In what are called the pleasurable scenes of life, it is unnecessary for me further to insist, how vainly we rove in quest of substantial delight: this indeed is a truth still more level to the experience of us all; it is a path we have often trodden, but never I think with satisfaction.  Witness the continual changing, the endless variety of amusements, which are found necessary in order to relieve satiety and disgust, necessary even when they are innocent; and in sinful pleasures, in lust and intemperance of every kind, it is needless to tell you, there can be no peace; health is impaired and the conscience is burdened; they are like a two-edged sword, cutting on both sides, destroying both body and soul.

The force of these arguments may be made to appear from another consideration; for whatever delusions may be practised upon men, to induce them to reckon and build upon earth alone; to trust for happiness to their own inventions, to human schemes and devices; yet will they never, in their serious moments, contend for the wisdom of their choice; or say, that their expectations have been answered; they will never, when they come to die, recommend to their friends, assembled round their bed, the course which they pursued, as a sure foundation of comfort in their lives, and peace in their latter end; the dying father will not recommend it to his children, nor the dying brother to his brethren.  No: it will then be seen, either by the tears of bitter remorse or the agonies of unrepented guilt, that the way of the world was “the broad way that leadeth unto destruction;” that the soul can never find rest, till it returns to the forsaken paths of righteousness, to the lost image of its God.

And thanks to the unspeakable mercy of God in Christ Jesus, the way of recovery is abundantly made known; the kingdom of heaven, with all its joys and treasures, is opened to every believer.  Wisdom has come down from above, to tabernacle with sinful man; to lighten his darkness, and to rejoice his soul; and “her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace”—pleasantness and peace to those, who seek them with their whole heart, implicitly and devotedly, as manifested in the gracious revelation of their God.

But unhappily, in the way of religion also, in their professed walk of faith, men will be seeking out many inventions of their own, instead of submitting themselves, with simplicity and godly sincerity, to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They are seeking to accommodate His divine law to their corrupt inclinations and indulgences, to the maxims and fashions and interests of an ensnaring world: and thus they fail of the happiness, which they were led to expect.  No wonder, that they find not the christian promises realised; that they fall short of the comfort, as they do of the obedience of faith.  To the believing in our crucified Lord, with all the heart and soul; to “the seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness;” to the “forsaking all and following Him;” to “the spirit of God dwelling in us, and mortifying the deeds of the body;” to the sincere desire after holiness “as He is holy;” to “the fulfilling of the law of righteousness;” to a living hope of “the inheritance that fadeth not away”—to these things, the promise of life is made; of joy and favour here, and eternal felicity hereafter; but if we, in dependence upon our own vain inventions, seek to be blessed in any other way; with a less entire belief, and a less holy profession, and a less devoted obedience, and a less exalted hope, we must not complain or wonder, if we lose our object and aim; “Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap; he that soweth unto the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the spirit, shall of the spirit reap life everlasting.”

The merciful God, when He created man innocent and happy, graciously revealed to him the means, by which his innocence and happiness might be preserved; and shewed thereby, that they were inseparable, that the loss of the one would be the loss of the other.  “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” [327a]  And no sooner had Adam disobeyed, no sooner was his innocence forfeited, than his happiness was gone; he found to his sorrow, as he would not believe to his comfort, the truth of his Creator’s word: and thus miserably ended the first covenant of God with man, the covenant of obedience and works.

Under the covenant of grace, by the blessed and eternal Son of God, it is revealed to us, with equal clearness, how the lost happiness of man is to be recovered; “the way we know:” “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved;” [327b] “set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth:” [327c] this is the way, call it by what name you please—a condition, or a means; it is the only way: happiness, here or hereafter, is attainable in no other.  For this, we have the assurance of that word, which we have seen, under the first covenant, awfully fulfilled; of that word, which can never fail.  My brethren, I cannot doubt, that we are all of us convinced of this truth: then let us pray fervently and faithfully, that the conviction may live in our hearts; that we may, from this day forward, go to “the fountain of living waters, and not hew out for ourselves broken cisterns, that hold no water;” [328a] that we may renounce the vanity of all human inventions, and seek our happiness in God, and God alone.  “Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind; that ye may prove, what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God:” [328b] that ye may “have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” [328c]

SERMON XVIII.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD REVEALED TO THEM THAT FEAR HIM.

The secret of the Lord means, that which cannot be known unless the Lord reveal it; and the phrase here implies, an intimate knowledge of the divine perfections, of the dealings and dispensations of God; a holy and vital communion with Him; an entire trust in His providential care and government; together with that peace, which always dwells in the bosom of a true, penitent, pious believer.  All this, including, as it does, a full acquaintance with the doctrines and duties, the privileges and comforts of the life of faith, is called “the secret of the Lord,” because it is hidden from the natural man, and cannot possibly be comprehended or discovered without divine revelation.

Such knowledge and such blessings are not the growth of earth; they are not the produce of the human intellect or the human heart; they must come by spiritual communication, from the fountain of wisdom and truth.  When man was driven from the bright abode of paradise, his understanding was darkened; losing the favour, he lost the image of his Maker, and thus became naturally estranged from those holy thoughts and affections, which constitute his chief happiness and glory.  Nor is it possible for him to recover this spiritual frame of mind, these heavenly views, this holy and happy acquaintance with God, unless the hand, by which the image was originally stamped, repair the wretched ruin in which it now lies.  Whoever would know the ways of God, must be taught of God; to all, who are not so taught, they are impenetrably secret.  Thus spake the wisest of men; “The Lord giveth wisdom, out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.  Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity; yea, every good path.” [331a]  And thus the apostle, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him;” [331b] that is, man, in his natural state, of ignorance and rebellion against God, cannot form a notion of the value of heavenly blessings; of the enlarged views, the sublimed affections, the sustaining comforts and joys, attainable by an inheritance of the divine promises, both here and hereafter.  But, as the apostle proceeds, “God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God.  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in him; even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God;” as we exercise our thoughts and judgment upon human matters, by the help of human reason, by the natural powers of the mind, so must we attain the knowledge of divine matters, by the aid of a divine spirit; by a holy illumination and guidance; not indeed by miraculous illapses, but still by the distinct and actual operation of heavenly grace, silently producing its effects upon the understanding and heart.

The pride of man, the disputer of this world, does not submit to this proposition and teaching; perhaps commonly regards them in the light of enthusiasm; he has no notion, that there are any secrets in religion, which his own skill and judgment are not sufficient to reveal; he disbelieves every thing, which he cannot comprehend or feel; and affects to throw a shade of discredit and contempt upon all those religious sentiments and affections, to which he is a stranger.  There are not a few such persons in the christian world; who profess to believe all the doctrines of the Bible, and to know all that need or can be known, and yet never submit themselves to, scarcely can be said to pray for or desire, the aid and direction of Almighty God; who imagine, that their liberal education and their common sense entitle them to pass a full and adequate judgment upon all spiritual subjects; and to form a correct notion of all spiritual privileges and blessings.

This is a dangerous and fatal error; a most unfounded presumption; a gross ignorance of the very element and nature of evangelical truth: such persons only judge of the word of God, of the ordinances and benefits of religion, as they would judge of any mere human history; of any worldly occurrence or advantage: they take, what they are pleased to call, a rational view of Christianity; but the only view, which deserves the name of rational, is, not that which appeals to reason alone, but that which is according to truth; according to the acknowledged revelation of God’s sovereign will.  Let us again hear the apostle: “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.—But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” [334]  The merely rational man, therefore, is a carnal man; not indeed an absolute stranger to the word of grace, but unenlightened by it; he has no true taste for holy and divine things; it is altogether impossible for him to appreciate their merits, or to know any thing of their practical effects.

A familiar instance or two may serve to illustrate this truth.  How can any man, who neglects the worship of God, pretend to decide upon its importance and utility?  How can he presume to deny its comfortable and salutary influence upon the soul, its powerful efficacy upon the character and life?  It is a matter of experience; of which he therefore is unqualified to judge.—He that is a stranger to the grace of God in his heart, may despise those, that regard it and live by it, as fanatical persons, who are deluded by visionary ideas and groundless assurances: but he is only judging others by himself; and it would be marvellous indeed, if he, who is avowedly living without the influence of divine grace, should bear witness to the benefit and happiness which it confers.—What can the intemperate man know of the blessings of temperance?  Nothing: except by the want of them.—What can the covetous man know of the pleasures of benevolence and liberality?—the licentious of the excellence of purity, or the ignorant of the treasures of wisdom?—Because the sinner, when overtaken by sickness or affliction, declares that he derives no comfort from religion, are we therefore to conclude, that religion has no comforts at all?  Could we think it probable, that the promises of the gospel would afford consolation to him, in an evil hour, when he had all along been an alien to their nature, when they had been unheeded or despised?

“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.”  The fear of the Lord, in this passage, as in many others of Holy writ, denotes the sum and substance of religion; it implies a sincere faith and trust in God, an awful sense of His majesty, an humble and anxious enquiry after the knowledge of His will, with a holy determination of obedience.  And, in addressing these words to a christian congregation, we may understand them as implying that fear and service of God, which proceed from a vital belief in the whole of His revealed law, in the gospel of His ever blessed Son, our supreme Lawgiver and King; as implying moreover an entire concurrence in all the measures ordained for our salvation.  The fear of God, though common to all believers under every divine dispensation, will vary in its operation and extent, according to the nature and fulness of their dispensation; it will lead them to believe and love and obey, according to their knowledge, to their opportunities and means of grace, and therefore the believer in the gospel shews the working of this holy principle in the full bearing of evangelical fruit.

All who so believe and live, shall have the secret of the Lord abundantly revealed; “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father; and I will love him and will manifest Myself unto him.  The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things.” [338]  The humble disciples of Christ are blest in all their researches after divine truth and knowledge: when they contemplate the perfections of the Godhead, their capacities are enlarged, their affections devoutly engaged, their hearts disposed to profit withal.  A deep sense of the majesty and power of Jehovah leads them to reverence Him; a sense of His justice leads them to walk uprightly; of His omnipresence, to live holily; of His goodness, to serve Him with gratitude and love.  Whilst the cold philosopher, whilst the worldly-minded and the sinner view these great subjects only with a theoretical eye, without any moral or religious improvement, the spiritual believer is powerfully moved and affected; and walks in the light of truth every day and hour.

In their devotional exercises, the faithful servants of the Lord are peculiarly blessed; are made sensible of His presence and His power.  When they pour forth their prayers and praises at the throne of grace; when they thus hold a nearer communion with their reconciled God, a heavenly tranquillity and delight are spread over their souls; they know and feel their connexion with “the Father of spirits,” and they rise from their devotion with an humble confidence, that the tribute of their heart has been accepted; that their fervent supplications will be answered, in God’s appointed time and way, through the merits and intercession of a merciful Redeemer.  To these inspiring hopes and persuasions the impenitent sinner is an utter stranger: if he prays at all, it is but the outward service of the lips; there can be nothing of the spiritual principle of devotion, and therefore nothing of its fruit.

Again: when the humble pious believer sits down to the study of the Bible, with a pure desire to discover and perform the holy will of God; to be nourished with the bread of life; and to draw, from the fountain of truth, the waters of eternal salvation; the grace of the Holy Spirit is with him, to remove the veil from his corrupt heart, and thus to open and enlarge his understanding: by this means he perceives “the wondrous things” of the divine law, and applies them for his own personal edification and comfort.  The true import of the doctrines, there contained, is progressively unfolded to his view; and the full bearing, of every precept and rule of life, is pressed with increasing force and authority upon his heart.  He admires and reverences the holy book; he loves all that it contains; his soul is rapt in the contemplation of the stupendous mystery of goodness and godliness; it elevates his prospects and affections above this lower world; he has “tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come;” [341] he beholds, with the eye of faith, his inheritance in the skies; and this his heavenly view brightens as he advances.

Every sincere Christian can bear witless, that his acquaintance with the word of life is continually improving; that in every page, and almost in every passage, he is perpetually discovering fresh truth and beauty, fresh obligations and delights.  Of all this, the carnal-minded and the sinner are profoundly ignorant; to them the Bible is comparatively a dead letter: they see little of its harmony or its excellency; and where they do see, it has no lively or permanent effect upon their heart; no more, than any other book, of history, or morality, or amusement.

The righteous are not free from suffering and pain, from trials and afflictions; but then they enjoy, under every visitation, a source of comfort and satisfaction, which the thoughtless votaries of this world cannot possibly experience.  There dwelleth, in their hearts and minds, the peace of God; and that must ever be the gift of God, which He will never bestow upon His enemies; the peace of God, which fills them with a holy calm, and reconciles them to every thing.  In seasons of trouble, the triumphs of the gospel are especially manifested; and the “secret of the Lord” especially revealed.  The soul is in a more impressible condition; more ready to learn of Him, who “was meek and lowly of heart;” and therefore more capable of the enjoyment of His promised rest.  “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” [342]

The sensual and the proud are disappointed and mortified and rebellious under the various troubles of life; the Christian receives them in a different spirit, as tokens of his heavenly Father’s love; and tokens of love he finds them to be.  They, who “walk by sight,” are ever complaining of hardships and inequalities in the world; they who “walk by faith,” can perceive in them all the sovereign and gracious hand of the Almighty, who “doeth all things well.”  They, who live upon the favour of the world, must always be rendered unhappy by its frowns; but the Christian lives above it, and cares little for any opposition or evil report: he is fortified and comforted by a secret power, and protected by an invisible arm: and this power shall continue with him, if he continue faithful, even unto the end.  When his journey through the wilderness is about to terminate, when he has arrived at the borders of the flood, and is entering upon the shores of the heavenly Canaan, when nature sinks and the soul is departing, then does the Lord reveal himself, in a manner not to be seen and not to be told: there is a hidden energy, a light within, a sustaining spirit, a mysterious and merciful communion with the Lord of life and death.  This indeed is an awful secret, and one which the guilty can never know; which none can know, who do not, with all their heart and soul, embrace the promises of salvation revealed to them in the gospel: the foretaste of heavenly rest, like the rest itself, remaineth only for the people of God.  They who have so feared and loved the Lord, as to have served Him with a good conscience and with integrity; they who have so believed and trusted in their Saviour, as to have followed whithersoever He led, as to have sacrificed every unholy gratification and pursuit, for the love of His name and for the “one thing needful,” they shall find, in their latter moments, a peace known only to themselves, a joy with which no “stranger can intermeddle.”  The Lord will effectually “shew them His covenant:” they were made by baptism “members of Christ and children of God,” and became thereby entitled, through the free mercy of God in Jesus Christ, to an “inheritance in the kingdom of heaven;” having abided in that covenant, and walked faithfully therein, they will never doubt, but God will assuredly perform His part; and He will give them a full insight into the blessings, which He has covenanted to bestow; they have all along entertained a lively apprehension of the nature and principles of this holy covenant, and of their own correspondent obligations; its holy promises and its gracious rewards have been through life the solace of their souls; and it continues, yea increases, to the last; not indeed enjoyed in perfection here below, but enjoyed as the earnest and pledge of the fulness of their eternal felicity.

In this manner, my brethren, “acquaint yourselves with God,” and come to the true knowledge of His perfections and His ways, and live in the animating ennobling hope of a brighter manifestation of His glory hereafter—in this manner, by a spirit of humble, faithful, entire dependence upon Him, through the mercy of Jesus Christ; by fervent importunate prayer for the illumination and aid of the Holy Ghost; by “seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness by loving Him with all the heart and soul,” and “walking in His fear all the day long.”  Thus are we to be taught of God, thus only can we acquire a capability and disposition to be taught; thus growing in grace, we grow in wisdom, in holy experience, in happy communion with our Lord and Saviour.

Receive this instruction, “high and low, rich and poor, one with another;” it is equally necessary for all.  Unless this spiritual lesson be learnt, the stores of human science, the treasures of human wisdom, are vain and worthless; they can impart no knowledge, no true and saving knowledge, of the ways and dealings of the Most High; they cannot bring the sinner to his Maker: on the contrary, they prevent and hinder him, by ministering a spirit of pride and self-sufficiency.  If thou wouldest know God, fear Him, and be taught of His Spirit and His word; this is His own appointed means, and there is no other.  And ye poor, unlearned as ye may be, seek the Lord in this way, and ye shall assuredly find Him: His secret shall be with you; and He will graciously teach you more, than you can attain from all the world besides; more than the wisest can learn in any other way.

“The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble: but the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” [347]  The Lord revealeth Himself unto the righteous, day by day; they grow in wisdom, as in years: the nearer they approach to the completion of their hopes, to the end of their earthly pilgrimage, to their heavenly and eternal kingdom, the clearer will be their knowledge, and the more delightful their anticipations; even until that day, when the veil of the flesh shall be utterly removed, when they shall “see their God face to face, and know even as also they are known.” [348]

SERMON XIX.
RESIST THE BEGINNINGS OF EVIL TEMPTATION.

This is one of those short, comprehensive, moral directions, with which the holy Scriptures abound, for our safe conduct in life; directions, that are seldom attended to with the earnestness, which their importance demands.  Studied such words should be, with devout meditation and the spirit of prayer; imprinted on the memory, fixed in the heart.  We are apt to trust too much to generalities in religion; we do not sufficiently concern ourselves with its individual precepts and practical admonitions.  And I wish now to enlarge upon this point, before we enter into a consideration of the text; hoping that it may induce you, by God’s help, “to take heed how ye hear” such lessons of instruction.

For the attainment of a religious character, and the means of walking holily and uprightly in our course through life, doubtless the main thing is, to establish sound principles in the heart; and without such principles all the rules and helps in the world will prove of little avail; never to be depended upon in the hour of temptation and trial.  Accordingly we find, in the word of God, these mainsprings of action continually insisted on, as of the highest necessity to be settled in the soul.  A true, a right faith is inculcated, as the great foundation of all spiritual obedience; a vital faith in God, as our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier; a faith in His revealed word, in all the great doctrines of life and salvation there propounded to fallen man; a faith in the necessity of obeying all the commandments therein delivered for the formation of our character and the regulation of our lives; a faith in the world to come, after the death of the body; a world depending, for happiness or misery, upon our choice and conduct here.  The love of God and the fear of God are also laid down as most powerful principles of thought and action; as spreading an influence over the whole of our behaviour.

Still however, the establishment of these first principles is not of itself sufficient for the complete direction and government of our lives.  So manifold and various are the temptations to which we are exposed; so numerous the trials we are called to bear, that particular instructions and commands are also needful for us, in order that we may be prepared to meet the different circumstances which are perpetually arising, in order that we may be taught how to reduce our principles to practice; and to apply the declaration of God’s will to our ordinary intercourse and experience with the world.

For this purpose, we find the old scriptures every where abounding with rules, for the performance of every duty, and the avoidance of every sin: for the immediate service and worship of God, for the discharge of every honest and honourable obligation we owe to our neighbour; for the correction of all those evil affections and passions, to which the corrupt heart of man is so lamentably prone.  Nor in the new testament, where the foundation of faith is more clearly and broadly laid down, are such rules less frequent, or less urgently enforced.  We might indeed expect, what actually is the case, that as a clearer and fuller revelation, that as a higher principle and view, would require a more holy and perfect observance, a greater purity and integrity and blamelessness of character, therefore the several duties demanded of us, in our walk with God, would be laid down and marked with the greater accuracy.  Accordingly we do find, for this purpose, “line upon line and precept upon precept” repeated and urged with the greater fulness and particularity; that we may not, by any unholiness or deficiency in our conduct, disgrace that more glorious revelation, with which we have been favoured as believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Look at His own blessed discourses, especially His sermon on the mount; look at the epistles, which His servants, inspired by the Holy Ghost, have left for our guidance and government; and see what full instructions they contain, for our duty to God and our duty to man.  It is wonderful, for how many cases they provide; for how many instances in our daily experience; how they teach us, on the one hand, the practice of every virtue, shew all the bearings of it and the steps that lead to it; how they caution us, on the other, against every besetting sin; how they point out the manner, in which it gains an influence over us, and cut it up by the root.

But it is time now to turn to the text, which furnishes us with one of the most important cautions for our safe and christian government.  It might be thought, that every true believer in that blessed Redeemer, who came “to cleanse him from all unrighteousness,” would have such a horror of sin, as effectually to secure him from its dominion; as to prevent us from the necessity of admonishing him against its fascination and its power; but such unhappily is far from being the case.  Many, who make a considerable profession of the gospel, are betrayed into grievous inconsistencies; many, who set out with promising hopes and good resolutions, are led astray and overcome; many, for want of attending to the warning given in the text, for want of narrowly watching the beginnings of evil.  Feeling a sincere and decided abhorrence of the grosser sins, they expose themselves without fear to slighter temptations; should they be, in some small matter, inveigled and led into the path of error, it is expected that they shall instantly perceive their danger; that they shall repent and be forgiven, and be more guarded and resolute for the time to come.

But they have not formed a proper estimate of the seducing nature of sin; they know not how the power of the tempter increases with every success: instead of their being alarmed and disgusted with the first commission, they become, from the corruption of their nature, the more captivated and seduced: it is easier for the enemy to draw them on to the second step, than it was to persuade them to the first; their conscience becomes more easily silenced and reconciled; they begin to think, that the strictness, for which they once contended, is not so requisite; they become accustomed to evil; make excuses for it; take delight in it; are flattered with the empty praises and congratulations of their new companions; and proceed by degrees to abandoned and ruinous lengths.  The fact is, that they have been all the while provoking the Spirit of the Lord to desert them: He was grieved at their very first departure, from the path of innocence and integrity; it shewed a carelessness of the ways of God; it argued, that His fear and His love were declining in their heart: with every renewed commission of evil, the Spirit was more and more quenched, till at length He left them to themselves; weak, helpless, incapable of resistance; in the dominion of the enemy, slaves of sin.

How many a youth have we known, trained from his earliest infancy in the holy principles of the gospel, the hope and the promise of his anxious parents, the joy of his family and friends, yet, from incautiously listening, on some unsuspected occasion, to the advice of an evil counsellor, and induced to make experiment of some unhallowed pleasure, thereby shaken in his integrity and thrown off his bias; prevailed upon to repeat the pressing indulgence; thence to proceed to others; till, in the end, the character has been totally changed,—marred, corrupted, ruined.  It seemed but a little matter that first courted his consent; what, though sinful pleasures did surround him in his new scene and his new company, he, poor innocent youth, had no intention of joining in them; was determined to stand aloof.  For a while he did so; and maintained the pious and virtuous and christian habits, in which he had been trained; the habits of prayer, and holy reading, and holy meditation, and uprightness of conduct: but he began to give way, to “fall from the stedfastness of his faith in Christ;” [358] one religious observance after another was broken in upon; one scruple after another overcome; till at last he was stripped of every portion of the garment of righteousness, and left “miserable and poor and naked,” with nothing to hide his wretchedness and shame; the dishonour of his father, the grief of his mother’s heart; disowned by his family, disowned by his God: a misery to himself; dying the death of a sinner.  And whence came all this load of misery upon him?—on account of his first unguarded yielding.

This representation has been but too frequently verified: yet not to the young only has such heedlessness proved a snare and destruction.  We may see its consequences ravaging around us almost every day; in persons of every age and condition.  How many a sabbath-breaker has contracted his dreadful habit from a very small beginning of neglect?  At the first he was tempted very occasionally to absent himself from the House of his God; to indulge now and then, extremely seldom, in worldly pleasure; or to engage, in a thoughtless hour, in the dispatch of worldly business; but his affection and reverence for the holy day by degrees grow colder, and the temptations became stronger: the Lord’s House was, in a great measure, forsaken; the Lord’s day became his day of dissolute pleasure; or his day of business and accounts, as best suited his condition; and hence followed, as it must of necessity, the total decay of religious principle and religious character.

Thus it is, once again, with evil company of every description; it is ensnaring beyond all suspicion, and beyond all calculation: wicked or worldly companions infuse their venom, into the mind and the bosom, gradually and insensibly: even if they have no intention so to do, as in truth they too often have, their very presence and conversation and habits are so corrupting, that it is impossible for any one, who is familiarly acquainted with them, to escape the contagion; in fact, whoever seeks, or whoever tolerates such company, has a lurking disposition to evil, though it may be unperceived and unsuspected by himself.  Flee from every approach to this treacherous and dangerous ground, as you would “flee from the wrath to come.”

From this statement, which indeed is but imperfect and feeble in comparison with the magnitude of the evil, against which I am seeking to warn you, my hearers; from this you may be better prepared, by God’s grace, to receive and value and apply the important admonition of the text: you will observe how particularly, how urgently, with what repetition, what varied forms of expression, the wise man delivers his charge; so delivers it the more, because he speaks feelingly, from dear-bought experience; because he himself had been lamentably ensnared, for want of attending to it in his own case.

Let us hearken to the counsel of this inspired and experienced guide: he says, “Enter not into the path of the wicked;” never be prevailed upon to set your foot on this forbidden ground; “go not in the way of evil men,” trust not yourself in their company or in any of their goings: further he says, “Avoid it,” avoid this ensnaring way; be at pains to keep clear of it; use your utmost watchfulness to discover it; go in another direction, in the way of the upright and holy.  And, as if this caution were insufficient for his purpose, he adds, “Pass not by it;” suffer not yourself even to approach it, to look upon it; lest you be beguiled by its false charms, and unwarily led to desire them.  Not willing yet to cease from admonishing, in order to make a yet deeper impression, he concludes, “Turn from it and pass away;” the instant you perceive it, turn round with the dread of danger; as you would if you discovered yourself on the edge of a precipice, in fear of falling headlong; turn at once, and pass decidedly and quickly away.

In obedience to these rules, my brethren, consists our great security, under the guidance of infinite wisdom and the support of almighty power: the grace of God is ever ready to be bestowed, ever at hand to “preserve us from falling;” but God expects and requires us, in the use of this grace, to employ every means of prudence, and to strive with a holy and unbending resolution: this grace is afforded for the very purpose, that we may so watch and work; and if we do not thus improve it, with circumspection and diligence, it will be withdrawn.  Never so much as listen to any sinful proposal, to any doubtful invitation; stay not to reason upon it at all; turn away with holy jealousy; never suffer the eye to dwell upon a forbidden object, to dwell even for a moment; through the eye it may find a passage to the heart, and inflame it with unlawful and hurtful desire: resist at once; the first victory is the easiest, as well as the surest.  Say to the temptation, as your Lord said to the tempter, “get thee hence, Satan;” “flee from him and he will flee from you”—“escape for thy life.”

And here I must add an observation upon the means, by which we may be enabled to follow this momentous advice of the wisest of men.  We must “watch and pray, that we enter not into temptation;” [364] we must go forth into the world in the spirit of watchfulness and prayer; praying, not only that we may have the grace to watch, but also when the trial actually arises, when we are watching.  In the presence of temptation, or if we do but perceive or suspect that it is coming, let the soul be lifted up to the “Lord of all power and might;” let the language of the heart, if not of the lips, be poured forth in pious aspiration to God; if it be but a word, a wish, or a thought, it will be clothed with strength, and minister a stedfastness to the mind and heart.  We are thus animated by the assurance of divine support, and fixed in our holy determination of resistance to all evil.  Much depends, for safety and success, upon this habitual spirit of devotion; it is our buckler and shield in every moment of conflict; without it, we are standing, in the feebleness of nature, before the mighty enemy of our souls; ready to “be taken captive by him at his will.” [365a]  “Be ye therefore sober (that is, be serious) and watch unto prayer;” [365b] and thus “go forth conquering and to conquer.”

SERMON XX.
THE LOVE OF CHRIST FOR THOSE WHO DO THE WILL OF GOD.

From this, and one or two other passages in the gospels, it has been sometimes imagined, that our blessed Lord set no value on the common relationships, the natural ties, the tender endearments of life; and that He intended to teach His disciples, by His own example, to neglect such considerations altogether; as if all Christians had an equal claim upon our affection; as if the spiritual brotherhood were the only object worthy of our regard; as if parents and brothers and sisters were merely upon a footing with the rest of mankind.  This notion is entirely erroneous; it is a mistaken conclusion from the words and conduct of our Lord.

His own example, on several occasions, has afforded a sanction to the feelings of private friendship, as well as of family affection.  How deeply was He moved at the death of Lazarus!  “Jesus wept, then said the Jews, behold how He loved him!” [367a] And of our Lord’s disciples we read, that there was one, treated with peculiar tenderness and regard; one, “who leaned on His bosom;” [367b] one, distinguished by the high and honourable name of the “beloved disciple.”  And this disciple, the evangelist St. John, has drawn one of the most striking pictures of an affectionate family, ever represented to the eye and the heart of man: “There stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.  When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son!  Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother!  And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”  Jesus not only loved and protected His mother through life, but was solicitous to provide for her future well-being, even amidst the agonies of the cross; commending her to His dearest personal friend; and by way of effectually securing his regard and her confidence, He calls John the son, and Mary the mother: Behave to each other as mother and son; and it is all I can ask or require.  This must be admitted as a proof, that Jesus felt most tenderly and peculiarly for His nearest earthly relation: and it shews, that those passages, which have been supposed to favour a contrary opinion, have been wrongly interpreted.

Let us now consider the circumstances which led to the declaration in the text.  It appears, that the earnestness and perseverance of Jesus in teaching the people, notwithstanding the opposition of the Pharisees, had given disquietude to His friends and brethren, that is, to His near relations, some of whom did not believe in Him.  They seem to have desired Him to forbear and discontinue His ministry at that particular time, supposing that He had exceeded the bounds of prudence; and it further appears, that they had induced Mary, His mother, to concur in this improper design; which conveyed a reflection upon His wisdom, and the perfection of His character.  They came, therefore, when He was teaching the people; and, not being able to approach Him for the multitude, they sent to speak with Him.  But Jesus, aware of their intention, answered by enquiring, who His mother and brethren were; thereby intimating, that they had no right to interfere on such an occasion, nor had any authority over Him in respect of His important work; that His spiritual affection to His disciples, in the advancement of their eternal interests, was greater than any natural affection, which He bore to His relations, in a mere earthly point of view; that His love to men’s souls had the greatest consideration and weight with Him; that even His mother was nearer to Him as a true believer, than on account of her natural relationship; and that His brethren would derive no advantage or favour from Him, if they were not also believers.

Jesus then proceeded to declare, that His true disciples, even though they had no connexion with Him by the natural tie of blood, would be regarded in the light of relations; would be the objects of His sincere affection and esteem; “He looked round on them which sat about Him, and said, Behold My mother and My brethren, for whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother and My sister and mother.”  We cannot but observe, that these words are addressed, not merely to the disciples of that day, but to every individual Christian throughout the world; whosoever, of any age or nation, should do the will of His heavenly Father, by hearing, believing, obeying His revealed word, by embracing the gospel of salvation, he would, in life, in death, in judgment, and for ever, be honoured and blessed; even as the brother, sister, or mother of Him, who is the Lord of all, and the King of glory.

How encouraging, how delightful an assurance, to be persuaded, that in all our difficulties and troubles, in all our bereavements and desertions and afflictions, through this vale of tears, we have a friend, a relation, at the right hand of God, the omnipotent Redeemer; who is advanced, after His earthly humiliation, to the throne above, for the very purpose of “receiving gifts for men;” and of distributing them for the relief and assistance of all His loving and faithful brethren.  How fortunate do the needy children of men esteem themselves, if they have a kind relative or friend in a high quarter; one possessed of honour and wealth and power.  They feel themselves ennobled by the connexion; and are raised above the fear and apprehension of want, by a confidence in his influence and generosity.  But what are the highest and greatest of earthly relatives, in comparison with the glorious everlasting Son of God; with Him who “hath put all our enemies under His feet;” with the “high and holy one that inhabited eternity?”

Earthly friends may and do fail, often when they are most needed; an untoward occurrence, a groundless displeasure arises; and all our expectations from them are suddenly swept away.  But with Jesus “there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning:” He searches our hearts; and as long as they are really and stedfastly united with Him, no casualties, no outward appearances can estrange us from His favour.  Earthly friends die, one after another; and often at a time, when they are become most dear and most necessary to us; but Jesus liveth for evermore; and the union, we form with Him, is in no danger of being severed by any change of time or circumstance; but goes on progressively and perpetually increasing.  The very disasters, which often tend to disunite us from our earthly friends and brethren, serve but to bind us the more closely to the Saviour; in adversity, in poverty, in contempt, in persecution, we find Him the nearer and dearer; always most ready to succour us, when most wanted and desired: always ready, and always able.  So that, if the whole world were to fail us, His abiding favour would more than counterbalance all the evils of our lot.  “When even my father or my mother forsaketh me, the Lord taketh me up;” [373] He is in the stead of parents, in the stead of all: “the Father of the fatherless, and the God of the widow;” the Lord of consolation, and the Lord of love.  The upholding of His Spirit will sustain our infirmities; one beam of His gracious mercy will cheer all the darkness, which the world casteth over our souls.

The disciples of Jesus experience His friendly comfort every day and hour: even if there were no other world than this, they feel themselves abundantly blessed in their connexion with Him, by His present affection and grace; but there is another world; where their joy and love will be continued, and their union with Him perfected in glory.  He is called, in gracious condescension, “the first-born among many brethren;” [374a] He has suffered and died and triumphed and risen again, risen “as the first fruits of them that sleep;” [374b] and His brethren, “who endure unto the end,” shall also rise from the sleep of death, and “see Him as He is, and be like Him:” [374c] they shall “be the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” [374d]

And “do not our hearts burn within us” at the representation of this blessedness?  Do we not desire the honour, the privilege, the advantage, the excellency of being thus united, in a bond of holy endearment, to the glorious Son of God, to the Saviour of our souls?  Undoubtedly we do: unless our understandings be so darkened and our affections so depraved and debased, that we are incapable of choosing between good and evil, that we “put darkness for light and light for darkness.”  There cannot be one amongst us, who does not profess to set a value upon the favour and friendship of his Lord; upon the relationship which, as christians, we are graciously permitted to bear to Him.  Not one of us would go to rest, content and happy, with the prospect of being deprived of this distinguished and heavenly blessing.  Let us know and remember then, that our relationship to Him is not like that of earthly families, a mere name which we have inherited from infancy; and which will necessarily continue without our care or concern.  We became related to Him by our baptismal covenant; but there must be something more than baptism; something more is required than a mere profession, than an outward belonging to His visible church, in order to our being acknowledged as His brethren.  Brethren by name all of us are; nay, we have been spiritually admitted into holy connexion with Him: but Jesus regards those only, as accepted members of His family, who believe in Him with all their heart and soul; who look to Him, with a single, entire, and constant dependence, for life and salvation; those, who “are daily renewed in the spirit of their minds;” and desire and strive to bring all their affections into a righteous subjection to Him and His holy law; those, in a word, “who do the will of God.”

We cannot sufficiently reprobate the practice of those persons, who boastfully claim the Saviour as their “familiar friend,” without an abiding concern and a strenuous endeavour to walk as He walked, in all the ways of spiritual and moral integrity.  Consider, I pray you, His own clear text on this point: “If ye love Me, keep My commandments:” [377] there can be no other evidence of our saving interest in the Lord, but that which He Himself has established.  His true disciples and brethren must bear His image; and not the marred, corrupted, hideous likeness of the author of sin and death.  This it is, to be spiritually and effectually incorporated into the family of Jesus Christ; thus is our relationship to be proved and cherished: he that walketh as a brother and a friend, will be owned as such; he, that faileth so to walk, will be disowned and cast away, whatever his pretensions: “better had it been for that man if he had never been born;” better still, if he had never been born “of water and the spirit;” if he had never “named the name of Christ.”  Let us then faithfully remember, not only the joys and privileges of the brethren of our Lord, but the means also, which are absolutely necessary for the proof and establishment of this holy title; the conditions, the evidences, and the duties of so high and happy a state.

Independently of a universal feeling of benevolence for all mankind; it is evidently the will of God, that the different members of each family should be especially attached together, for the sake of promoting each other’s interest and comfort; and thus of contributing to the good of society at large; to the increase of the general stock of happiness, and the diminution of evil.

And this, the design of a merciful Providence, which is manifest to our common reason and our common feelings, is abundantly verified and enforced by the holy word of God.  The fifth commandment in the law distinctly recognizes and requires the exercise of domestic affection; and it is repeatedly confirmed, under the gospel covenant, by the pen of an inspired apostle.  That apostle has farther declared, that “if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” [379]  And the sense of this precept may be properly extended, to sanction and command all those peculiar offices, of kindness and countenance and support, which the members of a family can perform for each other.  Under ordinary circumstances therefore, if there be no opposing necessity, the natural tie is to be respected by the Christian, and bound upon his conscience and his heart.

But all this hinders us not from looking, with a very different eye, upon the spiritual and the worldly relation; upon the good and the evil; though both may be objects of our kind personal offices, the nature and degree of our affection may vary most exceedingly.  Our love for the truly christian relative has a fervour, a purity, a delight, which nothing but the mutual working and spirit of religion can possibly generate: the happiness proceeds from that sacred, heavenly source, from which both of us draw our principles and hopes; from the consciousness of our common interest in the great Redeemer, and our common relationship to Him: we are both “members of Christ and children of God;” inheritors of a better kingdom; to which we are journeying together, and of which we love to be discoursing; it is a bond of union, which nothing can separate; not distance, not death: for this is the great consideration, the great enhancement of our joy and comfort, that the love which we are bearing for one another, in the kingdom of grace, shall be renewed and matured in the kingdom of glory.  And unless there be this principle of attachment between relations, this common faith and hope, this exercise of piety and godliness, this interchange of holy affection, all other attachments, however requisite for this world, are but time-serving and poor: death will be the dreadful extinction.  But when the natural affection is thus combined with the spiritual, and draws its nourishment from it, they produce together a happiness, which none but such relations can know.

And further, we are taught by this example of Christ, that every sincere believer, with whom we are made acquainted, with whom we have intercourse, is to be treated as a brother; whatever be his situation in life, he is an object of affection far more noble and delightful, than any human tie can possibly produce; and is entitled to our best and most benevolent services.  We may not be familiarly associated; we may not dwell with him as with an earthly relative; there may be a distance of rank between us; but we love and honour him, for the Lord’s sake and his own sake, as one of God’s redeemed people, with whom we hope to dwell in love for ever; and therefore our soul delighteth “to communicate with him and to do him good.”  Pity that there is not, in the christian world, more of this spirit of the blessed Jesus; more friendly sympathy and brotherly interchange; more regard for one another, as members of the same holy family; the rich for the rich, the poor for the poor, the rich and poor for each other.  Far different would be our condition in this world, if all were thus regarding, thus feeling for, thus helping one another.  Why is it not so?  For the want of a true christian faith and principle.  If the tree were good, the fruit would be thus beautiful.

My brethren, allow me affectionately to recommend this subject to your private and most serious consideration; to your daily prayers; as a subject, in which your own interest in the Saviour is deeply involved; as a subject, intimately connected with all your best promises and hopes, in this life and the life to come.  And may the God of love shed His spirit abroad amongst us, and “pour into our hearts this most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues.”  Has Jesus, our common Lord and Master, our heavenly and eternal King, declared, of every faithful disciple, that “the same is to Him, as a brother and sister and mother?”  Then remember His example, and remember His words, “as I have loved you, that ye love one another:” remember them, or you will be forgotten by Him: “love the brotherhood,” or you do not belong to Christ; your profession is hypocrisy.  “Walk in love, as Christ hath loved you;” let it be your daily walk: the reward is great, in every point of view; great upon earth, in present comfort and peace and honour; greater on the latter day, in the approving declaration of your Lord; “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me:” [384] greatest in heaven, where we shall be made “perfect in love;” in the love of God, and of the holy angels, and all His redeemed people, for ever and ever.