was equally enlightened with the present; or that the clearer light, we
enjoy, is of no service to religion. Our improved CRITICISM has been
of use in ascertaining the authority, and, sometimes, in clearing the
smaller difficulties, of the sacred text; and our improved PHILOSOPHY
has enabled many great men to set the evidences of revealed religion,
in a juster and stronger light: but, with the _doctrines_ themselves,
our improvements, of whatever kind, have no concern. Be our proficiency
in human science what it may, those doctrines are the _same_ still.
Reason, under any degree of cultivation, may if we please to misapply
it, perplex and corrupt our faith; but will never be able to see to
the bottom of those _judgments_, which are _unsearchable_, nor to clear
up those _ways_, which are _past finding out_[111].
To conclude: I am not, now, making the panegyric of those venerable
men, to whom we are indebted for our religious establishment. They
were our inferiors, if you will, in many respects. But, if, _measuring
ourselves by ourselves, and comparing ourselves among ourselves_, we
overlook their real abilities and qualifications; if we pronounce them
ignorant of _good letters_, because they lived in an age, which we have
learned to call barbarous; and ignorant of the _Christian religion_,
because they were not practised in our philosophy; we, probably, do
THEM great injustice, and take, it may be, not the best method of doing
honour to OURSELVES.
SERMON XIV.
PREACHED APRIL 27, 1766.
St. MARK, iv. 24.
_Take heed what ye hear._
Or, as the equivalent phrase is in
St. LUKE, viii. 18.
_Take heed_ HOW _ye hear_.
Faith, says the Apostle, _cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word
of God_[112]. The assertion was strictly true in the early days of
the Gospel, before books were yet written and spread abroad for the
edification of the Church. The inlet of faith was, then, the _ear_:
through that organ only was conveyed, from the tongue of the preacher,
_the word of God_. But the case is much the same at all times; even
_now_, when books are enough multiplied, and perhaps more than enough,
in the Christian world. For, it having pleased God, that a standing
ministry should be kept up for the instruction of mankind in _the
faith_, and a _woe_ being denounced against such, as have received
this commission, and yet _preach not the Gospel_[113], the _sole_ way
by which _faith cometh_ to most men, and the _principal_, by which it
cometh to almost all, is still that of _hearing_. It is still by the
_word preached_, that men, in general, come to the faith of Christ, and
are confirmed in the profession of it.
Our Lord, then, foreseeing how much would depend on this faculty of
_hearing_, and finding by experience how liable it was to be abused,
thought fit to give his Disciples a particular, and what may almost
seem a _new_, precept, for their conduct in this respect. The ancient
masters of rhetoric, and of morals, had frequently warned their
scholars to take heed what _they speak_: but our Divine Master carries
his attention still farther; and while his ministers are required, _to
speak, as the oracles of God_, the people are very properly instructed
by him, _to take heed what they hear_.
Now, that this admonition may have its full effect, it will be proper
to explain the reasons, on which it is founded; to lay before you the
several considerations which shew of what infinite concern it is to
those, who _hear_ the word, to be _attentive_ in hearing.
And it naturally occurs, as the
I. FIRST reason for this attention, that what is spoken, is delivered
to them, _as the word of God_.
When a person in high place and authority thinks fit to honour us with
a message, though it be in a matter of no great importance, with what
submission is it received! How diligently do we listen to it! How
circumspectly is every sentence, and even syllable, weighed! We do
not stand to make exceptions to the messenger, who may have nothing
in his own _person_ to command our respect; we do not much consider
the _grace_ with which he delivers his message; we are not curious to
observe in what _choice_ or _elegant_ terms it is expressed. We are
only concerned to know, that the message has been faithfully related,
and then a due regard is immediately paid to it. And shall God speak
to us by the mouth of his ministers, in terms which himself dictates,
and which we may verify, if we please, by comparing them with his own
_written word_,—shall, I say, the God of Heaven thus address himself
to us, and we not _take heed what and how we hear_?
Or, suppose the opinion of a man learned in any secular profession
is reported to us, on a point which falls within his province, and
of which it concerns us to form a right apprehension, Is not such
_opinion_ received with respect by us, and studied with care?
And shall our Divine Master be negligently _heared_, when he
condescends to instruct us in the way of life and salvation, a subject,
of all others, the most interesting to us; a subject, which he alone
perfectly understands, and concerning which he will not and cannot
mislead us?
Still further, besides the authority of the divine word, there is
something in the _nature_ of it, which deserves, and, if we be not
wholly insensible, must command our attention.
For shall a little superficial rhetorick be listened to with regard,
perhaps with admiration? And shall not the heart-felt truths of the
Gospel warm and affect us? Shall a few spiritless periods, ranged
in measure, and coloured with art, mere sound and paint, throw
an assembly, sometimes, into joy or grief, or transport it with
indignation? And can we lend a careless ear to the word of God, _which
is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart_[114]?
Such is the attention due to the word of God, when _acknowledged_ under
that character. But
II. A SECOND reason for _hearing_ with caution, is, that the hearers
are required to judge for themselves whether what is delivered to them
be, _indeed_, the word of God. Without this care, impostures may be
endless, and the effect of them fatal.
When we give up ourselves with an implicit trust to others in mere
temporal concerns, the mischief, although considerable, may yet be
checked by experience; or, at most, as it respects this life only,
is not conclusive and irreparable: but in matters of religion, if we
accept _that_ as the word of God, and act upon it, which has no higher
authority than the word of fallible and presumptuous men, we may be led
into all the visions of fanaticism or superstition, and into all the
crimes which so naturally spring from both, to the loss of our future,
as well as present happiness.
It pleased God, therefore, from the time that miracles ceased to be
the credentials of his ministers in the Christian Church, to secure
the faithful from these dangers by the guidance of the _written
Word_; in which, besides _special rules_ there given for the trial
of _the spirits, whether they are of God_, such _general principles_
are delivered as may direct our judgment. And by the help of these,
interpreted by the _tenor_ of that word, and the _analogy_ of faith, we
may be secured from all deception or surprize.
It is true, all men cannot _apply_ these rules and principles, or not
with full knowledge and effect. Woe, therefore, be to him who abuses
the incapacity of such hearers, by obtruding on their easy belief his
own fancies, as the doctrines of God! But to the abler hearers of the
word, to all, indeed, who are competently instructed in their Religion,
the task is not difficult to avoid gross and dangerous delusions,
to determine for themselves _whether the doctrine be of God_, or
not. This task, I say, is _not difficult_; yet it implies care and
circumspection; and the necessity of discharging it must be allowed a
good argument for _taking heed what we hear_.
III. A further reason for this diligence in _hearing_ is, That the
hearers are expected and required _to profit by the word spoken_.
_The word of wisdom and of knowledge is given to every man to profit
withal[115]._ It is not a curious problem, a fine lecture, a trial of
wit, or play of ingenuity, calculated to entertain us for the time,
and to be laid aside and forgotten by us again, when the occasion is
over. The ministry of the word is of another kind, and destined to
higher purposes. It is an instrument of reproof, of exhortation, of
instruction in righteousness. _The sword of the spirit_ is put into
the hands of men for no ends of pageantry and amusement. The minister
of God _bears it not in vain_. He is entrusted with it to smite the
hearts of the wicked, to _pierce through the souls_ of unrighteous
men, and to flash conviction in the face of unbelievers. It is an
ordinance of God, by which he would humble the proud, and convert the
obstinate; strengthen the weak, and confirm the wise, hearer. Whatever
our condition, it is to be corrected or improved by the word of God;
whatever our necessities, they are to be relieved by it. But every
gift of the spirit, as well as faith, _cometh by hearing_: and that
not in the instant, but by degrees; for the Gospel does not illuminate
and sanctify men at once; but by successive improvements, according to
the care with which we listen to its admonitions, and the impression
they make upon us. Hence it concerns the hearer, that nothing be lost,
and that _the good seed_ be not committed to the ground in vain. One
_truth_ received, prepares the mind to entertain a second; that, a
third; and so on, till we become perfect in the knowledge of the
_faith_. Our moral advances are made in the same manner: one good
resolution begets another, which again produces succeeding ones, till,
through several intervening states, we arrive, or almost arrive, at
perfect _obedience_.
And this consideration, indeed, seems to have been immediately present
to our Lord, when he delivered the admonition in the text. For so he
comments upon, and enforces his own words—_Take heed what ye hear_:
[for] _with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you, and_ TO
YOU THAT HEAR, SHALL MORE BE GIVEN: that is, plainly and certainly,
your proficiency in faith and virtue will depend upon the degree of
attention ye pay to my word, and shall be proportioned to it; therefore
it cannot be too strict and earnest. Nay, our Lord goes farther, and in
his jealousy, as it were, for the honour of the word spoken, threatens
the listless hearer, that he should not only not advance in religious
qualifications, but that he should even lose those, which he already
possessed. _For he that hath, to him shall be given_: AND HE THAT
HATH NOT, FROM HIM SHALL BE TAKEN AWAY EVEN THAT HE HATH. And this
dispensation of Providence, as severe as it may seem, is, I suppose,
confirmed by too certain experience, and is analogous to the rest of
God’s moral government.
It is no slight matter then, _how we hear_. And let no idle prejudices
prevent or mislead us. The preacher of the Gospel may, on various
pretences, be unacceptable to us. Still, the Gospel itself is not
_his_, but God’s; to which no _circumstance_ should indispose us. Nay,
in spite of this indisposition, the _preacher_, if we resolve to hear,
may profit us. For it is not, I conceive, without example, that such as
come to amuse themselves with a stated discourse, or perhaps to censure
the discourser, have found their hearts touched by the quickening
power of the word, and have returned with serious thoughts and better
resolutions.
This, I say, is not too much to expect from the Gospel of Christ, and
the grace which attends it, since we find it recorded of a _Pagan
moralist_, that, when a young reveller came into his school, flushed
with wine, and (as the custom of such was) crowned with flowers,
and therefore in no disposition, we may presume, to profit by his
instructions; the philosopher, however, chose his topics so well, and
pressed them on his gay disciple with such effect, as to send him away
in a graver mood, and without his garland[116]. But,
IV. The last and most important reason of all why we should give an
attentive ear to the word of God, is, _That we shall finally be judged
by it_.
If the Gospel had only proposed to instruct us in the knowledge of
God, that so we might speculate more ably on divine subjects; or, at
most, refer the knowledge we acquire to present use; though it could
not be denied that such purpose was an important one, yet, if it went
no further, we might, if we could allow ourselves in such imprudence,
make light of this, as we do of so many other kinds of instruction.
We should be ignorant, indeed, and unaccomplished in a very sublime
science; but so we are of many others, and yet are contented to remain
in that ignorance. We might conduct ourselves foolishly and perversely,
and might suffer much inconvenience, and even misery, for want of
acting on the principles of this science; but so we do, in many other
instances, for want of acting on the maxims of art and prudence in the
management of our common concerns, and yet we make a shift to satisfy
ourselves with our condition. But if the Gospel follow us into another
world; if this immortal volume must be laid open in the presence of
men and angels, and our eternal doom pronounced out of it, though we
would not obey, or so much as listen to its commands, when they were so
earnestly, so repeatedly, in this life pressed upon us; if such be the
effect of not _hearing_, how shall we excuse our indifference in this
respect, or what can support us under the consciousness of it?
Hear then the awful sentence of Christ himself, denounced in that
Gospel—_He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one
that judgeth him_; THE WORD _that I have spoken, the same shall judge
him at the last day_[117].
Go now, ye careless hearers, ye despisers of the WORD, and justify to
yourselves, if ye can, your neglect and scorn of it!
When our Lord himself taught in the streets of Jerusalem, many a
_supercilious_ Pharisee, we may suppose, passed by, without so much
as stopping to hear what this divine teacher had to say to them:
others, if they gave attention to his words, were only gratifying an
idle, perhaps a malignant curiosity; they sought occasion from what
he said to intrap him in his discourse, to accuse him to the rulers,
or to vilify him in the eyes of the people. Again: when this same
doctrine was taught by the Apostle Paul in another proud city, as proud
of its philosophic schools, as Jerusalem was of its temple, many a
contemptuous sophist, we may believe, disdained to listen, at all to
the _foolishness of preaching_; and of those few who did, _some_, we
know, _mocked_, while others negligently asked their companions, _What
would this babbler say_? But how will both these be astonished in the
last day to find themselves judged by that _word_ which they neglected,
or contemned; by that word, which they would not _hear_, though it was
brought home to their doors, or which they rejected with scorn, when
they _did_ hear it!
Nor think, because neither Jesus nor Paul hath preached in person to
us, that therefore our case is much different. Jesus and Paul still
speak in the ministers of the word: or, what if the speakers be widely
different, the _word_ is the same: _this treasure we_ still _have_,
though _in earthen vessels_[118]. Nay, in one respect, our guilt
exceeds theirs. The Pharisees and Philosophers were, alike, ignorant
and unbelieving. We profess _to know_, and _to believe_.
Let US, then, _take heed what we hear_; lest our knowledge and belief
add terrors to that day, when _the neglected word_ shall sit in
judgment upon us.
SERMON XV.
PREACHED NOVEMBER 24, 1765.
ROM. xvi. 19.
_I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple
concerning evil._
Our blessed Lord had given it in charge to his followers to be _wise
as serpents, and harmless as doves_[119]. And the Apostle explains and
enforces this command of his Master, when he enjoins us in the words of
the text, To be _wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning
evil_.
I confine myself, at present, to the former part of the text, and shall
enquire into the properties or characters of CHRISTIAN WISDOM.
This wisdom consists in the prosecution of what the Scriptures declare
to be the true _end_ of man, and by such _means_ as they prescribe to
us.
That _end_ is the SALVATION of our souls; and the _means_, which lead
to it, are FAITH and OBEDIENCE. Thus far there can be no mistake.
The _wise Christian_ is he who is intent on securing his _eternal_
interest; and who, to that end, fortifies his mind with a firm belief
of the _doctrines_, and conducts his life according to the _precepts_,
of the Gospel.
I. But PERFECT WISDOM, which consists in a strict attention to these
_several_ particulars, and according to the true worth of _each_, is
rarely the lot of human nature. And there are _two_ ways, in which we
are most apt to forfeit our pretensions to it. ONE is, when our minds,
wholly taken up with the ultimate _object_ of their hopes, neglect the
_means_ which are appointed to bring them to it: The OTHER, when we
rest in the intervening _means_ themselves, without a due regard to
that _final purpose_, for the sake of which they were appointed.
1. The FORMER of these defects we may observe in those persons who,
from a too warm and enthusiastic turn of thought, are for subliming
all piety into the trances of mystic contemplation; as if _morality_
and _faith_ scarce deserved their notice; and the _beatific vision_
were as well the _object_, as _end_ of the Christian life. Here the
fault lies in an impatience to come at the _point_ we propose to
ourselves, without observing the proper _methods_ which are to put us
in possession of it; and is much the same phrenzy as we should charge
on those _travellers_, who, being on their way towards a distant
country, stop short in the contemplation of all the wonders they have
heard reported of it, without pursuing their journey, or indeed without
taking one step towards it.
2. The OTHER defect of wisdom is seen in those less sanguine, and, in
truth, lukewarm Christians, who do not, indeed, altogether neglect the
subservient duties of their profession, but, as not enough considering
the _prize of their high calling_, grow remiss in the exercise of them:
in which they too much resemble those _same travellers_; who, when
taking the ordinary means of arriving at their journey’s end, fall
into an idle way of loitering on the road, and use not that dispatch
and diligence in their stages, which an earnest consideration of the
_end_, they have in view, should naturally inspire.
II. But this duty of Christian wisdom is further violated, when, with
a full respect to our final _hopes and expectations_, and a general
intention to pursue them by the _means_ appointed in holy Scripture, we
do not, however, observe the _due bounds and measures_ of each; that
is, when, of the _two_ appointed means of salvation, _a pure faith_,
and _right practice_, we chose to ourselves a favourite, and incline
too much to _one_, at the expence of the _other_. For,
1. With regard to the distinct provinces of FAITH and MORALITY, we
know there are those, who, provided they are but sound and orthodox
in their opinions, that they give an entire assent to the several
articles of their creed, and submit their faith to the entire direction
of Scripture, or perhaps of the church with which they communicate,
suppose the affair of _moral practice_ of much less importance; and
conclude their devotion for this acceptable sacrifice of _a right
faith_ will excuse their making somewhat too free with the article
of _obedience_. Such persons there have been and still are in all
churches; but we know _what_ sect of Christians is most deeply infected
with this error.
2. On the contrary, they who have shaken off this bondage of
superstition, and have observed the mischiefs which arise in abundance
from this exclusive attachment to creeds and confessions, are very apt
to run into the other extreme; and, because they find _morality_ to
be of eternal obligation, make the less account of _faith_ and right
opinion. As the former excess is the peculiar disgrace of _Popery_,
this other has frequently been objected to _Protestantism_. _Both_
are manifest violations of _Christian wisdom_; which, besides that
it commands an equal reverence for the two tables of the divine law,
should further instruct us, _that as faith without works is vain_, so
_good works_ themselves, unassisted and unsanctified by _faith_, are
either not so perfect, or not so acceptable from us Christians, as
otherwise they might be. Not to observe, that as the articles of our
holy faith may be founded on _reasons_, which we do not know; so the
belief or rejection of them may have _consequences_, which we cannot
foresee.
III. And with this preparation, let us now descend to still more
particular reflexions on the duty which lies upon us to approve
our _wisdom_ in the _public profession_ of that faith, and the
_manifestation_ of that practice. _Christian wisdom_ requires an
attentive regard to the main _end_ we have in view, and to the
_methods_ by which we are instructed to obtain it. But still there
is great room for discretion to shew itself in the _management and
pursuit_ of those methods. One _manner_ of doing the good, we are
appointed to do, will be preferable to another. And it is a great
part of Christian prudence to be ready and expert in discovering and
acting upon that _preference_. This indeed is a large field; nor is it
possible to enumerate all the cases which fall within this province
of true wisdom. But to prescribe to _ourselves_ some plan, however
defective, we may consider, that, if a constant regard be had to
_ourselves_, to our _own character and circumstances_, our virtues will
then be most GRACEFUL; if to the exigencies of the _times_ and _places_
in which we live, most SEASONABLE; and, lastly, if to the _persons_,
_conditions_, and _characters_ of other men, they will thus become most
ATTRACTIVE and EFFICACIOUS.
1. It was a point the masters of ancient wisdom took a singular
pleasure to inculcate, and we find an equal stress laid upon it by the
sacred writers, that a strict _decorum_ be observed in the exercise of
our virtues; or, in other words, that the _good_ we do be that which
is _fit_ and _decent_, considering our _circumstances and characters_.
Thus we find one set of duties more especially recommended to the
_young_, another to the _aged_; some to _private_ persons, others to
such as are in _place and authority_. Different _professions_ in life
have also different sets of offices belonging to them; or in such as
are _common_ to all, propriety demands, that they be evidenced in
very different _manners_. The virtues we expect in the _poor man_,
are humility, industry, and resignation. These too are virtues, from
the obligation of which no _rich man_ is exempted; but it would be
strangely _misbecoming_, if _he_ did not surpass the _other_ in acts of
charity and beneficence. And in respect of the same _common_ virtue,
suppose _charity_, what the _one_ would very commendably discharge by
little acts of service and assiduity towards his distressed neighbour,
might require a very considerable expence of wealth or labour in the
_other_. Nay, the several humours and dispositions of men will occasion
a difference, if not in the _matter_ of their duty, yet in the _way_ in
which it will become them to express it. An eminent moralist, indeed,
carried this point of _decorum_ very far when he would justify so bad
an action, as _suicide_, and which he owns he should have condemned in
any other, from the singular turn of Cato’s temper and virtue[120]. But
thus much may be said with great truth: that an action, good in itself,
may come with a better grace from one man than another. A lesson of
good advice, for instance, might be requisite from the liveliest man
to his friend; but it would have additional weight and propriety from
one of a graver disposition: and certainly what the _former_ could only
hint with address, the _latter_ might be allowed to enforce with much
earnestness and authority.
In short, if we study _ourselves_, and reflect what our _station_,
_character_, or _nature_ is, we shall best discern what the virtues
are, and in what manner to be expressed, which sit most properly and
_gracefully_ upon us. And to give a diligent attention to these is no
mean part of _moral wisdom_. But,