the  language  of  a  heart  under 
the  influence  of  his  Spirit,  would,  in  defiance 
of  Protestant  prejudices,  be  of  my  mind,  if 
they  had  opportunity  of  perusing  the  writings 
of  some  Papists.  If  such  persons  as  Fene- 
lon,  Pascal,  Quesnal,  and  Nicole  (to  men- 
tion no  more),  were  not  true  christians,  where 
shall  we  find  any  that  deserve  the  name  ? 
In  the  writings  of  these  great  men,  notwith- 
standing incidental  errors,  I  meet  with  such 
strains  of  experimental  godliness,  such  deep 
knowledge  of  the  workings  of  the  Spirit 
of  God,  and  of  the  heart  of  man,  and  such 
masterly  explications  of  many  important  pas- 
sages of  scripture,  as  might  do  honour  to  the 
most  enlightened  Protestant.  And  yet  these 
men  lived  and  died  in  the  Popish  communion  ; 
and,  to  their  latest  hours  (for  any  tiling  that 
appears  to  the  contrary),  thought  they  could 
not  separate  from  it  without  sin.  And, 
though  I  have  not  equal  means  of  informa- 


885 

tion,  I  can  as  little  doubt  that  the  Lord  has  a 
people  likewise  in  the  Greek  Church,  which, 
as  to  its  external  frame,  seems  to  be  little  less 
unscriptural  than  the  Church  of  Rome  itself. 
However,  1  desire  to  be  thankful  that  I  am 
not  a  Papist.  I  am  at  least  one  step  nearer 
to  the  true  and  acceptable  worship  of  God. 
For  I  believe  the  most  rigid  of  our  Dissent- 
ing brethren  will  allow,  that  the  Church  of 
England,  if  almost,  yet  is  not  altogether  so 
depraved  and  corrupt  in  its  constitution  as  the 
church  of  Rome.  1  am  now  in  my  track,  and 
shall  trouble  you  with  fewer  digressions  in  the 
sequel.  My  next  point  will  be  to  examine 
the  different  claims  of  Protestant  churches 
to  the  honour  they  all  assume,  that  their  re- 
spective institutions  are  most  conformable  to 
the  rules  the  apostles  have  laid  down  on  the 
subject  of  church-government,  and  express 
the  greatest  regard  to  the  authority  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  undoubted  Head  and 
Lawgiver  of  his  Church.  And  to  avoid  as 
much  as  I  can,  encumbering  what  I  write  in 
an  epistolary  way  to  a  friend,  with  the  stiff 
ness  of  argumentation,  I  shall  content  myself 
with  giving  you  a  simple  account  of  what  oc- 
curred to  me  upon  this  head,  when  I  made 
the  inquiry  for  my  own  direction.  But  it  is 
time  to  conclude  this  letter  by  assuring  you 
that  I  am, 

Your  affectionate  Friend 


LETTER  III. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND  AND  BROTHER, 

If  the  authority  of  men  truly  respectable  for 
learning,  judgment,  and  grace,  were  sufficient 
to  determine  the  question,  Which  of  the  va- 
rious forms  of  church-government  now  ob- 
taining among  Christians  is  most  agreeable  to 
the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  New  Testament  ? 
a  modest  inquirer,  who  wishes  for  the  sanc- 
tion of  those  whom  he  esteems  wiser  and  bet- 
ter than  himself,  would  probably,  without  he- 
sitation, join  himself  to  that  party  to  which 
he  might  be  first  led  to  apply  for  direction. 
For  whatever  difference  there  may  be  in  the 
merit  of  their  several  claims  for  pre-eminence, 
the  claim  itself  is  made  with  an  equal  degree  of 
confidence  by  them  all.  At  a  time  when  I 
was  very  sensible  of  my  own  incompetency  to 
decide  this  point  for  myself,  I  received  (as  I 
hope)  much  benefit  from  the  writings  of  Bi- 
shop Hall,  Reynolds,  Davenant,  Mr.  Hooker, 
and  other  divines  of  the  Church  of  England. 
I  perceived  they  were  persons  of  strong  sense, 
extensive  literature,  sound  in  the  faith  ;  and 
from  such  accounts  of  their  lives  as  I  could 
collect,  I  judged  they  had  been  zealous  and 
diligent  in  their  callings,  and  burning  and 
shining  lights  in  the  world.  I  could  not  per- 
ceive that  any  of  tnem  were  dissatisfied  with 
the  Established  Church  in  which  they  lived 


88G  APOL 

and  died ;  and  some  of  them  I  found  were 
very  strenuous  in  its  defence,  not  only  plead- 
ing that  it  was  lawful  to  maintain  communion 
with  it,  but  offering  many  arguments  to  prove 
that  it  was  even  sinful  to  separate  from  it, 
and  that  it  was  the  only  resemblance  of  the 
primitive  apostolical  church.  I  own  (o  you 
that  I  thought  some  of  their  assertions  upon 
this  head  were  too  strong,  and  some  of  their 
arguments  not  fully  conclusive.  Yet  I  was 
a  little  staggered,  and  it  gave  me  pain  to  be 
forced  to  differ  in  any  point  from  men  whom 
I  believed  to  have  been  full  of  faith  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  However,  some  general 
idea  I  possessed  of  the  liberty  of  the  gospel, 
a  conviction  that  the  Lord  had  a  people  and 
a  work  in  other  countries  where  the  form  of 
the  Church  of  England  could  not  take  place, 
and  the  previous  attachment  I  had  to  the  Dis- 
senters, with  whom,  as  I  have  said,  I  was  first 
acquainted,  prevented  me  from  becoming  what 
is  called  a  High-Church  man.  But  as  for 
these  reasons  I  could  not  give  the  Church  of 
England  an  exclusive  preference,  or  think 
myself  authorized  to  brand  those  who  dis- 
sented from  it  with  the  hard  names  of  schis- 
matics and  fanatics,  so  on  the  other  hand,  I 
could  not  go  into  the  opposite  extreme,  or 
suppose  that  a  church  in  which  the  Lord  em- 
ployed and  owned  such  valuable  men,  and  had 
a  numerous  spiritual  people,  was  no  better 
than  a  Babylon,  from  wkence  all  who  loved 
his  name  and  salvation,  were  in  duty  and  con- 
science bound  to  withdraw. 

Many  books  likewise  came  in  my  way  writ- 
ten by  divines  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 
In  the  writings  of  Durham,  Fleming,  Haly- 
burton,  and  others,  I  found  proofs  that  they 
were  not  inferior  in  light,  holiness,  and  a 
sound  spiritual  judgment,  to  the  most  eminent 
luminaries  of  our  own  Church.  In  what  con- 
cerned the  life  and  power  of  religion,  I  could 
perceive  no  considerable  difference  between 
them.  As  they  were  all  taught  by  the  same 
Spirit,  so  they  were  all  teachers  of  the  same 
truths.  But  in  their  sentiments  upon  church- 
government  they  differed  very  widely.  Where- 
in they  agreed,  I  could  fully  agree  with  them. 
Wherein  they  differed,  I  was  left  in  the  un- 
certainty of  a  traveller,  who,  inquiring  his 
way  of  two  persons,  is  told  by  one  to  turn  to 
the  right,  and  by  the  other  directly  opposite 
to  the  left.  My  English  guides  would  per- 
suade me  that  the  form  of  the  church  from 
the  apostles  days  was  Episcopal.  My  Scotch 
guides  were  rather  more  positive  that  our  pre- 
lacy was  almost  equally  with  the  papacy,  a 
branch  and  a  mark  of  Antichrist.  If  I  com- 
pared the  sufficiency  of  each  to  decide  for  me, 
I  knew  not  which  to  prefer.  On  both  sides 
were  men  of  wisdom  and  grace,  and  who  1 
believed  would  not  wilfully  mislead  me ;  on 
both  sides  thev  confessed  themselves  in  gene- 
ral  to  be,  like  myself,  fallible,  and  liable  to 
mistake.    Only  in  this  one  point  both  sides  ap- 


OGIA.  LET.  Ill 

peared  confident,  that  they  could  not  be  mis- 
taken, and  yet  their  opinions  were  not  only 
diverse,  but  contradictory. 

The  suspense  in  which  I  was  held  by  these 
incompatible  claimants,  sent  me  more  readily 
and  attentively  to  renew  my  inquiries  amongst 
my  former  friends  of  your  denomination.  By 
these  I  was  instructed,  that  I  need  not  trou- 
ble myself  with  weighing  and  comparing  the 
arguments  which  the  English  and  Sr.otch 
Churches  had  to  offer  in  favour  of  their  re- 
spective constitutions,  for  they  were  both  e- 
qually  destitute  of  any  foundation  in  truth  or 
scripture  :  That  I  had  only  to  read  the  New 
Testament  for  myself,  and  it  must  appeal 
very  plain,  that  the  Lord  Christ  had  not  left 
a  concern  of  this  importance  undetermined, 
but  had  directed  his  apostles  to  leave  in  theii 
writings  a  pattern,  according  to  which  it  was  his 
pleasure  all  his  churches  in  future  ages  should 
be  formed  :  That  the  first  churches  were  Con- 
gregational or  Independent,  and  that  every 
other  plan  was  unscriptural,  and  a  presump- 
tuous deviation  from  the  declared  will  of  the 
Lord.  As  I  had  been  a  debtor  to  some  of 
their  writers  likewise,  and  was  personally  ac- 
quainted with  several  of  their  ministers,  their 
representation  had  so  much  weight  with  me  as 
to  increase  my  embarrassment. 

My  difficulties  grew  upon  me,  when  I  found, 
by  consulting  different  Independent  writers 
who  had  professedly  treated  this  subject,  that 
though  they  were  of  one  mind  in  asserting 
that  a  plain  and  satisfactory  pattern  for  this 
Congregational  order  might  be  easily  collected 
and  stated  from  a  perusal  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment ;  yet  when  they  came  to  delineate  and  de- 
scribe it  according  to  their  own  idea,  they  were 
far  from  being  agreed  among  themselves  as  to 
the  nature  and  number  of  the  officers,  powers, 
and  acts  which  are  requisite  to  the  constitu- 
tion and  administration  of  a  regularly  orga- 
nized gospel-church.  I  formerly  employed 
much  time  and  attention  in  this  disquisition  • 
but  not  having  for  many  years  past  reviewed 
a  controversy  which  I  think  rather  dry  and 
uninteresting,  I  cannot  from  memory  enter 
into  a  detail  of  particulars.  Nor  is  it  need- 
ful. Of  the  fact,  I  think  I  maybe  confident, 
that  there  is  not  such  an  agreement  amongst 
them  as  might  be  expected,  if  the  plan  from 
which  they  all  profess  to  copy  was  clearly  and 
expressly  revealed  in  the  New  Testament  as 
obligatory  upon  all  christians.  Here  I  was  at  a 
loss  again  ;  for,  if  I  could  have  admitted  their 
principle,  That  every  circumstance  of  worship 
and  government  in  a  church  ought  to  have  the 
warrant  of  a  precept  or  a  precedent  from  the 
scripture,  still  I  needed  help  to  digest  and  put 
together  the  several  regulations  which  were  dis- 
persed in  so  many  different  parts  of  the  Gospels 
and  Epistles j  for  I  found  myself  unable  to 
frame  the  detached  materials  into  one  orderly 
structure  by  my  own  skill.  But  when  they  who 
professed  to  have  the  light  which  I  wanted 


tet.  in. 


ArOLOGTA. 


887 


were  themselves  divided  upon  the  point,  I 
was  precluded  from  the  hope  of  any  certain 
assistance ;  for  as  to  probabilities  and  conjec- 
tures, I  might  as  well  depend  upon  my  own, 
as  upon  those  of  another. 

Nor  was  this  the  whole  of  my  difficulty. 
I  was  honestly  advised  to  read  and  examine 
for  myself.  I  did  so  ;  and  it  appeared  to  me, 
by  comparing  what  I  read  with  what  I  saw, 
that  the  Independents  could  not,  at  least  did 
not,  keep  closely  to  their  own  principles.  I 
thought  I  met  with  usages  in  the  churches 
planted  by  the  apostles  which  did  not  obtain 
in  any  of  the  Congregational  churches  I  was 
acquainted  with ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  I 
noticed  some  usages  among  these  of  which  I 
could  find  no  traces  in  the  inspired  account 
we  have  of  the  primitive  churches.  Permit 
me,  by  way  of  specimen,  to  mention  one  in- 
stance in  each  kind.  If  it  was  necessary  I 
could  mention  several,  but  I  wish  not  to  be 
tedious. 

The  apostle  Paul  addresses  the  Corinthians 
as  a  church  of  Christ ;  and  we  have  from  him 
a  larger  and  more  particular  account  of  the 
practices  of  their  church  than  of  any  other.  In 
chap.  xiv.  of  his  first  epistle,  after  censuring 
and  correcting  some  improprieties  which  had 
obtained  in  their  public  assemblies,  he  gives 
them  this  direction :  "  Let  the  prophets  speak 
two  or  three,  and  let  the  other  judge.  If  any 
thing  be  revealed  to  another  that  sitteth  by, 
iet  the  first  hold  his  peace.  For  ye  may  all 
prophesy  one  by  one,  that  all  may  learn,  and 
all  may  be  comforted."  The  general  practice 
of  the  Congregational  churches  in  our  time, 
seems  not  to  comply  with  this  apostolic  in- 
junction. I  think,  my  friend,  in  your  as- 
semblies, especially  in  your  solemn  stated  wor- 
ship on  the  Lord's  day,  there  is  seldom  more 
than  one  speaker.  The  same  minister  who 
preaches,  usually  begins  and  ends  the  service. 
Should  it  be  pleaded  that  the  apostle  speaks 
of  prophesying,  and  evidently  supposes  that 
the  church  of  Corinth  was  favoured  with  ex- 
traordinary gifts  and  revelations  which  are 
now  ceased,  and  that  therefore  the  rule  can- 
not in  that  respect  extend  to  us,  I  have  two 
answers  to  make. 

In  the  first  place,  though  we  do  not  expect 
extraordinary  revelations,  we  have  encourage- 
ment to  hope  for  the  presence  of  our  Saviour, 
and  the  gracious  influences  of  his  Spirit,  when 
we  meet  in  his  name,  sufficient  to  enable  us 
to  speak  to  his  praise,  and  to  the  edification 
and  comfort  of  our  brethren,  if  not  in  foreign 
tongues,  at  least  in  our  own.  And  it  is  pro- 
bable that  you  have  more  than  once  been  a 
hearer  in  a  public  assembly,  when  your  heart 
has  been  so  warmed  and  impressed  with  the 
truths  of  the  gospel,  that  you  would  not  have 
been  unwilling  to  have  ascended  the  pulpit 
yourself,  either  to  confirm  or  correct  what 
you  had  been  hearing,  or  to  indulge  the  li- 
berty you  found  in   your  mind  upon   some 


other  important  subject.  Perhaps  something 
was  then  revealed  to  you,  which  might  have 
been  very  suitable  to  the  occasion,  and  to  the 
state  of  the  congregation.  "Why  did  you  not 
then  declare  it  ?  Why  did  you  neglect  to  stir 
up  the  gift  of  God  that  was  in  you  ?  Would 
it  have  been  contrary  to  the  custom  of  your 
churches  ?  But  would  you  not,  upon  your 
principles,  have  been  justified  by  the  custom 
of  a  New- Testament  church,  and  the  injunc- 
tion of  an  apostle  ? 

But,  secondly,  and  chiefly,  I  answer,  if  it  be 
admitted,  that  because  the  primitive  churches 
had  extraordinary  gifts,  there  are  some  things 
in  their  practice  which  are  not  proper  for  our 
imitation  *,  who  have  not  the  same  gifts  ;  then 
I  quite  give  up  the  hope  of  being  able  to  de- 
termine the  exact  and  invariable  form  of  a 
church,  by  such  lights  as  the  Acts  of  the  A- 
postles  and  their  Epistles  afford  me  ;  unless 
some  man  or  set  of  men  be  qualified  and  com- 
missioned to  draw  the  line  for  me,  and  to  shew 
me  distinctly  how  far,  and  in  what  instances, 
the  state  of  the  first  christians  is  limited  from 
being  a  pattern  to  us,  by  the  extraordinary 
dispensations  of  that  age ;  and  how  far,  and 
in  what  cases,  their  pattern  is  binding  upon 
us  still,  notwithstanding  those  dispensations 
have  long  since  ceased.  To  be  directed  to 
study  these  churches  as  a  model,  and  to  be 
told  at  the  same  time,  that  some  parts  of  their 
practice  were  not  designed  for  the  imitation  of 
future  ages,  without  distinctly  specifying  which 
were,  and  which  were  not,  is  rather  the  way 
to  perplex  and  bewilder  an  inquirer,  than  to 
help  him  to  information.  Upon  this  ground, 
though  I  might  refuse  to  trust  the  assumed 
infallibility  of  the  Pope,  I  must  feel  the  need 
of  an  infallible  visible  guide  to  reside  some 
where  in  the  church  ;  for  without  such  assist- 
ance I  could  not  take  a  single  step  with  cer- 
tainty, but  must  be  liable  to  stumble  at  the 
very  threshold  of  my  inquiry. 

I  think  it  is  the  usual  practice  in  your 
churches,  to  require  from  all  persons  who  wish 
to  be  admitted  into  your  communion,  an  ac- 
count, either  verbal  or  written,  of  what  is  call- 
ed their  experience  ;  in  which,  not  only  a  de- 
claration of  their  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
their  purpose,  by  grace,  to  devote  themselves 
to  him,  is  expected,  but  likewise  a  recital  of 
the  steps  by  which  they  were  led  to  a  know- 
ledge and  profession  of  the  gospel.  I  select 
this  as  one  instance  in  which  I  conceive  you 
have  neither  precept  nor  precedent  in  the 
scripture  for  your  warrant.  A  profession  of 
faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  acceptance 
of  him,  and  submission  to  him  in  his  offices 
and  characters,  supported  by  the  evidence  of 
a  gospel-conversation,  should,  I  apprehend, 
be  deemed  sufficient  to  entitle  a  person  to 
church-membership  ;  and  especially  by  those 
who  so  loudly  insist  upon  the  evil  of  superad. 

*  See  Neale's  History  of  the  Puritans,  Vol.  j.  p.  379. 
2d  edit.  1752. 


8HS 


APOLOGIA. 


I.RT.  III. 


ding  any  regulations  lo  those  which  are  al- 
ready provided  by  our  Lord  and  liis  apostles. 
The  authority  which  makes  it  a  pre-requisite 
for  admission,  that  a  person  shall  relate  how 
and  when  he  was  awakened,  what  exercises  of 
mind  he  has  passed  through,  and  other  parti- 
culars of  a  like  nature,  appears  to  me  to  be 
as  merely  human,  as  the  authority  which  pre- 
scribes the  canons  of  an  established  church. 
If  the  practice  be  defensible,  it  must  be  on 
the  plea  of  expediency.  It  is  not  my  present 
business  to  inquire  how  far  it  may  be  expedi- 
ent for  young  converts,  for  young  persons,  es- 
pecially for  young  women,  to  be  compelled  to 
speak  before  a  public  assembly  ;  or  if  that  be 
dispensed  with  for  the  sake  of  other  interfer- 
ing expediencies,  how  far  it  is  expedient  to 
trust  to  a  written  experience :  otherwise  I 
could  say  a  good  deal  upon  this  head.  But 
it  is  sufficient  for  my  purpose,  if  no  shadow 
of  this  practice  can  be  found  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. On  the  contrary,  I  read,  that  when 
Saul,  after  he  escaped  from  Damascus,  essay- 
ed to  join  himself  to  the  disciples,  it  was  Bar- 
nabas, and  not  Saul  *  himself,  who  informed 
them  both  of  his  conversion,  and  of  the  extra- 
ordinary manner  in  which  it  was  effected,  sub- 
joining a  testimony  of  his  conduct  from  the 
time  that  he  professed  a  change.  But  if  ex- 
pediency may  warrant  a  measure  in  your 
churches  not  expressly  commanded,  why  not 
likewise  in  ours?  Be  it  either  right  or  wrong 
in  one  case,  it  must  be  so  in  both.  And 
therefore  my  remark  on  this  particular  will  at 
least  have  the  force  of  argumentum  ad  homi- 
nem. 

I  am  afraid  I  shall  weary  you  by  only  giv- 
ing a  brief  account  of  the  long  and  intricate 
road  which  I  travelled,  to  discover,  if  I  could, 
the  best  constituted  church.  But  I  must  en- 
treat your  patience  a  little  longer,  till  I  bring 
you  to  the  end  of  my  journey.  It  may  be  ne- 
cessary to  inform  some  of  my  readers,  though 
not  you,  that  a  considerable  part  of  the  con- 
gregational churches  differ  from  the  rest,  with 
respect  to  the  mode  and  subjects  of  baptism. 
At  the  time  when  my  thoughts  were  most  en- 
gaged about  church-order,  I  lived  in  intimate 
habits  of  friendship  with  several  Baptists, 
who  were  very  willing  to  assist  me  in  settling 
my  judgment.  These,  though  they  would 
have  been  pleased  to  see  me  yield  to  the  ar- 
guments of  their  Paedobaptist  brethren,  would 
not  be  satisfied  that  I  should  stop  where  they 
stopped.  They  urged  scripture  precepts  and 
precedents  to  lead  me  farther  :  and  said,  that 
none  of  the  Congregational  churches  but  their 
own  were  agreeable  to  the  mind  of  Christ. 
They  told  me,  that  though  I  should  acknow- 
ledge and  embrace  the  Congregational  order, 
which  undoubtedly  was  the  only  one  counte- 
nanced by  scripture,  still  I  could  not  be  right 
till   I  had  renounced  what  I  called  the  bap- 

•  Sco  Dr  Guyse  on  Acts  ix   27. 


tism  I  had  received  in  my  infancy,  and  sub- 
mitted (as  they  termed  it)  to  baptism  by  im- 
mersion, to  which  I  was  bound  not  only  by 
the  practice  of  the  primitive  church,  but  by  the 
example  of  our  Lord  himself,  who,  when  he  was 
baptized,  said  for  our  instruction,  "  Thus  it  be- 
cometh  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness." 

I  own,  Sir,  that  if  I  had  seen  it  my  duty  to 
accede  to  the  church-order  of  the  Indepen- 
dents, I  know  not  but  their  principles  would 
have  led  me  from  them  again,  to  join  with  the 
Baptists.  How  they,  who,  maintaining  infant- 
baptism,  press  scripture  precedent  so  strongly 
upon  me,  answer  the  Baptists,  who  in  this 
point  press  it  as  strongly  upon  themselves,  is 
not  my  concern.  I  did  not  stand  upon  the 
same  ground,  and  therefore  the  arguments 
of  the  Baptists  did  not  much  affect  me.  I 
thought  the  example  of  our  Lord  pleaded  as 
much  for  circumcision  as  for  baptism.  I  ques- 
tioned whether  I,  a  poor  sinner,  had  any  call 
to  imitate  him  in  those  things  which  it  became 
him  as  our  Surety  to  perform,  in  order  to  ful- 
fil all  righteousness.  It  appeared  to  me  that 
John's  baptism  and  the  christian  baptism  were 
different ; "  and  though  the  Baptists  assured 
me  that  they  were  the  same,  I  was  not  con- 
vinced. I  thought  they  were  plainly  distin- 
guished in  Acts  xix.  2 — 5.  And  I  was  griev- 
ed by  the  attempts  of  some  wise  and  good  men 
to  wrest  a  sense  from  that  passage,  so  contrary 
to  its  plain  and  obvious  meaning,  merely  to 
support  a  favourite  scheme.  And  as  the  form 
of  christian  baptism  is  laid  down  in  express 
words,  Matth.  xxviii.  19,  I  must  continue 
to  think  it  different  from  the  baptism  of  John, 
till  I  can  have  sufficient  proof  that  John  bap- 
tized our  Saviour  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

I  found  likewise  that  the  Baptists,  though 
unanimous  against  us,  and  even  against  those 
who  in  every  point  but  one  agree  with  them, 
were  divided  among  themselves.  Some  of 
them,  while  they  practise  what  they  think  a 
duty,  do  not  so  peremptorily  prescribe  it  to  o- 
thers,  as  to  make,  it  an  indispensible  term  of 
communion  ;  but  they  will  receive  a  person  as 
a  church-member  whom  they  judge  to  be 
sound  in  the  faith,  and  of  a  good  conversation, 
though  they  consider  him  in  strictness  of 
speech  as  unbaptized.  But  others  are  much 
hurt  by  this  concession,  and  bear  testimony  a- 
gainst  it  as  unscriptural  and  wrong.  Their 
views  are  so  strict  that  if  they  certainly  knew 
that  a  person  who  wished  to  communicate 
with  them  was  the  most  eminent  christian  in 
the  land,  unless  he  was  likewise  baptized  in 
their  manner,  they  could  not,  they  durst  not 
admit  him  to  the  Lord's  table,  to  eat  of  that 
bread  and  to  drink  of  that  cup  which  is  by  his 
command  and  appointment,  the  privilege  and 
portion  of  all  believers.  This  difference  of 
judgment  between  them  has  been  thought  so 
important,  that  the  reasons  for  and  against, 
and  their  mutual  censures  of  each  other,  have 


tET.  iv.  APOLOGIA 

been  laid  before  the  public,  by  good  men  on 
each  side  of  the  question. 

Now,  my  dear  friend,  upon  this  state  of  the 
case,  what  could  I  do  ?  I  had  reviewed  and 
compared  the  sentiments  of  a  number  of  re- 
spectable writers  and  ministers  of  different 
names.  In  essentials  I  agreed  with  them  all, 
and  in  circumstantials  I  differed  no  more 
from  any  of  them,  than  they  differed  among 
themselves.  They  all  confessed  they  were 
fallible,  yet  they  all  decided  with  an  air  of  in- 
fallibility ;  for  they  all  in  their  turns  expect- 
ed me  to  unite  with  them,  if  I  had  any  regard 
to  the  authority  and  honour  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
as  Head  of  the  church.  But  the  very  consi- 
deration they  proposed  restrained  me  from 
uniting  with  any  of  them.  For  I  cannot 
think  that  I  should  honour  the  headship  and 
kingly  office  of  Christ,  by  acknowledging  him 
as  the  Head  of  a  party  and  subdivision  of  his 
people  to  the  exclusion  of  the  rest.  Every 
party  uses  fair  sounding  words  of  liberty;  but 
when  an  explanation  is  made,  it  amounts  to 
little  more  than  this — that  they  will  give  me 
liberty  to  think  as  they  think,  and  to  act  as 
they  act;  which  to  me,  who  claim  "the  same 
right  of  thinking  for  myself  and  of  acting  ac- 
cording to  the  dictates  of  my  own  conscience, 
is  no  liberty  at  all.  I  therefore  came  to  such 
conclusions  as  these — that  I  would  love  them 
all — that  I  would  hold  a  friendly  intercourse 
with  them  all,  so  far  as  they  should  providen- 
tially come  in  my  way  ;  but  that  I  would  stand 
fast  in  the  liberty  with  which  Christ  had  made 
me  free,  and  call  none  of  them  master — in 
fine,  that  if  others  sought  to  honour  him  by 
laying  a  great  stress  on  matters  of  doubtful 
disputation,  my  way  of  honouring  him  should 
be  by  endeavouring  to  shew  that  his  kingdom 
is  not  of  this  world,  nor  consists  in  meats  and 
drinks,  in  pleading  for  forms  and  parties,  but 
in  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  and  that  neither  circumcision  is  any 
thing,  noruncircumeision,  but  a  new  creature* 
and  the  faith  which  worketh  by  love.  There 
was  a  time  when  I  could  have  joined  with  the 
Dissenters,  if  the  providence  of  God  had  o- 
pened  my  way  to  them  ;  but  farther  experi- 
ence and  observation  have  so  far  altered  my 
judgment,  that  had  I  my  choice  to  make  a- 
gain,  it  seems  to  me,  that  I  could  no  more 
officiate  as  a  minister  among  any.  people  who 
insist  upon  other  terms  of  communion  than 
those  which  our  Lord  has  appointed,  faith  and 
holiness,  than  I  could  subscribe  to  the  dogmas 
of  the  Council  of  Trent.  My  regard  to  his 
honour  will  not  allow  me  to  exclude  any 
whom  I  believe  he  has  been  pleased  to  receive. 
Thus  much  for  the  first  reason  of  my  confor- 
mity. Yet  in  justice  to  the  non-conformists 
I  must  add,  that  if  I  wished  to  avail  myself  of 
the  sanction  of  great  names,  I  could  mention 
some  among  them,  who,  if  they  were  now 
living,  I  am  persuaded  would  not  blame  me 
lor   conforming,    though    they    could   not    in 


889 

conscience  do  it  themselves.  Particularly  I 
judge  thus  (from  many  of  his  writings)  of  the 
truly  great  Mr  Howe,  whose  praise  is  in  all 
the  churches. 

I  am  sincerely  yours,  &c. 


LETTER  IV 

My  dear  friend  and  brother, 
I  have  given  you  the  chief  reason  why  I  am 
not  a  Dissenter ;  and  it  appears  to  me  a  suf- 
ficient one,  though  I  could  assign  no  other.  I 
have,  however,  two  or  three  more  to  offer  you, 
but  I  hope  to  comprise  them  all  within  the 
compass  of  this  letter.  For  indeed  I  begin 
to  be  weary  of  a  subject  which  is  not  quite 
suitable  to  my  taste  and  inclination.  But  it 
seems  not  unseasonable,  and  I  hope  may  not 
be  unuseful  to  shew  you  that  the  preference  I 
have  giren  to  the  Church  of  England,  is  not 
the  effect  either  of  inconsideration  or  preju- 
dice. 

My  second  reason  for  not  being  a  Dissen- 
ter is,  Because  I  highly  value  the  riglu*  of  pri- 
vate judgment,  and  my  liberty  as  a  man  and  as 
a  Christian.  Here  again  I  think  we  are  a- 
greed  in  principle.  You  rejoice  in  the  name 
of  a  Protestant  Dissenter,  as  setting  you  free 
from  the  shackles  and  impositions  of  men  ; 
and  probably  think  of  me  and  my  brethren  in 
the  Establishment,  with  a  degree  of  friendly 
pity  ;  taking  it  for  granted,  that  the  engage- 
ments we  are  under  hold  us  in  a  painful  state 
of  subjection  and  bondage,  from  which  you 
charitably  wish  to  see  us  released. 

We  are  obliged  to  persons  of  your  candid 
disposition  for  your  sympathy  and  good  wish- 
es;  and  we  repay  you  in  kind.  As  we  can. 
not  think  exactly  alike,  this  seems  the  best 
method  we  can  take.  Harsh  censures  and 
angry  disputations  would  be  unbecoming  our 
profession,  and  hurtful  to  our  spirits ;  but  it 
can  do  us  no  harm  to  pity  and  pray  for  each 
other.  Perhaps  you  are  ready  to  say,  "  You 
would  surely  pity  me  if  you  knew  all  my  in. 
ward  and  outward  trials ;  but  you  need  not 
pity  me  for  being  a  Dissenter,  because  I  ac- 
count it  my  great  privilege."  I  may  say  the 
same,  with  the  alteration  of  one  word.  If 
you  knew  the  evils  which  I  feel  within,  and 
the  snares  and  difficulties  which  beset  me 
from  without,  you  would  pity  me  indeed. 
But  that  I  exercise  my  ministry  in  the  Church 
of  England,  appears  to  me,  as  things  stand, 
to  be  rather  a  subject  for  congratulation  than 
compassion.  I  cannot  become  a  Dissenter 
till  I  am  weary  of  my  liberty.  If  you  please 
we  will  compare  notes  upon  this  head. 

Let  me  first  speak  of  the  restraints  we  are 
under.  I  am  bound,  by  my  subscription,  to 
the  forms  and  rubric  of  the  Common  Prayer  ; 
but  my  subscription  was  really  ex  anirno.  I 
approve  the  service,  and  therefore  it  is  no  bur-. 


890  APOLOGIA. 

den  to  mo  to  use  it.  I  do  not  consider  it  as 
faultless,  nor  can  I  subscribe  to  any  book  of 
human  composition  in  the  same  absolute  man- 
ner as  I  would  to  the  Bible.  But  by  assent- 
ing to  our  church-ritual  I  give  up  less  of  my 
own  private  judgment  for  the  sake  of  peace, 
than  1  should  by  espousing  the  rules  and 
practices  of  any  Dissenting  churches  I  am  ac- 
quainted with.  Again,  having  accepted  a  de- 
signation to  the  cure  of  souls,  my  public  mi- 
nistry is  thereby  confined  to  parish  churches, 
and  I  cannot,  consistently  with  what  I  con- 
ceive to  be  the  import  of  my  voluntary  en- 
gagements, preach  at  random,  and  in  all 
places  without  reserve.  But  this  is  no  re- 
straint upon  my  conscience.  While  I  have 
the  examples  of  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  in 
my  view,  I  cannot  doubt  the  lawfulness  of 
preaching  on  mountains  or  plains,  in  market- 
places, or  on  the  sea-shore.  But  things  in 
themselves  lawful  are  not  always,  nor  to  all 
persons,  expedient.  I  approve  of  parochial 
order.  I  interfere  not  with  the  conduct  of 
others  ;  but  believe  it  is,  upon  the  whole,  best 
for  me  to  confine  myself  to  the  duties  of  my 
own  charge,  and  to  such  opportunities  of 
preaching  in  parochial  pulpits  as  may  occa- 
sionally offer.  Between  the  one  and  the 
other  I  have  sufficient  employment.  And 
though  the  Bishop  who  ordained  me  laid  me 
under  no  restrictions,  I  would  not  have  ap- 
plied to  him  for  ordination,  if  I  had  not  been 
previously  determined  to  submit  to  his  autho- 
rity and  to  the  rules  of  the  church.  I  thought, 
and  still  think  it  my  duty  to  preserve  a  con- 
sistency of  character ;  for  I  was  not  ordained 
to  be  an  apostle  or  evangelist,  to  spread  the 
gospel  throughout  a  kingdom,  but  to  take 
care  of  the  particular  flock  committed  to  my 
charge.  But  I  need  not  enlarge  upon  this 
point,  as  I  think  the  Dissenters  do  not  in  ge- 
neral by  their  practice  countenance  what  we 
call  irregularity,  but  are  almost  as  seldom 
seen  preaching  in  the  fields,  or  by  the  way- 
sides, as  the  most  regular  of  our  clergy ; 
though  they  cannot  plead  our  reasons  for  not 
doing  it,  and  are  certainly  not  restrained  either 
by  the  precepts  or  precedents  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament. 

Nor  am  I  under  any  disagreeable  constraint 
from  my  superiors  in  the  church.  The  Arch- 
deacon in  his  district,  and  the  Bishop  in  his 
diocese,  hold  their  respective  visitations  ;  the 
former  annually,  the  latter  once  in  three  years. 
At  these  visitations  the  clergy  (especially  in 
the  country)  are  expected  to  attend.  On 
these  occasions  we  answer  to  our  names,  hear 
a  sermon  or  a  charge,  and  usually  dine  to- 
gether. There  is  nothing  painful  to  me  in 
paying  these  tokens  of  respect  to  my  acknow- 
ledged superiors,  and  receiving  marks  of  ci- 
vility frcm  them.  At  all  other  times,  while 
we  keep  within  the  limits  which  I  have  al- 
ready told  you,  I  subscribed  and  consented  to 
ex  animo,   we  scarcely  know,   at   least  we  do 


LET.  IV 

not  feel,  that  we  have  any  superiors.  So  far 
as  I  am  concerned,  1  have  reason  to  acknow- 
ledge that  the  administration  of  our  church  - 
government  is  gentle  and  liberal.  I  have 
from  the  first  preached  my  sentiments  with 
the  greatest  freedom.  I  always  acted  in  the 
parishes  which  I  have  served  according  to  my 
own  judgment :  and  I  have  done  some  things 
which  have  not  the  sanction  of  general  cus- 
tom, but  I  never  met  with  the  smallest  check, 
interference,  or  mark  of  displeasure  from  any 
of  my  superiors  in  the  church,  to  this  hour. 
Such  are  my  restraints,  and  such  is  my  liber- 
ty. I  am  bound  by  no  regulations  but  what 
I  myself  approve  ;  and  within  these  bound- 
aries I  do  as  I  please,  no  man  forbidding  or 
controuling  me. 

Indeed  I  have  often  thought  that  I  have  as 
good  a  right  to  the  name  of  Independent  as 
yourself.  Neither  you  nor  I  would  assume 
it  to  the  prejudice  of  our  dependence  upon 
our  Lord  and  Saviour ;  and,  with  respect  to 
the  influence  of  men,  perhaps  we  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  you.  I  think  we  are  more  de- 
pendent of  our  brethren,  and  more  indepen- 
dent of  our  people. 

Though  according  to  your  plan  every  parti 
cular  church  is  called  independent,  as  possess- 
ing and  exercising  every  kind  of  church- 
power  within  itself,  and  not  subject  to  the 
controul  of  any  other  Christian  society ;  yet, 
considering  you  as  a  body,  or  (according  to 
the  modern  phrase)  an  interest,  there  is  a  kind 
of  union  and  association  among  your  minis- 
ters, which  has  a  greater  effect  than  some 
people  are  aware  of,  and  which  I  apprehend 
may  in  some  instances  be  rather  unfriendly  to 
the  liberty  you  so  highly  prize.  Some  of 
your  ministers,  from  their  situation  or  connec 
tion,  have  more  influence  than  others.  They 
have  opportunities  of  assisting  poorer  minis- 
ters, and  are,  I  suppose,  in  many  cases,  the 
judges  whether  they  shall  be  assisted  or  not, 
and  how  far.  They  who  best  know  human 
nature,  are  best  qualified  to  judge  how  far  the 
professed  independence  of  your  churches  may 
be  abated  by  this  influence  of  connection  ;  and 
whether  the  weight  of  a  board  of  ministers 
may  not  be  occasionally  felt  by  those  who  pi- 
ty us  for  being  subordinate  to  a  bench  of  Bi- 
shops. I  own,  I  have  upon  some  occasions 
been  led  to  compare  your  ministers  to  a  com- 
pany of  soldiers  in  their  exercise,  where  every 
one  must  move  in  a  prescribed  line,  keep  the 
same  pace,  and  make  the  like  motions  with 
the  rest,  on  pain  of  being  treated  as  refrac 
tory.  Ministers  in  the  establishment  know 
nothing  of  these  restraints.  We  are  connect- 
ed in  love,  but  not  upon  system.  We  pro- 
fess the  same  leading  principles  and  aims,  but 
each  one  acts  singly  and  individually  for  him- 
self. 

I  think  we  are  likewise  more  independent 
of  our  people.  The  constitution  of  your 
churches,    which   you   suppose  the   only   onn 


LET.  IV.  APOLOGIA. 

:igreeal>le  to  the  scripture,  appears  to  me 
faulty,  iu  giving  a  greater  power  to  the  peo- 
ple than  the  scripture  authorizes.  There  is 
doubtless  a  sense  in  which  ministers  are  not 
only  the  servants  of  the  Lord,  but,  for  his 
sake,  the  servants  of  the  churches  ;  but  it  is  a 
service  which  implies  rule,  and  is  entitled  to 
respect.  Thus  the  apostle  says,  "  Obey  them 
that  have  the  rule  over  you."  Their  office  is 
that  of  a  steward,  who  is  neither  to  lord  it 
over  the  household,  nor  to  be  entirely  under 
subjection  to  it,  but  to  superintend  and  pro- 
vide for  the  family.  Scriptural  regulations 
are  wisely  and  graciously  adapted  to  our  state 
of  infirmity  ;  but  I  think  the  power  which  the 
people  with  you  claim,  and  attempt  to  exer- 
cise, is  not  so.  Many  of  them,  though  truly 
gracious  persons,  may,  notwithstanding,  from 
their  situation  in  life,  their  want  of  education, 
and  the  narrowness  of  their  views,  be  very  in- 
capable of  government ;  yet  when  a  number  of 
such  are  associated  according  to  your  plan, 
under  the  honourable  title  of  a  Church  of 
Christ,  they  acquire  a  great  importance.  Al- 
Tnost  every  individual  conceives  himself  qua- 
Jified  to  judge  and  to  guide  the  minister;  to 
sift  and  scrutinize  his  expressions,  and  to  tell 
him  how  and  what  he  ought  to  preach.  But 
the  poorer  part  of  your  flocks  are  not  always 
the  most  troublesome.  The  rich  can  contri- 
bute most  to  the  minister's  support,  who  is 
often  entirely  dependent  upon  his  people  for 
a  maintenance  ;  their  riches  likewise  give  them 
some  additional  weight  and  influence  in  the 
church  ;  and  the  officers,  whom  you  call  the 
Deacons,  are  usually  chosen  from  among  the 
more  wealthy.  But  it  is  not  always  found 
that  the  most  wealthy  church-members  are  the 
most  eminent,  either  for  grace  or  wisdom. 
We  may  be  rather  sure,  that  riches,  if  the  pos  ■ 
sessors  are  not  proportionably  humble  and 
spiritual,  have  a  direct  tendency  to  nourish 
the  worms  of  self-conceit  and  self-will.  Such 
persons  expect  to  be  consulted,  and  that  their 
judgment  shall  be  followed.  The  preaching 
must  be  suited  to  their  taste  and  sentiment ; 
and  if  any  thing  is  either  enforced  or  censur- 
ed which  bears  hard  upon  their  conduct,  they 
think  themselves  ill  treated.  Although  a  faith- 
ful minister,  in  his  better  hours,  disdains  the 
thought  of  complying  with  the  caprice  of  his 
hearers,  or  conniving  at  their  faults,  yet  hu- 
man nature  is  weak,  and  it  must  be  allowed, 
that  in  such  circumstances,  he  stands  in  a 
state  of  temptation.  And  if  he  has  grace  to 
maintain  his  integrity,  yet  it  is  painful  and 
difficult  to  be  obliged  frequently  to  displease 
those  on  whom  we  depend,  and  who  in  some 
other  respects  may  be  our  best  friends  and  be- 
nefactors. I  can  truly  say,  that  my  heart  has 
been  grieved  for  the  opposition,  neglect,  and 
unkindness,  which  some  valuable  men  among 
you  have  to  my  knowledge  met  with,  from 
those  who  ought  to  have  esteemed  them  very 
highly  for  their  work'     sake.      The  effects  of 


891 

tliis  supreme  power  lodged  in  the  people,  and 
of  the  unsanctified  spirit  in  which  it  has  been 
exercised,  have  been  often  visible  in  the  divi- 
sions and  subdivisions  which  have  crumbled 
large  societies  into  separate  handfuls,  if  I 
may  so  speak.  And  to  this  I  am  afraid, 
rather  than  to  the  spread  of  a  work  of  grace, 
may  be  ascribed  in  many  instances,  the  great 
increase  of  the  number  of  your  churches  of 
late  years.  Now,  in  the  Establishment,  we 
know  but  little  of  these  difficulties :  we  are 
not  so  much  at  the  mercy  of  our  hearers  for 
our  subsistence ;  and  though  we  probably 
preach  to  some  who  are  wiser  and  better,  as 
veil  as  richer  than  ourselves,  we  have  no  hear- 
ers who  assume  a  right  to  direct  us,  or  whom 
we  should  stand  in  fear  of,  if  they  did.  For 
my  own  part,  I  wish  to  have  a  spirit  willing 
to  profit  by  a  hint,  even  from  a  child,  and  to 
pay  attention  to  the  advice  of  any  person  who 
speaks  to  me  in  love,  and  in  a  right  temper. 
But  humble  loving  christians  are  more  dispos- 
ed to  find  fault  with  themselves  than  with 
their  minister,  and  to  receive  instruction  than 
to  offer  it.  But  should  a  conformist  to  the 
world,  or  a  zealot  for  a  party,  expect  me  to 
accommodate  my  preaching  to  his  practice,  or 
to  his  Shibboleth,  I  could  give  him  an  answer 
without  being  afraid  of  consequences. 

I  may  add,  that  I  apprehend  we  have  more 
liberty  with  respect  to  our  pulpits.  At  least 
I  remember  to  have  heard  sermons  from  some 
of  your  pulpits,  the  strain  of  which  has  been 
so  very  different  from  the  professed  sentiments 
of  the  proper  pastor  of  the  church,  that  I  have 
thought  to  myself,  How  came  this  minister  to 
preach  in  this  place?  Upon  inquiry  I  have 
found  at  one  time,  that  the  gentleman  belong- 
ed to  the  connection ;  at  another,  that  he  was 
asked  to  preach  at  the  desire  of  a  principal 
person  in  the  church  or  congregation,  who  it 
seems  approved  him,  though  I  was  persuaded 
the  pastor  did  not. 

I  esteem  it  likewise  a  branch  of  my  Chris- 
tian liberty,  that  I  can  hear  whom  I  please, 
and  form  what  acquaintance  I  please,  among 
the  various  denominations  of  Christians,  with- 
out being  called  to  account  for  it.  I  hope 
the  Dissenters  are  likewise  growing  more  into 
this  liberty.  However,  as  I  know  some  a- 
mong  your  people  who  would  willingly  hear 
us  occasionally,  were  they  not  afraid  of  their 
ministers ;  so  I  know  some  of  your  ministers 
who  would  be  willing  to  hear  us,  but  do  not, 
because  they  are  afraid  of  their  people. 

Thus  much  (though  more  might  be  said) 
by  way  of  comparing  our  advantages  in  point 
of  liberty.  I  am  well  pleased  with  my  lot; 
if  you  are  equally  pleased  with  yours,  I  am 
glad  of  it.  I  write  only  on  the  defensive,  I 
neither  expect  nor  wish  to  alter  your  views. 
Enjoy  your  liberty;  only  allow  me  to  enjoy 
and  be  thankful  for  mine. 

I  have  now  acquainted  you  with  my  two 
principal  reasons  for  not  being  a  Dissenter 


H92  APOLOGIA 

The    first    concerned    my    conscience.       For 


though  my  regard  to  the  authority  of  the  great 
Lord  and  Lawgiver  of  the  church  did  not  di- 
rectly oblige  me  to  unite  with  the  Establish- 
ment, it  discouraged  me  from  uniting  with 
any  of  the  parties,  who  pretended  an  exclusive 
right  from  him  to  enforce  their  own  particu  ■ 
lar  church-forms.  When  conscience  did  not 
interfere,  my  second  reason,  though  rather  of 
a  prudential  kind,  was  of  considerable  weight 
with  me.  I  loved  liberty,  and  therefore  gave 
a  preference  to  the  Church  of  England,  be- 
lieving I  might  in  that  situation  exercise  my 
ministry  with  the  most  freedom.  I  have 
made  the  experiment,  and  have  no  reason  to 
repent  of  it.  These  points  being  cleared,  my 
way  was  open  to  attend  to  another  considera- 
tion which  had  a  farther  influence  in  deter- 
mining my  mind.  This,  I  am  about  to  offer 
to  you  as  a  third  reason  for  my  being  where 
I  am — The  probability  of  greater  usefulness. 
This  probability,  as  to  myself,  and  to  others 
who  can  conform  with  a  good  conscience, 
seemed  to  lie  on  the  side  of  the  Establishment 
upon  several  accounts. 

1.  Great  multitudes  in  this  Christian  na- 
tion (so  called)  are  grossly  ignorant  of  the 
first  principles  of  religion,  inattentive  to  the 
worth  and  welfare  of  their  souls,  and  lamenta- 
bly destitute  of  the  proper  means  of  instruc- 
tion. I  hoped  for  opportunities  in  the  Esta- 
blishment of  preaching  to  many  who  could 
not  hear  the  Dissenters.  The  children  of 
God,  known  to  himself,  are  scattered  abroad, 
far  and  wide.  And  as  faith  more  usually 
comes  by  hearing,  I  admire  his  condescension 
and  goodness  in  permitting  his  ministers  to 
think  differently  on  some  external  points,  that 
they  may  with  an  upright  heart  serve  him  in 
the  different  departments  of  his  vineyard. 
They  who  are  Dissenters  upon  principle, 
would  act  against  their  judgments  and  con- 
sciences, were  they  to  conform  for  the  sake  of 
usefulness.  I  am  well  content  that  they 
should  remain  as  they  are.  But  it  has  proved 
a  mercy  to  thousands,  that  all  who  are  called 
and  qualified  to  preach  the  gospel,  are  not 
like-minded  in  this  respect. 

2.  The  spirit  of  bigotry  and  prejudice  is 
too  prevalent  on  all  sides.  As  there  are  Dis- 
senters who  would  think  it  sinful  to  be  seen 
within  the  walls  of  a  church,  so  there  are  other 
persons  who  place  a  principal  part  of  their  re- 
ligion in  an  ignorant  attachment  to  our  forms, 
and  could  not  easily  be  prevailed  upon  to  en- 
ter within  the  doors  of  a  meeting-house.  But 
their  prepossession  in  favour  of  our  churches 
gives  the  minister  who  can  conscientiously 
meet  them  there  a  great  advantage  ad  homi- 
nem,  by  confirming  the  truths  of  the  gospel 
(which  when  first  declared  are  generally  dis- 
liked and  opposed)  from  the  tenor  of  our  Li- 
turgy and  Articles,  to  which  they  profess  some 
regard.  A  large  part  of  our  auditories,  espe- 
cially in  places  where  the  gospel  is  considered 


I.  El     IV 

as  a  novelty,  consists  of  persons  of  this  de- 
scription. But  the  Lord  has  been  pleased  in 
very  many  instances  to  honour  our  service 
amongst  them  with  his  blessing.  By  the 
power  of  his  Spirit  the  truth  is  made  manifest 
to  their  hearts,  they  are  turned  from  darkness 
to  light,  and  from  the  bondage  of  sin,  to  serve 
the  living  God.  Then  their  former  prejudi- 
ces subside ;  insomuch  that  many,  who  once 
despised  and  hated  the  Dissenters,  have  been 
afterwards  persuaded  to  join  with  them.  The 
Dissenting  interest  would  probably  have  been 
much  weaker  than  it  is  at  present,  if  it  had 
not  been  strengthened  by  the  accession  of  ma- 
ny church-members,  and  more  than  a  few  of 
your  teachers  and  pastors,  who  had  no  incli- 
nation to  hear  your  ministers,  until  they  were 
first  awakened  under  ours.  The  words  of 
our  Lord  may  in  this  sense  be  applied  to  ma- 
ny of  your  churches  :  "  Other  men  laboured, 
and  ye  have  entered  into  .the  fruits  of  their 
labours."  The  aim  of  my  ministry,  I  trust,  is 
not  to  promote  the  interests  of  a  party,  but  to 
win  souls  to  Christ.  We  have,  however,  the 
comfort,  to  find,  that  a  number  are  not  only 
called,  but  edified  and  established  by  the 
blessing  of  God  on  our  preaching ;  and  that 
many  of  the  most  judicious  and  spiritual  of 
our  people,  are  proof  against  the  insinuations 
which  prevail  on  some  to  forsake  the  Church 
of  England  in  hopes  of  enjoying  a  purer  and 
more  acceptable  worship  among  the  Dissent- 
ers. As  to  those  who  do  leave  us,  if  they  are 
truly  benefited,  if  they  really  grow  in  grace, 
and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord,  in  humi- 
lity, meekness,  benevolence,  and  deadness  to 
the  world,  more  among  you,  than  they  would 
have  done  amongst  us,  I  can  sincerely  rejoice. 
But  I  think  your  brethren  have  no  just  rea- 
son to  be  either  displeased  or  sorry,  that  God 
has  raised  up  ministers  to  preach  to  thousands 
to  whom  they  would  never  have  had  access. 

3.  I  saw  likewise,  that  the  Lord  had  been 
pleased  of  late  years  to  return  by  the  power  of 
his  Spirit  to  the  Church  of  England,  which  I 
believe  many  Dissenters  thought  he  had  so  ut- 
terly forsaken  that  he  would  return  no  more. 
This  leads  me  to  a  tender  point,  and  I  wish 
to  touch  upon  it  with  great  tenderness.  We 
have  none  of  us  any  thing  to  boast  of.  Our 
warmest  exertions  in  the  service  of  such  a 
Master  are  far  too  cold  ;  and  our  greatest  suc- 
cess falls  very  short  of  what  we  ought  to  pray 
for.  We  preach  no  other  gospel  than  you  do. 
We  love  and  respect  many  of  your  ministers 
for  their  knowledge,  piety,  and  exemplary  con- 
versation. But  I  believe  you  will  allow,  that 
the  general  state  of  your  churches  at  present, 
is  not  so  lively  and  flourishing  as  it  was  in  the 
days  of  the  old  non-conformists.  I  believe 
the  best  of  your  people  were  long  ago  sensible 
of  a  decline,  that  they  sincerely  lamented  it, 
and  earnestly  prayed  for  a  revival.  Their 
prayers  were  at  length  answered,  but  not  in 
the  way  they  expected.      A  great  and  spread- 


LET.  IV.  APOLOGIA. 

ing  revival  of  religion  took  place,  but  the  in- 
struments were  not  Dissenters.  At  the  time 
when  I  was  ordained  there  was  a  considerable 
number  of  regular  parochial  ministers  who 
preached  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation. 
The  number  has  been  greatly  increased  since, 
and  is  still  increasing.  I  could  not  but  judge, 
that  the  Lord's  presence  with  his  word  in  a- 
wakening  sinners,  and  in  applying  it  with 
power  to  the  heart,  was  more  evident  and 
striking  on  this  side,  than  on  yours.  Not  be- 
cause we  are  better  than  you  ;  but  because  the 
work  with  us  is  rather  new,  whereas  amongst 
you  it  is  of  an  older  date.  The  history  of  the 
Church  of  God  and  of  human  nature  in  past 
ages,  teaches  us  to  expect  that  revivals  of  re- 
ligion will  seldom  stand  long  at  their  primi- 
tive height,  but  will  gradually  subside  and  de- 
generate, till  things  return  in  a  course  of  time 
nearly  to  their  former  state ;  though  a  name, 
perhaps  first  imposed  as  a  stigma  by  the  world, 
and  a  form,  which  owed  all  its  value  to  the 
spirit  that  once  enlivened  it,  may  still  remain. 
I  wish  I  could  affirm  that  none  who  were  o- 
therwise  competent  judges  of  a  revival,  have 
been  prevented  by  their  prepossessions  from 
rejoicing  in  what  God  has  wrought  amongst 
us.  But  I  fear  it  has  been  otherwise,  and 
that  a  spirit  of  prejudice  and  party  discovered 
itself  upon  the  occasion,  which  proved  hurt- 
ful to  some  good  men.  When  I  think  of  the 
abilities  and  characters  of  some  Dissenting' 
ministers,  I  cannot  but  ascribe  the  little  visi- 
ble success  they  meet  with,  in  some  measure 
to  their  unwillingness  to  acknowledge  a  work 
of  God  in  which  they  themselves  were  not 
employed.  Their  exceptions  were  not  wholly 
groundless :  A  lively  zeal  for  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  good  of  souls,  in  persons  whose 
judgments  were  not  fully  ripened  by  observa- 
tion and  experience,  did  not  secure  them  from 
incidental  mistakes  and  blemishes.  These 
were  easily  seen  and  eagerly  noticed.  A  de- 
sire of  being  free  from  the  least  suspicion  of 
giving  countenance  to  the  unguarded,  though 
well  meant  sallies  of  active  spirits,  seems  to 
have  led  some  of  your  ministers  into  a  contra- 
ry extreme ;  and  their  public  discourses, 
though  solid  and  judicious  compositions,  lost 
that  animation  in  delivery,  which  is  in  some 
degree  necessary  to  engage  attention,  and  to 
keep  up  an  auditory.  Thus,  while  preachers 
much  inferior  to  them  for  learning  and  gene- 
ral knowledge  in  divinity  have  had  crowded 
assemblies,  the  pleasure  with  which  I  have 
heard  some  of  your  most  eminent  ministers, 
has  been  often  abated  by  observing  that  the 
number  of  the  hearers  has  been  much  small- 
er than  the  number  of  pews  in  the  place.  I 
must  therefore  confess  that  one  consideration 
which  deterred  me  from  joining  the  Dissen- 
ters was,  a  fear  lest  the  love  of  peace,  and  a 
temper  rather  compliant,  might  insensibly  be- 
tray me  into  an  over  cautious  spirit,  damp  my 
zeal,  or  divert  it  into  a  wrong  channel,  and 


893 

thereby  pre  ent  the  success  at  which  I  aimed. 
I  rather  chose  to  unite  with  those  people  whom 
I  thought  the  most  likely  to  maintain  and  en- 
courage what  little  fervour  I  possessed  ;  and 
where  I  saw  the  most  evident  tokens  of  a  pow- 
er from  on  high  accompanying  the  public  mi- 
nistrations. And  as  I  had  my  reasons  like- 
wise for  not  being  an  Itinerant,  a  regular  and 
stated  charge  in  the  Established  church  en- 
gaged my  preference. 

My  fourth  reason  (the  last  I  think  it  neces- 
sary to  mention)  being  rather  a  point  of  ex- 
perience, must  depend  chiefly  upon  my  own 
testimony,  and  therefore  I  need  not  enlarge 
much  upon  it.  Superadded,  however,  to  those 
which  I  have  already  stated,  it  greatly  contri- 
buted to  give  full  satisfaction  to  my  mind  : 
I  mean,  the  proofs  I  had,  that  the  Lord  by 
the  openings  and  leadings  of  his  providence, 
pointed  out  to  me  the  situation  in  which  I 
was  to  serve  him.  The  first  explicit  notice 
I  gave  of  my  desire  to  enter  the  ministry,  was 
to  an  intimate  friend  in  your  denomination, 
nearly  six  years  before  I  was  ordained.  In 
the  course  of  this  interval  I  made,  and  I  re- 
ceived a  variety  of  applications  and  proposals; 
but  every  thing  failed,  and  every  door  by 
which  I  sought  admission  remained  shut  a 
gainst  me.  I  have  already  observed,  that  this 
state  of  suspense  gave  me  leisure  to  examine 
the  subject  of  church-government  more  close- 
ly, and  that  the  result  of  my  disquisitions  was 
the  gradual,  and  at  length  the  complete  remo- 
val of  the  difficulties  and  exceptions  I  had  at 
first  hastily  imbibed  against  the  Establish- 
ment. At  length  the  Lord's  time  came  ;  then 
obstacles  apparently  unsurmountable  sudden- 
ly and  unexpectedly  disappeared.  Then  I 
learnt  the  reason  of  former  disappointments. 
My  way  had  been  mercifully  hedged  up  with 
thorns,  to  prevent  me  taking  a  wrong  course, 
and  to  keep  me  waiting  until  the  place  and 
service  of  his  own  appointment  were  prepared 
and  ready  for  me.  The  coincidence  of  many 
circumstances  which  I  cannot  explain  to  ano- 
ther, gave  me  a  very  comfortable  sense  of  the 
Lord's  guidance.  I  received  ordination  in 
the  Church  of  England  with  a  ^Xn^o^ta, 
with  wind  and  tide  (if  I  may  so  speak)  in  my 
favour,  with  the  most  pleasing  disposition  of 
outward  events,  and  the  most  assured  persua- 
sion in  my  own  mind,  that  I  was  following 
the  call,  and  doing  the  will  of  God ;  of  which 
I  had  at  that  time  little  more  doubt  than  if  an 
angel  had  been  sent  from  heaven  to  tell  me 
so.  Nor  have  I  hesitated  upon  the  point  a 
single  hour  from  that  day  to  this. 

I  think  you  will  not  be  sorry  to  find  I  am 
drawing  towards  a  close.  Indeed  I  should  be 
ashamed  to  have  written  so  much  merely  on 
my  own  account,  I  began  this  ideal  corre- 
spondence with  you  about  seven  years  ago. 
More  then  the  one  half  of  it  was  then  written 
in  a  few  weeks  ;  but  I  felt  a  reluctance  to 
proceed,  because  it  seemed  to  be  so  much  my 


894- 

own  affair;  but  I  have  frequently  thought 
since,  that  something  upon  the  subject,  writ- 
ten in  a  moderate  and  friendly  spirit  (which 
it  has  been  my  prayer  and  endeavour  to  pre- 
serve), might,  by  the  Lord's  blessing,  be  a 
mean  of  promoting  candour  and  benevolence 
among  those,  who,  whatever  else  they  differ 
in,  have  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  hope.  A 
desire  of  being  instrumental  in  so  good  a 
work,  has  at  length  prevailed  on  me,  to  revise 
what  I  had  begun,  to  add  what  I  thought 
farther  necessary  for  completing  my  design, 
and  to  send  it  abroad.  I  cannot  give  you  par- 
ticular reasons  why  I  have  not  done  it  sooner, 
or  why  I  do  it  now.  Our  times,  plans,  and 
purposes  are  under  a  superior  guidance  and 
direction,  which  it  is  our  duty  and  our  privi- 
lege always  to  acknowledge,  though  we  can- 
not  always  distinctly  discern  it.  I  shall  be 
happy  if  the  event  shall  prove  that  I  have  been 
led  to  chuse  the  fittest  time,  and  to  offer  a 
word  in  season.  They  who  love  and  preach 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,  whatever 
name  they  bear  among  men,  and  whatever 
body  of  people  they  are  united  to,  are  engag- 
ed in  one  common  cause ;  they  are  opposed 
by  the  same  enemies ;  their  severest  conflicts 
and  their  sweetest  comforts  are  derived  from 


APOLOGIA.  let.  IV 

the  same  sources ;  and  they  will  ere  long  meet 
in  the  same  kingdom  of  glory,  and  join  in 
the  same  songs  of  eternal  praise,  to  him  who 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  to  him  who  re- 
deemed us  to  God  by  his  blood.  How  desi- 
rable then  is  it,  that  while  we  live  here,  we 
should  be  at  peace  amongst  ourselves,  and 
live  in  the  spirit  of  that  love  (the  only  infal- 
lible mark  of  our  being  truly  the  servants  of 
Christ),  which  seeketh  not  its  own,  is  not  eas- 
ily provoked,  thinketh  no  evil,  but  beareth, 
hopeth,  and  believeth  all  things  ! 

As  what  I  write  to  you  is  to  appear  in 
print,  I  think  it  proper  to  add,  for  my  own 
sake,  that  my  whole  intention  will  be  fulfill- 
ed by  the  publication.  I  do  not  mean  to  en- 
ter into  controversy  ;  and  therefore  if  these 
letters,  contrary  to  my  wish,  should  raise  me 
an  opponent,  and  give  occasion  to  an  answer, 
I  shall  not  think  myself  bound  to  reply,  un- 
less I  could  be  convicted  of  such  a  wilful  mis- 
representation, as  would  render  it  my  duty  to 
ask  pardon  of  God,  and  of  the  Public. 

I  commend  you  and  yours  to  the  blessing 
of  our  Lord,  and  remain 

Your  affectionate  Friend. 

March  1,  1784. 


PLAN 


OF 


ACADEMICAL  PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY, 


IN    \ 


LETTER  TO  A  FRIEND. 


Quin  et  piorum  mentibus  mystcria, 

Contempta  pravis,  impie  sapientibus 

Occulta,  Dominus  luce  prof(jret  sua, 

Et  sacrosancti  foederis  scientiam 

Docebit. Bitch.  Ps.  xxv. 

Tlie  wisdom  that  is  from  above,  is  first  pure,  then  peaceable. 

James  iii.  17. 


PLAN 


OF 


ACADEMICAL  PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY. 


Dear  Sjr, 
I  am  not  the  son  of  a  propl:et,  nor  was  I  bred 
up  among  the  prophets.  I  am  quite  a  stran- 
ger to  what  passes  within  the  walls  of  colleges 
and  academies.  I  was  as  one  born  out  of  due 
time,  and  led,  under  the  secret  guidance  of 
the  Lord,  by  very  unusual  steps,  to  preach  the 
faith  which  I  once  laboured  to  destroy.  Since 
you  know  all  this,  how  could  you  think  of 
applying  to  me  for  the  plan  of  an  academical 
institution  ?  Yet  I  confess  the  design  you 
mentioned  to  me,  in  which  some  of  your 
friends  have  thoughts  of  engaging,  is  so  im- 
portant in  my  view,  that  I  am  willing  to  come 
as  near  to  your  wishes  as  I  can.  I  must  not 
pretend  to  dictate  a  plan  for  the  business 
which  is  now  in  contemplation.  But  if  you 
will  allow  me  to  indulge  a  sort  of  reverie,  and 
suppose  myself  a  person  of  some  consequence 
in  Utopia,  where  I  could  have  the  modelling 
of  every  thing  to  my  own  mind ;  and  that  I 
was  about  to  form  an  academy  there,  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  educating  young  men  for  the 
ministry  of  the  gospel — in  this  way  I  am  wil- 
ling to  offer  you  my  thoughts  upon  the  sub- 
ject witJi  great  simplicity  and  freedom.  And 
if  any  of  the  regulations  of  my  imaginary  aca- 
demy should  be  judged  applicable  to  your  de- 
sign, you  and  your  friends  will  be  heartily 
welcome  to  them. 

I  should  then,  suppositis  svpponendis,  in 
the  first  place,  lay  down  two  or  three  import- 
ant maxims,  which  I  would  hope  never  to  lose 
sight  of  in  the  conduct  of  the  affair:  expect- 
ing that,  if  I  should  begin  without  them,  I 
must  stumble  at  the  very  threshold ;  and  that 
whenever  I  should  neglect  them  afterwards, 
all  my  care  and  labour,  and  expense  would  be 
from  that  time  thrown  away. 

My  first  maxim  is,  That  none  but  he  who 
made  the  world  can  make  a  minister  of  the 
gospel.  If  a  young  man  has  capacity,  culture 
and  application  may  make  him  a  scholar,  a  phi- 
losopher, or  an  orator.  But  a  true  minister 
must  have  certain  principles,  motives,  feel- 
ings, and  aims,  which    no   industry  or  endea- 


vours of  men  can  either  acquire  or  communi- 
cate. They  must  be  given  from  above,  or 
they  cannot  be  received. 

I  adopt  as  a  second  maxim,  That  the  holy 
scriptures  are  both  comprehensively  and  ex- 
clusively the  grand  treasury  of  all  that  know- 
ledge which  is  requisite  and  sufficient,  to 
make  the  minister,  the  man  of  God,  thorough- 
ly furnished  for  every  branch  of  his  office. 
If  indeed  no  other  studies  were  of  subordinate 
importance,  in  order  to  a  right  understanding 
of  the  scriptures,  and  especially  to  those  who 
are  not  only  to  know  for  themselves,  but  are 
appointed  to  teach  others  also  ;  then  academi- 
cal instruction  would  be  needless,  and  I  might 
supply  my  young  men  with  every  thing  at 
at  once,  by  putting  the  Bible  into  their  hands, 
and  directing  them  to  read  it  continually  with 
attention  and  prayer.  But  my  meaning  is, 
that  though  there  is  such  a  concatenation  in 
knowledge,  that  every  branch  of  science  may, 
by  a  judicious  application,  be  rendered  sub- 
servient to  a  minister's  great  design  ;  yet  no 
attainments  in  philology,  philosophy,  or  in 
any  or  all  the  particulars  which  constitute  the 
aggregate  of  what  we  call  Learning,  can  in 
the  least  contribute  to  form  a  minister  of  the 
gospel,  any  farther  than  he  is  taught  of  God 
to  refer  them  to,  and  to  regulate  them  by  the 
scriptures  as  a  standard.  On  the  contrary,  the 
more  a  man  is  furnished  with  this  kind  of  ap- 
paratus, unless  the  leading  truths  of  scripture 
reign  and  flourish  in  his  heart,  he  will  be  but 
the  more  qualified  to  perplex  himself,  and  to 
mislead  his  hearers. 

My  third  maxim  is  an  inference  from  the 
two  former ;  That  the  true  gospel-minister 
who  possesses  these  secondary  advantages, 
though  he  may  know  the  same  things,  and  ac- 
quire his  knowledge  by  the  like  methods,  as 
other  scholars  do,  yet  he  must  know  and  pos- 
sess them  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  himself. 
His  criticisms,  if  he  be  a  critic,  will  discover 
something  which  the  greatest  skill  in  gramma- 
tical niceties  cannot  of  itself  reach.  If  he  be 
an  orator,  he  will  not  speak  in  the  artilcial 
3  S 


898 


A    PLAN   OF  ACADEMICAL   PREPARATION 


self-applauding  language  of  man's  wisdom, 
but  in  simplicity  and  with  authority  ;  like  one 
who  feels  the  ground  he  standi  upon,  and 
knows  to  whom  he  belongs,  and  whom  he 
serves.  If  he  mentions  a  passage  of  history, 
it  will  not  be  to  shew  his  reading,  but  to  il- 
lustrate or  prove  his  point ;  and  it  will  be  evi- 
dent from  his  manner  of  speaking,  that  though 
lie  may  have  taken  the  facts  from  Tacitus  or 
Robertson,  his  knowledge  of  the  springs  of 
human  action,  and  of  the  superintendency  of 
a  divine  providence,  is  derived  from  the  word 
of  God.      And  so  of  other  instances. 

In  a  word,  if  a  young  man  was  to  consult 
me  how  he  might  be  wise  and  learned  in  the 
usual  sense  of  the  words,  I  might  advise  him 
to  repair  to  Oxford  or  Cambridge,  or  to 
twenty  other  places  which  I  could  name.  But 
if  I  thought  him  really  desirous  of  becoming 
wise  to  win  souls,  I  would  invite  him  to  my 
new  College  in  Utopia. 

From  these  general  observations  I  proceed 
more  directly  to  my  subject.  You  are  then 
to  suppose  that  I  have  taken  my  determina- 
tion, and  counted  the  cost,  and  am  now  sit- 
ting down  to  contrive  my  plan.  As  a  little 
attention  to  method  may  not  be  amiss,  I  shall 
endeavour  to  range  my  thoughts  under  four 
principal  heads,  concerning, 

1.  The  Place. 

2.  The  Tutor. 

3.  The  Pupils. 

4.  The  Course  of  Education. 
I.    And  first  (as  preachers  sometimes  say), 

of  the  first.  If  the  metropolis  of  Utopia 
should  be  any  thing  like  ours,  there  are  ob- 
vious reasons  to  forbid  my  fixing  upon  a  spot 
very  near  it.  I  think  not  nearer  than  a  mo- 
derate day's  journey.  Nor  would  I  wish  it 
much  farther  distant.  Occasional  visits  to  a 
great  city,  where  there  are  many  considerable 
ministers  and  christians,  should  not  be  render- 
ed impracticable  ;  as  they  might  furnish  my 
young  men  with  opportunities  of  forming  con- 
nections and  making  observations  that  might  we  please, 
contribute  to  their  usefulness  in  future  life. 
But  procul  ab  urbe  will  be  my  maxim.  I 
should  not  only  fear  lest  they  should  be  con- 
taminated by  the  vices  which  too  generally 
prevail  where  men  live  in  a  throng :  if  they 
escaped  these,  I  should  still  have  apprehen- 
sions, lest  the  notice  that  might  be  taken  of 
them,  and  the  respect  shewn  them  by  well- 
meaning  friends,  should  imperceptibly  seduce 
them  into  a  spirit  of  self-importance,  give 
them  a  turn  for  dress  and  company,  and  spoil 
that  simplicity  and  dependence,  without  which 
I  could  have  little  hope  of  their  success.  I 
would  wish  it  may  be  their  grand  aim  to 
please  the  Lord,  and  under  him  and  for  his 
sake  to  please  their  tutor.  They  have  as 
yet  no  business  witli  other  people.  Their  tu- 
tor must  be  to  them  instar  omnium.  Him 
they  must  love,  reverence,  and  obey,  and  ac- 
curately watch  his  looks,  and  everv  intimation 


of  his  will.  But  to  secure  this  point,  or  even 
to  have  a  reasonable  prospect  of  attaining  it, 
methinks  it  seems  necessary  to  say,  procul, 
procul  ab  urbe,  juvenes  !  But  the  diflerence 
between  a  rural  and  a  town  situation  is  so 
striking  at  first  view,  that  I  suppose  it  quite 
needless  to  say  more  upon  this  head.  I  there- 
fore proceed, 

II.  To  the  choice  of  my  Tutor. — Who- 
ever he  may  be,  when  I  have  found  him,  and 
fixed  him,  I  will  take  the  liberty  to  tell  him, 
that  he  is  called  to  the  most  honourable  and 
important  office  that  man,  in  the  present  state 
of  things,  is  capable  of.  The  skilful  and 
faithful  tutor  is  not  only  useful  to  his  pupils 
considered  as  individuals,  but  he  is  remotely 
the  instrument  of  all  the  blessings  and  bene- 
fits which  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  communi- 
cate by  their  ministry,  in  the  course  of  their 
stated  and  occasional  labours  to  the  end  of 
life.  On  the  other  hand,  the  errors  and  pre- 
judices of  an  incompetent  tutor,  adopted  and 
perpetuated  by  his  disciples,  may  produce  a 
long  progression  of  evil  eonsequences,  which 
may  continue  to  operate  and  multiply  when 
he  and  they  are  dead  and  forgotten.  For  if 
the  streams  which  are  to  spread  far  and  wide 
throughout  a  land  are  poisoned  in  the  very 
source,  who  can  foresee  how  far  the  mischief 
may  be  diffused.  Unless,  therefore,  I  can 
procure  a  proper  tutor,  I  must  give  up  my 
design.  It  is  better  the  youth  should  remain 
untaught,  than  that  they  should  be  taught  to 
do  wrong. 

And  I  seem  not  easily  satisfied  on  this 
head.  My  idea  of  the  person  to  whom  I 
could  cheerfully  entrust  the  care  of  my  acade- 
my, is  not  of  an  ordinary  size.  He  seems  to 
be  one, 

Qualetn  nequeo  monstrare,  ac  sentio  tantum. 

However,  since  we  are  upon  Utopian 
ground,  where  we  may  imagine  as  largely  as 
I  will  attempt  to  delineate  him. 
And  were  I  to  recommend  a  tutor  to  your 
friends,  it  should  be  the  man  who  I  thought 
came  the  nearest  to  the  character  I  am  about 
to  describe. 

For  his  first  essential  indispensable  qualifi- 
cation, I  require  a  mind  deeply  penetrated 
with  a  sense  of  the  grace,  glory,  and  efficacy 
of  the  gospel.  However  learned  and  able  in 
other  respects,  he  shall  not  have  a  single  pupil 
from  me,  unless  1  have  reason  to  believe,  that 
his  heart  is  attached  to  the  person  of  the  Re- 
deemer as  God-man :  that  as  a  sinner  his 
whole  dependence  is  upon  the  Redeemer's 
work  of  love,  his  obedience  unto  death,  his  in- 
tercession and  mediatorial  fulness.  His  sen- 
timents must  be  clear  and  explicit  respecting 
the  depravity  of  human  nature,  and  the  ne- 
cessity and  reality  of  the  agency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  to  quicken,  enlighten,  sanctify,  and 
sea1  those  who,  under  his  influence,  are  led  to 


FOR 

Jesus  for  salvation.  With  respect  to  the  dif- 
ferent schemes  or  systems  of  Divinity  which 
obtain  amongst  those  who  are  united  in  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  above  fundamental 
truths,  I  should  look  for  my  tutor  amongst 
those  who  are  called  Calvinists  ;  but  he  must 
not  be  of  a  curious  metaphysical  disputatious 
turn,  a  mere  system-monger  or  party-zealot. 
I  seek  for  one  who,  having  been  himself 
taught  the  deep  things  of  God  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  a  gradual  experimental  manner; 
while  he  is  charmed  with  the  beautiful  har- 
mony and  coincidence  of  all  the  doctrines  of 
grace,  is  at  the  same  time  aware  of  the  mys 


IHE    MINISTRY. 


899 


Belles  Lettres,  and  a  proper  judge  of  them 
with  respect  both  to  their  intrinsic  and  their 
relative  value.  Their  intrinsic  value  to  crea- 
tures who  are  posting  to  eternity  is  not  great ; 
and  a  wise  man  if  he  has  not  been  tinctured 
with  them  in  early  life,  will  seldom  think  it 
worth  his  while  to  attend  much  to  them  after- 
wards. Yet  in  such  an  age  as  ours,  it  is  some 
disadvantage  to  a  man  in  public  life,  if  he  is 
quite  a  stranger  to  them.  To  a  tutor  they  are 
in  a  manner  necessary.  It  is  farther  desirable 
that  he  should  have  a  lively  imagination,  un- 
der the  direction  of  a  sound  judgment  and  a 
correct  and  cultivated  taste.      Otherwise,  how 


terious  depths  of  the  divine  counsels,  and  the  |  can  he  assist  and  form  the  taste  and  judgment 


impossibility  of  their  being  fully  comprehend 
ed  by  our  feeble  understandings.  Such  a  man 
will  be  patient  and  temperate  in  explaining 
the  peculiarities  of  the  gospel  to  his  pupils, 
and  will  wisely  adapt  himself  to  their  several 
status,  attainments,  and  capacities.  After  the 
example  of  the  Great  Teacher,  he  will  con- 
sider what  they  can  bear,  and  aim  to  lead 
them  forward  step  by  step,  in  such  a  manner, 
that  the  sentiments  he  instils  into  them  may 
be  their  own,  and  not  taken  up  merely  upon 
the  authority  of  his  ipse  dixit.  He  will  pro- 
pose the  scripture  to  them  as  a  consistent 
whole  ;  and  guard  them  against  the  extremes 
into  which  controversial  writers  have  forced 
themselves  and  each  other,  in  support  of  a 
favourite  hypothesis,  so  as,  under  pretence  of 
honouring  some  parts  of  the  word  of  God,  to 
overlook,  if  not  to  contradict,  what  is  taught 
with  equal  clearness  in  other  parts. 

I  wish  my  pupils  to  be  well  versed  in  use- 
ful learning,  and  therefore  my  tutor  must  be 
a  learned  man.  He  must  not  only  be  able  to 
teach  them  whatever  is  needful  for  them  to 
learn,  but  should  be  possessed  of  such  a  fund, 
as  that  the  most  forward  and  most  promising 
among  them  may  feel  he  has  a  decided  supe- 
riority over  them  in  every  part  of  their  studies. 
Besides  an  accurate  skill  in  the  school  clas- 
sics, he  should  be  well  acquainted  with  books 
at  large,  and  possessed  of  a  general  know- 
ledge of  the  state  of  literature  and  religion, 
and  the  memorable  events  of  history  in  the 
successive  ages  of  mankind.  Particularly,  he 
should  be  well  versed  in  Ecclesiastical  learn- 
ing :  for  though  it  be  true,  that  the  bulk  of  it 
is  little  worth  knowing  for  its  own  sake,  yet  a 
man  of  genius  and  wisdom  will  draw  from  the 
whole  mass  a  variety  of  observations  suited  to 
assist  young  minds  in  forming  a  right  judg- 
ment of  human  nature,  of  true  religion,  of  its 
counterfeits,  and  of  the  abuses  to  which  the 
name  of  religion  is  capable  of  being  pervert- 
ed. And  he  will  likewise  be  able  to  select 
for  their  use,  such  authors  and  subjects  as  de- 
serve their  notice,  from  the  surrounding  rub- 
bish in  which  they  are  almost  buried. 

My  tutor  should  likewise  be  competently 
acquainted  with  the  lighter  accomplishments, 
which    are    usually  understood  by  the    term 


of  his  pupils,  or  direct  or  criticise  their  com- 
positions? 

Natural  Philosophy  is  not  only  a  noble 
science,  but  one  which  offers  the  most  inter- 
esting and  profitable  relaxations  from  the 
weight  of  severer  studies.  If  the  tutor  be 
not  possessed  of  this,  he  will  lose  a  thousand 
opportunities  of  pointing  out  to  his  pupils  the 
signatures  of  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness, 
which  the  wonder-working  God  has  impres- 
sed upon  every  part  of  the  visible  creation. 
But  at  the  same  time,  he  should  know  where 
to  stop,  and  what  bounds  to  set  to  their  in- 
quiries. It  is  not  necessary  that  either  he  or 
they  should  be  numbered  amongst  the  first 
astronomers  or  virtuosi  of  the  age.  A  life 
devoted  to  the  service  of  God  and  souls,  will 
not  afford  leisure  for  this  diminutive  kind  of 
pre-eminence.  A  general  knowledge  will  suf- 
fice even  in  the  tutor.  And  when  he  lectures 
upon  these  subjects,  he  will  caution  them  a- 
gainst  spending  too  much  time  and  thought 
upon  those  branches  of  philosophy  which  have 
but  a  very  remote  tendency  to  qualify  them 
for  preaching  the  gospel.  They  are  sent  into 
the  world  and  into  the  academy,  not  to  collect 
shells,  and  fossils,  and  butterflies,  or  to  surprise 
each  other  with  feats  of  electricity,  but  to  win 
souls  for  Christ. 

Perhaps  I  have  said  enough  of  my  tutor's 
knowledge,  and  may  now  consider  him  with 
regard  to  his  spirit,  his  methods  of  communi- 
cating what  he  knows  to  his  pupils,  and  his 
manner  of  living  with  them  as  a  father  with 
his  children. 

He  must  be  didacticos,  apt  to  teach.  A 
man  may  know  much,  yet  not  have  a  facility 
of  imparting  his  ideas.  It  is  a  talent  and  a 
gift  of  God,  and  therefore  will  always  be 
found  in  some  good  degree  in  the  person  who 
is  called  of  God  to  the  tutor's  office. 

He  will  consider  himself  as  a  teacher,  not 
only  in  the  lecture-room,  but  in  all  places, 
and  at  all  times,  whether  sitting  in  the  house, 
or  walking  by  the  way,  if  any  of  his  pupils 
are  with  him.  And  he  will  love  to  have  them 
always  about  him,  so  far  as  their  studies  and 
his  own  necessary  avocations  will  admit. 

Two  ihings  he  will  aim  to  secure  from 
them,  reverence  and  affection.   Without  main 


DUO 


A    PLAN    OF  ACADEMICAL   PREPARATION 


Mining  a  steady  authority,  he  can  do  nothing  ; 
and  unless  they  love  hitn,  every  thing  will  go 
on  heavily.  But  if  the  pupils  are  properly 
chosen,  such  a  man  as  I  have  described  will 
be  both  loved  and  feared.  His  spiritual  and 
exemplary  deportment,  his  wisdom  and  abili- 
ties, will  command  their  respect.  His  con- 
descension and  gentleness,  his  tenderness  for 
their  personal  concerns,  his  assiduity  in  pro- 
moting their  comfort,  and  doing  them  every 
friendly  office  in  his  power,  will  engage  their 
love.  These  happy  effects  will  be  farther  pro- 
moted by  their  frequent  mutual  intercourse  in 
prayer,  by  his  expository  lectures,  and  by  his 
public  ministry,  if  he  be  a  preacher.  Hav- 
ing his  eye  unto  the  Lord,  and  his  heart  in 
his  work,  a  blessing  from  on  high  shall  de- 
scend upon  him  and  upon  his  house. 

As  human  nature  is  the  same  in  all  places, 
it  is  probable  that  the  christians  in  Utopia 
may  be  divided  among  themselves  with  respect 
to  rituals  and  modes  of  worship,  in  some  such 
manner  as  we  see  and  feel  amongst  us.  Now 
bere,  as  in  every  thing  else,  I  would  have  my 
tutor  a  sort  of  phoenix,  a  man  of  a  generous 
enlarged  spirit,  a  real  friend  of  that  liberty 
wherewith  Jesus  has  made  his  people  free 
from  the  shackles  and  impositions  of  men. 
One  who  uniformly  judges  and  acts  upon 
that  grand  principle  of  the  New  Testament, 
which  is  likewise  a  plain  and  obvious  maxim 
of  common  sense  ;  I  mean,  that  the  Lord  of 
all,  the  Head  of  the  church,  is  the  alone  Lord 
and  Judge  of  conscience.  I  suppose  my  tu- 
tor has  already  taken  his  side,  that  he  is  either 
in  the  Establishment  (if  there  be  one  in  Uto- 
pia) or  of  course  a  Dissenter  from  it.  And, 
really  as  to  my  scheme,  I  am  indifferent  which 
side  he  has  taken  ;  we  shall  not  have  a  mi- 
nute's debate  about  it,  provided  he  acts  con- 
sistently with  the  principles  which  I  have  as- 
signed him.  But  as  I  myself,  living  in  Eng- 
land, am  of  the  Established  Church,  that  you 
may  not  suspect  me  of  partiality,  I  will  sup- 
pose, and  am  ready  to  take  it  for  granted, 
that  he  will  be  found  to  be  a  Utopian  Dissen- 
ter. 

On  this  supposition,  my  imagination  takes 
a  flight,  hastens  into  the  midst  of  things,  and 
anticipates  as  present  what  is  yet  future.  Me- 
thinks  I  see  the  tutor  indulging  his  scholars 
(as  at  proper  seasons  he  often  will)  with  an 
hour  of  free  conversation ;  and  from  some 
question  proposed  to  him  concerning  the  com- 
parative excellence  or  authority  of  different 
forms  of  church-government,  taking  occasion 
to  open  his  mind  to  them,  something  in  the 
following  manner : 

"  My  dear  children,  you  may  have  observ- 
ed, that,  when  in  the  course  of  our  lectures,  I 
have  been  led  to  touch  upon  this  subject,  it 
has  not  been  my  custom  to  speak  in  a  dogma- 
tical style.  I  have  sometimes  intimated  to 
you,  that  though  every  part  of  the  Levitical 
worship  was  of  positive  divine  institution,  yet 


when  the  people  rested  and  trusted  in  their 
external  forms,  the  Lord  speaks  as  abhorring 
his  own  appointments.  I  have  told  you,  up- 
on  the  apostle's  authority,  that  the  kingdom 
of  God  consists  not  in  meats  and  drinks,  in 
names  and  forms,  but  in  righteousness  peace, 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amidst  the 
many  divisions  and  subdivisions  which  obtain 
in  the  visible  Church,  there  are  in  reality  but 
two  sorts  of  people,  the  children  of  God,  and 
the  children  of  the  world.  The  former  sort, 
though  partakers  in  one  life  and  in  one  hope, 
yet  living  in  successive  ages,  in  various  coun- 
tries, under  very  different  modes  of  govern- 
ment, education,  and  customs,  it  seems  mo- 
rally impossible  that  they  should  all  agree,  as 
by  instinct,  in  one  common  mode  of  social 
worship.  It  is  indeed  said,  that  there  is  a 
plan  prescribed  in  the  New  Testament  to 
which  all  ought  to  conform  as  nearly  as  possi. 
ble.  All  parties  say  this  in  favour  of  their 
own  plans ;  and  men  eminent  for  wisdom  and 
holiness  are  to  be  found  among  the  advocates 
for  each.  But  is  it  not  strange,  that  if  the 
Lord  has  appointed  such  a  standard,  the  wis- 
est and  best  of  his  people  should  differ  so 
widely  in  their  views  of  it,  and  deviate  so  far 
from  each  other  when  they  attempt  to  reduce 
it  to  practice  ?  Let  others  dispute,  but  as  for 
you  my  children,  and  me,  let  us  rather  adore 
the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  our  Lord.  He 
who  knew  the  heart  of  man,  the  almost  in- 
vincible power  of  local  prejudices,  and  what 
innumerable  circumstances  in  different  periods 
and  places  would  render  it  impracticable  for 
his  people  to  tread  exactly  in  the  same  line, 
has  provided  accordingly.  The  rules  and 
lights  he  has  afforded  us  respecting  the  out- 
ward administration  of  his  Church,  are  re- 
corded with  such  a  latitude,  that  his  true  wor- 
shippers may  conscientiously  hope  they  are 
acceptable  to  him,  though  the  plans  which 
they  believe  to  be  consistent  with  his  revealed 
will,  are  far  from  corresponding  with  each 
other.  It  is  sufficient  that  the  apostolical  ca- 
nons, Let  all  things  be  done  decently  and  in 
order,  to  edification  and  in  charity,  are  uni- 
versally binding ;  and  were  these  on  all  sides 
attended  to,  smaller  differences  would  be  very 
supportable. 

"  I  have  often  pointed  out  to  you  the  won- 
derful analogy  which  the  Lord  has  established 
in  many  instances,  between  his  works  in  the 
outward  creation,  and  in  his  kingdom  of  grace. 
Perhaps  the  variety  observable  in  the  former 
may  be  one  instance  of  this  kind.  When 
you  see  every  vegetable  arrayed  in  green  ex- 
actly of  the  same  shade,  or  all  tulips  varie- 
gated in  the  same  manner,  as  if  painted  from 
one  common  pattern,  then,  and  not  before, 
expect  to  find  true  believers  agreed  in  their 
views  and  practice  respecting  the  modes  of 
religion. 

"  Study  therefore  the  scriptures,  my  chil- 
dren, with  humble  prayer,  that  the  Lord  ma) 


I- 


FOR  THE   MINISTRY. 


D01 


gWe  you  such  views  of  these  concerns,  as 
may  fit  you  for  the  stations  and  services  to 
which  his  providence  may  lead  you.  See 
with  your  own  eyes,  and  judge  for  yourselves. 
This  is  your  right.  One  is  your  master,  even 
Christ,  and  you  need  not,  you  ought  not  to 
call  any  man  master  upon  earth.  But  be 
content  with  this.  Do  not  arrogate  to  your- 
selves the  power  of  judging  for  others.  Be 
willing  that  they  should  see  with  their  own 
eyes  likewise.  The  Papists,  upon  the  ground 
of  the  assumed  infallibility  of  their  church, 
are  at  least  consistent  with  themselves  in  con- 
demning all  who  differ  from  them.  Protest- 
ants confess  themselves  fallible,  yet  speak  the 
same  peremptory  language. 

"  As  to  myself,  if  I  had  thought  it  prefer- 
able upon  the  whole  to  be  a  minister  in  our 
Established  Church,  I  might  probably  have 
been  one ;  but  I  trust  I  am  where  the  Lord 
would  have  me  to  be,  and  I  am  satisfied.  My 
desire  for  you  is  to  see  you  able  ministers  of 
the  New  Testament.  As  to  the  part  of  the 
vineyard  in  which  you  are  to  labour,  wait 
simply  upon  the  Lord,  and  he  in  good  time 
will  point  it  out  to  you.  If  scripture  and 
conscience  lead  you  to  prefer  the  Dissenting 
line,  I  shall  say,  It  is  well — provided  you 
embrace  it  with  a  liberal  spirit,  and  have  a 
better  warrant  for  your  choice  than  merely  the 
example  of  your  tutor.  Should  you  deter- 
mine otherwise,  I  shall  still  say,  It  is  well — 
provided  I  see  you  disinterested,  humble,  and 
faithful.  Your  being  educated  under  my 
roof  is  a  circumstance  not  likely  to  facilitate 
your  admission  into  the  Establishment;  but 
if  the  Lord  in  his  providence  should  open  to 
any  of  you  a  door  on  that  side,  and  incline 
you  to  enter,  I  shall  not  dissuade  you  from  it, 
as  though  1  thought  it  sinful.  1  shall  only 
wish  you  to  attend  to  that  advice  which  can- 
not mislead  you  :  — "  Trust  in  the  Lord  with  all 
thine  heart,  and  lean  not  to  thine  own  under- 
standing ;  in  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  him, 
and  he  shall  direct  thy  path." 

Thus  far  my  tutor. — Or,  since  I  am  in  a 
supposing  humour,  if  you  will  give  me  leave 
to  make  one  supposition  more,  that  it  is  pos- 
sible there  may  be  Methodists  and  Itinerants 
in  Utopia,  as  we  have  in  England  ;  he  would 
then  perhaps  continue  his  discourse  a  little 
longer  as  follows : 

"  Though  the  pastoral  care  of  a  single  con- 
gregation is  the  service  which  the  Lord  has 
allotted  me,  and  I  have  not  seen  it  my  duty 
to  engage  in  any  thing  which  might  lead  me 
long  or  far  from  the  people  to  whom  I  am  re- 
lated, I  am  no  enemy  to  itinerant  preaching. 
My  Lord  and  Saviour  himself,  his  apostles 
and  first  servants  were  all  Itinerants  ;  and  I 
believe  that  houses  and  ships,  hills  and  plains, 
the  side  of  a  river,  ot  the  sea-shore,  are  all  fit 
places  for  preaching  the  gospel,  and  sufficient- 
ly authorized  as  such  by  the  highest  prece- 
dents.     I  cannot  therefore  censure,  much  less 


condemn,  a  practice  which  the  scripture  war- 
rants, and  to  which  I  doubt  not  the  Lord  has 
given  abundant  testimony  in  our  own  times, 
by  making  the  word  thus  dispensed  effectual 
to  the  conversion  and  consolation  of  many 
souls.  I  believe  indeed  that  some  persons 
not  duly  acquainted  with  their  own  hearts, 
nor  with  what  is  requisite  to  constitute  a 
preacher,  have  too  hastily  supposed  themselves 
called  to  preach  the  gospel ;  when  the  event 
has  proved  that  the  Lord  had  neither  called 
them  to  his  service  nor  furnished  them  for  it. 
And  I  think,  if  it  should  generally  be  allowed 
that  young  men  are  proper  judges  in  their  own 
cause,  and  have  a  right  to  commence  preachers 
when  or  where  or  how  they  please,  without  the 
advice  or  approbation  of  ministers  more  ex- 
perienced than  themselves,  many  inconvenien- 
cies  may  and  must  follow.  I  could  wish  every 
young  man  to  be  so  impressed  with  the  force 
of  die  apostle's  question,  "  Who  is  sufficient  for 
these  things?"  that  he  should  rather  need  in- 
vitation and  encouragement  to  preach,  than  be 
disposed  to  run  hastily  into  the  work,  as  the 
horse  rusheth  into  the  battle.  But  I  must 
not  expect  every  thing  will  be  managed  ac- 
cording to  my  wish.  I  have  mourned  over 
the  miscarriages  of  some  Itinerant  preachers, 
but  I  have  been  much  comforted  by  the  good 
conduct  and  success  of  others.  It  is  neither 
my  business  nor  my  intention  to  persuade  you 
to  this  course  :  but  if,  when  you  are  properly 
instructed  and  qualified  for  the  ministry,  I 
should  see  any  of  you  disposed  to  go  forth  in 
the  Itinerant  way,  should  I  be  satisfied  of  your 
principles  and  motives,  and  have  reason  to 
hope  your  zeal  was  tempered  with  humility,  ] 
know  not  that  I  durst  refuse  my  consent. 
For,  as  I  have  often  told  you,  the  honour  of 
my  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  the  welfare  of  pre- 
cious souls,  are  far  dearer  to  me  than  the  de- 
tached interests  of  any  party  ;  and  if  Christ  be 
faithfully  and  successfully  preached,  in  what- 
ever way,  and  by  whatever  instruments  he  is 
pleased  to  work,  "  I  do  rejoice,  yea,  and  will 
rejoice." 

I  think  what  I  have  said  of  the  tutor,  and 
what  he  has  just  now  said  for  himself,  may 
suffice  to  give  you  an  idea  of  the  person  I 
would  chuse,  and  that  it  is  now  time  to  con- 
sider, 

III.  The  choice  of  Pupils. — I  would  have 

them  all  resident  with  the  tutor,  and  therefore 

their  number  at  one  time  can  be  but  small ; 

especially  as  I  should  wish  him  to  undertake 

every  branch  of  their  education.      He  might 

have  an  assistant  to  teach  the  rudiments  of  the 

lan<rua"-es,  a  service  that  would  otherwise  take 

lit 
up  much  of  the   time  which  he  could  better 

employ,  but  he  must  do  all  the  rest  himself. 
I  suppose  (herefore  that  ten,  or  at  the  most 
twelve  pupils  will  be  a  sufficient  number  to  ba 
under  his  care  at  once.  The  man  I  have  de- 
scribed would  not  be  mercenary,  but  the  la- 
bourer is  worthy  of  his  reward.      As  I  shall 


902 


A    PLAN   OF   ACADEMICAL   PREPARATION 


find  him  work  enough  to  take  up  his  whole 
time,  his  pay  ought  to  be  competent  and  libe- 
ral ;  and,  as  I  have  supposed  myself  rich 
enough  to  execute  my  plan  in  what  manner  I 
please,  I  hope  I  shall  not  starve  my  tutor,  nor 
put  his  economical  talents  oh  the  stretch  to 
contrive  how  to  squeeze  and  save  a  pittance 
out  of  the  sum  allotted  for  their  board.  I 
would  fix  the  boarding  upon  equitable  and 
moderate  terms  distinct  from  his  salary,  which 
should  be  handsome,  and  always  the  same, 
whether  he  had  one  pupil  with  him,  or  ten,  or 
twelve.  It  would  be  my  part  to  keep  the 
number  up,  but  if  I  neglect  it,  he  should  be 
no  loser ;  nor  ought  he  to  be  dependent  upon 
my  caprice  or  negligence,  but  he  should  stand 
upon  an  easy  and  settled  footing,  so  as  to  be 
free,  not  only  from  want,  but  from  anxious 
care,  that  he  might  be  able  to  attend  his  busi- 
ness without  distraction. 

And  now  my  house  is  ready,  where  shall  I 
find  young  men  to  fill  it  ?  I  must  look  around 
me,  and  request  my  friends  to  look  out  for 
me.  When  I  have  found  two  I  will  send 
them,  and  the  rest  as  they  offer.  Perhaps  it 
would  be  one  of  the  chief  difficulties  attend- 
ing my  scheme,  to  collect  tenor  twelve  youths 
worthy  of  such  a  tutor. 

They  must  be  serious.  I  mean  they  must 
have  an  awakened,  experimental  sense  of  the 
truth  and  goodness  of  the  gospel.  This  is  a 
point  not  easily  ascertained,  especially  in  young 
persons.  There  is  often  a  something  that  re- 
sembles it,  which,  upon  trial,  does  not  prove 
satisfactory.  However,  my  part  will  be  to 
look  to  the  Lord  for  guidance,  and  then  judge 
as  well  as  I  can.  But  I  hope  no  persuasion 
or  recommendation,  no  desire  of  pleasing  or 
obliging  a  friend,  would  prevail  on  me  to  ad- 
mit one  who  I  did  not  verily  believe  was  a 
subject  of  the  grace  of  God.  Who  would  un- 
dertake to  teach  a  parrot  algebra  ?  Yet  this 
would  be  as  practicable  as  to  make  those  able 
and  faithful  preachers,  whom  the  Lord  has  not 
first  made  christians. 

The.y  must  likewise  have  capacity.  It  is 
not  necessary  that  their  abilities  should  be  of 
the  first  rate  (perhaps  but  few  of  such  ate 
called) ;  but  some  tolerable  measure  of  natu- 
ral abilities,  capable  of  being  opened  and  im- 
proved by  education,  seems  almost  necessary 
in  the  person  who  aims  to  be  a  minister  of  the 
gospel.  At  least  it  will  be  necessary  upon 
my  plan  ;  for  as  my  tutor  cannot  take  many, 
I  must  give  the  preference  to  such  as  may 
both  do  him  credit  by  their  proficiency  un- 
der his  care,  and  be  qualified  to  profit  others 
when  they  leave  him. 

Ex  quovis  ligno  Mercurius  non  fit. 

If  the  heart  be  changed  and  sanctified  by 
grace,  a  pe'-son  of  the  weakest  natural  under- 
standing will  acquire,  under  divine  teaching, 
ail  that  is  necessary  to  enable  him  to  fill  up 
his    station   in   uiivate  lii'e   with   propriety,    to 


overcome  the  world,  and  to  make  his  own  call- 
ing and  election  sure.  But  a  preacher  must 
have  gifts  as  well  as  grace,  to  be  able  to  di- 
vide the  word  of  truth  as  a  workman  that 
needeth  not  to  be  ashamed.  And  therefore, 
though  the  Lord  was  once  pleased  by  a  dumb 
ass  to  rebuke  the  foolishness  of  a  prophet,  1 
am  not  forward  to  acknowledge  those  as  am- 
bassadors sent  by  him  (however  well-meaning 
they  may  be)  who  seem  either  to  have  no  mes- 
sage to  deliver,  or  no  ability  to  deliver  it. 

I  would  likewise  be  satisfied,  as  much  as 
possible,  concerning  the  views  and  motives 
which  make  them  desirous  of  devoting  them- 
selves to  the  ministry.  Some  desires  of  this 
kind  are  very  frequently  found  in  young  con- 
verts. When  a  sense  of  eternal  things  is  new 
and  lively  upon  their  minds,  and  they  look 
round  upon  a  world  lying  in  wickedness,  they 
are  much  affected.  The  obligations  they  feel 
to  the  Redeemer,  a  grief  that  he  should  be  so 
little  known,  so  little  loved,  and  a  compassion 
for  their  fellow  sinners,  whom  they  see  liable 
to  perish  for  lack  of  knowledge,  make  them 
often  long  to  be  employed,  and  sometimes  con- 
strain them  to  run  before  they  are  sent.  But 
if  they  are  not  really  designed  by  the  Lord 
for  this  service,  either  their  desires  towards  it 
gradually  subside,  and  they  yield  themselves 
to  his  appointment  in  other  paths  of  life ;  or, 
if  they  unadvisedly  venture  upon  it,  they  are 
seldom  either  comfortable  or  useful.  They 
soon  feel  themselves  unequal  to  the  work ;  or, 
if  self-conceit  prevents  them  from  feeling  it, 
their  hearers  at  least  are  very  sensible  of  it. 
They  often  mistake  error  for  truth.  They  re- 
tail scraps  and  shreds  of  sentiments  which  they 
pick  up  from  others,  and,  for  want  of  judg- 
ment, misapply  them.  Thus  hypocrites  are 
encouraged,  and  those  whom  the  Lord  would 
have  comforted  are  made  sad.  They  think 
that  preaching  with  power  consists  in  vocife- 
ration and  distorted  attitudes ;  and  that  to  utter 
every  thing  that  comes  upon  their  minds, 
without  end  or  side  (as  we  say),  without  any 
regard  to  text,  context,  occasion,  or  connec- 
tion, is  to  preach  extempore.  Too  often  Sa- 
tan gains  open  advantage  over  them  :  they  are 
puffed  up  with  pride,  taken  in  snares,  and  per- 
haps fall  into  such  woeful  miscarriages  as  at 
length  ruin  their  characters,  and  stop  their 
mouths.  It  is  therefore  of  great  importance 
to  be  workers  together  with  the  Lord  in  this 
business  ;  to  chuse  those  whom  he  chuses,  to 
bring  forward  those  whom  he  is  preparing, 
and,  if  possible,  none  but  these.  We  cannot 
indeed  know  the  heart ;  but  we  may  be  wary 
and  circumspect  in  judging  by  such  lights  as 
we  can  procure,  and  we  ought  to  be  so.  Per- 
haps, after  all,  we  may  be  mistaken  in  some 
instances  ;  but,  if  we  have  done  our  best,  we 
have  done  well,  and  shall  not  be  blameable  for 
such  consequences  as  we  could  not  possibly 
foresee  or  prevent.  If  a  candidate  for  the  a- 
cademy  appears  to  be  of  a  self  diffident  and 


FOR  THE  MINISTRY. 


humble  spirit,  to  have  some  acquaintance  with 
liis  own  heart,  a  tolerable  capacity,  a  turn  for 
application,  and  an  unblameable  character,  as 
to  his  personal  conduct,  I  shall  be  disposed  to 
admit  him.  But  I  would  leave  the  final  de- 
cision of  his  fitness  to  the  tutor.  For  which 
purpose,  it  may  be  proper  that  he  should  be 
under  the  tutor's  eye,  for  a  limited  time,  as  a 
probationer. 

IV.  The  next  point  I  am  to  consider  is,  the 
Course  of  Study  they  should  pursue. — Though 
I  am  rather  inclined  to  give  this  up  absolute- 
ly and  without  reserve  to  the  tutor,  who,  if 
lie  answers  my  description,  must  be  the  most 
proper  person  to  institute  a  plan  for  himself, 
and  would  have  no  need  of  my  assistance. 
But  if  his  humility  and  his  good  opinion  of 
me  should  lead  him  to  desire  my  advice,  he 
shall  have  it.  I  do  not  mean  as  to  little  cir- 
cumstantials, but  I  would  submit  to  him  in  a 
general  and  miscellaneous  way  such  hints  as 
may  occur  to  me  upon  the  subject.  And  I 
submit  them  to  you  beforehand. 

A  few  things  may  be  previously  noticed, 
which,  though  they  do  not  properly  belong  to 
their  academical  studies,  are  well  worthy  of 
attention. 

A  minister  is  a  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,  and, 
as  such,  is  to  expect  and  endure  hardship.  It 
is  well  to  have  this  in  our  eye  in  the  educa- 
tion of  young  men.  They  are  not  called  to 
be  gentlemen,  but  soldiers  •  not  to  live  deli- 
cately, but  to  prepare  for  hardship.  They 
should  therefore  be  advised  and  accustomed  to 
prefer  a  plain  and  frugal  manner  of  life,  and 
to  avoid  multiplying  those  wants  which  luxury 
and  foily  would  prompt  us  to  multiply  almost 
ad  infinitum.  A  propensity  to  indulgence 
either  in  the  quantity  or  quality  of  food,  is  a 
meanness  unworthy  of  a  man,  still  more  un- 
suitable to  the  character  of  a  christian,  and  scan- 
dalous in  a  minister.  I  am  no  advocate  for  a 
monkish  austerity,  or  a  scrupulous,  superstitious 
self-denial,  which  will  almost  starve  the  body 
to  feed  the  pride  of  the  heart.  It  is  however 
very  desirable  to  possess  in  early  life,  a  habit 
of  temperance,  a  mastery  over  appetite,  and  a 
resolute  guard  against  every  thing  that  has  a 
tendency  to  blunt  the  activity  of  the  spirits. 
And  youth  is  the  proper  season  for  gaining 
this  mastery,  which  if  the  golden  opportunity 
be  then  lost,  is  seldom  thoroughly  acquired 
afterwards. 

A  propriety  in  dress  should  also  be  consult- 
ed. Neatness  is  commendable  ;  but  a  student 
of  divinity  should  keep  at  a  distance  from  the 
air  and  appearance  of  a  fop.  A  finical  dispo- 
sition in  this  article  not  only  occasions  a  waste 
of  time  and  expense,  but  is  a  token  of  a  trifl- 
ing turn  of  mind,  and  exposes  the  fine  self- 
admiring  youth,  to  the  contempt  or  pity  of  the 
wise  and  good. 

Farther,  a  habit  of  rising  early  should  be 
resolutely  formed.  It  redeems  much  time, 
and  chiefly  of  those  hours  which  are  most  fa- 


90S 

vourable  to  study  or  devotion.  It  likewise 
cuts  off  the  temptation  to  sitting  up  late,  a 
hurtful  and  preposterous  custom,  which  many 
students  unwarily  give  unto,  and  which  they 
cannot  so  easily  break,  when  the  bad  effects  of 
it  upon  their  health  convince  them  too  late  of 
their  imprudence. 

Let  them  be  guarded  against  the  snares  at- 
tending a  large  acquaintance,  and  unnecessary 
visiting.  The  tutor  will  doubtless  maintain 
authority  and  good  discipline  in  his  house, 
and  not  suffer  any  of  his  pupils  to  be  absent 
from  family-worship,  nor  abroad  after  a  fixed 
hour,  without  his  express  permission,  which 
should  not  be  given  but  for  solid  and  just  rea- 
sons. And  he  cannot  be  too  careful,  both  by 
advice  and  vigilance,  to  prevent  them  from 
forming  any  female  connections  while  under 
his  roof,  however  honourable  the  views  or  de- 
serving the  person  may  be.  Love  and  court- 
ship are  by  no  means  favourable  to  study,  nor 
indeed  to  devotion,  at.  a  time  when  their  pre- 
sent engagements,  and  the  uncertainty  of  their 
prospects  in  future  life,  render  a  settlement  by 
marriage  improper,  if  not  impracticable. 

Much  study  is  a  weariness  to  the  flesh,  and 
the  body  and  the  mind  are  so  nearly  connect- 
ed, that  what  affects  the  one  will  have  an  in- 
fluence upon  the  other.  Relaxation  and  ex 
ercise  are  therefore  necessary  at  proper  sea- 
sons, for  those  who  wish  to  preserve  cheerful- 
ness and  strength  for  service,  and  not  to  be- 
come old  and  disabled,  through  lovvness  of 
spirits,  infirmities,  and  pains,  before  old  age 
actually  overtakes  them.  Riding  is  a  man- 
ly, unexceptionable  exercise,  where  it  can  be 
conveniently  practised.  But  walking  is,  I 
suppose,  equally  healthful,  and  requires  nei- 
ther expense  nor  preparation.  That  the  stu- 
dents may  have  an  object  in  view  when  they 
go  from  home,  the  tutor  will  probably  point 
out  to  them  some  of  the  Lord's  poor,  who 
live  at  convenient  distances,  whom  they  may 
visit,  and  comfort  with  their  sympathy,  ad- 
vice, and  prayers,  as  well  as  administer  to  the 
relief  of  their  necessities,  according  to  their 
ability.  Thus  while  they  are  consulting  their 
own  health,  they  may  at  the  same  time  imi- 
tate Him,  who  went  about  doing  good.  And 
in  such  visits  they  may  meet  with  many  hints 
from  poor  believers,  concerning  the  Lord's 
wisdom  and  faithfulness  in  his  dealings  with 
them,  and  of  the  power  of  true  religion,  to 
confirm  what  they  read  upon  these  subjects, 
and  probably  some  hints  which  their  books 
will  not  supply  them  with.  Farther,  if,  when 
they  are  abroad  together,  they  will  attempt 
such  conversation  as  warmed  the  hearts  of  the 
disciples  when  walking  to  Emmaus,  and  if, 
when  alone,  they  adopt  the  pattern  of  Isaac, 
who  went  out  into  the  fields  to  meditate,  then 
all  the  time  they  can  thus  employ  may  be  set 
down  to  the  account  of  their  studies,  for  few 
of  their  hours  can  be  more  profitably  improv. 
ed. 


904 


A  FLAN  OF  ACADEM 


But  what,  and  how,  are  they  to  study  ? 
The  answer  to  this  question  depends  upon 
another  :  What  is  the  object  of  their  studies? 
It  is  to  make  them  not  merely  scholars,  but 
ministers,  thoroughly  furnished  for  their  of- 
fice. The  particulars  I  aim  at  in  placing 
them  with  my  tutor  are  such  as  follow  : 

1.  An  orderly,  connected,  and  comprehen- 
sive knowledge  of  the  common  places  and  to- 
pics of  divinity,  considered  as  a  whole;  a  sys- 
tem of  truth,  of  which  the  holy  scripture  is 
the  sole  fountain,  treasury,  and  standard. 

2.  A  competent  acquaintance  with  sacred 
literature,  by  which  I  mean  such  writings, 
ancient  and  modern,  as  are  helpful  to  explain 
or  elucidate  difficulties  in  scripture,  arising 
from  the  phraseology,  from  allusion  to  cus- 
toms and  events  not  generally  known,  and 
from  similar  causes,  and  which  therefore  can- 
not be  well  understood  without  such  assist- 
ance. 

3.  Such  a  general  knowledge  of  philoso- 
phy, history,  and  other  branches  of  polite  li  • 
terature,  as  may  increase  the  stock  of  their 
ideas,  afford  them  just  conceptions  of  the  state 
of  tilings  around  them,  furnish  them  with  a 
fund  for  variety,  enlargement,  and  illustration, 
that  they  may  be  able  to  enliven  and  diversify 
their  discourses,  which,  without  such  a  fund, 
will  be  soon  apt  to  run  in  a  beaten  track,  and 
to  contain  little  more  than  a  repetition  of  the 
same  leading  thoughts,  without  originality  or 
spirit. 

4.  An  ability  to  methodize,  combine,  dis- 
tinguish, and  distribute  the  ideas  thus  collect- 
ed by  study,  so  as  readily  to  know  what  is 
properly  adapted  to  the  several  subjects  to  be 
treated  of,  and  to  the  several  parts  of  the  same 
subject.  When  the  pupils  are  thus  far  accom- 
plished, then  I  shall  hope, 

5.  That  they  will  in  good  time  be  able  to 
preach  extempore.  I  do  not  mean  without 
forethought  or  plan,  but  without  a  book,  and 
without  the  excessive  labour  of  committing 
their  discourses  to  memory.  This  ability  of 
speaking  to  an  auditory  in  a  pertinent  and 
collected  manner,  with  freedom  and  decorum, 
with  fidelity  and  tenderness,  looking  at  them 
instead  of  looking  at  a  paper,  gives  a  preacher 
a  considerable  advantage,  and  has  a  peculiar 
tendency  to  command  and  engage  the  atten- 
tion. It  likewise  saves  much  time,  which 
might  be  usefully  employed  in  visiting  his 
people.  It  is  undoubtedly  a  gift  of  God,  but 
like  many  other  gifts,  to  be  sought,  not  only 
by  prayer,  but  in  the  use  of  means.  The 
first  essays  will  ordinarily  be  weak  and  imper- 
fect ;  but  the  facility  increases,  till  at  length 
a  habit  is  formed,  by  diligence  and  persever- 
ance. I  should  not  think  my  academy  com- 
plete, unless  my  tutor  was  attentive  to  form 
his  pupils  to  the  character  of  public  speakers. 

General  rules  admit  of  exceptions.  I  have 
myself  known  persons,  who,  with  plain  sense, 
true   humility,   and   a  spirit   devoted    to    the 


TCML    PREPARATION 

Lord,  and  dependent  upon  him,  have,  with 
little  or  no  assistance  from  men,  proved  solid, 
exemplary,  and  useful  ministers.  Such  in- 
stances convince  me,  that  however  expedient 
learning  may  be,  it  is  not  indispensably  neces- 
sary for  a  minister,  especially  for  one  who  is 
to  labour  in  a  retired  situation,  and  amongst 
plain  unlettered  hearers.  I  would  not  there- 
fore preclude  my  tutor  from  all  opportunity 
of  being  useful  to  persons  of  this  descrip- 
tion, who  would  be  glad  of  such  helps  from 
him  as  they  might  receive  in  their  mother- 
tongue,  when  the  time  of  life,  or  particular 
circumstances  might  render  the  study  of  lan- 
guages and  science  inconvenient.  And,  in 
general,  as  the  capacities,  dispositions,  and 
prospects  of  a-  number  of  pupils  would  of 
course  be  different,  I  should  leave  it  to  his 
discretion  to  conduct  them  to  the  same  grand 
ends  of  service,  by  such  difference  of  method 
as  he  should  judge  most  suitable  to  each  ;  so 
as  not  to  discourage  or  over-burden  the  truly 
deserving,  nor  to  permit  (if  it  can  be  prevent- 
ed) the  more  studious  and  successful,  to  set 
too  high  a  value  upon  their  superior  accom- 
plishments. For  after  all  it  must  be  owned, 
and  ought  to  be  remembered,  that  grace  and 
divine  wisdom  are  of  unspeakably  greater  im- 
portance, than  scholastic  attainments  without 
them.  We  are  sure,  that  though  a  man  had 
the  knowledge  of  all  mysteries,  the  gifts  of 
tongues  and  miracles,  and  the  powers  of  an 
angel,  if  he  has  not  likewise  humility,  spiritu- 
ality, and  love,  he  is  in  the  sight  of  God  but 
as  sounding  brass  or  a  noisy  cymbal.  He 
may  answer  the  purpose  of  a  church-bell  to 
call  a  congregation  together,  but  has  little 
prospect  of  doing  them  good  when  they  are 
assembled. 

But  to  return  to  my  professed  students,  and, 
First,  As  to  the  study  of  Theology. — How 
far  it  may  be  expedient  to  adopt  some  system  or 
body  of  Divinity  as  a  text  or  ground  whereon 
to  proceed,  I  am  not  quite  determined  ;  and 
which  of  these  learned  summaries  is  the  best, 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  decide  till  I  have  read 
them  all.  My  tutor  will  have  more  of  this 
knowledge ;  I  shall  therefore  refer  the  choice, 
if  it  be  necessary  to  choose  one,  to  him. 
Calvin,  Turretine,  Witsius,  and  Ilidgely,  are 
those  with  which  I  have  formerly  been  most 
acquainted.  But  indeed,  of  these,  at  present, 
I  can  remember  little  more  than  that  I  have 
read  them,  or  the  greatest  part  of  them.  I 
recollect  just  enough  to  say,  that  though  I  ap- 
prove and  admire  them  all,  I  have  at  the  same 
time  my  particular  objections  to  them  all,  as 
to  this  use  of  them.  The  Bible  is  my  body 
of  Divinity ;  and  were  I  a  tutor  myself,  I  be- 
lieve I  should  prefer  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul 
as  a  summary,  to  any  human  systems  I  have 
seen,  especially  his  epistles  to  the  Romans, 
Galatians,  the  Hebrews,  and  Timothy.  There 
are  few  uninspired  writings,  however  excel- 
lent in  the  main,  but  bear  some  marks  of  the 


for  the  ministry. 


905 


infirmities,  attachments,  and  prepossessions, 
which  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  are  insepar- 
able from  the  present  state  of  human  nature. 
1  would  have  my  pupils  draw  their  knowledge 
as  immediately  from  the  fountain-head  as  pos- 
sible. I  care  not  how  extensive  and  various 
their  reading  of  good  authors  may  be  under 
their  tutor's  eye :  the  more  so  the  better.  He 
will  improve  the  differences  they  will  find  a- 
mo  11  g  learned  and  spiritual  men,  into  an  argu- 
ment to  engage  them  to  study  the  scripture 
more  closely,  and  to  bring  every  dchsted  sen- 
timent to  be  tried  and  finally  detei mined  by 
that  unerring  standard.  He  will  teach  them 
to  collect  the  detached  portions  of  truth  where- 
ever  they  meet  with  them  ;  to  borrow  from  all, 
but  to  give  themselves  up  implicitly  to  the  dic- 
tates of  none.  For  I  know  no  author  who  is 
worthy  the  honour  of  being  followed  abso- 
lutely and  without  reserve. 

I  am  told  (for  I  know  nothing  of  acade- 
mies but  from  hearsay)  that  it  is  customary 
for  pupils  to  write  after  the  tutor,  who  reads 
his  lecture.  If  I  should  adopt  this  custom  I 
would  not  confine  myself  to  it.  Such  written 
lectures,  if  well  executed,  must  be  good  pat- 
terns to  form  the  students  to  closeness  in  me- 
thod and  style.  But  I  should  likewise  wish 
the  tutor  to  give  them  unpremeditated  lec- 
tures. Great  masters  of  music  (it  is  said) 
frequently  feel  an  impetus  in  extempore  play- 
ing, which  enables  them  to  execute  off  hand 
such  strains  as  they  wish  to  repeat,  but  can- 
not ;  their  taste  assuring  them,  that  they  are 
superior  in  kind  to  what  they  can  ordinarily 
attain  when  they  study  and  compose  by  rule. 
Thus  a  tutor  who  thoroughly  understands  his 
subject,  and  speaks  from  the  fulness  of  his 
heart,  will,  now  and  then  at  least,  feel  a  hap- 
py moment,  when  he  will  seem  to  possess  new 
powers.  His  thoughts  and  expressions  at 
such  a  time  will  have  a  peculiar  precision  and 
force,  and  will  possibly  illuminate  and  affect 
his  hearers  more  than  his  regular  and  written 
lectures.  When  he  has  done  speaking,  let 
the  pupils  retire  and  commit  to  writing  what 
they  can  recollect  of  such  discourses,  keeping 
to  his  method,  but  using  their  own  expres- 
sions. These  exercises  would  engage  their  at- 
tention, employ  their  invention  and  ingenuity, 
accustom  them  to  consider  the  same  subjects 
in  different  lights,  and  contribute  to  make  the 
knowledge  they  derive  from  him,  more  their 
own,  than  by  being  always  confined  to  tran- 
scribe line  by  line  what  was  read  to  them. 

I  would  not  have  the  pupils  put  upon  the 
needless  and  hurtful  attempt  of  proving  first 
principles.  May  not  a  man  read  lectures  up- 
on optics  without  previously  proving  the  ex- 
istence of  the  sun  ?  My  tutor  will  not  coldly 
lay  before  his  students  the  arguments  pro  and 
con,  and  then  leave  them  to  decide  as  evidence  to 
■  them  appears,  whether  there  be  a  God,  or  wheth- 
er the  scriptures  be  of  divine  inspiration  or  not. 
So  likewise  with  respect  to  the  different  senti  • 


ments  on  the  primary  points  of  scripture,  as 
whether  the  Saviour  be  man  or  angel,  or  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh ;  or,  concerning  the  dif- 
ferent acceptations  of  the  words  Depravity, 
Guilt,  Faith,  Grace,  Atonement,  and  the  like 
— he  will  speak  with  a  becoming  confidence 
and  certainty  on  which  side  the  truth  lies. 
He  will  indeed  furnish  them  witii  solid  con- 
futations of  error  from  scripture  and  expe- 
rience, but  he  will  take  care  to  let  them  know 
that  these  things  are  already  settled ;  and 
proposed  to  them,  not  as  candidates  for  their 
good  opinion,  but  as  truths  which  demand 
and  deserve  their  attention.  My  tutor  will 
not  dogmatize,  and  expect  them  to  adopt  his 
opinions  without  any  better  reason  than  be- 
cause they  are  his.  He  will  endeavour  to 
throw  every  light  he  is  master  of  upon  the 
subject,  but  at  the  same  time  he  will  speak  as 
a  teacher,  not  as  an  enquirer ;  as  one  who 
speaks  that  which  he  has  known,  and  testifies 
that  which  he  has  seen. — He  will  not  attempt 
to  fill  their  head  with  a  detail  of  all  the  cavils 
which  pride  and  sophistry  have  started  against 
the  truths  of  God  ;  nor  so  flatter  his  pupils, 
as  to  suppose  them  competent  judges  when 
they  have  weighed  and  compared  the  several 
argumentations.  But  he  will  rather  warn 
them  of  their  natural  bias  to  the  erroneous 
side,  and  guard  them  against  the  arts  of  those, 
who  with  fair  words  and  fine  speeches  beguile 
the  unprincipled  and  unwary.  A  tutor  is  a 
guide,  and  if  worthy  of  his  office,  must  be  able 
to  say,  without  hesitation  :  "  This  is  the  way, 
walk  ye  in  it."  Should  he  be  seduced,  by  the 
specious  sounds  of  candour  and  freedom  of 
inquiry,  to  take  the  opposite  method,  and 
think  it  his  duty  to  puzzle  his  scholars  with 
all  the  waking  dreams,  objections,  and  evasions 
by  which  men  reputed  wise  have  opposed  the 
simplicity  of  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints,  I  should  fear  they  would  be  more  likely 
to  turn  out  sceptics  than  ministers  of  the 
gospel. 

Nor  should  he,  with  my  consent,  lay  down 
a  scheme  of  what  is  commonly  called  Natural 
Religion,  as  a  substratum  whereon  to  build  -a 
Religion  of  Divine  Revelation.  It  is  needful 
that  he  should  give  his  pupils  a  just  idea  of 
the  religion  of  fallen  nature;  but  he  will  re- 
mind them  that  the  few  valuable  sentiments 
occasionally  found  in  the  writings  of  the  hea- 
then philosophers  and  moralists  were  not  their 
own.  They  are  all  represented  as  having  tra- 
velled for  their  knowledge,  and  all  in  the 
same  route,  into  Phoenicia  or  Egypt,  into  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  only  people  who  at  that 
time  were  favoured  with  the  oracles  of  God : 
and  may  therefore  be  justly  supposed  to  have 
derived  the  detached  particles  of  truth  they  ac- 
quired, from  that  people,  either  by  immediate 
converse  with  them,  or  from  their  inspired 
books ;  especially  from  the  time  they  were 
translated  into  the  Greek  language.  He  will 
point  out  to  them  the  strong  probability  that 


•JOG 


A   PLAN  OF  ACADEMICAL  PREPARATION 


Epictetus   and    the   later   philosophers   were 

equally  or  more  indebted  to  the  Christians 
and  the  New  Testament.  With  respect  to 
the  sceptical  moralists  and  reasoners  of  mo- 
dern times,  the  proof  will  be  still  clearer  and 
stronger,  that  their  best  notions  are  borrowed 
from  the  religion  they  attempt  to  depreciate. 
My  tutor,  in  order  to  satisfy  them  how  far 
the  powers  of  unassisted  fallen  nature  can 
proceed  in  the  investigation  of  religious  and 
moral  truths,  will  set  before  them  the  pro- 
gress which  has  actually  been  made  in  this 
way  by  the  negroes  in  Africa  or  the  Ameri- 
can Indians.  With  such  a  picture  of  natural 
religion  in  their  view,  I  should  hope  they 
would  be  led  most  cordially  to  praise  God 
for  the  inestimable  gift  of  his  Holy  Word, 
without  the  help  of  which  the  boasted  light 
of  nature  is  darkness  that  may  be  felt. 

In  my  academy  I  would  have  no  formal 
disputations  upon  points  of  divinity.  If  it  be 
necessary  to  sharpen  or  exercise  their  wits  by 
disputing,  to  which  under  proper  regulations 
I  should  not  object,  there  are  topics  in  abun- 
dance at  hand.  Let  them  dispute,  if  they  please, 
for  or  against  the  motion  of  the  earth.  Let 
them  determine  whether  Caesar  or  Pompey  was 
the  better  man  ;  or,  in  what  respects  Cato,  who 
chose  to  die  rather  than  venture  to  look  Ca?sar 
in  the  face,  discovered  more  fortitude  or  true 
greatness  of  mind,  than  the  slave  who  elopes 
from  his  master  for  fear  of  the  lash.  Let  them 
contend  whether  learning  has  upon  the  whole 
been  productive  of  most  good,  or  of  most  mis- 
chief, to  mankind.  My  tutor  can  supply  them 
with  a  thousand  questions  of  this  kind.  But 
to  set  a  young  man  to  put  his  ingenuity  to 
the  stretch,  either  to  maintain  a  gross  error, 
or  to  oppose  a  known  and  important  truth,  is  in 
my  view  not  only  dangerous,  but  little  less 
than  a  species  of  profaneness.  What  must 
the  holy  angels,  who  with  humble  admiration 
contemplate  the  wisdom  and  glory  of  God 
displayed  in  the  gospel,  what  must  they  think 
of  the  arrogance  of  sinful  worms,  who  pre- 
sume so  far  to  trifle  with  the  doctrines  and 
mysteries  he  has  revealed,  as  to  degrade  them 
into  subjects  for  school  exercise  and  logical 
prize-fighting  ?  Can  it  be  possible  to  maintain 
a  spirit  of  reverence  and  dependence  amidst 
the  noise  of  such  malapert  discussions  ?  And 
if  the  youth  to  whom  the  wrong  side  of  the 
question  is  committed,  should  by  superior  ad- 
dress nonplus  and  silence  his  antagonist ;  my 
heart  would  be  in  pain  for  him,  lest  he  should 
from  that  moment  be  prejudiced  against  the 
truth  which  he  had  insulted  with  success  ; 
and  think  it  really  indefensible,  because  the 
other  was  not  able  to  defend  it. 

Having  been  so  long  on  the  first  article,  1 
must  endeavour  to  be  more  brief  on  those 
which  follow. 

Secondly,  Bysacred  literature  I  chiefly  mean 
Criticism,    and    Antiquities,  so  far 


Philology, 


scripture.  In  these  studies,  if  there  be  a  pro- 
per application  in  the  pupils,  little  more  will 
be  needful  on  the  tutor's  part,  than  to  put 
suitable  books  into  their  hands,  to  superintend 
their  progress,  and  to  obviate  difficulties  they 
may  meet  with.  I  would  wish  them  not  only 
to  read  the  scriptures  in  the  Hebrew  and 
Greek  originals,  but  to  be  tolerable  masters  of 
the  construction  in  both  languages.  This  at- 
tainment is  certainly  not  necessary  to  a  mi. 
nister ;  but  they  who  apply  themselves  to  the 
study  of  divinity  in  early  life,  will  have  time 
enough  to  acquire  it,  and  the  acquisition  will 
be  well  worth  their  labour.  If  not  necessary, 
it  will  be  found  very  expedient  and  useful, 
and  when  the  difficulties  of  the  first  entrance 
and  rudiments  are  surmounted,  will  be  very 
pleasant.  The  tutor  will  then  enliven  their 
study  and  facilitate  their  advance,  by  reading 
a  chapter  with  them  in  each  Testament  daily 
or  frequently,  intermingling  critical  or  expo- 
sitory strictures  as  he  goes  along  And  he 
will  probably  furnish  those  students  who 
have  taste,  with  Dr  Lowth's  Fralectiones  <le 
Po'esi  Hebraa,  which  will  enable  them  to 
judge  of  the  style  and  idiom  of  the  Hebrew 
Bible,  and  particularly  of  the  style  and  beau- 
ties of  the  Hebrew  poetry.  Blackwall's  Sa- 
cred Classics  may  be  added  for  the  Greek. 

Since  the  learned  have  of  late  years  conde- 
scended to  lay  open  the  way  to  the  Hebrew 
and  Greek  Scriptures,  by  publishing  Lexi- 
cons, Grammars,  and  other  helps  in  the  En- 
glish tongue,  the  knowledge  of  the  Latin  is 
less  needful  to  a  Bible  student  than  it  was 
formerly.  But  as  there  are  many  valuable 
books  in  Latin  and  not  yet  translated,  I  must 
wish  our  pupils  so  far  acquainted  wish  the  La- 
tin language  as  to  be  able  to  read  good  au- 
thors in  it.  But  as  they  are  not  to  preach  in 
Latin,  an  accurate  skill  is  hardly  worth  their 
attempting,  unless  they  have  had  a  classical 
school  education  before  they  come  to  the  a- 
cademy.  The  mind  is  incapable  of  too  many 
acquisitions :  life  is  short,  and  more  impor- 
tant business  awaits  them,  in  subserviency  to 
which  every  tl  ing  else  must  be  conducted. 

Books  of  criticism  and  on  scripture-anti- 
quities are  at  hand  in  plenty.  It  will  be  im- 
possible to  read  them  all.  The  selection  be- 
longs not  to  me,  but  to  the  tutor.  The  Syn- 
opsis Crilicorum,  Godwin  and  Jennings,  will 
perhaps  be  of  the  number  he  will  chuse.  A 
good  Ecclesiastical  History  seems  to  be  still  a 
desideratum.  A  mass  of  materials,  so  far  as 
it  goes,  is  already  prepared  in  the  Magdeburg 
Centuriators,  which  affords  a  striking  monu- 
ment of  the  compiler's  patience  ;  but  it  would 
likewise  require  some  patience  in  the  reader 
whi  should  undertake  to  go  through  it.  Mos- 
hein  is  perhaps  the  best  book  we  have  upon 
the  subject,  if  the  reader  knows  so  much  of 
hinself  and  of  the  work  of  grace,  as  to  pre- 
vent him  from  being   misled   by  him,   when 


as  they   are  employed    in   the  illustration   of  treating  on  subjects  which  he  does  not  appear 


FOR  THE  MINISTRY. 


907 


to  have  rightly  understood.  But  as  to  facts, 
1  believe  he  is  in  general  worthy  of  credit. 
Bingham's  Antiquities  may  deserve  inspection, 
if  it  be  only  to  shew  how  soon  and  how  gene- 
rally the  beautiful  simplicity  of  the  gospel  was 
corrupted  by  those  who  professed  it.  Dupin 
and  Dr  Cave's  Historia  Literaria  Scriptorum 
Ecclesiasticorum  are  still  more  valuable ;  but 
the  characters  of  the  writers,  and  their  strong 
prepossessions  in  favour  of  antiquity,  should 
be  known  and  allowed  for. 

Thirdly,  Much  time  cannot  be  allowed  in  our 
academy  for  the  pursuit  of  polite  literature. 
But  an  entrance  may  be  made,  and  a  relish 
for  it  acquired,  under  the  direction  and  re- 
straint of  the  tutor,  which  may  provide  the 
students  with  a  profitable  amusement  for  lei- 
sure hours  in  future  life  ;  for  in  this  knowledge 
they  may  advance  from  year  to  year.  A  pe- 
rusal of  such  books  as  Rollin  on  the  Belles 
Lettres,  Bossuet's  Universal  History,  Derham 
and  Ray  on  the  Creation,  and  a  few  of  our 
best  poets,  may  suffice  while  they  are  students. 
Other  books  will  occasionally  come  in  their 
way;  for  the  tutor  should  have  a  well-chosen 
library  for  the  accommodation  of  his  pupils  ; 
but  he  will  guard  them  against  spending  too 
much  time  in  this  line  of  reading.  For  though 
it  has  its  subordinate  advantages,  it  may,  if 
too  much  indulged,  divert  them  from  the  main 
point.  And  they  should  be  taught  to  refer 
every  thing  they  read  to  the  principles  of 
scripture,  to  the  knowledge  of  the  heart  of 
man,  and  the  works,  the  ways,  the  wisdom, 
and  providence  of  God,  otherwise  reading  will 
only  tend  to  make  them  wise  in  their  own 
conceit.  I  make  short  work  with  this  article, 
and  hasten  to  consider, 

Fourthly,  What  may  be  helpful  (by  the  di- 
vine blessing)  to  enable  the  pupils  to  communi- 
cate the  fruits  of  their  knowledge  to  advantage 
in  the  public  ministry,  that  they  may  appear 
workmen  that  need  not  be  ashamed.  For 
this,  as  I  have  formerly  intimated,  their  chief 
and  immediate  dependence  must  be  on  the 
Lord.  He  alone  can  give  them  a  mouth  and 
wisdom  for  his  service  ;  and  without  the  unc- 
tion from  on  high,  the  study  of  divinity  and 
every  thing  relative  to  it,  will  be  but  like 
learning  the  art  of  navigation  on  shore,  which 
is  very  different  from  the  knowledge  necessary 
to  the  mariner,  who  is  actually  called  to  tra- 
verse the  ocean.  But  dependence  upon  the 
Lord  should  be  no  discouragement  to  the  use 
of  means. 

I  would  have  my  students  good  logicians, 
The  logic  of  the  schools  is  in  a  great  measure 
a  cramp,  forced,  and  formal  affair,  and  may 
possibly  have  made  almost  as  many  pedants 
and  sophists  as  good  reasoners.  But  Dr  Watts 
has  furnished  us  with  a  system  of  logic  in  a 
more  intelligible  and  amiable  form,  and  di- 
vested it  of  the  solemn  impertinencies  with 
which  it  was  encumbered.  As  the  rules  of 
grammar  are  themselves  drawn  from  the  lan- 


guage they  are  designed  to  regulate,  so  good 
logic  is  no  more  than  the  result  of  observa- 
tions upon  the  powers  of  the  human  mind  : 
and  thus  we  see,  that  many  people  of  plain 
sense  are  passable  logicians,  though  they  never 
saw  a  book  upon  the  subject,  and  perhaps  do 
not  understand  the  meaning  of  the  term.  But 
they  may  be  much  assisted  in  the  habits  of 
thinking,  judging,  and  reasoning,  and  in  dis- 
posing their  thoughts  in  an  advantageous  me- 
thod, by  rules  judiciously  formed  and  arrang- 
ed. In  this  view  I  judge  Dr  Watts's  logic, 
with  his  subsequent  treatise  on  the  Improve- 
ment of  the  Mind,  to  be  very  valuable.  And, 
together  with  the  more  scientific  part  of  the 
subject,  he  will  provide  my  pupils  with  a  great 
variety  of  hints  for  their  conduct,  and  for  dis- 
tinguishing the  principles  and  conduct  of  o- 
thers.  These  books  should  be  frequently  read, 
and  closely  studied,  and  will  afford  the  tutor 
an  extensive  scope  fo"  their  instruction.  Un- 
less a  man  can  conceive  and  define  his  subject 
clearly,  distinguish  and  enumerate  the  several 
parts,  and  knows  how  to  cast  them  into  a  con- 
venient order  and  dependence,  he  cannot  be  a 
masterly  preacher.  And  though  a  good  un- 
derstanding may  supersede  the  necessity  of 
logical  rules,  it  will  likewise  derive  advantage 
from  them. 

I  have  not  so  much  to  say  in  favour  of  ano- 
ther branch  of  artificial  assistance,  though 
much  stress  has  been  sometimes  laid  upon  it. 
We  must  not,  however  quite  omit  it :  for  an 
academic  will  be  expected  to  know,  that  the 
learned  have  thought  proper  to  give  Greek 
names  to  certain  forms  and  figures  of  speech, 
in  the  use  of  which  the  common  people,  with- 
out being  aware  of  their  skill  in  rhetoric,  are 
little  less  expert  than  the  learned  themselves. 
When  he  can  repeat  these  hard  names,  with 
their  etymologies  and  significations,  rhetoric 
can  do  but  little  more  for  him.  The  rules  it 
professes  to  teach  are  in  general  needless  to 
those  who  have  genius,  and  useless  to  those 
who  have  none.  If  a  youth  has  not  a  turn  for 
eloquence,  stuffing  his  head  with  the  names  of 
tropes  and  figures  will  not  give  it  him.  To 
know  the  names  of  the  tools  in  an  artificer's 
shop  is  one  thing,  but  to  have  skill  to  use  them 
as  a  workman  is  something  very  different. 
Here  the  tutor  will  use  his  discretion ;  for  if 
any  of  his  pupils  are  not  likely  to  be  orators,  he 
will  take  care  that,  if  he  can  prevent  it,  they 
shall  not  be  pedants,  or  value  themselves  on 
retailing  a  list  of  technical  terms,  of  which 
they  know  neither  the  use  nor  the  application. 
At  the  best,  too  much  attention  to  artificial 
rules  will  make  but  an  artificial  orator,  and 
rather  qualify  the  student  to  set  off  himself 
than  his  subject.  The  grand  characteristic  of 
the  gospel -orator  is  simplicity.  Many  years 
have  passed  since  I  read  Fenelon's  treatise 
on  Pulpit  Eloquence;  but  I  hope  my  tutor  will 
put  it  into  the  hands  of  his  pupils.  It  remains 
to  inquire, 


rrs 


A   PLAN  OF  ACADEMICAL  PREPARATION 


Fifthly,  How  tlic  pupils  are  to  be  assisted 
mul  directed,  that  they  may  be  able  to  preach 
extempore  :  An  ability  which  I  suppose  to  be 
ordinarily  attainable  by  all  who  are  called  of 
God  to  preach  the  gospel,  if  they  will  diligent- 
ly apply  themselves  to  attain  it,  in  the  use  of 
proper  means.  I  do  not  expect  they  will  suc- 
ceed in  this  way  to  my  wish,  without  prayer, 
study,  effort,  and  practice.  For  as  I  have  al- 
ready hinted,  I  mean  something  more  by  it 
than  speaking  at  random. 

A  well-known  observation  of  Lord  Bacon 
is  much  to  my  present  purpose.  It  is  to  this 
effect :  That  reading  makes  a  full  man,  writ- 
ing an  exact  man,  and  speaking  a  ready  man. 
The  approved  extempore  preacher  must  have 
a  fund  of  knowledge  collected  from  various 
reading ;  and  it  would  not  be  improper  to 
read  some  books,  with  the  immediate  design 
of  comparing  his  style  and  manner  with  ap- 
proved models.  It  might  be  wished,  that  the 
best  divines  were  always  the  best  writers ;  but 
the  style  of  many  of  them  is  quaint,  involved, 
and  obscure.  Some  books  that  are  well  writ- 
ten have  little  else  to  recommend  them,  yet 
may  be  useful  for  this  purpose ;  and  the 
periodical  writings  of  Addison  and  Johnson 
abound  with  judicious  observations  on  men 
and  manners,  besides  being  specimens  of  easy 
and  elegant  composition.  Among  writers  in 
divinity  I  would  recommend  Dr  Watts  and 
Dr  Witherspoon  as  good  models.  By  perusing 
uch  authors  with  attention,  I  hope  the  pupils 
will  acquire  a  taste  for  good  writing,  and  be 
judges  of  a  good  style.  Perspicuity,  close- 
ness, energy  and  ease,  are  the  chief  properties 
of  such  a  style.  On  the  contrary,  a  style  that 
is  either  obscure,  redundant,  heavy,  or  affected, 
cannot  be  a  good  one.  But  I  cannot  advise 
them  to  copy  the  late  Mr  Hervey.  His  dress, 
though  it  fits  him,  and  he  does  not  look  amiss 
in  it,  is  rather  too  gaudy  and  ornamented  for 
a  divine.  He  had  a  fine  imagination,  an  ele- 
gant taste,  and  shews  much  precision  and  judg- 
ment in  his  choice  of  words  :  but  though  his 
luxuriant  manner  of  writing  has  many  of  the 
excellencies  both  of  good  poetry  and  good 
prose,  it  is  in  reality  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other.  An  injudicious  imitation  of  him  has 
spoiled  some  persons  for  writers,  who,  if  they 
could  have  been  content  with  the  plain  and 
natural  mode  of  expression,  might  have  suc- 
ceeded tolerably  well. 

The  pupil  likewise  must  write  as  well  as 
read,  and  he  should  write  frequently.  Let 
him  fill  one  common-place  book  after  another, 
with  extracts  from  good  authors  ;  this  method, 
while  it  tends  to  fix  the  passages  or  their  im- 
port in  his  mind,  will  also  lead  him  to  make 
such  observations  respecting  the  order,  and 
construction,  and  force  of  words,  as  will  not 
so  readily  occur  to  his  notice  by  reading  only. 
Then  let  him  try  his  own  hand,  and  accustom 
bin, self  to  write  his  thoughts,  sometimes  in 
notes  and  observations  on  the  books  he  reads, 


sometimes  in  the  form  of  essays  or  sermons. 
He  will  do  well  likewise  to  cultivate  a  corres- 
pondence with  a  few  select  friends  ;  for  epis- 
tolary writing  seems  nearest  to  that  easiness  of 
manner  which  a  public  speaker  should  aim  at. 

I  would  not  have  his  first  attempts  to  speak 
publicly  be  in  the  preaching  way,  or  even  upon 
spiritual  subjects.  It  might  probably  abate 
the  reverence  due  to  divine  truth,  to  employ 
it  in  efforts  of  ingenuity.  Suppose  the  tutor 
should  read  to  them  a  passage  of  history,  and 
require  them  to  repeat  the  relation  to  him  the 
next  day,  in  their  own  manner.  He  would 
then  remark  to  them  if  they  had  omitted  any 
essential  part,  or  used  improper  expressions. 
Or  they  might  be  put  upon  making  speeches 
or  declamations  on  such  occasions  or  incidents 
as  he  should  propose.  By  degrees  such  of 
them  as  are  judged  to  be  truly  spiritual  and 
humble,  might  begin  to  speak  upon  a  text  of 
scripture,  in  the  presence  of  the  tutor  and  pu- 
pils ;  and  I  should  hope  this  might,  in  due 
time,  become  a  part  of  the  morning  or  even- 
ing devotions  in  the  family.  But  let  them  be 
especially  cautioned  not  to  trifle  with  holy 
things,  nor  profane  the  great  subjects  of  scrip- 
ture, by  making  them  mere  exhibitions  and 
trials  of  skill. 

Thus  by  combining  much  reading  and  writ- 
ing with  their  attempts  to  speak,  and  all  under 
the  direction  of  a  judicious  tutor,  I  shall  have 
a  cheerful  hope  that  the  pupils  will  gradually 
attain  a  readiness  and  propriety  of  speech  j 
and  when  actually  sent  out  to  preach,  will  ap- 
prove themselves  scribes  well  instructed  in  the 
mysteries  of  the  kingdom,  qualified  to  bring 
forth  from  the  treasury  of  their  knowledge 
and  experience,  things  new  and  old  for  the 
edification  of  their  hearers. 

And  now  I  may  draw  towards  a  close. 
There  are  some  branches  of  science,  or  what 
is  so  called,  on  which  I  lay  but  little  stress. 
I  have  no  great  opinion  of  metaphysical  stu- 
dies. For  pneumatology  and  ethics  I  would 
confine  my  pupils  to  the  Bible.  The  research 
es  of  wise  men  in  this  way,  which  have  not 
been  governed  by  the  word  of  God,  have  pro- 
duced little  but  uncertainty,  futility,  or  false- 
hood. My  tutor  will,  I  hope,  think  it  suffi- 
cient to  shew  the  pupils  how  successfully  these 
wise  and  learned  reasoners  reciprocally  refute 
each  other's  hypotheses.  And  if  he  informs 
them  more  in  detail  of  the  extravagancies 
which  have  been  started  concerning  the  nature 
and  foundation  of  moral  virtue ;  or  of  the 
dreams  of  philosophers,  some  of  whom  would 
exclude  matter;  and  others  would  exclude 
mind  out  of  the  universe ;  he  will  inform 
them  likewise,  that  he  does  not  thereby  mean 
properly  to  add  to  their  stock  of  knowledge, 
(for  we  should  in  reality  have  been  full  as 
wise  if  these  subtilties  had  never  been  heart! 
of),  but  only  to  guard  them  against  being  led 
into  the  mazes  of  error  and  folly,  by  depend- 
ing too  much  on  the  reveries  of  philosopher* 


FOR  THE   MINISTRY 


909 


After  this  delineation  of  my  plan,  it  will  be 
needless  to  inform  you,  that  I  do  not  propose 
my  academy  to  be  a  spiritual  hot-bed,  in  which 
the  pupils  shall  be  raised,  and  ripened  into 
teachers,  almost  immediately  upon  their  ad- 
mission. I  have  allowed  for  a  few  excepted 
cases ;  but  in  general  it  is  my  design,  that 
their  education  shall  be  comprehensive  and 
exact.  I  would  have  them  learn  before  they 
undertake  to  teach  ;  and  their  sufficiency  to 
be  evidenced  by  a  better  testimonial  than  their 
own  good  opinion  of  themselves.  A  scribe 
well  instructed,  a  workman  that  needeth  not 
to  be  ashamed,  an  able  minister  of  the  New 
Testament,  are  scriptural  expressions,  intimat- 
ing what  ought  to  be  the  qualifications  of 
those  who  undertake  the  office  of  a  preacher 
or  pastor  The  apostle  expressly  forbids  a 
novice  to  be  employed  in  these  services.  And 
though  in  the  present  day  this  caution  is  very 
much  disregarded  by  persons  who  undoubted- 
ly mean  well ;  yet  I  believe  the  neglect  of 
scriptural  rules  (which  are  not  arbitrary,  but 
founded  in  a  perfect  knowledge  of  human  na- 
ture) will  always  produce  great  inconvenien- 
ces. I  shall  think  a  young  man  of  tolerable 
abilities  makes  a  very  good  improvement  of 
liis  time,  if  the  tutor  finds  him  fit  for  actual 
service,  after  three  or  four  years  close  atten- 
tion to  his  studies. 

But  what  have  I  done  ? — in  compliance 
with  your  request,  I  have  been  led  to  give 
such  an  undisguised  view  of  my  sentiments 
on  this  interesting  subject,  that  though  I  feel 
myself  a  cordial  friend  to  all  sides  and  parties 


who  hold  the  Head,  and  agree  in  the  grand 
principles  of  our  common  faith  ;  I  fear,  lest 
some  of  every  party  will  be  displeased  with 
me.  I  rely  on  your  friendship  and  youi 
knowledge  of  me  to  bear  witness  for  me,  that 
I  would  not  willingly  offend  or  grieve  a  single 
person.  And  you  can  likewise  testify,  that 
I  did  not  set  myself  to  work — that  I  was 
much  surprised  when  you  proposed  it  to  me  ; 
and  that  you  have  reason  to  believe  my  re- 
gard for  you,  and  for  the  design  you  inform- 
ed me  of,  were  the  only  motives  of  my  ven- 
turing upon  the  task  you  assigned  me. 

I  have  by  no  means  exhausted  the  subject, 
though  I  hope  I  have  not  omitted  any  thing 
that  very  materially  relates  to  it.  If  I  was 
really  in  Utopia,  and  to  carry  my  plan  into 
execution,  other  regulations  would  probably 
occur,  which  have  at  present  escaped  me. 

— —  res,  aetas,  iisus, 

Semper  aliquid  apportent  novi. 

What  I  have  written  I  submit  to  the  can- 
dour of  you  and  your  friends:  adding  my 
prayers,  that  the  great  Head  of  the  church, 
the  fountain  of  grace,  and  author  of  salvation, 
may  direct  your  deliberations,  and  bless  you 
with  wisdom,  unanimity,  and  success,  in  what- 
ever you  may  attempt  for  the  honour  of  his 
name,  and  the  good  of  souls. 
I  am,  dear  Sir, 

Your  sincere  Friend  and  Servant, 
OMICRON. 
May  14,  1782. 


MONUMENT 

TO  THE  PRAISE  OF 

THE    LORD'S    GOODNESS, 

AND  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 

MISS   ELIZA    CUNNINGHAM, 

THE  LAST  SURVIVING  CHILD  OF  MR  JAMES  CUNINCiHAM   OF  PITTARTHIE, 

FIFESIIIRE. 


Jesus  amor  meus  est ;  si  rideat,  omnia  rident. 
O  Death,  where  is  thy  sting?      1   COB.  xv    55. 


PREFACE. 


When  the  following  narrative  was  drawn  up,  the  writer  was  aware  that  his 
feelings  rendered  him  incompetent  to  judge,  how  much  of  a  relation,  every 
part  of  which  was  interesting  to  himself,  might  he  fit  to  offer  to  the  Public. 
Many  little  circumstances  which  the  indulgence  of  a  friend  could  bear  with, 
might  to  strangers,  appear  trivial  and  impertinent.  He  therefore  wrote  only 
for  his  friends  ;  and  printed  no  more  copies  than  he  thought  would  be  suffici- 
ent to  distribute  within  the  circle  of  his  personal  acquaintance.  But  as  the 
paper  has  been  much  enquired  after,  and  many  of  his  friends  have  expressed 
their  wish,  that  it  might  be  more  extensively  circulated,  he  has  at  length 
yielded  to  their  judgment. 

It  is  to  be  lamented,  that  in  this  enlightened  age,  so  signalized  by  the  pre- 
valence of  a  spirit  of  investigation,  Religion  should,  by  many,  be  thought  the 
only  subject  unworthy  of  a  serious  inquiry;  and  that,  while  in  every  branch 
of  science  they  studiously  endeavour  to  trace  every  fact  to  its  proper  and  ade- 
quate cause,  and  are  cautious  of  admitting  any  theory  which  cannot  stand 
the  test  of  experiment,  they  treat  the  use  of  the  term  experimental,  when  ap- 
plied to  Religion,  with  contempt.  Yet  there  are  many  things  connected  with 
this  subject,  in  which,  whether  we  are  willing  or  unwilling,  we  are,  and  must 
be,  nearly  interested.  Death,  for  instance,  is  inevitable.  And  if  there  be  an 
hereafter,  (and  it  is  impossible  to  prove  that  there  is  not)  the  consequences  of 
death  must  be  important.  Many  persons  die,  as  they  live,  thoughtless  and 
careless  what  consequences  may  await  them.  Others,  whose  characters  and 
conduct  do  not  appear  to  have  been  worse  than  those  of  the  former,  cannot 
die  so.  They  have  dark  and  painful  forebodings,  and  leave  this  world  with 
reluctance  and  terror.  And  there  are  others,  who,  though  conscious  that  the}' 
are  sinners,  and  sure  that  they  are  about  to  enter  upon  an  unchangeable  and 
endless  state  of  existence,  possess  peace,  composure,  and  joy.  These  de- 
clare that  they  owe  this  happy  state  of  mind  to  their  dependence  upon  Jesus 
the  Saviour,  on  whose  blood  and  mediation  they  have  built  their  hopes  And 
who  can  possibly  disprove  their  words  !  Such  an  instance  is  now  in  the  Rea- 
der's hands.  The  fact  is  indubitable.  A  child  under  the  age  of  fifteen  did 
thus  rejoice  in  the  midst  of  pains  and  agonies,  to  the  admiration  of  all  who  be- 
held her.  She  was  willing  to  leave  all  her  friends  whom  she  dearly  loved,  and 
by  whom  she  was  tenderly  beloved ;  for  she  knew  in  whom  she  believed,  and 
that  when  she  should  be  absent  from  the  body,  she  would  be  present  with  the 
Lord.  With  this  assurance,  she  triumphed  in  the  prospect  of  glory,  and  smil- 
ed upon  the  approach  of  death. 

It  may  be  presumed,  that  whoever  seriously  considers  this  case,  will  not  be 
able  to  satisfy  himself,  by  ascribing  such  remarkable  effects,  in  so  young  a 
subject,  to  the  power  of  habit,  example,  or  system.  If  he  does  not  account 
for  them  upon  the  principles  of  the  gospel,  he  will  be  unable  to  assign  any 
proportionable  cause.  And  it  is  to  be  feared,  that  if  he  is  not  affected  by  a 
testimony  so  simple  and  so  striking,  neither  would  he  be  persuaded  though 
one  should  rise  from  the  dead. 

Hoxton,  Nov.  17,  1785. 


MONUMENT,  &c. 


As  I  write  not  for  the  eye  of  the  public,  but 
chiefly  to  put  a  testimony  of  the  Lord's  good- 
ness into  the  hands  of  my  dear  friends  who 
have  kindly  afforded  us  their  sympathy  and 
prayers  on  the  late  occasion  ;  I  do  not  mean 
either  to  restrain  the  emotions  of  my  heart,  or 
to  apologize  for  them.  I  shall  write  simply 
and  freely,  as  I  might  speak  to  a  person,  to 
whose  intimacy  and  tenderness  I  can  fully  en- 
trust myself,  and  who  I  know  will  bear  with 
all  my  weaknesses. 

In  May  1782,  my  sister  Cuningham  was  at 
Edinburgh,  chiefly  on  the  account  of  her  el- 
dest daughter,  then  in  the  fourteenth  year  of 
her  age,  who  was  very  ill  of  a  consumption. 
She  had  already  buried  an  only  son,  at  the 
age  of  twelve  ;  and  while  all  a  mother's  care 
and  feelings  were  engaged  by  the  rapid  de- 
cline of  a  second  amiable  child,  she  was  un- 
expectedly and  suddenly  bereaved  of  an  af- 
fectionate and  excellent  husband.  Her  trials 
were  great,  but  the  Lord  had  prepared  her 
for  them.  She  was  a  believer.  Her  faith 
was  strong,  her  graces  active,  and  her  conduct 
exemplary.  She  walked  with  God,  and  he 
supported  her.  And  though  she  was  a  tender 
and  sympathizing  friend,  she  had  a  happy 
firmness  of  temper,  so  that  her  character  as  a 
christian,  and  the  propriety  of  her  behaviour 
in  every  branch  of  relative  life,  appeared  with 
peculiar  advantage  in  the  season  of  affliction. 
She  returned  to  Anstruther  a  widow,  with  her 
sick  child,  who  languished  till  October,  and 
then  died. 

Though  my  sister  had  many  valuable  and 
pleasing  connections  in  Scotland,  yet  her 
strongest  tie  being  broken,  she  readily  accept- 
ed my  invitation  to  come  and  live  with  us. 
She  was  not  only  dear  to  me  as  Mrs  New- 
ton's sister,  but  we  had  lived  long  in  the  ha- 
bits of  intimate  friendship.  I  knew  her  worth, 
and  she  was  partial  to  me.  She  had  yet  one 
child  remaining,  her  dear  Eliza.  We  already 
had  a  dear  orphan  niece,  whom  we  had,  about 
seven  years  before,  adopted  for  our  own 
daughter.  My  active  fond  imagination  anti- 
cipated the  time  of  her  arrival,  and  drew  a 
pleasing  picture  of  the  addition  the  company 
of  such  a  sister,  such  a  friend,  would  make  to 


the  happiness  of  our  family.  The  children 
likewise — there  was  no  great  disparity  between 
them  either  in  years  or  stature.  From  what 
I  had  heard  of  Eliza,  I  was  prepared  to  love 
her  before  I  saw  her ;  though  she  came  after- 
wards into  my  hands  like  a  heap  of  untold 
gold,  which,  when  counted  over,  proves  to  be 
a  larger  sum  than  was  expected.  My  fancy 
paired  and  united  these  children ;  I  hoped 
that  the  friendship  between  us  and  my  sister 
would  be  perpetuated  in  them.  I  seemed  to 
see  them  like  twin  sisters,  of  one  heart  and 
mind,  habited  nearly  alike,  always  together, 
always  with  us. — Such  was  my  plan — but  the 
Lord's  plan  was  very  different,  and  therefore 
mine  failed.  It  is  happy  for  us,  poor  short- 
sighted creatures,  unable  as  we  are  to  foresee 
the  consequences  of  our  own  wishes,  that  if 
we  know  and  trust  him,  he  often  is  pleased  to 
put  a  merciful  negative  upon  our  purposes  ; 
and  condescends  to  chuse  better  for  us  than 
we  can  for  ourselves.  What  might  have  been 
the  issue  of  my  plan,  could  it  have  taken 
place,  I  know  not ;  but  I  can  now  praise  and 
adore  him  for  the  gracious  issue  of  his.  I 
praise  his  name,  that  I  can  cheerfully  comply 
with  his  word,  which  says,  "  Be  still,  and 
know  that  I  am  God."  I  not  only  can  bow 
(as  it  becomes  a  creature  and  a  sinner  to  do) 
to  his  sovereignty ;  but  I  admire  his  wisdom 
and  goodness,  and  can  say  from  my  heart, 
"  He  has  done  all  things  well." 

My  sister  had  settled  her  affairs  previous  to 
her  removal,  and  nothing  remained  but  to 
take  leave  of  her  friends,  of  whom  she  had 
many,  not  only  in  Anstruther,  but  in  different 
parts  of  the  county.  In  February  1783,  I 
received  a  letter  from  her,  which,  before  I 
opened  it,  I  expected  was  to  inform  me  that 
she  was  upon  the  road  in  her  way  to  London. 
But  the  information  was,  that  in  a  little  jour- 
ney she  had  made  to  bid  a  friend  farewell,  she 
had  caught  a  violent  cold,  which  brought  on 
a  fever  and  a  cough,  with  other  symptoms, 
which,  though  she  described  them  as  gently 
as  possible,  that  we  might  not  be  alarmed, 
obliged  me  to  give  up  instantly  the  pleasing 
hope  of,  seeing  her.  Succeeding  letters  con- 
firmed my  apprehensions,  her  malady  increas- 

3  T 


014 


ed,  and  she  was  soon  confined  to  her  bed. 
Eliza  was  at  school  at  Musselburgh.  Till 
then  shi;  had  enjoyed  a  perfect  state  of  health  ; 
but  while  her  dear  mother  was  rapidly  declin- 
ing, she  likewise  caught  a  great  cold,  and  her 
life  likewise  was  soon  thought  to  be  in  dan- 
ger. On  this  occasion,  that  fortitude  and  re- 
solution which  so  strongly  marked  my  sister's 
charact  r,  was  remarkably  displayed.  She 
knew  that  her  own  race  was  almost  finished  ; 
she  earnestly  desired  that  Eliza  might  live  or 
die  with  us.  And  the  physicians  advised  a 
speedy  removal  into  the  south.  Accordingly, 
to  save  time,  and  to  save  Eliza  from  the  im- 
pressions which  the  sight  of  a  dying  parent 
might  probably  make  upon  her  spirits,  and 
possibly  apprehensive  that  the  interview  might 
make  too  great  a:i  impression  upon  her  own  ; 
she  sent  this  her  only  beloved  child  from 
Edinburgh  directly  to  London,  without  let- 
ting her  come  home  to  take  a  last  leave  of  her. 
She  contented  herself  with  committing  and 
bequeathing  her  child  to  our  care  and  love  in 
a  letter,  which  I  believe  was  the  last  she  was 
able  to  write. 

Thus  powerfully  recommended  by  the  pa- 
thetic charge  of  a  dying  mother,  the  dearest 
friend  we  had  upon  earth,  and  by  that  plea  for 
compassion  which  her  illness  might  have 
strongly  urged  even  upon  strangers,  we  re- 
ceived our  dear  Eliza  as  a  trust,  and  as  a 
treasure  on  the  15th  of  March.  My  sister 
lived  long  enough  to  have  the  comfort  of 
knowing,  not  only  that  she  was  safely  arrived, 
but  was  perfectly  pleased  with  her  new  situa- 
tion. She  was  now  freed  from  all  earthly 
cares,  She  suffered  much  in  the  remaining 
part  of  her  illness,  but  she  knew  whom  she 
believed  ;  she  possessed  a  peace  past  under- 
standing, and  a  hope  full  of  glory.  She  en- 
tered into  the  joy  of  her  Lord  on  the  10th  of 
May  1 783,  respected  and  regretted  by  all  who 
knew  her. 

I  soon  perceived  that  the  Lord  had  sent  me 
a  treasure  indeed.  Eliza's  person  was  agree- 
able. There  was  an  ease  and  elegance  in  her 
whole  address,  and  a  gracefulness  in  her 
movements,  till  long  illness  and  great  weak- 
ness bowed  her  down.  Her  disposition  was 
lively,  her  genius  quick  and  inventive,  and  if 
she  had  enjoyed  health,  she  probably  would 
have  excelled  in  every  thing  she  attempted 
that  required  ingenuity.  Her  understanding, 
particularly  her  judgment,  and  her  sense  of 
propriety  was  far  above  her  years.  There 
was  something  in  her  appearance  which  usu- 
ally procured  her  favour  at  first  sight.  She 
was  honoured  by  the  notice  of  several  persons 
of  distinction,  which,  though  I  thankfully  at- 
tribute in  part  to  their  kindness  to  me,  I  be- 
lieve was  a  good  deal  owing  to  something 
rather  uncommon  in  her.  But  her  principal 
endearing  qualities,  which  could  be  only  fully 
known  to  us  who  lived  with  her,  were  the 
sweetness  of  her  temper,  and  a  heart  formed 


\  MONUMENT,  &C- 

for  the  exercise  of  affection,  gratitude,  and 
friendship.  Whether,  when  at  school,  slu 
mijdit  have  heard  sorrowful  tales  from  chil- 
dren,  who  having  lost  their  parents,  met  with 
a  great  difference,  in  point  of  tenderness,  when 
they  came  under  the  direction  of  uncles  and 
aunts,  and  might  think  that  all  uncles  and 
aunts  were  alike,  I  know  not;  but  I  have  un- 
derstood since  from  herself,  that  she  did  not 
come  to  us  with  any  highly  raised  expecta- 
tions of  the  treatment  she  was  to  meet  with. 
But  as  she  found  (the  Lord  in  mercy  to  her 
and  to  us  having  opened  our  hearts  to  receive 
her)  that  it  was  hardly  possible  for  her  own 
parents  to  have  treated  her  more  tenderly,  and 
that  it  was  from  that  time  the  business  and 
the  pleasure  of  our  lives,  to  study  how  to 
oblige  her,  and  how  to  alleviate  the  afflictions 
which  we  were  unable  to  remove ;  so  we  like- 
wise quickly  found,  that  the  seeds  of  our 
kindness  could  hardly  be  sown  in  a  more  pro- 
mising and  fruitful  soil.  I  know  not  that 
either  her  aunt  or  I  ever  saw  a  cloud  upon 
her  countenance  during  the  time  she  was  with 
us.  It  is  true  we  did  not,  we  could  not  un- 
necessarily cross  her ;  but  if  we  thought  it  ex- 
pedient to  over-rule  any  proposal  she  made, 
she  acquiesced  with  a  sweet  smile ;  and  we 
were  certain  that  we  should  never  hear  of  that 
proposal  again.  Her  delicacy  however  was 
quicker  than  our  observation  ;  and  she  would 
sometimes  say,  when  we  could  not  perceive 
the  least  reason  for  it,  "  I  am  afraid  I  an- 
swered you  peevishly  ;  indeed  I  did  not  in- 
tend it ;  if  I  did,  I  ask  your  pardon  ;  I  should 
be  very  ungrateful,  if  I  thought  any  pleasure 
equal  to  that  of  endeavouring  to  please  you." 
It  is  no  wonder  that  we  dearly  loved  such  a 
child  ! 

Wonderful  is  the  frame  of  the  human  heart. 
— The  Lord  claims  and  deserves  it  all ;  yet 
there  is  still  room  for  all  the  charities  of  rela- 
tive life,  and  scope  for  their  full  play ;  and 
they  are  capable  of  yielding  the  sincerest  plea- 
sures this  world  can  afford,  if  held  in  subordi- 
nation to  what  is  supremely  due  to  him.  The 
marriage  relation,  when  cemented  by  a  divine 
blessing,  is  truly  a  union  of  hearts,  and  the 


love  resulting  from  it  will  admit  of  no  com- 
petition in  the  same  kind.  Children  have  the 
next  claim  ;  and  whether  there  be  one,  or  two, 
or  many,  each  one  seems  to  be  the  object  of 
the  whole  of  the  parent's  love.  Perhaps  my 
friends  who  have  children,  may  think  that  I 
who  never  had  any,  can  only  talk  by  guess 
upon  this  subject.  1  presume  not  to  dispute 
the  point  with  them.  But  when  it  pleased 
the  Lord  to  put  my  dear  Betsey  under  my 
care,  I  seemed  to  acquire  a  new  set  of  feel- 
ings, if  not  exactly  those  of  a  parent,  yet,  as 
I  conceive,  not  altogether  unlike  them.  And 
I  long  thought  it  was  not  possible  for  me  to 
love  any  child  as  I  did  her.  But  when  Eliza 
came,  she,  without  being  her  rival,  quickly 
participated    with   her   in   the  same  affection. 


A   MONUMENT,   &c 


915 


1  found  I  had  room  enough  for  them  both, 
without  prejudice  to  either.  I  loved  the  one 
very  dearly,  and  the  other  no  less  than  before  ; 
if  it  were  possible  still  more,  when  I  saw  that 
she  entered  into  my  views,  received  and  be- 
haved to  her  cousin  with  great  affection,  and 
ascribed  many  little  indigencies  and  atten- 
tions, which  were  shewn  her,  to  their  proper 
ground,  the  consideration  of  her  ill  state  of 
health,  and  not  to  any  preference  that  could 
operate  to  her  disadvantage.  For  the  Lord 
was  pleased  to  answer  my  prayers  in  this  re- 
spect so  graciously,  that  I  could  not  perceive 
that  any  jealousy  or  suspicion  took  place  be- 
tween them,  on  either  side,  from  first  to  last 

The  hectic  fever,  cough,  and  sweats,  which 
Eliza  brought  with  her  from  Scotland,  were 
subdued  in  the  course  of  the  summer,  and 
there  appeared  no  reason  to  apprehend 
that  she  would  be  taken  off  very  suddenly. 
But  still  there  was  a  worm  preying  upon  the 
root  of  this  pretty  gourd.  She  had  seldom 
any  severe  pain  till  within  the  last  fortnight 
of  her  life,  and  usually  slept  well,  but  when 
awake  she  was  always  ill.  I  believe  she 
knew  not  a  single  hour  of  perfect  ease;  and 
they  who  intimately  knew  her  s»te,  could 
not  but  wonder  to  see  her  so  placid,  cheerful,  at- 
tentive when  in  company,  as  she  generally  was. 
Many  a  time  when  the  tears  have  silently  sto- 
len down  her  cheeks,  if  she  saw  that  h-er  aunt 
or  I  observed  her,  she  would  wipe  them  away, 
come  to  us  with  a  smile  and  a  kiss,  and  say, 
"  Do  not  be  uneasy,  I  am  not  very  ill,  I  can 
bear  it,  I  shall  be  better  presently,"  or  to  that 
effect. 

Her  case  was  thought  beyond  the  reach  of 
medicine,  and  for  a  time  no  medicine  was 
used.  She  had  air  and  exercise,  as  the  weather 
and  circumstances  would  permit.  For  the  rest, 
she  amused  herself  as  well  as  she  could,  with 
her  guitar  or  harpsichord,  with  her  needle, 
and  with  reading.  She  had  a  part  likewise, 
when  able,  in  such  visits  as  we  paid  or  re- 
ceived. And  our  visits  were  generally  regu- 
lated by  a  regard  to  what  she  could  bear. 
Her  aunt  especially,  seidom  went  abroad,  but 
at  such  times,  and  to  such  places,  as  we 
thought  agreeable  and  convenient  to  her. 
For  we  could  perceive  that  she  loved  home 
best,  and  best  of  all  when  we  were  at  home 
with  her. 

In  April  1784,  we  put  her  under  the  care 
of  my  dear  friend  Dr  Benamor.  To  the  bles- 
sing of  the  Lord  on  his  skill  and  endeavours, 
]  ascribe  the  pleasure  of  having  her  continued 
with  us  so  long  ;  nor  can  I  sufficiently  ex- 
press my  gratitude  for  his  assiduous  unweari- 
ed attention,  nor  for  his  great  tenderness. 
She  is  now  gone,  and  can  no  more  repeat 
what  she  has  often  spoken,  of  the  great  com- 
fort it  was  to  her  to  hnve  so  affectionate  and 
sympathizing  a  physician  ;  but  whilel  live,  I 
hope  it  will  always  be  my  pleasure  to  acknow- 
ledge our  great  obligations  to  him  on  her  ac- 


count. I  should  be  ungrateful,  likewise,  were 
I  to  omit  mentioning  the  kindness  of  Dr  Al- 
len of  Dulwich,  who  attended  her  daily  dur- 
ing her  last  stay  at  Southampton.  He  was 
so  obliging,  likewise,  as  to  visit  her,  and  to 
meet  Dr  Benamor  upon  her  case,  after  her 
return  to  London.  Their  joint  prescriptions 
were  carefully  followed.  But  what  can  the 
most  efficacious  medicines,  or  the  best  physi- 
cians, avail  to  prolong  life,  when  the  hour 
approaches,  in  which  the  prayer  of  the  great 
Intercessor  must  be  accomplished,  "  Father, 
I  will  that  they  whom  thou  hast  given  me. 
may  be  with  me  where  I  am,  to  behold  my 
glory."  This  was  the  proper  cause  of  my 
dear  Eliza's  death.  The  Lord  sent  this  child 
to  me  to  be  brought  up  for  him  ;  he  owned 
my  poor  endeavours  ;  and  when  her  education 
was  completed,  and  she  was  ripened  for  hea- 
ven, he  took  her  home  to  himself.  He  has 
richly  paid  me  my  wages,  in  the  employment 
itself,  and  in  the  happy  issue. 

Dr  Benamor  advising  a  trial  of  the  salt 
water,  we  passed  the  month  of  August  1  784 
with  her,  partly  at  Mr  Walter  Taylor's  at 
Southampton,  and  partly  at  Charles  Etty's, 
Esq.  of  Priestlands  near  Lymington.  While 
she  was  with  these  kind  and  generous  friends, 
she  had  every  accommodation  and  assistance 
that  could  be  thought  of  or  wished  for.  And 
tne  bathing  was  evidently  useful,  so  far  as  to 
give  some  additional  strength  to  her  very  weak 
and  relaxed  frame,  which  assisted  her  in  go- 
ing more  comfortably  through  the  last  winter. 
We  were  therefore  encouraged  and  advised  to 
repeat  our  visit  to  Southampton  this  autumn. 
But  the  success  was  not  the  same.  Her  feet 
and  legs  had  already  begun  to  swell,  and  the 
evening  before  she  set  out  she  caught  cold, 
which  brought  on  a  return  of  the  fever  and 
cough  :  and  though  Dr  Allen  was  successful 
in  removing  these  symptoms  in  about  a  fort- 
night, and  she  bathed  a  few  times,  she  could 
not  persevere.  However  the  advantages  of 
situation,  air,  and  exercise,  being  much  great 
er  than  she  could  have  in  London,  and  as  we 
were  with  friends  whom  she,  as  well  as  we, 
dearly  loved,  she  continued  at  Southampton 
six  weeks.  But  she  was  unable  to  proceed 
to  Mr  Etty's,  who  was  very  desirous  of  re 
peating  his  former  kindness.  The  Lord 
strengthened  her  to  perform  her  journey  home 
without  inconvenience.  She  returned  (he  1 6th 
of  September;  then  she  entered  our  door  for 
the  last  time,  for  she  went  out  no  more,  till 
she  was  carried  out  to  be  put  into  the  hearse. 

I  have  thus  got  together,  in  one  view,  a 
brief  account  of  what  relates  to  her  illness,  till 
within  the  last  three  weeks  of  her  pilgrimage. 
I  now  come  to  what  is  much  more  important 
and  interesting.  Her  excellent  parents  had 
conscientiously  endeavoured  to  bring  her  up 
in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord, 
and  the  principles  of  religion  had  been  instill- 
ed into  her  from  her  infancy.      Their  labour* 


916  A   MONUMENT,  &e 

were  thus  far  attended  with  success,  that  no 
child  could  be  more  obedient  or  obliging,  or 
more  remote  from  evil  habits,  or  evil  tempers; 
but  I  could  not  perceive,  when  she  first  came 
to  us,  that  she  had  any  heart-affecting  sense 
of  divine  things.  But  being  under  my  roof, 
she  of  course,  when  her  health  would  permit, 
attended  on  my  ministry,  and  was  usually 
present  when  I  prayed  and  expounded  the 
scriptures,  morning  and  evening,  in  the  fami- 
ly. Friends  and  ministers  were  likewise  fre- 
quently with  us,  whose  character  and  conver- 
sation were  well  suited  to  engage  her  notice, 
and  to  help  her  to  form  a  right  idea  of  the 
christian  principles  and  temper.  Knowing 
that  she  was  of  a  thinking  turn,  I  left  her  to 
make  her  own  reflections  upon  what  she  saw 
and  heard,  committing  her  to  the  Lord,  from 
whom  I  had  received  her,  and  entreating  him 
to  be  her  effectual  teacher.  When  I  did  at- 
tempt to  talk  with  her  upon  the  concerns  of 
her  soul,  she  could  give  me  no  answer  but 
with  tears.  But  I  soon  had  great  encourage- 
ment to  hope  that  the  Lord  had  both  enlight- 
ened her  understanding,  and  had  drawn  the 
desires  of  her  heart  to  himself.  Great  was 
her  delight  in  the  ordinances,  exemplary  her 
attention  under  the  preaching.  To  be  debar- 
red from  going  to  hear  at  our  stated  times, 
was  a  trial,  which,  though  she  patiently  bore, 
seemed  to  affect  her  more  than  any  other  ; 
and  she  did  not  greatly  care  what  she  endured 
in  the  rest  of  the  week,  provided  she  was  well 
enough  to  attend  the  public  worship.  The 
judicious  observations  she  Occasionally  made 
upon  what  had  passed  in  conversation,  upon 
incidents,  books,  and  sermons,  indicated  a 
sound  scriptural  judgment,  and  a  spiritual 
taste. — And  my  hope  was  confirmed  by  her 
whole  deportment,  which  was  becoming  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  So  that  had  she  died  sud- 
denly, on  any  day  within  about  a  year  and  a 
half  past,  I   should  have  had  no   doubt  that 


nient  opportunity  of  intimating  to  her  the 
probability  that  the  time  of  her  departure  was 
at  hand.  The  next  morning  (Saturday  the  1st 
of  October)  presented  one.  She  found  her- 
self remarkably  better,  her  pains  were  almost 
gone,  her  spirits  revived,  and  the  favourable 
change  was  visible  in  her  countenance.  Her 
aunt  began  to  break  the  subject  to  her  by  say. 
ing,  "  My  dear,  were  you  not  extremely  ill 
last  night!"  She  said,  "  Indeed  I  was." 
Had  you  not   been    relieved    I   think    you 


could  not  have  continued   lon<; 


I  beli 


I  could  not."  "  My  dear,  1  have  been  very 
anxiously  concerned  for  your  life."  "  But  I 
hope,  my  dear  aunt,  you  are  not  so  now." 
She  then  opened  her  mind  and  spoke  freely. 
I  cannot  repeat  the  whole :  the  substance  was  to 
this  effect.  "  My  views  of  things  have  been 
for  some  time  very  different  from  what  they 
were  when  I  came  to  you.  I  have  seen  and 
felt  the  vanity  of  childhood  and  youth.'  Her 
aunt  said,  "  I  believe  you  have  long  made 
conscience  of  secret  prayer.  '  She  answered, 
"  Yes,  I  have  long  and  earnestly  sought  the 
Lord  with  reference  to  the  change  which  is 
now  approaching.  I  have  not  yet  that  full 
assurance*hich  is  so  desirable,  but  I  have  a 
hope,  I  trust  a  good  hope,  and  I  believe  the 
Lord  will  give  me  whatever  he  sees  necessary 
for  me,  before  he  takes  me  from  hence.  I 
have  prayed  to  him  to  fit  me  for  himself,  and 
then,  whether  sooner  or  later,  it  signifies  but 
little."  Here  was  a  comfortable  point  gain- 
ed. We  were  satisfied  that  she  had  given  up 
all  expectations  of  living,  and  could  speak  of 
her  departure  without  being  distressed. 

It  will  not  be  expected  that  a  child  at  her 
age  should  speak  systematically.  Nor  had 
she  learnt  her  religion  from  a  system  or  form 
of  words,  however  sound.  The  Lord  himself 
was  her  teacher.  But  from  what  little  she 
had  at  different  times  said  to  me,  I  was  well 
satisfied   that  she  had  received  a  true  convic- 


she  had  passed  from  death  unto  life.      But   I    tion  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  of  of  her  own  state 


could  seldom  prevail  with,  her  to  speak  of 
herself;  if  she  did,  it  was  with  the  greatest 
diffidence  and  caution. 

Soon  after  her  return  from  Southampton, 
she  became  acquainted  with  acute  pain,  to 
which  she  had  till  then  been  much  a  stranger. 
Her  gentle  spirit,  which  had  borne  up  under 
a  long  and  languishing  illness,  was  not  so 
capable  of  supporting  pain.  It  did  not  occa- 
sion any  improper  temper  or  language,  but  it 
wore  her  away  apace.  Friday,  the  30th  of 
September,  she  was  down  stairs  for  the  last 
lime,  and  then  she  was  brought  down  and  car- 
ried up  in  arms. 

It  now  became  very  desirable  to  hear  from 
herself  a  more  explicit  account  of  the  hope 
that  was  in  her;  especially  as  upon  some 
symptoms  of  an  approaching  mortification,  she 
appeared  to  be  a  little  alarmed,  and  of  course 
not  thoroughly  reconciled  to  the  thoughts  of 
death.       Her  aunt   waited  for  the   first  conve- 


by  nature  as  a  sinner.  When  she  spoke  of 
the  Lord,  she  meant  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Great  Shepherd,  who  gathers  such  lambs 
in  his  arm,  and  carries  thetn  in  his  bosom. 
She  believed  him  to  be  God  and  man  in  one 
person,  and  that  hope,  of  which  she  shall  never 
be  ashamed,  was  founded  on  his  atonement, 
grace,  and  power.  As  I  do  not  intend  to  put 
words  into  her  mouth,  which  she  never  spoke, 
I  mention  this,  lest  any  person  should  be  dis- 
appointed at  not  finding  a  certain  phraseolo- 
gy, which  they  may  have  been  accustomed 
to. 

Her  apparent  revival  was  of  short  duration. 
In  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  she  began  to 
complain  of  a  sore  throat,  which  became 
worse,  and  before  Sunday  noon  threatened  an 
absolute  suffocation. — When  Dr  Benamor, 
who  the  day  before  had  almost  entertained 
hopes  of  her  recovery,  found  her  so  suddenly 
and  greatiy  altered,  he  could  not,  at  the  mo- 


A  MONUMENT,  &c. 


917 


merit,  prevent  some  signs  of  his  concern  from 
appearing  in  his  countenance.  She  quickly 
perceived  it,  and  desired  he  would  plainly 
tell  her  his  sentiments.  When  he  had  re- 
covered himself  he  said,  "  You  are  not  so 
well  as  when  I  saw  you  on  Saturday."  She 
answered,  "  that  she  trusted  all  would  be 
well  soon."  He  replied,  "  that  whether  she 
lived  or  died,  it  would  be  well,  and  to  the 
glory  of  God."  He  told  me  that  he  had 
much  pleasing  conversation  with  her  that 
morning,  some  particulars  of  which  he  h  :d 
committed  to  writing,  but  he  lost  the  paper. 
—From  that  time  she  may  be  said  to  have 
been  dying,  as  we  expected  her  departure 
from  one  hour  to  another. 

On  Monday  the  3d  she  was  almost  free 
from  any  complaint  in  her  throat,  but  there 
was  again  an  appearance  of  a  mortification  in 
her  legs,  which  was  again  repelled  by  the 
means  which  Dr  Benamor  prescribed.  I  re- 
collect but  little  of  the  incidents  of  this  day. 
In  general  she  was  in  great  pain,  sometimes 
in  agonies,  unable  to  remain  many  minutes  in 
the  same  position.  But  her  mind  was  peace- 
ful ;  she  possessed  a  spirit  of  recollection  and 
prayer ;  and  her  chief  attention  to  earthly 
things  seemed  confined  to  the  concern  she  saw 
in  those  who  were  around  her.  That  she 
might  not  increase  their  feelings  for  her,  she 
strove  to  conceal  the  sense  of  her  own  suffer- 
ings. It  pleased  the  Lord  wonderfully  to 
support  my  dear  Mrs  Newton,  and  she  had  a 
tolerable  night's  rest,  though  I  did  not  expect 
the  child  would  live  till  morning.  On  Tues- 
day the  4th,  about  nine  in  the  morning,  we 
all  thought  her  dying,  and  waited  near  two 
hours  by  her  bed-  side  for  her  last  breath.  She 
was  much  convulsed  and  in  great  agonies.  I 
said,  "  My  dear,  you  are  going  to  heaven, 
and  I  hope,  by  the  grace  of  God,  we  in  due 
time  shall  follow  you."  She  could  not  speak, 
but  let  us  know  that  she  attended  to  what  I 
■said  by  a  gentle  nod  of  her  head,  and  a  sweet 
smile.  I  repeated  to  her  many  passages  of 
scripture,  and  verses  of  hymns,  to  each  of 
which  she  made  the  same  kind  of  answer. 
Though  silent,  her  looks  were  more  expressive 
than  words.  Towards  eleven  o'clock,  a  great 
quantity  of  coagulated  phlegm,  which  she  had 
not  the  strength  to  bring  up,  made  her  rattle 
violently  in  the  throat,  which  we  considered 
as  a  sign  that  death  was  at  hand  :  and  as  she 
seemed  unwilling  to  take  something  that  was 
offered  her,  we  were  loth  to  disturb  her  in  her 
last  moments  (as  we  supposed)  by  pressing 
her.  I  think  she  must  have  died  in  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  had  not  Dr  Benamor  just  then 
come  into  the  room.  He  felt  her  pulse,  and 
observed  that  she  was  not  near  death  by  her 
pulse,  and  desired  something  might  be  given 
her.  She  was  perfectly  sensible,  though  still 
unable  to  speak,  but  expressed  her  unwilling- 
ness to  take  any  thing,  by  very  strong  efforts. 
However  she  yielded  to  entreaty,  and  a  tea- 


spoonful  or  two  of  some  liquid  soon  cleared 
the  passage,  and  she  revived.  Her  pain  how- 
ever was  extreme,  and  her  disappointment 
great.  I  never  saw  her  so  near  impatient  as 
upon  this  occasion :  as  soon  as  she  could 
speak  she  cried,  "  Oh  cruel,  cruel,  to  recal 
me,  when  I  was  so  happy  and  so  near  gone ! 
I  wish  you  had  not  come;  I  long  to  go  home.' 
But  in  a  few  minutes  she  grew  composed,  as- 
sented to  what  the  Doctor  said,  of  her  d^ty 
to  wait  the  Lord's  time ;  and  from  that  hour, 
though  her  desires  to  depart  and  to  be  with 
her  Saviour,  were  stronger  and  stronger,  she 
cheerfully  took  whatever  was  offered  her,  and 
frequently  asked  for  something  of  her  own 
accord.  How  often,  if  we  were  to  have  our 
choice,  should  we  counteract  our  own  prayers  ! 
I  had  entreated  the  Lord  to  prolong  her  life, 
till  she  could  leave  an  indisputable  testimony 
behind  her,  for  our  comfort.  Yet  when  I 
saw  her  agony,  and  heard  her  say,  "  Oh  !  how 
cruel  to  stop  me  '"  I  was  for  a  moment  almost 
of  her  mind,  and  could  hardly  help  wishing 
that  the  Doctor  had  delayed  his  visit  a  little 
longer.  But  if  she  had  died  then,  we  should 
have  been  deprived  of  what  we  saw  and  heard 
the  two  following  days,  the  remembrance  of 
which  is  now  much  more  precious  to  me  than 
silver  or  gold. 

When  the  Doctor  came  on  Wednesday,  she 
entreated  him  to  tell  her  how  long  he  thought 
she  might  live;  he  said,  "  Are  you  in  earnest, 
my  dear  ?"  She  answered,  "Indeed  I  am." 
At  that  time  there  were  great  appearances  that 
a  mortification  was  actually  begun.  He  there- 
fore told  her,  he  thought  it  possible  she  might 
hold  out  till  eight  in  the  evening,  but  did  not 
expect  she  could  survive  midnight  at  farthest. 
On  hearing  him  say  so,  low  as  she  was,  her 
eyes  seemed  to  sparkle  with  their  former  viva- 
city, and  fixing  them  on  him  with  an  air  of  in- 
effable satisfaction,  she  said,  "  Oh,  that  is  good 
news  indeed  !"  And  she  repeated  it  as  such 
to  a  person  who  came  soon  after  into  the  room, 
and  said  with  lively  emotions  of  joy,  "  The 
Doctor  tells  me  I  shall  stay  here  but  a  few 
hours  more."  In  the  afternoon  she  noticed 
and  counted  the  clock,  I  believe,  every  time  it 
struck,  and  when  it  struck  seven,  she  said, 
"  Another  hour,  and  then."  But  it  pleased 
the  Lord  to  spare  her  to  us  another  day. 

She  suffered  much  in  the  course  of  Wednes- 
day night,  but  was  quite  resigned  and  patient. 
Our  kind  servants,  who,  from  their  love  to  her 
and  to  us,  watched  her  night  and  day  with  a 
solicitude  and  tenderness  which  wealth  is  too 
poor  to  purchase,  were  the  only  witnesses  of 
the  affectionate  and  grateful  manner  in  which 
she  repeatedly  thanked  them  for  their  service 
and  attention  to  her.  Though  such  an  ac- 
knowledgement was  no  more  than  their  due, 
yet  coming  from  herself,  and  at  such  a  time 
they  highly  valued  it.  She  added  her  earnest 
prayers  that  the  Lord  would  reward  them. 
To  her  prayers  my  heart  says,   Amen.      Miy 


918  A  MONUMENT,  &c 

they  be  comforted  of  the  Lord  in  their  dying   ly  find  him 


hours,  as  she  was,  and  meet  with  equal  kind 
ness  from  those  about  them  ! 

I  was  surprised  on  Thursday  morning  to 
find  her  not  only  alive,  but  in  some  respects 
better.  The  tokens  of  mortification  again  dis- 
appeared. This  was  her  last  day,  and  it  was 
a  memorable  day  to  us.  When  Dr  Benamor 
asked  her  how  she  was  ?  She  answered,  "  Tru- 
ly happy,  and  if  this  he  dying,  it  is  a  pleasant 
thing  to  die."  [The  very  expression  which  a 
dear  friend  of  mine  used  upon  her  deathbed 
a  few  years  ago.]  She  said  to  me  about  ten 
o'clock,  "  My  dear  uncle,  I  would  not  change 
conditions  with  any  person  upon  earth  ;  Oh 
how  gracious  is  the  Lord  to  me  !  Oh  what  a 
change  is  before  me  !"  She  was  several  times 
asked,  if  she  could  wish  to  live,  provided  .he 
Lord  should  restore  her  to  perfect  health  ; 
her  answer  was,  "  Not  for  all  the  world,"  and 
sometimes,  "  Not  for  a  thousand  worlds."* 
"  Do  not  weep  for  me,  my  dear  aunt,  but  rather 
rejoice  and  praise  on  my  account.  I  shall  now 
have  the  advantage  of  dear  Miss  Patty  Bar- 
ham  (for  whom  she  had  a  very  tender  affec- 
tion, and  who  has  been  long  in  a  languishing 
state),  for  I  shall  go  before  her."  We  asked 
her  if  she  would  chuse  a  text  for  her  own  fu- 
neral sermon  ?  She  readily  mentioned, "  Whom 
the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth.  That,  said 
she,  has  been  my  experience,  my  afflictions 
have  been  many,  but  not  one  too  many  ;  nor 
has  the  greatest  of  them  been  too  great,  I 
praise  him  for  them  all."  But  after  a  pause 
she  said,  "  Stay,  1  think  there  is  another  text 
which  may  do  better;  let  it  be,  Blessed  are 
the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord.  That  is  my 
experience  now."  She  likewise  chose  a  hymn 
to  be  sung  after  the  sermon.  Olney  Hymns, 
book  II.  hymn  72. 

But  I  must  check  myself,  and  set  down  but 
a  small  part  of  the  gracious  words  which  the 
Lord  enabled  her  to  speak  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  though  she  was  frequently  interrupted  by 
pains  and  agonies.  She  had  something  to  say 
either  in  the  way  of  admonition  or  consola- 
tion, as  she  thought  most  suitable,  to'  every 
one  whom  she  saw.  To  her  most  constant  at- 
tendant she  said,  "  Be  sure  you  continue  to 
call  upon  the  Lord,  and  if  you  think  he  does 
not  hear  you  now,  he  will  at  last,  as  he  has 
heard  me."  She  spoke  a  great  deal  to  an  in- 
timate friend,  who  was  with  her  every  day, 
which  I  hope  she  will  long  remember,  as  the 
testimony  of  her  dying  Eliza.  Amongst  other 
things,  she  said,  "  See  how  comfortable  the 
Lord  can  make  a  dying  bed  !  Do  you  think 
that  you  shall  have  such  an  assurance  when 
you  come  to  die?"  Being  answered,  "  I  hope 
so,  my  dear,"  she  replied,  "  But  do  you  ear- 
nestly and  with  all  your  heart  pray  to  the 
Lord  for  it  I     If  you  seek  him,  you  shall  sure- 


*  The  last  time  slie  was  asked  (his  question,  she  sai 
(.■    I  have  been  since  informed),  "  1   desire  to  have  n 


aid 
no 


She  then  prayed  affectionately 
and  fervently  for  her  friend,  afterwards  for 
her  cousin,  and  then  for  another  of  our  fami- 
ly who  was  present.  Her  prayer  was  not 
long,  but  her  every  word  was  weighty,  and  her 
manner  very  affecting — the  purport  was,  that 
they  might  all  be  taught  and  comforted  by  the 
Lord.  About  five  in  the  afternoon  she  de- 
sired me  to  pray  with  her  once  more.  Sure- 
ly I  then  prayed  from  my  heart.  When  I 
had  finished,  she  said,  Amen.  I  said,  "  My 
dear  child,  have  I  expressed  your  meaning?" 
she  answered,  "  Oh  yes  !"  and  then  added, 
"  I  am  ready  to  say,  Why  are  his  chariot- 
wheels  so  long  in  coming  !  But  I  hope  he 
will  enable  me  to  wait  his  hour  with  patience." 
These  were  the  last  words  1  heard  her  speak. 

Mrs"Newton's  heart  was  much,  perhaps  too 
much,  attached  to  this  dear  child  ;  which  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  considering  what  a 
child  she  Was,  and  how  long  and  how  much 
she  had  suffered.  But  the  Lord  graciously 
supported  her  in  this  trying  season.  Indeed 
there  was  much  more  cause  for  joy  than  for 
grief;  yet  the  pain  of  separation  will  be  felt. 
Eliza  well  knew  her  feelings,  and  a  concern 
for  her  was,  I  believe,  the  last  anxiety  that  re- 
mained with  her.  She  said  to  those  about 
her,  "  Try  to  persuade  my  aunt  to  leave  the 
room  ;  I  think  I  shall  soon  go  to  sleep,  I 
shall  not  remain  with  you  till  the  morning." 
Her  aunt,  however,  was  the  last  person  who 
heard  her  speak,  and  was  sitting  by  her  bed 
when  she  went  away.  A  little  past  six,  hearing 
that  a  relation  who  dearly  loved  her,  and  was 
beloved  by  her,  and  who  had  come  daily  from 
Westminster  to  see  her,  was  below  stairs,  she 
said,  "  Raise  me  up,  that  I  may  speak  to  him 
once  more."  Her  aunt  said,  "My  dear,  you  are 
nearly  exhausted,  I  think  you  had  better  not 
attempt  it."  She  smiled,  and  said,  "  It  is  very 
well,  I  will  not."  She  was  then  within  half  an 
hour  of  her  translation  to  glory,  but  the  love  of 
our  dear  Lord  had  so  filled  her  with  benevo- 
lence, that  she  was  ready  to  exert  herself  to  her 
last  breath,  in  hopes  of  saying  something  that 
might  be  useful  to  others  after  she  was  gone. 

Towards  seven  o'clock,  I  was  walking  in 
the  garden,  and  earnestly  engaged  in  prayei 
for  her,  when  a  servant  came  to  me  and  said, 
"  She  is  gone."  O  Lord,  how  great  is  thy 
power  !  how  great  is  thy  goodness  !  A  few 
days  before,  had  it  been  practicable  and  law- 
ful, what  would  I  not  have  given  to  procure 
her  recovery?  Yet  seldom  in  my  life  have  I 
known  a  more  heart-felt  joy,  than  when  these 
words,  She  is  gone,  sounded  in  my  ears.  I  ran 
up  stairs,  and  our  whole  little  family  were 
soon  around  her  bed. — Though  her  aunt  and 
another  person  were  sitting  with  their  eyes 
fixed  upon  her,  she  was  ;'one  perhaps  a  few 
minutes  before  she  was  missed.  She  lay  up- 
on her  left  side,  with  her  cheek  gently  reclin- 
ing upon  her  hand,  as  if  in  a  sweet  sleep.  And 
I  thought  there  was  a  smile  upon  her  eounte~ 


A  MONUMENT,  &C.  919 

nance.  Never  surely  did  death  appear  in  a  Happy  they  who  will  say  at  the  last  day,  "Be- 
more  beautiful,  inviting  form  !  We  fell  upon  hold  here  am  I,  and  the  children  which  thou 
our  knees,  and  I  returned  (I  think  I  may  say)  hast  given  me." 

my  most  unfeigned  thanks  to   our    God   and         The  children  of  my  friends  will  likewise  see 

Saviour,    for  his  abundant   goodness   to   her,  my  narrative.      May  it  convince  them  that  it 

crowned  in  this  last  instance,  by  giving  her  so  is  practicable,  and  good,  to  seek  the  Lord  be- 

gentle  a  dismission.      Yes,  I  am  satisfied.      I  times  !      My  dear  Eliza's  state  of  languor  pre 


am  comforted.  And  if  one  of  the  many  in- 
voluntary tears  I  have  shed,  could  have  recall- 
ed her  to  life,  to  health,  to  an  assemblage  of 
all  that  this  world  could  contribute  to  her 
happiness,  I  would  have  laboured  hard  to  sup- 
press it.  Now  my  largest  desires  for  her  are 
accomplished.  The  days  of  her  mourning  are 
ended.  She  is  landed  on  that  peaceful  shore, 
where  the  storms  of  trouble  never  blow.  She 
is  for  ever  out  of  the  reach  of  sorrow,  sin, 
temptation,  and  snares.  Now  she  is  before 
the  throne  !  she  sees  Him  whom  not  having 
seen  she  loved  ;  she  drinks  of  the  rivers  of 
pleasure  which  are  at  his  right  hand,  and  shall 
thirst  no  more. 

She  was  born  at  St  Margaret's,  Rochester, 
Feb.  6,  1771.  Her  parents  settled  at  An- 
struther,  in  Fife,  in   1773.      She  returned  to 

us March   15,    1783.      She  breathed 

her  spirit  into  her  Redeemer's  hands  a  little 
before  seven  in  the  evening,  on  Oct.  6,  1785, 
aged  fourteen  years  and  eight  months. 

I  shall  be  glad  if  this  little  narrative  may 
prove  an  encouragement  to  my  friends  who 
have  children. — May  we  not  conceive  the 
Lord  saying  to  us,  as  Pharaoh's  daughter  said 
to  the  mother  of  Moses,  "  Take  this  child,  and 
bring  it  up  for  me,  and  I  will  pay  thee  thy 
wages  ?"  How  solemn  the  trust  !  How  im- 
portant and  difficult  the  discharge  of  it!  but 
how  rich  the  reward  if  our  endeavours  are 
crowned  with  success !  And  we  have  every 
thing  to  hope  from  his  power  and  goodness,  if, 
in  dependence  upon  his  blessing,  we  can  fully 
and   diligently    aim    at    fulfilling    his    will. 


vented  her  from  associating  with  young  peo- 
ple of  her  own  age,  so  frequently  and  freely 
as  she  might  otherwise  have  done.  But  these 
papers  will  come  into  the  hands  of  some  such, 
whom  she  knew,  and  whom  she  loved.  To 
them,  I  particularly  commend  and  dedicate 
this  relation.  O  my  dear  young  friends,  had 
you  seen  with  what  dignity  of  spirit  she  fill- 
ed up  the  last  scene  of  her  life,  you  must  have 
been  affected  by  it !  Let  not  the  liveliness  of 
your  spirits,  and  the  gaity  of  the  prospect  a- 
round  you,  prevent  you  from  considering, 
that  to  you  likewise,  days  will  certainly  come 
(unless  you  are  suddenly  snatched  out  of  life) 
when  you  will  say  and  feci,  that  the  world, 
and  all  in  it,  can  afford  you  no  pleasure. 
But  there  is  a  Saviour,  and  a  mighty  One,  al- 
ways near,  alway  gracious  to  those  who  seek 
him.  May  you,  like  her,  be  enabled  to  chuse 
him,  as  the  Guide  of  your  youth,  and  the 
Lord  of  your  hearts.  Then  like  her,  you  wiil 
find  support  and  comfort  under  affliction,  wis- 
dom to  direct  your  conduct,  a  good  hope  in 
death,  and  by  death  a  happy  translation  to 
everlasting  life. 

I  have  only  to  add  my  prayers,  that  a  bless- 
ing from  on  high  may  descend  upon  the  per- 
sons and  families  of  all  my  friends,  and  upon 
all  into  whose  hands  this  paper  may  providen- 
tially come. 

JOHN  NEWTON. 

Charles' s-Square,  Hoxton, 
Oct.  13,  1785. 


THE  END. 


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