2 SAM. xii. 7.

_And Nathan said to David_, _Thou art the man_.

THE parable, of which these words are a part, is admired, even for its

elegance and simplicity, by every one who is capable of appreciating its

merit. It serves also to illustrate, in the clearest manner, the

advantage of this mode of instruction; which is intended, in the first

place, by a lively representation of the productions of nature, or the

incidents of common life, to convey an adequate notion of a truth or

doctrine in easy and familiar terms; and to leave a more striking

impression of it upon the memory and the heart. The parable has a

further advantage: the instruction it affords is not at once unfolded to

the mind; the attention and the feelings are first awakened, by the

relation of some interesting occurrence, apparently unconnected with the

object in view; by which means, an assent is gained over to the side of

truth, before the understanding has had time to be prejudiced, by the

workings of self-love, or the disinclination to religious admonition.

Such was precisely the case with the parable before us. Had Nathan

addressed to David a direct and formal expostulation, it is probable that

the king would have considered his interference as intrusive and

impertinent; would have either driven him from his presence, or have been

prepared, by some plausible excuse, to cast a veil over the hideousness

of his crimes. But the royal offender, though he could readily palliate

his own atrocity, could not bear to hear of cruelty in another. When it

was reported to him, that there were two men in a city, the one rich and

the other poor; that the rich man, when there came a traveller unto him,

spared to take of the abundance of his own flock, and of his own herd,

and took from the poor man a little ewe lamb, which was all he had in the

world; took it from him under the most affecting circumstances; “for he

had bought and nourished it up, and it grew up together with him and with

his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and

lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.” When the king heard

all this, his feelings were violently excited, “his anger was greatly

kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, as the Lord liveth, the

man that hath done this thing shall surely die.” {174} This was the

moment for making the application: and judge of David’s shame and

confusion of face, on finding that all his pity, and all his anger, and

all his condemnation, had in truth been directed against himself: “Thou

art the man.” He could not help perceiving, that great as was the

cruelty, which he had been reprobating in the case laid before him, he

had been guilty of still greater himself: though he had the whole kingdom

for the exercise of his legitimate choice, he would rather deprive an

humble servant of the only object of his conjugal affection, deprive him,

by becoming, in the first instance, accessary to his murder.

We may here observe, how terrible is the infatuation of sin. It might

have been thought that David, if he had not immediately perceived the

full intention of the prophet in laying this parable before him, would at

least, from an instantaneous recollection of his own notorious guilt,

have treated, with some degree of lenity or forbearance, the barbarity of

which Nathan appeared to be complaining; that he would not so soon have

denounced against a delinquent, so much less heinous than himself, the

utmost severity of punishment. But, as if his own conscience were clear,

he immediately exclaimed against the imagined offender, as a wretch unfit

to live; he does not appear to have been awakened to a sense of his own

crimes, till he heard the overwhelming application, “Thou art the man.”

Such is generally the fascination of sin; it darkens the understanding,

and deadens the conscience, and renders men insensible to their real

condition. It is the great object of the enemy of our souls, an object

in which he too often fatally succeeds, to make us blind, not only to the

heinousness and danger, but also to the very existence of guilt: so that,

however acute we may be in perceiving the transgressions of others, and

however severe in reprobating and condemning them, we are, in very

frequent instances, utterly regardless of our own. Many, it is to be

feared, there are, who persist in a course of sin day after day, and year

after year, without once feeling any lively or serious compunction; while

they have frequently, in that time, been reproachfully animadverting upon

the mote which they have detected in their brother’s eye.

Perhaps of all the temporal consequences of sin, the operation of this

evil habit is one of the most calamitous; for it not only prevents us

from a repentance of the past, but serves as an encouragement to our

reckless perseverance in sin; it destroys the very principle of vital

religion; removing entirely from our hearts the love and fear of God; and

filling us with “envy, hatred, and malice and all uncharitableness.” Let

David’s infatuation be a warning to us, let it induce us to take diligent

heed, lest we be irreclaimably “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin;”

lest the conscience be at length so entirely seared, as to become callous

to the very perception of iniquity; as to make us “call evil good, and

good evil; to put darkness for light, and light for darkness; to put

bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.” {177}

Before, however, we further proceed to the practical inferences which may

be drawn from this subject, it may be proper to notice some irreverent

and reproachful remarks, which have been made on the flagrant crimes of a

person so distinguished as David. Is it possible, some have urged, that

such guilt, and such hardihood in guilt, could have been found in the

“man after God’s own heart?” {178} But this honourable appellation, be

it observed, was given to David, not on account of his moral or spiritual

purity, but on account of the excellence of his character as a king; he

was so named in opposition to Saul, who had acted in wilful disobedience

to the divine commands, and therefore, in the administration of his

government, was not a man after God’s own heart; that is, he did not (as

David did, in this particular,) perform God’s will.

Again, it has been said, could an inspired person possibly fall into such

a complication of evil? Miraculous inspiration, we answer, was not given

to the sacred pen-men, as a certain preservative from the corruption of

sin, but to enable them to reveal the will of God; to guard them, in this

respect, from error; and to “guide them into all truth:” their carnal

appetites and passions were not supernaturally overruled; they still had

their choice between good and evil; though revealing to mankind the holy

law of God, they might themselves neglect the duties which it injoined:

many instances are recorded of the abuse of spiritual gifts, many

examples of their consisting with unholiness and transgression. The very

chief of the apostles intimates to us the personal care and watchfulness

and labour which were necessary, “lest, having preached to others, he

himself should be a castaway.” {179}

Not but that David’s guilt was most deplorably inconsistent with his high

character and office, and was a dishonour to religion itself; I am only

shewing, that it was not incompatible with the appellation which he had

received, and the high and holy functions which he was called to

discharge. And be it remembered, to David’s honour, that though his sin

was aggravated, his confession of it was full and unreserved; that he

most humbly and religiously submitted to the penal retribution of his

offended God; that his repentance was bitter and sincere: it was “a

repentance indeed never afterwards repented of:” continually was his harp

attuned to the bewailing of his own depravity; continually was he

descending from the lofty strains of thanksgiving and joy, and pouring

forth in the abasement of his soul, the doleful notes of mourning and

lamentation.

And, in truth, there was abundant cause; for the crimes of David afford

one of the most melancholy instances of the violation of conscience, of a

departure from the service of the Most High. Let it fill us with

humility and fear. If so eminent a servant of God could fall into such

abominations, how deeply concerned, how “instant in prayer,” how vigilant

and careful should we be, lest our feet be betrayed into evil! We see to

what criminal and dangerous excess human nature may be led, if we fail to

cherish the grace of God; and are abandoned to the government of our own

corrupt desires, and the tyranny of our spiritual adversary. To the

lukewarm and the wavering I need scarcely say, that without greater

seriousness and circumspection, they will assuredly be overthrown: but

let me also admonish the faithful Christian; him, who appears to be

safely pursuing the even tenour of his way; who may be led, by the

regular and habitual discharge of religious duties, into a state of

presumptuous confidence and slumbering security; him I would admonish,

from the instance of David, “that the heart is deceitful above all

things, and desperately wicked;” {181a} that it may, when most implicitly

trusted, most dangerously betray; let David teach “him that thinketh he

standeth to take heed lest he fall.” {181b}

Some perverse and worldly-minded persons have made a very different use

of the lamentable case before us; it has encouraged them in wilful

transgression; it has served them as a “cloak for their sin.” Surely,

say they, if David could so flagrantly transgress, how can we be expected

to preserve our integrity? If he was accepted of God, indulgence would

readily be extended to the comparatively trifling offences of inferior

servants. True; we cannot be perfect; we may hope for pardon; but we are

not, on that account, to sin presumptuously; not to offend, because God

is merciful: this did not David. Whoever deliberately sins from the hope

of God’s mercy, is taking the surest was to deprive himself of that

mercy. There is frequently great error in the notion of trifling

offences: no offence is trifling in the sight of an infinitely holy God:

much less any wilful offence. The magnitude of a fault chiefly depends

upon the circumstances under which it is committed; much more readily

could we urge an excuse for him, who is heedlessly or suddenly borne away

by impetuous passion and carnal desire, than for him, who presumes

deliberately to trample upon the law of God, because another has been

forgiven. Shall we thus abuse the mercies of redeeming love? “Shall we

continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that

are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” {183} Would we find the

favour that David did, we must seek it, like him, in the true spirit of

penitence and devotion; we must “confess our wickedness, and be sorry for

our sin:” we must hate the works and workers of iniquity: we must imitate

David, not in his crimes, but in his repentance and reformation.

Let us learn another lesson from the history before us; let it teach us

the importance of being always disposed and ready to receive spiritual

counsel; of being in the habit of applying to ourselves every opportunity

of improvement, with which we may be blessed. Too many, like David, are

extremely backward to receive an intimation of their own errors, and to

avail themselves of the benefit of reproof. They are sufficiently

quick-sighted in discovering the applicability of reproach, to their

neighbour; without even suspecting that it may suit their own case and

condition. How many have acknowledged the propriety and force of

admonitions and rebuke, which they have heard in the house of God,

without ever taking them home to their own breasts; and this undoubtedly

is one cause, why the voice of public instruction produces, in general,

so little effect upon the characters and conduct of men. While they are

pleased to imagine, that the representations and censures of the preacher

are suited to others rather than to themselves, no wonder that they

retain their neglectful, sinful, unprincipled habits, in defiance of

every remonstrance, and every warning. Instead of torturing their

ingenuity, to discover to what particular persons in the congregation a

discourse may be most fitly and beneficially applied, let them rather be

anxious to inquire, how far it may be accommodated to their own case; and

to all those, who presume to make a further inquiry, who are looking

around for the delinquencies of their neighbour, we would say, restrain

thy wandering eye, and look within, “Thou art the man.”

A readiness to take advantage of religious instruction, is one of the

surest evidences of a christian spirit, and one of the greatest blessings

that a Christian can enjoy. It manifests a christian spirit, inasmuch as

it shews an humble sense of our own failings and imperfections, and an

anxious desire to recover from them all; to “grow in grace and in the

knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” {185} It is one of the

greatest blessings to the Christian, because there is seldom a day,

seldom an hour that passes, from which he may not derive some spiritual

benefit. While the reckless and self-conceited, who dwell with

complacency upon their state and character, perceive not any counsel

adapted to their wants, the humble-minded are gathering edification from

every thing around them; from all they hear and all they see: doubtless,

it must be so; for how can they, who think themselves whole, discover the

need of a physician, how can they apply a remedy?

Suffer me to entreat you, in conclusion, that whenever you are seriously

impressed with a conviction of evil, or the neglect of any christian

duty, you will carry home the impression, to have its full effect upon

the heart. For want of this care and this habit, many a salutary lesson,

that strikes for the moment, is afterwards thrown away, unheeded and

forgotten: and thus the very means of grace, which are ordained to

recover us from sin, and enable us to “work out our salvation,” become

the instruments of confirming us in error and guilt. The mind, which is

continually accustomed to receive and to neglect religious instruction,

may be thereby brought into a heedless and torpid state, from which it is

well nigh impossible to be roused. Not that any thing “is impossible

with God:” but I appeal to experience, and ask, whether it is not a

notorious matter of fact, that many amongst us have for years uniformly

persevered, in the same neglect of christian duties, the same worldly

principles, the same evil courses, the same habits of intemperance and

licentiousness and profaneness; and it will not be denied, that they

have, in these years, frequently heard the voice of expostulation, and

perceived the justice, the force, and the importance of it. Then why are

they still unreclaimed?—because they have never followed up the

conviction of “Thou art the man.”

God grant, that this admonition may have its full effect upon us; that we

may go and meditate, and pray; pray daily for the blessing of an humble

and a teachable heart; pray for God’s grace, to correct all our sinful

follies, and supply all our deficiencies. Probably, my brethren, we have

been “leaning too little upon the hope of this heavenly grace;” we have

been relying upon our own perception of right and wrong, our own choice

and decision, our own feeble resolutions; if so, no wonder that we have

failed, in our work of repentance and spiritual change. “Turn Thou us

unto Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned:” {188} here lies our hope and

our strength, in the renewing influence of the Spirit of God. As we do

desire, so let us fervently pray, that we may, in our course of

penitence, imitate the example of the royal psalmist, and let contrition

“have its perfect work;” that we may, here below, with heart and soul,

join in the pious and repentant strains of David’s harp, and thus may be

admitted to sing to other harps hereafter, in the chorus of the Redeemed

above.

SERMON XI.

THE WAY OF THE LORD EQUAL.

EZEK. xviii. 25.

_Ye say_, _the way of the Lord is not equal_. _Hear now_, _O house

of Israel_; _is not my way equal_? _are not your ways unequal_?

THE main purport of this chapter was, to obviate some objections which

had been groundlessly entertained against the dealings of God with His

people. They were at that time suffering in a state of captivity; and

the calamities attendant upon it had been threatened long before, as a

punishment for the sins of their ancestors. The Jews, therefore,

assuming that this was the only cause of divine vengeance; imagining, in

the blindness and pride of their hearts, that there were no delinquencies

of their own to deserve such retribution, presumed to charge the Almighty

with injustice, for this visitation of His wrath.

The prophet, in the opening of the chapter, thus remonstrates with them:

“What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel?”

(concerning the evils with which it is afflicted,) that ye say, in the

language of accusation and reproach, “the fathers have eaten sour grapes

and the children’s teeth are set on edge?”—thereby meaning, that the

present generation are unjustly punished for the transgressions of their

forefathers. “As I live, saith the Lord, ye shall not have occasion to

use this proverb any more in Israel.” I will make so visible a

discrimination between the righteous and the wicked, between those who

tread in the steps of their wicked progenitors, and those who take

warning by their examples, that you shall not have any further occasion

to use this proverb amongst you.

The Jews, in this as in many other instances, misunderstood and perverted

the dispensations of the Most High. God had declared, that He would

“visit the sins of the fathers upon the children,” and that He “would

shew mercy unto thousands of those that loved Him;” from which they

inferred, that worldly calamities, in the one case, and prosperity in the

other, constituted the sole recompence, which they were severally to

expect: they supposed, that when a nation was punished, on account of the

general depravity, no respect was had to the different merits of

individuals, of which that nation consisted; and that, when a people were

prospered and exalted, as the reward of righteousness, they were all, of

necessity, the objects of divine favour. Whereas, these temporal rewards

and punishments formed but a part of the dispensation, under which they

were placed. God had far other means in store, to bless the faithful and

to afflict the transgressor. Under every visitation, His unerring eye

could discern between the evil and the good; the one, however prosperous

in a worldly point of view, He could mortify and humble; and the other,

in whatever evil they might be involved, He could favour and bless.

But there was still another consideration, to which the Jews, though they

practically disregarded it, were specially directed; a consideration,

which might have taught them, how the seeming irregularities, of which

they complained, would be completely rectified; it was that of a final

judgment, of a world to come. Their prophet Isaiah expressly says of the

transgressors, that “their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire

be quenched.” {192a} And Daniel more particularly intimates the awful

difference between the conditions of the righteous and the wicked in a

future state; “many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall

awake: some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting

contempt.” {192b} But the Israelites “had eyes and saw not, ears and

heard not;” {193a} they listened only the temporal promises of God, and

excluded from their minds the prospect of a final retribution, of a

kingdom to come. The prophet awakens them to this consideration in the

4th verse, “Behold, saith the Lord, all souls are Mine:” as they are all

equally My creatures, so My dealings with them shall be without prejudice

or partiality; “The soul that sinneth, it shall die:” this denunciation

could not possibly be understood of temporal death; for that, they knew,

must pass equally upon all: it must relate to a final execution of

judgment, to future misery and destruction. The Jews were familiar with

this form of speech and this application of it: of wisdom it is said,

“They that hate me, love _death_.” {193b} “There is a way that seemeth

right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of _death_.” {193c} A

similar mode of speech, we may observe, frequently occurs in the New

Testament also; in which we continually find expressions and figures

borrowed from the Old: “If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if

ye, through the spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

{194a} And, in the book of Revelation, mention is made of the _second

death_; {194b} a term which was in use among the Jews themselves, though

not found in their inspired writings. And in the same sense, we shall

perceive, the figure is repeatedly employed in the chapter before us.

The prophet therefore vindicates the justice and equity of God on two

substantial grounds: he directs his murmuring and rebellious people to

consider, that they were visited with calamity for their own

transgressions, as well as for those of their forefathers; and he refers

them to the future and final judgment of the Almighty, in which the

prosperity of the wicked and the sufferings of the righteous alike

terminate; in which both shall receive their just and everlasting

recompence. “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither

shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the

righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be

upon him.” “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith

the Lord God, and not that he should return from his ways and live?”

{195}

The passages last mentioned may introduce to our notice two

considerations, most distinctly and forcibly stated in the latter part of

this chapter, in both of which we are very deeply and peculiarly

interested; they are these; that if the wicked repent of their evil ways

and turn heartily to God, they shall be forgiven and received into His

favour; but that if the righteous fall away, they shall be condemned and

perish: on the one hand, there is ample encouragement to the sinner to

return; on the other, an awful admonition, to the righteous, of the

necessity of perseverance unto the end. How gracious the instruction in

either point of view! If it were not for the heavenly assurance of the

offer of pardon to all, without partiality or exception, many a flagrant

transgressor, when brought to a sense of his sin and shame—his conscience

pierced with the remembrance of so manifold offences against a just and

holy God, his soul over-burdened with the load of guilt—might sit down

disconsolate and despairing in the shadow of death: and if it were not

for a warning voice, bidding them, as they hope for salvation, to

persevere, the righteous, when assailed by temptation, might at length be

induced to yield, under a presumption, that their former obedience, that

the good deeds they had already performed, would turn the balance in

their favour, and procure for them acceptance at the tribunal of God,

though they were ultimately found in the way of evil. Into this error

the Jews had actually fallen; and do, as it is affirmed, continue unto

this day; and others might “follow their pernicious ways.”

Each of the important doctrines, which we are now considering, is

declared by the prophet in the most explicit and unequivocal terms. “If

the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep

all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely

live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed,

they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath

done, he shall live.” {197} None of his former transgressions shall

exclude him from the privileges and blessings of God’s people; he shall

be freely and fully received, without reproach, into a gracious covenant

with his God. This condition of acceptance manifestly implies a vital

belief in the sovereignty and mercy of God; for without this, none would

be encouraged to turn unto Him with the hope of forgiveness and favour:

“He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is the

rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” {198a} “The just shall live

by his faith;” {198b} and the duties which the prophet prescribed to his

people, as the means of saving their souls alive, were evidently regarded

by him as the fruit of that faith. Thus, therefore, they were left

without excuse; no longer able to say, “that the way of the Lord was not

equal;” for so far from having decreed to involve them all in the same

indiscriminate punishment, He was willing, nay desirous, of admitting

into His favour even the most disobedient and abandoned amongst them.

Although in a state of miserable bondage, He would either “break their

bonds asunder,” and provide them with a place of refuge; or He would make

their bodily afflictions minister to the well-being of their souls. If

the light of His countenance shone upon them, happy was their lot in the

darkest hour of suffering and privation: and if they did not live to

enjoy a restoration to the privileges of their own land, still might they

rejoice, in the prospect of being restored to their forfeited inheritance

in the mansions of eternal peace. Would they but forsake the idols,

after which they were gone astray, and turn to “love the Lord their God

with all their heart and soul and strength,” “ceasing to do evil, and

learning to do well,” though “their sins were as scarlet, they should be

as white as snow; though they were red like crimson, they should be as

wool.” {199} Surely none but the obstinate and rebellious, none but the

hardest and most ungrateful heart, could complain of the dealings of God.

Wonderful indeed was the patience which had borne with them so long;

adorable the mercy which was still held out for the encouragement and

return of a backsliding people.

Under the gospel dispensation, the same gracious doctrine is yet more

fully revealed. “If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,

Jesus Christ the righteous.” {200a} “If we confess our sins, He is

faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from _all_

unrighteousness.” {200b} “The Lord is long-suffering to us-ward, not

willing that any should perish, but that _all_ should come to

repentance.” {200c} Texts indeed there are without number of the same

merciful import; and numerous also are the examples, recorded in Holy

writ, in which the Saviour vouchsafed His loving kindness and favour to

the weary and heavy-laden sinner; “seeking and saving those that were

lost;” and thus affording us the most ample assurance of the truth of His

own gracious promise, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

{200d} Are there any amongst us, my brethren, who have not yet made

their peace with God; any, whom Satan hath hitherto held fast in “the

gall of bitterness, and the bond of iniquity;” who feel the wretchedness

of their condition here, and are alarmed at the expectation of what may

come hereafter? May “the goodness of God lead them to repentance!”

However deep and dangerous the wounds which sin has made in their hearts,

there is “balm in Gilead,” if they will earnestly seek it, and apply it

to their souls: their offended Lord is still “waiting to be gracious;”

and though they have been prodigally wasting his bounty in riotous

living, yet if they be at length pierced to the heart by the misery to

which it has brought them, and be truly desirous of returning to their

peaceful home, and be ready, with all humility and contrition, to

acknowledge their unworthiness, and to seek again the divine favour, from

which they have been so unhappily estranged, then they will be received

even with welcome; if but one sinner return, there “will be joy in

heaven;” and the family of the blest will hail his reception; and his

wanderings shall be mentioned no more. “Awake thou that sleepest and

rise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” {202}

But let not this gracious offer of mercy be abused; let it not act as an

encouragement to a continuance in sin, under a notion that

transgressions, however multiplied and aggravated, may be, at any future

day, repented and forgiven. The grace of repentance, like every other

good gift, cometh from God; and the proffered mercy, which is long and

obstinately rejected, may be, and often is, withdrawn. If we will not

hear, while the Almighty now speaks; if we will not answer, while He is

now calling, “the ear may become heavy that it cannot hear,” and we may

be left to perish in our sins. One word more; think of the many sudden

departures; you are not without awakening and awful examples; your eye

may be closed in death, while it is turned away from your God; or if you

should be permitted to experience a few days’ alarm, God alone knows what

effect it may produce upon the heart. Seek Him “in health and wealth;”

the work is of amazing magnitude and everlasting importance; it demands

all your vigour, all the unclouded faculties of your soul.

And let those who have embraced the blessed gospel, in sincerity and

truth, who are believing in the name of Jesus for salvation, and “are

fruitful in every good word and work,” ever bear in mind the absolute

necessity of persevering in the good and holy cause. For of what service

can it be, to begin the race with animation, and to pursue it, for a

season, with ever so great activity, if they loiter before the end, and

relinquish their exertions “for the prize of their high calling?” “When

the righteous turneth away from his righteousness and committeth

iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man

doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not

be mentioned; in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin

that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.” Here also we must allow,

that “the way of God is equal.” {204} For surely it argues the most

depraved and abandoned state of mind and heart, to depart from our God

and our Redeemer, after having been once convinced of the truth and the

blessedness of His holy religion; having “tasted how gracious the Lord

is,” having experienced the guidance and comfort and support of his

all-powerful spirit, having had our “hopes full of immortality,” having

enjoyed a foretaste of the happiness of heaven, after all to fall away,

and prefer to these exalted objects, the miserable pleasures, the base

indulgencies, the perishable possessions of earth! A change so

disastrous must reduce the understanding and heart into the worst

condition of which they are capable. It is the evil spirit, which had

been once cast out, returning to his abode, with seven other spirits more

wicked than himself, and dwelling there, as in a settled home, and the

last state of that man is worse than the first. {205a} The Apostle

represents the matter to us in this light: for so difficult is it for a

person, in such a state, to be worked upon by any consideration, that he

describes it, in his strong language, as an actual impossibility: “it is

impossible, (he says) for those who were once enlightened, and have

tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to

come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance;”

{205b} and then he adds the reason, “seeing they crucify to themselves

the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame;” they maintain the

horrid principles and character of those who “crucified the Lord of

glory;” they deliberately renounce his friendship, and become “enemies to

the cross of Christ;” they cast a shameful reproach upon Him, infinitely

greater than it is possible for those enemies to do, who were never

admitted into the privilege and happiness of His favour. Fain would we

hope, that this is a case of rare occurrence; but it is possible, or why

should the prophet and Apostle have represented it? “Therefore, let him

that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall;” {206a} “let him give

all diligence to make his calling and election sure.” {206b} “The just

shall live by his faith: but if _that man_, (however faithful and just he

has been) draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him;” {206c} this

is the proper translation of the passage. God Almighty of His infinite

mercy grant, that the words which follow this text, addressed by the

Apostle to the faithful disciples of old, may be realized by all of us

here; “we, (says he,) are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but

of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” Pray to God without

ceasing for grace to persevere: His Holy Spirit, if sought and cherished

and used, will enable us to be faithful and to overcome, will “make us

more than conquerors, through Him that loved us.” {207a}

In conclusion then, I ask, “is not the way of the Lord equal?” And of

those, who presume to arraign it, are not the ways unequal? Equal and

merciful do all the ways of God appear, whenever they can be traced;

equal and merciful they are, whether they can be traced or not. “O man,

who art thou that repliest against God?” {207b} “Shall not the judge of

all the earth do right?” {207c} Humble thyself, and accept His proffered

mercy: Hear His words; “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of

the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” {207d} Salvation is

all that the sinner can desire; and surely he can repose, without doubt

or distrust upon the all-wise, all-merciful, omnipotent God.

Understanding and experiencing, in so many instances, the divine wisdom

and mercy, we can have no difficulty in believing, that God “doeth all

things well.” “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for

us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” {208a}

Most unreasonable, most ungrateful would it be to question or complain.

No true believer does so: he is thoroughly convinced of the truth of

God’s word, and the equity of God’s dealings and dispensations. This is

his concern, this the great purpose resting in his soul, to be reconciled

to God in His own appointed way; to be made an inheritor of His eternal

kingdom. He knows, and it is enough for him to know, that “the grace of

God, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men;” {208b} he

believes, and he acts upon the belief, that “the blood of Jesus Christ

cleanseth us from all sin;” {208c} he seeks to “wash and be clean,” and

faithfully waits for the promised blessing: “Verily there is a reward for

the righteous; verily He is a God that judgeth the earth.”{208d}

SERMON XII.

THE NEW MAN.

EPH. iv. 24.

_That ye put on the new man_, _which after God is created in

righteousness and true holiness_.

IN treating of these words, it shall be my first object to explain their

real nature and import. St. Paul has been describing, in this chapter,

the character of the unregenerate Gentiles, who “walked in the vanity of

their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the

life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the

blindness of their heart.” And this description applies, with almost

equal force and truth, to a considerable portion of those who have “named

the name of Christ:” though they acknowledge with their lips the truth

and obligation of the christian religion, they still “walk in the vanity

of their minds.” As to any saving view of the truth, “the understanding

is _yet_ darkened:” and though their ignorance be removed, with respect

to a revelation of the divine will, they are as far as ever from “the

life of God;” though the mind is enlightened with the knowledge of the

fact, the blindness of the heart remains.

The Apostle proceeds to say of his Ephesian converts, “but _ye_ have not

so learned Christ”—“if so be, that ye have heard Him” (or rather, as the

phrase may properly imply, _forasmuch_ as ye have heard Him) “and have

been taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus.” And what had they heard,

as necessary to their salvation by His name, and what is the truth they

had been taught?—“that ye put off, concerning the former conversation

(the former life and conduct), the old man, which is corrupt, according

to the deceitful lusts” (the worldly principles and the sinful habits

above described, to which you were addicted before your conversion); and

“be renewed (or made new) in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on

the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true

holiness;” the change thus produced being so great and important as to be

compared to a new creation; the inner man being totally different from

what he was before. It is said, moreover, that the new man “is created

_after God_ in righteousness;” this is fully explained by the same

Apostle, in his Epistle to the Colossians, where he is treating on the

same subject; he there speaks of the converts being renewed “after the

image of Him who created them.” {211} At the creation of Adam, God is

represented as saying, “Let us make man in our image, after our

likeness,” that is, in perfect innocence and purity. Thus was Adam

formed, perfectly upright and holy: by disobedience his nature was

changed; he became sinful and unholy; and this change was entailed upon

all his posterity. The object, therefore, of the new creation is to

restore in us, as far as we are now capable of it, that image of divine

righteousness, which man lost by the fall. On considering, then, the

holy nature of God, we are at once made acquainted with that change, in

the natural man, which the gospel teaches and requires; we are brought to

perceive and acknowledge that “true holiness,” which as Christians we are

bound to desire and attain.

The same truth may be said to have been substantially revealed to the

servants of God under the old dispensation: there is no express mention

indeed of a new creation of the individual; but the prophets every where

assert, what is similar in effect, that no wicked person, without hearty

repentance and an entire change of character, must expect the divine

favour. To this purpose is the language of Isaiah: “Wash you, make you

clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to

do evil, learn to do well.” {213a} The unclean and unrighteous cannot

stand before God. “As I live, saith the Lord God, (by the mouth of

Ezekiel) I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the

wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways;

for why will ye die, house of Israel?” {213b} The prophet thereto

plainly intimating, that notwithstanding all that goodness and

long-suffering of the divine nature, which is expressed in a most

compassionate invitation, and is confirmed even by the solemnity of an

oath, yet if sinners did not “turn from their evil ways,” there was no

remedy, but they must die. And the same prophet on another occasion,

uses language very similar to that of the text; “I will put a _new_

spirit within you, and I will take the stony heart out of their

flesh—that they may walk in my statutes and keep mine ordinances, and do

them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” {214a}

Agreeably to this, the same people are subsequently exhorted, to “cast

away from them all the transgressions whereby they had transgressed, and

to make them a new heart and a new spirit.” {214b} However therefore,

the New Covenant doth exceed the Old, with regard to the clearness of its

manifestations, and its fuller dispensations of grace, yet are there in

both of them the same consistent terms of reconciliation and salvation

for rebellious man; in both are injoined the same purity of spirit, and

integrity of character; this is the plain, uniform, infallible intimation

of both, that “without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” {214c}

That the people of old were but partially awake and alive to the great

change required to be wrought in them, from sin to righteousness, from

the love of evil to the love of good, from a “bondage unto the elements

of the world” to the glorious liberty of the children of God, is too

fully proved from the complaints of patriarchs and prophets and holy men

of every determination. The sound of the gospel, thank God, has now gone

forth into all lands, and brought “life and immortality to light;” it has

awakened many nations, who lay fast bound in the slumbers of spiritual

death; but whether it has vitally and savingly awakened a greater

proportion of those, to whom the glad tidings have been revealed, is a

matter of reasonable doubt. At least, if we compare what man is by

nature, with what he may be and ought to be by divine grace, it must

appear, from the life and conduct of the great majority in the christian

world, that they have by no means attained that renovation of spirit and

principle and character, which can entitle them to the appellation of new

creatures.

Of how many may it be said, (and their own consciences will bear witness

to the truth of the accusation,) that their thoughts are ordinarily

flowing in much the same channel, their passions yielding to the same

excitements, and their pursuits directed to the same end, as they would

have been, had the pure doctrines and precepts of Christ never been

promulgated. Vast numbers, in the visible Church of Christ, who profess

some regard for religion, instead of raising their affections to the

standard of the gospel, are seeking to _bring down_ the immoveable

standard of the gospel to _them_: and greater numbers still, of reckless

men, bestow not so much as a thought upon that spiritual change, which is

absolutely essential to the christian character. For what is the

religion of thousands amongst us?—merely, if I may so call it, that

traditionary acquaintance with divine things, which is acquired in

infancy; that outward assent to evangelical truths, which was handed down

to them by their forefathers; a cold respect for the shadow, without any

concern for the substance: they are content to observe the forms of

religion, because they have been accustomed so to do, and their

neighbours do the same; and to attend to what are called the decencies of

life, because they would otherwise be disreputable; to crimes and to

holiness strangers perhaps alike; satisfied to do no worse, than they see

the multitudes around them doing; and resting their claim to God’s favour

on a few moral pretensions, or even on the absence of scandalous

immorality; probably looking for exemption from the penalties of the

divine law, because their transgressions have never been such, as to

expose them to the scourge of the law of man.

This, however deplorable, is a true description of no inconsiderable

portion of our christian land; to none of _us_, we may hope, is the

description strictly applicable; but it is too probable, that there are

many amongst us, who partake more or less of the character here

delineated; who practically regard the christian religion as a system to

be accommodated to their dispositions and habits and pursuits of life,

and not as demanding a total alteration in their views and tempers and

motives of action. Though their thoughts are directed to objects, far

above those of “the heathen who know not God” and though their morality,

upon the whole, be of a higher order and a purer cast, yet are their

affections willingly led captive by the ensnaring vanities and engrossing

interests of this lower world: heaven is the object of their settled

creed, but it is not the main purpose to which their endeavours are

anxiously and daily directed; in balancing between this or that pursuit,

their thoughts are intent only upon providing for “the meat that

perisheth,” without any enquiry or concern, how they may best provide for

“that which endureth unto eternal life.” {218} And the morality, on

which they so complacently rest, has frequently no connexion whatever

with the christian faith; referable rather to philosophy than the gospel,

to “the praise of men than the praise of God.” Hence it follows, that

their moral obedience is lamentably defective; extending only to the

performance of those duties, which least oppose their inclination or

their temporal advantage; while even such duties are but imperfectly

discharged. Their self-government is wretchedly defective; the controul

of their thoughts, the mastery over their passions, the command over

their tongue, are attainments which they seldom bind it upon their

conscience to acquire. And though they be turned from idols to worship

the living and the true God, the fruit of their service, as well as the

irregularity of it, affords but too clear a proof, that they “worship him

not in spirit and in truth.” However improved, in their moral character,

by their acquaintance with the christian religion, they cannot possibly

have imbibed its spirit; nor have arrived at that happy change of the

natural man, which can be denominated by a new creation. They are

working out, or rather seeking to work out, their salvation on maxims of

human expediency, and in accommodation to human interests; not with “fear

and trembling,” lest they should lose the inestimable prize; they are not

evincing, that it is “God that worketh in them both to will and to do.”

{220}

I have thus enlarged, on the presents occasion, upon the enormous

deficiencies of christian character, because it is of great importance

for us to understand, what is not accordant with the principles of the

gospel, as well as what is: it is of vital consequence, that we should be

thoroughly aware of the insufficiency of that spirit and view, of those

maxims and motives of those habits and observances, which pass current

for religion in the world.

We cannot put on the new man, unless we put off the old; and we cannot

put off the old, unless we thoroughly understand in what it consists.

The work is too commonly supposed much easier and much less

comprehensive, than it really is: many vicious habits may be corrected,

without any essential or fundamental alteration of character. A man may

become weary of the pursuits, disgusted with the follies, worn and sated

with the profligacies of life; he may find his circumstances

impoverished, his reputation impaired, his worldly interest obstructed:

and such considerations as these may generate a purpose of moral reform.

Or the sinner may feel himself oppressed with the increasing weight of

years; infirmities are coming fast upon him; and his conscience, in many

a whisper of fear, tells him that something should be done, some

preparation made, for the world to which he is hastening, for the account

which he will speedily be called to render. The idea of dying with those

depravities, to which he has clinged through life, is awful and

insupportable. The more flagrant of them are accordingly corrected; and

the rest, which are less startling and disquieting, are undisturbedly

retained. In all this there is no change of principle, no vital

alteration: the old man continues; less hideous in features and outward

appearance, but the very same in reality. With this partial renovation

the mind is satisfied; the conscience is becalmed; the sinner dies.

Through the “deceivableness of unrighteousness,” through the wiles of

Satan and the evil propensity of our own hearts, we are always in danger

of being too easily content with our spiritual condition; we look too

much to the outward and visible form, and too little within; to little to

the habitual principle, the constraining motive, the cast of character:

and it is in this, that the difference between the old and the new man,

in the christian world essentially consists. Suffer me to point out

again a few of the broad lines of distinction. The old man, whatever of

religion he may profess, lives principally for himself and the world; he

may think of religion, and speak of it, and pray for it with the lips,

but it has no dwelling place in his heart, is not the business of his

life. However observable, in many respects, his moral deportment may be,

his character is seldom consistent. From some evil pursuits he abstains,

in others he wilfully and constantly indulges; some evil passions are

kept in creditable order, others are let loose; some duties he

professedly performs, and others he professedly omits. And nothing is

done with a true christian motive, or christian view; nothing from a

sense of absolute and uncompromising obedience to the will of God. Nor

is it surprising, that there should be such deficiencies and

inconsistencies in his character; he has no principle or means, by which

he can possibly walk uprightly with his God. He does not “believe with

the heart unto righteousness;” he does not seek, nor desire, to “live in

the spirit and walk in the spirit;” there is no life in his devotion, no

sincerity in his prayer: he “asks not faithfully” for repentance and

holiness, and they cannot be “effectually received.” He is not disposed

to bring his understanding and heart into subjection to the divine will.

He studies not that holy word, which ministers the principle of a divine

life, and the spirit of obedience to the soul. He lives for earth and

not for heaven. He is too proud to be taught the humiliating doctrines

of revelation; too full of himself, to bow implicitly to his Redeemer.

In a word, nature is his book and not the Bible; the world is his teacher

and not the Spirit of God; earthly and not spiritual subjects are the

delight of his heart; he walks not “by faith, but by sight.”

The new man is the reverse of all this; he humbles himself, as a sinner,

at the foot of the cross, under a deep sense of his own guilt and the

divine mercy; desirous only to be reconciled and saved; he constantly

studies the mysteries God’s word, with a submissive understanding and an

obedient heart; he rests his only hope on the merit of a Redeemer, whose

promises and whose law he receives with all his mind and soul and

strength; he prays “without ceasing” for the Holy Spirit, is directed by

His teaching, supported by His power, and comforted by His heavenly

illumination. Doubtless he must live _in_ the world, and _by_ the world,

as well as other people; but he does not live _for_ the world; his heart

is not there, his delight is not there; he is a redeemed pilgrim,

journeying in a far country, returning to his Father’s house; and his

heart is musing on the “many mansions” there, and full of the inspiring

influential hope, that one of them is prepared for him.

Such holy principles are continually manifested by a determination of

purpose, a decisiveness of character, a devoted spirit of uniform

obedience to the revealed will of God. As the conscience bears witness,

so does the life: “the tree is known by its fruit;” all evil affections

are resolutely mortified, all sinful pleasures and pursuits utterly

abandoned. The sincere Christian, the new man, has an earnest desire and

care upon his soul, to be “righteous before God, walking in all the

commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” {226a} For this

blessing he daily prays; in this work he daily advances: “loving the Lord

God with all his heart,” and “loving his neighbour as himself,” he is of

all men the most inclined, as he is assuredly the most bound, to “live

soberly, righteously and godly in this present world.” {226b}

These remarks suggest the necessity of further admonition on this head.

Many persons have been led to entertain enthusiastic notions on the

subject of the new man, the new creation, the new birth. They have

supposed it principally to consist in certain inward experiences or

feelings, which they have been enabled to trace to some particular event

or period: the Holy Spirit, as they believe, then beginning, for the

first time, to work upon their understandings and hearts; and thus

leaving an indelible impression, the seal of their redemption, the

earnest of their certain acceptance with God. Far are we from denying,

that such sudden conversions may and do take place: still farther from

denying that, whether sudden or gradual, a change from the old to the new

man is attributable to the aid of a divine energy and power. It is,

properly speaking, a new creation; the imparting of a new nature: and

cannot be effected without the hand of the original Creator: without the

operation of that Spirit, which “moved upon the face of the waters,”

which “breathed into the nostrils the breath of life, so that man became

a living soul.” {227a} Our Liturgy has correctly and fully embodied the

testimony of scripture, on this as on other points: we are taught to

pray, that God will “_create_ in us new and contrite hearts.” This

blessing must proceed from that Holy Spirit, who still in His ordinary

dispensations, as formerly in His miraculous gifts, “divides unto every

man severally as He will;” {227b} not as it were capriciously, but

according to His own infinite wisdom and goodness, as He judges expedient

to the case of each individual. But this divine grace is not

communicated for the mere purpose of producing a glowing affection, a

familiar experience, an enraptured view of spiritual things: nor can any

inward feelings alone prove that such grace has been administered at all:

the proof must be manifested, in the way pointed out by the text: the new

man “is created, after God, in _righteousness and true holiness_.” A

holy character and a righteous life are the proper and indispensable

evidences of such a change; a faithful walking with God, a sober

self-government, an upright dealing with all mankind.

I counsel you, my brethren, in the language of truth and the spirit of

affection, to be content with no other evidence: equally far be you

removed from that carnal profession of the gospel, which despises or

neglects the mighty change required of every sincere believer; and from

those fanciful notions of spiritual experience, which leave the heart and

the character arrayed in the spotted garment of sin: both in the one case

and the other, you will be “grieving the spirit,” and “quenching the

spirit.” In your principles and life, as well as in your views and

affections and desires, “let old things pass away, and all things become

new;” {229a} “put off the old man with the deceitful lusts,” and thus let

the new man be put on. “Abhor that which is evil: cleave to that which

is good.” {229b} This is the method ordained of God, by which we are to

“work out our salvation;” this our plain, this our necessary duty. Pray

we fervently, strive we diligently, that we may be thus effectually

turned from sin to holiness, “from darkness to light, from the power of

Satan unto God.” {229c}

SERMON XIII.

THE WEDDING GARMENT.

MATT. xxii. 2.

_The kingdom of heaven is like unto certain king which made a

marriage for his son_.

IT is my intention, in this discourse, to explain the several particulars

of the parable before us; which may be regarded, in the _first_ place, as

descriptive of the dispensation of the gospel to the people of Israel and

the world at large; and, in the _second_ place, as instructing us in that

peculiar fitness necessary to all, who shall be admitted to enjoy the

privileges and happiness of the kingdom of God.

The state of the gospel, our Saviour informs us, may be compared to the

conduct of a king at the marriage of his son; or rather, as the meaning

is, at the marriage _feast_ which he gave on that occasion: the

circumstances which might, in that case, be supposed to occur, aptly

represent a variety of particulars belonging to the gospel dispensation.

Before, however, we enter upon the parable, it may be remarked, that

spiritual blessings are frequently set forth in the holy scriptures,

under allusions to feasting and refreshment. Thus Solomon of old:

“Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: she

hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also

furnished her table. Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which

I have mingled. Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of

understanding.” {231} And thus the prophet Isaiah, in describing the

state of the gospel: “In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto

all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat

things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” {232a} And

thus our blessed Lord Himself: “I appoint unto you a kingdom, as My

Father hath appointed unto Me, that ye may eat and drink at My table in

My kingdom.” {232b}

1. Let us now proceed with the parable: “He sent forth his servants to

call them that were bidden to the wedding (feast); and they would not

come.” This probably alludes to the first period of the promulgation of

the gospel; under the preaching of John the Baptist and of the earliest

disciples; the former endeavouring to prepare the hearts of men for the

kingdom and coming of Christ; and the latter proclaiming His glorious

arrival, preaching the truth of His gospel, and confirming the word by a

display of miraculous power. But the Jews had been a carnal people,

“holding the truth in unrighteousness;” and they refused to give ear to

those holy instructions, which called upon them to “lay the axe to the

root of all sin,” and to “bring forth fruits meet for repentance.” {233a}

This it was that prevented them, not only from a cordial acceptance of

the gospel, but even from a fair examination and inquiry; they would not

listen to such doctrine; their heart was decided against it: to this it

was owing, these carnal habits and views, that when their Messiah came,

they were not ready to receive Him in the way which He required. Ready

enough were they to admit Him in their own way; agreeably to their own

notions and desires, as an earthly conqueror, as the dispenser of

temporal blessings and rewards; but not as the abolisher of sin; not as a

preacher of righteousness; not as a herald, announcing to them the

necessity of holiness in this world, and the inheritance of glory in the

world to come. Not all His amazing miracles, not all His fulfilment of

their own prophecies, not all the power of His word, could convince their

understandings; because they had “an evil heart of unbelief:” {233b} and

therefore, notwithstanding His awful warnings, His earnest and

affectionate invitations, “they would not come” unto Him, that they might

find rest unto their souls.

Here we behold, as in a glass, the real ground of every rejection of the

Saviour in every age; it is not because men deny His excellency, or His

power, or His mercy, or the greatness of His kingdom: it is because they

“love this present evil world,” and the “god of this world hath blinded

their minds,” {234a} through the deceitfulness of sin. Even though

eternal salvation is offered them, and they do not disbelieve it; still,

awful to think! the Saviour is rejected for perishable interests and

sensual indulgences. “He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned

him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, is there not a lie

in my right hand?” {234b} Men walk on in darkness because they love it;

and they “love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.”

{234c}

2. But the Jews were not yet cast off, without further admonition and

entreaty. “Again He sent forth other servants, saying, tell them who are

bidden, behold I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are

killed, and all things are ready; come unto the marriage” feast. But

“they made light of it,” and offered a variety of groundless excuses.

This may chiefly refer to the fuller manifestation of the gospel, after

the resurrection and ascension of our blessed Lord; for the parable, as

we shall more clearly perceive in the sequel, is partly of a prophetic

nature; and intended to represent to the Jews their persevering spirit of

obstinacy, and the punishment which would ensue; that some of them at

least, when the fulness of the time should come, might be struck with the

force of this predictive representation, and be converted to the “truth

as it is in Jesus.”

Every thing requisite for the sumptuous feast was liberally provided: in

the days of the apostles, abundant indeed was the confirmation of the

truth and doctrines of the gospel; bright the manifestation of heavenly

glory, that was shed abroad upon it. Then were strikingly fulfilled the

words of their prophet Joel; “I will pour out My Spirit upon all

flesh—also upon the servants and the handmaids in those days will I pour

out My Spirit.” {236} Accordingly the gifts of the Holy Ghost—were

openly poured forth, and mighty were the deeds done and the words spoken

by His servants, under the operation of His marvellous power: the old

dispensation was fully brought to bear upon the new: it was shewn how the

character of Jesus corresponded, in His birth and life and death and

resurrection and ascension, as well as in His offices of Priest and

Mediator and King, with various prophecies and types exhibited in the

ancient scriptures. The benefits and blessings of the christian

dispensation were more particularly and largely set forth: the feast was

fully displayed before them, in all its rich and magnificent abundance.

Many were then induced to enter into the guest chamber, and partake of

the heavenly repast; but many more, the Jewish nation at large, made

light of it, and went their way. And not only so: not only was the

invitation unheeded and despised; but the remnant, that is, some who were

not content with disobeying the call, “took his servants, and entreated

them spitefully and slew them;” persecuted the disciples even unto death.

3. We now come to a part of the parable, which must of necessity receive

a prophetic interpretation: “When the King heard thereof, he was wroth,

and he sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up

their city.” This plainly points out the Roman armies ravaging Judea,

destroying Jerusalem, and putting the inhabitants to the sword; an event,

which did not take place till many years after. Neither, in truth, is

there mention made, in the gospel history, of the Jews having slain any

of the disciples, whilst their Lord was with them. They were murderers

of the Son of God, and of many of His apostles and disciples after Him;

thus “filling up the measure of their iniquity,” and drawing down upon

themselves, and their nation at large, the most tremendous visitation of

divine wrath, ever inflicted in this world upon a rebellious people.

4. We are next carried forward to another period in the gospel

dispensation; a period in which we ourselves are deeply and peculiarly

interested; from which we date all the spiritual mercies and advantages,

all “the means of grace and hopes of glory,” which have been vouchsafed

to our souls. “Then saith the king to his servants, the wedding (the

wedding feast) is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.”

The Israelites who were honoured, as the people of God, with the first

invitation and call to the gospel, shewed themselves unworthy of it, by

their ungrateful and obstinate rejection. “Go ye therefore into the

highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage” feast: go

ye, as we may interpret the words of our Lord, go ye, My ministers and

messengers, into the world at large, and carry My invitation to the

Gentiles; to as many as ye shall find; and proclaim to them that My table

is spread for all: since the people, who were first bidden, have “not

heard when I spake, nor answered, when I called,” the “kingdom of heaven

is now thrown open to all believers,” so that “whosoever shall call upon

the name of the Lord shall be saved:” My kingdom shall no longer be

confined to one peculiar race; the time is come, when the blessedness of

it shall be diffused abroad as “the waters cover the sea:” I am ready to

“make a covenant with all flesh”—a covenant of peace—of benefits and

mercies, such as their “eyes have never seen, nor ears heard;” the

universal banquet is spread; bid them all to come. “So those servants

went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they

found, both bad and good: and the wedding (table) was furnished with

guests:” for it was not unusual, we must observe, in those countries, for

men of the highest rank and distinction to admit to their tables, on

remarkable occasions, persons of the lowest condition.

And this part of the parable also was representative of a future period;

for though Christ had received homage from some in the Gentile world, and

had signified His favour to others as well as the Jews, it could not be

said, that the blessings of His gospel were at that time distinctly

offered to the world at large. By St. Peter, in the first instance, in

the case of Cornelius, and afterwards more fully by St. Paul, the Apostle

of the Gentiles, were the good tidings universally announced and spread.

This accords with the invitation in the parable, where we find that no

exceptions were to be made: the “servants gathered together all, both bad

and good;” thus, to men of all characters and descriptions the gospel was

indiscriminately preached: the best greatly needed it; and even to the

worst the door of grace and repentance was opened.

Doubtless, there are vast differences in the characters of unregenerate

men, of the very heathen “who know not God.” Some will use, more

faithfully than others, the feebler light of natural religion; and thus

arrive at a higher state of moral rectitude and respectability. But

whatever comparative excellence any one may attain, in such a state, he

is at best a polluted sinner: fallen from the favour and family of God;

without the power to rise and return; the inheritor of sin and death,

without the means of salvation. God must be reconciled, and the gate of

mercy thrown open; or the sinner must perish. And it is for the offended

God alone, to appoint the means of reconciliation; and proclaim the

conditions of pardon and mercy. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, is

the only means of deliverance; by His incarnation and sacrifice has

atonement been made for man; “there is no other name under heaven given

among men, whereby we must be saved;” {242a} “other foundation can no man

lay.” {242b} The moralist must lay aside his vain pretensions, and

humble himself at the foot of the cross; must come to the Saviour and

learn of Him; come and be “baptised for the remission of sins;” come,

that his character may be essentially changed by the Spirit and the word

of God; that he may have new desires, new affections, new principles, new

prospects: and many of “the children of this world,” amiable in their

disposition and reputable in their conduct, deceive themselves in this

matter; perceive not their need of a Saviour, “trusting in themselves

that they are righteous;” good in their own eyes, good in the estimation

of their neighbours, they undervalue and neglect the gospel; and

therefore still continue “dead in trespasses and sins.”

But the bad as well as the good were gathered together; not only to

those, whose conduct had been honourable among men, and whose characters

were fair; but to notorious delinquent, yea, even to the worst of

sinners, the door of the guest-chamber is open; all are invited; all, if

they will comply with the conditions and rules of the feast, shall be

fed; publicans and sinners, extortioners and unjust, disobedient and

reprobate, all are the objects of the Saviour’s mercy; “Come unto me, all

ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The

invitation is free and universal; none who rightly seek admission, shall

be excluded. This exactly agrees with the language of the evangelical

prophet: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he

that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat.” “Let the wicked forsake his

way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the

Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will

abundantly pardon.” {243a} “The fountain is opened for sin and for

cleanness;” {243b} “wash you, make you clean;” laden as ye are with

iniquity come but to your Saviour, in sincerity and truth, with a

contrite and repentant heart; come, as He has invited you; look to the

all-sufficiency of His sacrifice; believe in Him for justification and

life; be ready to learn of His example and to receive His spirit and His

law into your heart, and you shall be admitted to His holy banquet, and

be made welcome at His table; you shall find comfort in the presence of

your Lord, and in them “that sit at meat with you.”

5. We are now led to the last and most striking part of this parable:

the king came in to see the guests; to see whether they conducted

themselves worthily of his entertainment, and appeared in the dress which

he had provided, for such as were unable to furnish themselves. And

thus, with regard to the heavenly feast, the guests are strictly and

constantly accountable for their behaviour. Our blessed Lord watches the

demeanour of all who profess to accept His invitation in the gospel;

observes, how every one, who is “admitted into the fellowship of His

religion,” fulfils the conditions required of him. Nor is it the

external demeanour alone, which engages His notice and inspection; He

sees through the innermost windings of every heart, and will infallibly

“judge righteous judgment.” No violation of His will, in thought, or

word, or deed; no insincerity or deceitful appearance can possibly remain

undetected.

“When the king came in—he saw there a man who had not on a wedding

garment. And he said unto him, friend, how earnest thou in hither, not

having a wedding garment?” The man could not pretend to offer an excuse:

he knew the rules of the feast, and had wantonly neglected them; he was,

like many other ungrateful people, regaling himself upon a benefactor’s

bounty, but shewed him no respect or regard: being therefore

self-condemned, “he was speechless.” Thus will it be with every

negligent and disobedient Christian, when the Lord comes to make enquiry

into his character: to justify himself, he will feel to be impossible;

thoroughly has he known his Lord’s will, and full often has his

conscience reproved him for not performing it: there will be nothing left

for him, but unavailing sorrow and speechless remorse.

“Then said the king to the servants, bind him hand and foot; and take him

away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and

gnashing of teeth.” Cast him, from the lighted chamber, to the darkness

of the night without, where he shall bitterly regret the pleasures he has

so foolishly lost. Sad emblem of that state, whose sadness can be known,

here upon earth, only by emblematical representation, only by such

figures as “outer darkness,” as the “worm that never dies,” and “the fire

that never shall be quenched;” a darkness of mind, in the utter regions

of despair, without a ray from heaven to cheer it; the worm of anguish

preying upon the soul; and a fire burning, whether without or within, or

both; raging yet not consuming. God grant, that we may hear only of this

wretched state “by, the hearing of the ear;” that our eyes may never

behold it; that none of us may be consigned to this abode of unredeemed

and unredeemable misery: and, that we never may, let us “walk worthy of

our vocation;” of the Lord of that heavenly feast, of which we are

professing to partake. Put on, my brethren, the wedding garment of the

gospel; put it on, or intrude not into the presence-chamber of your Lord;

dread the doom of the hypocrite and the despiser; pretend not to partake

of the heavenly feast, to expect any of the blessings of the gospel,

unless ye consent and seek to be clothed with the raiment provided by

your King; with all those christian graces and virtues, which He will

enable you to obtain.

If indeed it depended upon ourselves, “miserable and poor and naked” as

we are, to provide a suitable covering; if the sinner were required to

produce, from his own store, the raiment of holiness and righteousness,

and thus make himself acceptable to his Saviour and his God; then would

he have much reason to urge for his unworthiness and deficiency: for he

has no means of making any such provision; he has not “wherewith he shall

come before the Lord:” his heart is corrupt; his character is unholy; and

he has no power to change them. But the provision does not depend upon

ourselves; what the Lord commands us to be clothed with, He has

mercifully prepared: He gives His Holy Spirit, to change the heart and

reform the character; to enable us to “put off the old man with the

deceitful lusts, and to put on the new man, which after God is created in

righteousness and true holiness.” This spiritual clothing the Lord

offers to all His followers; and woe be to those, who refuse or slight

it: for this is a contempt of His divine mercy; a defiance of His

authority and command: the expectation of His favour, on such terms, is

adding insult to presumption. If we do make a profession of belonging to

Him, let us not thus foolishly cast away our hope; let us not deceive

ourselves by imagining, that we can possibly maintain a title to the

privileges and blessings of the gospel, whilst we are living in the

neglect of those ordinances and laws, which the Lord has graciously

appointed as the means of our acceptance with Him. They who neglect the

means, will assuredly lose the end; will be numbered among the despisers

of their Saviour’s mercy.

And in order to keep alive in our minds that deep concern, which so

momentous a subject demands, frequently let us be meditating upon that

awful hour, when the King shall come in to visit and inspect His guests:

His eye shall be upon every one, and every one’s eye upon Him; imagine

yourself then in the guest-chamber without a wedding garment; ready and

desirous to sink into the earth; but there will be nothing to cover your

guilt and shame: though you have entered in with the other guests, and

taken your station at the feast, you will be called out from among them,

and everlastingly separated from the goodly company. A garment you would

then, no doubt, most willingly accept; but it will be too late; it should

have been accepted when offered; the season of grace will be past; the

time for judgment will be come.

My brethren, you have professedly accepted the invitation of your Lord;

you have entered into the guest-chamber; and if you be not already

clothed with the spiritual apparel, provided by His grace and mercy,

delay not an instant to apply for it: the King may come sooner than you

expect; I pray that He come not, before you are ready to meet Him. And

where is this garment to be found? Seek His Holy Spirit; search His Holy

word: you will then not fail to find it, and He will dispose you to put

it on. Repent and believe; love and obey: “cease to do evil, learn to do

well;” thus “adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour in all things.” And

then you will finally be admitted to the heavenly feast; to the marriage

supper of the Lamb; to the company of angels; in the courts of uncreated

light—“for the glory of God doth lighten them, and the Lamb is the light

thereof;” {251a} “In whose presence is fulness of joy, and at whose

right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” {251b}

SERMON XIV.

WALK WORTHY OF THE LORD, BE FRUITFUL, AND INCREASING.

COL. i. 10.

_That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing_, _being

fruitful in every good work_, _and increasing in the know ledge of

God_.

ONE of the great objects of St. Paul, in writing his epistles, appears to

be considerably overlooked by the christian world at large: it was, to

lead those churches and communities, in which the true foundation of

Christianity had been laid, to build upon it a corresponding character

and life. Certainly, a great portion of the epistles is occupied in the

assertion and explanation of christian doctrine; and this, principally,

with a view to remove certain errors and prejudices, which the members of

some churches had entertained; and upon which they had requested the

apostle’s decision. But well knowing how apt the human mind is to rest

satisfied with speculative views and persuasions, he never omits to

remind his converts, that much more was necessary than the profession of

a true faith; that in vain would their opinions be rectified, unless

their heart was also changed; that though they had “all faith and all

knowledge,” it would “profit them nothing,” unless the graces and virtues

of their holy religion were signally manifest in their lives.

There is scarcely an epistle, in which the apostle does not labour, with

the most intense desire, with the most full and repeated and peremptory

injunctions, to press upon them this momentous consideration: there is

not, in the word of God, a more complete digest and code of christian

duty, than in the writings of St. Paul; and yet they are, by many, almost

exclusively regarded as an exposition of deep and mysterious doctrines;

as if this were the sole end and purpose for which they were composed.

Well would it have been for the christian world, if as much attention had

been paid to the practical, as to the theoretical subjects in these

divine oracles: we should not then have witnessed so many disputations,

in which charity has been lost sight of, nor so much of the “form of

godliness without the power;” so many religious terms and denominations,

of which the ignorant have understood little but the name: we should have

had less of sect, of party, of invidious distinctions of any kind; and

more of vital religion amongst us. But it is now, as it ever was, with

fallen and degenerate man; he is fonder of exhibiting the powers of his

understanding, of exciting his feelings, and of displaying the pride of

spiritual knowledge, than of reforming his principles and regulating his

conduct: he has therefore directed his view to the mystery of the

foundation, and overlooked the directions for raising and completing the

superstructure.

Not that the various revelations of doctrine, in the writings of St.

Paul, are by any means to be lightly regarded; nor that they do not

demand the most reverential attention and profound enquiry: it is of high

importance for us to attain a “right judgment in all things:” yet

doubtless it would tend more to the edification of Christians in general,

if they took greater heed to the rules and precepts of the divine law, to

the evidence and fruit of their faith; and to all that neglect them, we

would say, “these things ought ye to have done, and not to leave the

others undone.”

The passage of scripture, from which we are now discoursing, will

exemplify these remarks. St. Paul, in the very opening of his epistle,

assures the Colossians, that since the day he heard of their conversion,

he did “not cease to pray for them and to desire that they might be

filled with the knowledge of the will of God, in all wisdom and spiritual

understanding; that they might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing,

being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of

God.”

1. “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord.” It is scarcely possible for

the most cursory observer not to perceive, that the faith of the gospel

cannot be truly embraced with indifference; that the christian name is

not a mere honorary or professional title, independent of obligations and

of consequences. As the Bible is rich in promises, so is it also clear

and necessitating, in the conditions upon which those promises are made:

as the Redeemer has freely offered unto us the benefits of His cross, so

has He as plainly injoined upon us the indispensable duty of “taking up

our own cross daily,” and “following the blessed steps of His most holy

life;” as He has reconciled us unto the Father, and again adopted us into

the blessed family above, so are we required, if we have any part or lot

in this matter, to be-have as children, who have recovered the forfeited

privileges of their glorious inheritance, and “have their conversation in

heaven.” As we have been “bought at so great a price,” we must continue

the subjects and the property of the “Lord that bought us.”

No man, whose nature, whose principles, whose affections, whose life,

remain unchanged; no man, enthralled by the pleasures and devoted to the

pursuits of a thoughtless and corrupt world, can justly consider himself

as an actual partaker of the covenanted mercies of God. He may have been

admitted by baptism into Christ’s visible church; he may hope to render,

at some future day, his baptismal privilege available to salvation; but

every page of God’s revealed word would forbid him to regard himself as

an accepted “inheritor of the kingdom of heaven,” while his life is

palpably at variance with the conditions upon which that inheritance is

vouchsafed; while it is contradictory to the laws, and totally

inconsistent with the blessings, which the Saviour has proclaimed to

mankind. Every man must not only perceive from the gospel, but be

assured by his own reason and conscience, that such divine mercies

absolutely require and imply some degree of worthiness; some

correspondence in his views, his temper, and his conduct.

Worthy indeed, in the fullest sense of the word, of such transcendent

love and favour, of life and immortality, of everlasting honour in the

presence of the pure and perfect Creator, the degenerate creature can

never be; he has sinned; and “the wages of sin is death.” But there is a

fitness, which the Christian, by divine help, must attain; a humility and

contrition of heart; a sincere belief in God’s mercy through Christ; a

grateful sense of God’s undeserved goodness; a desire of recovery from

the ruin of his fallen nature; and withal, a true spirit of acquiescence

in those means of grace, and that revealed law, ordained to bring the

sinner to his Maker; and this conformity, in the character of man, is

frequently represented in scripture by the name of _worthiness_: he

becomes worthy in this respect, inasmuch as he fulfils the conditions of

the gospel covenant, and is thereby rendered a fit object of God’s free

mercy: without this character he would be unworthy, inasmuch as he would

shew himself unmoved by the marvellous loving-kindness of his Saviour;

would shew, that he had no real value for the blessings, which the gospel

places within his reach; no regard for the revelation and ordinances of

God. It is an observation as true as it is common, that the holy gospel

designs not to save us _in_ our sins, but _from_ them; we must therefore

be made willing and desirous and careful, to subdue the prevalence of

sin, or we cannot attain unto salvation; and if the dominion of evil be

subdued, there will grow up, in our hearts and lives, the manifold fruits

of righteousness.

Such was the worthiness, which the apostle prayed and laboured to produce

in the early disciples; and if, without this, we are hoping to be

accepted of the Lord, “we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not

in us.” The meetness indeed, of which we are speaking, is not

exclusively our own; it must “be wrought in us of God;” still it is to be

sought by prayer, and improved with diligence: “We are not sufficient of

ourselves to think any thing, as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of

God;” {260} yet God will not fail to supply us with the means, if we pray

for them and use them faithfully.

To this statement I request your especial attention; because there are

professing Christians, who take an improper view of this important

matter. Conscious of their own unworthiness in point of _merit_, they

are apt to overlook that worthy _fitness_, of heart and character and

life, which is necessary for every sincere follower, of Christ. The

proclamations of their own undeservings, and their Saviour’s free love,

are sometimes so loud and frequent, as to lower in their minds the sense

of moral and spiritual obligation, as to make them relax in their duly to

God and man; as if they were privileged to offend, because they extolled

the Saviour, and debased themselves. This is a vain and a fanatical

spirit: Christ alone is worthy to save; but we must endeavour, by His

sanctifying aid, in all things to be made more and more worthy of the

exceeding “riches of His grace.”

2. And, in order to encourage us in the goodly work, the Almighty, whose

happiness is infinite and incapable of increase, graciously represents

Himself as _pleased_, even with our imperfect services: “That ye might

walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.” “Though the heavens are not

pure in His sight,” yet does He condescend to “visit man” with His

favour, and “to regard the son of man,” who serveth Him, with an

approving eye: He is pleased, because it is the fruit of the sinner’s

reconciliation, by the death and sufferings of His beloved Son: for His

sake, even the feeble struggles of the Christian, in the way of duty, if

they be resolute and determined, are an acceptable service; even the

spark of goodness, if it glow with sincerity in the bosom, is honoured

and rewarded.

This is an animating consideration: we observe the effect naturally

produced in the mind of man, even by the approbation of a

fellow-creature, whom he regards as his superior; what holy satisfaction

then, and complacency and delight, may we not derive from the persuasion,

that our humble services are favourably viewed by the all-wise and

almighty God, who recompenses every one according to his work: if God be

pleased, whose displeasure shall we fear? If “God be for us, who shall

be against us?” And O, that we may never forget, that it is one of the

great purposes of the gospel, to render us, infirm and imperfect as we

are, pleasing unto Him, through the merits and intercession of our

Redeemer; by “walking worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called.”

{262}

3. The apostle proceeds, in the text, to open and extend his view of

evangelical righteousness. It consists not in that partial cultivation

of spiritual affections, in that modified selection of particular duties,

with which the christian world is so prone to be content: it obliges the

believer to “be fruitful unto every good work.” This is a point, in

which vast multitudes, in the christian church, lamentably and

notoriously fail; in which many fail, who make a considerable profession

of their zeal for religion; and comply, to a certain degree, with most of

its obligations. There are some pleasures or pursuits, which, though

they do not pretend to reconcile them with the law of God, they still

perseveringly retain. Upon the whole, they professedly adopt the

ordinances and requisitions of the gospel: but there are some more

unpalatable than others; some to which they feel an unconquered

repugnance: and these they leave out of their religious system

altogether; to these they never so much as resolve to conform. And thus,

they fail to manifest, (what is confessedly the most difficult, yet the

most important of all christian attainments,) a surrender of the heart to

God. Their own inclination, their own judgment, and not the divine will,

is the rule and standard of their conduct; and no doubt, if they felt

this strong reluctance to the duties which they do perform, these also

would be equally neglected: in other words, no part of their obedience

rests upon a true foundation: it proceeds not from a sincere belief in

the truth and authority of God’s word. All the injunctions, all the

precepts of the gospel are obligatory alike; all equally declarative of

the divine will, and equally necessary to the spiritual renovation of

man. And those injunctions and precepts, with which we are the least

disposed to comply, do in fact require our peculiar attention and

observance; because they point out to us the natural blemishes, which

stand most in need of repair; because they shew where the greatest danger

lies, of our being deficient in that complete change, of principle and

affection and character, which the infallible word of truth has declared

to be indispensable.

St. James assures us, that “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet

offend in one point, he is guilty of all:” {265} he who reserves to

himself any particular indulgence or pursuit, which is clearly at

variance with the will and word of God, obeys not, in any thing, from a

real christian motive; and shews himself ready, if a sufficient

temptation were offered, to disobey in any and every point. It is true,

that there is no “good work,” which the Christian performs with uniform

unvarying obedience; but neither is there any, in which he does not

sincerely desire and endeavour “to be fruitful;” there is no act of

righteousness, to which he is a stranger; no “besetting sin,” which he is

unwilling or unmindful to cast away: though the good fruit, to his

sorrow, does too frequently fail, after all his unqualified labour; yet

the unprofitable branch is pruned again, and watered by the tears of

repentance, and fructified with the dews of heaven, and bears another

day. He believes, and fears, and “loves the Lord his God with all his

heart and all his soul and all his strength;” and therefore, though there

are many imperfections, there is no reserve in his obedience.

4. The latter clause of the text directs us to a very distinguishing

feature in the christian character: “Increasing in the knowledge of God.”

Knowledge must evidently here be taken, in a larger sense, to signify a

lively comprehension of religious doctrines and duties, a practical

understanding of the will and ways of God. In this knowledge it is

absolutely essential that the true believer should be continually

advancing: the objects of his faith are of such deep and overwhelming

interest, that the longer they are studied and pursued, the more they

will, of necessity, captivate his thoughts and strike root into his

heart: the more he seeks for the treasures in God’s word, the more he

will find: the more he knows of God, the more he will desire and delight

to know: feeling the comfort and happiness of a reconciliation with his

Maker, he is ever anxious to obtain a nearer and holier communion with

Him; sensible of his absolute and entire dependence upon the Redeemer’s

mercy, he is ever leaning upon Him with new satisfaction, with a growing

spirit of confidence and complacency; the more he thinks of heaven, the

more “his affections are set on things above;” the more he thinks of the

wretchedness of the rejected, the further he flies, in terror, from their

dreadful abode. The consequence of all this must be, a progressive

“victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil;” a daily improvement

“in all virtue and godliness of living.”

And there is yet another consideration; as we value and use the gracious

gifts of God, they are increased and multiplied unto us; “whosoever hath,

to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance;” {267} the lamp

shines brighter, that is to guide his feet; and his heart is ever

quickened with fresh energy and zeal, by the influence of the Holy

Spirit; thus he goeth on from grace to grace, from strength to strength,

“from glory to glory.”

The apostle, therefore, in praying that the converts might be increasing

in the knowledge of God, is praying that they might have the invariable

mark and earnest of a sincere and genuine faith. How little does this

point seem to be considered! How many content themselves without any

regular advancement, without any advancement at all; they cannot, after

all the flattery with which they contrive to deceive themselves, be

persuaded in their minds, that they grow decidedly better as they grow

older: a year, perhaps many years ago, they were as religious, as

fruitful in piety and good works, as they are now: no increase of

spiritual knowledge, no new grace, no fresh habit of obedience, no

additional exertions to mark the lapse of time; no passion subdued, no

unholy pursuit abandoned, no vice mortified and forsaken. Wherever this

is the case, the gospel has not been sincerely received into the heart;

it has not been felt as the “power of God unto salvation;” it has not

been, as it is designed to be, an effectual instrument of righteousness

to the soul. To those, who remain in so careless and indifferent and

unimproving a condition, we must say, that “our preaching has been vain,

and their faith is also vain.”

Possibly there may be some amongst us, who never yet bestowed an adequate

attention on this important point; if any such there be, I would urgently

exhort them, as they tender the salvation of their souls, to neglect this

point no longer; deeply to enquire without delay, whether they “are

growing in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus

Christ.” {269} Let them enter with earnestness upon this necessary

consideration; let it be frequently repeated: Is my faith increased and

strengthened? Is my character more holy, my conduct more upright? Does

my temper improve? Are my passions better regulated; my thoughts more

spiritual; my devotions more pure and fervent; my affections more

detached from the world, more fixed on God and heaven? My life and

conversation, are they more accordant with the precepts and the example

of my Saviour?

But the topics of enquiry are too numerous to be mentioned; I will only

add, that the sincere believer sets the “prize of his high calling”

continually before him; and advances to it, in holiness and

righteousness, every day; keeps advancing till his race is run; and thus,

when his toil is over, receives the crown of victory, and “enters into

the joy of his Lord.”

SERMON XV.

THE WORD OF THE LORD PRECIOUS.