unspeakable increase, if not its very being, from this grand event, as
does also our love both of the Father and the Son: so does the love of
our neighbor also, our benevolence to all mankind: which can not but
increase in the same proportion with our faith and love of God. For
who does not apprehend the force of that inference drawn by the loving
apostle, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one
another." If God so loved us--observe, the stress of the argument lies
on this very point: so loved us! as to deliver up His only Son to die
a curst death for our salvation. "Beloved, what manner of love is
this," wherewith God hath loved us? So as to give His only Son! In
glory equal with the Father: in majesty coeternal! What manner of love
is this wherewith the only begotten Son of God hath loved us, as to
empty Himself, as far as possible, of His eternal Godhead; as to
divest Himself of that glory, which He had with the Father before the
world began; as to take upon Him "the form of a servant, being found
in fashion as a man"! And then to humble Himself still further, "being
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross"! If God so loved us,
how ought we to love one another? But this motive to brotherly love
had been totally wanting if Adam had not fallen. Consequently we could
not then have loved one another in so high a degree as we may now.
Nor could there have been that height and depth in the command of our
blest Lord. "As I have loved you, so love one another."
Such gainers may we be by Adam's fall, with regard both to the love of
God and of our neighbor. But there is another grand point, which, tho
little adverted to, deserves our deepest consideration. By that one
act of our first parent, not only "sin entered into the world," but
pain also, and was alike entailed on his whole posterity. And herein
appeared, not only the justice, but the unspeakable goodness of God.
For how much good does He continually bring out of this evil! How much
holiness and happiness out of pain!
How innumerable are the benefits which God conveys to the children of
men through the channel of sufferings! so that it might well be said,
"What are termed afflictions in the language of men, are in the
language of God styled blessings." Indeed, had there been no suffering
in the world, a considerable part of religion, yea, and in some
respects, the most excellent part, could have no place therein: since
the very existence of it depends on our suffering: so that had there
been no pain it could have had no being. Upon this foundation, even
our suffering, it is evident all our passive graces are built; yea,
the noblest of all Christian graces, love enduring all things. Here is
the ground for resignation to God, enabling us to say from the heart,
and in every trying hour, "It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him
good." "Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we
not receive evil?" And what a glorious spectacle is this? Did it not
constrain even a heathen to cry out, "_Ecce spectaculum Deo dignum!_
See a sight worthy of God: a good man struggling with adversity, and
superior to it." Here is the ground for confidence in God, both with
regard to what we feel, and with regard to what we should fear, were
it not that our soul is calmly stayed on him. What room could there
be for trust in God if there was no such thing as pain or danger? Who
might not say then, "The cup which my Father hath given me, shall
I not drink it?" It is by sufferings that our faith is tried, and,
therefore, made more acceptable to God. It is in the day of trouble
that we have occasion to say, "Tho he slay me, yet will I trust in
him." And this is well pleasing to God, that we should own Him in the
face of danger; in defiance of sorrow, sickness, pain, or death.
Again: Had there been neither natural nor moral evil in the
world, what must have become of patience, meekness, gentleness,
long-suffering? It is manifest they could have had no being: seeing
all these have evil for their object. If, therefore, evil had never
entered into the world, neither could these have had any place in it.
For who could have returned good for evil, had there been no evil-doer
in the universe? How had it been possible, on that supposition, to
overcome evil with good? Will you say, "But all these graces might
have been divinely infused into the hearts of men?" Undoubtedly they
might: but if they had, there would have been no use or exercise for
them. Whereas in the present state of things we can never long want
occasion to exercise them. And the more they are exercised, the
more all our graces are strengthened and increased. And in the same
proportion as our resignation, our confidence in God, our patience and
fortitude, our meekness, gentleness, and long-suffering, together
with our faith and love of God and man increase, must our happiness
increase, even in the present world.
Yet again: As God's permission of Adam's fall gave all his posterity
a thousand opportunities of suffering, and thereby of exercising all
those passive graces which increase both their holiness and happiness,
so it gives them opportunities of doing good in numberless instances,
of exercising themselves in various good works, which otherwise could
have had no being. And what exertions of benevolence, of compassion,
of godlike mercy, had then been totally prevented! Who could then have
said to the lover of men,
Thy mind throughout my life be shown,
While listening to the wretches' cry,
The widow's or the orphan's groan;
On mercy's wings I swiftly fly
The poor and needy to relieve;
Myself, my all, for them to give?
It is the just observation of a benevolent man,
--All worldly joys are less,
Than that one joy of doing kindnesses.
Surely in keeping this commandment, if no other, there is great
reward. "As we have time, let us do good unto all men;" good of every
kind and in every degree. Accordingly the more good we do (other
circumstances being equal), the happier we shall be. The more we deal
our bread to the hungry, and cover the naked with garments; the more
we relieve the stranger, and visit them that are sick or in prison;
the more kind offices we do to those that groan under the various
evils of human life; the more comfort we receive even in the present
world; the greater the recompense we have in our own bosom.
To sum up what has been said under this head: As the more holy we are
upon earth, the more happy we must be (seeing there is an inseparable
connection between holiness and happiness); as the more good we do to
others, the more of present reward rebounds into our own bosom:
even as our sufferings for God lead us to rejoice in Him "with joy
unspeakable and full of glory"; therefore, the fall of Adam, first, by
giving us an opportunity of being far more holy; secondly, by giving
us the occasions of doing innumerable good works, which otherwise
could not have been done; and, thirdly, by putting it into our power
to suffer for God, whereby "the spirit of glory and of God rests upon
us": may be of such advantage to the children of men, even in the
present life, as they will not thoroughly comprehend till they attain
life everlasting.
It is then we shall be enabled fully to comprehend not only the
advantages which accrue at the present time to the sons of men by the
fall of their first parent, but the infinitely greater advantages
which they may reap from it in eternity. In order to form some
conception of this, we may remember the observation of the apostle,
"As one star differeth from another star in glory, so also is the
resurrection of the dead." The most glorious stars will undoubtedly
be those who are the most holy; who bear most of that image of God
wherein they were created. The next in glory to these will be those
who have been most abundant in good works: and next to them, those
that have suffered most, according to the will of God. But what
advantages in every one of these respects will the children of God
receive in heaven, by God's permitting the introduction of pain upon
earth, in consequence of sin? By occasion of this they attained many
holy tempers, which otherwise could have had no being: resignation
to God, confidence in him in times of trouble and danger, patience,
meekness, gentleness, long-suffering, and the whole train of passive
virtues. And on account of this superior holiness they will then
enjoy superior happiness. Again: every one will then "receive his
own reward, according to his own labor." Every individual will
be "rewarded according to his work." But the Fall gave rise to
innumerable good works, which could otherwise never have existed, such
as ministering to the necessities of the saints, yea, relieving the
distrest in every kind. And hereby innumerable stars will be added to
their eternal crown. Yet again: there will be an abundant reward in
heaven, for suffering as well as for doing, the will of God: "these
light afflictions, which are but for a moment, work out for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Therefore that event,
which occasioned the entrance of suffering into the world, has thereby
occasioned to all the children of God, an increase of glory to all
eternity. For altho the sufferings themselves will be at an end: altho
The pain of life shall then be o'er,
The anguish and distracting care;
The sighing grief shall weep no more;
And sin shall never enter there:--
yet the joys occasioned thereby shall never end, but flow at God's
right hand for evermore.
There is one advantage more that we reap from Adam's fall, which is
not unworthy our attention. Unless in Adam all had died, being in the
loins of their first parent, every descendant of Adam, every child of
man, must have personally answered for himself to God: it seems to
be a necessary consequence of this, that if he had once fallen, once
violated any command of God, there would have been no possibility of
his rising again; there was no help, but he must have perished without
remedy. For that covenant knew not to show mercy: the word was, "The
soul that sinneth, it shall die." Now who would not rather be on the
footing he is now; under a covenant of mercy? Who would wish to hazard
a whole eternity upon one stake? Is it not infinitely more desirable,
to be in a state wherein, tho encompassed with infirmities, yet we
do not run such a desperate risk, but if we fall, we may rise again?
Wherein we may say,
My trespass is grown up to heaven!
But, far above the skies,
In Christ abundantly forgiven,
I see Thy mercies rise!
In Christ! Let me entreat every serious person, once more to fix his
attention here. All that has been said, all that can be said, on these
subjects, centers in this point. The fall of Adam produced the death
of Christ! Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! Yea,
Let earth and heaven agree,
Angels and men be joined,
To celebrate with me
The Saviour of mankind;
To adore the all-atoning Lamb,
And bless the sound of Jesus' name!
If God had prevented the fall of man, the Word had never been made
flesh: nor had we ever "seen his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father." Those mysteries had never been displayed,
"which the very angels desire to look into." Methinks this
consideration swallows up all the rest, and should never be out of
our thoughts. Unless "by one man, judgment had come upon all men to
condemnation," neither angels nor men could ever have known "the
unsearchable riches of Christ."
See then, upon the whole, how little reason we have to repine at
the fall of our first parent, since herefrom we may derive such
unspeakable advantages, both in time and eternity. See how small
pretense there is for questioning the mercy of God in permitting
that event to take place, since therein, mercy, by infinite degrees,
rejoices over judgment! Where, then, is the man that presumes to blame
God for not preventing Adam's sin? Should we not rather bless Him from
the ground of the heart, for therein laying the grand scheme of man's
redemption, and making way for that glorious manifestation of His
wisdom, holiness, justice, and mercy? If indeed God had decreed before
the foundation of the world that millions of men should dwell in
everlasting burnings, because Adam sinned, hundreds or thousands of
yours before they had a being, I know not who could thank him for
this, unless the devil and his angels: seeing, on this supposition,
all those millions of unhappy spirits would be plunged into hell by
Adam's sin, without any possible advantage from it. But, blest be God,
this is not the case. Such a decree never existed. On the contrary,
every one born of a woman may be an unspeakable gainer thereby; and
none ever was or can be a loser, but by his own choice.
We see here a full answer to that plausible account "of the origin of
evil," published to the world some years since, and supposed to be
unanswerable: that it "necessarily resulted from the nature of
matter, which God was not able to alter." It is very kind in this
sweet-tongued orator to make an excuse for God! But there is really no
occasion for it: God hath answered for Himself. He made man in His own
image, a spirit endued with understanding and liberty. Man abusing
that liberty, produced evil, brought sin and pain into the world.
This God permitted, in order to a fuller manifestation of His wisdom,
justice, and mercy, by bestowing on all who would receive it an
infinitely greater happiness than they could possibly have attained if
Adam had not fallen.
"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"
Altho a thousand particulars of His judgments, and of His ways are
unsearchable to us, and past our finding out, yet we may discern the
general scheme running through time into eternity. "According to the
council of his own will," the plan He had laid before the foundation
of the world, He created the parent of all mankind in His own image.
And He permitted all men to be made sinners by the disobedience of
this one man, that, by the obedience of One, all who receive the free
gift may be infinitely holier and happier to all eternity!
WHITEFIELD
THE METHOD OF GRACE
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
George Whitefield, evangelist and leader of Calvinistic Methodists,
who has been called the Demosthenes of the pulpit, was born at
Gloucester, England, in 1714. He was an impassioned pulpit orator of
the popular type, and his power over immense congregations was largely
due to his histrionic talent and his exquisitely modulated voice,
which has been described as "an organ, a flute, a harp, all in one,"
and which at times became stentorian. He had a most expressive face,
and altho he squinted, in grace and significance of gesture he knew
perfectly how to "suit the action to the word." But he had not the
style or scholarship of Wesley, and his printed sermons do not fully
bear out his reputation. Whitefield died in 1770.
WHITEFIELD
1714--1770
THE METHOD OF GRACE
_They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly,
saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace_.--Jeremiah vi., 14.
As God can send a nation or people no greater blessing than to give
them faithful, sincere, and upright ministers, so the greatest curse
that God can possibly send upon a people in this world is to give them
over to blind, unregenerate, carnal, lukewarm, and unskilful guides.
And yet, in all ages, we find that there have been many wolves in
sheep's clothing, many that daubed with untempered mortar, that
prophesied smoother things than God did allow. As it was formerly,
so it is now; there are many that corrupt the word of God and deal
deceitfully with it. It was so in a special manner in the prophet
Jeremiah's time; and he, faithful to his Lord, faithful to that God
who employed him, did not fail from time to time to open his mouth
against them, and to bear a noble testimony to the honor of that
God in whose name he from time to time spake. If you will read his
prophecy, you will find that none spake more against such ministers
than Jeremiah, and here especially in the chapter out of which the
text is taken he speaks very severely against them. He charges them
with several crimes; particularly he charges them with covetousness:
"For," says he, in the thirteenth verse, "from the least of them even
to the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness; and from
the prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely."
And then, in the words of the text, in a more special manner he
exemplifies how they had dealt falsely, how they had behaved
treacherously to poor souls: says he, "They have healed also the hurt
of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when
there is no peace." The prophet, in the name of God, had been
denouncing war against the people; he had been telling them that their
house should be left desolate, and that the Lord would certainly visit
the land with war. "Therefore," says he, in the eleventh verse, "I am
full of the fury of the Lord; I am weary with holding in; I will pour
it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men
together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged
with him that is full of days. And their houses shall be turned unto
others, with their fields and wives together; for I will stretch out
my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord."
The prophet gives a thundering message, that they might be terrified
and have some convictions and inclinations to repent; but it seems
that the false prophets, the false priests, went about stifling
people's convictions, and when they were hurt or a little terrified,
they were for daubing over the wound, telling them that Jeremiah was
but an enthusiastic preacher, that there could be no such thing as war
among them, and saying to people, Peace, peace, be still, when the
prophet told them there was no peace.
The words, then, refer primarily unto outward things, but I verily
believe have also a further reference to the soul, and are to
be referred to those false teachers who, when people were under
conviction of sin, when people were beginning to look toward heaven,
were for stifling their convictions and telling them they were good
enough before. And, indeed, people generally love to have it so; our
hearts are exceedingly deceitful and desperately wicked; none but the
eternal God knows how treacherous they are.
How many of us cry, Peace, peace, to our souls, when there is no
peace! How many are there who are now settled upon their lees, that
now think they are Christians, that now flatter themselves that they
have an interest in Jesus Christ; whereas if we come to examine their
experiences we shall find that their peace is but a peace of the
devil's making--it is not a peace of God's giving--it is not a peace
that passeth human understanding.
It is a matter, therefore, of great importance, my dear hearers, to
know whether we may speak peace to our hearts. We are all desirous
of peace; peace is an unspeakable blessing; how can we live without
peace? And, therefore, people from time to time must be taught how far
they must go and what must be wrought in them before they can speak
peace to their hearts. This is what I design at present, that I may
deliver my soul, that I may be free from the blood of all those to
whom I preach--that I may not fail to declare the whole counsel of
God. I shall, from the words of the text, endeavor to show you what
you must undergo and what must be wrought in you before you can speak
peace to your hearts.
But before I come directly to this give me leave to premise a caution
or two.
And the first is, that I take it for granted you believe religion to
be an inward thing; you believe it to be a work of the heart, a work
wrought in the soul by the power of the Spirit of God. If you do not
believe this, you do not believe your Bibles. If you do not believe
this, tho you have got your Bibles in your hand, you hate the Lord
Jesus Christ in your heart; for religion is everywhere represented
in Scripture as the work of God in the heart. "The kingdom of God is
within us," says our Lord; and, "he is not a Christian who is one
outwardly; but he is a Christian who is one inwardly." If any of you
place religion in outward things, I shall not perhaps please you this
morning; you will understand me no more when I speak of the work of
God upon a poor sinner's heart than if I were talking in an unknown
tongue.
I would further premise a caution, that I would by no means confine
God to one way of acting. I would by no means say that all persons,
before they come to have a settled peace in their hearts, are obliged
to undergo the same degrees of conviction. No; God has various ways of
bringing His children home; His sacred Spirit bloweth when, and where,
and how it listeth. But, however, I will venture to affirm this: that
before ever you can speak peace to your heart, whether by shorter or
longer continuance of your convictions, whether in a more pungent or
in a more; gentle way, you must undergo what I shall hereafter lay
down in the following discourse.
First, then, before you can speak peace to your hearts, you must be
made to see, made to feel, made to weep over, made to bewail, your
actual transgressions against the law of God. According to the
covenant of works, "the soul that sinneth it shall die"; curst is that
man, be he what he may, be he who he may, that continueth not in all
things that are written in the book of the law to do them.
We are not only to do some things, but we are to do all things, and we
are to continue to do so, so that the least deviation from the moral
law, according to the covenant of works, whether in thought, word,
or deed, deserves eternal death at the hand of God. And if one evil
thought, if one evil word, if one evil action deserves eternal
damnation, how many hells, my friends, do every one of us deserve
whose whole lives have been one continued rebellion against God!
Before ever, therefore, you can speak peace to your hearts, you must
be brought to see, brought to believe, what a dreadful thing it is to
depart from the living God.
And now, my dear friends, examine your hearts, for I hope you came
hither with a design to have your souls made better. Give me leave to
ask you, in the presence of God, whether you know the time, and if you
do not know exactly the time, do you know there was a time when God
wrote bitter things against you, when the arrows of the Almighty were
within you? Was ever the remembrance of your sins grievous to you? Was
the burden of your sins intolerable to your thoughts? Did you ever see
that God's wrath might justly fall upon you, on account of your actual
transgressions against God? Were you ever in all your life sorry for
your sins? Could you ever say, My sins are gone over my head as a
burden too heavy for me to bear? Did you ever experience any such
thing as this? Did ever any such thing as this pass between God and
your soul? If not, for Jesus Christ's sake, do not call yourselves
Christians; you may speak peace to your hearts, but there is no peace.
May the Lord awaken you, may the Lord convert you, may the Lord give
you peace, if it be His will, before you go home!
But, further, you may be convinced of your actual sins, so as to be
made to tremble, and yet you may be strangers to Jesus Christ, you may
have no true work of grace upon your hearts. Before ever, therefore,
you can speak peace to your hearts, conviction must go deeper; you
must not only be convinced of your actual transgressions against the
law of God, but likewise of the foundation of all your transgressions.
And what is that? I mean original sin, that original corruption each
of us brings into the world with us, which renders us liable to God's
wrath and damnation. There are many poor souls that think themselves
fine reasoners, yet they pretend to say there is no such thing as
original sin; they will charge God with injustice in imputing Adam's
sin to us; altho we have got the mark of the beast and of the devil
upon us, yet they tell us we are not born in sin. Let them look abroad
and see the disorders in it, and think, if they can, if this is the
paradise in which God did put man. No! everything in the world is out
of order.
I have often thought, when I was abroad, that if there were no other
arguments to prove original sin, the rising of wolves and tigers
against man, nay, the barking of a dog against us, is a proof of
original sin. Tigers and lions durst not rise against us unless it
were as much as to say, "You have sinned against God, and we take up
our master's quarrel." If we look inwardly, we shall see enough of
lusts and man's temper contrary to the temper of God. There is pride,
malice, and revenge in all our hearts; and this temper can not come
from God; it comes from our first parent, Adam, who, after he fell
from God, fell out of God into the devil.