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The Parable of the Tares.
MATTHEW xiii. 24-31.
_Another Parable put he forth unto them, saying, the kingdom of
heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field, but
while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and
went his way. But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth
fruit, then appeared the Tares also. So the Servants of the
householder, came and said unto him, sir, didst thou not sow good
seed in thy field, from whence then hath it Tares? And he said unto
them an enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, wilt thou
then we go and gather them up? But he said, nay; lest while ye gather
up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow
together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest, I will
say to the reapers; gather ye together first the Tares, and bind them
in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn._
There was something, in the manner in which our blessed Saviour
taught his hearers, peculiarly pleasing and inimitably beautiful.
Being the great prophet in his church, he reveals unto us the will of
God for our Salvation, not only in a clear, but in the fittest
manner. He spake as never man did, not only as the Religion which he
preached was more heavenly and divine, than the world was ever before
made acquainted with, but as the power and force with which he spake
exceeded all that is human. _And it came to pass when Jesus had ended
these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine. For he
taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes._ His
address was no doubt the perfection of propriety. His words were not
calculated by any splendor to create surprise, but, being well chosen
and plain, were adapted to carry conviction to the conscience, and to
move the heart. He had, as is very apparent and is generally
remarked, an admirable talent at moralizing and spiritualizing upon
incidents and objects around him. And he did it, not with the formal
airs of affectation, or appearing to invite others to take notice of
his superiour sanctity--or to come and see how good he was. It was
perfectly easy for him to converse on divine subjects. Whenever a fit
opportunity or occasion offered to diffuse religious instruction, he
failed not to embrace it. And when he undertook to illustrate any
divine truth or doctrine, he seemed to be at home, and in his
element--about his proper work and business. He showed that he was a
teacher come from God by the heavenly truths which he delivered, as
well as miracles which he wrought. He opened the nature of his
kingdom, and of the Gospel by natural and easy similitudes. His
Parables are well chosen and happily expressed. They will indeed bear
the closest and most critical examination. They have been admired by
the best judges, and will be admired as long as there shall be
genius, learning, or taste in the world.
The greatest scholars have been the most pleased. And, the fact is,
the Religion which he taught would be worthy of the attention of all,
were it considered in no other view than as a friend to peace,
literature, and civil happiness. For it can never long consist with
barbarism and general ignorance among a people. Ignorance is so far
from being the parent of Christian devotion, that when very great, it
totally destroys it. The bitter and implacable foes, therefore, of
the Christian Religion, who with its utter extirpation from the
earth, and exert themselves mightily to accomplish their wish by
impious scoffs and low raillery, will never be able to succeed, till
they have banished learning. There may be superstition, where science
is gone, but no true Religion. And the more ignorant and uninformed a
people, there will superstition reign in horrors proportionally
greater.
The Chapter, out of which our text is taken, is full of the most
judicious and instructive Parables or similitudes.--There is no other
Chapter in the New Testament, so filled up with them; this being
altogether composed of them. It contains eight in number--that of the
Sower and his seed, which our Lord himself at the desire of his
disciples expounds;--that of the Tares, which he likewise
explains;--that of the grain of mustard seed;--that of the leaven put
into meal;--that of the treasure hid in the field;--that of the
merchant-man seeking goodly pearls;--and that of the net which was
cast into the Sea, and gathered of every kind.----Our Saviour
retiring from the house in which he was, went to the side of the Sea
of Tiberias, which lay near his own Country. Great multitudes were
collected about him to hear his doctrine and learn his character.
They pressed so near him, that he thought it most convenient to enter
into a ship, which lay there, that he might be in better
circumstances to address the mixed multitude, which stood on the
shore, and who were all attention to every word which he spake to
them. He, as a wise instructor, adapted his discourse to their
several capacities and employments. Some of them, probably, were
husbandmen, others merchants, and others fishermen. He taught them,
heavenly doctrines, by taking Parables from their respective
occupations, or from those things, with which they could not be but
most intimately and familiarly acquainted.----Parables are
representations or similitudes taken from objects of sense, which are
plain and obvious, to illustrate and impress upon the mind, things
spiritual and divine. And commonly there is one _leading idea,_ which
the speaker or writer has in view, to explain and enforce. The
circumstances in the Parable are to be accommodated to this _one_ or
_principal thought._ If we could rightly understand our Lord's
Parables, we must not lose sight of the remark now made. Infinite
mischief has been done to religion by compelling every small or
minute circumstance of a parable to speak forth a distinct idea, or
doctrine.----
In the subsequent discourse, my intention is to expound the Parable
of the tares, or to make some observations upon it, of a practical
nature, and such as, it is apprehended, are just.
The word _Tares_ signifies any noxious and hurtful weeds or plants,
which spring up among, or mingle with the rich and precious grain,
and not any one particular or distinct weed, or poisonous plant to
the exclusion of all others. All know how detrimental to the Crop
such weeds or poisonous plants are. They take away nourishment from
the precious grain, and render it less vigorous while it grows. They
diminish the harvest in proportion to their number and strength.
Accordingly they are a nuisance in the field, grieve the heart, and
in the same measure as they prevail, cut off the hopes of the
husbandman. And the more fertile the soil, the more luxuriant will be
their growth. They make the labour, which hath been bestowed upon the
field, of none effect. And it is always with deep regret, that man
beholds lost labour, or unsucceeded exertions.
In the Parable of the Tares now before us, we have several truths of
very great importance to us both as individuals, and as collected
into a Church-State, as minister and people, speaker and hearer.----
_In the first place,_ in the kingdom of heaven, in this Parable, is
the Gospel preached, or the dispensation of the doctrines of
Religion.--The state of things under the Gospel is very often, in the
stile of our Lord, called his kingdom, or the kingdom of heaven, it
is presumed no arguments will be needful to prove that the kingdom of
heaven here means the State of things under the Gospel-dispensation.
This, it is well known, is the common meaning of the expression. In
the primitive Apostolic times Christianity had two names of nearly
the same import, _the kingdom of God--and the kingdom of heaven._
These two phrases were brought into common use by John the Baptist,
who came to introduce the Messiah, under the signature, _of the voice
of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord.--In
those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of
Judea, and saying, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand._
He took the phrase from the following passage in the prophesy of
Daniel. _And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set
up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall
not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces, and
consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever._ There is an
obvious propriety in calling the State of things under the
Gospel-dispensation _the kingdom of God._ It is from him as the
original source. It aims at his glory ultimately in all its parts.
When finished, it will be given up to him, and HE will be all and in
all. He, from all Eternity by his unsearchable wisdom, devised the
illustrious plan of salvation which it contains. He from motives of
overflowing goodness reveals it. He by his power will make it
successful. His son, the Messiah, is the prime Minister in it. His
spirit sanctifies, and gathers subjects into it.--_Inward Religion_
is also happily described by the name of the _kingdom of God._ It is
God's kingdom in the soul: is heavenly in its nature: is heavenly in
its tendency--and will issue in all the riches of heavenly glory. It
comes down from God, in a very important sense, for it is the wisdom
that is from above; and is therefore a divine principle, and when
completed, it will terminate in God, in the enjoyment and beatific
vision of him, who is the sum of all existence and blessedness.
_The sower of the seed_ is our Lord himself, and those, who are in
all the ages of his Religion or Gospel kingdom, commissioned and
employed by him. _The seed sowed_ is the word of the kingdom. During
our Saviour's personal Ministry, he was assiduous and active in his
divine work, patient and persevering under all discouragements and
want of success. Herein he was a perfect pattern to all the servants
of his household, who are called to minister in holy things, or to
sow the seed of the word. That he has ministering servants, and that
it is his will there should be, to sow the seed of the word, and to
dispense holy ordinances, is as plain as any one principle of his
Religion, and cannot be disputed by any, if they would be
self-consistent, who seriously believe in divine Revelation. While
our Lord was performing his own personal Ministry, he met with great
and unjust opposition. He was reviled and abused by those, whom he
came to save, whose good he sought with attentive care, and to whom
he displayed all the sweetness of a tender and benevolent mind. Very
often, indeed, he saw the seed sowed without the desired fruit, and
all his exertions to render man happy, repaid with cruel ingratitude.
But he went on with his work, as a divine Teacher, with a fortitude,
which we cannot help admiring, and which ought to be continually in
our eye, as an object of imitation.--_He that soweth the good seed is
the son of man._
_In the next place,_ another observation upon the Parable of the
Tares, is that we can have no PURE CHURCH on Earth. It is not
necessary for a Church, in order to be the true Church of Christ, to
be _pure._ If so, we could never have a true Church, for there never
was a _pure_ one yet, nor ever will be, as long as man is imperfect
and unable to lift up the veil, and see what is in the heart,
infallibly. There will always be Tares among the wheat, false among
true professors--the hypocritical among the sincere, the vile with
the precious. The field where the seed is sowed is the world: the
good seed are the Children of the kingdom, but the Tares are then
Children of the wicked one. By a _pure_ Church is meant a collection
of real Saints without one hypocrite, or false-hearted professor. The
invisible Church which Christ, at the last day, will present in
triumph to his Father, will be _pure_ or spotless, in the highest
sense; there will be no hypocrites in it, or any remains of sin.
Speaking of this true invisible Church, says the Apostle, _that he
might sanctify and cleanse it, with the washing of water by the word,
that he might present it, unto himself a glorious Church, not having
spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and
without blemish._ Nothing unclean or impure can be admitted into the
New-Jerusalem or Church of the first born, whose names are written in
the Lamb's book of life. _And there shall in no wise enter into it
any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or
maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of
life._ An unanswerable proof against the notion of a _pure_
Church, is that none can know the heart. It is deceitful above all
things and desperately wicked, who can know it? It is one of the
prerogatives of the omniscient God to look into the hidden mysteries
of the heart. Before him all things are open. The darkness and the
light are both alike with him. His eye pervades the whole immensity
of space. It can penetrate the thickest veil of hypocrisy. No fair
disguises can screen us from his all-seeing view. _All the ways of a
man are right in his own eyes, but the Lord weigheth the spirits._ He
searches the heart, and tries the reins of the Children of men.
Before we can have a _pure_ Church, we must not only know our own
hearts, so as never to be deceived or mistaken about them; but we
must likewise know the hearts of others. But the Psalmist exclaims,
_who can know his errors, cleanse thou me from secret faults._ And he
prefers to his Maker the following petition: _Search, me O God, and
know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts. And see if there be any
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting._ In order to
have a _pure_ Church, those who admit persons to Church order and
privileges, must have the power of _discerning spirits,_ or they
cannot shut the door against hypocrites and deceivers. But this power
none have. It was peculiar to the Apostles, and to them only upon
some special occasions. For Peter when he baptized Simon the
Sorcerer, believed him to be sincere. He knew not the baseness and
perfidy of his heart. None of the Apostolic Churches were _pure_ in
the sense now under consideration, designing and hollow-hearted men
there always will be, among the sincere, as a trial of their
graces--of their faith, patience, and meekness. There was a Judas
among the Apostles. One traitor was found even in our Lord's own
select family. He professed no doubt, as much zeal and love to his
Master, as the rest of the disciples. His other fellow disciples, who
were with him all the time, never once suspected his sincerity. So
artfully did he assume the appearance of a friend to the cause, in
which they were all embarked. But yet he was all the while insincere.
He became an Apostate from the truth, and betrayed his Master with
the token of friendship. His name is odious. And has come down to us,
loaded with infamy. And it will still descend as an epithet of the
most finished treachery.
How unreasonable then to look for perfection in any, or a _pure_
Church! Untold mischief has been done to Religion by the pretenders
to a _pure_ Church. They usually divide and break up the peace of
Churches. Censoriousness occupies the place of Charity. Meekness,
humility, condescension, and brotherly love fall before a mad and
intemperate zeal, self-confidence, ignorance, and high pretensions to
superior sanctity.
Though no _pure_ Church is to be seen on earth, and the idea of it,
be a vain and delusive one, yet all the real friends of the Gospel
ought to strive to have the greatest purity in doctrines--in
worship--in discipline, in ordinances, and conduct. That Church is
the purest, which is the most scriptural in its doctrines, ordinances
and worship, discipline, and manners. Churches should take the
greatest care to be built upon the only foundation, the order and
faith of the Gospel, rejecting all human inventions and traditions,
having the word of God for their only rule of faith and practice.
How happy would it be, if we have no Tares to defile and dishonour
the cause of God, and to injure the precious grain! They often spring
up, where good seed had been sown and where least expected. Every
thing on earth is changing. Misfortunes and evils arise from
quarters, where comfort and happiness were most looked for. While we
deplore the mutability of all human things, we may learn the most
useful lessons; and one of the most useful is the folly of trusting
our own hearts, or the stability of others. Tares are sowed in the
field. _In the parable of the sower,_ the seed means the doctrines of
the Gospel. _In the Parable of the Tares,_ the seed sown seems to
mean pious and upright members of the Gospel-kingdom; or _secondly,_
truth, as truth is instrumental in saving and enlightening the soul.
The _Tares,_ mean then, not hypocrites only, but errors, heresies,
and divisions among the professing people of God. One of the clearest
proofs of human depravity is the proneness of man to wander into the
wilderness of error and delusion. Though conscience and reason be on
the side of what is right and just in doctrine and practice, yet the
corrupt passions or evil dispositions of the heart lead to all that
is wrong. The good man drops tears of grief over abounding errors and
immoralities--the want of union, of charity--of peace in the Church
of God. We do not see eye to eye. Before there will be a full
uniformity of opinions on the doctrines of Religion, we must wait
till the openings of celestial day, when that which is in part shall
be done away, and that which is perfect is come. But it is
exceedingly comfortable to think, however many tares there are in the
Church here below, there will be none in the Church above in heaven.
No enemy will gain entrance there, to sow them. In the Church
triumphant will be no tares, or errors, or evils. In its harmony
there will be no interruption. In its doctrines, no dissent. In its
worship no coldness. And in its peace no end. But here in the Church
militant, there will be hatred, variance, strife, hypocrisy, and
errors. Tares will infest the field. And it is worthy of particular
notice, they are always sowed by an enemy, open or concealed. _But
while men slept, his enemy came and sowed Tares among the wheat, and
went his way. The enemy that sowed them,_ says our Saviour, is the
Devil: He does it by his agents. In the original it is an _envious
man_: one who hates Religion; and the order and peace, purity and
harmony of the Church; one who hates Christ and his ordinances and
doctrines, and wishes to make mischief and spread confusion. _The
enemy comes into the field_ and is active and zealous to _sow Tares,_
what may corrupt and poison, the grain, or hurt the harvest. _The
enemy_ is sly and concealed in doing his mischief--he came in the
night, _while men slept, sowed his Tares, and went away._ The
servants are astonished when, in process of time, they discover the
evil. _But when the blade sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then
appeared the Tares also._ In nature's soil evil seed soon springs up.
And so it does when sown in the garden of the Lord.--False doctrines
or errors soon spread, being agreeable to the vicious inclinations of
the heart.--Often what is most pleasing and promising at first turns
out, to our great mortification, far otherwise. When we hoped for a
plentiful harvest, and the ground was highly cultivated, _tares
appeared also._ This teaches us to rest our hope in him, who changes
not; and whose favour is life. How artful is the enemy of our souls,
and of the peace and welfare of the Gospel-kingdom! He is full of
devices--of subtle devices. And his instruments and agent to carry on
his designs, are usually chosen with skill.
_In the third place,_ We notice in this parable of the Tares, the
great tenderness and care of the Householder for the precious grain.
A rash proposal was made by his servants to go and gather up the
Tares. They were honest in this proposal, and doubtless viewed it
best to root out the Tares immediately. But though the proposal were
well meant, yet it was mis-timed. We admire the honesty and
faithfulness of the servants. But they could not perform what they
were willing to undertake. It is impossible to keep hypocrites, false
professors, pretended friends, errors and heresies--delusions and
false religions, visions and impulses from mingling with the Children
of the kingdom, or to prevent the tares from being among the wheat.
_So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir,
didst thou not sow good seed in thy field, from whence hath it Tares?
He said unto them an enemy hath done this. The servants said unto
him, wilt thou, then, that we go and gather them up? But he said,
nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat
with them._ Thus wonderful is the tenderness of Christ for the pious
and upright. He dearly values his friends and the truth. He will
preserve and bless them, and in due time own it. He always had his
Church in the world, and always will have. The gates of hell shall
not prevail against it--No antient or modern heresy or superstition
shall destroy it. They may injure it. They may exceedingly distress
and persecute it. But no weapon formed against Zion however much at
present it may, shall eventually prosper. There is no enchantment
against Israel, or divination against Jacob. Error may come in like a
flood--the love of many may wax cold, and infidelity may diffuse, far
and wide, its poison.--But the cause of God will live and remain, in
spite of all persecution or opposition from Earth or hell. The wheat
must not be rooted up. Jesus Christ will protect and defend his true
Church, in the darkest times. If tares be sown while men sleep, they
shall not be permitted to destroy the valuable grain. "While
Ministers, while Magistrates, while Parents," says one, "sleep, the
enemy sows tares."
_In the fourth place,_ another observation which I shall make upon
the Parable before us, is that a period of separation between _the
tares and the wheat_ is fixed by our Lord. Here he gives to all his
people, in all ages and places, most needful and excellent
instruction and counsel, in their Church state. A rule is here laid
before them of prudence, meekness, and wisdom. No rash expedients
have his countenance. No undue severity is admissible by him. As he
was all meekness and benevolence himself, so he presses, with all the
weight of his authority and ardour of persuasion, the same temper
upon all his disciples. They are to be meek and lowly in heart as he
was. _Judge not,_ says he, _that ye be not judged._--Be more ready to
take the beam out of your own eye, than the mote out of your
neighbour's eye. Let a bitter censorious spirit never be exercised.
Condescension, forbearance, humility and meekness are the temper of
the Gospel. But we are not to be indifferent about truth, and duty.
We are to _hold fast_ the form of _sound words,_ the Apostles'
doctrines;--and to _contend earnestly_ for the faith once delivered
to the Saints:--to be firm and courageous in our Lord's work. But we
are not to go and gather up the tares to the danger of the
wheat--both must stand till the harvest. A day is appointed, in which
exact justice shall be distributed, and a perfect discrimination will
be made of characters and principles. The day is that of the harvest.
And the harvest is the end of the world. _Let both grow together
until the harvest. And in the time of the harvest I will say to the
reapers, gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles
to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. The harvest is the
end of the world: the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares
are gathered and burnt in the fire: so shall it be in the end of the
world. The son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall
gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do
iniquity! and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, there shall be
wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father._ There is an inimitable
beauty and grandeur in this account of the end of the righteous and
wicked, in the day of judgment.
Our blessed Saviour, so much disregarded by impious men--some denying
his divinity--some his humanity--some his doctrines--some his
spirit--and some his ordinances, will preside in that awful
solemnity. Angels will be his attendants. They will be employed as
agents in carrying on the important transactions of that day. The
judge will appear in all the majesty of God. For he will come in the
glory of his Father, with the holy angels. All things will be brought
to light. The hidden things of dishonesty will be in open day. Such
forms of guilt will be revealed, as shall strike horror into the
mind. Clouded characters will clear up. The rotten hearts of false
professors will be seen--Errors will be unmasked--and all characters
pass in review. A full and perfect separation will be made by him
whose eyes are as a flame of fire. We cannot make the separation
between the tares and the wheat. It must be left with him, who is the
head of the Church, to dispose of all, according to their works.--And
he shall render unto every man according to his works.----
_The last observation_ to be made on this Parable, is the different
fate of the _tares and wheat_; the righteous and wicked. Truth and
duty will be at last triumphant, and honoured with a glorious reward.
Error and all evil will be frowned upon and rejected. Nothing but
Virtue will, in the final result of things, be recompensed. All vice,
in all its multiplied forms, will be condemned. With the wicked there
shall be weeping and wailing forever. They must be cast into a
furnace of fire. They will be rendered as miserable as they have made
themselves sinful. The more vile the more miserable. The greater
their turpitude of heart and the more their sins of life, the heavier
will be their condemnation. All things that offend, and that work
iniquity shall be gathered out of the kingdom of Christ. The angels
will be honoured with the office of making the final separation. And
the righteous will be rewarded forever, and the wicked will be
punished forever. Our Lord solemnly affirms this. And we may believe
him with all possible safety. The wheat shall be gathered into the
barn, and the tares be burnt with fire--be always miserable. _The son
of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his
kingdom ALL THINGS THAT OFFEND, and which do iniquity and shall cast
them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of
teeth_--strong expressions to denote remorse and anguish. _Then shall
the righteous shine forever as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father._ That there will be as wide a difference in the situation of
persons, in another world, as there is in their moral characters in
this, is altogether consonant to the dictates of sober reason, and is
clearly affirmed in the following words, _Whose fan is in his hand,
and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into his
garner. But he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire._ If
such language as this can be explained away, so as to get rid of the
doctrine of the perpetuity of future misery; any could, which might
be used. Besides, it is perfectly consistent with reason, that a
discrimination should be eternally made, between Virtue and Vice,
right and wrong, between the precious and vile. If there should not,
it would infringe upon all our ideas of justice. It is, of course,
unreasonable to imagine there will not be such a discrimination. The
judge of all the earth will do, all that is right to be done; and
nothing but what is so. The wicked, therefore, will go away into
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.--Can any
thing be more absurd in itself, or contrary to reason and nature, or
repugnant to revelation, in its whole drift, than to suppose no
difference will be made by the Lord of the Universe, between the
_tares and the wheat_--that both will be gathered into one place--and
no separation be made.--Certainly there is not. How unaccountable is
it, that any, while they hold to the divinity of the scriptures,
should affect to believe that all the human race, the wicked as well
as the righteous, are at last to be admitted to the joys of a
blissful immortality?--After persons have cast off a belief of the
scripture, we are not to be surprised that they should embrace any
error--or even deny a future state of rewards and punishment, and
adopt, as one article of their Creed, the mortality of the soul. For
when persons leave the plain truths and principles of the Gospel,
they are on dangerous ground, and no conjecture can be made, how far
they may be permitted to proceed in delusion, and vain imaginations,
in error and vice--they may not stop till they have landed in
absolute scepticism--or atheism. Hence we are exhorted to be
_steadfast_--to be _immovable_--to _abound_ in the work of the Lord.
Hence too we are cautioned against instability of principle--_Meddle
not with them that are given to change._
Having made the observations upon the Parable of the tares, which
seemed to be naturally suggested from it, it remains only to close
the discourse, with some practical improvement.
And our subject may very properly put us upon a close and impartial
examination of our hearts and ways, that we may know to our
satisfaction, whether we may rank in the number of the Children of
the kingdom, the precious grain. The field is the world: the good
seed are the Children of the kingdom, belong to Christ's kingdom on
earth, and are heirs of his kingdom of glory, but the tares are the
Children of the wicked one. In all our inquiries into the state and
temper of our hearts, we are carefully to guard against
self-flattery. Man loves to think well of himself, and ill of others.
In general, he is confident that he is right in principles and
conduct, and that others, who differ from him, are wrong. Pride,
self-will, and sinister motives have too much influence over all,
both in forming their principles, and regulating their conduct. A
fair outside, and a specious appearance catch many, who have not
patience to investigate truth and duty, or discernment to descry
danger, or to detect the insidious arts of the designing. _He saith
unto them an enemy hath done this._ We are to be upon our guard, lest
we be led away by the enemy of our souls, and to see that we be true,
sincere, and upright--that we act upon pure and worthy motives--that
we keep near to the Saviour of the world in duty--that we abide in
his doctrines--that we live up to his laws, then shall we have the
comforts of his spirit, and at last, the rewards of faithful
followers will be conferred upon us.--What great tenderness has he
for all his true followers, the Children of the kingdom. Whatever
evils are permitted to happen, he will watch and guard them--will
protect them in the midst of all dangers, however alarming, and
support them in the darkest hours. He has an eye to pity them, and an
arm to save them. He is the good shepherd that giveth his life for
the sheep. And his sheep know his voice, and a stranger they will not
follow.----
2ndly. We learn from what hath been said, how restless and uneasy the
enemy of God and man is, except he be plotting evil. _The tares are
the Children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the
Devil._ He is a roaring Lion going about seeking whom he may devour.
His devices are as subtle as numerous. Concealed and out of sight, he
employs his cunning to ensnare and beguile souls--to ruin the
incautious--to sow tares, errors and heresies, false principles and
divisions. _And while men slept, his enemy came, and sowed tares
among the wheat, and went his way._ He is ever active to do all the
mischief, in his power, to the truth, to religion, and to the cause
of God. His policy is deep laid. The factors or agents whom he
employs, are commonly selected with great skill. He is a liar from
the beginning; and his attacks are generally begun with
misrepresenting the truth, and varnishing over error. His kingdom,
indeed, has always been supported, in the world, by delusion and
Idolatry--BY IMPULSES, or SUPPOSED DIVINE IMPRESSIONS upon the soul;
changing himself into an angel of light, is of all others, his most
subtle device, and the most successful. People are usually seduced
from the right ways of the Lord, by being made to believe, either by
corrupt writings, or by artful deceivers, that error is truth--that
superstition is real piety, and enthusiasm a more spiritual way of
serving God.--In days of prevailing error and irreligion it is a rich
consolation to the serious mind, that God reigns: that the enemy of
souls can carry his corrupt designs against piety and Virtue, no
further than he is permitted. The wrath of man shall praise God, and
the remainder thereof he will restrain. Wise ends are to be answered
in all events that take place, in divine Providence. While it is our
duty to bewail the evils we behold, our vigilance, and prayerful
exertions should be awakened, lest we be led away with the error of
the wicked.--
To conclude all, Let us be persuaded to make it our chief concern in
life to practise all the great and interesting duties of
Religion:--to avoid all vicious and evil courses:--to be preserved
from errors:--to cultivate the benevolence and Charity of the
Gospel:--to be stedfast in our adherence to him, who died for
us:--and to abound in the work of the Lord, that so we may be the
Children of the kingdom, and with the righteous shine forth as the
Sun in the kingdom of our heavenly Father.--