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LIBRA.RY
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Theological Seminary, '
PRINCETON, N.J.
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SA
(
ESSAYS
ON
THE DISTINGUISHING TRAITS
OF
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER r
m
BY
GARDINER SPRING, A. M.
PASTOR OF THE BRZCK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE CITY
OF NEW-YORK.
S
iNEW-YORK:
lafBLtSHED BY DODGE &c SAYRE,
Ko. 212, PEARL-STREET
'. Seymciir, juintt'i
— 040--
B District of J^ao-Tork, sn.
E IT REMEMBERED, tJiat on the sixteenth day of October, in the thirty-
eighth year of thr Independence ofthe United States of America, Gardiner Spring,
of the said District, hath deposited in this office the title of a B'jok, the right
whereof he claims as rroprietor, in ilie words following, to wit:
Essays on the Distinguishing Traits of Christian Character : By Gardiner Spring,
A. M. Pastor ofthe Bruk Presbyterian Church in the City oj Nne-Tork.
In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitletl, " an act fow
the encouragement of learning, by lecuring the copies ot maps, charts, and books, to
t4ie authors and proprictois of suth copies, during the. time therein mentioned :" and
aUo to an act entitled '• an act supplementary to an act, entitled an act for the encou-
mgeinent of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors
and uroprietois of soeh copies, dining the tioK.'s therein mentioned, and extending the
Ijeneliu thertof to the ails of designing, engraving, iud etching histurical and oihfj
prints." P. bl'ENCER. Junr. Ckri.offhf Diitrict of h'nvl'ork
CONTENTS.
Introduction, -.---.- 5
ESSAY L
Visible Morality, 9
ESSAY II.
Form of Religion, 15
ESSAY HI.
Speculative Knowledge, - - - - - 26
ESSAY IV.
Conviction of Sin, - - - - - - 31
ESSAY V.
Confidence in good Estate, ----- 46
ESSAY VI.
Love to God, 6»
ESSAY VII.
Repentance, 89
ESSAY VIII. ^ •
Faith, 106
IT Contents.
ESSAY IX. ,,ge
Humility, - - - 130
ESSAY X.
Self-denial, --147
ESSAY XL
Spirit of Prayer, - - - - - - - 1 63
ESSAY XII.
Love to the Brethren, - - - - - - 17«
ESSAY XIIL
Non-conformity to the World, - - - - 184
ESSAY XIV.
Growth in Grace, 196
ESSAY XV.
. Practical Obedience, - - '- - - - 208
Conclusion, - - - - - * " 223
INTRODUCTION.
There is a hope that is as an anchor to the soul;
and there is a hope that is as the spider's web.
The former is built on the Rock of Ages ; the lat-
ter on the sand. The one perisheth ?vhen God
taketh away the soul; the other is sure and stead-
fast, entering into that ivhich is within the vail.
The hope of the Christian is founded on evi-
dence. The disciple of Jesus is ready to give an
answer to every one that asketh him a reason oJ
the hope that is in him. He is horn of the incor-
ruptible seed. His hope maketh not ashamed, be-
muse the love of God is shed abroad in his heart by
the Holy Ghost rvhich is given unto him.
The hope of the self-deceived is founded on
presumption. He is wrapt up in false security.
A deceived heart hath turned him aside. There is
a lie in his right hand. He hnagines he is right,
while he is fatally wrong ; he hopes he is going
to heaven, while he is in the broad wav to hell.
vi Introduction,,
It is no inconsiderable thing, therefore, to pos-
sess the spirit of real religion. Multitudes sub-
stitute the shadow for the substance, and rest
satisfied with a mere name to live. It is indeed
no inconsiderable thing to have actually passed
from death unto life. Multitudes cherish the hope
of the divine favour, who will at last be confound-
ed with disappointment, and sunk deep in despair.
Let the reader, therefore, sit down to the follow-
ing pages w ith this solemn question before him :
Am I the friend of God, or am I His enemy ? It
will be too late to put this question by and by.
Perhaps you fear that you are God's enemy. Per-
haps you hope you are His friend. To aid you
in deciding this interesting point, is the design of
the following pages. There are some things that
are neither for nor against you ; there are others
that are decisively in your favour. The first five
Essays will exhibit several traits of character, that
cannot be relied on as conclusive evidence of
genuine religion. The last ten will exhibit seve-
ral that may be relied on, without danger of de-
ception.
The importance of the subject constrains
the writer to use great freedom and plainness.
The plahmess which he has used, also constrains
Introduction, vii
him to be^ liis readers to suspend their decision
of the solemn question before them, until they
shall have taken a full view of the subject. If
any thing sliould be said that wounds them, let
them remember, it is the " wound of a friend."
The honour of God, the value of the soul, the aw-
ful retributions of eternity, all make me more
solicitous to save you, than to please you.
Searcher of hearts ! send out thy light and thy
truths and let them lead me. Discover their de-
ception to the self-deceived, and make thy dear
children strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus >
New-York, OctoUr 5thy 1813.
ESSAY I
VISIBLE MORALITY.
JMAN looketh on the outward appearance. It is
not by a few that visible morality is viewed as
the narrow way ivhich leadcth to life. It would
be an impeachment of the understanding of my
readers, to say that mere morality is not con-
clusive evidence of Christian Character, were
it not for the multitude of hopes that are buili
upon this crumbling basis. An unblemished
moral character is in itself so amiable, that
it not only commands the respect and esteem
of others, but secures the confidence of those
who possess it. If a man is honest, industri-
ous, and temperate ; faithful to his promises,
and punctual in his engagements ; if he possesses
a friendly, humane, kind, generous, and noble
spirit ; he views himself, and is viewed by tlie
world around him, to be a "good-hearted man,"
and in a fair way to heaven ! If he is correct in
2
10 VUihlc Morality,
his external demeanour; if he avoids all overt
acts of immorality ; if he is innocent and harm-
less ; if his honour is unsullied and his name with-
out reproach ; though he may confess that he is
not so good as he should be, yet he believes he
is much better than he is. He sees nothing to
shake his hopes, or alarm his fears. Look abroad
into the world, and see the thousands that rest
here for eternity. Melancholy view ! The heart
is indeed deceitful above all things^ as well as
desperately wicked.
The man who is merely moral is a stranger to
the living God. While he sustains an unim-
peached character in the view of the world, he
may neither believe the principles of the Gos-
pel, nor practise the duties of piety. He may
be invincibly averse to every species of immo-
rality on the one hand ; but he is equally so to
the exactness and spirituality of religion on the
other. The infinitely important duties which
he owes to God, he keeps entirely out of sight.
Of loving and serving Him, he knows nothing.
Whatever he does, or whatever he leaves un-
done, he does nothing for God. He may be
honest in his dealings with every body ex-
cept (iod. He rol)s none but God. He is thank-
Visible 3Ioraliti/. 11
less and faithless to none but God. He speaks
reproachfully of none but God. A just view of
the relation which he bears to God, forms no
part of his principles, and the duties which re-
sult from that relation, form no part of his mo-
rality. He contents himself with mere external
conformity to the duties of the second table.
Like the young man in the Gospel, he may not
have committed murder, nor adultery, nor theft,
nor perjury, /ro7/i his yoiUh up; Avhile, like him,
he may have laid up treasures for himself, and not
be rich toward God. He is earthly and sensual,
rather than heavenly and spiritual.
In the sight of God, such a character is radi-
cally defective. The moral man is like Israel of
old; an empty vine, because he bringeth forth fruit
to himself He is no better than the unprofitable
servant; no better than a cumberer of the ground,
who will at last be cut down and cast into the
unquenchable flame.
Let it not be forgotten, however, that no man
has the least claim to Christian Character, who
is not what the world styles a moral man. Vital
leligion is an operative principle. The spirit of
piety not only lives in the heart, but flows forth
12 Visible Morality,
in the life. A good tree cannot bring forth evil
fruit. Whatever may be the pretensions of an
immoral man, he is far from the kingdom of hea-
ven. Still, mere morality falls far short of the
religion of the cross. The grand defect is, mere
morality never aims at the heart, and would
never touch it, if it should. The natural dispo-
sition may be very amiable, and the external de-
meanour very blameless ; while the carnal heart is
enmiti/ against God. The Gospel of Jesus Christ
requires men to be moral ; and if this were all
that it required, the moral man would be a Chris-
tian. But it requires them to be moral from holy
principles. The Gospel of Jesus Christ requires
men to be honest, sober, industrious, and munifi-
cent ; but it requires them to be honest, sober, in-
dustrious, and munificent, from evangelical mo-
tives. As a man thinkelh in his heart, so is he. The
moral quality of actions lies in the disposition of
heart with which they are performed. A man may
therefore be very honest, very humane, and very
munificent ; but if the disposition of heart with
which the acts of honesty, humanity, and munifi-
cence are performed, be not such as God requires
and approves, he has no lot nor part in the por-
lion of God's people.
Visible Morality/, 13
There is a wide distinction l)etween moral vir-
tues and Christian graces, Cliristian graces spring
from Christian motives, or such motives as are
warranted by the Gospel of Christ. They regard,
in the first place, the glory of God and the inter-
ests of his kingdom ; and then regulate our inter-
course with our fellow men according to the
principles of his word. Moral virtues spring from
selfish motives. They have no regard for the
glory of God and the interests of his kingdom.
They go just so far as self-interest leads the way,
and there they stop. Such are the virtues of
men dead in trespasses and sins ; such is the mo-
rality of " philanthropists ;" such is the morality
of the heathen ; such is the morality of infidels.
Reader, look into your Bible. Will such moral-
ity be of any avail in the solemn hour, that tries
the spirits of men ? To the law and the testimony :
Every page will flash conviction on the con-
science, that such spurious morality is of no ac-
count in the sight of God. I say, in the sight of
God: The moral man has a higher claim upon the
regard and confidence of his fellow men, than
the immoral man. He is a better ruler and a
better subject, a better parent and a better child,
a better master and a better servant, than the im-
moral man. Other things being equal, he is less
14 Visible Morality,
guilty in the sight of God than the immoral man.
But after all, he wants the one thing needful. He
is a child of wrath. He is without Christ ; an alien
from the commonwealth of Israel ; a stranger from
the covenants of promise : and though he may che-
rish a delusive hope, is without God in the world.
ESSAY II
rORM OF RELIGIO^^
" Many," says an old writer, " lake the press-
" money and wear the livery of Christ, that never
" stand to their colours, nor follow their leader."
The character of the formalist ranks higher in the
estimation of the world, than the character of the
mere moralist. Formalists advance a step fur-
ther than visible morality, and maintain the form
of religion. They are those who are not only de-
cent in their external deportment among men,
but strict in the observance of all the duties of
piety. They put on the appearance of real reli-
gion : But this is not conclusive evidence of their
Christian Character.
We read of those rvho have the form of godliness,
hut who deny the poiver thereof Men may main-
tain the form of godliness from a variety of mo-
tives, none of which spring from the operation of
grace in the heart. Many persons do it foi*
the sake of reputation. A due regard to the in-
16 Form of Religion.
stitutions of Christianity, forms so essential a part
of the character of the good citizen, that among
a virtuous people, it is difficult to secure es-
teem and confidence, without a becoming observ-
ance of the external duties of religion. Such is
the homage which vice pays to virtue, that in
Christian communities, it is a creditable thing to
put on the appearance of religion. To those
who regard the good opinion of the world around
them, there are not wanting multiplied motives to
appear better than they really are.
No small portion of those who maintain the
mere form of religion, do it from the force of
education. A religious education cannot fail to
have a desirable influence, in a greater or less de-
gree, upon all, both in restraining them from the
commission of crime, and in impelling them to
the external performance of duty. It often does
have this influence upon many during the whole
course of their lives. It is difficult to break over
tlie restraints which have been imposed by paren-
tal instruction and example, without singular
boldness and the most brutish stupidity. Hence
you find many who persevere in the usual forms
of religion to the end of life, who give you no sa-
tisfactory reason to believe that their hearts are
Form of Religion. 17
right with God. The observance of the external
services of piety has become a habit ; and they
walk the customary round of duties, because it is
a beaten path, rather than because it is a pleasant
one.
Perhaps a still greater number maintain the ap-
pearance of godliness for the sake of quieting the
clamours of natural conscience. The inspiration
of the Almighty has implanted a principle in the
human breast, which is capable of discerning the
immutable difference between right and wrong; of
giving men a sense of moral obligation ; and of
approving what is right and condemning what is
wrong in their moral conduct. There are seasons
when the silent voice of that invisible agent, who
is commissioned by God to record the sins of
thought and action, whispers that God is angry
with the wicked every day. The implacable foe
stings with anguish and convulses with agony.
In these seasons of remorse, the carnal heart na-
turally flees to the covenant of works. When
the moral principle is aAvake, there can be no-
thing that looks like a compromise between the
heart and the conscience, short of a life of exter-
nal godliness. The conscience is so seriously af-
fected with divine truth, as often and for a length
18 Form of Religion.
of time, not to allow some of the worst of men in
the omission of any of the external duties of reli-
gion.
There are also those who maintain the form of
religion for the sake of fostering the persuasion
of their own good estate. We know that there is
a rvay which seemeth right to a man, hut the end
thereof are the ways of death. Men who are ex-
perimentally ignorant of the nature of real reli-
gion, easily substitute the shadow for the sub-
stance. Externally, the formalist does not differ
from a real saint. He performs all those overt
acts of religion which he would perform, if he
were at heart a sincere follower of Christ. Hence
the beauty of his external conduct induces him
to imagine that he is so. Thus Paul felt before
the law^ of God came home to his conscience, dis-
covered his guilt, and swept away his carnal hopes.
And thus the foolish virgins felt till the midnight
cry was given. Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!
Kather than give up their hope, formalists con-
tinue to cherish their deception, by substituting
the appearance for the reality, till their decep-
tion, their hope, and their irksome forms vanish
together, and leave them amid the wailings of the
eternal pit.
Form of Religion, 10
There are very many who, from some one of
these causes, or all of them combined, carry the
form of godliness to every possible extent, and
are still nothing more than sounding brass, or a
tinkling cijmhaL This was eminently the charac-
ter of the Pharisees. They were what their name
denotes them to have been, separatists, distin-
guished for their rigid manner of life, and great
pretensions to sanctity. They fasted often, made
long prayers, paid tithes with exactness, and dis-
tributed ahns with liberality. As a badge of dis-
tinction, they wore large rolls of parchment on
their foreheads and wrists, on which were inscrib-
ed certain words of the law. As an exhibition of
their purity, they never entered their houses, or
sat down at their tables, without washing their
hands. They w^ould not so much as touch a pub-
lican, or eat, or drink, or pray with a man that
was a sinner. But all this w as corrupted by an
ivil heart of mihclicf, and served only to flatter
their pride, m\dfdl up the measure of their iniqui'
ty. All this was consistent with shutting up the
kingdom of heaven; and neither going in themselves^
nor suffering them that are entering to go in. All
this was denounced by one wo after another, as
the hypocrisy of men who should therefore re-
ceive the greater damnation.
20 Form of Religion.
We need not go far to look for multiplied testi-
mony, that there are those in this age of the Church,
who, like the Pharisees, outwardly appear right-
eous unto men, hut within are full of hypocrisy and
iniquity. It is not difficult to make clean the out-
side of the cup and of the platter. Men may read
and pray; they may attend to the duties of the
family, and the sanctuary, and often to those of
the closet ; they may profess to be on the Lord's
side ; give up their children to God in baptism ;
come themselves to the sacramental table ; and
engage in the solemn act of commemorating the
love of the Lord Jesus : and yet know no more of
real, vital piety, than the prayerless and profane.
Especially is this too often true of those who are
baptised in their infancy;, and educated under the
care of those churches who admit them into their
communion, for no other reason and with no other
evidence of their good estate, than that they have
received the " initiating seal of the church*."
* The lax practice of admission to sealing ordinances, is
an evil which cannot he too deeply deplored. In cities, where
there is unhappily something like the spirit ofrivalship in
the churches, it is one of the most dangerous snares of the
Fowler. Ministers and Elders often yield to the temptation,
and it is to be feared, receive many into the church, who will
at last be nveii^hcd in the dalancee, and found tvanthi^.
Form oj Rclii^ion, 21
But their condemnation is as sure, as their guilt
is great. To look for conclusive evidence of
Christian Cliaracter in the mere form of Christian-
ity, is to expect tlie evidence of purity Avhere
there is nothing but the marks of pollution. The
mere formalist is exceedingly sinful. No man
The ordinance of the Supper is the peculiar privilege of
believers.
In the act of commemorating the love of the Lord Jesus,
there is a virtual, nay, there is an exfiress profession oi sav^
ing faith in the Lord Jesus. Now the vi^ord of God justifies
no man in professing to possess that which he does 7iot pos-
sess. If it does, it warrants him in professing a lie. Those,
therefore, who have a rigiit to the ordinance of the Supper,
arc real believers.
This ciifi, says the ever-blessed Redeemer, This cufi is the
NEW COVENANT in my blood. It is the seal of that covenant ;
none therefore have the warrant to partake of it, except
those who are within the pale of that covenant. Believers only
arc in that covenant ; therefore, believers only have a right
to its seal.
The cuji of blessing ivhich tjc bless, is it 7iot the communion
bfthe blood of Christ ? The bread which ive break, is it not
the com?nunicn of the body of Christ ? For we being manyy
are one bread and one body : For we are all fiartakers of that
6ne bread. This grand privilege v*'hich believers enjoy at
the sacramental table, communion with Christ and with each
other, rests upon the vital union of the soul to Christ by
faith. Believers become me?nbers of his body. They have
all drunk into one spirit ; and are also all members one of
another. None, therefore, have a right to come to the sacra-
mental table who are not real believers ; for no others have
the spirit of communion with Christ and his disciples.
22 Form of Religion.
has a right to be a formalist, whether his formali-
ty arises from hypocrisy or self-deception, or
both. He has no right to deceive himself, or
to deceive others. Every species of mere for-
mality is viewed by God as no better than detes-
table. How did he express his displeasure to-
The right of access to the ordinance of the Supper, we
know does not limit the right of admission. It is not our
prerogative to judge the heart. After exercising all her
wisdom, a church may admit some to her communion who
ought not to be admitted ; and debar others who have a right
to the privilege. Still, the right of admission is not indc-
jiendent of the right of access. Notwithstanding we cannot
judge the heart, it is our indispensable duty to form our
opinions and regulate our conduct from the best evidence
which we can obtain. It is our indispensable duty to iseceive
those who are, and to reject those who are not, in the judg-
ment of Christian charity^ real believers. To multiply com-
municants merely for the sake of multiplying them ; to make
converts faster than the Spirit of God makes them ; to add to
the Church those whom the Lord does not add ; gives her nei-
ther strength nor beauty. " Better is it that the church should
" be a small, select band, cemented by ardent love to theii
" Master and liis interest, than a discordant multitude, with-
" out harmony of sentiment and affection. The three hun-
<< dred that lapped under Gideon, the type of Christ, were
<' more potent than the mighty host of Midian and Amalek.
" Union is the strength and beauty of our Zion. Union^ not
«« n7imbers^\j\\\ make her terrible as an ar?mj ivich banners*."
* Address of the General Associatiou of Connecticut, June 22d, 1803
Form of Religion. 2:i
wards his ancient people for this sin ? This peo-
ple, saith he, drarveth nigh unto me with their month,
and hononreth me ivith their lips, but their heart is
far from me, God also demands of his people,
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifiees
unto me, saith the Lord ? When ye come to appear
before me, who hath required this at your hands to
tread my courts ? Bring no more vain oblations ;
incense is an abomination unto me ; the new moons
and sabbcdhs, the calling of assemblies, I cannot
away with: it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting,
God sets the guilt of formalists in the moj-t strik-
ing light, by the words of the prophet : He that
killeth an ox is as if he slew a man ; he that sacrifi-
ceth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that
offer eth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood ;
he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol.
Killing an ox in sacrifice was required, Init kill-
ing a man was forbidden; sacrificing a lamb was
required, but sacrificing a dog was forbidden ;
oblations were required, but swine's blood was for-
bidden ; burning incense was required, but bless-
ing or w orshipping an idol forbidden. Hence,
so far is the mere form of devotion from being
either acceptable to God, or evidence of our own
good estate, that it is no better than if we slew a
man, or worshipped an idol.
24 Form of Rdigion.
Be not deceived; for God is not mocked. All arc
not Israel that are of Israel. He is not a Jew that
is one ontwardh/. There are many that are called
hy the name of Israel, which sivear hy the name of the
Lordy and make mention of the God of Israel; hut
not in truth, nor in righteousness. Like the Phari-
sees, you may pray long, and fast oft ; and like
them, you may be a generation of vipers, and nevei
escape the damnation of hell.
" Their lified eyes salute the skies,
'< Their bended knees the ground ;
" But God abhors the sacrifice, - •
<< Vv'here not the heart is found."
O how often is this picture presented in real life !
God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men, or
even as this publican. Would that thou wert
more like him ! Thy corrupt heart corrupts all
the fair forms of thy devotion, and thou art still
in the gall of bitterness, and the bonds of iniquity.
The hope of formalists is the offspring of a de-
ceived and a wicked heart. It is an affront to
the majesty of heaven; it is a violation of the
laws of his empire ; it gives the lie to tlie Author
of Eternal Truth. Hence the state of formalists
is full of danger. They are singularly prone to
cherish their deception. They are taken in their
Form of Religion. 25
own crafliness. They Jl alter themselves in their
own eyeSy till their iniquity he found to he hateful.
They rest in a hope that will at last Lite like a
serpent, and sting like an adder.
ESSAY III.
SPECULATIVE KNOWLEDGE.
Speculative knowledge is no less deficient iu
the testiiriony which it bears to Christian Charac-
ter, than visible morality or the form of religion.
Neither is conclusive.
Speculative knowledge is by no means to be
undervalued. Ignorance, in most cases, is far
from being venial ; error is always more or less
sinful. It is of serious importance that the opin-
ions of men be formed; and formed upon the
principles of the unerring standard. There can
be no spiritual knowledge, where there is no spe-
culative knowledge. God cannot be loved, where
he is not known. Truth is the natural aliment of
all gracious affections. But though there can be
no spiritual knowledge wliere there is no specu-
lative knowledge ; there may be nmch specula-
tive knowledge where there is no spiritual know-
ledge. Though the want of speculative know-
Speculative Knowlcdgt. 27
ledge may be decisively against you; the pos-
session of it is not necessarily in your favour.
We have only to open our eyes, to discern the
fact that very wicked men are sometimes ortho-
dox in their sentiments. Wicked men, as well as
good men, are endowed with perception, reason,
and conscience. And they are as capable of ap-
plying these faculties in reflecting upon moral
objects, as upon natural objects. They are not
only capable of understanding the truth, but often
do understand it with accuracy. How many have
you seen who were thoroughly versed in the
scriptures ; who had correct theoretical views of
the character of God — the character of man — the
character and offices of Christ — of the necessity,
nature, and cause of regeneration ; wlio compre-
hended a connected system of theology, and were
distinguished champions for the faith ; who were,
notwithstanding all this, strangers to the religion
of the heart! Thou helievest there is one God:
Thou dost well. The devils also believe and trem-
ble, Satan himself was once an Angel of Ligrht.
There is no more studious observer of the charac-
ter and designs of God, than the Great Adversary
of both. There is no greater proficient in theo-
logical truth, than the father of lies, "Therein
'' no want of orthodoxy even in hell."
28 Speculative Knowledge.
For the existence of this fact, we are not at a los^
for satisfactory reasons. Speculative knowledge
has its seat in the head ; vital religion in tlie heart.
There is no moral goodness in the simple assent
of the understanding to truth. We receive, and
compound, and compare ideas, whether we wish
to do it or not. When we see the evidence of a
proposition to be clear, we cannot withhold our
assent to it, while we may hate the truth we re-
ceive, and love the error we reject. Beside, there
is nothing in the nature of speculative knowledge
to produce holy affection. The twilight of rea-
son and conscience, and the clear sunshine of the
Gospel, are in themselves^ alike unadapted to the
causation of holiness. All the light of eternity
breaking in upon the understanding of the natu-
ral man, cannot create one spark of holy love.
You may follow the natural man through every
possible degree of instruction ; and though his
head will be better, his heart will be worse. It
is irrational to suppose, that a clear view of an ob-
ject that is hated will produce love to the object.
If, when the character and truth of God are par-
tially seen, they are the objects of hatred ; when
clearly seen, they will become the objects of ma-
lignity. The understanding, therefore, may l)e
enlightened, Avhile the heart remains perfectly
vitiated.
Sj>cculaiivc Knowledge. 29
Far be it from us, by these remarks, to exclude
from our theology the doctrine of Divine lllumi-
nalion. The scriptural view of this doctrine will
cro far toward enabling us to distinguish between
those who in truth know Gody and those 7vho glo-
rify him not as God, In this great work, the
hearU Ihe moral disposition, is changed, and not the
head. Without this spiritual illumination, the
soul will be for ever shrouded in darkness that
may be felt. The souls of the sanctified had for
ever remained withont form and void; totally dis-
ordered ; a mere moral chaos ; merged in shades
of thickest darkness— had not that God nho com-
manded the light to shine out of darkness, shincd
TNTO THEIR HEARTS to give the light of the knon-
Icdge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
This is a kind of knowledge, however, which is
far above mere intellectual speculation. It is not
immediately the object of intellectual speculation ;
but of gracious affections. This is a kind of know-
ledge which is both of divine original, and divine
nature. This is the knowledge that edifieth ; all
other puffeth up. The essential difference be-
tween that knowledge which is, and that which is
not conclusive evidence of Christian Character,
lies in this : The object of the one, is the agree-
ment of the several parts of a theological proposi-
30 Speculative Knowledge.
Hon ; the object of tlie other is moral b auiy^ the
inlrinsic loveliness of God and divine things. The
sinner sees and hates ; the saint sees and loves.
The prophecy of Esaias is fulfilled in the expe-
rience of thousands : Hearing they shall hear, and
not understand; and seeing they shall see, and not
PERCEIVE. Sonnething more is necessary to make
a man a Christian, beside the enlightening of the
natm-al understanding. Beware of the hope that
is built on no firmer basis than a just speculative
view of the doctrines of the Gospel !
ESSAY lY.
CONVICTION OF SIN.
It is not strange, that natural men should some-
times be alarmed by a sense of their danger.
When they see that the judgments which God
has denounced against sin, will sooner or later
overtake them ; that they are rapidly passing to
the gates of death ; and that they are unprepared
for the solemn realities of the future world; it is
impossible for them to remain unmoved. They
begin to think seriously of the things that belong
to their everlasting peace. They cease to make
light of that which is important, and to view as
important that which is lighter than vanity. They
begin to see things as they are. The value of
the soul — the indispensable necessity of an inter-
est in the blood of sprinkling — heaven — hell —
these are subjects which engage theu* most serioui^
reflection, and excite the most fearfid alarm. But,
strange to tell, how soon does their solemnity va-
32 Conviction of Sin,
nish ! How often is their alarm momentary ! The
lapse even of a few weeks may convince you, that
all this is but the early cloudy and the morning dew,
that quickli/ passeth away.
A variety of considerations induce us to be-
lieve, that no degree of conviction for sin is conclu-
sive evidence of Christian Character. The simple
conviction, that I am a sinner, is common to all
men. That view of sin which arises from its hate-
ful nature y as committed against the Holy God, is
peculiar to saints. There is a state of mind dif-
fering from both these, from the former in de-
gree, and from the latter in kind, which is desig-
nated by the phrase, conviction for sin.
Impenitent sinners are often brought to see
their own sinfulness. God gives them a just view
of their character. They are favoured with a dis-
covery of the total corruption of their hearts. They
see that they have not the love of God in them. The>
are made sensible that they are under the domi-
nion of the carnal mind that is enmity against God.
The Divine Law, in all the reasonableness of its
precept, and all tlie equity of its sanction, comes
home to the conscience with power, and biings
with it the knowledge of sin, and the sense of
Conmction of Sin. 33
juilt. They see its extent and spiiitiiality, as
well as its righteousness. They feel as Paul fell,
when the commandment came, sin revived, and he
died. Sin does actually revive. The law that
binds their consciences, excites the enmity of
their hearts. The more clearly they discern
its righteousness and spirituality, the more vi-
gorously do tliey hate its Divine Author. They
begin to learn what kind of hearts they che-
rish. They see that in them there dwelleth no
good thing. In vain do they search for the least
holiness, or a single duty, in all that they have
done. Every imagination of the thovghts of their
hearts is only evil continually. All their words
and all their actions, all their desires and all their
prayers are in direct contraiiety to the holy law
. of God. Now, suffer me to ask, is there any re-
ligion in all this ? There can be none surely in pos-
sessing a depraved heart, and there is none in mere-
ly being sensible that we possess it. In the simple
discovery, that I am an atrocious sinner, there is
no sense of the hateful nature of sin, no sorrow for
sin, no desire to be delivered from its power.
To see my aggravated sinfulness and not be hum-
bled on account of it, is evidence of unyielding en-
mity, rather than cordial reconciliation. If a strong
sense, or if you please, the strongest sense of per-
34 Conviction of Sitk,
sonal sinfulness, were conclusive evidence of per-
sonal religion ; every reprobate at the bar of
judgment, and all the damned in hell, would be
Christians. A sense of their corruption forms no
small part of their w retchedness. We know, from
the unequivocal declaration of Eternal Truth, that
when the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his
saints to execute judgment upon all, he will con-
TiNCE all that are ungodly among them of all
THEIR UNGODLY DEEDS wMch they Iiavc ungodly com-
mitted. How then can the conviction of ungodli-
ness, be the evidence of godliness ?
In the minds of the unregenerate, the sense of
personal sinfulness is always accompanied with
the apprehension of danger. It cannot be other-
wise. When a sense of sin is fastened upon the
conscience of the sinner, it cannot fail to throw
him into distress. In many cases, the distress
is great. The "law work" is severe. The
unhappy man sees the corruption of his own
heail; and therefore gives up all hope from his
own righteousness. He sees the corruption of his
own heart ; and therefore gives up all hope from
the prospect of amendment. The law whirh he
has broken, sweeps away at a stroke all his right-
eousness, and cuts up his hopes, root and branclh
Conviction oj Sin, 35
All that is past is bad; all that is to come is no
better. He sees that with his present disposition,
sin will only revive and increase every hour that
he lives. He is wretched and forlorn. He knows
that he is the prisoner of justice, and fears that lie is
already bound over to the curse. He looks around
for help, but no kind arm will interpose. He ven-
tures to make a struggle to shake off his bondage ;
but every effort evinces his weakness, every strug-
<rle binds him faster in his chains. The arrows of the
Almighty are within him, the poison whereof drinketk
up his spirits. He sees that he is actually going to
hell. He knows that nothing he shall ever do, will
prevent his going there. There is but a step between
him and the eternal pit ; while an invincibly obsti-
nate heart cuts him off from every successful effort
io escape it^. He is beyond the reach of help on
* The inability of the natural man to repent and belierc
the Gospel, lies in a heart so corrupt, that it is absolutely in-
vincible, but by the Almighty power of God. It is an ina.-
bility, the very essence of which consists m his moral turfii-
tude. This the convinced sinner knows. He may not, in
form^ recognize the distinction between moral and natural
inability, but every pang that shoots through his heart, Is de-
cisive testimony of its correctness. With the deep sense
that he is in danger, is connected the deep conviction, thai
he is without excuse. He no longer casts the blame on God.
The door of hope is open. Every obstacle, except that luhich
arises from hia own aversion to the way of H/Cf is removed.
36 Conviction of Sin.
this side heaven. No means, no motives can
afford him relief. He sees that he is in the
hands of a Sovereign God, and that every thing
without him, and every thing within him, is con-
Jll things are ready.; he alone is unwilling. While he be-
holds himself trembling upon the verge of the pit, and hears
the voice of the Great Deliverer, — « Sinner, lay down the
<< weapons of ihy rebellion ; repent of all your transgressions ;
" come unto mc" — he ivill not come. At terms like these,
every feeling of his heart revolts. Lay down the weapons of
his rebellion ! repent of all his transgressions ! come unto
Christ ! he nvill not, he cannot. He spurns the offers of mer-
cy, and had rather die than submit. Here is his inability;
an inability that is all of his own cherishing, all confined with-
in his own carnal heart.
It would be well if those who feel so uncharitably, and
speak so unadvisedly concerning persons who are conscien-
tiously constrained to maintain both the reality and import-
ance of the distinction between natural and moral inabilityy
understood either themselves, or the doctrine they condemn.
In giving the sinner a natural power to become holy, we do
not claim for him the atlf-determining power of the will. We
do not say, that he can produce holiness by an act of the will
that is antecedent to the first exercise of holiness. Neither do
we challenge for a worm of the dust, the prerogative of inde-
pendence. Eternal life hangs on the sovereign grace oi
God. The work of renewing and sanctifying the soul, and
bearing it to heaven at last, rests on his Almighty arm. In
giving the sinner a natural power to become holy, we design
to give God the throne, and humble the sinner at his feet.
Not until this important truth ceases to glorify God, and
Conviction of Sin, 37
spii ing to increase his guilt, and aggravate his con-
demnation. And you will now ask, is there no
religion in this ? None. Does vital religion con-
sist in the apprehension of danger, or in the fear
abase his enemies, let it be denounced as a doctrine cither
replete with error, or devoid of meaning.
JVatural ability consists in possessing all those faculties
that are necessary to constitute a moral agent. A moral
agent is a being that is capable of actions that can be com-
pared with law. To be capable of nothing that can be com-
pared with " a rule of action, commanding what is right and
" prohibiting what is wrong,*' is to be reduced to the level of
tjie brutes that perish. To be capable of this, is to possess
understanding, conscience, will, and affections. These facul-
ties of the mind constitute a moral agent, and make any being
capable of choosing or refusing, acting right or wrong as he
pleases. Destitute of these, he would not be capable of
moral action. He could be neither holy nor sinful. His
character and conduct could be neither worthy of praise nor
blame. But possessing these, he possesses all that is neces-
sary to the exercise of holy and unholy affections. He pos-
sesses the power io fierctive the objects of love and hatred—
to/^<r/ t/ie obligation of loving that which is right, and hating
that which is wrong — and to love or to hate in conformity
with the dictates of his conscience and understanding, or
in defiance to the dictates of both.
This is what we mean by natural ability to become holy.
Take away these faculties, and there is a naturalinability.
Take away these, and it is absolutely impossible that any
thing in the form of merit or demerit, should be attached to
human character. This is the ability which we claim for
the sinner. Strip him of those faculties which are necessa-
38 Conviction of Sin,
that we shall never escape it? Where is the holi-
ness of being afraid of hell ? What Christlike af-
fection is there either in the horror of a guilty con-
science, or the anticipation of the wrath to come ?
vy to the exercise of volition, and you convert him to a mere
animal. Invest the animal with these faculties, and you con-
vert him into a moral agent ; you make him the subject of
moral government, and accountable for his conduct. There
is a s^iirit in man^ and the inspiration of the Almighty has
given him understanding. The sinner's claim must be ac-
knowledged. He has all the natural faculties that are neces-
Spary to holiness ; and if he were disposed to use them aright,
he would be holy. You say a man has power to sec and
hear, if he has the faculties that are necessary to seeing a7id
hearing* So has he power to be holy, if he has the faculties
that are necessary to holiness.
But while we say that the sinner is under no natural ina-
bility to become holy, we also say that he is under a moral
iijability to become holy.
When we speak, of the moral inability of the sinner, we
do not mean to deny that his inability is original, innate.
We know it is. We use the word moral in contra-dis-
tinction from natural, to denote that which is comparable
with a rule of moral action. Thus we speak of moral and
natural good, moral and natural evil. There is much natural
good in a seasonable shower of rain, but there is no moral
good. There is much natural evil in an earthquake, but
there is no moral evil. Natural good and evil cannot be
compared with a rule of action ; they bear no relation io praise
or blame. With moral good and evil, it is otherw ise. I hope to
be understood therefore when I use the phrase moral inability
Conviction oj Sin. 39
»' These are feelings, which," as the learned Dr.
Owen well remarks, " belong not to the precept
" of the law, but to its curse ; they are no part of
" what it requires, but of what it inflicts."
Moral inability is comparable with a rule of action ; it is
not that which bears no relation to praise or blame. It
consists in the total defiravity of the carnal heart. It
consists in an insuperable aversion to holiness. You can
conceive of a man's possessing a given degree of aver-
sion to holiness. You can see that the difficulty of his be-
coming holy Avill rise in proportion to his aversion to holi-
ness. If his aversion to holiness be inconsiderable, the
difficulty of becoming holy will be inconsiderable. If his
aversion to holiness be great, the difficulty of becoming holy
will be great. Now the aversion of the natural man to holi-
ness is not inconsiderable ; it is not merely great ; it is com-
plete and entire ; it pervades every thought, every affection,
every design. By the arm of flesh it is invincible. It is
open to no successful attack. Light, motives, means of
whatever character, are in themselves of no avail to remove it.
Here is an inability; here is a serious inability. It is an
inability which belong^i to every man that is dead in tres-
/lasses and sins. But it is a moral and not a natural inability.
It is an inability that is capable of being compared with law ;
and therefore bears relation to praise and blame. It consists
wholly in a deeply rooted aversion to all that is good. Take
away this, and where is the obstacle in the way of the sinner's
becoming holy ? What becomes of his natural inability ? Let
those who affirni that there is an inability in the siimer to be-
come holy, aside from this mere moral inability^ go into their
closets and ask themselves these two questions : —
40 Conviction of Sin,
In the mind of a convinced sinner, the sense of
personal sinfulness is also connected with the sense
of ill desert. When a man has a clear view of his
own sinfulness, he not only sees that he is exposed
What other inability is there in the sinner to become holy,
than his invincible aversion to holiness ?
What is the point of difference between the natural powers
of the saint and the sinner ?
When they have given fair, logical answers to these ques-
tions, they need not be disappointed, if they find themselves
driven to the result, that ihe inability of (he sinner to beco?ne
holy, is no other than a moral inability. By the work of Re-
generation, the saint receives no new natural faculty. The
passing from death unto life is a morale and not a physical
change. The only point of difference between the power of
the saint and the sinner is, that the saint has moral ability to
be holy; the sinner has not. The sinner cherishes a moral
inability to become holy ; the saint does not.
« But after all, an inability is an inability, whether it be mo-
" ral or natural ! You deny the sinner a self-determining
" pov/er. You grant that he has no ability that can produce
*< holiness, by an act of the vill that is antecedent to the ex-
« ercise of holiness." Neither can saints. " You grant
" that he cannot become holy without the special operations
*• of the holy Spirit." Neither would saints ever have another
holy feeling without the sficcial operations of the Holy spirit.
*' Slill, an inability is an inability ; and what profit is there in
" your boasted distinction ?" Much every way : Chiefly, be-
cause without it, we cannot have just views of the character
of God, and the guilt of the sinner.
O^ the character of God : God invites sinners to be holy.
Coniiction of Sin . 41
to the wrath of God, but that he hjusily exposed
to the AVI alli of God. He sees that lie deserves
the displeasure of the x\lmighty throughout in-
terminable ages. He is stripped of all liis thin
He cxfiostulatcs Avith them- — he eiitreuts them — he com-
?na?ids them to be holy. He threatens them with eternal
death, and executes the threatening tu the uttermost, if they
persist in the refusal to yield to his requisitions. Now if
they are naturally unable to yield, they must lie down in
everlasting sorrow for not doing that which in its own na-
ture cannot be done. But, is this the God that reigns in
heaven I Has He commanded men to perform impos&ibilUieS',
and does He damn them because they cannot obey 1 Does He
for ever abandon them to darkness and despair, for not be-
coming holy, while He has withheld the faculties that are ne-
cessary to the exercise of holiness ! No, it cannot be. Will
not the Judge of all the earth do right ? What if God had
suspended the eternal destiny of your immortal soul upon
your gouig from New-York to Rome in a day ? What if
he had commanded you to create a world ? You would
not hesitate to say, it is unjust. But He has required you
to become holy. And you say, that you have no more, and
no other power to become holy, than you have to go from
New-York to Rome in a day, or to create a world. What
then should make the one unjust and not the other ? But
such is not the character of the Holy God. The doctrine of
man's natural inability is a libel on his righteousness. On
the other hand, if all the inability of the sinner consists in his
aversion to holiness ; if he is under no natural inability j if
he has as mucli power to become holy as saints ; and all his
inability arises from invincible perverseness ; then God will
6
42 Conviclion of Sin.
excuses, and is sensible that his sins are wholly
unjustifiable. As he has before been constrained
to acknowledge the reasonableness of the precept
of the Divine Law, now he is constrained to admit
be glorious in sending him to hell. He ought to go there ;
and all Heaven will say, jimen ! JUeluia I while the smoke
of his torments is ascending for ever and ever. Come now>
and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Are not my ways
equal? are not your ways unequal? There would be nf^
ground for these expostulations, upon the principle of man's
natural inability.
Neither can we have just views of the guilt of the sinner^
without recognizing the distinction between natural and mo-
ral inability. It is one thing to feel wretched, another to feel
guilty ; one thing to feel that you are lost and ruined, another
to feel that you have destroyed yourself ; one thing to claim
pity, another to deserve blame. Mere calaiyiity is one thing,
and moral turpitude is another. Speak of man's inability
without making it his crime, and his conscience will love
the opiate. Speak of it as consisting in the free, voluntary
exercises of his corrupt heart, and you leave him without
excuse. He will feel that if he dies eternally, he is the vo-
luntary author of his own destruction. He will never feel to
blame for not performing impossibilities.
Bring this question then before the Judgment seat of
Christ. Annihilate the natural ability of the sinner to repent
and believe the Gospel ; and if you make God glorious in
banishing the impenitent to hell, and the impenitent deserv-
ing of their doom ; the controversy is at an end. Until then,
we must be suffered to speak on God*s behalf; we must as*
rrlbc rip-fitcousnrss to our Maker,
ConvicUon of iSiii, 43
Hie justice of its penalty. He has vuknitarily
and perseveringly disobeyed a law that is per-
fectly holy in itself, and clothed with the author-
ity of the Holy God; and he knows that it would
be just, if the penalty should be executed upon
him to the uttermost. He knows that the Holy
God, whose character he regards with enmity^
whose law he transgresses with impenitence ;
whose Gospel he rejects with disdain; can be un-
der no obligation to save a Avretch like him. And
you will ask again, is there no religion in this !
Again I answer, and the reply is bottomed upon
the word of Eternal Truth — not a whit. Is this
no evidence that I have passed from death unto lifef
I answer, it is not conclusive evidence; and if
this is all that you have experienced, it is none at
alL If you are not sensible that you are so vile
as to deserve the everlasting displeasure of God,
you are not even a convinced sinner ; but if you
are sensible of this, you may not be a converted
sinner. Vital religion does not consist in the ap-
probation of the conscience to the condemning
sentence of the law. Does not the conscience of
every sinner, whether renewed or unrenewed, tell
him that God would be just in abandoning him to
misery without measure and wilhout end? Do
not the damned in hell feel that they are justly
44 CoHvidion oj Sin .
condemned ? Was not the man without the wed-
ding garment speechless ? Will not the whole
world become guilty before God, at the Last
Day?
If the view which we have given of this solemn
subject, will bear the test of God*s word, then the
reader has a right to the plain result, that no de-
gree of conviction for sin is conclusive evidence of
Christian Character. Look at the feelings of ar
convinced sinner, and find, if you can, one spark
of genuine holiness. Find, if you can, one Chris-
tian grace. Find, if you can, any thing more than
all those have felt, who have gone down to the
pit in tlieir blood.
But may not these be the feelings of real Chris-
tians ? I answer, they may be ; but they are not
the feelings which constitute the essential difference
between real Christians and impenitent sinners.
All that have passed from death unto life, have
in a greater or less degree, been convinced of
their total corruption, alarmed at their danger,
and made to acknowledge the justice of God in the
penalty of his law. Indeed, it may be said, that
the greater part of real Christians have never been
the subjects of conviction, in the degree which lias
Conviction of iSin, 46
hccii here exliibited. Still, every Christian has ex-
perienced some of it ; every Christian has felt the
same conviction in kind. If, tlierefore, you are
without any thing like this conviction, you may
be sure tlrat you are without religion. Still,
it does not follow^, tliat because you have this
conviction, you therefore have real religion. It
is true, that in the course of God's providence,
conviction always precedes conversion ; but it is not
alivays true, that conversion follows conviction.
Tliere is no necessary connexion between con-
viction and conversion. A sense of sin and dan-
ger does not slay the enmity of the heart. The con-
science may be convinced, while the heart is not
rene>ved. The carnal mind not only may, but
does hate what the awakened conscience ap-
proves. It is no certain evidence, that because
• the conscience feels the w eight of sin, the heart is
humbled on account of it; that because the con-
science approves of the rectitude of divine jus-
tice, the heart bows to the divine sovereignty.
The most powerful conviction of sin, therefore, is
not conclusive evidence of Christian Character.
ESSAY Y.
CONFIDENCE IN GOOD ESTATE.
It is easy for a hypocrite to deceive himself
with " false hopes and carnal presumptions." You
may be strongly persuaded that you are a Chris-
tian ; but this persuasion does not make you so.
You may cherish the most unwavering confidence
of your personal interest in the great salvation ;
while you have no part nor lot in this matter.
The confidence of a man's own good estate is
attained in different ways. Both the confidence
itself and the mode of attaining it are often scrip-
tural. A man may be persuaded that he is a
Christian, because he has reason to believe, that he
possesses the Spirit of Christ. Hereby know we,
that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath
given us of his Spirit, A man may be persuaded
that he is a child of God, because he discerns in
himself those graces that are peculiar to the
childlike character. He may have received the
Confidence in good Estate. 47
spirit of adoption, nhereby he cries Abba, Father.
The spirit itself] sailh the apostle, beareth 7i itness
with our sjniit, that jve are the children of God,
A persuasion arising from such evidence, is well
grounded. Such a persuasion cannot be too con-
fident. It not only may, but ought to rise to the
full assurance of hope. It did in Job. / know,
saith he, that my Redeemer liveth ; and though after
my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my Jiesh
shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and
mine eyes shall behold, and not another. It did in
David. As Jot me, Irvill behold thy face in right-
eousness J I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy
likeness. It did in Asaph. Thou shall guide me,
saith he, with thy counsel, and afterwards receive
me to glory. It did in the Apostle. I am per-
suaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, The com-
fortable assurance of believers enables them both
to glorify and enjoy the Ever-Blessed God. It is
as honourable to God to trust in his grace, as to
submit to his authority. When the hopes of be-
lievers are low and languishing, they know not
how deep the shade they cast on the lustre of di-
48 Confidence in good Estate,
vine foro'iveness ; how much they detract from the
glory of the cross. The want of a cheerful hope,
an humble reliance on the mercy of God, cannot
fail to unman the most unwavering firmness, and
unnerve the most vigorous exertion. For those
who have the witness of their good estate within
them, to sink down into a state of darkness, that
ends in the gloom of solitude and inactivity, is
sin. Many a good man, by having unhappily im-
bibed mistaken views of this subject, has rendered
himself a mere cypher in the church, and a stum-
bling-block to those who are out of it. Real
Christians need not be afraid to cherish the full
assurance of hope. There is something wrong in
the state of that soul that refuses to he comforted.
It is the duty of believers to make their calling
and election sure. Assurance ought always to
exist, and to be supported by corresponding tes-
timony.
But this is not the vain confidence to which I
allude in this essay. It bears no alliance to the
presumption of the hypocrite and the self-deceiv-
ed. There is a confidence which is obtained
without the aid of God's Spirit, and cherished
without the evidence of his Word.
Confidence in good Estate. 49
Some rest this i)resumption on an unwarrantable
notion which they entertain of the mercy of God,
They are in the habit of viewing it as a general,
indefinite, undistinguishing attribute. They ima-
gine, that because God is declared to be no respect-
er of persons. He exercises His mercy indiscrimi-
nately. They view Him as a being so fondly attach-
ed to the interest of His creatures, as to pardon
them witliout reference to the terms of the Gospel,
and save them without regard either to their own
moral character, to the honour of His law, or to the
well-being of His kingdom. They rely on no
promise; they rest on no covenant. They are
satisfied with the thought, that God is merciful!
They rest on the phantom, " iincovenantcd mercy '^
Tell them that they are sinners ; and they tell you,
that God is not strict to mark iniquity. Tell them
that they have incurred the penalty of a righteous
law, and deserve to die ; and they tell you, tliat
they have never " done any harm ;" and if they
have, a merciful God will forgive them. God is too
good to seiid them to hell ! It cannot be that He
will cast them off* for ever!
This is the subterfuge of thousands ; the misera-
ble hiding place that must be overiiown, when the
billows of divine wrath beat upon this falling
7
50 Conjidenee in good Estate^
world. It is the fatal rock on which thousands
have split. How many impenitent, Christless sin-
ners have rested here for eternity ! How many
have I seen on a dying bed, who had not a spark of
vital religion, who still indulged the hope that
God was too merciful to damn them! My heart
bleeds when I think of it. Why do men forget,
ihat God is as just and as holy as He is gracious ?
All His perfections must be glorified. We can-
tiot be saved at the expense of one of them. God
regards His own glory and the interests of His king-
dom more then every thing else. To these every
thing must bow. If He were not too holy ; too
just ; nay, too good ; to admit a totally deprav-
ed being into His kingdom, that kingdoin would
fall. Unholy men must be excluded from heaven,
because they are not fit for it. To exclude them
is a part of that benevolent design, which is to
make, on the whole, the most happy universe.
God has the same benevolent motive for exclud-
ing the unholy from the heavenly state, that He
has for admitting the holy. Yes, we hesitate not to
say, that the benevolent God is too good to admit
one unsanctified soul into the pure regions of
the blessed. He has too great a regard for the
honour of His character, and for the excellence
of His law; He loves the angelic host too well;
Confidence in good Estate. 51
He loves his people, He loves His Son too well ;
ever to permit the song of tlie redeemed to feel
the jar of one iinlial lowed tongue. The very
thought is reproachful to his glory. No sin is
there. The light of heaven sliall never be dark-
ened even by the shadow of death. The designs
of infinite benevolence, shall never be frustrated
by the introduction of one unholy being into the
kingdom of God. Where, O where, is the delu-
sion of the miserable self-deceiver, when justice
exacts the uttermost farthing !
Others attain this persuasion, in a manner still
ditferent. Th(\y have been taught that mere re-
formation and morality will not save them ; and
they are equally convinced that the form of re-
ligion will not save them. They see the necessi-
ty of possessing the real spirit of religion ; and
they begin to seek after it till they are weary of
the search. They become awakened to a sense
of their danger, convinced of their ill desert,
and are thrown into some distress. But at
length, through the influence of their own imagi-
nations, or the artful devices of the Old Serpent,
they are inspired with hope, and filled with joy.
Some enrapturing vision has discovered to their
view the Saviour extended un the ci oss. Soint
52 Confidence in good Estate,
fancied messenger has announced, that their sini^
are forgiven, and that God is their reconciled
Fatlier. Some text of scriptme, unsought, un-
expected, and fatally misapplied, has whispered
peace to the troubled conscience, and their souls
are filled with raptures of joy. They imagine
themselves almost ravished with a view of Christ's
unutterable love, and with a view of it to them in
particidar. They begin to mourn and lament
over their sins, though not after a godlij sort. They
feel a kind of spurious sorrow, that they have ever
hated so gracious and merciful a being as God.
They have been abandoned to the delusion, that
their opposition to so kind and gracious being, has
been owing to some misapprehension of His cha-
racter. Once they viewed Him as an " abso-
lute God;" as a God who Wasangri/ with the wick-
ed, and angry with them. They viewed Him as
their enemy, and dreaded the tokens of his displea-
sure. But now they view His character in alto-
gether a different light. They see that God is
love. They are persuaded that He loves them.
They are persuaded, that He has pardoned their
sins, and that it his good pleasure to give them the
kingdom. Now all their enmity is slain. They
feel reconciled to God, because they believe God
is reconciled to them. Under the influence of
Confidence in good Estate. 53
this pleasinii; deception, they now befijin to be
happy. Religion absorbs all their attention;
and the relisjion of the heart is what they think
they admire and love. They are full of grati-
tude; full of peace and joy in believing that
Christ died for them in particular. This persua-
sion of Christ's love to them, now constraineth them,
and they imagine that they glori/ in nothing, save
the cross of Christ, They think they are ready
to do any thing, and to suffer any thing for
Christ's sake. The spirit of delusion runs high.
They manifest for a while the greatest apparent
zeal and engagedness. They cannot but glory
ill him, who has died/or them, and who will final-
ly advance them to endless blessedness in the
kingdom of his Father.
All this is " rotten at the core." However
closely it may resemble the holy gratitude
of God's people, it is but the counterfeit of
that heavenly grace. It is purely selfish. It is
mere mercenary religion. The Spirit of God
has nothing to do with the root of it, nor the law of
God with its fruits. There is not perhaps any
error more common and more fatal amons: the
serious part of mankind than this. This is the
y^vy religion that is agreeable to tlie feelings of
54 Confidence in good Kstatt*
the carnal heart. This was the religion of the im-
penitent Israelites. At the thne of their deliver-
ance from the house of bondage, and in view of
the miracles both of mercy and judgment whicli
had been wrought in their behalf, they sang the
me^iiorable " song of Moses," on the banks of the
Red Sea. But how soon do you find them mur-
muring at the waters of Marah, and in the wilder-
ness of Sin ! The same scene, only in more awful
colours, was again exhibited at the foot of Sinai.
God appeared in all the greatness of his majesty.
And nhen the people saw the thunderingSy and the
lightnings, and the noise of the trmnpet, and the
mountain smoking; they removed and stood afar
off. And they said unto Moses, speak thou with us,
and we will hear ; hut let not God speak with us,
lest we die. Sad reverse ! Scarcely forty days
had elapsed, than the very land that just be-
held .Tehovah descending in the cloud, and that
trembled at the voice of his thunder, saw the
golden calf an idol, and heard the heathenish
acclamation — lliese be thy gods, O Israel, that
brought thee up out of the land of Egypt ! The
same scene, though in more awful colours still,
was exhibited in the streets of Jerusalem. No
sooner did the Jews behold the miracles, and
share in the favour of the promised Messiah, than
Confluence in good Esf^ie. 55
iliey overlooked all the humbling circumstances
of his birth, and were anxious to make him their
king. They followed him with Hosannahs; were
impatient to see him enrobed whh the badges of
royalty, and seated upon the throne of David his
father. But their attachment was soon put to a
test which discovered its selfishness. 'They early
found that the kingdom of the Messiah was a spi-
ritual, and not a temporal kingdom. They soon
learned, that he was not a Jew, who was one out-
wardly ; and that if they would be the subjects
of his kingdom, they must become new creatures ;
must relinquish their attachment to the world ;
must deny thewsclves and take up the cross ; irust
become holy in heart and in life ; not too proud
lo relish the humbling religion of a crucified Sa-
viour, nor too righteous to submit to the right-
eousness of God. Their hopes of individual
grandeur and national glory, therefore, withered
in the bloom. The promised Messiah became the
oliject of neglect and malignity. Ko longer did
they follow him v^ith acclamations of praise; but
with the hiss of derision and the finger of scorn.
No longer did their zeal prompt the cry, Hosan-
nah to the Son of David! but their disappointed
md infuriate selfishness, instigated the malignant
-hout, Crucify, Crucify ! Such is the religion of
56 Confidenctin good Estate.
sinners. Sinners , saith the Saviour, love those who
love them. Ye seek me, said Christ, 7iot because ye
saw the miracles, hut because ye did eat of the loaves,
and werejilled.
Far be it from me to say, or to believe, that all
those who inculcate this kind of religion, are to
be ranked among the hypocrite and the self-de-
ceived. We believe many of them to be Chris-
tians. The religion which they possess is better
than that which they teach. Still, we do not hesi-
tate to say, that those who have no other religion,
have none at all that will stand the ordeal of the
Last Day. A deceived heart hath turned them aside.
On what is such religion founded ? There is nc
supreme attachment to the excellency of the di-
vine character, to the holiness of the divine law,
or to the perfection of the divine government.
There is no supreme delight in the glory of the
Gospel, for its own inherent excellence. On w hat
then is such religion founded ? Simply on the as-
sumption, alike dishonourable to God, and de-
structive to the souls of men, that there is, and
there can be no loveliness in the divine nature,
no glory in the divine perfections, but what re-
sults from God's particular love to them, and His
Conjidcncc in good Eslate. 57
designs to save them, A principle so reproachful
to the character of the Deity ; so reproachful to
the cross of Christ ; and so destructive to the souls
of men; has made many a man an enthusiast, and
a hypocrite ; but never yet made one an humble
follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. After all the
glosses that can be put upon it, the amount of this
principle is just this. Assure me of my salvation,
AND THE God of heaven is amiable and glori-
ous : DEPRIVE ME OF MY SALVATION, AND HE IS
iJTRIPPED OF HIS LOVELINESS, AND DISROBED OF HIS
GLORY ! Reader, does this look like taking your
place in the dust, and exalting God on the throne?
Is this being reconciled to the character of God,
or being supremely in love Avith yourself?
Though sellish piety is naturally blind to its
own nature, yet the efiect of this mercenary
scheme is unequivocal. The grand sentiment of
the system is, that it is a mark of genuine holi-
ness to be very anxious about your own welfare,
but to care very little for the honour and glory
of God. It is therefore a system that is perfect-
ly compatible with supreme seltishness; and there-
fore, perfectly compatible with total depravity.
There is nothing in all this, with which the carnal
mind is at enmity. If vital godliness consist in
8
58 Confidence in good Estate.
such a system of views and feelings, there is no
need of a radical change of heart. Let the veriest
sinner on earth be persuaded that God loved him
with an everlasting love, and from eternity design-
ed to make him an heir of the heavenly inheri-
tance ; and his enmity will subside without any
change of nature, any alteration in the moral dis-
position of the soul.
The presumption on which we have been ani-
madverting, is one which any unrenewed man
may cherish, who is under the delusion of Satan
and his own wicked heart. It is easy to say, " Par-
" don is mine ; grace is mine ; Christ and all his
" blessings are mine ; — God has freely loved me ;
" Christ has graciously died for me ; and the Holy
" Ghost will assuredly sanctify me in the belief, the
" appropriaiing belief, of these precious truths."
It is no He-rculean task, for a heated imagination
and an unsanctified heart to make these discove-
ries. This is a kind of confidence which the
subtle Deceiver is interested to flatter and
strengthen, till the unhappy subject has lost his
hold, and the Roaring Lion is sure of his prey.
And the joys and sorrows, the zeal and engaged-
ness, which spring from this delusion,ybrm a kind
of religion, which the blindness and deceit, the
Confidence in good Estate. 59
self-flattery, and the pride of the carnal heart,
very easily substitute for vital godliness.
Others attain the confidence of their own good
estate in a manner still diflerent. This mode of
attainment is purely mechanical. According to
the views of those who maintain this confidence,
it seems to be " a strange kind of assurance, far
" different from other ordinary kinds ; we are
" constrained to believe other things on the clear
" evidence that they are true, and would remain
" true, whether we believe them or no :— but here
" our assurance is not impressed on our thoughts
" by any evidence of the thing ; but we must work
" it out in ourselves, by the assistance of the Spirit
" of God." The very existence of this persua-
sion seems to be evidence of the truth of it. The
proposition to be believed, viz : " that God freely
" giveth Christ and his salvation to us in particular,
" is not true before we believe it ; but becometh
" a certain truth when we believe it^."
The amount of this is, that a persuasion of your
own personal interest in the blessings of the great
salvation, constitutes the essence of evangelical
"^ Marshall on Sanctification, p. 157, N. Y. edition.
60 Confidence in good Estate ,
faith. If you can only believe that you will be
saved, you are a believer, in the Gospel sense of
the word : Should you find any difficulty in doing
this, you must '^ ivork it out in yourselves by the
" assistance of the Spirit of God; and eiccording to
" 7/our faith so shall it be iintoyou^r The persua-
sion, therefore, that you are a Christian, makes you
so ; and the confidence that you will be saved,
renders your calling and election sure.
It is hardly necessary to guard the mind against
the influence of this delusion. Reflecting men will
not rest the hope of immortality on so treache-
rous a foundation, unless they deliberately pre-
fer the dreams of the self-deceived, to the sober
expectations of the real Christian. If there were
ho difference between being actually interested in
the covenant of grace, and the persuasion of our
own minds that we are thus interested ; this scheme
might be plausible. Men must be Christians, be-
fore they can be rationally persuaded that they
are Christians. They must be the children of
God, before they can rationally cherish the confi-
dence that they are so. It is not impossible, nor is
it an unusual thing, for a man io be a Christian,
* INIarshall, p. 157, N. Y. ccUiion.
Confidence in good Estate, 61
and yet not to believe that he is a Christian. Nor
is it less impossible, and unusual, for a man
to believe that he is a Christian, and yet 7iot be a
Christian. It is to be feaied, that there Avill be
many at the Last Day, who will say, Lord, Lord!
unto whom the Bridegroom will say, I never knew
yoUy depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
There will be many in that day, who have confi-
dently believed, that " God freely gave Christ
" and his salvation to them in particular," who
will not find, that " it became a certain truth
" when they believed it." The error is too pal-
pable to be ensnaring*.
Let not the import of these remarks be misun-
derstood. Far be it from me to discourage the
followers of the Lord Jesus from placing the most
implicit reliance on the Atdhor and Finisher of
their faith. Every attribute of His cliaracter de-
mands confidence the most prompt and unreserv-
* "When we alTirm,'* says the eloquent Saurin, " tliai
" there is such a blessing as assurance of salvation, we do
" not mean that assurance is a duty imposed on all mankind,
" so that every one, in what state soever he may be, ought
" to be fully persuaded of his salvation, and by this persua-
" sion, to be^in his chriatianity.'" — Saurin's Sermons, vol. 3.
Sermon lOlh.
62 Confidence in good Estalt,
ed. But, reader, real confidence in God is a thing
widely different from a firm persuasion of your
personal interest in His mercy. The former is
your duty at all times. The latter is your duty,
in the same proportion in which you have evi-
dence that the love of God is shed abroad in
your heart hy the Holy Ghost, You have just
as much evidence that you are interested in His
pardoning mercy, as you have that you are the
subject of His sanctifying grace. Sanctification
is the only evidence of conversion. The as-
surance of our acceptance with God, depends on
the assurance of our possessing the character of
those who are accepted. The scriptmal mode of
obtaining assurance is that pointed out by the
Apostle. Giving all diligence, add to your faith,
virtue ; and to virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge,
temperance ; and to temperance, patience ; and to pa-
tience, godliness j and to godliness, brotherly kind-
ness ; and to brotherly kindness, charily. For if
these things be in you and abound, they make you
that ye shall neither be barren nor wfruilful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore,
brethren, give diligence to make your calling and
election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall
never fall. " The infallible assurance of faith,"
says our excellent Confession, " is founded upon
Coiifidcncc in good Estate. 63
** the divine truth of the promises of salvation,
** Ihe inward evidence of those graces unto which
" these promises are made, the testhnony of the
" Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits,
" that we are tlie children of God ; which Spirit
" is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we
" are sealed to the day of redemption*." To
cherish the confidence of your own good estate
Avhen your graces are low and languishing, and
while you live in the habits of sin, savours more
of presumption than of humility. No man ought
to live without some doubts of his own good es-
tate, who does not cherish such an abiding sense
of divine truth, and live in such prevailing exer-
cise of divine grace, as to have the witness within
him that he is born of God. It is in the exercise
of grace alone, that any one ought to expect, or
even desire to find evidence of his being accepted
in the beloved. The evidence of our good estate
rises in proportion to our love, to our repentance,
to our humility, to our faith, to our self-denial, to
our delight in duty. Other evidence than this,
the Bible knows not; God has not given.
* Confession of faith of the Presbyterian Church, chap. 18.
p. 85, 86. Vide also Larger Catechisnij p. 2 11, 2 12.
64 Conjidence in good Estate.
Let the reader beware of these vain confidences!
When men rest satisfied with these presumptions,
tliey usually rest satisfied until it is too late to
be dissatisfied. They see nothing either within
or without, to shake their hopes, or alarm their
fears. Notwithstanding there is a wide and es-
sential difference between these unscriptural con-
fidences, and the faith of the Gospel; notwith-
standing they have all the necessary means to
know their true character, and could not mistake
it if they w^ould examine impartially ; yet tlieij
sport themselves with their own deceivings, and know
not what manner of' persons they are. You may
easily imagine that you are safe ; and while the
deception lasts, it may quiet your consciences,
and administer a short-lived consolation. But,
when the veil is drawn aside ; when the dreams
of time give way to the realities of eternity ; these
pleasing deceptions will vanish. There is less of
this vain presumption in the hour of death, than
in the season of health and clieerfulness. There
will be none of it at the left hand of the Judge ;
there will be none of it in hell.
The reader has now before him, what the
author designed to say in the first ^i\e essays.
How solemnly do these things call upon every
Confidence in good Estate, 65
one to see whether his hceirt is rigid with God !
[f vital religion does not consist invisible morality;
if it does not consist in the form of religion ; nor
in speculative knowledge ; nor in mere convic-
tion for sin; nor in the confidence of your
own good estate; nor in the whole routine of
enthusiastic experiences which that confidence
inspires ; nor in all these things combined : is it
not time to look about you ? In all that has hith-
erto been brought into view, there is not one holy
exercise of heart ; not one feeling that is in the
least at war with supreme selfishness. There is
not one fact, therefore, upon which I dare tell
you, that you may rely for eternity, as conclusive
evidence of Christian Character,
How many are there who are almost Chris-
Hans ! As then you review the preceding pages,
look with ingenuousness into your own heart.
Men may think they are Christians, and yet be
in the gall of bitterness, and the bonds of iniquity.
You may be almost saved, and yet — perish. You
may get very near to heaven, and yet — go to
hell. You may advance to the very verge of the
better world, and from the threshold of glory,
fall into the regions of mourning.
9
6Q Confidence in good Estate,
It may be, that remarks like these, will Avound
some of the dear children of God, while they
leave the stupid hypocrite wrapt up in false se-
curity, and impenetrable by nothing but the ar-
rows of the Eternal. If the humble child of Je-
sus is hereby involved in darkness for a moment ;
his light shall soon break forth as the morning.
If for a moment, his strength and courage lan-
guish ; they shall spring forth speedily ; his right-
eousness shall go before him, and the glory of the
Lord shall be his rereward. The hypocrite will in
all probability, still cherish his deception; he will
rest in carnal security, till the awful moment
when he lies gasping in the arms of death, and is
just about to take his flight to the judgment-seat
of Christ. Then his refuges of lies shall be swept
away, and his fancied security will only serve to
render him the fairer mark of divine vengeance.
Then he will discover his fatal mistake. Then
his heart will tremble. Then his hopes will die
within him. That which has been hidden, shall
be made know n. The mask will be torn off; the
secrets of the heart shall be unfolded ; nothing
shall remain unveiled. There will be no dark-
ness nor shadow of death, where the workers of ini-
quity may hide themselves. The sinners in Zion
Corifidence in good Eslatt. 67
shall he a/raid ; fearfidness slmll surprise the hy-
pocrites : Who among us shall dwell with devour-
ing fire ! Who among us shall dwell with everlast-
ing burnings ?
ESSAY VI.
LOVE TO GOD.
In the preceding Essays, I have exhibited as I
proposed, a variety of views, feelings, and prac-
tices, which cannot be relied on with safety, as
conclusive evidence of Christian Character. In the
subsequent ones, I propose to give a brief view
of those, which may be relied on without the
danger of deception.
It is the excellence of the Christian religion,
that it makes a claim upon the affections. 3Ii/
son, give me thine heart. Love is the fulfilling of
the law. Though I give all my goods to feed the
poor ; and give my body to he burned; and have not
love ; it profiteth me nothing.
At first view, there appears to be some diffi-
culty in understanding with clearness, what it is
to love God. Men are in the habit of placing
Love to God. 69
liieir affections upon beings that are the objects
of sense. God is invisible. To profess to love a
being that is not perceptible to our senses, appears
to some, to savour more of the ignorance and wild-
ness of enthusiasm, than of the sober deductions
of enlightened and sanctified reason. But though
no eye hath seen, or can see the Infinite and Eternal
Spu'it, yet He hath not left himself without wit-
ness. There is a power in the human mind,
which enables it to form just notions of persons
and things that cannot be perceived by sense.
We need no other method of ascertaining the na-
ture of love to God, than the nature of love to
man. The mode of reflection is in both cases
the same. The process of compounding, com-
paring, and abstracting, is the same. Seriously
, considered, there is precisely the same difficulty
in conceiving of the nature of love to man, that
there is in conceiving of the nature of love to
God. You know what it is to love your friend.
And yet it is not the mere external form, it is
not the animal, unanimated by the living, acting-
spirit, that you love. But this is all that is per-
ceptible to your senses. You see the motion,
you hear the voice of your friend ; and from the
nature of what you see and hear, you form the
idea of his character. The soul, that which is
70 Love to God,
characteristic both of the man and the friendy is
invisible. What you see and hear, is not that
which you love ; though it discovers to you some-
thing which is lovely. That which is the object
of your senses, suggests the existence and cha-
racter of that invisible, thinking being, which is
the object of your affections, and which you
either love or hate, as it pleases or displeases
you.
You may as easily know what it is to love
God, therefore, as you may know what it is to
love your friend. The sensible signs by which
He has communicated, and is every hour com-
municating His character, are vastly more sig-
nificant than those which manifest the cha-
racter of any other being in the universe.
God is every where. The Infinite Mind is ever
active. It is the great Agent throughout all
worlds. The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament showeth his handy-work. Day
unto day uttereih speech, and night unto night show-
eth knowledge. There is no speech nor language
where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone
out throughout all the earthy and their words to the
end of the world. God has expressed His divine
excellence in the work of His hands, and has ex-
Love to God, 71
liibited the lustre of His glory in the word of His
truth. Every act that He has performed, together
with every word that He has spoken, is an une-
quivocal declaration of His character. It is easy
to conceive that this character must be loved or
hated, and that the Invisible Being which this
character unfolds, must be the object either of
complacency or aversion ; of benevolence or ma-
lignity.
Love to God involves complacency in His cha-
lacter, benevolence toward His interest, and gra-
titude for His favours.
It involves complacency in His character. You
see something in the character of your friend,
which to you appears pleasing and amiable. You
see something Avhich is lovely ; and this loveli-
ness is the foundation of your attachment. Thus
the excellence of God is the foundation of all
holy love. True love to God is a firm and
steady principle, which draws its motive and its
sanction from His own intrinsic loveliness. It is
delight in His excellence. Those who have put
on the new man, ivhich after God, is created in
righteousness and true holiness, love God because
He is just such a God as He is; because His power
72 Love to God.
is irresistible ; His wisdom unerring ; His purity
spotless ; His justice inflexible ; His goodness
universal ; His grace infinite ; His designs eter-
nal and immutable. Here holy love begins.
Wicked men are apt to consider God altogether
sack an one as themselves, " They clothe the Di-
" vine Being with such attributes, and such only,
" as suit their depraved taste ; and then it is no
" difficult thing to fall down and worship Him."
But it is not God that they worship ; it is not
God that they love. It is an image that bears no
resemblance to that Glorious Being whom all
heaven adores; it is a mere idol of their own
imagination. Genuine complacency in God,
therefore, is delight in His true character. The
love which arises from delight in the character of*
a false god, is enmity toward the true God. The
enemies of God may love Him for what they
imagine Him to be ; none but the real friends of
God love Him for what He is.
Supreme attachment to the character of God
for His own inherent excellence, draws the line of
distinction between that love which is merely
mercenary, and that which is disinterested. A
man may be supremely/ selfish in the exercise
Love to God, 73
of a ceiiain kind of love to God. h\ all his
love, he may have no ultimate regard, except
to his own happiness. He may delight in God
for what He is to him; while he takes no delight
in Him for what He is in Himself, Such is not
the love of the new-born soul. The enmity of
his heart toward God is slain. He is reconciled
to the Divine Character as it is. God is the ob-
ject of delightful contemplation to his devout
mind. In his most favoured hours, his views are
diverted from himself. As his eye glances at the
varied excellence of the Deity, he does not stop
to ask the question, whether God is a being who
will at all events regard his interest ; it is enough
for him, that He will at all events regard His
own glory. He beholds a dignity, a beauty in
the Divine Character, that fills his soul with high
• devotion. All things else are atoms, motes, dust,
and vanity. The feelings of the Prophet are his :
The desire of my soul is to thy name, and to
the remembrance of thee. The unchangeableness
of the Divine Being, and the perfections of the
Divine Nature excite the noblest views, and the
most raised afTeetions. The language of the
Psalmist is his: Whom have 1 in heaven but
Thee ? And there is none on earth that I desire
10
74 Love to God,
beside Thee! The soul is satisfied with God's
perfect excellence, and does not cherish a wish
that He should be different from what He is.
True love to God also implies benevolence to-
ward Him, and the interest of His kingdom. In
the intrinsic excellence of His character, God is
the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. The ful-
ness of perfection is alike necessary at all times
to His very existence as God. It would, there-
fore, be arrogance in the worms of the dust to
imagine that they may be profitable to God, as he
that is wise may be profitable to himself; but it is
presumption for them to imagine that they love
Him, without feeling a friendly interest in His
desiirns, a sincere desire for the advancement of
His cause and the glory of His name. Those
who love the Divine character, necessarily desire
to promote the Divine^loly. They regard the
honour of God as cbmprehending every good,
and as concentrating every wish. In this, every
holy mind takes supreme delight. It is the ardent
desire, the highest wish of a sanctified heart, that
in all his works, in all his plans, by all in heaven,
by all on earth, and all in hell, God should be
glorified. Those who have tasted and seen that
the Lord is good, have found unspeakable plea-
Love to God, l;j
.sure in beholding His ^^lory, and therefore do sin-
cerely and ardently desire to beliold greater and
brighter displays of it. This sublime spirit enters
into the essence of all genuine love to God. The
Infinite Being, who is capable of enjoying an
infinitely higher degree of happiness than all
created intelligence beside, shares largely in the
benevolent affections of every devout mind.
Genuine love also involves the exercise of gra-
iitude. Gratitude to God is the exercise of love
to Him for the favours which He has communi-
cated to us. The primary ground of love to
God is the intrinsic excellence of His own cha-
racter, without regard to any personal interest in
His favour. The first exercise of love to God h,
and must be, antecedent to the persuasion that God
loves us. Still, it is true that no man who loves God
for the amiableness of His own character, can re-
frain from loving Him for the favours whicli He
has comnmnicated to him in particular. The dis-
covery of his personal interest in the favour which
God hears to his own people, will excite the most
tender and grateful emotions. He cannot con-
template the care wliich has sustained him from
year to year; the goodness which encircles him
every hour that he lives ; the Word which instructs
76 Lou to God.
him, and the discipline which is preparing him for
better enjoyments — without some sensations of
thankfulness. He cannot call to mind the pro-
mises that have supported him; the threatnings
that have warned him, and the wonderful grace that
has redeemed him — without admiration and love.
He cannot look forward to scenes of temptation
and sorrow, through which covenanted mercy
has engaged to bear him, to the hour of death, and
the joys of a future world — without a heart ex-
panding with love to his heavenly Father. That
God should show mercy to a wretch like him, —
angels have no such cause for gratitude as this !
A distinguishing characteristic of true love to
God, is, that it is supreme. No man can serve two
masters. There cannot be tw^o objects of supreme
regard. He, saith our Saviour, that loveth father
or mother more than Me, is not worthy of BIc,
When God promised to circumcise the heart of
His people, it was that they might love the
Lord their God with all their heart and all their
soul. God neither requires, nor will accept
of a divided affection. He is a jealous God.
No rival may participate in that love which is
due to Him. Genuine love to His character is
something more than languid esteem, a mere
Love to God. 77
lukewarm affection ; something more than a
vaojue, indescribable emotion, tliat " plays round
« the head." It is the " ruling passion ;" the go-
verning motive. The love of God is paramount
to every other principle. Every attachment is
subordinate to delight in His excellence; every
desire subservient to that of promoting His glory.
To a mind that loves Him, God is alike the
source and sum of good.
"Of all Thy gifts, thou art Thyself the crown,
" Give what thou wilt, without Thee wc are poor,
" And with Thee rich, take what thou wilt away."
But while we say, that in every renewed heart,
the love of God is the predominant principle, we
ought not to withhold the remark, that it exists
m very different degrees in different persons, and
in the same persons, at different times. While
the people of God remain in this probationary^
* By a state of probation^ the writer does not intend to in-
volve any thing that bears the remotest resemblance to the
unscriptural notion, cither that all mankind are not, by the
apostacy of Adam, brought into a state of t>in and condemna-
tion ; or, that those who were chosen in Christ Jesus before
the ivorld began^ are in a state which renders their final perse-
verance in the least degree uncertain. A state of probation is
<' a state of trial y in order to a righteous retribution,** In the
present world, men have a fair opportunity iofjrm their cha-
78 Love to God,
state, they will be sinners. Their love to God will
be very unequal at different seasons, and at some,
very low and languishing. The best of men have
their seasons of sin, as well as their seasons of dark-
ness. Sometimes they are on the mount, and some-
times in the vale. They are prone to forsake God ;
racters for eternity. They are not in a state of probation,
in the same sense in which Adam was placed in that state.
They are not under a covenant of works. The question to
be tried, is not whether they shall stand or fall by that cove-
nant. But they are under a dispensation of graee. If,
while in the present world, they repent and believe the gos-
pel, they may look for the blessed hope and glorious appear-
ing of our Lwd Jesus Christ. But if, while in the present
world, they remain impenitent and unbelieving, they will
heap up wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God. Unbelievers enjoy this dispen-
sation of grace in common with believers. They have a re-
prieve from final condemnation, together with the oppor-
tunity of fleeing to Christ for a complete reversal of the con-
demning sentence. Believers also enjoy a dispensation of
grace in common with unbelievers. They arc kefit onlxf
'Tii ROUGH FAjrn uTito sulvatioTi ; God has placed them in a
world where they must 'match and firay — wliere they must
forget the things that are behind, a7id reach forth toward those
which are before ; where they must keefi under their body, and
bring it into su6jectio?i, lest by any means they should be cast'
aiuay. A state of probation, therefore, is neither inconsistent
with the infallible certainty of the saint's final perseverance,
nor the sinner's present condemnation.
Love lo God 79
like Israel of old, they are hcnt to hack sJidins^ from
Him. The glory of His character lias little eflect
upon their hearts, and less upon their conduct.
The honour of His name excites no ardent desire to
promote it, no anxious concern to see it promot-
ed. Other objects employ so much of their time,
and engage so much of their affections, that for
a while, they think moie of things that are seen
and temporal, than of those that are unseen and
eternal.
But there are seasons also when the child of
God, gradually excluding all other objects from
his view, fixes his mind upon the divine character
as the object of his chief delight, and upon the
divine glory as the great end of his being. There
are seasons, seasons of inexpressible sweetness and
delight, when, like Elijah on Carmel, Moses on
Pisgah, and John in Patmos, he is lost in the con-
templation of the Ever Blessed God, and borne
aloft to catch a glimpse at that glory that fills the
temple above. He beholds the Infinite One array-
ed rvith majesty and excellence, and decked with light
as with a garment. He beholds the l^right and
brightening displays of His glory, wliile his bo-
som expands with holy fervour, and beats high
with pure devotion.
80 Love to God,
It is not necessary to inquire, whether tlie
state of declension or of vigour be the more;
desirable; nor which it is our duty to avoid,
and which to cherish and maintain. Both the
duty and blessedness of God's people point to
that heavenly precept. Be ye perfect, even as your
Father in heaven is perfect. We do not ask
the reader, whether he possesses that degree of
love which he ought to possess ; but, whettier he
possesses any that is genuine, I love them, saith
the voice of Eternal Wisdom, that love me. The
holy God cannot love those who hate Him. He
cannot regard those with complacency Avho re-
gard Him with aversion. He cannot be reconcil-
ed to those who are irreconciled to Him ^, He
cannot be reconciled to those who hate Him, and
who justify their hatred to Him. He retains His
anger toward them, so long as they retain their
* We arc happy in being able to quote the words of a di-
vine so deservedly eminent as Van Mastricht, in confir-
mation of a truth that meets with so much opposition from
the popular theology of the present day. Speaking Be dona
co7iifilacentice in Deo^ he says, " Nostra complacenlia in Deo,
" irritabit vicissim Dei complacentiam in nobis." Our coni'
jilacency in God ivill in return excite God*s complacenctj in us,
Theoret. Pract. Thcolog. Auct. Pet. Vanmast. p. 1267. The
inference is unavoidable ; God's complacency in us docs not
pre cede J hui follows our complacency in Him.
Love to God. 81
opposition and enmity toward Him*. Hence
none have a right to believe that God loves them,
until they first love Him. And none will believe
it, without having been given up to strong delnsion
that they shoidd believe a lie. A man must be con-
scious of his love to God, before he can have scrip-
tural evidence of God's love to him. And the evi-
dence which arises from this consciousness is con-
clusive. We have no more right to doubt of God's
• The reader may perhaps ask, how is this reconcile?blc
with the declaration in 1 John iv. 19, TVe love Ilimy becausf
Mcjirst loved us ?
God's love to his people is the cause of their love to Him ;
but it is not the niotive of their love to Him. It precedes
their love to Him in these two respects : —
1 . He loved them with the love of benevolence, as He did
other men. He sent his Son to be the propitiation for their
sins. And but for this expression of benevolence, the whole
human race would have been abandoned to the ruins of the
fall. There would have been no Gospel ; no Avay of reconci-
liation ; and consequently not a vestige of holy love in the
barren world.
2. He loved them with the " love of election/' He gave
them to His dear Son in the everlasting covenant. In pur-
suance of his gracious design, He makes them new creatures;
slays their enmity, and sheds abroad His love in their
hearts. And but for this expression of distinguishing love,
ihey would have for ever remained His enemies. / have
loved thee with an everlasting lovCy says God to his Church,
therefore with loving' kindness have I draivn thee.
11
82 Love to God.
love to us, than we have a right to doubt of our
love to Him. As our love to God grows con-
stant and vigorous ; the evidence increases, that
we are friends to God, and that God is a friend
to us.
Is then thy heart right rvith God? Are you
pleased with the Divine character ? Do you love
every part of that character ? Do you love God's
In these respects, the love of God to us is the cause of our
love to Him. It cannot be the motive of our love to Him, for
this plain reason, that vre have no evidence of His distin-
guishing love to us, until we possess the consciousness of
our love to Him.
The love which God exercises tov/ard the elect while they
are yet in their sins, is of a peculiar character. It cannot be
the love of complacency ; for it is exercised while the ob-
jects of it are perfectly hateful ; and is therefore consistent with
the utmost detestation of their whole characters. It cannot
be the love of benevolence ; for the love of benevolence is im-
partial, and this is discriminating. It is very properly styled
the " love of election.'*
I am happy to present the reader with a correct view of
this text, from an author who may justly claim more than a
common share of confidence.
"They who serve God from filial affection, not slavish
" fear, < love him, because he first loved them :* not that
" their love is merely gratitude for his previous benefits,
" which, abstracted from other exercises of love, would be
" a -uery %c}Ji%h affection : nor could any man in that case love
Love lo God, 03
holiness as well as His grace ; His justice as well
as His mercy ? Do you love Him because He is
immutably disposed to hate sin, and punish the
sinner, or merely because He is disposed to for-
give sin, and save the sinner? Do you love Hini
because he has a greater regard for His own
glory than your happiness ; or because you ap-
prehend that he has a higher regard for your hap-
piness than for His own glory ? There is a kind
*' God at all on good groimds, without some immediate reve-
" lation to assure him that he was the object of his special
" LOFEy EVEN irHILSr HE HAD NO GSACE, AND WAS WHOLLY
" iMPENitEN'TAND SINFUL. But the evident meaning is, that
"if the Lord had not loved them before they loved him, even
" when they were dead in sin, they must for ever have con-
" tinued enemies to hhn. His love suggested the plan, and
*^ provided the means of redemption ; herevealed to sinners
" his glorious perfections and abundant mercy, in the Person
" and work of his Son ; he sent his word, to declare to sin-
" ners this great salvation, and to invite them to partake of
** it ; he regenerated them by his Spirit, and so brought
t' them, by repentance and faith in Christ, into a state of ac-
" ceptance and reconciliation ; and thus taught and enabled
*• them to love his excellency, to value his favour, to be
" thankful for his inestimable benefits, and zealous for his
^' glory. As, therefore, his love to them was the original
<' source of their love to him : so from the latter they may in-
*' fer the former, and take the comfort of the happy change
" which hath been wrought in them, whilst they give him
«• the glory of it." Scott's Family Bible, in loc.
84 Love to God.
of love which flows from a very unworthy princi-
ple. If ye love them that love you, what thank have
ye ; for sinners also love those that love them. To
love God from no higher motive than the per-
suasion that you are interested in His favour,
is supremely selfish. Those who love God from
no higher principle, do not love Him at all. This
is the affection which might and does reign with-
out opposition in the hearts of thousands who
are far from righteousness, and who will finally
be excluded from the kingdom of heaven.
Are you reconciled to that character of God
which you see portrayed on every page of His
word? Are you 7vell pleased ih^i God should not
only possess that character; but are you well
pleased, that all His perfections should be under
his own dii'cction and control ? Do you love God
as a sovereign God? How do you regard the
manifestation of that character in the distinguish-
ing dispensations of grace and justice ? Do you
approve it, or do you oppose it? Do you love it,
or do you hate it? Every thing which God does,
every thing which He eternally designed to do,
is an expression of what He is. Every thing that
He does in fixing the eternal allotments of the
Love to God, 85
righteous and the wicked, is a display of His true
character. To be opposed to what He does,
therefore, or to be opposed to what He eternally
designed to do, or to object to his designing from
eternity to do any thing ; is to oppose God, and to
object to His divine excellence. Whenever any
part of the Divine character, clearly under stoody
is the object of opposition and hatred, rather than
of acquiescence and delight, the opposition is the
result of selfishness and malignity, and those wlio
cherish it have not the love of God in them. .
Is the glory of God the great end of your being?
Do you sincerely and ardently desire to see
greater and brighter displays of that glory? Do
you rejoice that God is unfolding, and will for
ever unfold, the excellence of His character ? Do
you know nothing of this benevolent regard for
God and the interests of His kin<rdom? Do vou
find your happiness in yourself, or out o/' yourself ?
Do you rejoice merely in the hope of your per-
sonal interest in God's favour? or do you rejoice
in the hope of His glory? Can you unite your
feelings with His, your joys with the joys of His
people, and share in the blessedness which results
from beholding the Ever Blessed God completely
and for ever s^lorified?
86 Love to God.
What has your experience taught you of the
love of gratitude to God ? Do you behold God in all
your mercies ? Do you feel that you live in God's
world ? that you breathe God's vital air ? that you
are upheld by God's powerful hand ? Do you de-
light to feel the sweet and tender obligations that
bind you to the Lord Jesus Christ ? Have you
seen the seasons when the abundant goodness, the
infinite grace of God towards you, a polluted sin-
ner, seemed enough for ever to fill your heart
with love and your lips with praise ?
Is your love to God supreme ? Does it rise supe-
rior to the attachments of flesh and sense ? What,
whom, do you love more than the Everlasting
God? In whose character do you behold more
beauty ? Whose blessedness is an object of warmer
desire, or more vigorous exertion ? To whom are
you more grateful ? Do you love God more than
father or mother, wife or children, houses or lands }
Do you love Him better than yourself? Tf any
man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother,
and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters,
yea, his own life also, he gain not be my disciple.
There may be danger, but surely there can be
no necessity of being deceived in a case so plain.
Lovr to God. 87
Supreme love to God; is decisive evidence of the
renewed heart. When the soul is ushered from
the darkness of sin into God's marvellous light, it
beholds God in an infinitely different light from
Avhat it ever beheld Him before. Now, God is
every where. There is an inexpressible beauty,
a mild glory in almost every object, because it
is the work of His hand, and reflects the excel-
lence of His nature. The language of those
who love God, is that of the rejoicing Churchy
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soid shall
be joyful in my God. They think how excel-
lent a being God is, and how exalted would be the
happiness to enjoy Him to perfection, and to be
swallowed up in Him for ever. To see and to
love that which is infinitely lovely, to behold and
to adore that which is supremely adorable, is the
character and the blessedness of the heavenly
world. The early dawn of this spiritual light,
the first glow of this pure affection, is the glim-
mering of that sacred fire, which will burn with
a purer and a brighter flame throughout inter-
minable ages.
Does the reader then love God? If so, the ques-
tion as to his own good estate is at rest. If you
are a friend to God, God will be an everlastin^c
88 Love to God.
friend to you. iVothing shall separate you from
His love. Neither angels, nor principalities , nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall he
ahle to separate yon, from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus your Lord,
ESSAY VII.
REPENTANCE.
The fall of Adam involved both himself and
his posterity in sin and ruin. From the moment
of the first transgression, sin challenged universal
empire. From that fatal hour, it began to assume
dominion, with the certain prospect of swaying its
vsceptre over every clime and every heart. But
blessed be God, though its empire is universal, it
is not in all its extent everlasting. There is One
who taketh the prey from the mighty. The con-
queror is vanquished. Though sin reigns unto
death, grace reigns unto eternal life.
A mere glance at the ruin and recovery of
man, is enough to convince us, that of the reli-
gion of fallen beings, repentance forms an essential
part. It is alike significant of llie character and
12
90 Repentance,
indispensable to the happiness of a converted
SINNER, to be penitent.
In the order of gracious exercises, repentance
follows love to God. An affectionate view of
God, prepares the mind to take a just view of sin.
As it is impossible to repent of having sinned
against a God that we hate ; so it is impossible
not to repent of having sinned against a God that
we love. When the heaii. has been renewed;
wnen the soul, enlightened by the Divine Spirit,
sees the beauty, the loveliness of the Divine cha-
racter — it cannot seriously reflect upon a life of
sin, w^ithout unfeigned grief. Godly sorrow work-
eih repentance to salvation, not to be repented of;
but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Genuine repentance is that sorrow for sin which
arises from a sense of its intrinsic turpitude.
It is essential to the nature of godly sorrow,
that we possess a settled conviction of the evil of
sin. It is not enough to have merely a transient
view of our sinfidness ; we must possess a settled
conviction of the great evil of sin. Tlie real pe-
nitent, though he has reason to lament that he is
never so deeply affected with the view of his sin
liepcninncc, 01
as he should be ; seldom so much so as he hoped
to be ; and very frequently not afFected at all ;
yet at some favoured seasons, he is enabled to
view it in a measure as it is. He sees its detest-
able nature. He is deeply impressed w Hh a sense
of its turpitude as a violation of law. This is tiie
definition which the Apostle has given of sin. It
is («»«^/») the transgression of law. The God who
made all worlds, and who alone is qualified to go-
vern the worlds which He has made, has given a
rule of action to His creatures, w^hicli is the re-
sult of infinite wisdom and goodness. The pre-
cept and the sanction of this law are perfectly
equitable. The highest authority has pronounced
them to be holy, just y and good.
To violate this law, is an evil. To violate this
law, is nothing less than an attempt to sunder the
bond that holds the moral world together. It is
therefore a great evil. Every violation of this
law, is an effort to resist the salutary effects of a
perfect rule of action. It is a virtual opposition
to all the good which that rule of action, if obey-
ed, would eventually secure. Could the evil na-
ture and tendency of sin therefore be fully express-
ed ; could this enemy of all righteousness be clothed
with the energy of omnipotence ; all that is good,
all that is happy, would be chased away, and the
92 jRcjJcniance,
world that once smiled under the beneficent hand
of its Maker, would be left bare of tlie last ves-
tige of bliss. The same accursed foe that hurled
the Angels from the highest heavens ; that drove
our first parents from Paradise ; that deluged the
world by a flood ; that laid waste the cities of the
plain ; that has multiplied its trophies in slaugh-
tered thousands; that has given death its sting
and the law its curse ; that has crucified the Lord
of glory — would not stay his ruthless hand until
he had '* rolled the volume of desolation" through
the empire of the Eternal, and enjoyed the ma-
lignant pleasure of brooding over the ruins of the
desolated universe.
In violating the law, sin also dishonours the
Lawgiver. It aims the blow at God, It rises in
rebellion against His rightful authority. It is
contrary to every attribute of His nature. It is
the abominable thing which His soul liateiJu To
enhance its turpitude, think a moment against
what a God sin is committed. He is a great God ;
a God of infinite majesty. He is decked with ma-
jesty and excellency. The everlasting mountains
are scattered at His approach ; the perpetual hills
bow before Him. He is a holy God ; so holy, that
the heavens are not pure in His sight, and his anr
gels are charged with folly. He is a good God.
jRcpcnlancc, 93
He is love itself. He is a merciful God. His
mercy is everlasting; it is great unto the heavens.
He is the Being whom we are under the greatest
obligations to adore, because He is supremely ado-
rable ; a Being whom we are under the greatest
obligations to love, because He is infinitely love-
ly ; a Being whom we are under the greatest ob-
ligations to obey, because his government is per-
fect. And yet we rebel. Creatures \^ho^e found-
ation is in the £/m5^, contend with their Maker!
Creatures who hang every hour upon His bounty,
<* forget His powder, abuse his love !" Sinners
who are upheld every moment by His mercy,
tread that mercy under their feet ! O how great
an evil is sin ! If one man sin against another , the
Judge shall judge him, hut if a man sin against
God, who shall entreat for him !
Thoughts in kind like these, pass through the
mind of the penitent, as he calls to remembrance
his multiplied transgressions. No longer does he
make light of sin. He views it in an entiiely dif-
ferent light, from that in which it is viewed by a
thoughtless world. To him, it is odious; it is
vile ; it is utterly detestable ; nay more, it is ex-
ceedingly sinful
94 Repentance,
In view of the intrinsic turpitude of sin, there
fore, the penitent mourns. And his sorrow is
Ingenuous : It is not a selfish sorrow. The ob-
ject upon which the soul fixes her thoughts, while
indulging her grief, is sin, and not punishment.
It is for this that she mourns. This, in the hands
of the Divine Spirit, is the spring of all godly
sorrow.
The leading principle that makes repentance a
duty, is that evil has been done ; a crime has
been committed. To the renovated heart, this
is also the leading motive to repentance. No truth
is more clear, than that sinners ought to be, and
that saints are, penitent for sin. The inlx^.ent
odiousness of sin is the object of their sorrow;
and were this the only consideration that could
be presented to the mind, this alone would be
enough to clothe them with eternal mourning,
and bathe them in ceaseless tears. We cannot re-
frain from saying, that neither the obligation nor
the motive to repentance are founded in the hope
of mercy, or the actual exercise of it; though
both are thereby strengtiiened. Notwitlistanding,
both the obligation and the motives to repen-
Repentance. 95
lance are vastly increased by the proclamation
of mercy in the gospel ; yet men must repent,
and do repent, because they have done wrongs and
not because there is, or is not, a probability that
they shall escape punishment. The moment that
our first father fell ; before he heard the voice of
God among the trees of the garden ; while under
the fearful apprehension, nay, the certain expec-
tancy of the rigid execution of the curse — he was
under the immutable obligation to repent. The
fallen spirits in hell are now without excuse, for
not humbling themselves before God. Though
bearing the punishment of their iniquity, yet in
view of the intrinsic turjntnde of their sin, they
ought to be overwhelmed with unfeigned sorrow.
The reader will perceive, that these remarks
^re made with the design of distinguishing be-
tween that sorrow of the world which worketh death,
and that godly sorrow which worketh repentance to
salvation not to be repented of In the world that
lieth in wickedness, there is enough of that sorrow
which worketh death. There is the sorrow which
arises merely from a sense of danger, and the fear
of punishment. Such was the repentance of
Ahithopel and Judas. But this is at an infinite
remove from that godly sorrow which worketh re-
96 Repentance,
pentancc not to be repented of. It is one thing to
mourn for sin because it exposes us to hell ; and
another to mourn for it because it is an infinite
evil- It is one thing to mourn for it because it
is injurious to ourselves ; another, to mourn for
it because it is offensive to God. It is one thing
to be terrified ; another, to be humbled. A man
may tremble at the apprehension of Divine wrath,
while he has no sense of the intrinsic turpitude of
sin, and no true contrition of soul on account
of it.
There is also the sorrow which arises merely
from the hope of forgiveness. Such is the mer-
cenary repentance of the hypocrite and the self-
deceived. Many, it is to be feared, have eagerly
cherished the expectation of eternal life, and here
begun and ended their religion. Many, it is
to be feared, have eagerly cherished the hope
of mercy, and here begun their repentance, who
have mourned at the last, and lain down in sorrow.
In all this there is nothing that is ingenuous ; no
godly sorrow arising from a sense of the intrinsic
turpitude of sin.
Real repentance is also deep and thorough.
It is bitter sorrow. It rends the heart. The
Repentance. 97
penitent sees that he is a vile sinner. He sees
that he has been his own destroyer. The Spirit
of God has taught him, that sin is something more
than a mere calami fi/. He feels that he deserves to
be blamed, rather than pitied. He views his sin
as altogether criminal and inexcusable. Though
the dictates of an evil heart have often prompted
him to go astray ; yet he knows they have never
constrained him contrary to his own choice. That
heart, though full of evil and desperately wicked,
he has cherished. He sees therefore, that he him-
self is the only blameable cause of his sinfulness.
The great evil of sin is cliargeable upon him. He
has done it.
And can the penitent see his own vileness, with-
out bowing in the dust before God ? He is asham-
ed and confounded when he looks back upon liL^
past life, and when he now looks into his own
heart. He sees that he has broken God's holy
law, and resisted the claim of his rightful Sove-
reign. The thought which most deeply affects
him, is that he has sinned against God. In com-
parison with this, his other crimes vanish to no-
tiiing. The language of his heart is, Against
"thee. Thee only, have I sinned! If he had not
sinned against a great, and holy, and good, and
13
9S Repentance.
merciful God, his sins would not appear so
great. But, O, he has sinned against the God
who made him ; the God who has preserved
and redeemed him. Creating goodness, provi-
dential care, and redeeming love have been be-
s^lowed upon him almost in vain. This is the
dart which wounds him. He exclaims with
David, / have sinned against the Lord ! I have
committed this great wickedness I He sensibly feels
that he has sinned against the God of all grace.
He beholds Him whom he has pierced; he looks
away to the cross of Christ, and there sees what
his sins have done ; and is grieved to the inmost
soul.
The number of his sins affects him no less se-
verely than the aggravation of them. The peni-
tent sees that he has not only sinned, but sinned
in a thousand forms. He sees sin in a thousand
things, in wliich he never saw it before. It ap-
pears to mix itself with almost every thing. He
groans under the body of sin and death. At
some periods, he goes bowed down to the earth,
all tlie day long. He feels that his ti'ans-
gressions are multiplied. Often is his laughter
turned into mourning, and his joy into heavi-
ness. With what a melting, broken heart does
Repentance. 99
he lie at the feet of his injured Saviour, and
beg for mercy. lie is abased befoie God.
He is ready to cry with the humbled Psalmist,
My sin is ever before me ! or with the mourning
Prophet, O my God, I am ashamed, and blush to
lift up my face to Thee ; for mine iniquities are in-
creased over my head, and my trespass is grown
up unto the heavens ! It is enougli to break his
heart, seriously to reflect upon his innumerable
transgressions. He remembers his oivn rvaysy
and his doings that were not good, and loathes him-
self in his own sight for his iniquities and abomi-
nations.
True repentance is not only ingenuous and
deep ; it is attended with actual reformation. It
exhibits itself in real life. The penitent feels the
force of considerations which never fail to re-
strain from sin. He is afraid of sin. He dreads
its aggravated guilt. How shall I commit this
great wickedness y and sin against God! The
thought is enough for ever to cut him off from
all access to the accursed thing. He is a sinner
still ; but he cannot remain a sinner in the sense
in which he was a sinner once. He manifests a
desire to honour the God he has so long 6\s-
100 Repentance.
honoured ; to undo what he has done against the
interest of His kingdom, and repair the injury he
has caused to the souls of men. There is no ge-
nuine repentance where there is no forsaking of
sin. Still to go on in sin, to practise iniquity
with greediness, Avith constancy, and with perse-
verance, is incompatible with the nature of that
sorrow which is unto salvation.
With these plain principles in view, we think
the reader may decide the point as to his own
good estate. The preceding observations will go
far toward enabling him to distinguish between
the precious and the vile.
If yours is godly sorrow, it is then ingenuous.
It arises from a sense of the intrinsic turpitude of
sin. Retire into your own bosom, therefore, and
ask yourself questions like these : Do I possess
any settled conviction of the evil of sin? Does
sin appear to me, as the evil and bitter thing?
Does a conviction of the evil of it increase?
There are moments when heaven and hell lie out
of sight: How does sin appear then? Do you
hate it because it is merely ruinous 1o your soul,
or because it is offensive to God ? Do you hate ii
Repenlance, 101
because it is sin ? Do you mourn over it because
it is wrono:?
In the sanctified heart, the liatred of sin is su-
preme. As there is nothing so bad as sin, so
there is nothing the penitent hates so much. Is
then your repentance deep and sincere ? Is sin pre-
vailingly your greatest grief ? Seriously consider-
ed, would the deliverance from any evil be a
more joyful event, than the deliverance from sin?
If there could be no deliverance from sin, but at
the expense of the choicest comforts, would you
cheerfully make the sacrifice ? Do your misfor-
tunes grieve you more than your sins? or your
sins more than yoiu' misfortunes ?
Do your sins appear many and aggravated ? Do
you see sin in a thousand different forms, and new
instances, in which you have not dreamed of it be-
fore? Do you mourn over the sins oithe heart ? Do
you abhor yourself for your innate depravity, a;*-
one that was shaped in iniquity y and conceived in
sin? Do you mourn over your vain thoughts
and carnal affections ; over a life of sin, ingrati-
tude, and profligacy ; over your unprofitableness
and unfaithfulness ? Does it grieve you that you
102 Repentance.
are worldly, proud, and selfish; that you have
lifted up your soul unto vanity, and panted after the
dust of the earth ?
Does it grieve you to the heart, to call to
mind that you have sinned against God? When
your eyes behold the King, the Lord of Hosts,
are you constrained to exclaim, Wo is me ! When
you look on Him whom you have pierced, are you
constrained to cry out, / am undone I
The degree of godly sorrow is by no means to be
overlooked in your self-examination. When God
touches. He breaks the heart. W^here He pours
out the spirit of grace, they are not a few tran-
sient sighs that agitate the breast ; they are heart-
rending pangs of sorrow. And it shall come to
pass, saith God, that I will pour upon the house of
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
spirit of grace and of supplication ; and they shall
look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall
mourn for Him, as one mourneth for an only son,
and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in
BITTERNESS FOR HIS FIRST-BORN. In that day, there
shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the
MOURNING OF HaDADRIMMON, IN THE VALLEY OF
Rcptntancf. 103
Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every
family apart; the family of the house of David
apart, and their wives apart ; the family of the house
of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; the family
of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart ;
the family of Shim ei apart, and their wives apart;
every family apart, and their wives apart. Thus
have the Jews mourned, and thus will that de-
voted nation mourn again, for crucifying the
Lord of glory. Does the reader know any thing
of such sorrow as this ? Can no solitary hour, no
lonely spot, bear testimony to the bitterness of his
grief? What grieves you more, than that you
have ten thousand times pierced the lieart of re-
deeming love I
Do you ahhor sin ? Do you turn from it ? Do
you cherish that regard for the law and character
of God, that tender regard for the crucified Sa-
viour, which inspires you with fixed aversion to
all that is polluting in the sins of the heart, and
all that is injmious in the sins of the life ? Do
you feel an inereasing tenderness of eonscience,
whenever you are tempted to go astray? Are
you afraid of dishonouring God, and do you
Iremble lest you crucify his dear Son afresh?
104 Repentance.
Fellow sinner ! if you know any thing of ail
this, you are not a stranger to that godly sorrow
which worketh repentance to salvation not to be re-
pented of. God has promised to forgive the peni-
tent. He has pledged His word, that the act of
forgiveness on His part, shall follow the exercise
of repentance on yours. Returning prodigal i
pardoning mercy is thine. It is as sure as the
sincerity of thy repentance. Whoso cover eth his
sins shall not prosper : but whoso confesseth and for-
saketh the?7i, shall find mercy. His repentance
shall not purchase it; his repentance does not
deserve it. Repentance has no intrinsic effica-
cy. It cannot entitle to pardon. It is not the
Saviouh ; though without it we cannot be saved.
God delights to forgive ; He does forgive, though
it cost the blood of His Son. No sooner does
the rebel loathe and abhor himself, than God
passes by his transgressions, and ceases to retain
his anger. He rejoices over him with joy ; he rests
in his love ; he will joy over him. tvith singing. To
forgive a hell-deserving sinner; to receive a
rebel into favour ; to wash away his deep-stained
guilt, and become Athe everlasting friend of the
friendless ; is the highest exercise of perfect be-
nevolence. O how gratifying to the benevolent
JReptntance, 105
heart of God, to behold Iho retiirninor prodigal,
though a great nm/ off! His compassions yearn
over him. lie longs to receive him into His
arms. He is impatient to press him to His bo-
som. He ruiifi ; He falls vpon his neck, and h'ssrs
him.
U
ESSAY VIII.
FAITH.
The fii'st glimmering of light that dawned upon
the darkness of the fall, was ushered in by an ob-
scure revelation of the covenant of grace. This co-
venant was faintly exhibited to Adam and Eve, in
the denunciation of the curse upon the Tempter.
It was made known more clearly to Noah, after
the flood. It was renewed with Abraham, after
God had called him from Urr of the Chaldees ;
with Isaac, in Gerar ; w ith Jacob, at Bethel, and
with tlie generation of Israel, in the wilderness.
The light of truth rose gradually, and the cove-
nant of grace gradually unfolded its blessings,
till the Star of Bethlehem pointed to the Sun of
Righteousness, and the promise of the covenant
was sealed by the blood of its Surety.
Faith. 107
There is an important distinction between the
covenant of redemption^ and the covenant ofgrace^*
The period of their formation, the parties, the
terms of these several covenants, are perfectly
distinct.
• It is unhappy, that there should be a difference in the
mode of representing this subject among divines that are re-
puted orthodox. The view which is given of it by an emi-
nent divine of the Presbyterian Church, may not be unim-
portant in this place and day.
" There seems to be mention made in Scripture of a cove-
" nant or agreement between the Father and the Son. This,
** the generality of Calvinist divines consider as a separate,
" or preparatory contract, and call it the covenant of redemp-
♦' tion. Some, however, esjiecially those who have been term-
** ed j^NrjNOMJANs, consider this as properly the covenant
" of grace, made with Christ the second Adam, as represent-
" ing his spiritual seed ; and the covenant said to be made
*< with believers, to be only the execution or administration
" of that covenant, and therefore called a testament, being
" the fruits of Christ's death, or ratified by the death of the
*' testator.'* lVithersfioon*s Introductory Lectures on Di-
vinity.
This distinction cannot be considered as an invention of
the J^eio School. It will be found expressly recognized by
Van Mastricht, and I think, clearly implied by Turretin.
Vid. Theoretico-Practica Thcologia, Auctorc, Petro Vaa
Mastricht. lib. quint, cap. prim, de Fcedere Gratia, and In"
stitutio Th^ologicEy Francisco Turretino, locus duodecimus.
Questio secunda.
108 Faith,
The covenant of redemption was formed from
eternity ; the covenant of grace, in time. The
covenant of redemption was antecedently ne-
cessary to the existence of the covenant of
grace. It was the perfect accomplishment of that
arduous part Avhich the Redeemer engaged to
bear in the covenant of redemption, that laid the
foundation for the covenant of grace. It was
this, that justified God in entering into covenant
with believers, and in engaging to save them
through faith in the blood of Jesus.
The covenant of redemption subsists between
the sacred persons in the ever-blessed Trinity, of
wliich the atonement of Christ for the sins of the
world is the stipulation, and the salvation of his
chosen seed, the promise. The covenant of grace
subsists between God and believers, of which, faith
in Christ is the stipulation, and the salvation of
believers the promise.
The covenant of grace, therefore, in distinction
from the covenant of redemption, is nothing more
nor less, than the j^romise of God to save all those
who believe in Jesus Christ, The law of God is not
now the rule of justification, though it is the rule of
duty. We no longer hear tiie righteous demand, of
Faith. 109
that broken covenant, This do, and thou shall line ;
but the milder language of gracious economy, be-
T.TEVE, and thou shall be saved. Of this covenant,
faith in Christ is that part which is fulfilled by
the believer. He believes; and upon the prin-
ciples of this covenant, the first act of faith
gives him an humble claim to the promise.
Every Christian grace is the effect of the imme-
diate agency, and the Almighty power of God upon
the heart. Faith is expressly declared by the
Apostle to be the gift of God, though it is at the
same time the act of the creature^. It is uniform-
* Every Christian grace is the ^ift qfGod,^nd at the samo
time, the act of the creature. The dependence and the ac-
tivity of man, are perfectly reconcileable. God worket/i in.
man ; but He luorketh hi him both to fviLL^ and to do. In
the day of God''s /loxver, his /leojile are made ivilling. The
enmity of the heart is slain, and they are made ivillin^ to do
"what they were able to do before.
From the note on the 35th page of this volume, the reader
will perceive that the author is aware of some difTerencc in
the mode of representing this subject, by divines that profess
to be equally attached to the great doctrines of grace. But
for protracting that note, he should then have exhibited the
views of a number of men of deserved eminence, substantia-
ling the remarks which were there made. Such an exhibi-
tion, it is hoped, will soften down some of the prejudices of
plain Christians, if it does not blunt the edge of opposition on
110 Faith,
\y represented as of the operation of God. It is
one of the fruits of the Spirit. The fruit of the
the part of those who are persevering adherents to the doc-
trine of man*s natural inability.
If any one will take the trouble to turn to Scott* s Family
Bible ^ he will find the following sentiment in his remarks on
Rom. viii. 7, 8. Because the carnal mind is enmity, Ijfc,
" This carnal mind is not subject to the divine law, and in-
<' deed cannot be so ; it is morally unable to do any thing
" but rebel against it, and refuse obedience to it.'*
The observations of the same author on John vi. 44. Ae
man can come^ ilfc. are of the same import.
" The ground of this impossibility lies in the contrariety
" which subsists between the proud, worldly, unholy, rebel-
" lions, and ungodly nature of fallen man, and the humbling,
" spiritual, holy nature of the gospel. The gospel finds none
" ivilling to be saved," Sec."*
Let the reader also advert to President Wither sfioon's Es-
say on Justification. In vol. i. and page 53 of his Works,
he wil! find the following paragraph.
" Since mention has been made of perfect conformity to
" the will of God, or perfect obedience to his law, as the duty
** of man, which is indeed the foundation of this whole doc-
" trine," (that is, the doctrine of Justification,)" I think it ne-
« cessary to observe, that some deny this to be properly re-
" quired of man as his duty in the present fallen state, be-
« cause He is not able to perform it. But such do not seem
*' to attend either to the meaning of perfect obedience, or
* In regard to the controversy between ^larshall and Bellamy, concern,
ing the nature of failli, Scott is most decidedly in favour of Bellamy's view
of the subject, Vid. Scott's Theological Works, vol. 4th, p. 248, 249, 250.
Faith. Ill
Spirit is love, joy, long'SvjDerins, gentleness, good-
ness, FAITH. No man can say, that Jesus is the
" tlie nature or cause of this inabiilty. Perfect obedience is
" obedience by any creature, to the utmost extent of his na-
<' tural powers. Even in a state of innocence, the holy dispo-
" sitions of Adam \vould not have been equal in strength
** and activity to those of creatures of an higher i^nk ; but
" surely to love God, who is infinitely amiable, with all the
" heart, and above all, to consecrate all his poivers and
'^faculties without exception, and without intermission,
" to God*s service, must be undeniably the duty of every
" intelligent creature. And ivhat sort of inability are ive
" under to pay this ? Our natural faculties are surely
*' as fit for the service of God as for any baser purpose. — The
*' INABILITY IS ONLY MORAL, and lies ivholly IN THE
" AVERSION OF OUR HEARTS from such employ
« ment. Does this then take away the guilt ? Must God re-
" lax his law because we are not luilllng to obey it r"
The same great man, in a sermon on the " absolute ne-
" cessity of salvation by Christ,'* has also a sentence which
is full of meaning. " For I hope NO CHRISTIAN will
" assert, that any person in the luorld v)ho hath the exercise
«' of reason^ is under a natural, but only a moral impossibility
" of coming to the knowledge, and doing the will of God.
" If the first were the case, it would take away all sin ;
" but the last is such an obstinate disinclination, as is still con-
" sistent with guilt and blame.'* Vid. Witherspoon's Works,
vol. ii. p. 357. Philadelphia edition.
The following representation of the subject, I take the
liberty of giving to the public, principallv because it is from
;m unexpected quarter. It is extracted from a " Catechism
' adopted by the Consistories of the Reformed Dutch
112 Faith.
Lord, BUT BY THE HOLY GHOST. It IS cxpiessly
said of those who believed on Christ in the days
" Churches in the town of Rhinebeck, for the use of their
" people, and published by their order*.'*
" Q. Why do men thus break and transgress the law of
« God ?"
A. " The reason is, the reigning aversion of their hearts
" to it, so that they are unable to keep it."
Q. " And does not this their inability release from obliga-
« tion?"
A- " No, for it is of such a nature, as tends not in the
" least, to break or weaken our obligation.'*
Q. « Of ivhat kind is it then ?'*
A. " It is not of a natural, but of a moral kind'*
Q. « What is natural inability .?"
A. " Natural inability consists in a defect of rational facul-
" ties, bodily powers, or rational advantages.**
Q. " What is moral inability ?"
A. " Moral inability consists in a ivant of a {irofier disiiosi'
•< tio7i of heart to use our natural ability aright.'*
Q. " Can you illustrate the distinction by producing an
♦< instance ?'*
A. " Yes, the case of Joseph's brethren who hcted him so,
"that they could not speak peaceably to him."
Not viewing this sufficient, the Catechists then subjoin the
following Note.
• When this Catechism was adopted by these churches, the Rev. Dr. John
B. Romeyn, now the Pastor of the Cedar-street Church, New-York, was the
stated minister of the gospel in Rhinebeck, and was himself one of the com-
mittee appointed to revise and re-publish tlie original Catechism diJohn Sul-
cUffe, ofOIncy, England. The above Note forms part of a work which the
American publishers say, in their advertisement, "is among tke best Gate-
*' chisms eitant.'*
Failh. 113
of liis humanity, that they were horn, not of bloody
nor of ike will of the Jiesh, nor of the nill of many
BUT OF GOD. It is also unequivocally declared,
that whosoever believelh that Jesus is the Christy is
BORN OF GOD. Faith then is the exercise of the i
new heart.
It is difficult to give a definition of faith that
comprehends all its properties. In its most ge-
neral character, it is reliance upon the testimdny of
God*s word. It is receiving the truth in the love of
it. The apostle Paul uses the phrase, received not
the love of the truth, as synonymous with the phrase,
" Thus we say of a man destitute of an honest principle,
" that he cannot refrain from cheating you if he has an op-
" portunity ; that some are such profane wretches, that they
« cannot open their mouths without an oath ; and others are
" such liars, that they cannot speak the truth ; that some are
" so revengeful, that they cannot forgive an injury ; and
*' others so easily provoked, that they ca?inot keep their
" temper, if you contradict them. So a carnal mind cannot
« be subject to God's law ; for a man that hates God cannot
^^ serve hiiriy cafuiot rejoice in seeing him glorified; cannot
" love his image ; can?iot see any comeliness in Christ, nor
" fall in with the gospel plan of salvation. The difference
<' between moral inability, and that which is termed natural,
" IS plain arid aelf- evident. It is said of the mariners, that
" thty rowed hard to bring the ship to land, but they could
" not, Jonah i. 13. Also of Joseph's brethren, that they
« could not speak peaceably to him. In the former case
15
114 Failh.
believed not the truth. Faith, however, when view-
ed as that evangelical grace which is the condi-
tion of the New Covenant, possesses altogether
a peculiar character. Though the elementary
principles of every evangelical grace are involv-
ed in that love, which is the fulfilling of the law ;
yet every grace has a specific form. Faith,
strictly speaking, is distinct from every other
exercise of the renewed heart. It is not love,
nor repentance, nor humility, nor submission, nor
self-denial, nor hope. It is indeed the exercise
of a heart that already loves God, and that is
humbled on account of sin ; but it is one w^hich
" there was a natural, in the latter, a moral inability. Thus
" the inability of Zacharias to speak, Luke ii. 22. was widely
" different from that mentioned in 1 Sam. xxv. 17.
• " The importance of a proper attention to this distinction
" appears, when we observe that the former releases from ob-
*' ligation^ but the latter does not. It was no crime in Isaac,
*< being old, that he could not see, Gen. xxvii. 1. ; but the case
" seems very different with those who have eyes and see noty
" Jcr. V. 21. or such as have eyes full of adultery, though it
" is ex/ircssly said of them, that they cannot cease from sin-
« ning, 1 Pet. ii. 14."
On this subject, the reader may also consult Watts* Ruin.
end Rccoverij. Worksj vol. 6. p. 291-2. as also Watts' Lib-
erty aJid jYecessity.
He may turn to Charnock*s W^orks, vol. 2. p. 137; and Ed-
wards on the Will, Part 1. Sect. 3d.
Fallh. IIT)
takes that view of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
wliich is taken by no other grace.
One of the best definitions of faith will be found
in the Shoiler Catechism of the Assembly of Di-
vines at Westminster. In answering the ques-
tion, " What is faith in Jesus Christ V they say,
" Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace,
" whereby we receive and rest upon him alone
" FOR SALVATION, AS He IS OFFERED TO US IN THE
** GOSPEL."
Faith in Jesus Christ is a complex act of the
mind, and comprises several distinct things. One
of its properties is a true knorvledge of Christ's
character. It is impossible to " receive and rest
*' upon" a Being whose character we do not
know ; and whose character we do not know to
be worthy of confidence. / know whom I have
believed, says the Apostle. Faith views the Lord
Jesus as He is. It discerns the Divine excellence
and majesty of His character. It recognizes the
child that was born in Bethlehem, as the Mighty
God, the Everlasting Father. The proper divinity
of the Saviour's character is one of those plain prin-
ciples of the Gospel that are essenlial to evangeli-
cal faith. To make an all-sufficient nlonement for
116 Faith,
sin; to soften the obdurate heart; to aid the believ-
er in his trials and sufferings ; to defend him from
the power and subtlety of his enemies; and to bring
him off conqueror at last — would baffle the de-
signs of all but Eternal Wisdom, and mock the
power of all but an Almighty Arm. Faith views
the Saviour as truly divine. None other than the
ETERNAL WORD MADE FLESH, can be the foundation
hope, for none other can be mighty to save. It is of
presumption to profess to know Christ, without
acknowledging Him as the second of the three
coequal persons in the Godhead.
As the believer discerns the Lord Jesus as He
is, he also acknowledges Him as a real and pro-
per man. He views Him as He is represented
by the Apostle, to be the one God and one Media-
tor between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. It
is expressly said, that Christ took not on Him the
nature of angels, hut the seed of Abraham. The
acknowledgment of Christ as man as w ell as
God, cannot be separated from the true know-
ledge of Him as He is revealed in the Bible.
There He is represented, and there He must be
viewed, as encircled with all the majesty of the
self-existent God, and all the "milder glories" of
the man Clnist Jesus.
FaUh. J 17
The believer regards Christ in His whole me-
diatorial character. He sees the fulness, Ihe
perfection of His work, no less than the divino
excellence of His person. He has respect to
all the offices of Christ. He views Him as thk
PROPHET, who came to publish the will of God,
and declare the way of salvation. He views Him
as THE Priest, whom it became God to institute,
and sinners to possess ; as the One whom God hath
set forth to be a Propitiation, through jaith in His
bloody to declare His righteousness for the remis-
sion of sins that are past, that God might be fust,
and the jnslijier of him that helieveth in Jesus, He
views Him as the King in Zion, the Head over all
things to his Church, the Lord Jesus, the Lord
that bought him. In Christ, the believer discovers
all that can qualify Him to be a Saviour, and all
that can encourage guilty, miserable man to trust
in His grace. In Him, he beholds One tiiat ib
eminently all-sufficient; One who is able, wil-
ling, and faithful to save to the uttermost. He
receives the record which God has given of His
Son.
Sincere love to the character of Christ, is also
essential to the nature of genuhie/a///f. It is as
Impossible to " receive and rest upon" a being
118 Faitfu
whom we hate, as it is to " receive and rest upon''
one that we do not know. Faith in Christ is not
an exercise of the understanding merely ; it is an
affection of the heart. Wilk the heart man be-
lieveth. If thou believes t with all thy heart,
said Philip to the Eunuch, thou may est be bap-
tized. To those who believe, Christ is pre-
cious. The excellence which they see both in
His person and in His work, they love. All that
they know of Christ, they love. All the truth
which is connected with the character and work
of Christ, they love. They possess spiritual dis-
cernment of His divine excellence. They have
the single eye that discovers His moral beauty.
They see a loveliness in Christ and His gospel,
that captivates their hearts. When the wander-
ing Spouse was met by the watchmen that went
about the city, and accosted with the unexpected
inquii^f , What is thy beloved more than another be-
loved? the reply was at hand : My beloved is the
chief among ten thousands. He is altogether lovely.
Abraham rejoiced to see ChrisVs day, and he saw it,
and rvas glad. The pious Psalmist v*'as enrap-
tured with a view of His loveliness. Thou art
fairer, says he, than the children of men ; grace is
poured into thy lips, therefore God hath blessed Thee
for ever.
Faith, 119
The spirit of ibis lani>;uage is not peculiar to
David or Abraham. In the dignity, purity, and
aniiableness of Christ's character, in the design
of His mission, and in the way of salvation by
His cross, every believer sees enough to engage
liis sweetest and most exalted ailections.
With this acquaintance with the character, and
this attachment to the person of the Redeemer,
the believer " receives and rests upon Him alone
*' for salvation, as He is offered in the gospel/'
He mahes an implicit surrender of his immorlal
soul into His hands, as to One who is both able and
faithful to save. The yielding up of the soul to
the disposal of Christ, is an act of the mind whicl)
cannot be separated from living faith.
It is of some importance to bear in mind, tliat
faith is the act of a lost sinner, seeking delivei-
ance from the power and punishment of sin, to-
ward a Being who is exhibited in the character of
a Deliverer, It cannot, therefore, imply less
tlian an application of the soul to Him who is
the delivering character ; the actual adventuring
of this vast concern Avith Him; together with
the hope, that with Him it will be secure.
¥^\{\\ rrcoives Christ; Wrests upon Christ /or.
120 Faith.
salvation; it rests upon Him alone for salvation, as
He is offered in the gospel. Sensible of his ill-
desert and helplessness, persuaded of the all-
sufficiency of the Redeemer, the believer there-
fore makes a voluntary surrender of himself
into the hands of Christ, to be saved upon his
own terms. He is convinced of the necessity of
committing his cause to better hands than his
own. He relinquishes his vain confidences, and
places all his hopes on Christ. He casts himself
into His arms. Lord, to whom shall I go, but to
thee I
In the act of surrendering the soul into the
hands of Christ, the believer takes a view of the
Great Deliverer, which is as deep as his own
wants, and as large as the provision that is made
to supply them. He receives Christ as his Pro-
phet, his Priest, and his King.
Is he ignorant? exposed to wander from the
path ? The Great Prophet is his Teacher and his
Guide. The meek He will guide in judgment, the
meek will He teach His way.
Is he polluted with sin ? He looks to the blood
of the spotless sacrifice to be cleansed from all
FailL 12i
sin, Jesus Christ he knows gave Himself Jor
his Church, that He might wash and cleanse IL He
rests on Him ; and looks for the sanelijicalion of
J he spirit unto obedience only through the sprink-
ling of the blood of Jesus.
Is he guilty and condemned ? No longer does
he trust to his own righteousness, but looks to
Jesus as the end of the law for righteousness to
every one that bclievetL He yields a condemned
soul to Him, to be arrayed with a righteousness
with which a just God has declared himself to be
ever iv til pleased. He rests upon Him as the sole
ground of acceptance. With all his natural at-
tachment to his own goodness, he counts it loss
for Christ. He counts it but dung, that he may
win Christ, and be found in Him, not having hia
own righteousness which is of the law, but that which
is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith. This is his refuge, his
crown of rejoicing. He looks to Jesus, recog-
nizing the high relation in which He stands to
His people, and the endearing name by ivhich He
is called, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUS-^
iXESS.
1€
122 Faiili.
Is lie weak and helpless ? He engages the grace
of tlie Redeemer as his consolation and strength.
To Jesus does he surrender himself as the head
of all divine influences. / live, yet not I, hut
Christ that livclh in me. This is the language of
faith. The act of the soul in surrendering itself
into the hands of Christ, forms a connecting
bond between him as the Vine, and the soul as
the branches, which communicates life, strength,
nourishment, and beauty. In a word, with a just
view of the character, and a supreme attachment
to the person of Christ, the believer yields him-
self into His hands, as a full and complete Saviour.
Him he receives ; upon Him he rests, and rests
for time and eternity. With humble joy will he
tell you, " Christ is my all. I want no more. To
Him do I look to be sanctified by His Spirit; to
be governed by His laws; to be protected by His
power ; to be saved by His death ; to be disposed
of at His pleasure, and to be the means of pro-
moting His glory."
This is " to receive and rest upon Christ alone
" for salvation, as He is offered to us in the gos-
pel." This is confidence in Jesus Christ, a^ a
Divhie Saviour. You cannot possess these feel-
ings without possessing saving faith. This is the
Faith. 123
^xihslancc of thinfi;s hoped for, and the evidence of
ihin2;s not seen, Tliis is llie grace which renders
invl«i)>le things visible ; future things present ;
and enstani])s the permanent idea of reedlty upon
every thing that resis upon the testimony of God.
This was the faith of Old Testament saints and
New^ Testament saints. It is that Inist in the Lord,
of which we read so often in the Old Testament,
wdiich is nothing more nor less than the confidence
of the new horn soul in God, cis reconcUeahJc through
the Mediator,
Thus have we seen, that faith has properties
peculiar to itself. Us character is perfectly dis-
tinct from every other grace. There is no ex-
ercise of the renewed heart that views the whole
gospel plan as it is, except this. Faith, from ils
essential nature, implies the fallen state of man,
while it recognizes the principles of the covenant
of grace. It is itself the condition of that cove-
nant"^. It is a grace which is alike distinguisli-
* When the author styles fuilh a conditioji of the Ncw
Covenant, he does not mean, that it is the meritorious gronn*!
of acceptance with (iocl. The covenant of grace b»ars no
rescmhlunce to a contract, in wliich tlic part to hu perform cd
by the l)elievcr is a mere Quantum meruit. Every prim i-
plc of that covenant rests upon the fact, tliut num is anwor-
124 Paith,
able from the love of angels, and the faith cf
devils. It is peculiar to the returning sinner.
None but a lost sinner needs, and none but a
humbled sinner relishes, the grand sentiment of
faith, that grace reigns through righteousness y unto
eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Here then let the reader examine himself whe-
ther he he in the faith. He may possess the faUh
oj devils. He may be fully persuaded, that there
was such a person as Jesus Christ ; that he was de-
livered for our offences, and rose again for our
justification; he may possess the vain confidence
of the hypocrite, which neither worketh hy love^
nor is oj the operation of God ; he may cherish
the pernicious hope of the self-deceived — wliile
he remains blind to the excellence of the Divine
character, and while enmity to the cross of Chrjst
is the governing principle of his heart and his
life. Every carnal mind, whether sensible of it
or not, maintains the most decided aversion to
thy, and that salvation is all of grace. When wc say, there-
fore, that faith is the condition of the New Covenant, we mean,
that faith is that act of the creature^ ivroui^-ht in him by the
agency of the Holy Ghost, without which, accordinr; to the
tenor of the Keto Covenant, there is 710 salTation-'-li is a ^ine
rfxianon.
Faith. 125
the person of the Redeemer, the benefiis of* His
purchase, and the terms upon which those bene-
fits are proffered. The whole character and
work of Christ bear so intimate a relation to the
unbeliever ; they so pointedly take the part of
God against him; they so unequivocally con-
demn his character and conduct ; they w ill have
such a damning efficacy upon Jiim throughout
eternal ages — that when clearly seen, they cannot
fail io draw forth the latent enmity of his heart.
If it be true, as it unquestionably is, that you
may have a just view of the character of Christ,
while you have no love to that character as in-
finitely deserving your affection, and while you
make no surrender of yourself into His hands, as
to one who is supremely worthy of your confi-
dence ; it becomes you to inquire, whether you
love the Lord Jesus in sincerity and truth, and
whether you trust in him as your only founda-
tion of hope.
Si?Tion, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ? Apply the
question. Do you love Christ? And why do you
love Him? Do you love Him merely because
He died to save you, or because He died to
honovr God in your salvation ? Do you love Hun
126 FaiilL
because He descended from heaven to take the
part of God against man ; to show the world, that
in the contest between the creatures and the God
that made them, God is right, and man is wrong,
and with His ow^n blood to set His seal to the truth,
ihal the soul that sinnetk ought to die ? Or does He
appear to you on this account, as a root out of a
dry ground, as having no form, nor comeliness, no
heauty that you should desire Him ? The true be*
liever loves the Lord Jesus, because he effects his
eternal salvation in a way that harmonizes with
the glory of the Divine character. To be saved
in a way that is in the least reproachful to that
glory, would rob Heaven of its sweetness. It is
for this that Jesus Christ is so precious to those
that believe ; in this, that He is eminently/mV^ir
than the sons of men. Do you love Jesus for the
divine glories of His person, for the excellence
of His life, for the benefits of His death, for the
prevalence of His intercession, for His resurrec-
tion, His dominion over the world, and His office
as the Supreme and Final Judge ? Are the feel-
ings of your heart drawn out toward Christ as
your chief joy ? Can you sit down under His
shadow ivilh great delight, and find His fruit
sweet to your taste? When affected with a view
of your lost stale and guilty character, when
Faith. 127
bowed down under a sense of sin, does Christ
nppe^r pi'ecions ? Is a view of Him refre^^hing?
Do you receive the Lord Jesus, and rest upon
Him alone for salvation ? Can you take the place
of a lost and hell-deserving sinner, and with a
broken, contrite heart, make an implicit surren-
der of your immortal soul into His hands to be
saved upon His own terms ? Beloved reader, this
is a plain question. Every humbled heart, in the
exercise of faith, knows how to answer it. Can
you relinquish every other hope? Can you adven-
ture this vast concern with Him?
Can you receive and rest upon the Lord
Jesus as He is offered in the Gospel ? Are you at
heart reconciled to the terms of the Gospel ? Are
you at heart reconciled to the humbling doctrine
of being justilied by faith in the righteousness of
Christ ? It is a doctrine which, if correctly un-
derstood, will be seen to reduce the returning
rebel to the lowest point of degradation. To a
heart that is invincibly attached to rebellion, it is
hard to bow. To one who is naturally attached
to liis own supposed goodness, it is hard to re-
nounce it all, and desire and receive mercy only
128 Faith.
for the sake of Christ. To a man who loves him-
self supremely, and values himself supremely,
who has cherished the most extravao-ant notions of
his own importance from the womb, it is hard to lie
down at the footstool of sovereign mercy. It is
cutting indeed to the pride of the human heart, to
be constrained to feel that we are guilty, and then
forced to admit that there is no pardon for our
crimes, but through the merit of another. Say,
reader, is thy heart bowed to the humbling terms
of the Gospel? Do you delight to take your
place at the foot of the cross, and while reaching
forth the hand to receive the robe of the Saviour's
righteousness, to shout, grace ! grace ! Not imfo
me, O Lord, not unto me, hid unto thy name, he the
glory, for thy mercy and truth'' s sake ? If so, you
believe. If so, amidst all your doubts and fears,
you have that faith, which is the gift of God, If
so, you may humbly claim the promise. Here
is your consolation. He that helieveth — shall he
saved. Yes, shall be saved 1 What more has
God to bestow ; what more can the creature en-
joy? Here are blessings as great as the capacity
of the immortal soul, as eternal as the God that
engages to bestow thent. In the comprehensive
promise of that covenant to wliich faith makes
Faith, 129
you a party, the mysteries of eternity lie con-
cealed. Life and deatii, earth and heaven, things
present and to come, joys hi^h, immeasurable, and
immortal — what shall I say? All are yours ; andyc
are ChrisVs, and Christ's is God's,
17
ESSAY IX,
HUMILITY.
<* In the school of Christ,'' says the devout
Archbishop Leighton, " the first lesson of all is
*' humility ; yea, it is written above the door, as
" the rule of entry or admission. Learn of Me,
*«.FOR I AM MEEK AND LOWLY OF heart!" Humili-
ty is a grace that is nearly allied to repentance.
Repentance respects the nature and aggravation
of sin ; humility respects the person and charac-
ter of the sinner. Humility consists in a just
view of our own character^ and in the disposition to
abase ourselves as low as the vilencss of our charac-
ter requires,
A just view of our own character is a view
of it as it actually is. The pride of the
human heart, naturally casts a veil over the
HumUilij. 131
character of man, and aims to conceal liia
worthlessness as a creature, and his deformity
as a sinner. The liumility of the Gospel natural-
ly tlnows aside tlie veil, and discovers that native
worthlessness which ought to sink the creature
in tlie dust, and that moral deformity which
ought to cover the sinner with confusion.
Genuine humility is inseparably connected with
a sense of our dependance, of our unworthines?,
and of our ill-desert.
Although dependance, absolute and universal,
is necessarily attached to the very being of crea-
tures ; yet a sense of this dependence is a most
unwelcome visitant to the unhumbled heart. The
rjpirit of the carnal mind is an independent spirit.
It is a spirit in which the pride of man glories.
Tiiough men are creatures of yesterday, and
know nothing ; though they are upheld by the
visitation of God's arm, and supplied by the be-
neficence of His hand ; they liave no apprehen-
don, tliat they actually live, and more, and have
ihelr being in Him, An abiding sense of His
universal presence is what they cannot bear to
cherish.
But a sense of perfect dependance is a grateful
^uest to the broken and contrite heart. To a
132 Humility,
humbled sinner it is sweet to feel that he is abso-
lutely dependant on God for all that he is, and
all that he has. He is sensible that he is nothino- ;
that he is a wormy and no man. He realizes that
God is every where, and that Avorms and seraphs
are alike at His disposal. He feels with Paul,
that he is not sufficient of himself to think any
thing as of himself ; but his sufficiency is of God.
Does he enjoy signal favours ? he calls to mind,
that he enjoys nothing that he has not received. Life,
health, as w^ell as the blessings of both, he sees
flowing through a thousand channels from the
same exuberant source. As the child hangs upon
the kindness of its parent, or as the abject poor
depend on the daily bounty of their fellow-men ;
so do the poor in spirit, conscious of their help-
lessness, wait only upon God, for their expectation
is from Him.
With a sense of their dependance, the humble
unite a conviction oj their unworthiness. They are
unworthy ; and they feel that they are so. They
are sensible that they are sinners. They have seen
the plague of their own hearts. They know, at
best, tliey are unprofitable servants ; and at best,
ought to be for ever overwhelmed witli a sense
of their unworthiness. Merit thev have none.
HumilUy. 13G
Desert of good is not in all tlieir llioiiglils. Wlw
am /, exclaimed the King of Israel, Who am /, O
Lord Gody and ivhal is my father'' s house, that thou
hast brought me hitherto ? I am not worthy, said
the humble Patriarch, / am not northy of the least
of all the mercies, and of all the truth which thou
hast showed unto thy servant! The people of God
need not be told that they have forfeited every
favour. Much as they need the divine compas-
sion, they are sensible that they do not, and can-
not deserve it. Often as they seek the divine
face and favour, they do not seek them as tlie re-
ward of personal worthiness. They turn theii
thoughts inward, and see and feel that they arc
less than the least of all saints. They are men
pensioners upon sovereign mercy. There wa<
no distinguishing excellence in them, that mad(
them the objects of favour; there was not tin
sihadow of difference in character, which operated
as a reason why God should regard them with
the special tokens of His love, rather than th(^
most abandoned wretch that ever lived. *' Behold,
lam vile! Grace hath made me to differ,"' When
they seek the presence of God, they do it with the
humble spirit of the Centurion, Lord, I am not
WORTHY that Thou shoiddest come under my roof
134 HiimilUi/.
When they cast themselves upon the care of
their heavenly Father, it is with the spirit of the
prodigal, Father, I have sinned against Heaven,
and in thy sight, and am kg moke worthy to be
called thy son !
In the humble heart, a sense of dependance
and unworthiness, is also connected with a sense
of ill-desert. Humility holds up to vieAV the
bright mirror of God's holy law. From this faith-
ful glass the character of man is reflected in all
its native deformity. Here there is no decej>-
tion. The merit and demerit of character are
determinately fixed by this impartial standard.
Here God has exhibited His right and our oljjiga-
tion, His righteousness and our ill-desert. "Weigh-
ed in this unerring balance, the character of man
is found wanting. It is the character of a trans-
gressor. It is the character of a rebel against
the King of Heaven ; a character which is con-
demned, and cursed, and in its own destestable
nature deserving everlasting wrath.
Unfeigned humility prompts a man to view bis
character as base, and himself as ill-deserving, as
t)ie law of God views tlieni. The humbled heart
Humility, V'Vy
knows Ihat the law is holy, and the commandmcnl
holy, just, and good. He not only feels that the
7vagcs of sin is death ; but approves the law which
threatens him with death for every transgression.
He not only sees that sin and guilt are insepara-
bly connected ; but approves of the Lawgiver for
hating and punishing sin according to its desert.
He prostrates himself in the dust, and exalts God
on the throne. He takes his proper place at the
footstool of God's amiable and awful sovereignty.
He knows that he ought to lie as low as vindic-
tive justice can reduce him. He feels that it is
of the Lord's mercies that he is not consumed. Such
is his sense of ill-desert, that he not only feels
that he is justly condemned ; but magnifies the
justice that condemns him, while he adores the
grace that rescues him from the condemnation.
Such is the view which the humble man takes
of his own character. This is to think soberly of
himself, and as he ought to think. This is to have
just views of his own character, and voluntarily
to abase himself as low as the vileness of his cha-
racter requires him to lie. This is the disposition
with which he renounces his own righteousness,
and relies on the righteousness of the Lord Jesus
136 HitmiUty,
Christ. Once, the humble man thought little of
his own vileness; now, a sense of his vileness
covers him with shame. Once, he thought him-
self rich and increased with goodsy and in need of
nothing ; now, he sees and feels that he is wretch-
ed, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.
Once, he was too proud to become a beggar;
now, he begs for mercy ; begs with hope and with
joy in the name of Jesus.
This is the disposition that is interwoven with
his experience and his conduct. It manifests it-
self both toward God, and toward man. Espe-
cially does it manifest itself toward God. When
thinking of God, when beholding His glorious
perfections, when rejoicing in the perfection
of His government, and in the excellence of
His designs, the humble heart adopts the lan-
guage of Job, / have heard of Thee by the hearing
of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee ; wherefore,
I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. When
thinking of God, he feels the weight of obliga-
tion to love and serve Him with all the heart.
Hence he is borne down under a sense of his in-
excusable deficiencies. A view of his corruption
keeps him near to the earth. He is ashamed
that he is no more hoi v. How often is he con
HnmilUij. 137
strained to exclaim, *' O ivrctched man that I am!
" Can it be that one who knows no more of the
" love of God, who is no more conformed to His
♦* image, is in truth His own dear child!'* He de-
siies to divest himself of all his pride ; to empty
himself; to feel as nothing, and be as nothing and
yanity.
In the more immediate presence of God, the
humble Christian remembers that he is a redeem-
ed sinner. When approaching the mercy-seat,
lie takes the place of a broken-hearted beggar.
He goes to the God of all grace like a man who
knows that he deserves to sink into hell. He is
ready to bow low before Christ; to ivash Hisfett
nith his tears, and to wipe them with the hair of his
head. Like the woman of Canaan, he begs for
the crumbs of divine mere}'. He does not desire
to plead his own merit, but with a bosom bleed-
ing for sin, and an eye cast down to the earth,
makes mention of the name of Jesus* Though at
times he is ashamed to approacli the throne ;
though he hardly dare approach; yet like the
j)ublican, standing afar off, he does not so mnch
fis lift vp his eyes to heaven, hut smites upon his
18
138 Htimility,
breast, saying, God, be merciful to me a sinntr.
His most favoured moments are those in which
he is enabled to lie low before a Holy God, and
in which he has increasing desires to be kept
humble to the end of his days.
This humble temper of mind also naturally
Hows forth in his intercourse with his fcIlow-men,
It is true, that some good men have vastly more
native haughtiness, vastly more of the over-bear-
ing spirit of tlie carnal man to struggle with, than
others. Notwithstanding this, real Christians are
humble ; and their humility will necessarily ex-
press itself in the modesty and meekness of their
habitual deportment. Let nothing, says the Apos-
tle, be done through strife or vain-glory, but in low-
lihess of mind let each esteem other better than them-
selves. The spirit of Christianity is congenial
with its precepts, though it is not in the present
life perfectly conformed to them. There is such
a thing as in honour preferring one another, though
we may sometimes be led to imagine that there
is not much of it visible. There is sucli a spirit,
and however those who indulge the hope of their
good estate may be disposed to shrink from the
test, such is the spirit of all Christians,
HimilUi/, 139
Charity, saith the Apostle, vauntcth not of itself,
is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemlj/.
With a lmin])le frame of inind, a man will set a
due value upon his own attainments. He will
not be apt 1o think hi;^hly of his own virtues, nor
consider himself injured if he is not highly es-
teemed by others. It is difficult for an unhum-
bled, self-righteous man not to betray his hypo-
crisy by being proud of his supposed self-
abasement. He has much to say of his frames
and experiences; much to boast of the abas-
ing vieAVs wiiich he has had of himself, and
the wonderful discoveries in divine things with
which he has been favoured. But the truly hum-
bled soul desires more to he humble, than to ap-
pear humble. It is no part of his character to
make great pretences to humility. There are
indeed seasons when he is favoured with unusual
manifestations of the divine glory, and abasing
views of his own vileness. And he somethnes
speaks of them. With modesty he may speak of
them. He is not freed from the duty, nor deprived
of the privilege of telling what the Lord has done
for his soul, merely because the world may brand
him with the name of Pharisee. But when he
does it, it is that he may strengthen the weak, re-
140 Humility,
fresh the weary, cheer the desponding, and give
honour to divine grace. He does it, not boast-
ingly, not with the language, God, I thank Thee
that I am not as other men I but with tlie spirit
that esteems others better than himself. He knows
tliat he has nothing to be proud of; and that if he
is made to differ from others, it becomes him to
adopt the language of the Psalmist, rather than
that of the Pharisee, Not unto mCy O Lord, not
unto me, but unto thy name give glory, J or thy mercy
and thy trutKs sake !
Something like this is the spirit of the gospel,
A sense of dependence, of un worthiness, and of
ill-desert, manifesting itself both toward God and
toward man, is the spirit of humility. When the
Christian, as the elect of God, puts on bowels of
mereies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
long-suffering, then he exhibits the power and
sweetness of vital religion. Seated in the lowest
place, and clothed with humility, he exhibits
some degree of the amiableness of his Divine
Master. Well may we call humility a Heaven-
born grace. She is indeed the daughter of the
skies, tlie '* meek-eyed child of Jesus," and dwells
only with him, who, like herself, is born from
above.
Humility. 141
Here then you have a rule of trial. The spirit
of humility is conclusive evidence of vital godli-
ness. It enters into the essence of religion. Here
the new nature eminently discovers itself. The
humble spirit is that child-like, Christ-like temper,
which is exclusively the effect of the Almighty
power of God upon the heart.
Can the reader lay his hand upon his heart,
and say, that he is conscious of this heavenly
temper of mind ? Can he in the sincerity of his
soul, say, that he is conscious of this spirit of
voluntary self-abasement ? Did he ever, and does
he still, take a just view of his ow n character, and
does he possess the disposition voluntarily to
abase himself, as low as the vileness of his cha-
racter requires him to lie ?
Do you cherish a conviction of your depend-
ence? Or do you live without God in the world?
Do you live from day to day, and from year to
year, realizing the relation which you bear to the
great First Cause ? Do you delight to feel that
God sees you, and upholds you, and governs you?
Or do you banish a sense of your perfect de-
pendence upon Him, and feel, and act, as though
142 Humilili/.
God had no concern with you, and you had no
concern with Him ?
Do you cherish a sense of your great unvvor-
thiness and ill-desert ? Do you feel yourself to be
a vile and hateful sinner 'I What if others should
esteem you according to the vileness of your
character; would you not view yourself injured ?
If God should esteem you, and treat you accord-
ing to the vileness of your character ; would you
not think it hard and unjust? Should you not
murmur and complain ?
Is the humble temper of the Gospel interwoven
with your religious experience ? A savour of hu-
mility is diffused throughout all the Christian
graces. " Christian affections," says the immor-
tal Edwards, " Christian affections are like Mary's
" precious ointment, that she poured on Christ's
« head, that filled the Avhole house with a sweet
" odour. It was poured out of a broken box; till
"the box was broken, tlie ointment could not
« flow. So gracious affections flow out of a bro-
<'ken heart. Gracious affections are also like
«' those of Mary Magdalene, who also pours
" precious ointment on Chri-l out of a broken
Humiliii/, 143
** alabast4?r box, anoinling therewith the feet of
*' Jesus, wlien she had washed them with her tear?,
" and wiped tliein with the hair of her head. All
" gracious aflertions that are a sweet odour to
" Christ, and that fill the soul of a Cljristian with
*' an heavenly sweetness and fragrancy, are bro-
" ken-hearted affections. A truly Christian love,
" either to God or men, is a humble, broken-heaii-
" ed love. The desires of the saints, however
" earnest, are humble desires Their hope is an
** humble hope, and their /oy, even when it is un-
** speakahle and full of glory, is a humble, broken-
'' hearted joy, and leaves the Christian more poor
" in spirit, and more like a little child, and more
" disposed to an universal lowliness of behaviour*."
Is the humble spirit of the Gospel also inter-
woven with your habitual deportment ? Are you
habitually disposed to esteem others better than
yourself ? or to esteem yourself better than
others? Do you rejoice to see others of equal
merit with yourself, as much beloved and honour-
ed as you are / And if their merit exceeds your
own, are you willing to see them more beloved
and honoured than you are ? Or are you for ever
* Edwards on tlic Affeciions.
144 HumiUtif.
restless and dissatisfied, because you are not more
beloved and honoured than every body else ? Do
you love the praise of' men more than the praise of
GodI Ho7V can ye believe, saith the meek and lowly
Jesus, How CAN ye believe^ who receive honour one
of another y and seek not the honour that comethfrom
God only 7
In the character of a Christian, humility is the
one thing needful. Where this is wanting, all is
wanting. A proud, haughty spirit is inconsistent
with the spirit of the gospel. It is the ge-
nius of that gospel, it is one grand design of all
the dispensations of grace toward fallen man, to
exalt him to glory, by first humbling him in the
dust. He that exaUeth himself shall be abased, and
he that humhleth himself shall be exalted.
Does the reader indulge the hope of having
made his peace with God ? Let him remember,
that God is at peace with none, except the hum-
ble and contrite. He lifteth up the meek, but cast-
fth the wicked down to the ground. iVo matter
what are your professions ; no matter how high
your supposed attainments ; if you have never felt
the contrition of a broken heart, you have never
tasted that the Lord is gracious. Still, you are
Humilily, Hj
not to reject the hope of your good estate, be-
cause you find much of the spirit of pride within
you. Alas, how much of this detestable spirit
have the best of Cod's people ! With tbis enemy
will be our longest and severest conllict. It pos-
sesses so much of the cuiming of the Serpent, that
it is perhaps less easily de,tected than any other
form of depravity. When you have mortified it
in one shape, you will find that it rises in another;
and when you fondly hope it is dead, you will
find that it has been secretly gathering strength,
to commence the attack with new vigour, fresh
courage, and perhaps greater success. Pride will
live, until the Old Man is dead. It is the " ulce-
" rated part of the body of sin and death." It
is the main spring to all the obstructions which
impede our progress toward Heaven. It is the
•secret avenue through which the Tempter too
often enters and leads the best of men astray. It
is the " great inlet of the smoke from the bottom-
" less pit," which darkens the mind, casts a gloom
around their fairest prospects, and sometimes
leaves them awhile in the gloom of despondency.
With this enemy will be your longest and sever-
est conflict. Put on, therefore, the whole armoui*
of God, and watch unto prayer. The claihinff.«
19
146 Humility,
of pride and humility should often drive the
Christian to the throne of grace. Who can mi-
dersiand his errors ? Cleanse Thou mc from secret
faults! You may have much pride; but have
you any humility ? Be not deceived. Seest thou
a man wise in his own conceit 1 There is more
hope of a fool than of him. Blessed are the poor
in spirit, for their^s is the kingdom of Heriven.
ESSAY X.
SEtF-DENIAL.
From the formation of the first Angel of light
down to the period when the heavens shall pass
away as a scroll, the Creator of the ends of
the earth had His eye steadfastly fixed on the
same grand object. As all things are ofUim, so
all will be to Him. He who made all things for
Himself, cannot fail to pursue the end for which He
made them, and to obtain it at last. When the pro-
ceedings of the Last Day shall have been closed ;
whenthe assembled worlds shall have entered upon
the unvarying retributions of eternity; when the
heavens and the earth shall have passed away, and a
new heaven and a new earth, the Holy City, the
148 iSelf'deniaL
New Jerusalem, shall have come down from God
out of heaven: He thai sitfeth upon the throne
shall say, tt is done ; / am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end! In the winding up the
the scene, it will appear that God Himself is the
jfirst and the last ; not merely the efficient, but
the final cause of all things. The vast plan^
which has for its object nothing less than the
brightest manifestation of the divine glory, has
an unalienable right to the most unreserved de-
votedness of every intelligent being. To the
advancement of this plan, God therefore requires
every intelligent being to be voluntarily sub-
servient. All the strength and ardour of affec-
tion which we are capable of exercising, must
be concentrated here. Every faculty, every
thought, every volition, every design, must be de-
voted to this great cause. The injunction is expli-
cit: Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever
ye do,do all to the glory of God, Now the heart of de-
praved man is obstinately averse to such a course
of feelings and conduct. Instead of being su-
premely attached to Gocff and the good of His
kingdom, men are by nature lovers of their own
selves. Hence there is a controversy between
man and his Maker. God rerxuhes men to re^
Self'denud. ' 149
gard His ^lory as the great object of their af-
fections, and the ultimate end of their conduct ;
but they disregard His requisitions, and in all
(Jieir feelings and conduct have respect ulti-
mately to themselves. This controversy draws
the line of distinction between friends and foes.
As the spirit of self-advancement is the root of
all sin ; so the spirit of self-denial is the root of
all holiness.
Self-denial consists in the voluntary renunciatiofi
of every thing which is inconsistent with the glory of
Gody and the highest good of our Jellorv men*
It does not imply the voluntary renunciation of
^ood, or the voluntary toleration of evil, as being
desirable in themselves considered ; though it does
imply both as being desirable all things consider-
cd. There is no absurdity in the proposition, that
a thing may be very unpleasant in its own nature,
but, taking all things into view, may be very de-
sirable. It is perfectly consistent for men to de-
sire to enjoy themselves, and yet desire to deny
themselves \ to hate niisery, and yet be willing
to suffer it. Neither does it imply tlie renuncia-
tion of all regai d to one's self. The desue of hap-
piness, and the aversion to misery, are insepara*
150 Sel/'deniat.
ble from human nature. The natural principle
of self-love does not constitute the sin of selfish-
ness, A man may have a due regard to his own
happiness, without being supremely selfish.
There is no moral turpitude in being influenced
by the anticipation of good, or the apprehension
of evil, provided I am not influenced by these con-
siderations supremely. There is no sin in re-
garding my own interest, provided I do not put
a higher estimate upon it than it will bear. The
evil lies in viewing it of greater moment than it
is ; in making every thing subservient to myself,
and myself subservient to nothing.
Self-denial is diametrically opposite to supreme
selfishness. " Selfishness," says Dr. Owen, " is the
" making a man's self his own centre, the begin-
'« ning and end of all that he doth." It is diffi-
cult, with the bible in our hands, or upon the
principles of sound philosophy, not to acknow-
ledge the distinction between affections that
are supremely selfish, and truly disinterested,
to be both plain and important. There is no
need of the aid of metaphysical discussion to
establish the proposition, that no man ought
to regard his own happiness more than every
thing else, and that the man who does, possesses
Self -denial 151
none of the spirit of the Gospel. The affec-
lioiis of men must be placed on some one ob-
ject that is paramount to every other. Two
objects of supreme delight there cannot be.
Two paramount principles of action there can-
not be. There is no intermediate object be-
tween God and self, that can draw forth the high-
est and strongest affections of the soul. As there
is " no such thing as a creature's going out of
" himself, without rising as high as the glory of
** God ;" so there is no such thing as a creature's
going out of God, without descending as low as
himself. Other objects may be loved; but if
they are not loved merely as the means of
self-gratification, they are not loved supreme-
ly. Affections that do not terminate on God,
terminate on self. Men who do not seek the
things that are Jesus C7irisfs, seek their own. Inor-
dinate self-love is the ruling passion of their
hearts, and the governing principle of their
lives. They love themselves, not as they ought
to love themselves, but supremely. They set
up their own private good as the highest object
of desire and pursuit. Their affections operate
in a very narrow circle. They have no ultimate
regard but to themselves. They have but one
interest, and that is their own. A supreme re-
152 Self'deniah
gard to their own happiness is the main spring of
all that they do for God, of all that they do for
themselves, and all that they do for their fellow
men.
It is needless to say, that with this spirit,
Christian self-denial has no conununion. The na-
ture of this heavenly grace is expansive. It is the
result of a supreme attachment to a higher interest
than our own. It lights on self; but does not ter-
minate on self It stops at nothing short of the
highest good ; and in pursuing that, terminates
on an object large enough to gratify the strong-
est desires of the most benevolent mind. He
who is not a stranger to the spirit of self-de-
nial, has learned to make his own interest bend
to the interest of God's kingdom ; and that from
supreme regard to the interest of God's kingdom,
and not from supreme regard to himself. The
glory of God is the great end of his conduct.
It is his great concern that God should be glorifi-
ed ; that His laws should be obeyed ; His gos-
pel loved, and the highest interest of His infi-
nitely extended Kingdom prevail and triumph.
Once he denied Christ for himself; now he denies
himself for Christ. Once he lived to himself; now
he lives to God, No duty is so hard, that he h
Self'denial 153
not Willing and resolved to perform ; no sin so
sweet, that he is not willing and resolved to for-
sake. He takes up the cross at the hazard ot
every thing. Nothing is too dear to give to Christ ;
nothing too great to be cheerfully sacrificed for the
promotion of His glory. Such is the disposition
of good men, that they place their happiness in the
glory of God, and the prosperity of His kingdom.
They delight in this, in itself considered. They
love and pursue this, for what it is in itself consi-
dered, and not merely for the happiness which will
result to them from pursuing it. And the spirit of
disinterestedness will irresistibly impel them to do
so*. The glory of God the Christian must seek.
* If ihc opposiiion of the present day to the use of the
word disinterestedness did not strike deeper than at the natnc,
we should be chargeable with great incivility in not abandon-
ing the use of it. But we cannot abandon the truth — no,
never ! Once let the Christlike spirit of disinterestedness b&
reduced to the level ofmere selfishness, and the maxims of God-
win, Bolingbroke, and Hume, will harmonize with the maxims
of Edwards, Paul, and Jesus Christ. It well became an infidel
to say, " Self-love is the only spring from which all moral du-
" ties and afifections flow.'* It well became the Apostle to say,
<' Charity seeketh not her own." Here their systems differ.
Here tiieir characters differ. This is the point of difference
between the precious and the vile. Systems and characters
20
154 Self-deniaL
Seeking this, he cannot be miserable ; not seeking
this, he cannot be happy. He knows he is but a
point in the universe ot God, "an atom in the sum
of being," a single member of Christ's mystical
body ; and is willing that God should lift him up,
or cast him down at His pleasure. His own ad-
vancement is as a feather, a nothing, when put in
that diverge here, and that continue to diverge, will find the
impassable gulph between them at last.
It is unhappy that plain Christians should have imbibed the
notion, that the doctrine of disinterestedness is an innovation.
It is not true. It is a doctrine of the Reformation ; a doc-
trine well understotui, and clearly taught by the divines of
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The leading principles
of that doctrine as exhibited in this essay^ do not differ froraf
the views of Calvin^ Van Mastric/it, and Witsius.
" Non propterea," says the great JFitsius^ " Non prop-
'*' terea, sanctitate operum dat vcre fidelis, ut gloriam
^^ famamque apud homines aucopetur. Non mercenario
« sui amore ad propria vel hujus^ vel futura vitae commoda
« solum collimat. Sublimior longe sanctiorque piorum est
<« intentio : quae in Deum, et in seipsos, ct in proximum fe-
" runtur. Ante omnia Dei gloriam quserunt. Hanc amant,
« hujus amplificationem expetunt, omnique suo nisu pro-
" movent : Dicant jugiter^ magnijicetur Jeho-ca^ amantes sa.-
^'' lutis tucc. Hue omnibus suis exercitiis tcndunt, inoffenso
" cursu pergentes, at diem Christi ; reJiUtifructibusjustiti<Cf
" qui su?it /icr Jesum Christum^ ad gloriam ct laudem Uei.
« Quorum operum scaturigo et principium est amor Dei,
" eorum finis non potest non esse ejusdcm Uci gloria. Qui
Self-denial, \ /j5
the balance asjainst the honour of Christ and the
good of His kingdom.
Such is the spirit of self-denial. It is the result
of a calm, deliberate, invincible attachment to
the highest good, flowing forth in the voluntary-
renunciation of every thing that is inconsistent
" cnim Deum impense amat, id quoque supra omnia amat,
" quod Deo est aniadssimum. Deus autem ita suam diligit
^< glorium, ut ejus gratia facial quodcunque fucit ; ideo om-
" nia sunt ex ipso, ut sint rursus ad ipsum, et ipsi gloria
" sit in secula. Hac quoque in parte Deo similes sancti sunt,
" quod in omnibus actionibus suis Dei gloriam prae oculis
" habcant.
" Post haJic Divini nominis gloriam, licet quoque viro sancto
« sui ipsius rationem in virtutum suarum exercitio habere :
« atque id intendere, ut suae sibi a Deo electionis ajtcrnc sit
'.' conscius- — ut inoffensae conscientise testimonio, eaque quae
« illud consequitur, tranquilitate exultet, Sec. Haec tamcn
« omnia ita expetere sanctitas Christiana docct, non ut nis
<' tanquam uctimo sine subsistamus ; sed ut ea quoque ad
" Uei gloriam referamus,*' That is,
The true believer docs not strive to obtain holiness for the
sake of human applause. He does not, by a mercenary self-
love^ aim merely at his own advantage, cither in this life or
the life to come. The object of good men is far more pure
and elevated ; whereby they are carried out both toward
God, themselves, and their neighbour. Above all things,
they seek the glory of God. This is the grand object of their
affections. This, they ardently desire and indefatigakly pur-
156 Self-denial
with the glory of God, and the good of our fellow
men.
That this is the scriptural idea of self-denial, it
ivould be easy to illustrate by a multitude of ex-
amples. This is the elevated spirit that prompt-
ed the father of the faithful to offer up the son
sue. Let such as love thy salvation,^ say continually, the Lord
be magnified 1 Hither, in all their exercises they tend, pro-
ceeding in an easy course, until the day of Christ ; being'
filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus
Christ unto the glory and praise of God. As the source and
principle of their works is the love of Gud, so the end of
them is His glory. For he who loves God fervently, loves above
all things what is most beloved by God. Bui G.'d so loves
His own gloryy that whatever He does, He does with a view
to promote it; so that all things are of Him, that they may-
be again to Him, and to Him be the glory for ever. In this
xesptct the saints are like God, because in all their actions,
they have a sufireme regard to His glory.
In subordination to the glory of the Divine Name, the
child of God rnay also in the exercise of the christian gracesy
liave respect to himself and endeavour to gain the assurance
of his own eternal election — to rejoice in the testimony of a
good conscience, and in that peace of mind which flows there-
from, Etc. But evangelical holiness teaches so to desire
these things as not to rest in them as our ultimate end, but
to direct even them to the glory of God.
Vid. Hermanni Witsii, dc (^conomica Jtxderum, Lib. IIJ.
cap, xii. p. 478 — 81,
Self -denial 157
ol' promise; that core the three worthies of Baby-
Ion to the burning fiery furnace, and tliat led the
Apostles and martyrs to glory in tribulation. It
has borne the test of ridicule and reproach ; stood
undaunted before the scourge and the prison ; tri-
umphed amidst the light of the faggot, and smiled
at the point of the sword. This is the spirit which
shone with such signal lustre in the sufferings and
death of our Blessed Lord. It was eminently the
characteristic of this Divine Personage, that in all
He did and suffered, He pleased not Himself, He
sought not His own glory, but the glory of the
Father who sent Him. Though He was rich, yet
for OUR SAKES He became poor, that ive through
His poverty might become rich. He often antici-
pated the day of His death, and in itself consider-
ed, earnestly desired to be delivered from that
fatal hour. He knew the malice of His enemies,
and expected to feel the weight of it in His last
sufferings. He foresaw all the circumstances
that would add poignancy to his anguish, and
foresaw them with distress and agony. But does
He shrink from the dreadful undertaking ? You
see Him steadfastly .netting His face to go to Je-
rusalem ; you hear Him telling His disciples that
He must go; He mmt suffer; he must be killed; but
do you hearHim complain? GofoCietbsemane, and
1 58 Self-denial,
there behold the Son of God under the most clear
and awful view of His approaching crucifixion,
and learn what it is to deny yourself for the sake
of advancing the Father's glory. Listen to the
language of a heart already broken with grief:
*' / am poured out like water, all my bones are
out of joint J my heart is like ivax ; it is melted
in the midst of my bowels. This body sweats
as it were great drops of blood. The hidings
of my Father's face are enough to bury me in
eternal darkness. The guilt of this falling world
will sink my feeble frame to the grave. O 7ny
Father, if it be possible, let this cup jmss from
me I But no7V is my soul troubled. The hour is
tome, and ivhat shall I say ? Father, save me
from this hour! But for this cause came I to
this hour. Father, GLORIFY THY NAME !"
This w^as carrying self-denial to its highest pitch.
So pure was the disinterestedness of the Saviour,
that the sweetest feelings of His heart would have
remained for ever ungratified, without the privi-
lege of expiring on the cross.
This too is the spirit which is no less strongly en-
forced by precept than example. How often are
believers exhorted, !\'0t to seek their own ; not
to live unto TUiiMSELvi:?: ; and whether they live.
Self'dcniah 159
to live UNTO THE LoRD ; or whether they die, to dit
UNTO THE Lord? That eharity whkli the apos-
tle represents as the distinguishing charaderis-
iic of believers, is self-denying ; it seeketh not
her ojvn. If any man, saith the divine Saviour,
Tvill come after me, let him deny himself, and
lake up the cross and follow me. Whosoever will
save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose
his life for my sake, shall find it.
One Avould think it difficult, after such an ex:-
plication, to be long in doubt as to the nature of
one of the most decisive evidences of real reli-
gion. We can hardly turn to a page in the Bible,
without being convinced, that the grand distinc-
tion between true religion and false, is that the
one is disinterested, the other is supremely self-
ish. For whether we he beside ourselves, says the
apostle to the Corinthians, it is to God ; or whe-
ther we he sober, it isjor your cause. For the
love of Christ constraineth us, because we thusjudgCy
that if one died for all, then were all dead; and
that He died for all, that they which live should
not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto
Him which died for them and rose again.
Those who ore in the flesh, unbelievers, live unto
160 Self-dtnial
themselves ; those who are in the spirit, believer?,
live unto Clirist. There are but two moral cha-
racters that are essentially diflferent, and this is
the radical difference between them.
Here then you have another criterion of Chris-
tian character. It is not supposed that in the pre-
sent state, we shall find self-denial unalloyed with
selfishness. There is not a just man upon earth that
doeth good and sinneth not. Still, in the affections
and conduct of every child of God, the spirit of self-
denial is the prominent feature. He who possesses
most of this spirit, possesses most of the spirit of
his Divine Master. In the same propoiiion in
which the glory of God and the welfare of His
kino^dom take the place of personal advancement,
does vital religion predominate in the soul.
I wish I could press this point upon the con-
science of the reader as closely as its importance
demands. The end of the Christian in the exer-
cise of grace, is the glori/ of God, and not merely
his own present or future happiness. The ob-
ject at which he aims rises far above any thing
that is confined within the limited circle of which
his little self is the centre. Let the reader calf
mf 'denial 161
in tiis wandering thoughts, and inquire, Have I
ever been taught to iix my heart on any thing
infinitely more important than myself 1 Do not
all my religious affections spring fronri some self^
ish motive ? Is the desire of self-advancement, or
the desire to advance the glory of God, the para-
mount principle of my feelings and conduct?
The Monastery and the Cloister, are not th«
only evidences that there is much of the show
of self-denial where there is none of its spirit.
We must look diligently into the nature of our
religion, if we would not be deceived. Men may
deny themselves in a thousand instances, from no
other motive than that they expect to be the
gainers by it. And no marvel ; for Satan him-
self is transformed into an angel of light. You
cannot know whether your self-denial is genuine,
or whether it is spurious, without knowing whe-
ther it is founded upon a supreme attachment to
the glory of God. To deny yourself from a
supreme regard to a higher interest than your
own, is to possess the spirit of the gospel. Is this
then the principle which regulates your conduct
both toward God and toward man ? Which do you
pursue most, your interest or your duty ? Wtiicb
do you think of most, your inleresi or your du-
2J
162 Self-denial
iy ? Can you sell all for the pearl of great price ?
Can you renounce your ease, your profit, your
honour, when they come in competition with your
duty ? Can you renounce every thing which is
inconsistent w ith the glory of God, and the high-
est good of your fellow men ? Are these the na-
tural breathings of your heart— T% kingdom
come ! Thy will be done I Is the highest interest
of this kingdom identified with the object of your
highest wish, and your most vigorous exertion ?
Is the cause of Christ your concern ? the disho-
nour of Christ, your affliction, the cross of Christ
your glory? If so, you are not strangers to
the spirit of self-denial. You are not without
conclusive evidence, that you are born from
above. The more you forget yourselves in a
supreme regard for God's glory, the more will
vou advance your own interest, both in this world
and that which is to come. But the more you
seek a selfish, private, separate interest, in oppo-
sition to the glory of God, the more are you
seekin^r an hiterest which God has determined to
destroy.
ESSAY XI.
SPIRIT OF PRAYER.
Saul of Tarsus was once a hardened obstinate
sinner. He styles himself the chief of sinners, a
blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious. But he
was a chosen vessel. It pleased God, who separat-
ed him from his mother's womb, suddenly to ar-
rest him in his career ; and near the spot where he
had anticipated the success of a commission arm-
ed with the most unrelenting virulence against
the trembling Christians, to humble him to the
dust. He had in all its strength and prominence,
borne the image of the earthly ; but now he bears
the inia2;e of the heavenly. Behold, saith the
testimony of the faithful and true witness, jBe-
hold, lie prayeth ! He is not now the persecuting
Saul; but the heaven-born, praying Paul. The-
J 64 Spirit of Prayer.
proud Pharisee has become the humble suppli-
ant ; the stubborn rebel the meek child of JesuSo
" No sooner is the soul born than it breathes ;
'' no sooner is^ Paul * converted, than Behold, he
'* prays /"
When we say that the spirit of prayer is con-
clusive evidence of Christian Character, we feel
Under obligation to point out wherein that spirit
consists. We are not to forget that there is such
a thing as drawing nigh unto God with the mouthy
and honouring Him wilh the lips, while the heart is
Jar from Him. The hearts of men may be as
stupid and unfeeling, as proud and as self-right-
eous ; they may be in the exercise of as sensible
opposition to the character of the Most High, to
the law and the gospel, while offering up the
most solemn expressions of homage, as they are
when God is not in all their thoughts. But it is
not so wilh the righteous. His prayer goeth not
Jorlh out of feigned lips. With the spiritual wor-
shipper, the heart feels what the lips express.
The spirit of prayer is humble. It flows from
a broken and contrite heart. The publican could
not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote
vpon hk breast^ saying, God be mere if id to me a sin-
Spirit of Prayer. 165
ner ! Before Him who is so great, that the nations
are as the drop of the bucket in His presence ;
and so holy, that the heavens are impure in His
sight; tlie suppliant feels as a man of unclean
lips. Every sentiment of his heart constrains
him to make tlie affecting confession, O my Gody
I am ashamed y and blush to lift up my face to TheCy
for my iniquities are increased over my heady and
my trespass is grown up unto the Heavens ! Some-
times a sense of guilt so overwhelms the soul, as
to prevent its free access to the throne. Mine
iniquities have taken hold upon me, says the Psalm-
ist, so that I am not able to look up j they arc more
than the hairs of mine head, therefore my heart failr
cth me.
The spirit of prayer is also believing. Nu-
merous and aggravated as his sins appear; much
as they attempt to discourage the believer from
duty, he does not yield to the discouragement.
He has respect unto the sacrifice of the Son of
God. He believes that God is, and that He is a
r( warder of all who diligently seek Him. He looks
to Jesus, the Mediator of the better covenant, as
the way of access to the Father. The efficacy
of His blood, the virtue of His righteousness is
hi* only plea» He has an unshaken confidence.
166 Spirit of Prayer
that God can glorify Himself by answering his
requests for Christ's sake, and he is therefore
emboldened to press them in Christ's name.
Though he has a lively sense of his own unwor-
thiness, yet he knows that he has a Great High
Priest that has passed into the Heavens^ Jesus the
Son of Gody who is touched ?vith a feeling of his
infirmities, and he therefore comes boldly to the
throne of grace, that he may obtain mercy, and
find grace to help in time of need, ITntil the
work of redeeming grace shall cease ; until
the Father shall forget the Son of His love ; un-
til the name of Christ shall cease to be precious,
and His intercession shall be no longer prevail-
ing — faith in the blood of the spotless sacritice
will appertain to the nature of prayer.
But the spirit of prayer is also submissive.
The suppliant prefers God's will to his own.
This was the disposition which our Blessed Lord
manifested in the Garden. It was an awful
thought to Him to die ; but it was a still more
awful one, that His Father's will sliould not be
accomplished. Tliough Christ viewed the death
of the cross in its own nature dreadful, yet he
viewed the will of His Father delightlul. He
Spirit of Prayer. 167
chose that His Father's will should be done
rather than His own. The cup which my father
hath given me, shall I not drink it 1 His will was
absorbed in the will of God. O m\] Father, if it
BE POSSIBLE, let this cup pass from me; neverthelesSy
not MY will, but THINE be done ! This, in a greater
or less degree, is the spirit of every genuine sup-
pliant. He pours forth the fulness of his heart
in the affectionate language of a child, and the
submissive language of a servant He is prepared
to be accepted, or to be rejected in his petitions.
He approaches the mercy-seat with the desire that
God would exercise His wisdom and grace in
granting or denying his requests.
This is the spirit of prayer ; sincere, humble,
believing, submissive. Other prayer than this
the Bible does not require, God will not accept.
This is the spirit of genuine devotion ; a spirit
which you cannot be conscious of possessing,
without the consciousness of your reconciliation
to God. Because ye are sons, God hath sent fortli
the spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba,
Father. If you possess this spirit, though it be
in a very imperfect state, you enjoy tlie high
privilege of being adopted into God's family,
and of occupying the place, not of strangers, not
168 Spirit of Prayer.
of foreigners, not merely of servants, but of chil-
dren, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus
Christ. When the Spirit bears witness fvith our
spirits that we are the children of Gody how high
the pleasure to utter our acknowledgments, to
lisp our praise, to breathe forth our complaints
toward Heaven ! What tongue can express the
sweetness of these seasons of refreshing ! How
is the heart enlarged ! Where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty. No slavish fear per-
plexes the mind ; no frown of divine displeasure
guards the throne of mercy. The children of
the common Father come near even to His seat.
There they taste and see that the Lord is gra-
cious ; there, they are assimilated into the
likeness of the Holy One; there they see the
clearest manifestations of the divine beauty;
and beholding as in a glass the glori/ of the Lordy
arc changed into the same image, from glory to glo-
ry, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Does the reader possess the spirit of prayer ?
Is it his meat and his drink to liold communion
w ith God — through Christ, to have access by one
Spirit unto the Father ? Is it his greatest pleasure
to be near to God, and hi? greatest grief to be
iar from Him? If so, however great his fears, be
Spirit of Prayer. 1 69
may hope. His privilege is the privilege of
sons ; his consolations, those hidden joys with
which a stranger intermeddleth not; his seasons
of refreshing, foretastes of the river of life, which
flows from the throne of God and the Lamb.
It may not be amiss, while we are upon this
subject, to spend a few minutes in looking at the
question, What evidence does the long continu-
ed practice of the external duty of prayer
afford of the existence of vital religion in the
heart? We do not mean, by this statement, neces-
sarily to exclude the spirit from the form of
prayer. If we did, the question would be at an
end. What evidence does the long continued
practice of the external form afford of the exis-
tence of the internal spirit ? It is a question of
moment.
Men may pray much, and yet not be Christians,
They may pray in public, and in their families,
and still not be Christians. This they may do to
gratify their pride ; to be seen of men ; to main-
tain the character of Christians in the view of the
world. They may pvay in secret and not be
Christians : But whether men j)ersevere in the hahi-
tval prarfice of secret prayer without good evidence
'21
1 70 Spirit of Prayer.
of Christian character, is a f|iiestion which I dare
not answer in the negative. Neither would I ven-
ture to answer it unhesitatingly in the affirmative.
This much the Bible will surely warrant us to say,
Men who are not Christians will he exceedingly apt
to neglect, and in the end, wholly to neglect the prac,
tice of secret prayer. Men do not act without
motive. Now what motive can induce a m^ii
who is dead in tresspasses and sins, whose carnal
heart is enmity against God, to persevere in the
habitual practice of secret prayer? Is it to silence
the clamours of a guilty conscience ? To do this,
he will pray, and often pray in secret. But
will he always call upon God ? The impenitent
are sometimes the subjects of much seriousness ;
they are convinced of their duty, and alarmed at
their danger ; and while they remain in this state,
they are compelled to admit the truth and im-
portance of religion, and dare not omit the duty
of secret prayer. But when they lose their con-
victions and forget their danger, the duties of the
closet gradually become irksome. At length,
they are a weariness. Conscience ceases to go-
vern, and almost to accuse. Her monitory voice
is silenced; and it becomes less and less difficult
to cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God.
spirit of Prayer, i 7 1
There is another motive which will induce the
impenitent to maintain the practice of secret de-
votion for a considerable length of time. When
once they have wrought themselves into the per-
suasion that they are Christians, and have cherish-
ed tlie hope that they are interested in the bless-
ings of the gospel salvation, they relinquish the
persuasion, and abandon the hope with singular
reluctance. They will do much to entertain and
defend them. They are too selfish to omit a
duty, the omission of which bears in its very face
convincing evidence that they are hypocrites.
They will rather practise the most self-denying
duties, even long after they have lost their borrow-
ed sweetness, for the sake of the testimony which
they derive from this source, that tliey are the
children of God. This motive no doubt operates
in many instances powerfully, and for some
time ; but does it operate uniformly, ani to
the end of life ? With persons of this descrip-
tion, the omission of secret prayer is at first
occasional; then, more or less frequent as other
avocations demand; till, at length, the cares
of the world, the temptations of the Adver-
sary, and the allurements of sin so far blind the
understanding and stupify the conscience, that
Ihe mo<t hardened sinner still cherishes his vain
1 72 Spirit of Prayer.
confidence, while he closes his eyes upon the last
glimmering of evidence that that confidence k
script m'al.
But though men may pray, and pray some-
times in secret, they will be exceedingly apt to
neglect this duty, if they are not Christians.
Wherever you find the habitual performance
of secret prayer for a long course of years,
there is some reason to believe, you find the
breathings of the new born soul. There you
may hope that there are hungerings and thirstings
after righteousness. There you will usually dis-
cover a heart that is not in pursuit of hope mere-
iy, but grace; not safety only, but holiness.
There you will usually, if not always, discover
one, not muttering over a few unmeaning sen-
tences, as devoid of life as a loathsome carcass
is of the life-giving spirit ; but one whom the
Spirit of God has taught to pray, because he is
weak and needs strength ; because he is tempted
and needs support; because he is in want and
needs supply ; because he is a sinner and needs
mercy.
If these remarks are just, it is not impertinent to
ask the reader, whether lie practises the duty of
Spirit of Prayer. 173
secret prayer ? We do not ask whether he prays
in secret now and then ; whether lie performs this
duty on the Sabbath, or some occasional seasons of
unusual alarm or solemnity? Is this his habitual
practice .' Has it been his habitual practice ever
since he hoped he was brouo;ht out of darkness
into God's marvellous light? No matter how
punctual you are in other duties ; no matter
what evidence you have of your conversion from
any other quarter; if you have not this, you
may set all other down for nought. The want of
this is decisive evidence against you, even if the
possession of it is not decisive evidence in your
favour. Prayer has been often styled the " Chris-
" tian's breath." ft is eminently so. A prayer-
less Christian ! No, it cannot be. It is a mark of
the highest delusion, of the grossest stupidity, to
cherish the hope of having made your peace with
God, and at the same time to live in the neglect
of secret prayer. Who that has the least preten-
sion to religion, can presume to live without seek-
ing the favour, without deprecating the wrath, and
without realizing the presence of Him in whom he
lives, and moves, and has his being ? To live with-
out prayer, is emphatically, to live tvithout God in
the world.
174 Spirit of Proftr.
Before I conclude this e««ay, I would crire one
caution to a certain class of readers. There are
not wantinsT those who live in constant doubt and
trembling, because they do not enjoy the con-
stant presence of God, and the uniform ferrency
of affection in their retirements. Real Christians
bare seasons of coldness which chill the spirit of
devotion. Such i? the power of indwelling sin ;
so great is the influence of the world, the flesh,
and the Devil, that even God's own dear children
are sometimes carried too far down the current.
Yes, to the ^lame and guilt of God*s people, we are
constrained to make this aflecting acknowledg-
ment. Still, tiiiakumiliatH^tnitfa does not militate
against our general principle. Real Christians
cannot lire in the nesclect of prayer ; nay, more,
Ibose who do not possess the spirit, and live in the
babitual performance of the duty, are im ikt gaB
rfiitlenuss, amdikebomds of imiqmiti/. The mo-
nan begins to live in the neglect of prayer,
raofnent be should take the alarm.
May it then be said of you as it was of Saul of
Tarsus, Btkoid he prwftik I If so, then you like
him may be a ek^en xisstL Maintain a constant
and unifonn intinBC j with the throne of grace.
Spirit of Prayer. 175
and for the sake of our Great High Priest, God
will put his fear into your hearts, and you shall not
depart from him. Draw nigh unto God, and he
will draw nigh unto you. Keep near to the foun-
tain head, and with joy shall you draw water out
of the wells of salvation.
ESSAY XII,
LOVE TO THE BRETHREN.
The eminent Dr. Owen, speaking of the pri-
meval state of man, remarks, that "the whole
" beauty of the creation below consisted in man's
" loving God above all, and all other things in
*^ Him, and for Him, according as they did parti-
« cipate His glory and properties." That was a
hopeless hour when the golden chain that bound
God to man, and man to God and to each other,
was broken. Adairiy where art thou I Adam
heard, and was afraid. The earth was cursed,
and refused to yield her strength. Sin polluted
all the joys of Paradise ; apostate man became
the heir of misery, and henceforth dwelt in dark-
ness, cherishing the seeds of malice and envy, hate-
fuly and haling one another.
Love to the Brethren., 177
Upon this dismal gloom, not a ray has dawned
but from the cross of Christ. It is the preroga-
tive of the gospel of Jesus to publish the glad
tidings of great joy ; and while it proclaims, Glory
TO God in the highest, to restore peace on earthy
and good mil to man. This gospel breathes the
spirit of love. Love is the fulfilling of its pre-
cepts, the pledge of its joys, and the evidence of
its power. We know, saith the apostle, that we
have passed from death vnto life^ because we love
the brethren.
The love of the brotherhood is not one of the
native affections of the carnal mind. This cold,
degenerate soil, bears no such heavenly fruit.
The affection which Christians exercise toward
each other as Christians, is the offspring of bright-
er worlds. It is a principle of celestial birth*
Love is of God, and every one that lovcth, is born
of God, and knoweth God,
Brotherly love is an affection which is limited
to particular characters. There can be no doubt
but the chihhen of God are kindly affectioned
toward all men. Christian benevolence runs
parallel with rational being. Genuine love to
23
178 Love to the Brdhreiu
our neighbour is extended to all, according to
their character and circumstances. It blesses
those ivho eurse us, and does good to those who hate
us. This, however, is not the distinguishing nature
of brotherly love. Brotherly love differs materi-
ally from the love of benevolence. It is the love
of good men, and for their goodness only. It ex-
tends only to the followers of Christ. It is an af-
fection which is directed toward the excellence of
religion. It is complacency in holiness.
There is something in the character of every
child of God that reflects the image of his heaven-
ly Father. It is this that attracts the eye and wins
the heart. There is something which is amiable
and lovely. And it is this loveliness that gives a
spring to the affections and draws forth the hearts
of God's people tow^ard each other, as they are
drawn forth toward God Himself. The children
of God are partakers of the divine nature. From
bearing the image of the earthly, they now bear
the image of the heavenly, God has imparted to
them a portion of His own loveliness. He has
iormed Ihem new creatures. Of his free and dis-
tinguishing grace. He has made them, as they are
styled by the Wise Man, more excellent than their
neighbours. Hence they are lovely. They arc
Love to the Brethren, 179
the excellent of the earth, God loves them; Christ
loves them ; the Holy Spirit loves them ; angel>i
love them ; and they love each other. It is arouncf
them that the virtues cluster; from tliem that
the graces of heaven are reflected; though shaded,
and very often darkened, by the most debasing
and reproachful sins.
Love to the brethren is also an affection which
rests upon the union which believers sustain
with Christ. The Lord Jesus, together with all
true believers, forms one mystical body. Christ is
the head, and they are the members. From Him
the whole hotly, fitly joined together and covipacted
by that which every joint supplieth, according to the
effectual working in the measure of every party ma-
keth increase of the body unto the edifying of
ITSELF IN LOVE. This union is represented by the
Apostle not only as the foundation of that commu-
nion which believers maintain with Christ, but of
that which exists between believers themselves.
The same bond which unites believers to Christ,
binds them to each other. The love which is ex-
ercised toward the head, extends to the members.
The union itself necessarily involves an union of
affection. Those who love Chris! , love those
who are like Him, and those who are beloved by
180 JLove to the Brethren,
Him. Here all distinctions vanish. Name and
nation, rank and party, are lost in the common
character of believers, the common name of Chris-
tian. Jew and Gentile, bond and free, rich and
poor, are one in Christ Jesus. They have one Lord,
one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who
is above all, and through all, and in them alL Actu-
ated by the same principles, cherishing the same
hopes, animated by the same prospects, labour-
ing under the same discouragements, having the
same enemies to encounter, and the same temp-
tations to resist, the same hell to shun, and the
same heaven to enjoy ; it is not strange that they
should love one another sincerely, and often with
a pure heart jervently. There is an unity of de-
sign, a common interest in the objects of their
pursuit, which lays the foundation for mutual
friendship, and which cannot fail to excite the
'' harmony of souls." The glory of God is the
grand object which commands their highest af-
fections, and which necessarily makes the inter-
est of the whole the interest of each part, and the
interest of each part the interest of the whole.
They rejoice in each other's blessedness. There
are no conflicting interests, and there need be no
jarring passions. In a common cause, in a com-
mon cause which in point of importance takes the
Love to the Brethren, 181
place of every other, and all others, the affections
of the sanctified heart are one.
Love to the brethren, though in practice not
always distinguished, yet in theory is easily dis-
tinguishable from all those affections and attach-
ments that are purely natural. Men may love
Christians, merely because they imagine that
Christians love them. This, like every other af-
fection that is purely selfish, is unworthy of the
Christian name. They may love particular
Christians, because they are of their party, and
imbibe their sentiments. This too is nothing
better than that friendship of the world which is
enmity with God. They may esteem Christians
merely from the force of education and habit.
The people of God may not be the objects of con-
tempt or aversion, and still they may not be the
objects of complacency. Indeed our consciences
may constrain us to respect them , the habits of
early education may lead us often to associate
with them ; while we have no affectionate regard
for the excellence of their character.
That love which is excited toward Christians, as
Christians, is a constituted proof of saving grace*
182 Love to the Brethren.
The reader will do well therefore, to examine his
own heart, and see whether he is conscious of cher-
ishing love toward the people of God because they
are the people of God, Does he love them because he
discovers in them the amiableness of that divine reli-
gion which is altogether lovely? Does he love them
not merely because they love him, or have bestow-
ed favours upon him ; not because they are of his
party; but because they bear the image of his hea-
venly Father? Is his Jove active? Is it a principle
that lives, that manifests itself by all tliose methods
whereby the good of the brotherhood may be
advanced ? Does it discover itself in the delight
which he takes in the company and conversa-
tion of the Lord's people, and in every oppor-
tunity which he has to exchange the tokens,
and strengthen the bonds of mutual affection?
Can he from the heart adopt the resolution
of Ruth, Whither thou goest, I will go; and where
thou lodgesty I will lodge ; thy people shall be my
people^ and thy God my God, Tell me, reader, do
you feel toward the children of God as toward
the children of one common Father, and the
brethren of one common family ? Do you love
them because they bear the image of the com-
mon Father ? And do you love them in propor-
Love to the Brethren, lft3
tion to the degree in which they bear the image ?
Can you bear and forbear with them ? Can you
forget tlieir infirmities, or do you rejoice to mag-
nify them \ Can you cast tlie mantle of charity
over tlieir sins, and pray for them, and watch over
them, and pity, and blame, and love them still ?
And can you feel thu^, and act thus, tow ard the
poorest and most despised of the flock, and that
because he is a Christian / If so, here is your en-
couragement. He that loveth is born of God.
Yours is the spirit of a better world. The Para-
dise you lost by Adam, you shall regain by
Christ. Allied to spirits born on high, you shall
ascend to purer regions, and breathe a purer air.
Far from the tumult of this apostate earth, you
shall yet rest beneath the peaceful shades of Eden,
where blooms immortal amaranth "fast by th^
« tree of life."
ESSAY XIII.
NON-CONFORMITY TO THE WORLD.
Saints are expectants of glory. They are born
from above, and have no home beneath their native
skies. Here they are strangers and pilgrims, and
plainly declare that they seek a better country.
It is their avowed profession, that their happi-
ness and hopes are neither in, nor from the pre-
sent world. Their treasure is in Heaven. Much
as they are influenced by the spirit, governed by
the maxims, awed by the frowns, and seduced
by the flattery of the world ; they are so far aloof
from all its corrupting influence, that between
them and the world, there is a distinct line of de-
marcation. Perfectly aloof from the corruptions
of the world, they are not in the pre^^ent life. But
Non-co7iformily to the Wcftld, 185
they are sufficiently so to make their non-
conformity a distinguishing trait in their cha-
racter. They have come out, and are sepa-
rate. Tiicy are on the Lord's side. They
are a city set on a liill ; so far raised above the
common level of the world, that they cannot be
hid. They are not of this world y even as Christ
was not of this world. Such is the excellence of
their character and the purity of their conduct,
that the world is constrained to take knowledge of
them that they have been with Jesus.
The spint of the world is incompatible with
the spirit of the gospel. It is the spirit of pride,
and not of humility; of self-indulgence, rather
than of self-denial. Riches, honours, and plea-
sure, form the grand object of pursuit with tlie
men of the world. Worldly men are solicitous
to lay up treasures for themselves, and are not
rich toward God. Their great inquiry is, " Who
will show ns any good / JVhat shall we eat, what
shall we drinky or wherewithal shall we be clothed }
They are sensualy not having the spirit. Regard-
less of every thing but that which is calculated to
gratify a carnal mind, they lift vp thtir souls unto
vanity, and pant after the dnst of the earth. Their
thoughts and their aiiection:3 aie cuained down to
24
■ V /
186 Non-conjormity to the World.
the things of time and sense. In these they seem
to be irrecoverably immersed. They seldom
think, but they think of the world ; they seldom
converse, but they converse of the world. The
world is the cause of their perplexity, and the
source of their enjoyment. The lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, close
every avenue of the soul to the exclusion of
every holy desire, I had almost said, every serious
reflection.
This spirit, the Christian has mortified. Now
we, saith the Apostle, Now we have not received the
spirit of the world, hut the spirit which is of God.
The heavenly mind looks down on the things of
the world as lying vanities that cannot profit. The
disciple of Jesus, as he has nobler affections than
the worldling, has a higlier object and more ele-
vated joys. What things were gain to him, those
he counts loss for Christ, yea, doubtless he counts all
things hut loss, for the excellency of the hiowledgt
oj Christ Jesus his Lord; for jvhom he is ready to
suffer the loss of all things, and to count them but
dung that he may win Christ, While the wise man
glories in his wisdom ; while the mighty man glo-
ries in his might, and the rich man glories in his
riches — it is his privilege to glory in the Lord ;
Non-conformity to the World, 187
to glory in nothing save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ, hy whom the world is crucified to him,
and he to the jvorld. The character and cause of
the Blessed Redeemer lie so near his heart, that,
in coinpaiison with these, every thing else va-
nishes to nothing. He views the world b}'
the eye of faith. He sees it in a light that re-
flects its intrinsic importance : the light of Eter-
nity. There, the world shrinks to a point. The
fashion of it passeth away. All flesh is grass, and
all the goodliness thereoj is as the flower of the field.
Compared with durable riches and righteousness,
its highest enjoyments are trifles, light as air.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of
vanities j all is vanity.
As the spirit of the world is not the spirit of
God's people, so the men of the world are not their
companions. The saints are a peculiar people.
The church is uniformly represented as a society
that is distinct from the world. We know that wc
are of God, saitli the apostle, cmd the whole world
lieth in wickedness. Between the people of God,
and the men of the world, there is an essential dif-
ference of character. The views, the de-
sires, and the designs of the children of God,
ure diametrically opposite to the views, the de-
188 Non-cojiformity to the World,
sires, and the designs of the men of the world*
The one loves what the other hates. The one
pursues what the other shuns. Saints are passing
the narrow way which leads to life ; sinners the
broad way which leads to death. Hence there is
no common bond between them. The dissimilar-
ity of character, the diversity in the great objects
of pursuit, naturally draw them asunder. If there
were no other ground for the expectation, there-
fore, than the common principles of human nature,
we might look for dissention rather than unity,
between the disciples of Christ and the men of the
world. How can two walk together, except they be
agreed? What fellowship hath light with darkness ?
Or what communion hath Christ with Belial ? The
same principles which prompt the men of the
world not to select the people of God for their
familiar companions, also induce the people of
God to choose other companions than the men of
the world. There is an irreconcileable spirit be-
tween them. The friendship of the world is enmi-
ty with God, IMany as may be the mutual tokens
of respect, civility, and kindness, (and many there
should be,) between christians and the men of the
world, they are, nothwithstanding, two distinct
classes of men. Much as Christians esteem the
men of the world as good members of civil so-
Non-conformily to the World. 189
ciety; much as they regard their happiness,
and endeavour to advance it ; much as they
compassionate their depravity, and deplore their
prospects ; much as they are conversant with
them in the ordinary calls of duty — still, they
are not their chosen companions. They can-
not court their friendship; because they are
afraid of it. Evil communications corrupt good
manners. He that walketh with wise men shall
he wise; but a companion of fools shall be rfe-
stroked.
Those who have mortified the spirit, and who
stand at a distance from the men of the world, are
also in some good degree above its corrupting in^
Jliieace, The claim which, from their numbers
and strength, the world are apt to consider them-
selves as warranted to make upon the opinions
and practices of God's people, is habitually re-
sisted. Though good men may be oflen seduced
by the smiles, and awed by the frowns of the
world, it is no part of their general character to
conform either to its pleasure or displeasure.
They act from higher motives, and maintain a
more consistent character, than to give way to
indulge ncies merely for the sake of pleasing the
world ; or to avoid duty, merely through the fear
19^ Non-conformity to the World.
of offending it. While they regard the fear of
God more than the fear of man, they will not
dishonour God to please the world. And while
Ihey regard the favour of God more than the fa-
vour of man, they will not purchase the favour of
man at the expense of the favour of God. An
habitual regard to the will and the favour of God
is an effectual security against the smiles of the
world. The geat object of the Christian is duty ;
his predominant desire, to obey God. When he
can please the world consistently with these, he
will do so ; otherwise, it is enough for him that
God commands; and enough for them that he can-
not disobey. The same spirit is also an effectual
security against the frowns of the world. Real
Christians cannot be more afraid of the displea-
sure of the world, than of the displeasure of
God. Wliile they dread to offend God, they
cannot tam.ely bow to the frowns of men.
Whether it he right to hearken unto men, rather
than unto God, judge ye ! This was the spirit
of the early disciples ; and this will be the spi-
rit of every disciple down to the latest period of
time. So far as he manifests the spirit of Christ,
wherever he is, whatever he does, the fear of God
uniformly predominates over the fear of man, and
ihe love of God, rather than the love of the world,
Non-conformity to the World. 191
bears uncontrolled sway over his afTections and
conduct.
There would be no difficulty in pointing out
the path of duty upon this o;eneral subject ; but
there is some in saying, how far men may swerve
from this path, and yet be Christians. One thing
is plain : Christians cannot be worldlings. They
cannot be lovers of pleasures more than lovers of
God. He who fixes his highest affections on
wealth, honour, business, sensual pleasures, gay
amusements, and the various pursuits of the pre.
sent scene, cannot fix them supremely on God.
No man can serve two masters ; for either he will
hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold
to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve
God and Mammon.
Nor is the character of the vast multitude who
attempt to make a compromise between God and
the world, better than that of the mere worldling.
They are of their father the Devil, and the lusts of
their father they will do. The mere fact that they
are for ever balancing between a life of devotion
and a life of pleasure ; that they design now to
yield the empue to God, and then to the world, de-
cides the question against them.
192 Non-conformity to the World.
We must not deny that the children of God are
sometimes guilty of awful defection from the stand-
ard of Christian Character in their intercourse with
the world. But after all, their prevailing feelings
and conduct are not those of conformity to the
ivorld, but of habitual non-conformity. The prin-
ciples of the new man are at war with the princi-
ples of the world. True believers have put off
concerning the former conversation the old man,
which is cormpt according to the deceitful lusts, and
have put on the new man, which after God is created
in righteousness and true holiness. This I say then,
saith the Apostle, ivalk in the Spirit, and ye shall
fiOT fulfil the lusts of the flesh. We cannot walk
after the flesh while we walk after the Spirit.
While the love of God is the reigning affection
of the heart, it will turn away with disgust from
the allurements of the world. The spirit of
Christians is a heavenly spirit. They look not on
things that are seen, hut on those that are unseen,
for the things that are seen are temporal, hut the
things that are unseen are eternal. They set their
affections on things above, and not on things on the
earth.
This subject presents a number of solemn
questions, to every one who is anxious to ascer-
Non-conformity to the World, 1%
lain whether his heart is riohl in the sioht of God.
It is a great point witii all of us to know, Whe-
ther we are spirituaily-ininded, or worldly-mind-
ed ? Whether we are conformed to this ivorld, or
transformed hij the rcnewimj of our miiuls ? Whe-
ther the objects of faith or of sense, things pre-
sent or to come, have the predominating influ-
ence over our hearts ?
What shall we say of those, and of those
professing Christians too, who exhibit to them-
selves, and to others, all the traits of character
which belong to worldly men? What of those,
who pursue worldly things with all that ardour^^
all that intemperate zeal, which enters into
the pursuits of worldly men? Is there not rea-
son to fear, that they are supremely attached
to earth, and are as yet aliens from the common-
wealth of Israel ?
What shall we say of those who love the
circles of fashion, more than the associations
for prayer ? and who court the friendship of the
rich, the gay, and the honoura])le, more than
that of the humble disciple of Jesus ? Wliat of
those who send forth their little ones like a flock,
and their children dance; who take the timbrel and
25
194 Non-conformity to the World,
harp, and rejoice al the sound of the organ ? Was
Job uncharitable, when he ranked persons of this
character with those who say unto God, Depart
from us, for ive desire not the knowledge of thy
ways ?
What shall we say of those, who are for
ever varying from the path of duty, lest it shouM
be unpopular ; who never lisp a syllable, or lift a
finger for the honour of God, lest ihey should
displease the world ? ^^'hat, but that ihey love the
praise of men more than the praise of God?
Conformity to the world, is to be expected from
the professed worldling. It is the character of the
worldling. But is it to be expected from the pro-
fessed disciple of Jesus ? Is it the result of the
habitual determinations of a heavenly mind. Is
it the character of one who looks on things that
are unseen and eternal; of a stranger and so-
journer ; of one who sets his affections on things
above, and not on things on the earth? How
many, like the young man in the gospel, exhibit
a decent and regular outward profession, wiio are
wholly devoted to the world ! Here their affec-
tions centre. From this polluted fountain all
their joys flow. They had been Christians but
NoU'Conformily to the World, 195
for the world. But the world is the fatal snare.
They have plunged down the precipice, and
drifted almost beyond the hope of recovery.
If any man love the worlds the love of the Fa-
ther is not in him. The expression of the Apos-
tle is not too strong: To be carnally minded is
DEATH. Show me the men who imbi])e the spirit
of the world ; who choose the company of the
world ; who imitate the example of the world ;
conform to the maxims of the world ; are swal-
lowed up in the gayety, fashions, and anmsements
of the world ; — behold these are the ungodly y who
CiC brovght into desolation as in a moment! — 1 have
seen the wicked in great power, and spreading him"
self like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away,
and, lo, he was not; yea, I soughi him, hd he coidd
not be found. Surely, thou didst set them in slip^
ptry places; thou easiest them, down into deslruc^
Hon,
ESSAY XIV,
GROWTH IN GRACE.
How beautiful is the light of the morning ! Be-
hold it hovering over the distant edge of the
horizon, and shedding its cheerful beams upon
the hills. It is a morning mthout clouds. But
how soon is the prospect overcast ! The at-
mosphere is obscured by vapours, and the sun
is darkened by a cloud. Again the mists are
fled ; the clouds have passed over ; and the
sun is still advancing in his course. Thus he
rises; now, behind the cloud, now, in all the
greatness of his strength, shining brighter and
brighter nnto the perfect day. Such is the path of
the just. In the present world, good men are
very imperfect The best of men have reason to
Growth in Grace, 197
complain bitterly of the body of sin and death ;
and the best of men too, have the most ardent de-
sires that tlie body of sin and death may be
crucified with Christ, The highest point of
Christian experience is to press forward. It is
a distinguishing trait in the character of every
good man, tiiat he grows in gract^
There are various similitudes used by the in-
spired writers, that are significantly expressive
of the advancement of Christians in knowledge
and in piety. The young convert is likened un-
to one that is newly born. There is a point of
time in which he bt(jins to live. At first, he is
a babe ; then a child, till he finally attains unto
the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ
The kingdom of heaven is also compared to seed
which is cast into the ground. First, cometh up the
tender blade ; then, the thriving stalk ; then, the
ear ; after that, the full corn in the ear, ripening for
the harvest, and preparing for the garner of the
husbandman. It is also compared to a ?iell of
water, springing up into everlasting life. No imagery
in nature can more fully illustrate the growth of
grace in the heart. The righteous, saith Job, shall
hold on his wax/, and he that hathclcan hands shall wax
198 Growth in Grace,
stronger and stronger. This is the prominent fea-
ture in the character of the good man : he shall
hold on his way. The youth, saith the evangelical
prophet, The youth shall faint and he weary, and
the young men shall utterly fall; hut they that wait
nipon the Lord shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run
and not he weary, and they shall ivalk and not
faint. With inimitable beauty, is the good man
described by the Psalmist. And he shall be like
a tree planted by the livers of water, that bring"
eth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall
not wither, and whatsoever he doth shall prosper.
Grace in the heart as certainly improves and ad-
vances, as a tree thrives in a kindly and well wa-
tered soil. " It flourishes in immortal youth,
and blooms for ever in unfading beauty."
The certainty of the believer's progress, how-
ever, rests on a surer foundation, than either the
degree or the nature of his religion. We are not
sufficient, says the Apostle, to think any thing as
of ourselves, hut our sufficiency is of God. That
the people of God will grow in the divine life,
till they reach the stature of perfect men, and
are meet for the inheritance of the saints in light, h
Grorvih in Grace. 199
beyond all controversy. But the reafion, and the
sole reason, of this is, that it is God that workcth
in them to niil and to do of Ids good pleasure. Co-
venanted gince is the support of the believer
throu£i;h every step of his pil or r image. There is
nothing in the nature of holiness that is incapa-
ble of corruption. Adam fell ; Anj^els fell.
And such is the awful depravity of the human
heart, that left to himself, the holiest saint on
earth would draw back unto perdition. Still he
shall progress in holiness throughout intermina-
ble ages. It is the economy of divine grace,
where God has begun a good rvork, to carry it on ;
where he has given one holy exercise of hearty,
to give another and another, until the subject is
ripened for glory.
The hypocrite, when once he imagines himself
to be a Christian, views his work as done. He is
satisfied. He is rich, and increased in f/oods. But
it is otherwise with the true Christian. Conversion
is but his first step. His work is all before him.
His graces are increasingly constant and increas-
ingly vigorous. The more he loves God, the
more lie desires to love him. The more he
knows of His character, does he contemplate
the manifestations of his giory with rising de-
200 Gro7vth in Grace^
light. As the hart panteth after the water-hrooks,
so doth his soul pant after God, Having once
tasted that the Lord is gracious, is not enough
to satisfy him. He will ever remain unsatisfied
till he reaches the fountain-head, and drinks to
the full of the river of life, rvhich flows from the
throne of God and the Lamb. The more he sees
of the evil of sin, the more he desires to see. The
more he hates it, the more he desires to hate it.
The more he sees of himself, the more he abhons
himself, and the more does he desire to abhor
himself. The more he is emptied of himself, the
more does he desire to be emptied of himself;
the more he desires to become poor in spirit, to
feel that he is cut off from every hope, and to rest
on Christ alone. The more he is engaged in
duty, the more delight he finds in performing it.
The more severe his conflict with the enemy, the
harder he presses it, and the more vigorous his
resolution to maintain it to the last.
There are some things in which the increase of
grace is more visible, both to the world and the
subject, than others. Particularly have the peo-
ple of God less and less confidence in themselves.
They cherish an increasing sense of their depend-
ence. They have been so often disappointed in
Oronih in Grace. 5>01
their false confidences, that they have in some
;^ood measure become weaned from them. They
know, by bhter experience, the folly of truslhig
to themselves. They have learned that the way of
man is not in himself ; that it is not in man that
nalketh to direct his steps. The independent, self-
sufficient spirit of the carnal heart is broken
down. They walk hy faith, and not by sight.
They daily taste the sweetness of that heavenly
precept. In all thy ways acknowledge God, and he
sJiall direct thy paths : Cast all your care on the
Lord, for He carethfor yon.
They are moi-e and more patient in suffei^'
ings. The more they are accustomed to the
yoke, the less do they repine under the weight
of it.
They are also more and n'lore charitable
in their opinions of others. Young ChristianB
are too often very uncharitable and censorious..
They are more apt to take notice of the infirmi-
ties of their brethren, than their graces, and.
the infirmities of others, than their own. But
the more they know of themselves, the more rea-
son do they see to exercise charity toward
others* They fear to judge, lest they themselves-
26
202 Groiith in Grace,
should be also judged. They wal)i with all lowli-
ness and metjmessy with longsnffering, forbearing
one another in love,
fhey have a|so the more full government of
thek passions. They are slow to wrath.
They are more and more punctual in the per-
formance of the relative duties. Young Chris-
tians are apt to neglect them. They suffer the
duties they owe immediately to God, to swallow
up those that belong to their neighbour. But
as they advance in the divine life, they become
more uniform in the exercise of grace, and more
punctual in the discharge of all duty. They do
not love God less, but they love their fellow men
.more. As they grow more fervent and more
constant in their devotional exercises, so they be-
come more circumspect, and unexceptionable in
their intercourse with the world.
Perhaps there is no one point in which growth
in grace is more visible, than in that harmony
and consistency of character, which are too often
wanting in young Christians, but which shine
with so much beauty in those who are advanced
in the Cinistian course.
Growth in Grace. 201"
In evei'y ihmg that belongs to the excellence of
real relis^ion, the true believer is in a state of pro-
gression, lie seeks and strives, he wrestles and
fights. He IS ever aiming at the prize. View him in
the early part of the divine life ; follow him through
the various stages of his progress; and you will find,
that notwithstanding all his doubts and declensions,
he makes a gradual advance. He does not feel,
he does not act as though he had alreadi/ aUnined,
either were already perfect ; hut he follows after, if
he may apprehend that for which also he is appre-
hended of Christ Jesus.
This oN^E THING / do, says Paul, forgetting
the things that arc behind, and reaching forth
to those that are before y I press toward the mark
of the prise of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus, AYhere is the Christian, that does not
make the spirit of the Apostle his own? Tell
me, ye who have just begun the heavenly race ,
tell me, ye w^ho are verging toward the goal ;
was there ever a Christian, that felt satislied with
present attainments ? Is not the unvarying voice,
both of early and long-tried piety, lesponsive to
the language of Paul? Yes, reader, it is both
the highest point of Christian experience, and
the clearest evidence of Chriblian Character, to
204 Growth in Grace.
PRESS FORWARD. The disciple of Jesus desires
to be perfect; to be more and more conform-
ed to the image of Christ. He presses after
this. It is his grand inquiry, how to be, and
tow to live, more like a child of God.
Mark the waif of the upright. As you trace
his steps through this dreary pilgrimage, some-
times he wanders from the path ; sometimes he
halts and tires. His progress is far from being
uniformly rapid, and often far from being percep-
tible, either by himself or others. Sometimes
his motion is retrograde. There are seasons
when, instead of advancing, he is the subject of
great defection. Still it is true, that on the whole,
he advances. If you compare his present state
and character with what they were a considera-
ble length of time past, you will find that he has
made gradual progress. I know there are sea-
sons — dark and gloomy seasons, seasons of guilt
and declension — when the real Christian will
make this comparison at the expense of his
hopes. Be it so. Seasons of guilt and declen-
sion, ought to be seasons of darkness. I know
too that there are seasons, wheii he is liable to
discouragement, because he does not always ex-
perience tliat light and joy which crowned the
Growth in Grace. 205
day of his espousals. This is a serious error.
There is a glow of affection, a flush of joy, which
is felt by the young convert, as he is just ushered
into the world of grace, which perhaps may not
be felt at any future period of his life. And you
cannot from Ibis draw the inference that he has
made no advance. All this may be true, while
there is a power of feeling, a strength of affec-
tion, in the saint who has passed through the Avil-
derness and knows the trials of the way, to which
the young convert is a stranger. As he ascends
the mount, his eye is fixed ; his step is more vigo-
rous; and his path brighter and brighter. He
remembers his devious steps, and how he traced
them back with tears. But the trials of the way
are forgotten. He is rising to that brightness
of purity, which " sheds the lustre of eternity'*
on his character, and aiming at the crown of right-
eousness which fadeth not away.
Here then is another test of the genuineness of
your religion. I am aware that it is a severe
one. But it is one which bears the seal of truth ;
and we must not shrink from it. Professing
Christians are apt to place too much confidence
on their past experience, and think little of the
present ; to think much on wliat they imagine
206 Growth in Grace.
to have been their conversion, theh' first work,
and then give up the business of self-examina-
tion, and allow themselves to droop and decline.
But the question is, ivhat is your present charac-
ter ? " Grace is the evidence of graee." I
know it is true, that he who is once a Christian-
is always a Christian ; but it is also true, that he
who is not now a Christian never was a Christian,
Examine yourself, therefore, and see whether you
be in theJaitL The best evidence in the world that
you are, is that you grow in grace.
Now apply the principle. Have you, on the whole^
-ince you first began to hope that you were united
to the Lord Jesus Christ, been growing in grace ?
The question is plain and decisive.
Do you never hunger and thirst after righteous-
ness ? Do you never see the seasons when you
are conscious of the most sensible desires after
increasing conformity to God }
Do }ou never feel the burden of remaining
corruption, and ardently desire to be delivered
from its power ? Do you never find your heart
drawn out in fervent supplication for sanctifying
grace, as well as pardoning mercy?
Growth in Grace. 20?
Do you now desire to press forivard, to re-
nounce every, thing, and to take God for all youi;
portion ? Do you strive to live nearer to Him, and
are you resolved to persevere to the end, in a
life of faith in f ] ini who lotted you and gave him-
self j or you ?
If you can ingenuously answer these ques-
tions in the affirmative, you are not destitute
of evidence, that you have passed from death
unto life. But if you know nothing of all
this, cast away your vain confidence. No man
living in spiritual sloth, and making no new ad*
vances, ought to flatter himself that he is inte^
rested in the blessings of the great salvation.
The man who is satisfied, because he thinks he
is safe ; who feels that he has religion enough^
because he tliinks he has enough to save him from
hell ; is as ignorant of the power, as he is a stran-
ger to the consolation, of the gospel of Jesuf^
Christ.
ESSAY XV.
i'RACTICAL OBEDIENCE.
You have no right to call me, Lord, Lord,
saith the Saviour, unless you do the things which
I say. If yc keep my commandments, ye shall ahide
in my love, even as I have kept my Father's com-
mandments, and ahide in his love. You cannot
claim the character, you cannot share the privi-
leges of my people, without yielding a cordial, an
habitual and persevering obedience to the divine
commandments.
After all that can be said of the nature of the
Christian graces ; after every effort to discrimi-
nate between true religion and false ; the spirit of
obedience to the Divine commands is the grand
test of the genuineness of our faith. By their
fniiis ye shall know them. The plain and decisive
Practical Ohedicnce, 209
question, which should be often pressed upon the
reader's conscience, is this, Is the spirit of the gos-
pel expressed in my habitual deportment ?
There is a wide difference between that obe-
dience which the gospel requires, and that which
is practised by the most advanced Christian that
ever lived^. That obedience which, tlirough the
* We are aware of the efforts that have been made, and
are still making in one form or another, both by the wise and
the unwise, to pervert, if not to destroy, the moral law. Some
tell us, that it is abated ; others, that it is not binding sine©
the apostacy ; and others, that it is not binding till after the
gospel is embraced. Sometimes, we are consoled with the
notion, that " God does not require perfect obedience of His
" people in this fallen state !'* At others, we are quieted in
our rebellion by the argument, that " the commandment is
«' not grievous, because it is not the rule of justification I**
The truth is, the law is founded in the character of God, and
the relation which all intelligent creatures bear to Him.
Hence, while this character and relation remain the same,
the law will remain, under all possible circumstances, im-
mutably and everlastingly binding. That obedience to the
law which the gospel requires, is identified with the requi-
sitions of the decalogue. Do ive i7iake void the laiv through
faith ? Yea^ we establish the law. Is the law so unlioly, that
it requires abatement ? Is the commandment so unjust,
that it could not righteously have been the rule of justifica-
tion ? Is God unrighteous — or is every precept of his law,
under all the sanction of eternal death, of the same binding
force now, that it was when first proclaimed from the sacred
hill ?
27
210 Practical Obedience^
grace of God^ the believer is enabled to attain
in the present life, and which may be viewed
W as conclusive evidence of Chiistian Character,
is.
In the first place, cordial. It flows from the
heart. God be thanked, says the Apostle to the
Romans, tliat ye were the servants of sin, but ye
have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
which was delivered you. , Evangelical obedience
expresses not merely the form, but the power of
godliness. Every thing short of that obedience
which proceeds from the heart, is disobedience.
God neither requires, nor will accept of obedi-
ence which does not spontaneously flow from su-
preme love to Himself. The moral quality of all
actions lies in the disposition of heart with which
they are performed. Actions that are apparent-
ly good may flow from a very bad heart, and in
the sight of God, are as corrupt as the heart from
which they flow.
We lead of those who followed our Lord with
great zeal for a time; but who at length went
back and walked no more with Hi??!, And what
was the reason? The love of God was not in them.
Their hearts, like that of the young man in the
Practical Obedience. 511
gospel, did not er\\er into tlie spirit of the duties
wliich they practised. They did not love the
duties themselves, nor desire to glorify God in
them. Men often practise the duties of piety
from some mercenary end. False motives en-
twine themselves into all the external duties of
the hypocrite. Not so the obedience of the true
Christian. That is deep and thorough. It pro-
ceeds from the inmost soul. There is a purity of
design in all. This is the love of God, that we
keep His commaiidments ; and His commandments
ARE NOT GRIEVOUS. It is uo task to the Christian
to obey the commandments of God. It is his
highest pleasure. He delights in being devoted to
the service of a being w^hom he supremely loves.
It is his meat and his drink to do the will of Him
that sent him, and to finish His nork. It is with
heartfelt pleasure, that he consecrates his time,
his talents, and his privileges, to the delightful
work of glorifying God. The glory of God is
the great end of his being. The honour of His
name is a motive, paramount to ev^ry other prin-
ciple ; the precepts of His law a guide, paramount
to every other rule of duty. The love of Christ
constrains him. When he contemplates his duty ;
he feels the spirit of holy enterprise ; when h«
looks at the work which God has ^iven him to do ;
212 Practical Obedience,
he is animated with pious z^al, and is constrain-
ed to exclaim, I delight to do thy will, O God, yea,
thy law is within my heart 1 He, therefore^ who
obeys God at all, obeys Him from the heart. He
obeys internally, as well as externally. His is
cordial obedience.
But the obedience of God's people, is also ha-
hitual. There are some passages of scripture
which at first view appear to inculcate the idea,
that the obedience of the new man is universal.
Caleb and Joshua are said to have wholly follow-
ed the Lord. Job is called a perfect and upright
man. Zacharias and Anna are said to have been
righteous before God, walking in all the command-
ments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. Who-
soever abideth in Christ, saith John, sinneth not.
And again. Whosoever is born of God, doth not
COMMIT SIN ; for his seed remaineth in him, and he
cannot SIN, because he is born of God. And thus
our Saviour, Then are ye my friends, if ye do what-
soever I command you. But if we would make
the Bible consistent with itself, we nmst give
these passages some latitude of meaning. The
experience of the world, and the declarations of
eternal truth, assure us, that There is not a just
man upon earthy that sinneth not. We must not
Practical Ohedience. 213
root out all religion from llic earth, because we
do not find perfection in men. Moses sinned;
Samuel sinned ; Paul sinned ; Peter sinned ; and
yet they were all fervently pious. The melan-
choly fact is, that the best of men do sin greatly.
Tliey are sometimes the subjects of the most aw-
ful defection.
It' is needless to conceal the truth, that the sins
of good men are of an aggravated character.
It is in vain to say, that they do not sin know-
ingli/. They are indeed often surprised into
the commission of sin; but they often com-
mit it with calmness and deliberation. They
often commit it in defiance to the sober dic-
tates of reason, and in defiance to the most pow-
erful conviction of their consciences.
It is in vain to say, that they do not sin
volunlarily. No man was ever constrained to
sin. Sin cannot be forced upon men contrary to
their own inclination. The children of God of-
ten complain, that their hearts prompt them to
sin, but their hearts never constrain them to act
contrary to their choice. Seriously considered,
it is impossible to sin without acting voluntarily.
214 Practical Obedience,
The divine law requires nothing but voluntary
obedience, and forbids nothing but voluntary dis-
obedience. As men cannot sin without acting,
nor act without choosing to act; so they must
act voluntarily in sinning.
The children of God therefore do sin; they
sin knowingly ; they sin voluntarily; but ihei/ do
not sin habitually. It is not the prevailing habit
of their lives to disobey the commandments of
God. This cannot be. Sin does not reign in
their mortal bodies, that they shoidd obey it in the
lusts thereof. Between the old man and the new,
there is an unceasing conflict. The flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ;
and these are contrary the one to the other, so that
they cannot do the things that they would. Still, in
the new born soul, the flesh has not the ascenden-
cy. The old man is crucifled with Christ, that the
body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we
should not serve sin. This is most surely true of
every believer. It is the prevailing habit of his
life, to obey the commands of God. He is soli-
citous to perform whatever God requires, and
watchful to avoid whatever He forbids. No true
Chrislian can be habitually more engaged in th«
Practical Obedience, 215
service of the world and of sin, than in the service
of God. His obedience, though not perfect, is
habitual.
It may also be added, that, that conformity to
the precepts of God's word upon which we may
safely rely as a test of character, is persevering.
The disciple of Jesus Christ perseveres in his
course to the end of life. He holds on his way.
It is the characteristic, as well as the blessedness
of those who trust in the Lord, that they arc as
Mount Zion which cannot be removed, but abideth
for ever.
The Apostle John speaks of a class of profess-
ing Christians, that were somewhat multiplied even
in those early days of the Christian Church. He
says, They went out Jrom us, but they were not of
us ; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt
have continued with us ; but they went out that they
might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
The true disciple endures to the end. Though he
foresees that his path is beset with obstructions
on every side, still he goes forward. Though
dangers may threaten, and trials discourage him;
leaning uipon the Beloved, he goes forward. Ilia
216 Practical Obedience,
most vigorous resolutions terminate upon his dut j^
He goes forward with a firm and vigorous step. No
matter how rough the way, with an eye fixed on the
Author and Finisher of his faith, he goes forward
with unabated ardour, leaving the earth behind
him, and animated with the prospect of Heaven
and glory before him. He is aiming at the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, No dif-
ficulties are so great, no fatigue so severe, as to
divert him from his design. Perfection is his ob-
ject. He cherishes no present intention to dis-
obey at all. From the heart, he desires and in-
tends to yield a compliance, not merely to this, or
that requisition, but to all the divine requirements,
without distinction, and without exception.
We have the highest warrant to believe,
that obedience thus cordial, habitual, and per-
severing, is conclusive evidence of our good
estate. There are none but real Christians,
who thus persevere in the sincere and habitual
practice of godliness. The ways of the Lord are
right, and the just shall walk in them, hut the trans-
gressors shall fall therein. The way of the Lord
is an high way ; it is called the way of holiness,
and the unclean shall not pass over it.
Practical Obedience, 217
The scriptures uniformly represent a life of
practical godliness as a decisive test of Christian
character. A holy life is the grand mark of dis-
tinction between tlie children of God and the
children of the devil. In this the children of God
are manifest y ami the children of the devil: Whoso-
ever doth not righteousness is not of God. Little
children, saith the same Apostle, let no man de-
idve 7/oiiy he that doth righteousness is righteous ;
he that committeth siji is of the devil. And again.
Hereby do we know that 7ve know him, if we keep
his commandments.
It is difficult to conceive how it can be other-
ivise. There is an inseparable connexion be-
tween a holy heart and a holy life. A holy life
can no more proceed from an unholy heart, than
a pure stream can flow from an impure fountain.
Wherever we find cordial, habitual, persevering
obedience to the divine commands, there we have
reason to believe, the love of God dwells in the
heart. Show me a man who makes the law of
God the rule, and the glory of God the end of
his conduct; who is habitually devoted to the
duties of piety and charity; and I will show
you one whose heart has been sanctified by the
28
218 Practical Obedience,
Spirit of grace. On the other hand, show me .
man who, in the general comse of his life, pays n:>
regard either to the divine law, or the divine glo-
ry ; who neither denies himself, nor exerts him-
self for the honom-ofGod, and the good of his
fellow men ; and I will show you a man who, not-
withstanding all his hopes and his professions, has
never felt the power, nor tasted the sweetness of
genuine religion. The truth is, men sincerely
and habitually act as they love to act. In form-
ing a judgment concerning our own character,
we have no right to view our practice better
than our principles, nor our principles better
than our practice.
At the future Judgment, there will be a pub-
lic trial of human character. The grand ques-
tion then to be decided, will be. Are you a child
of God ? Are you a believer in the Lord Jesu&
Christ ? This question will be decided by evi-
dence. And the evidence which the Righteous
Judge will view as conclusive, will be a life of
practical godliness. The Falher, without respect
of persons y will judge according to every man's
WORK. When John, in the vision of Patmos, saw
the sea gite up the dead which were in it, and Death
and Hell give up the dead which rvere in them ; they
Practical Obedience . 219
were judged every man according to his work.
In looking forward to the process of that day,
the reader may anticipate this grand rule of triaL
If he leads a life of evangelical obedience, though
that obedience is not the ground of bis accep-
tance, it is evidence that he is accepted. And this
is evidence that comes without looking for it. A
life of humble, holy, Christ-like obedience, car-
ries hope, and faith, and comfort, along with it.
It is conclusive evidence that the love of Christ con-
straineth you, and is not long maintained with-
out filling the heart with light and joy.
Come then, and try your heart by the same rule
whereby God tries it. God has given, or he will
give you, a fair opportunity of proving your reli-
gion, by bringing it into action. He proved Abra-
ham, and the trial issued in the clearest evidence
of Abraham's religion. He proved the young man
in the gospel, and the result of the trial was, that
he loved the world more than God. What is the
issue of the trial in your case ? Frames, and expe-
riences, and professions, and hopes, are nothing
without lives of practical godliness. He that
hath mj/ commandments and kecpeth them, he it is
that lovcth me.
220 Practical Obedience.
The plain question which was stated at the be-
ginning of this essay, is a very important one.
Does youT religion express itself in your habitual
deportment ?— In prosperity, in adversity, in the
family, in the v/orld, among friends and foes ?
Jlemember, he that hath the hope of the gos-
pel, pwrj^e/^ himself even as Christ is pure. Does
your love to God prompt you to a devout
attendance upon all His institutions? Does
it animate you with increasing attachment to
His word and His service ? Does your love to
man lead you to do justice and love mercy, to livd
in peace with all men ? Does it make you the bet-
ter husband, or the better wife ; the better parent,
or the better child ; the better master, or the bet-
ter servant ; the better magistrate, or the better
subject ; the better friend, or the better citizen ?
The religion of Jesus Christ is not a sys-
tem of empty speculations, designed to have
no practical influence. It is not the offspring
of w^ild enthusiasm, that exhausts all its force
in feeling, and leaves none for action. A good
man out of the good treasure of the heart, ne-
cessarily hringeth forth good things. Experience
witliout practice is notliing; and practice without
experience is no more. Experimental religiori
P radical Obedience. 221
consisis in the reality of the Christian graces, and
in their due effect upon the life and conversation.
If you are an experienced Christian, you feel the
power of religion in your heart, and exhibit it in
your life. IVic life of Jesus is made manijest in
some good degree inyovr mortal Jlesh. You feel
and act in some measure as Christ felt and acted.
You discover His spirit; you imitate His ex-
ample ; you exhibit a firm and bold attachment
to His cause.
But, reader, with all thy short-comings, with
all thy gross violations of duty, is such the
habitual course of thy life? Is thine a life
of devotion, of meekness, and humility ; of
supreme attachment to heavenly and divuio
things; of self-denial, and of universal benevo-
lence ? Try your heart by your practice, and
your practice by your heart. If, after candid
examination, you find reason to hope that you are
one of God's dear children — washed with the
blood, sanctified by the Spirit, clothed with the
righteousness of the AVell Beloved ; cherish that
hope as the gift of heaven. Dismiss your fears;
bindyourself to be the Lord's in an everlasting
covenant ; think less of yourself, and more and
niore of the name, the cross, the glory of your
823 Practical Obedience.
Redeemer. Henceforth let your light shine. Seek
yejirst the kingdom of God and His righteousness ^
and all things shall he added unto you. Or, in
other words, do you serve God, and God will
take care of you. Submit to His will ; trust in
His grace, and resign yourself into His hands,
with the assurance that The Lord is well pleas-
ed ivith those who hope in his mercy.
CONCLUSION.
Let the reader review the preceding pages in
the fear of God. The subject is of eternal mo-
ment. A mistake here, is a mistake for eternity.
Under a deep sense of his need of the searching
influences of the Divine Spirit, let him, as he re-
flects upon what he has read, adopt the language
of the Psalmist, Search me, O God, and know my
heart; try me, and know my thoughts ; and see if
there he any wicked way in me, and lead me in the
way everlasting.
He that is riot with mc, saith the Saviour, is
against me. There is no principle within the
whole compass of morals, that admits of more
strict demonstration than this, that there can be
but two moral characters that are essentially dif-
ferent. There must be necessarily in every in-
telligent being, a conformity to the will of God,
or the want of it. It is as impossible that a man
should be neither right nor wrong, as it is that a
portion of matter, at any given period, should be
neither at rest nor in motion. It is absurd to sup-
224 Conclusion,
pose, that he is neither a saint nor a sinner ; nei-
ther penitent nor impenitent ; neither a believer
nor an unbeliever. So long as men possess any
moral character, they must view themselves, and
be viewed by others, either for God or against
Him. In the great contest which enlists the feel-
ings and the power of three worlds, it is impossible
that there should be a neutral. One side or the
other will claim every intelligent being in heaven,
on earth, and in hell. And it is right they should
do so. If the line should now be drawn by the
invisible hand of the Great Searcher of hearts ;
on the one side would be the friends of God, on
the other, His enemies.
Suffer me, then, beloved reader, before I take
leave of you, plainly, solemnly, and affection-
ately, to ask the question. On which side do
YOU stand ? If you possess nothing more than
mere visible morality; nothing more than the
naked form of religion; nothing more than a
speculative knowledge of the system of revealed
truth ; notliing more than simple conviction for
sin ; nothing more than a vain confidence of your
own good estate, connected with some apparent
zeal for the cause of God, and a few transient and
spurious affections : how can you be one of the
Conclusion. 225
children of the Everlasting Father ? If yon are
a stranger to love to God ; to repentance for sin ;
to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; to evangelical
humility; to genuine self-denial — how can you
cherish the hope that you are a Christian? If you
know nothing of the spirit of prayer ; nothing of tlie
Jove of the brotherhood ; nothing of mortifying the
spirit of the world ; nothing of growth in grace ; of
cordial, habitual, persevering obedience to the
divine commands — how can it be, that you have
been brought nigh by the blood of Christ ? If these
things are so, thou hast neither part nor lot in this
matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of
God.
Does this agitate you? The writer of these
pages takes no pleasure in exciting needless
'alarm. But how can he raise the unhallowed
cry. Peace, Peace, when the Eternal God saith,
There is no peace ? How can he raise the unhal-
lowed cry, when every note of the syren song
would only lull the hypocrite into a more death-
like security, and every sentence prove the blow
to sink him deeper into the eternal pit ? Poor,
self-deceived man ! who vainly imaginest that
thou art in the way to heaven, while thou art in
the way to hell, rather than amuse thee wUh to?ne,
29
226 Conclusion.
smooth, pretty things, O that I could raise a
voice that would make thee " tremble, even in
" the grave" of trespasses and sins ! Be entreat-
ed to dismiss thy deceptions ; to give up thy de-
lusive confidence. Cast not the anchor of hope
upon a shore so yielding that the final blast will
break its hold. However Hard the struggle, des-
pair of mercy without being washed in the blood
of Jesus. Cherish not a delusion which the King
of terrors will tear from thy heart !
But shall 1 presume that all my readers are
hypocrites? No ; many of them, I trust, are the
dear people of God. Some of them may be
weak in foith, and weak in hope. Beloved Chris-
tian, I woidd not lisp a syllable to rob thee of
thy confidence. Though weak and trembling,
there is every thing to encourage and strength-
en thee. It cannot discourage you to examine
closely whether the foundation of your hope be
firm ; whether your confidence is built upon the
sand, or whether it rest on the Rock of Ages.
Feeble Christians are called upon to mourn over
their weakness. Their want of strength is their
sin. Their graces may be well compared to the
" dimly smoaking flax." They emit little that
warms and enlightens. Their love is cold; their
Conclusion. 227
joys barren and poor. God hides his face ^ and
they are troubled. Tossed, like Peter, upon the
tempestuous sea, they have hardly faith even to
cry, Lord, save, or I perish ! Still, they may rejoice.
The Angel of the everlasting covenant lives. That
precious covenant itself recognizes the heart-
reviving principle, Redemption through the blood of
Jesus, forgiveness of sins according to the riches of
His grace. Well then, believer, mayest thou re-
joice, even in the midst of trembling. What,
though thou art bowed down under the weight
of guilt ; what, though poor in spirit, filled
with apprehension and almost hopeless; what,
though thou art like the bruised reed — frailty itself
still more frail, ready to fall by the gentlest
breeze ! A bruised reed shall he not break, and
smoaking flax shall he not quench. No, never.
It shall not be broken, but supported — cherished ;
yea, by a hand that is omnipotent, transplanted
to the garden of the Lord, and flourish in the
courts of our God. The Great Head will never
disregard the feeblest members of His own body.
V
There is a peculiar adaptedness in the charac-
ter of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the weakness and
fears of His people. Early was He designated as
228 Conclusion,
one who should hear our grief s, and carry our sor-
rows J commissioned to bind up the broken heart-
ed, and to comfort all that mourn. The man
Christ Jesus is touched with the Jeeling of our in-
firmities ; He knoweth our frame ; He remembereth
that we are but dust. The Shepherd of Israel will
gather the lambs in His arms, and carry them in His
bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
It is He that giveth power to thejaint ; and to them
that have no might, He increaseth strength.
O believers! that we all might learn to fasten
our affections, to rivet our hopes, on the cross of
Christ! Here is our comfort. We must think
much, and make much of Christ, In Him, all
fulness dwells. He, is the Captain of your
salvation. He, is a fountain for your unclean-
ness, and a light for your way. // is He,
that is of God made unto His people, wis-
dom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
complete redemption. No matter how great your
guilt ; rest on Him, and He will be increasingly
precious ; precious in life, precious in death, pre-
cious for ever. While your life is hid with Christ
in God; however languid the throb, it shall
never expire.
Conclusion, 229
Come, then, lift up the hands that hang down,
and confirm Ihejeehle knees. The heavens and the
earth shall sooner crumble into their native no-
thing, than the feeblest Lamb of the Shepherd's
fold stumble and finally fall. Loose thyself, there-
fore, /rom the hands of thy neck, O captive daughter
of Zion ! If thou hast seasons of trial, be not
alarmed ; if thou hast moments of despondency
and weakness, be not dismayed. Fear not, thou
worm Jacob, for thou shall thrash the mountains
and heat them small. Thy Redeemer is the Holy
One of Israel, He mil strengthen thee ; yea. He
will help thee ; yea. He will uphold thee hy the
right hand of His righteousness. Say, is it not
enough? Thanks he unto God for His unspeaka-
ble gift!
I close these Essays, then, by beseeching the
reader to devote himself unreservedly to the
Lord. What ! know ye not that ye are not your
own ? For ye are bought with a price ; wherefore
glorify God in your souls and your bodies, which
are His, Render unto God the things that are
God's, What higher delight, what greater pri-
vilege can you enjoy, than to consecrate all that
you are, and all that you possess, to God ! Come
then, and make a voluntary surrender of every
230 Conclusion,
thing to Uim, and choose His service as your
highest delight.
Henceforth let it be your greatest care to
honour the Lord, who has bought you. As you
have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so wcdk in
Him — ROOTED and built up in Him — and esta-
blished in the faith, as you have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving. Yes, blessed
Redeemer! Other Lords besides Thee have had
dominion over us ; but by Thee only will we make
mention of thy name, O Thou Eternal, Incarnate,
God! I am thine — doubly thine — wholly thine
— thine for ever. Amen.
FINLS.
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