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THE
THEOLOGICAL WORKS
OF THE
REV. DR. PROUDFIT.
º
~.
:
i
.




37.5". 7 A ,< * *
-*** SERIES
OF
DISCOURSES
ON THE
J. E.7 DIN’G DOCTRINES M.W.D DUTIES
OF
CHRISTIANITY.
IN FOUR VOLUMES.
-mºeºsºmº-
Br ALEY.M.WDER PROUDFIT, p. p.
MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL, saleM, NEW-Yonk.
VOL. II.
SALEM : *
PiłrxtEd Br popp, RUMSEY AND STEVENson.


-º
::
CONTENTS.
SERMON I.
The doctrines of Revelation, although mys-
terious, ought to be preached. AN INTRO-
I) U CTORY SERMON.
1. CoR. ii, 7–We speak the misdom of God
in a mystery.
SERMON II.
The universal apostacy of mankind con-
firmed.
Rox1ANs iii. 23—For all have sinned.
SERMON III.
All become guilty by the transgression of
Adam as their federal head.
RoMANS v. 12—By one man sin entered into
the myorld.
SERMON IV.
Death the just and natural consequence of
SIIl.
RoMANs v. 12—And death by sin.
SERMON V.
Reconciliation with God unattainable by
human performances.
RoMANs iii. 20–Therefore by the deeds of
the lan, there shall no flesh be justified in his
sight.
VOL. 2. A 2


6
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.
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...'
.*
&
*.
SERMON VI.
The righteousness of Jesus infinitely suffi-
cient for the justification of all who em-
brace it.
Romans x. 4—For Christ is the end of the
lan for righteousness to every one that be-
bieveth.
SERMON VII.
The agency of God the Father in the ap-
pointment of Christ to his Mediatorial un-
dertaking. A SACRAMENTAL SERMON.
RoMANs ii. 25—Whom God hath set forth
to be a propitiation through faith in his
blood.
SERMON VIII.
The sovereign agency of God in determin-
ing the heirs of salvation.
1. PETER i. 2–Elect according to the fore-
knowledge of God the Father.
SERMON IX.
The condescension of the Eternal Son in.
becoming our Surety.
2. CoR. viii. 9—For ye know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he nas
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor.
SERMON X.
The blessings which result to us from his
mediation.
2. CoR. viii. 9–That ye through his poverty
might be rich.

7
SERMONS XI. and XII.
The Holy Ghost the great agent in our re-
generation, and his mercy illustriously
manifested in that work.
EPHEs. ii. 4, 5–But God mºho is rich in
mercy, for his great love m'herenith he loved
ws, even myhem me mere dead in sins, hath:
quickened us together with Christ.
SERMON XIII.
The christian's certain progress to perfec-
tion. e
JoB xvii. 9—The righteous also shall hold on:
his may.
SERMON XIV.
His future felicity and glory.
Col. iii. 4.—When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye also appear with:
him in glory. º
SERMON XV.
The superior privileges of the heavenly,
world..
PHIL. i. 23—Having a desire to depart, and!
to be mith. Christ, nihich is far better.
SERMON XVI.
Our ruin in the first Adam more than repair-
ed by our recovery in the second.
RoMANs v. 20–Where sin abounded, grace.
did much more abound.
PREFACE.
THE following discourses were pre-
pared for the pulpit during the summer of
eighteen hundred and four, with little ex-
pectation of being afterwards offered from
the press. The author, since that time, has
occasionally itinerated through the frontier
settlements, and, in these visits, has sincere-
ly deplored the desolate condition of the in-
habitants. Many of them are destitute of
gospel ordinances regularly dispensed on
the sabbath, neither are they furnished with
practical books for their instruction and edi-
fication through the week. From this ac-
quaintance with their situation, he has been
led frequently and anxiously to enquire,
what means might be adopted for minister-
ing to their relief? Willingly he would im-
part some spiritual gift, to the end they might
be established, and finally saved. Such were
the circumstances by which the author was
induced to publish these discourses. The
subjects, however imperfectly discussed,
are without doubt infinitely interesting;
and the plan, he humbly hopes, is in some
measure adapted to the situation of the
frontier inhabitants. There is an attempt
to exhibit the great doctrines of christianity
in their connexion with each other, whichren-
ders the work suitable for those who do not
enjoy the means of systematic instruction.
10
Divine grace is represented as rearing her
splendid edifice on the ruins of human apos-
tacy : We behold her occupied from eter-
nity past in laying the foundation, gradually
carrying on the superstructure in time, not-
withstanding infinite opposition, and at last
completing the building amidst the mingled
shouts of men and angels, GRACE, GRACE un-
to it.
The author frankly acknowledges that
nothing new is contained in this volume, and
he feels equal freedom in asserting that no-
thing new is affected. The corruptions of
the natural man are the same now, that they
were in centuries past, and his salvation
must be promoted by the instrumentality
of the same word of the living God, illustra-
ted and applied. Sinners, through the so-
vereign operations of Jehovah the Spirit,
must be awakened by the same law reveal-
edin its terrors, and encouraged by the same
gospel exhibited inits consolations, by which
they were either awakened or encouraged
in the age of apostles and reformers. Faith
must yet come by hearing or reading, and
this hearing or reading, by the simple, unaf-
fected nord of God. The gospel must still
be preached, not mith the wisdom of human
words, lest the cross of Christ be made of none
effect: The moment that the doctrines of
the ministry of reconciliation lose their na-
tive simplicity, they lose both their efficacy
and glory.
Although the subjects, illustrated in the

I 1
following pages, have often occupied the
pen of controversy, yet I have catiously
avoided entering the field. To have stated
and answered the various objections must
necessarily have swelled the work to an im-
moderate size, and in a great measure de-
feated the design of the publication. My
intention was not to contend with the ad-
versaries of our salvation, but, if possible,
by a plain exhibition of divine truth, to es-
pouse sinners to the Saviour, and advance
his own children to the measure of the stature
of his fulness. The apprehension that any
doctrine contained in this volume should be
rejected by a professed follower of the
Lamb is unutterably painful; it is truly hu-
miliating that with the same bible before
our eyes we should entertain sentiments
widely different in matters which concern
our common welfare. But as I firmly be-
tieve I have freely spoken and written.—
With respect to those who may not assent
to all the truths here delivered, I have one
request, which is made with the purest friend-
ship; before they reject a single principle,
let it be deliberately and impartially com-
pared with the unerring oracle: If it is not
confirmed by a thus saith the Lord, I ask
them not to believe; but if it appears sup-
ported by this high authority, it is danger-
ous in the extreme to reject it. Let God
be true, and every man or angel a liar that
dares to contradict him.
I have only to lament that the work is not
i{
* 12
ºdºnt a manner more worthy of its
6 : but I have this confidence and
cofºtion, that{is not by might, or by pon:-
er, but by the SPIRIT of the LoRD of Hosts:
It is neither elegance of diction, nor pro-
priety of arrangement, nor even energy of
argument, which secures efficacy to the
means, but Jehovah's blessing; and this
blessing can easily make “foolish things to
confound the wise, and weak things to con-
found the mighty, and even things that are
not to bring to nought things that are; that no
flesh should glory in his presence.” To his so-
vereign, almighty operations, the author
now freely recommends it:—Should Israel’s
God, in his abundant mercy, render it effec-
tual for the conversionof a single sinner, or
the establishment of a dear child in the spi-
ritual family, he would most cordially min-
gle his note in the general ascription, not
aunto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy
name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy
fruth’s sake. AMEN.
SALEM, Sept. 1806.



13
SERMON I.
The doctrines of Revelation, although mys-
terious, ought to be preached.
1. CORINTHIANS II, 7.
We speak the misdom of God in a mystery.
THE recovery of man from the re-
proach and wretchedness of his apostacy is
a work not more interesting in its conse-
quences, than mysterious in its nature.
The contrivance and the execution of a
plan, by which transgression is punished, and
yet the transgressor pardoned ; the majesty
of the Sovereign vindicated, and yet the re-
bel admitted to his favor and friendship;
sin exposed in all its malignities and horrors,
and yet the sinner restored to a greater ele-
vation of blessedness and glory than he had
forfeited, furnish a display not only of
power omnipotent, but of wisdom the most
profound and unsearchable. These things
the angels desire to look into.
The very prophets and apostles, who were
divinely inspired to reveal the method of
human redemption, neither did nor could
fully comprehend it; although their lips,
directed unerringly by the Spirit of wisdom,
announced the doctrines of salvation, their
understandings were unable to trace them
VOL. 2. B

14
y
in all their connexions and consequences.—
“Of which salvation the prophets have en-
quired, and searched diligently, who pro-
phesied of the grace that should come unto
you: searching what, or what manner of
time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them
did signify, when it testified beforehand the
sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should
follow.” The sovereignty of Jehovah, in
passing by the nobler nature of angels, and
determining the recovery of man; his wis-
dom in concerting a scheme, by which the
honors of his government are secured, and
our perishing race restored ; his love in
procuring our reconciliation at an ex-
pense so great as the death of an on LY SON;
the restoration of the sinner to spiritual life,
and his perseverance in grace, amidst legions
of adversaries more powerful than himself,
were to these inspired men sources of sub-
lime astonishment and praise.
The author of this epistle, although the
chief of the apostles, although enlightened
beyond any by an abundant unction of
the Holy Ghost, is frequently lost in attempt-
ing to explore this fathomless depth: he ac-
knowledges that these mysteries of godliness
surpass all expression and comprehension.
Which none of the princes of this norld knew ;
as it is nºritten, eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered the heart of man to
conceive them. But was he afraid or asham-
ed to announce, what he was unable fully to
l understand Did he esteem it any reproach

I5
to confess that the movements of the INFINITE,
ETERNAL MIND lay beyond the reach of the
finite, contracted conceptions of mortals?
No : the consideration that his message
was mysterious served only to render him
more confident and zealous in proclaiming
it. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
We speak the misdom of God in a mystery.
By this misdom of God in a mystery, some
understand the introduction of the Gentiles
to the privileges of the gospel.—It was a
mystery to the Jews that the nations of the
world, who had been long and deeply sunk
in idolatry; who had been permitted, during
the period of several thousand years, to
continue aliens from the commonnealth of Is-
rael, and strangers from the covenant of pro-
mise, should now be brought within the pale
of the church, placed in all respects on a level
with the offspring of Abraham, and become
equal sharers with them in all the privileges
of grace and glory.—The apostle thus ad-
dresses himself to the Ephesian church,
“He made known to me the mystery; That
the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of
the same body, and partakers of his promise
in Christ by the gospel.”
Others, by this misdom of God in a mystery,
understand the incarnation of the Son of
God, and our reconciliation to the divine
favor, by the blood of his cross. This view
of the passage is supported by the verse im-
mediately following: “Which, mystery,
none of the princes of this world knew ; for
I6
had they known it, they would not have
erucified the Lord of glory.”
Although neither of these significations is
altogether rejected, yet this nºisdom of God
may be considered in a sense more exten-
sive, and as comprehending the whole coun-
sel of God; all those treasures of misdom and
knowledge which were first committed to
the apostles as stewards in the spiritual fam-
ily, and through them to the ministers of re-
conciliation in different ages. The gospel
with its doctrines is emphatically called the
misdom of God, as it affords to all rational
worlds the most astonishing display of his
prudence and knowledge : there he appears
bringing the greatest good out of the greatest
evil—perfect order out of the darkest con-
fusion, and overruling the sin of man to is-
sue in a more abundant revenue of glory to
himself, and happiness to his redeemed. It
is called the wisdom of God in a mystery,
because the truths therein revealed are be-
yond the comprehension of the most enlarg—
ed mind. The reason of mortals could ne-
ver have discovered these truths unless re-
vealed, and even after they are revealed, it
is insufficient fully to comprehend them.
However unmeaning or uninteresting these
doctrines may appear to some, who are ei-
ther too ignorant to understand, or too obsti-
nate to acknowledge their excellence, yet
by these are made knomm to principalities and
ponyers the manifold misdom of God ; these
exalted spirits have been long and ardently
17
searching into the mysteries of Godliness, but
have been unable to explore them : the line
of their created intellect is too short to fa-
thom this profound: although nearly six
thousand years have elapsed since these
higher orders of being commenced their re-
search into the wonders of redemption, yet
upon each new contemplation they are con-
strained to exclaim with greater transports
of admiration and joy: “O the depth of the
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of
God; how unsearchable are his judgments,
and his ways past finding out; for who hath
known the mind of the Lord, or who hath
been his counsellor; for of him, and through
him, and to him are all things: to whom be
glory for ever.—Amen.” f
The meaning of this passage appears evi-
dently to be the following ; that in the ever-
lasting gospel, there are doctrines profound-
ly mysterious, utterly beyond our compre-
hension ; yet these doctrines, however
mysterious, ought to be openly and boldly
proclaimed by the ministers of Jesus.
Without pursuing any formal division of
this subject, I shall aim at enumerating some
parts of this wisdom of God, which it is our
duty as ambassadors of Christ to announce,
although they may be truly mysterious and
incomprehensible.
1. The existence of three Persons in the
same Essence constitutes a part of this wis-
dom or counsel which is revealed in the gos-
pel. The being of a God is evident from:
WOL. 2. B 2.
18
the light of nature. There is perhaps not
a nation under heaven, however rude and
idolatrous, without some form of worship
expressing their dependence upon him.
Reason, even unenlightened by revelation,
suggests that there must be some “first
cause” which produced all other causes;
some uncreated, eternal BEING which gave
existence to all other beings; yet reason as-
cends no higher; although she may infer
that there must be a God, it is peculiar to
revelation to teach the manner of his exist-
ence ; that in Jehovah there are three Per-
sons, all distinct from each other, and yet
essentially and indivisibly one; each sus-
taining his peculiar office both in creation
and redemption, and yet concurring and co-
operating with the others. “There are three
that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost.”
This part of the wisdom of God is, with-
out controversy, an unsearchable mystery;
that there should be three Persons existing
in one Jehovah ; each subsisting distinct
from the other, and yet one in essence, and
perfection, and glory; so really one, that
in holding fellowship with either, we hold
fellowship with the other two ; in ascribing
worship to one, we offer worship to all ; and
in despising either, we pour contempt upon
all ; and yet these adorable Persons are so.
perfectly distinct, that they assume different
names, and sustain different offices: this
doctrine although infinitely mysterious must.
19
be taught; it is like the foundation of all o-
ther revealed doctrines and intimately con-
cerns us as men and as christians. Redemp-
tion may be compared to a theatre,on which
we behold each Divine Person assuming a
distinct, particular office, and acting a dis-
tinct, particular part. The Father is intro-
duced as proposing the recovery of man;
devising a scheme by which the glories of
the Godhead might be secured, and our na-
ture promoted to greater dignity and joy
than if sin had not entered ; he then solemn-
ly ordains his own Son as Mediator, im-
putes to him the transgressions of his people,
consecrates him Lord of the new creation,
and promises him many sons and daughters
as a reward for his humiliation : we find the
Son, coequal, and coeternal with the Father,
cordially acquiescing in the plan proposed,
offering to assume the nature of man al-
though degraded by sin, paying down the
price demanded, and thus obtaining eternal
redemption for his people. The Holy
Ghost, the third Person in the ever blessed
Jehovah, undertakes to finish the scheme of
our salvation, to take possession of the
elect soul in the midst of its abominations,
to renew it, to sanctify it, and render it a fit
inhabitant of the heavenly world. Such is
the doctrine of revelation respecting the
Trinity of persons in the Godhead; and to
conceal this truth would be to throw a veil
over the glories of redemption; to deny the
essential existence of either, or his immedi-
20
ate agency in our salvation, would be like
knocking a pillar from beneath a building,
the whole fabric must totter and fall.
2. The unlimited dominion which the
Lord God exercises over all his creatures;
that absolute, independent, adorable sover-
eignty, with which he disposes of them and
their actions for the advancement of his own
glory, is also a part of this misdom revealed
in the gospel. “The Lord hath prepared
his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom
ruleth over all.” Every being, whether ra-
tional or irrational, nihether visible or invisi-
ble, from the loftiest angel in heaven, to the
least atom which floats in the air, or the
least insect which moves upon the earth, is
open to his view, upheld by his power, and
controled by his sovereign pleasure ; his
will is the absolute rule, and his glory the
ultimate end of all their actions. If a spar-
row ascends from earth to heaven, his power
raises it; if it falls from heaven to earth,
his pleasure permits it ; does an angel leave
his mansion in glory for the purpose of min-
istering to an heir of salvation, he is sent
forth to that employment, his commission is.
received from the high court of heaven;
does a Cyrus invade the Assyrian empire,
enter their city, and liberate oppressed Isra-
el, he is anointed of the Lord for that pur-
pose, although he knows neither the decree
determining it, nor the arm which crowns
his enterprise with success. “The whole.
creation, from the seraph down to the invisi-
2I
ble atom, ministers to the Supreme will, and
is under the special observation, govern-
ment, and direction of the omnipotent mind;
who sees all, himself unseen ; who upholds
all, himself unsustained; who guides all,
himself guided by none ; and who changes
all, himself unchanged. His sovereign will
is the first link, his unalterable decree the
second, and his all-active providence the
third in the great chain of causes; what his
will determined, that his decree established,
and his providence either mediately, or im-
mediately effects: his will was the adorable
spring of all ; his decree marked out the
channel, and his providence directs the
stream.” For of him as the original cause,
and through him as the constant, omnipotent
upholder, and to him as the ultimate end
are all things ; to n'hom be glory for ever.
This constant, unfelt, yet uncontroled a-
gency of Jehovah, in the disposal of his crea-
tures, is a mystery. Who can comprehend
the manner in which he acts in all, and through
all, and over all ; and yet all act with a free-
dom the most perfect and unlimited ; all act
as voluntarily in all respects as if there was
neither decree determining, nor agency sup-
porting, nor power over-ruling their actions.
The counsel of the Lord that must stand, he
will do all his pleasure, and yet every ration-
al agent acts according to its pleasure : HE
does according to his mill in the armies of hea-
ven, and amongst the inhabitants of the earth ;
and yet the armies both in heaven and earth
22
are performing their will, and accountable
for their conduct. This part of the divine
misdom however mysterious must be unre-
servedly taught. To deny the decrees of
the Eternal, and his sovereignty in “govern-
ing all his creatures, and all their actions,”
is practically to invert the order of the uni-
verse ; it is to render the Creator dependant
on the will of his creature, and not the
creature on the Creator: “To imagine,” as
a learned author remarks, “to imagine that
a being of boundless wisdom, power and
goodness would create a world, and not sit
at the helm afterwards, but turn us adrift to
shift for ourselves, like a huge vessel with-
out a pilot, is a supposition which subverts
every notion of the Deity, gives the lie to
every page of the bible, contradicts our dai-
ly experience, and insults the common rea-
son of mankind.”
Every reader is at liberty to determine
for himself; but for my own part I cannot
believe the bible, and doubt the sovereignty
of God in fore-ordaining all things from eter-
nity, and over-ruling and governing all
things in time: I do not more plainly read,
that “all scripture is given by inspiration
of God,” than I read “ that he worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will ;”
that the “counsel of the Lord standeth for
ever, and the thoughts of his heart to all ge-
nerations;” that although “the lot is cast
into the lap, the whole disposal thereof is of
the Lord.” Among the various passages
23
which prove the sovereign, absolute agency
of God in disposing of all things, and that
this agency operates in conformity to an
eternal, independent purpose, let the follow-
ing suffice : “For of a truth against thy ho-
ly child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed,
both Herod and Pontius, with the Gentiles
and the people of Israel are gathered toge-
ther, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy
counsel had determined before to be done.”
This purpose,although formed from eternity,
is executed in all its circumstances, and at
the precise time, as really as if the persons
had been impelled by some natural and ir-
resistible necessity, to do nºkatsoever ; and
yet their liberty of action is not in the least
affected ; they were gathered together ; they
conspired by mutual consent and agree-
ment; Judas acted as freely in betraying
his Lord, as any traitor in selling his coun-
try or captain ; Pilate acted as freely in
condemning him, as any man who sacrifices
his conscience to gratify a party ; the peo-
ple of Israel were as free in crucifying this
Lord of glory, as any mob in murdering a
man against whom they have conceived an
implacable enmity ; in this, as in innumera-
ble other instances, the unconditional, eter-
nal appointment of God perfectly harmon-
izes with the freedom of the moral agent; his
purpose is minutely and fully executed, and
the cup of their iniquity filled up.
3. The universal corruption of human ma-
ture, our entire disposition to evil, and pow-
24
erful opposition to all that is morally good
is another part of this misdom. The doc-
trine of human depravity, however melan-
choly, is evident both from scripture and
observation. All who read their bibles are
taught, and all who consult their own incli-
nations must feel that “the heart is deceit-
ful above all things and desperately wicked;
that the imaginations of the thoughts of the
heart are only evil continually.” This part
of the wisdom of God is also a mystery.—
The very mode by which transgression en-
tered the world is unaccountable to us. We
cannot conceive how Adam, who had per-
fect knowledge in his understanding and
integrity in his heart,could yield to the temp-
tation ; how a rational being, who was ac-
quainted with the perfections of God, and
completely happy in his enjoyment, would
believe the suggestions of a serpent in oppo-
sition to the direct, positive command of his
Creator and Lord. That sin should be ad-
mitted into the moral world is altogether
mysterious to us: Jehovah could as easily
have established all the angels in their first
estate, as a part of them; he could as easily
have fortified Adam against the insinuations
of Satan, as restore him aſter he had fallen.
We know also that sin is dishonoring to God,
offensive to his holiness, provoking to his
justice, and exposes to misery those crea-
tures which he formed holy and happy.
But although the manner by which trans-
gression obtained admission be mysterious,
25
yet the fact itself is true, and should be free-
ly spoken. To offer salvation through the
Son of God without endeavoring to con-
vince men of sin, would be like presenting
medicine to one who imagined himself in
perfect health, or reaching forth alms to the
man who conceited himself to be rich and
encreased mith goods. The disease must be
shewn, before the healing balm need be of
fered, or will be accepted; men must be
convinced that they are spiritually poor, and
miserable, and blind, and naked, before they
will come to the market of free grace, or
embrace the unsearchable riches of Jesus
the Mediator.
4. The manifestation of the Eternal Son
in human nature, and his suffering as a pro-
pitiation for our sin, may be pronounced an
important part of this misdom. We believe
and do testify that the Father sent the Son to
be the Saviour of the world. The union of
our nature to the divine in the person of Im-
manuel ; his substitution in our room ; his
suffering for our offences, and rising again for
our justification, form a chief part of this
counsel of God. The apostle preached first
of all, and last of all, considered it as the al-
pha and omega of all his administrations, that
‘Christ died for our sins, and nas buried, and
rose again the third day. This doctrine is
also mysterious. What is his name, or nihat
is his Son's name, if thou canst tell ? Prophets
and apostles, inspired men and unsinning an-
gels, in contemplating the incarnation of the
VOL. 2. C -
25
Son of God, pronounce it the glory that ea-
celleth ; that “he who was Eternal should be
made in time, the Infinite should become fi-
nite, the Immortal should become mortal,
and yet continue Eternal, Immortal and In-
finite, is an expression of wisdom and good-
ness, in which God will be adored and glori-
fied through eternity.” The evangelic Isai-
ah, foretelling his appearance in the flesh,
announces his name to be wonDERFUL, con-
taining natures so utterly distinct and im-
mensely different that language can neither
express, nor imagination conceive it. An
apostle, inspired with a more abundant mea-
sure of the illuminating spirit, exclaims, with-
out controversy, greatisthemyslery of godliness;
God nas manifest in the flesh. But this part
of the divine wisdom, however mysterious,
must be openly proclaimed. The advent of
the Messiah into our world, and our redemp-
tion through his cross, are so interwoven with
every page of revelation that to overlook
them would be virtually to shun declaring the
mhole counsel of God. All the divine decrees
from eternity, the sacrifices which bled on
ten thousand altars from the foundation of the
world, all the prophecies of the old testament
and promises of the new, pointed either im-
mediately or remotely to the sufferings of
thrist and the glory that should follon. Im-
manuel, God man, the wisdom, the righteous-
ness, the sanctification, the redemption, the
advocate of his people,is verily the alpha and
on lega of scripture ; he is not only the cor-
27
ner stone on which the church is founded,
but the top stone which binds together each
part of this celestial building. Woe to that
preacher who does not make “this wisdom
of God in a mystery,” Jesus in his atonement
and intercession, the beginning and ending of
every discourse : Woe to that hearer who
does not rejoice in him as all his salvation
and all his desire. Better for both of them
they had never been born.
5. Our sanctification by the power of di-
vine grace, and our progress to perfection
amidst ten thousand discouragements, is a-
nother part of this misdom. The Spirit Je-
hovah is uniformly set forth as the great a-
gent renewing the election of grace, and
preparing them for the service of God, and
the enjoyment of glory. . They are born not
of blood, nor of the mill of the flesh, nor of the
will of man but of God. We are changed
into the same image mith Christ the first born,
from glory to glory as by the Lord the Spirit.
As he finished the natural world at the crea-
tion of all things, moved upon the waters,
rendered them productive, causing them to
abound with innumerable varieties of fish,
he, as an almighty agent, finishes the spiri-
tual creation, he breathes upon the soul
which has lain in darkness and death, and
raises it to spiritual and immortal life ; he
infuses new light into the understanding,
new love into the heart, new desires into the
affections: in short, he renews the whole spi-
rit, and soul, and body, and sanctifies them
28
as a living temple for himself. They are his
avorkmanship, each member of the inner man
is as really formed by his omnipotent ope-
rations as the members of the outerman, cre-
ated in Christ Jesus unto good norks nihich
God hath before ordained that ne should malk
in them. This part of the divine misdom is
also a mystery. We cannot comprehend the
mode of our natural generation ; we cannot
conceive how the bones grow in the nomb of
her that is mith child: much less can we com-
prehend the mode of our spiritual genera-
tion ; how the divine Spirit breathes gently,
yet irresistibly upon the soul; constraining
it to Jesus nith the cords of love, yet com-
manding it with the energy and majesty of
a God. “He who commands the light to
shine out of darkness shines upon the heart,
giving the light of the knowledge of the glo-
ry of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” There
is no violence done to the subjects of his ope-
rations, no restraint either upon the under-
standing, or the heart, yet there is no possi-
bility of resisting. He speaks, and the change
is mightily effected ; the man acts as freely
now in closing with Jesus for salvation, and
running the way of his commandments, as
formerly in going the high road of disobe-
dience and destruction. That Saviour who
was once nithout comeliness or form now ap-
pears altogether lovely; the generation of the
upright, who were formerly the object of
his scorn and derision, he now regards as the
eacellent of the earth ; that bible which in
29
times past appeared barren and uninterest-
ing, is now the subject of his daily and de-
lightful meditations ; and those ordinances
which were once insupportably tedious, are
now the joy and rejoicing of his heart. All
this change is wrought upon the sinner by
an agent which he cannot see, in a manner
which he cannot understand,and by the instru-
mentality of that word which thousands read
and hear without any saving effect.—“The
wind bloweth where it listeth, we hear the
sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it
cometh, or whither it goeth; so is every one
that is born of the Spirit.” But this doctrine,
however mysterious, must be taught. As
we ought to vindicate the glory of Jesus, by
avowing the necessity and all-sufficiency of
his righteousness for reconciliation, we ought
to vindicate the glory of the Spirit, by avow-
ing the necessity and the efficacy of his grace
for our sanctification. “ Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but ac-
cording to his mercy he saves by the wash-
ing of regeneration, even the renewing of
the Holy Ghost.” There is an intimate co-
operation of all the divine Persons in effect-
ing the recovery of man. The Father devi-
ses the plan, the Son lays down the price,
and the Spiritinequalsovereignty and grace
engages to consummate this salvation, by
giving to all the chosen an interest in Jesus
and his covenant mercies. Now, to confound
the offices of these ever-blessed Agents is like
throwing up a building without arranging
VOL. 2. C 2.
30
the materials,which must leave it a confused,
unsightly pile ; to exhibit the office of either
divine Person, and omit the others is like at-
tempting to erect an arch without carrying
on the various parts, which necessarily de-
faces the beauty, and destroys the strength
of the whole. God the Spirit ought there-
fore to be preached in his sanctifying, sav-
ing operations ; he should be held forth to
view as an independent, infinite Being,
working in his people both to will and to do
of his good pleasure. One apostle therefore
represents believers as elect according to the
fore-knowledge of God the Father, through
sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience, and
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Ano-
ther apostle prays in behalf of his hearers,
that “their hearts might be comforted, be-
ing knit together in love, and unto all rich-
es of the full assurance of understanding, to
the acknowledgment” of the mystery of
God, and of the Father, and of Christ.”
With our sanctification by the power of
divine grace, may also be connected the
* The original word, which we translate acknowledgment, lite-
rally signifies a thorough, perfect, heart-felt knowledge or ac-
quaintance. Such is the translation which is given to the same
word in Rom. i. 28. iii. 20. ac. 2. 1 Tim. ii. 4. Eph. i. 17. and the
same translation would, I humbly believe, more fully cypress the
apostle’s meaning in the present instance. Why does he thus ar-
dently pray that these Colossians might obtain a profound ac-
quaintance with this unsearchable mystery Probably he intend-
ed convincing them, that as there is no salvation without an inter-
estin the love of these adorable Persons, so a suitable knowledge
of the mode of their subsistence, of their offices in our redemp-
tion, would much conduce to their spiritual establishment and
consolation. -
31
christian's progress to perfection as another
part of this risdom. “The righteous shall
hold on his way ; and he that hath clean
hands shall wax stronger and stronger.”—
That grace of Jehovah which was exercised
in their election from eternity, and in call-
ing them effectually in time, secures them
infallibly to future glory : His love, of
which they are partakers, is unchangeable ;
the covenant in which they are interested is
inviolable, and their union to Jesus the Me-
diator is indissoluble and everlasting. “I
have betrothed thee unto me forever: I
give to them eternal life and they shall ne-
ver perish, neither is any man able to pluck
them out of my hand.” This part of the di-
vine wisdom is also mysterious. The man-
ner in which the soul, once brought into the
covenant, is kept infallibly in the covenant,
is cleansed from ten thousand pollutions, is
supported amidst ten thousand discourage-
ments, and is enabled finally to rise trium-
phant over ten thousand oppositions, is alto-
gether unaccountable. To see a single spark
of fire living in the ocean, would be myste-
rious ; to see a single soldier maintaining a
warfare with a host of adversaries, each in-
comparably more artful and powerful than
himself, is mysterious ; to see a small, in-
significant insect attempting to thresh the
mountains, and marching victorious over
them, would be mysterious; but the belie-
ver's progress to his father's kingdom is in-
conceivably more mysterious. He is weak
32
in himself, he is opposed by innumerable
enemies both within and without : “He
wrestles not with flesh and blood, but with
principalities and powers, with the rulers of
the darkness of this world; with spiritual
wickedness in highplaces; and notwithstand-
ing this fiery conflict, he rises more than a
conqueror. This part of the divine wisdom,
however mysterious, ought freely to be a-
vowed. It is intimately connected with the
peace and joy of the spiritual pilgrim; with
the glory of the grace, and faithfulness, and
power of a promising God. The apostle
thus addresses the believing Philippians—
“Being confident of this very thing that he
which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
This passage suggests practical instruc-
tion, equally interesting to those who mi-
nister, and to those who receive the word of
salvation.
1. It may be inferred, that in divine re-
velation there are many doctrines mysteri-
ous in their nature. Jehovah is a being in-
finitely above us: his way is in the sea, his
path in the great maters, and his footsteps are
not known : it is therefore reasonably to be
expected, that when HE communicates his
will to man there must be some things hard.
to be understood : truths which our finite ca-
pacities are unable to comprehend in their
full extent and connexion. “Who hath
known the mind of the Lord! Canst thou
by searching find out God? Canst thou find
33
out the Almighty unto perfection?—For
what man knoweth the things of a man, save
the spirit of man which is in him?”—The
child does not always see the propriety of
the conduct of its parents; all the arrange-
ments of the sovereign may not be satisfac-
torily obvious to the subject: Even so the
things of God knoweth none but the Spirit of
God. Must vain mortals presumptuously
expect to trace all the movements of HIM
who is wonDERFUL IN counsel; who MA-
KETH DARKNESS HIS PAVILION, and scarcely
discovers the skirts of his glory ! It is espe-
cially to be expected, that in the redemption
of man, which is the most important, the
most sublime of all the divine operations,
there will be particular transactions utterly
above our conceptions. If man was to be
restored, he must be restored in a manner
worthy of God; in a manner which would
reflect glory on all his perfections, and shew
to every spectator, mºiether visible or invisi-
ble, the purity of his law, and the righteous-
ness of his government. It is even pre-
sumption in mortals to expect comprehend-
ing fully a scheme so immense and elevated,
which is designed to appear the chief of the
nays of God, and beyond all his other works
to display the exceeding riches of his wis-
dom, and sovereignty, and love. There are
therefore various doctrines which the holy
men who uttered them have represented as
unsearchable by us: The Trinity of Persons
in the divine essence, the manifestation of
34
the Son in the likeness of man, the union of
two natures infinitely different into one in-
dividual Person, faith that living principle
by which the sinner is joined to the Saviour,
and the resurrection of the body at last, are
all, in their turn, pronounced A MYSTERY.—
Such is the acknowledgement of prophets
and apostles; and therefore if every part
of divine revelation appeared perfectly
plain, obvious to the understanding at first
view, the bible would be inconsistent with
itself; it could no longer be considered a
faithful saying ; it might with propriety be
rejected as not coming from Him nihose nays
are higher than our mays, and his thoughts
than our thoughts.
2. It may be inferred, that these doctrines,
however mysterious, should be taught with-
out reserve by the spiritual steward.—We
speak the misdom of God in a mystery.—It is
readily acknowledged that there are partic-
ular truths which ought to be discussed with
much prudence and caution, lest they be
abused by the wanton, or prove stumbling
to the weak. The eternal generation of
the Son by the Father; the procession of
the Spirit from the Father and the Son,
should ever be mentioned with the profound-
est reverence as mysteries utterly incom-
prehensible ; otherwise an impure imagina-
tion may be led to conceive of God aſter
the manner of men, or consider the SoN and
SPIRIT as inferior to the Father. The ab-
solute, eternal election of a certain number
35
to future glory, is also a doctrine in the il-
lustration of which much wisdom is requi-
site, lest enquiring souls be discouraged,
and the ungodly hardened in sin. While it
is taught as the truth of God, that some mere
ordained to eternal life, it should also be
taught that this decree is among those secret
things which belong to the Lord, into which
we ought not boldly to enquire; that, in the
everlasting gospel, salvation is tendered free-
ly to every hearer; that no man knows but
he is elected, and that he is really invited
and commanded, by embracing the offered
Saviour, to make his calling and election sure.
Again, the sovereign agency of the Spirit in
the sanctification of believers, and their cer-
tain perseverance in holiness, are parts of
our message to be discussed with extreme
caution, lest the presumptuous be tempted
to sin because grace abounds, or to neglect
the means of salvation, merely because they
cannot give efficacy to these means. In or-
der to prevent these dangerous consequen-
ces, it may be proper to teach, that, although
the Holy Ghost works, yet he usually works
by the ordinances of his own appointment;
that although faith is peculiarly his gift, yet
this faith cometh by hearing the nord of God;
that the dead in sin are raised to spiritual
life, and those who are already alive to God
grow up to perfect men, by means of medi-
tation and prayer, by the instrumentality
of the word read and preached, as really as
the natural babe is supported and nourished
36
by the natural milk. But although caution
is requisite in handling the nord of life, yet
no part of the mystery of God ought to be
neglected; to conceal any truth, from an
apprehension that the cause might be injur-
ed by declaring it, betrays a shameful disbe-
lief both of the power and promise of God:
to shun proclaiming any doctrine in its pro-
per season and connexion, lest our charac-
ters might be exposed to reproach, betrays
an inexcusable pride. Suppose that an am-
bassador was sent to a foreign court, for the
purpose of negociating a treaty ; and he,
from motives of policy or popularity, should
conceal a part of his instructions, how arro-
gant must his conduct appear ! what a re-
flection upon the court which he was ap-
pointed to represent, as if they knew not
what measures were most conducive to their
interest and honor If liberties of this na-
ture would be thought daring among men,
how inconceivably greater is his arrogance,
who trifles with the authority of the King of
kings ; who ventures to conceal or amend
his adorable counsels? With whatsovereign-
ty does the Lord God give command to his
servant the prophet, and through him to the
spiritual ambassador in every age 2 “So thou
O son of man, I have set thee a watchman
to the house of Israel ; therefore thou shalt
hear the word from my mouth, and warn
them from me.—Go unto the children of thy
people, and speak unto them, thus saith the
JLord God, whether they will hear, or whe-
37
ther they will ſorbear.” Armed with a
commission thus solemn and explicit, how
bold were both prophets and apostles, in
proclaiming the nhole counsel of God, with-
out respect to persons, or regard to conse-
quences ! For this they cheerfully became
the song of the drunkard, were derided as
fools by the wise of this world, and rejected
as the very off-scouring of all things : Yet
neither this scorn nor persecution moved them;
yea, they accounted not even life dear, that
they might finish their course mith joy, and
the ministry nihich they had received of the
Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of
God.
3. It may be inferred, that it is the duty
of all implicitly and cordially to receive this
misdom of God in a mystery. In vain is the
most nourishing bread presented, unless it
be improved ; in vain do the purest waters
flow around us, unless they be applied for
quenching our thirst ; and in vain are these
mysteries of revelation indiscriminately an-
nounced, unless indiscriminately embraced,
All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and should therefore be fully believed, and
thankfully improved by us. As the minis-
ters of Jesus are not at liberty to choose
which part of their message to deliver, and
which to conceal ; neither are his professed
followers at liberty to choose which to ac-
cept, or which to reject. The consideration
that many doctrines of christianity are be-
yond our comprehension, is not the least
VOL. 2. D
38
objection against receiving them. There
are ten thousand appearances in nature
which all believe, yet none can understand.
We believe that the heavenly bodies revolve
around each other, and that by this revolu-
tion day and night, summer and winter, al-
ternately return ; yet no philosopher has at-
tempted fully to explain the laws by which
they are kept in motion : We believe that
the grass grows, without being capable of
saying hon, , we believe that one plant is
pleasant to the palate and nourishing to the
body, while another is both offensive and
poisonous, yet we are unable to account for
this difference of qualities; they both grow
in the same climate, are supported by the
same soil, are surrounded with the same at-
mosphere, have the influences of the same
sun to warm, and the same rain to water and
refresh them. I am bold to affirm, that
those who believe nothing but what they
comprehend, must believe nothing at all.—
There is not a rose that blushes in the gar-
den, not a spire of grass which blooms in the
field, not a leaf which waves in the forest,
that we can completely analyze and under-
stand ; nay, they must even doubt and deny
their very existence. I can as easily explain
any mystery in the gospel, as I can explain
the manner of my own existence. I am lost
when I begin scrupulously to enquire how
I was created at first ; how I am supported
from day to day; how the muscles move,
and the blood flows in my veins, without a-
39
ny agency of mine; how the food which I
take rears me up to the stature of five or six
feet, and not the height of fifteen or twenty;
how, in my constitution, a material body is
intimately connected with an immaterial,
immortal spirit; how these partners sensi-
bly act and re-act upon each other ; how a
gloomy disconsolate mind unnerves the vi-
gor of my body, and a disordered body
clouds the perceptions and chills the ardor
of my mind. Shall we believe these myste-
ries in nature, and reject all mystery in
grace Is it replied, “that we see these
things with our bodily eyes; we see the sun
moving, and the grass growing, and there-
fore cannot disbelieve l’ I reply that we
credit ten thousand facts merely from the
report of others, and facts which would be
incredible was not the evidence undeniable :
We believe that Alexander the great with
a single army overran and subdued the world,
although no such conquests are related in
modern history; we believe that eruptions
frequently take place in AEtna and Vesu-
vius, although there is no such appearance
in any mountain around us. Shall we credit
these and innumerable other facts upon the
foundation of human testimony Then why
not believe upon the foundation of divine !
Shall we reject a report merely because Je-
hovah is its author It becomes us rather to
imitate the reasoning of the evangelist, “If
we receive the witness of men, the witness
of God is greater ; he is not a man that he
40
should lie ;” he cannot possibly be deceived,
neither will he deceive others. When a
doctrine is contained in the scriptures, the
question is not, “Does it appear reasona-
ble ; does my understanding fully compre-
hend it !”—But, “ is it a revelation from
God?” A thus saith the Lord, is the high-
est possible evidence that mortals can either
ask or expect. We are no less bound to be-
lieve what he reveals, however unsearcha-
ble, than to perform what he commands,
however arduous. Never does man act a
part nobler in itself, more becoming his sta-
tion, than when he lays his reason at the foot
of the gospel, and receives implicitly what-
ever it contains ; believes without reserve
this misdom of God in a mystery.
“My favor’d soul shall meekly learn
To lay her reason at his throne,
And weak his secrets to discern,
Shall trust him for her guide alone,”
I would conclude, animating all to a most
devout, diligent study of these mysteries of
godliness, What nobler, what more inter-
esting subject can possibly occupy the at-
tention of mortals? “They have God for
their author.” “Prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men
of God spake as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost:” They contain truths infinite-
ly sublime and important for their matter,
and “salvation for their end,” “These are
written that ye might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believ-
ing ye might have life through his name.”
41
Is the student eager in the pursuit of learn-
ing, which virtually perishes in the using
Does the philosopher exhaust his time and
strength in exploring the varied mysteries
of nature ? merely to gratify his curiosity or
immortalize his name ! And shall we be
less ardent, less unwearied in a study in
which the honor of God, and our everlast-
ing salvation are most intimately concerned!
“ Search the scriptures therefore, for in
them ye think ye have eternal life, and they
are they which testify of Jesus.” In pro-
portion as ye are occupied in contemplating
these mysteries of redemption, you become
fellow-students with ancient patriarchs, who
rejoiced to see the day of Christ aſar off; who
looked forward, with equal transports of
wonder and joy, to the place and the period of
his manifestation in the flesh, with prophets;
n:ho searched diligently respecting the suffer-
ings of Christ, and the glory that should fol-
ton with evangelists and apostles, who
counted all things but loss for the excellency of
the knon-ledge of Christ Jesus their Lord ;
with angels and arch-angels, with the sera-
phim and cherubim, who eagerly look into
these wonders of redeeming love, and learn
through them the manifold misdom of God.
I would again invite all to the devout, dili-
gent contemplation of these mysteries of
godliness. Is it the most dignified ? it is al-
so the most profitable study in which you
can possibly engage. The mind is led to
realize the vanity of the world, and its pe-
VOL. 2. D 2.
42
rishing prospects; it obtains peace amidst
all the tumults of this fluctuating scene, a
peace which passeth all understanding ; it is
elevated more and more to God as its por-
tion and glory ; it is gradually ripening for
those regions of immortality where JESUs
CRUCIFIED AND GLORIFIED IS ALL AND IN ALL,
There new wonders in eternal succession
will be bursting forth upon their admiring
eyes; and other joys, and other joys ever-
lastingly rolling in upon their enraptured
hearts.
“With open face beholding as in a glass
the glory of the Lord, may you all be chan-
ged into the same image from glory to glo-
ry, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”—
AMEN.
-**-* *-*-
SERMON II.
The universal apostacy of mankind confirmed.
ROMANS III, 23.
“For all have sinned.”
HE who accidentally witnesses two
neighbors contending with each other, im-
mediately enquires into the cause ; he na-
turally feels an anxiety to ascertain the
source of their contention, and either justi-
fies or condemns agreeably to the informa-
tion obtained. If two nations are involved
43
in war, and each aims at the destruction of
the other, every spectator enquires into the
original cause ; that particular interest
which he feels in the welfare of either or
both, impels him to examine, what circum-
stances first excited their jealousies, and af-
terwards issued in consequences thus awful.
There is evidently a controversy between
the Lord GoD of Hosts and our world.
Whence that disquietude which often agi-
tates the human mind; those diseases which
torture the body; those scourges which
perplex the nations? They all undeniably
evince that the Creator has a controversy
with his creature : These appearances of
divine displeasure are not peculiar to one pe-
riod of time, or one part of the world; they
are common to all nations, and to each in-
dividual of every nation. All are therefore
interested in the enquiry, what is the pro-
bable cause of this indignation of the Al-
mighty 7 What melancholy event has for-
feited his favor, and exposed us to these re-
peated and awful expressions of his wrath !
Nojar, or even jealousy existed at the first
creation of man: No tempest then ruffled
the ocean of human life; no blackness gath-
ered over our heavens; no lightning blazed
or thunders rolled either to disturb or de-
stroy. “God saw every thing that he had
made, and behold it was very good; and he
rested and was refreshed.” The Creator
experienced ineffable delight in contem-
plating his works, and impart to every
44
species of being a happiness suited to its ca-
pacity: in man especially, he beheld his
own image illustriously shining, knowledge
and righteousness and holiness ; he saw his
various powers of body and mind perfectly
harmonising in their Maker’s praise: man,
on the other hand, beheld in Jehovah a
friend and father; felt the most refined, ele-
wated joy in his communion, and contem-
plated all his perfections co-operating for
his welfare. But this communion is sudden-
ly suspended; the former smiles of his Cre-
ator are now succeeded by fearful eviden-
ces of his wrath, and the mournful reason is
assigned in our text, “for all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God.”
Sin is defined in our shorter catechism, to
consist in “any want of conformity unto,
or transgression of the law of God.” Such
also is the definition given by an inspired e-
vangelist, “whosoever committeth sin, trans-
gresseth the law, for sin is a transgression of
the law.” The original word translated sin.
literally signifies a departure from some rule
that is prescribed ; a deviation from a par-
ticular line that is drawn, or from any mark
at which we are aiming. Sin may therefore.
be considered as a violation of the divine
law, either by omission or commission ; a
departure from this eternal standard of
righteousness, either by neglecting to per-
form what it requires, or committing what
it actually forbids.
It is our present design, with an humble.
45
reliance on divine aid, to establish the doc-
trine of universal apostacy from the living
God; to prove as the apostle asserts, that
“all have sinned and come short of his glo-
r ...”
And while we attempt, in the language
of the Holy Ghost, to confirm this truth,
may our consciences, under his powerful in-
fluences, be deeply convinced of sin; may
we all be enabled to realize its dangerous
and ruining consequences.
The truth of the proposition, that “all
have sinned,” is obvious,
1. From the explicit and repeated decla-
rations of scripture : it is written as with
sun-beams in almost every page of revela-
tion, and in almost every line of every page.
To repeat all the passages which tend to
establish this fundamental, yet humiliating
article of our religion, would be to repeat a
great part of this heavenly record. One in-
spired writer testifies, “and God saw that
the wickedness of man was great in the
earth.” It demands our consideration, that it
was not the wickedness of one man which
Jehovah is represented as beholding, nor the
impiety of a particular kindred or nation,
but of mankind, of human nature ; the whole
mass was corrupted, every individual of
every nation was smitten with the deadly
contagion ; the whole head was sick, and
the whole heart was faint: “and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually.” Language cannot
46
possibly be more explicit to express the
corruption of mankind in general, the ex-
ceeding, desperate depravity of each indi-
vidual, “every imagination of the thought
of his heart was evil, only evil” to the utter
exclusion of all that is morally or spiritual-
ly good; evil continually ; through the pow-
erful influence, the unlimited reign of im-
piety, there was not the interval of a moment
for serious reflection or spiritual exercises.
Again, “God looked upon the earth and be-
hold it was corrupt; for all flesh had cor-
rupted his way upon the earth.” The Lord
is represented, by another infallible witness,
as “looking down from heaven upon the
children of men to see if there were any
that did understand and seek God;” to as-
certain if there was an individual among the
numerous offspring of Adam who retained
his integrity and sought after God his Crea-
tor; and what was the result of his enquiry'
It was equally mournful and humiliating.
“They are all gone aside,” is the divine
testimony; “they are altogether became fil-
thy ; there is none that doeth good, no, not
one.” But this general apostacy was not
peculiar to the age of the patriarchs or the
prophets; the same charge is renewed hun-
dreds of years afterwards, although men had
enjoyed all the advantages of civilized life,
and a written revelation from God. An in-
spired apostle declares, “we have before
proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are
all under sin.” This passage is peculiarly
47
forcible for establishing the doctrine of uni-
versal corruption, and is entitled to some
examination. The Jews were the posteri-
ty of Abraham; a people in covenant with
Jehovah and the peculiar favorites of hea-
ven ; exalted above all others by “the adop-
tion, and the glory, and the service of God,
and the promises;” the Gentiles were the
rest of the nations; all not immediately in-
cluded within the pale of the Jewish church:
The apostle boldly maintains that no nation
was exempted from the general charge ;
that whether they were Jews, a people who
had been favored with such frequent and
clear manifestations of the divine will, who
had received a system of worship prescribed
by God himself; or whether they were
Gentiles, given up to the dictates of their
own blinded understandings, and involved in
the absurdities of a gross idolatry, “the
were all under sin, and guilty before God.”
He afterwards brings home the indictment
to the conscience of every individual, in the
words of an Old Testament prophet, “there
is none righteous, no, not one ; they are all
gone out of the way, they are together be-
come unprofitable; there is none that doeth
good, no, not one ; their throat is an open
sepulchre; with their tongues they have
used deceit ; the poison of asps is under
their lips, and the way of peace they have
not known; there is no fear of God before
their eyes: now we know that whatsoever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under
48
the law ; that every mouth may be stopped,
aud all the world may become guilty be-
fore God.”—Were it thought necessary, in-
numerable other passages of scripture might
be adduced for the confirmation of this
doctrine. One asserts, “there is not a just
man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth
not : Lo, this only have I found, that God
hath made man upright, but they have
sought out many inventions:” Another ac-
knowledges, “if thou, Lord, shouldst mark
iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand : in thy
sight shall no man living be justified.”
2. The doctrine that all have sinned is e-
vident from the experience of all. No one
who impartially examines his own heart, will
dare to assert, “I am clean, without trans-
gression; I am innocent; neither is there
iniquity with me.” Have we upon all oc-
casions followed the dictates of our own con-
sciences; performing whatever the light of
nature proclaimed to be right? Have we
conducted towards others amidst all circum-
stances, as we thought they should have con-
ducted towards us amidst the same circum-
stances ! Have we upon all occasions per-
formed our duty to our great Creator, giv-
ing him that share of our affections and our
services, to which he is most reasonably en-
titled? Have we really loved him nith all
our heart, our soul, our mind and strength, as
he has required in the first commandment 7
Have we cordially received and observed
such religious worship and ordinances, as
49
God hath appointed in his word agreeably
to the second commandment ' Have we en-
tertained a becoming reverence of his name
and perfections, sanctifying him in our
hearts, making him our fear and our dread,
as he has required in the third command-
ment Have we always thought of God and
spoken of him with that solemnity of spirit
which is due to a being infinitely great?—
Have we sanctified his holy sabbath as he
has solemnly required in the fourth com-
mandment, ceasing from the ordinary em-
ployments of life, and stirring up our souls
to a becoming contemplation of the divine
perfections as displayed in creation and
redemption ? Have we not fallen infinitely
short of those duties which we owe to each
other in the various relations of life ; our
obligations as parents to children, and chil-
dren to parents ; as masters to servants, and
servants to masters; as magistrates té citi-
zens, and citizens to magistrates ? Have we
never indulged malignant thoughts against
our neighbor, contrary to the sixth com-
mandment Have we not been shamefully
unchaste in our thoughts, and words, and
actions, contrary to what God requires in
the seventh commandment 1 Have we not
upon some occasions injured the property
of our neighbor, either by taking the advan-
tage of his ignorance or necessity, in oppo-
sition to the eighth commandment Have
we not been guilty of slandering the name,
of coveting the property, and envying the
VOL. 2. E _*
90
prosperity of others, contrary to the duties
required in the ninth and tenth command-
ments! Thus he who impartially examines
his own heart, its secret motives and opera-
tions, must be conscious to himself of daily
imperfections; he who compares his own
life with the law of God, that unerring, eter-
nal standard of righteousness, must be con-
strained to the humiliating confession, that
“in many things we have all offended ; we
have all sinned and come short of the glory
of God.”
3. This doctrine is equally plain from ob-
servation on the conduct of others. Behold
man in every period of life, from infancy
to old age; view him in all his diversified
relations, whether as a superior or inferior;
contemplate him in every situation, whether
prosperous or adverse, and you discern
plain, undeniable proofs of imperfection;
you may behold the corruption of all in
their conduct and conversation. Do not
the sighs and tears of the new born babe ex-
press, in such language as it is capable of
using, its discontentment with its situation,
and consequently the secret enmity of its
heart against the Author of its existence?—
Do not children, gradually as they ripen to
capacity for action, discover strong, incorri-
gible propensities to evil? Are they not in-
comparably more inclined to imitate the ex-
ample of the vicious, than of the virtuous
around them? With what ease can they re-
tain an idle, trifling little tale, any wanton,

51
impure conversation which they hear; but
in whatever relates to God, to their souls
and future concerns, “line upon line, line
upon line; precept upon precept, precept
upon precept,” are found insufficient. The
aged again are usually peevish, fretful, dis-
contented ; they are ready to ask, “where-
fore hath God made all men in vain? They
loathe life,” and become in some measure
dissatisfied with themselves and all around
them. Contemplate the conduct of man in
the different grades and circumstances of
life. Are not the poor usually envious !
do they not behold with a malignant eye
the prosperity of others! are they not dis-
posed to challenge the wisdom, and justice,
and goodness of God in the distribution of
outward blessings?—Are not the rich,on the
other hand, proud, imperious, oppressive ;
glorying in their wealth as if their superior
wisdom or excellence had acquired it? Is
not civil authority, by those who are called
to exercise it, frequently converted into an
instrument of oppression; is it not rather
employed for promoting the misery than
the happiness of others; while those who
ought to be subject are, in their turn, turbu-
lent, envious, neither shewing a proper res-
pect to the person nor authority of the civil
magistrate Is not man evidently at war
with man, although they are connected to
each other by relations the most intimate
and endearing?—Have not all the laws
which human wisdom could devise, or hu-
52.
man power execute, proved insufficient to
restrain them from devouring the persons
and property of each other? What conten-
tions often disturb the peace, and almost
destroy the existence of families, and settle-
ments, and nations? They must therefore be
more than blind who cannot discern from
observation, and more than obstinate who
will not acknowledge the universal corrup-
tion of human nature ; that the accursed
deaven of sin has pervaded and contaminated
the whole mass. The heathen,* entirely
destitute of any supernatural revelation,
were convinced of the mournful truth, and
were constrained to confess and deplore it.
Their poets and philosophers were almost
as explicit on this subject as christians can
be with the bible before their eyes.
4. This truth is undeniably established
if we advert to those miseries to which all
are indiscriminately exposed. It may be
laid down as an unquestionable maxim, that
as God cannot consistently pardon the guil-
ty, neither can he, neither will he punish the
innocent; that suffering upon a rational be-
ing can only be inflicted as a consequence
* To omit mentioning numerous proofs which might be ad-
duced from historians and moralists among the heathen, I shall
offer the following from a celebrated poet. Nam vitiis memo sine
nascitur ; optimus ille est qui minimus urgetur. “For no man
is born without faults; he is most perfect who has the fewest.”
Płor. Sat. b. 1. Sat. iii. v. 68, 9. Such a testimony from the pen
of a heathen has, certainly, some weight towards the confirma-
tion of this truth; especially when it is uttered by one the licen-
tiousness of whose principles and practices forbade him to be ve.
ry severe in criticising the conduct of others.

53 - U

of sin; that when the subjects of a Prince
who is perfection itself, who can have no
pleasure in their death, but is rather delight-
ed in promoting their happiness, when the
subjects of such a Prince are invariably
under his frown, experiencing his displea-
sure in one respect or another, there
must be some fault in themselves; it must
arise either from want of esteem to his per-
son or obedience to his laws. If this prin-
ciple be acknowledged, and all who enter-
tain becoming conceptions either of the
mercy or justice of Jehovah will readily ac-
knowledge it, then the conclusion is obvious,
that all must have sinned. Is not misery co-
extensive with man in all periods and cir-
cumstances of life " Not to mention those
more public and awful scourges of the Al-
mighty by which nations perish in an hour;
not to mention the earthquake by which the
lofty city is levelled with the ground; or the
pestilence which walkelh in darkness, wasting
its ten thousands; or war which deluges a
land in the blood of its inhabitants; does not
misery in one form or another haunt the
children of Adam while they continue upon
earth ! “Man that is born of a woman is of
few days and full of trouble.” As the peri-
od of human life is short, this short period
is a succession of sorrows and contrition.—
“He cometh forth as a flower, and is cut
down.” “He is born crying, lives com-
plaining, and dies disappointed of his
hope.” Does not misery assail the infant
VOL. 2. E 2
54
*:::====-ri---------ºr-------, -------
the very moment of its entrance on the
theatre of life? And if any attain to three
score years, or four, is not their strength labor
and sorron, 2 Wherever we cast our eyes.
around us, are not spectacles of wretched-
ness presented to our view One pines in
poverty, wanting even the necessaries of
life ; another is tortured with exquisite
pain; in the morning he longs for the return
of evening, and in the evening longs for the
approach of morning, that another period of
his torment may be past. Do we not taste
some bitteringredient intermingled with eve-
ry cup of earthly enjoyment, as a plain
proof that the curse denounced against the
first transgression of Adam is now experi-
enced by all his natural offspring ! “Cursed
The the ground forthy sake, in sorrow shalt
thou eat of it all the days of thy life.” What
is the glare of the wealthy, or the majesty of
the great but more splendid misery Dis-
quiet and anxiety rankle the bosom of the
prince upon his throne, no less than of the
beggar upon the dung-hill; disease tortures
alike the body covered with purple and with
rags; and death, with equal sternness, de-
mands admission into the palace of the migh-
ty and the cottage of the mean. “Al-
though,” as the plaintive patriarch express--
es it, “although affliction cometh not forth
of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out
of the ground; yet man is born to trouble
as the sparks fly upwards.” . Wexation and
disappointment meet us in every stage,

5 5
U
and occupation, and enjoyment of life. . On: -
what principle, then, can we account for
this universal reign of misery and death, un-
less from the universal reign of transgres-
sion? Who ever perished being innocent / Or
where nere the righteous cut off 2 Will a ten-
der parent deliberately scourge a child
who uniformly obeys his commands? Will.
a righteous judge doom to punishment or
death the citizen who has never broken the
laws of his country : Or can it be consistent
with the benevolence or justice of the Crea-
tor, to pursue with constant marks of his in-
dignation a being who always fulfilled his
pleasure, and answered the end of its exis-
tence —There is no misery among the an-
gels of light, those blessed spirits that kept
their first estate and obey the will of their
Lord; being perfectly holy, they are per- l
fectly happy : There will be no complaint. 4
either outward or inward among all the re-- :
deemed of the Lamb through eternity;;
“they shall hunger no more, neither thirst,
any more : there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there.
be any more pain.” Their bodies, which
are now frail through corruption, shall
flourish in immortal youth. We therefore
infer the apostacy of all men from that van-
ity, and those miseries to which they are
now subjected; we may reasonably con-
ciude that all must have sinned, because they
actually suffer; “that destruction and mi-
sery are in their paths, because there is

no fear of God before their eyes.” Such is
the reasoning of the great apostle on this
subject. “By one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin; so that death pas-
sed upon all men, for that all have sinned;”
he teaches, as plainly as language can ex-
press, that “sin brought death into the world
and all our woe ;” that all the afflictions
which accompany man from his cradle to the
grave, come only as the reward of transgres-
sion ; he proves also, from this universal
reign of death, the corruption even of in-
fants; that they must be guilty before God,
if not actually by any transgression of their
own, yet originally in Adam their repre-
senting head. “For until the law, sin was
in the world; but sin is not imputed when
there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned
from Adam to Moses, even over them that
had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's
transgression.” -
The proposition that all have sinned, is
therefore undeniably established from the
plain repeated testimonies of Jehovah in his
word; from the consciousness which every
one, who impartially searches his own heart,
must have of his imperfections: from an
observation of human conduct in every pos-
sible circumstance and relation of life; and
also from those miseries to which all are ex-
posed. From this variety of evidence we
are obliged to draw the humiliating conclu-
sion, “there is none righteous, no, not one ;
they are all gone out of the way; they are

57 - |

together become unprofitable; there is none
that doeth good, no, not one.”
In applying this doctrine we are called,
1. To pause and drop a tear over the pe-
rished glory of human nature. Into what
degradation and misery is it new plunged
by transgression “How is the gold become
dim, how is the most fine gold changed 7”
The building once stood fairand firm; all its
parts proportioned with infinite wisdom,
and its heighttowering towards the heavens;
thus situated, it promised to resist every
storm and to stand an eternal monument of
glory to its Author, and admiration to the
world. But, ah, how fallen by one un-
timely shock this fair fabric is prostrated in
ruins, and lies a spectacle of pity, of scorn,
to God, to angels, and the universe. Behold
man as he proceeds at first from his Crea--
tor’s hand ; he is formed after “ the divine
image, in knowledge, righteousness and ho-
liness;” light beams unclouded upon his un-
derstanding; he possesses all that knowledge
of God, of his persons and perfections, which
was necessary for the discharge of his duty,
or could conduce to his happiness; holiness,
without the least spot of pollution, sits en-
throned on his heart; his affections are all
pure and spiritual, centering upon Jehovah
as his glory and joy; the very members of
his body are all holy, ready to encourage
and aid his immortal spirit in the service of
his Creator; the tongue, like a well tuned
organ, expressing the gratitude and devo-
58
+r-2-rrºr-º-º-º-wºº's “º
tion of the heart, poured forth the melody of
praise ; the eye, upon each survey of the
natural world, of the trees which so richly
adorned the garden, of the sun which “ruled
by day, and the moon and the stars which
adorned the evening sky,” lified up the soul
to a fresh admiration of their infinite Author.
Every outward enjoyment was crowned with
the most intimate, uninterrupted commu-
nion of his God. Such was the character,
such the condition of Adam when created
first and placed in the terrestrial paradise.
No wonder that apostate spirits envied his
happiness, and early employed their infer-
nal ingenuity in attempting to rob him of
his God and glory. How changed, how de-
graded now ! Light in his understanding is
succeeded by the blackness of darkness; ho-
liness in his heart by the most incorrigible
enmity and obstinacy ; his affections, that
were once pure, are become earthly, sensual,
and devilish ; the members of his body are
utterly disordered, and have become “in-
struments of unrighteousness to sin; his
throat is an open sepulchre,” emitting the
foul abominations of his heart; “his mouth,”
formerly the organ of praise, “is full of
cursing and bitterness; his feet,” formed to
run the way of the divine commandments,
“are swift to shed blood:” “The eyes, which
before met the approach of God with rap-
ture, are now clouded with sorrow, trem-
ble with fear, or strain with remorse and
horror at the voice of the Almighty ; that

59
tongue, which was once tuned only to the ac-
cent and language of love, has in a moment
learned to reproach and upbraid ; where
innocence sat enthroned, there fell despair
broods over her own stinging reflections and
tormenting fears; above, the throne of an
angry God; beneath, a fathomless gulph kin-
dled by the breath of the Almighty; within,
a troubled conscience like the raging sea in-
capable of taking rest; the glory is depart-
ed, the gold is become dim, the most fine
gold changed.” Jehovah turns away dis-
gusted, disappāinted from the workmanship
of his hand ; he “repents that he had made
man upon the earth, he is grieved at his
heart.”
2. Endeavor to be deeply convinced of
the alarming truth that all “ have sinned and
have come short of the glory of God.” Un-
less the understanding is really and tho-
roughly convinced of this truth, there is lit-
tle prospect that it will prove effectual, ei-
ther for alarming the conscience or hum-
bling the heart; there can be little prospect
that it will succeed in producing those fruits
of contrition, of humiliation, which issue in
glory to God or saving advantage to our-
selves. We must believe that we have re-
ally dishonored God, before we can be cor-
dial in lamenting that dishonor; we must be
convinced that we are involved in guilt and
pollution, before we can be really earnest
in desiring the pardon of the one, or the pu-
rification of the other. Now, brethren, I


60
would solemnly appeal to your own candor,
and ask, is there a doctrine in all the ora-
cles of the living God more clearly revealed,
or more frequently repeated than the doc-
trine of universal corruption ? Is it more
plainly taught that there is one God, than it
is taught, that “ by the offence of one judg-
ment has passed upon all men to condemna-
tion ; that death has passed upon all men,
because all have sinned 7” Is it more posi-
tively expressed, “there is one Mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Je-
sus ; that the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us,” than it is expressed, “that
all flesh have corrupted their ways ; that e-
very imagination of the thoughts of the
heart is only evil continually ” May we
not therefore, with equal propriety, deny
the existence of God, the unity of the divine
essence, the incarnation of the Eiernal Son,
as deny the universal apostacy and ruin of
mankind ' They are revealed in the same
volume, taught with the same clearness, and
enstamped with the same high authority, a
thus saith the Lord. It becomes us there-
fore, to exclaim in the language of the church
—“We appear before thee in our trespasses;
we have sinned, and have committed iniqui-
ties and have done wickedly, and rebelled
even by departing from thy precepts and
from thy judgments; O Lord, righteous-
ness belongeth unto thee; to us belongeth
confusion of face, to our kings, to our prin-
ces and to our fathers, because we have sin-
:61
ºned against thee ?” thou, Jehovah, art just
in all the judgments which thou hast poured
upon our world, in all that vanity which
thou art causing us to experience in every
enjoyment of Hife, in all that disease of body
and disquietude of mind to which we are
exposed, “ because we have sinned against
thee.”
3. Aim at realizing the certain and awful
consequences of transgression. It really
exposes to the curse of Almighty God; it
renders us obnoxious to all misery, both
here and hereafter. “The soul that sinneth,
it shall die. Cursed is every one that con-
tinueth not in all things that are written in the
book of the law to do them. The wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all un-
godliness and unrighteousness of men, who
hold the truth in unrighteousness.” Art
thou persuaded that every transgression
binds thee over to the curse, and does thy
conscience tremble under the persuasion?
A cold, speculative belief, that all have sin-
ned, that the nhole norld is become guilty be-
fore God, is unprofitable; each individual
ought particularly to apply the doctrine to
himself, “I am the man; I have sinned,
what shall I do unto thee, O thou Preserver
of men?—Behold ! I was shapen in iniquity,
and I am therefore by nature a child of
wrath even as others.” It is truly affecting
that thousands entertain some general no-
tions about their original and actual sin,
without giving themselves any more con-
VOL. 2. F
62
cern; they will not be at the trouble of re-
flecting on its consequences; this consider-
ation, although infinitely awful, rarely pro-
duces an uneasy emotion in their hearts, an
anxious cry from their lips, or a penitential
tear from their eyes; they can lie down in
the evening and rise up in the morning; they
can proceed to their ordinary employments,
and retire from these employments when
the wrath of God is hanging over them, and
the sword of justice is unsheathed for their
blood, with incomparably less anxiety than
that of a child or servant when threatened
by a parent or master. Endeavour, there-
fore, to be affected with the dangerous and
damning consequences of sin. What avails
it for a man merely to know he is diseased ?
he will not determine on consulting or em-
ploying a physician until he is alarmed with
the probably fatal issue of his disease.
What avails it for the criminal to know he
has broken the law of his country, and that
his sovereign is offended ? he will not think
of acknowledging his crime or asking for-
giveness, until he apprehends the actual pun-
ishment of his offence ; neither will the sin-
ner be truly earnest about fleeing from the
mºrath to come, unless he be fully convinced
that he is exposed to wrath; that he is liable
to the damnation of hell. How cheerful have
been the most perfect of the saints in the
confession of their sins; how contrife their
spirits under a consciousness of their imper-
fections; how ardent in imploring the exer-
63
cise of mercy? “If I justify myself, mine
own mouth would condemn me ; if I say I
am perfect, I shall prove myself perverse:
I will bear the indignation of the Lord, be-
cause I have sinned against him : I was a-
shamed, yea, even confounded, because I
did bear the reproach of my youth: Enter
not into judgement with thy servant, for in
thy sight shall no man living be justified.”
I shall now conclude this discourse with
a single inference to the ungodly, and to the
righteous.
1. To the ungodly, who are yet in their
sins, who have not fled for refuge to the ever-
lasting Surety, nor improved his great salva-
tion, heavy tidings must be uttered from
the Lord of hosts. There is no peace, saith
my God, to the nicked, and therefore none to
thee in thy present condition. “ The wrath
of God is revealed from heaven against all
unrighteousness and ungodliness of men,”
and is therefore revealed against thee. Art
thou, thoughtless sinner, art thou in child-
hood, remember that thou art called a trans-
gressor from the nomb, and a child of nirath:
Behold! thou wasi shapen in iniquity, and in
sin did thy mother conceive thee. Thy pa-
rents may perhaps flatter thee, but the li-
ving God is thine adversary whilst thou art
unreconciled by the blood of Jesus: Health
may bloom in thy cheek, joy may suffuse
thy heart, and the world present its gilded
charms before thine eyes, but the wrath of
almighty God hangs over thy head, and the
64
broken law thunders its curses in thine ears.
Art thou, thoughtless, sinner, art thou in
youth, in manhood or old age, thou also art
an heir of wrath, not only by nature, but by
practice; as thou wast really born under
the sentence of condemnation, so all the
transgressions thou hast committed from
infancy to the present hour ; all the serious
advices thou hast neglected; all the holy im-
pressions thou hast quenched; all the vain,
idle thoughts thou hast entertained; all the
unholy, unprofitable words thou hast utter-
ed; these are all charged against thee in
the volume of Jehovah's remembrance ; and
without a speedy application to his mercy,
through Jesus Christ, the accumulated sins
of thy nature and life will fill up thy cup to
its brim, and bring upon thee mirath to the
very uttermost. Dream not of impunity
while sin is indulged in thy heart: Did a
holy God for their sins hurl the angels from
heaven, drive them down to hell, and bind
them in chains of darkness to the judgment of
the great day, and shalt thou escape living
and dying in thy transgressions ! Did a holy
God for their sin, punish Sodom and Gomor-
rah, causing them to suffer the vengeance of
eternal fire, and shalt thou escape living and
dying in thy transgressions? Did a holy
God punish sin to the uttermost in his own
Son! did he command the sword of justice
to awake and cleave him to the dust of
death when undertaking as surety for man,
and shalt thou escape living and dying in

65
thy transgressions? “Be not deceived, God
is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap ; they that sow to the
flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. The
word is gone out of his mouth and shall
not return, that “he will by no means clear
the guilty. The wicked shall be turned in-
to hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
Fondly I would convince you of your mul-
tiplied, spiritual diseases, that you might
be brought to welcome the great PHYSICIAN;
fondly I would open up the malignant, mor-
tal wound of sin, to prepare for administer-
ing the healing balm ; fondly T would alarm
you with apprehensions of divine wrath, that
you might be driven by a holy necessity to
that Jesus in whom there “is plenteous re-
demption; who is the end of the law for
righteousness to all them that believe.” A.
door of hope is now opened for you through
his obedience and blood; mercy abounds.
through the merits of his cross for the ve-
ry chief of sinners. “As Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness, even so is
the Son of man lifted up ; that whosoever
believeth in him might not perish, but have
eternal life. The Lord grant, that “as in
Adam you all died, in Christ you may all be
made alive;” alive to all the privileges of
grace and glory.
2. This doctrine may also be improved for
the humiliation and gratitude of the righte-
ous ; of those who “are begotten again to a
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus;
VOL. 2. E 2.
66
Christ from the dead.” Hail, ye children
of the kingdom, hail, ye are highly favored
of the Lord. Reflect on your former con-
dition, “without God, without Christ, and
without hope in the world; fulfilling the
desires of the flesh and of the mind: Look”
back occasionally “to that rock from whence
you were hewn, to that pit” of perdition
from whence you were delivered; and let
each reflection on your past character and
condition excite you to adore the freedom
and sovereignty of divine grace; let it awa-
ken more ardent emotions of love to that
Jesus who nas delivered for your offences, and
died that you might live. Improve more
and more the Lamb of God for taking anay
Ayour sin; his sacrifice for expiating its guilt,
his grace for subduing its power and wash-
ing away its pollution.—Your daily imper-
ſections loudly demand the daily applica-
tion of his blood for preserving peace in
your own consciences and with the living
God; the daily risings and prevalence of
corruption require the daily improvement
of his covenant fulness for perfecting your
sanctification; and remember, for your con-
solation, that both your pardon and purifi-
cation are equally secured by the sufferings,
of his cross. “Ye are complete in him
who is the head of all principality and pow-
er. He gave himself for you, to redeem you
from all iniquity, and to purify unto himself.
a peculiar people zealous of good works.”
Rejoice evermore in the all-sufficiency of the
-
{,7
Redeemer's satisfaction ; contemplate this
as a complete and everlasting discharge from
condemnation. “He hath finished trans-
gression ; made an end of sin, made reconci-
liation for iniquity, and brought in everlast-
ing righteousness.”—The moment of your
union to his Person, you become perfect as
to your justification ; complete as the righ-
teousness of a God can render you ; and
shortly, through the influences of his Spirit,
you shall become equally perfect as to sanc-.
tification; conformed in the highest possi-.
ble degree to the likeness of your Lord,
and introduced to his most intimate fellow-
ship. There you shall eternally admire the
mystery, and experience the consolation of
the truth, that “ where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound: That as sin reign-
ed unto death, grace also reigned through,
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus,
Christ our Lord.”—AMEN.,
–p—s — -
SERMON III.
All become guilty by the transgression of A-
dam as their federal head.
++++++++++++++ s
ROMANS V, 12.
“By one man sin entered into the norld.”
WHEN all the branches of a tree
are evidently languishing; when the leaves
wither, and the fruit drops off before its sea-
68
son, we naturally conjecture that the trunk
itself must be disordered, or that some capi-
tal defect must exist in the roots from which
it sprung: When all the streams which issue
from a particular fountain become impure ;
when the color of their waters is changed,
and their influence is, offensive and noxious,
we immediately conclude that the source
from which they ſlow must be disordered :
When the various parts of an arch or build-
ing are decaying ; when they are separat-
ing from each other and tottering to fall, we
naturally conclude that the foundation is de-
ranged and insecure : Thus when we be-
hold the unnumbered millions of the hu-
man family ; men of all ages, of all coun-
tries, in every variety of condition, plunged
alike in pollution, “hateful and hating one
another,” we are obliged to suspect that
some fatal accident has happened to our com-
mon father, that the head itself must be dis-
ordered, whence the deadly contagion strikes
through all the members of the body. The
more enlightened among the heathen enter-
tained these conjectures, and the more can-
did openly expressed them: from the dis-
orders of mankind in general, from the ava-
rice of one, the intemperance of a second,
the unrestrained ambition of a third, the im-
perfections of all, they concluded that hu-
man nature was universally depraved; that
it had degenerated from its original purity
and glory, but nhen or hon, the fatal change.
was affected; at what period the accursed.
69.
leaven pervaded the nhole lump, or by what
peculiar arrangement of Jehovah the son
apparently inherited the corruptions of his
father, were questions which reason of itself
could never have solved; although they
were convinced of the fact, the cause they
were unable to explore. To afford this
discovery is peculiar to the gospel of the
Son of God. With this celestial light, the
bible in our hand, we behold not only the
stream of human corruption, but the very
source from which it flows. In Adam, is:
the declaration of this inspired, unerring
oracle, in Adam all die: By one man sin en-
tered into the norld.
Your attention was lately directed to the
universal apostacy and corruption of man.
We endeavored to support the general
charge, and to prove from the plain, repeat-
ed declarations of scripture ; from the con-
duct of man in all ages and all circumstan-
ces; from their complicated miseries both
temporal and spiritual, that all flesh have
really corrupted their way, and come short
of the divine glory: that sin, this bold usur-
per, this foe of God and man, has obtained
an unlimited reign in our world ; that his
dominion is co-extensive with mankind, and
reaches particularly to every son and daugh-
ter of Adam. “They are all gone aside ;
they are altogether become filthy ; there is
none that doeth good, no, not one.”
It is designed at present, with an humble
70
reliance on the same Spirit for direction, to
shew,
I. The manner of its entrance—by one
man sin entered: And,
II. The peculiar relation of that one man
to all other men, as a sufficient reason why
his transgression was charged to them.
Our first inquiry is into the manner by
which transgression obtained its entrance,
by one man. T T 4
As it is undeniably evident that sin has
entered our world ; that it has reigned to
the condemnation and ruin of all, it is equal-
ly evident that its entrance was by the fail-
ure of one. This fundamental article of our
religion is no less than seven times repeated
in the chapter in which our text is contain-
ed. We are taught in the 12th verse, that
by “one man sin entered into the world,”
and the apostle adds in the conclusion of the
same verse, “in” whom all have sinned :”
It is asserted in the 15th verse, that “through
the offence of one many be dead:” We learn
* I have taken the liberty of following the marginal reading
in the present instance, and rendering the words which are com-
monly translated, fºr that, in whom all have sinned. The Greek
preposition epi in various instances, when it governs the dative,
is rendered in.—Such is evidently its meaning in Acts v. 49.
They commanded that they should not speak, epi onomati, in the
name of Jesus. Romans ix, 33—JPhosoever believeth, ep. auto, in
him shall not he ashamed. Romans xv. 12—ep. cito, in him shall
the Gentiles trust. 1. Tim. iv. 10—We trust, epi theozonti, in the
1 wing God. This translation of the preposition epi, as it occurs
in Homans v. 12, is supported by the most correct and profound
commentators; particalarly by Guise, Beza, Stockeus and The-
ophilact. The latter of these expositors is so explicit and satis-
factory that I take pleasure in transcribing his words. “In
whom” he remarks, “all have sinned; that is, in Adam all have
71
from the 16th verse, that “the judgment
was by one to condemnation:” In the 17th it
is expressly declared, that “ by one man's
offence, death reigned by one :” We are
taught from the 18th verse, that “by the of.
fence of one, judgment came upon all men
to condemnation;” and in the 19th we read
that “ by one man's disobedience many
were made,” constituted, “ sinners.”
What must we infer from the frequent re-
petition of the same principle? What is pro-
bably the reason that a particular doctrine
is presented to our view again and again,
in verses immediately succeeding each
other ? This circumstance may convince us,
that our representation and fall in the first
Adam, is an article not only unquestionably
true, but of prime importance to the chris-
tian's faith. Surely the Holy Ghost, who
cannot be charged with saying or doing any
thing in vain, would not repeat the same
doctrine so frequently, nor establish it by
such a variety of evidence, unless it were a
truth infinitely interesting ; a truth which
ought to be firmly believed and openly a-
vowed by all. He, no doubt, foresaw the
fiery opposition which this doctrine would
sinned; for when he fell, they also who had not eaten of the tree
became mortal by or through him : so that they themselves of
fended, when he offended.”—Theop. on Rom. v. 12.
When the passage is thus translated, it establishes our federal
relation to Adam beyond a doubt; it appears undeniably evident
that we are involved not merely in the consequences of his trans-
gression, but in its guilt; that we are represented in him, were
as really considered sinful as Adam who actually committed the
$4ſ].
‘encounter from the carnal reasonings of men,
and intended to funish us with ample, irre-
sistible proof for its confirmation. Proba-
bly, also, the apostle in this instance was
designed as a pattern for those who should
succeed him in the ministerial office, shew-
ing that whether men will hear, or whether
they will forbear these distinguishing doc-
trines of the cross must be openly and fre-
quently taught.
Lest any doubts should be entertained re-
specting this one man by whom the judgment
passed upon all men to condemnation, the
apostle particularly names him in another
epistle, in Adam all die : in the fall of this
their common parent they virtually fell;
they actually were involved in the curse, and
became liable to death as the just and aw-
ful consequence ; from him, their natural
and federal head, the deadly contagion has
diffused its influence, until his whole posteri-
ty is corrupted and destroyed.
Having established the doctrine of our fall
in the first Adam, we proceed,
2. To examine the peculiar relation of
this man to all other men, as a reason why
his transgression was justly charged to their
account. Adam evidently sustained the re-
lation of a public representing head : He
was not only the natural root from which de-
scend the kindreds of the nations, but their
federal head : He was actually constituted
their representative in the covenant of works.
in consequence of this transaction, he and
73
his offspring were justly considered as one
in law; whatever he did, they did; while
he obeyed, they being represented in him
also obeyed; when he transgressed they al-
so transgressed, and together with him be-
came liable to all misery both temporal and
eternal. Adam is therefore explicitly cal-
led the figure, or type, or semblance of him
that nvas to come, of Christ Jesus the Lord,
who should afterwards be revealed. For
what reason can we imagine that Adam was
pronounced a figure of Messiah Surely not
because he was a man possessing a human
body and soul, for in that, sense every other
man might be called a figure of Christ no less
than Adam. He was so denominated on ac-
count of some real analogy, some important
resemblance between him and the Son of
God, which did not exist between any other
person and the Son of God. The meaning
is obviously this, that these persons, in their
respective order, sustained a public capaci-
ty ; that as Adam was constituted head in
the covenant of works, Christ was constitut-
ed head of the covenant of grace ; that as
the one represented all his natural offspring,
the other represented all his spiritual off-
spring; that as the latter by his vicarious o-
bedience conveyed life and immortality to
his seed, the former by his disobedience
conveyed condemnation and death to his
seed. This important article of our faith is
most happily expressed in the Westminster
catechism.—“The covenant being inade
VOL. 2. G --
74
with Adam, not only for himself, but for
his posterity, all mankind descending from
him by ordinary generation sinned in him
and fell with him in his first transgression.”
The authors of this admirable system pro-
nounce all mankind to have sinned in Adam,
because as he was ordained their represen-
tative in the covenant of works, his act, in
the estimation of law and justice, was their
act; his condemnation was their condemna-
tion ; his exclusion from the favor and fel-
lowship of his God was their exclusion.
I am fully aware that this doctrine is un-
popular ; by those who consider their own
reason as a guide more infallible than even
divine revelation it is confidently asked,
“where is the benevolence or justice of this
dispensation? Where is the propriety of in-
volving the fate of millions in the caprice of
an individual, and dooming them to destruc-
tion for a single transgression of his " Such
presumptuous objections and banter might
be silenced with the challenge of the great
apostle, “O man, who art thou that repli-
est against God Shall the thing formed
say to him that formed it, why hast thou
made me thus?” But as we are set for the
defence of the gospel, and bound, according
to our ability, to aim at justifying the ways
of God to men I humbly offer the following
considerations as a vindication of Jehovah's
conduct in that transaction; and to every
impartial enquirer after truth they will re-
present his procedure as both wise and gra-
75
cious; as not only consistent with justice on
the part of God, but really conducive to the
interests of man.
1. Adam, when ordained our federal
head, was completely qualified for the im-
portant trust ; he was fully competent to
have executed the condition of the covenant
to the glory of his Creator, and the everlast-
ing happiness of himself and his posterity.
He was created UPRIGHT, holy as it was pos-
sible for a creature to be holy, and thus both
able and inclined to obey the will of his Lord.
He was formed after the image of God in
KNowLEDGE : he had sufficient light in his
understanding to discriminate between mo-
ral good and evil; to apprehend his Crea-
tor’s character and perfections, and thus form
a just estimate of the excellence of his love,
and the terrors of his wrath ; he did not re-
quire, as man does in his depraved state,
any outward revelation in order to discover
what might be acceptable to God ; this was
intuitively obvious to him by that know-
ledge which he originally possessed. Adam
was created after the image of God in RIGHT-
EousNEss; his will perfectly corresponded
with the divine will ; whatever his under-
standing dictated as agreeable to the law of
his God, that his upright will cheerfully as-
sented to perform. No reluctance then ex-
isted in his pure, uncorrupted soul towards
what was spiritually good; while his under-
standing unerringly pointed to his duty, his
will as promptly performed it. Such was
76
the character of Adam when the Lord God
appointed him our representative in the co-
venant of works, and as the station was dig-
nified and responsible, he was amply qualifi-
cd for filling it.” His inclinations were all
pure, all spiritual, and a law assigned him
which it was equally his delight, and duty,
and glory, to obey. *
2. The appointment of Adam to be our
federal head appears reasonable when we
reflect that he was not only qualified for the
undertaking, but constrained by every pos-
sible consideration to execute it with ſidel-
ity. He was bound by a reverence for Je-
hovah, who was a Being infinitely glorious;
possessing every possible perfection, and
entitled to the homage of all rational crea-
tures. As the majesty of the Eternal might
have awed him, his bounty might have con-
strained him most promptly and cheerfully
to obey whatever was commanded. Ten
thousand arguments arising from the divine
munificence might naturally have presented
themselves to the mind of our first Father,
exciting his gratitude, and perpetuating his
obedience. The Lord God had lately called
* This sentiment is expressed in language both scriptural and
sublime by the prince of poets.
“So fell º
“He and his faithless progeny; Whose fault?
“Whose but his own Ingrate, he had of me
“All he could have ; I made him just and right,
“Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall,
“Such I created all th” etherial powers
“And spirits, both them who stood and them who fail’d;
“Freely they stood who stood, and fell who fell.”
MILTON’s PAB. Lost, Book III. LINE 97.
z
77
him into existence ; had promoted him to
an exalted rank among rational beings: had
ordained him Lord of the lower world ; had
placed him in Paradise, the most delightful
part of creation, where all was beauty to
the eye, all was music to the ear, all was
fragrance to the smell. All these outward
enjoyments were inconceivably heightened
by the most intimate communion with his God.
Add to these considerations that immediate,
infinite interest which he had in fulfilling the
condition of the covenant. He knew that a
single transgression would expose to a for-
feiture of all privilege, whether temporal or
spiritual : He knew, on the other hand, that
by a course of obedience for a limited time,
he would secure these and incomparably
greater privileges not only to himself, but to
an offspring more numerous than the stars of
heaven. Is it possible for imagination to
conceive a transaction more gracious on the
part of heaven In it Jehovah stoops to be a
party-contractor with the creature of his
land, and on the condition of his personal
obedience for a time, promises glory and
blessedness to innumerable beings through
the ceaseless ages of eternity. Is it possi-
ble to conceive a situation more dignified or
desirable for Adam? Was it not a singular
honor conferred on him, that when the
whole human kind was embarked on one
bottom, even the covenant of works, he
should be appointed pilot, and placed at the
helm ? Is it possible to conceive a transac-
VOL. 2. G 2
78
tion more advantageous for mankind, than to
have their interests entrusted with their com-
mon Father ; especially when we consider
that his interests and theirs were inseparably
connected. What child could hesitate to
confide in a parent thus happily situated to
advance its real interests? It is no arrogance
to affirm that if the eountless millions of the
human family had been present in one great
congregation, they must have shouted their
amen to the justice and condescension of the
scheme ! they would have most cordially
acquiesced in it as “ordered in all things
and sure.”
3. There is another consideration which
eminently displays the condescension of
God, and may fully reconcile us to this part
of his procedure: No sooner was the first
covenant broken, than a new, and a more
glorious dispensation was introduced.—
When the first Adam had violated his trust,
and involved us in the curse, lo l the second
Adam, the Lord from heaven, instantly inter-
poses, and more than repairs the injury sus-
tained; he brings glory in the highest to his
father, peace and good nill to our perishing
world. “Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound; and as sin reigned un-
to death, grace now reigns through righte-
ousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
our Lord.” Our nature, united to the di-
vine in the person of Immanuel, is promo-
ted to a degree of glory beyond the very
angels who were confirmed in their primi-
79
tive state ; and a happiness more abundant
is communicated through the mediation of
Jesus than man could have enjoyed, had he
fulfilled the covenant of works. May not
this consideration silence every objection
which can be entertained against that dispen-
sation?—Are we not constrained to con-
clude that our interests were inconceivably
dear to our Creator, when upon the breach,
of one plan ordained for life, a second was
devised:—When, upon the failure of our
first representing head, his only begotten,
and beloved Son was appointed the second.,
This feeble attempt, to vindicate the di-.
vine procedure in the appointment of Adam
to be our federal head, I shall conclude with
the remarks of two authors equally eminent
for their talents, natural and acquired; the .
one a distinguished ornament of the state, ,
the other a singular light in the church.- .
“God made man righteous at first, and gave
him a righteous law ; and in as much as man:
owed an infinite subjection to the author of
his being, he owed an exact obedience to .
this law of his Maker: Yet God was pleas-
ed to give him this law, not only as the rule
of his obedience, but as a covenant of life
and death, wherein the first man made a stip-
ulation for himself and his posterity: And
this was just, for he had in himself the race
of mankind. All succeeding generations are
only pieces of Adam. The law, which was
his covenant, was a just and righteous law;
a law suitable to the endowments and pow-
80
ers of his nature. Again, the blessedness
which, by his obedience, he was to obtain,
was not of his own creating; it was the free
gift of God; and it is but reasonable that
the Lord of this gift should give it in what
manner he pleased; and it could not be un-
just that the lord, who gave this blessed-
ness, should give it under what condition he
pleased. But he gave it under most just
and reasonable conditions, even an obedi-
ence to a just and reasonable law which
suited with the ability and perfection of hu-
man-nature. And therefore when, upon the
breach of the covenant by man, he with-
drew that blessedness from him and his pos-
terity, he did no more than was most just
for him to do. And we thus stand guilty
of that sin which our first father committed,
and are deprived of that life and blessedness
which our first father had.” Such is the
reasoning of an eminent civilian on this sub-
ject, and to his remarks we shall add the ob-
servations of a distinguished divine. “That
God was righteous in this constitution is not
to be disputed. For it does not become us
to question the right of God, or to enquire
too curiously into it; much less to measure
it by the standard of any right established
among us despicable mortals, when the fact
is obvious. We are previously to judge of
God, “thou art righteous in what thou
* Lord Chief Justice Hale's meditation upon the Lord's
Prayer.
81
speakest, and pure in thy judgment.” Tru-
ly he is unacquainted with the majesty of
the Supreme King, who presumes to scan
his actions, and cali his equality to account.
A freedom which no earthly father would
bear in a son, no king in a subject, no mas-
ter in a servant. And do we, mean worms
of the dust, take upon us to use such freedom
with the Judge of the whole universe? As
often as our murmuring flesh dares to bawl
out, the nays of the Lord are not equal ; so
often let us oppose to it, are not thy nays un-
equal 2 Nevertheless we more calmly ac-
quiesce in the determinations of God, when
we understand the reasons of them. What
if we should consider the matter thus? If
Adam had, in his own and our name, stood
to the conditions of the covenant; if having
finished his state of probation he had been
confirmed in happiness, and we his posteri-
ty in him; if fully satisfied with the delights
of animal life we had, together with him,
been translated to the joys of heaven, no bo-
dy would have complained that he was in-
cluded in the head of mankind: every one
would have commended both the wisdom
and the goodness of God : not the least sus-
picion of injustice would have arisen in any
one, on account of God’s putting the first
Adam in a state of probation in the room of
all.—How shall that which in this event
would have been deemed just, be unjust in
a contrary event? For the justice or injus-
82.
tice of actions is not to be judged of by the
event.”*
The application suggested by this doc-
trine is both obvious and important.
We learn from this doctrine, that the
Lord God is an adorable sovereign; that he
possesses an unquestionable right to dispose
of his creatures as appearethgood in his sight.
In forming a plan for the government of this
world, he is not obliged to consult the crea-
ture; to enquire at the bar either of man
or angel what scheme may be reasonable or
proper : He acts like a God with a sover-
eign, absolute independence for the advance-
ment of his own glory. He is revealed un-
der a variety of titles the most majestic, to
express his infinite supremacy, his unlimited
dominion over all beings, and all their ac-
tions.—The Lord of hosts; the CREATOR of
the ends of the earth ; the King of kings, and
Lord of lords are some of those names of
royalty which he assumes to point out his
adorable prerogatives. “The Lord sitteth
King forever; he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven, and among the
inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay
his hand,” defeat the accomplishment of his
purposes, or say unio him, as an impeach-
ment either of his wisdom or justice, nºbal
dost thou ? In what elevated, imperial style
does Jehovah assert his authority over all,
and his right to dispose of them as his sover-
* Witsius's Economy of the Covenants, vol. 1, chap. 2, see:
P
83
eignty may dictate 2 “See now that I, even
I am he ; and there is no God with me: I
kill and I make alive ; I wound and I heal;
neither is there any that can deliver out of
my hand. For I liſt up my hand to heaven,
and say, I live forever.—I am the first and
I am the last; and besides me there is no
God.”
The sovereignty of this holy Lord God
appears visible in every operation of his
hand; in the creation of all things, no less
than in their government and disposal. He
forms an innumerable variety of beings;
endows them with different qualities, and
ordains them to different spheres of glory
and happiness in the mighty scheme. He
creates the angels first ; enstamps upon
them the brightest semblance of his own
perfections, and assigns them the highest
rank in the order of intelligences. They
are thus called his holy angels ; his mighly
angels ; ministering spirits ; the angels of his
presence, teaching us that they are admitted
more intimately into the counsels of Jeho-
vah, than other orders of beings, and promo-
ted to a higher agency in the execution of
his designs. Man, again, was placed next
to the angels, formed after the image of
his God, fitted both for advancing his glory,
and being happy in his fellowship. Other
beings are merely animal, and designed for
no other than sensual enjoyments. But shall
these inferior parts of creation rise up, and
murmur against the arrangements of their
84
Creator’ Shall the ant, which moves hum-
ble along the earth,complain that it was made
almost infinitely inferior in strength to the
ox, or in stature to the elephant Shall the
spire of grass find fault that it was not form-
ed strong as the oak, or lofty as the cedar !
Shall the beast of the field complain that he
was not endowed with the external dignity
of man ; with his expressive countenance,
his lofty carriage, his powers of understand-
ing and utterance Or shall man murmur
that he was created inferior to the angels ;
that he possesses not their larger sphere of
contemplation and action ? Certainly not.
“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
honor and another unto dishonor l’” And
has not the great Creator a right to display
his sovereignty and wisdom in conferring
one excellence on one part, and another
excellence on another part of his workman-
ship ! If he may with propriety exercise this
prerogative in the creation of all things,
why not in their direction and management?
We behold him immediately exercising this
right in appointing each angel, if the ex-
pression be allowed, his own representative,
and making his happiness to depend solely
on his own obedience. We behold him by
a mere act of sovereignty confirming a part
of them infallibly in holiness, while the rest
were left to their own will, and permitted to
85
fall. We behold him appointing one man
to represent the whole human family, and
afterwards passing sentence against them in
consequence of his transgression. It becomes
us, therefore, to adore in the submissive
language of the Patriarch, “shall not the
Judge of all the earth do right?” or in the
loftier ascriptions of the holy angels, “great
and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Al-
mighty; just and true are thy ways, thou
King of saints.” -
2. Let us learn from this doctrine to ac-
knowledge the righteousness of God in con-
stituting Adam our representative in the co-
venant. Who can reasonably impeach the
divine wisdom in appointing him to a work
which he was fully able to perform ; in as-
signing him a law which he could easily have
obeyed to his own honor, and the endless
felicity of millions that were to spring from
his loins ! Who is not constrained to admire
the condescension of God in offering a pri-
vilege so great, immortal glory to so many,
even all the kindreds of the human kind, as
the reward of obedience to one man, an obe-
dience which he might have demanded with-
out the promise of any reward In permit-
ting our first father to abuse the freedom of
his will, and bring ruin upon himself and a
world, we must bow with profound submis-
sion, and acknowledge as just what we may
not be able to comprehend.
“Jehovah’s ways in wise design
Are form'd upon his throne above
VOL. 2. H
6
And every dark and bending line
Meets in the centre of his love.
“With feeble light and halfobscure
Poor mortals his arrangements view,
Unknowing that the least are sure,
And the mysterious just and true.”
Who “ can by searching find out God?”
What finite mind can expand to explore the
various plans and operations of this infinite
Agent; or trace the important consequen-
ces which may result from particular ar-
rangements! “Who can find out the Almigh-
ty to perfection ? Clouds and darkness are
round about him ; righteousness and judg-
ment are the habitation of his throne.” Con-
sequences the most glorious have already a-
risen from the apostacy of the first Adam.
On the ruins of the old covenant, an illus-
trious building of mercy is erected and esta-
blished. A second Adam appears, through
whose mediation life and immortality are
proclaimed to all who believe on his name.
Here divine wisdom is displayed in devising
a scheme by which the death denounced is
actually inflicted, and yet the person, doom-
ed to suffer, enjoys eternal life : mercy ap-
pears in compassionating our miseries, and
laying our “help on one that is mighty ;”
holiness and justice shine forth in awful ma-
jesty by not sparing even the Son of God
when substituted in the room of sinners.
“God commendeth his love towards us, in
that while we were yet sinners Christ died
for us.” -
87
Be exhorted, therefore, to aim at justiſy-
ing God in this mysterious transaction ; be
humbled before him for the transgression of
Adam your representing head; acknowledge
his failure as a sufficient cause for the divine
controversy with our world; as the dreadful
source from which flow all our miseries
both temporal and spiritual; then behold by
faith that divinely gracious person who has
“taken away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
and opened a “living way into the holiest
of all by his own blood.” None stand a
greater chance, humanly speaking, to ob-
tain mercy of the Lord, than they who en-
deavor humbly to acquiesce in his dispensa-
tions; none will more probably be deliver-
ed from the consequences of Adam's trans-
gression, than they who acknowledge the
justice of Jehovah in imputing his guilt to
their account. None, on the other hand,
will more probably feel its weight, than they
who boldly deny the doctrine, or challenge
the equity of the appointment. Men may
possibly reason and dispute the belief of this
truth out of their heads, but they cannot
reason away the guilt from their consciences,
nor that wrath to which they are exposed as
a righteous consequence. “Who hath har-
dened himself against God and prospered?
He resisteth the proud and giveth grace to
the humble.”
3. Let all be convinced from this doc-
trine, that when Adam sinned we sinned ;
that when he was condemned, we as repre-
88
sented in him were really condemned; that
as his sons and daughters by natural genera-
tion, we are justly the sons and daughters
of wrath. The very moment that he, as our
federal head, plucked and tasted the forbid-
den fruit, a general curse was denounced
against the human family ; we all, without
the exception of one, “became guilty be-
fore God :” The very moment that the Lord
God drove him out of Paradise, you and I
and all the kindreds of men were virtually
shut out from his favorable presence, and
exposed to his fiery indignation. From A-
dam, as our federal head, we have derived
guilt and condemnation ; from him, as our
natural root, we have derived corruption
and death. Is it possible for a God of truth
to teach any doctrine more clearly than he
has taught our representation in the first
Adam, and our obnoxiousness to wrath
through his breach of the covenant “By
one man’s disobedience many were made
sinners: By the offence of one judgment
passed upon all men to condemnation: By
one man sin entered into the world and death
by sin, so that death has passed upon all
men, because all have sinned.” How ex-
plicit is the Eternal God, that he may bring
home conviction to the conscience of every
individual “As many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse: What
things soever the law saith, it saith to them
that are under the law, that every mouth
89
may be stopped, and all the world become
guilty before God.”
4. We learn from this doctrine the neces-
sity, the indispensible necessity of being
broken off from Adam the original stock;
of renouncing the covenant of works, which
denounces indignation and wrath against all
who continue within its boundaries.—Do
you believe the living God when he de-
clares, “in Adam all die: the judgment
was by one to condemnation;” and yet will
you cleave to that old, barren, corrupted
tree which yields neither holiness here nor
happiness hereafter Do you believe the
living God when he declares, “as many as
are of the works of the law are under the
curse: by the deeds of the law there shall
no flesh be justified in his sight;” and yet
will you deliberately remain under its
bonds? Is the house in flames over your
head, and yet no anxiety about escaping?
Do the lightnings blaze around you, and yet
no enquiry after a shelter from the storm?
Are you bound fast in chains, the prisoners.
of indignant justice, without the least con-
cern for deliverance “The captive exile
hasteneth that he may be loosed, that he may
not die in the pit, neither that his bread
should fail,” and will you, can you remain
unconcerned in all the horrors of your na-
tural state 7 Is there no balm in Gilead, is:
there no physician there, that you thus lan-
guish and perish in your diseases? “Be-
hold! I bring you good tidings of great joy,
WOL. 2. H 2.
90
which shall be unto all people, for unto you
is born a Saviour, even Christ the Lord.”
Through his undertaking, as the second
Adam, the Lord from heaven, all the injuries
sustained by the first Adam are fully re-
paired. Did the former violate the law
and “come short of the glory of God?” by
the second it “is magnified and made infi-
nitely honorable.” Did the first entail con-
demnation and death on all his natural off-
spring ! “he that believeth on the second
hath everlasting life, and shall not enter in-
to condemnation.” Did the first by trans-
gression forfeit the favor and fellowship of
God? The second is revealed as the nay,
and the truth, and the life, and all who enter
in by him shall be saved. How reviving the
thought, “he has made peace by the blood
of his cross!” Here the cloud which black-
ened over our devoted heads suddenly e-
vanishes, and a ray of hope beams upon the
sickening eye, cheers the drooping spirit.
“It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all
acceptation,” infinitely, infinitely worthy of
immediale acceptation, as it secures reconci-
liation with an offended God, imparts peace
to the awakened conscience, and joy to the
disconsolate heart, that Jesus Christ came in-
to the norld to save sinners. “He is the end
of the law for righteousness,” will you not
acquiesce in this law as fulfilled by his obe-
dience and sacrifice He proclaims liberty
to the lawful captives, and will you re-
fuse that freedom which, he procured
91
at the expence of his own blood He has
brought in everlasting righteousness, will you
deliberately reject this immaculate, this im-
mortal robe 2 Come, fellow-sinners, as you
are; come without any delay, and cordially
receive that Saviour who is asking admis-
sion into your hearts: Believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and all the blessings of salva-
vation shall be yours; pardon shall be
yours, “for there is no condemnation to
them that are in Christ Jesus;” adoption
shall be yours, for those who are naturally
afar off become nigh by the blood of Christ ;
reconciliation shall be yours, for me are ac-
cepted in the beloved; me are reconciled to God
by the death of his Son ; eternal glory shall
be yours because “he that believeth in the
Son hath everlasting life.” “The Spirit and
the bride say come ; let him that heareth
come ; let him that is athirst come ; and
whosoever will, let him take the water of
life freely.”—AMEN.
s-º-º-º-º-º-º-º-se
SERMON IV.
Death the just and natural consequence of sin.
ROMANS V, 12.
“And death by sin.”
YOUR meditations were directed,
on the last Lord's day, to the preceding
clause of this verse, “by one man sin enter-
92
ed into the world; we then attempted to
confirm the scriptural doctrine, the doctrine
maintained by the protestant churches
throughout the world, of our representation
in Adam, and consequently of our imme-
diate concern in his transgression; that when
he disobeyed and fell, we, as represented by
him, necessarily disobeyed and fell; that
“by the offence of this one man judgment
‘has passed upon all men to condemnation:”
We also attempted to vindicate the justice
of God in that part of his procedure, by
shewing that the appointment of Adam to
be the representative of his posterity was
not only reasonable, but calculated to pro-
mote their real interest.
From the passage now chosen for discus-
sion, we are led to consider the direful con-
sequences of this transgression; and death.
by sin. But the subject is utterly beyond
our research; it inconceivably surpasses
what the pen of mortals is capable of unfold-
ing, or the mind of mortals is capable of
comprehending. To exhibit in its full ex-
tent the awful import of this monosyllable
DEATH would be to recount all the miseries
which have, like a mighty torrent, overflown
our world nearly six thousand years; it
would be to represent all the wretchedness.
which this moment tortures the unnumber-
ed millions of the human family; all that
some are now enduring from exquisite dis-
ease, others from nakedness and hunger,
others from horror of conscience, others.
93
from the loss of connexions dearer than their
lives, refusing “to be comforted because
they are not;” others from the burning sun
of a southern, others from the freezing cold
of a northern region : These are all streams
from that fathomless fountain which was
opened by our transgression in Adam, and
do not make up the ten thousandth part of
the miseries which it issues forth; to unfold
the full meaning of this DEATH would re-
Quire us to survey the regions of hell, and
to represent the sufferings of the damned
through the ceaseless ages of eternity to
come; the gnawings of that worm which
never dieth ; and the tormenting fury of
those flames which shall never be quenched:
To these we must also add all that wrath
which was endured by the infinite Surety
from his cradle to his cross. “He was de-
livered for our offences: He suffered for
our sins, the just for the unjust.” The cup
of trembling which he krank was filled up
by the iniquity of man. All these curses
were contained in that threatning, “in the
day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die,” and to all these man became liable the
moment of his transgression; by that diso-
bedience the curse of Aitnighty God is in-
duced on his body, on his soul. His name, his
estate, his enjoyments. “The way of the
wicked, the plowing of the wicked, and the
sacrifice of the wicked are ail an abomina-
tion to the Lord;” the very ground on which
they walk, the air in which they breathe,
94
the sun which was appointed to give light,
the stars in their courses, the bread which
ought to nourish, and the water which
ought to refresh them, are all cursed for their
sake and occasionally employed as instru-
ments of their destruction. “And unto
Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened
to the voice of thy wife, aud hast eaten of
the tree of which I commanded thee, saying,
thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground
for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it
all the days of thy life ; thorns also and
thistles shall it bring forth to thee:” Again,
“Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cur-
sed shalt thou be in the field; cursed shall
be thy basket and thy store ; cursed shall
be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy
land; the increase of thy kine, and the flocks
of thy sheep; cursed shalt thou be when
thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be
when thou goest out. The Lord shall send
upon thee cursing, vexation and rebuke in
all that thou settest thine hand unto for to
do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou
perish quickly.” Are not these judgments
executed upon us in some degree every
day that we live? What frailty and con-
sumption of body, what toil and sorrow in
the labor of our hands; what vanity in eve-
ry earthly enjoyment; what vexation and
disappointment in our ordinary employ-
ments, what remorse of conscience for what
is past, what horror of mind in the anticipa-
tion of what is to come, are felt by us until
95
we return to the ground from which we were
taken.
But that your meditations on this sub-
ject may be more distinct, I shall follow
the ordinary method of considering this
DEATH and view it as comprehending,
1. Spiritual death, or the separation of
the soul from God. This part of the curse
is mentioned first, because it was inflicted
upon Adam immediately after his breach of
the covenant, and is first inflicted on his off-
spring in their respective generations. In-
deed, the soul in departing from the living
God dies by a kind of necessity, as the
branch immediately withers when separated
from the vine, or the stream when cut off
from all communication with the fountain
necessarily dries up, or a member of the bo-
dy dies when severed from the head. “They
that are far from thee shall perish : All they
that hate thee love death.” Man is there-
fore represented as “without strength” and
“dead in trespasses and sins.” By these
and similar expressions, we are not to un-
derstand that the soul ceases to exist, that
its rational powers are annihilated, but they
point out his utter incapacity for, and his
obstinate opposition to all that is spiritual-
ly good.—He is dead in sin, he is divested
of the original, distinguishing ornament of
his nature, the image of God; he is dead,
he is lost to the great end of his creation,
which was to “glorify God and enjoy him
for ever.” “Having the understanding
96.
darkened,” as the apostle expresses, “bein
alienated from the life of God through the
ignorance that is in them, because of the
blindness of their heart.” This curse was
obviously inflicted on our first fatherimmedi-
ately after his transgression. “I heard thy
voice in the garden,” he exclaims, “and I
was afraid, and I hid myself. I was afraid;”
the language not of conscious innocence but
of remorse for guilt; he knew that he had
forfeited the favor of his God, and he now
trembled under apprehensions of his wrath:
that bosom which was formerly serene, un-
ruffled as the ocean in a calm, is sudden-
ly wrought up into a tempest, and refu-
ses to be at rest; is agitated alternately
with bitter remorse for what is past, and
fearful forebodings of judgment to come.
“I hid myself.” A proof of that utter, aw-
ful darkness which now covered his under-
standing : What infatuation to attempt con-
cealing himself from the view of God, who,
at one glance, surveys the universe; to
whose all piercing eye heaven, and earth, and
hell lie open; to whom “the night shineth
as day, and the darkness and the light are
both alike.” The same blindness of mind
often appears in his natural offspring: they
attempt hiding themselves from Jehovah, by
daring to commit in secret what they are
afraid or ashamed to commit in the view of
the world. As the understanding of Adam
became instantly darkened, his will was
seized with enmity the most malignant and
57
invincible. The Lord God was obliged to
“ drive him out of Paradise,” although he
knew that the covenant was broken, and his
title to any residence in the garden altoge-
ther lost; “the cherubim with the flaming
sword” must be placed to “keep the way of
the tree of life,” although he knew that it
was not his Creator’s will that he should
now partake of that sacramental pledge.
Such was the condition of Adam immedi-
ately after he had tasted the forbidden fruit,
and violated the command of his God; he
became spiritually DEAD ; he lost the di-
vine image; he forfeited the divine favor,
and, as the apostle pronounces the lascivious
woman, “was dead while he lived ;” he be-
came morally and spiritually dead, although
naturally alive.—This dreadful forfeiture
has been entailed upon his children from
generation to generation ever since his fatal
apostacy. Adam, we are informed by the
sacred historian, “begat a son in his own
image ;” inheriting his own “blindness of
mind, hardness of heart,” and “reprobate
conscience,” and with this depraved image
of our father all now enter the world.
“We are shapen in iniquity, and in sin
do our mothers conceive us.” The inno-
cence of Adam, as he proceeded from the
hand of his Creator, is not more positively
asserted in scripture, than the ignorance, the
enmity, the alienation of man, as he now
comes into the world; and therefore with
equal propriety we may doubt or deny the
VOL. 2. I
•.
98
one as the other. The carnal mind, that is,
the mind of every man until renewed by di-
vine grace, “is enmity against God; it is
not subject to the law of God, neither in-
deed can be. So then they that are in the
flesh cannot please God.” We are repre-
sented as without strength, destitute either
of inclination or ability to perform what is
spiritually good; nithout God, deprived of
his likeness, excluded from his comfortable
presence and communion; “dead in tres-
passes and sins,” as unfit for the service and
enjoyment of Jehovah as the body when na-
turally dead is unfit for the common offices
and enjoyments of life; “aliens, strangers
and foreigners,” as it were outcasts from
God, no longer acknowledged in his family;
neither dignified with the name nor distin-
guished with the privileges of his children.
Such is our proof from scripture that man-
kind are now spiritually dead, and that this
is a part of the curse denounced against the
breach of the first covenant.
This judgment implies,
2. Natural death, or the separation of the
soul from the body. The body of man was
originally designed for an immortal dura-
tion, and for enjoyments suited to its mate-
rial nature no less than his soul. But this
glory departed from the body of Adam up-
on his departure from the living God, and
is forfeited by all his posterity in virtue of
his disobedience. “By one man sin enter-
ed into the world and death by sin. “As
99
his soul was instantly struck dead, deprived
of its moral beauty and excellence, his bo-
dy from that moment felt the symptoms of
decay and dissolution. These constituent
parts of the human person, which might
eternally have enjoyed a union the most en-
dearing, each adding to the dignity and hap-
piness of the other, must now be subjected
to a painful separation as a curse upon both ;
while the “soul returns to God who gave it,”
the body goes back to the earth to moul
and mingle with its “mean original.” ‘’’’
It is argued by some that “natural death
is no part of the threatening contained in
the covenant of works.” They maintain
that “the body of man being material in its
nature is prone to dissolution by the very
laws of matter.” But this supposition is ut-
terly inconsistent with the divine perfec-
tions: Can we imagine that a God infinitely
wise would erect a fabric so fair as the hu-
man body, so dignified in external form, so
adunirably proportioned in all its parts, and
calculated to reflect honor on its author, and
demolish it as soon as it was finished? Man
frequently changes his plans of operation;
he alters or destroys this day a machine
which he constructed yesterday; but this
elhange arises either from want of skill in the
contrivance or power in the execution.
Who can consistently, or who dare ascribe
such imperfection to the Eternal “The
Lord is a God of knowledge; he is wonder-
ful,” unerring “in counsel, and exeellent,”
- * : *
}00
omnipotent “in working.” But as this sup-
position is improbable to reason, it is abso-
lutely contradicted by divine revelation.
Life in scripture is uniformly represented
as the reward of perfect and perpetual obe-
dience, and dealh as the nages of transgres-
sion.*—“In the day thou eatest thereof
thou shalt surely die: The wages of sin is
death. By one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin, so that death has
passed upon all men because all have sinned.”
'The consideration that Adam did not die
immediately after his fall; that “he lived”
several “hundred years and begat sons and
daughters” is no objection. The criminal
is rarely executed when the sentence is pas-
sed upon him; the court for particular rea-
sons may, and generally does postpone his
execution for weeks, or months, or even
years; yet during all this period he is con-
sidered dead in law; he is cut off from the
privileges of a citizen, and the continuance
of his life from day to day is not a matter
of right, but depends wholly on the pleasure
of others. Such was the condition of our
* “The Jewish Rabbins evidently maintain that if our first
parents had persevered in innocence they had lived always,
Manasseh Benjamin Israel, in the middle of the last century, as-
serted that the immortality of the first man is founded on
scripture, and that many famous Rabbins, whom he cites, are of
this opinion. He shews that this immortality of Adam agrees
with reason, since there was no inward cause in him which
might produce death, and that he had nothing to fear from ex-
ternal causes, living in a delicious and agreeable place where
everything was subject to him, while the fruit on which he was
to feed, encreased his strength and preserved his health.”—
Calmet's Dic. of the Bible on the word Death.
IOI
first father upon his failure in the covenant,
of works. The sentence of death was so-
lemnly pronounced upon him; he became
dead in the estimation of law and justice,
and the enjoyment of his natural life ano-
ther day, or hour, depended purely on the
sovereignty of Jehovah his judge. Besides,
in postponing for a time the actual execu-
tion of the curse, the Lord God contem-
plated Adam as the parent of a numerous
offspring : He also intended to afford him
the offers of reconciliation through the infi-
nite surety who had already interposed.
To such reproach and misery is the
body of man now subjected on account of
transgression: As a partaker with the soul
in sin, it must also be a partaker in suffer-
ing; it has now become frail and mortal, ex-
posed to innumerable toils and afflictions in
life, and is doomed at last to the dreary pri-
son of the grave. “It is appointed for all
men once to die.”
But there is another dealh infinitely more
awful, and that is,
3. The separation of both soul and body
from the fellowship of God, and their end-
less torment under the most overwhelming
expressions of his wrath. “The wicked.
shall be turned into hell; and all the nations:
that forget God. These shall go away in-
to everlasting punishment.” The soul and
body, being separated from each other un--
der the curse of a broken covenant, shall!
hereafter be re-united and “come forth to
VOL. 2. I.2.
162
the resurrection of damnation.” This may
be considered as the full and final execution
of divine vengeance on impenitent sinners.
The miseries of the ungodly in the present
state of existence are intermingled with ma-
ny mercies; the bitterest cup which any are
doomed to drink on earth is infused with
some ingredient which renders the draught
at least tolerable, but in hell “they have
judgment without mercy. They shall drink
of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
poured out without mixture into the cup of
his indignation, and shall be tormented with
fire and brimstone, in the presence of the
holy angels, and in the presence of the
Lamb.” Through the most gloomy cloud
which overcasts the sinner in time, some
cheering ray occasionally beams forth to
revive and support; or if the gloom be im-
penetrable to day, he hopes that to-morrow’s
sun will rise more fair, but in hell there is
reserved for him “the mist of darkness, the
blackness of darkness for ever and ever.”
Is the mind now distracted with the horrors
of guilt, or forebodings of future wrath, the
body is, perhaps, at ease and in health; or
if the body is tortured with exquisite pain,
the mind may be serene and composed; the
one may be instrumental in the support and
eonsolation of the other: but in hell he is
tormented to the very uttermost in both
soul and body : each, instead of ministering
to the support, will inconceivably aggra-
vate the misery of the other. Even after
* 1 03 *
death, when the soul of the unbeliever “has
gone to its own place,” the body is at rest
in the grave; there, if it be excluded from
pleasure, it is also exempted from pain;
but in hell both are awakened to sufferings
the most exquisite and unabating, “even º
the vengeance of eternal fire:” Here the
unrighteous are favored with many good
things; they are often distinguished with the
greatest share of temporal pleasures, and
profits, and preferments: there their plea-
sures must give way to pain; their honors.
to shame and everlasting contempt ; and their
outward affluence to poverty and want, the
denial of even a drop of mater to ease their
anguish in the flames. “The Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with his migh-
ty angels; in flaming fire taking vengeance.
on them that know not God, and that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ;
who shall be punished with everlasting de-
struction from the presence of the Lord and
from the glory of his power.” Such is the
knowledge of evil which Adam derived from
eating the forbidden fruit; he incurred the
penalty denounced and became liable to
death ; death spiritual, natural, and eternal.
But this misery was not incurred merely on
himself; the shock is felt by every son and
daughter that has sprung from his loins, and
will be felt by all succeeding generations.
With more than the lightning's speed it per-
vaded the human family and shook the ve
pillars of the earth. In Adam all died: “All
I'04
mankind by their fall lost communion with
God, are under his wrath and curse, and so
made liable to all the miseries of this life,
to death itself and the pains of hell for ever.”
. I feel constrained to notice an objection
which has been frequently, and vehemently
urged against this doctrine of christianity.
The enemies of revealed truth have pro-
nounced it “ injustice in the extreme to in-
flict calamities so awful for an offence so in-
considerable; to doom a world to everlast-
ing misery merely because an individual”
tasted a little fruit that was forbidden.”
They have confidently asserted, “that there
is not even the shadow of proportion be-
tween the crime and the punishment.” To
* Paine, in his age of reason, assails this article of christian
faith with raillery, his common and most successful weapon : He
speaks in the most wanton and contemptuous manner of the “sto-
ry of Eve and the apple * He pronounces it a most ridiculous
“conceit that the Almighty should come to die in our world, be-,
cause they say one man and one woman had eaten an apple * Men
generally form their estimate of the enormity of sin, rather from
the tenor of their own conduct, than from the dictates of sound
reason or divine revelation. It is therefore reasonably to be ex-
pected, that a man, who has indulged, to a proverb, all conceiv-
able filthiness, both of the fesh and spirit, should think little of
ordinary crimes. But supposing that Paine had considered “the
story little and ridiculous,” ought he not to have spoken, and
written of it, in a style more decent and respectful ? Waving the
consideration that this event is recorded by inspiration of God as
the origin of all our misery, has it not been firmly believed by
millions of his fellow men; by millions who were as capable of
examining its evidence as himself, and were, at least, as honest to
acknowledge the result of their examination ? Has it not been
publicly vindicated with the mouth, and the pen, by hundreds in
different ages 2 By hundreds who have equally outshone himself
in the elevation of their understanding, and the excellence of
their morals. But he who does not fear God will not regard man.
That bosom which is an utter stranger to the generous emotions:
of love or reverence for the majesty in the heavens, cannot en-
tertain much respect either to the feelings or judgment of mortals. .
105
all these reasonings and murmurings of man
it might be sufficient to reply, that the Lord
God is best acquainted with the nature of
his own government, with the majesty of his
own law, and is therefore most capable of de-
termining what particular punishment ought
to be inflicted on the offender; and the mor-
tal who insolently finds fault, who arrogant-
ly asks by way of cavil or complaint, nhat
doest thou ? uses such liberty at an infinite
peril. Besides, shall the living God be de-
nied a prerogative which is readily allowed
to all legislators upon earth? They claim
the privilege of enacting their own laws;
they determine, without consulting every
subject, what penalty shall be executed up-
on the transgressor of these laws; and shall
HE, “whose throne is in the heavens, whose
kingdom ruleth over all,” who is universally
acknowledged as KING offill other kings, and
LoRD of all other lords, shall HE be denied a
prerogative which is claimed by every pet-
ty prince and potentate on earth ! Must HE,
by whom kings reign, from whom their au-
thority is now derived, and to whom they
are responsible for the exercise of that au-
thority, must HE enquire of every moral a-
gent what laws should be enacted, or with
what penalties these laws should be sanc-
tioned
But the transgression of Adam, if duly ex-
amined, is not so inconsiderable in its de-
merit as may at first appear. An offence
always rises in aggravation in proportion to
106
the dignity of the person against whom it is
committed, and our obligation to love and
obey him. An insult offered to a magis-
trate or prince is deemed a greater evil, and
consequently exposes to severer punishment,
than an insult to an ordinary man: An of
fence therefore committed against Jehovah,
who is a being infinitely glorious, a being
infinitely entitled to our love and obedience
must be an infinite evil, and expose the oſ-
fender to an infinite punishment. Besides,
the act of our first father in eating the for-
bidden fruit, which is frequently thought a
trifling offence, when examined in all its cir-
cumstances, must be considered as mani-
festing ingratitude and insolence in the ex-
treme. Let us suppose that a parent favor-
ed one son above every child in his family;
gave him authority over the rest, appoint-
ed him the sole heir of his estate, and al-
lowed him the unlimited enjoyment of all
that he possessed, with the exception of a
single article; but commanded him under
the severest penalty to leave that untouch-
ed, merely as an expression of love and sub-
jection : Nay, let us suppose that the father
engaged to this son that, upon condition of
his refraining from that article, he would
entail the estate upon him and his offspring
for ever.—Should this son, thus highly fa-
vored, immediately and wantonly intrude
in the instance prohibited ; who would not
reprobate at once his ingratitude and infa-
tuation ; who would not justify the father
107
in immediately disinheriting both this son
and his issue. This is only a faint represen-
tation of the favor manifested to Adam, and
his ingratitude and infatuation in abusing it.
The Ford God formed him after his on n.
image, admitted him into the most intimate
fellowship with himself, gave him “dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over every living thing that mo-
veth upon the earth; placed him in the gard-
en of Eden, causing to “grow every tree that
is pleasant to the sight and good for food,
the tree of life also in the midst of the gard-
en” as a visible pledge of that eternal life
which he should receive as the reward of
obedience ; “ of every tree of the garden”
gave him liberty “freely to eat” with this
single restraint, “ of the tree of the know-
ledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of
it.” As the Egyptian monarch addressed
Joseph, Jehovah virtually addressed the first
Adam, “ thou shalt be over my house and
according to thy word shall all my people
be ruled, only in the throne will I be great-
er than thou ;” “I make over as thine this
Hower world, the cattle on ten thousand hills,
and every thing that moveth upon the earth
to be ruled by thee; all the fruits of paradise
to be at thy disposal and for thine enjoyment,
only in excepting the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil I claim the pre-eminence; in
this instance I must manifest, that, although
thou art lord of the earth, I am Lord over
thee.” When all these circumstances are
108
impartially considered, the high dignity to
which Adam was promoted, the exalted pri-
vileges which he already possessed, and the
still greater which he might have secured for
himself and his countless posterity, must we
not pronounce his intrusion upon that tree
as the most shameful abuse of the divine
bounty, and a most daring contempt of the
divine authority and prerogatives Had
some difficult service been required which
it was almost impossible for man to have per-
formed ; had some costly sacrifice been de-
manded, or had the reward proposed been
unworthy his reception, the sentence might
appear more rigorous : But nothing was en-
joined only abstinence from a single tree,
the fruit of which he could as well have
wanted, and this restraint to continue for a
limited” time, while never-ending happiness
was assured him as a reward for his submis-
sion. All murmuring against the sentence
as severe must therefore be instantly silen-
ced. We are left to deplore the frailty of
human nature in its most perfect state, to
be humbled for the ingratitude, the presump-
tion of our first parents in boldly trampling
* It is an opinion entertained by some that the command to re-
frain from this tree of knowledge respected only the fruit of that
, season, and that had Adam obeyed during that year, the restraint
- would have been removed,and he confirmed in happiness. But as
the inspired historian does not particularly mention how long the
prohibition would have continued, all that can be said as to the
period, amounts to no more than conjecture ; but it is probable
that the probationary state of man would very soon have termina-
ted and that he, upon condition of perfect obedience, would have
been promoted to a higher degree of glory and joy.
109
on the divine command, to acknowledge the
righteousness of God in manifesting his dis-
pleasure by immediately driving them out
of paradise, and in pouring upon them and
us, as represented in them, such awful and
complicated miseries. “We lie down in our
shame, and our confusion covereth us, for we
have sinned against the Lord our God, we and
our fathers from our youth unto this day, and
have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.
In the application of this doctrine we
may remark,
I. That there is an inseparable connex-
ion between sin and suffering. Causes are
not more necessarily connected with their
correspondent effects in the natural than in
the moral world. “The soul that sinneth
it shall die: Every transgression and diso-
bedience must receive a just recompence of
reward. God spared not the angels that
sinned, but cast them down to hell.” This
is a principle frequently denied. Many,
with the pretention of magnifying the mer-
cy of God, would veil the glories of his
justice; they flatter themselves with the en-
joyment “ of peace, though they walk in the
imagination of their own hearts;” nay,
they practically hold the living God at de-
fiance, either to annex penalties to his laws,
or to execute these penalties upon the
offender.—But let us enquire whether such
a government, or rather, such a want of go-
vernment can be consistent either with the
perfections of a moral ruler, or with the or:
VOL. 2. K
110
der and happiness of the moral world. Sup-
#. that a parent became all indulgence to
is family, and permitted the various mem-
bers to make their own inclination the stan-
dard of their conduct to him and to each o-
ther, would we pronounce this unrestrained
indulgence an excellence in that parent, or
would it ultimately tend to his own dignity,
and their advantage 2 Must not confusion
soon prove the reproach and ruin of that
house ! Would not the children of such a
parent probably become the pests of each
other, and of society Suppose that all civil
law was abolished in the United States, or,
which is the same thing, that the penalties
of the law were not inflicted on the trans-
gressor, what would be the consequence?
Would this mild administration conduce to
the honor of our government or the welfare
of individuals 7 Would not vice immediate-
ly rear her head, and become universally
triumphant Would not the virtuous part
of the community either be the sport of the
profligate, or be ensnared and corrupted by
their evil examples' If laws and penalties
are requisite in the small circles of families
and nations, how much more in the unboun-
ded sphere of moral agency? It is therefore
evident that the honor of God as the moral
governor of the universe; that the glory of
his justice, of his holiness, of his truth require
“ that his wrath be revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men.” To suffer the sinner to escape un-
111
punished would be a practical acknowledge-
ment that the law was unjust, or that he
was unable to execute the threatning de-
nounced. The delay of punishment upon
transgressors is no objection against the win-
dictive justice of Jehovah. By exercising
forbearance towards the sinner he proves,
that “he is slow to anger, that he is long
suffering, and abundant in goodness,” and
that he is rather delighted in the display of
his mercy.—“The Lord is not slack con-
cerning his promise, as some men count
slackness, but is long suffering; not willing
that any should perish, but that all should
come to repentance.” Judgment delayed
will be executed with proportionably grea-
ter fury hereafter. The longer the divine
arm is suspended, the more patiently a
sovereign God has borne with the individual
or nation, the greater opportunities he has
afforded them, the more affectionately he has
expostulated with them to return and live,
the more sudden and awful will be their visi-
tation at last. “He that being often repro-
wed, hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be
destroyed and that without remedy. These
things hast thou done, and I kept silence;
thou thoughtest that I was altogether such
an one as thyself, but I will reprove thee,
and set them in order before thine eyes.”
2. We are taught from this doctrine, the
fearful condition of every man by nature,
he is spiritually dead; he is already under
sentence of condemnation; he is suspended
II 2
every moment over the mouth of a burning
take, and nothing but a brittle thread keeps
him from dropping into its devouring flames.
If the Lord God of gods be true, this is
their condition while they remain related to
the law as a covenant of works. How ex-
plicit and awful is his declaration respecting
man in his present, fallen estate? “As many
as are of the works of the law are under the
curse, for it is written, cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things which are
written in the book of the law to do them.”
The curse of the Almighty lies on all that
they are, and all that they enjoy; on their
bodies and souls; on their health and afflic-
tion; on their prosperity and adversity; on
the air which they breathe, and the ground
on which they walk. Their very mercies
are preparing them as heirs of wrath for ex-
ecution, and their judgments are the first
fruits of a full harvest of perdition. “Upon
the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and
brimstone, and a horrible tempest; this
shall be the portion of their cup.” Each
unrenewed, unjustified person is as really in
a state of condemnation as the devils or
the damned in hell. “He that believeth not
is condemned already, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God.” This, sinner, is thy privilege,
that thou art yet “a prisoner of hope,” and
the gates of “the city of refuge” stand open
for thine admission. “Come now and let
us reason together, saith the Lord ; though
I 13
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow ; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.” But wilt thou dare
to “continue in sin because grace abounds;”
or wilt thou waste in spiritual sloth the few
hours or moments of thine “accepted time”
which yet remain l—We could not believe
the indifference, the stupidity, the more
than brutal stupidity of man, did not our
eyes actually behold it?—Were it related to
us that a colony of subjects had rebelled
against their sovereign, and were tried and
condemned as traitors; did we hear that
their execution was postponed, and an op-
portunity offered them of acknowledging
their crime and returning to their alle-
giance; did we hear that the sovereign out
of pure compassion to them, and in order
to vindicate the majesty of the law, appoint-
ed his own Son to suffer death in their room;
were we informed that, notwithstanding this
exercise of forbearance, of mercy, many of
them remained indifferent or obstinate, some
slighting, others openly spurning both his
favor and his frown : Was such a fact related,
must we not be struck with secret horror at
their madness, or pronounce it utterly in-
credible 2 We should consider it impossible
that rational beings could be so lost to com-
mon sense.—But is there even a compari-
son between their infatuation and the folly,
the madness of the majority of mankind'
They daringly rebelled against God, and be-
came obnoxious to his wrath; when their
VOL. 2. Ka2
I 14
pardon was impossible without satisfaction
to justice, he ordained his only beloved Son
to suffer and satisfy in their room; he gives
the most solemn assurances by word and
oath that he has no pleasure in their death,
but is rather desirous that they would re-
turn and live, and yet at the peril of ever-
lasting destruction, they make light of his
entreaties; they go to their farms or mer-
chandise, as if there was neither a soul to
suffer, nor God to inflict.
Be exhorted, fellow sinners, to awake
this day from your security; adore that
God who is yet sparing you in the place of
repentance; it is “of the Lord’s mercy that
you are not consumed,” that the death de-
nounced against your transgression is not
already executed, your bodies consigned to
the prison of the grave, your souls plunged
into the depths of hell, and your condition
rendered helpless and hopeless for ever.
This is perhaps the desperate situation of
thousands, who were not more guilty by
nature and practice than you : adore that
grace which has pitied your miseries and
opened up a door for your escape. “God
hath commended his love towards us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us. We believe and do testify that the Fa-
ther sent his Son to be the Saviour of the
world.” ICvil angels were not more daring
in their rebellion against the throne of their
sovereign, nor involved deeper in wretched-
ness than you, yet no mercy is exercised
II 5
towards them. “They are cast down to
hell, and delivered into chains of darkness,
to be reserved unto judgment.” Again,
while you adore the long suffering of God
in sparing you so long, and his mercy in
laying “your help on one that is mighty,”
hasten without any delay to the covert of
his blood. “How shall you escape, if you
neglect so great salvation ?” Your indif-
ference another hour hazards your all for
eternity: “Your judgment now of a long
time lingereth not, your damnation slum-
bereth not, and that sword of the avenger,”
which has hitherto spared, may the next
moment be bathed in your blood. A free,
a full, an everlasting salvation is now offer-
ed, surely you will not choose death rather
than life, and the curse rather than the bless-
ing. “Seek righteousness, seek meekness;
it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the
Lord’s anger.” -
3. We learn from this doctrine that since
all are spiritually dead, those who are saved
must obtain salvation altogether of God;
they are incapable of contributing either in
whole or in part to their own recovery.
The man who is naturally dead, cannot pos-
sibly restore himself to life; he cannot, by
any effort of his own, either live, or breathe,
or move. All outward means are utterly
insufficient for the recovery of a lifeless
corpse; food may be offered, but cannot af-
ford any nourishment; medicine may be ad-
ministered, but cannot heal or produce any
I 16
desirable effect. It is the prerogative of
Jehovah to impart natural life; “he breathes
into the nostrils of man the breath of life, and”
renders “him a living soul.” It is no less his
prerogative to impart spiritual life; to raise
the sinner from the death of corruption to a
life of holiness and glory. “It is not by
might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith
the Lord of hosts: Not by works of righte-
ousness which we do, but according to his
mercy he saves us by the washing of rege-
neration, even the renewing of the Holy
Ghost.” The exceeding greatness of that
power, which was exerted in the resurrection
of our Lord Jesus from the dead, is no less
exerted in the regeneration of the soul —
That almighty One who at first, and who,
every day, “commandeth the light to shine
out of darkness, must shine into the heart,
giving it the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
The sinner may search the scriptures; the
authority of the living God binds him to
that duty: He may pray, earnestly asking
mercy of the Lord; the command of God
binds him to the performance of that duty:
He may meditate frequently on his own ru-
in, and the remedy brought in by the ever-
lasting Surety; he may attend the gospel
purely preached, and all the other means of
salvation; but he cannot by any power of
his own give efficacy to these ordinances or
command the blessing: He is “without
strength; his understanding is darkened ;
$.
I 17
he receiveth not the things of the spirit of
God, they are foolishness to him ; neither
can he know them, because they are spiritu-
ally discerned.” While I would earnestly
press you to “work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling; to give all dili-
gence to make your calling and election
sure,” I would entreat you to attend every
means undera full impression that you must be
“ drawn of the Father;” that HE “must work
in you both to will and to do of his own good
pleasure.” Are you utterly insufficient of
yourselves ; unable either to commence or
maintain this spiritual life Despair not of
relief: the Lord God waits to be gracious
by infusing this immortal principle ; “he is
exalted in shewing mercy, by perfecting
strength in your exceeding weakness. I
will put my SPIRIT within you,” is his pro-
mise of love: “I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of
T)avid : I will put my laws in their minds,
and write them in their hearts: I will be to
them a God, and they shall be to me a peo-
ple.” Encouraged by these and innumera-
ble other promises, believing that he who
hath promised is infinitely faithful, draw
near and supplicate in the janguage of the
publican, “Lord, be merciful to ºne a sin-
ner; breathe mightily on my slain, that they
may live ; only speak the word and thy
servant shall be healed; the slave of corrup-
tion shall become a child of God and an
heir of everlasting life: Whatever else thou
118
--> --------, ----------, - . . . . - - - - - , ..., " : - . .
art pleased to withhold, deny me not the
assurance of thy love, and an interest in thy
great salvation: Seeing thou hast not spared
thine only Son, but didst deliver him up for
our guilty, polluted, perishing world, wilt
thou not with him freely impart all that I
need for enriching me both in time and e-
termity.”
4. Let those, who have some scriptural e-
vidences of being alive to God, be taught
from this doctrine, that to his rich, unmeri-
ted, self-moving grace they are indebted for
this unutterable blessing. To such I may
repeat the language of this apostle to the be-
lieving Ephesians, “God, who is rich in
mercy, for the great love wherewith he lo-
ved you, even when you were DEAD in sin,
hath quickened you together with Christ.”
Are there not multitudes of your own ac-
Quaintances; some that were perhaps nur-
tured at the same breasts, trained up in the
same family, educated in the same school,
instructed under the same ministry, who en-
joyed equal opportunities both publicly and
privately, that are to this day DEAD ! They
are yet lying under the accumulated guilt
of their nature and lives : The wrath of
God hangs over them, and they are, not-
withstanding, “at ease in Zion;” devoted to
the pursuits and pleasures of a perishing
world. “Who hath made you to differ”
from such ' Who taught you to see, while
they remain spiritually blind, and raised you
to life, while they continue dead “He that
119
hath wrought you for the self same thing is
God, who hath also given you the earnest
of the Spirit, until the redemption of the
purchased inheritance, unto his own glory.”
Great, infinitely great are your obligations
to Jehovah the Spirit for what you already
experience, and what yet remains for you
in prospect. Once, christians, ye were blind,
ignorant of God, of Jesus, of your own spi-
ritual and everlasting interests, but now
“you see ; the eyes of your understanding
are enlightened to know what is the hope of
his calling, and what the riches of the glory
of his inheritance among the saints : once
you were afar off, aliens from the common-
wealth of Israel, and strangers to the cove-
nant of promise,” but are now brought nigh
“by the blood of Jesus Christ; broughtnigh”
by a relation which shall never, never be bro-
ken : once you were dead, under sentence
of condemnation, groaning beneath a weight
of guilt which might sink a world to hell,
but are now legally alive, are completely
accepted through the righteousness of Jesus
the surety, and unalienably entitled to the
inheritance of heaven. Could you only
conceive the ten thousandth part of what has
been freely forgiven you, or the mercies
which are laid up for you in store, you
could do nothing but wonder and adore;
your hearts must be all gratitude, and your
lips must constantly overflow with the me-
lody of thanksgiving. “Ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy na-
. I20
tion, a peculiar people ; that ye should
shew forth the praises of him who hath cal-
led you out of darkness into his marvelous
light.” Depend each day and hour, and in
every appointed means, on the gracious Spi-
rit for perfecting that good work which he has
already begun. As he is the author he must
also be the finisher of your spiritual life and
consolation: Aspire after greater confor-
mity to God as your chief glory, and af.
ter the more intimate, uniform fellowship of
his love as your pre-eminent joy. Amidst
all the afflictions of earth be looking forward,
with confident expectation, to the blessed- .
ness and the glories of the heavenly world.
To Father, Son, and Spirit, who, moved
by the richestgrace, begin and perfect our
salvation, be ascribed by every heir of this
salvation “glory in the highest now and for
ever.”—AMEN.
-*s-gºe awa-ºe
SERMON V.
Reconciliation with God unattainable by hu-
man performances.
ROMANS III, 10.
Therefore by the deeds of the lan, there shall
no flesh be justified in his sight.
THIS verse is properly an inference
drawn from the preceding verses.—The a-
postle had been confirming the doctrine of
121
human corruption; he had been proving that
it was universal, extending to all mankind,
to each individual whether male or female,
in every period of time, and every nation
under heaven. “ There is none that under-
standeth, there is none that seeketh after
God;” he argues that this corruption was
universal, extending not only to mankind in
general, but to all the thoughts, the words,
the actions of each individual; “their throat
is an open sepulchre,” like a medium through
which the abominations of the corrupted
heart issue forth; “with their tongues they
have used deceit ; the poison of asps is un-
der their lips ; there is no fear of God be-
fore their eyes;” he afterwards exhibits the
fearful consequences of this corruption, that
we are thereby involved in guilt, and expo-
sed to destruction, and shut up, like a crim-
inal already tried and convicted, without
any excuse or apology. “Now we know
that what things soever the law saith, it saith
to them that are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped, and that the whole
world may become guilty before God.”
In the verse which has been read for our
present consideration, the apostle sums up
the argument, and asserts that salvation is
altogether unattainable by any righteous-
ness of our own. “Therefore by the deeds
of the law there shall no flesh be justified in
his sight;" “ formerly,” as if he had said,
“I have proved that all the world is become
guilty before God; now I assert that they can-
VOL. 2. L
122
not, by any services which they perform,
atone for that guilt, or secure themselves
from future condemnation.”
The lan), so frequently mentioned in this
and the other epistles of Paul, sometimes
signifies the ceremonial institutions; that
system of worship which was divinely com-
municated to Moses, and constituted, in a
certain sense, the gospel of that dispensation.
It is therefore declared, the lany, that is, the
ceremonial law “is a shadow of good things
to come,” all the rites, and ceremonies, and
sacrifices then existing were of a typical na-
ture ; they respected something afterwards
to be realized in the death and resurrection
of Messiah the glorious antitype ; it is cal-
led upon another occasion a “schoolmaster
leading us to Christ ;” the various washings,
which the spiritual worshipers then used by
divine institution, and the various sacrifices
which they offered up, all directed “to the
lamb of God;” they all pointed the eye of
the believing Israelite to something in the
undertaking or offices of Jesus Jehovah, who
“appeared in the fulness of time, and put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” This
ceremonial law was done away by the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as the shadows
of the evening evanish at the appearance of
the rising sun. But the law mentioned in
our text is much more comprehensive in its
nature ; it is that moral law which was con-
created with man; which was written on his
conscience and his heart by the finger of the
123
living God, and is binding upon men in all
countries and ages. “By the deeds of this
law,” by all that obedience which we may
attempt to render, we cannot “be justified
in the sight” of Jehovah. The design of the
apostle is evidently to cut off the sinner from
all hopes of salvation by his personal right-
eousness or attainments; it is to shew that
neither the heathen, by improving the light
of nature which they enjoy, nor we by all
our external advantages, living under a writ-
ten revelation of the divine will, neither
they nor we can possibly recommend our-
selves to the favor of the Eternal ; we can-
not by all our performances, however sin-
cerely rendered, secure justification now, or
everlasting life hereafter. In order the more
effectually to level each high tonvering ima-
gination of the creature, the apostle is most
explicit, there shall No FLESH ; he extin-
guishes every ray of hope from every son
and daughter of Adam by their own works;
he stops equally from all boasting the mouth
of the splendid, vain glorious moralist, and
the debased, profligate debauchee; he shews
that the expectations of both, for acceptance
with God on the foundation of merit, are a-
like vain and delusive.
Your attention was lately directed to the
alarming situation of man by nature: It was
proved by the highest possible evidence,
the testimony of God himself, that all are
naturally children of wrath, that this curse
was incurred by the disobedience of Adam
124
their covenanting head, and binds them over
to misery, both temporal and eternal. “By
one man’s offence death reigned by one :
by the offence of one, judgment came upon
all men to condemnation.”
It is our present design, with a humble re-
liance on the eternal Spirit for direction, to
prove that salvation from death is utterly
impossible by human attainments; that no
sinner by his obedience, his repentance, or
reformation need expect remission of guilt,
or reconciliation with a righteous God.
1. Justification by our own works is im-
possible, because we are unable to atone for
past transgressions; we cannot repair the
injuries already done to the divine law, by
having omitted what it requires, and com-
mitted what it absolutely forbids ; and with-
out this satisfaction for former offences, ac-
ceptance or reconciliation is not to be ex-
pected. The law cannot, will not forgive
without ample satisfaction; sooner shall
heaven and earth pass away, than remission
be granted for a single transgression without
full reparation for the injury done.—The
moment that the offence is committed the
person is bound hand and foot and thronyn in-
to prison, until he pays what he owes.—
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. He
that offendeth in one point is guilty of all.”
Now what method can the sinner embrace
in order to make such satisfaction Will he
proceed to repent of his former conduct ;
to express a cordial sorrow that he had sin-
I25
ned against God, and resolve an amendment
for the time to come. Let us examine for
a moment whether satisfaction of this nature
would be accepted by an earthly judge.—
Suppose that a man convicted of murder
should acknowledge his crime, should ex-
press unfeigned sorrow for what had hap-
pened, that he had been chargeable with
such an outrage upon society, and then re-
solve that he would by no means be guilty
of repeating the offence ; would this give
satisfaction to the law Would it atone for
the blood of a fellow citizen which has flow-
ed at his hand, and restore the offender to
the privileges of society? Certainly not.
And shall the law of God, which is infinitely
perfect, which is a transcript of the divine
“holiness, and justice, and goodness,” suffer
the transgressor to pass unpunished Or will
our obedience to its demands this day sa-
tisfy for the omission of yesterday ! There-
fore we are informed that “the law worketh
wrath;” binds over to eternal misery every
subject that does not perfectly and perpetu-
ally obey it: Again, “cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things which are
written in the book of the law to do them.”
This single testimony of the living God de-
termines the question beyond all controver-
sy, and leaves the sinner “neither root nor
branch” of expectation from any perfor-
mances of his own: it pronounces him “ac-
cursed” not merely who is abandoned in
every part of his conduct; who wantonly
VOL. 2. L 2 -
126
tramples on every divine command; who
“neither fears God nor regards man;” but
dooms to despair “every one that continu-
eth not in all things;” who does not keep
the whole law, in all its requirements, on all
occasions and amidst all circumstances ; it
shuts up under sentence of wrath as to his
own merit every transgressor” of any com-
mand. We therefore conclude that “by
the deeds of the law no flesh can be justifi-
ed,” because none can satisfy for past offen-
ces; we cannot do more at any time than
the law absolutely requires for that particu-
lar time.
2. Justification by our personal perfor-
mances is unattainable, because we cannot
render perfect obedience for the present.—
The law admits of no imperfection ; it de-
* “ Shew me the man,” is the challenge of an ardent, ingeni-
ous writer on this subject, “shew me the man who has never of
fended in one point; who hath continued in all things prescribed
by Jehovah’s perfect law; who loves the Lord with all his heart,
and his fellow-creatures as himself; shew me the man, who from
the first to the last moments of his life, comes up to the stand-
ard: and then you will shew me a man who can be justified by
works of his own.” Toplady’s caveat against unsound doctrines.
Equally appropriate are the following remarks of another truly
devout, evangelical author. “Upon the very first offence the
law cuts the sinner off from all claim to the promised reward,
and as to anything that he can do cuts him off for ever. It is not
in his power to make himself innocent again. Having once failed.
in his obedience, the law knows nothing of mercy, cannot accept
the greatest repentance, nor accept the deepest sorrow for what
is past ; but immediately passes sentence according to what is
written ; “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do them.” If you fail
in one single instance of obedience, you fall under the curse of
the broken law, and are as much liable to punishment, though
not in the same degree, as if you had failed in every instance.”—
iſºomaine's Law and Gospel, ser, 2. -
127
mands perfect, personal and perpetual obe-
dience, or denounces condemnation against
failure in the least degree ; it requires that
every thought, every word, every action be
perfectly holy and conformed to its unerring
standard ; that “we love the Lord our God
with all our heart, and with all our soul, and
with all our mind, and with all our strength,
and our neighbor as ourselves: This do,”
and the law promises, “thou shalt live;”
this fail to do, and the law proclaims, “thou
shalt surely die.” It is not sufficient that
we refrain from the grosser pollutions of the
world, or discharge the outward duties of
christianity; to all this the Scribes and Phari-
sees had attained; they were not “extor-
tioners, unjust, nor adulterers; they fasted
often, and gave tithes of all that they posses-
sed; but unless our righteousness exceeds
the righteousness of the Scribes and Phari-
sees we shall not enter the kingdom of
God:” it is not sufficient that we discover
some zeal for the ordinances of God, or
some concern for the advancement of his
glory; to this the apostle had attained in his
natural estate : “Concerning zeal he prose-
cuted the church; touching the righteous-
ness which is in the law he was blameless,”
and with these performances he nas alive in
his own estimation; he imagined that no
other righteousness was necessary; “but
when the commandment came ;” when the
law reached his conscience with discoveries
of its purity and spirituality, he DIED; he
128
despaired of acceptance with God on the
foundation of these partial, imperfect per-
formances; he beheld this outward obedi-
ence as falling infinitely short of the divine
command. Such is the perfection of the
law that it extends to the heart; it particu-
larly notices every thought, every sugges-
tion that secretly passes in the mind, no less
than our words and actions. The man “who
hates his brother in his heart,” the law con-
siders as virtually a “murderer;” the man
who “ looks at a woman to lust after her,”
it condemns “as having committed adultery
already with her in his heart:” The most
secret workings of corruption in the mind
are a breach of the law and expose to con-
demnation. When therefore we realize
the purity, the spirituality and extent of the
divine law; that it arraigns before its bar,
not only actions, but our very thoughts, we
are brought to the conclusion, that “by the
deeds of the law no flesh can be justified in
his sight;" because none are capable of
rendering perfect and perpetual obedience;
none are able to conform their hearts and
lives to this eternal standard of righteous-
ness. “The carnal mind is enmity against
God; it is not subject to his law, neither in-
deed can be.”
That justification is unattainable by our
own obedience is evident,
3. From the confession of the redeemed
in every age. What has been the experi-
ence of the righteous in all generations; of
129
those who had attained to the most eminent
degree of sanctification; who were most
distinguished for the mortification of the
flesh, and the habitual spirituality of their
frames? what has been the experience of
such, but an experience of their utter, infi-
nite frailty; of their absolute insufficiency
for performing the will of Jehovah'ſ When
they turn their eyes upon their own hearts, do
they not behold innumerable imperfections,
much blindness of understanding, much
coldness, and carnality of affection, much
proneness to evil, little inclination to what
is good? When they turn their eyes back-
wards and survey the years that are gone,
what do their lives appear, but a series of
departure from the living God? They are
mortified at the recollection of vows made
but never performed ; they acknowledge
their imperfections in every relation of life,
whether to God, to their neighbors, or to
themselves. None who have ever realized
the spirituality of the divine law, or the
mystery of iniquity in their own hearts,
would depend on any works which they per-
form for a thousand worlds; their persons,
they will frankly confess, need to be adorn-
ed wholly and exclusively with the imputed
righteousness of Jesus the Mediator, their
prayers to be perfumed with the incense of
his intercession, their repentance requires
to be repented over, their very tears need
washing in the laver of his cross.-Hear the
testimony of Job, who was pronounced
I 30
“perfect in his generation,” and was certain-
ly inferior to none of his age either in the
purity of his heart, or the spotlessness of his
conversation: “Behold I am vile, what
shall I answer thee! I abhor myself, and re-
pent in dust and ashes.” David the “man
after God’s own heart” exclaims in the bit-
terness of his soul, “innumerable evils have
compassed me about ; mine iniquities have
taken hold upon me, so that I am not able
to look up, they are more in number than
the hairs of my head; therefore my heart
faileth me. If thou, Lord, shouldst mark
iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand.—Enter
not into judgment with thy servant, for in
thy sight shall no man living be justified.”
We might pursue our enquiries from David
the king to Isaiah an eminent prophet of
the Lord, and prove from his language
the infinite insufficiency of human attain-
ments for reconciliation with God.—Woe is
me, he exclaims, beholding himself in the
blaze of this divine holiness, for I am undone ;
he utterly despairs of acceptance on the
footing of his own performances, “I am a
man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a
people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have
seen the KING, the Lord of Hosts:” He
makes confession of his own impurity, and
the impurity of all around him: He ac-
knowledges that if the Lord God should
deal with him or them according to the ri-
gors of his justice, they could not possibly
be acquitted; destruction from the divine
13]
presence must be unavoidably their doom.
Let us pass over from the prophets of the
Old, to the apostles of the New-Testament
dispensation, who enjoyed a still clearer re-
velation of the divine will, and a more abun-
dant unction of the sanctifying Spirit.—
Their testimony perfectly harmonises with
that already delivered. We hear the emi-
nently loving and beloved disciple frankly
professing, “if we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us: Again, if we say that we have not sin-
ned, we make him a liar, and his word is not
in us. For we know that the law is spiritu-
al, but I am carnal, sold under sin,” is the
testimony of the great apostle of the Gen-
tiles. “For I know that in me, that is, in
my flesh dwelleth no good thing; for to will
is present with me, but how to perform that
which is good I find not. What is the a-
mount of all this evidence ; of all the ac-
knowledgments which we have heard from
the lips of patriarchs, and prophets, and apos-
tles' Does it not undeniably evince the im-
perfection of the most perfect; their utter
inability to work out a justifying righteous-
ness, and consequently that by “the deeds
of the law there shall no flesh be justified
with God.”
4. That justification is unattainable by
human merit, appears from the very substi-
tution of the eternal Son in our room, and
the introduction of another method of re-
conciliation. To suppose that apostate man
I 32
could be restored to the favor of God by
his own obedience, is a daring impeachment
of that wisdom which devised a different
plan; of that love which “set forth the Son
of God to be a propitiation through faith in
his blood;” of that justice which exacted of
him in the character of Surety the full pay-
ment of our debt; of that faithfulness which
proclaims aloud, THERE IS NO SALVATION IN
ANY OTHER: “He that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of
God abideth upon him.” Is it probable that
the eternal God would have had recourse to
a scheme so singular, so astonishing, if an
ordinary method could have vindicated the
honors of his government; or that he would
have secured our redemption at an infinite
expense, even the blood of his own Son,
could an inferior price have satisfied the de-
mands of his justice “If righteousness
came by the law,” then Christ is dead in
* No uninspired man, either before or since the apostles,
understood more thoroughly the doctrine of a sinner’s justifica-
tion than the German Reformer ; I trust therefore that the sin-
cere enquirer after truth will be both pleased and profited with
the following quotation from his writings. “For what need of
Christ hath he who is able by the merit of congruence before
grace to obtain grace, and then to do such work as by the merit
of worthiness after grace, he is able to deserve eternal life.
Then take away Christ with all his benefits, for he is utterly un-
profitable. But why was he born ? Why was he crucified ? Why
did he suffer Why was he made my high priest, loving mé,
and giving himself an inestimable sacrifice for me In vain, and
to no purpose at all, if righteousness come by other means; for
without grace and without Christ, I find no righteousness either
in myself, or in the law.” This truly great and good man after-
wards indulges himself in the most elevated contemplation
of Jesus as his Saviour and portion. “Mine eyes shall behold
nothing else but this inestimable price, my Lord and Saviour
133
vain;” all the glory of that grace, that so-
vereignty, that wisdom which shines so il-
lustrious in our reconciliation by his sacri-
fice is utterly obscured ; all his sufferings in
the manger and the garden and the cross,
however numerous and painful, were under-
gone to no purpose; they neither reflect
glory on any perfection of Deity, nor im-
part lasting consolation to us. Nay, the
substitution of another in our room, the
transfer of our iniquity to his account, and
the imputation of his righteousness to us, are
founded on this principle as their very basis,
THAT PARD ON BY HUMAN ATTAINMENTS WAS
IMPossIBLE. “If there had been a law given
which could have given life, verily righte-
ousness would have been by the law ;” that
is, if man could possibly have entered the
holiest of all through the channel of the
former, now violated covenant, “a new and
living way would not have been opened
'il .”
5. That justification cannot be attained by
the deeds of the law appears evident from
this consideration, that in scripture it is uni-
formly ascribed to divine grace through the
righteousness of Immanuel. In all the sacred
history there is not an instance of a single sin-
Christ; he ought to be such a treasure to me that all other
things should be but dung in comparison of him ; he ought to
be such a light to me, that when I have apprehended him by
faith, I should not know whether there be any law, any sin, any
righteousness or any unrighteousness in the world. For what are all
things which are in heaven and earth in comparison of the Son of
God, Christ Jesus my Lord and Saviour, who loved me and gave
himself for me 2—Luther on Galatians, c. 2. v. 21.
VOL. 2. M
134
ner accepted, or a single transgression par-
doned by any performances of the creature.
Surely if reconciliation had been possible
by the obedience of man, some who have
gone to glory musthave had reason for boast-
ing; they might have ventured, at least, to di-
vide the honor of their salvation with the grace
of Jehovah. But what says the heavenly
oracle 7 “Abraham believed God, and” this
faith, in opposition to works, “ was counted
to him for righteousness: David also de-
scribes the blessedness of the man, to whom
the Lord imputeth righteousness without
works;” to whom he accounts the obedi-
ence of another for reconciliation indepen-
dent of their attainment, or worthiness. A-
gain, “we are justified freely by grace,
through the redemption that is in Christ Je-
sus.” Is it possible that a doctrine could
be expressed in language more explicit
and undeniable? “We are justified,” we at-
tain the full, the everlasting remission of all
transgression, BY GRACE ; this blessing infi-
nitely precious in its nature, is a gift, abso-
lutely unmerited, conferred on the thrice
happy subject without money, without
price; we are justified FREELY by grace ; is
- our pardon a blessing infinitely rich! it is di-
vinely FREE, unclogged by any conditions,
unmerited by any works of the creature ;
we are justified freely by grace through
THE REDEMPTION that is in Christ Jesus; the
obedience and sacrifice of the ever-adorable
Surety are exclusively the procuring cause
135
of this inestimable benefit; the blood which
ſlowed from his side cancels the catalogue
of our past transgressions, and his righte-
ousness imputed by the Father forms our
title to future privileges; neither our love,
nor repentance, nor patience dare enter
their claims for any part of the honor; in-
deed was it ignorantly offered them, they
would willingly lay it all at the Saviour's
feet, devoutly exclaiming, “not unto us, O
Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be the
glory;” even faith itself, which may be
pronounced the prince of graces, occupies
no higher station in the justification of man
than that of an instrument: It is like the feet
which carry the soul to the Saviour; it is the
hand which applies the healing balm, and
puts on the adorning robe ; it is the mouth
which feeds upon Jesus as the bread of life,
the water of life, and the wine of everlast-
ing consolation. “By grace we are saved
through faith, and that not of ourselves; it
is the gift of God.”
Add to these arguments the representa-
tion which is given us of the ransomed alrea-
dy in glory. They are described as reach-
ing their celestial mansions, not through any
worthiness of theirs, but only through the
merits of Jehovah their advocate. “These
are they which—have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb:”—“Therefore,” in virtue of their union.
to Jesus, and their pardon and purification.
through the efficacy of his sacrifice, “are they
136
before the throne of God, and serve him day
and night in his temple.” These exalted
spirits know nothing, they acknowledge no-
thing “but Jesus Christ and him crucified, as
the author of their salvation ;” they look
back to that “decease which was accomplish-
ed at Jerusalem,” as the source of all that
they have already obtained, and of those ex-
ceeding, eternal joys which await them in
prospect; and at each recollection of that
event, they kindle into a higher;extacy of
wonder and gratitude; they cast their crowns
before the throne, and exclaim in more ele-
wated accents, “ thou art worthy, for thou
wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by
thy blood. To him that loved us, and wash-
ed us from our sins in his own blood, and
hath made us kings and priests to God, even
the Father, to him be glory and dominion
for ever and ever.—Amen.”
As an improvement of this subject, it is
natural to infer—
1. That all may despair of pardon now,
or salvation hereafter, by their obedience to
he law, as a covenant of works. The o-
mission of one duty enjoined, or the com-
mission, in a single instance, of what is for-
bidden, places the sinner beyond the reach
of hope as to his personal performance or
merit. This is the doctrine of the law, and
the prophets, and the apostles. “The scrip-
ture hath concluded all under sin;” all of eve-
ry nation, whether Gentile or Jew ; all of e-
very character, whether more pure, or more
1.37
profligate ; it hath shut them up under sin,
under sentence of wrath, as the criminal is
shut up in a prison from which he cannot pos-
sibly escape of himself; where he must lan-
guish until the hour of execution, unless his
offence be freely forgiven him. As easily
might the angels, who were cast down to
hell, break off their everlasting chains, and
regain their mansions in bliss, as man by his
feeble efforts procure the favor of God, or
a title to that glory which he has forfeited.
—“As many as are of the works of the law
are under the curse ; for it is written, cur-
sed is every one that continueth not in all
things which are written in the book of the
law to do them.” Let all remember, there-
fore, as they regard their peace in time, and
honor and happiness through eternity, that
they must secure a righteousness more per-
fect than their own ; that by any obedience
which they have performed, or may perform
they cannot be justified in the sight of right-
eous God. The accumukated merit of all
the saints on earth ; the accumulated merit
of all the saints and angels in glory would be
insufficient to expiate the guilt of a single
sinner, much less secure him a title to the
kingdom of heaven.
2. Let all be impressed with their absolute
inability to obtain salvation by their own
performances. Whilst thou art resting on
thine own righteousness, thou art “laboring
in vain ; thou art spending thy strength for
nought and in vain;” thou art preparing a
VOL. 2. MI 2
138
garment of fig-leaves which cannot cover thy
nakedness, or secure thine acceptance in
“the fiery test of the judgment day.”
“Wouldst thou enter into life thou must
keep the commandments;” thou must per-
fectly fulfil the law in all its demands, up-
on all occasions. But I solemnly appeal to
thy conscience and ask, hast thou come up
to these high requirements in times past, or
art thou capable of attaining this spotlessper-
fection in the time to come : Hast thou, in-
deed, “loved the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and soul, and strength, and mind? Hast
thou loved thy neighbor as thyself,” and ma-
nifested this love by sincerely endeavoring
to promote his reputation, and interest ? If
thy life has been conformed to this unerring
standard, thou art more perfect than patri-
archs or prophets who freely acknowledged
that in many things they all offended ; who
repented in dust and ashes for their numerous
and aggravated failures. But art thou con-
scious of having failed in a single instance
thy mouth is stopped from this moment; thou
art, by thine own confession, “ become guil-
ty before God, and by the deeds of the law
canst never be restored” to his favor. “Be-
hold all ye that kindle a fire, that compass
yourselves about with sparks ; walk in the
light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye
have kindled: this shall ye have of my hand,
ye shall lie down in sorrow.”
3. Is there no possibility of pardon by the
covenant of works, let all rejoice that a new,
I 39
and more glorious method of reconciliation
is revealed. “The righteousness of God
without the law is manifested, being witnes-
sed by the law and the prophets ; even the
righteousness of God which is by faith of Je-
sus Christ unto all, and upon all them that
believe.” With what transports of gratitude
and joy should these tidings be heard ' How
cheerfully and thankfully should this divine-
ly perfect righteousness be embraced by
every sinner of the human family Who that
was involved in debt without the least pros-
pect of making payment would not accept
of relief from the hands of a surety Who
that was convicted of some capital crime
would not rejoice at the message of pardon
from the lips of his sovereign But immu-
nities infinitely greater are procured and now.
tendered by Jehovah in the character of Je-
sus. He obeyed the precept of that law
which you were unable to obey; he endured
that penalty which you had incurred, and un-
der which you must have groaned through
eternity; he has blotted out, with his own
blood, the hand nriting n:hich stood against
3you, which bound you over to the curse, and
has mailed it to his cross. Are you sensible
of your danger, and longing for relief? then
behold by faith the bleeding, dying Saviour.
Are you without strength to perform the
high demands of the law” “his name is called
the mighty God, because he can save to the
uttermost” all who apply. Have your ini-
quities abounded! mercy, through hisatoning
T40
sacrifice, much more abounds : “ Though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white
as Snow ; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.”
Now, beloved hearers, what think you of
this glorious freedom | Is it answerable to
your miseries and wants 7 Is it worthy of
your acceptation ? Or in opposition to the
dictates of your own consciences, enlighten-
ed by the word of truth ; in opposition to the
experience of the faithful in all ages; in con-
tempt of threatnings the most awful, of invi-
tations the most endearing, will you dare to
appear in the “rotten rags” of your own at-
tainments Remember that by refusing sub-
mission to the righteousness of Jesus, you.
despise your own mercy, you extinguish the
only ray of hope which ever irradiated our
benighted world. The Lord God has pro-
posed the challenge, and the collected wis-
dom of heaven and earth and hell can never
answer it, How SHALL YE ESCAPE IF YE NEG-
LECT so GREAT SALVATION? May he convince
you of sin, then will you be satisfied that a
Saviour is necessary ; may he discover to
you the majesty of his law, then will you.
welcome that Jesus who “ is the end of the
law for righteousness to every one that be-
Hieveth.” AMEN.
141
SERMON VI.
The righteousness of Jesus infinitely sufficient
for the justification of all who embrace it.
++++kºkkºkºłºbºk
ROMANS X, 4.
For Christ is the end of the lan' for righteous-
mess to every one that believeth.
THE wisdom of man is frequently
baffled, and his power defeated in attempt-
ing to accomplish his most favorite schemes.
A thousand designs, conceived in his imagi-
nation, are never realized, either through
want of skill in the contrivance, or ability
for the execution. But the Eternal Mind
is restrained by no bounds, nor embarrassed
in its operations either by difficulties, or
opposition. “With God nothing is impos-
sible. The counsel of the Lord standeth
for ever, and the thoughts of his heart to all .
generations.” . Does his sovereignty, pro-
pose a particular plan as eligible in itself,
and calculated to advance the majesty of
his name? his wisdom readily devises the
means, and his power infallibly secures
the accomplishment. He beholds the end
from the beginning ; he surveys at one
thought principles with their remotest con-
sequences, and knows the best means for
effecting the best designs. With what ma-
jesty do his perfections break forth in the
ereation and redemption of our world !---
142
“He speaks, and it is done;” the different
ranks of being, animate and inanimate, rise
into existence, and assume the stations pre-
scribed them; confusion gives place to or-
der, darkness yields before the approaching
light, and from the formless, unsightly mass,
creation rises fair at the voice of the Crea-
tor. He speaks again,and a work incon-
ceivably more arduous is accomplished;
the world is redeemed from that ruin into
which it was plunged; the divine glory ap-
pears most illustrious where it had been
most obscured, and an open door is presen-
ted for the return of apostate, miserable
man. “And he saw,” exclaims the inspired,
seraphic Isaiah, “and he saw that there was
no man, and wondered that there was no in-
tercessor; therefore his arm brought salva-
tion, and his righteousness it sustained him:”
He has conciliated the seemingly jarring at-
tributes of Deity; he has preserved in per-
fect harmony “mercy and truth, righteous-
ness and peace,” while good will is announ-
ced to us. “For what the law could not
do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh; he gave him to be the end of the law
for righteousness to every one that believ-
eth.”
In the verse immediately preceding our
text the apostle exposes the folly of the
Jews in attempting to establish their own
righteousness for justification; he maintains,
143
that acceptance with the Father on the foun-
dation of human works was utterly impossi-
ble; that the very expectation of attaining
this end arose from ignorance of God; from
misapprehensions of his justice in taking
vengeance on transgression; from imper-
fect views of his law in its purity, requiring
a perfect, perpetual obedience under the
penalty of death; he argues also, that this
fond attachment to their own services pro-
ceeded from their ignorance of the suitable-
ness, and sufficiency of that righteousness
which had been accomplished by the infinite-
ly glorious Redeemer. “For they being ig-
norant of God’s righteousness, and going a-
bout to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves to the right-
eousness of God.” He then adds with pe-
culiar emphasis in the verse which we have
read, “ For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth.”
The righteousness of Christ usually signi-
fies his active obedience, his fulfilment of the
divine law in its preceptive part ; but in the
present instance it must be considered in a
sense more extensive ; as comprehending
both his active and passive obedience ; his
enduring the penalty, no less than fulfilling
the precept of the moral law ; in short, the
righteousness here mentioned includes all that
he accomplished for our pardon, and accept-
ance ; for our redemption from that wrath to
which we were exposed, and our title to that
glory which we had altogether forfeited.
144
On a late occasion, I endeavored to prove
that salvation is not to be expected by the
covenant of works; that no flesh can be jus-
tified with Jehovah by their moral excel-
Hence, or attainments. But this inspired ora-
cle promulges a different method for our ac-
ceptance ; a method more august in itself,
more honorable to each perfection of Deity,
and more suitable to the present circumstan-
ces of man ; it exhibits the eternal Son as
“ finishing transgression, and thus becoming
the end of the law for righteousness to all the
chosen.” And while we humbly aim at il-
lustrating the excellence, the all-sufficiency
of this redemption, may a ray of Messiah’s
glory beam on every understanding ; may
his rich, unequalled, unmerited love capti-
vate and constrain every heart in this as-
sembly.
The Lord Jesus may be pronounced the
end of the law for righteousness, because,
1. He freely obeyed the precept, and en-
dured the penalty of the law. His whole
life, from its commencement in Bethlehem to
its consummation on Calvary, was a course
of the most cheerful, uninterrupted obedi-
ence to the will of his Father. Every duty
which was incumbent upon him as man and
1Mediator, whether in a private, or social, or
religious capacity, he discharged with con-
stant fidelity, and unspotted perfection. As
a child he cheerfully submitted to the autho-
rity of his parents; as a son of Abrahami,
and consequently included within the Jew-
145
ish pale, he received the seal of circumcision;
as a member of the Gentile church, and
the author of the christian dispensation,
he submitted to the ordinance of baptism;
as a man, indulging the finer feelings of the
human heart, he “went about doing good;”
he relieved such as were in circumstances of
wretchedness, and mingled his tears with
the disconsolate mourner; as a subject of
the Roman government he paid tribute, and
“ thus rendered unto Cesar the things that
were Cesar's;” as the prophet of his church
he diligently instructed the multitude, and
“preached righteousness in the great con-
gregation; as the high priest of our profes-
sion he offered up fervent prayers and in-
tercessions for the people ; he sought mercy
in behalf even of his betrayers and murder-
ers; “Father,” he affectionately expostu-
lates, “Father, forgive them for they know
not what they do ;” as a king he displayed
his almighty power and royal prerogatives
by performing a series of miracles the most
splendid, alternately feeding the hungry,
healing the diseased, raising the dead, and
casting out “devils from the bodies of those
that were possessed.” He thus upon all
occasions obeyed the law in its most rigor-
ous requirements. It “was his meat and
his drink,” his desire and delight, to “do the
will of his Father that sent him, and to fin-
ish his work. He was holy, harmless, unde-
filed, and separated from sinners.” Pilate,
who condemned him, was constrained to ac-
VOL. 2. AN
146
knowledge, “I find no fault in him;” the
Jews, whose hands were encrimsoned with
his blood, could not “accuse him of sin;”
and the powers of hell, although wrankling
with a fury the most implacable, yet reluc-
tantly exclaim, thou art THE Holy ONE of
GoD.
As he obeyed every precept of the moral
law, he fully endured its penalty; he sus-
tained all that wrath which was denounced
against the breach of the covenant, and is
inflicted on the impenitent either on earth
or in hell. No trial can be conceived, ei-
ther temporal or spiritual, which the Son of
God did not sustain in the extreme ; he suf-
fered in his body, in his soul and reputation;
he experienced, in their turn, “weariness,
inunger, thirst, poverty, and nakedness;” he
was disowned and abandoned by his friends,
derided and persecuted by his enemies.
IBut as the small rivulet is lost when it emp-
ties into the fathomless ocean, so all the sor-
rows which this “man of sorrows” endured
in his life, are forgotten when we contem-
plate the infinitely more exquisite agonies
of Gethsemane and Calvary. There it
“pleased the Lord” pre-eminently “to
bruise him, and put him to grief; those
hands, which had been often extended in offi-
ces of love to man, were tortured “with
nails;” that head, which had worn the crown
of universal dominion, is mangled with the
mock “crown of thorns;” those lips, which
had been uniformly occupied in imparting
/
I 47
instruction to man, and offering praise to
God, break forth in the plaintive exclama-
tion, “is there any affliction like unto mine
affliction ? Father, if it be possible let this
cup pass from me ;” that side, which had
often heaved with emotions of pity for his
brethren, and concern for their salvation, is
pierced by the accursed spear; that soul,
whiclf had been all devotion to God, and be-
nevolence to men, is now melted by the
lightnings of divine indignation.—“He made
his soul an offering for sin; he humbled him-
self, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross.”
Christ is the end of the law for righteous-
TheSS,
2. As he both obeyed and suffered in the
nature which had sinned. It was indispen-
sably requisite, in order to our reconcilia-
tion, that the law of Jehovah should be ho-
nored, both in its precept and penalty, by
our nature, which had offered the insult.—
He, therefore, who appears in the character
of a mediator for man, must himself be man,
that he might be capable of suffering in the
same nature which had sinned.
“Man disobeying,
• Die he or justice must; unless for him
Some other able, and as willing, pay
The rigid satisfaction, death for death.”
Justice demanded that as man had com-
mitted the offence, he should make satisfac-
tion ; that as he had injured the glories of
the law, by trampling on its requirements,
he should repair those injuries either in his
4 ×
I48
own person, or the person of a surety. Sup-
pose that a being however exalted had ap-
peared in the form of an angel; had ren-
dered the most uniform, perfect obedience
to every precept of the moral law, and en-
dured ten thousand sorrows: this obedience,
these sufferings could neither have atoned
for our transgression, nor restored us to the
favor of our offended Sovereign. As man
had deliberately offered the insult, it is a
principle, supported alike by sound reason
and divine revelation, that his nature should
both suffer and satisfy. The Son of God,
therefore, interposing as mediator, appears
in “the likeness of sinful flesh, and becomes
obedient unto death.” He assumed a body
to suffer and expiate as a substitute for their
bodies, and a soul as a substitute for the
souls of his people. The apostle thus men-
tions with peculiar emphasis, “verily he
took not on him the nature of angels,” he
was not substituted in their room, he did
not satisfy for their salvation, “but he took
on him the seed of Abraham. For as much
as the children were made partakers of flesh
and blood, he himself likewise took part of
the same, that through death he might de-
stroy him that had the power of death, that
is, the devil.” “This Word was made flesh,”
is the testimony of an evangelist unerringly
directed by the same Spirit; the eternal Son,
the essential WoRD of Jehovah “was made
flesh,” assumed the manhood into real union
with his Godhead “and dwelt among us ;."
Qe
I49
“he was made of a woman, made under the
law to redeem them that were under the law,
that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
—Exult, O believer, in the infinitely tender,
endearing name “Immanuel, God withthee,”
in thy nature ; “thou hast not a high priest
who cannot be touched with a feeling of
thine infirmities,” but being really bone of
thy bone, and flesh of thy flesh, “he is in all
things tempted as thou art; he knows expe-
rimentally thy frame ; he remembers that
thou art dust,” and although elevated to the
highestthrone, he most tenderly sympathizes
in all thy sorrows.
Christ is the end of the law for righteous-
IlêSS, aS,
3. He obeyed and suffered in the room
of his people, as their surety and substitute
by an eternal transaction. It was this con-
sideration which constituted him the Lord
oUR righteousness, and rendered his obedi-
ence and blood satisfactory to justice in ourt.
behalf. It is the consideration of his vicari-
ous sufferings which emboldens us to plead,
at the bar of an accusing conscience and of
a condemning law, the merit of that sacrifice
which he offered up.
The Son of God might have assumed the
nature of man ; he might have submitted to
the law of his Father, both in its precept and
penalty, without any advantage to our pe-
rishing world. But all that he did, and all
that he endured, had an immediate relation
to his chosen: Every act of obedience which
VOL. 2. N 2 -
*
156
he performed, and every instance of suffer-
ing which he experienced was exclusively
in their name, standing in their stead, consi-
dered in their room, by his own voluntary,
everlasting agreement. He is therefore de-
signated the second Adam, because he em-
barked in the covenant of works precisely
where the first Adam was shipwrecked, and
became the representative of a spiritual off. .
spring, as the other had represented a na-
tural offspring ; he undertook to magnify
that law which the former had degraded,
and to expiate that curse which the former
had incurred. “For, as by the disobedienee
of one many were made sinners, so,” in virtue
of a similar constitution, “by the obedience
of one many are made righteous.” Messiah
is also denominated “ the surety of a better
testament,” or covenant. To whom is this
character usually and properly applied ? To
him who voluntarily engages in behalf of a-
nother; who becomes obligated to fulfil some
contract in which the other had failed. Paul
became surety for Onesimus, by undertak-
ing to pay what he owed. The Eternal Son
is therefore denominated surely for man, be-
cause he actually assumed their debt : he
appropriated their sins to himself, by which
they became no less his own, in the estima-
tion of law and justice, than if he had per-
sonally committed them. “ The Lord hath
laid on him” (charged to his account) “the
iniquity of us all. He hath made him to be
sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be
I j]
made the righteousness of God in him.” As
the Son of God, in the capacity of surety,
assumed the debt of his people, at his hand
the payment was required to the uttermost
farthing. That wrath, in its very essence,
and in all its accumulated horrors, which
must have been inflicted on them, was exe-
cuted upon him their sponsor. He suffered
the punishment of loss; those smiles of his
Father’s countenance, which he esteemed
better than life, were utterly denied him;
not a ray of light was afforded to gild that
gloom which overeast his spirit, or sooth him
in his hour of agony. While “darkness was
over the earth, a cloud infinitely more aw-
ful and impenetrable, enveloped the soul of
the Surety. “My God, my God,” he exclaims
through exquisiteness of inward distress,
“my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? Why art thout so far from helping me,
and from the words of my roaring !” To the
punishment of loss was added in the highest
possible degree the punishment of sense. His
body was subjected to sufferings the most
excruciating, and his soul was overwhelmed
with successive billows of divine indignation.
Such was the pressure of wrath which he en-
dured, that great drops of blood burst from
every pore of his body, “all his bones were
out of joint, his soul within him was melted
like water, and he was brought into the dust
of death. He suffered for our sins,” as an
apostle expresses it, “the just for (in the
room of) the unjust, that he might bring us to
I 52
God. He bare our sins in his own body upon
the tree;” those crimes which we had commit-
ted were transferred to Jesus our substitute,
that curse which had been denounced against
us was literally and awfully executed upon
him, “that we being delivered from wrath
might live unto God.” -
Christ is the end of the law for righteous-
ness, because, -
4. His sufferings, being the sufferings of
Jehovah in our nature, were infinitely and
everlastingly meritorious. His obedience
and sacrifice, partaking of the perfection of
his Godhead, were a complete compensation
for all the demerit of human transgression.
It was formerly mentioned as indispensably
requisite that our mediator should be man,
that the same nature which had sinned might
suffer ; it was no less requisite that he should
be God, in order to render his sufferings a
full satisfaction. The reconciliation of our
world to the divine favor was a work infi-
nitely surpassing the ability of a mere crea-
ture, however exalted. “No man can by a-
ny means redeem his brother, or give to
God a ransom for him.” The obedience of
ten thousand angels could not compensate
for the injury of a single transgression, be-
cause, being finite themselves, they are inca-
pable of making an infinite atonement. Did
we conceive in our imaginations a created
intelligence, possessing excellenciestenthou-
sand times greater than any angel, or all the
angels in glory, his obedience through un-
I 53
numbered ages could be no satisfaction for
a single offence of man; he owes for himself
all that homage which he can possibly ren-
der, and consequently has no righteousness
to spare for another: In proportion as his
powers are enlarged, his obligation to obey
his Creator and Lord is necessarily encreas-
ed. But every act of suffering endured by
the GOD-man, the world made flesh, was
divinely valuable for the expiation of our
guilt: every aet of obedience which he per-
formed was divinely meritorious for con-
firming our title to the immortal inheritance.
He who undertook to become “ the end of
the law for righteousness” to us was essen-
tially “the Mighty God, the Lord of glory,
the express image,” or counterpart “ of his
Father’s person ;” and suitable to his un-
created, underived perfections as God, is the
perfection of that redemption which he ac-
complished as Mediator. Prophets and e-
vangelists, eminently enlightened by the
Holy Ghost, appear to emulate each other
in extolling itsexcellence and all-sufficiency.
“A great salvation, an everlasting righteous-
ness, a plenteous redemption,” are terms
which in their turn they ascribe to it. They
pronounce this “work of righteousness to
be peace, and the effect of this righteousness
to be quietness and assurance for ever.”
They rise higher in their contemplations of
this delightful subject, and exhibit Messiah,
the anointed One, as finishing transgression,
really annihilating sin, with respect to his
154
*
chosen, as if no such thing had ever been
known, blotting out each letter of the curse
that was marked against them, expunging it
so completely from the written law, and from
the records of heaven that it can never be
mentioned or thought of against them ; “ as
making an end of sin, making reconciliation
for iniquity, and bringing in everlasting
righteousness ;” as presenting an open door,
through which the miserable outcast may re-
turn, not to an earthly but a heavenly pa-
radise; a living nay, by which the most pro-
fligate wretch may enter the holiest of all,
from which he was excluded by transgres-
sion ; as procuring a better inheritance, a
brighter crown, and a more elevated throne
than were forfeited by our fall.
The following important and comfortable
inferences are naturally suggested by this
doctrine.
1. That the law of God is neither annul-
led, nor relaxed in the sinner’s reconcilia-
tion through the righteousness of the Eter-
nal Son. It is argued by some, that, after
the first covenant was broken, a new law
was introduced ; a law milder in its demands,
and more accommodated to man in his fallen
condition. But a change of this nature is
utterly impossible. To suppose that the
law is altered, is to suppose that the perfec-
tions of Deity are altered, because it is a
transcript of his perfections, “of his holiness,
and justice, and goodness.” Besides, this
position arises altogether from mistaken ap-
155
prehensions of the character in which the
Son of God appeared. If the creditor re-
ceives payment, it is to him a matter of in-
difference whether it be immediately from
the original debtor, or from the hands of
some other person interposing in his behalf:
If the punishment threatened against a par-
ticular crime be actually executed, it is of
no consequence whether it be executed on
the person committing the offence, or on
some other who undertakes to suffer in his
room. The majesty of the law sustains no
injury by a transfer from the one to the o-
ther.—Neither are the glories of the divine.
law by any means obscured in our remission
through the sacrifice of Immanuel. “He
was made of a woman,” really clothed with
human nature, “made under the law,” that
'ery law in its covenant form which was vio-
lated by Adam, “to redeem them that were
under the law,” to pay down the price exact-
ed by divine justice as the condition of their
pardon, “that we might receive the adop-
tion of sons.” Its precept was infinitely ho-
nored by the obedience of his life, and its
curses completely exhausted by the suffer-
ings of his cross: Nay, it is no presumption
to assert that the moral law, in every possi-
ble requirement, is more completely fulfil-
led by the redeemed in Jesus, their repre-
sentative, than in the punishment of evil men
or angels through eternity.—Suppose that
two persons became involved in a debt of
one hundred talents, and both were unable
I 56
to make payment: Suppose that a friend un-
dertook for one of them, endorsed his obli-
gation, and, at the demand of the creditor,
tendered the full amount : The other, with-
out ability himself, and without a friend to
aid him, is cast into prison, and there lan-
guishes for life. By whom, in these circum-
stances, is the creditor most fully satisfied ?
Certainly by the man for whom the surety in-
terposed. In the former instance, he demands
the payment of his debt, and the demand is
immediately answered: In the latter, he is
constantly requiring, but his claims are ne-
versatisfied. The application of this com-
parison is obvious. Men and angels, as
transgressors of the divine law, were insol-
vent: Jesus Jehovah, in the character of
Surety, steps forward and tenders to his Fa-
ther's justice its utmost claims against his
people.
“The ransom was paid down. The fund of heaven,
Heaven’s incrhaustible, exhausted fund,
Amazing and amazed, poured forth the price,
All price beyond. Though curious to compute,
Arch-angels failed to cast the mighty sum.”
But the others are eternally punished, yet
full satisfaction is never obtained.
2. It may be inferred from this doctrine,
that the believer in Jesus is perfectly free
from the law as a covenant of works; he is
altogether delivered from its authority, ei-
ther to command, or to condemn ; he pos-
sesses a righteousness utterly independent
of any excellence or obedience of his own.—
In virtue of his union to Jehovah incarnate,
157
and his interestin the redemption of his cross,
he is as completely discharged from the law
in its covenant form, as the debtor is dischar-
ged from a bond already paid up and cancel-
led ; or as the woman is discharged from ob-
ligation to a husband already divorced or
dead. Christ Jesus the Lord is, to all that
believe, “the end of the law for righteous-
ness;” he as the second Adam fulfilled in
all respects its condition, and thus obtained
for them an eternal redemption. This doc-
trine, so essential to the glory of Jesus, and
so interesting to the consolation of his peo-
ple, the apostle illustrates by various com-
parisons, and in the strongest language which
he is capable of employing. He pronounces
“the law to be FULFILLED in them,” notindeed
in their own persons, but in Jesus their ad-
vocate, “who walk not after the flesh but
after the spirit:” He represents the infinite
surety as seizing “ the hand writing that
stood against them,” which contained the
heaviest charges on account of their trans-
gressions, as blotting it out with his precious
blood, as nailing it to his cross, and render-
ing it void for ever : He announces to the
converted Romans, “ ye are also become
dead to the law by the body of Christ,” by
the infinitely efficacious sacrifice which he
presented when he “bare your sins in his
own body on the tree:” He proclaims for
the encouragement of every awakened,
trembling sinner, that now “the righteous-
ness of God without the law,” independent
W OL,
158
of our personal obedience to its precepts for
acceptance with the Father, “is manifested;
even the righteousness of God, which is by
faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all
them that believe.” -
But does this doctrine lay the axe to the
root of christian obedience, or give permis-
sion to continue in sin because grace abounds?
God forbid 1 Those who thus argue were
never taught by the Spirit of holiness, nor
felt the constraining influence of a Saviour’s
love. The former instructs, and the latter
obliges the heaven-born soul to “deny un-
godliness and worldly lusts ;” to “ yield e-
very member as an instrument of righteous-
ness unto God ; to shew forth,” alike by
the language of their lips and the obedience
of their lives, “the praises of him who hath
called them out of darkness into his marvel-
ious light. Every one that hath this hope
in him,” a hope of which the Holy Ghost is
the author, and eternal life the end, “puri-
tieth himself;” it is as natural for him to a-
bound in the fruits of righteousness, as for
the living fountain to send forth water, or
the healthful tree to put forth its bud and
blossoms in their season. “ The love of
Christ,” whenever and wherever it is saving-
ly “shed abroad in the heart,” necessarily
constrains “to love him,” and to manifest
this love by “keeping his commandments.”
It then becomes the delight, as it is the duty
and dignity of the favored subjects “to live
to him who died for them. What shall Iren-
I 59
der to this” dear, dying “Lord for all his
mercies?” “what tribute of praise shall I
tender for the condescension of his birth and
the sufferings of his cross!” must be the un-
feigned enquiry of every ransomed spirit on
earth. This will be the more ardent, ele-
vated enquiry' of all the ransomed through
eternity in heaven.—“They who came out
of great tribulation, who washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb, who stand before the throne, SERVE
God;” they cast their crowns at his feet,
and pour forth unceasing hallelujahs of
praise; this is their exercise, not occasion-
ally, not at distant intervals, but day and
night, without weariness, or interruption,
or end ; and what is the weighty argument
that excites to such extacies of wonder and
praise “Thou wast slain,” they add, “and
hast redeemed us to God by thy blood.”
3. Consolation flows from this doctrine
to the children of the kingdom, when agita-
ted with a consciousness of guilt, or alarmed
with indications of their Father's displeasure.
“There is not a just man upon earth, that
doeth good and sinneth not.” The believ-
er, most mortified to the world, and most
advanced in the spiritual life, is chargeable
with innumerable failures. Owing to the
prevalence of strong corruption, and a deep
conviction of guilt, his head often hangs
down, his heart desponds, and he is asham-
ed to lift his eyes towards the mercy seat, or
lisp out abba-father. But, christian, discon-
160
*:
solate christian, amidst all thy disquietudes,
“ look to Jesus, as the end of the law #.
thee for righteousness;” behold by faith
“this Lamb of God who taketh away the sin
of the world,” and then apply his most pre-
cious blood for removing its terrors from
thy conscience. Here is an ocean of merit,
a boundless, fathomless ocean, which can
never be exhausted; and although millions
and millions of thy brethren have obtained
pardon and peace in this laver, there is room
for thee; it flows as plented us now as when
first announced in paradise, or first opened
in Calvary. “There is redemption in the
blood of Jesus,” thanks be to his name ;
redemption, not barely for the failures of
yesterday, but for those which may be com-
mitted to-day ; not merely for the imperfec-
tions of this day, but for all those short com-
ings with which, through the infirmity of
grace and the power of indwelling ſust, thou
mayest hereafter be chargeable ; for all
these, there is a full, an eternal “redemp-
tion, even the forgiveness of sin according
to the riches of his grace.” Are these the
true sayings of God, receive them for thine
immediate consolation and support. Is the
holy law, once broken by thy transgressions
and uttering its curses against thy crimes,
now pacified through the merits of thy
Saviour’s cross Does it proclaim, “there is
no condemnation to them that are in Christ?”
Do the holy angels announce, “peace on
earth, and good will,” all complacency,
161
“towards men?” Is the eterlasting Father
“well pleased for his righteousness' sake,”
and mayest not thou repose thy soul with all
confidence beneath this covert from the
storm? “Shall not the blood of Christ, who,
through the Eternal Spirit, offered up him-
self to God, purge thy conscience from dead
works to serve the living God?” O thou of
little faith, wherefore dost thou longer
doubt Lift up thine head, and appropriate
the ancient and joyous exclamation, “why
art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art
thou disquieted within me : Still trust in
God, for I shall yet praise him, who is the
health of my countenance, and my God.”
These humble triumphs of faith will shortly
be succeeded by the bolder and nobler song
of Moses and of the Lamb, “Unto him
that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
his own blood; and hath made us kings
and priests to God, and his Father; to him be
glory and dominion for ever and ever.—
AMEN.”
VOL. 2. o 2
162
SERMON VII.
The agency of God the Father in the appoint-
ment of Jesus to his Mediatorial undertak-
ing. A SACRAMENTAL SERMON.
seekſejekkjokºkkº
ROMANS III, 25.
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood.
WE rarely find more than one ex-
eellence eminently to adorn the same indivi-
dual. As it appears to be the general ar-
rangement of Providence, that every man
should possess some amiable or respectable
quality, to raise him above abject insignifi-
cance and contempt; it appears to be equal-
ly its order, that no man should combine in
himself all that is amiable or respectable,
lest he rise to universal admiration, and to
unlimited influence in the world. In every
character, even the most debased, there is
discernable some shade of merit which se-
cures a portion of esteem ; so in the most
exalted, important character, there is gene-
rally some capital defect that sinks him
nearly to a level with the mass. Although
Job is held forth to all ages as an illustrious
pattern of patience, Moses of meekness, So-
lomon of wisdom, Paul of ardent zeal, and
Peter of heroic, unshaken fortitude ; yet
neither of these personages was distinguish-
ed for all these endowments. But in Jeho-
163
vah every possible excellence exists, in e-
Qual, infinite perfection : Here is wisdom,
which never errs; which never fails to em-
ploy the best means for executing the most
important purposes: Here is justice, abso-
lutely inviolate, which ever holds the bal-
ance with equal hand, and renders to all
rational agents their due : Here is goodness,
ever flowing, ever diffusing happiness
through his creation, in a manner consistent
with the honor of his government: Here is
holiness, without the least spot of pollution;
which can neither tempt nor be tempted ;
which cannot behold iniquity without ab-
horrence; which cannot look upon rectitude
without complacence and delight: Here is
truth, which will inviolably, and infallibly
accomplish all that is threatened, and all
that is promised. These perfections of God
which appear obvious in all his works, burst.
forth with ten-fold effulgence through the
eross and mediation of his Eternal Son.
There we see justice absolutely refusing to
spare sin, and mercy ardently expostulating
to spare the sinner; we see wisdom interpo-
sing by offering a plan that will bring glory
to God in the salvation of man, and love de-
livering up his only Son to the awful, ardu-
ous work.-*Him hath God set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in his blood.”
The Son of God, on a late occasion, was
held forth as “the end of the law for right-
eousness;” as answering all its requirements
by the obedience of his life, and removing
164
its penalty by the sacrifice of his cross; con-
sequently all who believe in him, who ac-
cept the gift of his all-perfect righteousness
as offered in the word of reconciliation, are
instantly and everlastingly delivered from
the law in its covenant form : Interested in
the sacrifice and satisfaction of Jesus their
substitute, they are considered no longer
“under the law ;” they are not subject to
its authority, binding them to obedience at
the peril of condemnation, “but under
grace;” they possess a title to every bles-
sing, temporal, spiritual and eternal, as
the free gift of Jehovah, without any respect
to their own works as the procuring cause.
The verse, chosen for our consideration at
present, exhibits the Redeemer under a cha-
racter very similar and equally encoura-
ging; it represents him as “set forth to be a
propitiation through faith in his blood.”
Christ is here called a propitiation.
There is in this passage a direct allusion to
one of the most costly and instructive ap-
purtenances of the Jewish temple. A co-
vering of pure gold, called the propitiation
or mercy-seat, was placed over the ark of the
covenant ; and on this Jehovah appeared in
the visible manifestations of his glory, con-
versing with Israel his adopted people :-
From this propitiatory he gave the most lu-
minous, satisfactory expressions of good will
to them, and they in return were admitted
to intimate communion with him. The
Lord God was therefore emphatically repre-
*—
165
sented as “ dwelling between the cherubim”
because one of them was placed at each end,
overshadowing the mercy-seat of gold. In
allusion to this, the Son of God is pronoun-
ced our propitiation or mercy-seat:” Through
his mediation the Father is reconciled, and
“reconciles the world unto himself, not im-
puting to them their trespasses :” In Jesus,
as on a throne of grace, he stands announ-
cing peace on earth, and good will to all na-
tions indiscriminately: If we cannot this day,
like the Jewish worshipers formerly, behold
with the natural eye the type, the literal
mercy-seat, with the eye of faith we may
contemplate, in these emblems of bread and
wine, the infinitely glorious antitype ; we
may see the “Word made flesh and dwel-
ling among us ; wounded for our transgres-
sions, making peace by the blood of his
cross, and introducing everlasting righteous-
ness” for our complete acceptance; we may
ascend in our contemplations, and, pene-
trating within the veil, behold Jesus in all
the glories of his exalted state, seated at
the right hand of the heavenly majesty, an-
swering all accusations, perfuming, with
much incense of his intercession, the prayers
of his people, and obtaining every blessing
which they require: if we are not privileged
with the Jewish worshiper to behold the Sche-
chima, the cloud of glory, this visible pledge
of Jehovah's presence, we may hear the still,
small, soothing voice, “I am pacified to-
wards you ; the sword of my justice, bath-
* -
166 .
ed in the blood of my son your surety,
now slumbers for ever; I will be a Father
unto you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters:” We may behold him as it were
pointing to these elements and saying, “this
is my beloved Son in whom I am well plea-
sed;” “through his cross I am everlastingly
reconciled to you ; all the lightnings of my
wrath which once played around, threatning
your perdition, are now exhausted upon
him; for you there remains unclouded, eter-
nal day.”
A propitiation through faith. Christ is a
Saviour only to such as actually apply him.
The natural bread gives no nourishment to
the body which does not eat it; and except
we really eat, that is, receive it, the living
bread imparts no life to the soul: A robe,
however splendid in itself, cannot adorn the
person who refuses putting it on, and the
garment of salvation will not beautify in the
sight of Jehovah, unless it be particularly
applied ; the blood of the literal passover
was sprinkled on the lintels of the door, as
a means of securing the Israelites from the
sword of the destroying angel ; and unless
the blood of our new testament passover, of
the Lamb that was slain, be sprinkled upon
the conscience, it will not purge from dead
works, nor deliver from the wrath to come.
The necessity of particularly applying Jesus
and his salvation is frequently taught in the
scriptures, because an error in this is dan-
gerous, yea, damning in its nature; and I
. i07
tremble to add, no error is probably more
common in the visible church. Men occa-
sionally read their bibles; they attend or-
dinances; they believe every doctrine that
is delivered; they yield a cold, speculative,
unoperative assent to the truth that Jesus
died and rose again, and then conclude that
they are good christians.—But do they re-
flect that “ devils believe,” and yet perish ;
and they may believe in a speculative man-
ner all that is revealed, and be lost for ever ?
“We must eat the flesh of the Son of man ;”
we must “put on his righteousness;” we
must apply his healing balm; we must live
upon him as the very life of all our hopes;
we must glory in him as the alpha and omega
of our pardon, and peace, and joy. This is
that “faith in his blood” which the scrip-
tures require : lt is the commencement of
heaven, the dawn of glory in the human
heart. “He who thus believeth in the Son
hath everlasting life, and shall not enter into
condemnation.”
A propitiation through faith “in his
blood.” Although the soul in the act of
believing views the Saviour in all his offi-
ces; although it receives him “for wisdom,
for righteousness, for sanctification, for re-
demption,” yet in the first act of coming to
Jesus the sinner more immediately contem-
plates him in his priestly office; he beholds
the fiery law denouncingjindignation against
his crimes, and therefore endeavours to
quench it with his expiatory blood; he
168
knows, like Adam, that he is spiritually na-
ked, he is ashamed, he is afraid, and then
eagerly embraces this celestial robe, this rai-
ment clean and mhite, the Surety’s righte-
ousness; he sees a righteous God armed
with vengeance, threatning his instant de- .
struction, and then pleads the atonement of
- Calvary as the ground of his reconcilia-
tion. “One shall say, in the Lord have I
righteousness and strength ; I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord—That
I may be found in him, not having mine
own righteousness which is of the law, but
that which is by the faith of Christ, even the
righteousness of God by faith.” Bathed in
this fountain of his blood, and covered with
the garment of his salvation, the soul expe-
riences an undisturbed repose, “a peace
which passeth all understanding.”
Waving any other remarks on the differ-
ent members of this text, it is designed to
shew, that there was a peculiar agency of
God the Father in the appointment of Mes-
siah to his mediatorial work; and in all
that he has done, is now doing, or will per-
form hereafter in that capacity. “Him hath
God set forth,” i
1. By the immediate agency of God the
Father, Messiah was solemnly set apart from
eternity to this high undertaking. When
the plan of human redemption first arose in
the infinite mind, Jehovah is introduced as
asking, “whom shall I send, and who will go

I69
for me?” “What personage, throughout
my vast dominions, is either able or inclined
to embark in a work so awful and interest-
ing Who in the heavens above, or in the
world which shall afterwards appear, is ca-
pable by the underived, infinite dignity of
his nature to bring glory to me in the reco-
very of man?” The Son, co-equal, and co-
eternal with the Father, moved by love which
only God could feel, instantly replies,
“here am I, send me: To my account let
all the debt of all thy chosen be charged
from this moment; mine be the bitterness
and the joy, the reproach and glory of se-
curing an eternal revenue of honor to thy
crown in their redemption. Lo! I come,
in the volume of thy book let it from this
time be written of me, to do this thy will,
O God.” At that moment “the council
was held between them both,” and the resto-
ration of man determined. Had angels then
existed, they must have clapped their wings,
and shouted their loudest hosannas at the
depth of divine condescension and mercy;
they must speedily have veiled their faces
with their wings, unable to behold the
full blaze of that sovereignty, and justice,
and wisdom, and love, which mingled
their glories in this scheme.
Referring to that transaction the Re-
deemer declares, “I was set up from ever-
lasting; I was ordained by Jehovah the Sure-
ty of a better testament, and commissioned
to appear in time for the accomplishment
VOL. 2. P
I 70
of that undertaking.” The Father, in his
turn, frequently mentions this substitution
of his Son in the room of his chosen. “I
have laid help upon one that is mighty; I
have exalted one chosen out of the people;
I have found David my servant; with my
holy oil have I anointed him: With whom
my hand shall be established ; mine arm
also shall strengthen him. Behold my
servant whom I uphold; mine elect,” my
chosen, my consecrated one, “in whom my
soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon
him ; he shall bring forth judgment to the
Gentiles.” These characters can with no
propriety be applied to the Son essentially
considered; he is in that sense the Father’s
FELLow ; he deems it not robbery to be E-
QUAL with God; he claims, and claims with-
out the least air of presumption, every title,
every perfection, every glory that is proper
to the Deity; but they belong to him pecu-
liarly as contractor for man : As Mediator
he is the Father’s servant; he has volunta-
rily undertaken to perform all his pleasure
by standing in our covenant room.
2. By the immediate agency of God the
Father, the Eternal Son entered our world,
and assumed that nature in which he suffer-
ed and satisfied for human transgression.—
While Jehovah, in the original contrivance
of our redemption, contemplated the ulti-
mate object, his own glory in the happiness
of his creatures, he also contemplated all the
intermediate steps by which the Mediator
171
should accomplish this work; and to these
he actually ordained him. The incarnation
of Jesus, or his assumption of our nature is
therefore represented in scripture as the Fa-
ther’s act; as done in direct submission to
his authority. “When the fulness of the
time was come,” when the moment, mutual-
ly agreed upon between the Father and Son
in their counsel from everlasting, had arriv-
ed, “God sent forth his Son,” reminded him
of his covenant stipulations, and sent him
forth to enter upon the execution of his
work, “made of a woman, made under the
law ; to redeem them that were under the
law, that we might receive the adoption of
sons.—Wherefore when he the Son cometh
into the world he saith,” he addresses his
Father as vindicating the honors of the God-
head, “sacrifice and offering thou wouldst
not;” the countless oblations which have
been presented, and all the rivers of blood
which have flowed in ages past thou hast re-
jected as insufficient for the expiation of
human guilt ; “but a body hast thou prepa-
red,” framed, made ready “for me.” True it
is, the manhood of Messiah was formed by the
immediate, miraculous agency of the Holy
Ghost, yet the Spirit formed it, and the Son
assumed in virtue of the Father's appoint-
ment. As the assumption of his body, so
all the sufferings which he underwent, either
in body or soul, either from earth or from
hell, were not barely with the permission,
but by the direct appointment of the Fa-
I 72
ther. “It pleased the Lord to bruise him,
he hath put him to grief;” he who in his so-
vereignty formerly made him to be sin for
us, who laid the iniquity of his people on the
head of this scape-goat, in his justice made
him afterwards to suffer; with his own lips
he utters the awful mandate, “awake, O
sword against my shepherd,” and with his
own hand bathes this sword in the blood of
his own Son. True it is, a blind, infernal
rage roused the opposition of his enemies:
Impelled by the alternate passions of envy
and avarice andjealousy, one early commen-
ced his persecutions, obliging the child Je-
sus to flee into Egypt; another betrayed
him; another condemned him ; others mock-
ed and reviled him : But all this insult was
offered, and all this suffering inflicted by
the Father's appointment, and for the exe-
cution of his absolute, eternal purpose. “A-
gainst thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast
anointed, (says an inspired author) both
Herod and Pontius Pilate were gathered to-
gether, for to do whatever thy hand and
thy counsel determined before to be done.”
While these men were indulging an unpro-
voked, unhallowed rage, they were fulfilling
the sovereign, everlasting decree of heaven;
in filling up the measure of their own ini-
quity, they were filling up that cup which
the Father, myriads of ages before, had or-
dained him to drink. -
3. By the immediate agency of God the
Father, the Son as Mediator arose from the
= , ºr:
dead, and ascended to his present elevation
of glory in heaven. In pursuing our pre-
cious Lord through all the grades of his ex-
altation, from the humble tomb to the high-
est throne, we behold the authority of the
Father illustriously expressed. By his ap-
pointment, and commissioned by the high
court of heaven, the angel leaves his seat in
bliss, visits the tomb, breaks off the seal,
rolls back the stone, and welcomes to the
regions of day his conquered, conquering
Lord : we hear the Son thus pathetically
address the Father by the mouth of David,
his type, “thou will not leave my soul in
hell,” the prison of the grave, this state of
invisibility: “ Thy justice indeed required
that I, as surety for man, should be seized
and cast into prison, but justice now de-
mands that when the debt is discharged the
surety be liberated; thou wilt shew me the
path of life; thou wilt make me full of joy
with thy countenance.” When the risen
Saviour had conversed with his apostles;
when he had, by frequent and familiar inter-
views, fully satisfied them that he was real-
ly risen from the dead, and had directed
them as to the future management of his
kingdom, by an immediate act of the Father,
Jehovah incarnate ascends on high, enters
the gates of the celestial sanctuary, and
takes his seat on the right hand of the Ma-
jesty on high. Then did his fervent prayer
receive a literal answer, “Father, glorify
thou me with thine own self; with the glory
VOL. 2. P 2
174 *
which I had with thee before the world was:”
Then did the ancient prophecy receive its
full accomplishment, “the Lord said unto
my Lord ;” he who formerly spared not his
own Son, who apparently delighted in his
degradation and grief; who doomed him to
all the ignominy and all the agonies of the
manger and the garden and the cross, now
delights to honor him; takes him from pri-
son and from judgment; introduces him
amidst a choir of adoring angels to his pre-
sence, and assigns him the highest throne
in his dominion; “sit thou at my right hand,
until I make thine enemies thy footstool:”
with his rod of iron this Jesus has already
ground to powder the head of the old ser-
pent, and his feet shall ere long tread on the
neck of every opposer of his reign. Again,
“God hath highly exalted him,” and what
greater glory can be conferred on the Son,
than he now participates; the midst of the
throne is his residence ; the brightest crown
in heaven adorns his head ; and the sceptre
of unlimited empire is put into his hand;
“ and given him a name above every name;”
other exalted spirits are called lords, but
the Son as Mediator is Lord of these lords;
others are called kings, but he is KING of
kings; others are dignified with the appel-
ſation of gods, but the man Christ Jesus is
“God over all; that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven;”
the tallest cherub that walks the streets of
the heavenly city feels honored in doing
175
honor to Jesus; his glory consists in bend-
ing the knee, and laying all his glory at
the feet of the Son; the spirits of just men
made perfect will, if possible, soar above
the angels in expressions of humility and
gratitude and praise; “and things on earth;”
the church militant mingles her tribute of
homage and thanksgiving with the church
triumphant ; while believers exult in his
righteousness, they submit to his rule; while
they consider remission through his sacri-
fice their most exalted privilege, they con-
sider obedience to his law their most incum-
bent, reasonable service; “ and things under
the earth;” even hell is a part of the empire
of this prince, and all its hopeless inhabi-
tants are the reluctant subjects of his con-
trol. In his hand as Mediator “the keys of
hell and of death” are now deposited ; im-
penitent souls are doomed to the bottomless
pit, and infernal spirits, obtaining a momen-
tary respite from their flames, ascend only
at his permission; “and every tongue shall
confess,” while every knee is low in expres-
sions of humility, every tongue is loud in
ascriptions of praise, “that Jesus Christ is
Lord ;” that he is justly invested with all
power in heaven and earth ; that his throne
is for ever and ever, and his dominion from
generation to generation; and all is done to
“the glory of God the Father;” in honoring
the Son, they honor the Father, whose im-
age he bears, and at whose authority he sits
enthroned ; in every act of adoration they
* . I76
*-
.:
s
recognize the Father's agency in thus high-
ly exalting him, and the Father's command,
that all the saints, and “all the angels of
God should worship him.” -
4. In the name, and by the appointment
of the Father, will Jesus descend at last to
judge the world. It appears strictly pro-
per, nay,absolutely requisite, that as the Son
was made a public monument of scorn, of
insult and suffering, his glory should be win-
dicated in a manner equally open, and by
the same authority which had ordained his
humiliation. Upon his ascension from
mount Olivet, and his entrance into heaven,
his manifestation was only partial ; his glo-
ry darted around a few admiring apostles,
and the host of attending angels: myriads
of the human family being absent were not
spectators of the scene ; myriads of them
were not yet in being, and could not attest
it ; and no doubt the powers of darkness,
whom he had lately driven from the field,
and spoiled of their usurped dominion, re-
tired from the unwelcome sight and endea-
vored to shut their eyes against the surroun-
ding radiance. An exhibition of the Son,
as Mediator, more public, and with a blaze of
glory more unclouded, seems therefore both
becoming and necessary ; and such an ex-
hibition has the Father ordained for him.
“Behold, he comes, and every eye shall
see him ; he comes in the glory of his Fa-
ther with the holy angels;” he who once
prepared a loathsome manger, now erects
177
for him “a throne, a great white throne,”
illumining with its glory the whole creation
of God: He who once delivered him to
death even the death of the cross, now pre-
sents him with a crown, a crown infinite-
ly surpassing in splendor all that e-
ver adorned the head of a mortal : He who
formerly refused a solitary ray of his coun-
tenance, leaving him to exclaim “my God!
my God! why hast thou forsaken me,” now
beams upon him with the most endearing,
elevating smiles of his love, and announces
in the hearing of assembled worlds, “this is
my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased;
let all the hosts of God worship him :” He
who formerly gave him up to cruel hands,
to be condemned, to be scourged, to be cru-
cified, now commits to him all judgment.
“The Father loveth the Son and hath com-
mitted all judgment into his hand; he hath
appointed a day,” he who appointed the
day when the glories of his divinity should
be shrouded in Bethlehem’s manger,hath ap-
pointed another day when they shall burst
forth to the admiration of the universe, “in
the which he will judge the world in righte-
ousness by that man whom he hath ordain-
ed; whereof he hath given assurance to all
men in that he hath raised him from the dead.”
After the judgment is finished, after all the
unbelieving are consigned “to their own
place,” and the heirs of salvation are
brought to inherit the kingdom prepared for
them, the Father will everlastingly set forth
178
his Son as an object of adoration and grati-
tude and love to the innumerable, extatic
hosts of heaven: There collected in one vast
assembly, and encircling one radiant throne,
angels elect, and elect, ransomed men will
mingle their hearts and their voices in one
unceasing, eternal HALLELUJAH to him
“ that was once siain,” but “ now sitteth on
the throne, even to the Lamb for ever and
ever.”
This passage, thus imperfectly explained,
affords,
1. A most refreshing, encouraging assu-
rance of the Father’s love; of his cordial
compassion to our misery, and most tender
solicitude for our salvation. We are gen-
erally disposed to think that love to man
dwells exclusively in the bosom of the Son;
we often paint in our imagination the Fa-
ther as an object of terror; we consider him
in the character of an indignant judge, arm-
ed with vengeance against our transgres-
sions, and utterly unwilling to pardon.—
But this is equially an uncomfortable and
unbecoming view of Jehovah. Behold him,
christian, from eternity, in his pure, un-
meritted, unasked, disinterested good will,
proposing the restoration of man from
the miseries of his apostacy ; behold him in
the immensity of hisgrace ordaining “a Son,
an only, beloved, begotten Son” your sure-
ty, to lay down his life for your redemption;
behold him executing without reserve upon
Jesus your substitute, all that was denoun-
179
ced against you, and then art thou not rea-
dy to draw the animating conclusion, “God
the Father is love?” Art thou not constrain-
ed in extacy of wonder and joy to exclaim,
“ behold ! how he loved them 7” Can you
utter, can you conceive; can a seraph before
the throne either utter or imagine a more sa-
tisfactory evidence, a more astonishing ex-
pression of regard to man than is offered in
the substitution of the Eternal Son Evan-
gelists and apostles often introduced this
subject in their discourses, but they wanted
language to express its immensity; they
represented its height and depth as ineffable
and inconceivable ; they admired and ado-
red the display as beyond all comparison,
as without anything like a parallel in all the
transactions of God. “He so loved the
world as to give his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him might not perish,
but have everlasting life.” Be persuaded
then, believer, from all these considerations,
that “the Father himself loveth thee;” learn
to approach him through the infinite atone-
ment, and all prevailing intercession of Je-
sus, as thy friend, thy Father; as not only
pacified towards thee, but willing to do in
thee and for thee, “abundantly more than
thou art able to ask or receive. He who
spared not his own Son, but delivered him
up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things?” In bestowing the
greater mercy, his own Son, he has afford-
ed an infallible pledge that the lesser shall
180
not be withheld. Every blessing that can
be hereafter communicated must come in-
finitely short of the former: When he be-
stows earth and heaven, grace and glory, he
only imparts a drop from this ocean, a ray
ſrom this sun. -
2. We are taught from this text the suita-
ble exercise of our faith on this communion
sabbath; it is to contemplate and appropri-
ate the Son of God as set forth in the ordi-
nance of the supper. On ordinary occa-
sions we are invited to behold him as pre-
sented in the promises of the gospel, and
in the ministry of reconciliation ; there he
is exhibited as “the wisdom of God, and the
power of God for our salvation;' as the
free, absolute, unconditional gift of the Fa-
ther to a perishing world, and to us in par-
ticular : But, on this great day of our new-
testament festival, we are favored with an
exhibition of our precious Lord still more
tender and affecting: in the element of
bread we behold Jehovah becoming incar-
nate, “the Son of God made in the likeness
of sinful flesh;” in the breaking of this
bread we see the Saviour really suffering
for our sins, cloven by the lightnings of his
Father’s wrath, and “bowing in agony his
guiltless head :” in this wine we behold, in
symbol, the Surety’s blood flowing at the
hand of divine justice, and as it rolls down,
washing away the guilt of a chosen world:
Sense may now be employed as a hand-
maid to faith, and through these visible
181
symbols our eyes may see, our ears hear,
our hands handle, our mouths taste, and our
souls participate the word of life. In these
sacramental elements the Father is really
“setting him forth” as the bread of life, the
water of life, and the wine of everlasting
consolation : he is reaching him out, com-
municant, for thine immediate reception
and nourishment. He stands at the head of
that table which his bounty has replenished,
and with all the earnestness, the affection
which divine love can inspire, he expostu-
lates, “ come, eat of my bread, and drink of
the wine which I have mingled : Eat, O
friends,” ye who have made a covenant with
me by improving the sacrifice of my Son,
who desire to approach me, adorned with
his righteousness as your robe, “and drink,
yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.” Be not
afraid then, weak, disconsolate communi-
cant, to draw near this table of thy Father,
and freely receive that spiritual food which
is presented : “This flesh is meat indeed,
this blood is drink indeed,” and thou art as
welcome to partake as a reconciled, com-
passionate, bounteous God can make thee.
“Love, stronger than death,” love, which
tenderness to his own Son could not resist,
love, which none but Jehovah could exercise,
moved him from eternity to provide this
Lamb for burnt-offering, and moved by this
same love he now offers him for thy conso-
lation and strength. “Open thy mouth
wide and he will fill it; he will satisfy thee
VOL. 2. Q.
I82
with the goodness of his house, even of his
holy temple.”
3. We may infer from this doctrine the
peculiar malignity of unbelief; of not em-
bracing the ever blessed Jesus as set forth
in the gospel of peace: Of all the crimes with
which man either is, or can be chargeable,
this is inconceivably the most aggravated,
and exposes the pitiable object to the most
intolerable damnation. Other sins pour
contempt on particular pefections of Teity,
but this pours contempt on all his perfec-
tions: It tramples under foot all that is sa-
cred in his authority, all that is tender in
his love, all that is awful in his wrath; other
sins pour contempt on particular Persons
in Jehovah, but this pours the most deli-
berate, direct contempt on all the Persons
in Jehovah; it tramples under foot the bo-
dy of the Son which was broken, and his
blood which flowed to redeem ; it scorns
the majesty of the Father who appointed
him, and in whose name he appears; it
gives the lie to the Holy Ghost who testi-
fies that there is no salvation in any other;
in short, unbelief spurns the highest conceiv-
able, the highest possible exercise of love,
of compassion, of condescension, of long-
suffering, of sovereignty which men or an-
gels ever have witnessed, or which to all e-
ternity they ever shall witness. I mention
it again, and O ! that the living, life-giving
SPIRIT, with his resistless energies, may bear
the truth to the conscience and the heart of
183
every gospel despiser, of all the crimes with
which man is, or can be chargeable, the re-
jection of precious, precious Christ is the
most aggravated, and exposes to a degree of
torment the most exquisite and intolerable.
Shall I go further ? There is a coloring of
malignity in this offence with which even
the prince of darkness can never be charg—
ed-–It is acknowledged that he violated a
law most righteous and reasonable in its re-
Quirements; a law which it was equally his
interest and duty and glory to obey ; he
rebelled against his rightful, beneficent so-
vereign, and united in his train multitudes
of the heavenly peers, but he never slighted
such love, he never Spurned such long-suf-
fering, he never abused such patience, he
never despised such exceeding, abundant
grace, he never rejected such tender, repea-
ted expostulations, he never turned his back
on the gates of glory set open for his admis-
sion, he never rushed with such deliberate
hardihood into the flames of hell kindled by
his crimes. “If I had not come, and spo-
ken unto them, they had not had sin, but
now,” under the gospel light so clear; un-
der expressions of love so astonishing; un-
der offers of mercy so frequent and fervent,
“now they have no cloak,” no apology, “for
their sin.” *
Brethren, are these hard sayings? The
Lord God of gods is my witness that I utter
them in the most pure, the most fervid love;
I have enlarged upon them from an over-
*...*&# .# -- s : #.
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**"...º.º.
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164
flowing zeal for your everlasting welfare:
Have I painted, although with infinite im-
perfection, the horrors of the wrath to come?
it is only that I may be instrumental in a-
wakening you to flee from that wrath; I
have pointed out the guilt, the aggravated
guilt of neglecting this great salvation as a
means of rousing you to walk in the light
while it is yet shining around you, and to
improve the remedy while its offer is con-
tinued. The blood of Jesus upon the head
is the greatest possible curse, the blood of
Jesus upon the conscience is the greatest
possible blessing, and it yet flows freely,
flows plenteously for your redemption: In
God’s name I proclaim that here is pardon
for the most guilty, a laver that instantly,
utterly, everlastingly washes away the foul-
est stain of human transgression; only ap-
ply it, sinner, by a particular, appropriating
faith, and though “your sins be as scarlet,
they shall become white as snow; though
they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool.” Him is the Father setting forth this
hour, in this assembly, as a propitiation
through faith in his blood; “As Moses lift-
ed up the serpent in the wilderness, even so
is the Son of man lifted up, that whosoever
believeth in him;” that “whosoever believ-
eth ;” here, man, woman, here is thy war-
rant for putting in thy plea, a warrant drawn
up in the high court of heaven, signed and
sealed by each Person in Jehovah: If any
are excepted, they themselves make the ex-

185
ception, for the Lord God proclaims aloud,
“if ANY man thirst, let him come unto me.
and drink; whosoever will, let him take of
the water of life freely :” If any be ex-
cluded, they are self-excluded, for the Lord
God declares, and pledges all the glories of
his throne for the truth of the declaration,
“I have no pleasure in your death, but
would that you turn from your wicked ways,
and live ; him that cometh to me I will in
no wise cast out : Let him turn to the Lord
and he will have mercy upon him, and to
our God for he will abundantly pardon:”
That whosoever believeth in him might not
perish, but have ETERNAL LIFE. This is cer-
tainly, infallibly the privilege of every sin-
ner who exercises faith in the Saviour’s
blood. The gospel with its great and pre-
cious promises; the covenant with its bound-
less, endless blessings; heaven with its in-
effable immunities and glories, at the mo-
ment of his closing with Jesus, become his;
they are his by real, unalienable title now ;
they will be his in full, actual possession for
€Wer. r
Willingly would T persevere enumera-
ting these proclamations of divine mercy;
willingly would I extol more largely the in-
finite efficacy of Calvary’s blood for the re-
demption of sinners the very chief; willing-
ly would f multiply arguments, expostula-
ting with all who are present, to improve it
for their redemption in particular ; but E
must now direct your attention to the more
VCL. 2. Q 2
186
solemn and interesting services of the day.
We have been contemplating the Son of
God set forth in the word of reconciliation;
let us now behold him in the symbols of his
body and blood as crucified for us ; and while
our eyes see, and our mouths are tasting
this word of life, may our hearts overflow
with his abundant consolations: may we ex-
perience an earnest of that more glorious
hour when we, redeemed by his blood, ar-
rayed with the spotless robe of his righteous-
ness, and shining in the beauties of holiness,
“shall eat and drink with him at his table in
his heavenly kingdom:” Then, beloved sis-
ters and brethren in Christ, we shall “hun-
ger no more, neither thirst any more ;” no
recollection of guilt shall ruffle the peace of
our consciences; no intervening cloud shall
cast its unwelcome shade over our under-
standings, or chill the ardour of our affec-
tions; nothing within, nothing without shall
embitter the joys of our hearts : For the
Lamb which is in the midst of the throne
shall feed us, and lead us unto living foun-
tains of water, and God shall wipe away all
tears from our eyes.” “Come, Lord Jesus,
come quickly;” come in the more abundant,
refreshing showers of thy grace : hasten in
thine own time the RISING of the day-star
of glory.—AMEN. .*
I 87
SERMON VIII.
The sovereign agency of God in determining
the heirs of salvation.
I. PETER I. 2.
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God
the Father.
THE absolute sovereignty of God
in the disposal of his creatures is a doctrine
mysterious and awful. But although it is.
utterly unfathomable by our finite, depra-
ved understandings, it is taught clearly and
unquestionably in that revelation of his will
which he has given to our world.—There he
is represented as a great, adorable Supreme,
who “gives no account of his matters;”
who makes his own pleasure the rule, and his
own glory the end of all his transactions to-
wards angels and men; as having every oc-
currence relating to them, whether more
minute or more important, under his imme-
diate control, directed by his omnipotent
power, and rendered subservient to the ac-
complishment of his everlasting purposes.
“The Lord reigneth : The Lord sitteth up-
on the floods, yea, the Lord sitteth king for
ever. Of him, and through him, are all
things, to whom be glory for ever.” In his
transactions towards the angels, Jehovah ap-
pears adorably sovereign, and awfully just ;
in the depths of his good pleasure he con-
188
firmed a part of them unalterably in bliss,
electing, ordaining them infallibly to per-
severe in holiness, and happiness; in the
searchless depths of the same sovereignty he
permitted a part of them to apostatize, and
in the rigors of his justice erected them
monuments of eternal vengeance. In his
transactions to man he appears mysterious-
Iy sovereign, and exceedingly, abundantly
gracious. In his sovereignty he appoints
Adam the federal representative of man-
kind, embarks on his free will their tempo-
ral and eternal destinies, and by permitting
him to fall suffers them to be plunged in
ruin irrecoverable : In the riches of his un-
merited, marvelous grace, he elects a poi-
tion of our apostate family to salvation;
gives them to his own Son freely undertak-
ing in their behalf, and through him as their .
covenant head, ordains them to all the privi-
leges of grace and glory. They are “elec-
ted,” says our apostle, “according to the
fore-knowledge of God the Father.”
Your attention was lately directed to the
agency of Jehovah the Father in the ap-
pointment of Jesus to his mediatorial work;
we endeavoured to confirm from scripture
the important and the comfortable doctrine,
that all the sufferings which were endured
by him on earth, his present exaltation in
our nature and name in heaven, together
with his final appearance at the consumma-
tion of this world, were all in direct conform-
ity to that eternal transaction.—That sover-
189
eign grace which was exercised in ordaining
Christ the surety, early displayed its prero-
gatives in determining the heirs of his sal-
vation; in giving him by name and sirname
many sons and daughters who should ever-
Hastingly participate his covenant bless-
ings. The prospect of their salvation was,
next to his Father’s glory, the chief source of
his exultation and joy from eternity past,
and in them and over them he will rejoice
through eternity to come, as an ample re-
ward for all the humiliation of Bethlehem,
and all the agonies of Calvary. When the
election of man is ascribed to the Father, we
are not to consider the other ever blessed
Persons in the God-head as excluded.
There was no doubt a mutual consultation,
and the most perfect harmony among the
DIVINE THREE in this transaction. The Son,
who had covenanted to make the purchase,
and the Spirit, who had engaged to apply
this salvation, were concerned in determining
the persons and the number to be chosen
no less than the Father who had proposed the
plan. Yet this act is pre-eminently ascri-
bed to the Father as the first Person in the
God-head, and as having consecrated Jesus
to his mediatorial undertaking; he who
proposes the work, also stipulates the re-
ward. He who appoints the Surety to
“make his soul an offering for sin,” abso-
lutely promises him a numerous, spiritual
offspring, in whom “he should see the tra-
vail of his soul and be satisfied. It became
190
him, of whom are all things, and by whom
are all things, in bringing many sons to glo-
ry to make the captain of our salvation per-
fect through suffering.”
Perhaps there is not a doctrine in all the
christian system, which the common adversa-
ry of souls has more halignantly opposed,
or more artfully abused, than the one which
I am now attempting to vindicate.—The un-
godly he has endeavored to embolden in sin
by suggesting that their state was unaltera-
bly determined; that “the purpose of God
according to election must stand,” and there-
fore they might reasonably live as they list;
and thus enjoy at least the present life, lest
they were not appointed to happiness in the
next. To the souls awakened with appre-
hensions of wrath, and anxiously enquiring
after a refuge, he has represented this de-
cree as an insurmountable obstacle ; he has
artfully insinuated that “few are chosen ;”
that very probably they were not included
in the number, and therefore the redemption
of the cross was never designed for them.
Thus the latter this arch-deceiver aims at
driving to despair by the same doctrine
which to the other he holds forth as an argu-
ment for presumption. Relying therefore
with profound humility on the Holy Ghost
for direction, and taking his word as my on-
ly guide, I shall aim at illustrating this doc-
trine with all possible caution and scriptural
simplicity.
The word elect properly signifies chosen
101
out of, selected, or separated from among.
This term is sometimes applied to a part of
the angels, and expresses their confirmation
in their primitive integrity ; they were not
chosen to be redeemed from sin, because
they never had transgressed; but they were
elected to be kept from apostatizing, and to
be established in that holiness and happiness
which they originally possessed. But this
epithet, when applied to man, is much more
comprehensive. He was permitted to fall,
and elected to be recovered from the com-
plicated ruins of his fall; to be redeemed from
all the guilt, the loathsomeness, the wretch-
edness of his depraved state, and promoted
to a higher degree of glory and bliss than he
had lost by transgression.
The election of a part of the human fam-
ily to eternal life is taught so positively,
and repeatedly in the living oracles, that it
appears inconsistent to profess a belief of
them, and reject this doctrine. In order to
exhibit this important mystery of our reli-
gion with evidence too strong to be resisted,
evangelists and apostles have announced it
in a variety of expressions, and have often re-
peated the same expressions. They thus
represent the heirs of glory as “elected ac-
cording to the foreknowledge of God the
Father; chosen to salvation ; chosen in
Christ Jesus before the foundation of the
world ; ordained to eternal life ; afore pre-
pared to glory; predestinated to the adop-
tion of children ; predestinated to be con-
I92
fermed to the image of his Son ; predestina-
ted according to the purpose of him, who
worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will.” The whole body of the redeem-
ed are emphatically called “ the election of
grace; the election of God:” God is the au-
thor, and free grace exclusively the moving
cause of this sovereign act. An inspired
historian in relating the success of the gos-
pel asserts, that “as many as were ordained
to eternal life believed.” This passage of
the holy apostle is peculiarly instructive, and
independent of any other appears sufficient
to establish the doctrine of a personal elec-
tion. “As many as were ordained to eter-
nal life believed;” all, in that particular re-
gion who had been chosen from eternity,
were then called effectually; the gospel dis-
pensed by Paul and Barnabas had “free
course, and was glorified” in THEIR conver-
sion, but in the conversion of no others; the
application of the word of life by God the
Spirit was precisely co-extensive with the e-
verlasting purpose of God the Father. E-
qually instructive, and pertinent for the
confirmation of this divine truth, is that decla-
ration of Paul, in his second epistle to Timo-
thy his son, “I endure all things for the e-
lect’s sake, that they may also obtain the
salvation which is Christ Jesus with eternal
glory ;” the apostle knew that there was an
election of grace among all nations; he knew
that they must be savingly called in time, and
that the ministry of reconciliation was a
193
principal mean of their vocation: he knew
that the absoluteness of the divine decree by
no means excluded human instrumentality,
but in the unsearchable counsels of God, the
means and the end were as really connected,
as if no decree was existing ; for the sake of
the chosen few he endured all things, he tra-
velled through different countries, he sub-
mitted to various afflictions arising from fa-
tigue, and poverty, and reproach, and per-
secution.
With respect to this election the following
observations may be made.
1. It was eternal. “I have loved thee
with an everlasting love,” saith Jehovah,
“therefore with loving kindness have I
drawn thee.” Many, who oppose what are
usually termed the doctrines of grace, ac-
knowledge our election of God, but deny
that this act was passed from eternity; they
argue that the choice of a sinner depends on
something to be done by himself; they
maintain that he must first repent and turn
to righteousness, and then he is chosen of
God. But their system is in direct opposi-
tion to that of the apostle. He pronounces
them chosen in Christ Jesus “before the
foundation of the world;” he congratulates
the faithful in the church of Thessalonica as
having been “from the beginning chosen to
salvation ; in hopes,” he states in another e-
pistle, “in hopes of eternal life, which God
that cannot lie promised in Christ Jesus be-
fore the world began.” Here they are re-
VOL. 2. R
19.1
$
presented as chosen before the “foundations,
of the world” and before “the world began;””
and what in the ordinary acceptation of words
is the meaning of these passages Surely if
they prove any thing, they prove that their
salvation for eternity to come was decreed
before they existed ; before the world was
founded, and consequently from eternity
past. This same apostle again declares, that
they were “saved and called with a holy
calling, according to his own purpose and
grace given them in Christ Jesus before the
world began.” The righteous are here re-
presented as saved and called in time, be-
cause the divine purpose had so ordained it
from eternity; that grace was given them in
Christ Jesus before the world began, and
therefore as he was everlastingly elected
to be the living head, they were everlast-
ingly elected to constitute the members of
this head.
2. The election was free, absolutely, un-
conditionally free. In this gracious, ado-
rable deed, the Father was not influenced by
any excellence in the creature, because they
possessed no excellence to invite his atten-
tion, or merit his favor ; “he loved them, be-
cause he loved them;” he made choice of
one man to grace in time, and glory through
eternity, merely because such was “the good
pleasure of his will.” All men were involv-
ed in the same sentence ofcondemnation ; all
were equally corrupted in every part ; with-
out help or hope ; they had not even an in-
* * *
I95
r
clination to be restored, much less the abil-
*ity of effecting their own restoration. He
who denies this position gives deliberately
the lie to the Holy Ghost, because he has
proclaimed it in words which “he who runs
may read,” and by the lips of all his apostles
and prophets since the world began. “There
is none that seeketh after God,” is their in-
dividual and united testimony, “they are to-
gether become unprofitable ; there is none
that doeth good, no, not one.” Here is the
triple testimony of eternal truth, and he who º
doubts or disbelieves, cannot doubt or dis-
believe through want of evidence. Seeing
then all are equally guilty, equally devoid
of will or power to perform what is spiritu-
ally good, if they are made to differ, this
difference must originate in the good plea-
sure of God, not in themselves. It is im-
possible that foreseen excellence could be
the moving cause of this choice, when the
objects of it are altogether UNCLEAN ; “de-
ceitful above all things and desperately wick-
ed;” nor foreseen faith when there is “an e-
vil heart of unbelief in departing from the
living God;” nor foreseen love when the
“mind is enmity against him.” But what
says our sovereign, electing Father? “I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will
have compassion.” What says one who is
justly ranked among the deepest debtors to
free, discriminating grace “ Not of works
lest any man should boast.” Surely if works
|
196
foreseen, or already performed were the
foundation of his choice, boasting would be
reasonable ; conscious of pre-eminent ex-
cellence she might liſt up her voice, and com-
mand all others “to stand by, being holier
than they ;” but now her mouth is closed in
everlasting silence, for the apostle adds, “it
is neither of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”
It was grace the most marvellous which mo-
ved that any should be chosen ; it was so-
vereignty the most adorable which pointed
out the objects of this choice. “They were
redestinated according to the purpose of
#. who worketh all things after the coun-
sel of his own will ; that they should be to
the praise of his glory.”
3. This purpose of election is unaltera-
ble. Having loved them without beginning,
the Lord God loves them without end. We
can conceive no reason either in the Creator
or the creature, why this decree, once form-
ed, should afterwards be reversed. Nothing
unforeseen by him can possibly occur
throughout his vast dominion requiring a
change of procedure. He knew intuitively
what scheme would be most proper for sup-
porting the majesty of his law, and advan-
cing the glory of his perfections, without
waiting to deliberate with himself, or con-
sult with his creatures ; he foresaw as per-
fectly before the objects of his love were
chosen every thing in them which might lead
to an alteration, as after they exist and act:
197
all the impiety and blasphemy by which ma-.
ny of them are debased before their conver-
sion, and all the discontent, the ingratitude,
the shameful unbelief and enmity with which,
through the desperate wickedness of their
hearts, they are chargeable after conversion,
were as obvious to his view when he enrolled
their names in his volume, as when they ac-
tually commit these offences in their respec-
tive generations. If this foreseen unworthi-
ness did not prevent him from making the
choice, why should it induce him to reject
them when chosen ' If the whole plan of the
building was completely under his eye from
eternity ; if he determined the place which
every stone should occupy, and in his sove-
reign decree erected it in that place, can we
imagine that he would afterwards demolish
what he had formerly arranged? Reverence
for the glory of his wisdom and truth obli-
ges us secretly to abhor the supposition ;
respect for the most plain and frequent re-
presentations of his word constrains us open-
ly to renounce it. This immutability in all
his purposes the Lord God again and again
challenges as an essential, unalienable pre-
rogative of his being. “I am the Lord, I
change not: I am God, there is none else :
I am God, there is none like me: My coun-
sel shall stand, and I will do all my plea-
sure. The apostle, contemplating this
attribute of Deity, indulges the animated
exclamation, “ in hopes of eternal life,
which God, that cannot lie, promised before.
VOL. 2. 2 R.
198.
the world began.” HE c.ANNot LIF, as.
serts this noble advocate for truth infallibly,
taught by the Spirit of all truth ; “he might
as readily cease to be God, as cease to be im-
mutable, or fail to execute what his soul has
purposed and his mouth spoken or promis-
ed: His plans like himself are “the same
yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.”
4. This election of man was exclusively
through Christ as Mediator. The justice
and holiness of Jehovah could acquiesce in
the appointment of any to salvation only in
a consistency with their respective honors,
and in a manner that secured satisfaction to
their respective claims. As “without shed-
ding of blood there can be no remission in"
time, so without an immediate respect to
that atonement there coitſd be no appoint-
ment to this remission from etermity. The
Lord God, in decreeing to display, the riches
of his merey by restoring a portion of our
revolting family, must necessarily decree to
vindicate his law from the injury which it
should sustain by our transgressions, and re-
commend it to the esteem of all rational spec-
tators; he therefore ordained them to glory
in the prospect of that perfect, vicarious a-
tonement which his Son, undertaking for us,
should afterwards accomplish ; he as reałły
contemplated the redemption of Calvary;
when he was filling up “the book of life”
with the names of his chosen, as when he now
passes in their favor the sentence of adop-
tion and reconciliation, or when he commu-
199
nicates any blessing whether temporal or
spiritual. They were chosen º' in Christ
Jesus:” They were predestinated to the a-
doption of children “ by or through Jesus
Christ” to himself. A union the most inti-
mate and indissoluble was constituted be-
tween him and them in “the council of peace,”
and their names were registered beneath his
name in the volume of heaven. When he
was appointed HEAD, they were chosen
members to make up the body, and consti-
tute “the fulness of him that fiíříňailinaikº
When he was appointed the For NDA-
TION, they were selected as stones to be
polished by the Divine Spirit, and reared
up for completing the building of mercy :
When he was raised up as “ the plant of re-
nown,” as “the living vine,” they were set
apart as branches to be engrafted into this
vine, and through the constant, abundant
supply of his influences to “bring forth the
fruits of righteousness.” Again they are re-
presented as “blessed with all spiritual bles-
sings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus;”
although thousands of them are yet unborn,
and of them who are in being, many remain
as yet strangers to the covenant, yet in Je-
sus their representing head, they participate
all spiritual and immortal blessings; grace.
was actually given him for them, and in
their own order they shall become “com-
plete in him who is the Head of all princi-
palities and power.”
These remarks on the doctrine of election
lead us to consider,
a'
+,-
Tº”
*'.
#-
§: -

200
II. To what they were ordained of God.
1. They were chosen to the actual parti-
cipation of grace in time. The want of due
attention to this truth is probably a princi-
pal reason why many have staggered at this
doctrine, and others have openly opposed
it. They look upon this decree as wafting
its objects to heaven independently of any
other consideration; they take not into view
“the strait gate” of conversion at which
they must enter, and “ the narrow way of
sanctification” by which they must necessa-
rily travel in order to reach the regions of
bliss. This is a very great mistake. They
are as absolutely appointed to holiness, as
to happiness ; and without the former, they
need not expect to enjoy the latter. With-
out an effectual change by divine grace, the
sinner is equally unworthy of the kingdom,
and unfit for the communion of God. He
whose affections “are earthly, and sensu-
al, and devilish,” could find no entertainment
in the pure, spiritual joys of heaven; he who
has no delight in the company and conver-
sation of the righteous and to whom all the
ordinances of religion are insupportably te-
dious, would be more than miserable in that
world where all their society is holy, and
their only employment is praise. But as a
change is indispensably requisite, the decree
ordaining them to glory infallibly secures
this change. “It is the will of God,” his e-
ternal, unalterable purpose, “even their
sanctification.” “They were from the be-
201
ginning chosen to salvation through sancti-
fication of the spirit and belief of the truth.”
Salvation is the ultimate object to which the
decree had respect; and sanctification “by
the Spirit,” and “belief of the truth” are
the means by which this end is attained. The
Holy Ghost Jehovah is the great agent, and
the scriptures of truth the chief instrument
of effecting their conversion, their holiness,
their consolation, and preparing them for
that kingdom which “their Father had pre-
pared for them from eternity.” They are
denominated not only “a chosen, elected, gem-
eration;” but also “a holy nation, a peculiar
people that they may shew forth the praises of
him who hath called them out of darkness
into his marvellous light.” The tree must
first bud and blossom in the nursery upon
earth, before it is transplanted into the pa-
radise in heaven: The Lord God, as a wise
master builder, polishes with his grace those
stones which he designs to rear on his build-
ing of glory.
2. They are elected to clernal life as the
end. “God hath not appointed us to wrath
but to obtain salvation through our Lord
Jesus Christ.” This, as I formerly noticed,
was the ultimate object contemplated by
Jehovah with respect to his chosen. While
his all comprehensive eye looked through
the intermediate steps of their apostacy in
Adam, of their actual union to the person
of his Son, of their remission through his
blood, of their acceptance through his right-
--~~~rºm
4
202
eousness, of their regeneration by his Spi-
rit, of their complete sanctification by the
occasional supplies of his grace, it also em-
braced in its plan their endless residence,
and glory in his presence. All these are
only different links in one great chain con-
nected intimately and inseparably in the
purpose of God. Did he ordain them to
life in his sovereign, everlasting decree, he
fulfils this decree by giving them grace in
time, and this grace he will infallibly crown
with glory hereafter. This is the order es-
tablished in the oracles of God : “Whom
he did foreknow, them he also did predes-
tinate, to be conformed to the image of his
Son ; and whom he did predestinate, them
he also called ; and whom he called, them
he also justified; and whom he justified,them
he also glorified.” Such is the connexion
intimated by our enthroned Redeemer in
his intercession at the mercy-seat above.
“Father, I will that those also whom thou
hast given me be with me where I am, that
they may behold my glory which thou hast
given me; for thou hast loved me before the
foundation of the world.” -
1. This doctrine affords a rich and glori-
ous display of divine compassion and love.
The election of a single sinner to the king-
dom of heaven, and his introduction to that
kingdom by a price so amazing as the death
of the Lord of glory must have excited the
admiration of angels: He must have stood
for ever an illustrious monument to the
203
praise of the riches of divine mercy. Al-
though millions of the human kind, count-
less as the stars of heaven, had been doom-
ed to expiate their guilt with their own
blood, yet the consideration that ten thou-
sand, thousand talents had been forgiven
him, forgiven him freely without the least
claim on his part, must have filled him and
all holy intelligences with endless astonish-
ment. The remission of one sin committed
against the Eternal God is a more transcend-
ant exercise of forbearance, than if a prince
on the throne should pardon a million of
subjects who had forfeited their lives; be-
cause there is no comparison between the
honors of an earthly monarch, and the majes-
ty of Almighty God. When wereflect there-
fore that not barely one sinner is chosen, but
a “multitude ; a great multitude which no
man can number ; a great multitude which
no man can number out of every nation and
tribe and people and language,” how do
our conceptions of divine compassion ex-
pand Transported with emotions of grati-
tude and wonder, we are obliged to ex-
elaim, “what hath Jehovah wrought ! O
that men would praise the Lord for his good-
ness, and for his wonderful works to the
children of men.” With respect to those
whom his sovereignty has passed by, it be-
comes us to acquiesce in the submissive
strains of the apostle, “what, if God wil-
ling to shew his wrath, and make his power
known, hath borne with much long-suffer-
204
ing the vessels of wrath fitted for destruc-
tion ?” Even to these he imparts innumera-
ble blessings in the present life : He permits
them to walk on his earth; to breathe in
his air; to enjoy the light of his sun ; he
gives them rain from heaven, and fruitful
seasons, and thus crowns them with numer-
ous marks of his loving kindness, all, which
they had forfeited by their fail : He gives
them a clear dispensation of his word ; he
affords them the common operations of his
Spirit; he offers them everlasting redemp-
tion through his Son, and spares many of
them ten, or twenty, or thirty, or forty
years, “beseeching them to be reconciled.”
If he finally permits them to perish in their
unbelief, and excludes them from his gra-
cious presence, there is no room for the
presumptuous challenge, “what doestthou,”
or for the more daring assertion, “the ways
of the Lord are not equal.” Ought we not
rather to mingle in the devout ascription of
the spirits before the throne, “great and
marvelous are thy works, Lord God Al-
mighty: Just and true are thy ways, thou
King of saints?” Or in the humble, yet ar-
dent and elevated language of the great
apostle, “O the depth of the riches both of
the wisdom and knowledge of God; how un-
searchable are his judgments, and his ways
past finding out : For who hath known the
mind of the Lord;” what finite understand-
ing is capable of exploring the fathomless
profound of his purposes, or tracing him
205
through the immensity of his operations !
“Or who hath been his counsellor” what
cherub, or seraph, however enlarged his
comprehension, or intimate his commu-
nion with Jehovah, dares to intrude an ad-
vice relative to the government of his crea-
tures? “ For of him, and through him, and
to him are all things; to whom be glory
for ever.” AMEN.
2. Let all be admonished from this doc-
trine to aim “at making their calling and
election sure.” This exhortation is fre-
Quently given by the apostles of our Lord,
and our compliance with it is a part infinite-
ly wiser than to be disputing against the so-
vereignty of his decrees. Were men as in-
dustrious in improving the promises, and
that everlasting remedy which is presented
in the promises, as they are in raising ob-
jections against particular truths of christi-
anity, it would conduce much more to their
peace in this world, and their felicity and
honor in the next. If a doctrine is mysteri-
ous, or to their false ideas of propriety ap-
pears unreasonable, many consider it a suf-
ficient reason for neglecting religion alto-
gether; they resolve not to perplex them-
selves about things which they are unable
to comprehend ; conscience drops asleep,
and they continue in their transgressions
without remorse, and without anxiety: But
this is a resolution both impious and danger-
ous in the extreme. Must not that be true
which Jehovah has declared, although my
VOL. 2. $
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º
206
limited, depraved understanding does not ful-
ly conceive it? must not that be right which
he has determined, although his counsels
may be unsearchable 7 “Shall mortal man
be more just than God? Shall a man be
more pure than his Maker?” Dost thou
love thy soul, proud man, lay aside thy car-
nal reasoning, and make sure thy salvation
in the way which divine mercy has prescri-
bed.—Be not discouraged from the consider-
ation that “few are chosen,” because thou
dost not know; an angel in heaven does not
know but thy name is now “written in the
Lamb's book of life;” and in this glorious
gospel thou hast every encouragement which
thy soul can possibly desire. Here are
riches for the poor, light for the blind, liberty
for the lanful captive, a robe for the naked,
rest for the neary, strength for the weak, and
healing for every spiritual disease. Art
thou secretly objecting, “I know not wheth-
er I was chosen in Christ Jesus, and therefore
am not certain that these blessings were de-
signed for me?” Art thou a sinner of the
human family, a son or daughter of Adam
for thee a full salvation is provided ; to thee
this salvation is freely, freely offered, and
this offer is an ample warrant for thee to ac-
cept. None were ever invited as persons
predestinated to life, but they are invited as
guilty to come for pardon , as polluted to
come for sanctification ; as slaves of corrup-
tion, and heirs of myrath to come for redemp-
tion ; as diseased to apply for healing; as
207
lost to come for recovery; as aliens to seek
the adoption of sons ; as poor to accept of
everlasting riches ; and as miserable to ask
mercy of the Lord. None were ever con-
demned as persons passed by, but as refusing
that remedy which the promise exhibits.
The evangelist does not assert, he whose
name is wanting in the records of life, but
“he that believeth not is condemned alrea-
dy, and the wrath of God abideth upon
him.” The apostle does not ask, “how
shall ye escape,” not being ordained to eter-
nal life, but “how shall ye escape if ye neg-
lect so great salvation ? It is not declared,
he that being omitted in the secret purposes
of God, but “he that being often reproved,
and hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be
destroyed, and that without remedy.” No
sinner was ever rejected that sought mercy
of the Lord with humility and self-denial and
perseverance : “He will regard the prayer
of the destitute,and not despise their prayer.”
Be encouraged therefore to wait on Jeho-
vah in every ordinance of his appointment;
wait upon him with all patience and perse-
verance: Meditate frequently on thy wants,
and the all-sufficiency of Jesus; on thine
unworthiness, and the freedom, the infinite
freedom of his covenant-blessings; on thy
guilt, and the everlasting efficacy of his sa-
crifice for thy remission. Art thou still in
awful anxiety about the decree of election,
and afraid that thou art not included in the
number 7 remember that “the Father sent
tº .
208
*
his Son to be the Saviour of the world,” en-
deavor then to embrace him in the arms of
faith as thy “Saviour; he is made of God,”
clearly exhibited, unconditionally offered
to sinners without exception for misdom, for
righteousness, for sanctification, for redemp-
tion ; aim at embracing him as thine own
wisdom, thine own righteousness, thine own
sanctification, thine own redemption ; and be
assured, thou shalt not seek in vain. “With
the Lord there is mercy, and with him is
plenteous redemption.
3. This doctrine is a perenial, everlasting
source of admiration and joy to each believ-
er in Jesus Christ. Every lively exercise
of grace; all the actings of thy faith, thy
love, thy repentance; all thine ardent de-
sires after greater conformity to God, and
thy longings for more intimate communion
with him are to thee, christian, satisfactory,
reviving proofs that thou wast “chosen to
salvation.” Thy “calling now” is merely
the counter-part of thine “election” from
eternity. “He that hath wrought thee for
this self same thing, is God” the Holy Ghost,
and he hath thus wrought, because on thee
the Father's love centred from everlasting.
“He hath saved and called thee with a ho-
ly calling, not according to thy works, but
according to his own purpose and grace
given thee in Christ Jesus before the world
began.”—Does not the very thought fill thee
with surprise and astonishment unuttera-
ble at the sovereign goodness of Jehovah
**, S.
gº
209
That when the names of many “wise men,
and mighty, and noble” are probably omit-
ted, thy worthless name is selected and care-
fully enrolled in the records of life; that
one so poor, abjectly poor as thou art should
be predestinated to an inheritance inconceiv-
ably great, an inheritance incorruptible, and
eternal in the heavens; that one so impure,
so deformed as thou art should be clothed
with change of raiment, a “garment of
wrought gold,” splendid and perfect as the
infinite Surety could prepare ; that one,
destitute perhaps of a shelter from the
scorching heat or the wintry blasts should be
chosen to a house not made, with hands, a
mansion above the skies more costly than
angels occupy; that one, who is now slighted
or despised as insignificant and contempti-
ble, is destined to shine as a star or a sun in
the kingdom of God? Surely thy heart
should be all gratitude, thy lips all praise,
> * º
**g - f
and thy life one constant, ardent course of
obedience to HIM who hath loved thee with
an everlasting love. And, O christian, all
the mercy manifested in thine election, thy
vocation, thy consolation, through the occa-
sional assurances of thy Father's love, is the
certain earnest of every possible blessing
through eternity to come. Being predestimat-
ed, thou art already called ; being called,thou
art completely justified; and being justified,
thou wilt certainly and shortly be glorified.
As every comfortable persuasion that Jesus
VOL. 2. S 2
-º-º:
whose habitation is in the dust; who is
sº ºf
210 - 4
..is thine, is a counter-part to thine election
“before the world began;” it is also the first
fruits of a full harvest of blessings when this
world with all its toys shall for ever have an
end. Then, with thine understanding in-
conceivably enlarged, and a voice improved
and elevated beyond what thou canst now
imagine, thou shalt sing of the mercies of Je-
hovah for ever; thout halt trace all the
streams which occasionally refresh thee on
earth, and those rivers of consolation which
uninterruptedly overflow thy soul in hea-
ven to ELECTING LovE as the spontaneous,
unexhausted, everlasting spring.—AMEN.
So let it be ; so it shall be to the glory of
free grace, and thine eternal rejoicing.
•ºv-º- **-i-w
SERMON IX.
The condescension of the Eternal Son in be-
coming our Surely.
2 CORINTHIANS VIII. 9.
For ye knon, the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though he was rich, yet for
Jour sakes he became poor.
ALL those discords which distract
the counsels, and enfeeble the efforts of
mortals, whether in matters civil or sacred,
may betraced to humanimperfection as their
source. A partial blindness clouds the un-
& e. * * •-
s 2I 1.
derstanding of the most enlightened ; mea-
sures therefore which appear eligible to one
man, to another seem inexpedient or im-
practicable: the demon of jealousy often
finds admission into the bosom of the most
disinterested, and leads them coldly to re-
ceive, or decidedly to oppose plans which
they must secretly approve; they are afraid
that the execution of the scheme might raise
an inferior nearer to a level, or give com-
plete ascendency to a rival ; but in propor-
tion as the understanding expands promptly
to discern the fitness of things, and the heart
is improved cordially to embrace what is
excellent, union of sentiment will adorn
their deliberations, and their strength will
be directed to one point for the execution of
every measure, whether more limited, or
more extensive in its tendency. “ They
will see eye to eye ;” they will co-operate
hand in hand, and “with the voice they will
sing together. Among the INFINITE THREE,
who are perfection itself, harmony sublime
and uninterrupted everlastingly reigns :
What either divine Person wills, all the di-
vine Persons will : As their Essence is one,
their plans and operations are necessarily
one. Although in the economy of human
salvation each assumes a distinct office, yet
he assumes and executes this office in per-
fect concurrence and co-operation with the
others. While the everlasting Father
“spares not his own son,” but delivers him
up to redeem, the Son, spares not himself,
212.
but cordially “gives his life a ransom for
many. Ye know the grace of our Lord Je-
Christ, that though he was rich, for your
sakes he became poor.
The apostle makes a direct appeal to
these Corinthian converts, “ ye know the
grace of our Lord Jesus.” He did not mean
that they fully comprehended this mystery
in all its vast extent, because it is utterly
incomprehensible by any created mind whe-
ther human or angelic ; it is an ocean with-
out bottom, which can never be fathomed ;
an ocean without bounds which cannot pos-
sibly be measured. But they knew it doc-
trinally in their heads ; this grace had often
heen announced and extolled among them by
the apostles of our Lord: These inspired
preachers of righteousness had “determin-
ed to know nothing” in that, or any other
church, “but Jesus Christ,and him crucified;”
they had exhibited the infinite Redeemer in
the height of his elevation as God, and the
depth of his degradation as man, to be the
chief of the ways of God; to be the great-
est mystery of wisdom and condescension
that was ever displayed : These Corinthi-
ans knew him experimentally and savingly
in their hearts; they had received not mere-
ly the teaching of apostles, but an “unction.
of the holy One by which they knew all
things:—This all-mighty, all-gracious A-
gent had enlightened “the eyes of their un-
derstandings to know what was the hope of
his calling, and what the riches of the glory
213
of his inheritance among the saints:” This
latter teaching is infinitely the most impor-
tant and effectual ; it enlightens the mind ;
it purifies the heart; it spiritualizes the af-
fections; it regulates the conversation, and
finally saves the soul.
In the discussion of these words, we are
led to consider, 1. The original, underived
glory of Jesus; “he was rich:” 2. His
subsequent abasement, and humiliation
he “became poor:” and 3. The condescen-
sion manifested in that transaction, expres-
sed by the term “grace.”
The original condition and glory of Je-
sus first demand our consideration. “He
was rich.” It is common to pronounce the
man rich who has large possessions, accumu-
lated treasures, and a numerous train of at-
tendants subject to his authority, and ready
to execute his commands. This phrase,
however, when applied to Jehovah, contains
a meaning which no language can express.
Do we speak of possessions !“ the earth is
the Lord’s and the fullness thereof;” do we
talk of treasures “the silver and the gold”
he claims as his own; do we speak of atten-
dants “ the world is his, and they that dwell
therein; add to the inhabitants of our earth
those exalted spirits which encircle his
throne above:-" They are all ministering”
servants to Him their Creator and Lord;
they ever wait ready to spread their wings,
and fly as instruments of blessing to his cho-
sen, or indignation to his adversaries.
214
There is one sense in which the term “rich.”
as applied to God is essentially different
from, and infinitely transcends its meaning
when applied to mortals. He is capable of
constantly adding to his treasures; he can
easily enlarge his possessions by creating
other worlds, and other worlds at his plea-
sure ; he can multiply his ministering hosts
by forming other spirits bodied or unembo-
died, and thus be ever adding to his revenue
of wealth and of glory: He has only to
speak the word, and new heavens and new
earths would instantly appear; “greater
lights” would arise to rule “the day,” and
“lesser lights” to “rule the night.” -
Jesus, the Son of God, is rich in the ful-
lest latitude of the expression. He posses-
ses a Being and blessedness uncommunica-
ted from any other, and independent of any
other: Every excellence and perfection of
the Deity reside essentially and eternally in
our Lord Jesus Christ : All the names, all
the attributes, all the works, all the worship,
which are ascribed in scripture to the ever-
lasting Father, are ascribed with equal em-
phasis, and equal propriety to the Eternal
Son. He is frequently called God, and to
prove that this does not express barely the
excellence of his office, but the divinity of
his nature, he is called “God over all, bles-
sed forever:” His blessedness had no begin-
ning, and it shall never have an end : He is
called the “Lord of glory,” as embracing
all that is excellent, and to shew that this ti-
215
tle is unalienable, it was applied to him in
the lowest depths of his humiliation. “ Him
none of the princes of this world knew, for
if they had known him, they would not have
crucified the Lord of glory.” He is expli-
citly pronounced, “equal with God, Jeho-
vah's fellow,” and to prove that this honor
was not presumptuously arrogated, it is im-
mediately applied to him by his adorable
Father: “Awake, O sword, against my
Shepherd, and smite the man that is my
FELLow.” As every divine name and title,
so each divine work is ascribed indiscrimi-
nately to the Son and the Father. Creation
is a peculiar, I might add, an incommunica-
ble prerogative of Deity. Men and angels
may alter matter which already exists, but
they cannot possibly give existence to mat-
ter: their united wisdom and power could
not form one ray of light, one drop of wa-
ter, one particle of dust, much less give be-
ing to the least insect which moves upon the
earth. But of the Son it is said, “by him
all things were created,” and to excite more
elevated conceptions of his dignity, it is ad-
ded, “that are in heaven, and that are in
earth, visible and invisible ; whether they
be thrones, or dominions, or principalities,
or powers; all things were created by him
and for him;” and to instruct us that his
work did not terminate then, the apostle
further adds, “by him all things consist, or
stand together;” his arm divine, which gave
them existence, gives them support; pre-
216
serves them in the sphere appointed for
them, whether in the material or immaterial
world.
Every mark of honor and every expres-
sion of homage which is due to Jehovah
are offered to Jesus. The redeemed from
among men often prostrated their bodies
before him on the earth, and they now “cast
their crowns at his feet” in heaven; angels
unite in offering their devotions to the Son:
They cannot indeed adore him as their Re-
deemer; but they adore him as their Crea-
tor, their Lord, their Benefactor; as that
divine personage through whose work, glory
“ in the highest” has issued to God, and all
his perfections have poured a brighter radi-
ance upon them : Thus these seraphic spir-
its worshipped him in the manger, “minis-
tered to him” in the wilderness, supported
him in the garden, assisted him in his resur-
rection, ascended at his ascension and open-
ed wide the everlasting gates for his admis-
sion, attended him in radiant procession un-
til “he sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high ;” and there they “rest not
day nor night,” adoring “this Lamb in the
midst of the throne.” These riches, or this
revenue of theSon will be encreasing through
eternity, as the powers of all rational agents
will be still advancing to higher and higher de-
grees of perfection: as their capacites are
for ever enlarging, they will not only receive
more largely “the fulness of God,” but be a-
ble to offer a more abundant tribute of praise
217
both for his creating and redeeming love.
The Lord Jesus Christ who was thus Rich
for our sakes became POOR.
To pursue him in the various steps of his
humiliation was our second proposition, and
to this your attention is now invited.
You probably notice, that in this, as in
numerous other instances the inspired au-
thors present at once to our view the ex-
treme of Messiah’s glory, and the extreme of
his degradation ; when they are thus con-
trasted, each, if the expression be allowed,
appears to greater advantage ; and we are
excited to higher transports of wonder and
praise.—The meanness of his manhood
serves as a soil to render more illustrious the
glories of his Godhead, and the glories of
his Godhead render more mean the mean-
ness of the manhood. The seraphic prophet
thus pronounces him in the same verse, “a
child born, a son given, and the mighty
God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of
peace.” The mind, reflecting on the feeble-
ness, the helplessness of a new-born babe,
and then contrasting with that the omnipo-
tence of Almighty God, kindles into the
highest ecstacy of admiration at his good-
ness ; it pauses and asks, “is this the man-
ner of God with men?”—Who can survey
“ the height, and depth, and length, and
breadth of such love It passeth finite know-
ledge.”
He became poor. It may not be impro-
per to correct an error which some have en-
VOL. 2. T
218
tertained on this subject ; they have conclu-
ded from this, and similar expressions that
the properties of the divine nature really
underwent a change. This was absolutely
impossible. When he became man, he did
not cease to be God ; although the two na-
tures were intimately united in the person
of Immanuel, yet each nature remained ut-
terly distinct from the other; the perfections
of his God-head did not become finite, the
properties of his manhood did not become
infinite : “He was and continues to be both
God and man in two distinct natures, and
one person for ever.”
The poverty here mentioned expresses the
whole humiliation and sufferings to which
Jesus submitted in the room, and for the sal-
vation of man.
He became poor, when from eternity he
stooped to be substituted in the room of his
chosen. This was the commencement of
his poverty, and an illustrious instance of
his grace : Although he was the Father's E-
qual as God, he condescended to become his
servant as Mediator: Although he was Je-
hovah, over all, without law, above law, he
submitted, as surety for man, “to be made
under the law,” to bear their iniquities, to
purchase them with his own blood and re-
concile them to God by himself: The apos-
tle notices this instance of his condescension
with peculiar wonder and gratitude. “Let
the same mind be in you, which was also in
Christ Jesus ; who, being in the form of
219
God, thought it no robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation, and
took upon himself the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of man. (f
He became poor, when he assumed our
nature and veiled the glories of his divinity
in the frailty and the meanness of human
flesh. This was a second and most aston-
ishing instance of his humiliation and grace.
“Without all controversy, great is the mys-
tery of godliness, God was manifested in the
flesh :” In contemplating this event, we are
equally astonished at that depth of humilia-
tion to which the divinity stooped, and that
height of glory to which the manhood was
exalted. The very circumstances in which
he was born tend to excite higher emotions
of wonder at his condescension. His resi-
dence was not a splendid palace, but a man-
ger; his raiment was not the costly robes
of state, but as the historian mentions, “he
was wrapped in Swadling clothes;” his mo-
ther and his immediate connexions were not
the magnificent or honorable of this world,
but an obscure and contemptible family.
He thus humbled himself not only in be-
coming man, but in assuming our nature
with every circumstance of meanness and
abasement.
He became poor, by submitting to ten thou-
sandºinstances of reproach and mortification
through life. What is the history of the Son
of God from his birth to his death, but a his-
tory of poverty, and insult, and suffering !
220
Instead of being courted by the fashionable
or mighty of this world, he was regarded by
them with scorn and disdain : “ Him none
of the princes of this world knew ;” they ac-
knowledged him not as their equal; they
did not frequent his society as one worthy
of their friendship : Instead of occupying
the costly mansion, or sitting on the lap of
outward ease and indulgence, “he had not
where to lay his head,” and suffered in their
turn hunger, and thirst, and fatigue: He did
not wear the ensigns of royalty, or ride in
triumph over the necks of his enemies, but
was subject to the authority of his parents,
obeyed the commands of an earthly ruler.
and was at last betrayed into the hands of
sinful men : He did not leave this world
with those marks of honor which have often
distinguished conquerors and princes; he
did not bear the palm in his hand, or the
laurel upon his head, these emblems of vic-
tory and glory, but was openly “set at
naught,” was “spit upon,” was “scourged,”
and was signalized by his betrayers and
murderers with every conceivable mark of
insult and infamy. We should naturally ex-
pect that, while earth and hell were com-
bining their malignant ingenuity to aggra-
vate his abasement and agony, his Father at
least would interpose and support his de-
parting spirit with the smiles of his counte-
nance: But the fact was directly the reverse.
A cloud deeper than midnight, impenetra-
ble as “the blackness of darkness” which
221
envelopes the damned in hell, overcast for a
time the soul of the Surety, and even the na-
tural sun refused a salutary ray to enlighten
or cheer its expiring Creator. How plain-
tive, how melancholy, how melting was his
language in the garden, and on the cross |
“My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even un-
to death; O my Father, if it be possible let
this cup pass from me: Again, my God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art
thou so far from helping me, and from the
words of my roaring !” Then it was that the
Son of God who had been formerly rich be-
came poor in the extreme. No misery can
be imagined, nay, it is not extravagant to
assert, that no misery could be inflicted
which was not inflicted with unabating hor-
rors on our suffering Substitute. Formerly,
when he had been oppressed in body, the
calm, and the consolation of his mind minis-
tered support, but now the very distress of
his body is almost infinitely heightened by
the wrath of God which, like a mighty tor-
rent, overflowed and overwhelmed his spirit:
—Formerly, when tempted by devils, he
was ministered unto by angels; when mis-
represented and blasphemed by his enemies,
he was vindicated and adored by his disci-
ples; his righteous Father upon various oc-
casions openly acknowledged and counte-
nanced him ; by the waters of Jordan he
announced him “his beloved Son,” and on
Tabor’s mount unveiled for a few moments
that glory which the Redeemer had with him.
WOL. 2. T 2
222
before the world began: But now he is for-
saken by all his former friends, and heaven,
and earth, and hell are armed against him.
“Behold what manner of love is this '''' He
who was in the form of God; who was “the
brightness of the divine glory, and over all
blessed for ever becomes a man of sorrows,
is acquainted with grief,” and is made a
curse for us. To aim at feebly illustrating
this GRACE was our third proposition, to
which we now proceed. “Ye know the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The word grace signifies free favor; boun-
ty expressed where it is altogether unde-
served, and without any prospect of reward:
In proportion as this favor is rich, unsolici-
ted, unmerited, this grace rises in value, and
excites our astonishment. - -
All this poverty and humiliation were of
grace. -
1. Because the Redeemer could not be
materially profited by us; as he was neces-
sarily blessed before we existed, he must
have continued necessarily blessed had we
never been restored from our apostacy.—
Man frequently communicates his favors
where they are unexpected and undeserved
from the prospect of a reward ; with a view
probably of promoting his interest, or ho-
nor, or happiness. But no consideration of
this kind could possibly actuate the Re-
deemer. “Can a man be profitable to God,
as he that is wise is profitable to himself!”
The essential happiness or glory of his na-
223
ture can neither be enhanced by our obedi-
ence, nor diminished by our ingratitude or
obduracy. These are “the same yester-
day,” from eternity past, “to-day,” amidst
all the changes of time, “and for ever,”
through eternity to come.
This poverty, this humiliation was “of
grace,” because,
2. There was no comparison between the
character of the Person suffering, and the
character of those for whom he suffered.
We usually feel a degree of esteem for one
that is our equal ; we feel still more respect
for a superior, and in the time of his distress
may be disposed to accommodate or assist
him. But the grace of the Son appears al-
together singular, when we reflect that those
for whom he interposed were not his superi-
ors; they were not his equals, but infinitely
inferior. Nay, a comparison between his
dignity and their's cannot be made. Some
comparison might be drawn between a beast
of the field, and a rational man, or between
the lowest insect upon the earth, and the
loftiest angel in heaven: They both deriv-
ed their existence from God, and on his
good pleasure they depend for all they en-
joy, or can expect: But there is not even a
shade of comparison between finite and infi-
nite, between frail, mortal man, and the
ever-living, life-giving God. “Who in the
heavens may be compared to the Lord, or
who among the sons of the mighty may be
likened to our God?” This was grace indeed,
224
that he who was “the everlasting Father;
the Creator of the ends of the earth; the
King eternal, immortal, invisible,” should
come and suffer, and bleed, and die in the
room of feeble, mortal, miserable man ;
that the Creator should be condemned for
the sin of the creature, and the creature jus-
tified through the righteousness of the Crea-
tor.—Here is condescension the depth of
which angels cannot fathom.
This grace appears still more astonishing,
when we reflect,
3. That the Son of God submitted to all
the reproach, endured all these sufferings
for man in a state of actual apostacy from
God, and rising up in rebellion against his
throne. Had we retained our primitive in-
nocence and dignity, it must have been pro-
nounced immense condescension that the
living God should assume our nature, and
suffer for our advantage: But when we con-
sider that he assumed this nature degraded
by transgression; that he suffered for man,
not arrayed in primitive innocence, but sul-
lied and blackened with the foulest pollu-
tion ; for man in actual and avowed hostili-
ties against his God, shewing despite to his
mercy, bidding defiance to his wrath, and
spurning all his entreaties; that he should
suffer for man in these circumstances is a
display of grace “that passeth all” utter-
ance, and “understanding.” “Scarcely for
a righteous man will one die; yet perad-
venture for a good man some would even
225
dare to die : But God commendeth his love
towards us, in that while we were yet sin-
ners Christ died for us.” This same apos-
tle exhibits the condescension of Christ as
the highest possible example for us to imi-
tate; he argues that we can never stoop too
low for him who was thus humbled for us.
“Let the same mind be in you which was al-
so in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form
of God thought it not robbery to be equal
with God: But made himself of no reputa-
tion, took upon himself the form of a ser-
vant, and was made in the likeness of men ;
and being found in fashion as a man he
humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross.
Permit me now to conclude this discourse
with a few practical reflections.
1. We learn from this doctrine the rich,
self-moved, unmerited love of our Lord Je-
sus Christ. The Son is considered by ma-
ny as altogether passive in the work of our
redemption; as coming merely in the capa-
city of a servant to work out a justifying
righteousness. But we ought to entertain
more exalted conceptions of the everlasting
Jesus. The very consideration that he be-
came a servant was an ineffable display of
his good will. All that he did for the reco-
very of perishing man was done voluntarily:
love the most pure, the most fervent, and
divine was the moving cause. While love
the most adorable prompted the Father not
to spare his Son; love equally wondrous
226
prompted the Son not to spare himself; to
be emptied of his glory, to become acquain-
ted with grief, to submit to every species of
ignominy and agony for us: “Greater love”
among men “hath no man than this, that a
man should lay down his life for his friend,”
but surely it is love infinitely greater that a
God should lay down his life for man, and
the Creator became a curse for his creature.
When the Saviour wept at the grave of Laza-
rus, the spectators, lost in astonishment, re-
marked to each other, “ behold ! how he
loved him;” but what is a tear to the effu-
sion of his blood, the surrender of his life
for our sakes. This is a consideration which
holy men, moved by the Holy Ghost, often
contemplated for inflaming their own hearts,
and ours. He by HIMSELF purged our sins;
he gave his LIFE a ransom for many ; he
gave “HIMSELF for us to redeem us from all
iniquity;” had he given “thousands of rams,
and ten thousand of rivers of oil,” the mercy
had been great; had he appointed one or-
der of rational beings to suffer by substitu-
tion for another, the mercy had been greater,
but that he sould give HIMSELF is a display
of mercy which suffers by passing through
the feebleness of human expression or com-
prehension. By all our attempts to unfold
it to others, its glories are obscured, and its
immensity appears diminished: To attempt
describing it, is like attempting to grasp the
ocean, or measure infinitude with a line
which is finite. This consideration ever
227
transports the spirits of the just in glory, and
at each new contemplation of it they are
constrained to strike their harps on a higher
string. “To him that loved us, and,” they
do not add, gave us being, poured around
us affluence of worldly enjoyment, promo-
ted us to distinction on earth, and gave us
victory over death ; their extatic imagina-
tions instantly seize redeeming love as the
subject of their song, “and washed us from
our sins in his own blood:” other blessings
may attend as ministers, but the gift of HIM-
sELF must sit on the throne: This was first
and highest in their hearts, this must there-
fore be first and highest in their song.
2. This doctrine presents to our minds
the strongest possible argument for obeying
every command of our gracious Lord, and
manifesting the warmest zeal for his glory.
Can we stoop too low for him who stooped
so low for us? Can we do too much for him
who hath done so much for us? Lively con-
ceptions of the humiliation and the suffer-
ings of Christ must silence all the mur-
murings of the flesh, and produce a most
cheerful, ardent obedience to all his com-
mands. Can we complain of a little weari-
ness in his service, when the Lord of glory
nvas neary for our sakes 1 can we complain
of a little reproach, or contempt in promo-
ting his cause, when on our account he was
“reviled, and blasphemed, and buffeted,”
and treated with every mark of ignominy and
scorn ? can we refuse a little of our silver,
223
or our gold in supplying the temporal wants
ofhis poor, or propagating his gospel through
the world, when he for our sakes became
poor 2 “All that a man hath will he give for
his life,” and all that a man hath will he give
up rather than his life, but the love of Christ
rose transcendant to this consideration, and
impelled him to “lay down” even “his life
for his people ;” and can we under the im-
pressions of his goodness, refuse a share of
our perishable wealth when he requires it !
“Sooner let our hands forget their cunning,”
than cease to contribute for the advancement
of his cause ; “sooner let our tongue cleave
to the roof of our mouth,” than be silent
from speaking forth his praise, or recom-
mending his great salvation. The moment
that our love languishes let us go to Geth-
semane, or Calvary as a mean of enflaming
it : There “the smoking flax” must instant-
ly revive, and brighten into a flame. It is
impossible for him to be cold who basks un-
der the rays of this sun : It is impossible for
him to feel indifferent to the Person,or peo-
ple, or interest, or glory of Jesus who dili-
gently contemplates the ardor and immensi-
ty of his love to us.-How powerful, how
elevating was the effect of these reflections
on the soul of the great apostle of the Gen-
tiles! “The love of Christ constrains,” trans-
ports, “me;” while he contemplated the
grace of the eternal Son he lost sight of him-
self, of the world, of every earthly comfort
and cross ; he scarcely knew “whether he
229
was in the body or out of the body, because,”
he adds, “we thus judge that if one died for
all, then were all dead; and he died for all
that they who live should nothenceforth live
to themselves, but to him who died for them,
and rose again.”
Lastly—Let all learn from this doctrine
the immense value of the human soul, and
the danger of rejecting the offered redemp-
tion. When we contemplate the enterprise
of the human mind, the vast schemes which
it is capable of contriving and accomplishing,
we feel impressed with a sense of its excel-
Hence and worth ; when we turn our eyes
back to its creation, and see it fashioned af-
ter the image of God, we entertain still
higher impressions of its dignity and value;
but it is through the humiliation and death
of the ever-blessed Jesus that we are fur-
nished with incomparably the greatest proof
of its excellence and dignity. “For our
sakes he became poor.” Surely that soul
must be precious which required a sacrifice
so costly ; surely that soul must be precious
for which “the Lord of glory” was emptied
of his glory, “ and made of no reputation ;”
for which he who was “altogether lovely.”
appeared “without comeliness, without form,
without any beauty that we should desire
him ;” for which the Son must stoop to the
condition of a servant; for which the heir of
all things must be deprived of a place “to
lay his head;” for which he who was “blessed
for ever” becomes a “man of sorrows,” and
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230
is made a curse ; for which the Prince of
life becomes obedient unto death ; for which
he who was the admiration of angels is ex-
posed, a spectacle of scorn and of mockery
to men, and to devils; for which he who was in
“ the form of God,” who was from eiernity
“brought up with him,” who enjoyed the
uninterrupted emanations of his love was a-
bandoned to darkness, and grief; denied a
single ray of his countenance, or a drop of
heaven’s consolation.—Was the soul thus
precious in the estimation of the Son of God,
and can any appear regardless of their own
souls' Surely their guilt must be highly co-
loured, and their condition inexcusable in
the extreme who neglect so “great salva- .
tion.” Had the Lord God offered the re-
mission of sin without any satisfaction to his
justice, the refusal of such remission must
have added to our misery ; had he appoint-
ed the various orders of unsinning angels to
suffer in the room of man, the rejection of
this sacrifice must have greatly heightened
our torment, and left us altogether without
excuse, but he has done infinitely more than
this ; “He sent his own Son to be the Sa-
viour of the world ;” and surely he who spa-
red not his own Son, appearing for the sal-
vation of man, will not, cannot consistent-
ly spare the man who neglects, or rejects
this salvation; a salvation which cost so
much Sorrow, so much poverty, so much
reproach, so many tears, tears of blood, yea,
the very life of the Lord of life. “If he
231
f
who despised Moses’ law died without mer-
cy before two or three witnesses, of how
much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he
be thought worthy who hath trodden under
foot the Son of God, and hath counted the
blood of the covenant wherewith he was
sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done
despite to the Spirit of grace?” And every
sinner present who will not this day accept
of precious Christ is guilty of trampling un-
der foot his body and blood ; he pours a
practical contempt on all that the compas-
sionate Saviour endured from his cradle to
his cross, on every tear which he shed, on
every groan which he uttered, on every
pang which he felt for the benefit of our
world. “Hear this, ye that forget God,
the Redeemer, lest he tear you in pieces
when there is none to deliver: Kiss the Son
lest he be angry, and ye perish from the
way, when his wrath is kindled but a little:
Blessed are all they that put their trust in
him.” And let all remember that none will
perish with such guilt in their consciences,
or such wrath upon their heads, as those who
perish amidst the offers of mercy.
232
SERMON X.
The blessings which result to us from his me-
- diation.
####2k-k-k-k-k-k-k-kick
2 CORINTHIANS VIII. 9.
That ye through his poverty might be rich.
GODLENESS mith contentment is in-
comparably the greatest possible gain ; its
pleasures are more pure, its riches more
permanent, its honors more substantial, and
its prospects more elevating than the world
can promise her most favorite votaries.—
“The merchandize of it is better than the
merchandize of silver, and the gain thereof,
than fine gold. She is more precious than
rubies, and all the things that may be desi-
red are not to be compared unto her. Length
of days is in her right hand, and in her left
hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways
of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”
Believer in Jesus Christ, however poor, or
despicable be thine external condition, “thou
art rich in faith, and an heir of the king-
dom :” thou art entitled to an inheritance
large as God can bestow, and satisfying as
thy soul can desire: an inheritance which nei-
ther “ the moth shall corrupt,” the flames
consume, nor time itself impair. But art
thou disposed to glory in thine attainments?
Does pride secretly rise in thy bosom, whilst
thou art contemplating thy present privile-

233
ges, or thy future prospects 7 Let all thine
honors be prostrated at the foot of the cross,
and glory exclusively in the suffering, bleed-
ing Saviour. To this condescending, com-
passionate Jesus thou art indebted for all
that is enjoyed in time, and all that may be
expected through eternity. His poverty was
thy riches; his griefs thy joy; his blood thy
balm; his reproach thy glory ; his death
thy life; his cross thy crown. “Ye through
his poverty” are made “rich.”
The preceding part of this verse repre-
sented the ever to be adored Son as “be-
coming poor;” as leaving the bosom of his
Father, entering our world, occupying the
station of a servant, enduring innumerable
sorrows, submitting to innumerable insults,
and at last concluding a life of unparalleled
grief with a death of unparalleled ignominy
and pain. “ Though he was rich, yet for
your sakes he became poor : he poured out
his soul unto the death : this Captain of our
salvation was made perfect through suffer-
ings,” That clause of the verse which we
are now called to discuss, points out the in-
finitely gracious design of his condescen-
sion and death, “that ye might be rich.”
These riches comprehend, in one word,
all those blessings which flow to the ransom-
ed soul, through the mediation of the Co-
Eternal Son, and like their Author are ut-
terly undescribable, and inconceivable. We
might possibly enumerate the particles of
dust which form the globe of the earth, or
VOL. 2. U 2
234
the particles of water which fill up the ca-
verns of the ocean; but to enumerate all the
benefits which flow to the believing soul
through the Saviour’s cross, orexhibit either
of them in all its importance rises infinitely
beyond the ability of mortals. “Eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither have enter-
ed into the heart of man, the things which
God hath prepared for them that love him.”
In order to meet our feeble capacities, and
to represent the blessings of redemption as
a portion infinitely sufficient for the immor-
tal soul, they are set forth in scripture by a
great variety of language. They are em-
phatically pronounced, “durable riches,
and the meat which endureth to everlasting
life,” in opposition to the wealth and the
joys of this world, which are equally uncer-
tain and unsatisfactory; “the one thing
needful,” which inconceivably enriches, al-
though every thing else should be wanting;
“ the pearl of great price,” for securing
which a man is justified in “selling all that
he hath; a treasure in the heavens where.
moth cannot corrupt, northief break through
and steal,” being secured for every heir be-
yond the possibility of failure or forfeiture;
“an inheritance incorruptible, and a crown
of glory that fadeth not away,” which will
remain undecaying,when all the profits, and
all the honors of the world with their miser-
able possessors have perished for ever. In
short, both worlds are made over to the
christian through the mediation of his ado-
235
rable substitute, and infallibly secured by
the written charter of his word: “All things
are yours,” says the apostle, addressing the
favored heirs of salvation, “things present,
and things to come ; all are yours, and ye
are Christ's, and Christ is God’s.”
These riches imply,
1. Temporal blessings; all that is requi-
site for our support during the present life.
Man, by his apostacy from the living God,
lost his title to temporal, no less than spiri-
tual blessings; he as completely forfeited e-
very claim to the least crumb from the ta-
ble of common providence, as to the favor
of God, or the inheritance of eternal life.
The sentence which was denounced against
Adam in consequence of his transgression
extended even to outward privileges. “Cur-
sed be the ground for thy sake; thorns and
thistles shall it bring forth to thee.” Had it
not been for the interposition of the Son of
God, and for the sake of his spiritual off-
spring, a general blast must have instantly
pervaded the natural world: the heavens
must have become as brass, the earth as
iron, and the herb of the field withered to
its root, refusing nourishment to man. But
Jesus Jehovah actually removed the curse
that was due to his people on account of
their transgressions, and bought back the
forfeited inheritance. He redeemed the bo-
dies of his chosen, no less than their souls;
and has therefore secured provision for the
one no less than the other. “Blessed are the
236
meek, for they shall inherit the earth; they
shall possess the land, and be fed with the
heritage of Jacob their father, for the mouth
of the Lord hath spoken it.” True it is,
Christian, thou mayest not perhaps roll in
the affluence of this world; thou mayest not
like the rich man he “clothed in purple, and
fare sumptuously every day,” yet whatever
can redound to thy real good, or thy Mas-
ter's glory is secured in the covenant, is
promised in the gospel, and shall be commu-
nicated. “In famine thou shalt be fed : my
God shall supply all thy needs according to
his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” He
who gives his angels charge over thee to
keep thee in all thy ways; who sympathizes
in all thy sorrows; who is afflicted in all
thy afflictions, and will at last raise up thy
frail, vile body in incorruption and glory,
will not suffer thee to want what is for thy
real advantage. “Thou shalt dwell on high,
thy place of defence shall be the munition of
rocks; thy bread shall be given thee and
thy water shall be sure.”
Although temporal blessings are included
in the christian's character, it also compre-
hends privileges infinitely more valuable, and
lasting. These riches imply,
2. Remission through the blood, and re-
conciliation through the righteousness of our
Lord Jesus Christ. We were naturally in-
volved in an infinite debt, and utterly un-
able to offer a ransom; bound over as law-
ful captives to the law and justice of Jeho-
237
vah, without the possibility of accomplish-
ing our freedom. “The redemption of the
soul is precious, and must have ceased for
ever,” as to any wisdom or ability of mor-
tals. “No man could redeem” himself;
neither “ could any man redeem his brother,
or pay to God a ransom for him.” Dut in
these circumstances of humiliation and
wretchedness, the Son of God graciously in-
terposed, and “restored that which he
took not away:” He expiated with his own
blood that curse which we had incurred; he
secured by the obedience of his own
life a new title to that inheritance of
glory which we had forfeited, and is thus
“ become the author of eternal salvation to
all them that obey him.” This complete,
irreversable remission of all iniquity,is apre-
cious part of those riches which flow to us
through the poverty of Jesus; of that lega-
cy which he bequeaths to the objects of his
sovereign, everlasting love. “He hath fin-
ished trangression, and made an end of sin,
and made reconciliation for iniquity, and
brought in everlasting righteousness:” In-
terested in this sacrifice, and this righteous-
ness of the infinite Surety, the sinner is not
only discharged from all the guilt of his past
transgressions, but possesses a written, andle-
gal charter to all the glories of immortality.
—“Being justified by his grace, he is made
an heir according to the hope of eternal
life.”—The Father who formerly appeared
in the character of an avenging judge ; who
238
denounced tribulation and wrath against his
iniquities is now perfectly pacified ; with
his own hand he draws up the sentence of
his pardon, and proclaims in accents of love,
“I will be merciful to thine unrighteous-
ness: I, even I am he that blotteth out thy
transgressions for mine own name’s sake, and
will not remember thy sins.” Contempla-
ting this privilege of the redeemed, the apos-
tle breaks forth in the challenge of exulta-
tion and of gratitude, “who shall lay any
thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is
God that justifieth ; who is he that con-
demneth It is Christ that died; yea, rather
that is risen again; who is even at the right
hand of God; who also maketh intercession
for us.” Pardon and acceptance, which re-
sult from the sacrifice of the Surety appro-
priated by faith, may be considered as in-
troductory to all other blessings. “Deing
justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom
also we have access by faith into this grace
wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the
glory of God.”
These riches imply,
3. Our sanctification, or restoration to the
moral image of Jehovah. This is another
precious part of that inheritance which the
ever blessed Surety has purchased for his
children, and promised in the glorious gos-
pel. Merely to have procured the remission
of their offences, and a title to the celestial
kingdom, without actually preparing them
!
239
for the enjoyment of that kingdom, would
be an incomplete salvation.—To offer the
joys of heaven to the sinner in the midst of
his corruptions, would be like attempting to
amuse with the beauty of colors a man who
wanted eyes to behold them ; or with the
charms of music the man who had not the
organ of hearing to enjoy its melody; or
presenting the luxuries of life to him whose
taste was utterly vitiated, and thus incapa-
ble of relishing them. But, thanks to the
adorable Saviour, that whom he pardons, he
also purifies; where he gives a title to the
heavenly kingdom, he gives a heart capa-
ble of relishing its joys, and admiring its
glories: “He enlightens the eyes of their
understandings, to know what is the hope of
his calling, and what the riches of the glory
of his inheritance among the saints:” He
diffuses over the heart a principle of love to
God, of submission to his righteous will, and
of ardent anxiety for his full, uninterrupted
enjoyment. “Whom having not seen,”
with his bodily eyes, the christian is enabled
supremely to love, “and in whom, although
he sees him not, yet believing, he rejoices
with a joy unspeakable, and full of glory.”
He is thus represented “as made of God to
them,” not only “righteousness,” entitling
them to the inheritance of the saints in light,
but “sanctification” actually making them
meet for the enjoyment of that inheritance.
That every gracious principle shall be im-
planted, and where it is implanted that it
240
shall be improved and perfected, the Son of
God has promised again, and again, to the
heirs of salvation. “A new heart also will I
give you, and a new spirit will I put within
you : I will give them one heart, and one
way, that they may fear me for ever.” The
charter of the righteous as it respects their
sanctification is no less clear and explicit,
than as it respects their justification; it in-
fallibly assures them that the body of cor-
ruption shall be finally subdued; that the
image of their Father which they had lost
by transgression shall be fully restored, and
they themselves at last “presented without
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.”
These riches imply,
4. Our adoption into the family of God,
and our right to all the immunities of his
children. How humiliating, how deplora-
ble are the circumstances under which
man is represented in his natural condition.
He is emphatically pronounced “afar off;
alienated from the life of God, through the
ignorance that is in him ; an alien from the
commonwealth of Israel, and a stranger
from the covenants of promise, having no
hope, and without God in the world.” He
is literally a spiritual outcast, neither ac-
knowledged in the family of God, nor inter-
ested in the privileges of his children.—But
through the substitution and sufferings of
Jesus Jehovah, the forfeited inheritance is
restored, and we obtain “the adoption of
sons. But now in Christ Jesus ye who were
2.11
once afar off are brought nigh by the blood:
of Christ: Ye are no longer strangers and
foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints
and the household of God.” Astonishing,
thrice glorious change! The alien is now
adopted; he who was formerly “afar off.”
exposed in “the open field to the loathing
of his person,” is brought nigh and introdu-
ced into the divine family, never, never to be
rejected more; the child of wrath, the heir of
hell becomes a child of God, and an heir of
never ending glory: “The spirit of adop-
tion instantly takes possession of his heart,”
and in the riches of his grace, “he bears
witness with him that he is a child of God,”
sweetly emboldening him to cry Abba-Fa-
ther. No wonder that the evangelist should
exclaim in holy astonishment, “ behold !—
what manner of love hath the Father be-
stowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God. 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.” It is impossible to
describe, or comprehend all those privileges
which are inseparably connected with this
gracious act. The sinner then becomes re-
lated to God as his friend and Father; to Je-
sus as his Surety and Advocate; to the Ho-
ly Ghost as his Sanctifier and Guide; to
the promises as his inviolable charter; and
to heaven as his rightful, immortal inheri-
tance. “If children,” says the apostle,
looking over the large catalogue of their
VOL. 2. X
242
privileges, “if children then heirs, heirs of
God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be
that we suffer with him, that we shall also
be glorified together.” The eternal Father,
in that moment, recognizes them under the
character of sons and daughters, and makes
over himself and all that he can bestow, as
their infinite, unfading portion. “I will
dwell in you, and walk in you ; I will be a
Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons
and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
These riches imply,
5. Support amidst all the difficulties, and
consolation amidst the numerous distresses
and discouragements of life. This world,
through the transgression of man, is convert-
ed into a scene of vexation and sorrow ;
and even the redeemed of the Lord are usu-
ally appointed to drink a full share of the
bitter cup. Nay, in addition to the ordina-
ry calamities of life, which they experience
in common with others, they have trials al-
together peculiar to themselves. A painful
conflict with a body of corruption, the oc-
casional hidings of their Father’s counte-
nance, and contempt and persecution for
righteousness' sake, form a train of suffer-
ings known only to themselves, and from
which the children of this world are utterly
exempted. But, glory to the great Cap-
tain of our salvation, that he not only sup-
parts amidst these, and other discourage-
ments, but renders them all conducive to the
spiritual and immortal interests of his cho-
243
sen. “ These things have I spoken unto
you, that in me ye might have peace,” is
his gracious declaration ; “ in the world ye
shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer,
I have overcome the world. I will not leave
you comfortless: I will strengthen thee;
yea, I will help thee; yea I will uphold
thee with the right hand of my righteous-
ness.” These promises, of our gracious Lord,
have a thousand times been literally accom-
plished in the experience of his faithful follow-
ers.--When their afflictions abounded, their
consolations have much more abounded :
Through his omnipotent arm supporting
them, they have encountered every danger;
they have surmounted every obstacle; they
have gloried in tribulation ; they have re-
ceived joyfully the spoiling of their goods;
and arisen superior alike to all the trials of
life, and all the terrors of death. We hear
one boldly exclaiming, “I can do all things,”
discharge any duty, resist any temptation,
and encounter any opposition “through
Christ strengthening me: I take pleasure
in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities,
in persecutions, in distresses for Christ; for
when I am weak, then am I strong:” We
hear him upon another occasion triumphant-
ly challenging, “who shall separate us from
the love of Christ Shall tribulation, or dis-
tress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril, or sword! Nay, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him
that loved us.”
244
These riches imply,
6. Heaven with its ineffable blessedness
and glory. This may be pronounced the
crowning, consummating blessing, which is
communicated by the infinitely gracious
Redeemer. All the mercies which he im-
parts in the present life; all those riches
which he bestows in the reconciliation of his
people, in their adoption, and those occa-
sional consolations which they enjoy, are
merely introductory to their future resi-
dence and felicity in his presence. “I give
to them eternal life, and they shall never
perish : I go to prepare a place for you ;
and if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again, and receive you to myself,
that where I am, ye may be also.” The
Lord Jesus first prepares them for that
place; he adorns them with his own righte-
ousness, as with a robe ; he renews them in
the spirit of their mind, giving them holy
and heavenly dispositions; and he also pre-
pares heaven for them by appearing there
as their Advocate, and answering every ac-
cusation that can be brought against them.
“Father, I will that those whom thou hast
given me, may be with me where I am,
that they may behold my glory which thou
hast given me.”
What will be the employment of the re-
deemed in heaven; what is the peculiar na-
ture of that blessedness and glory which
they will eternally enjoy we cannot conceive
in this state of imperfection. But enough
245
is revealed to wither the glory of every
thing created: to elevate our hearts above
this world with its fleeting joys, and create
in us a holy impatience “to depart and to
be with Christ.” There the blessed inhabi-
tants are admitted into the immediate vision
and fruition of God: They “see no longer
through a glass darkly, but face to face;
they know” no longer “in part, but know
even as also they are known.” The opera-
tions of God, in providence and grace, which
now appear mysterious and dark; at which
their faith is frequently staggered and al-
most overthrown, will then be clearly and
satisfactorily unfolded : Wisdom unerring,
justice the most exact, love the most fervid,
and mercy the most tender will appear to have
reigned in every part of his procedure to
them, whether in nature, or providence, or
grace. Each inhabitant of the heavenly
world will emulate another, in acknowledg-
ing, to the glory of the common Captain of
their salvation, “he hath done all things
well; he hath brought order out of all our
past confusion, light out of all the darkness
which formerly surrounded his footsteps,
and hath made crooked things straight;”
they will then discover in the light of immor-
tality, that all the afflictions of their earthly
pilgrimage were both wisely and graciously
ordered: David now sees that there was a
necessity for the rebellion of Absalom his
Son: Job for the loss of his children and
property: Jeremiah for his persecution as
VOL. 2. X 2 *

246
--rº---- * - - - - - -º-
a prophet of the Lord: Lazarus for the po-
verty of his lot, and exquisite bodily dis-
tress: Paul for all the perils which he en-
countered, by sea and by land, in promoting
the gospel of his master. They clearly
discern there was A NEEDBE that they were for-
merly “in heaviness through these manifold
temptations or trials.” As they will be ad-
mitted into the clearest discoveries of Jeho-
vah, of his perfections and operations, they
will also be promoted to the highest con-
ceivable dignity. They are therefore re-
presented as sitting on “thrones,” as possess-
ing “a kingdom, a kingdom that shall never
be moved ;” as bearing “palms” in their
hands, an emblem of victory and triumph ;
as wearing “crowns” upon their heads,
“crowns of righteousness and life ;” as “en-
joying an exceeding and eternal weight of
glory:” As the consummation of all their
joys, they will be introduced into the most
intimate and unceasing communion with Je-
sus their living head, and through him with
Jehovah the Father and the Eternal Spirit.
“They shall see him as he is ; they shall
walk in his light ; they shall eat and drink
with him at his table in his kingdom. To
him that overcometh will I give to eat the
hidden manna, and will give him a white
stone, and in the stone a new name which
no man knoweth saving he that receiveth
it.” But how small a portion of these joys
or glories can now be uttered or conceived
They are infinitely beyond the most elo-
º
247
|
quent tongue to describe, or the most ex-
cursive imagination to comprehend. “Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered the heart of man to conceive those
things which God hath prepared for them
that love him.”
This doctrine may be applied—
1. By congratulating the righteous on
the ineffable blessedness of their condition.
“Riches and honors are theirs, yea, durable
riches and righteousness.” Lift up thine
eyes, christian, and behold the heavens a-
bove ; survey creation around thee; look
upon thy right hand, and on thy left; all
these treasures are thine, because thou art a
“joint heir with’” Jesus Jehovah, who “ is
heir of all things.” Thine inheritance is not
like the wealth of this world, which perishes
in the using ; which is equally unsatisfying
in its nature, and uncertain in its duration.
“The portion of Jacob is not like them.”
Thou hast an inheritance incorruptible; a
treasure lasting as eternity itself. Being a
child of God, by rich, adopting grace, “thou
art an heir.”—To what? To houses, or
lands, or possessions? No: Privileges infi-
nitely more desirable and dignified are
thine. “Thou art an heir of God.” Ama-
zing thought.—Who can comprehend the
ten thousandth, thousandth part of its im-
port? “An heir of God.” Jehovah in all
that he is, and all that he can communicate
is thine ; his wisdom is thine to direct; his
power to protect ; his all-sufficiency to pro-
248
vide; his faithfulness to fullfil what his grace
has promised, and his eternity is the mea-
sure of thy duration and thy blessedness.
“This God,” believer in Jesus, “is thy God
for ever and ever; and will be thy guide
even unto death. And a joint heir with
Christ;” thou hast a title, if I may use the
strong expression, thou hastatitle in common
with the infinite Redeemer to all the bless-
ings of his purchase ; to all the treasures of
grace and glory. His blood is thy ransom,
his righteousness thy robe, his promise thy
charter, his angels thy guardian spirits, his
heaven thy home, his Father thy Father, and
his God thy God. “Happy is that people
that is in such a case ; yea, happy is that
people whose God is Jehovah.”—What re-
mains for thee, christian, but to live con-
stantly and exclusively on this thy portion ?
Here is a fund which can never be exhaust-
ed, which cannot even be diminished by all
that thou canst possibly draw from it.
Here is a LIVING fountain, daily communi-
cating fresh consolation and strength as thy
wants may require. Indulge then the con-
fident, the elevated, yet reasonable exulta-
tion of the holy prophet, “the Lord is my
portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope
in him ;” or of the royal psalmist, “ thou
wilt guide me with thy counsel, and after-
wards receive me to glory. Whom have I
in heaven but thee, and there is none upon
earth that I desire besides thee: My flesh
249
and my heart fail, but God is the strength
of my heart and my portion for ever.”
“To take a glimpse within the wail,
To know that God is mine,
Are springs of joy that never fail,
Unspeakable, divine
These are the joys which satisfy,
And sanctify the mind,
Which make the spirit mount on high,
And leave the world behind.”
2. This doctrine is a source of resignation
to the righteous, amidst all the disappoint-
ments and sorrows of life. Were their af-
flictions ten thousand times more numerous,
more painful, and longer continued than they
are, they could scarcely be compared to those
privileges which they already enjoy through
Jesus their Surety, or that glory which will
shortly be revealed. Art thou, christian,
art thou doomed to inward sorrow, and dark-
ness, and dejection now ! there is an eter-
nity of light and triumph before thee: “Thy
sun shall then no more go down ; neither
shall thy moon withdraw itself; for the Lord
shall remain thine everlasting light, and the
days of thy mourning shall be ended.” Art
thou conflicting with outward poverty or
misery now ! in Jesus thy husband thou pos-
sessest riches unsearchable; through his
mediation there is secured and reserved for
thee a mansion in thy Father’s kingdom,
“a house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens.” Art thou often in the depths
of spiritual adversity, dejected through the
prevalence of an unbelieving heart, or the
abominations of the world around thee! The
250
period is approaching when “the oil of joy
shall” succeed “thy present mourning, and
the garment of praise this spirit of heavi-
ness: There shall be no more sorrow nor
sighing, and God with his own hand shall
wipe away all tears from thine eyes.” Art
thou treated with neglect, or even contempt
by thine acquaintances on earth! be not dis-
heartened by this consideration: Thy name,
engraven in letters more splendid than gold,
now shines on “the breast-plate of the high
priest of thy profession;” amidst all the
glories of his exalted condition, he is not
ashamed to call thee a brother, or a sister,
and will ere long confess thee in the “pre-
sence of his Father and the holy angels.”
Art thou wearied with this world of cor-
ruption and grief? Art thou ardently long-
ing for that blessed consummation when
thou shalt see thy beloved as he is, and be
filled with the joys of his salvation ? Soon,
very soon, these desires shall be fully gra-
tified. It is the prayer of thine Advocate
in heaven, “Father, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where
I am : that they may behold my glory which
thou hast given me :” Such is his interces-
sion in thy behalf, and let thy soul rejoice
in the consideration, “that him the Father
heareth always.” Again, I say, let the
redeemed of the Lord learn from this doc-
trine to exercise submission amidst the va-
rious trials and discouragements of life:
Of either, or all the complicated evils of his
251
earthly pilgrimage, the christian may justly
exclaim, “none of these things trouble me;
the sufferings of this life are not worthy to
be compared to that glory which shall be
revealed :” Who would not patiently be
tossed on the billows in the full confidence
of shortly reaching the desired haven?—
What soldier does not cheerfully submit
to all the fatigue, and brave all the perils of
the campaign, who has an assurance of short-
ly receiving the palm and the crown What
christian will not rather endure a momenta-
ry sorrow in the prospect of never, never en-
ding joy “Our light affiiction which is but
for a moment worketh for us a far more ex-
ceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
3. This doctrine suggests the inconceiva-
ble, everlasting obligation of all the righte-
ous to their redeeming Lord. What hast
thou, christian, which thou hast not receiv-
ed, and what hast thou received which was
not procured at the immense expence of his
life? All the blessings which thou hast in
possession here, or in prospect hereafter,
cost him the “travail of his soul,” and the
effusion of his blood. “Through his po-
verty thou art made rich, and through his
grief” thou art brought to participate a “ful-
mess of joy and pleasure for evermore.”
Art thou justified in the sight of Jehovah,
acquitted freely and irreversibly from the
guilt of thy past iniquities, and entitled to
every desirable blessing in the time to come?
“thou art justified freely by grace only
252
through the redemption that is in Christ Je-
sus: You that were sometime alienated and
enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet
now hath he reconciled: In the body of his
flesh through death, to present you holy, and
unblamable, and unreprovable in his sight.”
Art thou, who wast “once afar off, a stran-
ger, and a foreigner;” art thou now brought
nigh, restored to the favor of God, admit-
ted to his most intimate fellowship, and ena-
bled to approach him as thy Father? remem-
ber that thou “art brought nigh only by the
blood of Jesus Christ. Grace reigns through
righteousness unto eternal life; she com-
menced her purposes of love from eternity
past, and will consummate them through eter-
nity to come, to thine exceeding, ineffable
joy only, ONLY, “by Jesus Christ our
Lord.” How deeply, how inconceivably
art thou indebted to this compassionate, dy-
ing Saviour, through whose work such glo-
ries open to thine admiring view Surely
upon each recollection of what thou once
wast, “poor, miserable, blind, naked, in the
gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity;”
upon each contemplation of what thou now
art, rescued from the fearful pit of perdi-
tion, “a child of God, an heir of the king-
dom;” upon each anticipation of what thou
wilt shortly be, relieved from all the evils
of life, and from that incomparably worst of
evils, a body of spiritual death, which now
encompasses thee: possessed of all good, led
up by the agency of the Spirit, through the
253
mediation of the Son to the most endearing
fellowship of the Father ; upon every reflec-
tion of this nature thy heart should bound
with new ecstacies of love, and thy lips with
new ascriptions of praise to “ him who hath
redeemed thee to God by his blood.” What
will be the exercise of all the blessed before
the throne for ever, but one unceasing hal-
lelujah ; and surely it is proper to com-
mence in time that work which will form the
delight and glory of eternity.
Be no longer “slothful in business, but
let thy soul and all within thee be stirred up
to magnify the Lord ;” let the members of
thy body be consecrated from henceforth as
“ instruments of righteousness to holiness.”
“The eyes of all are upon thee,” as an in-
genious, excellent author remarks, “the
eye of the world to censure thee; the eye
of Satan to distress thee ; the eye of the
church to be edified by thee; the eye of an-
gels to glorify God for thee ; the eye of
Christ to intercede in thy behalf; and the
all-seeing eye of Jehovah, to whom thou cri-
est Abba-Father, to bless and protect thee.
Say to thyself, I am adopted into God’s fa-
mily, and from being an execrable slave am
made his freeman, his son, and his heir ; I
am entitled through my redeeming Lord to
all the privileges of grace set forth in his de-
clared will ; I have tasted some of these pri-
vileges as an unperishing earnest of an im-
perishable inheritance, and I am assured tº at
I shall have full possession in the best time,
VOL. 2. Y
254
and for evermore. What then becomes me !
—How ought I to live, and to speak, and
think 1 Lord, I am ashamed of myself; I am
covered with confusion, and abasement, that
I, for whom thou hast done so much, am liv-
ing and doing so little for thee ; if thy mer-
cy did not “endure for ever” it could not
have endured to put up with such a base
worm as me, with such long suffering and
grace. O pity my weakness which thou
knewest from my birth, and suit all the mer-
cies of thy holy adoption to my various oc-
casions and thine own glory. I only know
and feel that I would be thine, and none but
thine for ever. Cause me therefore to live
as becometh thy gospel, my own happiness
and my unchanging, everlasting relation to
thee. Cause me to live more and more as
one, who hath a title and a hope to live with
an innumerable company of holy beings,
with a holy Jesus, and with thee, my ho-
ly and heavenly Father, for ever and ever.
I fall down before thy throne ; O make me
to be, what thou wouldst have me to be,
and let me be that to all eternity. Whoever
thou art that canst utter this language, take
courage and peace ; it is the voice of the
Spirit of adoption within thee. O go on and
prosper; the Lord enlighten thee and give
thee more peace ; give thee every ear-
nest of his blessing, every first fruit of his
glory below, and in his own time afford thee
an abundant entrance into his everlasting
kingdom.”—AMEN.
255
SERMON XI.
The Holy Ghost the great agent in our regen-
eration ; and his mercy illustriously mani-
fested in that nork.
EPHESIANS II. 4. 5.
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great
love myherenith he loved us, even myhen nye
nvere dead in sins,hath quickened us together
with Christ. --
THE great design of divine revela-
tion is to level the pride, the self-importance
of man, and on its ruins to establish the so-
vereign grace of Jehovah. In this heavenly
oracle the offspring of Adam are invariably
represented as guilty, and therefore obnox-
ious to the justice of God; as defiled, and
therefore odious to the pure eye of his holi-
ness; as altogether wretched, and conse-
quently in absolute need of divine mercy;
in short, they are uniformly represented as
floating on a tempestuous ocean, without
either chart or compass for directing to any
peaceful haven, until sovereign love inter-
pose in their behalf. The doctrines of hu-
man wretchedness, and of divine, victorious
grace, which are exhibited at large through-
out the scriptures, are concisely, yet lumin-
ously presented in the verses which have
now been read. “God, who is rich in mer-
cy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
.*
256
even when we were dead in sins hath quick-
ened us together with Christ.”
The apostle exhibits the Lord God as not
only merciful but rich in mercy: This excel-
lence dwells partially in man; we feel oc-
casionally the emotion of pity towards those
that are in distress, and some disposition to
relieve them, but in man it dwells as a stream
which is easily dried up ; in the Great God
it resides as in a fountain, ever flowing, yet
never exhausted, never lessened. “The
mercy of the Lord is from everlasting
to everlasting upon them that fear him.”
When we melt at the miseries of others
and are disposed to impart relief, we
frequently want the necessary means, and
thus fail in our wishes; but Jehovah is “ rich
in mercy,” as he is never defeated in his gra-
cious intentions; he can easily devise means
for accomplishing the everlasting purposes
of his good will.
For his great love “where with he loved
53
us.” The sovereign purpose of God from
eternity, was the origin of all the blessings
which he communicates in time : the former
was the fountain, the latter are only streams
which issue forth from that fountain.—
“Whom he predestinated, them he also cal-
led : I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, therefore with loving kindness have I
drawn thee.”
The apostle calls it a “ GREAT LovE where-
with he loved us.” This may be designed
to express the immensity of that gift which
257
he offered for our redemption, “even his
Son. Herein is love not that we loved God
but that he loved us, and gave his Son to be
the propitiation for our sins.” This was
the highest display of love which the Father
could exhibit, and must for ever excite the
highest admiration of its favored objects.
It is a great love if we regard the unuttera-
bly precious benefits which were designed
for his chosen. He blesses with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus;
he gives them the free and full remission
of all their trespasses; a real, and unalien-
able adoption into that family from which
they were excluded; a complete restora-
tion to that image of God whºeh was lost by
the fall, and exceeding, abundant glory in
the life to come. Such is the love which 3
the Lord God exercised to man, and after
all that can be spoken, or written, or con-"e º
eeived, it must appear unutterably and in- *
conceivably GREAT to eternity. f
When “we were dead in sins.” This ex-
presses the abject and deplorable condition
of mankind in general. They are legally
dead. As transgressors of the divine law,
they are under its righteous, and awful sen-
tence; cut off from every claim to the fa-
vor of God, and exposed to the shock of his
avenging justice. “Whatsoever the law
saith, it saith to them that are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped and all
the world may become guilty before God.”
They are morally, or spiritually dead, des-
VOL. 2. Y 2

258.
titute either of ability or inclination to ef-
fect their own deliverance ; as incapable of
rising to spiritual life as the man who is na-
turally dead is incapable of raising himself
to natural life. All the wisdom and strength
which remain are exerted in opposition to
God, and holiness. “They are enemies in
their minds by wicked works:—They are
not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be.” This utter depravity pervades
alike all the faculties of the human soul.
The understanding, which was originally
“created in knowledge,” is now clouded
with ignorance; the will, which once yielded
a prompt, cheerful obedience to the re-
quirements of its Creator, how discovers the
most malignant opposition ; “it is enmity
against God.” The it. which once
joyed in Jehovah as #eir portion, now cen-
ter supremely upon tº world. “The whole
head,” to use the lar Glage of an inspired
prophet, “the whole ºad is sick” with the
mortal distemper of $º, “ and the whole
heart is faint,” altogetº disqualified for
any spiritual exertion. Tºe apostle includes
himself in the number, wº
in sin,” teaching us that fºre is no excep-
tion from the generaſ cºtge; this is not
the situation merely of the heathen who
are withont anywritten revelation; it is not
the melancholy situation of this or the other
person whose principles are more licentious,
or whose practices are universally abandon-
ed; but the situation of all without excep-
n “we were dead
* --
* .







259
tion, whether Jew or Gentile, whether the
more refined moralist, or the open profligate
debauchee. “There is none righteous,”
by nature, “no not one.” If any difference
now exist, it is effected exclusively by the
distinguishing love of God; “there is none
that doeth good,” until renewed by the a-
bundant mercy of Jehovah. We who are
now the apostles of the Lamb, and instru-
mental in turning others to righteousness,
were naturally “unholy, disobedient, serv-
ing divers Justs and pleasures.” He men-
tions with peculiar emphasis, “Even when
we were dead in sin,” lying in the very midst
of our abominations; “hateful and hating
one another.” There were no qualifica-
tions in them predisposing them for this
change; no ingenuous relentings for what was
past, no kindly movements of the heart towards
God, as their portion or joy. Sovereign
grace displays her prerogatives not only in
saving the chief of sinners; numbering
among her trophies “fornicators, and idola-
tors, and adulterers,” but by effectually
eaſling them in the very height of their im-
pious career; a Gardner was savingly
eaught in the midst of his midnight revels,
and a Saul on his road to Damascus, when,
with a fury more malignant than usual, he
was “breathing out slaughter against the
ehurch of Christ. The grace of God was ex-
ceedingly abundant,” aeknowledges this
same apostle, “with faith and love which
was in Christ Jesus: I was a blasphemer, a
~-sº
Lº:
\ *;
260
persecutor, an injurious person, but I ob-
tained mercy.”
Hath “quickened us.” The change ef-
fected on the soul in regeneration, is vari-
ously expressed in scripture, answerable to
the various characters by which the sinner
is described. Sometimes he is represented
as in ignorance or darkness, and this change
is expressed by the infusion of light. “Ye
were once darkness, but are now light in
the Lord: God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined upon
your hearts, to give you the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ.” Sometimes the sinner is
represented as wholly polluted, “as deceit-
ful above all things, and desperately wick-
ed;” and this change is expressed by the
communication of principles holy and spi-
ritual. “A new heart will I give you, and
a new spirit will I put within you : I will
sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall
be clean.”—Again, he is represented as
“dead;”, and this change is expressed by
the infusion of new life. “The dead shall
hear the voice of the Son of God, and they
that hear shall live : Even when we were
dead in sins hath quickened; hath made us
alive to God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
All this variety of language is employed to
shew, that the change wrought upon the sin-
ner is not imaginary, but real ; all the en-
ergies of the immortal soul undergo a real
and lasting renovation: “The man is re-
26I
newed in the spirit of his mind : He is crea-
ted in Christ Jesus unto good works : He is
born from above : He is begotten again to
a lively hope: He puts off the old man with
his deeds, and puts on the new man which is
renewed in knowledge after the image of him
that created him.”
Quickened us “together with Christ.” A
legal union actually existed between the
Redeemer and his ransomed, from eternity,
and consequently whatever was done by him,
was virtually done by them. When he suf-
fered and died, they being represented in
him, also suffered and died : “I am crucifi-
ed with Christ,” says the apostle: “God for-
bid that I should glory save in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is
crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”
When he their public head was buried, they
were virtually buried with him. They are
“made conformable to him in his death ;
they are buried with him in baptism.” When
he revived and arose the conqueror of the
grave, they virtually revived and arose with
him. “He hath raised us up together, and
made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus. Ye are risen with Christ, seek
those things that are above.”—The resurrec-
tion of Jesus their representing head, was a
pledge of their spiritual resurrection in time;
that they shall be actually quickened by his
Spirit, and raised up to a life of holiness and
consolation in this world : It was also a
pledge that their bodies should revive and
262
arise to a blessed immortality in the world
to come. “Thy dead men shall live ; toge-
ther with my dead body shall they arise.”
Three very important truths are present-
ed for our consideration in these verses.—
I. The change produced on the sinner in
his union to the Saviour, “ he is quick-
ened :— -
II. The exclusive Author of this change ;
and,
III. That in the accomplishment of this
work, the most rich, unmerited mercy is dis-
played.
And the Lord grant that while we humbly
aim at illustrating his own truth, his almigh-
ty “arm may be made bare in” this assem-
bly ; may “the exceeding greatness of that
power which was wrought in Christ, raising
him from the dead,” work powerfully upon
many souls that are present; then there will
be “a visible shaking among the dry bones;
bone will instantly come to his bone in this
valley of vision.”
The change effected upon the sinner is
pronounced “a quickening together with
Christ,” and consists,
1. In the infusion of new light into his tin-
derstanding. This is usually considered
the leading faculty of the human soul, and
is the first subject on which the Holy Ghost
operates in regeneration. It is asserted by
some that the knowledge of man sustained
little injury by the fall, and that the shock
is experienced chiefly in his will ; They
263
contend therefore that as human depravity
consists principally in the enmity of the
heart, the office of the Spirit in regeneration
is the removal of that enmity : that the glo-
ry of his power and grace shines principally,
if not entirely, in making the subjects of his
operations will ING to acquiesce in the pro-
posed method of salvation. With all de-
ference to those respectable names by which
this sentiment is sanctioned, we feel con-
strained to reject it as not resting on “the
foundation of the apostles and prophets.”—
Why is the Son of God in his mediatorial
character pronounced “a prophet, the morn-
ing star, the sun of righteousness, the faith-
ful and true witness, the messenger of the
covenant, a teacher sent from God, a light
to lighten the Gentiles,” unless those whom
he was appointed to restore were ignorant,
and required instruction ? We cannot sup-
pose that Jehovah in his infinite wisdom
would invest the Son with an office, unless
there was necessity for exercising it. This
would be like sending a physician when there
was no patient in whose cure his skill might
be exerted, or appointing another sun to a
system sufficiently illumined already. Why
is the divine Spirit, the immediate Agent
in our effectual calling, entitled “the Spi-
rit of light and of a sound mind ; the Spi-
rit of wisdom and revelation in the know-
ledge of Christ,” unless to instruct us that
in applying the salvation of Jesus he actual-
ly enlightens the understanding and discow-
264
ers the excellence of this plan “When Hr
is come, he shall reprove,” convince, give
the most irresistible demonstration to “the
world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment: He shall receive of mine and
shall shew it unto you.” Why is divine
teaching so frequently promised, and pro-
mised as a leading blessing of the covenant,
unless it is indispensably requisite to our
salvation ? Is it not “written in the pro-
phets, they shall be all taught of God: Zi-
on’s children shall all know the Lord, and
great shall be the peace of her children: I
will give them a heart to know me that I
am Jehovah, and they shall be my people,
and I will be their God tº This teaching is
essentially different from that external teach-
ing of the word which is common to all who
enjoy the dispensation of the gospel : It is
the peculiar privilege of Zion's children,
and is derived from the influences of the Ho-
ly Ghost, immediately communicated to the
soul: “I will give them a heart to know
me.” That knowledge which issues in eter-
nal life as its end, is really a supernatural
gift ; it lies as far beyond the reach of un-
assisted nature as faith, or repentance, or
love, or any other grace which is accompa-
nied with salvation. But that a divine il-
lumination is necessary, and constitutes a
part of the Spirit’s office in regeneration, is
established beyond controversy by the most
plain, undeniable declarations of scripture.
Ignorance of God and of ourselves is there
265
represented as an essential part of the curse
to which we are subjected, no less than en-
mity against him ; and the infusion of new
light into the understanding is pronounced
a blessing no less important than the com-
munication of love to the heart. Is not the
natural man described as “having the un-
derstanding darkened, as alienated from the
life of God through the ignorance that is in
him, because of the blindness of his mind?”
Here, as if one expression was insufficient
to point out our utter, absolute ignorance in
spiritual things, the Eternal God uses a va-
riety. “The understanding is" said to be
“ darkened,” as the body is dark without
the eye, or the natural world becomes dark
without the light of the natural sun: “being
alienated from the life of God through the
ignorance that is in them.” Man is here re-
presented as “alienated” from the living
God, merely because he is “ignorant” of
him : we cannot possibly love an object of
which we have not some competent know-
ledge; we cannot delight in God, although
perfection itself, if the eyes of the under-
standing are shut against any discovery of
his perfections. Again, “the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God;
they are foolishness to him; neither can he
know them, for they are spiritually discern-
ed;” they are savingly discovered only by
the illuminating influences of the Holy
Ghost. Add to these considerations that our
effectual calling is as frequently expressed
VOL. 2. Z
266
by a renovation of the understanding as of
the heart.—“Ye were once DARKNEss,” but
are now light in the Lord :” Those who “are
begotten again to the lively hope” of salva-
tion, are admonished to “shew; forth the
praises of him who hath called them out of
DARKNESs into his marvellous light.” Paul,
that pre-eminent preacher of righteousness,
was sent abroad “ to open the eyes of the
blind, and turn them from DARKNEss to
light:” and in the execution of his commis-
* The Greek word rendered darkness in all these instances cor-
responds precisely with the Hebrew word which is used to express
the darkness of the world previous to the formation of the sun;
and the change produced upon the mind is represented to be as
real as that produced in the natural world at the creation of this
luminary. “God said let there be light, and there was light;”
and that “ God who commanded the light to shime out of dark-
ness shines upon the heart giving the light of?” saving knowledge.
What may we infer from this consideration ? Surely it instructs
us that as “darkness was upon the face of the deep,” until the
lights of heaven were formed, darkness no less profound and im-
penetrable covers the mind of man until enlightened by the Spi-
rit of wisdom. There is not even the shadow of propriety in ap-
plying these and similar passages to the heathen, who wanted the
advantages of revelation. They relate to all without discrimina-
tion until taught of Jehovah. “We preach Christ crucified, to
the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness, but
to them that are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the wisdom
of God and the power of God.” These men enjoyed equal exter-
mal advantages. The same apostle had addressed them, a cruci-
fied Christ was invariably the theme of his discourse; yet how
different was its reception by these hearers ? “To the Greeks,”
notwithstanding all their attainments in natural wisdom, “it was
foolishness:” all that the apostle proclaimed of the substitution of
the Son of God in the room of sinners, and ofour justification thro’
his righteousness was in their estimation an “idle tale, a fable cun-
ningly devised;” all the effulgence of that wisdom,that condescen-
sion, that love which shone so transcendantly through the cross of
Calvary, was as really lost to them as the splendors of the meridian
gun to the man that “was born blind; but to them that are cal-
led,” who had received an “unction from on high to know all
things,” this Christ appeared the “wisdom of God,” the most
jlustrious display of his “prudence and grace.”
267
sion how ardently does he pray, “that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ would give
them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in
the knowledge of him.” These Ephesians
already enjoyed the “word” of wisdom: the
gospel in all its glory was shining around
them. But the natural sun gives no light to
him who has not eyes to behold it, and the
gospel, however “glorious,” has no “glo-
ry” to him who possesses not a spiritual
sense to discern it: This apostle therefore
pleads, “that the eyes of their understand-
ing beingenlightened, they might know what
was the hope of his calling, and what the
riches of the glory of his inheritance among
the saints.”
From this variety of scripture evidence
we conclude, that the natural man is not on-
ly alienated from God, but utterly ignorant
of him, and that the communication of Iight
to the mind constitutes an essential part of
his translation from spiritual death to spiri-
tual life. “He is renewed in KNowLEDGE
after the image of him that made him ; he
obtains new discoveries of Jehovah in his ho-
liness, his justice, his goodness and truth ;
new discoveries of Jesus in the riches of his
love, in the excellencies of his offices, in
the fulness of his covenant, and the free-
dom of his salvation; he obtains new disco-
veries of himself, of his aggravated guilt,
of his desperate pollution and wretched-
ness; new discoveries of the world in its
268
vanity, and of eternity in its infinite impor-
tance.
This illumination of the understanding is
accompanied,
2. With the acquiescence of the will.—
As the man famishing with thirst readily
drinks the cooling draûght when offered to
him, or the man tortured with some dread-
ful disease eagerly receives the medicine
when presented, so the sinner, convinced in
the light of eternal truth of his disease and
danger, cordially welcomes the “balm of
Gilead and the physician there.” No com-
pulsion is then necessary. The sinner is as
voluntary in accepting remission through
the surety’s sacrifice, and reposing his soul
on the compassionate Saviour, as the “man
slayer,” when pursued by the avenger of
blood, was voluntary in fleeing “ to the ci-
ty of refuge,” or as a man caught in a thun-
der-storm, willingly betakes himself to the
first shelter in his reach. “Thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power : Every
man that hath heard and learned of the Fa-
ther cometh to me.” The moment that the
understanding is savingly enlightened to be-
hold the glory and the suitableness of Jesus,
the hand of faith is reached out to receive
him. This is the order established by the
illustrious assembly of Westminster. “Ef-
fectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit,
whereby convincing us of our sin and mis-
ery, enlightening our minds in the know-
ledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he

269
f
doth persuade and enable us to embrace Je-
sus Christ as freely offered in the gospel.”
* The sentiment that the understanding of man is little impair-
ed by the fall, and that the enmity of his heart is the principal
obstacle to his conversion, seems to be gradually pervading ma-
ny churches in our country. The reader will excuse me for pre-
senting him the sentiments of some eminent divines on this sub-
ject. Perhaps higher uninspired authority than the Genevan re-
former cannot be expected : I therefore take pleasure in offering
first a quotation from him.—“The human mind is destitute of
any faculty for beholding the mysteries of celestial wisdom which
are laid up in Christ; nay, all the human senses are defective in
this respect, until God opens our eyes to discern his glory, because
his Spirit alone enlightens our darkness.”—Calvin in JMatt. xvi.
17. This father of the reformation again remarks, “the eyes of
the understanding are blind, until opened of the Lord ; all our
wisdom is folly and ignorance, until we are effectually taught by
the power and sovereignty of the Spirit; finally, the knowledge of
our heavenly calling surpasseth our comprehension until God the
Spirit by a secret revelation discovers it to us.”—Calvin in Ephe-
sians, i. 17. 18. Equally pertinent and satisfactory is his com-
ment on John vi. 45. “The kind of teaching mentioned by the
prophet does not consist merely in an external voice, or revelation,
but in the secret, hidden operations of the Holy Ghost : The in-
ward illumination of the heart is the prerogative of God.” With
these, correspond the remarks of his profound cotemporary nd
colleague. “The apostle does not affirm that the faculties of
the unrenewed man are merely impaired, but that he has no fa-
culty at all for comprehending spiritual objects ; these cannot
be known exceptspiritually, that is, by the power and breathing
of the holy Spirit.”—Beza. Com. in 1 Cor. ii. 14. With the fore-
going remarks of two eminent reformers coincide the sentiments
of a distinguished prelate of the 17th century. “Being ignorant
of God and of ourselves, it follows that we love not God, be-
cause we know him not. But the first character of his renewed image
in the soul is light, as light was the first in the natural or material
world. . There is a spirit of light and knowledge flows from Jesus
Christ into the souls of believers that acquaints them with the
mysteries of the kingdom which cannot otherwise be known.
And the excellency the christian sees in God and his Son Jesus
Christ, by this new light, inflames his heart with their love, fills
him with estimation of the Lord Jesus, and makes the world,
and all things in it, that he esteemed before, mean and base in
his eyes.”—Arch. Leight, Com. in Pet. ii. 9. The sentiments of
the most learned and judicious Dr. Owen, may be considered next.
“Spiritual darkness is in and upon all men until God, by an al-
mighty and effectual work of the Spirit, shine into them, or cre-
ate light in them.—This teaching us the word and will of God
Z 2
270
The whole man is then renewed.—His af.
fections centre upon God as his glory and
in the manner we are taught it by the Spirit, our Comforter, is an
eminent part of our unction by him ; opening blind eyes, giving
a new understanding, shining into our hearts, to give us a know-
ledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, enabling us
to receive spiritual things in a spiritual light.”—Owen’s Discourse
on the Holy Spirit, Vol. i. p. 388, also his distinct Com. 389. Lon.
edit. I shall next offer the observations of a dissenting minister
in England, equally distinguished for learning and piety. “Open-
ing the eyes precedes the conversion from darkness to light in
God’s operation. The first appearance of life, when he raiseth the
soul, is in the clearness and distinctness of its knowledge of God.
As a state of nature is set forth under the term of darkness, so a
state of grace is often termed light, that being the first work in
the new creation as it was the first word of command in the old.
The understanding is the original wheel which God primarily
sets in order, from whence he doth influence secondarily all the
other faculties of the soul; therefore when the understanding sa-
vingly apprehends the deformity of sin, the will must needs hate it:
When it apprehends the mercy of God, and the beauty of holiness,
the will must needs love him, and the higher these degrees of
saving illumination are in the mind, the stronger and firmer are
the habits and acts of grace in the will. This illumination of thcSpi-
rit before the other of inclining the will, for the understanding is
first exercised about the word as true, before the will is concerned
in it as good.”—Char. on Reg. Vol. ii. p. 218–19. Few have written
with greater accuracy and ability on these distinguishing doctrines
of christianity, than a late divine of our own country, and with his
remarks I shall conclude these quotations. “The Spirit of God
works grace in us by illuminating our minds, and giving us the
right exercise of our understandings. In what manner is the will
changed, and how does the Lord Jesus Christ bring the stubborn,
obdurate heart of the sinner into subjection to himself To this
I answer, by giving them a real and affecting sight of things as
they are : He does but give them a true discovery, a powerful
impression of what is best for them, and that necessarily deter-
mines their choice. By this he conquers the enmity to God there
is in their hearts, and brings them from the power of their lusts,
of Satan, and of the world, into the fear and favor of God. By
opening their eyes he turns them from darkness to light, and
from the power of Satan unto God, that they may have inherit-
ance among those that are sanctified.”—Dickinson on Conversion.
Such are the sentiments of these distinguished lights in the
ehristian éhurch; of men who appeared in different ages ;
who were educated in different modes; appertained to dif-
ferent communions, and who were like the rallying point
of the righteous in their respective countries and generations.

vs. 271
joy ; they ascend also in earnest, devout as-
pirations to heaven as his eternal home, and
the very members of his body “become in-
struments of righteousness unto holiness.
Thus the change is effected, and the sin-
ner who was once “dead is quickened toge-
ther with Christ.” All the members of the
new man are in that moment formed, which,
through occasional supplies from Jesus the
living head, “grow up to the measure of the
stature of his fulness.” This principle of
spiritual life then imparted can never be de-
stroyed, but remains imperishable amidst e-
very possible vicissitude, until grace is per-
fected in glory. “The water that I give thee,”
says the gracious Redeemer, “the regenera-
ting, sanctifying influences of my Spirit which
I communicate, shall be in thee a well of
living water springing up to everlasting
life.” The light imparted to the understan-
ding gradually increases “until the perfect
day, and the principle of holiness implanted
in the heart, “like leaven” deposited in “a
measure of meal,” pervades “the whole
But must we subscribe implicitly the articles of any man
or class of men however respectable their talents, or eminent
their usefulness No : This were to prove ourselves unworthy
being considered the disciples of such teachers. In the great
matters which involve our faith now, and our peace for ever, we
must “call no man master upon earth.” Yet as these men were
eminent patterns of purity and piety ; as their ministry was sin-
gularly countenanced of the divine Spirit while they lived, and
their writings have been instrumental in the edification of thou-
sands and millions since they died, their authority ought not to
be altogether disregarded. So far as “they followed Christ,”
we are bound to imitate their example, and their doctrines which
have been sealed on the souls of multitudes ought not hastily to
be rejected.
272
lump,” until the christian “is presented
faultless before the divine glory with ex-
ceeding joy.”
This change, as we already asserted, is
not imaginary, but a great, a glorious reali-
ty: it is felt in the heart, and must be man-
ifest in the conversation: It will discover it-
self to the individual, and to others, by pro-
ducing men joys, men aversions, men, desires,
men fears, men, hopes. Sin that was once the
man's delight he now regards with cordial
abhorrence : the righteous, whom he former-
ly treated with contempt, he now esteems
as “the excellent of the earth:” and Jehovah,
from whose presence he attempted “to flee,”
he now approaches as his Father and Friend,
“whom having not seen he loves, and in
whom although he sees him not, yet belie-
ving, he rejoices with joy unspeakable and
full of glory:” his affections, that formerly
centred upon this world as his portion, are
now elevated to the purer joys of heaven.
“He looks forward with amatious eaſpectation
for that blessed hope, and the glorious ap-
pearing of the great God, even his Saviour
Jesus Christ. If any man be in Christ, quick-
ened together with him, he is a new crea-
ture: old things are passed away, and all
things are become new.”
Would to God, brethren, that I could
confidently address you all this day in the
elevating language of the apostle, “ you
hath he quickened who were dead in tres-
passes and sins; you that were sometime a-
* ... * *
J -ºº ºl
“. . ºts.
* . . . *
a; Sº #.
*ººt *
273
lienated, and enemies, in your mind by
wicked works now hath he reconciled by the
body of his flesh.” But, “how shall I bless
whom God hath not blessed ?” Fidelity to
my Master, and friendship to your immor-
tal interests constrain me reluctantly to de-
clare, “I stand in doubt” of some “ of you:”
The indifference which one manifests about
the great realities of eternity ; the worldly
mindedness of another, the intemperance of
another, and the profligacy of another, are
mournful evidences that they are yet “car-
nal ;” that although they “ have a name to
live they are yet” spiritually “dead. The
grace of God teaches all its subjects to live
soberly, and righteously, and godly in the
world :” All that are actually “risen with
Christ will seek those things that are above
where Jesus sitteth at the right hand of
God.”
As a means of satisfying you as to your
real standing in the sight of Jehovah, I pro-
pose the following interrogatories; and, be-
loved brethren, I urge you in God’s name
to deal impartially with your own conscien-
ces, as you expect to answer in the hour of
general judgment.
1. Have you obtained a deep, an im-
pressive conviction of your guilt and wretch-
edness by nature ? You have often read in
your bibles, “that as many as are of the
works of the law are under the curse ; that
the carnal mind is enmity against God; that
the heart is deceitful above all things, and
274
desperately wicked;” but the great ques.
tion is, have you really felt your condition
to be such as the bible represents it? Have
you been constrained in agony of spirit to
exclaim, “Woe is me, for I am undone ;
my sin is ever before me; if thou Lord,
should markiniquity, I could not stand!” Has
the light shone inwardly around your con-
sciences and your hearts, giving alarming
discoveries of your exposure to wrath, and
your utter inability to effect your own de-
liverance 1 This question is first proposed
because a conviction of sin is the first ope-
ration of the divine Spirit in the conversion
of man : Although he is a sovereign agent,
and works differently on the different sub-
jects of his grace, yet all are made sensible
of their defilement and misery by nature. He
shews the sinner the necessity of utterly “de-
nying himself;” he convinces him in the light
of the holy law that his wisdom is folly, that
his most perfect righteousness is merely guilt,
that his holiest qualifications are the foulest
pollution, that all his own excellence is de-
formity, and thus obliges him to ask with
trembling Saul, “Lord, what wilt thou have
me to do It is of thy mercy that I am not
consumed.” I firmly believe that every sin-
ner, when savingly enlightened by the Holy
Ghost, will conceive himself to be the “chief
of sinners;” and the reason is obvious.-
He is more sensible of the hidden mystery
of corruption in his own heart, of its ex-
treme pride, and deceitfulness, and enmity

* -
- ºf § *
*** * 275
against God, than he can possibly be of the
corruption of another. How ingenuous was
the language of Agur ! Out of the abun-
dance of the conviction of his heart, his
mouth makes a frank and open confession.
“Surely I am more brutish than any man,
and have not the understanding of a man: I
neither learned wisdom, nor have the know-
ledge of the holy.”
2. Where, in the hour of spiritual dis-
tress, have you sought and obtained peace
to your consciences? Was it exclusively
“in the blood of sprinkling” which sovereign
wisdom and grace have provided, and which
the gospel freely exhibits? Real conver-
sion is pronounced, “a turning to the strong
holds,” that is to Jesus who is an impregna-
ble, everlasting covert from every storm; a
fleeing “for refuge to lay hold on this hope
set before us:” And the true circumcision
are characterised, “as rejoicing in Christ
Jesus, and having no confidence in the flesh.”
This I propose as the second interrogatory,
because this is the order exhibited in the
heavenly oracles. The everlasting Spirit is
promised first to “convince the world of sin,”
and afterwards “of righteousness. This di-
vine Agent does not discover to the man his
danger merely to produce an unnecessary
alarm, or to “torment him before the time.”
Infinitely more gracious are his designs. He
makes him sensible of his disease, that he
may apply the remedy while it is offered:
He shews him his guilt in its nature as re-
276
pugnant to a holy, righteous law; in its con-
sequences as really exposing him to future
punishment, that he may be constrained to
improve that “blood which cleanses from all
sin,” and which flows freely for his pardon
in particular: He teaches the sinner that his
situation is altogether desperate; that he is
utterly and eternally undone in himself, that
he may be persuaded to receive with grate-
ful heart, and open arms, that Jesus who
came for the salvation of “those that are
lost.” Pause a moment, beloved hearer, and
enquire, have such been the operations of
the gracious Spirit upon thy soul? When
trembling under apprehensions of divine
wrath, has he led thee to the Saviour for re-
lief? Has he afforded thee some comforta-
ble discoveries of Jesus as a complete Me-
diator between thy guilty soul and an aveng-
ing God? Has he enabled thee to plead his
righteousness as an all-sufficient, everlasting
foundation for thy hope? Here, and here
alone is thy soul resting for shelter from all
the thunders of a broken law, and all the
horrors “of the wrath to come? Surely
shall one say, in the Lord have I righteous-
ness and strength: In the Lord shall all the
seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory:”
The sinner, under this apprehension of his
own misery, and the Redeemer’s suitable-
ness, would not barter his hopes of salvation
for as many worlds as there are drops of wa-
ter in the ocean. He resolves with an emi-
ment christian reformer, “mine eyes shall be-
# -- I
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; : , sº ". .
**: . * , 3.
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277
hold nothing else but this inestimable price,
my Lord and Saviour Christ ; he ought to
be such a treasure to me, that all other things
become like “dung” in comparison of him;
he ought to be such a light to me, that when
I have apprehended him by faith, I should
not know whether there be any law, any sin,
any righteousness, or unrighteousness in the
world: What are all things which are in hea-
ven and earth in comparison of the Son of
God, Christ Jesus my Lord, who loved me
and gave himself for me?”
3. Do you aspire uniformly and ardently
after holiness of heart and conversation? If
any man be in Christ, he is a NEw creature:
“He is the workmanship of Jehovah the Spi-
rit, created in Christ Jesus unto GooD works,
which God hath before ordained that he
should walk in them.” In regeneration the
current of the soul takes an entirely differ-
ent direction ; formerly it ran altogether in
the channel of self, self-interest, self-gratifica-
tion and honor, but now its course is directed
spontaneously towards God, and heaven.
There are many professors who talk much
about the doctrines of free grace; they glo-
ry in their gifts and attainments; they mani-
fest a furious zeal about the order of the
church, and an intolerant spirit towards
those who happen to differ from them. But
this is the principal part, I may add, the
whole of their religion. It is like the flash
* LUTHER on Galatians.
VOL. 2. A A
278
of lightning which blazes and scorches
for a time, and then evanishes. They can
occasionally mingle with the profane; they
can indulge themselves in the gratification
of the flesh, and allow themselves in conver-
sation not only wanton but impure. These
and other disorders they will attempt to co-
ver with the sacred garb of concern for the
honor of God, or the purity of his worship.
Such professors may be first in their noise
about religion; they may be first in their
own estimation, but they will be last in the
kingdom of heaven. “The tree is known by
its fruit,” not by its blossoms and leaves;
and the christian is distinguished from others
not by the “high swelling” pretensions, “the
temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord
are we,” but by the meekness of his dispo-
sition; by the blamelesness of his walk,
and the civility and chastity of his discourse.
“He is created in Christ Jesus” not only to
good words, but “to good works.” Grace
in the soul is a living, operative principle,
and teaches the individual to “live soberly,
and righteously, and godly in this present
world. The wisdom that cometh from
above,” says an inspired apostle, “is first
PURE ;” it sanctifies the heart, and afterwards
will be manifested by a holy, edifying con-
versation “then PEACEABLE;” as it gives to its
subjects the blessed assurance of “peace
with God,” it will incline them to “follow
peace with all men; “GENTLE and EASY. To
BE ENTREATED ;” it renders the person mild,

279
affabke, obliging, ready to forgive an injury,
“soft as the dews of heaven,” not furious as
the hurricane, or boisterous as the ocean in
a storm; “full of mercy and good fruits;
without PARTIALITY;” it leads him to respect
the image of Christ wherever it is visible;
to esteem as the excellent of the earth, the
saints of the most high, whether they are
clothed in purple, or in rags; “and without
Hypocricy;” it will profess no love either to
God or man which it does not actually feel.
4. Who are the favorite companions of
your lives? Are those who manifest by their
conversation that “they are born of God,”
and are conscientious in keeping “all his
commandments, and his ordinances blame-
less Do you find a sacred pleasure in unit-
ing with thern in the various exercises of re-
ligion; in reading over the great and preci-
ous promises; in relating the joys or anxie-
ties of your hearts; in hearing the messages
of life from the ambassadors of Jesus, or in
sealing your relation to him, and to them over
the symbols of his body and blood? Are such
exercises incomparably more refreshing to
you than the empty amusements and conver-
sation of the world! “To the saints that are
in the earth,” was the appeal of the royal
David, “ and to the excellent in whom is all
my delight. I was glad when they said un-
to me, let us go into the house of the Lord:
Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Je-
rusalem.” Perhaps there is no mark by
which christians of every stage in the divine
*-

280
life, and amidst all their variety of frames
may ascertain their character with greater
certainty than this. All may not recollect
with equal accuracy the time or the circum-
stances of their conversion ; all may not
have attained to equal degrees of assurance
that Jesus and his salvation are theirs; all
do not feel his love inflaming their hearts a-
like at all times; the faith of the strongest is
sometimes enfeebled ; the love of the most
ardent occasionally languishes, and their
hopes are obscured ; yet all may be able to
determine who are the companions of their
choice ; and what conversation is most their
delight. “I am a companion of all them
that fear thee,” was the unfeigned attesta-
tion of one ; another confidently asserts,
“by this we know that we have passed from
death to life, because we love the brethren.”
Are any, after a deliberate, impartial ex-
amination of themselves, obliged to con-
clude that they are yet without the grace of
God, what should be their conduct?—Must
they “fold their arms,” and draw the des-
perate conclusion, “there is no hope; we
have followed strangers, and after them we
will go ; our harvest is past, our summer is
ended, and we are perished from the Lord 7"
Thanks be to a forbearing God, that although
you are dead in sin, there is yet hope in Is-
rael concerning you: “With the Lord there
is mercy, and with him there is plenteous re-
demption.” Be convinced of your danger,
and “turn to the strong holds while you are

281
prisoners of hope.” As there is no room
for despair, there is none for presumption.
“He that being often reproved, and hard-
eneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed,
and that without remedy.” And are not
your own consciences witnesses that you
have been often, often reproved; reproved
by the word of God, by his Spirit, by his
mercies, by his judgments, by the “very
stork in the heavens which has known her
appointed time, the crane, the turtle and
the swallow :” You have been reproved a-
gain, and again, by your very acquaintances
around you : Their diligence in providing
for their perishing bodies, is a constant re-
buke to you for neglecting your immortal
souls; their anxiety in making provision
for time, is an awful admonition to your un-
concern about a never, never ending eternity.
“Let sinners in Zion be afraid,” lest the
Lord God cut short his work in righteous-
ness, and seal the decree, “let them alone ;
why should they be stricken any more ;”
why should I strive with them by my word,
by my Spirit, by my providence; “they are
joined to their idols, and let them deliver
them in the day of mine anger.” Aithough
delays are dangerous, there is ample, infi-
nite encouragement for all who seek salva-
tion with humility and perseverance. “Ask,
and it shall be given; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
Are you dead in tresspasses and sins! There
is a promise of spiritual life : “The dead
VOL. 2. A A 2
282
shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and
they that hear shall live : I will put my Spi-
rit within you, and cause you to walk in my
statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments
and do them:” Are you ignorant? There is a
promise of saving instruction: “It is written
in the prophets, they shall be all taught of
God; I will give them a heart to know me
that I am the Lord :” Are your hearts
enmity against God and his laws There is a
promise of a divine and gracious change :
“A new heart will I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you; I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will
give you a heart of flesh.” Meditate on
these promises; apply them to your own
circumstances in particular, and then earn-
estly supplicate, “Lord be merciful to me
a sinner ; Come from the four winds, O
breath, and breathe upon my slain, that they
may live.” Obrethren, your all is at stake,
and that for ever, be not unconcerned : Un-
less “you are born again,” better for you
ten thousand times that you had never heen
born ; or born among the heathen, where
the Saviour is unknown. Could I conceive
of any argument, from the law with its ter-
rors, or the gospel with its allurements;
from the loving kindness of Jehovah, or from
his wrath ; from the compassions of that Sa-
viour who purchased, or that Spirit who ap-
plies the redemption of Calvary ; from hea-
ven with its ceaseless glories, or hell with its
exquisite, unending torments; could I con-
283
ceive any argument that might be a means of
rousing you to reflection, my conscience
bears me witness, that I would most willing-
ly employ it: but it is neither “by might, nor
by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord of
hosts;” and to his sovereign blessing I now
commend you.-In order to impress this
truth upon your minds, I again repeat it,
“YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN.” It is as if an angel
spoke ; nay, a voice infinitely more august
than that of angels has uttered the decla-
ation. AMEN. - te
-*-g
SERMON XII.
The Holy Ghost the great agent in our regen-
eration ; and his mercy illustriously mani-
fested in that nork. -
+jºckjºkkkºkº
EPHESIANS II. 4. 5.
But God, niho is rich in mercy, for his great
bove myherenith he loved us, even myhem me
mere dead in sins,hath quickened us together
avith Christ.
THE generous mind entertains a
grateful recollection of benefits received;
and the more valuable such benefits are, the
more unexpectedly they are communicated;
and the more distinguished the person who
bestows them, the stronger will be the emo-
tions of gratitude felt by the receiver. It
affords him a secret satisfaction occasional-
S.
284
s".
ly to contemplate the gift, and then to ac-
knowledge the bounty of him who imparted
it. This principle of gratitude, which is
common to us as men, operates with pecu-
liar force in the bosom of the christian.—
Ten thousand considerations occasionally
rush upon his mind, exciting his love and
praise to the Author of his salvation. When
he contemplates the wretchedness of his na-
tural state, the privileges which he now en-
joys by adopting grace, and those inconcei-
vably greater mercies which are reserved
for him in heaven; when with these he con-
nects, in his own reflections, the immense
expense at which they were obtained, he is
lost in astonishment; he asks in unfeigned
gratitude of spirit, “what shall I render to
the Lord for all his benefits towards me !”
He delights to aggravate his former impie-
ties, that the lustre of divine mercy, “in call-
ing him to glory and virtue,” may appear
more illustrious. “I am the least of the a-
postles,” is the acknowledgment of one, “that
am not meet to be called an apostle, because
I persecuted the church of God, but I ob-
tained mercy; his grace was exceeding, a-
bundant, with faith and love which was in
Christ Jesus.” Such were those grateful
emotions which dictated the verses that are
chosen for your consideration. “But God,
who is rich in mercy, for his great love
wherewith he loved us, even when we were
deadin sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ.” -
*
285
We lately attempted to illustrate the
change here expressed by “quickening us
together with Christ:” We endeavored to
prove from scriptural testimony, that, in the
accomplishment of this work, the understand-
ing is divinely enlightened; the will is ef-
fectually subdued; the inclinations are pu-
rified and directed to spiritual objects, and
the very body under the control of the sanc-
tified spirit becomes an instrument of righ-
teousness unto God. “Old things are
passed away, and all things are become
new.”
Following the same word as our rule, and
relying on the same Spirit for assistance, we
design to prove that the author of this change
is Jehovah, and that it is effected “to the
praise of the glory of his grace.”
That God alone can be the author of our
regeneration is evident, when we consider,
1. The situation of man previous to this
change. “He is without strength,” and not
only “without strength, but dead in trespas-
ses and sins.” Can the man who is natural-
ly dead perform of himself any natural ac-
tion ? Can he command the living princi-
ple to enter his lifeless body, and rise and
walk by his own power, when he is altoge-
ther without power? Equally incapable is
the man who is spiritually dead to per-
form any spiritual action; to love God,
to aspire after holiness, or answer in any de-
gree the great end of his creation. Again,
he is represented not only “as without
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286 ă.
strength” to please God, but “enmity the
most irreconcilable against him,” and his
righteous ways. “Every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart is only evil continual-
ly.” Now, can it be supposed that we will
voluntarily turn to an object which is cordi-
ally abhorred, or will we obey those com-
mandments which are “holy, and just, and
good,” when our inclinations are “evil, on-
lyevil, and that continually?” We are taught
by another infallible author, “that the car-
nal mind is enmity against God ; that it is
not subject to the law of God, neither in-
deed can be.” This singie testimony is suf-
ficient to establish the doctrine of human
impotency beyond the shadow of doubt.
“The carnal mind,” the mind of flesh, of
man while he remains under the dominion of
his fleshly, depraved disposition, “is enmity
against God,” and as a natural consequence,
“it is not subject to the law of God;” we will
not obey him whom we despise and abhor;
it is not possible that we can offer Jehovah
our supreme affections, when our hearts are
swelling with hatred against him; “neither
indeed can be.”—Man labors under an ab-
solute, moral incapacity of loving God, or
yielding obedience to his commandments.
The understanding is covered with darkness,
and therefore has no apprehension of his ex-
cellencies; the heart is completely estrang-
ed from him, and the will like “an iron si-
new” obstinately refuses submission to his
authority. The apostle’s conclusion there-
287
fore is not more mournful than true, “they
that are in the flesh cannot please God;” or
that challenge of the prophet, “can the E-
thiopian change his skin, or the leopard his
spots Then may ye also do good that are
accustomed to do evil.”
2. That this change must be the work of
Jehovah is evident from the various charac-
ters by which it is expressed in scripture.—
It is called a “regeneration, and a new crea-
ture.” Can man create himself naturally?
—Is he capable of causing the “bones to
grow,” and of commanding “the sinews and
the flesh to cover them,” and afterwards the
life to enter them? If he is unable to add
“one cubit to his bodily stature,” or render
“one hair white or black,” much less can he
be the author of his existence; and if he can-
not be the author of his natural, how can he
become the author of his spiritual and im-
mortal being 1–Again, this change is de-
scribed by “opening the eyes of the blind;
unstopping the ears of the deaf, and causing
the dumb to sing.” Are either, or all of
these prodigies within the sphere of human
effort 1 Can man by all his ingenuity or all
his ability give the organ of sight to him
who was born blind, or the organ of hearing
to him who is deaf, or enable “the dumb to
speak plainly ” The exquisite artist may
execute a likeness of the human frame, and
admirably imitate its various members, but
can he afterwards give life to his painting,
causing it to see, and hear, and articulate
288
speech? If he cannot form the outward,
how can he form theinward, intellectual eye?
Is he unable to qualify the body for behold-
ing the sun, how can he “open the eyes of
the understanding to contemplate the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ P’ The sin-
ner in this change is also represented as
“raised to newness of life ; as putting off
the old man, and putting on the new man,”
also as “called out of darkness into marvel-
lous light.” All these passages, considered
either separately or together, prove that
the sinner's conversion is a work infinitely
beyond his own power, and can only be ac-
complished by an Agent omnipotent and
divine : “that he is born not of blood, nor
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God.”
Add to this, -
3. That the Lord God explicitly challen-
ges this work as his peculiar prerogative.
“After those days, saith Jehovah, I will put
my laws into their minds, and write them in
their hearts; and I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their ini-
quities will I remember no more.” This
passage is peculiarly instructive for the con-
firmation of our doctrine. In it the great
God claims the conversion of a sinner to be
his own work no less than his pardon; he
teaches us that as he, the sovereign of the
universe, has the exclusive right of forgiv-
ing the transgressions of a sinner, he only
has the prerogative and the power of rais-
289
ing him from death to life. “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 a heart of flesh.” To crucify
“the old man,” or take “away the heart of
stone” and “give a heart of flesh,” a
heart susceptible of spiritual and heavenly
influences, he here claims as his office and
his glory. Again, “not by works of righte-
ousness which we have done, but according
to his mercy he hath saved us, by the wash-
ing of regeneration, and renewing of the
Holy Ghost.” In this verse the inspired
apostle disclaims altogether the efficacy of
means; he asserts that they have no virtue
in themselves for imparting life to the dead,
neither do we by all our diligence in attend-
ing them lay the living God under an obli-
gation to bless us: “It is not by our works
of righteousness, but according to his own
mercy that he saves us:” Ashe only possesses
the power of “quickening the dead,” it is
owing to the exceeding riches of his grace
that he exerts this power on any sinner of
the human family. Time would fail to enu-
merate all those instances in which this work
is ascribed immediately to Jehovah as its
author. “The man, whose name is the
branch, he shall build the temple of the
Lord; and he shall bear the glory:—Not
by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,
saith the Lord of hosts: He that hath
wrought us for the self-same thing is God,
VOL. 2. B B
290
who also hath given us the earnest of his
Spirit. He hath begotten us again to a live-
ly hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead.” The Holy Ghost the im-
mediate efficient in regeneration is denomi-
nated “the Spirit of faith; the Spirit of love;
the Spirit of life; the Spirit of light; the
Spirit of repentance; the Spirit of holiness,
and of glory:” He is also denominated “the
Spirit of grace,” because every gracious
principle is produced in the heart by “the
exceeding greatness of his power.”
In the first communication of spiritual life
this adorable Agent sometimes works with-
out means; he breathes immediately upon
the soul of the sinner, commanding him “to
live. I will work and none shall let it.” A
holy God thus affords a display both of his
sovereignty and omnipotence ; he manifests
a complete independence of every external
cause, and shews that he can execute his gra-
cious designs in such manner as his good
pleasure may dictate. Saul was savingly
apprehended on his road to Damascus, and
the thief shortly before he expired on the
cross, without the intervention of any means.
By such instances the Spirit Jehovah steps
out of his ordinary course, and shews that all
souls are in his hand, and at his disposal;
that he can easily enlighten the most blind,
alarm the most secure, soften the most ob-
durate, and level the towering pride of the
most stout-hearted, without deriving any
sº

291
aid from ordinances. “He worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will.”
But although the divine Spirit occasional-
ly calls the sinner without the use of means,
it is not his ordinary method. He usually
confers on his own word the honor of being
the visible instrument of converting the soul
to himself. “By the law is the knowledge
of sin.” With this candle the Lord the Spi-
rit enters the sinner's heart; he gives him
an alarming discovery of his deformity and
danger, and rouses him from his spiritual
slumbers. “When the commandment came
sin revived and I died.” By the powerful
application of the law in its terrors, he con-
vinces the man that he is undone in himself;
and drives him absolutely to despair of sal-
vation without higher relief. “The word
of God,” thus omnipotently applied, be-
comes “quick and powerful, and sharper
than a two edged sword ; a discerner also
of the thoughts and intents of the heart;” it
explores the darkest recesses of the sinner's
mind, and convinces him that his most secret
thoughts are contrary to the holy law, and
expose him to its vengeance. The gospel
is afterwards employed as a means of his con-
solation and hope. In this celestial light the
awakened, trembling sinner beholds Jeho-
vah reconciled, and “reconciling the world
unto himself;” in it he discerns the Saviour’s
blood as a real and everlasting atonement
for human guilt, and is encouraged to im-
prove it for his own remission. “Unto us

292
are given exceeding great and precious pro-
mises, that by them we might be partakers
of a divine nature.” These are like the
medium through which saving light is con-
veyed to the understanding, and rich, ever-
lasting consolation to the heart. As “by
the law is the knowledge of sin,” by the gos-
pel is the knowledge of righteousness. By
these he discovers to the objects of his mer-
ey both their disease and their remedy, and
“turns them from darkness to light, that
they may receive the inheritance of eternal
life. Of his own will begat he us with the
word of truth: Born again not of corrupti-
ble seed, but of incorruptible, by,” through
the instrumentality of the word of God,
“ which liveth and abideth for ever.” Thus
the Lord God in the very first production
of this immortal principle usually employs
his own word either read or preached.
“Faith cometh,” it is originally produced,
and afterwards perfected, “by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God. The Lord
opened the heart of Lydia that she attended
to the things which were spoken of Paul,”
and while Philip was “preaching Jesus, the
eunuch believed and went on his way re-
joicing.” By ordinarily using the ordinan-
ces of his own appointment he stamps a
majesty on these ordinances; he establishes
a connexion between the means and the
end, and he admonishes us to aim at “mak-
ing our calling sure by attending with dili-
gence each divine institution.” Although

293
“it is God that worketh in us both to will
and to do of his good pleasure;” we oughtne-
vertheless to “work out our salvation by’’ an
ardent, unwearied attention to every means
of conversion. While a single ordinance
of Jehovah is wilfully neglected, it is pre-
sumption either to ask or expect his bless-
Ing.
But whether the soul is savingly “quick-
ened” with, or without the use of means, the
Lord God in this act displays the most un-
merited, abundant mercy. To establish this
doctrine was our third proposition, and to
this your attention is now invited.
The apostle is seemingly at a loss for
Panguage to express the emotions of his
mind while he contemplates the condescen-
sion of Jehovah, displayed in this work.
He represents him as not only “merciful,”
but “exceedingly, abundantly merciful.
God who is rich in mercy:” he considers
him as not only exercising “love,” but
“great love :” There is, as if he had decla-
red, there is a depth of condescension ; a
richness, a plenitude of mercy; an ardor,
an immensity of love manifested in our spi-
ritual resurrection which can neither be ut-
tered nor conceived : It infinitely surpasses
all that is tender in the compassion of mor-
tals, and all that is ardent in their love ; it is
immeasurable as that God who exercises it.
This mercy appears rich, and this love
appears great, if we consider,
1. The deformity of man, when God the
WOL. 2. B B 2
294
Holy Ghost takes possession of his heart.—
Objects the most unsightly, the most offen-
sive in creation are employed to express its
pollution and wretchedness: It is compared
to an “open sepulchre,” emitting a smell
impure and loathsome ; to a “whited sepul-
chre,” which, however specious externally,
“is within full of dead men's bones and of
all uncleanness;” to a putrid “carcass,” an
object abhorrent and offensive to the senses
of every beholder. It is pronounced the
haunt of “evil thoughts, murders, adulte-
ries, false-witnesses, and blasphemies.”
Thus impure, thus loathsome is the human
heart when the Eternal Spirit graciously en-
ters, adorns it with the beauties of holiness,
and consecrates it a living “temple for him-
self.”—Astonishing condescension | Should
an earthly prince enter the humble cottage;
should he converse familiarly with its mean
inhabitants, and afford them every mark of af-
fection, we would admirehishumility: Should
he, stooping a grade lower, enter the dreary
dungeon, compassionate some miserable
convict, loose his chains, tenderly wash
his stripes, and adorn him with a princely
robe, his condescension must excite still
greater astonishment. But ten thousand
times greater are the compassions and con-
descension of the divine Spirit, in stooping
to dwell in the human heart. It is incon-
ceivably more impure and loathsome than
any prison upon earth, and he is a Being in-
* **.*.*.*
295
finitely more exalted than any potentate or
prince.
The mercy of God the Spirit appears rich,
and his love appears great, when we consi-
der,
2. The immense opposition which is made
against his admission into the heart.—He
enters the sinner not only when lying in the
midst of his pollutions, but when he is mak-
ingevery possible resistance. What artifices
does he employ in order to defeat the ope-
rations of this divinely gracious Agent At
one moment “he grieves the Spirit of God”
by postponing the great work of salvation.
When the Holy Ghost affectionately en-
treats, “to day if ye will hear his voice,
harden not your hearts: now is the accept-
ed time, and now is the day of salvation;”
the sinner indolently asks, “a little more
sleep, a little more slumber, a little more.
folding of the hands to sleep:” When the
Holy Ghost employs the language of terror,
and asserts, “he that being often reproved.
and hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be
destroyed ; now, therefore, be not mockers,
lest your bands be made strong;” the sinner,
in hardihood of spirit, replies, “I shall have
peace, though I walk in the imagination of
mine heart: To-morrow shall be as this day,
and much more abundant.” Again, he of
ten grieves the gracious Spirit by question-
ing the freedom of the Father's love, and
the efficacy of the Redeemer's sacrifice
which he is appointed to testify; orby quench-
296
ing every serious impression “in the cares
of this world, the deceitfulness of riches,
and the desires of other things.” But not-
withstanding all this insult and opposition,
the Holy Ghost in the immensity of his long-
suffering “waits to be gracious:” He knocks
again and again, at the door of the sinner's
heart ; he uses argument after argument,
urging him to return and live. Now he
presents the law with its thunderings and
lightnings as a means of alarming his fears;
then he makes his appeal to his hopes by
addressing him in “the still, small voice” of
reconciliation: Thus he patiently waits for
days, and months, and years; he submits to
a thousand insults, and answers a thousand
objections, until at last by his almighty en-
ergies he forces his way into the heart, and
there abides for ever. “Lord, what is man
that thou art thus mindful of him, or the son
of man that thou dost regard him " That
thoushouldststoop to enter the heart defiled
and debased by sin, is a mark of condescen-
sion the most wonderous; but that thou
shouldst enter it amidst such provocation is
a display of “long-suffering,” both astonish-
ing and infinite : It is because “thou art
God and not man, that we are sealed to the
day of redemption,” and not to final repro-
bation.
The mercy of Jehovah the Spirit appears
rich to those whom he effectually calls, and
his love appears great, when we consider,
3. That many others equally deserving.
#:
..
- § ##.
297
are suffered to perish in their unbelief and
opposition. Perhaps thousands, who in all
respects were as promising as they ; whose
dispositions were as amiable by nature ;
whose opportunities, both private and pub-
lic, were no less favorable, are altogether
passed by, while they are brought to parti-
cipate in all the privileges of grace and glo-
ry. Amidst the same outward means, “one
is taken and another left;” one is savingly
quickened, and interested in “the mercy of
our Lord Jesus Christ with eternal life,” while
another, not more worthless by nature or
practice, is permitted to go on in his trans-
gressions. “Who maketh such to differ,” who
were perhaps born in the same family, and
reared up under the same means of salva-
tion ? It is the Lord the Spirit ; and why
does he make them thus to differ from each
other ? Because “it seemeth good in his
sight, who worketh all things after the coun-
sel of his own will. He hath mercy on whom
he will have mercy,” and seals them by his
influences to the day of redemption; and
“whom he will he hardeneth,” by withhold-
ing that special grace which he is not bound
to impart.—This should be a never failing
source of admiration and gratitude to all
who are partakers of the Holy Ghost: They
ought often to reflect, and reflect with ever
increasing wonder and praise, that they
“ themselves were once foolish and disobe-
dient,” until called by divine grace,
298
The mercy of Jehovah appears rich, and
his love appears great, when we consider,
4. That he was under no obligation to re-
new or sanctify the soul. By our original
apostacy from God, we have rendered our-
selves altogether unworthy of his blessing,
and to this original guilt we have added ac-
tual crimes without number. We have of
ten quenched his secret emotions by the en-
mity and hypocrisy of our hearts, and have
also despised the open operations of his
hand. “His goodness has not led us effec-
tually to repentance,” neither have his judg-
ments alarmed us to flee from the wrath to
come. We have especially “ done despite
to the Spirit of grace,” by not believing his
testimony concerning the Lord Jesus Christ,
or accepting that salvation which he comes
to apply. It is therefore of his great mercy
that we are not given up to blindness of mind,
and impenitence of heart; how much more
is it of his mercy that we should be consti-
tuted “heirs of God,” and enjoy the earn-
est of future glory? In his divine long-suf-
fering he passes by the innumerable trans-
gressions of his chosen, he gives them re-
pentance “towards God, faith towards our
Lord Jesus Christ, love to all the saints,” as
their brethren and sisters by adopting grace;
he cherishes within them every holy and
heavenly disposition, and at last prepares
them in his abundant mercy for the promis-
ed, purchased inheritance. There they will
celebrate, with ever expanding hearts and

. . . .
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5 * * * . .
* **.*.***
*...* * 299
unceasing songs, the “exceeding riches of
his grace in his kindness towards them through
Christ Jesus;” they will cordially and ever-
lastingly acknowledge, that “according to
his mercy he saved them by the washing of
regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy
Ghost.”
Let the heirs of salvation learn from this
doctrine to realize their obligation to the
Eternal Spirit who is the Spirit of all grace
and consolation. We justly adore the so-
vereign love of the Father who pitied our
miseries, and “laid our help on One that is
Mighty: We extol the compassions of the
Son who engaged in the arduous work;
who veiled the glories of his Godhead in the
frailties of human nature, and became, at
the expence of his own blood, a propitia-
tion for our sins: Equally great are our ob-
ligations to the mercy and condescension of
the Co-eternal Spirit. He enlightens in the
mysteries of salvation the understanding
which was altogether blind ; he softens and
subdues to the obedience of faith the heart
which was impenetrable as the flinty rock;
he raises to spiritual life the soul which was
chilled with the horrors of eternal death ;
he takes off the chains, and brings into the
liberty of a son the devoted slave of corrup-
tion and hell; he visits us when we are “ly-
ing in our blood,” covered over with all the
pollution of our nature and lives, ignorant
of our wretchedness, and unconcerned a-
bout a remedy; he compassionates our mi-
- ** *
- - "... •
. . f*, *.
... . .”
300
series, “he saith unto us live, and his time
is a time of love.” Christian, had it not
been for his undeserved, preventing good-
ness, thou must have remained to this hour,
and for ever*without Godand without hope.”
Had he not opened thine eyes, thou hadst
never been sensible of thine own deformity,
or the Saviour’s transcendent excellence and
suitableness: He omnipotently drew, before
thou couldst feel either inclination or abili-
ty to embrace him as “thy beloved, or run
the way of his commandments.” Pause oc-
casionally and admire ; and whilst thou art
admiring, adore the sovereignty of his love,
that when “many wise men, and mighty,
and noble ;” perhaps a neighbor, a brother,
a sister, are yet left in “the bond of iniqui-
ty,” the Spirit of God and of glory has rest-
ed upon thee : Pause again and admire, and
whilst thou art admiring, adore the immensi-
ty of his love, that when thou didst long and
obstinately resist his admonitions, he long
and patiently waited to be gracious, and at
last anointed thee a “king and a priest” to
the everlasting Father. Blessed be thine
eyes for they see, and blessed, eternally
blessed be the Spirit of grace through whose
operations they were brought to see such
glory in Jesus, and his salvation. “It is he
that hath saved and called thee with this ho-
ly calling.” Dost thou occasionally expe-
rience some freedom in prayer, pouring out
thy heart before the Lord; some fervor of
love, “joying in God through our Lord Je-
i.
#-
s
:
301
.33
sus Christ;” some enlargement in spiritual
discourse, or in the exercises of the sanctu-
ary, be secretly mentioning to his praise,
“ he that hath wrought me for this self-same
thing is God” the Sanctifier : “ To thee,
thou Spirit of adoption, to thee I am indebt-
ed for all that peace of conscience; for all
those assurances of the Father's ſove; for
all those lively hopes of immortality which
oſten refresh and elevate my heart in this
world of corruption and sorrow : Thou hast
given me the first fruits in grace, and on thy
faithful promise I rely for receiving the full
harvest in glory. O seal me more and more
sensibly unto the day of complete redemp-
tion.” “Let no shoutings be heard,” as a
very enlightened, affectionate preacherº of
righteousness exhorts, “ let no shoutings be
heard in your souls, while God is rearing up
the divine temple, but those of grace, grace
both in the foundation and superstructure
till he comes to the top-stone. Your breath-
ing after God is but the effect of his breath-
ing upon you ; the moon hath no light but
what she derives from the sun; nor any crea-
ture a spark of grace but what is received
from the Father of lights. Were it not for
divine grace, Saul had never been Paul, nor
Peter a penitent, nor Mary a convert, nor
Zacheus a christian, nor hadst thou ever
been brought to the sweetness of a spiritual
life, or advanced to the comforts of another
* CHAR. on req. Vol. ii.
p. 225.
VOL. 2. C C
302
world. Bless God, therefore, since had it
not been for him, thou hadst never been
humbled, never been renewed, never reach-
ed so high as one holy desire, or penitential
tear, but lain till this day, and for ever be-
mired in fallen nature.”
2. This doctrine may also be applied to
those who are yet strangers to divine grace;
it admonishes them not to “grieve the Holy
Ghost,” but diligently to improve every
means which is appointed for the conversion
of souls. It is the conclusion of some that
because they cannot give efficacy to the or-
dinances of God, and thus completely
“work out their own salvation,” they need
not “work” at all ; “there is no use,” they
argue, “in striving when they know not
whether they shall succeed.” But this is a
conclusion both unreasonable and danger-
ous. We can as easily give success to the
means inspiritual things, as in natural things;
we can as easily cause the incorruptible
seed, the word of salvation to take root in
our hearts, and spring up to life everlasting,
as we can make the natural seed to foment
in the ground and afterwards spring up, pre-
senting “its blade, and ear, and ripened
corn :” But does any rational husbandman
conclude that because he cannot secure a
harvest he will therefore cease from sowing?
No: he diligently uses every means, and the
more precarious the crop may appear, the
more careful is he in embracing every me-
thod which is calculated to ensure it; he in-
303
dustriously prepares the soil, chooses the
best seed, attends to every thing respecting
it in the most favorable season, and then
fences it around securing it from external
injury. Is any patient, when he employs
the means of recovery, certain that they will
be effectual for that end ? and yet does he
decline the use of the means ? Does he not
call for a physician does he not ask his ad-
vice? does he not follow his directions? and,
if one medicine is unsuccessful, does he not
make the experiment of another, while there
remains a possibility of his restoration to
health !—Is not the promise to the diligent
use of means as absolute in things spiritual
as in things natural Is it more positively
declared, “the hand of the diligent maketh
rich,” than it is declared “every one that
asketh receiveth : Faith cometh by hear-
ing : It pleases God by the foolishness of
preaching to save them that believe : On
the mountains of Zion,” that is, in the gos-
pel church, “the Lord commandeth the bless-
ing, even life for evermore?” Why then are
we encouraged by a mere peradventure in
things which concern the present life, and
not in things which concern the life to come !
It can only be ascribed to the absolute blind-
ness of the human mind; and to the enmity
of the heart against God ; they are not im-
pressed with the importance of things eter-
nal ; and they spurn the thought of submis-
sion to his authority. To the sinner roused
from his security, and impressed with the
*. *3, "sº
304
importance of his everlasting concerns, the
consideration that his “ salvation must be of
God” is the very reason why he will attend
on those ordinances in which salvation may
be CXpected ; this will render him more
earnest in waiting where the presence of
Jehovah is promised, and more afraid of
provoking him to depart : If we are unable
to believe, or repent, ought we not more
entirely to depend on that adorable Spirit
who is “the author of faith and repentance,”
and who is graciously promised to them that
ask him 7 As you regard your peace in
time, and your happiness for ever, “grieve
not the Spirit of God, by whom” alone “ you
are sealed to the day of redemption,” but ear-
nestly comply with all his entreaties. Does
he proclaim, “now is the accepted time;
now is the day of salvation,” dare not to
postpone the all-important work another
hour, “but seek” and secure “FIRST the king-
dom of God and the righteousness thereof;
take no sleep to your eyes,” no ease, no
contentment to your minds, until you obtain
reconciliation with Jehovah through our
Lord Jesus Christ: “With the Lord there
is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemp-
tion,” endeavor to make this redemption
your own by a particular appropriating
faith: Does the Holy Ghost testify, that
“ there is no salvation in any other” than Je-
sus Christ, and “that if ye believe not on him
ye must die in your sins,” renounce imme-
diately every other refuge; cleave to his Sa-
f
r
*gº
:
;
* 305
crifice, his righteousness, his covenant, his
promises as your only confidence. “Thus
saith the Lord God, behold I lay in Zion
for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a sure
foundation, and whosoever believeth on him
shall not be ashamed.” Is it the admoni-
tion of the Holy Ghost “strive that ye may
enter in at the strait gate; give all diligence
to make your calling and election sure;”
it becomes you to shake off without delay
your spiritual sloth, and to attend with the
utmost earnestness every ordinance which
is appointed for your instruction and salva-
tion: Does the Holy Ghost assert “that a
man is not profited, should he gain the
world and lose his soul,” be admonished then
to consider your salvation as the great busi-
nessoflife, as entitled to your earliest thoughts
in the morning, and your latest thoughts in
the evening ; let the impression reign su-
preme in your minds, that if your souls are
lost, your all is lost, and that for ever.
While you attend the various means of sal-
vation, be importunate in supplicating the
blessing of this divinely gracious Agent.
Are you ignorant? “he is the Spirit of wis-
dom and revelation in the knowledge of
Christ,” and can effectually enlighten your
darkness: Are you without strength' he is
the “Spirit of power and of might,” and
can therefore easily give “strength to the
weak” and “life to the dead :” Have you
been wilfully “enemies to God,” and thus
forfeited every claim to his blessing? he is
VOL. 2. C C 2
306 3.
“RICH in mercy to all that call upon him;”
his grace has appeared “exceeding abun-
dant” in calling “blasphemers, and persecu-
tors, and injurious persons:” Have you a-
gain, and again, resisted his most gracious,
entreaties’ “he yet waits to be gracious, his
arm is not shortened that it cannot save,”
plead therefore that it may be “made bare”
for your salvation; “his ear is not heavy
that it cannot hear,” pray mightily that he
would arise and have mercy on you : ten
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands
of thousands have been “washed, and sanc-
tified, and justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus and by the Spirit of our God,” and
the promises are yet as free, the covenant
is yet as full, the door of mercy is yet as
open as in generations pasi.
I cannot conclude this exercise in lan-
guage more appropriate, or more affection-
ate than in that prayer of the great apostle :
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory may give you the Spirit
of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of him: The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened, that ye may know what
is the hope of his calling, and what the rich-
es of the glory of his inheritance among the
saints.” AMEN, and AMEN.
307
SERMON XIII.
The christian's certain progress to perfection.
JOB XVII, 9.
The righteous also shall hold on his nay.
AN inheritance, however valuable,
if held by a precarious title, affords little
happiness to the possessor. The apprehen-
sion that it may be suddenly wrested from
him, is often preying upon his mind, and
tends to diminish the enjoyment, even while
it remains in his possession. But it is the
christian's consolation and glory, that what-
ever he holds, he holds unalienably and ever-
lastingly. “This is the record, that God
hath given to us ETERNAL life:” With him.
as their trustee it is deposited and secured,
without even the possibility of being lost.
The believer's “inheritance is reserved in
heaven” for him, and he, although on earth,
is safely kept for this inheritance ; he pos-
sesses a written charter for all his privi-
leges, and this charter is drawn up by one
who will not deceive ; by one upon whose
wisdom no artifice can impose, and whose
designs no malice can defeat. “He is kept
by the power of God through faith unto sal-
vation.” The christian, although feeble in
himself; although encompassed by innume-
rable adversaries, both artful and vigilant;
although he “has an evil heart of unbelief
* a
4. 5.
308 *
which” often leads him astray, yet perse-
veres invisibly and invincibly to glory.
“The righteous also shall hold on his way.”
The persons whose progress is here secu-
red, are denominated “righteous.” They
are not so naturally, because “ there is not
a just man on earth that doeth good and sin-
neth not: They are all gone out of the
way ; they are together become unprofita-
ble; all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God.” They who are now heirs of
God, and of glory, were as really “heirs of
wrath” by nature, as those who perish for
ever. But they become “righteous” through.
the righteoussness of the infinite Surety
freely imputed by the Father. “They are
justified freely by grace through the re-
demption that is in Christ Jesus.” The obe-
dience and blood of Jehovah incarnate is
that righteousness with which they are all a-
dorned, and it is this which constitutes their
exclusive title to everlasting life. Their jus-
tification does not at all depend on any
grace imparted to them, or any good works
performed by them, but wholly on that.
obedience which Jesus their Sponsor per-
formed in his life, and on that sacrifice
which he offered on the cross. “We joy in
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom we have received the atonement.”
The ransomed of the Lord are also righte-
ous internally by the grace of the Holy
Ghost communicated to them. “ They are
born of water, and of the Spirit: They put.
& 309
off the old man with his deeds, and put on
the new man, which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness.” This in-
ward principle of grace they manifest by
purity of life and conversation. “Being
renewed in the spirit of their mind, they
have their fruit unto holiness, and the end
everlasting life.” Although this grace com-
municated to the heart, and good works
manifested in the life, constitute no part of
our justifying righteousness, yet there is no
salvation without them. “To them only, who,
by patient continuing in well doing, seek
for glory and honor and immortality, eter-
nal life shall be rewarded.” All who are
righteous through the Saviour's merits im-
puted, are also rendered righteous through
his grace actually imparted ; by the former
they obtain a legal title to the celestial in-
heritance, by the latter they are qualified
for the actual enjoyment of that inheri-
tance.
This text obviously teaches us that none
who are thus righteous can possibly be lost,
but that they shall be enabled to persevere
unto the end ; and to this they are secu-
red—
}. By the eternal and unalterable ap-
pointment of God the Father. This pur-
pose of God is first mentioned, because it is
the origin, the moving cause of our salva-
tion, and infallibly secures the communica-
tion of all other blessings, both in grace and
glory. The love of Jehovah having once
310
*g.
centred upon the soul, remains unchanged,
and unchangeable for ever; it necessarily
issues in the fruits of faith, of repentance,
of haliness in this world, and of eternal life
in the world to come. “All that the Father
giveth me shall come unto me;” all that
were ordained to life in his sovereign, un-
searchable councils shall actually come to
me; they shall approach me as their Savi-
our and hope ; they shall rejoice in me as
their Beloved and Friend; and once united
to my person they shall be kept by my pow-
er to salvation, “for him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out ;” I will on no
conceivable, no possible considerations re-
ject or disown them: I will never recal that
sentence of pardon which was passed in their
behalf, nor exclude them from my dear fami-
ly into which they were adopted. But as
Jesus the Mediator is constrained by his own
love to his redeemed to keep them from fal-
ling, he is obligated, if the language may
with reverence be used, he is obligated al-
so by the sovereign decree of his righteous
Father. “And this is the Father's will which
hath sent me;” this is the Father’s will, his
gracious pleasure, his absolute, immutable
determination and appointment, “that of
all which he hath given me I should
lose nothing.” Is it possible that any truth
could be expressed in language more unde-
niable and strong “it is his will that of all
which he hath given me, I should lose noth-
ing ; but raise it up at the last day.” The
311
righteous are no doubt dear to Christ as
the purchase of his own blood ; it is impos-
sible that he can lightly esteem those for
whom he endured so much reproach and suf-
fering, but they are objects of his peculiar
care not only as their redemption cost the
effusion of his own blood, but as they were
actually committed to him in trust of the Fa-
ther ; before one of them can fail of salva-
tion he must be unjust to himself, who pur-
chased them by the sacrifice of his life, and
unfaithful to Jehovah, who ordained him their
covenant head.—Their names were early
written upon his breast-plate, and their per-
sons are now preserved by his almighty pow-
er. Such is the will of God with respect to
his chosen, and may we not confidently as-
sume that inspired challenge, “who hath” or
can “resist his will?”—Can all the intrigue of
earth or hell undermine the plans of infinite
wisdom, or defeat the operations of almigh-
ty power 7—Surely none who realize the
perfections of God will doubt for a moment
the truth of the declaration, “my Father
which gave them me is greater than all, and
no man is able to pluck them out of my Fa-
ther's hand.” Again, “the foundation of
God standeth sure having this seal,” this se-
curity, “the Lord knoweth them that are his.”
The eternal foreknowledge and the change-
less purpose of Jehovah are the broad basis
on which the building of redemption is rear-
ed up, and although the superstructure is
great, even ten thousand times ten thousand
312
and thousands of thousands of living stones,
the foundation is fully equal to its support;
and as no blast can possibly shake the basis,
none can shake the building, because every
stone in this celestial fabric he, whose name
is Jehovah, carefully watches with his eye,
and holds with his hand. “ This is the seal,
the Lord knoweth them that are his ;” he
knows them by name and by sir-name whom.
his sovereignty fore-ordained to glory, and
his love and faithfulness will see to the ex-
ecution of his eternal purpose. This same
argument the apostle mentions for his own
spiritual consolation. “In hopes of eternal
life which God that cannot lie promised be-
fore the world began.” The apostle expres-
ses a confident expectation of a blessed im-
mortality: and what was the foundation of
his hope The purpose of God from eterni-
ty, and his truth which will certainly accom-
plish his purposes. “God that cannot lie
had promised it before the world began,”
and therefore he had strong consolation.—
Another text for the confirmation of this ar-
gument shall suffice. “Whom he did fore-
know, he also did predestinate to be confor-
med to the image of his Son that he might
be the first born among many brethren ; and
whom he did predestinate them he also cal-
led; and whom he called them he also jus-
tified; and whom he justified them he also
glorified.” Here the various parts of our
salvation, like so many links in one golden
chain, are connected inseparably together;

313
all originating from, and established by e-
decting love as the moving cause. After he
contemplates this truth, the inspired author
indulges the animated, animating challenge,
“who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or per-
secution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril,
or sword 7” He afterwards breaks forth in
the language of confidence, and of transport,
“I am persuaded, that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor pow-
ers, northings present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other crea-
ture shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
JLord.”
2. That “the righteous shall hold on his
way,” may be inferred with equal certain-
ty from that intimate relation which exists
between them and Jesus the Mediator. He
is denominated the “great shepherd,” and
they are “the people of his pasture, and the
sheep of his hand,” and can we suppose that
he will suffer the wolves of prey to enter his
fold, and snatch the flock from his view,
when he is able to prevent it? “I know my
sheep and am known of mine, and I give to
them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
neithershall any pluck them out of my hand.”
He is “ the surety of a better testament or
covenant,” and in that capacity has laid down
the price of their redemption, and can we
imagine that he will afterwards see them in-
volved in condemnation? Will a surety, af.
VOL. 2. ID D
314.
ter the debt is fully paid, and the bond ac-
tually cancelled, permit the debtor to be
thrown into prison, and there languish for
life —“Who shall lay any thing to the
charge of God’s elect It is Christ that died,
yea, rather that is risen again.” How affec-
tionately does the Son of God address them
under this relation? What strong consola-
tion does he minister to them from the con-
sideration that he has actually suffered and
satisfied in their room? “ Thus saith the
Lord, O Israel, fear not ; for I have re-
deemed thee:” he recognises them as his
own by actual, costly purchase, and encou-
rages them amidst all adversity whether tem-
poral or spiritual. I have redeemed thee;
“With a costly sacrifice I have obtained
thy deliverance and paid into the hands of
divine justice her uttermost demand; I have
called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”
He is called “ the Head over all things,” the
church is his body, and every believer a liv-
ing member of his body; and is it probable
that he will permit his own members to lan-
guish and perish, when it is in his power to
preserve them “From whom,” that is from
Jesus the living Head, “the whole body fitly
joined together and compacted by that
which every joint supplieth, according to the
effectual working in the measure of every
part, maketh, increase of the body unto the
edifying of itself in love.” Here we learn
that healthful influences are communicated
from Jesus Jehovah to every part of his mysti-

315
cal body, which necessarily secureseach mem-
ber from spiritual disease or death. As the
“Captain of our salvation” he has engaged
to bring “many sons to glory ; and will he
deliberately behold his followers driven
from the field, and shamefully defeated by
their foes, when he can easily lead them on
to victory and glory? “As the Captain of
the Lord’s hosts” he marches at the head of
his spiritual soldiery ; he waves the banner
of his cross, and utters the triumphal shout,
“be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I
will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;
yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness.” Again, he is enti-
tled “the everlasting Father,” and in that
endearing relation he not only sympathizes
with his adopted children in all their afflic-
tions, but has actually provided an inherit-
ance ; and will he suffer them to be spoiled
of this inheritance if he can possibly secure
it ! They are “begotten again to an inhe-
ritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that
fadeth not away, which is reserved in heaven
for them ;” it is reserved in heaven, and thi-
ther neither the hand of intrigue or violence
shall ever reach to injure it. Such are the
relations existing between our adorable
Lord and his real followers; each of them
ineffably endearing, and each of them an in-
fallible security for their progress to perfec-
tion. The eternal Father, who constituted
this union, has promised and sworn that it
shall never be broken. “When thou shalt
3H6
make his soul an offering for sin, he shalf see
his seed, he shall prolong his days and the
pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hands; he shall see of the travail of his soul
and be satisfied.” Jehovah the Father here
considers him in the capacity of a Surety,
and on the condition of making his soul an
offering for sin solemnly promises him a nu-
merous offspring, “Therefore will I di-
vide him a portion with the great—because
he poured out his soul unto the death :” Ha-
ving exacted the full payment at the hands
of his Son, the Father promises him in re-
turn a spiritual seed as the reward of his hu-
miliation. -
3. The progress of the righteous to per-
fection is secured by the inhabitation of the
Holy Ghost. Where this almighty agent
once takes possession of the heart he never
departs, but remains as a “well of water
springing up to everlasting life.” The Spi-
rit Jehovah has become by office the
“Spirit of holiness” because in the scheme of
redemption he engaged to sanctify the “elec-
tion of grace;” he is also entitled the “Spi-
rit of glory” as engaging to crown them at
last with perfection and glory; and being a
divine agent he is no less omnipotent to com-
plete their sanctification, than the Son to
bring in a justifying righteousness. He is
able as a God “ to keep them from falling,
and present them faultless before the pre-
sence of his glory with exceeding joy:” And
he has afforded every possible assurance

317
that his power shall be exerted in their per-
severance. “Being confident of this very
thing, that he who hath begun a good work
in you will perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ.” As he is gracious to begin the good
work in their translation from death to life,
he is both gracious and faithful to carry it on
amidst all opposition, and finally to consum-
mate it in their complete restoration to the
image of their Father. Those spiritual prin-
ciples which he produces in their hearts;
their love, their joy, their faith, their repen-
tance are called the first fruits,being a pledge
to the righteous that the full harvest shall
certainly be enjoyed. They are also called
“an earnest of our inheritance,” as they are
not only a foretaste of those pleasures which
are at God’s right hand, but are an infalli-
ble security that these pleasures shall be en-
joyed. “In whom also, after that ye believ-
ed, ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of pro-
mise, which is the earnest of our inheritance,
until the redemption of the purchased pos-
session unto the praise of his glory.” Chris-
tian, let thy soul be comforted from these
eonsiderations, that He who has given thee
grace will crown it with never ending glory.
That light of the divine countenance which
has beamed upon thee occasionally in the
closet or the sanctuary, is the dawn of a morn-
ing which will shine brighter and brighter,
until it issues in one cloudless, endless day.
4. The perseverance of the righteous is
also secured by the promises, the absolute.
VOL. 2. D D 2 -

318
promises, and oath of their covenant Jeho-
vah. “I will make an everlasting covenant
with them, that I will not turn away from
them to do them good.” . The Lord does
not propose a covenant precarious in its na-.
ture; one that shall depend on uncertain
conditions, on duties which the creature may
never discharge, or resolutions which he
may never perform; it is secured by the im-
mutability of his own purpose, and the om-
nipotence of his power; “an everlasting cove-
nant, that I will not turn away from them to
do them good ;” he here assures them that
amidst all inward or outward changes, his
covenant should remain unchanged ; that as
it existed from eternity with Jesus their re-
presenting head, it shall continue inviolate
through all the vicissitudes of time, and
through the depths of eternity to come. But
is the christian afraid, that, owing to the ex-
treme treachery and wickedness of his own
heart, he may utterly wander from God, and
perish for ever? It is promised, “I will put
my fear in their hearts, and they shall not de-
part from me.” Although they may occa-
sionally go astray, they shall not finally wan-
der ; they shall be restored to his fold and
“kept through faith unto salvation. The
mountains may depart, and the hills may be
removed ;” all other confidences may fail
them; their frames may often vary, and their
resolutions yield before the violence of temp-
tation, “but my kindness shall not depart
from them, neithershall my covenant of peace

-, * * .
• *. F
* . . . . . . *
> *r. . . .
*
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be removed, saith the Lord that hath merey
upon thee.” That same mercy, this inspired
prophetassures them, that same mercy which
had reigned in choosing them, in redeeming
them, in effectually calling them, should
pursue them invariably through life, and
crown them with felicity in the world to
come. Again, “he that believeth on me
hath everlasting life : Whoso eateth my
flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal
life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Surely if we can draw any definite conclu-
sion from language, we must conclude from
these verses that none who are once united
to the Son by a living faith, and through
him interested in the favor of Jehovah can
possibly perish. “He hath eternal life;”
he is already possessed of it; he now holds
the title, an indisputable title, in virtue of
the Surety’s righteousness, which he receiv-
ed by faith; he enjoys the “earnest, the
first-fruits” in that assurance of the divine.
love, that peace of conscience, that joy in.
the Holy Ghost which he often experiences,
and both these are an ample security that he
shall attain the full possession of the pur-
chased inheritance. But for our greater.
encouragement, and for the more astonish-
ing display of his own condescension, Jeho-
vah in covenant has superadded his oath.
“God, willing more abundantly to shew un-
to the heirs of promise the immutability of
his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that
by two immutable things in which it was im-
320
possible for God to lie, we might have a
strong consolation who have fled for refuge
to lay hold on the hºpe set before us.” . We
are not to concludé that the oath of God
renders our salvation more certain in itself;
his bare word is more stable than the ever-
lasting hills, firm as the throne of his glory;
but he has interposed his oath for the more
abundant satisfaction and consolation of his
children; although it does not in the least
confirm the covenant on his part, yet it is
designed to confirm their faith, and answer
every objection which may arise in their
hearts. “An oath for confirmation is an
end of all strife among men,” as it is the
strongest possible evidence of the truth of
testimony delivered, and terminates all fu-
ture contradiction; so the Lord God, in con-
descension to our infirmities, has afforded:
this additional solemnity; he thus gives the
most satisfactory and undeniable proof of
the stability of his covenant, and of the fu-
ture glory of all who have an interest in its
blessings. Now, doubting, disconsolate
christian, what greater evidence, that “it is
thy Father’s good pleasure to give thee the
kingdom,” can thy soul either ask or ima-
gine ! Thou hast not only his word, but his
promise, and for thy “stronger consolation”
even his oath, “that his kindness shall not
depart from thee: and is HE a man that he
should lie ' Hath he said that he will
strengthen thee; that he will help thee; that
he will uphold thee with the right hand of his

32I
righteousness; and will he not do it? Hath
he spoken” and sworn it; “and will he not
bring it to pass!” With all these high assu-
rances of his good will, art thou not ready
to appropriate the elevated challenge, “who
shall separate me from the love of Christ,”
or who shall resist my progress to his celes-
tial kingdom?
5. The perseverance of the righteous to
perfection is secured by the constant, and
ever prevailing intercession of our Lord Je-
sus Christ. “When he had by himself pur-
ged our sins, he sat down on the right hand
of the Majesty on high.” There he appears
in behalf of his chosen, and infallibly applies
that redemption which he accomplished on
his cross, “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.” Was the sacrifice of
Calvary divinely meritorious for the remis-
sion of sin, and our reconciliation to God?
the life of this great High Priest in heaven,
his advocacy in the nature of his people,
and in their name, is an infinite security for
their final salvation. Are any accusa-
tions urged against them by the broken
law, or satan, or their own consciences? he
immediately presents his atoning blood; he
thus answers every charge and secures them
from condemnation. “If any man sin we
have an advocate with the Father, even Je-
sus Christ the righteous, who is the propitia-
tion for our sins; It is Christ that died, yea
322
rather that is risen again, who is even at the
right hand of God, and also maketh inter-
cession for us.” . Išihe spiritual soldier at
any time assailed by the world, or the pow-
ers of darkness, and in danger of being de-
feated? “this High Priest of our profession”
seasonably interposes; he demands that
new strength may be imparted; that every
grace may be roused into vigorous exercise,
and thus secures victory in their behalf.
How affectionately did he proclaim to Peter
in his hour of temptation (and thus affection-
ately does he feel towards thee, O believer,
amidst all thy discouragements and dis-
quietudes) “I have prayed for thee that thy
faith fail not;” again, “O righteous Father,
I pray not that thou shouldst take them out
of the world, but that thou shouldst keep
them from the evil.” He does not desire
that the spiritual warrior should be immedi-
ately crowned with the laurel and the palm.
Jesus is more glorified when his followers
are enabled to keep the field in opposition
to his and their adversaries. Are they fre-
quently “afflicted, tossed with tempest af-
ter tempest, and not comforted 7” he inter-
cedes for their consolation and support.
“Can a woman forget her sucking child that
she should not have compassion on the
son of her womb 7 yea, she may, yet will
I never forsake thee; I have graven thee on
the palms of my hands, and thy walls are
continually before me. I will pray the Fa-
ther, and he shall give you another Comfort-
323
er that he may abide with you for ever.”
Such is the solicitude which Jesus Jehovah,
amidst all the glories of his exalted state,
feels for his members on earth, and this forms
another ground for their perseverance to
perfection. “He is able to save them to
the very uttermost that come unto God by
him, seeing, he ever liveth to make interces-
sion for them.” Amidst all afflictions, all
imperfections, all temptations, believer in
Jesus, thou hast an advocate with the Fa-
ther, and while his atonement and interces-
sion prevail, “thou shalt hold on thy way.
Thy life is hid with Christ in God, and be-
cause he lives thou shalt live also;” new light,
new strength, new consolation shall occasion-
ally flow from this thy ever living head until
thou hast attained “the end of thy faith, even
thy full salvation;” thy name is now writ-
ten upon his breast-plate, and no intrigue,
no power either of earth or hell shall ever
be able to erase it.
Such are our assurances that “the righte-
ous shall hold on his way;” and from this
variety and lustre of evidence we may de-
rive the strong consolation, that not a branch
of this living vine shall ever be broken off;
that not a soldier of this Captain can possi-
bly be foiled in the field of battle ; that not
a sheep once brought into the spiritual fold
shall finally wander and perish.
Let the heirs of promise learn to triumph,
amidst all their conflicts and discourage-
ments, in the full assurance of victory in
324
g-y
the end. Innumerable trials and difficulties
must be expected, so that if it “were possi-
ble the very elect” should be lost. They
have a mystery of iniquity within constant-
ly warring against them, and exciting them
“ to depart from the living God. The flesh
lusteth against the Spirit,” and constrains
them in bitterness of soul to exclaim, “who
shall deliver from the body of this death 7"
they have countless temptations from with-
out; they are sometimes assailed by the al-
lurements, and again by the persecutions of
the world; and, in addition to these, they
meet with apparent discouragements from
a reconciled Father. In holy sovereignty,
or as a correction for their untender walk,
he withdraws the light of his countenance,
and leaves them altogether to doubt their
interest in his love. The christian may of.
ten be compared to a ship on the ocean, driven
alternately by the wind and the waves, with
little prospect of reaching the shore; or to
the soldier in the field of battle, surrounded
with legions of adversaries, each more vigi-
lant and powerful than himself. “He wres-
tles not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places.” Thus
he is often perplered, but glory, glory to
God, never in despair; he is persecuted, but
never forsaken , he is in tribulation, but
through all these tribulations, and ten thou-
sand others, should they happen, he shall

325
tnter the kingdom of his Father. Were all
the men on earth, and, all the legions .#
in combination against a single believer,
and he the weakest, the most contemptible
follower of Jesus, he might indignantly
smile at their rage; he should obtain con-
guest after conqsest in glorious succession,
until he placed his feet on the neck of his
last enemy, and rising “more than a con-
queror,” should lift the voice of triumph,
“ thanks be to God that giveth me the victo-
ry through my Lord Jesus Christ : he is
kept by the power of God through faith un-
to salvation ;” and therefore what other
power can possibly interrupt his career
Every effort of man or angel to stop his
progress would be more presumptuous,
more vain, than for a mortal arm attempt-
ing to stem the raging torrent, or to arrest
the luminaries of heaven in their orbits.
“The Eternal God is his refuge ;” he isthere-
fore invulnerably shielded; “underneath,”
and over, and around him “are the everlast-
ing arms,” he must therefore be “kept from
falling.” David therefore exults, and all
who have embarked on the same covenant,
and conſide on the same strength may freely
appropriate the same language of exulta-
tion ; “T will extol thee, O Lord, for thou
hast lifted me up, and hast not made my
foes to rejoice over me: Thou, O Lord, art
a shield for me ; my glory, and the lifter
up of mine head.”—Nay, christian, relying
on the skill, the fidelity, the omnipotence
VOL. 2. E. E. -
# 326
3”
of thy Captain, thou mayst venture to as-
sume the bolder challenge, “the Lord is
my light and my salvation, whom shall I
fear? Jehovah is the strength of my life, of
whom shall I be afraid! Though a host
should encamp against me, my heart shall
not fear; though war should rise against
me, in this will I be confident.”
2. Does this doctrine afford consolation
to the righteous ! it may also instruct us in
our duty. We ought to commit the work
of our salvation to him who has undertaken,
and who alone is able to accoomplish it. As
Jehovah is the “author,” he must also be
the “finisher of our faith, and hope, and
joy.” As he first brings us into the paths
of righteousness, it is he that must lead us
in these paths, until we reach the end of our
course. The believer’s “strength” is lite-
rally “to stand still,” and to depend on
grace in the promise for discharging every
duty, and vanquishing every adversary.
The moment that we enter the field, and en-
counter the foes of our salvation on any
thing without God, we are driven back to
the dishonor of our Captain, and our future
mortification and shame.—Peter, although
an apostle of the Lamb, and bolder than his
compeers in the cause of his Master, made
an experiment of his own strength, and what
was the consequence?—He denied his Lord
—he afforded new triumphs to the enemies
of the cross; he grieved the generation of
the righteous, and laid the foundation for
327 ~
* . 3.
bitter remorse and humiliation to himself.
That blissful throng, who have already
“finished their course,” and seized the
prize of immortality, “overcame by the
blood of the Lamb; they were more than
conquerors through him that loved them;”
and would we desire to attain the same end,
we must use the same means. “We must
be strong in the Lord, and in the power of
his might.” The church is therefore emphat-
ically represented as “coming up from the
wilderness, leaning upon her beloved ;” de-
pending on him for the supply of every
want, for comfort in all despondency, for
light in all darkness, and support in every
diſficulty and danger. “Blessed is the man
that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope
the Lord is :” All the Persons, all the per-
fections of Jehovah will with unremitting
care watch over him through life, and at
last secure him an abundant entrance into
the regions of bliss.
Let none infer, that the doctrine of our
infallible progress to perfection encourages
indolence or indifference on our part. Al-
though the promises of our present perseve-
rance and final salvation are absolute, de-
pending on no condition to be performed
by us, this consideration will not justify us
in the neglect of any ordinance: Although
we are absolutely appointed to regenera-
tion, to sanctification, and salvation, we are
as really appointed to the use of the means,
as to the attainment of the end. The Lord
328 -
'God has positively promised, “thy bread -
shall be given thee, thy water shall be sure;”
yet we do not expect to reap without sow-
ing, nor to “gathet where we have not
strawed.” It is only through a course of
industry and care, that outward blessings
may be expected.—As in things temporal,
so in things spiritual “it is the hand of the
diligent that maketh rich.” Although it is
declared “ the righteous shall hold on his
way ; the meek also shall increase their joy
in the Lord;” yet it is in a course of self-
denial, of humble, holy obedience, of dili-
gence in keeping all the commandments and
ordinances of God, that we may look for
salvation at last. Although Jesus Jehovah
is the “author and finisher of our faith,”
yet “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God,” we ought therefore to
attend with all earnestness the ministry of
reconciliation. Although it is written, “they
shall be all taught of God ; I will give them
a heart to know me that I am the Lord,”
yet this teaching is perfected by the scrip-
tures as the great external means ; they are
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for cor-
rection, for instruction in righteousness, that
the man of God may be perfect;” it becomes
us therefore to be frequently “searching the
scriptures.” Although it is promised, “I
will give to them eternal life and they shall
never perish,” it is also added, he that endu-
reth to the end shall be saved: To them who
by patient continuing in well doing seek for

329
glory, and honor, and immortality, he will
render eternal life ;” we ought therefore to
“ press eagerly toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Je-
sus.” Although Christ Jesus the Lord “is
able to keep us from falling,” and it is ex-
plicitly promised, “that those who are be-
gotten again shall be kept by his power
through faith unto salvation,” we are at the
same time commanded, “to be adding to
our faith virtue, and knowledge, and temper-
ance,” with the assurance that “in doing,
these things we shall never fall ; we shall”
enjoy “an abundant entrance into the ever-
lasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ:” We ought therefore “to
watch with all perseverance; to have our
loins girded about, our lights burning, and
we ourselves like unto men that wait for
their Lord.” Obrethren, we lose much joy
in prosperity, much consolation in adversi-
ty, much glorying in reproach, much bold-
ness and confidence in death, by our spiritu-
al indolence ; by being so much entangled
with the affairs of this world, and “abound-
ing so little in the work of the Lord.” Be
exhorted therefore “to lay aside every
weight, and the sin which most easily besets
you ; to put on the whole armor of God,”
and conduct in a manner worthy the soldiers
of such a Captain, and the candidates for
such a prize; “to take the shield of faith,
the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spi-
rit, which is the word of God;” and “as the :
VOL. 2. E E 2
2.... 330
Lord lives,” you shall attain the victory at
last. Tribulations you may have, tribula-
tions you shall have, but “through all trib-
ulations you shall enter the kingdom;” per-
pleared you may be, perpleared you shall be,
“but not in despair ;” assailed you may be,
assailed you shall be, by “pricipalities, by
powers, by the rulers of the darkness of this
world,” but never defeated: “Clothed with
the armor of God,” and strengthened with
power from on high, “ you shall go on con-
quering and to conquer,” until the blood of
your last enemy has flowed, “and death it-
self is swallowed up in victory.”
Now “unto him that is able to keep you
from falling, and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceed-
ing joy: To the only wise God our Saviour,
be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and ever.” AMEN.
-*-*-ºs-ºss
- SERMON XIV. -
The christian's future felicity and glory.
Skłºcłłokºłękºpjojºak
COLOSSIANS III. 4.
When Christ, nho is our life, shall appear,
then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
IT seems to be a general arrange-
ment of Jehovah, that almost every thing in
the visible world attain to perfection by de-
331
grees. The natural day has its dawn, then
its clearer light, before it arrives at the full
effulgence of noon. The oak which now
waves majestic on yonder mountain was
once a small sapling, a slender shrub. The
seed which is deposited in the earth pre-
sents its blade, then its ear, before “the ri-
pened corn upon the ear” can be expected.
As in the kingdom of nature, so in the
kingdom of grace, perfection is attained by
degrees: “In the garden of God the trees of
righteousness” are of less, then of larger
size, before they become fully grown and
are fit to be transplanted to the paradise a-
bove. The babe born in the divine family pas-
ses through the various grades of childhood,
and youth, before it arrives “tº the stature
of a perfect man,” and is admitted to the pos-
session of the purchased inheritance. The
heirs of promise while they continue in this.
world are encompassed with infirmities, are
chargeable with much imperfection, are sub-
ject to numerous reproaches, “but when,
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then ye
shall also appear with him in glory.”
You will readily notice that the apostle,
with an apparent abruptness, changes the
person. When he is speaking of Christ Je-
sus the Lord as the life of his chosen, he in-
cludes himself in the number, OUR life.—
Although he was an apostle of the Lamb,
endowed with eminent gifts and graces, un-
wearied in promoting the gospel of his Mas-
ter, and instrumental in “turning many to

... 332
righteousness,” yet all his hopes for salva-
tion rested on the same rock with those
whom he addressed. He felt himself as re-
ally and as deeply indebted to “the mercy
of God through our Lord Jesus Christ” as
the lowest, or the most illiterate in that
church to which his epistle was dedicated.
It is not splendor of natural talent, it is not
enlargement of gifts, it is not pre-eminence
of office, nor even usefulness in the church,
which secures eternal life, but ſaith in the
“Lamb that was slain.” Free grace through
the redemption of Jesus Christ reigns alike
in the salvation of those who “minister,” and
of those “that are ministered unto.” Again,
in proclaiming the future privileges of the
righteous, this inspired penman changes
the person and asserts, “ ye also shall appear
with him in glory.” The humble christian
might be disposed to argue, such pros-
pects may indeed open to the view of a
Paul, one who was an extraordinary officer
in the church, who was eminently enlighten-
ed by the Holy Ghost, who had “labored
more abundantly” than others in winning
souls to Christ, and as a mark of peculiar
honor had been “caught up to the third
heavens,” but such blessings are not in
store for me; I am the least of all saints; I
am not worthy to be numbered among the
followers of Jesus now, nor to mingle in
their joys hereafter. For the encourage-
ment of such, this “ son of consolation” an-
nounces, ye also, however low in your own
333
estimation, or worthless in the estimation of
others, “ye also shall appear with him in
glory.” There is a mansion for every child
in the spiritual family, and a “throne” for
all “who overcome by the blood of the
Lamb. There is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness,” this same apostle asserts in
another epistle, “which the Lord the righte-
ous judge shall give me at that day; and
not to me only,” he adds, “but unto all
them also that love his appearing.”
Three truths, equally inféresting and
comfortable, are here presented for our dis-
cussion : The relation of Jesus Jehovah to
his people, he is their life ; his future apear-
ance in their behalf, and their exceeding
glory on that occasion—
1. The relation of Jesus Jehovah to his
people, he is their LIFE. -
It is not my intention to detain you at pro-
sent with a particular discussion of this part
of the subject; yet as a means of bringing
to your recollection truths which have been
frequently taught, permit me to remark
that the Eternal Son is denominated the life
of his chosen, as he is their whole salvation ;
as he is not only its commencement in this
world, but its consummation in the world to
come : He is their life, being, in his under-
taking and offices, the substance of all their
privileges and all their prospects: He
is the soul of all that peace, that joy,
that transport which they frequently ex-
perience on earth, and of those endless




|
|
•,• - .
, ºr . . . . .
ºr - -
* T a
334
and ineffable glories which are reserved for
their fruition in heaven.
Bear with me, dearly beloved, if I take
the liberty of enlarging on this important
subject, contrary to promise, as it is most
intimately connected with all our comforts
now, and our best hopes for eternity.—
Christ Jesus the Lord may be pronounced
the life of his children, because, through his
Spirit breathing omnipotently upon their
hearts, they are raised from the death of
sin, to a life of holiness and glory ; through
his blood sprinkled upon their consciences
they are delivered from condemnation, and
obtain a complete, irreversible forgiveness
of their sins: “ They are redeemed with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb with-
out blemish, and without spot:” Through
the merit of this their divinely gracious
Sponsor they are fully accepted now, and
become entitled to a kingdom hereafter —
“Being justified by his grace, they are
made heirs according to the hopes of eter-
nal life.” Through his grace, gradually
communicated to their souls,they are renew-
ed and sanctified more and more ; they be-
come dead to sin, alive to righteousness,
and are at last prepared for that world where
“God shall be all, and in all. Out of his
fulness they receive, and grace for grace,”
one supply of grace in succession to another.
Through his promises, powerfully sealed
upon their hearts by the Spirit of promise,
they enjoy at some precious seasons the as-


335
surance of their Father's love, and receive
foretastes of those everlasting “pleasures
which are at his right hand: In whom, also,
after that ye believed, ye were sealed with
that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the
earnest of our inheritance.” By the energy
of his all-creative voice, their bodies shall
hereafter start from the bosom of corruption,
and become partakers of a glorious immor-
tality. “I will ransom them from the pow-
er of the grave ; I will redeem them from
death : O death, I will be thy plague: O
grave, I will be thy destruction.” This re-
lation between Jesus and his ransomed shall
not then cease: After he has raised their bo-
dies from the grave, and re-united the soul
and body which had been long separated,
he will conduct them into the “palace of
the King,” and make them joyful for ever
with the light of his countenance. Whether,
therefore, we consider the regeneration of
the righteous, their adoption, their recon-
ciliation, their progress in grace, or their
perfection in glory, Christ Jesus is emphat-
ically their life ; and in this character the
heavens will shortly reveal him to their un-
speakable joy : “Christ who is their life
shall appear.”
Two appearances of the “great God our
Saviour” are mentioned in scripture : The
first took place at his incarnation, and advent
into our world. He then condescended to
be clothed with our nature, and engaged, by
suffering in our room, to “obtain eternal
336
redemption for us. When the fulness of the
time was come, God sent forth his Son made
of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that are under the law,that we might re-
ceive the adoption of sons.” Allud-
ing to this event, the apostle declares,
“once, in the end of the world, hath he ap-
peared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself.” But the appearance of the Son
announced in our text is widely different,
and infinitely more august. It is his second
and glorious manifestation at the consumma-
tion of all things. Formerly the Son as Me-
diator appeared in circumstances of outward
poverty and meanness, but hereafter he will
be revealed in all the pomp and magnificence
of a God : At his former entrance into our
world,he appeared as a feeble, helpless babe,
“ was made of no reputation and laid in a
manger ;” but splendid beyond conception
will be his second appearing.—Not a man-
ger will then be his residence, but “a throne;
a white throne ; a great white throne,” sur-
passing in splendor ten thousand suns: He
will not then appear as a babe, small, help-
k'ss, requiring to be nursed by the arms of
a mortal parent, but will be exhibited in
all the grandeur of God Almighty; his voice
divine will pierce the caverns of the dead,
will reanimate the ashes of all past genera-
tions, and separate the nations from each
other, as “a shepherd separateth the sheep
from the goats:” Formerly, he appeared
in the character of a servant ; he was set at
337
naught, he was arraigned at the barofa mor-
tal, he was accused, he was condemned, he
was crucified; but hereafter he will be re-
vealed in the majesty of a judge, and pro-
nounce an unchanging sentence on the count-
less myriads of angels and men : Formerly
he was introduced by “the voice of one cry-
ing in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of
the Lord, make straight in the desert a high
way for our God,” and a few unlearned, des-
pised fishermen were the companions of his
life; but his second appearance shall be ush-
ered in by “the voice of the arch-angel and
the trump of God; thousands of thousands
will minister unto him ;” all the host of hea-
ven will pour around his chariot, and form
the retinue of his approach. “Behold ! he
cometh, and every eye shall see” his glory;
“ behold he cometh, and” every ear shall
hear his voice, “come ye blessed, or depart
ye cursed.” Awful, interesting moment 1
When all in this assembly; all who have liv-
ed, all who now live, all who shall hereafter
exist, must appear at one tribunal, and re-
ceive from his lips their irreversible doom.
But who may abide the day of his coming?
and who shall stand when the Lord God of
gods shall appear to judge the nations ! Re-
joice, ye righteous, and be exceeding glad
in the prospect, for the hour of his approach
is the hour of your complete redemption.
“Your corruptible shall then put on incor-
ruption, and your mortal shall put on immor-
tality.” Ye shall appear with him in glory.
VOL. 2. F F
333
1. The souls of the redeemed “will thenap-
pear in glory,” being fully conformed to the
image of Jesus “the first born.” Although e-
ven in the present life they are sanctified, they
are sanctified only in part: Although they sus-
tain, from the moment of their regeneration,
a likeness to their adorable Lord, yet this like-
messisinfinitely imperfect while they continue
upon earth. There is much darkness in the
understanding of the most enlightened, and
much carnality in the most purified, eleva-
ted affections. But this similitude to Jesus,
their elder brother, will then be perfected.
As far as the creature can resemble the Cre-
ator, or finite resemble infinite perfection,
the believer shall be assimilated to our Lord
Jesus Christ.—“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.” No darkness shall envelope
the understanding of “the just made perfect;
but they shall see face to face, and know e-
ven as also they are known.” In Jeho-
vah’s “light they shall see light” clearly ;
they shall enjoy the most luminous, satis-
factory views of that wisdom which formed
the plan of their salvation ; of that mercy
which passed by their aggravated offences;
of that power which supported them under
numerous discouragements; of that faithful-
ness which fulfilled all the promises, and made
every providence “work together for their
good.” The will of all that were “redeem-
ed from among men,” shall then be complete-
|
i
$39
ly absorbed in the will of their common Lord.
No resistance will be made to any part of
his procedure ; no secret repining will be
felt in the glorified bosom at the recollection
of past evils ; but each thought, each desire
will everlastingly be in unison with the will
of their Father. “As paper receives from
the press letter for letter; as wax receives
from the seal mark for mark ; and as a mir-
ror reflects face for face, so the righteous
will then sustain grace for grace, and pos-
sess in themselves a measure for every virtue
which shone so bright in Jesus Christ;” and
this will constitute their dignity. Then will
appear in its fullest emphasis the truth of the
declaration, “the king's daughter is all glori-
ous within ; her raiment is of wrought gold.
She shall be brought to the king in railment
of needle work; the virgins, her companions
that follow her, shall be brought unto thee.”
2. Their bodies will “then appear in glo-
ry.” Anticipating that event this apostle ex-
* No doubt can be entertained, but a visible radiance or lustre
will be imparted to the bodies of the just at their resurrection
from the grave. An Old Testament prophet, after he represents
those “who sleep in the dust of the earth as awaking,” asserts
that “they who be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firma-
ment, and they who turn many to righteousness as the stars for
ever and ever.” From this passage it is evident that although
there will be different degrees of glory in the heavenly world, eve-
ry body will possess a visible glory—Correspondent to this lan-
guage of the prophet is the declaration of an evangelist; “then
shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
father.”—The seventy in their Greek translation of the prophecy,
and Matthew in his gospel use the same word which is employed
to express that splendor with which our Saviour appeared at his
transfiguration on the mount: As the glories of his body were vi-
sible to every spectator, and the effulgence, darting forth, bright-
ened even his clothes and rendered them white and shifting as the

340.
claims in holy exultation, “he shall change
our vile body, that it may be fashioned like
unto his own glorious body.” What pecu-
liar radiance or majesty will adorn the “out-
ward man” in its glorified state we cannot
conceive at present ; yet we are confident
that the bodies of the righteous will be eter-
mally delivered from all the consequences
of transgression in Adam : they shall obtain
a perfect redemption from all those frailties
and deformities which are at present both
their humiliation and burden. They will
be no longer tortured with pain; no longer
deformed with disease ; no longer liable to
fatigue in the service of their Lord; but they
will possess undecaying vigor, and flourish
in immortal youth. “This corruptible,” as
one triumphed who has long enjoyed thes
glorious realities, “this corruptible mustput
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
4- * 4. •r 25 yºv - © tº
immortality.” That body, believer in Jesus,
which “is sown in weakness,” which is en-
compassed with many infirmities, and is ea-
sily exhausted in the service of thy God, or
generation, “shall be raised in power;” it
shall be rendered active and vigorous, fully
light, it is obvious that a real, visible splendor will adorn his chil-
dren, “for they shall be fashioned like unto his own glorious bo-
dy.” When Moses and Elias descended from heaven to witness
the transfiguration of our Lord, “they appeared in glory;” their
bodies shone with a lustre which was visible, which even
astonished and dazzled the eyes of Peter, and James, and John
who were present on that occasion. . It is therefore highly proba-
ble from these considerations that the glorified bodies of the re-
deemed in heaven will be like so many bodies of the purest light,
irradiated for ever by Jesus the Son of righteousness, and reflect-
ing light on each other. .
34]
strengthened for sustaining, “that eternal
weight of glory”to which it will thenberromo-
ted: that body which “is sown in corruption,”
which is the constant subject ofdisease in life,
which must at last fall a victim to death and
“mingle with its kindred dust, shall be raised
in incorruption,” liabletonofatigue, ordecay,
or dissolution: that body which “is sown in
dishonor,” which now sustains humiliating
marks of its apostacy, and in virtue of the
curse early denounced, is subject to the ig-
nominy of death, “shall be raised in glory,”
shall be redeemed from all deformity, and
surpass in outward magnificence the body
even of innocent Adam. That which “is
sown a natural body,” which is formed to
the purposes of animal life, and is supported
by means in common with the animal world,
“shall be raised a spiritual body;” it shall
be no more subject to animal affections, no
more prone to fleshly indulgencies, but being
refined in its qualities, shall become a suitable
companion for the glorified spirit in the pure
joys of immortality; it shall be capable of
serving and enjoying its God without weari-
ness or interruption for ever, and ever.
3. Their prospects will then be glorious.
Their souls perfectly purified from all the
remains of corruption, and their bodies rais-
ed up in power and glory shall be reunited.
The adorable Judge, as a mark of distinc-
tion, will affectionately place them “on his
right hand,” where they will literally “ap-
pear with him in glory.” He will afford them
WOL. 2. F F 2
342.
the most endearing, ravishing expressions of
his love, and publicly and honorably acknow-
ledge both their persons and performances;
all the prayers which they had formerly of—
fered up ; all the tears which they had se-
eretly shed on account of their own iniqui-
ties, or the abomination of others; all the
eontributions which they had honestly made
for the support of his poor, or the spread of
his gospel through the earth; all these he will
respectfully mention to his Father, to an-
gels, to the assembled universe ; with his
own hand the Judge will reach forth to all
his followers “a crown of righteousness,” and
with the highest possible complacency in-
vite them to a possession of that kingdom
which he had “purchased with his own
blood,” and to a seat on that throne to which
he himself is exalted. “He that confesseth
me before men, him will I also confess be-
fore my Father and the holy angels.” Thus
conducted to the New-Jerusalem under Je-
sus, “the Captain of their salvation,” they
shall live and reign with him for evermore.
These most precious truths are taught with
peculiar propriety and force in our shorter
catechism. “At the resurrection, believers,
being raised up in glory, shall be openly
acknowledged and acquitted in the day of
judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the
full enjoyment of God to all eternity.”
There is one excellence peculiar to this glo-
ry of the redeemed which ought not to pass
unnoticed, it will remain unfading for ever-
343
more. All that is splendid in the visible
creation will ere long decay, and vanish.
“The stars shall fade away the sun
grow dim with age, and nature sink in years;”
but this glory, with which the “children of
the resurrection shall appear,” will be sub-
ject to no abatement, to no end. “The face
of Moses shone,” as he descended from the
mount, “ so that the children of Israel could
not stedfastly behold him for the glory of
his countenance ; which glory was done a-
way.” The body of the Son of God ap-
peared in glory on the mount of transfigura-
tion; “his face did shine as the sun, and his
raiment was white as the light; even this
glory of the Son was speedily veiled under
a cloud, but this glory of the ransomed of
Jehovah will blaze forth unobscured, una-
bating through the ceaseless ages of eterni-
ty. “Then shall the righteous shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father:
They that be wise shall shine as the bright-
ness of the firmament, and they that turn
many to righteousness as the stars for ever
and ever.”
This subject, thus imperfectly illustrated,
suggests,
1. That Jesus Jehovah is the portion, and
glory of the righteous, both on earth and
in heaven. All the blessings which they
now enjoy they receive immediately and
exclusively from him their redeeming Lord.
All their wisdom. in the things which con-
cern their everlasting peace, is derived from
344
him their prophet. As the “sun of righte-
ousness he shines upon their understanding,
giving them the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God.” Through the efficacy of
that sacrifice which he offered on the cross,
they receive forgiveness of sin, and the in-
heritance of immortality. All that grace,
by which they are enabled to perform any
duty or resist temptation, is received from
his covenant fulness. “He is made of God
unto them wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption; that he
that glorieth, may glory in the Lord Jesus
Jehovah.” As on earth, in heaven also, Je-
sus in his mediatorial character will consti-
tute the life, the light, the portion and glory
of the ransomed tribes.—There, “they shall
hunger no more, neither thirst any more:”
Why? Because “the Lamb which is in the
midst of the throne shall feed them, and lead
them into living fountains of water. There
shall be no night” in the heavenly sanctua-
ry; no complaint of darkness or desertion.
Why? “The glory of God doth Iighten it,
even the Lamb is the light thereof; and the
nations of them which are saved shall walk
in his light.” All the joys of the church
triumphant are thus derived immediately
from him, and to him, “as the author and
finisher of their salvation,” every heart and
voice will ascend in the most grateful as-
criptions of praise. Each worshipper will
press near the throne to contemplate that
mystery, “the Word made flesh ; the Lamb
345
that was slain, and redeemed us to God by
his blood,” while all the arches of the tem-
ple will resound with one unceasing halle-
lujah, “ salvation to him that sitteth upon
the throne, even to the Lamb for ever and
ever.”
2. This doctrine suggests that our gra-
cious Lord really delights in the felicity of
his children, and will certainly appear for
their redemption. He may leave them to
be afflicted for a season, in this world of
corruption and sorrow; He may suffer them
to be tried with “sore adversity” and dis-
couragements, but, thanks be to his name,
they shall not languish for ever. “If need
be, they are in heaviness now, through man-
ifold temptations,” but even these tempta-
tions shall be made to issue in their greater
advantage at last : “This trial of their faith,
which is much more precious than of gold
that perisheth, shall be found to praise and
honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus
Christ.” He who purchased the kingdom,
after he has accomplished all his designs in
them, and by them, and for them, will glori-
ously appear, and give them the actual pos-
session of that kingdom. “In my Father’s
house are many mansions,” he testified for
the encouragement of his disconsolate dis-
ciples formerly, and through them for the
support of his dejected followers in every
age; “I go to prepare a place for you ;
and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will
come again and receive you to myself, that
346 , * ,
where I am ye may be also.” From his fol.
lowers, our compassionate Lord turns to
his righteous Father, and expostulates; “I
will that they also whom thou hast given me
be with me where I am, that they may be-
hold my glory.” He permits them to be tos-
sed with tempest, and not comforted,” that
the joys of heaven may be more welcome
at last : He leaves them to darkness and de-
jection in this world, that they may be rea-
dy to hail, with greater transport, the rising
of that day-star which shall never set: He
permits them to be assailed by their spiritu-
al adversaries, and, occasionally, to be de-
feated in the conflict, that they may receive
more gratefully “that crown of righteous-
ness which the Lord, the righteous judge,
will give them at his appearing. Hail,” ye
highly favored of Jehovah, for “behold
your redemption draweth nigh.” Your pre-
sent afflictions, however frequently they re-
eur, or however grievous they are to be
borne, are really, though insensibly, “work-
ing for you a far more exceeding and eter-
nal weight of glory.”
3. We learn, from this doctrine, that at
the revelation of Jesus Christ, the true cha-
racter of his followers shall be unfolded.—
The glories of the Redeemer himself were
veiled while he tabernacled in our world.—
“He was oppressed and he was afflicted:
He was villified as an enemy to Caesar, and
as a deceiver, flattering his disciples with
prospects which would never be realized; he
$47
was even impeached with blasphemy against
heaven, by declaring himself to be “the
Son of God.” It was not until his departure
from this world, and his ascension on high,
that his glories burst forth in their real
effulgence. As it was with Jesus their Lord,
it is also with his disciples, while they con-
tinue in this world. They are considered
as weak and contemptible; their sincerity
is ridiculed as hypocrisy; their experience
as delusion; their zeal for their Master’s
honor as phrenzy and enthusiasm ; their
tenderness of conscience, and fear of grie-
ving the divine Spirit as mere affectation.
In opposing the corruptions of others, they
are derided, as disturbing the peace of soci-
ety, and even turning the norld upside down.
The apostles were thus esteemed as “the
off-scouring of all things, as a spectacle of
scorn to the world,” and all who walk in
their footsteps must become sharers with
them in persecution. But, at the manifesta-
tion of Jesus Christ, “ this offence of the
cross” shall cease for ever, and all his ran-
somed shall “appear with him in glory.”
If we honestly “confess him,” he will open-
ly “confess” us; if we be reproached with
him, we shall also reign with him; “if we
suffer with him, we shall hereafter be glori-
fied together.” The ridicule which his fol-
lowers are called to encounter now, shall
then be rewarded by that gracious plaudit,
“well done good and faithful servant ;” the
neglect to which they are exposed for his
348
“name's sake” will be compensated by the
fellowship of his Father and the holy angels:
and the sacrifices which they make for the
advancement of his cause shall be rewarded
by an “inheritance that fadeth not away.
Because ye have followed me in the regene-
ration,” the Judge in his immense condescen-
sion will then publicly announce, “because
ye have followed me in the regeneration, I
appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father
also hath appointed unto me.”
Persevere then, ye redeemed of the Lord,
in your spiritual conflict however arduous
it may appear. If your path be thorny,
thanks be to God, it is short : Is your war-
fare keen, and, as an apostle expresses it,
“fiery''' it will soon “be accomplished,” and
issue in victory and triumph: Do your “heart
and flesh” occasionally “fail” in the struggle?
“Jehovah himself will be the strength of
your heart, and your portion for ever.” Be
looking and longing for this appearing of
your Lord as the hour of your complete
consummation. Is the affectionate wife anx-
ious for the return of an absent husband 2
does she wait with impatience for the day, or
the hour when his arrival may be expected 2
Much more ardently should the “bride, the
Lamb's wife,” be longing for the approach
of her glorious “bridegroom,” that she may
enjoy his immediate presence, and be for
ever satisfied with his joys. This is called
in scripture “ looking for, and hastening un-
to the coming of the day of God : Looking
349
for that blessed hope, and the glorious ap-
pearing of the great God, even our Saviour
Jesus Christ,” and is perhaps the highest at-
tainment of a believer on earth. There is
no greater evidence that he is conformed
to the image of God, and ripened for the
enjoyment of heaven, than this ardent, dis-
interested “desire to depart, and to be with
Christ:” When, fatigued with the corrup-
tions and vexations of life, he longs for the
joys of his Lord, and “groans, earnestly
desiring to be clothed upon with his house
which is from heaven.” Elevated thus above
the world, and its délusive prospects, and
captivated with those “glories that are to
be revealed, the apostle exclaims, “I look
at the things that are not seen, and are eter-
mal :—I am willing rather to be absent from
the body, and to be present with the Lord:
—I press toward the mark for the prize of
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
May such, through the purifying, elevating
influences of God the Spirit, be our attain-
ment, and to those “who thus look for him
the Son will shortly appear without sin un-
to salvation.” “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
“O glorious hour ! O blest abode,
- We shall be near, and like our God ;

And flesh, and sin no more control,
The sacred pleasures of the soul.
Our flesh shall slumber in the ground,
Till the last trumpet’s joyful sound ;
Then burst the chains with sweet surprise,
And in our Saviour's image rise.”
VOL. 2. G G
350 • . . "
The superior privileges of the heavenly norld.
jºckºkºłajckcki:
PHILIPPIANS I. 23.
Having a desire to depart, and to be mith
Christ, nihich is far better.
THE traveller looks forward with
anxiety for the end of his course; he antici-
pates with pleasure that hour when the fa-
tigues of his journey shall terminate ; when
he shall reach his own habitation, and be
restored to the enjoyment of his family and
friends. The soldier waits with impatience
for the period when the perils of the cam-
paign will be over ; when every enemy to
his country shall be subdued, and he shall
receive a reward for his fidelity and forti-
tude. The mariner casts a “longing look”
to the wished for haven ; he expects upon
reaching that to be relieved from the toils
and dangers of the deep, and to enjoy each
desirable accommodation. With an ardor,
an impatience incomparably greater, may
the spiritual pilgrim long for his Father's
house, or the spiritual soldier for that “crown
which the righteous Judge shall award to”
each faithful follower. Such is the frame,
and the exercise recommended by our di-
vine Redeemer, “let your loins be girded
about, and ye yourselves like unto men that
wait for their Lord.” Such are the desires
351
which the apostle ardently breathes in the
verse now chosen for consideration, “ hav-
ing a desire to depart, and to be with Christ
which is far better.” -
The word which we translate depart, may
be rendered to loose anchor, or set sail. There
may be an allusion to a mariner who wish-
es to exchange one port for another; to
quit one harbor, where he is liable to incon-
veniences, or exposed to the assault of some
adversary, for another more hospitable and
safe, where no enemy can invade, or tem-
pest annoy. The apostle, fatigued with the
corruptions and crosses of this world, ex-
presses a desire to exchange it for that peace-
ful shore, where no tempest"furls its fury,
where no enemy shall ever disturb, but all
will be safety and “quietness for ever.”
But our own translation of the original
word is perhaps more proper, and shall
therefore be retained. Death in scripture
is frequently compared “to a journey,” or
“ departure.” Man is represented “as go-
ing to his long home.” Simeon, the aged,
venerable Simeon devoutly expostulates,
“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart
in peace, according to thy word;” and this
apostle mentions in the prospect of his dis-
solution, “I am ready to be offered, and the
time of my departure is at hand.”
It is intended to shew with much scriptu-
ral simplicity— -
I. Why the christian's death may be com-
pared to a departure,
:
:
$
*
3.
352 sº
II. The reason why he is not only'wifling,
but impatient to depart ; the prospect of be-
ing nith Christ—and, -
III. The superior advantages which he
may expect in the heavenly state, it is far
better. -
1. In a “ departure,” agreeably to the
common acceptation of the word, we change
our abode ; we remove from, one place of
residence to another. The believer’s death
is for this reason justly compared to a “de-
parture.” He then passes from time to e-
ternity, from earth to heaven, and “the
place which formerly knew him will know
him no more.”—Pie then exchanges his a-
bode on earth for a mansion in the “city of
the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,”
and his precarious treasures for an “inherit-
ance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that
fadeth not away. In this we groan,” says
the apostle, personating the afflicted discon-
solate pilgrim on earth, “in this we groan,
earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with
our house which is from heaven : For we
know that if our earthly house of this taber-
nacle were dissolved, we have a building of
God, a house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens.”
2. In departing from a particular place
we usually change our society ; we leave
our former companions with our former
possessions, and mingle with new associates.
For this reason also the believer’s death is
justly compared to a departure. He leaves,
2


tº sº. .
- : - **, -- 353
* . Arº º,”
in the moment of his dissolution, all his
earthly friends and connexions; those to
whom he had been united by relations the
most tender and endearing; those with whom
he had been long concerned in ihe common
offices of life ; those with whom he had in-
timately and profitably associated in the ex-
ercises of religion, by whose conversation
he had been often refreshed and encouraged
in his journey through life, or to whom he
had frequently imparted consolation in the
season of perplexity and discouragement;
all these the dying christian leaves, and en-
ters the purer, the more delightful and pro-
fitable society of the heavenly world ; he
then “sits down with Abraham, and Isaac,
and Jacob, and the whole church of the first
born in the kingdom of God;” he is admit-
ted to the fellowship of an “innumerable
company of angels;” he is brought “to
God the Judge of all, and to Jesus the Me-
diator of the new covenant.”
3. In a “departure” we ordinarily change
not only our companions, but our pursuits
and employments. The believer’s death for
this reason also may be compared to a “de-
parture.” As he is then introduced to o-
ther society, he becomes engaged in new ex-
ercises. While the christian continues in
the present world, he is necessarily involved
in the pursuits of the world. His personal
or family concerns occupy a great share of
his time and attention; the common interests
which he has with others in matters social,
VOL. 2. G G 2
354
or civil, or sacred, oblige him to take his
part with them in the management of these
, concerns. But in heaven he will be eter-
nally relieved from all anxieties, or occupa-
tions of this kind; then his thoughts will be
all spiritual, and his only employment will
be praise. There the blessed inhabitants
will have no wants to be supplied, being no
longer subject to hunger, or thirst, or dis-
ease ; there they will neither “marry nor be
given in marriage, but be as the angels ;”
their only exercise will be the service of Je-
hovah, and their supreme felicity will consist
in his enjoyment. They are therefore rep-
resented “as standing before the throne, and
serving God day and night in his temple ;”
they are for ever lost in the admiration of the
INFINITE THREE, in contemplating their per-
fections as displayed in the works of crea-
tion and redemption; they will especially
adore that sovereignty, and wisdom, and love
which brought the greatest good out of the
greatest evil, and over-ruled so exactly eve-
ry event for the glory of the uncreated Ma-
jesty, and the happiness of the “election of
grace. After this I beheld,” sings the New-
Testament prophet, “ and a great multitude,
which no man could number, of all nations,
and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood
before the throne, and before the Lamb,
clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands; and cried with a loud voice, salva-
tion to our God which sitteth upon the
throne, and to the Lamb,” - * - gº
355
*
But it is not merely the prospect of chan-
ging his residence, or society, or employ-
ment which transports the believer in the
approach of his dissolution, and renders him
“ desirous to depart.” He is actuated by
higher, and more disinterested motives; “he
desires to depart, that he may be with Christ,
His BELOVED AND FRIEND.
I. In heaven all the faithful will be
brought into the most intimate, and endear-
ing union with our Lord Jesus Christ. They
are even in the present life really and indis-
solvably joined to the Saviour. They are
united to him as the branches are united to
the vine, or as the members of the human
body are united to the head. They are ac-
tually “espoused to this one Husband, and
rendered one spirit with him.” But hereaf-
ter this relation will be inconceivably im-
proved and perfected. The marriage union,
which commenced in their conversion to the
living God, will then be consummated, and
the spiritual bride admitted to the full en-
joyment of Jesus her Husband. That extat-
ic anthem will then resound through every
street of the heavenly city; “let us be glad,
and rejoice, and give honor to him, for the
marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife
hath made herself ready.” For this more
intimate and perfect union of his members
to himself, our enthroned Advocate earnest-
ly intercedes at the right hand of the Majes-
ty on high. “I pray for them, that they all
may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I
356 3
in thee, that they also may be one in us; I
in them, and thou in me, that they may be
made perfect in one.”
2. In heaven they will enjoy the uncloud-
ed vision, and uninterrupted fruition of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Believers in the present
world are required “to walk” chiefly “by
faith ; they see as through a glass darkly,”
and their nearest approaches to Jesus whom
their souls love, are comparatively distant.
Through ordinances, as through a dark me-
dium, a few solitary rays beam forth, to
cheer their drooping hearts, and guide their
feet in the ways of righteousness. Some-
times, while they are employed in reading
the promises, or contemplating the divine.
perfections, as they shine in the face of Je-
sus Christ; sometimes while they hear the
messages of salvation from the ministers of
the cross, or as they receive, under visible
symbols, the body and blood of their dying
Lord, they enjoy lively pledges of his love,
and are emboldened to utter the language.
of assurance, “My Lord, and my God.—
My beloved is mine, and I am his : I know
that my Redeemer liveth, whom I shall see
for myself, and mine eyes shall behold him:”
But in heaven every veil will be removed,
and in the effulgence of his own light they
shall “see their Saviour face to face.”
There, with a familiarity ten thousand times.
greater than even the inspired evangelist
had attained upon earth, “their eyes will
see, their ears will hear, their hands will
357
handle of the word of life,” and all their
wants shall be supplied from the overflow-
ings of his love.—Yes, that very Jesus of
whom they had so often read in the scrip-
tures, of whom they had so often heard
in the sanctuary, of whom it had been
their greatest delight to discourse, and whom .
they had so ardently desired to behold; that
very Jesus who “for their sakes” lay ob-
scure in “the manger” of Bethlehem, who
was “despised and rejected” by the world,
who endured sorrows unremitting, suffer-
ings the most exquisite, and a death the most
ignominious and painful; that very Jesus
will then be exhibited without one interve-
ning cloud, for ever and ever. None of
“ the spirits of the just made perfect” will
ever have reason to expostulate with Moses
—“Lord, shew me thy glory, for Jehovah
will be all, and in all : Their sun shall no
more go down, neither shall their moon
withdraw itself, but the Lord shall be unto
them an everlasting light, and their God
their glory.” None in the streets of the
New Jerusalem will be found inquiring
with the disconsolate spouse; “saw ye him
whom my soul loveth” or uttering the plain-
tive exclamation of Job ; “O that I knew
where I might find him: I would go even to
his seat for every eye shall see him,
#. all shall know, even as also they are
own.”
3. In heaven all their fellowship with the
Father will be in the face, and through the
358
r
mediation of Jesus Christ. From the mo-
ment of our apostacy in the first Adam, our
representative in the covenant of works,
there could be no comfortable approach to
an absolute God: He could become propi-
tious to man, and afford the pledges of his
good will only through the interposition of
a Mediator. “God was in Christ;” when
immediate access to the uncreated Majesty
was rendered impossible by the disobedience
of the first Adam, “a new and a living way
was opened up” by the mediation of the se-
cond ; “God was in Christ reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing unto them
their trespasses.”—“Through him,” through
the Eternal Son, appearing in the character
of a Mediator, “we, both” Jews and Gen-
tiles, “have an access by one Spirit unto
the Father.” All our approaches to Jeho-
vah are exclusively through the sacrifice,
and mediation of “the Word made flesh.” As
all our communion with the Father th grace,
all our communion with him in glory must
be through the mediation of Jesus Christ.
This is a consideration to which I wish your
attention particularly directed. It is the
opinion of some, that when all the “election
of grace” are brought in, and the present
dispensation of mercy shall terminate, that
our dependance on the Son as Mediator
must then cease, and our fellowship .#
the Father be immediate.—This is certainſy
a very great mistake, and tends to derange
the whole economy of redemption. What
359
is glory, but the perfection of grace? and as
all our enjoyments now are through the in-
terposition of a Mediator, why not hereaf-
ter? Besides, it is proper that as Jesus pro-
cured the kingdom, he should have the ho-
nor of occupying the throne, and eternally
administering the kingdom; that as he ob-
tained every spiritual and immortal blessing
at a price inconceivably great, even the sur-
render of his own life, he should have the
honor of communicating every blessing to
the favored heirs of salvation ; and this re-
ward is everlastingly reserved to him. Our
Ilord Jesus Christ will as really appear in
his Person God-man ; he will as really exer-
cise each mediatorial office in heaven, as on
earth, and all the blessedness and all the glory
of his members will immediately depend on
that exercise. He is therefore pronounced
with peculiar emphasis “the light of the”
heavenly “temple :” he is represented as
“filling all and in all;” as “leading them
into living fountains of waters.” He will
be for ever bringing them nearer, and near-
er to Jehovah the source of all their bliss,
and inviting them to drink deeper and deep-
er of that “pure river of the water of life
which flows from his throne. The Father
loveth the Son,” and as, a reward for his
former humiliation, “ hath given all things
into his hand.” In him as the great Trus-
of the covenant all its blessings are now
deposited, and by him they will be commu-
nicated, both in time and eternity.

Q
: Is the christian, in the moment of dissolu-
tion, admitted into the immediate presence
of Jesus his Beloved' does he see him for
ever as he is, and know him as he is known,
who would not desire to depart To consi-
der the superior advantages of the heavenly
state was our third proposition, and to this
your attention is now invited, “it is far bet-
ter.”
The heavenly state may be pronounced
far better for the righteous, because,
1. There they will glorify God more per-
fectly, and this consideration should excite
an ardent “desire to depart.” Here ten
thousand imperfections accompany those
who are most advanced in the divine life.—
Every service that we perform is tinged by
the pollution of a “heart deceitful above
all things.” We never pray; we never
praise; we never love God; we never love
our neighbor with that purity and fervor
which the holy law requires. The most
spiritual worshipper on earth, in his most
spiritual moments, may unite in the humili-
ating confession, “I am carnal; the good
which I would I do not, and the evil that I
would not that do I:” But in heaven all im-
perfection will be eternally done away.
There will be no complaint of indifference
among the spirits of the “just made per-
feet;” there will be no wandering of imagi-
nation; no languor of love ; no alienation
of heart, but every thought will be spiritual;
every bosom will burn with the purest, the
361
most ardent flame of love to God, and to all
around. Every harp will be tuned to its high-
est string, and each worshipper will sing
with an ecstacy inconceivably greater than
that of the militant David, “I will bless Je-
hovah at all times, and his praise shall be
continually in my mouth : My meditation.
of him shall be sweet, and I will rejoice in
the Lord : Bless the Lord, O my soul; and
all that is within me, bless his holy name:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who
healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth
thy life from destruction; who crowneth
thee with loving kindness, and tender mer-
cies.”
2. They will hereafter enjoy him more
fully. As our services are imperfect during
our pilgrimage on earth, our enjoyments are
also incomplete. The Comforter who should
relieve our souls is often removed, and
“our candle goes out” in almost utter dark-
ness. Ordinances are frequently “like dry
breasts” to the spiritual babe, affording lit-
tle nourishment or consolation, and those
joys which they occasionally impart are of
short duration. The sun which diffuses its
healing beams one hour, is veiled in darkness
the next. But in heaven “there is fulness
of joy, and pleasure for evermore.” One
tide of bliss from the throne of God will un-
interruptedly flow forth to revive and re-
fresh the enraptured spirits. The Father
who elected them will eternally afford them
the most tender, animating assurances of his
VOL. 2. H H
362
good will : The Son will ardently rejoice
in them, and over them, as the fruit of all
his toil and travail : The Holy Ghost, who
sealed them, and sanctified and made them
meet to be partakers of that inheritance, will
Communicate the purest pleasures; he will
fully satisfy in glory those desires which he
had excited in grace. As Jehovah is now
“able,” then he will actually “do for them
exceedingly, abundantly above what they
can ask or think. To him that overcometh,”
is the declaration of him who has procured
these blessings, and has an undoubted right
to promise and impart them, “to him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden
manna, and he shall go no more out, but
shall inherit all things.” -
3. Heaven “is far better,” because there
the happiness of the redeemed is liable to
no abatement. Innumerable circumstances
occur in the present life to embitter the
christian's joys. Bodily pain; the recollec-
tion of former failures, by which God was
dishonored, or others injured ; a conscious-
ness of our present unworthiness; the fear
of apostatizing hereafter, and bringing a
reproach on our profession ; the loss of dear
connexions, or the unconcern of others a-
bout the realities of eternity; the prevalence
of inward corruption, or the degeneracy of
the age in which we live ; these and other
nameless evils are like “wormwood and
gall” to the believer, embittering his cup of
consolation on earth; they frequently oc-
363
casion anguish of heart and cause “rivers of
waters” to flow from his eyes. The chris-
tian owing to these, sometimes, “refuses to
be comforted;” and nothing but the pros-
pect of final redemption preserves him from
sinking under the pressure, and yielding to
abject despair; he sings oceasionally with
mingled emotions of sorrow and joy, “al-
though my” heart “ and my house be not
so with God, yet he hath made with me an
everlasting covenant, ordered in all things
and sure ; this is all my salvation, and all
my desire.” But in heaven there will be
nothing within, or without to diminish their
joys ; no unwelcome shade will ever pass
along intercepting the rays of their sun; no
bitter dreg shall infuse itself into their cup
of consolation. “ The ransomed of the Lord
shall return and come to Zion with songs,
and everlasting joys upon their heads ; they
shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow
and sighing shall flee away.” Every infe-
rior anxiety shall then be absorbed in the
most ſervid, disinterested concern for the
glory of God, and a full comprehension of
his plans will produce the most entire ac-
quiescence in all his dispensations both of
providence and grace. No longer does Je-
remiah, in the spirit of discontent or
disappointment, “curse the day in which he
was born ;” or Asaph complain, “I has .
eleansed my heart in vain, or washed my
hands in innocency;” they are ever exº, in-
ing with united hearts and elevated voices,
t
364
- “he hath done all things well: O that men
- would praise the Lord for his goodness,
and for his wonderful works to the children
of men. O Lord, how excellent are thy
works; in wisdom hast thou made them all ;”
the heavens “are full of thy goodness.”
How transporting is the prospect of hap-
piness thus unmingled, unending 1 Natural
Might is sneet, and it is a pleasant thing for
the eye to behold the “sun shining in his
strength;” but incomparably more reviving
will be the light of the “sun of righteous-
ness,” which shall arise in the region of glo-
ry never to be clouded, or obscured more ?
How agreeable would be the prospect of
enjoying a single week, or month, or year,
without any anxiety or inconvenience ; to
possess a mind perfectly serene, a body in
full health, and the ocean around us altoge-
ther unruffled? How reviving, yea, over-
whelming is then the prospect of an eterni-
ty, a never, never ending eternity, without
any thing to ruffle our repose ; when the
mind shall enjoy a perpetual calm ; when the
body shall flourish in undecaying health;
when melody the most refined shall charm
the ear; when scenery the most enchanting
shall feast the eye ; and God, and Jesus,
and angels shall unite in ministering to our
bliss'
“No pains those happy regions know.
For ever bright and fair,
For sin the source of mortal woe,
Shall never enter there,
365
There no alternate night is known,
Or sun's faint sick’ning ray,
But glory from the sacred throne,
Spreads everlasting day.” º
Your own imaginations, brethren, must
anticipate me in the application of this sub-
iect.
J 1. It may be inferred that Godliness is in-
comparably the greatest gain ; it not only
supports amidst the numerous adversities of
life, but it imparts both composure and tri-
umph in the hour of death. To this the be-
Hiever looks forward not with emotions of
terror, but with transports of joy; this event
he hails as the conclusion of all his sorrows,
and the commencement of ineffable, ever-
lasting joy. Then every lust which now dis-
turbs, shall be effectually subdued; every
enemy shall be finally vanquished ; all that
darkness which now spreads unwelcome o-
ver his mind, shall be dissipated by the
dawning of a day which shall never end, and
and all his wants shall be supplied from those
rivers of pleasure which can never be ex-
hausted. He looks forward to the grave as
a rest from all the labors, a peaceful retreat
from all the calamities of life; he looks for-
ward to the approaching judgment for a pub-
lic, an honorable acquital from every pos-
sible charge ; he looks forward to the resur-
rection as the period when his present frail
body shall awake from the slumbers of the
grave, and be “fashioned like unto the glo-
rious body of his” thrice glorious Lord; he
looks forward to eternity as a scene of health
VOL, 2. H H 2
366
without disease, of pleasure without pain,
of light without darkness, of glory without
reproach, of enjoyment without a moment’s
"interruption, or the least degree of abate-
ment. No wonder that the apostle, reali-
-zing these glories of immortality, should
cherish a “ desire of departing;" of being
“absent from the body that he might be pre-
sent with the Lord ;” and justly mayest thou,
christian, being a partaker of the same
grace, unite in the same challenge of triumph,
“O death, where is thy sting! O grave, where
is thy victory ! Thanks be to God who
giveth me the victory through my Lord Je-
sus Christ.” -
2. We learn from this doctrine that the
full, uninterrupted enjoyment of Christ is not
to be expected in this world. “Without
will be fightings, and within will be fears,
while we continue on earth. Our unbelief,
our indolence, our self confidence often
grieve our Beloved, and provoke him to de-
bart, refusing “the joys of his salvation.”
}*. appears to us at some particular sea-
sons, as he did “to the disciples going to
Emmaus,” he immediately “vanishes out
of our sight.” We are often obliged to re-
peat the ancient, melancholy complaint, “I
sought him whom my soul loveth, I sought
him but I found him not :” Is this, beloved
reader, is this thy complaint at present 7
Art thou weeping and lamenting with the
disconsolate Mary, “they have taken away
my Lord and I know not where they have
*
yºr 367
laid him 7” Be not surprised, nor discoura-
ged by this want of sensible communion
with thy Redeemer. It is thy Father's
pleasure that thou shouldst “walk by faith,”
whilst thou artkept in this world. This is
the path in which all thy brethren and sisters
who are now in glory have trodden before
thee. They were in doubt, in perplexities,
in afflictions, in tribulations often ; but out
of “all these the Lord hath delivered them;”
and from all thy present fears and distresses he
will shortly deliver thee.—“The God of all
grace, who hath called thee to his eternal
glory by Jesus Christ, after thou hast suf-
fered a little, will” bring thee to the full
fruition of this glory. Thy faith shall then
give way to the clearest vision, and thou
shalt eternally behold thy Beloved without
a veil, and without a cloud.
3. We learn from this doctrine that the
immediate presence of Jesus Jehovah con-
stitutes the joy of the heavenly world. Ad-
mit the departing spirit to the communion.
of patriarchs and prophets and apostles, it
would be unsatisfied : Introduce it to the
society of “Enoch, who’’ formerly “walked
with God, and was translated without seeing
death ;” of Abraham “the father of the
faithful ;” of Isaiah, “who testified” with
such transport of heart, and such elevation
of style, “the sufferings of Christ, and the
glory that should follow ;” of Moses the
great deliverer of the law, and Elijah its re-
storer, and to all that shining throng of mar-
368
-ir
tyrs “who received joyfully the spoiling of
their goods, who loved not even their lives
unto the death” for the name of Jesus, but
sealed their testimony with their blood: In-
troduce the départing spirit to the society
of all these, it would still be unsatisfied ;
nay, was the christian, upon his entrance in-
to heaven, brought to the most intimate
- fellowship of that “innumerable company
of angels who kept their first estate,” nobly
- e s • e - o - $º
resisting the solicitations of the rest who a-
postatized from their sovereign ; introduce
him to those seraphim and cherubim who
often attended our Saviour upon earth, who
“worshipped” him at his birth, who “min-
istered” to him in the wilderness, who
“strengthened” him in the garden, who left
their seats in bliss and came down to
witness his ascension on high, who now
“ stand before the throne and cast their
crowns at his feet:” Introduce the departing
saint to the fellowship of any, or all these
he would still be disposed to exclaim, in the
language of disappointment and grief, “saw
ye him whom my soul loveth? O, that I knew
where I might find him, I would go evento.
his seat.” Heaven would be no heaven with-
out the sight and fruition of his Saviour.—
The smiles of “ ten thousand, thousand”
saints, and “ten thousand, thousand” angels
would impart no consolation without the en-
joyment of “the Lamb that was slain, and
redeemed him to God by his blood.” The
fellowship of Jesus in the closet, in the fami-
369 *
ly and the sanctuary, formed his chief felici-
ty on earth, and this will be the crown of all
his blessedness and glory in heaven. And,
O, believer, does not thy spirit leap for joy'
at the consideration, that thou shalt be with
him thou shalt certainly and shortly “be
with Christ, which is far better.” Yes, be-
liever, thou shalt “see him for thyself; thine
eyes shall behold him, and not another.”
Praise, praise be to his name, the wheels
“ of his chariot shall not long tarry.” A
few more revolving seasons, a few more
rolling suns, a few more fleeting moments ;
a little more frailty of body, a little more
dejection of mind, a little more conflict with
corruption, and the darkness of earth shalf
be exchanged for the full blaze of heaven’s
glory. “Until the day break, and the sha-
dows flee away, turn, our Beloved, and be
thou like a roe, or a young hart on the
mountains of Bether.” AMEN.
370
*
4 ºf
SERMON XVI.
Our ruin in the first Adam more than repair-
ed by our recovery in the second.
ROMANS v. 20.
Where Sin abounded, Grace did much more
abound.
THIS chapter, from the twelfth
verse to the conclusion, is an epitome of di-
vine revelation. The inspired author leads
us back to the creation of this world ; he re-
presents our first father as engaging in the
capacity of our federal head ; as violating
the sacred trust reposed in him, and by his
transgression bringing ruin on himself and
his offspring. “The second Adam” is after-
wards introduced as interposing in behalf of
a chosen seed ; as suffering in their nature
and name, and by the merit of his sacrifice
becoming “ the Author of eternal salvation.
For if by one man’s offence,” he testifies,
“ death reigned by one ; much more they
which receive abundance of grace, and of
the gift of righteousness,shall reign in life by
one, Jesus Christ :” After the apostle has
taken this comprehensive survey of the
means of our ruin and recovery ; after he
has contemplated the “first Adam,” stand-
and by his wanton disobedience, forfeiting
every blessing with respect to himself, and
37I -.
them : after he has contemplated the “se-
cond Adam” succeeding in his room; “ful-
filling all righteousness, and opening a li-
ving way to the holiest of all,” he draws the
important, reviving conclusion contained in
our text, “where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound.”
The term “sin,” as we noticed in a prece-
ding discourse, implies a transgression of
the divine law; an omission of the duties
which it requires, or the commission of
what is actually forbidden : But in the pre-
sent instance, its signification is more exten-
sive ; it implies not merely the act of trans-
gression, but those unnumbered, incalcula-
ble evils which have followed in its train ;
all that dishonor which was thereby manifes-
ted to the divine authority ; all that misery
to which it exposed our world ; and all that
derangement or disorder which is introdu-
ced into the creation of God.
Grace usually signifies favour which is
free, unmerited, unasked ; good will mani-
fested to the unthankful and the undeser-
ving ; but the term “grace,” as here used
by the apostle, is much more comprehen-
sive in its import; it may with propriety be
considered as implying the whole economy
of redemption, and its infinitely important
consequences; that eternal transaction of
Jehovah the Father with his coequal Son,
which issued in such a revenue of glory to
himself, in such a plenitude of bliss to mil-
lions of saved sinners, and in the greater es-
•

*.* *
372
i-- .
it s,
tablishment of righteousness in the moral * *
world. This extensive import of the terms
sin and grace is fully justified by the succee-
ding verse, where the apostle asserts, that
“as sin hath reigned unto death;” as it hath
triumphed in the exposure of its wretched
subjects to death, natural, spiritual and e-
ternal; “grace might reign through righte-
ousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our
}_ord.” -
Without confining our views to any for-
mal division of this subject, it is designed to
shew, that the ruin produced by the “first
Adam,” is more than repaired by the medi-
ation of the second; or that the sin of the
former has been over-ruled to issue in great-
er glory to God; in greater joy to his re-
deemed, and to all sinless intelligences, in
every part of his creation.— -
1. Through the mediation of the Son of
God there is a much clearer discovery of
the manner in which Jehovah exists; of that
searchless, adorable mystery, THREE E-
QUAL PERSONs in the same undivided Es-
sence. No doubt can be entertained but
Adam, in innocence, had some apprehen-
sion of a plurality of Persons in the God-
head; he was “created in knowledge,” and
that “knowledge” must have enabled him to
comprehend in some degree the “mystery of
God, and of the Father, and of Christ.” One
divine Person is represented as addressing a-
nother, “ come let us make man in our own
image,” and this distinct agency of the divine
373 º
Persons in his creation was probably commu-
nicated to Adam, as a means of impressing
him with a sense of his obligation to each:"
But this mysterious doctrine which was known
to man in innocence, is brought more lumi- |
nously to view through the substitution of
the everlasting Jesus. Now we not only
Hearn that there is a plurality of Persons,
but are positively taught that there “are
THREE who bear record in heaven ;” we be-
hold each divine Person deeply concerned
for the redemption of man, and sustaining
his peculiar office in this economy. The
Father, in the most free, unmerited, adora-
ble exercise of his own mercy, appoints the
Son to his mediatorial work, and secures
him success in his undertaking, and an infi-
nite and eternal reward for the same. The
Son, the same in essence and equal in glory
with the Father, acquiesces in the terms
proposed, and engages to tender the stipula-
ied price of human salvation. The Holy
Ghost, who is essentially one with the Fa-
ther and the Son; who is equally sovereign
in all his operations, engages “in the good
pleasure of his will” to consummate this
scheme by preparing the destined heirs of
mercy for the kingdom of their Father.—
Thus not only the distinct personality of
the uncreated Three, but the sovereignty
and independence of each, and his compas-
sion to man his own creature, shine with a
glory the most effulgent in the economy of
our salvation. Through the intervention
VOL. 2. I I
ſ
:
:

374
of this plan, each Person in Jehovah exhibits
a display of indignation against sin, con-
cern for the moral order of the world, and
tenderness to human misery, of which no
conception could otherwise have been form-
ed. As a means of vindicating the honors
of his government, the Father “delivers an
only Son” to become a sacrifice ; the Son
makes “himself of no reputation and ap-
pears in the form of a” servant; and the Spi-
rit enables the sinner virtually to “fulfil the
law” by appropriating the Surety’s righte-
ousness. Man while he retained his primi-
tive innocence, might contemplate with as-
tonishment the mystery of a Trinity in Uni-
ty; but through the medium of Messiah’s
cross, the glories of Jehovah Triune shed
upon us a radiance incomparably milder
and more captivating. Adam might feel
obligated to serve and adore him from a
sense of his creating goodness, but the ran-
somed sinner is constrained to obedience by
other and stronger considerations ; he con-
templates the Father’s love in electing him
to glory; the grace of the Son in redeem-
ing him from all evil; and the condescension
of the Spirit in preparing him for the actual
possession of this inheritance: and while he
thus contemplates, he exclaims in emotions
of gratitude the most sincere, “I am not my
own : I will glorify God in my body and
spirit which are his.”
2. In the economy of our redemption
there is the most illustrious, astonishing dis-


375
play of all the divine perfections. “The
heavens,” indeed, “declare the glory of
God;” the various parts of his workman-
ship, material and immaterial, loudly pro-
claim “his eternal power and Godhead;”.
yet it is reserved for the dispensation of
grace through Jesus Christ, to furnish the
most luminous, commanding exhibition of . "
each.
HERE wisdom shines with a lustre al-
together unparalleled. This attribute of |
God appeared obvious in the natural world;
in forming innumerable orders of being aniº.
mate and inanimate ; visible and invisible ;
º
* *.4
* W
. . .".
*
3
... i
in imparting to them various endowments
suitable for that station to which they were *
appointed; but although this perfection is
obvious in all the operations of God, through
the medium of the Saviour's cross, it breaks
forth with a “glory that excelleth.” To
devise a plan by which human transgression
might be fully punished, and the transgresſ.
it."
sor freely pårdoned, may be pronounced the
highest effort of eternal wisdom. If a colo-
ny of subjects revolt from their sovereign,
and expose themselves to the penalty of the
law, either they or the law must suffer. If
their crime be forgiven them, the law is pros-
tituted, and others are encouraged to rebel
against the throne. But here a free, a ſºil
remission is announced to the sinner, and
yet there is an exact, rigorous punishment
of the sin : The violated law is rendered
more sacred; a more awful testimony is
*
dom;
". . . . . 376
. -börne against transgression than if the threat-
* ring had been executed in all its horrors
upon the transgressor; and yet the trans- .
gressor is as completely restored to favor,
as if his obedience had never been interrupt-
eti. This is a manifestation of wisdom which
angels behold with ever new astonishment:
These “principalities and powers” turn a-
way from all the other movements of Jeho-
vah, and desire to “Hearn through the
church his manifold,” unsearchable “wis-
” and at each new contemplation of
this plan they exclaim with deeper emotions
of wonder and gratitude, “O the depth of
the riches both of the wisdom and know-
ledge of God! How unsearchable are his
judgments, and his ways past finding out !”
Here justice appears in majesty transcen-
dent and ineffable. Obvious proofs of this
perfection were exhibited in the creation of
all things, and especially in the covenant
transaction with Adam. The Lord God
forms the man “after his own image in righ-
teousness:” he appoints him a “righteous”
law to obey, and denounces the severest
penalty against the least transgression: But
it is in the substitution of his “ own Son,”
as our Surety, and in fully executing upon
him that wrath which was denounced against
his chosen, that we behold the most bright,
awful display. The period in which the
Son of God was suspended upon the accurs-
ed tree, suffering, bleeding, expiring in the
room of sinners, may properly be pronoan-
377
ced the noon day blaze of Jehovah's justice.
A man may be rigorous in exacting a debt
from the hands of a stranger, who would per-
haps be tender towards a relation or child:
A prince might possibly punish treason in
a subject, who would pardon it in his own
son; but the great God displays the glo-
ries of his justice in not “sparing even a
Son ;” in not remiting a farthing of the
debt due from him as the sponsor of his peo-
ple ; in not dispensing with a single act of
obedience, or a single instance of suffering.
The rigors of divine justice appeared more
awful, and her prerogatives more indispen-
sible in that singlemandate, Awake, O Sword,
AND SMITE THE MAN THAT IS MY FELLOW,
than in all the punishment which ever was
inflicted, or which, through the lapse of e-
ternal ages, ever shall be inflicted on all sin-
ning intelligences.—The moment that the
sword was drawn, and bathed in the blood
of the Son of God, silence must have reign-
ed in heaven; a sacred dread, such as pure
spirits are capable of feeling, must have
thrilled the bosom of every angel and arch-
angel; of every cherub and seraph before
the throne; recovering from their deep a-
Imazement, these “principalities and powers”
must have sung with more profound emo-
tions of astonishment and awe, “JUST and
TRUE are THY ways, Thou KING of saints;
who knoweth the power of thine ANGER 1–
Who shall not fear thee, and glorify thy
name, for thou only art Holy:” These spi-
VOL. 2. I 1 2 ... — -
\
373
rits of light had witnessed repeated and aw-
ful proofs of the divine displeasure against
sin; they had seen legions of their revolting
peers turned out of heaven; Adam driven
from Paradise; Sodom and . Gomorrah
wrapped in flames for the iniquities of the
inhabitants, but the death of the Lord of
glory was an example of vengeance against
sin without a parallel in all the operations
of God. This was the clearest possible ad-
monition to all rational spectators, “ that
every transgression and disobedience must
receive a just recompence of reward.” He
that will not spare a son cannot spare a
stranger. Does the Father with his own
hand fill up the cup of trembling; and o-
blige a “Son, an only, an infinitely beloved
Son,” to drink it to the lowest dregs, who
can reasonably expect to escape? The
apostle therefore mentions with peculiar
emphasis, “him hath God set forth to
be a propitiation through faith in his
blood to declare his RIGHTEoUSNESs for
the remission of sin :” lest any should mis-
understand his meaning he adds, if possible,
in language more explicit, “to declare, I
say, at this time his RIGHTEOUSNESS, that he
might be JUST, and the JUSTIFIER of him
which believeth in Jesus.
HERE the divine goodness displays her
exceeding, abundant munificence. The
Creator afforded evidences of his bounty
from the beginning, and particularly to A-
dam our first father. He placed him in E-
379
den, the most delightful part of this world;
he poured around him in rich profusion eve-
ry earthly enjoyment, and promised immor--
tal felicity for himself and his posterity on
condition of his personal obedience. But
goodness, which appears in all the dealings"
of the Creator with his creatures, displays
her riches beyond all comparison in the re-
demption of fallen man; in not merely re-
covering him from the ruins of his apostacy,
but in promoting him to higher degrees of
glory and happiness, than he had enjoyed
previous to transgression. An earthly mon-
arch is considered good if he merely sus-
pends the execution of the penalty against
an offender, although he should-deprive him
of the privileges enjoyed by other subjects;
should the sovereign go farther, and both
pardon the offence and restore the offender
to all the immunities of a citizen, this would
be pronounced goodness in the extreme.—
But this display of benignity would not ad-
mit even of a comparison with the goodness
manifested by the King Eternal towards
man the irreconcilable enemy of his crown.
He does not merely dispense pardons to
them, but he pardons FREELY, ABUNDANTLY,
EveRLASTINGLY ; he so completely forgives
their offences that they shall never be men-
tioned to the reproach of those who com-
mitted them : “With the Lord there is mer-
ey, and with him is PLENTEous redemption,
and he will redeem Israel from ALL his ini-
quities.” He not only delivers from con-
380
demnation on account of former failures,
but preserves them infallibly in allegiance
for the time to come ; so that every privi-
lege is secured beyond the possibility of
forfeiture : Nay, the Lord God manifests
his bounty in a manner still more astonish-
ing, more unparalleled, by restoring his
ransomed people to richer immunities than
were enjoyed even in innocence. He no
longer considers them as servants in his fa-
mily, or subjects of his government, but ad-
dresses them by a men, name more tender and
endearing, even that of sons and daughters.
He entails upon them a larger inheritance,
and imparts to them more abundant honors
than the very angels enjoy who “kept their
first estate.” While these seraphic spirits
are now occupied in learning through the
church “the manifold wisdom” and adora-
ble justice of God, here also they acquire
more elevated conceptions of his “good-
ness.” While they “sing a new song, thy
righteousness is like great mountains,” ut-
terly inflexible ; “thy judgments are a great
deep,” altogether unfathomable ; they add,
as an essential part of their anthem, “how
excellent is thy Loving KINDNEss, O God |
O that men would praise the Lord for his
GooDNESS, and for his wonderful works to
the children of men º’’
HERE divine power appears with a majes-
ty ineffably great and astonishing—Jeho-
vah proclaimed himself “great in might”
in giving existence to this world; in crea:
381
ting with infinite ease, so many stars, and
suns, and systems. “He spake and it was’’
instantly “done ; he commanded” and eve-
ry order of being rose into existence, and
stood ready to assume the station appointed
it.—But this perfection of Deity appears
in a light still more commanding in the re-
demption of man; in supporting the Surety
under the infinite load of human guilt, and
bringing him forth “more than a conquer-
or” from his arduous undertaking. The de-
merit of a single transgression is sufficient
to sink a world : The weight of one murder-
ous act constrained Cain to cry out, “my
punishment is greater than I can bear:” The
weight of one act of rebellion stºk the “an-
gels who excel in strength” from the heights
of heaven to the depths of hell. "How great
then, beyond all description or conception,
was the pressure which was borne by the
eternal Substitute 1 He sustained the weight
not merely of one sin, but of many : not the
guilt of one transgressor only,but of millions,
and the transgressions of each of these ex-
ceeded in number millions multiplied by mil-
Jions. He bore the sin of Adam who had re-
sisted light the most clear, and trampled on
goodness the most profuse ; of Manasseh
who had caused “the streets of Jerusalem
to flow with innocent blood;” of Corinthian
“ idolaters,” and “drunkards, and revilers,
and extortioners;” and of those countless
millions who have been saved, or who shall
hereafter be “redeemed from among men.”

- 382 **** ,
The weight of the crimes of all those lay at
once upon our gracious Sponsor. But did
he sink, or fail beneath the amazing load?
No: the more he was oppressed, the mightier
he grew; “he travelled in the greatness of
his strength, mighty,” all-mighty, “to save,”
until he could proclaim, IT IS FINISHED: “E-
very precept of the divine law is completely
magnified ; all its curses are exhausted ;
the flames of hell are quenched; the flaming
sword which guarded the gates of the hea-
venly paradise is averted, and the way to
the holiest of all laid open.” But these
were not the only prodigies of power accom-
plished by our Lord in his hour of agony.
He encountered at that moment the com-
bined legions of hell; drove them from
their usurped dominion; seized the arch apos-
tate and binding him in everlasting chains,
planted the standard of his cross in the very
centre of their empire. In what strains of
transport did the holy apostle celebrate these
triumphs of his Lord “He spoiled princi-
palities and powers; he made a shew of them
openly, triumphing over them in his cross.”
With what ecstacies of astonishment did the
evangelic prophet anticipate these victories
of the Saviour ! “Who is this that cometh
from Edom This that is glorious in his ap-
parel, and travelling in the greatness of his
strength !” The angels of light, kindling in-
to ardor at the wondrous scene, rapturous-
ly reply, “TitF LORD STRONG AND MIGHTY ;
THE LORD MIGHTY IN BATTLE ; the all con-
383
quering Messiah, victorious over sin, satan,
death and hell.”
HERE divine sovereignty shines with ma-
jesty transcendent and adorable. In every
part of his work, we behold this preroga-
tive of Jehovah visibly displayed. “As the
potter hath power over the clay” to form
“ out of the same lump” vessels of different
sizes ; as he makes one to greater and o-
thers to less honor, the Lord God in the
sovereign, unsearchable freedom of his will
creates beings of various orders, and im-
parts to some more abundant honor than to
others. Particular classes of being are cre-
ated merely material, and capable of no o-
ther than animal enjoyments;-man he en-
dows with a constitution partly material and
capable of pleasures in common with the
beasts of the field, partly spiritual and ca-
pable of pleasures in common with the an-
gels: He creates the angels pure spirits;
endows them with immense intellectual ca-
pacities, approaching nearer to the perfec-
tion of his own nature, and assigns them the
highest rank in his creation. But although
Jehovah appears sovereign in all his ways,
his sovereignty shines with distinguishing
glory in the scheme of redemption through
the Son of his love. Man and angels united
in rebellion against the Eternal King, and
became equally obnoxious to his wrath;
but how different is their doom In the fa-
thomless depth of his sovereignty” the Lord
* Some have undertaken to assign areason for the restoration
;
*
.

384
{iod deals with the latter according to the ri-
gors of his justice, and adjudges them to the
“vengeance of eternal fire; but to man he
exercises the richest mercy, and restores him
to favor and happiness. How different are
his dealings even with men who are of the
same nature ; involved in the same condem-
nation, and equally susceptible of pleasure
of the human, rather than the angelic nature. They assert that
angels were exalted above man by their Creator; that they enjoy-
ed clearer manifestations of his glory ; that they had none to
tempt or seduce them to apostacy; and consequently that their
offence was more aggravated, and merited punishment the most
examplary and severe. They offer, on the other hand, many rea-
sons for extenuating the guilt of man ; that he was placed lower
than the angels, and therefore might naturally be dissatisfied with
his standing ; that he was artfully seduced by a fallen spirit to
revolt from his Lord, and consequently if any mercy was to be
enjoyed, it is asserted that man possessed the superior claim.—
Such reasonings are not only useless, but highly presumptuous,
and hazardous. The moment that we attempt to offer reasons
for the procedure of God, where he has offered none, we become
lost in the dark region of conjecture ; we daringly impeach his
wisdom and goodness as if something was concealed by him which
it is proper for us to know. Besides, if it be lawful to draw a
comparison between the situation of Adam, and of the angels, his
appears in some respects the more eligible, and therefore his
crime the more inexcusable. For aught that we know, angels
were placed under an absolute law, and had the promise of hap-
piness only while they continued to obey; but with Adam a con-
tract was formed,and for his temporary obedience immortal bles-
sedness was secured to him and the human race : Again, for
aught that we know, Adam was more solemnly admonished a-
gainst sin, than the angels. He had not only a positive command,
but as a greater means of keeping his integrity unsullicd, “the
tree of life” was placed before him as a visible pledge of that life
with which his obedience should be rewarded, and another tree
as a pledge of that evil which he should incur by transgression,
but whether we contemplate the redemption of man, while the
angels were passed by ; or the salvation of some men and not al!
men, it becomes us rather to unite in the submissive language of
our Lord, “even so Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.”
Surely if he who “searches all ‘things, even the deep things of
God,” resolved all into sovereignty as the eterial origin, it is
wisest, it is most becoming for us to imitate his example.
385
in his communion, and of pain under the
weight of his wrath A part of the human
family are favored with the means of salva-
tion; they are earnestly entreated to repent,
and have the highest assurances that upon
their return, they shall be cordially receiv-
ed and everlastingly saved ; while others of
the same family do not even know that a
Mediator has interposed ; the sceptre of
mercy was never seen by their eyes; the
voice of reconciliation was never heard by
their ears, but they are literally “without
God, or Christ, or hope in the world.” A-
mong those who enjoy the same means, how
great is the distinction through the mere so-
vereignty of God?—Some, by-the gentle,
yet irresistible energies of his Spirit, are
convinced of their guilt, and enabled to
comply with the offered terms of reconcilia-
tion; while others, given up to their own
blindness and enmity, become more obsti-
nate in sin ; spurn alike the voice of terror
and entreaty, and finally perish in their in-
iquity. All this distinction is made by Him
“who worketh all things after the counse}
of his own will,” and to advance, in the view
of all rational spectators, “the praise.of the
glory” of his sovereignty. In contempla-
ting this goodness and severity of God; his
severity towards sinning angels, and his good-
mess to the family of man; his goodness to—
wards some men in calling, and justifying,
and glorifying them, and his severity towards
others in permitting them to walk in their
VOL. 2, K K
386
own ways; all created intelligences in all
parts of his dominion are now filled with
more adoring conceptions of his sovereignty:
They enquire with the most profound abase-
ment, “who hath known the mind of Jeho-
vah ; or who hath been his counsellor 7°
From the most perfect acquiescence with e-
very part of his procedure, they raise the as-
cription of praise, “ of him, and through
him, and to him are all things: To whom be
glory for ever.”
HERE mercy beams forth with a radiance
the most effulgent and benign. This is a
perfection of God for the exercise of which
there was no room while man continued in-
nocent. He must disobey and involve him-
selfin misery before his Creator's compas-
sions could be manifested in relieving him.
But no sooner was he plunged into the
wretchedness of his apostacy than the Lord
God was moved with pity, and formed a
scheme for his restoration. Nay, he pre-
vented us with his mercy, and myriads of
ages before our miseries commenced, he de-
vised the method of our recovery.—He,
who beholds the end from the beginning ;
to whom all events past, present, and to
come, are equally obvious ; he, foreseeing
from eternity the ruin of man, was moved
with pity at the prospect, and proposed our
future and full restoration. “ The mercy
of the Lord is from everlasting to everlast-
ing upon them that fear him.” This same
mercy of Jehovah is exercised, from day to
387
day, in forgiving the iniquities of his peo-
ple; in sympathizing with them amidst all
their afflictions, and in dispensing to them
the consolations of the covenant under their
inward darkness and disquietudes.—“As a
father pitieth his children, so the Lord piti-
eth them that fear him ; for he knoweth our
frame ; he remembereth that we are dust.”
Thus it is evident that particular perfec-
tions of the Godhead, which were obscurely
revealed formerly, shine illustriously through
the cross of Jesus, and all the divine perfec-
tions here appear with pre-eminent glory.
They are represented as not barely concur-
ing, but cordially congratulating each other
in the recovery of man by a scheme so as-
tonishing and sublime. “Mercy and truth
are IIIet together ; righteousness and peace
have kissed each other. Truth shall spring
out of the earth, and righteousness shall
look down from heaven.” All the works
of God praise him in a less or greater de-
gree : in one part of his creation we are as-
tonished at the display of his wisdom, in a-
nother of his bounty, in another of his pow-
er: One event in providence proclaims his
justice, and another his forbearance; but in
the redemption of sinners by the infinitely
glorious substitute, each perfection shines
with a lustre altogether transcendent ; they
all move along hand in hand, each reflecting
the highest glory on the other. The “morn-
ing stars sang together” at the creation of
this world ; “they shouted for joy when
-
*
14
388.
the cormer stone was laid,” and a structure
so stupendous arose at the call of the Crea-
tor:—But when the mysteries of redemp-
tion are disclosed, and the “word is made
Aflesh,” and comes to tabernacle in our world,
these “sons of God” tune their harps anew ;
they strike a higher string, and proclaim in
strains moré sublime, “glory to God in the
HIGHEST.” As we would readily turn away
from the glimmering taper, or the light of
the morning star, to behold the sun “rising
in bright effulgence,” this heavenly host be-
came indifferent to every thing else, and
crowd around the cross to behold the more
luminous display of each perfection.
The “time would fail me ;” eternity it-
self will be no more than sufficient, to ex-
plore and to recount all the excellencies of
this plan. This earth, which was degraded
by the ingratitude and rebellion of man, is
singularly honored by the spotless obedi-
ence of the Eternal Son: Our nature emer-
ges from the reproach and ruin of sin, and,
by its union to the divine, in the person of
Jesus, is raised to a degree of glory alto-
gether ineffable. The pure seraph and che-
rub are nearly related to the Son of God,
being “created after his image,” but the re-
lation of redeemed sinners is incomparably
more intimate. They are members of Jesus
as their head, and derive all their influence
and consolation from him in that relation ;
they are the spouse of Jesus the glorious
bridegroom, and are thus favored with the
389
*:
most reviving pledges of his love. The an-
gels are exalted high in heaven, and admit-
ted to the presence of the Son, but to which
of the angels hath he said, “I will give to
thee to sit with me on my throne, as I also:
overcame, and am set down with my Father
on his throne.” Angels are employed as
“ministering spirits;” they aid in the man-
agement of the church and of the world, but
higher honors are assigned to redeemed sin-
ners; they are promoted “ to sit upon
thrones,” and are invested “with power over
the nations.” Yea, “ know ye not,” ye
humble despised followers of the Lamb,
“know ye not that ye shall judge angels 7”
As man is now raised to a more distin-
guishing glory, he also participates a more
abundant happiness than was forfeited by
his fall. All the stores of language are ex-
hausted to express the felicity of the hea-
venly world. It is pronounced:“fulness of
joy, and pleasures for evermore.” It is re-
presented by “living fountains of water,”
and “by a pure river of water of life, clear
as crystal, proceeding from the throne of
God and the Lamb.” The imagery is here
so interesting and instructive that it deserves.
a more particular consideration ; “a river,”
always flowing, yet never emptied, nor les-
sened ; a “pure” river, “clear as crystal,”
free from every tinge of pollution, and suit-
ed to the refined faste of the glorified spirit;
vivifying:
every thing as it rolls along, imparting un--
a pure river of water “ of life,”
WOL. 2. K K 2
't
s:/".
* :

390
withering verdure to all “ the trees of righ-
teousness, the planting of the Lord ; pro-
ceeding out of the throne of God and of the
Lamb ;” as the source from which this river
:rises is infinite, “even the fulness of the
Godhead,” the joys of the righteous will be
liable to no interruption for ever and ever.
Various circumstances will concur to en-
hance the future happiness of the redeemed, “
which could not operate on man in his pri-
mitive innocence. The laborer, at the ap-
proach of evening, finds a pleasure in look-
ing back on the toils and dangers of the day,
and each recollection of these sweetens the
repose and enjoyments of the night. When,
therefore, the ransomed sinner looks down
from the climes of bliss, and views in retros-
pect the numerous evils of the present life;
when he reflects on that dreary region of
hell from which he happily escaped ; that
curse of the law from which he was ransom-
ed; on those difficulties through which he
was supported ; on those enemies which he
was enabled to overcome ; how must the
recollection heighten his joys, and excite a
more grateful song to his great Deliverer
Again, any enjoyment is enhanced by the
price which it cost : we esteem it valuable
in proportion to the expence at which it was
bought, or the dangers we encountered in
obtaining it. Such is our constitution that
enjoyments are appreciated not so much
from their absolute value, as from the pe=
culiar circumstances by which they came io

391
our possession. The Roman officer highly
valued his freedom from the consideration
that “ with a great sum he had obtained it.”
How must the joys of immortality rise in
the estimation of the redeemed, when they
consider that they were procured by a price
immensely great ' How must their bosoms
expand at the reflection that their privileges
were obtained not “ by silver or gold ; not
by thousands of rams, or with ten thousand
rivers of oil, but by the PRECIous, PRECIOUs
blood of Christ;” that their life was obtain-
ed at the expence of his death ; their crown
by his cross; their joys by his repeated, ex-
quisite sorrows ; their glory by his re-
proach ; their mansions in heaven by his re-
sidence in the manger upon earth ! When
they turn their eyes towards the throne, and
view there a “Lamb as if it had been slain;”
when they behold the lively marks of the
thorns on his head ; of the spear in his side ;
of the nails in his hands and his feet; when
they reflect that all those sufferings were
endured for them, the joys of heaven must
become more joyous, and its glories more
glorious. While the celestial worshippers
proclaim, “to him that loved us,” they add
with transports which none but “the spirits
of the just made perfect” can feel ; which
even they cannot fully utter, “ and washed
us from our sins in his blood ; to him be
glory.”
“They sing Hosannah all the while,
He cheers them with eternal smiles,
Or overwhelm’d with rapture sweet,
Sink down adoring at his feet.”

392
* .
By this plan, man becomes more intimate-
ly related to man. That union which na-
turally subsists among them as the offspring
of one God, and the members of one great
*family, is incomparably surpassed by their
relation as “the election of the same grace,”
and as the redemption of the same blood.—
A}l that ever have been, or that ever shall
be reconciled to Jehovah through the medi-
ation of Jesus are like stones of the same
building; “branches” of the same vine;
“members” of the same Head. “They be-
ing many are one body in Christ, and mem-
bers one of the other.” They are redeemed
by the same blood; renewed by the same
Spirit; adorned with one robe; interested
in the same covenant; partakers of the
same consolations; and heirs of the same
kingdom, and glory. In short, all the ran-
somed are ONE with each other, even as Je-
sus and the Father are one. On earth they
all live by faith on the same object “Christ,
and him crucified;” and they shall everlast-
ingly encircle the same throne in heaven.
By this plan, a relation the most intimate.
is effected between ransomed men, and elect.
angels. At the revolt of a particular pro-
vince from their prince, all intercourse be-
tween that and the other provinces of the
realm, is immediately suspended; so at the
apostacy of man from his Creator, all agree-
able fellowship between him, and unsinning
angels, instantly ceased. These exalted spi--
rits, remaining loyal to their sovereign, be--
**
393
came enemies to man the moment that he be-
came hostile to the Lord : But “by the dis-
pensation of the fulness of time,” a freeinter-
course is established, and these jarring par- -
ties constitute one great Society under Je--a •
sus Jehovah their common ruler and head.
As the dutiful child rejoices at the repen-
tance and return of a brother who had un- ->
naturally abandoned his father's house ; or ;
as the loyal subject exults when one re-
turns to his duty who had rebelled against
the prince, so the angels hail with rapture
the return of apostate man. “There is joy
in heaven; there is joy among the angels of
God over one sinner that repenteth.”
Thus in whatever light we contemplate
the plan of reconciliation, it is obvious that
“where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound :” But what finite mind can fully
survey this amazing scheme, or comprehend
the glories which result from it? Could we
conceive the majesty of that law which is
thereby honored, or tell all those joys which
the saved myriads of the human family shall
experience through the ever revolving ages
of eternity; could we calculate all that bliss
which is diffused through the various orders
of angels, and thrones, and dominions, and
principalities and powers at the brighter
display of the divine character and perfec-
tions, or that happiness which these pure
spirits enjoy in witnessing the increased
happiness of man; could we imagine the
tendency of this scheme in exposing to all


394
tº worlds the enormity of sin, in recommend-
# ing the excellence of holiness, in vindicating
. . . the justice of Jehovah in the damnation of
the fallen angels, and of men who refuse to
sº be reconciled: Could we calculate its ten-
*dency in cementing man to man; men to an-
gels; and all to the uncreated, infinite Three,
as the ſountain of perfection and bliss; could
we fully comprehend all these consequen-
ces then we might form some conception of
this scheme. But, verily, “eye hath not
- seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered the
; heart of man to conceive its infinite dimen-
sions.” New mysteries of love, and wis-
dom, and condescension, and sovereignty
will for ever be disclosing to the inhabitants
of heaven and exciting their admiration and
praise.
I cannot more suitably conclude this dis-
; course, or this volume of discourses than with
an exhortation for all to acquiesce in a
scheme so “well ordered. It is a faithful
saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Jesus Christ came into the world to save
sinners:” But art thou profited, beloved
reader, unless thy soul is interested in this
salvation ? Thou hast heard that “grace
reigns through righteousness to eternal life,”
but what does that avail thee unless thou
art numbered among its trophies' Thou
hast heard of Jesus, the Lamb in the midst
of the throne ineffably glorious, but what
does that avail if thine eyes shall never see
him, or like “the rich man in hell only see
.



him AFAR off?” Does it profit thee to hear
of the “heavenly Jerusalem” if thou art ne-
ver to enter it; of its golden streets if thou ...º.d
art never to walk them; of “an inheritance
incorruptible,” if thou art never to possessº ...
it, or a crown of glory, if thy head shall ne- . .
wer wear it ! - $
Let every heir of glory who reads these
pages exult in the prospect of the speedy, ºf
and full fruition of this glory. “Abraham
rejoiced to see the day of Christ,” his appear-
ance in the flesh, “and was glad. Prophets
enquired and searched diligently respecting
the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that
should follow : Wise men from the east”
hastened to Bethlehem to behold the “Lord
of glory” clothed with their nature, “and
they worshipped” at the sight. The host of
heaven came down to earth to contemplate
that adorable mystery, “God manifested in
the flesh,” and while they contemplate they
ardently exclaim, “glory to God in the high-
est:” What then, O believer, must be the joy
of beholding him in the light of the celestial
world ! What must be the ecstacies of thine
heart when thou art admitted within the
walls “ of the New Jerusalem,” and thine
eyes directed to the Lamb who sits effulgent
in the midst of the throne ! With what rap-
ture inconceivable thou shalt begin that
song which shall never end, “Thou art wor-
thy to receive power, and riches, and wis-
dom, and honor—for thou wastslain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood!” Unable


396
attending seraphim to aid in carrying on the
burden of the song, “Bless the Lord, ye
his angels that excel in strength; that do
this commandments; hearkening to the voice
of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his
º, hosts ; ye: ministers of his that do his plea-
sure. Bless the Lord, all his works in all
places of his dominions.”
In the humble confidence of attaining all
this blessedness, and ten thousand times ten
pressed, or imagined, “bless the Lord, O
my soul.”—AMEN. -
END OF THE SECOND VOLUME,
;
f
!
thousand greater joys than can now be ex-
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