David appeals to God, _do not I hate them, that hate thee?_ and adds, _I
hate them with a perfect hatred_. But this need not be construed to
signify any malice in his heart against them, as a private person; but
his design to fight against them, and suppress them, as a soldier, and a
king, because they appeared publicly against God; for he adds, I am
grieved at those that rise up against thee, I count them mine enemies.
Besides, these persons were of so abandoned a character, that they seem
to have had nothing good in them; and he might justly hate them,
considered merely as sinners, in the same sense that we must hate
ourselves, so far as we are sinful. I might add to all this, that they
were cruel and bloody with regard to men, and they spoke wickedly
against God, and were God’s professed enemies, ver. 19. and 20. After
all, it was much more allowable in David the Jew in the heat of his
zeal, to talk thus, than it can be for us, christians; while we read the
words of our Saviour, Mat. v. 43, 44, 45. We _have heard that it hath
been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy: But I
say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you: that ye may be the children of your Father which is in
heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and
sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust_: While we consider also in
what a divine manner our Lord Jesus has exemplified his own precept, and
has loved many of his enemies, so as to die for them; and manifested so
much natural affection, even for the young sinner in my text, because
there were some good qualities found in him.
I will not say therefore within myself concerning any man, “I hate him
utterly, and abhor him in all respects, because he has not true
holiness:” but I will look upon him, and consider whether there may not
be some accomplishment in him, some moral virtue, some valuable talent,
some natural or acquired excellency; and I will not neglect to pay due
esteem to every deserving quality, wheresoever I find it. It is a piece
of honour due to God our Creator, to observe the various signatures of
his wisdom, that he has impressed upon his creatures, and the
overflowing treasures of his goodness, which he has distributed among
the works of his hands.
Thus I may very justly love a man, for whom, in the vulgar sense, I have
no charity; that is, such a one as I believe to be in a state of sin and
death, and have no present hope of his salvation. How could holy parents
fulfil their duties of affection to their wicked children? or pious
children pay due respect to sinful parents? How could a believer fulfil
the law of love to an unbelieving brother, or a dearer relative, if we
ought to admit of no love to persons that are in a state of enmity to
God? How can we be followers of God as dear children, if we are not kind
to the unthankful, and to the evil; Luke vi. 37. To those who have
nothing of serious religion in them; Gal. vi. 10. “As we have
opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially to them who are of
the household of faith.”
As God has a peculiar love for his own children, for those who are
renewed, and sanctified, and formed into his likeness; so ought we to
love all the saints with a peculiar kind of affection, and take special
delight in them, we should express a love of intimate fellowship unto
them; a love of divine friendship, of spiritual pleasure, and hearty
communion; rejoicing together with them in God our common Father, in
Christ Jesus our common Head, and in the hope of our common Salvation;
and we should ever be ready, in the first place, to assist and support
them, and supply their wants according to the calls of providence. But
sinners also must have some share in our love.
3d Remark. How different is the special love of God, from the natural
love of man! God seeth not as man seeth; he appoints not persons to
eternal life, because of some agreeable accomplishments which they
possess in this life. Jesus Christ himself, considered as God, did not
bestow his special and saving love upon that young Israelite, whom, as
man, he could not help loving. So Samuel was sent to chuse a king for
the Jews, among the sons of Jesse; 1 Sam. xvi. 6. When he saw Eliab
appear, he looked on him, and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is
before him; but the Lord said to Samuel, ver. 7. Look not on his
countenance, or on the height of his stature, because I have refused
him.” Old Jesse, it may be, was ready to look upon his eldest son too,
being pleased with his tall and comely figure, and to say within
himself, “It is a pity that Eliab was not made a king.” But David was
God’s beloved.
If the question were put to us, Who are the persons that are fit to
stand in the court of God above, to be the inhabitants and ornaments of
heaven? We should be ready to say, the beautiful and the ingenious, the
souls of a sweet disposition, and the persons of graceful behaviour. We
are tempted to think that the well-born, the wise, the affable, and the
well-accomplished, should all be made saints, and the favourites of God;
but he sees with other eyes, he determines his special love by other
principles, and makes another sort of distinction by his sovereign
saving grace, unguided and unallured by the merit of man. 1 Cor. i. 26,
27, 28, 29. “Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men
after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise; and
God hath chosen the weak things of the world, to confound the things
which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are
despised, hath God chosen: yea, and things which are not, to bring to
nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence.”
What would become of the morose, the rough natural tempers, if God loved
none but such as were lovely in our eyes? What would become of all the
deformed and the most uncomely pieces of human nature; the clownish, and
the weak, and base things of this world, if God should chuse none but
the fair, and the well-bred, the well-figured, and the honourable? If
this were the rule of his conduct, what dismal distinction would light
upon thousands, and some good men too, who must wear in their faces, in
this world, the dreadful sentence of their damnation in the next? But
the great and sovereign God acts by other measures; he lays down to
himself divine rules, that are to us unknown, and must be for ever
unsearchable.
Some, who are endowed with native excellencies, he adorns with heavenly
graces, and they shine as jewels set in rings of gold: Others, who have
scarce any thing in them amiable by nature, are the objects of divine
love, and made vessels of grace; though these do never make so charming
an appearance among men. Moses the meek and obliging, Jonah the rough
and the peevish, were both beloved of God; for he made saints and
prophets of them. Abraham the rich, and Sarah the beautiful; Peter the
poor fisherman, and Paul the man of mean aspect, and contemptible
figure; were all beloved of God, and made heirs of eternal Life. The
conduct of the great God, in this matter, is so various, and his reasons
so sublime and impenetrable, that it is in vain for us to attempt to
trace out his rules of action.
Sometimes he chuses a man of great intellectual powers, and sets an
invisible mark of divine love upon him: At another time he takes
pleasure to pour contempt on all the pride of human reason, by chusing a
foolish man, and making him an humble believer. Sometimes he exalts the
man of natural virtue into a saint; and again, he spreads shame and
confusion over all our own pretended righteousnesses and vain
confidence, by culling out, here and there, a profane wretch, and
converting him to faith and holiness, and in the mean time he leaves
some that are sober, and have many human virtues, and good appearances,
to perish with the Pharisee and the hypocrite for ever, in their pride
and self-righteousness. Jesus, the Man, looked upon this pretty youth
that was well-born, sober, and virtuous, and he loved him; but the
eternal God chose him not for a saint, for he suffered him to run
madding after his many possessions, and to despise heaven. Here it
becomes us to be silent and adore. O the depths of divine counsel! O the
awful and glorious sovereignty of the grace of God, that could pass by
so desirable a person, whom the man Jesus could not look upon without
pity and love! _How unsearchable are his ways, and his judgments past
finding out_; Rom. xi. 33.
Now though this be a very painful and tremendous meditation, yet there
is an excellent use to be made of it. No man should despair of
salvation, and the love of God, how mean and despicable soever his
appearance be among men, or how remote soever from all that we call
lovely. Let him forsake all sin and be happy for ever. Nor should the
most amiable of creatures, in the natural or civil world, flatter
themselves that they are upon that account beloved of God, and shall
certainly be partakers of eternal blessings in the world of glory. Let
them follow Christ, and be saved.
But I would dwell upon this last thought a little, and therefore I shall
propose my fourth remark in this manner.
4th Remark. Many lovely accomplishments, joined together, will not carry
a natural man to heaven. The finest composition of beauty and youth,
strength and riches, and all this embellished with many forms of
godliness, and some shining outward virtues, will not obtain eternal
life. The man that is thus qualified and adorned, if he prefers earth to
heaven, and loves the possessions of this world, above spiritual
treasures, abides in a state of condemnation and death. Grace is not a
flower that grows in the field of nature, nor is it made by the heart of
man: it is a divine seed; it is planted in our hearts by the Spirit of
God; John i. 13. The saints _are born not of blood_; that is, by natural
generation; _nor of the will of the flesh_, that is, by our own powers
of nature; _nor of the will of man_; that is, by the influence that
others have over us; _but of God_.
A man may set himself to work awhile for the good of his soul, and yet
may miss of salvation: _Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that
leads to life, and few there be that find it_; Mat. vii. 14. And _many
which seek to enter in, shall not be able_; Luke xiii. 24, They seek,
but not with all their might: they are not willing to forsake all for
heaven, and therefore they obtain it not: they seek, perhaps, with
diligence for a season, and give out before they have attained; they
tire, and grow weary, and lose the prize: they seek, but not in God’s
appointed way, and according to the rules of the gospel; and no wonder
if their labour be vain; for _he that striveth is not crowned, except he
strive lawfully_; 2 Tim. ii. 5. And this was the case of the rich young
man; he sought eternal life, but not with all his soul, for he could not
take up his cross and follow Christ; he sought the kingdom of God for a
season; but when he came to the hard work of self-denial, he would not
venture into that thorny path, but turned back, and _went away
sorrowful_. He sought justification and peace with God, but not in a
right way; for being _ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about
to establish his own, he fell short of the righteousness of God_, and
attained it not; Rom. x. 3. He loved heaven well, but he loved this
earth better: he chose his portion and happiness in this world, and lost
his soul.
The eye of God, our Judge, is sharp and severe; he sees the hidden vices
of the mind, through all the fairest veils of nature, and the brightest
dress of outward virtue. We may cheat others with the disguises of
religion, and allure the love of the best of christians: we may cheat
ourselves by these fair appearances, and entertain a fond opinion of our
own saintship; but the great God can never be imposed upon at this rate.
He knows well what is lovely and excellent in his creatures; but when he
seats himself upon his throne of judgment, all their shining ornaments
of body and mind are blemished, are darkened, are lost in his eyes, if
he discovers a secret love to sin in the heart. Where the love of this
world prevails, it over-balances all other good qualities, though ever
so valuable in themselves, and though they may create love in every
beholder, yet the love of God is not to be purchased, nor persuaded,
contrary to his own settled and eternal rules of judgment. _If any man
love this world, the love of the Father is not in him_; 1 John ii. 15.
nor does the Father love him. The prince of devils has many noble
endowments, and intellectual glories; the natural powers of an angel
remained still with him; but his inward enmity to God, confines him for
ever to hell: and in the sense of the apostle James, _Whosoever will be
a friend to the world, is the enemy of God_; James iv. 4, though in many
other excellencies he might be a fellow for angels.
Wise and happy is that soul who fears to build his hopes of heaven upon
the sand, upon a shining but feeble foundation. Wise and happy is he who
does not mistake the glories of nature for divine grace; who does not
satisfy himself to seek a little after heaven, but resolves to find it,
and parts with all for the knowledge and the love of Christ. While
others, who pretend to much wisdom, raise their vain expectations of
happiness, upon a few natural accomplishments, and devout wishes, this
man pursues the work upon diviner principles, and brings it to
perfection: and when others, at the great day of decision, meet with
shame and terrible disappointment, he shall be applauded, in the face of
angels, as the only wise man, and shall find himself for ever happy.
The 5th, and last remark, is this; how dangerous a snare is great
riches! They become a sore temptation (even to persons well-inclined) to
tie their souls fast to this world, and persuade them to neglect God,
and Christ, and heaven. This was the case of the young man in my text;
_he went away_ from our Lord melancholy and grieved, that he could not
join Christ and the world together: he _had great possessions_, and
therefore he refused to be a follower of Christ, under the poor and mean
circumstances of his appearance among men; see verses 22, 23. And our
Lord himself makes this same remark, _How hardly shall they that have
riches enter into the kingdom of God?_ that is, as he explains it in the
following verse, because it is so hard, for those who possess great
riches, not to love them too well, and to trust in them as their chief
good.
How many lovely qualities are here spoiled at once, by the love of this
world! and a man that was not far from the kingdom of God, divided from
Christ, and driven to a fatal distance from heaven, by this dangerous
interposing snare! A wretched chain, though it was a golden one, that
withheld his soul from the embraces of his Saviour. He was young, he was
modest and humble, he had a desire to be saved, and he went far in the
outward forms of godliness; _all these commands_, said he, _have I kept
from my youth_, or childhood; and he had a mind to follow Christ too:
But Jesus was poor, and his followers must take up their cross, and
share in his poverty. This was the parting point; this was the bar to
his salvation; he was _almost a christian_, but his riches prevented him
from being _altogether so_. O fatal wealth, and foolish possessor!
It became our blessed Lord, the heir of all things to divest himself of
wealth and grandeur, and to renounce all the pomp and glittering
equipage of this world, when he came to introduce a religion so
spiritual and so refined, as the gospel was: and it became him to put
such a test as this to such as pretended to be his disciples; whether
they durst venture to exchange the present world, and the visible
enjoyments of it, for glories future and invisible? It was proper he
should try whether they could deny themselves, and become poor for his
sake, who made himself poor for their sakes, and promised them unknown
treasures in heaven. But the test proved too severe, and the gate too
strait for this young man, with all the bulk of his estate to enter in
at it.
Well might the apostle teach Timothy, the young preacher, to _charge
them that are rich in this world, not to trust in uncertain riches, but
to do good_ to the poor, to _distribute_, to the needy, that they _might
lay up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to
come_; 1 Tim. vi. 17, &c. because men are so ready to think that a store
of gold is a good foundation to trust in for happiness here, and forget
hereafter. Well might he admonish them _to lay hold on eternal life_,
because they are so ready to hold their money fast, though they let
eternal life go. They that have much, are often greedy of more, and
thereby _fall into temptations and snares, into many foolish and hurtful
lusts, that drown men in perdition: for the love of money is the root of
all evil; which, while some coveted after, they have erred from the
faith_, have forsaken Christ, _and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows_; ver. 9, 10.
Shall I take occasion here to put the rich in mind of their danger, and
intreat them to watch against the shining allurement that besets them
around? Have a care lest your eyes be dazzled with this glittering
world, and blinded to the gospel of Christ: and shall I comfort the
poor, by telling them their privilege, how much more free they are from
this golden snare? You have been used to meanness and poverty, therefore
we may hope that the plainness and simplicity of the gospel will not
offend you: that the doctrine of the cross, and the poverty of the Man
of Nazareth, who hung upon it for your sakes, will not be a scandal to
your thoughts, nor a bar to your faith. In the days of Christ, the _poor
received the gospel; and not many rich, and not many mighty_, have in
any age been the followers of a despised Jesus.
O may the rich in this assembly be led by divine grace to break through
all their temptations, and attend their Saviour, though his name, and
his disciples here on earth be surrounded with all the forms of contempt
and poverty! And may the meaner hearers improve their advantage, and
take up their cross, and follow their Lord, till they are all joined to
the glorious assembly above, and made possessors of everlasting riches!
_Amen._
HYMN FOR SERMON VII.
_A Hopeful Youth falling short of Heaven._
Must all the charms of nature then,
So hopeless to salvation prove?
Can hell demand, can heaven condemn
The man whom Jesus deigns to love?
The man, who sought the ways of truth,
Paid friends and neighbours all their due
A modest, sober, lovely youth,
And thought he wanted nothing now?
But mark the change: thus spake the Lord
Come part with earth for heaven to-day:
The youth astonished at the word,
In silent sadness went his way.
Poor virtues, that be boasted so,
This test unable to endure,
Let Christ, and grace, and glory go,
To make his land and money sure!
Ah foolish choice of treasurer here!
Ah fatal love of tempting gold!
Must this base world be bought so dear!
And life and heaven so cheaply sold?
In vain the charms of nature shine,
If this vile passion governs me:
Transform my soul, O love divine!
And make me part with all for thee.
SERMON VIII.
_A Hopeful Youth falling Short of Heaven._
MARK x. 21.—Then Jesus beholding him, loved him.
THE SECOND PART.
When our Saviour dwelt upon earth, he found a young man in the coasts of
Judea, that preferred the riches of this world to all the treasures of
heaven; and yet Jesus cast an eye of love upon him.
In the foregoing discourse upon these words, it has been considered what
sort of love Christ could shew to a man, whose soul was so vain and
carnal; and what good qualities appeared in this youth, that could
engage the love of our Saviour, notwithstanding the guilt of his
covetousness; and some remarks were made upon a man so lovely, and so
beloved of Christ.
_First_, The love which our Saviour manifested to this person, was not
properly a divine love, for that would have changed his nature, and
refined his carnal desires, and conferred grace and salvation upon him:
We must understand it therefore only in this sense, that the affections
of his human nature were drawn out towards something that was valuable
and excellent in this young Israelite: He approved of those
accomplishments which he beheld in him, and felt a sort of complacency
in his person and character. He had an innocent and human desire of his
welfare, he gave him divine instructions for this end, and pitied him
heartily that he was so far gone in the love of the world, as to neglect
the offer of heaven.
_Secondly_, The qualities which might attract our Saviour’s love, were
such as these: He was young and sprightly, and it was probable that he
had something very agreeable in his aspect: His carriage was courteous
and obliging for he kneeled before our Lord, and saluted him with much
civility: He had a religious education, much outward sobriety and
virtue, so that he was ready to think himself a complete saint. _All
these commands_, says he, _have I kept from my youth_; yet he was
willing to receive further instructions, if any thing else were
necessary, in order to eternal life. Add to all this, that he was rich
and powerful, he was a ruler among the Jews, and had large possessions,
which made his humility and other virtues appear the more amiable,
because they so seldom are found in persons of an exalted station.
_Thirdly_, The remarks that were made upon a person that had so many
good qualities, and yet missed of heaven, might instruct us not to
disclaim any thing that is worthy and excellent, though it is mingled
with much iniquity; but to pay respect and love, as our Lord Jesus did,
to persons that have any thing valuable in them, though their virtues
are imperfect, and fall short of saving grace. We may learn also, that
God chuses not as man would chuse, nor saves all those that a wise and
good man may well bestow his love upon. We are taught further, that many
lovely accomplishments, joined together, are not sufficient to attain
eternal life, unless we renounce this world, and follow Christ: and we
are divinely warned of the danger of riches, how great a snare they
sometimes prove to persons of a hopeful character.
_Fourthly_, We proceed now to the last thing proposed, and that is, to
make an address to three sorts of persons, taking the occasion from the
character in my text.
I. Those who have any thing lovely or excellent in them, but through the
power of a carnal mind, are kept at a distance from God, and have no
title to heaven; such are beloved of men, but not beloved of God.—II.
Those who are weaned in some good measure from this world, and have
treasures in heaven, but are defective in those qualities that might
render them amiable on earth; such are beloved of God, but not of
men.—III. Those that are furnished with every good quality, and every
grace, that are the objects of the special love of God, and almost every
man loves them too.
I. Let me address myself to those who have any thing lovely or excellent
in them, but, through the power of a carnal mind, are kept at a distance
from God, and have no title to heaven. Such was the young man in the
gospel; and according to the several good qualities that he possessed, I
shall divide my exhortation to several persons.