■'M--4 
 
 I THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,! 
 Princeton, N.J./. -^5 | 
 
 From the PUBLISHER. *} "V ^ 
 
 Book, 
 
 8V 
 
CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY; 
 
 THE CONNEXION 
 
 EXPERIMENTAL AND PRACTICAL RELIGION. 
 
 DESIGNED FOR YOUNG CHRISTIANS. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. E. MANNERING, 
 
 OF HOLYWELL MOUNT CHAPEL. 
 
 "He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk 
 even as he walked."—! John ii. 6. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION OF TRACTS AND 
 SABBATH SCHOOL BOOKS. 
 
 WILLIAM S. MARTIEN, GENERAL AGENT. 
 
 1839. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 Advertisement. v 
 
 Dedication ix 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 General Observations on Experimental and Practical 
 Religion 19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Nature of the Christian's Walk 33 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Importance of the Christian's Walk 44 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Doctrines of the Gospel adorned by Christian 
 Consistency 54 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The order of Divine Communications to the Souls of 
 Men, and the use to be made of the Word of God. . 73 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Blessings to be realized, and the means of obtaining 
 them 87 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Christian's desire to walk in God's Statutes. . . 100 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Rules to be observed for the promotion of Soul Pros- 
 perity , 109 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Christian, by abiding in Christ, is supplied with 
 influence and strength for the discharge of his Obli- 
 gations 127 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Abiding in Christ secured by Divine teaching. . .164 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Indications of Character, and Exhortations to Con- 
 sistency 184 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Appeals and Invitations to timid and doubting Chris- 
 tians 214 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 The Author of this small volume has for 
 some time past been convinced that the sub- 
 ject of which it treats, is, even by a certain 
 class of pious people, misunderstood and neg- 
 lected. He feels desirous, therefore, of calling 
 their attention to first principles, and of re- 
 minding them of the connexion between expe- 
 rimental and practical religion; with a special 
 reference, however, to the welfare of young 
 Christians. 
 
 First impressions are, generally, powerful 
 and abiding; and much of the Christian's hap- 
 piness or sorrow, through life, depends upon 
 the direction which his judgment and heart 
 may receive immediately after conversion. 
 He who starts well, is likely to run well; and 
 although none are safe but those whom the 
 3* 
 
VI ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 Lord keeps, yet many Christians regret the 
 bias which early associations gave to their 
 thoughts and feelings, and find, as they ad- 
 vance to maturity, that they have much to un- 
 learn. 
 
 Nothing, then, can be of greater importance, 
 than the formation of religious character. As 
 the health and morals of many a child have 
 been ruined by unsound discipline; so the 
 growth of many a babe in Christ has been re- 
 tarded, and the vigour of his spiritual constitu- 
 tion impaired, as well by the unwholesome 
 moral aliment he has eaten, as by the habits 
 into which early training induced him to set- 
 tle down. 
 
 The Author, happily for him, has a consi- 
 derable number of youthful converts under his 
 Pastoral superintendence, for whose steadfast- 
 ness in the faith, and usefulness in the church, 
 he feels deeply interested; and while he 
 watches, with considerable anxiety, the de- 
 velopment of their characters, he is concern- 
 ed that their first movements should be made 
 under the counsel of the Divine Spirit, by the 
 admonitions of the Divine Word. He has, 
 therefore, attempted to collect from the Holy 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. VII 
 
 Scriptures some information, which, in this 
 digested form, he hopes may prove useful to 
 the lambs of his own flock, in particular; and 
 to young disciples of the Holy Saviour, in 
 general. 
 
 And if any of the inconsistencies of Chris- 
 tians, further advanced in the Divine life, 
 should, also, be corrected — for admonitions to 
 the young are sometimes beneficial to the 
 aged — the Author's reward will be ample; 
 and he shall rejoice with them in giving glory 
 to the Divine Spirit, u from whom all holy 
 desires, all good counsels, and all just works 
 do proceed." 
 
TO YOUNG CHRISTIANS. 
 
 My dear young friends, 
 
 Your claims, on the care of those accus- 
 tomed to think for eternity, are numerous and 
 pressing; and whatever subjects may occupy 
 their attention, or however powerfully passing 
 events may plead for their consecration to 
 some grand and awakening enterprise, they 
 cannot neglect your spiritual interests, nor 
 abandon them to the control of casual circum- 
 stances. 
 
 We hold no fellowship with those who at- 
 tempt to justify inattention to the culture of 
 youthful minds, and who, though they boast 
 of their advancement in Biblical science, re- 
 fuse the legitimate application of its principles 
 to practical purposes. Why has God given to 
 
X TO YOUNG CHRISTIANS. 
 
 us the word of reconciliation, and made that 
 word effectual to our conversion? but that, 
 having received mercy ourselves, we should 
 be instrumental in conveying that mercy to 
 others. 
 
 In reading the following pages, you will, I 
 hope, bear in mind that they were written for 
 your " instruction in righteousness;" and you 
 will also, I trust, implore the Holy Spirit to 
 impress the truth so effectually upon your 
 hearts, that it may become interwoven with 
 the experience and practice of every day. I 
 have endeavoured to sketch an outline of 
 principle for you to fill up by repentance to- 
 ward God, by faith in Christ, and by devoted- 
 ness to his glory; and I am induced to believe 
 that the course you are here directed to take, 
 will extend your liberty, increase your stead- 
 fastness, and augment your comfort. The very 
 thought of the possibility of contributing either 
 to the pride or to the carelessness of the hu- 
 man heart, awakened jealousy over my own 
 movements, lest, by accident or design, I 
 might lead you astray. But having examined 
 what I have Written in the light of Revelation, 
 I can but express a humble hope that it will, 
 
TO YOUNG CHRISTIANS. XI 
 
 by the Divine blessing, be the means of train- 
 ing you both for holy enjoyments, and for spi- 
 ritual services. 
 
 Let me, however, request you to read, not 
 hastily, and without thought, but, deliberately 
 and with reflection. You must think, as you 
 proceed; and inquire into the mind of the 
 Spirit in those passages of Scripture which are 
 introduced either to disclose or to enforce an 
 obligation. Particularly let me urge you to 
 study the sixth Chapter, on " Blessings to be 
 realized, and the means of obtaining them;" 
 which, although it consists, principally at 
 least, of citations from the Inspired Volume, 
 is the key to the whole. You have there the 
 will of God, in the very words of God; and 
 from their decision there is no appeal. 
 
 Seeking to place sound doctrine and saluta- 
 ry counsel before you, I have endeavoured to 
 be as plain as possible; and whatever may be 
 the result of the step I have taken — which I 
 must, however, hope will be your profit — I 
 shall be consoled by the reflection, that my 
 sole object was to give a Scriptural direction 
 to your faith and labours; so that your Chris- 
 tian progress might be regular and consistent, 
 
Xll TO YOUNG CHRISTIANS. 
 
 and the Great Head of the church honoured 
 by the consecration of your time, and proper- 
 ty, and influence, to his service. 
 
 There are many safe and useful guides,* of 
 which you will do well to avail yourselves, in 
 your pilgrimage to the skies ; but I am not 
 aware that any of them render this view of 
 Christian consistency unnecessary. 
 
 And now, my dear young friends, accept, I 
 beseech you, this humble and affectionate tri- 
 bute of concern for your holiness, happiness, 
 and usefulness; that, together, we may ascribe 
 " salvation and power to Him that sitteth upon 
 the throne, and to the Lamb for ever." 
 
 E. MANNERING. 
 
 * See Buck's Young Christian's Guide. R. Philip's 
 Guides. James' Anxious Inquirer. 
 
CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON EXPERIMENTAL AM) PRACTICAL 
 RELIGION. 
 
 Spirituality of character is the Christian's 
 glory; and in proportion to the growth of 
 the graces of the Holy Spirit in his heart, 
 will be his elevation in the scale of moral 
 beauty. Outward circumstances, however ad- 
 verse, cannot eclipse the splendour of those 
 holy principles which shed their influence 
 alike upon the temper and the conduct of the 
 man of God; nor can the absence of high 
 intellectual endowments throw a shade over 
 the bright and lovely adornings of the low- 
 liest and most obscure of God's servants. 
 Sanctified gifts do, indeed, invest the religion 
 of the heart with powerful attractions ; and 
 the peculiarities of rank add weight and intc- 
 4 
 
20 EXPERIMENTAL AND 
 
 rest to the profession of the serious: yet, the 
 poor and unlettered believer is enshrined in a 
 halo of glory, as spiritual, and as illustrative of 
 the majesty and purity of the truth, as that 
 which rests on mitred heads, bowing before 
 the cross of Immanuel. The people of God 
 are "one in Christ, and everyone members 
 one of another." They derive their life from 
 the same source, through the same medium, 
 for the same purpose; and being "baptized by 
 one Spirit into one body," their minor dis- 
 tinctions of name and character are lost. 
 Ought they not then, to "endeavour to keep 
 the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace," 
 and " earnestly to contend for the faith which 
 was once delivered unto the saints?" 
 
 But we fear that professed Christians are 
 too inattentive to that state of heart, which is 
 identified, both in its existence and results, 
 with whatever is lovely in the Gospel, de- 
 lightful in Christian experience, and consis- 
 tent in practical godliness. Salvation is both 
 free and full; but it can be neither understood 
 nor enjoyed, unless the heart be under the 
 influence of that grace which sanctifies, while 
 it saves. God may, and frequently does, 
 
PRACTICAL RELIGION. 21 
 
 impart life and peace to his people when they 
 are inattentive to his requirements, and have 
 even forgotten their obligations to his love; 
 (Isaiah lxv. 1;) but they have no scriptural 
 authority for expecting the supplies of his 
 Spirit in any other order than in that he has 
 prescribed in the preceptive part of his word; 
 and the Spirit, whensoever bestowed, is given 
 that evil might be suppressed, never that it 
 might be fostered. 
 
 No principle in science, no axiom in philo- 
 sophy, is more obvious, than the connexion of 
 cause and effect in theology; and he who has 
 never seen this connexion, or, having seen it, 
 will not pursue the course it points out, has 
 adopted a speculative system of religion, 
 which, if not relinquished, will eternally ruin 
 him. All error is dangerous ; and he who 
 rejects the fundamental doctrines of grace, is 
 not in a more pitiable and dangerous condition 
 than he, who, though tenaciously adhering to 
 the truth in sentiment, forgets that between 
 the enjoyment of God's presence, and the 
 purity of the heart in which he dwells, there 
 is an unbroken connexion. "For he that will 
 love life, and see good days, let him keep his 
 
22 EXPERIMENTAL AND 
 
 tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak 
 no guile." (1 Pet. iii. 10.) 
 
 If the passage, just cited, be regarded in its 
 obvious meaning, the connexion to which an 
 allusion has been made will appear. Good 
 days are in reserve for him whose tongue is 
 kept from evil, and whose lips are free from 
 guile. Is this the order of God's procedure 
 in blessing his people? Then, some one may 
 reply, "their happiness is dependent, not on 
 his free and unmerited favour, but on their 
 efforts, and thus the glory of truth is at once 
 oiscured, and the work of the Holy Spirit 
 dishonoured." A moment's attention to this 
 objection will be sufficient for its refutation. 
 "Without me," said the Saviour, "ye can do 
 nothing;" (John xv. 5;) and "I," said the 
 Apostle, "can do all things through Christ 
 which strengtheneth me." (Phil. iv. 13.) 
 Nothing, therefore, can be done by the be- 
 liever without Divine assistance; but, influ- 
 enced by the Holy Spirit, the most difficult 
 duties can be discharged. From this admis- 
 sion arises the question, what is God's pre- 
 scribed order of giving that assistance which 
 disposes and enables the Christian to do his 
 
PRACTICAL RELIGION. 23 
 
 will ? " Abide in me, and I in you. As the 
 branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it 
 abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye 
 abide in me." (John xv. 4.) Here is the 
 order — union to Christ, and the consequent 
 abiding of the soul in Christ. If a branch be 
 severed from the tree, will it not die? God 
 could cause it to blossom, as he did Aaron's 
 rod, when it was laid up before the ark of the 
 covenant; but the question is not, what can 
 he do? but, what are the laws by which vege- 
 tation is carried forward ? The husbandman 
 cannot reap the harvest without first sowing 
 the seed ; and none can enjoy the life of God, 
 while they neglect the means by which it is 
 communicated. To keep the tongue from 
 evil, is essential to the seeing of good days; 
 but it does not follow, neither is it true, that 
 these happy times are merited by the bridling 
 of this unruly member. "By the grace of 
 God I am what I am;" (1 Cor. xv. 10;) and 
 we could as soon create a world as purchase 
 his favour. Still, we cannot expect to receive 
 the blessings of the Gospel, and to be satisfied 
 with his mercy, except in his own way. " If 
 his children forsake my law, and walk not in 
 4* 
 
24 EXPERIMENTAL AND 
 
 my judgments; if they break my statutes, and 
 keep not my commandments: then will I 
 visit their transgression with the rod, and 
 their iniquity with stripes." (Ps. lxxxix. 30- 
 32.) 
 
 It must, then, in this place, be distinctly 
 stated; first, that God has his prescribed order 
 of blessing, and of working in the hearts of 
 his people; secondly, that in this order alone 
 can they reasonably hope to receive his bles- 
 sing; and, thirdly, that in exhorting them to 
 seek the fulfilment of the Divine promises in 
 this way — yea, in charging them to seek 
 them in no other way; and in assuring them, 
 that by observing God's order, and seeking 
 his presence when, and where, that order may 
 lead them, they may expect to walk in the 
 light of it; we disclaim, most sincerely, all 
 attempts to legalize his motives, or to draw 
 him from the simplicity of the Gospel. 
 
 Such an avowal is rendered necessary by 
 the fastidiousness of some pious people. From 
 an anxiety to honour God, whose grace is the 
 source of all moral excellence; and from a 
 lawful jealousy for the glory of the Eternal 
 Spirit, the Author of all true religion, they 
 
PRACTICAL RELIGION. 25 
 
 are imperceptibly led into error. Guarding 
 against one mistake, they fall into another; 
 and not observing God's ordinary procedure, 
 they stumble on the threshold of that truth, 
 which, if crossed, would admit them to the 
 fulness and sufficiency of the Gospel. Ex- 
 tremes of truth are even dangerous; and we 
 would avoid both the legality of the Pelagian, 
 and the licentiousness of the Antinomian; be- 
 lieving it to be both safe and expedient to 
 seek God's blessing where his word assures us 
 it may be found. " Whoso is wise, and will 
 observe these things, even they shall under- 
 stand the loving-kindness of the Lord." (Ps. 
 cvii. 42.) 
 
 In perfect accordance with these observa- 
 tions, is the conviction, that grace is given for 
 experimental and practical purposes ; and, 
 consequently, that faith and works are in- 
 separably connected. God imparts his Spirit 
 for his own glory, as well as for our comfort; 
 and, indeed, his own glory is the end of all 
 he does both for us and within us ; but it is 
 difficult to conceive how he can be glorified 
 by his people if they despise his authority. 
 " He that saith he abideth in him, ought him- 
 
26 EXPERIMENTAL AND 
 
 self also so to walk, even as he walked;" (1 
 John ii. 6;) and he who reaHy loves God, will 
 manifest that attachment by " bringing forth 
 fruits meet for repentance." " He that saith, 
 I know him, and keepeth not his command- 
 ments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 
 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is 
 the love of God perfected: hereby know we 
 that we are in him." (1 John ii. 4, 5.) To 
 confess that we are sinners, that we daily dis- 
 cover more of the Saviour's beauty, and that 
 our knowledge of his truth increases, is easy 
 indeed! But what proportion does our prac- 
 tice bear to our experience? Does our light 
 shine before men ? Does our sense of evil 
 induce us to hate it, and to flee from it ? Ex- 
 perience must be tested by practice; and that 
 experience that is unconnected with a sub- 
 dued temper in particular, and that does not 
 influence the life in general, is not of God; 
 neither will he own it in the day of trial. An 
 increase of faith is always attended by an in- 
 crease of humility; the heart in which arc 
 sown the seeds of righteousnes, will bear the 
 fruits of holiness; and the spirit, richly im- 
 bued with an experimental knowledge of the 
 
PRACTICAL RELIGION. 27 
 
 Lord, will leave a savour upon every thing 
 she touches; and from her altars will arise the 
 sweetest odours, convincing all who observe 
 her tendency, that the fire of the Holy Ghost 
 is there. The nearer a man comes to God by 
 faith, the more like God will he be; and 
 every interview with which God indulges 
 him, will bring him more fully out of nature 
 into grace. u But we all, with open face be- 
 holding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, 
 are changed into the same image from glory 
 to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 
 (2 Cor. iii. IS.) While he imbibes the spirit, 
 he retains the impression of truth: and the 
 love of Christ constraining him, his life be- 
 comes the practical comment of his creed. 
 By experience, the truth is established in the 
 heart, and its beauty and purity are also made 
 to adorn the life; and its sanctifying influences 
 never so entirely govern the character, as 
 when the soul's experience of its power is 
 vivid and full. He knows nothing experi- 
 mentally of the doctrines of election, of re- 
 demption, and of justification, who evinces 
 nothing of their holiness and love in his out- 
 ward demeanour. " A good man out of the 
 
28 EXPERIMENTAL AND 
 
 good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good 
 things;" (Matt. xii. 35;) and his approxima- 
 tion to the holiness of truth, will be in pro- 
 portion to his knowledge of the power of 
 truth. All the truths of the Gospel are con- 
 nected; but while they are identified in char- 
 acter and design, they are distinct in their 
 bearings, and peculiar in their influence. 
 Every truth is full of grace, but each truth 
 has grace peculiarly its own; and to be filled 
 with the grace of truth, we must not only re- 
 ceive " the truth in the love of it," but also 
 that peculiar grace which each truth contains. 
 Words are only so far useful as they are 
 vehicles of thought; and truth is influential 
 only when it becomes the medium of life to 
 our souls, of light to our understandings, and 
 of love to our hearts. And from passing over 
 this fact as trivial and unimportant, many are 
 orthodox in sentiment, whose lives form a 
 mournful contrast to the example of Christ 
 and his apostles. "The devils believe and 
 tremble;" (James ii. 19;) but they neither 
 love nor obey the truth; and it is idle for any 
 man to talk of his knowledge of the Gospel, 
 unless he has been subdued by its power, and 
 
PRACTICAL RELIGION. 29 
 
 transformed into its purity. Truth is vital in 
 its nature; and therefore conduces, in its 
 operations, to that frame of mind, and to that 
 cast of character, which is at once the indica- 
 tion and proof of regeneration. The truth, 
 therefore, cannot dwell in that heart over 
 which sin and Satan dominate. " It is the 
 Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth 
 nothing; the words that I speak unto you, 
 they are spirit, and they are life;" (John vi. 
 63;) they contain the elements of life, and are 
 the means of the soul's inspiration ; so that if 
 they be heard and received, they will secure 
 the consecration of body and soul to the Re- 
 deemer's praise. Is there not love in the 
 doctrine of election ? Freedom from sin in 
 the doctrine of redemption ? Then, to be 
 saved, to be comforted, and to be rendered 
 fruitful by these doctrines, we must receive 
 them, not in the letter or outward form, but 
 in their spirit and inward glory: and this 
 reception, being vitally experimental, and 
 therefore connected with feeding on Christ, 
 the essential Word, will call. forth that love 
 and zeal which are evidences of adoption into 
 the family of God. 
 
 On these principles we are able to account 
 
30 EXPERIMENTAL AND 
 
 for the difference, not only between the nomi- 
 nal professor, and the true child of God, but 
 also between one Christian and another. Both 
 believe the same truths, and avow their de- 
 pendence on the same Spirit; but how marked 
 is their disproportion of experience and prac- 
 tice ! The one is fruitful, happy, and in health ; 
 the other is barren, mournful, and sickly: he 
 lives, it is true, but it is a meagre, heartless 
 life; and though fed at the King's table, and 
 admitted to all the privileges of his house, he 
 is unlike the Master he professes to serve. 
 His manner is uncourteous, and his temper 
 morose; he is irritable, peevish, soon angry, 
 and easily provoked; — his wife, his children, 
 and his servants suffer from his inconsisten- 
 cies; and if they have any sense of Christian 
 propriety, they can but weep at this ominous 
 defection of Christian principle. And yet, 
 with all these practical departures from the 
 Spirit of truth, the doctrines of the Gospel are 
 professedly revered. The preacher must, to 
 please persons of this description, always ba- 
 lance the higher scales of personal, uncondi- 
 tional election, and absolute predestination; 
 and any attempts on his part to secure the 
 practical results of faith in Christ are denoun- 
 
PRACTICAL RELIGION. 31 
 
 ced as the efforts of Pharisaical pride, or pitied 
 as the simple and ill-timed effusions of a mere 
 babe in Divinity. But with all this apparent 
 zeal for the Saviour's glory, the mind that was 
 in him is not in them; and fearful, indeed, are 
 the proofs which their inconsistencies supply 
 of the almost total absence of Divine life, and 
 of spiritual knowledge. 
 
 How observable, then, is the difference be- 
 tween one professor and another! the one re- 
 ceives the doctrine only, the other the truth 
 of the doctrine; the one gathers the fruit only, 
 the other eats it; the one is amused at the 
 sound of salvation, the other is cheered by its 
 sentiment; the one reads and admires the 
 truth, the other enters upon its possession; 
 and while the one is debating and speculating, 
 the other is proving and rejoicing. The hum- 
 ble believer endeavours to realize the power, 
 that he may exemplify the influence, of the 
 doctrines; he is anxious that the seed should 
 germinate, and that the food should digest. 
 Here, then, is the secret of doctrinal and of 
 practical experience; nor can we ever be fruit- 
 ful Christians but in this way, and by these 
 means. IE the Holy Spirit has taught us the 
 5 
 
32 EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION, &C. 
 
 V 
 
 doctrine of election, we have received the love 
 of it into our hearts. If the source be love, 
 the stream must be love; and while an unin- 
 fluential knowledge of this most holy and pro- 
 found truth may satisfy the speculative pro- 
 fessor, and become the charm of his awful de- 
 lusions; he whose heart has been directed into 
 it, will evince his fellowship with it, by deep 
 humility, by pungency of sorrow for sin, and 
 by a conscientious regard to the Divine will. 
 And as with the doctrine of election, so with 
 every other doctrine of the Gospel; the purity, 
 the life, and the comfort of truth must be re- 
 ceived, or our knowledge will be useless, and 
 our profession vain. Have I received the Gos- 
 pel, then, "in word only; or in power, and in 
 the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance?" 
 Have I only the theory of truth in my under- 
 standing, or have its influences sanctified my 
 heart ? are my fondest hopes entwined around 
 it, amid the delusions of unsubdued depravity ? 
 or, while I glory in its adaptation to the guilty, 
 am I delighted with its sufficiency to purify 
 the unclean ? 
 
 Reader, these questions deserve thy most 
 serious attention! 
 
33 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE NATURE OF THE CHRISTIAN'S WALK. 
 
 Upon a spiritual reception, and an experi- 
 mental knowledge of " the truth, as it is in 
 Jesus/' depends the consistency, the regula- 
 rity, and the peace of the believer's walk in 
 the path of obedience. He cannot serve God 
 acceptably without faith in Christ; but having 
 been renewed in the spirit of his mind, he can- 
 not serve Satan and the world. Christ's love 
 to his Church was a benevolent love: " For 
 the Son of Man came not to be ministered 
 unto, but to minister, and to give his life a 
 ransom for many;" (Matt. xx. 28;) and when 
 that love is shed abroad in our hearts, it will 
 lead us " to serve him without fear, in holi- 
 ness, and righteousness before him, all the 
 days of our life." (Luke i. 75.) To love 
 Christ and to obey him, are so identified, that 
 he who neglects or despises the precepts of 
 the Gospel, renders his conversion doubtful. 
 What proof do I give of love to Jesus, if I dis- 
 
34 THE NATURE OF 
 
 regard his precepts ? And how can my heart 
 be under the constraining influence of his 
 grace, if I walk not in the way of his statutes ? 
 His attractions are holy and spiritual; and if I 
 am subject to his Divine guidance, must I not 
 follow him as well to the field of labour, as to 
 the pasture of rest? The blessedness of ex- 
 perimental religion partly consists in the con- 
 secration of all our powers of body and mind 
 to his service; and the very enjoyments of his 
 love will induce, as a necessary consequence, 
 devotion to his glory. Love toils to express 
 her sense of obligation to the Redeemer; and 
 while faith and prudence regulate her proce- 
 dure, there will be so striking a manifestation 
 of the effects of Divine grace, that even the 
 enemies of the* cross will be constrained to ac- 
 knowledge the purity and power of Christian 
 principle. And whatever may be the actual 
 proportion of practice to the privilege from 
 which it proceeds, there can be no joy in the 
 heart, if the life be unsanctified, and in hosti- 
 lity to the Saviour's claims. There is a link 
 between privilege and duty which no man can 
 break; and he who attempts to destroy the 
 established order of Divine wisdom, in her 
 
35 
 
 munificent donations of mercy to " miserable 
 sinners," has not departed further from the 
 truth, and is not more deluded, than he who 
 expects joy and peace apart from the purify- 
 ing influence of the truth, from which, never- 
 theless, he professes to derive his comfort and 
 his hope. Oh, never may we be permitted to 
 insult the Deity by seeking redemption from 
 hell, while we are indifferent about meetness 
 for heaven! Language does not supply us 
 with terms sufficiently expressive of our ab- 
 horrence of that system of theology that gen- 
 ders laxity of morals, or even attaches unim- 
 portance to the precepts of the Gospel. " What 
 manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy 
 conversation and godliness?" (2 Pet. iii. 11.) 
 li Let your light so shine before men, that 
 they may see your good works, and glorify 
 your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. v. 
 16.) 
 
 But in what does the Christian's walk con- 
 sist ? " He hath showed thee, man, what 
 is good; and what doth the Lord require of 
 thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to 
 walk humbly with thy God." (Mic. vi. S.) 
 Thy walk, therefore, includes the progress of 
 5* 
 
 
36 THE NATURE OF 
 
 the heart in the knowledge and enjoyment of 
 his love; and the actions of the life, with the 
 improved, and improving condition of their 
 motives. This is evident from the following 
 passages, among others, which might be cited. 
 " As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus 
 the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and 
 built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as 
 ye have been taught, abounding therein with 
 thanksgiving." (Col. ii. 6, 7.) " Let no cor- 
 rupt communication proceed out of your 
 mouth, but that which is good to the use of 
 edifying, that it may minister grace unto the 
 hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of 
 God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of 
 redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, 
 and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be 
 put away from you, with all malice: And be 
 ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiv- 
 ing one another, even as God for Christ's sake 
 hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers 
 of God, as dear children; And walk in love, 
 as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given 
 himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to 
 God for a sweet-smelling savour. But forni- 
 cation, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, 
 
THE CHRISTIAN'S WALK. 37 
 
 let it not be once named among you, as be- 
 cometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish 
 talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient; 
 but rather giving of thanks." (Eph. iv. 29 — 
 32; v. 1 — 4.) "Furthermore then, we be- 
 seech you, brethren, and exhort you by the 
 Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how 
 ye ought to walk and please God, so ye would 
 abound more and more. For ye know what 
 commandments we gave you by the Lord 
 Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your 
 sanctification." (1 Thess. iv. 1—3.) "And 
 as many as walk according to this rule, peace 
 be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of 
 God.' 7 (Gal. vi. 16.) " I, therefore, the pri- 
 soner of the Lord, beseech you, that ye walk 
 worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are call- 
 ed. With all lowliness and meekness, with 
 long-suffering, forbearing one another in love." 
 (Eph. iv. 1,2.) " See then that ye walk cir- 
 cumspectly, not as fools, but as wise; redeem- 
 ing the time, because the days are evil." 
 (Eph. v. 15, 16.) "For this cause we also, 
 since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray 
 for you, and to desire that ye might be filled 
 with the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom 
 
38 THE NATURE OF 
 
 and spiritual understanding; that yc might 
 walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, be- 
 ing fruitful in every good work, and increas- 
 ing in the knowledge of God." (Col. i. 9, 10.) 
 But why should I multiply citations ? Again, 
 and again, arc we urged in Scripture by argu- 
 ments the most powerful, and by motives the 
 most persuasive, to do the will of God. The 
 apostles admit that Divine grace, when expe- 
 rienced, will secure obedience; and for this 
 reason they generally remind believers of their 
 privileges, before they enforce their obliga- 
 tions; but they do not, on this account, fail to 
 press duty: on the contrary, as fulness of doc- 
 trine involves perfection of precept, they are 
 practical in proportion as they are doctrinal. 
 There must be an effort to perform the work 
 which naturally results from union to Christ; 
 and our desires to enjoy the presence of God 
 are not to be more intense, than are our perse- 
 vering endeavours to serve God. It is our 
 privilege to sit at his feet, to feed at his table, 
 and, oh that we were more concerned to en- 
 joy his presence! But arc we not bound to 
 his service, and blessed in his employment ? 
 In speaking to us as a Master, does he not 
 
THE CHRISTIAN'S WALK. 39 
 
 converse with us as a Father? Are there not 
 fountains of water to refresh us in the desert, 
 across which duty leads us? Is not the hus- 
 bandman a partaker of the fruits? Does not 
 every step we take in this obedient course 
 place us, by the strength he affords, under ad- 
 ditional obligations to love him? Has not our 
 hope of eternal life often been encouraged by 
 those assurances of his protection and favour, 
 which were given to quicken our pace, when 
 sent by him on some errand of mercy ? Oh, 
 the blessedness of practical faith! How sweet 
 are the ties of gratitude that bind us to the 
 Saviour's service! We would not have them 
 broken for the wealth of worlds. Let who 
 will forget the Saviour's authority, be it your 
 concern, my dear young friends, to remember 
 it; for when your consciousness of his Priest- 
 hood is most vivid, your conceptions of his 
 Kingly authority will be most accurate. 
 
 But none can walk so as to please God, 
 whose hearts are not right with him. Chris- 
 tian practice must flow from Christian princi- 
 ple; and reconciliation to God by the death of 
 his Son must precede acceptable obedience. 
 We work, not for life, but from life; not to 
 
40 THE NATURE OF 
 
 obtain a righteousness, but because we have 
 received one: yet even this fact does not jus- 
 tify inattention to the actual state of our affec- 
 tions. No: we must still seek to please our 
 heavenly Father, and diligently cultivate spi- 
 rituality of mind. Lovely as external con- 
 sistency may be in the eye of man, and con- 
 clusive as may be its argumentative evidence 
 in favour of a change of heart, it must not al- 
 ways be regarded as an expression of soul 
 prosperity. A thousand inducements to an 
 orderly observance of precept, may influence 
 the life, when the heart is departing from God 
 after its idols; and when its best and holiest 
 feelings are withering, like the herb from 
 which the dews of heaven have been suspend- 
 ed. Sad indeed, and frequent too, are the de- 
 clensions of the life and power of religion in 
 the heart where Jesus dwells! Hence the ne- 
 cessity of watchfulness against evil, and prayer 
 to the Holy Spirit for his renewing grace! 
 Our own vineyard must not be neglected; 
 and, amid all the excitements to public labour 
 which the moral movements of the Christian 
 church are so well adapted to awaken, there 
 must be an undeviating attention to the health 
 
41 
 
 and growth of the inner man. Our own walk 
 with God is of paramount importance. Un- 
 der no circumstances are we justified in ne- 
 glecting those means which are calculated to 
 promote communion with the Saviour; and 
 which, because of their holy tendency, are en- 
 joined upon our attention. The true spring 
 of religious activity is that which impels the 
 soul in her course of believing; and that 
 Christian will diffuse much of the odour of the 
 name of Jesus, whose heart is filled with its 
 fragrance. Peter and John were so entirely 
 under the influence of Divine truth, that their 
 enemies " took knowledge of them, that they 
 had been with Jesus. " (Acts iv. 13.) The 
 glory of the Master reflected lustre upon his 
 servants; and they came from the mount of 
 communion with their Lord, to tell what they 
 had seen of his majesty, what they had felt of 
 his power, and to scatter the blessings with 
 which he had enriched them. They drank of 
 u living water" so abundantly, that its streams 
 overflowed their spirits to fertilize the wastes 
 around them. And whoever would be a bless- 
 ing to his friends and neighbours, must him- 
 self be first blessed of God. 
 
42 THE NATURE OF 
 
 Let us, then, attend to that state of heart 
 which will fit us for duty, and render labour 
 as well as rest desirable. " Finally, brethren, 
 whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things 
 are honest, whatsoever things are just, what- 
 soever things are pure, whatsoever things are 
 lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; 
 if there be any virtue, and if there be any 
 praise, think on these things. Those things, 
 which ye have both learned, and received, and 
 heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace 
 shall be with you." (Phil. iv. 8, 9.) Let the 
 actions of every day, and of every hour, accord 
 with the truth on which your hopes of eternal 
 life repose. For "if any man teach otherwise, 
 and consent not to wholesome words, even 
 the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the 
 doctrine which is according to godliness; he 
 is proud, knowing nothing." (1 Tim. vi. 3,4.) 
 The truth is to be both preached and believed 
 for holy purposes; and when its power is felt, 
 its authority will be acknowledged. He who 
 professes to love the truth, but does not obey 
 it, is either awfully deceived, or is an hypo- 
 critical deceiver; and, being condemned by 
 his own actions, is proved to be " in the gall 
 
THE CHRISTIAN'S WALK. 43 
 
 of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity." 
 The grace of God leads from sin and the 
 world, to holiness and the church. "This is 
 a faithful saying, and these things I will that 
 thou affirm constantly;" not occasionally, but 
 perpetually; "that they which have believed 
 in God might be careful to maintain good 
 works;" (Titus iii. S;) that they might not 
 expect them as a matter of course, and there- 
 fore be indifferent either to their number or 
 character; but that they might give heed to 
 them ; and that not now and then only, but at 
 all times; so that, whether they be poor or 
 rich, young or old, masters or servants, hus- 
 bands or wives, parents or children, preachers 
 or hearers, they be not unfruitful, but " learn 
 to maintain good works for necessary uses." 
 (Titus iii. 14.) If light and darkness, truth 
 and error, are not more incompatible, than 
 love to Christ and departure from his ways, 
 what a fearful condition must they be in who 
 cry, " Lord, Lord, and do not the things he 
 commands them!" Of all the awful charac- 
 ters upon earth, they are the most awful who 
 hold the truth in unrighteousness; " while 
 they promise them liberty, they themselves 
 6 
 
44 THE IMPORTANCE OF 
 
 are the servants of corruption." Attempting 
 to unite the church and the world, they con- 
 vert the aliment of life into the poison of 
 death; and the charms of sovereign grace 
 become the spell by which the devil holds 
 them in captivity. Oh! may we be more 
 sensible of the grace that has made us to 
 differ, more thankful for its discriminating 
 influence, more humbled under a sense of our 
 deficiencies, and more concerned for Christian 
 consistency ! 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHRISTIAN'S WALK. 
 
 First: The glory of God is involved in it; 
 and he is not more honoured in the election, 
 in the redemption, in the conversion, and in 
 the eternal glorification of his people, than he 
 is by their sanctification. His purpose before 
 time, not only contemplated their happiness 
 beyond time, but made provision for their 
 emancipation from sin and death in time. 
 " According as he hath chosen us in him 
 
THE CHRISTIAN'S WALK. 45 
 
 (Christ) before the foundation of the world; 
 that we should be holy, and without blame 
 before him in love.' 1 ' (Eph. i. 4.) "Herein 
 is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; 
 so shall ye be my disciples." (John xv. S.) 
 Nor is it possible to honour a single perfection 
 of his nature, without obedience to his will. 
 The character of a tree is known by the fruit 
 it bears; and does not the fruitfulness of the 
 believer manifest the care, the wisdom, and 
 the love of God ? " When the trees of the 
 Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon 
 which he hath planted," passing observers are 
 struck with their healthful and beautiful foli- 
 age; and as grace cannot flourish in this un- 
 kindly world without heavenly influences, our 
 growth, as well as our fruitfulness, must de- 
 pend on their communication. We are in- 
 debted as much to God for disposition as for 
 ability, to serve him; and when we do his 
 will, and bear his image, is he not glorified? 
 6t Thou, Lord, hast wrought all our works 
 in us;" (Isa. xxvi. 12;) the principle is thine, 
 the strength by which it settles down into 
 habit is thine, and thine, Lord, shall be the 
 glory! 
 
46 THE IMPORTANCE OF 
 
 And let it be distinctly understood, that 
 however retiring the people of God may be, 
 they cannot conceal the fact of their conver- 
 sion. The light they borrow from the Sun of 
 Righteousness is diffusive; and their elevation 
 above the world must be sustained, as well by 
 spirituality of demeanour, as by dignity of 
 character. The principles of grace have ever 
 been, and ever will be, distinct from those of 
 nature; and the Christian must never compro- 
 mise the former, for any secular or temporary 
 advantages that may be proffered by the latter. 
 "No man can serve two masters; for either he 
 will hate the one, and love the other; or else 
 he will hold to the one, and despise the other. 
 Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." (Matt. 
 vi. 24.) 
 
 Secondly. The enjoyment of the Divine 
 presence, and the refreshing manifestations of 
 the Saviour's love, are involved in that holy 
 and spiritual walk which every believer is 
 bound to observe. The visits of the Divine 
 Spirit, in all the delightful and endearing asso- 
 ciations of his office and character, as the Glo- 
 rifier of Jesus, and the Witness of his mercy, 
 are, indeed, never merited by the services and 
 
47 
 
 sacrifices of his people; yet are they vouch- 
 safed to the obedient, and withheld from the 
 rebellious. With the Bible in our hands, and 
 its truth in our hearts, we cannot expect a 
 lively sense of our Father's approbation, if we 
 neglect his service. Nor must we refer our 
 soul's distress to the sovereign arrangements 
 and immutable decrees of Deity; for this 
 would be as absurd as to say that light was 
 the cause of darkness, and heat the cause of 
 cold. No: we must take the blame to our- 
 selves; the cause is with us. Some unmorti- 
 fied temper, some unhallowed indulgence, 
 some practical departure from the spirit of the 
 Gospel has beclouded our prospects. "Be- 
 hold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it 
 cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it can- 
 not hear: but your iniquities have separated 
 between you and your God, and your sins 
 have hid his face from you, that he will not 
 hear." (Isa. lix. 1,2.) 
 
 Let it not be supposed that the doctrine of 
 Divine sovereignty is denied, or that the man- 
 ifestations of the Divine favour are dependent 
 on the worth of the creature. " He worketh 
 all things after the counsel of his own will;" 
 6* 
 
48 THE IMPORTANCE OF 
 
 (Eph. i. 11;) and the light he sheds, and the 
 darkness he diffuses, around the path of the 
 just, harmonize with his righteous determina- 
 tions both to bless and to chastise them. But 
 then, although tt His thoughts are thoughts of 
 peace," and although he gives grace freely, 
 his purposes to afflict them, by withdrawing 
 from them the light of his countenance, were 
 in pursuance of his discovery of their actual 
 departures from him. " He does not afflict 
 willingly," (Lam. iii. 33,) nor because it is 
 customary for a father to correct his child; but 
 because they deserve, and need, the visitations 
 of his displeasure. We deserve misery, but 
 we never merit mercy. "Oh! Israel! thou 
 hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thy help;" 
 (Hos. xiii. 9;) and never is the connexion be- 
 tween experimental and practical religion ren- 
 dered more apparent by the Divine procedure, 
 than when the reviving and fructifying influ- 
 ences of the Holy Spirit arc withheld from 
 that vineyard which the Christian neglects to 
 cultivate. 
 
 The world of nature is governed by laws so 
 wise in their constitution, so accurately adjust- 
 ed in their controlling proportions, and so un- 
 
THE CHRISTIAN'S WALK. 49 
 
 yielding in their influence, that not a season 
 can depart, nor a planet revolve, nor a leaf fall, 
 without their cognizance and authority; and 
 while the astronomer can calculate with un- 
 erring exactness on the movements of the hea- 
 venly bodies, the philosopher argues from 
 principles which never deceive. And is not 
 the world of grace, also, governed by equita- 
 ble laws? If there be an order of things from 
 which, in working the vast machinery of the 
 heavens above, and of the earth beneath, there 
 is not even a slight deviation; surely the plea- 
 sures and the pains of the moral world are sus- 
 pended on the balance of justice and truth. 
 In the administration of Divine mercy towards 
 the ungodly, the principles of right govern- 
 ment are never violated, any more than the 
 glory of God's justice is tarnished by the exe- 
 cution of his vengeance on the impenitent. 
 And not more certain are we, that effects will 
 follow their causes in nature, than that they 
 will in grace. Natural impossibilities are con- 
 clusive in their evidence to the perfection and 
 harmony of natural laws; and moral impossi- 
 bilities are full in their evidence to the righte- 
 ousness and mercy of spiritual laws. The law 
 
50 THE IMPORTANCE OP 
 
 of gravitation accounts for the tendency oi 
 bodies to their centre; and if that law could be 
 in part violated, or entirely suspended, would 
 there not be confusion and disorder among 
 those bodies, then no longer under its control? 
 Or, if the bodies themselves, by an accession 
 of weight or diminution of size, could defy 
 this law; — for the power to gravitate must 
 bear a relative proportion to the magnitude 
 and density of the object subject to its influ- 
 ence;— how fearful would be the consequences! 
 And he, whose science of theology is that of 
 the heart, and not of the head, can calculate 
 with certainty upon the results, both of vital 
 piety and of declining devotion. Let me dis- 
 regard the will of God; let me be indifferent 
 as to the course I take, the society I choose, 
 the spirit I imbibe; and with almost inspired 
 infallibility I can predict the consequences. 
 Here is my position; here are my deductions 
 — " Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh 
 to you." (James iv. S.) " Forsake him, and 
 he will forsake you." (2 Chron. xv. 2.) 
 " And if thou draw out thy soul to the hun- 
 gry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall 
 thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness 
 
51 
 
 be as the noon-day. And the Lord shall guide 
 thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in 
 drought, and make fat thy bone; and thou 
 shalt be like a watered garden, and like a 
 spring of water, whose waters fail not." (Isa. 
 lviii. 10, 11.) 
 
 Thirdly. The honour of truth, also, re- 
 quires our consecration to the Saviour's glory. 
 That ye were the servants of sin, is a mourn- 
 ful and humbling fact; but that ye have 
 obeyed from the heart that form, or mould, of 
 doctrine, which was delivered to you by the 
 Gospel, and into which mould ye were cast 
 for the purpose of being fashioned after its 
 likeness, is a cheering reflection. (Rom. vi- 
 17.) "Render unto Cesar the things which 
 are Cesar's; and unto God the things which 
 are God's;" and as the coin is known by the 
 superscription it bears, so ought the character 
 of truth to be known by the temper and con- 
 versation of those who profess to love it. It 
 was predicted of God's people, "All that see 
 them shall acknowledge them, that they are 
 the seed which the Lord hath blessed;" (Is. 
 lxi. 9;) and when, by the power of the Gos- 
 pel, the proud and depraved heart of man is 
 
52 THE IMPORTANCE OF 
 
 subdued into the meekness and gentleness of 
 Christ, wicked men have been constrained to 
 confess — " The finger of God is here." Truth 
 is influential in its principles, and practical in 
 its tendency; and our appeals for evidence of 
 its Divinity must be made, not only to the 
 writings of those " holy men of God, who 
 spake as they were moved by the Holy 
 Ghost;" but also to the lives of those who 
 believe " the record which God hath given of 
 his Son." " Ye are our epistle, written in our 
 hearts, known and read of all men: Foras- 
 much as ye are manifestly declared to be the 
 epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written 
 not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living 
 God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly 
 tables of the heart." (2 Cor. iii. 2, 3.) 
 
 The doctrine of the plenary inspiration 
 of the Holy Scriptures occupies, however, 
 higher ground than that on which the con- 
 duct of the believer may place it. Christi- 
 anity is not answerable for the defections of 
 her votaries; neither are the evidences of her 
 Divinity weakened by the palpable inconsis- 
 tency of her admirers, any more than the 
 accuracy of mathematical calculation is im- 
 
53 
 
 peached by the errors and mistakes of the 
 child who attempts to solve its problems. It 
 is to the absence, and not to the presence, of 
 truth, that the imperfections of its professors 
 are attributable. Were the doctrines of grace 
 better understood; had their lovely spirit 
 been more ciFectually imbibed ; and had the 
 church in all ages been more sensible of the 
 capabilities with which they invest her for 
 service, as well as for enjoyment, fewer ob- 
 jections would have been raised against them. 
 " He gave himself for us, that he might re- 
 deem us from all iniquity, and purify unto 
 himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
 works." (Tit. ii. 14.) And it is as much the 
 Christian's duty " to abhor that which is evil, 
 and to cleave to that which is good," as it is 
 his privilege to hold " fellowship with the 
 Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." (1 
 John i. 3.) "Exhort servants," was Paul's 
 charge to Titus, " ta be obedient unto their 
 own masters, and to please them well in all 
 things; not answering again; not purloining, 
 but showing all good fidelity; that they may 
 adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all 
 
54 THE GOSPEL ADORNED BY 
 
 things." (Tit. ii. 9, 10.) And this is equally 
 applicable to all the servants of Christ. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL ADORNED BY CHRISTIAN 
 CONSISTENCY. 
 
 To adorn, is either to beautify that which 
 is deformed, or to exhibit the loveliness and 
 excellency of that which is already beautiful; 
 and it is in the latter sense that we are to 
 adorn "the doctrine of God our Saviour." 
 We cannot add to it a single charm; its glory 
 is perfect: all that we can do is to commend 
 it to the understanding and hearts of others, 
 by giving a full, consistent, and unvarying 
 expression of its character and design. We 
 are so to live and act, that the truth may not 
 be brought into disrepute; but that others, 
 seeing what it has done for us, may be con- 
 strained to confess " it is worthy of all accep- 
 tation/' and deserves their attention and love. 
 "He that winneth souls is wise;" (Pr. xi. 
 
CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY. 55 
 
 30;) and by a good conversation we are to 
 attempt the conversion of sinners. (1 Pet. 
 iii. 1.) 
 
 But there are reasons for believing that the 
 doctrine is dishonoured, even by those who 
 profess to love it: they will, as it were, fight, 
 sword in hand, for its measure of glory in the 
 scale of theology, but they exhibit none, or 
 but little, of its essential loveliness; nor any 
 of the meekness and humility which are its 
 relative, not its accidental, attendants. They 
 do, indeed, abstain from outward immorality; 
 but their general cast of character is so unlike 
 what it ought to be, and what it would be if 
 the truth had influence over them, that unbe- 
 lievers are often heard to say — " If I judge of 
 the doctrine by the spirit and conduct of those 
 who profess it, I must decide both against its 
 divinity and its utility. " What a blessing 
 would the truth be to the world and to the 
 church, if all professed Christians expressed 
 its holiness by every word they utter, by 
 every temper they cultivate, and by every 
 action they perform. But, alas! their spirit 
 is often so unlovely, and their deeds so like 
 those of worldly men, that they have brought 
 7 
 
56 THE GOSPEL ADORNED BY 
 
 the truth into contempt by the very means 
 they have employed for its honour; and have 
 caused its expulsion, where they have ex- 
 pected its enthronement. The doctrine is al- 
 ready glorious in the judgment of the true 
 Christian; and we are to display this glory in 
 practical life: having imbibed its spirit, we 
 are to develope its principles; we are first to 
 be arrayed in its beauties, and then to exhibit 
 them. The truth in us, ought to be what it 
 actually is in the Bible; and we cannot confer 
 a greater blessing on those around us, than we 
 shall do by holding forth the word of life in 
 all its purity and power, not so much by 
 strength of argument, as by Christian consis- 
 tency. Many read our character, who 
 never study the Bible; and be our character 
 humble or proud, holy or impure, it will pro- 
 duce relative convictions in the minds of 
 those who read it. We cannot, it is true, 
 convince them of their depravity, nor destroy 
 their enmity against God; but we shall either 
 weaken or strengthen their prejudices by the 
 spirit we breathe. If we profess Christ, and 
 yet walk contrary to his laws, we raise in 
 their minds a doubt of our sincerity, or lead 
 
CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY. 57 
 
 them to question the truth of the system we 
 have embraced. They are quick to discern 
 our failures; and by a trifling inconsistency 
 we arm them with weapons which they are 
 sure successfully to employ against us. As 
 character is ascertained by little things, we 
 cannot be too cautious of its general indica- 
 tions. Much circumspection, too, is required 
 in the familiar interchanges of social life, lest 
 by a word, or by a look, we eclipse the 
 beauty and destroy the harmony of the truth 
 we seek to commend to those about us. One 
 false step may lead hundreds astray; and one 
 inconsistent action may entirely weaken the 
 force of an argument in the judgment of our 
 enemies; even though the argument be one of 
 the most momentous that can engage their 
 attention, and although the inconsistency be 
 one of the most trifling ever brought under 
 their cognizance. How anxious, then, should 
 we be to adorn the doctrine which gives to 
 our profession all its interest, and all its 
 value! 
 
 Let me here point out a few of those mis- 
 takes into which individuals are sometimes 
 
58 THE GOSPEL ADORXED BY 
 
 drawn, and which, because of their influence, 
 are opposed to consistency. 
 
 There are a number of persons who, in their 
 zeal to maintain the doctrines of the Gospel, 
 almost entirely neglect precept. Practical 
 preaching, even though it be in conformity to 
 the ministry of Christ and his apostles, is not 
 at all palatable; and there are even preachers 
 of the word who encourage opposition to an 
 honest enforcement of God's statutes. In 
 some, this arises from an unsanctified heart, 
 which, being in love with sin, cannot bear its 
 exposure; in others, from a concern for the 
 glory of the Divine Spirit, out of whose hands, 
 it is said, practical preachers attempt to take 
 his work; but in all, it is the effect of partial 
 and perverted views of truth. They will 
 not search the Scriptures on the subject; but, 
 hastily adopting the creed of a party, and 
 which is to them an infallible standard of 
 judgment, they condemn, or pity, all who 
 differ from them; and sacrifice the harmony 
 of the Gospel to the demands of sectarian 
 bigotry. 
 
 Then, then 1 are others who fly to the op- 
 
CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY. 59 
 
 posite extreme. Not approving of doctrine 
 themselves, they censure all who do; and 
 avoid, as much as possible, both in their 
 preaching and hearing, any distinct or specific 
 allusion to the truth for which the reformers 
 bled. Sincere these persons may be ; but 
 they are certainly in error. If God intended 
 that his people should either neglect or des- 
 pise doctrine, he would not have revealed it; 
 or he would, by some line of demarcation, 
 have limited our faith. Besides, practical 
 godliness must be sustained by motive, as 
 well as governed by rule; and where are 
 motives to holy obedience to be found, if not 
 in " the doctrine which is according to godli- 
 ness/' 
 
 " Christianity," says a writer, " must be 
 embraced entirely, if it be received at all. It 
 must be taken without mutilation, as a perfect 
 scheme, in the way in which God has been 
 pleased to reveal it. It must be accepted, not 
 as exhibiting beautiful parts, but as presenting 
 one consummate whole, the perfection of 
 which arises from coherence and dependence, 
 from relation and consistency. Its powers 
 will be weakened, and its energy destroyed, 
 7* 
 
60 THE GOSPEL ADORNED BY 
 
 if every caviller pull out a pin. There is no 
 breaking this system into portions, of which 
 we are at liberty to choose one and reject the 
 other: there is no separating the precepts 
 from the doctrines, nor the doctrines from the 
 precepts. 
 
 " The practice of religion will always thrive 
 in proportion as its doctrines are generally 
 understood, and firmly believed: and the 
 practice will degenerate and decay, in pro- 
 portion as the doctrine is misunderstood and 
 neglected . It is true, therefore, that it is the 
 great duty of a preacher of the Gospel to press 
 the practice of its precepts, on the consciences 
 of men: but then, it is equally true, that it is 
 his duty to enforce this practice in a particular 
 way, namely, by inculcating its doctrines. 
 The motives which the revealed doctrines fur- 
 nish, are the only motives he has to do with, 
 and the only motives by which religious duty 
 can be effectually enforced. Genuine faith in 
 the doctrines of grace uniformly promotes 
 practical and experimental religion. It is 
 from the doctrines of the Gospel that Chris- 
 tians derive peace in trouble, strength in 
 weakness, comfort in life, and hope in death.'" 
 
CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY. 6l 
 
 Others, again, shun doctrine, and the minis- 
 try that unfolds and enforces it, because it has 
 been applied to purposes of licentiousness; and 
 because a professed attachment to it has some- 
 times been a cloak to dishonesty and crime. 
 This, however, is unwise. For the same 
 reason that timid minds avoid the doctrines of 
 the Gospel, might we refuse to use the bless- 
 ings of a kind and gracious Providence. 
 Food and clothing, money and social inter- 
 course, have all been abused to the injury and 
 death of thousands; but who would, on this 
 account, become a recluse, or cease to eat and 
 drink? The abuse of a principle is no argu- 
 ment against its utility; nor any good reason 
 why it should be discarded. That persons 
 hold the truth in ungodliness is a mournful 
 fact ; but does this justify an abandonment of 
 truth altogether? Or are we from hence to 
 infer, that all who embrace it must necessarily 
 live unholily ? We must distinguish between 
 the legitimate tendency of a doctrine, and the 
 result of its perversion; and if it be essentially 
 holy in its nature, and, therefore, sanctifying 
 in its influence, why should we avoid it be- 
 cause ungodly men wrest it to their own de- 
 
62 THE GOSPEL ADORNED BY 
 
 struction? The sinfulness of the proud pro- 
 fessor, who, though he boasts of his eternal 
 election to life, is indifferent about that purity 
 of heart which is an evidence of God's love, 
 is no valid objection to the doctrine he main- 
 tains. The truth is good, and when rightly 
 used will produce whatever is lovely in tem- 
 per, and consistent in practice ; but he abuses 
 it, and therefore obscures its glory, and es- 
 capes its control. 
 
 St. Paul, in the first epistle to Timothy, 
 the first chapter, and at the ninth verse, draw- 
 ing a catalogue of sins, against which the de- 
 nunciations of the law are most eminently 
 levelled, closes the list with these words — 
 ' Jlnd if there be any other thing that is 
 contrary to sound doctrine? A plain inti- 
 mation that error in principles fundamental 
 has a very unfavourable influence upon practi- 
 cal; and that, in proportion as the doctrines 
 of God are disbelieved, the commandments of 
 God will be disobeyed. Doctrinals, therefore, 
 are not of that small significance which the in- 
 judicious and the heterodox affect to give out. 
 For, though, matters of doctrine are by some 
 considered merely as the shell of religion, and 
 
CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY. 63 
 
 experience only as the kernel, yet let it be 
 remembered that there is no coming at the 
 kernel but through the shell; and while the 
 kernel gives value to the shell, the shell is the 
 guardian of the kernel. Destroy that, and 
 you injure this. 
 
 The apostle stamps the evangelical doc- 
 trines with the seal of dignity, usefulness, and 
 importance, as is evident from the epithet he 
 makes use of: he calls the system of Gospel 
 truths, sound doctrine; salutary, health-giv- 
 ing doctrine: not only right and sound in it- 
 self, but conducing to the spiritual strength 
 and health of those that receive it; doctrine 
 that operates like -some efficacious restorative 
 on an exhausted constitution; that renders the 
 sin-sick souls of men healthy, vigorous, and 
 thriving; that causes them, through the bless- 
 ing of Divine grace, to grow as the lily, and 
 to cast forth the root as Lebanon; to revive as 
 the corn, and to nourish as the vine; to diffuse 
 their branches, and rival the olive tree in 
 beauty and fruitfulness. On the other hand, 
 unsound doctrine has the opposite effects. It 
 impoverishes our views of God; withers our 
 hopes; makes our faith languid; blasts our spi- 
 
64 THE GOSPEL ADORNED BY 
 
 ritual enjoyments; and lays the very axe to 
 the root of Christian obedience. 
 
 Others, again, are deeply concerned to walk 
 worthy of their holy calling, without any ac- 
 knowledgment of doctrine; as if the precepts 
 they are to obey, had no relation to the doc- 
 trines they are to believe. Conscious of their 
 obligations, they attempt to discharge them; 
 but having no accurate knowledge of the truth 
 out of which they arise, they toil hard with- 
 out bringing any glory to God. Their mo- 
 tives are legalized, and their actions, in conse- 
 quence, though numerous and splendid, are 
 scarcely evangelical. The great point of con- 
 sideration with us should be, to exhibit truth 
 in all its fair and lovely proportions; that hav- 
 ing studied the Bible, under the teaching of 
 the Holy Spirit, we may become " the living 
 epistles of Christ, known and read of all men." 
 We have no authority for transposing either 
 doctrine or precept; or for giving an undue, 
 and therefore an unscriptural prominency to 
 any favourite truth. To be partial, either in 
 our views or our attachments, is to reflect on 
 Divine Wisdom for not systematically arrang- 
 ing his thoughts and purposes to meet our pe- 
 
CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY. 65 
 
 culiar predilections. What right have we to 
 think of disturbing the order in which he has 
 placed the privileges we are to enjoy, and the 
 duties we are to discharge? And what occa- 
 sion is there for attempting this moral outrage, 
 which not only mars the beauty of truth, but 
 which even destroys its adaptation to relieve 
 and bless us? Truth ceases to be truth, out 
 of its connexion; and if we destroy its pro- 
 portions, by giving an undue importance to 
 either of its component parts, we devise a 
 scheme which, if it operate at all, must injure, 
 but can never bless us. If we bestow upon 
 one doctrine, or upon one precept, the atten- 
 tion and love which ought to be equalized 
 upon twenty ; or if, out of any given number 
 of truths, alike Divine, and therefore possess- 
 ing equal claims upon our faith, we select a 
 few, and reject the rest, we destroy the pro- 
 per influence of all. One truth, however im- 
 portant it may be, is only a link in the chain 
 of salvation, and is of use only in its connexion 
 with other truths; and by sectarian partiality 
 for either a doctrine or a precept, we break 
 that connexion, and bring ourselves under an 
 
66 THE GOSPEL ADORNED BY 
 
 influence, which, as it is partial in its charac- 
 ter, cannot be universal in its control. 
 
 The several parts of the human body are 
 not more wisely adjusted than are the truths 
 of the Gospel; and if any of these physical or 
 moral dependencies are destroyed, the results, 
 in either case, are most deeply affecting. The 
 balance of truth, like that of the mind, must 
 be preserved, or a theological aberration will 
 ensue; and the reason why the growth of piety 
 in the hearts of some is unsound, irregular, 
 and uncertain, is, that it is fed with only one 
 sort of moral aliment, and is subject either to 
 no discipline at all, or to the reckless guidance 
 of accidental circumstances. The man, and 
 not a part of the man, but the whole man, 
 must be both subdued and trained; and to se- 
 cure this, the whole moral machinery of truth 
 must be employed, and not a part of it: the 
 doctrine, as well as the precept; the precept, 
 as well as the doctrine. What an unlovely, 
 unsightly monster have some religious vota- 
 ries held out to the world's view, which, in- 
 stead of alluring, has repulsed it! And yet, 
 what moral object can be more beautiful than 
 revealed truth! And when her symmetry is 
 
CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY. 67 
 
 fairly and fully represented by a holy and con- 
 sistent life, if her enemies are not won, they 
 are silenced. Let there be a perfect and uni- 
 form agreement between the church of God 
 and the word of God, and the cause of religion 
 will occupy a vantage ground, from which the 
 puny efforts of a disgusting scepticism, and a 
 reckless infidelity will never be able to remove 
 her. But as long as there remains an obvious 
 discrepancy between the truth revealed and 
 the conduct of the persons who profess to love 
 it, its divinity will be questioned, and its au- 
 thority denied. 
 
 But the doctrines of the Gospel are to be 
 adorned experimentally, as well as practically. 
 And by experience, I mean that trial of Divine 
 things which produces knowledge of their 
 worth, and issues in holy enjoyment of them. 
 We prove a truth when we submit it to a test 
 which has the power of ascertaining its cha- 
 racter; and as the truth of the Gospel relates, 
 both in its professions and operations, to the 
 conversion of the heart to God, and its subse- 
 quent fellowship with God; and is, at the same 
 time, the instrument by which this change is 
 effected; those who have passed from death 
 8 
 
68 THE GOSPEL ADORNED BY 
 
 unto life, and are brought into the liberty of 
 the Gospel, have, in their own consciences, 
 a witness of the truth, of which none of 
 their enemies can dispossess them, and which 
 amounts to a positive, personal experience of 
 the grace of God. We may argue much, and 
 experience nothing; and experience a great 
 deal, and be unable to argue at all. Judgment 
 and love, as attributes of the human mind, are 
 not more distinct, than are knowledge and ex- 
 perience in the Christian heart. There can be 
 no experience without knowledge; "for grace 
 and peace are multiplied through the know- 
 ledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord;-*' (1 Pet. 
 i. 2;) but there may be knowledge without 
 experience. Christianity may be studied as 
 any other system may be; and it is quite pos- 
 sible for a man to defend the truth by argu- 
 ment, while he is destitute of its converting 
 power. Without experience, therefore, man 
 walks in darkness, though surrounded by light; 
 and is no more savingly acquainted with the 
 Gospel, than the confirmed infidel, or the su- 
 perstitious heathen. 
 
 The doctrines of grace, be it remembered, 
 are submitted to us, not for logical, but for 
 
CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY. 69 
 
 moral demonstration. Some persons delight 
 to occupy the arena of controversy, and to 
 solve the truth with all the nicety of mathe- 
 matical accuracy; and who would not " con- 
 tend for the faith which was once delivered to 
 the saints?" " Buy the truth, and sell it not." 
 (Pr. xxiii. 23.) But the purchase and con- 
 tention are not to be for their own sake; the 
 ulterior object, and to which all other conside- 
 rations are to be in subordination, is the sanc- 
 tification and joy of the heart; for if a man is 
 unrenewed in the spirit of his mind, what will 
 his knowledge profit him ? The love of God 
 the Father is shed abroad in the heart, and is 
 thus known and enjoyed: (Rom. v. 5; 2 
 Thess. iii. 5:) the atonement of God the Son 
 is received; and thus his propitiatory sacrifice 
 avails, not only for our pardon, but for our 
 health and purity: (Rom. v. 11:) and the in- 
 fluences of God the Holy Ghost are all brought 
 to bear upon our souls for their life and holi- 
 ness; and thus his work is both felt and ap- 
 proved. (Rom. viii. 9 — 11.) There can be 
 no delightful experience without a knowledge 
 of the doctrines of grace. Many Christians 
 have very deep conviction of their deserts, 
 
70 THE GOSPEL ADORNED BY 
 
 who have but little hope of their safety; and 
 as joy and peace flow from the cross only, we 
 must come " to the blood of sprinkling, and to 
 Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant," 
 before we can be happy in the love of God. 
 One man gazes upon the tree of life, but is 
 tempted by Satan to believe that it grows not 
 for him; and another, with stronger faith, 
 plucks its fruit, and reposes under its shadow. 
 We must live upon the doctrines of the Gos- 
 pel, to be strengthened and refreshed by them. 
 And are they not the very life and glory of 
 our experience? They bring the whole man 
 under a Divine and commanding influence, 
 which, while it relieves the conscience of guilt, 
 and awakens and sustains a hope of glory, bears 
 us onwards in the way of righteousness, to 
 light more pure, and to freedom more perfect. 
 But what experience adorns the doctrine of 
 God our Saviour? Not that which is dark 
 and dreary, but that which is full of love and 
 full of heaven. Earthly-mindedness, discon- 
 tentment, unbelief, and slavish fear, dishonour 
 the doctrine, because this state of mind is op- 
 posed as much to the promises, as it is to the 
 directions of the Gospel. " The Lord hath 
 
CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY. 71 
 
 pleasure in the prosperity of his servants ;" 
 (Ps. xxxv. 27;) and the comfort and well- 
 being of the flock proclaim not only the care 
 of the Shepherd, but the richness of the pas- 
 ture in which they feed. And if our expe- 
 rience does not adorn the doctrine, it is be- 
 cause we do not apply it to its legitimate uses; 
 for unless we eat it as food, use it as medicine, 
 and wear it as clothing, it cannot enrich us, 
 neither can we show forth its praises. If our 
 experience were laid open to public view, 
 would it reflect honour on the truth ? Would 
 our acquirements in Divine knowledge accre- 
 dit the wisdom of our Tutor? And would 
 men have to admire the cause, by discovering 
 the glory of its effects ? If we are cold and 
 lifeless, we bring the Gospel into disrepute; 
 and induce our observers to question either 
 the truth of the promises, or the faithfulness 
 of the Promiser. Many inquirers after salva- 
 tion are discouraged by the apparent indiffer- 
 ence, or by the palpable inconsistencies of 
 those who have trod the path before them. 
 When listening to a daring, dogmatical preach- 
 er, or when conversing with hearers of this 
 description, they ask, with surprise — "What 
 . S* 
 
72 THE GOSPEL ADORNED BY 
 
 has the truth done for these men, what do they 
 do more than others? Where is that sweet- 
 ness of disposition, that condescending atten- 
 tion to others' woes, that simplicity of design, 
 that dignity of thought and feeling, that meek- 
 ness and gentleness of Christ, which we have 
 been assured are the distinguishing peculiari- 
 ties of the followers of the Lamb? Alas! we 
 see but little to admire, and much to condemn; 
 and if these are the natural, or inevitable re- 
 sults of receiving the truth into the judgment 
 and heart, then let me for ever be delivered 
 from its influence." " my soul, come not 
 thou into their secret; unto their assembly, 
 mine honour, be not thou united." (Gen. xlix. 
 6.) There is often so much bitter zeal on the 
 one hand, and such heartless and freezing for- 
 mality on the other, that young disciples have 
 sometimes been driven away from the truth 
 they ought to have received, by the injudici- 
 ousness and unkindness of those who have 
 attempted to unfold it. But when we con- 
 verse with men who have the mind of Christ, 
 and whose uniform consistency proves their 
 saving acquaintance with his Gospel, we are 
 led to exclaim — " If such be the peace, the 
 
CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY. 73 
 
 joy, and the humility, that naturally results 
 from a reception of the truth, when the truth 
 has its full and proper influence upon the cha- 
 racter, let me receive it; that this humility, 
 and joy, and peace, and love, may be mine." 
 Wherefore, brethren, seek to adorn the doc- 
 trine of God your Saviour by an experience of 
 its life and power; and by a consistent, con- 
 scientious discharge of the duties it involves. 
 
 " So let our lips and lives express 
 The holy Gospel we profess; 
 So let our works and virtues shine, 
 To prove the doctrine all Divine. 
 
 Thus shall we best proclaim abroad 
 The honours of our Saviour, God ; 
 While the salvation reigns within, 
 And grace subdues the power of sin." 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE ORDER OF DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS TO THE SOULS OF 
 MEN, AND THE USE TO BK MADE OF THE WORD OF GOD. 
 
 It was stated, in the introductory chapter, 
 that God has his prescribed order of blessing 
 his people, and that out of that order no man 
 
74 THE ORDER OF 
 
 can expect to be blessed ; — a proposition which, 
 it is believed, although not distinctly denied, 
 is but imperfectly understood by a large num- 
 ber of the professed followers of the Saviour: 
 hence their depression of soul on the one hand, 
 and their manifest inconsistencies on the other. 
 Some consideration, therefore, of the means 
 and the end, appears to be necessary ; " For I 
 fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguil- 
 ed Eve through his subtilty, so your minds 
 should be corrupted from the simplicity that 
 is in Christ." (2 Cor. xi. 3.) 
 
 It must be remembered, that absolute and 
 unconditional promises abound in the Scrip- 
 tures; and that, but for their fulfilment, no 
 soul would ever be saved. "Thou wilt say 
 then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? 
 for who hath resisted his will ? Nay but, 
 man, who art thou that repliest against God ? 
 Shall the thing formed say to him that formed 
 it, Why hast thou made me thus ? Hath not 
 the potter power over the clay, of the same 
 lump to make one vessel unto honour, and 
 another unto dishonour ? What if God, wil- 
 ling to show his wrath, and to make his power 
 known, endured with much long-suffering the 
 
DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS, &C. 75 
 
 vessels of wrath fitted to destruction; and that 
 he might make known the riches of his glory 
 on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore 
 prepared unto glory, even us whom he hath 
 called, not of the Jews only, but also of the 
 Gentiles ? As he saith also in Osee, I will 
 call them my people which were not my 
 people; and her beloved, which was not be- 
 loved." (Rom. ix. 19—25.) 
 
 Who then can deny the absolute right of 
 God to give grace, or to withhold it, as 
 he pleases? And who can dispute the un- 
 conditional character of his promises ? His 
 creatures owe him every thing, but he owes 
 them nothing; and if, in the exercise of his 
 righteous and sovereign prerogative, he be- 
 stows mercy upon one man, how can he in- 
 flict positive injury by withholding it from 
 another? Especially as those from whom it 
 is withheld neglect the gift, and despise the 
 Giver. Grace is the fountain of salvation, 
 and sin the cause of damnation. God's pur- 
 pose is to rescue a given number of the human 
 race from eternal death; and man's purpose is 
 to live without God in this world, although it 
 expose him to his wrath in another. But 
 
76 THE ORDER OF 
 
 this part of Divine truth, though awfully in- 
 teresting, is not that with which we are now 
 immediately concerned. We are anxious to 
 ascertain God's prescribed order of blessing 
 his people, subsequently to their regeneration, 
 that we may seek, in his own way, the peace 
 and the rest he has promised, and go forth in 
 his strength to discharge our duties. 
 
 " And is not this," you will say, " the 
 settled desire of our hearts? Do we not al- 
 ready seek his favour, and the supplies of his 
 Spirit, that, having our hearts enlarged, we 
 may run in the way of his commandments?" 
 Still, we fear that our impressions of personal 
 obligation are too feeble, and our views of 
 practical godliness too indistinct, to issue in 
 any thing like a universal and an impartial at- 
 tention to his revealed will. Chapters after 
 chapters of the Bible may be read; but unless 
 each chapter and each verse be examined, and 
 their connexion with other verses and other 
 chapters ascertained, reading cannot savingly 
 profit us. A sound theologian is not he who 
 has taken only a cursory view of theological 
 subjects, or who has given to some favourite 
 theme special consideration, passing by others 
 
DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS, &C. 77 
 
 of equal importance; and he cannot be a con- 
 sistent Christian who does not, so far as cir- 
 cumstances and opportunities require, devote 
 himself unreservedly to his relative obliga- 
 tions. Much ignorance prevails upon the 
 connexion of precept and promise, as parts of 
 revealed truth; and upon the necessity of 
 obeying the one, in order to be blessed by the 
 fulfilment of the other, as points of Christian 
 experience. Not only is much time and effort 
 lost by an unwise application of our energies 
 for the attainment of important blessings, but 
 we actually impoverish our souls by the very 
 means we employ to enrich them. The peo- 
 ple of God, generally speaking, are, if words 
 mean any thing, concerned to receive and to 
 enjoy what he has promised them; and yet, 
 with all their anxiety, and it cannot be too in- 
 tense, they seldom pursue, with uniform con- 
 sistency, the course he has prescribed, and in 
 which he has assured them of the manifesta- 
 tions of his presence. " Thou meetest him 
 that rejoiceth, and worketh righteousness ; 
 those that remember thee in thy ways." (Is. 
 lxiv. 5.) But if we choose our own path, 
 and follow our own devices in the pursuit of 
 
78 THE ORDER OF 
 
 good, we shall wander where God has not 
 promised to meet us. And it must not be 
 said that our departure from the precept, 
 which is the invariable rule of our conduct, 
 is excusable on the grounds of human folly and 
 human weakness. In ourselves, indeed, we 
 are as unable to discover what is right, as to 
 do what is right; and had God left us without 
 information and help, it would be impossible 
 for us to know and do his will. But he has 
 given us counsel and promised us strength; 
 and we never fail to render acceptable obe- 
 dience, except when the one is neglected, and 
 the other despised. The word of God and 
 the Spirit of God must both be honoured, or 
 we shall err in our judgment of truth, and fail 
 in our attempts to practise it; but the more 
 minutely we examine the former, for the pur- 
 pose of ascertaining, that we may do, the will 
 of the latter, the more likely are we to suc- 
 ceed in our efforts to glorify God. 
 
 But who does not perceive that many seek 
 to be enriched and satisfied, not in God's way, 
 but in their own ? entirely overlooking, I will 
 not say several important directions placed in 
 different and distant parts of the Divine word, 
 
DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS, &C. 79 
 
 but even parts of the same verse, from which 
 they seek their enjoyment; and thus they 
 sigh in adversity, when, by the help of the 
 Spirit, if they were wise to discern the vehicle 
 intended to convey their blessings, they might 
 triumph in prosperity. It is not, however, 
 enough for them to discern the character and 
 adaptation of truth ; they must reduce all its 
 principles to practice; and that, too, not gene- 
 rally or superficially, but each principle must 
 be separately demonstrated, to secure the re- 
 sults for which all are established. 
 
 This, it may be said, is imposing a needless 
 task on those who strive for liberty and rest, 
 and one for which they have neither time nor 
 strength. So far is this from being the case, 
 however, and so directly are these surmisings 
 opposed to the truth, that but for the weak in 
 faith, who often err without being conscious 
 of it, we should not pause to notice them; but 
 as some such train of thought is pursued 
 by unestablished believers, it is but right to 
 guard them against it as anti-scriptural in its 
 character, and dangerous in its influence. To 
 say that Christ's commandments are grievous, 
 or that under no circumstances has the Chris- 
 9 
 
80 THE ORDER OF 
 
 tian either time or strength to obey them, is 
 to deny what God has affirmed. And it must 
 be remembered, we are not legislating for the 
 church; this is not our prerogative; we are 
 only interpreting the spirit, by examining the 
 letter of Christ's law; and urging obedience in 
 the way and for the ends, he has appointed. 
 We aim at nothing more than this, and we can 
 be satisfied with nothing less. 
 
 What, then, is the use we are to make of 
 God's word, and the truth it reveals? Are 
 we merely to read the Scriptures, and to store 
 our minds with uninfluential information ? 
 Was the Bible written for our amusement? 
 Or, are we at liberty to choose a part, and to 
 reject the rest ? " All Scripture is given by 
 inspiration of God, and is profitable for doc- 
 trine, for reproof, for correction, for instruc- 
 tion in righteousness; that the man of God 
 may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all 
 good works." (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17.) It is suf- 
 ficient to meet, not only the requirements of 
 its Divine Author, but all the necessities of his 
 people; and as we may question the divinity 
 of those communications which flow not 
 through the word of God, we cannot expect 
 
DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS, &C. 81 
 
 to accomplish the Divine will, without it. 
 The purposes of God and the operations of 
 the Holy Ghost, are to secure to us those 
 blessings for which we pray and labour; and 
 the objects to which he applies his word are 
 those for which we profess to use it. The 
 power which renders the word effectual, is 
 entirely his own; but whether it be used by 
 him, without our aid, for the purpose of bless- 
 ing us; or whether we use it by his counsel 
 and assistance, for his glory in our spiritual 
 improvement; in either case, the success of its 
 application may be expected. 
 
 The word, however, must be received be- 
 fore it can be used, and used before its utility 
 can be known. Observe this in the following 
 citations. " Let the word of Christ dwell in 
 you richly, in all wisdom." (Col. iii. 16.) 
 " Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness, and su- 
 perfluity of naughtiness, and receive with 
 meekness the engrafted word, which is able 
 to save your souls." (Jam. i. 21.) "And ye 
 became followers of us, and of the Lord, hav- 
 ing received the word in much affliction, with 
 joy of the Holy Ghost." (1 Thes. i. 6.) " For 
 this cause also thank we God without ceasing, 
 
82 THE ORDER OP 
 
 because, when ye received the word of God 
 which ye heard of us, ye received it not as 
 the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the 
 word of God, which effectually worketh also 
 in you that believe;" (1 Thes. ii. 13;) "and 
 which bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in 
 you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew 
 the grace of God in truth." (Col. i. 6.) 
 
 Now observe, further — the graces of the 
 Spirit bear a distinct relation to the word of 
 God. It is the object of our faith, * and 
 love 2 — the foundation and source of our 
 hope 3 — the subject of our delight 4 — the cause 
 of our joy 5 — and its promises the ultimate end 
 of our desires. 6 You must also bear in mind 
 the character of the word. It is true 7 — sure 
 and unfailing 8 — pure 9 — and powerful. 10 But 
 what is the word, in its adaptation to the con- 
 
 i Rom. x. 8—17. John xvii. 20. 2 Thes. ii. 13. 
 2 Ps. cxix. 97. Eph. iv. 15. 2 Thes. ii. 10. 
 a Ps. cxix. 49, 114. 4 p s . cx i x . 16. 
 
 s Ps. cxix. 62. Pr. xii. 25. Jer. xv. 16. 
 e Ps. cxxx. 5. Ps. xliii. 3, 4. '2 Cor. i. 19, 20. Tit. i. 9. 
 8 2 Pet. i. 19. Is.xl. 8. Ps. cxix. 89. Ps. c. 5. 1 Kings, 
 viii. 56. s Ps. cxix. 140. Pro. xxx. 5. 
 
 "> Heb. iv. 12. Rom. i. 16. Luke iv. 32. 
 
DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS, &C. 83 
 
 dition and wants of men? It is compared to 
 food 1 — to light 2 — to seed 3 — to a sword 4 — to 
 a shield 5 — to a girdle 6 — to sandals 7 — to me- 
 dicine 8 — and to rain. 9 And as to the positive 
 use we are to make of it, it is our plea in 
 prayer 10 — it preserves us from destruction " 
 — .it purifies the heart 12 — it promotes our 
 growth in stability 13 — it is our counsellor 14 — 
 and it gives liberty. 15 By it we are born 
 anew lfl — we are quickened by it 17 — by it we 
 arc kept from sin 1S — we are led by it 19 — and 
 by it we are tested, and shall finally be 
 judged. 20 
 
 Such, then, is the character of the word, 
 
 1 Deut. viii. 3. Jer. xv. 16. Ps. cxix. 103. 
 
 2 2 Pet. i. 19. Ps. cxix. 105. Pr. vi. 23. 
 
 3 Mat. xiii. 19—23. * Eph. vi. 17. Rev. xii. 11. 
 6 Ps. xci. 4. e Eph. vi. 14. i Eph. vi. 15. 
 
 s Ps. cvii. 20. a Deut. xxxii. 2. Is. Iv. 10, 11. 
 
 'o Neh. i. 8. " Ps. xvii. 4. Ps. xl. 11. Ps. lxi. 7. 
 
 »2 John xv. 3. xvii. 19. Eph. v. 26. 1 Tim. iv. 5. Ps. 
 cxix. 9. Pr. xvi. 6. 1 Pet. i. 22. 
 
 '3 Acts xx. 32. 1 Pet. ii. 2. 1 Tim. iv. 6. 
 m Ps. cxix. 24, 133, 161. 15 John viii. 32 
 
 '6 1 Pet. i. 23. James i. 18. 
 17 Ps. cxix. 50. John vi. 63. 
 13 Ps. cxix. 11 19 Pr. vi. 22. 
 
 20 Ps. cv. 19. Deut. xxi. 5. John xii. 48, Rev. vx. 12. 
 9* 
 
84 THE ORDER OP 
 
 and such the use to be made of it; and if it be 
 but used aright, the Divine blessing must fol- 
 low. " Blessed are they that hear the word 
 of God, and keep it." (Luke xi. 28.) " My 
 mother and my brethren are these which hear 
 the word of God, and do it." (Luke viii. 21.) 
 " Then said Jesus to those Jews which be- 
 lieved on him, If ye continue in my word, 
 then are ye my disciples indeed." (John viii. 
 31.) " If a man keep my saying, he shall ne- 
 ver see death." (John viii. 51.) "Because 
 thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also 
 will keep thee from the hour of temptation, 
 which shall come upon all the world, to try 
 them that dwell upon the earth." (Rev. iii. 
 10.) 
 
 Seeing then that so much stress is laid upon 
 receiving, and keeping the word of God; de 
 votedness to the Divine will must bring with 
 it its own reward. " For whoso looketh into 
 the perfect law of liberty, and continueth 
 therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a 
 doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in 
 his deed." (Jam. i. 25.) To seek any bless- 
 ing where God has not promised it, or to ex- 
 pect good by other means than those he has 
 
DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS, &C. 85 
 
 enjoined, is to evince a total disregard to his 
 appointments. And it will be found, if the 
 Scriptures be carefully examined, that the or- 
 der of means which God has established, is in 
 such perfect keeping with the exercise of his 
 love, and the display of his wisdom, that if it 
 be properly observed, and practically sustain- 
 ed, he will be glorified, and we must be en- 
 riched. His injunctions and prohibitions sim- 
 ply amount to a direction to relinquish what- 
 ever is opposed to the prosperity of his life in 
 our souls, and to seek, by communion with 
 the Saviour, as well in the path of obedience, 
 as at the throne of mercy, whatever will pro- 
 mote its advancement. " This, then, is the 
 love of God, that we keep his commandments: 
 and his commandments are not grievous." 
 (1 John v. 3.) We may, indeed, be called 
 upon to sacrifice many of our outward com- 
 forts; and we must crucify the flesh, with its 
 affections and lusts; but in doing this, we are 
 only making room for larger communications 
 of his blessing, and placing ourselves at his 
 feet in a recipient position. " Verily I say 
 unto you, There is no man that hath left house, 
 or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or 
 
86 THE ORDER OF 
 
 wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and 
 the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundred- 
 fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, 
 and sisters, and mothers, and children, and 
 lands, with persecutions; and in the world to 
 come eternal life." (Mark x. 29, 30.) 
 
 God never impoverishes, but he intends to 
 enrich; and he never counsels without design- 
 ing our happiness. But we partly forget, or 
 imperfectly understand this; hence our sloth- 
 fulness in doing his will, and our indifference 
 about the enjoyment of his presence. If peace 
 and joy, a sense of pardoning mercy, and the 
 witness of the Holy Ghost, be positively and 
 sincerely desired, how is it that they are not 
 continually sought in the way in which they 
 may be found? And if there be confidence in 
 God's wisdom, as well as hope in his mercy, 
 how is it that the details of his precep- 
 tive will are disregarded? These are points 
 which each Christian should prayerfully exa- 
 mine, and these are tests to which he ought 
 daily to submit both his principles and his 
 practice. Are we, or are we not, seeking the 
 sustaining and sanctifying consolations of the 
 Gospel in God's order? If we are, have we 
 
DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS, &C 87 
 
 found them ? and if we have not sought, how 
 dare we expect them ? To read, and under- 
 stand, only, will issue in no improvement; but 
 if we study for practical purposes, and deter- 
 mine in Divine strength to regulate our course, 
 both in seeking and doing, by the unerring 
 oracles of truth, a better order of feeling will 
 give birth to a nobler class of actions, and 
 " God in all things will be glorified through 
 Jesus Christ." " that thou hadst hearkened 
 to my commandments! then had thy peace 
 been as a river, and thy righteousness as the 
 waves of the sea." (Is. xlviii. IS.) 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED, AND THE MEANS OF OBTAINING! 
 THEM. 
 
 The safest course we can pursue, is to select 
 from God's word some of those passages in 
 which the means and the end are united; and 
 by a careful examination of the subjoined cita- 
 tions it will be seen, that between the recep- 
 tion and enjoyment of certain blessings, and 
 
88 BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED. 
 
 the state of the heart and of the life they are 
 intended to refresh and adorn, there is a close 
 connexion. Presuming on your readiness to 
 search the Scriptures, whether these things be 
 so, the passages are not cited at full length: 
 you will, therefore, it is hoped, read this chap- 
 ter with your Bibles before you; and, above 
 all, with prayer to the Holy Spirit for his 
 Divine teaching. If you would realize the 
 glory of the promise, you must reduce the 
 precept to practice; and you must not think 
 that the blessings are too numerous to be en- 
 joyed, or that the means are too arduous to be 
 used — "For all things are yours;" (1 Cor. iii. 
 21;) and "all things are possible to him that 
 believeth." (Mark ix. 23.) You will here 
 ascertain how God intends to supply all your 
 need, according to his riches in glory by 
 Christ Jesus. (Phil. iv. 19.) 
 
 Access to the grace of justification and to all 
 the blessings of a justified state, is by faith 
 alone. (Rom. v. 1, 2.) To abide under the 
 shadow of the Almighty, you must dwell in 
 the secret place of the Most High; (Ps. xci. 
 1;) and that you may continue in the Son, and 
 in the Father, the truth of the Cospcl must 
 
BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED. 89 
 
 abide in your hearts. (1 John ii. 24.) Afflic- 
 tions will work for you an eternal weight of 
 glory— not at all times — but when you con- 
 template, and affectionately regard heavenly 
 and eternal things; (2 Cor. iv. 17, IS;) and 
 spiritual blessings are apprehended, only when 
 they are ardently pursued. (Phil. iii. 12.) 
 By your drawing nigh to God, God will draw 
 nigh to you; (James iv. 8;) by keeping his 
 commandments, and by loving, not in word 
 only, but in deed and in truth, and by a know- 
 ledge of the things which are written in the 
 Scriptures, you are to be assured of your in- 
 terest in Christ. (1 John ii. 3; iii. 18, 19; 
 v. 13.) 
 
 To be beautified with salvation, you must 
 be meek in spirit; (Ps. cxlix. 4;) to be bold 
 for the truth before your enemies, you must 
 commune with Christ; (Acts iv. 13;) and to 
 be blameless in life, and unblameable before 
 God in holiness, you must avoid murmurings 
 and disputings, and abound in brotherly love. 
 (Phil. ii. 14, 15. 1 Thess. iii. 12, 13.) The 
 comfort of the heart is promoted by spiritual 
 intercourse with faithful ministers; (Eph. vi. 
 22;) by the prospect of Christ's second com- 
 
90 BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED. 
 
 ing; (1 Thess. iv. 18;) and by a firm faith in 
 the oath and promise of God. (Heb. vi. 17, 
 IS.) Gainsayers are to be convinced by your 
 folding fast the faithful word; (Tit. i. 9, 13;) 
 and with well-doing you are to put to silence 
 the ignorance of foolish men. (1 Pet. ii. 15.) 
 The crown of life is promised to those, and to 
 those only, who endure temptation, and are 
 faithful unto death. (James i. 12. Rev. ii. 
 10.) You must walk in the light, to be chil- 
 dren of light; (John xii. 35, 36;) and to have 
 boldness in the day of judgment, you must 
 abide in Christ. (1 John ii. 28.) Deliverance 
 from death, domestic happiness, a knowledge 
 of God's covenant, satisfaction and delight of 
 soul, and the teachings of the Holy Spirit, are 
 all connected with the existence and exercise 
 of God's fear. (Ps. xxxiii. 18, 19. cxxviii. 
 xxxiv. 9, 10. xxv. 12 — 14.) Exaltation, 
 abundance of grace, and revivals of religion, 
 are promised to the humble. (James iv. 6, 
 10. Isa. lvii. 15.) 
 
 Deadness to the world is by the cross of 
 Christ; (Gal. vi. 14;) deliverance from the 
 world is by fellowship with the Saviour's 
 death; (Gal. i. 4;) and victory over the world 
 
BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED. 91 
 
 is by faith in Jesus. (1 John v. 4.) To be 
 delivered from trouble, you must call upon 
 God; (Ps. 1. 15;) to dwell safely from the fear 
 of evil, you must hearken to the voice of God; 
 (Pro. i. 33;) and to have the desires of your 
 hearts granted, you must delight in God. (Ps. 
 xxxvii. 4.) You must acknowledge God in 
 all your ways, to be directed in all the move- 
 ments of life; (Prov. iii. 6;) and to quench the 
 fiery darts of the wicked, you must hold up 
 the shield of faith. (Eph. vi. 16.) That you 
 may never see death, you must keep Christ's 
 sayings; (John viii. 51;) and that you may 
 know his doctrine, you must do his will. 
 (John vii. 17.) To be established, you must 
 commit your works to the Lord; (Prov. xvi. 
 3;) to enjoy God's paternal care and a sense 
 of his love, you must be separate from the 
 world; (2 Cor. vi. 17, 18;) to enter into rest, 
 you must labour; (Heb. iv. 11;) to escape 
 harm, you must follow that which is good; 
 (1 Pet. iii. 13;) and that an abundant entrance 
 may be ministered unto you into the everlast- 
 ing kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ, you must give all diligence to make 
 your calling and election sure. (2 Pet. i. 10, 
 10 
 
92 BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED. 
 
 11.) To renew your strength, you must wait 
 upon God; (Isa. xl. 31;) and to be settled 
 upon the Rock of Ages, you must wait for 
 God. (Ps. xl. 1, 2.) To be fruitful, you must 
 meditate day and night in God's law, trust in 
 the Lord, abide in Christ, and diligently cul- 
 tivate heavenly dispositions. (Ps. i. 2, 3. 
 Jer. xvii. 7, 8. John xv. 4. Tit. iii. 14. 2 
 Pet. i. 5 — S.) Those who seek God early, 
 shall find him; (Prov. viii. 17;) those who 
 confess sin, and forsake it, shall obtain mercy; 
 (Prov. xxviii. 13;) and those who look to Jesus 
 and follow him, shall be enlightened. (Ps. 
 xxxiv. 5. John viii. 12. Ps. cxix. 130.) 
 To be joyful, you must be visited with God's 
 salvation, believe in the Saviour, and under- 
 stand the truths of the Gospel. (Ps. cvi. 4, 5. 
 1 Pet. i. 8. John xv. 11.) 
 
 Praying in the Holy Ghost is the way to 
 keep the heart in the love of God; (Jude 20, 
 21;) to seek wisdom as silver, is the way to 
 find the knowledge of the Most High; (Prov. 
 ii. 3 — 5;) and if self be not denied, you cannot 
 follow Christ. (Matt. xvi. 24.) To be filled 
 and to be satisfied with heavenly blessings, 
 you must open your mouths wide in prayer, 
 
BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED. 93 
 
 and be obedient to the voice of God. (Ps. 
 lxxxi. 10, 13 — 16.) The meek will God guide 
 in judgment; (Ps. xxv. 9;) those who speak 
 the truth in love, and desire the sincere milk 
 of the word, shall grow up into Christ in all 
 things; (Eph. iv. 15. 1 Pet. ii. 2;) those who 
 eat Christ shall live for ever; (John vi. 51;) 
 those who love Jerusalem shall prosper; (Ps. 
 cxxii. 6;) those who walk in the Spirit shall 
 not fulfil the lusts of the flesh; (Gal. v. 16;) 
 and those who live in peace, and call upon 
 God, shall enjoy his presence. (2 Cor. xiii. 
 11. Ps. cxlv. 18.) 
 
 By bearing much fruit, by letting your light 
 shine before men, by offering praise, by dwell- 
 ing together in unity, you glorify God; (John 
 xv. S. Matt. v. 16. Ps. 1. 23. Rom. xv. 
 5, 6.) If ye, through the Spirit, do mortify 
 the deeds of the body, ye shall live; (Rom. 
 viii. 13;) by bearing one another's burdens, 
 you fulfil the law of Christ; (Gal. vi. 2;) by 
 coming to a throne of grace, you will obtain 
 mercy; (Heb. iv. 16;) by remembering God, 
 you will be relieved in trouble; (Ps. lxxvii. 
 10;) by coming to Christ, you obtain rest to 
 your souls; (Matt. xi. 2S;) by making peace, 
 
94 BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED. 
 
 you sow the fruits of righteousness; (James iii. 
 18;) and by watchfulness and prayer, tempta- 
 tion is avoided, and the tempter resisted, 
 (Matt. xxvi. 41. James iv. 7.) That you faint 
 not in the hour of trial, you must consider 
 Christ in his sufferings; (Heb. xii. 3;) that you 
 may behold Christ's glory, you must believe 
 his word; (John xi. 40;) that you may stand 
 in the field of battle, you must use the Gospel 
 armour; (JEph. vi. 11, 13;) that you may enjoy 
 Divine support in trouble, you must cast your 
 burdens on the Lord; (Ps. Iv. 22;) that you 
 may be rewarded openly, you must pray 
 secretly; (Matt. vi. 6;) to run the race set be- 
 fore you in the Gospel, and so to run as to ob- 
 tain, } r ou must lay aside every weight, and be 
 temperate in all things. (Heb. xii. 1. 1 Cor. 
 ix. 24 — 27.) Purity of heart and life is essen- 
 tially and inseparably connected with the work 
 of the Holy Spirit, with faith in the blood of 
 Christ, with obedience to the Divine will, 
 with the influence of truth, and with a lively 
 hope of glory. (1 Pet. i. 2. Heb. ix. 14. Ps. 
 cxix. 9. 1 Pet. i. 22. 1 John iii. 3.) 
 
 Those only, who are transformed into the 
 Divine image, prove the Divine will; (Rom. 
 
BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED. 95 
 
 xii. 2;) those only, who continue in the faith, 
 are presented blameless before God; (Col. i. 
 22, 23;) and the will of God must be done, 
 before his promise can be received. (Heb. x. 
 36.) To please God, you must believe, do 
 good, and forget not to communicate. (Heb. 
 xi. 6., xiii. 16.) To pray with success, you 
 must abide in Christ, be fruitful, and agree as 
 to the blessings you seek. (John xv. 7, 16. 
 Matt, xviii. 19.) Quietness and assurance for 
 ever, are the effects of righteousness, and can- 
 not be enjoyed apart from their cause; (Isa. 
 xxxii. 17;) rest is by faith in Christ; (Heb. 
 iv. 3;) and to find pasture, you must enter by 
 the door of the sheepfold. (John x. 9.) In 
 order to reap life everlasting, you must sow, 
 not to the flesh, but to the Spirit; (Gal. vi. 8;) 
 to obtain heavenly wisdom, you must ask of 
 God in faith; (James i. 5;) and to comprehend 
 the love of the Father, you must be rooted in 
 the love of the Saviour. (Eph. iii. 17 — 19.) 
 If your eye be single, your whole body will 
 be full of light; (Matt. vi. 22;) and if you 
 keep holy the Sabbath-day, you shall delight 
 yourselves in the Lord, and ride upon the 
 high places of the earth. (Isa. lviii. 13, 14.) 
 10* 
 
96 BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED. 
 
 Those who observe God's ways, and study 
 his precepts, shall understand his loving-kind- 
 ness; (Ps. cvii. 43. cxix. 92, 104;) those who 
 water others, shall be watered; (Prov. xi. 25;) 
 and those who walk with wise men, shall be 
 wise. (Prov. xiii. 20.) It is by a soft answer 
 that you must seek to turn away wrath; 
 (Prov. xv. 1 ;) and by love to the brethren, 
 convince the world that you are the Saviour's 
 disciples. (John xiii. 35.) 
 
 To have peace with God, you must be jus- 
 tified by faith; (Rom. v. 1;) to enjoy peace, 
 you must be spiritually minded; (Rom. viii. 
 6;) to be filled with peace, faith must be in 
 exercise; (Rom. xv. 13;) and to be kept in 
 perfect peace, your minds must be stayed on 
 God. (Isa. xxvi. 3.) "Be careful for no- 
 thing; but in every thing by prayer and sup- 
 plication, with thanksgiving, let your requests 
 be made known unto God:" — here are the 
 means. "And the peace of God, which 
 passeth all understanding, shall keep your 
 hearts and minds through Christ Jesus:" — 
 here is the end. (Phil. iv. 6, 7.) 
 
 Such, my dear friends, is God's prescribed 
 order of conveying blessings to his people, 
 
BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED. 97 
 
 and these are the means you must employ to 
 obtain them. " God is faithful, by whom ye 
 were called unto the fellowship of his Son, 
 Jesus Christ;" (1 Cor. i. 9;) and as he will 
 neither forget nor depart from his arrange- 
 ments, you may cherish humble confidence 
 towards them, both as it respects the accom- 
 plishment of his will, and the prosperity of 
 your souls. " The gifts and callings of God 
 are without repentance." (Rom. xi. 29.) The 
 means are connected with the end so inti- 
 mately, that if they be disused, this cannot be 
 secured; and the end is connected with the 
 means so effectually, that if these be properly 
 employed, that must be realized. And, sure- 
 ly, the blessings of eternal life are worthy of 
 being sought and obtained by efforts the most 
 arduous! To sinners burthened with guilt, 
 and desirous of pardon; and to believers, con- 
 cerned for the honour of Divine truth, by 
 endeavouring to preserve spirituality of mind 
 and holiness of life, the promises of the Gos- 
 pel must be precious. Sincerely to desire 
 grace, is assiduously to seek it where the God 
 of grace assures us it may be found. If the 
 Christian could be saved either with or with- 
 
98 BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED. 
 
 out repentance, he would yet choose, with his 
 present convictions, to mourn for sin, and to 
 rely on Christ's atonement; and if, after his 
 conversion, he could proceed in the narrow 
 way without prayer, he would prefer leaning 
 on Christ's arm, and receiving his spiritual 
 supplies in the path of obedience, that he 
 might glorify the Saviour by depending on 
 his grace; rather than walk and work inde- 
 pendently of his aid. Communion with God 
 is an exercise so delightful in itself, and so 
 salutary in its consequences, that he is thank- 
 ful, not only for light and life, but for the 
 medium through which they flow; and he 
 discovers the Saviour's love as well in the 
 means he employs to bless his people, as in 
 the blessings he actually bestows upon them. 
 We cannot see how an order of things, opposed 
 to that by which you are governed and in- 
 structed, could either glorify God, or benefit 
 you. Holiness and humility are essential to 
 your happiness and usefulness; and whatever, 
 either by positive influence, or relative conse- 
 quence, diminishes the one, and fosters the 
 other, is a curse, not a blessing. 
 
 Let us, then, apply ourselves to the means 
 
BLESSINGS TO BE REALIZED. 99 
 
 which God has introduced, for the elevation 
 of our experience, and the improvement of 
 our practice. " Let us lay aside every weight, 
 and the sin which doth so easily beset us;" 
 (Heb. xii. 2;) seek information and counsel 
 from the Holy Scriptures; and pursue the 
 chief good under their direction. We are 
 commanded and encouraged to seek large 
 blessings: but if we submit not to God's order 
 of means, we must calculate upon bondage 
 and depression all our days. We do not at 
 present live up to our privileges; nor shall we 
 ever make a holier, a happier, and a more 
 successful use of them, till we learn obedience 
 by the things which we suffer. God has set 
 no limits to our desires or our expectations. 
 On the contrary, he has thrown open to us the 
 provisions of his grace, and invited us to eat 
 and drink abundantly. How is it, then, that 
 we are still poor and wretched ? that we 
 scarcely walk, when we ought to run? and 
 complain of sterility and barrenness, when 
 " our waste places ought to be like Eden, and 
 our deserts like the garden of the Lord?" 
 (Isa. li. 3.) If the clouds of his favour rain 
 not, and if the Sun of Righteousness does not 
 
100 
 
 shine, the cause must be with us. Either we 
 do that which is wrong, and thus grieve God's 
 Spirit; or we avoid that which is right, and 
 thus offend his wisdom. We forget his wil- 
 lingness to bless us; and either fail to ask, 
 fearing we shall not receive; or seek, where 
 we cannot find, and remain destitute. " Oh 
 that my people had hearkened unto me, and 
 Israel had walked in my ways! I should 
 soon have subdued their enemies, and turned 
 my hand against their adversaries. The haters 
 of the Lord should have submitted themselves 
 unto him; but their time should have endured 
 for ever. He should have fed them also with 
 the finest of the wheat : and with honey out 
 of the rock should I have satisfied thee." (Ps. 
 Ixxxi. 13—16.) 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN'S DESIRE TO WALK IN GOD'S STATUTES. 
 
 In all the works of God, both in nature and 
 in grace, a unity of design is perceptible ; and 
 the interest he takes in the welfare of his peo- 
 
pie is as apparent in the precepts, as in the 
 promises of the Gospel ; in the work of the 
 Spirit on the heart, as in the work of Christ 
 upon the cross. " The new man is created in 
 knowledge, after the image of him that 
 created him;" and instead of their heing any 
 discrepancy between the principles of a re- 
 newed heart, and the practical tendencies of 
 the sacred volume, the most perfect harmony 
 pervades them. That God enjoins obedience 
 is not more manifest, than that the Christian, 
 in a certain state of mind, desires it; and as 
 we are not to be driven from the doctrines of 
 grace by the clamour of foolish men, we are 
 not to be drawn from its precepts by the im- 
 morality of wicked men. " Be thou in the 
 fear of the Lord all the day long," is a Divine 
 injunction; and, "0 that my ways were di- 
 rected to keep thy statutes," is the Christian's 
 prayer. The Saviour's yoke is easy, and his 
 burden light; and although thousands regret 
 not bearing it in the days of their youth, none 
 ever complain that they are called to put it on 
 in old age. " the judgments of the Lord are 
 more to be desired than gold, yea, than much 
 
102 
 
 fine gold; they are sweeter also than honey, 
 and the honey-comb." (Ps. xix. 10.) 
 
 Observe the intensity of feeling with which 
 the writer of the 119th Psalm regarded this 
 subject. " I will keep thy statutes; forsake 
 me not utterly. I will meditate in thy pre- 
 cepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I have 
 sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep 
 thy righteous judgments. Depart from me, 
 ye evil-doers; for I will keep the command- 
 ments of my God. I will delight myself in 
 thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. And 
 I will delight myself in thy commandments, 
 which I have loved. I thought on my ways, 
 and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. I 
 made haste, and delayed not to keep thy com- 
 mandments. With my whole heart have I 
 sought thee ; let me not wander from thy 
 commandments. Hold thou me up, and I 
 shall be safe; and I will have respect unto thy 
 statutes continually. Blessed art thou, 
 Lord! teach me thy statutes. Make me to 
 understand the way of thy precepts. Let my 
 heart be sound in thy statutes, that I be not 
 ashamed. I will run the way of thy com- 
 
TO WALK IN GOD'S STATUTES. 103 
 
 mandments, when thou shalt enlarge my 
 heart Give me understanding, and I shall 
 keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my 
 whole heart. Make me to go in the path of 
 thy commandments, for therein do I delight. 
 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and 
 not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes 
 from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me 
 in thy way/** Bestow a larger measure of 
 thy grace upon me, not only for my own 
 comfort and joy, but that, whether I eat or 
 drink, or whatsoever I do, I may do all to thy 
 glory; and cheerfully serve thee in newness 
 of life. My own peace of mind is an object 
 of deep solicitude; yet I seek grace for prac- 
 tical purposes, that being transformed into 
 thine image, I may appear before the world 
 and the church in its glory. Let me live, not 
 for my own gratification and ease, but to do 
 thy will. As the great end of life is thy 
 glory, if in any way thou canst employ me to 
 advance it, however earnestly I might desire 
 a removal from earth to heaven, and to what- 
 ever toil and suffering obedience may subject 
 me, still let me live, and keep thy word. 
 
 * See the whole of the 119th Psalm. 
 11 
 
104 THE CHRISTIAN'S DESIRE 
 
 "O that the Lord would guide my ways, 
 
 To keep his statutes still ! 
 O that the Lord would grant me grace 
 
 To know and do his will ! 
 
 " O send thy Spirit down, to write 
 
 Thy law upon my heart! 
 Nor let my tongue indulge deceit, 
 
 Nor act the liar's part. 
 
 " Make me to walk in thy commands, 
 
 'Tis a delightful road: 
 Nor let my head, nor heart, nor hands, 
 
 But is this desire for obedience cherished 
 by all Christians at all times? Alas! we fear 
 not. The standard of Christian morals, how- 
 ever, is not lowered by the light and glory of 
 this dispensation; and, as he who is least in 
 the kingdom of heaven is greater than John 
 the Baptist, than whom, among the prophets 
 there was not born a greater, " what manner 
 of persons ought ye to be in all holy conver- 
 sation and godliness!" " If the ministration 
 of death, written and engraven in stones, was 
 glorious; — how shall not the ministration of 
 the Spirit be rather glorious ?" (2 Cor. iii. 7, 
 8.) But where is the glory of this dispensa- 
 
TO WALK IX GOD'S STATUTES. 105 
 
 tion, if Christians, enlightened by its discove- 
 ries, enriched by its treasures, and counselled 
 by its precepts, are less devoted to the Lord's 
 service, and, therefore, less consistent in their 
 professions, than were those believers who 
 lived and laboured before the incarnation of 
 the Saviour? As more is revealed to us, than 
 was made known to them, our obligations are 
 proportionably multiplied. " God having pro- 
 vided some better thing for us, that they with- 
 out us should not be made perfect;" (Heb. 
 xi. 40;) are we to be less spiritually minded 
 than they were? If we fail in obedience, it 
 cannot be either because we are not counselled, 
 or because unreasonable sacrifices are required. 
 Our code of laws is perfect; and their inten- 
 tion is our profit: but if we neglect them in 
 ignorance, or despise them because we con- 
 ceive they are opposed to our happiness, our 
 obedience must be irregular, and uncertain; 
 and it must rather hinder, than assist, our pro- 
 gress in the Divine life. 
 
 Out of what state of soul, then, does a 
 prayerful desire for obedience arise? Not 
 from that which is unhealthy and declining; 
 but out of that which is spiritual and prosper- 
 
106 THE CHRISTIAN'S DESIRE 
 
 ous. Under the influence of the Spirit of 
 adoption, the Christian must exclaim, " that 
 my ways were directed to keep thy statutes:" 
 and being anxious to attest his love to the Sa- 
 viour, he can but pray, " Deal bountifully with 
 thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy 
 word." To be assured, that after death he 
 will serve God day and night in his temple, 
 without weariness or interruption, awakens in 
 his bosom delightful emotions, and sometimes 
 excites intense desires for dissolution; but 
 these prospects, though bright and fair, never 
 induce a neglect of present duty: on the con- 
 trary, they quicken his pace on the road of 
 obedience, and render his obligations more 
 touching and powerful. But when he has de- 
 clined in the life of godliness, ordinary duties 
 are irksome; and a little additional labour is 
 intolerable. What a weariness is it ? " There 
 is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets;" 
 and his tendency is towards a state of declen- 
 sion yet more alarming. One false step, un- 
 less retraced, must lead further and further 
 from the right path; and having lost his health- 
 ful tone of character, he is as indifferent to his 
 own happiness as to the Saviour's glory. 
 
TO WALK IN GOD'S STATUTES. 1()7 
 
 Let us, my dear friends, seek a prosperous 
 state of soul for the Lord's honour; nor let us 
 be satisfied without it. A drooping, sickly 
 life, is not in character either with our pro- 
 fessions or prospects. Is it a matter of no mo- 
 ment, whether we are rising, or sinking, in 
 spirituality of mind ? Are the consequences 
 to ourselves, to the church, to the world, and, 
 above all, to God our Saviour, so few and so 
 unimportant, that we need evince no anxiety, 
 or but little, about our actual condition, in the 
 sight of a heart-searching G od ? Away with 
 such indifference for ever! It is an insult to 
 Christ; and one of the strongest arguments 
 with which infidelity can be furnished. Soul 
 prosperity is of consequence; it ought to be 
 an object of paramount and prayerful solici- 
 tude; and whatever is opposed to it must, if 
 possible, be avoided. " I am come," said Je- 
 sus, " that ye might have life, and that ye 
 might have it more abundantly." (John x. 
 10.) That ye might have, not a bare subsist- 
 ence; but, the life which answers to your cha- 
 racter, as the sons and daughters of the Lord 
 God Almighty, and which shall meet the great 
 ends of your adoption into his family: — a life 
 11* 
 
108 
 
 of influence, and of power; a life of sanctifica- 
 tion, of consolation, and of triumph; — and that 
 ye might have this life abundantly. The pro- 
 mised effusions of his Spirit are comparable, 
 not to drops and streams, but to showers and 
 rivers; and which, when communicated, secure 
 a lively and visible exercise of the principles 
 of the new creation. Hope, 1 — consolation, 2 — 
 love, 3 — brotherly-kindness, 4 — faith, ^-thanks- 
 giving, 6 — joy, 7 — and even labour, 8 will then 
 abound; and while an abundant entrance is 
 ministered unto us into the everlasting king- 
 dom of our Lord and Saviour, 9 we shall abun- 
 dantly utter the memory of his great good- 
 ness, and sing of his righteousness. 10 And is 
 not this state attainable ? And are we not to 
 seek it? This was the design of Christ's in- 
 carnation, and the intended result of the gift 
 of the Holy Ghost. I am come that they 
 might have life, and more abundantly than 
 others have had it; that they might not mea- 
 sure their desires, nor limit their expectations, 
 
 I Rom. xv. 13. 2 2 Cor. i. 5. 3 Phil. i. 9. 
 
 4 2 Pet. i. 7. s Col. ii. 7. 6 Col. ii. 7. 
 
 7 Phil. i. 26. s i Cor. xv. 58. 9 2 Pet. i. 11. 
 »o Ps. cxlv. 7. 
 
TO WALK IN GOD'S STATUTES. 109 
 
 by the dull, lukewarm, low experience of the 
 inconsistent Christian; but that they might 
 seek and obtain large and unprecedented sup- 
 plies of Divine influence. Nor are we to be 
 satisfied with our attainments, even when God 
 has dealt bountifully with us! but forgetting 
 the things which are behind, we are to press 
 forward, fixing no bounds either to our prayers 
 or our hopes; that instructed and enriched by 
 his Spirit, it may be our meat and our drink 
 to do his will. " If ye keep my command- 
 ments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I 
 have kept my Father's commandments, and 
 abide in his love." (John xv. 10.) 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 RLI.ES to de observed for the promotion of soul 
 
 PROSPERITY. 
 
 As there is a manifest connexion between 
 soul prosperity and a right use of the means in- 
 tended to promote it, we cannot hope to enjoy 
 the former, without throwing into the scale of 
 the latter an effort that will give it a prepon- 
 
HO RULES FOR THE PROMOTION 
 
 dcrancc in our favour. To have life, \vc must 
 possess Christ, for " He is our life." Christ 
 in the Bible, in the memory, in the under- 
 standing, only, will not avail for our salvation, 
 without " Christ in the heart, the hope of 
 glory." "He that hath the Son, hath life; 
 and he that hath not the Son of God, hath not 
 life." (1 John v. 12.) The religion of the 
 nominal Christian resembles the lifeless scenery 
 of the canvass, where all is still and inanimate. 
 None but the man in whose heart the good 
 seed of the kingdom has been cast, on whom 
 the Sun of Righteousness has arisen, and upon 
 whom the dews of the Holy Spirit rest, can 
 exhibit the moral vitality and beauty of the 
 second creation. To live the life of faith, and 
 to abound in all its holy exercises, we must be 
 united to Christ. And if bodily health be a 
 blessing of such value, that the whole world is 
 a blank without it, how much more valuable is 
 health of soul, without which, we can neither 
 serve God, nor enjoy his presence! Months, 
 and even years, of hard labour and distress 
 may be required to regain that spiritual vigour, 
 of which the inconsistency of a moment may 
 deprive us. The Spirit of God is a holy and 
 
Of SOUL PROSPERITY. HI 
 
 a tender Spirit; as susceptible of our indiffer- 
 ence to spiritual prosperity, as he is concerned 
 for the Saviour's glory; and unless we hus- 
 band his influences, value his donations, and 
 practically fall in with his designs, we grieve 
 him, and cause his departure. 
 
 To grow in grace, and to abound in the 
 fruits of righteousness, we must live by rule. 
 An occasional concern for the stability of 
 Christ's kingdom in our hearts, will not meet 
 the pressing necessities of our case; and a de- 
 parture from the spirit, as well as from the 
 letter of Christ's laws, will issue in distress. 
 If a man, without any regard to the calls of 
 duty, rush into the ward of an hospital, where 
 a virulent fever reigns, he cannot expect to 
 escape contagion; and if a Christian cherish 
 familiar intercourse with the gay and irreli- 
 gious, the consequences to his religion must 
 be awfully alarming. We must not conceive 
 that, because Cod has promised to perfect his 
 work in the souls of his people, we are to be 
 heedless of our temper and conduct; nor take 
 it. for granted that the work is advancing. 
 We ought rather to test our professed recep- 
 tion of life, by its positive progressions. The 
 
112 RULES FOR THE PROMOTION 
 
 evidences of our conversion, however nume- 
 rous, may all, and in a short time, too, be ob- 
 scured by inconsistency of conduct. We 
 must, at all hazards, walk humbty with God, 
 and follow Christ's example. 
 
 "Two or three plain rules, I find," said the 
 excellent Dr. Payson, " of wonderful service 
 in deciding all difficult cases. One is, to do 
 nothing of which I doubt in any degree the 
 lawfulness; the second, to consider every 
 thing as unlawful which indisposes me for 
 prayer, and interrupts communion with God; 
 and the third is, never to go into any com- 
 pany, business, or situation, in which I cannot 
 conscientiously ask and expect the Divine pre- 
 sence. By the help of these rules, I settle all 
 my doubts in a trice; and find that many things 
 I have hitherto indulged in, are, if not utterly 
 unlawful, at least inexpedient, and I can re- 
 nounce them without many sighs." In allud- 
 ing to an attempt to have Zech. xiv. 20, ful- 
 filled in his house, he says, " Though we suc- 
 ceed miserably enough, yet the bare attempt 
 has given us a happiness unknown before. 
 One thing which has been greatly blessed to 
 us, is having family prayer at noon, as well as 
 
OF SOUL PROSPERITY. H3 
 
 morning and evening. It shows us how far 
 we get from God, during the day, even when 
 we begin and close it with him. In some 
 families this would be impossible, and then 
 half an hour spent alone would answer the pur- 
 pose as well. I find it requires almost con- 
 stant rubbing and chafing, to make the blood 
 circulate in such frozen souls as ours; and, 
 after all, it avails nothing, if the Sun of Righte- 
 ousness does not shine." 
 
 But how did this blessed man die? As it 
 might be expected he would, in the full assu- 
 rance of faith. Oh, let us aim to live his life, 
 that our last end may be like his! "The ce- 
 lestial city," he said, a short time before his 
 departure, "is full in my view: its glories 
 beam upon me; its breezes fan me; its odours 
 are wafted to me; its sounds strike upon my 
 ears; and its spirit is breathed into my heart. 
 Nothing separates me from it but the river of 
 death, which now appears as an insignificant 
 rill, that may be crossed at a single step, when- 
 ever God shall give permission. The Sun of 
 Righteousness has been gradually drawing 
 nearer and nearer, appearing larger and bright- 
 er as he approached, and now he fills the 
 
114 RULES TOR THE PROMOTION 
 
 whole hemisphere, pouring forth a flood of 
 glory, in which I seem to float like an insect 
 in the beams of the sun, exulting, yet almost 
 trembling, while I gaze on this excessive 
 brightness, and wondering with unutterable 
 wonder, why God should deign thus to shine 
 upon a sinful worm ! A single heart, and a 
 single tongue, seem altogether inadequate to 
 my wants; I want a whole heart for every se- 
 parate emotion, and a whole tongue to express 
 that emotion. 
 
 " Oh, what a blessed thing it is to lose one's 
 will! Since I have lost my will, I have found 
 happiness. There can be no such thing as dis- 
 appointment to me, for I have no desires but 
 that God's will may be accomplished. God 
 has kept cutting off one source of enjoyment 
 after another, till I find that I can do without 
 them all, and enjoy more happiness than ever 
 in my life before. Christians might avoid 
 much trouble and inconvenience, if they would 
 only believe what they profess — that God is 
 able to make them happy without any thing 
 else. They imagine that if such a dear friend 
 were to die, or such and such blessings to be 
 removed, they should be miserable; whereas 
 
OF SOUL PROSPERITY. 115 
 
 God can make them a thousand times happier 
 without them. To mention my own case, 
 God has been depriving me of one blessing 
 after another, but as every one was removed, 
 he has come in and filled up its place; and 
 now when I am a cripple, and not able to 
 move, I am happier than ever I was in my life 
 before, or ever expected to be; and if I had 
 believed this twenty years ago, I might have 
 been spared much anxiety. If God had told 
 me some time ago, that he was about to make 
 me as happy as I could be in this world, and 
 then had told me that he should begin by 
 crippling me in all my limbs, and removing 
 me from all my usual sources of enjoyment, I 
 should have thought it a very strange mode of 
 accomplishing his purpose. And yet how is 
 his wisdom manifest even in this! 
 
 " Suppose a son is walking with his father, 
 in whose wisdom he places the most entire 
 confidence; he follows wherever his father 
 leads, though it may be through thorns and 
 briers, cheerfully and contentedly. Another 
 son, we will suppose, distrusts his father's 
 wisdom and love, and when the path is rough 
 and uneven, begins to murmur and repine, 
 12 
 
116 RULES FOR THE PROMOTION 
 
 wishing he might be allowed to choose his 
 own path, and though he is obliged to follow, 
 it is with great reluctance and discontent. 
 Now the reason that Christians in general do 
 not enjoy more of God's presence is, that they 
 are not willing to walk in his path when it 
 crosses their own inclinations. But we shall 
 never be happy, until we acquiesce, with per- 
 fect cheerfulness, in all his decisions, and fol- 
 low wherever he leads without a murmur." 
 
 And yet this great and holy man renounces, 
 as all who are taught of God will do, his own 
 doings, and cleaves to Christ alone; ascribing 
 all success to the unmerited and sovereign 
 grace of God. " I find," he says, "no satis- 
 faction in looking at any thing I have done; I 
 want to leave all this behind, it is nothing, and 
 fly to Christ to be clothed in his righteous- 
 ness." Again: " I have done nothing myself. 
 I have not fought, but Christ has fought for 
 me; I have not run, but Christ has carried me; 
 I have not worked, but Christ has wrought in 
 me; Christ has done all." 
 
 Observe, too, the following rules for a holy 
 life, laid down by that eminent servant of 
 Jesus Christ, Archbishop Leighton. " Thou 
 
OP SOUL PROSPERITY. 1 17 
 
 must submit and give up thyself to the disci- 
 pline of Jesus; and become his scholar, resign- 
 ing and impelling thyself altogether to obey 
 him in all things; so that thy willing and 
 nilling thou utterly and perfectly do cast 
 away from thee, and do nothing without his 
 license. At every word thou wilt speak, at 
 every morsel thou wilt eat, at every stirring 
 or moving of every article or member of thy 
 body, thou must ask leave of him in thy heart, 
 and ask thyself whether, having so done, that 
 be according to his holy will and example, and 
 with a sincere attention to his glory. Offer all 
 thou hast, to be nothing, to use nothing of all 
 thou hast about thee, and is called thine, but to 
 his honour and glory. And resolve, through 
 his grace, to use all the powers of thy soul, and 
 every member of thy body, to his service, as 
 formerly thou hast done to sin. If thou 
 wouldest ascend and come up to thy Lord 
 God, thou must climb up by the wounds of 
 his blessed humanity, that remain, as it were, 
 for that use; and when thou art got up there, 
 thou wouldest rather suffer death than commit 
 any sin. 
 
 " Cast all thy care on God, and commit all 
 
118 RULES FOR THE PROMOTION 
 
 to his good pleasure; laud, and praise, and 
 applaud him in all things, small and great; 
 forsake thy own will, and deliver up thyself 
 freely and cheerfully to the will of God, with- 
 out reserve or exception, in prosperity and 
 adversity, sweet or sour, to have or to want, 
 to live or to die. But whatsoever thou per- 
 ceivest to appertain to the honour of thy Lord, 
 be it ever so hard and unpleasant to thyself, 
 thou wilt heartily embrace it, yea, with all 
 thy might follow and desire it; yet when thou 
 hast done what is possible for thee, thou wilt 
 think thou hast done nothing at all; yea, thou 
 shalt be ashamed, and detest thyself, that thou 
 hast so wretchedly and imperfectly served so 
 noble and worthy a Lord ; and, therefore, thou 
 wilt desire and endeavour to do and suffer 
 greater and more perfect things than hitherto 
 thou hast done, forgetting the things that are 
 behind, and pressing forward." 
 
 Attend, also, to your moral diet. Eat the 
 bread of life; it was provided for you by Infi- 
 nite Wisdom; it is to be your daily food; and, 
 when eaten by faith, it will make you strong 
 and vigorous. " Whoso eateth of this bread 
 shall live for ever." (John vi. 51.) He shall 
 
OF SOUL PROSPERITY. H9 
 
 not, as a natural man, dream of spiritual life; 
 but, as a renewed man, he shall enjoy it. Be- 
 ware of false doctrine. " Shun profane and 
 vain babblings ; for they will increase unto 
 more ungodliness, and their word will eat as 
 doth a canker;" (2 Tim. ii. 16, 17;) but in- 
 cline your ear unto the sayings of Christ and 
 his apostles, " for they are life unto those that 
 find them, and health to all their flesh." 
 (Prov. iv. 22.) Shun error as poison, but 
 value truth as gold. 
 
 Let the atmosphere in which you live be as 
 pure as possible. Without holiness you can 
 neither see the Lord in the life to come, nor 
 enjoy his presence in this. Beware, therefore, 
 of being drawn into an unholy element. 
 Wherever Christian duty calls you, go; but if 
 you wander from God's statutes, you cannot 
 expect his protection. Where you and the 
 precept part, there you and the promise must 
 part; for if you forsake the one, you will be 
 forsaken by the other. Physical strength is 
 often prostrated by a disease to which the 
 system is predisposed; and as you are natu- 
 rally inclined to evil, if you voluntarily ex- 
 12* 
 
120 RULES FOR THE PROMOTION 
 
 pose yourself to it, you will, in all probability? 
 fall by its influence. 
 
 The Christian is often led by Divine Pro- 
 vidence where, if he were allowed to choose 
 his own path, he would not go; but if he im- 
 bibe the Spirit of Christ, and thus arm himself 
 against the insidious attacks of his adversary, 
 he may go into any atmosphere, into which 
 God calls him, with a scriptural hope of leav- 
 ing it uninjured. More depends as to our 
 safety, in trying times, upon the actual state 
 of our affections, than upon external circum- 
 stances. For example: — two shrubs are placed 
 in the same soil; and, under the same culture, 
 one flourishes, and the other withers: and so 
 one Christian, though surrounded by tempta- 
 tions, and placed beyond the reach of ministe- 
 rial discipline and fraternal counsel, will be 
 strong and vigorous; while another, sheltered 
 from storm, and placed where associations of 
 thought and action are calculated to promote 
 his growth, languishes aud declines. How 
 important, then, is health of soul! 
 
 Let your companions be few and select. 
 "Evil communications corrupt good man- 
 
OF SOUL PROSPERITY. 121 
 
 ners." (1 Cor. xv. 33.) "He that walketh 
 with wise men shall be wise; but a companion 
 of fools shall be destroyed. " (Prov. xiii. 20.) 
 " Make no friendship with an angry man, and 
 with a furious man thou shalt not go; lest 
 thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy 
 soul." (Prov. xii. 24, 25.) "I am," said 
 David, "a companion of all them that fear 
 thee, and of them that keep thy precepts." 
 (Ps. cxix. 63.) "Can a man walk on pitch, 
 and his feet be not denied ? Can a man take 
 coals of fire in his bosom, and his clothes not 
 be burnt ?" " If he can," says Dr. Payson, " he 
 may then mix freely with the world, and not 
 be contaminated. But I am not the one who 
 can do this. I cannot think it proper or ex- 
 pedient for a Christian to go into any com- 
 pany, unless necessity calls, where he may, 
 perhaps, hear the name he loves and reveren- 
 ces blasphemed, or at least, profaned! where 
 that book, which he esteems the word of God, 
 will, if mentioned, be alluded to only to awa- 
 ken laughter, or i adorn a tale;' — where the 
 laws of good breeding are almost the only 
 laws which may not be broken with impunity; 
 and where every thing he hears or sees has a 
 
122 RULES FOR THE PROMOTION 
 
 strong tendency to extinguish the glow of de- 
 votion, and entirely banish seriousness. I 
 speak only for myself: others may experience 
 no bad effects; but, for myself, when I go into 
 company, if it is pleasant and agreeable, it has 
 a tendency only to fix my thoughts on earth, 
 from which it is my duty and my desire to 
 turn them;— to give me a distaste for serious 
 duties, especially prayer and meditation, and 
 to render me desirous of the applause and ap- 
 probation of those with whom I associated 
 
 Let your spiritual exercises be regular and 
 habitual. Our limbs, our muscles/ and our 
 minds, improve by exercise; and exertion is as 
 good for the soul as for the body. « They 
 that are after the flesh, do mind the things of 
 the flesh ; but they that are after the Spirit, the 
 things of the Spirit-," (Rom. viii. 5;) and as 
 Timotheus naturally cared for the prosperity 
 of the Philippians, so, if grace thrive, you will 
 habitually pray, repent, and believe. We eat 
 and drink by habit, to sustain animal life; and, 
 when in health, we do not enjoy our food the 
 less, because we take it at a fixed hour in the 
 day. And why should not those religious ha- 
 bits, by which spiritual life is preserved, be 
 
OF SOUL PROSPERITY. 123 
 
 uniform and established? David speaks of 
 calling upon God seven times a day; and why 
 should not we do this? Formality is to be 
 avoided; but it does not follow that we must 
 be insincere and heartless, because we are re- 
 gular, in our exercises. The grace of God is 
 sufficient for all things; and under its disci- 
 pline and influence we may come as hungry 
 and as thirsty seven times a day to the throne 
 of mercy, as if we came but once. Yea, the 
 probability is, that the oftener we come, the 
 oftener we shall desire to come; and the graces 
 of the Spirit will not only be strengthened by 
 a fixed measure of exercise, but inclined to 
 more exercise, in this exact proportion. We 
 drink the water of life to be refreshed, and our 
 thirst is increased by the very means we use 
 to allay it. We thirst, and drink; we drink, 
 and thirst again; and the water that Christ 
 gives us, is promised to be within us a well of 
 water, springing up to everlasting life. (John 
 iv. 14.) 
 
 Deal much, and frequently, by faith, with 
 the blood of sprinkling; for without this, there 
 can be neither purity nor health. Whatever 
 be the state of your minds, though happy, and 
 
124 RULES FOR THE PROMOTION 
 
 even triumphant, you will need the blood of 
 Jesus to cleanse your holy things: nor can you 
 enjoy peace for one moment without a refer- 
 ence to it. Could you live far more consistent- 
 ly than the most devoted saint upon earth ever 
 did, even then you would have to pray, " God 
 be merciful to me a sinner." (Lukexviii. 13.) 
 Beware of forgetting " the Lamb that was 
 slain;" and guard against the subtle devices of 
 the devil, who, in the hour of prosperity, 
 would persuade you that you are so purified 
 from outward pollution, and have attained to 
 such a degree of internal sanctification, that it 
 is not expected ) t ou should wash in the blood 
 of Christ so frequently as you have done. 
 These suggestions often entangle the man of 
 God when he first enters the liberty of the 
 Gospel; and to the day of his death he is more 
 or less liable to suffer from them. Lie low, 
 then, at ImmanuePs feet in self-renunciation; 
 and ever come, as poor, polluted sinners, to 
 the fountain he has opened for sin and unclean- 
 ness. With whatever truth of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, or with whatever state of heart the blood 
 of Christ is connected, with that truth you can 
 have no fellowship, that state of heart you can- 
 
OF SOUL PROSPERITY. 125 
 
 not possess, without making use of the blood 
 of Christ. By this blood we live, ' and have 
 peace with God. 2 It is the price of our re- 
 demption, 3 and our shield in battle. 4 By it 
 we are pardoned, 5 justified, 6 sanctified, 7 and 
 consecrated to the Lord's service. 8 It is the 
 blood of the everlasting covenant, 9 the blood 
 of sprinkling, 10 and it is precious blood. " It 
 was shed for sinners; 12 by it we are delivered 
 from the pit wherein is no water; 13 we are 
 brought nigh to God by it; 14 it speaketh bet- 
 ter things than the blood of Abel; 15 with it, at 
 the Lord's Supper, we have communion; 16 and 
 by it we enter into the holiest of all. 17 By 
 faith it purifies the heart, 18 and saves the soul. 19 
 Wherefore, my dear friends, make daily use 
 of the blood of Jesus for life and liberty; for 
 rest and victory. If you approach God in 
 prayer; if you devote yourselves to his ser- 
 
 i John vi. 54. 2 Col. i. 20. * Rev. v. 9. 
 
 4 Rev. xii. 11. 6 Eph. i. 7. 6 Rom. v. 9. 
 
 1 Heb. x. 10. s Heb. ix. 14. 9 Heb. xiii. 20. 
 
 10 Heb. xii. 24. " 1 Pet.i. 19,20. 12 Matt. xxvi. 28. 
 
 a Zech. ix. 11. m Eph. ii. 13. w Heb. xii. 24. 
 
 is 1 Cor. x. 16. " Heb. x. 19. » Acte xv. 9. 
 •a Mark xvi. 16. 
 
126 RULES FOR THE PROMOTION 
 
 vice; if you attempt to oppose the world, the 
 flesh, and the devil; — all this can be done only 
 by faith in the blood of Christ. Your tears 
 and your praises, being imperfect, must be 
 purified before they can be acceptable to the 
 Lord; and whether you discharge a duty, or 
 use a privilege, you must, to please God, come 
 by faith to the blood of sprinkling. As guilty 
 sinners, you must go to the cross for pardon; 
 from the cross to the mercy-seat for orders; 
 from thence to the field of labour; and from 
 the field of labour to the cross again. You 
 cannot go to Jesus too frequently, nor rely on 
 his atonement too confidently. 
 
 Lastly, regard your best interests, and the 
 prosperity of the soul, in all the movements 
 and arrangements of life. In business, in so- 
 cial intercourse, in marriage, in recreation, let 
 the care of the soul be the one thing needful; 
 and your advancement in experimental and 
 practical religion, the great object to which all 
 your occupations and pursuits ought to be sub- 
 servient. " Seek ye first the kingdom of God, 
 and his righteousness, and all other things 
 shall be added unto you." (Matt. vi. 33.) " If 
 
OF SOUL PROSPERITY. 127 
 
 ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do 
 them." (John xiii. 17.) 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN, BY ABIDING IN CHRIST, IS SUPPLIED WITH 
 INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH FOR THE DISCHARGE OF HIS 
 OBLIGATIONS. 
 
 "He that saith he abideth in him, ought him- 
 self also so to walk, even as he walked." (1 
 John ii. 6.) Here is the standard of Christian 
 obligation, and here the source of power for 
 its discharge. You are to follow Christ's ex- 
 ample; and by abiding in him, your conformi- 
 ty to his image will be secured. To follow 
 the excellent of the earth, so far as they fol- 
 lowed Christ, is your duty; but you must seek 
 to imbibe the spirit, and to exhibit the moral 
 excellencies of their Master. To this you 
 were predestinated, (Rom. viii. 29,) for this 
 you were regenerated, (1 Pet. ii. 9,) and this 
 is the natural effect of fellowship with God. 
 (2 Cor. iii. 18.) You are to imitate his seri- 
 ousness, his zeal, his benevolence, his patience, 
 his confidence in his Father's love, and his 
 13 
 
128 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 obedience to his Father's will; and your obli- 
 gations thus to walk, even as he walked, arise 
 out of positive command, out of love to. his 
 person, out of gratitude for his grace, and out 
 of your adoption into his family. Some per- 
 sons, who have no scriptural knowledge of the 
 truth, and who are in him only by an outward 
 profession, say they abide in him; and many 
 timid minds, though they cleave to him in 
 love, are afraid to say they abide in him. But 
 to walk as Christ walked, is obviously the 
 duty and privilege of his people, and the evi- 
 dence of their conversion. " He that saith, I 
 know him, and keepeth not his command- 
 ments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 
 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is 
 the love of God perfected. Hereby know we 
 that we are in him." (1 John ii. 4, 5.) 
 
 The following propositions, if prayerfully 
 considered, will assist our inquiries on the im- 
 portant subject of this chapter. 
 
 1. The Christian, in himself, is helpless, 
 and insufficient for the work to which he is 
 called by the Gospel This we learn from 
 the promises of God; and its truth is confirm- 
 ed by the experience of every day. " Work 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 129 
 
 out your own salvation with fear and trem- 
 bling; for it is God which worketh in you 
 both to will and to do of his good pleasure." 
 (Phil. ii. 12, 13.) Not that we are sufficient 
 of ourselves, to think any thing, as of our- 
 selves; but our sufficiency is of God." (2 Cor. 
 iii. 5.) "Now the God of peace make you 
 perfect in every good work to do his will, 
 working in you that which is well-pleasing in 
 his sight." (Heb. xiii. 21.) "A new heart 
 also will I give you, and a new spirit will I 
 put within you; and I will take away the stony 
 heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an 
 heart of flesh: and I will put my Spirit within 
 you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, 
 and ye shall keep my judgments, and do 
 them." (Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27.) 
 
 Now, if we could walk without Divine gui- 
 dance, and work without Divine assistance, 
 why has God promised to lead and strengthen 
 us? The provisions of the covenant are de- 
 signed to meet our condition; and we must 
 judge of our necessities, not only by feeling 
 and by circumstances, but by promises. The 
 agency of the Holy Spirit is not more essen- 
 tial to our conversion, than to our obedience, 
 
]30 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 by which that conversion is tested. If we 
 have nothing more than natural understand- 
 ing, or natural strength, to assist us, we cannot 
 do the work of the Lord. So depraved are 
 we, that, when left to ourselves, we think of 
 the evil, and forget the good; or reject the 
 good, and embrace the evil. The dead in sin 
 are not more dependent on God, for the com- 
 munication of spiritual life, than are those 
 whom he has quickened, for grace to enable 
 them to live and act in character with their 
 professions. An unconverted man may dis- 
 charge natural and moral duties; but, as an un- 
 godly man, he cannot discharge spiritual duties. 
 " The wicked are like the troubled sea, when 
 it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and 
 dirt;" (Isa. lvii. 20;) and as in his flesh dwell- 
 eth no good thing, his works cannot be good. 
 Many of his deeds are, doubtless, honourable 
 to himself and beneficial to his fellow-crea- 
 tures: but, as without faith it is impossible to 
 please God, however rich be his offerings, and 
 splendid his achievements, the motive corrupts 
 the deed; and, in the sight of God, the fruit he 
 bears is obnoxious. " No man can come to 
 me, except the Father, which hath sent me, 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 131 
 
 draw him;" (John vi. 44;) and we are as 
 much indebted to alluring grace for every step 
 we take, in the path of life, after conversion, 
 as we are to renewing grace for ever having 
 awakened our attention to spiritual blessings, 
 before conversion. God does not bestow upon 
 his people, when he regenerates them, a cer- 
 tain measure of grace, to carry them through 
 their toils safe to glory; nor are they ever 
 thrown upon their own resources: moment by 
 moment, step by step, must they lean on their 
 Beloved, who will have the glory, not only of 
 their redemption, but also of their obedience. 
 Without his aid they cannot discharge a duty, 
 obtain a blessing, or gain a single conquest over 
 the weakest enemy that assails them. " With- 
 out me ye can do nothing." (John xv. 5.) 
 No, "you cannot shed a penitential tear, nor 
 offer an acceptable prayer, nor think a holy 
 thought, nor feel the power of a single pro- 
 mise, without me." " As the branch cannot 
 bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; 
 no more can ye, except ye abide in me." 
 (John xv. 4.) " I am the root of David," and 
 " from me is thy fruit found." (Rev. xxii. 16. 
 Hos. xiv. 8 ) 
 
 13' 
 
132 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 But whence arises our inability for our 
 work? Not from the want of physical power; 
 nor from ignorance of the Divine will; nor 
 from a paucity of means: — but from the influ- 
 ence of Satan, from the depravity and pride of 
 the heart, from the perverseness of our wills, 
 and from the activity and vigour of indwelling 
 sin. If we pray, repent, believe, or hope, we 
 do it by the Holy Spirit's assistance. God 
 forbid, then, that we should ever attempt to 
 do what he requires at our hands, in our own 
 strength. "If," as Dr. Owen remarks, "a 
 branch be so separated from the root and body 
 of the vine, as that it receives not continual 
 supplies of nourishment from them, if their 
 influence into it be by any means intercepted, 
 it proceeds not in its growth, it brings forth 
 no fruit; but is immediately under decay. It 
 is so, saith our Saviour, with believers in re- 
 spect, unto him. Unless they have continual, 
 uninterrupted influences of grace, and spirit- 
 ually-vital nourishment from him, they can 
 do nothing; that is, by their own power, or 
 by virtue of any habit or principle of grace 
 they have received, they can do nothing; that 
 is, which appertains to fruit-bearing unto God. 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 133 
 
 In things natural and civil we can do some- 
 what, and in things sinful, too much; we need 
 no assistance for any such purpose. But in 
 fruit-bearing unto God, we can do nothing. 
 Now every act of faith and love, every mo- 
 tion of our minds and affections towards God, 
 is a part of our fruit-bearing, and so unques- 
 tionably are all external works and duties of 
 holiness. Wherefore, our Saviour himself 
 being judge, believers who are really sancti- 
 fied and made partakers of habitual grace, yet 
 cannot of themselves, without new actual aid 
 and assistance of grace from him, do any 
 thing that is spiritually good, or acceptable 
 with God." 
 
 2. The Christian requires both influence 
 and strength for the walk he is directed to 
 take. 
 
 He requires influence. " The ways of Wis- 
 dom are pleasantness, her paths are peace," 
 (Pr. iii. 17,) " and in keeping her command- 
 ments there is great reward." (Ps. xix. 11.) 
 But the Christian is often indisposed to follow 
 her directions, even though he knows that 
 they will guide him to liberty and rest. " The 
 spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak;" 
 
134 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 (Matt. xxvi. 41;) and yet, by the influence of 
 the flesh, the spirit herself is sometimes un- 
 willing. " My soul cleaveth unto the dust; 
 quicken thou me, according to thy word." 
 (Ps. cxix. 25.) Oh! the dulness, the stupidi- 
 ty of our hearts! 
 
 " Hardly sure can they be worse, 
 Who have never heard his name !" 
 
 We are our own enemies, and our slothful- 
 ness nearly proves our ruin.* Upon the 
 ocean of life, we may be compared to a vessel 
 whose sails are furled; in the garden of the 
 Lord, we resemble plants that lack moisture; 
 and in the temple of the Redeemer, we are 
 like lamps without a sufficient supply of oil. 
 Well might David pray, "Quicken me, 
 Lord, for thy name's sake;" and "incline 
 mine heart unto thy testimonies, and not unto 
 covetousness." We have often, to our shame 
 be the confession, no inclination, or but little, 
 for prayer, for reading the Scriptures, for 
 hearing the Gospel, and for fellowship with 
 
 * The reader is requested to examine the following- 
 passages : — Pr. xviii. 9 : xx. 4, 13 : xxi. 25 : xxiv. 30 — 34: 
 xxvi. 14, 16. 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 135 
 
 the faithful ! Duty is a task, privilege a toil. 
 Instead of flying to meet the Saviour, when 
 he goes forth to bless his people, we cry with 
 the sluggard, "A little more sleep, a little 
 more slumber, a little more folding the hands 
 to sleep ;" and suffer hours and days to pass 
 without evincing much anxiety to enjoy his 
 presence. And even when he condescends to 
 knock at our door, saying, " Open to me, and 
 I will come in, and sup with you, and you 
 with me," we exclaim, " I have put off my 
 coat, how shall I put it on ? I have washed 
 my feet, how shall I defile them?" Religion 
 having declined in its life and power, devo- 
 tion languishes in its zeal and spirituality. 
 To visit the sick, to relieve the destitute, to 
 instruct the ignorant, to warn the careless, is 
 now burthensome; and we suffer a thousand 
 opportunities of doing good to pass, without 
 attempting to improve them. We are deaf to 
 the calls of the Spirit, and blind to the beau- 
 ties of the Saviour; or if we occasionally see 
 the one, and hear the other, we yet remain 
 unmoved, and therefore lie unblessed. And 
 what is still more affecting, our lamentations 
 for these infirmities are only formally ex- 
 
136 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 pressed, because our guilt is not deeply felt. 
 The Saviour's love is forgotten; his authority 
 is disregarded; the law does not alarm us; the 
 Gospel does not allure us, neither do the most 
 affecting providences instruct us. A nation 
 may be in tears, but we weep not; the church 
 may either agonize in distress, or triumph in 
 joy, but we have no sympathy with her 
 sorrows or her praises. We lose the love of 
 our espousals, cast off our first works; and, 
 from being the devoted disciples of Jesus, be- 
 come the careless professors of his truth. 
 Mournful state! and without staying to in- 
 quire either into its cause or its consequences, 
 we may observe, in passing, how strikingly it 
 proves the necessity of Divine influence. Yes, 
 indeed — for no man can quicken his own soul 
 when dead, preserve it when alive, or restore 
 it when declining. The excitements of public 
 ordinances and the influence of passing events, 
 though teeming with interest, are insufficient 
 to move our sluggish spirits, or to warm our 
 cold affections; and even past experience, or a 
 sense of obligation, will not call forth the 
 energy required for an obedient life. No- 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 137 
 
 thuig less than the power of God can do 
 this. 
 
 But we require strength, as well as influ- 
 ence. To be excited to a spiritual exercise, in 
 which God had not promised to assist us, 
 would issue in a reaction the most distressing; 
 and instead of being advanced in our course, 
 we should be retarded. Power, as well as 
 motive, is required to carry us through our 
 work; for so difficult is our course, we can 
 scarcely make our way. It is not an easy 
 thing to hold fast confidence in God at all 
 times, and under all circumstances; and our 
 difficulties increase with our progress. Be- 
 coming more acquainted with our own hearts, 
 discovering more of the mind and will of God, 
 and being more exposed to the influence of 
 Satan and the world, instead of its being easier 
 to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit in their 
 season, it becomes increasingly arduous. To 
 profess the truth, and to follow the example of 
 the nominal Christian, or even of the true 
 Christian, when he declines in spirituality, is 
 easy. But to believe, to walk, to fight — this 
 is hard indeed! In fact, it is impossible with- 
 
138 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 out the assistance of the Almighty. Some 
 parts of our duty are easier than others; but 
 who can balance the higher and weightier 
 scales of Christian morals, unless poised and 
 sustained by an Omnipotent arm ? " Ye have 
 heard that it hath been said, An eye for an 
 eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto 
 you, that ye resist not evil; but whosoever 
 shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to 
 him the other also. Ye have heard that it 
 hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, 
 and hate thine enemy: But I say unto you, 
 Love your enemies, bless them that curse 
 you, do good to them that hate you, and pray 
 for them which despitefully use you, and perse- 
 cute you." (Matt. v. 38—44.) " Dearly be- 
 loved, avenge not yourselves; but rather give 
 place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance 
 is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. There- 
 fore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he 
 thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou 
 shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not 
 overcome of evil, but overcome evil with 
 good." (Rom. xii. 19 — 21.) 
 
 But is all this easy ? Is it not, rather, ex- 
 ceedingly difficult? " Revenge," says the 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 139 
 
 natural heart, a is sweet; and the law of reta- 
 liation just ; but who can be expected to love 
 an enemy, and to bless a persecutor ? An eye 
 for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, involves a 
 principle we can understand, and are willing 
 to regard; but, to follow Christ's example, 
 ' who, when he was reviled, reviled not 
 again;' — (1 Pet. ii. 23;) this is hard indeed!" 
 And yet, in such a case, nothing less than this 
 is obedience to the laws of Christ. "Not 
 rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; 
 but, contrariwise, blessing; knowing that ye 
 are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a 
 blessing." (1 Pet. iii. 9.) " Say not thou, I 
 will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, 
 and he shall save thee." (Pr. xx. 22.) And 
 if, by a change of circumstances, you rise, and 
 your enemy should fall, and you have an op- 
 portunity of resenting his past unkindness, you 
 must, even then, bless, and not curse. " Re- 
 joice not when thine enemy falleth; and let 
 not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth; 
 lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and 
 he turn away his wrath from him." (Pr. xxiv. 
 17.) Rather let us imbibe David's spirit, who 
 wept at the distress of his foe, and behaved 
 14 
 
140 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 himself as though he had been his friend and 
 brother. (Psalm xxxv. 11 — 14.) 
 
 This humiliating submission to those who 
 inflict injury, when the injured have an oppor- 
 tunity of retaliating, though honourable, is 
 difficult; and the world will even scorn an 
 individual for meekly bearing the insults of 
 another. Yet all this is Christian duty. But, 
 as we have no strength for the toils and sacri- 
 fices it involves, if destitute of that moral 
 courage which can flow only from God, we 
 shall transgress his commandments, and by 
 this act of rebellion inflict positive injury upon 
 ourselves. 
 
 3. We must not, however, neglect duty 
 because of its difficulties; for strength and 
 ivisdom are both promised. 
 
 The Lord gives grace in season; and the 
 supplies of his Spirit are adapted to that 
 amount of labour which we are called to ren- 
 der. It is, perhaps, scarcely possible to draw 
 the line of distinction between human volition 
 and Divine influence with such exactness, as 
 to mark, with unerring precision, the point 
 upon which turn all successful efforts to do 
 the will of God; yet the fact of our working 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 141 
 
 by his assistance is clearly stated' in Scripture, 
 and is apparent to our own minds. 
 
 That the necessity and glory of Divine in- 
 fluence may be neither forgotten nor obscured, 
 I must remind you of the position we have 
 already taken; that God only can incline 
 the heart to duty, and that we are as much 
 indebted to his Spirit for a holy thought, as 
 for "the Divine nature." But you must 
 remember, also, that though you work by 
 God's assistance, and though he must have all 
 the glory of your obedience, the work is 
 yours, not his. Christ died for the offences of 
 his people, and rose again for their justifica- 
 tion; but he does not repent and believe for 
 them. He, doubtless, works the principle of 
 faith and godly sorrow within them, and be- 
 stows the grace of these habits upon them; 
 nor can they repent and believe without his 
 aid; still, the act of repenting and believing 
 is theirs. As creatures, we live, and move, 
 and have our being in God ; nor can we put 
 forth any physical power without his aid; but 
 it is the man who walks and works, assisted 
 by his Creator. And does not God afford the 
 Christian strength for the ordinary duties of 
 
142 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 his calling? And in discharging them, does 
 he not receive power proportioned to their 
 difficulty? If called, by Divine Providence, 
 to undertake a journey of any considerable 
 length, am I to sit down at my ease, and then 
 expect that God will, in some miraculous way, 
 carry me forward ? This would be the height 
 of folly. No — I must walk by God's assist- 
 ance; and not expect his aid if I refuse to 
 walk. Just so, or nearly so, it is with spirit- 
 ual exercises. I have no power in myself to 
 pray, or to believe, or to repent; and am quite 
 inadequate to the task, which even these pages 
 impose. May I then, on the ground of person- 
 al inability to do what God requires, become 
 slothful and indifferent? Certainly not; my 
 course is plain, because my duty is obvious. 
 Weak as I am, and though, without Christ, I 
 can do nothing, I must yet attempt to accom- 
 plish his pleasure, believing that he will afford 
 his promised aid, and lead me on to his own 
 glory. "My strength," he says, " is made 
 perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. xii. 9.) 
 
 How often have we gone to the throne of 
 grace, neither disposed nor prepared to pray; 
 yet, in opening our mouths before the Lord, 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 143 
 
 lie lias filled them with arguments, and enabled 
 us both to wrestle and prevail with the Angel 
 of the Covenant. His assurance is, " As thy 
 day, so shall thy strength be." He does not 
 give us grace one week for the necessities of 
 another, nor dying faith for living moments; 
 but day by day, and hour by hour, he supplies 
 us with the needful influences of his Spirit. 
 We have frequently been brought through a 
 trial, in comfort and in peace, which, in the 
 distant prospect, nearly overwhelmed us: we 
 have said, " 'tis impossible for me, a poor 
 frail sinful creature, to live in that storm, and 
 to bear up under the mighty out-breakings of 
 that calamity; and yet, when brought into the 
 difficulty, we were mercifully upheld, and 
 borne through without injury. We have 
 proved the power and importance of truth, at 
 the precise moment when its influence was 
 needed; and after all our past experience of 
 God's mercy, shall we doubt his intention to 
 assist us, when, by the calls of his Provi- 
 dence and the monitions of his Spirit, we 
 are urged to enterprises apparently the most 
 hazardous and difficult? If we move a step, 
 or devise a plan, independently of his power 
 14* 
 
144 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 and counsel, we may expect failure and dis- 
 appointment, and if we neglect duty on the 
 ground of personal insufficiency for its dis- 
 charge, we despise both the precepts and the 
 promises of his love; but if we attempt his 
 work, relying on his Spirit, he will crown our 
 efforts with success. Weakness is no excuse 
 for negligence. We are, indeed, limited both 
 in our powers of body and of mind; but we 
 have not yet reached our limitation. " We 
 have left undone the things which we ought 
 to have done;" and with all our grief for past 
 omissions, and our professed desires for im- 
 provement, here we are, still in a low condi- 
 tion as to our experience and practice; and 
 with scarcely an effort to rise. Oh! when 
 shall we learn wisdom! When shall it be 
 said of us, " They labour to enter into rest, 
 they follow hard after God, and they agonize 
 in prayerful exertions to do his will!" 
 
 4. Now, observe, Christ becomes both in- 
 fluence and strength to those who are 
 united to him. 
 
 The union of Christ and his church is a 
 purifying and an establishing truth; and one 
 which, when received in the love of it, will 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 145 
 
 conform us to his image. " If a man would 
 know whether he be in Christ or not, he must 
 look within, and ask his own heart, what is 
 there ? Hath the Holy Spirit been there ? Is 
 there any thing above nature wrought? Are 
 there any features of the Divine image? What 
 is there of humility, zeal, and holy love? 
 What of purity, mercy, or obedience? See 
 how it is within. If a mere vacuum be there, 
 if the heart be void of these graces, it is a 
 vain presumption to think that he is in union 
 with Christ. That there should be humility 
 in the Head, and pride in the members; zeal 
 and love in the Head, and coldness and hatred 
 in the members; purity, mercy, and obedience 
 in the Head, and uncleanness, cruelty, and 
 rebellion in the members, is a thing too absurd 
 to be imagined by any considering man."* 
 
 This union is a truth full of consolation to 
 the sorrowful, and replete with power to the 
 helpless. It is compared to the union of the 
 vine and the branches; (John xv. 1, 5;) of the 
 foundation and the building; (Eph. ii. 20;) of 
 the husband and the wife; (Eph. v. 31, 32;) 
 
 * Christus in Corde. 
 
146 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 of the king and his subjects; (Rev. xvii. 14;) 
 of the Father and the Son; (John xvii. 21;) 
 and of the body and the head. (CoL ii. 19.) 
 And besides the legal union, which secures to 
 his people the benefits of his death, there is a 
 vital, an actual union between them, by virtue 
 of which they receive out of his fulness, and 
 grace for grace; and become savingly ac- 
 quainted with his power, wisdom, and love. 
 tc For both he that sanctifieth, and they who 
 are sanctified, are all of one; for which cause 
 he is not ashamed to call them brethren." 
 (Heb. ii. 11.) " Therefore, if any man be in 
 Christ, he is a new creature: old things are 
 passed away; behold, all things are become 
 new." (2 Cor. v. 17.) This union is effected 
 by the Holy Ghost, in the great work of re- 
 generation; it is the foundation of communion 
 with the Father; and the cause of our actual 
 fellowship with the personal and official grace 
 of the Son. It is not an accidental union, 
 where both parties preserve their indepen- 
 dence; but a vital and an influential one. 
 " For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; 
 but nourisheth and cherisheth it; even as the 
 Lord the church; for we are members of his 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 147 
 
 body, of his flesh, and of his bones." (Eph. v. 
 29, 30.) 
 
 This union, though mysterious, is perfectly 
 obvious to faith; for it is that connexion be- 
 tween Christ and the soul which supplies it 
 with all its gifts, graces, consolations, and en- 
 joyments; and secures to him the glory of its 
 life, of its health, and even of its exertions. 
 We live, for he is our life; we see, for he is 
 our light; and he becomes not only our right- 
 eousness, but our wisdom and sanctification. 
 His work of grace in the heart is perfectly 
 distinct from his work upon the cross; and 
 we must actually be in union with him, to re- 
 ceive the blessings resulting from his atone- 
 ment. His holiness does not supersede ours; 
 but renders it necessary for our peace in this 
 world, and for our salvation in another. 
 Sanctification is as positively imparted and 
 inwrought, as righteousness is imputed and 
 embraced. Our life answers to Christ's life; 
 and there must be a resemblance between the 
 head and the members. The grace imparted 
 to the church, flows from the measureless 
 grace in the Saviour; and from his fulness we 
 receive even the Holy Ghost with all his 
 
148 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 plentitude of love, and sufficiency of influence. 
 The oil on Aaron's head ran down to the 
 skirts of his garment; and Jesus was anointed 
 with " the oil of gladness above his fellows," 
 that they might receive " an unction from the 
 Holy One." (1 John ii. 20.) The humanity 
 of the Son was sustained and carried through 
 its work of suffering by the indwelling of the 
 Holy Ghost; and the same Spirit that dwells 
 in him, dwells in his people. "He that is 
 joined unto the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor. 
 vi. 17.) From him the head, the whole body 
 is supplied with nourishment; (Col. ii. 19;) 
 and as each member is influenced to discharge 
 its proper functions, the whole, being knit to- 
 gether, increaseth with the increase of God. 
 (Eph. iv. 16.) 
 
 Christ is not only the example of all holy 
 living, but the fountain of all holy influence; 
 and, as the work of the Holy Ghost is the 
 result of his universal headship, by his life- 
 inspiring and sin-dethroning power, his peo- 
 ple are enabled to mortify the deeds of the 
 body, and to abound in every good work. 
 Some services are not acceptable to God; and 
 it does not follow that because a man pleases 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 149 
 
 himself, he must please God; on the contrary, 
 as motive and principle are his standard of 
 judgment, many a costly offering is offensive 
 in his sight.* " Wherefore, my brethren, ye 
 also are become dead to the law by the body 
 of Christ; that ye should be married to an- 
 other, even to him who is raised from the 
 dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto 
 God." (Rom. vii. 4.) The design of union 
 to Christ is, therefore, fruitfulness towards 
 God; and by the resources to which this union 
 introduces us, we are prepared for " the work 
 of faith, and the labour of love." 
 
 "Nothing is duty/ 7 says Dr. Owen, "no- 
 thing is obedience in believers, but what is 
 grace from Christ communicated unto them. 
 The preparation of all fructifying grace, is in 
 Christ, as the fruit of the branches is naturally 
 in the vine. And the Lord Christ doth spi- 
 ritually and voluntarily communicate this grace 
 unto all believers, as the vine communicates 
 its juice unto the branches naturally; and it is 
 in the new nature of believers to derive it from 
 him by faith. This being done, it is in them 
 
 * Is. i. 11, 15. Amos v. 21. Rom. viii. 8.; xiv. 23. 
 Jlcb. .vi. 6. 
 
150 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 turned into particular duties of holiness and 
 obedience. Therefore it is evident that there 
 is nothing of evangelical holiness in any one 
 person whatever, but what is derived imme- 
 diately from Jesus Christ, by virtue of rela- 
 tion unto him, and union with him. The spi- 
 ritual life which I have, is not mine own, not 
 from myself was it educed, not by myself is it 
 maintained; but it is merely and solely the work 
 of Christ; so that it is not I that live, but he 
 that lives in me, the whole of my life being 
 from him alone. Neither doth this living 
 head communicate only a bare life unto be- 
 lievers, that they should merely live and no 
 more, a poor, weak, dying life, as it were; but 
 he gives out sufficiently to afford them a strong, 
 vigorous, thriving, nourishing life. His trea- 
 sures of grace are unsearchable, his stores in- 
 exhaustible. His life, the fountain of ours, 
 full and eternal; his heart bounteous and large; 
 his hand open and liberal; so that there is no 
 doubt but that he communicates supplies of 
 grace for their increase in holiness abundantly 
 unto all his saints. The withering and decay- 
 ing of any member in Christ's mystical body, 
 is not for the want of his communication of 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 151 
 
 grace for an abundant life, but from the power- 
 ful interception that is made of the efficacy of 
 it, by the interposition and opposition of in- 
 dwelling sin. Hence it is that where lust 
 grows strong, a great deal of grace will but 
 keep the soul alive, and not give it any emi- 
 nency in fruitfulness at all. Oftentimes Christ 
 gives very much grace, where not many of its 
 effects do appear. How sound, healthy, and 
 flourishing; how fruitful and exemplary in 
 holiness, might many a soul be, by and with 
 that grace which is continually communicated 
 to it from Christ, which now, by reason of the 
 power of indwelling sin, is not only dead, but 
 weak, withering, and useless."* 
 
 5. As Christ is both the head , of influence, 
 and a never-failing source of strength to his 
 people, I want you now to feel, that by his 
 Almighty assistance you can walk and 
 work, not only successfully, but ivith com- 
 fort to yourselves. " I can do all things 
 through Christ which strengthened me." 
 (Phil. iv. 13.) You can do nothing without 
 God, but every thing, that he requires, by his 
 
 * Dr. Owen v. 13, 163; iii. 66. 
 15 
 
152 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 assistance. You have no resources in your- 
 selves, as sinners; and as believers; you em- 
 ploy the grace of the covenant as fast as you 
 receive it. You have no stock in hand, no 
 store out of Christ; and by union to him you 
 are brought into a state of absolute dependence 
 upon him. But, encouraging thought! "My 
 grace," he says, "is sufficient for thee:" (2 
 Cor. xii. 9;) and strengthened with all might 
 by his Spirit in the inner man, you can main- 
 tain Christian consistency. 
 
 Your resources, are the resources of Deity. 
 I am thy God, thy shield, and thy exceeding 
 great reward. God, in the person and work 
 of his Son, hath entered into covenant with 
 you; and every moral and natural perfection 
 of his nature is brought to bear upon your 
 safety and comfort. You have God for your 
 guide, guard, and portion; and by virtue of 
 union to Christ, you have an interest in all 
 that belongs to the Father. The infinite, the 
 boundless treasures of his grace are all thrown 
 open; and, having access to them by faith, you 
 may draw from them whatever you need; and 
 you may do this at all times, and in all places. 
 However impoverished and wretched you may 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 153 
 
 be, and whatever be the number or character 
 of your trials and temptations, there is enough 
 in God to replenish and to satisfy you. All 
 things are possible with God, and what cannot 
 you do in the strength of God ? Is any thing 
 too hard for the Lord? And is any duty too 
 difficult for those to whom the Lord imparts 
 his own strength ? If you are straitened, it is 
 not in him, but in yourselves; (2 Cor. vi. 12;) 
 and as martyrs have been borne through their 
 sufferings in triumph, may you not hope to 
 be carried through your work in peace ? From 
 what duty will you dare to shrink, with Jeho- 
 vah on your side! "I made haste," said Da- 
 vid, "and delayed not to keep thy statutes;" 
 and why should you not emulate his zeal ? 
 He had to contend with your difficulties; and 
 you are sustained by his consolations. But 
 your resources are, also, 
 
 Those of incarnate Deity. " It pleased the 
 Father that in him should all fulness dwell" 
 for the use of his people. (Col. i. 19.) He is 
 the trustee of the covenant; in his hands are 
 placed all the blessings of that covenant, that 
 he might distribute them with wise and muni- 
 ficent liberality, to enrich and to strengthen 
 
154 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 the souls of men. The grace that dwells in 
 him is personal; constituting his own glory 
 and excellency; (Ps. xlv. 1 — 3;) and it is rela- 
 tive; — fitting him for the discharge of his me- 
 diatorial undertakings, and investing him with 
 official authority to bless the poor and needy 
 who flee to him for succour. He has grace to 
 meet your condition in the eye of the law; 
 pardoning your guilt, justifying you from all 
 things, and rendering both your persons and 
 services acceptable to the Father. He has 
 grace to meet your actual condition; life for 
 your death, light for your darkness, wisdom 
 for your folly, strength for your weakness, 
 and holiness for your impurity. Grace to 
 meet your known and felt condition; healing 
 your wounds, relieving your sorrows, and rais- 
 ing you to a holy assurance of interest in his 
 Father's love. Grace to meet your circum- 
 stantial condition; he is your deliverer, your 
 guide, your refuge, your advocate. Grace to 
 meet your relative condition; are you soldiers? 
 he clothes you in armour; pilgrims? he puts 
 the staff of promise in your hands; mariners? 
 his word is your compass, hope your anchor, 
 prayer your sail, the Spirit your breeze. And 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 155 
 
 in him there is a fulness of this grace; and 
 this fulness is overflowing, and infinite. In 
 him there are depths of wisdom, love, and 
 truth; yet all these blessings are yours; and it 
 is your privilege to make daily use of them 
 for your strength in duty. God is rich in 
 mercy to all that call upon him; and the glory 
 given to Christ by the Father, is, by the Son, 
 given to the Father's chosen, for their comfort 
 in sorrow, and for their cheerful perseverance 
 in the paths of obedience. " And on this 
 ground it is," observes Dr. Owen, "that if all 
 the world should draw from one single pro- 
 mise, an angel standing by, and crying, Drink, 
 
 my friends, yea, drink abundantly, take so 
 much grace and pardon as shall be abundantly 
 sufficient for the world of sin which is in every 
 one of you; they would not be able to sink the 
 grace of the promise one hair's breadth. There 
 is enough for millions of worlds if they were, 
 because it flows into it from an infinite bot- 
 tomless fountain. ' Fear not, worm Jacob, 
 
 1 am God, and not man/ is the bottom of a 
 sinner's consolation. This is that head of gold 
 mentioned; (Cant. v. 11;) that most precious 
 fountain of grace and mercy. This infinite- 
 
 15* 
 
156 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 ness of grace in respect of its spring and foun- 
 tain, will answer all objections that might hin- 
 der our souls from drawing nigh to commu- 
 nion with him, and from a free embracing of 
 him. Will not this suit us in all our dis- 
 tresses? What is our finite guilt before it? 
 Show me the sinner that can spread his ini- 
 quities to the dimensions (if I may so say) of 
 this grace. Here is grace enough for the 
 greatest, the oldest, the stubbornest transgres- 
 sor. ( Why will ye die, house of Israel ?' 
 Take heed of them who would rob you of the 
 Deity of Christ; if there were no more grace 
 for me than what can be treasured up in a 
 mere man, I should rejoice my portion might 
 be under rocks and mountains."* 
 
 But your resources are, also, those of in- 
 dwelling Deity. The Holy Spirit is a person 
 in the Godhead, and he dwells in his people 
 for ever; and while the manifestations of his 
 love delight and refresh them, his own om- 
 nipotency of grace secures their advancement 
 towards the kingdom, for the possession of 
 which it is his province to meeten them. He 
 
 * Dr. Owen 10, 75. 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 157 
 
 is a leader, 1 a teacher, 2 and a comforter. 3 His 
 office is to quicken the dead, 4 to enlighten the 
 dark, 5 to heal the wounded, 6 to remind the 
 forgetful, 7 and to revive the drooping. 8 He 
 helps our infirmities in prayer, 9 applies the 
 promises to the heart, 10 glorifies the Saviour, 11 
 and bears witness with our spirits that we are 
 the children of God. 12 It is by him we come 
 to Jesus, 13 have access to God, 14 walk at lib- 
 erty, 15 and rejoice in hope of glory. 16 He is 
 wind to the vessel, 17 oil to the lamp, 18 fire to 
 consume our offerings, 19 the water of life to the 
 thirsty, 20 and the peaceful dove is his em- 
 blem. 21 Oh, what a suitable agent is the Di- 
 vine Spirit! Blessed are they who seek his 
 counsel, confide in his care, obey his com- 
 mands, walk in his light, and repose on the 
 succours of his everlasting love! 
 
 Here, then, is your sufficiency for the work 
 
 i Rom. viii. 14. 2 j onn xiv. 26. 3 John xiv. 16. 
 
 4 John vi. 63. * Eph. i. 17, 18. c p s . C xlvii. 3. 
 
 7 John xiv. 26. 8 Hos. xiv. 5. 9 Rom. viii. 26. 
 
 10 Eph. i. 13. " John xvi. 14. 12 R om . v iii. 15, 16. 
 
 ■a Hos. xi. 4. m Eph. ii. 18. is 2 Cor. iii. 17. 
 
 16 Rom. xv. 13. i" John iii. 8. » Lev. xxiv. 2. 
 
 » 1 Thes. v. 19. 20 John iv. 14. 21 Luke iii. 22. 
 
158 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 to which you are called by the Gospel; for 
 duty, however arduous; for privileges, how- 
 ever abundant; for conflict, however severe; 
 for spirituality of character, however elevated ; 
 and for death, however painful! " They that 
 wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; 
 they shall mount up with wings as eagles; 
 they shall run and not be weary, they shall 
 walk and not faint." (Is. xl. 31.) "My 
 soul, wait thou only upon God, for my ex- 
 pectation is from him." (Ps. lxii. 5.) 
 
 6. By abiding in Christ, you will re- 
 ceive both the influence and strength need- 
 ful for your walk. 
 
 To experience much of the love of God, 
 and of the power and preciousness of his truth, 
 you must walk holily before him; and if you 
 are anxious to do his will, you must seek the 
 enjoyment of his presence. The Holy Spirit 
 is concerned as well in the devotion of your 
 lives, as in the spirituality of your minds. 
 He has, therefore, given you directions in re- 
 ference to both, which, if humbly and perse- 
 veringly followed, will tend to the advance- 
 ment of his kingdom within you, and lead 
 you to attempt its establishment around you. 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 159 
 
 But how are you to receive that grace which 
 will constrain you to live to the Divine glory? 
 It is treasured up in Christ, and in him there 
 is ample supply. But you must receive it, 
 before you can use it. Grace in Christ only, 
 is a Christian doctrine, which, however well 
 it may be understood and ably defended, will 
 never soften the heart and regulate the charac- 
 ter: it must be applied by the Holy Spirit; 
 for then, and not till then, will it be effectual 
 to salvation. And if God must employ his 
 own resources for the holiness of his people, 
 surely, in their endeavours to fall in with his 
 designs, they must use them too. If you 
 were called only to defend the Christian sys- 
 tem by argument, then a bare knowledge of 
 the truth would suffice; but as your pursuits 
 are spiritual, and as you have to war a good 
 warfare, and to work the work of the Lord, 
 unless you receive Christ and his fulness into 
 your souls, you can neither conquer nor la- 
 bour. " As ye have therefore received Christ 
 Jesus, the Lord, so walk ye in him." (Col. 
 ii. G.) " He came unto his own, and his own 
 received him not. But as many as received 
 him, to them gave he power to become the 
 
160 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 sons of God, even to them that believe on his 
 name." (John i. 11, 12.) 
 
 But to receive from Christ that assistance 
 which will enable you to walk as children of 
 light, you must abide in Christ. " As the 
 branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it 
 abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye 
 abide in me." (John xv. 4.) In this compa- 
 rison union is supposed; and the abiding here 
 inculcated, is a consequence of union. We do 
 not say to believers, be ye united to Christ, 
 for their union has already been effected; but 
 we say, abide in him; for this is the proof 
 and design of union. The cause of your fruit- 
 fulness is in Christ, not in you; and if you 
 could abide in Christ for half a century, and 
 then be separated from him, that moment 
 would witness your destruction. Such a se- 
 paration, however, is impossible; (Rom viii. 
 38, 39;) for how can that man perish in whom 
 Christ lives and triumphs? A mere professor 
 of religion has no safeguard around him; and 
 as he appears to be what he really is not, his 
 apostasy in the hour of trial is not surprising. 
 But a branch of the living vine cannot wither. 
 <( Let that, therefore, abide in ) 7 ou which ye 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGTH. 161 
 
 have heard from the beginning. If that 
 which ye have heard from the beginning 
 shall remain in you, ye also shall continue 
 in the Son, and in the Father." (1 John 
 ii. 24.) " Abide in me, and I in you." 
 
 To abide in Christ is, indeed, a blessed 
 privilege, and one, the honours of which you 
 are unworthy to share; yet, as the activity 
 of the soul, in believing, is its perseverance in 
 well-doing, it is pressed as a duty. To abide 
 in Christ is as much a Christian obligation, as 
 to depend on God. In fact, to depend upon 
 Christ is the same as to abide in him. It 
 means a daily renunciation of self, with a 
 humble and vigorous cleaving to Christ. The 
 Lord holds his people, and they hold him; 
 and because he does not let them go, they will 
 not, they cannot, let him go. " We love him, 
 because he first loved us;" and as long as his 
 love is the cause, and yours only the effect, so 
 long, and in the same proportion to your be- 
 lieving intercourse with that love, will Jesus 
 be precious. " Happy is the man that findeth 
 wisdom, and the man that getteth understand- 
 ing. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold 
 upon her, and happy is every one that retain- 
 
162 THE CHRISTIAN SUPPLIED WITH 
 
 eth her." (Prov. iii. 13 — 18.) You must 
 abide in Christ, or cleave to Christ, and enter 
 more fully into him, in the same way that you 
 were first united to him, and by the same 
 means — by faith, by prayer, by love, and 
 above all, by the Holy Ghost; who, constrain- 
 ing you to take a deeper and livelier interest 
 in the person and work of the Saviour, will 
 enthrone him in your affections, and bring 
 every thought and desire into obedience to 
 his will. And, then, it is not the abiding only 
 that engages your attention; it is, also the de- 
 sign of it. You abide in Christ, that you 
 may live, and that you may derive from him 
 the influence and nourishment which will ren- 
 der you healthful and prosperous. 
 
 " Faith is," says an evangelical writer, " in 
 the spiritual world, like the law of the vegeta- 
 ble world, by which the fibres of the branches 
 have imparted to them a fitness and an apti- 
 tude to receive from the stem the nourishment 
 conveyed by the latter. A branch may, in 
 appearance and externally, be united to the 
 vine; but if it be incapable of absorbing its 
 juices, the union is no more than outward; it 
 is not real, and the branch itself will soon 
 
INFLUENCE AND STRENGT-H. 163 
 
 wither and decay. And in the same manner, 
 if a professing Christian have not faith, if he 
 be not in the exercise of receiving Christ and 
 his benefits, his connection with him is merely 
 external ; no real union subsists between them, 
 and he will be a withered branch in the visi- 
 ble church of God. There must be in the 
 soul a power of receiving Christ, and of con- 
 verting his benefits into sources of nourish- 
 ment, so as to keep alive within it the Divine 
 life, and to produce between it and Christ an 
 union resembling that amalgamation that takes 
 place between the nutritive particles of food 
 resolved into chyle, and the blood, by which 
 they are incorporated together, and life is 
 maintained in the system. He in whom this 
 process of faith does not take place, hath no life 
 in him. In like manner, believers are spoken of 
 as rooted in Christ, and stablished in the faith. 
 (Col. ii. 7. ) Asa tree planted in the earth 
 has received from the Creator a fitness and an 
 aptitude to draw nourishment from the soil, 
 so has the Christian received that principle of 
 faith by winch he is enabled to draw from the 
 fulness of Christ continual supplies of grace 
 This aptitude in the tree maintains its con 
 16 
 
164 ABIDING IN CHRIST SECURED 
 
 nection with the soil, and this principle of 
 faith in the believer preserves his union to his 
 Lord."* 
 
 You are to abide in Christ, then, for the 
 purpose of receiving from him an influence 
 and a power which will render you fruitful in 
 holiness, and give life to your movements 
 when you go to the cross for pardon, or leave 
 it for the field of labour. Wherefore, abide in 
 Christ, that a holy and an attractive consisten- 
 cy may be preserved, and the world be con- 
 strained to take knowledge of you, that you 
 have been ivith Jesus. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ABIDING IN CHRIST SECURED BY DIVINE TEACHING. 
 
 It is written in the prophets, " They shall 
 be all taught of God;" and the necessity of 
 Divine teaching for the holiness of man, is not 
 more apparent to the thoughtful, than are its 
 consequences to the observant. But the know- 
 ledge which the Holy Spirit imparts is practi- 
 
 * Thoughts on union to Christ, by Sosthencs. 
 
BY DIVINE TEACHING. 165 
 
 cal, as well as experimental; and the wild, 
 daring nights of the visionary are very differ- 
 ent from the sober, settled convictions of the 
 truly serious. It is worthy of remark, too, 
 that whether the Spirit convince of sin, com- 
 fort the sorrowful, or establish the wavering, 
 knowledge is the moral agency by which he 
 accomplishes his work. " And this is life 
 eternal, that they might know thee the only 
 true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast 
 sent." (John xvii. 3.) The written word, 
 which reveals the mind of God, becomes, by 
 the saving influences of the Divine Spirit, the 
 medium of the grace of God; and as the 
 " word worketh effectually in them that be- 
 lieve," and is also the virtual cause of their 
 spiritual fruitfulness, their abiding in Christ 
 is in exact proportion to their knowledge of 
 Christ. " Even as it hath taught you, ye 
 shall abide in hi?n." 
 
 The Holy Spirit discovers the glory of the 
 Saviour to awaken our desires for his presence, 
 and to prepare us for his service. One end of 
 Divine teaching is a saving and an appropria- 
 ting knowledge of the Saviour; and an experi- 
 ence of his willingness and power to save is 
 
J 66 ABIDING IN CHRIST SECURED 
 
 the consequence. The truths of the Gospel 
 derive all their value and efficacy from the 
 person of Christ; and when the feelings of the 
 heart are hallowed, and the actions of the life 
 adorned, by the spirit of the Gospel, his name 
 will be as ointment poured forth, and the pro- 
 mise or the sermon that discloses his love will 
 be more precious than gold. When we are 
 truly alive to his claims, we are surprised at 
 our indifference to his honour; and from our 
 knowledge of the human heart, and of the 
 power of the tempter, we are led to wonder at 
 the zeal and devotion of those who sacrifice 
 their all to his praise. But, as abiding in 
 Christ is the necessary result of Divine teach- 
 ing, and as cheerful and conscientious obedi- 
 ence is the inevitable effect of abiding in him, 
 it will appear, to those who give the subject a 
 moment's attentive consideration, that an in- 
 crease of Divine influence must secure the 
 growth and maturity of Christian graces. 
 
 The following passage of Scripture will 
 suggest some profitable reflections on that par- 
 ticular view of Divine teaching which I am 
 anxious you should take. "But the anointing 
 which ye have received of him abideth in 
 
BY DIVINE TEACHING. 167 
 
 you; and ye need not that any man teach you; 
 hut as the same anointing teacheth you of all 
 things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as 
 it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." 
 (1 John ii. 27.) 
 
 We learn from this passage that some are 
 taught, not hy conviction only, but by unction; 
 and it is quite evident, that although the latter 
 always includes the former, the former does 
 not necessarily involve the latter. My mean- 
 ing is this: — you may be fully convinced that 
 the truths you have embraced are the truths 
 of the Gospel, without, at the same time, en- 
 joying their life, or feeling their power. And 
 this, it is to be feared, is the case with a large 
 number of professors of all religious denomi- 
 nations; and which condition accounts for 
 their entire, or comparative, barrenness in the 
 knowledge of the Lord. To be convinced of 
 the authenticity of the Scriptures and of the 
 nature of Divine truth, is well; for this per- 
 suasion is one of the elements of Christian 
 character; but to rest in this conviction, to be 
 satisfied with the light it imparts to the mind, 
 and to be contented with the professions to 
 which it leads, without feeling the power, and 
 16* 
 
168 ABIDING IN CHRIST SECURED 
 
 possessing the love it is designed, by its great 
 Author, to enthrone upon the conscience, is 
 the fault and error of thousands. 
 
 That is teaching by the unction of the Holy 
 One, which conveys the Gospel to the under- 
 standing and affections, with the demonstra- 
 tion of the Spirit and of power; which moulds 
 and fashions the whole man after the image of 
 the meek and lowly Jesus; and which con- 
 strains him to exhibit and to commend its 
 loveliness, purity, and majesty, by Christian 
 consistency. Dr. Owen remarks, "that a 
 teaching by the Spirit of consolation maketh 
 sweet, useful, and joyful to the soul the disco- 
 veries that are made of the mind and will of 
 God, in the light of the Spirit of sanctification. 
 We see it by daily experience, that very many 
 have little taste, and sweetness, and relish in 
 their souls of truths, which yet they savingly 
 know and believe; but when we are taught by 
 this unction, oh, how sweet is every thing we 
 know of God! We have this then by the 
 Spirit; he teacheth us of the love of God in 
 Christ; he maketh every Gospel truth as wine 
 well-refined to our souls, and the good things 
 of it to be a feast of fat things; gives us joy and 
 
BY DIVINE TEACHING. 169 
 
 gladness of heart with all that we know of 
 God, which is the great preservative of the 
 soul to keep it close to the truth. Indeed, to 
 know any truth in the power, sweetness, joy, 
 and gladness of it, is that great security of the 
 soul's constancy in the preservation and re- 
 taining of it. They will readily change truth 
 for error who find no more sweetness in the 
 one than in the other. A teaching by unction 
 brings joy and gladness with it, by giving the 
 heart a sense of truth wherein we are instruct- 
 ed. When we find any of the good truths of 
 the Gospel come home to our souls with life, 
 vigour, and power, giving us gladness of heart, 
 transforming us into the image and likeness of 
 it, the Holy Ghost is then at work, is pouring 
 out his oil."* 
 
 There are some subjects, however, into 
 which the Holy Spirit leads the Christian, 
 that will not admit of this teaching by unc- 
 tion; such as sin — self — and the moral law: 
 these wound and distress; and are used merely 
 to prepare him for the reception of the love of 
 God. The truth which the anointing-teacheth, 
 is the doctrine of the cross; for the Gospel is 
 
 * Dr. Owen, vol. x. p. 304. 
 
170 ABIDING IN CHRIST SECURED 
 
 the power of God to salvation, to every one 
 that believeth. (Rom. i. 16.) By the law is 
 the knowledge of sin, but forgiveness is by the 
 atonement; the former, is the ministration of 
 death; the latter, the ministration of life; — the 
 one, awakens fear; the other, hope; by one, 
 we are terrified at Mount Sinai; and by the 
 other, calmed and blessed at Mount Zion. 
 
 It is not, however, a knowledge of the doc- 
 trine of a sinner's reconciliation to God by the 
 death of his Son, obtained by conviction only, 
 that will heal the wounds, and stay the tears 
 of the penitent. Thousands are, in their judg- 
 ments, firmly established in the theory of 
 truth, in whose experience, nevertheless, it is 
 without life and power; they embrace the doc- 
 trines, admit their importance, and commend 
 the preacher who illustrates and defends them; 
 but, affecting to say, they are proud, unsancti- 
 oned, and far from the kingdom of God. The 
 fact is, the most splendid sermon, as to com- 
 position, ever preached, and the noblest and 
 most conclusive argumentative defence of 
 Christian doctrine that can be made, must 
 prove powerless as to the sanctification and 
 joy of the heart, without the " unction of the 
 
BY DIVINE TEACHING. 171 
 
 Holy One." The understanding may be en- 
 lightened, the judgment informed, the con- 
 science alarmed, by conviction ; but the heart 
 can be softened, purified, consoled, and de- 
 lighted, by unction only. " We have this 
 treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency 
 of the power may be of God, and not of us." 
 (2 Cor. iv. 7.) 
 
 The ministry of the Gospel, however faith- 
 ful, affectionate, and zealous, that ministry may 
 be, apart from Divine influence, can never 
 savingly profit those who attend it. The unc- 
 tion of God, is the power of God ; and without 
 it, the means of grace, by whomsoever they 
 are used, cannot bless either the church or the 
 world. One sermon heard and received un- 
 der the melting and purifying influence of the 
 " anointing that teacheth," will produce more 
 moral good within you, than fifty without it. 
 Much may be heard, when but little is felt; 
 and, as it is not by the quantity of food you 
 eat that nature is supported, but by that por- 
 tion of it which is digested, so, unless you mix 
 faith with what you hear, and thus convert the 
 truth into moral nutriment, the effort of the 
 understanding to embrace and of the memory 
 
172 ABIDING IN CHRIST SECURED 
 
 to retain the truth, will leave you destitute of 
 its power. If preachers of the Gospel pos- 
 sessed a larger measure of the unction of the 
 Spirit, their ministrations would be more effec- 
 tual; and they would be more alive to the 
 great designs of their office. The stores of 
 literature, the discoveries of science, the re- 
 searches of history, are all laid under contri- 
 bution to serve the cause of Biblical criticism, 
 to aid the expositor of Biblical truth, and to 
 familiarize Divine things to the mind of the 
 Biblical student; and yet, comparatively, our 
 labours are inefficient, and our souls fruitless. 
 If we drunk deep into our Master's spirit; if 
 we always went to the sanctuary in the beau- 
 ties of holiness to worship God, baptized with 
 the Holy Ghost and with fire, the weapons of 
 our warfare, being spiritual, would be mighty 
 through God to the pulling down of strong- 
 holds; and the pungency of our ministrations 
 would be an argument for the Divinity of our 
 message, which men might gainsay, but which 
 they could not resist. 
 
 The power of truth must be felt, before its 
 preciousness can be enjoyed; and as the love 
 of the Father, and the work of the Son, and 
 
BY DIVINE TEACHING. 173 
 
 the grace of the Holy Spirit, are not uninter- 
 esting topics, but truths of vital and command- 
 ing importance; when the "anointing teach- 
 eth," in every doctrine there will be power to 
 move, in every promise grace to charm, and 
 in every precept light to guide our way. 
 Truths, with which we have long been fami- 
 liar, will be accompanied with increased power 
 to impress, and arrayed in new beauties to at- 
 tract; and, under their influence, we shall rise 
 from our knees to declare our convictions of 
 their value; and to prove, by devotedness to 
 their requirements, our increasing delight in 
 their Author. In a state of religious declen- 
 sion, the mind is either excited by novelties, 
 or the heart settles down into actual indiffer- 
 ence to communion with God; and when the 
 form of godliness is substituted for its power, 
 the moral extravagancies of the mystic, and of 
 the ingenious will frequently afford more plea- 
 sure than the plain, practical announcements of 
 the Gospel; even though the former never 
 console or sanctify, and although the latter al- 
 ways yield life and joy to those who embrace 
 them. But when taught by the anointing, we 
 fly for relief and for comfort, in the hour of 
 
174 ABIDING IN CHRIST SECURED 
 
 distress, not to theological novelties, or human 
 inventions, but to the pure truth of the Gos- 
 pel; which, by guiding us to the person and 
 work of Christ, introduces us to liberty and 
 rest; and secures that consistency which is as 
 essential to our happiness as it is to God's 
 honour. 
 
 You ought never, my dear readers, to for- 
 get, that Divine truth, without a knowledge 
 of Christ and him crucified, will never satisfy 
 the consistent Christian; and that the more he 
 knows of " Him, in whom are hid all the 
 treasures of wisdom and knowledge," the 
 more highly will he esteem the truth that dis- 
 covers his beauty to the eye, and sheds his 
 love abroad in the heart. The doctrines, the 
 promises, and the precepts of the Gospel are 
 valued in proportion as they reveal the Saviour, 
 and inspire the breast with zeal for his glory; 
 and as they derive all their importance and 
 their power from their relation to His person, 
 which is " full of grace and truth," a know- 
 ledge of him must endear them; and a belief 
 in them must promote communion with him. 
 Dr. Owen justly observes, " As the truth is the 
 only means of illumination, it cannot commu- 
 
BY DIVINE TEACHING. 175 
 
 nicate any light unto the mind, but only as it 
 is a beam from Christ. Separated from him, 
 and its relation unto him, it cannot communi- 
 cate any real spiritual light or understanding 
 to the souls of men. Then alone is the mind 
 irradiated with heavenly truth, when it is re- 
 ceived as proceeding from, and leading to the 
 Sun of righteousness, the blessed spring of all 
 spiritual light, which is Christ himself. What- 
 ever notional knowledge men may have of 
 Divine truths as they are doctrinally proposed 
 in the Scriptures ; yet if they know them not 
 in their respect unto the person of Christ, as 
 'me foundation of the counsels of God; if they 
 discern not how they proceed from him, and 
 centre in him, they will bring no saving 
 spiritual light into their understandings. As 
 professors of truth, if separated from Christ, 
 as unto real union, are withering branches; so 
 truths professed, if doctrinally separated from 
 him, or their respect unto him, have no living 
 power or efficacy in the souls of men. He is 
 the life and soul of all truths, without which, 
 as they are written in the word, they are but 
 a dead letter, and that of such a character as is 
 illegible unto us, as unto any real discovery of 
 17 
 
176 ABIDING IN CHRIST SECURED 
 
 the grace and love of God. Hence it is, that 
 the knowledge and profession of the truth 
 with many, is so fruitless, inefficacious, and 
 useless. It is not known in its relation unto 
 Christ, on which account alone it conveys 
 either light or power to the soul. Men pro- 
 fess they know the truth; but they know it 
 not in its proper order, in its harmony and 
 use. It leads them not to Christ, it brings not 
 Christ to them; and so, as to their holiness 
 and salvation, is lifeless and useless. Hence 
 ofttimes none are more estranged from the 
 life of God than such as have much notional 
 knowledge of the doctrines of Scripture. 
 
 How desirable, then, is that knowledge of 
 the truth, which "the anointing teacheth!" 
 and how important is it to those who would 
 " walk worthy of the vocation wherewith 
 they are called!" My dear young friends, 
 seek this; and seek it constantly and fervent- 
 ly, that your experience may be hallowed, and 
 your practice regulated. As there may be 
 light in the understanding when there is no 
 life in the soul, you must be as cautious 
 against speculative orthodoxy, as against senti- 
 mental heterodoxy. The knowledge of truth 
 
BY DIVINE TEACHING. 177 
 
 which you must possess, to be both happy 
 and consistent, is that which the teaching 
 by unction alone can impart; and as this teach- 
 ing must secure your abiding in Christ; — 
 "for even as it hath taught you, ye shall 
 abide in him;" — it will conform you to his 
 image, elevate you above the world, and con- 
 strain you to maintain dignity of character to 
 his glory. You will not then be contented to 
 lay upon his altar a tithe of your time, pro- 
 perty, and influence; but all you have will be 
 laid at his feet, in cheerful surrender, to be 
 employed in his service, according to his plea- 
 sure. The accomplishment of the designs of 
 truth involves an enjoyment of its power; and 
 the very moment you properly feel your ne- 
 cessities, and rightly express your obligations, 
 that instant will your consistency of character 
 and your advancement in the Divine life be 
 apparent to all about you. One design of the 
 reception, and of the knowledge of truth, is 
 sanctiiication; 1 another, liberty; 2 a third, hu- 
 mility; 3 a fourth, growth in grace; 4 a fifth, 
 fruitfulness; 5 a sixth, the exhibition of the 
 
 > John xvii. 17 2 John viii. 32. « 2 Cor. x. 4, 5. 
 * 1 Pet. ii. 2. * Col. i. 5, 6. 
 
178 ABIDING IN CHRIST SECURED 
 
 moral virtues of Christ; 1 and by ascertaining 
 the influence the Gospel has over your cha- 
 racter, you may test your knowledge of its 
 truths, and ascertain whether you "have an 
 unction from the Holy One." "Let that, 
 therefore, abide in you which ye have heard 
 from the beginning. If that which ye have 
 heard from the beginning shall remain in you, 
 ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the 
 Father." 2 
 
 Abide in Christ, then, for practical purposes. 
 God forbid you should attempt to work for 
 life ; or, having received the gift, imagine you 
 can preserve it in your own strength. By 
 abiding in Christ, you will guard against self- 
 righteousness; and be constrained to magnify 
 the grace by which you are prepared, in the 
 valley of humiliation, for the battles and the 
 service of the Lord. You can no more la- 
 bour successfully, as the servants of God, after 
 regeneration ; than you could have merited 
 his mercy, when you were far from righteous- 
 ness. To honour his name, by obedience to 
 his will, you must continually depend on the 
 
 i lPet.il. 9. 21 John ii. 24. 
 
BY DIVINE TEACHING. 179 
 
 Holy Spirit. Your efforts, also, must have 
 Jesus for their beginning and end, to be ac- 
 ceptable in his sight; and as the altar sancti- 
 fies the giver and the gift, the means you 
 employ for his glory, will promote, by his 
 blessing attending them, the spirituality of 
 your own minds. 
 
 And do not think that you will ever be 
 brought into that state upon earth when the 
 blood of Christ will no longer be required. 
 However heavenly your conversation, en- 
 larged your benevolence, and disinterested 
 your sacrifices, you can have no communion 
 with God, without faith in the blood of his 
 Son. If you work aright, and walk by the 
 directions of his word, in proportion to your 
 exertions for his glory, will your conscious- 
 ness of obligation to his Spirit increase. Real- 
 izing his grace, you will discover so clearly 
 your poverty and guilt, that, in the most obe- 
 dient and fruitful hour of your lives, you will 
 cry out, "Unclean, unclean!" The doctrine 
 of the atonement will never be more precious 
 to you, than when your practice accords with 
 your professions. Inconsistency, while it ar- 
 gues the absence of life and power from the 
 17* 
 
180 ABIDING IN CHRIST SECURED 
 
 heart, hardens the conscience against those 
 very convictions of the necessity and value of 
 the Saviour's blood, which keep alive in the 
 mind of the consistent, intense desires both for 
 pardon and purity. 
 
 You must, then, guard and pray against that 
 self-seeking, and that self-pleasing, which is 
 the bane of soul prosperity; and a dishonour 
 to the Christian name. Upon a dying bed, 
 nothing will bear up your sinking spirits, but 
 faith in the doctrine of Divine substitution. 
 Except as your prayers and exertions may aid 
 you in determining the certainty of the Lord's 
 work upon your hearts, they will not, how- 
 ever numerous and spiritual they may have 
 been, afford you one moment's peace. The 
 work of the Holy Spirit, though a work of 
 importance and of necessity, forms no part of a 
 sinner's title to glory; it is his meetness for 
 heaven; but the ground of his acceptance be- 
 fore God, is the obedience and death of Christ, 
 without a tear, or a prayer, or a work, of his 
 own. So perfect and meritorious is the Sa- 
 viour's righteousness, that the believer, for the 
 sake of it, is forgiven all his trespasses, justi- 
 fied from all the charges of the law, and raised 
 
BY DIVINE TEACHING. 181 
 
 above condemnation. "His blood cleanseth 
 us from all sin," and removes out of the way 
 every possible obstruction to our salvation. 
 "He is made of God unto us wisdom, and 
 righteousness, and sanctification, and redemp- 
 tion;" and the song we sing upon earth, 
 amidst our toils and sufferings, is that which 
 the glorified sing in heaven, as they rest from 
 their labours, and glory in the Saviour's medi- 
 ation. " Unto him that loved us, and washed 
 us from our sins in his own blood, and hath 
 made us kings and priests unto God and his 
 Father; to him be glory and dominion for 
 ever and ever. Amen." (Rev. i. 5, 6.) 
 
 Still, my dear friends, your hearts are so 
 deceitful, that, unless you constantly watch 
 and pray, even the work of the Holy Spirit 
 within you, and your exertions to promote the 
 glory of God by his assistance, will become a 
 snare to you. When your souls are in pros- 
 perity, Satan may tempt you to spiritual pride; 
 and in adversity he may awaken desponding 
 fears. He may persuade you to look with 
 some degree of complacency upon this prayer, 
 and upon that exertion; but if you would la- 
 bour abundantly, and yet be humble you must 
 
182 ABIDING IN CHRIST SECURED 
 
 pray that the impurity of the duties you have 
 discharged, as well as the sins you have com- 
 mitted, may be washed away in the blood of 
 the Lamb. It is no less your duty to shed 
 tears of repentance over your labours for God, 
 than over your departures from God. You 
 can do but little for Christ at any time, and in 
 your best moments can lay only a very imper- 
 fect offering upon his altar. And when you 
 think of the pride, of the selfishness, and of 
 the folly, which frequently concur to throw a 
 shade around your obedience, you may well 
 hide your heads, and smite your breasts in 
 sorrow. Upon your knees in the closet, at the 
 sacramental table, when you have given either 
 your money or your counsel to his cause, so 
 unworthy have your services been of his no- 
 tice, that, but for the exercise of his patience, 
 he would have cut you down, and cast you off 
 for ever. Wonder, heavens, and be aston- 
 ished, earth, at the condescension of the 
 Divine Being to the children of men! He 
 bears with their infirmities, and even rewards 
 their diligence. For " a cup of cold water, 
 given to a disciple, in the name of a disciple, 
 shall not lose its reward." (Mark ix. 41.) 
 
BY DIVINE TEACHING. 183 
 
 But again, I say, beware of self-righteous- 
 ness, of inactivity, and of spiritual pride. Live 
 by faith upon the Saviour, and walk humbly 
 with God. "Herein is my Father glorified, 
 that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my 
 disciples. And even as the anointing hath 
 taught you, ye shall abide in him." 
 
 Robert Hall has beautifully observed — " As 
 the natural consequence of being long under 
 the guidance of another is a quick perception 
 of his meaning, so that we can meet his wishes 
 before they are verbally expressed, something 
 of this ready discernment, accompanied with 
 instant compliance, may reasonably be expect- 
 ed from those who profess to be habitually led 
 by the Spirit. 
 
 "As in worldly concerns it is of conse- 
 quence to embrace opportunities, and to im- 
 prove critical seasons, so it is in the things of 
 the Spirit. There are times peculiarly favour- 
 able, moments of happy visitation, when much 
 more may be done towards the advancement 
 of our spiritual interest than usual. There are 
 gales of the Spirit, unexpected influences of 
 light and power, which no assiduity in the 
 means of grace can command, but which it is 
 
184 INDICATIONS OP CHARACTER, AND 
 
 a point of wisdom to improve. If the hus- 
 bandman is attentive to the vicissitudes of 
 weather and the face of the sky, that he may- 
 be prepared to take the full benefit of every 
 gleam of sunshine and every falling shower; 
 how much more alert and attentive should we 
 be in watching for those influences from above 
 which are necessary to ripen and mature a far 
 more precious crop." " Sow to yourselves in 
 righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your 
 fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, 
 till he come and rain righteousness upon you." 
 (Hos. x. 12.) 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND EXHORTATIONS TO 
 CONSISTENCY. 
 
 Our Saviour told his disciples, that in him 
 they should have peace, that he would prepare 
 a place for them in his Father's house, and 
 that he would send the Holy Ghost, the Com- 
 forter, to abide with them for ever. And this 
 he said for the comfort and encouragement of 
 his people in every subsequent age. 
 

 EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 185 
 
 But do Christians believe the promises of 
 the Gospel? Are they aware of their nume- 
 rous privileges, and sincere in their professions 
 of love to God? These questions, startling, 
 and unnecessary as they may, at first, appear, 
 will not, I am sure, upon mature consideration, 
 be thought out of place in a work like this. 
 
 In all earthly concerns, men observe some- 
 thing like general consistency; for, whatever 
 may be the folly of the aged, and the imprudence 
 of the young, they pursue the objects of their de- 
 sires with regularity and perseverance; using 
 the fittest means, according to their judgments, 
 for the accomplishment of their end. Whether 
 their pursuits be scientific, commercial, or lite- 
 rary; or whether they involve merely manual 
 labour and domestic duties, they prosecute 
 their calling with assiduity, and throw into the 
 arrangements of each succeeding day, the ex- 
 perience and the knowledge gained by either 
 the failures or the successes of the preceding 
 one. They are aware of the laws by which 
 Divine Providence controls the universe, and 
 of the principles by which the events of a na- 
 tion, of a family, or of an individual, are con- 
 ducted to their legitimate issues; and they act 
 
186 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 accordingly. If they wish to preserve health, 
 they will, if they have the opportunity of 
 doing so, strictly observe physical rules; and 
 if they desire the removal of disease, they will 
 employ the means which God has mercifully 
 appointed for this purpose. If they contem- 
 plate success in any undertaking, they will 
 neither neglect nor disturb that course of cir- 
 cumstances which they believe will lead to 
 the anticipated result; and in proportion to the 
 importance of the undertaking, and to the diffi- 
 culties which attend it, will be their devotion 
 to its claims. If they intend to provide, by 
 honest means, for the probable wants of old 
 age, or for the necessities of a rising family, 
 they will raise their income to the highest 
 possible rate, and preserve their expenditure 
 within prudent limits, if not reduce it to the 
 lowest possible scale of disbursement, consist- 
 ent with faith in Divine Providence, and grati- 
 tude for the blessings it bestows. And where 
 is the man who would not part with the lesser 
 good for a greater, and relinquish one engage- 
 ment for another more favourable to his de- 
 sires, and more advantageous to his circum- 
 stances? At all events, the men of the world 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 187 
 
 evince consistency in their pursuits; they rise 
 early, sit up late, and eat the bread of careful- 
 ness. There is a uniformity in their designs 
 and efforts. They are convinced, and upon 
 that conviction, if possible, they act. 
 
 But are Christians as consistent in reference 
 to their devotions, as worldly men arein refer- 
 ence to their occupations? Our Saviour said, 
 and for the truth of his saying we may refer to 
 the conduct of those whom it concerns — "The 
 children of this world are in their generation 
 wiser than the children of light." (Luke xvi. 
 S.) Yes, indeed; — the latter are inconsiderate 
 and imprudent, compared with the former. 
 The one have their impressions, and retain 
 them; the other act as if they had never been 
 influenced by principles, which yet they ac- 
 knowledge to be dearer to them than life. Chris- 
 tians, though the most reasonable of men, are, 
 in some cases, the most inconsistent. Their 
 love to God, their belief in the Saviour, and 
 their delight in spiritual blessings, is perfectly 
 consistent. Whatever they do for God, by 
 his direction, is their reasonable service; but 
 when their habits and conduct are compared 
 with their privileges, and their professions 
 18 
 
188 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 with their pursuits, then appears their incon- 
 sistency. " That the flesh lusteth against the 
 spirit, and that when they would do good, evil 
 is present with them," is a truth which no 
 Christian can deny; and religious experience 
 may solve this difficulty to the satisfaction of 
 the casuist. Still the impression, in all its ful- 
 ness and power, remains, that the Christian is 
 the most inconsistent of men. 
 
 Not to refer to the individual who has but 
 recently been convinced of sin, and who may 
 be in doubt and distress, let us, for a moment, 
 turn our attention to those who have some- 
 thing like the full assurance of hope, and who 
 have reason to conclude that they are the chil- 
 dren of God. As the question recurs — Do 
 these persons believe the Bible, and are they 
 sincere in their avowals? — let us institute in- 
 quiry into the subject. Believe the Bible! 
 say you — why, who can doubt their faith in 
 the Scriptures, since they have embraced him 
 of whom they testify, even Jesus, the Saviour 
 of sinners? They rely on his atonement for 
 acceptance with God; he is to them the alto- 
 gether lovely, and the chief of ten thousand. 
 They acknowledge him to be their Lord, they 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 189 
 
 have chosen him for their portion, and the 
 Holy Spirit has enabled them to resolve, 
 henceforth and for ever, to serve him. Be- 
 sides, they speak of the manifestations of his 
 presence, of the wounds he has healed, of the 
 doubts he has removed, and of the bliss he has 
 imparted. In prayer they pour forth their 
 souls in ardent and intense supplications; in 
 confessing their sin they lament its commis- 
 sion, feel its burthen, and avow hostility to its 
 very being; and in praise and adoration they 
 express their love to God, and bless him with 
 all their souls. 
 
 Well, all this is true; and more than this is 
 felt, if we may credit what is said. But we 
 cannot help asking the question — Do they be- 
 lieve the Bible? To question the existence of 
 their faith in the Scriptures would, you tell us, 
 unchristianize them altogether; for " he that 
 believeth not, shall be damned." But this is 
 neither our intention nor desire. Why, then, 
 ask the question? Simply for this reason; — 
 that, receiving a confession of their faith, we 
 may, with fidelity and affection, remind them 
 of their inconsistencies. 
 
 What, then, do the Scriptures declare con- 
 
190 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 cerning the state, the privileges, and the pros- 
 pects of the Christian? To answer this inquiry 
 at length is beyond our purpose, and would 
 occupy more time than we can spare. We 
 may, however, just observe, that the Christian — 
 I speak of the man to whom the second chap- 
 ter of the epistle to the Ephesians is generally 
 applicable — is a child of God, an heir of God, 
 and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ; he is ac- 
 cepted, justified, pardoned, adopted, and in 
 actual union with the Son of the everlasting 
 Father; and by the in-dwelling of the Holy 
 Ghost he is sanctified, and brought into fellow- 
 ship with God. He is watched, defended, 
 guided and upheld by the Saviour every mo- 
 ment of his life; his bread and water are sure; 
 and his afflictions are an agency which Infinite 
 Wisdom employs for his purity, peace and 
 comfort. Jesus was born, and died, rose, and 
 ascended to heaven, and ever lives to make 
 intercession for him; — " all things are his, 
 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the 
 world, or life, or death, or things present, or 
 things to come; all are his, and he is Christ's, 
 and Christ is God's." (1 Cor. iii. 22, 23.) 
 And then, to crown the whole, he is travelling 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 191 
 
 to glory, and, in God's appointed time, shall 
 sit with Christ upon his throne. (Rev. i i 1- 21.) 
 Here we pause — for " eye hath not seen, nor 
 ear heard, neither have entered into the heart 
 of man, the things which God hath prepared 
 for them that love him." (1 Cor. ii. 9.) " Be- 
 loved, now are we the sons of God; and it 
 doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we 
 know that, when he shall appear, we shall be 
 like him; for we shall see him as he is." (1 
 John iii. 2.) 
 
 If such, then, be the Christian's privileges 
 and prospects; — if such his relation to God, 
 and angels, and heaven; — if such his supports 
 and consolations; — if Jesus be his friend, his 
 brother, his portion; — what ought to be the 
 spirituality of his mind, the sanctity of his af- 
 fections, and the devotion of his life? He ought 
 to live, to speak, and to act, not as a man of 
 this world, but as an inhabitant of another; not 
 as a being whose powers of mind are called 
 into existence to be amused with that which is 
 material, or to explore the depths of that which 
 is intellectual only in its relation to time, but 
 as a being who has been brought into union 
 with the Deity; and who from the depths of 
 18* 
 
192 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 God's eternal blessedness is destined to draw 
 his life and his felicity through illimitable 
 ages; — as a man for whose salvation the Son 
 of God expired upon the cross amid the exe- 
 crations of devils, and the outpourings of his 
 Father's ire; — as a man for whom heaven is 
 prepared, and who is in preparation for its ser- 
 vices and enjoyments. Oh! who can tell what 
 the Christian ought to be? for who can balance 
 his glory, or measure his bliss? But he is a 
 Christian — he feels that he is one — and this is 
 enough for our purpose. 
 
 Now let us ask, What are his habits? Are 
 they in character with his professions? Re- 
 member, we do not plead for such a religious 
 state of mind as would unfit him for the ordi- 
 nary duties of life. The Christian probably is 
 a man of business, or the father of a family, or 
 he may be called to sway the destinies or the 
 sceptre of an empire; and whatever situation 
 in life Providence may call him to fill, he must 
 not be inattentive to its obligations. All that 
 we plead for is Christian consistency, as well 
 in its relation to God as to man. But Chris- 
 tians, generally, live and act as if they credited 
 only a part of the Bible ; as if they were in- 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 193 
 
 terestcd in but few of its promises ; or as if 
 they were bound to regard only now and then 
 one of its precepts. Oh, for an elevated 
 standard of piety! for powerful impressions 
 of Divine things! and for an influence that 
 shall bear us onward in the ways of God to 
 victories and to triumphs of which we have 
 read — in the contemplation of which we have 
 indulged — but the glories and the songs of 
 which we have neither shared nor sung! 
 
 My dear young friends, let me detain your 
 attention for a few moments longer, to guard 
 you against some of the common infirmities 
 of your fathers, and to exhort you to a noble 
 consistency in your profession of the Gospel 
 
 Let me caution you against an unlawful at- 
 tachment to earthly things. " Set your affec- 
 tions on things above, not on things on the 
 earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid 
 with Christ in God." (Col. iii. 2, 3.) "Love 
 not the world, neither the things that are in 
 the world." (1 John ii. 15.) The world is 
 your enemy. Christ has, indeed, overcome 
 it for you, and you have gained a victory over 
 it by faith, yet it will apply its enmity and 
 pride, its wisdom and depravity, to prevent 
 
194 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 your progress in the life of faith. Fight, 
 therefore, that you may lay hold on eternal 
 life. The world will be to you, what it has 
 ever been to the Christian, not a vineyard of 
 delights, but a land of thorns — a weary land. 
 Visionary beauties have been sketched by the 
 writers of novels to amuse the man of fashion, 
 and to intoxicate the thoughtless; but before 
 the delusive hope of the romantic has settled 
 down into calm expectation, or the poisonous 
 nectar has moistened the feverish lip of the 
 dissolute, a crowd of cares, which neither 
 gaiety nor infidelity can throw off, bear down 
 the energies of both body and mind ; and man 
 starts from his dream of earthly bliss to en- 
 dure the ills of a life which sin has imbitter- 
 ed, but which religion has never blessed. If 
 it be inconsistent with the design of man's 
 moral being, and with the religious advantages 
 which he either does, or which he might en- 
 joy, to fix his affections on earth, surely it 
 must be much more inconsistent for a Chris- 
 tian so to do. 
 
 Live in the constant expectation of a dying 
 hour. Death is always about us; it hangs 
 on every throne the memorials of mortality, 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 195 
 
 opens a sepulchre in every social connexion, 
 bathes every family in tears, and conquers 
 him before whom a world has trembled. 
 " Surely the people is grass." And } 7 ou, too, 
 must die; and you may die soon. Be, then, 
 at all times, detached from earth, that, when 
 death arrives, you may be neither surprised at 
 its approach, nor unprepared to meet it. It 
 must be a solemn thing to pass the threshold 
 of time into that dark-unseen, whither all go, 
 but whence none return ; yet it is your privi- 
 lege not only to meet death with calm sub- 
 mission, but with holy joy. If you go to the 
 grave leaning on Jesus, you need not fear fall- 
 ing into it. He will be your light and salva- 
 tion ; your refuge and strength. There may 
 be but a step between you and the tomb, or 
 years may roll away before you reach it ; but 
 of one thing be assured — if your conversation 
 be now in heaven, you will be prepared to 
 shun the temptations of life, and to sustain the 
 conflicts of the parting hour. " Watch there- 
 fore; for ye know not what hour your Lord 
 doth come." (Matt. xxiv. 42.) 
 
 Again. To be consistent with your pro- 
 fessions, you must not be alarmed at afllic- 
 
J 96 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 tions, nor rebellious and discontented when 
 passing through them. " Man is born unto 
 trouble as the sparks fly upward;" and each 
 Christian must " fill up that which is behind 
 of the afflictions of Christ." (Col. i. 24.) The 
 waters of sorrow roll as well through the rich 
 man's domain, and sometimes with as much 
 impetuosity, as by the poor man's door; and 
 you are to be chastened of the Lord now, that 
 you may not be condemned with the world. 
 The songs of the cheerful are often suspended 
 by mournful tidings; sighs will heave the 
 breast of the contented; and, sooner or later, 
 the ordinary shocks of life will awaken the 
 sympathies, if not the fears, of the heart that 
 never felt a pang. And even you, though 
 sheltered in the Rock of Ages from the storms 
 of Divine vengeance, must expect to expe- 
 rience changes and disappointments. " In 
 the world, ye shall have tribulation." 
 (John xvi. 33.) That very state of being 
 which connects you with glory on the one 
 hand, subjects you to the privations and dis- 
 tresses of a pilgrimage on the other. But you 
 mustneither despise the chastening of the Lord, 
 nor faint when you are rebuked of him; either 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 197 
 
 of these states of mind is an inconsistency you 
 must pray for grace to avoid. 
 
 To be consoled by Christ in seasons of sor- 
 row, you must believe his word; and while 
 you seek to enjoy his presence, you must 
 strive to do his will. If Christians thought 
 less of their own ease, or even of their com- 
 fort, and more of the Saviour's glory; and if, 
 instead of seeking rest without any, or but 
 little, consideration for his honour, they sought 
 to please him in all they did and said, and 
 then left their comfort with him, believing 
 that he will be mindful of his covenant, and 
 of the people for whom that covenant was 
 made; they would, in all probability, enjoy 
 more of the divine approbation. You must 
 never separate the interests of the Father from 
 those of the child. His will is your salva- 
 tion; and if you would receive the blessings 
 of that salvation in their fulness and variety, 
 your will must be his glory. If you seek 
 what he seeks, you will enjoy what he pro- 
 mises; but if your aim in desiring, be not his 
 in giving, you will turn his hand from you, 
 and place yourselves before him, not in a reci- 
 pient, but, in a repulsive position. It is of 
 
198 INIDCATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 immense importance for you to consider, that 
 one of the main causes of the religious ad- 
 versity of the church of Christ, is her want 
 of conformity of desire and design to the 
 will and desig?i of God. 
 
 " Make you his service your delight ; 
 Your wants shall be his care." 
 
 You have, I doubt not, already found that 
 this world is chequered and changeful; that 
 your circumstances, connexions, feelings, joys, 
 and hopes, are all subject to painful variations, 
 and of this, every day's experience and ob- 
 servation will more fully convince you. The 
 sea of life is ever moving, and the shore is 
 always strewed with wrecks. How inconsist- 
 ent then are they who dream 
 
 "Of stable pleasures on the tossing- wave!" 
 
 The gain of to-day, may be the loss of to-mor- 
 row; and those very occurrences which have 
 yielded delight may, by the very hope they 
 have awakened, increase the distress they pro- 
 mise to diminish: for if the heart be enlarged 
 or relieved by supplies which it has no power 
 to detain, upon their departure, the vacuum 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 199 
 
 will be larger, and the burthen heavier, than 
 before; and thus, the elevations of life render 
 its downfalls more terrific and affecting. Look 
 around you, and even beyond the narrow cir- 
 cle of your own movements. Are not thrones 
 tottering? Are not the elevated sinking? Are 
 not the falling hurried downward in their 
 care-worn course? And the hand that has 
 liberally and often supplied the destitute, is it 
 not now stretched out to receive the offerings 
 of the benevolent? Guard, then, against ex- 
 pectations which the Bible does not inspire, 
 which life cannot generally realize; and thus 
 preserve consistency. You are in fellowship 
 with saints and angels; and if you commune 
 with that God whose unchanging love is the 
 source of their happiness, and depend upon 
 his immutability, you may become like the 
 oak of the forest or the rock of the ocean. 
 
 Beware, also, of a discontented, fretful, pee- 
 vish state of mind, which is as inconsistent 
 with your professions, as it is injurious to 
 your peace. 
 
 "Here perfect bliss can ne'er be found;" 
 
 and those very mercies which a kind Provi- 
 L9 
 
N 
 
 DICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 dence designs for man's comfort, are, by the 
 unbelief of the heart, converted into an agency 
 for exciting desires which neither heaven nor 
 earth can satisfy. The lowly desire elevation, 
 and the exalted aspire to higher standards of 
 dignity. The rich, by avariciousness, destroy 
 their own comfort; and the miser, denying 
 himself and his family the ordinary blessings 
 of life, is, though in possession of " more than 
 heart could wish," the most wretched of be- 
 ings. If circumstances frown, men are fre- 
 quently miserable; and if they smile they are 
 not happy: in the one case, they want what 
 they are denied, and are discontented; and in 
 the other, fear the loss of what they have, smd 
 are distrustful. The night is too long for 
 some, and too short for others. The sun 
 shines when it ought not, and does not when 
 it ought. The weather is either too wet or 
 too dry; too hot or too cold. Every thing is 
 out of place, and nothing is in character. They 
 are dissatisfied with themselves, with every 
 body, and with almost every thing about 
 them. Their anxiety ificreases with their 
 mercies, and their gratitude decreases with 
 the multiplication of their obligations to 
 thankfulness. At home, nothing seems to 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 201 
 
 please them better than an opportunity of 
 displeasing others; and abroad, the common 
 incidents of life either create their disgust, or 
 render them, by the peevishness and fretful- 
 ness they occasion, disgustful to all about 
 them. These are the murmurers and com- 
 plainers which have ever been, and ever will 
 be, as long as they continue, a moral pest in 
 our social system. " Finding fault with every 
 providential dispensation, they are persons 
 whom neither God nor man can please." 
 And it is to be lamented that the Christian is 
 frequently discontented with the allotments of 
 Divine Providence, and far from being satis- 
 fied with God's will. He is told that all 
 things work together for his good, (Rom viii. 
 28,) and that no good thing will the Lord 
 withhold from them that walk uprightly; (Ps. 
 lxxxiv. 11;) but he is distrustful and unhappy. 
 And, indeed, if he be unbelieving, he must be 
 miserable; for promises without faith, are, to 
 him, words without meaning; and, if rebel- 
 lious, even the fulfilment of the promises 
 can afford him no joy. To be really happy, 
 it is not necessary that he should be in pros- 
 perous circumstances ; but it is absolutely ne- 
 cessarv that he be reconciled to the Divine 
 
202 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 will. " Godliness with contentment is great 
 gain/' (1 Tim. vi. 6.) Therefore, my dear 
 young friends, learn to be satisfied with the 
 Lord's goodness, and thus preserve Christian 
 consistency, as well in adversity as in pros- 
 perity. 
 
 " Simple, teachable, and mild, 
 Changed into a little child ; 
 Pleased with all the Lord provides, 
 Weaned from all the world besides." 
 
 It is important for you, again, to remember, 
 that the path of life, from the cradle to the 
 tomb, is full of snares ; and that to walk safe- 
 ly, you must walk circumspectly. You ac- 
 knowledge that God only can guide and up- 
 hold you ; and if you do but allow your 
 convictions to influence your procedure, all 
 will be well. To confess your liability to err 
 and to fall, and yet to refuse Divine counsel 
 and the support of the Divine arm, is palpable 
 inconsistency. There are snares for the hand 
 and the foot, for the head and the heart ; and 
 we are sometimes entangled when we suspect 
 no danger. With property and poverty, in 
 health and in sickness, with talent and learn- 
 ing, in friends and foes, in gifts and grace, 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 203 
 
 there are snares against which you must pray 
 and guard every hour. Satan can tempt by 
 external circumstances, or without them. He 
 can employ the lusts of the flesh, as well as 
 the pride of life. He can induce presumption, 
 when the success, whether religious or com- 
 mercial, by which it is sustained, pleads for 
 humility and caution ; and he can enthrone 
 despair upon the conscience, when the promises 
 warrant the liveliest and the steadiest hope 
 in God's mercy. In the absence of earthly 
 good, he can distress; and when affluence un- 
 locks her treasures to enrich, he can endanger. 
 In want he will tempt us to forget God, who 
 can give; and in plenty, to lose sight of God, 
 who has given: so that frequently, instead of 
 enjoying God in all things, and all things in 
 God, we seek gratification separate from him, 
 and then wonder at the disappointment and 
 vexation which follow. Now, against all 
 these infirmities, and others which might be 
 mentioned, you must watch and pray, in or- 
 der to be consistent followers of the Saviour; 
 and to encourage this consistency, let me re- 
 mind you of one or two facts, calculated, with 
 the Divine blessing, to preserve it. 
 19* 
 
204 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 Providential blessings arc sure to the con- 
 sistent Christian; so that you need not fear or 
 be distrustful. Your heavenly Father know- 
 eth that you have need of food and clothing; 
 and if you seek first the kingdom of God, and 
 his righteousness, all these things shall be add- 
 ed unto you. (Matt. vi. 33.) To extremities 
 you may be brought; but the barrel of meal 
 shall not waste, nor shall the cruse of oil fail. 
 Bread shall be given, and water shall be sure. 
 (Is. xxxiii. 16.) All hearts are in his hands, 
 all events are subject to his control and are 
 under his direction, and all the treasures of the 
 earth are at his disposal. He can do what he 
 pleases, and he will do what is right. Your 
 supplies may not come when, or whence, you 
 expect them; but they shall come. " The 
 young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but 
 they that seek the Lord shall not want any- 
 good thing." (Ps. xxxiv. 10.) "The lot is 
 cast into the lap; but the whole disposing 
 thereof is of the Lord." (Pr. xvi. 33.) And 
 your lot, be it what it may, is the very lot 
 that is best for you. Your Father keeps the 
 purse, and will defray all the expenses of your 
 journey, whether long or short; but you must 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 205 
 
 not expect that he will allow you to choose 
 for yourselves. He is too wise and too kind, 
 to do this. He will provide what is best for 
 you, and secure your communion with him- 
 self, either by giving or by withholding, as it 
 may please him. Your blessings are safe in 
 his hands; and if he should feed you day by 
 day with the poor of his family, be assured it 
 is that every day your wants may be sup- 
 plied. It is your mercy, and it ought to be 
 your happiness, that the God and Father of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ is with you in all 
 places; and it will be but an act of Christian 
 consistency on your part to trust him at all 
 times, without even a murmuring word or a 
 rebellious thought. 
 
 Your spiritual mercies, also, are both sure 
 and abundant. You are blessed with all spiri- 
 tual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Je- 
 sus. (Eph. i. 3.) Oh, how extensive is the 
 surface, and how deep the bed of that river 
 whence " streams of mercy never-ceasing " 
 flow! Jesus will be to you " as rivers of wa- 
 ter in a dry place." (Is. xxxii. 2.) Mark 
 this well. With him there are not a few tri- 
 butary streams, sufficient only to refresh a few 
 
206 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 and that only for a few days; but rivers, deep 
 and wide, which never dry up ; and which, 
 like the rock in the wilderness, will follow 
 you all your journey through. Alluding to a 
 prosperous state of the church, the prophet 
 Isaiah predicted that Jehovah would open ri- 
 vers in high places, and fountains in the midst 
 of the valleys; that he would make the wil- 
 derness a pool of water, and the dry land 
 springs of water, for his people; (Is. xli. 18;) 
 and all this, and more than this, is yours in 
 hope, and ought to be yours in actual enjoy- 
 ment. " Open thy mouth wide," said God, 
 " and I will fill it." (Ps. lxxxi. 10.) " Ask, 
 and ye shall receive; that your joy may be 
 full." (John xvi. 24.) 
 
 Seeing, then, that both your temporal and 
 spiritual mercies are sure, that you can neither 
 want nor desire any thing that is for your 
 good, that God has not promised; and that you 
 are as much the objects of his gracious care, as 
 if you were the only creatures that occupied 
 his attention, or shared his love; is it not your 
 privilege, as it is your duty, to submit to his 
 will, to do his pleasure, and to go on your 
 way rejoicing ? All this you must admit; 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 207 
 
 but you tell us of difficulties which, you 
 think, it is scarcely possible for you to over- 
 come. That there are difficulties, cannot be 
 denied, but you must not be discouraged by 
 them; for more are they that are for you, than 
 are they that are against you. May I request 
 you to read again attentively, the 5th section, 
 on the 152d page? It will, I think, recall 
 your recollection to some points of impor- 
 tance; and as you are reading, I hope, not for 
 amusement, but for profit, to get through the 
 book will not be so much your object, as, by 
 meditation and prayer, to understand it. 
 
 Then, again, to be consistent, you must look 
 to Jesus for all you need and God has promis- 
 ed. None can work cheerfully, or run safely, 
 without looking to Jesus. It is not enough 
 for you to say, we have looked; you must 
 continue to look. When tempted, look to 
 him for succour; when afflicted, for consola- 
 tion; when perplexed, for direction; and when 
 weak, for strength. Some are lookingybr the 
 Saviour, who doubt their interest in his love. 
 Others are looking to him with an appropria- 
 ting faith as their Saviour; but whether your 
 faith be weak or strong, your evidences bright 
 
208 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 or obscure, you must look to Jesus. There 
 are many allurements to "the sinner's wan- 
 dering eye;" and as you cannot look at the 
 eastern and western horizon at the same in- 
 stant of time, nor examine at once two distinct 
 and separate objects, the difficulty of looking 
 only to Jesus is considerable. Yet one rea- 
 son why Zion's travellers move on so slowly 
 and so heavily, is, they do not look exclusive- 
 ly to Jesus. They look to themselves, and 
 are distressed; and within for that which 
 dwells only in him, and they are disappoint- 
 ed. For a man, rapidly sinking under disease, 
 to depend upon his own resources for its ar- 
 rest and removal, is just as rational, as for a 
 sinner to expect health and salvation without 
 looking to Jesus. We are all naturally dispo- 
 sed to self-dependence; and instead of believ- 
 ing in Christ, that we may rise above circum- 
 stances and walk by faith alone, we subject 
 ourselves to their control, and become more 
 the creatures of sense, than the children of 
 faith. The loser regrets his loss, and some- 
 times, with rebellion of heart, casts a lingering 
 eye after the sunshine of life, when adversity 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 209 
 
 has obscured its glories. The gainer looks at 
 his gain with unmeasured and unwarrantable 
 satisfaction, and forgets the Giver, or that the 
 tenure by which he holds his possessions is 
 very feeble. The traveller looks at the ap- 
 parent dangers of his journey, and being in- 
 sensible of his Father's care and protection, he 
 dishonours his name, and even refuses his 
 counsel. The mariner looks at the storm, and 
 is alarmed; when he ought to rest in the skill 
 of the Pilot, and be confident. The soldier 
 looks at the army that opposes him; the cap- 
 tive, at his chains; the tempted, at the tempt- 
 er; the burdened, at his load; but none look 
 to Jesus as they ought. We have seen the 
 folly, lamented the inconsistency, confessed 
 the sin, and been injured by the consequences 
 of looking so much to circumstances; but no 
 sooner is one prop removed from under us, 
 than we seek and lean upon another. Cease 
 from man, is our motto : departure from 
 Christ, is our practice. We mistake the step, 
 for the throne to which it leads; or make the 
 lodge on the road, erected merely for the re- 
 freshment of travellers, our resting place; in- 
 stead of availing ourselves, for a moment only, 
 
210 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 of its provisions, that we may, with firmer 
 step and quicker pace, pursue our journey to 
 the skies. 
 
 Is all this true? then, my dear readers, let 
 the infirmities of those who have preceded 
 you in the Divine life, he considered as so many 
 powerful arguments for Christian consistency. 
 If you have less experience than your fathers 
 in the faith, you may profit by their mistakes. 
 The battles they have lost, as well as the vic- 
 tories they have won, are fruitful sources of 
 instruction to those who are putting on the 
 armour, or just entering the field; and by 
 quietly observing their aggressions upon the 
 foe, or the inroads of the enemy, you may 
 become prepared for making an attack, or for 
 resisting one, without striking a blow or sus- 
 taining an injury. It is a point of wisdom, 
 not only to imitate the excellencies, but, to 
 avoid the inconsistencies of those who through 
 faith and patience inherit the promises. Where 
 they have failed, let it be your prayerful con- 
 cern to succeed. But attempt nothing, how- 
 ever important or trifling, without looking 
 unto Jesus. " They looked," it is said in the 
 34th Psalm, " and were lightened, and their 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 211 
 
 faces were not ashamed:" and if you look, you 
 will be enlightened and emboldened too. In 
 his light a thousand encouragements are at all 
 times visible; and though you may be sur- 
 rounded by the wrecks of fortune and signs 
 of desolation; yet, serving and communing 
 with him, evident marks of the Divine wis- 
 dom and goodness will arrest your attention, 
 and enliven your hope. " When my father 
 and my mother forsake me, then the Lord 
 will take me up." (Ps. xxvii. 10.) Look 
 unto Jesus, then, that in every storm you may 
 smile at the thunders around you, and triumph 
 in the grace which allays the fears they 
 awaken. 
 
 Heaven is before you; and all is consistency 
 there. Its untiring devotions, its ceaseless 
 praises, and its enraptured delights, are all in 
 character with the holiness, the happiness, and 
 the union of the glorified. And can you not, 
 while travelling home to God, emulate their 
 consistency? Let the attempt be made, and 
 made in faith; and the very hope of heaven, 
 with which such an effort must be associated, 
 will shed a celestial influence upon your cha- 
 racter, and embalm your actions with odours 
 20 
 
212 INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER, AND 
 
 from the Paradise of God. To heaven you 
 are travelling, for its rest you are labouring, 
 and to its moral dignities you ought to aspire. 
 Already have its elements sanctified your 
 hearts, and its glories tinged your horizon. 
 You have drunk the waters, tasted the fruit, 
 and plucked some of the flowers of the garden 
 of God. By faith in the blood of Jesus you 
 have already entered into the holiest of all; 
 (Heb. x. 19;) and from what you have seen, 
 and heard, and observed, there, you must have 
 sympathized with its inhabitants; from the 
 sources of their felicity you must have drawn 
 consolations for your journey; and, as their 
 inspirations have been enkindled in your bo- 
 soms, is it too much to expect that their prin- 
 ciples will guide your course? Jesus is their 
 light, and their glory; and he is your rest and 
 salvation. In his presence they live and tri- 
 umph; and by his grace you are sustained and 
 encouraged. A knowledge of him, will iden- 
 tify you with them; and a contemplation of 
 their bliss, will by the Holy Spirit, conform 
 you to his image. The church of God is one; 
 and whatever may be the comparative supe- 
 riority of the redeemed in heaven to the re- 
 
EXHORTATIONS TO CONSISTENCY. 213 
 
 deemed on earth, the approximation of the 
 latter to the former, in spirit and design, 
 ought to be as apparent, as the union of both 
 to the Saviour is evident. One in Christ, 
 they are one in feeling, purpose, and pursuit; 
 and from this identity, felt and acknowledged, 
 results an influence to sustain the triumphs of 
 the child above, and a power to regulate the 
 temper and the conduct of the child below. 
 
 Wherefore unite with the spirits of just men 
 made perfect, in their grateful and adoring 
 celebrations, and come to Jesus, whose love 
 they sing; that heaven's purity and bliss may 
 consecrate earth, and earth be a consecrated 
 path-way to heaven. Then will that consist- 
 ency be preserved which is the safeguard of 
 your interests, the test of your sincerity, and 
 the best possible evidence that can be given of 
 your conversion to God — of your love to the 
 Saviour — and of your being prepared, by the 
 Holy Spirit, for the occupations and delights 
 of a blessed immortality. 
 
 "And now, little children, abide in him; 
 that, when he shall appear, we may have con- 
 fidence, and not be ashamed before him at his 
 coming." (I John ii. 28.) 
 
214 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS TO DOUBTING AND TIMID 
 CHRISTIANS. 
 
 As some persons may read the preceding 
 pages, who are far from being assured of their 
 acceptance with God, and who, in conse- 
 quence, are neither happy nor decided in their 
 profession of the Gospel; it appears desirable 
 to close these remarks with an address to 
 doubting and timid Christians; especially as 
 some for whom this little volume is designed, 
 not having publicly avowed their attachment 
 to the Saviour, may, on this very ground, be 
 tempted to conclude they are not entitled to 
 Christian privileges, nor bound to the obser- 
 vance of Christian consistency. 
 
 Among persons of this description are to 
 be found some of the most amiable and serious 
 disciples of the Lord; and who, notwithstand- 
 ing their darkness and distress, are evidently 
 taught of God. They are a most interesting 
 class of individuals, both in their relations to 
 time and eternity. Their convictions and im- 
 
TO DOUBTING CHRISTIANS. 215 
 
 pressions on the one hand, their doubts and 
 indecision on the other, and the manifest in- 
 fluence of both upon their character, must 
 awaken the sympathies and secure the pray- 
 erful solicitude of all who have tasted that the 
 Lord is gracious. " Strengthen ye the weak 
 hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to 
 them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, 
 fear not; behold, your God will come with 
 vengeance, even God with a recompense; he 
 will come and save you." (Is. xxxv. 3, 4.) 
 
 Yes, my dear friends, " he will come and 
 save you." From the holy Scriptures, with- 
 out any reference to your convictions, you 
 may learn the gracious character of the Divine 
 will, and the sufficiency of the atonement, 
 first, to answer all the ends of moral adminis- 
 tration; and, then, to secure the justification 
 and holiness of the guilty and unclean; but to 
 arrive at just conclusions concerning your 
 state before God, you must argue as well 
 from the work of ihe Holy Spirit as from the 
 positive statements of the Bible. And as 
 your object is not so much to ascertain how a 
 sinner can be just with God, (for on this 
 point it is supposed your judgment is scrip- 
 20* 
 
216 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS 
 
 turally informed,) as whether you are person- 
 ally accepted in the Beloved, the question to 
 be decided, is, Has God begun his good work 
 of grace in your hearts? At present you 
 doubt this, and, therefore, go mourning all 
 the day. 
 
 Now, to assist you in determining this ques- 
 tion, we must first inquire into those discover- 
 ies which the Holy Spirit has made to your 
 understandings, and which have affected your 
 hearts. Has he not, then, so deeply convinc- 
 ed you of your depravity, of your need of 
 pardon, of the vanity of the world, of the 
 glory of the Gospel, and of the certainty of 
 your perishing for ever without Christ, that 
 you have felt, and are feeling, the burthen of 
 sin, and are seeking mercy through the blood 
 of the cross? So important, in your judg- 
 ment, is the witness of the Holy Spirit that 
 you are the children of God, that you are in 
 possession of no earthly treasure with which 
 you would not freely part to receive it. You 
 may not have felt so deeply, nor have mourn- 
 ed so bitterly, as others with whom you have 
 conversed, and with whom you sometimes 
 compare yourselves, for the purpose of ascer- 
 
TO DOUBTING CHRISTIANS. 217 
 
 taining, if possible, whether your exercises 
 are any thing like theirs; but your impres- 
 sions have been sufficiently powerful to cause 
 you to cry, What shall we do to be saved? 
 and your discoveries of the Saviour's glory 
 and compassion are sufficiently clear and com- 
 manding to constrain you to desire the mani- 
 festations of his presence, and the purifying 
 influence of his precious blood. Sometimes, 
 indeed, you think you have not been sufficient- 
 ly convinced of sin; and at other times you 
 conceive that the number of your transgres- 
 sions is a barrier to your acceptance with God. 
 One day you are cheered by hope; on ano- 
 ther, distressed by fear; but of one thing you 
 are sure — that whereas you were blind, now 
 you see; and that although you once neglect- 
 ed God's salvation, an interest in its blessings 
 now occupies not only your thoughts, but 
 your ardent and persevering supplications. 
 
 " Mercy, good Lord ! mercy I ask, 
 This is the total sum ; 
 Mercy, through Christ, is all my suit ; 
 Lord ! let thy mercy come." 
 
 All this you feel and acknowledge. Well, 
 
218 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS 
 
 let me now call your attention to some of 
 those gracious declarations in which you are 
 interested ; for if God has made special com- 
 munications to a certain description of persons, 
 and you are among them, in making them he 
 designed your instruction and comfort. He 
 has said to those who come to him, that they 
 shall in no wise be cast out; 1 that those who 
 hunger and thirst after righteousness, are al- 
 ready blessed, and shall be filled, 2 that those 
 who mourn, shall be comforted; 3 that those 
 who seek, shall find; 4 that the wounded shall 
 be healed; 5 that the drawings of the Spirit re- 
 sult from God's everlasting love; 6 and that all 
 spiritual exercises are the effects of Divine in- 
 fluence. 7 
 
 But are we, you ask, interested in these 
 gracious promises? Why, if you are sincere 
 and honest in your researches, you must know 
 whether sin be a burthen or not, whether you 
 are seeking God, and whether you are thirst- 
 ing for the waters of life. You may doubt 
 your safety ; but objects of sense are not more 
 
 ' John vi. 37. 2 Matt. v. 6. 3 Matt. v. 4. 
 
 4 Matt. vii. 7. 5 Ps. cxlvii. 3. « J er xxxi. 3. 
 
 v Phil. ii. 12, 13. 
 
TO DOUBTING CHRISTIANS. 219 
 
 visible to the eye of the body, than is your 
 guilt and the Saviour's glory to the eye of 
 your mind. You are conscious that a change 
 has taken place in your views and feelings; 
 and although you may be tempted to overlook 
 this fact, yet, in your thoughtful moments, you 
 can no more doubt it than you can question 
 your existence. There may be a fear that 
 God is not the author of this change; that it 
 is the result, not of his Spirit's operations, 
 but of education, of religious excitement, or 
 of a naturally-alarmed conscience. You may 
 not, at present, know that what you have seen 
 and felt is just what all who are taught of God 
 see and feel; you may not be able either to ac- 
 count for your impressions, or to describe the 
 process by which they have been so sensibly 
 deepened, that they have become essential 
 parts of your moral being; but if any one 
 were to attempt to persuade you that your 
 convictions, desires, and pursuits, are precise- 
 ly what they always have been, would you 
 not regard him as one that had assailed your 
 principles? At one time you could live with- 
 out prayer, without reading the Scriptures, 
 without any concern for the salvation of your 
 
220 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS 
 
 souls; but can you do this now? Or if, how- 
 ever, you did not entirely neglect religious 
 exercises, they have assumed so commanding 
 an influence over your character, that, although 
 your external habits may be the same, or near- 
 ly so, that they generally have been, the prin- 
 ciples by which you are now governed have 
 invested the whole range of religious pursuit 
 with an importance which till recently, you 
 never felt or acknowledged. Is not the care 
 of the soul the one thing needful? and your 
 cry, 
 
 " A Saviour, or I die ! 
 A Redeemer, or I perish !" 
 
 Compared with some Christians, indeed, 
 your light may appear darkness, and your 
 conviction insensibility. God has dealt so 
 bountifully with them, that it may seem as if 
 he had not dealt graciously with you. They 
 are so far before you in the path of life, and 
 they feel and enjoy so much of the Gospel, 
 that you are tempted to think you have seen 
 and felt nothing, and that you have not yet ta- 
 ken one step towards heaven. Yet it is sin- 
 gular, that though you have not their expe- 
 
TO DOUBTING CHRISTIANS. 221 
 
 rience, they either have, or they have had, 
 yours. You cannot sympathize with them in 
 all their exercises ; but they can with you in 
 all yours. You may not possess their evi- 
 dences; but of this be assured, they have nei- 
 ther hope nor joy apart from yours. The 
 very feelings and lamentations which give to 
 your religious professions all their peculiari- 
 ties, painful as they may be, were those which 
 have given to their possessions all their glory 
 and felicity. They wept as you weep; they 
 doubted as you doubt; they were tempted as 
 you are tempted; they sought and found what 
 you are seeking, and what you shall find too. 
 If some beatified spirits could descend from 
 their abodes of bliss, to throw light around 
 your path, even they would tell you that the 
 religion which had glory for its end, had sor- 
 row for sin, desires for pardon, and prayer for 
 holiness for its beginning; and as you are run- 
 ning their race, and fighting their battles, you 
 shall reach their goal, and share their enjoy- 
 ments. But you cannot yet see this, nor re- 
 cognise your identity with the people of God; 
 so that, by comparing yourselves with them, 
 
222 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS 
 
 instead of being relieved, you may be per- 
 plexed. 
 
 Let me then ask, whether, as you cannot 
 identify yourselves with the church of God, 
 you are in union with the world? No man 
 can serve two masters; and they that are not 
 with Christ, are against him. Now, to what- 
 ever class of worldly men you may direct 
 your attention, whether to the infidel, to the 
 licentious, or to the gay — can ) r ou sympathize 
 with any of them? Do you feel that, with 
 your present convictions, it would be possible 
 for you to cast off the restraints which Divine 
 grace has imposed, and to become one with 
 those who have no religion at all, or who have 
 only the form without the power of true reli- 
 gion? What communion hath light with dark- 
 ness? You occupy a position between the man 
 of the world, who cares not for Divine things, 
 and the Christian, who embracing them, is as- 
 sured of his interest in them. Now, the al- 
 ternative is this: either you are one with the 
 wicked, or one with the righteous; you are 
 alive to God by the renewings of his Spirit, or 
 dead in trespasses and sins. Neutrality, as a 
 state of moral being, is as impossible to the 
 
TO DOUBTING CHRISTIANS. 223 
 
 inhabitants of this world as it is to the inhabi- 
 tants of another. But you know that you have 
 said, and are saying to the wicked, " Depart 
 from me, ye evil-doers; for I will keep the 
 commandments of my God;" (Ps. cxix. 115;) 
 and to the Christian, " Thy people shall be 
 my people, and thy God my God." (Ruth i. 
 16.) 
 
 Surely, then, my dear friends, the Lord has 
 done great things for you; and your conscious- 
 ness of his goodness places you under solemn 
 obligations to avow yourselves on his side. 
 His work in the hearts of those now in heaven 
 issued in those desires and prayers, in that 
 faith and repentance, which are your distin- 
 guishing characteristics; and as none perish 
 who are meetened for glory, your evidences 
 of being born from above, though not bright, 
 are of a satisfactory order. Because you have 
 not the full assurance of faith, you must not, 
 on this account, refuse the consolation to which 
 the weak in faith are entitled. If you had 
 what others in the church of God have, then 
 you think you might be confident; but at pre- 
 sent you suppose it is not right for you to 
 cherish even a hope of glory. That there can 
 21 
 
224 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS 
 
 be no scriptural assurance of safety without the 
 witness and the seal of the Holy Spirit, we 
 allow; but that the witness of the Spirit is ever 
 enjoj^ed by those who are entire strangers to 
 his holy influence, we deny. You must argue 
 from his work to his love, and not from his 
 love to his work. For, to treat with God's 
 purpose concerning you, or with your interest 
 in his promises, as abstract questions, uncon- 
 nected either with his operations or your exer- 
 cises, would be as absurd as the attempt to 
 reason upon the nature of light or air, without 
 the most distant allusion to their properties or 
 their effects. If God has taught you your 
 need of mercy, and enabled you to seek it in 
 the way in which he assures you it may, and, 
 indeed, must be found, his thoughts towards 
 you are thoughts of peace, and not of evil, and 
 his determination is to bless you. He has ne- 
 ver said to the praying seed of Jacob, " Seek 
 ye my face in vain." 
 
 Do not, then, despise the. day of small 
 things; or be unthankful for the evidences 
 God has given you, because they are neither 
 so bright nor so numerous as you may desire. 
 It becomes you to accept with gratitude the 
 
TO DOUBTING CHRISTIANS. 225 
 
 tokens of his favour whenever they are given; 
 and to use them for the purposes to which he 
 intends they should be applied. If he thought 
 of the change, which you are conscious has 
 taken place within you, as you think of it; or 
 if he rejected those confessions and prayers, 
 which are indications of your character, as 
 you reject his instructions and consolations, 
 which are expressions of his love, how alarm- 
 ing would be your condition, and how gloomy 
 your prospects! But this he does not. He 
 can clearly discern that which is spiritual, 
 from that which is natural; for he knoweth 
 the mind of his own Spirit in your groanings 
 and intercessions; and a broken and a contrite 
 heart he will not despise. " Like as a father 
 pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them 
 that fear him. For he knoweth our frame ; 
 he remembereth that we are dust." (Ps. ciii. 
 13, 14.) How encouraging must this be to 
 your hope in seasons of despondency! and 
 what a powerful incentive is it to gratitude 
 for blessings received, when tempted to over- 
 look them because they are few, or because 
 they may not have come to you precisely in 
 the same way in which they have to others. 
 
226 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS 
 
 If you have not enjoyed the sealings of the 
 Spirit, you have felt the drawings of the 
 Spirit ; and as the first-fruits of grace are 
 related to the harvest of glory, " He that 
 goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious 
 seed, shall, doubtless, come again with rejoic- 
 ing, bringing his sheaves with him." (Ps. 
 cxxvi. 6.) 
 
 But you seem to forget that all the Holy 
 Spirit's saving operations are alike indispen- 
 sable, and gracious; hence the high estimate 
 you form of liberty and rest, and the low esti- 
 mate of that anxiety and labour which are 
 their necessary antecedents. The desire for 
 grace, is as much the work of the Spirit, as 
 the grace desired, is the gift of the Spirit. 
 The appetite and the food are alike of God, 
 and alike expressive of his purpose. Why 
 then be unmindful of the former, in your anx- 
 iety to possess the latter? Has it never struck 
 you, that ingratitude for one blessing may be 
 the cause why God withholds another? If 
 you are unthankful for those impressions of 
 your guilt, and for those convictions of your 
 need of mercy, which must precede a know- 
 ledge of pardon, and the reception of mercy; — 
 
TO DOUBTING CHRISTIANS. 227 
 
 God may, for this very reason, suspend, for a 
 time, the influence by which alone distress 
 can be removed, and joy awakened. He will 
 be praised for preparing you for the reception 
 of his love, as well as for its actual and refresh- 
 ing manifestations. You can no more be heal- 
 ed without being wounded, or raised to a live- 
 ly hope of interest in the Redeemer before 
 you have despaired of all hope in yourselves, 
 than you can be wounded, without being heal- 
 ed, or seek mercy, without finding it. Glory 
 is not more connected with grace, than grace 
 is with glory. The one, is the end of a be- 
 ginning; the other, the beginning of an end; and 
 whether you have been drawn to the cross by 
 love, or driven by terror, in either case, you 
 have great cause for thankfulness. You can- 
 not be glorified without being justified and 
 sanctified; and if you are justified and sancti- 
 fied, you must be glorified. 
 
 But here lies your difficulty. Have we 
 passed from death unto life, and are ive 
 exempt from all danger of perishing for 
 ever? You are told by St. Paul, that all that 
 believe are justified from all things, from 
 which they could not be by the law of Moses; 
 21* 
 
228 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS 
 
 (Acts xiii. 39;) and, that as many as are led 
 by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of 
 God. (Rom. viii. 14.) Are you, then, be- 
 lievers in Christ? If you are, the privileges 
 of believers are all yours. You may doubt 
 the existence of that faith in your hearts, 
 which is of the operation of God, but if you 
 have fled to the Saviour for refuge; if you are 
 coming to God through him for holiness, 
 peace, and pardon; and if you are reposing 
 upon his sacrifice as the only ground of your 
 acceptance in the Divine sight, you have cer- 
 tainly performed an act of faith, and must 
 therefore be in possession of the grace of 
 faith. "With the heart man believeth unto 
 righteousness, and with the mouth confession 
 is made unto salvation." (Rom. x. 10.) "Sav- 
 ing faith," said Robert Hall, " consists in such 
 a persuasion of our condition as sinners, as in- 
 duces us to relinquish all other hope, and to 
 place our dependence alone on Jesus Christ 
 for salvation; acknowledging him to be our 
 Lord;" and as you have felt and done this, 
 God will honour his work within you by af- 
 fixing his seal of approbation to those exercises 
 which are the effects of it. " This is the work 
 
TO DOUBTING CHRISTIANS. 229 
 
 of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath 
 sent;" (John vi. 29;) and "the fear of the 
 Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (Ps. cxi. 
 10.) 
 
 It is, further, of importance you should re- 
 member, that the Lord's conduct towards you, 
 is an expression of his good pleasure concern- 
 ing you. "If the Lord were pleased to kill 
 us," said Manoah's wife, " he would not have 
 shown us these things;" and as the Holy 
 Spirit has made saving and influential disco- 
 veries of the truth to you, it is the will of 
 God that you should live, and not die. Your 
 anxiety to know how you stand with God, 
 and your dread of deception, is perfectly con- 
 sistent with your convictions of his purity and 
 power, and of your guilt and misery; but you 
 have not, you tell us, access to God's decrees, 
 and do not therefore know whether your 
 names are in the Lamb's book of life. That 
 you have not looked into that volume which 
 the eye of Omniscience alone can scan, is true; 
 nor is it necessary either for your hope or your 
 confidence, that you should do so. " The se- 
 cret things belong unto the Lord our God; 
 but those things which are revealed belong 
 
230 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS 
 
 unto us, and to our children for ever." In 
 the first place, you have the Bible, which is, 
 partly, a transcript of the mysterious roll of 
 the Divine purposes, sufficiently perspicuous 
 to relieve all your difficulties, and to satisfy all 
 lawful inquiries; and, in the next place, you 
 have the testimony of an enlightened con- 
 science, which, when studied in the light of 
 the Divine word, by the teaching of the Di- 
 vine Spirit, will present the hand-writing of 
 the Great Invisible in characters, not of wrath, 
 but of mercy; not of anger, but of love. "I 
 will put my laws into their mind, and write 
 them in their hearts; and I will be to them a 
 God, and they shall be to me a people: for I 
 will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and 
 their sins and their iniquities will I remember 
 no more." (Heb. viii. 10, 12.) And is not 
 this promise yours, with all its consequent 
 blessings and encouragements? Most cer- 
 tainly, if you are new creatures in Christ 
 Jesus; for if it had been God's pleasure to 
 destroy you, he would not have quickened 
 you by his Spirit, nor have turned your feet 
 into the narrow path. And why did he not 
 leave you to perish in your sins ! He was 
 
TO DOUBTING CHRISTIANS. 231 
 
 under no obligation to change your hearts, or 
 to bring you to repentance; and as the work 
 of grace is the execution of his gracious pur- 
 pose, his motive was love, and the end he 
 contemplated was your salvation. Make your 
 calling sure, and you will have no reason to 
 doubt your election. As the gift of his Son 
 was a costly proof of his good will to men, 
 the gift of his Spirit is a certain evidence of 
 your interest in his salvation; and having re- 
 deemed you from the curse of the law, and 
 called you by his Gospel, he will not disap- 
 point the hope to which he has begotten you, 
 nor suffer you to sink under the curse of the 
 law you have broken. " God commendeth 
 his love towards us, in that, while we were 
 yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more 
 then, being now justified by his blood, we 
 shall be saved from wrath through him. For 
 if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled 
 to God by the death of his Son; much more, 
 being reconciled, we shall be saved by his 
 life." (Rom. v. S— 10.) 
 
 But to avail yourselves of the full benefit of 
 St. Paul's argumentation, you must neither 
 overlook the Lord's work, nor forget his pro- 
 
232 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS 
 
 mises. The apostle reasons from the past to 
 the future; and so must you, or you are likely 
 to remain in that darkness from which it is 
 your desire to be delivered. It is not only 
 wrong to disregard the first impressions and 
 convictions of the Spirit; — it is ingratitude, 
 yea, it is sin to do so. Either the first pulsa- 
 tions of spiritual life are of God, or they are 
 not; but as they are of God, they ought to be 
 considered as striking and infallible indications 
 of returning moral health, and of his access to 
 the heart for the purpose of enthroning him- 
 self upon its affections. The first prayer the 
 penitent offers, and the first tear he sheds, call 
 as loudly for his gratitude to the Almighty, as 
 the hope of the joyful, or the song of the 
 triumphant. u That is not a true sense of 
 our unworthiness," says the great Charnock, 
 " which keeps us from Christ;" neither is that 
 unfeigned humility which casts a veil over the 
 first sketchings of the Spirit on the heart, and 
 which refuses the consolation afforded by one 
 evidence, because of the absence of another. 
 It must be a great point of consideration with 
 you to preserve, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, 
 a grateful recollection of what he has done for 
 
TO DOUBTING CHRISTIANS. 233 
 
 you. You are not to be argued out of your 
 convictions; nor must you yield the victories 
 you have gained over the world, the flesh, and 
 the devil, to any of your adversaries. It is as 
 necessary for you to acknowledge what grace 
 has done, as it is that you should conscien- 
 tiously avoid, both in prayer and conversa- 
 tion, the phraseology to which you attach no 
 definite meaning; or which, in reference to 
 yourselves, would imply impressions you have 
 never received, or convictions you have never 
 felt. You may go too far; and you may not 
 go far enough. " As man can receive no- 
 thing, except it be given him from heaven," 
 he ought not to attribute a natural effect to a 
 spiritual cause, nor a spiritual effect to a natu- 
 ral one; and unless you maintain the position 
 in which God has placed you, and avow the 
 attachments he has enabled you to form, the 
 inconsistency you allow will prove a, hinder- 
 ance to the progress you are anxious to make. 
 It was the declaration of David, and let it be 
 yours also, "Come and hear, all ye that fear 
 God, and I will declare what he hath done for 
 my soul." (Ps. lxvi. 16.) 
 
 Come, then, and at once declare yourselves 
 
234 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS 
 
 on the Lord's side. " How long halt ye be- 
 tween two opinions?" Why should you not 
 identify yourselves with the people you love, 
 and enjoy with them the privileges of the 
 sanctuary? From what you have seen and 
 felt, you are placed under solemn obligations 
 to confess the Saviour; and if you cannot do 
 this as saints, happy in God's salvation, you 
 must neither be ashamed nor afraid to do it as 
 sinners, seeking the blessings of that salvation. 
 There are babes, as well as young men and fa- 
 thers, in the church; and though you have 
 not entered by faith into spiritual rest, yet, as 
 you are labouring to enter, you are encouraged 
 by the promises and counselled by the pre- 
 cepts of the Gospel. If the Lord's people 
 were classified according to their age and ex- 
 perience, you might not be able to place your- 
 selves with the peaceful and happy; but you 
 would with the sorrowful and distressed; and 
 this you should do. You ought to come forth 
 with your convictions, whether few or many; 
 and with your impressions, whether feeble or 
 powerful. The world ought to know, by your 
 obedience to the Lord's precepts, that you are 
 not of the world. Of all persons, you ought 
 
TO DOUBTING CHRISTIANS. 235 
 
 to be decided ! It is not one bold effort, or 
 one decisive step that will meet the pressing 
 necessities of a case like yours. There must 
 be a succession of efforts, bold and consistent; 
 and decision of character, entire and uniform. 
 The principles which have preserved you in the 
 world, must settle down into religious habits 
 in the church. When tempted to evil, you 
 have said, This I cannot do, because of the 
 fear of the Lord; and when tempted to neg- 
 lect either Christian privilege or duty, you 
 must say, This I dare not do, because of the 
 love of God. If the invitations of the Gospel 
 were addressed only to the assured and the 
 confident, then might you, tc tarry till you're 
 better;" but as God has very particularly in- 
 vited and encouraged the doubting and timid, 
 to be consistent with yourselves, you must be 
 decided for him. You feel that you are lost 
 sinners, and desire salvation, not only from 
 the consequences of sin, but from its being; 
 and still you hesitate and linger, when you 
 ought to determine, and, in God's strength, 
 advance. The remedy for all your ills and 
 for all your complaints is with Jesus; and that 
 remedy is likely to be efficacious, when the 
 22 
 
236 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS 
 
 directions of the Great Physician are strictly- 
 regarded. 
 
 Man never goes to Christ till his case be- 
 comes hopeless without Christ; and if you 
 come at all, you must come as you are, and 
 for what you need. "The Spirit and the 
 bride, say, Come. And let him that heareth, 
 say, Come. And let him that is athirst, come; 
 and whosoever will, let him take the water of 
 life freely." (Rev. xxii. 17.) The church is 
 saying, " Come with us, and we will do you 
 good:" let your reply be, and that promptly, 
 " We will go with you, for we have heard 
 that God is with you." Christian intercourse 
 is favourable to the progress of the heart in the 
 knowledge of the love of God; and by availing 
 yourselves of the sympathies and prayers of 
 established Christians, you will be enriched 
 by their experience, and instructed by their 
 example. Are you fearful? Come with your 
 fears. Are* you discouraged? Come with your 
 difficulties. There is a place at the Saviour's 
 feet, a seat at his table, and room in his house 
 for you. And will you not come? " All 
 things are ready, come to the marriage;" 
 and come without delay. Jesus bids you 
 welcome — the Spirit invites you home — the 
 
TO DOUBTING CHRISTIANS. 237 
 
 Father hails your return — " and there is joy- 
 in the presence of the angels of God over one 
 sinner that repenteth." The church has her 
 mantle of charity to cast around you; and she 
 waits, with anxious solicitude, to conduct you 
 to the pasture where she has fed upon the pro- 
 visions, reposed in the sunshine, and hymned 
 the praises of redeeming love. 
 
 " Now of the things which we have spoken 
 this is the sum." My dear young friends, 
 and fellow-sinners, generally, my heart's de- 
 sire and prayer to God is, that you may be 
 saved. But have you felt that you are sin- 
 ners? that you have need of Christ as a Sa- 
 viour? that you must die, and you know not 
 how soon? Do you believe that faith in his 
 blood and righteousness is essential to your 
 acceptance in the Divine sight? Have you 
 felt the importance of the Holy Spirit's in- 
 fluence, to quicken, to enlighten, to sanctify 
 you? Have you prayed for its bestowment, 
 that you may become new creatures in Christ 
 Jesus, and adorn the doctrine of God our Sa- 
 viour in all things? If such is your character, 
 I say unto you, " Behold the Lamb of God 
 which taketh away the sin of the world." 
 u He waiteth to be gracious j" yea, he says, 
 
238 APPEALS AND INVITATIONS, &C. 
 
 " Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are 
 heavy laden, and I will give you rest;" and 
 " him that cometh unto me I will in no wise 
 cast out." But delay not — halt not between 
 two opinions any longer; lest you should 
 prove a stumbling-block to . others, and be 
 found to have only a name to live, whilst you 
 are dead in trespasses and sins. For this is 
 the declaration of truth, and this is the Divine 
 criterion of our Christianity: "By their fruits 
 ye shall know them." Never — never may 
 you forget the solemn duty of Christian con- 
 sistency — for " He that saith he abideth in 
 Christ, ought himself also so to walk, even 
 as he walked." 
 
 "Little children, let no man deceive you: 
 he that doeth righteousness, is righteous, even 
 as he is righteous." u Love not the world, 
 neither the things that are in the world. If 
 any man love the world, the love of the Fa- 
 ther is not in him." " Wherefore, come out 
 from among them, and be ye separate, saith 
 the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; 
 and I will receive you, and will be a Father 
 unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daugh- 
 ters, saith the Lord Almighty." 
 
 THE END.