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THE several hints given in the first chapter of this Treatise, which
contains a particular plan of the design, render it unnecessary to introduce it
with a long preface. My much honored friend, Dr. WATTS, had laid the scheme,
especially of the former part. But as those indispositions with which God has
been pleased to exercise him had forbid his hopes of being able. to add this to
his many labors of love to immortal soul; he was pleased, in a very
affectionate and importunate manner, to urge me to undertake it: And I bless
God with my whole heart, not only that he hath carried me through this
delightful task, (for such indeed I have found it) but also that he hath spared
that worthy and amiable person to see it accomplished, and given him strength
and spirit to review so considerable a part of it. His approbation, expressed
in stronger terms than modesty will permit me to repeat, encourages me to hope
that it is executed in such a manner as may, by the Divine blessing, render it
of some general service. And I the rather hope it will be so, as it now comes
abroad into the world, not only with my own prayers and his, but also with
those of many other pious friends, which I have been particularly careful to
engage for its success.
Into whatever hands this work may come; I
must desire that, before any pass their judgment upon it, they would please to
read it through, that they may discern the connexion between one part of it and
another; which I the rather request, because I have long observed that
Christians of different parties have been eagerly laying hold on particular
parts of the system of Divine truth, and have been contending about them, as if
each had been all; or as if the separation of the members from each other, and
from the head, were the preservation of the body, instead of its destruction.
They have been zealous to espouse the defence, and to maintain the honor and
usefulness of each apart whereas the honor, as well as the usefulness seems to
me to lie much in their connection, and suspicions have often arisen betwixt
the respective defenders of each, which have appeared as unreasonable and
absurd as if all the preparations for securing one part of a ship in a storm
were to be censured as a contrivance to sink the rest. I pray God to give to
all his ministers and people more and more of the spirit of wisdom, and of
love, and of a sound mind and to remove far from us those mutual jealousies and
animosities which hinder our acting with that unanimity which is necessary in
order to the successful carrying on of our common warfare against the enemies
of Christianity. We may be sure these enemies will never fail to make their own
advantage of our multiplied divisions and severe contests with each other. But
they must necessarily lose both their ground and their influence, in proportion
to the degree in which the energy of Christian principles is felt to unite and
transform the heart of those by whom they are professed.
I have studied in this Treatise the greatest
plainness of speech, that the lowest of my readers may, if possible, be able to
uinderstand every word; and I hope persons of a more elegant taste and refined
education will pardon what appeared to me so necessary a piece of charity. Such
a care in practical writings seems one important instance of that honoring all
men, which our amiable and condescending religion teaches us; and I have been
particularly obliged to my worthy patron for what he hath done to shortcn some
of the sentences, and to put my meaning into plainer and more familiar
words.
I must add one remark here, which I heartily wish
I had not omitted in the first edition, viz. That though I do in this book
consider my reader as successively in a great variety of supposed
circumstances, beginning with those of a thoughtless sinner, and leading thim
through several stages of conviction, terror, &c. as what may be previous
to his sincerely accepting the Gospel, and devoting himself to the service of
God; yet I would by no means be thought to insinuate, that every one who is
brought to that happy resolution, arrives at it through those particular steps,
or feels agitations of mind equal in degree to those I have described. Some
sense of sin, and some serious and humbling apprehension of our danger and
misery in consequence of it, must indeed be necessary to dispose us to receive
the grace of the Gospel, and the Saviour who is there exhibited to our faith.
But God is pleased sometimes to begin the work of his grace in the heart almost
from the first dawning of reason, and to carry it on by such gentle and
insensible degrees, that very excellent persons, who have made the most eminent
attainments in the Divine life, have been unable to recount any remarkable
history of their conversion. And so far as I can learn, this is most frequently
the case with those of them who have enjoyed the benefit of a pious education,
when it has not been succeeded by a vicious and licentious youth. God forbid,
therefore, that any should be so insensible of their own happiness as to fall
into perplexity with relation to their spiritual state, for want oft being able
to trace such a rise of religion in their minds as it was necessary on my plan
for me to describe and exemplify here. I have spoken my sentiments on this head
so fully in the eighth of my Sermons on Regeneration, that I think none who has
read and remembers the general contents of it can be ill danger of mistaking my
meaning here. But as it is very possible this book may fall into the hands or
many who have not read the other, and have no opportunity of consulting it, I
thought it proper to insert this caution in the preface to this; and I am much
obliged to that worthy and excellent person who kindly reminded me of the
expediency of doing it.
THE INTRODUCTION TO THE WORK WITH SOME GENERAL ACCOUNT OF ITS DESIGN.
1.2.That true religion is very rare, appears from comparing the nature of it with the lives and characters of men around us.--3. The want of it, matter of just lamentation.--4. To remedy this evil is the design of the ensuing Treatise.--5. 6. To which, therefore, the Author earnestly bespeaks the attention of the reader, as his own heart is deeply interested in it.--7.to 12. A general plan of the Work; of which the first fifteen chapters relate chiefly to the Rise of Religion, and the remaining chapters to its Progress,--Prayer for the success of the Work.
1. WHEN we look around us with an attentive eye, and consider the characters
and pursuits of men, we plainly see, that though, in the original constitution
of their natures, they only, of all the creatures that dwell on the face of the
earth, are capable of religion, yet many of them shamefully neglect it. And
whatever different notions people may entertain of what they call religion, all
must agree in owning that it is very far from being a universal thing.
2. Religion, in its most general view, is
such a Sense of God in the soul, and such a conviction of our obligations to
him, and of our dependence upon him, as shall engage us to make it our great
care to conduct ourselves in a manner which we have reason to believe will be
pleasing to him. Now, when we have given this plain account of religion, it is
by no means necessary that we should search among the savages of distant Pagan
nations to find instances of those who are strangers to it. When we view the
conduct of the generality of people at home, in a Christian and Protestant
nation, in a nation whose obligations to God have been singular, almost beyond
those of any other people under heaven, will any one presume to say that
religion has a universal reign among us? Will any one suppose that it prevails
in every life; that it reigns in every heart? Alas! the avowed infidelity, the
profanation of the name and day of God, the drunkenness, the lewdness, the
injustice, the falsehood, the pride, the prodigality, the base selfishness, and
stupid insensibility about the spiritual and eternal interests of themselves
and others, which so generally appear among us, loudly proclaim the
contrary. So that one would imagine, upon this view, that thousands and tens of
thousands thought the neglect, and even the contempt of religion, were a glory,
rather than a reproach. And where is the neighborhood, where is the
society, where is the happy family, consisting of any considerable number, in
which, on a more exact examination, we find reason to say, "religion fills even
this little circle?" Where is, perhaps, a freedom from any gross and scandalous
immoralities, an external decency of behavior, an attendance on the outward
forms of worship in public, and, here and there, in the family; yet amidst all
this, there is nothing which looks like the genuine actings of the spiritual
and divine life. There is no appearance of love to God, no reverence of his
presence, no desire of his favor as the highest good: there is no cordial
belief of the Gospel of salvation; no eager solicitude to escape that
condemnation which we have incurred by sin; no hearty concern to secure that
eternal life which Christ has purchased and secured for his people, and which
he freely promises to all who will receive him. Alas! whatever the love of a
friend, or even a parent can do; whatever inclination there may be to hope all
things, and believe all things the most favorable, evidence to the contrary
will force itself upon the mind, and extort the unwilling conclusion, that,
whatever else may be amiable in this dear friend--in that favorite
child--"religion dwells not in his breast."
3. To a heart that firmly believes the Gospel,
and in views persons and things the light of eternity, this is one of the most
mournful considerations in the world. And indeed, to such a one, all other
calamities and evils of human nature appear trifles, when compared with
this-the absence of real religion, and that contrariety to it which reigns in
so many thousands of mankind. Let this be cured, and all the other evils will
easily be borne; nay, good will be extracted out of them. But if this continue,
it "bringeth forth fruit unto death;" (Rom. 7:5) and in consequence of it,
multitudes, who stare the entertainments of an indulgent Providence with us,
and are at least allied to us by the bond of the same common nature, must, in a
few years, be swept away into utter destruction, and be plunged, beyond
redemption, into everlasting burnings.
4. I doubt not but there are many, under the
various forms of religious profession, who are not only lamenting this in
public, if their office in life calls them to an opportunity of doing it; but
are likewise mourning before God in secret, under a sense of this sad state of
things; and who can appeal to Him that searches all hearts as to the sincerity
of their desires to revive the languishing cause of vital Christianity and
substantial piety. And among the rest, the author of this treatise may with
confidence say, it is this which animates him to the present attempt, in the
midst of so many other cares and labors. For this he is willing to lay aside
many of those curious amusements in science which might suit his own private
taste, and perhaps open a way for some reputation in the learned world. For
this be is willing to wave the labored ornaments of speech, that be may,
if possible, descend to the capacity of the lowest part of mankind. For
this he would endeavor to convince the judgment, and to reach the heart of
every reader: and, in a word, for this, without any dread of the name of an
enthusiast, whoever may at random throw it out upon the occasion, he would, as
it were, enter with you into your closet, from day to day; and with all
plainness and freedom, as well as seriousness, would discourse to you of the
great things, which he has learned from the Christian revelation, and on which
he assuredly knows your everlasting happiness to depend; that, if you hitherto
have lived without religion, you may be now awakened to the consideration of
it, and may be instructed in its nature and importance; or that, if you are
already, through Divine grace, experimentally acquainted with it, you may be
assisted to make a farther progress.
5. But he earnestly entreats this favor of you
that, as it is plainly a serious business we are entering upon, you would be
pleased to give him a serious and an active hearing. He entreats that these
addresses, and these meditations, may be perused at leisure, and be thought
over in retirement; and that you would do him and yourself the justice to
believe the representations which art here made, and the warnings which are
here given. to proceed from sincerity and love, from a heart that would not
designedly give one moment's unnecessary pain to the meanest creature on the
face of the earth, and much less to any human mind. If he be importunate, it is
because he at least imagines that there is just reason for it, and fears, lest,
amidst the multitudes who are undone by the utter neglect of religion, and
among those who are greatly damaged for want of a more resolute and constant
attendance to it, this may be the case of some into whose hands this treatise
may fall.
6. He is a barbarian, and deserves not to be
called a man, who can look upon the sorrows of his fellow creatures without
drawing out his soul unto them and wishing, at least, that it were in the power
of his hand to help them. Surely earth would be a heaven to that man who could
go about from place to place scattering happiness wheresoever be came, though
it were only the body that he were capable of relieving, and though he could
impart nothing better than the happiness of a mortal life. But the happiness
rises in proportion to the nature and degree of the good which he imparts.
Happy, are we ready to say, were those honored servants of Christ, who, in the
early days of his church, were the benevolent and sympathizing instruments of
conveying miraculous healing to those whose cases seemed desperate; who poured
in upon the blind and the deaf the pleasures of light and sound, and called up
the dead to the flowers of action and enjoyment. But this is an honor and
happiness which it is not fit for God commonly to bestow on mortal men. Yet
there have been, in every age, and blessed be his name, there still are those
whom he has condescended to make his instruments in conveying nobler and more
lasting blessings than these to their fellow-creatures. Death has long since
veiled the eyes and stopped she ears of those who were the subjects of
miraculous healing, and recovered its empire over those who were once recalled
from the grave. But the souls who are prevailed upon to receive the Gospel,
live for ever. God has owned the labors of his faithful ministers in every age
to produce these blessed effects; and some of them "being dead, yet speak"
(Heb. 11:4) with power and success in this important cause. Wonder not
then, if, living and dying I be ambitions of this honor; and if my mouth be
freely opened, where I can truly say, "my heart is enlarged." (2 Cor. 6:11)
7. In forming my general plan, I have been
solicitous that this little treatise might, if possible, be useful to all its
readers, and contain something suitable to each. I will therefore take the man
and the Christian in a great variety of circumstances. I will first suppose
myself addressing one of the vast number of thoughtless creatures who have
hitherto been utterly unconcerned about religion, and will try what can be
done, by all plainness and earnestness of address, to awaken him from this
fatal lethargy, to a care (chap. 2), an affectionate and an immediate care
about it (chap. 3). I will labor to fix a deep and awful conviction of guilt
upon his conscience (chap. 4), and to strip him of his vain excuses and his
flattering hopes (chap. 5). I will read to him, O! that I could fix on his
heart that sentence, that dreadful sentence, which a righteous and an Almighty
God hath denounced against him as a sinner (chap. 6), and endeavor to show him
in how helpless a state he lies under this condemnation, as to any capacity he
has of delivering himself (chap 7). But I do not mean to leave any in so
terrible a situation: I will joyfully proclaim the glad tidings of pardon and
salvation by Christ Jesus our Lord, which is all the support and confidence of
my own soul (chap. 8). And then I will give some general view of the way
by which this salvation is to be obtained (chap. 9); urging the sinner to
accept of it as affectionately as I can (chap. 10); though not thing can be
sufficiently pathetic, where, as sin this matter, the life of an
immortal soul is in question.
8. Too probable it is that some will, after all
this, remain insensible; and therefore that their sad case may not encumber the
following articles, I shall here take a solemn leave of them (chap. 11); and
then shall turn and address myself as compassionately as I can, to a most
contrary character; I mean, to a soul overwhelmed with a sense of the greatness
of its sins, and trembling under the burden, as if there were no more hope
for him in God (chap. 12). And that nothing may be omitted which may
give solid peace to the troubled spirit, I shall endeavor to guide its
inquiries as to the evidences of sincere repentance and faith (chap.
13); which will be farther illustrated by a more particular view of the several
branches of the Christian temper, such as may serve at once to assist the
reader in judging whit he is, and to show him what he should labor to be (chap.
14). This will naturally lead to a view of the need we have of the influences
of the blessed Spirit to assist us in the important and difficult work of the
true Christian, and of the encouragement we have to hope for such divine
assistance (chap. 15). In an humble dependence on which, I shall then enter on
the consideration of several cases which often occur in the Christian life, in
which particular addresses to the conscience may be requisite and useful.
9. As some peculiar difficulties and
discouragements attend the first entrance on a religious course, it will here
be our first care to animate the young convert against them (chap. 16). And
that it may be done more effectually, I shall urge a solemn dedication of
himself to God (chap. 17), to be confirmed by entering into a communion of the
church, and an approach to the sacred table (chap. 18). That these engagements
may be more happily fulfilled, we shall endeavor to draw a more particular plan
of that devout, regular and accurate course, which ought daily to be attended
to (chap. 19). And because the idea will probably rise so much higher than what
is the general practice, even of good men, we shall endeavor to persuade the
reader to make the attempt, hard as it may seem (chap. 20); and shall caution
him against various temptations, which might otherwise draw him aside to
negligence and sin (chap.21).
10. Happy will it be for the reader, if these
exhortations and cautions be attended to with becoming regard; but as it is,
alas! too probable that, notwithstanding all, the infirmities of nature will
sometimes prevail, we shall consider the case of deadness and languor in
religion, which often steals upon us by sensible degrees (chap. 22); from
whence there is too easy a passage to that terrible one of a return into known
and deliberate sin (chap. 23). And as the one or the other of these tends in a
proportionable degree to provoke the blessed God to hide his face, and his
injured Spirit to withdraw, that melancholy condition will be taken into
particular survey (chap. 24). I shall then take notice also of the case of
great and heavy afflictions in life (chap. 25), a discipline which the best of
men have reason to expect, especially when they backslide from God and yield to
their spiritual enemies.
11. Instances of this kind will, I fear, be too
frequent; yet, I trust, there will be many others, whose path, like the dawning
light, will "shine more and more unto the perfect day." (Prov. 4:18) And
therefore we shall endeavor, in the best manner we can, to assist the Christian
in passing a true judgment on the growth of grace in his heart (chap. 26), as
we had done before in judging of its sincerity. And as nothing conduces more to
the advancement of grace than the lively exercise of love to God, and a holy
joy in him, we shall here remind the real Christian of those mercies which tend
to excite that love and joy (chap. 27); and in the view of them to animate him
to those vigorous efforts of usefulness in life, which so well become his
character, and will have so happy an efficacy in brightening his crown (chap.
28). Supposing him to act accordingly, we shall then labor to illustrate and
assist the delight with which he may look forward to the awful solemnities of
death and judgment (chap. 29). And shall close the scene by accompanying him,
as it were, to the nearest confines of that dark valley through which he is to
pass to glory; giving him such directions as may seem most subservient to his
honoring God and adorning religion by his dying behavior (chap. 30). Nor am I
without a pleasing hope, that, through the Divine blessing and grace, I may be,
in some instances, so successful as to leave those triumphing in the views of
judgment and eternity, and glorifying God by a truly Christian life and death,
whom I found trembling in the apprehensions of future misery; or, perhaps, in a
much more dangerous and miserable condition than that I mean, entirely
forgetting the prospect, and sunk in the most stupid insensibility of those
things, for an attendance to which the human mind was formed, and in comparison
of which all the pursuits of this transitory life are emptier than wind and
lighter than a feather.
12. Such a variety of heads must, to be sure, be
handled but briefly, as we intend to bring them within the bulk of a moderate
volume. I shall not, therefore, discuss them as a preacher might properly do in
sermons, in which the truths of religion are professedly to be explained and
taught, defended and improved, in a wide variety, and long detail of
propositions, arguments, objections, replies, and inferences, marshalled and
numbered under their distinct generals. I shall here speak in a looser and
freer manner, as a friend to a friend; just as I would do if I were to be in
person admitted to a private audience by one whom I tenderly loved, and whose
circumstances and character I knew to be like that which the title of one
chapter or another of this treatise describes. And when I have discoursed with
him a little while, which will seldom be so long as half an hour, shill, as it
were, step aside, and leave him to meditate on what he has heard, or endeavor
to assist him in such fervent addresses to God as it may be proper to mingle
with those meditations. In the mean time, I will here take the liberty to pray
over my reader and my work, and to commend it solemnly to the Divine blessing,
in token of my deep conviction of an entire dependence upon it. And I am well
persuaded that sentiments like these are common, in the general, to every
faithful minister to every real Christian.
A Prayer for the Success of this Work, in promoting the Rise and Progress of Religion.
THE CARELESS SINNER AWAKENED.
1.2. It is too supposable a case that this Treatise may come into such hands.--3. 4. Since many, not grossly vicious, fail under that character.--5. 6. A more particular illustration of this case, with an appeal to the reader, whether it be not his own.--7 to 9. Expostulation with such.--10 to 12. More particularly--From acknowledged principles relating to the Nature of Got, his universal presence, agency, and perfection.--13. From a view of personal obligations to him.--14. From the danger Of this neglect, when considered in its aspect on a future state.--15. An appeal to the conscience as already convinced.--16. Transition to the subject of the next chapter. The meditation of a sinner, who, having been long thoughtless, begins to be awakened.
1. SHAMEFULLY and fatally as religion is neglected in the world, yet,
blessed be God, it has some sincere disciples, children of wisdom, by whom even
in this foolish and degenerate age, it "is justified:" (Matt. 9:18) who having,
by Divine grace, been brought to the knowledge of God in Christ, have
faithfully devoted their hearts to him, and, by a natural consequence, are
devoting their lives to his service. Could I be sure this Treatise would fall
into no hands but theirs, my work would be shorter, easier and more pleasant.
2. But among the thousands that neglect
religion, it is more than probable that some of my readers may be included; and
I am so deeply affected with their unhappy ease, that the temper of my heart,
as well as the proper method of my subject, leads me, in the first place, to
address myself to such: to apply to every one of them; and therefore to you, O
reader, whoever you are, who may come under the denomination of a careless
sinner.
3. Be not, I beseech you angry at the name. The
physicians of souls must speak plainly, or they may murder those whom they
should cure I would make no harsh and unreasonable supposition. I would charge
you with nothing more than is absolutely necessary to convince you that you are
the person to whom I speak. I will not, therefore, imagine you to be a profane
and abandoned profligate. I will not suppose that you allow yourself to
blaspheme God, to dishonour his name by customary swearing, or grossly to
violate his Sabbath, or commonly to neglect the solemnities of his public
worship; I will not imagine that you have injured your neighbors, in their
lives, their chastity, or their possessions, either by violence or by fraud; or
that you have scandalously debased the rational nature of man, by that vile
intemperance which transforms us into the worst kind of brutes, or something
beneath them.
4. In opposition to all this, I will suppose that
you believe the existence and providence of God, and the truth of Christianity
as a revelation from him: of which, if you have any doubt, I must desire that
you would immediately seek your satisfaction elsewhere*." I say immediately;
because not to believe it, is in effect to disbelieve it; and will make your
ruin equally certain, though perhaps it may leave it less aggravated than if
contempt and opposition had been added to suspicion and neglect. But supposing
you to be a nominal Christian, and not a deist or a skeptic, I wilt also
suppose your conduct among men to be not only blameless, but amiable; and that
they who know you most intimately, must acknowledge that you are just and
sober, humane and courteous, compassionate and liberal; yet, with all this, you
may "lack that one thing" (Mark 10: 21) on which your eternal happiness
depends.
5. I beseech you, reader, whoever you are, that
you would now look seriously into your own heart, and ask it this one plain
question; Am I truly religious? Is the love of God the governing principle of
my life? Do I walk under the sense of his presence? Do I converse with him from
day to day, in the exercise of prayer and praise? And am I, on the whole,
making his service my business and my delight, regarding him as my master and
my father?
6. It is my present business only to address
myself to the person whose conscience answers in the negative. And I would
address, with equal plainness and equal freedom, to high and low, to rich and
poor: to you, who, as the Scripture with a dreadful propriety expresses it,
"live without God in the world!" (Eph. 2:12) and while in words and forms you
"own God, deny him in your actions," (Tit. 1:16) and behave yourselves in the
main, a few external ceremonies only excepted, just as you would do if you
believed and were sure there is no God. Unhappy creature, whoever you are! your
own heart condemns you immediately! and how much more that "God who is greater
than your heart, and knoweth all things." (I John 3:20) He is in "secret,"
(Matt. 6:6) as well as in and words cannot express the delight with which his
children converse with him alone: but in secret you acknowledge him not: you
neither pray to him, nor praise him in your retirements. Accounts,
correspondences studies, may often bring you into your closet; but if nothing
but devotion were to be transacted there, it would be to you quite an
unfrequented place. And thus you go on from day to day in a continual
forgetfulness of God, and are as thoughtless about religion as if you had long
since demonstrated to yourself that it was a mere dream. If, indeed, you are
sick, you will perhaps cry to God for health in any extreme danger you will
lift up your eyes and voice for deliverance but as for the pardon of sin, and
the other blessings of the Gospel, you are not at all inwardly solicitous about
them; though you profess to believe that the Gospel is divine, and the
blessings of it eternal. All your thoughts, and all your hours are divided
between the business and the amusements of life; and if now and then an awful
providence or a serious sermon or book awakens you, it is but a few days, or it
may be a few hours, and you are the same careless creature you ever were
before. On the whole, you act as if you were resolved to put it to the venture,
and at your own expense to make the experiment, whether the consequences of
neglecting religion be indeed as terrible as its ministers and friends have
represented. Their remonstrances do indeed sometimes force themselves upon you,
as (considering the age and country in which you live), it is hardly possible
entirely to avoid them; but you have, it may be, found out the art of Isaiah's
people, "hearing to hear, and not understand; and seeing to see, and not
perceive your heart is waxed gross, your eyes are closed, and your ears heavy."
(Isa. 6:9,10) Under the very ordinances of worship your thoughts "are at the
ends of the earth." (Prov. 17:24) Every amusement of the imagination is
welcome, if it may but lead away your mind from so insipid and so disagreeable
a subject as religion. And probably the very last time you were in a
worshipping assembly, you managed just as you would have done if you had
thought God knew nothing of your behavior, or as if you did not think it worth
one single care whether he were pleased or displeased with it.
7. Alas! is it then come to this, with all your
belief of God, and providence and Scripture, that religion is not worth a
thought? That it is not worth one hour's serious consideration and reflection,
"what God and Christ are, and what you yourselves are, and what you must
hereafter be?" Where then are your rational faculties? How are they employed,
or rather how are they stupefied and benumbed?
8. The certainty and importance of the things of
which I speak are so evident, from the principles which you yourselves grant,
that one might almost set a child or an idiot to reason upon them. And yet they
are neglected by those who are grown up to understanding; and perhaps some of
them to such refinement of understanding that they would think themselves
greatly injured if they were not to be reckoned among the politer and more
learned pan of mankind.
9. But it is not your neglect, sirs, that can
destroy the being or importance of such things as these. It may indeed destroy
you, but it cannot in the least affect them. Permit me, therefore, having been
my-self awakened, to come to each of you, and say, as the mariners did to Jonah
while asleep in the midst of a much less dangerous storm, "What meanest thou, O
sleeper? Arise and call upon thy God." (Jonah 1:6) Do you doubt as to the
reasonableness or necessity of doing it? "I will demand, and answer me;" (Job
38:3) answer me to your own conscience, as one that must, ere long, render
another kind of account.
10. You own that there is a God, and well you
may, for you cannot open your eyes but you must see the evident proofs of his
being, his presence, and his agency. You behold him around you in every object.
You feel him within you, if I may so speak, in every vein and in every nerve.
You see and you feel not only that he hath formed you with an exquisite wisdom
which no mortal man could ever fully explain or comprehend, but that he is
continually near you, wherever you are, and however you are employed, by day or
by night; "in hint you live, and move, and have your being." (Acts 17:28)
Common sense will tell you that it is not your own wisdom, and power, and
attention that causes your heart to beat and your blood to circulate; that
draws in and sends out that breath of life, that precarious breath of a most
uncertain life, "the is in your nostrils." (Isa. 2:22) These things are done
when you sleep, as well as in those waking moments when you think not of the
circulation of the blood, or of the necessity of breathing, or so much as
recollect that you have a heart or lungs. Now, what is this but the hand of
God, perpetually supporting and actuating those curious machines that he has
made?
11. Nor is this his care limited to you; but if
you look all around you, far as your view can reach, you see it extending
itself on every side: and, oh! how much farther than you can trace it! Reflect
on the light and heat which the sun every where dispenses; on the air which
surrounds all our globe; on the right temperature on which the life of the
whole human race depends, and that of all the inferior creatures which dwell on
the earth. Think on the suitable and plentiful provisions made for man and
beast; the grass, the grain, the variety of fruits, and herbs, and flowers;
every thing that nourishes us, every thing that delights us, and say whether it
does not speak plainly and loudly that our Almighty Maker is near, and that he
is careful or us, and kind to us. And while all these things proclaim his
goodness, do not they also proclaim his power? For what power has any thing
comparable to that which furnishes out those gifts of royal bounty; and which,
unwearied and unchanged, produces continually, from day to day, and from age to
age, such astonishing and magnificent effects over the face of the whole earth,
and through all the regions of heaven?
12. It is then evident that God is present,
present with you at this moment; even God your creator and preserver, God the
creator and preserver of the whole visible and invisible world. And is he not
present as a most observant and attentive being? "He that formed the eye, shall
not he see? He that planted the ear, shall not he hear? He that teaches man
knowledge," that gives him his rational faculties, and pours in upon his
opening mind all the light it receives by them, "shall not he know?" (Psal.
94:9,10) He who sees all the necessities of his creatures so seasonably to
provide for them, shall be not see their actions too; and seeing, shall he not
judge them? Has he given us a sense and discrimination of what is good and
evil, of what is true and false, of what is fair and deformed in temper and con
duct; and has he himself no discernment of these things? Trifle not with your
conscience, which tells you at once that he judges of it, and approves or
condemns as it is decent or indecent, reasonable or flu-reasonable; and that
the judgment which he passes is of infinite importance to all his creatures.
13. And now to apply all this to your own case;
let me seriously ask you, is it a decent and reasonable thing, that this great
and glorious Benefactor should be neglected by his rational creatures--by those
that are capable of attaining to some knowledge of him, and presenting to him
some homage? Is it decent and reasonable that he should be forgotten and
neglected by you? Are you alone, of all the works or his hands, forgotten or
neglected by him? O sinner, thoughtless as you are, you cannot dare to say
that, or even to think it. You need not go back to the he1pless days of your
infancy and childhood to convince you of the contrary. You need not, in order
to this, recollect the remarkable deliverances which perhaps were wrought out
for you many years ago. The repose of the last night, the refreshment and
comfort you have received this day; yea, the mercies you are receiving this
very moment bear witness to him; and yet you regard him not ungrateful creature
that you are! Could you have treated any human benefactor thus? Could you have
borne to neglect a kind parent, or any generous friend, that had but for a few
months acted the part of a parent to you; to have taken no notice of him while
in his presence; to have returned him no thanks; to have had no contrivances to
make some little acknowledgment for all his goodness? Human nature, bad as it
is, is not fallen so low. Nay, the brutal nature is not so low as this. Surely
every domestic animal around you must shame such ingratitude. If you do but for
a few days take a little kind notice of a dog, and feed him with the refuse of
your table, he will wait upon you, and love to be near you; he will be eager to
follow you from place to place, and when, after a little absence you return
home, will try, by a thousand fond, transported motions, to tell you how much
he rejoices to see you again. Nay, brutes far less sagacious and apprehensive
have some sense of our kindness, and express it after their way: as the blessed
God condescends to observe, in this very view in which I mention it, "The" dull
"ox knows his owner, and the" stupid "ass his master's crib." (Isa. 1: 3) What
lamentable degeneracy therefore is it, that you do not know-that you, who have
been numbered among God's professed people, do not and will not consider your
numberless obligations to him.
14. Surely, if you have any ingenuousness of
temper, you must be ashamed and grieved in the review; but if you have not,
give me leave farther to expostulate with you on this head, by setting it in
something of a different light. Can you think your-self safe, while you are
acting a part like this? Do you not in your conscience believe there will be a
future judgment? Do you not believe there is an invisible and eternal world? As
professed Christians, we all believe it; for it is no controverted point, but
displayed in Scripture with so clear an evidence, that, subtle and ingenious as
men are in error, they have riot yet found out a way to evade it. And believing
this, do you not see, that, while you are thus wandering from God, "destruction
and misery are in your way?" (Rom. 3:16) Will this indolence and negligence of
temper be any security to you? Will it guard you from death? Will it excuse you
from judgment? You might much more reasonably expect that shutting your eyes
would be a defence against the rage of a devouring lion; or that looking
another way should secure your body from being pierced by a bullet or a sword;
When God speaks of the extravagant folly of some thoughtless creatures who
would hearken to no admonition now he adds, in a very awful manner, "In the
latter day they shall consider it perfectly." (Jer. 23:20) And is not this
applicable to you? Must you not sooner or later be brought to think of these
things, whether you wilt or not! And in the mean time do you not certainly know
that timely and serious reflection upon them is, through divine grace, the only
way to prevent your ruin!
15. Yes, sinner, I need not multiply words on a
subject like this. Your conscience is already inwardly convinced, though your
pride maybe unwilling to own it. And to prove it, let me ask you one question
more: Would you, upon any terms and considerations whatever, come to a
resolution absolutely to dismiss all farther thought of religion, and all care
about it, from this day and hour, and to abide the consequences of that
neglect? I believe hardly any man living would be bold enough to determine upon
this. I believe most of my readers would be ready to tremble at the thought of
it.
16. But if it be necessary to take these things
into consideration at all, it is necessary to do it quickly; for life itself is
not so very long nor so certain, that a wise man should risk much upon its
continuance. And I hope to convince you when I have another hearing, that it is
necessary to do it immediately, and that next to the madness of resolving you
will not think of religion at all, is that of saying you will think of it
hereafter. In the meantime, pause art the hints which have been already given,
and they will prepare you to receive what is to be added on that head.
The Meditation of a Sinner who was once thoughtless, but begins to be awakened.
THE AWAKENED SINNER URGED TO IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION AND CAUTIONED AGAINST DELAY.
1. Sinners, when awakened, inclined to dismiss convictions for the present.--2. An immediate regard to religion urged.--3. From the excellence and pleasure of the thing itself.--4. From the uncertainty of that future time on which sinners presume, compared with the sad consequences of being cut off in sin.--5. From the immutability of God's present demands.--6. From the tendency which delay has to make a compliance with these demands more difficult than it is at present.--7. From. the danger of God's withdrawing his Spirit, compared with the dreadful case of a sinner given up by it.--8. Which probably is now the case of many.--9. Since, therefore, on the whole, whatever ever the event be, delays may prove matter of lamentation.--10. The chapter concludes with an exhortation against yielding to them; and a prayer against temptations of that kind.
1. I HOPE my last address so far awakened the convictions of my reader, as
to bring him to this purpose, "that some time or other he would attend to
religious considerations." But give me leave to ask, earnestly and pointedly,
When shall that be? "Go thy way for this time, when I have a convenient season
I will call for thee," (Acts 24:25) was the language and ruin of unhappy Felix,
when he trembled under the reasonings and expostulations of the apostle. The
tempter presumed not to urge that he should give up all thoughts of repentance
and reformation; but only that, considering the present hurry of his affairs,
(as no doubt they were many) he should defer it to another day. The artifice
succeeded; and Felix was undone.
2. Will you, render, dismiss me thus? For
your own sake, and out of tender compassion to your perishing, immortal soul, I
would not willingly take up with such a dismission and excuse--no, not though
you shall fix a time; though you shall determine on the next year, or month, or
week, or day. I would turn upon you, with all the eagerness and tenderness of
friendly importunity, and entreat you to bring the matter to an issue even now.
For if you say, "I will think on these things tomorrow," I shall have little
hope; and shall conclude that all that I have hitherto urged, and all that you
have read, has been offered and viewed in vain.
3. When I invite you to the care and practice of
religion, it may seem strange that it should be necessary for me affectionately
to plead the cause with you, in order to your immediate regard and compliance.
What I am inviting you to is so noble and excellent in itself, so well worthy
of the dignity of our rational nature so suitable to it, so manly and so wise,
that one would imagine you should take fire, as it were, at the first hearing
of it; yea, that so delightful a view should presently possess your whole soul
with a kind of indignation against your-self that you pursued it no sooner.
"May I lift up my eyes and my soul to God! May I devote my-self to him! May I
even now commence a friendship with him--a friendship which shall last for
ever, the security, the delight, the glory of this immortal nature of mine! And
shall I draw back and say, Nevertheless, let me not commence this friendship
too soon: let me live at least a few weeks or a few days longer without God in
the world?" Surely it would be much more reasonable to turn inward, and say, "O
my soul, on what vile husks hast thou been feeding, while thy Heavenly Father
has been forsaken and injured? Shall I desire to multiply the days of my
poverty, my scandal, and my misery?" On this principle, surely an immediate
return to God should in all reason be chosen, rather than to play the fool any
longer, and go on a little more to displease God, and thereby starve and wound
your own soul! even though your continuance in life were ever so certain, and
your capacity to return to God and your duty ever so entirely in your power,
now, and in every future moment, through scores of years yet to come.
4. But who and what are you, that you should lay
your account for years or for months to come? "What is your life? Is not even
as a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away?" (Jam.
4:14) And what is your security, or what is your peculiar warrant, that you
should thus depend upon the certainty of its continuance, and that so
absolutely as to venture, as it were, to pawn your soul upon it? Why, you will
perhaps say, "I am young, and in all my bloom and vigor; I see hundreds about
me who are more than double my age, and not a few of them who seem to think it
too soon to attend to religion yet."
You view the living, and you talk thus. But I
beseech you, think of the dead. Return, in your thoughts, to those graves in
which you have left some of your young companions and your friends. You saw
them awhile ago gay and active, warm with life, and hopes, and schemes. And
some of them would have thought a friend strangely importunate that should have
interrupted them in their business and their pleasures, with a solemn lecture
on death and eternity. Yet they were then on the very borders of both. You have
since seen their corpses, or at least their coffins, and probably carried about
with you the badges of mourning which you received at their funerals. Those
once vigorous, and perhaps beautiful bodies of theirs, now lie moldering in the
dust, as senseless and helpless as the most decrepit pieces of human nature
which fourscore years ever brought down to it. And, what is infinitely more to
be regarded, their souls, whether prepared for this great change, or
thoughtless of it, have made their appearance before God, and are at this
moment fixed, either in heaven or in hell. Now let me seriously ask you, would
it be miraculous. Or would it be strange, if such an event should befall you?
How are you sure that some fatal disease will not this day begin to work in
your veins? How are you sure that you shall ever be capable of reading or
thinking any more, if you do not attend to what you now read, and pursue the
thought which is now offering itself to your mind? This sudden alteration may
at least possibly happen; and if it does, it will be to you a terrible one
indeed. To be thus surprised into the presence of a forgotten God; to be torn
away, at once, from a world to which your whole heart and soul has been
riveted--a world which has engrossed all your thoughts and cares, all your
desires and pursuits; and be fixed in a state which you never could be so far
persuaded to think of, as to spend so much as one hour in serious preparation
for it: how must you even shudder at the apprehension of it, and with what
horror must it fill you? It seems matter of wonder that in such circumstances
you are not almost distracted with the thoughts of the uncertainty of life, and
are not even ready to die for fear of death. To trifle with God any longer,
after so solemn an admonition as this, would be a circumstance of additional
provocation, which, after all the rest, might be fatal; nor is there any thing
you can expect in such a case, but that he should cut you off immediately, and
teach other thoughtless creatures, by your ruin, what a hazardous experiment
they make when they act as you are acting.
5. And will you, after all, run this desperate
risk? For what imaginable purpose can you do it? Do you think the business of
religion will become less necessary or more easy by your delay? You know that
it will not. You know, that whatever the blessed God demands now, he will also
demand twenty or thirty years hence, if you should live to see the time. God
has fixed his method, in which he will pardon and accept sinners in his Gospel.
And will he ever alter that method? Or if he will not, can men alter it? You
like not to think of repenting and humbling yourself before God, to receive
righteousness and life from his free grace in Christ; and you, above all,
dislike the thought of returning to God in the ways of holy obedience. But will
lie ever dispense with any of these, and publish a new Gospel, with promises of
life and salvation to impenitent unbelieving sinners, if they will but call
themselves Christians, and submit to a few external rites? How long do you
think you might wait for such a change in the constitution of things? You know
death will come upon you, and you cannot but know, in your own conscience, that
a general dissolution will come upon the world long before God can thus deny
himself, and contradict all his perfections and all his declarations;
6. Or if his demands continue the same, as they
assuredly will, do you think any thing which is now disagreeable to you in
them, will be less disagreeable hereafter than it is at present? Shall you love
to sin less, when it becomes more habitual to you, and when your conscience is
yet more enfeebled arid debauched? If you are running with the footmen and
fainting, shall you be able "to contend with the horsemen?" (Jer. 12:5) Surely
you cannot imagine it. You will not say, in any distemper which threatened your
life, "I will stay till I grow a little worse, and then I will apply to a
physician: I will let my disease get a little more rooting in my vitals, and
then I will try what can be done to remove it." No, it is only where the life
of the soul is concerned that men think thus wildly: the life and health of the
body appear too precious to be thus trifled away.
7. If; after such desperate experiments, you are
ever recovered, it must be by an operation of Divine grace on your soul yet
more powerful and more wonderful in proportion to the increasing inveteracy of
your spiritual maladies. And can you expect that the Holy Spirit should be more
ready to assist you, in consequence of your having so shamefully trifled with
him, and affronted him? He is now, in some measure, moving on your heart. If
you feel any secret relentings in it upon what you read, it is a sign that you
are not yet utterly forsaken. But who can tell whether these are not the last
touches he will ever give to a heart so long hardened against him? Who can
tell, but God may this day "swear, in his wrath, that you shall not enter into
his rest?" (Heb. 3:18) I have been telling you that you may immediately die.
You own it is possible you may. And can you think of any thing more terrible?
Yes, sinner, I will tell you of one thing more dreadful than immediate death
and immediate damnation. The blessed God may say, "As for that wretched
creature, who has so long trifled with me and provoked me, let him still live;
let him live in the midst of prosperity and plenty; let him live under the
purest and the most powerful ordinances of the Gospel too; that he may abuse
them to aggravate his condemnation, and die under sevenfold guilt and a
sevenfold curse. I will not give him the grace to think of his ways for one
serious moment more; but he shall go on from bad to worse, filling up the
measure of his iniquities, till death and destruction seize him in an
unexpected hour, and `wrath come upon him to the uttermost.'" (1 Thess.
2:16)
8. You think this is an uncommon case; but I fear
it is much otherwise. I fear there are few congregations where the word of God
has been faith-fully preached, and where it has long been despised, especially
by those whom it had once awakened, in which the eye of God does not see a
number of such wretched souls; though it is impossible for us, in this mortal
state, to pronounce upon the case who they are.
9. I pretend not to say how he will deal with
you, O reader! whether he will immediately cut you off; or seal you up under
final hardness and impenitency of heart, or whether his grace may at length
awaken you to consider your ways, and return to him, even when your heart is
grown yet more obdurate than it is at present. For to his Almighty grace
nothing is hard, not even to transform a rock of marble into a man or a saint.
But this I will confidently say, that if you delay any longer, the time will
come when you will bitterly repent of that delay, and either lament it before
God in the anguish of your heart here or curse your own folly and madness in
hell, yea, when will wish that, dreadful as hell is, you had rather fallen into
it sooner, than have lived in the midst of so many abused mercies, to render
the degree of your punishment more insupportable, and your sense of it more
exquisitely tormenting.
10. I do therefore earnestly exhort you, in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the worth, and, if I may so speak, by the
blood of your immortal and perishing soul, that you delay not a day or an hour
longer. Far from "giving sleep to your eye; or slumber to tour eyelids," (Prov.
6:4) in the continued neglect of this important concern, take with you, even
now, "words, and turn unto the Lord;" (Hos. 14:2) and before you quit the place
where you now are, fall upon your knees in his sacred presence, and pour out
your heart in such language, or at least to some such purpose as this:
A Prayer for one who is tempted to delay applying to Religion, though under some conviction of its importance.
THE SINNER ARRAIGNED AND CONVICTED.
1. Conviction of guilt necessary.--2. A charge of rebellion against God advanced.--3. Where it is shown--that all men are born under God's law.--4. That no man hath perfectly kept it.--5. An appeal to the reader's conscience on this head, that he hath not.--6. That to have broken it, is an evil inexpressibly great.--7. Illustrated by a more particular view of the aggravations of this guilt, arising--from knowledge.--8. From divine favors received.--9. From convictions of conscience overborne.--10. From the strivings of God's Spirit resisted.--11.. From vows and resolutions broken.--12. The charges summed up, and left upon the sinner's conscience.--The sinner's confession under a general conviction of guilt.
1. AS I am attempting to lead you to true religion and not merely to some
superficial form of it, I am sensible I can do it no otherwise than in the way
of deep humiliation. And therefore supposing you are persuaded, through the
divine blessing on what you have before read, to take it into consideration, I
would now endeavor, in the first place, with all the seriousness I can, to make
you heartily sensible of your guilt before God. For I well know, that, unless
you are convinced of this, and affected with the conviction, all the provisions
of Gospel grace will be slighted, and your soul infallibly destroyed, in the
midst of the noblest means appointed for its recovery. I am fully persuaded
that thousands live and die in a course of sin, without feeling upon their
hearts any sense that they are sinners, though they cannot, for shame, but own
it in words. And therefore let me deal faithfully with you, though I may seem
to deal roughly; for complaisance is not to give law to addresses in which the
life of your soul is concerned.
2. Permit me therefore, O sinner, to consider
myself at this time as an advocate for God, as one employed in his name to
plead against thee and to charge thee with nothing less than being a rebel and
a traitor against the Sovereign Majesty or heaven and earth. However thou
mayest be dignified or distinguished among men; if the noblest blood run in thy
veins; if thy seat were among princes, and thine arm were "the terror of the
mighty in the land of the living," (Ezek. 32:27) it would be necessary thou
shouldst be told plainly, thou hast broken the laws of the King of kings and by
the breach of them art become obnoxious to his righteous condemnation.
3. Your conscience tells you that you were born
the natural subject of God, born under the indispensable obligations of his
law. For it is most apparent that the constitution of your rational nature,
which makes you capable of receiving law from God, binds you to obey it. And it
is equally evident and certain that you have not exactly obeyed this law, nay,
that you have violated it in many aggravated instances.
4. Will you dare to deny this? Will you dare to
assert your innocence? Remember, it must be a complete innocence; yea, and a
perfect righteousness too, or it can stand you in no stead, farther than to
prove, that, though a condemned sinner, you are not quite so criminal as some
others, and will not have quite so hot a place in hell as they. And when this
is considered, will you plead not guilty to the charge? Search the records of
your own conscience, for God searcheth them: ask it seriously, "Have you never
in your life sinned against God?" Solomon declared, that in his days "there was
not a just man upon earth, who did good and sinned not;" (Eccl. 7:20) and the
apostle Paul, "that all had sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom.
3:23) "that both Jews and Gentiles (which you know, comprehend the whole human
race) were all under sin." (Rom. 3:9) And can you pretend any imaginable reason
to believe the world is grown so much better since their days, that any should
now plead their own case as an exception? Or will you, however, presume to
arise in the face of the omniscient Majesty of heaven, and say, I am the
man?
5. Supposing, as before, you have been free from
those gross acts of immorality which are so pernicious to society that they
have generally been punishable by human laws; can you pretend that you have
not, in smaller instances, violated the rules of piety, of temperance, and
charity? Is there any one person, who has intimately known you, that would not
be able to testify you had said or done something amiss! Or if others could not
convict you, would not your own heart do it! Does it not prove you guilty of
pride, of passion, of sensuality, of an excessive fondness of the world and its
enjoyments? of murmuring, or at least of secretly repining against God, under
the strokes of an afflictive providence; of misspending a great deal of your
time; abusing the gifts of God's bounty to vain, if not, in some instances, to
pernicious purposes; of mocking him when you have pretended to engage in his
worship, "drawing near to him with your mouth and your lips while your heart
has been far front him?" (Isa. 29:13) Does not conscience condemn you of some
one breach of the law at least? And by one breach of it you are, in a sense, a
Scriptural sense, "become guilty of all," (Jam. 2:19) and are as incapable of
being justified before God, by any obedience of your own, as if you had
committed ten thousand offences. But, in reality, there are ten thousand and
more chargeable to your account. When you come to reflect on all your sins of
negligence, as we as on those of commission; on all the instances in which you
have "failed to do good when it was in the power of your hand to do it;" (Prov.
3:27) on all the instances in which acts of devotion have been omitted,
especially in secret; and on all those cases in which you have shown a stupid
disregard to the honor of God, and to the temporal and eternal happiness of
your fellow-creatures: when all these, I say, are reviewed, the number will
swell beyond all possibility of account, and force you to cry out, "Mine
iniquities are more than the hairs of my head." (Psal. 40:12) They will appear
in such a light before you, that your own heart will charge you with countless
multitudes; and how much more, "then, that God, who is greater than your heart,
and knoweth all things!" (1 John 3:20)
6. And say, sinner, is it a little thing that you
have presumed to set light by the authority of the God of heaven, and to
violate his law, if it had been by mere carelessness and inattention? How much
more heinous, therefore, is the guilt, when in an many instances you hare done
it knowingly and willfully! Give me leave seriously to ask you, and let me
entreat you to ask your own soul, "Against whom hast thou magnified thyself?
Against whom hast thou exalted thy voice," (2 Kings 19:22) or "lifted up thy
rebellious hand?" On whose law, O sinner, hast thou presumed to trample? and
whose friendship, and whose enmity, hast thou thereby dared to affront! Is it a
man like thyself that thou host insulted? Is it only a temporal monarch--only
one "who can kill thy body, and then hath no more that he can do?" (Luke,
12:4)
Nay, sinner, thou wouldst not have dared to treat
a temporal prince as thou hast treated the "King Eternal, Immortal," and
"Invisible." (1 Tim. 1:17) No price could have hired thee to deal by the
majesty of an earthly sovereign, as thou bast dealt by that God before whom the
cherubim and seraphim are continually bowing. Not one opposing or complaining,
disputing or murmuring word is heard among all the celestial legions, when the
intimations of his will are published to them. And who art thou, O wretched
man! who art thou, that thou shouldst oppose him? That thou shouldst oppose
and provoke a God of infinite power and terror, who needs but exert one single
act of his sovereign will, and thou art in a moment stripped of every
possession; cut off from every hope; destroyed and rooted up from existence, if
that were his pleasure; or, what is inconceivably conceivably worse, consigned
over to the severest and most lasting agonies? Yet this is the God whom thou
hast offended, whom thou hast affronted to his nice, presuming to violate his
express laws in his very presence. This is the God before whom thou standest as
a convicted criminal; convicted not of one or two particular offenses, but of
thousands and ten thousands; of a course and series of rebellion and
provocations, in which thou hast persisted more or less ever since thou want
born, and the particulars of which have been attended with almost every
conceivable circumstance of aggravation. Reflect on particulars, and deny the
charge if you can.
7. If knowledge be an aggravation of guilt, thy
guilt, O sinner, is greatly aggravated! For thou wast born in Emmanuel's land,
and God hath "written to thee the great things of his law," yet "thou hast
accounted them as a strange thing." (Hos. 8:12) Thou hast "known to do good,
and hast not done it;" (James 4:17) and therefore to thee the omission of it
has been sin indeed. "Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard?" (Isa. 30:28)
Wast thou not early taught the will of God? Hast thou not since received
repeated lessons, by which it has been inculcated again and again, in public
and in private, by preaching and reading the word of God? Nay, hath not thy
duty been in some instances so plain, that, even without any instruction it
all, thine own reason might easily have inferred at? And hast thou not also
been warned of the consequences of disobedience? Hast thou not "known the
righteous judgment of God, that they who commit such things are worthy of
death?" Yet, thou hast, perhaps, "not only done the same, but hast had
pleasure in those that do them;" (Rom. 1:32) hast chosen them for thy most
intimate friends and companions; so as hereby to strengthen, by the force of
example and converse, the hands of each other in your iniquities.
8. Nay more, if Divine love and mercy be any
aggravation of the sins committed against it, thy crimes, O sinner, are
heinously aggravated. Must thou not acknowledge it, O foolish creature and
unwise! Hast thou not been "nourished and brought up by him as his child, and
yet hast rebelled against him?" (Isa. 1:2) Did not God "take you out of the
womb?" (Psal. 22:9) Did he not watch over you in your infant days, and guard
you from a multitude of dangers which the most careful parent or nurse could
not have observed or warded off? Has he not given you your rational powers? and
is it not by him you have been favored with every opportunity of improving
them? Has he not every day supplied your wants with an unwearied liberality,
and added, with respect to many who will read this, the delicacies of life to
its necessary supports? Has he not "heard you cry when trouble came upon you?"
(Job 27:9) and frequently appeared for your deliverance, when in the distress
of nature you have called upon him for help? Has be not rescued you from ruin,
when it seemed just ready to swallow you up; and healed your diseases, when it
seemed to all about you, that the residue of your days was cut off in the
midst? (Psal. 102:24) Or, if it has not been so, is not this long-continued and
uninterrupted health, which you have enjoyed for so many years, to be
acknowledged as an equivalent obligation? Look around upon all your
possessions, and say, what one thing have you in the world which his goodness
did not give you, and which he hath not thus far preserved to you? Add to all
this, the kind notice of his will which he hath sent you; the tender
expostulations which he hath used with you, to bring you to a wiser and better
temper; and the discoveries and gracious invitations of his Gospel which you
have heard, and which you have despised; and then say, whether your rebellion
has not been aggravated by the vilest ingratitude, and whether that aggravation
can be accounted small?
9. Again, if it be any aggravation of Sin to be
committed against conscience, thy crimes, O sinner! have been so aggravated.
Consult the records of it, and then dispute the fact if you can. "There is a
spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding;"
(Job 32:8) and that understanding will act, and a secret conviction or being
accountable to its Maker and Preserver is inseparable from the actings of it.
It is easy to object to human remonstrances, and to give things false colorings
before him; but the heart often condemns, while the tongue excuses. Have you
not often found it so? Has not conscience remonstrated against your past
conduct, and have not these remonstrances been very painful too! I have been
assured, by a gentleman of undoubted credit, that, when he was in the pursuit
of all the gayest sensualities of life, and was reckoned one of the happiest of
mankind, he has seen a dog come into the room where he was among his merry
companions, and has groaned inwardly and said, "O! that I had been that dog!"
And hast thou, O sinner, felt nothing like this? Has thy conscience been so
stupified, so "seared with a hot iron," (1 Tim. 4:2) that it has never cried
out for any of the violences which have been done it? Has it never warned thee
of the fatal consequences of what thou hast done in opposition to it? These
warnings are, in effect, the voice of God; they are the admonitions which he
gave thee by his vicegerent in thy breast. And when his sentence for thy evil
works is executed upon thee in everlasting death, thou shalt hear that voice
speaking to thee again in a louder tone and a severer accent than before; and
thou shalt be tormented with its upbraiding through eternity, because thou
wouldst not, in time, hearken to its admonitions.
10. Let me add farther, if it be any aggravation
that sin has been committed after God has been moving by his Spirit on the
mind, surely your sin has been attended with that aggravation too. Under the
Mosaic dispensation, dark and imperfect as it was, the Spirit strove with the
Jews else Stephen could not have charged it upon them, that through all their
generations "they had always resisted him." (Acts 7:51) Now, surely, we may
much more reasonably apprehend that he strives with sinners under the Gospel.
And have you never experienced any thing of this kind, even when there has been
no external circumstance to awaken you, nor any pious teacher near you? Have
you never perceived some secret impulse upon your mind, leading you to think of
religion, urging you to an immediate consideration or it, sweetly inviting you
to make trial of it, and warning you, that you would lament this stupid
neglect? O sinner, why were not these happy motions attended to? Why did you
not, as it were, spread out all the sail of your soul to catch that heavenly,
that favorable breeze? But you have carelessly neglected it: you have overborne
these kind influences. How reasonably then might the sentence have gone forth
in righteous displeasure, "My Spirit shall no more strive." (Gen. 6:3) And
indeed who can say that it is not already gone forth? If you feel no secret
agitation of mind, no remorse, no awakening while you read such a remonstrance
as this, there will be room, great room to suspect it.
11. There is indeed one aggravation more, which
may not attend your guilt--I mean that of being committed against solemn
covenant engagements: a circumstance which has lain heavy on the consciences of
many, who perhaps in the main series of their lives have served God with great
integrity. But let me call you to think to what this is owing. Is it not that
you have never personally made any solemn profession of devoting yourself to
God at all--have never done any thing which has appeared to your own
apprehension an act by which you have made a covenant with him, though you have
heard so much of his covenant, though you have been so solemnly and so tenderly
invited to it? And in this view, how monstrous must this circumstance appear,
which at first was mentioned as some alleviation of guilt! Yet I must add that
you are not, perhaps, altogether so free from guilt on this head as you may at
first imagine. Has your heart been, even from your youth, hardened to so
uncommon a degree that you have never cried to God in any season of danger and
difficulty? And did you never mingle vows with those cries? Did you never
promise, that, if God would hear and help you in that hour of extremity, you
would forsake your sins, and serve him as long as you lived? He heard and
helped you, or you had not been reading these lines; and, by such deliverance,
did as it were bind down your vows upon you; and therefore your guilt, in the
violation of them, remains before him, though you are stupid enough to forget
them. Nothing is forgotten, nothing is overlooked by him; and the day will
come, when the record shall be laid before you too.
12. And now, O sinner, think seriously with
thyself what defence thou wilt make to all this. Prepare thine apology; call
thy witnesses; make thine appeal from him whom thou hast thus offended, to some
superior judge, if such there be. Alas! those apologies are so weal: and vain,
that one of thy fellow-worms may easily detect and confound them; as I will
endeavor presently to show thee. But thy foreboding conscience already knows
the issue. Thou art convicted, convicted of the most aggravated offences. Thou
"hast not humbled thine heart, but lined up thyself against the Lord of
heaven," (Dan. 5:22,23) and "thy sentence shall come forth from his presence."
(Psal. 17:2) Thou hast violated his known laws; thou hast despised and abused
his numberless mercies; thou hast affronted conscience, his vicegerent in thy
soul; thou hast resisted and grieved his Spirit; thou hast trifled with him in
all thy pretended submissions; and, in one word, and that his own, "thou hast
done evil things as thou couldst." (Jer. 3:5) Thousands are no doubt already in
hell whose guilt never equaled thine; and it is astonishing that God hath
spared there to read this representation of thy case, or to make any pause upon
it. O waste not so precious a moment, but enter attentively, and as humbly us
thou canst, into these reflections which suit a case so lamentable and so
terrible as thine.
Confession of a Sinner convinced in general of his Guilt.
"O God! thou injured Sovereign, thou
all-penetrating and Almighty Judge! what shall I say to this charge! Shall I
pretend I am wronged by it, and stand on the defence in thy presence? I dare
not do it; for `thou knowest my foolishness, and none of my sins are hid from
thee.' Psal. 69:5) My conscience tells me that a denial of my crimes would only
increase them, and add new fuel to the fire of thy deserved wrath. `If I
justify myself, mine own mouth will condemn me; if I say I am perfect, it will
also prove me perverse;' (Job 9:20) `for innumerable evils have compassed me
about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look
up: they are,' as I have been told in thy name, `more than the hairs of my
head; therefore my heart faileth me.' (Psal. 40:12) I am more guilty than it is
possible for another to declare or represent. My heart speaks more than any
other accuser. And thou, O Lord, art much greater than my heart, and knowest
all things. (1 John 3:20)
"What has my life been but a course of rebellion
against thee? It is not this or that particular action alone I have to lament.
Nothing has been right in its principles, and views, and ends. My whole soul
has been disordered. All my thoughts, my affections, my desires, my pursuits
have been wretchedly alienated from thee. I have acted as if I had hated thee,
who art infinitely the loveliest of all beings; as if I had been contriving how
I might tempt thee to the uttermost, and weary out thy patience, marvelous as
it is. My actions have been evil, my words yet more evil than they! and, O
blessed God, my heart, how much more corrupt than either! What an inexhausted
fountain of sin has there been in it! A fountain of original corruption, which
mingled its bitter streams with the days of early childhood; and which, alas!
flows on even to this day, beyond what actions or words could express. I see
this to have, been the case with regard to what I can particularly survey. But,
oh! how many months and years have I forgotten, concerning which I only know
this in the general, that they are much like those I can remember; except it
be, that I have been growing worse and worse, and provoking thy patience more
and more, though every new exercise of it was more and more wonderful.
"And how am I astonished that thy forbearance is
still continued! it is because thou art `God, and not man.' (Hos. 11:9) Had I,
a sinful worm, been thus injured, I could not have endured it. Had I been a
prince, I had long since done justice on any rebel whose crimes had borne but a
distant resemblance to mine. Had I been a parent, I had long since cast off the
ungrateful child who had made me such a return as I have all my life long been
making to thee, O thou Father of my spirit! The flame of natural affection
would have been extinguished, and his sight and his very name would have become
hateful to me. Why then, O Lord, am I not `cast out from thy presence?' (Jer.
52:3) Why am I not sealed up under an irreversible sentence of destruction!
That I live, I owe to thine indulgence. But, oh! if there be yet any way of
deliverance, if there be yet any hope for so guilty a creature, may it be
opened upon me by thy Gospel and thy grace! And if any farther alarm,
humiliation, or terror be necessary to my security and salvation, may I meet
them and bear them all! Wound my heart, O Lord, so that thou wilt but
afterwards `heal it;' and break it in pieces, if thou wilt but at length
condescend to bind it up." (Hos.6:1)
THE SINNER STRIPPED OF HIS VAIN PLEAS.
1,2. The vanity of those pleas which sinners may secretly confide in, is so apparent that they will be ashamed at last to mention them before God.--3. Such as, that they descended from pious us parents.--4. That they had attended to the speculative part of religion.--5. That they had entertained sound notion..--6. 7. That they had expressed a zealous regard to religion, and attended the outward forms of worship with those they apprehended the purest churches.--8. That they had been free from gross immoralities.--9. That they did not think the consequences of neglecting religion would have been so fatal.-- 10. That they could not do otherwise then they did.--11. Conclusion. With the meditation of a convinced sinner giving up his vain pleas before God
1. MY last discourse left the sinner in very alarming and very pitiable
circumstances; a criminal convicted at the bar of God, disarmed of all
pretences to perfect innocence and sinless obedience, and consequently
obnoxious to the sentence of a holy law, which can make no allowance for any
transgression, no not for the least; but pronounces death and a curse against
every act of disobedience: how much more then against those numberless and
aggravated acts of rebellion, of which, O sinner! thy conscience hath condemned
thee before God? I would hope Some of my readers will ingenuously fall under
the conviction, and not think of making any apology; for sure I am, that,
humbly to plead guilty at the divine bar, is the most decent, and, all things
considered, the most prudent thing that can be done in such an unhappy state.
Yet I know the treachery and the self-flattery of a sinful and corrupted heart.
I know what excuses it makes, and how, when it is driven from one refuge, it
flies to another, to fortify itself against conviction, and to persuade, not
merely another, but itself, "That if it has been in some instances to blame, it
is not quite so criminal as was represented; that there are at least
considerations that plead in its favor, which, if they cannot justify, will in
some degree excuse." A secret reserve of this kind, sometimes perhaps scarcely
formed into a distinct reflection, breaks the force of conviction, and often
prevents that deep humiliation before God which is the happiest token of
approaching deliverance. I will therefore examine into some of these
particulars; and for that purpose would seriously ask thee, O sinner! what thou
hast to offer in arrest or judgment? What plea thou canst urge for thyself; why
the sentence of God should not go forth against thee, and why thou shouldst not
fall into the hands of his justice?
2. But this I must premise, that the question
is not; how wouldst thou answer to me, a weak sinful worm like thyself, who am
shortly to stand with thee at the same bar? and "the Lord grant that I may find
mercy of the Lord in that day," (2 Tim. 1:18) but, what wilt thou reply to thy
Judge? What couldst thou plead, if thou wast now actually before his tribunal,
where, to multiply vain words, and to frame idle apologies, would be but to
increase thy guilt and provocation? Surely, the very thought of his presence
must supersede a thousand of those trifling excuses which now sometimes impose
on "a generation that are pure in their own eyes," though they "are not washed
from their filthiness!" (Prov. 30:12) or while they are conscious of their
impurities, "trust in words that cannot profit," (Jer 7:8) and "lean upon
broken reeds." (Isa. 36:6)
3. You will not to be sure, in such a condition,
plead "that you are descended from pious parents." That was indeed your
privilege; and wo be to you that you have abused it, and "forsaken the God of
your fathers." (2 Chron. 7:22) Ishmael was immediately descended from Abraham,
the friend of God, and Esau was the son of Isaac, who was born according to the
promise: yet you know they were both cut off from the blessing to which they
apprehended they had a kind of hereditary claim. You may remember that our Lord
does not only speak of one who would call "Abraham father," who "tormented in
flames," (Luke 16:24) but expressly declares that many of the children of the
kingdom shall be shut out of it; and when others come from the most distant
parts to sit down in it, shall be distinguished from their companions in misery
only by louder accents of lamentation, and more furious "gnashing of teeth."
(Matt. 8:11,12)
4. Nor will you then presume to plead "that you
had exercised your thoughts about the speculative parts of religion." For to
what end can this serve, but to increase your condemnation? Since you have
broken God's law, since you have contradicted the most obvious and apparent
obligations of religion, to have inquired into it, and argued upon it, is a
circumstance that proves your guilt more audacious. What! did you think
religion was merely an exercise of men's wit, and the amusement of their
curiosity? If you argued about it on the principles of common sense, you must
have judged and proved it to be a practical thing; and if it was so, why did
yen not practice accordingly? You knew the particular branches of it; and why
then did you not attend to every one of them? To have pleaded an unavoidable
ignorance would have been their happiest plea that could have remained for you;
nay, an actual, though faulty ignorance, would have been some little allay of
your guilt. But if; by your own confession, you have "known your Master's will,
and have not done it," you bear witness against yourself, that you deserve to
be "beaten with many stripes." (Luke, 12:47)
5. Nor yet, again, will it suffice to say "that
you have had right notions both of the doctrines and the precepts of religion."
Your advantage for practicing it was therefore the greater; but understanding
and acting right can never go for the same thing in the judgment of God or of
man. In "believing there is one God," you have done well; but the "devils also
believe and tremble." (Jam. 2:19) In acknowledging Christ to be the Son of God
and the Holy One, you have done well too; but you know the unclean spirits made
this very orthodox confession; (Luke 4:34,41) and yet they are "reserved in
everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." (Jude,
ver. 6) And will you place any secret confidence in that which might be pleaded
by the infernal spirits as well as by you?
6. But perhaps you may think of pleading that
"you have actually done something in religion." Having judged what faith was
the soundest, and what worship the purest, "you entered yourself into those
societies where such articles of faith were professed, and such forms of
worship were practiced: and among these you have signalized yourself by
exactness of your attendance, by the zeal with which you have espoused their
cause, and by the earnestness with which you have contended for such principles
and practices." O sinner! I much fear that this zeal of thine about the
circumstantials of religion will swell thine account, rather than be allowed in
abatement of it. He that searches thine heart knows from whence it arose, and
how far it extended. Perhaps be sees that it was all hypocrisy, an artful veil
under which thou wast carrying on thy mean designs for this world, while the
sacred name of God and religion were profaned and prostituted in the basest
manner: and if so, thou art cursed with a distinguished curse for so daring an
insult on the Divine omniscience as well as justice. Or perhaps the earnestness
with which you have been "contending for the faith and worship which was once
delivered to the saints," (Jude, ver. 3) or which, it is possible, you may have
rashly concluded to be that, might be mere pride and bitterness of spirit; and
all the zeal you have expressed might possibly arise from a confidence of your
own judgment, from an impatience of contradiction, or some secret malignity of
spirit, which delighteth itself in condemning, and even in worrying others;
yea, which, if I may be al1owed the expression, fiercely preys upon religion,
as the tiger upon the lamb, to turn it into a nature most contrary to its own.
And shall this screen you before the great tribunal? Shall it not rather awaken
the displeasure it is pleaded to avert?
7. But say that this zeal for notions and forms
has been ever so well intended, and, so far as it has gone ever so well
conducted too; what will that avail toward vindicating thee in so many
instances or negligence and disobedience as are recorded against thee in the
book of God's remembrance? Were the revealed doctrines of the Gospel to be
earnestly maintained, (as indeed they ought) and was the great practical
purpose for which they were revealed to be forgot? Was the very mint, and
anise, and cummin to be tithed; and were "the weightier matters of the law to
be omitted," (Matt. 23:23) even that love to God which is its "first and great
command?" (Matt. 22:38) O! how wilt thou be able to vindicate even the justest
sentence thou hast passed on others for their infidelity, or for their
disobedience, without being "condemned out of thine own mouth?" (Luke 19:22)
8. Will you then plead "your fair moral
character, your works of righteousness and of mercy?" Had your obedience to the
law of God been complete, the plea might be allowed as important and valid. But
I have supposed, and proved above, that conscience testifies to the contrary;
and you will not now dare to contradict it. I add farther, had these works of
yours, which you now urge, proceeded from a sincere love to God, and a genuine
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you would not have thought of pleading them any
otherwise than as an evidence of your interest in the Gospel-covenant and in
the blessings of it, procured by the righteousness and blood of the Redeemer;
and that faith, had it been sincere, would have been attended with such deep
humility, and with such solemn apprehensions of the Divine holiness and glory,
that, instead of pleading any works of your own before God, you would rather
have implored his pardon for the mixture of sinful imperfection attending the
very best of them. Now, as you are a stranger to this humbling and sanctifying
principle, (which here in this address I suppose my reader to be) it is
absolutely necessary you should be plainly and faithfully told, that neither
sobriety, nor honesty, nor humanity will justify you before the tribunal of
God, when he "lays judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet,"
(Isa. 28:17) and examines all your actions and all your thoughts with the
strictest severity. You have not been a drunkard, an adulterer, or a robber. So
far it is well. You stand before a righteous God, who will do you ample
justice, and therefore will not condemn you for drunkenness, adultery, or
robbery; but you have forgotten him, your Parent and your Benefactor; you have
"cast off fear, and restrained prayer before him;" (Job 15:4) you have despised
the blood of his Son, and all the immortal blessings that he purchased with it.
For this, therefore, you are judged, and condemned. And as for any thing that
has looked like virtue and humanity in your temper and conduct, the exercise of
it has in great measure been its own reward, if there were any thing more than
form and artifice in it; and the various bounties of Divine Providence to you,
amidst all your numberless provocations, have been a thousand times more than
an equivalent for such defective and imperfect virtues as these. You remain
therefore chargeable with the guilt of a thousand offences, for which you have
no excuse, though there are some other instances in which you did not grossly
offend. And those good works in which you have been so ready to trust, will no
more vindicate you in his awful presence, than a man's kindness to his poor
neighbors would be allowed as a plea in arrest of judgment, when he stood
convicted of high treason against his prince.
9. But you will, perhaps, be ready to say, "you
did not expect all this: you did not think the consequences of neglecting
religion would have been so fatal." And why did you not think it? Why did you
not examine more attentively and more impartially? Why did you suffer the pride
and folly of your vain heart to take up with such superficial appearances, and
trust the light suggestions of your own prejudiced mind against the express
declaration of the word of God? Had you reflected on his character as the
supreme Governor of the world, you would have seen the necessity of such a day
of retribution as we are now referring to. Had you regarded the Scripture, the
divine authority of which you professed to believe, every page might have
taught you to expect it. "You did not think of religion!" and of what were you
thinking when you forgot or neglected it? Had you so much employment of another
kind? Of what kind, I beseech you! What end could you propose, by any thing
else, of equal moment? Nay, with all your engagements, conscience will tell you
that there have been seasons when, for want of thought, time and life have been
a burden to you; yet you guarded against thought as against an enemy, and cast
up, as it were, an entrenchment of inconsideration around you on every side, as
if it had been to defend you from the most dangerous invasion. God knew you
were thoughtless, and therefore he sent you "line upon line, and precept upon
precept," (Isa. 28:10) in such plain language that it needed no genius or study
to understand it. He tried you too with afflictions as well as with mercies, to
awaken you out of your fatal lethargy; and yet, when awakened, you would lie
down again upon the bed of sloth. And now, pleasing as your dreams might be,
"you must lie down in sorrow." (Isa. 50:11) Reflection has at last overtaken
you, and must be heard as a tormentor, since it might not be heard as a
friend.
10. But some may perhaps imagine that one
important apology is yet unheard, and that there may be room to say, "you were,
by the necessity of your nature, impelled to those things which are now charged
upon you as crimes; and that it was not in your power to have avoided them, in
the circumstances in which you were placed." If this will do any thing, it
indeed promises to do much--so much that it will amount to nothing. If I were
disposed to answer you upon the folly and madness of your own principles. I
might say that the same consideration which proves it was necessary for you to
offend, proves also that it is necessary for God to punish you; and that,
indeed, he cannot but do it: and I might farther say with an excellent writer,
"that the same principles which destroy the injustice of sins, destroy the
injustice of punishment too." But if you cannot admit this; if you should still
reply, in spite of principle, that it must be unjust to punish you for an
action utterly and absolutely unavoidable, I really think you would answer
right. But in that answer you will contradict your own scheme, as I observed
above; and I leave your conscience to judge what sort of a scheme that must be
which would make all kind of punishment unjust; for the argument will on the
whole be the same, whether with regard to human punishment or divine. It is a
scheme full of confusion and horror. You would not, I am sure, take it from a
servant who had robbed you and then fired your house; you would never inwardly
believe that he could not have helped it or think that he had fairly excused
himself by suck a plea; and I am persuaded you would be so far from presuming
to offer it to God at the great day, that you would not venture to turn it into
a prayer even now. Imagine that you saw a malefactor dying with such words as
these in his mouth: "O God! it is true I did indeed rob and murder my
fellow-creatures; but thou knowest, that, as my circumstances were ordered, I
could not do otherwise; my will was irresistibly determined by the motives
which thou didst set before me, and I could as well have shaken the foundations
of the earth, or darkened the sun in the firmament, as have resisted the
impulse which bore me on." I put it to your conscience whether you would not
look on such a speech as this with detestation, as one enormity added to
another. Yet, if the excuse would have any weight in. your mouth, it would have
equal weight in his; or would be equally applicable to any, the most shocking
occasions. But indeed it is so contrary to the plainest principles of common
reason, that I can-hardly persuade myself that any one could seriously and
thoroughly believe it; and should imagine my time very ill employed here if I
were to set myself to combat those pretences to argument by which the
wantonness of human wit has attempted to varnish it over.
11. You-see then, on the whole, the vanity of all
your pleas; and how easily the most plausible or them might be silenced by a
mortal man like yourself; how much more then by Him who searches all hearts,
and can; in a moment, flash in upon the conscience a most powerful and
irresistible conviction? What then can you do, while you stand convicted in the
presence of God? What should you do, but hold your peace under an inward sense
of your inexcusable guilt, and prepare yourself to hear the sentence which his
law pronounces against you? You must feel the execution of it, if the Gospel
does not at length deliver you; and you must feel something of the terror of it
before you can be excited to seek to that Gospel for deliverance.
The Meditation of a convinced Sinner giving up his vain pleas before God.
THE SINNER SENTENCED.
1,2.The sinner called upon to hear his sentence.--3. God's law does now in general pronounce a curse.--4. It pronounces death.--5. And being turned into hell.--6. The judgement day shall come.--7.8. The solemnity of that grand process described according to scriptural representations of it.--9. With a particular illustration of the sentence, "Depart, accursed," &c.--10. The execution wilt certainly and immediately follow.--11. The sinner warned to prepare for enduring it. The reflection of a sinner struck with the terror of his sentence.
1. HEAR, O sinner! and I will speak (Job 42:4.) yet once more, as in the
name of God, of God thine Almighty Judge, who, if thou dost not attend to his
servants, will, ere long, speak unto thee in a more immediate manner, with an
energy and terror which thou shalt not be able to resist.
2. Thou hast been convicted, as in his
presence. Thy pleas have been overruled, or rather they have been silenced. It
appears before God, it appears to thine own conscience that thou hast nothing
more to offer in arrest of judgment; therefore hear thy sentence, and summon
up, if thou canst, all the powers of thy soul to bear the execution of it. "It
is," indeed, a very small thing "to be judged of man's judgment;" but "he who
now judgeth thee is the Lord." (1 Cor. 4:3,4) Hear, therefore, and tremble,
while I tell thee how he will speak to thee; or rather, while I show thee, from
express Scripture, how he doth even now speak, and what is the authentic and
recorded sentence of his word, even of his word who hath said, "Heaven and
earth shall pass away, but not one tittle of my word shall ever pass away."
(Matt. 5:18)
3. The law of God speaks not to thee alone, O
sinner! nor to thee by any particular address; but in a most universal language
it speaks to all transgressors, and levels its terrors against all offences,
great or small, without any exception. And this is its language: "Cursed is
everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the
law to do them." (Gal. 3:10) This is its voice to the whole world; and this it
speaks to thee. Its awful contents are thy personal concern, O reader! and thy
conscience knows it. Far from continuing in all things that are written therein
to do them, thou canst not but be sensible that "innumerable evils have
encompassed thee about." (Psa. 40:12) It is then manifest thou art the man whom
it condemns: thou art even now "cursed with a curse," as God emphatically
speaks, (Mal 3:9.) with the curse of the Most High God; yea, "all the curses
which are written in the book of the law" are pointed against thee. (Deut.
29:20) God may righteously execute any of them upon thee in a moment; and
though thou at present feelest none of them, yet, if infinite mercy do not
prevent, it is but a little while and they will "come into thy bowels like
water," till thou art burst asunder with them, and shall penetrate "like oil
into thy bones." (Psa. 109:18)
4. Thus saith the Lord, "The soul that sinneth,
it shall die." (Ezek. 18:4) But thou hast sinned, and therefore thou art under
a sentence of death. And, O unhappy creature, of what a death! What will the
end of these things be? That the agonies of dissolving nature shall seize thee,
and thy soul shall be torn away from thy languishing body, and thou "return to
the dust from whence thou wast taken." (Psal. 104:29) This is indeed one awful
effect of sin. In these affecting characters has God, through all nations and
all ages of men, written the awful register and memorial of his holy abhorrence
of it, and righteous displeasure against it. But, alas! all this solemn pomp
and horror of dying is but the opening of the dreadful scene. It is a rough
kind of stroke, by which the fetters are knocked off when the criminal is led
out to torture and execution.
5. Thus saith the Lord, "The wicked shall be
turned into hell, even all the nations that forget God." (Psal. 9:17) Though
there be whole nations of them, their multitudes and their power shall be no
defence to them. They shall be driven into hell together--into that flaming
prison which divine vengeance hath prepared-into "Tophet, which is ordained of
old, even for royal sinners" as well as for others; so little can any human
distinction protect! "He hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire
and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, shall kindle
it;" (Isa. 30:33) and the flaming torrent shall flow in upon it so fast, that
it shall be turned into a sea of liquid fire; or, as the Scripture also
expresses it, "a lake burning with fire and brimstone" for ever. (Rev. 21:8)
"This is the second death," and the death to which thou, O sinner! by the word
of God art doomed;
6. And shall this sentence stand upon record in
vain! Shall the law speak it, and the Gospel speak it? and shall it never be
pronounced more audibly? and will God never require and execute the punishment?
He will O sinner! require it; and he will execute it, though he may seem for a
while to delay. For well dost thou know that "he hath appointed a day in which
he will judge the" whole "world in righteousness, by that Man whom he hath
ordained, of which he hath given assurance in having raised him from the dead."
(Acts 17.31) And when God judgeth the world, O reader! whoever thou aft, he
will judge thee. And while I remind thee of it, I would also remember that he
will judge me. And "knowing the terror of the Lord," (2 Cor 5:11) that I may
"deliver my own soul," (Ezek. 33:9) I would, with all plainness and sincerity,
labor to deliver thine.
7. I therefore repeat the solemn warning: Then, O
sinner! shalt "stand before the judgment-seat of Christ." (2 Cor. 5:10) Thou
shalt see that pompous appearance, the description of which is grown so
familiar to thee that the repetition of it makes no impression on thy mind. But
surely, stupid as thou now art, the shrill trumpet of the archangel shall shake
thy very soul: and if nothing else can awaken and alarm thee, the convulsions
and flames of a dissolving world shall do it.
8. Dost thou really think that the intent of
Christ's final appearance is only to recover his people from the grave, and to
raise them to glory and happiness? Whatever assurance thou hast that there
shall be "a resurrection of the just," thou hast the same that there shall also
be "a resurrection or the unjust;" (Acts, 24:15) that "he shall separate" the
rising dead "one from another, as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the
goats," (Matt. 25:32) with equal certainty, and with infinitely greater ease.
Or can you imagine that he will only make an example of some flagrant and
notorious sinners, when it is said that "all the dead," both "small and great,"
shall "stand before God;" (Rev. 20:12) and that even "he who knew not his
Master's will," and consequently seems of all others to have had the fairest
excuse for his omission to obey it, yet even "he," for that very omission,
"shall be beaten," though "with fewer stripes?" (Luke 12:48) Or can you think
that a sentence, to be delivered with so much pomp and majesty, a sentence by
which the righteous judgment of God is to be revealed, and to have its most
conspicuous and final triumph, will be inconsiderable, or the punishment to
which it shall consign the sinner be slight or tolerable? There would have been
little reason to apprehend that, even if we had been left barely to our own
conjectures what that sentence should be. But this is far from being the case:
our Lard Jesus Christ, in his infinite condescension and compassion, has been
pleased to give us a copy of the sentence, and no doubt a most exact copy; and
the words which contain it are worthy of being inscribed on every heart. "The
King," amidst all the splendor and dignity in which he shall them appear,
"shall say unto those on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!" (Matt. 25:34)
And "where the word of a king is, there is power" indeed. (Eccles. 8:4) And
these words have a power which may justly animate the heart of the humble
Christian under the most overwhelming sorrow, and may fill him "with joy
unspeakable and fall of glory." (1 Pet. 1:8) To be pronounced the blessed of
the Lord! to be called to a kingdom! to the immediate, the everlasting
inheritance of it; and of such a kingdom! so well prepared, so glorious, so
complete, so exquisitely fitted for the delight and entertainment of such
creatures, so formed and so renewed that it shall appear worthy the eternal
counsels of God to have contrived it, worthy his eternal love to have prepared
it, and to have delighted himself with the views of bestowing it upon his
people: behold a blessed hope indeed! a lively, glorious hope, to which we are
"begotten again by the resurrection of Christ from the dead," (I Pet.1:3) and
formed by the sanctifying influence of the Spirit of God upon our minds. But it
is a hope from which thou, O sinner! art at present excluded; and methinks that
it might be grievous to reflect, "These gracious words shall Christ speak to
some, to multitudes--but not to me; on me there is no blessedness pronounced;
for me there is no kingdom prepared." But is that all? Alas! sinner, our Lord
hath given thee a dreadful counterpart to this. He has told us what he will say
to thee, if thou continuest what thou art--to thee, and all the nations of the
impenitent and unbelieving world, be they ever so numerous, be the rank of
particular criminals ever so great. He shall say to the "kings of the earth"
who have been rebels against him, to "the great and rich men, and the chief
captains and the mighty men," as well as to "every bondman and every freeman"
or inferior rank, (Rev. 9:15) "Depart front me, ye cursed, into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matt. 25:41) Oh! pause upon
these weighty words, that thou mayest enter into something of the importance of
them
9. He will say, "Depart:" you shall be driven
from his presence with disgrace and infamy: "from him," the source of life and
blessedness, in a nearness to whom all the inhabitants of heaven continually
rejoice; you shall "depart," accursed: you have broken God's law, and its curse
falls upon you; and you are and shall he under that curse, that abiding curse;
from that day forward you shall be regarded by God and all his creatures as an
accursed and abominable thing, as the most detestable and the most miserable
part of the creation. You shall go "into fire;" and, oh! consider into what
fire! Is it merely into one fierce blaze which shall consume you in a moment,
though with exquisite pain? That were terrible. But, oh! such terrors are not
to be named with these. Thine, sinner, "is everlasting fire." It is that which
our Lord hath in such awful terms described as prevailing there, "where their
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched;" and again, in wonderful
compassion, a third time, "where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not
quenched," (Mark 9:44, 46, 48) Nor was it originally prepared or principally
intended for you: it was "prepared for the devil and his angels;" for those
first grand rebels who were, immediately upon their fall, doomed to it: and
since you have taken part with them in their apostacy, you must sink with them
into that flaming ruin, and sink so much the deeper, as you have despised the
Savior, who was never offered to them. These must be your companions and your
tormentors, with whom you must dwell forever. And is it I that say this? or
says not the law and the Gospel the same? Does not the Lord Jesus Christ
expressly say, who is the "faithful and true witness," (Rev. 3:14) even he who
himself is to pronounce the sentence?
10. And when it is thus pronounced, and
pronounced by him, shall it not also be executed? Who could imagine the
contrary? Who could imagine there should be all this pompous declaration to
fill the mind only with vain terror, and that this sentence should vanish into
smoke? You may easily apprehend that this would be a greater reproach to the
Divine administration than if sentence were never to be passed. And therefore
we might easily have inferred the execution of it, from the process of the
preceding judgment. But lest the treacherous heart of a sinner should deceive
him with so vain a hope, the assurance of that execution is immediately added
in very memorable terms. It shall be done: it shall immediately be done. Then
on that very day, while the sound of it is yet in their ears, "the wicked shall
go away into everlasting punishment;" (Matt. 25:46) and thou, O reader! whoever
thou art, being found in their number, shalt go away with them; shalt be driven
on among all these wretched multitudes and plunged with them into eternal ruin.
The wide gates of hell shall be open to receive thee: they shall be shut upon
thee for ever, to enclose thee, and be fast barred by the Almighty hand of
divine justice, to prevent all hope, all possibility of escape for ever.
11. And now "prepare" thyself "to meet the Lord
thy God." (Amos 4:12) Summon up all the resolution of thy mind to endure such a
sentence such an execution as this: for "he will not meet thee as a man;" (Isa.
47:36) whoseheart may sometimes fail him when about to exert a needful act of
severity, so that compassion may prevail against reason and justice. No, he
will meet thee as a God, whose schemes and purposes are all immovable as iris
throne. I therefore testify to thee in his name this day, that if God be true,
he will thus speak; and that if he be able, he will thus act. And on
supposition of thy continuance in thine impenitence and unbelief, thou art
brought into this miserable case, that if God be not either false or weak, thou
art undone, thou art eternally undone.
The Reflection of a Sinner struck with the Terror of his Sentence.
THE HELPLESS STATE OF THE SINNER UNDER CONDEMNATION.
1.2. The sinner urged to consider how he can be saved from this impending ruin.--3 Not by any thing he can offer.--4. Nor by any thing he can endure.--5 Nor by any thing hr can do in the course of future duty.--6-8. Nor by any alliance with fellow-sinners on earth or in hell.--9. Nor by any interposition or intercession of angels or saints in his favor. Hint of the only method to be afterwards more largely explained. The lamentation of a sinner in this miserable condition.
1. SINNER, thou hast heard the sentence of God as it stands upon record in
his sacred and immutable word; and wilt thou lie down under its in everlasting
despair? wilt thou make no attempt to be delivered from it, when it speaks
nothing less than eternal death to thy soul? If a criminal, condemned by human
laws, has but the least shadow of hope that he may escape, he is all attention
to it. If there be a friend who be thinks can help him, with what strong
importunity does be entreat! the interposition of that! friend? And even while
he is before the judge. how difficult is it! often to force him away from the
bar, while the cry of mercy, mercy, mercy, may be heard, though it be never so
unseasonable? A mere possibility that it may make some eager in it, and
unwilling to be silenced and removed.
2. Wilt thou not then, O Sinner! ere yet
execution is done, that execution which may perhaps be done this very day, wilt
thou not cast about in thy thoughts what measures may be taken for deliverance?
Yet what measures can be taken? Consider attentively, for it is an affair of
moment. Thy wisdom, thy power, thy eloquence, thy interest can never he exerted
on a greater occasion. If thou canst help thyself, do it. If thou hast any
secret source of relief, go not out of thyself for other assistance. If thou
hast any sacrifice to offer, if thou hast any strength to exert; yea, if thou
hast any allies on earth, or in the invisible world, who can defend or deliver
thee, take thy own way, so that thou mayest but be delivered at all, that we
may not see thy ruin. But say, O sinner! in the presence of God, what sacrifice
thou wilt present, what strength thou wilt exert, what allies thou wilt have
recourse to on so urgent, so hopeless an occasion. For hopeless I must indeed
pronounce it, if such methods are taken.
3. The justice of God is injured; hast thou any
atonement to make to it? If thou wast brought to an inquiry and proposal, like
that of an awakened sinner, "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 of rams, or with
ten thousands of rivers of oil?" (Mic. 6:6,7) Alas! wert thou as great a prince
as Solomon himself and couldst thou indeed purchase such sacrifices as these,
there would be no room to mention them. "Lebanon would not be sufficient to
burn, nor all the beasts thereof for a burnt-offering." (Isa. 40:18) Even under
that dispensation which admitted and required sacrifices in some cases, the
blood of bulls and of goats, though it exempted the offender from farther
temporal punishment, "could not take away sin," (Heb. 10:4) nor prevail by any
means to purge the conscience in the sight of God. And that soul that had "done
aught presumptuously" was not allowed to bring any sin-offering, or
trespass-offering at all, but was condemned to "die without mercy." (Num.
15:30) Now God and thine own conscience know that thine offences have not been
merely the errors of ignorance and inadvertency, but that thou hast sinned with
a high hand in repeated aggravated instances, as thou hast acknowledged
already. shouldst thou add, with the wretched sinner described above, "Shall I
give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my
soul?" (Mic. 6:7) What could the blood of a beloved child do in such a case,
but dye thy crimes so much the deeper and add a yet unknown horror to them?
Thou hast offended a Being of infinite majesty; and if that offence is to be
expiated by blood, it must be another kind of blood than that which flows in
the veins of thy children, or in thine own.
4. Wilt thou then suffer thyself till thou hast
made full satisfaction? But how shall that satisfaction be made? Shall it be by
any calamities to be endured in this mortal, momentary life? Is the justice of
God then esteemed so little a thing, that the sorrows of a few days should
suffice to answer its demands? Or dost thou think of future sufferings in the
invisible world? If thou dost, that is not deliverance; and with regard to
that, I may venture to say, when thou hast made full satisfaction, thou wilt be
released; when thou hast paid the uttermost farthing of that debt, thy
prison-doors shall be opened; but in the mean time thou must "make thy bed in
hell:" (Psa. 139:8) and, oh! unhappy man, wilt thou lie down there with a
secret hope that the moment will come when the rigor of Divine justice will not
be able to inflict any thing more than thou hast endured, and when thou mayest
claim thy discharge as a matter of right? It would indeed be well for thee if
thou couldst carry down with thee such a hope, false and flattering as it is;
but, alas! thou wilt see things in so just a light, that to have no comfort but
this will be eternal despair. That one word of thy sentence, "everlasting
fire;" that one declaration, "the worm dieth not, and the fire is not
quenched," will be sufficient to strike such a thought into black confusion,
and to over-whelm thee with hopeless agony and horror.
5. Or do you think that your future reformation
and diligence in duty for the time to come will procure your discharge from
this sentence? Take heed, sinner, what kind of obedience thou thinkest of
offering to a holy God. That must be spotless and complete which his infinite
sanctity can approve and accept, if he consider thee in thyself alone: there
must be no inconstancy, no forgetfulness, no mixture of sin attending it. And
wilt thou, enfeebled as thou art by so much original corruption and so many
sinful habits contracted by innumerable actual transgressions, undertake to
render such an obedience, and that for all the remainder or thy life! In vain
wouldst thou attempt it, even for one day. New guilt would immediately plunge
thee into new ruin. But if it did not, if from this moment to the very end of
thy life all were as complete obedience as the law of God required from Adam in
Paradise, would that be sufficient to cancel past guilt? Would it discharge an
old debt, that thou hast not contracted a new one? Offer this to thy neighbor,
and see if he will accept it for payment; and if he will not, wilt thou presume
to offer it to thy God?
6. But I will not multiply words on so plain a
subject. While I speak thus, time is passing away death presses on, and
judgment is approaching. And what can save thee from these awful scenes, or
what can protect thee in them? Can the world save thee--that vain delusive idol
of thy wishes and suits, to which thou alt sacrificing thine eternal hopes?
Well dost thou know that it will utterly forsake thee when thou needest it
most; and that not one of its enjoyments can be carried along with thee into
the invisible state, no, not so much as a trifle to remember it by, if thou
couldst desire to remember so inconstant and so treacherous a friend as the
world has been.
7. And when you are dead, or when you are dying,
can your sinful companions save you? Is there any one of them, if he were ever
so desirous of doing it, that "can give unto God a ransom for you," (Psa. 49:7)
to deliver you from going down to the grave, or from going down to hell? Alas!
you will probably be so sensible of this, that when you lie on the borders of
the grave you will be unwilling to see or to converse with those that were once
your favorite companions. They will afflict you rather than relieve you, even
then; how much less can they relieve you before the bar of God, when they arc
overwhelmed with their own condemnation!
8. As for the powers of darkness, you are sure
they will he far from having any ability or inclination to help you. Satan has
been watching and laboring for your destruction, and he will triumph in it. But
if there could he any thing of an amicable confederacy between you, what would
that be but an association in ruin? For the day of judgment of ungodly men will
also be the judgment of these rebellious spirits; and the fire into which thou,
O sinner, must depart, is that which was "prepared for the devil and his
angels."" (Matt. 25:41)
9. Will the celestial spirits then save thee?
Will they interpose their power or their prayers in thy favor? An interposition
of power, when sentence is gone forth against thee, were an act of rebellion
against heaven, which these holy and excellent creatures would abhor. And when
the final pleasure of the Judge is known, instead of interceding in vain for
the wretched criminal, they would rather, with ardent zeal for the glory of
their Lord, and cordial acquiescence in the determination of his wisdom and
justice, prepare to execute it. Yea, difficult as it may at present be to
conceive it, it is a certain truth, that the servants of Christ, who now most
tenderly love you, and most affectionately seek your salvation, not excepting
those who are allied to you in the nearest bonds of nature or of friendship,
even they shall put their amen to it. Now indeed their bowels yearn over you,
and their eyes pour out tears on your account. Now they expostulate with you,
and plead with God for you, if by any means, while yet there is hope, you may
"be plucked as a firebrand out of the burning." (Amos 4:11) But, alas! their
remonstrances you will not regard; and as for their prayers, what should they
ask for you? What but that you may see yourself to be undone; and that utterly
despairing of any help from yourself, or from any created power, you may lie
before God in humility and brokenness of heart; that, submitting yourself to
his righteous judgment and in an utter renunciation of all self-dependence and
of all creature dependence, you may lift up an humble look towards him, as
almost from the depths of hell, if peradventure he may have compassion upon
you, and may himself direct you to that only method of rescue, which, while
things continue as in present circumstances they are, neither earth, nor hell,
nor heaven can afford you.
The Lamentation of a Sinner in this miserable Condition.
NEWS OF SALVATION BY CHRIST BROUGHT TO THE CONVINCED AND CONDEMNED SINNER.
1. The awful things which have hitherto been said, intended not to grieve, but to help.--2. After some reflection on the pleasure with which a minister of the Gospel may deliver at message with which he is charged.--3.And some reasons for the repetition of what is in speculation so generally known.--4. 6. The author proceeds briefly to declare the substance of these glad tidings: viz. that God having in his infinite compassion sent his Son to die for sinners, is now reconcilable through him.--7.8. So that the most heinous transgressions shall be entirely pardoned to believers, and they made completely and eternally happy. The sinner's reflection on this good news.
1. My dear reader, it is the great design of the Gospel, and wherever it is
cordially received, it is the glorious effect of it, to fill the heart with
sentiments of love; to teach us to abhor all unnecessary rigor and severity,
and to delight not in the grief but in the happiness of our fellow-creatures. I
can hardly apprehend how he can be a Christian who takes pleasure in the
distress which appears even in a brute, much less in that of a human mind; and
especially in such distress as the thoughts I have been proposing must give, if
there be any due attention to their weight and energy. I have often felt a
tender regret while I have been representing these things; and I could have
wished from my heart that it had not been necessary to have placed them in so
severe and so painful a light. But now I am addressing myself to a part of my
work which I undertake with unutterable pleasure, and to that which indeed I
had in view in all those awful things which I have already been laying before
you. I have been showing you, that, if you hitherto have lived in a state of
impenitence and sin, you are condemned by God's righteous judgment, and have in
yourself no spring or hope and no possibility of deliverance. But I mean not to
leave you under this sad apprehension, to lie down and die in despair,
complaining of that cruel zeal which has "tormented you before your time."
(Matt. 8:29)
2. Arise, O thou dejected soul, that art
prostrate in the dust before God, and trembling under the terror of his
righteous sentence; for I am commissioned to tell thee, that, though "thou hast
destroyed thyself, in God is thine help." (Hos. 13:9) I bring thee "good
tidings of great joy," (Luke 2:10) which delight mine own heart while I
proclaim them, and will, I hope, reach and revive thine--even the tidings of
salvation by the blood and righteousness of the Redeemer. And I give it thee
for thy greater security, in the words of a gracious and forgiving God, that
"he is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and not imputing to them
their trespasses." (2 Cor. 5:19)
3. This in the best news that ever was heard, the
most important message which God ever sent to his creatures; and though I doubt
not that, living as you have done in a Christian country, you have heard it
often, perhaps a thousand and a thousand times; I will, with all simplicity and
plainness, repeat it to you again, and repeat it as if you bad never heard it
before. If thou, O sinner, shouldst now for the first time feel it, then will
it be as a new Gospel unto thee, though so familiar to thine ear; nor shall it
be "grievous to me" to speak what is so common, "since to you it is safe" and
necessary. (Phil. 3:1) They who are most deeply and intimately acquainted with
it, instead of being cloyed and satiated, wilt hear it with distinguished
pleasure; and as for those who have hitherto slighted it, I am sure they had
need to hear it again. Nor is it absolutely impossible that some one soul at
least may read these lines who hath never been clearly and fully instructed in
this important doctrine, though his everlasting all depends on knowing and
receiving it. I will therefore take care that such a one shall not have it to
plead at the bar of God, that, though he lived in a Christian country, he was
never plainly and faithfully taught the doctrine of salvation by Jesus Christ,
"the way, the truth, and the life, by whom alone we come unto the Father."
(John 14:6)
4. I do therefore testify unto you this day, that
the holy and gracious Majesty of heaven and earth, foreseeing the fatal
apostacy into which the whole human race would fall, did not determine to deal
in a way of strict and rigorous severity with us, so as to consign us over to
universal ruin and inevitable damnation; but, on the contrary, he determined to
enter into a treaty of peace and reconciliation, and to publish to all whom the
Gospel should reach, the express offers of life and glory, in a certain method
which his infinite wisdom judged suitable to the purity of his nature and the
honor of his government. This method was indeed a most astonishing one, which,
familiar as it is to our thoughts and our tongues, I cannot recollect and
mention without great amazement. He determined to send his own Son into the
world, "the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person," (Heb.
1:3) partaker of his own divine perfections and honors, to be, not merely a
teacher of righteousness and a messenger of grace, but also a sacrifice for the
sins of men; and would consent to his saving them on no other condition but
this, that he should not only labor, but die in the cause.
5. Accordingly, at such a period of time as
infinite wisdom saw most convenient, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared in human
flesh; and after he had gone through incessant and long-continued fatigue, and
borne all the preceding injuries which the ingratitude and malice of men could
inflict, he voluntarily "submitted himself to death, even the death of the
cross;" (Phil. 2:8) and having been "delivered for our offences, was raised
again for our justification." (Rom. 4:25) After his resurrection he continued
long enough on earth to give his followers most convincing evidences of it, and
then "ascended into heaven in their sight;" (Acts 1:9-11) and sent down his
Spirit from thence unto his apostles, to enable them, in the most persuasive
and authoritative manner, "to preach the Gospel;" and he has given it in charge
to them, and to those who in every age succeed them in this part of their
office, that it should be published "to every creature," (Mark 16:15) that all
who believe in it may be saved by virtue of its abiding energy, and the
immutable power and grace of its divine Author, who is "the same yesterday.
today, and for ever." (Heb. 13:8)
6. This Gospel do I therefore now preach and
proclaim unto thee, O reader, with the sincerest desire that, through divine
grace, it may "this very day be salvation to thy soul." (Luke 19:9) Know
therefore and consider it, whosoever thou art, that as surely as these words
are now before thine eyes, so sure it is that the incarnate Son of God was
"made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men;" (1 Car. 4:9) his
back torn with scourges, his head with thorns, his limbs stretched out as on a
rack, and nailed to the accursed tree; and in this miserable condition he was
hung by his hands and feet, as an object of public infamy and contempt. Thus
did he die in the midst of all the taunts and insults of his cruel enemies, who
thirsted for his blood; and, which was the saddest circumstance of all, in the
midst of those agonies with which he closed the most innocent, perfect, and
useful life that ever was spent on earth, he had not those supports of the
divine presence which sinful men have often experienced when they have been
suffering for the testimony of their conscience. They have often burst out into
transports of joy and songs of praise, while their executioners have been
glutting their hellish malice, and more than savage barbarity, by making their
torments artificially grievous; but the crucified Jesus cried out, in the
distress of his spotless and holy soul, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me?" (Matt. 27:46)
7. Look upon your dear Redeemer! look up to this
mournful, dreadful, yet, in one view, delightful spectacle! and then ask thine
own heart, Do I believe that Jesus suffered and died thus? And why did he
suffer and die? Let me answer in God's own words, "He was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our
peace was upon him, that by his stripes we might he healed: it pleased the Lord
to bruise him, and put him to grief, when he made his soul an offering for sin;
for the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isa. 53:5,6,10) So that I
may address you in the words of the apostle, "Be it known unto you therefore,
that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins;" (Acts
13:38) as it was his command, just after he arose from the dead, "that
repentance and remission of sins should be, preached in his name among all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem," (Luke 24:47) the very place, where his blood
had so lately been shed in such a cruel manner. I do thereby testify to you, in
the words of another inspired writer, that Christ was made sin, that is, a sin
offering, "for; though he knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him:" (2 Cor. 5:21) that is, that through the righteousness he has
fulfilled, and the atonement he has made, we might be accepted by God as
righteous, and be not only pardoned, but received into his favor. "To you is
the word of this salvation sent," (Acts 13:26) and to you, O reader, are the
blessings of it even now offered by God, sincerely rely offered; so that, after
all that I have said under the former heads, it is not your having broken the
law of God that shall prove your ruin, if you do not also reject his Gospel. It
is not all those legions of sins which rise up in battle array against you that
shall be able to destroy you, if unbelief do not lead them on, and final
impenitency do not bring up the rear I know that guilt is a timorous thing; I
wilt therefore speak in the words of God himself nor can any be more
comfortable: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life," (John 3:36)
"and he shall never come into condemnation." (John 5:24) "There is therefore
now no condemnation," no kind or degree of it, "to them," to any one of them,
"who are in Jesus Christ, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit."
(Rom. 8:1) You have indeed been a very great sinner, and your offences have
truly been attended with most heinous aggravations; nevertheless you may
rejoice in the assurance, that "where sin hath abounded, there shall grace much
more abound; "that where sin bath reigned unto death," where it has had its
most unlimited sway and most unresisted triumph, there "shall righteousness
reign to eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 5:21) That
righteousness, to which on believing on him thou wilt be entitled, shall not
only break those chains by which sin is, as it were, dragging thee at its
chariot-wheels with a furious pace to eternal ruin, but it shall clothe thee
with the robes of salvation, shall fix thee on a throne of glory, where thou
shalt live and reign for ever among the princes uf heaven, shalt reign in
immortal beauty and joy. without one remaining scar of divine displeasure upon
thee, without any single mark by which it could be known that thou hadst even
been obnoxious to wrath and a curse, except it be an anthem of praise to "the
Lamb that was slain, and has washed thee from thy sins in his own blood." (Rev.
1:5)
8. Nor is it necessary, in order to thy being
released from guilt, and entitled to this high and complete felicity, that thou
shouldst, before thou wilt venture to apply to Jesus, bring any good works of
thine own to recommend thee to his acceptance. It is indeed true, that, if thy
faith be sincere, it will certainly produce them; but I have the authority of
the word of God to tell thee that if thou this day sincerely believest in the
name of the Son of God, thou shalt this day be taken under his care, and be
numbered among those of his sheep to whom he hath graciously declared that "he
will give eternal life, and that they shall never perish." (John 10:28) Thou
hast no need therefore to say, "Who shall go up into heaven, or who shall
descend into the deep for me? For the word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in
thy heart." (Rom. 10:6,7,8) With this joyful message I leave thee; with this
faithful saying, indeed "worthy of all acceptation;" (1 Tim. l:15) with this
Gospel, O sinner, which is my life; and which, if thou dost not reject, will be
thine too.
The Sinner's Reflection on this Good News.
A MORE PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE WAY BY WHICH THIS SALVATION IS TO BE OBTAINED.
1. An inquiry into the way of salvation by Christ being supposed.--2. The sinner is in general directed to repentance and faith.--3. And urged to give up all self-dependence.--4. And to seek salvation by free grace.--5. A summary of more particular directions is proposed.--6. That the sinner should apply to Christ.--7. With a deep abhorrence of his former sins.--8. And a firm resolution of forsaking them.--9. That he solemnly commits his soul into the hands of Christ, the great vital act of faith.--10. Which is exemplified at large.--11. That he make it in fact the governing care of his future life to obey and imitate Christ.--12. This is the only method of obtaining Gospel salvation. The Sinner deliberating on the necessity of accepting it.
1. I now consider you, my dear reader, as coming to me with the inquiry
which the Jews once addressed to our Lord, "What shall we do, that we may work
the works of God?" (John 4:28) "What method shall I take to secure that
redemption and salvation which I am told Christ has procured for his people?" I
would answer it as seriously and carefully as possible, as one that knows of
what importance it is to you to be rightly informed; and that knows also how
strictly he is to answer to God for the sincerity and care with which the reply
is made. May I be enabled to "speak as his oracle," (1 Pet. 4:11) that is in
such a manner as faithfully to echo back what the sacred oracles teach!
2. And here, that I may be sure to follow the
safest guides and the fairest examples, I must preach salvation to you in the
way of "repentance toward God, and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ," (Acts
20:21) that good old doctrine which the apostles preached, and which no man can
pretend to change but at the peril of his own souls and of theirs who attend to
him.
3. I suppose that you are by this time convinced
of your guilt and condemnation, and of your own inability to recover yourself.
Let me nevertheless urge you to feel that conviction yet more deeply, and to
impress it with yet greater weight upon your soul; that you have "undone
yourself," and that "in yourself is not your help found." (Hos. 13:9) Be
persuaded, therefore, expressly, and solemnly, and sincerely, to give up all
self-dependence; which, if you do not guard against it, will be ready to return
secretly before it is observed, and will lead you to at-tempt building up what
you have just been destroying.
4. Be assured, that, if ever you are saved, you
must ascribe that salvation entirely to the free grace of God. If, guilty and
miserable as you are, you are not only accepted, but crowned, you must "lay
down your crown," with all humble acknowledgment, "before the throne." (Rev.
4:10.) "No flesh must glory in his presence; but he that glorieth must glory in
the Lord; for of him are we in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." (1 Cor. 1:29,30,31) And
you must be sensible you are in such a state, as, having none of these in
yourself; to need them in another. You must therefore be sensible that you are
ignorant and guilty, polluted and enslaved; or, as our Lord expresses it, with
regard to some who were under a Christian profession, that as a sinner "you are
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." (Rev. 3:17)
5. If these views be deeply impressed upon your
mind you will be prepared to receive what I am now to say. Hear, therefore, in
a few words, your duty, your remedy, and your safety; which consists in this,
"That you must apply to Christ, with a deep abhorrence of your former sins, and
a firm resolution of forsaking them; forming that resolution in the strength of
his grace, and fixing your dependence in him for your acceptance with God, even
while you are purposing to do your very best, and when you have actually done
the best you ever will do in consequence of that purpose.
6. The first and most important advice that I can
give you in your present circumstances, is, that you look to Christ and apply
yourself to him. And here, say not in your heart, "who shall ascend into
heaven, to bring him down to me?" (Rom. 10:6) or, "who shall raise me up
thither, to present me before him?" The blessed "Jesus, by whom all things
consist," (Col. 1:17) by whom the whole system of them is supported. "forgotten
as he is by most that bear his name," "is not far from any of us;" (Acts 17:27)
nor could he have promised to have been "wherever two or three are met together
in his name," (Matt. 18:20) but in consequence of those truly divine
perfections, by which he is every where present. Would you therefore, O sinner,
desire to be saved? Go to the Savior. Would you desire to be delivered? Look to
that great Deliverer; and though you should be overwhelmed with guilt, and
shame, and fear, or horror, that you should be incapable of speaking to him,
fall down in this speechless confusion at his feet, "and behold him as the Lamb
or God, that taketh away the sins of the world." (John 1:29)
7. Behold him therefore with an attentive eye,
and say whether the sight does not touch, and even melt thy very heart! Dost
thou not feel what a foolish and what a wretched creature thou hast been, that,
for the sake of such low and sordid gratifications and interests as those which
thou hast been pursuing thou shouldst thus "kill the Prince of Life?" (Acts
3:15) Behold the deep wounds which he bore for thee, "look on him whom thou
hast pierced, and sorely thou must mourn," (Zech. 12:10) unless thine heart be
hardened into stone. Which of thy past sins canst thou reflect upon, and say.
"For this it is worth my while to have thus injured my Savior, and to have
exposed the Son of God to such sufferings?" And what future temptations can
arise so considerable that thou shouldst say. "For the sake of this I will
crucify my Lord again?" (Heb. 6:6) Sinner, thou must repent, thou must repent
of every sin, and must forsake it; but, if thou doest it to any purpose I well
know it must be at the foot or the cross. Thou must sacrifice every lust, even
the dearest, though it should be like a "right hand or a right eye;" (Matt.
5:29, 30) and therefore that thou mayest. if possible, be animated to it, I
have led thee to that altar on which "Christ himself was sacrificed for thee an
offering of a sweet smelling savor?" (Eph. 5:2) Thou must "yield up thyself to
God as one alive from the dead." (Rom. 6:15) And therefore I have showed thee
at what a price he purchased thee; "for thou wast not redeemed with corruptible
things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Son of God, that
Lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Pet. 1:18,19) And now I would ask
thee, as before the Lord, what does thine own heart say to it? Art thou grieved
for thy former offences? Art thou willing to forsake thy sins? Art thou willing
to become the cheerful, thankful servant of him who hath purchased thee with
his own blood?
8. I will suppose such a purpose as this rising
in thine heart. How determinate it is, and how effectual it may be, I know not;
what different views may arise hereafter, or how soon the present sense may
wear off. But this I assuredly know, that thou wilt never see reason to change
these views; for however thou mayest alter, the "Lord Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, today, and for ever." (Heb 13:8) And the reasons that now recommend
repentance and faith as fit and necessary, will continue invariable as long as
the perfections the blessed God are the same, and as long as his Son continues
the same.
9. But while you have these views and these
purposes, I must remind you that this is not all which is necessary to your
salvation. You must not only purpose, but, as God gives opportunity, you must
act as those who are convinced of the evil of sin, and of the necessity and
excellence of holiness. And that you may be enabled to do so in other
instances, you must in the first place, and as the first great work of God, (as
our Lord himself calls it) "believe in him whom God hath sent;" (John 6:29) you
must, confide in him; must commit your soul into the hands of Christ to be
saved by him in his own "appointed method of salvation." This is the great act
of saving faith, and I pray God that you may experimentally know what it means,
so as to be able to say with the apostle Paul, in the near view of death
itself, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep
that which I have committed to him until that day;" (2 Tim. 1:12) that great
decisive day, which, if we are Christians, we have always in view. To this I
would urge you; and O that I could be so happy as to engage you to it while I
am illustrating it in this and the following addresses! Be assured you must not
apply yourself immediately to God absolutely, or in himself considered, in the
neglect of a Mediator. It will neither be acceptable to him, nor safe for you,
to rush into his presence without any regard to his own Son, whom he hath
appointed to introduce sinners to him. And if you come otherwise, you come as
one who is not a sinner. The very manner of presenting the address will be
interpreted as a denial of that guilt with which he knows you are chargeable;
and therefore he will not admit you, nor so much as look upon you. And
accordingly our Lord, knowing how much every man living was concerned in this,
says, in the most universal terms, "No man cometh unto the Father but by me."
(John 14:6)
10. Apply therefore to this glorious Redeemer,
amiable as be will appear to every believing eye in the blood which he shed
upon the cross, and in the wounds which he received there. Go to him, O sinner!
this day, this moment, with all thy sins about thee. Go just as thou art; for
if thou wilt never apply to him till thou art first righteous and holy, thou
wilt never be righteous and holy at all; nor canst be so on this supposition,
unless there were some way of being so without him; and then there would be no
occasion for applying to him for righteousness and holiness. It were indeed as
if it should be said that a sick man should defer his application to a
physician till his health is recovered. Let me therefore repeat it without
offence, go to him just as thou art, and say, (O that thou mayest this moment
be enabled to say it from thy very soul!) "Blessed Jesus, I am surely one of
the most sinful and one of the most miserable creatures that ever fell
prostrate before thee; nevertheless I come, because I have heard that thou
didst once say, `Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest.' (Matt. 12:28) I come, because I have heard that thou didst
graciously say, `Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.' (John
6:35) O thou Prince of Peace, O thou King of Glory!! I am a condemned,
miserable sinner; I have ruined my own soul, and am condemned forever, if thou
dost not help me and save me. I have broken thy Father's law and thine; for
thou art `one with him.' (John 10:30) I have deserved condemnation and wrath;
and I am, even at this very moment, under a sentence of everlasting
destruction, a destruction which will he aggravated by all the contempt that I
have cast upon thee, O thou bleeding Lamb of God! for I cannot and will not
dissemble it before thee, that I have wronged thee, most basely and
ungratefully wronged thee, under the character of a Savior as well as or a
Lord. But now I am willing to submit to thee; and I have brought my poor
trembling soul to lodge it in thine hands, if thou wilt condescend to receive
it; and if thou dost not, it must perish. O Lord, I lie at thy feet: stretch
out `thy golden scepter that I may live.' (Esth. 4:11) `Yea, if it please the
King, let the life of my soul be given me at my petition!' (Esth. 8:3) I have
no treasure wherewith to purchase it, I have no equivalent to give thee for it;
but if that compassionate heart of thine can find a pleasure in saving one of
the most distressed creatures under heaven, that pleasure thou mayest here
find. O Lord, I have foolishly attempted to be my own savior, but it will not
do. I am sensible the attempt is vain, and therefore I give it over, and look
unto thee. On thee, blessed Jesus, who art sure and steadfast, do I desire to
fix my anchor. On thee, as the only sure foundation, would I build my eternal
hopes. To thy teaching, O thou unerring Prophet of the Lord, would I submit: be
thy doctrines ever so mysterious, it is enough for me that thou thyself hast
said it. To thine atonement, obedience, and intercession, O thou holy and
ever-acceptable High Priest, would I trust. And to thy government, O thou
exalted Sovereign, would I yield a willing, delightful subjection: in token of
reverence and love, `I kiss the Son:' (Psa. 2:12) I kiss the ground before his
feet. I admit thee, O my Savior! and welcome thee, with unutterable joy, to the
throne in my heart. Ascend it and reign there for ever! Subdue mine enemies, O
Lord, for they are thine; and make me thy faithful and zealous servant:
faithful to death, and zealous to eternity."
11. Such as this must be the language of your
very heart before the Lord. But then remember, that, in consequence thereof it
must be the language of your life too. The unmeaning words of the lips would be
a vain mockery. The most affectionate transport of the passions, should it be
transient and ineffectual, would be but like a blaze of straw, presented,
instead of incense, at his altar. With such humility, with such love, with such
cordial self-dedication and submission of soul must thou often prostrate
thyself in the presence of Christ; and then thou must go away, and keep him in
thy view; must go away, and live unto God through him, defying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, and behaving thyself "soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
vain ensnaring world." (Tit. 2:12) You must make it your care to show your love
by obedience, by forming yourself, as much as possible, according to the temper
and manner of Jesus, in whom you believe. You must make it the great point of
your ambition, and a nobler view you cannot entertain, to be a living image of
Christ; that, so far as circumstances will allow, even those who have heard and
read but little of him may, by observing you, in some measure see and know what
kind of a life that of the blessed Jesus was. And this must be your constant
care, your prevailing character, as long as you live. You must follow him
whithersoever he leads you; must follow with a cross on your shoulder, when he
commands you to "take it up;" (Matt. 16:24) and so must be faithful even unto
death, expecting "the crown of life." (Rev. 2:10)
12. This, so far as I have been able to learn
from the word of God, is the way to safety and glory: the surest, the only way
you can take. It is the way which every faithful minister of Christ has trod,
and is treading; and the way to which, as he tenders the salvation of his own
soul, he must direct others. We cannot, we would not alter it in favor of
ourselves, or of our dearest friends. It is the way in which alone, so far as
we can judge, it becomes the blessed God to save his apostate creatures. And
therefore, reader, I beseech and entreat you seriously to consider it; and let
your own conscience answer, as in the presence of God, whether you are willing
to acquiesce in it or not. But know, that to reject it is thine eternal death.
For as "there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be
saved," (Acts 4:12) but this of Jesus of Nazareth, so there is no other method
but this in which Jesus himself will save us.
The Sinner deliberating on the Expediency of falling in with this Method of Salvation.
"I dare not deliberately say this method is unreasonable. My conscience testifies that I have sinned, and cannot be justified before God as an innocent and obedient creature. My conscience tells me that all these humbling circumstances are fit; that it is fit a convicted criminal should be brought upon his knees; that a captive rebel should give up the weapons of his rebellion and bow before his sovereign, if he expects his life. Yea, my reason as well as my conscience tells me that it is fit and necessary that, if I am saved at all, I should be saved from the power and love of sin, as well as from the condemnation of it; and that, if sovereign mercy gives me a new life, after having deserved eternal death, it is most fit I should `yield myself to God as alive from the dead.' (Rom. 6:13) But, `O wretched man that I am! I feel a law in my members that wars against the law of my mind,' (Rom. 7:23,24) and opposes the conviction of my reason and conscience. Who shall deliver me from this bondage? Who shall make me willing to do that which I know in my own soul to be most expedient? O Lord, subdue any heart, and let it not be drawn so strongly one way, while the nobler powers of my mind would direct it another! Conquer every licentious principle within, that it may be my joy to be so wisely governed and restrained! Especially subdue my pride that lordly corruption which so ill suits an impoverished and condemned creature, that thy way of salvation may be made amiable to me in proportion to the degree in which it is humbling! I feel a disposition to `linger in Sodom, but O be merciful to me, and pull me out of it,' (Gen. 19:16) before the storm of thy flaming vengeance fall, and there be no more escaping!"
THE SINNER SERIOUSLY URGED AND ENTREATED TO ACCEPT OF SALVATION IN THIS WAY.
1. Since many who have been impressed with these things suffer the impression to wear off.--2. Strongly as the ease speaks for itself, sinners are to be entreated to accept this salvation.--3. Accordingly the reader is entreated--by the majesty and mercy of God.--4. By the dying love of our Lord Jesus Christ.--5. By the regard due to our fellow-creatures.--6. By the worth of his own immortal soul.--7. The matter is solemnly left with the reader, as before God. The sinner yielding to these entreaties, and declaring his acceptance of salvation by Christ.
1. Thus far have I often known convictions and impressions to arise, (if I
might judge by the strongest appearances) which after all have worn off again.
Some unhappy circumstance of external temptation, ever joined by the inward
reluctance of an unsanctified heart to this holy and humbling scheme of
redemption, has been the ruin of multitudes. And, "through the deceitfulness of
sin, they have been hardened," (Heb. 3:25) till they seem to have been "utterly
destroyed, and that without remedy." (Prov. 29:1) And therefore, O thou
immortal creature who art now reading these lines, I beseech thee, that, while
affairs are in this critical situation, while there are these balancings of
mind between accepting and rejecting that glorious Gospel, which, in the
integrity of my heart, I have now been laying before you, you would once more
give me an attentive audience while I plead, in God's behalf shall I say? or
rather in your own; while, "as an ambassador for Christ, and as though God did
beseech you by me, I pray you in Christ's stead that you would be reconciled to
God," (2 Cor. 5:20) and would not, after these awakenings and these inquiries,
by a madness which it will surely be the doleful business of a miserable
eternity to lament, reject this compassionate counsel of God towards you.
2. One would indeed imagine there should be
no need of importunity here. One would conclude, that as soon as perishing
sinners are told that an offended God is ready to be reconciled, that he offers
them a full pardon for all their aggravated sins, yea, that he is willing to
adopt them into his family now, that he may at length admit them to his
heavenly presence; all should, with the utmost readiness and pleasure, embrace
so kind a message, and fall at his feet in speechless transports of
astonishment. gratitude, and joy. But, alas! we find it much otherwise. We see
multitudes quite unmoved, and the impressions which are made on many more are
feeble and transient. Lest it should be thus with you, O reader! let me urge
the message with which I have the honor to be charged; let me entreat you to be
reconciled to God, and to accept of pardon and salvation in the way in which it
is so freely offered to you.
3. I entreat you, "by the majesty of that God in
whose name I come," whose voice fills all heaven with reverence and obedience.
He speaks not in vain to legions of angels; but if there could be any
contention among those blessed spirits, it would be, who should be first to
execute his commands. Oh! let him not speak in vain to a wretched mortal I
entreat you, "by the terrors of his wrath," who could speak to you in thunder;
who could, by one single act of his will, cut off this precarious life of
yours, and send you down to hell. I beseech you by his mercies, by his tender
mercies, by the bowels of his compassion, which still yearn over you as those
of a parent over "a dear son," over a tender child, whom, notwithstanding his
former ungrateful rebellion, "he earnestly remembers still." (Jer. 31:20) I
beseech and entreat you, "by all this paternal goodness," that you do not, as
it were, compel him to lose the character of the gentle Parent in that of the
righteous Judge; so that, as he threatens with regard to those whom he had just
called his sons and his daughters, "a fire shall be kindled in his anger, which
shall burn unto the lowest hell." (Deut 32:19,22)
4. I beseech you further, "by the name and love
of your dying Savior." I beseech you by all the condescension of his
incarnation, by that poverty to which he voluntarily submitted, "that you might
be enriched" with eternal treasures; (2 Cor. 8:9) by all the gracious
invitations which he gave, which still sound in his word, and still coming, as
it were, warm from his heart, are "sweeter than honey, or the honey-comb."
(Psa. 19:10) I beseech you by all his glorious works of power and of wonder,
which were also works of love. I beseech you by the memory of the most
benevolent person and the most generous friend. I beseech you by the memory of
what he suffered, as well as of what he said and did; by the agony which he
endured in the garden when his body was covered "with a dew of blood." (Luke,
22:44) I beseech you by all that tender distress which he felt when his dearest
friends "forsook hint and fled," (Matt. 26:56) and his blood-thirsty enemies
dragged him away like the meanest of slaves, and like the vilest of criminals.
I beseech you by the blows and bruises, by the stripes and lashes which this
injured Sovereign endured while in their rebellious hands; by the shame of
spitting, from which he hid not that kind and venerable countenance. (Isa.
50:6) I beseech you by the purple robe, the scepter of reed, and the crown of
thorns which this King of Glory wore that he might set us among the princes of
heaven. (Psa. 113:8) I beseech you by the heavy burden of "the cross," under
which he panted, and toiled, and fainted in the painful way "to Golgotha,"
(John 19:17) that he might free us from the burden of our sins. I beseech you
by the remembrance of those rude nails that tore the veins and arteries, the
nerves and tendons of his sacred hands and feet; and by that invincible, that
triumphant goodness, which, while the iron pierced his flesh, engaged him to
cry out, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke, 23:34)
I beseech you by that unutterable anguish which he bore when lifted up upon the
cross, and extended there, as on a rack, for six painful hours, that you open
your heart to those attractive influences which have "drawn to him thousands
and ten thousands." (John 12; 32) I beseech you by all that insult and derision
which the "Lord of Glory bore there;" (Matt. 27:29-44) by that parching thirst
which could hardly obtain the relief of "vinegar," (John 19:28,29) by that
doleful cry so astonishing in the mouth of the only begotten of the Father, "My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46) I beseech you by that
grace that subdued and pardoned "a dying malefactor;" (Luke, 23:42,43) by that
compassion for sinners, by that compassion for you, which wrought in his heart,
long as its vital motion continued, and which ended not when "he bowed his
head, saying, It is finished, and gave up the ghost." (John 19:30) I beseech
you by the triumphs of that resurrection by which he was "declared to be the
Son of God with power;" by the spirit of holiness which wrought to accomplish
it, (Rom. 1:4) by that gracious tenderness which attempered all those triumphs,
when he said to her out of whom he had cast seven devils, concerning his
disciples who had treated him so basely, "Go, tell my brethren, I ascend unto
my Father and your Father, unto my God and your God." (John 20:17) I beseech
you by that condescension with which he said to Thomas, when his unbelief had
made such an unreasonable demand, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold mine
hands, and reach hither thine hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not
faithless, but believing." (John 20:27) I beseech you by that generous and
faithful care of his people which he carried up with him to the regions of
glory, and which engaged him to send down "his Spirit," in that rich profusion
of miraculous gifts, to spread the progress of his saving word. (Acts 2:33) I
beseech you by that voice of sympathy and power with which he said to Saul,
while injuring his church, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:4) by
that generous goodness which spared that prostrate enemy when he lay trembling
at his feet, and raised him to so high a dignity as to be "not inferior to the
very chiefest apostles." (2 Cor. 12:11) I beseech you by the memory of all that
Christ hath already done; by the expectation of all he will farther do for his
people. I beseech you, at once, by the scepter of his grace, and by that sword
of his justice with which all his incorrigible "enemies" shall be "slain before
him," (Luke 19:20) that you do not trifle away these precious moments while his
Spirit is this breathing upon you; that you do not lose an opportunity which
may never return, and on the improvement of which your eternity depends.
5. I beseech you "by all the bowels of compassion
which you owe to the faithful ministers of Christ," who are studying and
laboring, preaching and praying, wearing out their time, exhausting their
strength, and very probably shortening their lives, for the salvation of your
soul, and of souls like yours. I beseech you by the affection with which all
that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity long to see you brought back to
him. I beseech you by the friendship of the living, and by the memory of the
dead, by the ruin of those who have trifled away their days and perished in
their sins, and by the happiness of those who have embraced the Gospel, and are
saved by it. I beseech you by the great expectation of that important "day,
when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven;" (2 Thess. 1:7) by "the
terrors of a dissolving world;" (2 Pet. 3:10) by the "sound of the archangel's
trumpet," (1 Thess. 4:16) and of that infinitely more awful sentence, "Come, ye
blessed," and "Depart, ye cursed," with which that grand solemnity shall close.
(Matt. 25:34,41)
6. I beseech you, finally, by your own precious
and immortal soul; by the sure prospect of a dying bed, or of a sudden surprise
into the invisible state and as you would feel one spark of comfort in your
departing spirit, when your flesh and your heart are failing. I beseech you, by
your own personal appearance before the tribunal of Christ, (for a personal
appearance it must be, even to them who now sit on thrones of their own;) by
all the transports of the blessed, and by all the agonies of the damned, then
one or the other of which must be your everlasting portion. I affectionately
entreat and beseech you, in the strength of all these united considerations, as
you will answer it to me who may in that day be summoned to testify against
you, and, which is unspeakably more, as you will answer it to your conscience,
as you will answer it to the eternal Judge that you dismiss not these thoughts,
these meditations, and these cares, till your have brought matters to a happy
issue; till you have made resolute choice of Christ, and his appointed way of
salvation; and till you have solemnly devoted yourself to God in the, bonds of
an everlasting covenant.
7. And thus I leave the matter before you, and
before the Lord. I have told you my errand; I have discharged embassy. Stronger
arguments I cannot use; more endearing and mores awful considerations I cannot
suggest. Choose, therefore, whether you will go out, as it were clothed in
sackcloth, to cast yourself at the feet of him who now sends you these
equitable and gracious terms of peace and pardon; or whether you will hold it
out till he appears sword in hand to reckon with you for your treasons and your
crimes, and for this neglected embassy among the rest of them. Fain would I
hope the best; nor can I believe that this labor of love shall be so entirely
unsuccessful, that not one soul shall be brought to the foot of Christ in
cordial submission and humble faith. "Take with you," therefore, "words, and
turn unto the Lord;" (Hos. 14:2) and O that those which follow might, in effect
at least, be the genuine language of every one that reads them.
Sinner yielding to these Entreaties, and declaring acceptance of Salvation by Christ.
A SOLEMN ADDRESS TO THOSE WHO WILL NOT BE PERSUADED TO FALL IN WITH THE DESIGN OF THE GOSPEL.
1. Universal success not to be expected.--2-4. Yet, as unwilling absolutely to give up any, the author addresses thou who doubt the truth of Christianity, urging an inquiry into its evidences, and directing to prayer methods for that purpose.--5 Those who determine to give it up without further examination.--6. And presume to set themselves to oppose it.--7, 8. Those who speculatively assent to Christianity as true, and yet will sit down without any practical regard to its most important and acknowledged truths. Such are dismissed with a representation of the absurdity of their conduct on their own principles.--9, 10. With a solemn warning of its fatal consequences.--11. And a compassionate prayer, which concludes this chapter, and this part of the work.
1. I would humbly hope that the preceding chapters will be the means of
awakening some stupid and insensible sinners, the means of convincing them of
their need of Gospel-salvation, and of engaging some cordially to accept it.
Yet I cannot flatter myself so far as to hope this should be the case with
regard to all into whose hands this book shall come. "What am I, alas! better
than my fathers," (1 Kings 19:4) or better than my brethren, who have in all
ages been repeating their complaint, with regard to multitudes, that they "have
stretched out their hand all day long to a disobedient and gainsaying people!"
(Rom. 10:21) Many such may perhaps be found in the number of my readers; many,
on whom neither considerations of terror nor of love wilt make any deep and
lasting impression; many, who, as our Lord learned by experience to express it,
"when we pipe to them, will not dance; and when we mourn unto them; will not
lament." (Matt. 11:17) I can say no more to persuade them; if they make light
of what I have already said. Here, therefore, we must part: in this chapter I
must take my leave of them; and O that I could do it in such a manner as to
fix, at parting, some conviction upon their hearts, that though I seem to leave
them for a little while, and send them back to review again the former
chapters, as those in which alone they have any present concern, they might
soon, as it were, overtake me again, and find a suitableness in the remaining
part of this treatise, which at present they cannot possibly find. Unhappy
creatures. I quit you as a physician quits a patient whom he loves, and is just
about to give over as incurable: he returns again and again and re-examines the
several symptoms, to observe whether there be not some one of them wore
favorable than the rest, which may encourage a renewed application.
2. So would I once more return to you. You do
not find in yourself any disposition to embrace the Gospel, to apply yourself
to Christ, to give yourself up to thee service of God, and to make religion the
business of your life. But if I cannot prevail upon you to do this, let me
engage you, at least, to answer me, or rather to answer your own conscience,
"Why you will not do it?" is it owing to any secret disbelief of the great
principles of religion? If it be, the case is different from what I have yet
considered, and the cure must be different. This is not a place to combat with
the scruples of infidelity. Nevertheless, I would desire you seriously to
inquire "How far those scruples extend?" Do they affect any particular doctrine
of the Gospel on which my argument hath turned; or do they affect the whole
Christian revelation? Or do they reach yet farther, and extend themselves to
natural religion, as well as revealed; so that it should be a doubt with you,
whether there be any God, and providence, and future state, or not? As these
cases are all different, so it will be of great importance to distinguish the
one from the other; that you may know on what principles to build as certain,
in the examination of those concerning which you are yet in doubt. But,
whatever these doubts are, I would farther ask you, "How long have they
continued, and what method have you taken to get them resolved?" Do you
imagine, that, in matters of such moment, it will be an allowable case for you
to trifle on, neglecting to inquire into the evidence of these things, and then
plead your not being satisfied in that evidence, as an excuse for not acting
according to them? Must not the principles of common sense assure you, that,
if these things be true, as when you talk of doubting about them, you
acknowledge it at least possible they may be, they are of infinitely greater
importance than any of the affairs of life, whether of business or pleasure,
for the sake of which you neglect them? Why then do you continue indolent and
unconcerned, from week to week, and from month to month, which probably
conscience tells you is the case?
3. Do you ask, "What method you should take to be
resolved?" It is no hard question. Open your eyes: set yourself to think: let
conscience speak, and verily do I believe, that, if it be not seared in an
uncommon degree, you will find shrewd forebodings of the certainty both of
natural and revealed religion, and of the absolute necessity of repentance,
faith, and holiness, to a life of future felicity. If you area person of any
learning, you cannot but know by what writers, and in what treatises, these
great truths are defended. And if you are not, you may find, in almost every
town and neighborhood, persons capable of informing you in thee main evidences
of Christianity, and of answering such scruples against it as unlearned minds
may have met with. Set yourself, then, in the name of God, immediately to
consider the matter. If you study at all, bend your studies close this way, and
trifle not with mathematics, or poetry or history, or law, or physic, which are
all comparatively light as a feather, while you neglect this. Study the
argument as for your life; for much more than life depends on it. See how far
you are satisfied, and why that satisfaction reaches no farther. Compare
evidences on both sides. And, above all, consider the design and tendency of
the New Testament. See to what it will lead you, and all them that cordially
obey it, and then say whether it be not good. And consider how naturally its
truth is connected with its goodness. Trace the character and sentiments of its
authors, whose living image, if I may be allowed the expression, is still
preserved in their writings; and then ask your heart, can you think this was a
forgery, an impious, cruel forgery? for such it mast have been, if it were a
forgery at all: a scheme to mock God, and to ruin men, even the best of men,
such as reverenced Conscience, and would abide all extremities for what they
apprehended to be truth. Put the question to your own heart, Can I in my
conscience believe it to be such an imposture? Can I look up to an omniscient
God, and say, "O Lord, thou knowest that it is in reverence to thee, and in
love to truth and virtue, that I reject this book, and the method to happiness
here laid down."
4. But there are difficulties in the way. And
what then? Have those difficulties never been cleared? Go to the living
advocates for Christianity, to those of whose abilities, candor and piety you
have the best opinion, if your prejudices will give you leave to have a good
opinion of any such; tell them your difficulties; hear their solutions; weigh
them seriously, as those who know they must answer it to God; and while doubts
continue, follow the truth as far as it will lead you, and take heed that you
do not a "imprison it in unrighteousness." (Rom. 11:8) Nothing appears more
inconsistent and absurd than for a man solemnly to pretend dissatisfaction in
the evidences of the Gospel, as a reason why he cannot in conscience be a
thorough Christian; when at the same time he violates the most apparent
dictates of reason and conscience, and lives in vices condemned even by the
heathen. O sirs! Christ has judged concerning such, and judged most righteously
and most wisely: "They do evil, and therefore they hate the light; neither come
they to the light, lest their deeds should be made manifest, and be reproved."
(John 3:20) But there is a light that will make manifest and reprove their
works, to which they will be compelled to come, and the painful scrutiny of
which they shall be forced to abide.
5. In the mean time, if you are determined to
inquire no farther into the matter now, give me leave, at least, from a sincere
concern that you may not heap upon your head more aggravated ruin, to entreat
you that you would be cautious how you expose yourself to yet greater danger.
by what you must yourself own to be unnecessary; I mean attempts to prevent
others from believing the truth of the Gospel. Leave them; for God's sake, and
for your own, in possession of those pleasures and those hopes which nothing
but Christianity can give them; and act not as if you were solicitous to add to
the guilt of an infidel the tenfold damnation which they, who have been the
perverters and destroyers of the souls of others, must expect to meet, if that
Gospel, which they have so adventurously opposed, shall prove. as it certainly
will, a serious, and to them a dreadful truth.
6. If I cannot prevail here, (but the pride of
displaying a superiority of understanding should bear on such a reader, even in
opposition to his own favorite maxims of the innocence of error and the
equality of all religions consistent with social virtue, to do his utmost to
trample down the Gospel with contempt) I would, however, dismiss him with one
proposal which I think the importance of the affair may fully justify. If you
have done with your examination into Christianity, and determine to live and
conduct yourself as it were assuredly false, sit down, then, and make a
memorandum of that determination. Write it down:
"On such a day of such a year, I deliberately
resolved that I would live and die rejecting Christianity myself, and doing all
I could to overthrow it. This day I determined, not only to renounce all
subjection to, and expectation from Jesus of Nazareth, but also to make it a
serious part of the business of my life to destroy, as far as I possibly can,
all regard to him in the minds of others, and to exert my most vigorous
efforts, in the way of reasoning or of ridicule to sink the credit of his
religion, and, if it be possible, to root it out of the world; in calm, steady
defiance of that day, when his followers say, He shall appear in so much
majesty and terror, to execute the vengeance. threatened to his enemies."
Dare you write this, and sign it? I firmly
believe that many a man, who would be thought a deist. and endeavors to
increase the number, would not. And if you in particular dare not do it, whence
does that small remainder of caution arise? The cause is plain. There is in
your conscience some secret apprehension that this rejected, this opposed, this
derided Gospel may, after all, prove true. And if there be such an
apprehension, then let conscience do its office, and convict you of the impious
madness of acting as if it were most certainly and demonstrably false. Let it
tell you at large, how possible it is that "haply you may be found fighting
against God," (Acts 5:39) that, hold as you are in defying the terrors of the
Lord, you may possibly fall into his hands; may chance to hear that despised
sentence, which, when: you hear it from the mouth of the eternal Judge, you
will not be able to despise. I will repeat it again. In spite of all your
scorn: you may hear the King say to you. "Depart, accursed. into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matt. 25:41) And now, go and
pervert and burlesque the Scripture, go and satirize the character of its
heroes, and ridicule the sublime discourses of its prophets and its apostles,
as some have done, who have left behind them but the short lived monuments of
their ignorance. their profaneness. and their malice. Go and spread like them,
the banners of infidelity and pride thyself in the number of credulous
creatures listed under them. But take heed lest the insulted Galilean direct a
secret arrow to thine heart, and stop thy licentious breath before it has
finished the next sentence thou wouldst utter against him.
7. I will turn myself from the deist or the
sceptic, and direct my address to the nominal Christian; if he may upon any
terms be called a Christian, who feels not, after all I have pleaded a
disposition to subject himself to the government and the grace of that Savior
whose name he hears: O sinner, thou art turning away from my Lord, in whose
cause I speak; but let me earnestly entreat thee seriously to consider why thou
art turning away; and "to whom thou wilt go," from him whom thou acknowledgst
"to have the words of eternal life." (John 6:63.) You call yourself a Christian
and yet will not by any means be persuaded to seek salvation in good earnest
from and through Jesus Christ, whom you call your Master and Lord. How do you
for a moment excuse this negligence to your own conscience? If I had urged you
on any controverted point it might have altered the case. If I had labored hard
to make you the disciple of any particular party of Christians, your delay
might have been more reasonable; nay, perhaps your refusing to acquiesce might
have been an act of apprehended duty to our common Master. But is it matter of
controversy among Christians, whether there be a great, holy, and righteous
God; and whether such a Being, whom we agree to own, should be reverenced and
loved, or neglected and dishonored? Is it matter of controversy whether a
sinner should deeply and seriously repent of his sins, or whether be should go
on in them? Is it a disputed point amongst us, whether Jesus became incarnate,
and died upon the cross for the redemption of sinners, or not? And if it be
not, can it be disputed by them who believe him to be the Son of God and the
Savior of men, whether a sinner should seek to him, or neglect hint; or whether
one who professes to be a Christian should depart from iniquity, or give
himself up to the practice or it? Are the precepts of our great Master written
so obscurely in his word, that there should be room seriously to question
whether he require a devout, holy, humble, spiritual, watchful, self-denying
life, or whether he allow the contrary? Has Christ, after all big pretensions
of bringing life and immortality to light, left it more uncertain than he found
it, whether there be any future state of happiness and misery, or for whom
these states are respectively intended? Is it a matter of controversy whether
God will, or will not, "bring every work into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil?" (Eccl. 12:14) or whether, at
the conclusion of that judgment, "the wicked shall go away into everlasting
punishment, and the righteous into life eternal?" (Matt. 25:46) You will not I
am sure, for very shame, pretend any doubt about these things, and yet call
yourself a Christian. Why then will you not be persuaded to lay them to heart,
and to act as duty and interest so evidently require? O sinner, the cause is
too obvious, a cause indeed quite unworthy of being called a reason. It is
because thou art blinded and besotted with thy vanities and thy lusts. It is
because thou hast some perishing trifle, which charms thy imagination and thy
senses, so that it is dearer to thee than God and Christ, than thy own soul and
its salvation. It is, in a word, because thou art still under the influence of
that carnal mind, which, whatever pious forms it may sometimes admit and
pretend, "is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither
indeed can be." (Rom. 8:7) And therefore thou art in the very case of those
wretches, concerning whom our Lord said in the days of his flesh, "Ye will not
come unto me, that ye might have life," (John 5:40) and therefore "ye shall die
in your sins." (John 8:24)
8. In this case I see not what it can signify, to
renew those expostulations and addresses which I have made in the former
chapters. As our blessed Redeemer says of those who reject his Gospel, "Ye have
both seen and hated both me and my Father," (John 15:24) so may I truly say
with regard to you, I have endeavored to show you, in the plainest and the
clearest words, both Christ and the Father; I have urged the obligations you
are under to both; I have laid before you your guilt and your condemnation; I
have pointed out the only remedy; I have pointed out the rock on which I have
built my own eternal hopes, and the way in which alone I expect salvation. I
have recommended those things to you, which, if God gives me an opportunity, I
will, with my dying breath, earnestly and affectionately recommend to my own
children, and to all the dearest friends that I have upon earth, who may then
be near me, esteeming it the highest token or my friendship, the surest proof
of my love to them. And if, believing the Gospel to be true, you resolve to
reject it, I have nothing farther to say, but that you must abide the
consequence. Yet as Moses, when he went out from the presence of Pharaoh for
the last time, finding his heart yet more hardened by all the judgments and
deliverances with which he had formerly been exercised, denounced upon him
"God's passing through the land in terror to smite the firstborn with death,
and warned him of that great and lamentable cry, which the sword of the
destroying angel should raise throughout all his realm;" (Exod. 11:4-6) so will
I, sinner, now when I am quitting thee, speak to thee yet again, "whether thou
wilt hear, or whether thou wilt forbear," (Ezek. 2:7) and denounce that much
more terrible judgment; which the sword of divine vengeance, already whetted
and drawn, and "bathed, as it were, in heaven," (Isai. 34:5) is preparing
against thee; which shall end in a much more doleful cry, though thou wert
greater and more obstinate than that haughty monarch. Yes, sinner, that I may,
with the apostle Paul, when turning to others who are more likely to hear me,
"shake my raiment, and say, I am pure from your blood," (Acts 18.6) I will once
more tell you what the end of these things will be. And, O that I could speak
to purpose! O that I could thunder in thine ear such a peal of terror as might
awaken thee, and be too loud to be drowned in all the noise of carnal mirth, or
to be deadened by those dangerous opiates with which thou art contriving to
stupify thy conscience!
9. Seek what amusements and entertainments thou
wilt, O sinner! I tell thee, if thou wert equal in dignity, and power, and
magnificence, to the "great monarch of Babylon, thy pomp shalt be brought down
to the grave, and all the sound of thy viols; the worm shall be spread under
thee, and the worm shall cover thee;" (Isai. 14:11) yes, sinner, "the end of
these things is death!" (Rom. 6:21) death in its most terrible sense to thee,
if this continue thy governing temper. Thou canst not avoid it; and, if it be
possible for any thing that I can say to prevent, thou shalt not forget it.
Your "strength is not the strength of stones, nor is your flesh of brass." (Job
6:12) You are accessible to disease, as well as others; and if some sudden
accident do not prevent it, we shall soon see how heroically you will behave
yourself on a dying bed, and in the near views of eternity. You, that now
despise Christ, and trifle with his Gospel, we shall see you droop and
languish; shall see all your relish for your carnal recreations and your vain
companions lost. And if perhaps one and another of them bolt in upon you, and
is brutish and desperate enough to attempt to entertain a dying man with a gay
story, or a profane jest, we shall see how you will relish it. We shall see
what comfort you will have in reflecting on what is past, or what hope in
looking forward to what is to come. Perhaps, trembling and astonished, you will
then be inquiring; in a wild kind of consternation, "what you shall do to be
saved:" calling for the ministers of Christ, whom you now despise for the
earnestness with which they would labor to save your soul! and it maybe falling
into a delirium, or dying convulsions, before they can come. Or perhaps we may
see you flattering yourself, through a long, lingering illness, that you shall
still recover, and putting off any serious reflection and conversation, for
fear it should overset your spirits. And the cruel kindness of friends and
physicians, as if they were in league with Satan to make the destruction of
your soul as sure as possible, may perhaps abet this fatal deceit.
10. And if any of these probable cases happen,
that is, in short, unless a miracle of grace snatch you "as a brand out of the
burning," when the flames have, as it were, already taken hold of you; all
these gloomy circumstances, which pass in the chambers of illness and on the
bed of death, are but the forerunners of infinitely more dreadful things. Oh!
who can describe them? Who can imagine them? When surviving friends are
tenderly mourning over the breathless corpse, and taking a fond farewell of it
before it is laid to consume away in the dark and silent grave, into what
hands, O sinner! will thy soul be fallen? What scenes will open upon thy
separate spirit, even before thy deserted flesh be cold, or thy sightless eyes
are closed? It shall then know what it is to return to God, to be rejected by
him as having rejected his Gospel and his Son, and despised the only treaty of
reconciliation; and that so amazingly condescending and gracious! Thou shalt
know what it is to be disowned by Christ, whom thou hast refused to entertain;
and what it is, as the certain and immediate consequence of that, to be left in
the hands of the malignant spirits of hell. There will be no more-friendship
then: none to comfort, none to alleviate thy agony and distress; but, on the
contrary, all around thee laboring to aggravate and increase them. Thou shalt
pass away the intermediate years of the separate state in dreadful expectation,
and bitter outcries of horror and remorse. And then thou shalt hear the trumpet
of the archangel, in whatever cavern of that gloomy world thou art lodged. Its
sound shall penetrate thy prison, where, doleful and horrible as it is, thou
shalt nevertheless wish that thou mightest still be allowed to hide thy guilty
head, rather than show it before the face of that awful Judge; before whom
"heaven and earth are fleeing away." (Rev. 20:11) But thou must come forth, and
be reunited to a body now formed for ever to endure agonies, which in this
mortal state would have dissolved it in a moment. You would not be persuaded to
come to Christ before: you would stupidly neglect him, in spite of reason, in
spite of conscience, in spite of all the tender solicitations of the Gospel,
and the repeated admonitions of its most faithful ministers. But now, sinner,
you shall have an interview; with him; if that may be called an interview, in
which you will not dare to lift up your head to view the face of your
tremendous and inexorable Judge. There, at least, how distant soever the time
of our life and the place of our abode may have been, there shall we see how
courageously your heart will endure, and how "strong your hands will be when
the lord doth this." (Ezek. 22:14) There shall I see thee, O reader! whoever
thou art that goest on in thine impenitency, among thousands and ten thousands
of despairing wretches, trembling and confounded. There shall I hear thy cries
among the rest, rending the very heavens in vain. The Judge will rise from his
throne with majestic composure, and leave thee to be hurried down to those
everlasting burnings, to which his righteous vengeance hath doomed thee,
because thou wouldst not be saved from them. Hell shall shut its mouth upon
thee for ever, and the sad echo of thy groans and outcries shall be lost,
amidst the hallelujahs of heaven, to all that find mercy of the Lord in that
day.
11. This will most assuredly be the end of these
things; and thou, as a nominal Christian, professest to know, and to believe
it. It moves my heart at least, if it moves not thine. I firmly believe, that
every one, who himself obtains salvation and glory will bear so much of his
Savior's image in wisdom and goodness, in zeal for God, and a steady regard to
the happiness of the whole creation, that he will behold this sad scene with
calm approbation, and without any painful commotion of mind. But as yet I am
flesh and blood; and therefore my bowels are troubled, and mine eyes often
overflow with grief to think that wretched sinners will have no more compassion
upon their own souls; to think that in spite of all admonition, they will
obstinately run upon final, everlasting destruction. It would signify nothing
here to add a prayer or a meditation for your use. Poor creature, you will not
meditate! you will not pray! Yet as I have often poured out my heart in prayer
over a dying friend, when the force of his distemper has rendered him incapable
of joining with me, so I will now apply myself to God for you, O unhappy
creature! And if you disdain so much as to read what my compassion dictates,
yet I hope, they who have felt the power of the Gospel on their own souls, as
they cannot but pity such as you, will join with me in such cordial, though
broken petitions as these:
A prayer in behalf of an Impenitent Sinner, in the case just described.
AN ADDRESS TO A SOUL SO OVERWHELMED WITH A SENSE OF THE GREATNESS OF ITS SINS, THAT IT DARES NOT APPLY ITSELF TO CHRIST WITH ANY HOPE OF SALVATION.
1--4. The case described at large.--5. As it frequently occurs.--6. Granting all that the dejected soul charges on itself.--7. The invitations and promises of Christ give hope.--8 The reader urged, under all his burdens and fears, to an humble application to him. Which is accordingly exemplified in the concluding Reflection and Prayer.
1. I have now done with those unhappy creatures who despise the Gospel, and
with those who neglect it. With pleasure do I now turn myself to those who will
hear me with more regard. Among the various cases which now present themselves
to my thoughts, and demand my tender, affectionate, respectful care, there is
none more worthy of compassion than that which I have mentioned in the title of
this chapter, none which requires a more immediate attempt of relief.
2. It is very possible some afflicted
creature may be ready to cry out, "It is enough: aggravate my grief and my
distress no more. The sentence you have been so awfully describing, as what
shall he passed and executed on the impenitent and unbelieving, is my sentence;
and the terrors of it are my terrors. `For mine iniquities have gone up into
the heavens,' and my transgressions have reached unto the clouds. (Rev. 18:5)
My case is quite singular. Surely there never was so great a sinner as I. I
have received so many mercies, have enjoyed so many advantages, I have heard so
many invitations or Gospel grace; and yet my heart has been so hard, and my
nature is so exceeding sinful, and the number and aggravating circumstances of
my provocations have been such, that I dare not hope. It is enough that God
hath supported me thus long; it is enough, that, after so many years of
wickedness, I am yet out of hell. Every day's reprieve is a mercy at which I am
astonished. I lie down, and wonder that death and damnation have not seized me
in my walks the day past. I arise, and wonder that my bed has not been my
grave; wonder that my soul is not separated from my flesh, and surrounded with
devils and damned spirits."
3. "I have indeed heard the message of salvation;
but, alas! it seems no message of salvation to me. There are happy souls that
have hope; and their hope is indeed in Christ and the grace of God manifest in
him. But they feel in their hearts an encouragement to apply to him, whereas I
dare not do it. Christ and grace are things in which I fear I have no part, and
must expect none. There are exceeding rich and precious promises in the word of
God; but they are to me as a sealed book, and are hid from me as to any
personal use. I know Christ is able to save: I know he is willing to save some.
But that he should be willing to save me--such a polluted, such a provoking
creature, as God knows, and as conscience knows, I have been, and to this day
am--this I know not how to believe; and the utmost that I can do towards
believing it, is to acknowledge that it is not absolutely impossible, and that
I do not lie down in complete despair; though, alas! I seem upon the borders of
it, and expect every day and hour to call into it."
4. I should not, perhaps, have entered so fully
into this case, if I had not seen many in it; and I will add, reader, for your
encouragement, if it be your case, several, who now are in the number of the
most established, cheerful, and useful Christians. And I hope divine grace will
add you to the rest, if "out of these depths you he enabled to cry unto God;"
(Psa. 130:1) and though, like Jonah, you may seem to be cast out from his
presence, yet still, with Jonah, you "look towards his holy temple." (Jonah
2:4)
5. Let it not be imagined, that it is in any
neglect of that blessed Spirit, whose office it is to be the great Comforter,
that I now attempt to reason you out of this disconsolate frame; for it is as
the great source or reason, that he deals with rational creatures; and it is in
the use of rational means and considerations that he may most justly be
expected to operate. Give me leave, therefore, to address myself calmly to you,
and to ask you, what reason you have for all these passionate complaints and
accusations against yourself? What reason have you to suggest that your case
is singular, when so many have told you they have felt the same? What reason
have you to conclude so hardly against yourself, when the Gospel speaks in such
favorable terms? Or, what reason to imagine, that the gracious things it says
are not intended for you? You know, indeed, more of the corruption of your own
heart, than you know of the hearts or others; and you make a thousand
charitable excuses for their visible failings and infirmities, which you make
not for your own. And it may be, some of those whom you admire as eminent
saints when compared with you, are on their part humbling themselves in the
dust, as unworthy to be numbered among the least of God's people, and wishing
themselves like you; in whom they think they see much more good, and much less
of evil, than in themselves.
6. But to suppose the worst, what if you were
really the vilest sinner that ever lived upon the face of the earth? What if
"your iniquities had gone up into the heavens" every day, and "your
transgressions had reached unto the clouds," (Rev. 18:5) reached thither with
such horrid aggravations, that earth and heaven should have had reason to
detest you as a monster of impiety? Admitting all this, "is any thing too hard
for the Lord?" (Gen. 18:14) Are any sins, of which a sinner can repent, of so
deep a dye, that the blood of Christ cannot wash them away! Nay, though it
would be daring wickedness and monstrous folly, for any "to sin that grace may
abound," (Rom. 6:1) yet had you indeed raised your account beyond all that
divine grace has ever yet pardoned, who should "limit the holy One of Israel?"
(Psa. 78:41) or who shall pretend to say, that it is impossible that God may,
for your very wretchedness, choose you out from others, to make you a monument
of mercy, and a trophy of hitherto unparalleled grace? The apostle Paul
strongly intimates this to have been the case with regard to himself; and why
might not you likewise, if indeed "the chief of sinners," obtain mercy, that in
you, as the chief, "Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a
pattern to them who shall hereafter believe?" (1 Tim. 1:15,16)
7. Gloomy as your apprehensions are, I would ask
you plainly, do you in your conscience think that Christ is not able to save
you? What! is he not "able to save, even to the uttermost, them that come unto
God by him?" (Heb. 7:25) Yes, you will say, abundantly able to do it; but I
dare not imagine that he will do it. And how do you know that he will not? He
has helped the very greatest sinners or all that have yet applied themselves to
him; and he has made thee offers of grace and salvation in the most engaging
and encouraging terms. "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink:"
(John 7:37) "let him that is a-thirst come; and whosoever will, let him take of
the water of life freely." (Rev. 22:17) "Come unto me, all ye that labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28) And once more, "Him
that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." (John, 4:37) "True," will you
say, "none that are given him by the Father: could I know I were of that
number, I could then apply cheerfully to him." But, dear reader, let me entreat
you to look into the text itself, and see whether that limitation he expressly
added there. Do you there read, none of them whom the Father hath given me
shall be cast out? The words are in a much more encouraging form; and why
should you frustrate his wisdom and goodness by such an addition of your own?
"Add not to his words, lest he reprove thee;" (Prov. 30:6) take them as they
stand, and drink in the consolation of them. Our Lord knew into what perplexity
some serious minds might possibly be thrown by what he had before been saying,
"All that the Father hath given me shall come unto me;" and therefore, as it
were on purpose to balance it, he adds those gracious words, "him that cometh
unto me I will in no wise," by no means, on no consideration whatsoever, "cast
out."
8. If, therefore, you are already discouraged and
terrified at the greatness of your sins, do not add to their weight and number
that one greater, and worse than all the rest, a distrust of the faithfulness
and grace of the blessed Redeemer. Do not, so far as in you lies, oppose all
the purposes of his love to you. O distressed soul! whom dost thou dread? To
whom dost thou tremble to approach? Is there any thing so terrible in a
crucified Redeemer, in the Lamb that was slain? If thou carriest thy soul,
almost sinking under the burden of its guilt, to lay it down at his feet, what
dost thou offer him, but the spoil which he bled and died to recover and
possess? And did he purchase it so dearly, that he might reject it with
disdain? Go to him directly, and fall down in his presence, and plead that
misery of thine, which thou hast now been pleading in a contrary view, as an
engagement to your own soul to make the application, and as an argument with
the compassionate Savior to receive you. Go, and be assured, that "where sin
hath abounded, there grace shall much more abound." (Rom. 5:20) Be assured,
that, if one sinner can promise himself a more certain welcome than another, it
is not he that is least guilty and miserable, but he that is most deeply
humbled before God tinder a sense of that misery and guilt, and lies the lowest
in the apprehension of it.
Reflections on these Encouragements, ending in an humble and earnest Application to Christ for Mercy.
THE DOUBTING SOUL MORE PARTICULARLY ASSISTED IN ITS INQUIRIES AS TO THE SINCERITY OF ITS FAITH AND REPENTANCE.
1. Transient impressions liable to be mistaken for conversion, which would be a fatal error.--2. General scheme for self-examination.--3. Particular inquiries--what views there have been of sin?--4. What views there have been of Christ?--5. As to the need the soul has of him;--6. And its willingness to receive him with a due surrender of heart to his service.--7. Nothing short of this sufficient. The soul submitting to Divine examination the sincerity of its faith and repentance.
1. IN consequence of all the serious things which have been said in the
former chapters, I hope it will be no false presumption to imagine that some
religious impressions may be made on hearts which had never felt them before;
or may be revived where they have formerly grown cold and languid. Yet I am
very sensible, and I desire that you may be so, how great danger there is of
self-flattery on this important head, and how necessary it is to caution men
against too hasty a conclusion that they are really converted, because they
have felt some warm emotions on their minds, and have reformed the gross
irregularities of their former conduct. A mistake here may be infinitely fatal;
it may prove the occasion of that false peace which shall lead a man to bless
himself in his own heart, and to conclude himself secure, while "all the
threatenings and curses of God's law" are sounding in his ears, and lie indeed
directly against him: (Deut. 19:19,20) while in the mean time he applies to
himself a thousand promises in which he has no share; which may prove therefore
like generous wines to a man in a high fever, or strong opiates to one in a
lethargy. "The stony ground hearers received the word with joy," and a
promising harvest seemed to be springing up; yet "it soon withered away,"
(Matt. 13:5,6) and no reaper filled his arms with it. Now, that this may not he
the case with you, that all my labors and yours hitherto may not be lost, and
that a vain dream of security and happiness may not plunge you deeper into
misery and ruin, give me leave to lead you into a serious inquiry into your own
heart, that so you may be better able to judge of your ease, and to distinguish
between what is at most being only near the kingdom of heaven, and becoming
indeed a member of it.
2. Now this depends upon the sincerity of
your faith in Christ, when faith is taken in the largest extent, as explained
above: that is, as comprehending repentance, and that steady purpose of new and
universal obedience, of which, wherever it is real, faith will assuredly be the
vital principle. Therefore, to assist you in judging of your state, give me
leave to ask you, or rather to entreat you to ask yourself, what views you have
had, and now have, of sin and of Christ? and what your future purposes are with
regard to your conduct in the remainder of life that may lie before you? I
shall not reason largely upon the several particulars I suggest under these
heads, but rather refer you to your own reading and observation, to judge how
agreeable they are to the word of God, the great rule by which our characters
must quickly be tried, and out eternal state unalterably determined.
3. Inquire seriously, in the first place, "what
views you have had of sin, and what sentiments you have felt in your soul with
regard to it?" There was a time when it wore a flattering aspect, and made a
fair, enchanting appearance, so that all your heart was charmed with it, and it
was the very business of your life to practice it. But you have since been
undeceived. You have felt it "bite like a serpent, and sting like an adder."
(Prov. 23:32) You have beheld it with an abhorrence far greater than the
delight which it ever gave you. So far it is well it is thus with every true
penitent, and with some, I fear, who are not of that number. Let me therefore
inquire farther, whence arose this abhorrence? Was it merely from a principle
of self-love? Was it merely because you had been wounded by it? Was it merely
because you had thereby brought condemnation and ruin upon your own soul? Was
there no sense of its deformity, of its baseness, of its malignity, as
committed against the blessed God, considered as a glorious, a bountiful, and a
merciful Being? Were you never pierced by the apprehension of its vile
ingratitude? And as for those purposes which have arisen in your heart against
it, let me beseech you to reflect how they have been formed, and how they have
hitherto been executed. Have they been universal? Have they been resolute?
And yet, amidst all that resolution, have they been humble? When you have
declared war with sin, was it with every sin? And is it an irreconcilable war
which you determine, by divine grace, to push on till you have entirely
conquered it, or die in the attempt? And are you accordingly active in your
endeavors to subdue and destroy it? If so, what are "the fruits worthy of
repentance which you bring forth?" (Luke 3:8) It does not, I hope, all flow
away in floods of grief. Have you "ceased to do evil?" Are you "learning to do
well?" (Isa. 1:16,17) Doth your reformation show that you repent of your sins?
or do your renewed relapses into sin prove that you repent even of what you
call your repentance? Have you an inward abhorrence of all sin, and an
unfeigned zeal against it? And doth that produce a care to guard against the
occasions of it, and temptations to it? Do you watch against the circumstances
that have ensnared you? and do you particularly double your guard against "that
sin which does most easily beset you?" (Heb. 12:1) Is that laid aside, that the
Christian race may be run: laid aside with firm determination that you will
return to it no more, that you hold no more parley with it, that you will never
take another step toward it?
4. Permit me also farther to inquire, "what your
views of Christ have been? What think you of him, and your concern with him?"
Have you been fully convinced that there must be a correspondence settled
between him and your soul? And do you see and feel, that you are not only to
pay him a kind of distant homage, and transient compliment, as a very wise,
benevolent, and excellent person, for whose name and memory you have a
reverence; but that, as he lives and reigns, as he is ever near you, and always
observing you, so you must look to him, must approach him, must humbly transact
business with him, and that business of the highest importance, on which your
salvation depends?
5. Yon have been brought to inquire, "Wherewith
shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the most high God? (Mic.
6:6) And once perhaps you were thinking of sacrifices which your own stores
might have been sufficient to furnish out. Are you now convinced they will not
suffice; and that you must have recourse to the Lamb which God has provided?
Have you had a view of "Jesus as taking away the sin of the world?" (John 1:29)
"as made a sin-offering for us, though he knew no sin, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him?" (2 Cor. 5:21) Have you viewed him as
perfectly righteous in himself; and, despairing of being justified by any
righteousness of your own, have you "submitted to the righteousness of God?"
(Rom. 10:3) Has your heart ever been brought to a deep conviction of this
important truth, that if ever you are saved at all, it must be through Christ;
that if ever God extends mercy to you at all, it must be for his sake; that if
ever you are fixed in the temple of God above, you must stand there as an
everlasting trophy of that victory which Christ has gained over the powers of
hell, who would otherwise have triumphed over you?
6. Our Lord says, "Look unto me, and be ye
saved." (Isai. 45:22) He says, "If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me."
(John 12:32) Have you looked to him as the only Savior, have you been drawn
unto him by that sacred magnet, the attracting influence of his dying love? Do
you know what it is to come to Christ, as a poor "weary and heavy laden sinner,
that you may find rest?" (Matt. 11:28) Do you know what it is, in a spiritual
sense, "to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man;" (John 6:53)
that is, to look upon Christ crucified as the great support or your soul, and
to feel a desire after bitterness as the appetite of nature after its necessary
food? Have you known what it is cordially to surrender yourself to Christ, as a
poor creature whom love has made his property? Have you committed your immortal
soul to him, that he may purify and save it; that he may govern it by the
dictates of his word and the influences of his Spirit; that be may use it for
his glory; that he may appoint it to what exercises and discipline he pleases,
while it dwells wells here in flesh; and that he may receive it at death, and
fix it among those spirits, who with perpetual songs of praise surround his
throne, and are his servants forever? Have you heartily consented to this? And
do you, on this account of the matter, renew your content! Do you renew it
deliberately and determinately, and feel your whole soul, as it were, saying
Amen, while you read this? If this be the case, then I can, with great
pleasure, give you, as it were, the right hand of fellowship, and salute and
embrace you as a sincere disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ; as One who is
delivered from the powers of darkness, and is "translated into the kingdom of
the Son of God." (Col. 1:13) I can then salute you in the Lord, as one to whom,
as a minister of Jesus, I am commissioned and charged to speak comfortably, and
tell you not that I absolve you from your sins, for it is a small mall matter
to be judged of man's judgment, but that the blessed God himself absolveth you:
that you are one to whom he hath said in his Gospel, and is continually saying,
"Your sins are forgiven you;" (Luke 7:48) therefore go in peace, and take the
comfort of it.
7. But if you are a stranger to these
experiences, and to this temper which I have now described, the great work is
yet undone: you are an impenitent and unbelieving sinner, and "the wrath of God
abideth on you." (John 3:36) However you may have been awakened- and alarmed,
whatever resolutions you may have formed for amending your life, how right
soever your notions may be, how pure soever your forms of worship, how ardent
soever your zeal, how severe soever your mortification, how humane soever your
temper, how inoffensive soever your life may be, I can speak no comfort to you.
Vain are all your religious hopes, if there has not been a cordial humiliation
before the presence of God for all your sins; if there has not been this avowed
war declared against every thing displeasing to God; if there has not been this
sense of your need of Christ, and of your ruin without him; if there has not
been this earnest application to him, this surrender of your soul into his
hands by faith, this renunciation of yourself, that you might fix on Him the
anchor of your hope: if there has not been this unreserved deification of
yourself, to be at all times, and in an respects, the faithful servant of God
through him; and if you do not with all this acknowledge, that you are an
unprofitable servant, who have no other expectations of acceptance or of pardon
but only through his righteousness and blood, and through the riches of divine
grace in Him; I repeat it to you again, that all your hopes are vain, and you
are "building on the sand." (Matt. 7:26) The house you have already raised must
ho thrown down to the ground, and the foundation be removed and laid anew, or
you, and all your hopes, will shortly be swept away with it, and buried under
it in everlasting ruin.
The soul submitting to Divine Examination the Sincerity of its Repentance and Faith.
A MORE PARTICULAR VIEW OF THE SEVERAL BRANCHES OF THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER, BY WHICH THE READER MAY BE FARTHER ASSISTED IN JUDGING WHAT HE IS, AND WHAT HE SHOULD ENDEAVOR TO BE.
1, 2. The importance of the case engages to a more particular survey what manner of spirit we are of.--3. Accordingly the Christian temper is described, by some general views of it, as a new and divine temper.--4. As resembling that of Christ.--5. And as engaging us to be spiritually minded, and to walk by faith.--6. A plan of the remainder.--7. In which the Christian temper is more particularly considered-with regard to the blessed God: as including fear, affection, and obedience.--8, 9. Faith and love to Christ.--10. Joy in Him.--11-13. And a proper temper towards the Holy Spirit, particularly as a spirit of adoption and of courage.--14. With regard to ourselves; as including preference of the soul to the body, humility, purity.--15. Temperance.--16. Contentment.--17. And Patience.--18. With regard to our fellow creatures; as including Love.--19. Meekness.--20. Peaceableness.--21. Mercy.--22. Truth.--23. And candor in judging.--24. General qualifications of each branch.--25. Such as Sincerity.--26. Constancy.--27. Tenderness.--28. Zeal.--29. And Prudence.--30. These things should frequently be recollected.--A review of all in a scriptural prayer.
1. WHEN I consider the infinite importance of eternity, I find it
exceedingly difficult to satisfy myself in any thing which I can say to men,
where their eternal interests are concerned. I have given you a view, I hope I
may truly say, a just as well as a faithful view, of a truly Christian temper
already. Yet, for your farther assistance, I would offer it to your
consideration in various points of light, that you maybe assisted in judging of
what you are and what you ought to be. And in this I aim, not only at your
conviction, if you are yet a stranger to real religion, but at your farther
edification, if, by the grace of God, you are by this time experimentally
acquainted with it. Happy you will be, happy beyond expression, if, as you go
on from one article to another, you can say, "This is my temper and character."
Happy in no inconsiderable degree, if you can say, "This is what I desire, what
I pray for, and what I pursue, in preference to every opposite view, though it
be not what I have as yet attained."
2. Search, then, and try "what manner of
spirit you are of" (Luke 9:55) And may he that searcheth all hearts direct the
inquiry, and enable you "so to judge yourself; that you may not be condemned of
the Lord." (1 Cor. 11:31,32)
3. Know in the general, "that, if you are a
Christian indeed, you have been `renewed in the spirit of your mind,' (Eph.
4:23) so renewed as to be regenerated and born again." It is not enough to have
assumed a new name, to have been brought under some new restraints, or to have
made a partial change in some particulars of your conduct. The change must be
great and universal. Inquire, then, whether you have entertained new
apprehensions or things, have formed a practical judgment different from what
you formerly did; whether the ends you propose, the affections which you feel
working in your heart, and the course of action to which, by those affections,
you are directed, be, on the whole, new or old. Again, "If you are a Christian
indeed, you are a `partaker of a divine nature,' (2 Pet. 1:4) divine in its
original, its tendency, and its resemblance." Inquire, therefore, whether God
hath implanted a principle in your heart, which tends to him, and which makes
you like him. Search your soul attentively, to see if you have really the image
there of God's moral perfections, of his holiness and righteousness his
goodness and fidelity; for "the new man is, after God, created in righteousness
and true holiness," (Eph. 4:24) "and is renewed in knowledge after the image of
him that created him." (Col. 3:10)
4. For your farther assistance, inquire "whether
`the same mind be in you which was always in Christ.' (Phil. 2:5) Whether you
bear the image of God's incarnate Son, the brightest and fairest resemblance of
the Father which heaven or earth has ever beheld." The blessed Jesus designed
himself to be a model for all his followers; and he is certainly a model most
fit for our imitation: an example in our own nature and in circumstances
adapted to general use: an example recommended to us at once by its spotless
perfection, and by the endearing relations in which he stands to us, as our
Master, our Friend, and our Head; as the person by whom our everlasting state
is to be fixed, and in resemblance to whom our final happiness is to consist,
if ever we are happy at all. Look then, into the life and temper of Christ, as
described and illustrated in the Gospel, and search whether you can find any
thing like it in your own. Have you any thing of his devotion, love, and
resignation to God? Any thing of his humility, meekness, and benevolence to
men? Any thing of his purity and wisdom, his contempt of the world, his
patience, his fortitude, his zeal? And indeed all the other branches of the
Christian temper, which do not imply previous guilt in the person by whom they
are exercised, may be called in to illustrate and assist your inquiries under
this head.
5. Let me add, "If you are a Christian, you are
in the main `spiritually-minded,' as knowing `that is life and peace;' whereas,
`to be carnally-minded is death.'" (Rom. 8:6) Though you "live in the flesh,
you will not war after it," (2 Cor. 10:3) you will not take your orders and
your commands from it. You will indeed attend to its necessary interests as
matter of duty; but it will still be with regard to another and a noble?
interest, that of the rational and immortal spirit. Your thoughts, your
affections, your pursuits, your choice, will be determined by a regard to
things spiritual rather than carnal. In a word, "you will walk by faith, and
not by sight." (2 Cor. 5:7) Future, invisible, and in some degree
incomprehensible objects, will take up your mind. Your faith will act on the
being of God, his perfections, his providences his precepts, his threatenings,
and his promises. It will act upon Christ, "whom having not seen," you will
"love and honor." (1 Pet. 1:8) It will act on that unseen world, which it knows
to be eternal, and therefore infinitely more worthy of your affectionate regard
than any of "those things which are seen and are temporal." (2 Cor. 4:18)
6. These are general views of the Christian
temper on which I would entreat you to examine yourself; and now I would go on
to lead you into a survey of the grand branches of it, as relating to God, our
neighbor, and ourselves; and of those qualifications which must attend each of
these branches; such as sincerity, constancy, tenderness, zeal and prudence.
And I beg your diligent attention, while I lay before you a few hints with
regard to each, by which you may judge the better, both of your state and your
duty.
7. Examine, then, I entreat you. "the temper of
your heart with regard to the blessed God." Do you find there a reverential
fear, and a supreme love and veneration for his incomparable excellencies, a
desire after him as the highest good, and a cordial gratitude towards him as
your supreme benefactor? Can you trust his care? Can you credit his testimony?
Do you desire to pay an unreserved obedience to all that he commands, and an
humble submission to all the disposals of his providence? Do you design his
glory as your noblest end, and make it the great business of your life to
approve yourself to him? Is it your governing care to imitate him, and to
"serve him in spirit and in truth?" (John, 4:24)
8. Faith in Christ I have already described at
large, and therefore shall say nothing farther, either of that persuasion of
his power and grace, which is the great foundation of it, or of that acceptance
of Christ under all his characters, or that surrender of the soul into his
hands, in which its peculiar and distinguishing nature consists.
9. If this faith in Christ be sincere, "it will
undoubtedly produce a love to him:" which will express itself in affectionate
thoughts of him; in strict fidelity to him; in a careful observation of his
charge; in a regard to his spirit, to his friends, and to his interests; in a
reverence to the memorials of his dying love which he has instituted; and in an
ardent desire after that heavenly world where he dwells, and where he will at
length "have all his people to dwell with him." (John 17:2)
10. I may add, agreeably to the word or God,
"that thus believing in Christ and loving him, you will also rejoice in him:"
in his glorious design, and in his complete fitness to accomplish it; in the
promises of his word, and in the privileges of his people. It will be matter of
joy to you, that such a Redeemer has appeared in this world of ours; and your
joy for yourself will be proportionable to the degree of clearness with which
you discern your interest in him, and relation to him.
11. Let me farther lead you into some reflections
on "the temper of your heart towards the blessed Spirit." If "we have not the
Spirit of Christ, we are none of his. (Rom. 8:19) If we are not "led by the
Spirit of God, we are not the children of God." (Rom. 8:14) You will then, if
you are a real Christian, desire that you may "be filled with the Spirit;"
(Eph. 5:18) that you may have every power of your soul subject to his
authority; that his agency on your heart may be more constant, more operative,
and more delightful. And to cherish these sacred influences, you will often
have recourse to serious consideration and meditation: you will abstain from
those sins which tend to grieve him; you will improve the tender seasons, in
which he seems to breathe upon your soul; you will strive earnestly with God in
prayer, that you may have him "shed on you still more abundantly through Jesus
Christ;" (Tit. 3:6) and you will be desirous to fall in with the end of his
mission, which was to glorify Christ, (John, 16:14) and to establish his
kingdom. "You will desire his influences as the Spirit of adoption," to render
your acts of worship free and affectionate, your obedience vigorous, your
sorrow for sin overflowing and tender, your resignation meek, and your love
ardent: in a word, to carry you through life and death with the temper of a
child who delights in his father, and who longs for his more immediate
presence.
12. Once more, "if you are a Christian indeed,
you will be desirous to obtain the spirit of courage." Amidst all that humility
of soul to which you will be formed, you will wish to commence a hero in the
cause of Christ, opposing, with a rigorous resolution, the strongest efforts of
the powers of darkness, the inward corruptions of your own heart, and all the
outward difficulties you may meet with in the way of your duty, while in the
cause and in the strength or Christ you go on "conquering and to conquer."
13. All these things may be considered as
branches of godliness; of that godliness which is "profitable unto all things,"
and hath the "promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come."
(1. Tim. 4:8)
14. Let me now farther lay before you some
branches of the Christian temper "which relate more immediately to ourselves."
And here, if you are a Christian indeed, you will undoubtedly prefer the soul
to the body, and things eternal to those that are temporal. Conscious of the
dignity and value of your immortal part, you will come to a firm resolution to
secure its happiness, whatever is to be resigned, whatever is to be endured in
that view. If you are a real Christian, you will be so "clothed with humility."
(1 Pet. 5:5) You will have a deep sense of your own imperfections, both natural
and moral; of the short extent of your knowledge; of the uncertainty and
weakness of your resolutions; and of your continual dependence upon God, and
upon almost every thing about you. And especially will you be deeply sensible
of your guilt; the remembrance of which will fill you with shame and confusion,
even when you have some reason to hope it is forgiven. This will forbid all
haughtiness and insolence of your behavior to your fellow-creatures. It will
teach you, under afflictive providences, with all holy submission to bear the
indignation of the Lord as those that know they "have sinned against him."
(Mic. 7:9) Again, if you are a Christian indeed, "you will labor after purity
of soul," and maintain a fixed abhorrence of all prohibited sensual indulgence.
A recollection of past impurities will fill you with shame and grief, and you
will endeavor for the future to guard your thoughts and desires, as well as
your words and actions, and to abstain, not only from the commission of evil,
but "from the" distant "appearance" and probable occasions "of it:" (1 Thess.
5:22) as conscious of the perfect holiness of that God with whom you converse,
and of the "purifying nature of that hope," (1 John 3:3) which by his Gospel he
hath taught you to entertain.
15. With this is nearly allied "that amiable
virtue of temperance" which will teach you to guard against such a use of meats
and drinks as indisposes the body for the service of the soul; or such an
indulgence in either, as will rob you of that precious jewel, your time, or
occasion an expense beyond what your circumstances will admit, and beyond what
will consist with what you owe to the cause of Christ, and those liberalities
to the poor which your relation and theirs to God and each other will require.
In short, you will guard against whatever has a tendency to increase a sensual
disposition against whatever would alienate the soul from communion with God,
and would diminish its zeal and activity in his service.
16. The divine philosophy of the blessed Jesus
will also teach you "a contented temper." It will moderate your desires of
those worldly enjoyments after which many feel such an insatiable thirst, ever
growing with indulgence and success. You will guard against an immoderate care
about those things which would lead you into a forgetfulness of your heavenly
inheritance. If Providence disappoint your undertakings, you will submit; if
others be more prosperous you will not envy them, but rather will be thankful
for what God is pleased to bestow upon them, as well as for what he gives you.
No unlawful methods will be used to alter your present condition; and whatever
it is, you will endeavor to make the best of it, remembering it is what
infinite wisdom and goodness have appointed you, and that it is beyond all
comparison better than you have deserved; yea, that the very deficiencies and
inconveniences of it may conduce to the improvement of your future and complete
happiness.
17. With contentment, if you are a disciple of
Christ, "you will join patience too," and "in patience will possess your soul."
(Luke 21:19) You cannot indeed be quite insensible either of afflictions or
injuries; but your mind will be calm and composed under them, and steady in the
prosecution of proper duty, though afflictions press, and though your hopes,
your dearest hopes and prospects be delayed. Patience will prevent hasty and
rash conclusions, and fortify you against seeking irregular methods of relief;
disposing you, in the mean time, till God shall be pleased to appear for you,
to go on steadily in the way of your duty; "committing yourself to him in
well-doing." (1 Pet. 4:19) You will also be careful that "patience may have its
perfect work," (Jam. 1:4) and prevail in proportion to those circumstances
which demand its peculiar exercise. For instance, when the successions of evil
are long and various, so that "deep calls to deep," and "all God's waves and
billows seem to be going over you," one after another; (Psa. 42:7) when God
touches you in the most tender part; when the reasons of his conduct to you are
quite unaccountable; when your natural spirits are weak and decayed; when
unlawful methods of redress seem near and easy; still your reverence for the
will of your heavenly Father will carry it against all, and keep you waiting
quietly for deliverance in his own time and way.
18. I have thus led you into a brief review of
the Christian temper, with respect to God and ourselves: permit me now to add,
"that the Gospel will teach you another set of very important lessons with
respect to your fellow-creatures." They all are summed up in this, "Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself;" (Rom. 13:9) and whatsoever thou wouldst (that
is, whatsoever thou couldst, in an exchange of circumstances, fairly and
reasonably desire) that others should do unto thee, do thou like-wise the same
unto them." (Matt. 7:12) The religion of the blessed Jesus, when it triumphs in
your soul, will conquer the predominancy of an irregular self-love, and will
teach you candidly and tenderly to look upon your neighbor as another self. As
you are sensible of your own rights, you will be sensible of his: as you
support your own character you will support his. You will desire his welfare,
and be ready to relieve his necessity, as you would have your own consulted by
another. You will put the kindest construction upon his most dubious words and
actions. You will take pleasure in his happiness; you will feel his distress,
in some measure, as your own. And most happy will you be, when this obvious
rule is familiar to your mind, when this golden law is written upon your heart,
and when it is habitually and impartially consulted by you upon every occasion,
whether great or small.
19. The Gospel will also teach you "to put on
meekness," (Col. 3:12) not only with respect to God, submitting to the
authority of his word, and the disposal of his providence, as was urged before;
but also with regard to your brethren of mankind. Its gentle instructions will
form you to calmness of temper under injuries and provocations, so that you may
not be angry without, or beyond just cause. It will engage you to guard your
words, lest you provoke and exasperate those you should rather study by love to
gain, and by tenderness to heal. Meekness will render you slow in using any
rough and violent methods, if they can by any means be lawfully avoided; and
ready to admit, and even to propose a reconciliation, after they have been
entered into, if there may yet be hope of succeeding. So far as this branch of
the Christian temper prevails in your heart, you will take care to avoid every
thing which might give unnecessary offence to others; you will behave you
yourself in a modest manner, according to your station; and it will work, both
with regard to superiors and inferiors, teaching you duly to honor the one, and
not to overbear or oppress, to grieve or insult the other. And in religion
itself; it will restrain all immoderate sallies and harsh censure; and will
command down "that wrath of man, which, instead of working, so often opposes
the righteousness of God," (Jam. 1:20) and shames and wounds that good badge,
in which it is boisterously and furiously engaged.
20. With this is naturally connected "a peaceful
disposition." If you are a Christian indeed, you will have such a value and
esteem for peace, as to endeavor to obtain, and to preserve it, "as much as
lieth in you," (Rom. 12:18) as much as you fairly and honorably can. This will
have such an influence upon your conduct, as to make you not only cautious of
giving offence, and slow in taking it, but earnestly desirous to regain peace
as soon as may be, when it is in any measure broken, that the wound may be
healed while it is green, and before it begins to rankle and fester. And more
especially, this disposition will engage you "to keep the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace," (Eph. 4:3) "with all that in every very place call on
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," (1 Cor. 1:2) whom if you truly love, you
will also love all those whom you have reason to believe to he his disciples
and servants.
21. If you be yourselves indeed of that number,
"you will also put on bowels of mercy." (Col. 3:12) the mercies of God, and
those of the blessed Redeemer, will work on your heart, to mould it to
sentiments of compassion and generosity, so that you will feel the wants and
sorrows of others; you will desire to relieve their necessities; and as you
have an opportunity, you will do good, both to their bodies and their souls;
expressing your kind affections in suitable actions, which may both evidence
their sincerity and render them effectual
22. As a Christian, "you will also maintain truth
inviolable," not only in your solemn testimonies, when confirmed by an oath,
but likewise in common conversation. You will remember, too, that your promises
bring an obligation upon you, which you are by no means at liberty to break
through. On the whole, you will be careful to keep a strict correspondence
between your words and your actions, in such a manner as becomes a servant of
the God of truth.
23. Once more, as, amidst the strictest care to
observe all the divine precepts, you will still find many imperfections on
account of which you will be obliged to pray, that "God would not enter into
strict judgment with you," as well knowing "that in his sight you cannot be
justified," (Psa. 143:2) you will be careful not to judge others "in such a
manner as should awaken the severity of `his judgment against yourself.'"
(Matt. 7:1,2) You will not, therefore. judge them impertinently, when you have
nothing to do with their actions; nor rashly, without inquiring into
circumstances; nor partially, without weighing them attentively and fairly; nor
uncharitably. putting the worst construction upon things in their own nature
dubious; deciding upon intentions as evil, farther than they certainly appear
to be so; pronouncing on the state of men, or on the whole of their character,
from any particular action, and involving the innocent with the guilty. There
is a moderation contrary to all these extremes, which the Gospel recommends;
and if you receive the Gospel in good earnest into your heart, it will lay the
ax to the root of such evils as these.
24. Having thus briefly illustrated the principal
branches of the Christian temper and character, I shall conclude the
representation. with reminding you of "some general qualifications which must
be mingled with all, and give a tincture to each of them; such as sincerity,
constancy, tenderness, zeal, and prudence."
25. Always remember, that "sincerity is the very
soul of true religion." A single intention to please God, and to approve
ourselves to him, must animate and govern all that we do in it. Under the
influence of this principle you will impartially inquire into every intimation
of duty, and apply to the practice of it so far as it is known to you. Your
heart will be engaged in all you do. Your conduct, in private and in secret,
will be agreeable to your most public behavior. A sense of the Divine authority
will teach you "to esteem all God's precepts concerning all things to be right,
and to hate every false way." (Psa. 119:128)
26. Thus are you, "in simplicity and godly
sincerity to have your conversation in the world." (2 Cor. 1:12) And "you are
also to charge it upon your soul `to be steadfast and immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord.'" (1 Cor. 15:58) There must not only be some
sudden fits and starts of devotion, or of something which looks like it, but
religion must be an habitual and permanent thing. There must be a purpose to
adhere to it at all times. It must be made the stated and ordinary business of
life. Deliberate and presumptuons sins must be carefully avoided; a guard must
be maintained against the common infirmities of life; and falls of one kind or
of another must be matter of proportionable humiliation before God, and must
occasion renewed resolution for his service. And thus you are to go on to the
end of your life, not discouraged by the length and difficulty of the way, nor
allured on the one hand, or terrified on the other, by all the various
temptations which may surround and assault you. Your soul must be fixed on this
basis, and you are still to behave yourself as one who knows he serves an
unchangeable God, and who expects from him "a kingdom which cannot be moved."
(Heb. 12:28)
27. Again, so far as the Gospel prevails in your
heart, "your spirit will be tender, and the stone will be transformed into
flesh." You will desire that your apprehensions of divine things may be quick,
your affections ready to take proper impressions, your conscience always easily
touched, and, on the whole, your resolutions pliant to the divine authority,
and cordially willing to be, and to do whatever God shall appoint. You will
have a tender regard to the word of God, a tender caution against sin, a tender
guard against the snares of prosperity, a tender submission to God's afflicting
hand: in a word, you will be tender wherever the divine honor is concerned; and
careful, neither to do anything yourself; nor to allow any thing in another, so
far as you can influence, by which God should be offended, or religion
reproached.
28. Nay, more than all this, you will, so far as
true Christianity governs in your mind, "exert a holy zeal in the service of
your Redeemer and your Father." You will be "zealously affected in every good
thing," (Gal. 4:18) in proportion to its apprehended goodness and importance.
You will be zealous, especially, to correct what is irregular in yourself; and
to act to the utmost of your ability for the cause of God. Nor will you be able
to look with an indifferent eye on the conduct of others in this view; but, so
far as charity, meekness, aid prudence will admit, you will testify your
disapprobation of every thing in it which is dishonorable to God and injurious
to men. And you will labor, not only to reclaim men from such courses, but to
engage them to religion, and quicken them in it.
29. And once more, you will desire "to use the
prudence which God bath given you," in judging what is, in present
circumstances, your duty to God, your neighbor, and yourself; what will be, on
the whole, the most acceptable manner of discharging it, and how far it may be
most advantageously pursued; as remembering that he is indeed the wisest and
the happiest man, who, by constant attention of thought, discovers the greatest
opportunities of doing good, and with ardent and animated resolution breaks
through every opposition, that he may improve those opportunities.
30. This is such a view of the Christian temper
as could conveniently be thrown within such narrow limits; and I hope it may
assist many in the great and important work of self-examination. Let your own
conscience answer, how far you have already attained it, and how far you desire
it; and let the principal topics here touched upon be fixed in your memory and
in your heart, that you may be mentioning them before God in your daily
addresses to the throne of grace, in order to receive from him all necessary
assistance for bringing them into practice.
A Prayer, chiefly in Scripture Language, in which the several Branches of the Christian temper are more briefly enumerated in the order laid down above.
THE READER REMINDED HOW MUCH HE NEEDS THE ASSISTANCE OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD TO FORM HIM TO THE TEMPER DESCRIBED ABOVE, AND WHAT ENCOURAGEMENT HE HAS TO EXPECT IT.
1. Forward resolutions may prove ineffectual.--2. Yet religion is not to be given up in despair, but Divine grace to be sought.--3. A general view of its reality and necessity, from reason.--4. And Scripture.--5. The spirit to be sought as the spirit of Christ.--6. And in that view the great strength of the soul.--7. The encouragement there is to hope for the communication of it.--8. A concluding exhortation to pray for it. And an humble address to God pursuant to that exhortation.
I HAVE now laid before you a plan of that temper and character which the
Gospel requires, and which, if you are a true Christian, you will desire and
pursue. Surely there is, in the very description of it, something which must
powerfully strike every mind which has any taste for what is truly beautiful
and excellent. And I question not, but you, my dear render, will feel some
impression of it upon your heart. You will immediately form some lively purpose
of endeavoring after it; and perhaps you may imagine, you shall certainly and
quickly attain to it. You see how reasonable it is, and what desirable
consequences necessarily attend it, and the aspect which it bears on your
present enjoyment and your future happiness; and therefore are determined you
will act accordingly. But give me leave seriously to remind you how many there
have been, (would to God that several such instances had not happened within
the compass of my own personal observation!) whose goodness hath been "like a
morning cloud and the early dew," which soon "passeth away." (Hos. 6:4) There
is not room indeed absolutely to apply the words of Joshua, taken in the most
rigorous sense, when he said to Israel, that he might humble their too hasty
and sanguine resolutions, "You cannot serve the Lord." (Josh. 24:12) But I will
venture to say, you cannot easily do it. Alas! you know not the difficulties
you have to break through; you know not the temptations which Satan will throw
in your way; you know not how importunate your vain and sinful companions will
be, to draw you back into the snare you may attempt to break; and, above all,
you know not the subtle artifices which your own corruptions will practice upon
you in order to recover their dominion over you. You think the views you now
have of things will be lasting, because the principles and objects to which
they refer are so: but perhaps tomorrow may undeceive you, or rather deceive
you anew: tomorrow may present some trifle in a new dress, which shall amuse
you into a forgetfulness of all this. Nay, perhaps before you lie down on your
bed, the impressions you now feel may wear off. The corrupt desires of your own
heart, now perhaps a little charmed down, and lying as if they were dead, may
spring up again with new violence, as if they had slept only to recruit their
vigor; and if you are not supported by a better strength than your own, this
struggle for liberty will only make your future chains the heavier, the more
shameful, and the more fatal.
2. What then is to be done? Is the convinced
sinner to lie down in despair? to say, "I am a helpless captive, and by
exerting myself with violence, may break my limbs sooner than my bonds, and
increase the evil I would remove?" God forbid! You cannot, I am persuaded, be
so little acquainted with Christianity, as not to know "that the doctrine of
divine assistance bears a very considerable part in it." You have often, I
doubt not, read of "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, as making us
free from the law of sin and death," (Rom. 8:2) and have been told, "that
through the Spirit we mortify the deeds of the body." (Rom. 8:13) You have read
of "doing all things through Christ, who strengtheneth us," (Phil. 4:15) whose
grace "is sufficient for us," and whose "strength is made perfect in weakness."
(2 Cor. 12:9) Permit me, therefore, flow to call your attention to this, as a
truth of the clearest evidence, and of the utmost importance.
3. Reason, indeed, as well as the whole tenor of
Scripture, agrees with this.*.' The whole created world has a necessary
dependence on God: from him ever, the knowledge of "natural things" is derived,
(Psa. 94:10) and "skill in them is to be ascribed to him." (Exod. 31:3-6) Much
more loudly does so great and excellent a work, as the new-forming the human
mind, bespeak its divine Author. When you consider how various the branches of
the Christian temper are, and how contrary many of them also are to that
temper, which hath prevailed in your heart, and governed your life in time
past, you must really see divine influences as necessary to produce and nourish
them, as the influences of the sun and rain are to call up the variety of
plants and flowers, and grains and fruits, by which the earth is adorned, and
our life supported. You will be yet more sensible of this, if you reflect on
the violent opposition which this happy work must expect to meet with; of which
I shall presently warn you more largely, and which if you have not already
experienced, it must be because you have but very lately begun to think of
religion.
4. Accordingly, if you give yourself leave to
consult Scripture on this head, (and if you would live like a Christian, you
must be consulting it every day, and forming your notions and actions by it)
you will see that the whole tenor of it teaches that dependence upon God which
I am now recommending. You will particularly see, that the production of
religion in the soul is matter of divine promise; that when it has been
effected, Scripture ascribes it to a divine agency; and that the increase of
grace and piety in the heart of those who are truly regenerate, is also spoken
of as the word of God, who begins and "carries it on until the day of Jesus
Christ." (Phil. 1:6)
5. Inconsequence of all these views, lay it down
to yourself as a most certain principle, that no attempt in religion is to be
made in your own strength. If you forget this, and God purposes finally to save
you, he will humble you by repeated disappointments, till he teach you better.
You will be ashamed of one scheme and effort, and of another, till you settle
upon the true basis. He will also probably show you, not only in the general,
that your strength is to be derived from heaven, but particularly that it is
the office of the blessed Spirit to purify the heart, and to invigorate holy
resolutions; and also that, in all these operations, he is to be considered as
the Spirit of Christ, working under his direction, and as a vital communication
from him under the character of the great Head of the Church, the grand
Treasurer and Dispenser of these holy and beneficial influences. On which
account it is called "the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ," (Phil. 1:19)
who is "exalted at the right hand" of the Father, "to give repentance and
remission of sins," (Acts 5:31) "in whose grace alone we can be strong," (2
Tim. 2:1) and "of whose fullness we receive even grace for grace." (John
1:16)
6. Resolve, therefore, strenuously for the
service of God, and for the care of your soul: but "resolve modestly and
humbly." Even "the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men utterly
fall; but they who wait on the Lord" are the persons who "renew their
strength." (Isai. 40:30,31) When a soul is almost afraid to declare, in the
presence of the Lord, that it will not do this or that, which has formerly
offended him; when it is afraid absolutely to promise that it will perform this
or that duty with vigor and constancy, but only expresses its humble and
earnest desire that it may by grace be enabled to avoid the one or pursue the
other; then, so far as my observation and experience have reached, it is in the
best way to learn the happy art of conquering temptation, and of discharging
duty.
7. On the other hand, let not your dependence
upon this Spirit, and your sense of your own weakness and insufficiency for any
thing spiritually good, without his continual aid, discourage you from devoting
yourself to God, and engaging in a religious life, considering "what abundant
reason you have to hope that these gracious influences will be communicated to
you." The light of nature, at the same time that it teaches the need we have of
help from God in a virtuous course, may lead us to conclude that so benevolent
a Being, who bestows on the most unworthy and careless part of mankind so many
blessings, will take a peculiar pleasure in communicating to such as humbly ask
them, those gracious assistances which may form their deathless souls into his
own resemblance, and fit them for that happiness to which their rational nature
is suited, and for which it was in its first constitution intended. The word of
God will much more abundantly confirm such a hope. You there hear divine wisdom
crying even to those who bad long trifled with her instructions, "Turn ye at my
reproof, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you" (Prov 1:23) You hear the
apostle saying, "Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy, and find grace to help in every time of need." (Heb. 4:16) Yea, and you
there hear our Lord himself arguing in this sweet and convincing manner: "If
ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more
shall your heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit unto them that ask him?" (Luke
11:13) This gift and promise of the Spirit was given unto Christ when he
ascended up on high, in trust for all his true disciples. God hath "shed it
abroad abundantly upon us in him." (Tit. 3:6) And I may add, that the very
desire you feel after the farther communication of the Spirit, is the result of
the fruits of it already given; so that you may, with peculiar propriety,
interpret it as a special call "to open your mouth wide, that he may fill it."
(Psa. 81:10) You thirst, and therefore you may cheerfully plead, that Jesus has
"invited you to come unto him and drink;" with a promise not only that you
shall drink if you come unto him, but also that "out of your belly shall flow,"
as it were, "rivers of living water," for the edification and refreshment of
others. (John, 7:37,38)
8. Go forth, therefore, with humble cheerfulness,
to the prosecution of all the duties of the Christian life. Go and prosper "in
the strength of the Lord, making mention of his righteousness, and of his
only." (Psa. 71:16) And as a token of farther communication, may your heart be
quickened to the most earnest desire after the blessings I have been now
recommending to your pursuit!" May you be stirred up to pour out your soul
before God in such holy breathings as these! and may they he your daily
language in his gracious presence!
An humble Supplication for the Influences of Divine Grace, to form and strengthen Religion in the Soul.
THE CHRISTIAN CONVERT WARNED OF, AND ANIMATED AGAINST THOSE DISCOURAGEMENTS WHICH HE MUST EXPECT TO MEET WHEN ENTERING ON A RELIGIOUS COURSE.
1. Christ has instructed his disciples to expect opposition and difficulties in the way to heaven.--2. Therefore a more particular view of them is taken, as arising-from the remainder of indwelling sin.--3. From the world, and especially from former sinful companions.--4. From the temptations and suggest ions of Satan.--5, 6. The Christian is animated and encouraged, by various considerations, to oppose them; particularly by the presence of God; the aids of Christ; the example of others, who, though feeble, have conquered; and the crown of glory to be expected.--7. Therefore, though apostacy be infinitely fatal, the Christian may press on cheerfully. Accordingly the soul, alarmed by these view; is represented as committing itself to God, in the prayer which concludes the chapter.
1. WITH the utmost propriety has our Divine Master required us "to strive to
enter in at the strait gate," (Luke 13:23) thereby intimating, not only that
the passage is narrow, but that it is beset with enemies; beset on the right
hand and on the left with enemies cunning and formidable. And be assured, O
reader! that whatever your circumstances in life are, you must meet and:
encounter them. It will therefore be your prudence to survey them attentively
in your own reflections, that you may see what you are to expect; and may
consider in what armor it is necessary you shall be clothed, and with what
weapons you must be furnished to manage the combat. You have often heard them
marshalled, as it were, under three great leaders, the flesh, the world, and
the devil; and; according to this distribution, I would call you to consider
the forces of each, as setting themselves in array against you. O that you may
be excited "to take to yourself the whole armor of God," (Eph. 6:13) and to
"acquit yourself like a man," and a Christian! (1 Cor. 16:13)
2. Let your conscience answer, whether do you
not carry about with you a corrupt and degenerate nature? You will, I doubt
not, feel its effects. You will feel, in the language of the apostle, who
speaks of it as the case of Christians themselves, "the flesh lusting against
the spirit, so that you will not be able," in all instances, "to do the things
that you would." (Gal. 5:17) You brought irregular propensities into the world
along with you; and you have so often indulged those sinful inclinations, that
you have greatly increased their strength; and you will find, in consequence of
it, that these habits cannot be broken through without great difficulty. You
will, no doubt, often recollect the strong figures in which the prophet
describes a case like yours; and you will own that it is justly represented by
that "of an Ethiopian changing his skin, and the leopard his spots." (Jer.
13:23) It is indeed possible, that, at first, you may find such an edge and
eagerness upon your spirits, as may lead you to imagine that all opposition
will immediately fall before you. But, alas! I fear that in a little time these
enemies, which seemed to be slain at your feet, will revive, and recover their
weapons, and renew the assault in one form or another. And perhaps your most
painful combats may be with such as you had thought most easy to be vanquished;
and your greatest danger may arise from some of those enemies from whom you
apprehended the least, particularly from pride and from indolence of spirit;
from a secret alienation or heart from God, and from an indisposition for
conversing with him, through an immoderate attachment to "things seen and
temporal," which may be oftentimes exceedingly dangerous to your salvation,
though perhaps they be not absolutely and universally prohibited. In a thousand
of these instances you must learn to deny yourself, or you "cannot be Christ's
disciple." (Matt. 16:24)
3. You must also lay your account to find great
difficulties from the world, from its manners, customs, and examples. The
things of the world will hinder you one way, and the men of the world another.
Perhaps you may meet with much less assistance in religion than you are now
ready to expect from good men. The present generation of them is generally so
cautious to avoid every thing that looks like ostentation, and there seems
something so insupportably dreadful in the charge of enthusiasm, that you will
find most of your Christian brethren studying to conceal their virtue and their
piety, much more than others study to conceal their vices and their
profaneness. But while, unless your situation be singularly happy, you meet
with very little aid one way, you will, no doubt, find great opposition
another. The enemies of religion will be bold and active in their assaults,
while many any or its friends seem unconcerned; and one sinner will probably
exert himself more to corrupt you, than ten Christians to secure and save you.
They who have been once your companions in sin, will try a thousand artful
methods to allure you back again to their forsaken society: some of them
perhaps with an appearance of tender fondness, and many more by the almost
irresistible art of ridicule: that boasted test of right and wrong, as it has
been wantonly called, will be tried upon you, perhaps without any regard to
decency, or even to common humanity. You will be derided and insulted. by those
whose esteem-and affection you naturally desire; and may find much more
proprietary than you imagine, in that expression of the apostle, "the trial of
cruel mockings," (Heb. 9:36) which some fear more than either sword or flames.
This persecution of the tongue you must expect to go through, and perhaps may
be branded as a lunatic, for no other cause than that you now begin to exercise
your reason to purpose, and will not join with those that are destroying their
own souls in their wild career of folly and madness.
4. And it is not at all improbable, that in the
meantime Satan may be doing his utmost to discourage and distress you. He will,
no doubt, raise in your imagination the most tempting idea of the
gratifications, the indulgences, and the companions you are obliged to forsake;
and give you the most discouraging and terrifying view of the difficulties,
severities, and dangers, which are, as he will persuade you, inseparable from
religion. He will not fail to represent God himself, the fountain of goodness
and happiness, as a hard Master, whom it is impossible to please. He will
perhaps fill you with the most distressful fears, and with cruel and insolent
malice, glory over you as his slave, when he knows you are the Lord's freeman.
At one time he will study, by his vile suggestions, to interrupt you in your
duties, as if they gave him an additional power over you. At another time he
will endeavor to weary you of your devotion, by influencing you to prolong it
to an immoderate and tedious length, lest his power should be exerted upon you
when it ceases. In short, this practiced deceiver has artifices which it would
require whole volumes to display, with particular cautions against each. And he
will follow you with malicious arts and pursuits to the very end of your
pilgrimage, and will leave no method unattempted which may be likely to weaken
your hands and to sadden your heart, that if through the gracious interposition
of God, he cannot prevent your final happiness, he may at least impair your
peace and your usefulness as you are passing to it.
5. This is what the people of God feel, and what
you will feel in some degree or other, if you have your lot and portion among
them. But, after all, be not discouraged: Christ is the "Captain of your
salvation." (Heb. 2:10) It is delightful to consider him under this view. When
we take a survey of these host of enemies, we may lift up our head amidst them
all, and say, "More and greater is he that is with us, than all those that are
against us." (2 Kings 6:16) "Trust in the Lord, and you will he like Mount
Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever." (Psa. 125:1) When your
enemies press upon you, remember you are to "fight in the presence of God."
(Zech. 10:5) Endeavor, therefore, to act a gallant and a resolute part;
endeavor to "resist them steadfast in the faith." (1 Pet. 5:9) Remember, "He
can give power to the faint, and increase strength to them that have no might."
(Isai. 40:29) He hath done it in ten thousand instances already, and he will do
it in ten thousand more. How many striplings have conquered their gigantic foes
in all their most formidable armor, when they have gone forth against them;
though but as it were "with a staff and a sling, in the name of the Lord God of
Israel!" (1 Sam. 17:40-45) How many women and children have trodden down the
force of the enemy, "and out of weakness have been made strong!" (Heb.
11:34)
6. Amidst all the opposition of earth and hell,
look upward and look forward, and you will feel your heart animated by the
view. Your General is near; he is near to aid you, he is near to reward you.
When you feel the temptation press the hardest, think of him who endured even
the cross itself for your rescue. View the fortitude of your Divine Leader, and
endeavor to march on in his steps. Hearken to his voice, for he proclaims it
aloud, "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me." (Rev. 22:12) "Be
thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Rev. 2:10)
And, oh! how bright will it shine! and how long will its lustre last! When the
gems that adorn the crowns of monarchs, and pass (instructive thought!) from
one royal head to another through succeeding centuries, are melted down in the
last flame, it is "a crown of glory which fadeth not away." (1 Pet. 5.4)
7. It is indeed true, "that such as turn aside to
crooked paths" will be "led forth with the workers of iniquity," to that
terrible execution which divine justice is preparing for them, (Psa. 125:5) and
it would have been "better for them not to have known the way of righteousness,
than, after having known it, to turn aside from the holy commandment." (2 Pet
2:21) But I would, by divine grace, "hope better things of you." (Heb. 6:9) And
I make it my hearty prayer for you, my reader, that you may be "kept by the
mighty power of God," kept, as in a garrison on all sides fortified in the
securest manner, "through faith, unto salvation."
The Soul, alarmed by a sense of these difficulties, committing itself to Divine Protection.
THE CHRISTIAN URGED TO, AND ASSISTED IN, AN EXPRESS ACT OF SELF-DEDICATION TO THE SERVICE OF GOD.
1. The advantages of such a surrender are briefly suggested.-- 2, 3, 4. Advice for the manner of doing it; that it be deliberate, cheerful, entire, perpetual.--5. And that it be expressed with some affecting solemnity.--6. A written instrument to be signed and declared before God, at some season of extraordinary devotion, reposed. The chapter concludes with a specimen of such an instrument, together with an abstract of it, to be used with proper and requisite alterations.
1. AS I would hope, that, notwithstanding all the forms of opposition which
do or may arise, yet in consideration of those noble supports and motives which
have been mentioned in the two preceding chapters, you are heartily determined
for the service of God, I would now urge you to make a solemn surrender of
yourself unto it. Do not only form such a purpose in your heart, but expressly
declare it in the divine presence. Such solemnity in the manner of doing it is
certainly very reasonable in the nature of things; and surely it is highly
expedient for binding to the Lord such a treacherous heart as we know our own
to be. It will be pleasant to reflect upon it, as done at such and such a time,
with such and such circumstances of place and method, which may serve to strike
the memory and the conscience. The sense of the vows of God which are upon you,
will strengthen you in an hour of temptation; and the recollection may also
encourage your humble boldness and freedom in applying to him, under the
character and relation of your Covenant God and Father, as future exigencies
may require.
2. Do it therefore; but do it deliberately.
Consider what it is that you are to do, and consider how reasonable it is that
it should be done, and done cordially and cheerfully; "not by constraint, but
willingly," (1 Pet. 5:2) for in this sense, and in every other, "God loves a
cheerful giver." (2 Cor. 9:7) Now surely there is nothing we should do with
greater cheerfulness or more cordial consent, than making such a surrender of
ourselves to this Lord, to the God who created us, who brought us into this
pleasant and well-furnished world, who supported us in our tender infancy, who
guarded us in the thoughtless days of childhood and youth, who has hitherto
continually helped, sustained, and preserved us. Nothing can be more reasonable
than that we should acknowledge him as our rightful owner and our Sovereign
Ruler; than that we should devote ourselves to him us our most gracious
Benefactor, and seek him as our supreme felicity. Nothing can be more
apparently equitable than that we, the product of his power, and the price of
his Son's blood, should be his, and his for ever. If you see the matter in its
just view, it will be the grief of your soul that you have ever alienated
yourself from the blessed God and his service: so far will you be from wishing
to continue in that state of alienation another year, or another day, you will
rejoice to bring back to him his revolted creature; and as you have in times
past "yielded your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin," you
will delight to "yield yourselves unto God as alive from the dead," and to
employ "your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." (Rom. 6:13)
3. The surrender will also be as entire as it is
cheerful and immediate. All you are, and all you have, and all you can do, your
time, your possessions, your influence over others, will be devoted to him,
that for the future it may be employed entirety for him, and to his glory. You
will desire to keep back nothing from him; but will seriously judge that you
are then in the truest and noblest sense your own, when you are most entirely
his. You are also, on this great occasion, to resign all that you have to the
disposal of his wise and gracious providence; not only owning his power, but
consenting to his undoubted right to do what he pleases with you, and all that
he has given you; and declaring a hearty approbation of all that he has done,
and of all that he may farther do.
4. Once more, let me remind you that this
surrender must be perpetual. Yon must give yourself up to God in such a manner
as never more to pretend to be your own; for the rights of God are, like his
nature, eternal an immutable; and with regard to his rational creatures, are
the same yesterday, today, and for ever.
5. I would farther advise and urge that this
dedication may be made with all possible solemnity. Do it in express words. And
perhaps it may be in many cases most expedient, as many pious divines have
recommended, to do it in writing. Set your hand and seal to it, "that on such a
day of such a month and year, and at such a place, on full consideration and
serious reflection, you came to this happy resolution, that, whatsoever others
might do, you would serve the Lord." (Josh. 24:15)
6. Such an instrument you may, if you please draw
up for yourself; or, if you rather choose to have it drawn up to your hand, you
may find something of this nature below, in which you may easily make such
alterations as shall suit your circumstances, where there is any thing peculiar
in them. But whatever you use, weigh it well, meditate attentively upon it,
that you may "not be rash with your mouth to utter any thing before God."
(Eccel. 5:2) And when you determine to execute this instrument, let the
transaction be attended with some more than ordinary; religious retirement.
Make it, if you conveniently can, a day of secret fasting and prayer; and when
your heart is prepared with a becoming awe of the Divine Majesty, with an
humble confidence in his goodness, and an earnest desire of his favor, then
present yourself on your knees before God, and read it over deliberately and
solemnly; and when you have signed it, lay it by in some secure place, where
you may review it whenever you please; and make it a rule with yourself to
review it, if possible, at certain seasons of the year, that you may keep up
the remembrance of it. And God grant that you may be enabled to keep it, and in
the whole of your conversation to walk according to it. May it be an anchor to
your soul in every temptation, and a cordial to it in every affliction. May the
recollection or it embolden your addresses to the throne of grace now, and give
additional strength to your departing spirit, in a consciousness that it is
ascending to your covenant God and Father, and to that gracious Redeemer, whose
power and faithfulness will securely "keep what you commit to him unto that
day." (2 Tim. 1:12)
An Example of Self-Dedication.
N.B. For the sake of those who may think the preceding Form of Self-Dedication too long to be transcribed, as it is possible many will, I have, at the desire of a much esteemed friend, added the following Abridgment of it, which should, by all means, be attentively weighed in every clause before it is executed; and any word or phrase which may seem liable to exception, changed, that the whole heart may consent to it all.
"Eternal and ever-blessed God! I desire to
present myself before thee, with the deepest humiliation and abasement of soul,
sensible how unworthy such a sinful worm is to appear before the holy Majesty
of heaven, the King of kings and Lord of lords, and especially on such an
occasion as this, ever to dedicate myself, without reserve, to thee. But the
scheme and plan is thine own. Thine infinite condescension hath offered it by
thy Son, and thy grace hath inclined my heart to accept of it.
"I come, therefore, acknowledging myself to have
been a great offender; smiting upon my breast, and saying with the humble
publican, `God be merciful to me a sinner!' I come, invited by the name of thy
Son, and wholly trusting in his perfect righteousness, entreating that for his
sake thou wilt be merciful to my unrighteousness, and wilt no more remember my
sins. Receive, I beseech thee, thy revolted creature, who is now convinced of
thy right to him, and desires nothing so much as that he may be thine
"This day do I, with the utmost solemnity,
surrender myself to thee. I renounce all former lords that have had dominion
over me; and I consecrate to thee all that I am, and all that I have; the
faculties of my mind, the members of my body, my worldly possessions, my time,
and my influence over others; to be all used entirely for thy glory, and
resolutely employed in obedience to thy commands, as long as thou continuest me
in life; with an ardent desire and humble resolution to continue thine through
all the endless ages of eternity; ever holding myself in an attentive posture
to observe the first intimations of thy will, and ready to spring forward with
zeal and joy to the immediate execution of it.
"To thy direction also I resign myself, and all I
am and have, to be disposed of by thee in such a manner as thou shalt in thine
infinite wisdom judge most subservient to the purposes of thy glory. To thee I
leave the management of all events, and say without reserve, `Not my will, but
thine be done,' rejoicing with a loyal heart in thine unlimited government, as
what ought to be the delight of the whole rational creation.
"Use me, O Lord, I beseech thee, as an instrument
of thy service! number me among thy peculiar people! Let me be washed in the
blood of thy dear Son! Let me be clothed with his righteousness!. Let me be
sanctified by his Spirit! Transform me more and more into his image! Impart to
me through him, all needful influences of thy purifying, cheering, and
comforting Spirit! And let my life be spent under those influences, and in the
light of thy gracious countenance, as my Father and my God!
"And when the solemn hour of death comes, may I
remember thy covenant, `well ordered in all things and sure, as all my
salvation and all my desire,' (2 Sam. 23:5) though every hope and enjoyment is
perishing; and do thou, O Lord! remember it too. Look down with pity, O my
heavenly Father, on thy languishing, dying child! Embrace me in thine
everlasting arms! Put strength and confidence into my departing spirit, and
receive it to the abodes of them that sleep in Jesus, peacefully and joyfully
to wait the accomplishment of thy great promise to all thy people, even that of
a glorious resurrection, and of eternal happiness in thine heavenly
presence!
"And if any surviving friend should, when I am in
the dust, meet with this memorial of my solemn transactions with thee, may he
make the engagement his own; and do thou graciously admit him to partake in all
the blessings of thy covenant, through Jesus the great Mediator of it; to whom,
with thee, O Father, and thy Holy Spirit, be ever-lasting praises ascribed, by
all the millions who are thus saved by thee, and by all those other celestial
spirits in whose work and blessedness thou shalt call them to share! Amen."
ON COMMUNION IN THE LORDS SUPPER.
1. If the reader has received the Ordinance of Baptism, and; as above recommended, dedicated himself to God.--2. He is urged to ratify that engagement at the Table of the Lord.-- 3. From a view of the ends for which that Ordinance was instituted.--4. Whence its usefulness is strongly inferred.--5. And from the Authority of Christ's Appointment; which is solemnly pressed on the conscience.--6. Objections from apprehensions of Unfitness.--7. Weakness of grace, &c. briefly answered.--8. At least, serious thoughtfulness on this subject is absolutely insisted upon.--9. The chapter is closed with a prayer for one who desires to attend, yet finds himself pressed with remaining doubts.
1. I hope this chapter will find you, by a most express consent, become one
of God's covenant people, solemnly and most cordially devoted to his service;
and it is my hearty prayer, that the engagements you have made on earth may be
ratified in heaven. But for your farther instruction and edification; give me
leave to remind you, that our Lord Jesus Christ hath appointed a peculiar
manner of expressing our regard to him, by commemorating his dying love, which,
though it does not forbid any other proper way of doing it, must by no means be
set aside or neglected for any human methods, how prudent and expedient soever
they may appear to us.
2. Our Lord has wisely ordained, that the
advantages of society should be brought into religion; and as, by his command,
professed Christians assemble together for other acts of public worship, so He
has been pleased to institute a social ordinance, in which a whole assembly of
them is to come to his table, and there to eat the same bread; and drink the
same cup. And this they are to do, as a token of their affectionate remembrance
of his dying love, of their solemn surrender of themselves to God, and of their
sincere love to one another, and to all their fellow-Christians.
3. That these are indeed the great ends of the
Lord's supper, I shall not now stay to argue at large. You need only read what
the apostle Paul hath written in the tenth and eleventh chapters or his first
epistle to the Corinthians, to convince you fully of this. He there expressly
tells us, that our Lord commanded "the bread to be eaten," and "the wine to be
drunk, in remembrance of him," (1 Cor. 11:24,25) or as a commemoration or
memorial of him; so that, as often as we attend this institution, "we show
forth the Lord's death," which we are to do "even until he come," (1 Cor.
11:26) And it is particularly asserted, that "the cup is the New Testament in
his blood;" that is, it is a seal of that covenant which was ratified by his
blood. Now, it is evident, that, in consequence of this, we are to approach it
with a view to that covenant, desiring its blessings, and resolving, by divine
grace, to comply with its demands. On the whole, therefore, as the apostle
speaks, we have "communion in the body and the blood of Christ," (1 Cor. 10:16)
and partaking of his table and of his cup, we converse with Christ, and join
ourselves to him as his people; as the Jews, by eating their sacrifices,
conversed with Jehovah, and joined themselves to him. He farther reminds them,
that, though many, they were "one bread and one body," being "all partakers of
that one bread," (1 Cor. 10:17) and being "all made to drink into one Spirit;"
(1 Cor. 12:13) that is, meeting together as if they were but one family, and
joining in the commemoration of that one blood which was their common ransom
and of the Lord Jesus, their common head. Now, it is evident, all these
reasonings are equally applicable to Christians in succeeding ages. Permit me,
therefore, by the authority of our divine Master, to press upon you: the
observation or this precept.
4. And let me also urge it, from the apparent
tendency which it has to promote your truest advantage. You are setting out in
the Christian life; and I have reminded you at large of the opposition you must
expect to meet in it. It is the love of Christ which must animate you to break
through all. What then can be more desirable than to bear about with you a
lively sense of it? and what can awaken that sense more than the contemplation
of his death as there represented? Who can behold the bread broken, and the
wine poured out, and not reflect how the body of the blessed Jesus was even
torn in pieces by his sufferings, and his sacred blood poured forth like water
on the ground? Who can think of the heart-rending agonies of the Son of God as
the price of our redemption and salvation, and not feel his soul melted with
tenderness, and inflamed with grateful affection? What an exalted view doth it
give us of the blessings of the Gospel-covenant, when we consider it as
established in the blood of God's only-begotten Son! And when we make our
approach to God as our heavenly Father, and give up ourselves to his service in
this solemn manner, what an awful tendency has it to fix the conviction, that
we are not our own, being bought with such a price! (1 Cor 6:19, 20) What a
tendency has it to guard us against every temptation, to those sins which we
have so solemnly renounced, and to engage our fidelity to him to whom we have
bound our souls as with an oath! Well may our hearts be knit together in mutual
love, (Col. 2:2) when we consider ourselves as "one in Christ:" (Gal. 3:28) his
blood becomes the cement of the society, joins us in spirit, not only to each
other, but "to all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our
Lord, both theirs and ours," (1 Cor. 1:2) and we anticipate in pleasing hope
that blessed day, when the assembly shall be complete, and we shall all "be for
ever with the Lord." (1 Thess. 4:17) Well may these views engage us to deny
ourselves, and to "take up our cross and follow our crucified Master." (Matt.
16:24) Well may they engage us to do our utmost, by prayer, and all other
suitable endeavors, to serve his followers and his friends; to serve those whom
he hath purchased with his blood, and who are to be his associates and ours, in
the glories of a happy immortality.
5. It is also the express institution and command
of our blessed Redeemer that the members of such societies should be tenderly
solicitous for the spiritual welfare of each other: and that, on the whole, his
churches may be kept pure and holy, that they should "withdraw themselves from
every brother that walketh disorderly;" (2 Thess. 3:6) that they should "mark
such as cause offences" or scandals among them, "contrary to the doctrine which
they have learned, and avoid them;" (Rom. 16:17) "that if any obey not the word
of Christ by his apostles," they should "have no fellowship or communion with
such, that they may be ashamed;" (2 Thess. 3:14) that they should "not eat with
such as are notoriously irregular" in their-behavior, but, on the contrary,
should "put away from among themselves such wicked persons," (1 Cor. 5:11-13)
It is evident, therefore, that the institution of such societies is greatly for
the honor of Christianity, and for the advantage of its particular professors.
And consequently, every consideration of obedience to our common Lord, and of
prudent regard to our own benefit and that of our brethren, will require that
those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity should enter into them, and
assemble among them, in these their most solemn and peculiar acts of communion,
at his table.
6. I entreat you, therefore, and if I may presume
to say it, in his name and by his authority, I charge it on your conscience,
that this precept of our dying Lord go not, as it were, for nothing with you;
but that, if you indeed love him, you keep this, as well as the rest of his
commandments. I know you may be ready to form objections. I have elsewhere
debated many of the chief of them at large, and I hope not without some good
effect.* The great question is that which relates to your being prepared for a
worthy attendance; and in conjunction with what has been said before, I think
that may be brought to a very short issue. Have you, so far as you know your
own heart, been sincere in that deliberate surrender of yourself to God,
through Christ, which I recommended in the former chapter? If you have, whether
it were with or without the particular form or manner of doing it there
recommended, you have certainly taken hold of the covenant, and therefore
should devote yourself to God, in obedience to all his commands. And there is
not, and cannot be, any other view of the ordinance in which you can have any
further objection to it. If you desire to remember Christ's death; if you
desire to renew the dedication of yourself to God through him; if you would
list yourself among his people; if you would love them, and do them good
according to your ability, and, on the whole, would not allow yourself in the
practice of anyone known sin, or in the omission of any one known duty, then I
will venture confidently to say, not only that you will be welcome to the
ordinance, but that it was instituted for such as you.
7. As for other objections, a few words may
suffice by way of reply. The weakness of the religious principle in your soul,
if it be really implanted there, is so far from being an argument against your
seeking such a method to strengthen it, that it rather strongly enforces the
necessity of doing it. The neglect of this solemnity, by so many that call
themselves Christians, should rather engage you so much the more to distinguish
your zeal for an institution in this respect so much slighted and injured. And
as for the fears of aggravated guilt, in case of apostacy, do not indulge them.
This may, by the divine blessing, be an effectual remedy against the evil you
fear; and it is certain, that after what you must already have known and felt,
before you could be brought into your present situation, (on the supposition I
have now been making) there can be no room to think or a retreat; no room, even
for the wretched hope of being less miserable than the generality of those that
have perished. Your scheme, therefore, must be to make your salvation as sure,
and to make it as glorious, as possible; and I know not any appointment of our
blessed Redeemer which may have a more comfortable aspect upon that blessed
end, than this which I flat recommending to you.
8. One thing I would at least insist upon, and I
see not with what face it can be denied. I mean, that you should take this
matter into serious consideration; that you should diligently inquire, "whether
you have reason in your conscience to believe it is the will of God you should
now approach to the ordinance or not;" and that you should continue your
reflections, your inquiries, and your prayers, till you find farther
encouragement to come, if that encouragement be hitherto wanting. For of this
be assured, that a state in which you are on the whole unfit to approach this
ordinance, is a state in which you are destitute of the necessary preparations
for death and heaven; in which, therefore, if you would not allow yourselves to
slumber on the brink or destruction, you ought not to rest so much as one
single day.
A Prayer for one who earnestly desires ins to approach the Table of the Lord, yet has some remaining doubts concerning his right to that solemn ordinance.
SOME MORE PARTICULAR DIRECTIONS FOR MAINTAINING CONTINUAL COMMUNION WITH GOD, OR BEING IN HIS FEAR ALL THE DAY LONG.
1. A letter to a pious friend on this subject introduced here.--2. General plan of directions.--3. For the beginning of the day.--4. Lifting up the heart to God at our first awakening.--5, 10. Setting ourselves to the secret devotions of the morning, with respect to which particular advice is given.--11. For the progress of the day.--12. Directions are given concerning seriousness in devotion.--13. Diligence in business.--14. Prudence in recreations.--15. Observations of Providence.--16. Watchfulness against temptations.--17. Dependence on divine influence.--18. Government of the thoughts when in solitude.--19. Management of Discourse in company.--20. For the conclusion of the day.--21. With the secret devotions of the evening.--22, 23. Directions for self-examination at large.--24. Lying down with a proper temper.--25. Conclusion of the letter.--26. And of the chapter. With a serious view of death, proper to be taken at the close of the day.
1. I would hope, that upon serious consideration, self-examination, and prayer, the reader has given himself up to God; and that his concern flow is to inquire, how he may act according to the vows of God which are upon him. Now, for his farther assistance here, besides the general view I have already given of the Christian temper and character, I will propose some more particular directions relating to maintaining that devout, spiritual, and heavenly character, which may, in the language of Scripture, be called "a daily walking with God, or being in his fear all the day long." (Prov. 23:17) And I know not how I can express the idea and plan which I have formed of this, in a more clear and distinct manner than I did in a letter which I wrote many years ago [in 1727] to a young person of eminent piety, with whom I had then an intimate friendship; and who, to the great grief of all that knew him, died a few months after he received it Yet I hope he lived long enough to reduce the directions to practice, which I wish and pray that every reader may do, so far as they may properly suit his capacities and circumstances in life, considering it as if addressed to himself. I say, and desire it may be observed, that I wish my reader may act on these directions so far as they may properly suit his capacity and circumstances in life; for I would be far from laying down the following particulars as universal rules for all, or for any one person in the world, at all times. Let them be practiced by those that are able, and when they have leisure; and when you cannot reach them all, come as near the most important of them as you conveniently can. With this precaution I proceed to the letter, which I would hope, after this previous care to guard against the danger of mistaking it, will not discourage any, the weakest Christian. Let us humbly and cheerfully do what we can, and rejoice that we have so gracious a Father, who knows all our infirmities, and so compassionate a High Priest, to recommend to divine acceptance the feeblest efforts of sincere duty and love!
My dear Friend,
Since you desire my thoughts in writing, and
at large, on the subject of our late conversation, viz. "By what particular
methods, in our daily conduct, devotion and usefulness may be most happily
maintained and secured "--I set myself with cheerfulness to recollect and
digest the hints which I then gave you; hoping it may be of some service to you
in your most important interests; and may also fix on my own mind a deeper
sense of my obligations to govern my own life by the rules I offer to others. I
esteem attempts of this kind among the pleasantest fruits, and the surest
cements of friendship; and as I hope ours will last for ever, I am persuaded a
mutual care to cherish sentiments of this kind will add everlasting endearments
to it.
2. The directions you will expect from me on this
occasion naturally divide themselves into three heads: How we are to regard God
in the beginning; the progress; and the close of the day. I will open my heart
freely to you with regard to each, and will leave you to judge how far these
hints may suit your circumstances; aiming at least to keep between the extremes
of a superstitions strictness in trifles, and an indolent remissness, which, if
admitted in little things, may draw after it criminal neglects, and at length
more criminal indulgences.
3. In the beginning of the day: It should
certainly be our care to lift up our heads to God as soon as we wake, and while
we are rising; and then, to set ourselves seriously and immediately to the
secret devotions of the morning.
4. For the first of these it seems exceedingly
natural. There are so many things that may suggest a great variety of pious
reflections and ejaculations which are so obvious that one would think a
serious mind could hardly miss them. The ease and cheerfulness of our minds on
our first awaking; the refreshment we find from sleep; the security we have
enjoyed in that defenceless state; the provision of warm and decent apparel;
the cheerful light of the returning sun; or even (which is not unfit to mention
to you) the contrivances of art, taught and furnished by the great Author of
all our conveniences, to supply us with many useful hours of life in the
absence of the sun; the hope of returning to the dear society of our friends;
the prospect of spending another day in the service of God and the improvement
of our own minds; and above all, the lively hope of a joyful resurrection to an
eternal day of happiness and glory: any of these particulars, and many more
which I do not mention, may furnish its with matter of pleasing reflection and
cheerful praise while we are rising. And for our farther assistance, when we
are alone at this time, it may not be improper to speak sometimes to ourselves,
and sometimes to our heavenly Father, in the natural expressions of joy and
thankfulness. Permit me, Sir, to add, that, if we find our hearts in such a
frame at our first awaking, even that is just matter of praise, and the rather,
as perhaps it is an answer to the prayer with which we lay down.
5. For the exercise of secret devotion in the
morning, which I hope will generally be our first work, I cannot prescribe an
exact method to another. You must, my dear friend, consult your own taste in
some measure. The constituent pans of the service are, in the general, plain.
Were I to propose a particular model for those who have half or three quarters
of an hour at command, which, with prudent conduct, I suppose most may have, it
should he this:
6. To begin the stated devotions of the day with
a solemn act of praise, offered to God on our knees, and generally with a low,
yet distinct voice; acknowledging the mercies we have been reflecting on while
rising, never forgetting to mention Christ as the great foundation of all our
enjoyments and our hopes, or to return thanks for the influences of the blessed
Spirit which have led our beans to God, or are then engaging us to seek him.
This, as well as other offices of devotion afterwards mentioned, must be done
attentively and sincerely; for not to offer our praises heartily, is, in the
sight of God, not to praise him at all. This address of praise may properly be
concluded with an express renewal of our dedication to God, declaring our
continued repeated resolution of being devoted to him, and particularly of
living to his glory the ensuing day.
7. It may be proper, after this, to take a
prospect of the day before us, so far as we can probably foresee, in the
general, where and how it may be spent; and seriously to reflect, "How shall I
employ myself for God this day? What business is to be done, and in what order?
What opportunities may I expect, either of doing or of receiving good? What
temptations am I likely to be assaulted with, in any place, company, or
circumstances, which may probably occur? In what instance have I lately failed?
And how shall I be safest now?"
8. After this review it will be proper to offer
up a short prayer, begging that God would quicken us to each of these foreseen
duties; that he would fortify us against each of these apprehended dangers;
that he would grant us success in such or such a business undertaken for his
glory; and also that he would help us to discover and improve unforeseen
opportunities to resist unexpected temptations, and to bear patiently, and
religiously, any afflictions which may surprise us in the day on which we are
entering.
9. I would advise you after this to read some
portion of Scripture: not a great deal, nor the whole Bible in its course; but
some select portions out of its most useful parts, perhaps ten or twelve
verses, not troubling yourself much about the exact connection, or other
critical niceties which may occur, though at other times I would recommend them
to your inquiry, as you have ability and opportunity, but considering them
merely in a devotional and practical view. Here take such instructions as
readily present themselves to your thoughts, repeat them over to your own
conscience, and charge your heart religiously to observe them, and act upon
them, under a sense of the divine authority which attends them. And if you pray
over the substance of this Scripture with your Bible open before you, it may
impress your memory and your heart yet more deeply, and may form you to a
copiousness and variety, both of thought and expression, in prayer.
10. It might be proper to close these devotions
with a psalm or hymn; and I rejoice with you, that through the pious care of
our sacred poets, we are provided with so rich a variety for the assistance of
the closet and family on these occasions, as well as for the service of the
sanctuary.
11. The most material directions which have
occurred to me relating to the progress of the day, are these: That we be
serious in the devotions of the day; that we be diligent in the business of it,
that is, in the prosecution of our worldly callings; that we be temperate and
prudent in the recreations of it; that we carefully mark the providences of the
day; that we cautiously guard against the temptations of it; that we keep up a
lively and humble dependence upon the divine influence, suitable to every
emergency of it; that we govern our thoughts well in the solitude of the day,
and our discourses well in the conversations of it. These, Sir, were the heads
of a sermon which you have lately heard me preach, and to which I know you
referred in that request which I am now endeavoring to answer. I will therefore
touch upon the most material hints which fall under each of these particulars.
12. For seriousness in devotion, whether public
or domestic, let us take a few moments before we enter upon such solemnities,
to pause, and reflect on the perfections of the God we are addressing, on the
importance of the business we are coming about, on the pleasure and advantage
of a regular and devout attendance, and on the guilt and folly of an
hypocritical formality. When engaged, let us maintain a strict watchfulness
over our own spirits and check the first wanderings of thought. And when the
duty is over, let us immediately reflect on the manner in which it has been
performed, and ask our own consciences whether we have reason to conclude that
we are accepted of God in it? For there is a certain manner of going through
these offices, which our own hearts will immediately tell us "it is impossible
for God to approve;" and if we have inadvertently fallen into it, we ought to
be deeply humbled before God for it, lest "our very prayer become sin." (Psa.
109:7)
13. As for the hours of worldly business, whether
it be that of the hands, or the labor of a learned life not immediately
relating to religious matters, let us set to the prosecution of it with a sense
of God's authority, and with a regard to his glory. Let us avoid a dreaming,
sluggish, indolent temper, which nods over its work, and does only the business
of one hour in two or three. In opposition to this, which runs through the life
of some people, who yet think they are never idle, let us endeavor to dispatch
as much as we well can in a little time; considering that it is but a little we
have in all. And let us be habitually sensible of the need we have or the
divine blessing to make our labors successful.
14. For seasons of diversion, let us take care
that our recreations be well chosen; that they be pursued with a good
intention, to fit us for a renewed application to the labors of life; and thus
that they be only used in subordination to the honor of God, the great end of
all our actions. Let us take heed, that our hearts be not estranged from God by
them; and that they do not take up too much of our time; always remembering
that the facilities of human nature, and the advantages of the Christian
revelation, were not given us in vain; but that we are always to be in pursuit
of some great and honorable end, and to indulge ourselves in amusements and
diversions no farther than as they make a part in a scheme of rational and
manly, benevolent and pious conduct.
15. For the observation of Providence, it will be
useful to regard the divine interposition in our comforts and in our
afflictions. In our comforts, whether more common or extraordinary: that we
find ourselves in continued health; that we are furnished with food for support
and pleasure; that we have so many agreeable ways of employing our time; that
we have so many friends, and those so good, and so happy; that our business
goes on so prosperously; that we go out and come in safely; and that we enjoy
composure and cheerfulness of spirit, without which nothing else could be
enjoyed: all these should be regarded as providential favors, and due
acknowledgments should be made to God on these accounts, as we pass through
such agreeable scenes. On the other hand, Providence is to be regarded in every
disappointment, in every loss, in every pain, in every instance of unkindness
from those who have professed friendship; and we should endeavor to argue
ourselves into a patient submission, from this consideration, that the hand of
God is always mediately, if not immediately, in each of them; and that, if they
are not properly the work of Providence, they are at least under his direction.
It is a reflection which we should particularly make with relation to those
little cross accidents, (as we are ready to call them) and those infirmities
and follies in the temper and conduct of our intimate friends, which may else
be ready to discompose us. And it is the more necessary to guard our minds
here, as wise and good men often lose the command of themselves on these
comparatively little occasions; who, calling lip reason and religion to their
assistance, stand the shock of great calamities with fortitude and resolution.
16. For watchfulness against temptations, it is
necessary, when changing our place, or our employment, to reflect, "What snares
attended me here?" And as this should be our habitual care, so we should
especially guard against those snares which in the morning we foresaw. And when
we are entering on those circumstances in which we expected the assault, we
should reflect, especially if it be a matter of great importance, "Now the
combat is going to begin: now God and the blessed angels are observing what
constancy, what fortitude there is in my soul, and how far the divine
authority, and the remembrance of my own prayers and resolutions, will weigh
with me when it comes to a trial."
17. As for dependence on divine grace and
influence, it must be universal; and since we always need it, we must never
forget that necessity. A moment spent in humble fervent breathings after the
communications of the divine assistance, may do more good than many minutes
spent in mere reasonings; and though indeed this should not be neglected, since
the light of reason is a kind of divine illumination, yet still it ought to be
pursued in a due sense of our dependence on the Father of Lights, or where we
think ourselves wisest, we may "become vain in our imaginations," (Rom.
1:21,22) Let us therefore always call upon God, and say, for instance, when we
are going to pray, "Lord, fix my attention! Awaken my holy affections, and pour
out upon me the spirit of grace and of supplication!" (Zech. 12:10) When taking
up a Bible or any other good book, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law! (Psa. 119:18) Enlighten my understanding! Warm
my heart! May my good resolutions be confirmed, and all the course of my life
be in a proper manner regulated!" When addressing ourselves to any worldly
business, "Lord, prosper thou the work of mine hands upon me, (Psa. 90:17) and
give thy blessing to my honest endeavors!" When going to any kind of
recreation, "Lord, bless my refreshments! Let me not forget thee in them, but
still keep thy glory in view!" When coming into company, "Lord, may I do, and
get good! Let no corrupt communication proceed out of my mouth, but that which
is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers!"
(Eph. 4:29) When entering upon difficulties, "Lord, give me that wisdom which
is profitable to direct!" (Eccl. 10:10) "Teach me thy way, and lead me in a
plain path!" (Psa. 27:11) When encountering with temptations, "Let thy
strength, O gracious Redeemer, be made perfect in my weakness!" (2 Cor. 12:9)
These instances may illustrate the design of this direction, though they may be
far from a complete enumeration of all the circumstances in which it is to be
regarded.
18. For the government of our thoughts in
solitude: let us accustom ourselves, on all occasions, to exercise a due
command over our thoughts. Let us take care of those entanglements of passion,
or those attachments to any present interest in view, which would deprive us of
our power over them. Let us set before us some profitable subject of thought;
such as the perfection of the blessed God, the love of Christ, the value of
time, the certainty and importance of death and judgment, and the eternity of
happiness or misery which is to follow. Let us also, at such intervals, reflect
on what we have observed as to the state of our own souls, with regard to the
advance or decline of religion; or on the last sermon we have heard or the last
portion of Scripture we have read. You may perhaps, in this connection, Sir,
recollect what I have, if I remember right, proposed to you in conversation;
that it might be very useful to select some one verse of Scripture which we
have met with in the morning, and to treasure it up in our mind, resolving to
think of that at any time when we are at a loss for matter of pious reflection,
in any intervals of leisure for entering upon it. This will often be as a
spring from whence many profitable and delightful thoughts may rise, which
perhaps we did not before see in that connection and force. Or if it should not
be so, yet I am persuaded it will be much better to repent the same scripture
in our mind a hundred times in a day, with some pious ejaculation formed upon
it, than to leave our thoughts at the mercy of al1 those various trifles which
may otherwise intrude upon us, the variety of which will be far from making
amends for their vanity.
19. Lastly, for the government of our discourse
in company. We should take great care that no-thing may escape us which can
expose us, or our Christian profession, to censure and reproach; nothing
injurious to those that are absent, or those that are present; nothing
malignant, nothing insincere, nothing which may corrupt, nothing which may
provoke, nothing which may mislead those about us. Nor should we by any means
be content that what we say is innocent: it should be our desire. that it may
be edifying to ourselves and others. In this view, we should endeavor to have
some subject of useful discourse always ready; in which we may be assisted by
the hints given about furniture for thought, under the former head. We should
watch for decent opportunities of introducing useful reflections; and if a
pious friend attempt to do it, we should endeavor to second it immediately.
When the conversation does not turn directly on religious subjects, we should
endeavor to make it improving some other way; we should reflect on the
character and capacities of our company, that we may lead them to talk of what
they understand best; for their discourses on those subjects will probably be
most pleasant to themselves, as well as most useful to us. And in pauses of
discourse, it may not be improper to lift up a holy ejaculation to God, that
his grace may assist us and our friends in our endeavors to do good to each
other; that all we say or do may be worthy the character of reasonable
creatures and of Christians.
20. The directions for a religious closing or the
day which I shall here mention, are only two: let us see to it, that the secret
duties of the evening be well performed; and let us lie down on our beds in a
pious frame.
21. For the secret devotion in the evening, I
would propose a method something different from that in the morning; but still,
as then, with due allowances for circumstances which may make unthought-of
alterations proper. I should advise to read a portion of Scripture in the first
place, with suitable reflections and prayer, as above; then to read a hymn, or
psalm; after this to enter on self-examination, to be followed by a longer
prayer than that which followed reading, to be formed on this review of the
day. In this address to the throne of grace, it will be highly proper to
entreat that God would pardon the omissions and offences of the day; to praise
him for mercies temporal and spiritual; to recommend ourselves to his
protection for the ensuing night; with proper petitions for others, whom we
ought to bear on our hearts before him; and particularly for those friends with
whom we have conversed or corresponded in the preceding day. Many other
concerns will occur, both in morning and evening prayer, which I have not here
hinted at; but I did not apprehend that a full enumeration of these things
belonged, by any means, to our present purpose.
22. Before I quit this head I must take the
liberty to remind you, that self-examination is so important a duty, that it
will be worth our while to spend a few words upon it. And this branch of it is
so easy, that, when we have proper questions before us, any person of a common
understanding may hope to go through it with advantage, under a divine
blessing. I offer you therefore the following queries, which I hope you will,
with such alterations as you may judge requisite, keep near you for daily use.
"Did I awake as with God this morning, and rise with a grateful sense of his
goodness? How were the secret devotions of the morning performed? Did I offer
my solemn praises, and renew the dedication of myself to God. with becoming
attention and suitable affections? Did I lay my scheme for the business of the
day wisely and well? How did I read the Scriptures, and any other devotional or
practical piece which I afterwards found it convenient to review? Did it do my
heart good, or was it a mere amusement? How have the other stated devotions of
the day been attended, whether in the family or in public? Have I pursued the
common business of the day with diligence and spirituality, doing every thing
in season, and with all convenient dispatch, and as `unto the Lord?' (Col.
3:23) What time have I lost this day, in the morning, or the forenoon, in the
afternoon, or the evening?" for these divisions will assist your recollection
"and what has occasioned the loss of it? With what temper, and under what
regulations have the recreations of this day been pursued? Have I seen the hand
of God in my mercies, health, cheerfulness, food, clothing, books, preservation
in journies, success of business, conversation, and kindness of friends,
&c.? Have I seen it in afflictions, and particularly in little things,
which had a tendency to vex and disquiet me? Have I received my comforts
thankfully, and my afflictions submissively? How have I guarded against the
temptations of the day, particularly against this or that temptation which I
foresaw in the morning? Have I maintained a dependence on divine influence?
Have I `lived by faith on the Son of God,' (Gal. 2:20) and regarded Christ this
day as my teacher and governor, my atonement and intercessor, my example and
guardian, my strength and forerunner? Have I been looking forward to death and
eternity this day, and considered myself as a probationer for heaven, and,
through grace, an expectant of it? Have I governed my thoughts well,
especially in such or such an interval of solitude? How was my subject of
thought this day chosen, and how was it regarded? Have I governed my discourses
well, in such and such company? Did I say nothing passionate, mischievous,
slanderous, imprudent, impertinent? Has my heart this day been full of love to
God, and to all mankind? and have I sought, and found, and improved,
opportunities of doing and of getting good? With what attention and improvement
have I read the Scripture this evening? How was self-examination performed the
last night? and how have I profited this day by any remarks I then made on
former negligences and mistakes? With what temper did I then lie down, and
compose myself to sleep?"
22. You will easily see, Sir, that these
questions are so adjusted as to be an abridgment of the most material advice I
have given in this letter; and I believe I need not, to a person of your
understanding, say any thing as to the usefulness of such inquiries. Conscience
will answer them in a few minutes; but if you think them too large and
particular, you may make still a shorter abstract for daily use, and reserve
these, with such obvious alteration as will then be necessary for seasons of
more than ordinary exactness in review, which I hope will occur at least once a
week. Secret devotion being thus performed, before drowsiness render us unfit
for it, the interval between that and our going to rest must be conducted by
the rules mentioned under the next head. And nothing will farther remain to be
considered here, but,
24. The sentiments with which we should lie down
and compose ourselves to sleep. Now here it is obviously suitable to think of
the divine goodness, in adding another day, and the mercies of it, to the
former days and mercies of our life; to take notice of the indulgence of
Providence in giving us commodious habitations and easy beds, and continuing to
us such health of body that we can lay ourselves down at ease upon them, and
such serenity of mind as leaves us any room to hope for refreshing sleep; a
refreshment to be sought, not merely as an indulgence to animal nature, but as
whit our wise Creator, in order to keep us humble in the midst of so many
infirmities, has been pleased to make necessary to our being able to pursue his
service with renewed alacrity. Thus may our sleeping, as well as our waking
hours, be in some sense devoted to God. And when we are just going to resign
ourselves to the image of death, to what one of the ancients beautifully calls
"its lesser mysteries," it is also evidently proper to think seriously of that
end of all the living, and to renew those actings of repentance and faith which
we should judge necessary if we were to wake no more here. You have once, Sir,
seen a meditation of that kind in my hand: I will transcribe it for you in the
postscript; and therefore shall add no more to this head, but here put a close
to the directions you desired.
25. I am persuaded the most important of them
have, in one form or another, been long regarded by you, and made governing
maxims of your life. I shall greatly rejoice if the review of these, and the
examination and trial of the rest, may be the means of leading you into more
intimate communion with God, and so of rendering your life more pleasant and
useful, and your eternity, whenever that is to commence, more glorious. There
is not a human creature upon earth whom I should not delight to serve in these
important interests; but I can faithfully assure you, that I am, with
particular respect,
Dear Sir,
Your very affectionate friend and
servant.
26. This, reader, with the alteration of a very
few words, is the letter I wrote to a worthy friend (now, I doubt not with,
God) about sixteen years ago; and I can assuredly say, that the experience of
each of these years has confirmed me in these views, and established me in the.
persuasion, that one day thus spent is far preferable to whole years of
sensuality, and the neglect of religion. I chose to insert the letter as it is,
because I thought the freedom and particularity of the advice I had given in it
would appear most natural in its original form; and as I propose to enforce
these counsels in the next chapter, I shall conclude this with that meditation
which I promised my friend as a postscript, and which I could wish you to make
so familiar to yourself as that you may be able to recollect the substance of
it whenever you compose. yourself to sleep.
A serious view of death, proper to be taken as we lie dawn on our beds.
A SERIOUS PERSUASIVE TO SUCH A METHOD OF SPENDING OUR DAYS AS IS REPRESENTED IN THE FORMER CHAPTER.
1, 2. Christians fix their views too low, and indulge too indolent a disposition, which makes it more necessary to urge such a life as that under consideration.--3. It is therefore enforced, from its being apparently reasonable, considering ourselves as the creatures of God, and as redeemed by the blond of Christ.--4. From its evident tendency to conduce to our comfort in life.--5. From the influence it will have to promote our usefulness to others.--6. From its efficacy to make afflictions lighter.--7. From its happy aspect on death.--8. And on eternity.--9. Whereas not to desire improvement would argue a soul destitute of religion. A prayer suited to the state of a soul who longs to attain the life recommended above.
1. I have been assigning, in the preceding chapter, what, I fear, will seem
to some of my readers so hard a task, that they will want courage to attempt
it; and indeed it is a life in many respects so far above that of the
generality of Christians, that I am not without apprehensions that many, who
deserve the name, may think the directions, after all the precautions with
which I have proposed them, are carried to an unnecessary degree of nicety and
strictness. But I am persuaded, much of the credit and comfort of Christianity
is lost, in consequence of its professors fixing their aims too low, and not
conceiving of their high and holy calling in so elevated and sublime a view as
the nature of religion would require, and the word of God would direct. I am
fully convinced, that the expressions of' "walking with God," of "being in the
fear of the Lord all the day long." (Prov. 23:17) and, above all that of
"loving the Lord our God with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength,"
(Mark. 12:30) must require, if not all these circumstances, yet the substance
of all that I have been recommending, so far as we have capacity, leisure, and
opportunity; and I can not but think that many might command more of the
latter, and perhaps improve their capacities too, if they would take a due care
in the government of themselves; if they would give up vain and unnecessary
diversions, and certain indulgences, which only suit to delight the lower part
of our nature, and, to say the best of them, deprive us of pleasures much
better than themselves, if they do not plunge us into guilt. Many of these
rules would appear easily practicable, if men would learn to know the value of
time, and particularly to redeem it from unnecessary sleep, which wastes many
golden hours of the day: hours in which many of God's servants are delighting
themselves in him, and drinking in full draughts of the water of life; while
these their brethren are slumbering upon their beds, and lost in vain dreams,
as far below the common entertainments of a rational creature as the pleasures
of the sublimest devotion are above them.
2. I know likewise, that the mind is very
fickle and inconstant and that it is a hard thing to preserve such a government
and authority over our thoughts as would be very desirable, and as the plan I
have laid down will require. But so much of the honor of God, and so much of
our true happiness depends upon it, that I beg you will give me a patient and
attentive hearing while I am pleading with you, and that you will seriously
examine the arguments, and then judge, whether a care and conduct like that
which I have advised be not in itself reasonable, and whether it will not be
highly conducive to your comfort and usefulness in life, your peace in death,
and the advancement and increase of your eternal glory.
3. Let conscience say, whether such a life as I
have described above be not in itself highly reasonable. Look over the
substance of it again, anti bring it under a close examination; for I am very
apprehensive that some weak objections may rise against the whole, which may in
their consequence affect particulars, against which no reasonable man would
presume to make any objection at all. Recollect, O Christian! carry it with you
in your memory and your heart, while you are pursuing this review, that you are
the creature of God; that you are purchased with the blood of Jesus; and then
say whether these relations in which you stand do not demand all that
application and resolution which I would engage you to. Suppose all the
counsels I have given you reduced into practice; suppose every day begun and
concluded with such devout breathings after God, and such holy retirements for
morning and evening converse with him and with your own heart; suppose a daily
care, in contriving how your time may be managed, and in reflecting how it has
been employed; suppose this regard to God, this sense of his presence, and zeal
for his glory, to run through your acts of worship, your hours of business and
recreation; suppose this attention to Providence, this guard against
temptation, this dependence upon divine influence, this government of the
thoughts in solitude, and of the discourse in company; nay, I will add farther,
suppose every particular direction given to be pursued, excepting when
particular cases occur, with respect to which you shall be able in conscience
to say, "I wave it not from indolence and carelessness, but because I think it
will be just now more pleasing to God to be doing something else," which may
often happen in human life, where general rules are best concerted: suppose, I
say, all this to be done, not for a day or a week, but through the remainder of
life, whether longer or shorter; and suppose this to be reviewed at the close
of life, in the full exercise of your rational faculties; will there be reason
to say in the reflection, "I have taken too much pains in religion; the Author
of my being did not deserve all this from me; less diligence, less fidelity,
less zeal than this, might have been an equivalent for the blood which was shed
for my redemption. A part of my heart, a part of my time, a part of my labors,
might have sufficed for him, who hath given me all my powers; for him who hath
delivered me from that destruction which would have made them my everlasting
torment; for him who is raising me to the regions of a blissful immortality."
Can you with any face say this? If you cannot, then surely your conscience
bears witness, that all I have recommended, under the limitations above, is
reasonable; that duty and gratitude require it; and consequently, that, by
every allowed failure in it, you bring guilt upon your own soul, you offend
God, and act unworthy of your Christian profession.
4. I entreat you farther to consider whether such
a conduct as I have now been recommending, would not conduce much to your
comfort and usefulness in life. Reflect seriously what is true happiness! Does
it consist in distance from God, or in nearness to him? Surely you cannot be a
Christian, surely you cannot be a rational man, if you doubt whether communion
with the great Father of our spirits be a pleasure and felicity; and if it be,
then surely they enjoy most of it who keep him most constantly in view. You
cannot but know, in your own conscience, that it is this which makes the
happiness of heaven; and therefore the more of it any man enjoys upon earth,
the more of heaven comes down into his soul. If you have made any trial of
religion, though it be but a few months or weeks since you first became
acquainted with it, you must be some judge, from your own experience, which
have been the most pleasant days of your life. Have they not been those in
which you have acted most upon these principles? those in which you have most
steadily and resolutely carried them through every hour of time, and every
circumstance of life? The check which you must, in many instances, give to your
own inclinations, might seem disagreeable; but it would surely be overbalanced,
in a most happy manner, by the satisfaction you would find in a consciousness
of self-government; in having such a command of your thoughts, affections, and
actions, as is much more glorious than any authority over others can be.
5. I would also entreat you to consider the
influence which such a conduct as this might have upon the happiness of others.
And it is easy to be seen that it must be very great; as you would find your
heart always disposed to watch every opportunity of doing good, and to seize it
with eagerness and delight. It would engage you to make it the study and
business of your life, to order things in such a manner that the end of one
kind and useful action might be the beginning of another; in which you would go
on as naturally as the inferior animals do in those productions and actions by
which mankind are relieved or enriched; or as the earth bears her successive
crops of different vegetable supplies. And though mankind be, in this corrupt
state, so unhappily inclined to imitate evil examples rather than good, yet it
may be expected, that while "your light shines before men," some, "seeing your
good works," will endeavor to transcribe them in their own lives, and so to
"glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:16) The charm of such
beautiful models would surely impress some, and incline them at least to
attempt an imitation; and every attempt would dispose to another. And thus,
through the divine goodness, you might be entitled to a share in the praise,
and the reward, not only of the good you had immediately done yourself; but
likewise of that which you had engaged others to do. And no eye, but that of
the all-searching God, can see into what distant times or places the blessed
consequences may reach. In every instance in which these consequences appear,
it will put a generous and sublime joy into your heart which no worldly
prosperity could afford, and which would be the liveliest emblem of that high
delight which the blessed God feels in seeing and making his creatures
happy.
6. It is true indeed, that amidst all these pious
and benevolent cares, afflictions may come, and in some measure interrupt you
in the midst of your projected schemes. But surely these afflictions will be
much lighter, when your heart is gladdened with the peaceful and joyful
reflections of your own mind, and with so honorable a testimony of conscience
before God and man. Delightful will it be to go back to past scenes in your
pleasing review, and to think that you have not only been sincerely humbling
yourself for those past offences which afflictions may bring to your
remembrance; but that you have given substantial proofs of the sincerity of
that humiliation, by a real reformation of what has been amiss, and by adding
with strenuous and vigorous resolution on the contrary principle. And while
converse with God, and doing good to men, are made the great business and
pleasure of life, you will find a thousand opportunities of enjoyment, even in
the midst of these afflictions, which would render you so incapable of
relishing the pleasures of sense, that the very mention of them might, in those
circumstances, seem an insult and a reproach.
7. At length death will come, that solemn and
important hour, which has been passed through by so many thousands who have in
the main lived such a life, and by so many millions who have neglected it. And
let conscience say, if there was ever one of all these millions who had any
reason to rejoice in that neglect; or any one, among the most strict and
exemplary Christians, who then lamented that his heart and life had been too
zealously devoted to God. Let conscience say, whether they have wished to have
a part of that time, which they have thus employed, given back to them again,
that they might be more conformed to this world; that they might plunge
themselves deeper into its amusements, or pursue its honors, its possessions,
or its pleasures, with greater eagerness than they had done. If you were
yourself dying, and a dear friend or child stood near you, and this book and
the preceding chapter should chance to come into your thoughts, would you
caution that friend or child against conducting himself by such rules as I have
advanced? The question may perhaps seem unnecessary, where the answer is so
plain and certain. Well, then, let me beseech you to learn how you should live,
by reflecting how you would die, and what course you would wish to look back
upon, when you are just quitting this world and entering upon another. Think
seriously; what if death should surprise you on a sudden, and you should be
called into eternity at an hour's or a minute's warning, would you not wish
that your last day should have been thus begun; and the course of it, if it
were a day of health and activity, should have been thus managed? Wou1d you not
wish that your Lord should find you engaged in such thoughts and such pursuits?
Would not the passage, the flight from earth to heaven, be most easy, most
pleasant, in this view and connection? And, on the other hand, if death should
make more gradual approaches. would not the remembrance of such a pious, holy,
humble, diligent, and useful life, make a dying bed much softer and easier than
it would otherwise be? You would not die, depending upon these things. God
forbid that you should! Sensible of your many imperfections, you would, no
doubt, desire to throw yourself at the feet of Christ, that you might appear
before God, "adorned with his righteousness, and washed from your sins in his
blood." You would also, with your dying breath, ascribe to the riches of his
grace every good disposition you had found in your heart, and every worthy
action you had been enabled to perform. But would it not give you a delight,
worthy of being purchased with ten thousand worlds, to reflect that his "grace,
bestowed on you, had not been in vain," (1 Cor. 15:10) but that you had, from a
humble principle of grateful love, glorified your heavenly Father on earth,
and, in some degree. though not with the perfection you could desire, "finished
the work which he had given you to do:" (John 17:4) that you had been living
for many past years as on the borders of heaven, and endeavoring to form your
heart and life to the temper and manners of its inhabitants?
8. And once more, let me entreat you to reflect
on the view you will have of this matter when you come into a world of glory,
if (which I hope will be the happy case) divine mercy conduct you thither. Will
not your reception there be affected by your care, or negligence, in this holy
course? Will it appear an indifferent thing in the eye or the blessed Jesus,
who distributes the crowns, and allots the thrones there, whether you have been
among the most zealous, or the most indolent of his servants? Surely you must
wish to have "an entrance administered unto you abundantly into the kingdom of
your Lord and Savior," (2 Pet. 1:11) and what can more certainly conduce to it,
than to he "always abounding in this work?" (1 Cor. 15:58) You cannot think so
meanly of that glorious state, as to imagine that you shall there look round
about with a secret disappointment, and say in your heart that you over-valued
the inheritance you hare received, and pursued it with too much earnestness.
You will not surely complain that it had too many of your thoughts and cares;
but, on the contrary, you have the highest reason to believe, that, if any
thing were capable of exciting your indignation and your grief there, it would
be, that, amidst so many motives and so many advantages, you exerted yourself
no more in the prosecution of such a prize.
9. But I will not enlarge on so clear a case, and
therefore conclude the chapter with reminding you, that to allow yourself
deliberately to sit down satisfied with any imperfect attainments in religion,
and to look upon a more confirmed and improved state of it as what you do not
desire, nay, as what you sincerely resolve that you will not pursue, is one of
the most fatal signs we can well imagine that you are an entire stranger to the
first principles of it.
A Prayer suited to the State of a Soul who desires to attain the Life above recommended.
A CAUTION AGAINST VARIOUS TEMPTATIONS, BY WHICH THE YOUNG CONVERT MAY BE DRAWN ASIDE FROM THE COURAGE RECOMMENDED ABOVE.
1. Dangers continue, after the first difficulties (considered Chap. xvi.) are broken through.--2. Particular cautions--against a sluggish and indolent temper.--3. Against the excessive love of sensitive pleasure.--4. Leading to a neglect of business and needless expense.--5. Against the snares of evil company.--6. Against excessive hurry of worldly business.--7. Which is enforced by the fatal consequences these have had in many cases.--8. The chapter concludes with an exhortation to die to this world, and to live to another. And the young Convert's prayer for Divine protection against the dangers arising from these snares.
1. THIS representation I have been making of the pleasure and advantage of a
life spent in devotedness to God and communion with him, as I have described it
above, will, I hope, engage you, my dear reader, to form some purposes, and
make some attempt to obtain it. But from considering the nature, and observing
the course of things, it appears exceedingly evident, that, besides the general
opposition which I formerly mentioned as like to attend you in your first
entrance on a religious life, you will find even that, after you have
resolutely broke through this, a variety of hindrances in any attempts or
exemplary piety, and in the prosecution of a remarkably strict and edifying
course, will present themselves daily in your path; and whereas you may, by a
few resolute efforts, baffle some of the former sorts of enemies, these will be
perpetually renewing their onsets, and a vigorous struggle must be continually
maintained with them. Give me leave now, therefore, to be particular in my
cautions against some of the chief of them. And here I would insist upon the
difficulties which will arise from indolence and the love of pleasure from vain
company, and worldly cares. Each of these may prove ensnaring to any, and
especially to young persons, to whom I would now have some particular regard.
2. I entreat you, therefore, in the first
place, that you will guard against a sluggish and indolent temper. The love of
ease insinuates itself into the heart under a variety of plausible pretences,
which are often allowed to pass, when temptations of a grosser nature would not
be admitted. The misspending a little time seems to wise and good men a small
matter; yet this sometimes runs them in into great inconveniencies. It often
leads them to break in upon the seasons regularly allotted to devotion, and to
defer business which might immediately be done, but being put off from day to
day, is not done at all, and thereby the services of life are at least
diminished, and the rewards of eternity diminished proportionably: not to
insist upon it, that very frequently this lays the soul open to farther
temptations, by which it falls, in consequence of being found unemployed. Be
therefore suspicious of the first approaches of this kind. Remember that the
soul of man is an active being, and that it must find its pleasure in activity.
"Gird up," therefore, "the loins of your mind." (1 Pet. 1:13) Endeavor to keep
yourself always well employed. Be exact, if I may with humble reverence use the
expression, in your appointments with God. Meet him early in the morning; and
say not with the sluggard, when the proper hour of rising is come, "A little
more sleep, a little more slumber." (Prov. 6:10) That time which prudence shall
advise you, give to conversation and to other recreations. But when that is
elapsed, and no unforeseen and important engagement prevents, rise and begone.
Quit the company of your dearest friends, and retire to your proper business,
whether it be in the field, the shop, or the closet. For by acting contrary to
the secret dictates of your mind as to what it is just at the present moment
best to do, though it be but in the manner of spending half an hour, some
degree of guilt is contracted, and a habit is cherished, which may draw after
it much worse consequences. Consider, therefore, what duties are to be
dispatched, and in what seasons. Form your plan as prudently as you can, and
pursue it resolutely; unless an unexpected incident arises, which leads you to
conclude that duty calls you another way. Allowances for such unthought-of
interruptions must be made; but if, in consequence of this, you are obliged to
omit any thing of importance which you proposed behave done to-day, do it if
possible to-morrow; and do not cut yourself out new work, till the former plan
be dispatched; unless you really judge it, not merely more amusing, but more
important. And always remember, that a servant of Christ should see to it, that
he determine on these occasions as in his Master's presence.
3. Guard also against an excessive love of
sensitive and animal pleasure, as that which will be a great hindrance to you
in that religious course which I have now been urging. You cannot but know that
Christ has told us, "that a man must deny himself, and take up his cross
daily," (Luke 9:23) if he desire to become his disciple. Christ, the Son of
God, "the former and the heir of all things, pleased not himself," (Rom. 15:3)
but submitted to want, to difficulties, and hardships, in the way of duty, and
some of them of the extremest kind and degree, for the glory of God and the
salvation of men. In this way we are to follow him; and as we know not how soon
we may be called, even to "resist unto blood, striving against sin," (Heb.
12:4) it is certainly best to accustom ourselves to that discipline which we
may possibly be called out to exercise, even in such rigorous heights. A soft
and delicate life will give force to temptations, which might easily be subdued
by one who has habituated himself to "endure hardships as a good soldier of
Jesus Christ." (2 Tim. 2:3) It also produces an attachment to this world, and
an unwillingness to leave it, which ill becomes those who are strangers and
pilgrims on earth, and who expect so soon to be called away to that better
country which they "profess to seek." (Heb. 11:13,16) Add to this, that, what
the world calls a life of pleasure, is necessarily a life of expense too, and
may perhaps lead you, as it has many others, and especially many who have been
setting out in the world, beyond the limits which Providence has assigned; and
so, after a course of indulgence, may produce a proportionable want. And while
in other cases it is true that pity should be shown to the poor, this is a
poverty that is justly contemptible, because it is the effect of a man's own
folly; and when your "want thus comes upon you as an armed man," (Prov. 6:11)
you will not only find yourself striped of the capacity you might otherwise
have secured for performing those works of charity which are so ornamental to a
Christian profession, but probably will be under strong temptations to some low
artifice or mean compliance, quite beneath the Christian character and that of
an upright man. Many, who once made a high profession, after a series of such
sorry and scandalous shifts, have fallen into the infamy of the worst kind of
bankrupts; I mean such as have lavished away on themselves what was indeed the
property of others, and so have injured, and perhaps ruined, the industrious,
to feed a foolish, luxurious, or ostentatious humor, which, while indulged, was
the shame of their own families, and when it can be indulged no longer, is
their torment. This will be a terrible reproach to religion: such a reproach to
it, that a good man would rather choose to live on bread and water, or indeed
to die for want of them, than to occasion it
4. Guard, therefore, I beseech you, against any
thing which might tend that way, especially by diligence in business, and by
prudence and frugality in expense, which, by the Divine blessing, may have a
very happy influence to make your affairs prosperous, your health vigorous, and
your mind easy. But this cannot be attained without keeping a resolute watch
over yourself, and strenuously refusing to comply with many proposals which
indolence and sensuality will offer in very plausible forms, and for which it
will plead, "that it asks but very little." Take heed, lest in this respect you
imitate those fond parents, who, by indulging their children in every little
thing they have a mind to, encourage them, by insensible degrees, to grow still
more encroaching and imperious in their demands; as if they chose to be ruined
with them, rather than to check them in what seems a trifle. Remember, and
consider that excellent remark, sealed by the ruin of so many thousands: "He
that despiseth small things, shall fall by little and litt1e."
5. In this view, give me leave also seriously and
tenderly to caution you, my dear reader, against the snares of vain company. I
speak not, as before, of that company which is openly licentious and profane. I
hope there is something now in your temper and views, which would engage you to
turn away from such with detestation and horror. But I beseech you to consider,
that those companions may be very dangerous, who might at first give you but
very little alarm: I mean those who, though not the declared enemies of
religion, and professed followers of vice and disorder, yet nevertheless have
no practical sense of divine things on their hearts, so far as can be judged by
their conversation and behavior. You must often of necessity be with such
persons; and Christianity not only allows, but requires, that you should, on
all expedient occasions of intercourse with them, treat them with civility and
respect; but choose not such for your most intimate friends, and do not
contrive to spend most of your leisure moments among them. For such converse
has a sensible tendency to alienate the soul from God, and to render it unfit
for all spiritual communion with him. To convince you of this, do but reflect
on your own experience, when you have been for many hours together among
persons of such a character. Do you not find yourself more indisposed for
devotional exercises? Do you not find your heart, by insensible degrees, more
and more inclined to a conformity to this world, and to look with a secret
disrelish on those objects and employments to which reason directs as the
noblest and best? Observe the first symptoms, and guard against the snare in
time: and for this purpose, endeavor to form friendships founded in piety, and
supported by it. "Be a companion of them that fear God, and of them that keep
his precepts." (Psa. 119:63) You well know, that in the sight of God "they are
the excellent of the earth;" let them therefore "be all your delight." (Psa.
16:3) And that the peculiar benefit of their friendship may not be lost,
endeavor to make the best of the hours you spend with them. The wisest of men
has observed that when "counsel in the heart of a man is like deep waters,"
that is, when it lies low and concealed, `a man of understanding will draw it
out.' (Prov. 20:5)
5. Endeavor, therefore, on such occasions, so far
as you can do it with decency and convenience, give the conversation a
religious turn. And when serious and useful subjects are started in your
presence, lay hold of them, and cultivate them; and for that purpose "let the
word of Christ dwell richly in you," (Col. 3:1) and be continually made "the
man of your counsel." (Psa. 119:24)
6. If it be so, it will secure you not only from
the snares of idleness and luxury, but from the contagion of every bad example.
And it will also engage you to guard against those excessive hurries of worldly
business, which would fill up all your time and thoughts, and thereby "choke
the good word" of God, and render it in a great measure, if not quite,
unfruitful. (Matt. 13:22) Young people are generally of an enterprising
disposition: having experienced comparatively little of the fatigue of
business, and of the disappointments and incumbrances of life, they easily
swallow them up and annihilate them in their imagination, and fancy that their
spirit, their application, and address, will be able to encounter and, surmount
every obstacle or hinderance. But the event proves it otherwise. Let me entreat
you, therefore, to be cautious how you plunge yourself into a greater variety
of business than you are capable of managing as you ought, that is, in
consistency with the care of your soul and the service of God, which certainly
ought not on any pretence to be neglected. It is true indeed, that a prudent
regard to your worldly interest would require such a caution; as it is obvious
to every careful observer, that multitudes are undone by grasping at more than
they can conveniently manage. Hence it has frequently been seen, that, while
they have seemed resolved to be rich, they have "pierced themselves through
with many sorrows," (1 Tim. 6:10) have ruined their own families, and drawn
down many others into desolation with them. Whereas, could they have been
contented with moderate employments and moderate gains, they might have
prospered in their business, and might, by sure degrees, under a divine
blessing, have advanced to great and honorable increase. But if there were no
danger at all to be apprehended on this bend, if you were as certain of
becoming rich and great, as you are of perplexing and fatiguing yourself in the
attempt, consider, I beseech you, how precarious these enjoyments are. Consider
how often "a plentiful table becomes a snare, and that which should have been
for a man's welfare, becomes a trap." (Psa. 69:22) Forget not that short
lesson, which is so comprehensive of the highest wisdom: "One thing is
needful." (Luke 10:42) Be daily thinking, while the gay and the great things of
life are glittering before your eyes, how soon death will come, and impoverish
you at once: how soon it will strip you of all possessions but those which a
naked soul can carry along with it into eternity, when it drops the body into
the grave. ETERNITY! ETERNITY! ETERNITY! Carry the view of it about with you;
if it be possible, through every hour of waking life; and be fully persuaded
that you have no business, no interest in life, that is inconsistent with it;
for whatsoever would be injurious in view of eternity. is not your business, is
not your interest. You see indeed, that the generality of men act as if they
thought the great thing which God requires of them, in order to secure his
favor, was to get as much of the world as possible: at least as much us they
can without any gross immorality, and without risking the loss of all. Such
persons may tell others, and perhaps flatter themselves, that they only seek
opportunities of greater usefulness. But in effect, if they mean any thing more
by this than a capacity of usefulness, which, when they have it, they will not
exert, they generally deceive themselves; and, one way or another, it is a vain
pretence. In most instances men seek the world--either that they may hoard up
riches for the mean and scandalous satisfaction of looking upon them while they
are living, and of thinking, that, when they are dead, it will be said of them
that they have left so many hundreds or thousands of pounds behind them; very
probably, to ensnare their children, or their heirs, (for the vanity is not
peculiar to those who have children of their own)--or else that they may lavish
away their riches on their lusts, and drown themselves in a gulf of sensuality
in which, if reason be not lost, religion is soon swallowed up, and with it all
the noblest pleasures which can enter into the heart of man. In this view, the
generality of rich people appear to me objects of much greater compassion than
the poor: especially as, when both live (which is frequently the case) without
any fear of God before their eyes, the rich abuse the greater variety and
abundance of their favors, and therefore will probably feel, in that world of
future ruin which awaits impenitent sinners, a more exquisite sense of their
misery.
7. And let me observe to you, my dear reader,
lest you should think yourself secure from any such danger that we have great
reason to apprehend there are many now in a very wretched state, who once
thought seriously of religion, when they were first setting out, in lower
circumstances of life; but they have since forsaken God for Mammon and are now
priding themselves in those golden chains, which, in all probability. before it
be long, will leave them to remain in those of darkness. When, therefore, an
attachment to the world may be followed with such fatal consequences, "let not
thine heart envy sinners," (Prov. 23:17) and do not, out of a desire of gaining
what they have, be guilty of such folly as to expose yourself to this double
danger or failing in the attempt, or of being undone by the success of it.
Contract your desires; endeavor to be easy and content with a little; and if
Providence call you out to act in a larger sphere, submit to it in obedience to
Providence, but number it among the trials of life, which it will require a
larger proportion of grace to bear well. For be assured, that, as affairs and
interests multiply, cares and duties will certainly increase, and probably
disappointments and sorrows will increase in an equal proportion.
8. On the whole, learn, by divine grace, to die
to the present world: to look upon it as a low state of being, which God never
intended for the final and complete happiness, or the supreme care of any one
of his children: a world, where something is indeed to be enjoyed, but chiefly
from himself; where a great deal is to be borne with patience and resignation;
and where some important duties are to be performed, and a course of discipline
to be passed through, by which you are to be formed for a better state, to
which, as a Christian, you are near, and to which God will call you, perhaps on
a sudden, but undoubtedly, if you hold on your way, in the fittest time and the
most convenient manner. Refer, therefore, all this to him. Let your hopes and
fears, your expectations and desires, with regard to this world, be kept as low
as possible; and all your thoughts be united, as much as may be, in this one
centre: what is it that God would, in present have you to be: and what is that
method of conduct by which you may most effectually please and glorify him.
The Young Convert's Prayer for Divine Protection against the Danger of these Snares.
THE CASE OF SPIRITUAL DECAY AND LANGUOR IN RELIGION
1. Declension in religion, and relapses into sin, with their sorrowful consequences, are in the general too probable.--2. The ease of declension and langour in religion described, negatively.--3. And positively.--4. As discovering itself by a failure in the duties of the closet.--5. By a neglect of social worship.--6. By want of love to our fellow Christians.--7. By an undue attachment to sensual pleasures or secular cares.--8. By prejudices against some important principles in religion.--9,10. A symptom peculiarly sad and dangerous.--11. Directions for recovery.--12. Immediately to be pursued. A prayer for one under spiritual decays.
1. IF I am so happy as to prevail upon you in the exhortations and cautions
I have given, you will probably go on with pleasure and comfort in religion,
and your path will generally be "like the morning light, which shineth more and
more until the perfect day." (Prov. 4: 18) Yet I dare not flatter myself with
an expectation of such success as shall carry you above those varieties of
temper, conduct, and state, which have been more or less the complaint of the
best of men. Much do I fear, that, how warmly soever your heart may now be
impressed with the representation I have been making, though the great objects
of your faith and hope continue unchangeable, your temper towards them will be
changed. Much do I fear that you will feel your mind languish and tire in the
good ways of God; nay, that you may be prevailed upon to take some step out of
them, and may thus fall a prey to some of those temptations which you now look
upon with a holy scorn. The probable consequence of this will be, that God will
hide his face from you; that he will stretch forth his afflicting hand against
you, and that you still will see your sorrowful moments, how cheerfully soever
you now "be rejoicing in the Lord, and joying in the God of your salvation."
(Hab. 3: 18) I hope, therefore, it may be of some service, if this too probable
event should happen, to consider these cases a little more particularly; and I
heartily pray, that God would make what I shall say concerning them the means
of restoring, comforting, and strengthening your soul, if he ever suffers you
in any degree to deviate from him.
2. We will first consider the case of
Spiritual Declensions and Languor in religion. And here I desire, that, before
I proceed any farther, you would observe that I do not comprehend under this
head every abatement of that fervor which a young convert may find when he
first becomes experimentally acquainted with divine things. Our natures are so
framed, that the novelty of objects strikes them in something of a peculiar
manner: not to urge how much more easily our passions are impressed in the
earlier years of life, than when we are more advanced in the journey of it.
This, perhaps, is not sufficiently considered. Too great a stress is commonly
laid on the flow of affections; and for want or this, a Christian, who is
ripened in grace, and greatly advanced in his preparation for glory, may
sometimes be led to lament imaginary rather than real decays, and to say,
without any just foundation, "O that it were with me as in months past!" (Job
29:2) Therefore, you can hardly be too frequently told, that religion consists
chiefly "in the `resolution of the will for God,' and in a constant care to
avoid whatever we are persuaded he would disapprove, to despatch the work he
has assigned us in life, and to promote his glory in the happiness of mankind."
To this we are chiefly to attend, looking in all to the simplicity and purity
of those motives from which we act, which we know are chiefly regarded by that
God who searches the heart; humbling ourselves before him at the same time
under a sense of our many imperfections, and flying to the blood of Christ and
the grace of the Gospel.
3. Having given this precaution, I will now a
little more particularly describe the case, which I call the state of a
Christian who is declining in religion; so far as it does not fall in with
those which I shall consider in the following chapters. And I must observe that
it chiefly consists "in a forgetfulness of divine objects, and a remissness in
those various duties to which we stand engaged by that solemn surrender which
we have made of ourselves to the service of God." There will be a variety of
symptoms, according to the different circumstances and relations in which the
Christian is placed; but some will be of a more universal kind. It will be
peculiarly proper to touch on these; and so much the rather, as these
declensions are often unobserved, like the gray hairs which were upon Ephraim,
when he knew it not. (Hos. 7:9)
4. Should you, my reader, fall into this state,
it will probably first discover itself by a failure in the duties of the
closet. Not that I suppose they will at first, or certainly conclude that they
will at all, be wholly omitted, but they will be run over in a cold and formal
manner. Sloth, or some of those other snares which I cautioned you against in
the former chapter, will so far prevail upon you, that though perhaps you know
and recollect that the proper season of retirement is come, you will sometimes
indulge yourself upon your bed in the morning, sometimes in conversation or
business in the evening, so as not to have convenient time for it. Or perhaps,
when you come into your closet at that season, some favorite book you are
desirous to read, some correspondence that you choose to carry on, or some
other amusement, will present itself, and plead to be despatched first. This
will probably take up more time than you imagined; and then secret prayer will
be hurried over, and perhaps reading the Scriptures quite neglected. You will
plead, perhaps, that it is but for once; but the same allowance will be made a
second and a third time; and it will grow more easy and familiar to you each
time than it was the last. And thus God will be mocked, and your own soul will
be defrauded of its spiritual meals, if I may be allowed the expression; the
word of God will be slighted, and self-examination quite disused; and secret
prayer itself wilt grow a burden rather than a delight; a trifling ceremony,
rather than a devout homage, fit for the acceptance of "our Father who is in
heaven."
5. If immediate and resolute measures be not
taken for your recovery from these declensions, they will spread farther, and
reach the acts of social worship. You will feel the effects in your family and
in public ordinances. And if you do not feel them, the symptoms will be so much
the worse. Wandering thoughts will, as it were, eat out the very heart of these
duties. It is not, I believe, the privilege of the most eminent Christians to
be entirely free from them; but probably in these circumstances you will find
but few intervals of strict attention, or of any thing which wears the
appearance of inward devotion. And when these heartless duties are concluded,
there will scarce be a reflection made, how little God hath been enjoyed in
them, how little he hath been honored by them. Perhaps the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, being so admirably adapted to fix the attention of the soul, and
to excite its warmest exercise of holy affections, may be the last ordinance in
which these declensions will be felt. And yet, who can say that the sacred
table is a privileged place? Having been unnecessarily straitened in your
preparations, you will attend with less fixedness and enlargement of heart than
usual. And perhaps a dissatisfaction in the review, when there has been a
remarkable alienation or insensibility of mind, may occasion a disposition to
forsake your place and your duty there. And when your spiritual enemies have
once gained this point upon you, it is probable you will fall by swifter
degrees than ever, and your resistance to their attempts will grow weaker and
weaker.
6. When your love to God our Father and to the
Lord Jesus Christ fails, your fervor of Christian affection to your brethren in
Christ will proportionably decline; and your concern for usefulness in life
abate, especially where any thing is to be done for spiritual edification. You
will find some one excuse or another for the neglect of religious discourse,
perhaps not only among neighbors and Christian friends, when very convenient
opportunities offer; but even with regard to those who are members of your own
families, and to those who, if you are fixed in the superior relations of life,
are committed to your care.
7. With this remissness, an attachment either to
sensual pleasures or to worldly business will increase. For the soul must have
something to employ it, and something to delight itself in; and as it turns to
the one or the other of these, temptations of one sort or another will present
themselves. In some instances, perhaps the strictest bonds of temperance, and
the regular appointments or life, may be broken in upon, through a fondness for
company, and the entertainments which often attend it. In other instances, the
interests of life appearing greater than they did before, and taking up more of
the mind, contrary interests of other persons may throw you into disquietude,
or plunge you in debate and contention, in which it is extremely difficult to
preserve either the serenity or the innocence of the soul. And perhaps, if
ministers and other Christian friends observe this, and endeavor in a plain and
faithful way to reduce you from your wandering, a false delicacy of mind, often
contracted in such a state as this, will render these attempts extremely
disagreeable. The ulcer of the soul, if I may be allowed the expression, will
not bear being touched when it most needs it; and one of the most generous and
self-denying instances of Christian friendship shall be turned into an occasion
of coldness and distaste, yea, perhaps of enmity.
8. And possibly, to sum up all, this disordered
state of mind may lead you into some prejudices against those very principles
which might be most effectual for your recovery; and your great enemy may
succeed so far in his attempts against you, as to persuade you that you have
lost nothing in religion, when you have almost lost all. He may very probably
lead you to conclude that your former devotional frames were mere fits of
enthusiasm, and that the holy regularity of your walk before God was an
unnecessary strictness and scrupulosity. Nay, you may think it a great
improvement in understanding, that you have learnt from some new masters, that,
if a man treat his fellow creatures with humanity and good nature, judging and
reviling only those who would disturb others by the narrowness of their
notions, (for these are generally exempted from other objects of the most
universal and disinterested benevolence so often boasted of) he must
necessarily be in a very good state, though he pretend not to converse much
with God, provided that he think respectfully of him, and do not provoke him by
any gross immoralities.
9. I mention this in the last stage of religious
declension, because I apprehend that to be its proper place; and I fear it will
be found, by experience, to stand upon the very confines of that gross apostacy
into deliberate and presumptuous sin, which wilt claim our consideration under
the next head. And because, too, it is that symptom which most effectually
tends to prevent the success, and even the use, of any proper remedies, in
consequence of a fond and fatal apprehension that they are needless. It is, if
I may borrow the simile, like those fits of lethargic drowsiness which often
precede apoplexies and death.
10. It is by no means my design at this time to
reckon up, much less to consider at large, those dangerous principles which are
now ready to possess the mind, and to lay the foundation of a false and
treacherous peace. Indeed they are in different instances various, and
sometimes run into opposite extremes. But if God awaken you to read your Bible
with attention, and give you to feel the spirit with which it is written,
almost every page will flash conviction upon the mind, and spread a light to
scatter and disperse these shades of darkness.
11. What I chiefly intend in this address, is to
engage you, if possible, as soon as you perceive the first symptoms of these
declensions, to be upon your guard, and to endeavor, as speedily as possible,
to recover yourself from them. And I would remind you, that the remedy must
begin where the first cause or complaint prevailed, I mean, in the closet, Take
some time for recollection, and ask your own con-science, seriously, how
matters stand between the blessed God and your soul? Whether they are as they
once were, and as you could wish them to be, if you saw your life just drawing
to a period, and were to pass immediately into the eternal state? One serious
thought of eternity shames a thousand vain excuses, with which, in the
forgetfulness of it, we are ready to delude our own souls. And when you feel
that secret misgiving of heart which will naturally arise on this occasion, do
not endeavor to palliate the matter, and to find out slight and artful
coverings for what you cannot forbear secretly condemning, but honestly fall
under the conviction, and be humbled for it. Pour out your heart before God,
and seek the renewed influences of his Spirit and grace.. Return with more
exactness to secret devotion, and to self-examination. Read the Scripture with
yet greater diligence, and especially the more devotional and spiritual parts
of it. Labor to ground it in your heart, and to feel what you have reason to
believe the sacred penmen felt when they wrote, so far as circumstances may
agree. Open your soul, with all simplicity; to every lesson which the word of
God would teach you; and guard against those things which you perceive to
alienate your mind from inward religion, though there be nothing criminal in
the things themselves. They may perhaps in the general be lawful; to some
possibly they may be expedient; but if they produce such an effect as was
mentioned above, it is certain they are not convenient for you in these
circumstances, above all, seek the converse of those Christians whose progress
in religion seems most remarkable, and who adorn their profession in the most
amiable manner. Labor to obtain their temper and sentiments, and lay open your
case and your heart to them, with all the freedom which prudence will permit.
Employ yourself, at seasons of leisure, in reading practical and devotional
books, in which the mind and heart of the pious author is transfused into the
work, and in which you can, as it were, taste the genuine spirit of
Christianity. And to conclude, take the first opportunity that presents, of
making an approach to the table of the Lord, and spare neither time nor pains
in the most serious preparation for it. There renew your covenant with God; put
your soul anew into the hands of Christ, and endeavor to view the wonders of
his dying love, in such a manner as may rekindle the languishing flame, and
quicken you to more vigorous resolution than ever, "to live unto him who died
for you." (2 Cor. 5:15) And watch over your own heart, that the good
impressions you then felt may continue. Rest not, till you have obtained as
confirmed a state of religion as you ever knew. Rest not, till yon have made a
greater progress than before; for it is only by a zeal to go forward, that you
can be secure from the danger of going backward, and revolting more and more.
12. I only add, that it is necessary to take
these precautions as soon as possible, or you will probably find a much swifter
progress than you are aware in the downhill road; and you may possibly be left
of God, to fall into some gross and aggravated sin, so as to fill your
conscience with an agony and horror which the pain of "broken bones" (Psa.
51:8) can but imperfectly express.
A Prayer for one under Spiritual Decays.
THE SAD CASE OF A RELAPSE INTO KNOWN AND DELIBERATE SIN, AFTER SOLEMN ACTS OP DEDICATION TO GOD AND SOME PROGRESS MADE IN RELIGION.
1. Unthought of relapses may happen.--2. And bring the soul into a miserable case.--3. Yet the case is not desperate.--4. The backslider urged immediately to return, by deep humiliation before God for so aggravated an offence.--5. By renewed regards to the divine mercy in Christ.--6. By an open profession of repentance, where the crime hath given public offence.--7. Falls to be reviewed for future caution.--8. The chapter concludes with a prayer for the use of one who hath fallen into gross sins, after religious resolutions and engagements.
1. THE declensions which I have described in the foregoing chapter, must be
acknowledged worthy of deep lamentations; but happy will you be, my dear
reader, if you never know, by experience, a circumstance yet more melancholy
than this. Perhaps, when you consider the view of things which you now have,
you imagine that no consideration can ever bribe you, in any single instance,
to act contrary to the present dictates or suggestions of your conscience, or
of the Spirit of God by which it has been enlightened and directed. No: you
think it would be better for you to die. And you think rightly: but Peter
thought and said so too; "Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny
thee," (Matt. 26.35) and yet, after all. he fell; and therefore, "be not
high-minded, but fear." (Rom. 11:20) It is not impossible but you may fall into
that very sin of which you imagine you are least in danger, or into that
against which you have most solemnly resolved and of which you have already
most bitterly repented. You may relapse into it again and again. But, O! if you
do, nay, if you should deliberately and presumptuously fall but once, how deep
will it pierce your heart! How dear will you pay for all the pleasure with
which the temptation has been accompanied! How will this separate between God
and you! What a desolation, what a dreadful desolation will it spread over your
soul! It is grievous to think of it. Perhaps in such a state you may feel more
and agony and distress in your own conscience, when you come seriously to
reflect, than you ever felt when you were first awakened and reclaimed: because
the sin will be attended with some very high aggravations, beyond those of your
unregenerate state. I well know the person that said, "the agonies of a sinner,
in the first pangs of his repentance, are not to be mentioned on the same day
with those of the `backslider in heart,' when he comes to be filled with his
own way." (Prov. 14:14)
2. Indeed, it is enough to wound one's heart
to think how yours will be wounded; how all your comforts, all your evidences,
all your hopes, will be clouded; what thick darkness will spread itself on
every side; so that neither sun, nor moon, nor stars will appear in your
heaven. Your spiritual consolations will be gone; and your temporal enjoyments
will also be rendered tasteless and insipid. And if afflictions be sent, as
they probably may, in order to reclaim you, a consciousness of guilt will
sharpen and envenom the dart. Then will the enemy of your soul, with all his
art and power, rise up against you, encouraged by your fall, and laboring to
trample you down in utter, hopeless ruin. He will persuade you that you are
already undone beyond recovery. He will suggest that it signifies nothing to
attempt it any more; for that every effort, every amendment, every act of
repentance, will but make your case so much the worse, and plunge you lower and
lower into hell.
3. Thus will he endeavor by terrors to keep you
from that sure remedy which yet remains. But yield not to him. Your case will
indeed be sad; and if it be now your case, it is deplorably so; and to rest in
it, would be still much worse. Your heart would be hardened yet more and more;
and nothing could be expected but sudden and aggravated destruction. Yet,
blessed be God, it is not quite hopeless. Your "wounds are corrupted, because
of your foolishness," (Psa. 38:5) but the gangrene is not incurable. "There is
a balm in Gilead, there is a physician there." (Jer. 8:22) Do not therefore
render your condition hopeless, by now saying, "There is no hope," (Jer. 2:25)
and by drawing a fatal argument from a false supposition, "for going after the
idols you have loved." Let me address you in the language of God to his
backsliding people, when they were ready to apprehend that to be their case,
and to draw such a conclusion from it: "only return unto me, saith the Lord."
(Jer. 3:13) Cry for renewed grace; and in the strength of it labor to return.
Cry with David, under the like guilt, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commandments;" (Psa. 119:176) and
that remembrance of them is, I hope, a token for good. But if thou wilt return
at all, do it immediately. Take not one step more in that fatal path, to which
thou bast turned aside. Think not to add one more sin to the account, and then
to repent; as if it would be but the same thing on the whole. The second error
may be worse than the first; it may make way for another and another, and draw
on a terrible train of consequences, beyond all you can now imagine. Make
haste, therefore, and do not delay. "Escape, and fly as for thy life," (Gen.
19:17) before "the dart strike through thy liver." (Prov. 7:23) "Give not sleep
to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids," (Prov. 6:4) lie not down upon thy
bed under unpardoned guilt, lest evil overtake thee, lest the sword of divine
justice should smite thee, and, whilst thou purposest to return tomorrow, thou
shouldst this night go and take possession of hell.
4. Return immediately, and, permit me to add,
return solemnly. Some very pious and excellent divines have expressed
themselves upon this head, in a manner which seems liable to dangerous abuse:
when they urge men after a fall, "not to stay to survey the ground, nor
consider how they came to be thrown down, but immediately to get up and renew
the race." In slighter cases the advice is good; but when conscience has
suffered such violent outrage, by the commission of known, willful, and
deliberate sin, (a case which one would hope should but seldom happen to those
who have once sincerely entered on a religious course) I can by no means think
that either reason or Scripture encourages such a method. Especially would it
be improper, if the action itself had been of so heinous a nature, that even to
have fallen into it on the most sudden surprise of temptation, must have
greatly ashamed, and terrified, and distressed the soul. Such an affair is
dreadfully solemn, and should be treated accordingly. If this has been the sad
case with you, my then unhappy reader, I would pity you, and mourn over you;
and would beseech you, as you value your peace, your recovery, the health and
the very life of your soul, that you would not loiter away an hour. Retire
immediately for serious reflection. Break through other engagements and
employments unless they be such as you cannot in conscience delay for a few
hours, which can seldom happen in the circumstance I now suppose. Set yourself
to it, therefore, as in the presence of God, and hear at large, patiently and
humbly, what conscience has to say, though it chide and reproach severely. Yea,
earnestly pray that God would speak to you by conscience, and make you more
thoroughly to know and feel "what an evil and bitter thing it is, that you have
thus forsaken him." (Jer. 2:19) Think of all the aggravating circumstances
attending your offence; and especially think of those which arise from abused
mercy and goodness which arise, not only from your solemn vows and engagements
to God, but from the views you have had of a Redeemer's love, sealed even in
blood. And are these the returns? Was it not enough that Christ should have
been thus injured by his enemies? Must he be "wounded in the house of his
friends" too? (Zech. 13: 6) Were "you delivered to work such abominations as
these?" (Jer. 7:10) Did the blessed Jesus groan and die for you, that you might
sin with boldness and freedom, that you might extract, as it were, the very
spirit and essence of sin, and offend God to a height of ingratitude and
baseness, which would otherwise have been, in the nature of things, impossible?
O think, how justly God might "cast you out from his presence!" How justly he
might number you among the most signal instances of his vengeance! And think
how "your heart would endure or your hands be strong,"if he should " deal thus
with you!" (Ezek. 22:14) Alas! all your former experiences would enhance your
sense of the ruin and misery that must be felt in an eternal banishment from
the divine presence and favor.
5. Indulge such reflections as these. Stand the
humbling sight of your sins in such a view as this. The more odious and the
more painful it appears, the greater prospect there will be of your benefit by
attending to it. But the matter is not to rest here. All these reflections are
intended, not to grieve, but to cure; and to grieve no more than may promote
the cure. You are indeed to look upon sin; but you are also, in such
circumstances, if ever, to look upon Christ, to look upon him whom you have now
pierced deeper than before, and to mourn for him with sincerity and tenderness.
(Zech. 12:10) The God whom you have injured and affronted, whose laws you have
broken, and whose justice you have, as it were, challenged by this foolish,
wretched apostasy, is nevertheless "a most merciful God." (Deut. 4:21) You
cannot be so ready to return to him, as he is to receive you. Even now does he,
as it were, solicit a reconciliation, by those tender impressions which lie is
making upon your heart. But remember how he wilt be reconciled. It is in the
very same way in which you made your first approach to him, in the name and for
the sake of his dear Son. Come therefore in an humble dependence upon him.
Renew your application to Jesus, that his blood may, as it were, be sprinkled
upon your soul, that your soul may thereby be purified, and your guilt removed.
This very sin of yours, which the blessed God foresaw, increased the weight of
your Redeemers sufferings: it was concerned in shedding his blood. Humbly go,
and place your wounds, as it were, under the droppings of that precious balm,
by which alone they can be healed. That compassionate Savior will delight to
restore you, when you lie as an humble suppliant at his feet, and will
graciously take part with you in that peace and pleasure which he gives.
Through him renew your covenant with God, that broken covenant, the breach of
which divine justice might teach you to know "by terrible things in
righteousness:" (Psa. 65: 5) but mercy allows of an accommodation. Let the
consciousness and remembrance of that breach engage you to enter into covenant
anew, tinder a deeper sense than ever of your own weakness, and a more cordial
dependence on divine grace for your security, than you have ever yet
entertained. I know you will be ashamed to present yourself among the children
of God in his sanctuary, and especially at his table, under a consciousness of
so much guilt; but break through that shame, if Providence open you the way.
You would be humbled before your offended Father; but surely there is no place
where you are more likely to be humbled, than when you see yourself in his
house, and no ordinance administered there can lay you lower than that in which
"Christ is evidently set forth as crucified before your eyes." (Gal. 3:1)
Sinners are the only persons who have business there. The best of men come to
that sacred table as sinners. As such make your approach to it; yea, as the
greatest of sinners, as one who needs the blood of Jesus as much as any
creature upon earth.
6. And let me remind you of one thing more. If
your fall has been of such a nature as to give any scandal to others, be not at
all concerned to save appearances, and to moderate those mortifications which
deep humiliation before them would occasion. The depth and pain of that
mortification is indeed an excellent medicine, which God has in his wise
goodness appointed for you in such circumstances as these. In such a case,
confess your fault with the greatest frankness; aggravate it to the utmost;
entreat pardon and prayer from those whom you have offended. Then, and never
till then, will you be in the way to peace; not by palliating a fault not by so
making vain excuses, not by objecting to the manner in which others may have
treated you; as if the least excess or rigor in a faithful admonition were a
crime equal to some great immorality that occasioned it. This can only proceed
from the madness of pride and self-love; it is the sensibility of a wound,
which is hardened, swelled, and inflamed; and it must be reduced, and cooled,
and suppled, before it can possibly be cured. To be censured and condemned by
men, will be but a little grievance to a sour thoroughly humbled and broken
under a sense of having incurred the condemning sentence of God. Such a one
will rather desire to glorify God, by submitting to deserved blame; and will
fear deceiving others into a more favorable opinion of himself than he inwardly
knows that lie deserves. These are the sentiments which God gives to the
sincere penitent in such a case; and by this means he restores him to that
credit and regard among others, which he does not know how to seek; but which,
nevertheless, for the sake both of his comfort and usefulness, God wills that
he should have, and which it is, humanly speaking, impossible for him to
recover any other way. But there is something so honorable in the frank
acknowledgment of a fault, and in deep humiliation for it, that all who see it
must needs approve it. They pity an offender who is brought to such a
disposition, and endeavor to comfort him with returning expressions, not only
of their love, but of their esteem too.
7. Excuse this digression, which may suit some
cases; and which would suit many more, if a regular discipline were to be
exercised in churches; for, on such a supposition, the Lord's Supper could not
be approached, after visible and scandalous falls, without solemn confession of
the offence, and declarations of repentance. On the other hand, there may be
instances of sad apostacy, where the crime, though highly aggravated before
God, may not fall under human notice. In this case, remember that your business
is with Him to whose piercing eye every thing appears in its just light before
him, therefore, prostrate your soul, and seek a solemn reconciliation with him,
confirmed by the memorials of his dying Son; And when this is done, imagine
not, that, because you have received the tokens of pardon, the guilt of your
apostacy is to be forgotten at once. Bear it still in your memory for future
caution: lament it before God, especially in the frequent returns of secret
devotion; and view with humiliation the scars of those wounds which your own
folly occasioned, even when by divine grace they are thoroughly healed. For God
establishes his covenant, not to remove the sense of every past abomination,
but "that thou mayest remember thy ways, and be confounded, and never open thy
mouth any more because of thy shame, even when I am pacified towards thee for
all that thou hast done, saith the Lord." (Ezek. 16:63)
8. And now, upon the whole, if you desire to
attain such a temper, and to return to such steps as these, then immediately
fall down before God, and pour out your heart in his presence, in language like
this.
A Prayer for one who has fallen into gross Sin, after religious Resolutions and Engagements.
THE CASE OF THE CHRISTIAN UNDER THE HIDING OF GOD'S FACE.
1. The phrase scriptural.--2. It signifies the withdrawing the tokens of the divine favor.--3 chiefly as to spiritual considerations.--4. This may become the case of any Christian.--5. and will be found a very sorrowful one.--6. The following directions, therefore, are given to those who suppose it to be their own: To inquire whether it be indeed a case of spiritual distress, or whether a disconsolate frame may not proceed from indisposition of body,--7. or difficulties as to worldly circumstances.--8, 9. If it be found to be indeed such as the title of the chapter proposes, be advised--to consider it as a merciful dispensation of God, to awaken and bestir the soul, and excite to a strict examination of conscience, and reformation of what has been amiss.--10. To be humble and patient while the trial continues.--11. To go on steadily in the way of duty.--12. To renew a believing application to the blood of Jesus. An humble supplication for one under these mournful exercises of mind, when they are found to proceed from the spiritual cause supposed.
1. THERE is a case which often occurs in the Christian life, which they who
accustom themselves much to the exercise of devotion have been used to call the
"hiding of God's face." It is a phrase borrowed from the word of God, which I
hope may shelter it from contempt at the first hearing. It will be my business
in this chapter to state it as plainly as I can, and then to give some advice
as to your own conduct when you fall into it, as it is very probable you may
before you have finished your journey through this wilderness.
2. The meaning of it may partly be understood
by the opposite phrase of God's "causing his face to shine upon a person, or
lifting up upon him the light of his countenance." This seems to carry in it an
allusion to the pleasant and delightful appearance which the face of a friend
has, and especially if in a superior relation of life, when he converses with
those whom be loves and delights in. Thus Job, when speaking of the regard paid
him by his attendants, says, "If I smiled upon them, they believed it not, and
the light of my countenance they cast not down," (Job 29:24) that is, they were
careful, in such agreeable circumstances, to do nothing to displease me, or (as
we speak) to cloud my brow. And David, when expressing his desire of the
manifestation of God's favor to him, says, "Lord, lift thou up the light of thy
countenance upon me;" and, as the effect of it, declares, "thou hast put
gladness into my heart, more than if corn and wine increased." (Psa. 4:6,7) Nor
is it impossible, that, in this phrase, as used by David, there may be some
allusion to the bright shining forth of the Shekinah, that is, the lustre which
dwelt in the cloud as the visible sign of the divine presence with Israel,
which God was pleased peculiarly to manifest upon some public occasions, as a
token of his favor find acceptance. On the other hand, therefore, for God "to
hide his face," must imply his withholding the tokens of his favor and must be
esteemed a mark of his displeasure. Thus Isaiah uses it, "Your iniquities have
separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you,
that he will not hear." (Isa. 59:2) And again, "Thou hast hid thy face from
us," as not regarding the calamities we suffer, "and hast consumed us because
of our iniquities." (Isa. 64: 7) So likewise for God "to hide his face from our
sins?" (Psa. 51:9) signifies to overlook them, and to take no farther notice of
them. The same idea is, at other times, expressed by "God's hiding his eyes,"
(Isa. 1:15) from persons of a character disagreeable to him, when they come to
address him with their petitions, not vouchsafing, as it were, to look toward
them. This is plainly the scriptural sense of the word; and agreeably to this,
it is generally used by Christians in our day, and every thing which seems a
token of divine displeasure toward them is expressed by it.
3. It is farther to be observed here, that the
things which they judge to be manifestations of divine favor toward them, or
complacency in them, are not only, nor chiefly of a temporal nature, or such as
merely relate to the blessings of this animal and perishing life. David, though
the promises of the law had a continual reference to such, yet was taught to
look farther, and describes them as preferable to, and therefore plainly
distinct from "the blessings of the corn-floor or the wine-press." (Psa. 4:7)
And if you whom I am now addressing do not know them to be so, it is plain you
are quite ignorant of the subject we are inquiring into, and indeed have yet to
learn the first lessons of true religion. All that David says, of "beholding
the beauty of the Lord," (Psa. 27:4) or being "satisfied as with marrow and
fatness, when he remembered him upon his bed," (Psa. 63:5,6) as well as "with
the goodness of his house, even of his holy temple," (Psa. 65:4) is to be taken
in the same sense, and can need very little explication to the truly
experienced soul. But those who have known the light of God's countenance, and
the shinings of his face, will, in proportion to the degree of that knowledge,
be able to form some notion of the hiding of his face, or the withdrawing of
the tokens he has given his people of his presence and favor, which sometimes
greatly imbitters prosperity; as, where the contrary is found, it sweetens
affliction, and often swallows up the sense of it.
4. And give me leave to remind you, my Christian
friend, (for under that character I now address my reader) that to be thus
deprived of the sense of God's love, and of the tokens of his favor, may soon
be the case with you, though you may now have the pleasure to see the candle of
the Lord shining upon you, or though it may even seem to he sunshine and high
noon in your soul. You may lose your lively views of the divine perfections and
glory, in the contemplation of which you now find that inward satisfaction. You
may think of the divine wisdom and power, of the divine mercy and fidelity, as
well as of his righteousness and holiness, and feel little inward complacency
of soul in the view: it may be, with respect to any lively impressions, as if
it were the contemplation merely of a common object. It may seem to you as if
you had lost all idea of those important words, though the view has sometimes
swallowed up your whole soul in transports of astonishment, admiration, and
love. You may lose your delightful sense of the divine favor. It may be matter
of great and sad doubt with you, whether you do indeed belong to God; and all
the work of his blessed Spirit may be so veiled and shaded in the soul, that
the peculiar characters by which the hand of that sacred Agent might be
distinguished, shall be in a great measure lost; and you may he ready to
imagine you have only deluded yourself in all the former hopes you have
entertained. In consequence of this, those ordinances in which you now rejoice,
may grow very uncomfortable to you, even when you do indeed desire communion
with God in them. You may hear the most delightful evangelical truths opened,
you may hear the privileges of God's children most affectionately represented,
and not be aware that you have any part or lot in the matter; and from that
very coldness and insensibility may be drawing a farther argument that you have
nothing to do with them. And then "your heart" may "meditate terror," (Isa.
33:18) and under the distress that overwhelms you, your dearest enjoyments may
he reflected upon as adding to the weight of it, and making it more sensible,
white you consider that you bad once such a taste for these things, and have
now lost it all. So that perhaps it may seem to you, that they who never felt
any thing at all of religious impressions, are happier than you, or at least
are less miserable. You may, perhaps, in these melancholy hours, even doubt
whether you have ever prayed at all, and whether all that you called your
enjoyment of God, was not some false delight, excited by the great enemy of
souls, to make you apprehend that your state was good, that so you might
continue his more secure prey.
5. Such as this may be your case for a
considerable time; and ordinances maybe attended in vain, and the presence of
God may be in vain sought in them. You may pour out your soul in private, and
then come to public worship, and find little satisfaction in either, but be
forced to take up the Psalmist's complaint, "My God, I cry in the day-time, but
thou hearest not; and in the night- season, and am not silent;" (Psa. 22:2) or
that of Job, "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I
cannot perceive him: on the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold
him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him." (Job, 23:8,9)
So that all which looked like religion in your mind, shall seem as it were to
be melted into grief or chilled into fear, or crushed into a deep sense of your
own unworthiness; in consequence of which, you shall dare not so much as lift
up your eyes before God, and be almost ashamed to take your place in a
worshipping assembly among any that you think his servants. I have known this
to be the case of some excellent Christians, whose improvements in religion
have been distinguished, and whom God hath honored above many of their brethen
in what he hath done for them, and by them. Give me leave, therefore, having
thus described it, to offer you some plain advice with regard to it; and let
not that be imputed to enthusiastic fancy which proceeds from an intimate and
frequent view of facts on the one hand; and from a sincere affectionate desire
on the other, to relieve the tender, pious heart, in so desolate a state. At
least I am persuaded the attempt will not be overlooked or disapproved by "the
great Shepherd of the sheep," (Heb. 13:20) who has charged us to "comfort the
feeble-minded." (I Thes. 5:14)
6. And here I would first advise you most
carefully to inquire whether your present distress does indeed arise from
causes which are truly spiritual, or whether it may not rather have its
foundation in some disorder of the body, or in the circumstances of life in
which you are providentially placed, which may break your spirits and deject
your mind. The influence of the inferior part of our nature on the nobler, the
immortal spirit, while we continue in this embodied state, is so evident, that
no attentive person can, in the general, fail to observe it: and yet there are
cases in which it seems not to be sufficiently considered; and perhaps your own
may be one of them. The state of the blood is often such as necessarily to
suggest gloomy ideas, even in dreams, and to indispose the soul for taking
pleasure in any thing; and when it is so, why should it be imagined to proceed
from any peculiar divine displeasure, if the soul does not find its usual
delight in religion? Or why should God be thought to have departed from us,
because he suffers natural causes to produce natural effects, without
interposing, by miracle, to break the connection? When this is the case, the
help of the physician is to be sought, rather than that of the divine; or at
least, by all means, together with it; and medicines, diet, exercise and air,
may in a few weeks effect what the strongest reasonings, the most pathetic
exhortations or consolations might for many months have attempted in vain.
7. In other instances, the dejection and
feebleness of the mind may arise from something uncomfortable in our worldly
circumstances. These may cloud as well as distract the thoughts, and imbittter
the temper, and thus render us in a great degree unfit for religious services
and pleasures; and when it is so, the remedy is to be sought in submission to
Divine Providence, in abstracting our affections as far as possible from the
present world, in a prudent care to ease ourselves of the burden so far as we
can, by moderating unnecessary expenses, and by diligent application to
business, in humble dependence on the divine blessing; in the mean time,
endeavoring, by faith, to look up to him who sometimes suffers his children to
be brought into such difficulties, that he may endear himself more sensibly to
them by the method he shall take for their relief.
8. On the principles here laid down, it may
perhaps appear, on inquiry, that the distress complained of may have a
foundation very different from what was at first supposed. But where the health
is sound, and the circumstances easy; when the animal spirits are disposed for
gayety and entertainment, while all taste for religious pleasure is in a manner
gone; when the soul is seized with a kind of lethargic insensibility, or what I
had almost called a paralytic weakness with respect to every religious
exercise, even though there should not be that deep terrifying distress, or
pungent amazement, which I before re-presented as the effect of melancholy, nor
that anxiety about the accommodations of life which strait circumstances
naturally produce; I would in that case vary my advice, and urge you, with all
possible attention and impartiality, to search into the cause which has brought
upon you that great evil under which you justly mourn. And probably, in the
general, the cause is sin--some secret sin, which has not been discovered or
observed by the eye of the world; for enormities that draw on them the
observation and censure of others, will probably fall under the case mentioned
in the former chapter, as they must be instances of known and deliberate guilt.
Now the eye of God hath seen these evils which have escaped the notice of your
fellow-creatures; and in consequence of this care to conceal them from others,
while you could not but know they were open to him, God has seen himself in a
peculiar manner affronted and injured, I had almost said insulted by them; and
hence his righteous displeasure. Oh! let that never be forgotten, which is so
plainly said, so commonly known, so familiar to almost every religious ear, yet
too little felt by any of our hearts, "Your iniquities have separated between
you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not
hear." (Isa. 59:1,2) And this is, on the whole, a merciful dispensation of God,
though it may seem severe, regard it not, therefore, merely as your calamity,
but as intended to awaken you, that you may not content yourself, even with
lying in tears of humiliation before the Lord, but, like Joshua, rise and exert
yourself vigorously, to "put away from you that accursed thing," whatever it
be. Let this be your immediate and earnest care, that your pride may be
humbled, that your watchfulness may be maintained, that your affections to the
world may be deadened, and that, on the whole, your fitness for heaven may in
every respect be increased. These are the designs of your heavenly Father, and
let it be your great concern to cooperate with them.
9. Receive it therefore, on the whole, as the
most important advice that can be given you, immediately to enter on a strict
examination of your conscience. Attend to its gentlest whispers. If a suspicion
arises in your mind that any thing has not been right, trace that suspicion,
search into every secret folding of your heart: improve to the purposes of a
fuller discovery the advice of your friends, the reproaches of your enemies;
recollect for what your heart hath smitten you at the table of the Lord, for
what it would smite you if you were upon a dying bed, and within this hour to
enter on eternity. When you have made any discovery, note it down; and go on in
your search, till you can say these are the remaining incorruptions of my
heart, these are the sins and follies of my life; this have I neglected; this
have I done amiss. And when the account is as complete as you can make it, set
yourself in the strength of a God, to a serious reformation; or rather begin
the reformation of every thing that seems amiss, as soon as ever you discover
it; "return to the Almighty, and thou shalt be built up; put iniquity far from
thy tabernacle, and then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt
lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall
bear thee; thou shalt pay thy vows unto him, and his light shall shine upon thy
ways." (Job 22:23,26,27)
10. In the meantime, be waiting for God with the
deepest humility, and submit yourself to the discipline of your heavenly
Father, acknowledging his justice, and hoping in his mercy; even when your
conscience is least severe in its remonstrances, and discovers nothing more
than the common infirmities of God's people; yet still bow yourself down before
him, and own that so many are the evils of your best days, so many the
imperfections of your best services, that by them you have deserved all, and
more than all that you suffer: deserved, not only that your sun should be
clouded, but that it should go down, and arise no more, but leave your soul in
a state of everlasting darkness. And while the shade continues, be not
impatient. Fret not yourself in any wise, but rather, with a holy calmness and
gentleness of soul, "wait on the Lord." (Psa. 37:8,34) Be willing to stay his
time, willing to bear his frown, in humble hope that he will at length "return
and have compassion on you." (Jer. 12:15) He has not utterly forgotten to be
gracious, nor resolved that "he will be favorable no more." (Psa. 77:7,9) "For
the Lord will not cast off for ever; but though he cause grief, yet will he
have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies." (Lam. 31:32) It is
comparatively but "for a small moment that he hides his face from you;" but you
may humbly hope, that with great mercies he will gather you, and that "with
everlasting kindness he will have mercy on you." (Isa. 54:7,8) These suitable
words are not mine, but his; and they wear this, as in the very front of them,
"That a soul under the hidings of God's face may at last be one whom be will
gather, and to whom he will extend everlasting favor."
11. But while the darkness continues, "go on in
the way of your duty." Continue the use of means and ordinances: read and
meditate: pray, yes, and sing the praises of God too, though it may be with a
heavy heart. Follow the "footsteps of his flock," (Cant. 1:8) you may perhaps
meet the Shepherd of souls in doing it. Place yourself at least in his way. It
is possible you may by this means get a kind look from him; and one look, one
turn of thought, which may happen in a moment, may, as it were, create a heaven
in your soul at once. Go to the table of the Lord. If you cannot rejoice, go
and mourn there. Go and "mourn for that Savior whom," by your sins, "you have
pierced:" (Zech. 12:10) go and lament the breaches of that covenant which you
have there so often confirmed. Christ may perhaps make himself known unto you
"in the breaking of the bread," (Luke 24:35) and you may find, to your
surprise, that he hath been near you, when you imagined he was at the greatest
distance from you; near you, when you thought you were cast out from his
presence. Seek your comfort in such enjoyments as these, and not in the vain
amusements of this world, and in the pleasures of sense. I shall never forget
that affectionate expression, which I am well assured broke out from an
eminently pious heart, then almost ready to break under its sorrows of this
kind: "Lord, if I may not enjoy thee, let me enjoy nothing else; but go down
mourning after thee to the grave!" I wondered not to hear, that, almost as soon
as the sentiment had been breathed out before God in prayer, the burden was
taken off, and "the joy of God's salvation restored."
12. I shall add but one advice more, and that is,
that "you renew your application to the blood of Jesus, through whom the
reconciliation between God and your soul has been accomplished." It is he that
is our peace, and by his blood it is that "we are made nigh:" (Eph. 2:13,14) it
is in him, as the beloved of his soul, that God declares he is well-pleased;
(Matt. 3:17) and it is in him that "ye are made accepted, to the glory of his
grace." (Eph. 1:6) Go therefore, O Christian, and apply by faith to a crucified
Savior: go, and apply to him, as to a merciful high-priest, "and pour out thy
complaint before him, and show before him thy trouble:" (Psa. 142:2) Lay open
the distress and anguish of thy soul to him, who once knew what it was to say,
(O astonishing, that he should ever have said it!) "My God! my God! why hast
thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46) Look up for pity and relief to him, who
himself suffered, being not only tempted, but, with regard to sensible
manifestations, deserted, that he might thus know how to pity those that are in
such a melancholy case, and be ready, as well as able, "to succor them." (Heb.
2:18) "He is Immanuel, God with us," (Matt. 1:23) and it is only in and through
him that his Father shines forth upon us with the mildest beams of mercy and of
love. Let it be therefore your immediate care to renew your acquaintance with
him. Review the records of his life and death; and when you do so, surely you
will feel a secret sweetness diffusing itself over your soul. You will be
brought into a calm, gentle, silent frame, in which faith and love will operate
powerfully, and God may probably cause "the still small voice" of his
comforting Spirit to be heard, (1 Kin. 19:12) till your soul burst out into a
song of praise, and you are "made glad according to the days in which you have
been afflicted." (Psa. 90:15) In the mean time, such language as the following
supplication speaks, may be suitable.
An Humble Supplication for one under the Hidings of God's Face.
THE CHRISTIAN STRUGGLING UNDER GREAT AND HEAVY AFFLICTION.
1. Here it is advised--that afflictions should only be expected.--2. That the righteous hand of God should be acknowledged in them when they come.--3. That they should be borne with patience.--4. That the divine conduct in them should be cordially approved.--5. That thankfulness should be maintained in the midst of trials.--6. That the design of afflictions should be diligently inquired into, and all proper assistance taken in discovering it.--7. That, when it is discovered, it should humbly be complied with and answered. A prayer suited to such a case.
1. SINCE "man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward," (Job 5:7) and
Adam has entailed on all his race the sad inheritance of calamity in their way
to death, it will certainly be prudent and necessary that we should all expect
to meet with trials and afflictions; and that you, reader, whoever you are,
should be endeavoring to gird on your armor, and put yourself in a posture to
encounter those trials which will fall to your lot as a man and a Christian.
Prepare yourself to receive your afflictions, and to endure them, in a manner
agreable to both these characters. In this view, when you see others under the
burden, consider how possible it is that you may be called out to the very same
difficulties, or to others equal to them. Put your soul as in the place of
theirs. Think how you could endure the load under which they lie, and endeavor
at once to comfort them, and to strengthen your own heart, or rather pray that
God would do it. And observing how liable mortal life is to such sorrows,
moderate your expectations from it; raise your thoughts above it; and form your
schemes of happiness only for that world where they cannot be disappointed; in
the mean time, blessing God that your prosperity is lengthened out thus far,
and ascribing it to his special providence that you continue so long unwounded,
when so many showers of arrows are flying around you, and so many are falling
by them, on the right hand and on the left.
2. When at length your turn comes, as it
certainly will, from the first hour in which an affliction seizes you, realize
to yourself the hand of God in it, and lose not the view of him in any second
cause, which may have proved the immediate occasion. Let it be your first care
to "humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due
time." (1 Pet. 5:6) Own that "he is just in all that is brought upon you,"
(Neh. 9:33) and that in all these things "he punishes you less than your
iniquities deserve." (Ezra 9:13) Compose yourself to bear his hand with
patience, to glorify his name by a submission to his will, and to fall in with
the gracious design of his visitation, as well as to wait the issue of it
quietly, whatsoever the event may be.
3. Now, that "patience may have its perfect
work," (James 1:4) reflect frequently, and deeply upon your own unworthiness
and sinfulness. Consider how often every mercy has been forfeited, and every
judgment deserved. And consider, too, how long the patience of God hath borne
with you, and how wonderfully it is still exerted towards you; and indeed not
only his patience, but his bounty too. Afflicted as you are, (for I speak to
you now as actually under the pressure) look around and survey your remaining
mercies, and be gratefully sensible of them. Make the supposition of their
being removed: what if God should stretch out his hand against you, and add
poverty to pain, or pain to poverty, or the loss of friends to both, or the
death of surviving friends to that of those whom you are now mourning over;
would not the wound be more grievous? Adore his goodness that this is not the
case; and take heed lest your unthankfulness should provoke him to multiply
your sorrows. Consider also the need you have of discipline, how wholesome it
may prove to your soul, and what merciful designs our Heavenly Father has in
all the corrections he sends upon his children.
4. Nay, I will add, that, in consequence of all
these considerations, it may be well expected, not only that you should submit
to your afflictions, as what you cannot avoid, but that you should sweetly
acquiesce in them, and approve them; that you should not only justify, but
glorify God in sending them; that you should glorify him with your heart and
with your lips too. Think not praises unsuitable on such an occasion; nor that
praise alone to be suitable, which takes its rise from remaining comforts; but
know that it is your duty, not only to be thankful in your afflictions, but to
be thankful on account of them.
5. God himself hath said, "in every thing give
thanks," (1 Thes. 5:18) and he has taught his servants to say, "Yea, also we
glory in tribulation." (Rom. 5:3) And most certain it is, that to true
believers, afflictions are tokens of divine mercy; for "whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth," with peculiar and
distinguishing endearment. (Heb. 12:6) View your present afflictions in this
light, as chastisements of love; and then let your own heart say, whether love
does not demand praise. Think with yourself, "it is thus that God is making me
conformable to his own Son; it is thus that he is training me up for complete
glory. Thus he kills my corruptions; thus he strengthens my graces; thus he is
wisely contriving to bring me nearer to himself and to ripen me for the honors
of his heavenly kingdom. It is, if need be, that `I am in heaviness,' (I Pet.
1:6) and he surely knows what that need is better than I can pretend to teach
him, and knows what peculiar propriety there is in this affliction to answer my
present necessity, and to do me that peculiar good which he is graciously
intending me by it. This tribulation shall `work patience, and patience
experience,' and `experience a more assured hope,' even a hope which `shall not
make ashamed,' while the love of God is shed abroad in my heart, (Rom. 5:3,5)
and shines through my affliction, like the sun through a gentle descending
cloud, darting in light upon the shade, and mingling fruitfulness with
weeping."
6. Let it be then your earnest care, while you
thus look on your affliction, whatever it may be, as coming from the hand of
God, to improve it to the purposes for which it was sent. And that you may so
improve it, let it be your first concern to know what those purposes are.
Summon up all the attention of your soul to bear the rod, and him "who hath
appointed it," (Mic. 6:9) and pray earnestly that you may understand its voice.
Examine your life, your words and your heart; and pray that God would so guide
your inquiries, that you may "return unto the Lord that smiteth you." (Isa.
9:13) To assist you in this, call in the help of pious friends, and
particularly of your minister: entreat not only their prayers, but their advice
too, as to the probable design of Providence; and encourage them freely to tell
you any thing which occurs to their minds upon this head. And if such an
occasion should lead them to touch upon some of the imperfections of your
character and conduct look upon it as a great token of their friendship, and
take it, not only patiently, but thankfully. It does but ill become a
Christian, at any time, to resent reproofs and admonitions; and least of all
does it become him, when the rebukes of his Heavenly Father are upon him. He
ought rather to seek admonitions at such a time as this, and voluntarily offer
his wounds to be searched by a faithful and skillful band.
7. And when, by one means or another, you have
got a ray of light to direct you in the meaning and language of such
dispensations, take heed that you do not, in any degree, "harden yourself
against God, and walk contrary to him." (Lev. 26:27) Obstinate reluctance to
the apprehended design of any providential stroke is inexpressibly provoking to
him. Set yourself therefore, to an immediate reformation of whatever you
discover amiss, and labor to learn the general lessons of greater submission to
God's will, of a more calm indifference to the world, and of a closer
attachment to divine converse, and to the views of an approaching invisible
state. And whatever particular proportion or correspondence you may observe
between this or that circumstance in your affliction and your former
transgressions, be especially careful to act according to that more peculiar
and express voice of the rod. Then you may perhaps have speedy and remarkable
reasons to say, that "it hath been good for you that you have been afflicted,"
(Psa. 119:71) and, with a multitude of others, may learn to number the times of
your sharpest trials among the sweetest and most exalted moments of your life.
For this purpose, let prayer be your frequent employment; and let such
sentiments as these, if not in the very same terms be often and affectionately
poured out before God.
An humble Address to God under the Pressure of heavy Affliction.
THE CHRISTIAN ASSISTED IN EXAMINING INTO HIS GROWTH IN GRACE.
1. The examination important.--2. False marks of growth to be avoided.--3. True marks proposed; such as--increasing love to God.--4. Benevolence to men.--5. Candor of disposition.--6. Meekness under injuries.--7. Serenity amidst the uncertainties of life.--8. Humility,--especially as expressed in evangelical exercises of mind toward Christ end the Holy Spirit.--10. Zeal for the divine honor.--11. Habitual and cheerful willingness to exchange worlds when ever God shall appoint.--12. Conclusion. The Christian breathing after growth in grace.
1. IF by divine grace you have "been born again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible," (1 Pet. 1:2,3) even "by that word of God which liveth
and abideth for ever," not only in the world and the church, but in particular
souls in which it is sown; you will, "as new born babes, desire the sincere
milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." (1 Pet. 2:2) And though in the
most advanced state of religion on earth, we are but infants in comparison to
what we hope to be, when, in the heavenly world, we arrive "unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ," (Eph. 4:13) yet, as
we have some exercise of a sanctified reason, we shall be solicitous that we
may be growing and thriving. And you, my reader, "if so be you have tasted that
the Lord is gracious," (1 Pet. 2:3) will, I doubt not, feel this solicitude. I
would, therefore, endeavor to assist you in making the inquiry, whether
religion be on the advance in your soul. And here I shall warn you against some
false marks of growth, and then shall endeavor to lay down others on which you
may depend as more solid. In this view I would observe, that you are not to
measure your growth in grace only or chiefly by your advances in knowledge, or
in zeal, or any other passionate impression of the mind, no, nor by the fervor
of devotion alone; but by the habitual determination of the will for God, and
by your prevailing disposition to obey his commands, submit to his disposal,
and promote the highest welfare of his cause in the earth.
2. It must be allowed that knowledge and
affection in religion are indeed desirable. Without some degree of the former,
religion cannot be rational and it is very reasonable to believe, that without
some degree of the latter it cannot be sincere, in creatures whose natures are
constituted like ours. Yet there may be a great deal of speculative knowledge,
and a great deal of rapturous affection, where there is no true religion at
all; and still more, where religion exists, though there be no advanced state
of it. The exercise of our rational faculties, upon the evidences of divine
revelation, and upon the declaration of it as contained in Scripture, may
furnish a very wicked man with a well-digested body of orthodox divinity in his
head, when not one single doctrine of it has ever reached his heart. An
eloquent description of the sufferings of Christ, of the solemnities of
judgment, of the joys of the blessed, and the miseries of the damned, might
move the breast even of a man who did not firmly believe them; as we often find
ourselves strongly moved by well-wrought narrations or discourses, which at the
same time we know to have their foundation in fiction. Natural constitution, or
such accidental causes as are (some of them) too low to be here mentioned, may
supply the eyes with a flood of tears, which may discharge itself plenteously
upon almost any occasion that shall first arise. And a proud impatience of
contradiction directly opposite as it is to the gentle spirit of Christianity,
may make a man's blood boil when he hears the notions he has entertained, and
especially those which he has openly and vigorously espoused, disputed and
opposed. This may possibly lead him, in terms of strong indignation, to pour
out his zeal and his rage before God!, in a fond conceit, that, as the God of
truth, he is the pattern of those favorite doctrines by whose fair appearances
perhaps he himself is misled. And if these speculative refinements, or these
affectionate sallies of the mind, be consistent with a total absence of true
religion, they are much more apparently consistent with a very low state of it.
I would desire to lead you, my friend, into sublimer notions and juster marks,
and refer you to other practical writers, arid, above all, to the book of God,
to prove how material they are. I would therefore entreat you to bring your own
heart to answer, as in the presence of God, such inquiries as these:
3. Do you find "divine love, on the whole,
advancing in your soul?" Do you feel yourself more and more sensible of the
presence of God? and does that sense grow more delightful to you than it
formerly was? Can you, even when your natural spirits are weak and low, and
you are not in any frame for the ardors and ecstacies of devotion, nevertheless
find a pleasing rest, a calm repose of heart, in the thought that God is near
you, and that he sees the secret sentiments of your soul, while you are, as it
were, toward those whom an unsanctified heart might be ready to imagine it had
some just excuse for excepting out of the list of those it loves, and from whom
you are ready to feel some secret alienation or aversion. How does your mind
stand affected toward those who differ from you in their religious sentiments
and practices? I do not say that Christian charity will require you to think
every error harmless. It argues no want of love to a friend, in some cases, to
fear lest his disorder should prove more fatal than he seems to imagine: nay,
sometimes the very tenderness of friendship may increase that apprehension. But
to hate persons because we think they are mistaken, and to aggravate every
difference in judgment or practice into a fatal and damnable error that
destroys all Christian communion and love, is a symptom generally much worse
than the evil it condemns. Do you love the image of Christ in a person who
thinks himself obliged in conscience to profess and worship in a manner
different from yourself? Nay, farther, can you love and honor that which is
truly amiable and excellent in those in whom much is defective; in those in
whom there is a mixture of bigotry and narrowness of spirit, which may lead
them perhaps to slight, or even to censure you? Can you love them as the
disciples and servants of Christ, who, through a mistaken zeal, may be ready to
"cast out your name as evil," (Luke 6:22) and to warn others against you as a
dangerous person? This is none of the least triumphs of charity, nor any
despicable evidence of an advance in religion.
6. And, on this head, reflect farther, "How can
you bear injuries?" There is a certain hardness of soul in this respect, which
argues a confirmed state in piety and virtue. Does every thing of this kind
hurry and ruffle you, so as to put you on contrivances how you may recompense,
or, at least, how you may disgrace and expose him who has done you the wrong?
Or can you stand the shock calmly, and easily divert your mind to other
objects, only (when you recollect these things) pitying and praying for those
who with the worst tempers and views are assaulting you? This is a Christ-like
temper indeed, and he will own it as such; will own you as one of his soldiers,
as one of his heroes; especially if it rises so far, as, instead of being
"overcome of evil, to overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:21) Watch over your
spirit and over your tongue, when injuries are offered, and see whether you be
ready to meditate upon them, to aggravate them in your own view, to complain of
them to others, and to lay on all the load of blame that you in justice can;
or, whether you be ready to put the kindest construction upon the offence, to
excuse it as far as reason will allow, and (where, after all, it will wear a
black and odious aspect) to forgive it, heartily to forgive it, and that even
before any submission is made, or pardon asked; and in token of the sincerity
of that forgiveness, to be contriving what can be done, by some benefit or
other, toward the injurious person, to teach him a better temper.
7. Examine farther, "with regard to other evils
and calamities of life, and even with regard to its uncertainties, how you can
bear them." Do you find your soul is in this respect gathering strength? Have
you fewer foreboding fears and disquieting alarms than you once had, as to what
may happen in life? Can you trust the wisdom and goodness of God to order your
affairs for you, with more complacency and cheerfulness than formerly? Do you
find yourself able to unite your thoughts more in surveying present
circumstances, that you may collect immediate duty from them, though you know
not what God will next appoint or call you to? And when you feel the smart of
affliction, do you make a less matter of it? Can you transfer your heart more
easily to heavenly and divine objects, without an anxious solicitude whether
this or that burden be removed, so it may but be sanctified to promote your
communion with God and your ripeness for glory?
8. Examine also, "whether you advance in
humility." This is a silent but most excellent grace; and they who are most
eminent in it, are dearest to God, and most fit for the communications of his
presence to them. Do you then feel your mind more emptied of proud and haughty
imaginations, not prone so much to look back upon past services which it has
performed, as forward to those which are yet before you, and inward upon the
remaining imperfections of your heart? Do you more tenderly observe your daily
failures and miscarriages, and find yourself disposed to mourn over those
things before the Lord, that once passed with you as slight matters, though,
when you come to survey them as in the presence of God, you find they were not
wholly involuntary or free from guilt? Do you feel in your breast a deeper
apprehension of the infinite majesty of the blessed God, and of the glory of
his natural and moral perfections, so as, in consequence of these views, to
perceive yourself as it were annihilated in his presence, and to shrink into
"less than nothing, and vanity?" (Isa. 40:17) If this be your temper, God will
look upon you with peculiar favor, and will visit you more and more with the
distinguishing blessings of his grace.
9. But there is another great branch and effect
of Christian humility, which it would be an unpardonable negligence to omit.
Let me therefore farther inquire, are you more frequently renewing your
application, your sincere, steady, determined application, to the righteousness
and blood of Christ, as being sensible how unworthy you are to appear before
God otherwise than in him? And do the remaining corruptions of your heart
humble you before him, though the disorders of your life are in a great measure
cured? Are you more earnest to obtain the quickening influences of the Holy
Spirit? And have you such a sense of your own weakness as to engage you to
depend, in all the duties you perform, upon the communications of his grace to
"help your infirmities?" (Rom. 8:26) Can you, at the close of your most
religious, exemplary, and useful days, blush before God for the deficiencies of
them, while others perhaps may he ready to admire and extol your conduct? And
while you give the glory of all that has been right to him from whom the
strength and grace has been derived, are you coming to the blood of sprinkling,
to free you from the guilt which mingles itself even with the best of your
services? Do you learn to receive the bounties of Providence, not only with
thankfulness, as coming from God, but with a mixture of shame and confusion
too, under a consciousness that you do not deserve them, and are continually
forfeiting them? And do you justify Providence in your afflictions and
disappointments, even while many are flourishing around you full in the bloom
of prosperity, whose offences have been more visible at least, and more
notorious than yours?
10. Do you also advance "in zeal and activity"
for the service of God and the happiness of mankind? Does your love show itself
solid and sincere, by a continual flow of good works from it? Can you view the
sorrows of others with tender compassion, and with projects and contrivances
what you may do to relieve them? Do you feel in your breast that you are more
frequently "devising liberal things," (Isa. 32:8) and ready to waive your own
advantage or pleasure that you may accomplish them ? Do you find your
imagination teeming, as it were, with conceptions and schemes for the
advancement of the cause and interest of Christ in the world, for the
propagation of his Gospel, and for the happiness of your fellow-creatures ? And
do you not only pray, but act for it act in such a manner as to show that you
pray in earnest, and feel a readiness to do what little you can in this cause,
even though others, who might, if they pleased, very conveniently do a vast
deal more, will do nothing?
11. And, not to enlarge upon this copious head,
reflect once more, "how your affections stand with regard to this world and
another." Are you more deeply and practically convinced of the vanity of these
"things which are seen, and are temporal?" (2 Cor. 4:18) Do you perceive your
expectations from them, and your attachments to them to diminish? You are
willing to stay in this world as long as your Father pleases; and it is right
and well; but do you find your bonds so loosened to it; that you are willing,
heartily willing, to leave it at the shortest warning; so that if God should
see fit to summon you away on a sudden, though it should be in the midst of
your enjoyments, pursuits, expectations, and hopes, you would cordially consent
to that remove without saying, "Lord, let me stay a little while longer, to
enjoy this or that agreeable entertainment, to finish this or that scheme?" Can
you think, with an habitual calmness and hearty approbation, if such be the
divine pleasure, of waking no more when you lie down on your bed, of returning
home no more when you go out of your house? And yet on the other hand, how
great soever the burdens of life are, do you find a willingness to bear them,
in submission to the will of your heavenly Father, though it should be to many
future years, and though they should be years of far greater affliction than
you have ever yet seen? Can you say calmly and steadily, if not with such
overflowings of tender affection as you could desire, "Behold, `thy servant,'
thy child is `in thine hand, do with me as seemeth good in thy sight!' (2 Sam.
15:26) My will is melted into thine; to be lifted up or laid down, to be
carried out or brought in, to be here or there, in this or that circumstance,
just as thou pleasest, and as shall best suit with thy great extensive plan,
which it is impossible that I, or all the angels in heaven, should mend."
12. These, if I understand matters aright, are
some of the most substantial evidences of growth and establishment in religion.
Search after them: bless God for them, so for as you discover them in yourself,
and study to advance in them daily, under the influences of divine grace; to
which I heartily recommend you, and to which I entreat you frequently to
recommend yourself.
The Christian breathing earnestly after growth in Grace.
THE ADVANCED CHRISTIAN REMINDED OF THE MERCIES OF GOD, AND EXHORTED TO THE EXERCISE OF HABITUAL LOVE TO HIM, AND JOY IN HIM.
1. A holy joy in God, our privilege as well as our duty.--2. The Christian invited to the exercise of it.--3. By the consideration of temporal mercies.--4. And of spiritual favors.--5. By the views of eternal happiness.--6. And of the mercies of God to others, the living and the dead.--7. The chapter closes with an exhortation to this heavenly exercise. And with an example of the genuine workings of this grateful joy in God.
1. I WOULD now suppose my reader to find, on an examination of his spiritual
state, that he is growing in grace. And if you desire that this growth may at
once be acknowledged and promoted, let me call your soul "to that more
affectionate exercise of love to God and joy in him," which suits, and
strengthens, and exalts the character of the advanced Christian; and which I
beseech you to regard, not only as your privilege, but as your duty too. Love
is the most sublime, generous principle, of all true and acceptable obedience;
and with love, when so wisely and happily fixed, when so certainly returned,
JOY, proportionable JOY, must naturally be connected. It may justly grieve a
man that enters into the spirit of Christianity, to see how low a life even the
generality of sincere Christians commonly live in this respect. "Rejoice then
in the Lord, ye righteous, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness,"
(Psa. 97:12) and of all those other perfections and glories which are included
in that majestic, that wonderful, that delightful name, THE LORD THY GOD. Spend
not your sacred moments merely in confession or in petition, though each must
have their daily share; but give a part, a considerable part, to the Celestial
and angelic work of praise. Yea, labor to carry about with you continually, a
heart overflowing with such sentiments, warmed and inflamed with such
affections.
2. Are there not continually rays enough
diffused from the great Father of light and love to enkindle it in our bosom?
Come, my Christian friend and brother, come and survey with me the goodness of
our heavenly Fattier. And oh! that he would give me such a sense of it, that I
might represent it in a suitable manner, that "while I am musing, the fire may
burn" in my own heart, (Psa. 39:3) and be communicated to yours! And oh! that
it might pass, with the lines I write, from soul to soul, awakening in the
breast of every Christian that reads them, sentiments more worthy the children
of God and the heirs of glory, who are to spend end an eternity in those sacred
exercises to which I am now endeavoring to excite you.
3. Have you not reason to adopt the words of
David, and say, `How many are thy gracious thoughts unto me, O Lord!' how great
is the sum of them! When I would count them, they are more in number than the
sand." (Psa. 139:17,18) You indeed know where to begin the survey, for the
favors of God to you began with your being. Commemorate it therefore with a
grateful heart, that the eyes which "saw your substance, being yet imperfect,"
beheld you with a friendly care "when you were made in secret," and have
watched over you ever since--and that the hand which "drew the plan of your
members, when as yet there was none of them," (Psa. 139:15,16) not only
fashioned them at first, but from that time has been concerned in "keeping all
your bones, so that none of them is broken," (Psa. 34:20) and that, indeed, it
is to this you owe it that you live. Look back upon the path you have trod,
from the day that God brought you out of the womb, and say whether you do not,
as it were, see all the road thick set with the marks and memorials of the
divine goodness. Recollect the places where you have lived, and the persons
with whom you have most intimately conversed, and call to mind the mercies you
have received in those places, and from those persons, as the instruments of
the divine care and goodness. Recollect the difficulties and dangers with which
you have been surrounded, and reflect attentively on what God hath done to
defend you from them, or to carry you through them. Think how often there has
been but a step between you and death, and how suddenly God has sometimes
interposed to set you in safety, even before you apprehended your danger. Think
of those chambers of illness in which you have been confined; and from whence,
perhaps, you once thought you should go forth no more; but said, with Hezekiah,
in the cutting off of your days, "I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am
deprived of the residue of my years." (Isa. 38:10) God has, it may be, since
that time, added many years to your life; and you know not how many are in
reserve, or how much usefulness and happiness may attend each. Survey your
circumstances in relative life; how ninny kind friends are surrounding you
daily, and studying how they may contribute to your comfort. Reflect on those
remarkable circumstances in Providence, which occasioned the knitting of some
bonds of this kind, which, next to those which join your soul to God, you
number among the happiest. And forget not in how many instances, when these
dear lives have been threatened, lives perhaps more sensibly dear than your own
God has given them back from the borders of the grave, and so added new
endearments, arising from that tender circumstance, to all your after converse
with them. Nor forget, in how gracious a manner he hath supported some others
in their last moments, and enabled them to leave behind a sweet odor of piety,
which hath embalmed their memories, revived you when ready to faint under the
sorrows of the last separation, and, on the whole, made even the recollection
of their death delightful.
4. But it is more than time that I lead on your
thoughts to the many spiritual mercies which God has bestowed upon you. Look
back, as it were, to "the rock from whence you were hewn, and to the hole of
the pit from whence you were digged." (Isa. 1:1) Reflect seriously on the state
wherein divine grace found you: under how much guilt, under how much pollution!
in what danger, in what ruin! Think what was, and O think with yet deeper
reflection. what would have been the case! The eye of God, which penetrates
into eternity, saw what your mind, amused with the trifles of the present time
and sensual gratification, was utterly ignorant and regardless of: it saw you
on the borders of eternity, and pitied you; saw that you would in a little time
have been such a helpless, wretched creature as the sinner that is just now
dead, and has, to his infinite surprise and everlasting terror, met his
unexpected doom; and would, like him, stand thunderstruck in astonishment and
despair. This God saw, and he pitied you; and being merciful to you, he
provided, in the counsel of his eternal love and grace, a Redeemer for you, and
purchased you to himself, through the blood of his Son: a price which, if you
will pause upon it, and think seriously what it was, must surely affect you to
such a degree as to make you to fall down before God in wonder and shame, to
think it should ever have been given for you. To accomplish these blessed
purposes, he sent his grace into your heart; so that, though "you were once
darkness, you are now light in the Lord." (Eph. 5:8) He made that happy change
which you now feel in your soul, and "by his Holy Spirit, which is given to
you," he shed abroad that principle of love (Rom. 5:5) which is enkindled by
this review, and now flames with greater ardor than before. Thus far he hath
supported you in your Christian course, and "having obtained help from him," it
is that you continue even to this day. (Acts 26:22) He hath not only blessed
you, but "made you a blessing;" (Gen. 12:2.) and though you have not been so
useful as that holy generosity of heart which he has excited would have engaged
you to desire, yet some good you have done in the station in which he has fixed
you. Some of your brethren of mankind have been relieved; perhaps, too, some
thoughtless creature reclaimed to virtue and happiness by his blessing on your
endeavors. Some in the way to heaven are praising God for you; and some,
perhaps, already there, are longing for your arrival, that they may thank you,
in nobler and more expressive forms, for benefits, the importance of which they
now sufficiently understand, though while here, they could never conceive
it.
5. Christian, look around on the numberless
blessings, of one kind and of another, with which you are already encompassed;
and advance your prospect still farther, to what faith yet discovers within the
veil. Think of those now unknown transports with which thou shalt drop every
burden in the grave; and thine immortal spirit shall mount, light and joyful,
holy and happy to God, its original, its support, and its hope; to God, the
source of being, of holiness, and of pleasure; to Jesus, through whom all these
blessings are derived to thee, and who will appoint thee a throne near to his
own, to be for ever a spectator and partaker of his glory. Think of the rapture
with which thou shalt attend his triumph in the resurrection-day, and receive
this poor, moldering, corruptible body, transformed into his glorious image;
and then think, "These hopes are not mine alone, but the hopes of thousands and
millions. Multitudes, whom I number among the dearest of my friends upon the
earth, are rejoicing with me in these apprehensions and views; and God gives me
sometimes to see the smiles on their cheeks, the sweet, humble hope that
sparkles in their eyes and shines through the tears of tender gratitude, and to
hear that little of their inward complacency and joy which language can
express. Yea, and multitudes more, who were once equally dear to me with these,
though I have laid them in the grave, and wept over the dust, are living to
God, living in the possession of inconceivable delights, and drinking large
draughts of the water of life, which flows in perpetual streams at his right
hand."
6. O Christian! thou art still intimately united
and allied to them. Death cannot break a friendship thus cemented, and it ought
not to render thee insensible of the happiness of those friends for whose
memory thou retainest so just an honor. They live to God as his servants; they
"serve him and see his face,"(Rev. 22: 3,4) and they make but a small part of
that glorious assembly. Millions, equally worthy of thine esteem and affection
with themselves, inhabit those blissful regions; and wilt thou not rejoice in
their joy? And wilt thou not adore that everlasting spring of holiness and
happiness from whence each of their streams is derived? Yea, I will add, while
the blessed angels are so kindly regarding us, while they are ministering to
thee, O Christian! and bearing thee in their arms, "as an heir of salvation,"
(Heb. 1:14) wilt thou not rejoice in their felicity too? And wilt thou not
adore that God who gives them all the superior glory of their more exalted
nature, and gives them a heaven, which fills them with blessedness even while
they seem to withdraw from it, that they may attend on thee?
7. This, and infinitely more than this the
blessed God is, and was, and shall ever be. The felicities of the blessed
spirits that surround his throne, and thy felicities, O Christian! are
immortal. These heavenly luminaries shall glow with an undecaying flame, and
thou shalt shine and burn among them when the sun and the stars are gone out.
Still shall the unchanging Father of lights pour forth his beams upon them; and
the lustre they reflect from him, and their happiness in him, shall be
everlasting, shall be ever growing. Bow down, O thou child of God, thou heir of
glory; bow down, and let all that is within thee unite in one act of grateful
love; and let all that is around thee, all that is before thee in the prospects
of an unbounded eternity, concur to elevate and transport thy soul, that thou
mayest, as far as possible, begin the work and blessedness of heaven, in
falling down before the God of it, in opening thine heart to his gracious
influences, and in breathing out before him that incense of praise which these
warm beams of his presence and love have so great a tendency to produce, and to
ennoble with a fragrancy resembling that of his paradise above.
The grateful Soul rejoicing in the Blessings of Providence and Grace, and pouring out itself before God in vigorous and affectionate Exercises of Love and Praise.
THE ESTABLISHED CHRISTIAN URGED TO EXERT HIMSELF FOR PURPOSES OF USEFULNESS.
1, 2. A sincere love to God will express itself not only in devotion, but in benevolence to men.--3. This is the command of God.--4. The true Christian feels his soul wrought to a holy conformity to it.--5. And therefore will desire instruction on this head.--6. Accordingly, directions are given for the improvement of various talents: particularly genius and learning.--7. Power.--8. Domestic authority.--9. Esteem.--10. Riches.--11. Several good ways of employing them hinted at.--12, 13. Prudence in expense urged, for the support of charity.--14. Divine direction in this respect to be sought. The Christian breathing after more extensive usefulness.
1. SUCH as I have described in the former chapter, I trust, are and will be
the frequent exercises or your soul before God. Thus will your love and
gratitude breathe itself forth in the divine presence and will, through Jesus
the great Mediator, come up before it as incense, and yield an acceptable
savor. But then, you must remember, this will not be the only effect of that
love to God which I have supposed so warm in your heart. If it be sincere, it
will not spend itself in words alone, but will discover itself in actions, and
wilt produce, as its genuine fruit, an unfeigned love to your fellow-creatures,
and an unwearied desire and labor to do them good continually.
2. "Has the great Father of mercies," will
you say, "looked upon me with so gracious an eye? has he not only forgiven me
ten thousand offences, but enriched me with such a variety of benefits? O what
shall render to him for them all? Instruct me, O ye oracles of eternal truth!
Instruct me, ye elder brethren in the family of my heavenly Father! Instruct
me, above all, O thou Spirit of wisdom and love! what I may be able to do, to
express my love to the great eternal fountain of love, and to approve my
fidelity to him who has already done so much to engage it, and who will take so
much pleasure in owning and rewarding it!"
3. This, O Christian! is the command which we
have heard from the beginning, and it will ever continue in unimpaired force,
"that he who loveth God," should "love his brother also," (I John, 4:21) and
should express that love, "not in word and profession alone, but in deed and in
truth." (1 John 3: 18) You are to love your neighbor as yourself; to love the
whole creation of God; and, so far as your influence can extend, must endeavor
to make it happy.
4. "Yes," will you not say, and "I do love it. I
feel the golden chain of divine love encircling us all, and binding us close to
each other, joining us in one body, and diffusing as it were, one soul through
all. May happiness, true and sublime, perpetual and ever-growing happiness,
reign through the whole world of God's rational and obedient creatures in
heaven and on earth! And may every revolted creature, that is capable of being
recovered and restored, be made obedient! Yea, may the necessary punishment of
those who are irrecoverable, be overruled by infinite wisdom and love to the
good of the whole!"
5. These are right sentiments, and if they are
indeed the sentiments of your heart, O reader! and not an empty form of vain
words, they will be attended with a serious concern to act in subordination to
this great scheme of divine Providence, according to your abilities in their
utmost extent. And to this purpose, they will put you on surveying the peculiar
circumstances of your life and being, that you may discover what opportunities
of usefulness they now afford, and how those opportunities and capacities may
be improved. Enter therefore into such a survey, not that you may pride
yourself in the distinctions of divine Providence or grace towards you, or,
"having received, may glory as if you had not received;" (I Cor. 4:7) but that
you may deal faithfully with the great Proprietor, whose steward you are, and
by whom you are entrusted with every talent, which, with respect to any claim
from your fellow-creatures, you may call your own. And here, "having gifts
differing according to the grace that is given to us," (Rom. 12:6) let us hold
the balance with an impartial hand, that so we may determine what it is that
God requires of us; which is nothing less than doing the most we can invent,
contrive, and effect, for the general good. But, oh! how seldom is this
estimate faithfully made! And how much does the world around us, and how much
do our own souls suffer for want of that fidelity!
6. Hath God given you genius and learning? It was
not that you might amuse or deck yourself with it, and kindle a blaze which
should only serve to attract and dazzle the eyes of men. It was intended to be
the means of heading both yourself and them to the Father of lights. And it
will be your duty, according to the peculiar turn of that genius and capacity,
either to endeavor to improve and adorn human life, or, by a more direct
application of it to divine subjects, to plead the cause of religion, to defend
its truths, to enforce and recommend its practicer to deter men from courses
which would be dishonorable to God and fatal to themselves, and to try the
utmost efforts of all the solemnity and tenderness with which you can clothe
your addresses, to lead them into the paths of virtue and happiness.
7. Has God invested you with power, whether it be
in a larger or smaller society? Remember that this power was given you that
God might be honored, and those placed under your government, whether domestic
or public, might be made happy. Be concerned, therefore, that, whether you be
entrusted with the rod, or the sword, it may "not be" borne in vain. (Rom.
13:4) Are you a magistrate? Have you any share in the great and tremendous
charge of enacting laws? Reverence the authority of the supreme Legislator, the
great Guardian of society: promote none, consent to none, which you do not in
your own conscience esteem, in present circumstances, an intimation of his
will, and in the establishment of which you do not firmly believe you shalt be
"his minister for good." (Rom. 13:4) Have you the charge of executing laws? Put
life into them by a vigorous and strenuous execution, according to the nature
of the particular office you bear. Retain not an empty name of authority.
Permit not yourself, as it were, to fall asleep on the tribunal. Be active, be
wakeful, be observant of what passes around you. Protect the upright and the
innocent. Break in pieces the power of the oppressor. Unveil every dishonest
heart. Disgrace as well as defeat the wretch that makes his distinguished
abilities the disguise or protection of the wickedness which he ought rather to
endeavor to expose, and to drive out of the world with abhorrence.
8. Are you placed only at the head of a private
family? Rule it for God. Administer the concerns of that little kingdom with
the same views, and on the same principles, which I have been inculcating oil
the powerful and the great, if, by any unexpected accident, any of them should
suffer their eyes to glance upon the passage above. Your children and servants
are your natural subjects. Let good order be established among them, and keep
them under a regular discipline. Let them be instructed in the principles of
religion, that they may know how reasonable such a discipline is; and let them
be accustomed to act accordingly. You cannot indeed change their hearts, but
you may very much influence their conduct, and by that means may preserve them
from many snares, may do a great deal to make them good members of society, and
may set them, as it were, "in the way of God's steps," (Psa. 85:13) if
peradventure passing by be may bless them with the riches of his grace. And
fail not to do your utmost to convince them of their need of those blessings;
labor to engage them to a high esteem of them, and to an earnest desire of
them, as incomparably more valuable than any thing else.
9. Again, has God been pleased to raise you to
esteem among your fellow-creatures, which is not always in proportion to a
man's rank or possession in human life? Are your counsels heard with attention?
Is your company sought? Does God give you good acceptance in the eyes of men,
so that they do not only put the fairest constructions on your words, but
overlook faults of which you are conscious to yourself, and consider your
actions and performances in the most indulgent and favorable light? You ought
to regard this, not only as a favor of Providence, and as an encouragement to
you cheerfully to pursue your duty, in the several branches of it, for the time
to come, but also, as giving you much greater opportunities of usefulness than
in your present station you could otherwise have had. If your character has any
weight in the world, throw it into the right scale. Endeavor to keep virtue and
goodness in countenance. Affectionately give your hand to modest worth, where
it seems to be depressed or overlooked; though shining, when viewed in its
proper light, with a lustre which you may think much superior to your own. Be
an advocate for truth; be a counsellor for peace; be an example of candor; and
do all you can to reconcile the hearts of men, especially of good men, to each
other, however they may differ in their opinions about matters which it is
impossible for good men to dispute. And let the caution and humility of your
behavior, in circumstances of such superior eminence, and amidst so many tokens
of general esteem, silently reprove the rashness and haughtiness of those who
perhaps are remarkable for little else; or who, if their abilities were indeed
considerable, must be despised, and whose talents must be in a great measure
lost to the public, till that rashness and haughtiness of spirit be subdued.
Nor suffer yourself to he interrupted in this generous and worthy course, by
the little attacks or envy and calumny which you may meet. Be still attentive
to the general good, and steadily resolute in your efforts to promote it; and
leave it to Providence to guard or to rescue your character from the base
assaults of malice and falsehood, which will often, without your labor, confute
themselves, and heap upon the authors greater shame, or (if they are
inaccessible to that} greater infamy, than your humanity will allow you to wish
them.
10. Once more, Has God blessed you with riches?
Has he placed you in such circumstances that you have more than you absolutely
need for the subsistence of yourself and your family? Remember your approaching
account. Remember what an incumbrance these things often prove to men in the
way of their salvation, and how often, according to our Lord's express
declaration, they render it "as difficult to enter into the kingdom of God, as
it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle." (Matt. 19:24) Let it
therefore be your immediate, your earnest, and your daily prayer, that riches
may not be a snare and a shame to you, as they are to by far the greater part
of their possessors. Appropriate, I beseech you, some certain part and
proportion of your estate and revenue to charitable uses; with a provisional
increase, as God shall prosper you in any extraordinary instance. By this means
you will always have a fund of charity at hand; and you will probably be more
ready to communicate, when you look upon what is so deposited as not in any
sense your own, but as already actually given away to those uses, though not
yet affixed to particular objects. It is not for me to say what that proportion
ought to be. To those who have large revenues, and no children, perhaps a third
or one half may be too little; to those whose incomes are small, and their
charge considerable, though they have something more than is absolutely
necessary, it is possible a tenth may be too much. But pray that God would
guide your mind; make a trial for one year, on such terms as in your conscience
you think will be most pleasing to him; and let your observations on that teach
you to fix your proportion for the next always remembering, that he requires
justice in the first place, and alms-deeds only so far as may consist with
that. Yet, at the same time, take heed of that treacherous, delusive, and, in
many instances, destructive imagination, "that justice to your own family
requires that yon should leave your children very rich; which has perhaps cost
some parsimonious parents the lives of those darlings for whom they laid up the
portion of the poor; and what fatal consequences of divine displeasure may
attend it to those that yet survive, God Only knows; and I heartily pray that
you or yours may never learn by experience.
11. And that your heart may be yet more opened,
and that your charity may be directed to the best purposes, let me briefly
mention a variety of good uses which may call for the consideration of those
whom God has in this respect distinguished by an ability to do good. To assist
the hints I am to offer, look round on the neighborhood in which you live.
Thank how many honest and industrious, perhaps too, I might add, religious
people, are making very hard shifts to struggle through life. Think what a
comfort that would be to them, which you might without any inconvenience spare
from that abundance which God hath given you. Hearken also to any extraordinary
calls of charity which may happen, especially those of a public nature, and
help them forward with your example, and your interest in them, which perhaps
may be of much greater importance than the sum which you contribute, considered
in itself. Have a tongue to plead for the necessitous, as well as a hand to
relieve them; and endeavor to discountenance those poor, shameful excuses,
which covetousness often dictates to those whose art may indeed set some
varnish on what they suggest, but so slight a one, that the coarse ground will
appear through it. See how many poor children are wandering naked and ignorant
about the streets, and in the way to all kinds of vice and misery; and consider
what can be done toward clothing some of them at least, and instructing them in
the principles of religion. Would every thriving family in a town, who are able
to afford help on such occasions, cast a pitying eye on one poor family in its
neighborhood, and take it under their patronage, to assist in feeding, and
clothing, and teaching the children, in supporting it in affliction, in
defending it from wrongs, and in advising those that have the management of it,
as circumstances might require, how great a difference would soon be produced
in the character and circumstances of the community! Observe who are sick,
that, if there be no public infirmary at hand to which you can introduce them,
(where your contribution will yield the largest increase) you may do something
towards relieving them at home, and supplying them with advice and medicines,
as well as with proper diet and attendance. Consider also the spiritual
necessities of men: in providing for which, I would particularly recommend to
you the very important and noble charity of assisting young persons of genius
and piety with what is necessary to support the expense of their education for
the ministry, in the proper course of grammatical or academical studies. And
grudge not some proportion of what God hath given you, to those who, resigning
all temporal views to minister to you the Gospel of Christ, have surely an
equitable claim to be supported by you, in a capacity of rendering you those
services, however laborious, to which, for your sakes, and that of our common
Lord, they have devoted their lives. And while you are so abundantly "satisfied
with the goodness of Gal's house, even of his own temple," (Psa. 65:4) have
compassion on those who dwell in a desert land; and rejoice to do something
toward sending among the distant nations of the heathen world, that glorious
Gospel which bath so long continued unknown to multitudes, though the knowledge
of it, with becoming regard, be life everlasting. These are a few important
charities which I would point out to those whom Providence has enriched with
its peculiar bounties; and it renders gold more precious than it could appear
in any other light, that it is capable of being employed for such purposes. But
if you should not have gold to spare for them, contribute your silver; or, as a
farthing or a mite is not overlooked by God, when it is given from a truly
generous and charitable heart, (Mark 12:42,43) let that be cheerfully dropped
into the treasury, where richer offerings cannot be afforded.
12. And that, amidst so many pressing demands for
charity, you may be better furnished to answer them, seriously reflect on your
manner of living. I say not that God requires you should become one of the many
poor relieved out of your income. The support of society, as at present
established, will not only permit, but require, that some persons should allow
themselves in the elegancies and delights of life; by furnishing which,
multitudes of poor families are much more creditably and comfortably subsisted,
with greater advantage to themselves and safety to the public, than they could
be, if the price of their labors, or of the commodities in which they deal,
were to be given them as alms; nor can I imagine it grateful to God, that his
gifts should be refused, as if they were meant for snares and curses rather
than benefits. This were to frustrate the benevolent purposes of the gracious
Father of mankind, and if carried to its rigor, would be a sort of conspiracy
against the whole system of nature. Let the bounties of Providence be used; but
let us carefully see to it, that it be in a moderate and prudent manner, lest,
by our own folly, "that which should have been for our welfare become a trap."
(Psa. 69:22) Let conscience say, my dear reader, with regard to yourself, what
proportion of the good things you possess your Heavenly Father intends for
yourself, and what for your brethren; and live not as if you had no
brethren--as if pleasing yourself in all the magnificence and luxury you can
devise, were the end for which you were sent into the world. I fear this is the
excess of the present age, and not an excess of rigor and mortification.
Examine, therefore, your expenses, and compare them with your income. That may
be shamefully extravagant in you, which may not only be pardonable, but
commendable in another of superior estate. Nor can you be sure that you do not
exceed, merely because you do not plunge your-self into debt, nor render
yourself incapable of laying up any thing for your family. If you be disabled
from doing any thing for the poor, or any thing proportionable to your rank in
life, by that genteel and elegant way of living which you affect, God must
disapprove of such a conduct; and you ought, as you will answer to him, to
retrench it. And though the divine indulgence will undoubtedly be exercised to
those in whom there is a sincere principle of faith in Christ, and undissembled
love to God and man, though it act not to that height of beneficence and
usefulness which might have been attained; yet be assured of this, that he, who
rendereth to every one according to his works, will have a strict regard to the
degrees of the goodness in the distribution of final rewards: so that every
neglected opportunity draws after it an irreparable loss, which will go into
eternity along with you. And let me add, too, that every instance of negligence
indulged, renders the mind still more and more indolent and weak, and
consequently more indisposed to recover the ground which has been lost, or even
to maintain that which has been hitherto kept.
18. Complain not that this is imposing hard
things upon you. I am only directing your pleasures into a nobler channel; and
indeed that frugality, which is the source of such a generosity, far from being
at all injurious to your reputation, will rather, among wise and good men,
greatly promote it. But you have far nobler motives before you than those which
arise from their regards. I speak to you as to a child of God, and a member of
Christ; as joined, therefore, by the most intimate union, to all the poorest of
those that believe in him. I speak to you as to an heir of eternal glory, who
ought therefore to have sentiments great and sublime, in some proportion to
that expected inheritance.
14. Cast about therefore in your thoughts what
good is to be done, and what you can do, either in your own person or by your
interest with others; and go about it with resolution, as in the name and
presence of the Lord. And as "the Lord giveth wisdom, and out of his mouth
cometh knowledge and understanding," (Prov. 2:6) go to the footstool of his
throne, and there seek that guidance and that grace which may suit your present
circumstances, and may be effectual to produce the fruits of holiness and
usefulness, to his more abundant glory, and to the honor of your Christian
profession.
The established Christian breathing after more extensive Usefulness.
THE CHRISTIAN REJOICING IN THE VIEWS OF DEATH AND JUDGMENT.
1. Death and judgment are near: but the Christian has reason to welcome both.--2. Yet nature recoils from the solemnity of them.--3. An attempt to reconcile the mind to the prospect of death.--4. From the considerations of the many evils that surround us in this mortal life.--5. Of the remainder of sin which we feel within us.--6, 7. And of the happiness which is immediately to succeed death.--8. All which might make the Christian willing to die in the most agreeable circumstances of human life.--9. The Christian has reason to rejoice in the prospect of judgment.--10. Since, however awful it may be, Christ will then come to vindicate his honor, to display his glory, and to triumph over his enemies.--11. As also to complete the happiness of every believer.--12, 13. And of the whole church.--The mediation of a Christian whose heart is warm with these prospects.
1. WHEN the visions of the Lord were closing upon John, the beloved
disciple, in the island of Patmos, it is observable that he who gave him that
revelation, even Jesus, the faithful and true witness, concludes with these
lively and important words: "He who testifieth these things saith, Surely I
come quickly:" and John answered with the greatest readiness and
pleasure--"Amen, even so come, Lord Jesus!" Come, as thou hast said, surely and
quickly. And remember, O Christian! whoever you are that are now reading these
words, your divine Lord speaks in the same language to you--"Behold, I come
quickly." Yes, very quickly will become by death, to turn the key, to open the
door of the grave for thine admittance thither, and to lead thee through it
into the now unknown regions of the invisible world. Nor is it long before "the
Judge who standeth at the door," (Jam. 5:9) will appear also for universal
judgment; and though, perhaps, not only scores, but hundreds of years will lie
between that period and the present moment, yet it is but a very small point of
time to him who views at once all the unmeasurable ages or a past and future
eternity. "A thousand years are with him but as one day, and one day as a
thousand years." (2 Pet. 3:8) In both these senses, then, does he come quickly.
And I trust you can answer, with a glad Amen, that the warning is not terrible
or unpleasant to your ears; but rather that his coming, his certain, his speedy
coming, is the object of your delightful hope, and of your longing expectation.
2. I am sure it is reasonable it should be
so; and yet perhaps nature, fond of life, and unwilling to part with along
known abode, to enter on a state to which it is entirely a stranger, may recoil
from the thoughts of dying; or, struck with the awful pomp or an expiring and
dissolving world, may look on the judgement-day with some mixture of terror.
And therefore, my dear brother in the Lord, (for such I can now esteem you) I
would reason with you a little on this head, and would entreat you to look more
attentively on this solemn subject; which will, I trust, grow less disagreeable
to you, as it is more familiarly viewed. Nay, I hope that, instead of starting
back from it, you wilt rather spring forward toward it with joy and delight.
3. Think, O Christian! when Christ comes to call
you away by death, he comes--to set you at liberty from your present
sorrows--to deliver you from your struggles with remaining corruption--and to
receive you to dwell with himself in complete holiness and joy. You shall "be
absent from the body, and be present with the Lord." (2 Cor. 5: 8)
4. He will indeed call you away from this world;
but oh! what is this world, that you should be fond of it, and cling to it with
so much eagerness? How low are all those enjoyments that are peculiar to it,
and how many its vexations, its snares, and its sorrows! Review your pilgrimage
thus far; and though you must acknowledge that "goodness and mercy have
followed you all the days of your life," (Psa. 23:6) yet has not that very
mercy itself planted some thorns in your path, and given you some wise and
necessary, yet painful intimations, that "this is not your rest?" (Mic. 2:10)
Review the monuments of your withered joys, of your blasted hopes, if there be
yet any monuments of them remaining more than a mournful remembrance they have
left behind in your afflicted heart. Look upon the graves that have swallowed
up many of your dearest and most amiable friends, perhaps in the very bloom of
life, and in the greatest intimacy of your converse with them, and reflect,
that if you continue a few years more, death will renew his conquests at your
expense, and devour the most precious of those that yet survive. View the
living as well as the dead: behold the state of human nature under the many
grievous marks of its apostacy from God, and say, whether a wise and good man
would wish to continue always here. Methinks, were I myself secure from being
reached by any of the arrows that fly around me, I could not but mourn to see
the wounds that are given by them, and to hear the groans of those that are
continually falling under them. The diseases and calamities of mankind are so
many, and (which is most grievous of all) the distempers of their minds are so
various, and so threatening, that the world appears like a hospital; and a man
whose heart is tender, is ready to feel his spirits broken as he walks through
it and surveys the sad scene; especially when he sees how little he can do for
the recovery of those whom he pities. Are you a Christian? and does it not
pierce your heart to see how human nature is sunk in vice and in shame? To see
with what amazing insolence some are making themselves openly vile, and how the
name of Christ is dishonored by too many that call themselves his people? To
see the unlawful deeds and filthy practices of them that live ungodly; and to
behold, at the same time, the infirmities, at least, and irregularities of
those, concerning whom we have better hopes? And do you not wish to escape from
such a world, where a righteous and compassionate soul must be vexed from day
to day by so many spectacles of sin and misery? (2 Pet. 2:8)
5. Yea, to come nearer home, do you not feel
something within you, which you long to quit, and which would embitter even
Paradise itself? Something which, were it to continue, would grieve and
distress you even in the society of the blessed? Do you not feel a remainder of
indwelling sin, the sad consequence of the original revolt of our nature from
God? Are you not struggling every day with some residue of corruption, or at
least mourning on account of the weakness of your graces? Do you not often find
your spirits dull and languid, when you would desire to raise them to the
greatest fervor in the service of God ? Do you not find your heart too often
insensible of the richest instances of his love, and your hands feeble in his
service, even when "to will is present with you?" (Rom. 7:18) Does not your
life, in its best days and hours, appear a low, unprofitable thing, when
compared with what you are sensible it ought to be, and with what you wish that
it were ? Are you not frequently, as it were, "stretching the pinions of the
mind," and saying, "O that I had wings like a dove, that I might fly away and
be at rest!" (Psa. 55:6)
6. Should you not then rejoice in the thought,
that Jesus comes to deliver you from these complaints? That he comes to answer
your wishes, and to fulfill the largest desires of your hearts, those desires
that he himself has inspired? That he comes to open upon you a world of purity
and joy; of active, exalted, and unwearied services?
7. O Christian! how often have you cast a longing
eye toward those happy shores, and wished to pass the sea, the boisterous,
unpleasant, dangerous sea, that separates you from them! When your Lord has
condescended to make you a short visit in his ordinances on earth, how have you
blessed the time and the place, and pronounced it, amidst many other
disadvantages of situation, to be "the very gate of heaven!" (Gen. 28:17) And
is it so delightful to behold this gate? and will it not be much more so to
enter into it ? Is it so delightful to receive the visits of Jesus for an hour?
and will it not be infinitely more so to dwell with him for ever ? "Lord," may
you well say, "when I dwell with thee, I shall dwell in holiness, for thou
thyself art holiness; in love, for thou thyself art love:I shall dwell in joy,
for thou art the fountain of joy, as thou art in the Father, and the Father in
thee." (John 17:21) Bid welcome to his approach, therefore, to take you at your
word, and to fulfill to you that saying of his, on which your soul has so often
rested with heavenly peace and pleasure: "Father, I will that they whom thou
hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou
hast given me." (John 17:24)
8. Surely you may say in this view, "The sooner
Christ comes the better." What though the residue of your days be cut off in
the midst ? What though you leave many expected pleasures in life untasted, and
many schemes unaccomplished ? Is it not enough, that what is taken from a
mortal life, shall be added to a glorious eternity; and that you shall spend
those days and years in the presence and service of Christ in heaven, which you
might otherwise have spent with him and for him, in the imperfect enjoyment and
labors of earth?
9. But your prospects reach, not only beyond
death, but beyond the separate state. For with regard to his final appearance
to judgment, our Lord says, "Surely I come quickly," in the sense illustrated
before; and so it will appear to us, if we compare this interval of time with
the blissful eternity which is to succeed it; and probably, if we compare it
with those ages which have already passed since the sun began to measure out to
earth its days and its years. And will you not here also sing your part in the
joyful anthem, "Amen; even so come, Lord Jesus!"
10. It is true, Christian, it is an awful day; a
day in which nature shall be thrown into a confusion as yet unknown. No
earthquake, no eruption of burning mountains, no desolation of cities by
devouring flames, or of countries by overflowing rivers or seas, can give any
just emblem of that dreadful day, when "the heavens, being on fire, shall be
dissolved; the earth also, and all that is therein, shall be burnt up;" (2 Pet.
3:10-12) when all nature shall flee away in amazement "before the face of the
universal Judge," (Rev. 20:11) and there shall be a great cry, far beyond what
was known "in the land of Egypt, when there was not a house in which there was
not one dead." (Exod. 12: 30) Your flesh may be ready to tremble at the view;
yet your spirit must surely "rejoice in God your Savior." (Luke 1:47) You may
justly say, "Let this illustrious day come, even with all its horrors!" Yea,
like the Christians described by the apostle, (2 Pet. 3:12) you may be looking
for, and hastening to that day of terrible brightness and universal doom. For
your Lord will then come, to vindicate the justice of those proceedings which
have been in many instances so much obscured, and because they have been
obscured, have been also blasphemed. He will come to display his magnificence,
descending from heaven "with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and the
trump of God," (1 Thess. 4:16) taking his seat upon a throne infinitely
exceeding that of earthly, or even of celestial princes, clothed with "his
Father's glory and his own," (Luke 9:26) surrounded with a numberless host of
"shining attendants, when coming to be glorified in his saints, and admired in
all them that believe." (2 Thess. 1:10) His enemies shall also be produced to
grace his triumph. The serpent shalt be seen there rolling in the dust, and
trodden under foot by him and by all his servants; those who once condemned him
shall tremble at his presence; and those who bowed the knee before him in
profane mockery, shall, in wild despair, "call to the mountains to fall upon
them, and to the rocks to hide them from the face of that Lamb of God," (Rev.
6:16) whom they once led away to the most inhuman slaughter.
11. O Christian! does not your loyal heart bound
at the thought? And are you not ready, even while reading these lines, to begin
the victorious shout in which you are then to join ? He justly expects that
your thoughts should be greatly elevated and impressed with the views of his
triumph; but at the same time he permits you to remember your own personal
share in the joy and glory of that blessed day; and even now he has the view
before him, of what his power and love shall then accomplish for your
salvation. And what shall it not accomplish? He shall come to break the bars of
the grave, and to re-animate your sleeping clay. Your bodies must indeed be
laid in dust, and be lodged there as a testimony of God's displeasure against
sin, against the first sin that ever was committed, from the sad consequences
of which the dearest of his children cannot be exempted. But you shall then
have an ear to hear the voice of the Son of God, and an eye to behold the
lustre of his appearance; and shall "shine forth like the sun" arising in the
clear heaven, "which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber." (Psa. 19:5)
Your soul shall be new dressed to grace this high solemnity, and be clothed,
not with rags of mortality, but with the robes of glory; for he "shall change
this vile body, to fashion it like his own glorious body." (Phil. 3:21) And
when you are thus royally arrayed, he shall confer public honors on you, and on
all his people, before the assembled world. You may now perhaps be loaded with
infamy, called by reproachful names, and charged with crimes, or with views
which your very soul abhors; but he will "then bring forth your righteousness
as the light," (Psa. 37:6) "and your salvation as a lamp that burneth." (Isa.
62:1) Though you have been dishonored by men, you shall be acknowledged, by
God; and though treated "as the filth of the world, and the off-scouring of all
things," (1 Cor. 4:13) he will show that he regards you "as his treasure, in
the day that he makes up his jewels." (Matt. 3:17) When he shall "put away all
the wicked of the earth like dross, (Psa. 119:119) you shall be pronounced
righteous in that full assembly; and though indeed you have broken the divine
law, and might in strict justice have been condemned, yet, being clothed with
the righteousness of the great Redeemer, even "that righteousness which is of
the great God by faith," (Phil. 3:9) justice itself shall acquit you, and join
with mercy in "bestowing upon you a crown of life." (2 Tim. 4:8) Christ will
"confess you before men and angels," (Luke 12:8) will pronounce you good and
faithful servants, and call you to "enter into the joy of your Lord:" (Matt.
25:21) he will speak of you with endearment as his brethren, and will
acknowledge the kindnesses which have been shown to you, as if he had "received
them in his own person." (Matt. 25:40) Yea, then shall you, O Christians! who
may perhaps have sat in some of the lowest places in our assemblies, to whom,
it may be, none of the rich and great of the earth would condescend to speak;
then shall you be called to be assessors with Christ on his judgment-seat, and
to join with him in the sentence he shall pass on wicked men and rebellious
angels.
12. Nor is it merely one day of glory and
triumph. But when the Judge arises, and ascends to his Father's court, all the
blessed shall ascend with him, and you among the rest: you shall ascend
together with your Savior, "to his Father and your Father, to his God and your
God." (John 20:17) You shall go to make your appearance in the new Jerusalem,
in those new shining forms that you have received, which will no doubt be
attended with a correspondent improvement of mind; and take up your perpetual
abode in that fullness of joy, with which you shall be filled and satisfied "in
the presence of God," (Psa. 16:11.) upon the consummation of that happiness
which the saints, in the intermediate state, have been wishing and waiting for.
You shall go from the ruins of a dissolving world, to "the new heavens and new
earth, wherein righteousness for ever dwells." (2 Pet. 3:13) There all the
number of God's elect shall be accomplished, and the happiness of each shall be
completed. The whole society shall be "presented before God, as the bride, the
Lamb's wife," (Rev. 21:9) whom the eye of its celestial bridegroom shall survey
with unutterable delight, and confess to be "without spot or wrinkle, or any
such thing," (Eph. 5:27) its character and state being just what he originally
designed it to be, when he first engaged to "give himself for it, to redeem it
to God by his blood." (Rev. 5:9) "So shall you ever be" with each other, and
"with the Lord," (1 Thess. 4:17) and immortal ages shall roll away and find you
still unchanged: your happiness always the same, and your relish for it the
same; or rather ever growing, as your souls are approaching nearer and nearer
to him who is the source of happiness, and the centre of infinite
perfection.
13. And now look round about upon earth, and
single out, if you can, the enjoyments or the hopes, for the sake of which you
would say, Lord, delay thy coming; or for the sake of which you any more should
hesitate to express your longing for it, and to cry, "Even so, come, Lord
Jesus, come quickly!"
The Meditation or Prayer of a Christian whose Heart is warmed with these Prospects.
THE CHRISTIAN HONORING GOD BY HIS DYING BEHAVIOR.
1. Reflections on the sincerity with which the preceding counsel has been given.--2, 3. The author is desirous that (if Providence permit) he may assist the Christian to die honorably and comfortably.--4. With this view, it is advised--to rid the mind of all earthly cares.--5. To renew the humiliation of the soul before God, and its application to the blood of Christ.--6. To exercise patience under bodily pains and sorrows.--7. At leaving the world, to bear an honorable testimony to religion.--8 To give a solemn charge to surviving friends.--9. especially recommending faith in Christ.--10, 11. To keep the promises of God in view.--12. And to commit the departing spirit to God, in the genuine exercises of gratitude and repentance, faith and charity, which are exemplified in the concluding meditation and prayer.
1. THUS, my dear reader, I have endeavored to lead you through a variety of
circumstances, and those not fancied or imaginary, but such as do indeed occur
in the human and Christian life. And I can truly and cheerfully say, that I
have marked out to you the path which I myself have trod, and in which it is my
desire still to go on. I have ventured my own everlasting interests on that
foundation on which I have directed you to adventure yours. What I have
recommended as the grand business of your life, I desire to make the business
or my own; and the most considerable enjoyments which I expect or desire in the
remaining days of my pilgrimage on earth, are such as I have directed you to
seek and endeavored to assist you in attaining. Such love to God, such constant
activity in his service, such pleasurable views of what lies beyond the grave,
appear to me (God is my witness) a felicity incomparably beyond anything else
which can offer itself to our affection and pursuit; and I would not for ten
thousand worlds resign my share in them, or consent even to the suspension of
the delights which they afford, during the remainder of my abode here.
2. I would humbly hope, through the divine
blessing, that the hours you have spent in the review of these plain things,
may have turned to some profitable account; and that, in consequence of what
you have read, you have been either brought into the way or life and peace, or
been induced to quicken your pace in it. Most heartily should I rejoice in
being further useful to you, and that even to the last. Now there is one scene
remaining, a scene through which you must infallibly pass, which has something
in it so awful, that I cannot but attempt doing a little to assist you in it: I
mean the dark Valley of the Shadow of Death. I could earnestly wish, that, for
the credit of your profession, the comfort of your own soul, and the joy and
edification of your surviving friends, you might die, not only safely, but
honorably too; and therefore I would offer you some parting advice. I am
sensible, indeed, that Providence may determine the circumstances of your death
in such a manner, as that you may have no opportunity of acting upon the hints
I now give you. Some unexpected accident from without, or from within, may, as
it were, whirl you to heaven before you are aware; and you may find yourself so
suddenly there, that it may seem a translation rather than a death. Or it is
possible the force of a distemper may affect your understanding in such a
manner, that you may be quite insensible of the circumstances in which you are;
and so your dissolution (though others may see it visibly and certainly
approaching) may be as great a surprise to you as if you had died in full
health.
3. But as it is, on the whole, probable you may
have a more sensible passage out of time into eternity, and as much may, in
various respects, depend on your dying behavior, give me leave to propose some
plain directions with relation to it, to be practiced, if God give you
opportunity, and remind you of them. It may not be improper to look over the
29th chapter again, when you find the symptoms of any threatening disorder. And
I the rather hope that what I say may be useful to you, as methinks I find
myself disposed to address you with something of that peculiar tenderness which
we feel for a dying friend; to whom, as we expect that we shall speak to him no
more, we send out, as it were, all our hearts in every word.
4. I would advise, then, in the first place,
"that as soon as possible, you would endeavor to get rid of all further care
with regard to your temporal concerns, by settling them in time, in as
reasonable and Christian a manner as you can." I could wish there may be
nothing of that kind to hurry your mind when you are least able to bear it, or
to distress or divide those who come after you. Do that which in the presence
of God you judge most equitable. and which you verily believe will be most
pleasing to him. Do it in as prudent and effectual a manner as you can; and
then consider the world as a place you have quite done with, and its affairs as
nothing further to you, more than to one actually dead, unless as you may do
any good to its inhabitants while yet you continue among them, and may by any
circumstance in your last actions or words in life, leave a blessing behind you
to those who have been your friends and fellow-travelers, while you have been
despatching that journey through it which you are now finishing.
5. That you may be the more at leisure, and the
better prepared for this, "enter into some sermons review of your own state,
and endeavor to put your soul into as fit a posture as possible for your solemn
appearance before God." For a solemn thing indeed it is, to go into his
immediate presence; to stand before him, not as a supplicant at the throne of
his grace, but at his bar as a separate spirit, whose time of probation is
over, and whose eternal state is to be immediately determined. Renew your
humiliation before God for the imperfections of your life, though it has, in
the main, been devoted to his service. Renew your application to the mercies of
God as promised in the covenant of grace, and to the blood of Christ as the
blessed channel in which they flow. Resign yourself entirely to the divine
disposal and conduct, as willing to serve God, either in this world or the
other, as he shall see fit. And sensible of your sinfulness on the one hand,
and of the divine wisdom and goodness on the other, summon up all the fortitude
of your soul to bear, as well as you can, whatever his afflicting hand may
further lay upon you, and to receive the last stroke of it, as one who would
maintain the most entire subjection to the great and good Father of spirits.
6. Whatever you suffer, endeavor to show
"yourself an example of patience." Let that amiable grace "have its perfect
work;" (Jam. 1:4) and since it has so little more to do, let it close the scene
nobly. Let there not be a murmuring word; and that there may not, watch against
every repining thought. And when you feel any thing of that kind arising, look
by faith upon a dying Savior, and ask your own heart, "Was not his cross much
more painful than the bed on which I lie? Was not his situation, among
blood-thirsty enemies, infinitely more terrible than mine amidst the tenderness
and care of so many affectionate friends? Did not the heavy load of my sins
press him in a much more overwhelming manner than I am pressed by the load of
these afflictions ? And yet he bore all, `as a lamb that is brought to the
slaughter.'" (Isa. 53:7) Let the remembrance of his sufferings be a means to
sweeten yours; yea, let it cause you to rejoice, when you are called to bear
the cross for a little while, before you wear the crown. Count it all joy, that
you have an opportunity yet once more of honoring God by your patience, which
is now acting its last part, and will, in a few days, and perhaps in a few
hours, he superseded by complete, everlasting blessedness. And I am willing to
hope, that in these views you will not only suppress all passionate complaints,
but that your mouth will be filled with the praises of God; and that you will
be speaking to those who are about you, not only of his justice, but of his
goodness too. So that you will be enabled to communicate your inward joys in
such a manner as may be a lively and edifying comment upon those words of the
Apostle, "Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and
experience, hope; even a hope which maketh not ashamed, while the love of God
is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us," (Rom.
5: 3-5)
7. And now, my dear friend, "now is the time,
when it is especially expected from you, that you bear an honorable testimony
to religion." Tell those that are about you, as well as you can, (for you will
never be able fully to express it) what comfort and support you have found in
it. Tell them how it has brightened the darkest circumstances of your life:
tell them how it now reconciles you to the near views of death. Your words will
carry with them a peculiar weight at such a season: there will be a kind of
eloquence, even in the infirmities with which you are struggling, while you
give them utterance; and you will be heard with attention, with tenderness,
with credit. And therefore, when the time of your departure is at hand, with
unaffected freedom breathe out your joy, if you then feel (as I hope you will)
a holy joy and delight in God. Breathe out, however, your inward peace and
serenity of mind, if you be then peaceful and serene:others will mark it, and
be encouraged to tread the steps which lead to so happy an end. Tell them what
you feel of the vanity of the world, and they may learn to regard it less. Tell
them what you feel of the substantial supports of the Gospel, and they may
learn to value it more; for they cannot but know that they must he down on a
dying bed too, and must then need all the relief which the Gospel itself can
give them.
8. And to enforce the conviction the more, "give
a solemn charge to those that are about you, that they spend their lives in the
service of God, and govern themselves by the principles of real religion." You
may remember that Joshua and David, and other good men did so, when they
perceived that the days drew near in which they should die. And you know not
how the admonitions of a dying friend, or (as it may be with respect to some)
of a dying parent, may impress those who may have disregarded what you and
others may have said to them before. At least, make the trial, and die,
laboring to glorify God, to save souls, and generously to sow the seeds of
goodness and happiness in a world where you have no more harvest to reap.
Perhaps they may spring up in a plentiful crop, when the clods of the valley
are covering your body: but if not, God will approve it; and the angels that
wait around your bed to receive your departing soul will look upon each other
with marks of approbation in their countenance, and own that this is to expire
like a Christian, and to make a glorious improvement of mortality.
9. And in this last address to your
fellow-mortals, whoever they are that Providence brings near you, "be sure that
you tell them how entirely and how cheerfully your hopes and dependence in this
season of the last extremity are fixed, not upon your own merits and obedience,
but on what the great Redeemer has done and has suffered for sinners." Let them
see that you die, as it were, at the foot of the cross: nothing will be so
comfortable to yourself, nothing so edifying to them. Let the name of Jesus,
therefore, be in your mouth while you are able to speak, and when you can speak
no longer, let it be in your heart; and endeavor that the last act of your
soul, while it continues in the body, may be an act of bumble faith in Christ.
Come unto God by him: enter into that which is within the veil, as with the
blood of sprinkling fresh upon you. It is an awful thing for such a sinner (as
you, my Christian friend, with all the virtues the world may have admired, know
yourself to be) to stand before that infinitely pure and holy Being who has
seen all your ways, and all your heart, and has a perfect knowledge of every
mixture of imperfection which has attended the best of your duties: but venture
in that way, and you will find it both safe and pleasant.
10. Once more, "to give you comfort in a dying
hour, and to support your feeble steps while you are traveling through this
dark and painful way, take the word of God as a staff in your hand." Let books,
and mortal friends, now do their last office for you. Call, if you can, some
experienced Christian, who has felt the power of the word of God upon his own
heart, and let him bring the Scripture, and turn you to some of those precious
promises which have been the food and rejoicing of his own soul. It is with
this view that I may carry the good office I am now engaged in as far as
possible, that I shall here give you a collection of a few such admirable
scriptures, each of them "infinitely more valuable than thousands of gold and
silver." (Psa. 119:72) And to convince you of the degree in which I esteem
them, I will take the freedom to add, that I desire they may (if God give an
opportunity) be read over to me, as I lie on my dying bed, with short intervals
between them, that I may pause upon each, and renew something of that
delightful relish which, I bless God, I have often found in them. May your soul
and mine be then composed to a sacred silence, (whatever be the commotion of
animal nature) while the voice of God speaks to us in the language which he
spake to his servants of old, or in which he instructed them how they should
speak to him in circumstances of the greatest extremity!
11. Can any more encouragement be wanting, when
he says, "Fear not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for 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?" (Isa. 41:10) And "he is not man that he should
lie, or the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said, and shall he not do
it ? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (Num. 23:19) "The Lord
is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my
life, of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psa. 27:1) "This God is our God for ever and
ever:he will be our guide even unto death." (Psa. 48:14) Therefore, "though I
walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil; for thou
art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." (Psa. 23:4) "I have waited
for thy salvation, O Lord." (Gen. 49:18) "O continue thy loving-kindness unto
them that know thee, and thy righteousness to the upright in heart! For with
thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light." (Psa. 36:9,10)
"Thou wilt show we the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy, at thy
right hand there are pleasures for evermore," (Psa. 16:11) "As for me, I shall
behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy
likeness." (Psa. 17:15) "For I know in whom I have believed, and am persuaded
that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day." (2 Tim.
1:12) "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall
rest in hope." (Psa. 16:9) "For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again;
those also that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." (1 Thess. 4:14) "I
give unto my sheep eternal life," said Jesus, the good Shepherd, "and they
shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand." (John 10:28)
"This is the will of him that sent me, that every one that believeth on me
should have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John
6:40) "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told
you: I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again, and receive you to myself, that where I am, there ye may be
also." (John 14:1-3) "Go tell my brethren, I ascend unto my Father and your
Father, and to my God and your God." (John 20:17) "Father, I will that they
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory
which thou hast given me; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in
them, and I in them." (John 17:24,26) "He that testifieth these things saith,
"Surely I come quickly; Amen: even so come, Lord Jesus." (Rev. 22:20) "O death,
where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Cor. 15:55,57)
12. Thus may that God, who "knows the souls of
his children in alt their adversities," (Psa. 31:7) and in "whose sight the
death of his saints is precious," (Psa. 116:15) cheer and support you and me in
those last extremities of nature! May he add us to the happy number of those
who have been more than conquerors in death! And may he give us those supplies
of his Spirit which may enable us to pour out our departing souls in such
sentiments as those I would now suggest, though we should be no longer able to
utter words, or to understand them if they were read to us. Let us, at least,
review them with all proper affections now, and lay up one prayer more for that
awful moment. O that this, and all we have ever offered with regard to it, may
then "come to remembrance before God!" (Acts 10:4,31)
A Meditation, or Prayer, suited to the case of a Dying Christian.
DR. DODDRIDGE was born in London, June 26, 1709. He was of a consumptive habit from infancy, was brought up in the early knowledge of religion, and was left an orphan before he arrived at the age of 14. At 16 be made a profession of religion; at 20 commenced preaching the Gospel; and at 21 was settled over a small congregation, in an obscure village, where be devoted himself to the acquisition of useful knowledge with indefatigable zeal. At 27 he was removed to the pastoral care of the church in Northampton, where, for 22 years, amidst other diversified labors, he acted as an instructor of youth preparing for the ministry, having had under his charge, during that period, upwards of 200 young men. At the age of 37 and 38 he published two volumes of his Family Expositor; and about the age of 43 wrote "The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul." At 46 he published the third volume of the Family Expositor, and two Dissertations.--1. On Sir Isaac Newton's System of the Harmony. 2. On the Inspiration of the New Testament. In December, 1750, in the 49th year of his age, he went to St. Albans and preached the funeral sermon of his early patron and benefactor, Dr. Clark, in which journey he contracted a cold that laid the foundation for his death. In July, 1751, he addressed his flock for the last time from the pulpit; and having found all medical aid ineffectual, embarked, in October, for Lisbon, as the last resort in so threatening a disorder, at which place he died on the 26th of October, aged 49 years.
He was not handsome in person; was very thin and slender, in stature somewhat above the middle size, with a stoop in his shoulders; but when engaged in conversation, or employed in the pulpit, there was a remarkable sprightliness in his countenance and manner, which commanded general attention. This volume is stereotyped and perpetuated, through the liberality of Col. Henry Rutgers and Col. Richard Varick, of New-York; Nicholas Brown, Esq. of Providence; and Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer, of Albany.