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THE
WORKS
OF
RICHARD HURD, D.D.
LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER.
VOL. VII.
Printed by J. Nichols and Son,
Red Lion Passage, Fleet Street, London.
THE
WORKS
OF
RICHARD HURD, D.D.
LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER.
IN EIGHT VOLUMES.
VOL. VII.
[Illustration]
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR T. CADELL AND W. DAVIES, STRAND.
1811.
THEOLOGICAL WORKS.
VOL. III.
SERMONS
PREACHED AT
LINCOLN’S-INN,
BETWEEN THE YEARS 1765 AND 1776:
WITH
A LARGER DISCOURSE,
ON
CHRIST’S DRIVING THE MERCHANTS
OUT OF THE TEMPLE;
IN WHICH THE NATURE AND END OF THAT FAMOUS
TRANSACTION IS EXPLAINED.
SATIS ME VIXISSE ARBITRABOR, ET OFFICIUM
HOMINIS IMPLESSE, SI LABOR MEUS ALIQUOS
HOMINES, AB ERRORIBUS LIBERATOS, AD ITER
CŒLESTE DIREXERIT.
LACTANTIUS.
CONTENTS
OF
THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
SERMON XXIX. Preached March 21, 1773.
ACTS xxiv. 24, 25.
_After certain days, when Felix came with his
wife Drusilla, which was a Jew, he sent
for Paul, and heard him concerning the
faith of Christ. And, as he reasoned of
righteousness, temperance, and judgment to
come, Felix trembled, and answered_, GO
THY WAY FOR THIS TIME, WHEN I HAVE A
CONVENIENT SEASON, I WILL CALL FOR
THEE. 1
SERMON XXX. Preached Dec. 19, 1773.
1 JOHN v. 11.
_And this is the record, that God hath given to
us eternal life; and_ THIS LIFE IS IN HIS
SON. 18
SERMON XXXI. Preached June 12, 1774.
GAL. vi. 8.
_He that soweth to the Spirit, shall_ OF THE
SPIRIT REAP LIFE EVERLASTING. 32
SERMON XXXII. Preached June 19, 1774.
2 COR. vii. 1.
_Having therefore these promises (dearly beloved)
let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness
in the fear of God._ 46
SERMON XXXIII. Preached April 28, 1776.
1 TIM. iii. 16.
_Without controversy great is the mystery of
godliness: God was manifest in the flesh;
justified in the spirit; seen of Angels;
preached to the Gentiles; believed on in the
world; received up into glory._ 62
SERMON XXXIV. Preached May 19, 1776.
ISAIAH l. 11.
_Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass
yourselves about with sparks; Walk in the
light of your fire, and in the sparks which
ye have kindled: This shall ye have of my
hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow._ 77
SERMON XXXV. Preached Nov. 15, 1767.
2 COR. iv. 3.
_If our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that
are lost._ 95
SERMON XXXVI. Preached Nov. 13, 1774.
1 PETER iii. 15.
_—Be ready always to give an answer to every
man that asketh you a reason of the hope
that is in you, with meekness and fear._ 110
SERMON XXXVII. Preached Feb. 4, 1770.
JOHN vii. 46.
_Never man spake like this man._ 124
SERMON XXXVIII. Preached Nov. 20, 1774.
MATTH. xiii. 10.
_The Disciples came, and said unto him, Why
speakest Thou to them in Parables?_ 143
SERMON XXXIX. Preached Nov. 27, 1774.
MATTH. xiii. 58.
_And he did not many mighty works there, because
of their unbelief._ 159
SERMON XL. Preached May 23, 1773.
2 COR. iv. 5.
_We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the
Lord._ 176
SERMON XLI. Preached. Dec. 15, 1771.
MATTH. xi. 5.
_The Poor have the Gospel preached unto
them._ 193
SERMON XLII. Preached Jan. 24, 1773.
JOHN xiv. 2.
_In my Father’s house are many mansions: if
it were not so, I would have told you._ 210
SERMON XLIII. Preached May 5, 1776.
JOHN xvi. 12, 13.
_I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye
cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he,
the Spirit of truth, shall come, he will guide
you into all truth: for he shall not speak
of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear,
that shall he speak: and he will shew you
things to come._ 222
SERMON XLIV. Preached May 29, 1774. T.S.
ACTS i. 11.
_Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up
into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken
up from you, shall so come, in like manner
as ye have seen him go into heaven._ 237
SERMON XLV. Preached June 23, 1776.
St. MATTH. xiii. 55, 56.
_Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his
mother called Mary? And his brethren,
James and Joses and Simon and Judas?
And his sisters, are not they all with us?
Whence then hath this man all these things?
And they were offended in him._ 253
SERMON XLVI. Preached Feb. 4, 1776.
JAMES iv. 7.
_Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you._ 267
SERMON XLVII. Preached March 29, 1772.
PROV. xvi. 6.
_By the fear of the Lord men depart from
evil._ 283
SERMON XLVIII. Preached May 31, 1772.
1 COR. vi. 12.
_All things are lawful unto, me; but all things
are not expedient: All things are lawful for
me; but I will not be brought under the
power of any._ 296
SERMON XLIX. Preached July 5, 1772.
MATTH. v. 38, 39, 40, 41.
_Ye have heared that it hath been said, an eye
for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I
say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but
whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,
turn to him the other also: And, if any
man will sue thee at the law, and take away
thy coat, let him have thy cloak also: And
whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile,
go with him twain._ 310
SERMON L. Preached May 14, 1775.
LUKE ix. 26.
_Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my
words, of him shall the Son of man be
ashamed, when he shall come in his own
glory and in his Father’s, and of the holy
Angels._ 327
SERMON LI. Preached May 21, 1775.
LUKE ix. 26.
_Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my
words, of him shall the Son of man be
ashamed, when he shall come in his own
glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy
Angels._ 341
SERMON LII. Preached Jan. 29, 1775.
St. MATTH. xvi. 18.
_I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my Church; and the
gates of Hell shall not prevail against it._ 354
SERMON LIII. Preached Feb. 5, 1775.
St. MATTH. xvi. 18.
_And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter,
and upon this rock will I build my Church,
and the gates of Hell shall not prevail
against it._ 367
A LARGER DISCOURSE, _by way of Commentary,
on that remarkable Part of the Gospel-history,
in which Jesus is represented, as
driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the
Temple_[1]. 383
SERMON XXIX.
PREACHED MARCH 21, 1773.
ACTS xxiv. 24, 25.
_After certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a
Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith of Christ.
And, as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,
Felix trembled, and answered_, GO THY WAY FOR THIS TIME; WHEN I HAVE A
CONVENIENT SEASON, I WILL CALL FOR THEE.
This Felix, whose name is become so memorable in the Christian church,
had been made Procurator of Judæa by the Emperor Claudius, and continued
in that government during the six or seven first years of Nero: when
he was recalled to answer for his oppressive administration before the
emperor; who, we are told, would have punished him, according to his
deserts, but for the interposition of Pallas, at that time Nero’s chief
minister.
He was, indeed, in all respects a very corrupt and profligate man, as
appears from the testimony of Tacitus[2] and Josephus[3]; from whom we
learn, that he was more especially addicted to the vices of _lust and
cruelty_; both which he exercised in the most audacious manner; vexing
the people with all sorts of oppression, and rioting in his excesses,
without restraint. Drusilla, too, is represented to us in a light, not
much more favourable. For, though a Jewess, and the wife of another man,
she had contracted a marriage, or rather lived in adultery with this
pagan governor of Judæa; transgressing at once both a moral and positive
law of her religion, for the sake of ascending to that honour.
One would wonder how persons of this character should have any curiosity
to _hear Paul concerning the faith of Christ_. And, without doubt,
they had no serious desire of information. It is likely they proposed
to themselves some entertainment from questioning the prisoner; and the
presence of Drusilla makes it credible that the entertainment was chiefly
designed for _her_; who might be a bigot to her religion, though she
scorned to live up to it; and therefore wanted, we may suppose, to insult
Jesus in the person of his disciple.
However, let their purpose be what it would, such were FELIX and
DRUSILLA, before whom Paul _reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and a
judgment to come_.
Paul was not in the number of those complaisant preachers, who take a
text, in which their hearers have no concern. He had to do with persons,
who bade defiance to religion in all its forms; and his subject was well
suited to the occasion. They expected an amusing tale of Jesus Christ:
but the Apostle, who knew how unworthy they were of being instructed in
the faith, as not yet possessing the fist principles of morals, took up
the matter a great deal higher; and, discoursing to them on the natural
duties of justice and temperance, which they had grossly violated, and
on the natural doctrine of a judgment to come, which they had never
believed or respected, gave them to understand, that they had much to
learn, or practise at least, before they were fit hearers of what he had
further to say concerning the Christian revelation.
Being taken at this advantage, we may easily conceive their surprise and
disappointment: and, as the speaker knew how to give an energy to his
discourse on these interesting topics, we cannot wonder, that one or both
of them should be much discomposed by it. Of Drusilla the sacred text
says nothing: she was, perhaps, the more skilful dissembler of the two;
or her rage and indignation might, for the moment, get the better of her
fears: but Felix had not the address, or the fortune, to disguise his
feelings; he _trembled_ before this plain, intrepid speaker.
This event is instructive, indeed, as it sets before us the power of
conscience over the worst of men; and, at the same time, the meanness
of guilt, which, in such place and dignity, could not help shrinking at
the voice of truth, though speaking by the mouth of a poor dependant
prisoner. But when we have made the proper use of these reflexions, on
the case of Felix, we shall find a still more instructive lesson in _the
subsequent conduct of this affrighted sinner_.
When the fit of trembling came upon him, he said hastily to the preacher:
_Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call
for thee._
How striking a picture of that fatal disposition which men have to put
off repentance, even under the fullest conviction of guilt; and that too,
on the most frivolous pretences! What Felix should have done instantly,
when his conscience was so much alarmed, he omits to do: _Go thy way for
this time_: and yet, to quiet that conscience, he would not be thought to
lay aside all purpose of reformation: _When I have a convenient season, I
will call for thee._
With this famous example in my eye, I shall attempt to shew in the
following discourse: 1. _That_ PROCRASTINATION _is the usual support of
vice_: 2. _That false reasoning_, or, what we may call, _the_ SOPHISTRY
OF VICE, _is the great support of procrastination_: 3. That a FINAL
IMPENITENCE is the too common effect of this pernicious confederacy. And
I. PROCRASTINATION is the main support of vice; the favourite stratagem,
by which the grand deceiver himself ensnares the souls of men, and
maintains his empire over them.
There are few persons so desperately wicked but they resolve, secretly
at least, and in their own minds, to amend their bad lives, at some time
or other. But that time is rarely the present. They have other business
in hand: some scheme of interest to manage, some project of ambition to
pursue, some intrigue of pleasure to accomplish; in short, some darling
sin or other to gratify, before they can be at leisure to execute this
intended work of reformation.
Nay, there are seasons of recollection, in which the memory of their past
lives afflicts and torments them; there are hours of melancholy, or ill
health, in which the necessity of repentance seems pressing and instant;
there are certain moments of terror, in which the final resolution is on
the point of being taken: yet still, this delusive idea of _to-morrow_
steps in: the memory, the necessity, the terror, are over-ruled: the
ungrateful task is, for the present, deferred; to-morrow laid aside, and
the next day forgotten.
This was the case of Felix in the text. When bad men are clothed with
power, it is not easy for truth of any kind, especially for moral truth,
to gain access to them. Yet it made its way to this potent governor,
and with a force which nothing could resist. It borrowed the thunder of
Paul’s rhetoric to speak home and loudly to his affrighted conscience.
It shook his guilty mind with the sense of his crimes, his incontinence
and injustice, his riot and rapine, his lust and cruelty; and still more,
with the apprehension of _a judgment to come_, armed with terror, and
ready to take vengeance of his multiplied iniquities.
You expect now, that, in this agony, he should take the part, which duty
and prudence, his conviction and his fears, equally recommended to him.
You expect, that he should apply to his instructor, who had raised this
storm, to compose it; and that, leaving his chair of state, he should
spring forth and accost his prisoner, as the honest jaylor at Philippi
had done, on a similar occasion: _What must I do to be saved[4]?_ But,
no; it was not yet convenient to put that question. His pleasures, his
fortune, his ambition, might be endangered by it. It was not the moment
to take this decisive step. Better to think twice of it, and dismiss the
preacher _for this time_.
And is there nothing in this case which we may apply to ourselves? Is
there none here, whom the free remonstrance of a friend, an unexpected
sentence in a moral writer, the admonition of a preacher, and, above
all, the _word of God_, hath, at any time, awakened to a lively sense
of his condition? A reproof from one or other of these sometimes falls
in so exactly with a man’s own case, and goes so directly to the heart,
that he is more than commonly disturbed and confounded by it. It flashes
such conviction on the mind, and shews the sinner to himself in so just
a light, that he stands aghast at the deformity of his conduct, and at
the peril of it. In the agitation of this distress, he half resolves to
repent: nay, he strives for a moment to enforce this good resolution:
when, let but that dæmon, which every sinner carries about with him,
whisper the word, _to-morrow_, and his conscience revives, his fears
disperse, and this precious opportunity is lost, though at the hazard of
never returning any more.
Not that he permits this idle insinuation to banish all thoughts of
future repentance, or to prevail with him, for the present, in its true
and proper form: No: to be thus far the dupe of his own folly, would
disgrace him too much, and expose his prevarication too plainly: if it
pass upon him, it shall be under the mask of wisdom. He turns sophister
then in his own defence, and is easily convinced, “That his conduct is
not altogether absurd or unreasonable.”
And thus, as I proposed to shew,
II. In the next place, this fatal procrastination, which supports vice,
is itself supported by a READY AND CONVENIENT SOPHISTRY.
The case of Felix will again illustrate this second observation; and shew
us the whole process of that preverted ingenuity, by which the credulous
mind is made easy under its delusion.
He thought it not sufficient to say to Paul; _Go thy way for this time_.
This abrupt dismission of the preacher was to be justified, in some sort,
to himself, and to those who were witnesses of his consternation. He
covers it, then, with this pretence; _When I have a convenient season, I
will call for thee_.
The TIME, it seems, was not proper for his immediate conversion. To
become a penitent just then; on the instant; to be surprised into a good
life, had the appearance of too much facility and inconsideration. He
must take a space to reflect on the grounds and reasons of what had been
offered to him. He had, besides, other affairs, which pressed upon him at
this moment: or, if not, to deliberate on the matter, would render his
conversion more solemn and effectual.
The PLACE, too, we may believe, was as little suited, as the time,
to this business. “What! in a public apartment of his palace! in the
presence of Drusilla, whose tenderest interests were concerned in the
case, and whose delicacy required managing! before his pagan courtiers,
and many, we may suppose, of his Jewish subjects, who would be equally
scandalized at this precipitate conversion of their master and governor!”
These, and other pretences of the like sort, without doubt, occurred to
him: and on the strength of these he concludes his procrastination to be
fit, and decent, and justifiable, in a good degree, on the principles of
virtue and prudence.
“But why, unhappy man (if one may presume to expostulate the case with
thee) why this hasty and unweighed conclusion? Could there be any time
more convenient for thy conversion, or any place more suitable, if thou
wert in earnest to be converted?
Wast thou ever so prepared for this change as now? Was thy mind ever so
convinced, or thy heart so affected? Didst thou ever hear and _tremble_
till this day, and wilt thou expect such a miracle a second time? Can thy
bad life be reformed too soon, or can it need an afterthought to justify
such reformation? Can any other business come in competition with this?
and can it deserve the name of weakness and surprise to give way to the
powerful workings of thy own conscience? In a doubtful case, it may be
well to deliberate: but can it be a secret even to thyself, that nothing
is questionable here, but thy sincerity?
For what, let me ask, is that _convenient season_, which flatters thy
present irresolution? Wilt thou find such a monitor, as Paul, in thy
dependants? Will thy tax-gatherers preach _righteousness_ to thee, and
thy centurions, _temperance_? or, thy philosophers (if, perhaps, thou
hast of these about thee, to grace thy provincial pomp) will they reason
with thee, on a _judgment to come_?
But the PLACE is unfit; and thou wilt send for Paul to confer in private
with thee.
Wast thou then afraid to expose thy honour by this step? And did it seem
too much to give to God and truth, the glory of thy conversion? True
penitence knows nothing of these punctilios. The example had edified
thy unbelieving court; and might have had its effect on the insensible
Drusilla. Thy injustice and incontinence had been open to all men. Was it
not fit thou shouldst atone for this scandal by as public a reformation?
Yet still thy pretence is, _a convenient season_! As if the first
season, that offers for renouncing a bad life, were not always the most
convenient.”
But I continue this address to the Roman governor too long, if you
consider me as directing it to him only. Let me profess, then, that by
Felix I mean every sinner at this day, who procrastinates in the affair
of his salvation, and would colour that procrastination by a still more
contemptible sophistry. For, let us be ingenuous. This miserable Pagan,
after all, had something to say for himself. This was, probably, the
only time that repentance had ever been preached to him. He still,
perhaps, was acquainted with little more than the name of Jesus: for his
teacher, as we have seen, insisted chiefly on the great truths of natural
religion. If he then scrupled to take the benefit of this first and
imperfect lecture, there is some allowance to be made for his folly. But
what shall we say of those who possess every possible advantage of light
and knowledge, who have grown up in the profession of Christianity, and
are not now to learn either its duties or terrors? If such as these have
sinned themselves into the condition of Felix, and yet resist the calls
of grace, the commands of the Gospel, the exhortations of its ministers,
the admonitions of their own conscience, all of them concurring to
press upon them an immediate repentance; if there be among us such
procrastinators as these, what topics of defence are there by which they
can hope to excuse, or so much as palliate, their prodigious infatuation?
“Shall we say for them, or will they say for themselves, that they are
young and healthy? that they have time enough before them, in which
to grow wise at their leisure? that they wait till the boisterous
passions have been calmed by reason and experience? that they expect _a
convenient season_ for repentance, in declining life, and the languor of
old age? or that they shall find it, as others have done, on the bed of
sickness, or on the bed of death?”
I have never heard that Christians have any better reasons than these for
delaying repentance: and, if they have not, though the sophistry of Felix
deserved to be laid open, the respect I owe to those who now hear me,
will not permit me to imagine that such sophistry as this, can want to be
exposed.
It will be to better purpose to set before you,
III. In the last place, the issue of this too natural alliance between
procrastination and vice, in a FINAL IMPENITENCE; of which the case of
Felix, again, affords us a striking example.
_When I have a convenient season_, says he to Paul, _I will call for
thee_. This season came, and Paul attended; to what effect, we shall now
understand.
When Felix dismissed him from his presence, he insinuated, nay perhaps
thought, that he should have a disposition hereafter to profit by his
religious instructions. But time and bad company quieted his fears: and
a favourite vice inspired other motives for the interview, than those of
religion. _For he hoped_, says the historian, _that money should have
been given him of Paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for
him the oftener, and communed with him_.
The case, we see, is well altered. He _trembled_ before at Paul’s charge
against him of rapine and extortion: he would now exercise these very
vices on Paul himself. Such was the fruit of that _convenient season_,
which was to have teemed with better things!
But this is not all: _For, after two years Portius Festus came into
Felix’s room; and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul
bound_.
Felix then had his preacher within call for _two whole years_: time
sufficient, one would think, to afford the opportunity of many a lecture
_concerning the faith of Christ_. Yet, though he communed with Paul
oft, it does not appear that his conferences with him turned on this
subject. What he wanted to draw from him was, not truth, but money; and,
when this hope failed, he was little concerned about the rest. Nay, the
impression which Paul had made upon him was so entirely effaced, that he
left an innocent man _in bonds_, for the sake of _doing a pleasure to
the Jews_. But he had his reason still for this unwonted courtesy. For
their complaints were ready to follow him (as indeed they did) to the
throne of Cæsar; whither he went, at last, unrepentant and unreformed, to
encounter, as he could, the rigors of imperial justice; just as so many
others, by the like misuse of time and opportunity, expose themselves to
all the terrors of divine.
Not but there is yet this advantage in the parallel on the side of
_Felix_. He neglected to use the space of _two years_, which was
mercifully allowed him for the season of reformation: but how many
Christians omit this work, not for _two_ only, but for twenty, forty
years; nay, for the whole extent of a long life; and never find a
_convenient season_ for doing the only thing, which it greatly concerns
them to do, although with the astonishing delusion of always intending it.
To conclude: We have seen that procrastination serves the ends of vice;
and that vice, in return, is but too successful in pleading the cause of
procrastination: leaving between them this salutary lesson to mankind,
“That he who seriously intends to repent to-morrow, should in all reason
begin to-day; _to-day_, as the Apostle admonishes, _while it is called
to-day, lest the heart_, in the mean time, _be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin_[5].”
SERMON XXX.
PREACHED DECEMBER 19, 1773.
1 JOHN v. 11.
_And this is the record that God hath given to us, eternal life; and_
THIS LIFE IS IN HIS SON.
We are indebted to the Gospel for the knowledge and hope we have of
eternal life; this important doctrine having, _first_, been delivered by
Jesus Christ, and _only_ by him, on any proper grounds of authority. This
then is the _record_, or the substance of what the Gospel _testifies_ and
affirms, _That God hath given to us eternal life: and this life_, adds
the Apostle, IS IN HIS SON: that is, he _procured_ this blessing for us;
he is not only the teacher, but the _author_ of eternal life.
This last is a distinct and very momentous consideration. Reason might
seem to have some part in discovering, or at least in confirming, the
doctrine itself: but the _manner_ of conveying the inestimable gift
of eternal life, whether _immediately_ from the giver of it, or by
the _mediation_ of some other, this is a matter of pure revelation;
and reason hath nothing more to do in the case, than to see that the
revelation is, indeed, made, and then with all humility to acquiesce in
it.
Being, then, to treat this sublime subject, _the redemption of mankind
through Christ_, I shall do it simply in the _terms_ of scripture, or at
least with a scrupulous regard to the plain and obvious _sense_ of them.
The text says, _eternal life is in the Son of God_; and my discourse must
be merely a _scriptural comment_ on this declaration.
Now, the scripture teaches, that immortality was originally, and from the
beginning, the free gift of God to man, on the condition of his obeying
a certain law, or command, prescribed to him: whether that command be
interpreted _literally_, of not eating the fruit of the forbidden tree
in paradise, as we read in the second and third chapters of Genesis; or
_allegorically_, of some other prohibition, expressed agreeably to the
oriental genius, in these terms. This diversity of interpretation makes
no difference in the case: whatever the test of man’s disobedience was,
the will of the law-giver is clearly announced: If thou art guilty of
disobedience, _thou shalt surely die_[6].
Obedience, then, had the promise of _continued_ life; the penalty
threatened to disobedience, was _death_: which was only saying, that the
gift freely bestowed on a certain condition (and surely what man had no
right to demand, might be offered on what terms the giver pleased) should
be withdrawn on the breach of it. The loss, indeed, was immense; but
to the loser no wrong was done: and of him who recalled the free gift,
conditionally bestowed, and justly forfeited, no complaint, in reason,
can be made.
But to what purpose, some will ask, to give that with one hand, which was
presently to be withdrawn by the other? for the best reason, no doubt,
whether conceivable by us, or not. However, the sad event was certainly
foreseen: and, what is more, such provision was made against it, as to
infinite wisdom and goodness seemed meet.
By contemplating the gradual steps of Providence, as we are able to trace
them in the revelation itself, we understand, that it was in the eternal
purpose of the divine Governor to restore life to fallen and mortal man,
as _freely_ as it had been at first bestowed, and on _terms_ still more
advantageous him. But _the ways of heaven are not as our ways_, nor to
be regulated by our impatient wishes, or expectations. What man, in a
moment, had wantonly thrown away, he was to recover once more; but in
God’s good time; not instantly, but after a long succession of ages, and
such a state of intermediate discipline and preparation, as might best
serve to introduce the intended blessing with effect.
Man, then was to be reinstated in his forfeited inheritance: and the
_promise_ was made, though purposely in obscure terms, from the moment
the forfeiture was incurred. In process of time, it was less, and still
less obscurely signified; yet so as that the full discovery of what was
intended, and, still more, the execution of it, was long deferred.
At length, Jesus Christ came into the world to fulfill and to declare
the whole will of God on this interesting subject: and from him, and
from those commissioned by him, we learn what the wisest men, and even
_angels_, _had desired to look into_, and could at most discern but
imperfectly through the types and shadows of the patriarchal and Mosaic
dispensations.
The great mystery, now unveiled, was briefly this: that God of his
infinite goodness had, indeed, from the foundation of the world, purposed
the restoration of eternal life to his unworthy creature, man; but that
in his wisdom he saw fit to confer this unmerited blessing in a way, that
should at once secure the honour of his government; and, if any thing
could secure it, the future obedience and happiness of his creature:
that he would only confer this mighty privilege at the instance, as
it were, and for the sake of a transcendantly divine person, his only
begotten Son, the second person in the glorious Trinity, as we now style
him: that this divine person; of his own free will co-operating with the
_eternal purpose_[7] of the all-gracious Father, should descend from
Heaven; should become incarnate; should as man, converge with men, and
instruct them by his heavenly doctrine; should taste deeply of all their
sorrows and infirmities (_sin only excepted_); should even pour out his
blood unto death, and by that blood should wash away the stain of guilt;
and, on the condition of _faith_ in his name, operating, as of course
it must do, by a sincere obedience to his authority, should admit us,
once more, to the possession of eternal happiness; of which, finally,
we have a _lively_ and certain hope, in that he who had laid down his
life, had power to take it again, as was declared to all the world by his
resurrection from the dead[8].
In this awfully stupendous manner (at which reason stands aghast, and
faith herself is half confounded) was the Grace of God to man, at length,
manifested: and thus it is, when we come a little to unfold the _record_,
or testimony of the Gospel, that _God hath given to as eternal life_; and
that _this life is in his Son_.
Curious men have perplexed themselves and others by inquiring into the
nature of this astonishing scheme, and have seemed half inclined not to
accept so _great salvation_, till they could reconcile it to their ideas
of philosophy. Hence those endless altercations concerning _merit,
satisfaction, imputed sin, and vicarious punishment_; in which it is
hard to say, whether more subtlety has been shewn, or more perverseness;
more ingenuity, or presumption. If most of these questions were well
examined, it would appear, perhaps, that they are mere verbal disputes,
and as frivolous as they are contentious. But, be the difference between
the parties nominal or real, this we are sure of, without taking part in
the controversy, that the scriptures speak of the _death_ of Christ, as
a _ransom for many_[9]; _the price of our redemption_[10]; _a sacrifice
for us_[11]; _a propitiation for the sins of the whole world_[12]: that
they speak of Christ himself, _as dying for us_[13], _as bearing our sins
in his own body on the tree_[14]; as _suffering for sins, the just for
the unjust_[15]; as _tasting death for every man_[16]; _as giving himself
for us, an offering and sacrifice to God_[17]; as _justifying us by his
blood_[18]; and _redeeming us by the price of it_[19]: with a multitude
of other passages to the same purpose. Now let men use what art they
will in torturing such expressions as these; they will hardly prevent
our seeing what the plain doctrine of scripture is, “That it pleased
God to give us eternal life only _in his Son_; and in his Son _only_ as
suffering and dying for us.”
But in this consideration the whole mystery consists; how to be fully
cleared up to our reason, men may dispute if they will, and they will
dispute the rather, because the subject is out of their sphere, and
beyond their comprehension. Whether God _could_ accept such a sacrifice
for sin as the death of his own Son, many have presumptuously asked.
Whether he _could not_ have given life to man, in another way, some have
more modestly doubted: but the issue of all this arrogant or needless
curiosity, is but the discovery of their own weakness, on the one hand,
and the confession of this stupendous truth, on the other; That God
did not see fit to bestow eternal salvation on mankind, but in his own
appointed way, through Christ Jesus.
In this momentous truth, then, enough for us to know, let us humbly
acquiesce, and leave to others the vanity of disputing the grounds of it.
But, though the reasons of this dispensation be inscrutable to us, the
measure of its _influence_, some think, they have the means to discover.
For it seems to follow from St. Paul’s assertion, that, _as in Adam all
died, so in Christ shall all be made alive_[20]; and from the idea given
us of the Redeemer, as of _the lamb slain from the foundation of the
world_[21]; that the benefits of Christ’s death extend to all men, of all
times, and are, in the proper sense of the word, _universal_. Only it is
to be remembered, that, if all men have an interest in Christ, whether
they know it or not, _we_ who do know what our interest in him is, have
infinitely the advantage of them, and are inexcusable, if we reject it.
Thus far then we go upon safe grounds, and affirm without hesitation,
that _God_, through his mercies in Christ Jesus, _is the Saviour of all
men_, but _especially of them that believe_[22].
Another consideration, and of the utmost moment, is yet behind. Though
eternal life be now again bestowed on mankind, this gift is not one and
the same thing to all, but is differently modified according to the
different conduct of those to whom it is given. All shall _live_; but
whether to happiness, or misery, and to what degree of _either_, will
depend on the use of those advantages, whether of nature or grace, which
every one enjoys. Not, that any degree of eternal happiness is, or can
be strictly due to any man, but that the several degrees of it will be
_proportioned_ to our respective moral and religious qualifications. To
have done otherwise, would have been to confound the order of things,
and to appoint a scheme of salvation, which must utterly extinguish all
virtuous industry among men. Hence, we are told, that the righteous shall
shine out in different degrees of happiness, _as one star differeth from
another star in glory_[23].
In like manner, they who shall be found worthy, not of happiness, but
misery, will be sentenced to several allotments of it, by the same equal
rule.
It may seem, perhaps, that, as our best works could not _merit_ eternal
life in happiness, so our worst cannot _deserve_ eternal life in misery.
But let us take care how we push our inquiries into this aweful subject.
In rewarding obedience, the _divine goodness_ is chiefly displayed; and
who shall presume to set bounds to it? But, in punishing disobedience,
the _divine Wisdom_, of which we conceive much more imperfectly, is
mainly concerned: and what examples of severity in the punishment of
incorrigibly impenitent offenders, after such means as have been devised
to reclaim them, and for the support of his moral government over more
worlds than we have any idea of, this attribute may demand, we shall do
well, with all submission and modesty, to leave unexplored.
Still, what is just, that is, what is right and fit, on the whole,
undoubtedly take place: but we _are_ not, we _cannot_, be competent
judges of what is fit and right in this instance. It will be safest to
rely, without further inquiry, on the general declaration of him, who
was not only our Redeemer, but shall one day be our merciful judge:
_These_, says he, [that is, the wicked] _shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life eternal_[24].
What remains on this subject, is only to admonish you of those
_relations_, in which we stand towards the Author of our salvation, and
the correspondent _duties_ they impose upon us. I can but just point out
these _relations_ and _duties_: though they deserve to be inculcated (as,
in fact, they have been, by the sacred writers) with all the force of
eloquent persuasion, that words can give.
With regard, to the supreme cause of all things, who is of himself only
the source, and principle of deity, and the original author of our
salvation, God, thus understood, is graciously pleased to present himself
to us in the Gospel, under the idea of THE FATHER, and to consider us in
the tender relation of _sons_. We owe him, therefore, all possible filial
love and reverence, and must so conceive of his part in the mystery of
our redemption, as to refer all the fruits of it, ultimately, _to the
glory of God the Father_[25].
In subordination to the _Father_, HE in whom we have eternal life, is
our _friend_[26], and therefore entitled to our warmest love: he is our
greatest _benefactor_[27], and therefore claims our utmost gratitude:
he is our only _master_[28], and of course, must be followed with all
observance: he is our _redeemer_, and _sole mediator between God and
man_[29]; therefore he challenges an implicit, an exclusive trust and
confidence from us: he is the appointed _judge_ of the world[30];
therefore to be regarded with the humblest fear and veneration: lastly,
he is _the only begotten Son of God_[31], nay _our Lord and our God_[32];
to whom therefore we are to pay transcendant honour, so as _to honour,
the Son even as we honour the Father_[33].
These are some, the chief of those duties, which, as Christians, we are
bound to perform towards the Author of our salvation. The _relations_
from which they spring, could not be discovered by the light of nature;
but, when made known to us by revelation, they require as certainly, and
as reasonably, the several _duties_ which correspond to them, as the
_relations_ in which we stand to God and man, as discoverable by nature
only, require their respective _duties_.
You see, then, the sphere of a Christian’s duty is much enlarged beyond
that of the natural man: and not in these instances only, for the gospel
has made known another divine _person_, (so we are obliged to speak)
_the holy Spirit of God_, who stands in a distinct relation to us; and
to whom, therefore, his proper and peculiar honour is due. But of this
divine person in the glorious Trinity, I shall find another occasion to
lay before you, at large, what the scriptures have brought to light.
For the present, it may suffice to have put you in mind of what we are
taught concerning _the grace of God in his Son Jesus Christ_; to the end
that, religiously observing all the duties which this revealed doctrine
requires of us, we may fully correspond to the gracious intentions of the
revealer, by having _our fruit unto holiness_; and _the end, everlasting
life. For the wages of sin_ (be it ever remembered) _is death: but
eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord[34]: To
whom be all praise, thanksgiving, and honour, now and for evermore.
Amen._
SERMON XXXI.
PREACHED JUNE 12, 1774.
GAL. vi. 8.
_He that soweth to the spirit, shall_ OF THE SPIRIT REAP LIFE EVERLASTING.
Without staying to point out the immediate occasion of these words, or
to enumerate and define the several senses of the word _spirit_, in
sacred scripture, it is sufficient to my present purpose to observe,
that the text affirms _a general and fundamental truth of the Gospel_,
more clearly and particularly explained elsewhere. It is this: That he
who in this life conducts himself according to the rules and admonitions
of God’s holy spirit, which the Apostle calls, _sowing to the spirit_,
shall, through the influence of the same spirit, obtain, that is, in the
Apostle’s figurative style, _shall reap, life everlasting_.
But, what! you will say, everlasting life is the _gift of God through
Christ_: how is it then that we receive this gift at the hands of
another, of _God’s holy spirit_?
To resolve this difficulty, and to open to you at the same time the
Christian doctrine of grace, together with the concern which we have in
it, I shall consider,
I. In what _sense_ we are to understand the assertion, _That everlasting
life is of the spirit_.
II. In what _way_ this blessing is conferred upon us; under which head I
shall have occasion to set forth the several _offices and operations_ of
the holy Spirit.
III. Lastly, what _returns of duty_, as corresponding to these _offices_
of the Spirit, and as resulting from the _relations_ in which we stand
towards him, are, in consequence of this revelation, reasonably required
of us.
I. To understand in what _sense_ the scriptures assert _everlasting
life to be of the spirit_, it will be necessary to form to ourselves a
distinct idea of the divine œconomy in the whole work of our redemption;
which (to sum up briefly what is revealed to us) appears to have been
conducted in the following manner.
God the Father of his mere grace, purposed and _willed_[35], from all
eternity, the restoration of _life_ to man, after his forfeiture of it by
disobedience: but he saw fit to make our _title_ to this free gift depend
on the death and sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ: and, lastly, to give
the _actual possession_ of it only through the ministration of his holy
Spirit.
The whole of this process is full of wonder; but there is no
contradiction, or inconsistency in its several parts.
However, to open the œconomy of this dispensation a little more
distinctly, it is to be observed, that eternal life may be taken in
two senses. It may either imply _a mere state of_ ENDLESS EXISTENCE;
and, in this sense, it is solely and properly the gift of God through
Christ; _for as in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive_[36]: Or, it may mean, what it always does mean in those passages
of scripture, where it is magnified so much, _a state of_ HAPPINESS, in
that existence; and then only a capacity of being put into this state is
procured for us by the Redeemer. But this capacity, this _grace of God_,
may be _frustrated by us_[37], may even turn against is, if we be not
duly prepared to enjoy that _happiness_ of which we are made capable; and
such _preparation_, is the proper distinctive work of God’s holy spirit.
Further, to see the necessity, the importance at least, of such
preparation, we are to reflect, that, by the fall of man, not only life
was forfeited, but the powers of his mind were weakened. Transgression
had clouded his understanding, and perverted his will. He neither saw his
duty so clearly as before, nor was disposed to perform it so vigorously.
And this depravation of his faculties, we easily conceive, _might_, as
an original taint, be transmitted to his posterity; nay, we certainly
feel that it _is_ so: yet, without any imputation on the author of our
being, who might have placed us in this disadvantageous state, if he
had pleased, from the beginning; and to whom we are accountable for the
right use of the advantages we have, not of those we have not. Still, the
purity of God’s nature might require what his wisdom has decreed, that
_without holiness no man shall see the Lord_[38], and that Jesus should
be _the author of eternal salvation to those_ only, who, in a higher
degree than our fallen nature of itself permits, _obey him_[39]. And this
change in our moral condition from bad to good, from a propensity to
evil to a love of righteousness, is called in scripture, _a renewing of
our minds_, _a new creation_, _a new man_; in opposition to the former
so different state of our minds, which is called _the old man corrupted
according to the deceitful lusts_[40].
For the _change_ itself, it is represented in scripture as proceeding,
not from the virtue of our own minds, but from the influence of the Holy
Ghost upon them[41]: and when it has taken place in us, then, and not
till then, is _our election sure_, and we are _made heirs according to
the hope of eternal life_[42].
This extraordinary provision for restoring man to the image of God,
to _the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness_[43], is what reason could not have hoped for, but, when made
known by revelation, seems to have been expedient, may be conceived to
have been even necessary, and is clearly an expression of the divine
goodness, which, though it fill our minds very justly with wonder, well
as gratitude, none of our natural notions contradict.
We see, then, in general, _how_ the new man receives the gift of eternal
life from the spirit. Let us now consider more particularly,
II. In the second place, in what _way_ this new creation is carried on
and perfected in us. And here we shall find all the marks of that wisdom
and fitness, which are discernable in the thing itself.
_For_ we are _renewed in the spirit of our minds_[44], _by the teaching
of the spirit of truth_[45], _through sanctification of the spirit_[46],
and _comfort of the Holy Ghost_[47]: that is, we have a new and better
turn given to our minds, by the light derived into them from the spirit;
by the good thoughts and purposes which he excites in them; and by the
joy and consolation with which he rewards our endeavours to profit by
the assistance thus graciously afforded to us.
That we very much want these helps and encouragements, we _all_ know:
that we are very much indebted to them, we _Christians_ believe: and that
they are not the less real, because, perhaps, not distinguishable from
the workings of our own minds, now that revelation assures us of the
fact, we have no scruple to affirm.
To this divine Spirit, then, _the spirit of the Father_[48], and _the
spirit of the Son_[49], as he is equally styled, because proceeding
from both; to this spirit, I say, _enlightening_ our understandings,
_purifying_ our wills, and _confirming_ our faith, we must impute all
that is good in us, all that proficiency in _true holiness_ which
qualifies us for the enjoyment of heaven: and through this discipline it
is, that they _who sow to the spirit_, are, in the end, enabled _of the
spirit to reap everlasting life_.
These _three_ characters might be further opened and distinctly
considered; and then it would appear, that all the revelations of
God’s will, chiefly with regard to the redemption of man, made to the
patriarchs of old, to the prophets under the law, to the Apostles of our
Lord, nay to our Lord himself, as _the man Christ Jesus_, and all the
secret illuminations of the faithful in all times, are to be regarded as
so many emanations from the spirit of God, THE ENLIGHTENER: that at the
gradual improvements of our virtue, all the graces which first descend
upon our hearts, and then manifest themselves in every good word and
work, are the production of the same spirit, in his office of SANCTIFIER:
and, lastly, that all the firmness and resolution we possess under
every trial in this world, all the foretaste we have of future favour
and acceptance, all our joy and peace in believing, are the signs and
proofs of the COMFORTER, speaking to us, and, according to our Saviour’s
promise, _abiding in us_.