SERMON XI.
THE WAY OF THE LORD EQUAL.

The main purport of this chapter was, to obviate some objections which had been groundlessly entertained against the dealings of God with His people.  They were at that time suffering in a state of captivity; and the calamities attendant upon it had been threatened long before, as a punishment for the sins of their ancestors.  The Jews, therefore, assuming that this was the only cause of divine vengeance; imagining, in the blindness and pride of their hearts, that there were no delinquencies of their own to deserve such retribution, presumed to charge the Almighty with injustice, for this visitation of His wrath.

The Jews, in this as in many other instances, misunderstood and perverted the dispensations of the Most High.  God had declared, that He would “visit the sins of the fathers upon the children,” and that He “would shew mercy unto thousands of those that loved Him;” from which they inferred, that worldly calamities, in the one case, and prosperity in the other, constituted the sole recompence, which they were severally to expect: they supposed, that when a nation was punished, on account of the general depravity, no respect was had to the different merits of individuals, of which that nation consisted; and that, when a people were prospered and exalted, as the reward of righteousness, they were all, of necessity, the objects of divine favour.  Whereas, these temporal rewards and punishments formed but a part of the dispensation, under which they were placed.  God had far other means in store, to bless the faithful and to afflict the transgressor.  Under every visitation, His unerring eye could discern between the evil and the good; the one, however prosperous in a worldly point of view, He could mortify and humble; and the other, in whatever evil they might be involved, He could favour and bless.

But there was still another consideration, to which the Jews, though they practically disregarded it, were specially directed; a consideration, which might have taught them, how the seeming irregularities, of which they complained, would be completely rectified; it was that of a final judgment, of a world to come.  Their prophet Isaiah expressly says of the transgressors, that “their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched.” [192a]  And Daniel more particularly intimates the awful difference between the conditions of the righteous and the wicked in a future state; “many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake: some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” [192b]  But the Israelites “had eyes and saw not, ears and heard not;” [193a] they listened only the temporal promises of God, and excluded from their minds the prospect of a final retribution, of a kingdom to come.  The prophet awakens them to this consideration in the 4th verse, “Behold, saith the Lord, all souls are Mine:” as they are all equally My creatures, so My dealings with them shall be without prejudice or partiality; “The soul that sinneth, it shall die:” this denunciation could not possibly be understood of temporal death; for that, they knew, must pass equally upon all: it must relate to a final execution of judgment, to future misery and destruction.  The Jews were familiar with this form of speech and this application of it: of wisdom it is said, “They that hate me, love death.” [193b]  “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” [193c]  A similar mode of speech, we may observe, frequently occurs in the New Testament also; in which we continually find expressions and figures borrowed from the Old: “If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye, through the spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” [194a]  And, in the book of Revelation, mention is made of the second death; [194b] a term which was in use among the Jews themselves, though not found in their inspired writings.  And in the same sense, we shall perceive, the figure is repeatedly employed in the chapter before us.

The prophet therefore vindicates the justice and equity of God on two substantial grounds: he directs his murmuring and rebellious people to consider, that they were visited with calamity for their own transgressions, as well as for those of their forefathers; and he refers them to the future and final judgment of the Almighty, in which the prosperity of the wicked and the sufferings of the righteous alike terminate; in which both shall receive their just and everlasting recompence.  “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”  “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith the Lord God, and not that he should return from his ways and live?” [195]

The passages last mentioned may introduce to our notice two considerations, most distinctly and forcibly stated in the latter part of this chapter, in both of which we are very deeply and peculiarly interested; they are these; that if the wicked repent of their evil ways and turn heartily to God, they shall be forgiven and received into His favour; but that if the righteous fall away, they shall be condemned and perish: on the one hand, there is ample encouragement to the sinner to return; on the other, an awful admonition, to the righteous, of the necessity of perseverance unto the end.  How gracious the instruction in either point of view!  If it were not for the heavenly assurance of the offer of pardon to all, without partiality or exception, many a flagrant transgressor, when brought to a sense of his sin and shame—his conscience pierced with the remembrance of so manifold offences against a just and holy God, his soul over-burdened with the load of guilt—might sit down disconsolate and despairing in the shadow of death: and if it were not for a warning voice, bidding them, as they hope for salvation, to persevere, the righteous, when assailed by temptation, might at length be induced to yield, under a presumption, that their former obedience, that the good deeds they had already performed, would turn the balance in their favour, and procure for them acceptance at the tribunal of God, though they were ultimately found in the way of evil.  Into this error the Jews had actually fallen; and do, as it is affirmed, continue unto this day; and others might “follow their pernicious ways.”

Each of the important doctrines, which we are now considering, is declared by the prophet in the most explicit and unequivocal terms.  “If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.  All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done, he shall live.” [197]  None of his former transgressions shall exclude him from the privileges and blessings of God’s people; he shall be freely and fully received, without reproach, into a gracious covenant with his God.  This condition of acceptance manifestly implies a vital belief in the sovereignty and mercy of God; for without this, none would be encouraged to turn unto Him with the hope of forgiveness and favour: “He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” [198a]  “The just shall live by his faith;” [198b] and the duties which the prophet prescribed to his people, as the means of saving their souls alive, were evidently regarded by him as the fruit of that faith.  Thus, therefore, they were left without excuse; no longer able to say, “that the way of the Lord was not equal;” for so far from having decreed to involve them all in the same indiscriminate punishment, He was willing, nay desirous, of admitting into His favour even the most disobedient and abandoned amongst them.  Although in a state of miserable bondage, He would either “break their bonds asunder,” and provide them with a place of refuge; or He would make their bodily afflictions minister to the well-being of their souls.  If the light of His countenance shone upon them, happy was their lot in the darkest hour of suffering and privation: and if they did not live to enjoy a restoration to the privileges of their own land, still might they rejoice, in the prospect of being restored to their forfeited inheritance in the mansions of eternal peace.  Would they but forsake the idols, after which they were gone astray, and turn to “love the Lord their God with all their heart and soul and strength,” “ceasing to do evil, and learning to do well,” though “their sins were as scarlet, they should be as white as snow; though they were red like crimson, they should be as wool.” [199]  Surely none but the obstinate and rebellious, none but the hardest and most ungrateful heart, could complain of the dealings of God.  Wonderful indeed was the patience which had borne with them so long; adorable the mercy which was still held out for the encouragement and return of a backsliding people.

Under the gospel dispensation, the same gracious doctrine is yet more fully revealed.  “If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” [200a]  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [200b]  “The Lord is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” [200c]  Texts indeed there are without number of the same merciful import; and numerous also are the examples, recorded in Holy writ, in which the Saviour vouchsafed His loving kindness and favour to the weary and heavy-laden sinner; “seeking and saving those that were lost;” and thus affording us the most ample assurance of the truth of His own gracious promise, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” [200d]  Are there any amongst us, my brethren, who have not yet made their peace with God; any, whom Satan hath hitherto held fast in “the gall of bitterness, and the bond of iniquity;” who feel the wretchedness of their condition here, and are alarmed at the expectation of what may come hereafter?  May “the goodness of God lead them to repentance!”  However deep and dangerous the wounds which sin has made in their hearts, there is “balm in Gilead,” if they will earnestly seek it, and apply it to their souls: their offended Lord is still “waiting to be gracious;” and though they have been prodigally wasting his bounty in riotous living, yet if they be at length pierced to the heart by the misery to which it has brought them, and be truly desirous of returning to their peaceful home, and be ready, with all humility and contrition, to acknowledge their unworthiness, and to seek again the divine favour, from which they have been so unhappily estranged, then they will be received even with welcome; if but one sinner return, there “will be joy in heaven;” and the family of the blest will hail his reception; and his wanderings shall be mentioned no more.  “Awake thou that sleepest and rise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” [202]

But let not this gracious offer of mercy be abused; let it not act as an encouragement to a continuance in sin, under a notion that transgressions, however multiplied and aggravated, may be, at any future day, repented and forgiven.  The grace of repentance, like every other good gift, cometh from God; and the proffered mercy, which is long and obstinately rejected, may be, and often is, withdrawn.  If we will not hear, while the Almighty now speaks; if we will not answer, while He is now calling, “the ear may become heavy that it cannot hear,” and we may be left to perish in our sins.  One word more; think of the many sudden departures; you are not without awakening and awful examples; your eye may be closed in death, while it is turned away from your God; or if you should be permitted to experience a few days’ alarm, God alone knows what effect it may produce upon the heart.  Seek Him “in health and wealth;” the work is of amazing magnitude and everlasting importance; it demands all your vigour, all the unclouded faculties of your soul.

And let those who have embraced the blessed gospel, in sincerity and truth, who are believing in the name of Jesus for salvation, and “are fruitful in every good word and work,” ever bear in mind the absolute necessity of persevering in the good and holy cause.  For of what service can it be, to begin the race with animation, and to pursue it, for a season, with ever so great activity, if they loiter before the end, and relinquish their exertions “for the prize of their high calling?”  “When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live?  All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned; in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.”  Here also we must allow, that “the way of God is equal.” [204]  For surely it argues the most depraved and abandoned state of mind and heart, to depart from our God and our Redeemer, after having been once convinced of the truth and the blessedness of His holy religion; having “tasted how gracious the Lord is,” having experienced the guidance and comfort and support of his all-powerful spirit, having had our “hopes full of immortality,” having enjoyed a foretaste of the happiness of heaven, after all to fall away, and prefer to these exalted objects, the miserable pleasures, the base indulgencies, the perishable possessions of earth!  A change so disastrous must reduce the understanding and heart into the worst condition of which they are capable.  It is the evil spirit, which had been once cast out, returning to his abode, with seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and dwelling there, as in a settled home, and the last state of that man is worse than the first. [205a]  The Apostle represents the matter to us in this light: for so difficult is it for a person, in such a state, to be worked upon by any consideration, that he describes it, in his strong language, as an actual impossibility: “it is impossible, (he says) for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance;” [205b] and then he adds the reason, “seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame;” they maintain the horrid principles and character of those who “crucified the Lord of glory;” they deliberately renounce his friendship, and become “enemies to the cross of Christ;” they cast a shameful reproach upon Him, infinitely greater than it is possible for those enemies to do, who were never admitted into the privilege and happiness of His favour.  Fain would we hope, that this is a case of rare occurrence; but it is possible, or why should the prophet and Apostle have represented it?  “Therefore, let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall;” [206a] “let him give all diligence to make his calling and election sure.” [206b]  “The just shall live by his faith: but if that man, (however faithful and just he has been) draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him;” [206c] this is the proper translation of the passage.  God Almighty of His infinite mercy grant, that the words which follow this text, addressed by the Apostle to the faithful disciples of old, may be realized by all of us here; “we, (says he,) are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”  Pray to God without ceasing for grace to persevere: His Holy Spirit, if sought and cherished and used, will enable us to be faithful and to overcome, will “make us more than conquerors, through Him that loved us.” [207a]

In conclusion then, I ask, “is not the way of the Lord equal?”  And of those, who presume to arraign it, are not the ways unequal?  Equal and merciful do all the ways of God appear, whenever they can be traced; equal and merciful they are, whether they can be traced or not.  “O man, who art thou that repliest against God?” [207b]  “Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?” [207c]  Humble thyself, and accept His proffered mercy: Hear His words; “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” [207d]  Salvation is all that the sinner can desire; and surely he can repose, without doubt or distrust upon the all-wise, all-merciful, omnipotent God.  Understanding and experiencing, in so many instances, the divine wisdom and mercy, we can have no difficulty in believing, that God “doeth all things well.”  “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” [208a]  Most unreasonable, most ungrateful would it be to question or complain.  No true believer does so: he is thoroughly convinced of the truth of God’s word, and the equity of God’s dealings and dispensations.  This is his concern, this the great purpose resting in his soul, to be reconciled to God in His own appointed way; to be made an inheritor of His eternal kingdom.  He knows, and it is enough for him to know, that “the grace of God, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men;” [208b] he believes, and he acts upon the belief, that “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin;” [208c] he seeks to “wash and be clean,” and faithfully waits for the promised blessing: “Verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily He is a God that judgeth the earth.”[208d]

SERMON XII.
THE NEW MAN.

In treating of these words, it shall be my first object to explain their real nature and import.  St. Paul has been describing, in this chapter, the character of the unregenerate Gentiles, who “walked in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.”  And this description applies, with almost equal force and truth, to a considerable portion of those who have “named the name of Christ:” though they acknowledge with their lips the truth and obligation of the christian religion, they still “walk in the vanity of their minds.”  As to any saving view of the truth, “the understanding is yet darkened:” and though their ignorance be removed, with respect to a revelation of the divine will, they are as far as ever from “the life of God;” though the mind is enlightened with the knowledge of the fact, the blindness of the heart remains.

The Apostle proceeds to say of his Ephesian converts, “but ye have not so learned Christ”—“if so be, that ye have heard Him” (or rather, as the phrase may properly imply, forasmuch as ye have heard Him) “and have been taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus.”  And what had they heard, as necessary to their salvation by His name, and what is the truth they had been taught?—“that ye put off, concerning the former conversation (the former life and conduct), the old man, which is corrupt, according to the deceitful lusts” (the worldly principles and the sinful habits above described, to which you were addicted before your conversion); and “be renewed (or made new) in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness;” the change thus produced being so great and important as to be compared to a new creation; the inner man being totally different from what he was before.  It is said, moreover, that the new man “is created after God in righteousness;” this is fully explained by the same Apostle, in his Epistle to the Colossians, where he is treating on the same subject; he there speaks of the converts being renewed “after the image of Him who created them.” [211]  At the creation of Adam, God is represented as saying, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” that is, in perfect innocence and purity.  Thus was Adam formed, perfectly upright and holy: by disobedience his nature was changed; he became sinful and unholy; and this change was entailed upon all his posterity.  The object, therefore, of the new creation is to restore in us, as far as we are now capable of it, that image of divine righteousness, which man lost by the fall.  On considering, then, the holy nature of God, we are at once made acquainted with that change, in the natural man, which the gospel teaches and requires; we are brought to perceive and acknowledge that “true holiness,” which as Christians we are bound to desire and attain.

The same truth may be said to have been substantially revealed to the servants of God under the old dispensation: there is no express mention indeed of a new creation of the individual; but the prophets every where assert, what is similar in effect, that no wicked person, without hearty repentance and an entire change of character, must expect the divine favour.  To this purpose is the language of Isaiah: “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do well.” [213a]  The unclean and unrighteous cannot stand before God.  “As I live, saith the Lord God, (by the mouth of Ezekiel) I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, house of Israel?” [213b]  The prophet thereto plainly intimating, that notwithstanding all that goodness and long-suffering of the divine nature, which is expressed in a most compassionate invitation, and is confirmed even by the solemnity of an oath, yet if sinners did not “turn from their evil ways,” there was no remedy, but they must die.  And the same prophet on another occasion, uses language very similar to that of the text; “I will put a new spirit within you, and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh—that they may walk in my statutes and keep mine ordinances, and do them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” [214a]  Agreeably to this, the same people are subsequently exhorted, to “cast away from them all the transgressions whereby they had transgressed, and to make them a new heart and a new spirit.” [214b]  However therefore, the New Covenant doth exceed the Old, with regard to the clearness of its manifestations, and its fuller dispensations of grace, yet are there in both of them the same consistent terms of reconciliation and salvation for rebellious man; in both are injoined the same purity of spirit, and integrity of character; this is the plain, uniform, infallible intimation of both, that “without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” [214c]

That the people of old were but partially awake and alive to the great change required to be wrought in them, from sin to righteousness, from the love of evil to the love of good, from a “bondage unto the elements of the world” to the glorious liberty of the children of God, is too fully proved from the complaints of patriarchs and prophets and holy men of every determination.  The sound of the gospel, thank God, has now gone forth into all lands, and brought “life and immortality to light;” it has awakened many nations, who lay fast bound in the slumbers of spiritual death; but whether it has vitally and savingly awakened a greater proportion of those, to whom the glad tidings have been revealed, is a matter of reasonable doubt.  At least, if we compare what man is by nature, with what he may be and ought to be by divine grace, it must appear, from the life and conduct of the great majority in the christian world, that they have by no means attained that renovation of spirit and principle and character, which can entitle them to the appellation of new creatures.

Of how many may it be said, (and their own consciences will bear witness to the truth of the accusation,) that their thoughts are ordinarily flowing in much the same channel, their passions yielding to the same excitements, and their pursuits directed to the same end, as they would have been, had the pure doctrines and precepts of Christ never been promulgated.  Vast numbers, in the visible Church of Christ, who profess some regard for religion, instead of raising their affections to the standard of the gospel, are seeking to bring down the immoveable standard of the gospel to them: and greater numbers still, of reckless men, bestow not so much as a thought upon that spiritual change, which is absolutely essential to the christian character.  For what is the religion of thousands amongst us?—merely, if I may so call it, that traditionary acquaintance with divine things, which is acquired in infancy; that outward assent to evangelical truths, which was handed down to them by their forefathers; a cold respect for the shadow, without any concern for the substance: they are content to observe the forms of religion, because they have been accustomed so to do, and their neighbours do the same; and to attend to what are called the decencies of life, because they would otherwise be disreputable; to crimes and to holiness strangers perhaps alike; satisfied to do no worse, than they see the multitudes around them doing; and resting their claim to God’s favour on a few moral pretensions, or even on the absence of scandalous immorality; probably looking for exemption from the penalties of the divine law, because their transgressions have never been such, as to expose them to the scourge of the law of man.

This, however deplorable, is a true description of no inconsiderable portion of our christian land; to none of us, we may hope, is the description strictly applicable; but it is too probable, that there are many amongst us, who partake more or less of the character here delineated; who practically regard the christian religion as a system to be accommodated to their dispositions and habits and pursuits of life, and not as demanding a total alteration in their views and tempers and motives of action.  Though their thoughts are directed to objects, far above those of “the heathen who know not God” and though their morality, upon the whole, be of a higher order and a purer cast, yet are their affections willingly led captive by the ensnaring vanities and engrossing interests of this lower world: heaven is the object of their settled creed, but it is not the main purpose to which their endeavours are anxiously and daily directed; in balancing between this or that pursuit, their thoughts are intent only upon providing for “the meat that perisheth,” without any enquiry or concern, how they may best provide for “that which endureth unto eternal life.” [218]  And the morality, on which they so complacently rest, has frequently no connexion whatever with the christian faith; referable rather to philosophy than the gospel, to “the praise of men than the praise of God.”  Hence it follows, that their moral obedience is lamentably defective; extending only to the performance of those duties, which least oppose their inclination or their temporal advantage; while even such duties are but imperfectly discharged.  Their self-government is wretchedly defective; the controul of their thoughts, the mastery over their passions, the command over their tongue, are attainments which they seldom bind it upon their conscience to acquire.  And though they be turned from idols to worship the living and the true God, the fruit of their service, as well as the irregularity of it, affords but too clear a proof, that they “worship him not in spirit and in truth.”  However improved, in their moral character, by their acquaintance with the christian religion, they cannot possibly have imbibed its spirit; nor have arrived at that happy change of the natural man, which can be denominated by a new creation.  They are working out, or rather seeking to work out, their salvation on maxims of human expediency, and in accommodation to human interests; not with “fear and trembling,” lest they should lose the inestimable prize; they are not evincing, that it is “God that worketh in them both to will and to do.” [220]

I have thus enlarged, on the presents occasion, upon the enormous deficiencies of christian character, because it is of great importance for us to understand, what is not accordant with the principles of the gospel, as well as what is: it is of vital consequence, that we should be thoroughly aware of the insufficiency of that spirit and view, of those maxims and motives of those habits and observances, which pass current for religion in the world.

We cannot put on the new man, unless we put off the old; and we cannot put off the old, unless we thoroughly understand in what it consists.  The work is too commonly supposed much easier and much less comprehensive, than it really is: many vicious habits may be corrected, without any essential or fundamental alteration of character.  A man may become weary of the pursuits, disgusted with the follies, worn and sated with the profligacies of life; he may find his circumstances impoverished, his reputation impaired, his worldly interest obstructed: and such considerations as these may generate a purpose of moral reform.  Or the sinner may feel himself oppressed with the increasing weight of years; infirmities are coming fast upon him; and his conscience, in many a whisper of fear, tells him that something should be done, some preparation made, for the world to which he is hastening, for the account which he will speedily be called to render.  The idea of dying with those depravities, to which he has clinged through life, is awful and insupportable.  The more flagrant of them are accordingly corrected; and the rest, which are less startling and disquieting, are undisturbedly retained.  In all this there is no change of principle, no vital alteration: the old man continues; less hideous in features and outward appearance, but the very same in reality.  With this partial renovation the mind is satisfied; the conscience is becalmed; the sinner dies.

Through the “deceivableness of unrighteousness,” through the wiles of Satan and the evil propensity of our own hearts, we are always in danger of being too easily content with our spiritual condition; we look too much to the outward and visible form, and too little within; to little to the habitual principle, the constraining motive, the cast of character: and it is in this, that the difference between the old and the new man, in the christian world essentially consists.  Suffer me to point out again a few of the broad lines of distinction.  The old man, whatever of religion he may profess, lives principally for himself and the world; he may think of religion, and speak of it, and pray for it with the lips, but it has no dwelling place in his heart, is not the business of his life.  However observable, in many respects, his moral deportment may be, his character is seldom consistent.  From some evil pursuits he abstains, in others he wilfully and constantly indulges; some evil passions are kept in creditable order, others are let loose; some duties he professedly performs, and others he professedly omits.  And nothing is done with a true christian motive, or christian view; nothing from a sense of absolute and uncompromising obedience to the will of God.  Nor is it surprising, that there should be such deficiencies and inconsistencies in his character; he has no principle or means, by which he can possibly walk uprightly with his God.  He does not “believe with the heart unto righteousness;” he does not seek, nor desire, to “live in the spirit and walk in the spirit;” there is no life in his devotion, no sincerity in his prayer: he “asks not faithfully” for repentance and holiness, and they cannot be “effectually received.”  He is not disposed to bring his understanding and heart into subjection to the divine will.  He studies not that holy word, which ministers the principle of a divine life, and the spirit of obedience to the soul.  He lives for earth and not for heaven.  He is too proud to be taught the humiliating doctrines of revelation; too full of himself, to bow implicitly to his Redeemer.  In a word, nature is his book and not the Bible; the world is his teacher and not the Spirit of God; earthly and not spiritual subjects are the delight of his heart; he walks not “by faith, but by sight.”

The new man is the reverse of all this; he humbles himself, as a sinner, at the foot of the cross, under a deep sense of his own guilt and the divine mercy; desirous only to be reconciled and saved; he constantly studies the mysteries God’s word, with a submissive understanding and an obedient heart; he rests his only hope on the merit of a Redeemer, whose promises and whose law he receives with all his mind and soul and strength; he prays “without ceasing” for the Holy Spirit, is directed by His teaching, supported by His power, and comforted by His heavenly illumination.  Doubtless he must live in the world, and by the world, as well as other people; but he does not live for the world; his heart is not there, his delight is not there; he is a redeemed pilgrim, journeying in a far country, returning to his Father’s house; and his heart is musing on the “many mansions” there, and full of the inspiring influential hope, that one of them is prepared for him.

Such holy principles are continually manifested by a determination of purpose, a decisiveness of character, a devoted spirit of uniform obedience to the revealed will of God.  As the conscience bears witness, so does the life: “the tree is known by its fruit;” all evil affections are resolutely mortified, all sinful pleasures and pursuits utterly abandoned.  The sincere Christian, the new man, has an earnest desire and care upon his soul, to be “righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” [226a]  For this blessing he daily prays; in this work he daily advances: “loving the Lord God with all his heart,” and “loving his neighbour as himself,” he is of all men the most inclined, as he is assuredly the most bound, to “live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world.” [226b]

These remarks suggest the necessity of further admonition on this head.  Many persons have been led to entertain enthusiastic notions on the subject of the new man, the new creation, the new birth.  They have supposed it principally to consist in certain inward experiences or feelings, which they have been enabled to trace to some particular event or period: the Holy Spirit, as they believe, then beginning, for the first time, to work upon their understandings and hearts; and thus leaving an indelible impression, the seal of their redemption, the earnest of their certain acceptance with God.  Far are we from denying, that such sudden conversions may and do take place: still farther from denying that, whether sudden or gradual, a change from the old to the new man is attributable to the aid of a divine energy and power.  It is, properly speaking, a new creation; the imparting of a new nature: and cannot be effected without the hand of the original Creator: without the operation of that Spirit, which “moved upon the face of the waters,” which “breathed into the nostrils the breath of life, so that man became a living soul.” [227a]  Our Liturgy has correctly and fully embodied the testimony of scripture, on this as on other points: we are taught to pray, that God will “create in us new and contrite hearts.”  This blessing must proceed from that Holy Spirit, who still in His ordinary dispensations, as formerly in His miraculous gifts, “divides unto every man severally as He will;” [227b] not as it were capriciously, but according to His own infinite wisdom and goodness, as He judges expedient to the case of each individual.  But this divine grace is not communicated for the mere purpose of producing a glowing affection, a familiar experience, an enraptured view of spiritual things: nor can any inward feelings alone prove that such grace has been administered at all: the proof must be manifested, in the way pointed out by the text: the new man “is created, after God, in righteousness and true holiness.”  A holy character and a righteous life are the proper and indispensable evidences of such a change; a faithful walking with God, a sober self-government, an upright dealing with all mankind.

I counsel you, my brethren, in the language of truth and the spirit of affection, to be content with no other evidence: equally far be you removed from that carnal profession of the gospel, which despises or neglects the mighty change required of every sincere believer; and from those fanciful notions of spiritual experience, which leave the heart and the character arrayed in the spotted garment of sin: both in the one case and the other, you will be “grieving the spirit,” and “quenching the spirit.”  In your principles and life, as well as in your views and affections and desires, “let old things pass away, and all things become new;” [229a] “put off the old man with the deceitful lusts,” and thus let the new man be put on.  “Abhor that which is evil: cleave to that which is good.” [229b]  This is the method ordained of God, by which we are to “work out our salvation;” this our plain, this our necessary duty.  Pray we fervently, strive we diligently, that we may be thus effectually turned from sin to holiness, “from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God.” [229c]

SERMON XIII.
THE WEDDING GARMENT.

The state of the gospel, our Saviour informs us, may be compared to the conduct of a king at the marriage of his son; or rather, as the meaning is, at the marriage feast which he gave on that occasion: the circumstances which might, in that case, be supposed to occur, aptly represent a variety of particulars belonging to the gospel dispensation.

Before, however, we enter upon the parable, it may be remarked, that spiritual blessings are frequently set forth in the holy scriptures, under allusions to feasting and refreshment.  Thus Solomon of old: “Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: she hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.  Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.  Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.” [231]  And thus the prophet Isaiah, in describing the state of the gospel: “In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” [232a]  And thus our blessed Lord Himself: “I appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto Me, that ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom.” [232b]

1.  Let us now proceed with the parable: “He sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding (feast); and they would not come.”  This probably alludes to the first period of the promulgation of the gospel; under the preaching of John the Baptist and of the earliest disciples; the former endeavouring to prepare the hearts of men for the kingdom and coming of Christ; and the latter proclaiming His glorious arrival, preaching the truth of His gospel, and confirming the word by a display of miraculous power.  But the Jews had been a carnal people, “holding the truth in unrighteousness;” and they refused to give ear to those holy instructions, which called upon them to “lay the axe to the root of all sin,” and to “bring forth fruits meet for repentance.” [233a]  This it was that prevented them, not only from a cordial acceptance of the gospel, but even from a fair examination and inquiry; they would not listen to such doctrine; their heart was decided against it: to this it was owing, these carnal habits and views, that when their Messiah came, they were not ready to receive Him in the way which He required.  Ready enough were they to admit Him in their own way; agreeably to their own notions and desires, as an earthly conqueror, as the dispenser of temporal blessings and rewards; but not as the abolisher of sin; not as a preacher of righteousness; not as a herald, announcing to them the necessity of holiness in this world, and the inheritance of glory in the world to come.  Not all His amazing miracles, not all His fulfilment of their own prophecies, not all the power of His word, could convince their understandings; because they had “an evil heart of unbelief:” [233b] and therefore, notwithstanding His awful warnings, His earnest and affectionate invitations, “they would not come” unto Him, that they might find rest unto their souls.

Here we behold, as in a glass, the real ground of every rejection of the Saviour in every age; it is not because men deny His excellency, or His power, or His mercy, or the greatness of His kingdom: it is because they “love this present evil world,” and the “god of this world hath blinded their minds,” [234a] through the deceitfulness of sin.  Even though eternal salvation is offered them, and they do not disbelieve it; still, awful to think! the Saviour is rejected for perishable interests and sensual indulgences.  “He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, is there not a lie in my right hand?” [234b]  Men walk on in darkness because they love it; and they “love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.” [234c]

2.  But the Jews were not yet cast off, without further admonition and entreaty.  “Again He sent forth other servants, saying, tell them who are bidden, behold I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready; come unto the marriage” feast.  But “they made light of it,” and offered a variety of groundless excuses.  This may chiefly refer to the fuller manifestation of the gospel, after the resurrection and ascension of our blessed Lord; for the parable, as we shall more clearly perceive in the sequel, is partly of a prophetic nature; and intended to represent to the Jews their persevering spirit of obstinacy, and the punishment which would ensue; that some of them at least, when the fulness of the time should come, might be struck with the force of this predictive representation, and be converted to the “truth as it is in Jesus.”

Every thing requisite for the sumptuous feast was liberally provided: in the days of the apostles, abundant indeed was the confirmation of the truth and doctrines of the gospel; bright the manifestation of heavenly glory, that was shed abroad upon it.  Then were strikingly fulfilled the words of their prophet Joel; “I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh—also upon the servants and the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.” [236]  Accordingly the gifts of the Holy Ghost—were openly poured forth, and mighty were the deeds done and the words spoken by His servants, under the operation of His marvellous power: the old dispensation was fully brought to bear upon the new: it was shewn how the character of Jesus corresponded, in His birth and life and death and resurrection and ascension, as well as in His offices of Priest and Mediator and King, with various prophecies and types exhibited in the ancient scriptures.  The benefits and blessings of the christian dispensation were more particularly and largely set forth: the feast was fully displayed before them, in all its rich and magnificent abundance.  Many were then induced to enter into the guest chamber, and partake of the heavenly repast; but many more, the Jewish nation at large, made light of it, and went their way.  And not only so: not only was the invitation unheeded and despised; but the remnant, that is, some who were not content with disobeying the call, “took his servants, and entreated them spitefully and slew them;” persecuted the disciples even unto death.

3.  We now come to a part of the parable, which must of necessity receive a prophetic interpretation: “When the King heard thereof, he was wroth, and he sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up their city.”  This plainly points out the Roman armies ravaging Judea, destroying Jerusalem, and putting the inhabitants to the sword; an event, which did not take place till many years after.  Neither, in truth, is there mention made, in the gospel history, of the Jews having slain any of the disciples, whilst their Lord was with them.  They were murderers of the Son of God, and of many of His apostles and disciples after Him; thus “filling up the measure of their iniquity,” and drawing down upon themselves, and their nation at large, the most tremendous visitation of divine wrath, ever inflicted in this world upon a rebellious people.

4.  We are next carried forward to another period in the gospel dispensation; a period in which we ourselves are deeply and peculiarly interested; from which we date all the spiritual mercies and advantages, all “the means of grace and hopes of glory,” which have been vouchsafed to our souls.  “Then saith the king to his servants, the wedding (the wedding feast) is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.”  The Israelites who were honoured, as the people of God, with the first invitation and call to the gospel, shewed themselves unworthy of it, by their ungrateful and obstinate rejection.  “Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage” feast: go ye, as we may interpret the words of our Lord, go ye, My ministers and messengers, into the world at large, and carry My invitation to the Gentiles; to as many as ye shall find; and proclaim to them that My table is spread for all: since the people, who were first bidden, have “not heard when I spake, nor answered, when I called,” the “kingdom of heaven is now thrown open to all believers,” so that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved:” My kingdom shall no longer be confined to one peculiar race; the time is come, when the blessedness of it shall be diffused abroad as “the waters cover the sea:”  I am ready to “make a covenant with all flesh”—a covenant of peace—of benefits and mercies, such as their “eyes have never seen, nor ears heard;” the universal banquet is spread; bid them all to come.  “So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding (table) was furnished with guests:” for it was not unusual, we must observe, in those countries, for men of the highest rank and distinction to admit to their tables, on remarkable occasions, persons of the lowest condition.

And this part of the parable also was representative of a future period; for though Christ had received homage from some in the Gentile world, and had signified His favour to others as well as the Jews, it could not be said, that the blessings of His gospel were at that time distinctly offered to the world at large.  By St. Peter, in the first instance, in the case of Cornelius, and afterwards more fully by St. Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, were the good tidings universally announced and spread.  This accords with the invitation in the parable, where we find that no exceptions were to be made: the “servants gathered together all, both bad and good;” thus, to men of all characters and descriptions the gospel was indiscriminately preached: the best greatly needed it; and even to the worst the door of grace and repentance was opened.

Doubtless, there are vast differences in the characters of unregenerate men, of the very heathen “who know not God.”  Some will use, more faithfully than others, the feebler light of natural religion; and thus arrive at a higher state of moral rectitude and respectability.  But whatever comparative excellence any one may attain, in such a state, he is at best a polluted sinner: fallen from the favour and family of God; without the power to rise and return; the inheritor of sin and death, without the means of salvation.  God must be reconciled, and the gate of mercy thrown open; or the sinner must perish.  And it is for the offended God alone, to appoint the means of reconciliation; and proclaim the conditions of pardon and mercy.  Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, is the only means of deliverance; by His incarnation and sacrifice has atonement been made for man; “there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved;” [242a] “other foundation can no man lay.” [242b]  The moralist must lay aside his vain pretensions, and humble himself at the foot of the cross; must come to the Saviour and learn of Him; come and be “baptised for the remission of sins;” come, that his character may be essentially changed by the Spirit and the word of God; that he may have new desires, new affections, new principles, new prospects: and many of “the children of this world,” amiable in their disposition and reputable in their conduct, deceive themselves in this matter; perceive not their need of a Saviour, “trusting in themselves that they are righteous;” good in their own eyes, good in the estimation of their neighbours, they undervalue and neglect the gospel; and therefore still continue “dead in trespasses and sins.”

But the bad as well as the good were gathered together; not only to those, whose conduct had been honourable among men, and whose characters were fair; but to notorious delinquent, yea, even to the worst of sinners, the door of the guest-chamber is open; all are invited; all, if they will comply with the conditions and rules of the feast, shall be fed; publicans and sinners, extortioners and unjust, disobedient and reprobate, all are the objects of the Saviour’s mercy; “Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  The invitation is free and universal; none who rightly seek admission, shall be excluded.  This exactly agrees with the language of the evangelical prophet: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat.”  “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” [243a]  “The fountain is opened for sin and for cleanness;” [243b] “wash you, make you clean;” laden as ye are with iniquity come but to your Saviour, in sincerity and truth, with a contrite and repentant heart; come, as He has invited you; look to the all-sufficiency of His sacrifice; believe in Him for justification and life; be ready to learn of His example and to receive His spirit and His law into your heart, and you shall be admitted to His holy banquet, and be made welcome at His table; you shall find comfort in the presence of your Lord, and in them “that sit at meat with you.”

5.  We are now led to the last and most striking part of this parable: the king came in to see the guests; to see whether they conducted themselves worthily of his entertainment, and appeared in the dress which he had provided, for such as were unable to furnish themselves.  And thus, with regard to the heavenly feast, the guests are strictly and constantly accountable for their behaviour.  Our blessed Lord watches the demeanour of all who profess to accept His invitation in the gospel; observes, how every one, who is “admitted into the fellowship of His religion,” fulfils the conditions required of him.  Nor is it the external demeanour alone, which engages His notice and inspection; He sees through the innermost windings of every heart, and will infallibly “judge righteous judgment.”  No violation of His will, in thought, or word, or deed; no insincerity or deceitful appearance can possibly remain undetected.

“When the king came in—he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment.  And he said unto him, friend, how earnest thou in hither, not having a wedding garment?”  The man could not pretend to offer an excuse: he knew the rules of the feast, and had wantonly neglected them; he was, like many other ungrateful people, regaling himself upon a benefactor’s bounty, but shewed him no respect or regard: being therefore self-condemned, “he was speechless.”  Thus will it be with every negligent and disobedient Christian, when the Lord comes to make enquiry into his character: to justify himself, he will feel to be impossible; thoroughly has he known his Lord’s will, and full often has his conscience reproved him for not performing it: there will be nothing left for him, but unavailing sorrow and speechless remorse.

“Then said the king to the servants, bind him hand and foot; and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  Cast him, from the lighted chamber, to the darkness of the night without, where he shall bitterly regret the pleasures he has so foolishly lost.  Sad emblem of that state, whose sadness can be known, here upon earth, only by emblematical representation, only by such figures as “outer darkness,” as the “worm that never dies,” and “the fire that never shall be quenched;” a darkness of mind, in the utter regions of despair, without a ray from heaven to cheer it; the worm of anguish preying upon the soul; and a fire burning, whether without or within, or both; raging yet not consuming.  God grant, that we may hear only of this wretched state “by, the hearing of the ear;” that our eyes may never behold it; that none of us may be consigned to this abode of unredeemed and unredeemable misery: and, that we never may, let us “walk worthy of our vocation;” of the Lord of that heavenly feast, of which we are professing to partake.  Put on, my brethren, the wedding garment of the gospel; put it on, or intrude not into the presence-chamber of your Lord; dread the doom of the hypocrite and the despiser; pretend not to partake of the heavenly feast, to expect any of the blessings of the gospel, unless ye consent and seek to be clothed with the raiment provided by your King; with all those christian graces and virtues, which He will enable you to obtain.

If indeed it depended upon ourselves, “miserable and poor and naked” as we are, to provide a suitable covering; if the sinner were required to produce, from his own store, the raiment of holiness and righteousness, and thus make himself acceptable to his Saviour and his God; then would he have much reason to urge for his unworthiness and deficiency: for he has no means of making any such provision; he has not “wherewith he shall come before the Lord:” his heart is corrupt; his character is unholy; and he has no power to change them.  But the provision does not depend upon ourselves; what the Lord commands us to be clothed with, He has mercifully prepared: He gives His Holy Spirit, to change the heart and reform the character; to enable us to “put off the old man with the deceitful lusts, and to put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”  This spiritual clothing the Lord offers to all His followers; and woe be to those, who refuse or slight it: for this is a contempt of His divine mercy; a defiance of His authority and command: the expectation of His favour, on such terms, is adding insult to presumption.  If we do make a profession of belonging to Him, let us not thus foolishly cast away our hope; let us not deceive ourselves by imagining, that we can possibly maintain a title to the privileges and blessings of the gospel, whilst we are living in the neglect of those ordinances and laws, which the Lord has graciously appointed as the means of our acceptance with Him.  They who neglect the means, will assuredly lose the end; will be numbered among the despisers of their Saviour’s mercy.

And in order to keep alive in our minds that deep concern, which so momentous a subject demands, frequently let us be meditating upon that awful hour, when the King shall come in to visit and inspect His guests: His eye shall be upon every one, and every one’s eye upon Him; imagine yourself then in the guest-chamber without a wedding garment; ready and desirous to sink into the earth; but there will be nothing to cover your guilt and shame: though you have entered in with the other guests, and taken your station at the feast, you will be called out from among them, and everlastingly separated from the goodly company.  A garment you would then, no doubt, most willingly accept; but it will be too late; it should have been accepted when offered; the season of grace will be past; the time for judgment will be come.

My brethren, you have professedly accepted the invitation of your Lord; you have entered into the guest-chamber; and if you be not already clothed with the spiritual apparel, provided by His grace and mercy, delay not an instant to apply for it: the King may come sooner than you expect; I pray that He come not, before you are ready to meet Him.  And where is this garment to be found?  Seek His Holy Spirit; search His Holy word: you will then not fail to find it, and He will dispose you to put it on.  Repent and believe; love and obey: “cease to do evil, learn to do well;” thus “adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour in all things.”  And then you will finally be admitted to the heavenly feast; to the marriage supper of the Lamb; to the company of angels; in the courts of uncreated light—“for the glory of God doth lighten them, and the Lamb is the light thereof;” [251a]  “In whose presence is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” [251b]