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DISCOURSES ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS
DISCOURSES ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS,
By
JACOB DUCHÉ, M. A.
Rector of Christ-Church and St. Peter's, in Philadelphia;
AND FORMERLY OF
CLARE-HALL, CAMBRIDGE.
The SECOND EDITION.
VOL I.
LONDON;
Printed by J. Phillips, George-Yard,
Lombard-Street.
And Sold by T. Cadell, in the Strand; H. Payne,
Pall-Mall; C. Dilly, in the Poultry; and J. Phillips.
M.DCC.LXXX.
[Illustration: Pelham Pinx.]
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
LADY JULIANA PENN.
Madam,
I have ever deemed it one of the most favourable circumstances of my
life, that your Ladyship condescended to honour my early youth with your
kind countenance and protection. Your amiable character, and exemplary
virtues, have always thrown such a lustre around you, as could not but
enlighten and improve those, who came within their influence. This
testimony from me, is no more than the just tribute of a grateful heart.
I am, therefore, happy, in having your Ladyship's permission to inscribe
to you the following discourses. You are no stranger to the sentiments
they contain: you love and honour the doctrines they inculcate.
The author intreats to be indulged with a continuance of that regard,
which your Ladyship hath hitherto shewn him; and which he hath always
held more desirable, in proportion as he hath been better qualified to
judge of what is truly honourable and estimable in the intercourses of
social life.
With this sentiment deeply impressed upon his mind, he cannot but
rejoice in the opportunity your Ladyship hath granted him, of thus
publickly subscribing himself,
Madam,
Your Ladyship's
Most obliged and
Most faithful Servant,
J. DUCHÉ.
PREFACE.
The following discourses were preached in the united Churches of Christ
Church and St. Peter, in the City of Philadelphia, of which the author
was appointed assistant minister in the year 1759, and to the rectorship
of which he was elected in the year 1775.
The reader will find in them no display of genius or of erudition. To
the former, the author hath no claim: of the latter, he contents himself
with as much as is competent to the discharge of his pastoral duty. His
divinity, he trusts, is that of the BIBLE: to no other Standard of Truth
can he venture to appeal. Sensible, however, of his own fallibility, he
wishes not to obtrude his peculiar sentiments; nor to have them received
any further, than they carry with them that only fair title to
reception, a conviction of their truth and usefulness. From his own
Heart he hath written to the Hearts of others; and if any of his readers
find not THERE the Ground of his doctrines, they are, surely, at liberty
to pass them by, if they do it with Christian Candour, and to leave it
to time and their own reflections, to discover that Ground or not.
UNIVERSAL BENEVOLENCE he considers as the SUBLIME of religion; the true
TASTE for which, can only be derived from the Fountain of INFINITE LOVE,
by inward and spiritual communications. The mind, that is possessed of
this true Taste, whatever its peculiarity of opinion may be, cannot be
very "far from the Kingdom of God."--"GOD is LOVE; and he that dwelleth
in LOVE, dwelleth in GOD, and GOD in him." One transgression of the
great Law of Love, even in the minutest instance, must appear more
heinous in the Sight of the GOD OF LOVE, than a thousand errors in
matters of doctrine or opinion.
If the reader peruses these volumes under the influence of such
sentiments, it is not likely, that he will be offended with any
singularities of diction, or any inelegant and colloquial expressions he
may now and then meet with. Much less will his censure be incurred by
the constant use of SCRIPTURAL Ideas, and SCRIPTURAL Language, in
preference to what are called MORAL and PHILOSOPHICAL. Deviations from
the Simplicity of EVANGELICAL TRUTH, have too often been occasioned by
deviations from the Simplicity of EVANGELICAL LANGUAGE. A Christian
ought never to be "ashamed of the GOSPEL OF CHRIST which is the Power of
GOD unto Salvation," but should always speak of Christian Truths by
Christian Names.
The revisal and correction of these discourses have relieved the
author's mind from much of that anxiety and dejection, which a long
absence from his family and his churches had occasioned. And he is now
happy in the thought, that these volumes will ere long reach his native
country, and revive the memory of his labours of love among a people,
with whom he enjoyed a reciprocation of kindness and affection, which
for eighteen years had known no abatement or interruption.
He most gratefully acknowledges the kind and honourable reception he
hath met with since his arrival in England; the chearfulness and
generosity with which persons of all ranks have honoured his
publication; and the affectionate zeal of his friends, relations, and
connexions, in undertaking and completing his subscription, without
giving him the trouble of soliciting a single name.
To his most ingenious and worthy Friend and Countryman, BENJAMIN WEST,
Esq. History Painter to his Majesty, he is happy to acknowledge himself
indebted for the elegant designs, taken from two of his most capital
paintings, which are placed as frontispieces to these volumes.
To his dear and valuable friend, the Author of the late accurate and
elegant Translation of THOMAS à KEMPIS, he is sincerely thankful for his
kind and chearful advice and assistance, in conducting the whole
publication, to which the author's inexperience in printing, as well as
his frequent and necessary absence from the press, would have rendered
him altogether unequal.
He hath only to add, that the revisal and publishing of these discourses
was undertaken at the instance of some of the most respectable names in
the list of his subscribers to the first edition, under whose kind
patronage, and in hopes of every indulgence from the candour of the
publick, he hath ventured to send them abroad.
Hampstead, 1st March, 1780.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME FIRST.
DISCOURSE I.
THE CHARACTER OF WISDOM'S CHILDREN.
St. LUKE, CHAP. vii. VER. 35.
"But Wisdom is justified of all her Children."
DISCOURSE II.
EVANGELICAL RIGHTEOUSNESS.
JEREM. CHAP. xxiii. Part of VER. 6.
"And this is his Name, whereby he shall be called, The LORD our
Righteousness."
DISCOURSES III. and IV.
THE RELIGION OF JESUS, THE ONLY SOURCE OF HAPPINESS.
St. JOHN, CHAP. vi. VER. 66, 67, 68.
"From that Time many of his Disciples went back, and walked no more with
him. Then said JESUS unto the Twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon
Peter answered, LORD, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the Words of
Eternal Life."
DISCOURSE V.
TRUE RELIGION, A COSTLY AND CONTINUAL SACRIFICE.
2 SAMUEL, CHAP. xxiv. VER. 24.
"And the King said unto Araunah, Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee
at a Price: neither will I offer Burnt-Offerings unto the LORD my GOD,
of that which doth cost me nothing."
DISCOURSE VI.
TRUTH, THE ONLY FRIEND OF MAN.
GALATIANS, CHAP. iv. VER. 16.
"Am I therefore become your Enemy, because I tell you the Truth?"
DISCOURSE VII.
THE STRENGTH AND VICTORY OF FAITH.
1 JOHN, CHAP. v. VER. 4.
"Whatsoever is born of GOD overcometh the World: and this is the Victory
that overcometh the World, even our Faith."
DISCOURSE VIII.
FAITH TRIUMPHANT OVER THE POWERS OF DARKNESS.
St. MARK, CHAP. ix. Part of VER. 24.
"LORD, I believe: Help thou mine Unbelief!"
DISCOURSE IX.
THE FLOURISHING STATE OF THE RIGHTEOUS.
PSALM i. VER. 3.
"He shall be like a Tree planted by the Rivers of Water, that bringeth
forth his Fruit in his Season: His Leaf also shall not wither, and
whatsoever he doth shall prosper."
DISCOURSE X.
THE CAUSE AND CURE OF THE DISORDERS OF HUMAN NATURE.
St. MARK, CHAP. vii. VER. 34.
"And looking up to Heaven, he sighed; and saith unto him, Ephphatha!
that is, Be opened."
DISCOURSES XI, XII, XIII.
THE RICHES, PRIVILEGES, AND HONOURS OF THE CHRISTIAN.
1 COR. CHAP. iii. VER. 21, 22, 23.
"Therefore let no Man glory in Men: for all Things are yours; whether
Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the World, or Life, or Death, or Things
present, or Things to come; all are yours: and ye are CHRIST'S, and
CHRIST is GOD'S."
DISCOURSE XIV.
CHRIST, KNOWN OR UNKNOWN, THE UNIVERSAL SAVIOUR.
St. JOHN, CHAP. xiv. Part of VER. 9.
"Have I been so long Time with you, and yet hast thou not known me,
Philip?"
DISCOURSE XV.
HUMAN LIFE, A PILGRIMAGE.
PSALM xxxix. Part of VER. 12.
"For I am a Stranger with thee, and a Sojourner, as all my Fathers
were."
DISCOURSE XVI, XVII.
THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD INTERNAL AND PRACTICAL.
JOB, CHAP. xlii. VER. 5, 6.
"I have heard of thee by the Hearing of the Ear; but now hath mine Eye
seen thee: therefore I abhor myself, and repent in Dust and Ashes."
DISCOURSE XVIII.
ON THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST.
St. LUKE, CHAP. ii. from VER. 6, to 20.
"And so it was, that while they were there, the Days were accomplished,
that she should be delivered," &c.
SUBSCRIBERS NAMES OMITTED IN THE FIRST EDITION.
Rev. Dr. Allanson, Rector of Rippon, Yorkshire
Mrs. Ambler, of Queen-Square
Mr. George Adams
Lady Boynton, Burton Agnes, Yorkshire
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Rev. Mr. Baker
Miss F. Baker
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Francis Bernard, Esq.
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Mr. Greenwood
E. Gurney
Hon. and Rev. Mr. Hamilton
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Mr. James Hingeston
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Rev. Mr. Harris
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Mr. Healy, of Cambridge
Tho. Johnson, Esq. Bradford
Rev. Jonathan Judson, Essex
Rev. Mr. Lantley, Prebendary of Hereford
Dr. Lysons, of Bath
Mrs. Levison
Rev. Mr. Myddleton, Fellow of Clare-Hall
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Rt. Hon. Countess Dowager of Northampton
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Mr. Thomas Weston, jun.
Mr. Joseph Woods
Mrs. Wilding, Red Lionsquare
Mrs. Wright, Thunder-Hall, Herts
Miss Witts, Bath
Witham Book Society
DISCOURSE I.
The Character of Wisdom's Children.
St. LUKE, CHAP. vii, VER. 35.
"BUT WISDOM IS JUSTIFIED OF ALL HER CHILDREN."
If we take an impartial view of the sentiments and conduct of mankind
with respect to religion, we shall find, that their errors in
speculation, as well as in practice, originate, for the most part, in
the will; that their understandings are blinded by their passions, and
that their ignorance of truth too often proceeds from their aversion to
goodness.
To combat this prevailing depravity of human nature, and to strike at
that root of evil which we bring with us into the world, was the grand
and principal design of all those different dispensations, by which
Heaven hath condescended, from time to time, to speak to the sons of
men. Instead, however, of yielding a grateful attention to this
benevolent purpose, they have, in some instances, wholly rejected, and,
in others, perversly misconstrued, the dispensations themselves. Whether
"GOD spake at sundry times, and in divers manners, in times past, unto
the fathers by the prophets;" or, whether he spake, as in these latter
days, to the children, by his own INCARNATE SON; the generality of men
have either been deaf to the salutary message, or have availed
themselves of some idle pretexts to elude a compliance with its most
serious and solemn contents. Hence arose the inattention and opposition
of ancient unbelievers, to the missions of patriarchs and prophets; and
hence it is, that infidels of later ages have called in question the
truth and authority of that most full and complete Revelation of the
Divine Will, with which mankind have been favoured by the ministration
of the BLESSED JESUS. Far, however, from resenting their obstinacy, or
indignantly with-holding from them any further communications of Divine
Light, the great GOD AND FATHER OF SPIRITS hath still persevered in
carrying on the purposes of his Love; and, "whether they will hear, or
whether they will forbear," still seeks, by a variety of dispensations,
to gain possession of the hearts of his creatures. Notwithstanding,
therefore, the general indifference and obstinacy that have prevailed,
there have not been wanting, in every age and nation, some docile
virtuous minds, who have listened to the Heavenly Voice, and received
with gratitude the instructions of that "Wisdom which is from above;"
and who, as her true children, have vindicated her ways to man, and
admired and justified the different methods by which she manifests
herself to different souls.
The truth of these observations we find remarkably exemplified in that
conduct and behaviour of the Jews, and particularly of the sect of the
Pharisees, which is mentioned in the verses preceding my text, and which
indeed gave rise to the pertinent and beautiful maxim there expressed.
Ignorant of the spirit of that dispensation under which they lived, and
perversely attached to those externals of their religion, that most
gratified their pride and selfishness, they seem to have been equally
offended with the doctrines and manners of John the Baptist, and those
of the BLESSED JESUS. And though the grand object of the Master and his
Forerunner was one and the same, even the reformation of the heart and
life; and though the outward means, however inconsistent they might
appear, were but different parts of the same spiritual and redeeming
process; yet these degenerate Israelites sought to stifle the power of
conviction in their breasts, by childishly objecting to the abstracted,
severe, and rigorous life of the Baptist on the one hand, and the easy,
open, and condescending behaviour of JESUS on the other; insinuating,
that the former was only the effect of a gloomy, dark, and diabolical
spirit; and that the latter shewed a familiarity and levity, unworthy
the character of a prophet sent from GOD.
Our BLESSED LORD exposes the weakness and inconsistency of these
objections, by the following apt and lively similitude: "Whereunto shall
I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like? They are
like unto children sitting in the market-place, and calling one to
another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we
have mourned unto you, and ye have not wept." That is to say: We have
taken every method we could devise to engage your attention, and to
prevail upon you to bear a part in our recreations; but you have
unkindly and sullenly refused to come. We have endeavoured to adapt our
little sports and exercises to what we conceived might be your
particular taste and humour; but still we have failed of success.
In application of this allusion, our LORD proceeds--"For John the
Baptist came neither eating bread, nor drinking wine; and ye say, He
hath a devil." The austerity of the Baptist's life, which was meant to
inculcate a lesson of self-denial, and abstraction from the follies and
vanities of a worldly life, as well as a solemn preparation for the
happiness of an heavenly one, ye maliciously declare to have proceeded
from the melancholy suggestion of some dark and evil spirit, that
hurried him into the desart, and secluded him from all affectionate
intercourse with men. On the other hand, because "the Son of man is come
eating and drinking, ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a wine-bibber,
a friend of publicans and sinners!" To answer the great purposes of
Divine Love, I have, with condescending freedom, mingled with all ranks
of people; put myself in the way of the giddy and the profligate, and
even accepted the invitations of publicans and sinners. For this,
without knowing the motives of my conduct, you have vilified me with the
opprobrious names of glutton and drunkard; and insinuated, that the
friendly attention I shewed to men of their character, proceeded not
from a regard to their souls, but from a fondness for their vices. But
notwithstanding your blindness and obduracy, notwithstanding your weak
and wicked misconstructions, be assured, there are those, who can do
justice to these dispensations of Heaven, whose minds, illuminated from
above, can discern the beauty, propriety, and uniformity of design,
which Wisdom manifests in these various methods of addressing herself to
the sons of men. Such children of Wisdom are abundantly convinced, that
the self-denying life of the Baptist was necessarily preparative to that
meek, gentle, condescending Life of Love, which I have inculcated in my
precepts, and recommended and enforced by my example; and that both
these are the happy effects of that Redeeming Power, which I manifest in
the hearts of those, who, with simplicity and self-abasement, receive
and gratefully acknowledge my spiritual salutary visits. "But Wisdom is
justified of all her children."
The truth was this: the Pharisees considered the severe exercises of
John, his contempt of the world, and total disregard of the pleasures
and honours of life, as a personal censure of their hypocritical
pretensions to religion, by which, under the appearance of great zeal
for the external and ceremonial parts of the law, they "sought the
praises of men, more than the praises of God." In like manner, the
humility and condescension of CHRIST, his free and affectionate
intercourse with all ranks of people, even with those, whom (on account
of their ignorance of some minute traditionary precepts of their
Rabbins) they held accursed, were a perpetual impeachment of their
intolerable pride and arrogance, and most effectually tended to lessen
their credit and reputation with those whom they wished and earnestly
sought to engage for their pupils and admirers. No wonder, then, that
whilst they continued thus attached to favourite passions and
prejudices, they should wilfully misconstrue the purest intentions, and
vilify the fairest actions of those, who attempted to combat and expose
them. Their objections to the person and doctrines of CHRIST, as well as
to those of his illustrious Harbinger, came rather from their wills than
their understandings: nor would they ever have called in question the
Divine authority of their missions, had not the design and spirit of
them militated against their own evil tempers and dispositions: "Light
was come unto them; but they chose darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil."
In every age of the world, and under every dispensation of religion,
human nature, in itself, has always been the same. The serpentine
subtilty of human reason, when engaged in the service, and acting under
the influence of vice and error, will never be at a loss for arguments
to support their cause against the voice of truth and virtue. Hence the
specious objections, which modern infidelity hath thrown out against the
necessity of Divine Revelation; and hence the weak and idle censures,
which libertinism on the one hand, and false enthusiasm on the other, so
illiberally denounce against the sincere, honest, and cordial votaries
of true Christianity.
Sincerely to be pitied is the poor unbeliever, whose short-sighted
reason, incapable of seeing further than the externals of Christianity,
furnishes him with some plausible objections, that seem to weaken its
outward evidence, but cannot reach the spirit and power by which it is
animated and supported. "Christianity was instituted for the common
salvation of all men: its essential truths, therefore, are plain and
obvious, level to every capacity, and stand in no need of learned labour
to inculcate and explain them; they are rather matter of feeling, than
of reasoning.
"Whatever is within, whatever is without us, calls aloud for a SAVIOUR.
Change, corruption, distemperature and death, have, by the sin of fallen
angels, and of fallen man, been unhappily introduced into this system of
things which we inhabit. The whole creation groaneth; and animals and
vegetables, and even the Immortal Image of GOD himself in man, are all
in bondage to their malign influences; so that every thing cries out,
with the apostle Paul, "Who shall deliver me from this body of death?"
so that every thing cries out, with the apostle Peter, "Lord, save me,
or I perish!"
"What kind of a Saviour then is it, for whom all nature thus cries
aloud, through all her works? Not a dry moralist, a legislator of bare
external precepts, such as some would represent CHRIST to be: no, the
existence and influence of the REDEEMER OF NATURE, must, at least, be as
extensive as Nature herself. Things are defiled and corrupted
throughout; they are distempered and devoted to death, from the inmost
essence of their being; and none, but HE alone, "in whom they live, and
move, and have their being," can possibly redeem and restore them."
These are inevitable truths, which all men, at some time or other, must
feel, and feel deeply too, whether they attend to them now or not. The
redemption and restoration of every sinner can be accomplished in no
other way, than by CHRIST'S spiritual entrance into his heart, awakening
in him an abhorrence of evil, and a love of goodness.
This is the spirit of the GOSPEL OF JESUS; this the grand purpose of
Heaven, under every dispensation of Revealed Truth, from Adam down to
this day. The modes of communication, the outward forms of worship and
of doctrine, may vary; but the same spirit runs through the whole, and
the enlightened eye of "Wisdom's children" can see and adore her radiant
footsteps, in paths that appear dark and dreary to the eyes of others.
However her outward garb may change; whatever different appearances she
may put on, under the patriarchal, legal, and evangelical dispensations;
her real features, her whole person and employment, have ever been
invariably the same. These different appearances were only adapted to
the different circumstances of men, and calculated to direct their
attention to the one great and principal object she has always had in
view, even the Redemption of immortal spirits from the tyranny of earth
and hell, and the full restoration of them to their primeval innocence
and bliss.
Turn then, ye advocates of infidelity! O turn back from those delusive
dangerous paths, into which the false light of fallen reason hath led
your wayward steps. Wisdom herself, and all her true and Heaven-born
children, lift up their sweet and instructive voices, and press you to
return; to recognize your illustrious origin; to spurn the transitory
and polluting joys of earth, and to aspire after the pure and permanent
pleasures of Heaven! From the Throne of the Most-High, the center of her
enlightened kingdom, she speaks, she illuminates, she warms every
intelligent being that turns to her benignant ray: the darkness of
nature kindles, at her approach, into the Light and Life of Heaven;
every evil principle, every evil passion, shrinks from before her, and
retires to its native hell; whilst the spirits of her redeemed children
issue forth from their long captivity, and triumphantly re-enter the
realms of purity and peace.
Who would not wish, then, to become a votary, a pupil, a child of
Wisdom? But how is this privilege to be obtained? what path must we
pursue, that will lead us to her delightful mansion? what conduct must
we observe, that will entitle us to be members of her illustrious
household? Must we put on the raiment of camel's hair, and the leathern
girdle; follow the mortified Baptist into the desert, and feed upon
locusts and wild honey? Or must we not rather adopt the gentler manners
of the HOLY JESUS, mix with the world as he did, and chearfully employ
ourselves in acts of kindness and brotherly love?
It is evident from the whole passage of Scripture, of which my text is
part, that our Lord blames the Jews no less for their disregard of the
ministry of John, than for the contempt with which they treated himself;
and plainly intimates, that, by the Children of Wisdom, we are to
understand all those who see the Baptist's ministry in its true point of
view, viz. as introductory and preparatory to his own; and in
consequence of this are fully convinced, that the chearfulness of Faith,
and the sweetness and condescension of Love, must naturally be preceded
by the severity of Repentance, and the salutary bitterness of sorrow and
contrition.
"Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," said the Harbinger of
the SON of GOD: "The Kingdom of GOD is come; he that believeth shall be
saved;" said the SON of GOD himself. "Repentance, therefore, and Faith
working by Love," are the sure characteristics of Wisdom's Children.
It is not, therefore, any distinguishing peculiarity of the Baptist's
character, the outward garb, or the outward deportment, that we are to
assume, but an inward temper and frame of mind corresponding to both. A
deep sensibility of the evils and infirmities of our fallen nature, an
heart-felt conviction of the guilt and misery of sin, and a penitential
sorrow for our own numberless lapses and deviations from the path of
virtue, are the true Harbingers of CHRIST in our hearts. When, under
their powerful ministration, we find ourselves called, not perhaps to a
life of outward solitude and mortification, but of inward retirement and
abstraction from the world; in the language of Scripture, "we repent, we
are converted:" we turn our backs upon every gay and glittering scene,
which worldly honour, wealth, or pleasure, can exhibit; we find nothing
in any of them, that can give a moment's real peace or rest to our
"weary heavy laden" souls; we are humbled to the dust; we feel
ourselves, as "worms, and not men," as "less than the least of GOD'S
mercies."
In this mortified, penitent, and afflicted state, which is mercifully
intended to bring us to a proper sense of our helplessness by nature,
and of the indispensable necessity of Divine Supernatural assistance, we
must remain, till the happy effect is produced, and till GOD is
graciously pleased to call us out of the wilderness. The Harbinger then
hath fulfilled his office; "The Lamb of GOD" appears "to take away the
sins of the world;" "The kingdom of heaven is come" into our hearts. To
sorrow and disquietude, succeed sweet peace and heavenly composure of
mind: the understanding is enlightened; the will receives a new and
happy direction; a new principle animates our whole frame, a new conduct
appears in our whole life and conversation: the Spirit of Love breathes
and acts in every duty we are called to perform, in every little office,
which common civility and politeness requires us to do, even to those,
who have yet no taste or desire for the sublime comforts of religion.
Thus it is, that Wisdom is justified of all her Children; and thus it
appears, that the Religion of the Gospel, which is the only True Wisdom,
is a RELIGION OF LOVE. A LIFE OF LOVE, therefore, is the best, the only
evidence, which its disciples can give, of the sincerity of their
profession; and the surest method they can take of recommending it to
others. "Let your light, then, so shine before men, that they may see
your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven."
DISCOURSE II.
Evangelical Righteousness.
JEREMIAH, CHAP. xxiii. VERSE 6.
"AND THIS IS HIS NAME, WHEREBY HE SHALL BE CALLED, THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS."
The great and essential distinction betwixt the legal and evangelical
dispensation, is accurately pointed out by the Apostle, where he tells
us, that "the law is but the shadow of good things to come, and not the
very image of the things." Its types, ceremonies, and outward
ordinances, are taken from the objects of temporal nature, which are, at
best, but shadowy representations of Eternal Truth. "The comers
thereunto could never be perfected," by the most minute observation of
its external rites. The pious, spiritual Jews, therefore, must have
looked further than these, and considered every outward purification, as
figuratively expressive of an inward cleansing to be performed in their
hearts.
Moses, their inspired Legislator, and the prophets that succeeded him,
did not fail to acquaint them with the immediate and necessary reference
of these temporal symbols to Spiritual and Eternal Truths. Nevertheless,
it appears but too evident, from the whole Jewish history, that the
generality rested their hopes of salvation, merely upon their outward
law: "They went about to establish a righteousness of their own,"
founded upon a strict observance of the Levitical ceremonies, which were
only adapted to their present circumstances, without paying the least
attention to that Inward Law of Righteousness, to which these ceremonies
referred.
Hence it was, that their prophets were directed by the Most High, to
express, in the strongest terms, his disapprobation of those very
ordinances, which he himself had originally instituted for their good;
and to tell them, that "he had no pleasure in their burnt-offerings and
sacrifices, that their oblations were vain, and that incense was an
abomination in his sight." His displeasure was not with the ordinances
themselves; for, if considered and observed with proper views and
dispositions, they would have been subservient to the most glorious
purposes: but he was offended with the gross and flagrant abuses of
them, which the people were daily committing.
Hence also it was, that the same inspired prophets, when the hand of the
HIGHEST drew aside the curtain of futurity, and exhibited to their
astonished view the successive displays of Gospel Light and Truth, with
all that variety of heavenly scenery, which his INCARNATE SON was to
open upon our benighted world; hence it was, I say, that the same
inspired prophets were particularly careful to distinguish the new
dispensation, by every figure and mode of expression, that might lead
the most dark and ignorant Jew to consider it as internal and spiritual.
The righteousness of the new covenant is widely different from what the
carnal Israelite apprehended to be the righteousness of the old. With
respect to their essence, their foundation, their motives and ends, both
covenants are the same, differing only in the external mode of
revelation; the old being "the shadow," the new "the image of good
things to come;" the old, pointing to CHRIST; the new, revealing him in
all his fulness to the faithful.
CHRIST JESUS, therefore, is and must be, "the end of the law to those
that believe;" that is, he is and must be, in himself, that very
Righteousness to which the law pointed, but which it could not attain.
"As a school-master," it served to instruct its ignorant, dark, and
fallen pupils, in the outward rudiments of Divine Truth; but could never
communicate to them the Light, Life, and Spirit of that real Evangelical
Righteousness, which is only to be found in the INCARNATE WORD OF GOD.
It is for this reason, that the prophet, speaking of the approaching
kingdom of the MESSIAH, in whom all the law and the prophets were to
center, represents him as "a righteous branch springing forth from the
root of David; as a king, reigning, prospering, and executing judgment
and justice on the earth;" in consequence of whose mild and equitable
administration, "Judah should be saved, and Israel should dwell safely:"
and, as the most characteristical designation of his nature and office,
tells us, that "This is his NAME, whereby he shall be called, THE LORD
OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
Let us then enquire, in the first place, why our BLESSED REDEEMER has
the name of RIGHTEOUSNESS ascribed to him by the prophet; and secondly,
what we are to understand by his being called "OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
I. A name in Scripture is generally put to express the intrinsic nature
and qualities of the object named. When, therefore, the name of the
MESSIAH is here said to be "Righteousness," we must necessarily
conclude, that Righteousness is his very nature, his essence, the
substance of all his attributes and perfections. He is not called
righteous, but RIGHTEOUSNESS itself; the source and fountain, from
whence all that is really and truly righteous, throughout the universe,
perpetually proceeds.
JESUS CHRIST is "the Brightness of the Father's Glory, and the Express
Image of his Person." All the beauties, excellencies, powers, and
virtues, which are essentially hidden in the invisible GODHEAD, are
substantially, vitally, inwardly, as well as outwardly, opened,
revealed, and illustriously displayed, in the person of the INCARNATE
JESUS. "All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing
made, that was made:" all the "thrones, dominions, principalities and
powers," possessed by angels, archangels, cherubim and seraphim, are
derived from him; for, "in, and through him, did the Father create all
things." The highest degree of Righteousness which the highest Seraph
can attain, is but a beam or efflux from this Eternal Sun. With glory
undiminished he perpetually imparts spiritual life and vigour to all
those countless myriads of intelligences, which inhabit the whole
compass of universal nature. He is himself the living law, the eternal
rule of order and rectitude. GOD THE FATHER hath "set this his King of
Righteousness on his holy hill of Sion." Every outward institute,
revealed and written, which GOD hath "at sundry times and in divers
manners," delivered to the sons of men, was but a transcript of that
original law, which lives for ever in the heart of CHRIST. "I am the
way, the truth, and the life;" "no man cometh unto the Father, but by
me; ye will not come unto me, that ye may have life; without me, ye can
do nothing--" are his own blessed words.
Nature, without this CHRIST OF GOD, is impurity, emptiness, poverty,
want, and wretchedness extreme: nature illuminated, enriched, refreshed,
glorified by him, is holy, righteous, lovely, supremely happy. Known or
unknown to our fallen race, it is HE alone, who inspires every good
thought, every righteous deed, every sentiment and action that is
amiable and endearing.
In the acts of the apostles we read of an altar with this inscription,
"To the unknown GOD!" St. Paul, taking occasion from this circumstance,
tells the Athenians, "Him whom ye ignorantly worship, preach I unto
you." In the whole frame of nature, says a truly sublime writer, every
heart, every creature, every affection, every action, is an altar with
the same kind of inscription, "To the unknown Beauty!--To the unknown
Righteousness!--To the unknown Jesus!" This is the eternal standard of
truth, order, righteousness and perfection, to which every being in
nature ignorantly moveth; this is that which all understandings, all
hearts, cannot but admire and adore. But blessed above all beings are
those, whose hearts are spiritual altars, with the righteous person of
CHRIST engraven upon them by the finger of GOD, flaming with the fire of
Heavenly Love, and bearing this radiant inscription, "To the known and
experienced Beauty and Righteousness of that JESUS, whom we know; that
Word of Life, which our eyes have seen, our ears have heard, our hands
have handled, and spiritually embraced!" And this leads me, in the
second place, to inquire what we are to understand by CHRIST'S being
called "OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
II. Under my first head, I observed to you from Scripture, that GOD
created all things "in and by JESUS CHRIST;" and that "without him, was
not any thing made that was made." Man, in particular, was "created in
the Image of GOD:" CHRIST is "the Brightness of the Father's Glory, and
the Express Image of his Person:" and, therefore, man was created in
CHRIST.
Man in himself, in his outward nature, was but an empty vessel, till the
CHRIST OF GOD became his fulness and perfection. His outward form was
from the dust of the earth; but his inward spirit was the breath of the
MOST HIGH. The Image of GOD, even CHRIST himself, was his first, his
sole Righteousness and perfection; the infallible instructor and
enlightener of his understanding, the unerring guide and director of his
will. The Name by which the SON of GOD was known to him, was "The Lord
his Righteousness." Angels themselves know no other Righteousness, than
the Righteousness of GOD in CHRIST.
The fall of man, or "Original sin," (as our church article with great
truth and propriety expresses it) "is the fault and corruption of the
nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of
Adam; whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is
of his own nature inclined to evil." We have already seen what this
original righteousness was, which man possessed in a state of innocence,
viz. that it was CHRIST, "the Lord his Righteousness," in him. This is
what Adam lost--This is what CHRIST alone can restore.
Man in his present fallen state, without CHRIST, must be naturally
inclined to evil; he has no righteousness of his own. And he can no more
be saved by any exertion of his own natural powers, than he can see by
the utmost stretch of his organs of sight, without the light of the sun.
Here then a serious and inquiring mind may be ready to ask--How is this
BLESSED REDEEMER to become my Righteousness? I feel the force of these
Scripture truths you have mentioned, and experience in my soul the
dreadful consequences of an original apostasy--But I know not, whether
CHRIST is my Righteousness, or not. I know not, whether I have the least
traces of his Righteous Image in my soul.
"Hath CHRIST, then, been so long time with thee, and yet hast thou not
known him?" Every little rebuke of conscience; every emotion of
kindness, tenderness, and love; every sympathetic feeling of the
prosperity or distress of thy neighbour; every sensibility of
admiration, esteem, and joy, from contemplating a truly wise and
virtuous character; every fervent desire of imitating what is good and
excellent in others; every weak aspiration after holiness and
perfection; nay, every little feeling of the restless cravings of thine
own nature, every little longing after happiness unpossessed; all, all
is CHRIST, speaking within thee, and waiting and watching to reveal
himself in Righteousness to thy soul. Nothing, therefore, is wanting, on
thy part, but a calm and quiet resignation of thyself, and all that is
within thee, to his sovereign disposal, to redeem, purify, and restore,
to do every thing that is necessary to be done, and which he alone can
do, for thy salvation.
Thus have I endeavoured to give the plain and obvious meaning of the
text. Distinctions upon distinctions have been multiplied; books upon
books have been published, to tell us that we are to be justified by the
Personal Righteousness of CHRIST outwardly imputed, and sanctified by
the inherent graces of the HOLY SPIRIT; that one must necessarily
precede the other; and that we must be perfect in CHRIST by
Justification, before we can have the least spark of Holiness by
Sanctification. This is, indeed, travelling in the broad and popular
road; and such kind of preaching might be to the "praise of men." Let
systems be written upon systems, and comments upon comments; let
preachers oppose preachers, and hearers wander after this or that form
of godliness; but may Heaven in mercy preserve us from taking up our
rest, or placing our dependence upon any thing less than an intimate and
experimental knowledge of "The LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" revealing
himself, with all his holy heavenly tempers, virtues, and dispositions,
in our hearts! May we never rest satisfied with a nominal profession of
Christianity, a nominal acquaintance with CHRIST, or a nominal remission
of sins; for, surely, we are not warranted, by Scripture, to look upon
ourselves as redeemed by CHRIST, and born again of him, till by a total
purification, a complete deliverance from all the evil tempers and
passions of our fallen life, he hath obtained a full and peaceable
possession of our whole nature, erected his Throne of Righteousness in
our hearts, and by the effectual working of his HOLY SPIRIT brought us
to the "measure of the stature of that FULNESS, which is in HIMSELF."
DISCOURSE III.
The Religion of Jesus, the only Source of Happiness.
St. JOHN, CHAP. vi. VER. 66, 67, 68.
"FROM THAT TIME, MANY OF HIS DISCIPLES WENT BACK, AND WALKED NO MORE
WITH HIM. THEN SAID JESUS UNTO THE TWELVE, WILL YE ALSO GO AWAY?
THEN SIMON PETER ANSWERED HIM, LORD! TO WHOM SHALL WE GO? THOU HAST
THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE."
Happiness is the great end and aim of all those restless pursuits in
which mankind are perpetually engaged. The laborious peasant, and the
contemplative philosopher; the man that wisheth for wealth, and the man
that possesseth it; the gay votary of worldly pleasure, and the gloomy
tenant of the solitary cell, are alike industrious in exploring this
hidden treasure. Their imaginations are ever upon the stretch after this
something yet unknown. Their ideas of happiness indeed, as well as the
means which they make use of to attain it, are as different as their
prevailing tempers and inclinations. Whatever objects coincide with
their present conceptions, those they esteem, and those they pursue,
with all the eagerness of newly awakened desire. Deluded, however, by
specious appearances, mistaken again and again in their choice of
objects, loathing to-day what they pursued yesterday with ardour,
chearful and confident in prospect, disappointed and melancholy in
possession, they fondly rove from one scene of imaginary bliss to
another, unable to rest on any with permanent satisfaction. They never
once consider, that no finite objects can fill up the immense void of an
immortal soul, no temporal enjoyments satisfy its boundless desires; and
that nothing less than "life eternal" can afford an happiness
commensurate to its eternal nature.
This is not mere theory, or empty speculation. There is not one in this
assembly, but could bear witness from experience to the melancholy fact.
Was each of us to be asked, in a serious and solemn manner, Are you
really happy? very few, I am afraid, if they would speak ingenuously,
could answer in the affirmative. And yet, perhaps, most of us have
attained, from time to time, what we once deemed the height of our
wishes; and what we were then sure, if attained, would make us
completely happy.
The child wishes for the employments and pleasures of youth; the youth
longs to arrive at what he calls the freedom and independence of
manhood; the man anxiously schemes and plots, and contrives, and labours
and toils, and then wishes to see the success of his schemes, the
accomplishment of his labours. His schemes turn out to his satisfaction;
the end is obtained; the object is enjoyed: his bliss is consummate, to
be sure; he cannot be happier--No such thing--New wants succeed; new
schemes are formed; new pursuits, new labours, new anxieties and wishes,
tread close upon each other's heels. But where is his happiness all the
while? Why he loses sight, at last, of the grand and principal object,
in the pursuit of which he had set out: failing of success in this, he
foolishly adopts the means for the end; and perpetual care, toil, and
vexation, are the wretched effects of his mistaken choice.
Thus, for instance, the covetous man grasps, and saves, and fills his
coffers--for what? Not to make himself, his family, or his poor
neighbours round him, happy with the fruits of his penurious efforts.
No--he not only turns a deaf ear to the piercing cries of indigence, but
grudges even his family the common necessaries of life, and never parts
with a farthing, without uttering some ridiculous complaint of the
hardness of the times, and their want of economy. He saves therefore for
the sake of saving; his heart is shut up in his chest with his beloved
mammon, both alike inaccessible to the mild and soft approaches of
kindness and liberality.
We cannot but shrink back with horror, from a character so odious and
detestable as this. But the observation with which I set out, will hold
equally true, when applied to any of those false paths, which men pursue
in quest of happiness.
Pleasure and ambition will deceive them, as surely as avarice. Enjoyment
in every instance may pall, but cannot satisfy the restless desire. Nor
will it ever be satisfied, till the soul gets sight of the only true
beatifying object in the universe, to which she can rise, and upon which
she can rest, with the whole strength and energy of her immortal nature.
The light of another world, however, must open and irradiate her
spiritual senses, before she can have the least glimpse of this supreme
source of bliss. The vanity and deception of all creaturely happiness
must in some measure be unfolded to her view, before she can stretch one
feeble thought towards Heaven; and she must be intimately convinced of
the bondage of her fallen life, and the misery of her condition in this
fallen world, before she can feel the force, or discern the spiritual
depth of these expressions of St. Peter, "Lord! to whom shall we go?
Thou hast the words of eternal life."
There are many people, indeed, who though they are walking on in those
very paths of error and delusion which I have just mentioned, would fain
have their conduct hallowed by some religious appearances. They begin
with deceiving themselves, and then go on to deceive others. But, do
what they will, they cannot wholly divest themselves of the feelings of
truth and virtue. For they have within them a Spiritual Nature, that is
continually striving, under the influences of its native Heaven, to get
disengaged from the servitude of its corrupt companion. Call it by what
name we please, conscience, the light of nature, common sense, common or
preventing grace; or, as the Scripture denominates it, "the Light that
lighteth every man that cometh into the world, Christ in us the hope of
glory, the Incorruptible Seed of the WORD OF GOD," (for, as Christians,
I think we ought to prefer scriptural to philosophical terms;) I say,
call it by which ever of these names we like best, certain it is, that
every man at times feels this Divine Power stirring within him, and
endeavouring to awaken, reprove, inform, illuminate, and govern his life
and actions.
Now it always happens, that the counsels of this Heavenly Monitor clash
with and oppose the dictates of corrupt nature. At this contradiction,
the passions are alarmed; they demand immediate gratification, and the
trembling mortal dares not at once yield to their solicitations. A
strong sensibility of the falsehood of their claim, is felt in his
breast. Something must first be done, to stifle or quiet this uneasy
sensation.
Avarice, he will say to himself, is criminal, it is true; but a
well-timed parsimony is virtuous and commendable; and a good and prudent
man will think himself in duty bound to provide for the future support
of his children.
Sensual pleasure, vain mirth, and jovial company, are not quite
consistent with the precepts of the Gospel of CHRIST: but a few innocent
amusements can do no harm; and it is but in character for a Christian to
be chearful.
The pursuits of ambition are diametrically opposite to that meekness and
humility, which should characterize the disciple of the lowly JESUS: but
posts of honour, and exalted stations, may enable a man to be of
considerable service to his neighbours, and enlarge his sphere of
usefulness.