/J / n LIBRA.RY I Theological Seminary, ' PRINCETON, N.J. Case, .>5.CA_^. DJ.v.LStr Hiielf, /y^}^^ Secljc Booh, ...C^\ No, /^ %v^^AV I ^•-ttft»^>A\ #» 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- 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;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