By the Rev. Thomas Bissland, M.A.,
_Rector of Hartley Maudytt, Hants._
There are some hearts little, if at all, impressed by the solemn
requirements of the Almighty; so dead, in fact, to everything which
relates not to the objects of time and sense, that they are unaffected
by the scenes of vice and of the misery which is its consequence,
every where presented to their notice. It is not until the mind is
under the gracious influence of the Spirit of God, that men feel any
anxiety to stop the torrent of evil, and endeavour to become the
humble instruments of converting the sinner and saving his soul. Many,
in fact, who feel deeply interested in their neighbours' temporal
comforts and prosperity, feel little anxious to supply their spiritual
wants; and to this may be traced the opposition which is not
unfrequently made, even by professing Christians, to institutions
which have a direct tendency to improve the moral and spiritual
condition of the human race.
Now there are many reasons which induce a truly converted man to
labour for the spiritual benefit of others. First, there is the
dishonour which men, in an unconverted state, cast upon God. This
feeling operated on the mind of the psalmist, when he exclaimed (Ps.
cxix. 53), "Horror hath taken hold of me, because of the wicked who
forsake thy law." For when men forsake God's law, they declare that
they are little impressed with a sense of the divine majesty and
infinite goodness of the Almighty; that they are not anxious to know
his will; that his threatenings alarm them not; that his promises in
no way affect their hearts; that, in fact, they are not desirous of
that favour which rests upon those only who walk in the path of his
commandments. The psalmist's zeal and jealousy for the glory of God
were fully manifested by his anxiety to erect a house, in some
respects suitable for the divine worship; by his earnest expressions,
that the divine glory should be made known throughout the world, as
when he exclaims "Tell it out among the heathen, that the Lord
reigneth;" and this holy desire rendered every action, by which there
was the most slight appearance of dishonour being cast upon Jehovah,
abominable in his sight. When he reflected on his own departure from
the law of his God, on those acts which had caused the enemies of the
truth to blaspheme, he was indeed filled with horror. The language
uttered, when from the depths he supplicated the divine forgiveness,
powerfully demonstrates the agony of his soul--convinces us that his
repentance was sincere, and that he was anxious that in every action
of his life he might for the future glorify that Being whose gracious
hand had conducted him through his earthly pilgrimage--whose favour
had raised him to the throne of Israel--the light of whose countenance
had cheered him in many a dark and dreary hour--and whose comforts had
refreshed his soul, when in the multitude of the thoughts within him
he became dispirited and perplexed. The first and great commandment
is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart." The
psalmist loved God, and on this account he was desirous that he should
be had in reverence of all his intelligent creatures. He loved God;
he was seized with horror when he beheld myriads uninfluenced by this
principle, living in disobedience to this first commandment.
Sin is too often viewed by us merely with respect to its baneful
influence on the happiness of society. It is condemned by us, and it
is punished by us, not so much as it is the transgression of the law
of God, as it has a tendency to produce evil in the world. And hence
there are many offenders in God's sight who by their conduct cast
dishonour upon his name, who yet maintain a fair and respectable
character when weighed in the world's balance, nay, even are regarded
with reverence and esteem. We punish the murderer, the thief, the
robber, the perjured person. It is right that we should do so. The
welfare of society demands it. But do we punish the man who lives in
adultery, in drunkenness, in sensuality? Do we punish the man who is a
swearer, a gambler, a blasphemer, who habitually neglects the
sanctuary of the Lord, and does his own pleasure on the sabbath-day?
Human laws take no cognizance of these crimes. They are, however, as
dishonourable to God as others which are punished by man. They are
quite as detrimental to man's best interests; and fearful must be the
account rendered for their commission before that equitable tribunal,
where the children of men must answer for all their offences against
the majesty of heaven.
But there is a second reason why the true Christian will labour for
the conversion of others, namely, the reflection that the sinner is
ensuring his own destruction while he is at enmity against God; and
this induced Jeremiah to exclaim (ix. 1), "O that my head were waters,
and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for
the slain of the daughter of my people." How strong is the
expression--"_the slain_." The prophet knew full well the misery of
transgressing God's law. Tremendous, indeed, is the reflection, that
the path of sin inevitably leads to the regions of darkness--those
regions where there is "weeping and gnashing of teeth," where "their
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Whence is it, then,
that, without any apparent concern, we behold myriads of immortal
creatures fast hastening to these regions of destruction? Whence is it
that there is so much apathy, lukewarmness, and indifference to a
brother's eternal welfare. Is it not too often, perhaps, that there is
a latent scepticism which induces us to disbelieve the solemn
declaration of the Omnipotent--even when he swears by himself--that
every jot and tittle of his threatenings shall be accomplished? Surely
were it not for some such spirit, we should never rest satisfied with
the feeble efforts we may have made to lead the sinner back to his
offended God; we should esteem no sacrifice too great, whether of
time, or influence, or money, or talent, which could in any way
promote a brother's spiritual welfare. But we are too apt to forget,
if not to disbelieve, the solemn declarations of the bible; and
forgetfulness to all practical results is as pernicious as downright
infidelity. The man who forgets God is as little influenced by his law
as the fool, who in his heart says there is no God at all. Now, this
forgetfulness paralyzes our energies, damps our zeal, checks our
benevolence. We do not consider that sinners are heaping up wrath
against the day of wrath; and, though they may now enjoy an unhallowed
prosperity, and now in an unbridled licentiousness derive happiness
from the indulgence of fleshly lusts, yet that these war against the
soul, against its present peace, and its ultimate felicity, and that
ruin and destruction inevitably await them. Were our spirit that of
the psalmist, or that of the prophet referred to, our feelings would
be more lively, our endeavours to promote the good of mankind be more
energetic. Looking not every one to his own, but on his brothers'
good, we should be anxious to direct their feet into the way of peace.
How beautifully was this spirit manifested by St. Paul, when he
exhorted the converts of Philippi to be followers of himself--"For
many walk," says he, "of whom I have told you often, and now tell you
even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ; whose
end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in
their shame; who mind earthly things." The apostle, indeed, appears to
have been influenced by the same anxiety as the psalmist and the
prophet; for the glory of the Redeemer, as well as the eternal welfare
of their souls, was dear to his heart, and he could not refrain from
weeping when he viewed the dishonour cast upon his adorable Lord by
these enemies of his cross; when he beheld them following divers lusts
and pleasures, even boasting of their recklessness of God's judgments;
and when he carried his thoughts forward to that day when the terrors
of the Lord would fall on all the children of disobedience, or those
who neglected the great salvation. This spirit is, in fact, no bad
test whereby we may try the state of our hearts and affections. If we
are really desirous for the advancement of God's glory, and deeply
interested in the welfare of our fellow-creatures, our feelings will
be very similar to those of the holy men of God referred to. We shall
not view, without the very deepest concern, that inattention which is
everywhere paid to the solemn requirements of the Almighty; we shall
at least make the attempt to stop the sinner in his career of guilt
and folly, that his soul may be saved from destruction in the day of
the Lord.
Melancholy is the reflection, indeed, that neither God's invitations
on the one hand, nor his threatenings on the other, appear to affect
their hearts; they are neither constrained by love nor fear. "Wide is
the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many
there be that go in thereat."
There was one that wept over the rebellion of man, and one infinitely
greater than David, or Jeremiah, or St. Paul--and that one was the
ever-adorable Saviour; who, beholding the guilty race of man
altogether gone out of the way, descended from the mansions of glory,
became a partaker of human impurity, and opened through his blood a
new and living way, whereby the guilty sinner might return in peace to
his God. How touching the description of the evangelist--"And when he
came near, he beheld the city and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst
known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong
unto thy peace, but now they are hid from thine eyes." Jesus wept at
the grave of Lazarus, for Lazarus was his friend; he sympathised
deeply with Martha and Mary, for he loved them as he did their
brother; but far more bitter were the tears he shed, when he reflected
on the waywardness of that people whom he would have gathered to
himself; the guilt of that city which had killed the prophets; when he
thought of those days of divine vengeance, when its enemies should
cast a trench about it, and compass it round, and keep it in on every
side, and should lay it even with the ground, and its children within
it. And did not this feeling operate when, even amidst the agonies of
a crucifixion, his mind rested on the sufferings of others, and not on
his own? "Daughters of Jerusalem! weep not for me, but weep for
yourselves and for your children." And shall we not, in this as in
every other respect, seek to imitate our adorable Lord? Shall we not
feel deeply interested in the spiritual welfare of our fellow-men? If
we do not, it is, alas! a fearful, a decisive proof, that the flame of
holy love, of devoted zeal, has not been kindled in our bosom; that we
do not feel the importance of that salvation which is offered us so
freely in the gospel; that we are not duly impressed with a dread of
that woe unspeakable, that shall be the portion of those whose souls
shall be for ever lost.