I. For their consolation and support—

I. For their consolation and support—

PERSECUTION for righteousness’ sake is what every child of God must expect: and when faith is in lively exercise, it will be sustained without murmuring. This is amply shewn in the preceding chapter. But when faith languishes, the trials which believers are called to endure will appear almost insupportable. Such was the state of many of the Hebrews to whom the Apostle wrote: they were in danger of becoming weary and faint in their minds through the greatness and long continuance of their sufferings. On this account, St. Paul, having shewn them the power of a living faith to support them, brings before them a variety of considerations,

  I.      For their consolation and support—

The patience of Christ under his sufferings is beyond all comparison the strongest incentive to resignation under ours; since ours fall so infinitely short of his. This the Apostle first propounds for their consideration; and then goes on, in the words which we have just read, to offer other suggestions, which also are of great weight for the reconciling of the mind to trials, of whatever kind they be. From them we also, when bowed down with affliction, may learn to support them manfully: for,

  1.      They are far less than we have pledged ourselves willingly to endure—

[The very terms on which we come to Christ are, that we shall be ready to die for him at any time, and in any way, that he shall see fit. We are plainly warned by our Lord himself, that, if we will not lay down our life for him, we cannot be his disciples. “If we love our lives, we shall lose them: but, if we lose them for his sake, then shall we find them to life eternal.” But, what is the loss of temporal good when compared with that of life? Be it granted that, like the Hebrews, we have suffered much: yet our persecutors have stopped far short of what they might have inflicted; and may, for ought we know, be yet permitted to inflict: “We have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Instead therefore of complaining of the heaviness of our trials, we have reason rather to be thankful for the lightness of them: and, if we faint when they are so light, how shall we support them when they come upon us with unrestrained force? “If we have run with footmen and they wearied us, how shall we contend with horses?” In our “strivings then against sin” and Satan, let us prepare for yet greater extremities: and, when we are prepared for the worst that can come upon us, then will all which stops short of that appear light and easy to be borne.]

  2.      They are all the fruits of paternal love—

[God had exhorted his people under the Old Testament dispensation to regard their trials in this view, as sent by a loving Father to his children; and to receive them with truly filial gratitude, “neither despising them,” as though they came only by chance, “nor fainting under them,” as though they had been sent in anger. And the Apostle fixes our attention particularly on the tender and affectionate terms under which our God addresses us; “My son, despise not.” And we should not overlook such endearing expressions, which, if duly attended to, would reconcile us even to the most afflictive dispensations. The truth is, that man is only an instrument in God’s hands: and that the very afflictions which men lay upon us for our excess of piety, God lays upon us for our defects, or for the further advancement of his work within us. St.Paul’s thorn in the flesh was ordained of God to prevent his being too much elated by the revelations which had been vouchsafed unto him. Our state in this world is a state of discipline: we are yet children, and need correction on account of our manifold errors and faults: and it is by correction that we are gradually brought to the exercise of true wisdom. This is found universally amongst men; insomuch that there is no wise father who does not occasionally correct his child. A man, who sees children that are unconnected with him acting amiss, takes no notice of them, but leaves to others the painful office of correcting them: but his own children he corrects, because of his peculiar interest in them, and his love towards them. Would we then that God should disregard us as bastards, that have no real relation to him? Would we not much rather be dealt with by him as his beloved children, in whose welfare he takes the deepest interest? Whatever then be our affliction, corporeal or mental, personal or domestic; or with whatever view it may be inflicted on us by others, let us view the hand of a Father in it, and say, with Eli, “It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good.” Let us “hear the rod, and him who hath appointed itg;” and endeavour to make a just improvement of it for the good of our souls.]

  3.      If we have submitted patiently to the rebukes of our earthly parents, much more should we to those of our heavenly Father—

[Earthly parents do not always correct so justly or so temperately as they ought; their rebukes being sometimes little else than an ebullition of their own evil tempers: yet we have submitted to their corrections without presuming to arraign the wisdom, the justice, or the love that inflicted the chastisement upon us. This is a part of that honour which children were by God’s law enjoined to pay those who were the fathers of their flesh; and which, if they obstinately refused to pay, they were, by God’s own appointment, to be stoned to death. But this submission is due in an infinitely higher degree to Him who is the Father of our spirits: and, if we refuse it to him, a far worse death assuredly awaits us in the world to come; for he never inflicts any evil upon us but for our greater good, even that we may become in a greater degree “partakers of his holiness.” On the other hand, to obedient children there was a peculiar promise of a long and happy life; a promise doubtless fulfilled to multitudes in former times, and not unfrequently accomplished now. But to those who meekly submit to the Divine chastisements, it shall be fulfilled in the Canaan that is above, even in the regions of blessedness and glory for evermore. Shall we then refuse to the corrections of our heavenly Father that submission which we paid to our earthly parents? “Shall we not much rather be in subjection to him, and live?” Surely this is our truest wisdom, and our highest privilege.]

  4.      Our sufferings, how grievous soever they may appear at the time, are all sent for our eternal good—

[Whilst we have the feelings of humanity, chastening, of whatever kind it be, cannot but be grievous to us at the time: but after it has produced its proper effects, “it yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby.” At first, tribulation works impatience: but, when the soul has been well disciplined by a continuance or recurrence of it, a better temper is produced; and, through the sanctifying operations of the Holy Spirit upon the soul, a different process is produced; and “tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope; even a hope that maketh not ashamed.” Now shall we complain of dispensations which are sent for such an end? Shall the vine complain of the pruning knife, which cuts only with a view to increase its fruitfulness? Shall the vessel complain of the furnace into which it is put in order to effect its meetness for the Master’s use? Let us then look to the end; and we shall never repine at the means which Infinite Wisdom has ordained for the attainment of it. If we be “in heaviness through manifold temptations, let us not forget that there is a fit occasion for them; and that the trial of our faith, which is infinitely more precious than that which purifies the gold, will be found to the praise and honour and glory of our God, and to our own also, at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” If we be “made partakers of his holiness,” we shall never complain of the means which were used to bring us to the attainment of it.]

  5.      Walk so as to encourage others by your example—

[The influence of example is far greater than we are ready to imagine. Peter, in order to avoid the displeasure of the Judaizing Christians, had recourse to dissimulation. (Here I may observe that if an Apostle swerved so grievously from the path of duty, through his carnal reasonings, who has not reason to take heed lest he also fall?) And what effect had this on others? “The whole Church dissembled with him; insomuch that even Barnabas himself was carried away with their dissimulation.” On the other hand, see the effect of good example in the Apostle Paul. He was imprisoned for the truth’s sake, and retained his fidelity undaunted, and undiminished; insomuch that “his bonds for Christ’s sake became a matter of notoriety through Cæsar’s palace, and in all other places. And what was the effect of this? We are told, that “many of the brethren in the Lord waxing confident by his bonds,” and by what they heard of his fortitude in supporting them, “were much more bold to speak the word without fear,” so that “the Gospel was furthered” by the very means which its enemies used to obstruct its progress. Similar effects will, in a greater or less degree, follow from our conduct under our afflictions. There are in every place many who may be considered as “lame,” who will be stumbled and weakened, and discouraged, if they see us faint; whilst, on the other hand, they will be encouraged and emboldened to go forward, if they behold us adhering resolutely to the path of duty, and supporting manfully the trials which are come upon us. Let us then think of the probable effect of our conduct upon those around us: let us think how much good or evil we may do, according as we approve ourselves to God, or not, in the discharge of our duty. There is a high line which we should pursue, even that which the Apostle prayed for in behalf of the Colossians, to be “strengthened with all might, according to God’s glorious power—unto all patience, and long-suffering, with joyfulness—giving thanks unto the Father who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” And think not that such an aim as this would betray any arrogance in you: for Timothy was but a youth, and yet was directed to be an example, not to the world only, but to believers also, in every thing that was goodo: and it is the duty of every one, whether a minister or not, “so to let his light shine before men, that all who behold it may be led to glorify their Father which is in heaven.” In a word, let us all endeavour so to walk, that we may say with the Apostle Paul, “Whatsoever ye have heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace shall be with you.”]

The Apostle having instructed the Hebrews in the true nature and end of their sufferings, suggests some further considerations,

  II.      For their direction and guidance—

These also we shall consider as addressed to us; and in correspondence with them we would say to all sufferers of the present day,

  1.      Yield not to dejection—

[Troubles, whether felt or feared, are apt to depress the spirits, and to enervate the whole man. This we see depicted in strong colours in the Prophet Ezekiel. “Sigh,” says God to him, “Sigh, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins, and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings: because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water.” But it should not be thus with us, whatever be the trials with which we have been visited, or with which we may be menaced: for they all are ordered by a wise and gracious God, who controuls and limits all according to his own sovereign will, and without whose permission not a hair of our head can be touched. Our enemies, unconscious of their dependence on him, plot and threaten our destruction. But see what the Psalmist says concerning them: “The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth: but the Lord shall laugh at him,” as a poor, impotent, and malignant worm, that exists only through his forbearance and tender mercy. Now, I ask, shall God laugh at him, and we cry? Shall we not rather set the poor impotent worm at defiance? But see what the Psalmist further adds: “The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.” And what is the issue of all this? “Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.” “Say ye not then, A confederacy, like those who are crying out, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid: but sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread: and he shall be to you for a sanctuary.” And when others would alarm you with the supposed power of your persecutors, let your answer be, “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heavenx.” The greatest of all your adversaries, even Satan himself, could not so much as enter into the swine without permission: how then shall he, or any of his confederates, hurt a child of God without permission? You may laugh them all to scorn, and shake your head at themz: for, with God on your side, there are a million times “more for you than against you.” Only “be strong in the Lord,” and you will be more than conqueror over all.]

  2.      Swerve not from the path of duty—

[Fear, and unbelief, and impatience “will make our ways crooked:” and the contrivances to which under their influence we shall have recourse for the purpose of avoiding difficulties, will augment our difficulties an hundred-fold. The way to “make straight paths for our feet,” is simply to fulfil the will of God, and leave events to him. If Daniel and the Hebrew Youths had set themselves to consider how they might avoid the trials with which they were threatened, they might have attained their end, it is true; but they would have involved their souls in the deepest guilt. They followed the straight-forward path: not moving to the right hand nor to the left, to avoid the fiery furnace, or a den of lions. This was right — — — And this is the very direction given to us also by God himself: “Ponder the path of thy feet; and let all thy ways be established: Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left; remove thy feet from evil.” Adopt this then as the principle from which no consideration under heaven shall induce you to depart; “I must obey my God;” and, if the whole world combine to divert you from it, let your reply be, “Whether it be right to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.” This will deliver you from endless perplexity. This will make your every path both clear and straight. “If your eye be evil,” and the film of carnal hopes or fears be upon it, “your whole body will be full of darkness:” but “if your eye be single,” and you have no purpose but to serve and honour God, “your whole body will be full of light,” and your steps be directed in a way wherein you shall neither err, nor stumble.]

MMCCCXXXVII

THE NECESSITY OF HOLINESS

             Heb. 12:14.

Follow.… holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

THE Gospel, while it brings us into a state of reconciliation with God, enjoins us to maintain peace with man. This is rendered difficult, not only by the evil dispositions that are exercised on account of daily occurrences, but more especially by the enmity which subsists in the hearts of the generality with respect to religion; in reference to which our Lord himself said, “I come not to send peace on earth, but a sword.” Much however may be done by means of patience, meekness, and forbearance; and it is our duty to sacrifice any thing, except a good conscience, for the sake of peace. But our duty to God is paramount to every other consideration: therefore the Apostle, exhorting the Hebrews to “follow peace with all men,” adds immediately, “and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” the import of which is, that we may fail in obtaining peace, however earnestly we may seek it; but holiness we may, and must, attain at the peril of our souls; for without it no man shall see the Lord.

We shall,

  I.      Ascertain the nature of holiness—

Holiness is a conformity of heart and life to the revealed will of God—

But, to enter more fully into the subject, it implies,

  1.      That we love the whole will of God—

[There is not any thing that more truly characterizes a Christian than this: it draws a line of distinction between him and all other persons upon earth. The self-righteous Pharisee, and the most refined hypocrite, have secret objections against the law of God; they think its precepts too strict, and its sanctions too severe. They would be glad if it left them somewhat greater latitude. They would be content that it should forbid gross outward sins, and insist on the performance of outward duties: but that it should call for continual self-denial, that it should require brokenness of heart and contrition for the most secret offences, and demand the utmost exertion of all our faculties in the service of our God, this appears too much; they would wish for an easier way to heaven.

But a person that possesses the smallest measure of true holiness, is the very reverse of this. He lothes himself for not complying more perfectly with the demands of the law; but he never condemns the law as too strict; he would not have it require one jot or tittle less than it does. He even admires and loves it for its purity; he says with David, “The commandment of the Lord is pure, therefore thy servant loveth it.” He acknowledges it to be not only “holy, and just, but good” also, and calculated to make every one happy that obeys it. And though he cannot obey it perfectly, he can truly say, “I delight in the law of God after my inward man:” yea, the language of his heart is, “O that my ways were made so direct, that I might keep thy statutes.”]

  2.      That we live in no allowed deviation from it—

[We mean not to say, that a Christian experiences no deviations from the law of God; (for, alas! he is conscious of many) but he does not allow them. Others will obey the will of God as far as will consist with their interests and reputation; or with the exception of some bosom sin; but there will always be found, in insincere persons, some secret lust for which they plead, and in reference to which they say, “Pardon thy servant in this thing.”

But true holiness admits of no reserves, no limitations, no exceptions: and he who possesses it will stop short of nothing that God has commanded. He may do what is wrong, either through ignorance or temptation; but he will not persist in it: he will endeavour to mortify the whole body of sin. He will no more allow himself in secret sins, whether of omission or of commission, than he will commit the greatest enormities. Like David he says, “I esteem thy commandments concerning all things to be right; therefore I hate every false way;” that is, I love the ways of duty, so that I would walk in them even if there were no reward; and I hate the ways of sin, so that I would shun them, though I were sure never to incur punishment.]

  3.      That we actually grow in a conformity to it—

[Sanctification is a progressive work. A child of God arrives not at full stature but by degrees: he is constantly growing in grace: the vernal bloom gradually advances to the autumnal fruit. There may indeed be seasons wherein he may appear to decline, or may really suffer a declension: but if he have the grace of God in his heart, he will revive, and return to God with more fervour and steadfastness. Nor will he ever think he has already attained, or is already perfect; but “forgetting the things that are behind, he will reach forward unto that which is before.”

This is in no respect the case with others. They are satisfied with their present state: they are not conscious of their defects; and therefore they feel no longings for higher attainments. They are like a painted sun upon the canvass, while the true Christian “grows up into Christ in all things as his living head,” and, like the sun in the firmament, “shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.”]

Having in this description of holiness, marked the lowest degree of it that exists in a true Christian, we proceed to,

  II.      Shew the grounds, on which it is necessary in order to salvation—

If we were not able to assign any reason for God’s determination, it would be quite sufficient for us to know, that he has issued his decree. It is not for us to dispute, but to submit, saying,

“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

But there is one obvious ground on which the necessity of holiness is indisputable, namely, that in the very nature of things it is impossible without it to enjoy the Divine presence—

[If heaven were a place suited to a carnal mind, and afforded the gratifications which unregenerate men affect, then indeed unholy men might find such happiness there, as in their state they are capable of receiving. But heaven is a holy place; the habitation of a holy God: it is filled with myriads of holy men and angels, who are exercising themselves incessantly in the holy employments of praise and adoration. What then would there be in that place suited to the taste of an unholy man? Could those whose spirits were defiled with sin, and who had never been purged from its guilt by the atoning blood of Christ, find pleasure in the presence of God, who, being omniscient, could not but discern their state, and, being holy, could not but regard them with abhorrence? Would not a consciousness of his power terrify them, and a recollection that he had once cast innumerable angels out of heaven, appal them? Could they delight in the society of the glorified saints whom they so little resemble, or find communion with them in exercises, which were here their burthen and aversion? We are fully assured, that “as the tree falleth, so it lieth;” that “he who is unjust, will be unjust still, and he who is filthy, will be filthy still.” If it has not been the one desire of our hearts to honour and enjoy God; if secret intercourse with him in our chambers, and social fellowship with him in the public assembly, have been a mere task, and not the delight of our souls, how can we suppose that we should instantly find a delight in these things in heaven? How could we endure to spend an eternity there in employments, for which we had no taste? We are told, that there is a “meetness for the inheritance of the saints:” and that we must have that meetness before we could enjoy the Divine presence, even if we were admitted into it. Christ must be precious to us now, if we would find him so in the eternal world: and we must account it our supreme felicity to enjoy him now, if we would hereafter join the chorus of saints and angels, in ascribing “Salvation to God and to the Lamb for ever.” In short, holiness, real holiness of heart, is as necessary to the enjoyment of the Divine presence, as a taste for music, or literature, is for the company and employments of musical or literary men. As we soon grow weary of things which we do not affect, and prefer any other employment that is more suited to our inclination and capacity, so most assuredly must it be even in heaven, if our natures be not changed: we shall remain for ever destitute of those qualities which constitute our meetness for the heavenly inheritance, and consequently be for ever incapable of participating the joys of heaven.

This may at least be sufficient to illustrate the declaration in the text; perhaps we may add also, to vindicate it. Not that any declaration of God is to be judged of by the reasons which fallible men may assign in vindication of it: his word is the same, whether we believe it or not; nor shall one jot or tittle of it ever fail.]

  This subject cannot but suggest to our minds the following REFLECTIONS:

  1.      How few are there that will eventually be saved!

[Take the foregoing explanation of holiness, and compare it with the state of all around us; how awful the contrast! — — — But God is true; and his word respecting the unholy shall surely stand — — — Let us “seek then, yea, strive to enter in at the strait gate, and to walk in the narrow path” — — — Let us “follow” holiness with all our might — — — Whatever we may think, it is in that way alone that we can behold the face of God in peace.]

  2.      How needful is it that we should seek holiness in a right way!

[The generality are extremely ignorant respecting the manner in which holiness is to be obtained: they have an idea that they must acquire it by some exertions of their own: whereas they should seek it from Christ, through the operation of his Spirit in their hearts. They should first seek to be united to him by faith, as scions to the stock of a tree, or as a wife to her husband: then, by virtue derived from him, they will be made fruitful in good works, and be “changed into his image in righteousness, and true holiness.”]

MMCCCXXXVIII

THE DANGER OF DESPISING OR DISHONOURING THE GOSPEL

  Heb. 12:15–17.

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

UNSEARCHABLE are the riches of the Gospel, and freely imparted to all who seek them by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet they quite mistake the nature of the Gospel, who imagine it to be inconsistent with solemn warnings. It offers every thing freely; but it does not dispense with the exertion of human efforts: it promises every thing fully; but not in such a way as to supersede the need of care and watchfulness on our part. In fact, it abounds with warnings and exhortations, to which we must take the utmost heed; and by attending to which we are to secure the blessings which it holds out to us. Nothing can be conceived more consolatory than all the foregoing declarations, that sufferings of whatever kind, and especially those inflicted on us for righteousness’ sake, are permitted by our heavenly Father for our good, and shall be overruled by him for the advancement of our best interests. At the same time we are warned, that “without holiness, radical and universal holiness, no man shall see the Lord:” and we are cautioned to “look diligently,” lest, by coming short of the requirements of the Gospel, we fail to attain a possession of its blessings.

The caution here given us is two-fold:

  I.      Not to come short of the Gospel in embracing it—

By “the grace of God” I understand “the Gospel of the grace of God,” or that “grace of God which bringeth salvation.” And by “failing of the grace of God,” I understand, a falling short of it: the first part of our text being exactly parallel with that expression in the fourth chapter of this epistle, “Let us fear lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” Now we may come short of the Gospel,

  1.      By not submitting to its humiliating doctrines—

[The Gospel views all men as in a lost and perishing condition. Its provisions are made for all mankind without exception. It knows nothing of persons so good as not to need salvation, or of persons so bad as to be beyond the reach of the salvation which it provides. It requires all to view themselves as “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; and counsels them to come to the Lord Jesus Christ for eye-salve that they may see; for gold that they may be enriched; and for garments that they may be clothed.” It suffers none to bring any price in their hands, but requires them to receive every thing “without money and without pricec.” Nor does it merely require this of men at their first conversion: it prescribes the same humiliating system to the latest hour of our lives: whatever our attainments be, we must renounce them all in point of dependence, and place our whole dependence on the Lord “Jesus Christ for wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” We must have no more in ourselves than the branch of a vine has; but must receive every thing from the stem into which we have been engrafted. We must “receive every thing out of the fulness that is in Christe,” and must “live altogether by faith in the Son of God, who has loved us, and given himself for us.”

But all this is very humiliating. Proud man does not like to be brought so low, as to depend wholly on another, and not at all on himself. We wish to have something of our own whereof we may boast. And to be reduced to a level with the vilest of the human race, so as to acknowledge ourselves as much indebted to Divine grace as they, is a humiliation to which we cannot endure to submit. Could we be saved in a way more congenial with our own feelings, we should be satisfied: but when it is said, “Wash and be clean,” instead of accepting the tidings with gratitude, we spurn at them like Naaman, and go away in a rage.

To this however we must “submit:” for there is no other way of salvation for any child of mani: and, if we will not come to Christ upon his own terms, we must remain for ever destitute of the blessings he has purchased for us.]

  2.      By not obeying its self-denying doctrines—

[Though the Gospel gives salvation freely, it does not leave us at liberty to neglect good works; on the contrary, “it teaches us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.” Indeed, the sanctification it requires of us is as offensive to our carnal and worldly hearts, as the humiliation it imposes on us is to our pride. The object of the Gospel is, not merely to save men from death and hell, but to bring them back to a state of holy allegiance to their God, such as Adam experienced in Paradise. For this end it requires us to give up ourselves as living sacrifices unto God, and to be as entirely dedicated to his service as the burnt-offerings were, which were wholly consumed on the altar. It enjoins us “neither to live unto ourselves, nor die unto ourselves;” but both in life and death to be altogether at the Lord’s disposal, for the accomplishment of his will, and for the promotion of his glory.

Now to this measure of holiness we have by nature a deep and rooted aversion. We have many earthly and sensual appetites, which plead for indulgence: and when we are required to “cut off the right hand, and pluck out the right eye,” and to “be holy as God himself is holy,” we reply, “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” To “mortify our members upon earth,” and to “crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts,” is a work, which, as the very terms in which it is expressed intimate, is painful to flesh and blood: and to be told that without this we never can be Christ’s disciples, is most grating to our ears. But nothing less than this will suffice for the approving of ourselves upright in the sight of God.

I beseech you then, brethren, to “look diligently” to this matter, and not to come short of what the Gospel requires of you; for if you comply not both with its doctrines and its precepts, you can never partake of its privileges and its blessings.]

But respecting this Gospel, we are further cautioned,

  II.      Not to dishonour it after we have embraced it—

We are in danger of dishonouring it,

  1.      By heretical opinions—

[It is to these chiefly, though not exclusively, that I suppose “the root of bitterness” to refer. The expression is adopted from the Old Testament, where Moses cautions the Israelites against any “root among them bearing gall and wormwood,” and operating to the production of idolatry. Such sprang up very early in the Christian Church; even as St. Paul forewarned the elders of Ephesus to expect: “I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” Some there were who blended the Mosaic rites with the Gospel; others, who “denied the resurrection, saying that it was past already;” others “denied the Lord who bought them:” and great was “the trouble,” and extensive the defilement, which these heretics occasioned in the Church of Christ.

Such teachers there have been ever since in the Church, even to the present hour: and there is need of the utmost care that we be not drawn aside by any of them “from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Nothing can be more simple than the Gospel, when it is received in a humble child-like spirit. It requires nothing but a life of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a life of love both towards God and man for his sake. The whole is comprehended in those words, “faith working by love.” But men are fond of making the Gospel a theatre for disputation; and they care not how far they divert the minds of their followers from “the truth as it is in Jesus,” if only they may but prevail upon them to receive their dogmas. This is the true root of all the heresies which have distracted and defiled the Church of God in all ages.

But be ye on your guard, brethren, lest any such “root of bitterness” spring up among you. It is well called “a root of bitterness,” for nothing that ever yet divided the human race has caused more “bitterness” than that which calls itself religion, but which, in fact, is only some partial or erroneous view of religion, which conceit has propagated, and bigotry enforced.]

  2.      By ungodly practices—

[Grievous have been the falls of many who have professed religion; and shocking the scandals which have at times prevailed in the Christian Church. Evils, which obtained amongst the ignorant and licentious Gentiles, were indulged, and vindicated, by them after they had embraced the Gospel of Christ; and many, like profane Esau, bartered away the inheritance of heaven for some worthless perishable good.

Thus it is at this day. Many things are pleaded for, which are as opposite to the holy nature of the Gospel as “fornication” itself: and the vanities of time are yet daily exchanged for the glories of eternity. In vain are we reminded how bitterly Esau at last bewailed his error; or how fruitless were his efforts to remedy the evil he had committed. We see nothing in his example which speaks to us; nor have we any ears for the instruction it conveys to us. The influence of temptation is too strong for us: our earthly and sensual hearts will plead for gratifications which the Gospel of Christ does not allow: and thus multitudes relinquish all the blessings of eternity, through their undue attachment to the things of time and sense.

But let not such be found amongst you. It is melancholy to see that Demas, after being twice united with Luke in the salutations of St. Paul, should be found, “through love to this present world,” “making shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience.” But such instances occur in every age of the Church: and it requires continual watchfulness over our own hearts, and over each other too, to prevent the more frequent recurrence of similar apostasy. To all then I would recommend the example of St. Paul, who “kept his body under, and brought it into subjection, lest, after having preached to others, he himself should become a cast-away.”]

  The solemn hint with which our text concludes will furnish us with matter suited to ENFORCE the preceding subject—

  1.      Think what will ere long be your views of your present conduct, if you neglect the cautions which have been now suggested—

[Lightly as Esau once thought of his birthright, he saw at last that it was worthy to be “sought,” yea, to be “sought carefully” too, and that “with tears.” And what will be your views of heaven when you are lying on a bed of sickness, or, at all events, the very instant that your soul enters upon the invisible world? Will an obedience to the Gospel then appear so hard a condition, that all the glory of heaven could not recompense you for complying with it; or the mortification of some forbidden lust so insupportable a task, that hell itself, with the indulgence of that lust, was a better portion than heaven with the mortification of it? No: the pangs of Esau will be your pangs, when you find how bitter are the consequences of your folly, and how irreversible the doom that has been pronounced.

Not that repentance, provided it had been genuine, would have been unavailing for Esau as far as related to his eternal state. Isaac had, though unwittingly, conferred the rights of primogeniture on Jacob; and he would not reverse his word, notwithstanding all the bitter cries with which Esau importuned him to do so. And this is what is meant, when it is said, that Esau “found no place for repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.” Had he repented before God, he might have obtained pardon with God: as we also may do, through our Lord Jesus Christ. But, if we do not turn to God through Christ with our whole hearts, we shall find ere long the door of mercy shut against us, and in vain implore admission to that bliss which now we have despised.]

  2.      Yield to the Gospel, without delay, the obedience which it requires—

[Infinite are the blessings which it offers to us. And what are the sacrifices which we are called to make? — — — Be they ever so difficult or self-denying, they are not worth a thought in comparison of “the grace that shall be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The wise merchantman parted with all for the pearl of great price. Do ye the same: and determine through grace, that whatever it may cost, you will not come short of it by refusing to make the sacrifices, or suffer either men or devils to rob you of it.]

MMCCCXXXIX

THE TRANSCENDENT EXCELLENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION

  Heb. 12:18–25.

Ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (for they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) but ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven.

IN explaining the Holy Scriptures, it is often requisite that we carefully bear in mind, not only the immediate context, but the whole scope of the book in which any particular passage occurs. This is of the first importance in considering several expressions in the Epistle of St. James, and it is not unimportant in the passage before us.

The general scope of the Epistle to the Hebrews is, to encourage the Jewish Christians to hold fast their profession in the midst of all the persecutions they endured. And the principal argument used for their encouragement is, the great superiority of the Christian religion above that which they had renounced. In the foregoing part of the epistle, this subject is treated at large: and, in the words which we have read, there is a kind of recapitulation of it, purposely introduced, in order to confirm the Hebrews in a steady adherence to the faith which they had embraced, and to shew them the dreadful danger of departing from it.

Hence, in elucidating this passage, we shall have occasion to shew,

  I.      The transcendent excellence of the Christian dispensation—

The circumstances which took place at the giving of the law, are all particularly and distinctly referred to: and they exhibit in very striking characters the nature of the law itself. The law was never given in order that the people might rest in it, or expect life from it; but that they might be made to know and feel their need of that better covenant which God would make with them under the Gospel dispensation. Instead of bringing men to God, it kept them at the greatest distance from him, not a soul being suffered to touch the mount on which he revealed himself, nor so much as a beast touching it without having instant death inflicted on him. Instead of producing any thing like filial love and confidence, it inspired only fear and terror, and, as the Apostle says, “gendered to bondage.” Even Moses himself said, “I exceedingly fear and quake.” Instead of offering life to any one, it was altogether “a ministration of condemnation and deathc.”

Now, says the Apostle, ye who have received the Gospel are not come to such a dispensation as that; “ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear:” but ye are come,

  1.      To a better place—

[Mount Sinai differed not from any other mount: it might be seen and touched like any other place. But not so the mount to which those who believe in Christ are come: “they are come to Mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,” a place not visible to mortal eyes, nor like to any place which mortal hands have formed: it is a place formed by Almighty God for his own immediate residence, and for the fullest manifestations of his glory.]

  2.      To a nobler society—

[Angels indeed were present at the giving of the law: but the Jews had no communion with them: they were only God’s agents for augmenting the terror of the scene. Their whole tribes too were there convened: but it was only that they might all be filled with the same dread of God’s wrath, and be made to unite in that urgent request, that God would speak to them no more by an audible voice, but only through Moses as a mediatorf. But those who believe in Christ are come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant.” Yes, the glorified saints and angels all belong to the same blessed assembly to which believers are now called: and “God, even as a Judge,” is no longer to them an object of dread, because they know that he at the same time is their Father: and they have “Jesus as their Mediator” with him; and “the new covenant” as the rule according to which they shall be dealt with by him. Here all is no longer fear and terror, but peace and joy.]

  3.      To far more exalted privileges—

[Moses, the morning after the giving of the law, offered burnt-offerings; with the blood of which he sprinkled both the book of the covenant which had been made with the people, and the people themselves, saying, “Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.” But what did this covenant avail them? The very blood with which it was ratified served only to testify against them as violating their own engagements, and making void every promise contained in it. But the blood of sprinkling to which the Christian is come, effectually removes from him all his sin, and prevails for his perfect reconciliation with God. The blood which Abel offered in sacrifice, received a visible and most honourable token of God’s acceptance of it: but, however blessed that external testimony was, it was not worthy to be compared with that internal “witness of the Spirit,” with which believers in Christ are sealed; which assures them of their adoption into God’s family, and their everlasting fruition of his glory: it seals them, not for a time only, but unto the day of redemption; and is to them, not a seal only, but a pledge and earnest and foretaste of heaven itself. The very same eternal love which “elects them to obedience,” elects them also to this “sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christk.”]

The Apostle, however, not content with exhibiting thus the transcendent excellence of Christianity, proceeds to point out,

  II.      The indispensable necessity of paying to it the attention it requires—

The warning which he gives to the Hebrews is most solemn; “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh:” and the argument with which he enforces it is most awful; “for, if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven.”

Hear then the warning—

[Look into the history of the Hebrews: see what became of those who refused obedience to the Sinai covenant: they perished; even that whole nation perished, (of those at least who had attained the age of full maturity,) with the exception of two. For one single transgression of it was Moses himself excluded from the earthly Canaan. The extreme severity of the law against any wilful and presumptuous violation of its commands, is again and again held forth as a warning to us under the Gospel dispensation, and particularly in the epistle before us: “If the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” So again; “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy, under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit of grace?” Well may such warnings as these sink down into our ears, and make us tremble at the thought of disobedience to the Gospel covenant!]

Acknowledge also the justice of it—

[Think how the Christian covenant has been delivered: not by a terrific voice, uttered from a cloud by a Being that was invisible, but by the Lord Jesus Christ himself descending from the highest heavens to make it known to us in the mild accents of love and mercy. Think too of its contents. To what does it call us, but to a conformity with the holy angels, and the spirits of the just made perfect? It brings us into favour with God, precisely as they are. It invites us to begin their employments now, and even on earth to participate their bliss. It makes every provision for the end: it offers pardon, and peace, and righteousness, and glory, to all who by faith will lay hold upon it. Say then, what do not they deserve who refuse to listen to invitations like these? Verily, we cannot but acknowledge, that, if the judgments denounced against the disobedient Israelites were just, much more must the heaviest judgments that can ever be inflicted upon us be just, if we refuse to listen to Him who speaks to us with such astonishing condescension and grace.]

We must not omit to notice, that the Apostle here takes for granted, respecting every true Christian, that he is thus come to Mount Sion.

  Permit me then, in CONCLUSION,

  1.      To make this a matter of inquiry—

[Have you indeed come thus to Mount Sion? Have you turned your backs on Mount Sinai, from a deep conviction that you are condemned by the law, and have no hope at all but from the gracious provisions of the Gospel? Have you obtained an insight into the nature of true religion, as consisting in a communion with God and with the heavenly hosts, and an actual participation of the mind, the spirit, the blessedness of heaven? Ah! how rarely is Christianity viewed in this light! It is regarded rather as a mere system of restraints enforced with terror, than as an earnest and antepast of the heavenly bliss! I pray you, not to imagine that you have ever yet set out aright, if you have not thus passed from Mount Sinai unto Sion, and from Moses unto Christ.]

  2.      To address you under the supposition which is here made—

[I will suppose, that “you are come unto Mount Sion.” Yet much would I guard you, as the Apostle did the Hebrews, against yielding to any species of temptation that may deprive you of the blessings to which, according to your Christian profession, you are entitled. It is no uncommon thing for persons to make shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience, even after they have for some time maintained, in appearance at least, an upright walk and conversation. But beware lest ye be in any wise hindered in running the race that is set before you: difficulties ye must meet with, both within and without: and it is well that you do meet with them; for how else shall your fidelity to God be tried? But ask yourselves, what any of the holy angels would do if they were in your place? or what any of the spirits of the just that are now made perfect would reply to those who should either by menaces or allurements attempt to turn them from God? You cannot doubt. Be ye then like them, to whose society you are brought, and with whom you are to dwell through everlasting ages: and as ye are already come to the very gate of heaven, see that “an entrance into it be ministered unto you abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord.”]

MMCCCXL

ABEL’S SACRIFICE AND CHRIST’S COMPARED

             Heb. 12:22, 24.

Ye are come …… to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

AS the Christian dispensation differs widely from that of Moses as to the manner in which it was promulgated, so does it most essentially differ with respect to the spirit and temper which it is calculated to produce in the minds of men. The terrors of Mount Sinai were suited to impress the Jews with a servile fear; as their whole system of rites and ceremonies was, to keep them under bondage. But the mild genius of the Gospel introduces us at once to peace and liberty. In the passage before us the Apostle exemplifies this remark in many particulars; the last of which demands our attention at this time. We propose to shew,

  I.      The efficacy of Abel’s blood—

By “the blood of Abel” we are not to understand his own blood, but the blood of his sacrifice—

[The generality of commentators indeed explain this as relating to Abel’s blood, which cried for vengeance against his murderous brother. But to commend the blood of Christ in this view, would indeed be no commendation at all. The history of Abel informs us, that he offered one of the firsthngs of his flock in addition to the same kind of offering as Cain brought, manifesting thereby not merely his obligations to God as a creature, but his conscious guilt as a sinner, and his faith in that Lamb of God, who was to take away the sin of the worldc. That sacrifice of his was honoured with very peculiar tokens of God’s acceptance; and may therefore fitly be referred to as illustrative of the sacrifice of Christ.]

It spake to him that offered it very excellent things—

[Had not the marks of God’s favour been such as were most desirable, Cain would not have so cruelly envied his brother the attainment of them. But they manifestly declared to Abel the acceptance of his person, and an approbation of his service. What could be more delightful than such a testimony to a pious soul? Had life itself been the price of such a blessing, it had been well bestowed.]

But the excellence of Abel’s sacrifice is far surpassed by,

  II.      The superior efficacy of Christ’s—

The blood of Christ is here, as in other places, called “the blood of sprinkling”—

[There is in this place an allusion to the sprinkling of blood on the book and on the people, when God made his covenant with the Jewish nation. The blood of Christ is sprinkled upon us, when we enter into covenant with God; and it binds God, if we may so say, to fulfil to us his promises, while it binds us on the other hand to obey his precepts.]

This speaks to us incomparably better things than the blood of Abel—

[Great as the expressions of God’s love to Abel were in consequence of the sacrifice which that righteous man had offered, they were not to be compared with those which we receive through Christ. There was no inherent virtue in his sacrifice; its efficacy was derived from the relation it bore to Christ; and the blessings, enjoyed by means of it, were rather typical than real. The continuance of God’s favour to him was to be secured only by a constant repetition of the same sacrifices; nor could he obtain a full and perfect peace of conscience even by their means: but Christ, by his one sacrifice of himself, has perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Besides, whatever Abel’s sacrifice spake, it spake to him alone: whereas the blood of Christ speaks to the whole world, and proclaims acceptance to all who will trust in it for salvation. Thus, while the good things which the blood of Abel spake, were only typical, temporary, and personal, those which the blood of Christ speaks, are real, permanent, and universal.]

Nor will our concern in this matter appear unimportant, if we consider,

  III.      The interest which the believer has in it—

Every believer “comes to” this blood of sprinkling—

[The efficacy of the Redeemer’s blood is not a matter of speculation, but of experience, to every true Christian. As Moses and the Israelites “came to” Mount Sinai in order to make a covenant with God, so do we come to the blood of sprinkling: they came as persons redeemed by God out of the house of bondage: we as redeemed from death and hell: they came to take God as their God, and to give up themselves to him as his people; and we come with precisely the same view: they offered sacrifices and were sprinkled with the blood, in token that they deserved to die, and could be cleansed only by the blood of atonement; and we come in the same manner to the blood of Christ: they looked through the typical sacrifices to him who was in due time to be offered; and we look to him, who in due time was offered for our sins upon the cross.]

In coming thus to Christ we experience all the efficacy of his blood—

[Were we afar off? we are brought nigh to God: Were we enemies to God? we are reconciled to himk: Were we condemned for our iniquities? we are now justified: Were our minds filled with a sense of guilt and a dread of punishment? our hearts are now sprinkled from an evil consciencem, and enjoy peace with God: Were we strangers to communion with God? we now have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesuso: Were we enslaved by evil habits? we are now purged from dead works to serve the living God: Did a sentence of eternal misery await us? we now look forward to the fruits of an eternal redemptionq. Such is the interest that the Christian has in the blood of sprinkling; and in this sense it may be said of every believer, that he is “come to” it.]

  APPLICATION—

  1.      Let us inquire whether we be indeed come to the blood of sprinkling—

[It is not every nominal Christian, that has approached God in this way: “all are not Israel who are of Israel.” The outward form indeed which was observed by Moses is not required under the Christian dispensation; nor need we feel his terror, in order to obtain his comforts: but we must seriously draw nigh to God, sprinkling ourselves, as it were, with the blood of Christ, and professing our entire reliance upon that for our acceptance with him. Yea, we must go to God in the very spirit and temper in which Abel offered his sacrifice; not merely thanking him with pharisaic pride, as Cain may be supposed to have done; but smiting on our breasts like the Publican, and imploring mercy for Christ’s sake. Have we done this? Or rather, are we doing it yet daily? On this depends our happiness, both in this world and in the world to come. If God at this moment gives us the witness of his Spirit in our consciences that this is indeed our experience, let us rejoice in such a testimony, and be thankful for it. But if our consciences condemn us, O! let us delay no longer, but instantly sprinkle ourselves with that precious blood, on account of which he will speak peace unto our souls.]

  2.      Let us endeavour to fulfil the obligations which this blood entails upon us—

[When Moses sprinkled the Jews, and read to them the book of the covenant, they said, “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient:” O that there may be in us also such a heart,—such a heart, I mean, not merely to promise, but to perform our promises! Certainly this is the end for which Christ shed his blood; he died, not merely to bring us to the enjoyment of privileges, but to lead us to the performance of our duties; “he gave himself for us, to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.” Let us then strive to walk worthy of our high calling; and let “the love of Christ constrain us to live unto him, who died for us and rose again.”]

MMCCCXLI

GOD TO BE SERVED WITH REVERENTIAL FEAR

  Heb. 12:28, 29.

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire.

THE Christian world are little aware how much we are indebted to the holy Apostles, or rather to God, by whose inspiration they wrote, for the light which they have thrown upon the prophecies of the Old Testament. To this hour should we have been almost as much in the dark respecting the import of them as the Ethiopian Eunuch was, if God had not sent us persons authorized and empowered to unfold their true meaning. The passage which that Gentile proselyte was reading when Philip joined himself to his chariot, was as clear as any part of Isaiah’s prophecies: yet, when asked by Philip, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” he replied, “How can I, except some man should guide me?” So we should have still been at a loss to know of whom the prophets spake in numberless passagesb, if God had not raised up holy men to give us the desired information. Let us take for instance, the prophecy which is cited by the Apostle in the verses before our text. It is taken from the Prophet Haggai, and is adduced by St. Paul in order to confirm his preceding declarations respecting the superiority of the Christian dispensation above that of the Jews. And we may well suppose that an uninspired Jew, if conversant with the Scriptures, would have understood the passage as referring to the Messiah. The construction which he would have put upon it would probably have been to this effect: ‘God shook the earth when he established the Mosaic dispensation: but, when he shall introduce the Messiah himself, he will do it with far greater convulsions of universal nature.’ But let us see the explanation of it which the Apostle has given us: He first somewhat alters the words, in order to make them express more fully the mind of God in them; and then he gives us this interpretation of them: “This word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.” Thus he shews us that not any convulsion of nature was intended, like that which took place at Mount Sinai: but the total removal of the whole civil and ecclesiastical polity of the Jews was predicted, in order to make way for the immoveable and everlasting kingdom of the Messiah. Then, on the passage thus explained, he founds this exhortation: “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire.”

The points to be especially noticed in this passage are,

  I.      The privilege which all true Christians have received—

“They have received a kingdom which cannot be moved:” they have received it,

  1.      As that to which they are to submit—

[The Lord Jesus Christ is he of whom Jehovah has said, “Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion.” And “his kingdom admits of no change.” The dispensation which had been introduced by Moses, “waxed old, and vanished away;” but that which Christ has established is ever “new.” “His dominion,” says the prophet, “is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyedf.” Men and devils will no doubt combine for its destruction: but “the gates of hell shall never prevail against it.” — — —

To this kingdom all true believers belong. They once were vassals of the god of this world: but they have been “translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son.” Their language now is, “Other lords besides thee have had dominion over us; but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.” Into the name of Christ they have been baptized; and to his service have they willingly devoted themselves; engaging to fulfil his will, and even to lay down their lives, if need be, for his sake.]

  2.      As that which they are to inherit—

[All the blessings of it are theirs: and it is administered altogether for their good. The King himself has their interest in view, as much as if he had not another subject in his realm to occupy his attention. Their enemies are all restrained, and shall all, not excepting Satan himself, ere long be bruised under their feet. All the protection which they can need, and all the provision which their souls can desire, are secured to them: “they dwell on high; their place of defence is the munition of rocks: their bread is daily given them, and their water is sure.” Nor can these be moved, any more than the kingdom itself can. Neither time nor chance can impair the blessings themselves, or rob them of the enjoyment of them. The pardon, the peace, the holiness, the glory, are theirs, not for time only, but for eternity — — — And this is the portion, not of some few favoured individuals only, as Prophets and Apostles, but of every believer, however poor, however unworthy. To the whole body of believers, without exception, it is said, “Fear not, little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Hear this, ye who are poor in this world; and survey the riches to which God has chosen youl: in respect of your earthly state, ye may be said to be “upon a dunghill: but God has taken you thence, to set you among the princes.” “Ye have received a kingdom:” “Christ has appointed to you a kingdom, even as his Father has appointed unto him a kingdom;” and has ordained that “you shall sit with him upon his throne, as he sitteth on his Father’s throneo:” ye may be “beggars,” as it respects temporal possessions; but ye are “kings:” and respecting all of you, Jehovah himself says, “I know your poverty; but ye are richq.”]

Let not any, however, be so elated with their privilege as to overlook,

  II.      Their duty as connected with it—

“We must serve God with reverence and godly fear”—

[Privilege and duty are so connected, that they can never under any circumstances be separated from each other; and any attempt to separate them will infallibly issue in our ruin. A kingdom has been given us, it is true: and “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” But ye must “serve God,” and serve him too “with reverence and godly fear.” We must not presume upon his mercy, or take occasion from it to indulge in carelessness and supineness. We must never forget with what a God we have to do. “He is a great God, and greatly to be feared.” Though his dispensations are altered, he himself is not altered: “He is a consuming fire” now, as much as he was in the day that he proclaimed his law from Mount Sinai: and he must still “be had in reverence of all them that are round about him.” True, indeed, we are not now to “fear and quake before him,” as the Israelites, and Moses himself, then did: for “he has not given us the spirit of bondage again to fear, but a Spirit of adoption, whereby we may cry, Abba, Father:” but still we must “stand in awe of himt,” and fear to offend him, knowing that “he is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity without the utmost abhorrence of it.” In whomsoever wilful sin is found, he will visit it with fiery indignation; and most of all in those who profess themselves his servantsx. “If we regard iniquity in our hearts, he will not hear us,” or acknowledge us. We must seek to “be holy, as he is holy;” and “perfect, as he is perfect:” and the circumstance of our having been “sealed by him unto the day of redemption,” is a reason why we should be more than ever careful, not either by word or deed, and, if possible, not even by a thought, to “grieve his holy Spirit.” Our labour should be to have “our every thought brought into captivity to the obedience of Christz.” It is in this way alone that we can serve God “acceptably:” and in this way alone that we can prove our title to the kingdom which we profess to have received.]

For strength to do this, we must seek his grace from day to day—

[We have no strength in ourselves even for a good thought: “Without Christ we can do nothingb.” But there is a fulness of grace treasured up in him; and out of his fulness must we continually receive those supplies of grace which we stand in need of. We must not be satisfied with such a measure of grace as may suffice to bring us to God: but must labour for such a measure as may enable us to serve him, and to “serve him acceptably” to the latest hour of our lives. Especially must we seek a meekness of spirit, an humility of mind, a tenderness of conscience, a purity of heart, an hatred of sin, an abhorrence of ourselves on account of sin, a holy desire to please God, a love to his will, a delight in his service, and an utter contempt even of life itself in comparison of his honour and glory. But these are attainments which he alone can give: therefore we must cry day and night unto him for more and more grace, and must labour for them only in a dependence on his good Spirit.

To this state of mind we must be brought by the consideration of the unbounded mercies bestowed upon us: “Having received a kingdom,” we must thus seek his grace, and thus labour joyfully to fulfil his will: for so the Apostle elsewhere teaches us: “I beseech you by the mercies of God that ye present yourselves a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto God, as your reasonable service.”]

  The CONCLUDING DECLARATION in our text deserving more especial notice, I will draw your attention to it,

  1.      To augment your thankfulness for the Gospel of Christ—

[We see how terrible the presence of God was when he appeared as a consuming fire upon Mount Sinai. But, how much more terrible is it in that world where he is inflicting vengeance both on men and devils as the monuments of his wrath! Yet that is the view of him which we should have had to all eternity, if the Lord Jesus Christ had not interposed to effect our reconciliation with him, and to restore us to his favour — — — Can we reflect on this, and not adore that blessed Saviour, who “bore our sins in his own body on the tree,” and “died, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God?” Think for a moment of that place which he has “ordained of old, the pile whereof is fire and much wood, and the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.” Think of the state of the souls which are confined there, all of them drinking “of the wine of God’s wrath, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and tormented with fire and brimstone, having no rest, and the smoke of their torment ascending up for ever and ever:” and then let us ask ourselves, “Who amongst us can dwell with the devouring fire? Who amongst us can dwell with everlasting burningsg?” Verily, if we would more habituate ourselves to consider the justice, and holiness, and majesty of our God, we should know no bounds to our gratitude for the work of redemption: our every thought would be thankfulness; and our every word be praise — — —]

2. To preserve upon your minds a holy dread of sin—

[Still must it be said, as in the days of old, “The Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God:” and we should never for a moment lose sight of him under that character. It is fit that he should be jealous, and suffer no rival in our hearts. In harbouring any unhallowed lust, we are as great enemies to our own happiness as we are to his glory: and he would have loved us less, if he had given us any reason to hope for impunity in the ways of sin. Be ye then jealous over yourselves with a godly jealousy, lest there be found in you any thing which is displeasing in his sight. Let your conscience be tender even as the apple of your eye: and if but a mote come upon it, let it not abide there for a moment; but weep it away with tears of penitential sorrow, and wash it away with the blood of Christ, which alone can cleanse you even from the smallest sin. Bear in mind, that what ye are in respect of holiness, that ye are in the sight of God: and recollecting, that “his eyes are as a flame of fire,” and that “he weighs, not your actions” only, but “even your spirits” also, “be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless.”]

MMCCCXLII

COMPASSION TO THE DISTRESSED INCULCATED

  Heb. 13:3.

Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

IN the first ages of Christianity persecution raged to a degree that we at this time have little conception of: bonds and imprisonment were no uncommon lot, especially amongst those who were active in the service of their Lord. The loss of all things was also not unfrequently added to the other trials of the saints; so that their afflictions were greatly multiplied and exceeding heavy. At such a season, it was incumbent on every member of the Church to compassionate the distresses of his afflicted brethren, and by a participation of their burthens to lighten their pressure, and to alleviate the sorrows occasioned by them. To this they might well be stimulated by the consideration that they themselves were constantly exposed to the same trials, and might soon need the same relief which they were administering to others. Through the goodness of God we know but little of these trials. The persecutions of the present day amount to little more than contempt and hatred, and in some few instances a little outward opposition to our worldly interests. Still however there are afflictions of other kinds in abundance to which we all are subject; and under which it becomes us all to manifest the tenderest compassion towards each other, not knowing how soon it may become our own lot to need the sympathy which we ourselves have exercised. In this view, the exhortation in our text deserves the attention of every child of man. Let us notice in it,

  I.      The duty inculcated—

Compassion towards our suffering fellow-creatures is a duty universally acknowledged. If the household of faith are entitled to a preference in our regards, as certainly they are, our benevolence is not to be restricted to them: it is to be exercised generally towards all the sons and daughters of affliction; and that too in a way of,

  1.      Tender sympathy—

[We should “remember them that are in bonds” or afflictions of any kind, not with a transient sigh, or a few customary expressions of condolence, but “as actually bound with them,” and as being ourselves partakers of their sorrows. We can read of the desolations and ravages of war, or of the miseries occasioned by storms and tempests, and pass them over almost without any emotion, and in a few minutes utterly forget them. But, if we felt aright, we should enter into all the troubles of the sufferers, just as if we ourselves were in their very state and condition. Paint to yourselves the anguish of shipwrecked mariners, expecting every moment to be their last: or, if their feelings may be supposed to be so acute as not to be capable of being transfused into the bosom of one who is not exposed to such perils, conceive of persons immured in dungeons, or racked with pains and destitute of all needful succour; or contemplate the widow bereaved of all that she held dear in this world, and of all that she relied on for the support of herself and her helpless offspring; I say, conceive of sorrows as brought home to your own bosom, and as experienced in your own soul; and then you will see how you ought to realize in your minds the miseries of others, and to pant for an opportunity to relieve them.]

  2.      Fervent prayer—

[“Intercession,” we are told, “should be made for all men;” but more especially should it be so in behalf of those, whose troubles render them objects of more than ordinary compassion. St. James says, “Is any sick among you, let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick: and, if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” You well know how a man will plead with God for the wife of his bosom, or for his beloved child, whose dissolution he apprehends to be fast approaching. Thus should we enter into the distresses of others also, and should plead with God in their behalf. David did thus even in behalf of his very enemies: “When they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth, and I humbled my soul with fasting:” and in this way should we also make our prayer unto God, in the hope that he will interpose effectually in their behalf, and bestow on them the blessings, which it is not within the power of any finite creature to impart.]

  3.      Active services—

[We are not to say, “Be ye warmed, and be ye filled, and at the same time withhold” from our brethren the aid which we are able to bestow: such compassion as that is mere hypocrisy. Our Lord tells us in what way our sympathy should display itself; “I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” All indeed have it not in their power to exert themselves to the same extent: some have more leisure, and more ability, than others: but all can do something for their poor neighbours: some friendly service they can render; some word of comfort they can speak: and what they cannot administer in their own persons, they may procure through the instrumentality of others — — — At all events, if it be only a cup of cold water that we can bestow, it should be given with a zeal and tenderness that shall evince the strength of an internal principle, and the wish that our means were more adequate to the occasion.

The proper example for us to follow, is that of the Macedonians, of whom the Apostle testifies, that, notwithstanding they were themselves “in a great trial of affliction, and in deep poverty, yet abounded unto the riches of liberality: and that to their power, yea, and beyond their power, they were willing of themselves; and prayed the Apostle with much entreaty to take upon himself the ministration of their bounty to the saints.” This is the point to be aimed at: there must first be a willing mind: and, where that is, God will accept the offering, however smallh.]

Such is the duty here inculcated. Let us now attend to,

  II.      The consideration with which it is enforced—

When the Apostle says, “Do this,” as being yourselves also in the body, he must be understood as intimating,

  1.      That we ourselves are exposed to the same afflictions as others—

[And this is true respecting every living man. No one is exempt from trouble. If any man was ever justified in saying, “I shall die in my nest,” it was Job: yet behold he, with all his wealth and power, was in a few days reduced to the most abject state that can he imagined. There are ten thousand sources of affliction which God may open, and cause our souls to be deluged with it in an instant. Our bodies may be racked with disease, or our spirits be overwhelmed with domestic troubles: or, whilst all external things are prospering, our souls may be so bowed down with a sense of sin, and so agitated with a dread of God’s judgments, that we may hate our very existence, and “choose strangling rather than life.” Indeed whoever he be that thinks with David, “My mountain stands strong, I shall not be moved;” he may expect, that God will speedily “hide his face from him; and that trouble shall ere long come upon him,” as the punishment of his iniquity.]

  2.      That what measure we mete to others, we may expect to have meted to ourselves—

[Mankind at large feel a far greater disposition to exert themselves in behalf of a man of active benevolence, than they do for one whose regards have terminated on himself alone. But it is not on the good dispositions of men that we are called to rely. God himself has engaged, that what we do for others, he will accept as done to himself; and “that what we lend to him, he will repay us again.” Very remarkable are his promises to this effect: “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive: and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing; and wake all his bed in his sickness.” The language of the Prophet Isaiah is yet stronger still: “If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, (observe, it is not our money only, but our soul, with all its tenderest emotions, that is to be drawn forth,) and if thou satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon-day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” Here Almighty God himself is pledged to recompense into our bosom the kindness which we shew to others: and “he will recompense it in full measure, pressed down, and running over.” If then we would have consolations ministered to us in our troubles, let us labour to impart them to our afflicted brethren: for “what we sow, we shall reap;” if we supply the wants of others, God will supply ours; and if “we cast our bread upon the waters, we shall be sure to find it after many days.”]

  For your direction in reference to this duty, we beg leave to offer the following HINTS:

  1.      Do not undervalue the grace of charity—

[It is too often overlooked, not only by the world at large, but also by many who profess godliness; who imagine, that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is all that is needful for their best interests. But let me say, that, whatever faith a man may have, “if he have not love also, real, active, self-denying love, he is no better than sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.” Only recollect how great a stress St. James lays on “visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction,” when he declares, that “pure and undefiled religion” mainly consists in such offices; and you will never be satisfied till you attain this heavenly disposition, nor ever think that you can exercise it too much.]

  2.      Do not overvalue it—

[If you put your own benevolence in the place of Christ, and rely on that to purchase the remission of your sins, you will then indeed build on a foundation of sand. Know, that however much you may abound in acts of benevolence, “you are still unprofitable servants, who have done only what it was your duty to do.” If you really seek the glory of God in what you do, your services will come up with acceptance before him, and they will be to him as an odour of a sweet smell. But you must never forget that “your goodness extendeth not to God,” nor can confer any obligation upon him. On the contrary, the more you do for him, the more you are indebted to him; because “all your power either to will or do what is good, is from him alone.” “It is not you that do it, but the grace of God that is with you.”]

  3.      Endeavour to abound in it more and more—

[See the character of holy Job: “When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him: the blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.” O what a lovely character was that! What a bright resemblance of the Saviour, “who went about doing good!” Dear brethren, set this example before you, and strive to imitate it to the utmost of your power. Thus will you shine as lights in the world; and thus “fulfilling the law of Christn,” you will ensure his approbation in the day of judgment.]

MMCCCXLIII

GODS PROMISED PRESENCE AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO DUTY

  Heb. 13:5, 6.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

THE end of knowledge is practice: and hence the Apostle closes all his epistles with practical exhortations. The argumentative part of this epistle terminated at the close of the preceding chapter. This chapter begins with some particular exhortations suited to the Hebrews at that time. The advice contained in our text is suited to the Church in every state and every age: and the encouragement with which it is enforced, gives it a more than common interest. In truth, it is the promised presence and assistance of God, which is our great incentive to every duty; since without his aid we can do nothing, but with it can effect whatsoever God himself requires of us.

Let us consider,

  I.      The promise here recorded—

The promise was originally given to Joshua: but in our text it is represented as spoken to each of us. And in this light it ought to be viewed: for it was not given to Joshua as a mere insulated individual, but as the head of God’s people, whom he was conducting into Canaan: and between them and us there is a close resemblance: they were about to conflict with many enemies, whom they must destroy, before they could possess the promised land: and we also must sustain many conflicts before we can attain the full enjoyment of the heavenly Canaan. To us therefore there is the same need of the promise, as to him; and to us also is there the same right and title; seeing that it was spoken for the encouragement of all God’s Israel to the end of time.

The promise that God “will not leave us nor forsake us,” imports that he will be ever with us,

  1.      By the operations of his providence—

[There is not any thing in the whole universe which is not under his controul. “Not even a sparrow falls to the ground” without his special appointment: and “the very hairs of our head are all numbered.” Circumstances indeed may occur which may cause us to tremble for the issue of them: but he will so overrule them all, as to “make them eventually work together for our good.” We may be reduced almost to despair; and may be ready to say with the Church of old, “The Lord hath forsaken and forgotten us:” but he will ere long force us to acknowledge that such fears were the fruit only of “our own infirmityc;” and that the very things which we complained of as “against us,” were no other than his appointed means for accomplishing all his gracious designs towards us. Our dangers may be as imminent as those of Israel at the Red Sea; but that shall be the time for Him to open for us a way to escape from them. Our wants may be as urgent as those of Israel afterwards in the wilderness; but that shall be the time for giving us manna from heaven, and water from the rock. The time for any interposition may seem to have actually elapsed; but still “in the mount the Lord shall be seen,” precisely as he was when he arrested the uplifted arm of Abraham, and restored his Isaac to his embrace. “The vision may tarry; but never beyond the appointed and the fittest time.”]

  2.      By the communications of his grace—

[These are necessary for us, and must be renewed to us day by day: and if for one moment they be suspended, we must inevitably fall. But God will not withdraw from his waiting and praying people. He may indeed suffer temptations to arise, such as shall threaten to plunge us into irremediable ruin; and he may even permit Satan for a time to prevail against us; but still he will not utterly forsake us; but will restore our souls, and make our very falls subservient to the augmenting of our humility and watchfulness throughout the remainder of our lives, and to the qualifying of us for warning, and exhorting, and comforting others with increased effect. So also he may permit our trials to abide; and, though entreated by us ever so much, may not see fit to remove them. But “his grace shall be sufficient for us,” and shall be the more magnified in us, in proportion as our conflicts are severe, and our victories conspicuous. He may, for wise and gracious purposes, hide his face from us; but it shall be only for a little moment, that the riches of his grace may be the more abundantly displayed in the subsequent manifestations of his love and favour. If it be asked, why he will thus continue his loving-kindness to them? We answer, “For his own sake,” and because “he changeth noti;” as it is said, “He will not forsake his people; because it hath pleased him to make you his people.”]

That this promise may produce its due effects, let us consider,

  II.      The use we should make of it—

Innumerable are the benefits to be derived from it: but we shall specify only two: it should encourage us to discard, as unworthy of us,

  1.      All inordinate desires—

[“Our whole conversation should be without covetousness or discontent.” We should desire nothing which God has not seen fit to give us, nor murmur at any thing which he has ordained for us. For, what can we want, or what can we have to complain of, whilst he is with us? Could any worldly good add to our happiness, or give any security to us for its continuance? Would treasures, however great, be a richer portion than he? or would the loss of them be felt, if it led us to seek more entirely our happiness in him? “When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?” If we have but the light of his countenance lifted up upon us, nothing can augment, nor can any thing diminish, our bliss. Many of these Hebrews had “taken joyfully the spoiling of their goods:” and thousands in every age have been able to testify from their own blessed experience, that “as their afflictions have abounded, so also have their consolations abounded by Christ.” Let us only possess “the Lord for the portion of our inheritance and of our cup; and have that lot maintained to us;” and however small our portion be as it respects this world, we shall have reason to say, “The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places, and I have a goodly heritage.”]

  2.      All anxious fears—

[The ungodly imagine that they can prevail against the Lord’s people: but they are no more than an axe or saw in the hands of him that useth it: they can do more than our God and Father is pleased to do by them. Now who will tremble at a sword that is in his father’s hands? If indeed our God were ever weary, or absent, or disinclined to interpose for us, or if the creature could effect any thing without his special permission, there were some reason for fear: but when he is as “our shade upon our right hand;” when he is as “a wall of fire round about us, and the glory in the midst of us;” whom shall we fear? “Who can have access to harm usq,” if we be hid under the shadow of His wings? “If He be for us, who can be against us?” Whatever confederacies then may be against us, whether of men or devils, we need not fear: in Him, as our sanctuary, we may deride their efforts, and defy their malice. What should be the state of our minds, the holy Psalmist has shewn us; “Be merciful unto me, O God; for man would swallow me up: he fighting daily oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou Most High. But, what time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God will I praise his word: in God I have put my trust: I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. In God will I praise his word; in the Lord will I praise his word. In God have I put my trust; I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.”]

  SEE then from hence,

  1.      Of what importance it is to treasure up the promises in our minds—

[The promises of God are our great support under trials, and at the same time our great encouragements to fulfil our duty; since they assure us of all needful aid, both for the sustaining of the one, and the performance of the other. It is by them that we are enabled to cleanse ourselves from sin; and by them to attain the image of God upon our soulsx. Let us then lay hold of them; and, to whomsoever they may have been spoken in the first instance, appropriate them to ourselves. Let us rest upon them, and plead them before God, as Jacob did: and know that “in Christ they are all yea, and amenz,” as unchangeable as God himself. O what a treasure does that man possess who has laid up in his mind the most comprehensive promises of his God! He can be in no trouble, wherein he has not abundant consolation; and in no want, wherein he has not an adequate supply. O beloved, let the word of Christ, and the promises of your God, “dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” Mark the emphatic manner in which they are pronounced. Look at that before us in particular: as recorded in our translation, it is strong: but as it is in the original, its force exceeds the powers of our language to express: there are no less than five negatives to confirm the negation. When will God violate that promise—“Heaven and earth shall pass away; but not one jot or tittle of that promise shall ever fail?”]

  2.      How truly blessed is a life of faith—

[What a source of misery to mankind is a covetous and discontented spirit! and what a prey are they to trouble, who have no refuge from the cares and fears which agitate the ungodly world! But faith in God is a perfect antidote to them all. It assures us of a God ever nigh at hand to help and succour his believing people. See how the promise in our text is introduced: it is there suggested as sufficient to counterbalance the loss of every thing, however desirable, or the apprehension of every thing, however formidable. It is suggested, in order to inspire us with a confidence which nothing can intimidate: “We may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” Think of an angel sent down to sojourn here: what would either the acquisition or loss of riches affect him? or would any confederacies either of men or devils concern him? He would feel as satisfied and as secure as if he were in heaven itself. This then is the tranquillity which we also, according to the measure of our faith, are privileged to enjoy, Let us then “know in whom we have believed.” Let us “cast all our care on him who careth for us.” And let us so realize the promises of our God, as to know that nothing ever shall, or ever can separate us from his loved.]

MMCCCXLIV

THE GLORY OF CHRIST

             Heb. 13:8.

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.

IN this present state, wherein the affairs both of individuals and of nations are liable to continual fluctuation, the mind needs some principle capable of supporting it under every adverse circumstance that may occur. Philosophy proffers its aid in vain: the light of unassisted reason is unable to impart any effectual relief: but revelation points to God; to God, as reconciled to us in the Son of his love: it directs our views to him who “changeth not;” and who, under all the troubles of life, invites us to rely on his paternal care. Every page of the inspired writings instructs us to say with David, “When I am in trouble I will think upon God.” Are we alarmed with tidings of a projected invasion, and apprehensive of national calamities? God speaks to us as to his people of old, “Say ye not, A confederacy, to all to whom this people shall say, A confederacy, neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid; but sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread; and he shall be to you for a sanctuary.” Are we agitated by a sense of personal danger? that same almighty Friend expostulates with us, “Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be as grass, and forgettest the Lord thy Maker?” Are we, as in the present instance, afflicted for the Church of God? has God taken away the pastor, who “fed you with knowledge and understanding?” and is there reason to fear, that now, your “Shepherd being removed, the sheep may be scattered,” and “grievous wolves may enter in among you, not sparing the flock; yea, that even of your own selves some may arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them?” Behold! such was the state of the Hebrews, when this epistle was written to them: and the Apostle, studious to fortify them against the impending danger, exhorts them to remember their deceased pastors, following their faith, and considering the blessed way in which they had terminated their career. Moreover, as the most effectual means of preserving them from being “carried about with any strange doctrines,” different from what had been delivered to them, he suggests to them this thought, That Jesus Christ, who had been ever preached among them, and who was the one foundation of all their hopes, was still the same; the same infinitely gracious, almighty, and ever-blessed Saviour. “Remember,” says be, “them which have had the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation: Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.”

These last words were chosen by your late worthy minister, as his subject on the first day of this year, and, as I am informed, were particularly recommended to you as your motto for the year ninety-seven. On this, as well as other accounts, they seem to claim peculiar attention from us: and, O that the good Spirit of God may accompany them with his blessing, while we endeavour to improve them, and to offer from them such considerations as may appear suited to you, under your present most afflictive circumstances!

Your late faithful, loving, and much beloved pastor is no more: he that was, not in profession merely, but in truth, “a guide to the blind, a light of them which were in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, and a teacher of babes;” he that for so many years spent all his time, and found all his delight, in imparting the knowledge of salvation both to old and young; he, I say, is taken from you; and your loss is unspeakably severe. But is all gone? No. He that formed him by his grace, raised him up to be a witness, and sent him to preach the Gospel to you for a season, remains the same; he has still “the residue of the Spirit,” and can send forth ten thousand such labourers into his vineyard, whensoever it shall please him. Though the creature, on whose lips you have so often hung with profit and delight, is now no more, yet the Creator, the Redeemer, the Saviour of the world is still the same; Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever: he is the same in the dignity of his person—the extent of his power—the virtue of his sacrifice—the tenderness of his compassion—and in fidelity to his promises.

  I.      In the dignity of his person—

The terms “yesterday, to-day, and for ever,” are expressive of a true and proper eternity: they do not import merely a long duration, but an existence that never had a beginning, nor shall ever have an end. In this view they are frequently applied to Jehovah, to distinguish him from any creature, how exalted soever he might be. When God revealed his name to Moses, that name whereby he was to be made known to the Israelites, he called himself I AM: “say to them, I AM hath sent me unto you:” and St. John expressly distinguishing the Father both from Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Spirit, calls him the person “who is, and was, and is to come.” Now this august title is given repeatedly to Jesus Christ, both in the Old and New Testament. The very words of our text evidently refer to the 102d Psalm, where the psalmist, indisputably speaking of Jehovah, says, “Thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.” And lest there should be the smallest doubt to whom this character belongs, the author of this epistle quotes the words in the very first chapter, insists upon them as immediately applicable to the Messiah, and adduces them in proof, that Christ was infinitely superior to any created being, even “God blessed for evermore.” Our Lord himself on various occasions asserted his claim to this title: to the carnal Jews, who thought him a mere creature like themselves, he said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” And when he appeared to John in a vision, he said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Behold then the dignity of our Lord and Saviour! “His goings forth have been from everlastingg:” he was set up “from everlasting; from the beginning, or ever the earth was.” We must say of him, in the words of David, “From everlasting to everlasting thou art God.” And is this a matter of small importance? Does the Christian feel no interest in this truth? Yea, is it not the very foundation of all his comforts? He may be deemed a bigot for laying such a stress on the divinity of Christ: but having once tasted the bitterness, and seen the malignity of sin, he is well persuaded, that the blood of a creature could never have availed to expiate his guilt, nor could any thing less than “the righteousness of God” himself, suffice for his acceptance in the day of judgment. Know then, believer, that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever: he is the eternal and immutable Jehovah: he is worthy of all thy love, of all thy trust, of all thy confidence. Thou needest never be afraid of thinking too highly of him: when thou “honourest him as thou honourest the Father,” then thou regardest him in the manner that becomes thee: when thou bowest the knee before him, and confessest him him as thy Sovereign Lord, then thou most effectually glorifiest God the Father. Remember then, under all the trying dispensations thou mayest meet with, and, most of all, under the bereavement which thou art now so bitterly lamenting, that he, in whom thou hast believed, is an all-sufficient Saviour; and that when thou lookest to him for any blessing whatsoever, thou mayest cry with confident assurance, “My Lord, and my God.” The ministers of the Church “are not suffered to continue by reason of death.” That tongue which lately was “as a tree of life,” under the shadow of which you sat with great delight, and the fruit whereof was sweet unto your taste, now lies silent in the tomb. Our departed friend has experienced that change, which sooner or later awaits us all: he will ere long experience a still further change, when “his corruptible shall put on incorruption, and his mortal, immortality;” when his body, that now lies mouldering in the dust, shall be “raised like unto Christ’s glorious body,” and “shine above the sun in the firmament for ever and ever:” he is not to-day what he was yesterday: nor shall be for ever what he now is. This honour of eternal, immutable self-existence, belongs not to the highest archangel; for though the angels may be subject to no further change, it was but yesterday that they were first created. To Christ alone belongs this honour; and “with him there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

  II.      As Jesus Christ is eternally the same in the dignity of his person, so is he also in the extent of his power.

We are informed, both in the psalm from whence the text is taken, and in the first chapter of this epistle, where it is cited, that Jesus Christ was the Creator of the universe; “Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands.” And from the first moment of its existence he has “upheld it by the word of his power.” In the days of his flesh, he still exercised the same omnipotence: “Whatsoever the Father did, that did the Son likewise.” On ten thousand occasions he wrought the most stupendous miracles, and shewed that every created being was subject to his will. He not only cleansed the lepers, and caused the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk, but he raised the dead, cast out devils, and controlled the very elements, saying to the wind, Be still; and to the waves, Be calm. Nor, in this, did he act as one that had received a delegated authority; but as one who had an essential, and unalienable light to exercise universal dominion. Though, as man, he acknowledged subjection to his Father, and, as mediator, spake and acted in his Father’s name, yet, in all his miracles, he put forth a virtue inherent in himself; he made his own will the rule and measure of his conduct, and stamped the impression of divinity on all his actions. And is he not still the same? What he was yesterday, will he not also be to-day, and for ever? Is there any disorder of the soul or body, that he cannot heal? Are any lusts so raging, that he cannot calm them, or so inveterate, that he cannot root them out? Cannot he that formed the rude and indigested chaos into order and beauty, create our souls anew? Cannot he that said, “Let there be light, and there was light,” transform our corrupted hearts into the Divine image in righteousness and true holiness? Cannot he that “triumphed over all the principalities and powers” of hell, “bruise Satan under our feet also?” In short, “is there any thing too hard for him?” No, he is still the same: he, to whom “all power in heaven and in earth has been committed,” still holds the reins of government, and “ordereth all things after the counsel of his own will.” What comfort may not this afford you under your present affliction! It pleased him for a season to set over you a faithful pastor, by whom he has called hundreds into his fold, and “turned multitudes from the error of their ways.” But though your honoured minister was the instrument, he was only an instrument; he was but “an axe in the hands of him that heweth therewith,” an “earthen vessel in which was deposited the heavenly treasure,” and by whom Christ communicated to you his “unsearchable riches:” “The excellency of the power was altogether Christ’s.” And has the power ceased, because the instrument is laid aside? “Is the Lord’s ear heavy, that he cannot hear? or is his hand shortened, that he cannot save?” O remember, that though the stream is cut off, the fountain still remains; and every one of you may go to it, and “receive out of your Redeemer’s fulness grace for grace.” Yea, who can tell? That same almighty arm that raised him up to be a faithful witness for the truth, that enabled him to despise the pleasures and honours of the world, and to devote himself wholly to the great work of the ministry, can do the same for his successor. You well know, that he, whose loss we bemoan, was not always that able and excellent minister that he afterwards proved. Be not then hasty, if all things be not at first agreeable to your mind: exercise meekness, patience, forbearance: seek to obtain nothing by force or faction: let the whole of your conduct be conciliating, and worthy of your Christian profession: above all, continue instant in prayer: beg that “the Lord of the harvest, who alone can send forth faithful labourers into his harvest,” will pour out in a more abundant measure his grace upon him, who by the good providence of God is about to take the charge of you; and then I do not say, that God will at all events grant your requests; but this I say with confidence, that your prayers shall not fall to the ground; and that, if God, on the whole, will be most glorified in that way, your petitions shall be literally fulfilled, and “the spirit of Elijah shall rest on Elisha.”

  III.      A third point, which it is of infinite importance to us to be acquainted with, is, that Christ is ever the same in the virtue of his sacrifice.

Though he was not manifested in human flesh till four thousand years had elapsed, yet his sacrifice availed for the salvation of thousands during the whole of that period. The sacrifice, which Abel offered, did not obtain those distinguished tokens of divine acceptance on account of its intrinsic worth, but because the offerer looked forward by faith to that great Sacrifice, which in the fulness of times was to be presented to God upon the cross, even to him, who, in purpose and effect, was the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” As for all other sacrifices, they had no value whatsoever, but as they typified that “one offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” When we see the high-priest and the elders of Israel putting their hands upon the scape-goat, and transferring to him all the sins of the whole congregation of Israel, that they might be carried into the land of oblivion, then we behold the efficacy of Christ’s atonement. It is not to be imagined that the blood of bulls or of goats could take away sin—no: in every instance where the conscience of a sinner was really purged from guilt, the pardon was bestowed solely through “the blood of him, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God.” And is not that, which throughout all the Mosaic dispensation, and from the very beginning of the world, availed for the remission of sins, still as efficacious as ever to all who trust in it? or shall its virtue ever be diminished? Could David, after the commission of crimes, which “make the ears of every one that heareth them to tingle,” cry, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow;” and may not the most abandoned sinner now hope for mercy through “the blood of sprinkling?” Could Saul, that blasphemer, that injurious and persecuting zealot, say of Christ, “He has loved me, and given himself for me?” Could he say, “I obtained mercy, that in me, the chief of sinners, Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them who shall hereafter believe on him to life everlasting?” And shall any one be left to doubt whether there be hope for him? Surely we may still say with the same confidence that the Apostles declared it in the days of old, “We have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: he is the propitiation, not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world: through him all that believe shall be justified from all things: the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from ALL sin.” How sweetly have many of you experienced the truth of these declarations, when your dear minister has been insisting on this favourite topic, and “Christ has been set forth crucified, as it were, before your eyes!” How many of you, while lying at Bethesda’s pool, have embraced the opportunity afforded you, and plunged beneath that water to the healing of your souls! Some others perhaps among you have been long hesitating, as it were, upon the brink, and doubting and questioning your right to wash in it: ah! chide your unbelief: know that “the fountain was opened for sin, and for uncleanness.” Look not then so much at the malignity of your offences, as at the infinite value of Christ’s atonement: and under every fresh contracted guilt, go to the fountain, wash in it, and be clean. Let there not be a day, if possible not an hour, wherein you do not make fresh application to the blood of Jesus: go to that to cleanse you, as well from “the iniquity of your most holy things,” as from the more heinous violations of God’s law; thus shall “your hearts be ever sprinkled from an evil conscience,” and your “conscience itself be purged from dead works to serve the living God.” There are some of you indeed, it is to be feared, who have hitherto disregarded the invitations given you, and are yet ignorant of the virtue of this all-atoning sacrifice: you have unhappily remained dry and destitute of the heavenly dew, which has long fallen in rich abundance all around you. How long you may continue favoured with such invitations, God alone knows: but O that you might this day begin to seek the Lord! He that once died on Calvary, still cries to you by my voice, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else.” Now then, obey his voice: say to him, “Draw me, that I may come unto thee; draw me, and I will run after thee.” Thus shall you be numbered among those, who are redeemed to God by his blood, and shall join, to all eternity, with your departed minister, and all the glorified saints, in singing, “To him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen.”

  IV.      It will be a further consolation to us to reflect that Jesus Christ is the same in the tenderness of his compassion—

It was Christ who led the people of Israel through the wilderness, and who directed them by his servant Moses. This appears from the express declaration of St. Paul. We are told that the Israelites “tempted God in the desert, saying, Can he give bread also, and provide flesh for his people?” And St. Paul, speaking of them, says, “Neither tempt ye CHRIST, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of the destroyer.” Now the tender compassion which Christ exercised towards his people in the wilderness, is made a frequent subject of devout acknowledgment in the Holy Scriptures. Isaiah says, “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. Moses himself, who both experienced and witnessed his compassion, describes it in terms as beautiful as imagination can conceive. See Deut. 32:9–12. “The Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howhng wilderness: he led him about; he instructed him; he kept him as the apple of his eye.” Then comes the image of which I speak: but in order to enter fully into its meaning, it will be proper to observe, that the eagle, when teaching her young to fly, flutters over them, and stirs them up to imitate her; she even thrusts them out of the nest, that they may be forced to exert their powers; and if she see them in danger of falling, she flies instantly underneath them, catches them on her wings, and carries them back to their nest. In reference to this it is added, “As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings, so the Lord alone did lead him.” Can any thing present a more beautiful idea to the mind? Can any image whatever more forcibly impress us with admiring thoughts of Christ’s tenderness and compassion? Such was Jesus in the days of old: and is he not the same at this day? Will he not still “carry the lambs in his bosom, and gently lead them that are with young?” Can we produce in the annals of the world one single instance, wherein he “brake the bruised reed, or quenched the smoking flax?” Has he not invariably “brought forth judgment unto victory,” and “perfected his own strength in his people’s weakness?” Who amongst us has ever “sought his face in vain?” With whom has he ever refused to sympathize? Will not he who wept with the sisters of the deceased Lazarus; will not he that had compassion on the multitude because they were as sheep not having a shepherd; will not he that wept over the murderous and abandoned city, now weep over a disconsolate widow, a deserted people, and especially over those, who have “not known the day of their visitation, and whose eyes have never yet seen the things belonging to their peace?” Is he become an “High-priest that cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities;” or that, notwithstanding he has been “in all points tempted like as we are, has no disposition to succour his tempted people?” Unbelief and Satan may suggest such thoughts to our minds; but who must not attest that they are false? Who is not constrained to acknowledge, that “he is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy?” Here then again let the drooping souls rejoice: ye, who are poor in this world, have lost a friend; a kind, compassionate friend, who, “according to his ability, and often beyond his ability,” exerted himself to relieve your wants. Ye, who are of a broken and contrite spirit, ah! what a friend have ye lost! how would the departed saint listen to all your complaints, and answer all your arguments, and encourage you to look to Jesus for relief! what a delight was it to him to “strengthen your weak hands, and confirm your feeble knees, and to say to your fearful hearts, Be strong, fear not, your God will come and save you!” Ye, “afflicted and tossed with tempest, and not comforted,” whatever your distresses were, surely ye have lost a brother, “a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” But though his benevolent heart can no more expand towards you, “has your Lord forgotten to be gracious? Has Jesus shut up his tender mercies?” No: to him you may still carry your complaints: he bids the weary and heavy-laden to come unto him: he “has received gifts,” not for the indigent only, but “for the rebellious:” nor shall one of you be “sent empty away.” Whom did he ever dismiss, in the days of his flesh, without granting to him the blessing he desired? So now, if ye will go unto him, he “will satiate every weary soul, and replenish every sorrowful soul:” he “will give you beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that God may be glorified.”

  V.      The last observation we proposed to make, was that Christ is the same in his fidelity to his promises—

We have before shewn, that he led his people through the wilderness: he had promised to cast out all their enemies, and to give them “a land flowing with milk and honey.” And behold, Joshua, at the close of a long life, and after an experience of many years, could make this appeal to all Israel: “Ye know in all your hearts, and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.” The same fidelity did Jesus manifest, whilst he sojourned upon earth: the Father had committed to him a chosen people to keep: and Jesus with his dying breath could say, “Those whom thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost.” He promised to his disconsolate disciples, that he would pour out his Spirit upon them; and that the Comforter, whom he would send, should far more than compensate for the loss of his bodily presence: and how speedily did he perform his promise! Thus, in every succeeding age, have his people found him faithful. He has “given exceeding great and precious promises” to his Church, not one jot or tittle of which have ever failed. They who have rested on his word, have never been disappointed. Enthusiasts indeed, who have put their own vain conceits in the place of his word, and have presumed to call their own feelings or fancies by the sacred appellation of a promise, have often met with disappointments; nor can they reasonably expect any thing else: but they who rest upon the clear promises of the Gospel, and wait for the accomplishment of them to their own souls, “shall not be ashamed or confounded world without end.” Let any creature upon earth “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” and shall he be left wholly destitute with respect to temporal comforts? No: he perhaps may be severely tried for a season; but ere long he shall have “all needful things added unto him.” Let a sinner “whose sins have been of a scarlet or crimson dye,” make application to the Lord for mercy; and shall he ever be cast out? No, “in no wise,” provided he come simply trusting in the Saviour’s righteousness. Let any seek deliverance from the snares of Satan, by whom he has been led captive at his will; and shall he be left in bondage to his lusts? Most surely not, if he will rely on Him who has said, “Sin shall not have dominion over you, because ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Now it may be, that many of you have been promising yourselves much spiritual, perhaps also some temporal, advantage, from your deceased minister: and behold! in an instant, all your hopes are blasted: the creature, though so excellent, proves in this respect but a broken reed. But if you will look to Christ, you cannot raise your expectations too high: he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever: you may rely on him, for body and for soul, for time and for eternity: he will be to you a “sun and a shield; he will give you both grace and glory; nor will he withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly.” If he see it necessary that for a season you should be “in heaviness through manifold temptations,” he will make your trials to work for good; and “your light and momentary afflictions shall work out for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory:” only commit your souls to him in well-doing, and he will “keep you by his Almighty power, through faith, unto salvation.”

  In the IMPROVEMENT which we would make of this subject—

We beg leave once more to notice the words that immediately precede the text; “Remember them that have had the rule over you, that have spoken unto you the word of God; whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.” We may appear indeed, in this, to draw your attention from Christ, and to fix it on the creature. But we shall still keep in view our main subject; and at once consult the scope of the context, the peculiarity of this occasion, and the feelings of your hearts.

First then, “Remember him who has had the rule over you, and has preached unto you the word of God.” Surely I need not say much to enforce this part of the exhortation: he is deeply engraven on your hearts, nor will the remembrance of him be soon effaced from your minds. Many of you would have “even plucked out your own eyes and have given them unto him,” if by so doing you could have conferred upon him any essential benefit: yea, I doubt not, there are many in this assembly that would gladly, very gladly, have laid down their lives in his stead, that so great a blessing as he was, might yet have been continued to the Church of God. It cannot be but that the poor must long remember their generous and constant benefactor. Many of the children too, I trust, whom he so delighted to instruct, will remember him to the latest period of their lives. Above all, the people, who looked up to him as their spiritual father, to whom they owed their own souls, will bear him in remembrance. They will never forget “how holily, justly, and unblameably he behaved himself among them,” and how “he exhorted and comforted and charged every one of them, as a father doth his children, that they would walk worthy of God, who hath called them unto his kingdom and glory.” Deservedly will his name be reverenced in this place for ages; for “he was a burning and a shining light;” and had so uniformly persisted in well-doing, that he had utterly “put to silence the ignorance of foolish men,” and made religion respectable in the eyes of the most ungodly.

Let me proceed then in the next place to say, “Follow his faith.” What his faith was, you well know. Christ was the one foundation of all his hopes. He desired “to be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness, but that which is by the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” And as he trusted in no other for his own salvation, so he preached no other amongst you. He had “determined, like St. Paul, to know nothing amongst you but Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Every discourse he preached tended immediately or remotely to glorify Christ amongst you: if he preached the law, it was that, as a schoolmaster, it might lead you to Christ: if he insisted upon obedience, it was, that you might “glorify Christ by your bodies and your spirits which are Christ’s.” In short, Christ was, as well in his ministrations as in the inspired writings, “the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last.” Were he preaching to you at this moment, I am persuaded he would have no other theme; yea, if to the end of the world he were continued to preach unto you, you would hear of nothing but Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. It was this which made his ministry so acceptable unto you: it was this which God rendered useful to the conversion and consolation of multitudes amongst you. By the faith of Christ he lived, and in the faith of Christ he died. Almost the last words he uttered were these, “Weep not for me; I am very happy, I DIE IN THE FAITH OF THE LORD JESUS.” I have been anticipated in one remarkable circumstance which I had intended to mention to you; and I am unwilling to omit it now, because there may be some here who were not present this morning. Indeed it is so applicable to my subject, and so illustrative of the character of your dear pastor, that I may well be excused if I repeat what you have already heard. That blessed man, though he possessed a very considerable share of human learning, valued no book in comparison of the Scriptures: when therefore he found his dissolution approaching, he desired his dear partner to read a portion of the word of God: she immediately read to him, first the 23d Psalm, and afterwards the 8th chapter of Proverbs. In the last verse but one of that chapter, she came to these words; “Whoso findeth me, findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.” Immediately, without waiting for her to conclude the chapter, he cried, “Stop, stop, now shut up the book; that is enough for me.” Blessed man! he had sweetly experienced the truth of those words; he had found life in Christ Jesus; he had obtained favour of the Lord; and he knew that he was going to dwell with his Lord for ever. Such was his faith. He held fast Christ as his “wisdom, his righteousness, his sanctification, and his complete redemption.” He made “Christ his all, and in all.” But while he trusted in Christ alone for his justification before God, no man living ever more forcibly inculcated the necessity of good works, or, I may truly add, practised them with more delight. He was also a firm friend to the Established Church, and inculcated on all occasions submission to the constituted authorities of this kingdom. He considered obedience to the powers that be, as an essential part of his duty to God: he looked upon earthly governors as ministers ordained of God; and inculcated obedience to them as a duty, “not merely for wrath, but also for conscience sake.” As then ye have been followers of his faith and practice while living, so be ye imitators of him now that he is withdrawn from you: “be ye followers of him, as he was of Christ.” And be careful, “not to be carried about with divers and strange doctrines,” either in religion or politics: but “hold fast that ye have received, that no man take your crown.” If there be any here, who have never yet been “partakers of the like precious faith with him,” O that I might this day prevail with them to “become obedient to the faith!” My dear brethren, you will assuredly find, that the only means of holiness in life, or of peace in death, or of glory in eternity, is, the knowledge of Christ: “there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved” from sin and misery in this world, or from everlasting destruction in the world to come; no other name, I say, but the name of Jesus Christ. I must therefore entreat you now to reflect on those things, which hitherto ye have heard without effect; and I pray God, that the seed, which has lain buried in the earth, may spring up speedily, and bring forth fruit an hundred-fold.

I add now in the last place, “Consider the end of your departed minister’s conversation.” You have heard how peaceful and resigned he was in the prospect of death, and what an assured and glorious hope of immortality he enjoyed. “Mark the perfect man,” says David, “and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace:” this you have seen verified in him. But carry your thoughts a little further: follow him within the vail: behold him united to that blessed assembly of saints and angels: see him freed from the bondage of corruption, arrayed in the unspotted robe of his Redeemer’s righteousness, crowned with a royal diadem, seated on a throne of glory, tuning his golden harp, and with a voice as loud and as melodious as any saint in heaven, singing, “Salvation to God and to the Lamb.” Is there so much as one of you that can think of this, and not exclaim, “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!” Let the thought of these things, my brethren, encourage you to persevere: the conflict cannot be very long; but how glorious the triumph! Consider this, I beseech you; that you “may fight the good fight of faith, and quit yourselves like men.” Go on, “strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus;” and doubt not, but that you shall find the grace of Christ as sufficient for you as it has been for him; and that what Christ has been to others in former ages, he will be to you, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

MMCCCXLV

CAUTION AGAINST FALSE DOCTRINES

  Heb. 13:9.

Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace.

TRUTH lieth not on the surface, but must be sought after with diligence. This is true in every science; but most of all true in religion. In all other sciences, intellectual powers only are required: in religion, there must be integrity of heart, and a sincere desire to do, as well as to know, the will of God. To other knowledge there is no obstruction from within: if only there be a sufficiency of information and of capacity to comprehend it, truth will make its way into the mind of those who seek it. But to the progress of religious truth there are many obstacles in the heart of man; many prejudices, many passions, many interests present a barrier to obstruct its entrance into the soul: and these must be in a great measure removed, before the light of truth can break through the clouds which intercept its rays. Yet in one respect is religious truth of easier attainment than any other: for to the acquisition of it great intellectual powers are not necessary: nor is general erudition necessary. All that is wanting is, a humble, teachable spirit, that will seek instruction from God, and receive with child-like simplicity all that God has spoken in his word. Such an one, provided he seek with diligence, and with a determination of heart to fulfil the will of God as far as he can learn it, will assuredly be guided into all truth. But that very simplicity of mind which is necessary to the attainment of truth, subjects a person, if he be not much upon his guard, to be imposed upon by those, who, “by good works and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple.” Against such teachers St. Paul felt it necessary to caution his converts frequently; since, though agents only of the prince of darkness, they put on the appearance of angels of lightb. Against such he here cautions the Hebrew Christians, entreating them to bear in mind what they had been taught by those who had been over them in the Lord, and not to suffer themselves to be turned aside from the truth which they had received.

In the words here addressed to them, we see,

  I.      A caution given—

There were, even in the apostolic age, “many vain-talkers and deceivers, and especially amongst the circumcision, who by their subtle disputations subverted whole houses,” and “caused the way of truth to be evil spoken ofd.” In this day likewise there are not wanting teachers of a similar description, who bring forward some favourite notions of their own, “in order to draw away disciples after them.” Against these we must at all times be on our guard, lest at any time we be “carried away,”

  1.      By legal doctrines—

[It was against these more particularly that the Apostle here cautioned the Hebrews. The great scope of his epistle was to shew, that the rites and ceremonies, on which the Jews laid so great a stress, were abrogated, and superseded by a better dispensation. And the strange doctrines hinted at in the text are put in immediate connexion with “meats, (such as were enjoined or prohibited under the Mosaic dispensation,) which had not profited those who had been occupied therein.” To such an extent were the ceremonies of the law insisted on by some, that they affirmed that no one could be saved without a strict observance of them. Thus they perverted the Gospel of Christ, by uniting with the blood of Christ another ground of dependence for our justification before Godg.

And though Judaism is not now insisted on as it then was, there is the same disposition in men to combine something of their own with faith in Christ, as a joint ground of their hope. Men are still as averse as ever to a free salvation that is all of grace. They would have it to be in some measure “of works;” not aware, that it must be wholly either of works, or of grace: they do not see that the very instant any works of ours are admitted as meriting salvation, either in whole or in part, salvation is no more of grace, and man has to all eternity a ground of boasting before God.

Be on your guard then that you be not carried away by such legal statements as too commonly prevail even in the present enlightened age: for it is not necessary to go to Papists in order to hear such doctrines: they are still heard amongst us, notwithstanding this error formed the chief ground of our separation from the Church of Rome, and of our protesting against their fatal heresies. But know, that, if you add any thing to the work of Christ as a joint ground of your hope, you make void the Gospel of Christ, and must inevitably and eternally perish.]

  2.      By Antinomian doctrines—

[To these also there is a reference in the preceding context. Many converts, and especially from amongst the Gentiles, had but very imperfect views of that holiness which the Gospel enjoins. The great degree of criminality which attaches to fornication and adultery, was, through the influence of opinions imbibed in their Gentile state, but indistinctly seen: and hence, for the purpose of rectifying their views, the Apostle shews them, that, though marriage was honourable in all, having been ordained by God himself, that species of intercourse, which they were disposed to justify, was most dishonourable, and most offensive in the sight of God, “who would judge both whoremongers and adulterers” with the utmost severity. Many indeed would plead for such indulgences; as we see in the Ephesian Church: but St. Paul, warning the Ephesian converts, says, “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.”

Thus at this time also there are not wanting persons who teach, that the law is not a rule of life to believers; and that Christ’s righteousness being perfect, they have a sanctification in him, and need not seek to have any sanctification in their own souls. From a professed zeal for the honour of Christ, they would set aside all need of personal holiness, and bring men to their heavenly inheritance without putting them to the trouble of seeking a meetness for it.

But this is an awful delusion. It is very specious indeed, because it pretends to exalt the honour of Christ: but, in reality, it greatly dishonours him, inasmuch as it makes him, not a friend of sinners, but of sin; which, if unmortified and unsubdued, would incapacitate the sinner for the enjoyment of heaven, even if he were admitted there.

But be on your guard against this doctrine also, a doctrine foreign to the whole tenour of Scripture, from the beginning to the end; a doctrine most injurious to God’s honour, directly repugnant to the great end for which Christ came into the world; (which was “to save his people from their sins;”) and utterly subversive of the whole work of the Spirit in the souls of men. Whatever stress we may lay on the work of Christ, (and we cannot possibly rely too much or too simply upon it for our justification before God,) it is an unalterable truth, that “without holiness, (real, personal, universal holiness,) no man shall see the Lord.”]

  3.      By erroneous doctrines of whatever kind—

[It were endless to attempt to enumerate all the heresies which have arisen, and are yet found, in the Christian Church. Some are entirely subversive of Christianity itself, being nothing less than “a denial of the Lord who bought us.” Others are founded upon some truth which is carried to excess, and held to the exclusion of other truths which are equally important in their place. Of this kind are the tenets of those who fiercely contend for human systems, whether Calvinistic or Arminian, taking only partial views of divine truth, and wresting every passage of Scripture which seems to militate against their favourite scheme. The truth is, that the way of salvation, if we will only submit to be taught of God, is very plain and simple: it is all comprehended in these few words, “Faith working by love.” But if, instead of taking the plain declarations of Scripture for our guide, we will refine upon them, and invent modes of speaking which are widely different from them, and insist upon our own subtilties as if they were the very word of God himself, it is no wonder that heresies arise, and divisions ensue. But against all dogmas of man’s invention we should be on our guard. In order to our preservation from them, we have in our text,]

  II.      An antidote recommended—

We should seek to be “established with grace;” or, as that expression imports, we should be established in the Gospel; (for that is the grace to which Jewish ceremonies are opposed, and it is “ the grace wherein we stand;”)

  1.      As a revelation of grace in itself—

[It is so: it is so altogether: the whole plan, as devised by Almighty God, was formed in his eternal counsels without any reference to human merit, or to any recompence which the whole universe could ever confer. It was undertaken by the Son, purely from his own love and mercy, to die in the place of sinners, and to expiate their guilt by his own blood. The Holy Spirit also engaged to apply that redemption to God’s chosen people, and to bring them to the possession of all its blessings by his sovereign and all-sufficient grace. All was the free gift of God to man: and there is not a Christian in the universe who must not say, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”

Now to be established in these views is a grand preservative against error of every kind: and a man well grounded in them is incapable of being moved by all the artifices of the most subtle deceivers. Tell the man that he does not deserve the wrath of God; or that he may save himself by the merit of his works; or that, if he cannot save himself entirely, he may in part, by some good works and righteousness of his own; you may perplex him perhaps, especially if he be unaccustomed to weigh the arguments of sophists; but you can no more convince him, than you can persuade him that he is an angel, or that he is able to create a world. He has within himself the witness of the truths which he maintains; and as complete a consciousness of his need of the Gospel, and of its suitableness to his necessities, as he has of his need of food for his body, and of the suitablenesss of food to recruit his strength. Hence, as a security against their being beguiled by enticing words, the Apostle says to the Colossian Church, “As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”]

  2.      As a dispensation of grace to the soul—

[The same covenant, which says, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sins will I remember no more,” says, “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.” It even engages to do this so effectually, that, notwithstanding all their outward temptations and inward corruptions, they shall never finally depart from Godx. In this light then should the Gospel be viewed, namely, as a provision for the “turning of men, not only from darkness unto light, but from the power of Satan unto God.” For this end is “all fulness of grace treasured up in Christ,” that “out of it all his people might receive,” and that “the grace so conferred may be sufficient for them.”

Now if once we are established in this view of the Gospel, we may bid defiance to all the sophistries that would relax our obligation to holiness. We shall see that holiness is the grand constituent of salvation, inasmuch as it is the restoration of God’s image to the soul, even of that image which alone can fit us for the enjoyment of his presence, and without which we must remain everlasting objects of his utter abhorrence. Indeed, if once we are established in this grace, all the subtilties of controversialists will lose their power. We shall see that a perfect conformity to God’s likeness is the only thing which we need to be concerned about; and the only end for which even the purest principles are of any value. This well fixed in the mind, our walk will be steadfast; nor, however violent the assaults of heretics may be upon us, shall any of them prevail to “carry us away.”]

We are yet further called to notice,

  III.      The recommendation enforced—

“It is a good thing that the heart be established with grace:” yes truly, “it is a good thing:” for it brings,

  1.      Peace into the soul—

[Those who are tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, or who are entering deeply into controversies of any kind, are for the most part strangers to peace. They are distracted and disquieted, and not unfrequently “filled with envy, and strife, and railings, and evil surmisings,” and all manner of unhallowed dispositions. Their very contentions are for the most part not so much for truth, as for victory. But the man whose heart is established with grace, dwells, as it were, in the higher regions of the air, where he is not subject to those storms and tempests which agitate our lower world. His mind is kept in perfect peace, because it is fixed, trusting in the Lord. He is content to be ignorant of things which God has not revealed; and to let people entertain different sentiments from himself on matters of doubtful disputation. He knows assuredly, that, whilst his faith in Christ is firm and operative, he cannot materially err; and that “he shall not be ashamed or confounded world without end.”]

  2.      Stability into the life and conversation—

[He leaves others to enter into controversies; he is concerned only about the maintenance of the divine life in his soul. Others are espousing different sentiments, and joining with different parties; and some are running the whole round of Christian profession, one day holding communion with one Church or people, and another day anathematizing them as heretics and fanatics. But the Christian who is established with grace, moves on in one even tenour, and makes his profiting daily to appear. He grows in grace, he makes visible attainments in holiness, “he runs with patience the race that is set before him.” Like the sun in its course, he diffuses blessings all around him: and, having finished his course, he sets, to rise in another hemisphere, where he shall shine with undiminished lustre for ever and ever.]

  ADDRESS—

  1.      Be not ignorant of the Gospel of Christ—

[It is quite a mistake to imagine, that, because there is a great diversity of sentiment upon some points, there is nothing certain: for on the points which are of fundamental importance, all true Christians are agreed. They are all agreed, that we are guilty, helpless, and undone: that it is in and through the Lord Jesus Christ alone that any human being can be saved: that we need his righteousness to justify us, and his grace to sanctify our corrupt nature: and that, whatever attainments in holiness any man may reach, he will still be indebted to the free, and sovereign, and undeserved grace of God for all from first to last. Get the knowledge, the practical knowledge of this; and all will be well. You may clearly see that much human learning is not necessary for this: on the contrary, human learning, if unsanctified, is rather an impediment to this, especially if it be relied upon, as it too often is, as a sufficient instructor, and a safe guide. There is no safe guide but the Holy Spirit: and “he often reveals unto babes and sucklings the things which are hid from the wise and prudentb.” The way to seek divine knowledge is, to study the Holy Scriptures with humility and prayer: and if you do so study them, you shall “be guided into all truth,” and “be made wise unto salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus.”]

  2.      Be not satisfied with indistinct and narrow views of it—

[There are in the Gospel “heights and depths” that can never be explored. We may not indeed have different truths brought to our view: but the same truths will be brought with ten-fold clearness and power to the soul. It is the same sun which lights us amidst the gloom of winter, and in the height of summer: but how different are the sensations it excites, and the effects it produces! Yet of these feelings and these effects the peasant is as sensible as the greatest monarch upon earth. Know ye then your privilege, every one of you, and seek the enjoyment of it: and let every one of you labour and pray, that “his light be as that of the sun, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”]

MMCCCXLVI

THE CHRISTIAN’S ALTAR

             Heb. 13:10.

We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

CHRISTIANITY itself is simple; comprising two points, our fall in Adam, and our recovery by Christ. Yet it admits of an endless diversity of statement and illustration. The Mosaic institutions especially, which were intended to shadow forth the Gospel, supply an inexhaustible fund of observation for the elucidation of it. The Jews gloried in their law, and were with great difficulty brought to renounce their reliance on it for salvation. But from the law itself we borrow those very illustrations which place in the strongest possible view the superiority of the Gospel. Their altar, for instance, was their great medium of access to, and of communion with the Deity. But the Apostle, guarding them against an undue respect to outward observances, tells them, that we, we Christians, have an altar far superior to theirs; “an altar, of which those who serve the tabernacle, have no right to eat.”

From these words, I shall take occasion to shew,

  I.      The pre-eminence which we, under the Gospel dispensation, enjoy—

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