they who know themselves: who are convinced of sin: those to whom
God hath given that first repentance, which is previous to faith in
_Christ_.
One of these can no longer say, _I am rich, and increased in goods
and have need of nothing_: as now knowing, that he is _wretched and
poor and miserable and blind and naked_. He is convinced that he is
spiritually poor indeed; having no spiritual good abiding in him. _In
me_, saith he, _dwelleth no good thing_; but whatsoever is evil and
abominable. He has a deep sense of the loathsome leprosy of sin, which
he brought with him from his mother’s womb, which overspreads his whole
soul, and totally corrupts every power and faculty thereof. He sees
more and more of the evil tempers, which spring from that evil root:
the pride and haughtiness of spirit, the constant bias to think of
himself more highly than he ought to think: the vanity, the thirst
after the esteem or honour that cometh from men: the hatred or envy,
the jealousy or revenge, the anger, malice, or bitterness; the inbred
enmity both against God and man, which appears in ten thousand shapes:
the love of the world, the self-will, the foolish and hurtful desires,
which cleave to his inmost soul. He is conscious, how deeply he has
offended by his tongue; if not by profane, immodest, untrue or unkind
words, yet by discourse which was not _good, to the use of edifying_,
not _meet to minister grace to the hearers_; which consequently was all
_corrupt_ in God’s account, and grievous to his holy Spirit. His evil
works are now likewise ever in his sight; if he tell them, _they are
more than he ♦is able to express_. He may as well think to number the
_drops of rain, the sands of the sea, or the days of eternity_.
5. His guilt is now also before his face: he knows the punishment he
has deserved, were it only on account of his _carnal mind_, the entire,
universal corruption of his nature: how much more, on account of all
his evil desires and thoughts, of all his sinful words and actions?
He cannot doubt for a moment, but the least of these deserves the
damnation of hell; _the worm that dieth not, and the fire that never
shall be quenched_. Above all, the guilt of _not believing on the name
of the only begotten Son of God_, lies heavy upon him. _How_ saith he,
_shall_ I escape, who _neglect so great salvation! He that believeth
not, is condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth on him._
6. But what shall he give in exchange for his soul, which is forfeited
to the just vengeance of God? _Wherewithal shall he come before the_
Lord? How shall he pay him that he oweth? Were he from this moment to
perform the most perfect obedience to every command of God, this would
make no amends for a single sin, for any one act of past disobedience:
seeing he owes God all the service he is able to perform from this
moment to all eternity; could he pay this, it would make no manner
of amends, for what he ought to have done before. He sees himself
therefore utterly helpless, with regard to atoning for his past sins;
utterly unable to make any amends to God, to pay any ransom for his own
soul.
But if God would forgive him all that is past, on this one condition,
that he should sin no more, that for the time to come he should
entirely and constantly obey all his commands: he well knows that this
would profit him nothing, being a condition he could never perform. He
knows and feels, that he is not able to obey, even the outward commands
of God: seeing these cannot be obeyed, while his heart remains in its
natural sinfulness and corruption: inasmuch as an evil tree, cannot
bring forth good fruit. But he cannot cleanse a sinful heart: with men
this is impossible. So that he is utterly at a loss, even how to begin
walking in the path of God’s commandments. He knows not how to get
one step forward in the way. Incompassed with sin and sorrow and fear,
and finding no way to escape, he can only cry out, Lord, _save, or I
perish_!
7. *_Poverty of spirit_ then, as it implies the first step we take in
running the race which is set before us, is, a just sense of our inward
and outward sins, and of our guilt and helplessness. This some have
monstrously stiled, the _virtue of humility_; thus teaching us to be
proud of knowing we deserve damnation. But our Lord’s expression is
quite of another kind; conveying no idea to the hearer, but that of
mere want, of naked sin, of helpless guilt and misery.
8. The great apostle, where he endeavours to bring sinners to God,
speaks in a manner just answerable to this, [53]_The wrath of_ God,
saith he, _is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men_: a charge which he immediately fixes on the
Heathen world, and thereby proves, they were under the wrath of God. He
next shews, that the Jews were no better than they, and were therefore
under the same condemnation: and all this, not in order to their
attaining “The noble virtue of humility,” but _that every mouth might
be stopped, and all the world become guilty before_ God.
He proceeds to shew, that they were helpless as well as guilty;
which is the plain purport of all those expressions, _Therefore by
the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified――But now the
righteousness of_ God, _which is by faith, of_ Jesus Christ, _without
the law is manifested――We conclude, that a man is justified by faith,
without the deeds of the law_: expressions all tending to the same
point, even to _hide pride from man_: to humble him to the dust,
without teaching him to reflect upon his humility as a virtue; to
inspire him with that full piercing conviction of his utter sinfulness,
guilt and helplessness, which casts the sinner, stript of all, lost and
undone, on his strong helper, _Jesus Christ the righteous_.
9. One cannot but observe here, that Christianity begins, just where
Heathen morality ends: _poverty of spirit, conviction of sin_, the
_renouncing ourselves_, the _not having our_ own _righteousness_,
the very first point in the religion of _Jesus Christ_, leaving all
Pagan religion behind. This was ever hid from the wise men of this
world: insomuch that the whole _Roman_ language, even with all the
improvements of the _Augustan_ age, does not afford so much as a name
for _humility_: (the word from whence we borrow this, is as well known,
bearing in _Latin_ a quite different meaning:) no, nor was one found in
all the copious language of _Greece_, ’till it was _made_ by the great
apostle.
10. O that we may feel what they were not able to express! Sinner,
awake! Know thyself! Know and feel, that thou wert _shapen in
wickedness, and that in sin did thy mother conceive_ thee; and that
thou thyself hast been heaping up sin upon sin, ever since thou couldst
discern good from evil. Sink under the mighty hand of God, as guilty
of death eternal: and cast off, renounce, abhor all imagination, of
ever being able to help thyself! Be it all thy hope to be washed in his
blood, and renewed by his almighty Spirit, _who himself bare all our
sins in his own body on the tree_. So shalt thou witness, _Happy are
the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven_.
11. This is that _kingdom of heaven or of_ God which _is within_ us,
even _righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost_. And what is
righteousness, but the life of God in the soul: the mind which was in
_Christ Jesus_: the image of God stampt upon the heart, now renewed
after the likeness of him that created it? What is it but the love of
God because he first loved us, and the love of all mankind, for his
sake?
And what is this peace, the peace of God, but that calm serenity of
soul, that sweet repose in the blood of _Jesus_, which leaves no doubt
of our acceptance in him? Which excludes all fear, but the loving,
filial fear of offending our Father which is in heaven.
This inward kingdom implies also _joy in the Holy Ghost_, who seals
upon our hearts, _the redemption which is in_ Jesus, the righteousness
of _Christ_, imputed to us, _for the remission of the sins that are
past_: who giveth us now the _earnest of our inheritance_, of the crown
which the Lord, the righteous judge will give at that day. And well
may this be termed _The kingdom of heaven_; seeing it is heaven already
opened in the soul; the first springing up of those rivers of pleasure
which flow at God’s right-hand for evermore.
12. _Theirs is the kingdom of heaven._ Whosoever thou art, to whom God
hath given to be _poor in spirit_, to feel thyself lost, thou hast a
right thereto, through the gracious promise of him who cannot lie. It
is purchased for thee by the blood of the Lamb. It is very nigh: thou
art on the brink of heaven. Another step, and thou enterest into the
kingdom, of righteousness and peace and joy. Art thou all sin? _Behold
the Lamb of_ God, _who taketh away the sin of the world_. All unholy?
See thy _Advocate with the Father_, Jesus Christ _the righteous_. Art
thou unable to atone for the least of thy sins? _He is the propitiation
for_ all thy _sins_. Now believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and all thy
sins are blotted out. Art thou totally unclean in soul and body? Here
is the _fountain for sin and uncleanness. Arise and wash away thy sins_:
stagger no more at the promise through unbelief. Give glory to God:
dare to believe! Now cry out, from the ground of thy heart,
Yes, I yield, I yield at last,
Listen to thy speaking blood;
Me with all my sins I cast
On my atoning God!
13. *Then thou learnest of him to be _lowly of heart_. And this is the
true, genuine, Christian humility, which flows from a sense of the love
of God, reconciled to us in _Christ Jesus_. _Poverty of spirit_, in
this meaning of the word, begins, where a sense of guilt and of the
wrath of God ends; and is, a continual sense of our total dependence
on him, for every good thought or word or work; of our utter inability
to all good, unless he _water us every moment_: and an abhorrence of
the praise of men, knowing that all praise is due unto God only. With
this is joined a loving shame, a tender humiliation before God, even
for the sins which we know he hath forgiven us, and for the sin which
still remaineth in our hearts, although we know it is not imputed to
our condemnation. Nevertheless the conviction we feel of inbred sin, is
deeper and deeper every day. The more we grow in grace, the more do we
see, of the desperate wickedness of our heart. The more we advance in
the knowledge and love of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, (as great
a mystery as this may appear, to those who know not the power of God
unto salvation) the more do we discern of our alienation from God, of
the enmity that is in our carnal mind, and the necessity of our being
entirely renewed in righteousness and true holiness.
II. 1. It is true, he has scarce any conception of this, who now begins
to know the inward kingdom of heaven. _In his prosperity_ he saith, _I
shall never be moved; Thou_, Lord, _hast made my hill so strong_. Sin
is so utterly bruised beneath his feet, that he can scarce believe it
remaineth in him. Even temptation is silenced and speaks not again: it
cannot approach, but stands afar off. He is borne aloft in the chariots
of joy and love: he soars _as upon the wings of an eagle_. But our Lord
well knew, that this triumphant state does not often continue long. He
therefore presently subjoins, _Blessed are they that mourn; for they
shall be comforted_.
2. Not that we can imagine this promise belongs to those, who mourn
only on some worldly account: who are in sorrow and heaviness, merely
on account of some worldly trouble or disappointment; such as the loss
of their reputation, or friends; or the impairing of their fortune.
As little title to it have they who are afflicting themselves, through
fear of some temporal evil: or who pine away with anxious care, or
that desire of earthly things which _maketh the heart sick_. Let us not
think, these _shall receive any thing from the_ Lord: he is not in all
their thoughts. Therefore it is that they thus _walk in a vain shadow,
and disquiet themselves in vain_. And _this shall ye have of mine hand_,
saith the Lord, _ye shall lie down in sorrow_.
3. The mourners of whom our Lord here speaks, are those that mourn on
quite another account: they that mourn after God, after him in whom
they did _rejoice, with joy unspeakable_, when he gave them to _taste
the good_, the pardoning _word, and the powers of the world to come_.
But he now _hides his face and they are troubled_; they cannot see him
through the dark cloud. But they see temptation and sin, which they
fondly supposed were gone never to return, arising again, following
after them amain, and holding them in on every side. It is not strange
if their soul is now disquieted within them, and trouble and heaviness
take hold upon them. Nor will their great enemy fail to improve the
occasion; to ask, “Where is now thy God? Where is now the blessedness
whereof thou spakest? The beginning of the kingdom of heaven? Yea, hath
God said, Thy sins are forgiven thee? Surely God hath not said it. It
was only a dream, a mere delusion, a creature of thy own imagination.
If thy sins are forgiven, why art thou thus? Can a pardoned sinner be
thus unholy?”――And if then, instead of immediately crying to God, they
reason with him that is wiser than they, they will be in heaviness
indeed, in sorrow of heart, in anguish not to be exprest. Nay even when
God shines again upon the soul, and takes away all doubt of his past
mercy, still he that is _weak in faith_ may be tempted and troubled,
on account of what is to come: especially, when inward sin revives,
and thrusts sore at him that he may fall. Then may he again cry out,
“I have a sin of fear, that when I’ve spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore!”
Lest I should make shipwreck of the faith, and my last state be worse
than the first:
“Lest all my bread of life should fail
And I sink down unchang’d to hell.”
4. Sure it is that this affliction _for the present is not joyous but
grievous. Nevertheless, afterward it bringeth forth peaceable fruit
unto them that are exercised thereby. Blessed_ therefore _are they
that_ thus _mourn_, if they _tarry the_ Lord’s _leisure_, and suffer
not themselves to be turned out of the way, by the miserable comforters
of the world; if they resolutely reject all the comforts of sin, of
folly and vanity; all the idle diversions and amusements of the world,
all the pleasures which _perish in the using_, and which only tend
to benumb and stupify the soul, that it may neither be sensible of
itself nor God. Blessed are they who _follow on to know the_ Lord,
and steadily refuse all other comfort. They shall be comforted by the
consolations of his Spirit, by a fresh manifestation of his love; by
such a witness of his accepting them in the Beloved, as shall never
more be taken away from them. This _full assurance of faith_ swallows
up all doubt, as well as all tormenting fear; God now giving them a
sure hope of an enduring substance and _strong consolation through
grace_. Without disputing, whether it be possible for any of those to
_fall away, who were once enlightened and made partakers of the Holy
Ghost_, it suffices them to say, by the power now resting upon them,
[54]_Who shall separate us from the love of_ Christ? _I am persuaded,
that neither death nor life, nor things present, nor things to come:
nor height nor depth――shall be able to separate us from the love of_
God, _which is in_ Christ Jesus _our_ Lord!
5. This whole process, both of mourning for an absent God, and
recovering the joy of his countenance, seems to be shadowed out in what
our Lord spoke to his apostles, the night before his passion. [55]_Do
ye enquire of that I said, a little while and ye shall not see me, and
again a little while and ye shall see me? Verily verily I say unto you,
that ye shall weep and lament_, namely when ye do not see me; _but the
world shall rejoice_, shall triumph over you, as though your hope were
now come to an end. _And ye shall be sorrowful_, thro’ doubt, thro’
fear, thro’ temptation, thro’ vehement desire: _But your sorrow shall
be turned into joy_, by the return of him whom your soul loveth. _A
woman when she is in travail, hath sorrow because her hour is come.
But as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembreth no more
the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now have
sorrow_: ye mourn and cannot be comforted. _But I will see you again:
and your heart shall rejoice_, with calm, inward joy, _and your joy no
man taketh from you_.
6. *But although this mourning is at an end, is lost in holy joy,
by the return of the Comforter, yet is there another, and a blessed
mourning it is, which abides in the children of God. They still mourn
for the sins and miseries of mankind: they _weep with them that weep_.
They weep for them that weep not for themselves, for the sinners
against their own souls. They mourn for the weakness and unfaithfulness
of those, that are in some measure saved from their sins. _Who is weak
and they are not weak? Who is offended and they burn not?_ They are
grieved for the dishonour continually done to the Majesty of heaven
and earth. At all times they have an awful sense of this, which brings
a deep seriousness upon their spirit: a seriousness which is not a
little increased, since the eyes of their understanding were opened, by
their continually seeing the vast ocean of eternity, without a bottom
or a shore, which has already swallowed up millions of millions of men,
and is gaping to devour them that yet remain. They see here, the house
of God eternal in the heavens; there, hell and destruction without a
covering; and thence feel the importance of every moment, which just
appears, and is gone for ever.
7. *But all this wisdom of God is foolishness with the world. The whole
affair of _mourning_ and _poverty of spirit_, is with them stupidity
and dullness. Nay ’tis well if they pass so favourable a judgment upon
it; if they do not vote it to be mere moping and melancholy, if not
downright lunacy and distraction. And it is no wonder at all, that this
judgment should be passed, by those who know not God. Suppose as two
persons were walking together, one should suddenly stop, and with the
strongest signs of fear and amazement, cry out, “On what a precipice do
we stand! See, we are on the point of being dashed in pieces! Another
step, and we fall into that huge abyss. Stop! I will not go on for
all the world.” When the other, who seemed to himself at least equally
sharp-sighted, looked forward and saw nothing of all this; what would
he think of his companion? But that he was _beside himself_; that his
head was out of order: that much religion (if he was not guilty of much
learning) had certainly _made him mad_.
8. *But let not the children of God, _the mourners in Sion_, be moved
by any of these things. Ye whose eyes are enlightened, be not troubled
by those, who walk on still in darkness. Ye do not walk on in a vain
shadow: God and eternity are real things. Heaven and hell are in very
deed open before you: and ye are on the edge of the great gulph. It has
already swallowed up more than words can express, nations and kindreds
and peoples and tongues, and still yawns to devour, whether they see
it or no, the giddy, miserable children of men. O cry aloud! Spare not!
Lift up your voice, to him who grasps both time and eternity, both for
yourselves and your brethren, that ye may be counted worthy to escape
the destruction that cometh as a whirlwind! That ye may be brought safe,
thro’ all the waves and storms, into the haven where you would be. Weep
for yourselves, till he wipes away the tears from your eyes. And even
then weep for the miseries that come upon the earth, till the Lord of
all shall put a period to misery and sin, shall wipe away the tears
from all faces, and _the knowledge of the_ Lord _shall cover the earth,
as the waters cover the sea_.
SERMON XXII.
UPON OUR LORD’S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
DISCOURSE II.
MATT. v. 5, 6, 7.
_Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness;
for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy._
I. 1. WHEN _the winter is past_, when _the time of singing is come, and
the voice of the turtle is heard in the land_; when he that comforts
the mourners is now returned, _that he may abide with them for ever_:
when at the brightness of his presence the clouds disperse, the dark
clouds of doubt and uncertainty, the storms of fear flee away, the
waves of sorrow subside, and their spirit again _rejoiceth in_ God
their _Saviour_: then is it that this word is eminently fulfilled,
then those whom he hath comforted can bear witness, _Blessed_ or happy,
_are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth_.
2. *But who are the meek? Not those who grieve at nothing, because they
know nothing; who are not discomposed at the evils that occur, because
they discern not evil from good. Not those who are sheltered from the
shocks of life, by a stupid insensibility; who have either by nature or
art, the virtue of stocks and stones, and resent nothing, because they
feel nothing. Brute philosophers are wholly unconcerned in this matter.
Apathy is as far from meekness as from humanity. So that one would not
easily conceive, how any Christians of the purer ages, especially any
of the fathers of the church, could confound these, and mistake one of
the foulest errors of Heathenism, for a branch of true Christianity.
3. *Nor does Christian meekness imply, the being without zeal for God,
any more than it does ignorance or insensibility. No; it keeps clear
of every extreme, whether in excess or defect. It does not destroy but
balance the affections, which the God of nature never designed should
be rooted out by grace, but only brought and kept under due regulations.
It poises the mind aright. It holds an even scale, with regard to anger
and sorrow and fear: preserving the mean in every circumstance of life,
and not declining either to the right-hand or the left.
4. *Meekness therefore seems properly to relate to ourselves. But it
may be referred either to God or our neighbour. When this due composure
of mind has reference to God, it is usually termed resignation; a calm
acquiesence in whatsoever is his will concerning us, even though it
may not be pleasing to nature; saying continually, _It is the_ Lord;
_let him do what seemeth him good_. When we consider it more strictly
with regard to ourselves, we stile it patience or contentedness. When
it is exerted toward other men, then it is mildness to the good, and
gentleness to the evil.
5. *They who are truly meek, can clearly discern what is evil; and they
can also suffer it. They are _sensible_ of every thing of this kind;
but still meekness holds the reins. They are exceeding _zealous for
the_ Lord _of Hosts_; but their zeal is always guided by knowledge,
and tempered in every thought and word and work, with the love of man
as well as the love of God. They do not desire to extinguish any of
the passions, which God has for wise ends implanted in their nature.
But they have the mastery of all; they hold them all in subjection,
and employ them only in subservience to those ends. And thus even the
harsher and more unpleasing passions, are applicable to the noblest
purposes. Even hate and anger and fear, when engaged against sin, and
regulated by faith and love, are as walls and bulwarks to the soul, so
that the wicked one cannot approach to hurt it.
♦6. ’Tis evident, this divine temper, is not only to abide, but
to increase in us day by day. Occasions of exercising, and thereby
increasing it, will never be wanting while we remain upon earth. We
_have need of patience, that after_ we _have done_ and suffered _the
will of_ God, we _may receive the promise_. We have need of resignation,
that we may in all circumstances say, _Not as I will, but as thou
wilt_. And we have need of _gentleness toward all men_; but especially
toward the evil and unthankful: otherwise we shall be overcome of evil,
instead of overcoming evil with good.