M©aAmy lnmi?5Ha fff Calif if .»,i.*4;-> . Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/discoursesonprinOOwardrich DISCOURSES THE PRINCIPAL POINTS OF THE SOCINIAN CONTROVERSY BY RALPH WARDLAW; GLASGOW. ANDOVER: .vrn SOLD BY MARK NEWMAN. FUBLISIIED AND SOLD TLAGG AND GOULD, PRINTERS. 1815. TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ASSEMBLING FOR WORSHIP IN ALBIOJK'-STBEET CHAPEL, GLASGOW, %W tlolnmt, WITH FERVENT WISHES THAT, BY THE DIVINE BLESSING, IT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR SPIRITUAL IMPROVEMENT, IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THEIR GRATEFUL AND AFFECTIONATE PASTOR. M^ssmti PREFACE. ^' Why publish a uew Volume, on a subject which has already produced so many ?'^ Were I to answer this question by pleading the solicitations of friends, I should speak the truth ; for such solicitations have been numerous, and some of them entitled to my highest def- erence. Yet I should present an apology, neither satis- fying to the Public, nor to myself. For if an author is not convinced in his own judgment, that his work is either called for by particular circumstances, or likely to be serviceable to the cause of truth, he ought to pos- sess sufficient fortitude to resist the wishes of others ; and if he professes to publish in compliance with these wishes alone^ he will find very few possessed of suffi- cient charity to give him credit. When the Unitarian Chapel in this City was open- ed, and the Sermon ^' On the Grounds of Unitarian Dissent,^' which Mr. Yates had preached on that oc- casion, was given to the public, I happened, from an VI PREFACE. entirely different cause, to have my tliougbts directed towards the principal points of the Socinian Controver- sy ; and, in revolving various subjects for a series of monthly Sabbath-evening Discourses, it occurred to me, that, at such a time, when the leading doctrines of Christianity were openly impugned and denied, and the sentiments of those who held them in many par- ticulars grossly misrepresented, a short course on these points might be seasonable and useful. Satisfied that we pay no compliment to our own sentiments, when we are startled by any apprehension of discussion possibly making proselytes to those of our opponents, — I could not acquiesce in the opinion, that the best way on such occasions is, to suffer error to pass in silence, and to fall of itself. 1 thought, and still think, that this procedure is giving to such error an undue advantage. It is putting it in the power of its advocates to say, that we dread investi- gation, and find it our wisdom to be quiet : — it is leav- ing the weak, the wavering, and the ill-informed, to be the dupes of misrepresentation, or a prey to the wiles of sophistry, and the imposing influence of high pretensions to learning and candour : — it is lulling the multitude of nominal professors of the truth in sat- isfaction with a vague and unexamined assent to a system, respecting which they hardly know " what they say, or whereof they affirm :'' — and to the far ^eater multitude of persons, who do not think on these matters at all, it is furnishing a plausible ex- PREFACE. \'ii cuse for continued carelessness. They will not take the trouble to examine what its professed adherents are not at the pains to defend ; and they pursue their wonted course of thoughtless impiety, with one vacant reflection^ suggested by what they see and hear, that " after all, these heretics, as they are jcalled, must surely have a good deal to say for themselves.'^ These Discourses were favoured, in the delivery of them, with a measure of public countenance, as grati- fying as it was unexpected : — and the same reasons, which suggested the idea of preaching them, after- wards induced me to consent to their publication. I hope they may, in however small a degree, contribute, by the Divine blessing, to promote the reception and the influence of that truth, with the establishment and progress of w hich are connected the glory of God, and the salvation of men. Local circumstances frequently procure a reading to new works, when old ones on the same subject, even although of superior merit, would continue to lie neglected. Should no new views or new argu- ments be advanced, still it is needful, as different times and different places have their peculiar prevail- ing tastes, to present what is old in new and various forms. But besides this consideration, (although of itself sufficient) — it has frequently struck me as a defect of considerable magnitude, in some of the treatises, which have been published on the subjects handled via PREFACE. in this volume^ particularly the Divinity of Christy that the writers have lessened the effect which their works are designed to produce, by attempting more than enough. Instead of confining themselves to those passages of scripture, in which the argument is prom- inent and palpable, resting their cause on these, and leaving it to their readers to apply the genereal prin- ciple, when thus successfully established, to the inter- pretation of other passages ; — they have with the laudable view of showing how full the Bible is of the particular doctrine they defend, exerted their inge- nuity, with various success, in bringing texts to bear upon it, of which the application is dubious, or, even when satisfactorily ascertained, by no means impres- sive. I need not point out the various ways in which this mode of conducting the argument is fitted to hurt the cause in which it is employed, and to afford an advantage to its adversaries. It is just as if a person, wishing to present a view of the evidence of the truth of Christianity from the fulfilment of prophecy, instead of selecting those grand and leading predictions, of which the accomplishment has been notorious and un- questionable, should occupy his pages in explaining and supporting, however ingeniously, his own inter- pretation of particular passages in the prophets, respect- ing which the wisest commentators have hitherto differ- ed in judgment. It has been my aim, in the follow- ing Discourses, to avoid this defect. Whether I have at all succeeded, it is not mine to determine. PREFACE. IX I have only further to observe, that, in defending what 1 conceive to be the essential articles of scriptural truth, I have confined myself entirely to the Scriptures themselves. Those, who wish to trace the history of early opinions on these subjects, may satiate themselves with the copious works which have been written on both sides. For my own part, although satisfied of the propriety of not allowing the opposers of the truth to occupy even this ground, 1 yet cannot help consider- ing it as a monstrous insult to the Divine author of rev- elation, to admit the supposition for a moment, that, on such subjects as these, it should be necessary to wade through the multifarious opinions of antiquity, in order to understand his meaning. I say, on such subjects as these : for if on these points there is such a want of ex- plicitness, — points that regard the object of worship, the state and prospects of man, and the foundation of his hopes for eternity, — on what subjects shall we look for clearness and precision ? If it were indeed the case, that, on such topics as these, the Bible is indeterminate, requiring, for the explanation of its language, the com- mentary of ancient opinion, the infidel would be fur- nished with an argument against its Divine origin, more powerful than any he has ever been able to produce. In the following Discourses, additions, omissions, and other alterations, have been occasionally, but spar- ^^§^y? made. In general, they are printed very nearly as they were delivered. I once had thoughts of divid- ing them anew, into sections of as nearly equal lengths bi X ' PREFACE. as possible ; but, upon reconsideration, gave up the plan. The chief difference in the arrangement is, that the recapitulations and the conclusion, on the subject of the Divinity of Christ, are here thrown into a distinct Discourse ; which increases the number from eleven to twelve. I commend the work to the blessing of God, and to the candid judgment of men. R. W. Glasgow, April BOth, 1814. 4^&^ Sr#'S fc^4> CONTENTS. DISCOURSE I. Page. On the Unity of God, and the Trinity of Persons in the Godhead 1 DISCOURSE II. On the Supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ . S7 DISCOURSE m. SoAne Subject continued .... 56 DISCOURSE IV. Same Subject continued .... 95 DISCOURSE V. Sav^e Subject concluded . . . .139 DISCOURSE VI. On the Test of Truth in Matters of Religion 156 DISCOURSE VII. On the Doctrine of Atonement . . . i81 DISCOURSE VIII. On the Practical Influence of the Doctrine of Atonement ^23 XU CONTENTS. DISCOURSE IX. On the Divinity and Personality of the Holy Spirit S66 DISCOURSE X. On the Influences of the Holy Spirit . . 296 DISCOURSE XI. Same Subject continued .... 3S7 DISCOURSE xn. On the Christian Character . . . 360 Notes ..... 397 DISCOURSE L ON THE UNITY OF GOD AND THE TRINITY OF PERSONS IN THE GODHEAD. Deut. vi. 4. IIEAllj O ISRAEL, THE LORD, OUR GOD, IS ONE LORD. Deists have often contemptuously smiled at tlie diver- sity of sentiment, which exists among professed believers in revelation. It is no part of my present purpose^ to examine into the causes of this diversity. It ought not, however^ to be unnoticed, that among Deists themselves, the differences, in proportion to the extent of their creed, and the nature and number of the topics which it embraces^ are neither fewer^ nor less considerable. No two of them seem to be agreed^ as to what are, strictly speaking, the articles of faith, in the system o^J^atural Religioji. There are few phrases, indeed, of which the proper import is more undefined. Various circumstances may be considered as contribut- ing to account for this important and curious fact. In the first place. In a country w here Divine revelation is possessed, and where its truths are in general currency, there will always be found, among those who reject its authority, a great deal of unacknowledged obligation to it. Truths are brought forward by persons of this description, as the result of their own unassisted investigation, which, without the aid of revelation, were never discovered by philosophers of the most sagacious and comprehensive minds ; and for the knowledge of which, they are, in real- ity, indebted to that very revelation which they disbelieve 1 S ON THE tJNITY OF GOB. and contemn. They thus borrow from the armoury of God the very weapons with which they oppose his cause. They pilfer fire from the altar of Jehovah, to burn the sacrifice at the shrine of their own wisdom. They abstract the coin of Heaven, and proudly stamp it with the image and su- perscription of Reason. — The variety of degrees in which this kind of secret sacrilege is practised, contributes, of course, to the diversity of sentiment among the professed opposers of revelation, respecting the true extent of the natural powers of discovery, on such subjects, possessed by the human mind. ^dly. Another consideration, conducing to the same ef- fect, is, that in the speculations and reasonings of such men, tJieorij is resorted to more than /act Now to the variety of theoretical speculation there are hardly any as- signable limits. — But surely men who, on such a subject as that before us, are content to deal in theory, are miser- ably inconsistent with themselves. In science and philoso- phy they are accustomed to insist on facts, and on experi- mental induction, as the only basis on which theory should rest. Yet here, although facts without number present themselves, in the history of every age and of every nation in which revelation has been unknown, theory is still per- tinaciously adhered to ; and human reason has been most ingeniously and plausibly shown to be eminently capable of efifecting, what in fact it has never done. The truth is, that of the air-built speculations of such philosophers the whole fabric is at once overthrown by a single glance into the state and history of the heathen world. It is a case determined by an extent of practical evidence, such as hardly ever bore on any other question. One great experi- ment was made, for the long space oifoiir thousand yeara^ during which the world in general was left to itself, with full opportunity to try its powers. The experiment was on a lar2;e scale : it w as tried with every possible variety f)f ON THE UNITY OF GOD. 3 circumstances ; and the unvarying and undeniable result was, that " the world by ivisdom kneic not God/^^ 2dly, An important distinction, although in itself very obvious, lias, on this subject, been frequently overlooked : I mean the distinction between any truth being agreeable to reason icJien made known^ and the same truth being dis- coverable by reason without supernaturq^l illumination. — Some of the truths of revelation are so strikingly conso- nant to right reason, and, even when the hearts of men are at variance with them, commend themselves so instantly to their judgments, that we are apt to be seduced into the belief that mankind could never possibly be ignorant of them. When once revealed, the proof of which they are susceptible is so plain and so conclusive, that Reason gets the credit of their discovery, although uniform fact pro- nounces the credit to be undeserved. Some, indeed, liave gone so far on the other side, as to express a doubt whether mankind, entirely apart from rev- elation, could ever have attained to any conceptions at all of the being and perfections of God. If in the term reve^ lation we include original and traditionary, as well as writ- ten revelation, it is obvious that this is a question, which hardly admits of any certain determination : for, on the supposition of original revelation having been possessed by men, (and of this there cannot surely be a doubt, on any ground, either of reason, or of scripture) it becomes quite impossible to say what proportion even of the ideas which have prevailed in the world, should be considered as the remnants of sadly corrupted tradition : especially when we take into account the resemblance which has, in various instances, been discovered, and wliich, in some cases, indeed, forces itself upon our observation, between what is recorded in the beginning of the scripture revelation respecting the great object of worship, and the most fan^^ tastic notions and monstrous rites of Heathen superstition, * 1 Cor. i, 21. ^ ON THE UNITY OF GOD. Let me now apply these general remarks to the gi*eat doctrine .of the Divine Unity. This^ it is obvious^ is the prominent truth in our text. — It is a doctrine in the highest degree agreeable to reason^ when propounded and explained. Yet if natural religion comprehends those views only of ^* tlie things of God^'' wliich men have actually attained without revelation^ it may admit of serious doubt, whether the Unity of the Godhead should be numbered among the articles of its creed. The general aspect of the Heathen world seems decidedly to affirm tlie contrary : for polytheism, in one form or other, has been universally prevalent in the public profession antl worship of mankind. And even with re- gard to the two or three individual philosophers, who ap- pear to have arrived at more rational views on this impor- tant point, it may be observed — in the iirst place, that what they say consists more of shrewd conjecture tlian of any thing like certain knowledge ; and is, besides, mingled with much ignorance and much falsehood : — and secondly, that even as to those notions, which approach nearest to the truth, it has been matter of question, whether they might not have obtained them, mediately or immediately, from in- tercourse with that people to whom had been committed the oracles of God. If, again, by the articles of Natural Religion we are to understand those truths, which, whether men have actually discovered them without revelation or not, are capable of being proved by sufficient natural arguments^ the question assumes quite a different aspect ; for it is very plain, that a truth may be perfectly susceptible of such evidence, while from inconsideration, or from worse causes, mankind may have failed to discern it. Attempts have been made to prove the Unity of God, in the way of demonstration a priori^ as philosophers speak ; that is, from the necessity and eternity of his existence. It ON THE UNITY OF GOD. 5 lias been found very difficulty however, even by minds of singular acuteness, to frame an argument of this kind, that shall at once be easily intelligible, and productive of clear and firm conviction. At least, to any demonstrations that have been constructed on this principle, strong objections have been opposed. And the reasonings for and against are much too subtile and metaphysical for public discussion. The argument in support of the Divine Unity, derived from the visible works of Deity, is founded chieily on the uniformity of plan which these works appear to exhibit. This uniformity indicates unity of design, and from unity of design, is inferred the operation of one designer. That there are indications, strong and convincing, of harmony of plan, and unity of counsel, in the material uni- verse, is beyond all question. In every department of Nature we perceive the application of certain general principles and laws of procedure ; so that, to use the words of an admirable writer, ^^ we never get among such original '' or totally different modes of existence, as to indicate that " Ave are come into the province of a different creator, or '' under the direction of a different will.'^ I am fully satisfied, that the true cause of that melan- choly ignorance of God, which has all along prevailed throughout the Heathen world, has not consisted in any deficiency as to the means of knowledge, nor in any want of natural capacity to discern and to judge. Were either of these the case, the ignorance would have a valid excuse. The cause is to be found in the want of a right disposition of mind, Thr is the great original sin of our nature, that blinds the understanding to the beauty of truth, and the deformity of error. And the powerful influence which it exerts upon the mind is most forcibly expressed by Paul, when he says respecting mankind, that " they did not like (or chuse) to retain God in their knoicledge.^^^ The mere remembrance of what is already known, is a much easier * Rom. i. 38. O ON THE UNITY OP GOD. matter than the discovery of what is previously unknown ; especially if the memory is assisted by frequent repetitions, and multiplied manifestations, of the same truth. Men "were originally possessed of the true knowledge of God. However inexcusable they might have been, had they been left, in a state of entire ignorance, to gather this knowledge, in the way of discovery, from the works of God, this was not, in fact, their situation. All that was to be effected by the numberless displays of the Divine power and Godhead, was only to keejp them in remembrance of what they al- ready knew. Yet even with these advantages, " when they Jciieic God, they glorified him not as God ;'' they did not ^' retain him in their knowledge ;'' but ^^ changed the truth of God into a lie/^ They received, at the first, a lesson from God himself: — they had this lesson written before their eyes on every thing around them : — every thing in heaven above and in earth beneath ; every part of the ani- mate and inanimate creation, repeated it to their eyes, and to all their senses, had they but kept them open to obser- vation : — Yet they not only did not learn, but rejected and forgot what they had been taught ; not only did not dis- cover what was unknown, but lost what was known ; and, instead of being led by the creature to the Creator, put the creature in the Creator's place 1 These observations are applicable to the Unity of God, as well as to his existence and various perfections : — And if the want of a right disposition of mind operated thus positively to the loss of what was known, we cannot be surprised, that the same cause should operate negatively, to the prevention of the recovery of what was lost. With regard to the Divine Unity, besides, although there are no difficulties that could stand in the way of a rightly disposed mind, there are some considerations, which, on a mind otherwise disposed, may easily be conceived to have their influence, in confirming it in ignorance. O:^^ THE UNITY OF GOD. 7 The most obvious of these is, the mixture of good and evil, which prevails in our own world, and which forces itself on observation every day, and every moment. — This state of things, considered in itself, apart from any sup- posed traditionary knowledge of its origin, is not, on prin- eiples merely natural, very easily explicable.-^It gave rise, accordingly, to the ancient Manichean doctrine, of two distinct eternal Beings, one good and the other evil, super- intending the operations of two principles, corresponding to their respective natures ; the good Being, supremely happy in himself, and the author of all the happiness that exists among creatures; the evil Being, in himself unhappy, and, from the malignity of his nature, the cause of all mis- ery. — The variety of good and evil Deities, also, which is to be found in the mythology of every Heathen nation, in- dicates the operation of the very same principle of reason- ing. If, in general, the sentiment prevails in these nations, of ONE of these Deities being superior to all the rest, in- stead of supposing this sentiment to be deduced from the observation of unity of design in the appearances of nature, the more probable supposition seems to be, that it is the re- mains of the original and right belief respecting the Divine Unity, which, although so fearfully corrupted, other and opposite notions have not been able entirely to obliterate. It may be further observed, that the evidence of unity of design is necessarily less obvious to a superficial observer, than the evidence of design itself. — The marks of design are discernible in each of the individual objects, that come within the reach of our observation : and every separate instance is a distinct and conclusive proof, of the existence and operation of a designing Cause. — Unity of design, on the contrary, must be discovered, not in eacli of the parts considered separately, but in the system of nature as a connected whole ; in the harmonious relation of the parts to one another, and their joint influence in the production 8 ON THE UNITY OP GOD. of a common defect. — It by no means follows from this, that the argument cannot be conclusive Avithout a perfect knowledge of the whole creation. The case is the same as in the proof from nature of the Divine wisdom. In both instances we reason from analogy 5 and the reasoning is, in each, fair and conclusive. Finding the clearest and most astonishing indications of wisdom and skill, in all the productions of nature that come within our observation, we infer, that the same skill and wisdom would be found to pervade, and to characterize, those parts of the universe, that are beyond the range of our actual knowledge. — On the same reasonable principle of inference, we conclude, that harmony of plan exists throughout the material uni- verse, from the marks of such unity in that portion of it, which the sphere of our observation embraces. The infer- ence is, in both cases, greatly strengthened by the fact, that uniformly, in proportion as the inventive ingenuity of man has extended the range of his acquaintance with na- ture, the marks of design, on the one hand, and of harmony of design, on the other, have been found progressively to multiply. — But although the evidence is, in both cases, satisfactory, it is not, I repeat, in both equally obvious. The proof of unity of design is, from its nature, more com- plex than the proof simply of intelligence and skill ; re- quiring a greater extent of knowledge, and a greater power of comparison and combination ; so that, viewing the evi- dence abstractly, and supposing ignorance of both, we should expect the discovery of the latter to precede that of the former. — This observation is much strengthened, in reference to the ruder states of human society, when we reflect, how many appearances there are in nature, of more or less frequent occurrence, of which modern science has furnished satisfactory explanations, but which, to the unen- lightened mind, appear utterly strange and inexplicable, and either suggest the suspicion, or ripen it into belief, of ON THE UNITY OP GOD. 9 the agency of different beings^ various in character and in power. But further : even supposing harmony of plan demon- strated^ and, by consequence, unity of design compU^-tely ascertained ; is this, after all, a certainly conclusive proof of only one designer ? Clearly not. It is admitted by the best writers on the principles of natural theology, that the whole of their argument for the Divine Unity, drawn from harmony of plan in the universe, " goes no further than to an unity of counsel.''^ Now, however high may be the degree of probability , arising from this, of the unity of the Divine Being, it is evident that if must be taken in con- nexion with other considerations, to give it conclusive ef- fect. For the possibility is abundantly obvious, of unity of counsel subsisting among a plurality of counsellors. f But whatever may be the views we entertain as to the extent of natural evidence in support of the Unity of the Godhead, there can be no doubt, that this doctrine forms one of the first and fundamental truths of Divine revela- tion. It is in many places of the inspired volume distinctly and plainly affirmed ; and it appears pervading the whole, as one of those great leading principles, to which it owes the peculiarity of its general complexion, and to whicli all the subordinate parts of the system bear a constant refer- ence. The people of Israel, accustomed to the idolatries of Bgypt, and possessing, in their nature, the same evil pro- pensities, which produced departure from God among tlie Gentile nations, had manifested, in the wilderness, long before the time when Moses addressed to them the words of our text, a strong tendency to idolatrous defection. The same disposition continued to display itself during all the subsequent period of their history, till their return from the * Paley's Nat. Theol. chap. 25, page 487, second edition. t See not© A, at the end of the volume. 10 ON THE UNITY OF GOD. captivity in Babylon ; after which time, their corruption, still retaining its inward dominion, appeared under other forms of outward transgression. — Against the indulgence of this propensity to depart from God, they were often warned, in the name of Jehovah, in the most solemn and awful terms ; the warnings pronounced by their commis- sioned lawgiver, and by the prophets of after times, were frequently verified and impressed by the execution of sig- nal judgments ; and the continued repetition of the oifence, in defiance both of warnings and of judgments, strikingly showed the strength, and the infatuating influence, of the corrupt inclination which led them astray. That the Unity of God is a leading doctrine of the Scrip- tures, and that this doctrine is pointedly affirmed in the text, as an admonition to the Israelites against the polythe- ism of the surrounding nations, I need not, I apprehend, take time to prove. — I Avould rather proceed to observe, in consistency with the object which I have principally in view, that while the Unity of the Godhead is thus clearly affirmed, and forms a characteristic feature of both the Jew- ish and Christian revelations, we are, by the same scrip- tures, taught also to believe, that in this one Godhead there are three distinct subsistences, which, for want of a better word, we are accustomed to denominate jpersons : — the Father, the Son or Word, and the Holy Spirit. Whence, or on what accounts, these distinguishing appel- lations are given, is not the subject of our present inquiry. I only remark, in general, that we do not consider them as expressive of a distinction that is merely official, or as ex- hibiting the same Divine person under three different as- pects : — but as implying a real, personal distinction, which has subsisted from eternity, and is essential to the nature of Deitv. Of the precise import of the term personality^ as applied to a distinction in the Divine essence, or of the peculiar ON THE UNITY OP GOD. H nature and mode of that distinction, I shall not presume to Jittempt conveying to your minds any clear conception. 1 cannot impart to you what 1 do not possess myself : — and convinced as I am, that such conception cannot be attained by any, it had been well, I think, if such attempts at ex- planation, by comparisons from nature, and otherwise, had never been made. They have afforded to the enemies of the doctrine, much unnecessary occasion for unhallowed burlesque and blasphemy. — The Scriptures simply assure us of the fact : — of the mode of the fact they offer no ex- planation. And where the Bible is silent it becomes us to be silent also ; for when, in such cases, we venture to speak, we can only " darken counsel by words without knowledge." — The fact, and not the manner of it, being that which is revealed, is the proper and only object of our faith. We believe that it is so ; but hoiv it is so, we are not ashamed to say, we do not presume even to conjecture. But, before proceeding further, it will be proper to show, that what has been stated is indeed the doctrine of the scriptures. Here, then, I would, first of all, observe, that while the text as it stands in our English translation, appears simply to affirm the Unity of God, it affirms it, according to the proper import of the words in the original language, in connexion with the plurality of persons in the Godhead : — " Hear, O Israel, Jehovah, our Gods (Aleim) is one Jehovah." Unity and plurality are both here asserted ; and the plurality is emphatically declared to be consistent with the Unity. The use of a plural noun for GDI), in the Hebrew Ian- guage, and the construction of that noun with other nouns, and with verbs and pronouns, sometimes in the singular number, and sometimes in the plural, have often been no- ticed as remarkable anomalies ; and these anomalies, or IS ON THE UNITY OF GOD. irregularities, are, at the same time, connected, on some occasions, with particular modes of expression, such as seem to be utterly unaccountable, on any other principle than that of a plurality of persons in the Divine Unity. For example : In Gen. i. 2Q, Jehovah is represented as saying, with regard to the creation of man, " Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. This, it will not be denied, is very remarkable language : and attempts have, accordingly, been made to account for it, on various principles. In the first place : It has by some been alleged, that Avgels are liere associated with Jehovah. — But surely no- thing can be more unnatural and unworthy than such a supposition. What ! the only living and true God sharing with his creatures his peculiar glory ! consulting with them in terms of equality, about a work, which is necessarily the exclusive prerogative of infinite power ! — even that God, who so often claims this work, the work of creation, as entirely his own, and as distinguishing him from all pre- tenders to Divinity, and who so solemnly declares, that He will not give his honour to another ! Such an idea is too flagrantly inconsistent, to merit any lengthened exposure. — ^1 may just add, however, that the Scriptures nowhere give any countenance to the notion of Angels having been employed in the creation of man, or of man's having been formed in the image of Angels. 2dhj, By others, J eliovah has been considered as using, on this occasion, the language of Majesty, according to the practice of earthly potentates. One should be apt to think the converse of this propo- sition more probable ; and that if Moses employed the plural number, as the peculiar style of Divine dignity, it had been afterwards, in the presumption of pride and van- ity, assumed by the rulers of this world. — But, in the first j)lace, it is not consistent with fact, that the Supreme Being ON THE UNITY OF GOD. fg is ever represented in the Scriptures as using this particular style. It is indeed quite the contrary. In the most sublime and solemn portions of Holy writ, in which the Divine Majesty of heaven and earth is introduced as speaking, it is uniformly the singular number that is used. — '^dly. Nei- ther was it, in point of fact, the style of the kings of the earth themselves, in the time of Moses ; nor> indeed, can any instance of it be produced from the whole Bible. — Mly, When do we ever find an earthly monarch, consult- ing tvith himself F — addressing proj)osals to himself P Even if it had been the style of royalty in the days of Moses, the interpretation would be inadmissable : for in times and places in which it is the style of royalty, the expressions in question are still without a parallel ; nothing of the same kind can be produced. — "^thly, Th^re is an- other passage which occurs soon after in the same book, and which is akin to the one now before us, only, if possi- sible, of still more unexampled singularity ; to which, consequently, these remarks apply, with even a greater degree of force and conclusiveness. In Gen. iii. 22. Je- hovah is introduced as saying, after the fall of Adam, ^^ Behold the man has become as one of us, to know good and eviV — ^'As one of us /" What can this language mean, when considered as the language of the one God ? An earthly king might use such an expression, to compre- hend his fellow-kings ; all who possessed the same rank and authority with himself. But Jehovah stands alone. As the sovereign of the universe, he has no compeers — no fellow-gods. No potentate among men could use an ex- pression like this, in reference to himself alone^ unless un- der the influence of a disordered mind. Yet thus the in- spired historian represents Jehovah as speaking : and there seems to be here no principle of easy and natural interpretation, but that which is afforded by the doctrine of the Trinity. — An expression precisly of the same des^ 14f ON THE UNITY OF GOD. cription with the one I have just been considering, occurs in the eleventh chapter of Genesis, the 6th and 7th verses, in the account there given of the confusion of languages at Babel : " The Lord said, behold, the people is one, and they have all one language : and this they begin to do : and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not un- derstand one another's speech." — I need not say, that to this passage the observations which have been made apply, with the same force as to the one on which they have been founded. The plural name of God is most generally connected with verbs in the singular number. It is so in the words, from the first chapter of Genesis, which we have just been considering ; and about thirty times, indeed, in the course of the same chapter. It is worthy of notice, that while, in the declaration of the Divine purpose, "God said let us make man in our itnage,'^ terms are employed expressive of plurality, the style of unity is resumed, in the record of the execution of the purpose : " So God created man in his image ; in the image of God created he him.'' Not unfrequently, however, as before noticed, this name, itself in the plural, is associated, in syntax, with verbs, adjectives, and pronouns, in the same number. For ex- ample : "Ye cannot serve Jehovah ; for he is Siholy God:^^ the adjective Iwly as well as the name of God, is, in the original, in the plural number. — " Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth :" In the Hebrew " thy Creators,^^ — " Thy maker is thy husband ; Jehovah of hosts is his name :" — both the nouns maker and husband are plural,— thy makers — thy husbands. — " If I be a mas- ter, (in the Hebrew, "If I be masters^^) where is my fear?'^ — " The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom ; and the knowledge of tlie Holy, (in the original the holy ones) ON THE UNITY OP GOD. 15 is understanding.''* — These are quoted as a specimen, merely to shew you what I mean. A very considerable num- ber of instances, of various descriptions, might be added. This kind of anomaly, which pervades the phraseology of the whole Old Testament revelation, where the writers appear at liberty, under Divine inspiration, to use some- times the one mode of expression, and sometimes the oth- er, finds a principle of solution, sufficiently natural, in the truth of the doctrine which I am endeavouring to defend ; nor is it easy to assign to it, if this doctrine is proscribed, an origin equally simple and satisfactory. A variety of other proofs might be adduced, on this sub- ject, from the Old Testament scriptures. They are to be found, for example, in such expressions as these : — ^^ And now the Lord Gtod, and his Spirit hath sent ME.'^f — " Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read ; for my mouth it hath commanded, and his Spirit it hath gather- ed them :'' Jwith others of a similar description : — but as it is not my purpose, (for which my reason will appear by and by) to enter at large into the evidence of the Trinity in general, I shall rather go forward to those of the New ; proceeding, at the same time, with regard to them also, on the same principle ; selecting only one or two of the most prominent passages. Of these, most of you will doubtless expect, that one at least, if not the very first, should be the remarkable verse in the fifth chapter of the first epistle of John. " For there are three that hear record in heaven, the Father , the Word, and the Holy Ghost ; and these three are one.^^ And cer- tainly this text should have been entitled to hold the first place, had its genuineness been undisputed, or disputed, as that of many texts has been, on slender grounds. I free- ly acknowledge, however, that the evidence of the spuri- « * Joshua xxiv. 19. Eccl. xii. 1. Tsa. liv. 5. Mai. i. 6. Prov. ix. 10. t Isa. xlviii. 16. | Isa. xxxiy. 16. f 6 ON T-Ilft UNITY OF GOD. ousness of this celebrated passage, if it were even muck less conclusive than, in my mind, it appears to be, would be quite sufficient to prevent me from resting upon it any part of the weight of this argument. I shall confine myself, at present, to a few remarks on two passages only. The first is the form of baptism, prescribed by our Lord, in the commission, which he gave to his apostles, immedi- ately before he left the world ; and which you will find in the nineteenth verse of the twenty- eighth chapter of the gospel according to Matthew : — " Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. ^^ On the very first aspect of this text, it seems most un- reasonable to suppose, that the one true God is liere asso- ciated with two of his creatures ; or with one of his crea- tures, and an attribute, or energy, or mode of operation. It appears to me, tliat the simple statement of such an in- terpretation should be sufficient to insure its immediate and unqualified rejection. -Yet the unreasonableness is increas- ed, when the words are considered as the terms of an ini- tiatory rite, connected with a religion, in which all wor- ship but what is addressed to the one Jehovah, is, under every form, whether expressed or implied, so decidedly and totally condemned. — The apostles were to teach the Gentiles, that they should ^' turn from those vanities which they worshipped, to the living God :'^ and those who re- ceived their instructions they were to baptize " in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.'^ What, then, must have occurred to their hearers and converts, from the use of these words, but that they were now, in- stead of the multitude of their former deities, to adore and serve the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, as the one living and true God ? — Baptism was to be administered, in the name of all the three, in the very same way : and ON THE UNITY OF GOD. 17 surely, therefore, there is the fairest reason to conclude, in the same sense. It is not, " baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of his two servants, the Son and tlie Holy Spirit ;" — nor even, " baptizing them in the name of God, and of Christ, and of the Spirit :'' — but, without the slightest intimation or symptom of any change in the meaning of the expression, in its application to one of the persons more than to another — " baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spi- rit.'' — The very same kind, and the very same degree, of honour and reverence, that are paid in this rite to one, are paid, as far as language can indicate the meaning of the speaker, alike to all.* The second passage is the form of apostolic benediction, used in the conclusion of the Second Epistle to the Corin- thians : — " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christy and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, he with you all ! Amen .'" That this form of blessing includes in it a prayer, it would be a waste of words to prove. To whom, then, is this prayer addressed ? — Had it been simply said, " The love of God he with -^ou all / Amen /'' no one, \ suppose, w^ould have hesitated to say, that, when the apostle thus expressed himself, he presented, in his heart, a petition to the Father of mercies, for the manifestations of his love to the believers at Corinth. — On what principle of criticism, then, are w^e to interpret the expression, " the grace, or fa- vour, of our Lord Jesus Christ,^' an expression so precise- ly the same in form, in a different sense ? in a sense that does not imply Jesus Christ's being the object of a similar inward aspiration ? And the same question might be ask- ed, with regard to the remaining phrase, ^^ the communion of the Holy SjmHt,^^ — It should be considered, too, that * See some further observations on this text, in the beginning of the eighth discourse. 18 ON THE UNITY OF GOD. the Corinthiansj to whom lie thus wrote, would at once as- sociate the phraseology employed with the terms of the in- itiatory ordinance of baptism, to which they had submitted on their entrance into the Christian church. They would perceive the coincidence between the one and the other ; and would understand the apostle as addressing himself, in their behalf, to the three persons in whose name they had, upon his own instruction, been baptized. — I would only further ask at present, how we can suppose an inspir- ed man, or even a man of common understanding, to re- commend, in the solemn language of prayer, his converts and brethren, to the love of God, and to the favour and communion of two of his creatures ; or to the love of God, the favour of a man, and the communion of an attribute, or influence, or energy ? and that, too, not only in terms so exactly alike, but with a precedence given to the crea- ture, in the order of address ? I must now remark, that these are proofs of the doctrine of the Trinity in general. The argument, however, is cumulative. It is my design, in a series of discourses, to prove, distinctly, the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit : and the evidence in support of the general doctrine is not properly closed, till all this mass of separate proof has been adduced, and illustrated. You must not, therefore, imagine, that we have now done with the proof of the subject which has been under con- sideration. Much more of a general nature might have been said ; but as all that will come to be advanced, on the particular topics of the Deity of Christ and of the Spi- rit, will be found to bear, directly and fully, on the doc-^ trine in question, I have purposely forborne entering into it more at large. But, in answer to all our reasonings, it is by many thought sufficient to say, — The doctrine of which you have been speaking is a mystery, — I shall not here enter into ON THE UNITY OF GOD. 10 any critical explanation of the sense in which the term mystery is employed by the New Testament writers ; — but, understanding it according to its ordinary acceptation, as signifying something that is either difficult to be con- ceived, or entirely incomprehensible, (the latter of these being obviously the meaning affixed to it in the terms of the objection) — I freely and explicitly admit, that the doc- trine in question is a mystery, — a mystery in the strongest sense of the word. But while I admit, without hesitation, the truth of the proposition expressed in the objection, I as distinctly deny the validity of tlie objection itself. — If the mysterious and incomprehensible nature of the doctrine in question, be a sufficient reason for its rejection, then may this reason be, with safety, generalized, and reduced to a principle, of universal application. The principle will be : Every thing that is mysterious and incomjjre' hensible ought to be disbelieved, — Supposing, then, for a moment, the correctness of this principle, let us see what will become of some of the fundamental truths even of Natural Religion. — Take, for example, the omnipresence of Deity. We believe this to be one of his essential at- tributes. We are accustomed to say, without any feeling of hesitation, that God is here. Yet we believe and affirm, with quite as little hesitation, that he is at the same mo- ment, equally present in the remotest part of the universe, at the distance of millions of millions of miles : — that he is present here, and present there, in the possession and ex- ercise of all his infinite perfections. But while certain modes of expression are, on this subject, familiar to our minds, have we ever endeavoured to analyze the concep- tions which these modes of expression appear to convey ? Have we ever tried to answer to ourselves the question. How is it, that this infinite Being is every wliere present ? How is it, that he exercises, at the same instant, in every point of space to which his presence extends, all the infinite so ON THE UNITY OF GOD. perfections of his Nature ? — Is he a spiritual substance^ infinitely extended ? Against this notion of infinite exten- sion there have been advanced powerful, perhaps insur- mountable objections : and the truth is, that if we imagine we possess any conception at all of the mode of the Divine omnipresence and omniscience, we greatly deceive our- selves. That the Supreme God is so present with every creature, as to have a perfect knowledge of that creature, and an absolute power over it, is a truth susceptible of the strictest demonstration. But as to i\\^ manner m which the infinite Spirit is thus every-where present ; as to the man- ner in which he possesses this knowledge, and exerts this power, we are safest when we say, We cannot tell. But why illustrate the falsehood of the principle I am now^ considering, from what regards the essence and per- fections of Deity ? Is there no mystery in any thing beneath his infinite nature ? Is not tlie observation as true as it is trite and common, that every thing around us is full of mystery ? — We are a mystery to ourselves. We have no sort of accurate conception of the nature of that union which subsists, in our own persons, between the body and the soul ^ between gross corporeal substance, and invisible, immaterial spirit. This union, with all its singular phe- nomena, has been, still is, and I believe we may with safety say, ever will be, an inscrutable mystery. Philosophical men have marked, with increasing attention and accuracy, the various and complicated results of this union; and they have often fondly deceived themselves, by imagining thej have discovered a cause, when, after all, they have only been applying the terms expressive of causation, to some effect less obvious to ordinary discernment, than the one for which they were endeavouring to account. The various theories of nervous influence, with their different degrees of ingenuity and plausibility, are no more than physiolog- ical guesses at a particular fact. Of the manner in which ON THE UNITY OF GOD. 2i mind is united to matter : — of the way in which the one operates upon the other : — of the question how nerves con- vey volitions and transmit intelligence ; they leave us in as profound ignorance as ever. — What then shall we say? Is it reasonable^ that a creature, who cannot, voluntarily, shut his eyes, or open his mouth, or lift his finger, without an incomprehensible mystery, should be startled and of- fended, because in what God reveals concerning his own infinite nature, he finds something which he cannot under- stand ? — that a creature, who feels himself baffled, in his greatest efforts of intellect, by the vegetation of a blade of grass, or the nature of the vital principle, which moves the wing of the smallest insect that glitters in the sun-beam, should be startled and offended, because he cannot com- prehend the essence, and the mode of existence, of the infinite God ? "In pride, in reasoning pride, our error lies ; " All would be gods, and rush into the skies." And we are not ignorant, when and whence this pride originated. When the devil, presenting his allurements to that ambition which his own suggestions insinuated into the human heart, said to our first parents, " Ye shall be as God ;" no sooner was the temptation complied with, than man, becoming the victim of a disordered mind, began to fancy himself what the tempter had promised he should be : and ever since, pride has swayed the sceptre of the unrenewed soul. — But surely, if there be a subject, among all that can occupy the mind, in the contemplation of which we should be humble and self- diffident ; it is the nature of the infinite Jehovah. '^ Canst thou by searching find out God ? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfec- tion? It is higher than heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know ? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.^'* The doctrine of whicli I now speak, is freely admitted * Job xi. 7—9. 2S^ ON THE UNITY OP GOD. to be above reason. But it is of consequence to observe, that, on this very account, it seems impossible to prove it contrary to reason. It is a common and a just remark, that there is an essential difference between any thing being above reason, and being contrary to it ; and that it may be the former without being the latter. I think we may go a step farther ; and affirm, as I have just hinted, that the very circumstance of its being the former pre- cludes the possibility of provihg it to be the latter. I question whether any thing that is above reason can ever be shewn to be contrary to it. For unless we have some notion of the thing itself, on what principle can we possi- bly make out the contrariety ? Were we to say that the persons of the Godhead are one and three in the same sense^ we should evidently affirm what is contrary to rea- son ; because such a proposition would involve, in the very terms of it, an irreconcilable contradiction ; but so long as we do not pretend to know, or to say, how they are one, and how they are three ; to prove that we assert what is contrary to reason, when we affirm that they are both, is, from the very nature of the thing, impossible. For what is it which is to be proved contrary to reason ? Upon the supposition made, we cannot tell : it is something which we do not know ; of the nature and circumstances of which we are left in total ignorance. — The truth is, we are lost, completely lost, whenever we begin, in any view of it whatever, to think about the Divine essence. We can form no more distinct conception of a Being that never be- gan to exist, or of a Being that is every-where present, and yet is wholly no-where, than we can of one essence, in which there are, and have been from eternity, three dis- tinct subsistences. A subject such as this, is far from being without use. It is eminently fitted to humble the pride of human intel- lect, and to make us remember, and feel, that we are crea- ON THE UNITY OF GOD. S3 tures : a truth, it may be thought, sufficiently obvious ; but one which we are in no small danger, on such subjects, of at least practically forgetting. Incalculable mischief has arisen from men's aspiring at knowledge beyond the reach of their own, or of any finite powers, and beyond the limits of the Divine declarations. Yet the attempt to comprehend the mode in which the Divine Unity subsists in three persons, is certainly not more foolish, than it is to refuse credence to the fact, because it exceeds our com- prehension. He, who does so, on such a subject as this, must either, as we have seen, be guilty of the most palpa- ble and glaring inconsistencies, or else the limits of his belief must be narrow indeed. There is hardly a point, in fact, at which a man of this description can consistently stop, short of universal scepticism. O the presumptuous arrogance of the human mind, that will not be satisfied un- less the nature of the infinite God is brought down to the comprehension of a creature, whose faculties are so limit- ed, that he is puzzled, confounded, and lost, in the con- sideration of himself! and to whom there is not a single object in existence which does not present mysteries, that mock all his efforts at explanation ! Let us not forget, what is the proper province of reason, with regard to Divine revelation. We shall examine this subject more at large hereafter. Meantime, it may be ob- served in general, that we ought, beyond all controversy, to exercise our reason, in determining the question, whether this book contains a revelation from God. This we must do, by an examination of the evidences, of various kinds, external and internal, by which its high claims are sub- stantiated. But suppose this great point fairly ascertained; what is the province of reason then ? Is it not equally beyond controversy, that, on this supposition, the only rational conduct is implicit faith P Once ascertain the Scriptures to be 'i given by inspiration of God,'^ and no- S4 ON THE UNITY OF GOD. thing can be more absurd, than to erect our reason into a standard of the truth or falsehood of what they contain, TJiis would be to deify reason : to " exalt it above all that is called God, or that is worshipped." It would be to admit that the declarations of this book possess the author- ity of God, and, at the same time, to question and deny them on the authority of reason ; — to question and deny them, that is, on our own authority ; thus assuming to ourselves the arrogant office of censors on the dictates of infinite wisdom and infinite truth. — It is true, that the con- tents of this book ought to be examined, as forming what has been called the internal evidence of its Divine author- ity. If it could be shown to contain what was clearly contradictory, the discovery would be a proof, sufficiently convincing, of its not being from God. This, however, is firmly, and without qualification denied. I am arguing, too, at present, on the supposition of its being acknowl- edged as a revelation from heaven. And I repeat, that for any man vO profess to believe that the Bible is tlie word of God, and yet not implicitly to regulate his convictions by the question, " what saith the scripture ?'^ is of all conduct the most unreasonable and inconsistent. For my own part, so far from being staggered by finding mysteries in revelation, I am satisfied, that the entire ab- sence of them w^ould have formed a much stronger ground for suspicion. All analogy excites and justifies the ex- pectation of them. JVature, in its various departments, is full of them : and shall we, then, account it strange, that there should be any in the department of grace P They abound in the ico7^ks of God : why, then, should we not look for them in his woi'd P They present themselves in the nature and constitution of every one of his creatures : and is it to be conceived, that in his own nature and es- sence, nothing of the kind sliould be found ? Is it reason- able to think, that all should be plain aud easily compre- ON THE UNITY OF GOD. 25 hensible, which relates to God himself, and that inexplica- ble difficulties should embarrass and stop our researches, only in what regards his creatures ? Ought we not rather, on such a subject, to anticipate difficulties ? — to expect to feel the inadequacy and the failure of our faculties ? — and to expect this, with a certainty proportioned to the supe- rior magnitude of the subject above all others that can en- gage our attention, and its complete and absolute remote- ness from the sphere of all our senses, and of all our experience ? If finite things every moment confound us, ouglit we to be surprised at finding that we cannot com- prehend what is infinite ? — Let us remember, my breth- ren, the apostolic lesson, and let it be our desire, that we may think, and feel, and act, on all subjects, and on all occasions, consistently witli the principle and spirit of it : ^^ I say, through the grace given to me, to every man tliat is among you, not to think of himself, more highly THAN HE OUGHT TO THINK, BUT TO THINK SOBERLY. ''* I shall conclude this Discourse with a single practical observation. While the unity of the Godhead is proclaimed in the text, in terms fitted to impress the vast importance of the doctrine on the minds of the Israelites, they are admonished, with the same earnestness, to hear, and to retain in their remem- brance, the duty which they owed to " Jehovah their God, the one Jehovah :'' "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, ivith all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and icith all thy might/' This, according to the testimony of our Saviour himself, is " the first and great commandment :''t ^^^ i^ "^^J ^^ considered as the principle and sum of all the rest. — It is a righteous law : ** holy, and just, and good/' It finds a testimony in every conscience, that is not seared to utter insensibility. — But alas ! it is a law which we have bro- ken. " The carnal mind is enmity against God." And * Rom. xii. 3. t Matth. xxii. 27, 38. 4 ^6 ON THE UNITY OP GOD. iu the violation of this law, which respects the inward spring of all our conduct, is involved the breach, in their great principle, of all the other commandments of God. — We have not given to Grod the supreme, and aifectionate, and practical homage of our hearts. In withholding it^ we have sinned : and having sinned, we are justly con- demned. — This is the state in which the gospel finds us : this is the state, indeed, that renders the gospel necessary. — The gospel is a manifestation of God's love to his ene- mies. " Herein is love^ not that we loved God^ but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.''* It is the object of the gospel, to reconcile these enemies to God : to bring them to a participation of his pardoning favour and paternal love, and to the renewed exercise of love to him. It is the w ord of reconciliation : and the ministry of it is '' the ministry of reconciliation. '^ — ^^ Now then," says the apostle of the Gentiles, " we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech by us ; we pray men in Christ's stead, Be ye reconciled to God : for He hath made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."t — When a sinner, through the influence of the Holy Spirit, believes this testimony, and complies with this invitation, the enmity of his heart is subdued : — love to God, for what he is, and for what he has done, complacential and grateful love, takes possession of his soul : and, although mingled and polluted with the foul dregs of remaining corruption, it becomes the spring of his future conduct ; emitting, in all directions, streams of the j^ame nature with itself, although tainted proportionally with tlie same pollution. He is no longer '^ without law' to God," but is "^ under the law to Christ.^i He lives to God. He ^^ has his fruit unto holiness^ and his end ever- lasting life." * 1 John ir. la. i 2 Cor. v. 19—^1. DISCOURSE IL ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. "'^ 1 John v. 20, ■his son jesus christ. this is the true god.' In last discourse, I endeavoured, from the words of Moses to the Israelites in Deut. iv. 4 — " Hear, O Israel, the Lord, our God, is one I that no critics, ancient or modern, have been sufficiently acute to discover, or sufficiently candid to admit, those manifold corruptions and interpolations, of verses and of chapters, which have been detected and exposed by the Editors of the Improved Version of the New Testament, and the friends of their system ? — that all translators, into English, French, Latin, Italian, German, and other lan- guages, have either wilfully or ignorantly erred ; these editors, and other translators of their party, alone excep- * Matth. i. 23. Luke i. 16, 17. John i. 1—3. John i. 14. John iii. 13. John viii. 58. John x. 30. John xiv. 9, 10. Acts vii. 59, 60. Rom. ix. 5. 1 Tim. iii. 16. Col. i. 16,17. Heb. i. 8, 10. iCor. i.2. John ii. 24, 25. Rev.ii.23. Matth. xviii. 20. xxviii. 20. 2Cor.xii.7 — 9. Eph. vi. 23. 1 Thess. iii. 11. 2 Thess.ii. 16, 17. 1 Johji v. 20. Rev. i. 8, 17. xxii. 13. 6 43 ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY ted ? — that the whole liost of interpreters of the Scriptures have, either through ignorance, or prejudice, or inattention and carelessness, totally misapprehended the true sense of these passages ; except the very few, who deny that in any one of them the Divinity of Jesus Christ is at all to be found ? Are such suppositions as these, I ask, when ap- plied to so large a number of passages, in themselves pro- bable ? Or are they quite consistent, in those who make them, with any thing like a becoming measure of modesty and humility ? I have not mustered these quotations, from any idea that frequency of repetition adds any thing, strictly speaking, to the value of testimony. If this book be the word of the God of truth, one express declaration should, on any point, be sufficient to satisfy our minds. It is, at the same time, true however that when a doctrine is of fundamental im- portance, we reasonably expect that it should hold a more prominent place, than we can suppose to be given to it by a single declaration. It is also true, that tlie import of one passage is more liable to the possibility of mistake, than that of many ; partly, from the very cause just alluded to, that when such a passage affirms a doctrine of great mag- nitude, its very solitude excites suspicion. On these grounds, frequency of repetition and allusion, or what may properly be termed the general strain of scripture phraseology, comes to be a consideration of no trivial weight ; the various passages in which a doctrine is either asserted, assumed, or alluded to, serving mutually to illus- trate and support one another. But it may be alleged there are other passages of Scrip- ture, whicli speak a very different language from those which have been quoted : — passages, in which Jesus is spoken of as inferior to the Father ; as sent by the Father ; as obeying^ and serving the Father ; as receiving a com- mission^ and executing a work, given him to do. All this^ OF JESUS CHRIST. 4S we at once admit ; with the very same readiness and cor- diality, with which we admit his having been a man. 1 address myself at present to those who acknowledge the Scriptures as the word of God ; and who are consequently satisfied, that they cannot in reality contradict themselves. To sucli, I propose the following simple question : Which of the two views — that which asserts the mere humanity of Jesus Christ, or that which affirms the union of his hu- manity with true and proper divinity — affords the easiest and most complete reconciliation of these apparent contra- rieties, and the fairest solution of the difficulty thence aris- ing ? Take, *in the first place, the system from which the Deity of Christ is entirely excluded. I need not say how superlatively difficult the attempt must be, to bring the host of texts already quoted, along with others of a similar description, to speak a language in accordance with this hypothesis. Every one, who is at all acquainted with the subject, is aware, that the attempt has employed, and ex- hausted, all the possible arts and resources of criticism : — with what success, remains afterwards to be seen. — Take on the other hand, the view of the person and work of Christ, presented in the following words : — " Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God ; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and, being found in fashion as a man, humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.'-* Supj^ose^ for the present, this translation to be correct, and the ordinary interpretation of the pas- sage to be the just one ; we have, on this supposition, a double view of the person and character of Christ, which appears instantly to furnish a natural and satisfactory so- lution- of the whole difficulty. If he be, indeed, both God and man, we have no reason, surely, to be greatly aston- * Phil. ii. 6—8. 4-1 ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY ishetl, if we find language respecting him, of seemingly opposite complexions, according as he is spoken of under the one, or undpr the other view, of his person. When We adopt this principle of interpretation, the apparent con- fusion becomes order and harmony. If, besides, he vol- untarily undertook the office of Mediator, and is represent- ed, in the Scriptures, as performing this work in the wil- lingly assumed capacity of a servant ; there can be no doubt, that this view of his mediatorial character and work does, in fact, afford a very easy and consistent interpreta- tion of almost all the passages, in which he is spoken of as inferior and subject : as serving and obeying Jehovah ; and as receiving his reivard,-^On this principle, suppos- ing it just, we cease to wonder at the seeming contrarieties. We perceive them to be merely apparent : nay, to be such as we had every reason previously to expect. — If, then, this be a key which fits all the wards of this seemingly in- tricate lock, turning among them with hardly a touch of interruption, catching its bolts, and laying open to us in tlie easiest and completest manner, the treasures of Divine truth : — if this be a principle, which, in fact, does produce harmony and consistency in the word of God, while the rejection of it, on the contrary, gives rise to difficulties with- out number ; is not tliis, of itself, a strong presumptive ev- idence that the principle is correct, and well-founded ? — I shall probably have occasion, in a subsequent discourse, to touch again on the reasonableness of this principle ; — a principle which might be reduced into a general rule of interpretation : — that of two contending systems^ that one ought to be jpreferredj which not only affords a natural ex- planation of those texts by tvhich it seems to be itself sup- ported, but, at the same time, furnishes a satisfactoi^ prin- ciple of harmony, between these, and those other passages, which have the appearance of countenancing its opposite. I must now go on to state and illustrate two or three OF JESUS CHRIST. 45 general considerations, in wliicli tlie divine dignity of Jesus Christ is evidently and strongly implied : — certain views, which, on any other supposition, are utterly bereft of all their force and propriety ; and appear altogether unnatural and unaccountable. 1. The first of these which I shall notice is, the view given in the Scriptures, of the love of God, as displayed in the mission, or gift, of Jesus Christ. — This love, as every one who knows his Bible is aware, is uniformly spoken of in terms which intimate its astonisliing and unparalleled greatness. " God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life :" — ^' God commend- eth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us :" — " What shall we say, then, to these things ? If God be for us, who can be against us ? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not, with him, also freely give us all things ?" — '^ God is love. Herein was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."* If Jesus Christ was merely a human prophet, commis- sioned to teach mankind the will of God ; on what princi- ple of interpretation are we to explain such language as this ? — It is language peculiar to this one subject ; una- lienably appropriated to the Son of God. There had been before him, and tliere were after him, ^' holy men of God, who spake as they were moved by the Holy Gliost.'^ But to no prophet, or inspired teacher, either in Old or New Testament times, do we ever find language applied, in the remotest degree analogous to this. — Why is this the case? The gratitude due to God for the instructions of his com* * John iii. 16. Rom. v. 8. viii. 31, 32. 1 John iv. 8— IQ, 46 ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY missioned teachers must be in proportion to tlie importance of their respective messages ; or, supposing their message to be substantially the same, to the clearness and fulness with which it is delivered. If Jesus Christ is to be viewed in this simple light, as " a teacher sent from God ;" if his life was only an example, and his death a confirmation of his testimony ; where shall we discover that unparalleled peculiarity of love, and whence derive that incomparably superior obligation, which the passages quoted so strongly express ? — There cannot be a question, that the will of God was more clearly and fully developed by the apostles, after the day of Pentecost, than it had been by Jesus him- self, during his life upon earth. Yet, when do we find any language like that which is used respecting him, ap- plied to Peter or Paul ? — although they also proved their sincerity, and sealed their testimony, with their blood ? — Why is Jesus Christ characterized as God^s unsjjeaJcable gift P Why is the love displayed in this gift, the pledge and assurance of every other blessing ? — a pledge so pre- cious, an assurance so decisive, as to convert into a con- tradiction in terms, the very supposition that any other possible good should ever be withheld ? — Why is it thus exhibited, as without parallel or comparison, not only among the creatures of God, but in the whole conduct of God himself? — Indeed, my brethren, the supposition of Jesus Christ being a man only, like ourselves, — a mere human prophet, so reduces, and neutralizes the meaning of the expressions which have been quoted, — so totally annihilates tlieir spirit, and beauty, and propriety ; that I trust you will be disposed to say along with me, with all the emphasis of conviction. It cannot be true, IL The same remark is applicable, with at least equal force, to the representations which are given, in the New Testament, of the astonishing condescension and love of file Lord Jesus Chi'ist himself OF JESUS CHRIST. 47 ^^ Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for your sakes he became poor ; that ye, through his poverty, might be rich !''^ On repeating these words, we naturally and instantly ask, when was he rich as a man? — When he was born in the stable, and laid in the manger ? When he said, " the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head ?'^ At what time was he rich ? and when, and how, did he become poor ? The answer of our opponents to these questions is, He never became poor : — the original word does not de- note his passing from an antecedent state of opulence to a subsequent state of poverty ; but his living in povei-ty, although he was, at the same time rich : — " While he was rich, yet, for ijour sakes, he lived in poverty, ^'^ If, for a moment overlooking the criticism, you inquire, — how was this ? How was it, that, although rich, he lived a life of poverty ? — the reply is — '^ He was rich in miraculous powers, which it was at his option to employ for his own henefit,''X — " Miraculous powers, which it was at his op- tion to employ for liis own benefit.'^ — What a strange sup- position is this ! What ! a prophet of the Most High, with miraculous, that is, with almighty power, at his own dis- posal, to use, as he may incline, for promoting his own wealth, and honour, and aggrandizement ! Divine power transferred to a creature ! subjected to the will and plea- sure of a mere man — a " fallible and peccable man/^§ — " a man in all respects like other men, except in being se- * 2 Cor. viii. 9. t See Improved Version of the New Testament. I Belsham's Calm Inquiry, page 126. The words of the Editors of the Improved Version are to the same effect: " Our Lord was rich in miraculous powers, which he couhl employ, if he pleased, to his own advantage." Note on the text. § Priestley. ^ ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY lected by Divine wisdom to be the messenger of truth atid mercy to mankind !^^^ Such transference of Divine power, I would, in the first place, remark, is a natural im- possibility. The might which effects the miracle resides in God alone. It never can belong to the creature. And residing, as it must, in God alone, it can never be exerted to gratify the will of a creature, who would pervert it to a selfish purpose, or to any purpose different from that whicli he is commissioned to accomplish, and for the ac- complishment and vindication of which alone, the interpo- sition of the power is pledged. The contrary supposition is pregnant Avith consequences the most serious and fatal. It destroys the certainty of the evidence of miracles ; and thus subverts one of the main pillars on which the truth of Christianity rests. For, if miraculous power was en- tirely a discretionarji power, lodged in the hands and plac- ed at the will of its possessor, to be used for any purpose he pleased ; — then, what security have we, that it has, in every instance, been used agreeably to the design for which it was bestowed ? — always in support of truth, and never of error ? — always for the accomplishment of Divine, and never of selfisli ends ? — Tlie very expression, that it was ^' at his ojytion^^ how he should employ this power, — at the option of a man like ourselves, subject to the perverting influence of human infirmities and human passions, — sup- poses the possibility of the one, as well as of the other : and thus a miracle, however fully ascertained, ceases to be a conclusive evidence of truth, or a certain indication of the Divine will. — I satisfy myself with this observation for the present. If the i^riiicijple be wrong on which the in- terpretation of our opponents is founded, the interpretation itself cannot be right. The text will come into notice again. — Meantime, consider, how full it is of beauty and of force, when referred to Him, who, although rich as the * Belsham. OP JESUS CHRIST. 49 great Creator and sovereign Proprietor of the universe, be- came poor in the assumption of our nature, making no use, in that nature, of those riches which were all his own, but " humbling himself, and becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross !'' — This is grace indeed ! — Grace that shall be the theme, the worthy theme, of ever- lastiog song ! Further : on the hypothesis of our opponents, what shall we make of the following language ? Paul, in praying for the Ephesian believers, expresses himself thus : — " That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend, with all saints, what is the hreadth, and lengthy and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth Jcnoivledge /^'* — What, I say, are we to make of this ? If Jesus Christ was a mere human prophet, who, having fulfilled his prophetic commission, attested the ti-uth of it by his death ; — where is this marvellous, this unexampled love ? — this love of which the limits cannot be measured ? — which has a height and depth, a breadth and length, exceeding all comprehension ? — Differences there may be between this man and other men — between this prophet and other prophets ; but no differences can there be, of suf- ficient magnitude to justify such expressions as these. On the supposition in question, this language is entirely out of nature : — we cannot go along with it : — it violates eve- ry sentiment of propriety : — it is the mere rhapsody of ad- miration ; the unmeaning bombast of eulogy. III. With this last observation is closely connected, the dejjth of interest, the warmth of admiring transport, and adoring gratitude, with which the contemplation of this subject inspired the hearts of the J^ew Testament writers. —The thought of the love of Christ, and of the love of God in Christ, as displayed in the humiliation and suffer- * Ephes. iii. 17—19. 7 50 ON THE SUPREME DIVIMTY ings of the Saviour, sets their hearts on fire. The very mention of it, even an incidental allusion to it, carries away their feelings, and fills them with the loftiest, the sublimest emotions ; with "joy unspeakable, and full of giory.*^ " What shall we, then, say to these things ? If God be for us, who can be against us ? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not, with him, also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? Shall God who justifieth ? Who is he that condemneth ? Shall Christ wlio died, yea rather, who is risen again, Avho is even at the right liand of God, who also maketh interces- sion for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or ftimine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? (as it is written? for thy sake we are killed all the day long ; we are count- ed as sheep for the slaughter :) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through liim that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life ; nor an- gels, nor principalities, nor powers ; nor things present, nor things to come ; nor height, nor depth, nor any other ereature, shall be able to separate us from tlie love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord !'^* Whence these glowing transports ? Whence this celestial elevation of spirit ? Why does the thought of " Christ crucified,'^ an- imate the souls of these writers with such exulting triumph? and bind them to their Saviour and Lord, with such fer-^ vent and resolute attachment ? '' What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him I'^f Take away the view of his condescension and grace apparent * Rom. viii. 31— .39. f Phil. iii. 7—9, OF JESUS CHRIST. 51 In his assuming ouv nature, to suffer and die for the re- demption of the lost ; and such transports become mere passion, without reason. But admit this view ; and all is natural : — the cause is adequate to the effect ; the effect fully justiiied by the transcendent grandeur of the cause. IV. Another of those general considerations to which I solicit your attention is, the account given in the J^ew Testament of the exaltation of Jesus, at the right hand of God. — This exaltation is represented as the consequence, and the reward, of his finished work. Let one passage suffice, as a description of its glory : — " He raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand, in the heavenly places ; far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come ; and hath put all things under his feet : and gave him to be the head oVer all things to the Church, which is his body, the fulness of him who iilleth all in all."^ The na- ture of this delegated power, with the ground and princi- ple of its delegation, we shall have occasion afterwards to illustrate ; and to show tliat the exercise of it necessarily implies the possession of Divine perfections. The ques- tion which I wish to impress upon your minds at present, is this : — If Jesus Christ was a mere human prophet, who was sent to teach the will of God, and who fell a martyr to the trutli ; why this strange distinction ? Why is this prophet thus singled out, and invested with glory, above the highest archangel : and with all power and authority in heaven and in earth ? That he might be superior, even eminently superior, although a mere man, to other pro- phets, and servants of Jehovah, we can very readily con- ceive. But is not the height of glory, on this supposi- tion, out of all proportion to the superiority of the service? Do we not feel, as if Isaiah, and Peter, and Paul, were kept too low ? They thought not so : they felt not so. But * Eph. i. 20—33. 5^ ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY why ? Because they viewed him^ who was the great sub- ject of then- predictions and of their testimony, as, in per- sonal dignity, and in important commission, infinitely their superior ; one to whose condescension and grace, they were themselves infinitely indebted ;— and whom they con- sidered it as their highest honour to serve, and to cele- brate. The follov» ing w ords, before alluded to, assign the true cause, and it is an all-sufficient and satisfying one, of the height of glory and honour, dominion and power, to wiiicli Jesus is raised : — " Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God ; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men ; and, being found in fasliion as a man, humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Where- fore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name : that at the name of Je- sus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.^'* Here is the genuine reason, plainly and explicitly stated ; and here, all is proportion and pro- priety. It is right and suitable, that He who thus hum- bled himself, should be thus exalted. It is right, that he who stooped so low should be raised so high : — that he who assumed our nature in a low estate, should exhibit in that nature his heavenly majesty : — that he who redeemed men should reign over them : that he who " endured the cross, despising the shame," should occupy the throne, and be ^^ crowned with glory and honour." All who know and feel his grace, are disposed, with one heart and one soul to sing : — " Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God, even his Father — to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen !" — " Worthy is *Phil. ii. 6—11. OF JESUS CHRIST. 53 the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing !"* V. The last of these general considerations which I shall mention, is the high claims of Jesus on the love and obedience of his followers. To all the prophets of God, the commissioned ambassa- dors of Heaven, as to fellow-creatures, who have been the instruments of much good to us, at the expense of much self-denial and suffering to themselves, we certainly ought to feel a warm and grateful attachment. But what mere human prophet ever addressed the people to whom he was sent, in such terms as the following ? '' He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me : and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not wor- thy of me : and he that taketh not his cross, and follow- eth after me, is not worthy of me :'^ — ^^ If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.'' — '' If any man serve me, let him follow me : and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my Father honour."! Who can this be, who advances claims so high, on the love, and service, and obedience of his hear- ers : — who, in terms so unqualified, appropriates their at- tachment ; and is not afraid of dividing their hearts be- tween himself and the Father that sent him ? — If the speaker was indeed what we affirm him to have been, the language is suitable to the person ; we are sensible of no incongruity between them ; but are, on the contrary, awed to silence by the dignified authority, and won to compli- ance by the mild benignity of his address. But if he was a human prophet merely, on a level in nature with the dis- ciples and the multitudes to whom he spoke, every feeling * Rev. i, 5, 6. V. 12, f Matth. x, 37, 38. Luke xiv. ^6. John xii. 26, 5ii ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY ©f fitness and propriety is outraged : the language lias no parallel in the history of the discharge of prophetic com- missions : it is the language of unexampled presumption. — Yet these high claims were felt and owned by his fol- lowers to be just Love to Christ became the grand mov- ing spring of Christian activity : " The love of Christ con- straineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then all died : and that he died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again.'^^ Love to Christ was a prominent and distinguishing feature of the Chris- tian character : ^^ Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity !'^f The want of this love incurred a lieavy curse : " If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha !"J How destitute of reason, I repeat, are such expressions, if Jesus was a mere human prophet ! The obligation to such su- preme love, with all its various expressions, we find it im- possible, on this supposition, to bring ourselves to feel ; either on account of what he is, or on account of what he hath done. We must qualify the language, we must di- lute its strength and pungency to such a degree, as to ren- der it a most unnatural vehicle of the sentiment it was de- signed to express, before we can bring it at all w ithin the bounds of moderation and pi^opriety. But view Jesus Christ as Immanuel — God with us ; — the atoning Re- fleemer of a lost world : — and all is as it ought to be. The strongest terms that can be selected, are not then too strong to express his claims on our attachment ; his title to the entire surrender of our hearts and powers to his service : uor is eternity itself too long to celebrate his praise. The contemplation of what he is, and of tchat he hath done^ disposes us, with all tlie ardour of a grateful and ador- ing heart, to join in the song of heaven — a song, indeed, in which all creation is represented as uniting : — ^^ Bless- * 2 Cor. V. 14, 15. t Eph. vi. 24<, ^ 1 Cor. xri. 22, OF JESUS CHRIST. 55 IXG^ AND HONOUR^ AND GLORY^ AND POWER, BE UNTO HIM THAT SITTETH UPON THE THRONE, AND UNTO THE LAM.B, FOREVER AND EVER ! AmEN l'^* My dear friends, if the subject of which I have been speaking were a matter of mere abstract speculation, I should reckon myself ill-employed in touching it in pub- lic at all ; — far more so, in entering into any detailed dis- cussion of it. Such themes as these become not him^ whose office calls him to " negotiate between God and man, the high concerns Of judgment and of mercy ." But feeling, as I do, my own hopes for eternity at stake* with the doctrine whose truth it is my object to vindicate | and satisfied, that yoitr hopes must rest on the same foun- dation — (for if this be the right one, there is not another :) — 1 cannot but feel it my duty, to press it upon your most serious and earnest attention. — In next discourse, I intend, if God shall give ability and opportunity to prosecute the subject, to enter on the direct proofs, that the peculiar Names, Attributes, Works, and Worship of the true God, are distinctly ascribed in the Bible to Jesus Christ. And all that I request of you, is a patient and candid hear- ing ; and a seriousness becoming the high importance of the point under discussion. As to any practical improvement of what has been de- livered in this discourse, I have only to say, (for it would be quite unseasonable to enlarge,) that if the spirit of the different Scripture quotations, expressive of Christian principles and Christian feelings, in the latter part of the discourse, be imbibed and cherished, and practically dis- played — ^this will be, of all effects the most desirable ; the most conducive to your happiness, and to the glory of God our Saviour. May He graciously grant this effect, fnr bis name's sake ! Amen ! * Rev. V. m. DISCOURSE IIL ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST 1 John v. 20. iii^! it id ■ hr ■ BISCOURSE IV. ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 1 John t. 20. HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. THIS IS THE TRUE GOD. I proposed, you will recollect, to prove, that the dis- tinguishing Names, Attributes, Works, and Worship of the Supreme God, are all, in the Scriptures, unequiv- ocally ascribed to Jesus Christ. Pursuing this arrangement, I endeavoured, in last dis- course, to show you, from a variety of passages, both in the Old Testament and in the New, that the names God and Jehovah are, in their proper and highest sense, giv- en to Christ : — and also, that he is distinctly represented as possessing the Divine attributes of Eternal Existence^ Almighty Poiver, Omnipresence, and Omniscience. Still deferring further recapitulation, I now go on imme- diately to the two remaining articles of discourse. III. We affirm, then, in the third place, that Works are ascribed to Jesus Christ in the Scriptures, to which no being is competent but the Supreme God. The most superficial reader of the Gospel history can hardly fail to be struck, — I do not say with the miracles themselves which Jesus is recorded to have performed — for similar wonders were wrought by the prophets before, and by the apostles after him ; — but by the peculiar man- ner in which some of these miracles are described as hav- ing been done. " He arose, and rebuked the winds, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still ! and immediately there was a great calm.'' Do not these words remind us of that 96 ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY Being, of whom it is said, in the sublime language of the psalmist ; " He stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people ?'^* When the Redeemer performed this miracle, the persons who were in the ship were filled with amazement and dread, and said one to another, " What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him I'^f Had the name of the almighty Jehovah been invoked, or in any way ac- knowledged, when the command was given that hushed the turbulence of the storm ; — although the instantaneous suddenness of the effect could not have failed to strike them with wonder, yet the cause of the astonishment would not have been such as is here described. They could, in that case, have been at no loss, even for a moment, to ac- count for what was done. But, " the winds and the sea OBEY HIM !'' Here seems to have lain the chief cause of their amazement. They saw a man — in external appear- ance like one of themselves. Yet tliis man " spoke, and it was done." — spoke with the authority and the majesty of one who was conscious of having in himself the neces- sary power. And when they expressed the perplexity of their minds — as respecting a fact for which they were un- able to account — saying, " What manner of man is this V^ the true answer would have been, ^^ He is a man, in union with Deity : — he is Immanuel, God with us." There is nothing from which we can conceive the mind of a holy creature to revolt with deeper abhorrence, than the discovery of his having said or done any thing that could lead his fellow- creatures to imagine, even for an in- stant, that he claimed equality with God ! And the high- er we ascend in the scale of being, the more strongly, we cannot but suppose, would such impression of abliorrence be felt ; so that to consider Jesus as the most exalted of created beings, instead of weakening, adds strength to this * Psalm Ixv. 7. t Mark iv. 39—41. OP JESUS CHRIST* 97 view of the argument, arising from his words and conduct while he sojourned among men. We should certainly have expected, that a creature of this character, feelingly alive to whatever bore the remotest resemblance to impie- ty, and deeply sensible that there could be no impiety, no blasphemy, so heinous, as that of seeming to claim equal- ity with the infinite God, — had he perceived in the minds of those with whom he conversed, the thought arising that he seemed to be advancing such a claim, would have shud- dered with instinctive horror ; would have hastened to disclaim the imputation, in language of which the meaning could not be mistaken ; and would sedulously have shun* ned every form of speech, and every mode of conduct, that could possibly countenance a supposition so inexpressibly shocking to his mind. The application of these remarks to the case of Jesus might be illustrated by a variety of instances. I shall at present, however, notice only another incident, in addition to the one already mentioned. " There came a leper to liim, doing him obeisance, and saying. Sir, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.''* What is his reply to this address ? Should we not expect a creature, of the charac- ter before described, to say : " If thou wilt, thou canst ! — Impute not the power to me. I may be willing indeed 5 but God alone is ahle.^^ Such was the humble spirit of his faithful apostles, when they said, " Why look ye so earnestly on us, as tliough by our own power and holiness we had made this man to walk ?" — and when " they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out. Sirs, why do ye these things ? We also are men of like infirm- ities with yourselves.'^t Far different is the answer of * I adopt here the translation of obeisance for worship, and Sir for Lord, merely to show, that it is not on the terms of this leper's ad- dress that the stress of the present argument in any degree rests, t Acts iii. 12. xiv. 15. 18 98 ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY Jesus : " I will : Be thou dean P^ — If Moses and Aaron were punished with exclusion from the land of promise, because they failed to sanctify the name of Jehovah, in the eyes of the children of Israel, at the watei^s of Meribah, performing the miracle with inconsiderate passion, as if the power had resided in themselves — " Hear now, ye rebels, shall we fetch you water out of this rock V^ surely these words of Jesus must have been rebuked, as words of unparalled presumption, by that God who " will not give his glory to another." But, in truth, there was no pre- sumption in them. He who uttered them, although he appeared on earth in " tlie form of a servant,'^ to execute a special commission, which he had voluntarily undertak- en to fulfil ; and although in conformity with the official character which he had thus assumed, he speaks of " the works which he did in his Father's name, bearing witness of him that the Father had sent him ;'' — was, at the same time, the " Fellow of the Lord of hosts,'' possessing in himself underived and independent power. Of this you will, I trust, be more fully convinced, and your surprise will thoroughly cease at the manner in which such miracles as those now referred to were performed^ when I have shown you, as I shall now proceed to do, that the creation of all things is one of the works as- cribed in the Scriptures to Jesus Christ. 1. John i. 1 — 3. " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. Ml things were made by hirit ; and without him ivas not any thing made that was made,^^ These words, say the opposers of our LortFs Divinity, ought to be translated : "All things were done by him, and without -him was not any thing done that has been doneJ^^ * The original words are Uxvret h* ecvrov eyevero* koci x^P'^ xvtov s'yevsTo ovSe Iv o ^eyovev. OF JESUS CHRISTo " 99 •^ The beginning,^^ say they, ^' means tke beginning of the Christian dispensation^ or of tiie ministry of Christ ;" — and by " all things/^ we are to understand all things in that dispensation. On this view of the passage I beg your candid attention to the following remarks. There seems to be an obvious connexion between the expression " In the beginning,^^ and the words " All things 2vere done by him:^^ the former expressing the time of the latter. Now, with what propriety could it be said, that in the beginning of his ministry, or in the beginning of the Christian dispensation, all things in that dispensation, were done by him ? — " The begin- ning''^ becomes, on this hypothesis, a phrase of no defi- nite meaning : — it is impossible to say what period of time it includes. All things in the Christian dis- pensation were not, surely, done by Jesus, in the com- mencement of his own personal ministry : — are we to in- clude, then, the whole of his ministry ? — But it is further said — " Without him was not any thing done that was done ; which means, it is alleged, that " as all things in the Christian dispensation were done by his authority, and according to his direction ; in the ministry committed to his apostles nothing was done without his warraiitJ^^ Is "the beginning/^ then, to be considered as comprehending the period of their ministry also ? — If, on the contrary, we connect the expression " in the beginning,^ with the de- claration " All things were made by him,'' and consider the writer as speaking of the original formation of the material universe, and as referring to the language of the inspired historian of the creation at the opening of the book of Genesis, " In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth f we obtain not only a definite meaning to each of tlie phrases separately, but, at the same time, a manifest and consistent alliance between them. 100 ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY But the word, we are reminded, here rendered " were made^^^ is a word, which, although it very often occurs in the New Testament, is never used in the sense of creation. ^' It signifies to be^ to come, to become^ to come to pass, to be done or transacted.^' I shall not tax your patience by entering here into minute verbal criticism. Two remarks will, 1 think, be sufficient. 1. It will not, 1 presume, be questioned, that, among the various general meanings of this word, it signifies not merely to be, but to begin to be — to come into being or ex- istence — either absolutely, or in any particular state of the thing which is spoken of. Now, without entering into any particular examination of those passages where it is usually considered as signifying to be made, this of itself, I should think, is quite enough. For surely, when Si pro- ducing agent is at the same time mentioned, to come into existence by means of that agent, amounts to much the same thing with being made by him. 2. It must not be overlooked, that this writer himself, in this very context, fixes the sense in which he uses it, beyond all reasonable doubt. In verse 10th, he says of Christ, the true lights — ^' He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not," — ^^ The world was made by him,'' is the very same phrase in the original with '^ all things were made by him," in the third verse.* Nothing, one should think, can be more de- cisive than this. — How, then, is this second passage to be disposed of? " The world was done by him," it is ob- vious, will no longer answer. An expedient, however, is at hand : — but one, of the candour of whose inventor, I honestly confess, I have not charity sufficient to persuade myself. The words here, it seems, must be renderetl, by means of a supplement, — ^^ and the world was — enlight- ened — by him !" To the merest sciolist in Greeks thrs OF JESUS CHRIST. 101 translation, (if such it must be called) may be left to its own merits. But it is not, by any means, ignorance of Greek that has produced it. It is not easy for charity itself to ascribe it to any thing else than attachment to a system : which, in so many instances, warps the judgment ; makes ^' the worse appear the better reason ;" disposes to the admission of any thing rather than the obnoxious doctrine ; and causes that to seem natural, which, in other circum- stances, would be instantly rejected, with indignant deris- ion. There are not a few unnecessary, and there are some injurious supplements in our ordinary English Version : but certainly there is nothing of the kind that can bear a comparison with this. I only ask any person who has learned the first elements of English, what he should tliink of a writer, who, intending to express the sentiment that the world was enlightened by Jesus Christ, should write the substantive verb, iras, and leave the w ord enlightenedy not only the principal word, but absolutely the only word by which his meaning could be determined, to be suppli- ed by the reader ! Yet this is precisely v/hat these critics suppose the inspired historian to have done in the present instance. The diflTerence of idiom between the English language and the Greek can afford no refuge here ; for it is utterly inconceivable, that this should be an admissible idiom, in any language whatever.* * The proposed supplement, however, is professedly taken from the preceding verse. The two verses together, (with the supplement) stand thus : Hv to ^a^ ro ecXyjdtvov^ ^cifTi^si TTccvrx a.v6pM7rov e^x^f*^^^* *'5 Tov xoTfAov. Ev TO) KocTf^O) 7}V^ x.eti Koa-fjLoq ^t* ecvrov eyeviTo (?rf^«r/9'/t«ev«5*) Kcci xoTf^og uvTov ovK £yv6f, To tliis a parallel passage has been pro- duced ; the only one, it should seem, that could be found. It i«Matth. xxiii. 15. " oTi Tre^tetysTs rijy S-ccXxa-c-xv Kctt rijv |ff ecv, ^o/sjc-cm eiu ^poa-tj- AoTflV K»t oretv yev^Txiy Troieire uvrov v'lov yegvvjj^ St^Xore^ov c)f4«y.— *I shall leave it to the Greek reader to detect the parallelism. If there is one, it will not require to be pointed out to him. Mr. Cappe, departing entirely from the ordinary and established 103 ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY Considering verse 3d then as fairly translated — agreea- bly to what it was the intention of the writer to express ; — I Jiave only further to observe respecting it, that the terms in which it ascribes the creation of all things to Jesus Christ, are peculiarly pointed and emphatical : " All things were made by him ; and without him ivas not made even a single thing that ivas made.^^ — Such is the literal rendering. And what is the necessary inference? The eyes of his understanding must be sealed by inveterate prejudice against the doctrine in question, who does not im- mediately perceive it. If not one thing was made without him^ does it not incontrovertibly follow, that he was not a created being himself P — For if lie were — although the jirst and the highest of created beings, still lie would be himself an exception and contradiction to the statement made. The apostle Paul says, respecting Christ^s medi- atorial dominion : '' God hath put all things under his feet : but when it is said, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is exce/pted ivho did put all things under himJ' On the same obvious principle we draw our meaning of hety when used in a genitive case, translates — " the world was made /or him :" and the meaning, according to him, is : He was in the world, and the world, i. e. the Jewish dispensation, " was made for him," i. e. instituted with a view to his coming, and calculated to reveal and recommend him ; yet the world, i. e. the subjects of that dispensation, knew him not ! ! Mr. Belsham says he adopts the former of these explanations, pro- posed by his learned and ingenious friend. Dr. Carpenter, *' with some hesitation ;" and yet afterwards, when speaking of Mr. Cappe's trans- lation, he gives the preference to the otlier, because " he feels some reluctance to understand the preposition Siec in a sense so unusual, when the construction does not require it, and a very good and obvious sense can be given without it." Surely that sense cannot be very o&- vious, which has only been proposed in Dr, Carpenter's time, (I speak on Mr. B's authority) and which Mr, Belsham himself admits with hesitation. Belsham's Calm Inquiry, pages 35^ B7^ Note 30. OF JESUS CHRIST. 103 conclusion here : " When it is said, and that with such emphasis and precision, All things were made by him, it is manifest that he is excepted by whom all things were made.^'* The unreasonableness of any other interpretation will appear peculiarly glaring, when this passage is compared, and taken in connexion, with others of a similar descrip- tion. 2. Col. i. 16, 17. ^^ For by him were all things crea- ted^ that are in heaven, and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or prin- cipalities, or powers ; all things were created hy him, and for him ; and he is before all things ; and by him all things consist J^\ In whatever sense we understand the words of the verse preceding these, in which Jesus is spoken of as ^^ the Im- age of the invisible God, the first-born of the whole crea- tion,^' it is at present sufficient to say, that it must be a sense consistent with the verses quoted, which evidently refer to the same person. And with regard to these verses, the first thing to be ob- served is, that we are free from the objection brought against the former passage : for here we have the word used which is admitted properly to express the idea of creation, — Is this then, as might reasonably be expected, to settle the point ? No such thing. The creation here spoken of, it seems, is not a creation of things or beings themselves, but merely of certain states and orders of beings ; not a mate- rial, but a spiritual creation ; not a creation of the heavens and tlie earth, but only of things in heaven, and things in * See Note F. f 'Ort ev uvrcfi eKTiiis department of the argument presents to the Christian mind, I must forbear : — and shall proceed to the consideration of certain other works, which are ascribed to him as Mediator ; and to which he is not, and cannot be, competent, unless consid- ered as '^ Immanuel, God with us.^^ On the principle of selection, I shall confine myself to two — the Government of the World, and the Final Judgment. That these works are ascribed to Jesus in his exalted state, no consistent believer of the Bible can entertain a * Isaiah xlviii. 13. xliv. 24. 108 ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY doubt. In tlie immediate prospect of ascending to the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, he said himself to his disciples : "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth/' — " He is Lord of all ;" " Lord of the living and the dead ;" " exalted far above all princi- pality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, both in this world, and in that which is to come — having all things put in subjection under his feef * — And a part of the exercise of his sovereign do- minion, is the administration of judgment, at the great day of final retribution. The testimonies of the Word of God on this point are many and explicit. " We shall all stand before the Judgment-seat of Christ :''— " God hath appoint- ed a day in the which he will judge the world in right- eousness by that man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath rais- ed him from the dead :'' — " The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son ; that all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Fa- ther : he that honoureth not tlie Son, honoureth not the Father who hath sent him : — he hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man :'' — " He commanded us to preach to the people, and to tes- tify, that it is he who was ordained of God, to be the judge of living and dead f' — " I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Clirist, who shall judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom :'' — " When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy an- gels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glo- ry. And before him shall be gathered all nations : and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd di- videth his sheep from the goats : and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall * Matth. xxviii. 18. Actf?. x. 36. Rom, xir. 9, Epli. i. 20 — 2.2. OF JESUS CHRIST. 109 the King say to them on his right hand, ^ Come, ye bless- ed of my Father, inherit the kingdom, prepared for you from the foundation of the world :' — ^then shall he say al- so to them on his left hand, ' Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels/ — And these shall go aAvay into everlasting punishment ; but the righteous into everlasting life.''* Figurative language is a convenient, and therefore a favourite resort, of the opposers of our Lord's Divinity. — Plain and express as these ascriptions of dominion and judgment to Jesus Christ appear to be, they are all, on this principle of interpretation, readily set aside. His advance- ment, in his state of exaltation, to the government of the world, is pronounced " a notion unscriptural and most in- credible." All that is said on this subject, it is alleged, means " not the personal authority of our Divine Master, but the prevalence of his religion in the world :" — " and a consistent Unitarian, acknowledging Jesus as a man in all respects ' like unto his brethren,' regards his kingdom as entirely of a spiritual nature, and as consisting in the empire of his gospel over the hearts and lives of its pro- fessors."! — And as to his " judging the living and the dead at his appearing and kingdom," while difficulty is felt and acknowledged, and a great deal is said with a view to remove, or at least to alleviate it, it is at last " con- jectured, that when Christ is represented as appointed by * Rom. xiv. 10. 2 Cor. v. 10. Acts. xvii. 31. John. v. 32, 33, ^y. 4cts. X. 42. 2 Tim. iv. 1. Mattli. xxv. 31 — i6. t Belsham's Review of Wilberforce, p. 74. — Calm Inquiry, pages 319, 320. — " Agreeably to the prejudices and imaginations of Jews and Gentiles, the subjection of all mankind to the rules of piety and virtue delivered by Christ, is shadowed out under the imagery of a mighty king, to whom all power is given in heaven and earth," &c. Lindsey's Sequel, p. 473, as quoted by Mr. Belshatn in a note, p. 321 of Calm Inquiry. 110 0N THE SUPREME DIVINITY God to judge the world, nothing more may be intended by this language, but that the final states of all and every in- dividual of mankind shall be awarded agreeably to the de- clarations of the gospel P^^ There is this peculiar convenience in such a principle of interpretation, when applied to this extent, that it pre- cludes, in a great degree, the possibility of refutation. When one text of Scripture is alleged to have a figurative and not a literal meaning, the only effectual method of de- tecting and exposing the misinterpretation, is a comparison of it with other passages, of a kindred description, which, from their connexion, are evidently intended to be literally understood. — But when a whole series of texts, so plain and pointed as those which have been quoted, are assert- ed, or conjectured, to be entirely figurative ; — what are we to do ? We have no plainer texts to which we can refer, in the way of comparison and mutual illustration : — no passages more evidently literal, to prove the alleged fig- urative ones to be literal also. We can do nothing, in such a case, but leave the texts to the impartial judgment of the candid reader of the Scriptures. I shall do so, in the present instance, with one general observation : — that if such are the principles according to which the Bible is to be interpreted, the careless infidel is furnished with the most plausible apology which can be urged for declining the trouble of examining it ; — that there is no possibility of arriving at any certain knowledge of its contents. But all this authority, it is further replied, even on the supposition of its being really possessed and exercised by our Lord in person, is represented as given to him ; as not original and inherent, but imparted and delegated ; which, it is alleged, is quite inconsistent with the idea of his own supreme, underived God-head. * Belsham's Calm Inquiry, p. 345. OF JESUS CHRIST. Hi Let us examine this a little. In the first 'place : The ordinary solution of such ap- parent diflBculties is a perfectly valid one. There is no incongruity in the idea of delegated authority and domin- ion, when Jesus is viewed as a Divine Mediator. Those who maintain this view of his person and character ac- knowledge such delegation, as an essential article of their scheme. Believing him to be represented in the Scriptures as voluntarily assuming the form, and acting in the capaci- ty of a servant, they are not startled at finding this repre- sentation consistently supported throughout. In perfect harmony, therefore, with this view of his relation to the Father, in the work of redemption, they consider all that he did as done hy appointment , and all that he received in his exaltation to glory, as received in the form of re- ward ; — and the reward they account singularly appro- priate, consisting, as it does, in his investiture, as Me- diator, with the administration of that peculiar branch of the Divine Government, which has for its immediate object the completion of the glorious effects resulting from the work of salvation which he finished when on earth. Admit the principle of his acting, in the scheme of redeeming mercy, in the voluntarily assumed capacity of a servant ; and all is plain : — instead of disorder, embar- rassment and difficulty, we have a perfect plan, not only interesting in its design, and glorious in its consequences^ but consistent and harmonious in all its arrangements : ^' well ordered in all things, and sure/' But in the second place : There is another view of this subject, which appears to me perfectly free from fallacy, and decisive of the question. — Delegation^ let it be re- membered, cannot confer any ability for the discharge of the functions of the office delegated. It may bestow title and right ; but it can communicate no capacity, no actual qualification. We may suppose a child of a year old in- lis ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY vested with the official titles and honours of the Lord Chan- cellor of England : — but will such investiture qualify tlie babe for the fulfilment of the duties attached to that high and important office ? I need not answer the question. It is vain, then, to talk of delegation. If Jesus Christ be, indeed, Loud of all, and Judge of all, what, I ask, are the qualifications essential to the Being who governs and who is to judge the world ? — And to this question I answer, without fear of contradiction by any reasonable and unprejudiced mind. Omniscience^ Omnipotence^ and Independence, — That the world cannot be governed, and cannot h^ judged, by any being who does not possess these attributes, — although the theme is tempting as a field for interesting declamation, — it were certainly a waste of time to detain you by a formal proof. He must be sadly press- ed by the necessity of a system, who can feel a moment's hesitation in acknowledging this.* If it be so, then, that the Governor and Judge of the world, must be an omnis- cient, omnipotent, and independent being : — and if it be so, as the Scriptures testify, that the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son ; does it not follow, as an immediate and irresistible consequence, that the Son is such a Being f To complete this argument, it must be further observed; — that if such qualities must be possessed by the governor and judge of the world, they must, from their nature, be original and inherent. They are entirely unsusceptible of transference, or communication, — Independence is so, beyond all contradiction. And to imagine, because a cer- tain portion of such knowledge as is usually beyond the reach of human penetration, has, at times, been imparted to men by Him who knoweth all things, — and a certain measure of extraordinary power conferred ou creatures by * >See Note G. OF JESUS CHRIST. 113 Him who cau do all things,* — that therefore the transfer- ence or communication is supposable of omniscience or omniiwtence ;-- it requires only to bring the terms together, to show the contradiction which the supposition involves : — am omniscient and omnipotent creature ! or, if you will; — for the absurdity is equally great — two omniscient and omnipotent beings^ and yet the one dependent on the other f On this supposition, we may, it seems, arrive at the con- clusion, that a being is omniscient and omnipotent, and yet remain uncertain whether that being be God ! IV. If you have followed me distinctly in the proof of the Divinity of the Saviour, from the ascription to him of the J^ames, Attributes, and Works of Deity, you will not be surprised to find him represented in Scripture, as the proper object of that worship, which cannot, without im- pious idolatry, be addressed to any other being than the Supreme God. — The proofs, at the same time, that this is the case, form an additional and distinct branch of the evi- dence of his Godhead. This, you will recollect, is the fourth and last part of my subject. The instances of obeisance done to Christ, while he ap- peared as a man on the earth, 1 do not particularly notice, because, in the greater number at least of these instances, the kind and degree of intended homage cannot with cer- tainty be ascertained. I pass them, with one general re. mark. In some of these instances, as must strike every reader of the Gospel history, there is so striking a resem- blance, so very near an approach to Divine worship, that we should have expected a creature actuated by such prin- ciples as were formerly described, tenderly alive to a sense * In reasoning against the Arians, who suppose the power of crea- tion communicated to the Logos, aUhough himself a created being. Dr. Priestley says, with great justice : — " Why might not the power of self-subsistence be imparted to another, as well as that of creating out ofnothi7i^ .^■' History of Earlv Opinions, p. 77. IM ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY of his infinite inferiority, and jealous of the ^^lory of the God that sent him, to have said, on such occasions, as the apostle Peter did to Cornelius — " Stand up : I myself also am a man ;" or as the angel to John, when he fell at his feet to worship him ; — " See thou do it not — worship God.'^ — Nothing of this kind, however, is to be found in the life of Christ, as recorded by the Evangelists. He accepts all the homage that is offered him, without a hint of its impropriety, or the slightest monitory intimation of his equality in nature with the persons by whom it is paid. This observ ation might he applied with peculiar force to the words of Thomas, the incredulous disciple, addressed to his Master, when the evidence which he had required of the reality of his resurrection, was vouchsafed to him : — " Then saith Jesus to Thomas, Reach hither thy fin- ger, and behold my hands ; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side : and be not faithless, but be- lieving. And Thomas answered and said unto him. My Lord, and my God.^^* — The question respecting these words is, whether they are to be understood as a coiifes- siouj or an eivclamation, — That, when taken simply by themselves, they may be understood in the latter of these senses, it is needless to deny. Nor do I feel disposed to lay so much stress as has been generally laid upon the ob- jection urged against this interpretation, derived from its supposed impiety : because it depends greatly on the mag- nitude of the occasion, and the peculiar state of mind of the speaker, whether such exclamation should be charged with impiety, or justified as the appropriate utterance of sudden and overpoAvering, yet serious and devout emotion^ Neither do I think that the style of our Lord's reply, " be- cause thou hast seen me, tliou hast belie ved,**' is, of itself, sufficient evidence that the words of Thomas must be un- derstood as an address to Christ, and as a confession of his faith : because, in such circumstances, an ^xclamadon of * Joh^i XX. 37, 25. OF JESUS CHRIST. 110 devout astonishment is itself a confession of faith ; or, in other words, a declaration of full conviction. But there are two considerations which satisfy me, that the words were a direct address to Jesus, and that it Is most unnatural and arbitrary to interpret them otherwise. — ist, When the other disciples assured Thomas of their Master's resurrection, they said to him, " We have seen the Lord." — Thomas, when his incredulity is subsequently overcome, confesses him in the same character — " my Lord." — Had he said no more, I presume there would never have been any dis- pute about the meaning of his address. Yet nothing can well be clearer than that the two titles, " my Lord,^^ and *' my God^^^ are both given to the same person. To sepa- rate them, as some have actually proposed, and consider the former as addressed to Christ, and the latter to the Father, is what no man could be led to do, but by the perverting influence of systematic prejudice. If " my Lord " was addressed to Christ, as all the circumstances; of the case compel us to admit, so, beyond all reasonable controversy, was, ^^ my God.^^^-^dly, That the Evangel- ist, who relates the circumstance, understood the words as addressed to Christ, is very evident from the style in which he records it : " Thomas answered and said unto him^ My Lord, and my God." He ^^ answered and said unto him/' Is this the manner in which any writer would re- cord an exclamation of astonishment? Jesus said to Thom- as, " be not faithless, but believing :" and Thomas answered, and said to him, " My liord, and my God." J do not know if there be any mode of expression by w^hich the historian could have conveyed the idea that this ad- dress was to Christ, more explicitly than he has done.^ * There is a passage, indeed, in 1 Sam. xx. 12, which may seem, at first view, in opposition to these remarks. In our English translation it stands thus :^" And Jonathan said unto David, O Lord God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to-morrow any time, or 116 ON THE SUPUEMB DIVINITV Now if the words were addressed to Christ — nay^ if there was even a possibility of their being so understood, the principles above stated w ould apply in all their force. A mere human prophet, faithful to the honour of the God from whom he had his commission, would have warned his mistaken follower, and all who heard him, to beware of fancying that he possessed any dignity that could enti- tle him to such an address. His heart would have been chilled at the very thought ; and he would have been dis- tressed till he got the warning uttered. But nothing of this kind appears ^ — '' Tliomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed : — blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."* Let me now direct your attention to a few passages of Scripture, in which Divine worship is either authorized, or obviously addressed, to tlie Saviour in his exalted state. I begin with a class of passages, in which the phrase calling on the name of Christ — or calling on the name of the Lord occurs. Of these passages you may look first to Rom. x. 11 — 13. ^^ For the Scripture saith. Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek ; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Mm : for whosoever shall call upon the third day, and behold, if there he good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and show it thee, the Lord do so, and much more to Jonatlian, &c.'' Here the words " Jonathan said unto David,-^ are fol- lowed by an address to God, " O Lord God of Israel ^''^ while yet Da- vid is evidently spoken to in the subsequent part of the verse. — This, however, is very unnatural: and the marginal reading seems to be, as it is on some other occasions also, much preferable : — " And Jonathan said unto David, Jehovah, the God of Israel — when I have sounded my father about to-morrow any time, or the third day, and behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and show- it thee,— Jehovah do so and much more to Jonathan, &e. * See Note H. OF JESUS CHRIST. H7 the name of the Lord shall be saved.'' — It is evident that in the preceding context Christ is spoken of, as the sub- ject of ajpostolic testimony J and the ohject of the faith of all who receive that testimony. And by comparing what is added in verse 14th, it is indisputably manifest, that he is ^' the Lord'' spoken of in the verses which have just been quoted : — " How, then, shall they call on him in whom they have not believed ? and how shall they believe in him, of whom they have not heard ? and how shall they hear without a preacher ?" Whether the editors of the Improv- ed Version of the New Testament conceived, that super- ficial readers might not immediately think of Christ being meant by '' the Lord^^ in this passage, and that therefore there was less danger in allowing the phrase ^* calling on the name of the Lord" to stand unaltered, I cannot tell ; but so it is, that unaltered they have allowed it, in this in- stance, to stand. — They have also translated the same phrase in the same manner in Acts ii. SI, wliere the same quotation is introduced, from the prophecy of Joel — ^^ And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." — Yet in the texts which I am about to quote, the phraseology in the original is precise- ly the same : — ^why the translation should be different, it is not very difficult to conjecture. — Before noticing these, however, it is worth while to observe, that in the passage now before us^ we have a double proof of the Godhead of our blessed Redeemer. We have seen, that it is of him the apostle speaks. To him^ therefore, this inspired wri- ter applies the words of the prophet : — '' It shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered :'^ — so that Jesus is here distinguished by the incommunicable Name of the God of Israel, and at the same time pointed out as the proper object of relig- ious invocation. The following are the passages alluded to, in which the ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY J phraseology of the original is the same, but which are oth^ erwise translated in the Improved Version of the New Testament. — Acts ix. 14. '* And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name :"* ' — Acts ix. SI, " Is not this he who destroyed them that called on this name in Jerusalem P^'f ^^*® ilx\\, l6. " Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the LordJ^^X — 1 Cor. i. 2. " To the church of God wliich is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, witii all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,^ both theirs and ours." — In all these passages, the construction of the words in the original is the very same as in those quoted from the 10th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, and the Sd of the book of Acts ; it is the construction which is invariably employed in the New Testament, and in the Septuagint translation of the Old, wherever the verb used signifies to invoice ; and to translate them otherwise is an arbitrary departure from the ordinary practice of the language. The received translation is also fully justified, by vari- ous express instances of such invocation of the name of Je- sus ; by which the practice of the apostles and primitive Christians is further ascertained. 1. 1 Thess. iii. 11 — 13. " Now God himself, even our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way un- I to you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one tow^ards another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you : to the end he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness, before God even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.^' * Impr. Vers. *^ who are called by thy name." t lb. " that call themselves after this name." \ lb. " taking upon thyself his name." ^ lb. " are called by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." OP JESUS CHRIST. 119 In the first of these verses^ Jesus is acknowledged, in connexion with God the Father^ as ordering the events of providence. — '' The Lord^^^ in the verse which follows, is evidently the same Lord as in verse 11th, namely^ " the Lord Jesus Christ :" and he is thus owned, and address- ed, as the author and perfecter of all Christian graces in the hearts of his people. 2, 2 Thess. ii. l6, 17. ^^Now, our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, who hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation, and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts^ and establish you in every good word and work." Nothing, surely, can be more plain and decisive than this. — Are we to suppose, that a mere man, or even the most exalted of creatures, is here associated with the Moat High God, in a solemn prayer for the communication of comfort and stability to the Christians at Thessalonica ? — and not only associated with him, but, in the order of address, put before him P — He who can bring himself to believe this, may, without either scruple or inconsistency, join in the worship of departed saints and martyrs, and that in a much higher sense than the church of Rome pro- fesses to do. — But, on the contrary, he who, in the wor- ship which he addresses to God the Father, refuses to join the name of the Lord Jesus, as an object of equal adora- tion, refuses Divine honours to one, whom this inspired Ambassador of Heaven considered as entitled to them, and to whom, in his own practice, he uniformly ascribed them. 8. ^Cor. xii. 8, 9. '^ For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me. My grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength i» made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.'^ It requires only the reading of these verses, to sliow" 120 ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY that the Lord, in the 8th^ to whom Paul presented his sup- plication for deliverance from trouble, is the same with Christy in the 9th, in whose promised strength he confides and triumphs. This is as plain as language can make it. "I besought THE Lord/^ says he : — ^^He," that is the Lord, ^- said unto me, my strength is made perfect in w eakness :"' — " I will, therefore, glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.'' 4. In addition to these passages, might be adduced, the forms of benediction with which the Epistles generally open or conclude, and which cannot be viewed in any other light than as brief prayers for the Divine blessing on the churches and individuals to whom they are ad- dressed : — Ephes. vi. 23. '' Peace be to the brethren, and love witli faith, from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ !"' — 2 Cor. xiii. 14. " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all ! Amen !'' — S John 3. ^^Grace be with you, mercy and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love !" 5. We have before seen, that the Christians were early distinguished, both among themselves, and in the world, by the description of " those that called on the name of Je- sus Christy — Paul then did not stand alone, as a wor- shipper of Jesus. — We have a remarkable and affecting instance of another saint's practice in Acts vii. 59, 60. •^And they stoned Stephen, calling upon (God) and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice. Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep." — The name of God, in the first of these verses, is supple- mentary. The supplement is improper ; nor does it, in the slightest degree, affect the argument afforded by the passage. The prayers were addressed to Jesus : and 0P JESU9 CItfRlST. iJBl Jesus should have been the supplementary word. It is needless here to prove the fact : it is not denied ; nor does it admit of any question. But with regard to this, and similar passages, it has been said, in the form of a general objection : — " This address of Stephen to Jesus, when he actually saw him, does not authorize us to offer prayers to him, now that he is invisi- ble,''^ This is truly strange ground. It is the ground, how- ever, which is taken ; and we must give it a few moments' notice. Observe, then, in the first place : — There is no sufficient evidence of the supposed fact of actual vision, — Even the vision described as seen by Stephen in the Council Hall (verses 55, 56,) 1 think there is every reason to believe, was only a vision of strong faith: — a mental vision, imparted by the powerful energy of the Holy Spirit, with which at the time he was filled.f But at any rate, whether this opin- * Improved Version of the New Testament : Note on the place. — In this solution, with some slight variations, Unitarian expositors seem universally to agree. t Thus Ezekiel describes a vision of the glory of Jehovah, which was seen by him, while he sat in his house, and the elders of Judah sat before him. See Ezek. viii. 1 — *. A variety of similar examples might be produced. In the following most singular passage, Dr. Priestley seems to fa- vour the idea of Stephen's vision having been only a supernatural impression on his mind ; while yet he draws from it the same infer- ence against the prayer's being pleaded as a precedent : " To con- elude as some have done, from the single instance of Stephen, (the sing;le instatice .') that all Christians are authorized to pray lo Christ, is like concluding that all matter has a tendency to go upward, be- cause a needle will do so when a magnet is held over it. When they shall be in the same circumstances with Stephen, having their minds strongly impressed with a vision of Christ sitting at the right hand of Gt)d, they may then, perhaps," — C Perhaps !J-^ty en although suppos- ed in the same circumstances : — is it, then, doubtful, after all, whether 15 ISS ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY ion be well or ill founded, that vision was seen in the place of assembly. It was now at an end : nor is there the slightest evidence that it was at this time repeated. '^dly. Suppose it to have been a real occular vision ; and suppose it also to have been repeated: — of what was it a vision? of Jesus Christ at hand? — within reach of an im- mediate application by the voice ? — " He saw/' the record says, " the heavens opened, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. '' It was a vision, then, of the glory of Jesus in the place of his exaltation, in the third heavens. But how, at this immense distance, was the voice of the expiring martyr to reach a human ear ? Surely the voice could enter no ear there, but the ear of him who hears, at the same moment, " all that in every place call upon his name ;" and to whose audience immeasurable distance is no interruption. But it may perhaps be said, that as there was a miracle in the vision, there might be a miracle also in the hearing of the prayer. I remark, therefore, ^dly. It seems passing strange, that the circumstance of actual vision should be considered by any, as at all alter- ing the nature of the case. Are we to conclude, then, that a creature, a mere man, may, in particular circumstances, be a proper object of prayer and religious worship? — ^that when seen he may be prayed to ; but when unseen, the prayer must be withheld as idolatry ! Does the mere cir- cumstance of his being visible impart a transient Divinity, and a momentary title to the honours of Godhead — a Di- vinity and a title, lasting only while the vision lasts ? — Can Stephen was right in praying to Jesus ?) — " they may then, perhaps, be authorized to address themselves to him as he did : hut the whole t£nor of the Scriptures shows, that otherwise we have no authority at all for any such practice." Hist, of EarJy Opinions, Vol. i. p. 47. The tanddur of the bold and sweeping assertion with which this extract concludes, the reader is left to appreciate from the passages already q[uoted, and those which still remain to be mentioned. OF JESUS CHRIST. 1^3 visibility or invisibility change the nature of a creature, de- ifying for the time a mere son of man P — Surely the weak- ness and inconsistency of such ground as this, must be felt by every mind that remains open to conviction on this most important subject. We cannot conceive to ourselves a more solemn act of worship, than that which is implied in a dying man's com- mending his departing soul to the Being who is the- object of his address : — and from the spme Being to whom he commends himself, interceding, with the same breath, for forgiveness to his murderous enemies ! — Tlie very prayers which Jesus, in the human nature, addressed to the Fa- ther, Stephen here addresses, in similar circumstances, to the Son : " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do !'' — " Father, into thy hands I commend my Spir- it !" — So prayed the dying Redeemer to his Divine Fa- ther. '' Lord, lay not this sin to their charge 1'' — '' Lord Jesus, receive my spirit !'^ — So prayed the dying martyr to his Divine Saviour and Lord. Yet the Unitarian hy- pothesis supposes, not only that these solemn petitions were, in the latter case, presented to a mere creature ; but that even when God and Jesus were seen together, the prayer was turned away from God, and addressed to man. Enough, surely, has been said, to expose the fallacy of the objection. It might however be added, that in the passages formerly quoted there is abundant evidence, that it was not always at times when Jesus appeared in vision to his servants, that he was addressed as the object of prayer. The silent breathings of Paul's heart ascended to his Saviour, even at the moment when he was writing his Epistles, in warm and earnest intercession for the Christian brethren to whom he wrote. Thus have we seen, that, in the New Testament Scrip- tures, Christians are described and distinguished by then: " calling on the naiftiei of. the Lord Jlesus :" — and that there iM ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY are various and most conclusive instances, of their apply- ing to him in prayer, for providential direction in their ways — for deliverance from trouble — for all descriptions of spiritual blessing to themselves and others ; forgiveness of sins ; inward peace and consolation , increase of love ; progress in holiness ; establishment in every good word and work, even unto final perfection ; — for reception at death, and admission to eternal happiness. Let me now close thi^ series of proofs, by directing your attention, for a few minutes, to that most sublime and over- powering vision, described in the fifth chapter of the book of Revelation : — where we have the worship exhibited, which is pj^Jd, by Angels and redeemed men, to God and THE Lamb ;— -and in which the whole creation is repre- sented as uniting : — " And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb, as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat up- on the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures, and four and twenty elders fell down be- fore the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and gold- en vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying. Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for tliou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests : and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round the throne, and the living creatures, and the elders : and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thou- sands, saying with a loud voice. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive powei^, and riches, and wisdomf a^nd OF JESUS CHRIST. lg$ strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing ! And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, even all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever ! And the four living creatures said. Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth forever and ever.^' After reading such a passage as this, can we retain a doubt, whether the Being who is thus represented as oc- cupying the same Throne with the Eternal, and receiving the very same expressions of adoration and praise; — of unqualified adoration, — of everlasting praise ; — be him- self more than a creature ? — Let those who deny the Di- vinity of Christ, from professed concern for the glory of the only true God, seriously consider, how far they really consult the honour of that God, when they suppose one of his creatures seated on the same throne, and partaking with him the same eternal glory and praise ! But we are reminded, that this is entirely a '^ visionary scene .*'' — that " the homage is paid to a symbolical repre- sentation of Christ, by symbolical persons, as visibly pres- ent with him ; and that this cannot justify the actual wor- ship of Christ, when he is not visible.'^ To part of this wild objection an answer has already been returned. I would only further remind those who urge it, that in such emblematical visions, they must be fully aware, the nature of the beings represented, and their relations^ respectively, to each other, cannot be consider- ed as undergoing any change ; but must remain precisely the same. Such scenic exhibitions accord with the truth and reality of things. The reason why Christ, in the vis- ion, appears, and is worshipped, under the symbol of a " Lamb as it had been slain^'^ is strikingly apparent to i^ ON THE SUPRKME DIVINITY every one, who remembers tlie language of the Baptist^ " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world ;'' — and who credits the declarations of the Scriptures concerning him, as the Divine Redeemer, who assumed our nature, and made atonement for sin by the shedding of his blood. And if the circumstance of sym- bolical representation destroys the conclusiveness of the inference as to the worship of Jesus Christ, it must be allowed to have the same fatal application to the other Divine person in the vision : because the infinite and in- visible God is here also symbolically represented, as seated on a throne, and as receiving the same adoration from the same symbolical worshippers. But we are further referred, for a parallel case, to 1 Chronicles xxix. 20. "And David said to all the con- gregation, Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord and the Kingy But are the two cases at all parallel? David said, " Now bless Jehovah your God." Did he intend, that the people sliould associate himself with Jehovah in the same act of religious adoration ? Certainly not : — ^nor were they guilty of so gross and impious a profanation. When it is said, " they icorshipped the Lord and the King,'^ a general word is used, in its general or indefinite sense. And although the expression may sound somewhat strange- ly, yet knowing as we do, that the word denotes various kinds and degrees of homage or reverence, according to the nature and dignity of the object addressed, we feel no difficulty in instantly applying to it, in reference to God and to the King, its different modifications of meaning.* * The English word worship has this general signification. See •Tiohnson's Dictionary. An instance of its lower appUcation, as signi- DF JESUS CHRIST. 1S7 The word worship stands here in the same circumstances with its opposite hlasphemy, when it is said, by the wit- nesses suborned, at the instigation of Jezebel, against Na- both the Jezreelite, " Naboth hath blasphemed God and the King.^^ In neither case do we feel in the least degree at a loss. But in the case to which this has been adduced as a parallel, we have the very same act of worship, ex- pressed in the very same words, addressed equally to *^ Him that sitleth upon the throne, and to the Lamb.^ The cases would have come nearer to parallelism, and the inference in question might have been justified, had it been recorded, that David appeared between the cheru- bim, in the place of the Divine presence, by the side of the glorious Shechinah ; — and that the people bowing their heads, and worshipping the Lord and the King, unit- ed them in one doxology, saying, " Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, and unto David the king, forever and ever ! Amen V^ — But our minds revolt, with indignant loathing, from suppositions so unseemly ; — so degrading to the in- finite Majesty of heaven and earth ; — to that God, who *^ will not give his glory to another.'' In the vision, then, of which I have read, in your hear- ing, the inspired description, — a vision so full of impres- sive sublimity, we behold, in the adoration of the Lamb, the Divine injunction obeyed, and its meaning thus prac- tically illustrated : — "And let all the Angels of God WORSHIP HIM !''* I have thus fulfilled my design ; — which was, to lay before you such evidence as appeared to my own mind fully satisfactory, that the J\*ames^ the Attributes, the WorJcSy and the Worship, exclusively belonging to the fying civil respect and deference^ occurs Luke xiv. 10. " Then shalt thou have worship in the presence of those that wt at meat with thefe. * Heb. i. 6. ISS ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY OF CHRIST. One Supreme God, are, in the Scriptures, unequivocally i ascribed to Jesus Christ, To the promised recapitulation of the whole argument on this most momentous subject, I could not now do jus- tice, without taxing to excess, both the patience of my hearers, and my own strength. There are, besides, some further observations, of a general nature, which still remain to be made ; but which cannot, for the same reason, be in- troduced, with propriety, at this time. — The recapitula- tion, along with these, and a few words of practical im- provement, will form the substance of another discourse. DISCOURSE V. ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT IN THE THREE PRE- CEDING DISCOURSES^ WITH CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 1 John v. 20. -HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. THIS IS THE TRUE GOD.*' I HAVE now, in three discourses, endeavoured to es. tablisb, by a direct appeal to the Scriptares, the great doe- trine of the Supreme Divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is my design, in this discourse, briefly to recapitulate their contents, and to conclude the subject with a few additional general observations. In the iirst of these discourses, I began by pointing out the vast importance of the doctrine in question ; — as ap- parent, 1st, in its own nature : it is a doctrine of which the simple statement is of itself sufficient to show, that if it be a truth, it must necessarily be one of essential conse- quence : — ^Sdly, in its connexion ivith the first and high- est class of our duties ; the admission of it, if false, imply- ing the guilt of direct idolatry ; and the denial of it, if true, the refusal of divine honours to the true God :— 3dly, in the intimate relation which it hears to other truths ; as forming one in a harmonious system of doctrines, which must stand or fall along with it. 17 i30 ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY I then proceeded to observe, (as on the subject of the Trinity in general) that, with regard to this momentous doctrine, the fact alone is revealed, and not the mode of the fact ; and that the former alone is, therefore, the object of our faith. — That the fact is mysterious, was fully ad- mitted : — but there is nothing in it, I observed, more in- eomprehensible, than in the mystery of the Divine omnu j)resence ; — in the nature of that relation, which we affirm to subsist, between an infinite Being and any limited por- tion of space, when we say of such a Being, He is here. — All that we affirm, I noticed, is ; — not that any change whatever took place, or, indeed, possibly could take place in the Divine nature, either in order to its union w ith tli& human, or in consequence of such union ; but that, in some way unknown to us, the human nature is so united with the Divine, in the person of Jesus, as to have itself no distinct subsistence apart from that union. I next adverted to the proper state of the question. — It is not whether Jesus Christ was a man ; for on this point those who affirm and those who deny his Divinity are agreed ; and his real humanity is as essential to the sys- tem of the former as to that of the latter : — it is simply, whether "the Man Christ Jesus'' be not, at the same time, God. This is a question, I remarked, which cannot be deter- mined in any other way, than by an appeal to the holy Scriptures ; these being the only source of information on the subject : — and in making this appeal, it is of im- mense consequence, that our minds be deeply impressed with the sacredness of the Divine word ; and with the guilt and danger of wilfully wresting it from its legitimate sense. After proving that the words of the text — " This is the true 6ro6Z,''— really refer to Jesus Christ, and are not merely a convenient motto, but a proof of the point in OF JESUS CHRIST. 131 question : — I proceeded to show, by the simple citation of a considerable number of passages and expressions, what seemed to be the current phraseology of the New Testa- ment, on this important subject. Respecting those vari- ous texts, I mentioned before quoting them, that I could have rehearsed them with the very same confidence, as to the impression they were fitted to make, to an assembly of Greeks, in the original language, as to you in yours : — and afterwards stated, the great and obvious improbability, that all these passages, together with all others of a similar complexion, that might have been quoted, were either in- terpolatedj or mistranslated, or misinterpreted ; and that, through ignorance, or prejudice, or carelessness, no critics, translators, or interpreters, had made this discovery, ex- cepting those who can find in none of them the doctrine which they have so generally been understood to assert. I took particular notice of the objection, derived from the frequent occurrence, in the New Testament, of lan- guage of a different and apparently opposite complexion ; — in which Jesus is represented as inferior to the Father — as sent by him — receiving a commission from him — obeying and serving him — and receiving from him his reward. — On this point I illustrated one general observa- tion, of prime importance on this subject, and in its prin- ciple applicable to others of a similar nature : — namely, that while all the art of criticism has been expended, in explaining away those passages which assert his Divinity, and the pains which the attempt has cost sufficiently evince the superlative difficulty of the task ; — the only key to the easy and consistent interpretation of these apparently con- tradictory passages — the only principle of interpretation which reconciles these seeming contrarieties in the scrip- ture testimony, is the ordinary opinion of the union of two natures in the one person of Christ, and of his having act- ed, as Mediator, in the voluntarily assumed capacity of the 13S ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY Fathei^s servant : — and that the principle of interpreta- tion^ of which this can be truly affirmed^ certainly derives from this circumstance a very strong presumptive evidence of its correctness and legitimacy. In the latter part of the discourse, it was my endeavour to show, that there are various and important general con- siderations, in which the dignity of Jesus Christ is very strongly, although indirectly, implied ;-and which, on the supposition of his being a mere man, or even a mere crea- ture, however highly elevated, are bereft of all their pecu- liar beauty, and force, and propriety. — I illustrated this remark in five particulars : — Isf, The views which are uniformly given in the Scriptures of the unparalleled and inexpressible love of God, in the gift of his only-begotten Son : — 2dlyy The marvellous condescension and grace of Jesus Christ himself; which the strongest possible terms are employed to express : — Sdly, The depth of interest, the warmth of admiring transport and adoring gratitude, excited in the bosoms of the New Testament writers, by the contemplation, and even by the passing thought, of the love of Christ, or of God in Christ : — "Mhly, The rep- resentations given of the height of glory and honour, do- minion and power, to which Jesus is exalted, at the right hand of God, as the consequence and reward of the work finished by him when on earth : — and 5thlyy The singular claims of Jesus on the love and obedience of all his fol- lowers. — The language used on all these subjects, I en- deavoured to show, is utterly extravagant and unaccount- able, on the hypothesis that our blessed Redeemer was no more than a mere human prophet, who was commissioned, like otlier prophets, to impart to mankind the will of God, -and who sealed his testimony by his death. In the second and third discourses on this subject, proof has been adduced from the Scriptures, that the J\*ameSy the Attributes^ the WorJcSf and the Worship^ belonging OF JESUS CHUIST. ^ i33 exclusively to the only true God, are aseribed to Jesus Christ. Adopting, throughout, the principle of selection, I con- fined myself, on the first of these heads, to the two names, God, and Jehovah. I. — 1. God. — John i. 1. " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God.^^ — John i. 14. " And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth :'' compared with Isaiah ix. 6. " Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given ; and his name shall be called — the mighty God .-'' — and Matth. i. 22, 23. " Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold a virgin shall be w ith child, and shall bring forth a son 5 and they shall call his name Immanuel, which, being interpreted, is, God with us :'' — Rom. ix. 5. ^' Of whom, as concerning the flesli, the Christ came, who is over all, God, blessed for- ever :" — Heb. i. 8. ^' But unto the son he saith, thy throne, O Gody is forever and ever !" — 2 Peter i. 1. " Who have obtained like precious faith with us, through the righteous- ness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ ;" a reading justified by the established principles of Greek syntax, and by the precise parallelism of the expression in the 10th verse of the same chapter — ^^ An entrance shall be ministered to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ :" — Titus ii. 13, to which the same general principles of syntax most clearly and decidedly apply ; " looking for that blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ." — To these passages, a number of others^ might have been added. 2. Jehovah. — This is the incommunicable name of the true God, the God of Israel.— He calls it " My name Jer 134 ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY hovali,^^ Exocl. vi. 3, and the Psalmist says, " That men may know, that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the Most High ever all the earth. '^ Psalm Ixxxiii. 18. — It is given to Jesus in the following passages. — Luke i. 16, 17. " And many of the children of Israel shall he (John the Baptist) turn to the Lord their God, And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias — ^to make ready a people prepared for the Lord .-" compared with Isaiah xl. 3. " The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God ;" a prophecy which is applied to the ministry of John as the forerunner of Je- sus, both by himself and by the New Testament histori- ans. John i. 23. Matth. iii. 1—3. Mai. iii. 1. " Be- hold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me : and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall sud- denly come to his temple, even the messenger of the cov- enant, whom ye delight in : behold he shall come, saith Jehovah ofhosts,^^ — Heb. i. 10. " And, Thou, Lord, (an- swering to Jehovah throughout the psalm from which the words are quoted) in the beginning hast laid the founda- tions of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands.'' Isaiah vi. 1 — 5. ^^ In the year that king Uz- ziah died, I saw also Jehovah, sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up : — above it stood the Seraphim — and one cri- ed to another, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah 0^ hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory : — mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts P^ compared with John xii. 4?1. " These things said Esaias, when he saw his (Chrises) glory, and spake of him.'' Jer. xxiii. 6. "This is his name, whereby he sliall be called, Jehovah our righ- t£ousness,^^ Zech. xiii. 7. "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against /Ae man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts :^' — Isaiah xlv. 2S — S5. " I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteous- OF JESUS CHEIST. 185 nessj and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely shall one say, In Jehovah have I righteousness and strength : — In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel he justified and shall glory ;" compared with Rom. xiv. 10, 11. " We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ : for it is written, As I live saith the Lord, fJehovahJ every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God ;'^ and 1 Cor. i. 30, 31. ^^ Of him are ye, in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness (or justification) and sanetification, and redemption : that, according as it is written. He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord." I observed, that if conviction was produced by these instan- ces, such conviction would naturally lead to the applica- tion of the name to Jesus, in many others, which might not, at first view, appear so obvious. To these passages was subjoined the remarkable rea- soning of the Saviour himself, founded on the peculiar ap- plication of the title Lord to the Messiah, by David in the beginning of the 110th Psalm : Matth. xxii. 41 — 46. " While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus ask- ed them, saying. What think ye of Christ ? Whose son is he ? They say unto him. The Son of David. He saith unto them. How, then, doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool ? If David, then, call him Lord, how is he his Son P And no man was able to answer him a word." 11. Of Divine Attributes ascribed to Jesus, I confined myself to four ;— Eternal Existence, Almighty Power, Omnipresence, and Omniscience, 1. Eternal Existence.— I here referred, in general terms, but without any particular illustration, to the nume- rous passages, which intimate his pre- existence, by speak- ins: of him as comins; down from heaven, and as ascending i36 ON THE SUPJlEME DIVINITY up where he was before ; of coming forth from tlie Fa- ther, and coming into the world, and of leaving the world and returning to the Father, &c. — and then more particu- larly to John viii. 58. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Mraham loas, lam ;'' — Heb. i. 10. '' Thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foundations of the earth :'^ — Col. i. 17. ^^ And he is before all things .•" — Rev. i. 8, 17, 18. xxii. 18. '^ I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty :'' " Fear not ; I am the first and the last, and the living one :" ^^ I am Alpha and Omega, the heginning and the end, the first and the last :" compared with Isaiah xliv. 6. " Thus saith Jeho- vah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts ; I am the first, and I am the last : and besides me there is no God :" — Micah v. S. ^^ But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel : — ivhose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting y 2. Almighty Power, — Isaiah ix. 6. ^' Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and his name shall be call- ed — the Mighty God .-'^ Where the phrase is the same as in chap, x, 21, '' The remnant shall return, even the rem- nant of Jacob, xmiothe mighty God:^^ — Rev. i. 8. " I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the wllmighty :^^^--Phi\, iii. SI. ^^ Our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working ichereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself ^^ — For further proof of the ascription of om- nipotence to Christ, I referred to his works^ which were afterwards to be considered. OF JESUS CHRIST. 18? 3. Omnipresence. — Matth. xviiL 20. ^< For where two ©r three are gathered together in my name, there am I m the midst of them ;" compared with the parallel promise of God to Moses, Exod. xx. 24^. " In all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee :'' — John iii. 13. " No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he who came down from heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven ;" — Matth. xxviii. 20. " And Lo, 1 am with you always, even unto the end of the world,^^ Omnipresence is implied likewise in 4. Omniscience ; which has, at the same time, its own distinct evidence. Rev. ii. 23. " All the churches shall know, that / f Jesus Christ J am he that searcheth the reins and the hearts ; and I will give unto every one of you ac- cording to your works :'^ compared with 1 Kings viii. 39. ^' Thou (Jehovah) even thou only Jcnowest the hearts of all the children of men .*" and Jer. xvii. 9, 10. " The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it ? J Jehovah search the hearts, I try the reins, to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings :'^ — John ii. 24, 25. ^^ But Jesus did not commit himself to them, because he knew all men ; and needed not that any should testify to him of man ; for he knew what was in man .*'' — John xxi. 17- " Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee." III. Works peculiarly belonging to the true God, are ascribed to Jesus Christ. Under this head, I first of all directed your attention to the miracles of the Saviour ; and endeavoured to show, with regard to some of them, that the manner in which they were performed was essentially different from that of any miracles ever wrought by propliets and apostles ; and was not susceptible of vindication from the charge of pre- sumptuous impiety, on any other supposition than that he 18 iZS ON THE SUPREME DIVINITV possessed in himself the power necessary to their aeccwn plishment. I then showedj that creation, the creation of all things^ is ascribed to Jesus. — John i. 1. ^^In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. — All things were made by him, and without him was not any one thing made that was inade .•" — verse 10th, " He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not :'^ — Col. i. i6, I7. ^^For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers ; all things were created by him, and /or him ; and he is before all things ; and by him all things consist .*'' — Heb. i. 10. ^ And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands ;'' — compared with Isaiah xlviii. IS, 13. " Hearken unto me^ O Jacob and Israel, my called ; I am the first, I also am the last. My hand, also, hath laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens ;'^ and Isaiah xliv. S4. " Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeem- er ; and he that formed thee from the womb, I am Jehovah that maketh all things ; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone ; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself ^ Passing over the subject of the new or spiritual crea- tion, which, however, according to the Scriptures, is as really a peculiar work of God as the former, and which is also, in all its branches, ascribed to Christ : — I proceed- ed to notice, the gacernment of the world, and the final judgment, — From a variety of passages, of which the tes- timony is plain and direct, and which it is unnecessary now to repeat, I showed, that these works are assigned to Jesus Christ, as the Mediator between God and men ; — and I then obviated the objection, derived from the cir- cumstance of the power of government and judgment be- OF JESUS CHRIST. 139 ing exercised by delegation ; observing ist, That such delegation docs not at all imply infeinority of nature, but is in perfect harmony with the general representation giv- en of Christ, in his mediatorial character, as voluntarily assuming the capacity of a servant, and, in that capacity, executing his appointed work, and receiving his promised reward : — and 2dly, That if the fact be admitted, of Christ's being invested with supreme authority as Lord and Judge of all, there are no qualifications which can fit him for the discharge of those high official acts implied in such authority, short of omniscience, omnipotence, and in- dejjendence : and that these attributes, if possessed, could not, from their njiture, be obtained by transference or com- munication from another, but must have been original and inherent. IV. As to the Divine Worship, of which the Scrip- tures represent the Redeemer as the proper and worthy object : — I did not insist on those acts of obeisance that are recorded as having been done to him when on earth, because it is difficult, as to the greater number at least of these, to ascertain with certainty the kind and degree of homage thai was intended to be paid. I only remarked, in general, that in some cases, it bore so very near a re- semblance to Divine worship, that a creature, feelingly alive to a sense of his inferiority, and jealous of the honour of the God that sent him, might surely have been expected to caution those who paid it, against undue rev- erence, and the approach at least to impiety which it in- volved, as others are recorded to have done in similar cir- cumstances. 1 applied this observation particularly to the words of Thomas, after his Master's resurrection, when, upon his incredulity being overcome by the testimony of his senses, " he said unto him. My Lord and my God ;'' — and 1 en- deavoured to prove, that these words cannot be fairly in* 140 ' ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY terpreted otherwise, than as an address to Christ, and ft confession of the faith of him who uttered them. The following texts were then quoted and illustrated, in proof of this particular. — Rom. x. 11 — 13. " For the Scripture saith. Whosoever helieveth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek ; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How, then, shall they call on him in whom they have not believed F^ — Acts ix. 14. " And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name .-" — Acts ix. SI. ^^ All that heard him were astonished, saying, Is not this he who de- stroyed them that called on this name in Jerusalem ?^^ — Acts xxii. 16. ^' Arise, and be baptised, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'^ — 1 Cor. i. 2, ^^ To the church of God which is at Corinth — with all that, in every place, call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.'' — 1 Thess. iii. 10 — 13. ^^Now God himself, even our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christy direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to in- crease and abound in love one toward another, and toward all, even as we do toward you : to the end he may stab- lish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all his saints :'' — 2 Thess. ii. 16, 17. " Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, even our Father, who hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation, and good hope through grace ; comfort your hearts, and stab- lish you in every good word and work :" — 2 Cor. xiii. 8 — 10 " For this tiling I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the poicer of Christ may rest upon GF JESUS CHRIST. l*il me :'' — ^Eph. vi. 2B. " Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God our Father, and from the Lord Je- sus Christ :'^ — S Cor. xiii. 14. " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen." — % John 3. " Grace be with you, mercy and peace, from God the Fa- ther, and /row the Lord Jesus Christ , the Son of the Fa- ther in truth and love. — Acts vii. 59, 60. " And they stoned Stephen, calling upon (Jesus) and saying. Lord Je- sus, receive my spirit ! And he Icneeled down, and cried with a loud voice. Lord, lay not this sin to tlieir charge ! And when he had said this, he fell asleep.'' — Rev. v. 11 — 13. " And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many an- gels round about the throne, and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, even all that are in them, heard I saying. Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and ever ! Amen !" — Heb. i. 6. '^ When he bringeth again the first-begotten into the world, he saith. And let all the angels of God worship him .♦" of which commanded worship the preceding scene exhibits a most sublime and impressive exemplification. Surely, if Jesus Christ be not God, the language of the New Testament has been framed to deceive. The writers must have intended to exalt their Master at the expense of truth. If not— if they meant that their readers should form no higher idea of Jesus Christ, than as a mere human prophet, commissioned to teach, as other prophets had done before him, the will of God to men ; they certainly 14S ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY have, on this supposition, been most unfortunate in their use of words. Laying inspiration entirely out of the ques- tion, how can we suppose, that upright men, with honest intentions, should have so expressed themselves, on a sub- ject of this nature, as actually to mislead ninety-nine in the hundred of all who have ever professed to believe their writings ? — The case, it ought to be particularly observed, was one of no difficulty. The writers were not handling a point of great metaphysical nicety ; which required, for the prevention of mistakes, peculiar caution in the choice of their expressions. If Jesus was no more than a human prophet, we can conceive nothing more easy, than for those who '^ wrote of him '^ to avoid all such phraseology as could possibly convey to the minds of their readers any impression inconsistent Avith this simple view of his per- son, and office. But is this the case ? 1 confidently leave with yourselves the answ er to this question. For my own part, I can discern only one alternative : — Either this book was not given hy inspiration of God, nor even written by men of common understanding and common honesty ; — or the men who wrote it were taught of God to believe, and commissioned to reveal to others, as one of the leading truths in their system of doctrine, that Jesus Christ, al- though born of the seed of David according to the flesh, was, at the same time, " over all, God, blessed forever.'^ We are accustomed to speak of the artless simplicity of the New Testament historians — of their entire freedom from every symptom of passion, partiality, or exaggera- tion, as a strong indication of their veracity ; a convinc- ing evidence of the truth and honesty of their narrative. But if the fact be, that they have written respecting their Master in such terms, as to convey to the minds of an im- mense proportion of their readers, not merely the impres- sion of his having heen a greater man than he really was — possessed of higher powers, and of a purer and more OF JESUS CHRIST. |4^ exalted character, than truly belonged to him- — (a fault so common with biographers ;) — but absolutely an impres- sion of his having been more than marij of his having been the " Son of God/' in a sense that implied his equalitif with the Father : — nay, if they have even left it a matter of uncertainty with their readers, whether the subject of their histories, whom, on the supposition, they must have viewed as a mere man like themselves, ought to be sim- ply revered as a human prophet, or adored as " God over all :'' — I know not how this fact can be easily made to accord with the validity of the argument. — On the contra- ry, supposing the Divine dignity of his person, nothing can be more wonderful than the manner in which they write. In the simplicity of the statement of facts, and in the total absence of all reflections of their own, and of all attempts to work upon the passions of their readers, it is so essentially different from what, in such circumstances, we should naturally have expected from the operation of the ordinary principles and feelings of the human mind, that it becomes an evidence of more than their credibility: it becomes a proof of their inspiration — of their having written under the direction and restraint of a superior in- fluence. I fully admit, that, as the doctrine of which 1 have been treating is an article of faith of high importance, we should reasonably expect to find it revealed in plain and explicit terms. And I contend, that the fact corresponds to the expectation — that it is so revealed ; — in terms as plain and explicit as are employed to express any other truth whatever, contained in the Bible. I alluded, in a former discourse, to a mode of reasoning sometimes resorted to by the adversaries of this doctrine. -*i-They count the number of passages which are usually itdduced in support of it ; and are fond of calculating, and pointing out, the small proportion which these passages 144 ON THE SUPREME DIVINITY bear to the contents of the dijfferent books in which they occur^ and to the body of revelation in general. But, in truth, there can be no mode of reasoning more sophistical than this. We might, with equal propriety, dictate to the supreme God, the particular manner in which he should communicate to his creatures the knowledge of his mind, as presume to fix the number of times that any doctrine must be repeated, in order to entitle it to their reception and belief. It has often been remarked, with regard to the Scriptures, and it has, at the same time, been shown to be, on various accounts, one of their peculiar excellencies, that they are not written in a systematical form. To say, therefore, as is frequently said, respecting any of the texts which have been quoted, or of others, that they state the doctrine in question, not directly and formally, but indi- rectly and incidentally, is to say nothing at all to the pur- pose; nothing that can, in the mind of any reasonable man, in the least degree invalidate their force : for it amounts to no more, than that the manner in which tJiis particular truth is revealed, corresponds with the general plan or method of Divine revelation in the Bible. It is, I am aware, a common mode of speech on such subjects, that ^'the Bible is full of the doctrine;'^ that it '' appears conspicuous in every page of the word of God." But is any one ever misled by such expressions ? Does any one ever imagine them to mean any thing more, than that the particular doctrine, respecting which, they arc used, is in many places clearly revealed^ and that through- out it is implied and understood f — The most effectual way to illustrate this, will be to apply the observation to what our opponents themselves profess to consider as the essence of Christianity. According to them, the grand distinction of the gospel is, its ascertaining the certainty of a resurrection from the dead, a judgment to come, and a future state of rewards and punishments. To these top- OF JESUS CHRIST. 14j5 ics they are accustomed to apply the very language of which I now speak. For example : — " The apostolic summary of the Christian faith is, ' that God will judgfr the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath or- dained ; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.' This doctrine beams forth, with unclouded sjjlendour, from every page of the JSTew Testament, whatever becomes of the correct- ness and accuracy of the received text."* I find no fault with this language, nor with the particular application of it. I only remark that it is lajiguage quite as fairly ap- plicable to the doctrine under our consideration : and that, upon the principle of judging doctrines, according to the number of passages in which they are stated, (stated, I mean, not incidentally and casually, but as the direct and formal object of the writer) even this " summary of the Christian faith '^ would hardly, I fear, itself abide the ap- plication of this novel and singular test of truth. The sole question, on all subjects of this nature, with which we have to do, — let it be constantly impressed on our remembrance, and uniformly recognized in our prac- tice, — is simply this ; — not ^^In what manner, or with what degree of frequency, is this, or any other doctrine re- vealed ?" but, " Is it revealed ? Is it, according to the or- dinary meaning of words, clearly made known in this book?'^ That the Divinity of Jesus Christ is plainly and unequiv- ocally taught in our received translation, at least, of the New Testament, cannot admit of a moment's question : — and of the faithfulness of this translation, in the various passages referred to, I must, after the observations which have been made upon them, leave every one to form his own judgment. But the Received Text, we are often reminded, from * Tntrochictioii to Improved Version of the New Testament, page 38. 19 i^fG dN THE SUPREME DIVINITY which our English translation of the New Testament was made^ is far from being perfect. It is of considerable an- tiquity ; and hundreds of additional manuscripts have beeu discovered and collated, since it was completed. ^ — I wish to avoid here any show of such biblical learning, as I am conscious to myself I do not possess. Happily, indeed, there does not exist the slightest occasion for extensive critical discussion. A single observation will be perfectly sufficient to enable you to appreciate the value of the im- provements upon the received text, with regard to the par- ticular subject in hand .-for Avith their general importance as to other subjects we have at present no concern. — Of all the texts, then, in the Nev/ Testament, to which I have directed your attention on this interesting topic, how many are there, do you suppose, wliich undergo any alteration in the text of Grieshach^ the most recent, and, on all hands, acknowledged the most perfect ? — ^You will be surprised, perhaps, especially any of you who may have been in the way of hearing Griesbach so often and so triumphantly appealed to, as he usually is by our opponents, — Avhen I assure you that there is not one : — that not a single text of all that have been quoted is in the slightest degree touch- ed by this high and vaunted authority ! The fact as to this matter stands as follows. — There are three texts connected with the present subject which this eminent critic sets aside : namely, 1 John v. 7. ^^For there are three that ])ear record in heaven, the Father, the Word ,and the Holy Ghost ; and these three are one :" — Acts XX. 28. " Feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood :'^ — and 1 Tim. iii. 16. " Great is the mystery of Godliness, God was manifest in the flesh.'- — ^The first of these texts is rejected as entirely an interpolation. In the second, the reading " the church of the Lord^^ is preferred, on a preponderance of authori- ties, to the reading of the received text, " the church of OF JESUS CHRIST. 145^ God.''* In the third, "God was manifest in the flesh'' gives place to " He who was manifested in the flesh, was justified by the Spirit, &e."t Now to no one of these three passages have I referred, in proof of the doctrine which it has been my object to establish ; nor is it now ray inten- tion to enter into any discussion of the merits of the contro- versy, respecting the spuriousness of the first, or the vari- ous readings of the second and third. I feel not the small- est necessity for pressing even these texts, however impor- tant they may seem, into the service. The cause does not require it. An anxious defence of disputed passages has the appearance of an acknowledgment, that the doc- trine whicU they are brought to support cannot be success- fully maintained without them. Even if the passages in question had been less doubtful than they are, I should have been disposed to decline insisting upon them, for the * Kv^iov for €)£«o. While the Editors of the Improved Version adopt this reading, and are supported in it by the authority of Gries- bach, and by the concurrence also of some Trinitarian critics ; (see Eclectic Rev. vol. V. page 246.) the reading of the received text is not universally given up even by Socinian Expositors. " Mr. Wake- field contends strenuously for ©eay, and afterwards effects his escape from the consequence, by proposing two of the most extraordinary criticisms that were ever ventured by a Greek scholar. Tov iS'iov ulfMt- T«5, he renders, not his own bloody but his own son, because truly a man's son may be said to be his own blood : and therefore, the Son of God may be expressed by God's own blood, — an expression, which, if it had been used of God the Father by a Trinitarian in defence of his doctrine, would have subjected him to Mr. Wakefield's ineffable contempt. Mr. W. supplies also another way of getting rid of the difficulty, (that is, the difliculty of acknowledging the Divinity of our Lord) viz. that of translating the words—" by the blood of his own," (supplying the word Son. J — This observe is the rendering of xeiei is applied to Dionysius, the exiled Tyrant of Syracuse. — Plutarch (Wyt- tenb. t. 1. 939.) has /ttotAAav ^rafx^vrei^^ ' You will become more sordid- ly poor.' Suidas says, TLrax^^^' — <* £»'»"fTT as including those predispositions^ as well as previous judgments^ by which the mind is in danger of being thus injuriously influenced. In this view, there is a class of prejudices, of still more powerful operation than any of those I have mentioned : I mean those moral prejudices, by which the lieart is pre- possessed against the doctrines of the gospel. There is a prejudice, deeply rooted in the breast, against whatever is, in any form, humbling to human pride : — a prejudice against whatever is mortifying to human corruption, in any 3^ 170 ox THE TEST OF TRUTH, one of its various branches. These, and such as these, ar^ the prejudices, by which the reception of gospel truth into the mind is most vigorously and successfully opposed. But of these I may have occasion to take more particular notice at a future opportunity. From prejudice, of every description, it ought, as I have said, to be our most earnest prayer that we may be deliv- ered, in our investigation of the Scriptures of truth : — that we may search them, not with a proud and refractory, but with an humble and teachable disposition ; looking for di- rection and illumination to Him who hath said, that " the meek he will guide in judgment, that to the meek he will teach his w ay.'^ It is thus only, that we can '' grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.'^ Let the following brief remarks, then, sum up what I have to say on the important duty inculcated in the text^ of " iiroving all things,^^ ist, The Holy Scriptures, of the Old and New Testa- ments, are the Test by which " all things ^^ are to be '^ proved.^^ Mly^ These Scriptures must be received as an inspired ichole : — because if we are to take them only partially, without previously fixing what portion of them is to be held as inspired, and what not, we are as completely des- titute of any certain test of religious trutli, as if we had no revelation at all. Far more must this evidently be the case, if, while the Scriptures are acknowledged to con- tain truth from God, their proper inspiration is, notwith- standing, entirely denied : For in that case, wiiatever de- gree of deference we may think reasonably due to them, yet as the productions of fallible men, no part of them whatever can be an infallible criterion. You have heard how loose and vague are the sentiments of our opponents, respecting these important points : — points which immedi- IN MATTERS OF RELtGtOX. I7I ately regard the very ground on ^vliich all controversy, on such subjects as the one which has been under discussion, must of necessity be conducted ; — there being no other ac- cessible source of information. Sdly, In making our appeal to the Scriptures, we should beware, on all occasions, of secretly indulging a ivisli to discover any part of tliem, however small, to be spurious. From a lowly sense of the deceitfulness of our hearts, and on account of the degree in which such a wish is in danger of biassing and perverting our judgments, we should be the more especially jealous of ourselves, in tliose instances, in which the particular passages in question contain, or seem to contain, any thing that is inconsistent with the opinions whicli we may previously have formed : — and no word, or text, or passage, should be pronounced an inter- polation, without the clearest critical evidence of its hav- ing formed no part of the original record, as dictated by the Spirit of God. The truth is, such words, and texts, and passages, are so very few in number, and in every re- spect of such a nature, that the unlearned reader of "ihe English translation needs not to be under the slightest apprehension of being led, from this cause, into any erro- neous sentiment : — for I question if there be any one sen- timent, or principle, contained in the Scriptures, of which the truth depends on a solitary text. On this part of my subject, what is to be said for the candour of our opponents, in rejecting, as they do, from the canon of Scripture the first two chapters, (except the introduction) of the gospel by Luke, and the first two (ex- cept the genealogy of our Lord) of the gospel by Mat- thew ? There can hardly be conceived, (I put it seriously to their own consciences) a more shameless violation of all the established rules of sacred criticism, than their con- duct as to these portions of Scripture exhibits. For, on what authority do they proceed in their rejection of them ? 17S ON THE TEST OF TRUTH, Notj as they themselves admit, on the authority of any ver- sions or manuscripts ; for the passages are found in all the manuscripts and versions that have yet been discovered. But the gospel of Matthew used by the sect of the Ebion- itesj wanted, it seems, according to the testimony of two of the ancient Fatliers,* the first two chapters ; and the first two chapters of Luke's gospel were wanting in the copy of that gospel used by Marcion, a heretic of the sec- ond century. What, tlien, is the nature and amount of this authority ? It is, in the first place, as already notic^ ed, an authority directly opposed to that of all versions and manuscripts, without a single exception, that have yet been discovered. It is, therefore, 2dlyy an authority, the admission of which, in these circumstances, is a flagrant departure from the canons of Biblical criticism laid down, as the result of long experience, by the most eminent crit^ ics, and recognised, and sanctioned, and professedly ad- hered to by our opponents themselves, f But it is also, Sdly, an authority, even v» ith regartl to the passages in question, in itself inconsistent and contradictory. The Ebionites, they admit, on the authority of one of the an- cient Fathers before alluded to, J mutilated the copy which * Epiphanius and Jerome. Even this, however, has been shown to be unfounded. Dr. Laurence, in his " critical reflections on some im- portant misrepresentations contained in the Unitarian Version of the New Testament ," (a work which will well repay the trouble of a careful perusal) has shown, by reference to preceding critics, and by quotations adduced by himself, that the latter of these Fathers, in- stead of asserting the absence of the first two chapters of the Hebrew gospel, used by the Ebionites, has asserted the very reverse : — and that the former, instead of considering that gospel as " the origin- al gospel of Matthew written in the IJpbrew language for the use of the Jewish believers," pointedly stigmatized it, as an imperfect, spu- rious, and mutilated copy. See the work of Dr. Laurence referred to, pages 24, 25, 41 — 44; and pages 19 — 31. t See introduction to the Improved Version of the New Testament. I Epiphanius. IN MATTERS 0F RELIGION. 173 they used of the gospel according to Matthew, by taking away the genealogy. They therefore think proper to re- tain the genealogy : — and yet, on the sole authority of these same acknowledged mutilators^ they reject the re- mainder of the first two chapters. Marcion, in like man- ner, rejected, according to their own statement, the whole of the first two chapters of the gospel by Luke ; and yet, in opposition to that authority, and without assigning a reason, they retain the introductory verses to Luke's gospel, while, in compliance with it, they repudiate all that remains of these chapters, "i^thly. It is an authority, which if consistent- ly followed, (and why it should be followed in this instance, and not in others, no good reason can be assigned) would lead to the immediate rejection of the whole of the Old Tes- tament , and at least almost the whole of the JV*ew. For by the same authority on which the Editors of the Improved Version of the New Testament, and Unitarians in general, build, respecting the omissions in question, we are inform- ed, that the Ebionite canon of the New Testament reject- ed the last three gospels, and all the epistles of Paul : and as to Marcion, that he rejected the Old Testament, and every part of the New which contained quotations from the Old ; and that the only gospel he used was that of Luke, from which, too, he expunged whatever he did not approve. Such is the autliority, which, in defiance of all Versions, and of all Manuscripts, as well as of all the critics, and among the rest Griesbach himself, who not only admits the passages in question, but never gives the slightest liiiit of their ever having been doubted ; — such is the authority which is brouglit forward to set aside these portions of the sacred volume ! And such being the nature of the au- thority, is it possible to avoid a suspicion — is it a breach of charity to entertain it — that there must have been in the minds of those who reject these cliapters, a secret ivish to 174 ON THE TEST OF TUUTH, find them simrious? — a predisposition to lend a willing ear to whatever could be adduced, with even the remotest semblance of plausibility, to bring them into discredit ? — They contain, you all know, accounts of the incarna- tion of our Saviour, which cannot be made to comport with the Unitarian creed : and this seems to afford the only key to the mystery (for when this is left out of view it really is a mystery) of their being rejected as interpola- tions, or even branded as doubtful, on such authority. They are, on universally acknowledged principles, critu cally rights but they are, unhappily, systematically wrong,* Mhly, When we examine any word, or text, or passage, our sole desire should be, to discover, not the sense whicJi it may hear, or which we may imagine it o^iglit to hear ; but the sense in which it was originally used by the w riter himself; — the sentiment or sentiments which the Holy Spirit designed to convey by it : — and, in general, the * The reader, who wishes to see the subject of the authenticity of these portions of Matthew's and Luke's Gospels, fully and ably dis- cussed, will find ample satisfaction in the second and third chapters of Dr. Laurence's work, before referred to ; — in Mr. Nares' Remarks on the Improved Version, pages 4 — 33 ; — and in the Appendix to the 3d edition of Dr. Magee's Work on Atonement and Sacrifice, vol. IF. pages 451 — 4S1, Notes. — Dr. Laurence concludes his Dissertation on both these passages, with the following words : "Upon the whole, then, taking a retrospective view of what has been advanced on both top- ics, will Unitarian candour act unworthy of itself, if, instead of reject- ing any part of St. ^latthew's Gospel upon the credit of the Ebion- ites, or any parts of St. Luke's Gospel upon the credit of the Mar- cionites, it be disposed to give a due weight to that text, the authori- ty of which no biblical critic of eminence has ever yet attempted to shake ; if it put the concurrent testimony of antiquity, supported by the accurate collation of ISIanuscripts, Fathers, and Versions, into one scale, and, throwing the spurious Gospel of Ebion, and the more spu- rious Gospel of Marcion, into the other, behold them ignominiouslv kick the beam."— See Note K. ] IN MATTERS OP RELIfelOiSr. 175 meaning that is the most plain and obvious is most likely to be the true one. To the violation of this reasonable maxim, we are all, at times, under strong temptations. How far it is adhered to by our opponents, I must leave it to yourselves to judge, from their interpretations of the va- rious texts, adduced and illustrated in former Discourses. 5thly^ To the dictates of the inspired volume, our minds should be prepared humbly and implicitly to bow : — whatever it plainly declares, we must receive, without gainsaying. The reasonableness of this has been former- ly pointed out. Without it, it is obvious, our appeal to tlie Bible, as a standard and test of truth, is utterly hypo- critical and vain. As an illustration of what I mean, I shall present you with a specimen of the opposite temper of mind.— On the text, John vi. 63. " What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was be- fore ?'' — a celebrated Unitarian w riter, more than once referred to in this Discourse, thus expresses himself : — '^ Though not satisfied w ith any interpretation that has been given of this extraordinary passage, yet rather than believe our Saviour to have existed in any other state be- fore the creation of the world, or to have left some state of great dignity and happiness when he came hither, 1 would have recourse to the old and exploded Socinian idea of Christ's actual ascent into heaven, or of his imag- ining that he had been carried up thither in a vision, which, like that of St. Paul, he had not been able to dis- tinguish from a reality : — nay, I would not build an arti- cle of faith of such magnitude on the correctness of John's recollection and representation of our Lord's language : — and so strange and incredible does the hypothesis of a pre- existent state appear, that, sooner than admit it, I would suppose the whole verse to be an interpolation ; or that the old apostle dictated one thing, and his amanuensis 176 ON THE TEST OF TRUTH, wrote another.''*- This, you will admit, is abundantl;^ bold, and abundantly honest ; and were I to use the se- verest terms of reprehension, in animadverting on such language, I think I might escape without subjecting my- self to very heavy censure. My only remark shall be, that when a man has got thus far, openly avowing his de- termination to believe any thing, however monstrous, rath- er than the plain and obvious meaning of the words of Scripture, we must of necessity have done with him. Rea- goning comes at once to an end. We have no common standard of appeal with him. We have nothing to bind his conscience, notiiing to convince his judgment. Othhf, My last observation is, that we ouglit to beware of forming our judgment from detached and insulated pas- sages of the word of God : — that we should take the Scriptures in tlieir harmony, comparing one part with an- other, and using them, as much as possible, as self-expos-- itors. You will immediately perceive the particular hear- ing of this remark, in reference to our present subject. In a former Discourse I noticed the seeming contrarieties, in the Scripture testimony respecting the person of Christ ; and I endeavoured to point out also the true principle of liarmony among them. .A. single observation or two shall suffice at present, in addition to what was then said. — " Christ,'^ says a Unitarian writer, '' always prayed to this one God, as his God and Father. He always spoke of himself as receiving his doctrine and his power from him ; and again and again disclaimed having any power of his own. ' Then answered Jesus, and said unto them, Terily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself.' John v. 19. ' The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself ; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works,' ^John xiv. 10. 'Go to my * Priestley's Letters to Dr. Price, pai^es .'5T'. 58. &*. as quoted by Br. Ma^ee, vol. I. pages 87, 88. iN MATTERS OF RELIGION* iff brethren, and say unto them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God*' John xx. 17. It cannot surely be God,^^ adds he, " that uses such language as thisj^^' Now, without making any particular comment on the language which this writer uses, might I not, on the other side, repeat again the various passages before quot- ed, in proof of his Divinity^ and then say, with at least equal confidence, ^' It cannot surely be a mere man^ of whom such things are said f^^ Here, then, is the question brought into short compass. It comes at once to an issue. Here are two classes of passages, both contained in the same book — both claiming to have their testimony receiv- ed, as of the same authority.— Here are two bands of wit- nesses. They all seem to speak in language plain and distinctly intelligible. But they appear to contradict one^ another. — What then shall we make of them ? Whether are we to receive the testimony of the one, or that of the other ? — Or must we reject that of both ? — Or shall we apply scourges, and racks, and screws, and all the instru- ments of torture, to force from the one, or from the other, a declaration, that they did not all intend to express what their language seems, beyond all doubt, to convey ? — Or^ lastly, is there no principle of reconciliation and harmony between their apparently discordant testimonies ? Is there no ground on which both may consistently be believed ; since both appear to be supported by the very same mea- sure of credible evidence ? — Here is the question ; here, I apprehend, the one great point on which the whole con- troversy turns. And in answer to the question, I still af- firm, as before, There is such a principle — there is such a ground — and besides it there is no other. It is to be found, as formerly stated, in the double view which is given by the apostle Paul, of the person and official character of Je- * Priestk-y's Hist, of Early Opinions, vol. L p. 10. 2f3 178 ON THE TEST OF TRUTH, sus^ when he says respecting him, that " being in the forE^ of God, he thought it not 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 men : and, being found in fashion as a man, humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross/^ — Admit the double view of the person of Christ which is here stated, and the difficulty vanishes. The testimony of the different witnesses, elicited without torture, and interpreted without perversion, becomes one testimony^ — In plain terms, there is, on this principle — (a principle which, you may possibly think, I am disposed to press too often upon your attention, but which really merits repetition on account of the extensiveness of its ap- plication on this subject, the occasion for the use of it, aS;, from the nature of the case, might have been expected;, perpetually recurring) there is, I say, on this principle, hardly a single text that occasions any difficulty to an at- tentive and ingenuous reader. — On every consideration, then, of fairness and candour, is not this the view which ought to be preferred, by all who are desirous rightly to obey the injunction in the text, " Prove all things ?" I must now draw to a close. — Your time will not admit of my urging upon my fellow Christians, at any length, by the various and powerful motives which might be pre- sented to their minds, the important duty of " holding fast that which is good. All truth is good. The truth revealed in ^^ the glorious gospel of the blessed God,'^ is peculiarly good : — good in its own nature ; — good in its holy and happy influence ;- good in all its present and in all its eternal consequence>s. Let me exhort you, my brethren, to hold it fast purely, firmly, meelcly, practically. — Purely ; without any admix- ture of error:— ^rw/?^; not "halting between two opin- IN MATTERS OF RELIGION. 179 ions,'* fluctuatins; and undecided, or imagining that truth and error may be embraced and held with equal safety : — meekly ; maintaining it with an humble consciousness of your own natural blindness, and a feeling of your entire obligation to the enlightening Spirit of God ; — ^with bene- volent affection to the persons of your opponents ; and with the patience and gentleness of Christ i-^practimlly ; ex- emplifying, in the whole of your conduct, personal and social, private and public, in the family, in the cliurch, and in the world, its renewing, and purifying, and gladdening efficacy. To all, I would say, and say with the earnestness of affectionate entreaty, '^ Search the Scriptures.'^ Examine them for yourselves. Examine them with a seriousness becoming the importance of the inquiry, and the magnitude of those consequences that are necessarily connected with it. Derive no foolish and vain excuse for neglecting to do this, from those differences of sentiment which you may observe to subsist among the professed followers of Jesus Christ The sentiments of others are nothing to you. It is not of others, but of yourselves, that you must give an account to God. Let each individual, therefore, attend to the gospel, as if he were himself the only crea- ture to whom it is addressed. O ! beware of satisfying yourselves at present, with such excuses as, you must be conscious, will never bear the scrutiny of the great day. Your immortal souls are at stake. Be, therefore, in ear- nest. Take nothing upon trust. What you hear from us, or from others, examine by the light of the Divine word. If we speak not according to that word, there is no light in us. It is not what we say, but what God says, that is " able to save the soul.'' — ^^ My Son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee ; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom^ and apply 180 ON THE TEST OF TRUTH, &C. thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou eriest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding ; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures ; — then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.''* — May God thus incline your hearts to " prove all things, and to holb FAST THAT WHICH IS GOOD.'^ * Pror. ii. 1— <5. ftV-pT ' ♦»#,!* "irfnf^rr^t t-ra- BIS COURSE VIL ON THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. Romans iii. 25, 26. '* WHOM GOD HATH SET FORTH TO BE A PROPITIATION THROUGH FAITH IN HIS BLOOD, TO DECLARE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS THAT ARE PAST, THROUGH THE FORBEARANCE OF god; to declare at this time his RIGHTEOUSNESS, THAT HE MIGHT BE JUST, AND THE JUSTIFIER OF HIM WHO BELIEVETH IN JESUS." The value of the gospel,'^ says an eminent Unitarian writer,* ^^ depends not at all upon any idea we may have concerning the person of Christ : all that we ought to regard is the object of his mission , and the authority with which his doctrine was promulgated. The doctrine of immortality, which is the great object of the whole reveal- ed will of God, is just as acceptable to me from the mouth of the son of Joseph and Mary, as from the mouth of any ' man created for the purpose, from the mouth of an Angel, or from the voice of God himself speaking from heaven.'' How different from those of this writer, were the thoughts and feelings of the inspired autlior of the epistle to the Hebrews ! — " God, says lie, who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his own Son.'^ And having, in the remainder of the lirst chapter, as we liave formerly seen, iUustrated the * Dr. Priestlev. 182 ON THE DOCTRmK glory of the person of Christ, as the Superior of prophets and of angels, the Equal of God the Father, the everlast- ing and almighty Creator and Lord of all things ; — he de- duces from the view thus given an inference, founded on the obvious principle, that the importance of the message, and the danger of rejecting it, must bear some proportion to the dignity of the messenger by whom it is sent : — ^' Hierefore we ought to give, the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For, if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience receiv- ed a just recompense of reward : — how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation ; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him ; God also bearing them witness, with signs and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will !'^* — If Jesus was not superior to prophets and angels, there is no force in this conclusion ; and, on the other hand, the higher his superiority, the more impressive is the inference, and the more imperative the duty. If, indeed, the sole object of the mission of Christ, was, to assure men of ^' the. doctrine of immortality ;^^ — if, as the same writer elsewhere alleges, " his business, like that of any other prophet, was nothing more than to de- liver a message from God, and to confirm it by miracles ;'' Me sliould, in that case, on the supposition of the Divinity of Christ, find it difficult to vindicate the wisdom of God from the charge of exciting useless astonishment, by using a method so extraordinary, for the accomplishment of an end, which might surely have been effected by simpler means. — On this principle, we should have been constrain- ed to admit, if not entirely, at least in a very great degree, * Heb. ii. i— t. OF ATONEMENT. 183 the alleged inutility of the doctrine, which it has been my object, in several former discourses to establish. But we distinctly and entirely deny the justice of the representation, which is thus given, of the purpose of Christ's mission. — That he was '' a teacher sent from God,'' we cordially admit. That " life and incorruption were brought to light," to clear and unclouded light, ^^ by his gospel,'^ we rejoice to know and to acknowledge. But that the sole, or even the principal design of his com- ing was, to confirm the certainty of a future state, and assure mankind of a judgment to come, we cannot by any means, allow. — We assert, that he came in the character not only of a prophet, but of a priest ; not to instruct merely, but to redeem ; not only to set an example of obe- dience, but to atone for transgression, — '' to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself :" — that when life and incor- ruption are said to have been brought to light by the gos- pel, the meaning is, not merely that the doctrine of a future state was certified to men ; but that by his " finishing the work given him to do," the ground of hope was laid, and the way to the enjoyment of eternal happiness in that state clearly and fully made known. When we consider that tlie period denominated ^^ the fulness of the time," — the period of the expected Mes- siah's advent, — holds so prominent a place in the Old Testament Scriptures; appearing there as the point to which all preceding time looked forward ; — that what was then to be accomplished was brought before the eye of hope by so vast a variety of typical institutions : — that it constituted " the spirit of prophecy ;" being the theme of its sublimest and most rapturous anticipations, the burden of its sweetest songs, the chief of its great and precious promises; — that those ^-holy men of God who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," exhausted on this subject the language of astonishment, and of delight : — 181 ON THE DOCTKIM:. when we consider all this, we should have good reasoii, surely, to be surprised, if, after all, the sum of what waa to be accomplished at that remarkable epoch, was nothing more than the confirmation of a truth already known. While we readily admit, therefore, that the object of the mission of Christ is what ought supremely to engage our attention, we conceive that, even from previous and pre- paratory circumstances, there was strong ground to con- clude, that this object was to be something more than what has now been stated ; — we are convinced that it actually was something more ; — and that tlie purpose of his appear- ing was so far from having no connexion with the doctrine of his Divinity, that his Divinity was essential to its ac- complishment. Further ; if the fact be indeed, as I have been endeav- ouring to prove, that God was manifested in the flesh ; tho greatness and singularity of the fact may well convince us of the magnitude of the design. An event so prodigious as the appearance of God in our nature, could not take place,, either for no purpose, or for a purpose of trifling moment. The God of infinite wisdom does nothing in vain. Every effort of his power has an end in view ; an end always worthy of himself in its nature, and in its im- portance, proportionate to the means employed for its ac- complishment. — The two great general purposes which are constantly regarded by him, in all his works, and in all his ways, are, the manifestation of his own glory, and, in connexion with it, the happiness of his sensitive, and especially of his intelligent creatures. Both of these pur- poses we consider as having been eminently answered, by, the incarnation, sufferings, and death, of the Son of God, when viewed in that light in which we believe the word of God to represent them, — as an atonement for the sins of the world. In the preceding part of thi« epistle, the apostle had OF ATONEMENT. 185 pSr^ved, by an appeal to facts, the universal depvavity of Gentiles and of Jews. At tlie tenth verse of this chapter^ he proceeds to show^ that the conclusion, to which facts had conducted him, accorded with the declarations of those Scriptures, of which the Jews acknowledged the Divine authority. — Having established the sinfulness, he declares the guilt and condemnation of all mankind ; — he shows the impossibility of any creature's obtaining justifi- cation by a law which he has violated, and which, in the plainest and most unqualified terms, pronounces against all transgressors the sentence of death 5— on the hopeless- ness of this wretched state, he founds the necessity of free forgiveness ; — and he then points out the leading object of tlie mediation of Christ ; which was, to render the ex- ercise of God's mercy, in bestowing such forgiveness, con- sistent, in the eyes of his intelligent creation, with the claims of his dishonoured authority, the demands of his justice, the glory of his holiness, the rectitude of his moral administration, and the general good of the universe. ^^ Whom" (i. e. Christ Jesus, verse 34.)—" Whom God hath set forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness, for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God ; — to declare at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus." From these verses, 1 propose to illustrate, and prove, the five following observations : — I. It is in consideration of the Sacrifice of Christ, that God is propitious to sinners : II. In pardoning the guilty on this ground^ God dis- plays his righteousness : III. The ground on which the pardon of sin is bestow- ed, has been, in every age, and under every dispensation, the same : S4 180 ON THE DOCTRINE ■.-■^- ki IV. An interest in the pardoning mercy of God, tliroiigU Jesus Christ, is obtained by faith : V. In resting our hope of forgiveness on the atoning Sacrifice of Christ, we build on a sure foundation. To say all that might be said, in a field so extensive as this, is more than could well be done in several discourses. It is my intention, to confine myself to the more prominent vieM s of my subject : and as I am persuaded that the principal objections, brought against the doctrine of atone- ment, arise from mistaken apprehensions of its nature, I shall endeavour, as much as I can, to avoid controversial discussion, and, with as great brevity and simplicity as the nature of the subject will permit, to state what appears to be the testimony of God. I. Let me now, then, proceed to the illustration of the first proposition in the series : — It is in consideration of the Sacrifice of Christ that God is projntioiis to sinners. There are, among critics, different opinions with regard to the proper import, in this connexion, of the original "word translated, jii'ojjitiatmi.^ Several, of high eminence, give it as their judgment that, in its present occurrence, it ought to be translated propitiatory sacrifice ;\ while oth- ers prefer rendering it propitiatory, or mercy-seat— Ilo the latter of these two opinions I am inclined to give the preference. — The same word occurs in only one other place in the New Testament ; — in an epistle, generally believed to have been written by the same author : — Heb. ix. 5, '^ And over it (viz. the ark of the covenant) the cherubim of glory, shadowing tlie mercy -seat : — in which t Miehaelis' Introduction to the New Testament, page 179, and pages 187, 188. — Kypke, as referred to by Miehaelis in both these passages. — See also, however, Dr. Marsh's notes on the latter pas- sage in the same volume, pages 449 — i52. — Dr. Magee, too, prefer.* the translation of propitiatory Sacrifice* Vol. I. page 221. OF ATONEMENT. i87 oeeurrence of it, there can be no doubt about its significa- tion. — It is the word also, which is invariably used by the Greek translators of the Old Testament, for that part of the sacred furniture of the Tabernacle. The word translated, in otlier passages, propitiatioyi, although of kindred origin, is different.* On these grounds, I think the word used in the text should be translated jpropitiato- rijy or mercy-seat. We shall see immediately, however, that with regard to real effect on the subject now before us, there is no very material difference, if, indeed, there be any difference at all,) between the one translation and the other. According to the meaning thus assigned to the word, we have, in the text, an allusion to the mercy-seat under the law, as a type of Jesus Christ, and of the effects, as will appear, of his atoning sacrifice. To the institution of the mercy-seat we must therefore look, that we may rightly understand the allusion. It is to be found in Ex. XXV. 17 — 22. " And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold : two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold ; of beaten work ehalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy-seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cher- ub on the other end ; even of the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends thereof. And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy- seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward tlie mercy- seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark ; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there will I meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy- seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of * *lAjeT^«j. Compare, in the Greek, 1 John ii. 2. iv. 10. 488 ON THE DOCTRINE the testimony, of all things that I will give thee in com- jnandment to the children of Israel.'^ It is from this description that Jehovah receives the appellation of — the God that dicelleth between the cJieru^ him;'^ an appellation which may, consequently, be inter- preted, as of equivalent import with the New Testament characters — "the Godofpeace^' — " the God of all grace,^^ •—The position of the propitiatory, upon the ark of the testimony, might be intended to indicate the consistency of his appearing in this benign character, for the purpose of communing with his guilty creatures, with the claims and sanctions of his righteous law. So that when Jeho- Tah, the God of Israel, " shone forth" from between the cherubim, " mercy and truth" might be said to " meet to- gether, righteousness and peace to embrace each other." Surely this cannot fail to remind you of Him, who re- ceived from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, " This is my heloved Son in whom I am icell pleased /" It is in him, as the subject either of promise, of prophecy, of typi- cal institution, or of direct testimony, that God has, all along from the beginning, made himself known to men, as " the God of peace. ^' It is in him that he " reconciles the guilty to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them."t Had nothing further been said respecting the mercy- seat, we might have beeq led to conclude, that Jehovah appeared there in the exercise of mere mercy ; I mean of inerey, unconnected with any kind oi satisfaction for sin, T— With the description of the propitiatory itself, we must, however, connect the account which is elsewhere given of the manner in which it was to be approached by the worshipper ; the high-priest being expressly enjoined tQ ^ 2 Kings xix. 15. Psalm Ixxx. 1. t 2 Pe{. i. 17. Matth. xvii. ^, 2 Cor. v. 1^. OF ATONEMENT. 1^9 draw near to Him, who dwelt between the cherubim, both in his own behalf, and in behalf of the people, according to certain prescribed rites. — A particular account of these is contained in the sixteenth chapter of the book of Levi- ticus, of which a few verses will show you their general nature, sufficiently for our present purpose. Verses 2, 8, 11 — 15. ^^And the Lord said unto Moses, speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place, within the vail, before the mercy-seat, which is upon the ark, that he die not : for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place ; with a young bullock for a sin-offerings and a ram for a burnt offering.— -And Aaron shall bring i\m bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself. And he shall take a censer full of burning coals from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail. And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy-seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not. And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it w ith his finger upon the mercy-seat eastw ard ; and before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offer- ing that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and be- fore the mercy- seat.'^ This goat of the sin-offering, as we learn from the in- termediate verses, was one of two, which Aaron was to take from the congregation of Israel : — and after it had been thus offered in sacrifice, and its blood brought within the vail, the remaining goat, with all the iniquities of the 190 ON THE DOCTRINE children of Israel laid upon its head, by the solemn vica- rious confession of the high-priest, was to be sent off alive into the w^ilderness, bearing away, emblematically, as a devoted victim, this load of atoned smd acknowledged guilt. — The figure was necessarily double : the slain goat typifying the atonement of Christ, and the scape-goat representing its efficacy. But the circumstance which I wish, at present, to im- press particularly on your attention, is, that the mercy- seat was to be approached with blood; — with the blood of atonement ; for such it is, in various parts of the chapter, expressly declared to have been.* — This blood was to be brought Avithin the vail, and to be sprinkled on and before the mercy-seat : — and while tlie sacrificial blood was thus presented, the burning incense was, by the cloud of as- cending smoke, to diffuse its grateful fragrance, in emble- matic testimony of the Divine satisfaction : — and this satisfaction is, accordingly, elsewhere expressed, in con- nexion with the sacrifice of Christ, and with the offerings by which it was typified, by Jehovah's smelling a sweet 8avou7\-\ The mercy- seat, then, in order to Jehovah's appearing there as the God of grace, consistently with the glory of his name, must, it appears, be stained with the '' blood of sprinkling,''-— the " blood that maketh atonement for the soul." — The reason why the blood was specifically appointed for this purpose is emphatically assigned in the subsequent chapter of the book of Leviticus-— ^^ For the life of the flesh is in the blood ; and I have given it to you npon the altar to make an atonement for your souls : for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."i' The blood, then was the atonement for the soul, because * See verses 6, 30, 31, &e. t Compare Gen. viii. 2i with Eph. v. 3. Rev. viii. 3, 4. Psalm fxlii. k I Chap.xvii.il. OF ATONEMENT. 491 it was the life of the victim : — and because it was the appointed atonement for the soul, it was to be held sacred^ on pain of death. It is true, that, in the chapter of Leviticus first referred to, atonement is said to be made for places, and for instru- ments of service, as well as for persons. — " And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the un- cleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins : and so shall he do for tlie tabernacle of the congregation that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. — And he shall go out unto the altar that is before tlic Lord, and shall make an atonement for it ; and shall take of the blood of the bul- lock, and of the blood of the goat, aiid shall put it upon the horns of the altar round about. And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.'^* On this subject, it has been justly remarked, that the atonement prescribed by the Levitical law " pro- duced, in all cases, the effect of fitting for the Divine service. This, in such as involved no consideration of moral character (as in the consecration of inanimate things, or the atonement for persons labouring under cere- monial impurities) could consist only in the removal of the external impurity ; for in such cases, this impediment alone existed : — while in those in which moral character teas concerned, (as in cases of sin, whereby man, having incurred the displeasure of God, had disqualified himself for the offices of his worship,) the unfitness could have been removed only by such means as, at the same time, removed that displeasure, and restored the offender to the Divine favour : or, in other words, the atonement was, \\\ such cases, an act of propitiation,- '[ * Lev. xvi. 16, 18, 19. + Ma?;ee on Atonement and Saenfi*'^. vol, T. pa^p -'i m>. 103 ON THE DOCTRINE This tlistiiictiou seems to be reasonable, and obvious. I would further remark, however, as a good deal of stress is laid, by the adversaries of the atonement, on the circura^ stance I am now considering, that, in the verses last read, there is a marked connexion between the atonement for the holy place and for the uistruments of Divine service, and the pollution and guilt of the children of Israel. It is from their guilt and pollution that the necessity for such atonement is represented as arising :— so that the atone- ment for the holy place, tJie tabernacle, and the altar, is still, in some sense, an atonement for the sins of the peo- ple, which are considered as cleaving to, and polluting, and unfitting for the service of God, the places and the instruments of their worship. Of this the verses last quot- ed are, of themselves, a sufficient evidence. The apostle Paul, in a similar manner, connects the two ideas of '^ pu- rifying with blood the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry,'' and of the atonement made, by the same means, " for the errors of the people.''^ The law, then, I must now observe (and with the ob- servation I shall conclude the illustration of the type) — the law, by which it was enjoined, on pain of death, that the mercy-seat should not be approached otherwise than icith bloody strikingly represented the necessity of the shedding of the blood of Christ, in order to his being the true propitiatory ; that is, in order to God's being " in Mm well pleased j^^ and thus accessible to sinners, as sup- pliants for mercy. And, agreeably to this, it may be no- ticed, that the declaration of God's satisfaction in his be- loved Son, which came from " the excellent glory" on *'< the holy mount," was connected with the subject of conference between Jesus and his heavenly visitants, — ^' the decease ichich he teas to accomplish at Jerusalem,^^ The first of our propositions is further confirmed, by * Sec Heb. ix. 19—22. OF AT6NEMENT. l93 the correspondence of the current language of Scripture with the meaning of this particular type, as it has now been explained. The doctrine of atonement^ or propitia- tion, pervades the whole of tlie inspired volume. The following passages, and expressions, are only a selection, to which a great many more of a similar kind might be added. — ^^ He was wounded for our transgressions ; he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his own way ; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquities of us all ^P — " For the transgression of my people was he striken :" — " Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin -P — " He shall bear their iniquities :'^ — '' He bare the sin of many ;" — " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world :'^ — " The Son of man is come — to give his life a ransom for many ;'^ — ^^ This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins :" — " The bread which I will give i§-my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world :" — " For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die : yet perad venture for a good man some would even dare to die. But God com- mendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more, then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him :" — " Who gave himself for our sins :'^ — ^^ Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, be- ing made a curse for us :" — " In whom we have redemp- lion through his blood, the forgiveness of sins -P — " Who gave himself a ransom for all :" — " Now once, in the end of the world, hath he appeared, to put away sin by the sac- rifice of himself:" — ^^ How much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself 194l ON THE DOCTRINE without spot unto God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serv e the living God?'^-^^ Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and tlien for the people's ; for this he did once, when he offered up himself :'' — " He made him, who knew^ no sin, to be sin for us ; that we might be made the right- eousness of God in him :'^ — '' Who, his own self, bare our sins in his own body on the tree :'^ — " For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us unto God :'^ — " The blood of Je- sus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin :'^ — " And lie is the propitiation for our sins ; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world :" — " Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood — be glory and dominion forever, and ever. Amen V^ — " Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood.'^* If such passages as these, which are taken from the prophets, from John the Baptist, from Christ himself, and from his apostles, do not convey the ideas uf substitution and atonement, is it possible, by human language, to con- vey these ideas at all ? What other words and phrases would we select, if it were our special desire to express them more distinctly ? In these passages, you w ill have perceived, there is a very frequent reference, when the death of Christ is spok- en of, to the sacrifices of the Old dispensation. Now, although the victims which were slain at the altar, and '' whose blood was brought into the sanctuary by the higli priest for sin,'^ could not, by any virtue of their own, take away the guilt of transgression, so as to save the sinner * Isaiah Uii. 5, 6, 7, 12. John i. 29. Mattli. xx. 28. xxvi. 28. John vi.51. Rom. V. 6—9. Gal. i. 4. iii. 13. Eph. i. 7. iTiin. ii. 6. Heb. ix. 26,14. vii. 27. 2 Cor. v. 21. 1 Pet. ii. 24. iii. 18. 1 John i. 7. ii. 2. Rev. i. 5, 6. v.^ 9. OF ATONEMENT. 195 from its future eternal punishment : — (this the apostle af- firms was " not possible," and its impossibility was indi- cated by the constant repetition of the same stated offer- ings :) yet they were, beyond all reasonable question, pro- pitiatory in their nature : — "their blood was brought into the sanctuary for sin ;'^ and they procured, when duly offered, the remission of its temporal consequences. Some of them were appointed for ceremonial omissions and un- eleannesses, and others for the transgression of precepts more directly of a moral nature. But the general idea of atonement pervades and characterises the whole. It seems to have been the principle on which the Mosaic Law was framed, that " without shedding of blood there could be no remission,^^ In this marked and prominent feature of its character, it was prefigurative of the true atonement that as to be made for sin in " the fulness of time/' It was in this way especially — by typical illustration, that God's method of justifying the ungodly was, as the apostle ex- presses it in the '20th verse, ^^ witnessed by the law,^^ Di- vest these rights of their typical import, and they become utterly unworthy of the wisdom by which they were ap- pointed. Worthless in themselves, their sole value arose from their being '' figures of that which was to come.'^ And from their nature, as described in the law, they could not, if they were types at all, be typical of any thing else than of a true and proper sacrifice for sin. The animal sacrifices which, from the sacred history, we know to have been offered before the law, even from the earliest times, had the same typical meaning and design. They were only embodied, and, perhaps, at the same time, multiplied and varied, in the Mosaic ritual ; that law of which the leading object is expressed by Paul, when he denominates it, '' a schoolmaster (to direct) to Christ.'^ If we admit the hypothesis, that the redemption of a lost world by the propitiatory sacrifice of the Son of God. 196 ON THE DOCTRINE was, from the beginning, the Divine intention, we arc fur- nished with a ready and satisfactory explanation of what otherwise remains, notwithstanding all the ingenious at- tempts of philosophical men to account for it, involved ia inexplicable mystery — I mean, the origin of animal sacri- fice^ and the universal traditionary prevalence of it among mankind. On the supposition in question, nothing can be simpler or more natural : on any othei> the subject is full of difficulty and perplexity. No sooner had Adam fallen, than the remedy was re- vealed, in the form of promise, for the ruin which he had brought upon himself, and entailed on his future race. By the institution of such sacrifices, the particular nature of the intended remedy was intimated. For, in this singular rite, the pious worshipper was reminded, on the one hand, for his humiliation, of the forfeiture of his own life, of the death which he deserved on account of sin ; and, on the other, for his consolation, and peace, and joy, of the pro- mised substitution of another in his stead, to bear his sin, to atone for its guilt, and to save him from its punishment. This institution, having been continued through the ante- diluvian and patriarchal ages, formed afterwards, as we have seen, a very prominent part of the Mosaic ritual. Its object was still the same. The law, by its sentence of condemnation, against which it provided, in itself, no ade- quate remedy, " shut up" those who were under it '^ to the faith which was afterwards to be revealed ;'^ while by its various rites it shadowed forth that faith to the mind of the attentive and devout inquirer ; — showing it obscurely, as if through a veil ; discovering, yet concealing ; ^' the shadow of good things to come, not the very image of\the things.'^ On this hypothesis, there is a harmony between the Old dispensation and the New, and a unity of design throughout the whole history of the Divine procedure to- wards mankind;, which we seek for in vain on any othet principle. OF ATONEMENT. 197 When we speak of the sacrificial language, (if I may so express myself) of the New Testament, in reference to the death of Christ, it is usual to resolve it all into figure and allusion. This, however, is at once to deprive the language of its meaning, and the rites alluded to of theirs. It is, besides, to charge the writers with singular folly. No idea could well be simpler, or more easily ex- pressed, than that of a prophet's dying to confirm his tes- timony, or rather to prove his sincerity in delivering it, (for his submitting to sufferings and death could prove no more than this,) or even to afford, in his own rising from the grave, tlie evidence and the pledge of a future resur- rection. Why such language as that which has been quoted should be so constantly used to express such ideas as these, if these were indeed the ideas intended to be conveyed, is a question which can hardly be answered, on any principle consistent with the inspiration, or even with the common sense of the writers. If the death of Christ was not an atonement for sin,— the law and the Prophets, Jesus himself, his forerunner, and his apostles, all spoke a language which is to me utterly unintelligible ; and which could not have more effectually deceived, had it been framed for the express purpose of deception. So much for our first proposition, that it is in consider- ation of the sacrifice of Christ, that God is propitious to sinners. II. I now proceed to show, in the second place, that in PARDONING THE GUILTY ON THIS GROUND, GoD DISPLAYS HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. This is obviously the very spirit of the text : — ^^ to de^ dare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are ijpast through the forbearance of God ; to declare at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus.'' The proper idea of propitiation is, rendering the Bi- 198 ON THE DOCTRINE vine Being propitious^ qv favourMe. We must beware^ however, of understanding by this, any thing like the pro- duction of a change in the Divine character ; as if the blessed God required a motive to pity, an inducement to be merciful, a price for love and grace. Far be such a thought from our minds ! We ought to conceive of Jeho- vah as eternally, infinitely, and immutably, compassionate and merciful. That any transition is produced in his na- ture, by the mediation of Christ, from previous vindictive cruelty to benevolence and pity, (as tlie adversaries of the doctrine of atonement are, either through ignorance or from a worse principle, accustomed to speak) is a suppo- sition full of blasphemous impiety. God has been from eternity, and to eternity must continue, the same ; ^^ with- out variableness or shadow of turning.'' Being absolutely perfect, he cannot change to the better ; for perfection cannot be improved. The slightest alteration, therefore, of what he is, would deduct from that infinite excel- lence, without which, he could not be God. But while God is infinitely and immutably good, he is, at the same time, infinitely and immutably holy, and just, and true. We ought never, indeed, to speak of him as acting at one time according to justice, and at another according to mer- cy ; if by this mode of expression it be meant, that in any part of his procedure, in the smallest possible degree, the claims either of mercy or of justice are ever suspended, oh left out of view. He never acts in opposition to the one, or to the other, but always agreeably to both. He is never just without being merciful, nor merciful without being just. The character of God is, perfect excellence — infinite goodness : — not a hemisphere of separate stars, but one glorious Sun of pure and holy light. The attributes which constitute this character, although we may speak of them, and reason about them, distinctly, are completely insepa- OF ATONESIENT. 199 rable in their exercise ; — united in the conduct of the Al- mighty Agent, by the same necessity which unites them in his nature. That nature being one and immutable, witli no part of it can any step of his procedure ever be incon- sistent ; but all should be considered as the result, not of one attribute, or of another, but of that glorious combina- tion of all excellencies, which constitutes infinite 'perfec- tion. The light of the sun we can divide, by a prism, into its various colored rays ; and each of tliese rays we can make the object of distinct attention : — but it is the com- bination of all the seven that constitutes light — of which its colorless purity is the prime excellence. Thus may we make the various perfections of the Divine nature the subjects, one by one, of separate consideration : — but it is the union of them all, in inseparable existence and exer- cise, that forms the character of that infinite Being, of whom it is said, "God is light ; and in Mm is no darkness at alV^ What then is the light in which the doctrine of atone- ment places the Divine Being ? In reply to this question, I observe : — that, as a righteous Lawgiver and Ruler, Jehovah must be considered as displeased with his guilty creatures, on account of their violation of his authority ; — while, at the same time, from the infinite benignity of his nature, he is inclined to forgiveness. But, if his govern- ment be righteous, its claims, in their full extent, must, of necessity, be preserved inviolate. Any change in these must be a change from right to wrong ; and must affect both the immutable holiness of the Divine character, and the general good of the universe. The principles of the Divine administration, the commands and the sanctions of God's law, if admitted to have been originally right, can never undergo alteration ; for alteration of any kind, even in the way of mitigation or reduction, implies the ac- knowledgment of error in the first enactments. SOO' ON THE DOCTRINE The great question, then, on this momentous subject^ comes to be : — '' In what manner mail forgiveness be extended to the guilty, so as to satisfy the claims of in- finite justice^ and thus to maintain in their full dignity^ free from every charge of imperfection or of mutability, the character of the Governor, the rectitude of his admin- istration, and the sanction of his law f^^ The rendering of the Divine Being propitious, in this tiew, refers, it is obvious, (and the distinction is one of great importance on this subject) not to the production of love in his character, or in the particular state of his mind towards fallen men, but simply to the mode of its expres- sion. The inquiry is. How may tlie blessed God express his love, so as effectually to express, at the same time, his infinite and immutable abhorrence of sin ; and thus, in ^^ making known tlie riches of his mercy,'' to display, in connexion with it, the inflexibility of his justice, and the unsullied perfection of his holiness ? When we say that God is displeased with any of his creatures, we speak of them not as creatures, but as sin- Tiers, He hath sworn by himself, that " he hath no plea- sure in the death of the wicked/' But he hates sin : — not as possessing any power to affect his own infinite, inde- pendent, and unchanging happiness and glory, (I mean his essential glory ;) for as to these, it may well be asked^ ^' Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous, or is it gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect ? Will he reprove thee for fear of thee ? Will he enter with thee into judgment ?" — ^' If thou sinnest, what dost thou against him ? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what dost thou unto him ? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him ? or what receiv- eth he of thy hand ? Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art 5 and thy righteousness may profit the son of OF ATONEMENT. ^(H man."* But he hates sia — as contrary to his holy nature, hiding his glory from the eyes of his intelligent creatures, and, in proportion to the extent of its prevalence, tending to the destruction of the order and happiness of the uni- verse. Wlien we speak of hatred as existing in the infi- nite mind, we ought, it is true, to beware of associating with it any idea of passion or turbulent emotion. But to make it a question whether God be displeased with sin, and with sinners, is to confound good and evil together y to divest the human mind of all its salutary fears of judg- ment to come ; and to dispute the propriety of God's own language on this momentous subject. In the Scriptures we find it affirmed, that God is '^ angry with the wicked every day ;" that he ^' hateth all the workers of iniquity ;" that he hath ^^ revealed from heaven his wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men ; — and the '^ chil- dren of disobedience'' are denominated ^' children of wrath.^^ When God, on the other hand, forgives iniqui- ty, he is, in perfect consistency with such expressions, represented, as ^^ turning from the fierceness of his anger ^ and taking away all his wrath ;" as '^ not retaining his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy ;" — as ^ pacified^^ towards the objects of his forgiveness, ^^ not- withstanding all that they have done :" — and they who before Avere " children of wratb," are described as then saying, with holy and humble joy, " O Lord, I will praise thee ; for though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away,'^ This is propitiation : and it is in Christ Jesus, as we have already seen, that God is thus propi- tious to sinners. The righteousness of God is declared, or made manifest^ by the infliction of the penalty of transgression on the per- son of Jesus Christ, as the voluntary surety and ,substitute * Job xxii. 2 — *. XXXV. 6 — 8. ^)S ON THE DOCTRINE of the guilty. This, it is freely admitted, is not accord- ing to the precise lettei^ of the Divine law : for that law^ like every other, requires, of course, the personal punish- jment of the offender : '' The soul that sinneth, it shall die/' But the spirit of the law is as fully preserved ; the ends of justice as effectually answered ; the dignity and authority of the Divine Lawgiver as completely secured, by the sufferings of a sufficient and voluntary substitute^ as by the sufferings of the guilty transgressors themselves. Nay, if, as in the case before us, this willing surety is, in nature and dignity, transcend ently superior to the sinner in whose room he appears, these ends may be answered,^ with even much more impressive effect, in the one way, tlian in the other. The righteous God has given to his creatures a right- eous law^ accompanied with tiie threatening of a righteous penalty. If the law and tlie penalty were both originally righteous, they must remain immutably so. If the law, when given, required no more than what is right, how can it, without bringing a reflection on the perfect wisdom and unchanging rectitude of the Divine character, ever require less ? If the penalty, by the threatening of which obedience was originally enforced, contained in it no more than what is strictly just, how can this penalty, without giving rise to the very same kind of reflection, be remitted, or even mitigated ? The two great ends of public justice are, the glory of God, and, in connexion with it, the general good of his creatures. It is essentially necessary to the attainment of these ends, that the authority of the government of God should be supported, in all its extent, as inviolably sacred; — that one jot or one tittle should in no wise pass from the law ; — that no sin, of any kind, or in any degree* should appear as venial ; — that if any sinner is pardoned, it should be in such a Avay as, while it displays the Divine OF ATONEMENT, S03 mercy, shall at the same time testify the Divine abhorrence -of his sins. All this is gloriously effected, in the gospel, by means of atonement ; — by the substitution of a voluntary surety, even of him whose name is Immanuel, to bear the <;urse of the law, in the room of the guilty. In his substi- tution, we see displayed, in a manner unutterably affect- ing and awful, the holy purity of the Divine nature ; for no testimony can be conceived more impressive, of infinite abhorrence of sin, than the sufferings and death of the Son of God. Here, too, we behold the immutable justice of the Divine government, inflicting the righteous penalty of a violated law. It is to be considered as a fixed principle of the Divine government, that sin must be punished >• that, if the sinner is pardoned, it must be in a way that marks and publishes the evil of his offence. 1'his is ef- fected by substitution ; and, as far as we can judge^ could ^ot be effected in any other way. In inflicting the sen^ tence against transgression on the voluntary and all-suffi- cient surety, Jehovah, while he clears the sinner, does ttot clear his sins ; — although clothed with the thunders of vindictive justice against transgression, he wears to the transgressor the smile of reconciliation and peace ; — he dispenses the blessings of mercy from the throne of his holiness ; — and, while exercising grace to the guilty, he appears in the character — equally lovely and venerable — of the sinner's friend, And sin^s eternal foe I In this way^ then, all the ends of public justice are fully answered. The law retains its complete, unmitigated per- fection ; is ^^ magnified and made honourable :'^ — the dig- nity and authority of the government are maintained, and «ven elevated :— all the perfections of Deity are gloriously illustrated; and exliibited in sublime harmony :— wiiile 304 ON THE DOCTRINE the riches of mercy are displayed, for the encouragement of sinners to return to God, the solemn lesson is at the same time taught, by a most convincing example, that re- bellion cannot be persisted in with impunity ; and motives are thus addressed to the fear of evil as well as to the de- sire of good : — such a view of the Divine Being is present- ed in the cross^ as is precisely calculated to inspire and to maintain (to maintain, too, with a powder which will in- crease in influence the more closely and seriously the view is contemplated) the two great principles of a holy life — the LOVE, and the fear of God ; — filial attachment, free- dom, and confidence, combined with humble reverence and holy dread. While it appears a most important scriptural truth, that something equivalent, in the eye of Divine Justice, to the punishment of the sinner, was, in the view and for the reasons which have been stated, absolutely necessary in order to his escape, I do not think there is any thing in the word of God, that warrants tlie representation, which has been given, by some of the friends of this doctrine, as if the sufferings of Christ formed what they call an exact equivalent — neither less nor more — for the sins of all who shall be saved by his atonement. This sentiment seems derogatory to the infinite dignity of the Sufferer, and the consequent infinite value of his sacrifice. The sufferings of the Son of God ought not to be brought into comparison, as a display of the Divine righteousness, with even the eternal sufferings of millions of his creatures. The idea of exact equivalent proceeds on the supposition, that the sufferings of Christ possessed just as much virtue, as is sufficient for the salvation of all who shall be saved ; whose precise proportion of punishment he is conceived to have borne, according to the guilt even of each particu- lar sin. I know not how yoit may feel, my brethren : — but my mind, I own, revolts from this sort of minutely 1 OF ATONEMENT. ^05 calculating process on such a subject ; weighing out the precise quantum of suffering due to each sin of each indi- vidual^ who obtains forgiveness ; and there, of course, limiting the sufficiency of the surety's mediation. Such views have always appeared to me utterly inconsistent with the grandeur and majesty of this wonderful part of the Divine administration. The mediation of Christ, I am disposed to view as a grand, general manifestation of " the righteousness of God,'' by which the claims of justice are, in the spirit of them, fully satisfied, and the glory of this attribute thus maintained, in the exercise of mercy : — a general remedy, admitting, according to the Divine pleasure and purpose, of a particular application. There is an ob- vious and important difference between the sufficiencij of any remedy, and its efficiency. The former arises from the nature of the remedy itself; — the latter de- pends on its being applied. The former, therefore, may even be infinite, while the latter is purposely limited. The blood of Christ may be infinite in its atoning value^ and yet limited in its atoning efficacy ; sufficient for the salvation of all, and yet effectual to the salvation of com- paratively feic. It is in this way, then, that God appears, in the gospel testimony, in that view of his character, which is to us the most deeply interesting of all the lights in which he has been pleased to make himself known — as " the just God, and a Saviour.'' It is in the cross of Christ, in the work, which he finished, when he "bowed his head and gave up the ghost," that " mercy and truth meet together — that righteousness and peace embrace each other." — To the sinner, it is, from first to last, a free salvation. God's instituting any means at all for securing the honour of his righteousness in bestowing pardon on the guilty, when his character, as the just God, would have re- S06 ON THE DOCTRINE mained unimpeachable, had he consigned all transgres- sors to the doom which they merited, was itself an act of free, unsolicited grace. And even now, when these means have been revealed, the claim of right is rather to be considered as on tho part of the surety, for the salvation of such as were given to him, than on the part of the sinner, who receives the blessing. Although we have ^^ boldness, and access to God with confidence, through the faith of Jesus,^^ yet even when we come in the name of the Mediator, we are taught to approach as suppliants^ rather than as claimants ; not demanding a debt, but entreating for a favour ; pleading, with all the deep self-abasement of the publican, " God be merciful to me a sinner !" While^ in forgiving sin, in justifying the ungodly, God acts in perfect consistency with justice as well as with mercy, to the sinner himself it is entirely a matter of pure, unconditional mercy. He is "justified freely, by God^s grace^ through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." It has been asserted by some, that the doctrine of atonement is incompatible with i\mt of free forgiveness. Let these words of the apostle, contained in the verse immediately preceding the text, silence, as they ought to do, every such objection. He here distinctly affirms, that the justification of the sinner is free — that is, without any cause in him ; that it is, by grace — that is, as an act of sovereign unmerited favour — and yet that it is, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.- — In other places also, he uses language of exactly the same import : — ^' In whom we have redemption by his blood, the for- giveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace J^^' It is evident, from such passages, that Paul perceived not the inconsistency, which the refinement of modern objec- tors presumes it has discovered. And I think we may * Bph. i. r. OF ATONEMENT. ^07 6e perfectly satisfied, to be in the same mistake with an inspired apostle. It has likewise been seriously objected to the doc- trine in question^ that it never can be reconciled with the justice of God^ to permit the innocent, to suffer for the guilty. / Perhaps it should be enough to remind those, who urge this objection, not only that the substitution and sufferings of Christ were entirely voluntary ; but that, according to the view which we take of his person, they could not possibly have been otherwise; inasmuch as, previously to his assuming the form of a servant, he had no su- perior that could lay him under any obligation, nor would he, therefore, have violated any obligation, had he never acted the part he did. His own will alone could bind him. His "becoming flesh ^^ was an act of sovereign condescension ; and in all that he endured, in the na- ture, which he had voluntarily assumed, he was a willing i^ufferer. But let me take up the objection in another light. Ac- cording to the terms in which it is expressed, it proceeds on the supposition of the innocence of the sufferer. Is this, then, admitted ? One hardly can tell whether our oppo- nents admit it or not. They certainly can " find no fault in this man.'^ Yet one presumes to speak of him as ^'fal- lible and peccable ;" — another says, we have no suficient data by which to determine whether during his private as well as his public life he was free from sin or not ; and that it is to us a matter of no material consequence /* — But " What saith the Scripture V^ — " Such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless^ undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens : who needeth not daily ^ as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first * Priestlev and Belshain, 308 ON THE DOCTRINE for his own s^ins, and then for the people's :'' — ^^ He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth :'' — " Ye are redeemed with the precious blood of Christy as of a lamb, without blemish and tvithout spot .-'^ — ^^ He was manifest- ed to take away our sins ; and in him is no sin,^^^ Are not these declarations sufficient to satisfy every mind that feels itself bound by the authority of the Scriptures ? — Taking for granted, then, the peifect innocence of Jesus Christ, let us consider the fact precisely as it stands. Here is an innocent person suffering ; suffering both in body and in mind, (if we are to judge from his own ex- pressions of inward agony, and from the effects of that ag- ony on his bodily frame) in a degree unprecedented and inconceivable. Let the objector, then, account for this strange phenomenon in the government of a righteous God. Why, we ask, does lie suffer ? Not on his own account. The supposition of innocence forbids this ; for all suffering arises from sin. Why, then, does he suffer ? To confirm, by evincing his sincerity, the trutli of liis tes- timony, and to set before us an example of patience ? The objector forgets himself when he alleges this as the cause. Let him recollect, that this is still suffering /or us—^for our good. Let him answer, therefore, his own objection. If it b^jiist in God to allow the innocent to suffer for these ends ; why should it be unjust in him to allow the inno- cent to suffer for another end — even for the end which we allege to have been the true cause of these sufferings ? — Can it he just in God to inflict sufferings on the innocent for an inferior end, and yet unjust in him to inflict the same sufferings, on the same person, for an end obviously and incalculabhj superior P — The fact of an innocent sufferer being once admitted, the only scriptural, and^ m my apprehension, the only rational (because the only * Heb. vii. 26, 27. 1 Peter ii, 22, i. 10. 1 John iii. ff. OP AtOlfEMElNT. a09 adequate) reason of the fact, and solution of the difficulty arising from it, is, — " God made him, who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him/^ So strongly does the matter appear, in this light, to my mind ; that I should almost affirm the very existence of the fact to be, of itself, a sufficient evi- dence of the doctrine. It has further been objected, that when, in the New Testament, reconciliation is spoken of, it is not the recon- ciliation of God to sinners, but of sinners to God : — as iu the following instances. ^^ All things are of God, Avho hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath givea to us the ministry of reconciliation : to wit, that God was in (or by) Christ reconciling the world unto himself Bot imputing their trespasses unto them ; and hath com- mitted unto us tlie word of reconciliation. Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech by us ; we pray (men) in Christ's stead, Be ye reconciled to God : for he hath made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him :" — " If, when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son ; much more, being recon- ciled, we shall be saved by his life.''* I need not enlarge on this. Two or three brief obser- vations will be sufficient to show the fallacy of the objec- tion. In the first place, We have already seen, that in many parts of Scripture, words and phrases which are, in their meaning, perfectly equivalent with reconcile and re- conciliation, are used respecting the state of God's regard towards sinful creatures : — as when he is said to be paci- fied, and to have his anger turned away. It is not about the word we dispute, but about the thing. — 2dly, In the Scriptures the verb to reconcile is used, when the person, * ^ Cor. V. 18—31. Rom. v. 10. 27 ^lO ON THE DOCTRINE^ said to be reconciled^ is not the offended party, but the of- fender ; in which eases it manifestly signifies, not the re- moval of enmity in the heart of him, who is said to he re- conciled^ but the averting of displeasure, and the obtaining of favour, in the bosom of him to whom he is reconciled. For example :— Matth. v. 23, S4^. " Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift be- fore the altar, and go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come, and offer thy gift.'' The person addressed is not supposed to have any thing against his, brother, but to recollect that his brother has something against him. His brother is the aggrieved party. Yet it is not said " Reconcile thy brother to thee/^ but, ^^ Be re- conciled to thy brother.^^ The former, however, is evi- dently what is meant — ^' Make peace w ith thy brother : — by becoming acknowledgments and submission, regain his lost favour, and restore the exercise of mutual affec- tion." Another instance, equally conclusive, of the same use of the word, occurs in 1 Sam. xxix. 4. " And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him (that is, with Achish) ; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him. Make this fellow (David) return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him ; and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us : for wherewith should he reconcile himself to Ms master P should it not be with the heads of these men?" — Saul, David's master, was the offended party. Yet David is not said to reconcile his master to him, but to reconcile himself to his master. Obtaining favour with his master, however, is, beyond all dispute, what is intended to be expressed. These instances are completely decisive, as to the use of the term for which we contend. And, agreeably to this view of its meaning, when sinners are said ta be reconciled to God, the expres- OF ATONEMENT. 211 sion includes in it not merely the relinquishment of tlieir enmity against him, but also the turning away of his dis- pleasure against them. It means, in short, the bringing of the parties into a state of mutual friendship. — Mly^ That this is the case, is clear from the very passages, in the epistles to the Corinthians and to the Romans before quoted. In the former of these passages, God's ^' recon^ eiling the tvorld to himself by Jesus Christ, is explained by his ^^ not imputing their trespasses unto them .•'' that is, by forgiveness he brings sinners into a stiite of favour and acceptance with himself. As to the latter passage, its connexion with the preceding verse is sufficient to show that the meaning of being reconciled is there the same : — ^' Much more, then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.'' If reconciliation to God, by the death of his Son, is not here inclusive at least of hein^ Justified by his blood, there is neitlier continuity nor conclusiveness in the apostle's reasoning. Lastly ; it has been alleged, that the whole of this scheme of atonement is unnecessary ; — a useless incum- brance : — for that God might, with perfect propriety, for- give sinners, upon their repentance, without any such ad- ditional consideration. What the infinitely wise and righteous God might, or might not, with propriety, do, in such a case — it hardly, perhaps, comes within our province to determine. Our safest and most becoming way of proceeding, in such cir- cumstances, is, I should think, to form our judgment from the fact ; — to consider what God has actually done, and thence to conclude, what w^as or was not proper for him to do. If God could, with perfect consistency and pro- priety, have pardoned sin witliout any such atonement ?is £1S ON THE DOCTRINE we believe has been made for it^ we may, with g:i'eat safe- ty, conclude, from what we know, both of liis wisdom and of his goodness, that the atonement would never have been heard of t — for a wise being does nothing in vain ; and a GOOD being inflicts no suiFering in vain. Surely when the blessed Redeemer, perfectly pure and holy, and the object . of unmingled approbation and love, thrice prayed in ago- | ny of spirit, that if it were jmssible the cup might pass from him,^— he would never have been permitted to drink it, — to drink it even to its bitterest dregs, had not his drinking it been indispensable ; — had it not been necessa- ry to the reconciliation of justice and mercy, in their exer- cise towards guilty men. I have before endeavoured to answer, on this subject, the question. What saith the Scripture ? — and, at the same time, to show the reasonableness of the plan which the blessed God is therein represented as having adopted, in order to his being, consistently with the glory of his whole character, " the God of Salvation.'^ We have seen, in this discussion, the only ground on which, according to the gospel, pardon is bestowed. That it is ever bestowed on the ground of mere repentance, is not the doctrine of the Bible. Neither can it be shown, I would now add^ to be the doctrine of Reason. Analogy is against it. ij Repentance and reformation do not, in the present experi- ence of mankind, place transgressors, with regard to the temporal effects of their sins, in the same state as if they . never had offended. The ruined health and fortune of f the intemperate are not retrieved the instant they repent and reform. Besides ; present obedience can only fulfil present obligation. There is, as has frequently been ob- served as good ground for affirming that former obedience atones for present sins, as there is for affirming that pres- ent obedience atones for antecedent transgression. Re* pentance neither alters the nature, nor annihilates the guilt OF ATONEMENT. S13 of what is past : and present duty, even if it were free from ail mixture of imperfection, can do no more than an- swer for itsalf. It cannot possess the nature and efficacy of works of supererogation for our former selves, any more than it can for others, Reason, then, to say the least of it, can arrive at no certain conclusion on this subject ; and it becomes us to tBubmit, with grateful humility, to the way of acceptance made known in the gospel. Repentance is inseparably connected with forgiveness ; — but it is not its procuring cati8e~iis memtorious ground. This is to be found only in the perfect obedience, and atoning death, of the Son of God : — and apart from faith in him, and dependence upon his righteousness and sacrifice, as the foundation of ac- ceptance, tiiere exists no repentance that is genuine and scriptural. 1 must now hasten forward to the remaining observa- tions ; which shall be illustrated with much greater brev^ ity. III. The ground on which the pardon of sin has been hestowedy has, in every age, and under every dispensation^ teen the same. This observation is founded on the expression used in verse S5th — ^'for the remission of sins that are past (that is, which were formerly committed J through (or in J the forbearance of God/ ^ These words evidently express, the retrospective effi, cacy of the blood of Christ ; its efficacy, as the procuring ^ause of forgiveness to believers who lived before his com- ing in the flesh. God had before that time remitted sin : — and the words in question might, perhaps, be more- strictly rendered, ^^to declare his righteousness, ftecawseqf* * Atet Ti}V ?r«^£C-iv T4>v ^^ayfyevorm ufAM^nifjuetrm, — A/<« is here used with the accusative ; and there can be no doubt that its ordinary signi- 5314 0:N^ the DfOCTRINE the remission (or passing by) of sins formerly committed^ in the forbearance of God :'' — the sentiment expressed being a^^iarently this ; — " that the passing by of sins at that time, when no adequate atonement had been made, might liave given occasion for the impeachment of the Divine righteousness ; and therefore, this display of the righteousness of God v^^as, in due time made, as that to which there had all along been a prospective regard — (as to a pre- determined event) — in the previous exercise of pardoning mercy.'^ This view seems to be confirmed by the emphatical expression " at this time,^^ in the 25th verse, which seems to refer to something which required to be done now^ as having been acted upon in the time preceding. The truth, then, which is contained in these words, is a highly important and deeply interesting one : — that throughout the whole period of time, from Adam to Christ, the forgiveness of sins was granted " through the redemp- Hon that is in Christ Jesus ;'^ — that God never was '^ the JTistifier^^ of any but of such as '^ believed in Jesiis,^^ or, as the original words literally mean, " were of the faith of JesusJ'^ This faith, it is true, must of necessity have corresponded, in clearness of vision, and in strength of conviction, to the degree of light vouchsafed at the time : but it was not the less real, on account of the comparative fieation, when in regimen with this case, is /or, on aceount of, because of, I am aware that in the present instance various renderings have been proposed, and more or less ably supported. I am not sure, how- ever, that there is any necessity for departure from the usual sig- nification of the preposition when governing the accusative. The sense given in the discourse seems to me sufficiently natural, and con- sistent with the scope of the context ; in which the apostle had just before spoken of the Divine method of justifying sinners as having hecn, in former times, " witnessed by the law and the prophets." OF ATONEMENT. S19 obscurity of the revelation ; for, in the nature of things, it could not regard its olrject further than that object was revealed. In passing by sin, therefore, in the ages pre- ceding the fulness of time, it appears that God, (to whom the future is as certain as the past ; a purpose yet to be executed as sure as what has already been done ; " one day," in this respect, ^' as a thousand years, and a thou- sand years as one day ;'') — it appears, I say, that God then granted the remission of sins " in his forbearance,^^ that is, while he was, as it were, waiting for the fulness of time, and was regarding, as the ground of his merciful procedure, the work which was then to be done — the atonement which was then to be made. '^ At this timey^ — the time, for wise reasons, chosen and appointed by himself — " he declared his righteousness,^^ by the advent and atonement of Christ, " that he might he jusf^ in hav- ing /(7rmcrZ^ justified, and just in now continuing to justi- fy, ^* those who are of the faith ofJesusP What an interesting and impressive view does this give us, my brethren, of the efficacy of the Redeemer's sacri- fice. " What is a man profited," said he himself, " if he should gain the whole woi-ld, and lose his own soul ? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?'' * If the salvation of one individual is thus unspeakably valuable, how great must be the preciousness of that offering, by which there are redeemed unto God — redeemed from ev- erlasting destruction, and raised to the enjoyment of ever- lasting life and glory — " a multitude which no man can number !" That countless multitude which John saw, in vision, assembled before the throne of God and of the Lamb, was not only composed of men '^ of every people, and kindred, and tongue, and nation," but of men of every successive period of time, from the day when man was doomed to return to the dust, till the day when '* death * Matth, xvi. 26. S16 ON THE DOCTRINE shall be swallowed up of victory. '' Then ^^Adam shall sa., lute his youngest born.^^ Yet the song of this redeemed company is one. There is not one song for the patriarchs, and another for the prophets, and a third for the apostles ; — one for the saints of the Old, and another for tliose of the New dispensation : — for patriarchs, and prophets, and apostles, and saints of every dispensation, have all been alike indebted to the same Redeemer. The " righteous Abel," the earliest victim of mortality, shall join in the same song with the last of the children of God that falls asleep in Jesus. All, having " washed their robes, and made them white, in the same blood,'' shall sing together, without a feeling or a tone of discord — " Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb !'' IV. M.jfouHh proposition was, that an interest in the pardoning mercy of Gody through Christy is obtained by faith:^ " Whom God hath set forth as a propitiatory, through faith in his blood — that he might be just, and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus." This is the unvarying language of the Bible. ^^ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Sou^ that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life :'' — ^^ He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.''* To multiply passages to the same effect, would be endless. To ALL, of every description, who are interested in the virtue of this atonement, faith is alike the medium of their interest. This sentiment is decisively expressed in the verses which follow the text : — " Wliere is boastings- * John iii, 14—16. 36. OF ATONEMENT. 217 then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay ; but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law."' '' Is he the God of the Jews only ? Is he not also of the Gentiles ? Yes, of the Gentiles also. Seeing it is one God, who shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircum- eision through faith.'' The chief reason why faith is made the medium of jus- tification, is stated in the l6th verse of the following chap- ter ; — " wherefore, it is of faith, that it might he by grace :^^ and the simpler, consequently, our views are, of the nature of justifying faith, the clearer will our perception be of the reign of Grace in our salvation. For the apostle, in these words, (of which the meaning is in perfect harmony with all his reasonings on the same subject,) represents it as appointed by God to be the medium of a saving interest in the atonement, for this express reason, that it is a me- dium, which, from its very nature, sets aside all works from forming any part of the ground of acceptance, pre- cludes all self-complacent boasting, and secures the entire glory to his own free grace. The reasonableness of making faith, or the belief of tlie testimony of God concerning his Son, the medium of in- terest in the salvation, which that testimony reveals, must at once be apparent to every reflecting mind. No one, surely, can conceive it to be right, that the man who re- jects the gospel, refusing to own it as a message from heaven, should nevertheless partake, equally with those, who gladly embrace it as such, the precious blessings which it reveals : — that he, who persists in despising the atonement, and in slighting and vilifying the great sal- vation wrought by the Son of God, should yet experience the saving efficacy of his blood. It is the sovereign and irreversible appointment of that God with whom we have to do, that ^' he that believeth shall be saved, and he that ^18 ON THE DOCTRINE ^ believeth not shall be condemned. ^^ The sinner who es- teems the blood of Jesus as an all-sufficient atonement for sin^ and who^ as ruined and hopeless, seeks forgiveness and acceptance on the ground of that atonement, " shall in no wise be cast out :'^ for God is " the justilier of him who believeth in Jesus/' But the sacrifice can have no saving virtue to any, who refuse to acknowledge its neces- sity, or to confide in its merits. This position I advance, not with inconsiderate levity ; not with scornful indiffer- ence about the safety of my fellow- sinners ; not for the sake of maintaining the consistency of a human system : — but from a deep conviction of its truth, and a solemn, heart- felt impression of its unutterable importance. To every imputation of uncharitable harshness, my answer is, " To the law and to the testimony.'' By this standard let the sentiment be impartially tried. "V. My last observation was, that in resting our hopes of forgiveness on the atoning sacrifice of Christy we build on a sure foundation. This observation is founded on two circumstances : — the dignity of the person, who is set forth in the gospel, as the true propitiatory ; — and the supreme authority of Him, by whom he is set foi^th, as the object of faith, and the ground of acceptance ; — " Christ Jesus — whom God hath set forth." When we consider the Divine dignity of the* Mediator between God and men, the "great high priest of our pro- fession ;" — when we are assured that our hope is founded on a work that has been finished, and on a sacrifice that has been offered, by Him whose name is Immanuel ; — we possess a feeling of security, which nothing else whatevep can impart. " It is Christ that diedP " He offered up HIMSELF." It is true, that the human nature alone could obey, and could suffer. But if it be also true, that the human nature of him, who obeyed and suffered,^ was as- OF ATONEMENT. ^19 sociated in his one person with the Divine, that man's mind must be singularly constituted, who does not per- ceive the diiference between what is done and suffered by an ordinary mortal, and what is done and suffered by a man in union with Deity ; and who triumphs in the dis- covery, that this can be no more after all than human merit, and human sufferings. Upon such a principle as this, were a mighty monarch to perform an act of signal condescension and mercy, by voluntarily submitting to various sufferings, for the deliverance of the meanest of his subjects from existing or apprehended misery — it might be said, "RoyaUy cannot act ; Royalty cannot suf- fer ; — it is the man only, and not the Hw^, that acts and suffers : — so that the actions and the sufferings of the king should be considered in no other light than as the actions and sufferings of the poorest beggar.'' — I am aware, that all comparisons of this kind fall infinitely below the sub- ject which they are brought to illustrate. I have adduced this one, merely to show the futility of the principle on which such objectors proceed. Besides ; the whole hu- miliation of Jesus, including his assumption of the human nature, as well as all that he did and suffered in that na- ture, is the ground of God's satisfaction in his beloved Son, and consequently the procuring cause of forgiveness and blessing to the sinner.* The doctrine of the Divinity of Christ, then, which I have, in former discourses, been endeavouring to establish, is not, by any means, a useless, insulated truth ; — a truth on which no other truths depend. Viewed in connexion with the atonement, which it has been the object of this discourse to illustrate and to prove, it is that which im- parted to all that Jesus did and suffered, for the salvation of a lost world, its peculiar value, and its saving efficacy : i— it is that which communicates their sublime grandeur to * See Phil. ii. 6--11. 1^ ON THE DOCTRINE the doctrines of the cross elevating them above all that '' eye had seen, or ear heard, or that had entered into the heart of man to conceive ;". — investing the whole Christian system with a radient and heavenly glory, like that, which beamed around the transfigured Saviour on the Holy mount. The second source of our security, in resting our hopes on this foundation, is, the authority by which it is here represented as revealed and sanctioned : — " Whom God liatli set forth, '^ God had set him forth partially, and with comparative obscurity, by the law and the prophets ; and he now ex- hibits him in the gospel, with all the clearness of explicit testimony, as a propitiatory through faith in his blood.'^ God was the Sovereign whom our sins had offended, and at whose mercy we consequently lay. He alone, when his creatures had " fallen by their iniquity,'^ had a right to determine whether any remedy should be appointed for them at all ; — and if any ^ what that remedy should be. — If He, therefore, has made known a ground of hope for the guilty, we cannot, surely, wish for firmer security, or for any higher warrant, or encouragement, to rely on that ground with unshaken confidence. It is Jehovah that hath said, ^^ Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation : he that believeth on him shall not be ashamed.'^* And we know what this foundation is : — ^^ other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus CHRiST.^'f It is with God, as " the Judge of all,^^ that ^' we have to do :'^ — and when we tremble at the thought of his puri- ty and justice, in anticipating our appearance at his dread tribunal, there is nothing that can impart peace to the troubled conscience, and hope to the sinking heart, but the word of that Being himself to whom we have to render * Isa. xxviii. 16. 1 Pet. ii. 6. t i Cor. iii. 11. OF ATONEMENT. ^gl our account Something wliicli He has approved and ac- cepted, and on which he has given us his authority to trust, is absolutely necessary to solid and satisfactory peace ; — to peace, of which the source will bear to be thought of and examined. This we have in the glorious gospel ; where " God hath set forth Christ as a propitia- tory through faith in his blood, to declare his righteous- ness in the remission of sins ; that he might be just, and the justiiier of him who believeth in Jesus.'^ It is the as- surance of this that imparts the confidence of hope : every thing besides this leaves the mind distracted by uncertain- ty and doubt, or a prey to all the agonies of despair. No question, then, on this subject, can be conceived of greater importance, than the question, " What is the tes- timony of Godj ivith regard to the ground of acceptance with himself P^^ To discover the true answer to this ques- tion, let me beseech you to have recourse directly to the word of God. If you believe what is there testified, and imbibe the spirit of those holy men by whom that word was written, your language will be — and it will come from a glowing heart — " God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ ; by Avhom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.'' ^^ I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowl- edge of Christ Jesus my Lord : — I count them but dung that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but tliat which is by the faith of Christ, even the righteousness which is of God by faith." — " Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God even his Father, — to him be glory and dominion, forever and ever. Amen !"* I shall devote the next Discourse to the consideration of the practical tendency and influence of the doctrin'e * Gal. vi. 14. Phil. ii. 8, 9. Rev. i. 5, 6, ^22 ON THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. which I have now been illustrating, and endeavouring to establish as the doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures.* * On the doctrines of substitution, sacrifice, and atonement, as well as on a great variety of important collateral topics, the reader will find a vast body of valuable information, acute reasoning, and learn- ed critical disquisition, in the " Discourses, and Dissertations" of Dr. Magee, of Trinity College, Dublin, now Dean of Cork, formerly re- ferred to. — ^See also Jerram's " Letters on the atonement :" — Fuller's " Gospel its own witness," part II. chapters 4th and 5th 5 and " Es- says," part III. pages 195 — 251 ; the piece entitled Three Conversa- tions on Imputation, Substitution, and Particular Redemption :— .and a valuable Discourse on the Sacrifice of Christ, its nature, value, and efficacy, lately published by Dr. John Pye Smith, of Homerton Acad- emy. DISCOURSE VIIL ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE OF THE DOCTRINR OF ATONEMENT. 1 Corinthians vi. 19, 20. ^* YE ARE NOT YOUR OWN; FOR YE ARE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE ^ THEREFORE GLORIFY GOD, IN YOUR BODIES, AND IN YOUR SPIR- It is reasonable to expect, that those doctrines which form the leading articles of any system, should be plainly stated in the book which professes to make that system known. Whether this be not the case, with regard to the two great truths of the divinity and atonement of Christ, I now leave it with yourselves to judge. The latter, in connexion with the former, as I have more than once hint- ed before, I consider, as forming the very substance of the gospel, and as revealed in the Bible with a plainness^ and frequency, which ought to supersede all controversy on the subject. I would now further remark, that if it be a doctrine eontaiued in the Bible, its truth is supported by all the evidence which proves the Bible to be a Divine revelation f inasmuch as the whole mass of proof by which the inspi- ration, or Divine authority, of the Scriptures, is evinced^ bears, in its full force, on each of the articles which these Scriptures contain. This evidence, in the two great branches, the external and the internalp into which it is SS4l ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE usually divided, is prodigiously extensive, and diversified. Of the internal evidence, the doctrine in question consti- tutes, in my judgment, a most prominent and convincing article : so striking does its consistency appear, with the truth of things ; — with the real state of mankind, as evinc- ed by universal experience ; — and with the character, in all its various attributes, of that Divine Being, " with whom they have to do." The reasonableness of the doc- trine, in these views, I endeavoured to show in my last discourse, chiefly by an illustration of its true nature, in opposition to the various misconceptions and misrepresent- ations of its adversaries. That this doctrine is of God, is established by another branch of evidence, which I propose to illustrate a little in the present discourse ; I mean the evidence arising from the effects — the moral effects, which, from its nature, it is fitted to produce, and to which the faith of it has in fact uniformly given birth. We naturally expect, that such effects as are worthy of God should arise from a doctrine, which God has revealed. We can never believe that doc- trine to be from Him, of which the manifest tendency is, to confirm corruption, to disannul or to loosen the obliga- tions to virtue, and to present encouragement to the com- mission of sin. As "\\Q that committeth sin is of the devil,'-' so must be the doctrine by which sin is promoted or tolerated. Could it be fairly proved that this is the case, either in theory or in fact, with regard to the doctrine of the atonement, this would, of itself, be sufficient reason for assigning it to the Father of lies, and for decidedly affirming, either that the Scriptures do not contain it, er that, if they do, they cannot contain a revelation from God. In these Scriptures, the connexion between the faith of those truths which they reveal, and holiness of heart and of life, is uniformly represented as inseparable. ThG fact OF THE DOCTRINE OP ATOXEMEKY. SS5 of such connexion is declared to have been exemplifiedj in many remarkable cases of complete change of character, produced by the reception of the truth made known in the gospel. — Those, who before had been the slaves of sin, when they " obeyed from the heart the doctrine which was delivered to them" were " made free from sin, became servants to God, had their fruit unto holiness, and their end everlasting life.''* This change was frequently vis- ible in persons of the very worst possible characters. Read the catalogue of crimes in the 9th and lOth verses of the chapter of which our text is the conclusion, and ob- serve what is said in the 11th respecting those who prac« tised them. " Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived : neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners^ shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you : but ye are washed^ but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.^'f What, then, was the doctrine which possessed this transforming influence ? — of which the preaching and the reception produced effects so singular and so excellent? It was the doctrine of the cross ; — the doctrine of a cru- . ciiied Saviour, " delivered up for the offences of the guil- ty, and raised again for their justification ;" " bearing their sins in his own body on the tree ;" " suffering, the just for the unjust, that he might bring them to God.'' The ambassadors of heaven proclaimed, " that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ;" — that he had " made him who knew no sin to be sin for guilty men, that they might * See Rom. vi. ±7 — 22. i See also Eph. ii. 1 — 3, 10. l Thess. i. 3—10, with chap. ii. is. SS6 OK THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE be made the righteousness of God in him :'' and, on the ground of this declaration, they " prayed men, in Christ's stead, to be reconciled unto God.'^ The passage from which the text of last discoui'se was taken, contains a brief summary of the great doctrine of the cross, tiie doctrine which was declared to men with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. — " Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law : that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be- come guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no ilesh be justified in his sight : for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets ; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all them that believe ; for there is no diiference : for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God ; being justifi- ed freely, by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus : whom God hath set forth as a propitiatory, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God ; to declare, at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him who believeth iri Jesus. Where is boasting then ? It is excluded. By what law ? of works ? Nay ; but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only ? is he not also of the Gentiles ? Yes, of the Gen- tiles also : seeing it is one God, Avho shall justify the cir- cumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith ; do we then make void the law through faith ? God for- bid : yea, we establish the law."^ Such was the doctrine w hich, accompanied with that Divine influence of which 1 am afterwards to speak, affect * Rom. iii. 19—31. OF THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. 227 ed the hearts, subdued the wills, and changed the charac- ters of men. And, let me ask, is not the fact still the same ? What is the doctrine 7ioWy that is the means of ^' turning the heathen from idols to serve the living God?'' ^ — What is the doctrine which is owned of God, by its mighty efficacy in converting men from a life of abandon- ed profligacy to one of piety and virtue ? — or from irre- ligious, worldly mindedness, to holiness, and devotedness to God ? — What is the doctrine that brings tlie sinner, convicted, subdued, and penitent, to his knees before the throne of grace ? — that makes the exercises of devotion his privilege, as well as his duty, — and communion with heaven his chief joy ? — that makes " the Sabbath a de light ;'' — the inspired volume *^more precious to him than thousands of gold and silver ;" — his heart habitually hum- ble ; — his conscience tender ; — his life not merely " sober and righteous,'' but '' godlij .^" — What, in a word, is the doctrine that " converts the soul ?"-the doctrine by which a sinner, " dead in trespasses and sins," is ^^born again?" — Is it not still the doctrine of a Divine, and divinely ap- pointed Saviour, making atonement for sin by the blood of his cross ? Is it not that very doctrine concerning himself, which Jesus taught Nicodemus, as the means of that re- generation, of which he had just before declared the in- dispensable necessity P " And as Moses lifted up the ser- pent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up ; that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but might have eternal life. For God sent not his Son into the world, to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."* That such is the fact, the experience of many centuries * John iii. 14— 17. '.^-^8 ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE lias placed beyond all controversy. The reason of the fact — the fitness of the means for the production of the end, — it will be my object, in the subsequent part of this discourse, to show. It is an undeniable and melancholy truth, that the doc- trine of justification through the atonement of Christ has been abused. But what is there, of all good things, that is beyond the reach of perversion and abuse, by " hearts deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked ?'' Hy- pocrisy, it has been justly remarked, may be considered as itself a proof of the acknowledged excellence of relig- ion. Men do not think of feigning what is not esteemed as good. And the very circumstance^ that when men are desirous to pass for being very religious characters, and to cloak under the semblance of sanctity the indulgence of sin, the profession which they embrace is, not that of So- cinian sentiments, but always of the contrary, may be ac- counted a tacit admission in favour of the latter ; for that can never be assumed as a cover for evil, by any man possessing the subtlety requisite for being a successful iiypocrite, of which the practical eifects are not seen and known to be generally good, — '' Turning the grace of our God into lasciviousncss,'' we learn from Jude, was a very early perversion of the gospel. And we need not, there- fore, be surprised, if we still find men of the same des- cription with those whom he mentions, and whose charac- ters he portrays in such dark shades of colouring, men, who " creep in unawares '^ into the church of Christ, •* ungodly men," who, by their subsequent conduct, be- tray the base and impious hypocrisy of their profession, ^' denying the Lord that bought them, and bringing upon themselves swift destruction.'^* This leads me further to observe, that, apart from the simplicity and plainness with which any doctrine is di- * Jude, verse 4. OF THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. 229 rectly declared, we may often learn niuch of the real meaning of the writer, by considering the nature of those objections, w hich he either represents as having been start- ed, or supposes may be started, against it. l^his is a re- mark, for the application of which there is frequent occa- sion in the reasonings of the apostle Paul. An instance of it, connected with my present subject, occurs in the beginning of the sixth chapter of his epistle to the Ro- mans : — ^^ What shall we say, then ?" says he ; " shall we continue in sin that grace may abound P^' Now, had the doctrine of the apostle been, that men are justified be- fore God, and obtain eternal life, by their own obedience^ is it at all conceivable, that he should ever have imagined such an idea, in the form of an objection, to present itself to the mind of any one of his readers ? Had this been his doctrine, such an objection would not only have been des- titute of all real force ; it would not have possessed the re- motest semblance even of plausibility. In short, it could ne- ver have been made ; for it could never have entered into t]ie mind of man. The only doctrine that could possibly suggest such an objection, is the doctrine of salvation by ^^free grace, without the works of the law, through the re- demption that is in Christ Jesus." This, accordingly, is the doctrine, against which the same objection is still inces- santly made ; — ignorantly and falsely made, we contend ; for it was refuted by Paul himself ; and it has been ten thousand times brought, and as many times refuted since. But still the nature of the objection shows the nature of the doctrine ; — and the precise sameness of this and other objections, then and 7ioic, strongly indicates the corres- pondence between what is usually termed evangelical doctrine, and the gospel which Paul was commissioned to preach. It is not at all my design to enter at large, in this Dis- course, into an illustration of the practical influence of the g30 ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE whole of that system of truths, of which those I have been endeavouring to defend form a part. I shall confine my- self, at least in a great degree, to the doctrine of the atonement. To this doctrine the text has immediate reference : — ^^ Ye are not your oian ; for ye are bought with a price : therefore glorify Gody in your body^ and in your spirit^ tvhich are God^s,^^ One or two remarks shall suffice on the language of the text. We " glorify God in our body and in our spirit j^^ when the powers of our bodies, the faculties of our minds, and the affections of our hearts, are all sacred to him ; all reg- ulated in their exercise, by a supreme regard to his au- thority as the rule, and to his glory as the end, of all our thoughts, words, and actions : — when our inward dispo- sitions towards him correspond, in their nature, to the va- rious lights in which his blessed character is presented to our contemplation : — when not only the duties, which we owe directly to himself, are faithfully and heartily fulfil- led, but the duties which we owe to our fellow creatures, in the various connexions of life, are done ^^as to the Lord, and not to men.'^ The expression may thus be considered as comprehending the ichole of practical religion ; — the whole extent and variety of duty, in its inward principle and its external performance. And although the charac ter I have thus drawn is far from being, especially in their own estimation of themselves, the perfect attainment of any of the children of God, yet complete conformity to it is, to every one of them, the subject of daily solicitude and prayers, and the object of habitual and vigilant en- deavours. ^' Ye are bought with a price,^^ — It is common to speak of the blessings of salvation as purchased by the death of Christ for his people i nor is there any heresy, or material OF THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. S31 error, in such modes of expression. In the New Testa- ment, however, 1 think it is almost invariably the case, that when the ide2i of purchase is introduced, it is the pur- chase of the persons themselves. For them the price is paid. They are '' the redeemed of the Lord ;" — his '^ purchased possession ;" — his peculiar property : — re- deemed from the bondage of sin and satan, into ^^ the glorious liberty of the children of God ;" redeemed from death and hell, to the possession and hope of spiritual and eternal life, " Fe are not your own ; for ye are bought with a price. ^^ And what is the price? The apostle does not mention it. The Corinthians, he well knew, would be at no loss to understand to what he referred. And this circumstance shows, how accustomed they must have been to the use of language of this description in his preaching ; — to the representation of the death of Christ as the price of the redemption of sinners, — ^' the ransom for many.'' The following passages, among many others, are instances in proof of the justness of these remarks. ^^ Feed the church of God (or of the Lord) which he hath purchased with his own blood ;'' — '^ Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear ; forasmuch as ye know, that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish, and without spot :" — '^ Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood.'*^ If, under the government of a holy and righteous God, ain is pardoned, we may rest assured that this pardon must be bestowed in a way that shall hold out no encourage- ment to the continued commission of it : — that if provision is made for the restoration of rebels to favour, it must be connected with provision for their return, at the same Ume, to loyal subjection and obedience. We are now to «ee whether the atonement of Christ does not happily unite * Acts XX. 28. 1 Pet. i, j7 — 19. Rev. t. 0. S3S ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE these two essential objects ;— whether this medium of re- storation to the Divine favour, does not involve in its na- ture the most powerful considerations, at once to deter from sin, and to excite to the practice of holiness. On this important and interesting subject, I shall en- deavour, as on the former, to avoid, as mucii as possible, controversial discussion ; from a conviction, that there are some points, and that this is one of them, with regard to which the most effectual refutation of error is the state- ment of truth. I shall illustrate the practical influence of the doctrine of the atonement, as arising from the views which are given by it, of the law of God, the evil of sin, the charac- ter of the Divine Being, the love of Christ, the relation into which it brings us to God, and the necessity/ of holi- ness. The field is very extensive. I fear I may need more of your patience than I feel myself entitled to require. But I shall endeavour to discuss the different particulars with as much brevity as possible. I. Let us, then, direct our attention, in the first jilace, to the light in which the doctrine of atonement places tlie Law of God. Of every government tliat is desirous to prevent trans- gression, and to ensure cheerful and prompt obedience, it ought to be a primary object, to inspire the minds of its subjects with respect for the laws. In proportion as these are perceived and felt to be good, to be consonant with the principles of equity, and calculated to promote the prosperity and happiness of the community ; — in pro- portion as there exists a conviction that they really are such as ought to be uniformly and unalterably enforced, will be the likelihood of their commanding a general and ready submission. A law, or system of laws, that is either condemned for its excessive rigour, on the one hand^ or, bF THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. ^33 on the other, despised for its weakness and instability, is not likely, in either case, to be obeyed with cordiality ; nor, when transgression has been committed, is there much ground to expect, either very deep penitence in the crimi- nal himself, or, in the community where the offence has been committed, any very strong concurring sentiment of condemnation. To apply these remarks to the case before us. Nothing can be more obvious than that every system of doctrine, which excludes the atonement of Christ, as the ground of forgiveness, and makes the acceptance of men in the sight of God, to depend on their own obedience as its procuring cause, — must, of necessity, proceed upon the principle that the divine law is, in some way or other, relaxed in its strictness, reduced and mitigated in its requirements, satisfied with a partial and imperfect obedience. A law, %hich requires us to '' love the Lord our God, with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind," ^^ and to love our neighbour as our- selves f^ — which demands the universal and unceasing operation of these principles, so that every thought, every feeling, every word, and every action, must be in perfect consonance with their pure unmingled exercise : — such a law, it is very manifest, can never suit any system of this description. Acceptance on the ground of such a law, is, %itli regard to every individual of the children of men, Entirely and forever out of the question. The principles ^of the law must be qualified, and its requisitions modified and abridged, in accommodation to that depravity of our nature, which, by the mistaken advocates of such systems, is misnamed human frailty : the same spirit that relaxes the strictness of the law, witli mournful consistency paliat- ing the corruption that is opposed to it. We have been told, accordingly, that for God to punish every transgres- sion of his law, committed by ^^ the frail avd emn^ cJiih 30 * ' S34 ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE dren of mew/^ would be to act the part of a " merciless ty-^ rant.'^ Now, let me ask, are such views as these fitted to in- spire becoming veneration either for the law, or for the lawgiver ? Does the admission of such suppositions, or the use of such language, indicate a mind under the pre- dominant influence of such veneration ? Has the infinite- ly wise God, then, given a law to his creatures, by which he cannot abide, without incurring the charge of injustice and merciless cruelty ? Has that law — (summed up in the two great precepts before mentioned) — which was ori- ginally ^^ holy, and just, and good,'' ceased to be so, in consequence of the indisposition of men to obey it P I say their indisposition : — for such, in truth, is the frailty of which these writers speak ; — such alone the nature of that inabiliiy, which they would plead as an apology for diso- bedience. A law which admits of the violation of itself, is no law. It is a contradiction in terms ; — a burlesque on legislation. Are we to conceive of the supreme Lawgiver, after he has laid before us his commandments, as addressing us thus : — ^' Such, O ye children of men, are my laws ; — but 1 do not, by any means, require perfect obedience to them. And although 1 do not specify the particular instances in which you may transgress with impunity, — although I do not say how far you may go in the violation of them, and yet escape : — yet I will not, you may rest assured, ' my frail and erring creatures,' be such a ' merciless tyrant' as to call you to a strict account for every ofl'ence !'' This leads me immediately to another question, appli- cable to every view that can be taken, of a relaxed and mitigated law : — What is the extent of this relaxation ? How far is the law mitigated ? — If this question cannot be distinctly answered, then are we left in total ignorance what the law is at all,' by which our conduct is to be tried. OF THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. S35 There is no fixed standard. All is thrown loose. The inclination of each individual will, in every instance, with all the deceitful self-partiality which is natural to man, be its own interpreter of the law : — and as this inclination is, in every individual, in one direction or another, an incli- nation to sin, we can be sd no loss to know to what side it will invariably lean. It is very ti^ue, that there are cases, in which the threat- enings of punishment annexed to human laws cannot, with propriety, be executed ; — cases in which it is right that the penalty should be remitted. But this, it is obvious, is not an excellence in such laws. It arises from their im- perfection ; that imperfection which necessaiily attaches to every thing human ; — it being impossible for the laws 3(of men to provide, with precision, for every supposable ease. But to imagine any portion of such impei-fection to exist in the laws of God, would be utterly inconsistent with any just views of his omniscience and infinite wisdom. In opposition to all such views, — unworthy views as I conceive them to be, — of the law of God ; but viev/s, which, I repeat, are, in a greater or smaller degree, inseparable from every scheme of doctrine, that rejects the atonement, and places salvation on the ground of personal obedience : — in opposition to all such views as these, consider now the light in which the law of God is presented by the doctrine which I have been endeavouring to defend. To me it has ever appeared one of the leading excel- lencies and glories of the gospel, that, while it provides sal- vation for the guilty, it does this without the slightest in- fringement of the immutable perfection of that law which they have violated. It stands in all its original extent and purity : — unaltered, unalterable. The doctrine of salva- tion by grace, " through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,'' 'proceeds upon the express assumption^ of the ab- ^lute and unchangeable perfection of the luw. This is S36 ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE the very ground on which we plead for the necessity of that doctrine ; the very foundation on which we consider it as resting. It proceeds on the assumption, that the law can, in no instance, be violated with impunity ; — that the awful sentence which it has pronounced, '' Cursed is every one, that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them," is as righteous as it is awful ; — that instead of God's acting the part of a '' mer- ciless tyrant" in condemning and punishing every trans- gression, ^' he and his throne would have been guiltless,'* and the sinner v, ould have had no just cause to complain of undue severity, had he inflicted this curse, in its full extent. In this way, all is as it ought to be. God holds his proper place, and man his. The law condemns the sinner, and not the sinner the law. The transgressor is saved from death ; — and yet the law which he has trans- gressed is ^^ magnified and made honourable :" — and the righteousness of the sentence by which he has been con- demned, is, even in the very act of forgiveness, recognised, illustrated, and ratified ! But I am forgetting, you w ill think, my promise of brev- ity. — Surely I need not now put the question to any can- did and humble mind — " which of these views is most fitted to inspire our minds with respect and reverence for the Divine Law I*" which is, consequently, most fitted to nil us with the dread of violating its holy requirements ; and with self-condemnation, shame, and penitential sor- row, when we have transgressed ? And whicli, therefore, bears, in these respects, the most favourable aspect on the great questions of moral obligation, and accountableness to God ? II. I must now proceed to the second particular, which is very closely connected with the first — namely, the view given, by the atonement, of the evil of sin, I have said that this particular is closely connected with OF THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. S37 the former. For ^^ sin is the transgression of the law f^ and our impressions of the evil of sin will necessarily be proportioned to our conviction of the immutable " holiness, justice, and goodness'^ of the law. This might, of itself, so far settle the point as to this second particular. There are various other lights, however, still more clear, impres- sive, and convincing, in which the subject may be contem- plated. It is a common and favourite sentiment with our oppo- nents, that the chief end of God, in creation and provi- dence, — in the whole of his administration, — is, not, as we allege, his own glory, but the diffusion ofhapinness among his creatures. Were this sentiment just, it would seem to follow, that the former of these two objects is of inferior consequence to the latter ; and that on the su})position of their coming, in any case, into competition, the glory of God should give way, and be sacrificed to the happiness of his creatures. But surely no man of sober, well-con- stituted mind, will seriously and deliberately affirm, that there can be any thing to which the glory of the Most High should be subordinate and subservient ; — any thing to which it ought to yield. And if so, then that which is highest in importance (as every thing must be that has im- mediate reference to the great Supreme) must, of necessi- ty, be first in contemplation, in every part of the Diviae procedure. The connexion of these remarks with our present subr ject is this. The sentiment, that the happiness of the creature is the chief and ultimate end of the Divine ad- ministration, naturally leads to another ; — that the princi- pal evil of sin arises from its effect in destroying that hap- pinesSy or from its tendency to the production of this ef- fect. But this, you will at once perceive, is low ground to take on such a subject. We consider the evil of sin, as aris- ing cliiefly from the manner in which it aftects the honour S38 ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE of the Supreme Jehovah. Sin is rebellion against the highest authority, opposition to infinite purity, ungrateful disregard of unbounded and unmerited goodness. It is the highest, the most contemptuous affront to the Majesty of heaven. Its tendency, were it allowed its full opera- tion, is, to overturn the throne of the Eternal. It aims at the annihilation of his government, of his glory, and of his very existence. It is in such views of it as these, that we are accustomed to speak of it as«?2 infinite evil ; a phrase, by which we do not mean to assert that, in any strict phi- losophical sense, the actions of a creature can possess the property of infinitude ; but simply that sin, as committed against an infinite Being, is an evil of incalculable demerit, and deserving of an endless punishment. Let us now see, whether these views of the enormity of sin be not confirmed and sanctioned by God himself, in all their ^xie^ni, by that method which he has been pleas- ed to adopt, to render the forgiveness of it consistent with the glory of his great name, and of his righteous govern- ment; — that is, hij the atonement of Jesus Christ, O what a view, my brethren, what an affecting, what an overwhelming view, is here given, of the demerit of sin, in the estimate of a just and holy God ! — Has He considered sin as standing in need of such an expiation ! — not the mediation of a creature, even of the highest or- der, but the incarnation of a Divine person — the sufferings and death of " the man who was his fellow ;'' even of him whose name is ^^Immanuel, God with us ?'' Can we con- ceive a declaration more impressive than this, that sin is " that abominable thing which he hates ?" — no light, no trivial, no venial evil — but indeed ^^ exceeding sinful?'^ — In proportion as sin is lightly thought of, it will be readily committed. But oh 1 who, with Gethsemane and Calvary before his eyes, can ever think lightly of sin ? Who that contemplates, not the bodily tortures merely; not the scorn, OF THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. 339 and reproachj and " cruel mockings" only ; not all the sufferings, of every description, which it was in the power of men alone to inflict ; — but those deep, mysterious, in- ward agonies, which must have oppressed the soul of " the man Christ Jesus," when it was " exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ;*' — when " his eweat was like great drops of blood falling down to the ground ;" and when, on the cross, he cried with a loud voice, " Eli, Eli, lama sabach- thani ?" — " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" — who, I say, that contemplates this amazing scene, in the full remembrance of what he was, who thus suffer- ed, can ever think lightly of sin — of sin, the accursed eause of all ; — of sin, that infused into his cup of suffering all its bitter ingredients ; — of sin, that sharpened, and barbed, and dipped, those " arrows of the Almighty,'^ the ^* poison whereof drank up his spirit I'^ Where there are low thoughts of sin, there will, of course, be low thoughts of its punishment : — doubts, pos- sibly, whether, in some instances at least, it will be pun- ished at all ; and, at any rate, slight impressions of the nature and extent of the punishment which it shall incur. I am not going to enter into any general proof of the in- evitable certainty, and of the fearful nature, of future pun- ishment. But look at the cross. Here is evidence enousrh. Who can contemplate Calvary, in the light in which ice view it, and retain a doubt, for a single moment, in his mind, whether it be the Divine determination to punish sin ? That it cannot pass with impunity under his holy government, was written of old, on every altar, in the blood of every expiatory victim ; and it is now w ritten on the cross, in the blood of the Son of God . And while the atoning death of the Redeemer decides the certainty of future punish- ment ; the same event is enough, surely, to make the heart of every one to ^^ meditate terror,'^ who goes on in his trespasses, and neglects the great salvation. It could not S40 ox THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE be to deliver from any slight or temporary puiiisliment, that all this scene of wonders was acted ; — that God ap* peared on earth " in the likeness of sinful flesh/' and, in the nature, which he had assumed, into personal union with his own, " humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." There would, on this supposition, be no reasonable proportion between tlie end and the means of its attainment ; — between the evil, from which deliverance was to be effected^ and the price, at which this deliverance has been obtained. It is a remarkable fact, that the strongest language in the Bible respecting future punishment, is the language used by the gentle and compassionate Saviour. He speaks of " weep- ing and wailing, and gnashing of teeth ;*' of " outer dark- ness ;-' of " the worm that dieth not, and the fire that never shall be quenched.'' From this fearful doom, thus ex- pressed by himself, he came to save the guilty children of men ; and the wonderful means by which he effected this salvation, harmonize with, and solemnly confirm, the energy of his expressions. In this respect, as well as in many others, it is indeed, " a great salvation^ I again leave it with yourselves to judge, whether the views now given of the atonement of Christ, or the views of those who, affirming the sufficiency of the mere repent- ance of the sinner, apart from any other consideration, to obtain his forgiveness, deny that any atonement was re- quisite, and that any has been made ; — whether the one or the other of these opposite views be most calculated to impress the mind with a proper sense of the demerit of sin, and, as a practical consequence, to deter and restrain from the commission of it. The views of sin, of human nature, and of the state and prospects of man, which are exhibited so impressively by the doctrine of atonement, are, it is true, deeply humbling, jind there is reason to believe, that their mortifying ten- OF THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMETIsfT. ^41 dency is one great cause of their rejection ; I do not mean by Unitarians only, but by multitudes besides. It is a part, and no small part, of " the oifence of the cross.^^ — And yet, to enlightened reason, their humbling nature ought to be one of their chief recommendations. It is right, surely, that every creature should be humble before Grod : and it is peculiarly reasonable that a sinful and giiiUy creature should be thus humble. There is no pride, indeed, to be found in the universe, except in the breasts of fallen creatures ; that is, where of all places it ought least to be found. There is pride on earth. There is pride in hell. There is no pride in heaven. It was pride, in the form of ambition, that originally seduced man from his allegiance to God. Pride was thus the first principle of transgression : and it is pride, in all its variety of kinds, that still maintains and cherishes the spirit of rebellion. Surely then it can never be deemed right, that the means, by which man is restored to the favour of God, and bless- ed with pardon and life, should be of such a nature as to gratify and foster the very principle that seduced him, and that keeps him astray ! No. This pride must be subdued. This spirit of elation, of self-dependence, and self suffi- ciency, must be broken. ^' The lofty looks of man must be humbled, and the haughtiness of man must be bowed down, and the Lord alone must be exalted.^' The mind that does not instantly perceive, and feel, the propriety of this, must be, to a melancholy degree, under the pervert- ing influence of the very principle in question ; — a princi- ple, whose dominion in the soul it is the first ejffect of the gospel to overthrow. In the New Testament, accordingly, humility is represented as one of the first and most essential qualities in the character of the true disciple of Jesus : and experience has universally taught, that every other Chris- tian virtue will ftourish in the same proportion in which 31 34S ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE it prevails. The graces of the Christian life cannot thrive in the same soil with pride. It is one of those weeds, of rank luxuriance, which " choke the word, and render it unfruitful.'^ And while humility in general is thus essen- tial, the first sentiment, I would observe, of genuine Chris- tian humility, is, an abasing sense of guilt and of utter unworthiness in the sight of God ; — the sentiment of the publican, when, ^^ standing afar off, he would not so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner !" — This senti- ment is learned, this feeling inspired, at the foot of the cross. It is here that the sinner first knows himself; — here that his heart is broken ; — here that he is emptied of high minded self-complacency ; — here that his whole char- acter receives the impression of the lowliness and meek- ness of Christ. For the humility which here takes posses- sion of his soul, is not so properly a separate and inde- pendent virtue, as a general state of heart, that diffuses its benign influence through all the character; — not a distinct feature of the countenance, but that which imparts to all the features their combined expression of loveliness ; not a particular object in the landscape, but the mild and mellow evening-light, which pervades, and softens, and beautifies the whole. III. I must now proceed, in the third place, to consider the practical influence of those views, which are presented by the atonement, of the character of God, I had occasion to observe, in last discourse, that '' such a view of the Divine Being is presented in the Cross, as is precisely calculated to inspife and to maintain (to main- tain, too, with a power, which will increase in influence, the more closely and seriously the view is contemplated) the two great principles of a holy life, the love and the fear of God ; filial attachment, freedom, and confidence, combined with humble reverence, and holy dread.'' I OF THE DOCTRINE OP ATONEMENT. 343 shall, at present, illustrate a little further this general sentiment. These two sacred principles are to be considered as mutually partaking of each other : — affectionate fear — reverential love. This happy union is produced by a l)elieving view of the combined perfections of God ; — just such a view as is exhibited in the atonement, where, as we have seen, ^^ mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace embrace each other ;" — where God appears in all the majesty of offended holiness and inflexible justice, Jiid, at the same time, ^^ delighting in mercy. '^ The two characters, " God is Lighty^^ and " God is Love^^^ are Alike illustrated by the atonement of Jesus : — the latter inspiring us with joyful confidence, and the former witli holy awe ; the latter encouraging us to draw nigh, while the former maices us still to feel our infinite distance ; — so that while we approach with boldness to the throne of grace^ we are not allowed to forget that it is the throne of holiness. We have been often represented, when we speak of Ood as requiring satisfaction to his justice in order to the exercise of his mercy, as exhibiting him in the character of a gloomy and vindictive tyrant. The views laid before you, in the last Discourse, of the nature and proper design of the atonement, may suflice to convince you of the entire ialsehood of such representations of our sentiments. I have now, however, to add, as a circumstance peculiarly jH^orthy of notice, that, whilie our opponents reprobate the ♦lioctrine of atonement, in terms of indignant severity, as being an unworthy libel on the infinite goodness of tlie Divine Nature, this very doctrine is held forth in the ^Scriptures, as the most interesting and impressive mani- festation of that goodness ; — as the grand evidence of that most blessed truth, that " God is love,^' " He that loveth mot knoweth not God 5 for God is love. Herein was mani- 244 ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE fested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might liv& through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins :^' — " God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Bon, that whosoever belicveth in him might not perish, but have eternal life :" — " For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the un- godly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die ; yet perad venture for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.''* This, I say, is a remarkable circumstance. We learn the existence and the degree of God's love from what it has done. The general goodness of the universal Parent, is strikingly discernible in creation and providence : — ^^ his tender mercies are over all his works." These displays of his goodness are far from being overlooked, in the Scriptures, as reasons for the gratitude of his intelli- gent creatures. But the gift of his Son, to die for sinners, is still represented as his chief mercy; — -his "unspeakable gift ;" a display of his love by which all the other mani- festations of it are thrown into eclipse. It has been elo- quently and justly denominated, " the noon-tide of ever- lasting love, the meridian splendour of eternal mercy." This display of the love of God, — of the freedom and the riches of his mercy, is pressed upon the attention of the disciple of Jesus, as furnishing the great motive to practical godliness. The text feelingly appeals to it. And the apostle takes his stand on the same ground, when he says, " I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mer- cies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service ^ * i John iv. §1^10. John iii. 16. Rom. v. 6-^8, OF THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. S45 — and be not conformed to this world, but be ye trans- formed by the renewing of your minds, that ye may prove what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God :" — and so does the apostle Peter, in a passage of his first epistle formerly quoted, " — pass the time of your so- journing here in fear : forasmuch as ye know, that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.''* It is not the value of the blessings of salvation them- selves only, (unspeakably precious though they be) that constitutes the most affecting display of the love of God : .; — it is the wonderful medium through which these bless- ings are bestowed. It is not merely that " God hath giv- ^£11 to us eternal life^^^ but that " this life is in his Son : — ^t is not " redemptions^ only, but ^' redemption through his fjthlood,^^ that manifests the '^ riches^^ of Divine " grace.^^ That such a mediator should be appointed ! — that such an expiation should be made ! It is here, that we '' be- hold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.'' It is thisy above every thing else, that binds and at- taches the heart in grateful love. The motive comes home to the bosom of every child of God, with melting and mighty persuasion : — " O what a scale of miracles is here ! Pardon for infinite offence ! and pardon 0,. Through means, which speak its value infinite ! »#«^ 'iifMi "^ P^^^®" bought with blood ! with blood Divine ! With blood Divine of him I made my foe ! Persisted to provoke — though awed and wooed', Blessed and chastised, a flagrant rebel still, A rebel, 'midst the thunders of his throne ! Nor I alone : — a rebel universe ! My species up in arms 1 not one exempt ! Yet for the foulest of the foul he dies !" * Rom. xii. 1, 2. 1 Pet, i. 17, 18. S4r6 ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE The means by which we are brought to the possession of the blessings of salvation stamp a value on these bless- ings themselves. And who, let me now ask, will feel thft obligation of gratitude for these blessings most powerful- ly ? — Certainly, in the jirst place, the man who accounts himself most unworthy of them. He who fancies that he has the ground of his acceptance and salvation in himself , can never feel the same measure of grateful love, as he does, who, viewing himself as a lost creature, utterly helpless and hopeless ; looks for eternal life as " the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord,'^ — bestowed '' not for works of righteousness which he hath done, but ac- cording to God's mercy ;" who feels and acknowledges himself " a debtor to mercy alone,'' — to free, unconditional mercy. A sense of unworthiness, and a sense of obliga- tion, must always be commensurate with each other. XJnless we are sensible that God would be just in con- demning us, we cannot be thankful for his pardoning us- The criminal who is not satisfied that he deserves to die, will feel but a slight measure of obligation to him who grants him his life. In the second place, he will be most thankful, who has on his mind the strongest impression of the difficulties that lay in the way of his salvation. Such, for example, as these : — the enormity of sin ; — how is it possible that the God of infinite purity can pass it by ? — the claims of justice ; — how can these be made consistent with the pleadings of mercy ?— the demands of truth ; — how can God fulfil his threatenings against sin, and yet the sinner escape ? — the good of the creation ; — how shall guilty creatures be pardoned, — how shall rebels be restor- ed to favour, and to the privileges of loyal subjects, and yet no encouragement be given to sin, — no temptation be held out to rebellion ? He who perceives these diffi- culties, in their true nature and magnitude, and who sees how the infinite wisdom of God has combined with his OF THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. M7 infinite goodness, effectually to solve them, by the atone- ment and mediation of Jesus Christ, must surely feel a degree of gratitude, such as can never be experienced by him who reckons the whole scheme a useless incumbrance. If grateful love, then, be a motive to cheerful and active obedience, judge ye where the power of this moral spring is likely to be strongest, and most efficient. Jesus Christ has himself decided this point. " Simon,'' said he, in answer to the injurious surmises of the Pharisee, in whose house he received the expressions of affectionate penitence from the woman who had been a sinner, '' Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he said. Master, say on. A certain creditor had two debtors : the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most ? Simon an- swered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman ? I entered into thy house, — thou gavest me no water for my feet : but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss : but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My liead with oil thou didst not anoint : but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore, I say unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven ; for she loved much : but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little."* That doctrine, then, which presents the most impressive and heart- abasing view of the evil nature of our sins, of their number and aggravations, and of the riches of Di- i^ne grace in their forgiveness, must, on the principle whicli is thus laid down, be the doctrine that is most of * Luke vii. 40—47, 248 ON THE PRACTICAL, INFLUENCE all fitted to inspire the heart with the fervour of grateful love to the God of salvation. But all this, some may be disposed to say, is selfish. No, my friends. The love to God, of which I now speak, is, indeed, associated^ in its exercise, with the exercise of self-love. And how can it be otherwise ? Self-love is an essential principle in the constitution of our nature : and we are no where taught, in the Scriptures, to cultivate love to God, as if it were the love of mere abstract excellence ; but as the love of a being who bears a relation, the high- est, the most sacred, the most interesting of all relations, to ourselves ; a relation, pregnant with the most impor- tant results, either of evil or of good. ^^ We love him, because he first loved us.'' His love to us, however, is love in union with holiness ; and complacent delight in this holiness is implied in that love with Avliich we return it. While we love him for what he hath done^ we love him also /or lahat he is. We love him for his whole char- acter. This love, it should be again recollected, is associated, inseparably, with ^^ godly fear." From a natural wish to find the character of God as favourable as possible to our- selves, we are in danger of lending a ready ear to the re- presentations of those who speak of him as all mercy, all compassion; and of overlooking certain other view^s of his character which are also given in the Scriptures. Not that too much is said, or can be said, of his mercy and compassion ; for no terms in human language can exceed, or can even express, that which is infinite : but that too little is said of such of his perfections as are of an awful and alarming nature. " God is jealous, and Jehovah re- vengeth : Jehovah revengeth and is furious : Jehovah will take vengeance on his enemies ; and he reserveth wrath for his adversaries. Who can stand before his indigna- tion ? and who can abide in the fierceness of bis anger ?'' OP THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. 249 ^' The wrath of God is revealed from heaven^ against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men :" " Even our God is a consuming fire/^^ " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.'^f What do such expressions mean ? That the infinite God is agitated by the emotions of turbulent passion? No. But they certainly express, they express strongly, they express in the only way, perhaps, in which the solemn truth could have been impressed on our minds, the judicial displeasure of God against sin : — and tlie design of them all is to deepen in our hearts the reverential fear of " that glorious and fearful JVame, the Lord our GodJ^X The admonition implied in them all is, " Fear not them who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear : fear him, who, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. Yea, 1 say unto you, fear him."§ Now the meaning, the awful meaning of all such ex- pressions, is, as it were, concentrated in the cross of Christ. They were all repeated, in their full emphasis, by the voice of God himself, when Jesus ^^ bowed his * K.cti yctp ©£0$ jjtt«» 9rt»^ KxretvxhicrKov. — In our translation the kui is entirely left out : " For our God is a consuming fire :" and many people seem afraid to quote the words, except in the form of a paraphrase— " a God out of Christ is a consuming fire to the workers of iniquity." This is a truth ; but not the truth the apostle intended to express. The meaning seems to be, that the God of the gospel is the same with the God of the law : — that his character has undergone no change 5 that he is stilly as of old, " a consuming fire, even a jealous God ;" that his mercy in the gospel is in perfect consistency with his avenging jealousy of his glory : — and that, therefore, while we serve him " ac- eeptably^^ through Christ, we must, at the same time, serve him " with reverence and godly fear ;" — " for even our God," (such seems to be the effect of the «<*/) " is a consuming fire." t Nahum i. 2, 6. Rom. i. 18. Heb.xii. 29. x. 31. f Dent, xxviii. 5S. § Luke xii. 4, 5, 250 ON THE PRACTICAI. INFLUENCE head, and gave iip the ghost.'^ For never vras there so alarming a display made of God's abhorrence of sin, and of his avenging jealousy of liis glory. But, let us not for- get the point to which all these observations tend. The display of holy indignation was made by the God of love : and the display of love, equally conspicuous in the same event, was made by the God of holiness. And by the contemplation of this union of holiness and grace^ of wrath against sin, and mercy to the sinner, there is produced, in our hearts, a corresponding union of fear and love ; — a union of principles, which constitutes the foundation of all that is excellent in Christian character. In the whole conduct of the servant of Christ, in all its departments, the influence of this union appears. In his approaches to the throne of grace, fear produces an humble reverence of ad- dress, while love dictates the ardent expressions of filial confidence and delight : — in the general course of hi& obe- dience, fear makes him jealous of himself, with a trem- bling diffidence and caution : while love makes his heart and his countenance cheerful, his feet swift, and his hands active and vigorous, in the service of his Master : — his sorrow for sin is at once the solemn dread of Divine dis- pleasure^ and the meltings of love to an offended Father ; the view of the cross, as a display of wrath and of mercy, inspiring both the one and the other: — fear makes him shun all that is displeasing to God ; love inciter him to pursue all that he approves :■ — in affliction, fear fills him with self- suspicion, and leads him to self-examination : yet, while he trembles at the rod, and is full of heaviness, love inspires complacent and cheerful resignation to the wise and gracious appointments, as he believes them to be, of his heavenly Father : — in prosperity, fear shuns, with anxious apprehension, the abuse of the bounties of heaven ; and love, with a full and glov»^ing heart, devotes all to the glory of the Giver : — throughout life, fear guides. OF THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. ^51 and love animates him : — in death, fear makes him serious, and love triumphant. IV. Let me now direct your attention to another prin- ciple of Christian obedience, to which there is frequent reference in the New Testament, — 1 mean, love to Christ ; and consider, for a little, the influence of the doctrine I have been endeavouring to defend, in producing and maintaining it. That this love is an essential part of the Cliristian char- acter, is evident, as I had occasion to mention in the se- cond of these Discourses, from such passages of Scripture as these : '^ He that lovetli father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me ; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me :" — '' Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity :'' — " If ^Itny man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathe- ma, maranatha.''^ That it is one of the main springs of a ho- ly life, is also clear from the language both of Christ and his Upostles ; and, I might add, from the experience of all his true disciples ; " If ye love me, keep my commandments. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. If a man love me, he will keep my words : he that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings :" — " The love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, tlien all died : and that he died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him that died for them, and rose again. ''I On this subject, my brethren, we have been insidiously represented, as putting love to Christ in the room, as it were, of love to God ; as withholding from the Father, in ^proportion as we give to the Son ; nay, as even confining our gratitude to the Son, as one who has interposed to * Matth. X. sr. Eph. vi. 24. 1 Cor. xvi. 22, t 'Tohii xiv. 15, 21 — 2*. 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. 252 ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE save us from the vindictive fury of the Father, to whom, therefore, it is more than insinuated, we can have no great measure of good will.^ After having said so much on the character of God in last discourse, and on love to God in this, 1 need hardlv, I presume, assert the groundless- ness and falsehood of such a charge. I may, however, appeal to experience. Is it, then, indeed so, ye lovers of the Lord Jesus ? Is it indeed so, in your experience, that your love to the father diminishes as your love to the Son increases ? Do you not rather find, that in the affections of your hearts, as well as in their essence, '^ Christ and the Father are one ? — -that love to the one keeps pace with love to the other? Are you not disposed to say, with the very same fervour of grateful affection, " Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift !"— ^^ blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he hath visited and redeemed his * " The Father and the Son are commonly represented as distinct beings, of different, and even opposite characters ; the Father, stern^ severe, and inflexible ; the Son all gentleness and compassion ; sub- mitting to bear his Father's wrath, and to appease his anger, by sub- stituting himself in the stead of the sinner. It is impossible to regard these two characters with equal affection ; and the love of the imagi- nary Christ robs the living and true God of his honour and homage." Belsham's Review of AVilberforce, pages 126, 127. — " the imag- inary person, to whom they ascribe the attributes of Divinity, and who is, to such a degree, the rival of the true and living God in their affections." Ibid page 128. — " I must also observe, that, as the God of this system is a Being of such stern severity, and, indeed, maligni- ty, it is natural for those, who receive it, willingly to imagine the ex- istence of a second person, who, being invested with all the amiable attributes of Deity, and having also Toluntarily submitted, in an in- carnate form, to bear the wrath of God for the benefit of believers, be- comes really the object of religious complacency, gratitude, and confi- dence, and occupies that place in tbe mind, which properly belongs to the one living and true God." Ibid page 167. — The gross injustice and falsehood of such representations, will be perceived at once, by every candid and attentive reader of this and the preceding Discourse ; and will be felt by every one who has " tasted that the Lord is gra- cious." OF THE DOGTRIJm OF ATONEMENT. 253 people !'' and, " To him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father : to him be glory and dominion forever and ever !" Is it not the delight of your hearts to combine the praises of both — " Salvation to our God that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb !'' " Glory be to Him who gave us, Freely gave his Son to save iis ; Glory to the Son who came !" It requires but the glance of a moment, to discern the diff'erence between the systems here. The obligation, in the one case, is less than nothing, when compared with that in the other. In the one case, we have ?i fellow -crea- ture, a fellow-man, a prophet, commissioned of God to declare to us his truth and his will ; to confirm, by mira- cles, the certainty of a future state ; to show us, by his precepts, the paths of virtue : to set befoi-e us an example of obedience ; to seal his testimony by his death ; and by his own resurrection to assure us of the future resurrec- tion of mankind from the grave. In the other case, (for I cannot use more appropriate language than that of the apostle, although it has already been more than once re- ferred to) we have Him ^^ who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,'^ — (or '^ to be as God ;" not, however, in the way of mere resemblance, but of equality, " to be on an equality with God'')* — yet made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men ; and, being found in fashion as a man, humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.'' " Who, being in the form of God," say our Unitarian opponents, " thought it not a prey to be as God,^^ that is, ^^ Being in the form of God,^^ by tlie communication of * See Note I. ON THE PRACTICAL INFLTJENCE f Divine power and wisdom, " did not eagerly grasp at the resemblance to God .•" which seems to amount to no more than this ; that, possessing resemblance to God, he did not eagerly grasp at that which he already possessed f — But apart from all criticism, (for the passage would require more minute verbal discussion than befits this place) — apart^ I say, from all criticism, and without going further into the passage than this first clause ; I would seriously ask those, who thus interpret it, if they really think it pos- sible that this can be its true meaning ? Is it then to be the peculiar subject of our admiration and astonishment : is it held up to us as the example which, of all exam- ples, we are most sedulously to imitate ; that a creature, a man, possessing, by Divine communication, a singular portion of miraculous power and wisdom, did not pervert these high endowments to Ids own selfish ends ! — that he was not guilty of the most heaven -daring presumption and impiety ! — that he absolutely did not so abuse the gifts bestowed upon him, as to enter into a kind of competition for glory with that Supreme Being from whom he derived Ms wisdom and his power ! — Is this, I ask, can this be — the singular virtue, which we are called to admire and to imitate, as the brightest model of excellence that ever was exhibited on earth ? — And, what is more immediately to our present purpose, where, according to this interpreta- tion, is the amazing condescension and benevolence of the Saviour ? Is this " the height and depth, and breadth and length, of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge ?^^ — Is there in this any thing so incomprehensible — so ut- terly beyond the grasp of the most capacious mind ? — The unnatural and vapid tameness of such an exposition is, of itself, sufficient to condemn it. It unnerves and paralizes the whole strength of the passage. It evaporates all its spirit, and freezes every syllable of it to very ice. But when;, on the contrary, we consider Jesus as God OF THE DOCTRINE OP ATONEMENT. S55 in our nature ; well may his love constrain us to ^* live not to ourselves, but to him who died for us and rose again. ^^ In himself he is infinitely amiable ; and therefore worthy of being supremely loved for what he is. And oh I how shall we estimate, how shall we feel, how shall we express, the extent of our obligation to him ? Whether we consider his disinterestedness, our un worthiness, the value of the blessings bestowed, or the expense at which they are procured ; — we find, in every view, abundant inatter for songs of adoring praise. Here is, indeed^ a ^Hength and breadth, a depth and height, passing all knowledge :" — nor shall we ever, while in this world, have any adequate conception of the nature and extent of our obligations to this love. We shall not fully compre- hend it, till we shall read the lesson in the light of heaven ; — till we come to know, by immediate possession, the joys of eternity. To the blessed hope of these immor- tal joys, it is He that hath brought us. He hath redeemed us from despair ; — from the " fearful looking for of judg- ment and of fiery indignation :'' — he hath ^^ bought us with a price.'^ Let '^ the life, then, which we now live in the flesh, be regulated by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave himself for us.'^^- Yes; '^ gave Himself for Us P^ And for what end ? '' That he might redeem us from all iniquity, and jmrify unto himself a 'peculiar people^ zealous of good worhs,^^^ Let us then, my Chris- tian brethren, he thus " zealous of good works.'^ Never let us oppose the purpose of such infinite love. As we ^' name the name of Christ,'^ let us *^ depart from all ini- quity, "f Under the constant impression of his remem- bered love, let his affecting and authoritative expostulation ^•iouch our hearts, and permanently influence our whole "bonduct — " Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the * Gal. ii. 20. + Titus ii. 14. \ 2 Tim. ii. 19. S56 ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE things which I say V'^' Let us exemplify the power of that sacred impulse which is given to all tlie affections of the soul, to all the inward springs of action, by this one great principle of love to the Divine Redeemer. " Talk they of morals ? — O thou bleeding Love, " The grand morality is love of thee !" V. and VI. The two remaining particulars I shall illustrate together, because they are very closely connected with eacli other : — the relation into which the atonement brings us to God ; and the view which it presents of the necessity of holiness. We belong to God as creatures ;— creation necessarily implying an indisputable right of property, on the part of the Creator, in the creatures of his hand, as well as a claim for their services, and for the devotion to himself of all they are, and all they have. But the text refers to a different ground of property, to a different claim on God's part, and obligation, thence arising, on ours. It represents us as his hy purchase : — ^' Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price ; therefore glorify God, in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.'' Through the blood of Christ, as the price of our re- demption, and through faith in the atonement made by that blood, we become the property of God ; his peculiar people ; his purchased possession. The design of the blessed God in bringing us into this relation to himself, ought never to be overlooked or forgotten : — " Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a pe- culiar people, (a people acquired by purchase, as a pecu- liar property), that ye should shoiv forth the praises of Him ivho hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.^^\ I have already insisted on the obligation of gratitude which this implies. But there is also, what * Liike vi. 46. t 1 Pet. ii. 9. OP THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. 25? may, without impropriety, be termed the obligation of con- sistency. We become his ; his in body and in spirit ; in every member and power of the one, and in every faculty and capacity of the other. We feel ourselves his : and we ask, " How ought they to live who are thus his .^" The text answers the question : and the general idea of consistency is marked, in a variety of points of view in the apostolic writings. " Likewise reckon ye also yourselves, to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal bodies, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin ; but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead ; and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God :" — " Ye are bought with a price ; be not ye the servants of men :'' — " We exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, (as a father doth his children) that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called us unto his kingdom and glory :'^ — " I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called :'' — " Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord : walk as children of light ; prov- ing what is acceptable unto the Lord :'^ — " Ye are all the children of light, antl the children of the day : we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others ; but let us watch, and be sober :'' — " If ye, then, be risen with Christ, seek those things, which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your aifections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also ij^pear with him in glory. Mortify, therefore, yourraem- ). • 33 bers which are upon the earth.''* In these and similar ways, do the inspired writers exhibit to the disciples their various relations, to God, to Christ, and to the future world, and urge them, by what I have termed the obliga- tion of consistency, to a corresponding course of beha- viour. The necessity of holiness most strikingly appears, when we consider the character of that Being, whose we be- come through the atoning blood of Jesus. We are the purchased people, the property, the servants, the children, | of the HOLY God. ^' This is the message which we have I heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and ^j in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth : but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another ; and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.'^t Iw ^h^ following passage, these two descriptions of obligation — the obligation of consistency, and the obli- gation of gratitude, are most impressively combined : — " Wherefore, gird up the loins of your minds, be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought un- | to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the form- er lusts in your ignorance ; but as he who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy, in all manner of conversation ; be- cause it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. And if ye j call on the Father, who, without respect of persons, judg- i eth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear ; forasmuch as ye know, that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition * Rom. vi. 11 — 13. 1 Cor. vii. 23, 1 Thes. ii. 12, Eph. iv. 1. V. 8. X Thes. V. 5, 6. Col. iii. 1—5. t 1 John i. 5—7. OP THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. S59 from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish, and without spot.'^* Besides : — we cannot for a single moment imagine the possibility of God's appointing an atonement, to save sin- ners from the guilt of sin, and from its punishment, and not, at the same time, to save them from sin itself. If it was the design of God, by means of the atonement, to bring sinners to happiness, it must have been his design to bring them to holiness. For he could not make them happy, without making them holy. If we can form any distinct idea at all of wliat philosophers mean by the eter- nal fitness of things, we surely see such fitness, in the es- tablishment of an inseparable connexion between holiness and happiness, and between sin and misery. The designs M God are all worthy of liimself. Two things v/ere lost by the fall of man ; — the Divine favour, and the Divine image. It is the purpose of God, by the gospel, to restore both. It never was, and never could be his intention, to bring the guilty back to his favour, by means of an atone- ment, and to leave them destitute of his moral likeness. No. The restoration of the latter is as immediately the object of the Divine Being, in the mediation of Jesus Christ, as the restoration of the former. Let no one, therefore, imagine, that he can possess an interest in the Divine favour, through the atonement, while he is not re- newed after the Divine image. The two go uniformly ^together. The latter is, as really as the former, apart of our salvation. This shows, in the strongest light, the ne- cessity of holiness. For if we continue unrenewed in the spirit of our minds, one part of the Divine purpose, in the atonement of Christ, is not accomplished in us ; and with- :Out it, we have not only no good ground to believe that the other is, but the best reason to believe that it is not, .and tJiat " the wrath of God still abideth on us !'^ * 1 Peter i. 13 — 19. S60 ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE The atonement of Christ was intended to express, and did most affeetingly express, the Divine abhorrence of sin : could it possibly be, at the same time, intended as the publication of an act of indulgence ? It was designed to " magnify the law, and make it honourable :" could it be designed, at the same time, to " make it void V^ — to annihilate, or to relax, its obligation ? No, my brethren. | We are " not without law to God, but under the law to Christ/' We do not, indeed, trust to the law, as the ground of our acceptance with God. For, conscious as we are that we have broken the law, many parts of it in jpracticey and every part of it in its great general principle of supreme and perfect love to God ; and convinced that a broken law condemns, and can never justify us ; — ^^ve have gladly betaken ourselves to that " grace,'' which ^' reigns through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord." But while, renouncing all self-depend- ence, we acknowledge ourselves " accepted in the Belov- ed/^ it is still our desire to make the law of God the rule of our duty ; to have the affections of our hearts, the words of our lips, and the actions of our lives, increasingly con- formed to its holy dictates. We are well aware, that otherwise than by such conformity, we cannot fulfil the injunction of the text, to " glorify God in our bodies, and in our spirits, which are God's.'' And we know also, i that we can have no satisfactory evidence that we are of ' those who are ^^ in Christ Jesus/^ and '' to whom there is no condemnation,^^ unless we " tvalk not after the flesh, hut after the Spirit."^ I have thus, very imperfectly, set before you some of those considerations, which serve to vindicate, and to es- tablish, the practical influence of the doctrine of salvation through the atonement of Christ. In preaching this doe- trine, with its collateral truths, we feel no sort of appre- * Rom. viii. i. OF THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. S6l hension with regard to the consequences. We are sure, that if any sinner embrace the doctrine in good earnest, he will instantly perceive the reasonableness, and feel the force, of the obligation stated in the text. He will begin a new life. He will " walk with God.'' He will live to him who died for him, and rose again." So uniform and invariable is this consequencfe, in every instance in which the gospel is received in the love of it, that no man, ac- cording to the Scriptures, is to be accounted a believer of its doctrines, whom " the grace of God which biiugeth salvation" hath not " taught to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world." The man who " names the name of Christ," while he does not " depart from iniquity ;" who professes to confide in his grace, and in his atoning sacrifice, while he obeys not his will, but '^ walks accord- ing to the course of this world," must be either a self-de- ceiver or a hypocrite; either imposing on others by a false profession, or a melancholy victim of the deceitful- ness of his own heart. When we say that, in preaching the doctrine of ^^justi- fication by free grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," we preach a doctrine that is consistent with the interests of practical godliness, we occupy ground that is by far too low ; as if we had done enough when we have merely shown that the two are compatible. We must go farther than this. The Scriptures represent the faith of this doctrine, as the great and only principle from which true practical godliness can arise ; the only soil in which the genuine fruits of righteousness can grow ; — the only basis on which the beautiful superstructure of a holy life can be effectually reared. The apostle Paul en- joins on Titus, that he should incessantly inculcate the doctrines of grace, not merely because in so doing there was no danger io the interests of morality, but as the only S6S ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE efficacious means of maintaining and promoting the pfrac- tiee of true morality among the followers of Christ. " Af- ter that the kindness, and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared ; not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour ; that, being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that* they who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.-\ Of what unspeakable consequence is it, my brethren in Christ, to the honour of your God and Redeemer, to your own happiness, and to the spiritual and eternal interests of your fellow sinners, that you study to maintain a con- sistent course of conduct, ^^ adorning the doctrine of God your Saviour in all things,'' — '^ giving no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully !'' You are aware of the foul aspersion that has been thrown on evangelical doctrine, as if its tendency was to hold out encouragement to sinful indulgence. Let your conduct, I beseech you, give this aspersion the lie. Live it down. Show to all * 'INA — in order that — to the end that they who have beHeved in God, &e. — " These things," adds the apostle, — viz. the things which he had just enjoined him to affirm constantly — " these things are good and profitable" — or " these are the things that are good and profita- ble unto men ;" — reivru em ret kxXx iceti 6)7roi^. They were good and profitable on account of their practical tendency and effects. And these ^ooc? and profitable doctrines he immediately con- trasts with those things on which a particular description of teach- ers were accustomed to insist, but of which the nature and tendency were widely different : — " But avoid foolish questions, and genealo- gies, and contentions about the law ; for they are i^nprofitable and vain" t Titus iii. 4—8. OF THE DOCtRliSTE OF ATONEMENT. S6S around you that it is a calumny ; the offspring of malig- nant hostility to the gospel, and to that holiness which the faith of it invariably produces. If men will " speak evil of you,'' O let it be " falsely.'' In the midst of such re- proach, you v^ill enjoy what is infinitely more than a coun- terbalance to it, the blessing of your Divine Master : — ^' Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and perse- cute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad ; for great is your reward in heaven !" — " Put to silence, by well doing, the ignorance of foolish men :" and, pity- ing the delusion of heart which dictates their groundless reflections against your religious principles, strive to gain them to Christ, by exhibiting, in connexion with your Christian profession, all the amiable virtues of the Chris- tian life. — '' Giving all diligence, add to your faith forti- tude, and to fortitude knowledge, and to knowledge tem- perance, and to temperance patience, and to patience god- liness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to broth- erly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be idle, nor unfruitful, in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure ; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall : for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting king- dom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."* And O ! let mere nominal Christians be alarmed. Ton are the chief cause of this foul and false aspersion cast on the gospel of Christ. You, who " have a form of godli- ness, but deny its 'power : You, who bear the name of Christ, but do not bear his image .* You, who make \his * 3Pet, i. 5—11. S64 ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE atonement an article of your professed creed, but remain unsanctified by the truth which you profess to believe : You, who seek to serve God and mammon ; to unite the love of the world with the love of Christ : You, who are satisfied with being members of a Christian community, with having been baptized in your infancy, (or per- haps, in your adult years) with an external attendance on the ordinances of God, with getting the appellation of Christians from your neighbours, and, it may be, from your ministers, while the world, after all, has your hearts : You are the chief cause of this false reproach. I mean not to rail at you : I would rather most affectionately warn you. Of what avail, permit me to ask you, is the profes- sion of faith in Christ, without the reality f Will it sooth and satisfy an accusing conscience ? Will it comfort you in trouble ? Will it support you in death ? Will it sus- tain and acquit you in judgment ? — Let me entreat you, as you value your eternal interests, to be in earnest about religion. The salvation of your souls, if it be w orth any thing, is worth every thing. And without it, indeed, ev- ery thing else is worth nothing. Give up, then, your at- tempts at compromise between God and the world ; and be decided. Halt not between two opinions. Appear on the side of God. Be known as the disciples of Christ, llemember what he hath said : " If any man w ill come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it ; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall find it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away ? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.''* * Luke ix, 2B — 2B, OP THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT. S65 Then might we say to you, — for then you would feel the meaning of the words, — (and O tliataZZ present so felt their lost condition as sinners, and so felt their obligations to the only Saviour, and to the mercy of God in him, that to all we might address them !) — " Ve are not your own ; for ye are hought with a price : therefore glorify God, in your bodies, and in your spirits, tchich are Goi^s.^^ 34 BISCOURSE IX. ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Matth. xxviii. 19. " GO, TEACH ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST." I SHOULD have no objection, with regard to the doctrine of the Trinity, to take my stand in this text. — It would, perhaps, be going too far to say, that I should certainly be a firm believer of this doctrine, if there were not another passage in the Bible affirming it : — because, as I have more tlian once hinted before, I should expect an article of so much importance to hold a more prominent place in the revelation which contained it. Yet, even on this sup- position, I know not well how I could have interpreted the text, according to any thing like its plain and obvious meaning, and, at the same time, have remained an unbe- liever of the doctrine. That the initiatory ordinance of baptism, prescribed in these words, involves in it an act of solemn worship, an invocation of the thrice- holy Name in which it is admin- istered, is beyond all dispute. Now, how (as was remark- ed in the first of this series of Discourses,) how can we imagine any thing more fitted to mislead, than the suppo- sition^ that " the name of the Father, and of the Son, and ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY, &e. 267 of the Holy Spirit,- ' meansj the name of the only true God, and of one of his human creatures, and of an attribute, or power, or influence, or mode of operation ? On the Trin- itarian hypothesis, the form is natural, and proper. On that of its adversaries, it appears to be utterly irreconcila- ble with right notions, and becoming impressions, of the peculiar honour due to Him who " will not give his glory to another.'^ The very form of expression seems to convey the idea, not only of a Trinity of persons, but of that Trinity as subsisting in the one Godhead : — baptizing them in — (or into^ for the change of translation does not at all affect the present argument) — baptizing them in the JVame, — not the names ^ — but the one name, of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit/^ If, however, it should be insist- ed, that ^^ the name^^ is to be supplied before each, — " in the name of the Father, and in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit f^ — then, what are we to make of this last phrase, ^^ the name of the Holy Sjpirit/^ if the Holy Spirit means an attribute, or a power, or in- fluence ? An attribute of Deity it cannot, indeed, be sup- posed to mean : for all the attributes of Deity are, of course, included in " the name of the Father,'^ previously mentioned ; and to baptize in the name of one of his attri- butes, after having baptized in his own name, while the thing itself is most unnatural, would certainly be a very vain repetition. It must mean, then, a communicated power or influence. But what, in that case, are we to understand by being baptized in, or into the name of this influence? In answer to this question, our opponents shall speak for themselves. After quoting tlie words of our text, one of them, deservedly eminent, thus writes, — and others agree with him : " tliat is, ' Go ye therefore into all the world, and teach, or disciple all nations, baptizing them into the profession of faith in, and an obligation to obey, tlie doc- S68 ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY trine taught by Christ, with authority from God the Fa« • ther, and confirmed by the Holy Ghost.' ''* But if this was our Lord's meaning, why did lie not plainly express it ? It would surely have been quite as easy to convey this idea in simple and direct terms, as in a form so strange , and enigmatical as that in our text. And here, I may re- : mark, by the way, lies one great general objection to a : vast number of the interpretations of Scripture given by i our opponents. When they say, " that is/^ and subjoin their explanation, they make the writers and speakers use ^ language, such as no man of common understanding, pro- 1 vided he had other words within his power, w ould ever think of employing, to express the sentiment which his interpreters affirm he intended to convey. When we i-ead their interpretations, the question is perpetually recurring, <^ If these writers really meant this, why did not they say so in plain terms ? This is an idea sufficiently simple ; — one which, setting inspiration out of the question, they could have been at no loss to express, so as to have been at once distinctly understood. Why, then, have not they done so ? Why have they chosen to be unintelligible ? Why have they adopted phraseology so unnatural and ambiguous ? — phraseology, such as not one man in a thou- sand would ever have imagined to convey the sense which you are pleased to affix to it ?" But further : the writer above referred to explains his meaning as follows : ^* By the Holy Ghost, as I appre- hend, we are here to understand, the miracles of our Sa- viour's ministry, and likewise the miracles wrought by his apostles, and the spiritual gifts bestowed on the apos- tles, and other disciples of Jesus, and all believers in gen- eral, soon after our Lord's ascension, and all the miracu- * Lardners First Postscript to his Letter on the Logos. Work{?, vol. XI. page 147. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. S69 lous attestations of the tvuth and Divine original of the doctrine taught by Jesus Christ.''* According to this ex- planation, " the Holy Ghosty^^ in our text, means miracles and spiritual gifts : — and " the name of the Holy Ghost " must, of course, mean, the name of these miracles and spiritual gifts ! What unaccountable phraseology is this ! — according to which, being baptized into the name of the Holy Spirit is the expression chosen, to convey the sim- ple idea, of being baptized into the profession of a reli- gion, of which the truth was confirmed by miracles ! — And this strange, anomalous language, we must conceive to have been used by Him who " spoke as never man spoke.'' If, indeed, the glosses of our opponents, on this, and some other occasions, were just, he certainly did speak as never man spoke ; although in a sense of the ex- pression very different from the true one. That this passage has always been felt by Antitrinita- riaus, as a strong one against their system, appears very strikingly from the disposition evinced by some of them in ancient times, to improve upon the words of Christ : " In the name of the Father j^ said they, " and through the Son, and hy, or in, the Holy Ghost,^^ This shyness indeed, of the plain phraseology of the Scriptures, is characteristic of their system ; and affords, of itself, a strong presump- tion, that it has not the countenance of the Bible ! I have endeavoured, on former occasions, to show, with respect to the second of the persons mentioned in our text, how far the supposition is from being true, which I made at the commencement of this Discourse ; — the supposition, that is, of this being the only text affirming the Trinity of persons in the Godlrcad. It is my design, in the present Discourse, to do the same with regard to the third — the Holy Spirit. I must, therefore, take leave, for a while, of my text, and enter on a more general discussion of this subject. * I«ar(lner, Ibiclem. S70 ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY I suppose it will readily be admitted, that if there be a plurality of jpersons at all in the one Godhead, that plu- rality is a Trinity, For, although the views of the doc- trine of the Trinity, held by those who have attempted to explain it, have been various ; yet Trinity and unity ^ (taking the latter term in the sense affixed to it by Anti- trinitarians) are, properly, the only two hypotheses on the subject. All who believe the doctrine of a plurality to be taught in the Scriptures, believe that plurality to consist of the Father, the Son, and t]ie Holy Spirit. None have believed in more, — none in fewer. I^lurality and Trini- ty may, therefore, on this question, be considered as con- vertible terms ; and, consequently, every proof of a plu- rality as a proof of a Trinity. On this principle, as the whole of the evidence of the Divinity of Christ, is evidence of a plurality ; it might all be considered as bearing on the point which it is now my object to establish — the Peh- SONALITY AND DeITY OF THE HoLY SpIRIT. In the more direct discussion of this subject, I shall be- gin with the evidence of Fersonality, To some of you this may, perhaps, appear preposterous. But by the proof of personality, on the present occasion, is meant, it should be observed, the proof that the Holy Spirit is a persoii at all. On our former subject, there was no necessity for our leading a proof of this nature ; the personality of Jesus Christ, in this sense of the term, having never been disputed. The only question on that subject was, not whether he was a person, but whether he was a person in the Godhead. But in the argument now before us, the case is otherwise. The Holy Spirit is not considered, at least in general, by the opponents of his Divinity, as a creature, possessing distinct personal exist- ence ; but as a quality, a power, an influence. In this case, therefore, the proof of personality is an important and essential step towards the establishment of Divinity. I OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. ^71 And, indeed, the evidence of the former Avill be found, in many instances, to involve in it a proof of the latter. What, then, do we mean by a person P and w^hat is the proper evidence of personality ? By a person we mean that which possesses personal properties : and the only legitimate, I might say the only possible proof of person- ality, in the present case, or, indeed, in any case, is proof of the possession of such properties : and, in the particu- lar instance before us, the only ground on which this can at all be ascertained, is the ascription of such properties to the Holy Spirit, in the Scriptures of truth. Even in the department of natural religion^ how is it that Ave prove the personality of the 13eity ? Not from any knowledge Ave possess of his essence : for of his essence, and of the essence of all things, we are entirely ignorant. It is from the indications presented in his Avorks, of his possessing the properties, and performing the acts, of a person. " Contrivance, if established,'' says an eminent Avriter on this subject, ^^ appears to me to prove every thing which we wish to prove. Among other things, it proves the personality of the Deity, as distinguished from Avhat is sometimes called nature, sometimes a principle : w hicli terms, in the mouths of those Avho use them philo- sophically, seem to be intended to admit and to ex- press an efficacy, but to exclude and to deny a personal agent. Noav that Avhich can contrive, Avhich can design, mnst be a person. These capacities consti- tute personality ; for they imply consciousness, and thought. They require that which can perceive an end, or purpose, as Avell as the power of providing means, and of directing them to their end. They require a centre in which perceptions unite, and from Avhich volitions flow ; which is mind. The acts of a mind prove the existence of a mind : and in Avhatever a mind resides, is a person."* * Paloy''s Natural Theology, chap, xxiii. at the beginning. JS-'JS ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY It is a fact beyond all controversy^ that in the Scrip- tures all the variety of personal properties and personal acts, on which such an inference can be founded, are as- cribed to the Holy Spirit : — Let me, first of all, then, direct your attention to a few out of the many passages that might be adduced on this subject. 1.— John xiv. 16, S6. xv. S6. xvi. 7—14. '' And I \Vill pray the Father, and he shall give you another Com- forter, that lie may abide with you forever :'' — " But the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you :" — " But when the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me :" — " Nevertheless, I tell you the truth ; it is expe- dient for you that I go away ; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will con- vince the world, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judg. ment :'' — " When he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth : for he shall not speak of himself: but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak : and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me ; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.^^ In these passages, observe in the first place^ the Holy Spirit is distinctly spoken of as comings testifying^ receiv- ings showings teachings hearings sjpeaking ; all of which evidently imply personal agency. — S^/^, In connexion with this, observe the appellation by which he is denomi- nated, — " the Comforter s^^ — or, as it is rendered by some, the advocate : — and not only so, but, as distinguished from the speaker, Jesus Christ, himself a person, — "another Comforter.^^'^-Sdlys Notice also the remarkable use, in OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. S73 different instances^ of the masculine personal pronoun : — " The Comforter, the Holy Ghost, wliich the Father will send in my name, he^ shall teach you all things :'^ — " But when the Comforter is come, wJiom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, he^ shall testify of me -J^—'^ If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I de- part, I will send him^ unto you. And when he^ is come, he will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment :'^ — ^^ when /i^,* the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth ; for he shall not speak of (or from) himself ;^^ — " he^ shall glorify me ; for he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.'' These are all as clear indications of personality, as lan- guage could afford. , 3. — Acts xiii. S, 4. " As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me (to me, or far me J Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called themJ^ — " So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, departed unto Seleucia." Surely no words could convey the idea of personality more clearly and explicitly than these. — The Holy Spirit calls Barnabas and Saul to a particular work ; and com- mands others to set them apart to that work. They are, accordingly, set apart for him ; and they are then sent forth hy him. 3. — Acts XV. S8. ^^For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no other burden than these necessary things. In these words, the Holy Spirit must mean, either a person, or that Divine influence which was imparted to the household of Cornelius, when Peter preached to tliem, and «^ opened the door of faith to the Gentiles." To * eKSiHi. t etvrtv. 35 274 ox THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY speak of any thing seeming good to that influence itself, is a great deal more tlian unnatural : — ^it is nonsense. The influence was only the indication of the good pleasure of him whose influence it was. His gifts were the intima- tion of his will : — and it was in this view that the apostles considered them, when, inferring the mind of the Spirit from the interposition of his miraculous energy, they said, "It seemed good to the Holy Ghost. ^^ 4. — Acts xvi. 6, 7. " Now, when they had gone through- out Phrygia, and the region of Galatia, and were forbid- den of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia ; After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithy- nia ; but the Spirit suffered them not.^' Here the Holy Spirit appears jprohihiting and prevent- ing ; directing these missionaries in their course, accord- ing to his pleasure, and in opposition to their own previ- ous intentions. 5. — Acts xxi. 11. " And when lie (Agabus) was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said. Thus saith the Holy Ghost, so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that ownetli this gir- dle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'^ — Acts xxviii. 35. " And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word. Well spake the Holy Ghost, by Esaias the prophet, unto our fathers,'^ — &c. — Luke ii. S6. ^' And it was re- vealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ :" — Acts xx. 2S, " Save that the Holy Spirit witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me :" — 1 Tim. iv. 1. "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith :'' — Heb. ix. 8. " The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest :'' — Heb. iii. 7- " Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, To-day, if ye will OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. S/il hear his voice, harden not your liearts :'^ — Rev. ii. 7- " He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." In these, and many oth«r passages, the Holy Spirit is descrihed as sayings speaking, ivitnessing, signifying, in- timating his mind and will. — I need not repeat that such language evidently proceeds on the supposition of person- ality : and the utmost violence is requisite, to interpret it on any other principle. 6. — 1 Cor. xii. 11. "But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.'^ This, in tlie connexion in which it stands, is a strik- ingly conclusive passage. — The Holy Spirit is represent- ed as possessing laill; and as distributing the various miraculous gifts, as that sovereign will directed. The possession of icill necessarily implies personality: — and the sovereign manner in which that will operates, in the distribution of supernatural powers, clearly shows it to he nothing less than a Divine will. These passages of Scripture, then, which are only a specimen of many more that might be mentioned, repre- sent the Holy Spirit as willing, hearing, speaking, acting, commanding, forbidding, approving, bearing ivitness, re- ceiving and executing a commission. — That these are all personal acts, — acts of an intelligent agent, — can admit of no dispute. The inference, therefore, is, that the Spirit, — the Holy Spirit, — tlie Spirit of God, respecting which this is the current language of the Scriptures, must be such an agent. To objections 1 shall come by and by. — But the argu- ment on this branch of the subject is not closed. An ad- ditional, and most satisfactory proof of personality, arises from his being represented as the object of the dispositions and acts of others ; of such dispositions and acts as can- ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY not be supposed to terminate on what is a mere attribute, or power, or influence ; but only on a person^ or intelli- gent agent. 1. — Matth. xii. 31, 33. ^^ Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men : but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever shall speak a word against tlie Son of Man it shall be forgiven him ; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.'^ In these words, the Holy Spirit is the object of a par- ticular sin ; — the sin of blasphemy. — By ^^ Beelzebub the prince of the devils,'^ the Pharisees, it is very obvious, meant a person ; and they expressed themselves accord- ingly. To this wicked, malignant agent, Jesus, in his answer, opposes the Spirit of God, And without at all entering into any discussion respecting the precise nature of the fin against the Holy Ghost, which would be foreign to my present design, it is sufficient to observe, that he is evidently distinguished here from the Son of Man, just as we are accustomed to distinguish one person from another. — " They are both spoken of, with respect unto the same things, in the same manner ; and the things mentioned are spoken concerning them universally in the same sense. If tlie Holy Ghost were only the virtue and power of God, then present with Jesus Christ in all that he did, Christ and that power could not be distinctly spoken against ; for they were but one and the same."* 2. — Acts V. 3, 4. " But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart, to lie to the Holy Gliost, and to keep back part of the price of the land ? — Why hast thou conceived this thing in thy heart? Thou hast not lied unto men but unto God :'' — and verse 9th — ^^Then Peter * Owen on the Spirit, vol. i. p. iB5, OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. S77 said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord ?" I quote this passage at present, not in direct evidence of the Divinity of the Spirit, (in this view I may have oc- casion to notice it afterwards) but simply of his Person- ality. — He is, in these verses, represented as lied untoy and as tempted^ or tried. But how can any one be lied untOy but one who is capable of hearing and receiving a testimony, and of discerning its truth or falsehood ? Or how can any one be tempted or tried, but one wlio is possessed of understanding and will ? — We are said to tempt God, when we impiously make trial of his faithfulness, or pow- er, or justice. Ananias and Sapphira tempted the Spirit of the Lord, by their foolishly and wickedly presuming, that they might escape detection, or escape punishment : ^! — neither of which could possibly take place, except ^ through a defect of knowledge, or a defect of holiness. 3. — Eph. iv. 30. '^ And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Can any thing be the subject of the passion of grief, or can any thing, unless in the boldest flights of poetry, be so represented, that is not a person, possessed of under- standing and consciousness ? — To say that ^^ Grieve not tlie Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed," means, '^ Offend not God, by whose holy spirit ye are sealed,'^* is a commentary ; — and a commentary, it is worth notic- ing, which is so far distinctly in our favour ; for it pro- ceeds upon the admission (if it does not, why was it intro- duced at all?) that if the Holy Spirit were really repre- sented, in the verse, as grieved, or offended, by those parts of temper and conduct that are enumerated, it would fol- low, that this Spirit must be acknowledged to be a person. Indeed, to suppose the apostle to speak of grieving an in- fluence, or energy, or emanation of power, would be worse than ridiculous. * Improved Version, Note on the Text. S78 ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY 4. — Acts vii. 51. " Ye stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Gliost : as your fathers did, so do ye.'' This is a passage of a similar kind to the last. The Holy Spirit is here represented as the object of resistance — one whose testimony, and whose will and authority were scorned and violently striven against. Surely, then, that must be a person, possessing intelli- gence and will, and the other properties which constitute personality, whicli is tlius represented as blasphemed and spoken against^ as lied unto, tempted, grieved, and re- sisted. Let me now shortly consider the gi^eat general objec- tion which is urged against this reasoning. Such lan- guage, it is alleged, in which the Holy Spirit is describ- ed, directly or indirectly, as possessing personal proper- ties, and performing personal acts, is ^\\\av^\j figurative. It belongs to the species of figure called personification ; m which, as well as in all the variety of tropes and met- aphors, the Eastern style peculiarly abounds. It would be both uncandid and foolish, to attempt evad- ing the force of this objection, by denying tlie existence, or even by questioning the frequency, of this figure of speech ; according to which personal characters are as- cribed to powers and attributes, as w^ell as to other ob- jects, which are universally known to possess no distinct personality, no conscious existence. Instances of this will immediately recur to the remembrance of all who are, in any degree, familiar with the sacred volume. Wis- dom, Righteousness, Charity, Sin, Death, the Grave, Famine, Pestilence, the Sun, and other objects, are thus personified ; that is, are represented as thinking, feeling, and acting, as if they were real persons. But who, in such cases, except the most stupid and ignorant, (if, in- deed, even these) is ever in danger of being misled ? — 1 OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. S79 Language of this kind occurs chiefly in poetry, or in such composition as admits, with propriety, the aid of poetical embellishment ; and it is interpreted according to the li- cence of poetical or rhetorical diction. If it were only in such composition as this, that the ascription of personal properties and acts to the Holy Spirit was to be found, there would, in that case, be ground for the objection against our inference : nay, if in plainer composition it were uniformly otherwise, I should be disposed to admit the force of the objection, even to the entire overthrow of the inference. But the fact, as we have already seen, is far different. The ascription of personal characters and operations, to the Spirit of God, is to be found, not in the language of poetry and impassioned eloquence merely, but in the plainest prose ; in the language of historical narra- tion ; of simple, familiar instruction ; and even of prom- ises, grants, and laws, in which precision is the first and most essential requisite. What, then, are we to make of a book, which, on the principle of the objection in ques- tion, requires, for its just explanation, that laws, and grants, and promises, and that the various descriptions of historical and didactic composition, be interpreted accord- ing to the same canons as are applied to the language of poetry and eloquence ? This is, surely, most unreasona- ble. It tends to involve the contents of revelation in in- extricable perplexity. — Any plain reader of the Bible, possessing an ordinary measure of understanding, (and we should never allow ourselves to forget, that for such, as well as for the learned, the Bible was designed) would certainly be led to conclude, that the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, which he finds so often intro- duced, is a person^ an iutelligent agent, a conscious and active subsistence. We ought also to recollect, that while, with regard to the Holy Spirit, the ordinary current phraseology of the S80 ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY Scriptures is framed on the supposition of his Personality : — this is not the case respecting any thing else which, al- though occasionally personified, is not a person. In other cases, the language of personification is the exception to the general phraseology. But in this case, it is quite the reverse : — any expressions that seem inconsistent with the idea of personality form the exception ; the general com- plexion of the language being all in its favour. Nothing can he more unreasonable, than to insist, be- cause similar or even the same things that are ascribed to the Holy Spirit are also ascribed to other objects, in cases where the figure is perfectly and ineontrovertibly obvious, and where there does not exist the slightest possibility of any person being misled by it ; that therefore the ascrip- tion of these things to the Holy Spirit must be figurative also. When, for example, we have shown that the Holy Spirit is described as possessing will ; we are immediate- ly reminded that so is the wind — " the wind bloweth where it listeth.'^ When we speak of him as a witness bearing testimony ; a stone, we are instantly told, and a heap of stones, are represented as witnesses ; and heaven and earth are called to witness. When we refer to pas- sages in wliich he appears as speaking ; the Scriptures, it is objected, are also said to speak : — as teaching ; na- ture, too, is represented as teaching. And so on, in a great variety of similar instances. Such a principle as this is utterly inconsistent with all the established rules of sound philosophical criticism. If it were ever to be ad- mitted as just, we should, I apprehend, find ourselves ., greatly at a loss to prove the personality of the Deity at 1 all. For there is no one of those properties by which personality is usually thought to be ascertained, either as- cribed to him in the Scriptures, or from his works discov- ered to belong to him, which is not at times figuratively attributed to creatures that are destitute of it. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT* S81 But are there not, it will be asked, some things said of the Holy Spirit, which cannot in their literal acceptation, be affirmed respecting a person? — Beyond all question there are. The Holy Spirit is said to be poured out^ to be shed forth, and to fall upon men : — persons are also said to be anointed with the Spirit, and baptized with the Spirit. The following remarks on this point I submit to th^ candid consideration of my hearers : — istf There is, in such expressions, in which sense so- ever we understand them, a figure at any rate. — A person^ it is very true, cannot literally be poured out. But neither can a power, or virtue, or influence. All that can be pre- tended is, that the figure in the latter case is not so violent as in the former : — a figure there certainly is in both. The existence, then, of a figure must be admitted by all parties. • 2dly, Our opponents say, that the phrase the Spirit of God sometimes signifies God himself, although they affirm, at the same time, that its more general meaning is the Divine power or influence. May not we, then, be permit- ted to say, without being censured as very unreasonable, that the same phrase, while it generally means the Spirit personally, is sometimes to be understood of his various influences ? ' Sdly, Such a figure of speech, in which the person is put for his character, his qualities, liis influence, his doc- trine, is by no means uncommon ; and is used in cases where no dispute about personality at all exists. — Thus, in the following examples : — " As ye have, therefore, re- ceived Christ Jesus the Lord, so icalk ye in him : rooted and huilt up in him :" — " Know ye not your ownselves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates ?'' — ^^ My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in ijou ." — " As mapy of you 36 38S ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY as have been baptized into Jesus Christ, have put on Christ,^'^ Many others might be added ; but these may suffice. The question, then, is — Is there, on the suppo- sition of the Holy Spirit's Personality, any thing more unnatural or harsh, in the phrases in question, of his being poured out, shed forth, of his falling upon men, and of persons being anointed and baptized with the Spirit, than there is in these other phrases which have just been quoted, in which believers are said to ivalk in Jesus Christ, to be rooted in him ; to have Christ in them, and formed in them; and to j^^t on Christ, or clothe themselves with him ? Every one perceives at once that, in such expres- sions, Jesus Christ is not, and cannot be, meant person- ally. Yet whoever thinks of arguing against his Person- ality, because such things cannot be literally said respect- ing a person ? I imagine that in fact as little difficulty has been experienced, by simple, unsophisticated readers of the Bible, in the interpretation of the phraseology relative to the Holy Spirit. — Indeed, even in the language of or- dinary life, the figure on which such phrases are founded is not uncommon. Thus we are accustomed to say of a son, that he has a great deal of his father in him, when we mean of his father's dispositions : — of a benevolent man, that he has much of Howard in him, when we mean of Howard's humanity : — and so in many other instances. If, then, in such expressions, a figure must be admitted at any rate, whether the Holy Spirit be a person, or merely a Divine energy ; — if our opponents themselves are con- strained to understand the same phrase in different ac- ceptations ; — and if it is not unnatural, as from parallel instances we have seen, to put the person for his power or influence, or operation : — ^I have only to request, that taking these observations along with you, you will can- * Col. ii. 6, r. 2 Cor. xiii. 5, Gal. iv. 19. iii. 27. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. S83 didly weigh such expressions as those we have heen con- sidering, against the multitude of passages in which per- sonality is so plainly attributed to the Spirit of God ; and judge for yourselves, on which side lies the superior force af the argument, and magnitude of the difficulty. — For my own part, 1 feel no hesitation : and if any of yoii feel other- wise, I trust that any remaining doubt will be fully re- moved, by what remains to be laid before you, in evidence of the Spirit's Divinity. To the passages on this branch of my subject I shall refer with great brevity : — ^because, if the Personality of the Spirit be once admitted, his Divinity can hardly be questioned. It must have occurred to all of you, that the acts and operations ascribed, in many of the passages which have been quoted, to the Spirit of God, possess the clear and decided characters of Divinity. The only ques- tion is, whether they are ascribed to the Spirit personally. If this question be considered as satisfactorily settled in the affirmative, it will immediately follow, that the Spirit IS God. There are, however, some further evidences of his Di- vinity which are of a still more direct nature.— To a few of these let me now request your attention. 1.— Acts V. 3, 4. "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land ?— Why hast thou conceived this thing in thy heart ? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." Lying to the Holy Ghost is, in these verses, the same as lying unto God,— To say that it means lying to inspir- ed men, does not affect the conclusion. For by whom were these men inspired ?— They were "holy men of God, who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Ananias and Sapphira lied, not to the supernatural influ- ence which Peter possessed ; But to the Divine Author of 284i ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY that influence ;— not to the inspiration of Peter, but to Him by whom Peter was inspired. S. — 1 Cor. iii. 16. ^^ Know ye not that ye are the tem- ple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?'' compared with chap. vi. 19. " What ! know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which ye have of God ?" and 2 Cor. vi. 16. ^* And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols ? For ye are the tem- ple of the living God ; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.'' Christians are thus not only called the temple of God, because the Spirit of God dwelt in them : but they are also called expressly the temple of the Holy Ghost him- self. The allusion is, as all of you are aware, to the temple at Jerusalem of old, considered as the place of the Divine residence ; the house where Jehovah dwelt. And he of whom it is said, with this allusion, that believers are his temple^ must be God. It is no valid objection to this, that when it is said ^^ your bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost," it is added, ^^ which ye have of God,^^ For according to the view which we take of the scheme of redemption, we not only consider Jesus Christ, although a Divine person in our nature, as the gift of God's love, but also the in-dwelling^ as it has been termed, of the Ho- ly Spirit in the hearts of believers, as the fruit of the Saviour's mediation and an expression of the satisfaction of the Godhead in his finished work. 3. — 1 Cor. ii. 9, 11. " But as it is written. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit : for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him ? OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. S85 Even so^ the things of God knoweth no man (or no one) but the Spirit of God." In these verses, we affirm, the attribute of omniscience is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. They furnish evidence both of his Personality, and of his Divinity. Of his Per- sonality — from the nature of those properties and acts which are imputed to him : he possesses understanding and knowledge, and communicates this knowledge to others. Of his Divinity — from the description and extent of this knowledge. God^s ways and judgments are fre- quently declared to be unsearchable^ and past finding out: " O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judg- ments, and his ways past finding out ! For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his coun- asellor ?'^*— ^^ Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, ^lor, being his counsellor, hath taught him ? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding ?"t Even in the verses before us, observe how the apostle first affirms the undiscoverable nature of those truths of Avhich he speaks — " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them tliat love him :" — and having thus de- clared the impenetrable secrecy of the Divine counsels, he immediately adds : '^ But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit ; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him ? Even so, the things of God knoweth no one, but the Spirit of God.'' Surely, he who has a full and intimate ac- quaintance with all Divine counsels, with what is pro^ nounced unsearchable by any created intelligence, must * Bom. xi. 33, 34. t Isaiah xl. 13, 14, S86 ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY possess the perfection of Deity. It lias been alleged, however, in opposition to this conclusion, that the Spirit of God is here compared to the spirit of man ; and that the spirit of man is not a person. To this objection it is sufficient for my present purpose to reply : " The spirit of a man is his rational soul, endued with knowledge and understanding. This is an individual intelligent sub- stance, capable of subsistence in a separate condition. Grant the Spirit of God to be so far a person ; and all the pretences of his adversaries fall to the ground.^^* It has been further objected, that " the spirit of a man which is in him,^' means simply the man himself ; and that there- fore " the Spirit of God'^ means no more than God him- self. But how much more natural, on this supposition, would it have been, to have said, directly and at once, '^ What man knoweth the things of a man, save the man himself? Even so, the things of God knoweth no one, save GoA himself ^^ Why must we so often impute to the New Testament writers language so unnatural and affect- ed ; and especially in cases where the simpler expressions would not only be equally correct in themselves, but free, at the same time, of any tendency to mislead ? But this is not all. Besides the strangeness of the phraseology on this hypothesis, the context, it may be observed, com- pletely precludes any such interpretation. In verse liSth, the verse immediately following those which have been quoted, the apostle adds : " Now we have received, not the spirit of the world" — (we might ask, by the way, is this phrase, too, to be understood as meaning the world itself ? J " We have not received the spirit of the world,*^ that is the evil spirit, " but the Sjjirit which is of (or from J God .''f which is a designation of the Holy Spirit, evidently taken from the promise of Christ to his disciples * Owen on the Spirit, vol. I. page 142. t To 7ryrjti,si to sk tov €>sov. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 287 before his departure from them : " I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, even the Spirit of truth :'' — '' When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truths which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.'^* It is somewhat singular^ that as the apostle oppos- es the Spirit of God to the spirit of the world, Jesus also makes a similar distinction : " even the Spirit of truth, whom, the laorld cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him ; but ye know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.'^ 4. — The Psalmist acknowledges the omnipresence and omniscience of the Spirit of God, when he says, in the sublime language of the 139th psalm, ^' Whither shall I go from thy presence ? or whither shall I flee from thy Spirit V^ The apostle assigns to him an office, which, without these attributes, it is impossible that he can effec- tually execute : " Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our in- firmities : for we knov/ not what we should pray for as we ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he who search- eth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, be- cause he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.'^t He is also represented as having dictated to the Prophets their predictions of future events ; which implies the possession of .Divine prescience. In proposing the election of a new apostle, in the room of Judas Iscariot, Peter commenced his address to the hundred and twenty disciples, with these words : ^^ Men and brethren. This Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holif Ghost, by the mouth of David, spake before, concerning Judas, who was guide to them that took Jesus.^'J The Iket of which this is only a particular instance, is by the same apostle stated in a universal form, and in the most * John xiv. 16. XV. 26. f Rom. viii. 26, 27. X Acts i. 16. ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY explicit and conclusive terms : — '' Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scriptures is of any private interpre- tation ;" — (more properly " that no prophecy of the Scrip- ture is of its own, or of se//-interpretation'^)* — ^^ for the 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, 5. — The Divine poicer and sovereignty of the Holy Spirit are strikingly declared in a passage quoted on a for- mer part of this subject, which ascribes to him the uncon- trolled and almighty distribution of the whole variety of of miraculous gifts: — 1 Cor. xii. 11. ^^ But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.'^ That the Spirit does not, in these words, mean the gifts communicated, but the Divine Author of these gifts, is as plain as the most ex- plicit and discriminating language can make it. By what form of speech shall we distinguish an agent from his work, if they are not distinguished here ? The same dis- tinction, between the power itself and the bestower of the power, is established by other passages. Thus when Christ says to his apostles, " Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you ;'' or, '^ Ye shall receive power, the Holy Ghost coming upon you ;''f the fower (by which is evidently meant all those supernatural endowments which they were to receive, to qualify them for their work) — is distinguished from the Holy Spirit himself; of whose coming and influence it is represented as the effect : and a similar observation might be made a» to the language of Paul, when he speaks of " those things which Christ had wrought,'^ by himself and others, " through mighty signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God.'^X The power of the Holy Spirit might also be proved, from various other works which are * See Note l», t Acts i. 8. | Rom. x?. 18, 19. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. S89 ascribed to him, besides those that have now been mention- ed. Jesus speaks of himself as casting out demons by the Spirit of Godr^ In his resurrection he is said to have been ^^ quickened by the Spirit,^^ the same Spirit by v/hich, as inspiring Noah, he preached to the antediluvian world.f And respecting the resurrection of his people, tlie apostle says : — " If the Spirit of him, who raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.^^X 6. — Eternal Existence is ascribed by the apostle Paul, in express terms, to the Holy Spirit. Heb. ix. 14. '' How much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot unto God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the liv- ing God ?'^ ^. On this expression, " the eternal Spirit,^^ the Improved Version of the New Testament has the following singular note '.-" The phrase, ' everlasting spirit,' is very unusual ; but, if admitted as genuine, it must signify, that Christ offered himself by Divine appointment !'' — " If admitted as genuine P^ There is not much of ingenuous candour, in retaining a phrase in the text, and throwing out an inuendo in the note, that is fitted to bring it into suspicion. it is admitted as genuine, on the very authority which the Editors hold in the highest repute, and profess to follow ^s their critical standard : nor have they themselves seen reason in the present instance, to dissent from that author- ity. " The phrase is very unusual ; but, if admitted as .genuine, it must signify, that Christ offered himself by Divine appointment .'" Now, there is one question, which naturally suggests itself here : — Does assigning to the '^vsi^Q " through the eternal Spirit^^ the, signification of * Matth. xii. 28. f 1 Peter iii. 18—30. | Roqj. viii. 11. -^7 290 ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY ^' by Divine appointment^^ render it less unusual — less dissimilar to the ordinary phraseology of Scripture — or more so P — Not less^ certainly. If the phrase itself be unusualj much more singular and anomalous is the inter- pretation affixed to it. Yet this, we are told, ^' it must signify V^ How strange is this assertion ! — made in the face of all those passages, both in the Old Testament, and in the New, in which the Holy Spirit is represented as resting upon the Messiah, and as given to him without measure ! — The surest commentary on Christ's '^ oifering himself to God, through the eternal Spirit^^^ is to be found in the words of Jehovah by the prophet Isaiah ; — " Be- hold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth : — / have put my Spirit upon him ; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. — He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth : and the isles shall wait for his law.''* 7. — I have already considered the argument from the words of my text ; and shall now close this series of proofs, by shortly noticing one or two passages of a par- allel description : — Rev. i. 4, 5. '^ Grace be unto you and peace, from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come ; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth."— r-S Cor. xiii. 14. " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all ! Amen !" In the former of these passages, "the seven Spirits of God^^ is evidently an emblematical expression for the Holy Spirit, significant of the fulness and sufficiency of his influences for the sup- ply of the seven churches (and, by obviously intended inference, of all his churches) with all needful grace. On the expression in the latter passage, " the communion of * Isaifih xlii, 1, 4, OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. S9i the Holy Spirit,^^ it has been said : — "This clause may imply a wish, that those Christians might continue to par- take in miraculous gifts and powers. But we have ob- served, that sometimes by the Spirit, or Holy Spirit, may be understood any good things conducive to men^s real happiness. In this place, therefore, we may suppose to be hereby meant, a participation of, and communion in, all the blessings of the gospel, and all other needful good things.^^* An opportunity will occur, in a future Dis- course, of illustrating the true meaning of the phrase in question, "' the communion of the Holy Spirit,'^ I only remark at present, on what singularly slender foundations men of the liighest eminence do sometimes build their conclusions. Thus slender, certainly, is the ground on which it is affirmed, " that sometimes by the Spirit, or Holy Spirit, may be understood any good things condu- cive to human happiness,^' In Matth. vii. 11, our Lord is related to have said — " If ye then, being evil, know how to give good things unto your children, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give good things unto them that ask him?" — In Luke xi. 13, his words are, " If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?" — In these two passages the ground of inference is mdeed the same : but in the former, the inference itself is general ; in the latter it is particular. " Good thingSy^^ in the former, is to be understood universally, of all that is good ; for the premises clearly bear this extent of conclu- sion : — in the latter, a particular good is selected, and the conclusion, although it might have been universal, is lim- ited to that good. To conclude, from the reasoning being of the same kind, that '^ good things^' in the one, and * Lardner's First Postscript to his Letter on the Loejos. Works* Vol. XI. page 160. S9S ON THE DITINITY AND PERSONALITY ''the Holy SpiriV^ in the other, are phrases of synonymous import, and consequently, that the Holy Spirit may be understood, as Ave please, of any thing whatever that can conduce to human happiness^ may be very convenient, as affording a latitude of interpretation, serviceable on other occasions : but the conclusion is such as cannot be justified on any principle of sound criticism. It should be recol- lected, that the two Evangelists are not reporting the same Discourse ; but two similar Discourses, delivered at dif- ferent times. When a speaker, then, on two distant occa- sions, happens to use the same argument, but in the one in- stance gives it its full scope of inference, w hile in the other, for whatever reason, his conclusion is purposely limited ; are w^e, because the premises are the same, to identify the conclusions, and insist upon interpreting the terms of the pai'ticular one, as of equal extent with those of the uni- versal ? Yet such is the principle of interpretation, on which the eminent critic referred to, concludes that " by the Holy Spirit is meant," in Luke xi. 13, " any good thing conducive to our real happiness ;"^ and, by conse- quence, that when Paul, in the passage under considera- tion, wishes believers " the communion of the Holy Ghost j we may suppose to be hereby meant a participation of, and communion in, all the blessings of the gospel, and all other needful good things.'' I shall leave it to yourselves to judge, whether this is suflicient ground for setting aside the evidence of the Personality and Deity of the Holy * " Luke xi. 13. ' If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?' which is parallel with Matth. vii. 11. ' If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children ; how much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give good things unto them that ask him ?' Whereby we may perceive that by the Holy Spirit is meant, any good thing, con- ducive to our real happiness." Lardner's First Postscript to his Let- ter on the Logos — Works, Vol. XI. page 145. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. S93 Spirit^ contained in this passage, and whether such passa- ges do not contain prayers for blessings from the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, each of whom is virtually ad- dressed, and each acknowledged as able to bless. When such passages as our text, and the two on which I have now been commenting, are considered, it becomes more than probable, that in the threefold benediction, en- joined by Jehovah himself, to be pronounced on the peo- ple of Israel, by the priests under the law, there was a tacit reference to the Trinity of Persons in the Godhead : - — " The Lord bless thee, and keep thee ; the Cord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee ; the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace !''* — and also, that the same glorious doctrine is recognised in the solemn and impressive language of an- gelic adoration ; " Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty ! The whole earth is full of his glory.'^f Those, who are at all acquainted with the subject I have now been discussing, will perceive, that it is far from hav- ing been exhausted. Enough however, has, I trust, been said, to establish the general point which it has been my object to prove — that the Spirit of God, so often spoken of in the Scriptures, is a Divine Person. Additional con- firmation will be given to this important doctrine, from the part which he is represented as performing, in the great scheme of human redemption, which will be illustrated in the next Discourse. Even from what has already been said, I cannot but anticipate your concurrence with me, when I say, that the man, who can persuade himself that all those things, which, we have seen, are affirmed respecting the Spirit of God, are to be understood of a power, or influence, an abstract quality, or a mode of operation, whatever astonishment and contempt he may profess to feel for the weak creduli * Numb. vi. 21 — 20, t Isaiah vi. 3. Rev. iv. 8. S94i ON THE DIVINITY AND PERSONALITY ty, as he esteems it, of the simple believer in the myste- ries of the orthodox faith, is himself vastly more credulous than, perhaps, he is aware, or, at any rate, than he would be disposed to acknowledge. Were I to enumerate the principles, which (if they would be consistent with them- selves) tliey ought to hold, who profess to believe the Bi- ble to be the word of God, and yet deny the doctrines of the Divinity and Atonement of Christ, and the Person- ality, and Deity, and influence of the Holy Spirit, they would be found to imply a measure of credulity, not infe- rior to that which they profess to scorn. While I am thus firmly convinced, that the Scriptures are incapable of any fair and consistent explanation, with- out the admission of the doctrine of the Trinity, I enter- tain strong doubts about the correctness of the notion, commonly received, of what is called the eternal proces- sion of the Son from the Father, and of the Spirit from the Father and the Son, in the essence of Deity, This, I have long been disposed to think, is entering into the mode of the Divine subsistence, further than the Scrip- tures authorize us to do. All that we are taught in them, on the subject of procession, appears to be, — that, while the three persons have existed from eternity, equal, and mutually independent, in the Divine unity, in a manner which it is vain for us to attempt to comprehend ; — it has pleased this one Jehovah, — Father, Son, and Holy Spir- it, — in revealing to mankind the scheme of redeeming mercy, to inform us, that, while each acts his part volun- tarily, (the three persons being one in counsel by the same necessity which unites them in essence) yet the Son is to be considered as sent by the Father, and the Spirit as sent by the Father and the Son : — the Father represent- ing the Godhead, in the constitution of the plan, as it has been disclosed to us.* * John viii. 32. xv. 26. — I intended, at one time, to have introduc- OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 295 The usual doxology of the English Church, I conclude with remarking^ seems, from all that has heen said, to be in perfect consonance with the decisions of the word of God, and with the spirit of that worship which it pre- scribes and exemplifies. In this short, but solemn ascrip- tion of praise, let us, with one heart and one soul, unite : " Glory he to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be ! Amen !" ed a separate Discourse on the true meaning of the Title Smi of God as given to Jesus Christ. As diflference of opinion, however, exists, on this subject, among those who agree in holding the essential arti- cle of his supreme Divinity, I afterwards relinquished the intention. When my object was to defend a vital doctrine of Christianity against those who opfose it, I thought it better to shun any dispute with those who maintain it, about the mere import of a name. DISCOURSE X. ON THE INFLUENCES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Romans viii. 9. ^* NOW IF ANY MAN HAVE NOT THE SPIRIT OF OHRIST, HE IS NONE OF HIS." x HE influences of the Spirit of God, whose Personali- ty and Divinity it was the bbject of the last Discourse to establish, are usually divided into two kinds, common^ and extraordinary. He was the author of inspiration in the Old Testament prophets ; — ^for " the 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.'^^ It was he, too, that inspir- ed the apostles and prophets of the New Testament church; imparting to them a complete and infallible kuowledge of those parts of the Divine will, which it was the gracious purpose of God to communicate to mankind. And he was also the immediate author of all those " spiritual gifts,'' those miraculous endowments, in all their rich variety, which were bestowed on so many of the disciples of Christ, in primitive times. *' To one was given, by the Spirit, the word of wisdom ; to another, the word of knowledge, by the same Spirit ; to another faith, by the same Spirit ; * 2 Peter i. 21. ON THE INFLUENCES, &C. S97 \o another^ the gifts of healing, by the same Spirit ; to an- other, the working of miracles ; to another, prophecy ; to another, discerning of spirits ; to another, divers kinds of tongues ; to another, the interpretation of tongues : — all these wrought that one and the self- same Spirit, dividing to every man severally, as he would.^^* It is not of these that the apostle speaks in our text. For neither, on the one hand, were these essential to a man's being Christ's ; nor, on the other, did they certain- ly prove to be his the person who possessed them. " Ma- ny," says Christ himself, " shall say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name ? and in thy name cast out devils ? and in thy name done many ivonderful works ? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you ; depart from me, ye that work iniquity."! Balaam, the son of Bosor, who " loved the wages of un- righteousness," and who taught Balak how to seduce the Israelites into sin, possessed, at times at least, the spirit of prophecy. To Judas, " the son of peidition," we have no reason to doubt, '' the devils were subject through the name of Jesus," as well as to the other eleven apostles. Nor does Paul make a mere supposition, which could never be realized in fact, when he speaks of a man's pos- sessing these supernatural gifts, even in the most eminent degree, and yet being destitute of that love, which is the most essential and comprehensive principle of 'the Chris- tian character : ^^ Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mys- teries, and all knowledge ; and though I have all faith, 80 that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing." J That such, then, was, in various in- * 1 Cor. xii. r— 11. t Matth. vii. 22, 23, t 1 Cor. xiii. 1,2, 88 298 ON THE INFLUENCES stances^ the fact, that persons did possess miraculous^ gifts, who were destitute of the grace of God, and of spir- itual life, there can hardly, I should think, be a doubt. Of the difficulty which the fact seems to involve, the sim- plest ground of explanation, perhaps, lies in the obvious distinction between the ivitness, and the testimony which he delivers. The character of the witness may be repro- bate, while his testimony is important truth. Now, mira- cles were attestations, on the part of God, not of the moral excellence of the prophet who delivered his message, but of the truth of the message itself : evidences, not of char- acter, but of commission. And whatever incongruity there may appear to us, in the particular case of which 1 now speak, between the instrument employed, and the nature of his work ; yet we are at no loss to conceive, on the ground of the distinction stated, how God should s«t his seal to the testimony, while the witness himself, who de- livered it, was disapproved, and rejected. While the " Spirit of Christ,'^ in our text, cannot, for the reasons which have been assigned, signify miraculous powers ; neither, 1 would further observe, can it be un- derstood as meaning (according to a sense in which we sometimes use the word spirit J the disposition, or mind of Christ ; those holy tempers of soul which he possessed and exemplified. Such holy tempers are elsewhere de- nominated " the fruits of the Spirit .•* and the sense in which the word Spirit is used, both in the preceding and subsequent context, completely precludes any such inter- pretation.! It is of the ordinary gracious influences: of the Holy Spirit, as the true and unequivocal evidences of a man's belonging to Christ, that I purpose, from this text, to treat : * Gal. V. 22, t See the Context, from the beginning of the chapter to the 16tli verse. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. S99 ' — a subject, certainly, which, to every one who duly con- siders the weight and solemnity of the declaration whicli the text contains, must appear of preeminent importance. ,,The text would naturally lead me to an illustration of ij^e three following topics : — how believers may be said to havCf or to possess, the Spirit of Christ ; — the various influ- ences of this Spirit, and the experienced and visible effects thence resulting, as the evidence of such possession ; — and the necessity of the possession of the Spirit, thus indicat- ed, as a proof of their belonging to Christ. In the present discourse, however, it is my intention to confine myself to the first operation of the Spirit ; — that operation by which he " opens the heart" to the reception of the truth as it is in Jesus, and commences the Divine life in the soul : — his agency in what the Scriptures war- rant us to denominate regeneration. All his subsequent influence is only a continued exercise of the same power, by which he prepares and takes possession of his temple. By selecting, in the first instance, a single point, as the subject of proof, the argument will, I think, possess a greater measure of compactness and unity. And it must, at the same time, be obvious to every one, that if this lead- ing point is ascertained, the general question is settled. If, from Scripture, and other legitimate sources of evi- dence, we can establish the reality, and the necessity, of the direct energy of the Holy Spirit, in producing, by the faith of the gospel, the commencement of the Divine life ; there will be little difficulty in procuring assent to the in- ference that the same energy must maintain and carry it on to perfection. The satisfactory establishment of this one point will clear the way for the remainder of the dis- cussion, will divest it, in some measure, of its argumenta- tive form, and impart to it more of the nature of illustration. When considered in reference to the commencement of fte Divine life in the soul, the declaration, ^^ If any man 300 ON THE INFLUENCES have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his," may be understood as expressing the same important truth, which oar Lord himself so emphatically declared to Nicodemus : — " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven."*- It is my intention, with the supplicated aid of that Spir- it, whose work I have undertaken to defend, to state ivhat apj)ears to be the doctrine of the Scriptures^ laith regard to the necessity of Divine influence in regeneration^ and to vindicate the doctrine from some leading objections. In the one Godhead, although subsisting in three per- sons, there has been, from eternity, infinite knowledge^ and consequently perfect and invariable unity of mind and counsel. We are not to imagine any sort of distinction to exist, such as admits of the communication, from one to another, of any quality which was not possessed before. As to knowledge, for example, it belongs alike, in infinite perfection, to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as one God ; and has so belonged from eternity, without the possibility either of increase or of diminution. It cannot, in strict propriety, be said, respecting any thought, or intention, that it ever entered the Divine mind : — for entrance sup- poses a period preceding, when it was not there. Nor w as any thought, or intention, ever present to the Father, that was not equally present to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. The thoughts of one are the thoughts of all ; — the designs of one the designs of all ; — underived — un- eommunicated | — the thoughts and designs of the God- head. In the scheme of our redemption, however, as was hinted towards the conclusion of the preceding Discourse, the three persons in this one Godhead are represented as performing, each his appropriate part of that glorious work, in the eternal design of which they were necessarj- * John iii. 3. 5, 6. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. ^iOl ly one. The Father may be considered, in the Scripture exhibition of it^ as representing the Godhead : — so that : when He is said to be glorified by the work of the Son, it ,^.is the Godhead that is glorified ; ^^ glory to God in the *^highest/' as resulting from the voluntary mediation of - Christ, being glory to the one God, Father, Son, and $ Holy Spirit. It is the peculiar work of the Son, by his I' appearance in our nature and substitution in our room, to f. render it consistent with the Divine glory, that is, with the glory of the Godhead, to pardon and to bless the guilty children of men. The displeasure of the Father against sin, to which sinners stand exposed, is the dis- pleasure of the Godhead ; — and the reconciliation of tlie .Father is the reconciliation of the Godhead. And this 8 may serve to account for the fact, that in Scripture many .fthings, especially as to the bestowment of the blessings of o salvation, are represented, indiscriminately, as done alike : by the Father, by tlie Son, and by the Holy Spirit. X The ordinary distinction, however, pervades the account If'Which is given in the Scriptures of this wonderful scheme. . The Father appears, as sending, or commissioning the Son : — the Son, as coming in the likeness of sinful flesh, t«and finishing his work of atonement on the cross : — ^and, / ihe Father having declared his approbation of this finished vwork — his acceptance of this atoning sacrifice, by raising -the man Christ Jesus from the grave, and exalting him to glory ; — then comes the appropriate work of the Spirit, who is sent by the Father, in the name, and for the sake of the Son, with the express view of giving effect, in the souls of men, to tlie work of salvation, which the Son liad finished ; — or, which is much the same thing, by the Son ff himself, in the exercise of. that power, with which, as Mediator, he is invested. The person and work of Christ are the grand subjects of the gospel testimony : — that testimony being just the 30^ ON THE INFLUENCES declaratiou of what he is^ and of what he hath done, and of the Divine satisfaction in his work ; accompanied wilh a proclamation of free pardon, and a promise of eternal life, to all, who, renouncing their proud rebellion, and submitting at mercy, will receive these blessings as " the gift of Ood, through Jesus Christ our Lord.'' The great work of the Holy Spirit is to bear testimony to Christ, He did so by all those supernatural powers, of which he was the author, ^^ in the beginning of the gospel ;" — and he did so then, and continues to do so now, by his gracious influence on the minds of men. The work of Christ and the work of the Spirit are mutually necessary to each otlier's efficacy, and are thus both alike indispensable to the salvation of the sinner. Without the work of Christ, the Spirit would want the means or in- strument of his operation ; and without the work of the Spirit, these means would remain inefficacious and fruit- less. Without the work of Christ, there would not have been, for any sinner, a foundation of hope towards God ; — without the work of the Spirit, no sinner would have been induced to build on this foundation. Christ has opened the way of access to God ; — the Spirit brings sin- ners to God, in the way which Christ has opened. I had occasion formerly to notice the double design of the gospel — the restoration of men to the favour of God, and, at the same time, to his image ; — -forgiveness of sin^ and renovation of heart. Both of these blessings, which, when understood in their full extent, comprehend the whole of salvation, are inseparably connected with the faith of the gospel testimony. — Of the former of these blessings — -justification from the guilt of sin — the truth believed, or rather Jesus Christ, who is the subject of that truth, is the ground ; — while the belief of that truth, or faith in Jesus Christ, is the medium of interest. As to the latter blessing, the renovation of the heart, or sanctifica^ OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 30^ Hon / the same truth is the means by which this blessed effect is produced : and the knowledge and belief of this truth are essential to its renewing influence ; for it cannot be supposed to have any truly gracious or saving efficacy, except as it is understood and believed. Here then, commences the work of the Spirit : — here is his first operation : — the spiritual illumination of the un- der standings in order to the conversion of the heart. Let me illustrate this part of my subject, from the wonls of the apostle in 1 Cor. ii. 14. " For the natural man re- ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.'^ The " naturalf^^ or animal^ or sensual man^^ cannot here mean merely the sensualist, — the man who immerses himself in the gratifications of animal appetite ; as oppos- ed, either to the sober man, or to the man who devotes himself to the cultivation of his mind, in the pursuits of science and philosophy. For, in the first place, it stands opposed to the ^^ spiritual man,'' and therefore must be considered as comprehending all who are not spiritual, in the sense in which this appellation is generally used by this apostle. And no one, who is even superficially ac- quainted with his phraseology, can fail to know, that he designs to express by it much more than either sober, or intellectual, in opposition to sensual, in the ordinary gross acceptation of that epithet. — 2dlff, The matter of fact is, that what is said in this verse applies with equal, if not superior, emphasis, to the " wise and prudent" of this world, — to the men of science and philosophy, — than even to the sensualist. From the former has proceeded a greater portion of pointed, and scornful, and bitter de- rision, against what the apostle here denominates ^^ the things of the Spirit of God," than from the laltev. It lias 30^i ON THE INFLUENCES been by such men^ generally speaking, above all others, that these things have been disdained, and vilified, and jiYonoimced foolishness, — Sdly^ Notice the agreement of this observation, with what the apostle had said before, in this very epistle, respecting those who " sought after wis- dom .•" — ^' For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness ; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wis- dom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understand- ing of the prudent. Where is the wise ? Where is the scribe ? Where is the disputer of this world ? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world ? For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign ; and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness ; but unto us, w ho are called^ both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.'^* Have we not, in these words, an express declaration, by the writer himself, to what de- scription of men he especially referred, when he said, as in the text on which I am now commenting, ^^ The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him P^^ — that he meant the philoso- pher at least as much as the sensualist ? — ^that, in short, he meant all those, who remained under the influence of such principles only as exist in the animal and rational nature of man, independently of the renewing operation of the grace or Spirit of God ? By ^^ the things of the Spirit of God,'^ we must under- stand the truths of the gospel ; those doctrines which were " revealed to the holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. — Respecting these it is here affirmed, that '^ the * 1 Cor. i. 18—24. OP THE HOLY SPIRIT. 305 natural man receiveth them not f^ — that they are foolisJi^ ness to him ; that he cannot know themJ^ To the right understanding of the passage, and of the true nature of that operation of the Spirit of which it af- firms the necessity, it is of great consequence to ascertain the proper meaning of the last of these expressions — neither can he know them.^^ What is the nature of this knowledge ? — Now to this question the passage itself fur- nishes an immediate and satisfactory answer. To " know them,^^ is, obviously, to know them in such a tcay that they no longer appear foolishness : — and this implies nothing less, than discerning them to be, what they really are, ^^ the wisdom of God ;" — nothing less than a perception of their truth, excellence, and glory. While they appeared foolishness, they were not received : — whenever they are thus known, thus discerned, they are received. In the order of nature, the discernment muit precede the recep- tion ; — yet between the one and the other there is no im- aginable interval of time. The reception might rather be said to accompany the discernment, than to follow it ; — to be almost, indeed, involved in its very nature. Now it is to this spiritual discernment of the things of God, in their truth, and excellence, and glory, that the enlightening influence of the Divine Spirit is declared to be necessary. There is a kind of knowledge, which any natural man may possess without the Spirit of God ;-nay, which every natural man, who liears the gospel, must pos- sess, in order to his accounting it foolishness ; — a kind of knowledge, without which he cannot, in the nature of things, be guilty of disbelieving, rejecting, scorning, or hating it. All these exercises of mind imply knowledge ; they suppose the capacity of understanding the meaning of the several propositions, which are included in the gos- pel testimony. These propositions are expressed in terms abundantly plain, and which anv man of ordinary intel- 306 ON THE INFLUENCES lect is perfectly capable of comprehending. No man, fqf instance, is at a loss to know what we mean^ when we tell him, that he has broken the law of God ; — that he is consequently condemned by the sentence of that law ; — that this sentence he can himself do nothing to avert ; — that if he escapes and is pardoned, it cannot be on the ground of any works of righteousness on his part^ but by an act of free and sovereign mercy on the part of God, through the atonement and mediation of Jesus Christ, in whom he must believe, in order to his being thus saved from merited destruction. All this is readily enough un- derstood ; and in proportion as it is understood, it is hated by the carnal mind. Indeed the dijfference between dis- cerning the truth and excellence of a proposition, and merely understanding its meaning, is sufficiently obvious. It cannot be the latter of these two kinds of knowledge that is intended in the verse : — because, if no man could possess this knowledge without spiritual illumination, no man, unless spiritually enlightened, could be guilty of un- belief, or hatred of the truth. It must, therefore, mean such knowledge as has been described ; — a perception, not merely of the meaning of gospel truths, but of their wisdom, and excellence, their consistency, beauty, and suitableness. This, then, is what the apostle means by spiritual dis- cernment : — and it is most clearly and emphatically af- firmed to be the effect of the illuminating influence of the Spirit of God : — " The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know them, because they are spirit- iially discerned,^^ This spiritual discernment, as has been already noticed, is immediately followed by the re- ception of the truth ; which is the same thing as the faith of the gospel. And, accordingly, the faith of the gospel, in exact conformity with the representation which has now OP THE HOLY SPIRIT. 30? been given, is ascribed, in the plainest terms, to divine in- fluence, '^ No man can come to me," said Jesus himself, '' except the Father who hath sent me draw him. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me :'^ and afterwards, in the same conversation with the Jews : — " Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come to me, except it were given unto him of my Father."* — " By grace are ye saved through faith ;" says the apostle to the Ephesians, ^' and that not of yourselves ; it is tlie gift of God ;" and again, to the Philippians ; " 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 :" — ^^ For unto you it is given, on the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suifer for his sake."f These passages teach us, that the commencement of the " good work," as the apostle terms it, takes place at the time, when the sinner, by illumination from above, discerns and receives the truth. It is then that he is horn again. And, with the same plainness and decision, his regeneration, is described as the work of God ; — the work of the Holy Spirit ; — and, at the same time, as effected hy means of the truth. '' Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can- not enter into the idngdom of heaven :" — " After that the "%indness and love of God our Saviour toward man ap- peared ; not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost :" — " To as many as received him, to them gave be power (right or privilege) to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name : who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of * John vi. M, 45, 65. t Eph. ii. 8. Phil. i. 6, 29. 308 ON THE INFLUENCES man, but of God :'' — " Of his own will begat lie us, with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures :'' — "Being born, again, not of corrupti- ble seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever : — and this is the word, which by the gospel is preached unto you.'^* This circumstance may readily account for the fact, that regeneration is sometimes ascribed to Godj and the Spirit of God, and at other times to the truth. Such pas- sages are perfectly consistent with each other. They in- timate the necessity, in order to the effect being produced, of the concurrence of the truth and the influence of the Spirit : of the truth as the means, and the Spirit as the agent. The one class of passages do not mean, that the truth produces the effect without the Spirit ; nor the other, that the Spirit produces it without the truth. It is quite natural to expect, in such a case, that the effect should sometimes be traced to the efficient agent ; and at other times, to the necessary and invariable means of that agent's operation. It is by no means intended to affirm, that the word of God, by itself, unaccompanied with the influence of the Spirit, produces no effects whatever. There are effects which may be, and often are, produced by natural know- ledge ; that is, by the mere acquaintance Avith the mean- ing, and with some particulars of the evidence, of what is testified : — such effects, for instance, as alarm of con- science, and the perturbations of foreboding fear — as in the case of Felix :t — partial reformation of conduct, ac- companied with delusive self-complacency — as in the case of Herod ; J and the external semblance of some of the Christian virtues— as in the case of multitudes, who, with * John iii. 5. Titus iii. ^. John i. 12, 13. James i. 18. 1 Peter i. 2^, 25. t Acts xxiv. 21-^26, t Mark vi, 20. m OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 309 melancholy inconsistency, make it evident, by otlier parts of their conduct, that they are destitute of the '' power of godliness. ^^ But the spiritual illumination of which I have before spoken, is accompanied with, or rather in- cludes in it, the production of what may be termed a spir- itual taste ; a sense of the beauty and excellence of the object of knowledge revealed in the gospel. The sinner, when spiritually enlightened, discerns wisdom — heavenly wisdom, in what before he accounted foolishness ; — con- summate propriety in what formerly offended and disgust- ed him ; — and that Saviour to be ^^ fairer than the children of men,'' " the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely,'^ who before appeared in his eyes, as " a root out of a dry ground, having no form nor comeliness, no beauty, why he should be desired.'' This change of sentiments d feelings, we affirm, is represented in the Scriptures, s the effect of Divine influence ; of the influence of the Spirit of God. The passages before quoted might be considered as suf- ficiently decisive on this point. I would further remark, however, that it is strongly confirmed by those figures, which are employed to represent the nature and magni- tude of the change which takes place, when a sinner ^' re- ceives the love of the truth that he may be saved." This change is represented as a new births a resurrection from the dead, a new creation. Of the first of these I have al- ready quoted examples. Of the second and third the following are instances : — " And (that ye may know) what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us- ward who believe : according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead :" — " And you (hath he quickened) who were dead in trespasses and sins :" — ^^ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us to- 310 OS THE INFLUENCES gether with Christ :" — ^^ We are his workmanship, ere- ated in Christ Jesus unto good works, to which God hath before ordained us, that we should walk in them :" — ^^ Wherefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new crea- ture : old things are passed away, behold all things are become new/'* It is very evident, that such figures as these must ex- press a change, not external, superficial, and partial, but internal, radical, and total : — a change of mind, of heart, and of life ; — of views, of principles, and of conduct. And it is also not less evident, that, as the things in na- ture to which the change is compared, require Divine en- ergy for their accomplishment, so must the change itself. This, indeed, in several of the passages quoted, is most pointedly affirmed. The whole of such language proceeds on the supposi- tion of the deep and radical corruption of the human heart; that corruption which, although it assumes a vast variety of aspects, being modified, in its influence on the charac- ters of men, by an inconceivable diversity of circumstan- ces, is yet, in its general imture, the same, and operates universally in opposition to that truth, which abases to the dust the pride of man, and which ^' crucifies the flesh, with its affections and lusts.'' Into any illustration or proof of this important doctrine, it cannot be expected that I should at present enter. The apostle Paul, it may in general be observed, has, in the seventh verse of this chapter, summed up, in one expres- sion, all the varieties of human corruption : — " TJie carnal mind is enmity against God." The whole context shows, that by the carnal mind, or mind of the flesh, he means the mind of man previously to his being " renewed in the spirit of his mindy In the first verse of the chap- ter, " those, who are in Christ Jesusy^^ are characterized * Ephes. i. 19, 20. H. 1, 4, 0, 10. 2 Cor. v. 17. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 311 as ^^ walking not after the fleshy but after the Spirit :'' and as this is what distinguishes them from others, all others must be considered as " walking after the flesh/^ and ^' minding the things of the flesh.'^ This is the distinc- tion which pervades the whole passage ; — the distinction between the renewed and the unrenewed^ — tliose who have, and those who have not the Spirit of Christ, — those who are after the Spirit, and those who are after the fiesh. Of the " lusts of the flesh and of the mind/^ which corrupt nature is prone to gratify, there is a prodigious di- versity ; and from this diversity arises the variety that appears in the external characters of ungodly and worldly men. But the apostle, without entering into this variety, divides mankind at once into two classes, determines eve- ry one to be " after the flesh,^^ who is not " after the Spirit ;'^ — and all who are after the flesh to be under the prevailing dominion of '' enmity against God,^^ This en- mity is the sum of man's depravity ; the fountain of all the polluted streams of human character ; the germ of the poison-tree ; the great principle and concentrated essence of all evil. From this view of human corruption arises an obvious, but cogent argument, for the necessity of Divine influence, to change the heart : — I mean, the contradiction, which feeems to be involved in the supposition of self-change. How can a principle of evil convert itself into a principle of good ? How can enmity ever change itself into love ? How can hatred of God, of its own accord, choose to love God ? — Is not this to suppose a principle operating in di- ametrical opposition to its proper nature, and invariable tendency ? In answer to this it may be said, that certain views and considerations are presented to the mind, which are, in their nature, fitted to subdue enmity, and to inspire love r 31S ON THE INFLUENCES — and that this is quite sufficient to account for the change in question. Let us examine this a little. The principle upon which the answer proceeds^ obvi- ously is, that the enmity, of which I have been speaking, has its source in ignorance; and that it requires only a just exhibition of the perfections of the Divine character, to make the Being, who possesses these perfections, the object of love. And so in general, those persons, against whom chiefly I now reason, are accustomed to express them- selves. The soundness of the principle, however, is more than questionable. Observe respecting it, isty When the apostle speaks of '^ enmity against God,^^ he must mean, if he means any thing that is evil, enmity against his true character. If it were otlierwise, if the enmity arose from false views of God, and required only the correction of these to make it give place to love, it would not be enmity against God at all. It would be enmity against that which God is not. It would, there- fore, in fact, be of the nature of love to God. For hatred of what God is not, is negative or hypotlietical love to what God is ; — a just exhibition of the Divine character to the mind being all that is requisite to call it into exer- cise in a direct and positive state. Tliis, certainly, was not what Paul meant to express. Such, assuredly, were not his views of the tendencies and likings of human nature. %dly, On this supposition, the only guilt would lie in the ignorance by wliich the enmity had been occasioned. But simple ignorance^ that is, ignorance considered in itself y as a deficiency purely intellectual, unconnected with the state of the will and of the heart, and uninfluenced by it, cannot be justly conceived to involve in it any guilt at all. It lias nothing in it of the nature of moral turpitude. Ig- OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 313 aoraHee is criminal^ only in as far as it is voluntary , and connected with disposition. Sdly, In exact accordance with these remarks, is the fact, that, in the Scriptures, ignorance is so far from being represented as the origin and cause of the enmity, that the case is reversed ; the enmity being pointedly declared to be the cause of the ignorance. The gross darkness, and idolatrous superstition of the heathen world, are traced immediately to this source by the inspired apostle of the Gentiles :— -^" They did not like/' says he, ^' to retain God in their knoicledgeJ'^ And in another place he speaks of them as ^^ having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness (more properly hard- ness or callousness-\) of their hearts J'X That, which is the case with reference to God himself, is the case also with regard to his gospel ; — which, indeed, is the clearest and fullest manifestation of his true character : — ^^ This is the condemnation, that liglit is come into the world, and that men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil :" — ^^ Why do ye not understand my speech ? Even because ye cannot hear (that is, cannot bear J my wordJ^ — ii He that is of God hcareth God's words : ye, therefore, hear them not, because ye are not of God.^'^ In these and other passages, aversion of heart is clearly re- presented as the source of ignorance. From which it in- evitably follows, that something else than mere know- ledge, that is, than a mere apprehension of the meaning of gospel doctrines, is necessary to its removal. I have accordingly observed already, that the sjiiritual illumina- tion, for the necessity of which I contend, includes in it the production of a spiritual taste, by which the excellen- cies of the character and truth of God are discerned and * Rom. i. 28. t Trapija-iv, t Kpli. iv. IS. § John iii. 19. viii. 43, 47. 40 314 ON THE INFLUENCES relished : and that this constitutes the difleveace between natural and spiritual knowledge. The eye of the man who possesses taste and sensibility, does not, as a mere optical instrument, admit the landscape more fully, or more correctly, than that of him who is entirely destitute of these qualities. But the latter is blind to the beauties and sublimities of the scene. He perceives them not. He feels them not. While the former catches every feature of the sublime and the beautiful, and is fixed in admira- tion and delight. Somewhat akin to this is the difference which exists, between him who merely knows that, accord- ing to the Scriptures, God is possessed of certain attri- butes, and that these Scriptures contain particular doc- trines, and the man who, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, discerns, by a kind of new and spiritual sense, the glory and the loveliness of these attributes, the truth, and ex- cellence, and fitness of these doctrines. 4thly, This distinction is fully sufficient to account for what seems to be clearly affirmed in Scripture — that all, who are enlightened of God, do actually receive the truth in the love of it : that all, who Jcnow^ believe. That such is the. fact, the following words of Christ himself, before referred to, are sufficient to determine : " It is written in the prophets. And they shall be all taught of God. Ev- ery man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto iwe.''* On the same principle, we can at once perceive the reason, why knowledge is at times used as if it were synonymous with faith : for spir- itual knowledge, being a discernment of the truth and ex- cellence of gospel doctrine, might very safely and proper- ly be considered as implying, because it is of necessity accompanied by, faith and approbation. Perceiving a proposition to be true, if it be not precisely a convertible expression for belief gv faith, is yet so inseparably accom- * John \i. 45. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 315 panicd by it, that we cannot for a moment imagine the one to exist without the other : and the same is obviously the case, with the perception of excellence ^ and the sentiment of approbation. It may, perhaps be objected to the view I am now giv- ing of the necessity of the inward energy of the Holy Spirit to the conversion of the sinner, that it is disparaging to the imrd of God, implying, as it does, its inadequacy, by its own independent operation, for the accomplishment of this effect. This objection has sometimes been urged by persons who hold very different views of the foundation of hope revealed in the gospel, from those whose sentiments I have chiefly in view in these discourses. The following Observations may suffice to evince its fallacy : In the first place : We cannot justly be considered as disparaging the word of God, when we give it, in this matter, the place which it assigns to itself. If the Scrip- tures represent the gospel as a means or instrument, we do not underrate its value or its power, when we view it, and speak of it in this light. 2dly, The word is not disparaged when, as an instru- ment, it is acknowledged to be eminciitly fitted for its end. That cannot be considei^d as disparaged, which is repre- sented as fully answering the purpose for which it is in- tended. It is wrong, indeed, in point of accuracy of ex- pression, to speak of the word of God as a dead letter. For '' the word of God is quick (^living J and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing to the divid- ing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and mar- row ; and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the ilieart."* Yet there is no inconsistency in saying, that this view of the Divine word assumes, or supposes, the accompanying influence of the Holy Spirit. The word * Heb. iv. 1^. 316 ON THE INFLUENCES of God is '^ the sword of the Spirit.'' And we no more derogate from the excellence and efficacy of the word, when we affirm that it cannot pierce, and divide, and lay open, except as used by the power of the Spirit, than we should detract from the excellence of the best tempered sabre, by saying, that it can do no execution, unless wield- ed by the prowess of the warrior. Mly, The disparagement attaches, not to the word of God, but to the nature of man. That enmity of which I formerly spoke, has, on many occasions, shown itself to be capable of resisting the most convincing arguments, the most affecting considerations, and the best adapted means. Certainly no considerations can be conceived more pow- erfully persuasive, none more admirably fitted for subdu- ing to submission, and to grateful affection, the rebellious heart of man, than the exhibition given in the gospel, of the love and grace of the Godhead, in the mediation of Je- sus Christ. This is, in every view, inconceivably more touching, and melting, and overpowering to the heart, than the views of the gospel (if according to tliese views it mer- ited the name) which are held by our Unitarian opponents, And when we admit that even this will not, of itself, un- accompanied by Divine energy, overcome the obduracy of the will and affections of unregenerate men, we throw no disparaging reflection on the gospel of God ; but we free- ly acknowledge, that it bears hard (alas 1 that it should be so justly hard !) on the nature which we possess in ouv fallen state. In connexion with this part of my subject, may be no- ticed the sentiment of those, who, while they admit that God is the author of the change which takes place in re- generation, deny that he effects it by any direct inward influence ; affirming that he only places men in circum- stances which tend to produce the change ; bringing them under the outward ministration of the gospel, and at the OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 317 same time arranging incidents in providence, in sucli a man- ner as to aid and ensure its efficacy. The remarks which have just been made with regard to the word of God, as a means or instrument, are, it is obvious, applicable, in all their force, to the arrangements of his providence. It is at once admitted, that God, in infinite wisdom, does thus arrange providential occurrences, and all outward means, for the accomplishment of his gracious design. But there is a wide difference between the admission of this, and granting the sufficiency of these means to work out the effect by their own unassisted influence. The idea of the Spirit of God converting the sinner without meanSf and particularly without the word, is an idea to which the Scriptures give no countenance ; — an idea, which opens a wide door to all the extravagances of wild enthusiasm. We have, I apprehend, sufficient war- rant in the Bible, for refusing to acknowledge any man as a subject of the regenerating power of the Spirit, however high his pretensions to Divine communications may be, who is ignorant of the great truths made known in the gospel. But to every candid mind it must be evident, that the expressions of Scripture, which have been al- ready quoted, imply much more, on the part of God, than the mere exhibition of means, and arrangement of circum- stances. And that more than this is necessary to the production of the effect, while it is clearly declared in these expressions, is abundantly confirmed by many strik- ing facts in the history and experience of mankind. To ancient Israel God gave his " lively oracles :'' and every motive that could awaken their fears, or interest their de- sires — every motive contained in the promises and the - ihreatenings, the favours and the judgments of God — was employed, w ith reiterated and increasing vehemence, to Impress his truth upon their minds, and give it a permanent hifluonce in their hearts : yet they continued a " stubborn 318 ON THE INFLUENCES and rebellious generation ;" to whom Moses said^ with melancholy truth, after all the kindness they had experi- enced, and all the discipline they had endured — and in the midst of the most propitious external circumstances ; — " The Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear, unto this day.'' Still more striking is the fact, at the period when the Messiah himself made his appearance among them. He set before them the clearest and most abundant evidences of his Divine mis- sion. He accompanied these with an uninterrupted dis- play of the most unwearied benevolence, and of every other possible excellence of character. No expectation could be more reasonable than that of the husbandman in the parable, " They will reverence my Son." Yet what was the mournful fact ? " When the husbandmen saw the Son, they said among themselves. This is the heir : come, let us kill him, and let us seize on the inheritance. And they caught him, and cast liim out of the vineyard, and slew him."* Instead of yielding to evidence, tlie irrita- tion and violence of the Jews against the truth increased, in exact proportion as the proofs of it were multiplied ; — a circumstance for which it is not difficult, on the ordinary principles of human nature, satisfactorily to account. When any doctrine is the object of dislike, the struggle between the conviction, which undeniable evidence forces upon the judgment, and the rooted aversion which still remains in the heart, must of necessity become, in such circumstances, always the more violent. In the case of the Jews, the expressions and acts of rage and madness frequently indicated the fearful tempest of conflicting sen- timents and passions, which, from this cause, was agitat- ing and tormenting their bosoms. Nor, although accom- panied w ith some peculiarities, is the case of the Jews, in the general principle of it, by any means a solitary one. * Matth. xxi. 38, 39. / ~ OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 319 It is, I believe, the case of by far the greater number of those, who reject the gospel among ourselves. " The light still shineth in darkness, and the darkness admitteth it noV^ Further. — It is a matter of fact in daily observation, that circumstances which appear, in every respect the most favourable that could be desired, frequently fail of any salutary effect, to the great disappointment and grief of those, who are anxious about the result in behalf of their friends ; — while, in other instances, circumstances much less promising are attended with converting efficacy. It is also as frequently observable, that the very same cir- cumstances, as far as human discernment can discover, prove effectual in the conviction and conversion of one, while another remains entirely unaffected by them, or is even hardened in infidelity and sin. Such facts, which are without number, immediately suggest certain inquiries : — What is the cause of this re- markable diversity of effect ? Does it proceed from better previous dispositions in one than in another ? or (which in effect, indeed, is much the same) from the better im- provement, on the part of one than of another, of that grace, which is supposed to be common to all ? In reply to these questions, I would simply observe, that every theory, which militates against a leading and characteristic feature of the gospel, must be a false theory. Now, throughout the Scriptures, the scheme of salvation is uniformly represented as having been purposely so constituted as to " hide pride from man/^ The language of the gospel is, " He that glorietli, let him glory in the Lord :'^ — " Where is boasting ? It is excluded/*^ The whole plan, then, in all its parts, must, in this respect, be consistent with itself. The design of abasing human pride, and precluding self-glorying, must be answered throughout. It is not enough that ^^ boasting'' be "ex- S20 ON THE INFLUENCES eluded'^ in one quarter, while ground is retained for it in another. It is not enough, for example, that this exclusion be recognised only in the foundation ofhojpe^ or meritorU ous ground of acceptance. Any hypothesis which, while it professes to do this, places, at the same time, in the sin- ner himself who has been led to build on this foundation^ and has been ^' renewed in the spirit of his mind,'^ the reason of the difference between him and others, militates directly against this characteristic feature of tlie gospel. For in order to tlie effectual exclusion of boasting, it is just as necessary that the cause of difference should not be in us, as that the ground of hope should not be in us. It alters not the case to say, '^ I still owe the differ- ence to grace ; because, without communicated grace, the difference could never have existed.'^ For, if this grace is imparted to me, in common with others^ who fail to im- prove it ; then the difference between them and me is not owing to the grace, (for with respect to it we are supposed on a level) but evidently to my superior improvement of the grace. And in the disposition so to improve it^ I have '' whereof to glory. ^^ But the whole of this doctrine, it may now be said, pro- ceeds upon the supposition of man's inability of himself to believe the gospel, and turn unto God. And such inability, it may be alleged, cannot exist, because it destroys human accountableness. This objection is founded in a double mistake : — In the first place : — It is founded in a mistake as to the nature of the inability in question. This inability — (the observation is trite, but ought never to be forgotten) — ^is entirely of a moral kind. It does not at all consist in any want of natural powers and capacities : — for, were there a want of these, certainly men would not be '^ without ex- cuse.^^ It consists in aversion of heart ; in disinclination to w hat is truly good ; in dislike to " the things of the OF tHE HOLY SPIRIT* 8Si Spirit of God.'^ Our Lord confirms^ what reason irresist- ably dictates, that men could not be responsible, as sin- ners and unbelievers, if they wanted natural faculties, and capacities for knowledge — when, in reply to the self-con- fident question of the Pharisees, " Are we blind also ?" he assures them, ''If ye were blind, ye should have no sin : but now ye say, we see ; therefore your sin remain- eth :"^ — and when, speaking of the hatred and rejection, which he had experienced from his countrymen in general, he says to his disciples, '' If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin : but now they have no cloak for their sin. If I had not done amons; them the works, which no other man did, they had not had sin : but now have they both seen, and hated both me and my Father.'^! The latter of these two passages teaches us besides, that to render men " without excuse,'^ there must not only be the possession of natural powers and capacities, but also opportunities of knowledge, and adequate means of conviction. In the case to which our Lord refers, all these were enjoyed : — and the unbelief of the Jews, in the midst of their high advantages, he traces at once to the state of their hearts — to their hatred of himself and of his Father. His language to them on another occasion proceeds on the same principle : — " Ye ivill not come to me, that ye might have life. I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you :''J — and it is also distinctly recognised in his words to Nicodemus, formerly quoted : — '' And this is the condemnation, that light is come into flie world, and that men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil : for every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. '^§ " This kind of inability is evidently wilful and vicious^ and therefore culpable and * John ix. 41. t John xv. 22, 24. I John V. 40, 42. § John iii. 19, 20. 41 3SS ON THE INFLUENCES inexcusable. Every man's conscience, upon the least re- flection, must tell him so ; and if ever he come to be duly sensible of it, and humbled on that account, he will be so far from excusing himself on the score of such inability, that he v^^ill confess it as his guilt, take the blame entirely to himself, justify God and his holy law, and implore the influences of his Holy Spirit, to create a clean heart, and rencAV a right spirit within him.^'* — ^Indeed, to vindicate men on the plea of inability of this description, is to ex- cuse them on account of that which, instead of being an alleviation of their criminality, itself constitutes the very essence of all their guilt. 2dlyf Supposing the inability of man to be of this des- cription, and to be, consequently, neither excusable in it- self, nor any excuse for unbelief and rejection of the gos- pel ; the difference produced by the grace of the Spirit of God, when he makes any one a partaker of salvation, leaves the case of others unaltered. The objection pro- ceeds on the supposition, that there exists some kind of claim^ on the part of the guilty, for the exercise of Divine clemency. But such a supposition is, on no account, and in no degree, admissible. Persons, who persist in rebel- lion, do not surely become more excusable than they were before, because other rebels have been induced to lay down their arms. If they were without excuse when all were rebels, their crime is neither altered in its nature, nor mit- igated in its enormity, by the submission of some ; — even although that submission has been the effect of distin- guishing clemency on the part of their sovereign, extended to such as had no more title to it than themselves ; — that is, to such as had, like them, no title to it at all. Where 910 claim exists in any, all may be left to suffer, or all may be included in an act of mercy, or sovereign clemency may * Dissertation on the Influences of the Holy Spirit, by ArchibaW M'Lean. Works, Vol. II. page 110, 111. OP THE HOLY SPIRIT. 3^3 freely select its objects. In the last of these cases^ the favour that is shown to some is an injury to none. The criminal^ who deserves to die^ deserves not his punishment the less, that another criminal is pardoned. This is a subject, however, on the full illustration of which it is im- possible at present to enter ; although I have deemed it necessary thus to state my conviction respecting it ; be- cause it is essentially connected with those views, which seem to be so clearly taught in the Scriptures, with regard to the sovereignty — the unshackled and unlimited free- dom — of the grace of God, in the dispensation of those Divine influences, which are indispensable to the salvation of men. I must conclude this discussion by observing, that the hidden, unseen, mysterious nature of spiritual influence, ought not to be urged as any argument against its reality. On this and some other subjects, we are instructed, simply to infer the operation of the cause from the existence of the effects. How these effects are produced — the particu- lar manner of the Holy Spirit's operation — we do not un- derstand ; and we are expressly admonished of the vanity of attempting to understand it : — " Marvel not that I said unto thee. Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, or whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit. ''* We do not see the wind itself ; — but we see and feel its effects. So it is^ as to every one that is born of the Spirit. His operation is secret and unperceived. It is sometimes sudden and sometimes gradual. But the reality of his influence must, in every case, be determined, by its palpable results, in the character of the person, who is the professed or ap- parent subject of it. The effects of the wind are in pro- portion to the degree of force with which it blows. * John iii. y, 8. 3^4) ON ^HE INFLUENCES ^^ Breathe but an air of heaven/^ and we perceive its in- fluence^ in the stirring of the foliage, and in its grateful and refreshing coolness to our bodily frame. Let the tempest, again, rise ; — we hear its dreary bowlings, and we witness its mighty power, in frightful desolations, on land and on sea. But in either case, the agent is invisi- ble. It is only by its effects, that we can discover even the direction in which it moves. " Whence it cometh, and whither it goeth,^^ we cannot tell. — " So is every one that is born of the Spirit." Let the effects, as they are des- cribed in the Scripture, be distinctly manifest : — and from these we may infer the certainty of his previous operation. Permit me to press, with earnestness, upon your atten- tion, the unspeakable importance of that saving change of which I have been endeavouring to show that the Holy Spirit is the Author. Let not the declaration of the Sa- viour, delivered with so much emphasis, be considered by any of you, merely as an article of your professed creed, but as a matter of fact, infinitely important and interesting to all who hear me, and no less important and interesting to myself: — ''Except a man he horn again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven J' The question is not, Do you believe the doctrine of the necessity of regeneration ? — do you hold it as an article of your speculative creed ? — ^But, have you undergone the change of which the necessity is thus declared ? — Have you been '' born again ?'^ Multi- tudes have regeneration in their professed creed, whose hearts are strangers to the change which the word ex- presses. I wish to impress you with the importance of the question, whether you have been the subjects of this change, to prepare you for the subsequent part of this subject, which will exhibit a more detailed view of its nature ; that is, of what is implied in '^ having the Spirit of Christ ^^^ from which the impossibility stated in the OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 3^5 text will be manifest, of any man's being Christ^s^ who is destitute of this Spirit. Meantime, one of our chief encouragements, in contin- uing to proclaim the gospel of salvation arises from the assurance given us by " the God of all grace" himself, that it shall not prove to all who hear it, " the savour of death, unto death.'' — " Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abun- dantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord : for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For, as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and return not thither, but water the earth, and make it to bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater ; so shall my word be, that goeth forth out of my mouth : it shall not return unto me void, but shall accomplish that which I please, and prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."* There are certain most benignant and animating decla- rations, made by the blessed God in his word, — declara- tions conceived in terms so striking, that were there no other passages in the Bible, in proof of the doctrine of Di- vine influence in the conversion and sanctification of men, they would, of themselves, be sufficient to determine the point. While I repeat these declarations, as a conclud- ing evidence of the truth I have been endeavouring to es- tablish — may God, in infinite mercy, by the energy of his Holy Spirit, fulfil them, in the happy experience of all present ! — " This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, * Isaiah Iv. 6—11. 3a6 ON THE INFLUENCES I After tbosc days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts ; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord : for they shall all know me, from the least of them, unto the great- est of them, saith the Lord : for I will forgive their ini- quity, and I will remember their sin no more.'^* ^' Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean ; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you ; and 1 will take away the hard and stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep ' Bay judgments and do them.^f O that the Divine energy of the Spirit of grace may, by the fulfilment of these ^^ exceeding great and precious promises," make it manifest, that the weapons of our war- fare, which are not carnal, are mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds ; casting down imagina- tions, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into sub- jection to the obedience of Christ !'^f * Jer. xxxi. 33, 34. t Ezek. xxxvi. 20—37. 1 2 Cor. x. 4, 6 BISCOUMSE XL ON THE INFLUENCES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Romans viii. 9. " NOW IF ANY MAN HAVE NOT THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE IS NONE OF HIS." I ENDEAVOURED, in last Discoursc, to show, that by '' the Spirit of Christ^^^ in this solemn asseveration of the apostle, we are not to understand his miraculous commu- nications ; — ^because this would not only confine the say- ing to the first age of the church, but, even with regard to it, would render it manifestly untrue : — and, on the other hand, that it could not signify the mind or disposition of Christ — those holy tempers of soul which he possessed and exemplified ; — because not only were these elsewhere represented as the '' fruits of the Spirit,'^ but the language of the context would by no means admit of such an inter- pretation. I proposed, therefore, to treat, from this text, of the or- dinary gracious influences of the Holy Spirit, as the true and unequivocal evidences of a person's belonging to Christ. In last Discourse, I confined myself to one point — the necessity of the Spirit's influence to the accomplish- ment of that jsaving change, which is represented in Scrip- 328 ON THE INFLUENCES tare under the striking figures of a new birth, a resuiTec- tion from death, a new creation. I was induced to do so, not merely for the sake of giving compactness and unity to the argument, but by a conviction, that, if this one point were satisfactorily established, little difficulty would re- main in admitting his continued agency, in the subsequent progress of the Divine life in the soul. I shall not attempt any recapitulation of the train of reasoning then pursued ; but shall proceed immediately to the remaining part of ray subject. I must begin, by pressing more particularly on your attention, what was adverted to in the conclusion of the - former Discourse — the unspeakable importance of those inquiries respecting our Christian profession, our present state, and our future prospects, which are instantly and forcibly suggested by the language of the text : — " If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.'^ — " He is none of his P^ Think what this means. He is not one of those, w ho are " in Christ Jesus ;" not a genuine friend and follower of the Redeemer ; not a subject of his grace, an object of his love, a partaker of his salvation : — but one, who wants the characteristic mark of discipleship, — the '^ seal in his forehead ;'^ and who, instead of being acknowledged, received, and blessed, shall be disowned, and banished, and cursed, at the great day ! — To be his^ on the contrary, we are taught by the context, is to have an interest in his rigliteousness, and thus to be freed from condemnation : — it is to be spiritually minded, which even now is life and peace : — it is to have the good hope of a resurrection to immortal life : — it is to be a child of God, a partaker of his paternal love, and an heir of that glory, with which the heaviest sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared.* These opposite considera- tions impart to this subject a degree of importance, such * See verses 1, 6, 11, 14 — 18. I OP THE HOLY SPIRIT. SSfi as ought to secure from all the most serious attention, and the deepest concern. In exact consistency with the views thus suggested hy the immediate context, the Holy Spirit is, in other places, represented as the pledge, the assurance, or earnest, of " glory, and honour, and immortality.'^ Thus, in a sub- sequent verse of this very chapter : — " And not only they, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit ^ even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."* By the ^^ first fruits of the Spirit^'' are not meant here, I appre- hend, the first, or earliest communications of the Spirit ; but rather, the Spirit as the first-fruits, or earnest, of what is at the same time specified as tlie great object of Chris- tian hope and desire — " the adoption — the redemption of our body.'' This is the simplest view of the meaning of the phrase ; and it agrees not only with its connexion in the chapter, but with the usual language of the New Tes- tament on the same subject. A passage precisely parallel occurs, Eph. i. 13, 14. — " In whom also, when ye be- lieved, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise ; which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemp- tion of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." The ^^ redemption of the purchased possession" is the redemption of the people of God from the grave ; the same event which the passage before us represents as the object of their longimg expectation : — and of this event, and the subsequent everlasting possession of the heavenly *^ inheritance," the Holy Spirit is, in both passages, de- clared to be the earnest, or the first-fruits. In like man- ner, Paul says to the Corinthians : '' Now he who stab- lisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God ; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts :" — and again : '^ Now he that * Verse 23. 330 ON THE INFLUENCES hath wrought us for the self- same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit,^^^ Two inquiries, then, present themselves on this part of the subject : — What is meant by ^' having the Spirit of Christ ?'' — and, What is the legitimate, scriptural evi- dence of the possession ? In answer to the first of these inquiries, it may be ob- served, that our " having the Spirit of Christ'' is obvious- ly of equivalent import, with liis " dwelling in us.^' The simple comparison of the preceding clause of the verse with the latter, which forms our text, is sufficient to show this : ^^ But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit ; if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you : now if any man have mot the Spirit of Christ" — (the same Spirit, ob- serve, called the Spirit of God in the one clause, and the Sfirit of Christ in the other) — " if any man have not the Spirit of Christ," (that is, dwelling in him J " he is none of his." Similar expressions are not uncommon in the .New Testament. " Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dweUeth in you .^"f '^ What ! know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in youj which ye have of God ?"J — " I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever : even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know him : for he dwelleth with you, and shall he in youJ^^ Such expressions (especially those last quoted, from the lips of Jesus himself) serve to throw a clear and sim- ple light on an apostolic phrase, to which I had occasion formerly to refer, in proof of the Divinity and Personality of the Spirit — '' the communion of the Holy Ghost J^\ — The idea expressed by the word communion, or fellow- * 2 Cor. i. 21, 22. V. 5. f 1 Cor. iii. 16. t vi. 19. § John xiv. 16, 17. li 2 Cor. xiii. 13. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 331 ship, accords precisely with that conveyed by our Sav- iour's words — ^^ that he may abide with you,^^ — " he dwdleth with you,'^ — " he shall be in you^ The apos- tle wishes, in behalf of the Corinthian believers, the fulfil- ment of this gracious promise of their Lord. It is the same word that is used,* when Christians are described as having fellowship with the Father, and with the Son : " That wliich we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye also may \m\e fellowship with us : and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.^'t And in using this language, John seems evi- dently to have had in mind the words of his Master, as recorded by himself, in the same Discourse with those formerly quoted in reference to the Holy Spirit, and in immediate connexion with them : " Jesus answered, and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words : and my Father will love him, and we will come unto hirUf and make our abode with him.^^X If our " having the Spirit of Christ,'^ then, or his '' dwelling in us," is the evidence of our being his, and the want of his Spirit, consequently, the evidence of the contrary ; the second question before stated, immediately presses upon our notice : " What is the evidence of our having this Spirit f — what are the conclusive indications of his presence ?— how are we to know that he dwelleth in us ?" On this part of our inquiry, it may be proper, first of all, to observe, that, what our Lord says to Nicodemus, respecting tlie invisible secrecy of spiritual influence, is just as applicable to the subsequent as to the first opera- tions of the Divine Agent. — The residence of the Holy Spirit in the soul is not to be ascertained by any thing of tlie nature of direct and sensible impulse ; — as if his ope- rations were to be felt within, like mechanical impressions. * Mtvmtet, t 1 John i. 3. \ John xiv. 23. 333 ON THE INFLUENCES Some notion of this kind^ although not, perhaps, distinct- ly avowed, has often given rise to much enthusiasm. The Spirit is compared to fire, on account of the. power- ful and purifying nature of that energy which he exerts on the mind and heart. But it would be a false conclu- sion, to infer from this comparison, that his energy must m be sensibly felt, in the same w ay as the heat of fire is per- 1 ceived when it affects the body. From the language of some on this particular subject, one would be apt to sus- pect, if it were not previously known to be otherwise, that they imagine some kind of materiality^ both in the agent himself, and in the mind that is the subject of his influence. Neither is the evidence of the in-dwelling of the Spirit to be sought for in sudden and violent emotions, the occa- sional starts, and transient transports of feeling. These „ are of a nature too unsteady and fluctuating, and, from the ^ influence of constitutional temperament, and various other natural causes, too subject to mistake and delusion, to form a satisfactory proof, in a matter of such unspeakable importance. To the question, then, What is the proper evidence of any man's " having the Spirit of Christ ?'' I would an- swer in general — The effects produced by his influence on the character of all in ichom he dwells. Were I to pursue this subject at full length, I should be led to an illustration of all the principles which form the Christian character, in the whole of their extensive and diversified operation ; — these, according to the Scrip- tures, being all the result of Divine influence. The view of the subject to be presented in this Discourse, must, of necessity, be more brief and general. '^ When the Comforter is come," said Jesus to his dis- ciples, ^* whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Fa- ther, he shall testify of me ;" — " He shall glorify me ; OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 333 for he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you."* The first and great work of the Spirit then, is to testify of Christ ; — to show the truth concerning him to the mind : and the great general design, and tendency, and effect, of all his operations, is, to glorify him. For, even suppos- ing that the words now quoted had reference to th^^ insjpi^ ration of his apostles, still it is an obvious conclusion from them, that the same truth which he revealed by inspira- tion, and attested by his miraculous energy, is the truth, the excellence and glory of which (as we endeavoured to show^ in last Discourse) he opens the understanding to dis- cern. I wish this leading observation, respecting the na- ture and principal design of the Spirit's operation, to be kept in mind ; because it forms a kind of general principle, throughout the subsequent illustrations. Since " the vision and the prophecy'' were closed, in the isle of Patmos, the Spirit of God has imparted no new revelations. The volume of inspiration was then com- pleted; and the heavy displeasure of God denounced against any one who should ever presume either to add to, or to take away from its contents. Every pretension, therefore, to communications from the Spirit, possessing the same authority with the inspired records, is to be treated as either pitiable delusion, or detestable imposture. It is now the work of this Divine Agent, not to make new discoveries of the mind of God, but to impart spirit- ual discernment of what is already revealed ; particularly concerning the person, character, and work of the Re- deemer. And the very first effect of his illuminating in- fluence, is, to bring the sinner, who is the subject of his gracious operation, under a deep and abasing sense of his guilt and unworthiness, to humble and simple reliance on free mercy, through the righteousness and atonement of Immanuel. The very first attitude in which such a sin- * John XV. 36. xvi. 14. 334i ON THE INFLUENCES ner presents himself to our view, is — '^ standing afar off," not presuming " even to lift up his eyes to heaven, hut smiting on his breast, and saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner V^ Justification by free grace, through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, I apprehend to be the very first principle of the gospel ;— a principle, therefore, respecting which we dare hot speak in qualified or undecided terms. And if this be indeed so fundamental a principle, it will necessa- rily follow that dependence, for justification, on the free grace of God, through the righteousness of Christ, must be one of the first and most essential features of the Christian character. If the first apparent effect of the Spirit's con- verting energy is to Iring the sinner to this dependence ; it is also one of the permanent effects of his continued in- fluence, that the mind is kept in this state ; — kept " look- ing unto Jesus ;" confiding in his atoning sacrifice, as the only ground of acceptance in the sight of God ; persisting to renounce, — as forming no part of the meritorious foun- dation of hope, — all that is felt, or said, or done, after conversion ; just as, at conversion, all was, in this view, renounced, that had been felt, or said, or done, before it. Some of you, possibly, may be disposed to think, that this is an effect, to the production of which Divine influ- ence is not at all necessary. I know none, on the contra- ry, to whicli it is more so. In the pride of our fallen na- ture, there is a violent antipathy against this doctrine of justification by free grace ; and a powerful and unceasing propensity to the opposite : and the same influence that is necessary to subdue this pride at first, and effectually to bring the mind to ^' submit itself unto the righteousness which is of God by faith,"^ continues equally necessary, to maintain the same humble temper of the soul. We have already seen that the Spirit of Christ seeks the glory of Christ. But the disposition to confide, either OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 335 entirely or in part^ on any thing else than his obedience and sacrifice ; — to ascribe the whole glory of our salva- tion to ourselves^ or to divide it with the Saviour ; — is a disposition that robs him, in the mind of the person, who cherishes it, of his peculiar honour, and which cannot be the production of that Spirit, of whom Jesus said, ^^He shall glorify me.'' Examine yourselves, then, by this test, whether you ^^ have the Spirit of Christ.'' Has Christ the glory in your hearts, Avhich is his due ? — the undivid- ed glory of your salvation ? — is the foundation of your hope what the Spirit has testified concerning Christ in the Scriptures ? — Surely you cannot be considered as " hav- ing the Spirit of Christ," if you are not joining issue, if I may so express myself, with this Spirit, in glorifying Christ ; — if you are not resting your hopes on that found- ation which the Spirit has revealed, in the " testimony of JesusJ^ The Holy Spirit maintains the state of mind of which I have just made mention, by the law, and hy the cross, — Those views which he imparts of the purity, spirituality, extent, and reasonableness, of God's law, produce a deep- er and deeper conviction of sin : — while the cross, con- templated with the eye of a spiritually enlightened under- standing, at once concurs with the law in impresjsing on the heart a groAving sense of the " exceeding sinfulness " of transgression, and, at the same time, by the amazing grace displayed in the expiation made by the sacrifice of the Son of God, disposes the believer, under the impulse of humble and fervent gratitude, cheerfully to exclude all boasting, and to say with the apostle, " God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ ; by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the Horld!"^ This is the ground-work of all the subsequefit opera- * Gal. vi. 14. 336 ON THE INFLUENCES tions of the Spirit of Christ. He rears on this foundation the whole superstructure of holiness. We saw formerly that while, in regeneration, he is the Agent, the truth as it is in Jesus is the means by which he eft'ects his gracious purpose. I now add, that the truth is also the means by which he maintains, carries forward, and completes, the good work which he has thus begun. " Verily, verily, I say unto you,'' said Jesus to the Jews, " he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life ; and shall not come in- to condemnation, but is passed from death unto life."* — From a state of condemnation to death, he passes into a state of acceptance, pardon, and life : — and at the same time that, by an act of free justification, he thus passes from death unto life in a forensic sense, or in the eye of law ; he passes also from a state of spiritual death, of death in trespasses and sins, into a state of new and spir- itual life. Then commences his sanctijication. Those new principles of character are then implanted, which af- terwards, with progressive influence, develop themselves, in all the various and excellent fruits of a holy life. The great distinction between what he now becomes and what he formerly was, does not consist in entire de- liverance from the power of sin ; but in the opposition, or, as the apostle terras it, the warfare, which now has place in his soul, between the predominant influence of those holy aflTections and desires which belong to ^^ the new man,'' and the principles of that corrupt nature — ^^ the old man," — of which he continues to partake, and of w hich he feels and laments the operation : " I delight in the law of God, after the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."! — This it is, I apprehend, which constitutes * John V. 24. t Rom. vii. 22, 23. OF THlE HOLY SPIRIT. 337 the essential difference between the renewed and the unre- newed man. This is the characteristic distinction. For by " the law of his mind,^^ of which the apostle speaks, he evidently intends something entirely different from the mere decisions of judgment, or dictates of conscience, against evil, and in favour of good. Natural men — men who are living ^^ according to the course of this world,'^ and in whom there appear no symptoms indicative of spiritual life — unless their consciences have become " seared as with a hot iron," know abundantly well what these are. They are no strangers in their bosoms. They are their very tormentors. Much secret misery do they occasion to them, and many a desperate struggle. But alas ! their struggles are not directed against tlie sin of which conscience accuses them, but against the admoni- tions of the inward accuser itself. These they strive, by every means in their power, to suppress, and to silence ; all the inclinations, all the likings^ of their hearts, still continuing on the side of sin. There can hardly be con- ceived two things more essentially distinct, than the con- strained approbation of th^ judgment, and " delight in the law of God after the inward man." This delight is seated in the affections of the heart. It implies that the predomi- nant inclination and desire of the renewed soul is to good ; while all that is contrary to it is the subject of regret and lamentation, of vigilant opposition, and of prayer for de- liverance : — " wretched man that I am ! who shall de- liver me from this body of death ? I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord."* By what influence, I now inquire, is the power and vigour of this ^'law of the mind^' maintained, in its con- tention against sin ? The inquiry is answered by Paul, in Gal. V. 17. '^ For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh : and these are contrary the * Rom. vii. 24. 43 338 ON THE INFLUENCES one to the other ; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." These words are commonly understood as expressing the same sentiment, which is stated more at large in the seventh chapter of the epistle to the Romans : — that the desires of the new nature are prevented from being car- ried into full effect by the remaining corruption of the old. This is, no douht, a truth ; — but I question whether it be the truth, which the words w ere intended to convey. The connexion of this sentiment with the scope of the apostle's reasonings and admonitions is not, by any means, obvious. In the verse immediately preceding, he says : — ^^ Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh." To tvalk in the Spirit is to live according to the dictates of the Spirit in the holy Scriptures ; — and to live under the constant and abiding influence of the Spirit, en- lightening and purifying, strengthening, directing and com- forting the soul. In proportion as they thus ^^ walked in the Spirit," they would not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. Then follow the words under consideration ; which may be un- derstood either, in the first plaqcp as assigning a reason^ why, if they walked in the Spirit, the lust of the flesh would not, of course be fulfilled : — or, secondly, as holding out en- couragement to them to walk in the Spirit, as he had just exhorted them, that they might not fulfil the lust of the flesh. The verse might be literally translated : — '^ For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ; and these are contrary the one to the other ; — that ye may not do those things which ye might desire,^^ that is, which ye might incline to do. This translation of the latter clause of the verse is, in the first placcj more close and literal than the other.* In the second place, it agrees * The whole verse in the original stands thus : — ^H yct^ c-«e| e^r;- ivfjut Kctrec rov Trvsvf^xro^* to St Trvevftec xctra tjj? rcc^KOi' txvtx cTe xvrt'- xnroct ceAAvAo/^, hoe. ft.i} i av 5f AsjTe, ruvrx Tcoivire, OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 339 quite as well with the preceding part of the verse. The ordinary view makes the end of the verse an inference from the flesh lusting against the Spirit, This view, on the contrary, makes it expressive of the consequence, or rather the purpose^ of the Spirits lusting against the flesh. So far, therefore, as respects the connexion with the former part of the verse, the one of these views is as natural and reasonable as the other. In the third placPy the latter view agrees better than the former with the scope of the context. For any attentive reader may per- ceive, that by the illative particle "flor^^ the apostle in- tended to introduce, as before noticed, either a reason of what he had, in the preceding verse, aflirmed, or an en- couragement to what he had there enjoined. The general sentiment expressed, according to this translation is, that it is by the influence of the Holy Spirit, that the desires of the fleshy or of corrupt nature, are kept in restraint, and prevented from being carried into full operation. His influence is in opposition to corruption. The two are ^^ contrary the one to the other," as sin and holiness, as hell and heaven. It is by the Spirit that the dominion of the old nature is first broken : and it is by the Spirit dwelling in us, that its evil principles are ever after kept under control, and in proper subordination to those high- er and better principles, which are the produce of his own operation. The continued influence of the Holy Spirit, in the hearts of believers, is evidently implied in the representa- tions formerly referred to, of his " abiding with them,^^ and " dwelling in them,^' Indeed his abiding energy in their souls, is one of the Divine promises in the New Covenant. A. ''new heart^^ and a '' new Spirif^ are evi- dently blessings not of transient, but of permanent dura- tion. And, in conformity with this, the persons, who were to be thus '' renewed in the spirit of their mind," were '340 ON THE INFLUENCES thenceforward to " walk in God's statutes^ and to keep his judgments, and do them,'' under the power and guidance of that Spirit, which he promises to "put within them."* Their subsequent life of holy obedience was to be support- etl and regulated by his unceasing influence. The same thing is also strongly implied in the words of God by Jer- emiah : " I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them ; and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good ; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me."t I proceed to observe, that in many parts of Scripture, general progress in holiness is most explicitly ascribed to Divine influence. " Such were some of you : but ye are washed, but ye are justified, but ye are sanctified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our GodP^X — "' But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath, from the beginning, chosen you to salvation through sane- tification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth :"§ — " Be- ing confident of this very thing, that he, who hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ r^W — " Wherefore, my beloved — work out your own salvation with fear and trembling : for it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do, of his good pleas- Of general holiness, I have formerly had occasion to * £zek. xxxvi. 26, 27, t Jer. xxxii. 39, 40. I 1 Cor. vi. 11. In this verse, " washing^^ seems to be used as a general term, inclusive both of justification, which is washing from the guilt of sin, and of sanciification, which is washing from its pol- lution. The former is " in the name of the Lord Jesus ;" and the latter « by the Spirit of our God." §2Thess. ii. 13. fl Phil. i. 6. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. "f^i remark, the two great inward principles are, the /ear and the love of God : — and both these, wherever they exist in the heart, are the product of Divine influence. As to tlie fear of God, this is most explicitly affirmed, in a passage quoted a little ago, where God says, ^' I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me forever ; — I will put my fear in their hearts , that they shall not de- part from me.'^* With regard to the love of God, the same thing is declared, with equal precision, in the Di- vine promise to Israel : " The Lord tliy God will cir- cumcise thy hearty and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.'*f And as this love is the great princi- ple and spring of all obedience to the Divine will, and may, in this respect, be viewed as " the fulfilling of the law ;" this " circumcision of the heart'' may be consider- ed as equivalent to the promise, " I will write my laws in their inward parts, and put them in their hearts. ''J Another great principle of the new nature, — of the char- acter of the renewed man, is love to the brethren ; — that is, love to them, as the disciples of Christ, — for Christ's sake ; — not as men merely, but as good men ; — the '' ex- cellent of the earth,'' — born again, — children of God, — members of the household of faith. This love Jesus him- self specially enjoined, as his new commandment, and as a distinguishing badge, — a characteristic mark, of his gen- uine disciples : " A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another ; as I have loved you, that ye al«o love one another. By this shall all men know tliat ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."^ — This love the apostle Paul includes in his enumeration of the " fruits of the Spirit ;"|| and to the brethren at Thes- salonica he says : '' Ye yourselves are taught of God to * Jer. xxxii. 39, 40. t Deut. xxx. 6. I Jer. xxxi. 33. § John xiii. 34, 35. |! Gal. v. 22. 34-S ON THE INPLUENCEflJ love one another,^^^ That this teaching is not mere out- ward instruction, or information of duty, but implies a Divine influence upon the heart, is evident from the man- ner in which he elsewhere prays for its increase : ^^ And the Lord make vou to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all, even as we do toward you : to the end he may stablish your hearts unblameablc in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints/'f The apos- tle John, in like manner, pronounces this love to be a prin- ciple of the new nature, produced and cherished by the same Divine energy, which effects the regeneration of the sinner : ^^ Beloved, let us love one another : for love is of God ; and every one that loveth is born of God, and know- eth God.^'t This leads me to observe, more generally, tbat all the holy tempers, dispositions, and affections, of the renewed soul, in all their variety, towards God, and towards men, as well as all the personal virtues, when practised from right motives, are represented as the '^ fruit of the Spirit," or the product of Divine influence : '^ The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, good- ness, faith, (or fidelity,) meekness, temperance : against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts.''§ Eve- ry thing, in short, that is different from " the works of the flesh,'' — different, that is, from the thoughts and desires, the words and actions of corrupt nature, — we are, in the Scriptures, taught to consider as resulting from the holy agency of the Spirit of God : — so that wherever we find the prevalent exercise of gracious and heavenly affections, we may at once affirm, that they are neither indigenous, nor self-produced, but implanted by his sacred energy. * 1 Thess. iv. 9. ft Thess. Hi. 12, 13. t 1 John iv. r. § Gal. v. 2^—24. OP THE HOLY SPIRIT. 3^^ I must now farther remark, keeping in view the gene- ral observation with \\iiich I set out,— that all these effects, which constitute, by their combination, the " beauty of ho- liness,'^ are produced, in their progressive advancement, by means of the truth, or word of God. " Being born again,'^ says the apostle Peter, " not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever ;'' — " He that is born of God,'' says John, " doth not commit (or practise) sin : for his seed remain- eth in him ; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."* The seed, in both these passages, is the same — the incorruptible seed of the word of God. And the same word which, according to the one passage, is the means, or principle, of regeneration, continues, according to the other, by its residence in the heart, the great preventive of sin, and the principle of progressive sanctification. The Gospel, or ^^ testimony of Jesus," is especially intended ; for " this is the word," adds the apostle Peter, " which by the gospel is preached unto you." At the same time, the word of God in general, in all its variety and pleni- tude of instruction, contributes to the same blessed effect. The Scriptures of the Old Testament are denominated by an inspired apostle (and certainly we may extend the ap- pellation to those of the New) — " the Holy Scriptures J' '\- Such they are in their nature. " The words of Jehovah are pure words ; as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." J And the more diligently a Chris- tian studies their contents, under the teaching of the Spir- it of truth, the more completely will his soul become im- bued with the purity which pervades them. Christian ho- liness has its origin in the spiritual discernment of Divine truth, the liglit of moral purity springing from the light of knowledge ; and it is commensurate, in its progress, with * i Pet. i. 23, compared with 1 John iii. 9. +2 Tim. iii. 15. I Psalm \n. 6. 344 ON THE INFLUENCES the progress of such knowledge. It is^ in no instance, an unaccountable effect, which cannot be traced to a cause, or which continues to exist unconnected with the opera- tion of means. It has its foundation, all along, in enlight- ened principle. " Sanctify them,^^ said Jesus, in his in- tercessory prayer for his disciples, " Sanctify them through thy truth: thy w^ord is truth.''* It is the man " whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates in his law day and night /^ that sliall be " like the tree plant- ed by the rivers of water, which bringeth forth fruit in its season, and whose leaf never fades.^f Besides the word of God, the Spirit operates, in pro- moting holiness, by means of the various ordinances of Christian fellowship ; and also, in a special manner, by means of prayer. The former, indeed, might be consid- ered as deriving their efficacy from the word of God ; for they are just various means, appointed by Divine wisdom and goodness, of exhibiting, illustrating, and impressing, the truths and promises of that word. And with regard to the latter, it may be observed, that it is at once the ex- pression of holy affections and desires, and an instituted means, or instrument, of their increase. It brings down from above the necessary supplies of spiritual influence ; and is itself, at the same time, prompted, directed, and animated by the Holy Spirit. He is accordingly denom- inated, " the Spirit of grace and of supplication :''J — and the apostle Paul says concerning him : ^' Likewise the Spirit also hclpeth our infirmities : for we know not what we should pray for as w^e ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us, with groan ings which cannot be uttered. And he who searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit ; because he maketh inter- cession for the saints according to the will of God."§ * John xvii. 17. t Psahn i. 2, 3. | Zech. xii. 10. § Rom. viii. 26, 27. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 345 Auothev important part of the work of the Sphit con- sists in maintaining the inward peace^ and comfort^ and joy, of believers in Christ. The Gospel means, as all of you are aware, the good tidings. Now it is of the very nature of good tidings, that when understood and believed, they inspire the heart with joy, — Of " tlie joy of God's salvation '^ the Holy Spirit is the original author, by imparting those views of the truth, as a revelation of free mercy to the guilty and the lost, by which it is at first produced in the soul. In the very same way does he continue to maintain it. The same remarks arc applicable to this joy, which were made respecting Christian holiness. It is not a mere senseless unaccountable lightness of heart. It is not a joy, for which no reasonable cause can be assigned. It is a ra- tional joy ; — imparted in a way perfectly consistent with the nature of man as a reasonable being, whose affections are moved and supported by views presented to his mind, such as are fitted to excite and maintain them. The Holy Spirit is called ^^ the Comforter ;'' — and he fulfils the function which this appellation implies, by " taking of the things of Christ, and showing them to the mind.^^^ — It is by the Spirit that we are enabled to view God as a Father in Christ, and to enjoy the pure and ex- quisite delight, which the thought of this relation is fitted to inspire : — " Ye have not received the Spirit of bond- age, again to fear ; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father :''f — "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth tlie Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father."J — -It is by th^ Spirit that a sense of Divine love — even of the favour of God, which is '^ better than life," — is produced and maintained in the soul : — " Hope maketh not ashamed ; because the * Compare John xiv. 16, with verse 36, and with xv. 11. + Rom. viii, 15. t ^al. iv. 6. 44 34(j ON THE INFLUENCES love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost wliich is given unto us.* The churches are des- cribed as^^ walking in the comfort of the Holy Ghost J^-[ — The Thessalonians received the gospel, when preached to them by Paul and his fellow-labourers, '' with joy of the Holy Ghost.^^X The kingdom of heaven is characterized as "not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost,^^^ — Paul prays for the Christians at Rome, that " the God of hope might fill them with all joy and peace In believing, that they might abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost J^\\ — And for the E- phesians, " that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in lieaven and earth is named, miglit grant unto them, according to the riches of his glo- ry, to be strengthened with might hy his Spirit, in the in- ner man ; that Christ might dwell in tlieir hearts by faith 5 that, being rooted and grounded in love, they might b6 able to comprehend, with all saints, w hat is the depth and height, and breadth and length, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge ; that they might be filled with all the fulness of God.'^TI This joy ought to be permanent. It is not only describ- ed as the heiieYQY^ Si privilege, hnt enjoined upon him as his duty. Witliout it, he will give to men a false and dis- couraging, instead of a just and inviting, view of the na- ture of the gospel. " Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord :" — Rejoice in the Lord alway ; and again I say, rejoice :'^ — " Rejoice evermore.'*** Nothing is command- ed for which there is not assigned a good and sufficient rea- son. It is impossible for us to rejoice, unless on account of something, brought before our minds, that is fitted to give pleasure. Now the causes of spiritual joy are always * Rom. V. 5. t Acts ix. 31. | 1 Thess. i. 6. § Rom. xiv. 17. 1) Rom. xv. 13. •!| Eph. Hi. 14—19. *» Phil. ii. 1, 4. 6. 1 Thess. v. 1C>. OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 347 the same : and they are all summed up in the expression, ^' Rejoice in the Lord.'^ This is a source of joy, al- ways full, and always pure. Unlike the sources of earthly pleasure, which alternately dry up and overflow — this is a perennial fountain ; — " a spring of water,'' — of ' living water,' — ^^ Avhose waters fail not." And while tlie reasons of joy remain unchanged, heing all centered in Him, who is " the same yesterday, to-day, and forever ;" — the Holy Spirit, whose influence is necessary to maintain this joy, is freely and faithfully promised " to them that ask himJ^ " And I say unto you," (they are the words of Jesus him- self, " the faithful witness") — " 1 say unto you. Ask, and ye shall receive ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh re- ceiveth ; . and he that seeketh findeth ; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of iUny of you that is a father, will he give him a stone ? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion ? If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spiiit unto them that ask him ?"* Where this joy, then, is awanting or deficient, its defi- ciency or its absence must arise, I should apprehend, from one or other of three causes. In the first place — consti- tutional distemper, in body, or in mind, or by reciprocal influence, in both : — in which case, the patient stands in need of the counsel and aid of the physician, as much as of the minister of the gospel, and the Christian friend ; — and very frequently the exertions of all the three fail of the desired success. Secondly — erroneous or defective views of Diyine truth : — either, for example, a want of sufficiently clear and simple conceptions of the nature of the gospel — of the unbounded riches, and absolute free- * Luke xi. 9—13. 348 ON THE IXFLUENCES dom, of the grace which it reveals^ and of the simplicity of that faith by which sinners obtain an interest in its blessings : — or a want of extensive and properly digested knowledge^ confusion of ideas, contracted, partial, and inconsistent views of the scheme of redemption, and of the general system of revealed doctrine, 1)y which a man is necessarily exposed to be '* soon shaken in mind,'^ and consequently to perpetual fluctuation of feeling : — Or, thirdly — departure from God, either in open, or in secret sin ; backsliding in life, or at least in heart ; for there may be a great deal of the latter, where, in the sight of fellow- creatures, there is very little of the former. The " joy of God's salvation'^ is a holy joy ; not to be found in the ways of sin ; not to be experienced in " an evil heart of unbelief, departing from the living God." If we are destitute of Christian comfort and joy, it is, I think, of essential importance to have the conviction deeply impressed upon our minds, that the cause is in ourselves, — entirely in ourselves. It is not God that withdraws from us ; but we that withdraw from God. When we have withdrawn, indeed, and by our backsliding deprived ourselves of the " joy of the Lord,'' and of the light of his countenance," he may make us to feel our folly and our sin, by refraining for a time from restoring it. But still, let us remember that the cause is in us ; and that, in every in- stance in which the effect does not arise from bodily or mental disorder, the cause is, in its nature, criminal. The manner in which some have spoken and written respect- ing the want of religious comfort, as arising from the sovereign hiding of God^s countenance, while I am satis- fied that it is not, at least in general, their intention, to deny tliat there is a cause, and that that cause is sin in us, has yet frequently appeared to me too much calculated to produce and to foster an impression of a different kind ; — to lead us, when in this situation, or when we see oth- OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 349 ers ill it, to look upon ourselves, or on our fellow-profes- sors, rather as tried in the course of Divine providence, than as decidedly ^^ sinning against our own souls ;'^ — and thus, in either case, to pity , rather than to condemn, "^ Nay, sometimes, (such is the deeeitfulness of the human heart) persons get hold of the notion, which has, perhaps, been suggested to them by the inconsiderate compassion of a well-meaning, but mistaken friend, that their doubts and apprehensions are favourable symptoms of their spiritual state ; and under the influence of a lurking, unavowed im- pression of this nature, they cherish the melancholy, repel the consolations of the gospel, are proof against ^^the voice of the charmer, charm he ever so wisely y- — and, while they exhaust upon themselves the whole vocabulary of re- proachful epithets, their very complaints of themselves are dictated by secret self-satisfaction, and are contributing to its increase. In dealing with cases of this description, we ought surely to be on our guard against any principle, which tends to give ease to the mind in a state of unbe- lief and departure from God ; which identifies dejection and despair with the afflictive visitations of Providence ; and which thus enables such persons, with plausible self- deception, to maintain their good opinion of themselves and of their state, by finding the cause of their doubts in the sovereignty of God, ratlier than in their own sin. As to men, who talk about religious melancholy, — a phrase of current use in the gay and thouglitless world, they " understand neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.'^ They are naturally fond of the association which the expression implies ; because it furnishes a ])lau- sible and ready apology , for their unaffected liorror at whatever wears, in the remotest degree, the aspect of en- thusiasm, — the term by which they indiscriminately de- signate all true piety and serious religion. But, in truth, * See note N. 350 ON THli INFLUENCES the phrase involves a contradiction. It is like speaking of the darkness of noon- day. There is no melancholy in religion ; — nor is there any religion in melancholy : — and, where disease is not the cause of dejection, it is, in every instance, not religion, but the want, or the deficiency of religion, to which the evil is justly to be ascribed. To the whole of this doctrine of Divine influence, it has been blyjected, that its tendency is, by leading us to de- pend on supernatural aid, to slacken all exertion of our own powers. That the doctrine is capable of being so perverted and abused, by ignorance, enthusiasm, or sloth, it is not ne- cessary to deny. But whenever it is rightly understood, not only does the objection vanish, but the very contrary appears to be the truth. It is quite enough to remind the objector, that the Spirit of God operates by means ; and that these means it is our duty and our business, sedu- lously and perseveringly to use. Our dependence on Di- vine influence does not lessen our dependence on the em- ployment of means : — for, in order to the production of tlie effect, the means are as essential as the influence. Were we left to our owli unassisted efforts, a conscious- ness of our insufficiency, confirmed by daily experience, might well fill us with despair of success. And such de- spair tends, more than any thing besides, to paralize the nerves of active exertion. On the contrary, when we are assured of Divine aid, we feel encouraged to use the ap- pointed means with alacrity and diligence ; because we are supported and animated by the promise of present success, and the blessed hope of a happy issue. It is on this principle, accordingly, that the apostle Paul founds his exhortation to spiritual activity : " Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence ; work out your own salvation with fear and trembling : for it is God that OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 35i worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleas- ure."* This language clearly shows that in the mind of tiie apostle the objection had no validity : — for the very consideration, which the objector supposes must slacken exertion, he, on the contrary, brings forward as a power- ful stimulus to duty. If it be so, that the operation of the Spirit accompanies, and is proportioned to, our use of the means of spiritual improvement ; it must be chiefly, I sliould think, by the neglect of these means, that we incur the guilt of "quench- ing the Spirit .-'^f and more especially when to the neglect of means we add the positive practice of any thing that has an opposite tendency. " Quench not the Spirit,'^ may be considered as the counterpart to another exhortation, addressed 1)y the same apostle to Timothy, on a similar subject : — " Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the lay- ing on of my hands.'' J In the original language, these words contain an allusion to the stirring up of a fire,§ to make it burn with greater brightness and heat ; just as in the other exhortation there is an allusion to the extinguish- ing of a fire, II by failing to supply it v/ith fuel,^ or by the application of water, or any other quenching mate- rial. Although the latter of these exhortations refers to the miraculous gifts bestowed on the young evange- list by the imposition of the . apostle^s hands, there ap- * Phil. ii. 12, 13. t 1 Thess. v. 19. | 2 Tim. i. 6. •I That the won! is applicahle to this kind of indirect quenching. — siiffering to go out^ — one instance may suilice to show. The fool- ish virgins in tlie parahle say to the wise : " Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out ;" on at Xoty.7Ttx.o£vho has learned his religion from Christ, who has embraced the great doctrines of his word, and who continues to sit at his feet, in the posture, and with the dispositions, of an humble disciple. Bisciplesy and Believers^ are both of them appellations by which Christians are distinguished in the New Testament Scrip- tures. Of the former we have an instance in the text it- self : ^^ the disciples were called Christians first in Anti- och.'^ And various other instances of it occur. ^^ Saul breathed out tlireatenings and slaughter against the disci- jples of the Lord .*'' when he was come to Jerusalem after his conversion, " he assayed to join himself to the disci- pies .-'^ at Troas, on the first day of the week, " the dis- ciples came together to break bread. ^'* Through the preaching and miracles of the apostles, the historian else- where says, " believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women :" and Paul, in writ- ing to Timothy, exhorts him to be '^ an example to the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in purity.f In speaking of the Divinity of Christ, in an early Dis- course of this series, I had occasion to show the impor- tance of that doctrine, in various respects ; among the rest, from its intimate relation to other truths. '' It is an integral part," I observed, " of a system of truths, which stand or fall along with it. It is connected, for example, in the closest manner, with the purpose of Christ's appear- ance upon earth, and the great design of his sufferings and death ; that is, with the vitally important doctrine Qi atone- ment : this doctrine, again, is inseparably connected with the corruption of human nature, and the universal guilt of mankind ; from which it is that the necessity of such atone- * Acts ix. 1, 26. XX. 7, t Acts v. 14. 1 Tim. iv. 12. ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 36? ment arises : this, in its turn, essentially affects the ques- tion, respecting the true ground of a sinner's acceptance with God ; the necessity of the regenerating influences of the Holy Spirit ; the principle and motive of all accepta- ble obedience ; and other points, of similar consequence. It is very obvious,'' I then proceeded to notice, " that two systems, of which the sentiments, on subjects such as these, are in direct opposition, cannot, with any propriety, be confounded under one common name. That both should be Christianity is impossible ; else Christianity is a. term which distinguishes nothing. Viewing the matter abstract- ly, and without affirming, for the present, what is truth and what is error, this, I think, I may with confidence affirm, that to call schemes so opposite in all their great leading articles by a common appellation, is more absurd, than it would be to confound together those two irreconcilable theories of astronomy, of which the one places the earth, and the other the sun, in the centre of the planetary system. They are, in truth, essentially different religions. For if oppo- site views as to the object of taorship, the ground of hope for eternity, the rule of faith and duty, and the principles and motives of true obedience ; — if these do not constitute different religions, we may, without much difficulty, dis- cover some principle of union and identity among all re- ligions whatever ; we may realize the doctrine of Pope's Universal Prayer ; and extend the right hand of fellow- ship to the worshippers at the Mosque, and to the votaries of Brama."* These sentiments, after mature deliberation, I have seen no reason either to retract or to qualify. Some doctrines there certainly must be that are essential to Christianity : and if those referred to are not such doctrines, I am at a * Discourse II. pages 30, 31. Between the delivery of that Dis- eourse, and of the concluding one, there was an interval of nine months. 368 ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. loss to conceive what articles can be considered as enti- tled to this appellation. To be a disciple of Christ, and a believer, must surely imply something more precise and definite, than the mere conviction that the Bible is the word of God. Even on this ground, indeed, some of you may, perhaps, be disposed to think, (remembering the statement formerly given of the vague and qualified, and partial views, respecting the Di- vine inspiration of the Scriptures, held and avowed by those, whose sentiments I have been chiefly engaged in controverting) — even on this ground, some of you may be inclined to think, there is room for hesitation, whether the appellation of Christian properly belongs to them. But, supposing the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures dis- tinctly admitted, still it is not the belief of this that con- stitutes any one a Christian — but the belief of what these Scriptures reveal, and of those truths in particular which, from their nature, and from the place which they hold in these Scriptures, it was evidently their chief purpose to make known. Let me illustrate this by a parallel instance. Suppose a man were to tell us he was a. follower of JSTeic- ton, or, (to take a term of the same kind with that in our text) a J\*ewtonian ; should we reckon him entitled to this assumed appellation, merely on the ground of his believ- ing the fact, that Sir Isaac was the author of the different works which are ascribed to him ; if we discovered, on examination, that he questioned and denied all the lead- ing principles of philosophy, which these works were written to promulgate, and to establish ? We are at no loss, for our reply to this question. And is there, then, let me ask, any just principle, on which we can, without the very same impropriety and contradiction, denominate that man a Christian, who, while lie professes to believe the Bible to be the word of God, impugns and reprobates ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 3®^ all the most important doctrines which that word contains? For my own part, I can see none. It is not the belief that Christianity is a religion from Gody that constitutes a Christian ; but the faith of Chris- tianity itself. This is a distinction, I conceive, too little attended to. Many a time, after perusing treatises contain- ing evidences of the Divine authority of the Christian re- ligion, has the inquiry forcibly impressed itself on my mind, '' Of what advantage is all this to the writer, if, af- ter all, he has left the question unanswered, or wrongly answered— if^Aa^ the Christian religion is P*' — The out- works of Christianity have been often most ably and suc- cessfully defended, while that, which all these outworks have been reared by providence to protect, and from the value of which, consequently, they derive their impor- tance, has been either entirely overlooked, or most erro- neously exhibited. I would further, on the same principle, observe, that the faith which constitutes a person a Christian, is more than the simple belief of the Divine mission of Jesus Christ ; — to which it is exclusively confined by some of our opponents. For what can avail, believing that Jesus was a messenger from God, if we deny the great purpose for which he was sent, and the leading doctrines which he was commissioned, himself or by his apostles, to teach to mankind ? — The same observation applies to the belief of his being the Christ, without scriptural ideas being attach- ed to the appellation, of his person, and character, and work '.* and also to the belief of the facts recorded by the sacred historians, as to his sufferings and death, and res- urrection, while the e7id for which he suffered, and died, and rose again, is openly and scornfully disavowed. The depravity and guilt of mankind ; — the Divinity, voluntary substitution, and atonement, of Jesus Christ ; — - * See note P. 47 SyO ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER* justification by free grace^ through faith, and not by works of righteousness, which we have done ; — and the necessity and freeness of the Holy Spirit's influences, for the con- version and final salvation of sinners : — these appear to be doctrines, which constitute the very essence of Christiani- ty ; and to call by the same appellation doctrines precisely the reverse, is to impose upon ourselves by a mere name ; for our so calling them cannot alter the nature of things, nor in the slightest degree abate the real magnitude of the difference between them. ^ Men may call these mere matters of opinion ; and they may think and speak very lightly of what they are pleased so to denominate. But the Scriptures themselves speak a very different language. If there is one truth within the compass of revelation that is declared with greater fre* quency, or with greater decidedness, than another, it is the necessity of the belief of the Gospel, in all whom Divine Providence blesses with the hearing of it, in order to tlie possession of that salvation which it proclaims. This be- ing the plain and unvarying testimony of the Bible, no question can well be conceived of greater consequence, than the question, ^^ What is the Gospel P^^ For if the faith of this gospel be essential to salvation, it cannot but be essential to a msiu^s being a Christian. So far as I know my own heart, these observations are not dictated, even in the remotest degree, by any feelings of party- spirit. Most gladly and cordially should I em- brace as fellow Clnistians, all whom the word of God will allow me to consider as bearing that character. But I deem it of the last importance that my hearers should be fully aware of the nature and extent of the difference be- tween us and our opponents. To the common charge of the want of charity, I plead, JSTot guilty. Charity can never preclude the exercise of judgment. The judgment of charity is the judgment of love. And surely there is no ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER*. 371 true love, in allowing others to think that we consider their errors immaterial, and their state secure, when in reality we view these errors as affecting the only foundation of hope for eternity, and the condition of those, who hold them, as consequently full of danger. I know that 1 shall be pitied for the weakness and enthusiasm of this senti- . ment : but this shall not lessen my affection for the per- sons of my opponents, nor abate the earnestness of my de- sire, that ^^God may give them repentance, to the acknow- ledging of the truth. '^ I do not wish my charity either to keep within, or to go beyond, the charity of the Bible. I would neither, on the one hand, be guilty of disowning any whom Christ has received ; — nor would I, on the otli- er, by making less of principles and sentiments than the Bible does, and by confounding things that essentially differ, bring upon myself the woe denounced by the God of truth, against those, wlio ^^ call evil good, and good evil, who put darkness for light, and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.''* I find an inspired apostle treating the doctrine of justifi- cation by free grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, as so decidedly belonging to the essence of the gospel, that he ^* testifies," in the most solemn and faitliful manner, to all who presumed to expect justification by the law — to all, who would have mixed obedience to the law of Moses wdth the mediation of Christ, as the ground of their accep- tance with God — that " Christ was become of no effect to them ;'' — that they were '' fallen from grace ;" — and, in the most pointed and emphatical terms, declaring such doctrine " another gos])eV^ — (and yet " not another,''^ for it was unworthy of the name) — and pronouncing his de- liberate anathema against man or angel that should dare to preach it.f Surely then, we are not left to doubt, whe- * Isaiah Y» 30. t Gal. v. 2— -4. i. 6 — 9. B7S ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTEK. ther this apostle would have owned, as fellow Christians, those who divest the Redeemer of his Divine dignity, re- ject and ridicule the very idea of atonement by his death, and, as if in direct defiance of the apostolic testimony, roundly aver that ^' all hopes founded on any thing else than a good moral life are merely imaginary : that otlxev foundation than this can no man lay /'^ borrowing the very words of inspiration to contradict the inspired record.* When I speak of a Christian as a believer in Christ, I mean that he is one who has been deeply convinced of his guiU, as a sinner ; of the righteousness of the sentence of t!ondemnation, which has been pronounced against him ; of the truth of the Scripture testimony concerning Jesus Christ, as a Divine and all-sufficient Saviour, who hath *^ put away sin by the sacrifice of himself ;'' and of the entire suitableness of the free salvation revealed through his atonement, to his own state, as a guilty and justly con- demned creature ; — and who, under an impressive con- sciousness that he has in himself nothing worthy to form any part of the ground of his acceptance, humbly relies on the mercy of God, through the work and merits of this Saviour alone. I have studied my Bible to no purpose, if this be not the very first priuciple of the Christian char- acter. I conclude the illustration of this particular by remark- ing, that, as a disciple of Christ, the Christian continues to the end to act the part of an humble learner ; sitting at the feet of Jesus, his Divine teacher ; and, sensible of the insufficiency of natural light, receiving his instructions with gratitude and gladness of heart, and with the docile meekness of a little child : — by which means he '' grows in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." * See Fuller's Calv. and Soc. Systems compared, 3d ed, p. 168. ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 373 This advancement in knov. ledge does not at all imply An incessant variation of sentiment. There are some truths^ which he reads in the Scriptures, written as with pencils of light : — and knowing and feeling how opposite these are to certain feelings of pride and corruption in his heart, it is his constant prayer, that he may he established in the faith of them, and his mind preserved from the in* fluence of these blinding and perverting principles of his fallen nature. But, without any change of sentiment with regard to these fundamental truths, it is very evident that he may progressively attain clearer and more comprehen- sive views of them, in their individual excellence, and in their glorious harmony. The earliest glimmering of the dawn is the same in its nature, with the brightness of the risen sun ; — it is light : — but it is light which increases in splendour, till it reaches its meridian effulgence. The knowledge possessed in heaven, is knowledge without er- ror, and therefore without change : yet eveji this, we have reason to believe, is knowledge that shall brighten and expand forever. II. The Christian is a Lover of Christ. I mention this, as a distinct particular, because it is much insisted on in the New Testament, and in such terms as clearly show it to be an essential and distin- guishing characteristic. I have more than once, in former Discourses, adverted to this topic ; yet 1 cannot omit it here, without present- ing a very defective portrait indeed, of the character which it is my object to delineate. " Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity V^ is an ex- pression of apostolical affection for all Christians ; none being, in Paul's estimation, worthy of the name, who were not animated by sincere and fervent love to the Redeemer. So far from owning as Christians tliose who were desti- tute of this sacred principle, and including them in his Z7^ ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTEK, apostolical benedictiou, lie loads them with a heavy curse — a curse dictated by the Spirit of God : ^^ If any mau love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, mar- anatha.'^* His language on this subject is in full harmo- ny with that of his Divine master : '^ If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, yea and his own life al- so- — he cannot be my disciple.^f These words, I need hardly remark, were intended to exp^^ess, not how little we should love our relatives, but how much we should love Christ. So far from implying that our affection to the former ought to be weak, they derive all their spirit and energy from the very assumption that it is, and ought to be, strong and fervent. The lesson which they impress upon our minds is — that powerful as are these attaclniients of our nature to kindred, and to life, they must nev er be al- lowed to stand in competition witli our regard to the Re- deemer. The words were originally addressed, with the faithfulness which invariably marked the Saviour's con- duct, to ^^ great multitudes, who went after him f^ who would no doubt be confounded by the dignity and singu- larity of the declaration, so completely without a parallel, or even a remote resemblance, in the conduct of the most eminent among the ancient prophets. He addresses the same words, my friends, to you ; — -to all who, by bearing his name, profess to ^' go after him.^' Mark, then, his words. They are most decisive : — " he cannot be my dis- cipleP^ There is no sophistry so subtle as to elude this simple and peremptory assurance. A Christian^ it surely warrants us to affirm, no one can possibly be, who is not a lover of Christ. Paul prays, in behalf of the Ephesians, '* that Christ might dwell in their hearts by faith :'' — that is, that he * Eph. vi. 24, with I Cor. xvi. 22. f Luke xiv, ^6. ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 375'- mi^ht be the object of their fervent and abiding attach- ment. Dwelling in the heart is a phrase elsewhere used by him to express the warmth and constancy of his affec^ tion for others. '^ I have you in my heart /^ says he to the. Christians at Philippi ; and to those in Corinth, " I speak not this to condemn you ; for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts, to die and live with you.''* It is very obvious, that this love to Christ cannot be genuine, unless it regard its object according to scriptural view s of his person, character, and work. If it does not, it is not properly love to Christ, but love to a creature of our own fancy : for such is Christ, when we have stript him of what really belongs to him — of what constitutes the very ground of his claims upon our aff'ection — and invest- ed him with qualities to our own mind. In this view, gen- uine love to Christ is a necessary effect of faith in him. What the Scriptures testify respecting what he is, and what he hath done, cannot be understood and believed, without inspiring the heart with this love. Closely associated with love to the Saviour is the duty of avowing our attachment^ — of openly declaring our ad- herence to his cause. (My remarks here, and in a great part of what follows in this Discourse, are not at all peculiarly directed against those whose leading errors it has been the principal object of these lectures to expose. It is my desire, that I may be enabled to exhibit a faithful and searching testimony, to all descriptions of persons who bear the name of Christ.) On the subject just noticed, we have very decisive lan- guage used by our Lord himself .-—^^ Whosoever, tliere- 'fore, shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven.''t ^^ Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, * Phil. i. r. 2 Cor. vii. 3. t Matth. x. 33, 3:j. 376 ON THB CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be asham- ed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in that of his Father, and of the angels.''* It seems to be in allu- sion to these pointed declarations of the necessity of an open profession of Christ's name, that the apostle Paul says, when speaiiing of the gospel testimony : — " The word is very nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that is, the word of faitli which we preach ; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth tlie Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confes- sion is made unto salvation."! Now, surely we do not affirm too much, when we say, that he cannot be a true Christian, of whom Christ will at last be ashamed. The appellation of Christian, for the reasons formerly assigned, is not noiCy as it was at first, any disparagement. But are you ashamed, permit me to ask you — are you ashamed to be known as a believer, and abettor, of the mortifying and obnoxious doctrines of ihe cross — those doctrines wliich the men of this world esteem foolishness? When such a thing is asserted or insinuated, do you feel disposed to blush, and to hide your head ? — I do not mean from timidity and self- diffidence, but from the secret con- sciousness of shame ? — Does this tempt you to shift and prevaricate — to hesitate, and qualify, and varnish, as if you were sensible there was a degree of weakness, and want of spirit, in admitting the charge, and avowing the sentiments imputed to you ? Do you feel ashamed of the world's scorn, and of its various epithets of contemptuous reproach — a. saints an entlmsiast, ^fanatic, a methodist, a well'Tneaning but weak-minded 7nan P Or, on the other hand, while you do not court and invite reproach, do you count it your honour when it comes upon you ? — a partici- * Luke ix. 26. t Rom. x. 8 — 10. ON tHE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. S77 pation in the sufferings of a worthy master, and deriving glory from the excellence of the cause in which it is en- dured ? Remember what is said of the apostles, when they had been publicly reprimanded, and beaten, and charged to desist from preaching Christ : " They depart- ed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name !"* A portion of the same noble spirit is possessed by every one who truly loves the Lord Jesus Christ. In opposition to the necessity of such open profession to the Christian character, some may possibly be disposed to adduce the case of Joseph of Arimathea, of whom it is recorded that he was " a disciple of Jesus," but "secret- ly, for fear of the Jews.'' It ought, however, to be recol- lected, that, while we approve of Joseph's discipleship, we are under no obligation to vindicate its secrecy. The question is not. What was his conduct, but whether this conduct was right. I apprehend that, for the time it last- ed, the concealment of his convictions was the effect of temptation, and was Joseph's sin. But he afterwards re- deemed his character from the charge of timid and tempo- rizing policy, by coming forward, and avowing himself, at a time when the motive of avowal could not possibly be mistaken or suspected ; — even at that critical and trying iseason, when those, who before had been the open friends of Christ had forsaken him, and fled. He, who had been a disciple " secretly ^ from fear ^^^ went in boldly unto Pi- late, and " craved the body of Jesus ;" and, in company with Nicodemus (a character of a somewhat similar des- cription) paid the last funeral lionours to him, who was ^^ despised and rejected of men." Peculiar circumstances of temptation, it is admitted, may sometimes seduce a gen- uine disciple to unworthy concealment. But this will liever be the character — never the constant practice, of * Acts V, 41, 48 378 ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. any maii^ who deserves to bear the name of the Redeenaer. The language of Jesus himself, formerly quoted — " Who- so shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he cometh in his own glory, and that of his Father, and of the holy angels,'^ — is strong and decisive ; and I fear to qualify it, lest I should deceive myself, or deceive others. To such as act this dastardly part, he might well say, with all the emphasis of indignant expostulation, " Is this thy kindness to thy friend ?'^ Of one thing at least 1 am confident, that he who is disposed to make it a matter of inquiry with himself — " With how much secrecy ^ with how little distinction from the world, may I be a follower of Christ ?" — has strong reason to suspect the sincerity of his attachment. You would care very little, I presume, for that man's friend- ship, who should make to yourselves in private the warm- est protestations of regard, while he made it his anxious study to shun you in public, and to conceal from the world the existence of any intimate connexion. Connected with this readiness to " confess Christ,^' to say before men, " God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus,'' — is the disposition to give to him, and to his truth and cause, the decided preference above every thing else in the world. Observe the lan- guage of the Lord himself: — " So also, whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple :"* — and consider, that you may examine your- selves by the comparison, how this temper of mind was exemplified by the apostle of the Gentiles : " What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellen- cy of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him ; not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but * Luke xiv. 33. ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 379 that which is by the faith of Christ, even the righteousness which is of God by faith : that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffer- ings, being made conformable unto his death ; if, by any means, I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.''* Have ijou^ my hearers, drunk into this spirit ? Are your sentiments and feelings in unison with these? Whether has Christ or the world the chief place in the affections and desires of your hearts? AVhat sacrifices have you made for the Redeemer ? Have you ever made any ? Are you willing to make any ? Have you ever denied your- selves any earthly gratification, any enjoyment which the world is accustomed to pm^sue, from regard to his authori- ty, from attachment to his cause, to maintain the consis- tency of your profession of his name, or to give you the means of diffusing his truth and advancing his glory ? — Jesus says, '' He that taketh not his cross, and folio weth after me, cannot be my disciple." Do you know at all by experience, what is meant by " bearing the cross ?" — or what Paul intends by " the offence of the cross ?" Or, have you rather met the w orld half-way ? — and by timid compromise, and temporizing conformi- ty, succeeded to your wish, in retaining an interest in its good graces ; and in making your religion, with self-applauded prudence, admirably to comport with the approving smiles of fashion, of infidelity, and of wealth, and with the security and advancement of your worldly interests ? — Examine your hearts on this point, as in the sight of God. Have you ever seriously thought, or thought at all, of what Jesus means, when he affirms the necessity of a man's "forsaking all that he hath,^' in order to his being a true disciple of his ? Is your attachment to the Saviour really such, that there is nothing in this world which you would not part with — nay, that you w ould * Phil.iii. r— .11. 380 ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. willingly sacrifice all that pertains to this world together —rather than renounce his name, and forfeit an inter- est in his love and in his blessing ? — Were Christ to put to each of you the searching question addressed by him to Simon Peter — ^^ Lovest thou me F^ — could you, without your heart giving the lie to your lips — without the blush of conscious falsehood suffusing your cheek, reply^ as he did, " Lord, thou knowest all things ; — thou know- est that I love thee ?'^ III. The true Christian is a Subject and Imitator OF Christ. I class these two together, because they are, in the na- ture of the thing, inseparable. The precepts of Christ were so embodied in his example, that he who obeys imi- tates, and he who imitates obeys. Conformity to his ex- amjjle is conformity to his will, " Ye call me Master and Lord/^ said Jesus to his dis- ciples, " and ye say well ; for so I am." In this character he claims obedience. The relation implies authority on his part, and subjection on ours. " Why call ye me Lord, Lord,'^ said he at another time, '^ and do not the things which I say ?'^ Such conduct is inconsistent, ungrateful, perfidious ; most dishonouring to the Redeemer, and ruin- ous, in the end, to the traitor who is guilty of it : — " Who- soever Cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like : he is like a man, which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock ; and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it ; for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that, without a foundation, built an house upon the earth ; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell ; and the ruin of that house was great."* * Luke vi. 47—49. ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 381 We may be confidently assured, that no man has any interest in Christ as a Saviour, who is not subject to him as a Lord ; — who does not practically evince his desire to yield unreserved and impartial obedience to his precepts ; ^^ esteeming all his commandments concerning all things to be right, and hating every false way.'' The very first question of the renewed mind, alive to the claims of grati- tude for redeeming and quickening grace, is, '^ Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" — Of this willing obedi- ence, the love illustrated under last particular, is the iu- ward principle, and impelling spring. ^^ The love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then all died ; and that he died for all, that we who live should not henceforth live unto ourselves, but unto him who died for us, and rose again/'* This lan- guage of an inspired apostle, accords with that of the Lord himself : " If ye love me, keep my commandments. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me : — If a man love me, he will keep my words : — He that loveth me not, keepeth not my say- ings." f l*^^ 2, man's professed creed, then, be ever so pure — if he does not add to the profession of faith the fruits of practical godliness, he is not a Christian ; — for, in truth, he is not a believer of what he professes. Some men are, by profession, staunch and thorough Calvinists ; rigid sticklers for every iota of the system ; — and can " reason high " on the most abstruse and difficult articles of doctrinal theology : — yet, if you look to their characters, you can discover nothing like the genuine in- fluence of Divine truth. ^' The grace of God which bring- eth salvation," and of which they say so many fine things, has not taught them, to " deny ungodliness and worldly bists, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this * 2 Cor. V. 14, 15. t John xiv. 15. 31 — 34. 38S ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. present world.''* Their whole deportment, on the con- trary, shows them to be " men of the world/' unrenewed in the spirit of their minds. Tliese are mere theological speculators, who have paid some attention to divinity, as a kind of abstract science, or, in consequence of early ed- ucation, have grown up in some acquaintance with the doctrines of a system ; — but who know nothing whatever of the heart-searching, and heart- changing power of the word of God : talking believers, but practical infidBls. Let it not, for a moment, be imagined, that our attach- ment to doctrine is of such a nature, as to induce us to acknowledge as Christians persons of this description, merely because they profess a creed, of which we reckon the leading articles to be scriptural. God forbid that we fihould thus contribute to aid their self-deception ! Such men, let them say what they will, are ^^ without God, without Christ, and without hope.'' They are " in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity." Their pretend- ed faith is without works, and is " dead, being alone." They '' have a form of Godliness, but are destitute of its power." — " They profess that they know God ; but in works they deny him." They betray the Son of man w ith a kiss ; and he will say to them at last, " Depart from me ; I know you not, all ye workers of iniquity." These, indeed, are the very worst of characters ; — false friends ; — traitors in the camp ; — whose profession of at- tachment is inconceivably more dishonouring to the Sav- iour, and more deeply injurious to his cause, than avowed and virulent infidelity. '^ The foundation of God s-tand- eth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are his : and Xe^ every one that nametli the name of Christ depart from iniquity /^-f I have, on former occasions, endeavoured to show, that * Titus ii. 11—13. t 2 Tim. ii. 19.- O^ THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 383 it was not the main design of Christ's coming into the world, to set before us, by his conduct in it, a perfect ex- ample. It is, however, an important truth, that in con- nexion with the fulfilment of that great work of propitia- tion which, as Mediator between God and men, he came to execute, he did " leave us an example, that we should follow his steps." And " he that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk even as he walked.''* I touched on this subject in last Discourse, when, in il- lustrating the import of the expression '^ having the Spirit of Christ/^ I showed that the possession of the same Spirit will be manifested by similarity of character. If we are Christians indeed^ we must resemble Christ. We must resemble him, first of all, in piety towards God. This will display its sacred influence, in the choice of God him- self as the portion of our inheritance, and of our cup — *^ Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee : my flesh and my heart fail ; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever :" in desire after communion with him, in the closet, in the family, and in the sanctuary : in supreme regard to his authority, as the rule of all our conduct, in opposition to the '^ will of the flesh,'' and to the " doc- trines and commandments of men :" in keeping our eye simply and uniformly directed to his glory, as the great end at which all his creatures ought habitually to aim : in practical zeal for his cause and honour in the world : and in humble and cheerful submission to his will, under all the trying appointments of his providence. We must resemble him also in personal sobriety and purity, in all the various departments of these virtues ; and in spiritu- ality of mind, and holy superiority to the vanities of time. We must be like him, too, in the practice of all the social virtues, — justice and integrity, sincerity and truth, humil- . * 1 John ii. 6. 384j on the christian character. ity, meekness, long-sufferiugj and forgiveness, — the vari- ous affections and corresponding duties, arising from the different relations of life, — and universal benevolence to mankind, evinced in beneficent, disinterested, and self-de- nying exertions to promote their welfare ; their welfare both in body and in soul ; their temporal, spiritual, and eternal interests. There is one feature of character, which, on this part of the subject, claims to be particularly specified. — I mean love to the brethren, love to the disciples of Christ, as such; not on account of any relation of consanguinity which in- dividuals among them may bear to ourselves, nor on ac- count of any thing which is common to them with other men, but " because they belong to Christ.^^ In the lan- guage of prophecy, the Messiah is represented as saying : ^^ O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord : my goodness extendeth not to thee ; but to the saints which are upon the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.^'* We must, in this, be of one heart with him ; having our delight in those, who are, in his estimation, the excellent of the earth. This peculiar love to the members of the liousehold of faith, is ever rep- resented in the New Testament, as one grand criterion of a genuine profession of Christianity : " A new command- ment give I unto you, that ye love one another : as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." — '^ We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren : he that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hat- eth his brother is a murderer ; and ye know, that no mur- derer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of Christ because he laid down his life for us : and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. * Psalm xvi. 2, 3. ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 3Sd But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him ? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.''* Is this, then, the state of your affections ? Are " the saints that are on the earth" your chief friends ? And do you love them, and delight in doing them good, for the sake of their blessed Master ? even of Him who will say, at last, respecting all the labours of love, performed for his sake to those whom, with affectionate condescension, he hon- ours with the name of brethren, " Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.f Examine your profession of Christianity by this, and by the other practical tests that have been laid before you. — There may be, and very often is, a great deal of external virtue where there is no genuine inward principle ; the shadow, without the substance ; the inanimate body, with- out the breath, and the living soul. But on the other hand, where there is not the outward practice of virtue, and (to use a term less familiar in the world, but which means virtue sanctified by piety, — without which, indeed, virtue is a mere name) — where there is not the external performance of the duties of holiness; all profession is worse than vain : it is a provoking insult, and an impious mockery, of that Divine Master whose name is so falsely or so thoughtlessly assumed. It is true, that the Christian is deeply conscious to him- self of much failure, and of universal deficiency. Yet the grand features of resemblance are marked and visible : he is sincerely and earnestly desirous of increasing conform- * John xiii. 34, 35. 1 John iii, 14—19. t Matih, xxv. 40. 49 386 ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTEE. ity : he studies tlie perfect example with growing delight : and '' beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, he is changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the Lord."* IV. The Christian is an Expectant of Christ ; one WHO LOOKS FOR HIS SECOND APPEARANCE. He is distin- guished by his hopesy as well as by his principles, and by his character. The hope of the Christian divides itself into three parts : his hope during life, his hope at death, and his hope at the second coming of Christ. To this last period Christian hope is most frequently represented as looking forward, — because the expectation of that event is naturally consid- ered as including all that shall intervene before it. The saints of God, under the ancient dispensation, were dis- tinguished by their hope of the coming of the promised Messiah in the fulness of time. And as the hope of his first coming characterized his people then, so does the hope of his second coming characterize them now. That he will came, to raise the dead, and to judge the world, to bless his faithful people with complete salvation, and to execute on his enemies the vengeance due to their impenitent rebellion, the Scriptures do most plainly and abundantly testify. " Let not your heart be troubled ; ye believe in -God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions ; if it were not so ; I would have told you : I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and re- ceive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also :'' — " And when he had spoken these things, as they beheld, he was taken up ; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold two men stood by them, in white apparel ; who also said. Ye men of Galilee, why * 2 Cor. iii. 18. ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 887 stand ye gazing up into heaven ? This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven :'' — " The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall first rise ; — then we, who are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord.'^* And while the certainty of the event is thus clearly af- firmed, it is no less evident, that the hope of the event, and the influence of that hope, are distinctive marks of a Christian ; — of one who is such, not in name only, but in heart, " As it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment ; so Christ was once offered, to bear the sins of many ; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without a sin-offering, unto salvation :" — " Ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God ; and to wait for his Son from heaven^ whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivered us from the wrath to come ;'' — " Looking for that blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ :'' — '' I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righ- teousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give to me at that day ; and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing.^ The temper of mind which these various expressions describe is exemplified in a very impressive and edifying manner, in the conclusion of the Bible : — " He who testi- fieth these things saith. Surely I come quickly. Amen. * John xiv. 1—3. Acts i. 9—11. 1 Thess. iv. 16, IT. t Heb. ix. 27, 28. 1 Thess. i. 9, 10. Titus ii. 13. 2 Tim. iv. 6 — 8. 388 ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. Even $0 come Lord Jesus P^^ The spirit breathed in this holy aspiration, is to be found, although in very unequal degrees, in every faithful follower of the Redeemer. There is included in it, in the first place, a firm belief that he will come : — that, as certainly as the word of God was - -^'* verified by his coming the first time, it shall also be veri- ''^ fied by his second appearance. And this confidence, rest- ing on the faithful declaration of the God of truth, and maintained by all the accumulated evidence which proves the Bible to be his word — stands unshaken by the profane taunts of the ungodly scoffer, who says still, as he said in the days of old, " Where is the promise of his coming V^f Secondly^ Glad anticipation of the event : because it shall be a time of unprecedented honour to their Lord and Re- deemer ; who shall then be ^' glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe ;'^ and, instead of hang- ing on the cross, in ignominy and pain, " despised and rejected of men," shall occupy, amidst surrounding mil- lions, the throne of universal judgment : — and because it shall be the time of complete salvation and triumph to his redeemed people ; of the personal glory and blessedness of each, and of the social happiness of all. Thirdly, Ha- bitual preparation for its approach. '' None of us liveth to himself, and none of us dieth to himself For w hether we live, we live unto the Lord ; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord : whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose again, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.^J The Christian lives with an eye to his final account. He tries his conduct, not by the stand- ard of presenft interest or advantage, of any kind, but by the light in which it shall appear when he shall stand at the tribunal of Christ. He endeavours habitually to act * Rev. xxii. 20» t 2 Peter iii. 1—10. \ Rom. xiv. 7'-r9. ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 389 according to the spirit of the apostolic exhortations— ^' Gird up the loins of your minds, be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ :"— " Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless.''* Fourthly, Patient expectation of it. The Christian is subject to many and various distresses, some of them " common to men," and others peculiar to the children of God. He is " in heaviness through manifold trials.'' But, in the hope of the glory that shall be revealed, he " pos- sesses his soul in patience." As " the husbandman wait- eth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long pa- tience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain," so waits the believer for the salvation of God ; " stablishing his heart, because the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."t He " rejoices in hope," and is therefore ^^ patient in tribu- lation :"f — not murmuring, and fretting, and weary of the world, on account of its trials, but " resting in the Lord, and waiting patiently for him ;" happily assured, that his *^ light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."§ This hope, from its very nature, possesses a sanctifying influence : — '^ Beloved, now are we the sons of God ; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know, that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him (that is in Christ \\) purifieth himself even as he is * 1 Peter i. 13, 2 Peter iii. 14, t James v. 7, 8. I Rom. xii. 12. § 2 Cor. iv. 16 — 18. Ij " In himJ^ — The expression is commonly interpreted as if it re- ferred to the heUever's having this hope in himself, that is residing in his mind and heart. The phrase in the original, however, is bt* ccvtcu, which expresses not the exercise of hope in the heart of him who possesses it, but the grpund on which his hope resls. 390 ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 2>ure.^^^ It cannot fail to be so, from the nature of the thing. That which we hope for we desire ; — and that which we desire, we pursue. Likeness to Christ, and the felicity thence resulting, cannot be the object of hope^ without being the object of desire ; nor can it be the ob- ject of desire, without being the object oi present pursuit. So that every one who really has this hope in Christ — that is, whose hope has not only Christ for its foundation, but complete conformity to Christ in the perfection of holiness for its object — will infallibly, " purify himself even as he is pure." To the man who does not thus purify himself, holy conformity to Christ cannot be the object of hope ; ioY if it were, he w ould like it, as no man can be said to hope for what he does not like ; — and if he liked it, he would show this by now seeking after its attainment. The object of such a man's hope, if he has formed in his mind any definite notion of it at all, must be something essen- tially diiferent. The ground of this hope, which has just been alluded to, is no less distinctive of the Christian than the hope it- self. In looking forward to the second coming of his Lord, his hope of acceptance and of eternal life, rests on that work which he finished at his first coming ; — on the atonement made by the blood of his cross. Convinced that there is only one spot on the face of this earth, from which a guilty creature, whose mind is properly impress- ed with the holiness of God and the evil of sin, can view the solemnities of an approaching judgment without dis- may ; the Christian transports himself in imagination to the heights of Calvary ; — takes his station there at the foot of the cross ; — and, with one arm embracing the sacred wood, and the other uplifted towards heaven, surveys, with steady eye, the overwhelming scene. The heavens open — not in tranquil serenity, as when, on the banks of * 1 John iii. 2, 3. ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 391 the Jordan, the Spirit of peace alighted on the Redeemer, to consecrate him to his office — but rending, and rolling away, with a mighty noise : — he beholds the decending Judge, revealed in effulgent glory, and " all his holy an- gels with him,'' '' ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands:" — he liears " the voice of the Archangel and the trump of God,'' " louder than a thou- sand thunders :" — he sees the great white throne erected; — the millions of the dead starting to life, and gathering before the dread tribunal — while "from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne the heavens and the earth flee away, and no place is found for them ;" — ^' the judgment set, and the books opened ;" — the whole race of mankind assembled, on the right hand, and on the left — all waiting their respective dooms, with joyful hope, and trembling apprehension ! With the eye of prophetic faith, he be- holds all this — and with deep solemnity of spirit he an- ticipates his own appearance at the bar of judgment. Con- scious of unworthiness and guilt, and impressed with holy awe in contemplating the purity and the majesty of the Judge, and the inconceivable magnitude of the results of that " great and dreadful day of the Lord," — he prays, with humble fervour — " God be merciful to me a sinner 1" — " If thou. Lord, shouldest mark iniquity, who, O Lord, should stand ?" — " Enter not into judgment with thy ser- vant ; for in thy sight no flesh living can be justified." But his supplications are not the language of despair. He has hope — " good hope through grace." Did he look only to the throne, indeed — only to the judgment-seat, with all its attendant solemnities, his heart would fail him ; — but, looking alternately to the Throne and to the Cross, the view of the one takes away the terrors of the other. He who occupies the throne of judgment, is the same who " bore the sins of his people in his own body on the tree," The Saviour is the Judge. The remembrance of this ai^ ON THE CHRISTIAN CIIAKACTER. reassures his spirit, and animates him with the contidenco^ of liope : " There is lorgiveuess witli tliee, that thou may- est he feared :" — " Who is a God like unto thee, who pardoneth initpiity, and passeth hy the transgression of the remnant of liis heritage, who retaineth not liis anger forever, because lie deligliteth in mercy :" — ^' Lo this is my God ; I have waited for him, and he will save me : this is the Lord ; I have waited for him, I will bo glad and rejoice in his salvation." ^' Not in mine innocence 1 trust, " 1 bow hefoiv tlu'e in the dust, ** And through my Saviour- s bhmd alone, " I look for mercy at thy throne." I have thus endeavoured, hy the light of the Divine word, to present a sketch of the principal features in tlie cliaracter of a Christian. It has been my aim, to fix the standard, neither too higli, nor too low : not too high, lest I should dishearten tlie timid ; not too low, Jest I should encourage the presumptuous. Some may, perhaps, be disposed to ^' bless themselves in their hearts," and to lliank God that it does not l)elong to nip to fix the stan- dard, or to draw the lines of distinction. To such I have only to say, as I have said on former occasions, " To the La>^ and to tlie Testimony : if T speak not according to this word, there is no light in me." Even among those who bear, in a satisfactory measure, the character which lias been described, there are still, notwithstanding this happy resemblance to one another, various party distinctions. Alas ! that there should be so many ! O that it were the desire and the study of all, to attain, by the*grace of God, to higher and higher de- grees of that knowledge, and of those holy virtues, which all possess in common, and by which all are distinguished from the world : and, instead of glorying in the name of I ON THE CimiSTIAN CHAtlACTEtt. their respective parties, ratlier to glory in the common, but infinitely more excellent and honourable appellation of Christian ! that, instead of saying " 1 am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas," all would fervently unite in saying, " I am of Christ." An increased manifesta- tioii of the lovely excellences of the Christian character will promote Christian love, — a virtue, of which the strength must necessarily be proportioned to the numlier and degree of the amiable (pialitics discernible in its ob- ject : mutual love will inspire mutual candour : and mu- tual candour will diminish differences, and facilitate un- ion. But even amidst remaining diversities of sentiment among those who hold the great essential articles of the Christian faith, let there be (why should there not ?) imion of heart. It is by this kind of union chiefly, rather than by unity of sentiment, that the spirit and influence of the gospel are most strikingly exhibited, and that the Sav- iour's intercessory prayer is fulfilled, " Neither pray 1 for these alone, but for all them also who shall believe on me through their word : that they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us ; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."^ Indeed, as the force of any moving power is best ascertained, and most strikingly displayed, by the resistance which it overcomes, so is the uniting energy of the great truths of the gospel the more conspicuously and impressively seen, when it conquers those obstacles to unity of all'ection which arise from the separating influ- ence of smaller matters. So that if Christians, " holding the Head," although conscientiously di fieri ng on some points of minor importance, were, in their intercourse with one another, to show that the power of the momen- tous truths in the faith of which they are agreed, is decid- edly predominant, that they feel themselves one in CJhrist * John xvii. 3Q, 21. 39f' ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. Jestis, and that, although they find it expedient and more conducive to edification to be separate in churcli commun- ion, they, nevertheless, " love as brethren,'' — the effect would be even more powerful on the minds of the world, than if there existed a perfect unity of sentiment. The world would say, as of old, " Behold how these Chris- tians love one another !" and, " taking knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus,'' would behold, in its effects, the Divine authority of his doctrine, and " believe that the Father had sent him." AVhat a happy world would this be, were Christians what they ought to be, and all men Christians ! And let us rejoice : the period is approaching, — by the signs of the times rapidly approaching, — when the prevalence of true Christianity shall be as extensive as the world : when " the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea !" We seem already to hear " voi- ces in heaven," — voices of triumphant gladness, " saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ."* — " The New Jerusalem is descending from God out of heaven," in all its loveli- ness and glory. Soon shall " One song employ all nations, and all cry " Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us \ " The dwellers in the vales, and on the rocks, " Shout to each other, and the mountain tops " From distant mountains catch the flying joy ; " Till, nation after nation taught the strain, " Earth rolls the rapturous hosanna round." Every one, who deserves the name of Christian, ii " feelingly alive " to whatever concerns the glory of God his Saviour, and the salvation of his fellow-men, by which that glory is principally advanced : — and to all, v/lio par- take this holy sensibility, there cannot be a prospect more / * Rev. xi. 15. ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 895 full of animating delight than this. He, who can witness without lively emotion the diffusion of God's saving healthy and the conversion to Christ of sinners of every kindred, and tribe, and tongue, and nation, has good cause to doubt whether he possesses a spark of that sacred fire which glowed in the bosoms of the early Christians. He wants the characteristic affections of a child of God. He want* the spirit of heaven — ^is not of one mind with its blessed inhabitants ; — for ^' there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." This additional mark of a genuine Christian is one which merited more than the incidental notice which I have just taken of it. I know few things, indeed, which afford a more correct standard, by which to estimate the state of religion in the heart of any one of its professors, than the degree of interest which he feels and manifests, about the spread of the gospel, and fhe success attending it in its progress. Can he, think you, have felt the mise- ry of his own guilty and lost condition, who feels little or no concern about the spiritual degradation and wretched- ness of his fellow- sinners ? Can he have felt the incal- culable preciousness of his own soul, who is indifferent and uninterested about the salvation of the souls of oth- ers ? Can he have felt his infinite obligations to " the Lord that bought him, whose heart is a stranger to any concern about the Redeemer's glory, — a stranger to the desire that he may " see of tlie travail of his soul, and be satisfied," and to that kindred joy which springs up in the renewed mind, when this desire is gratified ? In this world, Christians are mingled, in human socie- ty, with hypocrites, unbelievers, and wicked men. The tares and the wheat grow together until the harvest. But the time is coming, my friends, when there shall be a uni- versal development of character, and a complete and eternal separation of the precious and the vile. Tlie 396 ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. '' multitude which no one can number^ collected out of every kindred, and tongue^ and people, and nation, shall stand before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and with palms in their hands, singing with a loud voice. Salvation to our God who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb !^^ In that vast assembly, there shall be no mixture of character, — no discordance of sentiment or of feeling. The Divine Redeemer, hav- ing " gathered out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them who do iniquity,'^ shall receive his people to himself, that where he is there they may be also ;'^ — and all shall be sincerity,-— all love, and peace, and purity, and joy ! '^ Who are these who are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? These are they who came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white, in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before his throne, and serve him day and night in his temple : and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters :-— and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.'^^ I have thus finished my intended series of Discourses. My sole object has been, to vindicate and establish im- portant Scriptural truth. I have not amused you with idle and unprofitable speculations ; — but have endeavour- ed to set before you in their true light, doctrines most in- timately connected with the glory of God, and the eternal interests of men. If it shall be found that these objects, in their nature inseparable, have been, in the smallest de^ gree, promoted : — that the faith of God's people has been strengthened, — or the minds of the wavering settled ; thaty' * Rev. vii. iZ-^XT, ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 397 in any one instance, the gainsayer has been convinced, or the careless sinner awakened, and '' turned from the er- ror of his way ;" — ^I shall consider my reward as obtain- ed, and my labour as infinitely more than compensated. ^' Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glo- ry, with exceeding joy, — to the only wise God, our Sav- iour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever ! Amen !-'* .Tude, verses 24, 2ii. *iU , litiUJt^ NOTES REFERRED TO IN THE PRECEDING DISCOURSES. Note A. page 9, These remarks might be extended further. The argument is, iu gome parts of it, not only recondite, and unobvious to superficial ob- servers, but discernible only by the aid of such enlarged philosophical knowledge, as in many states of society does not exist. The proof is not, on this account, the less conclusive. But, amidst the science which we ourselves possess, we are ever in danger of forgetting, when we are reasoning on such subjects, the ignorance of other places, and of preceding times ; and of heedlessly considering an argument as common to mankind, which depends on knowledge that is in the pos- session of comparatively very few. This observation may be illus- trated by the following extract from Dr. Paley, in which he argues the unity of Deity from the simplicity and uniformity of astronomical laws : " Of the unity of Deity, the proof is, the uniformity of plan observable in the universe. The universe itself is a system : each part either depending upon other parts, or being connected with other parts by some common law of motion, or by the presence of some common substance. One principle of gravitation causes a stone to drop towards the earth, and the moon to wheel round it. One law of attraction carries all the planets about the sun. This philoso- phers demonstrate. There are also other points of agreement among' them, which may be considered as marks of the identity of their ori- gin, and of their common Author. In all are found the conveniency and stability derived from gravitation. They all experience the vi- 40U NOTES. eissitudes of days and nights, and changes of season. They all, at least Jupiter, Mars, and Venus, have the same advantages from their atmosphere as we have. In all the planets the axes of rotation are permanent. Nothing is more probable, than that the same attracting influence, acting according to the same rule, reaches to the fixed stars : but if this be only probable, another thing is certain, viz. that the same element of light does. The light from a fixed star affects our eyes in the same manner, is refracted and reflected according to the same laws, as the light of a candle. The velocity of the light is also the same as the velocity of the light of the sun reflected from the sa- tellites of Jupiter. The heat of the sun, in kind, differs nothing from the heat of a coal fire," &c. Paley's Nat. Theol. chap. xxv. The reasoning in this passage, like the reasoning in general of the same interesting work, is logical and conclusive. But it must strike every reader, that the principal facts on which it rests belong to an advanc- ed period of philosophical discovery ; that the argument, in truth, could not have been constructed as it is, before the time of Sir Isaac Newton. It is one advantage, and none of the least, arising from the progressive advancement of the science of nature, that it throws the light of illustration and evidence on subjects which ought to be of all others the most interesting to the human mind. Yet, if arguments like that above quoted were necessary to ascertain from nature the great doctrine of the Divine unity, we could hardly wonder at the pre- vailing ignorance of this doctrine among the mass of mankind. And more than this — infidel philosophers, it may be remarked, have no cause to triumph in such reasonings, as if they were fair criteria of the length to which the light of nature, on these subjects, is capable of carrying the human mind. They are the reasonings of a man, possessing and believing Divine revelation ; previously satisfied from this source, of the truth of those views of Deity which he is engaged in demonstrating from another. There is a most material difference between a person in this situation, whose object is to point out the conformity between the decisions of revelation and the dictates of reason, and the man who is left to grope his way by the light of rea- son alone. To those, indeed, who candidly consider the use made, by philosophers who were destitute of revelation, of that portion of science which they did possess, it will, perhaps, be matter of more 'than doubt, as I confess it is with myself, whether, supposing the progress of science the same as it has been, but the light of revela- tion still withheld, such reasonings as those of Dr. Paley and others, would ever have come to be framed. In whatever degree we may NOTES* 401 be Indebted to Christianity for the discovery of the facts on which these reasonings are chiefly founded — (and when I consider the in- fluence which the progress of Christian truth has uniformly had in promoting the advancement of learning, and of improvement of every kind, I am disposed to think the obligation is not small)-^I am fully satisfted that we owe, in a great degree, to this cause, the right ap- plication of the facts, when discovered, to points of religious truth. The striking fact, that the progress of science, apart from revelation, produced, in those nations where it was most remarkable, no improve- ment in religious knowledge and worship, gives no inconsiderable weight to the doubts which I have just expressed. Note B. page 59. It is quite enough for my present purpose, that " the Word " is ascertained to be, in this passage of John's gospel, a Title given to Christ. The questions as to the origin and import of the title have no immediate connexion with my argument. I may shortly observe, however, that as there is no sufficient evidence of the Evangelists having been acquainted with the writings either of Philo the Jew, or of Plato the Heathen philosopher; so there is no necessity for the sup- position that this phraseology was borrowed from any such source. On the contrary ; as the phrase " the Word of Jehovah '' is ascertain- ed to have been common among the Jewish people, and to have been used by their writers, when they quote passages from the Old Testa- ment Scriptures, in which the Name of Jehovah occurs, as an equiva- lent for that name : (Lardner's Hist, of Apostles and Evangelists, in Bishop Watson's Theol. Tracts, Vol. II. p. 16G. Text and Note.) and a« the Jews, consequently were accustomed to speak of the word of the Lord under epithets of a personal nature ascribing to it personal and even Divine characters : — the probability is, that, as not only Flato, but Zeno, and other Greek philosophers, had intercourse witll the Jews, and borrowed from them various notions, which they mix- ed up, in a corrupted form, into a heterogeneous compound with their own philosophy ; — the probability, I say, is, that this is the true origin of such phraseology, in the writings of Plato and of the Stoics. Perhaps it is going to the opposite extreme from those who think the Evangelists borrowed from Plato, to interpret the phrase, the word of Jehovah^ in various occurrences of it in the Old Testament Scrip- tures, as meaning the second person of the Trinity : The instances adduced in snpport of this idea adre such as these-- Gen. xv. ^j *? 5^ 51 40^ NOTES. compared with verses 7, 8, 9, 13. 1 Sam. iii. 7, 21. Psalm, cvii. 20, &c. &c. — Parkhurst's Gr. Lex. on the word Aoyci, §. 16. I would not, at the same time, be understood as entirely rejecting this opinion. Dift'erent considerations, not destitute of plausibility, have Ueen urged in support of it. As to the reason why the appellation Aoyoq is given to the second person of the Trinity (or rather, let me say for the present, given to Jesus Christ) it would be a mispending of the reader's time, to con- sider minutely the different translations which have been proposed, with the reasonings in support of each. I am satisfied, that our re- ceived translation is the most natural, and the best supported by par- allel passages of Scripture ; — and that the most satisfactory reason which can be assigned for the application of the title Word, and Word of God to Christ, is his being the medium of Divine communications to men. God makes himself, his will, his purposes, known to us by him, as men do theirs to one another by words or speech. See Matth. xi. 27. and John i. 18. ^•^^ Note C. page 64. When this Discourse was delivered, 1 Tim. iii. 16. " And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh,^^ — was introduced in this place, and the following observations made upon the passage. " In this text, we have an instance of such criticism as I formerly alluded to ; which could not be easily made intelligible to a mixed audience, as it depends on the similarity between certain letters of the Greek alphabet, and on the mode of writing in ancient manuscripts. " The rendering adopted in the ' Improved Version ' is — " He who was manifested in the flesh, was justified by the Spirit, &c. " On this I have only to remark, *' 1st, That, on the ground of evidence purely critical, that is, apart from all considerations of connexion and sense, the utmost that can be alleged against the received translation is, that it is doubtful. " 2dly, From the nature of the case, the probability seems quite as great, of the corruption of the original reading from the received ver- sion to the other, as from the other to it. I think I might say with truth, considerably greater : since it is much easier to suppose the omission of certain marks and lines, in and over particular letters, in the course of transcribing, than it is to suppose the insertion of such marks where they originally had no place. I mention this, because NOTES. 403 the general principle appears an obvious one ; and because the ap- plication of it to the case in question will be perceived by at least some of my present hearers. " 3dly, Connected with these remarks is the circumstance, that this text, as it here stands, is in perfect harmony with those already quot- ed, and others of a similar description. " My, Even the phrase " He who was manifested in the flesh " seems of itself strongly to convey the idea of previous existence. The designation is certainly a very singular one, when considered as used respecting a mere human prophet — a descendant of Adam by ordina- ry generation : — "'He who was manifested in the flesh." — The ex- pression, ia such an application of it, is, I am confident, without a single parallel. " 5thly, If we take away the " manifestation in the flesh" from being a part, and even the leading part, of the mystery of godliness, it will not be easy to show wherein the greatness — the peculiar and incontrovertible greatness of this mystery, so emphatically affirmed by the apostle really consists." I was induced to omit this passage in the printed Discourse, not by a decided conviction that these remarks were destitute of force : — but because I was desirous of having it to say, that I had built no part of my argui^ent on any passage which eminent critics had pronounced of doubtful authority. See Discourse V. pages 145 — 147. Griesbach, in his second edition, gives the preference to «?, insert- ing it in the text, and throwing ©eos into the margin. The following Extract from the Eclectic Review, Vol. V. pages 346 — 248. Art. New Versions of the New Testament — will at once show the various readings, with the authorities in support of each, and explain the allusion made in one of the above observations to the mode of writing in ancient MSS. " The second remarkable text, to which we have alluded, is i Tim. iii. 16. where the question is, whether we ought to read ©f«5, k or «. ^' 1. ©505 is the reading of almost all the Greek MSS. in small let- ters, i. e. those whose antiquity does not reach higher than the tenth century. Versions: the Slavonic and the Arabic of the Polyglott. Fathers: Chrysostom, Theodoret, John of Damascus, CEcumenius, and Theophylact : one or two others of the Greek fathers have been ad- duced, but liable to strong doubt. " 2. 'O? is the reading of the Alexandrine,* the Ephrem, the Augi- * « Ith well known that it has been a matter of very anxious dispute, whether OC or ©C (the contraction in all the most ancient MSS. for ©e«5) is the original 4di NOTES. cnsis, an J the Bcemerlanus. The Vatican, the Sangermanensis, and the Coislinianus, are mutilated at this place. These are all the ex- isting Uncial MSS. of the Epistles of Paul, except the Passionei, which has not been sufficiently examined, and whose evidence, there- fore, on this point, is not before the public. It is also found in the Parisinus 14-, and the Upsaliensis, both small letter MSS. of the elev- enth or twelfth century. Versions: the Coptic of Sais reads a?. Both the Syriac, the Ethiopic, the Armenian, and the Arabic of Erpenius, have the pronominal prefix ; so that it is impossible to be determined whether they read k who, or o which. Fathers : as far as can be as- certained, the Greek fathers (with the exception mentioned above) appear to have read k or o. Of the Latins, qui {k) appears only in Jerome on Is. liii. 1. and the Acts of the II. Council of Constantino- ple. " 3. *0 is found in only one Greek MS. but that an Uncial one, the Clermont. Versions: the old Latin, and the Vulgate. Fathers: all the Latins, and some of the Greeks. " On this statement it is to be observed; (1.) That ©cos is found only in the more recent Manuscripts, the offspring of the latest of the three ancient recensions, the Byzantine : and it is supported by no evidence from the Fathers earlier than the close of the fourth centu- ry, nor from the Versions earlier than the ninth. (2.) That the great- est weight of external evidence is in favour of k» (3.) That o is the more smooth and easy reading, and agrees with the immediate ante- cedent f^va-Ttj^iov. It was, therefore, most probably substituted by some, who, not adverting to the remote antecedent, fancied the con- struction of k ungrammatical. (4.) That if ©C were the original reading of the Alexandrine. It is confessed, on all hands, that the two cross strokes which noiv appear in the MS. are the addition of a modern pen. The question is. Were they added without any authority in the MS. itself ? Or, with the honest in- tention of preserving from irrecoverable loss a point and a cross stroke, which had proceeded from the first hand, hut were in a state of evanescence ? All the aids <5f eye-sight, sunshine, and microscopes, have been employed to discover the vestiges of the primeval point and cross stroke : but no decisive result has been obtained. Some diligent inspectors thought they could perceive the faint remains : others, as diligent and eagle-eyed, protested that they could not discover any such traces : and even the same observer has at one time fancied he saw them, and at another time has been unable to recover the vision. See Wetstein, Berriman, Owen in Bowyer's Conj. and particularly Woide's valuable preface with the notes of Spohn. Our own opinion is, that the scale turns in favour of OC. The vellum at this passage is said to be now so much rubbed and worn by repeated examination, that no future inspec- tion can be of much avail towards determining the point at issue." NOTES. 405 reading, it is to the last degree difficult to conceive that it could have degenerated into OC, and that so important a word as ©C should not have been made prominent by the Fathers of the first three centuries. But, to any one versed in the appearance of Uncial manuscripts, it will appear easy and probable that ©C should have grown out of OC. " The learned and unbiassed reader must form his own judgment : we confess that ours is in favour of o$. But we object strongly to the rendering in the Improved Version^ " He who was manifested in the flesh was justified by the Spirit," &c. The editors have followed Abp. Newcome in supposing that 05 may be put elliptically for cv~ rog 05. This supposition, we apprehend, is quite unauthorized and erroneous. '0$ is fre-qiiently put for ovrog and ecvro<;. It also not un- usually supplies the jfttice of the partitive og-th ; but in that case, we think, it is always followed by a particle, as re, ye, ^jj, «», y«f ; as iii the passages adduced in the Archbishop's note for sanctioning this construction, and which consequently are irrelevant. Till some bet- ter support is adduced for this assumed ellipsis, we must reject it as false Greek. In the place before us, 05 is undoubtedly a relative ; and its natural and proper antecedent has been pointed out by the learned Professor Cramer, distinguished thus : — — iiT<$ fc-r/v £KKXi}Ftct ©EOT (^uvro^ (cryAoj Koti eS^uiwfJba nji etXvihtu^, xect o/tteAfly«yjM.ei'»5 /M.fy«, eTTt to tjj5 evo-e^eieti ii4.vTTi)piey) 0$ e^iAvepa6v) k. t. A, — " Which is the church of the living God (the pillar and support of the truth, and confessedly great, is the mystery of godliness) who was manifested," &c. The only observation I would make on the above extract, relates to the affirmation that the use of 05 for ovroi 0$ (he who) is quite unau- thorized and erroneous. This is surely too unqualified. The Edi- tors of the Improved Version refer to three passages. The first two, viz. Mark iv. 25, and Luke viii. 18, may be considered as one, being parallels; and in both of them, the 05 is either, according to the Re- viewer's remark, equivalent to otth, or may be understood as having its antecedent expressed in otvrcf and avrov, which immediately follow; each branch of the sentence being susceptible of a transposed arranc^e- ment. In the third passage, however, Rom. viii. 32. *0$ yf rov iS'sov vhv dvK s^tiG-xTo, &c., the 0$, although accompanied with the particle ye, can hardly be interpreted as equivalent to the partitive oVt/?, for it is applied to God, who is necessarily one : yet no antecedent is ex- pressed. Observing that Mr. Nares refers to a writer on this subject, signing himself Primitivus, in the Monthly Theological Repository for May i809, I have consulted the paper, and find the followiiiij 40t> NOTES. passages adduced, in evidence of the same use of 05, in addition ti» Rom. viii. 32, which stands first. I shall simply refer to them, and leave the question to the determination of the reader : Mark xiii. 37, Mark xiv. 8. John i. 45. iii. 34. iv. 18. Rom. vii. 15. viii. 34. xv. 31. (a strong passage) 1 Cor. x. 20. xv. 36. 2 Cor. xi. 17 Mark ix. 40, compared with Luke xi. 23. Rom. ii. 21, 22, 23. 1 Cor. xi. 27, with 29. — 1 John ii. 5, compared with 1 John iii. 21. — 1 John iv. 6, Note D. page 68. On this text the Reader may be referred to Middleton on the Greek Article, pages 455— -464. Nares' Remarks on the Improved Version of the New Testament, pp. 163 — 17^. The following is the Note of the learned Reviewer of the Improved Version, in the Eclectic Re- view, Vol. V, pages 331, 332. " Rom. ix. 6. ' whose are the fathers, and of whom, by natural des- Christ came. God who is over all be blessed forever.' Thus, by putting a full point after o-apKcf, and regarding the remaining words as a devout apostrophe, the editors of the I. V. follow Enjedin and other Socinians, in order to silence this signal testimony to the Deity of the Messiah. Locke proposed to insert the full stop after ^ravrav. But to both these expedients there lies the solid objection, that they violate the usage of Cheek construction ; and in a point of idiom too, so inter- woven with the texture of the language, in all its forms and dialects, as to have been preserved unaltered, notwithstanding the Hebraisms and other deviations from classic purity which characterize the New Testament. See Ihis fact satisfactorily proved in Dr. Middleton on the Greek Article, pp. 458 — 460. " Feeling, it may be, some want of confidence in the former re- source,\Vhitby, Taylor, Wakefield, and the present editors, have ex- pressed a strong inclination to the conjecture of Jonas Schlictingius, that, instead of av, we should read a* 0, as the last step of the cli- max. But who does not perceive that the conjectural criticism of an interested party, in his own cause, and in defiance of positive evi- dence, is little better than subornation of testimony in a court of law ? The conjecture is also inadmissible on three other grounds. First, it would convey a sense contrary to the apostle's direct assertion and avowed argument in a preceding part of this epistle ; see ch. iii. 29. Secondly, it would be false Greek. (See both these arguments in Dr. Middleton, p. 456.) Lastly, the conjecture is in itself exceedingly violent and improbable ; for the spiritus asper was not so fallen into NOTES. 407 uegleet in the time of St. Paul as that we can safely assume its omis- sion ; and if we admit that ^ix,rpetct^ kcci cci e'XotyyeXtctt' '£2w oi Trocrepeif KAI £| av o X^ta-rcg T« Kccrec o-u^Kcc, 6 eov etti ^ctvTMv ©f05 ft/AoyjjTo^ c/5 rovg cttavx^, c6f4.i)9. No- thing can be more evident, than that the ««/ here brings us to the closing particular in the enumeration, the last article in the series^ Were the conjectural reading the true one, the fifth verse must have stood thus — «» 01 TTxre^eqy «| »» Xpi '* Through 408 KOTES. the righteousness of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ." (l2mo. Ed. ±5^5.) " By the righteousness of our God and Savioar, Jesus Christ." (4to. edit. 1599.) " The righteousness of Jesus Christ, our God and Saviour.^^ (Margin of the Fol. edit. 1611.) Sharpe on the Greek Article, pages 21, 22. " The Rev. Mr. Crutwell has remarked (in his useful edition of the English Bible with Bishop Wilson's Notes) that the words rendered in our present version, viz. " of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,''^ were rendered " of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ^^ in the versions of Wiekliffe, Coverdale, Matthews, Cranmer, in tlie Bishops (Bible,) (the) Geneva, (the) Rheniish (Bible) and by Doddridge, Wesley, Scattergood, and Purver; which is altogether a noble testimony of both ancient and modern times against the Socini- an impiety." Ibid, page 53. " To the above mentioned English translators may be added the name of Tindel, the author of the first printed English Version of the N. Test, who has given the very same rendering." Middleton on the Greek Article, page 625. Of this principle respecting the use of the Article, it is, no doubt, very possible to make erroneous and overstrained applications. In the two passages, however, introduced in the text, as well as in several others, the effect of it is clear and decisive : and nothing can well be conceived more shamefully disingenuous than the following expres- sions of Mr. Belsham on this subject — " Indeed, it is an indignity to the human understanding to maintain, that a doctrine which, if true, would shine conspicuously in every page of the N. Test, should de- pend for its evidence on the critical use of the Greek Article, by the plain and unlettered writers of the N. Test. ; together with what would be equally necessary, the immaculate correctness of transcri- hers. If this is the state to which the controversy is reduced, it would he better to give up the point at once. A doctrine of such magnitude as the proper deity of Christ, must have clearer and more substantial evidence, or none at all." Belshani's Calm Inquiry, page 230. Note. —"The controversy reduced to thisP^ No. No* Mr. B. knew full well how far this was from being the fact. Such language is a mere ruse de guerre, to diminish, in the minds of the ignorant, the real state of the enemy's force. On reading this note of Mr. B. one would be apt to think that his adversaries had been driven from post to post, stormed triumphantly out of every successive fortress — till they had, at length, baffled and dispirited, taken their last shelter behind )this feeble bastion of the Greek Article. While the matter of fact is, that these adversaries retain the firm possession of a whole line of impreg- aable stations, against which " no weapon that has yet been formed has prospered." These adversaries have also shown, that, without the slightest apprehension of the stability of their cause, they can re- tire from disputed ground, when they are sensible that it cannot be retained with honour, or even when they perceive that the validity of their right of possession is, in any degree, questionable : they do not feel themselves at all dependent on the retention of such ground, for their strength, and for their triumph. They do most cordially agree with Mr. Belsham, when he says elsewhere, " that profound learning, and acute metaphysical subtlety, are by no means necessary to settle the important question concerning the person of Christ. The inquiry is into a plain matter of fact, which is to be determined, like any other fact, by its specific evidence, the evidence of plain, unequivocal testi- mony ; forjudging of which no other qualifications are requisite than a sound understanding, and an honest mind." Belsham's Calm In- quiry, Introd. page 5. Note F. page 103. I shall, in this note, submit to the reader a few remarks on the two verses immediately subsequent to those which are discussed in the text. John i. 4, 5. " In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness ; and the darkness comprehended it not.'' The language of the fourth verse — " In him was life ; and the life was the light ofmen,'^' has been variously understood by interpreters. Whitby makesnhe " Zije," to mean, " that life eternal which he re- vealed to the world, 2 Tim. i. 10 ; to which he taught the way, chap, xiv. 6 ; which he promised to believers, chap. x. 28 ; which he pur- chased for them, chap. vi. 51, 53, 54 ; which he is appointed to give them, chap. xvii. 2; and to which he will raise them up, chap. v. 29 : as having life in himself, verse 26." This interpretation appears to kad him immediately into the inconsistency of making this life the revealer of itself. " Hence it follows," says he, after further illus- trating the above interpretation, " that this life must be the light of men, by giving them the knowledge of this life, and of the way lead- ing to it," &c. ; which, with all deference to a critic so deservedly em- inent, seems to amount just to this : — that the " light of men" is so called, because it reveals this " life," and yet this " life" is the " light of men." — " The life which the evangelist here speaks of." savs Dr. 52 410 NOTES. Mackiiight, " is the human life;" for he adds, " and the life was the light of meny The human life that was in the Word was " the light of men : the Word, by becoming flesh, enlightened men in the knowledge of Grod. Hence Jesus called himself tlie light of the worlds (John viii. 12.) his doctrine being to the understanding what " light is to the eye." The principal objections to this view are, that it pro- duces too sudden a transition from the Word as " in the beginning with God," and as the divine Creator of all things, to the Word made flesh : and that it does what seems to be by no means necessary, re- stricts the meaning of his being the light of men, to the period of his manifestation in the human nature. Doddridge, following some of the ancient fathers, takes from the end of the preceding verse the two last words, in the Greek (o yfyovfv), and connects them with verse 4th. " That which was in him was life ; and the life was the light of men,^^ which he thus paraphrases : " That fulness of power, wisdom, and benignity, which was in him, was the fountain of life to the whole creation : and it is in particular, our concern to remember, that the life, w hich ivas in him, was the light of men, as all the light of reason and revelation was the eff*ect of his energy on the mind." The alteration in the construction is not, however, insisted upon ; and, indeed, the very language of the paraphrase, shows it to be unnecessary : for af- ter changing the expression " in him was life " into " that which was in him was life,"^^ the learned critic goes on in his paraphrase as if he had kept the former : — " the life which was in him was the light of men." Interpretations, different in some respects from all of these, are given by others. Without dwelling upon these ; I would remark, that the language in question applies by far most naturally to the word, yrior to his incarnation, or at least not in a sense confined to the period of his in- carnation. The evangelist does not seem, at the third verse, to have finished what he had to say respecting the Word in the state in which he existed previously to his being " made flesh." After representing him as God, and as with God, and as the Mmighty Creator, without whose power not one creature was formed ; he adds in verse 4th, an expression which may, with great propriety, be understood as affirm- ing him to be the self-e.vistentit\\Q\ti\\, who has life in himself, and is the great fountain of life to all other beings ; so that there is no life in the universe that is not derived from him. We know how often Jehovah is distinguished in Scripture by the appellation of " the liv- ing God ;" we know that this very name, by which he made himself known of old, the name Jehovah is derived from his self-existence, NOTES. 414 and that it is, therefore, peculiarly his own, in distinction from all Idols, and pretenders to deity. When it is here, then, said of thk Word, " in him was life,''^ the expression may be considered as equiv- alent to " the living one ;" an appellation by which he denominated himself to John, the writer of this gospel history, when he made his glorious appearance to him in the isle of Patmos — " Fear not ; I am the first and the last, and (or even) the Living One : and I was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore," &e. Rev. i. 17, 18. The Greek words are, Ey^* £if<-i '« 7r^c<>roij xect *o ecx^'^oij ^^^ '* C*"*' ***' eyevo- l^riv ViK^oi, &c. It is a great help to the right understanding of any passage, to compare it with the language of the same writer, on the same subject, in other places. There is a remarkable correspondence between the expressions now before us, and those in 1 John i. 1,2. " That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have han- dled, of THE Word of Life : Cfor 'The Life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal Life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto its," &c.) Jesus Christ is here denonunated, in the end of the first verse, ''the Word of Life :" — a sudden transition is then made to another, and shorter appellation, in the beginning of verse 2d ; '* the Life was manifested :" — and of this Life, this Eternal Life, it is affirmed, that it was " with the Fatlier " before it was manifested to us. Now, be- tween this phraseology, and that before us, there is a striking coinci- dence. The last of the above expressions — " that Eternal Life which was with the Father, ^^ answers to what is here said of the Word, that he (or it) " was in the beginning with God:^^ — " the Word of Life,'^ or the Living Word, is equivalent in meaning to the phrase, " in him (or in it J was life ," — and in both cases there appears to be the same kind of sudden transition ; the life which had been represented as belonging to the Word, being immediately converted into an appella- tion for the Word himself. In the one case we have, — " That which we have heard and seen, &c. of tHE Word of Life ; (for the Life was manifested,^^ &c. :) — in the other, — In ^he Word ivas Life ; and Q'HE Life was the Light ofmen,^^ As in the former case, then, THE Life spoken of in the second verse, as manifested to men, is the same as the Word of Life, or the living Word, in verse 1st ; so, in the latter case, " 'The Life which was the Light ofmen,^^ is the same as " THE Word, in whom was life?^ ♦* The life was the light of men.^^ Lig^tj ^icre, refers particularly to 41S XOTES. knowledge .'-^VLnd we might justly consider it as comprehending evei^ species of knowledge, there being no kind of it which has not proceeded from the Eternal Word. It seems here, however, to mean, especial- ly, the knowledge of divine truth : and the sentiment expressed is, that he who is " the Life" has all along been in this respect particular- ly, " the light of mere." He is called so in a sense similar to that in which he is denominated " the Word of God :" as being the immedi- ate author of divine communications to men ; — imparting to them the light of saving truth. He has had from the beginning the managemeiit of the whole scheme of redemption, in all the stages of its progressive development ; and has thus been the great dispenser of spiritual light to men. The apostle Peter speaks of the Old Testament prophets, as having delivered their predictions under the inspiration of " the Spirit of Christ :^^ — and from this the inference appears to be fair and natural, that if prophetic light came from him, all the light of truth, in whatever way communicated, proceeded from him also. I would not, by any means, be understood as excluding from the Evan- gelist's meaning, the period of his appearance on earth ; because then he became " the light of men," in a more remarkable manner, and in a much higher degree, than ever before : — but I cannot, on the other hand, confine the meaning to this period; seeing there has never beeti a time, at which the designation of " the light of men" has not been justly applicable to the Living Word. Upon the same principle, I consider the fifth verse as expressing what has always been true ; and not as referring exclusively, to the reception which Jesus, " the light of the world," met with when he sojourned here below. " The light shineth in darkness, and the dark- ness comprehended it not." " It shineth in darkness.^^ The darkness here, I imagine, is not the darkness of one dispensation, or state of things, compared with an- other ; but more generally, the darkness of human ignorance and de- pravity. In this darkness, the light has always shone. The, light imparted to the Jews shone, indeed, amidst the surrounding darkness of heathenism ; but it shone also amidst the darkness of the Jews themselves ; for they were by nature darkness — ignorant, depraved, and miserable — as well as the Gentiles. And the light " shineth in darkness" still ; and must continue to shine in darkness, while it shines in this fallen and degenerate world. It has likewise been always true, that " the darkness admitted it not." So the phrase is rendered by Dr. Campbell, consistently, I should think, with its true meaning, in its present connexion. I see NOTES. 418 BO good reason for confining this to thfe reception given to Christ when on earth ; although that was certainly a most affecting instance, and illustration, of the general fact. The words are equally true of the aversion of mankind in general to the light of truth, before his com- ing, during his residence on earth, and since his exaltation to thf right hand of God. — " The light skineth,'^^ (present time, (pctmij it continues to shine, " in darkness ;" — " and the darkness admitted it not;" faorist, or indefinite time past, ov y,, " Whom, though a bastard, the generous Theano brought up care- fully as her own children — (i. e. on an equal footing with her own children) — to please her husband." Iliad, B. V. 1. ro, ri. TflV vvv ISA ©E12 IdxKiiTiot ttcropoaa-i. Odyss. B. XV. 1. 519, rifjLY.'i Se AeA(>y;^«c / ^' LECTURES ON THE BOOK OF '^^^.. ECCLESIASTES./v BY RALPH WARDLAW, D. D. Author of Discourses on the Principal points op the Socinian Costbo- VERST, Unitarianism Incapable of Vindication, &c. &c. TWO VOLUMES IN ONF.. PHILADELPfflA: PUBLISHED BY W. W. WOODWARD, NO. 0S, SOUTH SECOND STREET. 182S, PREFACE X HE following lectures were, in the substance of them., delivered, in the ordinary course of my weekly mini- strations, in the years 1810 and 1811. They have been entirely recomposed for the press. — Both their original delivery, and their subsequent preparation for the pub- lic in their present form, were suggested by the state of the times, which appeared, in the afflictive visitations of providence upon the mercantile interests of our coun- try, to press so powerfully the great lessons of the Book of Ecclesiastes upon the attention of its inhabitants ; and nowhere was the call more imperious, to *'lay these lessons to heart," than in this great manufac- turing city. By this statement, the expectation will at once be precluded, in the reader's mind, of critical or philolo- gical disquisition. Of this, for very obvious reasons, it is the duty of a public teacher of the word of God, to be as sparing as is consistent with fidelity to truth. His first concern, it is true, ought certainly to be, to disco- ver, in every passage, " the mind of the Spirit," — the sentiment originally intended by the inspired writers to IV PRIiFACE. be conveyed ; for any other sentiment is not Divine revelation :— -and therefore, if, in any particular instance, he is satisfied that the sense has been misapprehended by our English translators, it becomes incumbent upon him, with modesty, to point out the mistake, and to give what appears to be the true meaning, I need not say, however, that in the fulfilment of this duty, (for I will not call it the mere use of a liberty,) self-diffidence and caution are peculiarly requisite. — In the following discourses, I have, with very few exceptions, assumed the correctness of the common English Version, in ex- pressing die sense of the original, being satisfied, that in most instances in which different translations have been proposed, its claims to preference are at least not inferior to those of others. Those who are desirous of examining the Book cri- tically, may have recourse to such authors as DesvcEux, Schultens, Dathius, Van der Palm, Hodgson, and others. In their works, the various opinions may be seen which have been entertained by different critics and commentators, respecting its great general object; along with abundance, more and less valuable, of phi- lological remark and dissertation, for the elucidation of particular portions of it. — The commentary of Bishop Reynolds, as edited by the Rev. Mr. Wash bourne in 1811, I did not see till the last of these lectures was at press. The general design of the Book is by some conceived to be simple, by others more complex ; and in this de- partment of sacred literature, as in others, there are not wanting occasional indications of the love of hypothesis, and originality. There has been also, I am tempted to PRE^ACB. V think, aft unnecessary creation of difficulties. It seems sufficiently clear, that the writer's first design is to illus- trate and prove, by a variety of examples, taken from his own experience and his observation of others, the position that ** all is vanity ;" the insufficiency of all the labours, and pursuits, and earthly pleasures of men, to confer true happiness ; an insufficiency arising from the sinfulness of some of them, the illusory nature of others, and the precariousness and short-lived con- tinuance of all. This position he lays down at the out- set of his treatise ; twenty times he directly repeats it, and oftener still alludes to it, in the course of his de- tails ; and when he has finished his proofs and illustra- tions, he formerly re-announces it in his peroration. This ought surely to be enough, to determine the text of a discourse. — But there is an object of the writer ulterior to the establishment of this position. It would not have been enough for him to expose the false sources of happiness, without directing to the true ; — to break in pieces the cisterns that men have hewed out for themselves, without conducting to the *' fountain of living water ;" to point out the folly of the answers which men have given to the question, '^ Who will show us good ?" — and to give no satisfying reply to it himself. His ultimate object, therefore, is not to make good the position, that "all is vanity," but rather, upon the establishment of this affiscting truth, to found the further position, that to *' fear God and keep his commandments is the whole" duty, and honour, and happiness " of man." This is " the conclusion of the whol6 matter. "—and can any conclusion be conceived, to which it could be more worthy of inspiration to con- duct the erring creatures of God ? Vi PREFACE. I ENJOYED much pleasure in the study and exposi- tion of this interesting portion of the word of God ; and the pleasure has been renewed in preparing the dis- courses for the press. Whether they shall give satis- faction to others, remains now to be ascertained. Every author, of course, indulges a hope, that his work may not be altogether unacceptable. But in publishing, as in preaching, there ought to be a higher aim than to please. The great concern should be, to impress the lessons of Divine wisdom, and the necessity of their immmediate reduction to practice. If such impression be not produced,— if no practical result be eiFected, — it will little avail the reader, that he has merely been gratified, nor ought it, surely, to satisfy the writer. '* Lo ! thou art unto them as a very lovely song, of one who hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an in- strument : for they hear thy words, but they will not do them." The Sermon subjoined to the second volume is one which, it may justly be thought, if published at all, ought to have been published immediately after the mournful event on occasion of which it was delivered. I had long given up all intention of its publication. But as it so happened, that the second of these volumes wanted a little to bring it to an equality with the first, it was suggested to me, that this discourse might form an appropriate sequel to the pathetic description, in the twelfth chapter, of the frailties of age, and the final close of life,--when *' The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."— In these circumstances, I consented to its insertion,—not with- out hesitation ;— yet in the pleasing hope that, whilst it affords a gratification to filial aflfection, it may not be PREFACE. VU unprofitable, as a commendatory exemplification of the excellence of true religion, in youth and in age, in life and in death ; and thus an appropriate illustration of the great lesson with which the Book concludes. I COMMEND the work to the blessing of that God, the sacred lessons of whose word it is intended to illus- trate and recommend. R. W. GLASGOtV, ^ September 28th, 1821. C LECTURE I. EcCLES. i. 1 — 11. 1 " The ivorda of the Preacher, the son of David y king of Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities , saith the Preacher , vanity of vanities ; all (is J 3 vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour nvhich he taketh 4 under the sun ? f OweJ generation passeth anvay, and (another J 5 generation cometh : but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also arisethy and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place ivhere he 6 arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north : it whirleth about co7itinually ; and the wind returneth again 7 according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea ; yet the sea fisj not full: unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither 8 they return again. Ml things (are) full of labour ; man cannot utter (it :J the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filed with hear- 9 ing. The thing that hath been, it fis that J which shall be; and that which is done, fisJ that which shall be done : and (there is J no nevf 10 (thing) under the sun. Is there (any J thing whereof it may be said. See, this (is) new ? it hath been already of old time, which was 11 before us. (There is) 7io remembrance of former ("things ;) neither shall there be (any J remembrance of ("things) that are to come with (those) that shall come after.** A HE account given us, in the Old Testament history, of the early character of Solomon, and of the com- mencement of his reign, is such as cannot fail to impart the purest delight to every pious and benevolent mind. In the following simple narrative, we know not whether to be most charmed with the self-diffidence and piety of the man, or with the disinterested patriotism of the prince: — ** In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night : and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, 10 LECTURE I. and in uprightness of heart with thee ; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as (it is) this day. And iiov\, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father ; and I (am but) a little child : I know not (how) to go out or come in. And thy servant (is) in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad : for who is able to judge this thy so great a people ? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life ; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine ene- mies ; but hast asked for thyself understanding to dis- cern judgment; behold, I have done according to thy words : lo, I have given thee a wise and an understand- ing heart ; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour : so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if 4hou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. And Solomon awoke ; and, behold, (it was) a dream : and he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt-offerings, and offered peace-offer- ings, and made a feast to all his servants." 1 Kings iii. 5—15. The same features of character are beautifully ex- emplified in the opening scenes of his reign. Behold ECCLES. r. 1 — 11. 11 him, at the dedication of the Temple, assembling all Israel together; bringing up to its place the ark of the covenant of the Lord ; pouring out in public to Jehovah the thanksgivings of a grateful heart ; blessing the people in his name ; standing before the altar of God, spreading forth his hands towards heaven, and; with humble reverence, and holy fervour, and patri- otic afFectiouj uttering aloud his prayers and interces- sions to the most High ; offering the sacrifices of dedi- cation ; renewing his benedictions to the vast assem- bly ; and, after fourteen days of sacred festivity, send- ing them avi^ay, — *' blessing the king, and joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness which the Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people. "^ In proportion, my brethren, as we are gratified and delighted by these accounts of the character of Solo- mon's youth, and of the auspicious beginning of his government, will our feelings of disappointment and grief be intense, when we contemplate his subsequent deviations from the ways of wisdom, and lamentable *' departure from the living God." — " For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, (that) his wives turned away his heart after other gods : and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as (was) the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lorp, and went not fully after the Lord, as (did) David his father. Then did Solomon build an iiigh-place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the hill that (is) before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives; who ♦ Se^ 1 K)ng.«, chap, viii. IS LECTURE 1. burnt incense, and sacrificed unto their gods. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared unto him twice; and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods ; but he kept not that which the Lord commanded." 1 Kings xi. 4—10. Alas! how fallen! — And, judging from the history alone, we should have been left to conclude, — fallen fi- nally I — Much, however, is to be learned, by the com- parison of one part of Scripture with another. If, for example, (to give an instance analogous to the one be** fore us) — if we had no other record of Manasseh's reign than that contained in the twenty-first chapter of the second book of Kings, we should have known nothing of him but his extraordinary wickedness, the idolatry, oppression, and sanguinary cruelty of his administra- tion ; — we should have contemplated him, with the painful feelings of abhorrence and reprobation, dying as he had lived, sinking into the grave under a load of unrepented crime and unobliterated infamy. But when we compare the additional account given of him in the thirty-third chapter of the second Book of Chronicles, we see him brought back, by sanctified affliction, to the God whom he had so awfully forsaken and dishonoured, a subject of that '^ broken and contrite spirit which He does not despise," and an interesting and encouraging example of the freedom and riches of Divine grace. — The Book of Ecclesiastes presents us with a similar comfortable and cheering view of the latter days of the life of Solomon. We behold him here, after a tempo- rary apostasy from the Lord God of Israel, ^^ confessing, -and forsaking, and finding mercy." We behold him, returning from the broken and empty cisterns of the ECCLES. I. 1 11. 13 world to the Fountain of living water ; recording, for the admonition of future ages, his own folly and shame, the bitterness of his disappointment, and the salutary lessons he had learned from the infatuated and impious experiment of seeking happiness in the vanities of the world without God. That the Book was the composition of Solomon, the title bears ; universal tradition affirms ; and internal evi- dence concurs to prove, — there being many things in it which will apply to no one else. — With the doubts which have at times been expressed, and the answers which have been given to them, I shall not at present trouble you. Some of them have arisen from certain passages in the Book itself, having appeared inconsistent with the dictates of the Spirit of God in other parts of the Sacred volume, and expressive of sentiments dan- gerous or at least ambiguous. The true interpretation of these passages will come to be considered in their re- spective places ; when their perfect harmony with the rest of the Bible, will, we trust, be satisfactorily shown, and their tide sufficiently established to the character belonging to all that is ^^ given by inspiration of God," — the character of being " profitable for instruction, for conviction, for reformation, and for education in righ- teousness."^ . And, whilst external and internal evidences establish the genuineness of the treatise, as the production of the prince whose name it bears ; the same descriptions of proof assign its composition to a period of his life sub- sequent to his temporary apostasy from the service and the ways of God.— -This is the testimony of Jewish tra- dition ; and, whilst every right feeling should induce us ♦ 2 Tim. iii. 16. ttpJx MACMthjuti Tr^k tf^vy^^oVf vgo; hrmc^QceTtv, Tgo? ttmS^v risr tv SiatftoTvvr. 14 liECTURE I. to wish the testimony true, there is enough in the book itself to vindicate our judgments from the imputation of credulity in believing it. — For, if it was written by Solomon at all, at what other time of his life could it be written? Not before his apostasy : for then he had not been guilty of the madness and impiety described. Not during its continuance : for the language of the record is that of past time, and the spirit which it breathes is that of penitence for past misconduct. An apostate, persist- ing in his apostasy, could not possibly have been its author. It must have been written, therefore, after his return from his wanderings ; and the delight which the conviction of this inspires, rests on grounds that are not illusory. Verse 1st. " The words of the Preacher, the son of David? king of Jerusalem." EccLEsiASTEs, is the Grcck Title of the Book ; the title which it bears in the Septuagint. It signifies The Preacher. The Hebrew word for which it is used, means, one who assembles, or gathers the people toge- ther ; and the translations of it by the term Ecclesiastesy shows that the Greek Translators understood the ob- ject of the assembling to be, the communication of pub- lic instruction. — That Solomon, in the early part of his reign, should have employed in this way, for the bene- fit of his people, the wisdom with which he had been so singularly endowed, is highly probable. It is worthy of his piety and his patriotism, and by no means inconsis- tent, unless on false ideas of honour, with his regal dig- nity. — When he himself went astray, his example could not fail to have a most extensively pernicious influence in *^ causing Israel to sin." And it is a highly pleasing reflection, that when he '* came to himself," he should, with a similar publicity, hav^e acknowledged the folly ECCLES. I. 1 11. io and the evil of his ways, and have done what lay in his power, by an open avowal of his " repentance towards God,'* to counteract the fatal tendency of the course he had been pursuing, and to stem the tide of impiety and profligacy, the floodgates of which he had so unhappily opened. He had been guilty of the two great evils, of ** forsaking God the fountain of living waters," and of *' hewing out unto himself cisterns, broken cisterns that could hold no water;" and now he declares before all men, that he had found this to be '^ an evil thing and a bitter," and with a decision and earnestness, the pro- duct of woful experience, warns all against the misera- ble infatuation. Nor does he only publish his penitence at the time ; he imparts permanence to it by recording it in writing for the admonition of succeeding generations. His character as a preacher is drawn in the twelfth chapter, the ninth and tenth verses : — " Moreover, be- cause the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge ; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, (and) set in order many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words : and (that which was) written (was) upright, (even) words of truth." — Let us, then, attend with seriousness, and with earnest desire of Divine influence, to the words of this preacher, as " words of uprightness and truth." He was the *' son of David." — To him had been ad- dressed, by his pious and affectionate parent, the solemn charge, equally melting and alarming : " And thou, So- lomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind; for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts : if thou seek him, he will be found of thee ; but if thou forsake him, he will 16 LECTURE I. cast thee off for ever."* — It was in opposition to this paternal counsel that he had gone astray ; and possibly, the tender recollection of it, brought home to the heart by the events of providence, might be part of the means of *' restoring his soul, and making him to walk again in the paths of righteousness." — '' I was my father's son," says he elsewhere,! bearing testimony to the af- fectionate fidelity with which that father had fulfilled the paternal trust,~<^ I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thy heart retain my words; keeps my commandments and live." — Frequently has it happened, (and the consideration of it should encou^ rage godly parents in the discharge of their duty,) that the remembrance of early instructions has, after a course of departure from God, been the means of awa- kening the conscience, alarming the fears, and touching the sensibilities, of the unhappy wanderer, and turning his feet anew to *'the way of God's testimonies." " The preacher" was also " king of Jerusalem." It was the God of Israel who had chosen and exalted him to this dignity : but he had been guilty of forgetting and ill- requiting the Author of his greatness. — Possessed of many and invaluable spiritual advantages above the kings of the surrounding nations, he had yet ** learned of their ways,'' honoured and served their gods, and admitted the abominations of their idolatry into alliance and incorporation with the worship of ** the Holy One of Israel ;" thus violating the most sacred obligations to preserve that worship, by example and authority, free from intermingling corruptions ; and leading that peo- ple astray into error and sin, whom it was his official duty to encourage and to conduct in the ways of truth * 1 Chron. xxvui. 9. t P^^o^* vi- 2, 4. ECCLES. I. 1 11. 17 and righteotisness.— As " king of Jerusalem," he was also placed in a situation, which brought within his reach " whatsoever his soul lusted after," and thus en- abled him, in the most favourable circumstances, and on the most extensive scale, (for ** what can the man do, that Cometh after the king ?") to try his infatuated ex- periments on human happiness;— experiments, of which the great general result is expressed, with comprehen- ;.ive brevity, and deep-felt emphasis, in the second v,^rse :^ "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, VANITY OF vanities; ALL IS VANITY.'' This is the Text of the Preacher's Sermon;— the leading proposition, which it is his object to illustrate and to establish, in the whole of the subsequent part of this book ; of which he never loses sight ; which meets us, in the way of direct allusion, at every step and turn of the progress of his argument ; and to which, when he has finished his details, he reverts, in the very same terms, in his peroration.* To enter into any detached and general illustration of this verse, would, therefore, be, to anticipate the con- tents of the Book. — The following remarks may be worthy of attention : — In the first place : It is to be considered as the affect- ing result of Solomon's own experience. —He had en- tered into the spirit of the universal inquiry, " who will show us any good ?"t and had made trial of the various sources of worldly happiness. He had repaired in per- son to the different springs, determined to take nothing upon the reported experience of others, but to taste the waters for himself. He had drunk freely of them all ; and in this treatise, he describes their respective pro- * Chap. xu. 8. t Psal. if. 6, c 18 LECTURE I. perties and virtues.— The Book might, therefore, with sufficient appropriateness, be entitled "The Experi- ence OF Solomon." Secondly, We are not to understand it as the lan- guage of a mind soured and fretted by disappointment : the verdict of a morose and discontented cynic, the in- cessant frustration of whose hopes and desires had made him renounce the world in disgust, while his heart was yet unchanged, and continued secretly to hanker after the same enjoyments ; or of a wasted sensualist, who, having run his career of pleasure, felt himself incapable of any longer actually enjoying what still, however en- grossed his peevish and unavailing wishes :— but we are to regard it as the conclusion come to by one who had felt the bitterness of a course of sin, and the empti- ness of this world's joys, and, having been reclaimed from " the error of his way," having renounced and %vept over his follies, was more than ever satisfied that " the fear of the Lord is wisdom," and that " the ways of wisdom are the only ways of pleasantness, and her paths alone the paths of peace." Thirdly. Neither must we conceive him to affirm, in these words, that there is no good whatever, no kind of enjoyment, no degree of happiness, to be derived from the things of the world, when they are kept in their own place, estimated on right principles, and used in a proper manner.— Sentiments widely different from any thing so ascetic and enthusiastic as this, will repeatedly come in our way in the course of the Book. — The words before us are to be interpreted of every thing in this world when pursued as the portion of him who seeks it, — when considered as constituting the happiness of a rational, immortal, and accountable being. His verdict is, that to such a creature they can yield, by ECCLES. I. 1 11. 19 themselves, no genuine and worthy satisfaction ; and that, whilst they are, in their own nature, unsatisfying, even in this world, they are worse, infinitely worse than profitless, for the world to come. On this ground it is, that he pronounces them vanity :^hc had weighed them all in the balances, and had found them wanting. Fourthly. The peculiar emphasis may be remarked with which this verdict is expressed. — He does not merely say, all things are vain .—but *' all is vanity ;" — vanity itself, and vanity of vanities ; that is, the greatest vanity, — sheer, perfect vanity — And he dou- bles the emphatic asseveration, '* Vanity of vanities ; vanity of vanities ; all is vanity." — This shows, first, the strength of the impression on his own mind. It is not the language of a judgment hesitating between two opinions, or of a heart lingering between opposite de- sires; but of a mind thoroughly made up, of a heart loathing itself for having ever for a moment yielded to a different sentiment, of decided conviction, of powerful experimental feeling. — It shows, secondly, the earnest- ness of his desire, to produce a similar impression on the minds of others. It was a lesson which he himself had learned by the bitterest experience ; and he is anx- ious to prevent others from learning it in the same way. He wishes them to take his word for it ; not to venture after him in a repetition of the sad experiments on which his conclusion was founded ; but to enter di- rectly on another course ; to seek immediately and earnestly a better portion, —even the " peace" of them that *'Iove God's law,"— the '* life" that lies in the *' Divine favour," — the joys and the hopes of true religion. That is justly denominated ** vanity," which yields no substantial profit.- It is in this connection that he adds, in so LECTURE I. Verse Sd. " What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun ?" By *' labour" he means, not only the labour of the hands, but also the labour of the brain ; for of both we shall find him frequently speaking in the sequel. — *' What profit hath a man of all his labour V Much, it may be answered : much present profit; great and ma- nifold benefits, in the estimation of the world, may be the result of human labour. Learning, riches, power, honour, and all the means of sensual and intellectual gratification, may be acquired by labour. But these things, when viewed apart from God as the chief good^ (the light in which we observed it is Solomon's inten- tion to place them,) are all comprehended in the verdict already pronounced, " Vanity of vanities ; all is vani- ty." — The gratification which these things impart is mingled with many disappointments, disquietudes, and mortifications. The pleasures which they yield have a large alloy of pains. They cannot, by themselves, even when enjoyed lawfully, constitute the happiness of such a creature as man. They are neither commensurate in their duration with his immortal existence ; nor are they thoroughly satisfying even while they last.— The chief point and emphasis of the question will be felt, if we consider a man as having completed his labour un- der the sun ; having arrived at the close of his toils. Suppose him, whatever may have been the description and the sphere of his diligence, to have succeeded to his heart's desire ; to have surmounted every difiiculty, and attained every object of his pursuit : — the question is, what profit remains to hirn -when he has done ? What has he then^ as the proceeds of his industry ? And alas ! the question, in this view, admits of but one answer : — ♦* When he dieth, he shall carry nothing away."* This ♦ Psal, xlLx, ir. ECCLES. I. 1 11, 2i must be the reply as to the man of ambition, the man of wealth, the man of rank, the man of pleasure. Intellec- tual acquisitions form the only seeming exception ; and the exception is no more than apparent. Even the man of learning, the philosopher, the wise man of this world, who has devoted his life to study, and has gone round, with a master's step, the circle of the sciences; — when he, as well as the others, is viewed as having terminated his labours, — as an immortal and accountable creature, closing his earthly career, and appearing before God, unprepared for judgment and eternity, unpardoned, un- sanctified, and unfurnished for heaven ;— O what can we say, even of his acquirements, with all their ad- mitted superiority to the pleasures of sense, and to the pursuits of power and of opulence, but " Vanity of va- nities; vanity of vanities; all is vanity?" — The simple fact stated in the following verse confirms the general sentence of " vanity" pronounced on all that pertains to time : ^* One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh." " What is our life ? Jt is a va- pour, which appeareth for a little, and then vanisheth away." " Our days on earth (are) as a shadow, and (there is) no abiding."— Turn your thoughts to the generation that is already gone ; whose connection with the world and with time has already closed; whose bodies fill the narrow house, and whose " spirits have returned to God who gave them :" — what profit have they now^ of all their labour which they took under the sun ? Oh ! with what a bitter emphasis of utterance would those who lived and died strangers to the bless- ings of religion and the love of God ; trying to do with- out him ; seeking their happiness in the creature ; ''hewing out their broken cisterns;" '* fulfilling tire desires of the fleslv and of the mind;"— -with what a %% LECTURE I. bitter emphasis of utterance, could their voice be heard from beyond the impassable gulph, would they certify to us the truth of the verdict,—" all is vanity !" It is always of essential consequence, in interpret- ing any writer, to ascertain his general design in the passage under review ; the point which it is his object to establish or to illustrate. And in the book on which we are now entering, we shall find much occasion for the application of this remark. In the remainder of the verses which I have read, that is, from the fourth to the eleventh inclusive, there seems to be one general idea placed in various points of light. It is, in substance, the sentiment expressed in the end of verse 9th, that " (there is) no new (thing) under the sun." It is the idea o^ perpetual change, yet constant sameness ; — of stable and unaltering unifor- mity, in the midst of incessant variety and fluctuation. This appears to be the point, or hidden sense, of the different figures contained in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh verses. Verse 4th. " (One) generation passeth away, and (another) generation cometh ; but the earth abideth for ever:" — more tersely in the original, '* Generation goeth, and generation cometh ; but the earth abideth for ever." This can hardly indeed be called a figure. It is rather a simple statement of fact. It affords, however, a striking illustration of the general sentiment. — The coming and going of successive generations, presents a scene of endless variety ; yet it is itself fixed and un- varying ; — the unalterable destiny of man. There is nothing that impresses more aftectingly on the mind the *^ vanity" of human life, than the perpetual change of tenants that is. taking place in this world of ours ; ECCLES. I. 11. aa --a change which goes on without interruption;— the scene presenting the same general aspects, whilst the actors in it are ever shifting ; — the house remain- ing the same, but the lodgers continually varying. — ** The Earth rcmdintihybr ever ;" — that is, throughout these successive generations of men ; — presenting to the eye the same appearances, performing the same daily and yearly revolutions, exhibiting the same alter- nations of " seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night,"* going on, from generation to generation, in its old original courses, whilst every thirty years it receives a race of new inhabitants ; — and that, not by a periodical sweep- ing away, and a periodical creation, but on the princi- ple of an average, calculated from numbers at every period of life, at every individual moment perhaps of " the three-score years and ten ;" — by which arrange- ment, the variety, whilst it is the more incessant, is yet the less perceptible, and the uniformity, though in re- ality not so constant, presents still more of the appear- ance of unchanging sameness. — The perpetual stability of the earth is nothing, alas ! to man. Each individual can only occupy it his short appointed time, and must then give place to a successor : and in the breasts of the " men of the world, who have their portion in this life," the truth expressed in this verse can engender no feelings but those of indignant fretfulness and morti- fication. The permanence of the earth is but a tanta- lizing assurance to the man, who has it not in his power, however eagerly he may desire it, to continue ^on it as a permanent resident. Happy they, who " con- fess themselves strangers and pilgrims on earth, and desire a better country, even a heavenly ;" who are ♦ Gen. vui. 22. S4 LECTUItE r. heirs of '^ an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away." Verse 5th. ** The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place whence he arose." The Sun ascends in the morning from the East ; runs his diurnal course across the heavens ; sets, and disappears ; comes round again to the point of rising ; renews the day, and repeats the same career: — light and darkness ever alternating ; — each successive day resembling that which preceded it : — perpetual same- ness, yet incessant change. The same general idea is still presented, under other figures, in the sixth and seventh verses :— " The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north ; it whirleth about continually ; and the wind returneth again according to its circuits. All the rivers run into the sea ; yet the sea (is) not full : unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they re- turn again." What so mutable as the wind ? It is the very pro- verb of fickleness, and instability ; — " whirling about continually." — Yet, though constantly varying, it pre- sents no new appearances. There is no point of the compass from which we can say it now blows for the first time. Ten thousand times has it blown, and in every conceivable degree of strength, from North, South, East, and West, and all the intermediate points. — Thus, ^vhilst it is ever varying, it is always the same. There is nothing new in its incessant and capricious shiftings : ^^ it returneth again according to its cir- cuits." " All the rivers run into the sea ; yet the sea (is) not full :" — it does not overflow, swelling above its everlasting boundaries^ notwithstanding this constant ECCLES. I. 1 11. S5 and copious influx of waters. The sea gives back its waters to the earth. By one of Nature's beautiful pro- visions, it is continually, by means of the solar influ- ence, sending up insensi!)ly into the atmosphere, sup- plies of vapoury moisture, which descend again in si- lent dews, or, condensing into clouds, come down in rains and snows, watering the ground, that would otherwise become arid and unproductive, and feeding the springs, and streams, and rivers, which return agaia to the sea, from which they were derived. — Thus there is here too perpetual change, yet perpetual uni- formity ; — the same regular rotation of mutual supply ; — the rivers maintained from the sea, and the sea kept full by the rivers.— In this figure too, it might perhaps be Solomon's intention to insinuate an additional thought ; namely, the unsatisfactory nature of the sources of worldly happiness : — **the sea (is) not full." At any rate, this is the thought of the following verse, where it is strongly and beautifully brought out : — Verse 8th. ^* All things (are) full of labour ; man cannot utter (it) : the eye is not satisfied with seeing, neither is the ear filled with hearing." Wherever you turn your eyes, in the society espe- cially of civilized men, *^ all is full of labour." The departments and the modes of human exertion, — all for the attainment of some real or fancied good, — are endless in number, and inconceivably diversified. Yet, amidst them all, and amidst all their productions and results, " the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing."—'' The sea is not full."— Still there is something or other awanting ; and this is made apparent by *^ all things continuing full of labour ;"— • without cessation, without conclusion : — men toiling after the attainment of something that is to make them b S6 LECTUllE I. happy, and, when they have succeeded, toiling still. They seek ; they find :— yet still they want, and still they labour :— still " With thirst insatiate crave for more." The eye and the ear, as being the chief senses, are here put for all the desires of man, and all the organs by which they are respectively gratified. The general truth expressed is, that men, with all their endless labours after happiness, are still unsatisfied :— a truth, alas ! not peculiar to the country or the age of Solomon, but confirmed by the experience of every place, and of every generation. The uniformity of appearances and events, amidst the constant succession of mankind, is expressed in very bold and vivid terms in the following verses : 9—11. ** The thing which hath been, it (is that) which shall be; and that which is done, (is) that which shall be done : and (there is) no new (thing) under the Bun. Is there (any) thing whereof it may be said, See, this (is) new ? it hath been already of old time that was before us. (There is) no remembrance of former (things) : neither shall there be (any) remembrance of things to come with (those) that shall be after." It is very obvious, that this language must be inter- preted generally. It cannot be understood as affirming, without qualification or exception, that amongst all the endlessly diversified modifications of things, and of events,— all the discoveries and inventions of science and of art, and all the changes in the history of human life, there is absolutely nothing new ;— nothing that hath not been already of old time. But there is a vast deal of what passes for new, that is really old. Every m^n must be sensible, that even his own extending in- ECCLES. 1. 1-^11. Sy formation has very often, in this respect, corrected his earlier views ; and that many things which, in his igno- rance, he had fancied to be new, his growing acquaint- ance with the knowledge of former times has shown hijn to possess claims even to high antiquity. Now that which takes place in the experience of individuals, may also hold true with regard to the successive gene- rations of mankind. Our ignorance of former times is, accordingly, appealed to, in Verse 11th. *^ There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall be after." —How extremely limited and uncertain is our acquaint- ance with the ages of the world preceding our own ^.»^ The constitution and phenomena of nature have been all along the same ; the powers and passions of men, and the genera, and species, and varieties of charac- ter, arising from their diversified combinations, have been much the same ; their wants and desires, together with the means existing in air, earth, and sea, for their supply and gratification, have been the same :— and it seems natural to expect, that similar circumstances should give birth to similar results. — There are, ac- cordingly, many remarkable vestiges, not of the exis- tence merely, but of the high cultivation, of various arts and sciences, which at first view might appear modern, in nations and periods of remote antiquity ; so that, in such cases, the men of recent days have only the credit of reviving what had been forgotten. And so strong, indeed, on some minds, is the impression produced, by ancient remains, in favour of ancient times, that they have looked upon the present race as mere children and pigmies in knowledge and in the power of applying it to practical use, compared witJj S8 LECTURE I. their brethren of an earlier age. There is nothing, of which, in these circumstances, we can, with certainty ^ affirm, *' This is new." It is probable, that Solomon's acquaintance with science might appear to many of his contemporaries to include in it much that was nov^l and original; whilst his own superior knowledge of the acquirements of different nations and of preceding times might enable him to ascertain the contrary. There are, in particular (for this is the main subject of the book) no new sources of worldly happiness. '^ Who will show us any good ?" has been the eager enquiry of the men of this world from the beginning ! — and through successive ages, the answers to the en- quiry, although modified by circumstances in ten thousand different ways, have, in the leading princi- ples of them, been the same. The multitude of man- kind have all along been ** forsaking the fountain of living waters ;" and the "cisterns," which they have ** hewed out for themselves," have been very much of the same descriptions 5 diversified, it may be, in their exterior forms and decorations, bearing the distinctive shapes and symbols of their respective ages and coun- tries; but all, without exception, alike the modern and the antique, *' broken cisterns, that can hold no water." These verses present before us, in the first place, a most impressive and satisfactory testimony in favour of true religion, as the only source of real and perma- nent happiness. — They are best qualified to pronounce on the vanity and emptiness of the world, who have themselves tried it in all its forms and modes of enjoy- ment. Solomon made the experiment, and he " found it wanting." When, through Divine mercy, he " came to Hiniself;" he renounced the world, as " vanity and a ECCLES. I. 1 11. S9 thing of nought." With penitential shame and sorrow, he returned to God, from whom he had so miserably revoUed,— even to " the fountain of living waters,"— and found in Him an all-satisfying portion , peace and rest, and *' fulness of joy,"— and, in '' the keeping of his commandments, a great reward."— And such has been the experience, the feelingly recorded experience, of many a one besides the Royal preacher. The in- sufficiency and vanity, indeed, of earthly things, as the portion of an intellectual, moral, and immortal being, ought to be held as a self-evident truth, unsusceptible of controversy, and requiring no proof.— Yet, alas! what cause have we to remark In the second place, What an aflfecting evidence it is, of the infatuation and depravity of mankind, that neither the plainness of the truth, nor the uniformity of the experience of successive generations, produces any alteration whatever on their general conduct. — Men who have made trial of the world, and have after- wards turned from it unto God, have attested, from their personal experience, its universal vanity, and at the same time, the substantial and satisfactory excel- lence of the blessings they have chosen in its stead; — and many a time from others have the fearful solem- nities of a death-bed, and a near view of eternity, drawn forth the reluctant confession of the same truth; a truth unheeded in the midst of life, and business, and prosperity, but brought home to the mind with dread- ful certainty, when death has placed the sinner on the verge of the world to come. Yet, in despite of all this, men continue to pursue the same course. They per- sist in following the world with all avidity, under one or other of its various forms of falsely-promised enjoy- ment ; just as if no testimony of its vanity existed, in so LECTURE r. the experience of others, in the concurring verdict of their own consciences, in the word, or in the provi- dence, of God. — *^ They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves of the multitude of their riches ; none (of them) can by any means redeem his brother, or pay to God a ransom for him ; (for the redemption of their soul (is) precious, and it ceaseth for ever) that he should still live for ever, (and) not see corruption. For he seeth (that) wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought (is, that) their houses (shall continue) for ever, (and) their dwelling-places to all generations : they call (their) lands after their own names. Nevertheless, man, (being) in honour, abideth not; he is like the beasts (diat) perish. This their WAY (is) their folly: yet their posterity APPROVE THEIR SAYINGS.'**— " O that mcuwcre wise; (that) they understood these things ; that they would consider their latter end !"— Remember, ye in- fatuated votaries of the world, the solemn hour is fast approaching, when you must have done with time, and all its passing concerns. That hour will infallibly awaken you, if you are not happily awakened earlier, to an appalling conviction of the truth which has now, and so often, been urged upon your timely considera- tion. The special hand of Death will then write, in dark but too legible characters, on every thing from which you have been seeking your happiness, '^ Vanity of vanities; vanity of vanities; all is vanity." — O then, be wise in time. You are in quest of what never has been and never can be found from the sources to which you are repairing for it. The search for happiness amongst " the things of this world," has * Psal. xlix. 6—13. ECCLES. I. 1 — 11. 31 been, shall be, must be, a fruitless labour. It is the toil " Of dropplnj^ buckets into empty welts, •* And growing old in drawing nothing up." To you is the divine invitation addressed, and to all who are feeling the thirst of nature for satisfactory en- joyment : — *^ Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters ; and he that hath no money : come ye, buy and eat; yea come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for (that which) is not bread ? and your labour for (that which) satisfieth not ? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye (that which) is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness- Incline your ear, and come unto me : hear, and your soul shall live."* — This expostu^ lation, addressed to you by the God of heaven, in infi- nite condescension and kindness, is recommended to your attention and obedience by the impressive appeal of the Saviour of sinful men : — ** For, what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give in excharfge for his soul ? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels ; and then shall he reward every man according to his works."t — ** What profit" shall a man then have, " of all his labour which he hath taken under the sun ?" — The favour of God ; — the love of Christ ;-~the blessing of Heaven, mingling with all the good and evil of life, enhancing the one, and sweetening and sanctifying the other ; the " ex- ceeding great and precious promises," ** of the life that now is, and of that which is to come,"— -the faith of which inspires " the peace which passeth all under- standing ;"— the spiritual joy of " fellowship with the ♦ Isaiah Iv. 1-3, f Matt. xvi. 26, 27. 32 LECTURE: I. ECCLtS. I. 1. 11. Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ," and with the children of God, the excellent of the earth ;— and the blessed hope of eternal life,— of glory and honour, and immortality ;— these are sources of felicity, worthy of your rational and immortal natures,— pure and dignified, substantial and everlasting.— Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ ; come to God in his name 5 accept the mercy offered, through his mediation, in the gospel ; and all these blessings, in time and eternity, shall be yours. " O taste and see that the Lord is good!''—" Doth not Wisdom cry ? and Understanding put forth her voice ? She standeth in the top of high places, by the w^ay, in the places of the paths ; she crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors : unto you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. O ye simple, understand wisdom ; and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear ; for I will speak of excellent things, and the opening of my lips (shall be) right things. — Receive my instruction, and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold. -^I love them that love me ; and they that seek me early shall find we. Riches and honour (are) with me ; (yea) durable riches and righteousness. My fruit (is) better than gold, yea, than fine gold ; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment : that I may cause them that love me to inherit substance ; and I will fill their treasures."* * Prov. vlii. 1—6, 10, ir— 21. LECTURE II. i EcCLES. I. 12 — 18. 12, 13 " I the Preacher was King over Israel in Jerusalem ; And Igave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all (things) that are done under heaven : this sore travail hath God given to the 14 sons of man, to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold,. all (is) vanity andvexa- 15 tion of spirit. (That which is) crooked cannot be made straight i 16 and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. J communed wit/i mine own heart, saying Lo^ I am come to great estate^ and have gotten more wisdom than all (they) that have bee7i before me in Jerusalem ; yea, my heart had great exfierience ofwisdom^ and 17 knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly : I fierccived that this also is vexation of spirit. \^ For in much wisdom (is) much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow'* XN pursuing his inquiries and experiments, for ascer- taining the chief good, the writer of this Book pos- sessed, as was formerly noticed, peculiar advantages ; the situation which he occupied affording him the full- est opportunities of investigating and bringing to the test all the various sources of worldly enjoyment. When we are about to follow him in the detail of his experience, we should keep the recollection steadily before us, that he is speaking of that period of his life which he denominates " the days of his vanity ;"— r- when he had forsaken God, and instead of saying, with his godly father, *' Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us I" — ^joined in the common cry of the world, *' Who will shew us any good ?" From the twelfth to the fifteenth verse, inclusive, appears to be of a general nature, expressing, in terms E 34 tiECTURE ir. 4t of unrestricted import, the object of his inquiry, the extensive field of his observation, and the impression left upon his mind as the result of his survey ; in which he had availed himself to the full of all the facilities and means of discovery, which were furnished by his royal authority and resources, as *" king over Israel in Je- rusalem." ** I gave my heart," — that is, I applied myself with zeal and diligence, — ^* to seek and search out by wis- dom," — in the close and prudent and vigorous exercise of his mental powers,—" concerning all (things) that are done under the sun." — This is generally under- stood of his scientific researches into th€ works of nature and of art. I should rather interpret it of his inquiry into all the endless variety of human occupa- tions and pursuits ; because such seems to be the mean- ing appropriated in this Book to the phrase, ** all things that are done under the heaven," or ** under the sun." He applied himself to the examination of the sciences and arts, the professions and labours, which occupy the time, the industry, and the investigations of man* kind. The words in the end of verse 13th. ** This sore tra- vail hath God given to the sons of men, to be exer- cised therewith,"— are usually considered as expressive of the irksomeness, and difficulty, attending the acqui- sition of that knowledge of which Solomon is conceived to speak;— God having so ordered it, that unusually- extensive acquirements must be the result of severe application to study, accompanied, in its course of dis- covery, with many obstacles and perplexities, much disappointment and mortification, and a great variety of painful and harrassing feelings. — I am disposed, however, to understand the words, as simply explana- ECCLES. I. 12 18. 35 tory, or exegetical, of what immediately precedes : " I gave my iieart to seek and search out by wisdom, con- cerning all things that are done under heaven ; (even) that sore travail (which) God hath given to the sons of men, to be exercised therewith."— That which is *^ given to the sons of men, to be exercised therewith*'' must surely be something more general than the in- vestigation to which Solomon had applied his heart 5 for which there were then, and still are, very few who have either the ability or the leisure.— There is proba- bly, in the words, a reference to what he had said a iittle before, " All things (are) full of labour :" — and the true origin of this, as the appointed condition of humanity, is to be found in the remote but divinely authenticated records of the entrance of sin into the world: — " Unto Adam He said. Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and 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 5 and thou shalt eat the herb of the field :— in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken : for dust thou (art,) and unto dust shalt thou return."^ This view of the meaning of the words is confirmed by the parallel expression in chap. iii. 10. where the connection leaves no ambiguity ; " I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men, to bq exercised therewith ;" — and it agrees well with what immediately follows here, in Verse 14. "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun ; and behold, all (is) vanity, and vexa- tion of spirit." * Gen. iii. 17—19. 36 LECTURE II. Solomon had seen all the labours of men in quest of happiness ; and he had already, in the opening of his treatise, pronounced all to be " vanity," yea, '* vanity of vanities." To this he here adds, '* vexation of spirit." Some, indeed, from a different etymology of the original word for vexation, translate this phrase, " feed- ing on wind ;" — and the sense thus given is good, and appropriate. But when we say, " all is vanity, and feed- ing on wind," we have only one idea presented to the mind, namely, that of unsatisfactory emptiness. ^* Feed- ing on wind," being a strong figure, makes an addi- tion to the force or emphasis of the preceding expres- sion, but no addition, or very little at least, to its mean- ing. Our translation, on the contrary, whilst it is founded on a preferable etymology, affords, at the same time, an additional idea, and is, besides, evidently more consistent with the different connections in which the phrase occurs in this Book. Thus, for instance, in the 17th and 18th verses of this chapter : "- I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly 5 I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit : for in much wisdom (is) much grief ; and he that in- creaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow:" — and in chap. ii. 17. '^ therefore I hated life ; because the work that is wrought under the sun (is) grievous to me ; for all (is) vanity, and vexation of spirit;" and verse 22. ** For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart," (a word in the original of the same derivation,) ** wherein he hath laboured under the sun?" The labours of which Solomon here speaks must be viewed apart from religion. Religion opens such sources of peace and joy, as serve to compose, and soothe, and satisfy the spirit, amidst all the cares; and crosses, and ECCLES. I. IS — 18. 37 disappointments of life. But apart from its supporting and cheering influence, the toils of men in pursuit of happiness, their eager efforts towards a practical answer to the question, " Who will show us any good ?" are assuredly vexation, as well as vanity ; harrassing the mind with corroding anxieties ; fretting and souring it by repeating disappointments ; elevating it at times to precarious joy, — precarious, and therefore unsatisfac- tory; and more frequently overclouding it with dejection and gloom. One great cause why all is pronounced vexation as well as vanity, is stated in verse 15. " (That which is) crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is w^anting cannot be numbered." I shall not trouble you with the different interpreta- tions which have been given of these words, but sim- ply lay before you what seems to myself, from its agreement with the connection, and with the scope of the passage, to be their true meaning. *' (That which is) crooked cannot be made straight." — We have a key to the import of this expression, in chap, vii, 13. '^ Consider the work of God ; for who can make (that) straight which he hath made crooked?" This cannot refer to the natural perverseness of man- kind, to the crookedness of their dispositions, their want of original rectitude : because it cannot with truth be said, that God hath made our nature crooked or per- verse. On the contrary, in the close of the same chap- ter it is affirmed, ^* God made man upright ; but they have sought out many inventions." So neither, in the words before us, is there any reference to the nature of man; but to the dispensations and arrangements of Divine Providence. It is as if the wise man had said : — '** There is generally, in the lot of every man, some^ SrS LECTURE II. thing crooked ;— something or other not to his mind ; which he wishes, and tries, and labours, to make straight, — to bend to his liking. But providence or- ders it otherwise. His attempts are all counteracted and frustrated. It is beyond his power, with all the pains he can bestow, to correct the evil. And by this one circumstance, the spirit of the man who seeks his happiness in the things of time, and is destitute of the satisfying portion of God's children, is galled and irri- tated. So that, although every thing else is as he would have it,^ — all straight and to his mind ;—yet, whilst this one thing is crooked, he is dissatisfied and unhappy. Indeed, the more entirely every thing else is right, the more bitterly is his pride mortified, and his spirit provoked, that this should continue wrong, and baffle his endeavours to change and to rectify it. He kicks against the appointment of heaven, and ** disquiets himself in vain." Haman went out from the Royal presence, ^' joyful and with a glad heart," elated by the honours bestowed upon him. But the special favour of majesty, ".the glory of his riches, the multitude of his children, and his advancement above the princes and servants of the king," — the enjoyment of the present, and the antici- pation of the future ;— all ^' availed him nothing, so long as he saw Mordecai the Jew sitting in the king's gate."* Nor are such cases by any means of rare oc- currence. Numberless are the instances of this kind of unreasonable dissatisfaction ; arising from something crooked which cannot be made straight; from some '* dead fly" that mars the fragrance of the ointment : — so that the name of Mordecai has become a kind of proverbial designation for all those little circumstances, * Esther v. 9—13. ECCLES. I. 12 18. 39 which, existing singly in the lot of individuals, and preying on their disappointed spirits, serve to take the relish out of abounding sweets ;— and it has become the familiar saying of common life, that every man has his Mordecau ^' And that which is wanting cannot be numbered." — This is generally understood, I believe, as meaning, that the wants which men experience in their pursuit of happiness, — the felt deficiencies, discovered in every step of their progress, are so many, and so diversified, that they cannot be reckoned up. — I rather think that the words contain a repetition, in different terms, of the same idea that is expressed in the former part of the verse. — A man of the world is here set before us, casting up his accounts ;— taking an inventory of the various items that make up the aggregate of his enjoy- ment. The sum of them, it may be, is very large. But there is some particular article, on which he has set his heart, and which he would fain have it in his power to put into his list. But his wishes are vain. It is not in his possession ;— it is not within his reach. It is ** wanting," and therefore *^ cannot be numbered." Yet without it, the account is deficient ; and the de- ficiency gives him more uneasiness and dissatisfaction, than the entire sum of his blessings gives him enjoy- ment. It mixes all with discontent, and thus poisons the whole ; so that all his labour becomes not only '' vanity," but " vexation of spirit." — Thus, amidst all the possessions apd all the splendours of royalty, the spirit of Ahab was dejected and unhappy,— and '' he turned away his face, and would eat no bread," be- cause he could not have ** the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite," that he might add to his pleasure-grounds ^'' a garden of herbs."* ♦ 1 Kin^s. xxi. 1 — 6. 40 LECTURE It, Alas ! for human nature, that it should be so ! But so we see it, and feel it to be ; that we are much more prone to be displeased on account of particular evils, than to be satisfied with abundant and diversified good ; —to indulge in discontent because of some one solitary defect, than to cherish gratitude for unnumbered and substantial blessings. — This is a crook in the nature of our fallen race, which nothing can effectually make straight but the renewing energy of the grace of God. The first trial which Solomon represents himself as having made, in his course of experiments on human happiness, is that of wisdom : — verses 16 — 18. " I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all that have been before me in Jerusalem 5 yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly : I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom (is) much grief; and he that in- creaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." By the wisdom here spoken of we may understand, all that knowledge, in the various departments of which men are accustomed to seek gratification and enjoy- ment : — the knowledge of mankind, from present ob- servation, and the records of history ; of the arts and sciences ; of the productions and phenomena of the na- tural world, in its different kingdoms ; and, if you will, of the philosophy of mind and of morals, considered as a branch of speculative and abstract investigation. God had imparted to Solomon a penetrating and ca- pacious mind, in the exercise of whose powers he ac- quired that distinguished superiority in wisdom and knowledge, which made him the admiration, not of his own people only, but of surrounding countries, in tbe ECCLES. I. i2 18. 41 age in which he lived. *' God gave Solomon," says the Scripture record, ** wisdom and understanding exceed- ing much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that (is) on the sea-shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, an^ all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men : than Ethan the Ezrahitc, and Heman, and Chal- col, and Darda, the sons of Mahol : and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake thr^e thou- sand proverbs ; and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar-tree that (is) in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall : he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creep- ing things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom."* Had Solomon continued, as he did at first, to use his mighty intellect in subserviency to the glory of the Author of his being, and of all his powers, and in hum- ble dependence for true happiness on Him, without whom all the treasures of wisdom are poverty, and all its light darkness ; — it had been well. But far otherwise did he act, in ** the days of his vanity." He foolishly- expected to find the desired felicity in knowledge it- self, without being conducted by that knowledge to God, "the Father of lights, from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift." He drank greedily of the streams of science, without tracing them to their foun- tain. He expatiated among the works of God, and far- got God himself. When he says, " My heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge," we may understand by the heart either, according to a frequent use of the word in ♦ 1 Klng^s iv. 29— 34^. 4S LECTURE II. , Scripture, the mind in general, trying and comparing the different descriptions of knowledge ; or, more re- strictedly, the seat of enjoyment, proving, by experi- ment, the tendencies of each in reference to human hap- piness.-i-His " experience'* in this way was *' great ;" — greater than that of any other man; for he was *' wiser than all men," He " gave his heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly :" — that is, either, in the first place, to obtain a thorough discernment of the amount of dif- ference between truth and error, and between virtue and vice, propriety and absurdity, in human conduct ; — to know both sides, as subjects of philosophical in- quiry and speculation ; as things are in general most completely understood, and most powerfully impressed on the mind, by means of contrast : or, secondly, to compare the claims to preference, arising from their in- fluence respectively on present enjoyment, of a studious and contemplative life on the one hand, and a life of madness and folly on the other ; of a life devoted to learning, in the various branches of earthly science and worldly wisdom, — and a life of thoughtless, inconside- rate merriment, careless indulgence, and extravagant riot and dissipation. For as in our own days this latter course of life has its advocates as well as the former, so had it, we may presume, in the days of Solomon ^ men who admitted it readily enough to be madness and folly, but who gloried in the very folly and madness of it, laughed at the bookish recluse, as at any rate a greater fool than themselves, moping away life in solitary re- search and rueful meditation ; and were determined to throw their cares to the winds, to drink down melan- choly, to give the reins to their appetites, and take their full swing of frolic, and carousaf, and profligacy. ECCIxES. I. 12 — 18. 43 To compare these and other pretending soqrces of happiness, and to estimate their respective claims,^was a part of his study. — But mark now especially what he says of his pursuit of wisdom : *' I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit : for in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." This seems a very strange assertion. There cannot be a doubt, that, among all the sources from which men seek their happiness, the pursuit of know ledge, (under- standing the phrase in all its extent of meaning, with the one exception only of the knowledge that *^ maketh wise unto salvation," which it is evident must not be taken at all into the account,) is decidedly the most ra- tional, and the most fitted, from its nature, to yield en- joyment worthy of such a creature as man. Yet even of the pursuit of knowledge Solomon here affirms, that " in much wisdom (is) much grief;" and that " he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." — Let us, first of all, then, contemplate human wisdom apart from the knowledge of God and Divine things, and take an attentive view of the circumstances from which the grief and sorrow of which he speaks may be considered as arising. In the first place : This wisdom and knowledge, if a man is determined to go far beyond his fellows in the acquisition qf it, must be discovered, and examined, and appropriated by ^^much study ;^^ and this, as Solo- mon observes towards the close of his treatise, is " a weariness of the flesh.^'' — It is not easy for the unin- formed and inexperienced to imagine the fatigue of mind, and the consequent fatigue of body, to which the men who devote their days to learning must lay their account to subject themselves. Solomon speaks of l^much wisdom," and of the increase, or growing 44 1.ECTURE II. abundance of knowledge. Now such extraordinary at^ tainments must be purchased at the expense of intense^ and constant application ; which is inconceivably more wasting and exhausting to the constitution, than the hardest toil of the industrious labourer; and to which many, earlier or later in life, some with a mournful and lamented prematurity, have fallen victims. — The inces- sant stretch of the mind's faculties, frequent harassing and anxious perplexity, studious days and sleepless nights must be his portion, who sets his heart on the attainment of unusal eminence, in science in general, or in any of its various departments. Secondly : In this pursuit^ as in others, there are many disappointments to be expected, to fret, and mor- tify, and irritate the spirit : — such as, experiments fail- ing, some of them perhaps long-continued, promising, and costly ; — facts turning out contradictory, and un- settling or overturning favourite theories ; — the means of prosecuting a train of discovery falling short, at the very moment, it may be, when they are most desirable ; trifling and worthless results arising, after much labour, long-tried patience, and sanguine expectation ;— the anticipated honour and pleasure of introducing a new and important invention or discovery, the product of the experiments and investigations of years, lost on the very eve of arrival, by the priority of an unknown com- petitor. — These, and numberless other occasions of mortification and disquietude, more and less considera- ble, revealed or kept secret in the bosom, may be ex- pected in the lot of the man who devotes himself to science. Thirdly : There are some parts of knowledge which are, in their very nature, painful and distressing. — In a world where sin reigns, and which, on account of sin, ECCLES. I. 12—18. 4^ lies under the curse of God, many must be the scenes of misery, many the afflicting occurrences and facts, which present themselves to the observant and investi- gating mind, that is in quest of general and extensive information. They abound both in the past and present history of mankind. They are fitted to fill the heart with ** grief" and ^^ sorrow;" and the more a man's knowledge extends,—the more he reads, and hears, and observes, the more copious will this source of bitterness become. — Not but that there is much of an opposite and pleasing description, as a set-off against those evils; — but it is enough, that there are actually causes of positive distress, and causes that necessarily multiply with the growing extent of a man's knowledge. Fourthly : There is to be taken into account the mortification of pride that must be experienced, in con- sequence of the limited nature of the human faculties. There are, in every direction in which the mind may choose to push its inquiries, boundaries, beyond which it attempts in vain to penetrate. And when the man who makes scientific research his supreme good, and the main object of his life, finds, that in every depart ment of investigation he arrives at some point, beyond which his powers, strained to their utmost effort, cannot carry him,—at some subject that baffles all his endea- vours to comprehend it,— some question which lie can- not answer,— -some difficulty which he cannot solve ; — that the most luminous path of discovery terminates at length in impenetrable obscurity : — there is apt to spring up, in the natural mind, an indignant dissatis- faction, the offspring of the unsubdued pride and self- sufficiency of intellect, which cannot fail to produce, and sometimes in a very high degree, disquietude and " vexation of spirit." 46 LECTURE n. Fifthly : There is a similar feeling of mortification, arising from the very circumstance, that, with all the knowledge and wisdom that are acquired, there is still a blank, still a consciousness of want and deficiency^ in re- gard to true happiness. — I do not mean the want of any additional knowledge,— the want of something of the same kind that has not been attained, and the attainment of which seems difficult or hopeless ;— but a want which even such additional attainments could not supply. The man himself, while sensible, irksomely sensible of it, may not be well aware what it is, or whence it arises ; he may feel it, without knowing how it is to be re- moved. He may sigh for the unknown something, and wonder that he should not be happy. And few things can be conceived more galling to the spirit, more vexa- tiously mortifying, more fitted to fill a man with des- peration, and with a fretful and sullen " hatred of all his labour which he hath taken under the sun," than this bitter consciousness, that with all his study, all his research, all his learning, all his varied acquirements, there should still exist such a sense of want, as to full satisfaction and happiness. Sixthly : The man of " much wisdom" and *' in- creased knowledge," generally, if not universally, be- comes the marked object of the scorn of some, and the envy of others.— -Some depreciate his studies and all their results, laugh at them, and hold them up to con- tempt and ridicule. Others are stung with secret jea- lousy ; which is the odious parent of all the hidden arts of detraction and calumny, and of injurious and un- worthy attempts to deprive him of his well-earned ho- nours, and to cast him down from his excellency." And it is not merely the apprehended or the suffered consequences of such mean and wicked arts that is dis- ECCLES. I. 12 18. 47 tressing;— to a mind of generous and honourable feel- ing it must be grief and "vexation of spirit," even to be the object of passions so vile and devilish. Lastly : There is yet another consideration, which to some of you may seem far-fetched, but which I can- not forbear noticing.— The man who occupies his powers in the pursuit and acquisition of human wis- dom alone, careless of God, and uninfluenced by re- gard to his authority and to his glory, is leaving eter- nity a wretched blank ; has no solid and satisfactory support in the anticipation of it, when the thought in- trudes itself upon his mind ; and is treasuring up grief and sorrow for the close of his career. God having been neglected, his powers must be considered^ in the Di- vine estimate, and in the estimate of an awakened con- science, as having been wasted and abused ;— science will not yield him peace and hope in the " valley of the shadow of death 5" and a neglected God will call him to account for the use made of those faculties which he himself had bestowed, and of whose exercise he ought himself to have been the first and highest object. — However lawful, nay, however apparently excellent and honourable his pursuits themselves may have been, the reckoning will be fearful, when God is found to have been awanting:— fearful,--and justly fearful. In proportion to the greatness and variety of the powers conferred, and the capabilities thence arising, will the shame and remorse be deep, and the guilt and punish ment aggravated. Whilst such considerations as these may serve to vindicate and illustrate the affirmation that ** in much wisdom (is) much grief, and that he who increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow ;"— -it is necessary to ob- serve, that SoloaiQn does not by any means say, that in 48 LECTURE 11. *' mucli wibdoin and increase of knowledge" there is 120 enjoyment That were a very different proposition. There may and must be enjoyment,— various in kind and in degree. — But. like the enjoyment springing from every worldly and temporal source, it is mixed with much of an opposite character. And, therefore, it is^ that such Vvisdom and knowledge, considered by them- selves, apart from something still higher and still better, considered as constituting the happiness of the man who seeks and possesses them, must ever be found vain ;--can never be a sufficient portion to the immor- tal soul, especially in its anticipations of eternal exis- tence ;— can never impart to the mind full, and steady, and permanent satisfaction. The passage, thus explained, suggests two conclu- ding reflections : — In the first place :— *' Godliness with contentment is great gain."* — If it is impossible for a man, with all his labour and all his skill, to control the administration of providence, to command events, and to order all the circumstances of his lot exactly to his mind ; if univer- sal experience confirms the truth, that '* that which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot be numbered:" then the secret of true happiness must consist, in having the mind reconciled to that wdiich is crooked, and to that which is deficient ; •—in being submissive to all the arrangements of the Supreme will. Such submission can only arise from the confidence of faith in the wisdom, fiiithfulness, and love, of our heavenly Father, and the assurance of his universal and unceasing care of all the interests of his children. " Are not two sparrow^s sold for a farthing ? yet one of them shall not fall on the ground without * 1 Tim. vi. 6. ECCLES. I. IS 18. 49 your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered."^ — This is our encouragement to ** cast all our cares upon him. He careth for us." It is when we avail ourselves of the precious privilege, **in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, to make our requests known unto God," that ^^the peace of God which passeth all understanding keeps our heart and mind by Christ Jesus."t — '* We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his pur- pose. "J — ** That which is crooked" and " that which is wanting" may thus be numbered amongst our very benefits, as contributing, according to the design of Him who gives and withholds at his pleasure, to ad- vance our best and highest interests ; to spiritualize our affections ; to disengage our hearts from the world ; to save us from the danger of making it our portion ; to draw us away from all its smful pleasures, and to mo- derate and sanctify our attachment even to its lawful enjoyments; to bring us, in the state of our minds and the tenor of our conduct, into more full conformity to the spirit of the apostolic admonition:— ** But this I say, brethren, the time is short. It remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none ; and they that weep as though they wept not ; and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not ; and they that buy as though they possessed not ; and they that use this world as not abusing (it ;) because the fashion of this world passeth away. "J— In such a world, my brethren, as that which we inhabit, where there are so many wants that cannot be supplied, and evils that cannot be avoided, he is the truly happy man, who has been taught * Matt. X. 29, 30. f Phil. iv. 6, 7. t Rom. viii. 28. § 1 Cor. vii. 29— 31-» 50 LECTURE II. of God the fare, and precious lessson of contentment in all conditions;-— ''Not that I speak in respect of want ; for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound : everywhere, and in all tilings I am instructed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound, and to suffer need:"*— he is the truly happy man who in prosperity and adversity sees the love of a ' father,— in the former ** crowning him with loving- « kindness and tender mercies," in the latter " correcting him for his profit ;" and who is prepared to say, urfder . all the trials and bereavements of life, when he feels his inability to rectify that which is crooked, or to number that which is wanting, — " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ;— blessed be the name of the Lord !" — " Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord and shall we not receive evil also f'f In the second place :-- There is ojw description of wisdom and knowledge, that is infinitely excellent and desirable ; — not the source of grief and sorrow, but the fountain of pure and everlasting joy. " This is life eter- 7ialy that they might know^ thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. "J — Here is know- ledge worth having and worth seeking : infinitely ex- alted in its subject, and unutterably precious in its re- sults. Were a man to possess all knowledge besides this ; to concentrate in his own mind the collected science of all countries and of all generations; — the want of this would turn all to " vanity and vexation of spirit." And on the contrary, the most ignorant and il- literate of mankind, as to other branches of knowledge, if possessed of this, is truly wise ; for he is " wise to- ward God," " wise unto salvation," wise for eternity. "* Phil. iv. 11, 12. t Job i. 21. ii, 19. i John xvi). 3. eccl.es. I. 12 — 18. 51 Even now, this wisdom imparts the purest and most elevated delight, amidst all the trying viscissitudes of this valley of tears. The pleasures that arise from other kinds of knowledge are themselves mingled with " grief and sorrow," and are incapable of imparting to the soul any solid and effectual consolation and support under the other troubles of life : — and when we look forward, and anticipate the close of this earthly scene, we behold this wisdom ending in the enjoyment and fulfilment of good hope, — in the possession of everlasting and un- mingled felicity ;— and every other, however valued, and pursued, and applauded by men, terminating in despair and darkness, and eternal shame. The gospel of Christ, — the doctrine of the cross, though esteemed foolishness by men, is " the power of God, and the wisdom of God." It is the study of an- gels. They desire to look into it. They explore its sublime mysteries with intense and unwearied delight. ** If any man among you, then, seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise." You can never be truly and profitably wise, but by- sitting down at the feet of Jesus, and ** learning of him." Here^ my friends, — in this blessed Book, "given by inspiration of God," — here, are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. An acquaintance with its precious contents may not procure you a reputation for wisdom in the world, may not enrol your names amongst its honoured and applauded sages; but it will procure for you what is infinitely more valuable, ** the honour that Cometh from God only." — Let Christians seek above all things that they may grow in this knowledge ;— -the knowledge of the Divine word, in all its inexhaustible riches and variety of contents ;— never losing sight t)f him who is " the sum and substance of the word," — the 0S liECTURE II. ECCL.es. I. IS 18. reality of legal shadows, the spirit of prophecy, and the glorious theme of apostolic testimony. — '* Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." In much of this wisdom, there is much gladness, and he that increaseth this knowledge increaseth joy — " My son, if thou wilt re- ceive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom (and) apply thine heart to understanding ; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, (and) liftest up thy voice for understand- ing ; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as (for) hid treasures ; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of Grod. For the Lord giveth wisdom : out of his mouth (cometh) knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: (he is) a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserve th the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity ; (yea,) every good path." LECTURE III. EccLES. ii. 1 — 11. 1 " / said in mine hearty Go to now, I will firove thee with mirth ; 2 therefore evjoy fileasure : and, behold, this also (is) vanity. I said 3 of laughter, C It is) mad: and of mirth, Whatdoethit? I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom, and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what fwas) that good for the sens of men which they should do under the heaven all 4 the days of their life. I made me great works ; I builded me houses ; 5 Ijdanted me vineyards ; I made me gardens and orchards, and I 6 planted trees in them of all (kind of) fruits ; I made me pools of 7 water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees ; I got (me) servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house ; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all th^ 8 were in Jerusalem before me ; I gathered me also silver and g4^, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces ; I gal"^ men-singers and iv omen- singers, and the delights of the sons ofr^^i^ 9 (as J musical instrumeiits, and that of all sorts. So I was grea^^^^i'^^ ^ and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem : also 10 my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them ; I withheld not my heart from any joy ;for hiy heart rejoiced in all my labour; and this was my portion of all my 1 1 labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do ; and, behold, all (was J vanity and vexation of spirit, and (there was) no profit under ike sun." Jln th(2 16th verse of the first chapter, Solomon speaks of his having ** communed with his own heart." It ap- pears to be this kind of communing that he carries on in the beginning of the second. As the rich man in the parable is represented as addressing his soul — " I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry," — so does Solomon here address himself to his heart: 54 LECTURE III. — " Come," says he, " I will prove thee with mirth." Wisdom, thou hast found, will not suffice to give thee the satisfaction thou seekest ; let me try thee, then, with something else. In much wisdom, thou hast dis- covered, there is much grief; try then, what mirth can do to make thee happy. ^^ In this enjoy pleasure '^ — See if pleasure, or happiness, lies here. The word pleasure, is not, I apprehend, to be here understood in the restricted sense in which we fre- quently use it, as nearly synonymous with the mirth to which Solomon determined to have recourse; but in the more enlarged and general sense of happiness^ — that which was the great object of inquiry and pursuit, that on which the course of experiments was making : ** Come, I will prove thee with mirth : in it enjoy hap- piness ;'^^ — more literally, ** In it see good :^^ — try this new source of enjoyment ; whether it will any better suit thy taste, and fill up thine unsatisfied wishes. Here, then, we behold the king of Israel descending from the pleasures of learning to the pleasures of sense. He now appears before us, surrounded with the gay, the witty, the mirthful, the voluptuous, the profligate : those choice spirits, as they counted and called them- selves and one another, who fancied the secret of hap- piness to lie, in banishing all reflection, in laughing at preciseness and melancholy, and drowning care in merriment and revelry. He did not, however, relinquish entirely his former pursuits. In the third verse, he informs us, that whilst he sought to give himself unto wdne, and to lay hold on fofly, he still acquainted his heart with wisdom ; and, in the ninth verse, that ** his wisdom also re- mained with him."— -In the pursuits of wisdom he had found pleasure; but it was a pleasure mingled with ECCLES. ir. 1 — 11. 55 much grief and sorrow. It seems, therefore, to have been his next plan, not to relinquish these pursuits in disgust, but, whilst he continued to enjoy the satisfac- tion they were fitted to impart, to overcome and banish the griefs which they had occasioned ; — to retain the pleasure, and to drown the care. He still, therefore, oc- cupies a portion of his time in the studies before de- scribed ; and a great part of the remainder he devoted to the banqueting room,— to the social pleasures of jovial festivity. But instead of " mirth" answering the purpose, either of making him happy by itself, or of supplying the deficiencies of wisdom, he pronounces upon it the same verdict : — ** and behold, this also is vanity." His in- quiry was, Where shall happiness be found ? and where is the place of true enjoyment ? — and intemperate mirth, like human science and earthly wisdom, said, but with still more impressive tjmphasis, It is not in me. *^ I said of laughter" (verse 2d) *' It is mad ; and of mirth. What doeth it?"— This seems to have been his language to himself, when his seasons of merriment were over, and he be- gan, in his moments of cool sobriety, to ^^ commune with his heart," and to reflect seriously on what he had been about. It is the record of dear-bought experi- ence ; — designed by him for the warning of others, after his own soul had been mercifully recovered from the perilous mazes of error and sin in which he had gone astray :— " I said of laughter. It is mad." The intemperate mirth in which he had indulged, was like a temporary phrenzy ; during which, Reason and Re- ligion were alike dethroned from the empire of the mind, and all was wild and tumultuous disorder. It was purely much liker the fancy of a dera^iged than of a 56 LECTURE III. sound and Collected mind, that true happiness could consist in mere thoughtless and unbridled merriment ; and it was the act of such a mind to bring this fancy- to practical experiment. — We pity from the heart the hapless subjects of mental derangement, who are in- sensible of their melancholy lot, and who seem, in the midst of real wretchedness, to enjoy an imaginary felicity. —Moody madftes?, laughing wild. Amid severest wo. is, of all the sufferings of this valley of tears, the most deeply touching. And what shall we think of the soundness of that man's intellect, and with what de- scription of feelings are we to contemplate him, who, surrounded with scenes, so many and so various, both in private and in public life, of a nature fitted to awaken to serious thoughtfulness, and acknowledging himself too an accountable and immortal being, yet makes the banishment of thought the problem of his life, seeks his happiness in the absence of all reflection, devotes himself to unrestrained mirth amidst a world of wo, and to unreflecting laughter and jollity with the grave and the judgment-seat before his eyes? Is this any thing short of the insensibility of madness ? Does the Christian poet use too bold a comparison, — or does he not rather ^^ speak the words of truth and soberness," when he compares such men to *^ maniacs dancing in their chains?" — It was the language of heart-stricken feeling, — the language of deep experimental conviction that Solomon used when he said of such laughter, *' It is mad," and of mirth like this, " What doeth it?" What doeth it toward the production of true happiness ? What is enjoyed that deserves the name, even during its boisterous reign ? and what remains from it when ECCLES. II. 1 11. 57 that reign is over ? — '* Even in laughter," (such is the record elsewhere of his own experience) *' Even in laughter, the heart is sorrowful ; and the end of that mirth (is) heaviness :"*— *^ for, as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so (is) the laughter of the fool."t-™ Thoughtless mirth, in a creature that has so much as man has to make him serious, is in itself irrational ; and although, by those who give themselves up to it, it is called " a cure for the^ heart-ache," it is far, very far alas ! from deserving the designation. It is, after all, but poor and flimsy covering, either for the cares of an anxious mind, or the secret stingings of an ac- cusing conscience, or the restlessness of a spirit that is ill at ease and dissatisfied with itself. And " the end of that mirth (is) heaviness." It yields no subsequent satisfaction. The '' yesterday" of intemperate folly '^ looks not backward with a smile." In proportion to the previous elevation of the spirits is the depth of the subsequent depression. — The lees of the debauch are bitter. — When the effervescence of the animal spirits is over, and the mind subsides into itself, it feels but ** an aching void."— The blaze of crackling thorns is violent and noisy, and, withal, while it lasts, wonder- fully cheerful and enlivening ; but quickly it dies away and leaves nothing behind but darkness and unsightly ashes. The " mirth" to which Solomon thus addicted him- self we have considered as the mirth of festive convi- viality :— and I need not say that to such mirth the free circulation of the bottle and the glass is, in the estima- tion of the bons vivants, an indispensable requisite. How can a company be merry without wine F—This, accordingly, is not awanting in Solomon's experiment: ^ * Pi-ov. xiv. 13. t ^ccl. vU. 6. H as LECTURE 111. — " I sought," says he, ^' to give myself unto wine ;"-^ that is, not to the grovelling practice of solitary drink- ing, as a mere gratification of animal appetite, or means of intoxication ; but to the pleasures of the social board : — he resolved, to ^' eat, and to drink, and to be merry." He determined, at the same time, still to *^ acquaint his heart with wisdom."-— Some, it is true, understand this, of his wisely regulating his indulgences, applying prudence and discretion to his pleasures, enjoying with- out exceeding. — It seems more natural to interpret it as already hinted of, his not renouncing his literary and philosophical pursuits, but connecting them with the pleasures of wine that ^' maketh glad the heart of man ;" associating the two descriptions of gratification, the sensual and the intellectual, the grosser and the more refined. And, indeed, it is hardly to be supposed, that when the heart was *' given to wine" as a source of pleasure, and given to it amidst the *^ mirth" of the convivial banquet, it was used by the rule and the nieasure of prudential restraint, and exemplary self- government 5 that, in this species of indulgence, the Royal philosopher ** let his moderation be known unto all men." Whilst he thus continued to ^* acquaint his heart with wisdom," he, at the same time, *' sought to lay hold on folly ;" by which he seems to mean the folly he had just mentioned. He endeavoured to combine the two. He tried each, and he tried both together. And this he did, that he might, as he here expresses it, ^* see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven, all the days of their life 5" — that is, in consistency with the object and scope of the whole Book, that he might discover, by his own ECCLES. II. 1 11. 59 experience, what was the best a?jd happiest way of spending this mortal life .—-and having thus briefly no- ticed his trial of the *' lust of the flesh and of the mind/' he adds, in the following verses, a fuller and a very spirited description of the experiment to vvhidi he brought " the lust of the eye, and the pride of life." Verses 4—11. ** I made me great works; I builded me houses ; I planted me vineyards ; I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all (kind of) fruits : I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood thatbringcih forth trees; I got (me) servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house ; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me ; 1 gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces ; I gat me meti-singers and women- singers, and the delights of the sons of men, (as) musi- cal instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Je- rusalem : also my wisdom remained with mc. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them ; I withheld not my heart from any joy : for my heart re- joiced in all my labour; and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on alfthe works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had la- boured to do; and, behold, all (was) vanity and vexa- tion of spirit, and (there was) no profit under the sun.'^ It is unnecessary to dwell long on the various par- ticulars in this enumeration. He " made him great works ;" — both private and public ; such as might gratify ambition and the love of fame, by exciting the wonder and admiration of his own subjects and of strangers, might afford objects of contemplation for the eye of his vanity, and give scope 60 LECTURE III. for such feelings of self-complacency and high-minded- ness as were uttered by the King of Babylon, when, standing on the roof of his palace, in the midst of his splendid city, and surveying its stupendous and magni- ficent structures, he said, '' Is not this great Babylon that I have built, for the house of my kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty ?"* I think Solomon may be understood here as referr- ing, not only to the works which were actually con- structed during that period of his life which he em- phatically denominates " the days of his vanity,'' but to those also which he had previously reared, which he then, it may be supposed, enlarged and adorned, and began to contemplate with the new and corrupt emo- tions of vanity and pride. He ** builded him houses." Solomon's palace in Jerusalem was thirteen years in building. He built, besides, the spacious and elegant '^ house of the forest of Lebanon ;" and another house, of similar costliness and splendour, for the daughter of Pharaoh. f To these, the history adds, " Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer ; Bethhoron the nether, Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness ; cities of store, cities for his chariots, and cities for his horse- men ;" and a variety of other buildings, '^ in Jerusalem^ in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominions."t He ^* planted vineyards ; made gardens and orchards, and planted in them trees of all kinds of fruits ; and made pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees." — By this last expression are pro- bably meant those extensive nurseries of seedlings, from which his woods and orchards were supplied* * Dan. iv. 30. f 1 Kin^ vU. 1—12. * Ibid. ix. 15—19. EGOLES. II. 1 11. 61 These he watered artificially, at great expense, and with much labour and skill ; intersecting them with canals, and feeding these canals from ponds and reser- voirs, to secure a constant and regular irrigation. The number and variety, the order and apparel of Solomon's servants, and the whole style of his domes- tic establishment, were amongst the circumstances by which the queen of Sheba, on her visit to Jerusalem, was so much astonished, and withal, from feelings, it may be presumed, of hopeless envy, so much dispirited. When she saw " the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cup-bearers," — " there was no more spirit in her." The abundance of his wealth, in *^ great and small cattle," and in '* silver and gold," was a fulfilment of the express promise of God to him at the commence- ment of his reign, to add unprecedented riches to unex- ampled wisdom. — *' The weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year, was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold ; besides that he had of the mer- chantmen, and of die traffic of the spice- merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country." '^ And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the fo- rest of Lebanon were of pure gold ; none were of silver : it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon." *' The king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, for abundance."* — Both national and personal wealth flowed in from the surrounding countries :— -for " Solo- mon reigned over all kingdoms, from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt : they brought presents, and served Solomon * IKlngrsx. 14, 15, 21, Cr. %2 LECTURE rir. all the days of his life."* «^ All the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart : and they brought every man his present, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, and horses and mules, a rate year by year, "f — It is probable the riches derived from tributary states, and from the multiplied and precious gifts of gratula- tion and homage, that he describes under the designa- tion, ^* the peculiar treasure of kings and of the pro- vinces.'* The wealth which the king acquired, was an object about which, in the best days of his reign, when he first first mounted the throne of Israel, his heart had been very indifferent. He had sought the higher gifts of *^ wisdom and understanding," to fit him for the happy discharge of his Royal functions. But the riches which at first, in the exercise of an enlightened and upright mind, he employed for advancing the glory of God, and the best interests of his people, qualified him after- wards, during the period of his backsliding, when *' his heart departed from the Lord," for prosecuting to the utmost advantage his experiments on happiness. They were not lodged in his coffers with the avarice of a miser ; but were profusely expended on all that they could procure of sensual gratification. He ^* got him men-singers, and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts : whatsoever his eyes desired, he kept not from them : he withheld not his heart from any joy." — AH the senses were consulted and pampered. Whatever could contribute to charm the eye or the ear, the taste, the touch or the smell, was procured by him, in all its variety, and in all its excellence. He conducted his ex- * 1 Kings IV. 21. t Ibid. x. 24, 25. ECCLES. II. 1 11. 61^ periments on a large scale ; sparing upon them no pains and no expense, and not restrained, by any of the over- delicate and inconvenient scruples of a tender con- science, from satiating his heart in all its most extra- vagant and capricious desires. In the midst of all his grandeur, in which (verse 9) he *^ increased above all that were before him in Jeru- salem," and in the midst of all his sumptuous and costly pleasures, " his wisdom remained with him :" — not indeed that true wisdom in which he commenced his reign, consisting in a mind regulated, in all its am- ple powers, by the *' fear of the Lord;" but a pene- trating and capacious intellect, with all its vast and varied acquirements, in human science, and in the speculative knowledge of the theology of Israel. His reputation for wisdom continued to equal his fame for riches and power. Solomon, as I have just observed, made his experi- ments on happiness on an extensive scale ; procuring for himself, by whatever trouble, and at whatever cost, every possible gratification ; every thing a roving fancy could suggest, every thing a heart bent upon indul- gence could wish : — Verse 10. *' And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy ; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour ; and this was my portion of all my labour." The '' delights" which he had enumerated in the preceding verses, were, in their own nature, lawful. He went to the utmost bounds of such enjoyments ; and in prosecuting his diversified works of ambition, and elegance, and luxurious refinement, he experienced a kind of satisfaction and temporary exhilaration of spirit. His mind was kept occupied 5 his attention 64< LBCTURE HI. busy : his eye and ear felt the charm of varying no» velty ; and the admiration excited by his labours, ter- minating upon himself as their author and owner, gra- tified his vanity. Thus " his heart rejoiced in his la- bour.'* He was not interrupted by wars ; he was not incapacitated by sickness ; he was not cramped or em- barrassed by an exhausted or deficient treasury; but was favoured, by the very God whom he was forgetting and forsaking, with full and undistracted opportunity of indulgence, in the prosecution of all the modes of gratification which his heart could devise. He tasted their sweetness " without adversary or evil occurrent;" nor was his enjoyment marred by any grudging or covetous regret of his immense expenditure, which to some minds would have embittered the whole scene. — This temporary enjoyment was *^ his portion of all his kbours." It was what they were intended to produce to him. Present gratification was the object of them all : so he made the most of them ; treating all his wishes liberally ; disdaining every feeling of niggardli- ness ; glorying in his riches, and using them for the accomplishment of his ends, with open-handed and un- repining profusion. But after all, where was the charm in all this ? It was novelty merely. His heart rejoiced in his labours, but not after them. They were by and by completed ; the novelty of them passed away ; and with the novelty, the pleasure which they had yielded. There was a lively buoyancy of spirit in the busy acquisition ; but it left no permanent satisfaction in the subsequent posses- sion ; — a case far from uncommon, when the mind has been allowed to run wild in quest of happiness, and has been trying to find it, away from God : — Verse 11. ** Then I looked on all the works that my ^ ECCLES. II. 1 11. 65 hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had la- boured to do : and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit ; and there was no profit under the sun." — Strange ! Was there not every thing in his lot that his heart could wish ? Yes ; he had '* withheld his heart from no joy." But alas I every earthly pleasure, when unconnected with better blessings, must leave a void. It palls upon the appetite for happiness, and leaves it as eager and unsatisfied as before. The question is still fretfully repeated, " Who will show us any good ?" After all Solomon's labour, *' his eye was not satisfied with seeing, nor his ear filled with hearing." And when he thus felt the result of all to be ** vanity," as to the production of true and lasting happiness; this very feeling was, of itself, quite sufficient to render all ** vexa- tion of spirit. " Nothing could well be more mortify- ing. He resembled a man, who has set about construct- ing a machine for some particular purpose, complicated and intricate, the result, in the idea, of long and close application of invetitive genius, and requiring, in the execution, a great expenditure of skill, and time, and patient labour. While the work is in progress, his mind is full of it. He has no doubt he will be able to make it answer :— and the confidence of succeeding animates him to vigorous perseverance, and keeps him in fine spirits. — At length, it is completed ; and he finds, to his unspeakable mortification, that it will not do. In theory it was ingenious, and seemingly perfect in its adaptation to the end. But when tried in practice, there is some unanticipated defect ; and possibly he cannot discover where it lies. " All is now vanity and vexa- tion of spirit ; and there is no profit to hiR> of all his labour." — Such was the nature, and such the success, of Solomon's experiment for the procuring of happi- I 66 liECTURE III. ness. When his labour was ended, he had only to sigh over its results. He very soon tired of looking at what was finished, and of hearing what he had heard before: And besides the feeling of immediate unsatisfactori- ness, the galling reflection, as he informs us in a sub- sequent part of this chapter, forced itself upon his mind, and fretted, and mortified, and disgusted him, that in a very short time all must be left behind him ; and left too, he could not tell to whom, whether to a wise man or a fool. From this passage we may observe, in the first place : It is a radical, but very prevalent mistake as to happi- ness, when men conceive of it as arising from situation, —Under the influence of this mistake, how often do men, finding something awanting in a particular con- dition or employment, immediately betake themselves to another, and thence to another, and another, the same feeding of dissatisfaction attending them successively in each 5 from their not considering, that it is not in the nature of earthly things, however varied and modi- lied, to be a portion to the human mind, and from their not being aware, that they are all the while carrying about the root and cause of dissatisfaction in their own bosoms. Here lies the unsuspected evil :— here the se- cret spring of bitterness. Men engaged in the pursuit of worldly happiness, changing incessantly from one pursuit to another, trying every likely resource, resem- ble a person in a fever, who in every posture to which he can turn himself, feels uneasy, and is ever fancying that another change will make him comfortable, insen- sible that the uneasiness of which he complains has its origin in |>is distemper itself, and cannot be relieved by mere position. — The radical principle of happiness must be carried about within usj else we shall infliliibly fail of satisfaction in every trial we can make of earthly good. ECCLES. II. 1 11. 67 In the second place : let it not be supposed that there is no such thing to be found as true satisfaction, — real and substantial happiness. This would be a very hasty, and a very false conclu- sion. There is such a thing,— blessed be the gracious Author of our being! — there is such a thing to be found, as solid and heart-satisfying enjoyment. It is not indeed to be derived from the sources to which So- lomon betook himself in " the days of his vanity." — He sought it in " mirth and laughter." But it has often been truly observed, that the objects at which we laugh loudest are not the objects which yield us the greatest delight. The purest kinds, and the highest de- grees, of this feeling, are more frequently expressed by tears, than by laughter. How often has the truth of the saying formerly adverted to been experienced by others as well as Solomon, — that " even in laughter the heart is sad, and that the end of that mirth is heaviness 1" ^* True joy is a serious thing. "-^ — As little as the ob- ject of universal search to be found, in the varieties of sensual indulgence, or the pomp, and pride, and luxury of life, and the splendours of ambitious and busy roy- alty. In these too, Solomon sought it in vain. Many things may be accessories to happiness ; but ** one thing is needful." The true secret of it is, living to God ; — enjoying God in all things, and all things in Him. This is at once the pure and the sublime of enjoyment. Ever vain and fruitless must the pursuit of happiness be, apart from the favour and the service of God. He must enter into all that merits the name of true felicity to a rational creature. He is the fountain ♦ The sentiment, I think, is Addison's : but lam not sure in my recollection, where in his writings it occurs. 68 LECTURE III. of all joy : and the streams are truly sweet, only as they taste of the fountain. " O God, thou (art) my God ; early will I seek thee : my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is ; to see thy power and thy glory, so (as) I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy loving- kindness (is) better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live ; I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as (widi) marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise (thee) with joyful lips ; when I remember thee upon my bed^ (and) meditate on thee in the (night)-watches." This is the " good old wine" which once made Solomon's heart, as well as David's glad. He " tasted new :" — but he was brought at length, by dear-bought but happy experience, to say, " The old is better." '* Live while ye live ! the sensualist may say. And catch the pleasures of the passing day. Live while ye live ! the holy man replies. And give to God each moment as it flies. Lord, in my life let both united be ! I live in pleasure, when I live to thee !" In the third place : Let this passage repress in every bosom, the feelings of envy. The poor, when they read such a description as these verses contain,— of houses, and vineyards, and gardens, and orchards, and lakes, and woods 5 and servants, and cattle, and silver and gold, and royal jewels, and music, and all the '' delights of the sons of men;"— are ready to feel the rising emotions of jealousy, and to heave the sigh of envious discontent over their own condi- tion. They mistake this glare of magnificence, this outward semblance of enjoyment, for true happiness. But the antidote to all such feelings, my friends, is be- fore you. Read on. Pass from the detail of abundance ECCLES. 11. 1 11. 69 and splendour, to the estimate subsequently formed of it all, by the owner himself:-—*' Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the la- bour that I had laboured to do'i and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit ; and there was no profit under the sun!" Banish, then, your envy. Deceive not yourselves with the fancy, that Solomon's disappoint- ment might not be yours. Be assured, you would fare no better than he. The same experiment would yield the same result to you, as it did to him, and as it has done to many more, who have foolishly ventured to repeat it.—Be not '^ envious, then, at the foolish, when you see the prosperity of the wicked." *^ Be not thou afraid, when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased : for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away ; his glory shall not descend after him : though while he lived he blessed his soul, (and men will praise ihee, when thou doest well to thyself,) he shall go to the generation of his fathers ; they shall never see light. Man that is in honour, and under- standeth not, is like the beasts that perish."— Let your minds, then, be settled, my brethren, in the truth of the apostolic aphorism, " godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world , and it is certain we can carry nothing out. Having, therefore, food and raiment, let us be therewith con- tent." — If you are ** i^ich in faith, and heirs of the king- dom which God hath provided for them that love him," envy may well be a strangier to your bosoms. *' Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted, but the rich in that he is made low : because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, than it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of 70 LECTURE III. the fashion of it perisheth : so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways."* Lastly : Let my hearers *^ suffer the word of exhor- tation," from the lips of the Saviour himself: — ^' Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal : — but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal : — for where your treasure is, there will your hearts be also."f — Seek not your happiness in riches, nor in any thing which riches can procure. It were puerile affectation, or unscriptural cant, to undervalue and vilify them ; or to refuse to ad- mit the desirableness of many of the blessings which they put in their possessor's power. But still, neither they themselves, nor all they can enable you to obtain, must be your happiness, — your portion. You must seek *^ abetter and more enduringsubstance." " The grounds of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully : and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, be- cause I have no room where to bestow my fruits ? And he said. This will I do : I will pull down my barns, and build greater ; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years ; take thine ease, eat, drink, (and) be merry. But God said unto him, (Thou) fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee ; then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided ? So (is) he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God" One might have looked on all Solomon's " great works," and splendid buildings, and varied and accu- mulated magnificence, and have said. The possessor of * James i. 9.— II. f Matt. vi. 19—21- ECCLES, 11. 1 — 11. 71 all these may die to day :— this night his soul may be required of him ; — and then, " Whose shall these things be ?"— No longer his .— " When he dieth, he shall carry nothing away :"—and if this is his all,— if he possesses nothing more permanent, no " durable riches and righ- teousness," no ^* house not made with hands eternal in the heavens," no ^* inheritance incorruptible and un- defiled and that fadeth not away ;" — wo is me for the foolish man !— -he has " laid up treasure for himself," but he is not ** rich towards God." The language of the Saviour to his poof people, *' I know thy poverty, but thou art rich," may well be reversed to this victim of a pitiable and ruinous delusion, " I know thy riches, — but thou art poor!" Compare the description of Solomon's splendour with that of the *^ citv which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God!" — the city which he hath *' prepared" for all his people, who " embrace his pro- mises, and confess themselves strangers and pilgrims on the earth :"— -«* the holy city, the new Jerusalem ;" of which the foundations and walls are of precious stones, the gates of pearl, and the streets " of pure gold, as it were transparent glass ;" which is guarded by angels ; of which *' the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple;" which *^has no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof;" where there shall be no more night, and no more curse, but eternal unclouded day, and everlasting and unmingled blessing!*— Remember, my brethren, that the meanest saint on earth is a citizen of this heavenly city, and has a part in all this glory. — The " great buildings" on which the king of Israel ♦ Sec Rev. xxi. 10— 27, xxii. 1—5. 7S LECTURE III. expended so much wealth, and skill, and labour, have long since fallen to ruin, and crumbled to dust ; and so, in succession, do all the monuments of earthly grandeur :-— " We build with what we deem eternal rock : — A distant age asks where the fabric stood ; And in the dust, sifted and search'd in vain, The undiscoverable secret sleeps." But the structures of the Divine Architect shall never experience decay ; their glory shall never 'tarnish ; their riches shall never be plundered ; their blessed inhabi- tants shall never be wasted by death, or scattered by hostile invasion. The gardens and groves and pleasure-grbunds of Solomon might be called by men an earthly paradise : — but it was a paradise of sweets that soon cloyed, and failed to yield to their possessor the anticipated delight ; — and like every thing earthly, it has passed away. His was the ^* time to plant;" and there came a time after him, " to pluck up that which was planted." But the paradise above, where flows the ^* pure river of water of life, clear as chrystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb," is a scene of delights, as un- fading as they are pure and exquisite,— delights, that always satisfy and never satiate ; delights that shall be new through eternity, — continued enjoyment only stimulating the appetite, and enhancing the relish. Envy not, then, the possessor of the richest and loveliest in- heritance on earth. You have a better inheritance above. *' To him that overcqmeth, will I give to eat of the Tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." It is only through Jesus Christ that this final glory and blessedness can be obtained. It is by him that the way to tlie Tree of life has been opened, and " paradise ECCLES. II. 1 11. 73 regained." The heavenly city has been reared in all its purity and splendour, for the habitation of his subjects : — the " everlasting inheritance'' is prepared in his name, and bestowed for his sake ; bestowed on all who are justified by his blood, and renewed and sanctified by his Holy Spirit. It is ^' the inheritance of the saints in light ;"• and sinful creatures are not *' made meet for it" till they are pardoned and purified. The city, ** whose builder and maker is God," is a *' holy city;'* '^ and into it nothing shall enter, that defileth, or that worketh abomination, or maketh a lie ; but they only who are written in the Lamb's book of life."*— Seek, then, my fellow-sinners, an interest in him. Believe his testimony; follow his footsteps; '^ live by the faith of the Son of God;" *^ no longer to yourselves, but to him who died for sinners and rose again." Let his grace be the ground of your hope ; his example your pattern ; his glory your end ; his love your motive ; his promi- ses your encouragement. Thus let it be your desire, that *^ whether you live you may live to the Lord, or whether you die you may die to the Lord ; that living and dying you may be the Lord's." And then, what- ever may be your condition here, whether rich and ho- noured as Solomon, or poor and despised as Lazarus, you shall be ^^ heirs of God, and joint- heirs with Christ." — "Blessed are they that do his command- ments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."t * Rev. :cxj. 27. t ^^v« *^^- ^4. K LECTURE IV. EccLES. ii. IS — ^6. 12 " ^nd I turned myself to behold wiadomy and madness^ and folly : for what CcatiJ the man (do) that cometh after the king ? (even J 13 that ivhich hath been already done. Then Isaiv that nvisdom excell- 14 eth folly y as far as light excelleth darkness. The wise man*s eyes fore J in his head ; but the fool walketh i?i darkness : and I myself 15 perceived also that one event hapfieneth to them all. Then said I in my hearty .4s it hapfieneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me ; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my hearty that this also 16 fisj vanity. For (there is J no remejnbrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever ; seeing that which now (is, J in the days to come shall all be forgotten : and how dieth the wise (man? J as the fool. 17 Therefore I hated life ; because the work that is wrought under the sun (is) grievous unto me: for all (is J vanity and vexation of 18 spirit. YeOt I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun ; 19 because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knowethwhether he shall be a wise (manj or afoot? yet shallye have rule overall my labour wherein I have laboured^ and wherein I have 20 showed myself wise under the sun. This (is) also vanity. There- fore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which 21 I took under the sun. Tor there is a man whose labour (is) in wis- dom, and in knowledge, and in equity ; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it (for) his portion. This also (is J 22 vanity, and a great evil. For what hath a man of all his labour^ and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the 23 sun? For all his days (are) sorrows, and his travail grief ; yea, his 34 heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity, f There is J nothing better for a man, (than) that he should eat and drink^and fthat) he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I 25 saw, that it f was) from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who 26 else can hasten (hereunto,) more than I? For ( God J giveth to a man that (is J good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy : but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather, and to heap up, that he may give to (him that is) good before God. Tfiis also (is) vanity and vexation of spirit.** OoLOMON had now made trial of human wisdom and science; as an independent source of enjoyment ; of ECCLES. II. ±2 — 26. 75 naadness and folly, — thoughtless dissipation and mirth 5 and of the luxuries and elegances, and other pleasures, of riches and royalty. He had tried them separately ; and he had tried them together : and on all of them he had pronounced the verdict which he has here recorded, of *^ vanity and vexation of spirit." This trial, besides, had been made very completely, and with every possible advantage for its yielding the desired result : — " for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done." — Possessing ** a wise and understanding heart," no man could surpass him in extent and variety of know- ledge, or could prove the failure of his experiment upon it, to have been the consequence of limited and super- ficial information, and his unfavourable verdict there- fore mistaken and false : — and, exceeding in wealth and magnificence all the monarchs that had preceded him in the throne of Israel, and all the contemporaneous princes of the surrounding nations, — having thus fully in his power the means of obtaining every gratification of sense which his heart could desire, and unrestrained in his indulgences by the example or by the fear of su- periors ; by no man could the trial be more effectually made than it was by him, of ** the lust of the eye, and the pride of life." He might be imitated, but he could hardly be excelled. But from what he had said it might appear to some, as if he considered all the things of which he had been speaking, as on the same footing of inefficiency and worthlessness ; — all equally valriy and equally vexatious. — This, however, would be a great mistake. Earthly wisdom he had indeed affirmed to be ** vanity and vex- ation of spirit," considered as constituting the happiness of man, — -the portion of an immortal creature; and 76 LECTURE IT. madness and folly he had included in the same verdict. But it by no means follows, that in his estimate they were equally so. — In the twelfth verse, he " returns" to contemplate the two, and to compare them ;•— to view them, not each distinctly, but relatively to each other; not their respective claims to be acknowledged as the chief good, but simply their comparative titles to hu- man estimation and pursuit : — Verses 12, 13. " And I turned myself, to behold wis- dom, and madness, and folly : for what can the man do that Cometh after the king ? even that which hath been already done. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light ejtcelleth darkness." For the reason assigned, and on which we have briefly touched, namely, that his own experiment, on both sides of the question, was the completest that could be made; after having pushed it in each direction, to its utmost limits, he " turns himself" to look back on what he had passed through ; he stops to reflect ; he puts the two things in the balance against each other ; and in verse 13th he gives his deliberate decision :— ** then I saw, that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excel- leth darkness." It is evidently of the same kind of wisdom that he lierc continues to speak. It is not a declaration of the satisfying and unrivalled excellence of spiritual, hea- venly, Divine wisdom, but of the vast superiority even of human science, of the vvisdoni of earth, above igno- rant and thoughtless folly. Although in itself far from sufficient to be the portion, the happiness, of such a ereature as man ; because it is not only accompanied in «the acquisition and possession of it^ with a variety .of peculiar griefs and sorrows, but it embraces not the favour of God, and leaves unprovided- for the interests ECCLES. 11. i2 — 26. 77 of the immortal soul ; yet it excels ignorance and folly ** as far as light excelleth darkness."-— With light we invariably, — I might almost say instinctively, — asso- ciate the ideas of security, and order, and cheerfulness ; and with darkness the opposite ideas, of danger, and confusion, and melancholy. Wisdom excels folly in its own nature ; the furnishing of the mind with know- ledge being evidently much more accordant with the character and dignity of a rational creature, than leav- ing it empty, unimproved, and waste, dissipating its powers, and degrading its exalted capacities, in incon- siderate mirth and revelry, or in mere sensual and ani- mal gratifications. The pursuits of human science, al- though we pity the man who is destitute of the purer and sublimer joys of true religion, are yet productive of pleasures, high in order, and exquisite in degree. And the superior excellence of such wisdom is further apparent, from the counsel and direction which it affords to its possessor in all the affairs of daily life, — the good which it enables him to acquire, and the evil which it leaches him to avoid. Hence it is added. Verse 14. " The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walketh in darkness : and I myself per- ceived also, that one event happeneth to them all." Wisdom possesses the same advantage over folly, that sight does over blindness. The wise man is like a person who has his eyes in a sound state, and has light at the same time to use them* The fool, on the contrary, resembles the man who is either destitute of the organs of vision, or to whom surrounding darkness renders them unavailing. The man of wisdom, having all his wits about him, in the full possession and the appropriate exercise of all his faculties, ** guides his affairs with discretion," looks before him, thinks ma- 78 LECTURE IV. turely of what he is doing, and by his knowledge of men and things, is directed to the adoption of plans which promise to be profitable, and to the prudent and successful prosecution of them. He " foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself.'' He aims at worthy ends, and employs suitable means for their accomplishment. But the fool, — the ignorant and inconsiderate and improvi- dent man, — is continually in danger of stumbling, or of going astray, like a person overtaken by darkness, who " knoweth not whither he goeth." He is ever prone to run blindly and heedlessly into absurd and in- jurious projects, or to destroy such as are in themselves good, by blundering in the execution of them. The fool's eyes, it is elsewhere said, are ^' in the ends of the earth," roaming vainly and idly abroad, without serving his present and needful purposes ; — gazing, as the or- gans of a vacant mind, on far off objects, and allowing him to stumble over what is immediately in his way. Without foresight to anticipate probable evils, without even sagacity to avoid such as are present, the fool is in perpetual hazard of injuring and ruining both him- self, and all who are so unfortunate as to stand con- nected with him, or to be exposed to his influence. Yet, whilst Solomon was not insensible to the pecu- liar and eminent advantages of wisdom over folly, there were, at the same time, some particulars in which the wise man and the fool stood entirely on a level : and the recollection and contemplation of these galled and mor- tified his spirit, and prevented his deriving from his trial of wisdom even that measure of enjoyment, which it was fitted in its nature to bestow. It is in this temper of mind that he adds, in the remainder of this, and in the two following verses : — '' And" (or yet) " I myself perceived^ that one eycrit ECCLES. II. IS — 26. 70 happeneth to them all. Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me ; and why was I then more wise ? Then 1 said in my heart, that this also is vanity. For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever ; seeing that which now is, in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool." The expression, " one event happeneth to them all,'* refers, not merely to the life of all coming to the same termination, but to the indiscriminate administration of Divine providence, in regard to temporal things, and the similarity of its general aspect towards good and bad, towards wise and foolish. It is the same sentiment, which is afterwards more fully stated in the beginning of the ninth chapter ; ^' For all this, I considered in my heart, even to declare all this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, (are) in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred (by) all (that is) be- fore them. All (things come) alike to all : (there is) one event to the righteous and to the wicked ; to the good,' and to the clean, and to the unclean ; to him that sacri- liceth, and to him that sacrificeth not : as (is) the good, so (is) the sinner ; (and) he that sweareth, as (he) that feareth an oath. This (is) an evil among all (things) that are done under the sun, that (there is) one event unto all : yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness (is) in their heart while they live, and after that (they go) to the dead." When we come to this passage, we shall have a more proper opportunity for considering particularly this view of the Divine providence ; a view, which at one time, you know, so agitated and unhinged the miod of the Psalmist Asaph, as almost to unsettle his confidence in the government, and the very existence, of the Divine 80 LECTURE IV. Being. His feet were almost gone, his steps had well nigh slipped : he was envious at the foolish, when amidst all their rebellious forgetfulness of God and pre- sumptuous impiety, their singular prosperity met his view, and was contrasted with the remarkable distresses of himself and others of God's people. I have said, the two passages express the same sen- timent. Perhaps this is scarcely correct. There is one essential difference between them. In the verses before us, it is not the case of the good and bad, the righteous and wicked, that is spoken of, but rather of the wise and foolish; wisdom and folly being understood in re- ference to the knowledge of earthly science, and to the concerns of time and of the present world. — The wise, with all their information, and all their sagacity, cannot, any more than the fool, control the course of providence. They are subject, in common with the weak, and igno- rant, and short-sighted, to all the diversified diseases, calamities, disappointments, and anxities of life. This Solomon had seen in the experience of others, and had also felt in his own ; and it filled him with impatience and fretfulness : — ** then said I in my heart. As it hap- peneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me ; and why was I, then, more wise ?'* " Why was I more wise ?"— -Why ! How apparently unreasonable and capricious the question ! Had he not just afiirmed, that " wisdom excelleth folly as far as light excelleth darkness ?" Was there, then, no advan- tage in the possession of wisdom ? — Ah ! my friends, this language affectingly shows the unsatisfactoriness of all earthly sources of enjoyment ; and the tendency of the human heart, when confined, in its desires and relishes, to such sources alone, to discontent, and mur- muring. True, there were some points in which the ECCLES. ir. IS— 36. 81 wise man excelled the fool ; but then, there were others in which he was nowise his superior: in which both were perfectly on a level ; and these were of such a na^ ture that the mortification Arising from the equality more than neutralized, in Solomon's estimation, the advantage arising from the superiority. This bitter spoiled the sweet of all its relish ; so that he ** said in his heart," w^ith fretful disappointment, " This also is vanity." One of the points of equality, by which his mind was peculiarly affected, was seen in the latter end of the wise man and the fool, and the forgetfulness and indif- ference of posterity as to both : — **for there is no re- membrance of the vi^ise, more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is, in the days to come shall all be forgotten : — and how dieth the wise man ?-^as th6 fool." These words contain Solomon's estimate of posthu" inousfame. He must be considered as stating a general truth. Men, in anticipating futurity, vainly assign to themselves, and to one another, the lofty attribute of immortality. But how is the presumptuous expectation disappointed ! '' There is no remembrance for ever," — no everlasting remembrance, however often, and however fondly men talk of it, — ^* of the wise man more than of the fool." The stream of time, in a few gene- rations, carries down to the gulph of oblivion the name§j of both. It is singularly mortifying to reflect, how little, in a very short period, any man, however eminent may have been his reputation for wisdom, is missed in the world. For a while, a blank is felt. He is the theme of public praise ; and the tear of regret is shed, and the voice of lamentation is raised, over his tomb. But he is no sooner out of sight, than he begins to be out of L in LECTURE IV. mind. He is less and less spoken of. The world appears to go on without him, much as it did before. New ob- jects of attention and admiration arise, and the old ones are gradually forgotten. Of the thousands eminent in their day, who must have lived in ancient times, how few comparatively are there, whose very names have come down to us !— and even as to those that have been saved from the general wreck of time, how very cir- cumscribed is the circle of their fame ! By the great mass of human society, by the immensely larger pro- portion of the population of the world, they have never been heard of: — their names, their works, and their sayings, are alike unknown. — The wisdom of Joseph saved the land of Egypt from impending ruin. Yet soon *' another king arose, who knew not Joseph." Whilst the salutary effects of his counsel continued to be permanently felt, the counsel itself and the man who had given it were forgotten, and were miserably re- quited ; and but for the inspired record in the holy Scriptures, we should scarcely, I presume, have heard of his name, even amongst the fables and uncertainties, and confused and mutilated facts, of remote tradition. — And of Solomon himself, the wisest of the wise, how little could we with certainty have known, had not his history been in a similar manner recorded, and his in- spired writings preserved ! ^* And how dieth the wise man? — as the fool." — To both, the event itself is equally certain : the wise cannot ^vard it off more than the fool. The time and the man- ner and the circumstances of it are to i)oth equally un- certain : to the wise, as to the fool, it may be sudden or lingering, preceded and accompanied by the same varieties of pain and suffering, both being alike subject to all those diseases, by which fallen humanity is af~ ECCLES. II. IS S6. 8? flicted, and which to all in succession fulfil the original sentence, "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt re- turn." — It is followed too, as to both, with the same humiliating effects. '' They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them." To both, the grave is equally narrow, equally cold, equally silent, and dark^ and dreary. They rot alike into indiscriminate dust. And, as it is of secular wisdom Solomon is speaking, not of spiritual and saving knowledge, — in the depar- ture of both there is ground for the anxious and trem- bling forebodings of futurity, both being destitute of good hope. Thus Solomon " saw that wise men died, and that the fool and the brutish person perished ;" and his spirit was vexed and mortified. He hated life ; and all his labour, in the acquisition of his wisdom and of his general superiority to other men, seemed grievous, as having yielded him no solid or permanent satisfac- tion :— verse 17. " Therefore I hated life ; because the work that is wrought under the sun (is) grievous to me : for all (is) vanity and vexation of spirit." — Alas ! alas! what is life my friends, without a contented mind ? and where is a truly contented mind to be found, except in the pious and believing reference of every thing to God, and making Him the chosen portion of the soul ? Another reason for dissatisfaction with the results of all his varied labours in the pursuit of happiness, is as- signed in the following verses : — Verses 18—23. " Yea, 1 hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun ; because 1 should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise (man) or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein 1 have showed myself wise under the sun. This (is) also vanity. Therefore I went about to cause 6ii IiECTi5RB IV. my heart to despair of all the labour which 1 took under the sun. For there is a man whose labour (is) in wis- dom, and in knowledge, and in equity ; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it (for) his portion. This also (is) vanity, and a great evil. For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? For all his days (are) sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity." *' 1 hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun, because 1 should leave it to the man that shall be after me." — But why should this have so grieved thee, Solomon ? If thy heart had been right with God ; if He had been, as He ought to have been, thy chief joy, the treasure of thy soul ; if thy affections had been in heaven, and thy hopes full of immortality ;-~the thought of parting with earthly possessions, with worldly gran- deur, with human admiration, could not have been thus vexing to thy spirit. It would not have distressed the feelings of piety, to anticipate the exchange of these for purer joys and sublimer honours; nor the feelings of generous benevolence, to think of leaving to another ivhat thou couldest no longer enjoy thyself. — But alas ! to the worlding, who seeks his portion in the present life, as Solomon was now doing, even the simple thought that ail must be left, cannot but be, in the ex- treme, galling and disheartening. But there is something more here. They must not only be left, and left to another : the character of the successor, and the use he is to make of them, are mat- ters of vexatious uncertainty :— " And who knoweth, whether he shall be a wise man or a fool ? yet shall he have rule over ail my labour wherein I have laboured, ECCLES. II. 13 J^6. 85 and wherein I have showed myself wise, under the sun. This is also vanity." — If a man has a son to succeed to his wealth and honours, he may be a foolish son, without principle, and destitute of discretion and com- mon sense ; or, if there be about him promising symp- toms of wisdom, the very succession to riches and splendour may work, as experience shows it to have many a time done, a fatal change ; may frustrate a fa- ther's partial anticipations ; may intoxicate the youthful heart, and effectually make a fool of the hopeful heir.— If a man have no son, and fixes the succession to his estates on one whom he esteems wise and prudent, capable of keeping them together and of using them to advantage, he may have been deceived by specious ap- pearances, assumed for the purpose of obtaining his good graces ; or the same change of character may be produced by actual change of condition, which we have supposed in the case of the son ; — and whosoever be the heir, sudden death may prevent his entering on his new inheritance, or may very soon transmit it again to other hands,-— and these may be the hands of a fool. — It is probable, that Solomon himself had no very flat- tering anticipations of the future character of his son and heir, Rehoboam, who very early made it manifest, \hat, along with the throne and the riches and the Royal magnificence of his father, he was very far from inherit- ing his wisdom ; the kingdom, at the very commence- ment of his reign, being divided by his haughty and headstrong folly, and a large portion of it alienated from the house of David. It was sadly mortifying to Solomon, then, to reflect^ that the produce of all his labour and of all his care, the wealth he had accumulated, the honours he had acquired, the splendours with which he had surrounded 86 LECTURE IV. himself, might come immediately into the possession of one who might break the sceptre he had swayed amidst so much prosperity, might abuse and squander his pub- lic treasures and his private fortunes, might forfeit his honours and cover himself with contempt :--that such a one might " have rule over all his labour wherein he had laboured, and wherein he had showed himself wise under the sun.'* So many circumstances thus concurring to impress on his mind the vanity of earthly things, and the, false- hood of the promises of happiness held out by thtm, he began to bethink himself a little more gravely, and to renounce the pursuit of enjoyment from worldly good, as desperate and hopeless : — ** Therefore 1 went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun." — The mode of expres- sion seems to imply, that this was no easy matter. His heart clung firmly to the world :-~he could not bring himself to relinquish it : — yet when he considered and re -considered his experiment, as far as it had hitherto gone, he found it would not do. — And, amongst the views of the world, which were ever forcibly recurring to his mind, the last mentioned appears to have had a predominant influence. He repeats it : — " There is a man,"— (that is, the case is one which not unfrequently occurs, and Solomon himself was, in some respects, an instance of it,) — " There is a man who hath laboured in" (or according to) *' wisdom, and knowledge, and equity ; yet to a man who hath not laboured therein," (that is, not merely who hath entered on the posses- sion of what cost him no labour of his own, but who, in- stead of labouring in wisdom, and knowledge, and equity, has laboured in folly and ignorance and unrigh^ teousness, and who continues to display the same cha^ ECCLES. II. 12 — 26s 87 meter,) " shall he leave it for his portion." The entire produce of his prudent, and intelligent, and equitable diligence, becomes the portion of a foolish and a vicious man. " This," says he, <* is vanity, and a great evil 5" an evil which, in Solomon's experience, served to embitter all the satisfaction which a man can derive from his labours : — ** For what hath a man of all his la- bour, and of the vexation of his heart wherein he hath laboured under the sun ?" — When his course is thus brought to a close, and he leaves the results of all his toils to another, *' to the man that shall come after him," — '* what hath he?" — what reward, — what profit, — what compensation, for all his labour, all his anxiety, and care, and vexation of spirit ?~when his soul comes to be required of him," and the emphaticul question is asked, *^ whose shall those things be which thou hast provided ?" The twenty-third verse, " For all his days are sor- rows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night : this is also vanity ;"— does not seem to be intended as a direct answer to the question which had just been asked, <* What hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart wherein he hath la- boured under the sun?" — as if the wise man had said, He has only vexation ; ^^Jbr all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief." It is rather designed, I think, to aggravate the evil, that all should have so unprofitable a termination :—■'' What hath he V^— although *' all his days were sorrows, and his travail grief." When he has thus spent his life, given his whole soul to the la- bours of this world, passed through days of sorrow and disquietude, toiled in carefulness and grief of spirit, and added to such days, nights of sleepless anxiety, or slumbers scared and disturbed with uneasy dreams and 88 LECTURE IT. startling apprehensions 5— -when, by such means, he has realized all that his heart was set upon, and filled others with wonder and envy at his success ;— <* What hath he ?"— When he comes to die, and to leave it all behind him, the poorest is as rich, and the meanest as mighty as he. Such is the termination, and such the fruit, of all his toils, and sorows, and solicitudes. Surely, then, '* this is also vanity." It is but very mixed and unsa- tisfying enjoyment while it lasts ; sweet, with a large infusion of bitter ;— and the end of ail is unprofitable and vexatious. Solomon had " gone about to make his heart to des^ pair of all his labour under the sun," in pursuit of solid satisfaction from earthly things. In the verses which follow, he sets before us the proper use of the posses- sions of the present world : — Verses 24—26. " (There is) nothing better for a man,^ (than) that he should eat and drink, and (that) he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who else can hasten (hereunto,) more than I ? For (God) giveth to a man that (is) good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy : but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to (him that is) good before God. This also (is) vanity and vexation of spirit." " There is nothing better." — Is this, then, the su- preme good? Docs the writer here speak absolutely ? For an answer to such questions, we have only to look forward a little to the great general lesson, or moral, of the whole book ; chap. xii. 13. " Let us hear the con- clusion of the whole matter : fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole (duty") (or ra- ther, the whole happiness) ** of man :" — a lesson which ecci.es. II. 12 — 26. 89 is in harmony with the doctrine, on the same subject, of all the other Scriptures. ^^The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge ; but fools despise wisdom and instruction." *^ The fear of the Lord is the begin- ning of wisdom ; a good understanding have all they that do his commandments." " Where shall wisdom be found ? and where is the place of understanding ? — God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. — And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding."* In the verses before us, Solomon must be understood as speaking of the way to derive from earthly things that kind and degree of enjoyment which they are ca- pable of affording. And this is, not to pursue them as our chief good : not to seek our happiness from them ; but, with a thankful, contented, and cheerful spirit, to receive and enjoy such a measure of them as God in his providence may be pleased to bestow. ** There is nothing better for a man," as to the things of time, " than that he should eat and drink," that is, that he should use the comforts and blessings which God confers, " and that he should make his soul en- joy good in his labour," maintaining an easy and satis- fied mind, without grudging and repining at what has been, or fretting with unhappy solicitude about what may be ; free from the irksome care about possessions already acquired, and from the toiling and anxious eagerness of those who " haste to be rich," whose de- sires are incessant for more, and more, and more ; their ideas changing and their ambition swelling as they ad- vance, and who are never, in any stage of their pro- gress, ^* content with' such things as they have." This ♦ Piov. L 7. Psal. cxi. 10. Job. xxviii. 28. M 90 JLECTURE IV. is far from being the way to the true enjoyment even of this world. He enjoys it best, who receives its bless- ings, as from the hand of God, with a cheerful and thankful, but dependent and resigned spirit, who makes God himself, — not the temporary gift, but the Eternal giver, — his portion, and who has learned to be satisfied with whatever He is pleased to provide. This temper of mind is not in nature ; the lesson, as I have just hinted, must be learned:-— ^^ This also I saw," says Solomon, *' that it was from the hand of God." The meaning of this is, not merely that the bounties of providence are from the Divine hand ; but that from him proceeds a suitable temper of mind for the true enjoyment of them ;^a grateful and contented spirit. This is from God. It is produced and main- tained by Divine influence ; and it imparts to the things of time a relish which can never be experienced by those who make them their portion. — Solomon's doc- trine of the necessity of this lesson being taught us by God, agrees with the experience of the apostle Paul, as given in his Epistle to the Philippians :—*' Not that I speak in respect of want : ^ov I have learned^ in what- soever state I am (therewith) to be content. I know- both how to be abased, and I know how to abound : everywhere, and in all things, I am instructed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strength- eneth me."* He '* learned,^^ — he was "• instructed ;^^ — not merely informed of this state of mind being his duty, but effectually taught, by the grace of the Lord Jesus, to maintain it. The sentiment of the entire de- pendence of the creature on Divine Providence, of the peaceful serenity of mind arising from the habitual im- * Phil, iv.l 1—13. ECCLES. II. 12 — 2Q. 91 pression of it, and of God's being the Author of this contented and happy frame of spirit, is finely expressed by the Psalmist in the beginning of the 127th Psalm : — *^ Except the Lord build theJi6use, they labour in vain that build it : except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows :— so he giveth his beloved sleep." He enables his children, the objects of his paternal love and care, to enjoy tran- quil and sound repose, neither abridged by the wake- fulness, nor disturbed by the scaring dreams of anxiety, by giving them to exercise a believing filial reliance upon himself, and impressing on their minds the vnnity and utter fruitlessness of the most solicitous and drudg- ing labour without his blessing, and the abiding con- viction that his sovereignty cannot be controlled, that his wise administration cannot be improved, that his gracious and faithful promises cannot be falsified. His own experience served to satisfy him, that the happiness to be derived from the things of this world, depends entirely on the state of mind in which they are received and enjoyed, and that this state of mind is *' from the hand of God :" for if the varieties of earthly good had in themselves been capableof imparting true satisfaction, who could have found that satisfaction, if he failed of it ? — *^ for who can eat, or who else can hasten (hereunto,) more than I?" Who is thef^ that can enjoy the delicacies and the luxuries of life more than 1? — what appetite can be more richly feasted, what taste, in all its capricious likings, more entirely indulged, than mine ? Or " who can hasten" more than I, to the enjoyment of the pleasures of sense, in all their variety ?-~who can seelc them with more unremitting ardour ? who can grasp them with a fonder avidity ^ 9S LECTURE ly. who can possess them with a heart more set upon them, and more determined to make the most of them, than I ? And who can obtain them with greater facility ?-^ who can refine them to a higher excellence ? — who can multiply them to a richer abundance ? — Yet all would not do. They yielded me nothing that deserved the jiame of happiness. God must not only bestow them, but bestow along with them a right spirit in the recep- tion and estimation, the enjoyment and use of them, else they will be curses instead of blessings, fountains of bitterness rather than springs of pleasure. The true enjoyment, then, even of the things of the present world, is one of the peculiar advantages of God's people ; and the experience of Solomon confirms the paying of the apostle : — *^ Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and pf that which is to come."* Verse 26th. ** For (God) giveth to a man that (is) good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy : but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to (him that is) good before God. This also (is) vanity and vexation of spirit." " The man that is good in his sight," is the man that is truly good ; good in the unerring estimate of the Divine mind ; whose "• heart is right with God," and who is " steadfast in his covenant ;" vi^ho believes his word, trusts in his grace, and obeys his will, — *' doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with his God,"--" denying all ungodliness and worldly desires, and living soberly, and righteously, and godly, in this present world ," choosing God as his por- tion, *' glorifying him in his body and spirit which are his," grateful for his kindness, submissive to his cor- * ITim.iv. 8. EcciiES. II. IS — 26. 93 rections, satisfied with the arrangements of his gracious providence, and with the provisions and proposals of his redeeming love.— To such a man, " God giveth wisdom and knowledge," by which he is enabled rightly to appreciate the comparative value of temporal and eternal things, to give the former their proper measure of regard, to " use them as not abusing them," reserving his heart for the latter and for God. In this way he giveth him also ** joy ;" the state of mind arising from this exercise of wisdom and knowledge being eminently favourable to the happy enjoyment of all the blessings of life, preserving equanimity, moderating and regulating the desires, and, by suppressing extra- vagant elation in prosperity, lightening the pressure of adversity, and tempering the otherwise overwhelming vexation of losses and disappointments, of frustrated schemes, and baffled exertions. " But to the sinner"— that is, to the man who is not ** good before God," whose spirit is not right with him, who *' goes on frowardly in the way of his own heart," and " according to the course of this world ;" who ** says to the Almighty, Depart from me, for I de- sire not the knowledge of thy ways ;" who, regardless of the obligations, and insensible to the pleasures, of religion, seeks his happiness in the creature and not in the Creator ; — '^ to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit." The meaning is, that all that Solomon had de- scribed, is the experience not of the good man, but of the sinner, — of the man who forgets and forsakes the Lord. This is the man, all whose labour is ** travail." It is he that rises early, and sits up late, and eats the bread of sorrows. It is he that is sickened with cares. 94 LECTURE IV. and harrassed by disappointments. His object is, and he toils hardly and restlessly for its attainment, *^ to gather and to heap up:'' and then, when he has gained his end, though never to his heart's content^ he must leave all behind him; and possibly, in the appointment of an all-wise providence, overruling every thing for the Divine glory, his accumulated treasures must be- come the portion of one whom of all others he most heartily dislikes, — of a godly man, the object of his avowed and bitter scorn, but of God's approbation and regard ; who will devote his possessions to purposes of which his predecessor never dreamed, or which, if they ever crossed his thoughts, were instantly dismissed with banter and imprecation ; who will ** honour the Lord with his substance, and with the first fruits of all his increase." Solomon had remarked, in surveying the incidents and changes of human life, that the Su- preme Disposer frequently thus transferred the bounties of his providence, stored up by wicked means for wicked ends, from the sinner to the saint, from hands that un- worthily abused them, to hands that would apply them to their legitimate uses. It is God's doing. The sinner does not, of his own free will, relinquish his treasures, and give them over into the hands of the godly. No : what he acquired by travail he abandons with reluc- tance. They are not presented with his open hand, but wrenched from his tenacious grasp. He holds them while he can, and only parts with them from an indig- nant feeling of necessity. — With respect to the travail and anxiety of labouring for earthly good, Solomon's experience, whilst he was departing from God, had of course been that of '^ the sinner ;" and it was all " va- nity and vexation of spiiit." The great moral of the whole of this chapter is con- ECCLES. II. 12 — 26, 95 tained in these concluding verses. These form the prac- tic :i improvement of the discoveries made by the writer, in iiis experiments on earthly wisdom, on madness and folly, on sensual gratification, luxurious elegance, and voluptuous refinement, considered as independent sources of happiness to man. In this view of them, they are all pronounced vanity; incapableof yielding true and substantial felicity :— and he here teaches the important secret, of extracting from earthly things the full propor- tion of sweetness which they are capable of affording. Let us learn, my brethren, to make a proper discri- mination even amongst secular pursuits. Wisdom, or science, even when considered as exclusive of godli^ ness, is, in its nature and uses, decidedly superior to sensual pleasure; and that too, although in the pursuit and enjoyment of the latter there may be no particularly sinful excess. But still, neither of them will do, to be the substance of happiness, the ** one thing needful," the portion of the soul ; — nor will earthly things, of any description, yield their sweets to their possessor, till they have ceased to be looked upon at all in this light. — Forget not, my Christian brethren, the higher and no- bler objects of desire and pursuit, which your Divine Master sets before you, and charges you to mind : — <' If ye, then, be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."*— O keep these objects of blessed hope con- tinually before your view. In proportion to the force and the constancy of their influence on your affections, * Col, iii. i~4. 96 LECTURE IV. will be your equanimity amidst the changes of this fluc- tuating world, from good to evil, and from evil to good, and the correspondence of your tempers and deportment to the spirit of the apostolic admonition : — *^ But this, I say, brethren, the time is short : it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none ; and they that weep as though they wept not, and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not, and they that buy as though they possessed not, and they that use this world as not abusing it ; for the fashion of this world passeth away."* — The more habitually our desires are elevated to the things that are unseen and eternal, the less will the vicissitudes of those that are seen and tem- poral, be found capable of affecting our real happiness. Assigning to them their proper place, and expecting from them no more than they are fitted to produce, we shall be free from the disappointments of those who look to them for what they never can yield. Laying our ac- count with one day leaving them, we shall not be con- founded, as by an event on which we had not at all cal- culated, if, in the providence of God, they should leave us, " making to themselves wings and flying away, as an eagle towards heaven." The knowledge that we ** have in heaven a better and more enduring substance," will make our worldly bereavements comparatively light. <* Confessing ourselves strangers and pilgrims on the earth," we shall still look for the *^ better country, even the heavenly." And, ** all things working together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose," our temporal loss will be our spiritual gain : — *' our light afiliction, which is but for a moment, will work out for us a far more exceed- ing and eternal weight of glory." ♦ lCor.vii..29~SI. ECCLES. II. Ig — ^6. 97 And O ! let " the sinner" seriously contemplate his future prospects. Let him " consider his latter end.'* All that you are labouring for you must very soon re- linquish, — leaving every shred behind you. And quickly as that inevitable and final separation must come, you have no security for your retaining your ac- quisitions even till then. God is at this moment, in these times of general calamity and privation, reading to you, and to all, a most impressive lesson of their precariousness. You are ^* setting your eyes on that which is not ;"-— that which is so uncertain, so fleeting and transient, as hardly to be allowed the attribute of existence. You are eagerly coveting, and fondly at- taching yourselves to a nonentity, — an empty unsub- stantial shadow, which, ere your eye has glanced upon it, flits from before you. You are treasuring up ** trifles light as air," and as unstable as they are light, which every shifting wind of fortune^ (to borrow your own Heathen phraseology,) may blow for ever away And O, for your sakes, that this w^ere all !— -that the mere loss of these trifles were the amount of the evil that shall arise from a life devoted to the pursuit of them ! But, whilst you are living " without God in the world," estranging your hearts from him and giving them to the creature, preferring to his service the service of mam- mon, seeking the gift and forgetting and rebelling against the giver, abusing the bounties of his provi- dence, (for all is abused that is not consecrated in the use of it, by religious principle, to the honour of the Divine Benefactor,) and slighting and refusing the offered blessings of his grace : — whilst you are living thus, you are engaged in a much more lawful employ- ment than the laying up of trifles for future loss ; — ^j^ou N flS LECTURE IV. arc '^treasuring up unto yourselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God."*-— O deceive not yourselves with the fancy, that because you " labour in equity ^^"^ as well as "in wisdom and knowledge," defrauding no man, but giv- ing every one his due ; and because you *' run not^to the excess of riot/' but are decent and sober-living men,— that therefore there is no danger. There is dan- ger, imminent and awful danger, if, in the midst of all your equity and sobriety, the world has your hearts, and not God; if you are living to yourselves ; if your conduct is not influenced and guided by religious prin- ciple, by the faith, and the fear, and the love of God. *' Ye cannot serve God and Mammon," is the unequi- vocal and unqualified declaration of the Lord of Chris- tians; and of the two services it is only the service of God that can end well. Loss, and shame, and misery, will be the issue of the one ; gain, and glory, and blessedness, the eternal reward of the other. Be per- suaded, then, to embrace this holy and happy service. Be persuaded to seek something better and more lasting than this world can afford you ;— to seek an ever-during portion in the love of God, and all the blessings which it confers on its favoured objects, through Jesus Christ our Lord. An interest in this love, and in these bless- ings, is the only way to the true and satisfying enjoy- ment even of the present world. Listen, then, to the voice of Divine Wisdom :— " Receive my instruction, nnd not silver ; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies ; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." *' Riches and honour are with me, yea, durable riches ♦ Rom. ii. 5. ECCLES. II. 12 — 36. 99 and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their trea- sures."* ♦ Prov. vui. 10, 11, 18—21. LECTURE V. EccLEs. iii. 1 — 15. 1 " To every (thing there is J a season, and a time to every /lurfiose 2 under the heaven : a time to be born, and a time to die : a time to S filant, and a time to filuck up. (that which is J planted ; a time to killy and a time to heal : a time to break down, and a time to build At ufi: a time to weefi, and a time to laugh : a time to mourn, and a 5 time to dance : a time to cast aivay stones, and a time to gather stones together: a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from em- 6 bracing: a time to get, and a time to lose: a time to keefi, and a 7 time to cast away : a time to rend, and a time to sew : a tijne to kee/i 8 silence, and a time to s/ieak : a time to love, and a time to hate : a 9 time of war and a titne cf peace. What firofit hath he that worketh 10 in that wherein he laboureth? I have seen the travail which God 11 hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made every (thing) beautiful in his time : also he hath set the world in their heart ; so that no man can find out the work that God maketh 12 from the beginning to the end, I know that (there is J no good in 13 them, but for (a man J to rejoice, and to do good in his life, jlnd also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all 14 his labour, it (is) the gift of God. I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever : nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it ; and God doeth (it,) that (men) should fear before 15 him. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath al- ready been; and God requireth that which is past.'* ' -00000 X o the right understanding and interpretation of an author's language, nothing is of more essential conse- quence than a due consideration of his leading design, — the general scope and object of his performance. The great lesson which this book is intended to elucidate and impress, is the vanity of the attempt to find true happiness from any of the sources of mere worldly en- joyment. To this purpose the verses with which this chapter commences are, in one view of their meaning, ECCLES. III. 1 15. 101 remarkably appropriate ; and this of itself is a very con- clusive evidence of that view being right. They teach the two following important truths : — in the first place, that the concerns of the present world are, beyond ex- pression, unstable and fluctuating; and, secondly, that all its incessant vicissitudes are so regulated and de- termined by the uncontrollable purposes of the Su- preme will, that no human sagacity can foresee and prevent them ; " the times and seasons being kept in his own power," by him who says, " My counsel shall stand,, and I will do all my pleasure." Such considera- tions impressively teach us, on the one hand, the folly of saying, in such a world, we shall never be moved ; and the wisdom, on the other, of anticipating such changes as may be appointed and inevitable ; of accom- modating readily to the shifting scenes of life the state of our feelings and desires ; of conducting ourselves with propriety in all the varying circumstances of our condition ; and of never resting on such uncertainties as the basis of our felicity. Keeping these general observations in mind, let us briefly glance at the different particulars enumerated in the first eight verses. Verse 1st. " To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the sun." The preceding remarks will have led you to antici- pate, that I consider these words, containing the gene- ral sentiment of which the seven subsequent verses set forth varied exemplifications, as referring to the all-di- recting providence of God ; whose procedure is not the random, and capricious, and unsteady course (if a course it should be called) of short-sighted ignorance and fickle imbecility ; but the wise, and regular, and well-ordered administration of One, who '' knows the i02 LECTURE V. end from the beginning," to whom there is no unanti- cipated contingency, and whose omniscient eye, in the midst of what to us appears inextricable confusion, has a thorough and intuitive perception of the endlessly di- versified relations and tendencies of all events and all their circumstances, discerning throughout the whole, the perfection of harmony. — In the all-wise providence of God, then, — " to every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the sun." He begins his enumeration of particulars with the commencing and the terminating boundaries of life, be- tween which all must be done, and enjoyed, and suf- fered, that is done, enjoyed, and suffered, under the sun : — There is " a time to be born, and a time to die." — The moment is predetermined, of every man's entering into the world; and the moment is also fixed, by the same sovereign purpose, at which he is to leave it. When a child is born, no one can affirm how long it is to continue here. It may be an hour, or it may be ** threescore years and ten." The first breath is no se- curity for the next. The time and the circumstances of its future departure are known to God alone, the Author and the Supporter of its being. All that we can with certainty say, is, "there is a time to die." To all, the event is equally sure ; and to all, the period of its arrival is equally a secret. And, when that period does arrive, the wish and the attempt to evade it are to all equally vain. *' No man hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit;" — no, not for a moment.— How foolish, then, must it be for us, to sit down at our ease to enjoy the world, as if we had the time of our con- tinuance in it in our own power, .when, in truth, we are so completely tenants at willy and may be called to quit ECCLllS. III. 1 15. 103 on a moment's notice.—" Is there not an appointed time to man on the earth ? are not his days also as the days of a hirehng ?" Yes ; but with this difference, that the hireling knows the period of his service ; whereas, of the duration of his, man is left in utter uncertainty. ** His days are determined" indeed ; but " the number of his months is with God : God hath appointed his bounds, that he cannot pass ;" and he may come upon the invisible limit, the unseen line which separates time from eternity, ere he is at all aware of his being near it. There is " a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted." By some these words are understood metaphorically, of the dispensations of providence towards families and nations ; agreeably to a use made of the same and simi- lar figures in some other parts of Scripture. Thus God says to his ancient people, by the prophet Jeremiah, chap, xviii. 6 — 10. " O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay (is) in the potter's hand, so (are) ye in my hand, house of Israel. (At what) instant I shall speak con- cerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy (it :) if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, 1 will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And (at what) instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build, and to plant (it:) if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them." But although the words, thus understood, express an important truth, a truth of a higher order than their li- teral meaning suggests, yet, I am disposed to think, that the literal meaning is the true one, and that there 104^ LECTURE V. is a direct reference in them to a part of Solomon's va- rious labours, as described by him in the preceding chapter : " I made me great works : I builded me houses ; I planted me vineyards ; I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits ; I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees." — Thus Solomon planted t and thus many, possessing the means, along with the taste and inclination, planted before him, and have planted after him. But the " time to plant" is fol- lowed by the '* time to pluck up." The planter him- self, from change of circumstances, from alteration of taste, from caprice, or from necessity, may undo his own work : — a period of growth too arrives, at which wood, of all varieties, is cut down for profit, or rooted out for fruitlessness : — and no man, when he plants, can be sure, how soon the blasting influences of an unpro- pitious season may oblige him to pluck up his young favourites ; or whether his successor may not disap- prove his plans, and immediately on obtaining the in- heritance, overturn all his labours. And, should they be spared for a time, some one, at a later period, from taste or from avarice, may convert the sylvan into ara- ble, or, (what is still more deplorable, but not unfre- quent,) may lay waste his plantations to discharge the debts of profligacy. ** A time to kill, and a time to heal:" that is, say some, a time when God kills, and a time when he keeps alive ; a time when he brings to the grave, and a time when he heals and brings back from the very verge of it. I have no objection to this explanation ; only I think it should be understood with reference to the ministry or agency of man ; and that too, not to his killing by violence^ but to killing, as opposed to healings ECCLES. Ill, 1 io. 105 —both sides of the alternative relating to the same case. There is a time, when all the means that men can de- vise and employ will prove ineffectual for the preserva- tion of life; nay, when they may even have a prejudi- cial and deadly influence :— and there is a time, accord- ing to the unknown purpose of God, when the same means will operate like charms, will check and turn the ebbing tide of life, and bring back the exhausted and despaired-of patient from the last extremity. All de- pends on the purpose and appointment of God. Let none foolishly abuse this important truth ; a truth which ought never to be absent from the mind of a dependent creature. Let none interpret it as fatalism, and hastily infer the uselessness and impiety of employing means at all. For, although there is, "a time to kill," there is also " a time to heal." Previously to the use of means, the result is known only to God; and to us it belongs, to employ, with gratitude and prayer, such as skill and experience have pronounced to be suitable, and look up to God, in the spirit of faith and submission, for the blessing that is necessary to their healing efficacy. It was not the sin of Ahaz, that in his distress he " looked to the physicians," but that he " did not look to the Lord." " A time to break down, and a time to build up."— Even of those cities which Solomon himself " built up,"^ there were some which in Divine providence had pre- viously been " broken down by hostile violence."* He built up also the wall of Jerusalem ; which was again broken down at the captivity; and, after the appointed years of desolation, built up anew at the return from Babylon ; and at last thoroughly overthrown, in the days of final vengeance on the rebellious city. One ♦ See 1 Kings ix. 15--17, o 106 LECTUKE T. hour of Divine judgment, or of human violence, may break down what it has cost the labour of many years to build. " Forty and six years," said the taunting Jews to Jesus, ^^ was this temple in building:" — but when God's day of threatened vengeance arrived, in how much shorter time were its massy and stupendous structures levelled with the dust, and the prediction verified, that one stone should not be left upon another 1 — Solomon had " made him great works, and builded him houses." But he knew not, when he had finished them, how long each was destined to stand. Violence might soon lay them in ruins; change of circumstances might induce, or might oblige, himself or his succes- sors in the throne, to pull them down ; and, at any rate, a time was to come when they should yield to the dila- pidating influence of age, should totter to their fall, and be removed from a sense of danger. *' A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." These two clauses of verse 4th are evidently of syno- nimous import. There is a time when, by private or by public calamities, the Sovereign ruler calls to weep- ing and mourning ; sometimes " suddenly as in a mo- ment," without previous admonition, and contrary to all human expectation. In such a time, mirth and dancing are forgotten ; or if not, they are fearfully un- seasonable, incongruous, and profane : — " In that day did the Lord of hosts call to weeping and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth : and behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine : let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die. And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts. Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord ECCLES. in. 1 — 15. 107 of hosts."*— There is, on the other hand, a time when the scene changes ; when the light of prosperity rises over the darkness of affliction ; when God " turns men's mourning into dancing," " takes off their sackcloth, and girds them with gladness." — And then, anon, when, forgetting, as they are ever prone to do, the inconstancy of prosperity, and letting slip the salutary lessons of their previous tribulation, they begin, in the thought- lessness of gaiety, to say, " we shall never be moved," he again *' hides his face, and they are troubled." — Job was a happy father, and a rich and healthy and honoura- ble man, **the greatest of all the men of the East:" — Job became by the sudden visitations of God, childless and pennyless, tormented with disease, an alien to his friends, wronged, insulted, and desolate ; ** his harp was turned to mourning, and his organ to the voice of them that weep :" — and again the season came round, when the Lord "turned the captivity of Job," and " blessed his latter end more than his beginning." ** A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together:" — not, surely, for the purpose of or- dinary building ; for that had been already mentioned. The reference seems to be, to the rearing of memorials of covenants between parties, and of remarkable cir- cumstances or events. Such were the pillar erected by Jacob, and the heap of stones piled up by him and La- ban, and consecrated by the solemnities of oath and sa- crifice, to be the boundary of pledged and covenanted peace between them.f Such were the twelve stones taken from the midst of Jordan, when " its waters were cut off before the ark of the covenant," and set up by Joshua, as a memorial to future generations, of the power, and goodness, and faithfulness of Jehovah.J ^ Isa, xiij. 12—1-1. t Gen. xxxi. 44—55. t Josh. iv. 1—9. 108 LECTURE V. And such were the tumuli of stones raised over Acban, and over Absalom.* Other instances will occur to the recollection of the readers of the Bible ; nor has the practice, even in the rude form in which it most fre- quently appears in Scripture history, been at all pecu- liar to any one nation. — There is a time, then, when covenants are made, and a time when they may come to be disregarded and violated, or to be mutually relin. quished by the parties^ and the memorials of them thus rendered useless. There is a time, when trophies of victory and triumph are erected, and a time when the stones of them are thrown down and scattered ; when the victors in their turn become the vanquished, and defeat and shame take the place of conquest and honour; when those who dislike the events, destroy their me- morials. " A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from em- bracing." — There is a time, when the fondness of faith- ful and fervent friendship bestows its caresses, and re- ceives them in return with reciprocal sincerity and de- light; and a time when the ardour cools, when profes- sions fail ; when the friend of our bosom's love proves false and hollow-hearted, and the sight of him produces only the sigh and the tear of bitter recollection ; we re- frain from embracing, because our embrace is not re- turned. — There is a time, when the man whom God has blessed rejoices with the wife of his youth, when ^^the candle of the Lord shines upon his head," when all is prosperity and cheerfulness, and when the hal- lowed endearments of connubial afiection are enjoyed with mutual transport ;— and a time, when *^ the light is dark in his tabernacle," when the visitations of God have burdened his spirit with care and grief, when • Josh. vii. 26. 2 Sam. iviii, If, 18. ECCLES. III. 1 15. 109 even such pleasures lose their wonted relish, when to enjoy them as before would be insensibility to the feel- ings alike of nature and of piety.— There is a time^ when the heart of a father exults over ^^a wise son," when he presses him to his bosom in the embrace of cordial approbation, and, smiling upon him through tears of sweet affection, experiences all a father's joy, and indulges, in visions of anticipation, all a father's hopes ;— and a time, when the smile and the embrace must be reluctantly withheld, when approbation must give place to reproof, when the ** foolish son becomes the heaviness of his mother," when the heart is wrung with agony, and the blessed visions of hope are suc- ceeded by the dark forebodings of despondency and dread. ^^ A time to get, and a time to lose."— Does this re- quire any comment at present, my friends, when proofs of it so numerous are before your daily view ? There is a time, when industry is successful, when business prospers, when the tide of prosperity flows without in- terruption, and wealth seems to come spontaneously ;— - ** a time to get." But by and by a turn takes place in the tide, and there comes " a time to lose." AH is un- propitious. Nothing does well. Sudden and unlooked- for reverses take away at once the produce of many years of industrious application ;— or a continued run of ill fortune, as the world call it, but in which the man of piety will mark and acknowledge the orderings of providence, drains it off by slow but sure degrees. Riches, which have been accumulated during a long period of persevering labour, '* make to themselves wings and fly away as an eagle towards heaven ;"— got- ten in years,--lost in a day :— or a fortune obtained at once, is no sopner in possession, than it begins to di- 110 LECTtfRE V. minish ; the " time to lose" commences, and ceases not till all is gone, — and gone, it can hardly be told how. '* A time to keep, and a time to cast away :"— -a time, when particular earthly possessions give us plea- sure, and we keep them ; and a time when, from sa- tiety, or change of taste and. character, they cease to please, and we cast them away.—a time when the bounties of heaven are retained with gratitude, as valu- able and useful ; and a time when duty may require us to relinquish all that we have, that we may not violate the dictates of conscience, or incur the forfeiture of more precious and more lasting blessings ;•— or when life comes to be in danger, and for its preservation, pro- perty of every kind will be readily thrown away from us, as, in the comparison, unworthy of a moment's thought. — Thus, many have made a cheerful sacrifice of things seen and temporal for the sake of things un- seen and eternal ; and many more have shown the truth of the proverb, *' all that a man hath will he give for his life." — Paul " counted all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord;" nay, " suffered for him the loss of all things, and counted them but dung that he might win Christ, and be found in him." The believing Hebrews '* took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing in themselves, that they had in heaven a better and an enduring substance." On the voyage of the apostle to Rome, the wheat was cast out into the sea, and the tackling of the ship fol- lowed it, to lighten the vessel during the raging storm ; and whatever property had been on board would have shared the same fate, when life was in jeopardy. — What changes do varying circumstances produce in the value we attach to our possessions ! All such value ECCLES. III. 1 15. Ill is^ relative. We keep the smaller blessing, when it does not gome into competition with the greater, but when the former cannot be kept, but at the hazard, and far more at the certainty, of losing the latter, it is •* a time to cast away." *^ A time to rend, and a time to sew." This does not seem to mean merely that garments, carefully and skillfully sewed, will in time wear, and become fit for nothing but being rent in pieces for other purposes. There appears to be a reference to the practice, so often exemplified in the history, and alluded to in the other parts of Scripture, of rending the garments, as an ex- pression of strong emotion, especially of grief and vexation of spirit. — Thus, Reuben rent his clothes, when he found not Joseph in the pit ; and his agonized father, when he saw the bloody vestment of his fa- vourite son.* — David rent his clothes, when he mourn- ed for Saul and Jonathan ; when he followed the bier of the murdered Abner ; and when he received the false intelligence of the slaughter of all his sons by the rebel Absalom. t — Eliphaz, and Bildad, and Zophar, at the distant sight of their sadly altered friend, '* lifted up their voices, and wept, and rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads towards heaven. "J — The high priest Caiaphas, in real or feigned emotion of indignant grief, rent his clothes, when Jesus owned himself the Son of God, and announced his coming in the clouds of heaven, and sitting on the right hand of power. U —The instances of the practice, indeed, are fre- quent;— and, with allusion to it, God, by the prophet Joel, thus calls Israel to repentance, and warns them against the hypocrisy of the outward token, without * Gen. xxxvii. 29, 34. f 2 Sam. i. 11. ill, 31. xiii. 31- \ Job ii. 12. il Matt. xxvi. 65. 112 LECTUKfc V. the inward feeling : " Turn ye even to me with aU your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning ;— -and rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God ; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kind- ness, and repenteth him of the evil."*— There were times, then, of ordinary health and enjoyment, when clothes were made, and worn ; and there were times of calamity and grief, when they were rent asunder. Even the garments of festivity, and the robes of roy- alty, were not exempted from such deforming violence ; prosperity, and honour, and power, affording no secu- rity from change and suffering. " A time to keep silence, and a time to speak."— There is a time to keep silence, from disinclination to speak-; and a time when speaking would be dangerous or hurtful, and silence is imposed by prudence and necessity. — There is a time when affliction strikes us dumb ; when the spirit is oppressed, and the opening of the mouth to speak is an unwilling and painful effort ; and there is a time of deliverance, when the heart is lightened, and the lips are opened to utter the praises of the Lord, to tell of his kindness, and to join in the cheerful conversation of life. All are sensible, that si- lence is one of the natural expressions of heavy afflic- tion of heart, and that clamorous sorrow is seldom deep. — ^* Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the de- fenced cities, and let us be silent there ; for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord."t * * It is good for a man that he bare the yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone, and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. "J '* I was dumb with silence; I * Joel ii. a 2, 13. f Jer. viii. 14. ^ Lam. iii. 27, 38. ECCLES. III. 1 15. 113 held my peace, even from good ; and my sorrow was stirred."*^ — Again : — there are times of cordial friend- ship, and unanimity, and safety, when there is room for open confidence, and unreserved communication ; and there are times of alienation, division, and danger, when the lips must be sealed, and silence is the only security; when life, and all that a man holds dear, may be jeo- parded by a whisper. '^ Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time ; for it is an evil time.^f ** Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide ; keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter- in-law against her mother-in-law 5 a man's enemies are the men of his own house."J *^ A time to love, and a time to hate." It ought to have been remarked earlier, as one of tlie necessary principles of interpretation for these verses, that Solomon is not to be considered as speaking of what God allowed, or approved, in the conduct of men ; of times when all these things might lawfully be done. He speaks merely of times when there is oc- casion, or necessity, for them, or of powerful tempta- tion, if the things are wrong in themselves, to the doing of them. — There is a time to love ; a time, that is, when we experience treatment of which the tendency is to excite gratitude and affection ; — treatment, of which love is the suitable return : — and there is a time to hate; — not when hatred becomes a right and justi- fiable feeling ; for the law of God expressly prohibits our " hating our brother in our heart, or bearing any inward grudge against him," and commands us to ** love not our neighbour only, but our enemy ; to * Psal. xxsix. 2. f Amos v. 13, ± Micah vii. 5, §. P ii'k LECTURE T. bless them that curse us, to do good to them that hate us, and to pray for them that despitefully use us, and persecute us ;"*-— but a time when the conduct of others towards us is such as tends to engender hatred, to em- bitter and alienate our spirits ; when even the objects of our love may become the objects of our dislike and aversion. — The words, indeed, are general, and may include the feelings of others toward us, as well as ours toward them. '* There is a time to love ;" when we may be the objects of the favourable regard of others ; — ^* and a time to hate ;" when we may be the victims of their unmerited enmity. "A time of war, and a time of peace :" — a time when, through the " lusts that war in men's members,'^ overruled by the providence of God, " wars and fight- ings" arise ; when a nation must defend itself, or pe- rish ; when the church of God is persecuted and wasted by an ungodly world ; when individuals, however de- sirous to " live peaceably with all men," find it impos- sible ;— ^* they are for peace ; but, when they speak, others are for war :"f-«and a time, when Jehovah " breaketh the bow, cutteth the spear in sunder, burneth the chariot in the fire, and maketh wars to cease to the ends of the earth ;"— when smiling peace returns to bless a harassed and exhausted land; when the churches have rest, and are edified, and, ^' walking in the fear of God, and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, are mul- tiplied ;" when the desires of the man of quietness are gratified, when God '* makes even his enemies to be at peace with him," and gives him the hearts of those that hated him. Considering, then, this instability and incessant fluc- tuation of earthly affairs, which, beginning with the * Lev. X!X. 17, 18. Matt. v. 44. f TsaLcxx. 7. ECCLES. III. 1 15. 115 *'* time to be born," continue to present a scene of per- petual insecurity and change, till the '^ time to die ;'' and, considering that all is in the hand of God, all un- der his sovereign control, who has said, ^* My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:''-- Solomon repeats the question, which he had asked repeatedly before, " What profit hath he that worketh, in that wherein he laboureth ?"*-- -and confirms the sentence of " vanity," which this question involves, by a re- newed appeal to his own extensive experience and ob- servation : — verse 10. " I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men, to be exercised in it." He had himself seen all that he had just enumerated. He had seen many born, and many, at every period of life die ; — he had seen trees planted by one man, and rooted up by another, or even by the planter himself; — at one time, he had seen life preserved with little diffi- culty, and, at another, all human means expended in vain ; — he had himself broken down what others had built up, and built up what others had broken down ;— he had seen festivity and gladness turned suddenly to sackcloth and ashes, and he had seen '* weeping endure for a night, and joy come in the morning;" — he had seen covenants ratified and memorials of them erected, and covenants annulled or broken, and their memorials overthrown ; trophies of triumph reared, and anon the victors vanquished, and their trophies laid in the dust, and swept into oblivion ; — he had seen the delights of friendship and love enjoyed in their full perfection, with a free and bounding spirit, and he had seen even these delights for a time deprived of their relish ;— he had seen fortunes made, and fortunes lost ; possessions retained ♦ Chap. ii. 22. i. 3. 116 LECTURE >. for a while with solicitous vigilance, and then relin* quished for a good conscience, or cast away for self* preservation ; — he had seen times of talkative pros- perity, succeeded by seasons of speechless distress; and times of safety, and openness, and confidence, by pe- riods of peril, and secrecy, and apprehension ; — he had seen times of kindness and gratitude, and times of un- kindness and alienation ;— he had seen the bloody wars of his father David, followed by the promised tran- quillity of his own reign. In the midst of this perpetual vicissitude, the minds of men may often be perplexed and at a stand. It may seem to their eyes, a scene of inextricable confusion. But it is not so to the eye of Him who superintends and directs the whole : — Verse 11. " He hath miade every thing beautiful in his time ; also he hath set the world in their heart ; so that no man can find out the work that God maketh, from the beginning to the end." " He hath made every thing beautiful in his" (or its) " season." — This phraseology is evidently to be connected with the first verse of the chapter, and it confirms the interpretation given of it, as having refer- ence to the arrangements of Divine providence. *^ To every thing there is a season ;" and He by whom the *' times and seasons" are fixed, orders them all accord- ing to his infinite wisdom. All is beautiful harmony ; *' All chance, direction which we cannot see." Set down a man ignorant of mechanics in the midst of a system of extensive and complicated machinery ; and he will gaze about him in vacant wonder, all appearing to his dizzy and stupified sight, involved and intricate perplexity. But introduce an experienced machinist ; ECCLES. III. i — IB. 117 and by the hasty glances of a few moments, he discerns the proportions, and relations, and mutual dependen- cies of all the parts, — the connexion of the whole with the great moving power, and its perfect adaptation to a proposed end ; and his mind is delighted with the ad- mirable display of contrivance and skill.— Creatures like us, in contemplating the Divine procedure, are in the situation of the former. The scheme of providence may appear to us a maze of endless confusion, and even at times of jarring inconsistency, — one part frequently crossing and counteracting another. But the sole cause of this is our ignorance ; the very limited and partial views which we are able to take of it. It is because, as Solomon here expresses it, ^^ we cannot find out the work that God doeth from the beginning to the end." Had we powers that enabled us to take a full and com- prehensive and connected view of the whole, — from the originally proposed design, through all the successive steps of its progressive development, to its final and entire completion ;— we should see " every thing beau- tiful in its season,"— a perfect and delightful harmony, complicated indeed, but in proportion as it is compli- cated the more astonishing, in all the affairs of worlds, and kingdoms, and families, and individuals ;— we should be at once satisfied that there is nothing want- ing, and nothing useless,— nothing that could have been otherwise than it is, without irregularity and detriment. But to such a view no powers are adequate but those of Deity ; and we must in general content ourselves with the assurance of faith that " the Lord reigneth," and that '' what we know not now w^ shall know here- after." A particular consideration, however, is here sug- gested, as affecting our views of the Divine govern- 118 liECTURB T. ment, and preventing our observation of it from being even so correct and extensive as it otherwise might be. This is probably the idea expressed by the obscure words,—** also he hath set the world in their heart, so that men cannot find out the work that God doeth from the beginning to the end. "—I wish to be guided, in the explanation of difficult expressions, by a regard to the connexion in which they stand; and to adopt the view which appears in itself the simplest, and the most con- sonant to the object of the writer. Following this prin- ciple, I would remark, In the first place. From our necessary connexion with the world, our hearts, indisposed as they are to look above and beyond it, get so much entangled in its various concerns, so much occupied about the ob- jects themselves which it presents to our desire and pur- suit and enjoyment, that we are ever prone to overlook the operations of God's hands, — not to take time to contemplate and examine them with sufficient atten- tion ;~to satisfy ourselves with hasty and superficial glances, instead of a close and careful investigation. But this can never do. Of a system so involved and so extended, it is, in the nature of things, impossible to obtain any thing approaching to a comprehensive and accurate understanding, without a large measure of attentive consideration, humbly and devoutly bestowed. In the second place. From our diversified attach- ments to the persons and things of the world, we are rendered partial in our judgments of the Divine proce- dure ; our minds are biassed and warped ; our reason becomes the dupe of our feelings : — so that, what to a neutral spectator would appear the appointment of per- fect wisdom, we are hindered from perceiving, or hesi- tate to acknowledge, to be so, from our happening, in ECCLES. III. 1 15. 119 SO great a variety of ways, to be interested, and from our intellectual vision being thus shortened and dis- torted. It by no means follows, that, if such causes of par- tiality and short-sightedness were removed, we should have a complete comprehension of this subject. No. Our faculties are still limited. They are the faculties of creatures, and incapable, (as those must be even of Intelligences much more exalted than we are,) of em- bracing the plans of the omniscient God. But without doubt, the removal of such causes would render our views inconceivcably more just and more extensive than they are. But it may naturally be asked. How can the blessed God be with propriety represented as thus ** setting the world in men's hearts ?" — I reply, by observing ; that the world, in a vast variety of its objects of desire and pursuit, not only lawfully may, but necessarily must, interest our hearts, and engage much of our attention. Its legitimate and needful occupations are numerous, and there are not a few, which it is even our indispen- sable duty to mind. — And further, although God has set the world before men, and filled it with desirable objects and sources of gratification, and has so consti- tuted and so situated its inhabitants, as that they must be engaged about it, he is not justly chargeable with the partialities and excesses of men's attachment to it, or with their blinding and perverting influence; — an influence which arises from the absence or the imper- fection of a right disposition of heart. In the two following verses, the secret is repeated, of deriving from temporal things the measure and kind of happiness which, from their nature, they are capable of bestowing :— ." I know that there is no good in them, i20 LECTURE y. but for a man to rejoice and to do good in his life : and also^ that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour; it is the gift of God." Solomon, in these words, sums up the uses of the things of the world. He declares ail the good tkat is in them. It consists in two particulars ; one of which he had mentioned before, and the other is here added to it. The former is, the unsolicitous and cheerful enjoy- ment of whatever the providence of God is pleased to bestow. This is what he means by a man's ** eating and drinking, and enjoying the good of all his labour," without forgetting that *^ it is the gift of God."— It is the same sentiment as in the close of the preceding chapter : ^' There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God." Of this sentiment I shall not resume the explanation given in last lecture. But in the verses now before us, an addition is made to it; or rather something more is directly expressed, which ought formerly to have been considered as implied in a man's ** making his soul enjoy good in his labour:" for how can he do so without the exercise of benevo- lence ? The contracted spirit of selfishness can never be a happy spirit. If a man would truly " rejoice" in the reception and use of the bounties of heaven, he must not shut his heart and hand from God and his fellow- creatures, and expend all upon self: he must " do good in his life." Cheerfulness of heart in enjoying the fruits of the Divine goodness, is a duty which we owe to the Giver, accompanied, as it ought to be, with the spirit of hum- ble dependence and grateful acknowledgment. When the Israelites were to bring their basket of first-fruits ECCLES. III. 1—15. 121 before the Lord, confessing their faith, recognizing and avowing their obligations to the power and faithful* ness and kindness of the God of their fathers, and per- forming their act of public homage to his Name, such holy cheerfulness was expressly enjoined upon them : — ** Thou shalt rejoice," says Moses, " in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thy house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you." But this rejoicing was to be connected with their devoting a liberal allowance of the Divine bounty for the benefit of others : — *^ When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase of the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, ^the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates and be filled : then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, accord- ing to all thy commandments which thou hast com- manded me. I have not transgressed thy command- ments, neither have I forgotten (them.")*— This is one of the proper uses of God's bounty. He gives, to ena- ble us to give ; he blesses, that we may be a blessing. And a compliance, from right principles, with the de» sign of the Giver, renders his bounty, to him who pos- sesses it, a source of the purest and most exquisite en- joyment. " It is more blessed," said the Lord Jesus, ** to give, than to receive :"— and the saying, infinitely worthy of Him who set us so wonderful an example of disinterested beneficence, has been found true in the sweet experience of every man who has laid himself out, in the use of his substance, as far as God has pros- * Deut.xxvi. 10—13. Q 1S2 LECTURE V. pered him, for the welfare of all within the reach of his influence. This is incomparably more satisfying, both in the act, and in the reflection, than any gratification of selfishness, than any indulgence of ** the lust of the Besh, or the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life." — " Charge them that are rich in this world," therefore, '' that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy ; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to commu- nicate ; laying up in store for themselves a good foun- dation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."* To the present enjoyment and the present use of the gifts of God, we should be excited by the truth illus- trated in the preceding part of the chapter ; the abso- lute and uncontrollable nature of God's purposes and dispensations. They cannot be altered or turned aside by any effort of human power, or of human wisdom. It may be His sovereign intention, soon to order a change in our situation 5 soon 10 deprive us of our pre- sent sources of enjoyment, and means of usefulness. And what a sad thing will it be, if it shall be found, that, during our time of permitted possession, we have not properly improved his goodness, either for our- selves, for others, or for Him !— It is this consideration, of the immutability of Divine purposes, that is urged upon our attention in Verse 14. ** I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever : nothijig can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it; and God doeth it, that men should fear before him."—-" It shall be forever." It must stand. It is beyond the reach of all created power, to prevent ♦ I Tim.vi. ir— 19. ECCLES. III. 1 15. 1S8 or to alter it. <^ The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever; the thoughts of his heart to all generations." *' He doeth according to his will, in the army of hea- ven, and among the inhabitants of the earth ; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou ?'' " Remember the former things of old ; for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me ; declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure."* ** Nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it." — These words might be interpreted of the perfect tion of God's purposes ; their being, in every respect, so excellent, that to add to them, or to take from them, would be to deteriorate and destroy them. But in the connection in which they stand here, they seem rather intended to express the hnpossibility of altering these purposes ; the folly of attempting, or even of imagining, such a thing for a moment. The Supreme Ruler forms his determinations, and arranges his plans, without the counsel of any created being; for " who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or, being his counsellor, hath taught him ? With whom took he counsel, or who in- structed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?" — No wisdom, and no power, of any creature, or of all creatures combined, can alter them ; no, not a single hair's breadth. Nothing can be added, nothing taken away. " There are many devices in a man's heart ; nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand." ** There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord." " Surely the wrath of ♦ Psal. xxxlii. 1 1 , Dan. iv. 35. Isa. xlri. 9, 10. 1^4 LECTURE V. man shall praise thee ; the remainder of wrath wilt thou restrain." '* Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself as if it were no wood!" The last passage is part of the spirited reply to the boasted arrogance of the king of Assyria, who indulged his own proud and in- satiable ambition, gloried in past success, and exulted in confident anticipation, having it '* in his heart to de- stroy and cut off nations not a few ;" but whose unprin- cipled passions were all the while, though ** he meant not so, neither did his heart think so," subserving the secret purposes of Jehovah.* The proper influence of the contemplation of God's uncontrollable sovereignty, and of the utter impotence of human power and wisdom to effect any change in his purposes, is to fill the heart with " reverence and godly fear :" — '* God doeth it that men may fear be- fore him." — All the displays of his absolute supremacy over his creatures, should have this effect : and the more we accustom ourselves to the contemplation of them, and of the numberless indications of our entire and un- ceasing dependence, the more will our minds become imbued with the sentiments of religious ^we ; the more will we ** sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and make him our fear and our dread ;" and adopt, with the deeper humility, the language of sublime adoration : <^ Great and marvellous are thy works. Lord God Al- mighty ; just and true are thy ways, thou king of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name ? for thou only art holy I"t * See Isa. x. 5—15. Prov, xix. 21. xxl. 10. T^al. Ixxvi. 10.. t Rev. XV. 3, 4. ECCLES. III. 1 15. 125 The fifteenth verse is very nearly a repetition of the sentiment expressed in the ninth and tenth verses of the first chapter. There he had said, '* The thing which hath been, is that which shall be ; and that which is done, is that which shall be done : and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new ? It hath been already of old time, which was before us." Here he says, more briefly, <^ That which hath been, is now ; and that which is to be hath already been ; and God requireth that which is past." — God's requiring f or recallifig, that which is past, seems simply to mean, his repeating the same scenes, in the administration of his providence, through successive generations. The general plan of his proce- dure is, in its leading features, and in many even of its minuter details, the same from age to age, so as to pre- sent the appearance, described by various similitudes in the openiiig of the book, of constant sameness in the midst of ceaseless change. As in surveying the endless variety of the works of nature, we can discern, pervading the whole, the clearest indications of the same great principles of operation, leading us to the adoring acknowledgment of one almighty and all-wise Intelligence ; so may we, in the course of the Divine government of our world, discover, amidst all the changes of its eventful history, abundant evidence, that the same God continues to reign. Few indeed are the events that occur in any age, which may not find their parallels, or at least, their resemblances, in the annals of preceding times. The passage suggests the following practical reflec- tions : — In the first place. In the midst of the vicissitudes of this incessantly changing world, let us look forward 1^6 LECTURE V. with hope and joy to that blessed state^ where changes shall for ever cease ; where there shall be the fixed se. curity of perfect, unmingled, and unending felicity. — Here, there may be many changes to the better ; there, every change would be to the worse,— every alteration a deduction of joy. There, there will be no plucking up and breaking down ; no losing and scattering; no weeping and mourning 5 no hatred and war ; no re- mains of the curse, because no remains of sin. There shall not only be life, but immortality. There shall never again come " a time to die." How delightful, whilst contemplating and experiencing the instability and fickleness of earthly things, to anticipate that ever- lasting rest ; — that paradise, of which the trees are trees of life, that shall never be rooted out by violence, and never yield to decay ; — that "city which hath founda- tions," and whose walls shall never be shaken ;~that land of victory and triumph, and covenanted peace, whose trophies and memorials shall never be over- thrown and scattered ;--that abode of joy, where there shall never come to its happy residents ** a time to weep," for " God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ;" where the white robes of purity and gladness shall never be rent asunder by the intrusions of grief, for " sorrow and sighing shall flee away ;" — where the silence of distrust and jealousy shall never close the lips, but all shall be " of one heart and of one soul," — ** Each find in each a glowing friend. And all the God of all adore 1'* And when, my Christian brethren, we look forward to this glorious and happy state, can we possibly envy *^ the men of the world who have their portion in this life ?" Do you not rather most sincerely pity them ?— pity them, when you behold them seeking their happi- EccLES. III. 1 — 15. i^y ness amongst such transient uncertainties ?— pity them, when you hear them repeating the universal inquiry, " Who will shew us any good?" and obtaining no sa- tisfactory answer; "still dreaming on that they shall still succeed, and still" miserably ** disappointed?'* — the unsubstantial bubbles of earthly joy glittering, it may be, for the moment, in rainbow light, but all suc- cessively bursting and vanishing. — O that men would be persuaded, to give up the foolish expectation of per- manent satisfaction from those things that ** perish in the using;"— from this vain and unsettled world, '* Whose scenes of bliss and wo Are shifting every fleeting hour !" and to seek true happiness, where alone it is to be found, in the favour of an unchanging God, and the hope of an unchanging heaven,— of that "life and incorruption, which are brought to light by the gospel !" In the second place. Whilst we are tenants of this world, it will be well for us to expect vicissitude^ — to lat/ our account with changes, Thi^ will serve to pre- vent our being unhinged and overwhelmed, when such changes come, as those are apt to be, by whom they have never been anticipated. Whilst, in the season of adversity, we comfort ourselves with the hope that better days may yet await us ; that light may arise to us out of darkness ; that though " weeping may endure for a night, joy shall come in the morning:" let us also, in the time of our prosperity, beware of saying, with inconsiderate confidence, " we shall never be moved," of trusting to the continuance of the serene calm, or the propitious gale. Let us be always on the look out for the rising cloud, and keep our vessel in trim for the- storm. In prosperity, let us be ready for adversity ; in i2S LECTURE V. health, for sickness; in laughter, for mourning; in life^ for death.— If Providence favours us with '*a time to get," let us calculate on the world's instability, and not be astonished and disconcerted if there should come **a time to lose." When we are in circumstances to plant and build, let us not forget that we may soon be disinherited of our estate, and obliged to quit our ha- bitation. In the third place. Whatever changes do take place, let us be satisfied with the providence of God. — I do not mean by this, that we should merely submit from ne- cessity—from a feeling forced upon us, that our case cannot be helped, and cannot be altered, and that there- fore repining is useless. There is a mighty difference between this state of mind, and that resignation which springs from the pious assurance that all God's ways are wisdom, and faithfulness, and love: that whilst in his administration, **to every (thing there is) a season, and a time for every purpose under the sun," the times and the seasons are all determined with unerring pro- priety,— all as they ought to be. — This is the satisfac- tion with God's providence which I now recommend. It is, *' having faith in God ;"— even although his pro- cedure should at times be to us inscrutable, yet <^ against hope believing in hope," that " all things work together for good to them that love him, to them who are the called according to his purpose;"— and, in this confidence, being ever ready to say, " Thy ways, great God, are little known To my weak, erring sight ; Yet shall my soul, believing, own. That all thy ways are right." And the principles of this confidence we may and ought to apply to the whole of the Divine procedure, whether liCCLES. III. 1 — 15. i29 towards individuals, or families, or nations, or Christian societies, or his church and kingdom in the world. Let our song of faith ever be, " Hallelujah ! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth !" Thoughtless sinners, allow me to remind you, that there is one of the Divine counsels, respecting which it may, with peculiar emphasis, be afiirmed, *' It shall be for ever ; nothing can be added to it, nor any thing taken from it." — It was his purpose from eternity to save sinners of mankind by the mediation of his Son. And when, in the history of our fallen world, *' the ful- ness of the time was come," he fulfilled his purpose ; when ** he who was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men ; and, being found in fashion as a man, humbled himself and became obe- dient unto death, even the death of the cross." " He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities." *^ All we like sheep have gone astray^ we have turned every one to his own way ; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." He finished the work which was given him to do. In that finished work Jehovah is well pleased. His satisfaction in his Son, and in the work of his Son, is infinite and everlasting. Eternity can never diminish it. And his declared determination is immutable as his nature, to receive sinners only in his name, and for his sake alone to'' be merciful to their unrighteousnesses." Onnoother ground than the righteousness and atonement of the Di- vine Mediator will he admit of their approach into his presence ; on no other ground will he listeo to their pleadings for mercy ; on no other ground will he bless and save them. The foundation which God has laid m R 130 LECTURE V. ECCLES. 1 15. Zion for the hopes of sinners, he himself has declared to be ^' a sure foundation ;" and it partakes not of the instability of earthly things. It can never be swept away ; and what is built upon it can never be over- thrown. But it is the only foundation. ^' Other founda- tion can no man lay than that is laid ; which is Jesus Christ." You can add nothing to the work which he finished, in the room of sinners, on the cross ; and you must take nothing from it. You must rest upon it, with humble simplicity of heart, as it is revealed in the gos- pel. The purpose of God is firm ; it cannot be altered. " He that believeth on the Son is not condemned : but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God."—** He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life ; and he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." LECTURE VI. EccLES. iii. 16 — %%, iv. 1 — 3. .6 " And^ moreover, I saw under the sun thefilace of judgment^ f Ma^ 'Wickedness fivasj there ; and the filace of righteousness, fthatj 17 iniquity fwasj there. I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked :for (there is J a time there for every fiur- 38 /lose, and for every ivork. I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they 19 might see that they themselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts ; even one thing befalleth them : as the one dieth, so dieth the other ; yea, they have all one breath : so that a man hath no fire-eminence above a beast : for all C*^J 20 vanity. All go unto one filace : all are of the dust, and all return to 21 dustagain, JVhoknoweth the sfiiritofman that goethufiward, and the 22 sfiirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth ? Wherefore I perceive that (there is J nothing better, than that a man should re' joice in his own works ; for that f is J his portion : for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him .?" 1 ^* So I returned, and considered all the opfiressions that are done under the sun : and behold the tears of ("such as were J ofifiressed, and they had no comforter ; and on the one side of their opfiressors 2 (there was) power ; but they had no comforter. Wherefore I firaised the dead who are already dead, more than the living who 3 are yet alive. Yea, better (is he J than both they which hath not yet been, who hath not yet seen the evil work that is done under the sun." Amongst the sources of unbappiness and vexation of spirit, discovered by Solomon in his survey of hu- man life, he mentions, in the beginning of the passage now read, the frequent exaltation of unprincipled men to places of power and authority, their violations of the very laws which they had been appointed to administer and to guard from infringement, and their administra- tion of them with injustice, partiality, and corruption. Verse 16. ** And moreover, I saw under the sun the 13S LECTURE Vr. place of judgment, (that) wickedness (was) there, and the place of righteousness, (that) iniquity (was) there." Different views have been suggested of the connec- tion of this particular with the leading object of the book. In the first place. It has been considered as an in- tended check to the vanity of ambition. The possession of power brings invariably along with it a temptation to its perversion and abuse : a temptation so strong, that many who, previously to their advancement, have appeared to " walk uprightly," " doing justly and lov- ing mercy," have no sooner been raised to the perilous eminence, than they have fallen before it, and, to the surprise and disappointment of all, have assumed the character of unrighteous and ruthless oppressors. As the seat of power, then, is not always the seat of true honour; and as it is surrounded with temptations to such conduct as may cover its possessor with infamy ^nd execration ; let aspiring ambition be repressed ; let the man who is seeking happiness in the attainment of power, pause and bethink himself, and not indulge too sanguine expectations and assurances of finding what he seeks. Let him not deride the warning, and, in self- confident presumption, pronounce it impossible that he should ever act a part, which so many, who had quite as good ground for vaunting, have acted before him. No man knows what is in his heart, till his heart has been tried by the eliciting powers of temptation. — Be- sides, even the upright and conscientious ruler may suffer by his official connection with others ; and by that generalizing principle of association, which attaches the character of the individual magistrate to the office which he holds, and from the delinquency of a i^Wj condemns pr 3uspects all, and loads them with indiscriminate ob- ECCLES. III. 16 — 33. ly. 1—3. 13^ loquy. We know well how unfairly this principle fre- quently operates ; and how difficult it is for a man, even of the purest integrity and the most consummate pru- dence, to avoid incurring his share, however undeserved, of this official odium, and to preserve his reputation unsullied. Secondly. The abuse of power by unrighteous and wicked judges and governors, is a source of very exten- sive unhappiness to the people who are placed under its influence. Where there is " respect of persons, and taking of bribes," the poor are oppressed, their sub- stance is spoiled, their dues are kept back by fraud, their wrongs are unredressed, and the evils of poverty are ten-fold accumulated. The unequal administration of ;law and justice produces between the poor and the rich, and amongst the rich themselves, envies, and jea- lousies, and quarrels, and mutual disquietudes and ap- prehensions. As the impartial distribution of justice is one of the highest blessings that providence can confer upon a country, its opposite is one of the deepest cur- ses, a source of the most multifarious and aggravated misery. No wonder, then, that in his survey of the con- dition of mankind, and in forming his estimate of hu- man happiness, the Royal observer should have marked amongst his memoranda this fountain of bitter waters, which, rising in '' the high places" of the earth, pours its wormwood streams to so melancholy an extent over the peopled valleys beneath. Thirdly, The existence and contemplation of such scenes of iniquity and oppression, was itself a cause of much disquietude and vexation to Solomon's own mind ; disgusting him with the world ; fretting and irritating his spirit ; marring his enjoyment, and frustating his bopes.— Even in his own kingdom, where he wished 134 LECTtfRE VI, impartial justice to be administered to all his subjects, he had found it, we may presume, impossible, with all his care, to prevent entirely the intrusion of improper characters into places of trust and power. He was dis- appointed and provoked by complaints from various parts of his dominions, respecting the conduct of those whom he had appointed to be ** a terror to evil-doers, and a praise of them that do well ," and possibly he sometimes found least satisfaction where he had, and with apparent reason, expected most. This was one of the many cares and crosses of royalty, that rendered its honours and pleasures irksome and distasteful ; one of the thorns in his crown by day, and in his pillow of down by night.— He knew besides that such evils were not confined to his own kingdom, but were exhibited ori a much more extensive scale, and in a much more distressing degree, in other countries, with whose past and present history he was acquainted. His ear was pain'd. His heart was sick, with every days report Of wrong and outrage, with which earth was fill'd." If we compare this verse with the beginning of the next chapter, where the same subject is resumed, we shall be satisfied, that it is this third idea that Solomon had principally in his mind : — ** So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that were done under the sun : and behold, the tears of (such as were) oppressed, and they had no comforter ; and on the side of their oppressors (there was) power, but they had no com- forter. Wherefore I praised the dead who are already dead, more than the living who are yet alive. Yea, better (is he) than both they, who hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun." — These verses contain an amplification of the ECCLES. III. 16 — 22, IV. 1 — 3. 135 same sentiment we have just been considering. The language is very strong; yet not stronger than the scene described is sufficient to justify ; for nothing can well be conceived more fitted to rouse up all the latent indignation of a generous and compassionate spirit. — Solomon's mind was so deeply affected by the miseries consequent on the abuse of authority, especially under arbitrary and despotic governments, where power takes the place of right, where the oppressed can neither escape nor obtain redress, and where none have the cou- rage to stand forth as the protectors and vindicators of inj ured innocence, or even to act the part of its private comforters ; — that he ** praised the dead," because their hearts could no longer be harassed and torn by the view of such scenes, and the bitter feeling of incompe- tence to mend them ; and, to their situation, he even preferred that of the unborn child,— of ** him who had not yet been," who had never at all witnessed such wickedness, and such misery resulting from it, nor had his sensibilities crucified by the contemplation of them. Life appeared hateful to him,— death and non-existence preferable. He could not endure a world where such profligacy and such wretchedness prevailed. The reflection in the seventeenth verse is, in this view of its connection, a very solemn and affecting one : — " I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked ; for (there is) a time there for every pur- pose, and for every work." Some may be disposed to view it as a consolation to the mind of Solomon, to be assured, that *^ the righ- teous God, who loveth righteousness" would not be a spectator of such scenes of evil, siudaiwat/s keep silence; that he would call to a fearful reckoning the unrigh- teous and unmerciful oppressor, and avenge the victim*^ 136 LECTURE VI. liliip of wrong and cruelty. " There is a time there,'^ that is, " there is a time" with God in heaven, " for every purpose, and for every work." There is with him ** a time to keep silence, and a time to speak ;"* a time to mark and register human crimes, and a time to ** bring them into judgment." Of such wicked men, ^' the judg- ment lingereth not, the damnation slumbereth not." But, although it is true, that by the final judgments of a holy and just God, every wrong and evil shall be thoroughly accounted for and rectified, — the righteous acquitted, and the wicked condemned ; and although this is, in one view, a most gratifying and consolatory truth ;— yet I cannot help thinking, that the reflection in verse 17th, was made with a sigh, — a deep and heavy sigh ; not, indeed, implying any secret regret that such works were to be brought into judgment, or any wish that they should not ; but, in the midst of the satisfac- tory assurance that they should, an awful and shudder- ing anticipation of the horrors of the coming retribu- tion. The distress, arising from the contemplation of human wickedness, is a thousand-fold aggravated to the mind of him who connects it with the '* judgment to come." Whilst it becomes us to acquiesce, and that with satisfaction, in the propriety of such wickedness being brought to merited punishment by the wronged and insulted Majesty of Heaven, we cannot but be deeply pained when we think of such cause being given for the infliction of his vengeance, — when we see un- godly men ** treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." The feelings of piety are not in- compatible with the feelings of humanity. A holy as- sent to the execution of the awards of justice in the * See Psal. L 3, ECCLES. III. 16-^S^. IV. 1 3. 137 merited punishment of impenitent transgressors, and a solemn delight in the manifestation of the Divine glory in their destruction^ do not at all require that we should feel pleasure in the sufferings themselves of our fellow- creatures, however justly inflicted. On the contrary, the anticipation of them sends home to the heart a pang of indescribable agony. The blessed God himself, whom we should seek in every imitable part of his character to resemble, hath said, " As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but rather that he would turn from his wicked way and live."^ — The general meaning, therefore, of this part of the passage appears to be, that the enjoyment of life was marred and em- bittered to Solomon, by the sight and the hearing of the oppression and injustice prevalent in the world; and that, whilst the assurance of a righteous judgment to come imparted to his mind relief and comfort in one view, it added inconceivably in another to the weight of distress by which his heart was burdened. From this verse, and from various other parts of the Book, it is manifest, that Solomon understood and believed for himself, and also, that he taught to others, the doctrines of a future judgment, and a future state of happiness and misery ; and that the fancy of some is destitute of foundation, by whom the Book has been interpreted, as if it proceeded throughout upon igno- rance of these important truths, as not having been at that time clearly revealed :— -a hypothesis, which it seems passing strange, that any person who has read the Old Testament Scriptures should ever have seriously espoused ; yet which has been made the basis of the most ingenious and learned speculations, relative to the na- ture of the Mosaic Economy, and the evidence of its * Ezck. xxxiii. II. 138 LECTURE YI. Divine authority. The subject may come in our way again. At present, any discussion of it would lead us too much away from the scope and design of the pas- sage under review. Verses 18—20. *' I said in my heart, concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men be- falleth beasts ; even one thing befalleth them : as the one dieth, so dieth the other ; yea, they have all one breath 5 so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast : for all (is) vanity. All go to one place ; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again." I am disposed to consider these verses as still the language of Solomon himself : for the opinion of some, that they should be interpreted as if spoken by a ma- terialist, or atheistical objector, is incapable, I think, of being maintained in any consistency with the plain con- struction of the passage.— Considering them as the lan- guage of Solomon, there appears to be one thing only necessary to be admitted, in order to render their mean- ing intelligible and clear; namely, that by ** the sons of men" we are to understand the general mass of man- kind, who live for this world, and have their portion in it. And this is not surely an unreasonable postulate. On the principle that the vast majority of mankind live for themselves and for time, and that those who live for God and eternity are the exceptions to the general character, the same designation is, in other places, used in this restricted sense. " O ye sons ofmen^ how long (will ye turn) my glory into shame ? (how long) will ye love vanity, and follow after leasing ?" " Unto you, O men, 1 call, and my voice (is) to the sons of men : O ye simple, understand wisdom : and ye fools, be ye of ECCLES. in. 16 — 23. IV. 1 — 3. 139 an understandirig heart." — And even in this book : ** Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." " Also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness (is) in their heart while they live ; and after that (they go) to the dead."* — Besides, it will appear still more clearly by and by, that in this pas- sage itself, Solomon affirms the certainty of the immor- tality of the soul and a future judgment, and that, when he reasons of the vanity of Ife, he has in his view this life considered by itself as alas ! it so generally is by thoughtless and ungodly men. The eighteenth verse, then, may be considered as ex- pressing the wish or desire of Solomon's heart, after he had learned, by much bitter experience, the proper es- timate of all the sources of worldly enjoyment, that God would reveal to the sons of men what was their real state and character, as long as they were devoting them- selves, in aftection and pursuit, to these alone, — as long as they continued *' men of the world who have their portion in this life." — "I said in my heart, concerning the estate of the sons of men, O that God might mani- fest them," (that is, to themselves, according to what follows,) " and that they might see that they themselves are beasts:" — that whilst they grovel amongst worldly pleasures alone, whilst ** earth confines their low de- sire^' they degrade their immortal nature, they sink themselves to a level with the beasts that perish. For, in as far as mere animal life, and animal gratifications, and the termination of earthly existence, are concerned, where lies the mighty difference ?-^" That which be- falleth the sons of men, befalleth beasts ; even one thing befalleth them : as the one dieth, so dieth the other ; * Psal. iv. 2. Prov. viii. 4, 5. Eccles. viii, 11. ix. 3. 140 1.HCTUKE VI. yea, they have all one breath ; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast; for all (is) vanity. All go unto one place : all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again."— Many of the inferior animals have senses capa- ble of imparting much more exquisite sensations of pleasure than men : — men are subject to a much greater variety of diseases, and accidents, and modes of suffer- ing, than the generality of brutes :— men and beasts breathe together the same air, and are sustained by the same general process of nourishment : — and when they die, they discover the same latent principle of corrup- tion; both alike putrifying and mouldering into dust; the same in origin^ and the same in €nd,'—\n such views as these, **a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast,'* and the life of man, considered simply in relation to this world, is most emphatically vanity, — all vanity. — *' Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I (am.) Behold, thou hast made my days (as) a hand breadth, and mine age (is) as nothing before thee : verily every man, at his best estate, (is) altogether vanity. Surely every man walketh in a vain show ; surely they are disquieted in vain : he heapeth up (riches) and knoweth not who shall gather them."* — ** For he seeth (that) wise men die ; likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought (is, that) their houses (shall continue) for ever, (and) their d\^^jPR|^ places to all generations: they call (their) lands after their own names. Nevertheless, man, (being) m honour abideth not ; he is like the beasts (that) perish. This their way (is) their folly ; yet their posterity approve their sayings. Like sheep they are laid in the grave ; death shall feed on them ; and the upright shall ha.v(? domi- ♦ Psal. xxxix. 4—6. ECCLES. III. 16 22. IV. 1 — 3. 141 nioii over them in the morning ; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. — Man (that is) in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts (that) perish."* — In these passages, from the Psalms, the same general sentiment is expressed as in the verses before us ; and in the latter of the two, expressed in very similar terms. Between the latter end, however, of the man and the brute, there is one essential and most important differ- ence ; and it is this difference which manifests, above every other consideration, the extreme and pitiable folly of " the sons of men," when, like the beasts, they live as if the present were their only existence. This dif- ference is expressed in the twenty-first verse : — *' Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth ?" For the illustration of this verse, let it be remarked, that the expression '* Who knoweth?" does not convey the idea of ignorance or uncertainty with regard to the future destination of the spirit of man in distinction from that of the brute : — for in this same verse a differ- ence is expressly asserted to subsist between them. Of the one it is affirmed that it '* goeth upward," and of the other, that it *' goeth downward to the earth." — The death of man and beast having been mentioned in the preceding verse, — " all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again," — makes it sufficiently clear, that it is of this period that Solomon continues to speak ; that the phraseology he employs is not intended merely to express the aspiring nature of the spirit of man on the one hand, and the grovelling nature of the spirit of brutes on the other ; but the destiny of each at the close of their present life ; the spirit of man surviving his • Psal.xlix. 10^14, 20. 14S LECTURE n. mortal frame, whilst that of the brutes, instead of out- living their bodies, is destined to perish with them. The separate existence of the human spirit is still more directly affirmed in a subsequent part of this book : — " Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."* — It would be out of place to enter here into abstruse meta- physical speculations. My own opinion is, (and it seems, amongst other grounds, to have some support from the passage before us, in which the same term is used for the spirit of the beast and for the spirit of man,) .^that the immaterial thinking substance in man and brute, is, in its essential properties, the same ; that all created existence, spiritual and corporeal, being alike dependent for its continuance on the power which im- parted it, it arises entirely from the will of the Creator, and not from any difference between spirit and matter, as if the former were in its own nature indestructible, that the soul, or thinking principle, of man is destined to immortality, whilst that of the brute terminates its distinct and conscious existence, when the spark of animal life has been extinguished. To draw with pre- cision the boundaries between the operation of instinct and the exercise of reason, has many a time been at- tempted, but never with any success ; and often, on this subject, (a subject in many respects highly curious and interesting,) have men deluded themselves by words and names; ascribing to instinct in brutes, actions which evidently possess all the distinctive attributes of rationality, and which, without hesitation, they impute to reason in men. Now, as all created existence, of every possible description, must be dependent, — en- tirely and unceasingly dependent,— on the life-giving * Chap, xil 7, ECCLES. III. 16—22. IV. 1 — 3. 143 God ; I can perceive no heresy in the belief, that the same kind of spiritual essence should in brutes be de- stined to the cessation^ and in man to the continuance of existence; any more than in the belief, (which we know to have the direct countenance of revelation, and which is immediately connected with the other,) that the corporeal part of the man and of the brute, though alike doomed to the dust, is in the former destined to restoration, and in the latter to permanent corruption. If in the expression " the spirit of man that goeth upward," the separate existence of the human soul after death be, as I conceive it is, directly affirmed, then the question, — " PTho knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth down- ward to the earth ?" must not, as I have already noticed, be understood to imply ignorance or uncertainty on this all-important point: — and to suppose no more to be meant, than that the diiFerence between the one and the other in death is not discernible, would be egregious trifling ; the soul of man being of course, from its im- material nature, incapable of being so discerned. What- ever may be the case with other orders of being, and especially with spiritual essences that exist in separa- tion from material bodies ;~-whatever may be amongst them the means of perception and intercourse ; we our- selves belong to a species possessing no senses for the discernment of spirits. That we cannot see the human spirit quitting the body and going upward to God, is a proposition too trifling for the solemnity of the ques- tion ; and nothing would be more unphilosophical than to found upon this consideration any sceptical doubt as to Its distinct existence, or the existence of spirit in general. It has been justly remarked, that a creature- endowed with four only of the senses which wo pos 144* lectuhe vr. sess, might, with equal reason, question the existence of all that we discover by the fifth. The question, then, appears to be expressive of a very lamentable fact ;— namely, that few, very few, pro- perly think of and consider this essential and important difference between the human and the brute creation ; that the great majority of mankind live and act as if they knew nothing of it, or attached to it no degree of credit. — A similar style of question is, in other places, used, to express the same idea of rarity, associated with the sentiments of wonder and regret :— '' Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies :"* " Who hath believed our report ? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"! — and the word which is translated ** knoweth" is one which not unfre- quently signifies, to take notice of, or to regard,— ^^Ao- mon affirms, then, the difference between man and brute ; affirms that the spirit of the former at death ** ascendeth on high," and that the spirit of the latter, like the body, ** goes down to the earth," and perishes with it ;— and he laments the fact, that by the great majority of the children of men the difference is not at- tended to, and is entirely without influence. And this deep and melancholy regret accords with the desire which he had just before expressed, that God would show the sons of men how foolish they were, and how they degraded their immortal nature, by living as if the present life were their only existence, and thus equal- izing themselves with the beasts of the field. It was indeed matter of just lamentation, that such creatures should not lay to heart their lofty destination, and rise superior to the perishing vanities and grovelling pur- suits, of a mere earthly and sensual existence. ♦ Prov. xxxi, 10. t Isa- 'J"- i- ECCLES. III. 16 22. IV. 1 — 3. 145 The 22nd verse, ** Wherefore I perceive, that (there is) nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that (is) his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?"— may be understood in two ways. First. It may be considered as a repetition of the same sentiment which he had more than once expressed before, respecting the grateful reception and cheerful enjoyment of the bounties of providence.* In this case, the verse must be connected with the vanity of human life, considered by itself, independently of the life to come, as having, in so many respects, no pre-eminenc6 above that of the beasts. In these circumstances, the best thing for a man to do with the possessions of this world is, cheerfully to enjoy them, while his vain and fleeting life endures, as the portion given him by th6 kindness of heaven ; remembering, that when he re- turns to the dust, his connection with earthly things shall for ever terminate, and that " what shall be after him" will be to him no matter of concern, when he has finally retired from the scene. — *' Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth ; thou changest his countenance and sendest him away. His sons come to honour, and he knoweth (it) not ; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth (it) not of them. "f But, secondly, the words are capable of a more ele- vated sense Solomon had been speaking of the vexa- tion arising to the mind from the wickedness of others, and had been looking forward to a coming judgment, when just and unjust shall give their account to God ; and to death, as the time when the ** spirit of man goeth upward" " to God who gave it." May we not then consider him as expressing what ought to be the se- * Chap, ii. .24. Wl 12, 13. t .Tob. xlv. 20, 2t. 146 liECTUHE Vt. rious and constant aim of mankind,— what every man should set his heart upon, as his highest attainment ; — namely, that, in life and in death, he may have reason to " rejoice in his own works," however much he may be grieved and distressed by those of others ; that he may have this as a portion of happiness, which none shall be able to alienate from him, — of inward enjoy- ment of which he shall never be robbed. Let him see to it, that, with solemn anticipation of what is before him, with the most conscientious integrity of desire to know and to do God's will, and with the most wakeful and solicitous circumspection in all his ways, he retain the possession of this portion : — and as to the concern which he feels about the wickedness and oppression of others, the guilt of the oppressor and the misery of the oppressed, — " who shall bring him to see what shall be after him ?" The scene shall soon be removed from be- fore his eyes ; or rather, he shall be removed from it ; — and when he takes his departure out of the world, he shall witness it no more.— In this view of the words, they will beautifully correspond with the sentiments and admonitions of the New Testament writers:— " Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience^ that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world :"■—*' Let every man prove his own work ; and then shall he have rejoicing in him- self alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden."* And the duty implied, and which is thus connected with a man's true interest, will be that which the apostle of the Gentiles so finely expres- ses, in his vindication of himself before Felix ; " Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void * 2 Cor. i. 12. Gal. vi. 4, 5, ECCLES. III. 16 2S. IV. 1 3. 147 of offence toward God, and (toward) men."*— -Let a man thus *^ study to approve himself unto God," as one of his true and faithful servants :— let him not '* practise wicked deeds with them that do iniquity," or ** have any fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness :" — let him walk with God, in faith and holy obedience :— let him be found amongst the righteous, — the fearers of the Lord : — and let him rest assured that He will in the end make a marked and permanent distinction between his subjects and his enemies. '' A Book of remembrance is written before him, for them who fear him and think upon his name : and they shall be mine, saith the Lord, in that day when I make up my jewels ; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked ; between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not."t '* The ungodly shall not stand in the judg- ment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous : for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous ; but the way of the ungodly shall perish. "J In addition to this solemn practical consideration, let us observe, in the first place, the ground which this passage suggests to us for rejoicing that " the Lord reigneth." — We cannot, unless we be dead to all the virtuous sensibilites of the heart, survey the oppression and profligacy of men without deep and painful emo- tion. Injustice and tyranny are sometimes, in the righ- teous severity of God, permitted to afflict men on a very extensive scale ; many nations being troubled by the arbitrary and ruthless despotism of one man ; the example spreading downwards from the sovereign, through all the gradations, to the meanest of petty place- ♦ Acts xxiv. 16. I Mai. iii. 16—18. 1^ Psal. i. 5, 6. 148 LECTURE VI. men ; and, instead of the ^* officers being peace and the exactors righteousness," the officers ruling with the haughtj rigour of " a little brief authority," and the exactors extorting unrighteous requisitions, and *^ grind- ing the fiices of the poor:" the hands of the adminis- trators of justice being polluted with bribes; and *^ when we look for judgment, behold oppression, and for righteousness, behold a cry."— But, in the midst of all these perplexing irregularities, let us not fancy that the Sovereign of the universe has forsaken our world, and regards not the doings and the sufferings of the sons of men. ** Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth." All the passions of the human heart, in all their corruption and violence, in all the wildness of their most tumultuary movements, are entirely under feis control. He makes '^ the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder of wrath he restrains." The unprincipled and blood-thirsty tyrant is made '* the rod of his indignation," the instrument in his hand of cor- recting the nations ; and, when the ends of his moral administration have been answered, the oppressor him- self becomes, in his turn, the subject of his retributive inflictions. " When the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion, and on Jerusalem, he pun- ishes the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks."* When ** the wine- cup of God's fury" has been handed round among all the nations, *^ the king of Sheshach" must " drink after them."f And if the lawless oppressor should go on in triumph, even to the close of his mad career, still "he shall not go unpunished :" — still there is a judg- ment to come :— still ** in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red , it is full of mixture ; and * Isa. X. 12.- t Jer. xxv. 15—26. ECCLES. III. 16 S2. IV. 1 — 3. 149 the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them." — It is our great comfort to be assured, that ^^ men are in his hand." If any of his own people are left to " suffer for righteousness' sake," ^' let them not be afraid, but let them glorify God on this behalf." O how often, in the history of the church, have the disciples of Jesus been '^ oppressed, and drawn before the judgment-seats ;" and when they have <' be- held the place of judgment, wickedness has been there ; and the place of righteousness, iniquity has been there." Should any of you ever be called, for the name's sake of Jesus, to *' suffer wrongfully" either by public or private malice, your Master' has set before you both your consolation and your duty. " Blessed are ye, when (men) shall revile you, and persecute (you,) and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad ; for great (is) your reward in heaven :" — ** But I say unto you. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you : that ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust,"*— And let all be assured, who by the unrighteous decisions, and acts, and combinations, of arbitrary power and proud ma- lignity, oppose the cause and kingdom of ^^ the just One," that their doom is written. '* The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel to- gether, against the Lord, and against his Anointed, (saying,) Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the hea- vens shall laugh : the Lord shall have them in derision^ * Matt. V. 11, 12,44,45. 150 LECTURE VI. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his hot displeasure." " Be wise now, there- fore, O ye kings ; be instructed, ye judges of the earth : serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Embrace 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."* In the second place. Let this passage repress all emo- tions of envy towards the prosperous in oppression and wickedness. From part of a former chapter, we had occasion to notice how little ground the poor have to envy the large possessions and multiplied pleasures of worldly men, — because of the instability of the enjoy- ment derived from them, its mingled nature, and its constant tendency to pall upon the appetite and to pro- duce satiety and disgust. At present, our remark is rather founded on the character of the men brought before us in the verses we have been considering. When we anticipate the ** great and dreadful day of the Lord," the day of final reckoning and eternal de- cision, when '' God shall judge the righteous and the wicked," little cause truly have we for envying or for wishing to follow such men. Abhorrence of their ways, heartfelt pity for their persons, and an earnest desire to ** save their souls from death, and to cover the multi- tude of their sins," are the feelings with which the sight and the thought of them should penetrate our bosoms. ** Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways : for the froward is abomination to the Lord ; but his secret is with the righteous." *' Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity : for they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb. ♦ Ps^. ii. 2—5, 10—12. ECCLES. III. 16—23. IV. 1 3. 151 Trust in the Lord, and do good; (so) shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thy- self also in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the de- sires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him, and he shall bring (it) to pass; and he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day. Rest in the Lord, and Wait patiently for him : fret not thyself because of him who prospercth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath : fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evil-doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked (shall) not (be:) yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it (shall) not (be.) But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."* The Psalmist Asaph admitted envy of the wicked into his heart, and was tempted by the sight of their pros- perity to " deny the God that is above." He was brought to the very verge of atheism. After his re- covery, he describes their character, the inward work- ings of the temptation, and the manner in which the spell was broken and his soul set at liberty, and enabled to resume its confidence and joy in the Lord. *' When I thought to know this, it (was) too painful for me, until 1 went into the sanctuary of God : (then) under- stood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they (brought) into desolation, as in a moment ! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when (one) awaketh; (so,) O Lord, when thou awakest;, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was * Fsal. xxxvii. 1— 11. 15S LECTURE VI. grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish (was) I, and ignorant : I was (as) a beast before thee» Nevertheless I (am) continually with thee ; thou hast holden (me) by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me (to) glory. Whom have I in heaven (but thee ?) and (there is) none upon earth (that) I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart faileth : (but) God (is) the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."* Lastly, Let *' the man of the earth" consider the folly with which he is chargeable, in forgetting his im- mortality, and living as if he had no connection with any world but this, and no prospect of any existence beyond his residence in it. O remember, that ** your days on earth are as a shadow, and that there is no abiding ;" that when you die, you are not to sink into annihilation ; your spirit is not, like that of the brutes, to ** go downward to the earth," but must **go upward," — upward to God, — " to God, who gave it." Live no longer, then, like the beasts that perish. Rise to a sense of your dignity as immortal beings. Take into your estimate of happiness the whole extent of your exist- ence. The chief good of a rational and immortal crea- ture must be something worthy of his rational nature, and in duration commensurate with eternity. Let your inquiry be, how an eternity of existence may be to you an eternity of enjoyment ? To answer this inquiry is the grand design of revelation. ** The way of salvation" is there set before you ;-r-the way to eternal life ; — the path to "glory, and honour, and immortality." Jesus is revealed as the Son of God, the Divine Redeemer, the Hope of sinners. Believe in Him ; live to Him. Thus shall you possess true honour, and true felicity. * Psal. Ixxiii. 16—26- EccLEs. III. 16 — S3. IV. 1 — a. ise When your mortal frame shall descend to the dust^ your spirit, commended into the hands of God your Saviour, shall rise to the perfection of purity and bliss. ** Absent from the body, you shall be present with the Lord ;" and *' your flesh also,'* though doomed to tem= porary corruption, ^^ shall rest in hope.^' Man and beast go to one place ; returning to the common womb of Earth. But the former are not lost. The common Pa- rent shall travail again. ** The Earth shall cast forth her dead." They that *' dwell in the dust," who have lived and died to the Lord, ^' shall awake and sing:" — ** Lo this (is) our God ; we have waited for him, and he will save us : this (is) the Lord ; we have waited for him ; we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." " This corruptible shall then put on incorruption, and this mortal immortality ; and the saying that is written shall be brought to pass. Death is swallowed up in vic- tory !" — Again, then, I say, live no longer like the beasts that perish. Anticipate what is before you, and thankfully avail yourselves of the mercy of the gospel. " Behold, now (is) the accepted time ; behold, now (is) the day of salvation." '* This is life eternal, to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." LECTURE VII. Eccl.es. iv. 4 — 16. i " JgaiUy I considered all travail^ and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This (is J also vanity andvexa- 5 tion ofsfiirit. The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own d flesh. Better (is) an handful (with J quietness, than both the 7 hands full (with J travail and vexation ofsfiirit. Then I returned^ 8 and I saw vanity under the sun. There is one (alone, J and (there is J not a second ; yeOy he hath neither child nor brother : yet (is there J no end of all his labour ; neither is his eye satisfied with riches ; neither (saith he,) For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of 9 good? This (is J also vanity y yea, it (is J a sore travail. Two (are J better than o?ie ; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up. his fellow : but wo to him (thai is) alone whe7i he falleth ; for (he hath J not another to help, him 11 up. j^gain, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can 12 one be warm (alone? J And if one prevail against him^ two shall 13 withstand him ; and a three-fold cord is not quickly broken. Better (is J a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will 14 no more be admonished. For out of prison he cometh to reign; 15 whereas also (he that is J born in his kingdom becometh poor. I con- sidered all the living which walk under the sun\ with the second 16 child that shall stand up in his stead. ("There is) no end of all the people, CevenJ of all that have been before them : they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also C^^J vanity and vexation of spirit** Jtaving recorded what, in his survey of the world, he had witnessed, of the odious character of the oppres- sors of mankind, the miseries endured by the poor and unbefriended victims of their prostituted power, and the distress of every generous spirit in being a spectator of such scenes: — Solomon next proceeds to notice those sources of disquietude which are peculiar to benefactors. For even they, in the midst of their disin- ECCLES. IV. 4 16. 15i terested labours for the good of others, and of the gene- ral esteem of society thence arising, are not without their springs of bitterness. Verse 4. " Again, 1 considered all travail, and every right work ; that for this a man is envied of his neigh- bour. This (is) alson'anity, and vexation of spirit." It is true, that a good man, who lays himself out for the benefit of others, expending his labour, and sacri- ficing his personal interest, to advance the happiness of mankind, will meet with general affection and regard ; so that for such a character, on his own account and on society's, from personal esteem and public spirit, some might be found willing even to risk and to forfeit life itself: — " Scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perad venture for a good man some would even dare to die."* — But let a man in eminent station act ever so constantly from the purest principles of generosity or of patriotism ; he must not expect to escape the envy of malignant, or the jealousy of rival, spirits ; the latter seeking to supplant him and to rise upon his ruins, — the former, like Milton's Satan, «' Eyeing him askance with jealous leer malign,*' repining at his very excellencies, sickening at the sound of his praises, and gnawing their lips at his rising fame. Many, many a time, has Envy, by its open hostility, and still more successfully by its secret arts of detrac- tion and calumny, by whispered insinuations and hypo- critical regrets, by misrepresentation of motives and exaggeration of failures, blasted the reputation, and ruined the prosperity, of the most excellent and justly eminent characters. It is a principle of action in our fallen nature, proverbially subtle, and proverbially inde- fatigable in its devices and efforts to accomplish the ♦ Rom. V. r> 45(5 LECTURE Vll. degradation of its unfortunate victim ; and it is also, alas ! proverbially successful. " Wrath (is) cruel, and anger (is) outrageous ; but who (is) able to stand before envy?" Wrath and anger, although unmerciful and violent, yet are usually open and transient. But Envy ** mines unseen;" pursues, with miwearied activity, its underground machinations, and unites so much artful- ness with so much perseverance, that — '' who is able to stand before it?" — The dreadful effects of this malig- nant passion are variously exemplified in the records of sacred history. It was envy that murdered " righteous Abel," and stained the ground with the first effusion of human blood. It was envy that extinguished the feel- ings of natural affection in the breasts of Joseph's bre- thren, when they cast their brother into the pit, and ^'sat down to eat bread;" when they sold him for twenty silverlings, and, silencing the inward remon- strances of filial duty, with perfidious and relentless barbarity, "pierced with many sorrows" the heart of their aged and venerable parent, by presenting to his distracted sight the bloody vestment of his favourite boy. It v/as envy that instigated and animated the per- secution of Saul against the unoffending son of Jesse, whose stone and sling had saved " the armies of the living God," and whom the virgins of Israel had placed above the monarch in their songs of triumph over the vanquished host of the Philistines. It was ^v\\y, in the bosoms of the priests and rulers of the Jews, that '' de- nied the prince of life," and clamoured for the cruci- fixion of Him who was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." — Independently of the success of the devices of envy, whether its end is gained or not to the extent of its malignant wishes, it is in a high de- gree painful to the spirit of a good man to be the ob- ECCLES. IV. 4 — 16. 157 ject of so detestable a passion, or the means of its ex- citement in the bosoms of others. If he suspects its existence and operation, he must be subject to inces- sant apprehension ; and if not, his fall may come upon him by surprise :— ere he is aware that the mine has been formed, and the train laid, it may explode at once, to his inevitable and irretrievable ruin. Thus, while envy is *' the rottenness of the bones" to the man who indulges it in his own breast, it is the most dangerous enemy to which the object of it can be exposed. It has been finely said of charity, that it is " doubly blessed ; — it blesses him that gives, and him that takes." Envy is doubly cursed ; the subject and the object of it it curses alike. Like the star called Wormwood, that embittered all the rivers and fountains of water on which it fell, it poisons and bereaves of their sweetness all the sources and streams oPhuman enjoyment. Amongst the objects of envy are to be included, not only such benevolent and patriotic characters as have been mentioned, but all who are favoured with any un- usual measure of temporal prosperity ; who labour with diligence, and are crowned with success ; even although nothing can with truth be laid to their charge inconsis- tent with the most unsullied integrity. Envy is little mindful of truth. Its malignant breath can sully the fairest fame. It hates its rival's success, and it grudges the very reputation for purity of principle with which that success is accompanied. " I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour." Perceiving this to be the case, observing the jealousy which attends all descriptions of eminence, the envy consequent on successful exertions, and on rising pros- perity and honour, the spirit of detraction that is drawn 158 LECTURE Vn. forth even by the toils and sacrifices of disinterested benevolenccj and the unworthy recompense of a life devoted to the public good ; some are tempted, on this and similar grounds, to excuse and to indulge their natural propensity to indolence and inactivity. But this is foolish. All indolence, on whatever principles men may apologize for it, is folly : — Verse 5, ** The fool foldeth his hands together and cateth his own flesh." This may be understood, as I have hinted in intro- ducing the verse, as the picture of a sluggard, reducing himself to starvation and pining wretchedness, eating the very flesh off* his bones, rather than put his hand to la- bour. ** (Yet) a little sleep, a little slumber, a IkilQ/oid' ing of the hands to sleep ! So shall thy poverty come as one that travaileth, and thy want as an armed man."* *^ The soul of the sluggafd desireth, and hath nothing." *' The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold ; therefore shall he beg in harvest and have nothing." — Let no one, then, from the observation that " for all travail and every right work a man is envied of his neighbour," draw the hasty and unwise inference, that it is better to do nothing : for he who " folds his hands together," and by his idleness reduces himself to ** eat- ing his own flesh," acts the part of a fool ; — shows him- self incapable of all right discrimination. If the sixth verse be connected with this, it may be interpreted as the language of the sluggard, affecting wisdom, and vindicating his conduct by a maxim of prudential consideration :~-for of the sluggard it is else- where said, he is *' wiser in his own conceit, than seven men that can render a reason." He may here be under- stood to say:— Let others, like fools, vainly toil, and ♦ Prov.vi. 10, 11. ECCLESi IV. 4 — 6. 159 Iiarass, and vex themselves, if they wdll :— my maxim is, and wiser men than I have held it, " Better is a hand- ful with quietness, than both the hands full, with travail and vexation of spirit." — The sentiment, properly un- derstood and applied, is just. It occurs more than once in the Book of Proverbs :—" Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble there* with. Better (is) a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." " Better (is) a dry morsel and quietness therewith, than a house full of sacrifices (with) strife."* But it is a sentiment far from being applicable to the indolent and useless fool, who " folds his hands together, and eats his own flesh ;" although such a fool may gravely cloak his folly under the misinterpreted sayings of wisdom. It relates to the man of moderate and chastened desires ; the man of <^ godliness with contentment;" who, instead of " hast- ing to be rich," recollects, amidst his diligence in busi- ness, that " a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth ;" who prefers peace and quietness, and domestic comfort, even with com- paratively slender means, to superfluous exuberance, with bustle and strife. If, on the other hand, this sixth verse be connected with what follows, it will stand as the sentiment of Solomon himself, the sentiment of practical wisdom, opposed to the absurd conduct and self-inflicted misery of the friendless and solitary miser, who, with ** both the hands full," has nothing but " travail and vexation of spirit." But there is still another interpretation which may be given to the fifth verse, which I mention rather for con-, sideration than with confidence. May it not be de ♦ Prov. XV. 16, 17. xvii, 1. 160 LtCTURE Til. signed to express the wretchedness of the man who indulges envy^ Observe the connection in which it stands. In the fourth verse, we have the evil to which even the man of benevolence and rectitude may be ex- posed from his becoming the object of envy. May not the fifth verse, then, be understood of the misery aris- ing from this malignant passion to him who is the sub- ject of it ? " The fool,"— the envious fool—" foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh." The malignant temper preys upon him, and engrosses his thoughts : — sleeping and waking, it haunts him :— he is disinclined from labour : — he " folds his hands together" in the attitude of fretful and malignant mus- ing, racking his invention for means to accomplish the odious purposes of his heart. But he is inwardly wretched : — he ** eats his own flesh" with vexation of spirit :— -he pines and wastes away in sullen jealousy. He may succeed in effecting the downfal and ruin of his rival ; but he is himself a miserable fool. Verses 7, 8, ** Then I returned, and 1 saw vanity under the sun. There is one (alone) and (there is) not a second ; yea, he hath neither child nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labour ; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither (saith he,) For whom do I labour and bereave my soul of good ? This is also vanity ; yea, it is a sore travail." This is a strikingly graphical, though brief descrip- tion, of the avaricious keenness and carefulness of a toiling, griping, hoarding, insulated miser. — " There is one, and there is not a second" — no heir apparent^ no connection, either by blood or by particular friend- ship, to succeed him; '^neither child nor brother," (that is, no near relative,) to inherit his accumulated treasures :— ** yet is there no end of all his labour ; .7> ECCLES. iv. 4 — 16. 161 he toils with unintermitting solicitude, " rising early and sitting late," nor ever can bear the thought of re- tiring from active business, as long as he can add a single penny by it to his store : — '' neither is his eye satisfied with riches ;" constantly either contemplating his acquisitions, or on the eager look-out for more ; never saying, It is enough ; a greedy receiver, but a reluctant and parsimonious giver. He takes no enjoy- ment of his wealth ; but starves in the midst of abun- dance ; not only "labouring," but ^* bereaving his soul of good ;" living with the most pitiful penuriousness ; grudging himself every morsel of meat, every rag of clothing, every common comfort of life. And the habit grows upon him ; he becomes increasingly avaricious as he advances in wealth and in years ; no selfish con- sideration can move him, nor any claim of charity touch his soul ; his hollow eye contracts the timid glance of lurking suspicion ; liis whole countenance the marked and settled expression of anxiety and unfeeling narrow- ness ; and his wasted frame, his antique and thread- bare clothing, and every part of his appearance, betrays the confirmed and unimpressible miser. Those who first assigned this designation to the character were happy in their selection. Miser singifies wretched ; and surely there is not on earth a more pitiable object than the man here described ; the unhappy victim of one of the strangest aberrations of understanding ; one of the most unaccountable contradictions to all right feeling, and to every ordinary principle of human nature, that is to be found amongst the intellectual and moral varieties of the species. Solomon's description shows us that these varieties have, in every age, been much the same. Many a time has it since been realized, with wonderful accuracy.—- X 16S LECTURE VII. The character may be traced to various origins. In some instances, it has arisen from a fatal error in edu- cation,— from early and ill-judged lessons of excessive parsimony impressed upon the youthful mind, gradu- ally forming in the heart an undue *' love of money,'' a habitual desire of getting, and dread of losing, or of being necessitated to give away : — in other cases, from the apprehension and presentiment of a diseased mind, — a hypochrondriacal foreboding of approaching poverty, of dying in want ; an evil, to which every penny that is lost or parted with is of course conceived by the dis- ordered imagination to contribute :— and in others still, from the weak-minded vanity of being noticed and spoken of, during life, and after death, as the possessor of so much wealth, or as the man that had left it behind him. — From whatever source it may have arisen, and whatever may have promoted its growth, it is well de- nominated " vanity and a sore tr avails The poor rich fool lives in misery, and dies unlamented. Those, whosoever they may be, to whom he bequeaths his wealth, give him little thanks for it. He has only given it when he could hold it no longer. He has not parted with it ; he has been obliged to leave it ; and not one farthing of it, they know well, should they ever have touched, could he by any possibility have retained pos- session. They are glad the useless old fellow is out of the way ; they lay him in the dust without a sigh ; and with secret self-gratulation, take possession of his hoards. The character and dreary friendlessness of the wretched miser probably suggested to Solomon's mind the subject of the following verses, — the benefits of society and friendship. Verses 9—12. *\Two (are) better than one 5 because ECCLES. IV. 4 16. 163 they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow ; but wo to him (that is) alone when he falleth ; for (he hath) not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together then they have heat : but how can one be warm (alone ?) And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him ; and a three-fold cord is not easily broken." The figures which are employed in these verses are in themselves so plain as to require no explanation. They are all intended to illustrate the same general sen- timent,— -the advantages of union and co-operation; and the sentiment may be applied to every description of faithful and well-principled alliance, — to marriage, to friendship, to Christian communion. Many and valua- ble are the benefits of such association amidst the changes of this uncertain world ; some common to all the varieties of union, and some peculiar to each. It affords to the parties mutual counsel and direction, especially in seasons of perplexity and embarrassment; mutual sympathy, consolation, and care, in the hour of calamity and distress; mutual encouragement in anxiety and depression ; mutual aid, by the joint ap- plication of bodily or mental energy to difHcult and laborious tasks ; mutual relief amidst the fluctuations of worldly circumstances, the abundance of the one reciprocally supplying the deficiencies of the other; mutual defence and vindication, when the character of either is injuriously attacked and defamed ; and (what may be considered as particularly appropriate to the phraseology of the tenth verse) mutual reproof and af- fectionate expostulation when either has, through the power of temptation, fallen into sin : — ** Wo to him that is alone when he" so " falleth, and hath not another to help him up I" no one to care for his soul; and to restore him to the paths of righteousness. 164 LECTURE VII. In all cases, union, — affectionate, principled, faithful union, — the connection and intercourse of kindred souls, — must be eminently productive of reciprocal satisfac- tion and delight. As " when two lie together they have heat ;" so two hearts, in friendly contact, warm each other with the glow of mutual love, at once imparting and receiving sensations of the purest pleasure. Nor is the enjoyment, exquisite though it be, arising from the interchange of congenial affections, the whole of the benefit. Such union gives stability and strength :--^* if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him ; and a three-fold cord is not quickly broken." — The fable of the bundle of rods, by which the dying father taught his sons the benefit of union, has been familiar to all of you from your childhood. The rods, when bound together, resisted all their efforts to break them ; but when untied, and taken one by one, they were succes- sively snapped with ease. The '* three-fold cord" con- veys the same lesson. Twined together, the filaments are strong ; untwined and separate, they are slender and feeble. Thus it is, that a union of interests, coun- sels, and efforts gives vigour and animation, both in spiritual connections, and in the relations of nature and of business. t It was on the principle here stated, ^* two are better than one," that the marriage relation was, in part at least, originally founded. " The Lord God said. It is not good that the man should be alone ; I will make him a help meet for him." — It is on the same principle that men collect together in society, and that all their various combinations and partnerships are formed, for the successful prosecution of particular ends. Righ- teous and wicked alike recognize and act upon this prin- ciple ; the former for the accomplishment of good, the ECCLES. IV. 4 16. 165 latter for the perpetration of evil.-— It is on the same principle too, beloved brethren in the Lord, that all the institutions of social religion have their vindication and their use. He v^^ho " knoweth what is in man" was well aware that it was not good for his people's spiritual interests, that they should be alone ; each individual pursuing his course by himself. He commanded their association in churches, in the bond of spiritual love, and appointed ordinances of public worship, and laws of social intercourse : that, in the due observance of these, they might strengthen one another's hands and encourage one another's hearts, and mutually " pro- voke to love and to good works." The concluding verses of the chapter contain some of the mortifications of royalty, of which Solomon might well speak with freedom, being himself the wearer of a crown. Royalty, alas ! is not always associated with wis- dom : and where wisdom is avvanting, advancing age very generally adds to imbecility and folly, self-will, obstinacy, and headstrong contempt of counsel : — Verse 13- " Better (is) a poor and wise child, than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished." " Better"--that is, happier, and more really useful. The influence of the ** wise child" is limited indeed ; but as far as it reaches in the humble sphere of life in which his lot is cast, it is essentially good: but the *' foolish king" has extensive power ; and when power is in league with folly, the boundaries of its extent arc only the limits of its mischief. Nothing indeed can be conceived more deplorable, than imbecility united with obstinacy, and both in combination with authority and force. Further : the ^^ wise child/' although poor, is, by 166 LECTURE VII. the possession of wisdom, in the way to reputation, preferment, and honour ; whereas the *^ foolish king," in the midst of riches and external glory, is, by his folly, in the way to poverty, degradation, and disgrace. The wisdom of the one may advance him to a sceptre ; the folly of the other, as recorded experience testifies, may wrest the sceptre from his hand. This is probably the meaning of the fourteenth verse, in which Solomon assigns the reason of his preference : — " For out of prison he cometh to reign ; whereas also (he that is) born in his kingdom becometh poor." The *' poor and wise child" rises from the state of meanness and of oppression to a throne ; whilst the ** old and foolish king," though " born in his king- dom, becometh poor." The wisdom of the one, when known and appreciated, rescues him from oppression, draws him forth from obscurity, and promotes him to influence, and honour, and command. The folly of the other, felt in its mischievous and galling effects, shakes the stability of his hereditary throne. Though he has obtained the kingdom by inheritance, and, through the sufferance of a burdened, and dishonoured, and harassed people, has long continued to wear the crown in this right, from regard, it may be, to former princes of the same dynasty ; yet by his maladministration he ex- hausts his treasures, destroys the national credit, brings his government to bankruptcy, and himself either to a necessary though constrained abdication, or to a forca- ble deposition from his dignity, by his own subjects, or by the interference of a foreign power. — There is possibly an allusion in the passage, (and if there be, it can be no more than an allusion, for in some respects there is no parallelism,) to the oppression and advance- ment of Joseph : on which supposition, the verse will ECCLES. IT. 4 16. 167 contain a general sentiment under a reference to a par- ticular case. Another view of this verse has suggested itself to my mind, which it may be worth while just to mention, although the explanation already given seems the pre- ferable one. — " Out of prison he cometh to reign'' may be interpreted, not of the child, but of the king. A monarch of the character described is a prisoner in his palace. He knows, and cannot but feel, his unpopu- larity : and when he comes forth amongst his subjects in the administration of his government, he comes forth, like a prisoner from confinement, to which he is imme- diately to be remanded again ; feeling none of the con- fidence of freedom, none of the fearless security and unreserved openness, of him who reigns in the hearts of a grateful and happy people, but full of apprehensions, and jealousies, and alarms ; suspicious of all about him, and even of the very guards that have sworn fidelity to his royal person :— a state of mind by which the latter days of some " old and foolish kings" have been most fearfully distracted. *' Whereas also, (he diat is) born in his kingdom be- cometh poor," will then refer to the tendency of his impolitic and infatuated measures, to ruin trade and commerce, and reduce his hapless subjects to poverty and wretchedness. The former view, however, presents a natural con- fra^^ between the two descriptions of character mentioned in the thirteenth verse, in regard to their respective ten- dencies ; of the one to elevation and honour, of the other to depression and disgrace : and it is therefore, in all probability, the true meaning. In the two last verses of the chapter there is a good deal of obscurity ; — .168 liECTURE VII. *' I considered all the living who walk Under the sun, with the second child that shall rise up in his stead* (There is) no end of all the people, (even) of all that have been before them : they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also (is) vanity, and vexation of spirit." The general idea intended to be conveyed by these verses seems to be, the inconstancy and fickleness of popular attachment to favourite rulers, and the mortifi- cation thence arising to the possessors of Royal ho- nour. " I considered all the living that walk under the sun with the second child that shall rise up in his stead;" ■ — that is, with the child his second, or successor. Such is the meaning of the same word in the eighth verse, where the solitary miser is represented as having no second, — no successor to his wealth. So here, the child that is second to the reigning prince is the child that is to succeed him in the government, — the heir appa- refit to the throne Solomon "■ considered," not only how rapidly, how immediately, upon the demise of the pre- sent occupant of the throne, the attachment shown to him was transferred to his successor, how quickly ser- vility to the latter jostled out the memory of the for- mer ; but he further observed, that even in the old king's lifetime, when symptoms discovered themselves of his end drawing near, the heir was sedulously court- ed, though with greater and less degrees of delicacy ; interest was made with him, and insinuating adulation addressed to him ; he became the object of attention and solicitation ; whilst the aged sire, whose favour, having lost its prospective influence, had declined in value, was neglected, and sunk into contempt. He marked the prevailing propensity of men, whether from motives of self-interest, or from the mere loye of ECCLBS. IV. 4 — 16. 169 change, to disregard the setting and to worship the ri- sing sun. This fickleness, having its source in the principles of man's fallen nature, had existed in preceding ages, existed in Solomon's own days, and was more than likely to continue in after times: — Verse 16. ** (There is) no end of all the people, (even) of all that have been before them ; they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also (is) vanity and vexation of spirit." — " A'b end^* seems here to mean, tw fixed point in which the people can rest with any settled satisfac- tion ; they have no stability ; they never reach an ob- ject in which their gratification is permanent, — a goal of their capricious and fluctuating desires. They are ever fickle, ever fond of novelty and change. — '*• There is no end to all the people." They have all, in this re- spect, the same generic character ; in having no termi- nating point and settled resting place to their views and wishes. So it was with '* all the people," forming the generation of Solomon's contemporaries; so it had been with " all who were before them ;" and '* they also who were to come after" would discover the same tendency. Should it be doubted, whether the word translated end be susceptible of the signification thus assigned to it, then the meaning must be : — " There is no end to all the people ;" new generations have been continually following each other, and the same course of succession is now going on, and shall continue in after ages ; and each generation in its turn brings with it its own pecu- liarities, its own likings and dislikings, — new men, in^ fluenced by new circumstances, seeking after new things, and attaching themselves to new favourites, and new systems of administration. Y 170 LECTURE VII. Such had been the case. The inconstancy complained of, Solomon knew, from ancient history, to have cha- racterized former generations. He had even seen it af- feelingly exemplified within the same generation, in the life-time of his own father. It had been strikingly displayed, in that ** cloudy and dark day" of David's reign, when ** the hearts of the men of Israel were after Absalom," alienated from the father, who had com- menced his reign under such decided indications of popular attachment, by the insinuating flatteries and promises of his unnatural son. And still more recently, in the extreme age of " the man after God's heart," at a time when the reverence of filial affection ought to have restrained the stirrings and aspirations of an ambi- tious spirit, Adonijah had '* exalted himself, and said, I will be king;" had '' prepared him chariots and horse- men, and fifty men to run before him ;" and had formed a faction in support of his claims ; thus ungratefully re- quiting the partial fondness of a father, by disturbing and embittering his old age, and drawing away from him the affections of his people ere his time of depar- ture was come. How afflicting this to the y^f/A^r/ And liow mortifying to the monarch, to witness the readi- ness of his people to attach themselves to another, even while he himself, who had *' gone in and out before them" during the best of his days, was yet alive ! And even in the case of Solomon himself, the necessity for whose immediate proclamation arose from the rebellion of Adonijah, such feelings of secret mortification could not fail to mingle with the sentiments of parental and regal satisfaction. Although Solomon was the dear and promising son of a beloved mother, and his successor in the throne by previous Divine intimation and his own delighted approval, yet the public rejoicings at his EccLEs. IV. 4—16. lyi coronation, when " the people came up after him, piping with pipes, and exulting with great joy, and shouting, *God save king Solomon!' so that the city rang again, and the earth rent with the sound of them,'** however gratifying to the ear both of the loving father and the patriot king, could not but draw the sigh from his heart, and the inward exclamation, " Vanity of vani- ties!" — when in the plaudits of a rejoicing people he heard the name of another so easily substituted for his own. And the scene must have been affecting to the son, as well as to the father ; royal anticipations mingling with tender filial regrets. It read him a salutary lesson of humility in the very outset of his reign, when sur- rounded with so much that was fitted to intoxicate and bewilder a youthful mind. It was now a mortifying reflection to Solomon, that the same fickleness was still an attribute of the popular character ; and that what had been seen by him, in the case of his father, would soon be repeated in his own and in his successor's. The heir apparent would be courted, as the future source of coveted honours : and he too, on his rising to the throne, would have his day, and in his turn be neglected, and give place to another : — ** They also that come after him shall not rejoice in him." — This is surely a galling and humbling conside- ration to Royalty. Let not the young prince exult in the court that is paid to him. Let him consider how much of it is the product of selfishness ; and be assured that his own day of mortification is coming, and may not be distant. Let the rising sun, in the morning of his glory, and amidst his crowd of worshippers, remember that he must set ; and that even ere he hath gone down, another luminary, emerging from the opposite horizon, ♦ 1 Kings i. 39, 40, 45. i 172 LECTURE Vlh will throw his evening splendours into shade, and draw away from him the admiring eyes and selfish acclama- tions of those flatterers, who hailed his own ascent, and waited with their adulations on his course ! This thought is enough, of itself, to repress the swellings of vain-glory, and to heave with a sigh the bosom that is invested with the purple :—" Surely, this also (is) vani- ty, and vexation of spirit!'* From this passage let us, in the first place ^ learn, to let nothing discourage us in well-doing. Let not the consideration in the fourth verse, that *' for every right work a man is envied of his neigh- bour," resirain us from the active and fearless pursuit of what is glorifying to God, or profitable to men. On the contrary, *' whatsoever our hand findeth to do," for either of these ends, or for the comfort and reputa- tion and usefulness of ourselves and families, let us ** do it with our might." If we should be the ob- jects of envy, it is better that we be envied for emi- nence in good deeds, than for success and prosperity in evil. This is true, indeed, of all descriptions of suf- fering, as well as of what arises from envy. " (It is) better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well- doing, than for evil-doing."* It is a man's honour to be envied on such grounds. And if this malignant spirit should gratify itself in the invention and propagation of reproach and calumny, we shall have the inward satis- faction of knowing its falsehood ; " having a good con- science," — a treasure on such occasions, of inestimable value, which ** cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price of it;" the possession of which will support the victim of envy, and be **his rejoicing," even if that unholy passion should be suo. ♦ 1 ret. ili. 17. ECCLES. IV. 4 16. 17a cessful in its unworthy machinations to "cast him down from his excellency."— We cannot and ought not to be indifferent about the opinion of our fellow- men, and the reputation we hold amongst them. Reli- gious principle concurs with the feelings of nature, in inculcating the propriety of preventing and disarming envy, and counteracting, by all honourable means, its mischievous devices. Yet let us, my dear brethren, be under the habitual influence of a higher principle than regard to the judgment of men. Let the fear of God rule in our hearts ; — a sacred awe of his supremacy, a conscience *' quick as the apple of an eye" to the dic- tates of his will, a constant reference of all things to his glory as our end, and, in dependence on his faithfulness, a believing anticipation of the fulfilment of his " ex- ceeding great and precious promises." — " Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him, and he will bring (it) to pass : and he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day." *' Let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Having rightly improved our talents in our Master's employ, under the influence of faith and love, he will say to us at last — '' Well done, good and faithful servant ; thou hast been faitiiful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things ; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."* Secondly. ** Take heed, and beware of covetousness."''' — There are few passions more progressive in their na- ture than avarice, when a man has once fairly yielded to it so far as to give it a place in his bosom as a principle of conduct. Beware of it, then, in its earliest and most specious commencements. Give no ear to its penurious and niggardly suggestions. It is mean, sordid, and de- ♦ Psal. xxxvii. 5, 6. Gal. vi. 9. Matt. sxv. 21. 17*^^ LECTURE Vllo spicable in itself, and being directly opposed, in princi- ple and practice, to the ends for which wealth, accord- ing to the maxims of the Bible, ought to be sought, it is contrary to the express will of God, the giver of all that is enjoyed by men. The duty of a Christian is, to '* labour, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth:^^ to ** honour the Lord with his substance, and with the first-fruits of all his increase." — O beware, (for the heart is deceitful above all things,)— beware of cloaking the odious principle against which I have now, in die words of the Saviour himself, been admonishing you, under the sage and plausible maxims of discretion, and economy, and providence. The maxims may be just ; but the use made of them is an infamous perversion. Nothing, however, is more common, than to cloak what is evil under the specious semblance of what is good. How often do we see men, and men too professing the benevolent religion of Him who, ** though he was rich, for our sakes became poor," anxiously scraping toge- ther with one hand, and holding fast with the other, as if in jealous dread of a single atom escaping, and pal- liating and excusing their conduct, by common-place observations, delivered with the air of deep and oracular wisdom, as to the necessity and duty of carefulness, and the sin and danger of extravagance. In condemn- ing one extreme, they fancy they have justified its op- posite. Some men are foolishly profuse ; therefore they must be hard and niggardly : — some men give away what is not their own ; therefore they must take care how they part with what is : — they cannot do every thing ; and this is their regular apology for doing no- thing. Have not you met with such characters ? — and have not you despised them ? Beware, then, of ever eccl.es. IV. 4 — 16. 175 becoming their imitators. " Look not, every man, on his own things, but every man also on the things of others : let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." I repeat his words : ** Take heed, and beware of covetousness."— Ye parents, beware, in the education of your children, of impressing on their minds the wretched maxims of penurious hoarding, and grudging parsimony. Prudence and economy, in- deed, they ought to be taught, both by precept and ex- ample : but oh ! let it be a generous prudence, and not a selfish economy. Of extravagance, there are two de- scriptions; the extravagance of selfishness, and the ex- travagance of charity. The one grudges no expendi- ture of which the end is self- gratification ; the other is the indiscreet overflowing of a generous heart, under the impulse of feeling rather than of judgment, The former requires to be steadily restrained. The latter must be managed with much caution and gentleness, lest, in our attempts to repress the practice, we crush the principle ; lest in reprimanding and punishing pro- fusion, we destroy charity. Do not frown on an act of generosity, because, in the glow of youthful emotion, the limits of prudence have been overstepped. Give your approving smile to the motive, whilst you gently show the injudiciousness of the deed. If the case be such, that to criticise the act might expose the princi- pie to hazard, spare your criticism ; and let time and experience, and growing knowledge, be the correctors of the conduct. These will gradually modify and regu- late the inward impulses and the outward acts of cha- rity. But beware of the encroachments of avarice. No- thing can be more incongruous than a youthful spirit under the rule of this odious passion, and nothing more gloomily unpromising. To teach your children avarice, IfQ X.ECTURE VII. is to teach them what will " grow with their growth, and strengthen with their strength ; and, in its pro- gress and maturity, will make them despicable in so- ciety, miserable in themselves, and useless to others. Thirdly, Let us, my dear Christian brethren, rejoice in our union, and steadily maintain it, in the exercise of principled and faithful love ; that we may secure W ourselves and to one another its inestimable advanta- ges. — To no kind of association is the saying, " two are better than one/' more decidedly applicable, than to that of the fellowship of the church of Christ. Dis- union is, in every view, disheartening and debilitating ; cordial union animating and strengthening. — Universal experience says so ;—our own experience says so. A church divided against itself cannot stand, any more than a kingdom or a family. In division, Satan obtains an advantage over us, through the want of the mutual counsels, admonitions, and encouragements, of Chris- tian love ; and he obtains an advantage too over the cause of the Redeemer, by slackening the vigour of cordial co-operation for its advancement. ^* Suffer ye," then, " the word of exhortation." Let me affectionately beseech you, in the language of inspired authority, ** that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called ; with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suf- fering, forbearing one another in love ; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace :" — ** that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striv- ing together for the faith of the gospel :" — '* that ye hold fast the profession of your faith without vvavering, for he is faithful who hath promised ; and consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works ; not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some (is,) but exhorting (one another ;) and ECCLES, IV. 4 — 16. 177 so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.'* Agreeably to the description in the verses that have been under review, of the mutual benefits of union, " warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-mind- ed, support the weak, be patient toward all men." " Fi- nally, brethren, be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace ; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.'' Thus shall you know, by increas- ing experience^ ** how good and how pleasant (it is,) for brethren to dwell together in unity ;" and " the Lord will command the blessing, (even) life for ever- more,"* Fourthly, Beware of seeking your happiness in the favour and applause of men. Alas ! it is fickle and mutable as the very wind. '* Say, what is fame ? It is a fancied life in others breath, A thing beyond us, even before our death.'* The courtier, whose wishes and expectations are de- pendent on the smiles and the sunshine of royal favour; aid the prince, who looks for constant enjoyment in the possession of popularity and public applause, both trust to what is proverbially capricious and insecure. *' Trust not in man, whose breath is in his nostrils ; for wherein is he to be accounted of?" — Let not the venerable monarch of these realms, our good old king, be the victim of such popular caprice. Let him enjoy, to the close of his days, the satisfaction imparted by the attachment of a loyal people. Let not his grey hairs be despised ; let not our sympathy be refused to his infirmities and sufferings ; let not the respect be for- gotten that is due to the declining sun.f And, whilst * Eph. iv. 1—3. Phil. i. 27. Heb. x 23—25. 2 Cor.xiii. 11. Psal. cxxxiii. 1, 3. I The reader requires to be again reminded of the time when these Lectures were delivered. References of this kind to our late reverend Monarch I could not find in mv heart to erase. i7S LECTURE VII. ECCLES. IV* 4 16. we set an example of steadfast loyalty to our earthly monarch, let us, above all, adhere, with undeclining attachment, to the cause and service and glory of the " King of kings," who fills the throne and sways the sceptre of an eternal dominion ; who can never give place to a successor ; and who is supremely entitled to the growing admiration and the everlasting attach- ment of all his subjects.— In his immutable favour, too, let us seek our enjoyment. It is the only enduring hap- piness ; springing from the only source that is unsus- ceptible of change. In his smile, there lurks no deceit ; in his assurances of regard, there is no duplicity or simulation; *' his gifts and calling are without repen- tance ;" and in bis Royal clemency and paternal lo9e, there is the fulness of eternal joy. " Whom have I in heaven (but thee?) and there (is) none upon earth whom I desire in preference to thee. My flesh and my heart failcth ; (but) God (is) the strength of my heart, and my portion forever." "(There be) many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us : thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time (that) their corn and their wine increased."* • Psal. IxxUi. 25, 26. Ibid. iv. 6, 7. LECTURE VIII. ECCLES. V. 1 — 7. i " Keep, thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools : for they consider 2 not that they do evil. Be not rash ivith thy mouthy and let not thine heart be hasty to utter C^'^vJ thing before God : for God fisj in 3 heaven, and thou ufion earth; therefore let thy nvords befeiv. For ii. f Ibid. ii. 15—19. 198 LECTURE VIII. man directs his admonitions, is contained in the last clause of this verse : — *' But fear thou God." — The reverential fear of the Most High, habitually influencing the mind and heart, will prevent a man from being **rash with his mouth;" from being ^Miasty to utter any thing before him ;" and especially from making inconsiderate vows, and afterwards, with profane dupli- city of spirit, seeking excuses for not fulfilling them, " Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts ; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread." Let others act the part of '' fools who make a mock at sin ;" but " be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long." Ever ^' fear that glorious and fearful name, the Lord THY God !" Of such vows as were permitted and common under the Old Dispensation, we have no recorded and ap- proved examples under the New ; nor are any direc- tions given us, for the making or the performance of them. Resolutions, in the strength of Divine grace, to serve the Lord, to cleave to him, and to his word, and to his ways, we may, with propriety, form and express. Of this nature indeed is the language of God's people, in their addresses to himself, every day ; and always has been, and always must be. " I will go, in the strength of the Lord God." — But for the ** binding of the soul" by special obligations, such as imprecatory oaths, whe- ther verbal or written ; for bringing ourselves under a bond superadded to the sanction of the Divine com- mand, I am not sure that we have any warrant, either from the conduct or the writings of the apostles of Christ. Paul's vows, recorded in the eighteenth and twenty. first chapters of the Acts of the Aposdes, and others of a like nature, belonged to the Old Dispensa- tion ; which had then only ** waxed old, and was ready ECCLES. V. 1 /. d99 to vanish avvay ;'' and, although virtually abolished by the death of Christ, was not yet, in practice, finally set aside. Vows have been a snare to the consciences of many ; especially of the weak, who have often been more afraid of transgressing because God^s vowsy they say, are upon therriy than on account of the simple and im- mediate obligation of Divine authority. They are very apt, too, as every thing must be that is of our own de- vising, when they do not produce a spirit of bondage and fear, to engender the opposite one of self-righteous confidence and presumption. Vows of celibacy and pil- grimage ; vows of money, houses, and lands, to pious uses ; vows at baptism and the Lord's supper, at admis- sion to church- fellowship, and at ministerial ordination; and the oaths of personal and national covenanting, al- though some of them are more objectionable than others, appear alike destitute of New Testament war- rant. When the word vow is used, as it frequently is, synoniraously, or nearly so, with the word resolution^ it were idle to quarrel with a mere term. It is our duty, however, to beware of ensnaring our souls by self- in-* vented and self-imposed obligations, and of every such addition to his will as might draw upon us the reproof, ** Who hath required this at your hands?" But although the New Testament \% silent on the subject of vowing, yet the passage we have been re- viewing is far from being barren of practical instruction to us in these latter davs. In the first place. Let all our religious services, and particularly (for this is the subject before us) the ser- vices of the house of God, be performed by us, sin- cerely^ considerately^ and reverentially. — Sincerely: — for the first and most indispensable requisite to all ac- SOO LECTURE VIII. ceptable worship, is, that the " heart be right with God." ** My son, give me thy heart." All is worthless without this. Considerately : — all should be the dictate of an enlightened understanding and a maturely reflect- ing mind. We should think well what we are doing, when we engage in the different exercises of Divine worship. We should consider, with deliberate serious- ness, the character of the Being to w^hom we approach ; ** believing that he is, and that he is a rewarder of all them that diligently seek him :"--we should have an enlightened conception of the nature of our duties, in praise and prayer, in speaking and hearing the word of God, in showing forth the Lord's death, in administer- ing to the wants of our poor brethren, and in occa- sionally attending to the ordinance of baptism. All these services should be done with the understanding as well as with the heart. The latter without the former is enthusiasm. All the affections, as well as zeal, must be "according to knowledge." **Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures ?"— This union of the understanding and the heart will insure our worshipping reverentially. There is no peculiar sacredness in any place now, as there was in the tem- ple of old : but the exercises of the worship of God are themselves sacred, and ought to be solemn, in whatever place perfornied. ^^ Wherefore we, receiving a king- dom which cannot be moved, let us hold the grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.'''— In fulfilment of this duty, let there be punctuality in the time of your coming to the house of God, and devotion of spirit, and gravity of demeanor, while you are in it. He surely obeys not the injunction " keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God,'' ECCLES. V. 1— ^y. SOI who is careless about being there in due time, who is detained by every trifle, and sometimes by nothing but; mere thoughtlessness, and can thus miss, with appa- rently no regret, some part of the w^orship, the first hymn of praise, the reading of the Scriptures, or the opening prayer. The conduct of those who are in the habit of coming in late, is severely reprehensible, as a disturbance of the worship, and a distraction to the at- tention of others. The decency and solemnity becoming the sanctuary of God require, that all the worshippers should be in their places, and all settled and still, at the commencement of the service, that they may begin and end together. — The subject also holds out a reproof to the listless, whose attention, even in the most. solemn parts of worship, is distracted by the merest trifles, and who stare about them, with absent minds, in idle va- cancy ; — to those, who instead of striving against the encroachments of drowsiness, nod without restraint in their pews, or lay down their heads, with perfect com- posure to a comfortable nap ; and to those, who by loud and unsuppressed coughing, and sneezing, and by other noises, which they are at no pains to avoid, dis- turb, without any plea of necessity, the stillness and solemnity of the worship.— Alas! my brethren, we have enough within us, every one in his own bosom, to tempt to the evil of " drawing nigh to God with our lips, and honouring him with our mouths whilst our hearts are far from him ;" we need no extraneous en- ticements, iio temptations from one another. Secondly, Let us be always prompt in fulfilling our solemn engagements to God. — Although not under self- invented and self-imposed vows, we yet have " given ourselves to the Lord.'* We are under the deepest and most sacred obligations, and have avowed that we feel Co ^OS liECTURE VHI. them ; the obligations arising from Divine authority, and from Divine goodness and grace. " I beseech you? therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye pre- sent your bodies (your whole persons) a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, (which is) your reasonable service." '' Ye are not your own ; for ye are bought with a price : therefore, glorify God in your bodies, and in your spirits, which are God's."*— If we feel these obligations aright, all our obedience will be charac- terized by promptitude : ** I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies : I made haste, and delayed not, to keep thy commandments."!— Every part of our service to God should be thus prompt and cheerful; yielded ** with a ready mind/' '* not grudg- ingly or of necessity." In particular, we are under obligation, though not by special vow, to " honour the Lord with our substance, and with the first-fruits of all our increase." It will be a comfortable reflection, should God, in his providence, be pleased to deprive us of the means of thus honouring him, that we did not, while in possession of them, shut pur heart and hand against his paramount claims, and withhold from him his due ; that it is not on this account, but in the exercise of that love that chastens for the profit of his children, that he " destroys the work of our hands." Thirdly. Let all the professed people of God examine themselves, lest they should have ^' a name to live while they^re dead," a ^^form of godliness while they deny its power." Remember what was already stated, and what I repeat and urge upon your attention, because of its essential importance, that, if your hearts are not given to God, but still set on the world, no external services, though attended to with the most punctilious ♦ Rom. xii. I, 1 Cor, vi. 19, 20. \ Psal. cxi.x. 59, 60. ECCLES. Y. 1— y. §03 exactness, can ever be pleasing in his sight. They are the " sacrifices of fools," and shall profit you nothing; and if ^^for a pretence you make long prayers, you shall only receive the greater damnation." *' Let the sinners in Zion be afraid ; let fearfulness surprise the hypocrites." Lastly, Let all consider, 07i what ground they draw near to God, in the exercises either of private or public worship. This is a most essential point for deliberation. There is but one way of access ; one plea; one ground of acceptable homage. '' Through him" (Christ Je- sus) '^ we both" (Jews and Gentiles) " have access, by one Spirit, unto the Father." " Having, therefore, bre- thren, boldness to enter into the Holiest by the blood OF Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath con- secrated for us through the vail, that is to say, his flesh ; and (having) a High Priest over the House of God : let us draw near with true hearts, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil con- science, and our bodies washed with pure water."* All our services, then, must be in the name of Jesus. They must be '* spiritual sacrifices," and they are ** acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." This implies faith in Jesus, on the part of the worshipper ; and with- out this faith it is therefore impossible for you to please him. This always was the way of acceptance to the persons and services of sinners, although it was not of old so fully and clearly revealed. It is the way still ; and every approach to God, except through the media- tion of the blessed and only Redeemer, is an act of un- hallowed presumption.— And on the same ground on which we are accepted in our worship here, must we stand before the Divine tribunal in the great day. In * Eph,ii. 18. Heb.x, 19— 2X S04? LECTURE VIII. the '* House of God" above, solemn worship is for ever addressed by the holy and happy inhabitants, " to Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.*' There, there is no *' sacrifice of fools." Every mind and every heart are engaged, in the perfection of know- ledge, and purity, and love, and joy. *' God is in hea- ven," says Solomon, " and thou upon earth ; therefore let thy words be few." But though all shall then be advanced to heaven, even in the intimacy of the upper sanctuary the distance between the creature and the creator shall be felt, as it never was felt before ; and holy reverence shall characterize the worship of heaven infinitely more than ife now does that of earth ;— -holy reverence, in delightful association with the perfection of that love which *' caste th out fear." — " After this I . beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could "' ixumber, of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, 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, saying. Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and (about) the elders and the four living creatures, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying. Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, (be) unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these who are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him. Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me. These are they who came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb : therefore are they be- fore the throne of God, and serve him day and night in ECCLES. V. 1 7. ^05 his temple : and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat : for the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living foun- tains of waters : and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."* * Rev. vii. 9—17. LECTURE IX. ECCLES. V. 8 20. 8 " If thou scest the ofifiresaion of the floor, and violent fierverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at' the matter : for (he that is J higher than the highest regardeth ; and Cohere be) 9 higher than they. Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all: the 10 king f himself J is served by the field. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied ivith silver ; nor he that loveth abundance with increase. 11 This (is J also vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat then} : and ivhat good (is there) to the oiimers thereof, saving 12 the beholding (of them) with their eyes .^ The sleefi of a labouring man (is J sweet, whether he eat little or much : but the abundance of 13 the rich will not suffer him to shefi. There is a sore evil (which J I have seen under the sun, (namely,) riches kept for the owners thereof 14 to their hurt. But those riches fierish by evil travail ; and he beget- 15 teth a son, and fthcre is J nothing in his hand. As he came forth of his mother'* s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. 16 And this also (is) a sore evil, (that J in all fioints as he came, so shall hego : and what firnfit hath he that hath labouredfor thewind? 17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and (he hath J much sor- 18 row and wroth with his sickness. Behold (that) which I have seen : (it is ) good and comely (for one) to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days 19 o/* his life^ which God giveth him ; for it (is J his fiortion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him fiower to eat thereof, and to take his fiortion, and to rejoice in 20 his labour ; this (is J the gift of God. For he shall not much re- member the days of his life; because God answereth (him) in the joy of his hearth An such a book as this, it would be unreasonable to expect a close and immediately perceptible connection between its different parts. The writer should be con- sidered as taking a survey of human life, in its various departments and appearances, as these presented them- ECCLES. V. 8 20. ^07 selves to his mind. His book, therefore, does not bear, throughout, the form of a regular dissertation. He ap- pears at times to start suddenly from one subject to another ; and sometimes to resume a former subject* which has again suggested itself under some new as- pect or relation. In these cases, there might frequently be an association in the mind of the writer, that not only escapes a superficial reader, but is even undiscer- nible by the most attentive and judicious;— for every man who pays any attention to the operations of his own mind, must be sensible, how slight and remote, how airy and evanescent, the associations of his ideas often are ; so that many a time he is himself unable at all to recollect what it was that brought the two thoughts together. The eighth verse of this chapter does not seem to have any connection with what immediately precedes, unless it be with the last words of the seventh verse, — ** but Jear thou God.^^ This mention of the fear of God might naturally enough suggest to the mind of the writer the conduct of some of the great men of the earth, u^ho, regardless of their Divine superior, abused their power, and kept their subjects in perpetual dread. The fear of God was the best corrective, both of the tyranny of the oppressor, and of the fear of the oppressed.— Whether this was the link of connection or not, he re- sumes here a subject on which he had more than once touched already;* and the light in which it is taken up, seems rather to favour the view given of the asso- ciation of ideas in his mind ? — Verse 8. " If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a pro- vince, marvel not at the matter : for (he that is) higher * Chap. iii. 16, IT. iv. t— r;. 20H LECTURE IX. than the highest regardeth ; and (there be) higher than they." "Marvel not at the matter."— This might indeed be understood to mean, that, in a world of fallen creatures, and considering the depth of human corruption, there is little reason to wonder at such perversions of power and justice :— or, supposing a particular reference to the persecution of the righteous by the power of the wick- ed, that this need not be matter of great astonishment, when the same considerations are taken into account, together with the fact, that, so far from being a novel and strange occurrence, it has existed from the begin- ning ; even since the days of Cain, who slew Abel, '* because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." The apostle John quotes this example of early malignity, for the same purpose of suppressing wonder ; subjoining immediately, *^ Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you."* I am disposed to think, however, that neither of these is the true meaning; but that Solomon alludes to that description of *' marvelling," which involves in it some rising hesitancy, some secret, undefined, but painful and distracting doubts, about the superintending pro- vidence of God :— that wonder, which tempts a person, on witnessing such scenes of iniquity and cruelty, and perceiving no symptoms of vengeance coming down on the oppressor, to say in his heart, ** How doth God know ? and is there knowledge in the Most High !"— *' Marvel not at the matter," says the wise man ; " for (he that is) higher than the highest regardeth." — You may be tempted to question the knowledge, or even to doubt the existence, of a superintending providence ; but be assured you are mistaken : " (He that is) higher * X John lii. 12, 13. ECCLES. V. 8 SO. g09 than the highest regardeth." *' Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth." '' The Lord's throne is in the heavens : his eyes behold, his eye-lids try, the chil- dren of men." He is " higher than the highest." He " whose name alone is Jehovah, is the most high over all the earth ;" infinitely elevated, in majesty and power, above the greatest, and mightiest, and proudest of the potentates of this world. — And he ** regardeth,^^ — Yes : ** the high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy, whodwelleth in the high and holy place,'' — ^' regardeth:" — not as an unconcerned spectator, but as a righteous governor and judge ; his " eye-lids try- ingf^^ as well as his " eyes beholding,''^ And often, when this sentiment is expressed, and this assurance given; it is in connection with the Divine regard to the poor, and his abhorrence of these oppressors. — " He (the wicked) hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten ; he hideth his face ; he will never see it. Arise, O Lord ; O God, lift up thy hand; forget not the humble. Where- fore doth the wicked contemn God ? He hath said in his heart. Thou will not require it. Thou hast seen it ; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand : the poor cotumitteth himself unto thee ; thou art the helper of the fatherless." ** For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord ; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him." " Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him ; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Wo unto the wicked ; for it shall be ill with him ; for the reward of his hands shall be given him. — The Lord will enter into judgment with the an- cients of his house, and with the princes thereof : for ye have eaten up the vineyard ; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean ye, that ye beat my people Dd 2J1U LECTURE IX. in pieces, and grind the faces of the poor ? saith the Lord God of hosts."— ** I will come near to you to judg- ment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. '^ " Go to now, (ye) rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon (you.) Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth- eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered ; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the la- bourers who have reaped down your fields^ which is of 5'ou kept back by fraud, crieth : and the cries of tliem who have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton ; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned (and) killed the just ; (and) he doth not resist you. Be patient there- fore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."* — Thus ** (he that is) higher than the highest regardeth." His penal judgments may not, in any remarkable way, fall upon the objects of his dis- pleasure in this world :— but still he " regardeth :" he marks, and he records, every thought and word, and deed of iniquity and violence, and will bring it into judgment. " He is not a God that delighteth in wicked- ness.; neither shall evil dwell with him : the foolish shall not stand in his sight ; he hateth all the workers of ini- ♦ Psal. X. 12—14. xU. 5. Isa. iii. 10—15. Mai. iii. 5. Jam. v. 1—7. ECCLES. V. 8 20. SI I quity."^— " Surely thou didst set them in slippery places ; thou castedst them down into destruction ; how- are they (brought) into desolation as in a moment ! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when (one) awaketh, (so,) O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image !'*f The last clause of this verse, ^* and (there be) higher than they,'' seems to be most naturally interpreted of the angelic ministers of *' Him who is higher than the highest;" the celestial messengers and agents, by whom he executes many of the plans of his providence ; who are »^ greater in power and might" than the very greatest of earthly oppressors ; who, with the swiftness and the energy of *' flames of fire," fulfil the commissions of the Divine throne ; whose agency is conspicuous in the Scripture history, and who, though in a manner unseen and unknown by us, are doubtless employed still, both in messages of mercy in behalf of God's people, and in the infliction of judicial vengeance on his enemies. The superiority of these vicegerents of heaven to the mightiest tyrants of this world, the ** oppressors of the poor," the *' perverters of judgment and justice," was strikingly displayed, when one of them, in asingle night, smote and destroyed the myriads of the host of Senna- cherib ; when " the Lord sent his angel and delivered Peter out of the hand of Herod, and from all the ex- pectation of the people of the Jews ;" and when the messenger of Divine jealousy *^ smote" the tyrant, ** because," in his high estate, *' he gave not God the glory," and saved the Church from his persecuting violence.} In the verses which follow, a good deal of the senti- * Psal. V. 4, 5. t Psal. Ixxiii. 18—20. i 2 Khigs xix. 35. Acts xii. 11,23, 212 LECTURE IX. ment is similar to what has been formerly illustrated. They are introduced here, apparently for two purposes ; — in the first place, to comfort and encourage ** the poor," even although by '' oppression" their right should be taken away, and they should be kept down, and prevented from rising in the world ; and in the next place, to settle the doubts of the man who witnesses the *' oppression of the poor," the wresting of their judg- ment, and the distress which they are thus made to en- dure, — by showing, that true happiness is by no means on the side of the most successful and the wealthiest oppressor ; — or, in other words, that ** a man's life con- sisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." Let us take up the sentiments expressed in the suc- cessive verses, and observe their bearing upon this general position : — 1. Natural xvants are easily satisfied: — verse 9. '* Moreover, the profit of the earth is for- ail : the king (himself) is served of the field." ^' The profit of the earth" is its produce ; and es- pecially corn, or bread, which is the staff of Iife,--the immediate and indispensable means of its support. It is '' for all :" it is appointed for all ; it is sufficient for all ; and, although in various measures, all partake of it. And of all to whom *^ their bread is given" it may with truth be said, that they have all that the earth can yield, of real necessaries, even to the king himself. Koyalty indeed may possess more than poverty of the luxuries of life ; but these contribute little to true en- joyment ; often they are the sources of suffering. — Without the tillage of the ground, the king himself could not have bread, — and could not live : — so that, in one view, and that a very important one, the king is ECCLES. V. 8 — 20. aig more dependent on the ploughman, than the plough- man is on the king. Of all the arts of civilized man, agriculture is transcendently the most essential and valuable. Other arts may contribute to the comfort, the convenience, and the embellishment of life ; but the cultivation of the soil stands in immediate connec- tion with our very existence. The life itself, to whose comfort and convenience and embellishment other arts contribute, is by this to be sustained ; so that others without it can avail nothing. In their dependence on '* the field" all are equal : the prince and the peasant are alike ^* served" of it. And thus, all classes are mutually dependent on one another ; by which the rich should be taught humility, and the poor contentment. The latter, if they have their share of ** the profit of the earth,*' have by far the most valuable of its productions. The king may have the garniture of life ; but they pos- sess, in common with him, its substance. The king has indeed what they want ; but they have what the king cannot want. They can do without what the king has ; but the king cannot do without what they have. 2. The poor are widely mistaken, if they imagine that the gratification of a man's desires in the acquisition of wealth always produces the expected satisfaction ;— verse 10. " He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver ; nor he that loveth abundance with increase. This (is) also vanity." *^ He that loveth silver" is the man that sets his heart upon riches, and places his happiness in the attainment of them ; and ** he that loveth abundance" is only another form of the same designation. He '' shall not be sa- tisfied with silver :" that is, when he has gotten it, he will find himself disappointed in his expectations from the acquisition ; he will find himself the possessor in- Sl^ LECTURE IX. deed of abundance, but not on that account the posses- sor of happiness. — A man's ideas and desires enlarge as he advances. His notions of poverty and riches, which are to so great a degree relative terms, undergo change with his changing circumstances. What seemed to him riches at the outset of his career, soon comes to be accounted poverty. That which, from a lower point in the scale, was the height of his ambition, becomes, when he has reached it, only a point from which to look higher. He never says ^* It is enough;" but what he gets is still but the means of getting more. The thirst of gain, instead of being quenched, becomes more and more ardent and insatiable. — And if a man has not a satisfied and contented mind, he is in want of the very essence of happiness. He carries about within him a source of disquietude and '^ vexation of spirit," which will make him unhappy amidst the most superfluous abundance. A contented spirit is the very first requi- site of true enjoyment': and the poor man who has but ^' food and raiment," and both, it may be, scantily, is more really and substantially happy if he possesses it, than the richest on earth can ever be without it. — Even when a man has so far appeared to be satisfied with what he has got, as to retire from the pursuit of more, he will still feel a void, — '^ an aching void ;" to a greater degree sometimes, than when the bustle of business kept his mind engaged. It is not in the power of mere wealth to confer solid satisfaction. The desires of the soul cannot be filled by it ; nor can it either prevent or remove the various ^* ills that flesh is heir to." It can- not insure against a single disease ; it cannot alleviate pain ; it cannot ward oflf from its possessor himself the stroke of death ; nor can it purchase the continuance of life to wife or children, kinsman or friend, or redeem ECCLES. V. 8-— SO. ^15 It when it has gone down to the grave. ^^ The small and the great are there." 3. Those who live by the wealth of the rich man^ — the man whose heart is set upon his riches — have as much^ if not more, enjoyment of it than he has himself: — verse 11. *^ When goods increase, they are increased that eat them : and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with the eyes ?" The rich man, as he rises in the world, must keep up a corresponding establishment. As his riches in- crease, the number of his servants and retainers, of various descriptions, increases. To the covetous, who has given his heart, and time, and toil, to the acquire- ment of abundance, this is a source of incessant fretfuU ness and vexation. There is within him a contention of opposite feelings. He must keep up a certain appear- ance in the world. Yet the waste of his dear pelf, squan- dered by menials and overseers, or even necessarily expended on *' the pride of life," costs him many a pang. It keeps him ever grudging and ever complain- ing. — The number of consumers multiplying with his increasing means, he is not in fact richer, nay, he may even be poorer, than when he had less wealth and fewer mouths to feed. And all the while, what has he of the enjoyment of his riches, beyond those who live upon him, '* saving the beholding of them with his eyes V*^^ the mere gratification of looking on his treasures, and saying, '* These are mine!" And is this difference worth much ? Is there any rational and substantial gratification in it ? Is it a sufficient compensation for the toil with which wealth has been gained, and the anxious care with which it is kept ? Riches increased in Solomon's own reign ; and the number of his servants and retainers, the extent and S16 LECTURE IX* splendour of his establishment, increased in proportion. *^ His provision for one day," the history informs us, '^ was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, ten fat oxen, arid twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, beside harts and roe- bucks, and fallow-deer, and fatted fowl." Thus, *^ as riches increased they were increased that ate them :" and, had Solomon been one who *^ loved silver," the only difference between him and his servants, (who, in all essential respects — in all that regards the wants of nature, and even the real comforts of life, were as well off as their master,) would have been, the ** be- holding of his treasures with his eyes," and calling them his own ; with this difference indeed against him in the balance, that his breast would have been the re- sidence of all the care. 4. This care is next mentioned, as a source of irk- some and sleepless disquietude to the man of wealth : — Verse 12. " The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much ; but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep." It appears to be of the anxiety produced by wealth, in the bosom of the covetous, the man, who '^ loveth silver," that Solomon here speaks, as adding nights of sleeplessness to days of solicitude and " vexation of spirit." Innumerable are the apprehensions and dis- quieting jealousies and alarms, some well-founded, and others groundless, that haunt the bosom of the rich man v\ hose wealth is his idol and his all ; — apprehen- sions, and jealousies, and alarms, from which the man of moderate possessions is comparatively free. The full meals of the rich and luxurious may be envied by the poor and bard-toiled labourer ; yet they frequently have ECCLES. V. 8 SO. SIJ! no other effect than to add to the restlessness of anxiety, harassing even the little sleep they can obtain, ('* short, as usual, and disturbed repose,") with scaring dreams and phantasms of terror. — On the contrary, ^* the sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much." If he has but a scanty meal, his fatigue has prepared him for sound repose ; and when he can have a larger allowance of his plain and wholesome fare, his healthy and vigorous consti- tution procures him a regular and ready digestion :— and he is, at the same time, happily free of those sud- den starts and anxious fears by which the rich world- ling is so often agitated, and *^ his eyes held waking." — The labouring peasant has in general little cause to envy either the days or the nights of his wealthy lord or neighbour, if he be a man whose riches are his por- tion and his heart's desire. It is of such that Solomon speaks. 5. Riches sometimes prove the occasion to their pos- sessors of the most serious injury : — Verses 13, 14, *' There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners of them to their hurt : but these riches perish by evil travail : and he begetteth a souj and there is nothing in his hand." The inward anxiety and fear to which riches give rise are sometimes but too well founded. Riches stir up envy : envy leads to calumny and slander, and, not unfrequently, on any or on no ground, to malicious and harassing prosecutions. Riches are a lure to thieves, to robbers, to murderers ; and have many a time cost the proprietor his life. And worst of all,^— what is, more than any external calamity, even than death itself, " to the hurt" of him whom providence allows to retain them, Ee S18 LECTURE IX. they hold out a powerful, and, alas ! in many instances, a too successful temptation to their owners, to forget God, and to neglect their spiritual and everlasting in- terests. They thus endanger the soul ; they put eternity itself in jeopardy ; and a rise in the world has too often, alas ! been the means of spiritual declension, apostasy ? and ruin. '* They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and (into) many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil ; which, while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. " How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God ! — How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God ! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."* There are different ways in which riches may be " kept, for the hurt" of the proprietors. But perhaps the case which Solomon had chiefly in his eye, is that of a son and heir^ for whom, as their destined owner, the riches are reserved ; who is born and brought up to a fortune ; to whom great prospects are held out ; who is bred as an independent gentleman, undemeaned by either handicraft or mercantile labour. But ^' these riches," in the mysterious providence of God, " perish by evil travail ;" by some indiscreet mismanagement, or by some extravagant and over-greedy speculation : and this hopeful son, ** hath nothing in his hand :" he is still a son, but no longer an heir. The fortune to which he trusted is gone ; and all the prospective vi- sions of his inflated fancy are vanished with it. Nothing could well be, to such a youth, a more serious injury'. ♦ 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10. Markx. 23—25. ; ECCLES. V. 8 SO. S19 From his education, *^ he cannot dig," and " to beg he is ashamed," Thus riches have been " kept for him to his hurt :" and the poor inconsiderate father partakes of the misery, being fretted by unavailing reflections, galled by the disappointment of his family hopes, and stung to the quick by mortified pride. 6. The possession of riches is, at the very longest ^ bounded by the present life : — Verses 15, 16. *' As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also (is) a sore evil, (that) in all points as he came, so shall he go : and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?" These verses indeed may be taken in immediate con- nection with the case described in the two preceding. They are true, however, of every possessor of riches without exception : and it is not the first time that this particular view of their vanity has been brought for- ward in this book. The man above described, whose ** riches perish by evil travail," came helpless into the world, and he leaves it destitute. And of all it is sadly true, that they can '* take nothing of their labour which they may carry away in their hand." This is one of those evident truths which do not require to be proved, but to be impressed. It is one of which the importance is equal to the plainness and simplicity ; for it is not truths that are abstruse and recondite, that are in ge- neral of the greatest consequence, or that draw after them the weightiest results. That " we brought no- thing into this world, and it is certain we can carry no- thing out" is a position so trite and plain, that to ques- tion it would indicate a disturbed intellect. Yet if this simple and ebvious aphorism were universally felt, and SSO X.ECTURE IX. acted upon as it ought to be, it would have an influence that cannot be estimated on the temporal and eternal interests of mankind. When Job said, " Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall 1 return thither : the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord!" — he felt and expressed the same affecting truth. But the feelings of the Patriarch were widely dif- ferent indeed from those of Solomon's disappointed and mortified worldling. His is not, like Job's, the ** godly sorrow*' which is accompanied and tempered with re- signation to the will of heaven, bearing the bereave- ment as a stroke of Divine correction. But to him it is ^* a sore evil" to part with that wealth on which his heart had been set ; to see it " make to itself wings and fly away from him as an eagle towards heaven ;" or to leave it behind him when the summons of death arrives. O how aflfecting is the thought of such a man ! how pitiable seems his case to the spiritual mind ! —cling- ing to the world to the very last, — reluctant to quit his hold : — and even when cold in death, his hand remain- ing clinched in the last convulsive grasp with which he sought to retain his darling treasures ! Still, however, it is especially of the man whose riches have *' perished by evil travail" that Solomon speaks ; and respecting him, observe what follows : — 7. His remaining days on earth are miserable^ and his departure from the world fearful .—-Verse 17. ** All his days also he eateth in darkness ; and (he hath) much sorrow and wrath with his sickness." Darkness here seems to signify especially two things : — in the first place, the dreary cheerlessness of the man's mind, who has thus lost his all, and whose prospects have been so unexpectedly blasted ; light being, in all ECCLES. V. 8 SO. SSI languages, a figure for joy, and darkness for misery :— and secondly, the sad neglect into which the poor man falls. The friendship of the world* was friendship to his riches rather than to himself. Whilst these remained with him, he enjoyed it ; but when they are gone, the bond is broken : he loses his influence, he sinks into neglect ; and the man who before gathered crowds to his levee, finds, to his bitter mortification, that to be pennyless is to be friendless. He is deserted, solitary, forlorn ; and all his remaining days he ** eateth in dark- ness" — the darkness of poverty and seclusion. "The light is dark in his tabernacle." — The losses which he has sustained, and these galling eftects of them, he feels grievously. They lie with oppressive weight upon his spirit. In the " sickness" that brings him to the grave, he has ** much sorrow and wrath :"— "^orroz:;," spring- ing from irremediable bereavement, mortified pride, disappointed hopes, and the ungrateful requital of pre- tended friends : — and ** pierced through as he is with many sorrows," the trials which have occasioned them are unsanctified ; his heart is still worldly ; he is irri- tated, instead of being subdued and submissive ; he is agitated by '^ wrath'''* against men for their base and selfish treatment of him, and by inward murmurings, rising at times even to the bitterness of rage and blas- phemy, against the providence of God !— How affecting, how fearful the thought of such a close of life, — of such an entrance into eternity ! It makes one's heart thrill with horror. — O how earnestly should we pray, that God in his providence may keep us from exposure to temptations, and that by his grace, he may preserve our hearts from such inordinate attachment to a present world ; that if he permits us to prosper, he may enable us to " rejoice as though we rejoiced not ;" and if he SS^ LECTURE IX. visits us with reverses, to ^^ weep as though we wept not;" and ever to be, " when we buy as though we possessed not, and when we use the world as not abus- ing it ; because the fashion of it passeth away." The chapter concludes with a description of the man- ner in which the temporal bounties of Divine provi- dence should be received and enjoyed -.—Verses 18— 20. ^' Behold (that) which I have seen : (it is) good and comely (for one) to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him ; for it (is) his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this (is) the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life ; because God answereth (him) in the joy of his heart." The sentiment of these verses is very similar to what he had repeatedly expressed before.* — I shall refrain, therefore, from enlarging in the illustration of them. — The expression in the eighteenth verse, '' This is his portion,^^ is not, by any means, to be understood in the same sense as when it is said of the '* men of the world," that they *' have their portion in this life."t The mean- ing is, that " the good of all his labour" is *' the gift pf God," as well as the life itself in which the acquisitions of property are made : and whatever, through the Di- vine blessing upon his labours, he acquires, is to be looked upon as given him to be enjoyed ; the God who bestows it, allotting to every individual his particular portion of earthly good,—" dividing to every man se- verallv as he will." And the manner in which Solo- it mon introduces God as the giver both of life and of its * Chap. i. 24—26. iiJ. 12, 13, 22. f Psal- 3:vii. 14. ECCLES. V. 8 — 20. 22B enjoyments, shows us how they ought to be received, and how to be used ;— surely, in a way consistent with his will, and conducive to his glory. It can neither be '• good" nor ^* comely" to enjoy the benefit, and to forget the Author of it ; to spend the ** portion" which God allots, in occupations, and for purposes, which God abhors. And the mai> who, in his moments of dissolute revelry, quotes Solomon in excuse or pallia- tion of libertinism, as if he gave his sanction to the ** lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," either has not thought of his words at all, or has thought of them with most pitiable and malignant per- versity. In contemplating our worldly acquisitions, we arc ever in danger of *^ burning incense to our own net, and oiTering sacrifice to our own drag ;" of taking the credit, that is, and giving the praise, to ourselves. Against this danger, Moses warned the Israelites ; and we need the warning not less than they :— " Beware — lest, (when) thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt (therein ;) and (when) thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold are multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied ; then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, — and say in thy heart. My power, and the might of (my) hand, hath gotten me this wealth : but thou shalt remember the Lord thy God ; for he (it is) that giveth thee power to get wealth."*— But God is not only the bestower of whatever a man is enabled to acquire of ** riches and wealth ;" but he is further re- presented here as giving " power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour." The ability, power, or capacity, of enjoyment, here spoken * Deut.Tiii. 12--14, 17, 18. 234 LECTURE IX. of, may be considered as including health of body, peace and tranquillity of mind, and such a providen- tial ordering of circumstances, as to afford full oppor. tunity in other respects ; no untoward hinderance com- ing between the possessor and the free and unembar- rassed use of his property. This too, as well as wealth itself, Solomon pronounces to be ** the gift of God ;'* and he immediately contrasts, it, as we shall see, in the beginning of the next chapter, with its opposite ; with the case of a man to whom God gives the " riches, and wealth, and honour" themselves, but withholds the ** power to eat thereof," — the capacity and the oppor- tunity of enjoyment. We decline farther remarks till we come to this contrast. The general meaning of the twentieth verse, — *' for he shall not much remember the days of his life, be- cause God answereth him in the joy of his heart," — probably is, that whereas, to the discontented and the unhappy, time passes slowly and heavily,— every mi- nute is numbered, — the hours are tedious and irksome, — their days and their nights are alike wearisome ; — to the man above described, on the contrary, the man of contentment, and cheerfulness, and piety, who en- joys a healthy body, and a thankful, dependent, re- signed, and happy spirit, who enjoys God in all things, and all things in God, — to him the time passes lightly and pleasantly ; the hours fly over him " on angel wings;" he smiles on the rising, and smiles on the setting sun ; he is not harassed with the remembrance of past ills, over which the memory of the discontented man is forever brooding, in peevish fretfulness ; nor is he disquieted with careful solicitude about the future, but, in the exercise of faith in God, enjoys to-day, and leaves to-morrow " to take care for the things of it- ECCLES. V. 8 20. self. "—The man whose desires God thus answereth giving him ^* joy of heart" in his labours and in the ** portion" arising from their success, goes through the world with as large a measure of happiness as can well be furnished in it. ** The days of his life he does not much remember," because they are not marked for future recollections by those calamities and suffer- ings, of which the memory (alas ! for the selfishness and ingratitude of men !) is in general so much more tenacious than it is of past enjoyments. His life is a ** river of pleasures," to which his recollections and his anticipations, as well as his present blessings, are all so many tributary streams. Abundant cause has sucti a man for heart-felt ascriptions of praise, both to the God of providence, and to the ^' God of all grace." To expatiate in practically improving this passage would lead to unavoidable repetition. — I shall only ob- serve, in the first place, the propriety and the duty of keeping continually in mind that ** He that is higher than the highest regardeth" every step of our proce- dure through life ;— that his eye is unceasingly upon us ; that he marks every thought^ every look, every word, every action ; that he <* compasses our sitting down and our rising up, and is acquainted with all our ways." Forget not this, ye children of God :-^" There is no creature that is -not manifest in his sight ; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do:" — and let the remembrance of it be a powerful and prevalent restraint upon all evil. ** Stand in awe, and sin not." — In a particular manner/ let whatever power, authority, and influence you pos- sess, be uniformly exercised in justice and in mercy* ^^ Just and true are all the ways of the King of saints." He is " the righteous God, and he loveth righteoiisP Ff SS6 LECTURE IX. ness." And often does he express a peculiar regard to the rights of the poor, and a watchful and indignant jealousy of their infringement. The Lord Jesus, the King of Zion, has «' chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of his kingdom." They constitute a large proportion of his subjects. " He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. He shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their souls from deceit and violence ; and precious shall their blood be in his sight." — Let us, then, my Christian brethren, beware of "despising the poor." And especially, when in the church we are called to the exercise of judgment between brother and brother, let us be on our guard against all " respect of persons,"— all partiality, all favouritism on the one hand, and oppression on the other. It is not of the mere practice of courtesy in places of worship, but of the exercise of judgment in the meetings of the church, regarding matters of controversy between the rich and the poor, that the apostle James speaks, when he gives us, as he gave others of old, the following important directions :—" My brethren,^ have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, (the Lord) of. glory, with respect of persons. For, if there come into your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment ; and ye have respect to him that vveareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place ; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool : are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath ECCLES. V. 8 20, '227 not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him ? but ye have despised the poor: Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment-seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called ? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well : but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin^ and are convicted of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one (point,) he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also. Do not kill. Now, if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judg- ment without mercy that hath showed no mercy ; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment."* In the second place. Let the minds of all, and cspe- cially of ^^ the brethren of low degree," be impressed, from the consideration of this passage, with such de- clarations as these : — '' A little that a righteous man hath, is better than the riches of many wicked :"-— ^* Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith :"—" Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world ; and it is certain, we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content." True happiness depends not, as we have seen, on situation. In as far indeed as the real and substan- tial comfort of different situations is concerned, hap- piness is much more equally diffused than, on a hasty and superficial survey of mankind, we might be ready ♦ Jam. ii. 1 — IS. SS8 LECTUKE I'X. to conclude. Every situation has its peculiar cares, disappointments, deficiencies, and trials. No earthly condition brings with it unalloyed satisfaction : and frequently the alloy is most abundant where we should hardly expect it to be found. Tlie great and steady source of peace and joy is true religion; — that state of mind in which a man *' sets the Lord continually bc> fore him ;" traces all events to his providence ; acknow- ledges him in all his ways ; makes him the supreme portion of his soul ; follows his will ; submits to his appointments ; seeks his glory, and delights in his love. This makes every condition happy, every station ho- nourable. — He is truly rich who is *^ rich towards God." Every, one else, though crowned with gold and dia- monds, ** clothed in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day," is " poor, and miserable, and wretched, and blind, and naked." — True religion, a life of faith and love, and active devotedness to God, is ac- companied with a sweet and cheering sense of his pa- ternal favour, amidst all the vicissitudes of life. And this alone can impart peace and hope to the soul, when it is lingering on the verge of time, and just about to quit the world, and enter on eternity. It is only leav- ing the paltry, and perishing possessions of earth, for the full enjoyment of the *' better and more enduring substance," so long anticipated as the object of hope and desire ; — the " inheritance that is incorruptible, un- defiled, and that fadeth not away." — ** I have fought a good fight ; I have finished (my) course ; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give to me at that day ; and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing." In the last place. Let this passage recommend to all, ECCLES. V. 8 20. 2^9 the authoritative and kind and salutary admonition of the merciful Redeemer : — ** Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man will give you ; for him hath God the Father sealed." He is himself the bread of life ;— bread, of which whosoever eateth shall live for ever. And every man that would have the life must eat of the bread. It is the only food of the soul. It is for high and low, rich and poor together. *' The king himself" must be " served of the" gospel ^^ field." And all are invited to partake of this heavenly provision. ** Spend no longer your money for (that which is) not bread, and your labour for (that which) satisfieth not. Hearken to the voice of God, and eat ye (that which is) good. Come ye, buy and eat, yea come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." " The Spirit and the Bride say. Come ; and let him that heareth say, Come ; and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." — Obey the gracious invi- tations : and then indeed you " shall not much remem- ber the days of your life." The load of self-aca^ising reflection and of anxious anticipation will be lifted from your spirit. You will commence a career of new and unknown felicity. God will "answer you in the joy of your heart." " While many say, Who will show us any good ? he will lift upon you the light of his coun- tenance ;" and this will " put a gladness into your heart," such as you never experienced, even " when your corn and your wine increased." You will ** go on your way rejoicing ;" '' counting all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christy" assured that "nothing shall separate you from the love of God ;" " forgetting the things that are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, and pressing ^30 LECTURE IX. ECCLES. V. 8 20. toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." And when you shall have reach- ed your eternal home, '^ the land of sacred liberty and endless rest," '* the former things shall no more be re- membered nor come into mind," except to give zest to the pleasures, ever new and ever growing, of that holy and happy place, where *' God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes." LECTURE X. ECCLES. vi. 1 — 12. 1 " There ia an evil which I have seen under the sun^ and it fis) com,' 2 mon among men : A man to nvhom God hath given riches, luealth, and honour^ so that he tvanteth nothing for his soul of all that he de- sirethy yet. God giveth him not ponuer to eat thereof but a stranger 3 eateth it : this fis J vanity, and it fis J an evil disease. If a man beget a hundred fchildrenyj ^nd live many yearsy so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filed with good, and also f that J he have no burial; I say^ (that J an untimely birth fis) 4 better than he : For he cometh in with vanity ^ and defiarteth in dark- 5 7iess, and his name shall be covered with darkness. Moreover, he hath not seen the sun, nor known ("any thing : ) this hath more rest 6 than the other. YeUy though he live a thousand years twice (told,) 7 yet hath he seen no good : do not all go to onefilace ? Ml the labour 8 of man (is) for his mouth, and yet the afifietite is not filed. For what hath the wise more than the. fool? what hath the fioor, that 9 knoweth to walk before the living? Better (is) the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this (is) also vanity and vexation 10 of sfiirit. That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it (is) man : neither may he contend with him that is mightier 1 1 than he. Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what (is) 12 man the better? For who knoweth what (is J good for man in (this) life, all the days of his vain life which he s/iendeth as a shadow ? for who can tell a maji what shall be after him under the sun ?'* A HE case described in the beginning of this chapter forms an intended contrast, as I formerly noticed, to the one mentioned in the close of the fifth. In that case, the possession of wealth and its attendant blessings was happily associated with the capacity of enjoyment, or what the wise man denominates '' power to eat thereof." In the case which he now states, the wealth is supposed to be bestowed; but the capacity of enjoyment with- 332 LECTURE X. held : — Verses 1, 2. ** There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it (is) common among men: a man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and ho- nour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth; yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it : this (is) vanity, and it (is) an evil disease." This evil was common, it should seem, in the days of Solomon ; and we are far from being without in- stances of it in our own. Human nature being in every age the same, we may expect it, with the exception of the changes which the varying state of society and of manners necessarily produces, to exhibit in general the same appearances. — *^ There is a man to whom God hath given riches,'^ — abundant pecuniary treasures; — *' and wealth," — an estate, it may be, in land, with nu- merous flocks and herds, — sheep and oxen, — camels and asses;—** and honour,"— the external splendour of riches attracting public admiration, and the weight and influence which, in every country, are associated with wealth. But, alas ! with all this bounty, ** God giveth him not power to eat thereof." Although all his schemes of emolument have prospered ; his riches have flowed in upon him, so that " he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth,"— all his wishes, in regard to the object on which his heart wafe set, having been fully realized : yet some untoward occurrence, some insupe- rable obstacle, comes between him and the enjoyment of his possessions, depriving him of the opportunity, or of the capacity, of availing himself at all of his over- flowing resources of earthly greatness and felicity. His body, for example, may be afflicted by painful or ex- hausting sickness, by which every thing the world can ECCLES. VI. 1 12. 233 farnibh is bereft of its relish, so that ** he never eateth with pleasure ;" and all his riches and wealth cannot arrest the progress of his malady ; cannot impart a mo- ment's ease, or give efficacy to a single medicine : or a series of heavy domestic afflictions may so prey upon his spirit, as to render all his honours and all his plea- sures vapid and irksome ; so that to remind him of them is only to deepen his gloom by making him feel anew their tastelessness; it is singing songs to a heavy heart;" it is but embittering the reflection, " How ill the scenes that offer rest, And heart that cannot rest, SLgret,** Instances of such a nature are, alas! far from being rare : and they are not less humbling to our self-dependent pride, then they are affecting to our feelings of sym- pathy. ** A stranger eateth it." A self-interested, artful man, taking advantage of circumstances, insinuates himself into the good graces of the proprietor ; lives upon the fat of his estate ; secretly wastes his substance in the advancement of his own projects ; and perhaps draws the whole into his hand at the owner's death : — or, in one or other of a variety of imaginable ways, it falls, in the providence of God, into the possession of a stranger. This is severely mortifying. It is a picture of the vanity of the world. And it is " an evil disease ;" the very idea of having the means of enjoyment in the most profuse abundance, and yet being excluded from the capacity of using them, being in itself enough to prey upon the spirits, to sink them to the dust, to pro- duce mental malady, and to increase arid hasten forward that of the bodily frame. I am aware, that by some the character here described :^34? LECTURE X, is understood to be that of the miser ; and the want of ** power to eat thereof" to mean the want of disposition, or the absolute unwillingness, which forms the strange distinction of this anomalous and pitiable being, to make any use of his possessions, to take any enjoy- ment of them. And, no doubt, this is well named ** an evil disease." It is a wasting distemper of the soul, par- taking alike of aberration of intellect and perversity of heart. But the character of the miser was very particu- larly delineated before, — in the seventh and eighth verses of the fourth chapter ; and it appears, therefore, not unreasonable, to understand the passage before us rather as setting forth a new case. On this case he enlarges in the following verses; in- troducing into it additional particulars, for the sake of giving the greater force and vividness to the impression of it upon the mind : — Verses 3 — 6. " If a man beget a hundred (children,) and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also (that) he have no burial ; I say, (that) an untimely birth (is) better than he. For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth with darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. Moreover, he hath not seen the sun, nor known (any thing:) this hath more rest than the other. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice (told,) yet hath he seen no good. Do not all go to one place ?" The case here is still that of a man of wealth, and riches, and honour. But to these are superadded :— In the first place ^ A numerous family of children and grandchildren ; — a matter of fond desire, and of high honour, amongfbt the Hebrews ; as you may be satisfied by simply recollecting how frequently the number of a man's immediate descendants is particularized in the ECCLES. VI. 1 — 12. S35 account given of him in the Scripture history.— Sup- pose him, thenj to have ever so many, — *' a hundred children :" — Secondly y Long life :— an object of desire, not to the Hebrews merely, but to mankind in general , of one of the strong instinctive wishes of our nature. Every man desires, and every man hopes, to live long upon the earth : and Satan spoke no more than truth when he said, " All that a man hath will he give for his life." All goes overboard v/hen it is in jeopardy.— Well : suppose him to "live many years, so that the days of his years be many." Let him complete, nay, let him far exceed, the ordinary limit of the life of man. The supposition then is, that even with these addi- tions to his wealth and honour, *' his soul is not filled with good ;" all the while, that is, he has had no capa- city of enjoying his riches, and family, and life ; for the expression seems to be evidently equivalent to that in the second verse not having " power to eat" of the sub- stance God hath given him :— all the days of his pro- tracted time he has " eaten in darkness" and in bitter- ness of spirit. And when he comes to die, and to num- ber the last of his " many days" he " has no burial;" no respect and honour in his death ; no interment cor- responding to his wealth, and consequence, and station. — Many are the ways in which we may imagine this to happen. The ** stranger" who has deluded him by his ingratiating arts, outwitted his heirs, and got possession of his property, having had no object but this in view, having been influenced by considerations entirely selfish, now that his end is gained, may care little about the honourable obsequies of the man, of whom he has got all that he wanted. He who courted and flattered the living, may thus neglect and spurn the dead.— Or even 236 LECTURE X. his children themselves may have felt and acted towards him in a similar manner ; loving the money more than the man ; wearying for the old fellow'' s departure ; glad to have him out of the way, and with bare decency to thrust him into his grave^— that they may part amongst them his treasures.— Such things may take place, with- out supposing the character described an utterly sordid miser. Causes of a very different kind may also prevent a man from " having burial." He may die amongst stran- gers, in a foreign clime ; he may be cast away at sea ; or he may perish on land, in circumstances that pre- elude even his countrymen and friends from doing him honour at his death, by the regular rites of sepulture. But the strong language used by Solomon, shows that he meant something more than the mere accidental ab- sence of the funeral solemnity. It is his not receiving %vhat he might and ought to. receive. The man is re- presented as living without enjoyment^ and dying with- out honour : — his life resembling the fabled punishment of Tantalus, in the heathen mythology, from whose lips, ever burning with unquenchable thirst, the cooling stream receded ere they could touch it, and over whose head hung the most delicious fruits, which mocked every effort to reach them, that he might sa- tisfy his longing appetite; — and his death, notwith- standing all his wealth, being obscure and ignoble, un- felt and unlamented. Such is the case supposed : the verdict pronounced upon it is, " I say, that an untimely birth is better than he:" and the reasons of the verdict follow, in verses 4—6. " For he cometh in with vanity, and dcparteth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with dark- ness. Moreover; he hath not seen the sun, nor known ECCLES. VI. 1 IS. 237 (any thing :) this hath more rest than the other. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice (told,) yet hath he seen no good : Do not all go to one place ?" Most commentators understand the fourth verse' as referring to the abortion ; and, consistently with this view of its subject, translate it — ** although it cometh in with vanity and departeth in darkness, and its name shall be covered with darkness." — But this seems to me very unnatural. ** An untimely birth" can hardly with any propriety be spoken of as coming in and de- parting at all, inasmuch as 'it is never numbered amongst the living, nor has any place in the society or the habitations of men. And what is the jiame of an abortion ? or, what sense is there in speaking of its name as " covered with darkness," when the thing it- self has never seen the light, and its very existence has been unknown ? — I understand the verse, therefore, of the man described in the preceding context, and as as- signing Solomon's reason for giving the preference to '* an untimely birth." The man ^^ cometh in" to the world " with vanity." He not only enters on a life which at the best is vain, uncertain, unsatisfying, and transitory ; but even, as to this life, having ** seen no good" in his passage through it, he seems, as far as he himself is concerned, to have been born to no purpose^ —for no end or use^ — in vain. He goes through the period of his earthly existence, a mere passive exem- plication of the utter vanity of expecting sure and solid happiness from the present world; and then he "de- parts in darkness," without the light either of comfort or of honour ;— his name is " covered with darkness ;" he is immediately forgotten ; no sooner out of sight, than out of mind. The fifth verse, however, is evidently spoken of the S38 LECTURE X. abortion : — " Moreover, he hath not seen the sun, nor known (any thing :) this hath more rest than the other." — It is true, that an untimely birth has had no enjoy- ment ; but neither has it had suffering ; or, supposing it to have had life when born, its suffering has been but momentary ; and it is with the condition of the man who has been troubled and tantalized through life, and unhonoured and unlamented in death, that its destiny is compared. The comparison regards the absence of suf- fering, rather than the proportions of positive enjoy- ment: — ^^ This hath more rest than the other;" or, ^' this hath rest rather than the other ;" which, in the present case, is much the same in real amount with — ** this hath rest, and not the other." The rest of the grave is meant ; where the untimely birth is imme- diately laid. It has not " seen the sun" indeed, or en- joyed the cheering light of heaven. But what is the cheering light of heaven to the man whose eye it gives ^* to see no good ?"•— to whom it only discloses, day after day, the same dreary scenes of wo ? The abortion has the advantage, in ** not having known any thing ;" for it is better to know nothing at all, than to know no- thing but trouble. It is laid in the grave, without having tasted the miseries of human life ; in the grave, where, amid the silence and solitude of death, the cares and disappointments, the disquietudes, and mortifications, and distresses, of this world, are neither felt nor dreamed of. It would have been better, in Solomon's judgment, for the unhappy being he had depicted, to have been carried from the womb to the grave." Such was the wish of Job when, overwhelmed with accumu- lated sufferings, he " opened his mouth, and cursed his day :" — " Why died I not from the womb ? (why) did I (not) give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? ECCLES. VI. 1—12. S39 why did the knees prevent me ? or wHy the breasts that I should suck ? For now should I have lain still, and been quiet ; I should have slept ; then had I been at rest, with kings, and counsellors, and princes : or as a hidden untimely birth, I had not been ; as infants which never saw light. There the wicked cease from trou- bling ; and there the weary be at rest. The prisoners rest together ; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master. Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul ; who long for death, but it cometh not ; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they can find the grave ?"* These words of bitter complaining from the lips of the afflicted Patriarch serve further to illustrate the fol- lowing verse : " Yea, though he Jive a thousand years twice (told,) yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place ?" — Suppose the life of this hapless being, who is surrounded with means of enjoyment which he cannot use, were prolonged to more than double the length of the longest life ever spent upon earth,— yet, if he *' sees no good" from its commencement to its close, and then '* goes to one place" with the abortion — even to the grave, the place of perfect equality, the common receptacle of corruption, the *' end of all flesh;" is not the verdict pronounced in the third verse founded in truth—" I say (that) an untimely birth (is) better than he ?" Nothing can be more preposterous, than to attach value to existence, apart from enjoyment ; as if it were better to be, even although in misery, than not to be at all. The measure of the value of existence is simply the quantum of good that is enjoyed in it. When we • Job.iii. 11—22. 240 LECTURE X. speak of the cessation of being, we find it difficult to divest ourselves of the impression of a kind of dreary- consciousness of non-existence as accompanying it. We fancy ourselves continuing to be, and yet sensible that we are not. I need not say that such feelings are entirely illusory. The cessation of existence being the cessation of all consciousness, he who ceases to be, is as if he never had been. And he who has not entered on life at all, or who has entered on it one moment, only to quit it the next, has a preferable lot to that of him who has lived long, but lived only to suffer. In the seventh and eighth verses, we have a further illustration of the litde advantage, as to the things of time possessed by one man above another :— " All the labour of man (is) for his mouth ; and yet the appetite is not filled : for what hath the wise more than the fool ? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?" " All the labour of man is for his month ;" that is, the direct and leading end of all human toil, of every occupation of men, in all the departments of society, is the support of life. This is first ; and every thing else is subordinate to it. It is obviously the most important result of human effort in all the businesses of life ; one . to which every other will be readily sacrificed ; one without which no other could be enjoyed. This was the object assigned to the labour of man, when the ground had been cursed on account of his sin:— " 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 ; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field : in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken : for dust thou (art,) and unto dust ECCIXS. VI. 1 — 13. S4i shalt thou return." " He (hat laboureth," says Solo- mon elsewhere, ** laboureth for himself; for his mouth requireth it of him."* The effect of human labour, therefore, is chiefly valuable, as it answers this end : " Take no thought for your life," said he who had the correctest estimate of the comparative value of the ob- jects of desire, — " take no (anxious) thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" He, then, who has life sustained by his labour, has the first end answered of all human exertion. "Yet the appetite is not filled." This is true of all. It is never durably filled; but requires to have its crav- ings, which are ever returning, satisfied anew from day to day. And the cravings of appetite return to the rich as well as to the poor. The former as well as the latter can only take, of all his profuse abundance, as much at a time as his appetite will receive. — In this respect, too, " what hath the wise more than the fool?" The most learned and sagacious of men has, in this matter, no pre-eminence over the mere idiot, who, by some means or other, obtains a sufficiency of food, and whose appe- tite relishes it as well as the other's. The wise man can neither prevent the returnings of hunger ; nor, when they do return, can he allay them more effectually than the fool. In this essential point of human comfort, they are substantially alike. The skilful anatomist, who pos- sesses an intimate acquaintance with the whole of the complicated and wonderful mechanism of the human frame, and the man who knows little more than the difference, in properties that meet the senses, between the flesh and the bones, divide and masticate their food * Gen. iii. 17—19. Prov. xvi. 26, Hh S4S LECTURli X. by the same instruments, and receive it into the same organ cf digestion ; it is mixed with the same juices, undergoes the same changes, affords the same variety of secretions, and carries the same nourishment^ through the same channels, to the same bodily mem- bers, which all occupy the same relative positions, and respectively fulfil the same functions. "What hath the poor," it is added, "who knoweth to walk before the living ?" — The answer is not directly given : but it seems to me to be indirectly implied in the ninth verse : " Better (is) the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire." The poor that knows how to conduct himself with propriety and prudence, maintaining a behaviour corresponding with the station assigned him among the living ; — who is ingenious, industrious, obliging, and respected accordingly, en- joys the necessaries and the true comforts of life as well as the richest. He has " the sight of the eyes," that is, he has substantial present enjoyment in what he obtains ; and in this, being satisfied with it, possessing the tranquillity of a contented spirit, he has what is '^ better," more conducive to true happiness, than the unsatisfied *' wandering of the desire" after new objects of pursuit, which, even when successfully attained, leave the mind still craving, never disposed to say. It is enough. — This incessant restlessness of desire after different pleasures, is truly " vanity and vexation of spirit;" and it is a vanity and vexation, to which they are especially subject, who set their hearts on the wealth and gratifications of this world as their portion. The tenth verse, as it stands in our English transla- tion, is exceedingly obscure: — " That which hath been is named already, and it is known that (it is) man : neither may he contend with him that is mightier than ECCLES. VI. 1 — ^13. ^43 he."— The intention of the writer seems to be, to ex- press the common frailty and vanity of the nature of man, as having been the same in all that have ever ex- isted ; and the verse might be thus rendered :—^^ For he who (or, whosoever) hath been,— his name is long since named ;* and it is known what he is,— (even) MAN ;" (or, '' and it is known that he is man :) neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he." — Take any person that has existed, or that now exists ; ^ny individual of the present or of former generations ; — whatever may have been his station, whatever his character ; ** his name has been long since named," God having of old given one name to the entire race. ** Male and female created he them, and blessed them; and called their name Adam in the day when they were created." The name signified originally their for- mation yro/w the dust ; but it came afterwards to be as- sociated with their return to^he dust: " Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." This, then, is the state and doom, the origin and the end, of every one without exception, whose name is nian. In his best estate, he is altogether vanity,— sinful dust and ashes. And as God formed him from the earth, named him MAN, and, when he sinned, destined him to earth again ; it is in vain for him to " contend with him that is mightier than he :" his ** vanity," as a frail and mor- tal creature, being the result of Divine appointment, and the execution of a Divine sentence, is utterly irre- trievable. All must submit successfully to the same doom ; and every attempt to avert it is at once foolish and impious. • " His name is long since named." J have thought myself justified in ren- dering the word naa lovg since. It occurs only in this Book, chap. i. 10. iii. 15, vi. 10. ix. 6. ** As a particle, it denotes, a considerable length of time, a good ■atUkf as we say, pastf or to cowje.**— Parkhurst. S44 LECTURE X. Man, then, considered in himself, is vanity. But may not this ** vanity," if it cannot be entirely done away, be at least lessened, and the " vexation" arising from it mitigated, by the nature of the pursuits to which man devotes himself during his vain life ? The answer must be, Yes ; provided we include amongst these pursuits true religion^ which constitutes the dignity and the hap- piness of every rational nature. But if we confine our regard to those pursuits and occupations merely which relate to the present world, and which are limited ia their continuance and results by the few days of man's abode upon earth, then the answer is to be found in the following verse : — Verse 11. ^^ Seeing there be many things that in- crease vanity what is man the better?*' — Having al- luded, in the tenth verse, to the vanity of the nature of man, as a creature of the dust, and doomed to dust again ; he here represents tliis original and inherent va- nity of his fallen nature as " increased" instead of being mitigated by a large proportion of the employments of mankind, and of their attempts at the attainment of hap- piness from eardily sources ajone. In this view, the whole of the preceding part of the book is a comment on this verse. *' What is man the better" of all these attempts ? His temporal comforts, indeed, both per- sonal and social, may, as the result of some of them, experience improvement. But even this cannot be ef- fected without a heavy accompaniment of evil, pro- ducing a scene so chequered, as to have given rise to many debates, whether, in the average lot of man, the enjoyment or the suffering preponderates : — and when he is contemplated in the light in which every wise and good being must regard him, as rational, immortal, and accountable, — with what an emphasis of deep concern. ECCLES. VI. 1 IS. S4a may the question be asked, " what is man the better?" How frequently is he the worse ! How often do his va- rious engagements draw away his mind from the only true source of happiness ! How few comparatively re- pair to it ! — how many, alas ! to the " springs of false delight!" — And even as to temporal enjoyment, how often are the anticipations of men,— their fears in one quarter and their hopes in another*, agreeably or bitterly disappointed ; the dreaded evil turning out for good, and the wished-for good, proving the occasion of evil ! Hence it is added, in the twelfth verse :—** For who knoweth what is good for man in (this) life, all the days of his vain life, which he spendeth as a shadow ? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?" — No man can previously affirm, with confi- dence, what situation will be best for him in this life ; for the reason just hinted, that the very objects which a man most eagerly covets and pursues, in the expec- tation of finding happiness from them, so often, when they have been obtained^ bring him, instead of happi- ness, disappointment, and misery, and ruin; and he discovers too late his error and miscalculation. When the inquiry, " Who will show us any good?" is con- fined to the things of this life, it can receive no satis- factory answer ; no answer that will hold permanently true. It must be continually reiterated, from reiterated disappointment ; each source successively failing, or quickly satiating, and palling upon the taste ; no man being able in this wilderness, to discover for himself, or to point out to others, any fountain of pure and pe- rennial joy ; any fountain that can with certainty be de- pended upon, even during the fleeting years of a single life. Riches, honours, power, and pleasure, and even knowledge itself,~all are precarious, — incapable of be- S46 LECTURE X. ing insured even for the short period of his " vain life, which he spendeth as a shadow ;"— equally unsubstan- tial, equally transient, and equally trackless. " Man that is born of a woman— cometh forth as a flower, and is cut down ; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not." ** Our days on earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding." And yet not only is it impossible to secure, for the brief duration of this vain and shadowy existence, the sources of enjoyment recommended by other guides and other teachers than Him who is him- self the Supreme good ; but even while they last they are unsatisfactory. With a precariousness belonging to them every successive moment, they unite a constant feeling of present deficiency. — And in addition to this ; a man's happiness, in as far as it depends on the pos- session and hope of earthly things, is not a little affected by his prospects of the future, as well as by what is at the moment passing over him ;— by the use that may be made of his substance when he has left it behind him ; by the reputation in which his name may be held by posterity ; by what he imagines, with or without rea- son, may befall his family ; and by other anticipations of a similar kind :— yet of such things he is utterly ig- norant, and all around him are as ignorant as himself. No one can open to him the secrets of futurity : ** for who can tell a man what shall be after him ?" His " vain life" must speedily come to a close ; and this must terminate, completely and for ever, all his con- nections with this world ; so that he can no more have ** a portion in any thing that is done under the sun." — How inexpressibly light and worthless, then, are all those pursuits that end at the grave, and that leave, even to the most successful of their votaries, the mo- ment he has closed his eyes on time, no profit, no re- ECCLES. VI. 1 IS. g47 suit, nothing whatever,— but that which he has vainly- estimated as the prize of life, leaving him, alas ! a blank for eternity ! Must the question, then, as to " what is best for a man all the days of his vain life," be left without an answer ? Is there no one that knows it, and can fur- nish a satisfactory reply ? Yes, my friends, it is an- swered; answered by unerring knowledge and supreme authority : — it is answered in this blessed book of God . of which the leading and all-gracious design is, to show us the way to true happiness both here and hereafter. Here multitudes have found it ; and many of them, after having run the whole round of earthly pleasures in the vain pursuit. They have at length renounced these empty or polluted cisterns, and have learned to '' draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation." They have found in the Creator, to whom the lessons of the Bible directed them, what they sought with no success from the creature. They have ** wept a silent flood" over their former follies ; and " the Father of mercies" has wiped the tears of penitential sorrow from their eyes, and filled their souls with his own peculiar joys. Having " tasted that the Lord is gracious," they have learned to say, with delight unfelt before, ** The Lord is my portion, saith my soul ; therefore will I hope in him :" " It is good for me, that I draw near unto God:" ** Men of the world have their portion in this life : as for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness ; I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness:" "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:" " Thanks be unto God for his un- speakable gift I" The favour of God, the service of God, and the S48 LECTURE X. " good hope through grace" possessed by the children of God, — these are ** good for a man,"— these are good for every man, " all the days of his" otherwise " vain life." " He hath showed thee, O man, what is good : and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ?" " Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that de- lighteth greatly in his commandments :" '* Blessed is the people, whose God is the Lord !" Human life, considered in itself, apart from its con- nection with eternity, is vanity ; a fleeting shadow ; a fading flower ; a vapour that endureth for a moment, and then vanisheth away. Man, contemplated merely as the possessor of such a life, is vanity ; a creature formed of the dust, and soon to return to the dust again : — all his pursuits, be they what they may, that are confined to this transitory and precarious existence, are vanity ; and all will be found in the end, as they have many a time been found in present experience, to be *' vexation of spirit." If this lesson is not learned, with salutary eflfect, in this world, it will be learned in all the everlasting anguish and unavailing desperation of the next. Oh ! if the soul, when trembling on the verge of eternity, when the last fibre of the thread of life is parting, can only look backward with tormenting regret, and forward with more tormenting doubt and despair ! — what a state for an immortal and accountable creature ! — to feel the torturing conviction, that he has been trifling, or worse than trifling, all his days, that he has thrown his life away on " vanity," and has no- thing left as the result but *' vexation of spirit ;" that it is too late to make provision for the world to come, and which is just opening to him in all its darkness, and all Its unknown terrors 5 that he has finished and sealed the ECCLES. VI. 1 12. S49 " senseless bargain" (Oh how bitterly does he feel it to be so?) of ** Eternity for bubbles;" that he has bar- tered and damned his soul for the " pleasures of sin" and the worthless nothings of a world that has passed away from him ! — It is not necessary that a man should have " seen no good," or should have had " no power to enjoy" his *' riches, and wealth, and honour," and family, in order to his feeling their emptiness in his latter end, w-hen his soul is absorbed in one grand con- cern, and longs for a peace and a hope which they are incapable of imparting. Even though he had derived from them through life the whole amount of pleasure which, without the influence of true religion, it is in their power to bestow ; still it is pleasure that is gone with each passing moment, and leaves the soul at last drearily desolate, and unprovided for the boundless prospect that lies before it. He has " received in his life-time his good things," and all must be left behind him. He has lived without God, and without God he must die. His life has been faithless, and his death must be hopeless. He has laid up for himself treasures on earth, and there is no treasure reserved for him in heaven. He has said to his soul, " Thou hast goods laid up for many years ; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry ;" and when ** his soul is required of him," he feels himself " a fool." He " came in with vanity," and he " departeth in darkness." — It is the everlasting existence by which it is followed that stamps impor- tance on the life of man. Should a man double the age of Methuselah, his life (though to us, with our narrow span of threescore years and ten, it might seem like a little eternity,) would still be vanity, if it w^ere spent without reference to the endless duration that is beyond it. Another year, my friends, has just gone over us, I i 250 LECTURE X. ECCLES. VI. 1 12. and is now as irrecoverable as " the years before the flood." But, Oh remember, it will not have as little in- fluence on our future destinies. Ask yourselves how it has been spent. Ask yourselves how all the years of your past life have been spent. How many have you lived ? and what have you been doing ? Have you anti- cipated eternity ? Have you made any provision for your immortal existence ? Have you, in the way of his own appointment, secured the blessing of God, and a title to the inheritance above ? Are there not many of my hearers whose consciences say JVo to such enqui- ries ? — who have lived twenty, thirty, forty, sixty, nay, perhaps fourscore years, " without God in the world," — " without Christ and without hope ?"—Ohl trifle no longer with interests of such tremendous magnitude. "Live not the rest of your time in the' flesh, to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." " Choose the good part that shall never be taken away from you." « Seek ye the Lord while he may be found ; call upon him while he is near." " The Spirit and the Bride say* Come ; and let him that heareth say, Come ; and who- soever will, let him come, and take of the water of life freely." LECTURE XI. EccL.ES. vii. 1 — 6. a *' ^ (good) name fisj better than /irecious ointment; and the day 2 of death than the day of one's birth. C^^ i^J better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that fisj the 3 end of all men ; and the living ivill lay fiij to his heart. Sorrow fisJ better than laughter : for by the sadness of the countenance the 4 heart is made better. The heart of the wise fisJ in the house of 5 mourning: but the heart of fools fisJ in the house of mirth, fit is J better to hear the rebuke of the ivise than for a man to hear the 6 songs of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under a fiot^ so ("is J the laughter of the fool. This also (isj vanity. Ij-aving represented, in a great variety of views, the vanity of human life, and of its numerous and diversi- fied pursuits, Solomon now proceeds to set before us the counsels of wisdom, for the regulation of our de- sires and the guidance of our conduct in this vain and transitory world. Some of these, like many of the say- ings of our Divine Lord, stand in direct opposition to the ordinary sentiments and practices of mankind. But they are not, on this account, the less worthy of our most serious attention : for it need not surely be master of surprise, that the thoughts and the feelings of a fallen and depraved creature, whose heart is corrupt, and whose understanding is the dupe of its corruption, should not coincide with the mind of the infinitely wise and the infinitely holy ; — that to such a creature the directions and admonitions of Heaven should, in many instances, appear paradoxical and extravagant. Verse 1. [[ A (good) name (is) better than precious S5S LECTURE XI. • ointment ; and the day of death than the day of one's birth." Perhaps this might, without impropriety, be consi- dered as a reply to the question in the close of the pre- ceding chapter : " Who knoweth what is good for man all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a sha- dow ? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun ? — There is one thing, answers Solomon, which is eminently good for a man; good while he lives, and the possession of which will render the day of his death even better than the day of his birth ; it is " a GOOD NAME." This Villi blcss his life, and embalm his memory. — But respecting ** a good name" several things are carefully to be observed. In the first place, it means more than merely being well spoken of. A man may be well spoken of, nay, may even acquire high re- nown, who, judging on Scripture principles, ought ra- ther to be condemned ; the world very frequently, in their estimate of character, not only allowing a little ap- parent good to compensate for much real evil, but even *' calling good evil, and evil good, putting darkness for light, and light for darkness, bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." Many, alas ! are the instances, in which **that which is highly esteemed amongst men is abo- mination in the sight of God." A good name, in the Scriptural use of the phrase, is a reputation for what is trult/ good; for piety, wisdom, integrity, benevolence, and other genuine excellences of character. — It is fur- ther to be noticed, that the reputation must be consi- dered as including the reality^ — the actual possession of the virtues that are the ground of praise. A reputa- tion, indeed, for qualities, which we are conscious to ourselves we do not possess, so far from imparting any true satisfaction to the mind, must, on the contrary, ECCLES. VII. 1 6. 253 occasion the most painful emotions of vexation, and shame, and self-reproach. Whilst there remains a spark of generous and honest feeling in the bosom, nothing can be more distressing than unmerited commendation. Rightly understood, then, — as signifying a reputation, founded in the real possession of what is truly good, good in the sight of God, — ** a good name is better than precious ointment." Two qualities are expressed by the comparison. It is pleasant^ and it is valuable ; as the ointment is odoriferous^ and costly. — " Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart ; so (doth) the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel:" — " Because of the savour of thy good ointments, thy name (is as) oint- ment poured forth ; therefore do the virgins love thee :" — *' Behold, how good and how pleasant (a thing it is,) for brethren to dwell together in unity ! (It is) like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, (even) Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments :"— " Mary took a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair : and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment."* These passages show the ground for both the ideas which we conceive the comparison to express. But the sign falls far below the thing signified, both in its plea- santness and its preciousness. A good name is to its possessor a source of pure and exquisite enjoyment ; gratifying in a high degree to his feelings, when it is not pronounced, by a secret con- sciousness, to be entirely unfounded. It is pleasant as the fragrance of rich perfume ; sweet and refreshing, soothing and exhilarating to the soul. The sweetness of it should be estimated by the bitterness of its opposite, * Prov. xxvii, 9. Oant. i. 3. Psal. cxxxiii. 1, 2. John xii. 3. ^54 LECTURE XI. But it is not merely, nor chiefly, as a source of plea- sure to a man's own mind, that a good name is to be prized : — it is of more substantial value, as an impor- tant qualification for usefulness. The power of any man to do good depends, in an eminent degree, on the re- putation he enjoys. His character multiplies his oppor- tunities, inspires confidence, gives weight to his coun- sels, and freedom and energy and effect to all his do- ings. To the man of inconsistency, it will be said with scorn, *' Physician, heal thyself 5" but he whose repu- tation is established for uniform integrity, possesses a winning and commanding influence, which he may turn to most profitable account, in the cause of truth, bene- volence, and piety. It is our duty, therefore, to desire *' a good name," not merely on its own account, or for the satisfaction it affords to ourselves, but for the sake of its utility in enabling us the more effectually to pro- mote the glory of God and the good of men. It gives us, to use the language of mechanics, a rest, and di pur- chase, in advancing every good work, which nothing else whatever can furnish. — For this reason, they are decidedly, and very far, in the wrong, who despise, or rather, perhaps, who affect to despise, " a good name,'^ and to pour contempt on the opinion of the world, and disregard, as unworthy of their notice, whatever men may say of them. It is true that our first and highest concern should be, to <^ commend ourselves unto God ;" and, compared with this, it should be " a light thing" with us " to be judged of man's judgment." It is also true, that we should employ no means of ob- taining a character amongst men, but the direct and honourable means of a steady and consistent deport- ment ; the cultivation and the display (not the ostenta- tious; bjjt the unobtrusive and unavoidable display) of ECCLES. VII. 1 — 6. 255 real goodness, — goodness that follows its every-day course of well-doing, " Holds tlie noiseless tenor of its way.'* neither courting observation nor shrinking from it ; not varnishing itself with a false lustre, but appearing in all its native simplicity and loveliness; not shadow, but substance ; not tinsel, but bullion. Whilst all this is readily conceded ; still we maintain, that to be totally unconcerned whether we be slandered or approved, v/hether *'our good be well or evil spoken of," is as immoral as it is unnatural. The same apostle who counted it *' a light thing to be judged of man's judg- ment," and kept in mind that *' he that judged him was the Lord," was, at the same time, earnestly solicitous, and took measures of prudent precaution accordingly, to " provide for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men ;" he denied himself, and declined the benefit of his just rights, that he " might cut off occasion from them that desired oc- casion" to reproach and calumniate him ; and this, for the very reason we have been assigning, a regard to his official usefulness ; " lest he should hinder the gos- pel of Christ." The same principle is involved also in the precept, " Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Fa- ther who is in heaven." " And the day of death (is better) than the day of one's birth." — This seems a strange saying. The birth of a child is a season of gladness, gratulation, and fes- tivity. The death of the same child, when it has ad- vanced to manhood or to age, is the occasion of sorrow and bitter lamentation. It comes into the world amidst rejoicings, and leaves it amidst tears. Yet it is here S56 LECTURE xr. affirmed that *^ the day of death is better than the day of one's birth."— the affirmation may be understood in different ways : — It may be interpreted generally y in connection with the view given of the vanity and vexation of the life of man. It may be the sentiment of chapter iv. 1—3. generalized ; applied to human life on the whole, in- stead of being confined to one particular department of observation : as if he had said, Seeing ** all is vanity and vexation of spirit/'— seeing there are so many springs of bitter water in this valley of tears, of which all who pass through it must drink, the man whose journey has terminated is more enviable than he who has it yet to begin ; to the former all its evils having ended in the grave,— the land of deep forgetfulness, where " the weary are at rest." The truth of the sen- timent, in this general view of it, is proportioned to the measure of suffering endured by the person's self, or, to the increase of his own unhappiness, witnessed by him in others. But if we adopt this principle of explanation, it is evident, we must stop short at the grave. We must con- template man simply as passing through this world, and the grave as the close of his journey, — the boundary of his course. Now, we can hardly for a moment suppose that Solomon meant we should look no further ; that we should consider man merely as the creature of a day,— his life limited by the little span of ** threescore j'^ears and ten," cut off from all connection with a life to come. Yet if we do look beyond the grave, we must necessarily introduce into the sentiment before us cer- tain limitations and distinctions. It certainly is not true respecting all who die, that the day of their death is better than the day of their birth. To many it is fear- ECCLES. VII. 1 6. 257 fully the reverse. And perhaps, as I before noticed, the distinction is hinted by the connection of the say- ing with that which precedes ; the superiority of death to birth being affirmed only of the man who possesses *' a good name," in the sense we have affixed to the phrase. We rejoice when a man is born into the world. The joy is natural ; nor is there any impropriety in it — But let me suppose for a moment, that we were let into the secret of the little stranger's future history ; and sup- pose he were exhibited by the Oracle, tormented by incessant disease, crossed and fretted by perpetual dis- apppointments and vexations ; every blossom and pro- mise of personal and social joy invariably and entirely blasted ; a man of sorrows, and familiar with griefs :— how completely then would our feelings of gladness be changed to those of heaviness and anguish ! This would be the case, even viewing things with reference to the present life alone : and too often is the birth of a child? with inconsiderate and vacant lisdessness, thought of in no other light. But what is the event in reality ? It is the entrance of an immortal creature on an intermi- nable existence. Yes;— that little feeble babe, that hangs in dependent helplessness upon the breast, is a child of immortality. When you have numbered the sands of the ocean, you will not have numbered the years of its existence. There resides in that tender little frame, a spiritual substance, a soul, which death cannot touch, possessing powers capable of indefinite, and eternal ex- pansion, and susceptibilities of everlasting enjoyment or of unending wo ; — a spirit, that *' smiles at the drawn dagger, and defies its point;" that shall ''triumph in immortal youth ;" that is destined to live, as long as God himself. — Suppose, then, we could get still farther Kk S58 JLtlCTURE XI. into the future history of the babe that has just made its entrance into our world, and is passing through it to another :—suppose we could find access to the book of Heaven's decrees, and could ascertain its eternal destiny ; and were infallibly assured, that after a life of unintermitted suffering here, it was to sink into an eternity of wo : — Oh ! should we not then weep over him tears of blood ? should we not wring our hands, in speechless agony, over his little cradle, and be ready to ** open our mouth and to curse his day ?"— Surely it could not then be true, that the day of death would be better than the day of birth. No ; for there can be no suffering here comparable to the misery of hell. The sentiment we should then utter, would be, — " Good were it for that child, if it had never been born !" The saying before us then must be confined to the wise and the good ; to the children of God ; those who have believed his word, and walked in his ways, and have had ** a good name" in " the Lamb's book of life." Of them it is emphatically true ; true, in all its extent of meaning ; true, not only when this life has been a life of unusual sufFering— when they go to heaven ** out of great tribulation ;" but true, even taking life in its ^' best estate," freest of evil and fullest of good. This is the language alike of the Old and of the New Testa- ment records. To such, death is a salvation ; a salva- tion from sin and from all the evil of which sin is the cause. The day of birth is the day of entrance on a sinful, and therefore on a sufFering world : the day of death is the day of entrance on a sinless, and therefore a perfectly happy world. *' To die is" thus " gain." " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." ** They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat : for the Lamb ECCLES. yir. 1—6. g59 which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." — The passage through Jordan into the land flowing with milk and honey, was better to the Israelites, than the pjissage through the Red Sea into the difficulties and dangers and distresses of ** the waste howling wilderness." Our journey through this world is toward that which is eternal. How long it is to be, or how short, we are all equally ignorant. But the prime concern is, with re- gard to each of us, that, however short or however long, it may endwelL Consequences unutterably important, interests of eternal moment, depend on its termination. Yet, alas! such is the natural earthliness of our minds, — such the fascinating and seductive influence of '* the things that are seen," that although we know and ac- knowledge them to be but temporal, they are for ever excluding from our thoughts and desires the ** things that are unseen," though they are eternal. Alas ! for the wisdom of human nature ; — alas ! for the boasted prudence of rational and calculating man, that it should be so ! But that it is so, we cannot cast even a hasty glance upon the world, — we cannot turn our eye inward for a moment to the secrets of our own hearts, without the sad conviction forcing itself upon our min^s. The man must have renounced all pretensions to soundness of intellect and rectitude of feeling, who will not admit the importance of immortal creatures considering with seriousness the prospects that are before them ; laying to heart the things that belong to their everlasting peace, and not sacrificing eternity to time, excellent and ever- during joys for the paltry vanities of the world, and ** the pleasures of sin which are but for a season." But if this be granted, — if such consideration be the wisdom S60 LECTURE XI. of such creatures ; then, whatever has any tendency to correct the deceptions of time, and to keep men in mind of eternity, to counteract the power of sensible objects, and to give predominant influence to those that are spiritual,— must be infinitely " better," — more condu- cive to the true interests of mankind, —than what has a contrary tendency ;— a tendency to aid the natural de- pravity and worldliness of the heart, in blinding, allur- ing, and bewitching men, to their endless ruin. It is on this principle, that the maxims contained in the following verses are founded : Verses 2 — 4. *' (It is) better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting : for that (is) the end of all men ; and the living will lay (it) to his heart. Sorrow (is) better than laughter : for by the sad- ness of the countenance, the heart is made better. The heart of the wise (is) in the house of mourning : but the heart of fools (is) in the house of mirth." ^' It is better to go to the house of mourning," — the house where Death has paid his gloomy visit, and has spread his pall over the light of domestic joy, — '^ than to go to the house of feasting," where all is gaiety and merriment, and animal indulgence.— The reason of the preference is assigned : — " for that," namely death, and the mourning attending it, ** is the end of all men ; and the living will lay it to his heart." Th^ general tenderu cies of the two contrasted scenes are thus expressed. It is not to be inferred that in every case it is wrong to go to a " house of feasting."— Our blessed Master, though " holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners," graced a marriage- feast with his presence, and supplied, by miracle, the means, not of inebriation, (in- finitely far from our minds be such a thought !) but of innocent convivial cheerfulness :•— and the apostle Paul^ ECCLES. VII. 1 6. S61 when he makes the supposition of Christians being *' bidden to a feast" by *' any of them that believe not," lays them under no prohibition of compliance, should they be "disposed to go," but only cautions them as to some parts of their conduct while there.* There are joyous seasons, and occurrences in life, when we may, without impropriety, unbend ourselves in social festivie enjoyment : always taking heed, that we keep within the limits of Christian temperance ; and never forgetting the Divine Author of all our blessings, and our obliga- tions to use them to his glory. But still, the house of feasting has peculiar temptations. Its general tendency, proved alas ! by much mournful experience, is to pro- duce forgetfulness of God and of spiritual things, to fill the mind with worldly vanities, to dissipate serious im- pressions, and thus, instead of counteracting, to aid the deceptions of time and sense. *' The harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts : but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands." " They lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall. They chant to the sound of the viol, (and) invent to themselves instruments of music like David : they drink wine in bowls, and anoint them- selves with the chief ointments : but they are not grieved for the afflictions of Joseph." " Job's sons went and feasted (in their houses, every one his day ; and sent and called for their three sisters, to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of (their) feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offer- ings (according) to the number of them all, for Job said, * John ii. 1, Sec. 1 Cor. x. 27. 262 LECTURE xr. It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts* Thus did Job continually."^ In the house of mourning, on the contrar}?^, lessons the most salutary, in regard to the best interests of men, are presented, with awakening energy, to the mind ; lessons which, alas ! we are all of us too prone te for- get, and of which the very frequency of repetition is ever apt to diminish the vividness of the impression. We are there reminded of ^' the end of all men," and reminded, consequently, of our own. The tendency of such scenes is to lead " the living to lay this to heart;" to induce to serious reflection on the past, and anticipa- tion of the future; to bring home to the secret medi- tations of each man's bosom the prospect that awaits himself; and to press upon his consideration the all-im- portant question, how he may meet the closing scene in peace and hope. And is it not a desirable thing, that the living should consider their latter end ?— that they should think, with seriousness, of the events that are before them ;— of death, and judgment, and eternity? — No, says the man of this world. Such thoughts and anticipations are in- consistent with present enjoyment, which is every man's present concern : they produce dejection and gloom ; they drive men mad. Why torment ourselves before the time ? Why torture the present moment by antici- pating moments that are far away ? — *' begone, dull care !" Let us catch the pleasures of the passing hour. Let us pluck the rose before it withers. Let us not, like fools, conjure up the phantoms of to-morrow, to scare away the joys of to-day. Let us not throw over our present sun- shine the shadows of a future darkness. — Ah ! vain man ! and will this thoughtlessness prevent * Isa. V. 12. Amos vi. o-^Q, Job. i. 4, 5. ECCLEs. Til. 1 — 6. ;g63 the approaches of Death, or keep thy latter end at a dis- tance? Will it arrest the flight of that *' numbered hour" that shall lay thee with the dead, and summon thy part- ing spirit to the judgment- seat of God ? Will Death spare you, because you laugh him to scorn ; or the evil hour linger, because you do not prepare for its coming ? O remember, that which is far off in your imagination, may be very near at hand in reality. Whilst the rich man, in the parable, was saying to his soul, *' Thou hast much goods laid up for many years ; take thine ease; eat, drink, (and) be merry : God said to him, (Thou) fool ! this night thy soul shall be required of thee : then w^hose shall those things be which thou hast provided?" The language of Solomon, in this passage, implies his knowledge and firm conviction of a future state of happiness and misery. For, if death were '' the end of all men," as to their existence, it would be difficult to establish the wisdom of his maxims. " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die," might then be pleaded for as the most rational principle of human conduct ; and the libertine might maintain a successful argument with the moralist and the divine. But, taking the case as it really stands, nothing can be conceived of greater consequence than to persuade men to **lay to heart" their state and their prospects, and to provide for the happi- ness of a never-ending existence. Jf this object is gained by affliction, affliction is the greatest blessing of a man's life, the kindest appointment of a beneficent providence. If the *' heaviness" that springs from trouble issues in *' the joy of God's salvation ;" if the darkness of sorrow introduces into the soul the light of spiritual and ever- lasting gladness ; what cause has the patient to say, " It was good for me that I was afflicted !" ^64 LECTURE Xr* *' Sorrow is better than laughter." Is this the senti- ment of a morose and cynical misanthrope, — or of an infatuated and gloomy-minded devotee ? — Certainly ad- versity is not in itself preferable to prosperity. Solo- mon does not say it is. But adversity has many a time produced effects more truly and permanently beneficial than prosperity. There is a mighty difference between the Divine and the human estimate of things. If a man's spiritual advantage is promoted by suffering, he is, in God's account, a great gainer ; and if his pros- perity either prevents him from thinking of higher blessings, or entices away those affections that had been fixed upon them, he is an unspeakable loser. — The words of Solomon express the result of experience, and are dictated, not by cynical moroseness, but by genuine enlightened benevolence; benevolence, that is chiefly concerned about the highest interests of men. The reason of the preference given of sorrow to laughter, is, that ** by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.'' And the reason is just and weighty. The im- provement of the character in its inward principles, the establishment and promotion of true religion in the soul, of the highest and purest affections of which the heart is susceptible, is an end incomparably more excellent than the acquisition of any temporal benefit, and cheaply purchased by the loss of it. And such is the spiritual tendency of sorrow, springing from affliction, opposed to that of thoughtless inconsiderate mirth. The troubles of life are here supposed to produce sadness. They are not in themselves *' joyous, but grievous." " We are in heaviness through manifold trials." But the sadness conduces to spiritual profit ; and this is the ground of the preference. When the Nile overflowed the adjacent lands in Egypt, all around would wear the aspect of ECCLES. VIT. 1—6. g65 desolation and dreariness : but when the flood subsided> it left fertility and wealth behind it, and supplied food and life to millions. So is it when the floods of tribula- tion rest for a time on the heart ; they serve to melio- rate the soil, to soften and enrich it, and prepare for a more abundant produce of the fruits of righteousness: This is the gracious design of God, their heavenly Fa- ther, in all the afflictions allotted by him to his children* ** We have had fathers of our flesh^ivho corrected (us,) and we gave (them) reverence : shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live ? For they verily for a few days chastened (us,) after their pleasure ; but he for (our) profit, that (we) may be par* takers of his holiness. Now, no affliction for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous : nevertheless after- ward, it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness, unto them who are exercised thereby."*— The hum- bling and otherwise salutary effect of such correction is finely expressed by the prophet Jeremiah : "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself (thus ;) Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed (to the yoke ;) turn thou me, and I shall be turned, for thou (art) the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented ; and after that I was in- structed, I smote upon (my) thigh ; I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. (Is) Ephraim my dear son? (Is he) a plea- sant child ? For since I spake against him I do earnestly remember him still ; therefore my bowels are troubled for him ; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord."t — ** Before I was afflicted," says David, ** I went astray ; but now have I kept thy word." ** (It was) good for me that I was afflicted ; that I might • Heb. xii. 9—11. f Jer. xxxi. 18—20- LI S66 LECTURE xr. learn thy statutes."*— And whilst such has been the experience of God's children, as to the influence of sanctified afflictions in cherishing in their souls the prin- ciples of vital godliness ; those that were far from God and far from righteousness have been not seldom in- debted to them, as the means of their first excitement to religious concern, and of their turning from the error of their way. Even the hardened Munasseh, branded with impiety and oppression, and stained with innocent blood, with whom warning and expostulation had been vain, — " when he was in affliction besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed unto him ; and he was en- treated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem, into his kingdom. Then Ma- nasseh knew, that the Lord he (was) God."t The " laughter" of which Solomon speaks, is the laughter of the fool; that thoughtless mirth, which ex- cludes reflection, dissipates the mind, unfits it for every thing serious, and leaves the heart worse instead of better. On these accounts (verse 4.) " the heart of the wise (is) in the house of mourning ; but the heart of fools (is) in the house of mirth." " The wise" may be understood either of the man who is under the predominant influence of that "fear of the Lord, which is wisdom," or of the man who con- sults his own best interests, pursuing the best ends by the best means. These, indeed, are properly descrip- tions of but one character. The best and highest ends are, without all question and beyond all comparison, those which relate to our connections with God, and to our eternal existence. He is truly "wise for him- self," who ** looks not at things seen, which are tem- ♦ Psul. cxix. 67, 71, t 2 Chron.xxxili. 12j 13. ECCLES. VII. 1 6. S6y poral, but at things unseen which arc eternal." And thivS right estimate of the things of time and of eternity will ever be found in union with the fear of God. The ever- lasting welfare of the whole man, for which God has graciously made provision by the gospel, is the highest good on which the heart can fix its desires. — We need not be surprised that " the heart of the fool should be in the house of mirth." The fool's object is present pleasures ; and of pleasure he has formed a miserably false conception. His grand inquiry is, how he may most eftectually banish all care from his mind ; how he may drive away every thing gloomy, by which he means especially every thing serious, and pass his time most lightly and pleasantly ; that is, with the least possible intrusion of reflection, or of anticipation. For these ends, he makes choice of the " house of mirth" and '' feast- ing." He would be always in it, drinking down care, and laughing at melancholy. The longer he pursues his career of thoughtlessness, thoughtlessness becomes the more necessary to his peace. Incessant mirth be- comes the more indispensable, as its intervals become the more irksome. His heart is in the house of mirth. The house of mourning he never frequents from choice ; never sets his foot on its threshold but from unavoida- ble necessity. — The " wise man," on the contrary, is considerate. He ** looks before and after." He reflects on the past, he contemplates the present, he an- ticipates the future. He is a man of thought. Feeling himself sinful, and knowing himself accountable and immortal, his state before God, and his prospects for eternity, are the chief subjects of his concern. Profit- ing by the experience of others, and by his own, — con- vinced from both, that " (it is) better to go to the house ©f mourning than to go to the house of feasting ; that S68 LECTURE XI. sorrow (is) better than laughter, for that by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better;" ** his heart is in the house of mourning.'* He goes thither ^^not by constraint, but willingly." It is his choice : not so much, indeed, that he may learn any thing new, as that he may have truths more deeply impressed upon his mind, which it is of the last importance for him to remember and habitually to feel, but which, he is deeply sensible, he is continually prone to let slip. — The wise man and the fool may thus be distinguished by their respective likings. The former would prefer going to the " house of mourning" to read anew a les- son of serious and salutary wisdom, to spending hours of thoughtless levity and laughter in the house of mirth. There cannot be a more decisive evidence of folly, than when nothing gives any pleasure but merriment and frivolity. He, who cannot converse with eternity ; he, who cannot look forward to death and judgment, with- out feeling an interruption of his pleasure, without a cold misgiving of heart and a fretful impatience to get rid of the unwelcome and intrusive thoughts, is in a state of mind far from such as any truly wise man can desire for himself, or any truly benevolent man can, without emotions of the deepest concern, contemplate in others. " {It is) better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools." — The '* song of fools" is one of the modes of expressing that ^^ mirth" which had just been mentioned in the fourth verse, as characterizing the *' house" which fools love to fre- quent. It is the jovial utterance of either the profligate sensuality, or the unreflecting and empty levity, of the fool's mind. To " hear the song of fools" is to court their company and participate in their irrational plea. ECCLES. VII. 1 — 6. S69 sures ; of which the tendency is to assimilate the cha- racter to theirs ; to banish thought, and to inspire a relish for dissipation and insensate merriment and riot. — With this is contrasted the advantage of " hearing the rebuke of the wise.'* Rebuke is of all things the most unpalatable in itself. But many things are salutary ^at are bitter, and many things sweet that are destruc- tive. Let the youth who feels the inclination to fre- quent the " house of mirth" and to " hear the song of foolsj" listen to the ^^ rebuke of the wise," who, in pity to his soul, dissuades, expostulates, and reproves. The indulgence of his propensity may be more agreeable at the time ; but the end will be poignant and unavailing regret that the *' rebuke" was disregarded. Be assured, it is infinitely better to choose and to frequent the com- pany of those who will deal faithfully with your faults, and rebuke and correct your errors even with a salu- tary severity, than to associate with such as will regale you with the poisoned sweets of flattery, applaud you in your follies, extol your spirit, encourage you in your schemes of frolic or of mischief, laugh at your jests, clap your toasts, and join the chorus of your jovial songs. — ** He that regardeth reproof shall be honour- ed." " He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul : but he that heareth reproof getteth understand- ing." *' He that walketh with wise (men) shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." ** Let the righteous smite me ; (it shall be) a kindness : and let him reprove me ; (it shall be) an excellent oil, (that) shall not break my head : for yet my prayer also (shall be) in their calamities."* Whilst from the company and counsels of the wise, gnd the lessons of the house of mourning, there accrues ♦ Prov. xiii. 18. xv. 32. xiii. 20. Psal. cxlu 5. S70 LECTURE xr. the most valuable and lasting benefit, — happiness, ster- ling in its nature and eternal in its duration ; — on the contrary, (verse 6.) "As the crackling of thorns under a pot, so (is) the laughter of the fool. This also is vani- ty." — Could any similitude be more strikingly descrip- tive ? — The blaze of dry thorns is sudden, noisy, and cheerful. But, enlivening as it is while it lasts, it is as transient as it is sprightly. It subsides as quickly as it rises. The bickering flame is soon extinguished, hav- ing only served to make the gloom the deeper ; and nothing is left behind but unsightly and unprofitable ashes. Kindled " under a pot," it wants that steady in- tensity of heat, that is necessary to any powerful or permanent effect upon its contents ; so that even while k lasts it does little service. — ** So is the laughter of the fool." It is mirthful and boisterous, and for the time looks like happiness. But, like the blaze of dried thorns, it is soon over ; and it leaves no profit. It has answered, and even that in appearance only, the care- killing end of the moment : but the subsequent dulness and ennui are only the deeper. *' The end of that mirth is heaviness." And when the days of such laughter shall be exhausted, then will come the sad fulfilment of the Saviour's words, *' Wo unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep." Well then may we adopt, respecting such laughter, the verdict formerly pronounced upon it, ** I said of laughter, (It is) mad ; and of mirth. What doeth it?" From this passage, observe, in the first place^ that the benefit derived from visits to *' the house of mourn- ing," should not be merely our own. We ought to fre- quent it not only that we ourselves may learn the spiri- tual lessons which are taught us by its scenes of wo ; but that we may impart consolation; and support, and ECCLES. VII. 1 6. S71 profit, to its sorrowing inmatest; that we may wipe the tear from the eye of grief; pour the oil of soothing sympathy into the wounded spirit ; bind up the broken heart ; draw the souls of the mourners to God ; im- pressing on their minds the Divine intention in every trial ; spiritualizing their meditations and desires ; and rendering the feelings of nature subservient to the pur- poses of grace — Our own distresses, and our own con- solations, are intended by the God that afflicts and com- forts us, to fit us for such visits of mercy ;— to qualify us for the house of mourning;— to make us expe- rienced comforters. " Blessed be God," says the suf- fering apostle of the Gentiles,— ^^ Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort ; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to com- fort them who are in any trouble, by the comfort where- with we ourselves are comforted of God !"— Thus, by the religion of the blessed Jesus, selfishness is excluded from every thing. Our very trials are not sent, nor our consolations under them administered, for ourselves alone. To ourselves, indeed, they are precious and life-giving; but on ourselves, whether we be ministers or private Christians, the design of them does not ter- minate. The example of our Divine Master is an ex- ample of benevolence and love : " Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others: let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."* And even he is represented as having learned sympathy, and skill in the administration of comfort, by his experience of suffering. " We have not a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feel- ing of our infirmities, but who was iri all points tried * rhil. ii. 4, 5. 27^ LECTURE Xr. like as (we are, yet) without sin:'' — "for in that he himself hath suffered, being tried, he is able to succour them that are tried :"—** though he w^erc a Son, yet learned he obedience"— the difficulties and trials attend- ing it,—" by the things which he suffered."^ Thus his sufferings were, in every way, turned to account, for the benefit of his people. In the second place. Remember, the time is fast ap- proaching, when the dwelling-place of every one of us, shall, in reference to ourselves, become the ** house of mourning." This is "appointed unto all." Neither riches, nor power, nor learning, nor love, nor friend- ship, can possibly avert it. Death's impartial visits are paid alike at the palace and the cottage. Remember, then, the solemn time is coming, when, either suddenly, or by the gradual ravages of disease, we, like others, must ** go the way, whence we shall not return." The time is coming, when we shall be laid on our sick- bed ; when the messages of anxious friends shall be brought in whispers to our door ; when the parting sigh shall pass our lips ; when we shall be stretched in our; shroud, cold and insensible ; when agonized relatives, shall steal in silence to our apartment, and, with gentle Step and timid hand, as if afraid of disturbing our slumbers, lift the covering from our face, to gaze, in pensive anguish, on our altered features, and to drop^ the last warm tear on our feelingless cheek ; when the company of mourners shall assemble, to convey our mortal remains to their long home ; and when, " the earth having returned to the dust as it was, and the spirit to God who gave it," " the place that now knows us, shall know us no more :"— when all those affecting lessons, which we have so often learned from the death * Heb, iv. 15, ii. 18. v. 8. ECCLES. VII. 1 — 6. S73 of others, shall be learned by others from ours.— O the blessedness of having good hope, in that infinitely mo- mentous crisis, when we must part from all below, and part for ever ! — that survivors, whilst they mourn out departure, may say over our grave, with well-founded assurance, " Blessed are the dead that die in the I^rd!" Lastly, From such passages as this, the author of this book has sometimes been condemned and scouted, as a gloomy and morose moralist, a cynical philosopher, contemplating human life through the distorted me- dium of a disappointed and embittered spirit, disposed to aggravate all its evils, to depreciate all its enjoy- ments, to frown on its harmless pleasures,— and deter- mined to be pleased with nothing. Let us consider this view of his character. 1. Those who bring the charge should know that a difficulty has at times been felt by some, to vindicate him from the very opposite imputation. His language, in some parts of the book, is such, that they have been surprised and startled by it, and have felt it less easy of reconciliation than any other parts of the Bible with the lessons of Christian soberness and spirituality of mind ; and they have been at a loss what answer to make, when it has been quoted by the laughing sceptic as a sanction for enlarged indulgence in the gratification of a present world. Now, should not this lead both to sus- pect that they are alike misapprehending his meaning, and that, as he cannot be justly chargeable with both extremes, he is, in fact, chargeable with neither ? 2. A great part of what dissatisfied and harassed the mind of Solomon, was, not the evils suffered by him- self, but those which he saw or knew to be endured by others. We have had a specimen of this in the be- M m ^74 LECTURE Xr- ginning of the fourth chapter: — ^' So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun : and behold the tears of (such as were) oppressed, and they had no comforter ; and on the side of their oppressors (there was) power : but they had no com- forter. Wherefore I praised the dead that are already dead, more than the living that are yet alive. Yea, bet- ter (is he,) than both they, who hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun." — Are not these praise- worthy feelings? Is there no credit due for the benevolence, which was thus made unhappy by the woes of others ? Shall we condemn, as a gloomy and cynical misanthrope, the Christian poet, the delicate and tender-hearted Cowper, when, over- whelmed by the contemplation of human guilt and hu- man suffering, his benevolent spirit bursts forth in the utterance of indignant grief:-- " O for a lodge in some vast wilderness, Somq^boundless contiguity of shade, Where rumour of oppression and deceit. Of unsuccessful or successful war. Might never reacli me more ! My ear is paln'd. My heart is sick, with every day's report of wrong and outrage, with which earth is fiU'd.** 3. When he does express dissatisfaction with life, as- to his own personal enjoyment of it, it is not on account oUhe evils that had befallen him. The feelings which he expresses are not those of a man fretted and alienated from the world by the injuries done to him, and long- ing to be away from the society and the sight of beings whom he bates and contemns. Neither are they the feelings of impiety, irritated by the unpropitious deal- ings of Providence, charging God foolishly, and think- ing he " does well to be angry even unto death," open- ing his mouth in blasphemy against the Author of his ECCLES. vir. 1 — 6. S75 existence and the ordainer of his lot.— -The complaints he utters are not complaints of evil suffered, but of the unsatisfactory nature of good enjoyed. Of this he pos- sessed a rich and enviable abundance and variety ; as much as could well fall to the lot of man. Be it so— you are ready to say, — and does this mend the matter ? Why, it is worse than the other. We can find some grounds of apology, for his repinings who has been the victim of incessant disappointment, vexation, and ca- lamity. But here was nothing of the kind. What ailed the man ? to be dissatisfied and full of complaints, when there was nothing in his condition but good ! What thankless ingratitude ! what unreasonable, capricious, intolerable discontent !— No, my friends. His feelings were not thus destitute of reason and piety. The cause of the dissatisfaction expressed it is no difficult matter to assign. The good in question was all pursued, ob- tained, possessed, and enjoyed, apart from God, It was theny—in " the days of his vanity," it failed to yield any solid enjoyment : and when he came to himself, he felt the cause of the failure, and recorded the salutary lesson. And O that the lesson, the dictate of his dear- bought experience, were written in every heart !—^^ gra- ven as with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever!" — that ALL HAS BEEN, IS, AND MUST BE, UNPRO- DUCTIVE OF HAPPINESS, WITHOUT GoD 5 " VANITY OF VANITIES, ALL IS VANITY." But Solomon did not do the world justice. It was not a fair experiment. A chemist, when he wishes to ascertain the virtues of any substance, takes care to separate from it, as thoroughly as he can, all extraneous ingredients ; that he may have it unmixed, and thus obtain a correct result. When, in like manner, our ob- ject is to ascertain the capacity of any thing to impart S76 LECTURE xr. pleasure, ought we not, on the same principle, to divest ourselves of whatever has any tendency to interfere with or to mar the enjoyment it seems fitted to afford ? — Solomon perhaps tried to do this. But he could not. He had too much remaining of the religious impres- sions of his earlier days, for making the experiment with fairness. He knew God too well,— the God of his fa- ther; from whom he had received the solemn paternal charge, which he never could obliterate from his re- membrance, ^^ And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him v^ith a perfect heart and with a willing mind ; for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts : if thou seek him, he will be found of thee ; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever!'* — In obedience to the charge of this pious father, he had begun his career in the fear of the Lord. He had there- fore too many recollections, and too many anticipations, to allow of his being happy in the pursuit of the vani-^ ties of the world, and the pleasures of sin. These, in spite of him, must have intruded at times even on his maddest social hours ; and must have armed every mo- ment of solitude and reflection with a tormenting sting. No yesterday, during that period, would look back upon him with a smile. — And Solomon's case is, in this respect, far from being a solitary one. Persons who have been ^^ brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," but have cast off the fear of God and the pro- fession of religion, can seldom get entirely rid of these early convictions and impressions. They are continually haunting them. Such persons are often distinguished by the lengths to which they go in vicious indulgence. The reason is, that they are making an effort to get above their prejudices and silly fears. They are solici- ECCLES. VII. 1 — 6. 277 lous to conceal them, and determined to show their companions in sin their superiority to them. But such persons, I repeat, do not do justice to the world. Oh ! it is a fearful experiment, to be fairly made. That the world may yield its pleasures pure and unadulterated, — I mean such pleasures as it affords to its votaries, who follow it as their chief good, to the exclusion of spiri- tual joys^ — the mind must be stript of all the vestiges of early religious instruction, of all sense of God, of all anticipation of judgment and eternity ; the voice of in* ward remonstrance must be entirely stifled, and the *' conscience seared as with a hot iron." If a man can thoroughly accomplish this, he will then have the plea- sures of sin in their perfection. But, oh ! can a state be imagined more unutterably fearful ? Could a heavier curse be conceived to light upon a man, than the curse of success in the attempt to divest himself of every principle that would interfere with the unmingled en- joyment of forbidden pleasures ! Besides ; the very persons who cavil at Solomon for his calumnious representation, as they account it, of hu- man life, themselves contributed not a little to the em- bittering of his feelings, after he came to look back on his unhallowed experiment, and to record its results. The laughter of the fool,~the giddy joy of the vain, the thoughtless, the dissipated, and voluptuous, is one of the most affecting and distressing sights to a serious and spiritual mind: and such was that of the reclaimed and penitent King of Israel. Inconsiderate sinners may laugh at the pain they give to the godly. But the pain is the product of benevolence as well as of piety. The self-delusion, the present privation, and the anticipated wretchedness of sinners, are its source ; and their wel- fare in time and in eternity is the sincere and fervent S78 LECTURE XI. ECCLES. VII. 1 6. desire of all by whom it is felt. ** I beheld the trans- gressors, and was grieved." — ** Rivers of water run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law." — O *' be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong." " Love not the world, neidier the things that are in the world." " The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," will all deceive you at last. They will leave you worse than destitute. If you give them the preference, and persist in living without God, the day of your death, however you may flatter yourselves, will not to you be better, but infinitely worse, than the day of your birth. Many a poor worldling will envy through eternity the child that was carried from the womb to the grave ; — will wish, with unavailing regret, that the day of his birth had also been the day of his death : and will load with bitter imprecations the hour that commenced an existence, to which he cannot put a termination, and which his own sin and folly have rendered irremediable miserable. — Dost thou believe, then, on the Son of God ? It is only to those who, when they quit this world, go to be with Christ, that ** to die is gain,"— that ** the day of death is better than the day of birth :" and none can be admitted where he is, but those who have believed, and loved, confessed, and honoured, and served him here. If you renounce the world, and seek God in Christ as your portion, He will '' come unto you, and make his abode with you." He will be the light of your habitation when it becomes a " house of mourning," and, when he takes you hence, it will be to his own house above, where ** the days of your mourning shall be ended I" LECTURE XII. EccLES. vii. 7 — 14. -^ 7 " Surely opfircssion maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroy eth 8 the heart. Better (is) the end of a thing than the beginning thereof} 9 (and J the fiatient insfiirit (is J better than the firoudin sfiirit. Be not hasty in thy sfiirit to be angry ; for anger resteth in the bosom of 10 fools. Say not thou. What is (the cause J that the former days were better than these ? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this, 11 Wisdom (is J good with an inheritance ; and fby it there isj firofit 12 to them that see the sun. For wisdom (is J a defence, (andj money (is) a defence : but the excellency of knowledge (is, that J wisdom. 13 giveth life to them that have it. Consider the work of God :for who 14 can make (that J straight which he hath made crooked P In the day of /irosfierity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider : God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him** JLt is evident, that what is said, in the first of these verses, of the tendency of oppression to " make a wise man mad," may be understood either of the suffering or of the exercise of oppression. — The former, it is need- less to prove, serves to fret, and harass, and exasperate the spirit ; so that there are not wanting instances, in- which men, even eminent in reputation for wisdom, have, by its long continuance, by their being the con- stant victims of injustice, privation, insult, and violence, been worked up to a pitch of absolute phrenzy ; have given way, after long and difficult restraint, to the burst of ungovernable indignation, and have acted the part of madness, rather than of considerate sobriety.— -Moses, describing the unrighteous oppression which, amongst other curses, should befal the Israelites under the Di- S80 LECTURE XII. vine visitation for their sins, concludes in these w6rds: — *' Thy sons and thy daughters (shall be) given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look and fail for them all the day long; and (there shall be) no might in thy hand. The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up ; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway : so that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.''* I am disposed, however, to understand the expres- sion in the passage before us, as relating to the oppres- sor, rather than to the oppressed. The possession of power carries in it a strong temptation to its abuse ; a temptation before which even men who had borne a previous character for wisdom, have not seldom fallen. And when a man, even a wise man, exalted to power, once gives way before the tempting inducements to its corrupt employment, the very exercise of oppression tends to infatuate and bewilder him. It blinds his judg- ment, it perverts his principles, it hardens his heart, it changes his character. A contention arises in his bosom between the love of power, with the profit of its abuse, on the one hand, and the remonstrances and upbraid- ing of conscience, on the other. The reluctance too, so mighty in human nature, to own an error, produces a passionate impatience of reproof and counsel, which is proportionally the more vehement, as he is inwardly sensible he is wrong. This state of mind drives him forward to measures of new violence ; the very opposi- tion of conscience, reacting, as an irritating stimulus, in the contrary direction, the anger at its torturing re- monstrances producing a desperate effort to silence and to banish them ; as when a man, to show his indignant ♦ Deut. xxvlii. 32—34. ECCLES. yii. 7 — 14f. S^i scorn of rebuke, repeats his fault more offensively than before. One step leads on to another ; till his conduct, losing all the characteristics of wisdom, becomes like that of a man bereft of reason, and swayed by the de- rangement of passion. One of the reasons for preferring tKs interpretation of the former part of the verse, is its affording so clear a connection with the latter : — ** and a gift destroy eth the heart." — *' A gift" is a bribe to oppression* The tak- ing of gifts was prohibited by the law of Moses, on ac- count of the same corrupting tendency that is here ascribed to them. The man, indeed, who consents to receive a gift, known to be bestowed with such an in- tention, is already corrupted. '* Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes : and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Thou shalt not wrest judgment : thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift : for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."* — " A gift destroyeth the heart J'^ It operates as a temptation. It undermines the principles of impartial equity, and deadens the feelings of humanity and mercy. It perverts the moral sentiments, and leads to the wo denounced on the man who *^ calls evil good, and good evil, who puts darkness for light, and light for dark- ness." This view of the verse accords well with Solomon's leading design. It contains, on this interpretation, an additional reason why we should not " envy the oppres- sor," or covet very earnestly the possession of power, * Deut. xvi. 18—50. Nn aSa LECTURE XII. seeing it carries in it a temptation so dangerous, an in- fluence so perverting. Verse 8. " Better (is) the end of a thing than the beginning of it ; (and) the patient in spirit (is) better than the proud in spirit." — This verse appears to be intended for the oppressed ;■ although it expresses, at the same time, a general truth. The design of it is to re- commend patience^ as a remedy against the evils of op- pression, and against the calamities of life in, general. Things are better judged of by their end than by their beginning. The morning often lowers, when the succeeding day is clear. And thus, in the arrangements of providence, events frequently appear very dark and unpromising, of which the final issue is beyond expec- tation good. On this account, we should beware of being "hsaty" in judgment, in feeling, or in action. Jacob said, " All these things are against me !" But, though appearances seemed to justify his despondency, all things were " working together for his good." *' Ye have heard," too, " of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy." He " turned the captivity" of his servant, and *' blessed his latter end more than his beginning." And (to quote a case more immediately connected with the subject of the preceding verse,) when the children of Israel were oppressed with in- creasing rigour, by Pharaoh and his task- masters, when their work was required, by the lawless caprice of a despot, without materials being furnished for it, and they were beaten for hot producing it ; when their plight was so deplorable and heart- sinking, that when Moses, in the name of Jehovah, spoke to them the words of Di- vine encaiiragement and promise, "they hearkened not unto him, for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage ;" ECCLES. VII. 7 — 14. §83 all seemed dark and desperate. But ** better was the end than the beginning." Jehovah, at length, brought them out " with a high hand and an outstretched arm." He " loosed the bands of wickedness, he undid the heavy burdens, he broke every yoke, and let the op- pressed go free." — The oppressor may, in ** the begin- Ding," appear to have the best of it ; but, in •" the end," he will have reason to envy the victims of his tyranny. Not unfrequently, even in this world, the righteous God, in his overruling providence, makes the infatuated ambition, the blind obstinacy, and the relentless cruelty, of the oppressor, the means of his own ruin, and of the deliverance of the oppressed : — and, at any rate, if retri- butive justice should not visit him now, the most power- ful abuser of authority, the most independent and ruth- less trampler on the rights of his fellows, must give his own account at last to the ^' Judge of all." Let such considerations produce patience under wrongs. " The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit."— Patience is here, for a very obvious reason, opposed to pride. Pride is one of the chief sources of impatience; of that hastiness of temper, which can brook no wrong, which kindles in an instant at every real or fancied injury, and clamours for immediate revenge. Humility, on the contrary, is the parent, not of insen- sibility, but of gentleness and meekness, the opposite of quick, and passionate, and resentful irritability ; of a patience that suffers in submission, and waits in hope; bearing even the evils that are inflicted by men, in the remembrance that men are but " God's hand,"* and resting in the tranquil expectation that ** the end will be better than the beginning ;" that the providence of God will make ** darkness light" before his injured children, and " crooked things straight." ♦ Psal. xvii. 14. S84 LECTURE X;II. Patience is " better" than passionate and hasty "pridt," both as being more conducive to happiness, and as being more in harmony with the Divine will. The ^^ patient in spirit" has more comfort, tranquillity, and true enjoyment, in his own bosom, than the *' proud in spirit :" — his self-control enables him to be more use- ful, in supporting and counselling others around him, for which he would be incapacitated by the agitations of passion :-^and he is, at the same time, prevented by it, from acting with that precipitate impetuosity, which, springing from pride, serves in general only to aggra- vate calamity, and to hasten ruin. — Besides, patience is the temper of mind which God approves^ and pride that which he condemns : so that he who cherishes and displays the former, is intrinsically, in the estimate of the great Lawgiver, '' better" than he who indulges the latter. The same sentiment is often expressed by Solo- mon, as one of much general importance, and of ex- tensive application. *' Only by pride cometli conten- tion :" — " (He that is) slow to wrath (is) of great un- derstanding ; but (he that is) hasty of spirit exalteth folly :" — " A wrathful man stirreth up strife ; but (he that is) slow to anger appeaseth strife :" — ^'(He that is) slow to anger (is) better than the mighty ; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."'^ In immediate connection with the sentiment thus expressed, is the admonition in the ninth verse :_ " Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry ; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. " I shall not, at present, enter into any disquisition re- specting the lawfulness of anger, or make any attempt to ascertain the precise limit at which it becomes cri- minal. Those, I am satisfied, have gone to an extreme, * Prov. xiii. 10, xiv. 29. xr. 18, xvi. 32. ECCLES. VIT. 7 14. g85 who have contended that the passion is, in its own na- ture, sinful. Cases are not only supposeable, but of no unfrequent occurrence, in which its emotions may be fairly justified. Yet it is one of those passions for which a person feels afraid to plead ; because it requires, in- stead of encouragement and fostering, constant and care- ^1 restraint ; and the propensity in every bosom to its indulgence is ever ready to avail itself of an argument for its abstract lawfulness, to justify what all but the subject of it will condemn, as its causeless exercise, or its criminal excess. In both these respects there is hazard ; — of its springing up on improper occasions, and of its going beyond reasonable bounds. There are two views, suggested by this verse, in which every prudent man will be desirous to guard against anger ; its ready admission, and its long reten- tion ** Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry ; for an- ger resteth in the bosom of fools." If we regard the glory of God, who is himself " long-suffering, and slow to anger," or our own personal and social happiness^ which has so often been fearfully disturbed by the vio- lence and inveteracy of the passions, we will give dili- gent heed to this admonition. Great has been the dis- honour done to God, and incalculable the mischiefs pro- duced to men, by hasty and by long- cherished anger^ It is in the bosom of ** fools" that anger ** resteth." To retain and foster it is a mark of a weak mind, as well as of an unsantified heart : and this is here assigned as a reason why we should not be hasty to admit it. We should be cautious of receiving into our bosoms what we are forbidden to harbour in them. If it be foolish to retain it, it must be foolish to give it ready entrance. David was <* hasty in his spirit to be angry" against Nabal j and none will deny that his provocation ^86 LECTURE XII. was strong : yet he saw reason afterwards to ble&s God for preventing the indulgence of his hasty passion, which, in the moment of sudden irritation, had threa- tened what could never have been justified.* ** Be ye angry," says the apostle, '^ and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil."! The connection of these words seems, without straining, to intimate, what experience abundantly con- firms, that the Tempter of mankind often avails himself, in a special manner, of this passion, to drive its subjects to the commission of sin. — ** Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath : for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. "J One great source of unhappiness in the world, a co- pious and perennial spring of bitter waters, is discon- tent,— dissatisfaction with the situation, as to time, place, and circumstances, in which Divine providence has placed us. — It is, 1 think, against such a temper of mind that the warning is pointed in verse 10th. — " Say not thou. What is (the cause) that the former days were better than these ? for thou dost not inquire wisely con- cerning this." It is obvious, that the complaint here supposed may be understood in two senses. It may relate to character^ or to condition ; to comparative degrees of impiety and wickedness^ or to comparative degrees of calamity and suffering. It is in the latter sense that I understand it here : yet you will excuse a remark or two on the for- mer. The complaint, in what may be termed the moral view of it, has been common, I suppose, in every age, since the beginning of the world. Had it all along been true, it is impossible to conceive, bad as the world is, * See 1 Sa©. xxv. f Eph. iv. 26, 27. * James i, 19. 20, ECCLES. VII. 7—14. S87 how much worse it must have been. But the degene- racy of the timesy as it is never out of the mouths of some amongst ourselves, so was it always in the lips of the very generation they praise, who extolled in their time the one which preceded it ; and that again its still more worthy predecessor. — The truth is, we are, on many accounts, exceedingly incompetent judges. There is much difficulty in taking a comparative view, that shall be sufficiently comprehensive and impartial, of our own and other times. We are extremely apt to confine our estimate to particular descriptions of character or de- partments of conduct, which happen, whether from ac- cidental circumstances, or from our peculiar mental temperament, to have more particularly attracted our attention and impressed our minds, and to overlook the endless variety of modifications and aspects under which the corruption of our nature displays itself; to forget that in human society, there is a fashion in morality, as there is in every thing else, of which it is the very es- sence to fluctuate, and to show, in successive periods, capricious and changeful predilections; that religion and virtue, though declining in the quarter of the country which forms the immediate sphere of our observation, may be reviving and making progress in another ; that when the prevalence of any particular vice has been the occasion of injury and suffering to ourselves, we natu- rally feel and speak strongly, under the irritations of self-love, magnifying in our imaginations, both the in- trinsic enormity of the evil, and the extent to which it is practised. So much do these and other causes affect the judgment, that two persons, differing in circumstan- ces, and in mental constitution and moral sentiment, shall produce, from the very same scene of life and manners, descriptions so unlike each other, as that we S88 LECTURE XII. shall be at a loss to believe the identity of the subject ; just as two painters, following each his own taste and fancy, may, from the same assortment of objects, by variety of grouping and arrangement, by the different degrees of retirement or of prominence given to each, and by their opposite styles of shading and colouring present us with two pictures so totally dissimilar, as that we may look long and narrowly, ere we discover the points of coincidence. I might illustrate these remarks by an application of them to our own times, in our own country. That in some classes of the community there has been a declen- sion in purity of morals, sobriety and moderation, and personal and family religion, will hardly admit of a doubt. It was naturally to be expected, from the pro- gressive increase of riches and luxury, which never fail to bring along with them a set of new vices, and to relax the tone of public virtue. Infidelity, too, and irre- ligion have been of late more unblushingly avowed, and have drawn from some of their unhappy votaries more daring, more artful, and more extended efforts for the diffusion of their unhallowed and mischievous princi- ples, than for many years had been witnessed amongst us. — Yet many and interesting are the favourable cha- racters of the present age ; and some of its evils have originated in the existing good. The zeal of Christians for the diffusion of the word of God, and of the know- ledge and the influence of " pure and undefiled religion" at home and abroad, has been enlarged, and its exer- tions multiplied and ardent, beyond all former exam- ple. And this not only indicates an abounding of the good principles of piety and benevolence, as the sources from which it must proceed ; but, accompanied as it is with so much united prayer for the Divine blessing, it ECCLES. VII. 7 14. S89 cannot fail to be productive of salutary effects, in the amelioration of individuals and communities. It is at once an index of good existing, and an efficient means of its advancement. It shows a fountain whence it emanates, and it carries with it, in all its ten thousand streams, a purifying and healing virtue. The evil has become more visible by its contrast with the good. The efforts of infidelity have arisen from the efforts of the friends of the Bible, and the wonder is, not that they should have been made now, but that they should have been so long suspended. It is a trial of strength between truth and error, between Heaven and Hell, Hell has its partial successes and triumphs ; and the great majority, alas ! remain on the side of the prince of darkness. But Heaven, we trust, is at present prevailing ; and of ulti- mate and universal victory, to the full extent of the Divine purposes and predictions, it were impious to doubt. My own firm persuasion is, that true religion is not on the decline, but on the increase, both in our own country, and in the world at large. Let us, however, beware. We are not to fancy, from the language of Solomon, that there is no difference, in a moral view, between different periods ; or that such difference is not a fair and legitimate subject^ and an interesting one too, of candid observation, inquiry, and comparison. And, whilst we cannot acquiesce in the incessant complainings of men who are for ever sighing after old times, and *^ saying that the former days were better than these," we ought to be on our guard against light impressions of the abounding evils of our age and country ; for evils still prevail to a most deplorable ex- tent, and their guilt is awfully enhanced by the super- abundance of spiritual privileges, and by the very means employed for their exposure and prevention, Oo 29d LECTUKE XII. But although I have ventured these general remarks on this view of the passage, the other, as 1 have already noticed, appears to be the meaning of the writer. It re- fers to the comparative measure of suffering rather than of sin, of natural rather than of moral evil. He is find- ing fault with a dissatisjied spirit ; a disposition to be continually complaining of the times, as if in them were to be found all the elements of misery ; laying on them the blame of that unhappiness of which the complainer carries about the cause in his own bosom. — " Say not of the former days, they were better than these ; for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this ^^ In the first place. Thou art inquiring for the cause of what thou shouldst first ascertain with certainty to be ajact; of what possibly has no existence but in thine own distempered imagination, or partially informed judgment. — All the idle speculations about a golden age, and the purity and happiness of the simple and primitive state of society, uncontaminated by the cor- rupting refinements of civilized and luxurious life, come under this reproof. There has been no golden age in this world, but the short period of paradisaical innocence and bliss, enjoyed by the first progenitors of our since accursed race. Secondly. Consider with thyself farther, that thou knowest the evils of former times only by report; ^•hereas of present ills thou thysQlf/eelest the pressure. By this feeling thy judgment is liable to be perverted. Or thou seest the distress that is endured by others ; and distress that is seen affects the heart more deeply than distress that is reported. The sight of the eye is more impressive in such cases, than the hearing of the ear.—- Thou canst balance, with an unbiassed mind, the good and the evil of "olden times,'' to vyhich thou ECCLES. VII. 7 14. 291 art not a party ; but a sufferer is more ready, through the selfishness of his nature, to brood over his one ca- lamity, than to contemplate with gratitude his multi- plied blessings ; to nauseate the drop of bitter, more than to relish the cup of sweets. Thirdly, In uttering thy complaints, with a dissa- tisfied and repining spirit, thou art unwise : for thou arraignest, in so doing, the all-wise providence of th^ Most High, who assigns to every successive age its portion of evil and of good. He has ** fixed the times before appointed, and the bounds of our habitation ;" and it is our true wisdom to be pleased and satisfied with whatever has seemed good to the wisdom that is infinite. " What he does is ever best." The complaints of a fretted spirit are ungodly ; and the " inquiries" of such a spirit are equally unwise in their principle, and delusive in their results. Verse 11. ** Wisdom (is) good with an inheritance ; and (by it there is) profit to them that see the sun." The former part of this verse is sometimes under- stood to mean, that worldly possessions are little worth without wisdom ; because the possessor of an inheri- tance, who is devoid of discretion, will either squander it away through thoughtless improvidence, or will not use it at all, or will employ it for ends that are worse than unprofitable, that are criminal and pernicious I ima- gine however, the marginal reading, which accords with a common mode of Hebrew comparison, to be the true one, ** Wisdom is better than an inheritance." The eleventh and twelfth verses are obviously connected together, the latter being explanatory of the former : '' Wisdom is better than an inheritance, and a profit (or profitable) to them that see the sun" — that is, to mankind: "for (yerse 12.) wisdom (is) a defence, S9S LECTURE XII. (and) money (is) a defence, but the excellency of know- ledge (is, that) wisdom givcth life to them that have it" *' Wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence ;" both affording, in different ways, the means of security from the ills of life. Wisdom enables a man to consult his own safety, to '^foresee evil and hide himself," and to make many friends by his circumspect and prudent behaviour. Riches too surround their possessor with friends ; they are a powerful protection against his ene- mies, and the effectual means of averting many evils, and securing many benefits ; " a rich man's wealth is his strong city." ^^ But the excellence of knowledge" — its peculiar advantage, '^ is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it." In this especially consists its su- periority to an inheritance. " Wisdom" must here, I think, be understood in its best sense ; as signifying not mere prudence and dis- cretion, but including along with these the knowledge that " maketh wise unto salvation." Without this no man is truly wise. " The fear of the Lord, that is wis- dom." True wisdom leads its possessor to act accord- ing to just views of the comparative value of different objects of desire' and pursuit ; and, therefore, to give a decided and cordial preference to the things that are unseen and eternal, above those that are seen and tem- poral ; the latter, when laid in the balance against the former, being "altogether lighter than vanity." — It is obvious, I think, that the expression, *' wisdom giveth life to them that have it," cannot mean merely that it enables a man the more effectually to provide for the continuance and the comfort of the present life. In this respect " money" might be considered approaching to a par with it ; and at any rate such a consideration would never have been mentioned by Solomon with so ECCLES. VII. 7 — 14. S93 much emphasis. The security and comfort of this life indeed had already been included in the comparison, *' Wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence," which represents them both as thus far ansv/ering the same purpose. But wisdom, the " wisdom that is from above," imparts not only the true enjoyment of the the present life, but ^'life eternal" to them that have it. This is its peculiar excellence. — " Happy (is) the man (that) findeth wisdom, and the man (that) getting understanding : for the merchandise of it (is) better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies ; and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand, (and) in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of LiF£ to them that lay hold upon her ; and happy (is every one) that retaineth her."* ^' Take fast hold of in- struction ; let (her) not go : keep her, for she (is) thy LiFE."t "This is LIFE ETERNAL, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."J " Now, therefore, hearken unto me, O ye children ; for blessed (are they that) keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed (is) the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul : all they that hate me love death. "H This indeed is true '^ profit to them that see the sun." ^' Riches profit not in the day of wrath." The life that is obtained by wisdom, " cannot be gotten for gold, ♦ Prov. iii. 13—18. f Ibid. iv. 13. ± John xvii. 3. « Prov.vlii. 32--36. 2d^ LECTURE Xri. neither shall silver be weighed for the price of it." ** What is a man profited, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give, in exchange for his soul ?"* The possession of this heavenly wisdom, then, is the great secret of human happiness. Under its influence, its possessor will be led rightly to improve the varying circumstances and conditions of life, satisfied with the wise and immutable purposes of heaven : Verses 13, 14. ** Consider the work of God : for who can make (that) straight which he hath made crooked ? In the day of prosperity, be joyful ; but in the day of adversity, consider. God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find no- thing after him." To '^ consider the work of God,"-— to observe with close attention, and acknowledge with pious reverence, his providential hand, is an important part of true wis- dom ; as well as to bear habitually in mind the com- plete and unceasing dependence of all creatures on his sovereign will: *^Who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked ?"— -This has no reference to the previous, undiscovered purposes of God, as to the fu- ture arrangement of his providence. These are no rule to us. We are not to allow ourselves to be influenced, either by such conjectural anticipations, or by any idea of invincible fatality. Our business is, to use with dili- gence the means that are placed in our power of ob- taining comfort and happiness, and, in the spirit of liumble faith, to leave the event to God. But when the event comes, whatever it may be, we are called to ac- quiesce in it ; not murmuring and complaining, and *' fighting against God. " That were as vain, as it would ♦ Matt X¥i. 26, ECGLES. VII. 7—14. S95 be impious : for " who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?" There is no contending, with success, with innocence, or with safety, against the ap- pointments of providence. Our wisdom is to make a proper improvement of them. — " Behold, he taketh away ; who can hinder him ? who will say unto him, What doest thou ?" " Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again ; he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening." ** When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble ? and when he hideth (his) face, who then can behold him ?" ** He doeth accord- ing to his will in the armies of heaven, and (among) the inhabitants of the earth : none can stay his hand, or say unto him. What doest thou ?"* '^ In the day of prosperity be joyful ; but in the day of adversity, consider." God has given us of the bounties of his providence ; and it is his intention, in bestowing them, that they should be enjoyed by us, with grateful and cheerful hearts. Joy is the proper feeling for the season of pros- perity and blessing. Not to be joyful, would imply the want of a becoming spirit of thankfulness to the giver. When the children of Israel were commanded to ap- pear before the Lord, with the offering of the first-fruits of their land, the charge was given in these words : " Thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and shall worship before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt REJOICE in every good (thing) which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee and unto thy house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that (is) among you :" — and in denouncing against them the curses of hea- ven, Moses uses the following remarkable language :— "Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God witji * Job ii, 12. xii. 14. xxxir. 29. Dan. iv. 35. ^96 LECTURE XII* JOYFULNESS, AND WITH GLADNESS OP HEART, fof the abundance of all (things : ) therefore thou shall serve thine enemies, which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all (things :) and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee."* Whilst picsperity is the season of joy, adversity is a Divine call to serious consideration. Not that in pros- perity consideration is to be banished, or that joy is to be excluded in adversity. No. There are joys which are often most sweetly and most intensely experienced in times of trouble. The Christian ** glories in tribula- tion." He is " sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." And when all goes well with us, — when the kindness of heaven " fills our mouth with laughter and our tongue with singing," we must never dismiss serious thoughts. We should be " when we rejoice, as though we re- joiced not ;" remembering the precariousness of earthly delights, and "joining trembling with our mirth." — But it is the design and the tendency of adversity to rouse to consideration. This is its proper effect. ^^ Is any among you afflicted ? let him pray." Adversity contains an immediate, and frequently a startling and impressive call, to such reflections, as, alas ! prosperity is ever in danger of driving away. It sobers the intoxi- cated spirit. It summons back the mind from its heed- less and perilous wanderings. — " In the day of adver- sity," then *' consider" the Author of your trials. Whatever be their nature, and whatever the instrument of their infliction, they are the appointment of provi- dence ; they come from the hand of a wise and merci- ful God, — who, in all his ways, is entitled to your thoughtful regard. — ^' Consider," the cause of all * Deut. xxvi. 10, 11. xxviii. 47, 48. ECCLES. vii. 7 — 14. S97 suffering. It is all to be traced to sin. Sin is the bitter fountain of every bitter stream that flows in this wilder- ness. — ** Consider," the great general design of ad- versity ; to excite to self-examination, repentance of sin, and renewed vigilance ; to promote the increase of faith, and love, and hope, and spirituality of mind, and general holiness of heart and life. — These various topics of consideration are fitted, when duly laid to heart, to produce the sentiments and feelings that are suited to times of trouble. The first, to inspire silent and reve-' rential submission to the will of God, who is the author of our trials ; the second, humiliation of spirit under a sense of sin, as their cause ; and the third, an earnest desire for the spiritual profit, which constitutes the gra- cious design of the Divine chastiser. — ** Thou shalt also consider in thy heart, that as a man chasteneth his son, (so) the Lord thy God chasteneth thee : therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him :" — ** The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and (the man of) wis- dom shall see thy name ; hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it :"— ■" Who (is) he (that) saith, and it cometh to pas3, (when) the Lord commandeth (it) not ? Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good. Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins ? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord : let us lift up our heart with (our) hands unto God in the hea- vens :" — *• Now therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts. Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little ; ye eat, but ye have not enough ; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink ; ye clothe you, but there is none warm ; and he that earneth wages, earneth wages (to put it) into a bag with holes. Thus saith the P P ^98 LECTURE XII. Lord of hosts, Consider your ways:" — "No affliction for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous ; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet."^ —Such are some of the many Scriptural addresses to persons in adversity; in all of which may be recog- nized, with equal clearness, its Author, its cause, and its design. Prosperity and adversity are in the present life, and more or less in the history of every individual, inter- mingled together; They come and go with a frequent and uncertain alternation ; so that in the highest pros- perity, we should never lose sight of adversity, or al- low ourselves to forget how near a change may be. If we do forget it, it is not for want of incessant mementos. In the appearances which the world is every day and every hour presenting to our view, the Supreme Dis- poser of events, is continually *' setting the one over against the other." One man is prospering while ano- ther is suffering ; the prosperity of one is commencing, whilst that of another is terminating ; the same man who prospered yesterday, suffers to-day ; prosperous and afflictive occurrences befal the same individual at the same moment. And what is the purpose of God in this constant alternation and intermingling of good and evil P—lt is, " to the end that man may find nothing after him." This expression is obscure. I shall content myself with mentioning several different interpretations of it, leaving it to yourselves to decide between them :— !• That no man might come after God, to review his pro- * Deut. viil 5, 6. Mic.vi.9. Lani.iii.37— .41. Hag.i.5— ?. Heb,xii.ll,12^- ECCLES. VII. 7 — 14. S99 vidential administration, and discover defect or fault ; imagining that things might have been managed to better advantage :— this alternation of prosperity and adversity, in the lot of individuals, and in the general aspect of the world, being the vi^isest arrangement, both for the glory of God, and for the good of men, who need adversity to prevent the intoxicating influence of prosperity, and prosperity to lighten the overwhelming pressure of adversity ; who require, amidst the tempta- tions of the world, to be constantly reminded of its precariousness ; and whose characters are, by varying circumstances, elicited and displayed, so as to make the justice of God apparent in the final judgment. — 2. That men might be sensible of their entire dependence, the lesson being brought home to their minds by their felt inability to alter, in the smallest degree, what he has gone before, and fixed. No creature can ** find any thing after Him," who " openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth :" and this ought to produce humble submission to his sovereign appoint- ments ; seeing the attempt is thus vain to ** find" what he has not willed. — 3. That men, impressed with the uncertainty of earthly good, might find their only satis- fying portion in God himself; nothing besides him that can confer true and permanent felicity ; and in him enough to impart and to secure it, without any thing being sought for after him : that they might be led, from choice and experience, to say, ** The Lord is my portion, saith my soul ; therefore will I hope in him:" — "Whom have I in heaven (but thee?) and there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison of thee. My flesh and my heart fail; (but) God (is) the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." Let us, from these verses, learn, in the fnt place, to SOO LECTURE XII. beware of ambition,— of csig^rly coveting the acquisition of power.— Let the dangers arising from it to its pos- sessor be considered, and we shall rather be disposed to say, with humble self-diatrust, ** Lead me not into temptation!" We shall be jealous of ourselves with godly jealousy ; and, instead of being eager to acquire, we shall be backward to accept, what contains in it such a temptation to its abuse, and the abuse of which serves equally to infatuate the oppressor, and to madden the oppressed.— Not that a Christian is enjoined, or even warranted, uniformly to decline every situation of power and influence, where he might bring his princi- ciples into exercise for the benefit of society. No : it may be his duty to accept a trust, to which the voice of fellow-citizens, and the voice of providence concur to invite him. There are, besides, various descriptions and degrees of power, which arise from the relations established by nature between man and man. With whichsoever of these we are intrusted, let it be our prayer, that the grace of God may enable us to " use" our authority *' as not abusing it," for in every case we may be under temptation, constant or occasional, to excess and oppression. You have authority as pa- rents, or as teachers, or as masters, whether of domes- tic servants, of field labourers, or of workmen in the various departments of business : — see that you never exert your power beyond the limits of right; for the gratification of any selfish principle, or the attainment of any selfish end ; for any purpose, other than the good of those over whom you possess it. And if you now hold, or should ever be called to hold, a magistracy, or any situation, of public trust and influence, let the strictest equity, the most incorruptible integrity and honour, in combination with the tenderest clemency ECCLES. VII. 7 — 14. 3Qt and the most kindly benevolence, characterize your ^vhole conduct ; " that the name of God and his doc- trine be not blasphemed." Secondly. Let us cherish in our hearts, and exem- plify in our lives, the virtues of meekness, and patience, and long-suffering. These are truly Christian virtues ; despised by a proud world, but inculcated in the Scrip- tures with a frequency and earnestness that mark their value in the sight of God, and recommended to our approbation and practice by the perfect example of our blessed Master, — " who, when he was reviled, reviled not again ; when he suffered, threatened not ; but com- mitted (himself) to Him who judgeth righteously;" who " was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth." — Cultivate those lowly and lovely tempers, both towards one another, and towards all men. " Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called ; with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, for- bearing one another in love ; endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace:" — "Warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, sup- port the weak, be patient toward all (men.) See that none render evil for evil unto any (man ;) but ever fol- low that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all (men) :"—** Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you ; that ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust, Be ye, therefore, merciful, as your Father who is in heaven is merciful."* ♦ Eph. iv. 1—3. 1 Thess. v. 14, 15. Matt. v. 44, 45, 48. with Luke vi. 36. 302 LECTURE XII. Thirdly. Let me recommend to all ^' the wisdom that Cometh from above :"--the knowledge and the faith of Divine truth, and the practice of the Divine will. This wisdom is infinitely better than any earthly inheritance, than any amount of earthly treasures, in possession or in hope. " It giveth life to them that have it." It '* maketh wise unto salvation^ ^^r-iht most important end, above all comparison, that can engage the con- templation, the desire, or the pursuit, of immortal be- ings.— With this wisdom is associated the favour of God, in which is life; and the "sure and certain hope" of an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fa- deth not away ;" an inheritance incomparably more ex- cellent, and infinitely more enduring, than the finest and the largest on earth ; an inheritance, of which ** the land that flowed with milk and honey" was but a poor and temporary figure ; ** the better, the heavenly coun- try." He is emphatically a fool, who disregards this "eternal inheritance," and ** lays up for himself trea- sures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and thieves break through and steal." — Jesus Christ is " the wisdom of God." The knowledge of Him in his true character and mediatorial work, is eternal life. Prize more and more, my Christian brethren, this saving knowledge, and hold it fast unto the end ; when its true value, partially appreciated now, will be fully apparent, and delightfully experienced. " Will ye also go away?" said Jesus to his twelve apostles, with the look and the tone of tender interest, when some had ** gone back, and walked no more with him." ** Lord," said Peter in reply,— and, oh ! adopt ye the answer, and let it come from a devoted spirit, — " Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal LIFE !"'—!* Beware, lest, being led away by the error ECCLES. VII. 7 14. 303 of the wicked, ye fall from your own steadfastness ; but grow (in) grace, and (in) the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ."* '^ And may God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shine into the hearts" of all who hear me, " to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ !" Fourthly, Let the mixture of prosperity and adver- sity, which in this world is seen and felt by all, produce in all the blessed effects that have been described. In- stead of carping at the divine arrangements, and vainly seeking permanent enjoyment amidst the uncertainties and fluctuations of the world, be satisfied with what you cannot improve, bow to what you cannot alter, and turn for constant and lasting happiness to that " Father of lights" who is the author of " every good and perfect gift," who has stamped mutability and fickleness on every thing created, and is himself alone " without va- riableness or shadow of turning." — Let those who know God, who have '' tasted that the Lord is gra- cious," cultivate and display tempers of mind corres- ponding to the states in which his providence alter- nately places them. Let the one and the other lead them to himself. " I have learned," says the apostle of the Gentiles, — may we all learn, from the same heavenly- teacher, the same blessed lesson!—" 1 have learned, in whatsoever state I am, (therewith) to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where, and in all things, I am in- structed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me."t And, oh ! let the man of this world, Whether at the * John vi. 68. 2 Pet. iii. ir, 18. t Phil. iv. 11—13^ 304 LECTURE XII. ECCLES. VII. 7 — 14, present moment in prosperity or adversity, be persuaded to " consider." A portion, in a scene so changeful and so fleeting, will not do. If you are prospering, recollect that, short as your earthly life must be,, your prosperity may be shorter. If you are suffering, you have already learned the precariousness of prosperity. " Set not, then, your eyes any more on that which is not ;" but seek for yourselves, " in heaven, a better and more en- during substance ;" — in heaven, where prosperity and adversity are no longer set ** the one over against the other," but all is " fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore." Fret not at the vanity of the world. Mur- mur not that your prosperity has not been more steady. Its departure, if you rightly improve it, may do you infinitely more good, than you could have derived from its longest continuance, or its highest possible augmen- tation. Vent not a sinful spleen in unprofitable com- plaints of the times, and repinings that your lot had not been cast in an earlier and a better age. The times, no doubt, are bad ; yet bad times might be the best times for mankind, if they would but make a right use of them, and learn from them the salutary lessons of spiritual wisdom. And with you, my friends, the very best times are bad,-— miserably bad, whilst you con- tinue to live ** without God in the world." The best times are the worst, if they take away your hearts from him, and impose upon you the unsubstantial and pass- ing shadows of happiness for its solid and eternal reali- ties. ** O taste, and see that the Lord is good : blessed is the man that trusteth in him." LECTURE XIII. EccLES. vii. 15* — 22. 15 " ^11 f things J have I seen in the days of my vanity : there is a just (manj that fierisheth in his righteousness ^ and there is a wicked 1 6 fmanj that firolongeth (his life J in his wickedness. Be not righ- teous overmuch ; neither make thyself overwise : why shouldest thou 27 destroy thyself? Be not overmuch wicked^ neither be thou foolish : 18 why shouldest thou die before thy time? fit is J good that thou shouldest take hold of this ; yea^ also from this withdraw not thine 19 hand : for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all. Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty ("men J who are in the 20 city. For C there is J not a just man ufion earthy that doeth good, 21 and sinneth not. Mso take no heed unto all words that are sfioken ; 22 lest thou hear thy servant curse thee : For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others** " Jjehold," says the Psalmist^ "thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth, and mine age is as nothing be- fore thee : verily every man, at his best estate, is alto- gether vanity.*' All a man's days on earth might there- fore be with propriety denominated " the days of his vanity." The designation, however, appears to be ap- plied by Solomon to that period of his life, during which he forsook God, and tried to find his happiness from worldly sources. The days of this period were indeed emphatically what he.here denominates them.— In the course of these days, he had taken a very exten- sive survey of human life, and had marked with atten- tion, in the spirit of a philosophical observer, the va- rious circumstances which, in diiFerent situations, af- fected the happiness of mankind : — ** All things," says Qq 306 LECTURE XIII. he, in verse 15. "have I seen in the days of my vanity." He specifies one of his observations, and founds upon it the counsel of wisdom :— *^ There is a just (man) that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked (man) that prolongeth (his life) in his wickedness." — The subject here, I apprehend, is not the conduct of Divine providence respecting the fortunes and lives of the righteous and the wicked ; but rather the treatment which these two opposite descriptions of character fre- qaently experience from the world : though this, no doubt, takes place under the superintendence, and by the permission, of Heaven. Solomon had noted various instances, in which the consistently righteous man, the man who by his conduct "testifies against the world that its deeds are evil," and especially one who, along with this character, holds a station of power and emi- nence in which he feels his obligation to act conscien- tiously, without regard to fear or to favour, to flattery or to threatening, exposed himself to the malignant operation of hatred and envy, by which his days had been at once embittered and cut short, through open • violence or by secret treachery : whilst the wicked man had " prolonged his life in his wickedness," acting on principles more congenial to the likings of the world in which he lived, and employing arts for his preservation such as the just man could not in conscience have re- course to; so that sometimes he had even succeeded in lengthening out his days by his wickedness, whilst the good man had prematurely perished for his righteous- ness. From the days of *' righteous Abel," downward tlirough the history of all nations, facts are not wanting in corroboration of Solomon's statement. The whole army of martyrs, as well as many an ill-requited patriot, might be brought as witnesses to its truth. I ECCLES. Til. 15 2S. 307 With this general observation, what follows is to be considered as in immediate connection : — Verses 16 — 18. "Be not righteous overmuch; nei- ther make thyself overwise ; why shouldst thou destroy thyself? Be not overmuch wicked; neither be thou foolish ; why shouldest thou die before thy time? (It is) good that thou shouldest take hold of this ; yea, also from this withdraw not thy hand : for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all." Persons who relish not nor study the word of God as a whole, have often particular parts of it which they like ; favourite texts, such as when severed from their connection, and regarded in their sound rather than their sense, appear to suit their pre-conceived opinions, and prevalent desires. These little insulated scraps of Scrip- ture, misunderstood and perverted, and applied to pur- poses the very opposite of the Divine intention, obtain a free currency amongst multitudes of people, many of whom perhaps never read them in their Bibles, but have got them at second-hand as maxims of high au- thority ; and they are quoted on all occasions, and re- ferred to with the easy confidence of a geometrician quoting his axioms. In this, and in many other ways, the word of God meets with treatment, which would be resented as an insult by any human author; being made to express sentiments in perfect contrariety to its gene- ral spirit, and even to its most explicit declarations- Few texts (perhaps I might say none) have ever been in such general favour, have ever been caught at, and circulated, and appealed to with approbation, by so great a variety of characters, as the first clause of the sixteenth verse, — " Be not righteous overmuch." — Its grand recommendation lies in its being so undefined, sus- ceptible of so many shades of meaning ; prescribing no 308 LECTURE XIII. precise boundaries, but leaving matters conveniently at large, and thus affording latitude for every man to fix his own standard, (and even that may be very fluc- tuating,) and then to appeal to Scripture against all who go beyond him, as exceeding reasonable bounds, and being " righteous overmuch." For it is surprising how men, who hate and disregard the Bible in its great truths and requirements, will yet quote its words, nay, even plead for its authority, when it can be made, by any perversion, to accord with their own inclinations. The saying is a favourite one with the profligate, who, in cursing the enthusiasm and hypocrisy of others, vainly fancies that he is vindicating his own vice and folly ; and who reckons it quite a sufficient reason for rejecting with scorn a serious and salutary advice, that it comes from one whom all must allow to be-—*' righ- teous overmuch." Often, on the other hand, is it appealed to by the man of morality, who, with stern severity, condemns, the profligate, but who piques himself on his own sobriety, honesty, industry, kindness, and general decency of character ; and making this external virtue his religion, though without a single sentiment or emotion of inward godliness, considers every thing beyond it as being — ^^ righteous overmuch." Many, who are equally destitute of the true spirit of religion, who feel its services an irksome drudgery, whose secret language in them all is, " What a weari- ness is it !" and who therefore satisfy their consciences with very flimsy apologies for the neglect of them, are ever ready to pronounce those " righteous overmuch," who cannot see their excuses in the same satisfactory light with themselves. This admonition too is a weapon in constant use with ECCLES. VII. 15 — 23. 309 the thousands, whose religion consists in the strict ob- servance of its outward forms, in their appropriate times and places. They would not for the world be missed out of their pew on a Sunday, and with even greater reluctance on certain days of human institution. But they are clear for keeping religion to its proper place; This is a topic on which they continually insist ; a spe- cies of propriety which, in company with a smile of self-complacency, is for ever on their lips. It is all well, if a man minds religion on its own appropriate day, and attends to his business the rest of the week. These things rrust not be made to clash. " Six days shalt thou labour, and one thou shalt rest," are God's own prescriptions:-— and the bible itself enjoins us not to be — *^ righteous overmuch." But there are none to whom this favourite caution is of more essential service, than those professors of reli- gion, of whom, alas! the number is not small, who, dis- liking *^ the offence of the cross," are desirous to keep on good terms with both Christ and the world, and who cover from others, and try to cover from themselves, the real principle of their conduct, by prudential max- ims of imposing plausibility, and some of them in the terms of Scripture. The wisdom of the serpent, they say, is recommended to us, as well as the harmlessness of the dove. They cannot see the use of exposing themselves and their religion to needless derision. They are ever mightily afraid, lest, by the over-strictness and uncomplying spirit of its professors, men should be led to form gloomy notions of the gospel, as a system of morose and puritanical austerity. " We must needs go out of the world," they allege, " if we are to take no part in its pleasures." Under the pretext of recom- mending religion, such persons meet the world half- 310 LECTURE xrii. way ; they join in its follies and vain amusements ; they rather court than shun its intercourse ; and they sane- tion their unseemly compliances by an appeal to the admonition before us ; regarding the reproach cast upon others^ who think a more decided and marked separa- tion from the world their duty, as brought upon them- selves by their own imprudence,— by carrying matters too far ^—hy being ** righteous overmuch." A passage of Scripture that has been so much abused, and of which the abuse is so extensively prejudicial, it is of great importance rightly to understand : and, be- fore noticing any of the different views that have been taken of it, I shall state what to me appears to be its true meaning. The whole passage seems to be an instance of seri- ous and impressive irony : of which the subject is, the line of conduct most prudent to be pursued, sup- posing the end in view to be the securing of favour, honour, and prosperity in the world. — Thus : — ** There is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness." If, therefore, you wish to avoid the en- mity of the world, with its mischievous and sometimes deadly consequences, and to insure favour, success, honour, and long life,—" be not righteous overmuch :" — remember that religion is a matter, in which men, in general, are particularly fond of moderation ; and beware of assuming an appearance of sanctity greater than the world is disposed to approve of, or to bear with. ** Neither make thyself overwise ; why shouldst thou destroy thyself?'' Recollect, that the same feelings of envy and malignant jealousy may be excited, as they vvery often have been, by high degrees of superior in- telligence and wisdom. Be not obtrusive, therefore, ECCLES. VIT. 15 — 22. 311 with your eminent endowments. Deal prudently. JBe cautious of exasperating the jealous pride of others. Be- sides the risks that arise from envy, such qualities may bring you often into the critical situation of an arbi- trator ; in which you must unavoidably expose your- self to the resentment of one or other of the parties, and possibly even of both. And from various other sources, danger may arise to you.-— But, at the same time, beware. Similar effects may be produced by op-' posite causes. Although men do not like overmuch religion, you must be on your guard, on the other hand, against the extreme of wickedness : — ** Be not over- much wicked." You will expose yourself to suspicion and hatred, as a dangerous member of society : men will become your enemies from fear, and will think they confer a benefit on the community, by making riddance of you : nay, in the excess of riotous and unbridled profligacy you may be betrayed into deeds which may awaken the vengeance of human laws, and bring you to an untimely end. Let prudent consideration, then, set bounds to your licentiousness. — *^ Neither be thou foolish ; why shouldst thou die before thy time ?" As there are hazards attending high pretensions to wisdom, so are there risks peculiar to folly. The absolute fool becomes the object of contempt. His life is hardly thought worth an effort, far less a sacrifice, for its pre- servation. The fool is easily made the tool and the dupe of a party ; exposing himself to be the prey of virulent enemies, or of selfish pretended friends. Folly leads a man into innumerable scrapes. It may induce him heedlessly to mix with wicked associates, and may thus, as indeed has many a time happened, occasion his suf- fering for crimes, in the perpetration of which he had no active hand, and which, fool as he is, he would shrink 312 liECTURE XIII. from committing. And in numberless ways he may come, by his folly, to " die before his time.'*--If, there- fore, I repeat, your object be to shun the world's enmity, with its possible and probable eflfects, and to secure the world's favour, with its desirable accompaniments and consequences, take care of these extremes ; — as " there is a just (man) that perisheth in his righteousness, — be not righteous overmuch, neither make thyself over- wise ; why shouldst thou destroy thyself?" — and though ** a wicked (man") may, and sometimes does, " prolong (his life) in his wickedness," yet '* be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish ; why shouldst thou die before thy time ?" All Scripture irony is serious, and intended to im- press on the mind important lessons. The passage is, in this respect, similar to that striking one towards the close of the book : " Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes : — but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." — So here, the admonition closes with an impressive recommenda- tion of the fear of the Lord, as the best and only means of inspiring true peace and tranquil security of mind, as a sovereign antidote against the fear of man, and a powerful incentive to the faithful and firm discharge of duty in every situation : — Verse 18. " (It is) good that thou shouldst take hold of this ; yea, also from this with- draw not thy hand: for he that feareth God SHALL COME FORTH OF THEM ALL." " It is good,"— supremely good and advantageous, ** that thou shouldst lay hold on this," — that is, on what I am now about to mention ; *' yea, also from this with- draw not thy hand,"— that is; let this antidote against ECCLES. vir. 15—22. 313 the perils of an evil world, and against the fear of man, which so often brings a snare, be the subject of thy constant and attentive remembrance, the object of thy supreme and unceasing desire, and of thine unabating endeavours after its thorough attainment and its per- manent influence ; — ** for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all." Instead of adopting any of the max- ims, or following any of the schemes, of a carnal policy and worldly wisdom, *' be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:" ** Sanctify the Lord God in your heart ; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread : and He shall be for a sanctuary." He shall be thy for- tress and strong tower 5 so that thou shalt not need to be afraid of what man can do unto thee. ** Thou shalt dwell on high ; and thy place of defence shall be the munition of rocks." *^ He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, (He is) my refuge and my fortress ; my God, in him will I trust. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust : his truth (shall be thy) shield and buckler."* " Fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear him, who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father, But the very hairs pf your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many spar- rows."! The nineteenth verse may be connected with this, as containing an amplification of the idea expressed in the latter part of it. " Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men who are in the city." ^^ Wis- ♦ Psal. xci. 1, 2, 4. t Matt, x, 28—31. Rr ^14 LECTURE Xin. dom," — that is, this v/isdom, the fear of God, declared in other places to be wisdom, and the beginning of wis- dom, — this wisdom '' strengtheneth the wise :" it for- tifies and invigorates the soul -, it elevates it above every other fear ; it inspires the heart with a firm feeling of se- curity, and with resolute, undaunted courage in the path of duty, however beset with enemies and ob- structed by difficulties. " Thou wilt keep him in per- fect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." " Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more," — imparts to them more of inward confidence^ and of real safety, ^* than ten mighty men/' ten experi- enced and skilful, powerful and intrepid leaders ; or^ understanding the number ten as a definite for an inde- finite, more than any number of valiant warriors, *' who are in the city,'- can give to its inhabitants when invested by a besieging foe. Such a city may be deemed secure, when so defended : but the fear of God is a still stronger and surer defence to them who put their trust in his power and mercy. — Or, supposing the " ten mighty men who are in the city," to be the foes of " him who fears God," wisdom makes him stronger than his ene- mies, gives him fortitude of mind against them, how- ever numerous and however mighty. He that is with him is more than all that can be against him ; so that he may say, with the Psalmist, *' Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear ; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident :" ** 1 laid me down and slept ; I awaked, for the Lord sustained me ; I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about." The felt security of those who are under the special protecting care of the Almighty, is finely repre- sented by the case of the prophet Elisha, when sur- ECCLES. VII. 15 as. 315 rounded in Dothan by the host of the king of Syria. When his servant, on rising in the morning, saw the city invested on all sides with horses and chariots, he said, with a fearful heart, " Alas ! my master, how shall wc do ?" Elisha answered, " Fear not ; for they that be with us, are more than they that be with them." And he prayed, and said, " Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw : and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.'^ This host of the Lord was unseen but by the eye of faith. To the mind of the prophet it imparted the most fearless composure, under circumstances in which, to the eye of sense, his destruction must have seemed inevitable.* In vindication of the general principle which I have adopted for the explanation of this passage, let it now be observed, in the first place : The motives which So- lomon employs to recommend and enforce his advice, evidently show, that in the fifteenth verse, when he speaks of ** a righteous man perishing in his righteous- ness, and a wicked man prolonging his life in his wick- edness," he refers not directly to the conduct of provi- dence, but to the consequences arising to the righteous and the wicked, from the feelings of mankind towards them : for, in the ordinary administration of God, the duration of human life does not appear to be at all regu- lated by the characters of men. Secondly, If the counsel, " Be not righteous over- much" means, that it is our duty to be righteous, but that we should beware of excess in righteousness; then the opposite counsel, ** Be not overmuch wicked," if taken seriously, (that is, as having nothing in it of the ♦ 2 Kings vi. 15—17. 316 LECTURE xiir. nature of irony,) must, on the same principle of inter- pretation, be understood to signify, that we may be wicked, provided we take due care not to exceed, or to go beyond bounds in our wickedness. But this surely can never be the counsel of the word of God. Every reader of the bible will be instantly sensible how much it is out of unison with the universal tenor of its senti- ment and phraseology. Thirdly. Righteousness, when opposed, as it is here, to wickedness, usually means, in Scripture language, true religion in general, in all its various branches, of principle and of practice ; the entire profession and course of conduct of a good man. In this enlarged sense I understand it here ; and this makes me dissatisfied •with other interpretations of the passage. Some consider righteousness as reterring particularly to the exercise o^ justice, and the admonition not to be righteous overmuch, as a caution against the over-rigid application of the principles of equity, pressing every thing to an extreme, never tempering justice with cle- mency, but exacting satisfaction and punishment, with- out mercy, on all occasions, even for the most trivial faults. — But if righteousness mean simply justice, then "wickedness must mean simply injustice; and if "be not righteous overmuch" be a warning against the ex- treme of justice, " be not overmuch wicked" must be a warning against the extreme of injustice; a warning which w^e certainly should not expect to find in that book, which admits of no compromise between right and wrong, and whose sentence is, '' He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much ; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much."* — Those who have adopted the interpretation I am speak- ♦ Luke xvi. 10. ECciiES. yii. 15 — S^. 3i7 ing of have not, I think, sufficiently attended to the antithesis in the passage ; nor duly considered, that the true principle of interpretation, whatever it may be, ought to apply, with equal fairness and ease, to both sides of it. There is reason, indeed, to think, that the counsel " be not righteous overmuch" is quoted by multitudes without the most distant recollection, and by not a few without even the knowledge, of its being followed immediately by the admonition not to be "overmuch wicked." Others, understanding the terms '' righteous" and '* wicked," as I think they ought to be understood, in their more general acceptation, and at the same time conceiving ^' Be not righteous overmuch" to be Solo- mon's serious counsel, cannot, however, deny, that of true righteousness, of real religion, of genuine unsophis- ticated goodness, there cannot be excess. The}'- are, therefore, under the necessity of qualifying and restrict- ing after all. — Some of them explain the words as a cau- tion ^g£anst intemperate zeal, exerting itself indiscreetly, contentiously, and to the injury of religion :— some, as a warning against a blind and bigotted superstition, displaying itself in an excessive attachment to rites and ceremonies of human invention, or even, it may be, to external institutions of Divine appointment, whilst the spirit of vital godliness is entirely or in a great measure overlooked :---others as an admonition against a needless scrupulosity about trifles ; a want of proper discrimina- tion between smaller and greater matters, between what have been termed essentials, and non-essentials ; from which have arisen the hottest contentions, and number- less unnecessary schisms. Of all these, and other interpretations of a similar kind that might be noticed, it may be observed in ge- 318 liECTURE XIII. iieral : — First, that these things are not properly righ- teousness; but the mere adjuncts, and unjustifiable accompaniments or counterfeits of righteousness : and secondly, that if such things are meant in the exhor- tation, ^* Be not righteous overmuch," if will follow, that what is said, in the verse preceding, of ** the righ- teous man perishing in his righteousness," must be considered as expressing, not the consequence of his real godliness itself, but of his imprudent profession and practice, or his needlessly ostentatious display, of it. But this certainly is not what Solomon means, when he contrasts the " righteous perishing in his righteous- ness," and the ** wicked prolonging his life in his wickedness." Considering righteousness, then, in its proper sense, in the sense in which it is generally used in the Bible, I must repeat what has before been hinted, that no man who is conversant in the contents of that blessed vo- lume, can for a moment admit the idea of its containing a caution against the excess of it ;— the excess of true religion and moral obedience. Were such excess pos- sible, surely it is not the side on which we are in dan- ger of erring, and require to be seriously admonished. —Shall we warn him against too much spirituality of mind, who feels himself by nature " carnal, sold under sin," and in whose bosom the '* law of sin" is inces- santly striving against the ** law of his mind ?" Shall we put him on his guard against allowing the love of God, the comprehensive principle of all righteousness, to occupy too much of his heart, whose nature is en- mity against him? Shall we caution against looking too constantly at the things which are unseen and eter- nal, a creature whose propensities are so powerful to seek his portion in the things that are seen and tempo* ECCLES. yii. 15 — 22. 319 ral ; who feels his affections drawn downward, and bound to the earth ? How preposterous the thought, of warning a sinful creature against the excess of holiness ! a selfish creature against the excess of benevolence and integrity ! an earthly-minded creature against too intimate fellow- ship with heaven ! a creature surrounded with tempta- tions to equivocate between God and the world, and who carries about within him principles of the old man, to which, alas ! these temptations are too congenial, against a profession and conduct too decided on the part of God and of godliness ! a creature who is so much in danger of seeking glory from men, against estimating too highly or coveting too eagerly, the ho- nour that Cometh from God only ! a creature, in a word, that has so many sadly prevailing tendencies to the en- tire dereliction of righteousness, against being " righ- teous overmuch !'* Lastly. The whole of the language of the Divine word, in describing the character at which God's peo- ple ought continually to aim, is fitted to impress on every mind the impossibility of the dreaded excess, — of being " righteous overmuch." Let a few passages suffice as a specimen of many. — "If any man (be) in Christ ; (he is) a new creature : old things are passed away ; behold all things are become new." ^' Whoso- ever hath this hope in him," (in Christ ; namely, the hope of seeing him as he is and being like him,) ** pti- rifieth himself even as he is pure ." ** Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended : but (this) one thing (I do:) forgetting the things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." " Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth." ['I beseech you, 320 LECTURE Xlir. therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that ye pre- sent your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, (which is) your reasonable service : and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds, that ye may prove what (is) the good and acceptable and perfect will of God." ** They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts." " Love not the world, neither the things (that are) in the world ; for if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." " Ye cannot serve God and mammon." '' The friendship of the world is enmity with God : whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God." ** Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." " Giv- ing all diligence, add to your faith, fortitude, and to for- titude, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance ; and to temperance, patience ; and to patience, godliness ; and to godliness, brotherly-kindness; and to brotherly- kindness, charity." "For none of us liveth to himself, and none of us dieth to himself: for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord, : whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's."* — These passages, which are only an ex- emplification of the current phraseology of the Bible on the subject of Christian holiness, express a spirituality, a decision ancj self-denial, a universality, perseverance, and progress, of practical obedience, utterly inconsis- tent with any cautions against the danger of excess, and admonitions to moderation. Of such sedatives, alas ! we stand not in need. All the exciting stimulants that * 2 Cor. V. 17. 1 John iii. 3. Phil. iii. 13, 14. Col. iii. 2. Rom. xii. 1. 2. Gal. V. 24. IJohn ii. 15. Matt. vi. 24. James iv. 4. 2Cor. vii. I. 2 Pet. i, 5-^7. Rom. xiv. 7, 8. ECCLES. VII. 15 2S. 321 can be applied to our minds, are few enough, and weak enough, to keep us on the alert against the temptations of the world, and live to the great ends of our being. The sinless perfection of our mortal nature, is the ob- ject of commanded pursuit and of promised attainment. We can never, even in a future world, go beyond this ; and in the present world, bearing about with us to the end the corruption of the old man, we can never reach it. We can nev^r exceed the requirements of the pre- cepts I have been repeating. To be " righteous over- much," is an impossibility. The statement in the twentieth verse, — " for (there is) not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sin- neth not," is made without exception or qualification ; and ought for ever to lay in the dust the lofty preten- sions of some professing Christians, as if they had at- tained to a state of perfect freedom from inward and outward sin ; a pretension pregnant with the most astonishing self-ignorance, or the most presumptuous spiritual pride. There are ^^just men upon the earth 'J\ they '* do good," and manifest by its fruits the nature and qualities of the tree. But there are no perfect men upon the earth ; none who can say, without the most pitiable self-deception, " I have no sin." There is many a one that ** doeth good ;" but no one that " doeth good and sinneth not ;" — no, not one. Not only are we guilty of many sins along with our good deeds ; but in our good deeds themselves there is sin. '* There is not a just man upon earth that doeth good, and" even in the good that he doeth, ** sinneth not." we have all of us abundant reason to say, not only that " in many- things we offend," but that in every thing we " fail and come short ;" and still to come to God with the prayer of the publican, ** God be merciful to me a isinncr.'* Ss 33S LECTURE xnr. But the connection of the verse with what precedes is not, at first view, very obvious: and accordingly different translations have been proposed of the connec- tive particle, rendered by our translators " For ;" some joining it with what goes before, and others with what follows. There seems no need for any alteration. The verse connects in a natural and edifying manner with the sentiment of the eighteenth and nineteenth verses : " (It is) good that thou shouldst lay hold on this; yea, also from this withdraw not thy hand : for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all. Wisdom"— this wis- dom, the fear of God, — " strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty (men) who are in the city." The ad- monition to cultivate the fear of God is then enforced by the appropriate consideration, " For (there is) not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." You are a sinful and imperfect creature ; having the seeds of all evil within you ; ever liable to feel the power of temptation, and to fall before it. Cherish, therefore, the fear of God, as the great preventive of evil ; the strengthening and sustaining principle amidst abounding intimidations and allurements ; that which alone can counteract the propensities of corruption. One temptation to sin, a frequent and a strong one, is the fear of man. But the predominant fear of God raises the mind above it ; gives vigour of heart, boldness of countenance, and energy of resistance ; and, maintained in exercise by the Spirit of God, secures the final victory. Verses 21st and 22d contain some further necessary advice, for the preservation of our peace and happiness in life :—" Also, take no heed unto all words that are spoken ; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee. For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth, that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.'' ECCLES. VII. 15 — 22. 323 The precept requires practice more than it needs illustration. Its general nature is sufficiently plain. It is addressed to those who are apt to be jealous of what is thought and what is said about them by others ; who are continually on the tiptoe of listening suspicion. It has been said, and is almost proverbial, that listeners seldom hear good of themselves. It is quite natural to expect that it should be so. The very practice shows the man's conscience to be inwardly whispering to him- self, that it is not good he is entitled to hear. The anx- ious curiosity indicates the existence of such a secret sus- picion ; and he who indulges it, well deserves the mor- tification he receives.— If we regard our own happiness, we shall pay attention to this admonition. The feeling must be one of exquisite distress, when a man, expect- ing commendation and blessing, hears from the lips that should have uttered it, reviling and malediction. In such a case, surely, " ignorance is bliss." It may often happen, that a person, under the irritation of tem- porary passion, may utter hastily the severe reflection, and the imprecation of evil, to which he would by no means stand in his cooler moments. What he has hastily uttered he quickly forgets. But 1^ who is the subject of it cannot so readily banish it from his mind ; he can- not, from his self-partiality, make adequate allowance for the momentary passion that has produced it ; he broods over it : it leaves a deep and rankling wound ; and he thus makes himself lastingly unhappy, by hear- ing what he who said it has not lodged in his bosom for a single hour. — We should, besides, be influenced to receive this admonition by the consideration suggested in the twenty-second verse : ** For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.'' You not only are aware, my fellow-christians, S24< LECTURE XIII. how you were wont to feel and to speak, when you were destitute of the grace of God ; but you are conscious to yourselves how you are apt to be affected still : how ready you are, in the moment of irritation, to kindle with resentful emotion, and to utter the wish of evil ; nay, how much you are in danger of even retaining and cherishing the spirit of malediction. Sensible of this, you will " beware of giving heed unto all words that are spoken." Your own consciousness will prevent you from thinking it impossible that you should hear any evil of yourselves ; and it will, at the same time, teach you, to make allowance for the passions and the hasty speeches of other men. From this passage, I may, in the first place ^ address to my fellow- christians, the words of the aposde John, ** Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." No strange thing happens to you. It has been so, as the apostle, in the connection of the words quoted, reminds his brethren, from the very beginning ; from the time when God said to the serpent, ** I will put enmity be- tween thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed." '* Cain was of that wicked one, and slew his brother : and wherefore slew he him ? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." — The same principles of enmity against God, and his spiritual children, continued to operate in the days of Solomon ; who saw " the just (man) perishing in his righteousness, and the wicked (man) prolonging his life in his wickedness." — And never was the hostility of human nature to God and goodness more affectingly displayed, than at the fulness of time, during the per- sonal ministry of the Son of God ; when the Eternal Word, made flesh, dwelt amongst men, " full of grace and truth." He was hated by the world, because, by ECCLES. VII. 15 — SS. 325 the perfection of his example, and the faithfulness of his ministry, he " testified of it that its deeds were evil." And most emphatically might it be said of him, that he ♦^perished in his righteousness."— His apostles after him experienced the same effects from the same cauSe, agreeably to his own faithful premonition: ** If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before (it hated) you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own : but, because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also." And the case is still unaltered. The enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman still subsists. Various circumstances'in providence, indeed, prevent it (and for this we have cause to be thankful,) from operating in the way of public persecution of the Chris- tian name. But still it exists, and still it shows itself, in an endless variety of more private ways, wherever the decidedly serious and spiritual religion of the gos- pel is exhibited. Unregenerated human nature likes not God and holiness one whit better now than it has ever done. The pure and lowly Saviour is still, and often even in the midst of professed and nominal attache ment to him, *^ despised and rejected of men :" and the tendency of the cordial acceptance, and the humble and spiritual profession of his doctrine, still is, to separate a man from his brethren ; to divide households, two against three, and three against two ; and by its colli- sion with the corrupt passions of the heart in those who continue strangers to its saving power, to strike out the sparks, and kindle the fire, of persecution and strife. 3S6 LECTURE Xin. Wheresoever, and to what extent soever, the spirit of hostility displays itself, let the sufferers remember, both for their encouragement and their admonition, the words of their Master: " Blessed (are) they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake ; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed (are) ye when (men) shall revile you, and persecute (you,) and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be ex- ceeding glad, for great (is) your reward in heaven." O remember, my brethren, it must be *' for righteous- ness' sake" that you suffer, — it must be ** falsely" that you are evil spoken of, else the blessing cannot be yours. " But if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy (are ye :) and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled ; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts ; and (be) ready always to (give) an answer to every one that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear."* Secondly. Let men beware of wresting and abusing the Scriptures, to their own delusion and ruin. — It is a very sure evidence of a man's not being decidedly righteous at all, when he is particularly fond of the cau- tion (misinterpreted, as in that case we are certain it must be) ** not to be righteous overmuch :" — a caution, which is often repeated, with a sneer of a malicious satis- faction, by men in whose eyes all real, heartfelt, spiritual religion, all scriptural godliness, is held as enthusiasm and madness ; — that religion, I mean, which mourns for sin in deep self-abasement ; which loves the Saviour supremely ; which is addicted to reading the bible, to prayer and communion with God ; which counts the sabbath a delight ; which shrinks, with a delicate ten- derness of conscience, from even the appearance of ♦ Matt. V, 10—12. 1 Pet. iii. 14, 15. ECCLES. VII. 15 — 22. 327 evil ; which ceases to have pleasure in the empty vani- ties, the time-and-soul-kiliing follies, of a passing world, and weeps in pity for those who have ; which seeks to enjoy God in all things, and all things in God. My friends, the subject is serious, — deeply serious ; worthy of being in earnest about. Either you must be- long to the people of God, or to the world : and the time is coming when this distinction shall be anounced with awful solemnity, and shall be fixed, with its con- sequences on either side, in eternal permanence. With easy lightness of heart, and scornful rejection of serious counsel from those who feel the weight of religious truth and the sacredness of religious duty, you talk of " not being righteous overmuch ;" and you thus cloak under a Bible phrase your deplorable regard- lessness of the Bible's most important discoveries and most imperative obligations. You spurn its pure and elevated sanctities away from you, and, with infatuated thoughtlessness, allege its own authority for doing so. But you do not read your Bible, else you never would talk thus. O my friends do bethink yourselves. A sinful creature "righteous overmuch!" — a sinner too good I Can you, in your consciences, believe, that the word of God seriously warns you against the danger of this ? If not, O beware of perverting a Divine coun- sel ;— beware of doing with the word of the Eternal God what you would resent as an insult were it done with your own. "(There is) not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not." There is not therefore a just man upon earth, that can stand accepted before God on the ground of his own righteousness. Such is the cha- racter of that Being with whom we have to do, and such the requirements of his perfect law, that nothing but a Sg8 LECTURE XIII. sinless righteousness can procure acceptance at his bar. Such a righteousness is not to be found in fallen man. And the very first, and a most distinctive feature, in the character of the renewed, is the entire renunciation of all dependence on their own doings, and a simple- hearted reliance on the perfect righteousness,— the obe- dience, atonement, and intercession, of the Son of God. All of them are ready to say, with deep prostration of soul before God, " If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniqui- ties, O Lord, who shall stand?" " Enter not into judg- ment with thy servant ; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified :" "God be merciful to me a sinner!" Forget not, at the same time, that personal righteous- ness, ** walking in newness of life" is the only unequi- vocal evidence of interest, by faith, in the righteousness of the Redeemer. Therefore, Thirdly, Let Christians implore, with earnestness and constancy, the influences of the Spirit of God, at once to deepen their sense of sinfulness, and at the same time to maintain in full vigour in their souls the " fear of God ;" that by this wisdom they may be brought through all temptation, may " come forth," victorious, from all opposition, and untainted, from all the corrupt- ing influence of an evil world: — that they may manifest in increasing holiness the increasing power of this sa- cred principle : —that they may not be *Med away by the error of the wicked, and so fall from their own stead- fastness, but may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Let it be their constant desire and aim, to be righteous more and more; never thinking that they have already attained, or that they are already perfect." Let them '* follow holiness without which no man shall see the Lord." " Of this^^ let them " take hold ;" " from this let them not with- I ECCLES. VIl. 15 ^^. 339 draw their hand." " Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling ; for it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure." " Gird up the loins of your minds, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that shall be brought unto you at the revc- lation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, not fash- ioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance ; but, as he who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation : because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who, without respect of persons, judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning (here) in fear : forasmuch as ye know, that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, (as) sil- ver and gold, from your vain conversation (received) by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and with- out spot : who verily was foreordained before the foun- dation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you ; who by him do believe in God, who raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God."* Lastly, Let a sense of our own liableness and prone- ness to err, in heart, in word, and in conduct, render us charitable, candid, and gentle, in our judgments of others. The j&rmcz/?/^ of the admonition, ''Take no heed unto all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy servant curse thee ; for oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth, that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others," may be thus, with propriety, generalized. We ought not to expect too much from others, when we are con- scious to ourselves of our own weakness, and sinful- ness : and we should especially beware of harshness, and * IPet.i. 14— 21. Tt 330 liECTURE XIII. ECCLES. VII. 15 22. of severely condemning others for things of which we ourselves are guilty. " Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest : for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things."* " Judge not that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged ; and with what measure ye mete, it !5hall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, and consi- derest not the beam that (is) in thine own eye ? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye ; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye. Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull QUt the mote out of thy brother's eye."f * Horn, ii. I. t Mfitt, vij. I'-o. LECTURE XIV. EccLES. vii. S3 — 29. 23 '* AH this have I proved by nvisdom : I said, I will be ivise ; but it 24 (luas) far from me. That nvhich is far off , and exceeding deefi^ 25 nvho can find it out ? I apfilied mine heart to knoiv^ and to search^ and to seek out wisdom^ and the reason f of things, J and to know 26 the wickedness of folly y even of foolishness (and) madness : and 1 find more bitter than death the ivoman whose heart fisj snares and nets, fund J her hands fas J bands : whoso fileaseth God shall es- 27 cafie from her ; but the sinner shall be taken by her. Behold, this have I found, \saith the Preacher,'] (counting J one by one^ to find 28 out the account ; Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not : one mafi among a thousand have I found ; but a woman among all those 29 have I not found. Lo^ this only have I founds that God hath madf- man upright ; but they have sought out many inventions.** A HE wisdom which God imparted to Solomon did not consist in the supernatural infusion of knowledge, on all subjects, into his mind ; but rather in an understand- ing rendered by " the Father of the spirits of all flesh" unusually acute and comprehensive, capable of quick discernment, clear and accurate conception, enlarged views, and thus of extensive and multifarious acquisi- tions. And it was in the diligent exercise of his mental faculties, thus strengthened, elevated, and amplified, that he gained that extent and variety of knowledge and wisdom, for which he was so highly and justly celebrated. The serious and important lessons contained in this book, are the result of the wisdom given l^im, when rightly exercised, under the influence of the fear of the Lord, and the superintending direction of the Holy S32 LECTURE Xir. Spirit, by whom he was prompted to record his expe- rience. — ** All this," says he, in the first of the verses I have now read, — *' All this have I proved by wis- dom:" — I have tried all these diversified sources of happiness, and have proved the result to be such as I have stated : — I have proved the lessons 1 now deliver to be founded in truth, to be " good and profitable unto men." Not that it was a wise course by which he col- lected his experience : but he had now, through Divine mercy, been led to apply to that experience, the vi'isdom given him, and to teach to others the lessons it had taught to himself. Even to the course, indeed, which procured him his experience, he had been incited by the misdirected de- sire of wisdom, or knowledge. This was his ruling passion ; a principle, good in itself, but in its applica- tion susceptible of the most grievous perversion. — ** I said, I will be wise." On this object he set his heart, and he pursued it, with unabating ardour, in every di- rection, — in all descriptions of experiment and research. — " But," he adds, "it was far from me." 1. The measure of wisdom which he was desirous to attain, in his different pursuits, was far from him. He still found, after all his investigation, that he *' knew but in part ;" and the more he came to know, the more did he perceive the vast extent of what yet remained undiscovered; of subjects hid in darkness, or dimly seen in the twilight of conjecture. In the rich mine of science, he was for ever striking on some new vein ; and in the very ardour and enthusiasm of discovery, arriving at points, beyond which no mortal skill or power was able to penetrate. Thus even Solomon, with all his marvellous facuhies, experienced the truth of what the poet says of knowledge, " 'Tis but to know-how little can be known." ECCLES. VII. 23 — 29. 333 There are limits to the powers of the mightiest minds. There are many things in the nature of the Divine Be- ing, many things in his works, and many things in his ways, that are " past finding out ;*' things, of which the loftiest and most capacions understandings must be content to say, ** Such knowledge is too wonderful for me ; it is high ; I cannot attain unto it :"— or, as Solo- mon adds, in the following verse, " That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?'' 2. If we consider him as speaking of the exercise of his understanding during ** the days of his vanity," which is probably the case, how affecting is the repre- sentation of his pursuits !— " I said I will be wise :" and to fulfil his resolution, he set himself to the study of all the branches of human knowledge. But all the while, wisdom, true wisdom, ** was far from him." Having departed from the ** fear of God," true wisdom was nowhere else to be found : a search through the universe could not have discovered it. All would still have been unsatisfying, all folly, without this ; wisdom and true happiness alike far from him. — ** Where shall wisdom be found ? and where is the place of under- standing? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The deep saith. It (is) not in me, and the sea saith, (It is) not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed (for) the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it ; and the exchange of it (shall not be for) jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of pearls or of corals ; for the price of wisdom (is) above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Whence, then, cometh wisdom ? and 834 LECTURE XIV. where (is) the place of understanding? Destractioft and Death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. GOD understandeth the way thereof; and He knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, (and) seeth under the whole heaven ; to make the weight for the winds ; and he weigheth the waters by measure. When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder ; then did he see it and declare it ; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. And unto man he said, Be- hold, THE FEAR OF THE LoRD, THAT (is) WIS- DOM 5 AND TO DEPART FROM EVIL (is) UNDER- STANDING."* — Having forgotten the concluding de- claration of this beautiful and sublime passage, Solomon necessarily missed, in every other quarter in which he sought it, the precious object of his desire. The words in the beginning of the 25th verse ex- press the indefatigable ardour with which his end was pursued :— ** I applied my heart, to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason (of things)." The various terms employed, between which it is quite unnecessary to attempt fixing the precise shades of dif- ference, are evidently accumulated, to convey strongly to the mind the impression of eager, intense, and un- wearied assiduity of application ; persevering in spite of all difficulties and discouragements. He sought to know " wisdom, and the reason (of things)." He was not satisfied with the knowledge of mere facts. He investigated principles. He tried to dis- cover causes ; both in nature and in providence ; and in the moral and physical departments of each. And in bis study of mankind, he examined the reasons of their state, their conduct, and their prospects : and explored • Job xxviii. 12—28. ECCLES. VIT. S3 — S9. 335 the various sources of their happiness and their misery. One of the subjects of his attention and inquiry, was, '*the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness (and) madness;" that is, the foolishness and madness of men, who live " without God in the world, '* who " walk in the sight of their eyes, and in the imagination of their heart." — In one view, this was a very proper and a highly profitable subject of investigation. We can hardly be better employed than in considering, and se- riously weighing, the ** exceeding sinfulness" of sin ; and the more closely we examine it, in the various lights in which it ought to be contemplated, — as committed against the Sovereign of the universe, infinitely holy and infinitely good, and as tending to bring dishonour upon his blessed name, to unsettle the foundations of his eternal throne, and to spread confusion, misery, and ruin through all his dominions ; we shall find it to be unsearchable, — " exceeding deep, so that none can find it out." This is the case, as to the intrinsic evil and demerit of sin. Its malignity cannot be estimated by a fallen creature, whose judgment is perverted by its sadly prevailing power. Although not, in the strict ac- ceptation of terms, an infinite evil, (for, since in infini- tude there are no degrees, this would equalize the guilt of all transgression,) yet, as committed against an infi- nite Being, not even a holy creature (because necessa- rily finite, though free from the bias of corruption,) can form any adequate conception of the measure of its guilt. God alone thoroughly knows it. He beholds it in its true undisguised nature ; in all the extent of its inherent deformity. He views it in the light of his own spotless purity and incomprehensible majesty ; and in all its bearings and tendencies, were it allowed its un- restrained operation, both in reference to his own glory, 336 LECTURE XIV. and to the happiness of creation. The estimate which he has formed of it, we learn from the declarations of his word ; and especially from the sacrifice required for its expiation,— from the deeply mysterious and awful scenes of Gethsemane and Calvary.— And as the in- trinsic evil of sin is beyond our comprehension, so is the depth of human depravity, the '^fulness of evil'* that is in the heart of man. ** The heart (is) deceitful above all (things,) and desperately wicked; who can know it? I the Lord search the hearts; (1) try the reins ; to give every man according to his ways, (and) according to the fruit of his doings."* — Thus God ** hides from every being but himself That hideous sight, — a naked human heart." Good had it been for the king of Israel, had he con- templated '* the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness," to deepen his humility, to aggravate his horror of sin, to soften his pity for the wretched subjects of this moral mania, and to render him more closely vigilant and jealous of himself, from a con- sciousness of the enormous sum of hidden evil in his own heart ! — There are some things, which it is much better for us not to know at all, than to learn by expe- rience. But Solomon, instead of satisfying himself with examining *' the wickedness of folly" by his observa- tion of others ; by their recorded warnings and dying regrets, by inward reflection, by the contemplation of God, by meditation on the testimony of his word ; must needs subject it to personal experiment : he must try *' foolishness and madness" as a source of enjoyment : he must join the company of fools, partake of their fol- lies, and know for himself. Infatuated prince ! He reaped the fruit of his doings. Good things abused are ♦ Jer. xvii. 9, 10. eccles. VII. sa— 29. as? proverbially the worst. The wisdom bestowed on So* lomon, rightly employed, was his own happiness and honour, and the blessing of his people and of mankind* But perverted and prostituted, it led him fearfully astray. It brought him within the eddies of a perilous whirlpool, and exposed him to the hazard of eternal de- struction. His soul, indeed, was, through sovereign mercy, restored. But, oh ! the bitterness and " vexation of spirit" which his sinful presumption cost him ! The bitterest, yet the most dangerous and intoxi- cating ingredient in the cup of folly, — bitter in the end, though sweet in the enjoyment, — Solomon mentions in the twenty- sixth verse, in terms that indicate how his heart recoiled from the recollection. **And I find more bitter than death, the woman whose heart (is) snares and nets, (and) her hands (as) bands ; whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her ; but the sinner shall be taken by her." In the preceding verse he speaks of his having " ap- plied his heart, to know the wickedness of folly." The particular sin to which he refers in the 26th verse, is frequently in the Scriptures X^rm^d folly, and those who committed it, especially under certain circumstances, were said to have ** wrought folly in Israel."—" I find more bitter than death,"— that is, in the issue, in the worse than deadly tendency of her tempting blandish- ments,— worse than deadly, because endangering not the body merely, but the immortal soul, not the inte- rests of time merely, but of eternity, leaving nothing behind them but the bitterness of remorse, and the ** fearful looking for of judgment." — ** I find more bit- ter than death, the woman whose heart (is) snares and nets, (and) her hands (as) bands." This is the " strange woman," whom he so often mentions in the book of Uu 338^ LECTURE XIV. Proverbs, depicting her character, describing her ways, and warning against the perils of her company. — How strong the expression, — " whose heart (is) snares and nets !" signifying the multitude of her devices of temp- tation, and the consummate skill, the secrecy, the ad- dress, the guile, with which she uses them, for the ac- complishment of her purposes. Her very " heart (is) snares and nets," in whose intricate and entangling meshes, the fascinated and deluded soul is taken cap- tive to its destruction. *' (And) her hands (as) bands." Her powers of detention are equal to her powers of al- lurement. Her heart is a net, to ensnare the unwary ; her hands are as bands, to hold him fast when her wiles have proved successful. So irresistible is the power, operating like the spell of enchantment, by which she retains under her influence the hapless victim of her charms.— Delicate as the subject is, faithfulness de- mands that we speak plainly ; especially for the warning of thoughtless youth. There is no sin more sadly pre- valent ; none that has enticed more to their ruin than this. " Whoredom, and wine, and new wine, take away the heart." It was this sin, that robbed Reuben of his birthright, and wrung his father's heart with shame and anguish : — it is a foul blot in the life of Ju- dah :~it unsheathed the sword of perfidy and vengeance against the guiUless Shechemites :— it spoiled Samson of his eyes, his strength, his liberty, his life, and en- dangered the freedom of his country :— it cost David many a pang of penitential agony, many a secret groan, many a bitter tear :— and it had well nigh proved the ruin of his son and successor in the throne ; whose <^ soul escaped, as a bird out of the snare of the fowler," narrowly escaped, and with serious damage. A hard and narrow escape, indeed, in every case it is. It is a ECCLES. VII. 23 — S9. 339 sin that has slain, and, alas ! continues to slay, its thou- sands and tens of thousands. " Whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her." — " Whoso pleaseth God,^^ is, in the original language, the same phrase as " the man that is good before God^^"* in the 26th verse of the second chapter. — The expressions used here strongly intimate, that, from the greatness, the immi- nent greatness of the danger, final escape is to be con- sidered as a remarkable interposition of heaven, a signal instance of peculiar Divine regard. The man that is ** good before God," may, alas ! as mournful experi- ence has too often shown, fall before this temptation. And if, after falling, and yielding himself for a time to guilty indulgence, he is recovered to repentance and purity, he may be looked upon as rescued from ex- treme peril, — as *' a brand plucked out of the fire ;" obtaining a deliverance, which nothing but the grace of God could effect for him. — ** But the sinner," — the obstinate sinner, whose character is thoroughly vicious^ who has no ** good thing in him towards the Lord God of Israel," who has run on in his course of sin and profligacy, till he has been " given over to a reprobate mind," and is the guilty victim of Divine displeasure and vengeance, — he "shall be taken by her;*' — yes,— and he shall be held by her ; — and he shall be ruined by her. " Led captive by her at her will," he shall find at last that '* her steps take hold on hell ;" that her syrea smiles have cursed him with the frown of an angry God; that her soft and silken cords have only drawn him down ** To adamantine chains and penal fire." " Hearken unto me now, therefore^ O ye children, and 340 LECTURE XIY. attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thy heart decline to her ways ; go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded ; yea many strong (men) have been slain by her. Her house (is) the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death."* Solomon's own deliverance was wonderful ; for no one could go further astray, or give himself up more completely to the gratification of irregular desires, than he. " King Solomon/' says the inspired historian of his reign, ** loved many strange women, (together with the daughter of Pharaoh,) women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, (and) Hittites , of the nations (concerning) which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in unto them, neither shall they come in unto you : (for) surely they will turn av/ay your hearts after their gods. Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, prin- cesses, and three hundred concubines : and his wives turned away his heart."t And then follows a particular account of the lengths to which he went in complying with the " abominable idolatries" of these unworthy objects of his wandering and wanton affections. " And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared unto him twice ; and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods : but he kept not that which the Lord com- manded." To these melancholy circumstances in the life of this prince there is an obvious allusion in the following verses ; on which account it is, that I have here intro- duced them anew : — * Prov.vii. 24 — 27. Seethe whole chapter, and also Prov. v. 3--l4.xxu, 14. I 1 Kings xi. 1 — 3. ECCLES. vir. S3 — 29. 341 Verses 27, 28. " Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, (counting) one by one to find out the ac- count ; which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not : one man among a thousand have I found ; but a woman among all those have I not found." *^ Counting one by one to find out the account," is by some rendered, ** weighing one thing after another to find out the reason." Our own translation, however, seems preferable. For as to the reason of what he states, we can hardly imagine, that the wisdom of the wisest of men, after it was set free from fascination, and al- lowed to judge without bias, could for a moment be at a loss to discover, or hesitate to pronounce upon it. What he means to tell us, then, is, that he was careful and minute in the observations from which he drew his account. He considered amongst his courtiers, and amongst his wives and concubines, to find out the number of the faithful, the truly good, the virtuous, the godly. And the judgment which he formed from this inspection had undergone no change, from recol- lection, at the time he was writing : for this is probably the meaning of the words, ** which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not." — " One man among a thousand have I found ; but a woman among all those have I not found." ■ ' ** One man among a thousand!" a very small pro- portion, alas ! and presenting a sad picture of the de- generate state of Solomon's court at the period referred to. He was not then imitating the determination of his pious father :— ^^ I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes : 1 hate the work of them that turn aside ; (it) shall not cleave to me. A froward heart shall depart from me ; I will not know a wicked (person.) Whoso privily 342 LECTURE XrV. slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath a high look and a proud heart will I not suffer. Mine eyes (shall be) on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me : he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house : he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight."* But small as this proportion is, it is greater than was to be found amongst the women of the royal household : — '* a woman among all those have I not found. "—Are we to consider this as expressive of Solomon's general opinion, that the number of good women is inferior to the number of good men ? — Were we so to interpret his words, they would convey a judgment contrary, as I am satisfied, to truth ; and, at the same time, unwar- ranted by the particular case on which it is founded. The reason of Solomon's want of success in his search for a virtuous woman, it is not surely difficult to dis- cover. He sought for good, where, from the nature of the thing, nothing but evil was reasonably to be ex- pected. Who, that is in quest of virtue, and purity, and general excellence of female character, would seek it in the crowded seraglio of an eastern prince ? In multiplying to himself wives and concubines, So- lomon had gone far astray from the original law of mar- riage, announced " in the beginning," when God made ** a male and a female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh." He had also doubly violated the express command of God, who had not only charged the Israelites in general, that they should not make marriages with the surrounding nations, because they would thus be turned away from * Psal. ci. S-r. ECCIiES. VII. g3 — S9. 343 following Jehovah, to serve other gods ;* but had also, in anticipating their future desire of a king over them, in describing their character, and specifying his duties, most explicitly enjoined,—-" Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away."t In the transgression of these prohibitory precepts, Solomon had greatly exceeded any of his predecessors in the throne of Israel. In such a situation, when, instead of concentrating his affections on one wife, as the partner of his joys and sorrows, and seeking domestic happiness in her faithful and undivided love, he gathered around him, for mag- nificence and for lawless indulgence, so large a multi- tude, with all their varieties of corporeal and mental qualities, and necessarily placed himself in the very midst of heartless blandishments, of envies and jealou- sies, of contending interests and selfish quarrels, how could he ever hope for happiness ? — and in such a situ- ation, when he had surrounded himself with idolatrous heathens, or with such Hebrew women as chose to be their voluntary associates in ministering to his volup- tuousness, how could he ever look for virtue F—A vir- tuous woman would not connect herself with such a group ; or if, by the prospect of magnificence and plenty, any one, whose principles were in the main good, had been tempted to join herself to his court, her character was not likely, in such company, to remain long free from the general corruption. — Of all possible ways, he certainly adopted the least promising, for find- ing a virtuous woman. He had himself, and no other, to blame. If, indeed, he had satirized the sex, because amongst such a thousand he had not discovered one woman of sound principle, he satirized it on most un- just, unwise, and unmanly grounds. * Deut. vu, 2—4, t Deut, xvii. 17. 344< LECTURE XIV. But I am far from thinking that he here speaks the language of a disappointed and waspish satirist. He rather utters the feelings of an abased and self-dissa- tisfied penitent ; of one who had felt it to be *' an evil thing and a bitter," to depart, as he had done, from God; who " remembered the wormwood and the gall;" who perceived and lamented the folly and tlje wicked- ness of all those " inventions," by which himself and others had sought to find happiness apart from the favour and the ways of God. He justifies God, and eondemns himself: — Verse 29. " Lo ! this only have I found, that God made man upright ; but they have sought out many inventions." — Here is " the conclusion of the whole matter :" " Of the things which he had spoken this is the sum." **God made man upright." — When the progenitors of our race came from the forming hand of their Crea- tor, they were the subjects of perfect intellectual and moral rectitude. There was no distortion in the under- standing, no obliquity in the will, no corruption in the affections. There was perfect truth in the mind, per- fect purity in the heart, and perfect practical holiness in the life. They were made ** in the image, and after the likeness" of God himself; which, according to the apostle, consisted especially in ** righteousness and true holiness," connected with, and arising out of, ** know- ledge." — Otherwise than thus, man could not be made by a pure, and holy, and benevolent Being. To sup- pose the contrary, is to make God, in the strictest sense, in a sense of which it is impious to admit the imagina- tion, the Author of sin. The subject, indeed, is en- veloped in difficulties, of which that man has not pro- perly thought who does not feel their magnitude. Into ECCLEs. til. S3— 29. B4S the discussion of these, it were unreasonable to enter*' I can only remark in general, that the matter of fact> of the actual existence of moral evil, is too notorious to admit of a moment's question : — that the Bible ac* count'of its origin did not cause it ; it existed indepen- dently of the revelation which informs us how it be- gan ; and the rejection of that revelation neither removes nor mitigates it, nor disencumbers it, in the slightest degree, of its embarrassing difficulties ; — that, on the contrary, revelation alone, whilst it assumes and proceeds upon the mournful fact, provides a remedy ; all other systems, finding human nature in ruins, leave it as they find it ; Revelation rears out of the ruins a magnificent and holy Temple to the God of purity and love.— That evil exists, then, is an indisputable fact : — that God could not be its Author, is a proposition, which, to all who entertain right notions of his character, will be equally indisputable : — '' God made man upright." Of all that followed, although happening ^^ according to his determinate counsel and foreknowledge," the guilt and responsibility must necessarily lie with man himself. This is the statement here ; and it is a statement to the truth of which we must assent, in despite of any puz- zling questions to which the subject has given rise : — ** God made man upright : but they"— that is, men— ** have sought out many inventions." The uprightness in which man was created was the great source of his original happiness. He was perfectly happy, because he was perfectly free from that which is the cause of all misery,— -of all external and internal suffering. Resembling his Creator in holiness, he re- sembled him in felicity — But, alas ! through the influ- ence of temptation, man became dissatisfied with the^ situation in which his all-bountiful Lord had placed him, Xx 346 XECTUEE xiy. and with the measure of knowledge and enjoyment (abundant as it was) with which he had graciously blessed him :— and the origin and the pattern of all the subsequent '* inventions,'^ by which men have endea- voured to find happiness, was, an attempt to obtain an augmentation of it from what Jehovah had interdicted. •' The serpent said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden ? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden : but of the fruit of the tree which (is) in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman. Ye shall not surely die : for God doth know, that, in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree (was) good for food, and that it (was) pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make (one) wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her, and he did eat."*' — Such was the first of human "inventions" for the attainment of a fancied happiness. We know too well the result. It " brought death into the world, and all our wo." The flattering promise of the tempter, who ^* is a liar, and the father of lies," proved a cursed and cursing delusion ; aggravating his own condemnation, and gratifying his malignity in damning others.— Many have been the inventions since. But they have all par- taken of the falsehood and deceitfulness, the folly and impiety, of the first. They have been " of the earth, earthly," — " from beneath, and not from above." They have left GOD out of the account ; and how could they prove otherwise than illusory ? — wretched proofs of the * Gen. iii. 1—6. ECCLES. VII. S3 29. 347 senselessness and depravity of the inventors ?— ^^ wells without water," from which all who travel to them ** return with their vessels empty ; ashamed and con- founded, and covering their heads." Solomon includes himself, and himself chiefly, in the sentence of condemnation. He had tried many of these inventions. He had followed the crooked ways of hu- man folly and corruption, in his search after the supreme good, during "the days of his vanity:" and having felt in himself, and having witnessed in others, the depth of innate depravity, he ^^ justifies the ways of God to men," and traces all the unhappiness of this apostate world to its true source. — He had " fallen by his ini- quity ;" and when he " returned unto the Lord his God," it would no doubt be in the spirit of that language which was afterwards dictated by the prophet to the backslid- ing and revolting Israelites :— " Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously ; so will we render the calves of our lips :" and the Lord *' healed his backsliding, and ioved him freely, and turned away his anger from him."-— We may suppose him adopting the expressions of his father's penitence, and, in these appropriate terms, breathing out the feelings of a broken and contrite heart: — ^^ Have mercy upon me, O God, . according to thy loving-kindness ; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions ; and my sin (is) ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done (this) evil in thy sight ; that thou mighest be justified when thou speakest, (and) be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity ; and in sin did my mother conceive nie. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts ', and in the hidden 348 LECTURE XIV. (part) thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Pur^e me with hissop, and I shall be clean ; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and glad- ness ; (that) the bones (which) thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God ; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence ; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation ; and up- hold me (with thy) free Spirit ; (then) will I teach trans- gressors thy ways ; and sinners shall be converted unto thee."* Solomon fulfilled the resolution expressed in the last of these verses, when, after his recovery, he committed his experience to writing, penning this book, under the direction ef the Spirit of God, for the warning and in- struction of mankind. From this passage, observe, In the first place. We ought not to be greatly sur- prised, or to be easily shaken in mind, although we dis- cover many things in the works and ways of God, that are above our comprehension. Is it at all marvellous that it should be so ? The works and ways of God are the works and ways of an infinite Being. Would it not be astonishing, then, were it otherwise ? — There is hardly any thing in nature that is fully understood by us. We know a good deal of effects ; but of causes wonderfully little. We frequently, indeed, impose upon ourselves, by using language that appears to indicate our acquaintance with causes ; whereas, when the meaning is fairly analized, it is found to be no more than another way of expressing the effects. We say, for example, that a stone falls to * Psal.ll. 1— :5. ECCLES. VII. S3 29. 349 the earth by gravitation ; and that, by the same cause^ the earth and other planets are attracted towards the sun, and kept in their respective orbits. But when we ask the question, What is gravitation ? we are at a loss for a reply. A series of questions might follow, which would only bring us back to where we set out. The principle or power itself to which we have given a name, remains, as much as before, unknown to us. From the effect we infer that the power exists ; but what the power is, we cannot tell 5 and it is only the effect that we can properly be said to know : respecting its secret nature we are profoundly in the dark. — So are we with regard to the nature of substance ; our knowledge of bodies being confined to their sensible qualities. — The beau- tiful process of vegetation ; — the principle of animal and vegetable life ; — the connection of matter and spirit in our own frame, and the manner in which, by ner- vous influence, mind imparts activity to matter, and matter conveys sensations and perceptions to mind-; and ten thousand other things, with which we are so familiar as hardly to think of them, are, when examined, inexplicable mysteries. — Are we, then, entitled to ex- pect that every thing should be simple and easy of ex- planation in the nature, and in the moral dispensations, of Deity ? The expectation would surely be unreasona- ble in the extreme. Well may we say, '^ That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out ?" '^ Canst thou by searching find out God ? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? (It is) high as heaven ; what canst thou do ? deeper than hell ; what canst thou know ? The measure thereof (is) longer than the earth, and broader than the sea."*— O be humble ! Forget not that God alone is omniscient. Solomon ♦ Job xi. 7—9. B5Q LECTURE XIV. found many things unfathomable. In all likelihood, the highest archangel in heaven finds many things unfa- thomable. Beware, then, of the pride of reason. Be- ware of that sceptical and unsound philosophy (** science, falsely so called,") which, in the plenitude of its incon- sistent arrogance, is dissatisfied with every thing which it cannot fully comprehend ; which pretends to reject the Bible for its mysteries, whilst it cannot lift an eye amidst the works of creation, without beholding itself sur- rounded by mysteries innumerable ; which, renounc- ing the guidance of Divine revelation, itself only ** leads to bewilder, and dazzles to blind." Let us rejoice, my brethren, that true wisdom, that which " makes wise unto salvation," is revealed in the Divine word, in letters of light. Respecting it, no man needs to say, ** I will be wise," and still find wisdom ^^ far from him." — ** This commandment which I com- mand thee this day," said Moses to the Israelites, " it (is) not hidden from thee, neither (is) it far off. It (is) not in heaven, that thou shouldst say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it ? Neither (is) it beyond the sea, that thou shouldst say. Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it ? But the word (is) very nigh unto thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it."^ And what Moses said of the law, Paul affirms of the gospel : ** The righteous- ness, which is of faith speaketh on this wise. Say not in thy heart. Who shall ascend into heaven ? that is, to bring Christ down (from above:) — or. Who shall de- scend into the deep ? that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead. But what saith it ? The word is very nigh thee, (even) in thy mouth and in thy heart; that ♦ Dcut. XXX. 11—14. ECCLES. VII. S3 — 29. 351 is, the word of faith which we preach ; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt be- lieve in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man be- lieveth unto justification ; and with the mouth confes- sion is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith. Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek ; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him : for whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."* Secondly. Let all be admonished, and especially the young, to beware of " the pleasures of sin" which are but ^^for a season." You would smile at me in scorn, should I set about attempting to convince you that there are no pleasures in sin. Alas ! the whole corruption of our nature teaches us, with an eloquence too powerfully persuasive, an op- posite lesson. If there were no pleasures in sin, there would be no temptations in sin, nor any need for the warnings and thrcatenings by which we are so strongly and so frequently deterred from it in the word of God. There are pleasures in sin. But, oh ! remember, there are many poisons that are sweet ; sweet to the palate, but quickly convulsing the frame with the agonies of death. Think of the nature and think of the end of all sinful pleasures. Think of their nature. Will you ven- ture to seek your happiness in opposition to your Ma- ker, — in that which he has condemned, and which his soul hateth ? If you do, then think of the certain end of such pleasures. They are at best but a palatable poi- son. There is death in them, — eternal death. At the last, they ** bite like a serpent, and sting like an adder." ♦ Roia^ X. 6 — 13. 35S L12CTURE XIV. — Your own inward corruption, Satan the prince of this world, wicked men, and wicked women too, may tempt you to sin. But O forget not, that every temp- tation to sin is a temptation to ruin ; to the perdition of soul and body in hell.— Let the experience of Solo- mon warn you, — let the experience of thousands besides warn you, not to tamper with temptation. Once give way,— and you cannot, nor can any man, tell how far you may go. The first step is a step of tremendous peril. Tremble to take it. It is a step to hell. " Flee from the wrath to come." ** Touch not the unclean thing." " Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men : avoid it ; pass not by it; turn from it and pass away." Ye whom God has graciously rescued from the broad way that leadeth to destruction, and turned into the narrow way of life and salvation, be thankful for the grace that has " made you to differ." And whilst with gratitude you say, " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy name give praise ;" say also, in the spirit of humble dependence, " Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not." " Lead me not into temptation." *' Lead me in thy truth, and teach me ; for thou (art) the God of my salvation : on thee do I wait all the day." Thirdly. The proneness of all mankind to seek hap- piness in other things, than in the favour and service and image of God, clearly shows them to be a fallen race. Many have been the disputes of men about the chief good. There was no such dispute in paradise : there is no such dispute in heaven. Man's original happiness was in God : — the happiness of angels is in God : — ther&v is no happiness in the universe, but in God :-— in the favour, in the likeness, in the service, and enjoyment of ECCLES. Yli. 22-^-29. 358 God. All the '* inventions" of men for the attainment of happiness, and " many" they have been, long expe- rience have proved to be folly. The gospel of Christ proposes the only means of effectually gaining it : be- cause its end is to bring men back to the source from which it originally sprung; — to restore them to the Divine favour, and to the Divine image. Whatever ac- complishes this, will make men happy; and nothing short of this possibly can. —O what reason for humility, in contemplating the vain endeavours of men to effect an absolute impossibility ;--to find happiness without God ! And what reason for thanksgiving and praise for an open way, in which we may return with acceptance to our offended Sovereign, and enjoy the light of his countenance. " I am the way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh to the Father but by me." Keep in this way, my Christian brethren. It is tlie way of peace, of holiness, of life. — And hear, ye careless ones, the warn- ing voice of the Son of God, '* the faithful witness." It is the voice of love and mercy: — ** Strive to enter in at the strait gate ; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able, — when once the Master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door ; and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at tl^e door, saying. Lord, Lord, open to us : then will I pro- fess unto you, I never knew you; depart from me, all (ye) workers of iniquity."* ** He that is wise shall be wise for himself; but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it." * Luke xiii. 24—27. Yj LECTURE XV. EccLEs. viii. 1 — 8. 1 *' Who (is) as the wise CmanPJ and nvho knoweth the interpreta- tion of a thing? a man's "Msdom maketh hu face to shine, and the 2 boldness of his face shall be changed. I (counsel thee J to keep, the 3 king's commandment, and (that J in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing ; for he 4 doefh whatsoever pleaseth him. Where the word of a king fis, there 5 is J power; and who may say unto him. What doest thou ? Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing : and a wise mail's 6 heart discernelh both time and judgment. Because to every purpose there is time and judgment; therefore the misery of man (is J great 7 upon him. For he knoweth not that which shall be :for who can tell 8 him when it shall be? ( There is J no man that hath power over the spirit, to retain the spirit ; neither (hath he) power in the day of death: and (there is) no discharge in (that J war; neither shall Wickedness deliver those that are given to it*' OoLOMON commences this chapter with a repetition of the praises of wisdom, which he had before affirmed to excel folly as far as light excelleth darkness. — " Who (is) as the wise (man)?" A sound understanding, a cultivated mind, and discriminating prudence, all under the governing influence of *' the fear of the Lord ;"— these constitute true wisdom. And wheiT viewed in this light, surely none will hesitate to admit, that ** wis- dom is the principal thing." Riches, nobility, power, confer no eminence comparable to that which arises from superior intelligence, in union with superior piety. " Who (is) as the wise (man) ?"— who can be com- pared to him, in real intrinsic excellence, or in the benefits which accrue to him from his wisdom ? ECCLES. VIII. 1 — 8. S55 " And who knoweth the interpretation of a thing?" — that is, who, as the wise man,— or who but the wise man, knoweth it ? " The interpretation of a thing," I should understand as comprehending in general the so- lution of difficulties^ whether in nature, in providence, or in the affairs of men. This is the province of the wise man. He has observed the appearances, and in- vestigated the secrets, of nature :— he has carefully marked the procedure of providence, ascertaining its principles and noting its mysteries : — he has studied human nature in all its varieties of character, human life in all its diversities of condition, and society in all its multiplicity of interests and connections. He under- stands these things himself, and he is consulted respect- ing them by others. "A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine." The beauty of the " human face divine" lies in its expres- sion. The light of wisdom within, beams in the coun- tenance, imparting to it the attractive aspect of intelli- gence and sensibility. It is a mild and lovely light. It does not dazzle and overpower by the studied bril- liance of self-display, but with soft and gentle radiance inspires delight, and wins affection; for of genuine wis- dom, self-diffident humility is the invariable associate. **If any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." Such wis- dom gives to the countenance the expression both of dignity and of grace. It commands reverence, and it insures love. It conducts at once to honour and to friendship, to respectful deference, and familiar in- timacy. The humility and gentleness which accompany and characterize true wisdom, are by many understood to be meant in the last claus^e of the verse : " and the bold- 356 LECTURE XT. ness of his face shall be changed." It shall be *' changed," say they, to meekness and self- diffidence, the opposite of that forward and brazen impudence which so frequently distinguishes ignorance and folly. Others interpret *^ boldness" in a good sense, as sig- nifying firmness and decision, fortitude and resolution of character, which render a man undaunted and effec- tive in supporting the cause of truth and rectitude, and resisting the encroachments of vice and folly ; in facing opposition, and disregarding obloquy. Amongst such a people, for example, as those whom Ezekiel had to* encounter, wisdom would set the face as a flint, and enable its possessor to confront them with a self-pos- session and commanding confidence, fitted to intimi- date and repress their hardened effrontery. " The house of Israel will not hearken unto thee : for they will not hearken unto me : for all the house of Israel (are) im- pudent and hard-hearted. Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant, harder than flint, have I made thy forehead : fear them not, neither be dis- mayed at their looks, though they (be) a rebellious house."* It will at once occur to you, that if this sense of the word '' boldness''' be adopted, some corresponding alteration becomes necessary on the word " changed." By the interpreters in question, the clause is accordingly rendered, " and the boldness of his countenance shall be doubled^^'' But this is a far-fetched and unusual sense of the original word ; if indeed it will bear it at all. The direct and proper meaning of the Hebrew word is to hate ; and the Septuagint translation is probably ^t just one, — " but he who is impudent of face shall ♦ Ezek. ui.7--9. ECCLES. Tin. 1 — 8. 357 be hated. "^ Instead of procuring, as wisdom does, respect and affection, the forward impudence and shame- lessness of the fool will expose him to dislike and aver- sion. Men look with pleasure on the countenance that is lighted up with mild intelligence, but turn away with disgust from the unblushing stare of petulance and self- sufficiency. To the advice addressed to us in the following verses, it will be our interest, as it is our duty, care- fully to attend. It is a part of that ** meekness of wis- dom," which " makes the face to shine," and is op- posed to the effrontery that is the object of such uni- versal dislike, and often the occasion to a man of so much injury : — " I (counsel thee) to keep the king's commandment, and (that) in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his sight : stand not in an evil thing ; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him." The former of these two verses is by some rendered — ^* Keep the commandment of the king ; but accord- ing to the word of the oath of God :" — which makes the last clause restrictive of the first ; limiting and qualifying the injunction to loyal obedience :— as if Solomon had said, " Obey the king ; but only in as far as this obedience can be yielded in consistency with your engagements to God, the King of kings, the Su- preme Ruler, the Lord of the conscience, whose au- thority is first and highest." — That such a limitation of the precept is necessary to be understood, admits of no question. To the mightiest of earthly monarchs, when his commands are not in harmony with those of heaven, but call for a violation of ^* conscience towards God," we must say, with all respectful mildness, yet * " He who is strong, i.e. impudent with his face shall be hated." — Park, hurst — " wisdom enliveneth a man's countenance, but austerity in the looks is hateful."— //of/^son. 358 LECTURE XV. with immoveable determination, "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto j^ou more than unto God, judge ye." — ** We must obey God rather than men."* In this view of the words, the expression *' the oath of God" might possibly mean the oath so frequently taken by Jehovah himself to maintain his word invio- late, confirming " by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie" both his promises to obedience and his threatenings against transgression. ^^ As I live, saith the Lord God," gives the promise all its power of encouragement, and the threatening all its energy of dissuasion. The more simple and probable meaning, however, is, the oath of fidelity and allegiance to the king which they had taken in the name of God, — in his presence, and under appeal to Him and his awful sanction. You have sworn obedience and fealty : see that ye do not forswear yourselves, by disobedience and rebellion. *'Be not hasty to go out of his sight;" — that is, either to leave his presence, or to throw up your office and quit his service with inconsiderate rashness, under the hurrying influence of caprice or passion ; whether the king be displeased with you, or you with him. Be not imprudently hasty and precipitate. " If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place ; for yield- ing pacifieth great offences." Quickness and irritability of temper are culpable towards any man ; they are par- ticularly reprehensible towards one to whom we owe the highest official respect " Stand not," (that is, persist not,) " in an evil thing:" — If you are conscious of having done wrong, be prompt to confess it, and to submit thyself to the royal clemency. * Acts iv. 1^» V. 29. ECCLES. yiii. 1 — 8. 359 Do not persist in high-spirited self- vindication, whilst you are secretly sensible of your error. There are some tempers so peculiar, so proudly peculiar, that they will much rather make confession to an equal, and still more readily to an inferior, than to one who is above them. But readiness to own an error or a fault is our duty to all. It is a part of true wisdom. It amounts to saying, —what a man must be very self-sufficient indeed who is unwilling to say, — *^ I am sensible that I may err ; and in seeing my error to-day, I am wiser and belter minded than I was yesterday." A special reason is assigned for the admonition, as it regards our conduct to rulers : — *' for he doeth what- soever pleaseth him." Whilst your first and most sacred regard should be to the " oath of God," yet your own interest is also involved. You are in the king's power. He may degrade you from your station, deprive you of your emoluments, and inflict upon you such punish- ment as shall not be alleviated by the consciousness of its being undeserved. The headstrong passion that persists in evil, because it cannot brook submission, is itself inexcusable ; and it may cost you dear : for, Verse 4. " Where the word of a king (is, there is) power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou ?" — The royal authority is accompanied with power ; so that what it wills and ordains it has ability to carry into execution. Perverse resistance and obstinate self-vin- dication are, therefore, vain and hazardous. It is your interest, as well as your duty, to confess and to sub- mit. ** For who may say unto him. What doest thou ?" There are cases,— there were then, and there are still, — in which to say so would not only be proper, but an incumbent duty. The man who has been called in pro- vidence to the high and important station of a counsel- 360 L.ECTURE XV. lor to royalty, is under the most sacred obligations, both to his master and to his country, to fulfil his trust with incorruptible integrity ; obligations which he ought to feel, even apart from " the oath of God ;" though he should not forget that it also lies upon him. If the king discovers an inclination to adopt and to follow un- just, oppressive, or otherwise pernicious measures, such a man, as he must answer to God, should feel himself bound, with all becoming respect indeed, yet with un- shaken firmness, and at whatever risk, to " say to him, What doest thou?" and to endeavour, by all possible means of persuasion, to " stay his hand." A counsellor that has principle to do this, is the greatest blessing, (alas ! that the blessing should in all ages have been so rare !) that a monarch can possess. If his master feels not the value of his faithful counsel, and, in the pride and folly of his heart, will take his own way, such a counsellori will be venerated in his abdication or his downfall ; and having, like Micaiah, the son of Imlah — (" faithful only he, among the faithless 1")— .exonerated his conscience by wholesome, though unpalatable, ad- vice, he will enjoy also the blessing of inward peace, even if the consequences of his fidelity should to himself be irons and a dungeon, with " bread of affliction, and water of affliction." But it is not at all of such firmness of integrity that Solomon here speaks. It is of the man who " persists in an evil thing." It is from this that he dissuades, as implying at once sin and folly ; the sin of adding the vindication of evil to the doing of it, and the folly of provoking, by such fool-hardiness, a power so far su- perior to his own. The best way, accordingly, of shunning the king's displeasure, and the vengeance of the law, is prescribed ECCLES. VIII. 1 8. 361 in the fifth verse :— " Whoso keepeth the command- ment shall feel no evil thing ; and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment." '* The commandment" here, may mean either " the king's commandment," according to the phrase in the second verse, — or rather, perhaps, the commandment of God ; by which may be understood the will or law of God in general. By the precepts of that law, indeed, which He had given to Israel, it was the duty both of the king and people respectively to regulate their con- duct : that law the people were to obey ; that law the king was to enforce. ** The king's commandment,'* therefore, might be considered as the law of the land, given by the Divine Legislator himself: and the senti- ment expressed is, that the best and surest way to the enjoyment of a *' quiet and peaceable life," under the secure protection of the governing powers, was ** to live in all godliness and honesty." He who thus " kept the commandment" should *^feel no evil thing." *^ Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good ?"■— The sentiment, directions, and language of Solomon in this passage, bear so close a resemblance to those of Paul, when he writes on the same subject to the Christians at Rome, that we may quote the latter as a New Testament commentary on the former ; — ** Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers ; for there is no power but of God : the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God ; and they that resist shall receive to themselves condemnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou, then, not be afraid of the power ? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same : for he is the minister of God to thee for good. Zz 36^ LECTrRE XV. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid ; for he beareth not the sword in vain ; for he is the minister of God, a revenger, to (execute) wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore, ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake. For, for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render, therefore, to all their dues ; tribute to whom tribute (is due;) custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear ; honour to whom honour."* — It is evident, that these apostolic precepts are just those of Solomon in a more expanded form. The same " counsel" is given ; it is enforced by the same considerations, of *^ wrath" and of " conscience ;" and the same means are prescribed for shunning the severity of the ruling power ; — called by Solomon, " keeping the command- ment," by Paul, " doing that which is good." There are many good people who are very impru- dent people. Their behaviour is in the main excellent ; but, on many occasions, it is exceedingly inappropri- ate. There is an entire want about them of that dis- cretion, so needful in the intercourse of life, which enables its possessor to suit his conduct to time and cir- cumstances. Herein consists another eminent advan- tage of the man of wisdom :— " A wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment." The word translated "judgment" is one of very extensive and general signification ; being applicable to all ordering, regulation, disposition, arrangement, of events, actions, or things. It might here, perhaps, be correctly enough rendered propriety; according to which every thing has its right place and due adjust- ment with others, in the conduct of life. There are ♦ Rom. xiii. 1 — 7. ECCLES. yiii. 1 — 8. 863 three inquiries, which the man of true wisdom is ever proposing to himself r—^/^a^ should I do? fFhen should 1 do it ? How should it be done ? He pays regard not only to the matter or quality of his actions, but to the time and the manner of them. He attends to circum- stances, in every department of his conduct ; whether in executing his own good purposes, or in repressing and frustrating the evil designs of others ; in imparting counsel ; in administering reproof; in seeking, either for himself or for others, the redress of grievances 5 in promoting needful improvement and reform, whether in private or in public affairs ; and in all the every-day transactions and intercourse of life ; — never forgetting, what daily experience more and more confirms, that success very often depends as much on the choice of a right season, and the adoption of a proper way of per- forming an action, as upon the action itself. — There are many persons, on the contrary, who satisfy themselves with the first only of the inquiries I have mentioned. They mind the TFhat^ but utterly disregard the IThen and the How ; and, their actions being in themselves irreprehensible, they marvel that any fault should be found with them. What have they done that's wrong ? And when they are told they have not been wrong in what they have done, but have chosen a wrong time and a wrong manner of doing it ; they feel very lightly under the charge, and congratulate themselves on the admitted rectitude of the deed itself. That is enough for them. This is very unwise : and indiscretion of this kind has ever been an abundant source of unhappiness to men : — Verse 6. "Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man (is) great upon him." 364? LECTURE XV. The degree of mischief, and disappointment, and wretchedness, arising amongst mankind from the want of wise consideration of seasons and circumstances, is beyond calculation. Were men in general more care- fully attentive to these, a large proportion of the miseries of which they complain might readily be avoided. But some by their weakness, others by their heedlessness, — some by their headstrong obstinacy, others by their excess of pliancy, some by impatient precipitation, others by procrastinating dilatoriiiess, and thousands in an endless variety of other ways, are led to overlook ** time and judgment," and to bring distress and ruin upon themselves, or others, or both. Although, however, " the misery of man is," by these means, '^greater upon him," — much greater, than it would otherwise be ; yet many, at the same time, are the circumstances, which human foresight cannot an- ticipate, which elude the penetration of the most saga- cious, and over which the most vigilant can exercise no control. The memory of the past is not associated in man, unless by immediate prophetic inspiration, with the prescience of the future. The events of coming time being beyond the sphere of our acutest vision, we must, in very many cases, if we act at all, act upon a calculation of probabilities. So that the wisest of men, and far more those who are deficient in ordinary fore- sight, are liable to risks, from unanticipated contingen- cies, in almost all that they do. From this source, also, there arise much disquieting solicitude, frustration of hope, and consequent unhappiness.— This is the senti- ment expressed in the seventh verse : — " For he knoweth not that which shall be : for who can tell him when it shall be ?"~He knows not himself what events are to come in future time ; and all his fel- ECCLES. VIII. 1 — 8. 365 lows being alike ignorant, he can obtain from no one of them any information, either of the events them- selves, or of the seasons of their occurrence : an hum- bling truth, of which we are often reminded in Scrip- ture, to impress us with a sense of our entire depen- dence. " Boast not thyself of to-morrow ; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."* ** Go to, now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow, we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain. Whereas ye know not what (shall be) on the morrow : for what (is) your life ? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then va- nisheth away ? For that ye (ought) to say. If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that.^f There is one event, — an event appointed to all, re- specting the time and circumstances of w^hich this un- certainty is proverbially great ; an event on which, in the prosecution of our various schemes, we are too little disposed to calculate ; yet an event, which has, times innumerable, interrupted and thrown into confusion and ruin, the plans and pi^rsuits of men ; entailing mis- chief on their associates in speculation, and on their families or expectant heirs. — You have anticipated the event to which I allude. Of death it may always with emphasis be said, ** vi^ho can tell him when it shall be ?" It is by God, the giver of life, that '^ our days are de- termined ; the number of our months is with him : he has appointed us our bounds, that we cannot pass." — No; " we cannot pass .-"—for whensoever the time fixed in his sovereign purpose for our removal arrives, then, in the language of verse 8th,— *^ (There is) no man that hath power over the spirit, to retain the spirit, neither (hath he) power in the day of death : and (there is) no ♦ Prov. xxvii. 1. \ James iv. 13—15. 366 LECTURE XV. discharge in (that) war ; neither shall wickedness de- liver those that are given to it." *^ (There is) no man that hath power over the spirit, to retain the spirit," — that is, to keep the soul in its earthly tabernacle one instant longer than God's ap- pointed time. This is true of every man, and true both in regard to himself and to others. The power that sways millions with a nod, fails here. The wealth that procures for its owner all that his heart can wish, fails here. The might of the warrior which has slain its thousands, and which no human arm could withstand, fails here. The most earnest desire of life ; and the tears, and the wailings, and the fond caresses of dis- consolate affection ;— all fail here. No man, from the prince to the beggar, has power over his own spirit, or over the spirit of the dearest friend on earth, to retain it — no, not for one moment ; any more than he can ar- rest time in its course, or stay the speed of the impetu- ous tempest. This is a power that resides in God alone. He gave life , he sustains it ; he sets the time of its continuance. He could add to Hezekiah's life four- teen years, as he could prolong the day, by bringing back the shadow on the dial of Ahaz. Nay, he could, by his incommunicable power, restore the parted soul to its earthly residence, after it had fled away to the world of spirits. But such power is not in man, nor in any creature : and on the Divine exercise of it, which is sovereign and uncontrollable, we are incessantly de- pendent. " If HE set his heart upon man, (if) he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath ; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust."*^ "Neither (hath he) power in the day of death." — In that day, all power becomes alike impotent. All ♦ Job xxxiv. 14, 15. ECCLES. Tin. 1 — 8. 367 bodily vigour gives way ; and all mental resources and devices are equally unavailing against the last enemy. Whatever may be the wishes of a man's heart, he has no ability to effect them. Opposition is vain. For the power of death is, in truth, the power of God. When we speak of Death as a person, and call him ** the King of Terrors," I need not say we use a mere figure of poetry or rhetoric. — When a physician succeeds in ar- resting the progress of a distemper, and bringing up from the gates of death the life that was hanging in sus- pense, let us beware of fancying that he counteracts any Divine intention ; he fulfils one. His success only indicates what the purpose of providence had been ; that the sickness should not be unto death. The design to add fourteen years to Hezekiah's life preceded the intimation of it, and the application of the simple means prescribed for its accomplishment. And although we have no intimation of the intentions of heaven, yet are we equally sure that the efficacy of means of recovery, in answer to prayer for the Divine blessing, only shows us what these intentions, though previously kept se- cret, had been ; does not frustrate, but accomplish them. " And (there is) no discharge in (that) war."— Ever}- individual must grapple with the last enemy. There is no possibility, whatever may be our dread of the con- flict, of procuring a discharge, and shunning its hor- rors. No flight and no concealment can save us; nor are there any weapons of effectual resistance. " He counts darts as stubble, and laughs at the shaking of the spear." — And it is not here, as on the plains of Thessaly, or the mountains of Gilboa, or the fields of Waterloo, or (to the personal feelings of the speaker, more sadly interesting than them all) the heights of 36B LECTURE XV. Salamanca;* where, though hundreds and thousands fell, hundreds and thousands escaped and survived. This is a field in which every man must advance ; and every man must advance alone, to single combat; and every man in succession must fall. The enemy to be encountered is himself invulnerable ; and whether the struggle be short or long, and however successful for a time our efforts may be to parry or to cover ourselves from his deadly thurst, he will, sooner or later, find his way, with certain aim and irresistible force, to every heart— If we reckon the population of our world at a thousand millions, and the average of a generation at thirty years, it will follow, that ninety thousand die every day, upwards of sixty every minute, one every second of time. How solemn the thought ! How ra- pidly is the world of spirits peopling ! And, alas ! that there should be so much reason to fear, that, in past generations at least, whatever may be the case in those to come, hell has been peopled so much faster than heaven ! Whilst men of all stations are the indiscriminate vic- tims of death, so are men of all characters. To the chil- dren of God, '* to live is Christ, and to die is gain." They may meet the last enen..y without dismay ; as a friend, rather than an enemy, — a friend, that comes to introduce them to God. To the wicked he is emphati- cally the King of Terrors. Fondly would they stay his approach; fondly would they shun the combat; dread- ing (as well they may) the fearful consequences. But in vain : — " Neither shall wickedness deliver them that are given to it.^'— The profligate, the ungodly, the worldly, ♦ In the battle of Salamanca, the author's brother fell. The reader will ex- cuse this little anachronism ; for such it will seem from the statement in the Preface, of the time wheu these Lectures were first delivered. ECCLES. VIII. i — 8, 869 might, in the midst of their vicious, or of their busy and unthinking career, laugh at the fears of death, and set the God of heaven at scornful defiance. But *' God is not mocked." Death will have his prey. All the power and all the arts of the wicked cannot withhold it. They must die, and *' be driven away in their wicked- ness." They may say, in the pride and folly of their minds, *' We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement : when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not reach unto us :" — but they are only "swelling words of vanity ;" God says to them, " Your covenant with death shall be dis- annulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand: when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, ye shall be trodden down by it."^ This passage suggests the following practical re- flections. In the first place. The additional eulogy of wisdom, should operate as an additional excitement to seek it from heaven, and to cultivate it by all the means of its increase ; as at once the richest excellence, the loveliest ornament, the strongest recommendation, and the most efficient instrument of good, in any character. Let what Solomon says here impress his exhortations elsewhere: — ** Get wisdom, get understanding; forget (it) not : neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee ; love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom (is) the principal thing ; (therefore) get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee ; she shall bring thee to honour when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thy head an ornament of gold ; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. Take fast hold ♦ Isa. xxviii. 14 — 18. 3 A S70 LECTURE XV. of instruction; let (her) not go: keep her; for she (is) thy life.''* Secondly. Let us manifest the influence of religious principle, in becoming subjection to the government of our country ; from considerations both of duty and of discretion. We should feel it encumbent upon us, " to ** shun all exasperating language ; to repress all railing " and indecent accusations against those who have the *' management of public affairs ; to engage in no viru- " lent opposition, or hasty measures; to continue in " our place and station ; not to enter upon, much less to *' persist in, any turbulent attempts; nor needlessly to ''expose ourselves to the jealousy and resentment of " Government. "t — Not that we must approve, in our judgment, of every public measure; or that we are never to join in temperate and constitutional means of procuring the correction of abuses, and the rescinding of injurious decisions, the alteration of what is wrong, or the improvement of what is right. But in all, we should be prudent and temperate ; influenced by sober principle and genuine patriotic regard to our country, not by presumptuous self-conceit, or revolutionary phrenzy.— And surely I may be permitted to say, that never was there a period in the history of Europe, when the duty was more imperious, of being cautious, and diffident, and tender, in our censures of public men, and public measures, than it is in the present day. Events have been so strange, — they have, in innumera- ble instances, so completely contradicted all the ordi- nary calculations of probability ; that, without a super- human gift of foresight, no man could have at all anti- cipated, or provided against them. Never was there a season to which the language of the seventh verse was * Pi'ov. iv. 5—9, 1 3. t Scott's Commentary. ECCLES. VIIT. 1 — ^8. 371 more applicable,—-" he knoweth not that which shall be; and who can tell him when it shall be?" — never a pe- riod at which a wise man could find it more difficult, in devising public measures, to ^Miscern time and judgment;" or when it was more unsafe and unfair, to judge of such measures by their success or their failure. The constant wakeful vigilance of a free people over the plans and proceedings of their rulers, is of inesti- mable benefit. But at such a time as this, few things can be more offensive to every Christian feeling, than to hear men persist in talking, with indiscriminate se- verity of censure, of the folly and impolicy of all the measures of the administration. It displays so intolera- ble a share of arrogant self-confidence, coupled with a deficiency so lamentable of charity and candour.* Thirdly, Let us all recollect, and keep it in constant remembrance, that there is one King, in whose hands, and in whose hands alone, unlimited power is safe ; whose word is law; and in obeying whose authority we can never err. His commands are all right ; and they are all beyond dispute. To Jm authority let us yield a willing and unreserved subjection : for ** his law is perfect ; his statutes are right ; his commandment is pure; his judgments are true and righteous altogether." — If such be the imprudence, such the hazard, of ob- stinate disobedience to an earthly monarch; how immi- nent, think you, must be the peril, how extreme the folly, of the man, who scorns the rebukes of his Maker, and hardens himself against God ? Who hath ever done so, and hath prospered ? The words of admonition, " Stand not in an evil thing ; for he doeth whatsoever ♦ These observations were originally delivered in February, 1811. They are retained without alteration, because, in the spirit of them, they are applicable to all times, and especially to all seasons of public difficulty and embarrass- ment, arising from the perplexing darkness of providential arrangements. 37s LECTURE XV. pleaseth him : where the word of a king (is, there is) power; and who may say unto him, Whatdoest thou ?" — may here be applied with unlimited emphasis. Yes : where the word of this king is, there is power; al- mighty, irresistible power ; power, which no created arm can defy with impunity. — Whilst you carefully en- deavour to order your temporal affairs with that discre- tion which may insure success and prosperity ; O with what miserable imprudence do you conduct yourselves, ■whilst you live in forgetfulness of God, and in thought- less disregard of death, and judgment, and eternity ! No imprudence can be equal to this. *' A wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment." Is it then consistent with the character of a wise man ;— does it accord with the dictates of that prudence, which you wish to apply to the regulation of all your concerns; that, although you know "the time to be short" and proverbially uncertain, and eternal consequences to be depending on every moment that passes over you, you should live unprepared for eternity ? Is it prudent in you, conscious as you must be of guilt, to run the risk of encountering the displeasure of an offended God, and to pay no attention to the nature and the vouchers of what comes to you in the form and with the claims of a proposal from him ? Be persuaded to think, and to think NOW. Be wise to-day : to-morrow is not yours. Fourthly, Let these admonitions be enforced, by the absolute and infallible certainty of your coming to death. Had you ** power over the spirit to retain the spirit," or could you procure a " discharge" from the conflict with the last enemy ; — could you prolong your life at pleasure, and secure to yourselves immortality on earth; then might you, with some pretensions to reason, dis- regard our serious warnings, and take your own way. ECCLES. VIII. 1 8. 373 But well you know, it is far otherwise. The hour of your departure is to you, as it is to all, a secret : '* Who can tell you when it shall be ?" But it is fixed ; — fixed in the purpose of Him " without whom a sparrow falleth not to the ground." It is fixed; — and, for aught you can tell, it may be very near. You may not be destined to see the shining of to-morrow's sun; and, if you should, to-morrow will still be as uncertain as to-day. Many of those who are dying to-day had as little thought of it yesterday, as those who are living to-day have of dying to-morrow. The '^ King of terrors" you must meet, — you must encounter : and it is a conflict in which ** the help of man is vain ;" in which fellow- creatures can do you no service. And, will you, then, engage this enemy alone ? Will you enter the lists with him single-handed ? Will you meet him without the armour of God ? — without the shield of faith, and the helmet of hope ? without the breastplate of righteous- ness, and the sword of the Spirit? Will you venture into the dark valley, without the Lord with you, — with- out his rod and his staff to comfort you ? Will you be your own light, — your own strength,— your own salva- tion ? O blind self-sufficiency ! O thoughtless and in- fatuated presumption ! You give this a wrong name when you call it courage. It is insensibility ; — the in- sensibility of ignorance. — Look unto Jesus. He has ** abolished death, and brought life and incorruption to light, by the gospel." ** Through death, he has de- stroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the de- vil ; and delivered them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Believing in him, building your hopes on him, living to him, you will be safe 5 and no otherwise. You may then anticipate death with a measure of his feelings who said, ** To me to 374f LECTURE XV. ECCLES. VIII. 1 8. live is Christ ; and to die is gain. I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with. Christ, which is far better." And at the solemn hour when you must bid a final adieu to the world, when to you ** time shall be no longer," you may say, in hum- ble, yet triumphant, confidence, " O death ! where (is) thy sting? O grave ! where (is) thy victory ? The sting of death (is) sin ; and the strength of sin (is) the law : but thanks (be) unto God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." LECTURE XVI. EccLES. viii. 9 — 17. 9 ** jlU thin have I seen, and afifilied my heart u7ito every work that is done under the sun : (there is) a time ivhcrein one man ruleth over 10 another to his own hurt. And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the filace of the holy, and they were forgotten 11 in the city where they had so done. This (is J also vanity. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed s/ieedily, therefore the 12 heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his (days J be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with the?n that fear God, who 13 fear before him : But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he firolong (his J days, (which are J as a shadow ; because he 14 fcareth not before God. There is a vanity which is done ufion the earth ; that there be just fmen,) unto whom it hafifienetfi according to the work of the wicked : again, there be wicked fmen,J to whom it hafificneth according to the work of the righteous. I said, that this 15 also (is J vanity. Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry ; for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his 16 life, which God giveth him under the sun. When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the I earth : [/cr also (there is that J neither day nor night secth sleep 17 with his eyes :] Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man can- not find out the work that is done under the sun : because though a man labour to seek (it J out, yet he shall not find (it ;j yea. further, though a wise ("man J think to know (it, J yet shall he not be able to find (itjr Apart from Divine testimony, observation and ex- perience are the surest grounds of accurate knowledge. In the book of Ecclesiastes, we have not the thoughts and opinions of a man, who, with little or no attention to facts, sits down in his closet, to commit to writing, the speculations, conjectures, and theories of an inven- tive and ingenious mind. We have the results of a per- 376 LECTURE XVI. sonal survey : of a close and acute inspection of men and things ; confirmed, in many instances, by actual trial, and recorded under the superintendence of the Spirit of truth. The book, therefore, possesses a pecu- liar interest, as combining, in the lessons which it teaches, the evidence of human experiment with the sanction of Divine authority. ** All this have I seen^''^ says Solomon, in the first of these verses, " and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun :— that is, to the attentive observation, and diligent scrutiny, both of the proce- dure of providence towards this world, and of the con- duct of mankind in the various conditions of life. — And in the course of his survey, there was one thing which he had not unfrequendy remarked,— that superiority to others, the possession and exercise of authority, was coveted by many, without due consideration of its ten- dencies ; that unless the power be well and wisely used, it had better, even for the sake of its possessor, be wanted: *' (There is) a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt." Had not Solomon himself experienced the truth of this ? His royal honour was at once his temptation to sin, and his opportunity ; and in sinning himself, he led his subjects astray along with him. This turned out " to his own hurt," as well as to the hurt of his people ; for it was in consequence of this perversion of his au- thority by which he " made Israel to sin," that the Lord stirred up against him various adversaries, to ha- rass him, and to disturb the peace of his reign, and forewarned him of the rending away of ten of the tribes of Israel from the dominions of his son. — Besides, as Solomon when forsaking Jehovah, following the world, and '' going after strange gods," could not be satisfied nccLES. viii. 9 — 17. 377 with himself; and as a conscience that is ill at ease, a self-upbraiding spirit, usually produces a very unhappy- effect upon the temper, rendering a man, in his con- duct towards others, hasty, passionate, sullen, and ca- pricious; it is not improbable that some ground had been given by him, during the time especially of his defection from the service of God, for the complaints afterwards made by his subjects to his son and succes- sor respecting the grievousness of his yoke, when they presented their unsuccessful petition for its mitigation, and for a gentler system of rule. The influence of a disquieted conscience in producing angry and capricious rigour, is exemplified in the case of Asa : who, when reproved by Hanani the seer, for his folly and distrust of Jehovah, and threatened, as his punishment, with wars for the remainder of his reign, ** was wroth with the seer, and put him in the prison house: and Asa," it is added in the history, ** oppressed (some) of the people the same time." He wreaked his unreasonable anger against this prophet, and his secret rankling dissatisfaction with himself, in acts of passion- ate severity towards his subjects. Some of Solomon's successors in the throne of Ju- dah, and many, alas ! of the kings of Israel, might be produced as exemplifications of the truth here stated; and not a few might be added from the general history of both ancient and modern nations.— Often have un- principled and oppressive tyrants brought upon them- selves the vengeance of their subjects, and come to an untimely end. They have " ruled over others to their own hurt;" their power having prospered for a time, but ultimately involved them in insurrection and ruin* And even if they should escape the indignant fury of tlie oppressed, still the abuse of power is to their hurt ; 3B 378 LECTURE XVr. for " he that is higher than the highest regardeth," and they " treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgments of God.'' It is, primarily at least, to such characters, that the tenth verse refers : — " And so 1 saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy ; and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This (is) also vanity." By " the place of the holy" some understand the seat of judgment, which in chap. iii. 16. had been denomi- nated " the place of righteousness." It is the place which ought to be occupied by the holy, and not by the wicked, and over which the Most Holy may be considered as presiding, with peculiar jealousy of its purity, and displeasure at its corruption. And by the wicked being buried who had occupied this honourable seat, they conceive to be meant, his being buried with all the splendour of funeral pomp, with all the ceremo- nial of lamentation and wo : — whilst their being " for- gotten in the city" is thought to refer to the change produced in the public mind by death ;--to that kind of good-natured disposition which leads men to say no ill of the dead, — to deal gently with their faults,— to palliate and even to banish from their remembrance the very enormities for which they cursed them during their lives ; and to honour in death those who disgraced theni- selves in life. But this view is neither natural in itself, nor suitable to the connection. — Solomon had said, in the eighth verse, that " wickedness could not deliver those that were given to it," from the stroke of death : — nay, at times, as he adds in the ninth verse, a man's wicked- ness, especially in the abuse of power, might prove the ECCLES. VIII. 9 — 17. 379 means of hurt and ruin to himself. It is the same sen- timent that he continues to illustrate in verse 10.—** I saw the wicked, who had come and gone from the place of the holy,'' — who had attended the sanctuary, joined in the worship of God, and cloaked their unrighteous- ness and oppression under the garb of external piety, — who had **come and gone," continuing their hypocri- tical career in safety, no marks of Divine vengeance visiting them for their awful profanation and odious dis- sembling; — I saw the wicked, who had lately flourished in their wickedness, who, in the possession of great power, had ** prospered in bringing evil devices to pass," — 1 saw them buried^ — the victims of mortality equally with others ; unable any more than the meanest and the weakest of their oppressed subjects " to retain the spirit," and having no power more than they in the day of death : — I saw them 5wr/>(/,-— carried, in affect- ing humiliation and impotence, to " the house ap- pointed for all living." — And this was not only the " land of forgetfulness," as to any knowledge on 4heir part of what was passing amongst men ; but the " land of forgetfulness," as to the remembrance of them by their survivors on earth : — " They were forgotten in the city where they had so done." They had sought after, and expected, perpetual fame : but men had no plea- sure in remembering them ; when out of sight, they were out of mind ; their name and memory rotted with their carcases in the dust. — The sentiment is similar to that expressed by the Psalmist : — ** I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree : yet he passed away, and lo! he (was) not; yea I sought him, but he could not be found."* I have considered the expression, ** who had come * Psal. xxxvii. 35, 36. 380 LECTURE XVI. and gone from the place of the holy," as implying the continuance of the course described, without interrup- tion by any interposition of heaven, or indication of Divine displeasure. The forbearance of God, and the abuse of it by men for their encouragement in sin, are accordingly introduced with more particular emphasis, in the eleventh verse : " Because sentence against an evil work is not exe- cuted speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." — A matter of fact is stated in these words, with its sad and fatal influence on the minds and characters of ungodly and inconsiderate men. *' Sen- tence against an evil work is not executed speedily." Particular sins are not, in the Divine administration, visited with instant punishment. Nay, even the man who lives in sin, in the daily and hourly defiance of every restraint, and the fearless violation of every pre- cept of heaven, is allowed to pursue his course without the immediate arrest of judicial vengeance. The lips of the blasphemer are not sealed in death the moment he has uttered his blasphemy : he lives to repeat it a thousand and a thousand times. Week after week is the sabbath-breaker spared, to profane in succession the days of God. The arm of justice is not instantly put forth upon the murderer, while the life-blood is warm on his guilty hands, to hurry him away to the judgment- seat of God. The secrets of impurity are not immedi- ately brought cJt to light, detected, exposed, and pu- nished, by Him, from whose eye '* no darkness or sha- dow of death can hide the workers of iniquity." The haughty tyrant, the persecuting oppressor, is not always, in the flush of his impious arrogance, smitten by the an- gel of the Lord, because he gives not God the glory.*^ * See Acts xii. 20—23. ECCLES. VIII. 9 17. 381 The ** unprofitable servant,"— the useless cumberer of the ground, is not cut down in his first barren season, but spared through many a year of fruitlessness and vain expectation. Sinners of every name, and of every degree, continue to live, and continue to prosper. Such being the order of the divine administration, such the forbearance and long-suffering of God, the cor- rupt and infatuated children of men, bent on the indul- gence of their sinful lusts and passions, "encourage themselves in an evil way ,'' they strengthen themselves in wickedness ; hand joins in hand, in the combinations of iniquity; ** their heart is fully set in them to do evil." Future and unseen things make a much less lively impression on the mind than things that are present and seen. This world meets the senses in ten thousand forms of temptation, whilst the world to come is far off' and invisible. The pleasures of sin are immediate, af- fording present gratification : its future consequences are distant and unfelt.— That too which men, from whatever principle, wish to be true, they are naturally prone to believe ; the judgment being the dupe of the heart, and the heart " deceitful above all things." They are fond of thinking that sin will not expose them to such irremediable vengeance as the Bible threatens. They are willing to be persuaded of this ; and they flat- ter themselves into the persuasion, by the wiles of a thousand sophistries. — At first, it may be, they commit sin with a timid heart and a trembling hand. They he- sitate long. But at length, though with irresolute tre- mor, it is done. No harm comes to them. No indica- tions of the anger of Heaven follow the deed. They feel themselves safe. i\nd, having tasted of the sin, it is sweet ; and they desire it again. It is done again : S82 LECTURE XVI. Still with scruple and shrinking, but with less than before. The third time, their apprehensions are still weaker^ and they learn, with less and less rennorse, to " walk in the counsel of the ungodly, to stand in the way of sinners, and to sit in the seat of the scornful." Finding, that they are not struck dead on the spot, — that '' sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily," they begin to suspect whether God be ac- tually privy to their words and deeds ; to say in their hearts to themselves, and with flattering lips to one an- other, *' God hath forgotten ; he hideth his face, he will never see it." They doubt of providence ; or they flat- ter themselves that surely the Supreme Ruler, if he exists at all, and takes any notice of the affairs of men, cannot be such an enemy to sin as he has been repre- sented ; that he will be very merciful and lenient to the frailties of his erring creatures ; for how, say they, are we to know what he means to do in future, if not by what he does now ? He will not be strict to mark ini- quity ; he is good; and goodness shall at last carry the day. Thus they gradually cast oft' restraint, contemn God, and say, " He will not require it." — This is a fearful process ; but there is reason to apprehend, it is not a very uncommon one. Wicked men are, in refer- ence to a judgment to come, like Pharaoh of old, who persisted in hardening his heart against God, always " when he saw that there was respite." Such is the way in which the suspension of the sen- tence of God against sin, — the delay of punishment, afi*ects the corrupt hearts of " the sons of men," Instead of " the goodness of God leading them to repentence," they take advantage of it ; they ** despise the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering, and after their hardness and impenitent heart, treasure up ECCLES. viii. 9 — 17. 383 unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." But it is an awful delusion : — verses 12, 13. ** Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and his (days) be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, who fear before him : but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong (his) days, (which are) as a shadow ; because he feareth not before God." ** Though a sinner do evil a hundred times," that is, ever so many times ; ** and his (days) be prolonged,"— no deadly vengeance lighting on his trespasses ; — though from present impunity, he become unceasingly bold in sin, going on from bad to worse, till, at the hundreth time, his conscience becomes ** seared as with a hot iron :" — yet still there is a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not. " Surely I know," — it was a matter of firm and indubitable certainty with Solomon, and so should it be with us ; one of those fundamental truths, one of those moral axioms, of which nothing should be allowed to shake our confident as- surance :— *' It shall be well with them that fear God." The fear of God is here, as it is very generally in the Scriptures, put for the whole of true religion, both in ,its inward principles, and its outward practice,— both in the heart, and in the life. *^ It shall be well with them," during life ; the favour and the blessing of God attending them amidst all its changes, soothing their sorrows, and heightening the relish of their joys, and making ** all things to work together for their good." ** It shall be well with them," in death:—'' Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright ; for the latter end of that man is peace :"— <« The righteous hath hope in 384< LECTURE XVI. his death:" "good hope,'' resting on a sure founda- tion, securing his mind against the agitations of fore- boding fear, andenabhng him to say, *' O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory ?" ^^ It shall be well w^ith them," in the judgment : for they shall stand with acceptance before the throne of God ; they shall hear his voice address them in blessing, and shall instantly feel the sentence fulfilled in the com- mencement of unmingled and never-ending felicity. — "But it shall not be well with the wicked," — either while he lives, or when he dies, or when he stands be- fore the tribunal of God. Not while he lives ; for even when he prospers, it is ill with him : the curse of Hea- ven is upon his tabernacle, and it secretly mingles itself with all his enjoyments. He is " cursed in the city, and cursed in the field ; cursed in his basket and store ; cursed in the fruit of his body, and the fruit of his land, in the increase of his kine, and the flocks of his sheep ; cursed when he cometh in, and cursed when he goeth out." — Not when he dies: — for he has then nothing before him but *' a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries :" —He shall be '^ driven away in his wickedness " quit- ting in horror a world that has cheated and damned his soul : or if he should " have no bands in his death," the more overwhelming will be the wretchedness of his disappointment, when he plunges into unanticipated wo. — Not when he appears before the judgment seat,— for *' the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous ; because the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." *' Neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow." The meaning is not, that he shall not live ECCLES. YIII. 9 — 17. 385 long. Many an ungodly man reaches and passes the limit of *' threescore years and ten." But his time of departure must come. It may be earlier or later. He may '*do evil a hundred times and his days be pro- longed." But it cannot be always so. His days are still *'as a shadow;" they pass successively away, and the last of them must quickly arrive. And when it does ar- rive, every wish for prolonged life will be vain. He will not be able to command the addition of a single day, any more than to arrest " the shadow's fleeting form," Even when he is most anxious to live, the time may come for him to die:— when he anticipates most joy- ously a lengthened journey, he may reach the *' bound which he cannot pass:" — when his heart is beating highest with worldly expectation, its last pulse may be near at hand. And then ** wickedness shall not deliver him that is given to it." He ** shall not prolong his days." The shadow must pass. " His breath goeth forth ; he returneth to his dust : in that very day, his thoughts perish." Although, however, there is a distinction, of which the Lord and Judge of all never loses sight, between the righteous and the wicked ; yet, in the administra- tion of Divine providence, character is not the measure for the distribution of temporal good. This is the sen- timent expressed in the fourteenth verse :— .** There is a vanity which is done upon the earth ; that there be just (men) to whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked ; again, there be wicked (men) to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous. I said, this also (is) vanity." — The investigation of this mystery in the providence of God, (for it is of provi- dence that Solomon evidently speaks,) we shall defer till our next lecture 5 the sentiment which is expressed 3C 3^86 LECTURE XVI. in the verse now before us being enlarged upon in the beginning of the following chapter. — The matter offact^ I only observe at present, is now, as it was then, mani- fest to every observer. And well might it be denomi- nated, in relation to the great design of this treatise, ** a vanity." Nothing could more strikingly show the vanity of the world, and the folly of excessive attach- ment to its pleasures, or confidence in its possessions. For can any thing be more irrational, than to fix the heart on what it is impossible for us to secure, by any means, or by any course of conduct ; what is uncertain to the good as well as to the bad, and is neither exclu- sively connected, in the purpose and procedure of God, with righteousness nor with wickedness ; what is neither retained by the one, nor forfeited by the other ; what is neither a mark of Divine satisfaction, nor of Divine displeasure ; what may be given with a frown and taken away -.with a smile ; what the possession of may be a curse, and the loss of may be a blessing. — The very arrangement itself, besides, when viewed without rela- tion to a future world, bears the aspect of vanity. It seems strange, unreasonable, unaccountable ; like the result of a vain and unsettled caprice, rather than of a wise and well-directed principle. Verse 15. '* Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry; for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun." This may be understood in two ways, according to the time at which we suppose the commendation of mirth to have been uttered. — First, we might consider it as the libertine conclusion, drawn by Solomon, from the state of things here described? in the \[ days af ECCLES. VIII. 9 17. 387 his vanity :"— as if he had said, — ** Seeing these things are so, let us indulge ourselves. What better can we do, than to enjoy the world while it is in our power ? Let us eat, and drink, and be merry ; for the pleasure which a man has actually enjoyed is' that alone which he can say with certainty is his own ; that alone which he is sure shall abide with him of his labour ; that alone of which he cannot be bereaved or disappointed.'* — Or, secondly, we might interpret it as his serious in- ference, in the days of his returning wisdom, respect- ing the use which a man should make of worldly good, while God is pleased to bless him with the possession of it. In this case, " mirth" must be understood, not of licentious jollity, but of the cheerful enjoyment of the bounties of Heaven , and "eating and drinking," of the happy and unsolicitous use of that portion of the world's good which Divine kindness has bestowed. The measure of a man's earthly prosperity, and of the success of his labour, is a matter of complete uncer- tainty : but a cheerful and contented spirit, disposed to enjoy whatever portion is sent, is a sur^ and constant blessing. The secret of happiness, as far as it depends on the things of time, is to enjoy prosperity cheerfully, and witliout the irksome and depressing apprehensions of an anxious mind, as long as it continues ; and if it is lessened or withdrawn, still to receive our diminished and stinted supplies with the same cheerful and»buoy- ant gratitude ;— thus making the best of that, which, both in its degree and its continuance, is so prover- bially uncertain. — Amidst all changes, this happy frame of spirit may be preserved. It is a **joy" with which ** a stranger cannot intermeddle." '* A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." '' He that is of a merry heart, hath a continual feast." 388 liECTUiRE XVI. In this view of the verse, it contains much the same sentiment as on different occasions has been already before us.* He does not mean, that the unrestrained enjoyment of temporal pleasures is the chief good. The whole tenor of his treatise belies such ^a supposition. Neither does he mean, — that even in the enjoyment of the things of this world, we are to be selfish, and to consult exclusively our own immediate gratification. This is not less inconsistent with the general spirit, and the express declarations of the book. His language is neither that of libertinism, nor of selfishness. It is the language of experienced discretion ; of piety and prac- tical wisdom ; — recommending contented cheerfulness, — the thankful reception, and the free, unanxious, and lively enjoyment, of whatever portion of earthly things the providence of God may be pleased to bestow ; as the only way of extracting from them such happiness as they are fitted to yield : the only way of at all re- deeming them from the charge of utter *' vanity and vexation of spirit." Verses 16, 17. "When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth ; [for also (there is that) neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes :] then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done imder the sun ; because though a man labour to seek (it) out, yet shall he not find (it;) yea, further, though a wise (man) seek to know (it,) yet shall he not be able to find it." These verses express the difficulties which Solomon experienced, the inextricable perplexities in which he found himself involved, in one department especially of his researches after knowledge ; in observing the *Chap. li. 24. i.ii. 12, 13- v. 18. '' ECCLES. VIIT. 9 — iy. 389 labours of men, in connection with the providence of God.— In the sixteenth verse, " the business done un- der the sun" refers to the toil and travail of miankind, in all its endless varieties. In contemplating these, he observed the mystery of providence. He saw that suc- cess was far from being uniformly proportioned to the measure of human diligence, solicitude, and skill. He saw many, "rising early, and sitting late, and eating the bread of carefulness ;" " neither day nor night seeing sleep with their eyes," though plodding eagerness for the acquisition of property, or anxious fears about its safety. And yet their days of toil, and nights of sleep- lessness were vain; success and security depending upon God : for " except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it ; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain." — And then, the procedure of God, in reference to the works and ways of men, was ** a great deep ;" full of mystery ; to the eye of the human observer, appearing to be regulated by no fixed principles ; no labour, no discretion, no character, affording any assurance of prosperity; but circumstances oyer which the sagacity of man could have no control, in innumerable instances, and at times in a manner the most marvellous and confounding, crossing the path, arresting the progress, and frustrat- ing the purposes and hopes, of those who bade fairest for success ; and giving that success to others, to whom no one supposed it possible, and who hardly, even in self-flattery, expected it themselves. All was wonder and perplexity, — beyond the penetration of the most profound observer, though applying to the subject the closest and most unwearied attention. *^ Though a man labour to seek (it) out, yet he shall not find (it :) yea, further, though a wise (man) think to know (it,) vet 390 LECTURE XVI. shall lie not be able to find (it)." To every view he can take of " the work of God,"— to every hypothesis he can frame with regard to the principle of his providen- tial government, difficulties present themselves, and exceptions and anomalies, which he cannot explain. The hypothesis that accounts satisfactorily for one event, seems to be contradicted by another ; circum- stances which to him appear to be similar, and to war- rant similar expectations, terminating, not unfrequently, in opposite results ; and on the contrary, trains of events, and courses of conduct the most unlike each other, some- times conducting to the same issues ; to riches, or to poverty, — to honour, or to shame. — That it is to the mystery of providence, in its superintendence over the affairs of men, over " all the business that is done under the sun," that Solomon refers, will be very evident when we come to show, in next lecture, the connec- tion between the end of this chapter and the begin- ning of the ninth ; and the manner in which he there exemplifies and illustrates the sentiment he had here expressed. In the mean time, observe, in the first place^ from the verses that have now been expounded : — There are instances, in which the possession of power, authority, and dominion, dazzling as it may be to the imagination, is yet more to be pititd than envied,— \x. is so, surely, when a man " rules over others to his own hurt:" and every man thus rules, who perverts and abuses his power to the purposes of oppression and selfishness. The splendour of such power can be admired by fools alone. It is the splendour of a consuming fire, at which children may laugh and clap their hands with delight, reckless of the mischief it is spreading around, but which more thoughtful spectators will contemplate with ECCLES. Tin. 9 — 17. 391 grief and horror. The fire will at length devour him who has kindled it, and who exulted in its devastations. Perverted power will come back, with fearful recoil, upon its unprincipled perverter. Whatever may be its present effects to the cruel oppressor, or the vain-glori- ous ruler, it must, in the end, be " to his own hurt," when *' the King of kings and Lord of lords," the Sove- reign Judge of all, shall call him to his reckoning. — This shall be found especially true of the persecuting powers of this world, who have directed their violence against the church of God, and by sanguinary edicts, by bonds and imprisonments, by swords, and racks, and flames, have sought its extermination. The perse- cuted have been the compassionated party. They still are, when their sufferings are read in history. Yet the persecutors are infinitely more to be pitied than they. From the beginning until now, the voice of the blood which they have shed has ^* cried against them from the ground," and has " entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." The retributive justice of God has many a time, even in this world, given them blood to drink ; in the cup which they have filled, filling to them dou- ble: and *' true and righteous have been his judgments." And, oh ! should they escape his vengeance here, what an account have they to give to Him who hath said of his people, the objects of his love, *' He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his eye!"* The victims of their fury they have ** chased up to heaven ;" whilst for themselves, it will be found, they have been preparing a place in hell. Envy not, then, such power. Prefer being its victim to being its possessor. Be burned at the slake, rather than kindle it. *' The memory of the just is blessed, but the name of the wicked shall rot." * Zcch. ii. 8. 893 LECTURE xvr. And how unenviable is the man, who on earth is exe- crated while remembered, and as soon as possible is forgotten, and whose crimes are registered in heaven, and kept from oblivion, there, to cover him in the end with *' shame and everlasting contempt?" Secondly .-—We have been considering the delay of punishment, the patience and forbearance of God ; and we have illustrated a little the effect of this on human depravity, — the use that men actually make of it, as an encouragement to boldness in sin. Let mc press a little upon your attention its proper and legitimate effect, — the use that men ought to make of it. Instead of lulling in security, it ought to alarm ; — instead of emboldening to sin, it should melt to peni- tential sorrow. In the first place :— instead of lulling in security, it ought to alarm To make good this observation, I shall endeavour to show you, that the Divine forbearance and long-suffering, so far from being a proof that God thinks lightly of sin, affords convincing and impressive evi- dence of the contrary. 1. —First of all, we should recollect that by the pa» tience of God there is no alteration produced in the na- ture of sin. There is in sin itself an intrinsic malignity thut remains immutably the same. There is in it a con- trariety to the holiness, an opposition to the authority, an ingratitude for the unparalleled kindness, and an affront to the sacred majesty, of the infinite God,— as well as a universal wrong done by it to creation, whose happiness it tends to destroy,— that must render it, in all its kinds and in all its degrees, in all places and at all times, hateful in his sight. It is in the nature of things impossible, that He should ever look upon it with in- difference. This should be a settled conviction in all ECGLES. vm. 9 — 17. 393 our minds, and every thing that may seem opposed to it, we should rest perfectly assured; has nothing of in- consistency but the appearance. 2.— It does not at all follow that the provocation of Deity is small, because he does not instantly express it in action. His anger is not like that of his creatures* Men, when provoked by any injury done to them, are ready to kindle immediately into a transport of passion, and to indulge their resentment in word and in deed* But God is infinitely above being affected in this man- ner. He punishes sin, not from passion at the harm he sustains ;— (for *' if thou sinnest, what doest thou against him ? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him ?") — but because it is right and neces- sary that si4i should be punished. With a composure undisturbed by the swellings and out-breakings of hu- man pride and impiety, unmoved by the scornful taunts, and bitter blasphemies, and daring outrages of the un- godly, he fixes his own time for " bringing it into judg- ment." That time may be distant. But O beware of fancying, because the execution of his anger is not im- mediate, the anger itself cannot be severe : for 3. — It is an evidence that it is severe, and that the expression of it at last will be the more aggravated.-— What think you, is the r From the prison of hell he can never return to this world ; and between it and the abodes of the blessed there is fixed a great and impassable gulph ; across which no sounds of mercy, no tidings of salvation, no proclamations of pardon, reach his ear. ^' Hope never comes, that comes to all." As there is hope for all that are " joined to the living," we are encouraged to announce and recommend to all that live, the mercy offered by the gospel to sinners through the one Mediator. But still remember, words cannot express the uncertainty of life. To some of you, this may be your last warning. To-morrow may dis- join you from the living, and settle your eternal doom. O look now, then, unto Jesus. Defer not reflection to a day that may never be yours, ** Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die !" Lastly, Let Christians recommend religion by dis- playing its cheerful influence. — It is an article of your oreed, that the discoveries of the gospel are ** good tidings of great joy," and that ** wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness." Let not your deportment belie your professed belief. Are you to show yoiirselves believers of glad tidings, by '' hanging your heads like a bulrush, and spreading sackcloth and ashes under you ?" by a countenance never lighted up with a smile ? by nothing but sighs, and tears, and groans ? Is it not the precept of God, intimating at once your duty and your privilege, "Rejoice evermore?" Light is the emblem of knowledge, and purity, and joy ; and in all its three emblematic senses. Christians are ** chil- dren of light." *' Come then, O house of Jacob, and walk in the light of the Lord." Truly this light is sweet. Present to all around you a just and inviting view of your religion. "Lie not against the truth," by 3 H 4S6 liECTURE XVn. ECCIiES. IX. 1 — iO. leading every one that looks you in the face to fancy it a system of inveterate and incurable melancholy. There is a wide distance between cheerfulness and levity ; be- tween the tranquil yet animated gladness of the believ- ing soul, and the frothy and transient mirth of the fool. Religion is at an equal distance from unbecoming fri- volity and sullen moroseness. It is the day-light of the soul. Let it appear in its true character. Let it infuse its cheering influence into your enjoyment of all your earthly blessings. ** Eat thy meat with gladness, and drink thy wine with a merry heart ; and live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest.'* — And not only so ; but, animated by the faith of the Divine promises, and by the blessed prospects that are before you, ** rejoice in tribulations also ; knowing that tribulation worketh patience ; and patience, experience ; and experience, hope ; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in your hearts, by the Holy Spirit given unto you."* * Rom. V. 3—5. LECTURE XVIII. ECCLES. ix. 11 — 18. 11 " Ireturnedy and saiv under the sun^ that the racefisj not to the sivifty nor the battle to the strongs neither yet bread to the wiae^ nor yet riches to men of understandings nor yet favour to men of skill; 22 but time and chance hafifieneth to them all. For man also knotveth not his time : as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds Cthat are) caught in the snare ; so fare J the sons of men 13 snared in an evil limey when itfalleth suddenly ufion them. This ivisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it (seemed) great unto 14 me: (there ivas) a little cityy and few men within ity and there came a great king against ity and beseiged it, and built great bulwarks 15 against it. JVow there was found in it a floor wise many and he by his wisdom delivered the city ; yet no man remembered that same 16 floor man. Then said /, Wisdom fis) better than strength : never- theless the floor man's wisdom (is) desfiisedy and his words are not 17 heard. The words of wise (men are) heard in quiet y more than the IS cry of him that ruleth among fools. Wisdom (is J better than wea~ fio7is of war : but one sinner destroy eth much good*'* JtlAviNG, in the preceding part of the chapter, stated the fact of the indiscriminate distribution of temporal good and evil in the administration of providence, and having drawn from it the reflections and practical les- sons which it suggested ; the wise man returns to the further examination of the same subject, or at least of one very closely connected with it in the Divine pro- cedure : — Verse 11. ** I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race (is) not to the swift, nor the battle to the strongs neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill ; but time and chance happeneth to them all.'^ 4S8 LECTURE XVIH. This verse has not only a connection with the gene- ral subject of the preceding passage, but a more imme- diate relation to verse 10. In it he exhorts to the appli- cation of vigorous diligence in ** whatever our hand findeth to do." Here he suggests a caution against a too sanguine confidence of success, after the exertion of all our ability and all our skill. Different characters are prone to opposite extremes. Some are so timid and diffident, that they will hardly undertake or exert them- selves in any thing, from the apprehension of failure. Others are so dauntless and ardent, that failure hardly ever enters into their calculations. The former are in danger of losing opportunities both of doing and of ob- taining good. They stand in need of excitement. The admonition of the tenth verse requires to be pressed upon their practical regard ; that they may not become the victims of inactivity and sloth. The latter are in danger of precipitation and extravagance, and, by their high undoubting assurance of success, of preparing for themselves the bitterness of disappointment. They need the counsels of humility and dependence. The lesson of the eleventh verse must be urged upon their notice , a lesson, of which the truth niust be obvious to every attentive observer of human affairs: — " The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the Wise, nor yet riches to men of under- standing, nor yet favour to men of skill ; but time and chance happeneth to them all.'' We very naturally expect, that the lightest of foot should always get first to the goal, and win the prize ; that in battle, the most numerous and well appointed and powerful army should uniformly be victorious; that the man of intelligence and prudence in business should never fail to make rich ; that he who courts favour and ECCLES. IX. 11 18. 4S9 popularity, by skilful and well-devised arts, should in- variably succeed in gaining the good graces of his fel- lovv-nien. — But experience frequently contradicts our expectations. The man who is '' swift of foot as a wild roe" may trip and stumble, or by some untoward acci- dent be thrown behind his less fleet competitor. Innu- merable are the circumstances that affect what is called the fortune of war, — the chance of battle, — so that at times a hundred may put ten thousand to flight. The most intelligent and prudent do, not unfrequently, with all their application and care, fail of getting forward in the world, riches seeming unaccountably to elude their grasp. And the most insinuating and skilful courtier, defeats sometimes his own purposes, or is thwarted by occurrences which he could not control, and becomes the most unpopular of men. We are not to conclude from this, that there is no adaptation of means to ends,— no tendency in these qualities to the desired event, more than in their oppo- sites ;— that there is no superior probability of success to the swift more than to the slow, to the strong more than to the weak, to the intelligent more than to the ig- norant, to the skilful more than to the foolish. Far from it. Were this the case, we might give up altogether the use of means for the attainment of our ends, or be ut- terly regardless of their nature. The meaning evidently is no more, than that, with all a man's superiority, suc- cess is not to be insured : — no man must count upon it with certainty. " Time and chance happeneth to them all." ** Time." — There are favourable and unfavourable times in which men's lot may be cast ; and such times too may occur alternately in the experience of the same individual. A man of very inferior talent, should he fall 430 14ECTURE XVIII. on a favourable time, may succeed with comparative ease ; whereas in a time that is not propitious, abilities of the first order cannot preserve their possessor from failure and disappointment. And even the same period may be advantageous to one description of business, and miserably the reverse to another ; and it may thus be productive of prosperity to men who prosecute the former, and of loss and ruin to those engaged in the latter ; although the superiority in knowledge, capacity, and prudence, may be all, and even to a great degree, on the losing side. ** Chance." — We must not understand Solomon as intending by the use of this word, to convey the idea that there is, or can be, any thing absolutely fortuitous. The reign of chance can never be more than imaginary. The very supposition of it is pregnant alike with im- piety and absurdity. It is atheism. — Chance is a term denoting ignorance, not on God's part, but on ours. It has been happily defined, although by a poet, yet with- out a poet's fiction, — " direction which we cannot see." The bhnd Goddess of Fortune is but the creation of a Toolish and ungodly fancy. Without our Heavenly Fa- ther, ** a sparrow falleth not to the ground;" and no figure could more strongly express the idea of unre- mitted attention to the minutest interests of his chil- dren, than his " numbering the hairs of their heads. " " The lot is cast into the lap ; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." The obvious meaning of chance here is, that there is an endless variety of circumstances and events, which cannot be foreseen, and over which, therefore, no man can have any control, which yet must materially affect the success or the failure of all his schemes and opera- tions. These " secret things" which " belong unto the ECCLES. IX. 11 — 18. 431 Lord/' appear to us as if they came by chance ; and men who fear not God, idly talk of Fortune favouring them when they prosper, and of her being blind, capri- cious, and partial, when they fail. But all is under the superintendence of Him who is infinite in wisdom, power, and goodness. And even with regard to our- selves, it is going too far to represent human life as a perfect lottery, in which the wheel goes round, and blanks and priees are drawn out, without discrimina- tion and with equal frequency, for the indolent and the active, for the prudent and the foolish ; as if indolence and activity, prudence and folly, were without distinc- tion in their respective tendencies. There is, however, beyond question, as universal experience evinces, and as the present times impressively testify, a vast deal of uncertainty in calculating the probabilities of a man's success in any pursuit. Unanticipated circumstances may assign the laurel to the slow, and leave the swift uncrowned ; may give victory to the weak, and bring defeat and shame to the strong ; may confer riches and favour on the ignorant and indiscreet, and withhold them from the wise, the skilful, and intelligent. — That " chance" must have this restricted meaning, is ob- vious : for even if it were understood as exclusive of providence, still facts could never bear out the affirma- tion, that there are no distinctive tendencies in different principles and modes of conduct, and that it is, unquali- fiedly, all one as to the result, whether a man be dili- gent or slothful, prudent or insensate. The sentiment of the eleventh verse is expanded in the twelfth : — *' For a man also knoweth not his time : as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds (that are) caught in the snare ; so (are) the sons 4S^ LECTURE XVIII. of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them." ** Man knoweth not his time," refers to the uncer- tainty of events, the fickleness of human affairs, already mentioned. A man may select his time for the execu- tion of any purpose, with much apparent sagacity. To others, as well as to himself, it may seem the most pro- mising that could have been chosen. Yet who can, with certainty, tell him what shall be ? He knoweth not what a day may bring forth. The wind may suddenly shift. The tide may unexpectedly turn. The times may surprise him by an unlooked for change. He may cast his seed into an excellent bed, in the best of weather; but numberless are the circumstances that may blast his hopes of a harvest. To-day may be an auspicious time, and his prospects may be brightened by the splendour of hope :— to-morrow may be unfavourable, and may cloud them with the darkness of despair. In this world of mutability, he must always plan and act with a mea- sure of uncertainty ; and ought to preface all his under- takings with — " If the Lord will." The fishes and the birds, roaming through their re- spective elements, with all the happy agility of freedom, dart suddenly into the net of the fisherman and the snare of the fowler. They are taken by surprise ; taken, beyond escape ; and taken, to be destroyed. " So (are) the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them." An evil time is a time of mis- fortune and calamity, which often comes unexpectedly, without the possibility either of its being anticipated, or of its mischievous effects being shunned. There is one most important time, of which men are left in total ignorance ; the time that closes their con- nection with this world, terminating all their schemes, ECCLES.IX.il — 18. 43B and labours, and enjoyments, aad prospects. To the ungodly, this is indeed " an evil time," the worst of all times: and how often has it ** fallen suddenly upon them !" How often, when a man has been in the unin- terrupted course of his prosperity, rising rapidly to the summit of his wishes ; — when he has realized his for- tune, finished his house, laid out his lands,— and is say- ing to his soul, " Soul, thou hast much goods laid qp for many years ; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry," — is he " snared in an evil time," and in a mo- ment goes down to the grave ! — '* O that men were wise, that they understood this, that they would consi- der their latter end !" His general observations, Solomon illustrates by a case, which we may suppose to have been a matter of fact that had come to his knowledge :— Verses 13—16. " This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it (seemed) great unto me. (There was) a little city, and few men within it ; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city ; yet no man remembered this same poor man. Then said I, Wisdom (is) better than strength ; nevertheless, the poor man's wisdom (is) despised, and his words are not heard." " This wisdom seemed great" to Solomon. He was delighted with it. It was found where it was not looked for. The governors of the city, the public functiona- ries, would no doubt set all their wits to work, to devise means of safety. But they could think of none that gave any promise of proving effectual. They were at a stand; and would of course have surrendered at discretion, or have perished by the sword of exterminating vengeance. In thisk emergency, an obscure, unknown; ** poor man, 3 I 434 LECTURE XVlir. by his wisdom saved the city," which was little in it- self, ill defended, and quite incapably of withstanding^ the besieging army of a great king. " Yet no man remembered this same poor man." — The danger was no sooner over, than he was ungrate- fully forgotten, and his important service was unre- warded.—" Wisdom," on this occasion, was " better than strength," and prevailed against it, foiling the might of the assailing enemy. But the honour that is due to wisdom is not always obtained by its possessor. Had this wise man been at the same time a man of sta- tion and wealth, his name would probably have been recorded in the annals of the city, a pillar possibly reared at the time to commemorate his service, and a monument of regret erected over his grave. But the man was poor ; and having been neglected before, he quickly relapsed into his original obscurity. " His wis- dom was despised, and his words were not heard." They were indeed heard ; but it was only in the mo- ment of danger and alarm. Or, for aught we can say^ the poor man's scheme might be devised and executed by himself, done secretly, or with the concurrence and aid of a few more of his own station. And whether this was the case, or whether it was laid before the chief men of the city, and by them adopted, the effect might be envy, and consequent studied neglect. For although a pressing sense of immediate danger might induce them at the time to listen to and follow his counsel, it might still be with the despicable feelings of spiteful jealousy j and when the danger was past, the same feelings might induce them to treat with neglect the poor benefactor of their city ; or he might speedily escape their memo- ries, as ** the chief butler," when restored to his ho- nours, " remembered not Joseph, but forgot him." ECCLES. IX. 11 — 18. 435 But why is this incident introduced here ? What is its connection with the writer's subject ? The connec- tion is far from being distant. It presents an illustration, in two views, of the sentiment in the eleventh verse. It shows, in the first place y that " the battle is not to the strong.'* A mighty monarch came against this small and feeble city, invested it, and constructed his works around it. Its destruction seemed inevitable. But there happened to be within its walls, amongst the obscure part of its population, a poor man, who in his wisdom suggested some expedient, which baffled the exertions and frustrated the hopes of the enemy, rendering all his engines and bulwarks useless and unavailing. This little circumstance, unforeseen and unexpected, disconcerted the whole project, and gave preservation and victory to the weak. — It shows, secondly^ that " favour is not to men of skill." — It does not appear, it is true, that the poor man had any such object in view as courting fa- vour. But he displayed wisdom and skill ; and he missed their merited recompense. His poverty and ob- scurity, or the envy of those in power and station, de- prived him of his due. There seems, at first view, an inconsistency between the end of the sixteenth verse and the seventeenth. In the former it is said, "The poor man's wisdom (is) despised, and his words are not heard : — in the latter, '^ The words of wise (men) are heard in quiet, more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools." — In the seventeenth verse, there is probably a reference to the quiet way in which this ^* poor wise man" saved the city. We may suppose him to have communicated his scheme to two or three privately, who had the good sense to hear him, and to enter into his views ; and whilst ^* the cry of him that ruled among fools," — the 436 LECTURE XVllI. loud and blustering bravadoes, it may be, of a sense- less and headstrong ruler, were not only unavailing, but calculated to hasten and to aggravate the ruin of the place, — the wisdom of this poor man was ^' heard in quiet," and was secretly, and without noise and os- tentation/working its deliverance.—This renders the sixteenth and seventeenth verses quite consistent ; the latter referring to the attention shown to his wise sug- gestions at the time, and their influence in effecting the deliverance of the city ; and the former, to the subse- quent disregard of the man himself and of his wisdom;, when the threatening danger was past, — the indisposi- tion then either to hear or to profit by it, or to give re- spect aiid honour to its possessor. Verse 18. " Wisdom (is) better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good." In the instance which Solomon had just adduced, the truth of the former part of this verse had been ill us-, trated and established. Wisdom had proved its supe- riority to military weapons and warlike engines, for it had effectually overcome them ; and it had thus accom- plished what forcible resistance would have attempted in vaia. And even on the supposition that " weapons of war" could have delivered the city, still it must have been at the expense of blood, and of varied and accu- mulated distress,— of the tortures of the wounded, and the groans of the dying, and the tears of widows, and orphans, and friends ;-— all which w^as prevented by the timely exercise of wisdom. From his being contrasted with one " sinner," we are naturally led to consider the wise man as not only politically sagacious and prudent, but wise in a higher sense,— truly good, influenced by right principles, by motives of genuine disinterested benevolence, by re- ECCLES. IX. 11 18. 437 gard to the will of God and the obligations of duty, sa- tisfied with the attainment of the benefit to others, With- out stopping to calculate the possible results to himself. — This one wise man effected much good : but ^' one sinner destroy eth much good." It is far easier to do harm, than to do good. And one wicked man, possessed of a little mischievous subtlety and address, may, and, alas ! often does succeed, in thwarting and frustrating the best concerted schemes, overturning the most pru- dent and beneficial regulations, effectually embarrassing the wisdom of the wise, and impeding the efforts of the benevolent, and thus producing the most serious and incalculable injury. The influence of one truly wise and good man may be very extensive, both upon the temporal and the spi- ritual condition of others, — in preventing evil, and in promoting personal and social happiness. But how much good, on the contrary, may not one sinner de- stroy ! and how much positive evil may he not be the instrument of working! How often has such a man broken the peace and ruined the comfort of families, which might otherwijse have remained united and happy! How often has he sown in secret the seeds of jealousy and discord in a circle of friends and acquaintances ! How often fanned the flame of discontent, sedition, and rebellion, in a community enjoying a happy measure of peace, freedom, and prosperity ! How often has he blasted characters by defamation and slander, and thus marred and destroyed extensive usefulness ! How often, by falsehood and misrepresentation, has he imposed on others, to the loss of their property, the ruin of their affairs, and the consequent distress of themselves and families ! How often— But time would fail me to enu- merate all the ways in which a sinner may destroy ^2S LECTURE XVIII. temporal good. — Then, when we think of the good he may destroy, and the evil he may occasion, of a spiri- tual kind, how weightily must the observation be felt by every serious mind ! By plausible and sophistical, but palatable and seductive reasonings, he may shake and root out the half-formed principles of the unesta- blished inquirer, acting as Satan's instrument in ** catch- ing away what has been sown in his heart ;" by his ex- ample, his counsel, his sneers, and his flatteries, by adorning, in captivating and alluring colours, the plea- sures of sin, touching by ridicule the feelings of false pride, representing as unreasonable the restraints of re- ligion and virtue, praising the spirit, and working on the vanity, of his victim, he may successfully entice r the young and unwary to criminal indulgence, and may thus baffle the efforts, and balk the delighted hopes, of godly parents. He may take a malignant pleasure in plying his arts of temptation upon the more established, and he may exult in the desolating effects of his occa- sional success, — when a godly man has been entangled in his snares, or has tripped and fallen over any of his stumbling-blocks, and has thus offended the church of God, opened the mouths of the profane to scorn and blasphemy, and hardened the infidel in his unbelief, and the transgressor in his course of sin. He may set him- self down as a centre of contagion, and may spread all around fiim a moral and spiritual pestilence, counter- working all the purifying, salubrious, and life-giving efforts of piety and benevolence, of parental solicitude, ministerial zeal, and private philanthropy. The corrup- tion of one may spread to ten ; of ten to a hundred ; of a hundred to a thousand. And it goes down through succeeding generations. The corrupted father commu- nicates the taint to his children; and they again to theirs. ECCLES. IX. 11 18. 439 So that the pernicious influence of ** one sinner" that lived in the time of Solomon, may be widely felt, though it cannot be traced, even at the present day ; and the mischief of one destroyer of good amongst ourselves, may continue and increase to the very close of time ! My Christian brethren, let us bear in mind, that this infectious nature of sin is one of the reasons why we are admonished to attend to the purity of fellowship in the church of God. — " Know ye not, that a little leavea leaveneth the whole lump ? Purge out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are un- leavened. For even Christ, our passover, is sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wicked- ness, but with the unleavened (bread) of sincerity and truth. "* " Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God ; lest any root of bitterness, springing up, trouble (you,) and thereby many (be) defiled. "f — ^ let us beware of ever fancying there can be safety, where the Lord has declared there is danger. We are not sufficiently impressed with the deceitfulness of our own hearts, when we entertain such a thought. Let us ever cherish humility and self-vigilance ; and see to it, that we ourselves be promoters and not destroyers of good. Let us, at the same time, in the united exercise of Christian love and Christian faithfulness, guard against the wilful admission of corruption, the volun- tary implanting of "roots of bitterness;" and when corruption has been unwittingly received, and has sub- sequently discovered itself, let us beware of its pre- sumptuous retention, in open-eyed disobedience to the will of Christ, self-sufficient insensibility to our own danger, and disregard of the honour of his name. * 1 Cor. V. 6—8. t Heb. xii. 15. 440 LECTURE XVlll. Although there are principles in our nature, as fallen creatures, which render the work of the sinner, in doing evil and destroying good, much more easy than that of the wise man in promoting good and repressing evil, yet let us be encouraged in all our benevolent labours, especially those for the spiritual benefit of others, by considering the extent of possible advantage from suc- cess in a single instance. The seduction of one is fear- ful, both in itself, and in the sad train of consequences that may arise from it. But let us not forget how valua- ble, in itself and in its possible results, is the conver- sion and salvation of one. '^ If any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know, that he who converteth the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." Even if the good stopped here, it would be in- estimably precious ; for *' what is a man profited, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?" But think of the influence of this individual on others, in the family, in the circle of relatives and friends, and in the neighbourhood to which he belongs; and, through them, on successive generations to the end of time. " He established a testimony in Jacob, and ap- pointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fa- thers that they should make them known unto their children ; that the generation to come might know (them, even) the children (who) should be born, (who) should arise and declare (them) to their children ; that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments."* — How animating is the thought, (and there is no enthusiastic extravagance in it,) that the good we now do may continue • Psal.lxxviii. 5— 7. ECCtES. IX. 11 — 18. 441 to be felt, and felt in a constantly widening circle, till the last trumpet shall sound !— that one sinner brought back to God may, for aught we can tell, prove, in course of time, the salvation of thousands ! The solitary seed that has yielded thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold, stops not there. Each of the grains of its produce may yield the same ; and field must be added to field to receive the accumulating increase. — Let parents, let ministers, let sabbath-school teachers, let all in their respective spheres of spiritual influence, be stimulated by such considera- tions to lively and persevering exertions, and to the seizure of every opportunity, on which prudence lays not an evident interdict, of ** seeking the profit of others that they may be saved." Let us further learn from this passage, to beware of self-dependence. If " the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong," then ought the admonition to be obeyed, as the dictate of Divine wisdom as well as the injunction of Divine authority, — " Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths. " Fully assured, that although to us the future is uncertain, and events that have been unanticipated may to our minds seem accidental, there is no such thing as chance or fatalism, but that all things are under the immediate and unceasing superintendence of an all- wise providence, let us consider it as our part to use means, to look to God for his blessing, and to leave the issue in his hands. This state of mind is the most consistent at once with duty and with happiness. It keeps the spirit tranquil ; disposed to gratitude for success, and at the same time prepared for possible dis- appointment ; *' the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keeping the heart and mind by Christ 3K 442 LECTURE XVlII. Jesus." As we ought not to " boast of to-morrow, be- cause we know not what a day may bring forth ;" so neither should we be over-anxious about to-morrow, because we may be distressing ourselves about what we are never to see. How beautiful, how affectionate, how persuasive, and how full of argument, the Saviour's exhortations to his disciples against all anxious concern about the future days of life I ** Wherefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment ? Behold the fowls of the air ; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye much better than they ? Which of you, by tak- ing thought, can add one cubit unto his stature ? And why take ye thought for raiment ? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin ; and yet 1 say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, (shall he) not much more (clothe) you, O ye of little faith ? Therefore take no thought, saying. What shall we eat ? or. What shall we drink ? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed ? [for after all these things do the Gentiles seek ;] for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness ; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow ; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day (is) the evil thereof."'^ * Matt. vi. 25—34. ECCLES. IX. 11 18. 443 And whilst we learn the lesson of dependence on God respecting all our temporal interests, let us be equally on our guard against depending on ourselves in our Christian course, in our spiritual warfare, — in ^^ running the race set before us," — in ** fighting the good fight of faith." Our speed in the one, our cou- rage and strength in the other, and our victory in both, must come from above. Divesting ourselves of all self- confidence, let our trust be in Him who " giveth power to the faint, and to (them that have) no might increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall : but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew (their) strength ; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run, and not be weary ; they shall walk, and not faint."* Further: It is the part of true wisdom to be prepared, as far as its precautions can reach, against possible emer- gencies. Let none of you, then, count upon life, — no, not for an hour ; — for " man knoweth not his time." Death is at once the most certain and the most uncer- tain of all things. It must come ; but when, or how, O who shall tell us ? Every one of us has his " time," fixed in the purpose of Him who " appoints us our bounds, that we cannot pass." How awful will it be, if that time come upon any of you unawares ! — if, " as the fishes are taken in an evil net, and the birds are caught in the snare," so you should be ** snared in an evil time," by its " falling suddenly upon you." Ah ! then will it be to you an evil time indeed ! O ye care- less children of men, who are treading every moment on the verge of eternity, trifle no longer with its infi- nitely weighty concerns ; lest it should be with you as it was with the incredulous and infatuated antedilu- ♦ Isa.jtl. 29— 31. 444 LECTURE XVin. vians, who scorned the warning voice of the *^ preacher of righteousness." They were ** eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away." Beware, then, lest while you " say, Peace and safety, sudden destruc- tion should come upon you !" '^ What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, and call upon thy God" to save thee from the gathering storm ; for the elements are con- spiring thy ruin. Think not to brave it. Speed thee to the Ark which he has provided for thy security, and whtre alone thou canst be safe. Come to Jesus. Make him thy refuge. All shall then be well, — all safe, — safe for eternity. And ye, brethren in the Lord, join to the lesson of dependence on God, the lesson of sleepless vigilance. It was not to men of the world, but even to his own dis- ciples, that Christ addressed the warning, " Take heed, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with sur- feiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares." '* Be ye, there- fore, sober, and watch unto prayer." Be ever at your respective posts, in the service of your Master : and then, although you know not the time of his coming, it "will never be to you "an evil time." Whether he ar- rive " at even, or at midnight, or at cock-crowing, or in the morning," let him find you watching. In occupying your talents for the glory of God and for the good of men, you may not always meet from the latter with a suitable return. This ^'poor wise man, who by his wisdom delivered the city," had he been again placed in similar circumstances, might have been tempted to consult his own preservation only, and to leave those who had so ungratefully neglected and ECCLES. IX. 11 13. 445 scorned him, to shift for themselves. This would have been the conduct dictated by the ordinary principles prevalent in the world. But the Bible teaches a lesson more disinterested and generous. We must not be ** weary in well-doing," even to those from whom we may have met with a sorry recompense. Let your eye be directed, not to men, but to him who '' is not un- righteous, to forget your work and labour of love, which ye show toward his Name ;" and his example is to be the model from which you are to copy i-—" Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you, and persecute you ; that ye may be the chil- dren of your Father who is in heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them who love you, what reward have ye ? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more (than others ?) do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect."* * Matt. V. 44-— 48, LECTURE XIX. ECCLES. X. 1 10. 1 ^\Dead Jlies cause the ointment of the afiotbecary to send forth a stinking savour: fso doth) a little folly him that is in refiutation 2 for -iVisdom (and J honour. A wise man's heart (is J at his right 3 hand ; but afooVs heart at his left. Yea alsOy when he that is a fool walketh by the way^ his wisdom faileth fhimtj and he saith to every 4 one (that) he (is J a fool. If the spirit of the ruler rise ufi against 5 thee, leave not thy place ; for yielding fiacifeth great offences. There is an evil (which J I have seen under the sun, as an error f which J 6 firoceedeth from the ruler ; Folly is set in great dignity, and the 7 rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes 8 walking as servants upon the earth. He that diggeth a pit shall fall 9 into it ; and whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; (and) he that cleaveth 10 wood shall be endangered thereby. If the iron be blunts and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength : but wisdom (is) profitable to direct.** JHaving spoken of the excellence of wisdom, Solo- mon here, proceeds to lay down certain maxims, rela- tive both to its advantages, and to the mode of its exercise. The first of these is an observation founded in uni- versal experience, and arising both from the nature of the thing, and from the corruption of the human heart : — Versei 1. " Dead flies cause the ointment of the apo- thecary to send forth a stinking savour ; (so doth) a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom (and) honour." When the apothecary has compounded his ointment, of the richest and sweetest ingredients, with much skill, ECCLES. X. 1 — 10.. 447 and care, and time ; if flies fall into it, and die there, and putrify, especially in a hot climate, they will de- stroy its pleasant fragrance, and produce an offensive stench. So, when a man has acquired a high reputation for wisdom, and an honourable character, the higher he rises in public estimation, the more cautious and guard- ed he requires to become in his behaviour : for " a lit- tle folly" will mar, and may even ruin his good name ; and bring him to neglect and disgrace. As dead flies spoil the sweet odour of the ointment, so doth " a little folly," a remaining foible, a comparatively trifling in- consistency, or even an occasional slip, affect the cha- racter of the man who '* is in reputation for wisdom (and) honour." The causes of this do not lie deep. In the first place. In proportion to the height of a man's reputation, he attracts notice. The eyes of others are upon him. The fool passes unheeded; nobody mind- ing what he says or what he does. But when a person rises to eminence, his behaviour is marked. It becomes the subject of scrutiny and of conversation. An im- portance attaches to whatever he is, or says, or does. And the more eyes are fastened on a man, the less likely is any infirmity or fault to escape detection and animadversion. " A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." Secondly, The higher a man's reputation is, the more is expected of him. The less allowance, consequently, is made for his failings. That which in an ordinary man would have passed unobserved, is noticed in him with surprise and astonishment. Instead of his defects being lost, like the spots in the sun, amid the blaze of his ex- cellences, the very light of his virtues serves to give them relief and prominence ; so that they are in great 448 LECTURE XIX. danger of proving a counterbalance to all his estimable qualities. Thirdly, This danger is ten fold increased by the influence of a principle, which, (alas for human nature !) is too welcome a guest, too close an inmate in our bo- soms, and of which we had occasion, in a former lec- ture, to expose the odious nature and mischievous effects, — I mean spite and envy. It is the malevolent wish of envy, to keep down a rising character to the common level. We are mortified by the superiority of others, especially if, by talent and diligence, they have passed ourselves in the race and left us behind them. It is its aim and business, both to depreciate the merits, and to magnify the faults, of its objects ; and eagerly does it avail itself of ** a little folly," marking it with hawk-eyed keenness, exposing and exaggerating it, setting it in the most unfavourable lights, associating it slily and malignantly with each of the person's ex- cellences, not so as to hide It by means of them, but to disparage them by means of it, and in every way im- proving it to the discredit and the ruin of his reputation. Such being the case, the obvious improvement which should be made of it by " the man who is in reputation for wisdom (and) honour," is, to " ponder the path of bis feet,"— to be very circumspect and very consistent. This he ought to aim at with unremitting vigilance, not only for his own sake, but for the sake of his useful- ness, in the employment of his wisdom and influence, for the good of men, and for the glory of God ; his power to do good being necessarily proportioned to the esteem in which he is held. Solomon's next observation regards the advantage of the wise man over the fool, in the management of all descriptions of business :-— Verses 2; 3. '* A wise ECCLES. X. 1 10. 419 man's heart (is) at his right hand ; but a fool's heart is at his left. Yea, also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth (him,) and he saith to every one (that) he (is) a fooL" It is evident from the connection, that the heart in this place, as in many other instances in the Scriptures, means xh^ judgment or understanding of man. It is the same word that, in the third verse, is rendered wisdom ; **His wisdom faileth him," being, in the original, *^his heart faileth him."— The *' right hand" is the hand which men usually employ, in works both of labour and of skill ; and which they use with the greatest rea- diness, dexterity, and success. The expression, there- fore, in the second verse, ** A wise man's heart (is) at his right hand, but a fool's heart is at his left," — seems to mcsLn—First. That a wise man 7ninds his own proper business; whereas the fool neglects what belongs to himself, and is exceedingly officious, intermeddling, and full of sagacious counsel, in every one's concerns but his own. Any wisdom he has is " at his left hand :" it is applied in the wrong place. — Secondlt/, The under- standing of the wise man is at all times readt/ for his immediate direction y-*-^ ' Sit his right hand." So that, being steadily applied to its proper business, it is pre- pared to meet times of emergency, and to act as cir- cumstances direct, so as not to ruin or even injure his affairs, either by imprudent precipitation or unnecessary delay. The fool, on the contrary, is ever uncertain, ever at a loss, all hesitation and perplexity. His wisdom is always to seek. It is never to be found at home ; but is continually roaming abroad among a thousand matters with which he has nothing to do ; so that, in his own proper concerns he is incessantly taken at unawares, startled, disconcerted, stupified ; and the moment of 450 LECTURE XIX. needful action being lost, his affairs are irretrievably disordered. — Thirdly. That which the wise man does, his wisdom enables him to do well—Wiiki skill and dex- terity — (a word derived from the very circumstance of the right hand being the hand of promptitude and skill,)*— whereas the fool, when he does any thing at all, does it with his left hand -, not only applying any little fragments of wisdom he may possess, in a wrong direc- tion, but bungling, blundering, and failing, even in that which he attempts. The fool has not even so much wisdom as to conceal his folly. " When he walketh by the way,"— that is, in the whole of his ordinary intercourse with men, — in the daily concerns of common life,—^* his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool." He cannot meet a neighbour on the road without making an exposure of his folly. By some ridiculous speech or out-of-the-way action, he makes the vacancy or the dis- tortion of his mind as apparent as if he were to say to every one *' I am a fool." He blabs out imprudently and inconsiderately what he does know, without regard to time, place, or company ; or he talks ignorantly and absurdly of what he does not know. By his words, by his actions, or by his manner in both, he tells to all his folly, exposing himself to the pity of some, and to the contempt and derision of others. Nobody respects him ; nobody can place any dependence upon him, or com- mit any business to his care. The fourth verse contains one of the counsels of wis- dom : — " If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place ; for yielding pacific th great of- fences." It is very similar to the advice in chap. viii. 3. " Be not hasty to go out of his sight ; stand not in an evil thing ; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him." * Latin— Dexter. ECCLES. X. 1 10. 451 The case brought before us is that of a real or sup- posed fault on the part of a subject, by which the anger of his prince has been excited. — In such circumstances, a proud and hasty fool would instantly throw up his place, avow himself a rebel, and endanger his head. Wisdom will act a different part. ** Leave not thy place -."—do not rashly and passionately quit the prince's presence and renounce his service. If you have com- mitted the fault, frank and ingenuous confession is more than your interest, — it is your incumbent duty. If you have not, yield a little in the mean time, and take a more favourable opportunity afterwards, when '^the spirit of the ruler" is calmer, and more disposed to listen to reason and right, of clearing your character, and establishing your innocence. Do not argue with an angry, man ; and least of all with an angry prince. Let him have time to cool. ** Yielding pacilieth great offences." It settles them, and brings them to rest. There is a vast deal more to be gained by meekness and gentleness, and by a little calm prudence and ma- nagement, than by resentful and intemperate violence. Rulers, it is acknowledged by the Royal Preacher, do not always conduct themselves agreeably to the dic- tates of true wisdom, or in a manner in all respects cal- culated to fix the affectionate regards of their subjects. One evil, fitted to give occasion for much envy and jealousy, contempt and wrath, he specifies in verses 5 — 7 : " There is an evil (which) I have seen under the sun, as an error (which) proceedeth from the ruler. Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth." The evil which is animadverted on in these words is the capricious and unreasonable advancement of igno- 452 LECTURE XIX. rant and incapable minions from a low to a high station, from infieriority and subjection to eminence and au- thority ; whilst the nobles of the land, who, from their birth, and wealth, and influence, might be supposed destined to high placre, and by their education, and the study of the law, and government, and politics of their country, qualified for elevation and rule, are overlooked and degraded, being set beneath the indigent, and empty, and despicable upstart ; so that while a servant, — or rather a slave,--rides in all the pomp of pageantry and state, princes and nobles walk— as his inferiors and at- tendants,— on foot. This was far from being a very un- common case, under the despotic governments of the East ; slaves of the palace being not unfrequently, from caprice, partiality, or secret selfishness, advanced to the highest ranks, to look down, in haughty supercilious- ness, on theif natural and deserving superiors. The passage is not to be interpreted as if it pre- cluded men of low degree from mounting by their own merit, gradually and fairly, by successive steps of ad- vancement, even to the highest and most honourable offices of the state. The evil consists in elevating the low, not merely from a low station, but from such a station accompanied with incapacity : — ** Folly is set in great dignity." Uneducated, inexperienced, narrow- minded and imprudent men, as low in mental character as base in birth and in station, are suddenly exalted to superiority and power, by senseless or unprincipled favouritism. Such men have disgraced their unseemly dignity, by mean, mercenary, imperious,- rash, and ruinous misconduct. For, in most instances, such up- starts in the state, turn out not merely fools, but inso- lent and overbearing tyrants. Many a time has such conduct brought shame and ECCLES. X. 1 10. 453 ruin, not on the favourite himself only, but on his im- prudent master, accompanied sometimes also with seri- ous calamity to the state : and the language of the fol- lowing verse might be considered as referring to the foolishness of such a ruler ; who, in degrading his no- bles, and exalting his unworthy minion, digs a pit for himself; — Verse 8. "He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it ; and whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him." The eighth, ninth, and tenth verses, however, taken together, may be more naturally interpreted, as a cau- tion against rash, inconsiderate rebellion, — precipitate, ill-advised, ill-concerted, and ill-conducted attempts, to overturn or to alter the established government of a country. Such attempts can never be made without imminent hazard to him who ventures upon them ; — Verses 8 — 10. <* He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it ; and he that breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith ; (and) he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered there- by. If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then he must put to more strength : — but wisdom is profitable to direct." Even with regard to such a court minion as has above been described, the patriotic desire to bring him down from his elevation, and to deliver the country from the mischiefs his folly inflicts upon it, may be attended with no little danger in the attempt at its accomplishment. The man who violently seeks his downfall may bring injury, and possibly even death, upon himself. — But the verses have a general and strong application to those who give way to the suggestions of pride and resent- ment for real or fancied injuries, and are driven on, by intemperate discontent, to schemes of sedition^ or open 454 LECTURE XIX. rebellion. When a man digs a pit, there is a risk of his falling into it himself. So when either a ruler be- comes a tyrant, or a subject a rebel, the oppressive abuse of power endangers the safety of the one, and the resistance of lawful authoritj'- that of the other. — The violent dealing both of the tyrant and of the rebel, is ever ready to come down upon their own heads. All history concurs to show us how both the one and the other have ^^ digged pits" for themselves, — falling vic- tims to their own lawless passions, or to their inconsi- deration and rashness ; the retributive justice of Divine providence frequently displaying itself, in infatuating wicked men, in leaving them to outwit themselves, and to be " snared in the works of their own hands." — The man who " breaks a hedge," — an old hedge, where ser- pents are wont to lurk, may expect to be bitten : so he who attempts incautiously to break down or to root up the ancient fences and boundaries of law and govern- ment, is in imminent jeopardy of receiving deadly stings ; — either bringing down premature vengeance upon his head from the existing powers, or involving himself in ruin by the disturbances which he excites. " Whoso removeth stones" — from a building, for instance, with the view of pulling it down, — "shall be hurt therewith;" the stones falling upon him, bruising him, and breaking his bones, — especially if he goes to work in a hasty and unskilful manner, or attempts the removal of what is too heavy for his strength : — so the man who sets himself to pull down or to alter the fabric of the constitution and government of a country, under- takes a work of no light or trifling difficulty, and a work always of hazard to himself, and very often of fearfully doubtful benefit to others. It is a vast deal easier to find fault than to mend ; to complain of what is wrong, than ECCLES. X. 1- — 10. 455 to substitute what is right ; to pull down an old house, than to build up a new one. ** (And) he that cleave th wood shall be endangered therewith." In all cases there is risk of this. But the risk is various in degree ; and it is especially great, when a man sets about his work with bad tools : — Verse 10. ** If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength;" and the hiore strength he is obliged to apply, the hazard of ac- cident becomes the more imminent. So is it with the man who presumes to act the part of a corrector of er- rors, and reformer of abuses, without natural capacity, without experience and skill, without adequate and well- prepared means; or who attempts to accomplish by force and violence what he cannot effect by prudence and management. The peril to himself is thus tenfold augmented, and along with the peril to himself, the ha- zard of mischief to others. But in these and in all other matters, '* wisdom is profitable to direct." It is of use to guide us, in the whole of our conduct, according to the circumstances which providence allots us:--to ** direct" to the most proper objects of desire and pursuit, and to the best means of attaining them ; to the most eligible method of employing these means, and to the most suitable time for their application. All these come within the pro- vince of wisdom ; and to all these due attention is ne- cessary, in order to good being done effectually and safely without failure and shame, and without concomi- tant or subsequent mischief. Allow me, before closing— zn the first place, to apply the observation in the first verse of the chapter, in a more particular manner, to Christian character, — *' A good name," it is said in the beginning of the seventh 456 LECTURE XIX. chapter, ** (is) better than precious ointment.'' In pro<. portion to its value, it should be preserved with care ; as the apothecary will be anxious, according to the fineness and costliness of his perfume, to keep it from dead flies, and every other means of deterioration and corruption. It is precious in itself, and ought to be carefully retained for its own sake. It is precious on account of the happy influence imparted by it, in enforcing all a man's instructions, and counsels, and attempts at usefulness; and should be cherished for the sake of its effects. When a man possesses a high character as a Christian, he is "in repu- tation for wisdom and honour" of the most excel- lent kind. This is " a good name" indeed ; — the best it is possible to enjoy. It is like that sacred oint- ment, compounded by the instructions of God himself, which was to be applied to no common or profane use, and of which no imitation was permitted to be made. O my Christian brethren, of what importance is it, for the honour of God our Saviour, and for the best inte- rests of our fellow-men, that we preserve this reputa- tion untainted ! When David, by his fall, " gave occa- sion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme," he did essential injury to both; injury that has never been re- paired even to this day : — ^for his recorded sin is still the sneer of the scoffing infidel, and the encouragement of the determined offender. O seek, earnestly and im- portunately seek, those supplies of grace that are need- ful, for enabling you to maintain a steady consistency, — to keep your garments clean, amid the pollutions of a defiled and defiling world, — to keep the sweet per- fume of your Christian virtues free from the corruption of offensive incongruities. Remember the eyes of the men of the world are intently fixed on those whom the bleissed Redeemer has " chosen out of the world/' and who profess to have separated themselves from its sins and its vanities. They watch them narrowly. They arc acute detectors of inconsistency. They have a malign nant satisfaction in the discovery of evil ; and, when a discovery is made, there are no bounds to the severity of their censure ; they know not what it is to make al-* lowances. It speedily circulates, gathering aggravations in its progress. It is commented on with all the keen- ness of invective, and all the bitterness of sarcasm ; with the sneer, the shrug, the wink, the smile of irony^ the sallies of satirical humour, and the loud laugh of jesting and buffoonery. The unhappy transgressor may have *^ wept a silent flood;" his penitent spirit may- have been "pierced through with many sorrows;" he may have ** confessed his transgression to the Lord," and found forgiveness at the foot of the cross. But the evil he has done to others may be beyond remedy.—- And remember, my brethren, it is not by gross sins alone that your Christian reputation and usefulness may be injured. Flaws and defects, and failings^ which in others would pass unnoticed^ may be marked and mag* nified in you. The unguarded liberty of a single hour may sink in the scale the character acquired in succes". sive years ; and even a foible may mar your influence, and be like the dead fly in the ointment of the apothe*. cary. The higher you stand in situation and repute, the greater is your danger, and the more imperative the call to vigilant self-jealousy.-^Be you ever so watchful, it is true, you may be the victims of calumny and false accusation ; but let it be your constant aim, with the implored aid of the Spirit of God, to " abstain from all appearance of evil," and to " cut off* occasion from those who desire occasion" against yourselves, an4 3 M 458 LECTURE XIX. against the Master whom you serve. *^ Walk in wis- dom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech (be) alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." ** Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and (be) ready always to (give) an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear : having a good conscience ; that, whereas they speak against you as evil-doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ."* Secondly. If a wise man's heart is at his right hand, and a fool's heart at his left, there is one most important particular, in which all are by nature fools ; and the grace of God alone corrects the folly. — There is one object, about which every man whose understanding is not miserably perverted, must feel a special solicitude ; and for which, calculating on the principles of common prudence, every thing else ought to be cheerfully sacri- ficed. Yet while " all things are full of labour," the diversified toils of men are almost exclusively for *' the meat that perisheth." How few comparatively mind the gracious injunction, to " labour for that which endureth to eternal life!" This is a description of labour to which men have no natural inclination; in which, alas ! every man's heart is *' at his left hand." He either ne- glects it altogether, or he sets about it on false princi- ples, and in a wrong way. The truly wise man, the man whose heart is ** at his right hand," considers im- mortality as incomparably the most important concern of an immortal creature ; and the service of God, in whatever sphere he occupies, as his happiness and his honour. To this service he applies his right hand, em- ♦ Col. iv. 5, 6. 1 Pet. iii. 15, 16. ECCLES. X. 1 10. 459 ploying in it all his power and all his skill. — And whilst he pursues the highest of all aims, he does it according to the directions of a wisdom superior to his own. The fool may attempt to serve God in his own way and in his own strength, and to attain immortal life on the ground of his own fancied merits. But the wise man, impressed with the presumption and vanity of all such attempts on the part of sinful creatures, guilty, con- demned, and without strength, accepts, with gratitude, the offers of mercy. Instead of *' going about to esta- blish his own righteousness," trying to make out a condition of life which he has already violated, forming and breaking unprofitable resolutions, he '* submits himself to the righteousness of God," — " the righteous- ness which is by faith." " Accepted in the beloved," he gives himself to God in active service, under the impulse of grateful love. His right hand, and all the powers of his mind directing its efforts, are devoted to his new Master. He follows implicitly the dictates of his will ; throwing aside his own inventions and reason- ings, and pursuing Divine ends by Divine means, seeking God's glory in God's own way, and never pre- suming that he can improve upon the counsels of Hea- ven. When he acts otherwise than thus, his ** heart is at his left hand." " Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise. For the wis- dom of this world is foolishness with God ; for it is written. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness : and again. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." If, instead of humbly abiding by the instructions given us, we begin to devise rules and to follow methods of our own, it will turn out in the end only an exhibition of our folly. It will be <* saying to 46^ LECTURE XIX. every one that we are fools." And instead of whatso- ever we do prospering, nothing can be anticipated from our schemes but failure and shame. Thirdly. Observe the manner in which all offences and differences should be managed, if our object be to heal, and to restore confidence and peace. — The advice and sentiment in the fourth verse may be profitably generalized. You may not be called to " Stand before Ivings," and to incur the displeasure of rulers. But in all the various intercourse of life, — in the family, in the church, in the world, — bear in mind the maxim, that *' yielding pacifieth great offences." Nothing is to be gained by proud defiance and angry violence ; by the display of an unbending spirit ; a spirit that scorns to confess its own faults, and that seem to stoop and con- descend, with haughty superciliousness, in receiving the acknowledgments of others. A gentle yielding spirit is the spirit of conciliation and harmony. Anger irritates and inflames the wound ; meekness mollifies, cleanses, and heals it. Resentful pride adds fury to the 9torm ; a mild demeanour changes it to a calm. By the pouring on of oil we may smooth the wave, which we should lash and rebuke in vain. '* Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mer* cies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long- suffering; forbearing one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any ; even as Christ forgave you, so also (do) ye. And above all these things (put on) love^ which is the bond of per^ fectness : and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body ; and be ye thankful."^ jPQMVthly^ It is a good general principle, reasonable * C haps, be a special reference to such short comprehen- sive sayings as the Proverbs, (verse 9.) which are fitted to make a deep and abiding impression on the mind, and to be easily kept in remembrance. Like nails they are at once sharp, and take a firm hold. And these words of the wise **are given from one shepherd." Can there be any hesitation about the mean- ing of this ? The *' Shepherd of Israel, who guided Jo- seph like a flock, ^-he that dwelt between the cheru- bim," — -he is the original giver of all the words of in- spired wisdom. The subordinate shepherds, the di- vinely commissioned teachers and guides, were many ; but they received all their communications from him, ^— The designation is most frequently applied in the Sciptures to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Divine Mes- siah.* And as He, the second Person of the blessed Trinity, is represented as having from the beginning had the immediate conduct of the whole scheme of re- demption, it is likely that we should understand the words before us of Hjm. — The prophets, who prophe- sied of the grace that was to come unto the church in the fulness of time, " inquired and investigated dili- gently,— -searching what or what manner of time the gpjRiT OP Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom," says the apostle Peter, ** it was revealed, that not unto them- selves, but unto us, they did minister the things which are now reported unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." Thus the Spirit that spoke )yy the prophets and by the apostles is the same. The * t'oppare |*saL xxiii. 1. Isa. xl. 10, 11. Ezek. xxxiv, 23. Jolm x. It Heb, xUi. 29, 1 Pet. v. 4- ECCLES. XII. 8 — 14. 557 words of the wise are ** the true sayings of God;" to be received by us as such, with humble reverence, lively gratitude, constant remembrance, and prompt and universal obedience. Verse 12. ** And further, by these, my son, be ad- monished : of making many books (there is) no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh." " My son :" — This is the same style of address with that used by Solomon in the book of Proverbs. He is not, I think, to be understood as directing his discourse expressly and exclusively to Rehoboam, but in general to his reader^ whosoever he might be. It is the address of an old man, and the expression of an affectionate heart. Solomon uses it in the same spirit with the venerable apostle John, when he writes to the disciples of Christ, in his advanced age, as his little children : — ** My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not." ^* By these ^ my son, be admonished." This may mean, either, by ** the words of the wise" in general, mentioned in the eleventh verse, or more particularly, by the words of wisdom contained in the book which he was just bringing to a close. In the latter view of the verse it may be thus para- phrased:— " Receive, my son, the admonitior^s con- veyed in this brief review of the vanity of life. ' Of making many books (there is) no end, and much study (is) a weariness to the flesh.' A vast deal more might be written. I might multiply treatises. The subject, in connection with others that are related to it, is inex- haustible. But ' of making many books (there is) no end.' I need not set myself to the endless task. By these^ my son, be admonished. I have said enough for your conviction and warning. Receive the instruction, 558 LECTURE XXIII. and be wise. I might write, till the study of what was written would be a weariness to the flesh. But there is no need. Let what I have written suffice." In the former view, thus :— *' My son, I have writ- ten much, and I have studied more. Many a time have 1 worn out my bodily strength, in my researches into the works of nature and of art,— into all the subjects that occupy human investigation. Of such pursuits and labour I find there is no end : and however agreeable, and however profitable, they may in some respects be, and however worthy of a share of thy attention, — yet let me, above all things, direct you to < the words of the wise,' — to the writings of Moses and the prophets, to the ' lively oracles' given, through them, by the one Shepherd, the God of Israel. By these, my son, be ad- monished : — make these the men of thy counsel, — thine instructors, thy guides, thy reprovers, thy comforters. From other works you may receive entertainment, and, by hard and wearisome study, extensive, and, it may be, useful information. But these alone can make you truly wise, wise from above, wise unto salvation: — * The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul : the testimony of Lord is sure, making wise the simple : the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart : the commandment of Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes : the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever : the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous alto- gether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold ; sweeter also than honey, and the honey-comb.' "* He then proceeds to sum up the whole in a single weighty sentence, one of ^* the words of the wise :" — Verses 14, 15. *' Let us hear the conclusion of the ♦ PsalvxU. 7—10. ECCLES. XII. 8 — 14. 559 whole matter; Fear God, and keep his commandments : for this is the whole (duty) of man. For *God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether (it be) good, or whether (it be) evil." " Fear God, and keep his commandments."— These words express a principle, along with the conduct which natively flows from it, and is the evidence of its "existence. The fear of God comprehends in it all the gracious affections of the soul towards Him, which are produced by the Holy Spirit, and ought to be cherished under his supplicated influence ;— holy awe of his infi- nite majesty, his spotless purity, and inflexible justice, —fervent gratitude for his goodness and mercy, — con- fidence in his wisdom, power, and faithfulness, — im- plicit submission to his sovereign will, — and supreme delight in his entire character.— The fear of God is founded in the knowledge of what he has revealed him- self to be ; and it is not only inseparable from love, but invariably proportioned to it in degree. There may be terror where there is no love ; nay, where there is deep- felt and inveterate hatred. But this is as different from the gracious fear of God, as the trembling of a slave who detests his master, but feels himself to be in his power and at his mercy, is different from the filial re- verence of an affectionate and ingenuous child, who, in proportion as he loves his father, dreads incurring his displeasure, and is made unhappy by a single word or look of disapprobation. It is the thought of his parent's anger, not the pain of correction, that grieves the spirit of such a child ; and the agony of that thought is ex- actly according to the intensity and tenderness of his affection. The fear of God, accordingly, is, in Scripture, gene- rally put for the whole of true religion in the heart, ai>d 560 LECTURE XXtn. is, not unfrequently, inclusive also of its practical re- suits in the life. Those who ^*fear God," and those who have " no fear of God before their eyes," are the two great descriptions of mankind. Wherever the fear of God exists in the heart, there will follow the keep- ing of his commandments in the life ; and it is from the latter that we are to judge of the former. God's name is not feared, when his commandments are not obeyed. Practice is the test of principle,— the only sure criterion of all profession. It is the two together that constitute true religion. The heart must be " right with God," and the life must prove its rectitude. ** The fear of the Lord, that (is) wisdom ; and to depart from evil (is) understanding:" — "The fear of the Lord, (is) the be- ginning of wisdom ; a good understanding have all they that do (his commandments)."* "This (is) the whole (duty) of man."— The word dufi/ is in this translation supplementary. The expres- sion in the original, — ** This is the whole of man," — has not, that 1 am aware of, any parallels by which it might be illustrated. The supplement of the word (duty) destroys its evidently designed comprehensive- ness. It is not only the whole duty, but the whole ho- nour, and interest, and happiness of man. And as hap- piness is the chief subject of the treatise, it might per- haps be a more appropriate supplement than the other. It is true indeed, inferentially,— invariably true, that the duty of man is his happiness ; that the latter is insepa- rably associated with the former. But may not this be the very sentiment which Solomon intended to convey ? The duty is expressed, and the happiness inferred. He sums up duty, in its principle and practice, and de- clares the fulfilment of this summary to constitute the * Job. xxviii, 28. Psal.cxi. 10. ECCLES. XII. 8 14. 561 whole happiness of man. That which men, in ten thou- sand ways, seek in vain, — all their pursuits terminating in ^^ vanity and vexation of spirit," — this is the short and infallible way to find. — True religion, — the fear and service of God, — is the honour and the happiness of man in the present life ; and what is infinitely more, it embraces his entire existence as an immortal being, and secures his honour and happiness for the life to come. The honour and the happiness of such a being can never be truly estimated without viewing him in his relation to eternity. A life of true religion is the only life that yields present enjoyment worthy of his spiritual and deathless nature ; and it is the only life that can ever end well. **Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is all that concerneth MAN," — is a sentiment that will be seen and felt in all its truth and importance, in that solemn day, that shall wind up and close the eventful history of our world, and fix, by an irrepealable sentence, the eternal destiny of every child of Adam : — Verse 14. ** For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether (it be) good; or whether (it be) evil." The certainty of this event is ascertained by all the evidence that establishes the Divine authority of the Bible ; — it is confirmed by the secret intimations of conscience ; and by all the present irregularities, other- wise so unaccountable, in the Divine administration towards the children of men. — The solemnity of the event is unspeakable : — the assembling of all the mil- lions of mankind that shall ever have existed, from the beginning to the close of time, before the tribunal of the universal Sovereign ! — when '^ the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt 4B S62 LECTURE XXllI. with fervent heat ; the earth also, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up."*—-" I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened ; and another book was opened, which is (the book) of Hfe : and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. "f "Every work" and ^* every secret thing" shall tlien be " brought into judgment :" — all the doings of men, however private, however anxiously concealed from their fellow-creatures, performed in the dead of night, and far from any human eye ; — and all their thoughts, and desires, and purposes, though studiously kept within their bosoms, and never whispered to human ear. Nothing shall escape detection and disclosure. The eye of omniscience having witnessed all, and the Mind that embraces present, past, and future, with equal minuteness and equal certainty, having retained all, the sentence pronounced on each individual will be founded in a complete and unerring knowledge of all that he has been, and of all that he has done. This is probably all that is meant by God's ^' bringing every work into judgment." There will be such a develope- thent of character, as shall justify the Supreme Judge, and the judgments he pronounces and executes, in the consciences of the condemned, and certify his unim- peachable righteousness to angels and men : but there seems no necessity for supposing a public discovery of every deed, and word, and thought, of every individual of the myriads before the judgment-seat. The Scriptures assure us, that the Lord Jesus Christ * 2 Pet. iii, 10. t Kev. xx. 11, 12. ECCLES. XII. 8 14. 568 is to occupy, on that day, the throne of universal judg- ment : — ** the throne of his glory :"^ and the language of the prophet, in prospect of the first coming of the Son of God, may, in all its emphasis, be applied to his second : — " But who may abide the day of his coming ? and who shall stand when He appeareth?" — What an- swer shall we give to this solemn enquiry ? Shall none stand ?— Yes : there shall ** stand before the throne and before the Lamb a multitude which no one can num- ber, out of all kindreds, and peoples, and nations, and tongues, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, and shall sing with a loud voice. Salvation unto our God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb !" And this multitude shall consist of those who had sustained while on earth a certain character. That character is now before us. They shall all be such as '* feared God and kept his commandments." **The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous: for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." It is necessary, however, to remind you, that the true fear of God, and the obedience thence resulting, must be founded in the faith of that testimony concerning himself which he has given us in his word. Nothing can be more manifest, than that, if God has revealed himself to sinners, and calls upon them to fear him, he means that he should be feared in the character in which he is revealed. The man who, with that revelation in his hand, professes to fear and to obey God on other terms than those which it prescribes, instead of honour- ing, insults him, — instead of offering an acceptable ser- ♦ See John v. 22—27. Acts xvii. 30, 31. x. 42. Matt. xxv. 31—46. 2 Cor.v. 10,&c. 5Qii LECTURE XXIII. vice, presents what he must reject with indignation. When God makes himself known to sinners^ he makes himself known in a character corresponding to their condition. It is to men as sinners that the Bible is ad- dressed. If they do not read it in the remembrance of this, they cannot understand it ; for the meaning and appropriateness of any communication must depend on the character, and circumstances, and consequent needs, of those to whom it is made. As sinners, men need salvation. In the Bible, accordingly, God appears as ^^the God of salvation ;" and to '* show unto men the way of salvation," is its principal, — nay, I might almost say, taking salvation in the most enlarged sense of the term, its exclusive design. — It follows, that no sinner can be considered as truly fearing God, till he has re- cognized him in this relation, and distinctly and fully acquiesced in that way of salvation, or those proposals of mercy, which he has been graciously pleased to re- veal. The first expression of the genuine fear of God, on the part of a fallen creature, is the prayer of the pub- lican, uttered in the publican's frame of spirit, ^'God, be merciful to me a sinner!" — A self-righteous sinner is the strangest, the most anomalous, and self-contra- dictory of all characters. That sinner shows that he has no right conceptions, no becoming impressions, of the purity and justice of his offended Maker, — that there is ^* no true fear of God before his eyes," — who presumes to think that he can justify himself in his presence. Before man had sinned, it was the law, or authoritative appointment, of God, that he should hold his life of original blessedness on the condition of his continued innocence. But the moment man fell, and became a sinqer, his case was necessarily altered ; and it is now equally the law, or authoritative appointment, of God, ECCLES. XII. 8 — 14. 565 that, as a sinner, he must owe his forgiveness and hap- piness to sovereign grace and mercy, through faith in a Mediator. The reception given to the offers of a free salvation is now the test of loyalty or rebellion. That man retains in his bosom the spirit of a rebel, who per- sists in attempting what God has declared impossible, and in flattering himself he can want what God has pro- nounced indispensable ; who flies in the face of his most explicit assurances, that " by the works of the law no flesh living shall be justified," and still " goes about to establish his own righteousness ; who puts in his claim for right, when he should present his petition for favour; who, openly or secretly, in words or in heart, inserts his own name into that plea, from which the most High has excluded every name in or under heaven, but the name of his Son ; who professes to seek the favour of God by " keeping his commandments," — and forgets that "this is his commandment," — and, to a sinful creature, necessarily the first of all his commandments, — " that he believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ." No true obedience, besides, can be rendered to the Divine commandments, so long as the heart continues estranged from God, and in its natural state of enmity against him i—and this enmity is slain only by the cross. The fear and the love of God take possession of the sinner's heart together, when, feeling his sinfulness and condemnation, he flees thither for safety, beholds there ^' mercy and truth meeting together, righteousness and peace embracing each other," justice and grace revealed with equal honour in the sufferings of the appointed Surety, *' good-will to men" in union with *' glory to God." The believing contemplation of these Divine harmonies at once penetrates with awe and melts with love :— and the sinner, relieved from slavish terror, and 566 LECTURE XXIII. tenewed in the spirit of his mind, ^' runs in the way of God's commandments." Fear restrains him from evil, and love incites him to good. Allow me, then, in improving our exposition of these verses, in the first place, most earnestly to entreat you all, to give attention to " the words of the wise." — The holy Scriptures are the records of Divine wisdom. They are very various ; and they are all profitable. No know- ledge, no wisdom, can be compared with that which they reveal. The treasures of the mind of Deity are laid open here. Things are made known which ** eye had not seen, nor ear heard, and which it had not en- tered into the heart of man to conceive." Here, and here alone, are **the words of eternal life." — It is not to the philosophers of this world that your attention is now invited. Their researches in the various sciences, the sciences both of matter and of mind, we wish not to undervalue. In their subjects, these sciences are rational and dignified ; in their discoveries, speculations, and reasonings, they are often interesting, elegant and instructive ; and in many of their results, in their ap- plication to the purposes of human life, they are, in no small degree, useful. But, in religion and morals, the only safe instructors are those who received their'lessons from God himself. All others are " blind guides," who '* professing themselves to be wise, have become fools." — *' Where is the wise ? where is the scribe ? where is the disputer of this world ? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world ? For after that, in the wis- dom of God, the world, by wisdom, knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom ; but we," (says one of those whom God commissioned to " destroy the wisdom of ECCiiES. XII. 8 — 14. 567 the wise, and to bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent,")— "we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness, but unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Be- cause the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."* The gospel of Christ is, with peculiar emphasis, denominated " the wisdom of God," being the most astonishing, and to us the most deeply interesting, of all the exertions and discoveries of Divine intelligence. The mechanical skill, displayed in the works of nature, marvellous as it is, must yield in excellence to what may be termed the moral wisdom of the scheme of grace. The goodness visible in creation is transcendently surpassed by the mercy manifested in redemption. It is the knowledge of this discovery of God, that constitutes the most valuable wisdom. An acquaintance with all his other works, throughout the entire range of nature, suppos- ing it attainable, could not countervail the ignorance of this. It would raise its possessor, indeed, to an eleva- tion incomparably higher amongst his fellow- men ; it would place his name first in the lists of scientific eminence, and transmit it for the wonder and applause of future generations. But it would not procure him, what the wisest as well as the weakest requires, the pardoning mercy of God, and eternal life. There is only one description of knowledge with which these are associated, and the weakest possessor of that know- ledge is wiser than the wisest who is without it. Des- pised by men, it is highly esteemed with God. Ex- cluded from human philosophy, and the possession of it, so far from being reckoned amongst the requisites * 1 Gor. i. 20—25. 568 LECTURE XXifr. of a man oF science, exposing him to derision, father than procuring him honour ; it is the philosophy of the Bible ; it is the philosophy of heaven : — " These things the angels desire to look into."— O despise not, then, those '' words of the wise," which declare the " faith- ful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world, to save sinners." Despise not the words of this heavenly teacher himself, who is the Wisdom and the Word of God, on whom the Spirit was poured without measure, and who " spoke as never man spoke." Let his sayings sink deep into your ears. Receive them with meekness, and retain them with faith and love. Keep them, for they are your life. — " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up ; that whosoever be- lieveth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only be- gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world ; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned : but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, be- cause their deeds were evil." *' All things arc delivered unto me of my Father : and no man knov/eth the Son, but the Father ; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and (he) to whomsoever the Son will re- veal (him.) Come unto me, all (ye) that labour and are heavy laden, and 1 will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; for I am meek and iQwly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ECCLES. XII. 8 14. ^69 For my yoke (is) easy and my burden is light." " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me : and I give unto them eternal life ; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father, who gave (them) me, is greater than all ; and none is able to pluck (them) out of my Fa- ther's hand. I and (my) Father are one." " I am the resurrection, and the life : he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live : and whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die."— O that these words of " a greater than Solomon," may be esteemed by you, as they truly are, words of wisdom, and not contemned as foolishness ! May they be <* as goads," ^* pricking you in your hearts," piercing your consciences with a sense of sin and danger, and urg- ing you forward to the only Saviour ! May the great ** master of assemblies" himself *' fasten them as nails," —giving them a deep, an abiding, a salutary and saving impression in every heart I Secondly. Ye who have " tasted that the Lord is gracious," who have felt the value of the word of God, and have learned to ** count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge" which it contains, — who have known in your experience that to " fear God and keep his commandments" is the whole happiness of man, and are satisfied that it is his highest honour, — be encouraged to persevere unto the end. — Prize more and more highly " the words of the wise." " Search the Scriptures." Believe the truths ; rejoice in the promi- ses ; practise the precepts, of this blessed book. ** Be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." Keep in your view the solemnities of a coming judgment : and whilst your hopes of acceptance at that day are founded exclusively in ** grace reigning 4C SVO X.ECTU11B xxm, through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord," forget not the obligations under which you lie to " glorify God in your bodies and in your spirits, which are his." Remember, the Master whom you serve has said to you, respecting whatever talents he has in- trusted to your management, ^* Occupy till I come." Use them not, then, for sinful or selfish ends; wrap them not in a napkin ; but employ them with diligence for the honour of his name and the interest of his cause; that when he comes to take account of your steward- ship, he may own you with his approving sentence, " Well done, good and faithful servant ;— enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Let not the vanities of the world seduce you from the possession and the pursuit of better and more en- during joys. Let the lesson that *' all is vanity," be imprinted on your minds, as a truth affirmed by God, and attested by the unvarying experience of men. Let nothing tempt you to repeat Solomon's unwise experi- ment ; but rest satisfied, and act upon the assurance, that the result would be to you the same as it was to him. " Cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart." Let HIM be, to the end, ^' the portion of your inheri- tance and of your cup." Still " fear God, and keep his commandments ;" and you will increasingly experience while here, and fully know hereafter, that " this is the whole" happiness, and honour, and interest, " of man^" for time, and for eternity. Lastly, It ought to be our desire and aim who pro- fess to be servants of God in the ministry of the word, to make that word the exclusive standard of all our in- structions, and to present and recommend these instruc- tions with the same end in view, as to our hearers, with that for which they are given to us of God.— -It is our ECCLES. XII. 8 14. 571 duty to *' speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," with a single eye to the glory of God and the best interests of men.— ** To the law, and to the testimony : if we speak not according to this word, there is no light in us ;"— and if we decJare the truths of this word for selfish and unworthy purposes, the blessed Author of it may give these truths efficacy for the sal- vation of others, but our service he will disown : — he may save the hearer, but he will reject the preacher. I have endeavoured to set before you, and to press upon your serious attention, the doctrine taught, and the conduct recommended and enjoined, in this interest- ing portion of the sacred volume, I hope with a sincere desire to promote the honour of my Master, and the present and future benefit of my hearers. But whatever may have been the motives and aims of the preacher, of one thing be ye confidently assured, that in all that he has revealed, — in every doctrine, every precept, every promise, every warning, every threatening, the Divine Author of the Bible has your good invariably in view. By what else, indeed, could he be influenced ? — To his doctrines does he not graciously subjoin, Believe, and live ? — Where amongst his precepts is the one that is v.nt fitted to promote the well-being of him that keeps it?— His promises! — are they not ^^ exceeding great and precious ?" — What is the sum of all his warnings^ but Do thyself no harm ?— And even his threatenings^ — the most tremendous declarations of the coming wrath, —are they not the utterance of mercy ? — of that mercy that is "not willing that any should perish," and that " has no pleasure in the death of him that dieth ?" — What is the language of every one of them, coming from the very heart of that infinite Being who ** de- lighteth in mercy ?" — Is it not, ** Escape for thy life i'^ 573 LECTURE XXIII. ECCLES. XII. 8 14. ^^Flee from the wrath to come !'' ** Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die ?" Are not the two great lessons of that book of which we are now closing our review, lessons dictated by the love of a benevolent God ? Why does he record in his word, and urge upon your attention, the assurance that <^all is vanity," but to keep you from deceiving your- selves, where deception would be your ruin ? — Why does he exhibit the emptiness of the shadow, but to induce you to lay hold on the substance ? — Why does he warn you away from the " streams of false delight," but to conduct you to the fountain of unmingled and eternal joy ?-~Be assured, every one of you, that all the contents of his word are in harmony with the kindness of his heart :— -that he makes nothing your duty which you will not find to be at the same time your interest : — and under this conviction, hear again *' the conclusion of the whole matter," the comprehensive summary of these " words of the wise" to which we have been at- tending, — the aim of the writer from the beginning to the close of his treatise, — the end to which he meant all his details to lead,— the grand lesson which the whole were intended to teach and to impress ; may it be graven in indelible characters on all your hearts, and may the God by whose authority it comes, give you to enjoy the full experience of its truth !- — " fear God, and K^EP HIS commandments; for this IS ALL THAT CONC-ERNETH MAn!" END QF THE LECTURE,S. SERMON/ Preached on occasion of the Author's Fa- ther, William Wardlaw, Es(^. who was removed from this world to the world of SPIRITS, ON THE MORNING OF THE LORD's DAY, May 20th, 1821, in the 80th year of his age. Gen. xlix. 29 — 31. 29 " jind he charged them^ and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people : bury me ivith my fathersy in the cave that fisj in 30 in the field of Ephron the Hittite ; In the cave that fisj in the field of Machpdah, which fisJ before Mamre, in the land of Canaan^ which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite, for a 31 possession of a burying-place. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried Leah,"** XT is but a few weeks, my brethren, since, in address- ing consolation to mourners in our assembly, I had oc- casion to observe, that such subjects were never un- seasonable to any ; because none of us, in the midst of the most complete enjoyment, could possibly tell how soon the same comforts might be needed by ourselves. I did not then anticipate, that myself and my kindred were to aftbrd, as we do this day, appearing amongst you in the garb of sorrow, an exemplification of the truth of the remark. And I cannot be sure, but that, in follow- ing the current of my own feelings, whilst I am sooth- ing the spirit of my weeping friends, I may be also pre- paring some others for the arrival of similar afflictions. * See Preface, page vii. 574i SERMON ON —May the Spirit of God,— the Spirit of power and of peace, — be with us, whilst we meditate on the interest- ing views that are suggested by the text ! The name of Jacob is one of three, on which the highest honour has been conferred that could be be- stowed on the names of mortal men ; — that of being associated with the name of Jehovah, in the designation, chosen by himself, and to be transmitted to the close of time, — " I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob : — this is my name for ever : and this is my memorial unto all generations."* — The covenant made with Abraham, four hundred and thirty years before the law, being the covenant of grace, the designation is one of much the same import with the *^God of salvation," or the ** God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." And he is the God of all who are of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; their faith having been the faith of the gospel, then re- vealed in promise, as it is now in testimony. The text presents to our view one of these venerable patriarchs approaching the close of his earthly pilgri- mage. ** The time was come, that Israel must die." t Of all the periods and events of life, the concluding scene is accompanied with the deepest interest both to the person himself and to surviving spectators. Various are the ways in which it comes, and various the aspects it presents ; but in all it is affecting and solemn. What can be more so, than the approach of that moment which, to the dying man, is the boundary between time and eternity ; terminating the one and commenc- * Exod. iii. 6, 15. ' f The following paragraph has already formed a part of Lecture XXII. page 544. It was inserted there, when there was no thought of publishing this Ser- mon, to which it originally belonged. It is here repeated for the sake of con- nection. GEN. XLIX. 29—31. 575 ing the other ? putting an end to all his interests in this world, and fixing his condition for a never-ending ex- istence in the world unknown !— What can be more so, than those moments of silent and indescribable anxiety, when the last sands of the numbered hour are running ; when the beat of the heart has become too languid to be felt at the extremities of the frame ; when the cold hand returns not the gentle pressure ; when the eye is fixed, and the ear turns no more toward the voice of consol- ing kindness ; when the restless limbs are still and mo- tionless 5 when the breath, before oppressive and labori- ous, becomes feebler and feebler, till it dies away,— and to the listening ear there is no sound amidst the breathless silence, nor to the arrested eye, that watches with the unmoving look of thrilling solicitude for the last symptom of remaining life, is motion longer pre- ceptible ; — when surrounding friends continue to speak in whispers, and to step through the chamber on the tiptoe of cautious quietness, as if still fearful of disturb- ing him — whom the noise of a thousand thunders could not startle. Have you witnessed such a scene, my friends ? If you have not, you have yet to experience the most deeply so- lemn feelings of which the bosom of man is susceptible. And they are feelings, rendered the more solemn by the thought, that what we now witness in another shall very soon be witnessed by others in ourselves. The scenes of another man's life may be such as can hardly be expected ever to occur to us ; but the dying scene is one which must come to all. There is no passage to another world, but through the valley of the shadow of death. By that way all must go, whether it conduct them to the abodes of bliss or to those of misery. This gives us an interest in the death of every one that dies. 076 SERMON ON We then behold what, in one form or another, must inevitably befall ourselves. When the king of Egypt, interested by the venera- ble appearance of the aged stranger, asked Jacob the natural and simple question, " How old art thou ?" the reply of the patriarch was that of one who, having em- braced the promises, *' confessed himself a stranger and a pilgrim on the earth :"— " The days of the years of my pilgrimage (are) a hundred and thirty years : few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage."* These years of pilgrimage, to which seventeen more were yet to be added, had been very interesting and eventful. The patriarch had experienced, in no com- mon degree, the vicissitudes of the world. He had tast- ed, and had even drunk largely, both of its bitter and its sweet. His old age had been tried with peculiarly severe afflictions ; but it had also been cheered by pe- culiarly exquisite joys. He had wept tears of anguish over his beloved Rachel ! he had afterwards mourned for Joseph, and refused to be comforted, saying, " I will go down unto the grave to my son mourning ;" he had feared for Simeon ; he had trembled for Benja- min ; he had said, in the disquietude of his soul, *' All these things are against me." — But he had lived to find himself mistaken : he had lived to see not only Joseph, whom for twenty years he had given up as lost, but the children of Joseph : " 1 had not thought," said he, ** to see thy face ; and lo, God hath showed me also thy seed." Thus "at evening time there was light." — He was now sensible of his approaching end. He had called his sons around him. Under the power * Gen. xlvii. 8, 9. GEN. XOX. 39 — 31. 57lf of a prophetic spirit, he had pronounced the blessing of each, according to the future condition of their re- spective tribes : and, ere he " gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost," he charged his sons in the words which form our text. We shall consider them as the language — I. Of RESIGNED AND TRANC^UIL COMPOSURE, II. Of NATURAL AEFECTION. III. Of FAITH AND HOPE. I. They are the words of resigned and tranquil com- posure. — The prospect of death is an awful and alarm- ing one ; — alarming to nature y which startles and shrinks from dissolution, and from the mysterious and unknown sensations which must accompany it; sensations which none who have experienced them have returned to de- scribe : — alarming to conscience, which, sensible of guilt, is appalled by the assurance that " after death is the judgment." But in the text, there is no overwhelming agitation, no startling and shrinking timidity ; but the calm and steady contemplation of the coming event, indicated by the perfect collectedness and the detailed particu- larity of the patriarch's instructions respecting the place of his burial. Far be it from me to flatter you with the assurance, that in every case composure like this is a certain indi- cation that all is well. So we are very apt to interpret it. But there have not been wanting instances, in which there has been too convincing evidence of the falsehood of the inference. — The " heart is deceitful above all things ;" and the heart that has deceived a man through life may deceive him also in death. The man who has long and systematically cherished low thoughts of the purity and the justice of God ; who> instead of bring- 4D 578 SER3I0N ON ing himself to the test of his spiritual and perfect law^ has forgotten the first of all its demands, the love of God with all the heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, and has estimated his morality from his relation to fel- low-creatures only ; who has measured himself by the characters of others ; by the laws of men, and the stand- ard of virtue in a fallen world ; — may continue to do the same even to the end : and, to the eye that has no spiritual discernment, the very ignorance of God may impart a composure that may pass for a well-grounded peace ;--a composure, which a right apprehension of the holiness and justice of offended Deity would in- stantly turn into the tremblings of despair. But such was not the composure of the dying patri- arch. Jacob had been a pilgrim in this world. He had walked with God, as in a strange land, travelling home- wards, to the heavenly country. Though in the world, he was not o/'the world. God was his friend, and hea- ven his home. It was not the composure of ignorance, but, as we shall afterwards more fully see, of knowledge and of faith. " Mark the perfect (man,) and behold the upright : for the end of (that) man (is) peace."* The dying patriarch resigns himself to God ; and anticipates and meets his departure w^th the most dignified tran- quillity, and without a disquieting apprehension. " I have waited for thy salvation, O God." This had been the exercise of his life ; and this was his hope in death. Neither the unknown feelings of dissolution, nor the dreary darkness, and solitude, and revolting corruption of the grave, nor the leaving behind him of the com- forts of life, and the endearments of domestic society, which had been so wonderfully restored and enlarged to him ;— no— nor the prospect of appearing, in his un- * Psal. xxxvii. 37. GEN. XLIX. S9 — 31. 579 clothed spirit, before the vision of the most High, and the most Holy, shook his serene and steadfast soul. n. The words of the text are the language of natu- ral affection. The circumstances which he here mentions,—'' There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife ; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried Leah," — could not be intended to assist his sons in as- certaining the spot. That there could be no difficulty in finding. It is the language of fond recollection, by which, whilst he revived in his own bosom the tender- ness of former love, he reminded his sons, that, when they should lay him there, they should remember, with becoming affection and veneration, the precious depo- sits that had been committed to that tomb before him ; that they should drop a tear not for their father only, but for their long-departed mother, and for his aged, and loved, and revered, progenitors. — These had been the objects of endeared affection in life ; and, although death had removed them from the world, and from sight and social intercourse, it had left the feelings of nature in all their tenderness. Connubial and filial love expire not when the objects of them die. Death bursts indeed the bond that formed the living connection. But, while he mournfully succeeds in this, he is unable to sever those ties which memory still continues to twine around the heart. Those ties, on the contrary, are rather drawn the closer : they are softened, and they are strength- ened. The dead become dearer to us than the living. Their ashes are hallowed. Their graves are an inviola- ble sanctuary. There is a tenderness, and a sacredness, and a sweet solemnity imparted to all the feelings ; and whatever touches their memory *' touches the apple of our eye," even with acuter sensibility than what af- fected their living reputation. 580 SERMON ON Jacob was attached to the departed spirits of the pious dead, though he could not see them, nor hold converse with them in the language of earth ; and he was attached to their dust,— the dust that had once been animated by these *' spirits of the just made perfect ;" and he was attached by all the melting power of living associations, to the spot where that dust was laid : " There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife ; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried Leah." We are quite unable, my friends, to form to our- selves the idea of a state of insensibility. The very con- ception we attempt to form of the absence of conscious- ness, is the conception of a something of which we still imagine ourselves to continue sensible. — When we think of being laid in the grave, it is with the impression, (which we are thus unable to dismiss from our minds,) of remaining consciousness. We cannot but fancy our- selves to be sensible of the darkness, the solitude, the confinement, the cold, and the corruption of the tomb. : — On the same kind of principle, (only that whilst, in the former case, the illusion is painful, in this it en- genders a sweetly pleasing and tender melancholy,) we imagine ourselves to continue sensible to the delight of being near those friends who in life were so dear to us. Our judgments, it is true, are satisfied that the dust of the tomb is as devoid of sensibility as the earth in which it has been deposited : but, try as we may, we cannot entirely divest ourselves of the conception of re:- Hiaining consciousness. The wish to be laid, in death, beside those whom we loved in life, is the dictate of nature :— it is, as far as we know, universal : there is no reasoning us out of it. We may speculate, and argue, and convince our- selves and one another, that it will be all one in the GEN. XLIX. 29 31. 581 end. But still, nature pleads, and -will be heard. It is a cause, in \v\iich feeling carries it against all argument. And why not ? Be it so, that it is an illusion : it is a pleasing one, and it is at least harmless.—Perhaps, in- deed, we might take higher ground, than the ground of harmless illusion. We shall live in our separate spirits; — live, not merely in conscious existence, but in the full, and free, and perfect exercise of all our spiritual faculties. And shall our separate spirits be altogether unconcerned about those bodies of which they were before the living and the animating tenants? I see no reason to suppose it. The state of the departed child of God is still a state of hope. The spirits of the just are still *' looking for the adoption, to wit, the re- demption of their bodies." And the living and intelli- gent soul may know the spot that contains the dust of its earthly tabernacle, and still please itself (if indeed you do not think such pleasure too infantile for hea- ven) with its proximity to the dust of Christian kin- dred, that were loved and honoured on earth, and whose spirits form part of the society of heaven.— At any rate, the appellation given by Nehemiah to his native country, to which he was longing to return, was one suggested by the finest feelings of his heart, "The place of MY fathers' sepulchres i" — and the language of Ruth to Naomi is, in every expression it contains, the utterance of genuine affection : — *' Entreat me not to leave thee, (or) to return from following after thee : for whither thou goest, I will go ; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge : thy people (shall be) my people, and thy God my God : where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried : the Lord do so to me, and more also, (if ought) but death part thee and me."* ♦ Ruth i. 16, 17. 5S2 SERMON ON And whilst such feelings are natural as to the place where, when we come to die, we should wish to be our- selves, they are no less so, when we are called to com- mitto the silent grave the bodies of our departed Chris* tian relatives. — We long for the return of our friends when, during life, they go away from us to a distant place of sojourning r—and when, by the disposal of pro- vidence, their bones are left in a land of strangers, far from *' their fathers' sepulchres," we still feel as if they were not at home. We love to have them near us, even in death. We delight also in the thought of their mix- ing wdth kindred dust, of their resting together in the bed of their last sleep. It takes off from the grave the association of loneliness, and renders the impression on the fancy less dreary and forbidding. But I must not anticipate what remains to be said on the third view of the patriarch's dying charge : — III. It is the language of Jaith and hope. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were " heirs of the same promise." It had been made successively to each of them. To Jacob it had been several times repeated, and on occa- sions peculiarly interesting.* When the patriarch came down into Egypt, he did not lose sight of the promise of God's covenant. It was not a final relinquishment of the promised land. He was himself indeed to die in Egypt ; but he was desirous, and by the charge in the text he intimated the desire to his sons, that even in death he should be a possessor of that land ; thus testifying his own faith, and establish- ing theirs.— He appears to have been particularly so- licitous that this charge should not be neglected: he repeatedly enjoins it, and even binds it with an oath. On a previous occasion, but in prospect too of the * See Cen. xxviii.lO— 15. xxxv. 9— 13. GEN. XLIX. §9 31. 583 close of life, the history informs us, " He called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me ; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt : but I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place. And he said, I will do as thoii hast said. And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head."* And at a still later time—" Israel said unto Joseph, Be- hold, I die ; but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers."! Joseph himself afterwards, when the time of his departure drew near, expressed his faith in the same way with his venera- ble father : '* Joseph said unto his brethren, I die : and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land into the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. "J When Jacob, in the text, commands that he should be laid with his fathers, he intimates his determination to have his part with them ; — not with the Egyptians, notwithstanding the kindness he had experienced at their hands, but with those chosen, tried, and faithful friends of God, who, " through faith and patience," had gone to ** inherit" in the fulness of their spiritual meaning, " the promises" which had been equally made to them and to himself. My brethren, could we be set down by " the cave that was in the field of Ephron the Hittite;" — did we know with certainty that we stood beside the sepulchre of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob— of those justly vene- * Gen. xlvii. 29—31. t Gen. xlviii. 31. i Gen. 1. 24, 25, 084 SURMON ON rated progenitors of the Church of God ;— whilst wc reject with loathing the absurdities of hallowed and wonder-working relics, yet could we, think you, be so insensible to the influence of all those sacred recollec- tions that would crowd into our minds, as to feel no rising emotions of piety, no clinging attachment to the spot of earth that received in old time the mortal re- mains of so much worth ? — the tomb of the father of the faithful, and " the friend" of God ; —the tomb of that son, that only son, Isaac, whom he loved,— that child of promise, with whom the covenant was con- firmed — that man of piety and prayer, who, " went out at eventide to his devotional meditations ;" — and the tomb of him whose name was called Israel^ because ** as a prince he had power, with God, and prevailed ?" Well, my brethren, we are heirs with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of a better promise than that of Ca- naan ; even of that heavenly country of which the earthly was a type, — and a type understood by those to whom the promise of it was made : " By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed ; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he so- journed in the land of promise, as (in) a strange coun- try, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise : for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and ma- ker (is) God?" " These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off^ and were persuaded of (them,) and embraced (them,) and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that (country) from whence they came out^ GEN. XLix. 29 — 31. 585 they might have had opportunity to have returned: but now they desire a better (country,) that is, a hea- venly : wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God ; for he hath prepared for them a city."* This then was what supported and cheered their minds ; and not the mere hope of an ea thly inheritance to be pos- sessed, when they were gone, by their posterit3^ No. — Jacob could say with Job, in the assurance of rising to immortal life with these loved and venerated friends — ** For I know (that) my Redeemer liveth, and (that) he shall stand at the latter (day) upon the earth : and (though) after my skin (worms) destroy this (body,) yet in my flesh shall I see God : whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another ; (though) my reins be consumed within me.^f The same desire, when felt by us, of lying beside our Christian friends in the' narrow house, ought to be the dictate and the expression of the same faith. Where, O where would be the pleasure of the thought, if the time were never to come ** when op'ning grave shall yield their charge, And dust to life awake ?" But for this, the thought would be destitute of all its interest ; nay, would be intollerably comfordess and dreary :— were the sleeping dust to sleep for ever ! It is the hope of rising together on the morning of that day of final jubilee, that shall be ushered in by the sounding of the trump of God — that " blessed day, that knows no morrow !" when " this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on im- mortality, and the saying shall be brought to pass that is written, Death (is) swallowed up in victory." How full of transport the assurance of this meeting * Heb. xi. 3—10, 13—16. • f Job xix. 25—27. 4E 588 SERMON ON to part no more ! of sitting down together with Abra- ham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven ! We know where their departed spirits are, and the spirits of all who have fallen asleep in Jesus. Their bodies are scattered, in all quarters of the earth and sea ; but all their souls are together in heaven ; and additions are daily making to the number. The celestial abodes have been progressively peopling, ever since they received the solitary spirit of the murdered Abel ; the first of men that died on earth, and the first that lived in hea- ven ; and at last there shall be '* a multitude, which no man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peo- ples, and tongues." O hov/ important is it, my brethren, that earthly re- lations should be one in Christ ! Then they can " lie down together in the dust" in the blessed prospect of rising at the great day with the joy of mutual recogni- tion. O the unutterable difference between meeting at that day never to party and parting never to meet / Think not that I have chosen this text, with the view of drawing any parallel between the life and cha- racter of Jacob and that of the loved and revered rela- tive and friend, fellow- christian and fellow-citizen, whose departure we this day mourn.— I have chosen it, because I knew the reflections suggested by it to be in harmony with his most fondly cherished feelings ; and because they afford a soothing solace to those spirits which the Lord, by his bereaving hand, has wounded. — Yet are there some points of coincidence, on which filial affection may be allowed, for a litde, to dwell. Like Jacob, the child of godly parents, he ** feared the Lord from his youth ;" being indebted to them, as instruments, for his spiritual as well as his natural life. — Hi^ earthly pilgrimage, like Jacob's, was long :— like GEN. XLIX. S9 — 31. 587 his too (and in this indeed there is in neither case any peculiarity) it was a chequered scene of light and shade, of sunshine and storm ;— and like his, it closed in peace : the sun of both went down in all the serenity of faith and hope. — " By faith" Jacob, like the other " Elders," *' obtained a good report ;" — and 1 trust I may say, without exposing myself to the charge of undue par- tiality, that a better report has not often been obtained, than that which was enjoyed, and has been left behind, by him who has so recently finished his course amongst us. Seldom has a Christian quitted the world with a reputation more unblemished, with a character more unsullied by the breath of slander. My brethren, I feel, that in speaking of a departed father, a son who loved and revered him is on delicate ground. Yet 1 feel also, that my heart must have utter- ance. Lying under obligations to him, which never have been, and never can be, repaid, I must speak of him. You would accuse me of want of sensibility if I did not ; and I appeal for my vindication to the paternal and filial sympathies of your own bosoms. The good report which he possessed, and which attaches to his memory, was, like that of the worthies of older times, obtained by faith. Yes, my friends, this was the avowed principle, this the living and animating soul, of his Vi^hole character. He could say with Paul> ^' the life that 1 live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."* The enlightened, and fervent, and elevated piety, which delighted so much in the devotional exer- cises of the closet, the family, and the sanctuary, and in secret meditation on that blessed word, which had been the constant study of his earlier and his later days; with * Qal. ji. 20. 588 SERMON ON which his memory was richly stored, and which afforded him a source of the sweetest pleasure, whea it had pleas- ed God to deprive him of the blessing of sight, and greatly to impair that of hearing ; that piety which in- fused its sacred influence into his entire deportment, was piety springing from the firm faith of " the glori- ous gospel of the blessed God." When I touch, there- fore, on the excellences of his character, let it not be imagined that I mention them either as the ground of his own hope, or of mine concerning him. No : it is to the honour of that free grace ^ on which he trusted, in which he gloried, which was his theme on earth, and is now his theme in heaven. His acknowledgment, like that of every believer of the gospel, was, ** ^-^ the grace of God I am what I am :" and to this grace he bore his dying testimony. Having at one time, on his death-bed, enumerated the blessings of salvation, amongst which he gave sanctiji cation ^ restoration to the image of God, the principle place, he added — *' Thus salvation is of grace, free grace, from first to last ; — every part of it ; all grace, that's the Bible way of it." He was at the same time characteristically jea- lous of every sentiment that bordered in the remotest manner on antinomianism, or had even a seeming ten- dency towards it, — any thing that appeared to loosen the connection between grace and godliness, between faith and holy practice : " V There is therefore now,' " said he, ^* * no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus :' but we must never forget," he added, '' the character of all such, * who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit :' this is the test of interest in Christ." With evangelical piety as the great principle of his character,--a piety which, founded in knowledge, rested not in speculation, but drew to God all the affections GEN. XLIX. 29 — 31. . 589 of his soul,— (for often was he wont to say, tkit religion without the affecUons was not religion at all ;— -he could form no conception of it ;~it was a contradiction in terms;)— with this humble and heartfelt piety as the element, in which all the other parts of his character were steeped and imbued, — he was endeared to his friends and kindred by the singularly tender and unre- mitting exercise of all the domestic afftctions, which rendered him the centre of attraction and union to a wide circle of loved and loving relatives, — a circle, which he cheered by his natural buoyancy, vivacity, and playfulness of temper, and instructed by his edify- ing and enlivening converse. His religion did not quench the light of cheerfulness ; and his cheerfulness was at an equal remove from gloom and from levity. He retained his characteristic pleasantry even to the ^ last. — He was esteemed by the church and people of Christ, as an aged pilgrim, who had long ** walked with God," and exemplified the power of godliness ; one who prayed for the peace of Jerusalem ; who de- lighted in unity ; who was " a lover of good men," and who breathed from his very soul the prayer of the Apostle — " Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity !" — And he was respected and commended by the world at large for the exemplary consistency of his profession and conduct, which gave him a testimony in their consciences, such as they could not gainsay nor resist.— Both in public and pri- vate concerns, in the duties of the magistracy and the business of ordinary life ; he evinced a sound and en- lightened judgment, in maturity of investigation and rectitude of decision. He cultivated a taste for classical literature, which was more than a useless ornament : it was of essential benefit in the education of his family 5 59(5 SERMON ON afid his acquaintance especially with the original lan- guage of the New Testament afforded him many an hour of rich and sacred pleasure. He was distinguished, in an uncommon degree, by the most unvarying tem- perate regularity of living ; by scrupulous punctuality to all engagements ; by the most unbending integrity ; by a conscientious eagerness of desire to make every trust productive, under his management, of labour to himself and of benefit to others ; by a union of kindly affability with dignified propriety of demeanour ; by steadiness to old attachments, and a religious regard to the precept ** thine own friend and thy father's friend forsake not ;" by a benevolent liberality of heart, which hardly knew how to resist the petitions of charity and the claims of the cause of God, and which to his power, and beyond his power, was willing to answer both ; and by a warm attachnient to the government of his coun- try. At times, indeed, on this subject, and occasionally too on some others, there was evinced a degree of im- patient quickness of temper : but it was generally of such a kind, as to excite a smile at the good old man's zeal, rather than to stir in the bosom the slightest re- turn of unpleasant feelings. ** Whatsoever things were true, and just, and honourable, and pure, and lovely, and of good report, — these things he thought of," and ever prayed for grace to practise. — Whatever his par- tial friends might think of him, he was himself of the " poor in spirit." His devotional exercises, charac- terised by correctness, simplicity, and tenderness, breathed the spirit of conscious unworthiness, and all the lowliness of a broken and contrite heart. When it was said to him, during his last illness, ** You have long been walking with God, Sir, he replied, " 1 have long been a professor at least of the blessed name of GEN. XLIX. ^9 — 31. 591 Jesus ;" and he shrunk with deep inward emotion from the thought of his own deficiencies. There may seem a sacredness around the death-bed of a friend, that forbids pubhcity, and shuts it in from the intrusion of strangers. But I must draw the curtain a little asidt. He was not ashamed of the gospel, either in life or in death. His living profession was public ; and why should not his dying profession be public too ? It ought to be known, that the truth to which he had adhered through life, sustained him in death. It ought to be known, that the God of his fathers, the God whom he knew and served and trusted from his youth, the God who had led him all his life long, did not for- sake him at last. His latter end was peace. Like that of Jacob it dis- played composure, affection, diU^ faith, 1. Sensible that his end was approaching, not a word escaped him, nor a symptom appeared, that indicated a fear of dying ; nor amidst severe bodily suffering, the slightest expression of murmuring or impatience. On the contrary, when, within a few hours of his departure^ he repeated the words — ^' He who testifieth these things^ saith. Surely I come quickly : Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus!" — ^^that is," he added, " come quickly. But this must not be understood as the language of im- patience, — come instantly, ■^'-come now, because it is my time. No, I would say. Come, Lord Jesus, come in thine own good time, in thine own way, and by thine own appointed means : for these are always best. Even so come, Lord Jesus!" — On the day before his death, when set up in bed for temporary ease, he all at once, to the delighted surprise of those of us who were by his bed-side, began to sing, with a soft and plaintive sweetness; in his circumstances irresistibly melting — 59^ SERMON ON " Where high the heav'nly temple stands, The house of God not made with hands, A great High Priest our nature wears. The guardian of mankind appears:" and sung out the first four stanzas ;— afterwards repeat- ing, like one exhausted, the remaining two. My ear can never lose that sound ; — my heart can never lose the sweetly solemn impression — Such too was his collec- tedness, that he made particular inquiries about various individuals of his friends, and circumstances connected with them, such as we wondered he should think of; — wished every thing to go on in the usual way ; and when it came to the hour of evening family prayer, in- sisted on all being called in by the ordinary summons ; when he sung a hymn, and heard a short portion of the word of God, and prayer offered up by his bed-side. 2. I have mentioned the tenderness of his affections- They regarded both the living and the dead. He has left behind him a large circle of mourning relatives : and he had a numerous company too before him. These he was wont, in his musings on the heavenly world, and his anticipations of entering it, to delight himself in enumerating. Beside some of the dearest of them his precious dust has been laid ; over more than one of whom we have formerly had occasion, as a church, to lift up the voice of mourning. These his affectionate and purified spirit has gone to join. — And his attachment to his surviving relatives retained, in his dying moments, all its living force and tenderness : *' I was trying," said he, "a little ago, to fall into a slumber; but instead of that," he added, with a full heart and eye, and a voice tremulous with tender emo- tion — ** my dear friends,— -you and all the rest, came across my mind : I thought I was not long to be with GEN. XLix. 29 — 31. 593 you : — I had you all gathered together before me ; and my heart went out to God in most sincere and earnest prayers for all and each of you, that the Lord might bless you all, and keep you from evil, and bring you to his heavenly kingdom !" O may the prayer of the dying saint be heard for all his weeping kindred, that they may join him at last in the praises and the joys of the upper sanctuary ! 3. His faith and hope were to the last unshaken. He " knew whom he had believed," and enjoyed the de- lightful " persuasion," that *' he was able to keep that which he had committed to him against that day." His hope rested on the finished work of Jesus, and on the word of Him with whom it is ** impossible to lie ;" and he was enabled to hold it fast to the end. When the words of Christ were repeated to him, " My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness," — and the remark was added, — ** This is a sure a faithful word;" — '^ It is,^' said he, with much emphasis ; ** it is firmer than mountains of brass." — And still his confidence was chastened by lowly self- distrust, and accompanied with the fervent aspirations of the heart for the supplies of needed grace. He was delighted with the thought that God heard the breath- ings of the heart ;— and at times these breathings gave themselves utterance in words :~" Fulfil in me, O Lord," he at one time suddenly broke out,-—*' Fulfil in me all the good pleasure of thy goodness, and the work of faith with power:" "Wash me, and sanctify me, and justify me, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God:" "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin :" *' Create in me a clean herrt, O God ; and renew a right spirit 4F 5^4 SERMON ON within me. Cast me not away from thy presence ; and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore," (or con- Jirm, he added, for he himself had not lost them,) "Confirm unto me the joy of tliy salvation; and up- hold me (by thy) free Spirit." Such was the frame of his mind during the days of trouble that brought his earthly pilgrimage to a close : — and at length his parting soul winged its flight to the happy realms of purity and love, on the morning of that day, whose return he had so often hailed with such devotional delight, and which had so long been to him the foretaste of the sabbath of eternal rest ! The general subject of death I must leave to be taken up and practically improved at another opportunity.- — In the meantime, from the views we have been setting before you,— let mourning relatives be comforted. Je- sus says to you, ** Weep not." Not that he forbids the tear of sorrow ; for he shed it himself: ** The eye of Jesus wept. It dropt a holy tear. When Mary's brother slept, A friend to Jesus dear : Delightful thought ! That blessed eye Still beams with kindness in the sky/* But in the midst of your sorrow he gives you strong consolation : '' I am the resurrection, and the life : he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live :" "1 would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them who are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, That we who are alive (and) remain unto the coming of the Lord? GEN. XLIX. 29 31. 59^ shall not prevent them who are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God ; and the dead in Christ shall rise first : then we who arc alive, (and) remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with tlie Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."* To his fz^^fl? survivors let me say : — Cleave with pur- pose of heart to that God and Saviour who hath gra- ciously said, — '* I will never leave thee, I will never forsake thee :" He who has been the guide of your youth, will be the support and consolation of your age. What he has been to those who have gone before you he will be also to you ; when heart and flesh fail, he will be " the strength of your heart and your portion for ever." And to you, dear young friends and relatives, over whom the good old father shed many a tear of melting tenderness, and for whom he breathed many a fervent prayer of faith and love at the mercy-seat of God, to you let me say, — ** Follow him." ^^ Know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind ; for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts; if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he wiU cast thee oflTfor ever." Let Christians in general be imitators of them ** who through faith and patience inherit the promises." And let others who may be saying as Balaam did, ^' Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his !" be aflPcctionately entreated to ** follow * I Thess. iv. 15 — 18, 096 SERMON ON GEN. XLIX. 29 31. the fiiitli" of the righteous ;— to make his Saviour their Saviour, his God their God: and then *' the end of their conversation" shall be like his. *' They shall enter into peace — ihty shall rest in their beds ; even every one who hath walked in his uprightness." THiS EN^O. THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS OVERdSLII °" ^"^ SEVENTH DAY MAY ^ LD ^^^4o!lT 44iiii ^ot^f. nSIPIT DEAD / TO lZw ^^ ?lr. *H?r 8 1953IU JBEC!D_UX ZI~T^^^^5^2TW LD 21-100»?-7,'39(402s) YC 58902 V t^'iT '^.- - '.^^ ■vi UNIVERSITY OF CAIvIFORNIA LIBRARY jAl '-vt^'